Study questions the sustainability of plant ingredients as fishmeal substitutes

Substituting fishmeal in aquaculture feeds with plant ingredients may not be as beneficial for the environment as many predict, according to new research from an international team of experts.

Manufacturers of commercial fish feed are increasingly substituting fishmeal - a powder made from fish - with crop-based ingredients in a move driven by economic incentives and a desire to improve the sustainability of aquafeed.

While this approach is widely recognised as being more environmentally friendly, the new study - led by PhD researcher Wesley Malcorps, from the University of Stirling's Institute of Aquaculture - challenges this popular theory.

The multidisciplinary team researched the trade-offs between marine and terrestrial resources as a result of adopting this common practice in shrimp feeds. The researchers focused on the shrimp industry, as it is one of the dominant consumers of fishmeal in the aquaculture sector.

The research found that the substitution of fishmeal with plant ingredients merely moved pressures from finite marine resources to land-based food production systems, with environmental repercussions. The experts involved in the work are now calling for a "paradigm shift" in thinking around the relative sustainability of aquafeed ingredients.

Mr Malcorps said: "Substituting fishmeal for plant ingredients is considered by many to be environmentally sustainable, as it reduces dependency on finite marine resources. However, this would shift resource demand from the oceans onto the land, potentially adding pressure to the land-based food production systems, which are already under pressure to meet global demand for food, feed, biofuels, and biobased materials. In turn, this would affect the environment and biodiversity, as well as the availability and prices of crops.

"In addition, the nutritional requirements of certain aquatic species may limit the amount of fishmeal substitution due to essential nutrients, which are variable or imbalanced in terrestrial plant ingredients. Furthermore, increased inclusion of plant ingredients in aquafeed could also affect the nutritional value of farmed seafood."

Fishmeal is manufactured predominantly from small pelagic fish, as well as fish processing waste. Currently, the waste element makes up, on average, between 25 and 35 percent of the product; however, this share is on the increase.

Over the years, in response to fishmeal price increases, the product has been increasingly substituted for plant ingredients. In 2000, 19-40 percent fishmeal was included in shrimp feed, however, that fell to 11-23 percent in 2014.

The study modelled incremental fishmeal substitution, from 20-30 percent to zero, by plant ingredients - such as soybean meal concentrate, rapeseed meal concentrate, pea protein concentrate and corn gluten meal - which are typically included in modern feeds for the two main shrimp species produced globally, whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) and black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon).

The team then assessed the impact this could have on marine and terrestrial resources, such as fish, land, freshwater, nitrogen and phosphorus.

The research found that complete substitution of 20-30 percent of fishmeal totals - depending on the species - could lead to an increasing demand for freshwater, of up to 63 percent; land, of up to 81 percent; and phosphorus, of up to 83 percent.

"These are significant increases, as only a small proportion of the feed is actually substituted," Mr Malcorps explained. "Our findings suggest this approach would lead to additional pressures on essential agricultural resources, with associated socio-economic and environmental effects as a trade-off to pressures on finite marine resources. It could lead to competition for land and other terrestrial resources, causing social and environmental conflicts that, in turn, may affect the resilience of the global food system."

Aquafeed generally utilises only a small percentage of global crop production, however, with aquaculture one of the fastest growing food sectors, the experts warn additional pressures on crucial terrestrial resources "may become more obvious" over the coming decades.

Mr Malcorps added: "Our model highlights the need for a paradigm shift in the definition of sustainable shrimp feed. Additionally, the model may be equally applicable to other intensively farmed species with similar scenarios of marine and terrestrial feed ingredient requirements.

"An excessive dependency on the use of plant ingredients for aquaculture could lead to deleterious effects on the environment and indirectly impact human health by altering the nutritional value of the aquaculture products."

Mr Malcorps suggests finding an "optimal balance" between marine and terrestrial resources in aquafeed; strategically include high quality fishmeal; improving the use of fish by-products and food waste in feeds; and investigating the potential for novel ingredients - such as microbial biomass, algae and insect meals - to be included.

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The multidisciplinary team included industry and academic experts from across the world, including: MatureDevelopment BV (Netherlands); Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Belgium); Mexico Aquaculture Research Inc; Association of International Seafood Professionals (Australia); Aquaculture without Frontiers (USA); Universidad Tecnologica del Mar de Tamaulipas (Mexico); IFFO, The Marine Ingredients Organisation (UK); Utrecht University (Netherlands); University of Zurich (Switzerland); and Harper Adams University (UK).

The study, The Sustainability Conundrum of Fishmeal Substitution by Plant Ingredients in Shrimp Feeds, is published in Sustainability.

This story has been published on: 2019-04-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
DIY gravitational waves with 'BlackHoles@Home'

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 13, 2019 -- Researchers hoping to better interpret data from the detection of gravitational waves generated by the collision of binary black holes are turning to the public for help.

West Virginia University assistant professor Zachariah Etienne is leading what will soon become a global volunteer computing effort. The public will be invited to lend their own computers to help the scientific community unlock the secrets contained in gravitational waves observed when black holes smash together.

LIGO's first detection of gravitational waves from colliding black holes in 2015 opened a new window on the universe, enabling scientists to observe cosmic events spanning billions of years and to better understand the makeup of the Universe. For many scientists, the discovery also fueled expansion of efforts to more thoroughly test the theories that help explain how the universe works -- with a particular focus on inferring as much information as possible about the black holes prior to their collision.

First predicted by Albert Einstein in 1916, gravitational waves are ripples or disturbances in space-time that encode important information about changing gravitational fields.

Since the 2015 discovery, LIGO and Virgo have detected gravitational waves from eight additional black hole collisions. This month, LIGO and Virgo began new observing runs at unprecedented sensitivities.

"As our gravitational wave detectors become more sensitive, we're going to need to greatly expand our efforts to understand all of the information encoded in gravitational waves from colliding binary black holes," Etienne said. "We are turning to the general public to help with these efforts, which involve generating unprecedented numbers of self-consistent simulations of these extremely energetic collisions. This will truly be an inclusive effort, and we especially hope to inspire the next generation of scientists in this growing field of gravitational wave astrophysics."

His team -- and the scientific community in general -- needs computing capacity to run the simulations required to cover all possibilities related to the properties and other information contained in gravitational waves.

"Each desktop computer will be able to perform a single simulation of colliding black holes," said Etienne. By seeking public involvement through use of vast numbers of personal desktop computers, Etienne and others hope to dramatically increase the throughput of the theoretical gravitational wave predictions needed to extract information from observations of the collisions.

Black holes are known to contain two physical quantities: spin and mass. Spin, for example, can then be broken down further into direction and speed. Etienne's colleagues, therefore, are examining a total of eight parameters when LIGO or Virgo detect waves from a collision of two black holes.

"The simulations we need to perform, with the public's help, are designed to fill large gaps in our knowledge about gravitational waves from these collisions by covering as many possibilities as we can for these eight parameters. Current black hole simulation catalogs are far too small to properly cover this wide space of possibilities," Etienne said.

"This work aims to provide a critical service to the scientific community: an unprecedented large catalog of self-consistent theoretical predictions for what gravitational waves may be observed from black hole collisions. These predictions assume that Einstein's theory of gravity, general relativity, is correct, and therefore will provide deeper insights into this beautiful and complex theory. Just to give you an idea of its importance -- if the effects of Einstein's relativity theory weren't accounted for, GPS systems would be off by kilometers per day, just to name one example."

Etienne and his team are building a website with downloadable software based on the same Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing, or BOINC, system used for the SETI@Home project and other scientific applications. The free middleware system is designed to help harness the processing power of thousands of personal computers across the globe. The West Virginia team has named their project BlackHoles@Home and expects to have it up and running later this year.

They have already established a website where the public can begin learning more about the effort: https:/ / math. wvu. edu/ ~zetienne/ SENR/ .

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The presentation, "The BlackHoles@Home Project: Black Hole Binaries on the Desktop Computer," will take place at 1:42 p.m. MT, Saturday, April 13, in room Governor's Square 17 of the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel. ABSTRACT: http://meetings. aps. org/ Meeting/ APR19/ Session/ C11. 2

MORE MEETING INFORMATION

USEFUL LINKS

Register as Press: https:/ / goo. gl/ forms/ 7l15SaH0GOAbhBgR2

Main Press Page: https:/ / www. aps. org/ meetings/ april/ press. cfm

Main Meeting Page: https:/ / www. aps. org/ meetings/ april/

Hotel Information: https:/ / www. aps. org/ meetings/ april/ hotel-travel. cfm

PRESS REGISTRATION

APS will provide free registration to all staff journalists representing media organizations, professional freelance journalists on assignment, and student journalists who are attending the meeting for the express purpose of gathering and reporting news and information. Press registration grants full access to all scientific sessions, to the press room, and to the press conferences. We will also provide complimentary press registration to university press officers, PIOs and other professional media relations staff.

Press registration grants full access to all scientific sessions, to the press room, and to the press conferences. Press credentials are approved at the sole discretion of APS. For press related questions about the APS April Meeting, email media@aps.org>.

PRESS CONFERENCES

A series of press conferences will be held during the meeting at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel. The press conferences will be live webcast, and members of the media who are unable to attend the meeting in person may register to view the live webcasts at https:/ / www. apswebcasting. com .

ABOUT APS

The American Physical Society is a nonprofit membership organization working to advance and diffuse the knowledge of physics through its outstanding research journals, scientific meetings, and education, outreach, advocacy, and international activities. APS represents over 55,000 members, including physicists in academia, national laboratories, and industry in the United States and throughout the world. Society offices are located in College Park, Maryland (Headquarters), Ridge, New York, and Washington, D.C. https:/ / www. aps. org/

This story has been published on: 2019-04-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
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Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 07:04:59|Editor: Liu

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Carlos Ruiz Massieu (Front), Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia, briefs a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Colombia, at the UN headquarters in New York, on April 12, 2019. Carlos Ruiz Massieu on Friday stressed the importance of transitional justice in a country that saw more than five decades of civil war between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The UN envoy for Colombia, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, on Friday stressed the importance of transitional justice in a country that saw more than five decades of civil war between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Recent weeks have been dominated by divisive debates in Colombia regarding the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), an extrajudicial court system for the sake of reconciliation, Massieu told the Security Council.

Last month, President Ivan Duque objected to six articles of the draft statutory law of the JEP. Following a vote against these objections in the Chamber of Representatives earlier this week, consideration of the objections is pending in the Senate, said Massieu.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for prompt action by all parties concerned to ensure that a statutory law consistent with the peace agreement between the government and FARC is put in place as soon as possible, he noted.

This statutory law is the last missing element of the legal framework for the JEP and a necessary one to ensure that this institution can operate with the necessary independence and autonomy, said Massieu, who is also head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia.

The JEP continues to advance its work with impressive results, he said. It has now initiated seven large cases that are examining significant violations affecting 820,000 victims. Moreover, close to 9,700 former FARC members and almost 2,000 individuals from government forces have subjected themselves to its authority.

President Duque has also announced his intention to propose three reforms to the articles of the Constitution underpinning the transitional justice framework of the peace agreement, said Massieu.

Any such initiatives should not be applied in a retroactive manner to those who laid down their arms in good faith and on the strength of commitments made under the peace agreement, he said.

In a climate of uncertainty for victims, for those subject to the JEP, for FARC members awaiting funding for social and economic reintegration, and for communities who have suffered from the conflict, the greatest uncertainty would be to reopen core elements of the underlying peace agreement itself, he warned.

The UN envoy asked for more investment in the reintegration of ex-combatants. "Nearly two years after they laid down their arms, a critical challenge is to maintain their optimism in the face of the continued uncertainties about their future."

Individual and collective projects for 1,774 former FARC members, including 520 women, have been approved. A recent census identified more than 10,500 former FARC members within the reintegration process, he said.

"I encourage the government to accelerate the approval of more projects and the prompt disbursement of funds, as well as the implementation of a gender-sensitive approach and timely decisions on access to land."

On proposals for the future status of the 24 "Territorial Areas" where former FARC combatants live before their reintegration, Massieu said it is important to ensure an inclusive discussion on those proposals that involves former combatants as well as local authorities. These decisions should be taken and communicated to the former combatants as soon as possible to ensure a smooth transition, he said.

The current legal status of the 24 areas expires on Aug. 15, 2019.

The killings of community leaders, human rights defenders and former FARC combatants continue and remain a grave concern, said the envoy.

The deployment of Colombian military and police near the Territorial Areas is critical, but violent competition among illegal armed groups for territorial control in areas outside of these security perimeters continues to threaten the security of former combatants and communities, as well as to undercut the overall peace implementation efforts, he warned.

The Colombian government and FARC struck a peace deal in August 2016 after four years of negotiations in Havana, Cuba, ending a five-decades-long conflict in the country.

The UN Verification Mission in Colombia, mandated by the Security Council, is tasked to verify the reintegration of former FARC fighters.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 07:15:03|Editor: xuxin

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Photo taken on April 12, 2019 shows Sudanese people continuing their protest against the military council in front of the army's general headquarters in Khartoum, Sudan. Sudan's opposition Freedom and Change Alliance on Friday urged the new leadership of the Transitional Military Council to transfer power to a transitional civilian government. The alliance urged the protesters to continue their sit-in before the army's general headquarters. Earlier on Friday, chairman of Sudan's transitional military council Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf announced his resignation. He named Lt. Gen. Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan Abdel-Rahman as his successor. (Xinhua/Mohamed Khidir)

KHARTOUM, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Sudan's opposition Freedom and Change Alliance on Friday urged the new leadership of the Transitional Military Council to transfer power to a transitional civilian government.

The alliance brings together the Sudanese Professionals Association, the National Consensus Forces' Alliance, Sudan Call Forces and the opposition unionist group.

"We urge the new leadership of the army, top of them Lt. Gen. Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan Abdel-Rahman, to listen to the voice of the street and immediately embark on transferring the power to a transitional civilian government through the leadership council of the freedom and change alliance," said the alliance in a statement Friday.

It further urged the new army leadership to cancel the decisions made by the previous military council regarding suspension of the constitution and imposition of the state of emergency and curfew.

The alliance urged the protesters to continue their sit-in before the army's general headquarters.

Earlier on Friday, chairman of Sudan's transitional military council Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf announced his resignation.

He named Lt. Gen. Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan Abdel-Rahman as his successor.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 07:48:08|Editor: Yamei

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Jet Airways employees hold placards during a protest against their management in Mumbai, India, on April 12, 2019. According to local reports, India's struggling airline Jet Airways has suspended westbound international flights from Thursday night till Friday morning. (Xinhua)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 07:50:23|Editor: Liu

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by Peter Mertz

DENVER, the United States, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Residents of U.S. high plains and Upper Midwest were shoveling snow and shaking their heads Friday, as a second bomb cyclone in the past month hammered the region with heavy snows and high winds.

WESLEY

"We dodged a bullet," said Denver electrician Jason Sorber, as the Denver metropolitan area was grazed by the massive winter storm, receiving only two inches (5.08 cm) of snow.

East of the Colorado's Rocky Mountains was not so lucky.

Dubbed "Wesley" by the National Weather Service (NWS), the blizzard affected 4,600 square km and 20 million people in a dozen central U.S. states, hitting the region with winds up to 60 miles per hour, two feet (60 cm) of snow, and dramatic temperature drops.

The NWS said that snowfall records had been broken across Wisconsin, Michigan, Nebraska, Minnesota, and South Dakota where thousands of miles of interstates were closed.

An unusual weather phenomenon known as "thunder snow" - snow accompanied by thunder and lightning - was reported Wednesday and Thursday in central South Dakota, the NSW said.

OUT OF CONTROL

No deaths were reported from the storm, but thousands of airline flights were canceled from Denver to Chicago, and thousands of stranded motorists and car crashes were reported throughout the area.

In Minnesota, the state highway patrol said it responded to more than 500 crashes on Wednesday and Thursday, and the National Guard was called in to rescue stranded motorists.

High winds and property damage were reported as far south as St. Louis and Arkansas, and tornado warnings were issued throughout America's central and southern states for the weekend, including the major cities of Houston, Dallas, and New Orleans.

Although Colorado escaped the brunt of the cyclone - unlike a month ago - Colorado's governor Jared Polis still issued a state of emergency after 55,000 people lost power Wednesday night.

"Not as bad as the last one for sure," Sorber told Xinhua. "But Mother Nature is out of control."

Colorado's power was restored by Friday, but nearly 77,000 homes and businesses were cut off Thursday across Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Michigan, according to poweroutage.us.

Snow and ice accumulating on power lines along with strong winds were responsible for the power outages, Matt Lindstrom, a spokesman for Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy, said.

WATCH OUT

The threat of severe weather shifts in the next 48 hours to southern states including Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana, where high winds, tornadoes and hail are expected, the Weather Channel reported Friday.

The March 13 bomb cyclone caused billions of dollars in flood damage in Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa and South Dakota, and hit Denver hard with two feet of snow, stranding hundreds of motorists over a 24-hour period.

But the April storm just missed Colorado's capital city and Twitter was filled with condemnations of meteorologists on Thursday.

"So I've seen all these weather reporters acting like this is a big storm for Denver," Stephen Felt Tweeted. "They must be Noobs, lol," he posted on Thursday.

"Rough night to be a weathercaster in Denver, keep your chin up champ will get them next time!" added Louis Mullen.

Denver's award winning CBS Meteorologist Dave Aguilera explained that Wesley was not "technically" a bomb cyclone - defined as when barometric pressure drops 24 millibars in 24 hours - but the storm was bad enough.

"This is a still a big blizzard producing storms and we have to watch out for this one," he cautioned.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 08:05:26|Editor: Yamei

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YAOUNDE, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Six students -- five boys and one girl -- of a government secondary school have been kidnapped in Fongo Tongo, a locality in western Cameroon, a local government official said Friday.

"The children were kidnapped as they were helping their parents in farming. We have no idea where they are since their abduction. The kidnappers initially asked for ransom but did not contact the family again when they realized they could not pay," Amiya Balise Ndongana, senior government official of Fongo Tongo, told reporters, blaming the armed separatists for the abduction.

Fongo Tongo is located in francophone West Region which shares boundary with troubled Anglophone region of Northwest where separatists fighting to create an independent nation have been clashing with government forces.

It is the first time that students were kidnapped in a border francophone region since the separatists picked up arms in November 2017.

"They have attacked this section of the country in the past, so we know that they kidnapped the children. Defense and security forces have launched a thorough search for the children and we hope that they will be rescued safe and alive," he said.

Separatists have not claimed responsibility. Since the end of last year, students have been constantly abducted and then released in the English-speaking part of Cameroon by some radical separatists.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 08:15:28|Editor: Li Xia

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Dubrovnik, Croatia, April 12, 2019. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

DUBROVNIK, Croatia, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Friday that China is willing to maintain high-level exchanges with Hungary, consolidate political mutual trust, and push bilateral practical cooperation forward for more progress.

Li made the remarks during his meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on the sidelines of the eighth leaders' meeting between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) held at the southern Croatian coastal city of Dubrovnik.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of China-Hungary diplomatic relations, said the premier, adding that the bilateral relationship is at its best time in history.

He called on the two countries to enhance communication and coordination through their joint economic committee, and steadily advance large project cooperation, including the Hungarian section of the Belgrade-Budapest railway.

Li said China welcomes high-quality products, including Hungary's agricultural products, to the Chinese market, and encourages competent Chinese enterprises to invest in Hungary through open tendering.

China also supports its citizens in traveling to Hungary, and is willing to expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges to further consolidate public support for stronger bilateral relations, he added.

For his part, Orban said China and Hungary will this year jointly celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties.

Hungary is willing to continue deepening practical cooperation with China, accelerate the implementation of the Hungarian section of the Belgrade-Budapest railway, and enhance cooperation in areas including agriculture and tourism, he said.

Orban said Hungary expects to draw up a development plan for Hungary-China cooperation to promote bilateral relations.

The Hungarian side is glad to see that the Europe-China relations are moving forward smoothly, he said, adding that his country will make further efforts to sustain this momentum.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 08:30:32|Editor: Liu

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PHNOM PENH, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Tens of thousands of Cambodian migrant workers began to leave capital Phnom Penh on Friday for their home provinces for the Khmer New Year, which will be celebrated on April 14-16.

To facilitate people's travel and reduce their travel's cost, the Phnom Penh Municipality used 120 city buses to ferry passengers from Phnom Penh to provinces and vice versa free-of-charge from April 12 to 18, said Phnom Penh Municipal Governor Khuong Sreng.

"Free bus services are offered at the behest of Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, aiming at preventing private bus companies and taxi drivers from increasing fees during the holiday period," he told reporters.

Many of the city buses, which are being used to serve passengers, were donated by the Chinese government in July 2017.

Sok Chanthou, a 31-year-old garment factory worker, said the free bus saved her about 40,000 riel (10 U.S. dollars) for a single trip.

"It's good because it has saved me some money," she told Xinhua while taking the bus to her hometown in northwestern Battambang province, some 291 km from Phnom Penh.

Phnom Penh is home to approximately 2 million people, most of them are migrants from various provinces.

As they leave the city on the occasion, the whole city will be quiet and most of shops will be closed.

During the three days of New Year celebrations, traditionally, revelers prepare food, fruit and soft drinks on altars and light candles and incense sticks to greet the New Year's angel.

Besides, they make offerings of food and some cash to Buddhist monks at pagodas in order to dedicate to their ancestors.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 09:51:02|Editor: Li Xia

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with Prime Minister of Romania Viorica Dancila in Dubrovnik, Croatia, April 12, 2019. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

DUBROVNIK, Croatia, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila on Friday, calling on the two countries to enhance practical cooperation and boost bilateral ties.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the eighth leaders' meeting between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) at the southern Croatian coastal city of Dubrovnik.

Noting that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of China-Romania diplomatic relations, Li said China is willing to work with Romania to conduct multi-layer and multi-area cooperation to lift bilateral ties to a new level.

China is willing to enhance cooperation with Romania in such areas as nuclear energy, major projects, finance, agriculture and traditional Chinese medicine, Li said.

The premier also expressed support for competitive Chinese companies to participate in bidding on Romanian projects in an open and transparent manner.

China is willing to increase imports of high-quality agricultural products from Romania, said the premier.

Li said China will also enhance cooperation with Romania within the framework of China-CEEC cooperation to make positive progress in practical cooperation projects, so as to make contributions to the development of China-Europe relations.

On her part, Dancila said this year Romania and China will jointly celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties.

She expressed hope that the two countries will maintain high-level dialogues, and promote practical cooperation in areas including economy and trade, investment, infrastructure, agriculture and traditional Chinese medicine to further boost bilateral relations.

As the country holding the rotating presidency of the European Union this year, Romania is willing to take active measures to promote Europe-China relations, Dancila said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 09:56:04|Editor: zh

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by Yu Qianliang, Abu Hanifah

JAKARTA, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Chairman of the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board Thomas Lembong said the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is one of the world's most important initiatives in the 21st Century fit to galvanize the stagnant world economy.

"As global economy now encounters drastic downturn, the world now needs a new stimulus. The BRI is the correct concept as it complies with the needs of both developed and developing countries," Lembong said in an interview with Xinhua.

The BRI that highlights infrastructure projects would eventually stimulate economic activities and share the prosperity in countries participating in the BRI cooperation, he added.

Having visited China several times, Lembong believed that China is capable of intensifying BRI cooperation with relevant countries and carrying out the infrastructure projects for common prosperity.

"I was fascinated by the rapid development in China that was also seen in cities deep inside its central region, not only in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen that we used to see," the chairman recalled his visit China.

He added that Chongqing and Chengdu in southwestern China have also been transformed to modern cities due to China's intense development activities.

The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative, proposed by China in 2013, is aimed at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes of the Silk Road to seek common development and prosperity.

Lembong said Indonesia is honored to be chosen as the country that hosted the first announcement of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Jakarta in 2013.

Nowadays, China's BRI is still relevant to Indonesia as it can be aligned with Indonesia's Maritime Fulcrum initiated by Indonesian President Joko Widodo, the chairman said.

Indonesia's Maritime Fulcrum emphasizes on efforts to use the nation's vantage geographical position, that sits between two continents and two oceans, as an essential factor to prosper the archipelagic nation.

Putting the BRI and Maritime Fulcrums into a synergy so as to benefit people in the two economies is an excellent idea as Indonesia and China have great potentialities with their respective exceptional characteristics, he said.

"Indonesia is the largest archipelagic country and the largest economy in Southeast Asia, while China is an economic powerhouse in the world. Indonesia is also one of China's closest neighbors along the BRI sea lanes," Lembong said, describing huge potentialities that Indonesia and China can tap on by integrating the two initiatives.

He added that propping up the connectivity would further enhance collaboration between the two countries under the merged visions. "The advanced connectivity between the two countries would improve power of both fulcrums," he pointed out.

As part of countries embracing the BRI, Indonesia now hosts Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway project that will practically show the actual benefit of the BRI in Indonesia, he said.

The project, expected to be completed in 2020 and be operational in 2021, will make Indonesia the first country in Southeast Asia to operate the high-speed train.

The high-speed railway will substantially boost the economy in a 142-km corridor served by the advanced transportation system as it can ferry people between the two major cities in around 35 minutes.

"I personally think this project is correct and most needed in Java Island that hosts two-thirds of 265 million population in the country. I am sure that high-speed railway is the correct answer to solve urbanization problem in Indonesia," Lembong said.

Apart from the high-speed railway project, he said further talks between Indonesia and China counterparts are underway to develop Indonesian provinces along the BRI sea lanes - North Sumatra, North Kalimantan, North Sulawesi and Bali.

Trade, Investment and Tourism are three elements highlighted in BRI cooperation to develop those Indonesian provinces, he said.

Noting global concerns on environmental protection and climate change, Lembong suggested that massive implementation of environmental friendly technologies be used in BRI projects.

"We know that China is an ultimate producer of solar panels and wind farms in the world. We also know that China is the No. 1 producer of electric vehicles. I see a tremendous opportunity to address these environment and climate change concerns if we can expand use of green technology in BRI projects," he said.

"People in Indonesia are very much enjoying the benefits from increasing arrivals of Chinese tourists and Chinese high-quality products. Chinese investments are also creating more jobs," he said.

"If people here see the good results from the infrastructure, growing number of tourists as well as benefits from increasing investments, they will quickly understand the meaning of the BRI."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 10:31:15|Editor: Xiaoxia

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WASHINGTON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Department of the Treasury on Friday announced sanctions against four oil companies and nine of their vessels to step up pressure on Venezuela and Cuba.

According to a statement, the treasury "designated four companies that operate in the oil sector of the Venezuelan economy," and "identified nine vessels, some of which transported oil from Venezuela to Cuba, as blocked property owned by the four companies."

As a result of the sanctions, all property and interests of these targeted entities that are in the United States would be blocked. Also, U.S. persons are generally prohibited from all dealings that involve any property of these entities.

The United States has been pursuing a policy of economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation against the Venezuelan government in support of the opposition leader Juan Guaido. The Trump administration recognized Guaido as Venezuela's "interim president" on Jan. 23, days after incumbent President Nicholas Maduro was inaugurated for a second term.

In response, Maduro severed "diplomatic and political" ties with the United States.

Maduro has accused Washington of trying to orchestrate a coup in Venezuela in order to install a puppet regime and claim its resources.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 10:36:19|Editor: Xiaoxia

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ROME, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Italian producers of wine, cheese and olive oil are worried about possible tariffs on products entering markets in the United States. But analysts said they can do little to avoid them unless the European Union takes action to avert a trade war.

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened earlier this week to levy as much as 11 billion U.S. dollars in tariffs on European goods. The move was in protest of what the United States sees as unfair government aid to European aerospace giant Airbus, which is said to give the company an unfair advantage over the United States-based rival Boeing.

The proposed new levies cover many of the main products of Italy's 55-billion-dollar exports sold in U.S. markets, including wine, certain kinds of Italian-made cheese, and olive oil. In total, more than a quarter of Italy's exports to the United States could face higher tariffs.

"The problem for most farmers who would be affected by these measures is that they have little say in how it will play out," Lorenzo Bazzana, an economist with Coldiretti, Italy's main agricultural trade union, told Xinhua. "The diplomats have to resolve these kinds of problems. All a farmer can do is to put his head down, keep working, and try to survive."

Bazzana said that the tariffs, if applied, would impact producers across Europe, meaning they would not give rival producers elsewhere in Europe an advantage over Italian producers.

According to Silvana Ballotta, head of advisory firm Business Strategies, Italian producers would have time to react given that tariffs are generally announced weeks or months before they are implemented.

"One thing a wine producer, for example, could do in the time between the announcement of the tariffs and their application is to send more bottles to the U.S. to make sure they are taxed at the lower rate," Ballotta said.

She also cautioned against jumping to conclusions too soon. "Before getting too worried I would wait until we see some kind of formal announcement," she said.

Aside from the above-mentioned Italian products, the 14-page list of other European exports that could face U.S. tariffs include private-use helicopters, automobiles, clothing, fish products, citrus fruits, and fruit preserves.

The tariffs threats from the United States come at a precarious time for many European countries, which are struggling amid slow economic growth and the complications of Britain's withdrawal from the 28-nation European Union, just weeks before voters will go to the polls to select new members of the European Parliament.

Political analysts have said that bad economic news is likely to bolster the chances of nationalist or anti-establishment political parties already expected to finish strongly.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 10:46:22|Editor: Xiaoxia

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CARACAS, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The Venezuelan government set up working groups on Friday to implement a "strategic plan" to stabilize and boost the National Electric System (SEN).

The working groups are made up of two teams of multidisciplinary experts, one of which will deal with the current emergency in the SEN and the other will do a deep restructuring of the SEN "in response to new threats," said Interior Minister Nestor Reverol.

The working groups will address the maintenance of the electricity system, including generation, transmission, and distribution at different stages, said Vice President Delcy Rodriguez.

She emphasized that the restructuring of the NEC is of great importance, whose goal is to "regain stability and achieve balances to guarantee service to our people."

In March, Venezuela suffered two large-scale general outages. Authorities claimed that its electricity system suffered physical, cybernetic and electromagnetic attacks from inside and outside the country.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 10:46:23|Editor: zh

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BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The following are highlights of China's key local business news from the past week.

-- CAR TRADE-IN

Owners of emission-heavy private cars are able to enjoy a trade-in service from SAIC Motor, China's biggest carmaker based in Shanghai, as the city is giving incentives to phase out the cars for better air quality.

The municipal government has approved a subsidy plan worth 3 billion yuan (about 447 million U.S. dollars) for the trade-in scheme. The cash rewards can go up to 10,000 yuan for buying new fuel-engine vehicles, and 15,000 yuan for new energy cars.

-- BYD SALES

Leading Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) maker BYD sold 73,172 NEVs in the first quarter of 2019, up 146.9 percent compared with the same period last year.

The strong growth was primarily fueled by the sales surge in the pure electric passenger vehicles, soaring 755.8 percent to 45,487 units. Sales of plug-in hybrid electric passenger vehicles rose 11 percent to 25,745 units.

-- LUCKIN COFFEE

Chinese start-up Luckin Coffee has opened new stores in 14 more Chinese cities, as it sets to compete with coffee giant Starbucks in the Chinese market.

The new expansion into cities like Hefei, Foshan, Shenyang and Kunming brings the total number of cities with Luckin outlets to 36.

In January, the startup announced plans to open 2,500 new stores in 2019, with total stores topping 4,500 by the end of this year.

-- DIGITAL READING

China's digital reading market reached 25.5 billion yuan in 2018, up 19.6 percent year on year.

Last year, about 432 million Chinese read digital publications on electronic devices, such as personal computers, mobile phones, tablet computers and e-readers, according to an industry report released by China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association.

-- FOOD DELIVERY

China's online food ordering and delivery market hit 441.5 billion yuan in 2018, up 112.5 percent year on year.

The number of online orders for meals, snacks, vegetables, fruits and drinks reached 10.96 billion, which nearly doubles year on year, according to a report issued by Analysys, an internet data analysis service provider.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 11:01:28|Editor: Xiaoxia

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YANGON, April 13 (Xinhua) -- A new private TV channel, Channel-K, was launched in Myanmar's commercial center of Yangon late Friday, adding to six the number of private TV channels allowed to operate during the incumbent government, the Ministry of Information said on Saturday.

Speaking at the Grand Launch of Channel-K held at Mya Kyun Thar Park, Minister of Information Pe Myint said the ministry is operating the state-run media, while also carrying out development of private media which include periodicals and TV channels.

He recalled that during the previous government era, only two private companies -- Shwe Than Lwin and Forever were allowed to operate, adding that the incumbent government took measures to grant permission to further private media.

Expressing delight over emergence of new TV channels, he said there would be competitions in the industry with some enjoying success, while some facing challenges.

However, he added that the competition conventionally drives improvement and development of quality TV programs for the people in the future.

Myanmar has had five official TV channels -- MRTV, Myawaddy, MRTV-4, Channel-7 and Sky Net as well as six FM lines broadcasting since the previous government.

The five private TV channels currently operating with the cooperation of the state-run MRTV as content providers for digital free-to-air TV channels in a multi-playout system of MRTV are Mizzima, DVB, Fortune, KMA and My Multi-Media.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 12:01:38|Editor: Yamei

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WASHINGTON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- It is important for China to play a big role in the international community and contribute to the improvement of global governance, said Zhu Min, former deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) here Friday.

Zhu made the remarks during an event at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

He said it is also important for China and the United States to cooperate on improving global governance.

Zhu, now chair of the National Institute of Financial Research at Tsinghua University in Beijing, said there is still room for improving global governance 10 years after the global financial crisis.

Over the past decade, the debt-to-GDP ratio has not decreased but increased substantially, "which to me (indicates) the potential risks are high," he said.

Meanwhile, interconnectivity across the world is strengthening, Zhu said, cautioning that when a crisis happens, the spillover effect could cause more severe damage.

The policy space for decision-makers to maneuver today is also more limited than it was before, he said.

"In that sense, I think we need to support the IMF getting more resources, to make sure that it has enough reasonable resources to deal with potential crises," he added.

Zhu's remarks came as the World Bank and the IMF are holding the 2019 Spring Meetings in Washington.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 12:01:40|Editor: Yamei

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SINGAPORE, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat announced at the 11th Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council Meeting recently that the city-state will be investing more in research and development in digital technology and related areas.

Industry insiders in Singapore have realized for many years that the digital era will come and change the economy, government and society.

"Digital technology has become an integral part of our lives," the minister said in February when he delivered the Budget 2019 Statement.

To keep businesses growing and competitive, Singapore is leveraging digital technology in its economic transformation and building up its digital economy, in which China can help.

In fact, China, with its digital economy referred to as a leading global force by McKinsey Global Institute, has already been offering funds, talent, technology and experience to Singapore, as well as other Southeast Asian countries, for their digital economic development.

VISION

As early as the 1980s, Singapore began to focus on information and communication technologies and promote the transition of industrial sectors toward automation and digitalization. It implemented the National Computerization Plan from 1980 to 1985, which became a catalyst for the widespread acceptance of Information Technology (IT).

The plan incubated national IT capabilities which led to the growth of a budding local IT industry.

Since then, the Singaporean government has launched a number of projects such as the National IT Plan, IT2000, Infocomm 21, Connected Singapore, Intelligent National 2015 and Smart Nation initiatives, to transform Singapore into a hyper-networked, global hub for IT-based services.

At present, Singapore regards its digital economy as its future. It is building the digital economy together with digital governmental elements for a digitalized society, by pushing every industry, business and government agency to accelerate its digitalization efforts, so as to increase overall capabilities and solutions that will propel the nation forward.

TRANSFORMATION

According to Singapore's Smart Nation and Digital Government Office, going digital is a national imperative for a better future for Singaporeans, and digitalization is about enabling new possibilities across the economy, with business growth and better jobs.

"Our vision is to be a leading digital economy that continually reinvents itself in the fourth industrial revolution," said the office in its report.

"We do this via accelerating the digital transformation of existing economic sectors, fostering new ecosystems enabled by digital technologies, and developing a next-generation digital industry in sectors such as cybersecurity as an engine of growth."

The digital transformation of existing economic sectors is important for Singapore to expand its digital economy. The government rolled out 23 Industry Transformation Maps under the Committee of Future Economy in 2017 to digitalize its sectors and businesses, so as to raise their productivity and economic growth efficiencies.

The manufacturing sector accounts for nearly one-fifth of Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP). The Economic Development Board said the local manufacturing base has been gearing up to adopt the Industry 4.0 model, to enable the digitalization and automation of its processes, thus enhancing its efficiency and long-term competitiveness on the global stage.

As for the service sector, which accounts for about 72 percent of GDP, the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) has initiated a series of projects, such as GoCloud, PIXEL and Digital Services Laboratory, to support businesses' participation in the Services 4.0 ecosystem, in which Singapore is expected to deliver next-generation services that are end-to-end, frictionless, empathic, and anticipatory to customer needs.

PATHFINDER

Similar to Singapore, China attaches great importance to its digital economic development. Its notable achievements in multiple digital areas have led China to become a global leader in this area.

A report from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology shows that its digital economy was estimated at 16 trillion yuan (about 2.32 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2018, equivalent to 38.2 percent of China's GDP.

China is willing to share the development opportunities in the digital economy with other countries.

While delivering a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the first China International Import Expo last November, Chinese President Xi Jinping said, "In our inter-connected global village, to share the fruit of innovation is the common aspiration and natural choice of the world community."

He said, "We need to seize the opportunities presented by the new round of technological and industrial revolution, strengthen cooperation in frontier sectors such as digital economy, artificial intelligence and nanotechnology, and work together to foster new technologies, new industries, and new forms and models of business."

Thanks to China's opening-up, Chinese talent and enterprises have come to Singapore and are contributing to the country's and region's digital economic development by bringing in new business forms and models from China. They, including some famous Chinese Internet companies such as Alibaba, Tencent and Didi Chuxing, not only make digital services that are popular in China available in the region, but also help Southeast Asia to cultivate its own ecosystems for the digital economy.

ECOSYSTEM

A group of Filipino models set out to create a brand belonging to themselves two years ago, and they chose Southeast Asia's e-commerce giant Lazada Group, majority owned by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., as their business partner.

Lazada carried out the market analysis for the models, and helped them determine their first product line would be lipstick. Based on the big data analysis conducted by Lazada, the models chose nine colors for their first batch of lipstick products, and these products sold out extremely fast in the Philippines.

Currently, the models are cooperating with Lazada to expand their business to the entire Southeast Asian market, and utilizing Lazada's online platform that has about 400,000 sellers and thousands of brands serving around 560 million consumers in the region.

Lazada's success lies in it continuously strengthening its capabilities in data analysis technology to logistics, from payment to its customer services chatbots. The Singapore-based company, which is funded, supported and powered by Alibaba, is cultivating an e-commerce ecosystem in Southeast Asia.

It logged business-to-consumer online retail sales of about 19 billion U.S. dollars in 2018 and will see the number jump to more than 53 billion U.S. dollars in 2023, according to Forrester Research.

Since being bought by Alibaba in 2016, Lazada has grown exponentially as a result of Alibaba's powerful influence. Lazada Group CEO Pierre Poignant said at a press conference last month that the advantages of Lazada include the highly-efficient logistics platform and the advanced technologies, which are both supported by Alibaba.

He added the third advantage of Lazada is that the company itself is backed by Alibaba. According to Poignant, he flies to east China's Hangzhou city every month to attend the management meetings of Alibaba, where he meets with leaders of various Alibaba units to discuss the strategy for Southeast Asian market.

Owing to the support of the Chinese company, Lazada is now a leading online retail platform in Southeast Asia in terms of customer traffic, trading volume and sales value. Last year, Lazada drew 1.3 billion customer visits to its platforms during the 11/11 and 12/12 shopping festivals.

In comparison to business success, however, Lazada pays more attention to the cultivation of the e-commerce ecosystem in Southeast Asia.

Poignant formally announced the vision for Lazada's future development, stating that the company will create 20 million jobs in the e-commerce ecosystem by 2030, as well as cultivate eight million successful and flourishing entrepreneurs and small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 12:16:45|Editor: Yamei

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BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- More than 60 percent of Chinese frown upon adults opting to live with their aging parents and on the latter's support in the name of offering companionship, a survey has shown.

Around 77 percent of the 2,002 respondents in the China Youth Daily survey report there have been such practices around them in which adults, who are not in education, employment or training, commonly known as NEET, are living off aging parents' support.

Residents in China's second-tier cities, or cities that immediately follow Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen in terms of a city's relative development level, are more likely to do so, with the post-80s generation having the highest frequency, followed by the post-90s generation, according to the survey.

Some 63 percent of the respondents say it is unfilial for adult children to live with elderly parents and rely on the latter's support under the pretense of accompanying them as caregivers. The same proportion of the interviewees believe such actions reflect a NEET lifestyle and some grown-ups' reluctance to work. Some 30.3 percent, however, say that it is a reflection of the youth's life stress.

More than 50 percent think it is adult children's responsibility to spend time accompanying aging parents, but they should no longer spend parents' money.

As for reasons behind such practices, 58.2 percent of those polled blamed parents' failure to cultivate self-reliance in children, while 49.6 percent say some parents are willing to continue supporting their grown-up children to be with them.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 12:26:48|Editor: Yamei

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CANBERRA, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a funding boost for the nation's youth suicide prevention plan on Saturday after the death of a young indigenous woman.

The 18-year-old woman from the remote community of Balgo in Western Australia (WA) took her own life on Thursday. It was the 12th time an indigenous person younger than 18 died by suicide so far in 2019 in what has been called a crisis, according to the report of The Australian.

Morrison said the funding for the suicide prevention strategy will be boosted by 42 million Australian dollars (30.1 million U.S. dollars) to a total of 503.1 million AUD (360.7 million USD).

Of the funding, 19.6 million AUD (14 million USD) will come from the Indigenous Advancement Strategy - a 5-billion-AUD fund usually reserved for community safety, education and economic development.

"I want every young person in Australia to know that they are not alone and that we are committed to doing everything we can to support their mental health and wellbeing," he told reporters.

"Not just as a prime minister, but as a parent, I am going to do whatever it takes and whatever we can to break the curse of youth suicide in our country and ensure young people get the support they need."

The plan being implemented is dependent on Morrison's Liberal-National party coalition (LNP) winning the general election on May 18, campaigning for which ramped-up on Saturday.

Morrison was joined in by his wife, Jenny, who said that "it's so important for children to feel they can come forward with mental health issues."

"It's so easy to see a child with a sore foot or something else, you can notice it and you can help," she said.

"But children have to tell you or you have to notice or they have to open up in one way, shape or form to let you know that there's something else wrong.

"We need that stigma gone. We need people to be able to come out, young ones, and there's an avenue for them to go."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 12:41:53|Editor: Yamei

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RIO DE JANEIRO, April 12 (Xinhua) -- At least five people were killed and 13 others missing after two residential buildings collapsed Friday morning in a poor area in west Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's civil defense authorities reported.

The two collapsed buildings, both opened six months ago in the Muzema slum community, were irregular constructions built without the permission of the Rio city authorities.

The residential use of the two buildings had been prohibited twice, in November and February. They were not demolished due to the danger demolition presented to adjacent buildings.

The Rio city authorities announced on Friday that it would demolish three buildings adjacent to the collapsed buildings, which were also built without a license, to avoid the risk of more collapses.

The Muzema community is controlled by violent mob-like militia groups, which act as mafias. The two buildings are likely to have been built by order of those groups.

It is estimated that in the same community, there are about 60 residential buildings built without official permits for construction and sales.

The Muzema area was deeply affected by the strong seasonal rain and wind which hit Rio earlier this week and left 10 dead and caused severe damage. But it was not raining when the collapse occurred.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 12:41:55|Editor: Yamei

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MEXICO CITY, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Seven people were killed after a van collided with a semi-truck on a highway in the central State of Mexico, authorities said on Friday.

According to the Federal Police, the accident occurred at around 3 p.m. local time (2000 GMT) on the Chamapa-Lecheria Highway on the outskirts of the towns of Naucalpan and Atizapan de Zaragoza, both being part of the Mexico City metropolitan area.

Six people died at the site of the accident, while another died later in a nearby hospital, the Attorney General's Office of the state told Xinhua.

The seven victims, including two children, were passengers in the van, local media reported, quoting rescue workers and police at the scene.

The causes were still being investigated by local authorities.

The Chamapa-Lecheria Highway connects various towns in northern and northeastern State of Mexico with western Mexico City.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 13:06:59|Editor: Xiang Bo

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Passengers leave a train after arriving at the Dar Es Salaam station of Tanzania-Zambia Railway in Dar Es Salaam, capital of Tanzania, Feb. 14, 2019. (Xinhua/Lyu Shuai)

by Xinhua writers Zhu Shaobin, Gao Zhu and Peng Lijun

NAIROBI, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Almost six years after Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the grand vision for promoting common development through better connectivity among countries and regions has been morphing into a solution for speeding up global cooperation for greater prosperity.

This is evidenced by the fact that 125 countries and 29 international organizations have so far signed cooperation agreements with China on jointly building the Belt and Road, according to data published in March on China's official Belt and Road web portal.

But as global enthusiasm for and confidence in the BRI grow, some noises ensue, often with ill intentions to discourage its wide adoption and send misleading messages to nations who seek to benefit from BRI participation. One such message claims that the BRI pushes some countries into a "debt trap."

PALE NOISES

The situation on the ground, however, has shown that such noises are ill-founded.

Researchers, economists, and policymakers in Africa, a region that has been warned to be wary of a so-called "debt trap" for participating in the BRI, regard such claims as mere negative speculations that seek to undermine the initiative, saying these claims should not be taken seriously.

Firstly, developing countries apparently aspire to improve their dilapidated infrastructure and the BRI well meets such needs.

Taking transport as a key example, Prof. Damian Gabagambi, managing director of Tanzania's National Development Corporation, said the BRI is highly strategic because transport networks in a country are like blood vessels in a human body.

"If the blood vessels are blocked, the whole body would paralyze. Likewise, without an efficient transport network, the economy paralyzes," he said.

"Development of transport network contributes to lower cost of distribution of goods and services among regions and increase in productivity through the availability of access to a diversified set of resources," he said.

In Ethiopia, a new Chinese-built and funded terminal at its capital airport was inaugurated in January this year with an annual capacity to serve about 22 million passengers. It tripled the airport's capacity, contributing to Ethiopia's efforts to become a key aviation hub of the African continent.

In Kenya, the Chinese-built and funded Nairobi-Mombasa railway has ferried more than 2.5 million passengers and nearly 3.9 million tons of cargo since its launch in May 2017. In his State of the Nation Address on April 4, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta praised the grand project, saying it has been listed among the top 13 most magnificent railway tours for 2019.

Developing countries need these, and if China is willing to provide support, it should be a welcomed move, Gabagambi said.

"Accusation by some Western countries of China letting some countries fall into a debt trap due to their cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative is a matter of perception," he added.

Secondly, the so-called debt trap diplomacy language is highly questionable. In fact, taking Africa for instance, its debts owed to China only make up a small share of the total, and such language was highly likely coined by some Western countries that seek to rein in China's growing global role.

Zitto Kabwe, an economics analyst in Tanzania, said between 2000 and 2016, Africa owed China 115 billion U.S. dollars which were only 2 percent of loans that Africa owed other foreign countries.

"Why is the world making noise to China with such a minimal amount of debt?" he said.

"It should be remembered that the construction of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway in the 1970s by China was protested by the World Bank and other Western countries. Some quarters claimed that Chinese were invading Tanzania, but to date, we don't see Chinese invading Tanzania," he said.

"I believe that Tanzania and Africa in general should define how their cooperation with China should be. Western countries should stop dictating to Africa how the continent should collaborate with China. This amounts to insulting African countries and it's a continuation of colonial mentality," he said.

Gabagambi said that it is normal for countries to become indebted because countries borrow to finance different development projects. "Fortunately, African countries are not in the list of most indebted countries in the world," he said.

Noting that blaming China for the BRI is unfair, Gabagambi said: "In my opinion, Western countries are envious of Chinese success in transforming the economies of developing countries in a big way that they and their Bretton Woods institutions have failed to achieve for decades."

Benard Ayieko, a Kenya-based economist wrote an article earlier this year, describing the so-called China debt trap rhetoric as "farcical."

Ayieko said that the saying that Chinese loans are the largest component in the debt matrix of borrowing countries is a misconception. "What Chinese loans have done is to diversify these countries' loan portfolios to avert any risk associated with overreliance on one borrower," he said.

Thirdly, BRI cooperation follows the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, which demonstrates BRI cooperation is based on negotiations among parties and is never unilateral. Hence, the "debt trap" rhetoric is highly unfair.

Zambia-based economist Kampamba Shula said China was not trying to dupe participating countries into a debt trap because China does not force itself on any country.

"To insinuate that African countries were being duped into a debt trap is not to be taken seriously," he said.

Leonard Munyandamutsa, a Rwanda-based trade and investment policy expert who specializes in emerging markets investment and trade negotiation, said: "We cannot simply blame China for the increasing debts of some countries because the loans are negotiated by African representatives and given on mutually agreed terms."

Ladislas Ngendahimana, a political analyst and the secretary general of the Rwanda Association of Local Government Authorities, said that business, trade and investments are neutral. The so-called debt trap is more a matter of accountable and responsible leadership on the part of the recipient countries, but China is doing a good thing for Africa.

Ngendahimana said the BRI contributes to economic cooperation and economic development, which is the best way to prevent conflicts and a driver of modern international relations as well.

KEEPING POPULARITY AMID ATTACKS

Despite accusations by detractors, the BRI has remained popular, which once again proves the "debt trap" labeling is wrong.

During President Xi's visit to Italy in March, China and Italy inked a memorandum of understanding on jointly advancing the Belt and Road construction. Rome's endorsement of the BRI makes Italy the first G7 member to do so.

In a joint communique issued by the two countries, Beijing and Rome agreed that the BRI boasts huge potential in promoting infrastructure connectivity.

There is nothing sinister about China giving out loans to other countries, said Isaac Mwaipopo, executive director of the Center for Trade Policy and Dialogue in Zambia, adding what matters is that recipient countries ensure that the loans are used for the intended purpose of uplifting the welfare of citizens.

"There is no doubt that the initiative has left an indelible mark of impact on the participating countries as reflected in various infrastructure projects such as schools and hospitals which have not only helped improve social service delivery but resulted in economic development as well," he said.

Mwaipopo looks forward to the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation scheduled to be held in China later this month and anticipates that the forum would highlight the BRI's progress in achieving certain objectives, while allowing countries to further consolidate their cooperation and understanding.

(Xinhua reporters Lucas Liganga in Dar es Salaam, Lyu Tianran, Frank Kanyesigye and James Gashumba in Kigali, Elias Shilangwa and Nkweto Mfula in Lusaka contributed to this story.)

(Video reporter: Yang Yi; Video editor: Yin Le)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 14:27:34|Editor: Xiaoxia

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JALALABAD, Afghanistan, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Taliban massive offensive to capture Shirzad district in the eastern Nangarhar province has been repulsed and the militant group fled away after leaving 27 bodies behind, said a statement of the provincial government released on Saturday.

The militant group, according to the statement, launched multi-pronged offensive with two car bombs followed by gunfight on Friday night to capture Shirzad district in Nangarhar province, but the security forces' sharp reaction forced the insurgents to retreat.

At least 27 militants have been confirmed dead and more than two dozen others injured, the statement said.

The statement also confirmed that two security personnel had been killed and eight others sustained injuries in defending the besieged Shirzad district.

The deadly attack came hours after the Taliban outfit announced launching its annual offensive dubbed "al-Fath" which means "victory" in Arabic language.

The Taliban launches its annual offensive in spring aimed at gaining grounds to topple Afghan government. The militants captured Ghazni city, the capital of eastern Ghazni government, for days in 2018, besides gaining grounds in several districts, but failed to capture any province or important district.

However, the Afghan Defense Ministry has termed Taliban newly launched so-called annual offensive as mere propaganda to boost morale of its fighters to continue useless insurgency in the conflict-plagued country.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 15:12:55|Editor: xuxin

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RIO DE JANEIRO, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian government on Friday released an official statement expressing its concern over the recent escalation of violence in Libya.

In the statement released by the country's Foreign Ministry, Brazil called for a cessation of hostilities in Libya and reaffirmed its support for the United Nations' (UN's) efforts in the North African country.

"The Brazilian government has followed with great concern the news of the recent military escalation in Libya, with reports of over a hundred dead and wounded in conflicts in the outskirts of the Libyan capital city Tripoli, and thousands of people having to leave their homes over the last days," the government said.

"In reaffirming its belief that there is no military solution to the crisis in Libya, the Brazilian government calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a resumption of dialogue," it said.

The government also "reiterates its support for the efforts of the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative in Libya Ghassan Salame, for the promotion of an inclusive political process, seeking national reconciliation and lasting peace for the country," it said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 15:17:59|Editor: xuxin

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PUL-E-KHUMRI, Afghanistan, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Eight security personnel were killed and nine others injured as the Taliban fighters stormed a security checkpoint in Baghlan-e-Markazi district of Afghanistan's northern Baghlan province on Saturday, district governor Khanzada Mazlomyar said.

A group of Taliban militants, according to the official, attacked the security checkpoint early morning, triggering gun battle and the militants fled after killing eight security personnel and injuring nine others.

Taliban militants also suffered casualties, the official said.

Baghlan-e-Markazi district, located about 15 km away from provincial capital Pul-e-Khumri, has been regarded as Taliban hotbed in Baghlan province.

Taliban militants who announced their so-called annual offensive on Friday morning since then have launched series of offensives in Afghanistan.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 15:28:03|Editor: Li Xia

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SHANGHAI, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The second China International Import Expo (CIIE) to be held in November in Shanghai will introduce an exhibition on high-end consumer goods, organizers say.

More small and medium-sized companies in the fields such as AR and VR technologies, self-driving cars, internet of things and blockchain will join the upcoming expo, said Liu Fuxue, vice director of CIIE bureau.

This year's expo will increase the floor space for exhibitors to 300,000 square meters, creating platforms for companies to launch their new products, technologies and services.

Lesaffre, a French yeast manufacturer that has confirmed its participation in the second CIIE, will also hold its Asian contest of the Louis Lesaffre World Bakery Cup in Shanghai during the expo, said Jean-Philippe Poulin, CEO of Lesaffre Greater China.

Deloitte will use AR and VR technologies to showcase its solutions for smart cities, smart healthcare and smart manufacturing.

French cosmetic giant L'Oreal also eyes China's growing beauty and cosmetics market and plans to expand its exhibition area at the expo.

As of April 2, over 900 companies from 77 countries and regions have confirmed their participation in the second CIIE, which will be held on Nov. 5 in Shanghai.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 15:48:11|Editor: xuxin

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WASHINGTON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- A Trump administration policy barring most transgender people from joining the U.S. military went into effect on Friday.

For those wishing to join the U.S. military, a diagnosis of gender dysphoria is now presumptively disqualifying under the new policy, a Pentagon official told reporters.

People currently receiving treatment for gender dysphoria may continue to serve, as will people who transitioned before the new policy came into force, according to the official.

Gender dysphoria "involves a conflict between a person's physical or assigned gender and the gender with which he/she/they identify," according to the American Psychiatric Association.

President Donald Trump announced his intention to ban transgender troops in 2017, citing high medical costs as a reason, before introducing measures that have met with pushback from within the military, criticism by rights activists and multiple lawsuits.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that the latest version of the administration's transgender military policy, which is not a full ban but a large step in that direction, could take effect pending the outcome of ongoing litigation.

The House Armed Services Committee, controlled by Democrats, said lawmakers from the party "will continue to fight against this bigotry and ignorance," slamming the policy as "a huge setback that shakes the faith our troops have in the country."

Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, enabled transgender people to serve openly in the military in 2016.

The Pentagon has estimated that 9,000 out of a total of 1.3 million active duty personnel identify as transgender.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 16:08:23|Editor: xuxin

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Dancers perform during the water festival in Yangon, Myanmar, April 13, 2019. Myanmar's traditional Thingyan Water Festival kicked off across the country Saturday morning. (Xinhua/U Aung)

YANGON, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Traditional Thingyan water festival has kicked off in Myanmar's regions and states in full swing.

Yangon Region Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein on Friday extended wishes to the people for a happy water festival and prosperous new year.

Thingyan water festival will last until April 16 and the new year will fall on April 17, in which Myanmar people decide to turn over a new leaf and leave misfortunes from old year.

Yangon region's water throwing pavilion was unveiled Friday by the chief minister in front of the region's City Hall located in downtown area of Yangon city.

The opening ceremony was followed by the performances by the Myanmar traditional dancer troupes in colorful dresses with Thingyan music.

Special celebrations featuring "Walking Thingyan Festival" was also being celebrated by people roaming around the city to receive the water-throwing from pandals where people throw water using hoses.

Meanwhile, Mandalay Region Chief Minister Dr. Zaw Myint Maung also ceremonially inaugurated a water-throwing pandal in the country's second largest city Mandalay, calling for peace and socio-economic development across the country starting from the new year.

Among Myanmar's 12 seasonal festivals throughout the year, the Thingyan water festival represents the grandest which is believed to bring peace and prosperity to everyone.

Myanmar people annually celebrate traditional Thingyan water festival to welcome new year as other Southeast Asian countries such as Songkran in Laos and Thailand as well as Chaul Chnam Thmey in Cambodia.

As part of celebration of the festival, people throw and douse water onto one another to wash sins and to make clear the moral impurities from old year.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 16:23:40|Editor: xuxin

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KATHMANDU, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Nepali police have arrested a French national on charge of involvement in pedophilia, police said here on Saturday.

A special team of Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police detained French man Georges Igor Simansky, aged 69, on the charge of sexually abusing two teenage boys.

"Simansky was arrested by the police when he was sleeping with a Nepali boy from a hotel at Thamel area on Friday," Superintendent of Nepal Police Uma Chaturbedi told Xinhua on Saturday.

"We have started the probe against the French man. The preliminary investigation suggests that he sexually abused two boys aged 14 and 15 tempting them by offering jobs in France and better education," Chaturbedi added.

"We have started investigation against the French old man, taking him into custody," he said.

Chaturbedi further said Simansky used to tempt teenagers by offering foreign trips and better education before sexually abusing them.

He will be prosecuted in accordance with prevailing laws in Nepal, police said. The French national entered Nepal for the first time in 2014 on tourist visa.

The Nepali police said that the French national had faced legal action over pedophilia charges back in 2000 in France.

This is not the first case of pedophilia to hit the Himalayan country and many foreigners have been arrested in recent years for sexually abusing and molesting under-aged children, police said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 16:38:51|Editor: xuxin

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ADEN, Yemen, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's internationally-backed President Abdu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi arrived Saturday in the country's southeastern province of Hadramout coming from Saudi Arabia to attend an extraordinary session of the country's parliament.

President Hadi along with high-ranking government officials returned from Riyadh and landed at the international airport of Seiyun district in Hadramout province, according to local Yemeni sources.

In Seiyun city, Yemen's House of Representatives started in convening their first time session since the war started in 2015 with the presence of President Hadi.

The pro-government MPs totally agreed during the extraordinary session in Seiyun city and elected Sultan al-Barakani as new speaker of Yemen's parliament, according to the local sources.

The Yemeni government sources confirmed to Xinhua that only 141 MPs attended Saturday's session of the pro-government parliament that is made made up of 301 MPs and elected for a six-year term.

The six-year term is already expired as the last Yemeni parliamentary elections occurred in 2009 during the era of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The session of the House of Representatives comes based upon a request issued by Hadi who chose the country's city of Seiyun to hold the first parliamentary session as the security conditions are not fully stable in the country's southern port city of Aden.

Heavy Yemeni security forces backed by elite Saudi troops were deployed in Seiyun city amid tightened measures to secure the city with the start of the first parliamentary session.

The Houthi rebels based in the capital Sanaa described the pro-Hadi parliament meeting as a "felony," vowing to take serious action against the participants.

The Iranian-allied Houthis launched a large military campaign and seized Sanaa in late 2014, forcing Hadi and his government to flee into exile in neighboring Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened militarily and began pounding Houthi-controlled Sanaa in March 2015, in response to an official request from Hadi to protect Yemen and roll back Iran's influence.

The conflict between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed government in Yemen has recently entered its fifth year, aggravating the suffering of Yemenis and deepening the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 16:43:58|Editor: xuxin

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HAVANA, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Cuba will implement measures to strengthen science and innovation in a bid to support the country's sustainable development, according to a strategy outlined during the ongoing session of Cuba's National Assembly.

Minister of Science, Technology and Environment Elba Rosa Perez said the measures, including the creation of science and technology parks, will unleash innovative potential which will contribute to local development.

She said that the Caribbean nation must create or further develop a series of high-tech companies associated with knowledge-intensive sectors such as biotechnology and the pharmaceutical industry, electronics, industrial automation, nanotechnology and renewable energies.

The country has already accumulated experience in building the Scientific Complex in Havana in the 1990s and establishing BioCubaFarma, Cuba's biggest biotechnology and pharmaceutical group, in the last few years, Perez told lawmakers in a session that will last until Saturday.

BioCubaFarma currently manufactures and distributes more than 1,000 products. It also has a consolidated international presence with its products being exported to around 50 nations and 2,640 registered patents both in Cuba and other parts of the world.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Mayda Mauri, vice president of BioCubaFarma, said the company is looking forward to expanding its business in China.

Highlighting the "strategic cooperation" with China for over 15 years, Mauri said that currently, there are three joint ventures in China, two in the biomedical field and one in agriculture, as well as a soft capsule plant in Havana that use Chinese technology.

Several joint research centers and labs have also been established in the Asian nation, she added.

For the Cuban biotechnology sector, Mauri said, China is its top partner in different associations or joint ventures, bringing shared benefits and experiences.

"It's an example of what our country currently needs in order to increase exports, efficiency, savings ... and to diversify markets to counteract the current complex economic situation," she said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 16:54:05|Editor: xuxin

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MEXICO CITY, April 12 (Xinhua) -- A new Central American migrant caravan entered Mexico early Friday, Mexico's National Institute of Immigration (INM) said.

Some 350 migrants reached the city of Tapachula in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas after cutting the padlocks at the Mexico-Guatemala border crossing.

In its report, the INM said the people in the caravan were hostile as they attacked police along their journey.

The violent incursion occurred around 3:30 a.m. (0830 GMT) and afterward the migrants began heading toward Tapachula.

Other migrants who were already in the area joined the group and the number swelled to some 800 people, the INM said.

At about 11:00 a.m. (1600 GMT), the caravan grew to some 2,000 people who walked along the highway between Ciudad Hidalgo and Tapachula, federal police officials told Xinhua.

Police in charge of highway surveillance in the area asked motorists via its Twitter account to take precautions since the caravan was partially obstructing passage along the highway.

Some migrants said they crossed into Mexico through the border bridge between Mexico's Ciudad Hidalgo and Guatemala's Tecun Uman, while others said they crossed the Suchiate River, which separates the two countries.

Mexican media outlets reported that the caravan left northern Honduras on Wednesday.

A Honduran woman traveling with her three-year-old son told Mexican newspaper Reforma that she had fled her country because of poverty and violence.

The caravan that entered Mexico was largely made up of Hondurans, Guatemalans and Salvadorans looking to cross Mexico on their way to the U.S. border.

This new caravan set off even after U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated on April 5 that the United States "is full" and will not accept any asylum applicants.

The massive migration of Central Americans in caravans has increased since October 2018, aggravating the tense relations between Mexico and the United States.

The Trump administration demands that Mexican authorities stop the flow of migrants.

At the beginning of the month, Trump threatened to close the U.S.-Mexico border or to tax Mexican auto exports if Mexico couldn't halt the flow.

In addition, the United States reassigned border inspectors, which led to massive delays for goods crossing the border.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 16:59:07|Editor: xuxin

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by Xinhua writers Xia Lin, Wu Xiaoling, Zhang Mocheng

SAN FRANCISCO, April 13 (Xinhua) -- As the U.S. high tech map is evolving with some behemoths on the West Coast expanding eastward, top local business representatives think it is a good time for Chinese to come and do business.

MUTUAL BENEFIT

In recent months, the hot talk in Silicon Valley has been that West Coast giants like Amazon, Apple and Google have been expanding eastward to locate younger talents, political capital, business-friendly environment and cost-effective places to establish its headquarters II (HQ2) for larger shares of the market.

The time is good for Chinese counterparts to expand cooperation either with the traditional West Coast or the emerging East Coast and some central states, said Jim Wunderman, head of the San Francisco Bay Area Council (BAC), and Del Christensen, who leads the Global Business Development for BAC.

"We think one of the advantages of the Bay Area of physical location is its proximity to China, even though it's very far away. It's the next place you go to after you cross over the Pacific Ocean. And there's a lot of relationship between here and China," said Wunderman.

For example, San Francisco is a longtime sister city of Shanghai -- "a good existing strong relationship" that BAC could build on, and from Beijing, it's a shorter air trip than to New York City, he said.

"I would imagine that the California-based CEO would stay more connected to China just because we're closer and there's also the overlap of time. So you can take calls here in the afternoon and talk to your team in China in their morning. That's a significant advantage for the West Coast of the United States as far as doing business with China and communicating" are concerned, Christensen said.

Regarding the East Coast, Christensen said, "I know that China does a lot of business in New York."

This will help China become part of the so-called ongoing U.S. high-tech "eastward expansion", which also targets other cities like Washington D.C., Boston, Austin and Pittsburgh. Companies like Uber, Facebook and LinkedIn are also trying to stoke the movement, according to him.

MORE WITH CHINA

While welcoming Chinese counterparts to both coasts to tap new and more potential for doing business, BAC itself keeps reaching out to China to forge closer ties.

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is one of their targets, with a new office mulled to be opened there.

BAC currently has four offices in China -- in Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou and Nanjing -- to help U.S. tech companies handle public affairs, catch opportunities and expand business.

"I think China is a terrific, exciting country for the speed of technological changes and infrastructure. We're pretty amazed by the high-speed rail system, the buildings, architecture and the excitement of people. You can really feel it from the people," said Wunderman.

A lot of BAC's member companies are operating in China today. "I think the most important thing is to understand the culture of how you're doing business in another country, and understand how decisions are made," said Christensen.

He recalled participation in the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) held in Shanghai in November.

"California is open for business. ... This year, we're gonna go again, but much bigger. A much bigger delegation, because we want to sell products. We want to erase the trade deficit by having California sell a lot of products to China," he said.

In the eyes of Wunderman, "China has an incredible market."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 17:14:16|Editor: xuxin

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WELLINGTON, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand government announced on Saturday 1-million-NZ dollar (676,400 U.S. dollars) funds to support ethnic communities affected by the Christchurch terror attacks which killed 50 people on March 15.

Affected communities are invited to apply for the funds to develop projects that will enhance their development and enrich social connections, Minister for Ethnic Communities Jenny Salesa said in a statement.

"The Office of Ethnic Communities, as conduit between the government and ethnically diverse communities, will also receive funding for additional staff to provide better on the ground culturally appropriate support to victims and families in Christchurch," Salesa said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 17:39:29|Editor: xuxin

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by Peerzada Arshad Hamid

NEW DELHI, April 13 (Xinhua) -- India Saturday marked the centenary of Jallianwala Bagh massacre, as British High Commissioner to India Sir Dominic Asquith described the tragedy as "shameful act in British-Indian history."

Hundreds of Indians were shot dead by British troops 100 years ago on this day in Amritsar city in northern Indian state of Punjab.

To commemorate the event on the 100th anniversary, Asquith paid his tribute and laid a floral wreath at the memorial in Amritsar.

"The events of Jallianwala Bagh 100 years ago today reflects a shameful act in British-Indian history. We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused. I am pleased today that the UK and India have and remain committed to developing further a thriving 21st century partnership," Asquith wrote on visitor's book at the memorial.

There have been calls for Britain to apologize for the massacre.

British Prime Minister Theresa May in parliament too this week described the events as "a shameful scar on British Indian history." However, she stopped short of issuing a formal apology for the tragic incident.

Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place on April 13, 1919 when British forces led by Brigadier General Reginald Dyer opened fire on hundreds of unarmed, innocent Indians, including women and children, who were protesting peacefully against the oppressive Rowlatt Act of the British government.

The massacre is known as one of the darkest chapters of India's freedom struggle against the British occupation.

The official death toll in the massacre by the British government was 379, however Indian claims the firing left over 1,000 people dead.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to twitter to remember those who lost their lives in the massacre.

"Today, when we observe 100 years of the horrific Jallianwala Bagh massacre, India pays tributes to all those martyred on that fateful day. Their valour and sacrifice will never be forgotten. Their memory inspires us to work even harder to build an India they would be proud of," Modi said.

India's main opposition Congress party president Rahul Gandhi and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh visited the memorial at Jallianwala Bagh and paid homage to those killed in the massacre.

On Friday evening hundreds of people, including students and visitors, held a candlelight vigil in Amritsar on the eve of the 100th anniversary.

Indian Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu will release a commemorative coin and a commemorative postage stamp to mark the centenary of the massacre.

"Hundred years ago, General Reginald Dyer's troops opened fire on unarmed, peaceful protesters at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar leaving hundreds dead and thousands wounded. This inhuman act of imperial might remains an indelible bloody stain on the canvas of recent Indian history," Naidu in his tribute said.

"We have to usher in a world without oppression and persecution, a world of friendship, peace and progress. A world where all nations stand united to defeat inhuman forces of terror and violence. It is a day to reaffirm India's centuries long commitment to ideal of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family)."

Though many British leaders have regretted the incident, a formal apology is still awaited.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 17:59:33|Editor: xuxin

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URUMQI, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Strong winds that started on Saturday afternoon have stranded almost 4,000 passengers as of 4 p.m. at Diwopu International Airport in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

According to the airport, 14 outbound flights and another 14 incoming flights have been canceled, and a total of 76 flights were delayed due to the extreme weather.

Thirty flights had to land in other cities in Xinjiang or neighboring provinces, with another two making a return voyage.

A total of 3,829 passengers have been stranded in the three terminals of the airport.

The city's weather bureau said the wind is expected to wane after 6 p.m.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 17:59:35|Editor: xuxin

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AMMAN, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Jordan will host a trilateral summit with Cyprus and Greece, to be attended by Jordanian King Abdullah II, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Sunday, according to an official statement from the Royal Court on Saturday.

The second trilateral summit will discuss means to expand cooperation among the three countries, especially in economy and investment, and build on the outcomes of the first summit, hosted by Cyprus in January 2018.

The summit will also cover the latest regional developments and efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region.

Jordan, Cyprus, and Greece agreed in 2018 to launch a trilateral partnership to advance cooperation in vital areas, and a number of agreements and memorandums of understanding were signed in the fields of protection of antiquities, intellectual property and renewable energy.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 18:09:37|Editor: xuxin

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BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- China is using high-tech measures, such as satellite remote sensing technologies, in protecting its cultural heritage, according to an official with the National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA).

Chen Peijun, director of the NCHA's supervision and inspection department, said in an interview with Xinhua that the administration has been using remote sensing to monitor some of the country's key cultural heritage sites and stretches of the Great Wall and their nearby areas.

Chen said the administration will also explore the use of other technological means such as the Internet, cloud computing, big data and drones in the administrative and law enforcement work for cultural heritage protection.

He said new technologies help improve the efficiency of supervision and ensure that violations are detected and handled in an early and timely manner.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 18:21:09|Editor: xuxin

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DUBROVNIK, Croatia, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivered a speech at the 9th China-Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) Business Forum here on Friday.

An English translated version of the speech is as follows:

Speech by H.E. Li Keqiang

Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China

At the Ninth China-CEEC Business Forum

Dubrovnik, 12 April 2019

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic,

Ladies and gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to join friends old and new at the ninth China-CEEC Business Forum in the seaport city of Dubrovnik in the beautiful season of spring. On behalf of the Chinese government, I wish to extend warm congratulations on the opening of the Forum and pay high tribute to all those who are committed to the friendly relations and cooperation between China and the Central and Eastern European countries.

In recent years, China-CEEC (16+1) cooperation has been growing with a strong momentum. This is largely attributed to our strong and expanding business ties, which have seen new progress every year thanks to the concerted efforts of all parties. In 2018, China's trade with the CEE countries increased by 21 percent, hitting a record high of 82.2 billion U.S. dollars. In particular, growth in China's imports from the CEE countries outstripped that of exports by five percentage points. As FDI (foreign direct investment) plunges worldwide, China's investment in the CEE countries has bucked the trend and soared by 67 percent, most notably in major projects in the energy, mining and home appliance sectors and with new steps taken in cooperation in third-party markets.

China-CEEC cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has made new strides, as seen in greater headway in infrastructure connectivity, smooth progress in projects from the Budapest-Belgrade railway and the E763 highway in Serbia to the MS and KO highways in North Macedonia and the South-North expressway in Montenegro, and growing cooperation in new areas like information and communications and smart cities. With over 6,000 new freight train services opened between China and Europe last year and the steady development of China-Europe Land Sea Express Line, CEE countries are poised to play a bigger role as gateways between Asia and Europe.

Subnational cooperation continues to deepen, marked by the launching of the Ningbo 16+1 Demonstration Zone for Economic Cooperation and Trade and the China (Liaoning) CEEC Pavilion. There have been more frequent people-to-people and cultural exchanges, as evidenced by over 1.4 million tourist arrivals from China to CEE countries and 350,000 visits from CEE countries to China in 2018. Our two sides also run collaboration programs in the performing arts, animation, film and other cultural and creative industries. While strong support from governments has been indispensable, all this progress would not have been possible without the hard work from our business communities.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We meet at a crucial moment in world economic development. Global growth has been weighed down by factors such as sluggish international trade and investment and rising protectionism. New uncertainties and destabilizing factors are mounting, shaking market expectations and confidence in development. That said, on the bright side, the global economy is increasingly propelled by the new round of technological and industrial revolution. The growing complexities in the international landscape make it all the more imperative for all parties to work together to seize opportunities and tackle challenges. President Xi Jinping's recent visit to three European countries has injected fresh impetus to China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership. The 16+1 cooperation is an important part of China-Europe relations. Guided by the principles of peace, cooperation, openness, inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit, China will foster a stronger synergy between the BRI and development strategies of CEE countries on the basis of consultation and collaboration for shared benefits, with a view to taking our business cooperation to greater depth and breadth.

- We need to promote trade facilitation. China's trade with the 16 CEE countries has enjoyed fast growth, yet there remains a big potential to tap. China will work with the CEE countries to open markets wider to each other. Customs cooperation needs to be strengthened by streamlining procedures for greater efficiency in the clearance of goods. We will improve the communication and coordination mechanism for inspection and quarantine, speed up the negotiation of relevant protocols, and better coordinate our safety inspection efforts. China will support CEE countries in participating in the China International Import Expo, the China-CEEC Expo and other trade promotion platforms, and provide a green channel for exports by CEE countries to China. We will continue to develop the China-Europe freight train service and multi-modal transport, enhance services facilitation cooperation on China-Europe Land Sea Express Line, harmonize rules and standards at a faster pace, and establish logistics hubs to speed up cross-border flow of goods.

- We need to foster new growth areas in trade. China and CEE countries each have comparative advantages and our economies are highly complementary. We need to further unlock the trade potential, improve the trade mix, and expand areas in trade cooperation. Trade in agricultural products will be increased. China will continue to create conditions to import more honey, fruit, dairy and meat products and other farm produce from CEE countries to meet the diverse needs of Chinese consumers. We will continue to scale up trade in mechanical and electrical products and quality consumer goods such as automobiles and home appliances, and grow trade in high-quality, high-tech and high value-added products such as manufactured equipment.

We need to step up cooperation on new business forms and models, encourage large cross-border e-commerce companies to set up more overseas warehouses and exhibition and sales centers in CEE countries to explore more trading channels. Trade in services will be expanded. There is a big potential in tourism cooperation as the number of overseas trips by Chinese tourists reached 150 million last year. Companies from CEE countries are welcome to hold tourism expos in China to intensify the promotion of tourism resources and attractive tourist products. We look forward to more facilitation provided to Chinese tourists in terms of border control in CEE countries. Our two sides need to support civil aviation cooperation, encourage communication between airline companies, and look into the feasibility of opening more direct flights when conditions are in place.

- We need to deepen investment and industrial capacity cooperation. The Chinese government supports Chinese companies in investing in CEE countries in keeping with commercial principles and on their own decisions, particularly in such areas as agriculture, manufacturing, information and communications, and R&D. Joint efforts will be made to build industrial clusters and logistics parks and improve industrial chain cooperation. We hope that the lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies will be effectively protected in relevant countries in accordance with the principles of equity, fairness and non-discrimination. During this year's summit, we will launch the 16+1 Global Partnership Center and the website for the China-CEEC SME Coordination Mechanism, which are designed to provide more convenient, thoughtful and professional services for companies to broaden investment cooperation.

- We need to make concrete progress in connectivity. Achieving infrastructure connectivity at a faster pace is high on the development agenda of many CEE countries, and is an important means for delivering win-win outcomes of 16+1 cooperation. A good example is the China-Croatia cooperation on the Peljesac Bridge project. China will continue to encourage companies to take part in infrastructure development of CEE countries, and work with relevant parties to steadily advance the construction of the Serbian section and the tendering of the Hungarian section of the Budapest-Belgrade railway. We will foster synergy among the Belt and Road Initiative, the Three Seas Initiative, the EU strategy on connecting Europe and Asia, the Trans-European Transport Networks and other plans, and implement the projects with earnest efforts.

We will improve the financing conditions for projects, make full use of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Silk Road Fund, the China-CEEC Inter-Bank Association and other financial platforms, encourage commercial banks to develop more innovative financial products and diversify financing models. We will develop new ways in implementing cooperation projects, properly address issues concerning mutual recognition of standards and returns on investment, and actively explore cooperation modalities in third-party markets, joint bidding and public-private partnership. The Chinese government supports relevant countries in conducting rules-based public tendering where Chinese companies can compete on a level playing field.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would also like to take this opportunity to briefly talk about the Chinese economy and our policy orientation as they may be topics of interest to you. In 2018, despite difficulties and challenges, China's economy grew by 6.6 percent and exceeded 90 trillion yuan, or 13.6 trillion U.S. dollars. A total of 13.61 million new urban jobs were created and the surveyed urban unemployment rate was 4.9 percent at the end of last year, which means we have achieved fairly full employment. This year, China faces a more complex and challenging development environment. In the Report on the Work of the Government adopted at last month's annual session of the National People's Congress, we made a comprehensive analysis of the situation and laid out a series of major policies and measures.

The Chinese economy has maintained a stable performance on the whole this year. In particular, we have seen quite a number of positive changes since March: the manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index and its sub-indices on production and new orders rebounded to the highest point in months; fixed-asset investment, imports and exports, freight volume and electricity generation grew at a faster pace; consumption remained stable; and trading in the capital market was vibrant. As things stand now, we are seeing a notable improvement in market expectations, better performance of the business sector, especially SMEs, and growing dynamism for internally driven development.

We are confident that the main targets for this year, including a 6-6.5 percent GDP growth, can be achieved. We will maintain the current macro policy orientations, and avoid adopting strong stimulus policies, such as quantitative easing and excessive money supply. Instead, we will keep to the central task of supply-side structural reform and create conditions for steady economic performance by further advancing reform and introducing measures in accordance with market principles and the rule of law. Going forward, we will concentrate our efforts in the following three areas.

First, we will take steps to energize market entities and improve the business environment. Robust market entities provide a strong driving force for economic growth. China has more than 100 million market entities, including over 34 million enterprises. On average, 18,000 new enterprises are established each day. If more and more market entities can be in vibrant operation, we will acquire a solid bulwark against the downward pressure on the economy.

This year, we will cut taxes and fees on a larger scale, which is expected to reduce the tax burden and social insurance contributions of companies by nearly two trillion yuan. Tax cuts for enterprises will lead to lower fiscal revenues, yet the spending in key areas such as people's livelihood must be maintained. Then what is our solution? Instead of substantially raising the deficit-to-GDP ratio, we are asking governments at all levels to tighten their belts, explore every possible means to expand revenue and reduce spending, and follow a new approach of putting idle assets and funds to better use while notably cutting general expenditures. We will make the negative list on market access shorter, streamline administrative approval procedures, strengthen impartial regulation, and improve the efficiency of government services, with a view to creating a level playing field for market entities of all types.

Second, we will take steps to pursue innovation-driven development and strengthen new growth drivers. Innovation is the primary driving force for development. China has more than 170 million people in its workforce with higher educational background or professional skills. China also has the largest pool of scientific and technological personnel in the world, and a big internal market. Such conditions have given a strong boost to technological innovation and industrial application from both the supply and demand sides. To foster new growth drivers, we are developing emerging industries and promoting the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries at the same time. China is the largest manufacturer in the world. We will strengthen the industrial foundation and the capacity for technological innovation, build industrial internet platforms, and empower the manufacturing industry with digital, internet, smart and green technologies.

E-commerce, mobile payment, sharing economy and other new business forms and models are booming. These are the results of innovation by Chinese companies that are encouraged by the accommodative and prudential regulatory approach taken by the Chinese government. Going forward, we will step up the R&D (research and development) and application of big data and artificial intelligence, foster clusters of emerging industries and strengthen the digital economy. New growth drivers now contribute more than one third of China's economic growth and more than two thirds of new urban jobs. They are giving China new strengths to pursue development.

Third, we will take steps to promote all-round opening-up and build an open economy at a higher level. The National People's Congress of China adopted the Foreign Investment Law a few weeks ago. We are bringing forward the formulation of matching regulations so that they can enter into force together with the law on 1 January next year. This will help build an enabling business environment based on the rule of law and up to international standards. We are expediting the implementation of the measures announced, including shortening the negative list on market access for foreign investors, further opening up the financial and other sectors, and strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights.

China has grown into a major international investor. We will encourage credible and capable Chinese enterprises to invest overseas in an orderly fashion. China has actively expanded import from other countries. Since last year, we have voluntarily cut tariffs four times, bringing the overall tariff level down to 7.5 percent, a lower middle level in the world. We will also further improve the facilitation of customs clearance to significantly reduce cost and improve efficiency. As China continues to develop an open economy, it will create greater opportunities for companies of CEE countries.

Ladies and gentlemen,

As a saying goes, "When the wind is at our back, lose no time in setting sail." In the face of a great opportunity to deepen China-CEEC cooperation, I hope business leaders from both China and CEE countries will work in concert to open up new prospects for China-CEEC economic and business cooperation.

Thank you.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 19:10:02|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Doan Thi Huong, a Vietnamese woman accused of causing the death of a man from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) at a Malaysian airport in 2017, is set to be released on May 3, her lawyer said on Saturday.

Lawyer Salim Bashir of Huong's defense team said he was informed through the embassy of Vietnam in Malaysia that she would be released on that date.

On the same day, she will be sent home to Vietnam, he told state news agency Bernama.

Huong had been sentenced to three years and four months in jail on April 1, after pleading guilty to an alternative charge offered by prosecutors from the previous murder charge, which carries mandatory capital punishment if convicted.

Huong's lead counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik said at that time that she would be released by the first week of May, with the two years already served counting from her arrest on Feb. 15, 2017, and the remaining one-third granted remission.

In March, Malaysian prosecutors withdrew the murder charge against Siti Aisyah, the Indonesian woman who was charged together with Huong in the case. Aisyah was then released.

Both women were accused of murdering the DPRK man by smearing VX nerve agent on his face at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in February 2017. They have both denied the murder charges.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 19:55:24|Editor: Li Xia

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BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The following are the highlights of China's key education news from the past week:

-- Nearly 500,000 international students study in China

In 2018, a total of 492,185 international students from 196 countries and regions studied in China.

The number of international students increased by 3,013 over that of 2017.

About 60 percent of the international students were from Asia, with the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Pakistan ranking in the top three.

About 63,000 of them were sponsored by Chinese government scholarships.

-- China targets actions hindering school-age children from receiving compulsory education

China's Ministry of Education (MOE) on Thursday vowed to target any action that hindered school-age children from receiving compulsory education.

Local education authorities were ordered to conduct a comprehensive investigation as soon as possible in the first half of 2019.

The MOE stressed that practices in which school-age children failed to get compulsory education due to violations of laws and regulations by institutions or individuals should be rectified and the violators will be held accountable and dealt with in accordance with the law.

-- China limits student competitions to ease children's after-school homework

The MOE announced a list of government-acknowledged national student competitions Friday.

The list included 29 competitions for primary and middle school students, and was aimed to limit the number of competitions and protect children from doing excessive homework to prepare for unnecessary contests.

-- China releases new syllabus for military courses in universities

Chinese authorities have issued a revised syllabus for military theory and training courses in universities.

The document, which was jointly released by the MOE and the national defense mobilization department under the Central Military Commission, asked colleges to add military courses into their training and teaching programs, set specific credit for such courses, and record performance results into students' archives.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 20:40:42|Editor: Li Xia

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WUHAN, April 13 (Xinhua) -- A total of 700 Chinese sturgeons were released on Saturday into the country's longest river, the Yangtze River, to save the species from extinction.

The 700 captive-bred sturgeons, nicknamed "aquatic pandas," were released in the city of Yichang, central China's Hubei Province, by the Chinese Sturgeon Research Institute (CSRI) of the China Three Gorges Corporation.

The sturgeons released into the river will help boost the endangered species' survival rate in the wild and enhance their generic diversity, said Li Zhiyuan, deputy director of CSRI.

Li said the sturgeons sent back to the wild include both junior and adult fishes with relatively larger sizes to enrich the species' population of different age groups.

Scientists will also study the data collected on the Chinese surgeon's migration and reproduction activities in means of sonar and other advanced methods.

Chinese experts have started reintroduction events to increase the population of sturgeons, a rare fish that dates back to the dinosaurs, since 1984.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 20:45:47|Editor: Liangyu

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Contestants dance on the final round of the "Chinese Bridge" competition held in Ulan Bator, capital of Mongolia, April 13, 2019. The final round of the 12th "Chinese Bridge", a Chinese language and culture proficiency competition for secondary school students, was held at the Ulan Bator Ensemble on Saturday. Chantsal Nomin-Erdene, a female contestant from Khishig school in Ulan Bator secured the first position in the competition and was selected to represent Mongolia at the final competition to be held in China. (Xinhua/Suriya)

ULAN BATOR, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The final round of the 12th "Chinese Bridge," a Chinese language and culture proficiency competition for secondary school students, was held at the Ulan Bator Ensemble on Saturday.

Fifteen finalists from several Mongolian schools competed in the final round of the Mongolian regional contest in the two categories of China and Chinese culture, and a talent show.

"China has made remarkable achievements in many fields, especially in its economy, and science and technology. If you master the Chinese language, then it will be your key to a bright future," said Chinese Ambassador to Mongolia Xing Haiming while addressing the event.

Chantsal Nomin-Erdene, a female contestant from Khishig school in Ulan Bator secured the first position in the competition and was selected to represent Mongolia at the final competition to be held in China.

All contestants were awarded prizes and certificates according to their individual results.

The Mongolian regional contest was co-organized by the Confucius Institute Headquarters, the Confucius Institute at National University of Mongolia, the Mongolian Chinese Teachers Association, the China-Mongolia Cultural and Education Foundation, as well as the Chinese Cultural Center in Ulan Bator.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 20:55:51|Editor: xuxin

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KIGALI, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda's National Consultative Forum of Political Organizations Saturday called on Rwandan politicians to promote unity of Rwandans at a ceremony to close the mourning week of the 25th commemoration of the 1994's Rwandan genocide against Tutsi.

The mourning week which started on April 7 closed with honoring of politicians killed during the genocide who were buried at the Rebero genocide memorial site, in Kicukiro district, Rwandan capital city Kigali.

At the ceremony, top Rwandan government officials, members of diplomatic corps and families of fallen politicians led by Rwandan Senate President Bernard Makuza laid wreaths on the graves of politicians at Rebero genocide memorial site.

The 25th commemoration gives politicians an opportunity to renew their commitment to build the nation and promote good governance, said Christine Mukabunani, representative of the National Consultative Forum of Political Organizations, said at the event.

Makuza commended countries that have enacted laws against genocide denial and appealed to others to emulate. He also urged Rwandans to protect the Rwandan government's approach of power sharing, participatory governance and consensual politics, which have produced positive results over the last 25 years.

Remains of more than 14,000 genocide victims were buried at the Rebero memorial site. Most of them were members of the Liberal Party or Social Democratic Party, who were reformists standing firmly against former president Juvenal Habyarimana's regime of hate ideology, according to the National Consultative Forum of Political Organizations.

Commemorative activities of the 1994's genocide that claimed the lives of over 1 million people will continue until July 4.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 21:00:53|Editor: Liangyu

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DUBROVNIK, Croatia, April 13 (Xinhua) -- China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) on Friday agreed to provide a level playing field for foreign companies doing business in their own countries.

The agreement was made in The Dubrovnik Guidelines for Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries, which was released after the eighth China-CEEC leaders' meeting in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik.

According to the guidelines, the participants underline that the China-CEEC cooperation constitutes an important part of Europe-China relationship and complements the comprehensive strategic partnership between the European Union (EU) and China.

They reaffirm their commitment to deepening their partnership for peace, growth, reform and civilization, and in this respect, the participants support the early conclusion of an ambitious EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, said the document.

The participants recognize the importance of the Belt and Road Initiative and the EU Strategy on Connecting Europe and Asia and welcome forging synergies between them, it said.

The participants express their willingness to conduct cooperation using the opportunities provided by the initiative and the strategy, which for the EU member states would also complement relevant EU initiatives, it added.

China will host the ninth China-CEEC leaders' meeting in 2020, according to the guidelines. The China-CEEC cooperation annually holds the leaders' meeting in participating countries.

This year in Dubrovnik, Greece was accepted on Friday as a full member of the China-CEEC cooperation mechanism. It was previously known as 16+1 cooperation since it included 16 Central and Eastern European countries and China. Greece's participation makes it become 17+1 cooperation.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 21:26:09|Editor: xuxin

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JAKARTA, April 13 (Xinhua) -- A passenger boat had gone missing in Banda Sea of Indonesia and a search and rescue mission was underway, a senior rescuer said on Saturday.

The passenger boat, KM Rahmat Wijaya, was reported missing on Friday after departing from Tulehu sea port in Maluku Tengah district of Maluku province, head of communication for media of the national search and rescue office Yusuf Latief told Xinhua over phone.

The boat, with seven people aboard, was heading to Banda Island of the province, suffered engine failure, the rescuer said.

The search and rescue mission involving the personnel from the national search and rescue office in the province, the family members of the seven people aboard the boat and volunteers, had been underway, added Latief.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 21:26:11|Editor: xuxin

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KABUL, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Taliban militants in Afghanistan on Saturday launched a multi-pronged attack against government interests across the country as part of its annual spring offensive, resulting in dozens of deaths.

The militants targeted security checkpoints around Kunduz city, the capital of Kunduz province early Saturday, Ahsanullah Fazli, head of the health department in the restive province, told Xinhua.

So far, four dead bodies and 39 injured persons including women and children have been taken to hospitals, the official added.

Inamudin Rahmani, a police spokesman in Kunduz province, asserted that over a dozen Taliban fighters including two foreigners had been killed and 10 others injured.

The spokesman refrained from revealing casualties on the side of security personnel in the fighting.

Similarly, the militants launched offensives in Baghlan-e-Markazi district, Baghlan province in the neighboring Kunduz province on the same day, killing eight security personnel and injuring nine others, district governor Khanzada Mazlomyar said.

A clash between government forces and the Taliban outfit in Baghlan's neighboring Samangan province has also left three local policemen dead and six others injured, Raz Mohammad Moahidi, deputy to provincial council, said.

Another clash in Spin Boldak district of the southern Kandahar province, according to police, has left nine militants and one policeman dead on Saturday.

The Taliban group announced its annual spring offensive on Friday and since then has launched series of attacks against government interests in the militancy-battered country, officials confirmed.

About 60 militants, according to security officials, have been killed in the southern provinces of Helmand, Kandahar, eastern Nangarhar and Paktika provinces, the northern Samangan and Badakhshan provinces since Friday.

Meanwhile, Afghans from all walks of life have termed the declaration of annual offensive by the Taliban group as "war mongering policy" and strongly condemned it.

The Presidential Palace said in a statement released here "announcing the so-called spring offensive speaks of the resolve of the Taliban group to continue the illegitimate war in Afghanistan" and the so-called Jihad or holy war of the Taliban in Afghanistan has no legitimacy.

The government of Afghanistan, besides defending the country and its sovereignty, once again urged the Taliban leadership to give up illegitimate fighting and join the peace talks to end the war in the country, the statement added.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 21:36:19|Editor: xuxin

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by Olatunji Saliu

ABUJA, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Abdullahi Isa, a Nigerian civil engineer, had set himself many personal goals to achieve before he turns 40. Among his goals were owning a house in the city, having a private car, a good job, wives, and kids.

And all these and more, Isa, who is currently a site manager for a Chinese construction firm in Nigeria's northeastern state of Gombe, had managed to achieve before attaining that age this year.

He was 23 when he set those personal goals for himself in 2002. That year, he was hired by the firm, Eighteenth Engineering Company (EEC) Nigeria Limited, which has handled and is still handling several road construction projects in the West African country.

"Now, I have a house of my own in the city where my two wives and children live. I have a private car. My kids are attending good schools. I can easily provide for my family's needs. I am a happy man because I have a good job here," he said, counting his blessings since joining the Chinese firm 17 years ago.

Isa, born in a rustic village in Gombe, moved to the city in 2002 in search of greater opportunities and a better future without acquiring sufficient formal education.

His story, he told Xinhua, could be likened to that of many homeless young Nigerians who had lost hope in life.

After several months of roaming the streets and doing menial jobs, he was hired by the Chinese firm as a laborer.

"And that's how I started learning the technology of construction and management from my Chinese colleagues," he said. "I learned about carpentry, welding, and several other aspects of construction works for many years."

He worked for many years as a laborer, foreman before getting promotion as a site manager of the EEC.

Of all things that excite Isa about working in the Chinese firm, he told Xinhua, it is the company's core policy to train and re-train its local employees that comes first.

Despite Isa had not attended any tertiary academic institution to learn about engineering, he has so far led at least three road construction projects in Gombe.

"I didn't further my education after graduating from secondary school. I learned everything about construction here, and now I'm a master in the field. I can complete an entire road project without the supervision of our Chinese colleagues.

"The EEC is very famous and has done a lot of projects in Gombe. Due to my experience working here, I've invited many friends and family members, including those who earlier mocked me, to this company, to get a good job to feed them and their family," he said.

More than 100 road projects with a total length of about 2,400 km have been executed by the EEC, a subsidiary of the China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC), since entering the Nigerian construction market in 1999.

Isa is currently leading scores of local labor workers on another road construction project handled by the EEC.

On April 4, the Chinese construction firm formally commenced the construction of the new road to open up rural areas in Gombe, aiming to boost the local economy.

The road construction will open up at least three communities in Yamaltu/Deba local government area of Nigeria when completed.

The 9-km road project, linking three farming communities in the area, Boltongo, Nono, and Deba, will be completed within 15 months.

Before the commencement of the road construction, local farmers had a big challenge in transporting their farm produce to urban areas. During rainy seasons, the situation gets worse as they find it difficult moving on the terribly muddy road.

Wan Lianyu, the managing director of the EEC Nigeria, said the implementation of these projects not only trained a large number of local workers and promoted local employment, but also greatly improved the local people's livelihood.

"We hope to deepen cooperation with the Nigerian government on production capacity through the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by the Chinese government, so as to create more benefits for the people in Nigeria," Wan added.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 21:36:21|Editor: xuxin

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ANKARA, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Turkey has urged for peace and stability in Sudan after a military coup against former President Omar al-Bashir, and wished a soon recovery of the country.

The situation should be overcome peacefully through "national conciliation," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday, adding that Turkey supports the continuation of "deep-rooted" relations with the African country.

"It is my most important wish that Sudan will survive this process on the basis of national reconciliation and peace," Erdogan told reporters at a joint press conference with visiting president of Burkina Faso.

Erdogan repeated his rejection against coups, but he refrained from voicing support for Sudan's deposed president and long-time survivor who travelled several times to Turkey in the past.

Bashir's visits caused controversy as he was the subject of arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court over allegations of war crimes and genocide against civilians in the Darfur conflict in the early 2000s, significantly limiting his international visits.

In late 2017, Erdogan became the first Turkish head of state to visit Sudan in over 60 years.

Engagement with Sudan in particular, and Africa in general, has been a consistent feature of Erdogan's administration, as Turkey seeks to become a leading player on the continent.

During his visit to Khartoum, the two countries signed agreements pertaining to defense cooperation, mining, agriculture, forest, science, education and tourism.

The highlight of the visit was a deal to temporarily lease the Red Sea island of Suakin to Turkey. The Suakin island, an ancient pilgrimage site, lies at the crossroads between Saudi Arabia and Port Sudan, Sudan's largest port.

Turkey is also interested in constructing the country's largest airport, and also plans to establish military training centers in the country.

"Our aim is mainly commercial and humanitarian. We are making trade with African countries, including Sudan, and trying to rebuild in some cases the infrastructure and service sectors," said a Turkish government official to Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"We hope that we can still work with the new administration, because our efforts are for the benefit of the Sudanese people who really need our expertise and resources for many projects," added the official who declined to comment if the transitional government in Sudan would reverse policies with Ankara.

Nevertheless, it is also important to underline Turkey's growing attention for Sudan as part of the growing geopolitical competition in the Horn of Africa.

Sudan often symbolizes a transitional point to Africa from the Arab world, and therefore has a strategic importance for Turkey which wants to increase its influence in the Islamic world, said experts.

"Bashir came to power 30 years ago. His actions were not foreseeable and have dangerous consequences," said Burak Bilgehan Ozpek, assistant professor on international relations from the Ankara-based TOBB university.

The expert said that Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) had established an "ideological affinity" with the former Sudanese ruler but it "cannot preserve its interests and investments in Sudan by supporting Bashir."

"The Turkish Foreign Ministry released a good-worded statement in which it says that relations should be maintained on the basis of state-to-state," ruling out ties between personalities, in this case between Erdogan and Bashir, added Ozpek.

The expert emphasized on the need to see how power transition will unfold in Sudan and if this country will abide by its cooperation agreements with Ankara.

Erdogan has made a concerted effort to build relations in Africa in order to broaden Turkish overseas investment and collaboration prospects.

Alongside Turkish Airways now flying to 55 destinations in 33 African countries, development contracts for Turkish firms have increased considerably as part of Turkey's ambitions to boost regional influence.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 21:41:43|Editor: xuxin

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Aerial photo taken on April 4, 2019 shows the Lotus Tower in Colombo, capital of Sri Lanka. Under the Belt and Road Initiative, Sri Lanka and China signed the Lotus Tower agreement in 2012 to build the highest TV tower in South Asia, with China National Electronics Import and Export Corporation (CEIEC) being the general contractor. To make the tower a success, both Chinese and Sri Lankan workers have put in years of hard work and dedication. The project will be completed later this year. By then, the Lotus Tower will not only function as a TV tower, but also a hotel, a shopping mall and a conference center. (Xinhua/Guo Lei)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 22:01:45|Editor: mingmei

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Yemeni President Abdu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi (L) is seen during the parliamentary session in Seiyun city of Hadramout province, Yemen, on April 13, 2019. Yemen's parliament convened on Saturday in the city of Seiyun, the second largest city in the southeastern province of Hadramout, for the first time since the outbreak of the devastating civil war in the impoverished Arab country in March 2015. (Xinhua/Ismail Rabidhy)

by Murad Abdo

ADEN, Yemen, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's parliament convened on Saturday in the city of Seiyun, the second largest city in the southeastern province of Hadramout, for the first time since the outbreak of the devastating civil war in the impoverished Arab country in March 2015.

The parliament held its first meeting at the presidential palace in Seiyun city, with the presence of Yemeni President Abdu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik and delegates of Arab and foreign countries.

"I extend my sincere congratulations to the Yemeni people on the first constitutional meeting of their elected legislative authority," the Yemeni president said in a speech at the opening of the extraordinary parliamentary session.

He said that this special session is being held "at a very important moment in the country's history, as we stand at the crossroads between the options of peace and war," accusing the Houthis of intransigence, maneuvering and obstructing the peace efforts exerted by the United Nations in Yemen.

Hadi said that organizing the first meeting of Yemen's House of Representatives "clearly indicates that the Houthi project is gradual and day by day," stressing that "Yemenis are now restoring one of the most important institutions of their state after a long journey of struggle."

During the session, the Yemeni lawmakers elected Assistant Secretary-General of the ruling General People's Congress Party (GPC) Sultan al-Barakani as the new speaker of the pro-government parliament.

Al-Barakani said in a speech that the convening of the Yemeni parliament "comes in line with the articles of Yemen's Constitution." He stressed full support for any "local, regional or international effort aimed at achieving peace in Yemen."

The new speaker of the pro-government parliament called on the Houthi group based in Sanaa "to resort to the peace process by abandoning violence and turning to a political component that exercises its rights in accordance with Yemen's Constitution."

More than 141 members of the 301-member parliament attended Saturday's session in support of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, a parliamentary source told Xinhua.

The six-year term of the 301-member parliament is already expired as the last Yemeni parliamentary elections occurred in 2009 during the era of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The session of the House of Representatives comes based upon a request issued by Hadi who chose the country's city of Seiyun as a place for the parliamentary meetings as the security conditions are not fully stable in the country's southern port city of Aden.

Heavy Yemeni security forces backed by elite Saudi troops were deployed in Seiyun city amid tightened measures to secure the city with the start of the first parliamentary session.

The Houthi rebels based in the capital Sanaa described the pro-Hadi parliament meeting as a "felony," vowing to take serious action against the participants.

Parliamentarians loyal to the Houthi group have started to hold meetings since August 2016 at the main headquarters of the Yemeni House of Representatives in Sanaa.

In January 2017, Hadi issued a republican decision to move the headquarters of the Yemeni House of Representatives (parliament) from Houthi-controlled Sanaa to Aden, where the Yemeni government is currently based.

The Iranian-allied Houthis launched a large military campaign and seized Sanaa in late 2014, forcing Hadi and his government to flee into exile in neighboring Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened militarily and began pounding Houthi-controlled Sanaa in March 2015, in response to an official request from Hadi to protect Yemen and roll back Iran's influence.

The conflict between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed government in Yemen has recently entered its fifth year, aggravating the suffering of Yemenis and deepening the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 22:11:52|Editor: Li Xia

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HONG KONG, April 13 (Xinhua) -- China's Hong Kong police are hunting for a man who shot and hurt another man with a suspected gun in the Sham Shui Po district in Kowloon, the head of Hong Kong Police Force said Saturday.

The police, highly concerned about such violent crimes, are hunting for the suspected gunman in full force, said Lo Wai-chung, commissioner of police of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government.

The two men were brawling near a underground railway station at around 10:30 p.m. local time on Friday, when one of them pulled out a suspected gun and shot the other in his right arm, according to Hong Kong police Sham Shui Po Divisional Commander Chow Ngai-kong.

Members of the Police Tactical Unit, Emergency Unit, Counter Terrorism Response Unit and Railway Response Team have been dispatched to search for the suspected gunman.

The injured man was admitted to a hospital later for treatment, and was in a stable condition, Chow said.

The West Kowloon regional crime unit is investigating the case, Lo said, adding that the preliminary investigation showed the incident was due to a dispute over money.

Lo stressed that Hong Kong has very strict laws and rules for gun control, and its number of cases involving guns in each of the last five years was five or less.

In some of the previous cases, guns were mailed from overseas, he said, adding the Hong Kong police have been working closely with Hong Kong customs and overseas law enforcement bodies in preventing arms from arriving in Hong Kong.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 23:22:33|Editor: yan

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WARSAW, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Experts and scholars from China and Poland on Friday called for more efforts to strengthen exchanges and enhance mutual trust to further push forward the two countries' cooperation in economy and trade.

At the University of Warsaw, the two countries' institutions held a seminar entitled "China-Europe-Poland: Economy and Globalization," which has attracted about a hundred participants including Chinese Ambassador to Poland Liu Guangyuan and Patrycja Pendrakowska, president of the Poland-Asia Research Center.

Xie Fuzhan, president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences spoke highly of China-Poland ties when addressing the seminar, saying that the two countries carried out various cooperation under the mechanism of China-CEEC cooperation and the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.

The China-CEEC cooperation mechanism was previously known as 16+1 cooperation since it included 16 Central and Eastern European countries and China.

Expressing hopes about the future, Xie said China and Poland could find cooperation opportunities connecting the Belt and Road Initiative with the Responsible Development Plan promoted by the Polish government, and continue to deepen cooperation in such fields as infrastructure, development finance, technological innovation and think tank exchanges.

"Over the past 70 years, the two countries' relations have been stable and far-reaching, continuously benefiting their people and exerting a positive influence on the region and the world," he said.

He called on the two countries to "take full advantage of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, conduct joint comparative studies on China's economic reform and Poland's economic transition and learn experiences from each other."

For Pendrakowska, she hoped the event could contribute to deepening the knowledge about China's economic situation among European and Polish experts and strengthening mutual understanding among people from all walks of life in Poland, China as well as Europe.

According to Andrzej Kazmierczak, member of Management Board of the National Bank of Poland, pointed out that Poland's participation in the Belt and Road Initiative and other international cooperation frameworks would attract China to increase its investments in Poland's infrastructure construction and scientific research and innovation, which proves that deepening economic cooperation with China indicates huge opportunities for the country.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 23:27:35|Editor: Liangyu

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CHANGCHUN, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Satellites, drones and pest-detecting cameras are making their way into rice paddies in China's major farming province as the country modernizes its agriculture, experts said.

A satellite can produce images of a 200 square km field in just half an hour and offer information such as growth, yield and seedling emergence rate of the crops, said Qu Chunlai, with Changguang Satellite Technology Co. Ltd.

The company's Jilin-1 satellite are widely applied in agriculture and forestry in northeast China's Jilin Province.

"The remote sensing satellite captures images of the vegetation and forms data according to the proportion of different wavelengths of light the plants reflect," Qu said.

So far, several counties in the province have set up zones piloting the method.

The changing faming methods in the small counties in China's rice powerhouse underline the marriage of cutting-edge technology and traditional farming powered by efforts of both private and public sectors.

Apart from companies like Changguang, local scientific research institutes are joining the race to digitalize farming.

A whirring drone carrying a camera flew over fields in the city of Gongzhuling in Jilin. Unlike normal cameras, the one mounted on the drone gathers data.

Called a multispectral camera, the camera weighs just 190 g. It is connected to software and shares data on crop growth, as well as disease and pest conditions.

In the past, farmers mainly relied on experience to understand the growth of crops by observing their colors.

"The method may not be precise, and the camera offers a more direct way," said Zhang Junqiang, developer of the camera and associate researcher at the Changchun Institute of Optical Precision Machinery and Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

The software can even offer farmers prescriptions for pest control based on data gathered on the camera, Zhang said.

Like Zhang, scientists have also been developing a series of agricultural monitoring methods in the Northeast Institute of Geography and Agro-ecology of CAS.

Liu Huanjun, a researcher at the institute, said that farmers can dynamically monitor soil and crop conditions as well as the yield, on their phones, and get customized guidance through technolgy developed by the institute.

"With the wide application of technology, more farmers are liberating themselves from toil," Liu said. "Smart agriculture is gradually taking root in the fields."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 23:42:49|Editor: yan

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LONDON, April 13 (Xinhua) -- A man has been arrested after an incident in west London on Saturday morning. Police firearms and Taser were discharged, according to a latest statement released by Metropolitan Police.

According to the statement, police were called at around 8:30 a.m. local time on Saturday, with reports of a car in collision with a number of parked vehicles near the Ukrainian Embassy in Holland Park, west London.

"As part of the protective security arrangements for London, armed and unarmed officers were deployed to this incident,"said the statement, adding that "on arrival at the scene, a vehicle was driven at police officers."

Police confirmed that firearms and Taser were discharged, the vehicle was stopped and a man in his 40s was arrested, not injured.

Andy Walker, chief superintendent in the Met's Specialist Firearms Command, said: "as is standard procedure, an investigation is now ongoing into the discharge of a police firearm during this incident."

"While this takes place, I would like to pay tribute to the officers involved this morning who responded swiftly to this incident and put themselves in harm's way, as they do every day, to keep the people of London safe," Walker said.

The police said the incident was not related with terrorism.

According to media Sky News, police opened fire on a vehicle outside the Ukrainian embassy after the driver deliberately rammed into the official car of the country's ambassador to Britain.

"The ambassador, Natalia Galibarenko, was not at the embassy at the time and no other staff were injured," said the report of Sky News.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 23:52:52|Editor: yan

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ADDIS ABABA, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has expressed its readiness to support Sudanese stakeholders as the East African country encounters political uncertainties.

The East African bloc, IGAD, in a statement issued late Friday also expressed its hope that the Sudanese stakeholders will navigate the current political situation and urged all involved to ensure a peaceful transition.

"IGAD stands ready to support Sudan in this process. IGAD will continue to work for regional stability, development, and integration," the statement read.

On Thursday, Sudanese Defense Minister Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf announced the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir and his government.

Chairman of Sudan's Transitional Military Council Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan on Saturday canceled the curfew in the country.

"We announce the cancellation of the curfew and release of all the people tried by the emergency law," said Al-Burhan in a statement aired live by official Sudan TV.

Al-Burhan further declared relieving of all states military governors and assigning the commanders of the military areas in the states to run the work.

Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, also on Friday, expressed AU's conviction that military take-over is not the appropriate response to the challenges facing Sudan.

Faki also urged all concerned to exercise calm and utmost restraint and to respect the rights of citizens, foreign nationals and private property in the interest of the country and its people.

He further appealed to all stakeholders to engage in an inclusive dialogue to create the conditions that will make it possible to meet the aspirations of the Sudanese people to democracy, good governance and well-being and restore constitutional order as soon as possible.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-14 00:03:01|Editor: yan

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CAPE TOWN, April 13 (Xinhua) -- African National Congress (ANC) Secretary General Ace Magashule voiced confidence on Saturday that his party would win the upcoming elections.

Magashule was speaking as he kicked off a two-day campaign in Cape Town, Western Cape Province, which is administered by the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA).

Of the nine provinces in the country, the Western Cape is the only province that is not run by the ANC.

The ANC, he said, can make inroads into places under the DA administration after the elections.

South Africa will hold general elections on May 8 to elect a new National Assembly and provincial legislatures in each province. The elections, the sixth since the end of apartheid in 1994, will determine who will become the next president.

Addressing people's concern over housing and electricity, Magashule said the ANC is in a better position to solve these problems.

Magashule brushed aside corruption allegations against him, saying he was focusing on elections.

There were people who were trying to distract the ANC and deviate its attention and focus on the elections, he said.

Allegations against him and other ANC leaders won't have any impact on the governing party, Magashule said.

Magashule has been embroiled in corruption scandals, exposed by a newly published book Gangster State which centers around Magashule's alleged involvement in years of corruption while he was Free State premier.

Magashule has denied any wrongdoing during his time as Free State premier and vowed to take legal action against the book author.
File Photo: A participant cries during a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement that he plans to reinstate a ban on transgender individuals from serving in any capacity in the U.S. military, in Times Square, in New York City, New York, the United States, July 26, 2017. (Xinhua/REUTERS)

WASHINGTON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- A Trump administration policy barring most transgender people from joining the U.S. military went into effect on Friday.

For those wishing to join the U.S. military, a diagnosis of gender dysphoria is now presumptively disqualifying under the new policy, a Pentagon official told reporters.

People currently receiving treatment for gender dysphoria may continue to serve, as will people who transitioned before the new policy came into force, according to the official.

Gender dysphoria "involves a conflict between a person's physical or assigned gender and the gender with which he/she/they identify," according to the American Psychiatric Association.

President Donald Trump announced his intention to ban transgender troops in 2017, citing high medical costs as a reason, before introducing measures that have met with pushback from within the military, criticism by rights activists and multiple lawsuits.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that the latest version of the administration's transgender military policy, which is not a full ban but a large step in that direction, could take effect pending the outcome of ongoing litigation.

The House Armed Services Committee, controlled by Democrats, said lawmakers from the party "will continue to fight against this bigotry and ignorance," slamming the policy as "a huge setback that shakes the faith our troops have in the country."

Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, enabled transgender people to serve openly in the military in 2016.

The Pentagon has estimated that 9,000 out of a total of 1.3 million active duty personnel identify as transgender.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-14 00:33:08|Editor: yan

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SHIBERGHAN, Afghanistan, April 13 (Xinhua) -- For the first time, a woman in Shiberghan, the capital of northern Afghanistan's Jawzjan province, has run a cafe on her own, defying possible threats from active militants around the region.

Since opening more than one and a half months ago, the female-only cafe has offered a peaceful place in the war-torn country for women and schoolgirls to visit, meet each other, read books, play chess and exchange ideas while having tea or coffee.

"We invested more than 150,000 afghanis (some 1,958 U.S. dollars) to run the cafe with the main purpose of working on the youth capacity building," Malalay Mubarez Ahmadi, the owner of the cafe, told Xinhua recently.

"Girls are mostly coming here as they need such a place to get together and exchange views and have coffee," she added.

For women in the war-torn country who want to have a chat or engage in some activities of their own, going to recreational parks, scenic sites or restaurants is not as convenient and confortable as going to a woman-run cafe.

There are even cosmetics for those patronizing the place to choose and buy.

The cafe, with a one-time 15 people capacity, employs up to five women with salary each ranging from 500 to 1,000 afghanis (about 7 U.S. dollars to 13 U.S. dollars) every day and it opens from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. local time every day.

Despite growing security threats, mostly from Taliban insurgents, women have been engaging in various activities in the Shiberghan city, where nearly 45 percent of organizations' staff have been women and girls, according to Shiva Rezayee, a regular costumer of the cafe.

"Even though Afghanistan is a challenging society for women, families living in Shiberghan are relatively open-minded and they allow girls to perform their responsibilities including study and serving outside home in the society," she said.

The relatively peaceful Shiberghan city, 390 km north of the country's capital of Kabul, is not the first city where a woman runs her own coffee house.

A similar restaurant was opened in the central Bamiyan province a couple of years ago, facilitating women and girls to enjoy their life during leisure time in the historical city.

"More such small businesses will be opened by women elsewhere in the country if security situation improves," whispered Rezayee.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-14 00:33:11|Editor: yan

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ROME, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Defense Minister Elisabetta Trenta on Saturday sought to defuse reports of disarray within government ranks over the escalation of violence in Libya.

The eastern-based military forces led by Khalifa Haftar launched a military operation last week attempting to take over western Libya, the capital Tripoli in particular, where the UN-backed government is based. The government forces there have fought back.

The Haftar-led army is allied with Libya's eastern-based government. The politically divided North African country has been struggling to make a democratic transition amid clashes and chaos since the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi's government in 2011.

Italy supports the U.N.-backed government led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj. It opened an embassy in Tripoli in 2017, and sent a 300-member military task force as part of a "bilateral mission for assistance and support in Libya", according to the defence ministry.

Also in 2017, Italy struck a deal with the government led by al-Sarraj to stop people traffickers' boats loaded with migrants and asylum seekers from leaving for Italy, approved a mission to support the Libyan Coast Guard in the fight against migrant traffickers, and allocated six million euros (6.8 million U.S. dollars) for migrant detention camps in Libya.

In an interview with Il Fatto Quotidiano newspaper on Saturday, Conte downplayed Friday's report in La Stampa newspaper that Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has talked to his Libyan counterpart, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed Maitig, and claimed that France is trying to undermine the al-Sarraj government.

"I have no reason to think that France could have interests other than in Libya's stability and full recovery," Conte told Il Fatto Quotidiano. "An unstable Libya certainly would not allow France to pursue possible national economic interests."

Conte was at pains to reiterate that the Italian government is united in its approach to the Libya crisis.

"I am personally coordinating the Libya dossier, which is strategic for Italy," Conte said. "Italy does not bet on one or the other player."

Conte also confirmed news reports that he has met with a delegation from Haftar recently in Rome.

"I confirm the meeting took place," he told Il Fatto Quotidiano. "They delivered a personal letter from General Haftar to me....They said they want to free the country from terrorist organizations and unify the armed forces and security forces. I reiterated my firm opposition to a military degeneration that would inflict further suffering on the civilian population. I reiterated my openness to keeping open every type of dialogue that could be useful to find a political solution."

Conte said he has spoken with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and that "she is also very concerned and shares our position, which is that the military option cannot be a solution."

"We will work together within the European Union (EU) to pursue a common policy and to avoid proceeding in a disorderly fashion," Conte said.

The al-Sarraj government is "the only government recognized by the international community" but "a solution to the conflict is unthinkable without dialogue with all the players - local or international - who play a role (in Libya)," he added.

"Haftar has always played an important role," said Conte. "This is why I involved him in the Palermo conference (in November 2018), I met with him in Benghazi, and hosted him in Rome."

Conte stressed his concern over a possible humanitarian crisis if the conflict in Libya does not abate, saying that while the violence might interrupt the flow of migrants into Libya from sub-Saharan Africa, "Libya could go from being mostly a country of migrant transit to one of departure."

Conte also said Italy's military contingent and embassy staff will "remain fully operational for now, but we are ready to intervene to safeguard their security at any time."

He was echoed by his defense minister, Trenta, who told Corriere della Sera newspaper in an interview also on Saturday that as far as Italian staff in Libya, "the evacuation plans are operational, we'll see how the situation evolves."

With regards to Salvini's aggressive remarks against France, Trenta said that "there is no need a showdown, there is no need to act tough as I see some doing just to grab a newspaper headline or two. What we need now is intelligence, composure, and dialogue."

Like Conte, the defense minister said that Italy "talks to all the players in the field as well as our international partners", and added that "France is our partner and friend, and I expect a country who is friend to act with fairness".

"There is excellent cooperation and healthy competition between France and Italy," Trenta told Corriere. "We do not work to damage each other, but it is normal that Italy should also strive to pursue its own interests."

Trenta also categorically dismissed the notion of armed intervention in Libya.

"If anyone is thinking about military intervention in Libya, I can say the option does not exist," Trenta said. "And we will not back a hypothetical intervention by other countries."

The World Health Organization said dozens have been killed, hundreds have been wounded and thousands displaced by the fighting in Libya, and the UN refugee agency UNHCR, which said 9,500 people have been driven from their homes, on Friday called for the immediate release of over 1,500 refugees and migrants who are believed to be trapped in detention centers where hostilities are raging.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-14 00:53:18|Editor: yan

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LISBON, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Portugal has expressed willingness to host up to 10 of the 64 migrants stranded in the Mediterranean Sea, the Portuguese Ministry of Internal Administration said on Saturday.

In a statement, the ministry said that it had already conveyed the intention to the government of Malta, following the cooperation agreement reached between Portugal, Germany, France and Luxembourg, with the coordination of the European Commission.

Portugal is "taking on its commitment to solidarity and European cooperation in the field of migration by actively participating in all reception processes," said the statement.

The Portuguese government "continues to defend an integrated, stable and permanent European solution to meet the migratory challenge," the statement said.

European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopulos, on his twitter account, welcomed the agreement reached by Portugal, Germany, France and Luxembourg to host the 64 migrants.

The ship, of the German aid organization Sea-Eye, had been "stuck" for several days in the Mediterranean, with no port to dock after both Italy and Malta refused to allow the entry of 64 migrants -- 50 men, 12 women and 2 children.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-14 01:23:30|Editor: yan

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LISBON, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Portugal has expressed willingness to host up to 10 of the 64 migrants stranded in the Mediterranean Sea, the Portuguese Ministry of Internal Administration said on Saturday.

On the sideline of the fifth Portugal-Cape Verde Summit here on Saturday, Portuguese Minister of Internal Administration Eduardo Cabrita told reporters that his country has been active in finding a solution to the migration issue facing the EU countries.

"This is another participation of Portugal in an 'ad hoc' solution for drifting vessels in the Mediterranean. Portugal once again participates in what we have called coalitions of goodwill, in this case with Germany, France and Luxembourg," he said.

Cabrita recalled that, since last summer, "the Portuguese position has been to participate in all these exceptional situations."

"This has marked our approach to the issue of migration, but always saying that this is not the way to solve this situation," he said, adding that Portugal believes that a "permanent solution at European level" is needed in articulation with the European Commission.

The minister said that the procedure previously used will be repeated and the 10 migrants will arrive in Portugal "within two weeks to a month".

The Ministry of Internal Administration said in a statement earlier on Saturday that it had already conveyed this intention to the government of Malta, following the cooperation agreement reached between Portugal, Germany, France and Luxembourg, with the coordination of the European Commission.

Portugal is "taking on its commitment to solidarity and European cooperation in the field of migration by actively participating in all reception processes," said the statement.

The Portuguese government "continues to defend an integrated, stable and permanent European solution to meet the migratory challenge," the statement said.

European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos, on twitter, welcomed the agreement reached by Portugal, Germany, France and Luxembourg to host the 64 migrants.

The ship, belonging to the German Sea-Eye organization, had been "stuck" for several days in the Mediterranean, with no port to dock after both Italy and Malta refused to allow the entry of 64 migrants -- 50 men, 12 women and 2 children.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-14 04:34:46|Editor: mingmei

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Cars line up in queues to reach the gasoline pump in Sanaa, Yemen, on April 13, 2019. Yemen is facing severe fuel shortage and food prices rising, and the crisis is crushing the starving population. (Xinhua/Mohamed al-Azaki)

by Mohamed al-Azaki

SANAA, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Yemen is facing severe fuel shortage and rising food prices, and the crisis is crushing the starving population.

The United Nations is struggling to save a peace deal, seen as a hope to end the country's four-year civil war, which is grinding into its fifth year and has pushed more than 20 million to the brink of famine.

Frustration is growing in the rebel-held capital Sanaa as the crisis is deepening pains of the residents.

Moftah Mohammed, a taxi driver, said he had been queuing for four hours to reach the gasoline pump to fill his car.

"I'm working with a school and I need to fill my car's tank in order to transport the students ... Yesterday I was waiting in the line for more than five hours and when I approached the fuel pumps, they said the gas ran out," he complained.

Abu Qaid Hatim, also a taxi driver, said he has to wait in the long queue to fill his car so he can work and earn cash for his children.

"We want to live a normal life ... I hope the fuel crisis and war end very soon," he added.

Thousands of state employees have turned to work as taxi drivers to make a living and feed their families after being unpaid for nearly three years.

The fuel crisis in Sanaa was not the first of its kind. The crisis has hit the country repeatedly.

According to local authorities, only two petrol stations were open in Sanaa this week while nearly 200 others ran out of fuel. Queues of waiting cars extend to more than three miles in front of fuel stations.

Many drivers return home with empty tanks. Thousands of vehicles died off the road. They have either to wait two to three days in front of petrol stations or buy the fuel from black market for double price.

Ibrahim al-Khayat, an official at the Houthi-controlled oil ministry, said the reason behind the fuel crisis is that "nine oil tankers were denied clearance to enter Hodeidah port."

However, the Yemeni internationally-recognized government said in a statement this week that it had permitted some oil tankers which submitted "required documents on their shipments," while some other oil shipments did not provide the "necessary documents" to get clearance to enter the port.

The ongoing fuel crisis also disrupts functioning of hospitals in the rebel-held cities, which depend on generators, normal transportation, humanitarian aid and food relief.

Fears soar that the fuel crisis could trigger another wave of cholera epidemic, which threatens the lives of millions of severely malnourished children.

Yemen has registered the world's highest number of cholera cases since 2017, with the infection of 1 million and over 2,000 confirmed dead, according to the World Health Organization.

A peace deal reached between Yemeni warring parties in December last year has hit a deadlock. The deal, with the first step toward finding a comprehensive political solution, focuses on the port city of Hodeidah, the lifeline for Yemen's most commercial imports and humanitarian aid.

Though both warring parties have largely obeyed the cease-fire deal, they have failed to withdraw forces from the city.

UN envoy Martin Griffiths has been shuttling between the Iranian-allied Houthi rebels in Sanaa and the Yemeni government in exile in a bid to end the civil war, which erupted after the rebels seized much of the country's north in late 2014.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-14 04:44:49|Editor: yan

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Photo taken on April 12, 2019 shows Sudanese people continuing their protest against the military council in front of the army's general headquarters in Khartoum, Sudan. Sudan's opposition Freedom and Change Alliance on Friday urged the new leadership of the Transitional Military Council to transfer power to a transitional civilian government. The alliance urged the protesters to continue their sit-in before the army's general headquarters. Earlier on Friday, chairman of Sudan's transitional military council Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf announced his resignation. He named Lt. Gen. Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan Abdel-Rahman as his successor. (Xinhua/Mohamed Khidir)

KHARTOUM, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Sudan's opposition Freedom and Change Alliance on Saturday demanded the transitional military council involve civilians in a joint presidential council.

The alliance made the call during its meeting with Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan, chairman of Sudan's Transitional Military Council.

"We demanded the participation of civilians in the transitional presidential council in addition to a civilian government," Omer Al-Digair, a member of the alliance, told reporters.

The alliance will present a list to the chairman of the military council on Sunday, he added.

Al-Digair also said the alliance asked the council to restructure the security body and bring all people involved in corruption and killing of protesters to fair trial.

Earlier in the day, Al-Burhan voiced in a statement his commitment to forming a two-year transitional civilian government.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-14 05:40:08|Editor: yan

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GAZA, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic Hamas movement, ruler of the Gaza Strip, slammed on Saturday the formation of a new Palestinian government for deepening the internal division.

Khalil al-Hayya, deputy chief of Hamas and a member in Hamas' politburo, said the new government of Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye "is very far from any Palestinian national accord or any legal measure."

"We were hoping and will hope to go for a national unity government that will be a salvation government that rescues the current national Palestinian status," said al-Hayya in a press statement.

He also criticized the new Palestinian government as "a separatist government that doesn't include all factions and political powers."

"This government was made to empower the internal Palestinian division and again proves that there is no return to a real national unity," the Hamas deputy chief concluded.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-14 05:55:11|Editor: Liangyu

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WASHINGTON, April 13 (Xinhua) -- China will further expand the opening-up of its financial sector "in a systemic manner at the institutional level," the deputy governor of China's central bank said in a statement released Saturday.

Chen Yulu, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, said Beijing is working toward treating Chinese and foreign-funded financial institutions "equally in a way that is more transparent and consistent with best international practices."

Chen made the statement at the ministerial meeting of the 39th meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), the policy-setting body of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

"The Chinese government continues to implement the high-level opening-up strategy, through measures such as tariff cuts," the deputy governor said. "The market access for the agricultural, manufacturing, and service sectors has been relaxed and the negative list for foreign access has been shortened substantially."

In addition to enhancing the two-pillar framework of monetary and macro-prudential policies, Chen said China will accelerate the development of its financial market infrastructures, and the resolution mechanism for distressed financial institutions will be improved.

With respect to policies related to the exchange rate of China's currency, the RMB, Chen said "China will continue to improve the exchange rate mechanism and keep the RMB exchange rate in line with fundamentals at an adaptive equilibrium level."

China, Chen said, will continue to improve its business environment, promote opening-up at a high level and across the board, and further expand sectors for opening-up, so as to deepen reform in a comprehensive manner.

Highlighting the passage of the Foreign Investment Law at the National People's Congress -- China's legislature - in March, the deputy central bank chief said that subsequently, relevant laws and regulations will be revised in line with the principle of competitive neutrality.

"Policies and measures that hamper the growth of private businesses or fail to treat domestic and foreign investors as equals will be overhauled," he said.

Noting that a fair competition review system will be implemented across all levels of government this year, Chen said such a system will review all business-related policies, rules and measures, "and mechanisms for filing complaints and third-party evaluations will be established to forestall and redress any action that may preclude or constrain competition."

The IMFC meeting is part of the ongoing Spring Meetings 2019, which is co-hosted by the IMF and the World Bank in Washington.
Stiri pe aceeasi tema

- Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca says that the incident involving Senator Diana Sosoaca and a team of Italian journalists is "unacceptable," while categorically rejecting "the manifestation of differences of opinion through violence," reads a press release of the Executive on Tuesday, agerpres reports.

- Approximately 1,500 servicemen and specialists of the Ministry of National Defence, Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Special Telecommunications Service and the National Administration of Prisons, joined by foreign servicemen, with approximately 100 technical vehicles will participate, on Wednesday,

- O explozie puternica a zguduit o moschee siita in timpul rugaciunii de vineri provocand mai multe victime in orasul Kandahar, din sudul Afganistanului, a transmis un purtator de cuvant de la ministerul de interne al guvernului taliban, citat de Reuters. Potrivit primului bilant,

- President Klaus Iohannis will attend the informal meeting of the European Council and the European Union (EU)-Western Balkans Summit on Tuesday and Wednesday in Brdo, Slovenia, the Presidential Administration informed. According to the Presidential Administration, the main topic of discussion

- The Save Romania Union - Freedom, Unity, and Solidarity Party Alliance (USR PLUS) returns to the name of USR, but also to the old logo on an exclusively blue background, according to a decision adopted in the Sunday meeting of the party's Congress, held online. The information was confirmed

- A number of 12,740 people infected with SARS-CoV-2 are hospitalized in specialized health units, out of whom 345 children, the Strategic Communication Group (GCS) announced on Saturday. According to the cited source, 1,412 patients are admitted to intensive care, of whom 20 are children.

- A total of 184 deaths in patients infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus have been reported in the last 24 hours, the Strategic Communication Group (GCS) reported on Saturday. According to GCS, there are 96 men and 88 women admitted to hospitals across the country. As many as 151 of the

- President Klaus Iohannis will receive, on Saturday, in Germany, the International Charlemagne Prize of the City of Aachen - for European unification. According to a release of the Presidential Administration, the board of directors of the Charlemagne Prize decided to confer to President Klaus
Canada recomanda evitarea calatoriilor in strainatate

Guvernul canadian a anuntat miercuri ca recomanda anularea calatoriilor neesentiale in strainatate, spunand ca se teme de "ce este mai rau" din cauza amenintarii Omicron si ca va inaspri controalele la frontiera, noteaza AFP. "Trebuie sa ne adaptam la noua realitate si, prin urmare, [citeste mai departe]
The aggressor used the Minsk-banned weaponry seven times in Donbas over 24 hours

The Pro-Kremlin militants shell 14 times the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Donbas combat zone, one Ukrainian serviceman died, two more were wounded. The Joint Forces Operation (JFO) HQ reported this on Facebook.

On April 12, the Russia-backed militants opened fire 14 times. The enemy fired with Minsk-banned weaponry seven times using 64 shells of 120 mm and 82 mm calibers. The enemy fired grenade launchers of various systems, heavy machine guns, and small arms. As a result of the attack, one Ukrainian serviceman died, two more were wounded, the report said.

According to the report, the occupant opened fire 11 times in Donetsk region: twice with 120 mm and 82 mm mortar near Avdiivka settlement, twice with 82 mm mortar, heavy machine guns and small arms near Opytne settlement, with 82 mm mortar near Hnutove village, three times with easel anti-tank grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms near Novoselivka-2, Verkhnyotoretske and Chermalyk villages, twice with grenade launchers of various systems, heavy machine guns and small arms near Lebedynske settlement, and with manual anti-tank grenade launchers, and heavy machine guns and small arms near Pyshchevyk.

The Russia-backed militants fired the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Luhansk region three times: with 120 mm mortar and grenade launchers of various systems near Troitske settlement, and with 82 mm mortar, automatic easel anti-tank grenade launchers and heavy machine guns near Zaytseve village.

The Joint Forces operation stopped the fire by opening fire as well.

According to the Ukrainian surveillance, two occupants were killed and three more were wounded on April 12. The Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed one enemys infantry fighting vehicle BMP-1.

No violations have been spotted since the beginning of this day, the report added.
The investigating officers want to check the work possibilities of artillery on Berdyansk and Nikopol vessels

The Russian police officers appointed two more rounds of expertise in the case of Ukrainian sailors, detained in the Kerch Strait. The law enforcers intend to study the work possibilities of artillery on the seized vessels Berdiansk and Nikopol of the Ukrainian Navy. Mykola Polozov, the lawyer, stated this, as Ukrinform reports.

I dare to say that new stage of investigation process began. Two technical expertise, which will check the work possibilities of artillery on the seized vessels Berdiansk and Nikopol, have been appointed in the Ukrainian POWs case. It is rather difficult to guess how it will affect the accusations, Polozov said.

According to the lawyer, half of the detainees have been informed about this decision.

I guess others will be informed about this next week, when the court sessions will take place concerning the prolonging of the arrest of sailors, Polozov added.

Totally, the Russian investigation officers have appointed 11 expertise, including the psychiatric one.

The psychological and psychiatric judicial expertise against 20 captured Ukrainian sailors took place in Russia, where they are illegally held under trumped-up charges.

According to him, the next court hearings is slated for April 16 and 17. The detention term for the captured sailors will be extended.

24 Ukrainian sailors and three Navy vessels were captured by Russian special service in November 2018, as the ships were on their way across the Kerch Strait. The Russian military opened fire, wounding three Ukrainian servicemen. All 24 were arrested and charged with 'violating the Russian border'. Ukraine stated it was an act of direct aggression by the Kremlin. All Ukrainian sailors consider themselves prisoners of war.
Nine Ukrainians who were in the entourage of the ex-president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych deleted from the list

Open source

The European Union was obliged to remove several people from its anti-Russian sanctions list due to insufficient evidence of their involvement in the events in Ukraine, reports Welt with reference to the internal documents of the European Foreign Service.



At the same time, the names of those excluded from the list are not published, however, it is specified that nine Ukrainians, who were in the circle of the ex-president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych, were crossed out of it.



As noted, currently 170 people and 44 organizations are included in the EU sanctions list. From the point of view of Brussels, they undermined the territorial integrity of Ukraine and contributed to the aggravation of the conflict in the country.



We recall that in March, Ukraine imposed sanctions against 848 individuals and 294 legal entities involved in the Russian aggression in Crimea and Donbas.

Earlier Head of the Austrian Foreign Ministry Karin Kneissl claimed that her country supports the EU sanctions imposed against Russia since it violated international law. Interfax-Ukraine reported that, quoting the official.

'The sanctions were imposed in 2014 and continued ever since; recently, they were extended for another six months. We never left these because we respect the international law', Kneissl said.

She added that the annexation of Crimea is one of such violations of international law.

Previously, Kneissl said Austria supports the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine; on the other hand, she added that constant dialogue with Russia is important, too.
At the same time, those wishing to observe the face-to-face meeting of Zelensky and Poroshenko at the NSC Olimpiyskiy should be prepared to strengthened security measures

First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs 112 Agency

The Ministry of Internal Affairs asks the headquarters of presidential candidates Volodymyr Zelensky and Petro Poroshenko to refrain from radical appeals against each other in order to avoid artificial provocations. This was stated by the First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Serhiy Yarovyi, the press service of the department reports.



According to him, the Interior Ministry will hold consultations with representatives of both headquarters on the eve of the debate between presidential candidates and before the second round of voting, and those wishing to watch the face-to-face meeting of Zelensky and Poroshenko at the NSC Olimpiysky should be ready for strengthened security measures at the site.



"In addition, we will hold a series of meetings with representatives of both headquarters so that the" support groups "of candidates avoid offensive statements and provocative posters towards their opponents," Yarovyi said.

The HQ of candidate for the presidency and current President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko offered to allow all willing to visit the debates appointed on April 14 at Olympic Stadium, as TheBabel reported.

It is expected that the volunteers of Poroshenkos election headquarter will coordinate the guests at the entry to the stadium.

Separate accreditation is appointed for the journalists. It will be opened on April 13 at 9:00 a.m.
DPRK leader Kim Jong-un said that the breakdown of negotiations with the United States increased the risk of tension revival, but he is interested in holding a third summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. This is reported by Reuters.



Kim said he will wait till the end of this year for the United States to decide to be more flexible.

It is essential for the U.S. to quit its current calculation method and approach us with a new one, DPRK leader said in a speech to the Supreme Peoples Assembly on Friday.

In addition, he noted that his personal relationship with the US president continues to remain good despite the fruitless conclusion of their last meeting.



Trump and Kim have met twice, in Hanoi in February and Singapore in June, building goodwill but failing to agree on a deal to lift sanctions in exchange for North Korea abandoning its nuclear and missile programs.

Trump later issued a statement on Twitter that underscored the strength of his personal relationship with Kim and pointed to what he called North Koreas tremendous potential for economic success, once the issue of Pyongyangs weapons programs has been resolved.

A third Summit would be good in that we fully understand where we each stand, the U.S. president said in a pair of Saturday morning tweets.

I look forward to the day, which could be soon, when Nuclear Weapons and Sanctions can be removed, and then watching North Korea become one of the most successful nations of the World!

In his speech, the North Korean leader said the outcome in Hanoi led him to question the strategy he embraced last year of international engagement and talks with the United States.
Polish statement is the response to the statements of the spokesperson of Russias Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, according to her, the wreckages of the plane cannot be returned to Poland in the future

Open source

Poland demands from Russia to return the debris of Tu-154M, which crashed not far from Smolensk on April 10, 2010 as Polske Radio reported citing Foreign Ministry.

The debris of Tu-154M, which crashed not far from Smolensk, is the property of the Republic of Poland. Poland waits for their return as soon as possible, the message said.

It is reported that the statement of Polish Foreign Ministry is the response to the statements of the spokesperson of Russias Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, according to her, the wreckages of the plane cannot be returned to Poland in the future, as the criminal proceeding held by the Investigative Committee of Russia on Smolensk tragedy is not over.

Zakharova added that the debris of the plane is the material proof in this case and it means that its return to Poland is impossible.

Poland stated that it perceived the position of the Russian Federation with surprise.

As it was reported earlier, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will consider a draft resolution which calls Russia to return the wreckage of the aircraft of former Polish President Lech Kaczynski groundlessly held for eight years in Smolensk.

The draft resolution reads that in accordance with the Annex 13 of Chicago Convention, every country where a plane crash took place has to return the wreckage of the plane and all material values to the country it belongs after the completion of the investigation. The investigation in Russia was completed in 2011 when the report of the Interstate Aviation Committee on the accident circumstances was published.

On April 10, 2010, a Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft of the Polish Air Force crashed near the city of Smolensk, Russia, killing all 96 people on board. Among the deceased was the-then President of Poland Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria, many Polish top-rank officials and relatives of the 1940 Katyn massacre victims. The Polish side suspects that Russian flight dispatchers could be behind the catastrophe. Russia, on the other hand, insists that the airliner crashed due to the pilots error as the plane was landing amidst the thick fog.
Poroshenko and Macron will call on the Russian Federation to release Sushchenko and other prisoners of the Kremlin

At a meeting with French President Macron, Petro Poroshenko discussed the issue of political prisoners and preparations for the Normandy format summit, during which these issues will be included. This was stated by Poroshenko on the "Inter" TV channel.



He has raised the issue of the political prisoner Roman Sushchenko, who was personally acquainted with the first lady of France.



"During the meeting with French President Emannuel Macron, I separately raised the question of the journalist Sushchenko. You know that he worked in Paris, that the first lady of France took care of his fate. And Emannuel Macron clearly stated that in the near future we will once again take the initiative so that Putin will keep his word, release Sushchenko, and that he return home as soon as possible, said Petro Poroshenko.

Earlier the leaders of Germany and France agreed to hold a meeting on Normandy format after the end of the presidential elections of Ukraine. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko stated this on air of Inter TV channel.

The meeting possibly will take place in France.

We received the very clear message that in case of my second term in office the new possibilities will appear and the session of the Normandy format will take place. The meeting is likely to be held in France, just on the fifth anniversary of the Norman format, Poroshenko said.
The meeting of Normandy format is likely to be held in France

Petro Poroshenko, the current President of Ukraine Open source

The leaders of Germany and France agreed to hold a meeting on Normandy format after the end of the presidential elections of Ukraine. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko stated this on air of Inter TV channel.

The meeting possibly will take place in France.

We received the very clear message that in case of my second term in office the new possibilities will appear and the session of the Normandy format will take place. The meeting is likely to be held in France, just on the fifth anniversary of the Norman format, Poroshenko said.

Earlier, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and Federal Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel during their meeting supported the implementation of the Easter armistice in Donbas from April 18.

Despite the election campaign, the challenges from outside never end. The Russian aggressor would be very pleased to exclude Ukraine from the other countries. I as the President and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will do my best in order to prevent this to happen, Poroshenko said.
Open source

The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) has sent humanitarian aid to the uncontrolled territory of Donbas, as Ukraines State Border Guard Service reported.

Four trucks from ICRC were sent through Novotroitske entry-exit checkpoint to the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. The residents of Donbas will receive 73 tons of humanitarian aid, in particular, building materials and hygiene kits, the report said.

Earlier, The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) has sent 14 trucks with humanitarian aid to the uncontrolled territory of Donbas.

14 trucks from ICRC were sent through Novotroitske checkpoint to the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. The residents of Donbas will receive 231,4 tons of humanitarian aid, in particular, food, agricultural materials, building materials, medicine, and medical supplies, the message reads.

Earlier, the representatives of the illegal armed formations did not let three trucks carrying humanitarian aid from the International Committee of the Red Cross occupied Donbas.
Open source

The shooting began near the Embassy of Ukraine in London. It is reported by the press service of the department.



According to the report, at about 10 am, the car intentionally rammed the official vehicle of the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom, which was parked near the diplomatic department.



The police immediately arrived at the scene and blocked the intruder. However, despite this, the driver hit the ambassadors car again.
The presidents discussed the row of key issues during their meeting

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko stated that the negotiations with French President Emmanuel Macron can be regarded as the successful ones. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko stated this on the air of STB TV channel.

According to the Head of State, the presidents discussed the row of key issues.

We have discussed the Nord Stream-2, the economic cooperation, the support of the European and Euro-Atlantic potential of Ukraine. Those talks can be assessed as the excellent ones, the President said.

Earlier, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and Federal Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel during their meeting supported the implementation of the Easter armistice in Donbas from April 18.

The press office of French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed that the meeting with Petro Poroshenko and Volodymyr Zelensky will take place in Paris. On April 12, the French leader will meet both competitors for the presidential office.

The first meeting, the one with Zelensky, is slated for 3 p.m. Then, at 6 p.m. the two presidents will meet.
Ukrtransgaz deals with the gas export from Ukraine to Hungary

gas supplies Open source

Ukraine began exporting gas to Hungary. The Chief executive officer at Naftogaz Ukraine Andriy Kobolyev wrote this on Facebook.

According to the report, Ukrtransgaz will export gas from Ukraine.

Ukrtransgaz began first gas export from Ukraine to Hungary, Kobolyev wrote.

This was a test, but more could follow depending on price spreads and available domestic production, according to the companies.

Earlier, Peter Szijarto, the Hungarian foreign minister stated that Russia and Hungary agreed on the supplies of the Russian gas in 2020 - even without the agreement on gas transit between Kyiv and Moscow.

According to him, Hungary can purchase part of the natural gas via Austria, like it was done this year; in addition to that, the Hungarian side can use its own gas depots.

In April 2018, Russian energy monopolist Gazprom declined the option to extend the gas contract with Naftogaz company. The Russian side stated that the talks on the gas transit across Ukraine have not begun yet, merely assuming such possibility.
The representative of Ukraine in the European Union, Ambassador of Ukraine to Belgium, Mykola Tochytsky, denies the information that the EU lifted off sanctions from nine representatives of the former President Viktor Yanukovych entourage. He announced this on Twitter.



Another attempt to search for hot news where it doesnt exist. The EU hasnt taken off and is not preparing to take off sanctions from former Ukrainian officials these days. Die Welt is talking about sanctions that were removed during the previous years, said ambassador.



At the same time, Tochytsky added that due to the aggression of the Russian Federation and thanks to the work with EU leaders, economic, "Crimean" and personal sanctions imposed for pseudo-elections in the occupied territory, construction of the Kerch bridge, illegal transportation of Siemens turbines, the capture of Ukrainian sailors and other crimes of the Russian Federation were extended over the past years.
Thank's for the fish. -- Douglas Adams

Come back again sometime. Thank you for visiting.
PLEASE NOTE!

Due to the March 23, 2020 NM DOH Public Health Order, These Event Listings Are Not Accurate!

All non-essential businesses are closed, public gatherings are prohibited!

(One day some of these events will be rescheduled or will resume, but they are not happening now!)
Do you fancy a sort of jazz music that features clarinets and saxophones buoyed by a wide-bodied, flat-wound string guitar making with the rhythm as two well-seasoned woodwind players wind themselves around all that? If you answered yes to that tangled up, somewhat purple question, then we have got the show for you. The Anderson Trio (identical twin brothers Peter and Will on horns and guitarist Felix Lemerle making with the strumming and plucking) perform as part of the Placitas Artists Series on Saturday, April 14 at 3pm at Las Placitas Presbyterian Church . This youngish set of next-gen jazzers and Juilliard graduates has been lauded by the music critics over at Gray Lady as well as those residing at Vanity Fair and Jazz Times. That's reasonable. Their debut record Correspondence cooks the brain with its hot and fresh perspectives on standards and their performancesfilled with gems written by the likes of Cole Porter and Horace Silverputs you into a jazz trance both potent and refreshing. Tickets for this all-ages recital are priced between $15 and $25 . (August March)

The New-York-based jazz combo features brothers Peter and Will Anderson on saxophone and clarinet, along with French-born guitarist Felix Lemerle.

Show tunes and other jazz standards will have the audience tapping their toes when the Placitas Artists Series presents the Anderson Trio in concert at 3:00 p.m. Sunday, April 14, 2019.

The New-York-based jazz combo features brothers Peter and Will Anderson on saxophone and clarinet, along with French-born guitarist Felix Lemerle. The Washington Posthas described their music as imaginatively unfolding in ways that consistently bring a fresh perspective to classic jazz.

The program begins with Begin the Beguine by Cole Porter. Fans of George Gershwin will be pleased to hear both his Rhapsody in Blue and Summertime. Duke Ellingtons Mood Indigo will get the trios unique treatment, as will other familiar tunes by Richard Rogers, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Horace Silver. In all, a dozen composers are represented on the program  including C.P.E. Bach!

As a special treat, the New Mexico Jazz Workshop has arranged a short opening set to be performed by Albuquerque jazz musicians.
Tom Brenner/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump on Friday celebrated a decision by the International Criminal Court to reject a request by the courts prosecutor to investigate alleged war crimes committed in Afghanistan including the role of U.S. forces.

This is a major international victory, not only for these patriots, but for the rule of law, the president said in a statement. We welcome this decision and reiterate our position that the United States holds American citizens to the highest legal and ethical standards. ... Any attempt to target American, Israeli, or allied personnel for prosecution will be met with a swift and vigorous response.

National Security Adviser John Bolton, who has long been a critic of the ICC and declared in September the ICC is already dead as far as the United States is concerned, called Fridays development a vindication of the Trump administrations strong opposition to the international court.

This is a vindication of the presidents support for American sovereignty, and a rejection of the idea that there can be accountability for American citizens by any authority other than American constitutional institutions, Bolton said in a briefing with reporters Friday afternoon.

Human Rights Watch on Friday called the ICCs decision a devastating blow to the victims of human rights violations.

In issuing its ruling not to proceed with the investigation, ICC judges said the investigation was unlikely to further the pursuit of justice because neither Afghanistan, nor the U.S., were expected to cooperate.

The court decision also comes a month after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the US would put visa restrictions of any ICC personnel seeking to investigate allegations of war crimes involving US citizens. Last week, it was confirmed that ICC prosecutors visa had been officially revoked, barring travel to the US with the exception of official business at the United States. Bolton said Friday those visa restrictions would remain in effect.

Asked if he thinks the ICCs decision was related to the United States' actions on visas, Bolton at first said he cant speak to the timing.

Why it happened today as opposed to some other day I think its just the final l crash of an inadequate process, Bolton continued, suggesting the decision had more to do with the weaknesses in the case to investigate than the U.S. actions.

While human rights advocates have accused the administration of trying to bully, and even interfere in the courts workings, Bolton defended the administrations actions.

I dont think its bullying to stand up to protect innocent American service members, members of the intelligence community, who are unjustly accused. When Americans violate their training and doctrine, whether theyre in the military or intelligence community, as a democratic constitutional society we are capable of holding our own citizens accountable, Bolton said.

In its decision, the judges cited the prosecutor's request claiming "there is a reasonable basis to believe that, since 2003, members of the US armed forces and the CIA have committed the war crimes of torture and cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity, and rape and other forms of sexual violence pursuant to a policy approved by the US authorities."

The decision by the International Criminal Court's judges to reject an investigation in Afghanistan is a devastating blow for victims who have suffered grave crimes without redress, Param-Preet Singh, associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. This sends a dangerous message to perpetrators that they can put themselves beyond the reach of the law just by being uncooperative.

Bolton made clear that the administrations opposition to the court is unequivocal and based on a belief that it inherently conflicts with the U.S. Constitution.

Asked if the thought the ICC should have authority to prosecute Sudans Omar al Bash -- who has been indicated by the court -- for genocide, Bolton replied plainly: Its the position of the United States that the court is illegitimate.

Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Fast Food at Circle K

Twenty-four pop spigots, and an in-house kitchen

by Sabine Bickford

From the April, 2019 issue

"The huge change is the food," says Peter Mahan, manager of the Circle K on the corner of Stadium and Packard. After three years of controversy, compromise, and construction, the convenience store/gas station reopened in early February. It's part of ongoing expansion and improvement efforts in Michigan by Quebec-based Alimenation Couche-Tard, which has about 16,000 stores in North America, Europe, and Asia.



The new interior is simple and sleek: lots of shiny displays and smooth gray surfaces with bright blue accents. Mahan says the store's expansion let them bring in larger selections of drinks, packaged snacks, and ice cream--"which is very important in this neighborhood. Students love it."



Other additions include a walk-in beer cooler, two Polar Pop fountains with twenty-four soda choices, and a "f'real" machine that creates milkshakes and smoothies from prefrozen cups. But he's most excited about the on-site kitchen, which supplies fresh, house-made sub sandwiches, burritos, stromboli roll-ups, and pizza.



The store's coffee machines get their own little area. Mahan specifies a bean flavor on a touch pad and selects an option to leave room for cream. Immediately, a small batch of whole beans from the clear canister above is sucked downward and ground up, and coffee begins streaming out below. "It goes straight from the bean to your cup," says Mahan. "It can't get any fresher than that!"



Mahan, a sixty-five-year-old with eight grandchildren ("seven boys!"), worked as a banker in Detroit for over thirty years before he began "retirement" as a manager of the previous Circle K on the corner in 2006. "The bank sold to a different company, and so a lot of people lost their jobs," he says. "I was close enough to retiring that I just retired and got into a customer service job because I love customer service. It's a good job. It's a lot of fun!"



He left Ann Arbor in 2010 to manage other Michigan stores but fought to come back after the renovation: "I

...continued below...

basically had to interview to get this store, even though I had thirteen years with Circle K," he says. He's glad he did, because he recognized--and was recognized by--many of the same regulars he knew years ago.Mahan missed the intense politicking that shaped the rebuild. When Circle K and Quatro Construction originally proposed redevelopment of the 1950s-era site, neighbors complained the plan exposed their yards to noise pollution and eyesores. Over the next year, the residents and developers reached a surprisingly friendly compromise. The final plans, approved in 2017, used the back of the new store building and some strategically placed trees and fencing to shield the neighbors from the worst of the inconveniences of a busy gas station parking lot.To the frustration of both neighbors and developers, the construction dragged on for over a year. "There were some delays for various reasons," Mahan says. "I'm certainly not going to point any fingers, but construction, permits, the city, the state--it was just various things. And then Bruce, our Frito-Lay guy, he kind of delayed things too," Mahan says teasingly. Bruce, who's stocking bags of chips, chuckles as he walks by.Mahan still wants to get in touch with Hollis Smith, the retired firefighter who sold summer vegetables out of a cart on the Circle K lot for many years. "He'll probably find you!" interjects Bruce.Asked if he'll ever move on to a new retirement, Mahan smiles and shakes his head: "I'm here for the duration," he says. "I'm not going anywhere!"[Originally published in April, 2019.]
YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Minister of Healthcare Arsen Davtyan, currently under arrest in suspicion of bribery, has been sacked from his position by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the government reported on its website.

Davtyan was appointed Deputy Healthcare Minister in May of 2018.

He is charged with bribery in particularly large amounts.

The National Security Service said Davtyan accepted the bribe on March 30, 2019 at his office. Authorities said he was caught red-handed. Davtyan was placed under arrest on the same day.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. An American Airlines passenger jumped from a grounded plane after landing at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona on Friday morning, Fox News reported.

American Airlines flight 1346, en route from Minneapolis, called ahead for police to meet the aircraft after a passenger began causing disturbances during the flight.

Once the flight arrived at the gate, the passenger opened one of the doors and jumped off the aircraft, the airline told Fox News.

Law enforcement and paramedics responded.

According to Phoenix police, during the flight a 25-year-old passenger began touching passengers faces and spraying them with some kind of liquid from a spray bottle. A witness who spoke with the Arizona Republic said the man was also swearing and hitting multiple passengers.

"It is unknown what was in the bottle," police said in a media advisory obtained by Fox News.

After jumping out of the plane on the runway, he man sustained minor injuries. Police took him into custody without incident.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. Clear weather is expected across Armenia April 13th, 14th and overnight 16th, meteorologists from the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported.

Scattered showers and thunderstorms are forecast for April 15th, with rains expected April 16th through the 18th in most parts.

Temperature will rise from the current 18-20 degree Celsius by 3 degrees Celsius from April 13 to 15, but will drop by 10 degrees Celsius April 16-17.

In Yerevan, rain is forecast in the evening of April 16 and from April 17 to April 18.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan has made nearly 230 ceasefire violations from April 7 to April 13 at the Artsakh Line of Contact.

The Defense Ministry of Artsakh said Azerbaijan fired more than 2000 rounds from various caliber small arms at their positions.

It added that the Artsakh military is in full control of the situation.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Mher Grigoryan had a meeting on April 12 in Washington D.C. with David Bohigian, President of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the United States government's development finance institution.

Grigoryan attached great importance to cooperation with OPIC and presented the directions where partnership can be deepened, according to a readout by the Deputy PMs office.

Deputy PM Mher Grigoryan presented to Bohigian the priorities of the Armenian Government and addressed the branches where reforms will lead to economic growth in Armenia.

Grigoryan said the accomplishment of the primary public offering institute increases the opportunity of realizing the investment potential of the population and the Diaspora.

The sides also exchanged ideas over the prospects of developing cooperation and the conditions for enhancing the OPIC activities in Armenia.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. Protests are underway in the Armenian village of Zartonk in Armavir Province.

Villagers here have blocked the Yerevan-Gyumri railway in a protest demanding the resignation of the local school principal.

According to the demonstrators a brawl took place in the afternoon of April 12 involving employees of the school, and the principal, who is the daughter of the villages mayor, has insulted several women of the village.

Mayor Paruyr Sargsyan wasnt immediately available for comment.

In addition to the altercation, villagers claimed shots were fired. Police later confirmed the report.

Police said a man has opened gunfire from a hunting rifle during the brawl. The suspect and several others have been detained by police, the local police department said.

Five persons involved in the incident have sought medical attention. Police said they believe the injuries were caused by bullet shrapnel.

UPDATES:

14:30 - Four of the five victims have been discharged from hospital, one remains in serious condition.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. State Oversight Service Director Davit Sanasaryan quickly reacted and arrived at the village of Zartonk in Armenias Armavir Province to de-escalate a local protest.

Demonstrators opened the Yerevan-Gyumri railway, which they had blocked earlier, after Sanasaryan arrived to review the situation.

Sanasaryan and the protesters headed into the town hall to discuss and settle the disputes.

According to the demonstrators a brawl took place in the afternoon of April 12 involving employees of the school, and the principal, who is the daughter of the villages mayor, has insulted several women of the village.

Mayor Paruyr Sargsyan wasnt immediately available for comment.

In addition to the altercation, villagers claimed shots were fired. Police later confirmed the report.

Police said a man has opened gunfire from a hunting rifle during the brawl. The suspect and several others have been detained by police, the local police department said.

Five persons involved in the incident have sought medical attention. Police said they believe the injuries were caused by bullet shrapnel.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. Armenia has become the first country to join the St. Jude Global Alliance as Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyans spouse Anna Hakobyan signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital of Memphis, Tennessee.

Anna Hakobyan, Chairman of Board of the City of Smiles charitable foundation, is in the United States on a trip.

The MoU was signed to increase the treatment indicator of children with cancer.

Hakobyan said she is proud that Armenia is the first country to join the alliance because the country needs to develop the fight against cancer and train medical personnel.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. A criminal investigation has been launched into the armed incident in the village of Zartonk.

The Investigative Committee of Armenia said two persons have been arrested in suspicion of misdemeanor.

One of the arrested suspects is the grandson of the local mayor.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
The common law of England always was and is that the owner of land is entitled to all minerals beneath and within it with the exception of the royal metals, gold and silver, which belong by ancient prerogative to the Sovereign. Copper is owned by the landowner....

Lalor had expressed his views on this unequivocally in a long letter to the editor of the South Pacific Post (now the PNG Post-Courier) in October 1966:

Salmon noted, It's interesting to ponder that our Aussie enslavement to British law and the concept of crown mineral rights led to this tragic situation in Bougainville.

SYDNEY - I had intended to leave discussion of former Papua New Guinea public solicitor Peter Lalors vital role in the Bougainville story until a later chapter of my Kiaps Chronicle , but a comment from Peter Salmon suggests I should include Lalors view now.

Bougainville Revolutionary Army fighters look down on Panguna mine, 1996 - PNG Public Solicitor Peter Lalor did his best to avoid the terrible conflict that mining triggered in Bougainville

If he is unable or unwilling to work it or to allow others to work it application may be made to the High Court for the right to work it.which will be granted.if in the national interest and for public benefit.

The common law principle of the ownership of minerals is equally part of the law of Australia as of England. Both State and Commonwealth Governments have relied on it to assert their title to minerals.

In Australia however [according to the law at the time] all land was owned by the Crown and hence all minerals belonged to the Crown. It is true that when Australia was given the Mandate over New Guinea in 1921 the Common Law of England was introduced.

Hence the landowner could claim under common law to be entitled to the minerals other than gold and silver in his land. However, those property rights in minerals were taken away without compensation on 1 January 1923 when the Mining Ordinance 1922 came into force.

Despite the objections of the Australian government, the Australian Administration in PNG and Bougainville Copper Ltd, Lalor mounted an unsuccessful challenge against the mining law in the High Court of Australia in 1969.

All going well, I will get around to Peter Lalors magnificent contributions in chapters of Kiaps Chronicle to come.

_________

Peter William Andrew Lalor (notes from Una Voce)

After service in the Australian Army, Peter joined the Provisional Administration of PNG as a Patrol Officer in October 1946 and was posted to the Milne Bay District. He was in Samarai when a power line came down and, whilst he was rescuing another person, he stepped on the live wire and had his heel badly burnt. This necessitated long treatment in Melbourne where he also finished a law course and met and married his first wife, Mary.

On return to PNG he joined the Crown Law Department and was assigned to several special projects. In 1960 he was appointed the first Public Solicitor in PNG. Over the years he was very active in the affairs of the Public Service Association, particularly in negotiations with Canberra concerning the status and serving conditions of expatriate officers when self-government was introduced into PNG.

In 1965, whilst on duty as Commissioner for the Girl Guides, Peter's wife, Mary, died in a plane accident. He was greatly affected by this tragedy so in 1967 friends arranged for him to go to Canberra, where he spent six months as Associate Professor of Law at the Australian National University. It was there he met Lynette (Netti) Peterson and they were married in 1968.

Peter was highly respected by both practising and academic lawyers in Australia as well as PNG. He had a strong social conscience reminiscent of his namesake (possibly forebear) at the Eureka Stockade.

Although some individuals or groups may have disagreed with some of his actions as PNG Public Solicitor none ever doubted his integrity. He felt that conciliation was far more preferable to riots and saw the court system as a way of taking the heat out of some social issues. He died on 28 March 1992 aged 71.
Dan has slammed claims he ever cheated on Jess. Photo: Diimex

Dan Webb has slammed allegations he cheated on ex Jessika Powers, saying he was hosting his sons birthday party when the incident supposedly occurred.

In a filmed interview obtained exclusively by Yahoo Lifestyle Australia, the father of one strongly denies any possibility that he cheated on Jess.

Those allegations are fabricated and false and Ill tell you why, he said.

Ive got my son every second weekend and on that weekend I held his birthday party, so I was at home with him the whole way.

The father-of-one says he was at his sons birthday party when the incident supposedly occurred. Photo: Instagram/danwebbs

The former MAFS groom was responding to allegations made by a caller on KIIS FMs Kyle and Jackie O show on Wednesday morning.

A woman named Hannah called in claiming shed kissed the Dan on a night out.

This was like two months ago, Hannah explained, revealing at the time Dans friends had told her hed been on MAFS, but given his behaviour she was under the impression he wasnt in a relationship when he made a move on her.

Married At First Sight star Dan Webb was accused of cheating on ex Jess Powers. Photo: Diimex

He was trying to do that and I said no and then he literally kissed me, she said.

The woman claimed that Jess had reached to her out over Instagram with her suspicions, and that shed come clean to the former MAFS bride.

The 35-year-old shared his disbelief that what he claims are false allegations could have been made against him.

It just feels shocking you know these people can come out and say this stuff, he shared.

Dan says the pair split on Monday night after their live TV tiff on Talking Married. Photo: Channel Nine

The single dad got emotional as he reiterated that the couples relationship was genuine and not a ploy by the shows producers.

I wanted something with her, he insisted.

Im not sure she can reciprocate the same answer Ive given, but me personally, I was falling head over heels for that girl daily.

Meanwhile Jess has made no public comment, beyond sharing a wild girls night out to her Instagram story yesterday.

Dan now expresses regret for cheating on MAFS wife Tamara Joy with Jess.

You live and learn I have a lot of regret for some of the decisions Ive made, he confesses.

The feeling is regret about ever meeting Jess.

Story continues

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Lucasfilm delighted "Star Wars" fans Friday with a glimpse of Carrie Fisher in sneak-peek footage of the hotly-anticipated final episode of the space opera -- more than two years after her death. Director J.J. Abrams told the US "Star Wars Celebration" event the writers had agonized over giving Fisher's beloved General Leia Organa a fitting send-off in the ninth installment, revealed as "Star Wars IX: The Rise of Skywalker." "Every day it hits me that she is not here but it's so surreal because we're working with her still... she's in scenes," Abrams told the rapt crowd at the five-day event in Chicago. A world-first trailer released at the convention -- and dropped on the internet -- reintroduced the "next generation" characters from the final three films alongside old favorites from as far back as the 1977 original, "Star Wars IV: A New Hope." They included Lando Calrissian, portrayed by the original actor Billy Dee Williams, and the voice only of Mark Hamill -- Luke Skywalker himself -- who appeared to die in the last film but was widely expected to have some role in the latest movie. "No one's ever really gone," Skywalker says in voiceover, as Leia hugs apprentice Jedi Rey, played by English actress Daisy Ridley, who has top billing in the latest of the three trilogies that makes up the long-running saga. Abrams said it would not continue the story exactly where the last one -- 2017's "Star Wars: Episode VIII ? The Last Jedi" -- left off. - 'Weird miracle' - Leia was still alive at the end of 2017's "The Last Jedi" but the actress herself died a year earlier, in December 2016. Disney said last year Fisher's role would be gleaned from previously unreleased footage from "The Force Awakens," with the blessing of her daughter, Billie Lourd. Abrams described the "weird miracle" of being able to continue Leia's story by looking at old footage. Speaking at a panel discussion moderated by comedian and late night television host Stephen Colbert, the director said the film was in post-production. It is not the first time Fisher's likeness has featured in a "Star Wars" movie despite being absent from its filming. "Rogue One," a 2016 spin-off from the main series, directed by Gareth Edwards, had been in theaters for a couple of weeks when Fisher's death from a heart attack was announced. A much younger version of Fisher as Leia appears in that movie, thanks to the controversial application of computer wizardry to animate her image. Cast members returning with Ridley for the final episode include Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran and Joonas Suotamo. Naomi Ackie as a character called Jannah and Richard E. Grant are among the new faces, while old "Star Wars" hand Anthony Daniels returns as C-3PO and Ian McDiarmid reappears as the dastardly Emperor Palpatine. Carrie Fisher, seen on a screen during the In Memoriam of the 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2017, will appear posthumously in the final installment Fans participate in the Star Wars celebration in Chicago, Illinois, on Apirl 11, 2019
Islamic State claimed responsibility for a suicide blast in Pakistan's Quetta city on Friday that killed 20 people and left 48 more injured. The group released a photograph of the bomber along with his name on Saturday and said the attack targeted Shiite Muslims. On Friday, a little known faction of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast, saying it collaborated with Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), which has been behind numerous bloody attacks on Shiite Muslims in Pakistan. Pakistani officials deny Islamic State group (IS) is present in the country, but the group has claimed a number of attacks in the past. Ethnic Hazara make up most of the Shiite population in Quetta, the capital of southwestern Balochistan province -- the country's largest and poorest region, rife with ethnic, sectarian and separatist insurgencies. The Hazara peoples' Central Asian features make them easily recognisable and they are a soft target for Sunni militants, who consider them heretics. They are so frequently targeted they are forced to live in two protected enclaves in the city and are given a daily police escort to the market to stock up on supplies. Dozens of people including women and children belonging to the Hazara community continued a sit in on one of the city's major roads on Saturday, demanding the arrest of those behind the bombing. Amnesty International, in a statement Friday said the blast was a "painful reminder" of the many attacks suffered by the Hazara community in Quetta over the years. It also called for the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan to give them better protection. "Each time, there are promises that more will be done to protect them, and each time those promises have failed to materialize," wrote Omar Waraich, Amnesty's deputy director for South Asia. Violence in Pakistan has dropped significantly since the country's deadliest-ever militant attack -- an assault on a school in the northwestern city of Peshawar in 2014 that killed more than 150 people, most of them children. The powerful suicide bombing on Friday in Quetta city left 20 people died
Israel Folau and Rugby Australia are headed for a bitter showdown with the embattled Wallabies superstar pledging to tackle the governing body head on in a desperate bid to save his career.

Folau met RA boss Raelene Castle on Friday, with neither party backing down in a feud that threatened to turn ugly.

RA on Thursday released a statement in which they expressed their intention to terminate Folaus lucrative contract.

NOT AGAIN: England star causes more outrage with Israel Folau support

But in a stunning twist, The Australian is reporting that Folau will attempt to use a legal loophole to keep his contract.

According to The Australian, Folau and manager Isaac Moses believe the grounds for his sacking will not hold up in court.

The fact that RA and the Waratahs went ahead and made a public announcement of their intention to fire him without going through a Code of Conduct hearing could potentially leave the two rugby bodies legally exposed, The Australians Wayne Smith wrote on Saturday.

Israel Folau and Raelene Castle. Image: Getty

Indeed, in their seven-paragraph statement RA chief executive Raelene Castle and her NSW counterpart Andrew Hore did not once mention a Code of Conduct hearing and it could be argued that he was being denied due process.

The Australian also reports that a clause in Folaus recently-signed $4 million contract preventing him from voicing his religious beliefs on social media may also be legally iffy.

Under the General Contracting section of the CBA, the only additional clauses that can be inserted into a standard player contract are those that are beneficial or potentially beneficial to the player, Smith said.

Certainly any clause that permitted Rugby Australia to sack Folau if he posted comments on social media that were deemed to be divisive or discriminatory would hardly be viewed as being beneficial.

Israel Folau in action for the Wallabies. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Whats next?

Folau maintained a stony silence after earlier holding crisis talks amid RAs threat to tear up his multi-million-dollar contract following his latest attacks on homosexuals.

Story continues

Supported by his professional netballer wife Maria, the three-time John Eales Medallist spent the morning at a Sydney cafe with Rugby Union Players Association boss Prataal Raj and another RUPA representative plotting his next move.

He refused to talk when approached by a TV reporter, but its understood Folau told Raj he wanted to observe his right to challenge RAs planned sacking at a code of conduct hearing.

Rugby Australia later released a telling joint statement with the NSW Waratahs.

Our joint position regarding Israel Folau is unchanged, it said.

Following todays meeting, the two organisations will update their respective boards on the matter to consider next steps.

with AAP
More than 70 British lawmakers have urged their government to prioritise any extradition bid Sweden might make for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is also wanted in the United States. Assange was arrested on Thursday at Ecuador's London embassy on allegations of skipping bail, and on a US extradition warrant related to a huge leak of official documents. He had sought refuge in the embassy in 2012 while on bail awaiting extradition to Sweden for allegations of sexual assault and rape, which he always denied. In the letter, the MPs and peers urge British Home Secretary Sajid Javid to "give every assistance to Sweden should they want to revive and pursue the investigation". British law states that if Sweden does make an extradition request, it would be up to Javid to decide which should take precedence. "We must send a strong message of the priority the UK has in tackling sexual violence and the seriousness with which such allegations are viewed," the letter says. The sexual assault claim expired in 2015 and Swedish prosecutors dropped a preliminary investigation into the rape allegation in 2017, arguing that since Assange could not be reached, they could not proceed. Following his arrest, however, the alleged rape victim asked that her case now be reopened -- but the limitation period on this claim expires in August 2020. "We do not presume guilt, of course, but we believe due process should be followed and the complainant should see justice be done," the letter says. The MPs and peers add that it is "of grave concern to us" that the Swedish authorities did not appear to have prior warning of Assange's arrest, unlike the US authorities. The letter was also copied to Diane Abbott, the home affairs spokeswoman for the main opposition Labour party. - 'Fight it hard' - Abbott said: "Assange skipping bail in UK, or any rape charge that may be brought by Swedish authorities shouldn't be ignored. "But the only extradition request is from USA, because he's a whistle-blower on atrocities caused by US military ops. This extradition would be wrong so we oppose it." Assange is currently being held at the high-security Belmarsh jail in southeast London. The 47-year-old Australian claims the Swedish cases against him were politically motivated, linked to the leak in 2010 of a huge number of US military and diplomatic documents. He sought refuge with Ecuador, claiming that his extradition to Sweden was a pretext for his transfer to the United States. But Ecuador withdrew his asylum status and allowed British police into the embassy on Thursday to arrest the white-bearded Assange. He appeared in court a few hours later and was found guilty of breaching his bail terms back in 2012. He could be jailed for up to a year when he is sentenced at a later date. The separate extradition case on US charges of computer hacking is set for May 2, although the United States has until June 12 to submit full extradition papers. Assange's London lawyer Jennifer Robinson said: "He's obviously going to fight extradition and fight it hard." Assange was arrested on Thursday at Ecuador's London embassy on allegations of skipping bail, and on a US extradition warrant related to a huge leak of official documents
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo landed in Peru on Saturday on the third-leg of a four-nation tour of Latin American allies focusing heavily on Venezuela and countering China's economic reach. Pompeo held talks with President Martin Vizcarra and Foreign Minister Nestor Popolizio before attending a dinner for business leaders. He paid tribute to Peru's welcome for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan refugees and Vizcarra's fight against corruption, which has embroiled the previous four Peruvian presidents. But he became irritated when a reporter asked if that contradicted US President Donald Trump's harsh immigration policy at home. "Our objective is to allow people to stay in their home countries, this is President Trump's desire, we want to create conditions in these countries where they can stay in their own country," he told the press conference with Popolizio. Earlier Pompeo became the first US secretary of state to visit Paraguay, formerly ruled as a dictatorship, since 1965, paying tribute to the country's transition to democracy as an inspiration to the region. The top US diplomat arrived in Asuncion late Friday after talks with Chile's President Sebastian Pinera in Santiago that focused heavily on his country's developing trade relationship with China. The highlight of Pompeo's trip will be a brief visit Sunday to the Colombian city of Cucuta on the Venezuelan border, where he will meet refugees. All four countries on his itinerary are led by right-wing or center-right leaders favorable to Washington's uncompromising approach to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. In Asuncion, Pompeo had praised Paraguay's support for US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido in Venezuela, and its role in the Lima Group of mostly Latin American nations seeking a solution to the Venezuela crisis. "Paraguay is a leader in defending democracy and calling Maduro as he is, a tyrant who has ruined his country," Pompeo said. Foreign Minister Luis Castiglioni said Paraguay's position on Venezuela remained strongly aligned with that of the United States. "We have always said: with dictators, with tyrants, there is no dialogue. You fight them. We must fight them until liberties are restored so that the Venezuelan people can return to live with dignity," he told reporters. Asked by a US journalist if Paraguay would back a military intervention in Venezuela, he said: "We are convinced that all the diplomatic efforts that are being made to isolate this regime will have results in a short time." Paraguay was ruled by dictator Alfredo Stroessner from 1954 to 1989. - Transnational crime - The two officials also discussed Paraguay's commitments on combatting threats of terrorism, drug trafficking and transnational crime in what is known as the tri-border area, the border region Paraguay shares with Argentina and Brazil. "Paraguay has declared all-out war against transnational crime," said Castiglioni. "This battle that we are fighting is a battle of no return until we win. We have assured the Secretary of State that Paraguay wants to cooperate very closely with the US government, since we are on the same path." The US official said before his arrival in Chile on Friday that the current US administration had "spent a lot of time" in Latin America seeking to improve trade in a region which has turned its back in recent years on a slew of leftist governments. "This is an historic opportunity," he told reporters, referring to "a handful of countries that are truly market driven, democratic in ways that we haven?t had in South America for decades. And we think it creates real opportunity." Asked about China's influence at a press conference following a working lunch with his Chilean counterpart Roberto Ampuero, Pompeo said: "I think the Chilean government and the United States government both share the same concerns." "China's trade activities often are deeply connected to their national security mission, their technological goals, their desire to steal intellectual property, to have forced technology transfer, to engage in activity that is not economic," he said. He iterated his concerns Saturday in Peru. "Too often we see China's predatory lending and debt diplomacy reverse positive advances in this area," he said. "Our shared goal would be to resist Chinese overtures and promote transparency." U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is welcomed by Paraguay's Military Cabinet Chief General Roque Alberto Sotelo (L) and Ambassador Federico Gonzalez (R) at the presidential palace in Asuncion U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) and Paraguay's President Mario Abdo Benitez pose beneath a portrait of Paraguay's national hero Francisco Solano Lopez during their meeting in Asuncion on April 13, 2019 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a joint press conference with Paraguayan Foreign Minister Luis Castiglioni at the presidential palace in Asuncion, on April 13, 2019
Dozens of migrants stuck on a ship since their rescue in the Mediterranean 10 days ago, arrived in Malta Saturday after four European countries agreed to take them in. And as Italy's hardline interior minister expressed satisfaction at having kept the country's borders closed to the migrants, Malta expressed frustration at being confronted with the problem again. All 62 migrants still on the German-flagged ship Alan Kurdi boarded Maltese naval vessels, which brought them to Valletta, where they were to join two women evacuated last week for medical reasons. The migrants are to be "redistributed between #Germany, #France, #Portugal and #Luxembourg," Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced on Twitter. "None will remain in Malta which cannot shoulder this burden alone," he added. On Friday, French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said Paris and other EU partners would "show solidarity" towards the migrants, who include 12 women and two children aged one and six. The group was rescued on April 3 from a barely seaworthy vessel off Libya, and brought to the Italian island of Lampedusa. Sea-Eye chairman Gorden Isler denounced the time it had taken to find a compromise. "It is simply not explainable why it was necessary for people to stay on board during the long negotiations while governments negotiated 64 individual fates," he said. But Italy's hardline Interior Minister Matteo Salvini refused them entry. Berlin should take the migrants as they had been rescued by a German NGO, Sea Eye, he said. "It's their problem, they must deal with it," Salvini said, adding he had personally written to the ship's captain to warn him the vessel must not enter Italian territorial waters. On Saturday, Salvini, of the far-right League party, expressed satisfaction at the outcome. "As promised, no immigrant from this German NGO (ship) will arrive in Italy. They will go to Germany or elsewhere," he tweeted. - Salvini satisfied - "The Maltese are right to denounce the danger of the NGO's -- we stand beside them in the fight against human traffickers," added Salvini, who last month insisted Italian ports would be closed to migrant rescue NGOs operating in the Mediterranean to force other EU states to take them in. Valletta expressed frustration at being caught in the middle. "Once again, the European Union's smallest state has been put under pointless pressure in being tasked with resolving an issue which was neither its responsibility nor its remit...," the Maltese government complained in a statement. "Malta calls on the NGOs to abide by all applicable conventions and regulations." Last week, two of the women -- one of whom is pregnant -- turned down an offer to leave the ship with the children unless their husbands were allowed to join them. The women were ultimately evacuated midweek for health reasons to Valletta. Late Friday a crewman was allowed off the ship for medical reasons. The Alan Kurdi vessel is named after the three-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed up on a Turkish beach at the height of the European migrant crisis in 2015. Pictures of his lifeless body caused a global outcry over the migrants' plight. Italy, with EU support, has also since 2017 been training the Libyan coast guard to intercept boats as part of a controversial deal that has seen migrant arrivals to Italy drop sharply. Last month, Malta received 108 migrants aboard a Palau-flagged tanker hijacked by three young Africans who diverted the boat from Libya. Although many ships hired by humanitarian organisations have been blocked in ports for judicial or administrative reasons, the Italian group Mediterranea said Saturday that its ship Mare Jonio was ready to set off on a rescue mission. A total of 356 people have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean so far this year, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Migrants who arrived in Malta are to travel on to France, Germany, Luxembourg and Portugal Map locating Malta, where 62 migrants arrived on Saturday These migrants who landed in Malta are to be redirected to Germany, France, Portugal and Luxembourg These migrants who landed in Malta are to be redirected to Germany, France, Portugal and Luxembourg
A UK tourist has been charged over a violent robbery at Bondi Beach less than 24 hours after arriving in Australia.

The 35-year-old man allegedly assaulted and threatened a 59-year-old man in the early hours of Saturday on Campbell Parade.

He allegedly continued to assault the man as he attempted to run away, stealing his phone before a pedestrian alerted police.

The man was allegedly assaulted by the UK national near Curlewis Street on Campbell Parade. Source: Google Maps

The victim was treated by paramedics and taken to St Vincents hospital in a serious but stable condition.

Police arrested the younger man at the scene and later charged him with aggravated robbery involving wounding/grievous bodily harm and choking a person with the intent to commit an indictable offence.

The UK national was refused bail and is due to face Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday.

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Courtesy Drew Pasler(MIAMI) -- An American doctor is recovering after he was shot three times during a mission trip to help schoolchildren in Haiti last week.

Dr. Doug Burbella, 58, and a group of missionaries working under Living Water Ministries were on their way to deliver $20,000 worth of computers and servers to a school in Anse-Rouge on April 4. They had been in the country for only four hours when their trucks were suddenly roadblocked by a group of about 150 Haitian men, Burbella said.

One of the men threw a tire in their path and set it ablaze. Then, dozens more began circling and climbing on top of the trucks. The missionaries told ABC News that the ambushers carried every weapon imaginable, from machetes to long rifles and machine guns.

Then there was a hailstorm of gunfire, Burbella told ABC News in a phone interview.

Drew Pasler, the driver of the truck transporting Burbella, put the truck in reverse and tried to turn around, but one of the back tires had been shot.

Pasler heard Burbella scream that he had been hit.

I turned around and saw bullet holes in Dougs jaw, neck and shoulder, Pasler told ABC News in a phone interview.

The group of men caught up to the truck and ordered the missionaries out so they could take their belongings. All of the missionaries complied except for Burbella, who played dead in the backseat.

Burbella said the ambushers took his cellphone and some cash before one of the men began aiming a long rifle at his head.

Just when I thought they were about to finish me off, a man on a motorcycle came out of nowhere and said No, Burbella said.

The man on the motorcycle said something in Creole and the ambushers immediately stopped and began returning most of the items that they had taken, Pasler told ABC News.

The missionaries carried Burbella to the second truck and rushed him to a medical facility. Burbella, who was bleeding profusely, told ABC News, "I thought I was going to die." So he asked Pasler to record a message for his wife and son.

Honey, I just want you to know I love you, and I love you, Michael, Burbella says in the video obtained by ABC News. Michael, I want you to be a pilot. Dont ever give up that dream. Live for the Lord.

Burbella survived. The day after he received medical treatment in Haiti, he was flown to Delray Medical Center in Florida.

Shelly Weiss, a spokesperson a the medical facility, confirmed to ABC News that Burbella was shot three times  once in the jaw, neck and spine. She confirmed that surgeons were able to remove all three bullets from Burbella.

The one thing that was most inordinary about this was the Haitian man on the motorcycle, Pasler said. He was our angel that day.

Burbella, who has reunited with his wife and son, said his recovery is expected to last at least four months. He added that the attack will not stop him from completing his mission trip in Haiti.

I will go wherever the lord tells me to go, Burbella said. But I will have to ask my wife.

Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
SYRACUSE  Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul is pleased with the progress central New York has made over the last eight years. She thinks the recently adopted 2019-20 state budget will help the region grow.

Hochul shared highlights from the state budget during a presentation at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse Friday. The $175.5 billion spending plan includes $7 billion for central New York.

A portion of that multi-billion dollar allocation is economic development funding. Central New York has won more than $700 million over an 8-year period in the annual state regional economic development council competition. This year's budget includes $750 million for the councils.

An additional $100 million will allow the state to fund another round of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative. The program aims to bolster downtown areas and supports projects developed by local officials.

In central New York, past winners of the downtown contest include Auburn, Cortland and Oswego.

"When you get $10 million all in one shot to execute the vision that you and your community put forward ... these downtowns are transformed forever," Hochul said. "There's a sense of optimism that wasn't there before."

There are several statewide programs that Hochul believes will benefit central New York. More than $59 million has been appropriated for the state's tourism campaign and $6.5 million will support the expansion of Taste NY, an initiative that markets New York-made beverages and food products.

Central New York will receive $4 million to address the opioid crisis. The funding will support 16 residential and nine outpatient programs, along with a state-operated addiction treatment center.

Hochul is encouraged by a reduction in the amount of people "doctor shopping" to obtain opioid prescriptions, and the number of opioids being prescribed has declined. But she acknowledged that more must be done to combat the problem.

"We have to continue to be creative," she added.

Hochul's presentation featured many of the top policy items in the budget, including making the property tax cap permanent, codifying provisions of the federal Affordable Care Act into state law, increased infrastructure invements, $500 million more for clean water projects and over $1 billion more for public schools.

She also sought to correct what she views are false statements about another legislative achievement.

On criminal justice reform, Hochul has heard criticism of the decision to eliminate cash bail for nonviolent felonies and most misdemeanor offenses. She referred to the story of Kalief Browder, who was falsely accused of stealing a backpack and spent three years in Rikers, a notorious New York City jail, because he couldn't post bail.

Browder was eventually released, but family and friends said he struggled with depression. He committed suicide in 2015.

"This is why we do this," Hochul said of eliminating cash bail. "This is why we have to start fresh."

There are some outstanding issues that weren't address in the budget. Rent regulation reforms are needed, Hochul said. Legalizing marijuana is another priority.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state legislative leaders initially hoped to include the adult use of marijuana in the budget, but it was too complex. They opted to delay negotiations until after the budget.

Hochul said the state wants to "get it right."

A recurring theme throughout Hochul's presentation was the positive developments in upstate New York. She recalled a time when upstate "was in a downward spiral." As one of six children, she is the only one of her siblings who stayed in upstate.

While challenges remain, she is optimistic about the region's direction.

"This area is back, and it's back with a vengeance," she said.

Online producer Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.

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SYRACUSE  State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins wants to help establish the first science, technology, engineering, arts and math high school in central New York.

Stewart-Cousins joined state Sen. Rachel May for a tour of the former Central Tech High School in Syracuse. The school, which was built in the early 1900s, has been closed since 1975.

The Syracuse City School District and Onondaga-Cortland-Madison BOCES plans to renovate the historic building and open the "STEAM" school that would offer several programs, including construction management and engineering, performing arts and robotics.

The structure has an asset that could make it an attractive site for performing arts students. The Lincoln Auditorium, named for the 16th president, has a nearly 1,900-seat capacity.

After a tour of the auditorium with May and Syracuse Superintendent Jaime Alicea, Stewart-Cousins remarked that the venue was "gorgeous."

"I would like to see our kids in central New York perform here," Alicea said.

There are several hurdles for the project. Alicea said they are working to finalize a cost estimate. Rehabilitating the school will be a considerable cost. Significant work on the building's interior is needed before it opens to students.

The proposed school is part of the city's "Syracuse Surge" economic development plan. Some funding for the school could come from central New York's remaining Upstate Revitalization Initiative funds. The region won $500 million in the 2015 economic development contest.

Sharon Owens, Syracuse's deputy mayor, described the school's redevelopment as a "pinnacle project" within the Syracuse Surge plan.

"Not only are we going to be preparing the existing workforce, but preparing the future workforce," she said.

Alicea hopes the school will open for the 2021-22 academic year. The initial goal is to have 150 ninth-graders in the program at the start, then phase in more students in subsequent years.

At its capacity, the school could host up to 1,000 students.

Stewart-Cousins is supportive of the plan.

"What I'm very, very happy to hear is the collaborative nature of everyone who understands how important it is to invest in education, to invest in our children, to invest in building a workforce and the workforce that will be doing this," she said. "It really is a win-win-win situation."

The school wouldn't be limited to Syracuse students. Through its partnership with OCM BOCES, Alicea said the school district has letters of support from 12 other central New York districts.

If the school opens as planned, 60 percent of the students will reside in Syracuse. The remaining student population will come from districts outside the city.

Bringing city and suburban students together, May said, makes the proposed STEAM school a "very exciting project." Alicea agreed.

"We want to make this a reality for all the kids in central New York," he said.

Stewart-Cousins' tour of the school followed lunch with May and a meeting with local officials. It was the majority leader's first visit to central New York since Democrats took control of the state Senate in January.

Online producer Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.

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Former President Barack Obama seemed to believe that treating Cuba's totalitarian regime as if it were not an enemy of liberty would encourage the country's leaders to live up to our chief executive's hopes.

That did not happen. News of a breakthrough in allowing Cubans at least some freedom makes it plain the island's communist leaders remain committed to Castro-style rule.

On Sunday, a small group of Cubans marched down a main street in the capital, Havana, protesting cruelty  to animals.

What was startling about the protest was that the regime's approval of it was unusual, to say the least. Any demonstration of unhappiness with the government in Cuba has been outlawed for more than half a century.

As The Associated Press noted, repression is so severe that when a biologist protested illegal logging and other environmental concerns, he was sentenced to a year in prison for "disrespecting a forest ranger."

So permitting any sort of public protest is highly unusual. But the one on Sunday was on behalf of animals and not directly against the government.

Only when the regime allows Cubans to demand more rights for human beings will there be reason to think change is on its way in Havana.

 The Leader Herald, Gloversville

Raise your hand if you got a 40 percent raise this year.

Raise both hands if you ever received a 40 percent pay hike in your entire life.

How many struggling New York business owners, homeowners and residents could raise even one hand? Few, if any.

Around here, it seems it's best to work in government if you ever want your pay to increase well beyond anything resembling what the rest of us consider to be normal standards.

In case you missed it, in a 92-46 vote early Monday, members of the state legislature agreed to raise Gov. Andrew Cuomo's salary to $250,000 by 2021. Approval of the measure means Cuomo's current salary, $200,000, will jump up to $225,000 next year and $250,000 in 2021.

Once finalized, the pay hike will result in Cuomo being the highest paid governor in the country, topping California's Gov. Gavin Newsom whose current salary is $202,000 per year.

In addition to a raise for Cuomo, a majority of state lawmakers agreed to give Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul a raise, from $190,000 currently to $220,000 in 2021.

Both hefty and wholly inappropriate raises follow the December vote in which a state committee, consisting entirely of government-appointed political types, called for an increase in salaries for state lawmakers from $79,500 to $130,000 over a three-year period.

Did we miss something? Weren't these the same people who spent the past few weeks lamenting the lack of state funding for priority items like education and infrastructure?

How is it that, right at the tail end of the budgetary process, they managed to find the money to pad their own salaries?

We don't buy the argument that they work hard. Forget the idea that they've somehow "earned" it.

New York State legislators are part-time employees and the bulk of their time is spent, you guessed it, cutting ribbons, holding press conferences about mostly nonsense and working on getting re-elected.

Those of us who pay the taxes and pick up the tab for New York's largess should be on the telephone right now to the governor's office, the lieutenant governor's office and the district offices of our state representatives.

We should be telling them that we didn't get a 40 percent raise this year and we don't appreciate them hiking their own salaries at our expense, for what amounts to no good reason.

At this point, it might be good to start thinking about organizing for the next state election cycle, with an eye on identifying viable candidates to challenge Cuomo, Hochul and any and all legislators who agreed to support this nonsense.

Or maybe, as some of us have for far too many years now, we'll just stay silent and let the powers-that-be in Albany take more of our money while we contemplate how to pay the mortgage, feed the family and send the kids to college on a salary that grows oh-so modestly if at all.

 The Niagara-Gazette, Niagara Falls

Forty-six years after the passage of the War Powers Act, Congress is at long last exercising its legal authority, in fact its responsibility, to insist a president withdraw U.S. support for a horrific foreign conflict.

The House and Senate are right to slog through the muck and make a basic moral statement that America must not be a party to the brutal Saudi military campaign in Yemen, which has killed more than 5,000 civilians, with millions at risk of starvation.

Last August, Saudi coalition forces destroyed a school bus, killing 40 children and 11 others, using a U.S. bomb. In addition to arms, America has provided training, logistics and intelligence support.

If President Trump issues his second veto as expected, he will as never before take ownership for worsening a bloody Middle Eastern civil war. And he will make further mockery of his campaign pledge to sidestep unnecessary foreign entanglements.

We do not pretend the lines in the sand between Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and the Saudi-supported Yemeni government can be cleanly drawn. Neither party is saintly. But we don't have to pick sides.

Direct U.S aid to the Saudi coalition, which began under the Obama presidency, has ratcheted up under Trump. Administration officials claim U.S. support helps minimize civilian casualties. They also say backing away would leave the field to Iran.

Those arguments are unpersuasive. A terrible conflict is raging. American authority would be far better spent calming, not fueling, hostilities.

 The Daily News, New York

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Have Sheriff Offices in North Carolina, possibly even Beaufort County's Sheriff Office, become too political in the discharging of their sworn constitutional duties?

No, the sheriff is a constitutional officer.

Yes, the Sheriff Office, on strong occasion, often reverts back to political patronage in the dispensation of their sworn constitutional duties.
Liberal Politics from the Heart of Bluegrass Country
TV an radio personality, Anele Mdoda took to social media to celebrate the news as soon as Wendy Williams' divorce was published in the media.

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Anele couldn't miss the opportunity to celebrate this news, as she claims that Wendy Williams' husband, Kevin Hunter was never good for her.

The Mzansi radio personality wrote: "Wendy Williams files for divorce!!! Yhu I never celebrated failed marriages and the demise of peoples love but y'all know I wanted this so bad. He hates her. Bye."

Anele spoke straight from her heart, and like most followers agree, the couple never stood a chance.

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According to the Daily Sun, Wendy is always ready to dish out dirt on other celebrities, but this time has chosen not to comment on her recent divorce from her husband, Kevin Hunter, whom she has been married to for 22 years. They also have a son together.

It is believed during her show yesterday, she wasn't wearing her wedding ring but didn't mention a single thing about the reports of her failed marriage and divorce.

Page Six reports revealed that they are in possession of the court documents which stated that reason behind Williams and Hunter's divorce is "irreconcilable differences." It also stated that Williams is seeking to establish an "appropriate amount for child support" and "other further relief that the Court deems fair and equitable".

Page Six also revealed that Wendy's legal representative confirmed the split in a statement and said: "Thank you to everyone for respecting the familys privacy during this time. Kevin is supportive of Wendy and they are working through this process together."

READ ALSO: Imbewu's Koobeshen Naidoo reveals his life story in exclusive interview

Just over a week ago, Briefly.co.za reported that it seemed that we were all misinformed; Kelly Khumalo and Chad da Don are the complete opposite of broken up.

A picture posted by Kelly suggested that the two are actually tying the knot, and soon. Kelly and Chad have had an up-and-down relationship since day one. The public were on them, spewing negativity before anything bad had even happened.

Briefly.co.za learnt that the breakup rumours have officially been busted. Kelly and Chad are happier than ever, and that is probably because people finally left them alone, thinking they were no longer together.

READ ALSO: Decades Later, How Some Of Our Favorite Celebrities From The 90s Have Transformed Over The Years

Enjoyed reading our story? Download BRIEFLY's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major South African news!

Source: Briefly.co.za
- Recently, crime statistics that state a vehicle is hijacked every 32 minutes have shaken Mzansi to its core

- Experts have said that these type of crimes are usually meticulously planned out

- Managing director of Paratus Enterprise, Hendri Appelgryn, has provided information about the habits of hijackers during this worrying influx of crime

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The South African Police Force (SAPS) recently released statistics that outlined how a car in South Africa is hijacked every 32 minutes.

According to experts, this is a large increase when it comes to this particular type of crime in SA.

What makes hijackings interesting is that they are not considered random crimes, but are most often carefully planned out and executed.

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Hendri Appelgryn, managing director of prestigious security company, Paratus Enterprise, told Witbank News a little more about the issue of hijacking in South Africa and its unique characteristics.

Hendri busted some myths and explained that hijacking does not necessarily happen in the industrial areas commonly associated with the crime, but often can be pinpointed in areas where there is an availability of a certain kind of car.

READ ALSO: The DA got praise for its achievements and it worries the ANC

To date, the overwhelming proportion of all the hijackers have been men, and occasionally women. They operate in groups of three or four, sometimes more. The hijackers tend to be very young, in their teens and early twenties, although some victims report the presence of a team leader who seemed older. Women are being used to lull potential victims into a false sense of security, since most of us feel less threatened in the presence of a woman as opposed to a man, Hendri explained.

Briefly.co.za also learned that the majority of weapons used in South African hijackings are handguns and knives.

READ ALSO: Exciting Details About The Casting Of The Long Nights, A Prequel To Game Of Thrones

Hendri went on to provide valuable information to Witbank News which could help South African citizens determine suspicious behavior linked to a potential hijacking and said:

Their [hijackers] driving habits are immediately suspicious. Before an attack they may cruise slowly around a particular area, often for days before the attack, without any apparent sense of purpose or specific direction. They may also simply sit in the car parked off the road or in a parking garage. Immediately after an attack, their driving patterns change dramatically. They will speed off, driving perhaps nervously and recklessly, but often with an air of bravado as if enjoying or flaunting publicly their total disregard for the law and the innocent person they have just attacked. They might ignore red traffic lights, jump stop streets and weave in and out through traffic, especially on motorways. This renders them highly visible to the public and this is where private citizens can play a vital role in assisting these peoples arrests.

Enjoyed reading our story? Download BRIEFLY's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major South African news!

Source: Briefly.co.za
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About Censored News Censored News is published by Brenda Norrell. Since 2006, Censored News has received more than 20 million pageviews. As a collective of writers, photographers and broadcasters, we publish news of Indigenous Peoples and human rights. Contact publisher Brenda Norrell: brendanorrell@gmail.com

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News / National

by Staff reporter

FINANCE and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube is in Washington DC, the United States of America (USA) for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank 2019 Spring Meetings, where he will give updates on debt clearance, economic and political reforms.Prof Ncube told Harare Bureau from Washington DC yesterday that he would also solicit for international financial support to reconstruct Cyclone Idai-ravaged Manicaland and Masvingo provinces."The message I am carrying is that Zimbabwe is making excellent progress in its reform agenda under the TSP (Transitional Stabilisation Programme)," said Prof Ncube. "The discussions on the SMP (Staff Monitored Programme) and debt arrears clearance are (also) gathering pace."However, in the interim, Zimbabwe needs international support, financially, to rebuild people's lives after the devastating effects of Cyclone Idai."Prof Ncube said he will participate in a round table discussion jointly with ministers of Finance from Mozambique and Malawi to garner support for financial assistance.Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi were devastated by Cyclone Idai and are battling to recover from the effects that left several hundreds killed while others were displaced in the three neighbouring countries. In Zimbabwe, the violent Cyclone Idai storms killed 344 people while 874 were killed in Mozambique, with about 60 dying in Malawi.Infrastructure worth millions of dollars was destroyed in the three countries, with the port city of Beira, the worst affected. There have been indications that about 90 percent of Beira City would require reconstruction.Zimbabwe has obtained considerable support for survivors in the form of clothing and food, with several companies such as Lafarge Zimbabwe, promising to help in the reconstruction of bridges and roads. A lot of support is still required to revive businesses that were affected by the storms, prompting Prof Ncube to seek further financial support.Several Zimbabwean companies have heeded the call to assist the affected communities, but are overstretched, making the international contribution handy.
News / National

by Staff reporter

A HWANGE magistrate handling the case of suspended chief magistrate Mishrod Guvamombe, who is accused of criminal abuse of office, yesterday threw out an application for his recusal, saying it was common worldwide that magistrates try their colleagues and judges try other judges.Magistrate Collet Ncube ruled that the application by Guvamombe for his recusal was stretching the objectives of the recusal merit too far.Guvamombe had filed an application for his trial to be moved to the High Court, saying all magistrates in Zimbabwe and the Sadc region were his juniors and could not try him, but only judges.But Ncube said one of the criteria for judicial bias must be the perception that there might be a bias in the trial.He said there was no cogent reason to give rise to his bias, as it was just a reflection of thought since there was no evidence to that effect.Guvamombe had submitted that he promoted Ncube to the level of regional magistrate on merit and any ruling he would deliver would be received with suspicion, but Ncube said his promotion was done on merit by the Judicial Services Commission, and not Guvamombe as an individual, and that could not stop him from presiding over the case.Ncube further ruled that the State should have been the one to complain of bias because the accused was his superior, but it was not the case since he was just an ordinary magistrate."There was no cogent reason to give rise to my bias, it's just a reflection of thought. There was no evidence that my rise to be a regional magistrate will have effect on this case. The appointment was on merit. If there was anything done on my behalf behind the scene for me to be where I am, then I don't know of any, but my appointment was done by JSC," Ncube ruled."The application does not conform to the objective of recusal. Should I be wrong, of which I doubt, that will be corrected by a review."Guvamombe had raised concern that Ncube's superiors, Hosea Mujaya and Elijah Makomo, were witnesses in the case and might also influence decisions he would make.The Hwange magistrate, however, left the court gallery with more questions than answers when he called for a brief adjournment after the State and defence could not agree on the next remand date.The defence had asked for the matter to be postponed to May 17, but the State wanted April 17.Ncube then said he wanted to consult his superiors, who are also the witnesses in the case on when the case should proceed.He further said he needed to organise with his superiors on the modalities of his stay in Harare since his family was in Hwange.However, when the court resumed, Ncube dismissed the defence's plea for a long remand and postponed the matter to April 17.
News / National

by Mandla Ndlovu

Workers at Redwing Mine have been picketing at the mine premises since 1 April. The contract workers had their employment contracts terminated on 31 March. They had not been paid for 15 months. Collectively they are owed about 2.1 million dollars.Police invaded the company premises last week and told the workers that the sit in was illegal and asked them to apply for a permission to demonstrate. When they applied for a 10-day 24 hour protest period the Police said the days were too many.On Wednesday 8 of the workers leaders were taken to Mutare Provincial Police HQ in Sakubva for a 'meeting'. In picture the workers are walking into an office to be interrogatedA source who is on the ground said, "These people are under some form of arrest and mental torture. Police have called them in for an intimidation session, to prevent them from demanding what they have worked for. Metallon Gold has defaulted paying workers their salaries for 15 months and yet the company was producing hundreds of kilos of gold. All its shareholders are paid up and the politicians who receive 'protection fees' have all been paid and yet the people who risk their lives going underground to extract the gold are languishing in poverty. Instead they are being called for questioning. Instead of helping workers recover their dues, govt is protecting the criminal, Mzilikazi Khumalo."The workers also said Metallon Gold / Kings Daughter Mine, which has always been changing names to cover its tracks, has been deducting NSSA subscriptions which it never paid to NSSA."This is a criminal activity which must see the company directors being jailed for many years in a normal society. But this is Zimbabwe." He added
News / National

by Staff reporter

BARELY 17 months after the cathartic fall of former president Robert Mugabe, another dictator has been pushed out of power in Sudan following months of popular protests that jolted the military into staging a coup yesterday.After nearly 30 years in power, Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir was overthrown yesterday by the military and arrested.This sparked wild cheers in the northeast African country similar to the jubilation that followed Mugabe's ouster, after 37 years of iron-fisted rule.Formerly an army officer, he seized power in a military coup in 1989.His rule has been marked by civil war. The civil conflict with the south of the country ended in 2005 and South Sudan became independent in 2011.Another civil conflict has been taking place in the western region of Darfur. Bashir is accused of organising war crimes and crimes against humanity there by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Despite an international arrest warrant issued by the ICC, he won consecutive elections in 2010 and 2015.However, his last victory was marred by a boycott by the main opposition parties. The arrest warrant has led to an international travel ban. However, Bashir has made diplomatic visits to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.He was forced into a hasty departure from South Africa in June 2015 as a court there considered whether to enforce the arrest warrant.Protests against Bashir, who has governed Sudan since 1989, have been under way in Sudan for several months.The protests were originally sparked by a rise in the cost of living, but demonstrators then began calling for the president to resign and his government to go. Speaking on state TV, Sudan's Defence minister Awad Ibn Ouf yesterday said the army had decided to oversee a two-year transitional period followed by elections.He also said a three-month state of emergency was being put in place. "I announce as minister of Defence the toppling of the regime and detaining its chief in a secure place," Ibn Ouf said in a statement.It is not clear where Bashir is being held; it is also not clear what will happen to him following his arrest. Ibn Ouf said the country had been suffering from "poor management, corruption, and an absence of justice" and he apologised "for the killing and violence that took place".He said Sudan's Constitution was being suspended, border crossings were being shut until further notice and airspace was being closed for 24 hours.Contacted for comment yesterday, President Emmerson Mnangagwa's spokesperson George Charamba said Harare would first consult with the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) and the African Union about the events in Sudan before coming up with a position."We can't have a Zimbabwe position before consulting Sadc and the mother body, the African Union. We will get a cue from them. But the government is following closely developments in Sudan," said Charamba.Ironically, 16 people died in Zimbabwe in January after demonstrators poured into the streets, protesting a huge jump in the price of petrol and diesel. The deaths - at the hands of the military - saw Mnangagwa's government being widely condemned internationally for using strong-arm tactics.What had infuriated human rights defenders more was that on August 1, 2018, the military had killed six people in cold blood for protesting delays by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission in releasing poll results.In Khartoum, as the news broke, crowds of protesters celebrated outside army headquarters in the capital, embracing soldiers and climbing on top of armoured vehicles. Sudan's intelligence service said it was freeing all political prisoners, state-run Suna news agency reported. In the early hours of yesterday, military vehicles were seen entering the large compound in Khartoum that houses the Defence ministry, the army headquarters and Bashir's personal residence, AFP news agency reported.State TV and radio later interrupted their programming with a message that the army would be making a statement.Police had ordered officers not to intervene against the protests, but the government was criticised by rights groups for a heavy-handed response to the unrest.Government officials say 38 people have died since the unrest began in December, but the pressure group Human Rights Watch said the number was higher. Analysts canvassed by the Daily News yesterday said the developments in Sudan were far much more complex than the soft coup that toppled Mugabe in November 2017 and the Arab Spring that swept aside dictators in Eritrea, Egypt and elsewhere."This is not a re-play of the Arab Spring, except that, as in Egypt, the military holds the key hand after the huge popular protests," said Stephen Chan, a professor of world politics at the London School of Oriental and African Studies."As in Cairo during the Arab Spring, the Sudanese and Algerian security forces refused to fire at the demonstrators. That is one huge key difference with Zimbabwe in the months after the departure of Mugabe."Chan said for the Sudan army to get popular support, there was need for a peaceful transition. He said unlike in Zimbabwe where demonstrators poured onto the streets after the military had staged a soft coup, in Algeria and Sudan, it was popular protests which jolted the army into action, on the side of demonstrators."Having said all that, both Algeria and Sudan are in the early phases of political dynamics that may yet have many twists and turns. These are hugely sophisticated countries with well-educated urban populations. It is too soon to say what the military authorities will to do," he said.Piers Pigou, senior consultant at the International Crisis Group said it was too early to tell what may happen next in Sudan. "The story is not finished in Sudan. Protesters will understandably be unimpressed by the military retaining such an overt political role and one expects demonstrations will continue," said Pigou."A big question is whether the military will try and enforce the curfew or navigate the national mood more cautiously. It is essential that violent confrontation is avoided if possible. The Sudanese security sector does not have a reputation for sensitive crowd control!"Unlike Zimbabwe, whose military-assisted transition, maintained a veneer of legality, developments in Sudan appear to have more overtly crossed the line in terms of an unconstitutional intervention. How will the AU respond? Bashir was regarded as a legitimately-elected leader. Will they turn a blind eye as they did in Zimbabwe? The latter at least enabled a cloak of avoidance."Tendaiwo Peter Maregere, an expert in transitional justice, said coups in Africa were becoming a game of musical chairs whereby the more things change they more they remain the same."I am struggling to decipher what lessons can be drawn given the fact that both revolts followed the Zimbabwean transition and nothing positive, in my view, has come of them. They are to me a game of musical chairs."In fact, the Sudanese one is so bad that the military have decided to take over civilian governance spaces. Secondly, unless we are planning another coup, what would be the import of drawing lessons from them? It would be easier for the Sudanese people to learn the lessons from us," said Maregere. - Additional reporting by BBC
News / National

by 1893MRM

1893 Mthwakazi Restoration Movement (1893MRM) filed a case with Zimbabwe High Court challenging the nomination and eventually appointment of Tinashe Kamabarami as a Bulawayo councillor and ultimately Bulawayo Deputy Mayor stemming from the July 30 2018 harmonised national and municipal general elections of Zimbabwe.The legal case was filed by the lawyers of 1893MRM in December 2018. The case has been scheduled for a hearing before High Court Judge Mabhilikwa on the 24th of June 2019 at 10:00 hrs.The Movement is relieved that finally the case will be brought for hearing after eagerly waiting for the court date for the past four months.Background of the case as reported by 1893MRM on November 10 2018:[1893MRM learnt, with evidence provided through the courts as well as media reports that Tinashe Kambarami is a convicted criminal with financial related charges including theft.The Chronicle newspaper of Bulawayo reported the following on Kambarami in its article of September 15 2018,"According to court records, Kambarami (32) was in July under CRB 1981/18, convicted on his own plea of guilty to theft by Bulawayo magistrate, Ms Sharon Rosemani." The following is also an interesting excerpt from the same issue of the Chronicle of September 15 2018, "Constitutional lawyer, Professor Lovemore Madhuku, said legally Kambarami can only removed from office through a court order. Legally once one is declared duly elected it is not automatic that they leave office unless there is a court order to nullify that. We are therefore saying someone will have to go to court, be it a voter or some interested party. In essence, it means that Kambarami remains a councillor and deputy mayor until a competent court has declared him unfit to remain in office," he said.]Our Movement, 1893MRM finds it criminal not only on the part of Kambarami but as well as the MDC Alliance which had an obligation to do reasonable or thorough background checks and declarations of the legal standings of all its nominated officials meant to run for office throughout Zimbabwe. Clearly in the case of Kambarami the MDC Alliance either turned a blind eye or colluded in the illegal nomination of Kambarami to represent the party both as Councillor and ultimately as Deputy Mayor of Bulawayo.Tinashe Kambarami is a councillor for ward 3 who was elected in 2018 harmonised elections under the Movement of Democratic change Alliance (MDC Alliance).1893 Mthwakazi Restoration Movement is seeking for Bulawayo public support in the case as this a matter of interest for all Bulawayo residents who were deceived into electing a criminal convict into office.On the same note 1893MRM would like to thank Bulawayo people for their patience and for all the support they gave to 1893MRM be it emotional and financial as it took the journey of filing this issue with the courts.1893MRM is a human rights movement which is registered as a trust in Zimbabwe and fights to safeguard the dignity and human rights of the citizens of Mthwakazi (Matebeleland and Midlands).
News / National

by Staff reporter

HIGH Court judge Edith Mushore has reserved ruling in a case which ex-Cabinet minister Saviour Kasukuwere sought an interdict barring the State from disposing his holiday home that has been forfeited after he absconded trial.Mushore is yet to consider submissions by both parties and heads of argument before a ruling is passed. In the application, Kasukuwere has listed National Prosecuting Authority, Harare regional magistrate Hosea Mujaya, Attorney-General Prince Machaya, the Registrar of Deeds, and Clerk of Court at the Harare magistrates' Court as respondents.He wants the clerk of court and Registrar of Deeds barred from releasing the title deeds of his property and for Machaya to notify all State entities not to deal with or dispose it until finalisation of the case and dispute in the review application.The former Local Government minister's property was forfeited to the State on March 15 after he had failed to pitch for trial. He said he skipped trial because he was receiving medical attention in South Africa. He then applied for review of Mujaya's ruling but before the matter has been finalised by the High Court, Kasukuwere claims the State "has shown that it is ready to deal with the property and possibly dispose of it.""Pending the finalisation of the application under HC 2435/19 (application for review) the applicant seeks to preserve the property since he has strong prospects of success," Kasukuwere's lawyer said.He said the State had shown no interest in entertaining requests concerning the property. He said his doctor in South Africa still requires him to make weekly visits. "This position still subsists; the doctor is yet to discharge me from this obligation. As a result of the aforementioned, I was not able to attend court on January 17 and a warrant of arrest issued against me," he added."Currently, I am still in South Africa on the advice of the medical practitioners and still undergoing treatment. "Unfortunately, the prosecutor got excited and convinced himself that I was not interested in standing trial."he did not bother to investigate the circumstances of my prolonged stay in South Africa. He did not even attempt to show that the pretext upon which I remain in South Africa is misleading, a complete lie or is not credible."Kasukuwere is arguing that sections 133 and 199 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act that were applied when his property was forfeited were not relevant in the circumstances.
News / National

by Staff reporter

TWO Harare men were hauled before the courts yesterday for allegedly murdering a man who asked for sex from their female accomplice during a beer drink.Trymore White and Roy Kufahakurotyi appeared before magistrate Victoria Mashamba facing charges of fatally stabbing Thabiso Chatata at a night club in Kuwadzana. Mashamba remanded them in custody and has advised them to apply for bail at the High Court.Allegations are that on April 10, 2019 at about 0300 hours, both accused persons were in the company of two ladies named Hilda Fourth and Nyaradzo Resoro. Chatata reportedly approached Resoro soliciting for sexual favours.The accused persons confronted him armed with a pool stick and assaulted the deceased twice before the doorman Tinashe Chabvuta intervened, the court heard. It is the State's case that Chatata wrestled with Kufahakurotyi over the stick and during the commotion; White drew out a knife and charged towards the deceased.White allegedly stabbed the Chatata three times at the back, thigh and left arm and he fell down before the accused persons fled.
News / National

by Staff reporter

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has told Zanu-PF youths to be wary of ambitious bigwigs who are bent on causing disunity in the party and the nation at large.Addressing the Zanu-PF youth league national assembly at the party headquarters in Harare on Thursday, Mnangagwa warned of both internal and external machinations against his government "to distabilise the party by causing despondency and disunity among our rank and file"."Let us all condemn and expose these acts, divisive or opportunistic or mafia-style handling of party affairs will never be accepted."You may feel that you are smart but let me tell you that this party Zanu-PF will always be smarter so as you carry out both your political and development programmes, you must be wary of those with brute unbridled ambition and political gladiators," Mnangagwa warned.He urged party youths to be vigilant "as they may seek to sow seeds of disunity amongst you within the party and ultimately to the nation for their own selfish ends".As recent as February this year, Mnangagwa was forced dismiss reports of a rift with one of his deputies, Constantino Chiwenga, which have been circulating since he promised action in response to a brutal security service crackdown in January while he was abroad.Chiwenga led the coup that toppled long-time leader Robert Mugabe in November 2017 and was replaced by his former second-in-command, Mnangagwa. "I have known Chiwenga and his colleagues (in the military) since the struggle years. We are comrades and understand each other better than you think," Mnangagwa said.Two allies of Mnangagwa  a lawmaker of his Zanu-PF party, Justice Mayor Wadyajena, and former deputy finance minister Terence Mukupe  said in January that some government officials and MPs were trying to impeach the president.Mnangagwa also warned youth league officials that indiscipline in the party will not be tolerated and also that the Zanu-PF constitution must be adhered to when disciplining errant members."Let me also warn that as provided for by our party constitution acts of indiscipline, treachery and disloyalty will not be tolerated or condoned."If any members or structures of the party have any grievances, we have laid out rules and regulations or procedures that must be followed. "I know of some comrades who have been suspended or expelled but no procedures were followed. That is not proper."We are dealing with party issues and you put aside your differences with the person concerned. You must obey and follow the rules and procedures of the constitution otherwise you will find yourselves in the wrong," the president said.In February, the Zanu-PF youth league's national executive council passed a vote of no-confidence on its leader, Pupurai Togarepi, and four other executive members on allegations of incompetence, gross misconduct and treachery.The other members are deputy national secretary (youth affairs) Lewis Matutu, national secretary for administration Tendai Chirau, deputy national secretary for external relations Admire Mahachi and Mercy Mugomo, the deputy national secretary for environment and tourism.The vote of no-confidence was allegedly moved and supported by two-thirds majority of the national youth league executive council.
News / National

by Staff reporter

MDC leader Nelson Chamisa is likely to go to the party's elective congress with a spring in his step after extending his lead in on-going provincial nominations.The Daily News can report that the 41-year-old advocate has so far bagged five nominations from five provinces that have conducted their congresses, setting on course his bid to retain the MDC presidency at the party's elective indaba set for May 24 to 26.The going is, however, proving to be tough for MDC secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora, who has openly stated his ambition to challenge Chamisa for the top job. Mwonzora is yet to garner a single nomination to keep alive his dream. The only nomination he has received seeks to commit him to his current post  a position Charlton Hwende, a long-time ally of Chamisa, is also angling for.All is, however, not yet lost for the former Nyanga North legislator since eight more provinces are still to make their nominations.For one to be able to contest for any position at the MDC congress, they must be nominated by at least one out of the 19-year-old political outfit's 13 provinces.So far, the provinces of Matabeleland North and South, United States of America, Midlands and Mashonaland West have settled for Chamisa for the presidency through what insiders described as fair and foul means.Chamisa stands accused of manipulating party structures in his favour and making it difficult for his challengers to come out and openly campaign ahead of the congress. His rivals are also not happy that voting is by way of raising hands.MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume told the Daily News that congress preparations were progressing well."We have just finished Mashonaland West and the process went on very well," he said.Regarding those who are still to secure a single nomination, Mafume said: "But that does not mean the end for those who have not been nominated because one simply needs one nomination to contest so as it is it's still game on." It is indeed game on for the positions of the party vice presidency, national chairperson, secretary-general, treasurer, youth chairperson and women assembly chairwoman.It was a mixed bag for the party's vice presidents Morgen Komichi and Welshman Ncube who will be challenged at congress by Lillian Timveos, Paurina Mpariwa and Tendai Biti. For the post of the party's chairperson Tabitha Khumalo appears to be the favourite to land the post since no one else has been nominated for the post while the party's organising secretary, Amos Chibaya also appears safe in his position.There is a deadly contest for the vice chairperson post where MDC prodigal son Job Sikhala has expressed interest but sadly got no nomination with provinces nominating Happymore Chidziva and Costa Machingauta. It is the first congress since the death of founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai who succumbed to cancer of the colon in February last year.Still to make their nominations are South Africa, the United Kingdom, Mashonaland East, Manicaland, Masvingo, Bulawayo, Midlands and Mashonaland Central. Yesterday, Mashonaland East province was expected to finalise its nominations.Meanwhile, the MDC has postponed its Bulawayo provincial congress as squabbling factions within the party continue to fight for supremacy ahead of the do-or-die congress. The provincial congress was initially slated to take place today (Saturday) but owing to the huge contestation for positions, the party failed to finish the ward elections on time.This has left the party with an option to hold the congress between Sunday and Tuesday, this coming week. "We postponed elections for remaining wards from Tuesday and Wednesday to today (Friday) hence the postponement of the provincial one. After that remaining districts shall be done as well."With regards to provincial congress, national organising secretary Amos Chibaya shall advise on the date but I am sure it might be between Sunday and Tuesday," MDC provincial spokesperson Edwin Ndlovu told this publication."Those nominated by district to contest the provincial leadership shall then go to elections to elect top 10 of the province that is chairperson, vice chairperson, secretary, vice secretary, treasurer, deputy treasurer, organiser, deputy organiser, information and publicity and deputy information and publicity. After that, three members shall be nominated to represent Bulawayo province in the national executive," Ndlovu said.He added: "The province then also nominate the top leadership that is the president and three vice presidents, chairperson and deputy, treasurer and deputy among others. Having done all that the new province shall then co-opt additional members." Ndlovu further noted that so far only two nominations for the provincial chairmanship post have been made with Nketa MP Phelela Masuku likely to battle it out with Makokoba MP James Sithole.The postponement of the congress comes less than a week after Chamisa fumed at the factionalism in the party, a development he said was against the party interests.With that in mind Chamisa further indicated that he was going to ensure that there was maximum security including hiring police officers to nip the bug of violence that gripped the party in the past few weeks.
Opinion / Columnist

Songs of praises from many quarters are now being sung for Mnangagwa after his minister pledged that following a meeting with a collection of Civic Society organizations the regime was going to allow reburial of Gukurahundi victims. The Minister pledged that survivors would be offered medical treatment. There is also mention that there is some kind of decriminalizing talking about Gukurahundi.First of all there is this typical Zanu-PF chicanery of ensuring that they politically cling on to power shutting out all other political voices and only rendering them very limited space during an election to claim that there is democracy. The Gukurahundi issue has been raised by political parties but Zanu-PF rejected it outright. Now they are promising to address the political issue with a civil society still shunning the politicians. They want to be the only political party involved in the Gukurahundi issue with a Matabeleland Collection of Civil Society. Resultantly therefore, it means that the perpetrator is offering a solution himself to the crime that he willingly committed. Murder is a crime that can only be corrected through a judicial process and never through political maneuvering.Secondly, there are the very contents of the solution to the issue themselves. A political party Mthwakazi Republic Party reburied some Gukurahundi victims. Even prior to MRP one organization reburied remains of Gukurahundi in Matabeleland South. So the reburial is not a new thing. This pledge by the Junta deserves no song of praise at all except from those who are happy for other concessions by Mnangagwa and they then opportunistically applaud the action as something new. Honestly to the victims it means simply more agony.There is no pledge so far for compensation. There is a pledge to offer medical assistance and one wonders where, in which hospital here in Zimbabwe where they can receive treatment for whatever ailment caused by Gukurahundi barbarians? Where will Mabhiza send the people who witnessed the ripping off of pregnant young women`s wombs from Tsholotsho? Those still alive have lived with the trauma for close to 40 years. And exactly what medical assistance is there to surviving Ndebeles who were clearly told that they were being murdered because their fore fathers of Nguni origins invaded and murdered the Shonas when Mzilikazi arrived? And is there any treatment for a woman whose husband was bayonetted to death and the woman ordered to dance on the grave after being forced to bury him? Exactly does Mabhiza `s government have medical assistance to children whose parents were driven to huts that were set ablaze and they heard both father and mother scream helplessly to death as the hut was gutted by fire? This is why an open process of a truth and reconciliation is necessary. Whoever applauds and cooperates with this attempt to sweep under the carpet these Gukurahundi realities is equally guilty of its evils.Zanu-PF has literally administered the destruction of every infrastructure and the health sector has not been spared. They all go to Malaysia, China, India and South Africa for treatment. As it is the government is unable to offer any free medication to anyone because there is basically nothing. Those hypocritically singing songs of praise suddenly see the Zanu-PF led junta providing free medical treatment to all the people of some parts of the Midlands and Matabeleland. This is just one evidence that politics can be very clumsy but also that money is indeed the root of all evil.Whereas every citizen has a right to engage with the government, it is questionable when the government responds to issues raised for years by ``non-political groups`` after refusing to cooperate with the political parties. Gukurahundi operation was carried out under the disguise of eliminating it banditry it was a way to destroy Zapu as a political party. The militarization of politics has ever been there since independence. They are still holding our politics. Our armed forces are partisan up to now. There can never be justice for Gukurahundi victims from the same people who masterminded the operation.Lovejean Ndlovu Zapu Youth Front Dept. of Information and Publicity.
Young adult woman walking up the stairs with sun sport background

We all want to make a quick buck, and investing is often the place new investors come to achieve this.

But when making your portfolio, even if you want some of those exciting stocks, you have to create a base that will serve you well over the long run. You know, so you can pay for your childs education or buy that motorcycle during your mid-life crisis. Important things in other words.

Granted, Im not saying that the stocks you pick wont give you anything until you need them. Thats why Ive chosen these three buy-and-hold-forever stocks. Not only do they offer steady, high returns over the next few decades, but they also have a dividend thatll be cash in your pocket well before you cash out.

Canadian National Railway

A great place to start for any portfolio is with the Canadian National Railway Company (TSX:CNR)(NYSE:CNI). This stock has a proven record of steady growth that goes back decades. Rail is just a preferred method of shipping, and CN has a monopoly shared with few other rail lines in its wide 31,544-kilometre network that stretches through North America.

Part of the reason that CNR has been so steady is it constantly reinvests in itself. The company plans to put a record $3.86 billion into its infrastructure in 2019. Included in this will be a $133 million investment in Tennessee to strengthen the companys rail line in that state, making investors happy to know that CN will continue to grow for years. In fact, the company believes over two years that itll have made a $7.6 billion capital investment.

In the short term, the company has pumped out stellar performances, with its most recent quarter increasing revenue by 16% to $1.3 billion of revenue growth, and free cash flow by 38.5% to $633 million. So again, this stock is set up for great things, but in the meantime, investors can expect a stable dividend of 1.78% at the time of writing thats been increased every year since 1996.

Enbridge

Another great stock that is looking to expand over the next few years is Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB)(NYSE:ENB). In the last year, the company has undergone a major overhaul to accelerate its restructuring plan. Enbridge sold assets and paid down debt, surprising investors by completing $7.8 billion in asset sales while targeting only $3.8 billion in 2018. The companys debt dropped to 4.7 times EBITDA by the end of 2018, with 4.5 times becoming the next goal for greater financial flexibility.

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Enbridge will need that financial flexibility for its major plans. The company recently got the go ahead for its Line 3 replacement and expansion project, with 750,000 barrels of crude expected to be shipped between Alberta and Wisconsin by the latter half of 2020.

But Line 3 is only the beginning. The company has $16 billion allocated towards expansion projects, the $9 billion Line 3 project only being the most recent headline. Beyond 2020, the company will put even more money toward expansion, giving investors much more to look forward to.

In the meantime, this stock is trading far below its fair value at about $49 per share at the time of writing. And with a sweet dividend of 6.04%, youll be happy to hold onto this stock for decades.

TransCanada

Whereas Enbridge is sticking a bit closer to home, investors have been happy to support TransCanada Corporation (TSX:TRP)(NYSE:TRP) for years from its vast network that stretches throughout North America. And again, the company is growing at an alarming rate. In fact, some are worried it taken on more than it can chew, or more than it can fund at least.

The expansion projects total $36 billion under construction and $20 billion in development. The projects should grow earnings by 16% over the next three years. In 2019 alone, the company expects to spend $8 billion on capital projects, which includes the controversial Keystone XL and Coastal GasLink pipelines.

The company has begun paying for these projects by offloading its infrastructure. This includes the sale of its Columbia Midstream unit, a value of about $1 billion. Once all these projects are online, investors should see huge rewards.

Its the waiting game that can be scary, but at around $50 per share, this stock is way below its fair value of $70. And again, theres that dividend of 4.91% that investors should see increase by 8-10% until at least 2021.

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Fool contributor Amy Legate-Wolfe owns shares of ENBRIDGE INC. David Gardner owns shares of Canadian National Railway. The Motley Fool owns shares of Canadian National Railway. Enbridge and CN are recommendations of Stock Advisor Canada.



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
Oil pumps against sunset

Foreign investors have been pulling their money out of Canadian energy as though the sector was going out of style. The sell Canada thesis is nothing new. In fact, its been a recurring headline for years now.

With some of the more bearish analysts out there calling for the complete abandonment of the capital-intensive Albertan oil sands at some point over the next few decades, many domestic investors are starting to buy the story and indeed are throwing in the towel on most of Canadas energy investments.

Most Canadian energy stocks been in limbo for over five years now, and with nothing but gloom on most financial news stories, its tough to find a reason to continue hanging onto your Enbridge (TSX:ENB)(NYSE:ENB) shares that serve as a constant reminder of the mistake you made when you picked up shares.

Its tough to find anyone whos bullish on Canadian energy and is willing to put their money where their mouth is with a contrarian bet.

Sure, its not economical for most oil producers to fully turn on the taps at this juncture given the heavy crude glut thats a result of the bottle necked pipelines. But I think its foolish (thats a lower-case f!) to rule out Albertas ailing oil patch just because of its current unfavourable state, especially if your thesis is that oil companies will die out due to the rise of renewable energy producers.

I stumbled across an alarming piece on FNLondon titled oil and gas could lose 95% of its value by 2050, consultancy warns. The article shed light on the report released by an investment consultancy Mercer, which attempted to model the outcome of the energy space over the extremely long term.

The main takeaway was that the report saw oil and gas stocks losing 42% of their value by 2030, and 95% by 2050. Yikes! Thats alarming news for Canada, as the backbone of the economy is essentially the energy sector. Right now, that back is ailing, and its hard to go against the grain by betting on an energy stock thats been in the doghouse for years.

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With all the negative sentiment, it may seem like Canadian oil and gas companies are uninvestable stocks. Although renewable energy will gradually reduce the demand for oil and gas, I dont believe investors with a time horizon shorter than 10 years have anything to worry about.

Renewable infrastructure is expensive and for many developing nations, becoming mostly renewable is completely out of the question over the next few decades. As such, Id say the model laid out by Mercer is unrealistic, as its not in the best interest of rapidly-growing developing nations to stunt their own economic growth by putting forth aggressive carbon taxes for the betterment of the planet.

Emerging markets are booming, and theyre going to be consuming more oil despite the developed worlds move toward sustainable energy sources. So, dont expect firms across the Albertan oil patch to start dropping like flies over the next few decades. If anything, they may be better-positioned to bounce back as the country has a better network of pipelines in place to eliminate the wide WCS to WTI spread.

Developing nations like China would gladly put up massive order for Canadas signature WCS brew if a pipeline were able to transport the crude to the coastline economically. Although various renewable energy companies and carbon taxes will slow progress for oil and gas companies in the meantime, I dont believe that either headwind will cause an eventual 95% collapse in shares of most oil and gas companies.

Consider a scenario that sees Andrew Scheer win the 2019 election. Carbon taxes will disappear, and as the pipelines are finally laid out, theres a real possibility that oil and gas stocks will become great again through the eyes of investors. Pipelines like Enbridge will play a vital role in the revitalization of the Albertan oil patch, so if you have the guts to be contrarian, the potential rewards are tremendous.

Stay hungry. Stay Foolish.

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Fool contributor Joey Frenette has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Enbridge. Enbridge is a recommendation of Stock Advisor Canada.



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) -- The European Union has taken a closer look at how Google uses operations in Ireland to help reduce its corporate tax obligations within the trade bloc, two people familiar with the matter said.

Officials from the European Commission, the EUs executive arm, held in-depth talks with Irish authorities late last year about whether the Internet-search unit of Alphabet Inc. complies with rules limiting tax perks provided by individual European governments, according to one person, who asked not to be named as the matter is private.

The review was preliminary and might not lead to any formal investigation, the person said. According to another person, an EU investigation isnt imminent and some Irish authorities are optimistic that initial conversations proved sufficient to avoid a more extensive probe of the companys tax arrangements. Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe discussed a potential tax case with EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, one person said.

Google declined to comment, as did the European Commission.

EU officials have been cracking down in recent years on efforts by big global companies to limit their European tax burdens. Vestager, who is now seeking a top EU job, ordered Apple Inc. to pay back billions of euros to Ireland, and she backed a push by France to tax Internet firms more heavily.

Apple, Google and Facebook Inc. all base their European operations in Ireland, which has a low basic corporate tax rate. Ireland has successfully resisted efforts by other European states to align tax calculations across the region. Vestagers probes have provided another way for the EU to put pressure on low-tax states -- including Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands -- that may lure firms away from other European nations.

Regulatory Scrutiny

Vestager has been a key figure in Googles regulatory woes in Europe, stepping up an antitrust probe when she took office in 2014 that her predecessor had been willing to end. She finished the third and last probe into the companys behavior with a 1.5 billion euro ($1.7 billion) fine in March, a day before she started campaigning to become president of the European Commission or win another senior EU post.

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Until recently, Google has seen little scrutiny of whether its Irish operations violate the EUs so-called state-aid arrangements. Apple has been the biggest target so far. The company was ordered to pay as much as 13 billion euros for deals with Ireland that reduced its effective corporate tax rate. Apple and Ireland are appealing the decision. The EU has also taken aim at Amazon.com Inc.s tax deals with Luxembourg.

Google arrived in Ireland in 2003, with 100 employees. Now, it employs about 7,000 in Ireland. The companys European headquarters is in Dublin, the Irish capital, and its sprawling campus close to the citys south docks has been dubbed Googletown.

In 2017, Google Ireland Ltd. recorded a profit of 1.2 billion euros on revenue of 32.2 billion euros, according to company filings. The firm paid 167 million euros in corporation tax.

Tax Haven

Ireland is battling a perception that it is a tax haven. President Donald Trump said Ireland is pushing to attract U.S. firms in search of lower taxes. In 2018, the corporate tax rate in Ireland was 12.5 percent, compared with an EU average of about 21.9 percent, European Commission figures show.

The Commission as part of its mandate in relation to state aid has in recent years gathered information from all EU member states on tax rulings since 2014, the Irish finance ministry said in response to questions. So far, it has examined over 1,000 rulings across all member states.

It isnt appropriate to comment on the nature of such requests, the ministry said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Dara Doyle in Dublin at ddoyle1@bloomberg.net;Aoife White in Brussels at awhite62@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net, Steve Stroth, Peter Jeffrey

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

2019 Bloomberg L.P.
In one Beijing supermarket, squeezed between soy sauces and Chinese vinegars, sits Canadian canola oil. It's covered with postcard pictures of the Prairies, stamped with "Calgary" and "Winnipeg" and adorned with little red maple leaves that aren't nearly as welcome as they were a few months ago.

In fact, just around the corner, another grocer who used to have the oil on his shelves is quick to insist there's "nothing Canadian here!"

Last year, Canadian canola shipments to China were worth $2.7 billion. It was a flow that supplied Chinese consumers with oil and farmers with feed. But in the last few weeks, that flow has been choked off, stopped at ports where customs inspectors said they found "dangerous pests" in shipments from Canada.

Todd Korol/Reuters

As a result, ships loaded with canola sit offshore, as one Canadian company after another has seen licences to import suspended by Beijing for "non-compliance." Manitoba's Richardson International and Saskatchewan-based Viterra, as well as a third, unnamed Canadian company, have all been blocked.

Government spokesmen in Beijing said the problem with one company was "especially severe," and the sudden move was required "to ensure the health and safety of Chinese citizens."

China has offered few details, and no proof of what it calls "scientifically sound and reasonable" findings.

Officially, there is no connection between the canola ban and China's high-profile dispute with Canada over the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver last December.

But diplomats and political observers say it's clearly part of Beijing's strategy to put pressure on Ottawa by targeting agriculture, a sector China knows is important to Canada, both economically and politically.

Chinese food security

A hint of that bigger strategy came at the end of a statement by Chinese foreign affairs spokesman Geng Shuang at the end of March, when he suggested that the solution to the standoff over canola is for Canada to "take some concrete measures to correct its previous mistakes" in bilateral relations.

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Targeting food imports is a relatively new approach for Beijing, born of a confidence that China's years of struggling to find enough to feed its huge population are over.

Sasa Petricic/CBC

"It's not a problem for Chinese people to feed themselves," said Bingchuan Hu, a food supply expert with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Between higher productivity at home (the ability to grow more food for its population) and higher incomes (more money to buy food abroad), Hu said food security hasn't been an issue in China since at least 2004.

"Even if we altogether close or shut down [food] trade, China also can solve this problem," he said.

Indeed, the UN's World Food Programme said China has made "remarkable progress" in alleviating hunger. It met its own target of reducing the number of hungry people at home by half by 2015, and in doing so, China reduced the global hunger rate by two-thirds.

When it comes to any one product  including canola  Hu said China can always find a replacement, either by importing from elsewhere, like Russia or India, or by using other kinds of oil or feed.

"Anything can be replaced," Hu said.

Hu knows food hasn't always been plentiful. China's Great Famine of the early 1960s killed more than 20 million people.

Even now, Hu thanks the Canadian government for sending grain at a time when no other western country would. Prime Minister John Diefenbaker defied a U.S.-led embargo on trade with China, negotiating a system of credit that allowed Beijing to buy several million tonnes of grain at a time when it didn't have any other means to pay.

Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press

But China is a very different place today. And it appears to see itself as powerful enough to use trade issues  even in food products  as a means to achieve political ends.

The Australia example

China seems to be using a similar approach with Australia, with whom it has also had strained relations lately.

Australia has angered Beijing by banning the Chinese company Huawei from its 5G networks on national security grounds. Last month, Australia enacted tough new anti-espionage laws that, among other things, make it a crime to steal industrial secrets on behalf of a foreign government.

It is also drafting legislation to limit foreign political donations, after a heated debate about money from China.

Beijing has not been pleased, accusing Canberra of having a "Cold War mindset" and targeting coal imports, a sector that's critical for economics and politics Down Under. China is Australia's biggest trading partner and its best customer for coal, buying $7 billion Cdn worth annually.

Like Canadian canola, Australian coal has also faced increased scrutiny at Chinese ports: Extra tests, complaints about impurities and other unexplained delays.

Jeff McIntosh/Canadian Press

Mark Beeson, a professor of international relations at the University of Western Australia, said China is throwing its weight around in unexpected ways.

"The message is that we're big and powerful, you depend on us," he said. "If you upset us or do things that are really damaging to our perceived national interest, our core interest, then we've got ways of hurting you."

Beeson said "from China's perspective, there's not a huge amount the likes of Australia and Canada can do."

That's the canola conundrum.

Ottawa has proposed sending a high-level delegation or a panel of experts to China, but Beijing seems in no mood to cooperate right now.

In fact, observers here say the only way to get rid of the canola "pest" problem may be to solve the bigger political one.
Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda, 24, who was charged with critically injuring a 5-year-old boy at the Mall of America in Minnesota on Friday, has a history of getting into trouble with the law.

Police say the boy was allegedly pushed or thrown by Aranda from a third-floor balcony at the mall. Aranda has been charged with attempted homicide.

According to court documents obtained by CNN affiliate WCCO, Aranda has been arrested on three separate occasions in 2015, one of which resulted in him being banned from the Mall of America for a year.

In July 2015, Aranda was taken into custody after police responded to a call about a man throwing things off of the upper level of the mall to the lower level, the outlet reported, citing a 2015 complaint which said Aranda initially resisted arrest and refused to give his name to police.

An employee from the Bare Minerals store went on to tell police that Aranda had walked into the store, and without saying anything, swept his hand across a display table, knocking off and breaking two containers of lip gloss valued at $18.00 each and three shot glasses valued at $2.00 each, the outlet reported.

Court records obtained by PEOPLE show that Aranda was convicted of fifth-degree assault and interfering with an officer of the peace, and was ordered not to return to the property for one year.

RELATED: Man Throws Boy, 5, From 3rd Floor Balcony at Mall of America, Critically Injuring Him

CBS Minnesota

That August, Aranda was arrested without incident after police responded to a call that a man had been seen smashing computer parts at a local library, according to court documents obtained by WCCO.

In the 2015 complaint, police note that Aranda told officers he got angry after he read something on the Facebook.

Court records obtained by PEOPLE show that Aranda pleaded guilty to the charge of first-degree property damage and was sentenced to serve 28 days in prison, pay restitution and undergo anger management training.

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In October 2015, Aranda was arrested for a third time after allegedly throwing drinks at a woman in a restaurant located inside the Mall of America, according to court documents obtained by WCCO.

According to the complaint, Aranda repeatedly asked a woman to buy him something to eat or at least give him some money, and after being asked to leave by a restaurant employee, he allegedly grabbed full glasses of ice water and tea, throwing them at the woman.

Court records obtained by PEOPLE show that Aranda pled guilty to fifth-degree assault and interfering with an officer of the peace.

 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.

Raymond Boyd/Getty Images

RELATED: Ohio Firefighter Fatally Shoots Fiancee and Then Himself: It Is a Total Tragedy

On Friday, officers responded to Arandas latest legal scuffle.

Witnesses said the child landed on the first level and the suspect took off running before he was apprehended by officers who took him into custody at the transit station of the mall, police said.

The Bloomington Police Department is investigating an incident at the Mall of America today. A five-year-old child suffered injuries and is at the hospital now. A press conference will happen outside the north entrance at 12:15 PM next to the security vehicle. Thank you  Bloomington Police (@BPD_MN) April 12, 2019

In a statement Friday afternoon, the malls management acknowledged the incident.

Earlier today, Mall of America security was notified of an incident involving a child falling from one of the upper floors. Mall Security responded immediately as well as the Bloomington Police Department. Emergency Services were notified and responded as well. The child was treated at the scene and transported to the hospital. Bloomington Police is investigating the incident, it said.

The child did suffer significant injuries, said the police chief, according to CNN. The child has been transported to the hospital and has been receiving care.
By Khalid Abdelaziz KHARTOUM (Reuters) - The new head of Sudan's military council said on Saturday a civilian government would be formed after consultations with the opposition and promised the transition period would last for a maximum of two years. Protesters, however, kept up the pressure for rapid change following the overthrow of long-ruling autocrat President Omar al-Bashir on Thursday. In his first televised address, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Abdelrahman canceled a night curfew and ordered the release of all prisoners jailed under emergency laws put in place by Bashir before his downfall. During a meeting between the transitional military council and a coalition of opposition groups, including protest organizers, the protesters demanded that civilians be included in the council, opposition activists who were briefed about the meeting said. They will submit names of suggested members on Sunday. The military council also promised to "abolish all laws that restrict freedoms," the activists said. The main group organizer, the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), said in a statement that the council's response was not satisfactory and called for protests to continue. The SPA said that among its key demands the restructuring of the country's powerful National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), the dissolution of militia forces that operated under Bashir and the arrest of all "corrupt leaders" involved in what it called crimes against citizens. "There are clear demands and unless they are met, there is no escape but to publicize full rejection (of the council's moves)," the SPA statement said, urging citizens to continue a sit-in outside the Defence Ministry. Thousands of people continued their sit-in outside the Defence Ministry in central Khartoum, a Reuters witness said. Bashir was overthrown on Thursday after months of mass protests brought on by rising food costs, high unemployment and increasing repression during his three decades in power. But activists and opposition groups pressed ahead with demands that Bashir's close associates leave. SAUDI ARABIA TO SEND AID PACKAGE Regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday it supported moves taken by the council and said it was sending an emergency aid package to Khartoum, state news agency SPA reported. "The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques gave instructions to the concerned authorities in the Kingdom to provide a package of humanitarian aid, including petroleum products, wheat and medicines," SPA said. On Friday, Defence Minister Awad Ibn Auf, who was also Bashir's deputy, stepped down as head of the transitional military council after only a day in the post. On Saturday, state news agency and TV announced that the head of NISS, Salah Abdallah Mohamed Saleh, better known as Salah Gosh, had also resigned. He was once the most powerful person in the country after Bashir and protesters held him responsible for the killing of demonstrators demanding an end to military rule. A replacement has yet to be named. Celebrations erupted on the streets of Khartoum overnight after Ibn Auf's resignation. Thousands of protesters waved flags and illuminated mobile phones in the darkness and drivers hooted car horns. People chanted: "The second has fallen!" a reference to Ibn Auf and Bashir, witnesses said. "Islamists have now lost control and they are in shock. Their ability to project influence in an organized way inside the state appears weak," said Sudanese analyst Khalid al-Tijani. "The reason for the changes in Sudan is the pressure from protesters and pressures within the army, and the fear among military commanders of a split in the armed forces." LITTLE KNOWN Burhan, the new head of the military council, was the third most senior general in the Sudanese armed forces and is little known in public life. As head of Sudans ground forces he oversaw Sudanese troops fighting in the Saudi-led Yemen war and has close ties to senior Gulf military officials. The head of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known by his nickname Hemeti, was appointed deputy head of the council, state TV reported. RSF soldiers outside the Defence Ministry fired their guns in the air in celebration of Dagalo's promotion, causing a brief alarm, witnesses said. "The opposition are demanding a civilian government, but I think it will be a mixed government," analyst Muhammad Osman said before Burhan's remarks on Saturday. "The military would want to retain the defense and interior portfolios. The Sudanese Professionals Association, which has been leading protests to demand a civilian government, called for more demonstrations earlier on Saturday. "We assert that our revolution is continuing and will not retreat or deviate from its path until we achieve ... our people's legitimate demands of handing over power to a civilian government," an SPA statement said. Bashir, 75, seized power in a 1989 military coup. The protests against him escalated last Saturday when thousands of demonstrators, apparently bolstered by change in Algeria following similar protests, marched toward the Defence Ministry to deliver a memorandum demanding the military side with them. Demonstrators have been camping outside the compound since then to push for a handover of power. At least 16 people were killed and 20 wounded by stray bullets at protests and sit-ins on Thursday and Friday, police said. Government buildings and private property were also attacked. The military council under Ibn Auf had said it would not extradite Bashir to face accusations of genocide at the international war crimes court. Instead he might go on trial in Sudan. (Additional reporting by Ahmed Tolba and Hesham Hajali in Cairo; Writing by Lena Masri and Sami Aboudi; Editing by Janet Lawrence, Jane Merriman and Jonathan Oatis)
On any given evening, Lisa Tam-Eng is likely to be crafting a handwritten letter to one of her 25 penpals from around the world. Her cat, Billy, keeps her company while she sits at her dining room table, reflecting on her week and contemplating what to write.

She has amassed three boxes full of letters from Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Scotland, Ireland, Hawaii, Iceland, Germany, Finland, Singapore, Barbados and Luxemburg. She has scribbled across 500 pages of stationery. Her fountain pen has required many refills.

I miss having that feeling of opening the mailbox seeing, like, an actual letter that people write by pen. - Lisa Tam-Eng

Tam-Eng's oldest letter dates to 1990, the year she moved from Hong Kong to Canada. She wrote letters to her classmates and relatives. Three years later, Tam-Eng started looking for more international penpals because she wanted to learn more about different cultures. She kept up with them until her third year of university.

Florence Hwang/CBC

It wasn't until 2017 that she decided to look for new penpals. While downsizing her house, she discovered her old letter pads and wanted to make use of them. She was tired of only receiving flyers and bills in the mail.

"I miss having that feeling of opening the mailbox seeing, like, an actual letter that people write by pen," she said. "It's really good to see and to look forward to opening the letter."

She found new penpals via letter-writing's greatest modern competitor: social media.

Submitted by Lisa Tam-Eng

Meeting in person

After corresponding for a couple of years, Tam-Eng and Josephine Tang decided to meet in person in Hong Kong. At that time, neither email nor the Internet were widely used. They had exchanged only one photo with each other, so they described what they looked like, what they would be wearing and how their hair would be done.

"The first thing that we talked about was the things that we mentioned about what we like to eat, referring back to the letters we wrote," said Tam-Eng.

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The longest penpal relationship she has is 26 years and counting. Two of these penpals attended her wedding banquet in Hong Kong.

The first thing that we talked about was the things that we mentioned about what we like to eat. - Lisa Tam-Eng

Tam-Eng is very organized. She has a logbook to track who she has written to, when, and what items she has sent them so she doesn't accidentally send them something twice. She likes to send small souvenirs, like pins, postcards and photographs from her travels. She chooses things that are unique to Canada, like a Tim Horton's commemorative sleeve for the country's 150th anniversary.

Florence Hwang/CBC

Romance blossoms

Romance has blossomed through Tam-Eng's penpal experience. A penpal from, Hong Kong, Brenda, was introduced to another of Tam-Eng's penpal's friends who lived in the United States. They started to write to each other. He visited her a few times in Hong Kong. She visited him in the States. He proposed. She said yes.

"It's very cute, I thought. I was worried because I thought, 'Oh my goodness, how are they going to [get along] because they are from two different cultures?' " said Tam-Eng. "But in the end, it worked out because they've got three beautiful girls."

Although he hasn't been able to visit yet, Tam-Eng has sent their daughters gifts, like a few pages from a colouring book that has Canada imagery.

She plans on eventually travelling to some of the other countries where her penpals reside. It was one of the reasons she started communicating with so many people around the world in the first place.
FUKUOKA, Japan (AP)  Two-time world champion Nathan Chen and Vincent Zhou combined for a 1-2 finish in the men's short program Thursday to give the United States the lead on the opening day of figure skating's World Team Trophy.

Skating to "Caravan" by Duke Ellington, Chen, a full-time student at Yale, landed a triple axel, a quadruple toe loop and a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination for 101.95 points.

Zhou, the world bronze medalist, opened with a quadruple lutz-triple toe loop combination and added a quad salchow and a triple axel to finish second with 100.51 points. Shoma Uno of Japan was third with 92.78.

The U.S. leads with 50 points, two ahead of Japan and 12 ahead of third-place Russia.

Rika Kihira of Japan opened with a flawless triple axel and finished first in the women's short program with 83.97 points. Russian skater Elizaveta Tuktamysheva was second with 80.54, followed by Kaori Sakamoto of Japan with 76.95.

The American women earned 17 team points as Bradie Tennell scored a season's best 74.81 in her short program to finish in fourth place. Mariah Bell was fifth after scoring 70.89 points.

Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue, also world bronze medalists, were third in the rhythm dance.

"This is my first time at a team event and what a great way to start," team captain Hubbell said. "Team USA had all very strong performances. We have a team of Olympic members, U.S. champions, world medalists and world team members. Today showed how strong of a team we are."

Six countries are competing in the sixth edition of the World Team Trophy. The others are France, Italy and Canada.

The United States has won the event three times, in 2009, 2013 and 2015, while Japan took top honors in 2012 and in 2017.

The competition continues Friday and concludes on Saturday.

___

More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Photo credit: .

From House Beautiful

Update: 4/11/2019:

Over the past few decades, it's become expected for royal babies to be photographed in their mothers' arms just hours after birth. But Meghan and Harry are breaking from that tradition, and will not have a photocall directly outside the hospital.



According to a statement today from the royal family, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, "have taken a personal decision to keep plans around the arrival of their new baby quiet. The Duke and Duchess look forward to sharing the exciting news with everyone once they have had an opportunity to celebrate privately as a new family."

Original: 4/4/2019: Shortly after Prince Louis was born last spring, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge exited the iconic doors of the Lindo Wing at St. Mary's Hospital Paddington to introduce their newborn son to the world's media for the first time. They posed for a few minutes, as a sea of photographers, reporters, and news crews captured history in the making.

But as the royals smiled and waved for the cameras, William pointed out one photographer in particular, Arthur Edwards, the royal photographer for The Sun, saying "There's Arthur, there he is."

Edwards has been photographing the royal family for more than four decades, and Prince William grew up seeing him on a regular basis. His familiarity with the royal family is well known: "Other photographers always want to stand next to me because they always think that might happen," Edwards sheepishly tells T&C over the phone.

Edwards, in fact, was there for Prince William's first Lindo Wing portrait-the one he took with his parents. "Ive been covering him all his life, from when he started nursery school all through, right to when he got married," Edwards says. "I photographed William when he came out of hospital in his mothers arms."

He has photographed eight royal births, and watched as the tradition of posing for photos outside the hospital took root. While Princess Diana wasn't the first royal to give birth in a hospital-and she wasn't even the first royal to be photographed leaving a hospital with a newborn-she was the first royal to deliver an heir in the hospital, and that changed everything in the 1980s.

Story continues

Photo credit: Tim Graham - Getty Images

"There was fascination, and so of course hoards of photographers and the media were all outside waiting for her to leave with William," explains royal commentator Victoria Arbiter. "It really offered an opportunity to capture a moment in history. There is the future heir Prince Charles with his wife walking out with the future, future heir."

From there, it became a modern tradition for new royal mothers to give the world a glimpse of their babies right outside the hospital doors. "It's interesting when you think about thousand years of royal history, this is only two generations that have done this," Arbiter muses. "In this media-dominated world, its definitely something weve come to expect."

But over the past 36 years, the magnitude with which these moments are captured and broadcast around the world has changed enormously.

"With [Prince William's birth], there were two TV crews, the BBC and ITV, about 20 photographers, and about five or six reporters. When Harry came out of the hospital two years later, there were about another five more photographers," Edwards recalls. "When William carried out his eldest son George, there was 300 yards of media."

Photo credit: JUSTIN TALLIS - Getty Images

Those reporters represented outlets from around the world.

"There was a massive, massive media crowd. All the television networks were there, with an easy way to distribute news," Edwards says. "Every American network there; every Australian network there; there were New Zealand networks there; there were Mexican networks; there were Greek networks there. Everybody was there."

As the crowd of reporters grew, so did the number of photographs they were taking.

"As soon as those press pens were introduced, there were a lot of photographers there, but of course, theyre shooting film, so you only have thirty-six exposures," explains Bob Ahern, the director of archive for Getty Images. "When youre talking about today, youre talking about thousands of pictures."

And as technology advances, it's changing the type of images photographers try to capture.

Edwards's ideal picture is still "both the Duke and the Duchess holding the baby, looking straight at me," but there's also a desire for close-ups of the newborn, along with style-focused shots of the Duchess's outfit, and images of the royals as they get into the car.

Photo credit: Max Mumby/Indigo - Getty Images

"You have to get that great shot thats going to be on the front cover of the worlds papers the next day, but I think in and around that, theres just as much interest in scrolling through galleries of how the day unfolded," Ahern says.

"We want to know every detail, right? We want to know who makes the car seat that William uses. We want to know how Kate styled her hair. We want to know what the baby was wrapped in, all those little details. Its an exponential interest. Its kind of incredible, really."

And of course, now that everyone has a camera in their pocket at all times, royal fans are known to camp out outside the hospital, hoping to capture their own photos of the special day.

"I think the desire to participate is at its kind of peak. I think its a wonderful thing, but I don't think it changes what a professional photographer does," Ahern says.

Photo credit: Peter Macdiarmid - Getty Images

As the Duchess of Sussex's due date draws near, it's unclear which hospital she will give birth in (or indeed, if she will opt for a home birth). Whether Meghan, Harry, and their new baby will pose for a portrait on their way out the door is an unknown factor as well.

Victoria Arbiter thinks they will, if only to quell the rabid interest in unsanctioned pictures. "If I were a betting person, I would think Meghan and Harry would stop for a photograph because by standing and giving the press what they need in that photograph and in that moment, it reduces the value of any kind of paparazzi pictures," she says. "That first photograph has the potential to be incredibly valuable. Which is when you see royals take control of the narrative. And they say, 'Well give you this picture but in exchange youve got to leave us alone and respect our privacy.'"

But she says there's still a chance they might want to protect their newborn from scrutiny.

Photo credit: Neil Mockford - Getty Images

"Bless this babys little heart because its a huge historical burden to carry, but the child happens to be the first mixed race heritage baby in the royal family. That is very exciting, thats reflecting society as it is today. But as I say, that is also a tremendous historical burden for that little baby to have on his or her shoulders," she says. "Harry and Meghan are going to be keen to protect that baby."

Edwards is hoping for a photograph as well, but Harry and Meghan are known to break tradition. "Ive asked the question and Ive got no answers, so I dont know," he says, when asked if he thinks Harry and Meghan will pose for a few snaps with their newborn outside the hospital.

"I photographed Harry coming out of that hospital in his mothers arms, and I hope to photograph Harrys baby when coming out in Harrys arms," Edwards says. "But Harry might do it differently. He may have his own plans. Well know soon enough."

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Planning for a sustainable and smart urban environment cannot be done in isolation. It ought to complement the engineering of biophilic cities, believe experts.

A biophilic city is one that integrates natural features into its designs. Its about treating nature as if it has a 'place' in your life. However, it is important to recognise that biophilic cities are not simply 'green cities'. They are sustainable and resilient cities that can help foster social and landscape resilience, in the face of climate change, natural disasters and economic uncertainty and various other shocks that cities will face in the future.

Biophilic urbanism:

According to Harvard University myrmecologist and conservationist EO Wilson, biophilia hypothesis tells us that the human species has thrived in part because of our innate affinity with and in connection to the living world. In short, it means 'love of life', referring to humans' instinctive fondness for our fellow earthlings, especially plants and animals. However, in our race to grow and urbanise, we have increasingly disconnected ourselves from nature. Therefore, 'biophilia' aims to bring back the human-nature connection, thus making the experience of the natural world an integral part of the ordinary city life.

Studies have shown that biophilic urbanism has the following benefits:

Environmental:

A biophilic urban ecosystem improves air quality, reduces carbon emission, counters the heat island effect, etc.

Social:

It also leads to reduction of stress, depression and anxiety, enhanced productivity, quicker healing from illness, etc.

Economic:

Some other tangible benefits include  enriches urban liveability, encourages community participation, reduces violence and crime rates," says Mili Majumdar, Managing Director, Green Business Certification Institute Pvt Ltd India & Senior Vice-President, USGBC.

How do we create biophilic urban centres?

The impact of both, climate change and population growth, can be significantly mitigated by embedding nature within urban areas.

Impact of urbanisation:

According to a un report, India currently has the second largest population in the world. And by 2050, it is projected that the country will have added 416 million urban dwellers.

Presently, seven of the top ten most polluted cities in the world are in India, according to a study by Swiss-based IQAir AirVisual and nonprofit organisation Greenpeace;

India is ranked at 140 on the United Nation's latest World Happiness report that gauged 156 countries, a decline of seven spots from the last edition of the survey;

According to Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), India has fared poorly on the Global Liveability Index 2018, with Delhi ranking 112 and Mumbai five places behind at 117.

Biophilic smart cities:

A smart city integrates information and technology to optimise the efficiency of city operations and services and connect to citizens. However, in our endeavour to engineer and implement smart solutions, we have shifted our focus away from our environment and the issues concerning it. Therefore, the need of the hour is to marry technology with nature, i.e. the concept of smart cities should be integrated with that of biophilic cities.

"To create smart cities, we need to focus on five strategic areas  water, energy, mobility, building and home, and waste. Here, we can integrate nature with the built environment. For instance, to facilitate easy mobility, we need to focus on building a strong mass rapid transportation system. This will discourage people from using their private vehicles, which will help us cut down on our carbon emission. Also, we should encourage the use of green fuels and build green corridors  all this and more would not only improve connectivity, but also revitalise the urban environment," says Rumi Aijaz, Senior fellow, Observer Research Foundation (ORF).

He further says, "In total, 6.6 percent of the Berlin area is water. The city protects these waterways for their aesthetic and environmental value, as well as for drinking water, by classifying 'water protection areas' throughout the city and giving them special protection. Such a step can help our cities too as it will not only enhance tourism, but improve water cycle management. Similarly, Singapore is a great model of a compact biophilic city, where the development of green areas and green buildings is regenerating the natural systems of the city and creating an urban ecosystem similar to its original structure."

In conclusion:

Biophilic urbanism is not only capable of enhancing urban liveability; but also beneficial to its residents by creating living conditions that are conducive to health and well-being, thus reducing stress, increasing cognitive abilities and attention. But it is the lack of investment and education at the policy level, which is proving to be a barrier in creating a smarter urban infrastructure and sustainable biophilic environment. Hence, lets start work at the micro-level, and then, the scale of operation can increase, advise our experts.

After all  change begins at home, isn't it?

Taking cues from the other side of the world:

In short, a biophilic approach that enhances green infrastructure can provide significant gains not only for the cities, but also improve the social and psychological condition of its residents.

In Seattle, USA, 30 percent landscaped area is a requirement for commercial developments.

In Cologne, Germany, a 50 percent storm water fee subsidy is offered for green-compliant roofs.

In Faenza, Italy, subsidies are available to encourage developments to maximise ground permeability, save water and include green areas and appropriate landscaping.

In Russia, a system is in place wherein motorists are given realtime information about traffic and congestion on the main streets. This has helped them reduce traffic, thereby improving quality of air.

Singapore has issued a landscape replacement policy that ensures any greenery removed in the process of 'developing a lot' be replaced on the building coming up there.

'If urban development does not increase the presence of nature, our ecosystem will eventually collapse. For instance, a small gesture like keeping potted plants in your balcony or on your office desks can increase productivity and improve air quality. Also, keeping your windows open to allow natural light to stream it can improve the energy efficiency of your house. Similarly, using a green colour for your walls will create a positive and harmonious environment in your house, thereby reducing your stress levels.

Cormac Lynch, Advisor and Interior Architect, Piramal Group

The idea of development is to create sustainable solutions so that our human race can survive. Here, we can borrow an idea from Australia, where home-owners have installed power walls, which help them store energy and utilise it, particularly during load shedding or blackouts. Such an initiative has not only helped them harness the solar energy to the maximum, but also reduced their dependence on non-renewable resources. And India is in a great position to harness this renewable resource due to its tropical climate.

Shraddha Dasgupta, GM  Design, of a leading realty firm

Shehzin Shaikh, Times Property, The Times of India, Bengaluru
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As I note today how the upcoming Uber IPO tells us that equity investors are still quite bullish, I also realize that this particular bull market is unique in its absence of volatility. There have been a few hiccups a long the way, including the Feb 5th, 2018 purge of XIV punters. But thats been the exception, not the rule. The question is why and what does this mean for the future. I have a few thoughts I want to share on that score below.

Let me say first, though, that this is one of the occasional free Credit Writedowns posts I write. If you like what you read please consider subscribing to the newsletter at the link below.

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My own bullish views

Let me start with my own bias here. In the wake of the financial crisis, I called the market bottom fairly early to general disbelief, so much so that I wrote a whole post on confirmation bias causing people to miss the rebound. Even so, I was sceptical of the recovery. I called it the fake recovery. And for a long time, I expected it to peter out by 2013 at the latest.

Somewhere along the way, I changed tack. In retrospect, I would put it about 2011, when I was writing about municipal bonds  defending them as not likely to melt down because of the resilience of the economic expansion. And even though I have warned of downshifts since that time  with good reason in hindsight  it has always been predicated on my sense that the Fed was getting ahead of itself and overtightening as it did in 2018.

The Fed has finally realized it overtightened though. And I think there are good odds this recovery continues through 2019 and beyond as a result. So, my bias is bullish, as it has been for most of the last decade.

Low Volatility

But this low volatility regime leaves me with a sense of foreboding. EVERYTHING is showing low volatility as all risk assets are being bid. It doesnt matter if you are talking about equities, high yield, or leveraged loans; volatility has been absent.

Take emerging markets , for instance. I remember sitting on an EM trading desk during the Thai Baht meltdown in 1997 and a high yield desk in 1998 during the Russian default. And these events seemingly came out of nowhere. And this was after the so-called Tequila Crisis in 1995 and the Treasury meltdown in 1994 on the heels of the jobless recovery of 1991-1993. Volatility was always around the corner. But the CBOE Emerging Markets Volatility Index shows you volatility today is short-lived.

Compared to past business cycles, this cycle is remarkable in the ability of central banks to tamp down on negative sentiment and keep all markets moving up and to the right. Thats great for the likes of Uber, which lost $4 billion on $7.9 billion of revenue in 2017. But for how long?

Fake liquidity

One thing that concerns me greatly is what I would call fake liquidity. And a lot of it is driven by the passive investing, exchange-traded product craze. You have markets like the high yield market, which are inherently illiquid. And at last count, there were 58 ETFs based on that market. And these ETFs are absolutely ripping.

So lets tease out how this works in a down market  not a blip correction like December, but a genuine bear market. Imagine, for instance, that defaults begin to rise, signalling a potential end of the credit cycle. High yield would get hit hardest there because it represents the riskiest companies. In that case, credit spreads would begin to rise and the market would begin to sell off. People would begin pulling money out of high yield ETFs.

But eventually, you would run into a liquidity problem  meaning while the ETFs themselves are liquid, the underlying market is not. When LTCM happened, for example, even though bid-ask spreads widened tremendously in European high yield, the bids were just indicative levels. No one was willing to buy at that level. And liquidity seized up even though this market had zero to do with Russia. What happens to the high yield ETFs in that event, when people are redeeming shares and ETF managers are forced to sell? I would suspect they sell what they can, not what they want. And so the good will go down with the bad.

Moreover, market structure now is such that broker dealer inventory has dwindled significantly, while high frequency trading has increased demand exponentially. In a down market, that lack of market-making liquidity will be severely tested. And again, the risk is that it contributes to a gapping down of prices, purely because investors become panicked when they realize they have been accustomed to fake liquidity.

The Feds about face

I think the Fed realized this in December. A lot of people are asking why the Fed turned from hawkish to dovish so aggressively. And the undertone to the questioning is the concept that the Fed knew something we didnt. The result was a deep inversion in the middle of the Treasury yield curve that was practically pricing in a recession.

So what did the Fed know that we didnt? Perhaps the Fed understood that the biggest risk to the economy is not an interconnected banking system as it was during the mortgage meltdown last decade. Maybe the Feds worry in December and January was the now-$52 trillion shadow banking world, which poses the greatest risk to the economic expansion.

Bond ratings agency DBRS says, A sharp rise in rates would impose sizable mark-to-market losses and diminish fund returns. I would make a different point  that a sharp and durable drop in the value of markets tied to ETFs would impose sizable mark-to-market losses on the shadow banking industry. And that is the Achilles heel this go round.

For me, a strong dollar is the key stressor in this. Even though the Fed has turned dovish, it has done little to diminish the attractiveness of the US dollar. Other central banks are equally dovish  more so even, because the US economy remains relatively strong on a global basis. Japan and Europe, for example, are much weaker. And Europe is where I see trouble brewing in the developed economy world.

That dollar strength puts a lot of stress on dollar debtors which do not have enough dollar revenues to cover their dollar repayments. And in a world of uneven or slowing growth, this spells volatility. The Fed, perhaps, senses that. And so, it has turned dovish.

I dont see recession around the corner for the US. The US slump in the winter could have just been residual seasonality and the impact of the shutdown. So, we might even be in a re-acceleration. Meanwhile, US equity investors are ready for Uber and Pinterest and a whole gamut of loss-making unicorn IPOs. So, for now, the mood is bullish. Lets see how this pans out.

Caveat Emptor
Nepal is sending a four-man expedition team to the peak of Mount Everest to clear up the questions surrounding the world's tallest and most famous mountain.Back in 2015, Nepal was hit with a strong 7.8-magnitude earthquake. One of the long-lasting effects of the quake was on the country's prized mountain.After the natural disaster, researchers found satellite evidence that Mount Everest is now about 1 inch shorterthan it used to be.Officially, Mount Everest stands at 29,029 feet or about 8,848 meters, a number recorded by an Indian survey in 1954. While various teams have gone on to measure the mountain, it remains the widely accepted height.Nepal's four-man team is setting out to discover whether it's time to change the records or not.Team Prepares To Measure Everest's HeightAccordingto Agence France-Presse, the country's Survey Department appointed four climbers to trek the treacherous mountain."We are sending a team because there were questions regarding the height of Everest after the earthquake," Susheel Dangol, expedition coordinator from the Survey Department, explained to AFP.Commissioned in 2017, the four surveyors spent the last two years preparing their methodology, collecting ground readings, and training for the extreme conditions they're going to encounter on their expedition.Researchers Argue Over True Height of Mount EverestIt marks the first time Nepalwill conduct its own survey on their legendary mountain. The country's Survey Department hopes that the expedition will squash the speculation about the mountains shrinkage with the findings.It's not just the claims of Mount Everest shrinking after the 2015 earthquake that the Nepalese are trying to settle. Nepal and China have long argued over the mountains true height with the latter saying it's actually 13 feet shorter than the 1954 measurement indicated.An American team also surveyed Mount Everest in 1999 using GPS technology. Their findings show that the mountain is taller than previous records, giving the peak another 6.6 feet (2 meters) of height.The Dangers Of Mount EverestThe four surveyors taking the journey to the top of the mountainwill face plenty of extreme challenges on their way to the summit.According to the Himalayan Database, there have been more than 280 deaths on Mount Everest. BBC reportsthat the most common cause of death from 2010 to 2018 is avalanche accidents (41.6 percent), followed by acute mountain sickness (16.6 percent), exhaustion (12.5 percent), and falling (6.9 percent).However, the team is confident they can work through the challenges."It will not be easy to work in that terrain, but we are confident our mission will be successful," said Khim Lal Gautam, the expedition leader and chief surveyor.Gautam summited Everest in 2011.
A bitterly divided Supreme Court ruled early Friday morning that the execution of an Alabama death row inmate could proceed. The vote was 5 to 4.





Justice Stephen G. Breyers anguished dissent, issued around 3 a.m., said the majority had denied his request that the execution be delayed so that the justices could discuss the matter at their scheduled private conference on Friday morning. That was a rare glimpse into deliberations that are ordinarily secret.





The dispute among the justices lasted long enough that Alabama officials called off the execution of the inmate, Christopher L. Price, which had been scheduled for Thursday night. They said a new execution date will be set.





To proceed in this way calls into question the basic principles of fairness that should underlie our criminal justice system, Justice Breyer wrote. To proceed in this matter in the middle of the night without giving all members of the court the opportunity for discussion tomorrow morning is, I believe, unfortunate.









RELATED | Alabama: Christopher Lee Price granted 60-day stay over nitrogen execution request The majority, in a brief unsigned opinion, said Mr. Price had waited too long to raise his claim that Alabamas method of execution, a lethal injection of three chemicals, could subject him to excruciating pain. Mr. Price asked to be executed using nitrogen gas, a method allowed by Alabama law.





The case is the latest example of an increasingly rancorous divide on the Supreme Court over the death penalty, with conservative justices frustrated over what they considered excessive delays in carrying out executions. The liberal justices, on the other hand, have accused the majority of reckless haste that could give rise to pain amounting to torture.





The replacement of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who was a moderating force in capital cases, with the more conservative Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh has hardened the divide between the two sides. This terms major cases will be decided in the coming months and similar angry splits are likely.





Mr. Price and an accomplice were convicted of using a sword and dagger to kill William Lynn, a minister, in his home in Bazemore, Ala., in 1991 while he was preparing Christmas presents for his grandchildren. The pastors wife, Bessie Lynn, was badly wounded in the attack but survived. Mr. Price admitted to participating in robbing the couple but claimed that only his accomplice had harmed them.





In June, Alabama gave death row inmates 30 days to choose nitrogen hypoxia, which deprives the body of oxygen, as the way they would be executed, and Mr. Price had failed to do so. The majority said that was the end of the matter.





Lower courts entered stays of execution on Thursday, citing new evidence and questions about jurisdiction. Around 9 p.m. on Thursday, Alabama officials asked the Supreme Court to lift the stays. It agreed about six hours later.





Earlier this month, in rejecting a challenge from a Missouri inmate about how he was to be put to death, Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, writing for a five-justice majority, said courts should police carefully against attempts to use such challenges as tools to interpose unjustified delay.





That decision followed a 5-to-4 ruling in February to allow the execution of a Muslim inmate in Alabama after his request to have his imam be present was denied, with the majority saying he should have asked sooner. In dissent, Justice Elena Kagan wrote that the majority was profoundly wrong. In March, the court stayed the execution of a Buddhist inmate in Texas in similar circumstances, over two noted dissents, with the majority apparently satisfied that the request had been timely.





In his seven-page dissent on Friday, Justice Breyer reviewed the proceedings in Mr. Prices case and said undue haste had undermined justice. Justices Kagan, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor joined his dissent in the case, Dunn v. Price, No. 18A1053.







Should anyone doubt that death sentences in the United States can be carried out in an arbitrary way, Justice Breyer wrote, let that person review the following circumstances as they have been presented to our court this evening.





He said his colleagues had turned away his request to discuss the matter in person. Late-night rulings on death penalty stay applications are not unheard-of, but they are seldom issued in the predawn hours.





A spotlight on the people reshaping our politics. A conversation with voters across the country. And a guiding hand through the endless news cycle, telling you what you really need to know.





I requested that the court take no action until tomorrow, when the matter could be discussed at conference, he wrote, referring to a private meeting that is regularly scheduled for most Friday mornings during the courts term. I recognized that my request would delay resolution of the application and that the state would have to obtain a new execution warrant, thus delaying the execution by 30 days.





But in my judgment, that delay was warranted, at least on the facts as we have them now, Justice Breyer wrote.





Alabama officials expressed outrage over the delay after the death warrant expired.





Tonight, in the middle of National Crime Victims Rights Week, the family of Pastor Bill Lynn was deprived of justice, said Attorney General Steven T. Marshall. They were, in effect, re-victimized by a killer trying to evade his just punishment.





Mr. Marshall complained that Mr. Price had long dodged his death sentence for the better part of three decades by employing much the same strategy he has pursued tonight  desperately clinging to legal maneuverings to avoid facing the consequences of his heinous crime. He vowed that Mr. Lynns day of justice will come.





In his dissent, Justice Breyer wrote that a brief delay to allow the Supreme Court to discuss the matter was warranted.





There were substantial questions, he wrote, about whether Mr. Price had acted too slowly in choosing nitrogen gas.





What is at stake in this case, Justice Breyer wrote, is the right of a condemned inmate not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment.

 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,

but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
The campaign for Ann Roe, who is running for Congress against Lyin' Bryan Steil has come out with the best one-liner of this cycle so far: I can't argue...

1 month ago
All the headlines about Greg Craig's indictment include a reference to him having been a former Obama White House staffer-- like this one from the Former Obama White House Counsel Expects to Be Indicted It could have easily read "Former Phillips Exeter Academy student expects to be indicted," "Former member of Harvard's Krokodiloes expects to be indicted," "Former Hillary Clinton landlord expects to be indicted," "Former John Hinckley defense attorney expects to be indicted" or "Former Goldman Sachs lobbyist expects to be indicted." Except, perhaps, for the last one, none them have anything to do with the indictment-- the same way his past role with the Obama administration, over a decade ago, doesn't. Almost exactly one year ago he resigned from shady mega-law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, following the indictment of Alex van der Zwaan, one of their lawyers, who it so happens, Greg Craig was supervising as he did everything involved with Skadden's work for former Ukrainian president Yanukovich. Yesterday Craig was charged with making false statements to the FBI in their investigation into Manafort's work for the Ukrainian autocrat. A day earlier, Byron Tau and Aruna Viswanatha reported forthat "Craig has refused to accept a plea deal" and that an indictment would "send shock waves through the U.S. legal community... The 74-year-old Mr. Craig is a legal heavyweight who served in senior legal roles for two Democratic presidents. He has also been a top State

Department adviser and Capitol Hill aide.

This tweet was inevitable; I wonder why it took so long though

The matters surrounding Mr. Craig have taken a winding path. It was first developed by special counsel Robert Mueller before being transferred to federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, known as SDNY, and then was transferred again to Washington. The national security division of the Justice Department-- which has ramped up its enforcement of foreign lobbying laws-- is heavily involved, the people say.





The possible charges stem from the Ukrainian governments hiring of Mr. Craig and his then-law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in 2012 to evaluate the corruption trial of the former Ukrainian prime minister. Mr. Craig spoke to several reporters about the findings of the firms report, touching off a dispute with the Justice Department about whether that qualified as lobbying for a foreign government in the U.S.





Skadden Arps entered into a $4.6 million civil settlement with the Justice Department in January, acknowledging it misled the Justice Department about its Ukraine work. In the settlement, the firm blamed Mr. Craig for providing the government with the misleading information. Skadden Arps also belatedly registered as a foreign agent as part of the settlement.





Mr. Craig was interviewed twice by Mr. Muellers office. He left Skadden Arps firm in April 2018.





...The people familiar with the matter say Mr. Craigs legal defense will be that he talked with reporters to correct mischaracterizations of the report and protect the reputation of his law firm-- rather than to advance the interests of his foreign client. Ukraine used the report to bolster the pro-Russia governments contention that the prosecution of a rival to then President Viktor Yanukovych was appropriate and proper, while the report itself made more narrow findings.





Prosecutors have also suggested to the people familiar with the matter that they believe Mr. Craig concealed the involvement of a public relations firm from Justice Department officials.





To prove a false-statements charge, prosecutors must show that the statements were material to an investigation and were knowingly false.





The Justice Department in recent months has stepped up its enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, extracting convictions of senior Republican officials. Mr. Manafort and his associate Richard Gates pleaded guilty to crimes related to their Ukraine work; former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn also admitted as part of a separate guilty plea that he misled the Justice Department about his work for the Turkish government; and another associate who worked with Mr. Craig also pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about the Ukraine work.
The last time I was in a synagogue was in 2016 in St Petersburg when I went to see if I could reconnect with my grandfather's spirit, who had spent his last night in his native Russia there before fleeing to America as a young boy in 1905. Nice building but my grandfather's spirit wasn't there. He wasn't very religious and his spirit would be more likely to be hanging out in a socialist workers club. He identified as a Jew, as do I, proudly so, if not religiously. I have to admit that a week ago, I was incensed with Adelson's Kapo Klub Konclave in Las Vegas, incensed enough to write about it: A Very Large Percentage Of American Jews Are Smart And Humane-- And Don't Vote For Republicans . Take that, Kapo-scum!













I wasn't the only one offended. Yesterday I got my first-ever e-mail from the Jewish Democratic Council of America. They acknowledged the "wild applause" Trump got, the red MAGA yarmulkes the Kapos were wearing and that the coverage of the event could "leave some with the impression that Republicans are making inroads with Jewish voters." As I mentioned in my own post, that's not the reality Jewish voters are telling. My piece was mostly historical. There's is more up-to-the-moment.

Trumps presidency has contributed to a stunning loss of Jewish support for Republicans, which plummeted from 33 percent in the 2014 midterms to 17 percent in the 2018 elections. Between 2016 and 2018, the numbers dropped by seven points, demonstrating that Jews are leaving the GOP because of Trump.



Trumps presidency has caused Jews to abandon the Republican Party because his rhetoric and policies are contrary to our Jewish values. The Democratic Party has been-- and will remain-- the political home of the Jewish community because Democrats share our commitment to Israel and other domestic policy priorities stemming from our Jewish values. Jews also reject Trumps attempt to turn Israel and anti-Semitism into political wedge issues, which has been dangerous for Israel and Jews. But dont take our word for it-- the polling numbers speak for themselves.







At the RJC Shabbat political rally, Trump referred to Benjamin Netanyahu as "our" prime minister. This was the second time in just a few months he had made a dual loyalty accusation about American Jews and Israel. And as usual, Republicans who are so quick to condemn anti-Semitism from the opposite side of the aisle remained silent when Trump engages in the same bigoted ignorance.



Its unacceptable that Trump and other Republicans have engaged in anti-Semitism, but it is also unacceptable that they only seem to care about anti-Semitism when it suits their partisan purposes. This opportunistic Republican tactic is not just hypocritical, its dangerous and makes the following clear-- Trump and the GOP are using Israel and anti-Semitism as political wedge issues in order to score political points, and we wont let them get away with it.

Halie Soifer, a former senior national security advisor in the Obama administration, is the executive director of Jewish Democratic Council and yesterday she wrote a post for Medium, The Danger of Politicizing and Personalizing the U.S.-Israel Relationship , to deal with Trump's troubling role in the Israeli election which, she warns, "is endangering the future of U.S.-Israel ties."





Netanyahu, alas was the choice of what a friend of mine there called a "more apathetic electorate than our own." Despite Trumps "astonishing recent reference to Netanyahu as the prime minister of all Jews," wrote Soifer, "he is not, and we Jews are not a universal political monolith. Polling demonstrates that while 92 percent of American Jewish voters identify as 'pro-Israel,' 59 percent are critical of policies of the current Israeli government. Just as one can be both an American patriot and detractor of Trump, there is no inherent contradiction between support for Israel and disagreement with Netanyahus politics. Trump has attempted to reframe this dynamic by politicizing and personalizing the U.S.-Israel relationship, and those who care about Israel on both sides of the aisle should reject it."








Citing illegalities, the HCMC Peoples Procuracy says the recent verdict in Vietnams coffee royalty divorce case should be quashed.

The agency said the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Court has made several errors in deciding the lawsuit between Dang Le Nguyen Vu, chairman and CEO of coffee giant Trung Nguyen Group, and his ex-wife Le Hoang Diep Thao.

It urged the appeals court to reject the verdict issued at the trial of first instance last month.

The original value of the shared cash between Vu and Thao kept in three banks under Thaos name was mentioned at VND1.76 trillion ($75.9 million). However, at the time the court issued its verdict, the sum was only VND1.3 billion ($56,080), or 0.07 percent of the original value.

The court did not verify where most of the money went and used for what purpose, prosecutors said, adding that the lack of information on the cash makes the enforcement of the verdict challenging.

They also noted that the court has given an "unfair" verdict by dividing the ownership of Vu and Thao in Trung Nguyen 60:40 ratio in Vus favor and ordering that Vu buys out Thaos shares with cash so as the latter will no longer be a Trung Nguyen shareholder.

Allowing Vu to own Thaos shares is a violation of Vietnams Law on Enterprises as Thao is a shareholder and has rights over her shares, prosecutors said, adding that value of the shares which includes brand value is yet to be defined.

Prosecutors also claimed that the courts verdict on the provision for four children, ordering Vu to provide them with VND10 billion ($431,140) a year starting from 2013 until they graduate from college, did not meet the two sides agreement, making the enforcement of the verdict difficult.

Following the courts verdict last month, deemed "not in line with the law" by lawyers, both Thao and Vu have appealed.

Thao has appealed against the entire verdict, asking to be reunited with Vu. She has also disagreed with the court's decision to split the couple's shared assets in Trung Nguyen 60:40 in Vu's favor and to give him the rights to manage the Trung Nguyen empire.

Vu, meanwhile, has appealed against the court's ruling on the settlement of the couple's shared assets and repeated his demand for the split to be 70:30 in his favor.

Vu and Thao married in 1998. The marriage ran into trouble in 2013 and Thao filed for divorce in 2015.

Thao had previously proposed that she gets 51 percent (VND2.11 trillion or $90.7 million) of Trung Nguyen Investment, a company which owns the majority of shares of Trung Nguyen Group.

She had also proposed that Vu and her each own 15 percent (VND814 billion, $35 million) of Trung Nguyen Group and 7.5 percent (VND43 billion, $1.85 million) of Trung Nguyen Instant Coffee. Thao agreed to give Vu her shares in four other companies under the Trung Nguyen brand.

But Vu wanted to have 70 percent of all of companies under the Trung Nguyen brand and to buy the remaining shares from Thao with cash.

Trung Nguyen Group is a leading coffee company in Vietnam. It earned revenues of VND3.95 trillion ($170.5 million) and pretax profits of VND681 billion ($29.4 million) in 2017. It runs 200,000 coffee stores across the country.
Bus stations are overcrowded and roads congested as residents leave Hanoi for their hometowns to enjoy a long weekend.

With the Hung King Commemoration falling on Monday, people rushed to leave Hanoi for their hometowns Friday afternoon.

This year, April 14 is the national holiday to commemorate the founding fathers of the nation.

At 3 p.m Friday, all the waiting seats at the My Dinh bus terminal were full.

It is expected that during the holiday, the My Dinh bus station will accommodate more than 1,200 vehicles a day, a 30 percent increase over normal days. The station will have 110 extra trips on for all major routes.

The entrance to the bus stations waiting room was also crowded with people as of Friday night. Most people crowded agencies that administer bus routes to northern provinces like Phu Tho, Quang Ninh, Lao Cai, Son La and Dien Bien.

A similar situation prevailed at the Giap Bat Bus Station in the southeast of Hanoi, as many students waited to get back home. Buses to Hung Yen, Hai Phong, Hai Duong and Thanh Hoa provinces were running full.

A mother with a child queues up to wait to get on a bus. Despite an increase in the number of trips to a district in northern Hung Yen Province, many people had to wait to get a chance to return home.

Many bus companies operating long-distance routes sold tickets at announced prices to passengers in the bus terminal.

"I am taking the night bus with berths to Dien Bien Province at 8 p.m, but I have to get here at 4 p.m. to buy a ticket before it gets sold out," said Huong, a resident of Tuan Giao District in northern Dien Bien town.

Many families chose to leave Hanoi on motorbikes, but it was not easy to exit the capital city. Thousands were stuck in long traffic jams.

The road leading to Beltway 3.

On Nguyen Trai Street near Beltway 3, many cars and motorbikes were stuck in one place for a long time.
The Ministry of Public Security has decided to detain Pham Nhat Vu, chairman of private pay TV firm Audio Visual Global JSC (AVG), for giving bribes.

The decision to detain Vu, announced Friday, is part of an ongoing investigation into violations in managing and using state investment capital involving Vietnams third largest telecom firm MobiFone and certain divisions of the Ministry of Public Security, which has made headlines since 2016.

The nexus came to light after the state-run MobiFone broke into the pay TV market with the acquisition of a 95 percent stake in AVG in January 2016.

But government inspectors concluded that the deal had violated public investment laws and caused an estimated loss of about VND7 trillion ($307 million) to the state budget.

Pham Nhat Vu, chairman of private pay TV firm Audio Visual Global JSC (AVG), at a police station. Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Public Security

Vu used to live and work in Eastern Europe before coming back to Vietnam in the 2000s. He started with real estate investment, and then switched to building a pay TV business in 2004. The VND1.8 trillion ($77-million) AVG was established in 2008 and officially broadcasted in 2011.

Also on Friday, police opened investigation against Nguyen Bac Son and Truong Minh Tuan, former ministers of Information and Communications, for signs of receiving bribes in the AVG acquisition.

In February, Son and Tuan were arrested for violations related to management and use of public capital in the same case.

Son, then serving as information minister, directly approved the acquisition of AVG by MobiFone against regulations and asked subordinates to sign documents in contravention of regulations, investigation found.

Tuan, as a deputy information minister, had signed a decision to approve the illegal acquisition without the Prime Ministers approval. He became information minister in 2016 but was dismissed from his position in a secret ballot by the legislative National Assembly last October.

Several other people involved in the AVG case were also arrested and are facing criminal charges, including Cao Duy Hai, former general director of MobiFone; Pham Thi Phuong Anh, the firm's former deputy general director; Le Nam Tra, 57, its former chairman and general director; and Pham Dinh Trong, 48, former head of the Department of Enterprise Management under the Ministry of Information and Communications.

An ongoing corruption crackdown spearheaded by Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong has seen scores of officials and top businesspeople arrested and sent to jail in recent years. Trong has said that there will be no let up in the anti-corruption drive.
Nguyen Bac Son (L) and Truong Minh Tuan, former ministers of Information and Communications at a police station in February. Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Public Security

Investigations began Friday against Nguyen Bac Son and Truong Minh Tuan, former ministers of Information and Communications, for receiving bribes.

The two former ministers were arrested in February for violations relating to management and use of public capital.

Cao Duy Hai and Le Nam Tra, former directors of Vietnams third largest telecom firm MobiFone, will also be investigated for receiving bribes. Both are already in police custody. Hai was arrested last November and Tra in July for "violating regulations on the management and use of public capital, causing serious consequences."

Also on Friday, police issued an arrest warrant for Pham Nhat Vu, chairman of private pay TV firm Audio Visual Global JSC (AVG), for giving bribes.

The decisions are part of an ongoing investigation into violations in managing and using state investment capital involving MobiFone and certain divisions of the Ministry of Public Security, which has made headlines since 2016.

The nexus came to light after the state-run MobiFone broke into the pay TV market with the acquisition of a 95 percent stake in AVG in 2016.

But government inspectors concluded that the deal had violated public investment laws and caused an estimated loss of about VND7 trillion ($307 million) to the state budget.

Son, then serving as the information minister, directly approved MobiFone's acquisition of AVG against regulations and asked subordinates to sign documents in contravention of regulations, investigation found.

As a deputy information minister from 2011 to 2016, Tuan had signed a decision to approve the acquisition without the Prime Ministers approval.

Several other officials involved in the MobiFone case were also arrested and are facing criminal charges, including Cao Duy Hai, former general director of MobiFone; Pham Thi Phuong Anh, the firm's former deputy general director; Le Nam Tra, 57, its former chairman and general director; and Pham Dinh Trong, 48, former head of the Department of Enterprise Management under the Ministry of Information and Communications.

An ongoing corruption crackdown spearheaded by Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong has seen scores of officials and top businesspeople arrested and sent to jail in recent years. Trong has said that there will be no let up in the anti-corruption drive.
The Shinkansen high-speed train in Japan. Vietnam expects to learn from Japan to build its trans-nation high-speed rail. Photo by Pixabay/tikisada

The much vaunted $58.71 billion trans-Vietnam high speed rail needs a fresh cost-benefit analysis, government leaders say.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung said Thursday the State Appraisal Council should "carefully consider the necessity of the project, its benefit to the country in terms of economy, politics, culture, society, environment, security, and defense."

The high-speed rail, which would run 1,559 kilometers (970 miles) between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, "is of large scale and would cost a lot and so should be carefully studied to make sure it will achieve general consensus," he was quoted as saying in a statement released by the Government Office.

The council should also assess the affordability of the project considering Vietnam also needs to invest in other major traffic projects from now until 2030.

The Ministry of Transport has been tasked with collecting opinions from experts, scientists, organizations and the public, and study the experience of other countries that have built or plans for high-speed rail.

Dung said the project involves sophisticated technologies, runs through as many as 20 cities and provinces and has large land requirements and thus involves large sums for compensation.

The ministry has worked with consultants, experts and scientists for the pre-feasibility study, but there are still disagreements on investment plan.

According to the latest draft of the project plan, construction on the high-speed rail route will start in 2024, a training academy will be established in 2026, test runs will start in 2028, and the official launch will be in 2030.

The construction might be in two phases, with two of the three sections of the route, from Hanoi to Vinh on the north-central coast and from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang on the south-central coast being completed in the first phase in 2020-30.

Sixty percent of the tracks will be on viaducts, 10 percent underground and 30 percent on the surface, completely protected by fencing and without a single crossing.

The report is scheduled to be presented for approval to the National Assembly next October.

Experts said at a forum last November that they fear Vietnam cant cope with the financial burden of the project.

High project costs and slow returns on investment make it difficult to attract investment, and since public debt is already very high, using state funds could break the proverbial bank, they said.

The consortium of consultants tasked with carrying out the pre-feasibility study, comprising three Vietnamese construction firms TEDI, TRICC and TEDISOUTH, said the project would cost $58.71 billion.

This figure is equivalent to 25 percent of the country's GDP in 2018 which was estimated at VND5,535 trillion ($239 billion).

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong said on top of that the railroad would need funds to operate for the first 10 years.

No local investor is capable of covering the cost while foreign investors are reluctant as it would take a long time to make a return on their investment, he told the forum.

China and other European countries already have the technology to build high-speed railways as well as professional construction companies with well-trained workers while Vietnam has just started the process of researching and training people, he said.

The nation's existing 3,000-kilometer railroad network has not received any major investment since it was built 140 years ago, and does not have the capacity for high speeds.

Investment in railways currently accounts for just 1 percent of the transport sectors total budget.
Kim Jong-un (R) said he would wait until the end of the year

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is willing meet with U.S. President Donald Trump a third time if Washington comes to the table with the "right attitude," state media reported Saturday.

Kim also said he would wait until the end of the year "for the U.S. to make a courageous decision" on another meeting, after his most recent summit with Trump in Vietnam broke down and both sides left without agreement.

Washington has blamed the February deadlock on the North's demands for sanctions relief in return for limited nuclear disarmament, but Pyongyang said it had wanted only some of the measures eased.

In a speech to Pyongyang's parliament Friday, Kim said the Hanoi meeting had made him question whether Washington is "genuinely interested" in improving its relations with Pyongyang.

"We are willing to give another try if the U.S. offers to have a third summit with the right attitude and mutually acceptable terms," he said, according to a report by North Korean state media outlet KCNA.

Kim added that his personal relationship with Trump remained strong, adding they could "write letters to each other" whenever they wanted.

"We will wait with patience until the end of the year for the U.S. to make a courageous decision," Kim said.

Trump and Kim held their first landmark summit in Singapore last June, where the pair signed a vaguely-worded agreement on the "denuclearization of the Korean peninsula."

But the failure to reach agreement at their second summit in Hanoi has raised questions over the future of the accord.

Trump said Thursday he was mulling a third summit with Kim ahead of a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in at the Oval Office -- a move supported by Seoul.

"Our government will do what we can in order to maintain the current momentum for dialogue," Moon's office said in a Saturday statement.

On Friday, the KCNA reported Kim was re-elected as chairman of the State Affairs Commission, the North's most important decision-making body.
Regional Asian exporters could be 'crowded out' in US-China trade pact

The APL Vanda, bursting with shipping containers filled with US exports, sails into the port of Qingdao in China's eastern Shandong province. Photo by AFP

A coming trade pact between Washington and Beijing could mean U.S. goods will out-muscle regional Asian exporters reliant on sales to China, the International Monetary Fund warned Friday.

"In the case of an agreement involving managed trade, with China committed to import more from the U.S., reducing imports from elsewhere can be an issue," Changyong Rhee, head of the IMF Asia Department, told reporters during the fund's spring meetings with the World Bank.

"There could be negative impacts on other countries whose exports to China would be crowded out by U.S. exports."

Washington and Beijing have been in talks since the start of the year to resolve their nine-month trade war.

Beijing has floated offers to make eye-popping purchases of U.S. agricultural and energy exports as a means of cutting its soaring trade surplus with the United States.

President Donald Trump has been outraged by the U.S. trade deficit with China, which has increased despite the punishing tariffs he imposed last year on Chinese imports.

Countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Mongolia are crude exporters to China, suggesting they could lose market share should US exports to China increase.

Rhee also said Friday that formal bilateral purchase agreement would be a departure from the prevailing rules governing international trade.

"Likewise if the deal involves preferential access for the U.S. to the Chinese markets, this could lead to broader worries about the future of the multilateral trade system," he said.
A man walks through a dried-up Sarkhej lake on a hot summer day in Ahmedabad, India. Photo by Reuters/Amit Dave

Countries vulnerable to climate change - from Bangladesh to Kenya and Guatemala - have proposed new ways to access cheaper financing to tackle the risks.

A group of 48 developing economies, known as the V20, together with development banks this week announced plans for new financial instruments aimed at lowering the cost of capital and unlocking large capital flows for green development.

The effort could help safeguard the prosperity gains of at least 1 billion people as the planet warms, V20 finance ministers said in a statement.

"The moment calls for a robust response to protect economic growth from the risks of climate change and secure continued progress," said V20 chair Benson Wase, finance minister of the Marshall Islands, in a statement issued during the spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

The V20 economies include Barbados, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Honduras, Lebanon, Morocco, Nepal, the Philippines, Rwanda, Senegal, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Tuvalu and Vietnam.

A 2018 report commissioned by U.N. Environment calculated that the V20 countries had coughed up an additional $62 billion in interest payments alone over the past 10 years because of their climate vulnerability.

The V20's planned new instruments, aimed at fostering climate resilience and helping countries transition to 100 percent renewable energy, include, among other things, investment guarantees and efforts to better combine public and private money.

The countries also proposed a "Sustainable Insurance Facility" to promote insurance among smaller business as a way to help them address climate risks.

The new instruments would tap funds from a range of investors, including development banks and the private sector.

In a statement, the V20 said they faced barriers such as higher costs of capital, which limit the scope of projects, as well as "huge inefficiencies" in accessing international climate finance.

The financing difficulties listed by the V20 chimed with the conclusions of a separate report issued this week by the London-based Overseas Development Institute (ODI) on blended finance, which involves using funds provided by governments and development banks to encourage private investment in poorer nations.

The report found policy makers have overblown expectations about how much private money can be mobilised, especially for low-income countries which are receiving very little.

The ODI researchers calculated that every $1 of public money invested mobilised just $0.37 of private cash in low-income countries, and only $0.75 in all developing states - ratios much lower than those often cited by development banks.

Reality check

Lead author Samantha Attridge, a senior research fellow at ODI, said the figures showed "an urgent reality check on blended finance is needed."

The report said international expectations that blended finance could bridge the financing gap for reaching 17 global goals - which include ending poverty and hunger by 2030, and adapting to climate change - were unrealistic.

For example, only 1 percent of all private finance mobilised by the British government from 2012 to 2015 was in the poorest countries.

In addition, flows of blended finance go predominantly to "hard" economic sectors, such as infrastructure and banking, with very little for social programmes, including health and education, the report said.

Attridge told the Thomson Reuters Foundation too much emphasis on blended finance could suck aid money from efforts to tackle poverty in the most needy places.

"There is a risk that all this money is going to be invested in this way, but we don't actually know what the impact of that is in terms of poverty reduction," she added.

Luigi Carafa, executive director of the Barcelona-based Climate Infrastructure Partnership (CLIP), said the report's findings were not surprising given the constraints on private-sector investment in the poorest countries.

In many places, financial markets are still not sturdy or stable enough, the risks too high, and the size of projects seeking funding too small, he noted.

For those reasons, blended finance was unlikely to be the "holy grail" for those economies, as touted in the past few years, he said.

"This is a huge problem, and we have to find alternative ways to solve it," he said.

The ODI report said there was a need for grant financing to strengthen local investment climates, to make them more attractive to the private sector.

In addition, donor governments should require lower rates of return on the money they provide to development banks, enabling them to take on more risk.

CLIP's Carafa said much could be achieved by following the models used by countries such as Morocco and Argentina, which have successfully leveraged blended finance to build clean power plants.
The Ukrainian presidential administration is accrediting the press to cover presidential candidate Petro Poroshenko's attendance of the debate at the Olympiysky Stadium in Kyiv on April 14.

According to the statement posted on the presidential administration's website, Poroshenko will arrive at the stadium at 14:00. The admission of accredited journalists will begin at 13:00 by passports and journalist ids.

Earlier, the Poroshenko campaign announced the election debate to be held between Poroshenko and Volodymyr Zelensky at the Olympiysky Stadium at 14:00 on Sunday. Meanwhile, Zelensky insists that the debate be held on April 19.

Zelensky and Poroshenko will be competing in the runoff presidential election on April 21. Zelensky won 30% of the vote in the first round of the election on March 31, and Poroshenko gained around 16%.

Judging by the information presented at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on April 11, some 61% of Ukrainians who are planning to cast their ballots will vote for Zelensky, and 24% will choose Poroshenko.
The leaders of Germany, France and Ukraine have agreed to provide security conditions for launching the political process and holding local elections in the territories not controlled by the government in Donbas by the spring of next year, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has said.

"For a certain period of time, we've agreed that this should be no later than March 2020, by the time the local elections are held all necessary security conditions will be created," Poroshenko said on the air of Inter TV Channel in a video call from Paris after a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.

"As soon as the security component of the Minsk Agreements is established, [it is necessary] to immediately proceed to negotiations on a political settlement and try to hold local elections no later than March 2020 and thus complete the political process," the head of state said.

He noted that the peace process provides, above all, a security component: the withdrawal of foreign troops, heavy weapons and artillery.

"The security component is the desire of Ukraine, which, I firmly believe, our partners will take notice of - this is control, in particular, through peacekeeping operations in the uncontrolled segment of the Ukrainian-Russian border," Poroshenko said.
Tymoshenko calls on Poroshenko and Zelensky not to discredit status of president in political struggle

Leader of the Batkivschyna party Yulia Tymoshenko has called on candidates for the presidency of Ukraine, incumbent head of state Petro Poroshenko and showman Volodymyr Zelensky, not to demean the status of presidency.

"I saw the destruction of the status of presidency, I saw the humiliation of the Ukrainian state. I think, just like me, millions of Ukrainians, did not want to see this," she said in a video posted on her Facebook page.

Turning to Poroshenko, the politician advised the current head of state to keep the presidential bar and not to become part of someone else's show.

"No matter how difficult it is, to protect the status of presidency and the status of state," she said.

"I want to appeal to Volodymyr Zelensky. If you want to hold this post, take care of the dignity and honor of this position. You do not need to organize battles around it and you don't need to, leading the struggle for the right to become president, destroy the honor and pride of presidential status," Tymoshenko said.
Ukraine's international partners have expressed hope that reforms in the country will continue after the presidential elections, member of the European Parliament from Germany Elmar Brok has stated.

He said Ukraine should carry out reforms for itself, not for someone. It was declared during the first Maidan [in 2005] and now we can only hope that the reforms started five years ago will continue, will not be stopped, the official stated.

"We want to see more cooperation," he said at the Kyiv Security Forum on April 12.

The MEP noted that Ukraine had managed to achieve significant progress in implementing reforms in recent years.

The reform program in this country is indeed very important, but also quite difficult, he said. Ukraine has really made significant progress, but now the question is that many, in particular, young people believe that not much has been done in the fight against corruption and this means that the reform process is taking place, but the progress is not enough as it should be, Brok said.
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko stated that at a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron he had discussed the issue of Ukrainian political prisoners held in Russia and in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and also announced a new initiative to free Ukrainian journalist Roman Sushchenko convicted in Russia.

"With President of France Emmanuel Macron, I separately raised the question of our journalist Mr. Sushchenko. You know that he worked in Paris, that the first lady of France worried about his fate. Emmanuel clearly stated that in the near future we will again initiate that Russian President Vladimir Putin keep his word, free Sushchenko," Poroshenko said on the air of the Inter TV Channel via a video call from Paris after a meeting with Macron.

In addition, he said that at the meeting they separately raised the issue of the release of 24 Ukrainian sailors who are prisoners of war in the Russian Federation.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has lifted a ban on the entry into Ukraine for Austrian journalist Christian Wehrschutz.

"Ban lifted to Ukraine! Thanks to all the official and unofficial helpers," the journalist wrote on Facebook.

He also posted a photocopy of the SBU's response on the social network, stating that "the ban on the specified person's entry [Christian Wehrschutz] was canceled due to obtaining information about the termination of existence of the reasons for which the person was denied entry, about which the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine was informed."

As reported, on March 8, 2019, the EU spokesperson told the Interfax-Ukraine agency about the decision of Ukrainian authorities to ban Austrian journalist Christian Wehrschutz from entering Ukraine.
Batch of Hummer military vehicles comes to Odesa from U.S.  Defense Minister

Some 35 Hummer combat vehicles have arrived in Odesa from the United States, they will be sent to combat units on the collision line, Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak has said.

"Recently, the level of military-technical assistance has increased significantly. This applies to all of our partners, primarily the United States. Currently, 35 Hummer military vehicles are being unloaded in Odesa. Of these, 20 are armored, which will be used at combat units, and 15 are for medical support vehicles," Poltorak said during a meeting with the soldiers of the 58th separate motorized infantry brigade in Konotop (Sumy region).

According to him, all equipment is immediately sent directly to the combat units on the collision line.

The United States has given $400 million worth of assistance to Ukraine over the recent period, Poltorak said.

"That includes Javelin anti-tank systems, modern radio communication devices, artillery, reconnaissance, and ECM systems, anti-sniper systems, and unmanned aerial vehicles," Poltorak said.

In his opinion, Ukraine cannot build a strong army at the expense of its partners but should develop the national defense industry.
Although Irans leading political factions are outraged over Washingtons recent designation of its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, Europe has remained silent.

Reformist MPs, along with their so-called Principlist or ultra-conservative counterparts, rushed to show their support for the IRGC by wearing the military force's fatigues.

Friday Prayer meetings nationwide voiced criticism of the United States. In an address on April 12, interim Tehran Friday Prayer leader Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Movahedi Kermani lashed out at Washington for designating the IRGC, "an official military force of a foreign country," a terrorist group.

He said the foolish U.S. president violates international law by blacklisting the IRGC, noting that such a measure would further complicate the situation in the Middle East, the IRGC-run Tasnim news agency reported.

Today, it has been proven to the people of the world, particularly regional nations, that the mother of terrorism is the United States, he said.

He then warned U.S. President Donald Trump not to play with the lions tail, stressing the IRGC could "raze Tel Aviv to the ground with its missiles" if ordered to do so by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Many in Iran, as well as its traditional allies, have been largely silent on the move. In 2018, when Trump re-imposed sanctions on Tehran, Moscow and Beijing stepped forward to condemn the decision. But both have so far avoided commenting on the latest sanction imposed on the IRGC.

Even in the United States, the decision was not followed by widespread opposition from the Democrats. Likewise, European countries largely ignored the decision.

In a telephone conversion with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on April 9, French President Emmanuel Macron made no mention of the IRGC. While Rouhani described Washington's decision as a "provocative and dangerous act," Macron instead expressed his condolences for Iranians affected by recent devastating floods.

He did say, however, that Paris and its European partners are urging the Trump administration to "moderate the sanctions" it imposed against Tehran after withdrawing the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers.

Macron advised Rouhani to refrain from anything that might intensify tensions between Tehran and Washington.

The European Unions high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Federica Mogherini, have so far avoided the subject. After Trump declared the re-imposition of Washington's unilateral sanctions on Tehran last year, Mogherini had vocally criticized the White Houses decision.

It is unclear why Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has not called on Mogherini for a sharp response to the United States latest decision.

One can speculate that when it comes to the IRGC, European countries have the same concerns as Washington, namely believing that it is involved in terrorism. The past four terrorist incidents in Albania, Denmark, France, and Germany have been attributed to Iran, highlighting the EU's stance on the IRGC.

It is also possible that Washington held consultations with its European allies and made sure the two sides reach a measure of agreement.

Therefore, Zarif has not even made an overt attempt to approach the Europeans. Rouhani too, after his phone call with Macron, has not tried to approach Angela Merkel or other European leaders.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Radio Farda
The Iranian Foreign Ministry has appointed Abbas Mousavi as its new spokesman.

Mousavi's official title will be the Foreign Ministry's spokesman and director-general for news dissemination.

He replaced Bahram Ghasemi (Qassemi) and will be the 11th spokesman for the ministry since 1979.

Ghasemi who was the foreign ministry spokesman for two years, was appointed as Iran's ambassador to France in March. He will be Iran's first ambassador to France after six months of diplomatic tension between the two countries over Iran's nuclear and missile programs, in the aftermaths of the U.S. pull-out from the nuclear agreement with Iran in May 2018.

Ghasemi is a career diplomat who has served in Ireland, Italy, Spain and Malta.

Mousavi's previous activities include serving in diplomatic posts in Hong King and Holland. His latest position was chief of media diplomacy office at the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
Damascus, April 13, 2019 (AFP) -

An Israeli air strike in central Syria wounded three combatants early Saturday, the official SANA news agency reported.

A Britain-based war monitor said the strike killed several Iranian fighters and wounded 17 Syrian troops and their allies.

An Israeli military spokesman declined to comment on the foreign media report.

"Around 2:30 am (2330 GMT Friday)... the Israeli air force carried out a strike targeting one of our military positions in the town of Misyaf," in Hama province north of Damascus, SANA quoted a military source as saying.

"Our air defense batteries intercepted some of the Israeli missiles," the source said, adding that the strike "wounded three combatants and destroyed buildings".

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strike targeted a Syrian military college in the town and two buildings used by Iranian forces in nearby villages -- a development center for medium-range missiles in Zawi and a training camp in Sheikh Ghadban.

Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in Syria against what it says are Iranian and Hezbollah targets.

With the support of the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed repeatedly to take whatever military action he deems necessary to prevent archfoe Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah establishing a continuing military presence.

Late last month, Trump broke with decades of international consensus to recognize Israel's unilateral annexation of the strategic Golan Heights, seized from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967.

The move was a diplomatic prize for Israel, but met with a chorus of opposition from US foes and allies alike.

Iran and Hezbollah have both intervened in Syria's civil war, which erupted in 2011 to support forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

They were joined in 2015 by Russia, which supplied its S300 air defense system to Assad's forces after a Russian aircraft was downed by mistake by Syrian defense systems during an Israeli raid on September 17, killing all 15 people on board.

After several months of frosty relations, Russia and Israeli resumed coordination of their military operations in Syria and Israel's bombing campaign picked up again.
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 13

Trend:

Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 23 times, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said April 13, 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, April 12

Trend:

Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 24 times, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said April 12, Trend reports.

The Armenian armed forces were using heavy machine guns.
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 13

Trend:

The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) provides immense opportunities for inclusive cooperation, Hikmat Hajiyev, head of the Department of Foreign Policy Affairs of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration told Xinhua, Trend reports.

"We see lots of synergies between the BRI and Azerbaijan's own development agenda," Hikmat Hajiyev, Head of Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration said, noting that Azerbaijan supports the BRI's connectivity agenda.

Hajiyev said his country sees trade, investment and finance opportunities with China, and expressed hope that the upcoming Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing will push relations forward.

Hajiyev hailed the philosophy of the BRI, which he said helps promote common development and prosperity among nations.

"The best prosperity is a shared prosperity," Hajiyev noted.

The BRI cooperation has become an important dimension of Azerbaijan-China relations, especially in people-to-people ties and energy links, he said.

He suggested further enhancing relations through more business-to-business and intergovernmental cooperation.

"There are growing opportunities between China and Azerbaijan, especially in economy, trade, commerce, agriculture, energy, petrochemical industry and other spheres including tourism," he said, adding that Azerbaijan welcomes more investment from China.

"China and Azerbaijan in our foreign policy are contributing to the establishment of respectful relations at the international level," Hajiyev said, stressing that the two countries both support multilateralism.

The two sides enjoy an active working relationship in regional and international frameworks including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which in Hajiyev's words "supplements bilateral cooperation."

As Azerbaijan takes over the 2019-2022 rotating presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement, Hajiyev said the institution has a potential to strengthen international order and governance, as well as enhance trust, peace and security at the global level.

"With Azerbaijan's chairmanship, we will contribute to further strengthening this institution and contribute to international peace and security," he added.
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 13

By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:

The territorial integrity of Azerbaijan has never been and cannot be a subject of discussion, spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Leyla Abdullayeva told Trend on April 13.

"Recently, information related to the negotiations on a new partnership agreement between the EU and Azerbaijan has been disseminated by some media outlets that the EU allegedly does not support the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. In this regard, I would like to note that negotiations between Azerbaijan and the EU on a new agreement are continuing. I assure you that, like it was in other bilateral and multilateral documents signed between the EU and Azerbaijan, as well as in the resolutions and statements of EU institutions, the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan has never been and cannot be a subject of discussion," Abdullayeva said.

Moreover, the EU office in Azerbaijan told Trend that the negotiations on the new agreement between the EU and Azerbaijan are ongoing at an increased pace with strong commitment from both sides.

"There is nothing like an agreement on parts of the text. For the time being, there is no agreed text, there is no concluded agreement, therefore any comments on an alleged text or formulation seem misplaced," the EU office said.

The European Council adopted a mandate for the European Commission and the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy to negotiate, on behalf of the EU and its member states, a comprehensive agreement with Azerbaijan in November 2016.

The new agreement should replace the 1996 partnership and cooperation agreement and should better take account of the shared objectives and challenges the EU and Azerbaijan face today.

The agreement will follow the principles endorsed in the 2015 review of the European Neighborhood Policy and offer a renewed basis for political dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan.

Currently, bilateral relations between the EU and Azerbaijan are regulated on the basis of an agreement on partnership and cooperation that was signed in 1996 and entered into force in 1999.

The new agreement envisages the compliance of Azerbaijans legislation and procedures with the EUs most important international trade norms and standards, which should lead to the improvement of Azerbaijani goods access to the EU markets.

Creation of a common aviation area is an initiative of the European Commission and aims to open and integrate aviation markets. This will lead to new opportunities for consumers and operators, and, most importantly, to high standards in terms of flight safety as well as air traffic management.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 13

By Jeyhun Alakbarov - Trend:

The 43rd session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, which will be held in Baku from June 30 to July 10, will be attended by over 3,000 representatives of various countries, Azerbaijani Culture Minister Abulfaz Garayev said during a mass rally on tree planting held by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources in Gobustan State Historical-Artistic Reserve, Trend reports.

The minister underlined that Azerbaijan will chair the session.

He added that there are plans to organize visits of the delegations, participating in the session, to the Gobustan Reserve.

The 43rd session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee will be held in Baku from June 30 to July 10.
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 13

By Sara Israfilbayova  Trend:

The Azerbaijani company Azhazelnut signed a contract with Latvias Alisco for the export of hazelnuts to Latvia worth $250,000, Trend reports referring to the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan.

According to the ministry, as part of the export mission of Azerbaijan to Riga, a preliminary agreement was also reached on the export of pomegranate products between Azerbaijans Mars Fk and the Latvian firm Auglu Serviss.

"In addition, a number of Azerbaijani companies participating in the export mission held talks with Indian and Latvian companies and supermarket chains on the export of products," the report said.

The export mission included 23 Azerbaijani companies engaged in the production of wine and other alcoholic beverages, the production of food and textiles, as well as tourism.

The export mission that began on April 7 was concluded on April 12.

Follow the author on Twitter: @IsrafilbekovaS
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 13

By Rashid Shirinov  Trend:

Climate change will have negative implications for water availability in the region of Central Asia, Lilia Burunciuc, World Bank Regional Director for Central Asia, told Trend in an interview on climate change in Central Asia.

"It will also affect crop pests and animal diseases, intensity and frequency of which are increasing. They move freely across the borders, adding additional risks to farmers and the entire agri-food industry in the region," she noted.

The regional director added that crop productivity will suffer. Yields could drop by as much as 30 percent in some parts of Tajikistan by the turn of the century.

"Droughts are already a major problem in Kazakhstan affecting up to 66 percent of the countrys land. The country is likely to be a future hotspot of heat stress for wheat. In the north of the country, a region with low precipitations and limited scope for irrigation, grain production already experiences serious droughts two out of every five years," Burunciuc noted, adding that yields could drop from current levels by as much as 37 percent by 2030 and 48 percent by 2050, unless adaptive measures are taken.

According to her, by the turn of the century, desertification could affect up to half of Kyrgyzstans territory, and large stretches of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan would emerge as arid areas. In Uzbekistan, the growth in agricultural GDP dropped to 0.3 percent in 2018 from 6 percent in 2016, largely due to the impact of the drought.

Burunciuc further spoke about measures capable to improve climate resilience in Central Asia.

"Tackling the issues of aging infrastructure, for example, can offer significant potential for "no regrets" actions that will enhance climate resilience, reduce carbon emissions and generate net economic gains. That could be modernizing energy infrastructure and minimizing energy losses or supporting the rehabilitation of irrigation systems and improving water management," the regional director said.

She added that the countries should take steps to make agriculture more climate-resilient. This will involve strengthening agro-metereological infrastructure and services, introducing drought-resilient seeds, greater attention to soil fertility management and investment of water-saving technologies and improving irrigation and drainage systems.

Further, countries should spend more public funds on research, monitoring and eradication of crop pests and animal diseases - whose incidence is increasing due to climate change, according to Burunciuc.

It should be noted that the Central Asian countries are among the most vulnerable to climate change in the region of Europe and Central Asia. They are already experiencing the impacts of a changing climate, including warmer temperatures; glacier melt; increased variability in water resources; and frequent and costly weather-related hazards, such as floods and droughts.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @ShirinovRashid
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, April 13

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

A roundtable on the presentation of the investment potential of Turkmenistan was held in Beijing with the participation of representatives of leading Chinese business circles, Trend reports referring to the Turkmen Foreign Ministry.

In particular, detailed information was provided about the Caspian Economic Forum, which will be held on August 12, 2019 in Awaza, Turkmenistans national tourist zone.

Companies from China are represented on the Turkmen market in such fields as oil and gas, telecommunications, transport, agriculture, textile, chemical and food industries, health care and construction.

China has implemented a number of major projects in the gas sector. In particular, CNPC company is taking part in the development of the Bagtyyarlyk contract territory and construction of facilities on the Galkynysh giant gas field.

Since 2009, China has been importing Turkmen gas with the prospect of increasing the volume of gas imports to 65 billion cubic meters of fuel per year.

According to data for 2016, about forty enterprises with Chinese capital were operating, and about 70 investment projects totalling more than $4 billion and 2.3 billion yuans have been registered in Turkmenistan.
Tehran, Iran, April 13

Trend:

Iran's Minister of Industry, Mining and Trade jhas announced that Iraq is the top importer from Iran.

"In recent years, Kermanshah province accounted for the major part of exports to Iraq, Minister Reza Rahmani said, Trend reports citing IRNA.

He emphasized that this year Iran should increase the export to Iraq.

Referring to the importance of providing liquidity to production units, he said that this issue was one of the priorities this year and the president also instructed the Central Bank, which will provide the working capital needed to maintain the existing production units.

"The ministry will provide liquidity to our manufacturing units this year. The export to neighboring countries, domestic production, mines, technology and the knowledge-based production are among the priorities of the Ministry of Industry, he said.

Providing commercial logistics and reforming the regulatory system of export markets are the other priorities as well, noted Rahmani.

The production boom requires sales, and domestic and foreign sales can also activate our manufacturing units, he said. The manufacturing activation requires the activation of export markets, in particular to neighboring countries.
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 13

By Matanat Nasibova - Trend:

Goychay Sud LLC, an Azerbaijani producer of milk, dairy and fruit juices, plans to export its products to the Russian market, a source at the company told Trend.

The company is currently conducting active negotiations with Russian partners, the source noted.

"We plan to export to the Russian market in the 2H2019. In parallel, we will increase exports to Estonia. We have been working with Baltic partners for a long time and we have an agreement on the supply of products to the Estonian market," the source said.

Goychay Sud fruit juices are exported to some countries of the CIS and Europe.

The company's products have an ISO 9001:2008 certificate and a certificate of conformity issued by the State Committee for Standardization, Metrology and Patents of Azerbaijan.

The company uses modern equipment of Swedish and Italian production.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @MatanatNasibova
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 13

By Kheyraddin Nasirzade  Trend:

The average price for subcompact cars (engine capacity up to 2 liters) for March 2019 made up 14,870 manats, general director of consulting company MBA Group and expert Nusrat Ibrahimov told Trend.

The expert noted that a 7.03-percent growth is being observed (compared with the same period last year). The average price of cars with an engine capacity of 2 to 3 liters was 38,760 manats (a 11.21-percent decrease), and 91,143 manats (a 7.78-percent decrease) for cars with an engine capacity of over 3 liters.

Ibrahimov noted that in March 2019, a total of 1,352 cars were put up for sale in Baku car market, with a decrease of 22.2 percent compared to the previous month.

The average price of the changed structure decreased by 13.3 percent, making up 41,712 manats, while the average price of the unchanged structure dropped by 4.94 percent.

Most of the cars put up for sale - 82.3 percent - are cars with gasoline engine. The average price of cars of this category was 41,129 manats. Cars with diesel engine accounted for 17.7 percent of the proposals. The average price of such cars was 44,415 manats.

(1.7 manats = 1 USD on April 11)
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 10

By Fakhri Vakilov  Trend:

Swiss company Mircea Tudor Scan Tech S.A. (MTST) is looking to implement a new project in Uzbekistan.

The project will help transfer high tech industry to Uzbekistan, by setting-up a local production facility capable to satisfy all local needs and to export different kind of scanners in the regional market, the company told Trend .

Mircea Tudor Scan Tech S.A. (MTST) is a Swiss company with over 20 years of experience in developing innovative scanning technologies, proving high expertise to develop unique internationally patented scanning technologies for civil and military aircrafts, occupied cars and vans, trains, trucks and containers.

MTST operates in Switzerland a state-of-the-art factory and an R&D center for nuclear technologies with fast-prototyping capacity. The company is deeply involved in large-scale security projects covering borders, critical infrastructures, seaports and airports.

The company noted that currently, there are only 7 producers of such technologies globally but none of the competitors can supply the full range of scanners for cars, vans, trucks and containers, trains, boats and aircrafts.

Tudor Tech stated that their company is the only one in the world covering all type of scanning solutions and all type of imaging technologies; low energy x-Ray, Gamma and high-energy x-Ray that will be transferred to Uzbekistan.

"We are contributing our high expertise accumulated within 20 years of development of complex nuclear technologies as well as with our expertise of setting-up a production facility," the company said.

The company stressed that Uzbek attractiveness to foreign capital seems to be enough for Tudor Scan Tech deciding to enter a partnership for such advanced technology in this country.

"The next step in the project is to enlarge the cooperation in the field of medical imaging systems and other medical technological equipment that Tudor Tech has in its portfolio," said the company.

Tudor Scan Tech underlined that the main challenge of the company is to propose Tudor Tech AERIA, a new and revolutionary field proven solution for civil and military aviation safety and security, introducing finally the technological support in airplane bomb on board clearing and fast security screening of airplanes arriving from low security/high risk origin of flights.

For the military aviation, AERIA can generate within few minutes only conclusive dual view (top view and side view) high resolution radiography, capable to reveal sub-millimeter details and material separation, extremely useful for fast assessment of the mechanical and structural integrity of the aircraft after combat missions or as routine checks.

The scanning process can reveal eventual foreign objects on board, detached/misplaced objects or parts, liquid leakages and many other anomalies, including inside the technical cavities, inaccessible for security of safety inspection.

The company noted that the cars scanner and the truck/container scanner can bring a high level of security of the airfields or other critical infrastructures areas, by scanning all vehicles accessing the secured area, eliminating significant vulnerabilities.

The truck and container scanner ML 64 is the only mobile scanner for trucks and containers in the world fully robotized, remote operated, eliminating exposure of the operators to radiation and eliminating the risk of human casualties in case of explosion of the inspected vehicle.

Earlier Trend reported that a high-tech plant for the production of scanners by technology of the Swiss company Tudor Tech will be built in Jizzak region of Uzbekistan.

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Follow author on Twitter:@vakilovfaxri
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 13

By Sara Israfilbayova  Trend:

Azerbaijan will additionally allocate $1.4 billion for the construction of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), Trend reports referring to the Market Analysis Azerbaijan 2019 publication.

According to the publication, the Southern Gas Corridor CJSC allocated $ 9.8 billion for the implementation of the project (out of a forecast of $ 11.5 billion) in 2018.

According to forecasts, the total investment in the project will exceed $40 billion.

The Southern Gas Corridor project is one of the priority projects for the EU and provides for the transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region through Georgia and Turkey to Europe.

The launch ceremony for the first stage of the Southern Gas Corridor project was held in Baku on May 29, 2018, and the opening ceremony of the TANAP was held on June 12 in Turkeys Eskisehir Province.

As such, the first gas from the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field has already gone through the first segment of the Southern Gas Corridor - from the Sangachal terminal (expanded for the Shah Deniz-2) via the expanded South Caucasus gas pipeline.

Recently, Trans Adriatic (TAP) and Trans-Anatolian (TANAP) gas pipelines were physically connected at the Turkish-Greek border.

Follow the author on Twitter: @IsrafilbekovaS
Turkish Airlines on Friday opened a new two-story central office in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, reports Trend citing to yenisafak.com

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Zhenishbek Nogoibaev, the deputy Kyrgyz transport and roads minister, said Kyrgyzstan enjoys close cooperation with Turkish Airlines. The two countries have historical ties and expanding cooperation.

Turkey's Ambassador to Bishkek Cengiz Kamil Firat, who also attended the ceremony, said Turkish Airlines is Turkeys flag carrier and most valuable brand.

He went on to say that Turkish Airlines forms a bridge of friendship between Turkey and Kyrgyzstan.

Turkish Airlines started flights to Kyrgyzstan in 1996, and it now offers service 17 times a week.

Turkish Airlines, founded in 1933 with a fleet of five aircraft, currently has more than 330 aircraft, including passenger and cargo planes.It flies to 306 destinations in 124 countries.

Last year, Turkish Airlines carried 75.2 million passengers with a seat occupancy rate of 82 percent.
Tajikistan will hold the chairmanship of the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation (FSC) from May to August 2019. The Forums Security Dialogues are an opportunity for the 57 OSCE member States to discuss issues of military security and stability in Europe, reports Trend with reference to news.tj

At a meeting that took place in Hofburg Palace in Vienna on April 10, Ambassador Claude Wild, Switzerland's Permanent Representative to the OSCE, handed over attributes of FSC chairperson to Ambassador Idibek Qalandar, Tajikistans Permanent Representative to the OSC, according to the Tajik MFA information department.

Mr. Qalandar reportedly noted a high level of holding of Forums sessions and the constructive and transparent approach of Switzerland's Permanent Mission to the OSCE.

Presenting a preliminary Program of the FSC under the Tajik Chairmanship for the next four months, Ambassador Qalandar expressed the intention to attract the attention of the Forum to the current issues of regional security in Central Asia, as well as the urgency of enhancement of cooperation between the OSCE and the regional organizations in Central Asia.

In addition, it was noted that the Tajik Chairmanship would maintain the continuity of consideration of the core FSC issues, such as confidence and security-building measures (CSMBs), management of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) and Stockpiles of Conventional Ammunition (SCA), as well as the implementation of the provisions of the United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1540 and 1325.

The Program of the Tajik Chairmanship includes a Joint FSC-Permanent Council Meeting on Structured Dialogue, during which the Tajik Chairmanship, will draw the attention of the OSCE participating states, inter alia, to the necessity of taking joint measures in countering terrorism and violent extremism in the OSCE area.

The Tajik Chairmanship of the FSC will cover a period from May to August 2019. The first plenary meeting under the Tajik Chairmanship will take place in early May 2019 in Hofburg, Vienna.

The Forum for Security Co-operation is one of the OSCEs two main regular decision-making bodies. Leaders at the 1992 Helsinki Summit of the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe  the OSCEs predecessor  established the Forum for Security and Co-operation to strengthen the focus on politico-military security by providing for negotiations and consultations on military security and stability in the OCSE area.

The Forum provides a unique platform for the 57 OSCE participating States to discuss topical security challenges on an equal footing. The agenda for the weekly Forum meetings in Vienna always includes security dialogue, allowing participating States to raise and discuss security concerns and challenges. These discussions regularly lead to initiatives and measures to strengthen politico-military security.

The Forum Chairmanship rotates among the OSCE participating States, with each State holding the FSC Chairmanship for four months. A so-called Troika, comprising the former, present and incoming Chairmanships, ensures continuity in the Forums work. The Forum approves documents and decisions by consensus. The OSCE Secretariats FSC Support Section supports participating States efforts to implement FSC commitments, which - like all OSCE commitments  are politically binding.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, April 13

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

The temporary execution of the duties of the chairman of the Turkmenoil (Turkmennebit) state concern is assigned to deputy head Japarguly Orazov, Trend reports referring to a published decree of the President of Turkmenistan.

The former head of the oil concern Dowletdurdy Hajyyew was relieved of his duties by the presidential decree for shortcomings in the operation.

About 10 million tons of oil are extracted in Turkmenistan every year, the main producer being Turkmenneft. Burren Energy (branch of Eni), Mitro, Dragon Oil, and Petronas, are among the foreign companies involved in extraction of oil in Turkmenistan.

It was reported earlier that due to assurance of the availability of proven natural gas reserves for many years, the major part of exploration is currently focused on the search for oil fields, especially in the Miocene deposits in the south-western parts of the country, and Jurassic-Cretaceous sediments in the central regions of the country.

According to local geologists, almost the entire land area of Turkmenistan is considered as promising for hydrocarbons. Moreover, the potential of the subsoil is estimated to a depth of seven kilometers.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, April 13

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

Myrat Artykow has been appointed Minister of Energy of Turkmenistan, Trend reports referring to a decree issued by the President of Turkmenistan.

Prior to this appointment, he served as head of the representative office of the Turkmen Ministry of Energy in Afghanistan.

Charymyrat Purchekov, who had previously served as the Minister of Energy, has been appointed Deputy Prime Minister for construction, energy and utilities.

It was reported earlier that it is planned to increase the total volume of electricity produced in Turkmenistan to 33 billion kilowatt-hours by 2024, which is an almost 30-percent increase, compared with the figures from 2018.

Turkmenistan sells electricity to Afghanistan and Iran, and is exploring prospects of supplies to the markets of the Caucasus, Central Asia and South Asia.
Tehran, Iran, April 13

Trend:

Iran's Minister of Oil, Bijan Zanganeh has announced that the oil fields in the country are surrounded by water, but the safety of people comes first.

"All our efforts are towards the service to people. No one wants to produce a few more barrels of oil at the expense of the lives of people," he said.

Meanwhile, a source in the National Iranian oil company previously told the official news agency IRNA that production has come to a halt at some oil fields in the flood-affected Khuzestan province.

But Zanganeh said on Friday that oil production continues as usual and Iran will meet all its commitments to the market. The minister did admit that some oil pipelines have been emptied to prevent spillage.

We have reduced the production of oil to prevent environmental damage to the people and drained some of the pipelines, Zanganeh said during his visit to Khuzestan province on Friday.

He stated that Iran has deployed a special representative for this purpose to mobilize more facilities in flood effected provinces.

The oil minister went on to explain the latest status of oil refineries and wells in the province.

The oil refineries are fine, he said, Oil production is ongoing except in some of the wells that we have decided to close down due to environmental dangers.

He said that oil transfers from southern oilfields to refineries are underway and gas is in transit, but we stopped the flow of about 50 evacuated villages due to the safety and protection of the people's homes.
Tehran, Iran, April 13

Trend:

Member of the Economic Commission of Iran's Parliament, Iranian MP Ali Akbar Karimi said that no report has ever been submitted to the parliament about the latest status of setting up the INSTEX company in Iran.

He added that on April 14 he's attending the meeting of high-ranking officials on this matter.

So far, Europe has shown no seriousness to determine a reliable and effective mechanism for increasing the level of monetary, banking and financial exchanges with Iran," Karimi told Trend.

INSTEX (Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges) is a mechanism, created to facilitate non-dollar trade with Iran, allowing European companies to trade with the Islamic Republic without being hit by the sanctions.

On Jan. 31, three European countries  France, Germany and the UK (shortened as E3)  officially announced the creation of the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), a special purpose vehicle, to allow them bypass US sanctions on trade with Iran. INSTEX facilitates non-dollar trade with Iran, allowing European companies to trade with the Islamic Republic without being hit by the sanctions.

"There are two analyzes about the INSTEX mechanism, one that Europeans are not working effectively," he said. Secondly, even if they are trying their best, they cannot, or will not, act through the pressure of the United States to carry out this engagement and fulfill the obligations that are being undertaken by the JCPOA.

Karimi said that Europeans have not done anything so far to relieve the Iranian financial sanctions and make bank interactions.

"The private sector expects its banking and financial exchanges to be easily implemented through this mechanism, and the funds that they are trading can be easily transferred," he said.

"This is not too much to expect," Karimi said. If any condition or restriction to be imposed on the type of goods and volume of funds, then this channel would not be efficient.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a decree on Saturday appointed Ali Asghar Khaji as senior assistant for special political affairs, Trend reports citing IRNA.

According to the Public Relations Department of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Khaji as a senior and experienced diplomat earlier held various posts in the Foreign Ministry, including deputy foreign minister for Europe and America affairs as well as the director general for Persian Gulf.

He has also served as Irans ambassador in Saudi Arabia, Belgium and China.
China is confident that it will meet its 2019 economic growth target of six percent to 6.5 percent, premier Li Keqiang said on Friday, reports Trend with reference to Reuters

Speaking at a summit between China and Central and Eastern European countries in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik, Li listed several positive indicators of economic activity and pledged to continue policies to help support growth.

Li said China would maintain the direction of its macroeconomic policies but would not move toward quantitative easing or flood the economy with bank bills.

A Reuters poll on Friday showed Chinas economic growth is expected to slow to a near 30-year low of 6.2 percent this year, as sluggish demand at home and abroad weigh on activity despite a flurry of policy support measures.
The United Arab Emirates Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) said that Hazzaa AlMansoori will be the countrys first astronaut to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) on board the Russian Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft, Trend reported citing Sputnik.

"@MBRSpaceCentre announces that it has selected Hazzaa AlMansoori as the prime astronaut and Sultan AlNeyadi as the backup astronaut for the International Space Station (ISS) mission. The Emirati astronaut Hazzaa AlMansoori will fly for an eight-day space mission to ISS aboard a Soyuz-MS 15 spacecraft on 25 September 2019", the center wrote on Twitter late on Friday.

The flight of the UAE mission to the ISS was initially scheduled for this April. However, it was postponed due to the aborted launch of the Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft last October. Roscosmos and the MBRSC concluded a deal to fly the first UAE astronaut to the ISS last June.

Last September, the two astronauts from the Middle Eastern country began training for their mission.

Meanwhile, Sergey Krikalev, director of manned spaceflight at Russian State Space Corporation Roscosmos has told Sputnik that the UAE is planning to buy a Soyuz spacecraft and launch services from Russia to send two domestic astronauts to orbit in one mission.

According to Krikalev, if UAE signs a contract with Roscosmos, an additional Soyuz spacecraft will be manufactured, as it cannot be part of the Russian manned program for delivering Russian cosmonauts to the International Space Station.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has sworn in a new government led by a long-time ally from his Fatah party, Trend reports citing Al Jazeera.

Abbas, who heads the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, occupied West Bank, accepted the oath of office on Saturday from the new cabinet headed by Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh.

His appointment is opposed by Hamas, the Palestinian movement that governs the besieged Gaza Strip.

The government was formed after former Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah resigned in January. His resignation came following the failure of reconciliation talks between Fatah party and Hamas.

The new government officially marks the end of the stalled reconciliation efforts between the two groups.

The government comprises solely Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) factions, primarily Fatah, and excludes Hamas and the Islamic Jihad group.

Radical leftist secular factions of the PLO, such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, have boycotted the new government, arguing that it will increase division among Palestinians.

Five ministers from the last government have retained their positions, including Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki, Finance Minister Shukri Bishara, Information Minister Nabil Abu Rudeineh, Tourism Minister Rola Maayaa and Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Abu Amr.

The other 17 ministers did not sit in the last government.

Nobody was entrusted with the posts of interior minister or religious affairs minister, which Shtayyeh will hold until they are filled.

As in the previous government, only three of the ministers are female.
Greece is looking to strike a deal this weekend to repay early about half of the loans it received from the International Monetary Fund, in a bid to lower the euro zone members burden of debt servicing, a senior official said on Friday, Trend reported citing Reuters.

IMF loans, issued to Greece as part of the countrys bailouts since 2010, cost Athens around 5 percent annually and are now more expensive than financing in the market, where 10-year benchmark bonds trade at around 3.3 percent.

The IMF repayment will be agreed on this weekend, the senior official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank spring meetings in Washington.

The official said Germany and the Netherlands were resisting the move, worried the IMF would want to withdraw from the periodical reviews of Greek reforms by its lenders, but would not derail the move.

Theyre getting reassurances that the IMF will remain part of the review, so theyll drop it. Theyll repay about half, between 4-5 billion (euros), the official said.

The euro zone bailout fund, which under the rules would have to be repaid the same amount, is likely to waive this right, content with Greeces improved debt sustainability that such an operation would produce, the funds chief Klaus Regling said last week.

Reuters reported on April 3 that Greece was considering a bond issue in late June to raise money for the repayment.

Greece, the euro zones most indebted state with a debt load equivalent to 180 percent of annual output, must repay about 9.3 billion euros of loans to the IMF by 2024.

That debt carries rates of up to 5 percent, compared to about 0.9 percent for loans from euro zone governments through the bailout fund.

Greece has received more than 280 billion euros from its euro zone partners and the IMF since 2010. It has repaid more than 15 billion euros of short-dated loans to the IMF since 2010.

Athens has a cash chest of more than 27 billion euros from money raised from markets and unused bailout loans. That amount would suffice to keep it afloat up to 2021 without raising fresh cash from markets.
More than 70 UK lawmakers have signed a letter urging both Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott to prioritise Sweden's extradition request over that of the US appeal for Julian Assange should Sweden issue such a request, Trend reports citing Sputnik.

According to the lawmakers, such a gesture will send a "strong message of the priority the UK has in tackling sexual violence and the seriousness with which such allegations are viewed".

"We do not presume guilt, of course, but we believe due process should be followed and the [Swedish] complainant should see justice be done", the letter says.

The lawmakers also point out that several rape charges against Assange were dropped because their statute of limitations have expired and the only remaining charge will expire in August 2020.

"Other allegations are already time bound because of the unavailability of Mr Assange. Justice has already been denied in respect of those allegations. There is a serious risk that if the UK does not give every cooperation to any renewed request from Sweden there could be a further injustice", the letter says.

Sweden has shelved this investigation because of Assange's unavailability, who has been taking refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy for the last seven years. According to the MPs letter, the Swedish victim's lawyer requested for the case to be reopened, but Stockholm authorities have yet to decide whether to satisfy the demand.

The lawmakers state they will "make no assessment" over which extradition request would win in case of a conflict. Under section 179 of the 2003 Extradition Act, it falls to the home secretary to decide which demand to satisfy, and the decision is made based on a number of criteria, including the relative severity of the offences, the date of the first warrant and the places where they were committed, a report from The Guardian says.

The letter is a "pointed counter" to Abbott's statement made earlier Friday, in which she asserted Assange's arrest was not about "the rape charges, serious as they are, it is about WikiLeaks and all of that embarrassing information about the activities of the American military and security services that was made public", according to The Guardian.

In the meantime, Sven-Erik Alhem, a former Swedish prosecutor, told Swedish news agency TT that reopening the case against Assange would be a "very uphill task".

"Testimony usually weakens with time, and it's now been 10 years", he said, adding that, considering Assange is not "about to volunteer to come to Sweden", a new international arrest warrant for him must be issued.

The Swedish prosecutors say they need to examine the matter now before they can make any announcement. According to lawmakers' letter, Sweden wasn't given prior notice to Assange's eviction from the embassy and his subsequent arrest.

"We cannot promise any timetable for when decisions will be made", Eva-Marie Persson, a deputy chief prosecutor in Gothenburg, said, according to The Guardian.

Many journalists around the world have condemned Assange's arrest, unanimously calling it a crime against free speech. Assange's lawyers said the WikiLeaks founder will resist the US extradition request which sets a "dangerous precedent where any journalist could face US charges for publishing truthful information about the United States", The Guardian report says.
Sixteen people were killed and 20 others injured during gatherings in Sudan's capital city Khartoum on Thursday and Friday, Sudanese police announced Friday, Trend reports citing Xinhua.

"Criminal police investigations indicated that 16 people were killed and 20 injured by stray bullets," Hashim Abdel-Rahim, Sudanese police spokesman, said in a statement.

He further said that the sit-ins and gatherings have affected the traffic and caused a big traffic jam in central Khartoum.

Since Dec. 19 last year, Sudan has been witnessing popular protests over the deteriorating economic conditions and price hikes of basic commodities.
The new Sudanese government will be comprised of civilians, the head of the military council's political committee said on Friday, one day after the ousting of President Omar al-Bashir and his government, Trend reported citing CGTN.

Earlier on Friday, thousands of Sudanese demonstrators camped outside the defense ministry to push for a civilian government, defying a curfew and calling for mass prayers.

All killers of protesters will be held accountable, said Omer Zainal-Abdin, chairman of the political committee of the transitional military council. He also expressed the council's readiness to consider shortening the transitional period.

Al-Bashir, 75, had been in power for 30 years. On Friday the military council said that the former president won't be handed to the International Criminal Court for trial.

Sudan's Defense Minister Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf was sworn in as head of the country's transitional council on Thursday, official Sudan TV reported.

"Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf took the constitutional oath as chairman of the Transitional Military Council and Kamal Abdul-Marouf Al-Mahi as his deputy," the report said.

Ibn Auf further declared a state of emergency for three months and a curfew for one month.

The defense minister said that a military council will be formed to run the country during a transitional period of two years.

He also announced suspension of the interim constitution of the Republic of Sudan and closure of the Sudanese air space for 24 hours together with border passages nationwide until further notice.

Since December 19 last year, Sudan has been witnessing popular protests over the deteriorating economic conditions and price hikes of basic commodities.
A shooting in the Australian city of Melbourne early on Sunday left multiple people injured, Trend reports citing Sputnik, according to local police.

The Victoria Police said in a statement that the incident occurred in Melbourne's Prahran district. Police have no further details, including the condition of the victims.

According to police, the shooting occurred outside the venue, near Little Chapel Street and Malvern Road in Prahran, at about 3.20 am local time.

Australian investigators have launched a probe into the incident and the area is reportedly on lock-down. Mass shootings are rare in Australia, where strict gun laws were introduced after 35 people were killed in 1996 at Port Arthur in Tasmania.

According to AFP, a 2018 murder-suicide left seven members of a family dead in Western Australia, the country's worst mass shooting since the Port Arthur massacre.
President Donald Trump said the United States should not nationalize its 5G network and said private companies should move quickly to deploy the faster next-generation network, Trend reported citing Reuters.

In the United States our approach is private-sector driven and private-sector led. The government doesnt have to spend lots of money, Trump said. Leading through the government, it wont be nearly as good, nearly as fast.

The White House mulled the idea of nationalizing the 5G network for more than a year. In March Politico reported that Trumps reelection campaign supported a government role in managing the 5G networks even as White House officials including top economic adviser Larry Kudlow have said for months they oppose the idea.

Trump spoke alongside Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai who disclosed Friday the agency plans to hold its third 5G spectrum auction on Dec. 10, the latest effort to make more spectrum available that could transform significant sectors of the U.S. economy.

Pai said Trumps comments opposing nationalization was an important signal to the private sector that is investing tens of billions of dollars in the 5G networks.

CTIA, an industry trade group, said Friday that Trumps statement puts an end - once and for all - to any misguided notions of nationalizing spectrum resources or government-mandated wholesale 5G markets.

Pai is also proposing to invest $20.4 billion over 10 years to build out high-speed broadband networks in rural America.

The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund aims to provide funding through a reverse auction to service providers in areas without access to high-speed service and aims to connect up to four million rural homes and small businesses to high-speed broadband networks.

5G networks are expected to be at least 100 times faster than the current 4G networks, cut delays and allow for innovations in a number of fields.

Pai spoke on a call with reporters ahead of the White House event with Trump and rural residents who could benefit from faster networks to tout the administrations efforts to boost 5G wireless networks and funding for rural broadband.

Since November, the FCC has auctioned 1,550 megahertz of spectrum to be used by commercial wireless providers for 5G connectivity. The third 5G spectrum auction will be the largest, with the FCC selling 3,400 megahertz in three different spectrum bands.

The FCC voted on Friday to seek comments on bidding procedures for the next auction. Democratic FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said the auction is a good step but the commission must also pivot to mid-band spectrum or risk falling behind other countries.

Verizon Communications Inc, AT&T Corp, Sprint Corp and T Mobile US Inc are beginning to deploy 5G service in U.S. cities and are working to extend their networks as 5G-compatible phones slowly become available.

The Republican administration has also been warning other countries against adopting 5G systems from Chinese telecommunications company Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, citing security concerns.

For more than a year, the White House has been mulling an executive order that would direct the Commerce Department to block U.S. companies from buying equipment from foreign telecommunications makers that pose significant national security risks, Reuters reported in December.

The FCC since March 2018 has also been considering rules to bar the use of funds from a government program to purchase equipment or services from companies that pose a security threat to U.S. communications networks. Pai said that proposal is still pending.
By KiMi Robinson, KYODO NEWS - Apr 13, 2019 - 15:56 | World, All

At the site where the United States led the world into the atomic age, hundreds of tourists take turns posing for photos at ground zero, the spot where the world's first nuclear weapon was detonated.

Many enthusiastically pointed at and took selfies with signs warning of radioactive leftovers at the Trinity Site on April 6, one of the two days each year that the designated historic monument in a present-day military facility in southern New Mexico is open to the public.

But at the entrance, in stark contrast, a dozen people greet tourists with homemade signs bearing a message that shatters the jovial, sightseeing mood: "We are the forgotten for 74 years. We are the victims of the first atomic bomb."

As visitors drive in and out of the White Sands Missile Range, members of the group hand out pamphlets about their cause to the curious, explaining how they believe their families have for generations suffered from radiation poisoning-linked cancer after being exposed to nuclear fallout which settled in the surrounding basin after the July 16, 1945 test.

"We have been left out here and ignored by our own government," said Tina Cordova, a 59-year-old thyroid cancer survivor and sixth-generation New Mexican whose father was four years old at the time of the nuclear test. "It's a never-ending cycle. Someone gets diagnosed (with cancer) and they die."

The organization that Cordova co-founded in 2005, the Tularosa Basin Downwind Consortium, has identified more than 1,000 people -- those alive at the time of the explosion and their descendants -- who have been diagnosed with cancer, which they attribute to the 1945 test.

For years, Cordova has been at the forefront of the fight for victims to be recognized by the U.S. government in the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, a nearly 30-year-old Department of Justice program that "presents an apology and monetary compensation to individuals who contracted certain cancers and other serious diseases" from exposure to radioactive materials.

The act, which took effect in 1990 and was last significantly revised in 2000, allows select groups of people to apply for compensation for medical expenses.

As of April 7, RECA had compensated more than 4,000 claimants -- miners and mill workers who transported uranium -- in New Mexico with nearly $383 million, according to the DOJ.

But Cordova and residents from the Tularosa Basin region that surrounds the missile range are pushing for the federal government to recognize their community as "downwinders."

(Tina Cordova)

Currently, only those who lived in affected areas near the Nevada Test Site, including "downwind" states Arizona and Utah, during World War II and Cold War-era testing and who have developed "eligible cancers" from a list are qualified for RECA compensation.

Claimants in Arizona have received more than $612 million through RECA, while those in Utah have been paid $381 million in total.

"It's environmental racism," Cordova said about the government's lack of radioactivity studies into the area over the years. In the 1940s, many of the Tularosa Basin's residents were Native American and Hispanic, she added.

Though bills that would amend the program to extend protections to residents living near the Trinity Site have been introduced to U.S. Congress over the last eight years, none have gained traction, said Cordova.

"We are expendable," said Frank Gallegos, 70, whose parents and siblings experienced the blast from their ranch located 20 kilometers from the test site. "Most of my family is gone."

Gallegos said that because of a lack of warning from the government about the nuclear test or its effects, his family consumed water, milk, and meat contaminated by radioactive fallout that came from ash that rained down on the surrounding community for days after the blast.

Humans can suffer the effects of exposure to radioactive material through skin contact with fallout, breathing air that contains radioactive particles or drinking milk from cows who grazed on fields where fallout landed, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

A CDC report found that those involved in the project were provided gear and instructions to protect them from the fallout, a privilege not extended to nearby residents.

Though the test site was chosen for its remote location and accessibility from the Los Alamos laboratory 320 km to the north, where the atomic bomb was designed as part of the Manhattan Project, families who had owned land for generations, such as the Gallegos family, reportedly resided on ranches as close as 20 km to ground zero.

In the decades since the end of nuclear weapons testing in 1962, the U.S. has ordered government agencies to study the impact of radiation exposure among populations living near Manhattan Project facilities, such as the Nevada Test Site and Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state.

The National Cancer Institute began a study to investigate the effects of radiation on the Tularosa Basin population in 2014. The analysis, which will reportedly be released this year, must undergo a peer review before being published in a scientific journal, according to a spokesman from the institute.

Cancer caused by radiation poisoning is well documented by U.S.-backed studies in Japan, where numerous atomic bomb survivors died in the years following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Cordova noted that the plutonium-loaded bomb codenamed "Fat Man" used over Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945, was of the same design as the Trinity bomb, which unlike the former was detonated close to the ground. The blast's proximity to the ground caused the resulting fallout to scatter widely across the basin and into surrounding communities.

U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico this month reintroduced a bill to amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to also cover victims in New Mexico among others such as Cold War-era uranium workers and residents of Guam.
KYODO NEWS - Apr 13, 2019 - 09:01 | All, World

Finance chiefs of the Group of 20 major economies on Friday affirmed the need to take "timely" policy action to better cope with downside risks in the world economy, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said.

Speaking after a two-day meeting in Washington, Kuroda said each G-20 nation "needs to ensure it will take steps to mitigate risks, not to heighten them," citing policy uncertainties such as an escalation in trade tensions between the United States and China, as well as deterioration in corporate sentiment.

While the G-20 broadly agreed the global economy is likely to rebound in the second half of this year from the slowdown since the latter half of 2018, Kuroda said, "We shared the recognition that each country needs to take timely policy action depending on their own circumstances."

The BOJ chief led the meeting with Finance Minister Taro Aso. Japan has taken the presidency of the group for the first time and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will host a G-20 summit on June 28 and 29 in Osaka.

Aso said the balance of risks to global growth "remains skewed to the downside," alluding to a possible escalation of trade tensions, a potentially disorderly exit of Britain from the European Union and the chance of a sudden sharp tightening of global financial conditions.

The G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors "reaffirmed that all policies choose to support strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth to be used in a timely fashion," Aso said at a joint news conference with Kuroda.



[Anadolu Agency/Getty/Kyodo]

Aso also said global current account imbalances -- a source of trade friction -- pose risks to the world economy, and that they should be dealt with multilaterally, rather than bilaterally.

"Given the global and macroeconomic nature of this issue, we need to tackle it in a multilateral and macroeconomic context, rather than (through) a bilateral trade perspective," he said, in a veiled counter to the preference by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration of a bilateral approach.

Aso indicated Japan wants the United States to shift its focus from bilateral goods trade deficits with Japan, China and other countries to the balance of services trade and returns on overseas investments as part of efforts to address global imbalances.

The G-20, meanwhile, attributed the expected rebound to easing global financial conditions propelled by the U.S. Federal Reserve's recent decision to pause its rate-increase cycle, the effects of stimulus measures by China and other countries and an improved outlook for negotiations between Washington and Beijing for a trade agreement, according to Japanese officials.

The G-20's forecast was in line with the projected 3.6 percent growth for the world economy in 2020, up from an estimated 3.3 percent in 2019, in the latest outlook released Tuesday by the International Monetary Fund.

The 2019 figure was down 0.2 percentage point from the IMF's estimate in January.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said Thursday the global economy is "at a delicate moment," and the expected rebound to 3.6 percent "is precarious and is subject to downside risks" such as trade tensions and issues involving Brexit.

The G-20 met on the sidelines of the annual spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank to pave the way for a June 8-9 gathering of the G-20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs in Fukuoka, western Japan.

The G-20 groups Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a broadside against the Opposition, saying the DMK, Congress and their 'mahamilavati' friends cannot accept strides India has made and therefore were "unhappy" with him. Amid an Election rally, Mr. Modi said those who were "sworn enemies" have joined hands, despite the national party having "humiliated" its southern ally in the past. "Today India is rapidly making a mark in the world. The Congress, DMK and their mahamilavati friends cannot accept this. That is why they are unhappy with me," he said.

also read: WikiLeaks Julian Assange citizenship suspended by Ecuador

The Prime Minister addressing a poll rally, a day after the campaign by Congress president Rahul Gandhi here, alleged the Congress and dishonesty were best friends but sometimes "by mistake," they end up speaking the truth. Taking pot shots at DMK President MK Stalin's proposal naming Congress chief Rahul Gandhi as Prime Ministerial candidate, Modi said there were no takers for this among the opposition "because they are in line to be PM and dream of the post."



"Recently, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president (Stalin) projected the Naamdar (dynast--Gandhi) as PM (candidate) but no one was ready to accept it, not even their mahamilavati friends, because they are in line to be PM and dream of the post," he said, without naming anyone. "In an attempt to mislead the people, all the corrupt have ganged up in an attempt to defeat Modi," he added.

also read: Pakistani origin woman went through embarrassing experience when a Man masturbated in front of her
Bengaluru: Today at 5:30 PM, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the Vijaya Sankalp rally at the palace grounds in the city. Former DCM R Ashok will be coordinating the event and over two lakh people are expected to be in attendance. Party workers from Dakshina Kannada and Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha Constituencies will attend the rally. The MLA for Karkala said that Mr. Modi will arrive in the city from Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu. The rally is expected to be over by 5.40 p.m.

also read: WikiLeaks Julian Assange citizenship suspended by Ecuador

According to the sources, as many as 35 leaders including former CM B S Yeddyurappa and B Sriramulu will share the dais with the PM Ashok has informed that the PM will arrive in Bengaluru after finishing his Mangaluru event. An eight-foot stage has been built to ensure that PM Modi can be seen even from a distance of half a kilometer. Ten digital screens have been installed to ensure that everyone can hear and see the PM's speech without any technical glitches.

He said that the rally on Saturday will be bigger than the one addressed by Mr. Modi in the Maidan during 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Around 40,000 chairs have been arranged and 40 buses will bring the party's activists from each Assembly constituency of the four Lok Sabha constituencies in Bengaluru and Bengaluru Rural. He also informed that 11,000 people have already registered their names online for the event. According to sources, 3,000 police personnel will have been deployed to ensure the security at the event.

also read: Pakistani origin woman went through embarrassing experience when a Man masturbated in front of her
Scientists at the Sensitive Instrument Facility of the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory achieved real-time atom rearrangement monitoring using aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy during the synthesis of intermetallic nanoparticles (iNPs).

In collaboration with Wenyu Huang, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry at Iowa State University and a scientist at Ames Laboratory, they examined nanoparticles made of a platinum-tin alloy. These unique iNPs have applications in energy-efficient fuel conversion and biofuel production, and are one focus of Huang's research group.

"In the formation of these materials, there was a lot of information missing in the middle that is useful to us for optimal catalytic properties tuning" said Huang.

By tracking the movement of metal atoms of platinum and tin during formation of iNPs using advanced microscopy at high temperature, intermediate phases were discovered with their own unique set of catalytic properties.

"Conventional material synthesis focuses on the beginning and the end of a reaction, without much understanding of the pathway. Atomic-level observation of the alloying process led to the discovery of the reaction route," said Lin Zhou, a scientist in Ames Laboratory's Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering. "Once we knew intermediate states in between, we could control the reaction to 'stop' at that point. That opens up a new way to predict and control our discovery of new materials."

The research is further discussed in the paper, "Toward Phase and Catalysis Control: Tracking the Formation of Intermetallic Nanoparticles at Atomic Scale," authored by Tao Ma, Shuai Wang, Minda Chen, Raghu Maligal-Ganesh, Lin-Lin Wang, Duane D. Johnson, Matthew J. Kramer, Wenyu Huang, and Lin Zhou; and published in Chem.

###

This work was supported in part by Laboratory Directed Research and Development funds through Ames Laboratory, and the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science.

Ames Laboratory is a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science national laboratory operated by Iowa State University. Ames Laboratory creates innovative materials, technologies and energy solutions. We use our expertise, unique capabilities and interdisciplinary collaborations to solve global problems.

DOE's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.
Nora Lum, better known as Awkwafina, had a breakthrough 2018. The rapper, comedian and actress appeared in two major motion pictures: the star-studded "Ocean's 8" and "Crazy Rich Asians," the first major motion picture in 25 years with all Asian leads .

Mostly thanks to those big roles, today she has an estimated net worth in the millions .

Still, Lum plays it safe when it comes to money. "I don't splurge on literally anything," she tells guest host Lisa Ling on an episode of "Death, Sex & Money." And she's thrifty when it comes to clothes: "I'm literally wearing Target pants."

The 29-year-old still lives in the first apartment she moved into after college, a railroad apartment in Brooklyn, New York, that she found through a friend. When she first moved in, she rented one room for just $500 a month.

Her money philosophy comes from her grandmother, who helped raise her in Queens after her mom died when she was four. After her grandmother's restaurant in Flushing went bankrupt, Lum says, she watched her work four jobs to make ends meet.

Lum tells Ling she remembers her grandmother constantly worrying about money: "She would lie awake sometimes, and we'd be next to each other, and I asked her, 'What is your only wish, Grandma?' And she was like, 'Just being able to pay my bills this month.'  It was something that ate at her and I remember as a kid thinking that we don't have money."

Even with her career well established , Lum lives like she could lose everything tomorrow. That's why she sends most of her earnings straight to the bank, she tells Wealthsimple : "If I get a big check, I try really hard to just put it in a savings account and not touch it."

And she's still "scared to leave and move into a bigger, more expensive place."

She's not the only celebrity who's careful to remain frugal. Comedian Jay Leno has never touched a dime of the millions he earned hosting "The Tonight Show." His paycheck went straight to the bank and he lived off the money he earned doing comedy gigs on the side.

Story continues

Leno's conservative philosophy gives him financial peace of mind, he tells CNBC Make It: "So many people get to be the age I'm at now and they've got nothing because they just blew it all. I put my money in a hammock and say, 'You relax. I'm going to go work.' And when I come back, I put some more money in the pile."

Generally Lum does that too  but she does have one weakness: "Karaoke nights," she tells Ling. "If I'm treating like a whole group of friends, I'll drop like three Gs on a group on a night of karaoke. But, like, [spending] for myself? No!"

Don't miss: Yankees star Giancarlo Stanton makes $28 million a year but still shops at TJ Maxx

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CALGARY, Alberta, March 28, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadian Utilities Limited (TSX: CU, CU.X)



Today, the Fort McMurray West 500-kV Transmission Project was energized three months ahead of schedule, on-budget and with an impeccable safety record. This 508-km transmission line, running from Wabamun, Alta., just west of Edmonton, to Fort McMurray will provide essential electricity, greater reliability and enhance the transmission system to meet growing demands in northern Alberta.

Valued at $1.6 billion, the project was financed through the largest public-private-partnership (P3) bond in Canadian history . It is also the longest 500-kV AC transmission line in Canada and was ranked among the top 50 infrastructure projects in Canada.

In 2014, we competed against global proponents to win the bid for this critical piece of electricity transmission infrastructure. Today, along with our partner Quanta Services, we successfully completed construction on this project ahead of schedule and on-budget, said Wayne Stensby, Managing Director, Electricity, ATCO. We take pride in the genuine, heartfelt engagement and trust that we have built with all communities and indigenous peoples along the route. The success of this project would not have been possible without these strong, mutually beneficial relationships.

Alberta PowerLine, a partnership between Canadian Utilities Limited (80 per cent), an ATCO Company, and Quanta Services Inc. (20 per cent), was selected in 2014 by the Alberta Electric System Operator through a competitive global process to develop, finance, design, build, own, operate and maintain the line. Following extensive consultation, the final route was approved by the Alberta Utilities Commission in February 2017, and construction began shortly thereafter.

With approximately 5,000 employees and assets of $22 billion, Canadian Utilities Limited is an ATCO company. Canadian Utilities Limited is a diversified global energy infrastructure corporation delivering service excellence and innovative business solutions in Electricity (electricity generation, transmission, and distribution); Pipelines & Liquids (natural gas transmission, distribution and infrastructure development, energy storage, and industrial water solutions); and Retail Energy (electricity and natural gas retail sales). More information can be found at www.canadianutilities.com .

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Media Inquiries:

Sue Watson

Manager, Marketing & Communications

Electricity Global Business Unit

ATCO

403 828 3550

Forward-Looking Information:

Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as anticipate, plan, estimate, expect, may, will, intend, should, and similar expressions.

Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information.

The Companys actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information as a result of regulatory decisions, competitive factors in the industries in which the Company operates, prevailing economic conditions, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company.



The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon.

Any forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the Companys expectations as of the date hereof and is subject to change after such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities legislation.

PDF available:

http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/9eb84e58-d533-4b74-bffb-4e2340bbf6da
Attractive stocks have exceptional fundamentals. In the case of China Wan Tong Yuan (Holdings) Limited (HKG:8199), there's is a company that has been able to sustain great financial health, trading at an attractive share price. Below, I've touched on some key aspects you should know on a high level. For those interested in digger a bit deeper into my commentary, read the full report on China Wan Tong Yuan (Holdings) here.

Flawless balance sheet and undervalued

8199's strong financial health means that all of its upcoming liability payments are able to be met by its current cash and short-term investment holdings. This indicates that 8199 has sufficient cash flows and proper cash management in place, which is an important determinant of the companys health. 8199 currently has no debt on its balance sheet. This means it is running its business only on equity capital funding, which is typically normal for a small-cap company. Therefore the company has plenty of headroom to grow, and the ability to raise debt should it need to in the future. 8199's shares are now trading at a price below its true value based on its discounted cash flows, indicating a relatively pessimistic market sentiment. Investors have the opportunity to buy into the stock to reap capital gains, if 8199's projected earnings trajectory does follow analyst consensus growth, which determines my intrinsic value of the company. Compared to the rest of the consumer services industry, 8199 is also trading below its peers, relative to earnings generated. This bolsters the proposition that 8199's price is currently discounted.

SEHK:8199 Price Estimation Relative to Market, April 13th 2019

Next Steps:

For China Wan Tong Yuan (Holdings), there are three important aspects you should further research:

Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for 8199s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for 8199s outlook. Historical Performance: What has 8199's returns been like over the past? Go into more detail in the past track record analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of our analysis for more clarity. Other Attractive Alternatives : Are there other well-rounded stocks you could be holding instead of 8199? Explore our interactive list of stocks with large 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.
FILE PHOTO: Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang speaks during ceremony at the construction site of the Peljesac Bridge in Brijesta, Croatia April 11, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer

By Alexandra Harney

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China is confident that it will meet its 2019 economic growth target of six percent to 6.5 percent, premier Li Keqiang said on Friday.

Speaking at a summit between China and Central and Eastern European countries in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik, Li listed several positive indicators of economic activity and pledged to continue policies to help support growth.

Li said China would maintain the direction of its macroeconomic policies but would not move toward quantitative easing or flood the economy with bank bills.

A Reuters poll on Friday showed China's economic growth is expected to slow to a near 30-year low of 6.2 percent this year, as sluggish demand at home and abroad weigh on activity despite a flurry of policy support measures.

(Reporting by Alexandra Harney; Additional reporting by Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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Federal officials have confirmed that a decision made in late March to redirect hundreds of employees responsible for processing trucks at the U.S.-Mexico border to deal with migrants is causing cargo delays to skyrocket.

In a media call this week, Randy Howe, director of field operations for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), said that truck wait times at Brownsville, Texas were two hours, compared with no wait a year ago. At Otay Mesa, a southern California crossing, wait times have shot up from 50 minutes a year ago to 4.5 hours this week, with 175 trucks going unprocessed on April 8. Passenger vehicles waiting to get into El Paso, Texas, were seeing two-hour delays compared with a 45-minute wait at the same time last year.

"Our field leaders at the ports of entry are reviewing their operations, taking into account the relocation of their officers to the border patrol sectors and they're adjusting hours and levels of service where necessary to facilitate the lawful trade and travel through the ports," Howe said on April 9. "The ports of entry field leaders have been in frequent communication with local authorities and trade stakeholders in order to mitigate any impact."

The problem has the potential to extend to the U.S.-Canadian border as well. After CBP initially transferred 545 officers away from vehicle processing along the southwestern border, an agency official confirmed to FreightWaves on April 12 that it plans to send customs officers from airports and locations along the U.S.-Canada border on "temporary assignment" to the Southwest to deal with humanitarian issues. The exact number to be transferred was not available as of press time.

Carriers and shippers have been fearing the effects of disruption at the U.S. southern border after President Trump threatened to shut the border down, and then threatened tariffs, as a way to address the immigration crisis and drug importation. Last week a coalition of 18 trade and carrier associations sent the White House a letter warning of the potential costs to the U.S. economy in the event of slowdowns.

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The economic effects are apparent when considering that Mexico is the third-largest U.S. trading partner, with the two countries generating 2 billion of trade annually. The roughly 16,000 trucks that move through Laredo alone account for 37 percent of U.S.-Mexico trade.

Mexico's ambassador to the United States, Marth Barcena, tweeted on April 11 that because of the highly integrated North American automotive supply chain, one piece of a car can cross the borders up to seven times before it is assembled. "A delay in the delivery of parts affects the entire chain," she tweeted later.

"Automobiles and auto parts are certainly very large areas of concern, but we do so much trade with Mexico there are a lot of other goods as well that are being trucked into the U.S., including textiles and apparel, computer monitors and agriculture products," Teresa Polino, a partner and international trade specialist at the law firm Arent Fox, told FreightWaves. "There's also food coming in that spoils, and that's where delays at the border can get really critical."

Drivers already having to deal with potential fines related to new enforcement by CBP of electronic manifest filing now are exposed to hours of service violations as a result of the delays. One carrier has resorted to adding a second driver to deal with the problem, according to the Washington Post.

With staff changes at CBP following the resignation of U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen this week, Mexico will be looking to make sure the level of attention to the problem remains high.

In a tweet on April 10, Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico's Foreign Affairs secretary, called policies that slow the flow of people and freight along the border "a bad idea" because they create supply chain costs for both countries. "Today we'll establish communication with the new DHS authorities in that country to let them know."

Image sourced from Pixabay

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The European Central Bank (ECB) said in early March that it has seen a "sizable moderation in economic expansion that will extend into the current year."

This led the central bank to slash its growth forecasts for this year to 1.1 percent from a 1.7 percent estimate last December.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has admitted it was "surprised" by the extent of the recent slowdown in the euro zone, but expects growth to pick up again.

The euro zone economy has struggled with changes in domestic policies in Germany, social unrest in France, and weaker external trade. However, some of that pressure has started to ease and domestic demand should drive further growth, Poul Thomsen, director of the IMF's European Department, said Friday.

"The European slowdown  has been pretty pronounced. We expected some slowdown, growth had been above potential for a while, it's quite a mature recovery, (but) we were surprised by the softness and the depth of the slowdown," Thomsen told CNBC's Joummana Bercetche at the IMF's Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C.

The European Central Bank (ECB) said in early March that it has seen a " sizable moderation in economic expansion that will extend into the current year." This led the central bank to slash its growth forecasts for this year to 1.1% from a 1.7% estimate last December. At the time, ECB President Mario Draghi said geopolitics, protectionism and vulnerabilities in emerging markets were denting economic sentiment.

Thomsen said Friday that in addition to Draghi's main concerns there are also temporary factors impacting the euro zone, such as the social unrest in France and changes to car emission rules which had impacted Germany's auto sector.

However, the IMF representative said he remained hopeful about the upcoming months, noting "temporary factors that we already see unwinding."

Thomsen said he expected domestic demand "to drive the recovery going forward," helped along by a positive labor market, current oil prices and the support of monetary policy,

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Also speaking to CNBC at the IMF Spring Meetings was Klaus Regling, the managing director of the European Stability Mechanism. Regling said that while growth in the euro zone is not going to be as strong as in 2017, the region is far from being in a recession.

"We will not see in the next two, three years the growth rates of 2017. It's quite OK to say that the best is over, but it doesn't mean that there is a crisis," he said.





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By Ayman al-Warfalli

BENGHAZI, Libya, April 13 (Reuters) - Eastern Libyan forces will pursue their advance on the capital Tripoli, the head of the eastern parliament in the divided country said on Saturday, despite international calls for a halt in an offensive that risks causing many civilian casualties.

His comments came as more clashes rocked the southern outskirts of Tripoli, where eastern forces have been confronted by groups allied to Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj's internationally recognised government.

The European Union last week urged the eastern Libya National Army (LNA) to stop its attacks, having agreed on a statement after France and Italy sparred over how to handle the conflict.

But the eastern parliament head said they would press an offensive launched a week ago under military commander Khalifa Haftar, the latest outbreak of a cycle of conflict since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.

"We need to get rid of militias and terrorist groups," Aguila Saleh, head of the House of Representatives allied to Haftar, said using a reference eastern officials often make to describe forces allied to the Tripoli government, which relies on support from several armed groups.

"We assure the residents of Tripoli that the campaign to liberate Tripoli will be limited and not violate any freedoms but restore security and fight terrorism," Saleh told lawmakers in a session in the main eastern city of Benghazi.

Forces loyal to al-Serraj's government have so far kept the eastern offensive at bay. Fierce fighting has broken out around a disused former airport about 11 km (7 miles) from the centre and an eastern military source said a warplane belonging to the LNA had struck a military camp in an eastern Tripoli suburb.

Saley also said the United Nations mission to Libya and Serraj's government had been controlled by armed groups and had failed to expel them from the capital, and promised Libya would hold long-delayed elections after the Tripoli operation ends.

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Haftar's offensive had surprised the United Nations, which had been planning to hold a national conference on April 14 to prepare Libya for elections.

The latest battle had by Friday killed 75 people, mainly fighters but including 17 civilians, and wounded another 323, according to U.N. tallies. Some 13,625 people have been forced out of their homes.

As well as the humanitarian cost, the conflict threatens to disrupt oil supplies, boost migration to Europe, scupper a U.N. peace plan, and allow Islamist militants to exploit the chaos.

Haftar, 75, a former general in Gaddafi's army who later joined the revolt against him, moved his troops out of their eastern stronghold to take the oil-rich desert south earlier this year, before sweeping up to Tripoli at the start of April. (Writing by Ahmed Elumami and Ulf Laessing Editing by David Holmes)
FILE PHOTO - Ethiopian Federal policemen stand at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash, near the town of Bishoftu, southeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 11, 2019. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File Photo

(This April 4 story has been refilled to correctly say victim was Ralph Nader's grand-niece, not niece)

By Jason Neely

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia Airlines' doomed 737 MAX jet hit excessive speed and was forced downwards by a wrongly-triggered automation system as pilots wrestled to regain control, a preliminary report into the crash that has shaken the aviation world showed on Thursday.

Three times the captain Yared Getachew cried "pull up", before the Boeing plane plunged into a field six minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa last month, killing all 157 passengers and crew, said the report by Ethiopian investigators.

The disaster - and parallels with another 737 MAX crash in Indonesia where 189 people died last October - has led to the grounding of Boeing's flagship model.

It has also brought uncomfortable scrutiny over new software, pilot training and regulatory rigor.

While the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority's Accident Prevention and Investigation Bureau had a remit to investigate rather than blame, it implicitly pointed the finger at Boeing by defending the pilots, recommending the U.S. company fix its control systems, and saying regulators must be certain before allowing the MAX back in the air.

"The crew performed all the procedures repeatedly provided by the manufacturer but was not able to control the aircraft," Transport Minister Dagmawit Moges told a news conference.

"Since repetitive uncommanded aircraft nose down conditions are noticed ... it is recommended that the aircraft control system shall be reviewed by the manufacturer."

Boeing, the world's biggest planemaker and one of the United States' most important exporters with a $500 billion order book for the MAX, says a new software fix for its anti-stall system will enable pilots to always override if necessary.

According to the report by the Ethiopian investigators, an alarm indicating excess speed was heard on the cockpit voice reporter as the jet reached 500 knots (575 miles per hour) - well above operational limits.

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FRAGMENTS IN A CRATER

The plane had faulty "angle of attack" sensor readings, its nose was pushed down automatically, and the crew lost control despite following recommended instructions, it said.

"Most of the wreckage was found buried in the ground," the report said, indicating the strength of the impact on an arid field in an agricultural zone. No bodies were recovered, only charred fragments among the debris in a crater.

Boeing has seen billions wiped off its market value since the crash, but its shares actually rose 2.4 percent on Thursday. Morgan Stanley said the report of flight control problems, which Boeing was already trying to fix, meant a "worst case scenario" of a new cause was probably off the table.

Families of the victims, regulators and travelers around the world have been waiting to find out to what extent Boeing technology or the pilots' actions played a role.

A final report is due within a year.

The preliminary report into the Lion Air disaster in Indonesia suggested pilots also lost control after grappling with so-called MCAS software, a new automated anti-stall feature that repeatedly lowered the nose based on faulty sensor data.

"It had to take a second disaster to wake up the major players to pay attention to something that could've been resolved after the first disaster," said one woman, who lost her father in the Ethiopian crash, asking not to be named.

"Whatever the issues were, they better be 110 percent sure about their resolution, otherwise the 157 lives lost would have been for nothing if something like this happens again. This is a lesson to not take shortcuts in order to try and save bucks."

"PROFITS OVER SAFETY"?

U.S. regulator the Federal Aviation Administration, under fire for its certification of the MAX, cautioned the inquiry was not over. "As we learn more about the accident and findings become available, we will take appropriate action," it said.

Boeing may press to know how crew members responded to problems triggered by the faulty data. Questions on whether the pilots had leveled out the plane before disengaging MCAS and how many times MCAS activated were not answered at the news conference in Addis Ababa that lasted about 40 minutes.

The New York Times quoted Dagmawit as saying pilots turned MCAS off and on, which is not the step recommended in published Boeing procedures telling crew to leave it off once disabled.

With bereaved families angry and confused, relatives of one woman killed in the Ethiopian crash filed the first lawsuit on behalf of a U.S. victim in Chicago.

The complaint accused Boeing of putting "profits over safety" and also targeted Rosemount Aerospace, the manufacturer of the angle of attack sensor.

U.S. consumer activist Ralph Nader, whose grand-niece died in Ethiopia, called for consumers to boycott the MAX.

Pilots around the world were watching closely too.

"If the preliminary report from the Ethiopian authorities is accurate, the pilots quickly identified the malfunction and applied the manufacturer's checklist," said Captain Jason Goldberg, spokesman for Allied Pilots Association, which represents American Airlines pilots.

"Following this checklist did not appear to allow the pilots to regain control of the aircraft."

(Reporting by Jason Neely in Addis Ababa, Eric Johnson in Seattle, Katharine Houreld and Maggie Fick in Nairobi, Tim Hepher in Paris, Jamie Freed in Singapore, Tracy Rusinski in Chicago, David Shepardson in Washington; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
FILE PHOTO: An aerial photo shows Boeing 737 MAX airplanes parked on the tarmac at the Boeing Factory in Renton FILE PHOTO: An aerial photo shows Boeing 737 MAX airplanes parked on the tarmac at the Boeing Factory in Renton, Washington, U.S. March 21, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson/File Photo

By David Shepardson and Tracy Rucinski

WASHINGTON/CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration met for three hours on Friday with representatives from the three major U.S. airlines that own now grounded Boeing 737 MAX jets and their pilots' unions to discuss two fatal crashes and the path forward.

More than 300 Boeing 737 MAXs have been grounded worldwide after a total of 346 people died in a Lion Air crash in Indonesia in October and in an Ethiopian Airlines crash outside Addis Ababa last month.

American Airlines Group Inc, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines Co officials attended the meeting, where FAA Acting Administrator Dan Elwell said he wanted to know operators' and pilots' thoughts before the agency decides to return the 737 MAX to service.

Elwell said the meeting participants' "operational perspective is critical input as the agency welcomes scrutiny on how it can do better."

American said in a statement it was "confident in the direction the FAA is heading" and would continue to work collaboratively in this process.

Pilots from American and Southwest, the two largest U.S. MAX operators, said they welcomed the meeting but noted that many issues still needed to be discussed and debated before the MAX flies again.

"We have to unground the confidence in this airplane," Dennis Tajer, spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association which represents American's pilots, told reporters outside FAA headquarters.

"We take off our watches and put the calendars in the drawer," he added, suggesting that rebuilding confidence in the aircraft could take some time.

American and United have removed the 737 MAX from their schedules through early June, while Southwest on Thursday extended the removal of its 34 MAX jets through Aug. 5, leading to around 160 daily flight cancellations during the revised summer schedule.

Boeing is reprogramming software on the 737 MAX to prevent erroneous data from triggering an anti-stall system known as MCAS that is under mounting scrutiny following the two deadly nose-down crashes.

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The FAA said the meeting covered a review of the preliminary findings of the two crash investigations and an overview of Boeing's anticipated software enhancements and pilot training.

The plane's certification and training have been questioned following a 2004 decision by Congress to allow manufacturers an expanded role in the FAA's aircraft oversight.

Captain Jon Weaks, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, said in a letter he was concerned that this concept "may be too ingrained to reverse" and complicated by federal budget and personnel shortfalls, but called for continued scrutiny of Boeing.

The FAA has convened a joint review with aviation regulators from China, Europe, Canada, Brazil, Indonesia, Ethiopia and other countries.

Federal prosecutors, the Transportation Department inspector generals office and a blue-ribbon panel are also reviewing the planes certification.

"The first and most important goal of all of the entire process should be to protect the lives of our passengers and the traveling public in general," said Weaks.

(Reporting by David Shepardson and Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Alistair Bell and Tom Brown)




Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA or the Company) (NYSE: FCAU / MTA: FCA) announced today that all resolutions proposed to shareholders at the Companys Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) held today in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, were passed.

The AGM adopted the 2018 Annual Accounts and approved a cash dividend of Euro 0.65 per outstanding common share, equivalent to an aggregate distribution of approximately Euro 1 billion. The dividend will be paid on May 2, 2019 to shareholders of record on both MTA and NYSE on April 24, 2019. The common shares will trade ex-dividend from April 23, 2019. Shareholders holding common shares traded on the NYSE will receive the dividend in U.S. dollars at the official USD/EUR exchange rate reported by the European Central Bank on April 17, 2019.

The AGM re-elected all FCA directors standing for re-election, in addition to electing one new director. John Elkann and Michael Manley were re-elected as executive directors of the Company, while Richard Palmer was elected as a new executive director. Ronald Thompson, John Abbott, Andrea Agnelli, Tiberto Brandolini d'Adda, Glenn Earle, Valerie Mars, Michelangelo Volpi, Patience Wheatcroft and Ermenegildo Zegna were re-elected as non-executive directors of the Company. In addition Ernst & Young Accountants LLP were appointed as independent auditors of the Company.

The AGM also renewed, for a period of 18 months from the date of the AGM, the existing delegations to the Board of Directors of FCA of the authority to issue common and special voting shares, to grant rights to subscribe for common and special voting shares, and to limit or exclude pre-emptive rights for common shares. Furthermore, the AGM renewed, for a period of 18 months from the date of the AGM, the existing authorization of the Board of Directors to repurchase up to a maximum of 10% of the Companys common shares issued as of the date of the AGM. Pursuant to the authorization, which does not entail any obligation for the Company but is designed to provide additional flexibility, the Board of Directors may repurchase common shares in compliance with applicable regulations, subject to certain maximum and minimum price thresholds.

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The AGM also delegated to the Board of Directors the authority to cancel all special voting shares which were returned to the Company because the relevant shareholders elected to deregister.

Finally the AGM adopted the proposed resolutions concerning incentive awards to be granted to the CEO as part of the current long-term incentive plan and to approve a new long-term incentive plan.

Details of the resolutions submitted to the AGM are available on the Companys corporate website ( www.fcagroup.com ).

London, 12 April 2019

Attachment
Ferrari N.V. (NYSE/MTA: RACE) announced today that all resolutions proposed to Shareholders at the Ferraris Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (the AGM) held today in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, were passed.



The Shareholders approved the 2018 Annual Accounts and a dividend in cash1 of Euro 1.03 per outstanding common share, totalling approximately Euro 194 million. The outstanding common shares will be quoted ex-dividend from April 23, 2019. The record date for the dividend will be April 24, 2019 on both MTA and NYSE and the dividend on the outstanding common shares will be paid on May 2, 2019. Shareholders holding the Companys common shares on the record date that are traded on the NYSE will receive the dividend in U.S. dollars at the official European Central Bank EUR/USD exchange rate of April 17, 2019.

The Shareholders elected all nominees directors of Ferrari. John Elkann and Louis C. Camilleri were elected as executive directors of Ferrari. Piero Ferrari, Delphine Arnault, Giuseppina Capaldo, Eduardo H. Cue, Sergio Duca, Maria Patrizia Grieco, Adam Keswick and Elena Zambon were elected as non-executive directors of Ferrari.

The Shareholders appointed Ernst & Young Accountants LLP as Ferraris independent auditor until the 2020 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders.

The Shareholders delegated to the Board of Directors authority to purchase common shares in the capital of Ferrari up to a maximum of 10% of Ferraris issued common shares as of the date of the AGM. Pursuant to the authorization, which does not entail any obligation for Ferrari but is designed to provide additional flexibility, Ferrari may purchase shares of its own common stock from time to time in the 18 months following the AGM, at a purchase price per share between, on the one hand, an amount equal to the par value of the shares and, on the other hand, an amount equal to 110% of the market price of the shares on the New York Stock Exchange and/or the Mercato Telematico Azionario (as the case may be), the market price being the average of the highest price on each of the five days of trading prior to the date on which the acquisition is made, as shown in the Official Price List of the New York Stock Exchange and/or the Mercato Telematico Azionario (as the case may be).

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The Shareholders approved to cancel all special voting shares in the share capital of the Company, currently held by the Company in treasury. The cancellation may be executed in one or more tranches, such to be determined by the Chief Executive Officer.

The Shareholders further approved the awards (and the metrics and targets applicable thereto) to the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer under the Companys equity incentive plans.

Details of the resolutions submitted to the AGM are available on the Companys corporate website at http://corporate.ferrari.com .

Concurrently with the AGM, the Company published its 2018 Sustainability Report. This Report was prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards, the main international framework for reporting on governance, environmental and social themes.

To view the 2018 Sustainability Report online, please visit the following link: http://corporate.ferrari.com/en/investors/results/reports .







1 The coupon number of the dividend is 4 (four).





Attachment
(Adds details of allegations, other bank settlements, byline)

By Jonathan Stempel

April 12 (Reuters) - General Electric Co will pay a $1.5 billion civil fine to resolve a long-running U.S. probe into defective subprime mortgages from its former WMC Mortgage unit prior to the 2008 global financial crisis.

The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday said the accord resolves claims that GE concealed the poor quality of the loans and WMC's lax fraud controls when packaging the loans into residential mortgage-backed securities sold to investors.

GE did not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement.

WMC was acquired by GE's finance unit, General Electric Capital Corp, in 2004, and originated more than $65 billion of mortgage loans in the next three years.

The Justice Department said WMC overstated the quality of a majority of loans it packaged into residential mortgage-backed securities, and its fraudulent practices resulted in billions of dollars of investor losses.

Boston-based GE in January had announced an agreement in principle for the settlement and already set aside $1.5 billion. GE sold WMC in late 2007.

"This is another step in our ongoing efforts to de-risk GE Capital," GE said in a statement. "This agreement represents a significant part of the total legacy exposure associated with WMC and we are pleased to put this matter behind us."

The settlement is part of the efforts by Chief Executive Larry Culp, who took over GE's top job at the beginning of October, to reduce liabilities incurred through expansion by his predecessors, as he attempts to improve profitability and cash flow at GE's core industrial operations.

Other large lenders including Bank of America, Barclays, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Royal Bank of Scotland have also settled U.S. mortgage securities claims.

The Swiss bank UBS Group AG is defending against similar claims in federal court in Brooklyn, New York.

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GE's case resolved claims under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act, a 1989 law arising from that decade's savings-and-loan scandals. The law has a 10-year statute of limitations.

GE's shares were down 0.9 percent at $9.04 in afternoon trading on Friday.

In November 2008, the U.S. Department of the Treasury ranked WMC fourth on a list https://www.occ.treas.gov/news-issuances/news-releases/2009/nr-occ-2009-112b.pdf of "worst subprime originators," based on how its loans fared in metropolitan areas with high foreclosure rates, including Detroit, Cleveland and Stockton, California. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Additional reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Tom Brown and Leslie Adler)
Hillary Clinton addressed several issues pressing the Trump administration Friday, commenting on healthcare, immigration, foreign policy, and more during a candid discussion at the Women in the World summit in Manhattan.

We deserve to see the Mueller report, said Clinton, referring to the special counsel investigations report that Attorney General William Barr is currently redacting for release.

If there is material that for whatever reason should not be shared publicly, it should be shared with the Congress, she continued. Clinton also added that Barrs behavior shows he considers his principal duty to be protecting Donald Trump, not protecting the rule of law and the democracy the Justice Department should be defending.

Being that Friday marked four years since Clinton launched her 2016 bid for the presidency, she reflected on how she and Trump approach Americas issues differently.

I was well aware that we have problems that we have to solve, but its been my experience that anger, resentment, prejudice are not strategies. They stop people from thinking, said Clinton. There are people who absolutely feel left out, unheard, dismissed, marginalized, but what weve got to try to do is to appeal to everybody.

Although she declined to comment on any of the 2020 Democratic candidates, Clinton said she is absolutely delighted to see this incredibly diverse field, and especially to have more than one woman running for president of the United States.

In regard to healthcare, Clinton spoke highly of countries with mixed systems, where the government takes the primary responsibility for healthcare but private plans are also available. As for Medicare for All, she said, Im all in favor of setting that goal. The specifics, though, matter.

Weve got to be very honest with the American people about what it would cost, and what you will get, and how we make the transition, said Clinton, adding that she has long supported universal healthcare and Medicare expansions.

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Still, The Affordable Care Act needs all of our support right now, said Clinton. She warned against party divisions and how the Trump administration has turned to the Justice Department to undermine the program when Congress refused to do so.

We shouldnt be lobbing insults and attacks at one another. We should be recognizing that we could solve problems if we actually worked together and if we look at the evidence, said Clinton. Im tired of people living in fact-free zones.

Clinton also criticized the president for beating the issue of immigration as a political drum to try to rally his supporters, instead of solving the issue.

She suggested assigning more judges to the immigration courts, providing humane housing, and creating a system to better manage those crossing the countrys southern border.

One of the worst things this administration has done, said Clinton, is to separate families at the border and have no system in place to ensure the children would be accounted for.

Clinton also discussed the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed by Saudi Arabian operatives in Turkeys Saudi consulate last October. President Donald Trump has refused to denounce Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, despite the fact that Khashoggis murder had to be ordered from the highest levels of the Saudi government, said Clinton.

There should have been a much stronger response by the United States, she continued. We cannot single-handedly in any way reach in and change the Saudi government. Thats beyond our power to do so, but you can certainly set standards.

Clinton said this plays into a larger issue facing the Trump administrations foreign policy. When the president gives up the United States role as a defender of human rights around the globe, you surrender a lot of our power, said Clinton. We do have the biggest economy, still. We do have the largest military, still. Those are important, but what we stand for has always been more important.

This is not just a nice thing to do, this is leverage. This is how we try to create a world of laws, not of strongmen, she said. When you blow the top and say that you are supporting autocrats, dictators, nationalists, you are forgetting the lessons of the 20th century.

We dealt with the worst that people are capable of doing, said Clinton, naming the concentration camps of WWII as one example. By arguing against institutions such as NATO, the European Union, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Clinton said Trump is contributing to the unleashing of those very basic primal instincts.

We didnt change human nature by creating this institutional framework, said Clinton, but we contained it and we set standards for it.
Nestled among eateries and drinking dens boasting sidewalk seating and overlooking Milans Navigli canals, those who seek it will find a tiny, seemingly anonymous window churning out classic cocktails in well-sealed paper cups. Congratulations: Youve uncovered one part of BackDoor43, estimated to be the smallest bar in the world.

Lest you be confused by the masked man whose only visible trait are the hands serving your drink, you havent just reached one of Milans speakeasies, but you are actually near the citys only takeout bar. The four square meters that make up BackDoor43 (yes, theres a bathroom in there) include the takeout window and and an interior space with four stools, which accommodate the 90-minute reservations available each night from 7 p.m. through 3 a.m.

The spot is co-owned by Marco Russo and Flavio Angiolillo, proprietors of five other venues in the Italian city, including 1930, currently ranking at number 80 on The Worlds 100 Best Bars list, presented in association with Dutch spirits brand Bols Genever.

The idea for the bar was born sort of randomly, recalls bar manager Francesco Bonazzi via telephone from Milan. We also own the bar next door, Mag Cafe, and we were looking for a spot to expand. We noticed a space next door, there was just a painting on the door representing what looked like the inside of the place, a sink.

Backdoor 43 is the smallest bar in the world. | Giulio Masieri

Purchasing the space with the intention of setting up a takeout cocktail business (drinking on the street is permitted here, following strict regulations), the drink gurus were surprised by the requirements that such an endeavor actually called for, from an in-house bathroom to a closet.

So we said to ourselves, you know what? We can put a little table here, we can place a person making drinks here: lets set up the smallest bar in the world, says Bonazzi. We found out later on that it was actually the smallest bar in the world. We havent recorded it in the Guinness World Record Book because, politically speaking, it was a bit complicated.

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Officially or not, one thing is certain: BackDoor43 is tiny, yet fits right into the rapidly changing drinking culture that has come to define Milan. Were in the Italian city where the aperitif reigns supreme, think Campari and vermouth, explains Bonazzi. For years, the cities that functioned as capitals of mixology in Italy have been Milano and Rome. Now, cities like Florence and Torino are catching up, but I feel confident in saying that the beacon of cocktail culture is Milano.

There's no formal drink menu at Backdoor 43. | Courtesy of Backdoor 43

The desire to appeal to the segment of the population craving a well-made cocktail ran so deep, it inspired the owners to come up with a few gimmicks. When approaching the takeout window, for instance, patrons are able to select from a limited menu of eight classic cocktails prepared by a professional donning a Guy Fawkes mask. As Bonazzi explains, the bartender should serve drinks of such a high caliber that they make you forget about who was actually making them.

[Since our opening in 2015], the bartenders were the stars of the scene, so many people forgot about what they were drinking, says Bonazzi. If someone tries to look through the window while ordering, theyll only see a masked barman. We actually had a lot of people get scared.

BackDoor43s program centers around whiskey tastings (there are over 300 varieties available), and the bar serves all kinds of cocktails. But there is no formal drink menu, and patrons are encouraged to chat with the bartender, if so they wish. (Conversations have even led to dinner invitations outside of the bar! exclaims the manager.) Whatever your spirit and mixer of choice, the bartender will deliver, and actually record your preferences in a notebook that includes the drink lists of all guests whove ever entered the premise.

A reservation, made a suggested one to two weeks in advance, will guarantee you one of four seats for 90 minutes, and there is no drink minimum. You only pay for what you drink inside, says Bonazzi. Some people might like to drink and have four cocktails in an hour and a half while others might indulge in one single drink or a whiskey tasting only, he explains. We dont impose anything on our patrons.

Top shelf liquor inside Backdoor 43. | Giulio Masieri

Even the name of the joint has a serpentine background. Based on the Gin Act of 1751, enacted by the British government in the hopes of reducing the consumption of alcohol, the bar concept was inspired the period of time in London when there were secret doors hidden around the city with small fixtures. People would knock and say a special word and gin would literally be pumped through the fixture, explains Bonazzi. As for the number 43, that is the venues building number and even our alcoholic products have a gradation of 43 degrees, says the bar manager.

The number 43 had one more role to play. When brainstorming how to spread the word about a new bar shrouded in secrecy, the team purchased 5,000 books and stuffed them with bookmarks that included noted a phone number and a note: Youve found your first clue, find the door to drinking well in Milan. That number was connected to a cellphone that was passed among the team for 43 days straight. At any time of the day, one of us would pick up the phone and wed say: Were opening. Follow the clues and find us, and wed hang up, recalls Bonazzi. A Facebook page was created at that same time and every day at 11:43 a.m., the team would post a clue about the new space. On the 43rd day, the bar opened.
Long term investing is the way to go, but that doesn't mean you should hold every stock forever. We really hate to see fellow investors lose their hard-earned money. Imagine if you held China Eco-Farming Limited (HKG:8166) for half a decade as the share price tanked 92%. We also note that the stock has performed poorly over the last year, with the share price down 80%. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 26% in the last three months. We note that the company has reported results fairly recently; and the market is hardly delighted. You can check out the latest numbers in our company report.

While a drop like that is definitely a body blow, money isn't as important as health and happiness.

Check out our latest analysis for China Eco-Farming

Given that China Eco-Farming didn't make a profit in the last twelve months, we'll focus on revenue growth to form a quick view of its business development. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.

Over five years, China Eco-Farming grew its revenue at 22% per year. That's better than most loss-making companies. So on the face of it we're really surprised to see the share price has averaged a fall of 40% each year, in the same time period. It could be that the stock was over-hyped before. We'd recommend carefully checking for indications of future growth - and balance sheet threats - before considering a purchase.

Depicted in the graphic below, you'll see revenue and earnings over time. If you want more detail, you can click on the chart itself.

SEHK:8166 Income Statement, April 13th 2019

We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of China Eco-Farming's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

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A Different Perspective

We regret to report that China Eco-Farming shareholders are down 80% for the year. Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 4.0%. However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 40% per year over five years. We realise that Buffett has said investors should 'buy when there is blood on the streets', but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality businesses. Investors who like to make money usually check up on insider purchases, such as the price paid, and total amount bought. You can find out about the insider purchases of China Eco-Farming by clicking this link.

China Eco-Farming is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on HK exchanges.

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.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 12, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Methanex Corporation (Methanex or the Company) (MX.TO) (MEOH) announces that it has reached a cooperation agreement (the Agreement) with M&G Investments (M&G) pursuant to which the Company will recommend Paul Dobson for election to its eleven member board of directors at the upcoming annual general meeting of shareholders (the Meeting) on April 25, 2019. Mr. Dobson will be appointed to the Audit, Finance and Risk Committee.



To accommodate the addition of Mr. Dobson, the Board accepted the offer of Howard Balloch, the longest serving independent director, to advance his planned retirement by a year, and not stand or be nominated for re-election at the Meeting.

We are pleased to have come to a cooperation agreement with our largest shareholder that is both responsive to their views and allows us to move forward with our mutual goal of maintaining Methanexs leading position in the methanol industry while generating strong returns for shareholders, said Chairman of the Board, Tom Hamilton. We thank Howard Balloch for his years of leadership and service to Methanex. Howard has been instrumental as Chair of the Public Policy Committee and a valuable contributor to Methanexs long track record of success.

We believe the opportunity to build a third plant alongside our other two plants in Geismar, Louisiana is unique. Methanex are committed to a thoughtful, rigorous evaluation process for reviewing all growth projects and as part of our Agreement we have agreed to retain an independent financial advisory firm to assist in our financial review of the Geismar 3 project, said President and Chief Executive Officer, John Floren.

M&G will withdraw its proxy circular and proxy card in respect to the Meeting and has agreed to vote all of its shares in favour of the nominees recommended by the Company. M&G has also agreed to a standstill arrangement through the 2020 annual general meeting of shareholders.

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The Company has agreed with M&G to continue its ongoing board refreshment process by selecting an additional director after the Meeting from a list to be submitted by M&G. Such director will possess financial experience and other skills, experience and expertise required to oversee the continued growth of the worlds largest methanol producer.

Stuart Rhodes, a fund manager with M&G, stated, We are pleased to have reached this constructive outcome with Methanex and look forward to continuing to be long-term, supportive shareholders in the Company. M&G is confident that Paul Dobsons addition to the Board and our ongoing support for the leadership of John Floren and his extremely capable management team will help ensure the continued success of Methanex.

The full Agreement has been filed on the Companys SEDAR profile.

NEW DIRECTOR NOMINEE BIOGRAPHY

Paul Dobson: Paul Dobson, CPA, CMA, is Interim CEO of Hydro One Limited, a major transmission and distribution provider in Ontario. Prior to being appointed as Interim CEO, Mr. Dobson was the Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Dobson previously held executive positions, including CFO and COO, at Direct Energy, a provider of energy-related services based in Houston, Texas. He has held leadership roles in international energy companies in Canada, the US and London.

VOTING IS NOW OPEN

Shareholders should vote their WHITE proxy form or voting instruction form FOR the Companys recommended nominees, including Paul Dobson, before April 23, 2019 at 10:30 a.m. (Vancouver time).



If you have questions or need help voting, contact Kingsdale Advisors at 1-888-327-0821 or at contactus@kingsdaleadvisors.com.

For further information, contact:

Kim Campbell

Manager, Investor Relations

Methanex Corporation

604 661-2600 or Toll Free: 1 800 661 8851

www.methanex.com

Ian Robertson

Executive Vice President, Communication Strategy

Kingsdale Advisors

Direct: 416-867-2333

Cell: 647-621-2646

Email: irobertson@kingsdaleadvisors.com
By Anthony Esposito

MERIDA, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexican and U.S. business leaders on Friday pushed back against President Donald Trump's threats to close the U.S.-Mexico border and urged him to drop steel tariffs that have hindered the ratification of a trade deal brokered last year.

At a meeting in the eastern Mexican city of Merida attended by government officials from both countries, business lobbies united to call on Trump to drop his threats to disrupt border trade after days of hold-ups on the frontier.

Describing the U.S.-Mexico relationship as a top priority, U.S. Chamber of Commerce head Tom Donohue told a news conference the United States should exempt Mexico and Canada from steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by Trump last June before its Congress approves the deal struck to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.

"That is why we are the first out of the gate to warn against the disastrous consequences of closing the U.S.-Mexican border," Donohue said, sitting next to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who warmly applauded his speech.

Mexico is the United States' second biggest export market, and third biggest trading partner. U.S.-Mexico trade is worth about half a trillion dollars a year.

Mexico and Canada want Trump to drop the metals tariffs before their lawmakers approve the deal agreed in September known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Tensions over the border are further hindering the process.

Following a surge in asylum seekers who mostly traveled through Mexico from Central American countries, Trump last month threatened to close the border if Mexico did not immediately halt illegal immigration. His government then redeployed border agents to police the frontier, sparking delays which have cost businesses on both sides millions of dollars.

After Donohue spoke, Carlos Salazar, president of Mexico's powerful CCE business lobby, weighed in to say he hoped the U.S. government understood the need to keep the border open.

"And let's not confuse migration problems with trade problems and industry problems," Salazar said, seated on the other side of Lopez Obrador, who again applauded the speech.

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Lopez Obrador himself, as he has for months, avoided any implicit or explicit criticism of Trump, instead offering thanks to the American president for "being open to deal with our commercial, migratory and security matters with respect."

Trump's Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross looked on, seated next to Salazar, but did not address the news conference.

The event was part of the latest iteration of a recurring business forum known as the U.S.-Mexico CEO Dialogue.

On the sidelines, Mexican Economy Minister Graciela Marquez met Ross and again urged the United States to end the metals tariffs for Mexico, part of a set of national security measures Trump had ordered under the so-called "Section 232" mechanism.

In addition, the minister asked that Ross push forward talks aimed at reaching a quick deal in a stop-start tomato dispute between Mexican and U.S. producers.

Marquez was able to tout a workers' rights bill that Mexico's lower house of Congress approved late on Thursday, legislation that U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called for to win Democratic support for USMCA.

U.S. Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette met Mexico's Energy Minister Rocio Nahle and later said she had indicated to him that her government did not plan to roll back an energy overhaul passed by the previous administration.

The 2013-14 reform opened up oil production and exploration to private capital, drawing significant interest from U.S. investors. At the time, Lopez Obrador roundly attacked the reform. However, he has since said he will give private operators time to show that they can increase output.

Lopez Obrador wants to revive state oil company Pemex and plans to build an $8 billion refinery in his home state of Tabasco. A U.S. embassy spokesman said that Mexican officials hoped to help fund the project by reducing tax evasion.

(Reporting by Anthony Esposito and Dave Graham; Editing by Grant McCool)
Microsoft MSFT and Amazon AMZN are reportedly the only remaining contenders to secure the Pentagons Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) cloud contract.



According to the sources, International Business Machines IBM and Oracle ORCL are no longer being considered for the deal for failing to meet the minimum criteria.



Notably, Alphabets GOOGL Google had willingly opted out from bidding for the JEDI deal citing value and ethics concerns.



Government Programs Present Solid Growth Opportunity



The fiscal 2019 defense budget of $716 billion  the largest allotted to defense in U.S. history  is extremely lucrative. Out of the total tally, $686 billion is allotted to the Department of Defense (DoD) and $13.7 billion is proposed to be invested in science and technology to further innovation.



Per psmarketresearch data, the global government cloud services market is projected to witness a CAGR of 15.4% during 2018-2023. The potential is alluring for prominent cloud services providers.



The announcement of approximately $10 billion worth 10-year JEDI contract intensified competition between Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, IBM Cloud and Oracle.



Concerns pertaining to President Trumps anti-Amazon tweets or Oracle and IBMs apprehension regarding the policies have been doing rounds since then. However, the Pentagon assured that the contract will be finalized in a fair and transparent manner.



Notably, AWS is authorized to host DoDs Impact Level 6 workloads, which are touted to be Pentagons and U.S. militarys highest level of classified information. Further, Microsoft announced the availability of Azure Government Secret regions, which are enabled to support Level 6 workloads, from the first quarter of 2019.



Microsofts Expanding Defense Portfolio vs AWS Dominance



Zeroing in on either AWS or Azure isnt going to be an easy decision.



Microsofts proactive stance on enhancing Azures government-related services with AI and robust edge capabilities poises it well to bag the deal.



In fact, Microsoft secured back-to-back deal wins from DoD in the recent past, which includes a five-year contract worth $1.76-billion to provide enterprise services for the Pentagon Defense Department, cloud Coast Guard and intelligence services.



Another worth $480 million involves the utilization of HoloLens by U.S. army soldiers to combat real-life challenging conditions.



The introduction of new Azure Data Box, Data Box Heavy and Data Box Edge to government customers, are a few instances highlighting Microsofts growing capabilities.



Further, Azure has already been selected by the likes of Alaska Department of Transportation, Duo+ based out of Netherlands, South African government unit Department of Science and Technology, to name a few.

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Microsoft Corporation Revenue (Quarterly)

Microsoft Corporation Revenue (Quarterly) | Microsoft Corporation Quote

However, it will be difficult for DoD to ignore AWS expertise and dominance in the cloud market.



Per a report from Synergy Research Group, AWS led the cloud market in fourth-quarter 2018 with 34% share, compared with Azures 15%.



In November, 2018, AWS rolled out its second isolated infrastructure region for government agencies and the organizations in highly regulated industries. The latest region called AWS GovCloud (US-East) Region is based in the eastern part of the United States. The first region named AWS GovCloud (US-West) was launched in 2011.



AWS has assisted governments and agencies alike with its high security and compliant cloud capabilities, including Government of Singapore, agencies like NASA, UK Ministry of Justice, to mention a few.

Amazon.com, Inc. Revenue (Quarterly)

Amazon.com, Inc. Revenue (Quarterly) | Amazon.com, Inc. Quote

Notably, at present, AWS has 61 availability zones, while Microsoft has 54 Azure regions worldwide.



While Microsoft has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), Amazon carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.



Radical New Technology Creates $12.3 Trillion Opportunity



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Zacks Investment Research
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Photo: Jason Doiy/ALM



A federal appeals court has stayed a ruling barring the Trump administrations policy forcing Central American asylum seekers to return to Mexico to wait for their cases to be heard.



A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Friday afternoon issued a temporary stay of a preliminary injunction order issued this week by U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg of the Northern District.



The injunction was set to go into effect Friday evening at 5 p.m. Pacific Time.



But the panelmade up of Circuit Judges Diarmuid O'Scannlain, William Fletcher and Paul Watfordhas stayed Seeborgs nationwide injunction until it can hear the governments emergency motion. It set a Tuesday morning deadline for plaintiffs in the case to file an opposition to the governments request.



On Monday, Seeborg blocked the Trump administrations policy. He found that the so-called Migrant Protection Protocols implemented late last year were not authorized by Congress under the Immigration and Nationality Act, and even if they were, they didnt provide proper safeguards to meet the governments obligation not to return any alien to a territory where his or her life or freedom would be threatened.



The ruling marked the second time in as many months that Seeborg had issued a ruling finding that an administration policy violated the Administrative Procedure Act. In March, the judge found that the administrations decision to add a question about citizenship to the 2020 census was arbitrary and capricious.
(Bloomberg) -- Norways Finance Minister Siv Jensen called for broader international cooperation to end monopolies of global technology giants that can overcharge consumers.

While attending the International Monetary Funds spring meetings in Washington this past week, Jensen drew attention to the market power of the biggest tech companies and their fiscal footprints in countries where they operate, according to a statement from her office.

The emergence we see of large, private monopolies and multinational corporations that are making huge profits without paying taxes is a problem we must take seriously, the finance minister said.

European Union officials have been cracking down in recent years on efforts by big global companies to limit their European tax burdens. EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager ordered Apple Inc. to pay back billions of euros to Ireland, and she backed a push by France to tax Internet firms more heavily.

Jensen said consumers are contributing to huge profits because competition in markets is often too weak.

We will therefore not be able to reverse the trend until we have a more effective competition policy in place that limits the companies opportunity to charge too high prices, Jensen said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sveinung Sleire in Oslo at ssleire1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jonas Bergman at jbergman@bloomberg.net, Todd White, Paul Jarvis

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Novartis AGs NVS) generic arm, Sandoz, signed an agreement with Japanese pharmaceutical company, Shionogi & Co Ltd, for commercialization of Rizmoic in the key European markets of Germany, the U.K. and the Netherlands, plus right of first refusal for certain other European markets.

Rizmoic, a once-daily 200-microgram oral tablet discovered and developed by Shionogi, was approved in the EU on Feb 22, 2019. The drug is approved to treat opioid induced constipation (OIC) in adult patients previously treated with a laxative.

We note that Sandoz has a strong presence in the European market for anti-pain therapeutics.

Per the agreement, Sandoz will be responsible for commercializing Rizmoic in Germany, the U.K. and the Netherlands, while Shionogi will manufacture and develop the drug.

We note that Sandoz is currently facing competitive pressure in the United States. In September 2018, Novartis agreed to sell selected portions of its Sandoz U.S. portfolio, specifically the Sandoz U.S. dermatology business and the U.S. oral solids portfolio. The divestiture is in accordance with Sandozs strategy of focusing on complex generics, value-added medicines and biosimilars to achieve sustainable and profitable growth in the United States in the long run. The transaction will be completed in 2019.

Earlier, Novartis completed the spin-off of the eye care devices business, Alcon, through a dividend-in-kind distribution to holders of Novartis shares and ADRs (American Depositary Receipts), with each holder receiving 1 Alcon share for every 5 Novartis shares or ADRs held on Apr 8, 2019, at the close of business. Shares of Alcon have commenced trading under the symbol "ALC" on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX).

We remind investors that Novartis decided to spin-off its ophthalmology unit to better focus on its legacy pharma business, with a financial profile closer to its pharmaceutical industry peers. The company also sold its stake in consumer healthcare joint venture to GlaxoSmithKline GSK for $13 billion.

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Shares of the company have gained 14.9% in the past six months compared with the industry's 5.9% growth.

Last year was a transformative one for Novartis, as it restructured its business to become a core drug-focused company, powered by data and digital technologies. The company acquired U.S.-based clinical-stage gene-therapy company, AveXis, Inc in 2018. Novartis also acquired Endocyte to expand expertise in radiopharmaceuticals. We expect more acquisitions in the coming months, as the company looks to further restructure its business.

Novartis intends to raise its annual dividend from CHF 2.85 per share. The company also plans to complete its previously announced share buyback of $5 billion in 2019.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Novartis currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

A couple of better-ranked stocks in the same space are Johnson & Johnson JNJ and Bayer AG BAYRY. Both stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Johnson & Johnsons earnings per share estimates have increased from $9.20 to $9.21 for 2020 in the past 60 days. The company delivered a positive earnings surprise in all the trailing four quarters at an average of 1.61%.

Bayers earnings per share estimates have increased from $1.92 to $1.95 for 2019 over the past 60 days.

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Denise De Gaetano is the founder of Data Science Malta, an education platform that provides courses, networking events, and general knowledge transfer. The Maltese resident recently spoke to Coin Rivet about Women in Blockchain, the data science industry, and the emergence of blockchain technology in Malta. How did you get involved in blockchain technology? Having a background in data science, I have been working with data for now almost 11 years. My career started off with the then initiation of the term big data in various industries, and it has been moving from strength to strength in terms of different areas of data science, including but not limited to, AI, machine learning, and also blockchain technology  the last of

Denise De Gaetano is the founder of Data Science Malta, an education platform that provides courses, networking events, and general knowledge transfer.

The Maltese resident recently spoke to Coin Rivet about Women in Blockchain, the data science industry, and the emergence of blockchain technology in Malta.

How did you get involved in blockchain technology?

Having a background in data science, I have been working with data for now almost 11 years. My career started off with the then initiation of the term big data in various industries, and it has been moving from strength to strength in terms of different areas of data science, including but not limited to, AI, machine learning, and also blockchain technology  the last of which I have been involved in for now almost five years.

Tell us more about what you do.

There is no one-liner to this. I am involved in a number of different aspects of tech, data science, and business. Having always been an inquisitive mind, I always loved learning and applying various different aspects and turning them into money. Hence, I can say that I am a data scientist, business consultant, and entrepreneur, having worked within various industries throughout my career.

My skills and expertise have helped with the transformation of data investments into actionable business results through the visioning and implementation of big data, web presence, content publishing, and enterprise search solutions. I was also involved in business strategies providing a superior engagement experience through a combination of business acumen, intellectual curiosity, a collaborative work style, and strong partnerships with award-winning vendors.

Why is it so important to be philanthropic?

Doing good in the world is something which we should all be doing. Giving back to society and making it a better place in view of what we build will allow us to live in harmony with each other and the world we live in.

Story continues

What were your career ambitions when you were younger?

Since I was little, I always loved science and business. For quite a number of years, I wanted to become an astronaut. Innovation was the pillar to what I enjoyed doing. I always needed to know newer ways of doing things. Nonetheless, I also loved coming up with ideas of how to turn my projects into possible businesses. This flourished when I started working in data science, where we can use data and technology to turn ideas into money.

Why are so few women involved in blockchain?

The number of women I meet in blockchain is increasing. In reality, rather than looking at the actual field of blockchain, one needs to focus on the full aspect of the science, given that blockchain technology needs a strong background in technology. Perhaps to break this chain, both males and females need to be invited to this gender diversity conversation, for such to turn into a more gender-balanced science.

What more needs to be done to remove obstacles for women in blockchain?

Once again, I do not think that we need to focus on gender in any field. Whenever there is the drive and passion to succeed, it will be done. In most instances of my career I was the only female, coupled with almost always being one of the youngest in the team. This has never deterred me from moving up the ladder of my career and being successful.

What are you, personally, doing to get more people involved in blockchain?

I am the founder of Data Science Malta. The aim is to provide various courses, networking events, and a platform for general knowledge transfer in all fields of data science, including blockchain technology. There has been a lot of interest in this field, not only from Malta, but also abroad.

How do you see this technology changing peoples lives for the better?

Blockchain technology brings with it transparency together with accountability. Any company utilising blockchain technology will allow its consumer to understand the whole process of the product life cycle right from origination, allowing you to know if what you are buying has been ethically made or otherwise. This will eradicate illegal activities in various industries, such as that in illegal fishing, as keeping track of the life cycle will not be done anymore over a piece of paper, but rather tracked over the blockchain platform.

What would you say to young women considering a career in blockchain? How would you encourage them?

Go for it! Pursue your dreams. Whatever you believe will make you happy for the rest of your life, do it  even if it is not what the majority of your peers are doing. You will only reach success when you have reached happiness.

Is gender a barrier to success. Or not?

Absolutely not. As I said before, whenever their is passion and drive to succeed, anyone can do it, irrespective of your gender.

For more news, guides, and cryptocurrency analysis, click here.

The post Q&A with Data Science Malta founder Denise De Gaetano appeared first on Coin Rivet.
(Refiles story to add dropped word 'percent' in second para)

BERLIN, April 11 (Reuters) - Qatar has no direct say in who runs Deutsche Bank, the country's foreign minister said when he was asked on Thursday for Doha's view on merger talks between Deutsche Bank and fellow German lender Commerzbank .

Some 6.1 percent of the shares in Germany's troubled lender are owned by two members of Qatar's wealthy royal family, and the country's sovereign wealth fund has also previously considered building a stake.

"Qatar invests in many areas in Germany," said foreign minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani at a press conference after talks with his German counterpart. "The question of who runs this or that institution is not a matter for Qatar directly or which Qatar decides upon." (Reporting by Thomas Escritt Editing by Arno Schuetze)
With Special Counsel Robert Mueller's two-year investigation into Russian interference during the 2016 election now complete, what does the controversy surrounding the Mueller probe mean for the future of special counsels looking into the actions of the president?

I do think this will be the last special counsel we see operating under these rules, Pierce Bainbridge criminal defense attorney Caroline Polisi told FOX Business' Gerry Baker. Specifically because there is this sort of opaque nature in that there is no disclosure requirement by [Attorney General William] Barr to the public.

Polisi, who represents George Papodopoulos, explained that the current law requires the special counsel to turn over a report to the attorney general. Papadopoulos, the the former aide to then-presidential candidate Trump, pleaded guilty to lying to the F.B.I. in the Russia probe.

The previous law governing independent counsels -- such as the Ken Starr investigation of former President Bill Clinton -- was criticized for being too forthcoming.

Its damned if you do, damned if you dont, Polisi said. You know, people were up in arms at sort of the level of detail that they were reading in the Starr report. It seemed a bit much.

But she does feel, at the very least, the current disclosure rules are going to change, she said.

I think Democrats would say there definitely needs to be a mechanism by which the public and/or the Congress will get the ultimate findings, not simply a summary...but really go to all of the underlying information that was obtained throughout the entirety of the prosecution," she said.

Robert Ray, who followed Starr as the Whitewater independent counsel, told Baker that can't happen under the current law governing special counsels.

Thats a regulatory environment which is the [Justice] Departments prerogative, he said. If Congress wants to change that, they would have to pass a law in order to have that occur.

Story continues

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX BUSINESS APP

Ray is not sure if this is the end of special or independent counsels, but he noted the whole concept raised some big concerns.

There are significant constitutional questions that remain by virtue of experience as to whether or not the independent counsel statute was even constitutional, he says. It severely circumscribes the presidents executive authority in order to set up an independent counsel that is independent from everybody, the Congress, the court system by and large, and more  most importantly, the executive branch.

Related Articles
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Friday announced more sanctions on shipping companies transporting oil from Venezuela, blacklisting four shipping companies and nine vessels, some of which the U.S. Treasury Department said carried oil to Cuba.

The U.S. Treasury identified the firms as Liberia-based Jennifer Navigation Ltd, Lima Shipping Corp and Large Range Ltd, and Italy-based PB Tankers S.P.A.

It blacklisted one tanker belonging to each of the Liberian firms and six owned by the Italian firm.

A Treasury statement said Venezuelas oil sector continued "to provide a lifeline to the illegitimate regime" of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

We continue to target companies that transport Venezuelan oil to Cuba, as they are profiting while the Maduro regime pillages natural resources," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in the statement.

"Venezuelas oil belongs to the Venezuelan people, and should not be used as a bargaining tool to prop up dictators and prolong oppression, he said.

The sanctions prohibit dealings with the firms by U.S. citizens and block the companies' financial interests in the United States.

A week ago, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on 34 vessels owned or operated by Venezuelan state-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A, or PDVSA, and also on two companies and a vessel that delivered oil to Cuba in February and March.

PDVSA nevertheless shipped 1 million barrels of oil to Cuba after the last round of sanctions, according to a PDVSA document and tanker tracking data.

Last week's sanctions came on top of a previous round in January targeting PDVSA itself.

The United States and most Western nations have recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as the rightful president of Venezuela.

Guaido invoked the Venezuelan constitution to assume an interim presidency in January, arguing that Maduro's 2018 re-election was illegitimate.

Maduro argues Guaido is a puppet of the United States attempting to oust him in a coup. Venezuela's Foreign minister Jorge Arreaza this week said the OPEC-member nation plans to "fulfill its commitments" to Cuba.

Venezuela has long sent subsidized crude to Cuba. The United States describes the arrangement as an "oil-for-repression" scheme in which Havana helps socialist Maduro weather an economic crisis and the power struggle with the opposition in exchange for fuel.

Cuba has said it will never abandon its ally even as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration threatened more sanctions.

(Reporting by David Brunnstrom, Makini Brice and Tim Ahmann; Editing by James Dalgleish)
By Joshua Franklin

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc has 91 million users, but growth is slowing and it may never make a profit, the ride-hailing company said on Thursday in its initial public offering filing.

The document gave the first comprehensive financial picture of the decade-old company which was started after its founders struggled to get a cab on a snowy night and has changed the way much of the world travels.

The S-1 filing underscores the rapid growth of Uber's business in the last three years but also how a string of public scandals and increased competition from rivals have weighed on its plans to attract and retain riders.

The disclosure also highlighted how far Uber remains from turning a profit, with the company cautioning it expects operating expenses to "increase significantly in the foreseeable future" and it "may not achieve profitability." Uber lost $3.03 billion in 2018 from operations.

The filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission revealed Uber had 91 million average monthly active users on its platforms, including for ride-hailing and Uber Eats, at the end of 2018. This is up 33.8 percent from 2017, but growth slowed from 51 percent a year earlier.

Uber had not disclosed the latest user numbers before, and the figure indicates the scale of the business. Although its user base includes customers of other services as well as ride-sharing, Uber's 91 million is nearly five times the 18.6 million announced by rival Lyft Inc.

Uber in 2018 had revenue of $11.3 billion, up around 42 percent over 2017, again below the 106 percent growth the prior year.

Uber set a placeholder amount of $1 billion but did not specify the size of the IPO. Reuters reported this week that Uber plans to sell around $10 billion worth of stock at a valuation of between $90 billion and $100 billion. Investment bankers had previously told Uber it could be worth as much as $120 billion.

Uber would be the largest IPO since that of Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd in 2014, which raised $25 billion.

Story continues

Although Uber is no longer targeting a $120 billion valuation in the IPO, some stock bonuses to Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi and other company executives are only triggered when that valuation is reached.

ADVERSE EVENTS

Uber will follow Lyft in going public. Shares in its smaller rival closed at $61.01 on Thursday, 15 percent below its IPO price set late last month, a development which has sent chilling signal for other tech start-ups looking to go public.

After making the public filing, Uber will begin a series of investor presentations, called a roadshow, which Reuters has reported will start the week of April 29. The company is on track to price its IPO and begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange in early May.

Uber faces questions over how it will navigate any transition towards self-driving vehicles, a technology seen as potentially dramatically lowering costs but which could also disrupt its business model.

One advantage Uber will likely seek to play up to investors is that it is the largest player in many of the markets in which it operates. Analysts consider building scale crucial for Uber's business model to become profitable.

In addition to answering questions about the company's finances, Uber CEO Khosrowshahi will be tasked with convincing investors that he has successfully changed the culture and business practices after a series of embarrassing scandals over the last two years.

Those have included sexual harassment allegations, a massive data breach that was concealed from regulators, use of illicit software to evade authorities and allegations of bribery overseas. Khosrowshahi joined Uber in 2017 from Expedia Inc to replace company co-founder Travis Kalanick who was ousted as CEO.

Uber said in its filing its ridehailing position in the United States and Canada was "significantly impacted by adverse publicity events" and that its position in many markets has been threatened by discounts from other ride-hailing companies.

A #DeleteUber campaign surged on social media in 2017 after a public relations crisis, which Uber said in its filing meant hundreds of thousands of consumers stopped using its platform within days.

Uber said its market share fell in most regions last year, although the rate of decline has slowed. The company claims more than 65 percent market share in the United States and Canada, compared to Lyft's stated 39 percent in the United States.

Uber is reserving some shares in the IPO for drivers who have completed 2,500 trips among other criteria.

(Reporting by Joshua Franklin in New YorkAdditional reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Bangalore; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Welcome to Money Diaries , where we're tackling what might be the last taboo facing modern working women: money. We're asking millennials how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period  and we're tracking every last dollar.

Calling all entrepreneurs: We want to hear from you! If youre a freelancer or self-employed, wed love to feature your Money Diary. Submit here.

Travel Diaries: We're looking to get the inside scoop on when, where, and how our peers are using their vacation days. Open to tracking your travel expenses during an upcoming trip? Email us at traveldiary@refinery29.com.

Today: a software engineer who makes $330,000 per year and spends some her money this week on boba tea.

Occupation: Software Engineer

Industry: Technology

Age: 25

Location: San Francisco, CA

Salary: $330,000 ($194,000 base + $136,000 stock)

Gender Identity: Female

Monthly Expenses

Rent: $1,400 (I split rent for a one-bedroom apartment with my boyfriend.)

Gym Membership: $135

Credit Card Fee: $42

Utilities: $50

Renter's Insurance: $8

Google Storage: $2

Amazon Prime: $55 (Split with boyfriend.)

Phone: $0 (I'm on my parent's plan.)

Internet: $8 (My work pays for the bulk of the cost  I just pay taxes.)

Netflix: $0 (I use my parents' account.)

401k: $1,583 (max contribution)

HSA: $292 (max contribution)

Health/Dental/Vision Insurance: $85

Index-Fund Investment: $1,000

Savings: $2,000

Day One

7 a.m.  I wake up before my 7:30 a.m. alarm, feeling super groggy likely due to PMS. I chug a bottle of warm water along with some vitamins and then make an oat milk latte using my espresso machine. I prepped a Vitamix pitcher full of spinach, mixed berries, avocado, protein powder, and water in the fridge last night and blend that up for a quick breakfast before my 40-minute walk to work.

9 a.m.  At work, I grab myself a second cup of coffee  decaf this time  with some milk and honey to reward myself for the long commute. I choose to walk as a way to get my steps in, listen to podcasts, and also because I hate dealing with morning traffic.

Story continues

12 p.m.  Tech companies like mine offer free food, coffee, and snacks, and I'm grateful not to worry about my lunch every day. I have lunch with my team and try to fill my plate with more greens than carbs. Then I snack on some Cheez-Its after lunch and make my daily post-lunch iced latte with my coworker/friend to prepare ourselves for the meetings ahead.

5:45 p.m.  The gym is on my way home, so I call a Lyft to a zone near the gym. I have Lyft credit from work that covers my rides as long as they're within certain zones (near bus/train stations). I walk the rest of the distance (10 minutes) between my drop-off and the gym, but I missed the Monday 5:30 HIIT class due to traffic. I miss it about 50% of the time, but thank goodness my gym doesn't charge a penalty. I take advantage of the flexibility and decide to run outside instead. One mile in, it starts pouring, so I run back to the gym and do another two miles on the treadmill.

7:50 p.m.  It's dinnertime! I always try to cook and eat dinner at home, even though work provides dinner, too. I enjoy cooking (most of the time) and spending quality time with my boyfriend, N., or, if he's busy at work late, the TV. Tonight, I batch-baked some miso soy sauce flounder I defrosted last night. The kind we bought this week is somehow fishier than other flounder we've had, so I soak it in some cold vinegar water for some time before marinating it in the miso sauce and baking it. I also prep a simple side salad with grated carrots and mixed greens dressed in a random mixture of Asian sauces, mustard, and Kewpie.

9 p.m.  I do some online shopping while watching Netflix. I don't own much makeup, but I decided this year to put in more of an effort. And my eyeshadow from freshman year of college is probably expired at this point. I buy myself a Korean BB cream to keep in my gym bag, eyebrow pencil, lip liner, and a contour stick. $98

Daily Total: $98

Day Two

8:10 a.m.  I wake up feeling even more tired than yesterday. I blame it on the PMS and insomnia. I chug my water and vitamins and head out the door immediately. I like getting to work early because it's the most quiet and productive time for me to get some coding done, which is tough nowadays since, as a tech lead, I spend the bulk of my day in meetings, reviewing junior engineers' code, and putting out fires. I snack on some English muffins at my desk when I get to work.

11:50 p.m.  I get a sandwich and chicken soup for lunch, plus my daily iced latte.

4 p.m.  I have one of my more relaxing meetings during this time. I mentor a younger engineer on career growth and sometimes we just chat about whatever. I have some popcorn.

6:30 p.m.  I don't get nearly as much work done as I wanted to today. I skip working out today and stay for free dinner at work. The soba noodles and fried chicken are actually pretty good.

Daily Total: $0

Day Three

7:30 a.m.  I wake up to my alarm. I'm feeling a little moody from the poor quality sleep I've been getting. Waking up earlier and seeing my boyfriend's sleepy face brightens my morning a bit. I meditate with a free app and try to start my morning slower. Wednesdays tend to be calmer than the other meeting-heavy days I have at work. I look forward to getting into work as I sip on my homemade latte and usual smoothie. I take an extra glance at my bullet journal for the day and pack an overnight bag for work, since I'll be heading down to the south Bay Area, where my parents live, for my mom's birthday.

1 p.m.  Have lunch. Afterwards, I pick up some roses for my mom and force my friend to come with me to Starbucks to try Ariana Grande's Cloud Macchiato because "I want it, I got it." $20

4:30 p.m.  I take an early bullet train to South Bay. Work pays for our annual Caltrain passes, so I try to make it a point to visit my parents at least once a month. My dad picks me up on his way home from work, but he gets stuck in rush hour traffic. I go through some more emails at the Caltrain station while I wait for him.

7 p.m.  Mom wants to get hotpot near downtown San Jose, so my dad, grandma, mom, and I pick up my sister from badminton practice along the way and pack ourselves into the family sedan for dinner. Dinner is delicious and around $130. The owners recognize us, since we came for my sister's birthday a couple weeks ago. I paid for that meal, so my dad picks up the tab this time. We stop by a boba place on the way home, and I buy drinks for everyone except for grandma (since she's not a fan of sweets). $22

Daily Total: $42

Day Four

6:20 a.m.  I stay the night at my parent's house. I share a bed with my sister, since my old room is now grandma's room, which I don't mind, but it does mean I have to wake up when my sister wakes up for school at 6:20. Half awake, I chug some water and take out the milk tea I barely drank from last night. My dad drops me off at the Caltrain after dropping off my sister.

8:40 a.m.  I arrive at work, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to survive the day (PMS week), so I pour myself a big mug of coffee with some milk and honey. I also toast some bread and eat it with peanut butter and some plain Greek yogurt.

10:45 a.m.  I refill my coffee, but with decaf this time. I'm pretty sensitive to coffee, especially when I'm PMS-ing, but I'm hoping to get some placebo effect from the decaf anyway.

12:20 p.m.  I have some steamed cod with some rice and salad greens for lunch. Then I sip on some orange black tea I ordered from Singapore last week. I feel relief when I remember that I scheduled a facial appointment at 3:30 today.

3 p.m.  I get the most relaxing facial (I budget about $300/month for facials, acupuncture, and massages), especially after my face has been puffy all day from bloating and water retention this week. I had to get up and pee halfway through my facial, but my beautician was super sweet and accommodating. I pay and leave a substantial tip ($110 altogether) and book myself a lash lift appointment for next week. $110

5 p.m.  I get a lightly sweetened black milk tea with oat milk from Boba Guys. I don't like it  I won't get this again. As I walk past the line of white people waiting in line, I find myself fantasizing about making a fortune by selling white people trendy frozen dumplings at an absurd price, but then realize that places already do that. $4.20

7 p.m.  I have some miso baked flounder with greens and shirataki noodles for dinner while I wait for my boyfriend to come home. We are both pretty busy, so we try to find time to talk and watch TV together at the end of the day. We watch an old episode of Rick and Morty but are so tired we're basically half asleep.

Daily Total: $114.20

Day Five

8:30 a.m.  Water and vitamins ritual. I remember my grandma telling me to eat slower and wait for my food to cool before digging in, along with some other traditional Chinese medicine philosophies, so I do a bit of tidying up while I wait for my coffee to cool. As I slowly sip my coffee, I realize it's finally Friday  and I'm elated because I really need this week to be over, mainly because of PMS. I rant to the boyfriend for the 9,999th time about how shitty Mother Nature is to the female body. He jokes that I should just take the day off, but I seriously consider it for a moment. I hug him goodbye before heading to the gym.

9 a.m.  I love my gym's 9 a.m. conditioning classes, so I always try to go every Friday and get to work a little late. I decide to take a Lyft to work ($12) and shower at work instead. $12

12:30 p.m.  I have to interview a candidate during lunch today, so I eat a quick turkey and lettuce sandwich for lunch with a La Croix.

3:30 p.m.  We have a boring meeting, during which my coworker and I exchange texts about weekend plans. I make myself some afternoon orange black tea and get some more coding done in between meetings nearing the end of the day.

5:45 p.m.  I'm a creature of habit. I skip work's Friday happy hour and go home to eat the same baked miso flounder with greens and shirataki noodles for an early dinner. My boyfriend usually stays at work for happy hour but will eat again with me at home, but I was a bit more hungry than usual today.

8 p.m.  I catch up on Selling Sunset on Netflix and feel the cravings kick in. My boyfriend and I venture out to the nearby CVS in pajamas hoping to pick up some hot Cheetos but discover that store has permanently closed. We try the Bevmo next door, probably scaring the security guard since I look a bit disheveled in pajamas and messy hair. No Cheetos. We finally find Cheetos and green tea ice cream at a small convenience store nearby. I snack on a little bit of both and go to bed early. $7

Daily Total: $19

Day Six

9:30 a.m.  I wake up later than usual and sprint to my gym for a HIIT class. My Apple watch applauds me for a record high calorie burn but I'm pretty sure it's because I've put on a pound or two in the past two weeks. I start a load of (mostly sweaty gym) laundry when I get home. $6.75

11:20 a.m.  I Facetime my college bestie who lives in Seattle. We catch up on her trip to India and discuss therapy, skincare, and fun adult stuff like buying a house. I take a mental note to fly out to Seattle to see her soon since I miss her so much. I snack on some greek yogurt and Sumo mandarins since I haven't eaten today yet.

2 p.m.  I apologize to the boyfriend who has been waiting to eat with me. We Uber out to a Chinese restaurant we find on Yelp and order a braised beef squid ink noodle soup and some skewers to share ($16). Everything is delicious, and we happily venture around the neighborhood for our next bite since my boyfriend isn't super full from the noodles and skewers. He grabs a slice of mushroom pizza, which I take a bite of, and I get an oat milk latte ($5) at a cute coffee shop. $21

5 p.m.  My boyfriend and I visit a local butcher and pick up some fancy beef for a steak dinner along with prosciutto and pork tenderloin I plan on using for a sandwich recipe next week. We split total cost of about $58 $29

7 p.m.  My boyfriend makes us sous-vide steak with a side salad for dinner. It is delicious but puts us in a major food coma. We attempt to fold the laundry from this morning and watch some more Selling Sunset to ease the pain of chores while being full.

Daily Total: $56.75

Day Seven

8:30 a.m.  I wake up super hungry. I go through my normal morning water, vitamins, and coffee ritual. I wake up my boyfriend up so we could go get breakfast at my favorite bakery. We order a tuna sandwich and my favorite butter croissant, and I pay for the meal since he is paying for some small groceries later. I don't really like the sandwich but eat the entire croissant along with a second cup of coffee. $27

10 a.m.  I need more Greek yogurt to eat throughout the week so we take a walk to Whole Foods. My boyfriends picks up an Earl Grey chocolate chip cookie at another bakery near by and I steal a bite. He also pays for my greek yogurt along with grocery/pantry staples we needed refilling on ($30).

12 p.m.  I snack on greek yogurt and granola while I do what I call my "Personal admin" stuff like fill out my weekly budget sheet, plan for next week in my bullet journal, book all the workout classes for next week. I also finish watching Selling Sunset on Netflix and hunt for a new show to watch.

2:30 p.m.  I finally convince myself to head out to two friends' joint birthday party in Golden Gate Park. I take an Uber Pool ($6) with M. and find our friends after wandering around different picnic tables for a while. I bring a bottle of Napa wine ($30) to share with the group. $36

4 p.m.  M. and I take an Uber Pool to a traditional Russian bakery/cafe ($5) where we pick up some rye bread, feta kale pastry, and marinated fish for dinner ($22). We Uber Pool home ($7) and watch a Chinese movie on Netflix. $34

7 p.m.  We cooked some the pork tenderloin we got from the butcher yesterday and eat that along with the pastry and marinated fish from the Russian bakery. We start watching an old Korean drama I convince M. was a good idea, and he seems to think it's semi-entertaining so far. We clean up the kitchen and do some last minute tidying up before plopping down on the couch with some barley tea and fruit. I do some last minute review of the week ahead and add an extra face mask in my usual 5-step skin care routine for some extra pampering before the night ends.

Daily Total: $97

The Breakdown

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Colorados fire season is shaping up to be a complete 180 from last year, experts say.

Everything last year was pointing toward above average fire risk, and everything this year is pointing toward below average, said Bureau of Land Management meteorologist Russell Mann, who compiled the Rocky Mountain Regions Fire Potential Outlook released in April.

The states snowpack  a significant indicator of spring and summer wildfire risk  is tied for the second highest since 1992, sitting comfortably at 157 percent of its median. Last years snowpack was tied for the third lowest.

Precipitation was also plentiful in February and March  significantly more so in March, and almost entirely eliminated Colorados drought. By April 9, only 22 percent of the state was in some state of drought compared with nearly 88 percent this time last year.

Coloradans have the El Nino to thank in part for the promising outlook, and La Nina to blame for last years puny snowpack.

The climatic variations are opposites and correspond, respectively, with low and high fire danger in Colorado.

The differences in the years are visibly evident in the landscape. Fires already had burned through thousands of acres in March and April 2018, including the 42,795-acre 117 fire near Hanover and the Carson Midway fire just off Fort Carson in southern El Paso County.

El Paso Countys only conflagration so far burned a mere 2.8 acres off Colorado 115 near Cheyenne Mountain State Park.

Last year, in the middle of March, we were already burning large fires, said Ralph Bellah, fire spokesman for the Pike & San Isabel National Forest. So far, weve had some fires, but theyre not burning nearly as aggressively.

Bellah added that none have so far burned in his district.

The wet spring comes with a possible caveat to wildfire safety, though, said Jeremy Taylor, Colorado Springs Fire Departments Wildfire Mitigation specialist. With plentiful moisture, the dormant grasses will grow lush and tall, only to inevitably die as the region dries out in the fall. On a warm, windy September or October day, a spark would have plentiful fuel to run across the grasslands.

As we roll into this spring, people can become complacent. We have to avoid that, he said, adding that even in the summer, the ebb and flow of fire danger is unpredictable.

This years winter weather also provided numerous windows for forest and fire agencies to perform prescribed burns and complete other mitigation work that requires snow on the ground.

The Forest Service was able to burn more than 20,000 slash piles in the Pike & San Isabel forests as well as 1,500 acres in the grasslands. If the weather allows for it, crews will do more this spring, Bellah said.

We were definitely able to do more than last year because there was just no snow, or if we got any, it would melt right away, he said. Now, we had snow on the ground most of the winter and so were able to burn almost all winter.

El Paso Countys wildland team was able to mitigate piles of wood roached during the Black Forest Fire and thin the understory in Fox Run Park.

Twitter: @lizmforster Phone: 636-0193
Joe Barrera, Ph.D., is the former director of the Ethnic Studies Program at UCCS, and a combat veteran of the Vietnam War.
Satellites used to be the Rolls Royces of the sky, handmade with rosewood dashboards and calf leather seats. But theyre becoming the Ford Focuses  mass-produced, plastic dashboard econoboxes.

And for the military and the civilian market, thats changing everything as costs for new satellites and the rockets to launch then plummet and an emerging, hip sector of the industry takes leadership of what used to be run by guys in suits.

Jeff Matthews, an industry consultant with Deloitte, says space today is where computers were in 1990, when IBM gave way to the dotcom boom.

We are seeing what helped define success on the internet play out in space, Matthews said during a break at the Space Symposium, which drew the nations top space industry experts to Colorado Springs last week.

The world Matthews foresees involves a lot more satellites for military and commercial purposes. The military wants more satellites to decrease risks in the event of an enemy attack in orbit. Industry is thinking about everything from satellite-based internet to sensors that can provide real-time data for businesses, picture an accurate and instant count of cars in a mall parking lot or crops ready for harvest.

The Aerospace Corp.s Edward Swallow said its the commercial applications for space and the new companies entering the fray that have changed the world of satellites, not NASA or the military.

Now the market is driving government, he said.

On Thursday, as the Space Symposium was wrapping up, that market was on full display as SpaceX launched its new Falcon Heavy Rocket to place a Saudi Arabian communications satellite in orbit.

SpaceX and other firms have come up with low-cost rocket options that are driving down costs to hit orbit to unseen levels. Launching a satellite to low-orbit used to run $10,000 per pound. Prices have dropped by half in recent years and are expected to drop further, with one firm at the symposium predicting prices could hit less than $2,500 per pound soon.

At the same time, satellite buyers are getting smaller spacecraft that can do the job it once took something the size of a school bus to accomplish.

Capacity per kilogram is skyrocketing, Swallow said, not intending the pun.

Companies including internet retailer Amazon.com are jumping into the new space market. Amazon is planning to launch thousands of satellites to capture the global market for internet service.

Its a change that has grabbed plenty of attention at the Pentagon, where leaders from acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan to Air Force boss Heather Wilson want to field satellites faster amid a growing Cold War in orbit that pits America in a race against such rivals as Russia and China.

Wilson said her agency is courting new entrants to the space business with development grants that she says can be issued more quickly than a bartender can pour a beer.

At a recent event in New York, the Air Force took to using one-page contracts and a $3.5 million charge to a government credit card to get deals done, she said. Time itself is valuable.

The military, which has traditionally taken a decade or more to develop satellites is facing pressure from the top to change its ways. President Donald Trump has made space a key focus of his administration, calling for a new military service branch for satellite troops while pushing the Pentagons space budget to more than $14 billion in his 2020 plan.

Wilson pointed to the president as a key factor in the militarys effort to go faster with space programs.

Our predecessors didnt have the leadership or focus of the president of the United States, she told The Gazette.

Colorado Springs Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn said the Pikes Peak region stands to benefit from the pressure on the Pentagon. The region is already leading in the race to house U.S. Space Command, a combat headquarters that would oversee space efforts of all military branches.

The region is also home to more than 240 aerospace companies longing for Pentagon contracts. But more important than who gets paid, Lamborn said, is winning the latest version of the space race.

We need to exceed the capabilities of Russia and China, he said. Because things have been taking so long from drawing board to orbit, we have lost ground.

Part of the Pentagons plan to regain lost ground revolves around a new agency that pulls some satellite work out of traditional military channels to a new agency with a bearded leader in shirtsleeves.

Fred Kennedys Space Development Agency is so new that he doesnt even have business cards. But he has big plans for hundreds of missile warning satellites that he wants spying on Americas rivals by 2022.

Kennedy says he can move so quickly because companies like Amazon are making big orders for small satellites which will be punched out on production lines like so many smartphones.

If I can leverage commercial industrial capacity to mass produce hardware at scale, thats a clear opportunity, Kennedy said in a Space Symposium news conference. And thats a big deal.

Kennedys agency has just $150 million out of the Pentagons space budget to get started. But hes confident in his unconventional approach, that is long on ideas and short on bureaucracy.

Pointing to the growing anti-satellite capabilities of nations including China and Russia and the looming threat of nuclear-tipped hypersonic weapons, he says its time for a change.

We have a culture in national security space that does not respond easily to the speed of these threats, he said.

Contractors, especially the newest entrants, love the new speed of the Pentagon, which has slashed paperwork for projects in recent months in a program dubbed acquisition reform.

At Michigans 4-year-old Atlas Space Operations, which provides satellite ground services that allow users to maneuver their spacecraft over a worldwide antenna network using devices as simple as a tablet computer, founder Michael Carey says hes gone from piles of Pentagon paperwork to a simple question.

Can you deliver this? Carey said.

The firm is using an internet-based approach to satellite control and boasts customers including the Air Force Academy, which is using its services to control the cadet-built FalconSat-6.

Atlas has directly benefited from acquisition reform recently, Carey said.

Leaders of the Space Foundation, which runs the symposium, credit this new military acquisition plan and the growing commercial interest in space with sending the trade show to new heights in 2019.

The show easily topped expectations of 9,000 visitors per day over its four-day run. The five-star Broadmoor hotel broke out a food truck offering chili dogs to feed the masses.

This is yet another record-setting year for the symposium, said retired Air Force Gen. William Shelton, who heads the foundations board. There has to be a theoretical limit here somewhere but we havent found it.

At Air Force Space Command, the money is flowing to contractors, acquisition reform is in full swing. Wilson said decisions that used to require her secretarial OK have since been pushed down to colonels, and years have been cut from project timelines.

But its still the Air Force, and explaining the changes requires a PowerPoint slide of mind-boggling complexity.

But Lt. Gen. John Thompson, who heads the Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles, said the new sense of speed is real. Hes agreeing with the new thinkers who want satellites produced as quickly and cheaply as economy cars.

Lets build satellites like we do many of our other weapons systems, on a production line, Thompson said.

But theres a cultural shift needed for the Pentagon to speed satellite-buying that cant be found on a production line.

Gen. John Hyten, nominated last week to serve as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a key to changing the Pentagons culture is eliminating a bureaucratic layer of fear. The militarys space enterprise has been gripped by a fear of failure, he said, that made leaders avoid risks.

If you dont take risks, by definition you will move very slowly, he warned.
Why Arundhati Roy writes what she writes

Arundhati Roy keeps telling herself she is not going to write anymore. But then she keeps breaking her promise.
When Mike Battaglia walked into the woods of the Pike National Forest on a sunny, late winter day, he pointed to the mature ponderosa pines  their needles assembled into bulbous groups, their burnt-orange bark furrowed into scaly plates and the buds of their egg-shaped cones.

Their plum branches towered over smatterings of young Douglas firs, brittle juniper bushes and dead litter. The position of their limbs  far enough from the ground to escape the reach of flames running on the forest floor  is part of why Battaglia loves these trees.

Ponderosa pines are tough, said the Fort Collins-based U.S. Forest Service research forester. They can handle fire and drought.

But then, he noted the saplings tall enough to prove that wildfire  natural or prescribed  has not run through the hill just south of the town of Buffalo Creek. A spot like this should burn every 20 to 40 years, Battaglia said, and it hasnt.

If a wildfire sparks here, fast-moving flames could explode out of the abundance of dry fuels. That, in turn, could hurt soil retention, watershed health, wildlife habitat and even carbon emissions.

Colorado forests have emitted more carbon dioxide  the primary greenhouse gas contributing to climate change  than they have absorbed since 1990, according to a new analysis by the nonprofit American Forests. Years spent combating the maelstrom of flames, beetle infestations, drought and other aggressors have compromised the forests collective immune system.

Trees removed about 16 percent of atmospheric carbon released by human activities in the U.S. in 2011 and between 10 percent and 20 percent each year, the Forest Service estimates. But, as forests in the Colorado Rockies are destroyed by severe fire and massive beetle kills-offs  two well-documented harbingers of climate change  one of the Earths prime defense mechanisms against a warming planet erodes.

We know climate change is happening, so how do we prepare the landscape for it? Battaglia said. He is among those setting aside despair and opting to search for solutions to save the states vast forests.

Larger, more calamitous wildfires started to consistently hit Colorado in the 1990s, notably the 12,000-acre Buffalo Creek fire in 1996. Coloradans ears would perk up at the mention of a new conflagration, Battaglia said. Everything changed when the Hayman fire razed more than 137,000 acres of the Pike National Forest during an anomalously dry 2002.

Unlike blazes of the past that burned moderately with pockets of high-severity areas, 43 percent of the Hayman fire burn area was scorched, Colorado State University researchers found. In areas with few if any surviving trees, the dominant species  ponderosa pine  struggled to regenerate at lower elevation 12 years later, according to a 2014 survey.

The landscape was once dominated by ponderosa pine and some Douglas fir, said Marin Chambers, the papers lead scientist and a research associate at the Colorado Forest Restoration Institute. Now, in that same spot in a high-severity burn area, youd see its completely devoid of trees, except for some standing dead. But most have fallen down at this point.

The seeds of ponderosa pines, which are heavy and generally cannot disperse more than two tree heights away from their parent trees, toiled to spread and root across the blistered hillsides. Even with enough precipitation, few seeds sprouted and rooted in the singed soil, restricting the forests range.

Chambers said the research, published in 2016, is an attempt to understand the future of forests, specifically how they rebound from major disturbances amidst climate change. In parts of the Hayman fire burn scar, that could mean a decadeslong absence of the conifer trees that Coloradans once wound through on hikes, bikes and horseback.

But, as Chambers colleague Paula Fornwalt found, other flora are flourishing where the trees once grew. There, a community of native species  blue grama, hairy golden aster, various sedges  as well as less common plants like mullein have found a home.

We can talk about fire (like the Hayman) being catastrophic for trees, Fornwalt said, but the same language cant be applied to understory, which seems to be pretty resilient. Not only that, it seems to thrive.

Scientists also found American three-toed woodpeckers nesting in the recently killed and dying trees where they could forage for wood-boring and bark beetles. Though less common where trees have vanished, the black and white bird found ideal habitat in moderately burned areas.

The collage of ecological research complicates the narrative that wildfire is exclusively a predator, consuming every living creature in its path. Though a landscape may not resemble how modern Coloradans remember it, life will return.

041419-news forest Graphic from the Fourth National Climate Assessment.

In my mind, we should think about the ecosystem as a whole and recognize that some areas are doing OK and some arent doing so well, Fornwalt said. Its analogous to thinking about your health: Maybe your blood pressure is high, but your weight is good and cholesterol are good. Were holistic and paint a picture that way to avoid blanket statements.

But, its the loss of the forest and its ability to capture carbon that frightens David Cleaves.

With more sound forest management, trees could sequester enough carbon emissions to offset between $125.5 billion and more than $1.5 trillion in costs in the U.S., the Forest Service estimates. These totals are based on the avoided social costs of carbon emissions, including the destruction of property from flooding and other natural disasters, reduced agricultural yields from drought and exacerbation of health problems like asthma and other respiratory issues.

Cleaves, the former climate change adviser to the chief of the Forest Service, believes that restoring forest health is as much of a key strategic asset to the fight against warming as economic solutions, including a carbon tax and cap-and-trade programs.

Our central mission is to help mainstream forests as solutions to climate change, both from the greenhouse gas management side and the side of adaptation to climate change, Cleaves said.

But the viability of this goal was in question after Cleaves and American Forests analyzed the forestry inventory data for Intermountain West states to determine the carbon stored in live, dead standing and fallen trees, understory, forest litter and the soil. Colorado  as well as Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Montana and Arizona  had flipped over from a solution to actually part of the problem at various intervals since 1990. Idaho and New Mexico were the only states to remain carbon sinks.

Weve taken it for granted that our forests are capturing and offsetting greenhouse gases from other sources in the rest of the economy, he said.

During a wildfire, the combustion of trees is an immediate carbon source, one that residents far and near can see and sometimes feel in the air. Historically, the regrowth of the forest compensates for this source in the long term. But, as Chambers research and that of others show, regeneration in high-severity burn areas after vast wildfires is tough, especially in a water-sparse state like Colorado.

Then, there are the bugs. The bark beetle population swelled radically in Colorado in 2018, especially in the southwest corner. Spruce beetle attacked 178,000 acres of Engelmann spruce. Although thats fewer than the 260,000 acres in 2017 and the 250,000 in 2016, about one-third of the acres chewed up last year were in previously unaffected areas. The roundheaded pine beetle in southwest Colorado more than doubled its presence to 27,000 acres, up from 11,000 acres in 2017, mostly in Dolores County.

Largely to blame were the states second-worst drought in 124 years and record-breaking heat, said Dan West, an entomologist with the Colorado State Forest Service.

It doesnt mean forest managers are doing a bad job; it just means that bugs and fire and drought are doing a good job, Cleaves said.

Last year, 502 wildfires ran across more than 475,000 acres in Colorado. The state government and Forest Service spent $40.1 million and $120.3 million, respectively, on suppression. For the Forest Service, thats nearly three times more than the $42 million it doled out for wildfire suppression during the 2017 fire season in Colorado.

The blazes emptied more than just the governments wallet. Near Durango, the 416 fire ravaged the local summer recreation economy. In La Veta, the Spring Creek fire obliterated more than 200 structures and swept across 108,000 acres, making it the third-largest wildfire in Colorado history.

And fire could get worse.

By the middle of the century, the annual acreage burned in the West could expand by two to six times, according to an analysis in the federal governments 2018 Fourth National Climate Assessment. Estimates made in 2017 show that about 2.9 million Coloradans are in the line of fire.

The length of the fire season  which some have now dubbed the fire year  increased 18.7 percent between 1979 and 2013, an article published in 2015 in Nature Communications shows. The study also found that terrestrial carbon uptake was lower during years with longer-than-average fire weather seasons.

More volatile snowpack, alongside drought and heat, will also amplify wildfire frequency and intensity, said Mike Lester, director of the states Forest Service. Though Colorados snowpack was 126 percent of median by mid-April this year, the snowpack was a mere 68 percent of median by April 1, 2018. It was one of seven years since 2000 that the snowpack peaked notably below average, compared with only one year between 1984 and 1999, federal snowpack data shows.

If the snowpack doesnt stay into the spring and early summer, the fire season is longer, and weather events and drought are also more extreme, he said. Thats the way its going to be, so were trying to get out in front of people to try to tell them how important the forest is.

I have no ability to make climate go back to normal, Lester said. But I can make the forest healthy as a contribution to (climate change mitigation).

Deep in the mountains just northeast of Pagosa Springs, Mike Battaglia may have a piece of the solution to forest health in a changing climate in Colorado. There, the research forester has mapped about 500 acres between 7,000 and 8,000 feet elevation of a thick conglomerate of ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, white fir, aspen and shrubby Gambel oak.

In his eyes, each tree and each species are an opportunity.

He could haul away the drought and fire susceptible white firs; group the ponderosa pines in small, spaced out clusters that mimic how they may have been paired 200 years ago; and, eventually, ignite prescribed fires that torch some trees but nourish others.

This plot is his laboratory, one where he and his colleagues will manipulate the physical makeup of the landscape as it cycles through wildfire, beetles, drought, record low and high snowfall and other natural events during the next 20-plus years. The goal: create a forest that is resistant to change, resilient to disturbances and prepared to transition to the unknown future climate.

My job is to maximize multiple use and get the ecosystem processes back while still producing timber, and also providing for wildlife habitat, watershed health, understory plants and other parts of the environment, said Battaglia, who hopes to start treatments this summer. Thats why I went into this field. I want to do the right thing and make sure everyone does the right thing for the forest.

Battaglia is not alone in his quest for restored forest equilibrium, either. His project is one of five experiments across the country that are exploring how humans can manufacture more robust forests in Georgia, Minnesota, Montana and New Hampshire.

With forest management, we need to work with what we have and anticipate what it might be in 50 years, said Linda Nagle, who leads the national project and is a forestry professor at Colorado State University. And thats different than 50 years ago when we didnt think conditions would change.  This change is so rapid, too.

If we arent proactive to anticipate those changes quickly, we may lose the values in the forest that weve taken for granted for so long, she said.

Colorados proactivity may be restricted compared with the others that forest managers are working to restore because of an emaciated timber market. Between 1982 and 2012 the number of sawmills producing lumber in the state declined from 84 to 31, the Forest Service found. Fewer broad feet can be processed in-state, and the wood that stays within Colorados borders often has to travel farther once its chopped down.

With no market, the transport costs  and the emissions released during the haul  exceed the payoff for the product and disincentivize contractors from signing onto the project.

The biggest cost to that now is that we dont have the infrastructure and, where we do, its too far away, Battaglia said.

But, in Minnesota, where the timber market is thriving, the San Juan sites sister project has so far generated about $1 million in wood byproduct sales, Nagle said. Just another thread to weave into the story of restoring forest health in Colorado.

Its really complex here, Nagle said. The solution isnt simple.

Someday, the Colorado wilderness may not resemble the thick belts of trees in peoples backyards across the Western Slope and Front Range, she said. Maybe they will have metamorphosed into a hillside of shrubs like the areas of the Hayman burn scar. Maybe theyll even contain species not native to Colorado but more adapted to this new environment.

That reality forces us to re-imagine what our environment can and should look like.

As Marin Chambers put it, There are a lot of interesting ecological impacts of the change from forested landscape to a prolonged nonforest landscape or an ecotype conversion. But I have a lot of questions to put back on the public. What do (they) want and desire and need out of these landscapes?

Those questions invite the public to be proactive in a challenge that is of global scale with hyperlocal implications.

The answers will determine the future of our forests and whether, when Battaglia is retired walking through the woods, he can still find that sweet smell of butterscotch wafting from the ponderosa pines that he has come to love so much.

Twitter: @lizmforster Phone: 636-0193
IMO:

Context:

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Shravan

GMATPrep--430, Q30,V20



++ 150Hrs ++



VeritasPrep--610, Q45,V29



++20Days ++



GMAT -- 640, Q46, V 32 Signature Read More

Hello guys,Below is my performance in this RC passage:I took 2mins to read and comprehend the passage and I took55secs - 1st Q - Right90secs - 2nd Q - Right130secs -3rd Q - Wrong90secs- 4th Q- Wrong55secs - 5th Q- RightOverall accuracy = 60%At this moment of my prep, I'm targeting to get my accuracy to be little over 50% and timing to be around avg 2mins per Q. I know, this is not ideal, but I'm doing worst than this.So, You get my point. Right?The below is the strategies I followed for the Qs that I attempted right and analyzed solutions for the wrongly attempted ones.Q1: The primary purpose of the passage is toA. compare the economic role played by southern banks with the economic role played by banks in the rest of the United States during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuriesB. reevaluate a conventional interpretation of the role played by banks in the American economy during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuriesC. present different interpretations of the role played by banks in the American economy during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuriesD. analyze how the increasing number of banks in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries affected the American economyE. examine how scholarly opinion regarding the role played by banks in the American economy during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries has changed overQuestion Type: Primary purpose QuestionStrategy:1st paragraph talks out against the thought that banks supported US economy and 2nd tells that it has helped US economy. So, Author tried his best to debrief those beliefs.Hunting down the Options:A- 1st word itself puts me down- Author is not comparing anyone or anything - Straight away hang this choiceB- "reevaluate a conventional interpretation"- firstly, NO reevaluation is happening. Secondly, there are two interpretations briefed. - EliminatedC- present different interpretations- Hold onD - "analyze" - I don't think so, anyone has ever analyzed in the passage- EliminatedE- "Examine"- NO NO - moreover, it says that "role played by banks in the American economy during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries has changed over "- We are dying to know the role of the bank on US economy. Now, who the heck knows the role of the banks changed OVER TIME- Kill it!!Q2: The passage suggests that the scholars mentioned in line 4 would argue that the reason banks tended not to fund manufacturing and transportation projects in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries was thatA. these projects, being well established and well capitalized, did not need substantial long-term financing from banksB. these projects entailed a level of risk that was too great for banks conservative lending practicesC. banks preferred to invest in other, more speculative projects that offered the potential for higher returnsD. bank managers believed that these projects would be unlikely to contribute significantly to economic growth in the new countryE. bank managers believed funding these projects would result in credit being extended to too many borrowersQuestion Type: Frankly speaking, I couldn't categorize this Q, half of it looks like an inference and another half looks like a specific QQ gave me a clue to go to line#4. I grabbed the whole context and found that Banks did not lend loans to Manufacturing and transportation projects because these fields are SO UNCERTAIN and CAPITAL-INTENSIVE. In this pragmatic world, the uncertainty increases the risk.Hunting down the options:A- Nope. We really don't know from the passage whether these fields need any help or not. The discussion is why didn't these banks lend money- EliminatedB- Yup. This option takes about risk factor in lending money to these fields - HoldonC- This is not mentioned in the passage at all that banks choose one field over the other- eliminatedD- See who care's about what bank manager's think- out of scope- EliminatedE - Too many borrows may be or may not be an issue. We are concerned about the uncertainty of fields. So too many borrows might be or might not be a deal - EliminatedQ3: The passage suggests that Paul Gilje would be most likely to agree with which of the following claims about the lending practices of the earliest banks (see line 21)?A. These lending practices were unlikely to generate substantial profits for banks.B. These lending practices only benefited a narrow sector of the economy.C. The restrictive nature of these lending practices generated significant opposition outside of the South.D. The restrictive nature of these lending practices forced state legislatures to begin granting more bank charters by the early nineteenth century.E. These lending practices were likely to be criticized by economic elites as being overly restrictive.Question type: Inference Question typeContext: Line#21. reading from the context mentioned, I could see this Early banks= ShortTermsLoans to only selective people but 19th-century banks = Loans to almost everyone.Hunting begins: Q talks about only early banks, to see for an option which talks about short-term loans to only a few selective peopleA- Profits is really out of context - EliminatedC/D/E- This is the cheap trick played by the GMAT Test makers- These 3 choices are made for those dumb test makers like me, who think they are smart and go and read two extra lines of the passage proactively to more about the context. See, we are asked about line#21, but if we read these extra lines because the Q mentions this name Paul Gilje. And moreover, even you read these extra lines, you should be aware that these line reference to the 19th-century banks, but we are discussing 'Earlier banks' right now. In a single shot- Shoot all these three dead choices.B - is the only left and correct answerQ4: The passage suggests that the opposition to banks in the South in the early nineteenth century stemmed in part from the perception that banksA. did not benefit more than a small minority of the peopleB. did not support the interests of elite plantersC. were too closely tied to transportation and industrial interestsD. were unwilling to issue the long-term loans required by agrarian interestsE. were too willing to lend credit widelyQ type: Inference QuestionContext: The word south is mentioned only in the last sentence of the passage, go there and get the context. Frankly speaking, My dumb brain didn't comprehend those words properly. In the analysis, because of the complex wordings, it is little difficult to comprehend that though loans are widely given by the 19th-century bank, it is opposed by the south people that these loans are not beneficial to everyone, as these banks system is controlled by few people.Strategy: If few people think this, it means that they did not benefit from the 19th-century banks.Hunting:A- this is what happenedB- It is contradicted, people believe that banks supported planters - EliminatedC- This is a laid trap for people who remember these keywords in the passage i,e. 'Transportation, Industrial interest' - EliminatedD- This is a kind of trap again to attract test takers by mentioning the words like 'long-term loans, agrarian interests', but take time and search a sentence that supports this, you will find none- EliminatedE - Yup, this is right that 19th-century banks approved loans widely, but south people didn't feel that way - EliminatedQ4: Which of the following statements best describes the function of the last sentence of the passage?A. It provides evidence tending to undermine the viewpoint of the scholars mentioned in line 5.B. It resolves a conflict over the role of banks summarized in the first paragraph.C. It clarifies some of the reasons state legislatures began granting more bank charters.D. It qualifies a claim made earlier in the passage about the impact of banks on the American economy in the early nineteenth century.E. It supports a claim made earlier in the passage about how the expansion of credit affected the economy.Question type: Paragraph or sentence purpose QuestionContext: 1st passage, says that banks DID NOT help US economy, the first half of 2nd passage oppose 1st passage people and says that Banks DID help US ECONOMY. The last sentence again opposes first half of 2nd passage and claims that Banks DID NOT HELP. So in short, it is clearly seen that 1st paragraph people and second half of 2nd paragraph people compliment each other.Hunting: So the options, which matches our comprehension are D , E. But with a slight but major differene in E, it says the claim is made on 'Expansion of credit affected economy', but we are talking about banks affected economy situation. So, D is the winner_________________
getgyan wrote:

The telecom minister had been indicted by the Supreme court in the 2G spectrum scam, which resulted in a loss of about $1.7 trillion to the exchequer



A. had been indicted by the Supreme court in the 2G spectrum scam, which resulted

B. has been indicted in the 2G spectrum scam by the Supreme court, which resulted

C. has been indicted by the Supreme court in the 2G spectrum scam, which resulted

D. is indicted by the Supreme court in the 2G spectrum scam that resulted

E. has been indicted by the Supreme court in the 2G spectrum scam, resulting

Choice A is wrong because of the past perfect tense. The tense of "resulted" should be happened before the tense of "indicted".Choice B is ambiguous because of the change in the setence of the 2G spectrum scam and Supreme Court. If set as the choice B, I will think differently that the 2G spectrum scam is caused by the Supreme courtChoice C is the most appropriate choice.Choice D, the present tense of indicted is not good, and that resulted will be consider to modify the Supreme Court, not 2G spectrum camChoice E, the act of indicted by Supreme Court does not result in loss, that is the 2G spectrum scam._________________
When the Japanese invaded China in the 1930s, the U.S. sent aid to China. However, when the Japanese invaded Indochina in 1940, the U.S. became truly concerned. Japan had treaties with France and the Netherlands that facilitated the delivery of raw materials from Indochina and the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia). When, during the course of World War II, Germany overran both France and the Netherlands, control over these countries  and thus the status of their treaties with Japan  became uncertain. Japan felt it had no choice but to invade Indochina and make plans for taking Indonesia; it could not be an industrial power without their raw materials. The U.S. wanted to avoid war but could not let Japan take control of the Western Pacific. The American solution was to cut off sales of oil and scrap iron to Japan and to send agents to buy up all the Indonesian oil possible before the Japanese could get to it. The U.S. then moved toward a diplomatic settlement with Japan, in which the U.S. retained power to strangle the Japanese economy but agreed not to do so, as long as Japan did not make any aggressive moves. If the Japanese accepted this proposition, their county would exist only by American goodwill. This was impossible for them to do. Neither side was surprised when the Japanese used diplomacy to buy time, and the U.S. moved toward war footing. The Japanese could neither withdraw from Indochina nor allow the U.S. to control Indonesian oil. But the Japanese could not secure these areas unless they controlled the Philippines, since U.S. air power and a fleet in the Philippines would be able to cut critical Japanese supply lines. Japan also knew that if it seized the Philippines, the U.S. would respond by sending its fleet to the archipelago while the Japanese still hadnt consolidated their control there. (In fact, the United States War Plan Orange anticipated this.) Japan, therefore, had to attempt to destroy the American fleet at the beginning of the war. Hence Pearl Harbor. The U.S. anticipated neither the fall of France and the Netherlands nor the desperation this development would cause in Japan. When the U.S. finally recognized the threat, it was not ready for war, and the Navy was tied up in the Atlantic. The U.S. knew it was vulnerable, and the Japanese knew they had a small window of opportunity. But the decision to strike Pearl Harbor had less effect on U.S. capabilities in the Pacific than most think. The Japanese were going to win the first round of battle, according to U.S. war plans. It was in the second round, when U.S. manufacturers started cranking out ships, that the U.S. could respond. In the meantime, the U.S. made only token attempts to defend the Philippines, and no real effort to hold Indonesia. It couldnt. Rather, it sought to keep open the lines of communication with Australia and to use Australia and Hawaii as bases from which to counterattack. Note that I have thus far left out the names of the U.S. president and the Japanese leaders. Their hands were tied in two ways: First, in the reality of the Pacific, and second, in the institutional realities at home. Being unable to attack Japan, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had no choice but to hold steady first and then attack. Not attacking at all was not an option; the political system was shaped by the unfolding events. Similarly, neither Emperor Hirohito nor Prime Minister Hideki Tojo ruled Japan; rather, it was ruled by a complex of interests, all of which were highly sensitive to Japans economic situation and which demanded pre-emptive action. Each countrys strategic logic was closely paired with a parallel institutional logic. Neither Roosevelt nor Tojo had the power to act in any way other than the way he did. They had some discretion in the details, but in their broad strategic considerations, they could not have resisted their institutions, though as excellent politicians, they had no desire to. The argument I am making is not that Roosevelt and Tojo are irrelevant. On the contrary, they were indispensable agents of their nations. A successful leader understands the constraints under which all human entities operate  whether individuals or nations  and having understood them the leader acts, because if he failed to act, leaving a nation in potentially dire straits, he would cease to be the leader. I am also arguing that leaders go through an extended vetting and training process that forces them to understand the disciplines of political rule and the realities of their nations. The more they understand these things, the more powerful they become. So political power does not free leaders to be arbitrary but drives them to understand what they must do. Obviously, there are endless minor issues on which they are free to indulge themselves. But when faced with existential realities, leaders respond as they must. So, the argument I am making is that we must have a more sophisticated understanding of what a leader is. A leader becomes a leader because of a ruthless understanding of the nature of the nation and remains a leader by pursuing the nations interests. If the leader excessively exercises self-indulgent behavior, the system  democratic, totalitarian or otherwise  crushes the leader through the forces that he or she set in motion. Nations generate the regime, and the leader emerges from and serves that process. Those who view leaders from afar may fancy them to be free to do as they wish, but that is the illusion of distance and not the reality. So, if Roosevelt or Tojo had passed away in 1940, the broad strokes of history would have remained. Adolf Hitler catapulted to power because of the configuration of the German nation after World War I. He did not create his power but aligned himself with the power of the nation. This is easier to see in his foreign rather than domestic policy. But even in Hitlers case, he was able to become Germanys leader in 1932 but could not have done so in 1900. Reality created him, and he served it. The idea I am putting forth is still merely a sketch, and it is not unique to me. Machiavelli made the case that a prince can govern only if he understands what he must do and is good at doing it. Others, like Georg Hegel and, to some extent, Thucydides, made similar arguments. I have here applied the theory to a familiar case from World War II. But when we consider Stalin or Charlemagne or Hannibal, we find that the source of their power, too, was their understanding of what had to be done. Apart from that, they would not have had power. The entire concept of forecasting derives from predictability. I have had some success in forecasting events because I paid little attention to the personality and quirks of whoever led the nation at the time but focused instead on the more predictable forces that generated leaders and their imperatives. This is the heart of what I mean by geopolitics, but Im still trying to frame this satisfactorily, so, by all means, argue with me. Next, I intend to make the case that there is no difference between economics, politics and war, but that they are part of a single dynamic, incomprehensible except in terms of each other.
"The evils that exist in our government are more often the consequence of too hasty and too much legislation, than too little."  Governor Proctor's farewell address

Grand Old Partisan salutes Redfield Proctor Jr, born this day of 1879. He was one of four Republican family members to be Governor of Vermont.

His public career began as town councilman. Proctor then won election to the state house and the state senate. He enlisted in the U.S. Army during WWI, with the rank of captain. He was delegate to the GOP's 1920 National Convention.

Two years later, Proctor was elected Governor. Highlights of his two-year term included modernizing the budgetary process, strengthening the executive branch, and opposing federal usurpation of state government authority.

Having studied mechanical engineering at MIT, Proctor worked in top management at the Vermont Marble Company. He also served on the boards of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers as well as a bank and a railroad.

Here is a Video Version of this article on YouTube: https://youtu.be/pQcGH0_AHKw

Michael Zak is author of Back to Basics for the Republican Party, a history of GOP civil rights achievement.

Each day, Michael Zak's grandoldpartisan YouTube channel and Grand Old Partisan blog celebrate more than sixteen decades of Republican heritage. And, see Speech Raves for audience feedback from his presentations in thirty-one states so far.

He also wrote the 2005 Republican Freedom Calendar.

Clarence Thomas cited Back to Basics for the Republican Party in a Supreme Court decision.

Buy the book at Amazon

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"Political language -- and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists -- is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind."

-- George Orwell, Politics and the English Language
In addition to the fact that limousine travel is very glamorous, it is also the most comfortable trip you can...
" " Where's the gift? A new study shows that drug company marketing practices can influence doctors' prescribing habits. Tetra Images/Getty Images

Pharmaceutical sales reps, laden with drug samples, small gifts, or pizza for the office staff, are common sights on medical premises. This practice, known as "detailing," is designed to incentivize physicians to prescribe, or at least consider, prescribing the rep's latest drug over the competition. A recent, large-scale examination of doctors' prescribing habits shows that detailing is probably playing a larger role in prescribing than previously thought, much to the chagrin of medical ethics experts.

A new JAMA study, published by researchers with Carnegie Mellon University and University of California, Los Angeles, looked at the prescribing habits of 25,000 physicians. Some were impacted by recent detailing restrictions imposed by their medical centers, with a total ban on food and gifts being the most common limitation thrust upon pharma reps. The control group was composed of physicians of similar practice types and prescribing habits whose workplaces did not enforce any type of detailing restriction.

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The researchers looked at data involving the prescribing behavior of all these docs (both before and after detailing restrictions were imposed) for 262 drugs across eight major drug classes. These classes ranged from lipid-lowering drugs and diabetes treatments to antidepressants and sleep aids.

The results showed that a significant number of physicians switched from prescribing more expensive, patent-protected drugs to their cheaper, generic counterparts after the detailing restrictions took effect. In fact, this resulted in the average detailed drug taking a dip of 1.67 percentage points from 19.3 percent of market share, compared with an increase of 0.84 percentage points from 14.2 percent of market share for nondetailed (generic) drugs. This study is the largest to look at the impact of detailing practices and found associations in six of eight drug classes.

"No medical center completely barred salesperson visits; salespeople could and did continue to visit physicians at all medical centers in the study," says researcher Ian Larkin, assistant professor of strategy at UCLA's Anderson School of Management, in a press release. "The fact that regulating gifts while still allowing sales calls still led to a switch to cheaper, generic drugs may suggest that gifts such as meals play an important role in influencing physicians."

Researchers are quick to point out that the data can't definitively show a causal relationship between detailing rules and prescribing habits, but it's about as close as studies are likely to come to doing so. "The results were remarkable robust  after the introduction of policies, about 5 to 10 percent of physician prescribing behavior changed," explains Larkin.

Now That's Interesting The California Senate passed a bill in May 2017 to restrict pharmaceutical companies from giving gifts and incentives to doctors. Previously, restrictions were voluntary. The bill now moves to the state Assembly.
" " What if your doppelganger ran off with your identity? Jonathan Knowles/Stone/Getty Images

It's often said that we all have a double somewhere in the world. It's a haunting thought. In a sense, our identity is all we have. When it fails to form properly, we struggle psychologically. When it's stolen, we face fraudulent bills, ruined credit and a years-long nightmare of red tape. And when it's mistaken, well, far worse outcomes might await.

Perhaps that's why, in so many legends and weird tales stretching back centuries, encountering one's doppelganger tends to end badly. Thankfully, we live during the age of fingerprints, DNA and CSI, in the post-911 world of ever-more Orwellian identification requirements, and we've left cases of mistaken identity firmly in the past.

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Well, perhaps not. According to a 2012 report in the Denver Post, "More than 500 people were wrongly imprisoned in Denver's jails over seven years, with some spending weeks incarcerated or pleading guilty to crimes they did not commit."

Such stories provide sobering reminders that a world run by bureaucrats contains at least as much of Kafka as Orwell  and maybe a touch of Rod Serling, as well. The people you are about to meet would no doubt agree.
There is a fight underway in the biggest U.S. dairy state  one that is pitting family members against each other, breaking friendships, and is likely to leave deep scars. It is literally becoming a civil war.

It is an emotion-filled and polarizing fight over money. The focus is Californias $1.15 billion of milk market pool quota  at least thats what its value was last year  and a petition drive that is underway to eliminate all of it.

In 42 years of writing about the California dairy industry, I have never seen a topic for which so many were so unwilling to be quoted. Even longtime friends, producers, and industry professionals who have never been shy about being on the record apologized and declined this time around.

That by itself shouts volumes about how intense, sensitive, and unusual the issue is. It is also why I decided not to quote anyone in this article. Every person I talked to  producers, an industry association leader, a co-op official, a dairy broker, an economist, and an accountant  was willing to share their thoughts, but not their name or affiliation. Here is what they told me:

There are approximately 2.15 million pounds of pool quota solids in California, all of which was given to the states roughly 2,700 Grade A producers by the State of California beginning in 1970. None has been issued, though, since the 1991 to 1992 new growth allocation period.

The price premium that goes with quota, which today varies from $1.43 to $1.70 per hundredweight depending upon region of the state, was an incentive to help ensure that Class I market demand would always be met. It was a key part of the Statewide Pooling Program that was overwhelmingly voted in by producers in 1969.

Another key feature was a manufacturing make allowance that gave companies an incentive to build processing plants in the state  which they did enthusiastically. Their demand for milk gave dairy producers the opportunity to grow if they wanted to, and by 1994, it made California the biggest milk-producing state in the country. Twenty-five years later, it still is.

Everyone had a choice

Some producers grew by selling all of their quota and buying cows. Some decided to not expand at all so they could continue to have a high blend price. Some have made regular purchases of additional quota to keep up with per-cow production gains, or because their location gave them no other practical way to enhance revenue. Many were in between. Then, and still today, it was an individual choice that each producer made for themselves.

A higher price for quota milk meant quota immediately took on significant value and demand among dairy producers  demand that has been constant ever since. A big reason is because the higher milk price allows quota to pay for itself over time. In recent years, the payback period has been about seven years.

For many producers, quota has also been the largest, most quickly liquid asset they will ever own. Thus, it has been a lifesaving safety net during financial crisis that helped strapped farms stay in business. Or allowed them take advantage of big financial opportunities. For many producers, it has also been their retirement plan.

Over the decades, quota has been so saleable and so coveted that almost none of the 2.15 million pounds is still held by the original owners. Market prices for it have always risen and fallen along with milk prices and the dairy economy, but they have tended to be very stable. For instance, for 50 straight months between 2014 and mid-2018, average monthly transfer prices reported by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) were never under $500 per pound.

As California milk producers died, retired, moved to other states, or otherwise went out of business, the number of quota owners has steadily declined. Percent of Quota in Shipment data for January 2019 from CDFA (see table on facing page) showed that of the 1,183 Grade A farmers in the state, 509 (43 percent) had no quota at all.

That means the 674 who do own quota own an average of 3,190 pounds each. Some have far less, but some have spectacularly more.

Money to pay the quota milk price premiums had always come out of the Class I pool; everyone contributed, including those who didnt own quota. But the cost was essentially invisible, because it was blended into the pool and was not listed as a deduction on milk checks.

All of that changed in November when California entered the Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) system and settlement checks began showing the deduction for each farm. Thats when the civil war began.

Quota sales prices, and thus producer equity levels, began weakening in August (for transfers that took effect in September). People I spoke to at the time agreed it had much more to do with four years of low milk prices and terrible margins than it did with joining the FMMO system.

As seen in the table above, significant price declines continued in September, October, and November  then prices fell off a cliff in December (for transfers taking effect in January 2019). That one-month plunge of $119 was by far the biggest in the programs 49-year history. The January, February, and March prices, by the way, are the three lowest averages in the 17 years of quota transfer data posted on the CDFA website.

The decline from December to March translates into $347,710 less equity for the average quota owner. From July to March the difference is $442,900. For large owners, however, the hit is many millions. Statewide, the total value of quota in March was 38 percent less than just eight months before. After four years of low prices, bad margins, and losing money, the timing is awful. It means everyone with quota has a smaller safety net and looks more risky to lenders.

The plunge in quotas value coincides exactly with a petition drive started in December that backers hope will lead to a producer referendum to eliminate the program entirely, which is allowed to continue under Californias FMMO. The petition drive is called Stop QIP (the Quota Implementation Plan). Its petition signature form lists a P.O. box address in Visalia, an email, and a toll-free telephone number.

Just like before the FMMO was implemented, funding for QIP is paid by all Grade A producers, whether they own quota or not. The cost is approximately 38 cents per hundredweight. The difference now is, the cost appears as a deduction on milk checks, so every Grade A producer sees it. Stop QIP backers encourage producers to do the math.

A recent letter to me submitted by Stop QIP said, With dairymen already struggling to pay all of theirs bills, this additional assessment or tax, whatever you want to call it, is just like pouring salt into the wound. A majority of dairymen put the program in place and a majority can take the program out.

Petition backers say any dairy with 22 percent quota coverage or less pays out more to fund the program than it receives in quota premiums.

Enough signatures should be easy

Verified signatures from 25 percent of Grade A producers covered by QIP are needed for a petition to be submitted to the CDFA Secretary or the QIP Administrator. Since 43 percent of producers own no quota at all, that requirement seems like an easy one. However, because the petition and all signatures will be posted on the CDFA website for a minimum of 90 days, that might make some producers balk at signing and being public.

Several months of review, including evaluation by the state Producer Review Board, would follow. The board would make an action recommendation to the secretary, but the final decision whether to hold a referendum would be hers. Two things would be needed for substantive amendment or termination of QIP:

 At least 51 percent of all producers who are eligible to vote would have to cast ballots.

 Passage would require at least one of two super majority requirements to be met: either 65 percent or more of the voters who make 51 percent or more of the milk, or 51 percent or more of the voters who make 65 percent or more of the milk.

So, what did people tell me for this article?

Emotions are already high, said a producer in Southern California who owns several dairies. Some people are acting selfishly, and it is causing a lot of hatred in the industry.

A lot of people have forgotten why and how the quota program came into being. It was a system that protected dairies and allowed farms to expand beyond their quota base. The make allowance that was in the program for plants was the incentive to build processing capacity, and it worked fabulously for decades, the dairyman continued.

With the federal order, everyone shares in Class I sales, including people who dont have quota. Everyone is paying to fund the program. People are getting the quota cost in their blend, then it comes out; there is no net loss. But all people see is a line item on their check, and they want to get rid of it.

Emotions are so high. They need to simmer down before sensible discussion and compromise can happen. If quota were suddenly eliminated, tremendous banking turmoil would take over. Bankers are scared to death already. One bank doesnt want to loan to dairies at all now, he said.

What is needed is for all parties to start talking, or else everyone will be hurt even more. This is a terrible financial climate right now, and this argument only makes things worse.

Californias best years are over, he added. Weve got some real icons in our industry who are hitting the ropes right now. The ones who are going to be left are the ones who have trees. If they just have cows, they are doomed.

A producer in Central California who owns two dairies, one with no quota and one that has quite a bit, said, This has already caused hard feelings between relatives. It has already hurt friendships. People have agreed it is a topic not to be discussed, yet its one that cant be avoided.

Ninety-five percent or more of the producers in California never knew they were paying for the quota system because it never showed up as a line item on their check. Now it does. That is where we are in a nutshell. And simple math will tell them  not to mention the people who are railing about it  how much they have been paying for 25 years that they never got a dime on, so people are going through the roof.

The quota program was a decision that producers made. They all voted to put it in. And it was a decision that producers who sold their quota also made. Many guys back in the day decided they wanted to expand so they sold their quota and bought cows. Its a decision they chose to make.

I talked to a friend the other day who owns a fairly minor amount of quota in the scheme of his total operation. He said he decided to sign the petition because he hopes it will further the discussion that needs to happen between both sides, he said.

A reaction to tough times

There are guys who are really upset and there are guys who say, They tried to stop it before. It didnt work then and it wont happen now. Well, I dont think they are reading the tea leaves right this time. Now, 100 percent of the dairy producers in California know how much is coming off their checks. And when times are bad, dairymen always start looking for things to cut, the producer said.

Discussions about how to retire quota have been going on for decades, he pointed out, and a plan was even submitted to CDFA years ago. I am one who believes that as long as you have quota and overbase you will have a divisive issue.

There has always been a big safety net aspect to quota, and it has long been looked at as a retirement annuity for farmers. Prices going down have hurt a lot of people. A broker told me yesterday that he couldnt even get an offer at $300.

If the quota program goes away then dairies will become riskier lending customers for banks, he concluded.

Another Central California producer who sits on a high profile board said, Theres people on both sides of the fence. Ive really had to park my opinions because of my position representing both people who own quota and those who dont. The only thing I can say is I think it makes sense for people on both sides to come to a sensible agreement, whatever that is. People need to sit down and talk.

A regulatory expert for a large producer organization said, There are those who would prefer that no changes ever be made to the existing program, and there are those who think change is appropriate. If you are open to change, the question becomes what kind of change and how fast? I am sure this conversation is going to last for some time.

Right now, it is important to acknowledge that the milk pooling-pricing-quota systems that are currently in place are there because producers acted collectively to put them there. Changes have been made to these programs when enough pressure emerged to make them, but it was never a quick process. Our industry has faced these challenges before and has found solutions that most producers supported, he explained.

An economist at another industry organization said, Emotionally, theres definitely a lot of concern out in the field by producers in terms of how long this downturn will last. As for the hit on quota, I think the mood might be partly driving that.

I think the main concern currently has been discussions where some producers would like to get the Quota Implementation Plan eliminated. A petition has been circulating by a group that actually mailed a petition to every producer in the state, which is deeply disturbing for producers in California who own quota, the person remarked.

Every producer in the state pays into a fund that pays out the quota price premium. There is a point at which the return for quota is less than what a producer pays in. That number is approximately 22 percent quota ownership. What makes this reality significant is that as a result of now being in a federal order, the deduction for quota is now a line item on milk checks. Producers now know how much the quota program is costing them each month, the individual said.

I talked to a lot of bankers last spring because the milk price had been going up after being down for so long. Prices were looking up a little bit in spring so people were feeling a little optimistic, but then the trade war hit and prices kept spiraling down toward the end of the year, continued the person.

There are some bankers now who are feeling a little on edge in terms of where the industry is going. The dairies that stayed were not in a great position, but it didnt seem like they were on the verge of closing the doors on folks. Now that the price is down even further I think those conversations are being revived. Weve had a lot of our producers call and ask what can we try to do to get more money from our processors?

Its absolutely not a good time to own cows, and its hard to tell folks that, the economist commented.

A dairy accountant said, When the pooling law was written 50 years ago, it was never anticipated that quota would become a freely exchanged, highly valued asset. People cant just take an old law that was never updated to the current market condition of that asset and simply receive an unjust benefit. So there wont be a snowballs chance the conversation is going to just disappear.

What Im hearing from banks is that dairies with high debt but have quota, they are just sitting back and being patient. But if you have high debt and no quota you are probably a 2 on their worry about scale of 1 to 10. (No. 1 would be of greatest concern.)

What this petition has done is make people with no and low amounts of quota irate. Before they never realized the difference in price because they never saw it on their checks, he continued.

Do I think quota is going to go out? Thats not just a no, its a hell no. I really dont think quota will go away all at once. Theres no way the state can write off $1 billion in asset value without having lawsuits coming at them from everywhere.

I dont think its going to be as easy to get rid of as the anti-quota people think, because I think a challenge back from quota owners would succeed. I think itll end up in some kind of a mediation room that would say, Okay we will deem it over, but amortize it out so people will get paid back instead of having it written off at once. Then as soon as the payoff is done everyone is equal, he said.

I saved the co-op official for last because his candor and impartial analyses have impressed me for years. This time was no exception.

Some people are offended that this is being called a tax by the people who want to eliminate it.

It is a very emotional situation, people are worried that the legislature could yank quota away.

People who think they know how a referendum would turn out should remember the last presidential election. It proved anything can happen these days in an election, he said.

Both sides are at risk here, which should eventually lead to adult conversations on many levels.

A sunset idea that buys back all quota is one good idea. It isnt right to have it go away suddenly, but this might lead to discussion on other options.

The anti-quota people worry that the Producer Review Board might not pass it on to the secretary. They shouldnt. At the boards March 6 meeting, the general council for the secretary said she is not inclined to ignore a legally submitted petition, even if the board doesnt pass it through to her. She said, The secretary believes in self-determination by producers, the co-op official explained.

If the petition does get enough signatures, it could lead to a broader discussion in the industry, or the proponents could withdraw their proposal and work together with quota owners to form a compromise bill. Or nothing may happen. Or there could be a sunset plan of some amount of time during which quota gradually goes away.

There are people behind this effort who werent willing to speak up before, but they are now because they see a potential path forward.

Any plan that eliminates quota over time would put some dairies in a position where they would have to re-examine if staying in business pencils out at whatever the lower milk price number is.

I believe that in this situation what Winston Churchill said about Americans during World War II applies to California dairymen: You can always count on them to do the right thing after they have tried everything else, he concluded.

I dont have a dog in this fight because I have never owned a cow. But after 42 years in the industry I do have an opinion:

This is perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime issue, so it deserves the most serious discussion possible. It is discussion that should be thoughtful and deliberate, not emotional and rushed. Producers deserve a solution that focuses on the future, not a reaction to the current situation. It needs to be as voluntary as possible, not forced. It needs to make the entire industry better, not just part of it. Its a discussion that needs to start right now.
My names Will Capers. For almost nine years, Ive blogged on various topics. I blogged as Blaque Ink first, and as Brotha Wolf second. The latter had a mu...

2 years ago
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The case against Hamzehlou states that 13 suspects, including Abbas Samimi, a member of the NIPIC board of directors, made personal profits while exporting government-owned petrochemical products between 2011 and 2015 when international sanctions banned Iran from such trades.

The defence attorney told Judge Assadollah Massoudi said that Hamzehlou and Samimi were helping the Regime to profit by circumventing international sanctions and had the sole intention of serving the Regime and had no choice.

He said: The suspects have deposited all hard currencies received for selling petrochemical products in the companys bank accounts. If they were after financial gains, they could have pocketed the whole amount.

He also said that NIPIC had declared that the accused owed no debts in foreign currencies. (It was revealed during the third session that Hamzehlou had pocketed roughly $8,710, 384.)

However, there have been plenty of contradictory statements throughout this case. In March, the NIPIC said that the suspects combined owed roughly $564 million, while on Wednesday, the company only said that the primary defendant had not paid his debts on time.

It is also unclear, because of contradictory statements by the prosecution and other judicial officials, whether the accused made a profit through converting the proceeds to the Iranian rial before returning the money, rather than reimbursing the government companies in hard currency or through outright embezzlement.

Three of the suspects are being tried in absentia, and only represented by their lawyers, because they are living outside Iran.

Hamzehlou stands accused of starting several companies in Turkey, with the help of Marjan Sheikholeslam, and making others register front companies to skip sanctions imposed on Iran.

Sheikholeslam, a former employee at the governments official news agency (IRNA) and newspaper Hambastegui, has lived in Canada since 2009. She claimed, on March 16, that all her companies activities were legal and had nothing to do with money laundering and making a profit out of sanctions.

The trial began one day after Ebrahim Raisi, who was involved in the 1988 massacre of political prisoners, was appointed as the head of the judiciary by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.

Iranian news outlets have called it one of the most significant embezzlement cases in the history of humankind.
Saturday, April 13, 2019

The Indiana Supreme Court has imposed a 90-day suspension

In 2008, Respondent left a prosecutorial position in California and returned to Indiana to care for her father, who was in deteriorating health. Respondents father also was in the midst of a separation from his wife (Respondents estranged mother), who was sequestering and possibly dissipating marital assets. That fall, Respondents father executed a power-of-attorney appointing Respondent as his attorney-in-fact and stating, in part, that Respondent shall be entitled to reimbursement for all reasonable expenses incurred on my behalf and . . . may also be entitled to reasonable compensation for any services provided.

In 2010, a guardianship was opened in Hamilton Superior Court and Respondent was appointed as guardian of her fathers person. In 2012, Respondent was appointed by the guardianship court as successor guardian of her incapacitated fathers estate.

In the first several years following her return to Indiana, Respondent expended considerable sums of her own savings on her fathers behalf. During this time Respondent also experienced significant health issues of her own, resulting in major medical bills and Respondents inability to consistently maintain a law practice in Indiana. Respondents personal savings and assets soon were depleted, and she alternately found herself living temporarily with friends or out of her own vehicle.

At some point in late 2013 or early 2014, the guardianship received about $40,000 in proceeds from the sale of Respondents parents marital residence. Beginning around the same time, Respondent made dozens of payments and withdrawals from the estate to herself without obtaining the requisite court approval and in violation of a restraining order that had been issued by the guardianship court. During that period, Respondent also failed to file required accountings and failed to comply with several court orders to do so. In early 2016 the guardianship court held Respondent in contempt, appointed a successor guardian, and again ordered Respondent to provide an accounting. Respondent did not do so and was held in contempt again in November 2016. Meanwhile, Respondents father passed away in September 2016.

The commission appealed the failure to find a Rule 8.4(b) violation

The hearing officer found, among other things, that even assuming Respondents exercise of control over guardianship funds was unauthorized, Respondent reasonably believed under the circumstances that her actions were authorized. In so finding, the hearing officer expressly credited Respondents own testimony and evidence in support, as well as relevant testimony from the judge who had presided over the guardianship matter.

...Because the Commission failed to establish that Respondent committed criminal conversion or exploitation, we find in favor of Respondent on the Rule 8.4(b) charge. We also find that Respondent violated Rule 3.4(c) as charged and admitted, and we turn now to the matter of sanction.

Turn turn turn

...Respondent was striving under very difficult circumstances to help her ailing father, and in the big picture her various expenditures of personal and guardianship assets resulted in a net gain for her father. None of this excuses her repeated disobedience of court orders (nor does Respondent suggest it does), but we agree with the hearing officer that it presents compelling mitigation in this case...

We also credit the hearing officers view, informed by his firsthand observation of four days of witness testimony in this matter, that Respondents transgressions trace[ ] to the unique, extremely difficult circumstances with which she was confronted and do[ ] not otherwise raise serious concerns about Respondents general character and fitness to practice law. (HOs Report at 17).

With these considerations in mind, we conclude that a suspension of 90 days with automatic reinstatement is appropriate discipline for Respondents misconduct.

(Mike Frisch)

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2019/04/the-indiana-supreme-court-imposed-a-90-day-suspension-in-2008-respondent-left-a-prosecutorial-position-in-california-and-re.html
Saturday, April 13, 2019

The Law Society of Ontario Tribunal Appeal Division rejected the appeal of an attorney disbarred in Illinois, permanently disbarred in Florida (where the original proceeding occurred) and the subject of serious criminal charges

The Lawyer practised law in Florida and was also a member of the bars of Illinois and Ontario. He was disbarred by the Florida Supreme Court in September 2010, and was later reciprocally disbarred by the Illinois Supreme Court in January 2011. In Florida, a disbarred lawyer may apply to be reinstated as a member of the bar. However, while disbarred in Florida, the Lawyers conduct resulted in a further contempt application being brought before the Florida Supreme Court. This application resulted in the Lawyer being permanently disbarred by the Florida Supreme Court in 2014. Some of the conduct that resulted in the permanent disbarment also resulted in the Lawyer being criminally charged with having engaged in an organized scheme to defraud contrary to Florida law. The criminal charge related to the Lawyers activities in connection with an estate, which occurred after his initial disbarment by the Florida Supreme Court. That charge was ultimately resolved by a diversion program that saw the Lawyer enter into a deferred prosecution agreement, pursuant to which he paid $45,000 to a charity in lieu of restitution and admitted that he was guilty of the allegations giving raise to the offence.

Below the border

The Lawyer practised law in Florida and was also a member of the bars of Illinois and Ontario. He was disbarred by the Florida Supreme Court in September 2010, and was later reciprocally disbarred by the Illinois Supreme Court in January 2011. In Florida, a disbarred lawyer may apply to be reinstated as a member of the bar. However, while disbarred in Florida, the Lawyers conduct resulted in a further contempt application being brought before the Florida Supreme Court. This application resulted in the Lawyer being permanently disbarred by the Florida Supreme Court in 2014. Some of the conduct that resulted in the permanent disbarment also resulted in the Lawyer being criminally charged with having engaged in an organized scheme to defraud contrary to Florida law. The criminal charge related to the Lawyers activities in connection with an estate, which occurred after his initial disbarment by the Florida Supreme Court. That charge was ultimately resolved by a diversion program that saw the Lawyer enter into a deferred prosecution agreement, pursuant to which he paid $45,000 to a charity in lieu of restitution and admitted that he was guilty of the allegations giving raise to the offence.

His concerns

The Lawyer has raised a number of issues with respect to the process before the Florida Supreme Court. The Florida Bar was represented in the proceedings brought against the Lawyer by Michael Soifer, who filed the complaint commencing a disciplinary proceeding with the Florida Supreme Court against the Lawyer. Mr. Soifer brought a motion for sanctions against the Lawyer as a result of his failure to appear at his deposition. This resulted in a flurry of motions brought by the Lawyer, including a motion to disqualify Mr. Soifer from the disciplinary proceedings based on a civil claim that the Lawyer had commenced against Mr. Soifer and Ms. Robbins. This motion was denied by the referee, and in turn the Lawyer brought a motion to disqualify the referee, asserting that his handling of the motion to disqualify Mr. Soifer was tainted by bias. This motion was also dismissed by the referee. Mr. Soifer brought a second emergency motion for sanctions against the Lawyer as a result of his repeated failure to appear for the deposition. The Lawyer did not participate in the motion, and Judge Moe made an order striking the Lawyers pleadings and entering a default judgment. As default judgment was entered, all allegations in the complaint were deemed admitted.

Disbarment was imposed after he failed to participate in the appeal.

Nevertheless he persisted

In April 2012, the Florida Bar filed a contempt proceeding against Mr. Kivisto. The contempt proceeding was heard by Judge Usan who acted as a Referee for the Florida Supreme Court. There were four counts. The first three counts involved allegations that Mr. Kivisto engaged in the practice of law or held himself out as a lawyer while disbarred. The fourth count involved his creating and using false court documents relating to the estate of Leo Jaakkola for his own benefit.

And led to permanent disbarment.

The division here describes the lengthy history of the prior and present proceedings and finds no substance to his attack on the Florida process

The Lawyer argues that recognition of the referees reports in the Florida discipline decisions should be refused because the manner in which they were prepared was a breach of natural justice. In particular, the Lawyer submits that the first draft of both referees reports were prepared by counsel for the Florida Bar, who was also the prosecutor. In Beals, the Supreme Court considered the defence of natural justice, and held that the domestic court must be satisfied that minimum standards of fairness have been applied to the Ontario defendants by the foreign court. The defence of natural justice is restricted to the form of the foreign procedure, and does not relate to the merits of the case. A condition precedent to the defence is that the party seeking to impugn the judgment must prove that the foreign proceedings were contrary to Canadian notions of fundamental justice. The basic requirements of natural justice are a right to notice, a right to be heard, and a right to an independent and impartial decisionmaker.

... In its reasons, the hearing panel found that in Ontario there is a prohibition against a party to a proceeding preparing a judgment in that proceeding because it creates an appearance of bias. However, the panel went on to note that in the context of the recognition of foreign judgments, a party seeking to avoid recognition of a foreign judgment on the basis of bias must go beyond showing a reasonable apprehension of bias and prove actual bias.

Preclusion

the hearing panel correctly stated the law and its decision to give preclusive effect to the Florida and Illinois discipline decision was reasonable.

Thus

These proceedings have been long and protracted, both before the hearing panel and this appeal panel. The hearing panel delivered comprehensive reasons on the various motions and on the application itself, which carefully addressed all of the Lawyers arguments. In our view, the hearing panel made no reversible error, and accordingly, this appeal is dismissed.

(Mike Frisch)

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2019/04/the-law-society-of-the-lawyer-practised-law-in-florida-and-was-also-a-member-of-the-bars-of-illinois-and-ontario-he-was-dis.html
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

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University of Memphis, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law

Visiting Professor  Legal Methods

The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law seeks applications for a visiting professor to teach in the Legal Methods program for the 2019-2020 academic year. Legal Methods is a rigorous, required first-year legal research, writing, and analysis course. The visiting professor will teach Legal Methods I (fall, three credits) and Legal Methods II (spring, two credits) with approximately thirty-six students each semester. The visiting professor will work closely with our Legal Methods Faculty, including the Director of Legal Methods.

Memphis Law has a strong interest in hiring a visiting professor who would contribute to the Law Schools commitment to providing a broadly diverse campus community. Applicants should have an outstanding academic record, demonstrated excellence in legal research and writing, and excellent communication skills. Applicants should also have a strong desire to teach legal research and writing to first-year law students, as well as a desire and ability to work collegially in a collaborative environment. Applicants must have a J.D., bar admission, and at least two years of practice experience. Teaching experience is desired but not required.

The base salary will be $60,000 for a nine-month visiting appointment. Tennessee does not have an income tax, and, in several different surveys, Memphis consistently ranks in the top ten for having one of the lowest costs of living in the United States.

Applicants should send the following materials to Jodi Wilson, Director of Legal Methods, atJodi.Wilson@memphis.edu: a letter of interest, a resume or CV, and a list of three references. (Please include Visiting Professor Application in the subject line of the e-mail.) In addition, applicants must submit materials through the Universitys hiring portal at https://workforum.memphis.edu. The position is open until filled, and application review will begin immediately.
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For practicing nurses, staying current on CE requirements can be done by using online, accredited resources. Though requirements vary by state, the websites below can be a great starting point in finding free courses over a wide array of topics.

View Schools

Overview of Free Online CEUs for Nursing

Practicing nurses are required to stay up to date on the new developments and technologies within their area of expertise since healthcare practices are always growing with research. This is done through continuing education and tracked by continuing education units (CEUs) that are awarded per course.

The board of the state in which the nurse practices determines exactly how many CEUs are required over a specific time frame, usually giving the nurse a level of flexibility to fulfill their CEU requirements. Fulfilling some of these requirements online for free can give added flexibility to a practicing nurse; however, it is important to check your state requirements before taking the courses available online to make sure they are applicable and approved by your specific board's requirements.

Capella University

Capella University provides a few free online webinars that are specific to nurses and offer credit upon completion. The courses are formatted as video lectures, and each offers between 1 and 1.5 contact hours once the respective course is completed. These courses are geared towards personal and professional development, covering topics like APRN practice changes, progressing into leadership roles, furthering education, and succession planning. There are no prerequisites to the courses though you will be required to register with your name and email for the university's record-keeping. Below are two CEU courses offered from CU:

The Future of Nursing Report: What We've Achieved So Far

Succession Planning in Nursing: Who Are Tomorrow's Leaders?

University of Massachusetts - Lowell

The University of Massachusetts - Lowell offers two courses that can be accessed online for free and meet the requirements of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing. One course covers job stress management and offers 4 contact hours. Topics include the impact of job stress and stress prevention/coping strategies. Nurses will learn best practices on navigating and operating in their work environment as safely as possible while still maintaining a level head and high productivity. To take the course, you will be asked to enter your name and contact information into the 'Guestbook' before the first module begins.

Philips Learning Connection

Philips Learning Connection's Online Learning Center has a decent amount of free accredited courses for practicing nurses. The courses range in topics from prevention techniques to patient monitoring, and offer anywhere between 1-2 contact hours per course. Registration is necessary to access the courses, and the applicable accreditation or sponsor must be selected before beginning the course for reporting purposes. Some of the courses featured in the Online Learning Center are:

Assessing Outcomes Vital to Independent Living in Late Life

Complications Resulting from Long Lie Times After a Fall

Medscape

Medscape is an online resource with specialty-specific continuing education courses for all medical experts. Once registered, users will be able to search and filter through their vast library of courses to find more nuanced topics that may fit within their specific field of practice as a nurse, such as emergency medicine, family medicine, and women's health. The courses are predominantly text based, but some are formatted with presentation slides, and a few feature video. Course options for nurses include:
Thank you for reading!

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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 ...



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The European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) estimates that 9 million cases of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) occur across Europe each yearwith around one in 15 patients in acute care hospitals and one in 24 residents in long-term care facilities having at least one infection on any given day, according to the most comprehensive assessment of HAIs in Europe to date, being presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Amsterdam, Netherlands (13-16 April).

Importantly, the findings also reveal low microbiological testing rates that vary widely between countries, suggesting that more must be done to protect patients and residents from these preventable complications.

A microorganism was reported for just over half (53%) of the HAIs in acute care hospitals. For 11% of the microorganisms reported, antimicrobial susceptibility testing results were not available on the day of the survey. In long-term care facilities, over three quarters of infections had no documented microbiological results. In long-term care facilities overall, only 19% HAIs had a microbiological test result available in the facility to guide treatment and control. In acute care hospitals, the figure was 53%.

"Our analysis shows that healthcare-associated infections still pose a major public health threat in European countries and healthcare institutions", says Pete Kinross from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. "Culture-directed antibiotic treatment is an important aspect of the treatment and control of these kinds of infections. The variability of microbiological testing suggests poor availability of information for effective treatment, as well as alertness to potential outbreaks."

This study is based on data from two ECDC point prevalence surveys of HAIs and antimicrobial use in both acute care hospitals and long-term care facilities in European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) countries between 2016 and 2017.

In 2016, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) estimated that theburden of HAIs (eg, pneumonia, urinary tract infection, Clostridium difficile infection) in European acute care hospitals exceeded the combined burden of all other infectious diseases under surveillance by ECDC such as influenza, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis combined. However, these estimates did not take into account infections in other healthcare facilities.

In these latest ECDC surveys, trained staff used standardised questionnaires to collect data from voluntarily participating acute care hospitals and long-term care facilities (eg, general nursing homes, residential homes) on every patient/resident who was present on the day of the survey.

In total, 310,755 patients from 1,209 acute care hospital in 28 EU/EEA countries and 117,138 residents from 1,798 long-term care facilities in 24 EU/EEA countries were included in the analyses.

The findings show that on any given day in 2016-2017, 98 166 (6.5%) patients in acute care hospitals and 129 940 (3.9%) residents in long-term care facilities had at least one HAI.

However, much of the difference in national HAI rates in acute care hospitals is explained by their different rates of testing blood samples. Essentially, countries with lower test rates (e.g. Hungary, Lithuania, Romania) detect fewer HAIs compared to those with higher testing rates (e.g. Belgium, Finland, United Kingdom).

Respiratory tract infections (particularly pneumonia) were the most common, accounting for a quarter of all HAIs in hospitals and a third in long-term care facilities, followed by urinary tract infections (almost a fifth and a third, respectively).

Pete Kinross says: "Healthcare-associated infections in acute care hospitals are responsible alone for more deaths in the EU/EEA than all other infectious diseases under surveillance. It is crucial to apply recommendations and guidelines available in both acute care hospitals and long-term care facilities, since our study showed that there are as many healthcare-associated infections in long-term care facilities as there are in acute care hospitals."

More information: Alessandro Cassini et al. Burden of Six Healthcare-Associated Infections on European Population Health: Estimating Incidence-Based Disability-Adjusted Life Years through a Population Prevalence-Based Modelling Study, PLOS Medicine (2016). Alessandro Cassini et al. Burden of Six Healthcare-Associated Infections on European Population Health: Estimating Incidence-Based Disability-Adjusted Life Years through a Population Prevalence-Based Modelling Study,(2016). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002150 Carl Suetens et al. Prevalence of healthcare-associated infections, estimated incidence and composite antimicrobial resistance index in acute care hospitals and long-term care facilities: results from two European point prevalence surveys, 2016 to 2017, Eurosurveillance (2018). DOI: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2018.23.46.1800516 Diamantis Plachouras et al. Antimicrobial use in European acute care hospitals: results from the second point prevalence survey (PPS) of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial use, 2016 to 2017, Eurosurveillance (2018). DOI: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.23.46.1800393 Enrico Ricchizzi et al. Antimicrobial use in European long-term care facilities: results from the third point prevalence survey of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial use, 2016 to 2017, Eurosurveillance (2018). DOI: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2018.23.46.1800394 Journal information: PLoS Medicine

Provided by European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
New research being presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Amsterdam, the Netherlands (13-16 April), suggests that mode of delivery influences the development of the microbial composition of the gut (i.e. the gut microbiota) in infants, independently of a mother's use of antibiotics. This, in turn, may affect infants' respiratory health during the first year of life.

The prospective Microbiome Utrecht Infant Study (initiated by the Spaarne Gasthuis hospital in Hoofddorp in collaboration with the University Medical Centre Utrecht, the Netherlands) involving 120 infants, found that children born by caesarean section (C-section) had a delay in the normal development of their gut microbiota, and a higher abundance of potentially harmful bacteria, compared to infants delivered vaginallywhich could be the mechanism driving the increased risk in respiratory infections.

Over 1000 different types of bacteria live in the gut, where they elicit important functions for health, for example helping to digest food, stimulating the development of the immune system, and protecting against infection.

After birth, infants become colonised by an increasing diversity of gut microbes until a relatively stable state is reached. The pace and pattern by which infants acquire their gut microbiome is thought to have a substantial impact on health in later life. Disruption of the normal development of the gut microbiome has been linked with a range of diseases including irritable bowel disease, asthma, allergies and cancer.

Previous research indicates that early life microbiota development is influenced by mode of delivery, although it has been suggested that this depends mostly on maternal antibiotic exposure.

To assess the independent effects of mode of delivery, Marta Reyman, from the Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, Utrecht, the Netherlands, and colleagues analysed the gut microbiota development in 46 C-section and 74 vaginally delivered infants using stool samples collected 10 times during their first year of life. Antibiotic administration to mothers undergoing a C-section was postponed until after clamping of the umbilical cord. Maternal stool samples were also examined 2 weeks after delivery.

Analyses showed that gut microbiota composition differed significantly between C-section and vaginally delivered infants in the first year, which was most pronounced shortly after birth. This was accompanied by measurable faecal seeding (transfer of maternal vaginal microbes) from mother to child in vaginally delivered infants, but not in children born by C-section.

In infants born by C-section, the gut microbiota was less stable and the development of the health-promoting bacterial species Bifidobacterium spp. was delayed compared to vaginally delivered children. Additionally, infants born by C-section had much higher levels of potential pathogenic gut bacteria, irrespective of length of hospital stay after birth, feeding type, and antibiotic use.

Interestingly, the researchers also found that the gut microbiota early in life was associated with the total number of respiratory infections over the first year.

"Our findings suggest that mode of delivery affects the developing infant gut microbiota, independent of a mother's use of antibiotics during birth. Compared to vaginally delivered infants, children born by C-section have different trajectories of bacterial colonisation, which could have implications for their future respiratory health", says Marta Reyman, who is the Ph.D. student on this study. "Further research and larger studies will be needed to fully understand the consequences of these changes. The insights gained might help to design strategies to prevent health-related problems following birth by C-section."

The major limitation of this study is the use of 16S rRNA based sequencing, which does not allow annotation of bacteria on species level, or generate results based on genetic content of microbial communities.

Explore further What you eat while pregnant may affect your baby's gut

Provided by European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
We had a very full day...filled with mixed emotions and incredibly experiences. We left the hotel around 9:15 a.m. when our driver Adi came to get us. He was was the taxi driver that took us from the airport to our hotel when we arrived in Chiang Mai, and his English was very good (everyone speaks a little, some speak none at all, and less than that speak well). So he sat with us for a moment and explained some of things there were to do in the area. We ended up picking Tiger Kingdom and Baan Ton Luang tribe village.

First, Tiger Kingdom. They house a variety of tigers, that have essentially been domesticated "enough" that you can get in a cage with them, pet them etc. It's very expensive, they price it by tiger size, so you can pick and choose if you want to see the "small", "medium" or "huge" tigers. Of course there are packages too, where you can see multiple sizes. We were there, and doing it, so I just went for it...three different tigers and one large visa charge. I didn't really know what to expect, I had done zero research on this.

What can I say that will capture this experience? It's really hard. The three of us had the same sort of recoil almost immediate walking into the actual facility. It's not particularly crowded which is nice, the enclosures are relatively small (and simple), but the caretakers seem genuinely caring I guess. The entire focus of the experience seemed to be on taking pictures with the tiger, nothing about the tigers educationally. Every tourist is leaning in, using these magnificent animals as prop for their next Facebook page pic. It was like watching someone take a selfie--it just uncomfortable. It felt disrespectful (but that's not quite the right word), sort of cheesy, and a little vacant, like everyone was missing the coolest part. It made us not want to take any pictures, and I think in the end we might have taken 1 or 2 pictures of the tigers, but I don't think we even got one of US with the tigers. Well, that's true of Lucia and I....not sure about Ava, she might have snapped a few more.

The trainers must have asked us 100 times if we wanted a picture, or if they could take a picture for us. They were genuinely shocked that we didn't seem focused on that and actually had questions about the animals. Once they realized that though, they were happy to talk about their tigers and give us all kinds of cool info. It was incredible to see them up close, because their beauty is just amplified beyond what I would have expected....and to see how incredibly huge they were, it was jaw dropping. I mean, the paw alone on the medium size Bengal tiger could have covered most of my face. They are absolutely breathtaking in person. There aren't words. We were able to rub the small cats (that were about 7 months) stomachs, and pet them from the waist down. The cats aren't big on being touched from mid-section upward. Do that and they could swipe a massive paw at you and that would be that. The small cats are super playful, and the trainer said they had "playfully" bitten him and when he showed me his arm you could see large cigarette sized scars on his forearms.

The girls and I were both a little scared to be honest of the big tigers, and while we did pet them, for the most part we were also ok just standing a safe foot or two away looking at them. They repeat over and over that the tigers are friendly, but you know looking at them that there is wildness in them. They raise them from birth, so they don't know anything other than the feeding schedule and the trainers as the feeders. There's instinct though, no getting around that. I wanted to be totally in the moment and aware of everything when we were in with them, so I don't really have any pictures that do them justice at all which is a little bit of a bummer. Absolutely incredible experience to be so close to them. When we came back to our car, Adi asked us what we thought and I told him we had mixed feelings. He said, "tigers are in the wild. people are not. Of people go to the wild to see tigers, they get eaten. If you want to see and touch tigers, this is how you see tigers." I guess his point was simple, you can't touch a tiger and expect it to be any different than it was. This was as good as it got for a tiger that was held in captivity for the pleasure of others. Think of zoos around the world. I can't really say whether this environment was so much worse than any other zoo environment I'd seen, I suppose an argument could be made that it was, but I don't know how much worse in degrees. You either live without touching a tiger, or this is what you get. I think it was a really good experience for the girls, sometimes you have to do something to understand the arguments for and against. I now understand some of the arguments against allowing facilities like this, there is controversy over the large tigers being kept in isolation except for being used for pictures, and the simple fact that they should all be in the wild and not in small cages. True for every animal currently in a zoo. I'm also not sure we should be eating calamari so casually, the octopus is incredibly intelligent, is it really necessary to eat them? The point is, the arguments are interesting, and there are a lot of them surrounding animals that we should be talking about. People are quick to judge or come down on one side or another without knowing all the aspects. There is also a lot of hypocrisy, and people on high horses. Enough said.

Next on the tour was the Baan Tong Luang tribe village. Now this was originally a place I dismissed when I did pre-Chiang Mai research. The term "human zoo" was used somewhere in some article I read and I decided to skip it. I was swayed however by Adi, who explained that he believed it was supporting these tribes because they migrated here from the border of Thailand and Myanmar in order to educate their children, and seek more opportunities. He said that there was little opportunity for education in their tribes, and they weren't able to go to mainstream schools even if they did move to areas with schools because of the ridicule and separation they felt. So within this village created of various tribes, they found a way to get their kids educated and create a community that still allowed for opportunities. One can still argue it's a "human zoo" of a kind though. Truthfully the tribe with the elongated necks (Kayan tribe) are fascinating, and it is hard not to stare in wonder, and I was self conscious of myself for wanting to look. The other tribes were maybe less "shocking", with more subtle traditions like unusual ear piercing/stretching etc.

The community is set in a beautiful location against a mountain, and you get to see the simplicity with which they live and function. The entire area is set up like an open market, so the also make money from the tourists coming and buying their different arts. They are weaving and producing the different arts right there for you to see, which was interesting. The weaving was amazing actually, and this other technique that I'd never seen where they use a little tiny tool that looks almost like a miniature triangle on a stick, and they heat the pointed end of the triangle dipped and the use it to burn into the cotton fabric creating a pattern. Basically they "paint" on the cotton, but instead of paint they use heat to burn the design. Painstakingly slow process, and incredibly beautiful. It was a different world for sure.

Adi explained all sorts of cool facts about Thailand along our drive. From bits and pieces about the current king (who apparently is loved 50/50 in the country and is a bit of a player) and the previous king who was beloved to all. He told us about how the opium trade was crushed in Thailand, and how he wished they could get medicinal marijuana passed to help people with cancer etc. He spoke English well (self taught), and was trying to learn Spanish and Chinese as well because then he felt like he could communicate with almost anyone coming to Thailand. Surprisingly he said that he thought that the most number of tourists coming to Thailand came from South American. Not sure why that surprised me, but it did.

We had a glorious lunch at a Mexican restaurant filled with ex-pats, which Adi recommended after discussing lunch options and the girls said "Mexican" was their top choice. When in Thailand, I guess apparently we don't eat Thai food. Then we headed back to our hotel for some late afternoon siesta time. The heat was getting to everyone. Did I mention how hot it is?

Early evening I had to drag the girls out of the air conditioned hotel and back into the oven to squeeze in a last bit of Chiang Mai. We walked along Nimman road, the girls were in full protest mode until we stumbled up on a dog cafe. Yep, you pay to sit with a bunch of dogs and have a coffee. The girls were over the moon. I managed to get myself in trouble while they were in the cafe by walking down a ways and finding myself in this store that sold scarves, quilts, rugs and wall hangings. All of these handmade items that were gorgeous. I fell in love with this rug that is probably 4' x 6', and completely hand crocheted. Normally they are i floral patterns, but this one had this amazing modern, Picasso-esq type vibe. It's super cool, and I can't even include a pic here because I didn't take one and now it's wrapped in packing tape etc. It's pretty awesome. Not sure if it'll get used as a rug, I'm thinking I'll have it stretched onto a wood frame and hang it like a piece of art.

We strolled around, had dinner at a restaurant called The Salad Concept that I read about online that was started by a woman after her father got cancer and she was looking for healthy things to feed him. My salad and purple sweet potatoes were amazing. Yes, one could argue another pic of the tiger would have been more interesting, but instead you are getting a pic of my salad masterpiece.

We ended the evening finally by taking a tuk tuk driven by a younger guy, and before we got going he literally pulled over, started this boombox strapped to the roof of the tuk tuk, and it said something like, "get ready for the night of your life..." or something in that vein, it sounded like a DJ talking to a crowd somewhere. Then the music and lights started. We drove the 10 minutes home to the loudest, thumping, pumping music you could imagine, and flashing "club" lights on the inside of our roof. That's how we roll in Thailand.

Signed, ME {lv}
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks at the 4th Plenary Meeting of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang in this April 10, 2019, file photo provided by North Korea. AP



North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he is open to having a third summit with U.S. President Donald Trump if the United States could offer acceptable terms for an agreement by the end of the year.



Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Saturday that Kim said this during a session of the North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament, adding he also said his relations with Trump still remain excellent.



"If the U.S. proposes holding a third North Korea-U.S. summit with the right attitude and right method, we have a willingness to do it one more time," Kim was quoted as saying. "I will not hesitate at all in signing an agreement only if it is written in a way that meets the interests of the DPRK and the U.S., and is fair, mutually acceptable, and this will entirely depend upon with what attitude and calculus the U.S. would come up with."



Kim said that the North would not stick to summits with the U.S. for the sake of easing sanctions but wait "patiently" until the year's end for Washington to make a "courageous decision."





Trump says 3rd summit with Kim Jong-un would be 'good' S. Korea to prepare internally for inter-Korean economic projects: minister US signals openness to smaller 'nuke deal' His remarks came a day after Trump said during a summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in that he is open to a third summit with the North Korean leader.



Kim and Trump met for the first time last June in Singapore and agreed to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in exchange for Washington's security guarantees. Denuclearization talks, however, have been stalled since the breakdown of a second summit in Vietnam in late February.



The Hanoi summit fell apart as they failed to find common ground over how to match denuclearization steps with sanctions relief.



Pyongyang wanted major sanctions relief in exchange for dismantling its Yongbyon nuclear facility. But Washington insisted on what officials described as "a big deal" that called for trading sanctions relief for the dismantlement of all of the North's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.




" " One benefit of joining the military is the pension you will receive after 20 years. How is it taxed? videodet/iStock/Thinkstock

When you choose a life of service with the United States armed forces, you make a lot of sacrifices. One of the benefits, however, is your military pension, which you receive upon retirement after active duty beyond 20 years. This means if you joined the Armed Forces at 20, you could potentially retire around age 41.

Of course, there are going to be tax concerns, but if retirement is looming on the horizon, we can help you get informed about your options. The size of your pension depends on your pay grade, but it lasts a lifetime. If you retire after 20 years, your pension is a percentage of your basic pay. But if you remain in the military for 40 years, your pension is 100 percent of your basic pay. Additionally, military pensions increase each year to adjust for cost of living.

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There are three different programs of retirement [source: Military.com]:

Final Pay calculates benefits based on your last month of pay (for those who entered service before September 1980) High 36 calculates benefits based on the highest level of pay during your last 36 months of service (for those who entered service between Sept. 8, 1980 and August 1986) CSB/REDUX is optional, and offers a $30,000 bonus after 15 years of service in exchange for a reduction in lifetime benefits. People who entered service after August 1986 may choose between High 36 and REDUX.

Regardless of which plan you choose, pensions are taxable because the government views them as income. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service deducts the appropriate federal taxable amount (depending on your pay grade and how much you receive) and withholds it, then sends you a tax form in January showing your paid pension and how much tax was withheld [source: Military.com].

On the state level, however, taxes on military pensions differ depending on where you live. Some don't tax military pensions at all, while some exempt the first few thousand dollars from taxation. For example, Hawaii doesn't tax military retirement pay, but West Virginia waives up to $2,000 of taxes for military retirees. Some offer a low-income exemption, and others tax your pension according to federal tax rules [source: Birk].

Many military retirees also have questions regarding exemptions and deductions. Here's a list of the more common ones [source: Defense Finance and Accounting Service]:

Survivor Benefit Plan: This plan is deductible from taxes.

Retired Serviceman's Family Protection Plan: Also deductible from taxes.

Debt Deductions: If you pay back any overpayments or premium adjustments, these are deductible.

Disability: If you retire under a disability law, your entire pension is non-taxable as long as you meet certain conditions.

VA Compensation Deduction: If you retire under non-disability, your taxable income is reduced by the amount of any VA compensation you receive.

Combat-Related Special Compensation: This compensation is non-taxable.

Also excluded from federal taxable income are veteran's benefits. Examples of veteran's benefits include: disability compensation, grants for accessible homes or vehicles if the veteran was disabled in the line of service, and insurance proceeds or dividends.

Now that you've gotten a glimpse at the many pension programs, tax exemptions and deductions available to you as a service member, it's paramount you work with a military tax expert to ensure you make the right decisions for you and your family.
Whether youre planning on starting up a website or are looking to move to a new host, there are many South African hosting providers to choose from.

It is crucial that you pick the right hosting service if you want to ensure that you get reliable performance and sufficient hosting resources for your website.

There are lots of considerations one should make when comparing hosting providers  such as cost, storage space, and even customer service.

Failing to do this could see your website suffer under significant stress, or just due to system-based issues.

Avoiding exorbitant hosting costs

It is a good idea for companies to consider the various options at their disposal before deciding on a hosting package.

This was recently proven by a conflict between Brand SA and Avatar, where the former claimed that it had been paying nearly R100,000 per month for hosting that was worth R2,500.

The lions share of this cost was attributed to additional data and excess web traffic fees, costing Brand SA over R75,000 per month.

GoDaddy enters the market

International domain and hosting giant GoDaddy recently launched in South Africa, aiming to engage with small business owners and entrepreneurs in South Africa.

As small businesses fuel the South African economy, our official launch here signals our commitment to supporting this vibrant entrepreneurial landscape, said Stefano Maruzzi, GoDaddy VP for the EMEA region.

GoDaddy has also released its South African prices, while it is simultaneously running a launch special of R10 for a years ownership of a .co.za or .com domain.

The international company enters a market already packed with hosting companies, but its packages seemingly offer great value for those wishing to access Linux shared web hosting with a high storage capacity.

The prices of hosting from South Africas leading hosting companies is below.

Hosting packages compared

*It must be noted that GoDaddy packages offer an initial discounted price, but packages renew at normal pricing once the first subscription term has elapsed.

Shared Web Hosting Comparison Company Storage Traffic DBs Monthly Price Axxess 5GB Unlimited 25 R59.00 Afrihost 3GB Unlimited 5 R59.00 Vox 4GB Unlimited 5 R81.52 Hetzner 5GB Unlimited 5 R99.00 RSAWeb 3GB Unlimited 20 R279.00 Axxess 10GB Unlimited 100 R109.00 Afrihost 10GB Unlimited 100 R109.00 Hetzner 10GB Unlimited 10 R149.00 Axxess 25GB Unlimited 250 R159.00 Afrihost 20GB Unlimited 200 R175.00 Vox 20GB Unlimited 20 R192.00 Hetzner 20GB Unlimited 40 R439.00 Axxess 75GB Unlimited Unlimited R369.00 Afrihost 50GB Unlimited Unlimited R419.00 GoDaddy 100GB Unlimited 10 R69.99 (R113.99)* GoDaddy Unlimited Unlimited 25 R83.99 (R145.99)* GoDaddy Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited R169.99 (R242.99)*
The owners of Dr. Wilkinsons Hot Springs Resort in Calistoga have sold the operation to a hotel investment company, said an April 8 news release.

After 66 years of service to our guests, employees, and community through our parents vision, we are excited to pass the resort to a uniquely qualified owner and operator that appreciates and will build upon the foundation that our family has laid in the world of health and wellness, said Carolynne Wilkinson Clair of Wilkinson Family LLC, in a statement.

The resort was sold to Chartres Lodging Group for an undisclosed amount.

We want to thank all of the people who worked with us over the years to make the resort the special place that it is for us, and for those who stayed, said Wilkinsons husband, Howard Clair.

The property, a 42-room lodging and wellness resort, is located in downtown Calistoga at 1507 Lincoln Ave. and features a bath house, and provides spa services such as mud baths as well as natural hot mineral springs pools.

This resort stands as one of the pioneering wellness facilities in all of Napa Valley, said Mark Wilkinson.

The historic bath house accentuates the benefits of hot mineral springs and volcanic mud treatments. Our parents, the late Dr. John and Edy Wilkinson, played a major role in the development of Calistogas unique geography into a globally recognized resort area. This truly is an historic and one-of-a-kind property.

Robert Kline, CEO and co-founder of Chartres Lodging Group said, We are honored to have been chosen by the Wilkinson Family to be entrusted with this iconic property and to further evolve the pioneering legacy of Dr. Wilkinson. Amidst the many investments that are taking place in and around Calistoga, we look forward to providing a renewed experience to the surge of interest in wellness and this world-renowned area.

The new owners will be making some improvements to the property including upgrading guest rooms, the baths, mineral pools and grounds.

The resort will be managed by Kokua Hospitality, based in San Francisco. Kokua manages hotels and resorts throughout the U.S., including San Francisco, Lake Tahoe and Hawaii, according to Kirk Pederson, Kokua Hospitality president.

Our focus will be to provide a targeted level of customer experience that reflects Calistogas special place in Napa Valley and the growing wellness space, Pederson said.
The St. Helena Elementary Schools historic bell rang for the first time in years at recess last Friday, thanks to help from the St. Helena Fire Department. The rope fell out of the bell assembly many years ago, and the tower was so high that nobody was able to go up and fix it. A new song written by students refers to the bell ringing again one day. When City Councilmember Anna Chouteau heard about the song, she emailed City Manager Mark Prestwich and asked if the fire department could help. He passed along the request to Fire Chief John Sorensen, who sent firefighters with Truck 17 to fix the bell.
Look to your left. Look to your right. Two of you wont be here next year. Some older folks may recall these words, spoken by a college dean to first-year students at orientation.

A St. Helena student recently told me that his science professor has a coffee cup with the words, This cup is filled with the tears of my students.

The message in both instances is that students are either ready for college or they are not; if they fail, their failures are theirs and theirs alone. However, rather than asking are students college-ready, more campuses are working harder to be student-ready.

Today, one in three students drops out of college, leading parents, legislators, and taxpayers to question the value of their investments. Byron White writes, Higher education institutions must abandon a paradigm that allows them to deflect accountability and embrace the burden of being student-ready.

UC Berkeley Professor K. Patricia Cross, observes, The task of the excellent teacher is to stimulate apparently ordinary people to unusual effort, adding, The tough problem is not identifying winners: its making winners out of ordinary people.

Harvard, Stanford, or Yale graduate 95-98 percent of the students they enroll. However, its not news that these campuses almost exclusively admit students who are already academic superstars. As a former Stanford colleague once told me, All we have to do is get out of their way!

Nearly 40 years ago, Dr. Alexander Astin, a distinguished UCLA professor and researcher, concluded that true educational excellence is a measure of the extent to which a college increases students intellectual and personal development and makes a positive difference in their lives.

Arizona State President Michael Crow is among a growing number of leaders who endorse Astins value added view of excellence in writing, The New American University measures quality by the educations its students receive, rather than by their entering grades and test scores.

Dr. Patricia Stanley, the first U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Colleges, echoes this sentiment is declaring, Community colleges care less about who we enroll and more about what happens to students as a result of their having been with us.

As emerging adults, students certainly must accept responsibility for their own successes or failures. However, institutions, especially faculty members, also bear individual and collective obligations for student achievement or lack thereof.

In the next months, students and their families will be deciding which colleges or universities to attend in fall 2019. My advice is to ignore glossy view books, clever videos, and look beyond US News & World Reports lists of Americas Best Colleges. Among the most important questions to guide decision making: Do students like me succeed and graduate from here?

For example, how many students graduate who are the first in their families to attend college, have physical or learning disabilities, or are veterans? How many women or students of color achieve their goals in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields?

While responses to these questions should be available from campuses, some answers can be found at College Results Online: http://www.collegeresults.org/. This website provides information on graduation rates and also allows users to compare data for a group of colleges.

Some institutions are more effective than others in helping students from a wide range of abilities and backgrounds succeed. Many of these campuses offer support programs and services for students who are first-generation, have disabilities, are undecided about majors, LGBTQ, or have other background factors that put them at greater risk for dropping out before achieving their goals.

In my years as a dean, I encountered outstanding students as well as those with low SAT scores and/or average high school grades. Many so-called at-risk students went on to become attorneys, businesspersons, college professors, health professionals, Oscar winning actors and more. In every instance they found a professor, advisor, or mentor who supported, challenged believed in, them.

Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who Martin Luther King Jr., nominated for the Nobel Prize, proclaims, There are within each of us the seeds of who we might become.

Students need colleges with educators who give them reason to hope and trust that they can succeed through commitment, determination, and HARD WORK. Students need campuses where they will have the seeds of their goodness watered; places that will empower them to grow and achieve their highest potential. These are truly excellent institutions  laser focused on student success.

Tom Brown is a St. Helena resident who served as a dean at Saint Marys College of California for 27 years. He currently is a consultant and speaker at colleges and universities that are seeking to keep more of the students they enroll. Send comments, questions or suggestions for future columns to: thedean@tbrownassociates.com
19342019

John Meras was born in Greece and immigrated to Havre, Montana when he was 16 years old. He worked on the Northern Pacific Railroad at night and sat in a first grade classroom during the day learning to read and write English. With the help of a private tutor he graduated from Havre High School and went on to attend Northern Montana College. He became a naturalized citizen and served in the Navy during the Korean War. He married Mary Schulz, an English teacher at Havre High, in 1959. All 3 of their children, Ioannis(Yo), Maria and Darius were born in Havre. He joined the Prudential Insurance Company in 1962. During his career with Prudential, he won a number of state and national awards and was a consistent member of the Million Dollar Round Table. The Meras family moved to Terra Linda in 1972. After 23 years in Marin County, John and Mary moved to Napa in 1995 where he continued to work in the insurance industry until he retired after more than 43 years.

John was active in civil affairs his whole professional life. He served on the Board of Directors of the Salvation Army, as state Vice President of the Junior Chamber of Commerce, and was a member of the Life Underwriters Political Action Committee, the Lyons Club, the Elks Club, and the Business Information Club of Napa. In 1963 he received the Distinguished Service Award for his contribution and service to the city of Havre. In 1969, the Daughters of the American Revolution presented John with the DAR Americanism Award for his service and loyalty to his country. He was one of the original organizers of the Bank of Napa in 2006 and served on the Executive Committee as Director.

John passed away peaceful on February 5, 2019. He is survived by his wife of 59 years Mary, sons Ioannis(Yo) and Darius, his daughter Maria, his granddaughters Kassie and Jessica, his grandsons Dominic and Andoni, his son-in-law John Oakes, his daughter-in-law Betsy Meras, and his brothers Peter, Harry, and Thanash.

A Celebration of Life will be held Sat, May 11 at Green Valley Mortuary & Cemetery, 3004 Alexandrite Dr., Rescue, CA 95672 at 1 p.m.
The US State Department has asked Bangladesh to buy arms from their country.

Reports quoted the Bangladesh foreign minister AK Abdul Momen as saying that on his recent visit to Washington, the US State Department officials asked him to buy defence products from the country.

He also stated that he had a meeting with his US counterpart Mike Pompeo and other officials of the US State Department.

US State Department officials questioned the Bangladesh foreign minister as to why his country buys defence products from other countries and not from the US.

Momen said that the price of US arms were way too steep and we will buy it if you are affordable.

He further stated that when it came to spare parts, the US defence contractors jacked up the price.

Also Read: Mizoram conduit for arms smuggling, claims Bangladesh intelligence

If you dont do that and offer a special price then definitely we will buy them. We do not have any problem in buying arms from the US, he told the State Department official.

Momen informed that during his US visit, he discussed a lot of issues including trade and investment.

The Bangladesh foreign minister further informed that the US entrepreneurs were interested in investing in Bangladeshs energy sector.

In this regard, Momen stated, the American multinational conglomerate General Electric will visit Bangladesh shortly with a huge investment offer.

The foreign minister added that he told the US officials that Bangladesh always encourages the diversity of investment and trade.

Momen said that he encouraged the US officials to come and develop infrastructure through their Indo-Pacific strategy in Bangladesh as it will be beneficial for both the countries.

I told Pompeo to come and avail the opportunities as Bangladeshs economy is all about to take off or you will miss the bus, remarked the foreign minister who was on his maiden visit to the US after taking on the mantle of foreign minister.
US embassy in Armenia issues travel update

EU remains committed in its support to territorial integrity within their internationally recognised borders

EU, Eastern Partnership countries leaders call Pashinyan-Aliyev meeting in Brussels very positive step

Armenia PM, Cyprus President exchange views on developments in South Caucasus

Irakanum.am: Armenia PM to meet with members of ruling faction of Yerevan's Council of Elders tomorrow

French Senate to set up group for Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia PM attends 6th Eastern Partnership Summit

Turkey's ex-Ambassador to US to be appointed special envoy for normalization of relations with Armenia

Aliyev on Armenian POWs: We returned them to Armenia, and they were detained there

Aliyev claims that Baku has managed to convince Yerevan about 'inevitability of opening of road to Nakhchivan'

Zelensky offers to host summit of leaders of Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Turkey in Kyiv

Armenia Security Council Secretary to meet with National Security Advisor to US President Jake Sullivan

Democratic Party of Artsakh members meet with representatives of Republican Party of Armenia

Armenian army generals submit recommendation letter for release of detachment commander Ashot Minasyan

Mitsotakis: Turkey's financial crisis presents danger for stability in the whole region

Germany declares two officials of Russian Embassy persona non grata

Armenia justice minister discusses sector-specific meetings with Croatian, Irish, Greek counterparts

Ruling faction of Yerevan's Council of Elders launches procedure to express lack of confidence in mayor

Moldova's special services arrest and conduct search against founder of Wargonzo Semyon Pegov

Zakharova: Moscow welcomes direct contacts between Yerevan and Baku

Russian MFA: Normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations would contribute to recovery of general situation in region

NEWS.am daily digest: 15.12.21

Georgia justice minister accepts Armenian counterpart's invitation to visit Armenia during meeting in Venice

Candidate for Mayor of Armenia's Vanadzor is detained, charged under 3 articles

Armenia Migration Service: Russia has adopted and has yet to adopt new rules for migrants

Armenian, Slovenian premiers confer on Armenia-EU relations

Candidate for Vanadzor mayor taken to Investigative Committee in Yerevan

Armenia's Ambassador Viktor Yengibaryan presents credentials to Germany President

Artsakh President chairs Security Council meeting

Armenia deputy PM in Brussels, meets with EU Commissioner

Court rules to arrest opposition 'Armenia' Alliance member Narek Mantashyan for two months

EU heralds Schengen Area reforms

Turkish opposition parties have decided to put an end to 'monstrous' presidential system

5.0-magnitude earthquake hits Iran

Dollar still falls noticeably in Armenia

Turkish opposition member insists that Erdogan has decided to go to snap elections

Legislature vice-speaker from opposition: Secret agreements can lead to new capitulation of Armenia

Brother of North Korea's founder Kim dies at 101

Artsakh ombudsman: Azerbaijan does not allow Taghavard village residents to visit their community cemetery

Armenia opposition MP: People have collective will to not let Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem implement idea of corridor

Armenia National Assembly fails to ensure quorum in 4 hours

Armenia parliament to convene special session tomorrow

Armenia opposition 'With Honor' Faction head summoned to National Security Service, interviewed as witness

Opposition 'Armenia' Faction head: No need to be afraid of Turkey and Azerbaijan, but there are risks and dangers

Armenia justice minister tells CoE Secretary General about violations of international law against Armenian POWs

Paylan to Turkeys Cavusoglu: An Armenian minister was sitting on your chair 110 years ago

Armenia ex-defense minister shows up at Prosecutor General's Office within scope of civil forfeiture of illegal assets

Macron, Putin discuss avenues to resolve Karabakh conflict

Kopirkin: Russia, Armenia have very major cooperation within EEU

Armenia, Moldova leaders underscore developing of bilateral economic ties

Armenia ruling majority obstructs parliament special session initiated by opposition faction

Blinken: We welcome statements on appointing special envoys by Armenia, Turkey

Armenia, Azerbaijan leaders hold private talk as well in Brussels

Azerbaijan president refuses to discuss Artsakh status issue

USCIRF: Armenian church demolished in Turkey, Armenian cemetery in Van destroyed this year

Yerevan hosting 7th annual session of Eurasian Expert Club

212 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Russia peacekeepers ensure safe conduct of agricultural work in Karabakh

Artsakh FM: Azerbaijan's corridor for corridor approach is fraught with serious challenges for Russia, Europe

Newspaper: Crimes increase in Armenia

Newspaper: Armenia government underperforms grants

European Council chief: EU will provide expert mission/consultative group to help border delimitation, demarcation

Charles Michel: It was agreed to proceed with restoration of railway lines

Armenias Pashinyan: We reaffirmed with Azerbaijan president agreement on restoration of railway

Armenia delegation thwarts Azerbaijan anti-Armenian event at session of UN Convention against Corruption

Armenia Parliament Deputy Speaker receives Matthias Luttenberg

Newspaper: 3 sections of highway to Armenia's Voskepar will be on Azerbaijani border, alternative roads to be built

Yerevan court examining National Security Service's motion to arrest opposition 'Armenia' Alliance member

Karabakh State Minister: Lachin corridor can't be under any kind of control of Azerbaijan

Armenia President sends congratulatory message to Iran's Ebrahim Raisi on occasion of his birthday

Pashinyan-Michel-Aliyev meeting kicks off in Brussels

Armenia Ombudsman: We visited Armenian soldiers arrested after returning from Azerbaijani captivity

Israel, Azerbaijan hold security forces drill

Armenia justice minister discusses subjecting judges to disciplinary liability with Venice Commission President

Armenia's Pashinyan: Azerbaijan is trying to bring opening of regional communications to a standstill

Aliyev declares that checkpoint regimes of Zangezur and Lachin corridors need to match

Armenia's Pashinyan, Charles Michel express hope for effective meeting with Aliyev (PHOTOS)

Earthquake hits 2 km northeast from Armenia's Shorzha, felt in Gegharkunik, Kotayk and Tavush Provinces

Stoltenberg declares NATO neutrality towards Armenia and Azerbaijan

Aliyev and European Council head speak on normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia

Putin, Macron discuss Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, results of trilateral meeting in Sochi

Armenia justice minister attending conference with counterparts of CoE member states in Venice

Armenia's Pashinyan meets with European Council President in Brussels

NEWS.am daily digest: 14.12.21

Armenia Central Bank head on coronavirus vaccinations

Georgia to build road leading to border with Azerbaijan

Armenia Central Bank chief presents forecasts for economic growth in 2021 and 2022

Armenia Parliament Speaker receives Kazakhstan Ambassador

Azerbaijan opens new military unit on border with Armenia

TNI: Can Armenia and Azerbaijan settle differences at Eastern Partnership Summit?

Armenia Central Bank: National currency increasing in value

Armenia ex-FM on Pashinyan-Aliyev meeting in Brussels

Central Bank chief: 12-month normal inflation in Armenia has increased to 8.4%

Meeting of Charles Michel and Ilham Aliyev is taking place in Brussels

Dollar drops considerably in Armenia

Ruling force MP: Establishing diplomatic relations with Turkey is in Armenia's state interests

Armenia ex-foreign minister: Current objective of Co-Chairs of Minsk Group is to prove their viability

Armenia PM arrives in Brussels, to hold meetings with Charles Michel, Ilham Aliyev and European counterparts

Lawyer: Opposition Armenia Bloc member detained

Armenia ruling party MP fails to answer question about price to pay for normalization of ties with Turkey
We listen to local police and fire departments scanner traffic, but sometimes miss crimes, wrecks, fires or other incidents, especially if they happen overnight. If you know of something were not covering yet, please let Managing Editor Jeff Pownall know by emailing him at jpownall@lufkindailynews.com, or submit a news tip online by visiting lufkindailynews.com/tips.
spo snouou

Vocem sine nomine audivit!

User ID: 350320

04-13-2019 07:30 AM



Posts: 67,593











Post: #13 RE: a new, wholly unexpected, criminal case involving Julian Assange

LoP Guest Wrote: (04-12-2019 05:07 PM) a criminal and a narcissist sociopath, all on her own.





There is narcissism that is a normal personality trait while pathological narcissism is a clinical diagnosis.



https://n-continuum.blogspot.com/2013/11...hy-to.html



When they say Obama or Hillary was a narcissist, they are right.. in fact so am I.... but we are not 'narcissistic' we use inner vitality for creative forward thinking and temper it's dark side with mindfulness instead of thoughtless ,not the populist addiction to mindless manipulation and hurtful demeaning tactics to stifle any objection.



The people using it from it's unhealthy pathological state to mindlessly attempt to control and gaslight and triangulate their victims want to harness it for greed and power.



THIS IS THE BASIS FOR THE PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS ON THE WEST



The behavior of today's authoritarian populists:





Mindlessly is what the MAGA movement is all about

mindless thought terminating cliches of totalism.



It is also what creating a pathocracy is all about.. and why they need psychological methods to do the 'dumbing down' of the US citizens and those of western democracies across the world- we need to call it out every time we see it.



... repetition and salami tactics is destroying our collective ability as a race to negotiate it, not only democracy but the shared knowledge of the human race.. the only race. is under threat.









Definition of Pathocracy



Definition: pathocracy (n). A system of government created by a small pathological minority that takes control over a society of normal people (from Political Ponerology: A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes, by Andrew Lobaczewski)



From Greek pathos, feeling, pain, suffering; and kratos, rule



A totalitarian form of government in which absolute political power is held by a psychopathic elite, and their effect on the people is such that the entire society is ruled and motivated by purely pathological values.



A pathocracy can take many forms and can insinuate itself covertly into any seemingly just system or ideology. As such it can masquerade under the guise of a democracy or theocracy as well as more openly oppressive regimes.

Characteristics



1. suppression of individualism and creativity.

2. impoverishment of artistic values.

3. impoverishment of moral values; a social structure based on self-interest and one-upmanship, rather than altruism.

4. fanatical ideology; often a corrupted form of a valid viable trojan ideology which is perverted into a pathological form, bearing little resemblance to the substance of the original.

5. intolerance and suspicion of anyone who is different, or who disagrees with the state.

6. centralized control.

7. widespread corruption.

8. secret activities within government, but surveillance of the general population. (In contrast, a healthy society would have transparent government processes, and respect for privacy of the individual citizen).

9. paranoid and reactionary government.

10. excessive, arbitrary, unfair and inflexible legislation; the power of decision making is reduced/removed from the citizens everyday lives.

11. an attitude of hypocrisy and contempt demonstrated by the actions of the ruling class, towards the ideals they claim to follow, and towards the citizens they claim to represent.

12. controlled media, dominated by propaganda.

13. extreme inequality between the richest and poorest.

14. endemic use of corrupted psychological reasoning such as paramoralisms, conversive thinking and doubletalk.

15. rule by force and/or fear of force.

16. people are considered as a resource to be exploited (hence the term human resources), rather than as individuals with intrinsic human worth.

17. spiritual life is restricted to inflexible and indoctrinare schemes. Anyone attempting to go beyond these boundaries is considered a heretic or insane, and therefore dangerous.

18. arbitrary divisions in the population (class, ethnicity, creed) are inflamed into conflict with one another.

19. suppression of free speech  public debate, demonstration, protest.

20. violation of basic human rights, for example: restriction or denial of basic life necessities such as food, water, shelter; detainment without charge; torture and abuse; slave labour.



https://pathocracy.wordpress.com/definition/







1. suppression of individualism and creativity.



The Suppression of Individual Liberty



So many today strive to escape conformity and rebel. Ironically, rebellion has lead to a different kind of conformitythat of dependency, group-think, over regulation, name calling and lack of critical thinking skills.



https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/...al-liberty





Opportunity: Art in All Forms Can Literally Change the World





Nazi "Purification" of the Arts



http://www.crf-usa.org/bill-of-rights-in...zi-germany There is narcissism that is a normal personality trait while pathological narcissism is a clinical diagnosis.When they say Obama or Hillary was a narcissist, they are right.. in fact so am I.... but we are not 'narcissistic' we use inner vitality for creative forward thinking and temper it's dark side with mindfulness instead of thoughtless ,not the populist addiction to mindless manipulation and hurtful demeaning tactics to stifle any objection.The people using it from it's unhealthy pathological state to mindlessly attempt to control and gaslight and triangulate their victims want to harness it for greed and power.THIS IS THE BASIS FOR THE PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS ON THE WESTThe behavior of today's authoritarian populists:Mindlessly is what the MAGA movement is all aboutmindless thought terminating cliches of totalism.It is also what creating a pathocracy is all about.. and why they need psychological methods to do the 'dumbing down' of the US citizens and those of western democracies across the world- we need to call it out every time we see it.... repetition and salami tactics is destroying our collective ability as a race to negotiate it, not only democracy but the shared knowledge of the human race.. the only race. is under threat.Definition: pathocracy (n). A system of government created by a small pathological minority that takes control over a society of normal people (from Political Ponerology: A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes, by Andrew Lobaczewski)From Greek pathos, feeling, pain, suffering; and kratos, ruleA totalitarian form of government in which absolute political power is held by a psychopathic elite, and their effect on the people is such that the entire society is ruled and motivated by purely pathological values.A pathocracy can take many forms and can insinuate itself covertly into any seemingly just system or ideology. As such it can masquerade under the guise of a democracy or theocracy as well as more openly oppressive regimes.1. suppression of individualism and creativity.So many today strive to escape conformity and rebel. Ironically, rebellion has lead to a different kind of conformitythat of dependency, group-think, over regulation, name calling and lack of critical thinking skills.
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* Explosions and gunfire echo through Libyan capital

* Battle forces 13,625 people out of their homes

* Eastern forces fighting U.N.-backed government

* Latest warfare since Gaddafi toppled in 2011 (Updates number of displaced)

By Ulf Laessing and Ahmed Elumami

TRIPOLI, April 12 (Reuters) - Eastern Libyan forces bogged down in street battles in a push to seize the capital Tripoli deployed warplanes on Friday to hit several government positions, as more civilians fled fighting.

More than 1,000 people gathered in central Tripoli to demand that Khalifa Haftar stop the advance of his Libyan National Army (LNA) on the coastal city.

Haftar launched the campaign a week ago, in the latest conflict in a cycle of anarchy since the 2011 overthrow of dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

But forces loyal to Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj's internationally recognized government have so far kept them at bay, with fierce fighting round a disused former airport about 11 km (7 miles) from the center.

On Friday, an LNA warplane bombed the camp of a force allied to Serraj in Zuwara, west of Tripoli towards the Tunisian border, an LNA military source and residents said.

Zuwara is near the Mellitah oil and gas plant, jointly operated by Italy's ENI and state oil firm NOC, which supplies Italy with gas through the Greenstream pipeline.

An LNA warplane also attacked the only partly functioning airport in Tripoli, Mitiga, where anti-aircraft guns opened fire in response, witnesses said. The extent of damage and possible casualties in both places was not clear.

A week of battles has killed 75 people - mainly fighters but also 17 civilians - and wounded another 323, according to latest U.N. tallies. Some 13,625 people have also been forced out of their homes.

As the sound of fighting echoed round their city, residents sought to maintain some normality on Friday.

Some families were eating in cafes next to the fish market where people were stocking up for the weekend.

Story continues

"We have got used to wars. I fear only God," said Yamim Ahmed, 20, who works in a fast food restaurant.

More than 1,000 people staged a protest in Martyrs Square in central Tripoli to demand an end to the offensive, witnesses said. The turnout was bigger than last Friday.

As well as the humanitarian cost, the conflict threatens to disrupt oil supplies, increase migration across the Mediterranean to Europe, scupper a U.N. peace plan, and allow Islamist militants to exploit the chaos.

CITY STALEMATE

Haftar, 75, a former general in Gaddafi's army who later joined the revolt against him, moved his troops out of their eastern stronghold to take the oil-rich desert south earlier this year before sweeping up to Tripoli at the start of April.

But Serraj's government has managed to halt for now the advance, helped by forces with machine-guns on pickups, and steel containers across the road into Tripoli. The Tripoli government says it has taken nearly 200 prisoners from Haftar's forces.

The United Nations, which had hoped to organize a national conference this month bringing the rival eastern and western administrations together to organize an election, has called for a ceasefire. The United States, G7 bloc of wealthy nations and European Union have also urged the LNA to halt its offensive.

Tripoli-based Foreign Minister Mohamed Siyala urged the U.N. Security Council to call on Haftar to halt the advance.

The U.N. health agency said it fears outbreaks of tuberculosis, measles and diarrhea due to poor sanitation, especially among those displaced.

Five ambulances have been hit trying to extract wounded people from the conflict zone, World Health Organisation (WHO) representative Dr Syed Jaffar Hussain also told a Geneva news briefing from Tripoli.

The WHO said it had only two weeks of medical supplies available for Tripoli's hospitals.

Haftar casts himself as a bulwark against Islamist militancy who wants to restore order to Libya. But opponents see him as a potential would-be dictator like Gaddafi.

He has so far resisted U.N. pressure to accept a power-sharing settlement, using his leverage as an ally of the West in attempts to stem jihadists in North Africa.

About 1,500 refugees and migrants are trapped in detention centers, the head of the U.N. refugee agency said. "They must be urgently brought to safety. Simply put, this is a matter of life or death," Filippo Grandi said in a statement.

Libya is a major transit point for migrants pouring into Europe in recent years, mostly trafficked by smuggling gangs. (Additional reporting by Ayman al-Warfalli in Benghazi, Ahmed Salem in Tripoli, and Tom Miles and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Kevin Liffey, Andrew Cawthorne and James Dalgleish)
(In paragraph 7, corrects spelling of Tripoli suburb to Ain Zara, not Ain Sara)

* Eastern forces' bid to seize Tripoli stalls on outskirts

* 56 dead, over 8,000 forced to flee capital -United Nations

* Italy, ex-colonial power, and France back opposing sides

By Ulf Laessing and Giselda Vagnoni

TRIPOLI/ROME, April 11 (Reuters) - France and Italy wrangled on Thursday over how best to tackle renewed conflict in Libya as a bid by eastern forces under Khalifa Haftar to seize Tripoli stalled in the face of strong resistance on the capital's southern outskirts.

The United Nations said the fighting between Haftar's forces and troops under the internationally-backed Tripoli government had killed at least 56 people and forced 8,000 to flee their homes in the city in the last week.

A Reuters reporter heard occasional heavy gunfire and explosions as the eastern Libyan National Army (LNA) faced off with forces of Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj's government around the ex-international airport and the Ain Zara district.

Officials brought families displaced by fighting on Tripoli's southern fringes to area schools. Red Crescent workers were heading out rations in one school as gunfire clattered in the distance.

Haftar's push on Tripoli in Libya's northwest is the latest turn in a cycle of factional violence and chaos in Libya dating back to the 2011 uprising that overthrew veteran dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

After sweeping up from the south, LNA became bogged down in Tripoli's southern suburbs 11 km (7 miles) from the city center. Several locations have changed hands more than once.

More than 190 LNA troops were captured, officials in Tripoli said, accusing it of using teenagers. A total of 116 fighters were captured in Zawiya, a town west of Tripoli, and an additional 75 in Ain Zara on the southern outskirts of the capital, officials said.

In a prison in Zawiya, Reuters reporters saw prisoners, mostly young men, some wearing civilian clothes, sitting on the floor of a prison while others stood with their faces turned to a wall.

Story continues

In Rome, Libya's former colonial ruler Italy warned France, which has good relations with Haftar, to refrain from supporting any one faction after diplomats said Paris had scuttled a European Union statement calling on him to halt his offensive.

"It would be very serious if France for economic or commercial reasons had blocked an EU initiative to bring peace to Libya and would support a party that is fighting," Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini told Radio RTL 102.5.

"As minister of the interior I will not stand by and watch."

France, which has oil assets in eastern Libya, has provided military assistance in past years to Haftar in his eastern stronghold, Libyan and French officials say. It was also a leading player in the war to unseat Gaddafi..

Italy supports the U.N.-backed government of Serraj.

ITALY SPARS WITH FRANCE

"Some think that the (2011 Nato-led military intervention) in Libya promoted by (then-French President Nicolas) Sarkozy was triggered more by economic and commercial interests than by humanitarian concerns," Salvini said.

"I hope we are not seeing the same film all over again."

An EU draft statement on Wednesday said Haftar's attack on Tripoli put civilians at risk, disrupted normalization efforts and risked an escalation with serious consequences for Libya and the wider region. That statement was sidelined by France .

French diplomatic sources said Paris did not object to calls on Haftar to halt his advance, but rather had only requested amendments including mentions of the plight of migrants in Libya and the presence in anti-Haftar forces of Islamist militants designated as terrorists by the United Nations.

The latest tally of casualties from the U.N. World Health Organization (WHO) said 56 people - mainly combatants though also some civilians including two doctors and an ambulance driver - had been killed, and another 266 wounded in Tripoli.

In addition, 28 LNA soldiers had been killed and 92 wounded since the start of the offensive a week ago, according to the LNA.

The number of people forced out of their homes by fighting rose to 8,075, the U.N. migration agency IOM said.

As well as the humanitarian consequences, renewed conflict in Libya threatens to disrupt oil supplies, increase migration across the Mediterranean to Europe, scupper the U.N. peace plan for the country and encourage militants to exploit the chaos. Libya is a main transit point for migrants who have poured into Europe in recent years, mostly by trafficking gangs.

The LNA forces swept out of their stronghold in eastern Libya to take the sparsely populated but oil-rich south earlier this year, before heading towards Tripoli, where Serraj's U.N.-backed government sits.

Haftar was among the officers who helped Gaddafi seize power in a 1969 coup before parting ways with him later. But critics call Haftar another strongman in Gaddafi's mould.

Haftar has resisted U.N. pressure to accept a power-sharing settlement to stabilize the country, using his leverage as a Western ally against militant Islam in North Africa. (Additional reporting by Ahmed Elumami in Tripoli, Tom Miles in Geneva and John Irish in Paris; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
* N.Korea's leader Kim gives U.S. until year-end to change policy

* Kim says U.S. came to Hanoi with absolutely impracticable agenda

* N.Korea can continue inter-Korean relations or return to past - Kim

* Trump stresses personal relationship with Kim, points to N.Korea's economic potential (Adds Trump Twitter statement in paragraphs 5-7 and 15)

By Josh Smith and Joyce Lee

SEOUL, April 13 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the breakdown in talks with the United States has raised the risks of reviving tensions, and he is only interested in meeting President Donald Trump again if the United States comes with the right attitude, state media KCNA said on Saturday.

Kim said he will wait "till the end of this year" for the United States to decide to be more flexible, according to KCNA.

"It is essential for the U.S. to quit its current calculation method and approach us with a new one," Kim said in a speech to the Supreme People's Assembly on Friday, KCNA said.

Trump and Kim have met twice, in Hanoi in February and Singapore in June, building goodwill but failing to agree on a deal to lift sanctions in exchange for North Korea abandoning its nuclear and missile programs.

Trump later issued a statement on Twitter that underscored the strength of his personal relationship with Kim and pointed to what he called North Korea's "tremendous potential" for economic success, once the issue of Pyongyang's weapons programs has been resolved.

"A third Summit would be good in that we fully understand where we each stand," the U.S. president said in a pair of Saturday morning tweets.

"I look forward to the day, which could be soon, when Nuclear Weapons and Sanctions can be removed, and then watching North Korea become one of the most successful nations of the World!"

In his speech, the North Korean leader said the outcome in Hanoi led him to question the strategy he embraced last year of international engagement and talks with the United States.

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The Hanoi summit "aroused a strong question if we were right in taking the steps with strategic decision and bold resolution, and evoked vigilance as to the U.S.' true willingness to improve its relations with the DPRK," Kim said, using the initials of North Korea's full name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

In Hanoi, the United States came "to the talks only racking its brain to find ways that are absolutely impracticable" and did "not really ready itself to sit with us face-to-face and settle the problem," Kim said.

"If it (the United States) keeps thinking that way, it will never be able to move the DPRK even a knuckle, nor gain any interests no matter how many times it may sit for talks with the DPRK," he said.

"We will wait for a bold decision from the U.S. with patience till the end of this year but I think it will definitely be difficult to get such a good opportunity as the previous summit," Kim added.

Kim's comments signal he will not cling to talks with the United States forever, said Kim Dong-yup of Kyungnam University's Institute for Far Eastern Studies in South Korea.

"That probably indicates that the North is triggering plans to diversify its diplomatic relations with other countries," he said.

THIRD SUMMIT IN DOUBT

Kim said that his personal relationship with Trump is still good, but that he had no interest in a third summit if it were a repeat of Hanoi. On Twitter, Trump described their relationship as "very good" and added that "perhaps the term excellent would be even more accurate."

At a meeting with South Korean President Moon in Washington on Thursday, Trump expressed a willingness for a third summit with Kim but said Washington would leave sanctions in place on Pyongyang.

Kim said the United States "is further escalating the hostility to us with each passing day despite its suggestion for settling the issue through dialog." The current U.S. policy of sanctions and pressure is "as foolish and dangerous an act as trying to put out fire with oil," he added.

Still, Kim said he would not hesitate to sign an agreement if it takes into account both countries' considerations.

The United States had continued to provoke North Korea by testing an anti-ballistic missile system and conducting military drills with South Korea despite Trump's announcement that large-scale exercises would end, he said.

Last month, a senior North Korean official warned that Kim might rethink a moratorium on missile launches and nuclear tests in place since 2017 unless Washington makes concessions such as easing sanctions.

South Korea's Blue House said in a statement that officials would "do what we can in order to maintain the current momentum for dialog and help negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea resume at an early date."

Kim complained that Washington is coercing South Korea into abiding by sanctions and not pushing forward with inter-Korea projects.

North Korea has a choice "to keep maintaining the atmosphere of improving the North-South ties or to go back to the past when the ties plunged into a catastrophe with the danger of a war increasing," he said.

North Korea's state media on Saturday issued a commentary criticizing South Korea's purchase of fighter jets, including two recently delivered F-35A jets from the United States, calling it a "serious provocative act" that could intensify tensions on the Korean peninsula.

"Bringing in weapons of war is an obvious threat. South Korea needs to behave itself better, and think about how such an imprudent act could lead to catastrophic outcomes," said the commentary.

Still, North Korea is committed to better North-South relations and peaceful unification, Kim said.

"I make it clear once again that it is my unwavering determination to turn the North-South ties into those of durable and lasting reconciliation and cooperation by holding hands with the south Korean authorities and to write a new history of the nation, peaceful and co-prosperous," he said. (Additional reporting by Heekyong Yang and David Morgan; Editing by Sandra Maler, Cynthia Osterman, Gerry Doyle and Jan Harvey)
(Adds detail about DHS leadership)

By Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON, April 11 (Reuters) - The new chief of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) named the United States' top airport-security official, David Pekoske, his acting deputy on Thursday, as President Donald Trump overhauls the leadership of the domestic-security agency.

The move, by Acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan, who took office on Wednesday, temporarily fills a leadership vacuum at the top of DHS, which is responsible for everything from border protection to disaster response.

But it also places further strains on an agency of 240,000 employees, many of whose top leadership posts were unfilled even before Trump's management shakeup.

McAleenan remains in charge of U.S. Customs and Border Protection even as he assumes responsibility for all of DHS.

Likewise, Pekoske will continue to head the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, which screens airline travelers, while he serves as the No. 2 official at DHS. Both men are serving on a temporary basis.

In recent weeks, Trump has interviewed several candidates for DHS secretary, an appointee who must be confirmed by the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate.

Trump has forced out top DHS officials over the past week as the agency tries to stem rising numbers of immigrants arriving at its southern border, many of them families fleeing violence and poverty in Central America. DHS said it arrested or denied entry to more than 103,000 people along the border last month, more than double the figure for March 2018.

Trump has grown increasingly frustrated as DHS officials have told him that dramatic immigration changes he wants are not possible under current law, several sources say.

DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen announced her departure on Sunday after clashing with Trump over border security. Her deputy, Claire Grady, stepped down on Tuesday.

Trump is trying to force out L. Francis Cissna, who oversees legal immigration programs as director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, as well as John Mitnick, the top DHS lawyer, according to a source familiar with White House deliberations.

Leadership is also in flux at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Secret Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Ten other top positions are either vacant or filled on a temporary basis. (Reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

1. WHO'S CHANGING HIS TUNE ON WIKILEAKS

President Donald Trump declares "I know nothing about WikiLeaks" after its founder Julian Assange was hauled out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to face charges, a stark contrast to how candidate Trump showered praise on the hacking organization during his 2016 presidential campaign.

2. WIKILEAKS' STATUS IN THE MEDIA WORLD COMPLEX

Assange's arrest reignites a debate with no easy answer: Is the former computer hacker and founder of WikiLeaks a journalist or not?

3. INSIDE BUTTIGIEG'S 'COMPLICATED' RELATIONSHIP WITH PENCE

Openly gay South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg became a celebrated voice for LGBT equality, and as a Democratic presidential contender his rhetoric toward Vice President Mike Pence has hardened.

4. HOUSE DEMOCRATS MARK FIRST 100 DAYS

Democratic freshmen lawmakers are taking stock of their accomplishments, noting the stumbles and marking their place as a front line of resistance to Trump.

5. MEMORIAL SPOTLIGHTS MAN BEHIND NIPSEY HUSSLE RAP PERSONA

For a decade, Nipsey Hussle released much sought-after mixtapes that he sold out of the trunk of his car, helping him create a buzz and gain respect from rap purists and his peers.

6. HOW S. KOREAN BABIES BORN DEC. 31 BECOME 2-YEAR-OLDS THE NEXT DAY

South Korean babies become 1 on the day of their birth and then get an additional year tacked on when the calendar hits Jan. 1.

7. EX-OBAMA WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL CHARGED IN LOBBYING PROBE

Former Obama White House counsel Greg Craig has been indicted on charges of making false statements and concealing information in a federal foreign lobbying investigation that intersected with the Russia probe.

8. TALIBAN DECLARES START OF SPRING OFFENSIVE

The Taliban announced the start of their spring offensive despite talking peace with the United States.

9. ALABAMA HALTS EXECUTION OF MAN WHO KILLED PASTOR

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An Alabama inmate convicted in the 1991 sword-and-dagger slaying of a pastor was spared from a scheduled lethal injection after the state was unable to lift a last-minute stay.

10. DECHAMBEAU, KOEPKA SHARE LEAD AT THE MASTERS

Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka each shot a 6-under 66 in the opening round.
Photo credit: Audi

From Car and Driver

Celebrating a decade of Audi V-10 engines installed in the R8 supercar, the Decennium arrives as a very limited 2020 model.

Only 50 of these special R8s will be imported to the United States.

It is the most expensive R8 for sale.

One of the best things about being alive right now, as a car lover, is the Audi engine plant in Hungary. Nestled between Budapest and Vienna are 6000 exacting pairs of hands that assemble more than 8800 engines per day and ship them to all 31 of the Volkswagen Group's final assembly plants across the world. Of the nearly two million engines this plant cranks out each year, a small drip of 5.2-liter V-10s-naturally aspirated, race proven, loud as hell-find their way to Neckarsulm, Germany, where more careful hands drop them into the Audi R8. It's been like this for a decade. Or, in Audi's studious Latin, a decennium.

But Audi is only telling half the story. It has been building this engine since it debuted in the 2004 Lamborghini Gallardo. Originally, it was a 5.0-liter V-10 based off its now-discontinued 4.2-liter V-8, making 493 horsepower and 376 lb-ft of torque. Extra displacement, direct injection, and more refinements gleaned from the R8 LMS GT3's 78 class wins have led Audi to today, where in the R8 it musters up to 602 horsepower and 413 lb-ft of torque. In the Lamborghini Huracan Evo, it's 631 hp and 443 lb-ft. In either car, the sound is furious, at times violent, and it revs like a superbike.

Since quindecim doesn't quite roll off the modern tongue, the 2020 R8 Decennium is a tribute to this engine's Audi-branded manifolds since it appeared in the first 2009 R8. (Unlike in Europe, Audi of America has skipped the 2019 model year.) This R8 has the same exterior refresh, particularly to its grille, front aero, and rear diffuser, as the Euro-spec car we reviewed in January. Among many small updates to all 2020 R8 models are an optional carbon-fiber front anti-roll bar, 30 more horses for the "base" version, new colors, and a name change for the top trim from V10 Plus to V10 Performance. The Decennium is only available in V10 Performance guise and only the last 50 of this car's 222-unit run will come to the U.S., all coupes painted in Mythos Black instead of the photo car's matte Daytona Gray.

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Lest there be any strife with Lamborghini, the Decennium is simply an appearance package that costs $19,095 more than a base V10 Performance coupe. With a 205-mph top speed, that's unlikely to cause any consternation. But it's a striking appearance package, with matte 20-inch bronze wheels and a bronze-painted manifold glowing from the R8's illuminated glass engine compartment. Blacked-out badges, gloss black underbody trim (front spoiler, sills, diffuser), and carbon-fiber wing, side blades, and mirror housings complete the visuals save for one secret: the car's production number is projected onto the ground when you open the doors.

Inside the R8's minimalist cockpit is copper stitching weaving through the seats, console, doors, dash, and microsuede-covered steering wheel. Audi etched the Decennium logo (with the number 10, just to make sure you get the point) on the carbon-fiber console and stuck two more metal logos on the outer edges of both doors. A little more microsuede for the gear selector, and that about does it.

Assuming there are no more options, the Decennium starts and ends at $217,545 with destination and gas-guzzler tax. To everyone at Audi Hungary, keep doing what you're doing, even if after 15 years, it was never meant to last forever.

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WASHINGTON  The campaign trail is known for being rough. Candidates travel to dozens of cities for multiple events a day, but 2020 presidential hopeful Andrew Yang is working on a way to make things easier.

Yang, a 44-year-old Democrat, is testing out hologram technology that would allow him to campaign at different places at the same time.

He discussed the plans with TMZ, telling the celebrity tabloid that he hopes to use it while campaigning in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states to cast ballots in the primary.

While talking with Yang, TMZ showed footage of Yang testing out the technology. The video showed a hologram of Yang on stage dancing with a hologram of rapper Tupac Shakur, who died in 1996.

"Well, if you look closely at that footage, you'll see it's actually not me performing with hologram Tupac. That's a hologram of me," Yang explained. "I was doing a demo of what a hologram would consist of in order to send the hologram me to campaign in Iowa and other battleground states so I could be in two places or three places at once."

Me trying out being a hologram with hologram Tupac  pic.twitter.com/IclQvAa27z  Andrew Yang (@AndrewYang) April 11, 2019

The video shows Tupac rapping without a shirt and Yang, in a blazer and blue jeans, performing alongside him. Both holograms move on stage.

When asked by TMZ, Yang said while he considers Tupac "a hero of mine," the hologram would not be his running mate.

Entrepreneur Andrew Yang is a Democrat running for President. He entered the race on Nov. 6, 2018.

Race for the White House: Who is running for president in 2020? An interactive guide

Yang is among more than a dozen Democrats vying for the White House and has been called a long-shot for president. The entrepreneur, who founded the nonprofit fellowship program Venture for America, includes a basic universal income of $1,000 a month in his platform for every American over age 18.

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Yang told the Carroll Times Herald that the hologram could debut in his campaign around June and would likely include other people to "make it fun for people."

"We are exploring rolling a truck out that would enable someone to see a hologram of me that is three-dimensional give my stump speech," Yang told the Iowa newspaper. "And, also, if I were in a studio, which we could set up very easily, I could beam in and take questions live."

He explained that while the idea is interesting and different from other candidates, it also highlights a theme in his campaign.

"I thought it would be a fun way to be in multiple places at once, and also very much tied into the message of the campaign around the fact that it is 2019, and soon it will be 2020, and things are changing, and we cant just keep doing the same things over and over again and expect it to achieve the results we need," Yang said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2020 candidate Andrew Yang tests out hologram with Tupac, hoping to use tech to be at different campaign stops at same time
Financial companies provide unique benefits to investors.

When Warren Buffett turns bullish on a stock sector, the market takes notice. In the last quarter of 2018, Buffett's focus shifted to financials, as he increased Berkshire Hathaway (ticker: BRK.A, BRK.B) stock holdings in some of the nation's largest banks. While banks lost some year-to-date gains in late March, financials finished the first quarter on a strong note. "The valuations of many financial stocks and banks in particular are extremely attractive," says Robert Johnson, a professor of finance at Creighton University. "From a value investing standpoint, banks have a much larger margin of safety than the average stock." Investors seeking to follow Warren Buffett's lead should consider these seven banking funds to buy and hold.

Fidelity Select Banking Portfolio (FSRBX)

Wells Fargo & Co (WFC), Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and SunTrust Banks (STI) are among FSRBX's top holdings. Nearly 64% of the fund's weighted toward regional banks, with 22.61% allocated to diversified banks. FSRBX is classified as a mid-cap value fund and is subject to the same economic risk factors as other financial funds. "If the U.S. and world economies go into a recession as a result of yield-curve inversion, bank stocks as a whole could fall," Johnson says. Through the end of March, the fund yielded a cumulative three-month total return of 11.85%, just shy of the S&P 500's 13.65%.

10-year returns: 14.88%

Net expense ratio: 0.77%

Vanguard Financials ETF (VFH)

VFH offers exposure to the financials sector as a whole, with the largest allocations focused on diversified banks and regional banks. Altogether, the fund holds 411 individual stocks, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Bank of America and Berkshire Hathaway topping the list of largest holdings. VFH is categorized as a high-risk fund but that's counterbalanced by a high-reward potential. A chief advantage of this financial fund over others like it is cost. Similar to other Vanguard ETFs it boasts a low expense ratio, allowing buy-and-hold investors to maintain a larger share of fund earnings over time.

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10-year returns: 15.33%

Net expense ratio: 0.1%

T. Rowe Price Financial Services Fund (PRISX)

PRISX is a capital-growth focused fund with 34.1% of total assets concentrated in banks, followed by insurance, capital markets, finance and real estate. Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup (C) are listed in the largest of the fund's 97 holdings. Since inception, PRISX has outperformed the Lipper Financial Services Fund average and the Russell 3000 Index. This fund does have a moderately higher expense ratio, matched by a moderate to high risk profile. But PRISX notched a three-month return of 10.02% in the first quarter of 2019, suggesting that its capable of weathering bouts of market volatility.

10-year returns: 14.46%

Net expense ratio: 0.85%

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF)

XLF is the largest financials sector ETF by assets under management, though it's not a strictly bank-focused fund. While the big four -- JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup -- are represented, the fund's largest holding by weight is Berkshire Hathaway. Cost-wise, XLF is a bargain compared with some of the other banking mutual funds included here. The current year-to-date return is 11.4%, with a yield of 2.05%, positing a potentially bright outlook for 2019 and beyond.

10-year returns: 14.89%

Net expense ratio: 0.13%

SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE)

KBE tracks the S&P Banks Select Industry Index, which includes asset management and custody banks, regional banks and diversified banks. Fund holdings include larger national banks as well as alternative financial companies, most notably LendingTree (TREE), which is the most heavily weighted asset. Year to date, KBE has kept pace fairly well with its underlying index, returning 12.35% to the S&P Banks Select Industry Index's 12.46%. This ETF may appeal to buy-and-hold investors looking for an equal weighting exposure to small-, medium- and large-cap companies across the financial sector.

10-year returns: 13.37%

Net expense ratio: 0.35%

Invesco KBW Bank ETF (KBWB)

KBWB tightens its focus on banks, with just 24 holdings altogether. The top five holdings, which include the big four banks, represent more than 40% of the fund's total assets. The fund makes room for smaller regional banks, such as BB&T (BBT) and Regions Financial (RF), alongside larger competitors, increasing diversification and minimizing overweighting risk. Since its inception in November 2011, KBWB has returned 14.9% to investors and year to date, it's up 9.74%, outstripping the 8.56% posted by the S&P 500 Financials Index.

Five-year returns: 7.24%

Net expense ratio: 0.35%

Miller/Howard Income-Equity Fund (MHIEX)

Since its inception in December 2015, the fund has delivered a three-year return of 7.56% to investors, driven in part by its financial sector holdings, which include Citigroup and Fidelity National Financial (FNF). As an income-equity fund, its concentration in banking goes against the grain. '"Many classic equity income strategies emphasize utilities and avoid banks," says Gregory Powell, deputy chief investment officer at Miller/Howard Investments. "Our discipline when selecting stocks for MHIEX looks at dividends, prospects for dividend growth, financial strength and consistent earnings growth, which has led to our current overweight position in banks."

Three-year returns: 7.56%

Net expense ratio: 0.78%

The best financial funds to buy long term.

-- Fidelity Select Banking Portfolio (FSRBX)

-- Vanguard Financials ETF (VFH)

-- T. Rowe Price Financial Services Fund (PRISX)

-- Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF)

-- SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE)

-- Invesco KBW Bank ETF (KBWB)

-- Miller/Howard Income-Equity Fund (MHIEX)
Rome (AFP) - An Italian man and his Canadian companion abducted last December in Burkina Faso are alive but may have been moved to another country, a Burkinabe government spokesman said.

An Italian missionary abucted last September in Niger meanwhile may since have been briefly held in Burkina Faso, the spokesman added.

Burkina Faso's government spokesman Remis Fulgance Dandjinou updated Italy's state television channel Rai on the hostages in an interview broadcast Friday evening.

They information they had on Luca Tacchetto, 30, and 34-year-old Canadian Edith Blais suggested that they were no longer in Burkina Faso, he said.

But he added: "We are certain that their life is not in danger. We can say that these people are still alive."

Quebecois Blais and Tacchetto, from Venice, disappeared mid-December when driving through Burkina Faso.

Armed men abducted Father Pier Luigi Maccali, 57, from his home in southwest Niger in September.

While denouncing the abductions, Dandjinou added: "The important thing is that there has been no homicide, otherwise we would have already recovered the bodies."

A Canadian geologist abducted in January from a mine in the northwest of Burkina Faso was found dead the following evening.

The country has been prey to a wave of abductions and since 2015 has also had to contend with deadly attacks by jihadist groups.

Meanwhile Italian investigators looking for Silvia Romano, a 23-year-old volunteer at an orphanage in Kenya said after talks with officials in Nairobi that they were certain she was still alive, the Italian daily Corriere della sera, reported Saturday.
Best Life

Over 37 million Americans are living with kidney disease, also known as renal disease, a progressive condition that causes a gradual loss of normal kidney function over time. However, experts warn that the vast majority of those with the condition are unaware of their diagnosis. In fact, according to Joseph Vassalotti, MD, Chief Medical Officer at the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), just "10 percent of people with chronic kidney disease know that they have it."That's because symptoms tend to b
Johannesburg (AFP) - With less than four weeks to go until South Africans vote in a general election, corruption scandals again threaten to tear open old rivalries within the long-governing African National Congress.

After 25 years in power, widespread graft allegations have tainted the ruling party, which forced out shamed former president Jacob Zuma last year.

Despite his replacement President Cyril Ramaphosa vowing to tackle corruption, new claims about the moral rot at the heart of Nelson Mandela's party have emerged.

The latest in the firing line is the ANC's Secretary General Ace Magashule, a key Zuma ally.

A recent book entitled "Gangster State: Unravelling Ace Magashule's Web of Capture" claims he was at the centre of a scheme to loot millions from state coffers for his own financial gain.

Magashule immediately denounced the allegations as lies, stating: "I am not corrupt."

The party also quickly dismissed the book as "propaganda" and part of a "vicious character assassination campaign" ahead of the May 8 election.

But at a time when the ANC has faced criticism for including candidates implicated in corruption, not everyone towed the party line.

"I am not prepared to simply dismiss all the allegations as lies," said Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom, a close associate of Ramaphosa.

"Nor would most of my... comrades," he added.

His comments, effectively breaking rank with the ANC, come as the largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), puts the fight against corruption at the heart of its campaign.

"ANC corruption is now an established fact. Everyone is now convinced that ANC is rotten to its core and that it's not going to change ever," said DA leader Mmusi Maimane.

- Tainted candidates -

Although Ramaphosa became ANC president on a clean-up ticket, several Zuma allies associated with graft have said they will seek election for the ruling party.

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They include Nomvula Mokonyane, the environment minister who was recently implicated at a corruption enquiry, and Bathabile Dlamini, who was at the centre of a social welfare payments fiasco.

The inclusion of discredited ANC figures on the candidate list will hand ammunition to opposition parties, say analysts.

Despite the controversy, a recent survey still put the ANC on course to win more than half of the parliamentary seats.

The ANC currently holds 249 seats of 400, according to the parliament website, and Ramaphosa hopes it can still snare a parliamentary majority, which would enable him to win a five-year presidential term.

The key question, analysts say, is over the margin of victory for the ANC, which has won every election since the end of apartheid in 1994, which saw the scrapping of white minority rule.

"We are not a dictatorship. We function in terms of the rule of law," Ramaphosa said last week.

Two months ago the president set up a special tribunal to fast-track corruption prosecutions and he emphasised his commitment to the process.

"If there needs to be jail time, it must be jail time. Those who did wrong will be punished," he said.

The promise to take action has not convinced everyone.

- 'Not about the poor'-

Lumkile Mondi, senior lecturer at Wits School of Economics and Business Science, said the ANC needs to show it can successfully tackle corruption.

"Most of us are sceptical, until I see one big ANC fish (in jail). It will be very positive for the country if one big fish is caught," he said.

Life for most South Africans is a struggle, with sluggish economic growth, poor government management and corruption helping to ensure society remains deeply unequal.

Officially, the ANC has distanced itself from the Magashule case and Ramaphosa has been careful not to make public appearances with him.

But the party faithful are worried.

"He (Magashule) should resign because those allegations have an impact on the whole party," said an activist in his Free State province, Fourie Sentimile, while also pledging his support to Ramaphosa.

Undaunted by the allegations against him, and concerns of ANC members, Magashule has continued to campaign as if nothing has happened.

"Let's make sure we win this elections," he said Thursday. "After elections... let us sit down, let us talk, let us build the ANC proper."

The next day, Magashule received a message of support from Zuma, loathed by many others in the party and the country.

"Stay resolute during these times," tweeted Zuma to Magashule.
Airline Passengers Call These the Worst Airports in America

Every day, 2.6 million passengers fly in and out of U.S. airports, and many of them are miserable.

While J.D. Power has found that customer satisifaction with U.S. airports is at an all-time high, the worst airports inspire tons of complaints over long lines, outdated facilities, bad service and other problems.

J.D. Power says these are America's 30 most terrible airports, based on a survey of more than 40,000 travelers. The ranking uses scores out of a possible 1,000.

If your travels take you through any of these, you'll definitely want to have a travel rewards credit card that provides access to those comfy airport lounges.

28. (tie) Cleveland Hopkins International Airport

Denise Kappa / Shutterstock

Travelers gripe that Cleveland's airport is behind the times.

Satisfaction score: 769

Cleveland's main airport features a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame gift shop, a restaurant launched by homegrown celebrity chef Michael Symon (formerly of TV's The Chew), and a shrine to Superman, who was created in Cleveland.

But even with all of that cool stuff going on, travelers complain that Hopkins is cramped, dank and long overdue for upgrades.

"The luggage was delayed because the carousel broke down," writes one Yelp reviewer, who says the baggage area is stuck in the 1980s.

"I have been in many airports and Cleveland airport is by far the oldest and most boring," he adds.

28. (tie) Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

Thomas Barrat / Shutterstock

Atlanta's airport looks like a monster, even from the air.

Satisfaction score: 769

Atlanta's mammoth airport has held the title of the world's busiest airport for more than two decades. Hartsfield-Jackson's nearly 200 gates and 63,000 employees served more than 107 million passengers during 2018.

And many of them were unhappy.

Critics say the place is too big and too crazy. Typical complaints are that making connections can be tough, that international travelers face long waits through Customs, and that airport services are often overwhelmed.

"It's just too busy," says one Yelper. "There were so many people in here and places were running out of food."

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28. (tie) Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport

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Some travelers say Bush airport isn't so warm and welcoming, despite the sign.

Satisfaction score: 769

Houston's far-flung (20 miles from downtown) airport named for President George H.W. Bush is another massive facility that many people find overwhelming.

Even though the airport has both a subway and an elevated people mover to carry passengers between terminals, some gripe that there's still too much walking involved when you need to get to your connecting flight.

Others say the signs around the airport are unclear and don't help you get where you're going, and many complain that there aren't enough charging stations.

"It doesn't really feel old nor does it feel new. It just feels like a very middle-of-the-road type of airport," writes one man on Yelp. "A lot of the typical restaurant and airport bar style haunts. But nothing spectacular."

26. (tie) William P. Hobby Airport (Houston)

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A long lineup at Houston's Hobby Airport

Satisfaction score: 768

Houstons smaller airport has had more than its fair 15 minutes of fame.

In the last year, Houston Hobby experienced a toy grenade setting off a bomb scare; a dance squads performance during a flight delay going viral; and hundreds of flight cancellations due to mechanical problems.

Aside from all the drama, the airport is infamous for its regular water shut-offs, dirty bathrooms, barely functioning power outlets and terrible customer service.

One unhappy traveler makes an unfavorable comparison to Los Angeles' unloved airport: It makes LAX look like Disneyland.

26. (tie) Salt Lake City International Airport

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Delta airlines aircrafts at SLC International Airport

Satisfaction score: 768

Residents are excited that Salt Lake City is building a brand new airport with an epic art installation, due to open in 2020.

Until then, travelers are forced to endure the citys outdated claustrophobic nightmare of an airport, as one critic describes it.

Terminal 1 was completed in 1960, Terminal 2 was built in the late 70s  and the most recent major upgrades occurred in the 80s. Unsurprisingly, this little airport just hasnt kept up with growing air traffic and travelers' needs.

Yelp reviewers decry the crowded, limited lounges, filthy facilities and the worst Wi-Fi of any airport from here to Istanbul.

24. (tie) Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport

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Signs pointing to transport at the complicated Minneapolis- St. Paul airport

Satisfaction score: 767

This airport was named among the best in North America by Airports Council International in 2018  but travelers disagree.

As business grew, the Twin Cities' airport added several poorly connected expansions. Today, the layout includes underground crossings, escalators, car traffic, trams  and terribly confusing signage.

Yelp reviewers report security lines lasting an hour and a half, customers being herded like cattle to a meat factory and an alarming shortage of men's toilets.

One frequent flyer notes, It took me over 45 minutes to walk from security to my gate. Last month, I got food poisoning here. Truly a destination for one's worst enemy.

24. (tie) San Jose International Airport

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San Jose International Airport is just one miles-long hallway

Satisfaction score: 767

This airport is close to Silicon Valley, has direct flights to major cities, and can boast a generally on-time performance. However, recent renovations failed to fix the terribly sprawling design of the place.

The building is just one miles-long hallway. Passengers must drag their bags the length of the entire airport, squeezing through bottlenecks whenever several flights arrive at the same time.

Baggage claim is at one end while car rental counters are at the other, and the cars themselves are upstairs. Confusing signage adds more stress to this torturous experience.

This airport is hideous for the elderly," reports one traveler on AirlineQuality.com. If you have difficulty walking long distances, avoid it at all costs.

23. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

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A sweltering afternoon at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

Satisfaction score: 765

Sky Harbor airport has been praised for its timely flights, nursing rooms, animal-relief areas and commitment to environmental sustainability. Yet with ongoing construction, some areas have been permanently neglected.

Terminals 2 and 3 are grim and dilapidated. Travelers say there are no restaurants or even a single coffee counter open beyond the security checkpoints after 9 p.m.

Flyers also complain of broken seats, few functioning outlets, no Wi-Fi and just two tiny bathrooms.

If you survive the heat stroke walking from the Skytrain in the 100F + Arizona sun, youll get to enjoy all this, plus no air conditioning, says a disgusted Yelp review. This place is a zoo.

21. (tie) Chicago Midway International Airport

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Lineup of passenger airplanes at Chicago Midway Airport

Satisfaction score: 763

Chicagos Midway airport has been under renovation since 2018  and somethings gone horribly wrong.

More gates were squeezed in, leading to severe crowding, inadequate seating and security lines spilling into the parking lot. Popular food options, such as Potbelly Sandwiches, were replaced by low-quality chains with awful service and even worse food.

Dozens of Yelp reviewers cry foul over the selection of dry microwaved bread, Chicago's worst pizza and $15 salads with scary brown lettuce.

While the food may not matter elsewhere, this airports central U.S. location means layovers are likely  and so is starvation, if you dont pack a lunch.

21. (tie) San Francisco International Airport

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Busy check-in and Air Train out of service at San Francisco International Airport

Satisfaction score: 763

Originally opened in 1954, this busy airport houses four terminals, including a modern International Terminal featuring a renowned aviation museum and library.

But unlike the other terminals industry-leading redesigns, the renovations at domestic Terminal 1 leave something to be desired.

Customers complain that there are only two restaurants, muddled announcements, nonfunctional charging stations and cramped conditions with 200-300 people crammed into the end of the terminal waiting to board their planes.

In the words of one Yelp user: Everything about this hellhole screams, You're never getting out of here.

20. Charlotte Douglas International Airport

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Travelers waiting overnight due to cancelled flights at Charlotte Douglas International Airport

Satisfaction score: 761

This airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, has earned the distinction of being the world's seventh busiest in terms of air traffic. Unfortunately, the terminal isn't equipped to deal with this onslaught.

Concourse B has been under construction, and passengers complain of crowds, lack of seating, dirt everywhere, and no clear barriers separating the construction.

And the project won't be finished until 2020.

"It is absolutely gross. Ceiling has exposed wires, cracks and a draft from the outside," says one Yelper. "The speakers are so crappy that it sounds like the teacher from the 'Peanuts' sucked helium and screamed incessantly."

18. (tie) Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

Thomas Hawke / Flickr

Windows turn this terminal into a greenhouse

Satisfaction score: 759

This airport in Arlington, Virginia, first opened in 1941, and the modern terminals that were dedicated in 1997 reflect earlier styles.

It all makes DCA an architectural curiosity  but not up to par with today's travel needs.

There are very few power outlets, the airport is perpetually understaffed, and the classy glass-wall design turns Terminal A into a sweltering greenhouse every afternoon.

The airport also is not readily wheelchair accessible, travelers say. Those with wheelchairs are taken through shady hidden elevators and down some private corridors to a bus that transports them to the right terminal, according to one Yelp reviewer.

18. (tie) Baltimore Washington International

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Aerial view of the sprawling Baltimore Washington International Airport

Satisfaction score: 759

BWI is a newer airport in the D.C. area, and people enjoyed it at first. But its been expanded so many times that its now a sprawling mess.

The car traffic is a nightmare, rental cars are located 20 minutes away, and dragging your luggage through the terminals takes forever. Travelers say they also contend with dirty bathrooms, scarce outlets and rude airport employees.

So, why do people keep coming here? One reviewer on Yelp says fares tend to be $80 to $120 cheaper than at the region's two other airports.

"That's a pretty decent savings right? I say that depends," he says. "It depends on whether time means anything to you."

17. Kahului Airport (Maui, Hawaii)

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Kahului Airport opens onto a glorious and humid view

Satisfaction score: 757

Landing at this open-air airport after a long flight is like being thrown headfirst into a steam engine with all your luggage.

Travelers complain that this tiny 1970s airport has no air conditioning, crazy long lines, lots of bottlenecks and confusing signage.

If youre looking for a connection to the outside world, your best bet is the paid Wi-Fi  if you can find it.

Welcome to paradise!

16. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

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Its rocking chairs are cute, but this airport is too small to handle so much air traffic

Satisfaction score: 756

Seattles smallish international airport leaves much to be desired.

Its too small to handle the volume of travelers  which translates to overlong TSA lines, irate customer service people, not enough seats and general disarray.

In an attempt to bring SeaTac up to modern standards, the place is under construction, which only adds to the mayhem.

If you have a late flight and youre hungry, youre out of luck. As one traveler points out on Yelp, the airport largely shutters its doors after 10 p.m. like a Florida retirement town. It even has rocking chairs.

15. Lambert-St. Louis International Airport

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A plane lands at the sprawling Lambert-St. Louis International Airport

Satisfaction score: 753

This medium-sized Missouri airport is just OK on a good day.

It has several restaurants to choose from, a few stores for picking out gum or a magazine, and its connected to downtown St. Louis by light rail.

However, the narrow concourses cant quite handle the volume of travelers, and neither can the security lines. Service at the airport restaurants can be incredibly slow and only worth it if you have hours to waste.

And speaking of time: This airport is so spread out that experienced flyers advise travelers to tack an extra hour onto their pre-boarding time.

14. New York John F. Kennedy International Airport

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One in five flights is delayed at JFK

Satisfaction score: 752

As will quickly become clear, airports in the New York City area are unmitigated disasters.

JFK is a massive airport that handles hundreds of thousands of arriving and departing flights every year  and 1 in 5 of them is delayed, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

More than 59 million passengers use JFK each year, and given that volume, service is slow. It can take hours to get through security to your boarding area.

One frequent flyer sums it up this way on Yelp: "JFK is always a zoo."

13. Washington Dulles International Airport

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A mobile lounge ferries passengers around Washington Dulles Airport.

Satisfaction score: 751

The trip into D.C. from distant Dulles can be grueling.

The Washington Metro Silver Line subway extension won't be completed for at least another year, so now you face a combination bus-and-subway ride, a long drive, or an expensive taxi or Uber/Lyft trip.

Like other airports on this list, Dulles outgrew its original space and expanded over time into a sprawling mess.

Getting around the airport can only be accomplished via its mobile lounges that look like monster trucks.

12. Miami International Airport

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Airplane landing at Miami International Airport

Satisfaction score: 750

Miami International is a victim of the citys popularity and proximity to the Caribbean. The airport is always jam-packed with tourists and irate Floridians trying to get out of the city or just get home already.

Travelers complain of long walks from security to boarding, confusing signage and terrible service all around.

Almost 1 in 5 flights is delayed, which is fine as long as you enjoy hanging out in crushing humidity.

One passenger writing on Yelp swears hed rather schedule a frontal lobotomy than come back to this dive.

11. Oakland International Airport

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Unhappy port workers striking disrupted operations at Oakland International Airport

Satisfaction score: 749

From dirty bathrooms and gates littered with trash to a lack of charging stations, this airport in the San Francisco Area seems designed to torture travelers.

Passengers complain about constant flight delays, limited dining options and angry customer service.

Its no wonder no ones happy when the best thing you can say about this airport is that you can get away from it quickly. BART subway trains depart every six minutes.

One local traveler offers the following advice on Yelp: Pray that your flight wont be canceled and "keep this place as a last option." Thanks for the warning.

10. Boston Logan International Airport

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Packed Terminal C of Boston Logan International Airport

Satisfaction score: 747

Tourists love Bostons pretty parks, fresh seafood and amazing history  that is, if they ever manage to get through the airport.

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 23% of arrivals and 21% of departures at Boston Logan were delayed in 2018.

Airport visitors complain about the lack of restaurants or cafes; the excessively long wait times at baggage check; the rude, slow-moving TSA agents; and just the ugliness of the place.

One Yelp reviewer describers the "dreary interior reminiscent of post WWII Soviet era structures of concrete, no sense of local culture or creativity."

9. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport

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Major foot traffic at Fort Lauderdale's International Airport

Satisfaction score: 744

This busy South Florida airport is bad from start to finish.

The BTS found that 20% of arrivals and 21% of departures have been delayed in 2018, causing long wait times and major stress for travelers.

The airport also gets massive traffic from travelers going on cruises  yet its terminals offer them no convenient way to get to the port and not enough seats when the time comes to fly home.

"This airport is a mess," writes one Yelper. "Very expensive shops and eateries, dirty restrooms that are few and far between, and very long walks between the two terminals."

8. Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport

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New Orleans International Airport needs some serious updates

Satisfaction score: 743

Although about 80% of arrivals are on time and delays and cancellations are average, dont expect rave reviews about the New Orleans airport.

It's a small airport that just can't handle the human traffic coming in. Small bathrooms with just a couple of stalls, few food options and long lines are just the beginning.

Then there's the general dirtiness, the phone chargers that don't fit today's phones, and the overworked airport staffers.

"The airport is outdated. It's a little depressing and needs to be modernized by brightening it up," says one traveler on Yelp.

7. Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (Honolulu)

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Aerial view of airplanes at Honolulu International Airport

Satisfaction score: 736

Tourism is Hawaiis bread and butter, but the state really dropped the ball when designing its international airport.

Although it has excellent scheduling and few cancellations, the airport is such a maze that you might not make your flight.

Any attempts to follow the confusing signage is liable to bring passengers to dead ends and restricted areas. Locals recommend arriving very early to figure out how to reach your terminal on time.

One reviewer on Yelp cracks: "Hey HNL, 1960 called and they want their airport back. What a joke."

6. Philadelphia International Airport

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Passengers wait in line at the TSA security check at Philadelphia International Airport

Satisfaction score: 736

Philadelphias airport is notorious for its disorganization, lack of cleanliness and terrible customer service.

"Whether it's escalators not working, water fountains out of work, confused TSA agents or simply no one around to discuss flight changes, it's incompetency like I haven't seen at an airport," writes one frequent flyer on Yelp.

Plus, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics found that 21% of arrivals and 20% of departures have been delayed this year so far.

Thankfully, airlines have agreed to inject $900 million into much-needed improvements for this run-down airport over 15 years.

5. Chicago O'Hare International Airport

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It takes hours to transfer through the Chicago's huge airport

Satisfaction score: 735

Chicago's O'Hare International is a pretty great shopping and dining destination  but not the best bet for keeping your travel plans.

With the airports 20% delayed incoming flight record, flyers have to book extremely long layovers to make their connections.

International travelers must board a train to cross the airport and deal with unhappy staff, additional security and long lines once they reach the transfer point.

"I had given myself four hours between flights and still barely made it to my gate on time," says one reviewer on AirlineQuality.com, who was connecting after a flight from Dubai. "Unacceptable."

4. Los Angeles International Airport

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LA's traffic is part of the problem

Satisfaction score: 735

Though LAX doesn't fall victim to bad weather delays, there's no escaping the L.A. traffic you're forced to battle when arriving or leaving.

Unfortunately, things don't get any easier in the insanely long security lines and baggage claim.

The long waits for baggage can easily tack on an hour or more to your attempt to leave the airport.

One Yelper sums up many flyers complaints when he describes LAX as "just out of control and chaotic."

3. Kansas City International Airport

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This airport feels like a dilapidated bus station

Satisfaction score: 733

While a smaller airport should find fewer ways to mess things up, Kansas City International in Missouri proves just the opposite.

Affordable parking is located far away and there are not enough spots, so flyers are forced to pay for expensive taxis or valet parking close to the airport.

The facility also has tiny bathrooms, not enough space to accommodate modern security screenings, and so few seats that people have to sit or lie down on the floor, or lean against walls.

In short, this airport just feels like an old, dilapidated bus station, one traveler writes on Yelp.

2. Newark Liberty International Airport

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Newark International Airport suffers from constant delays

Satisfaction score: 701

The best thing about the Newark, New Jersey, airport is its affordable train ride connecting to New York City  but the good news stops there.

Passengers report that terminals are poorly laid out, food services are scarce, and delays are a constant thing.

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics says 22.9% of flights departing from Newark and 29.6% of arrivals have been delayed to date in 2018. And thats an improvement.

Though J.D. Power found one airport is even worse, a Yelp reviewer would put Newark Liberty on the bottom: "I have been to many many airports internationally and domestic. One was under a thatched hut on an island with air conditioning. Would rather be there!!"

1. LaGuardia Airport (New York)

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LaGuardia is always under construction, inside and out

Satisfaction score: 678

The New York area has some of the most complex air traffic in the world, with huge numbers of flights and passengers. Unfortunately, LaGuardia is just not able to handle the pressure.

In 2018, the airport has had 23% of its arrivals and nearly 20% of its departures delayed. LaGuardia also is cramped, disorganized and in desperate need of upgrades to seating, bathrooms, retail, restaurants and services.

Veteran travelers say ongoing construction is failing to improve the place. "Concourses are narrow and there are very few services like food and shopping," says one Yelper. "It just feels old, tired and dirty."

On the plus side, visitors who survive LaGuardia will find the New York's legendary subway system to be a cakewalk.
Algiers (AFP) - Algerian civil society groups warned Saturday of toughening police tactics and reaffirmed their commitment to peaceful pro-democracy rallies, a day after officers in riot gear clashed with protesters.

Friday's initially calm protest in central Algiers deteriorated into the worst street violence seen so far since marches began in mid-February demanding an end to the 20-year-rule of president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who finally resigned on April 2, and his regime.

Police used tear gas and water cannon and scuffled with demonstrators, who in turn hurled stones and bottles, set light to at least one police car and turned large dumpsters into barricades.

Injuries were reported on both sides, and activists raised fears that the standoff has entered a new phase.

"Friday's mobilisation was different because of the scale of the repression," according to Said Salhi, vice president of the Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights.

It said several activists were arrested on Saturday as they prepared to return to the key protest site at the capital's main post office, condemning the action as "harassment".

Demonstrators have vowed to push on with rallies against the interim government of Abdelkader Bensalah and its planned July 4 elections, arguing that leaders who emerged from the Bouteflika "system" cannot guarantee free and fair polls.

Salhi noted that the mood was different Friday outside the post office that has become an emblematic protest site.

"It usually starts joyfully at the post office, but there was a desire on the part of the authorities to clear the area," he said.

Salhi said a turning point had come three days earlier when police had for the first time tried to disperse a student demonstration in Algiers with tear gas and water cannon.

Political scientist Cherif Driss said that, while the demonstrations have continued unabated, "the police are trying to refocus, and are beginning to reduce the public space for expression".

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Driss added however that "the response remains moderate and professional, with mostly water cannons and tear gas. There is no brutal repression."

- 'Delinquents and troublemakers' -

Police put Friday's violence down to "delinquents" infiltrating the crowds, and said 108 people had been arrested, while some protesters also blamed "troublemakers" for the clashes.

Driss said it was too early to tell whether Friday's clashes were the result of "a strategy to limit demonstrations or a reaction to groups infiltrating" the protests.

The General Directorate of National Security reported that 83 police had suffered injuries. It denied having resorted to repressive tactics and said it was merely maintaining public order.

Several protesters were also injured, and at least one was hit in the chest by what appeared to be a rubber bullet, said an AFP photographer.

Activist groups stressed their commitment to non-violence, although some shops and properties were damaged after protests in the early days of the movement.

"The protesters are very committed to the continuation of the movement in its peaceful form," said Abdelwahab Ferfaoui of civic group the Youth Action Rally (RAJ-Algeria). "It's the key to success."

At Friday's clashes, AFP journalists saw some demonstrators placing themselves between rioters and police, raising their hands and chanting "silmiya" (peaceful) until the situation calmed.

"People did not respond despite the repression, we saw citizens defending police officers," said Salhi.

"But we want to move towards a political solution quickly to avoid desperation. Letting the situation deteriorate until the elections in three months is not a solution."
Sudans Omar al-Bashir may have been ousted by a popular revolution on Thursday, but his Russian allies are continuing their operations in the country, three Russian contractors in Sudan told TIME after the uprising.

The mining contractors have worked in Sudan on-and-off since last year, under a wide-ranging cooperation deal that al-Bashir struck with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Nov. 2017. The Sudanese dictator characterized the deal at the time as giving Russia the keys to Africa in exchange for Russian protection from aggressive U.S. actions in the region.

Putin accepted the arrangement, which involved supplies of Russian weapons and private military contractors to Sudan, as well as a variety of mining ventures. As TIME reported on April 4, Putins alliance with al-Bashir fit into a widening campaign of Russian influence across the developing world, where the Kremlin has moved to build a ragtag network of dictatorships over the past few years.

The contractors told TIME on Friday that these mining ventures are, for the most part, continuing apace despite the turmoil in Sudan. Of course the situation is a bit more unsettled now, says a senior engineer at a Russian mining company, Broker Expert, that has been active in Sudan since last year. There are new people in power. But so far it looks like we are moving ahead as planned, the engineer said, asking not to be named as he was not authorized to speak with the media.

To call the situation unsettled was an understatement. In a televised statement on Thursday, the Sudanese Defense Minister announced that al-Bashir had been detained by the military, declared martial law throughout the country and said a council of generals would rule Sudan during a two-year transition period.

Activists and opposition leaders in Sudan have pledged to carry on the revolution at least until civilian rule is established. But even under the current military leadership, Russias days in the country are numbered, says Khalid Omer Yousif, the acting head of the Sudanese Congress Party, which has opposed the regime in Sudan. The transitional authorities have signaled that their strategy is based on normalization of the relationship with the Saudis and the Americans, he says in a phone interview. So the Russians have no chance right now. They lost their ally.

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Al-Bashir managed the relationship with Russia personally. He visited Putin twice in the past two years, despite an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court, which indicted al-Bashir in 2009 for war crimes and genocide against his own people. Putin was glad to welcome him during both visits, the first time in his residence in Sochi and the second time in the Kremlin. But since al-Bashirs downfall on Thursday after 30 years in power, the Russian authorities have avoided publicly taking sides in the ongoing struggle for power.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry in Moscow urged all political and military forces in Sudan to act extremely responsibly in the aim of stabilizing the situation as soon as possible and not allowing any further escalation. Speaking to Russian news agencies, the spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, added that Russian citizens should avoid traveling to Sudan until further notice due to the challenging security situation in the country.

Despite the warning, two of the Russian engineers TIME spoke with on Friday said they are planning to return to Sudan in the coming days. Ive already got my tickets, one of them said.

But there were signs that the revolution might yet interrupt Russias ventures in Sudan. The executives of Broker Expert, the Russian mining company, refused to answer questions when contacted by a reporter on Friday. One of their employees said his scheduled trip to Sudan as part of a team of Russian miners had been delayed amid the uprising. We were supposed to go back in this week, just when all this was happening, he says, also asking not to use his name for fear of losing his job. Were just waiting for word of whats next. But at this stage in the uprising, it seems the door to Africa that al-Bashir opened for Russia remains open.
QUITO, Ecuador (AP)  The relationship between WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and the Ecuadorians who granted him asylum had the ups and downs of a telenovela.

Once close allies, the silver-haired Australian and leaders of the South American nation grew increasingly embittered as feuds emerged over everything from his alleged meddling in the nation's foreign affairs to the hygiene of his cat.

They finally broke for good on Thursday when President Lenin Moreno allowed British authorities to forcibly remove Assange from Ecuador's small embassy in a tony part of London.

"We've ended the asylum of this spoiled brat," a visibly flustered Moreno said hours later in a fiery speech. "From now on we'll be more careful in giving asylum to people who are really worth it, and not miserable hackers whose only goal is to destabilize governments."

How did their diplomatic liaison take such a dark turn?

Ecuador emerged as a safe haven for Assange in 2012 as his legal options to evade extradition to Sweden over sex crime accusations dried up in the United Kingdom. On a June day, he moved into the small country's embassy near the upscale Harrods department store for what most thought would be a short stay.

Instead, the cramped quarters, where a small office was converted into a bedroom, became a permanent address that some likened to a de facto jail.

At the time, Ecuador was governed by Rafael Correa, a leftist with an anti-United States bent who championed the cause of Assange, who had infuriated Washington by publishing a vast trove of confidential U.S. government documents on his WikiLeaks site.

For Correa, granting Assange asylum allowed him to stake a moral high ground, associating himself with a man whose followers see him as a digital-age Robin Hood crusading against big governments and corporations, even as the president faced accusations of clamping down on human rights back home.

"Welcome to the club of those who are persecuted!" Correa said during a televised interview with Assange before the asylum bid.

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The embassy has just a few rooms and Assange's new home was far from luxurious. Stuck inside, he used a treadmill to stay in shape, sat beneath a sun lamp to compensate for the lack of natural light and received both visitors and pizza deliveries.

The roster of guests at No. 3 Hans Crescent included stars like Lady Gaga and Pamela Anderson.

"It's not quite the Hilton," Gavin MacFayden, a supporter and investigative journalism school director, said in the early months of Assange's stay.

Assange's mother expressed concerns about her son's health, but the creator of the online whistle-blowing organization remained steadfast in staying.

"While this immoral investigation continues, and while the Australian government will not defend the journalism and publishing of WikiLeaks, I must remain here," he said in a rare address outside the embassy about six months into his residence.

The first major public squabble with Ecuadorian officials came four years later, in 2016, when Ecuador's government cut off his internet access after WikiLeaks published a trove of damaging emails from Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

In targeting Clinton, Assange may have run up against Correa's own preference for the Democratic candidate and his effort to repair testy relations with Washington. WikiLeaks accused Ecuador of bowing to pressure from then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, a charge it denied.

A year later, Assange emerged as a thorn in Ecuador's side again.

During the country's 2017 presidential election, the activist's protracted embassy stay became a campaign issue. Conservative banker Guillermo Lasso said he'd evict him within 30 days if elected. Lenin Moreno, Correa's hand-picked successor, said he'd let him stay  and narrowly won.

Following the vote, Assange took to Twitter to take a jab at Lasso.

"I cordially invite Lasso to leave Ecuador within 30 days (with or without his tax haven millions)," he wrote, alluding to allegations the banker had money abroad.

The remarks rattled Moreno, who warned Assange to stay out of the country's politics.

Within months of taking office, Moreno's government scolded Assange again for meddling in international affairs by voicing his support for Catalan secessionists from the Ecuadorian Embassy. Relations grew so prickly that a year later, Ecuador imposed a stricter set of rules outlining what he could and couldn't do inside the embassy.

Under the new protocol, Assange would have to pay for his internet and clean up after his cat, an evident source of tension between both sides. The rules said that if the feline wasn't properly fed and cleaned up after, it would be sent to the pound.

Assange tried challenging the restrictions in court, to no avail.

Correa said Thursday he thinks the final straw for Moreno was WikiLeaks' decision to spread information about a purported offshore account controlled by the president's brother. Personal photographs of Moreno lying in bed, as well as images of close family members dancing, were also leaked, incensing him.

Correa, who has had a very public falling out with Moreno, accused him of acting "cowardly."

"This will never be forgotten by all of humanity," Correa wrote on Twitter.

Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo said Assange's behavior had become intolerable, and accused him even of spreading fecal matter on embassy walls. Speaking Thursday at an event outside Quito, Moreno said Assange's egregious behavior signified that the computer expert viewed Ecuador as an insignificant, third-rate country.

"When you're given shelter, cared for and provided food, you don't denounce the owner of the house," he said to applause.

Moreno was also likely under increasing U.S. pressure to surrender Assange, though he said Thursday that he had only made his decision after Great Britain guaranteed he would not be extradited "to a country where he could face torture or the death penalty."

Shortly after Moreno's election, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, traveled to Quito in the company of Chinese investors. Moreno's aides said that Assange's name never came up and the visit, which was first revealed in U.S. court documents.

But some have speculated it was the start of backchannel coordination between U.S., Ecuadorian and U.K. officials, and it was followed months later with a rare visit to Quito by Vice President Mike Pence, who has since become one of Moreno's biggest boosters.

Pence said that he discussed Assange with Moreno during his visit but provided no details.

On the streets of Ecuador's capital, some rejoiced that they'd no longer be seeing Assange's face pop up so frequently in the nation's headlines.

"It's good they've thrown him out," said Manuel Benavides, a designer. "He's ungrateful and arrogant. You can't bite the hand that has fed you all these years."

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Armario reported from Bogota, Colombia. Associated Press writer Joshua Goodman contributed to this report.

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Follow AP's coverage of the arrest of WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange here: https://www.apnews.com/WikiLeaks
London (AFP) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange languished Friday in a British jail at the outset of a likely lengthy extradition battle following the dramatic end to his seven-year stay in Ecuador's London embassy.

Within hours of police hauling him out of the embassy on Thursday, the 47-year-old Australian appeared in court for breaching his British bail conditions in 2012 and to face a subsequent US extradition request.

A legal source familiar with the case told AFP that Assange was being held at Belmarsh prison in southeast London.

One of eight "high security" jails in England, it can also hold prisoners "requiring specific management arrangements because of their public and media profile", according to a 2018 inspection report.

Assange was remanded in custody Thursday at a hearing in front of a London judge, who pronounced him guilty of disobeying his bail terms by fleeing to the embassy in June 2012.

He could receive up to a year in prison when sentenced at an as yet undetermined later date.

His separate extradition case on charges of computer hacking is set to be next heard by video-link at Westminster Magistrates' Court on May 2.

However, under British law the United States has until June 12 to submit full extradition papers.

Assange's London lawyer Jennifer Robinson confirmed he would contest the long-feared attempt to try him there.

"He's obviously going to fight extradition and fight it hard," Robinson told BBC radio on Friday, adding she had visited her client in a court cell after the hearing when he thanked supporters and said: "I told you so."

"The bigger question is... why is the United States seeking his extradition over publishing truthful information."

- Extradition 'should be opposed' -

Assange sought asylum at Ecuador's embassy in London's chic Knightsbridge district after a British judge ruled he should be extradited to Sweden to face sexual assault allegations.

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Inside the red-brick building he lived a sparse existence in a flat measuring 18 square metres (190 square feet) with just a bed, shower, computer, treadmill and microwave.

Britain spent 13.2 million up to 2015 on policing up to 2015, maintaining a 24-hour guard at the embassy's doors in the first year.

Relations with his Ecuadoran hosts gradually soured and new pro-US President Lenin Moreno on Thursday pulled his asylum and permitted British police to remove Assange.

Prime Minister Theresa May welcomed the arrest as showing "no one is above the law".

But opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, a leftist stalwart, called for the government to block the extradition.

"The extradition of Julian Assange to the US for exposing evidence of atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan should be opposed," he said on Twitter.

May's comments prompted a furious reaction on Twitter from Assange's mother, who lives in Australia.

She accused the British prime minister of "trying to divert attention away from her Brexit dog's breakfast by cheering on the thuggish, brutal, unlawful arrest of my courageous, tortured multi-award winning journalist son".

- Years-long extradition cases -

Legal experts said the case could be stuck in British courts for up to two years and, if appealed, potentially go all the way to the European Court of Justice.

"The chances of him winning (against) extradition are low," Ben Keith, a British barrister specialising in the field, told AFP. "We extradite most people to the US."

Critics of the move, including WikiLeaks editor Kristinn Hrafnsson, have warned the US could add more charges once Assange is extradited.

But Keith said once they have filed their formal request within the next 65 days, American officials would be limited to those charges.

"There's specific international extradition law protection that prevents you from charging someone with additional (offences)," he added.

Assange supporters, including fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, rallied outside Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

Inside the courtrooom, judge Michael Snow described him as a "narcissist" and suggested he could consent to the extradition to "get on with your life".

Previous comparable cases, involving accused hackers Lauri Love and Gary McKinnon, took between five and 10 years but eventually resulted in their extraditions to the US being blocked.
Madrid (AFP) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, arrested in London on a US extradition request, is the target of "political persecution," the man coordinating his defence said Thursday.

"There is evident political persecution which started precisely with the massive publication by WikiLeaks in 2010 of cables and very serious information" which Assange had published, including a trove of classified Pentagon documents detailing alleged US war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq," said Spanish lawyer Baltasar Garzon.

"The threats against Julian Assange for political reasons, persecution on the part of the United States, are more current than ever," said Garzon, who also accused Ecuador's president of lying about the reasons behind the revoking of Assange's citizenship of the South American state, acquired in 2017.

Garzon, who has previously described the case against Assange as arbitrary and baseless, is a high-profile human rights investigator who was investigating magistrate when former Chilean doctator Augusto Pinochet was detained in London on a Spanish warrant for extradition to face genocide charges. The British government ultimately rejected extradition on humanitarian grounds in that case.

British police arrested Assange at the Ecuadoran embassy in London, where he had spent seven years as a recluse, claiming asylum and Ecuadoran nationality, both of which President Lenin Moreno revoked.

A London court hours later found Assange guilty of jumping bail in 2012 while wanted in Sweden on charges of sexual assault which were subsequently dropped.

"We are very concerned because the Ecuadoran government and in particular its president have not told the truth in the published statement" on Assange, said Garzon, adding that Quito's arguments for justifying his loss of citizenship were "false".

The US Justice Department earlier had said Assange, a 47-year-old Australian, faced a federal charge in the US and a jail term of up to five years for "conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for agreeing to break a password to a classified US government computer".

The indictment alleges Assange conspired in March 2010 with Chelsea Manning, a former US Army intelligence analyst, to crack a password stored on Department of Defense computers.
CHICAGO, April 12 (Reuters) - Four banks on Friday fired back at a move by Puerto Rico's federally created financial oversight board to force them to disclose customer information related to certain debt issued by the bankrupt U.S. commonwealth.

The board on Monday asked the U.S. District Court judge hearing the island's bankruptcy cases to compel the banks to submit bondholder names and addresses along with related payments the bondholders received between 2013 and 2017 by an April 19 deadline.

The Bank of New York Mellon, Bank of America Corp , JP Morgan Chase Bank, and U.S. Bank objected, citing concerns over disclosing confidential customer information, as well as the cost and ability to produce a large amount of information within the tight deadline.

"The burden of this deadline is not merely excessive and unreasonable, but in fact it would be impossible to meet, as the requested data, to the extent it exists, is not easily accessible," an attorney for JP Morgan stated in a letter to the board's lawyers.

In a court filing, Bank of America said there was no certainty it is even the correct entity to produce information to comply with the board's "over broad and patently burdensome requests."

The quest for bondholder information is related to an attempt by the board and some creditor groups in the bankruptcy to have the federal court void more than $6 billion of defaulted general obligation (GO) bonds sold in 2012 and 2014 and other debt.

In an April 3 court filing asking for an extension of a statute of limitations that expires next month, the board said it could recover billions of dollars in payments made to bondholders should the disputed debt be invalidated.

U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain, who has yet to rule on bond invalidation motions, will address the extension request at an April 24 hearing.

The board filed bankruptcy for the island in May 2017 to restructure about $120 billion of debt and pension obligations. But it did not seek to void the GO bonds on the basis they were issued in violation of debt limits in the Puerto Rico Constitution until January 2019, just months before the statute of limitations on bringing such actions runs out this May.

If ordered by Swain to produce bondholder information, the banks said the court should address matters such as a longer deadline, their indemnification from claims and liability arising from compliance, and reimbursement for their costs. (Reporting by Karen Pierog in Chicago and Luis Valentin Ortiz in San Juan; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
General Electric (NYSE: GE) and The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) have a lot in common. Their futures are intrinsically linked through their common interest in aviation, as General Electric engines and systems are used on many of Boeing's airplanes. And both companies have suffered in the aftermath of the two recent Boeing 737 MAX crashes. Let's take a look at the salient points behind recent events in order to see which stock might be worth buying -- or avoiding -- as a consequence.

Near-term impact

There's no point avoiding the elephant in the room: The recent tragedies will definitely have an impact on both companies, although it's hard to know exactly what that will be near-term or, more importantly, in the long-term.

A Boeing plane in flight.

Boeing needs to restore confidence Image source: Getty Images.

Aside from possible legal liabilities Boeing might have to pay, the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX and consequent production cut from 52 airplanes per month to 42 airplanes per month (starting in mid-April) are going to hit Boeing's profitability -- not least because its margin expansion is partly contingent on volume growth.

Of course, this will also have an impact on General Electric, because it has a joint venture with Safran, called CFM International, that makes LEAP engines for the 737 MAX. In GE's case, the near-term impact is rather harder to assess, for two reasons.

First, CFM is playing catch-up on LEAP production, so a slowing of 737 MAX production might ease some production tension. For example, on the last earnings call GE's CFO Jamie Miller said: "We're still behind on deliveries by about four weeks, but the business expects to be back on schedule by mid-2019." Moreover, the delays are believed to be on the LEAP-1B for the Boeing 737 MAX, rather than the LEAP-1A, which is used for the Airbus A320neo family.

Second, producing LEAP engines has a negative impact on GE Aviation's margin, so producing less of them could actually lead to a near-term increase in profitability. ] o be clear,T though, the LEAP engine will generate significant earnings and cash flow from aftermarket/service revenue in the future, and the last thing GE wants to do is to have to slow LEAP production.

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Both companies are going to see a near-term impact from the recent events, which will definitely be negative in Boeing's case. But what about long-term impacts?

The glass half full

The positive scenario sees Boeing successfully providing a software update to its Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) to add extra layers of protection if the angle of attack (AOA) sensors give erroneous information.

For reference, the AOA sensors are like weather vanes, and are used to measure the difference between a wing's chord line and the direction of air flowing past it. With an elevated level, the plane can stall, so MCAS (a computer-controlled system on the 737 MAX) pushes the nose down automatically. Unfortunately, it appears that erroneous information from an AOA sensor caused MCAS to be triggered, and pilots from both Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines were unable to stop the plane crashing.

Assuming an optimistic outcome, the 737 MAX would be flying again in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, confidence could be rebuilt, just as consumers regained their confidence in Airbus after it had a similar problem with erroneous information from an AOA sensor in 2014 -- that time pilots were able to save the plane by disengaging a sensor.

The glass half empty

The pessimistic outlook sees the risk that the problem could turn out to be something more fundamental to the Boeing 737 MAX -- something that would hurt Boeing, and, in turn, General Electric.

Looking at the two preliminary reports on the separate crashes, the data is clear that, in both cases, one AOA sensor was giving erroneous information. Indeed, the Ethiopian Government report summary states that "after takeoff, the Angle of Attack sensor recorded value became erroneous."

It's a very rare occurrence, but not unheard of. It happened on two Airbus planes previously, resulting in a crash near Perpignan in 2008 and an incident near Bilbao in 2014. In both cases two AOA sensors in the plane gave erroneous readings -- believed to be caused by them freezing as the planes ascended into subzero temperatures.

The Boeing 737 MAX issues are, at this stage, much harder to understand. Is it a mechanical issue with the AOA sensor, or a software problem? Is it something to do with a combination of the 737 MAX design and ground crew actions that damaged the AOA sensor? Is it a mere coincidence that two 737 MAX plans have received erroneous data from AOA sensors within six months of each other?

What might investors do?

Cautious investors will likely avoid both stocks until a clear cause of the AOA data failures is identified. After all, even if the 737 MAX gets back into operation soon, an AOA failure could occur again in a few months. The software update will help avoid a crash, but it would still be highly concerning if the AOA data issue wasn't resolved properly.

A more optimistic view sees the software update as sufficient to restore confidence in the 737 MAX, and feels confident that the problem with the AOA data failure will be identified -- after all, Airbus did not suffer significantly from its issue in 2014. On that basis, Boeing probably has more upside potential, so if you are inclined to believe in the positive scenario then Boeing is the better buy.

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.
By Joseph Ax NEWARK, N.J. (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Cory Booker held the first major rally of his presidential campaign on Saturday in the city that launched his political career, saying America "can't wait" any longer to address the country's deep divisions and urgent problems. The rally took place in Newark, New Jersey, Booker's adopted hometown, where he built a national profile as mayor from 2006 to 2013 before winning a Senate seat. The event, which kicked off a two-week "Justice for All" multistate campaign tour, comes as Booker, 49, remains wedged in the middle of a crowded pack of Democratic hopefuls. Booker's 30-minute speech relied on some of the same themes of unity and compassion that he has touted throughout his campaign, arguing that defeating U.S. President Donald Trump in 2020 will require an inclusive approach to combat the Republican chief executive's often no-holds-barred brand of politics. "We have to decide whether we will choose division and blame - or if we will do the hard work of conquering fear with faith, apathy with action, and hatred with love," Booker said. "The president wants a race to the gutter and to fight us in the gutter. To win, we have to fight from higher ground in order to bring this country to higher ground." Booker also laid out a specific liberal policy vision, even as he warned that Democratic voters should favor pragmatism over ideological purity. He vowed to pursue Medicare-for-all, legalize marijuana, end mass incarceration and create "baby bonds" - government-backed savings accounts designed to close the racial wealth gap. The high-profile rally marked a shift for the Booker campaign, which thus far has emphasized more intimate events in key early voting states to introduce him to voters while building up staff on the ground. Booker has centered much of his campaign on his record in Newark, an economically troubled city that has nevertheless seen a revival during and after his tenure. But he has yet to see his campaign have the same sort of bounce that rivals such as Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and U.S. Senator Kamala Harris of California have enjoyed. Booker has stubbornly remained around sixth or seventh in opinion polls among the 18 Democrats who have entered the race. Campaign aides this week dismissed concerns about those numbers. "You've got to organize and got to get hot at the end," Booker's campaign manager, Addisu Demissie, told reporters on Thursday. "We're not building this campaign to win polls in April 2019. This is a long race and there are going to be a lot of ups and downs." Booker sought to connect his call to action on Saturday with the civil rights movement, noting that the date of the rally, April 13, was the same day that Martin Luther King Jr began writing his famous "Letter from Birmingham Jail" while sitting in an Alabama cell in 1963. "He spoke to the possibility of what we can achieve when we realize our own power and refuse to wait," Booker said. "America, we know our history - it is a perpetual testimony to impatient, demanding, unrelenting people who in every generation with love stood up for justice." (Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Frank McGurty, Bill Berkrot and Jonathan Oatis)
By Guy Faulconbridge, Kylie MacLellan and Andrew MacAskill LONDON (Reuters) - The United Kingdom now has until Oct. 31 to leave the European Union but the British political elite is still squabbling over how, when or if to Brexit. Some EU officials think the United Kingdom could change its mind - a spectacular reversal that would illustrate the bloc's fortitude and keep one of Europe's top powers inside the club. Eurosceptic supporters of Brexit say the divorce is under threat from what they cast as an undemocratic plot that risks undermining political stability in the United Kingdom. Below are possible scenarios: 1) NO BREXIT: The fresh delay gives time for the opponents of the divorce to push for a revocation of the formal Article 50 divorce notification, or for a referendum - either via parliament or an election. Prime Minister Theresa May, who voted for remaining the EU in 2016, has repeatedly ruled out either revocation or another referendum. But if she is toppled, a successor might be tempted to call an election. The outcome of any election is uncertain and while both main parties' manifestos support Brexit, the opposition Labour Party backs a "confirmatory referendum" on any deal. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who voted against membership in 1975 and gave only reluctant backing to the 2016 campaign to remain in the EU, has signaled only lukewarm backing for another referendum. His party, though, is clear it wants one. May's finance minister, Philip Hammond, said on Friday it was very likely that the idea of a second Brexit referendum would again be put to parliament at some point, though the government remained opposed to any new plebiscite. Parliament has been in deadlock over the terms of Brexit, having rejected May's withdrawal plan three times since January. When over the past month lawmakers twice held a series of votes on the various Brexit options aimed at breaking the stalemate, a second referendum was the most popular option, although it fell short of reaching a majority. On April 1, a proposal for another referendum drew the support of 280 lawmakers - 40 seats short of a majority. A week earlier, it had the backing of 268 lawmakers. If parliament agreed to a second referendum, Britain would probably have to ask for an extension beyond the end of October to allow enough time for a campaign. Yet in Brussels, that idea is not outrageous. More delays are on the cards, depending on developments in Britain, according to EU officials and diplomats. Three of the four former British prime ministers still alive - John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown - have said a referendum is the way to resolve the crisis. The case for a second referendum could be enhanced if europhile candidates - mainly from center-left parties - do well in the May 23-26 European Parliament elections. To get another referendum, the British parliament would have to approve new legislation and settle on a question. Britains electoral regulator would then ideally need six months to test the question with the public and then grant a period for the campaign to take place, a spokesman said. Both sides of the Brexit divide are preparing for the possibility of another referendum. It is far from clear how the United Kingdom would vote and even if it did vote to remain, Brexit supporters would demand a third and decisive vote. Goldman Sachs puts a 40 percent probability on a no Brexit. 2) HER KINGDOM FOR A DEAL: May still hopes parliament will approve the deal she completed with the EU in November, though it has gone down to repeated, heavy defeat in parliament since then. For a graphic of the recent votes in parliament, please see: https://tmsnrt.rs/2CI8MwU May promised to resign if her deal is approved, but that moved neither eurosceptic nor pro-EU opponents to support her, so she is now warning that Brexit may never happen. If talks with the Labour Party ultimately collapse, May has said she will accept the will of parliament on what to do next. Votes in the fractious House of Commons have shown that none of the alternatives to May's agreement - such as leaving with no deal, a referendum or a much closer post-Brexit economic relationship - can yet muster a majority. One option that could win over Labour lawmakers is to have a post-Brexit customs union with the EU and to align with many of the rules of the bloc's single market. Brexiteers and many supporters of membership both say such an option is foolish as it would leave the United Kingdom with no say over rules it would have to abide by. The EU would be happy to do that and could do it fast. Such a deal, Brexiteers say, would be "Brexit In Name Only". Goldman Sachs puts a 50 percent probability on the ratification of a modified deal. 3) ELECTION: May's deal fails again, parliament cannot agree on what to do and May, or a successor, calls an election. Britain's next national election is not due to be held until 2022, but there are two ways an earlier vote can be called: a) Two-thirds of parliament's 650 lawmakers vote in favor of holding an election. b) If a motion of no confidence in the government is passed by a simple majority of lawmakers and no party can succeed in winning the confidence of the House of Commons over the next 14 days, an election is triggered. 4) NO DEAL: The chaos worsens in London and a hardline, Brexit-backing leader ultimately goes for a no-deal exit. This is the nightmare scenario for many businesses. By stripping the world's fifth largest economy of its complex foreign trade relationships at one stroke, it would spook financial markets and dislocate supply chains across Europe and beyond. The political and social impact is unclear. No-deal means there would be no transition so the exit would be abrupt. Britain is a member of the World Trade Organization so tariffs and other terms governing its trade with the EU would be set under solely WTO rules. Goldman puts a 10 percent probability on a no-deal exit. (Additional reporting by Gabriela Baczynska in Brussels and Helen Reid in London; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
(Reuters) - California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday proposed a new fund to pay for wildfire liabilities and said he would hold the state's largest utility more accountable for insuring safety against the growing number of blazes in the state.

The creation of a fund that would allow utilities to pay for wildfire damage claims sent PG&E Corp shares soaring nearly 12 percent before closing 3.95 percent higher on Friday.

"PG&E is a textbook example of what happens when a utility does not invest in safety after numerous deadly reminders to do so over many years," a report released by Newsom said.

PG&E said in a statement that it is "embracing the calls for change," and committed to resolving wildfire victims' claims fairly and expeditiously.

Newsom's report calls for shifting liability for wildfire damage to a fault-based system. The current system, known as inverse condemnation, exposes the state's utilities to liabilities from wildfires regardless of their negligence, as long as their equipment is involved.

The current system pushed PG&E to seek bankruptcy protection in January, as it faced liabilities in excess of $30 billion related to the deadliest wildfires in the state's history.

SPREAD THE COSTS

The governor's report proposed creating two funds to help utilities pay for wildfire damage claims and spread the cost more widely among stakeholders.

Another large utility, Southern California Edison Co, said in a statement that it "is encouraged by the broad scope" of Newsom's report, "which reflects the need to address wildfire liability and regulatory reform."

Shares of Edison International, the parent company of Southern California Edison, rose 7.2 percent.

Travis Miller of Morningstar Research Services LLC said the news was positive for shareholders, though there is "a long road ahead to implementing policies. The government's support for the utilities should alleviate some of the markets concerns about future liabilities, he said.

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The report was harshly critical of PG&E, saying it is "taking advantage of the bankruptcy process to promote the interests of investors over fire victims and other stakeholders."

The state will monitor and intervene in the bankruptcy proceedings to protect California's interests, it said.

FEDERAL FOREST LANDS

Damage estimates for the 2018 wildfire season are staggering, with insured losses alone exceeding $12 billion, the report said.

"The current system for allocating costs associated with catastrophic wildfires - often caused by utility infrastructure, but exacerbated by drought, climate change, land-use policies and a lack of forest management - is untenable both for utility customers and for our economy," the report said.

It calls on the federal government to better manage its forests, as the owner of 57 percent of California's forest lands.

President Donald Trump in January threatened to cut off federal relief to California for wildfires for what he called mismanagement of the state's forests.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is providing assistance to survivors after wildfires in November collectively damaged or destroyed over 20,000 structures and killed at least 89 people.

The largest blaze was the Camp Fire that destroyed most of the Northern California town of Paradise, killing at least 86 people - the deadliest wildfire in the United States in at least a century.

More than 25 million acres of California's wildlands are classified as under very high or extreme fire threat. About a quarter of the state's population, or 11 million people, lives in that high-risk area, the report said.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal and Shanti Nair in Bengaluru; writing by Bill Tarrant; editing by Grant McCool, G Crosse and Leslie Adler)
Capitol custodial staff report harassment from lawmakers in oversight investigation originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

The U.S. Capitols overnight custodial staff allege they were sexually harassed, exposed to pornography in lawmakers offices and overheard conversations in which others were being harassed, according to a watchdog investigation into 10 years of sexual harassment reports in the Architect of the Capitol, the office responsible for maintenance and operations on Capitol Hill.

In a report submitted to Congress by the Office of the Inspector General, Architect of the Capitol staff said they often do not speak up about inappropriate behavior for fear of retaliation. One staffer reported no one had an answer for them when they asked during sexual harassment prevention training, "what happens if the harasser is a member of Congress?"

(MORE: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand defends handling of aide's alleged sexual misconduct)

The report doesn't specify how many complaints about lawmakers were filed.

Congress asked the inspector general in October to look into years-worth of sexual harassment reports within the Architect of the Capitol, and whether that office was handling the cases properly.

PHOTO: The U.S. Capitol Building seen on Feb. 5, 2019, in Washington. (Zach Gibson/Getty Images, FILE)

The inspector general found there were 57 reports of sexual harassment over a decade. The report notes this number of reports is low for a workforce the size of the Architect of the Capitol , although it also acknowledges fear of retaliation could lead employees to choose not to report their experiences.

The report also found there is a "widespread perception that sexual harassment is a pervasive problem within the Architect of the Capitol and the investigators attribute that perception to "lingering cultural bias."

The report highlighted the Architect of the Capitol for appearing to be energetic in its efforts to improve the agency culture and create an environment of civility" and that "the results of our inquiry were primarily positive, with the majority of identified gaps already receiving the attention of department officials.

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Still, problems remain.

(MORE: 'They were mostly all dirty': Hill investigators allege sexual harassment, cover-ups at TSA)

Employees said they don't trust the process to report harassment, and the avenues to report are overly complicated.

One staffer said The whole system is [designed] to protect the Architect of the Capitol, EEO, Office of Compliance or any other assistance under this Agency."
Washington (AFP) - Actor and activist George Clooney said Thursday that the fall of Sudan's veteran strongman Omar al-Bashir was not enough and called for the dismantling of the military-led system.

The Hollywood heartthrob, who has been arrested protesting against Sudan's campaign in Darfur that the United States described as genocide, called for Bashir to be extradited and prosecuted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court.

"The people of Sudan have been waiting for this day for a long time, but it is only a tentative first step towards real change," Clooney said in a joint statement with John Prendergast, the human rights campaigner with whom the actor founded The Sentry Project, which researches illicit money and war crimes in Africa.

The two said that Defense Minister Awad Ibnouf, who announced Bashir's detention and declared two years of military rule, was just as deeply involved in the bloody, racially tinged war in Darfur.

"Removing the leader of a violent, corrupt system without dismantling that system is inadequate," they said.

"The next steps are crucial. The international community must provide all possible support to ensure that the transition is a negotiated and inclusive one, and that the next president of Sudan reflects the will of its people," they said.

Bashir, who swept to power in a 1989 coup, was one of Africa's longest-serving leaders but has faced months of mounting protests, triggered initially by a hike in the price of bread.
Sen. Cory Booker in Newark, N.J., for his campaign launch. (Photo: Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

NEWARK, N.J.  Cory Booker delivered a message of love and unity at his campaigns hometown kickoff on Saturday, but the New Jersey senators speech was interrupted by pro-Palestinian activists shouting Justice for Palestine.

The event was the launch of a two-week Justice for All tour in the city where he served as mayor from 2006 until 2013. Booker has framed his campaign around an emotional and optimistic pitch to voters. He maintained that tone as he outlined some of his core policies, including lowering the age of Medicare eligibility and establishing a baby bonds program to provide low-income children with a nest egg when they reach adulthood.

Were here today to seek justice. Were here today because we are impatient for that justice and our sense of moral urgency, our impatience comes from the most demanding of all values  it comes from love, love of our families, love of our communities, love of our country, and love of each other, Booker said.

The protesters, who waved Palestinian flags and keffiyehs, turned Bookers slogan against him when they spoke to Yahoo News later.

You say Justice For All and he named, you know, clean water, housing, affordable health care, freedom but he doesnt ... talk about Palestine. Theyre struggling just as much as us here  even more, Wajeeh Abushawish, who was part of the group, said.

Demonstrators chanting Justice for Palestine being removed from Cory Booker rally. pic.twitter.com/PtMlm42Ie9  Justin Gomez (@JustinGomezABC) April 13, 2019

There were about 10 protesters in three groups, including some who were right behind Booker as he spoke. Most of them left after they interrupted the speech though two stayed behind and shouted at Booker as he greeted supporters following the event.

Abushawish said the protesters attend Rutgers Newark and are part of a group called Students for Justice in Palestine and the schools college Democrats chapter. Booker has angered some pro-Palestinian activists by his staunch support for Israel. He is a co-sponsor of a Senate bill intended to combat the Boycott, Disinvestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement that aims to put economic pressure on Israel to end its occupation of territory claimed by Palestinians.

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Booker actively supports the oppression of Palestine, Dylan Terpstra, another one of the protesters, said.

While the protest was clearly focused on the Palestinian cause, some in the group also had a list of other concerns.

Justice for All is an unlimited concept. It should be an umbrella term for all peoples who are suffering and oppressed, Wasim Kannan said. Justice for ICE detainees, justice for Palestine, justice for Kashmir, justice for the people suffering under China. Everybody in the world whos suffering needs justice.

Photo: Andrew Kelly/Reuters

The three protesters who spoke to Yahoo News all said they back Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for president.

Bernie 2020! shouted Abushawish.

A source with Bookers campaign told Yahoo News he met with some of the protesters following the event to discuss their concerns. Booker did not address the protesters during their interruption. Later in his speech, however, he encouraged Democrats to fight from higher ground as they take on President Trump.

We cant allow them to divide us and we must also resist the urge to divide ourselves because the people on my block ... and folks all across the country cant wait, Booker said, adding, They cant afford a politics of division that sacrifices progress for purity.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
April 12 (Reuters) - The Trump administration has agreed to allow approximately 2,700 children living in Central America to be reunited with their parents in the United States under a court settlement announced on Friday, according to court documents.

The settlement follows a lawsuit that challenged a decision in 2017 by President Donald Trump's administration to shut down a program that allowed children living in Central America to be reunited with parents residing legally in the United States.

The Central American Minors program, which began in 2014, allowed parents living legally in the United States to request refugee status for their children residing in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.

Many of the parents are in the United States under the so-called temporary protected status, which allows immigrants from countries that have suffered natural disasters, civil conflicts or other problems to stay in the United States.

Last month, U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in San Francisco ordered the government to resume processing children who had been conditionally approved for the program when it was terminated by the Trump administration.

The settlement, which must be approved by a judge, requires the government to finish processing children who were in the final stages of their applications when the program was ended, the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), which represented the plaintiffs, said in a statement.

It said the government anticipates most applicants will be approved and allowed to travel to the United States.

"We are so pleased that after many years apart our clients will finally have the opportunity to reunite with each other in safety," IRAP attorney Linda Evarts said in the statement.

"These families belong together here in the United States, and we are hopeful this settlement will allow for their swift reunification," she said.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency, which signed the settlement, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did the U.S. Justice Department. (Reporting by Eric Beech and David Alexander in Washington; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Cyptocurrency and crime are never too far away from one another. As any crypto is digital by nature, it is immediately vulnerable to cyberattacks. This can come in old-school forms of scam emails, more technical approaches such 51% attacks, and even just old fashioned theft. Vulnerablities in wallets, exchanges, and even the way users operate in the space are all attractive to criminals.

After all, its an easy space for criminals to operate in. Theres no regulations, no protection, and very little user rights in the world of cryptocurrency. If your funds are stolen, for example, not much can be done to reverse the transaction. Thats why security and safe practices are so crucial within the industry. The onus is always on the individual. Youre responsible for the safety of your own crypto.

The types of crimes that resolve around cryptocurrency

Despite market volatility, Bitcoin is still quite a valuable cryptocurrency, with 1 BTC sitting at around 4,200. Its a particularly attractive endeavour for online thieves. In fact, $1.7bn of cryptocurrency was stolen in 2018. A quick scan of the news is all it takes to discover that many exchanges have been hacked and exploited, with funds being moved from users to the wallets of fraudsters and thieves. Theft of crypto is, unfortunately, a common story.

The value of cryptocurrency and the anonymity it offers can often lead to more sinister crimes. Kidnapping isnt all too rare in the space. Kidnappers have previously demanded a ransom of 9 million in cryptocurrency Monero, in return for the freedom of Anne-Elisabeth Falkevik Hagen  the wife of one of the wealthiest men in Norway.

Crimes in the space vary. Some can be blatant, some can be sophisticated. Sometimes youll never know that youre a victim until your funds have disappeared.

So what can you do to keep yourself, and your funds, protected?

With so many threats about, its important that you protect yourself from all angles. This means thoroughly researching any exchanges and wallets you plan on using. You should always carry out diligent research, keep up-to-date with the latest news, and read reviews from other cryptocurrency users.

Story continues

Familiarise yourself with the different types of exchanges and wallets on offer. For example, would you prefer to use a decentralised exchange where you dont need to trust a third party to protect your fund? Would you prefer to use a paper wallet that has no connectivity but is impossible to replace once lost? Most of all, be sure to use best practices. These include applying two-factor authentication, keeping your private key private, and never depositing large amount of crypto into a mobile wallet.

There are many ways to mitigate threats in cryptocurrency, but you need to decide what works best for you, your beliefs within the crypto space, and your amount of funds. Also note that those who invest and trade heavily in cryptocurrency will require greater levels of security than hobbyists who like to dabble with lesser amounts.

Conclusion

Yes, crime and cryptocurrency do currently go hand-in-hand. But everyone across the industry needs to work together to change this narrative. Instead, it should be that cryptocurrency and security go hand-in-hand. By carrying out thorough research, watching out for new scams or crimes on the horizon, and choosing exchanges with more care, it can be easier to keep your cryptocurrency protected. With everyone working together and adopting best practice, cryptocurrency might just be able to overcome criminality.

To find out more about the role security plays in cryptocurrency, and how you can keep yourself online, make sure you download this definitive guide.

The post Can cryptocurrency ever overcome crime? appeared first on Coin Rivet.
Nicholas Kamm/Getty

The decision to prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange played out against the backdrop of President Donald Trumps aggressive campaign to ferret out insiders leaking to the media.

First Amendment advocates are enraged by the indictment and say it shows media protections are in jeopardy. A former top national security official told The Daily Beast the charges shouldnt have triggered those concerns but did say the decision to go after Assange followed an administration push to re-examine what qualifies as media.

The indictment covers alleged crimes that occurred nearly a decade ago and that the Obama administration, after much debate, did not prosecute.

But Mary McCord, a career law-enforcement official who helmed the Justice Departments National Security Division for the first four months of the Trump administration, said there was renewed interest under the new administration to revisit issues of what qualifies as the media and to look back at the Assange case.

Thats not to say there was ever a lack of interest in Assange over the years, even under the previous administration, McCord said. There were evidentiary and policy issues that were at play previously, and probably continue to be at playand reasonable minds can certainly differ about how decisions are made, both legal decisions in terms of statute, and policy decisions.

McCord added that since the DOJ hasnt charged Assange with publishing classified materialhe was indicted for allegedly helping Chelsea Manning break a password to steal material from government computershis case isnt a window into the Trump administrations view of press freedoms.

This, to me, is no different than saying you dont get a pass when youre the media if you commit a bank robbery, you dont get a pass when youre in the media if you hack into computers or conspire to hack into computers, she said.

Some press freedom advocates, however, said the indictment is troubling; Reporters Without Borders, the Freedom of the Press Foundation, and the ACLU all raised concerns about the move.

Story continues

Assange is charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, based on his alleged efforts in 2010 to help Manning obtain the classified material that he would later publish.

Following the first massive Wikileaks dump, Obama administration officials in various agencies worked to rectify the damage. Several foreign service officers who spoke to The Daily Beast said they were forced to comb through the documents to identify which documents could pose potential threats to informants.

There was a general sense of worry. We worried that the leak would put lives in danger, one former Obama administration official said. We viewed it as a fire that had to be put out. We had to go through all the documents to identify any potential damage they could cause.

Since that time, the U.S. has continued to gather intelligence on Assange and his relationship to the Russian government. While some agencies have pushed for the U.S. to go after Assange with vigor, others have cautioned that there was not enough evidence or that it was more important to gather counterintelligence information on Assanges connection to Russia, according to former intelligence officials.

That debate faded under Trump.

In the first few months of his administration, a spate of high-profile classified leaks enraged the president. He tweeted that the FBI needed to find the leakers and criticized then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions for failing to find them.

Sessions tried to play ball. On Aug. 4, 2017, he held a press conference at Justice Department headquarters to tout newly energized efforts to hunt down government officials who share classified material with reporters, including the formation of a new team focused on that issue. A few months later, he told Congress that the number of open leak probes at DOJ had risen by 800 percent.

DOJ has brought charges in a number of cases. Reality Winner, an NSA intelligence specialist who shared information about Russian election interference with The Intercept, is serving a five-year prison sentence. A senior Treasury Department official was charged with leaking confidential material to BuzzFeed. And in February, the DOJ charged an IRS employee with leaking information about ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen (who will soon begin a three-year prison sentence for unrelated crimes) to Michael Avenatti (who faces dozens of criminal counts for other, also unrelated alleged crimes). A former staffer for the Senate intelligence committee, meanwhile, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his communications with a reporter.

Obama administration officials who worked on the Assange case told The Daily Beast they focused on whether WikiLeaks could be defined as a traditional media organization. The fear, one former intelligence official said, was that the public would see any prosecution as an attack on the press.

Officials said the national security and intelligence communities had extensive, collaborative conversations about building a case against Assange for years. Many of those conversations, they said, touched on strategy and how to build the best case out of the Eastern District of Virginia.

During the first few years after the 2010 leak, U.S. law enforcement agencies probed the connection between Assange, Wikileaks and Russia. But, according to one, they initially struggled to find evidence of any links between him and the Kremlin.

"When I was in government I never saw any proof Assange was actively coordinating with Moscow, said Michael Carpenter, who served in various national security roles in the Obama administration. I think the understanding in the course of the Mueller investigation to understand how Russia intervened and partnered with Wikileaks that understanding has shifted. I think that gets at this notion that this is not some journalistic organization unwittingly manipulated by the Russians. It coordinated to steal U.S. classified information and then to put it out in the public arena.

Assange hasnt been charged with acting as a foreign agent of a spy. But American officials have publicly called him one. A few months after Trumps inauguration, Mike Pompeothen the CIA directorsaid Wikileaks engaged in spying.

It is time to call out WikiLeaks for what it really is: a non-state hostile intelligence service often abetted by state actors like Russia, he said.

Within Washingtons tight-knit national security community, former senior officials took different views of the Assange prosecution. Some said it was evidence of President Trumps eagerness to target reporters and fight leakers. Others, however, cautioned against that, saying the Assange case isnt political. The Assange case file, sources said, was held within a close circle of investigators and prosecutors, who would have maintained some degree of independence in building the case against him.

The timing of the filing of Assanges sealed indictment also points to apolitical considerations; it was filed in the Eastern District of Virginia on March 6, 2018just two days before the statute of limitations for the charge would have expired.

Read more at The Daily Beast.
Becoming the most reliable airline and offering higher-quality service has been a top priority for Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) over the past decade. The carrier has dramatically reduced the frequency of delays and cancellations, improved its baggage handling performance, and nearly eliminated the need to involuntarily bump passengers from flights.

These moves have driven steady improvements in Delta's ranking in the Airline Quality Rating report, compiled annually by researchers from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Wichita State University. And in the recently released 2019 Airline Quality Rating report -- which covers the 2018 calendar year -- Delta finally reached the top spot, overtaking Alaska Air (NYSE: ALK).

Reliability has been a key area of focus

In recent years, Delta Air Lines has invested heavily in initiatives to improve its reliability and serve customers better. For example, Delta invested $50 million to roll out an RFID luggage tag system in 2016. The new RFID system is more reliable than the typical bar-code setup used by most airlines, and sensors on Delta's belt loaders can automatically warn the ground crew (with a red light) if a bag is about to be loaded onto the wrong plane.

Meanwhile, Delta reduced the number of maintenance-related mainline flight cancellations by 98% between 2010 and 2017, from more than 5,000 to fewer than 100. This allowed the carrier to improve its completion factor -- the percentage of flights that are completed, as opposed to being canceled -- from 98% in 2010 to 99.6% in 2018.

Delta's reliability has improved so much that at times, it has been able to go a whole month with no mainline flight cancellations. Even including its regional airline operations (which are more prone to cancellations), it achieved a record 143 days with no canceled flights in 2018.

A Delta Air Lines plane touching down on a runway

Delta has dramatically improved its reliability over the past decade. Image source: Delta Air Lines.

In recent years, Delta has also dramatically cut down on the number of passengers involuntarily bumped from oversold flights. It now offers incentives that can be worth several thousand dollars in some cases to attract volunteers to give up their seats, even when it would be cheaper to bump someone and pay the federally mandated compensation. As a result, in the first nine months of 2018, Delta Air Lines bumped just 22 of its 104 million mainline passengers.

Story continues

Rising to the top

The annual Airline Quality Rating study measures airlines based on four objective factors: on-time performance, the rate of mishandled baggage, the number of passengers bumped from their flights, and the frequency of official complaints to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Delta has made big strides in all four categories over the past decade or so.

Indeed, as recently as 2010, Delta's AQR score was slightly worse than the industry average. But the airline moved into the upper echelon of the industry in 2012, and has continued to make slow but steady progress since then.

In 2016 and 2017, Delta placed second in the annual rankings, trailing No. 1 Alaska Airlines by the slightest of margins. A lower rate of official complaints to the DOT was the main reason why Alaska was able to hang on to the top spot despite stiff competition. However, by the end of 2017, Delta was routinely posting better monthly AQR scores than Alaska Airlines.

Delta finally took the top spot in 2018. The company proudly noted that it was the only airline to improve year over year on each of the four factors measured. Moreover, its score of negative 0.36 gave it a substantial lead over No. 2 JetBlue Airways, which scored negative 0.48. (Scores closer to zero represent better performance.) Alaska Airlines took a big step backward, falling into fourth place, as its score deteriorated to negative 0.63 in 2018 from negative 0.44 in 2017.

Customers will pay for quality and reliability

Delta Air Lines' efforts to improve its reliability and customer service have helped it earn a consistent revenue premium in recent years. After all, high-paying business travelers care a great deal about arriving on time (along with their bags). This has translated to solid unit revenue growth and strong profit margins for Delta.

As long as Delta continues to hold its spot at the top of the industry in the annual Airline Quality Rating study, it is likely to remain a preferred airline for business travelers. This should enable it to routinely achieve above-average profit margins for the foreseeable future.

More From The Motley Fool

Adam Levine-Weinberg owns shares of Alaska Air Group, Delta Air Lines, and JBLU. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Delta Air Lines. The Motley Fool recommends Alaska Air Group and JBLU. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Photo credit: AAron Ontiveroz - Getty Images

From Esquire

(Permanent Musical Accompaniment To This Post)

Being our semi-regular weekly survey of what's goin' down in the several states where, as we know, the real work of governmentin' gets done, and where your mother sends back all your invitation.

There is no place to start our tour except Texas, where, if the rest of us are lucky, they've finished rubberizing the walls of the state legislature chambers. From CNN:

House Bill 896, introduced in the Texas House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee, would remove the exception in the penal code for criminal homicide that applies to women and medical professionals and allow them to be charged with murder of an unborn child. The measure would be a blanket ban on abortion procedures in the state, allowing the state to enforce the bill "regardless of any contrary federal law, executive order, or court decision." The landmark 1973 US Supreme Court decision in Roe v Wade affirmed the legality of a woman's right to have an abortion under the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.

For years, the anti-choice movement would fumble and foozle around if you pressed them on their loose employment of words like "murder" by asking them what should happen to the doctor and/or the woman involved in the procedure. They seem to be losing that convenient ambivalence, at least in Texas.

Texas state Rep. Tony Tinderholt, a Republican who introduced the bill, argued that the legislation does "not specifically target women" nor is he "specifically criminalizing women," but "equalizing the law so that everyone that is culpable or takes part in what I call murder ... can be punished." The hours-long hearing remained largely civil until the committee heard from its first panel opposed to the bill. "The bill authors know that this legislation is unconstitutional because of federal judicial precedent set by Roe v Wade," NARAL Pro-Choice legislative intern Jasmine Wang said. "So even giving this bill a hearing is both a waste of time and resources." Leach took issue with Wang's testimony and went on to grill Wang on her stances on abortion. He also accused NARAL's witnesses of "sniggering" and "laughing" during others' testimonies.

Story continues

They're feeling very emboldened these days, probably because of the ongoing stacking of the federal judiciary. "Fetal heartbeat" bills are advancing in eight states, including both Georgia and Ohio. In the latter, the bill is already on the desk of Governor Mike DeWine. From NBC News.

Ohio's closely divided politics have slowed the progress of the so-called heartbeat bill as it has caught momentum elsewhere, forcing years of debate in the state where the movement originated. Five other states have now passed similar bans, two of which have been blocked by the courts. Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who took office in January, has said he will sign the bill, after former GOP Gov. John Kasich vetoed it twice. State Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan, a Democrat from a storied Youngstown political family, shed tears during the debate, exasperated at a bill she said would harm Ohio and its future.

"I'm concerned that we will have companies that will choose not to locate here due to our oppressive laws. I'm concerned that doctors will leave the state of Ohio," she said. "I'm concerned that our kids are going to leave, that we're going to lose a large amount of young people who don't want to live in an oppressive atmosphere."

It's here where I usually make a wisecrack about how these laws guarantee nothing but expensive and futile lawsuits that the state in question is bound to lose. However, looking at the current Supreme Court, I'm not sure those are very funny any more.

Photo credit: Justin Merriman - Getty Images

And now, a Very Special Episode of our semi-regular weekly survey. For years, we've all been following the shenanigans of ALEC, the all-purpose wingnut legislation mill that provides identical bills for identical causes in different states at the same time. Now, thanks to USA Today and the Arizona Republic, we have a way to track precisely how widespread this underground legislative fungus really is.

A two-year investigation by USA TODAY, The Arizona Republic and the Center for Public Integrity reveals for the first time the extent to which special interests have infiltrated state legislatures using model legislation. USA TODAY and the Republic found at least 10,000 bills almost entirely copied from model legislation were introduced nationwide in the past eight years, and more than 2,100 of those bills were signed into law.

The investigation examined nearly 1 million bills in all 50 states and Congress using a computer algorithm developed to detect similarities in language. That search  powered by the equivalent of 150 computers that ran nonstop for months  compared known model legislation with bills introduced by lawmakers. The phenomenon of copycat legislation is far larger. In a separate analysis, the Center for Public Integrity identified tens of thousands of bills with identical phrases, then traced the origins of that language in dozens of those bills across the country.

This is an extraordinary exercise in data journalism. I'd start engraving that Enterprise Reporting Pulitzer right now and avoid the last-minute rush. The basic dynamic in all the bills is fraud, with nasty real-world consequences. Read the whole thing.

The Asbestos Transparency Act sounds like the kind of boring, good-government policy voters expect their representatives to hammer out on their behalf to safeguard public health. Better transparency was one reason Colorado state Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg said he introduced the bill in 2017, and again last year, at the urging of a tort reform group called the Colorado Civil Justice League and backed by insurance companies, including Nationwide Insurance. Whenever you add transparency to the mix, it helps all consumers, said Sonnenberg, a Republican.

But the bill had nothing to do with requiring companies to disclose to consumers what products contained asbestos or informing those who had been exposed to the cancer-causing mineral how to get help. It, in effect, cast corporations as victims of litigation filed by people harmed by asbestos. The model bill requires people battling the asbestos-triggered disease mesothelioma to seek money from an asbestos trust, set up to compensate victims, before they can sue a company whose product might have caused their cancer.

Democracy cannot stand for long when it's this kind of puppet show.

And we conclude, as is our custom, in the great state of Oklahoma, where Blog Official Chuck Wagon Semolina Inspector Friedman of the Plains brings us a better idea than it sounds. From Fox 23 News:

Rather than relying on a traditional landscaping crew, Bixby is using the goats to clear the grass and other vegetation along the banks of the lake. The city installed fencing and cattle guards to keep the goats in a designated area. They also brought in several donkeys to keep a watchful eye on the animals. Officials said the idea for the goats started at a recent City Council meeting.

The city also installed a shed to provide shelter for the goats during bad weather. FOX23 learned Oklahoma City also uses goats for vegetation management.

Once the goats unionize, however, a new plan likely will be prepared. Robot Goats: Threat or Menace?

This is your democracy, America. Cherish it.

Respond to this post on the Esquire Politics Facebook page here.

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Democrats have accused Donald Trumps administration of cruelty and using people as political pawns in the wake of reports that presidential aides considered a plan to release migrants in sanctuary cities.

At least twice in the past six months, the White House weighed a plan to pressure US immigration authorities to release people detained at the border in these cities, which limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities, according to the Washington Post.

Related: White House considered releasing detained migrants in sanctuary cities  report

Trump confirmed that his White House was considering such a plan on Friday afternoon, contradicting his own Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which told reporters it had rejected the plan.

Trump tweeted: Due to the fact that Democrats are unwilling to change our very dangerous immigration laws, we are indeed, as reported, giving strong considerations to placing Illegal Immigrants in Sanctuary Cities only.... The Radical Left always seems to have an Open Borders, Open Arms policy  so this should make them very happy!

In an earlier statement, DHS said: This was a suggestion that was floated and rejected, which ended any further discussion.

Democrats said the proposal was another example of the Trump administrations extreme measures to curb legal and illegal immigration.

They also highlighted that viewing such a move as punishment was unusual, since it would affect cities that already welcome more immigrants than the rest of the country, such as Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City.

It takes a truly warped mind to think that releasing families who sought asylum at the border in Sanctuary Cities would be a punishment, said New York Citys comptroller, Scott Stringer, on Twitter. These families are just seeking a better life, and Sanctuary Cities exist because we *want them here*.

Trump also faced criticism over fresh reports that he had urged his soon-to-be acting homeland security secretary to close the southern border, and said that he would pardon the official if he were to run afoul of the law.

Story continues

Two people familiar with the private conversation told the Associated Press the conversation with Kevin McAleenan, then the Customs and Border Protection commissioner, came during the presidents trip last week to Calexico, California.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss what was said.

It was not clear whether the president was joking or why McAleenan would find himself in personal legal jeopardy. But the comments came just a day after Trump told reporters that he was delaying his threat to close the border because Mexico appeared to be stepping up its efforts.

At no time has the president indicated, asked, directed or pressured the acting secretary to do anything illegal, a DHS spokesman said.

Related: US immigration police broke Facebook rules with fake profiles for college sting

The government has said the US-Mexico border is at a breaking point because of the crowds of Central American families seeking asylum there, though its policies have so far focused on deterrence, instead of responding to the factors driving people to flee Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

The cruelty of this administration never seems to end, said Julian Castro, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president ahead of the 2020 election.

Speaking at a CNN town hall event on Thursday night, Castro compared the sanctuary cities proposal to family separation, which failed to deter people from coming to the border.

Now they are talking about bussing families to particular cities to target political opponents, Castro said. These folks want us to choose cruelty as a weapon against people and against political opponents.

Another Democratic presidential hopeful, Amy Klobuchar, said Trump was literally using human beings as pawns in a political game.

Instead of passing comprehensive immigration reform he does this: White House proposed releasing immigrant detainees in sanctuary cities, targeting political foes, Klobuchar said on Twitter.

In January 2017, the Trump administration instructed the US attorney general to withhold funding for sanctuary cities, but the decision was quickly challenged in court. In November 2018, a federal judge ruled the crackdown was unconstitutional.
Washington (AFP) - Democratic lawmakers on Saturday gave the Internal Revenue Service a final deadline of April 23 to hand over President Donald Trump's tax returns, which Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the administration was diligently considering.

"I am aware that concerns have been raised regarding my request and the authority of the Committee. Those concerns lack merit," House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal said in a letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig after an initial April 10 deadline lapsed.

On Wednesday, Mnuchin said the Treasury was handling the request and that a deadline set for that date would be missed, citing possible constitutional issues raised by the Democratic request.

But on Saturday, he said the administration would respond by the latest target date.

"I'm sure we'll respond by that deadline, not going to make a commitment prematurely whether we'll be able to conclude a legal review by that deadline," Mnuchin said. "We have people working on it diligently."

Calling Neal's new deadline an "arbitrary" date, Mnuchin said the Democrats' request could set "enormous precedent in potentially weaponizing the IRS."

Trump argues that he cannot release his tax returns because they are being audited, but the IRS has said this is no impediment to their release.

"It is not the proper function of the IRS, Treasury or Justice to question or second guess the motivations of the Committee or its reasonable determinations regarding its need for the requested tax returns and return information," Neal said.

"Concerns about what the Committee may do with the tax returns and return information are baseless."

Neal gave the government until 5:00 pm (2100 GMT) on April 23 to hand over the tax records.

"Please know that, if you fail to comply, your failure will be interpreted as a denial of my request," Neal wrote.




Donald Trumps tax returns must be handed to House Democrats by 23 April, a leading committee chair said on Saturday.

Related: Trump tax returns: Mnuchin says Treasury will not comply with release deadline

Democrats initially set a 10 April deadline for the returns but this week treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said he needed more time to assess issues raised by the request.

On Saturday the chairman of the House ways and means committee, Richard Neal of Massachusetts, wrote to Internal Revenue Service commissioner Charles Rettig to say a failure to comply with the new deadline would be interpreted as a denial of my request.

Constitutionally, Neal has the power to demand the IRS release tax returns for any US individual. He has asked for six years of the presidents personal and business returns.

In his letter, he wrote that his power to make the demand is unambiguous and raises no complicated legal issues.

Trump was at his golf course in Virginia on Saturday but the White House has already said it will refuse to release such information for a president who as a candidate broke with convention but not law by refusing to make his tax returns public.

Last week, acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told Fox News Sunday Democrats would never see Trumps tax returns. Claiming the request was purely political, Mulvaney added: That is not going to happen and they know it.

Trumps personal attorney, William Consovoy, has called the request a gross abuse of power. Mnuchin used similar language in a letter to Neal this week.

In his letter to Rettig, a Trump appointee, Neal said concerns expressed by the administration lack merit and added: Judicial precedent commands that none of the concerns raised can legitimately be used to deny the committees request.

It is not the proper function of the IRS, treasury or justice [departments] to question or second guess the motivations of the committee or its reasonable determinations regarding its need for the requested tax returns and return information.

Story continues

Legal experts expect a final denial by the Trump administration to lead to a subpoena from House Democrats and a fight in the courts.

Trump has repeatedly claimed to be unable to release his tax returns because he is under audit. Experts have repeatedly pointed out that being under audit does not preclude the release of such information.

The presidents tax returns have duly become a Holy Grail for his opponents and a source of constant speculation, not least during the Mueller investigation into links between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Trump on tax, in September 2016.

In September 2016, in his first presidential debate against Hillary Clinton, Trump said not paying federal taxes makes me smart.

Related: We need tax police  and they should go after the likes of Donald Trump | David Cay Johnston

In October that year, shortly before the election, the New York Times reported that Trump may not have paid federal income tax in 18 years.

In March 2017, the MSNBC host Rachel Maddow obtained and made public a portion of Trumps tax return for 2005, which showed he had paid $35m in federal taxes that year. It was thought Trump himself might have been behind the leak.

In October 2018, the New York Times released a major investigative report which said the Trump family engaged in dubious tax schemes during the 1990s, including instances of outright fraud.

A lawyer for Trump said the Times report contained allegations of fraud and tax evasion [that] are 100% false, and highly defamatory and said there was no fraud or tax evasion by anyone. An official inquiry followed.

In November 2018, shortly after Democrats took back the House, putting them in position to demand the relevant information, Trump said at a press conference his tax returns were too complicated for the public to understand.
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Page: 1 2 John Pilger: "If we lose WikiLeaks, we lose a whole layer of freedom" LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 375581

04-13-2019 10:03 PM











Post: #1 John Pilger: "If we lose WikiLeaks, we lose a whole layer of freedom"

Advertisement John Pilger: "If we lose WikiLeaks, we lose a whole layer of freedom"



https://actualidad.rt.com/actualidad/311...tad-pilger



The British journalist considers that Julian Assange was arrested "by a political caprice", because WikiLeaks was "a tremendous obstacle" for a superpower that "struggles to maintain its dominance".



The US attempt to prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is an assault on civil liberties conducted by a superpower struggling to preserve its dominance, British journalist and documentary maker John Pilger told RT.



According to his words, what is happening to Assange is nothing more than the persecution of a man who embarrassed the US. exposing to the public the brutality of Washington in the Middle East.



"The US has aroused anger because what was at stake at that time was the world superpower struggling to maintain its dominance, its computer, technical and cultural leadership, and WikiLeaks has presented itself as a tremendous obstacle. Assanges, and there are not many of them (...), if we lose WikiLeaks, then we lose a whole layer of freedom, "he argued.



"The biggest dishonest state of all is the USA"



Pilger says the attack on WikiLeaks is emblematic for journalism in the West, which has betrayed its mandate to be the guard dog of citizens before the actions of their governments "We deliver a world where basic democracy has been abandoned, which is based on the discrepancy, in the challenge, in rendering accounts to the power, in revealing, in shaming the power, "said Pilger.



In addition, the journalist said that Assange was arrested "on a political whim" and that his probable prosecution and imprisonment in the United States. "It opens a whole chapter to diminish the principles that emerged from the Second World War, on which the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is based, shows how fragile they are".



WikiLeaks publications based on Manning's leak dealt a blow to US attempts to cover up the "homicidal nature of their colonial wars," said Pilger. "There is some kind of consensual belief (...) that we do not do this kind of thing (...), only the totalitarian states, the dishonest states, make it." In fact, it is evident that the biggest dishonest state of all it is the USA ", he emphasized.



https://actualidad.rt.com/actualidad/311...tad-pilger The British journalist considers that Julian Assange was arrested "by a political caprice", because WikiLeaks was "a tremendous obstacle" for a superpower that "struggles to maintain its dominance".The US attempt to prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is an assault on civil liberties conducted by a superpower struggling to preserve its dominance, British journalist and documentary maker John Pilger told RT.According to his words, what is happening to Assange is nothing more than the persecution of a man who embarrassed the US. exposing to the public the brutality of Washington in the Middle East."The US has aroused anger because what was at stake at that time was the world superpower struggling to maintain its dominance, its computer, technical and cultural leadership, and WikiLeaks has presented itself as a tremendous obstacle. Assanges, and there are not many of them (...), if we lose WikiLeaks, then we lose a whole layer of freedom, "he argued."The biggest dishonest state of all is the USA"Pilger says the attack on WikiLeaks is emblematic for journalism in the West, which has betrayed its mandate to be the guard dog of citizens before the actions of their governments "We deliver a world where basic democracy has been abandoned, which is based on the discrepancy, in the challenge, in rendering accounts to the power, in revealing, in shaming the power, "said Pilger.In addition, the journalist said that Assange was arrested "on a political whim" and that his probable prosecution and imprisonment in the United States. "It opens a whole chapter to diminish the principles that emerged from the Second World War, on which the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is based, shows how fragile they are".WikiLeaks publications based on Manning's leak dealt a blow to US attempts to cover up the "homicidal nature of their colonial wars," said Pilger. "There is some kind of consensual belief (...) that we do not do this kind of thing (...), only the totalitarian states, the dishonest states, make it." In fact, it is evident that the biggest dishonest state of all it is the USA ", he emphasized. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 375581

04-13-2019 10:03 PM











Post: #2 RE: John Pilger: "If we lose WikiLeaks, we lose a whole layer of freedom"

I am glad to see that some people in the UK has not lost the wisdom, the good sense to put things in their place... LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 375581

04-13-2019 10:07 PM











Post: #3 RE: John Pilger: "If we lose WikiLeaks, we lose a whole layer of freedom"

More...



"...The legal adviser to the founder of WikiLeaks, Geoffrey Robertson, affirms that "the allegation that the British Government is not going to extradite him to a country with the death penalty is simply nonsense."



"The UK Government is faced with the law that does not allow anyone to be extradited, I hope the British judges have enough faith in freedom of information to rule out this request for extradition," Robertson said. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 453934

04-13-2019 10:11 PM











Post: #4 RE: John Pilger: "If we lose WikiLeaks, we lose a whole layer of freedom"

Assange and all his co-conspirators should be convicted and HUNG

slowly (without a drop) for their part in the 2016 election.





but he won't make to trial because the Trump's will make sure he

commits suicide.



He is already dead....



Lyrics...

Dead men, tell no tales

In Gangland, murder's up for sale

Dead men, tell no tales

In Gangland, where jail birds die





seasnake

Registered User

User ID: 67904

04-13-2019 10:13 PM



Posts: 19,324









Post: #5 RE: John Pilger: "If we lose WikiLeaks, we lose a whole layer of freedom"

LoP Guest Wrote: (04-13-2019 10:03 PM) In addition, the journalist said that Assange was arrested "on a political whim" and that his probable prosecution and imprisonment in the United States. "It opens a whole chapter to diminish the principles that emerged from the Second World War, on which the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is based, shows how fragile they are".

I wonder if Assange will be imprisoned in a for profit prison. I wonder if Assange will be imprisoned in a for profit prison. He Man

Subscriber

User ID: 426524

04-13-2019 10:15 PM



Posts: 40,541









Post: #6 RE: John Pilger: "If we lose WikiLeaks, we lose a whole layer of freedom"

Assange is not wikileaks. There is no shield of "press" protections for Assange trying to actively encourage and help with hacking of US military files. If he did that he broke US laws and if he gets deported to the US he will face trial.



If he is innocent he will win in court the charges are fairly narrow, he stands a good chance of winning the press freedom case. Regardless wikileaks will most likely survive whatever happens to Assange because it is funded by Russian military intelligence as a way to get embarrassing information out about Russia's geo-political enemies out in the open.



I wish wiki leaks was as concerned with getting information out on authoritarian regimes like Putin's Russia, Turkey, China etc. etc., so many others. Making LOP Great again since 06-07-2013!



If you give up on democracy, you might as well give up on everything.

-- Robert Reich



KingBum

Registered User

User ID: 465585

04-13-2019 10:16 PM



Posts: 4,200









Post: #7 RE: John Pilger: "If we lose WikiLeaks, we lose a whole layer of freedom"

Yeah the power structure would love their means of detracting activists from real whistleblowers like John Perkins and Thomas Drake. Idealism is the fools shepherd and the braggarts laurels.



Its time to stop pointing fingers, finger pointing gets us nowhere...Steve.



504100 - My number when not logged in. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 497379

04-13-2019 10:16 PM











Post: #8 RE: John Pilger: "If we lose WikiLeaks, we lose a whole layer of freedom"

What freesom. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 497379

04-13-2019 10:17 PM











Post: #9 RE: John Pilger: "If we lose WikiLeaks, we lose a whole layer of freedom"

LoP Guest Wrote: (04-13-2019 10:16 PM) What freedom. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 497386

04-13-2019 11:02 PM











Post: #10 RE: John Pilger: "If we lose WikiLeaks, we lose a whole layer of freedom"

the war is over...they are just trying to figure out how to tell you now...they want us all dead anyway, I say just announce it and get this party started LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 322692

04-13-2019 11:04 PM











Post: #11 RE: John Pilger: "If we lose WikiLeaks, we lose a whole layer of freedom"

He Man Wrote: (04-13-2019 10:15 PM) Regardless wikileaks will most likely survive whatever happens to Assange because it is funded by Russian military intelligence as a way to get embarrassing information out about Russia's geo-political enemies out in the open.

Wikileaks is very obviously a CIA/Mossad tool.



It was, for example and particularly, highly instrumental in helping triggering the so-called arab spring revolutions which culminated in the overthrow and murder of Gaddafi in Lybia and the near total destruction of Syria... Wikileaks is very obviously a CIA/Mossad tool.It was, for example and particularly, highly instrumental in helping triggering the so-called arab spring revolutions which culminated in the overthrow and murder of Gaddafi in Lybia and the near total destruction of Syria... NormalIsSubjective



User ID: 497035

04-13-2019 11:08 PM



Posts: 22,167









Post: #12 RE: John Pilger: "If we lose WikiLeaks, we lose a whole layer of freedom"

He Man Wrote: (04-13-2019 10:15 PM) Assange is not wikileaks. There is no shield of "press" protections for Assange trying to actively encourage and help with hacking of US military files. If he did that he broke US laws and if he gets deported to the US he will face trial.



If he is innocent he will win in court the charges are fairly narrow, he stands a good chance of winning the press freedom case. Regardless wikileaks will most likely survive whatever happens to Assange because it is funded by Russian military intelligence as a way to get embarrassing information out about Russia's geo-political enemies out in the open.



I wish wiki leaks was as concerned with getting information out on authoritarian regimes like Putin's Russia, Turkey, China etc. etc., so many others.



Link that up, sparky. Link that up, sparky. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 375581

04-13-2019 11:28 PM











Post: #13 RE: John Pilger: "If we lose WikiLeaks, we lose a whole layer of freedom"

Only remember that all of this began with.....9/11 Spiddy

Registered User

User ID: 389963

04-13-2019 11:31 PM



Posts: 19,290









Post: #14 RE: John Pilger: "If we lose WikiLeaks, we lose a whole layer of freedom"

Julian Assange is not wikileaks, no matter how much he might want you to think he is.

Wikileaks is an idea not an individual.

As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.





H.L. Mencken 1920. Spiddy

Registered User

User ID: 389963

04-13-2019 11:31 PM



Posts: 19,290









Post: #15 RE: John Pilger: "If we lose WikiLeaks, we lose a whole layer of freedom"

seasnake Wrote: (04-13-2019 10:13 PM) LoP Guest Wrote: (04-13-2019 10:03 PM) In addition, the journalist said that Assange was arrested "on a political whim" and that his probable prosecution and imprisonment in the United States. "It opens a whole chapter to diminish the principles that emerged from the Second World War, on which the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is based, shows how fragile they are".

I wonder if Assange will be imprisoned in a for profit prison.

Do they have them in Sweden? Do they have them in Sweden?

As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.





H.L. Mencken 1920. Advertisement



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A senior Democrat has set a new deadline for Donald Trump's tax returns to be released, after previous requests were refused by the White House.

Richard Neal, the chairman of the US House Ways and Means Committee requested the last six years of the president's personal and business tax returns by 23 April.

Mr Neal, a Democrat from Massachusetts, is the only member of the House of Representatives that is permitted to request taxpayer data from the treasury, but the White House has refused to comply and provide the requested information.

This is not the first time Mr Neal has attempted to pressure the president and the Internal Revenue Service into releasing the tax returns.

He previously set an 10 April deadline, to which the IRS and Trump refused to comply.

As reported by Reuters, Mr Neal will consider a lack of complying with the deadline as a denial of his request.

Mr Trump refused to release his tax returns on the campaign trail and throughout his presidency, defying the previous precedent set by presidential candidates and elected officials.

Trump claims his reason for refusing to release the returns is that hes under IRS audit, but it is a common belief among American democrats that there are conflicts of interest in the Trump presidency and Trumps global business empire.
Donald Trump participates in briefing at US Border Patrol Calexico Station in California - REUTERS

Donald Trump yesterday said he was still considering releasing detained migrants onto the streets of sanctuary cities despite 24 hours of outcry after the proposal was revealed.

The US president tweeted that he was giving strong considerations to taking the move, which had been criticised as a form of political retribution when it first emerged on Thursday night.

So-called sanctuary cities are places where local authorities refuse to hand over illegal immigrants for deportation. They are often areas controlled by Democrat politicians.

The Washington Post reported late on Thursday that in November and again in February the White House had pushed plans to transport detained migrants to sanctuary cities.

The San Francisco district of congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, the most senior Democrat in the House of Representatives and a fierce critic of the president, was said to be one of the areas targetted.

The White House reportedly faced resistance to the plans from inside the Department of Homeland Security, including figures in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE].

The White House did not deny that the proposal was made, instead issuing a statement that confirmed it had been discussed but insisting the move was no long being pursued.

This was just a suggestion that was floated and rejected, which ended any further discussion, read the White House statement in The Washington Posts piece on Thursday.

But come noon on Friday, Mr Trump contradicted that in a tweet, saying that he was in fact still thinking about taking the move.

Due to the fact that Democrats are unwilling to change our very dangerous immigration laws, we are indeed, as reported, giving strong considerations to placing illegal immigrants in Sanctuary Cities, he wrote.

Only the radical Left always seems to have an open borders, open arms policy  so this should make them very happy!

Earlier in the day Ms Pelosi, the House speaker, has issued a statement condemning the policy. The extent of this administrations cynicism and cruelty cannot be overstated, said Ms Pelosis spokesman Ashley Etienne.

Story continues

Using human beings - including little children - as pawns in their warped game to perpetuate fear and demonise immigrants is despicable.

It is not the first time Mr Trump has leaned into a row about immigration with the Democrats, appearing to believe the issue helps him politically.

The US president issued stark warnings about an invasion of illegal migrants before the 2018 midterm elections, sending more than 5,000 troops to the US-Mexico border.

Mr Trump later added when speaking at a White House event: California certainly is always saying we want more people... Well, we'll give them more people. We can give them a lot. We can give them an unlimited supply. And let's see if they're so happy.

In a separate development, CNN reported that Mr Trump offered to pardon a senior immigration enforcement official if he was ever sent to jail for illegally blocking migrants from entering America.

Mr Trump made the comment to Kevin McAleenan, the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, during a recent visit to the border according to two sources referenced by CNN.
By Joey Roulette

(Reuters) - The most powerful operational rocket in the world, SpaceXs Falcon Heavy, launched its first commercial mission on Thursday from Florida in a key demonstration for billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's space company in the race to grasp lucrative military launch contracts.

The 23-story-tall Heavy, which previously launched Musks cherry red Tesla roadster to space in a 2018 debut test flight, blasted off from Floridas Kennedy Space Center carrying its first customer payload.

"T plus 33 seconds into flight, under the power of 5.1 million pounds of thrust, Falcon Heavy is headed to space," SpaceX launch commentator John Insprucker said on a livestream.

Roughly three minutes after clearing the pad, Heavys two side boosters separated from the core rocket for a synchronized landing at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, sparking boisterous cheers from SpaceX engineers in the company's Hawthorne, California headquarters.

The middle booster, after pushing the payload into space, returned nearly 10 minutes later for a successful landing on SpaceX's seafaring drone ship 400 miles (645 km) off the Florida coast. In the 2018 test mission, Heavy's core booster missed the vessel and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.

The Falcons have landed Musk wrote on Twitter, inaugurating the first successful recovery of all three rocket boosters, which will be refurbished and re-fly in another Falcon Heavy mission this summer to carry a swarm of military and science satellites for the Air Force.

Liftoff with Heavys new military-certified Falcon 9 engines was crucial in the race with Boeing-Lockheed venture United Launch Alliance and Jeff Bezos Blue Origin as Musks SpaceX, working to flight-prove its rocket fleet one mission at a time, aims to clinch a third of all U.S. National Security Space missions - coveted military contracts worth billions.

The U.S. Air Force tapped SpaceX in 2018 to launch for $130 million a classified military satellite and in February added three more missions in a $297 million contract.

Story continues

SpaceX and Boeing Co are vying to send humans to space from U.S. soil for the first time in nearly a decade under NASAs Commercial Crew Program. SpaceXs Crew Dragon capsule, atop a Falcon 9 rocket, cleared its first unmanned test flight in March ahead of its crewed mission planned for July, while the first unmanned test for Boeings Starliner capsule is slated for August on ULAs Atlas 5 rocket.

Falcon Heavy carried a communications satellite for Saudi-based telecom firm Arabsat, which will beam internet and television services over Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

Privately owned SpaceX, also known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp, was founded in 2002 by Musk, who is also a co-founder of electric car maker Tesla Inc.

(Reporting by Joey Roulette; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
Madrid (AFP) - Former Venezuelan general Hugo Carvajal, head of military intelligence under Hugo Chavez, was held in temporary detention Saturday while Spain waits for a formal US extradition request on charges of cocaine trafficking, judicial sources said.

Carvajal, dubbed "El Pollo" (The Chicken), was taken into custody Friday at his son's home in Madrid by Spanish police.

He made headlines recently by voicing support for Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido.

A judge at a Spainish federal court decided to place Carvajal in provisional detention, while the United States files a "formal extradition request" to judicial authorities, the sources said.

The former army general "denied having links to drug trafficking and the FARC" guerrilla group in Colombia, they added.

He refused to be handed over to US officials and argued that he now has family ties to Spain.

In a statement, the US Justice Department said if convicted, Carvajal faced a sentence of between 10 years to life in prison over the charges of conspiracy to import more than five tonnes of cocaine into the United States.

"No matter the rank or level of influence of an individual, we will continue to pursue and prosecute those who bring deadly drugs into this country in a US court of law," said prosecutor Geoffrey Berman, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Carvajal has long been sought by US Treasury officials who suspect him of providing support to drug trafficking by FARC guerrillas.

In May 2013, a Florida court accused him of having worked for Colombian drug traffickers from 2004 to 2010.

In 2014, Carvajal was arrested on the Dutch island of Aruba where he was Venezuela's consul, but he fled back to Venezuela after claiming diplomatic immunity.

He was the highest-ranking army official to declare his support for Guaido, saying that the six-year Nicolas Maduro presidency had been a disaster.

On February 21, he posted a video on Twitter in which he told army officers: "How it all ends will depend on you my brothers in arms" and urging them to stand "on the right side of history."

Maduro then ousted Carvajal and the former military man was accused of "acts of treason."
By Maayan Lubell JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party has won 36 of the 120 seats in Israel's parliament, according to final results of Tuesday's election, putting him in pole position in negotiations to form a right-wing coalition. Netanyahu is heading toward a record fifth term in office confident of being able to put together a bloc of religious-rightist parties. It would be a slim majority against an opposition that is likely to be led by the centrist-left Blue and White party, which won 35 seats. No single party has ever won an outright majority in the Knesset. Here's a quick guide to the various parties, who gained, who lost and what is likely to happen next: WHAT COALITION WILL NETANYAHU SEEK? Most likely, a replica of his outgoing right-wing government. In his victory speech, Netanyahu, 69, said he intends to form his new cabinet with right-wing and religious parties. WHAT'S THE NEXT STEP? Coalition-building. Next week Israels president consults with the leaders of each party about their preference for prime minister. He then names the person who he believes has the best chance of putting together a government. Netanyahu is the obvious choice as leader of the largest party. If nominated to form a government, he will have up to 42 days to form a government. If he fails, the president asks another politician to try. Past coalition negotiations have dragged on. Smaller parties will demand cabinet seats, and will have their own financial and legislative demands to fulfill campaign promises made to their own voters. Netanyahu will have to balance these against his own party's priorities. Graphic Israel 2019 parliamentary elections: https://tmsnrt.rs/2D916Uv WHICH PARTIES ARE BACKING NETANYAHU? LIKUD Thirty-six seats, up from 30 before the election. Leader: Benjamin Netanyahu. The spearhead of right-wing politics in Israel for decades. Likud first came to power in 1977 under former Irgun leader, later Nobel Peace Prize-winner, Menachem Begin. Its current leader, Netanyahu, personifies Likud's traditionally hawkish positions on security in matters such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and foreign policy, with Iran currently as the focus. Many Likud members of parliament oppose the creation of a Palestinian state and during the election Netanyahu said he would annex Israel's settlements in the West Bank. About 400,000 Jewish settlers live alongside 2.9 million Palestinians in the territory that Israel captured in a 1967 war, and has held under military occupation ever since, but never formally annexed. Netanyahu's base rallied around him, even though he faces possible indictment in three corruption cases. Interactive graphic: Israeli election - number of votes won by party - https://tmsnrt.rs/2IeButC THE RIGHT WING UNION Five seats, no change. Leader: Rafi Peretz. Israel's national-religious party is the most prominent political representative of the settler movement. It repudiates the idea of a Palestinian state, underlining the Jewish people's biblical and religious connections to the land that Palestinians seek for a state. U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to unveil his long-awaited Middle East peace plan in the coming months. If the plan requires Israeli territorial concessions to the Palestinians, the Right Wing Union is likely to raise fierce objections. ISRAEL BEITENU ('Israel is our Home') Five seats, no change. Leader: Avigdor Lieberman. A secularist, nationalist and far-right party whose base is immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Its Moldovan-born leader, Lieberman, is a former defense minister who seeks to out-hawk Netanyahu. His policies include swapping Arab towns inside Israel - home to the country's 21 percent Arab Palestinian minority - in return for ceding territory in the Israeli-occupied West Bank to the Palestinian Authority. UNITED TORAH JUDAISM (UTJ) Seven seats, up from six. Leader: Yakov Litzman. It represents ultra-Orthodox Jews, or haredim, of European origin. A Netanyahu coalition, like many before it, is likely to rely on ultra-Orthodox support. UTJ is primarily concerned with safeguarding state benefits for Haredi men, many of whom devote themselves to full-time religious study, do not work and do not serve in Israel's conscript military. Demands for more government payouts will make it harder for Netanyahu to rein in a growing budget deficit. SHAS Eight seats, up from seven. Leader: Aryeh Deri. SHAS represents Haredi Jews of Middle Eastern origin. Allied with UTJ and with similar demands, it has also served as kingmaker in successive governments. KULANU ('All Of Us') Four seats, down from 10. Leader: Moshe Kahlon The party casts itself as moderate right-wing. Kahlon, the current finance minister, has met Palestinian officials on economic matters, even though the two political leaderships have not held negotiations since 2014. Kahlon wants to keep the finance ministry but his party is now much weaker in parliament, so will have less clout in post-election coalition negotiations. Israel's economy barely featured in the election campaign, but the central bank has warned that the new government will need to cut spending and raise taxes to rein in a growing budget deficit. WHO IS THE OPPOSITION? BLUE AND WHITE Thirty-five seats, in its first election. Leaders: Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid. A centrist party whose figurehead, former military chief Gantz, emerged as a serious rival to Netanyahu. But the political novice failed to unseat the veteran, and lost credibility by claiming victory too soon on election night. Gantz joined forces with right-wing Moshe Yaalon, a former defense minister, and center-left former finance minister Yair Lapid. The party vowed to combine clean government with peace and security. Conceding defeat on Wednesday, Lapid said his party will "make Likud's life hell in the opposition." LABOUR Six seats, down from 18. Leader: Avi Gabbay. The left-wing party which ruled Israel throughout the early decades of the state was dealt a devastating blow on April 9. With Netanyahu reflecting the rightward shift of the Israeli electorate, Labour highlighted social and economic reform, and the pursuit of peace and a two-state solution with the Palestinians. HADASH-TA'AL - Leaders: Ayman Odeh and Ahmad Tibi. Six seats. The larger of two mostly Arab blocs in parliament. All the Arab-dominated parties joined forces in 2015 but split in two this year, and saw their combined seat tally falling from 13 to 10. The group has one Jewish member of parliament, and advocates an Arab-Jewish alliance to fight racism and social inequality. But Arab parties have never joined governing coalitions in Israel, and this year faced a boycott movement by Arabs dismayed at a 2018 "nation-state" law which declared that only Jews have the right of self-determination in the country. By most estimates, this election saw exceptionally low turnout by Israel's Arab citizens, some of whom increasingly prefer the designation "Palestinian" to "Israeli-Arab." RAAM-BALAD - Leaders: Mansour Abbas and Mtanes Shihadeh. Four seats. Raam-Balad's leaders are a mix of Islamist and Arab nationalists. It describes itself as a democratic movement opposed to Israels occupation of Palestinian territory. MERETZ - Leader: Tamar Zandberg. Four seats, down from five. The left-wing party has not been part of government in the past two decades. Popular with liberal middle-class Israelis, it advocates a two-state solution with the Palestinians. WHO LOST BIG? THE NEW RIGHT - Leaders: Naftali Bennet and Ayelet Shaked. No seats, down from three. Once seen as rising young stars in Israeli politics, Bennett, a high-tech millionaire, was Israel's Education Minister and Shaked was Justice Minister in the outgoing government. They split from a larger national-religious faction to form a new far-right party that would appeal to more secular constituents. Shaked frequently criticized Israel's Supreme Court as being too liberal and interventionist. The party did not win over enough voters to enter the Knesset. ZEHUT - Leader: Moshe Feiglin. No seats. Soaring in pre-election opinion polls and crashing at the ballot, the new ultra-nationalist libertarian Zehut will not be part of the incoming Knesset. Its campaign demands for marijuana legalization appeared to be a huge draw for many young voters, who ultimately failed to come through for it. Its other policies included proposals to annex the West Bank, the voluntary 'transfer' of Palestinians to other countries and the eventual construction of a third Jewish temple. (Writing by Maayan Lubell, Editing by Stephen Farrell and Timothy Heritage)
Vantaa (Finland) (AFP) - When the UN crowned Finland the world's happiest nation last month for the second year running, there were still quite a few eyebrows raised. How could this Nordic country, better known for its harsh weather and high suicide rate, be the world's happiest?

Although international comparisons are imperfect due to holes in the data, in 1990 official statistics did indeed indicate that Finland's suicide rate was the second highest in the world, behind Hungary.

But Professor Timo Partonen at Finland's National Institute for Health and Welfare, warns against the temptation to blame the problem on Finland's dark, cold climate, or its bleak, concrete, postwar towns.

"If you are depressed in any place in the world, you bear a similar risk of suicide," Partonen told AFP.

"I think that the social connections and how willing you are to seek help and receive help are the most important things here."

Suicides in Finland have now fallen to less than half of 1990 levels. That is thanks largely to a decade-long public health drive to improve treatment and support for those at risk, as well as to make media reporting of the issue more responsible.

These days it is also much more socially acceptable for Finns, especially men, to open up about their feelings, says Partonen.

"Now it's easier to talk about it if you are depressed for example, and it's easier to get treated and have adequate treatment as well."

According to the World Health Organization, Finland's suicide rate is now 22nd highest in the world, lower than the US and one spot higher than Australia.

Even today however, many Finns still describe themselves as taciturn and prone to melancholy -- and admit to eyeing public displays of joyfulness with suspicion.

- Quietly satisfied -

Finland's residents enjoy a high quality of life, security and public services, with rates of inequality and poverty among the lowest of all OECD countries.

Story continues

But as the country votes in this weekend's general election, the issue of how to continue funding Finland's cherished welfare state in future appears to be on many voters' minds.

In an EU survey last year, 86 percent of Finns said they were satisfied with their work-life balance, against an EU average of 78 percent.

That leaves more time for a favourite pursuit of many Finns -- going outdoors to enjoy the country's vast forests and thousands of lakes.

"You forget all your daily things that maybe are going on inside your head, and you can just breathe deeply and listen to nature," said Petri Honkala, a physiotherapist of his daily walks and runs in the forest by his house.

Since Finland's success in the UN's world happiness rankings, which compared various social and economic measures in 156 countries, Honkala and seven other Finns have been employed by the country's tourist board as "happiness guides" for foreign visitors.

Later this year he will host guests at his home to share the secrets to Nordic wellbeing -- and a trip to his favourite nearby forest spots will be top of the agenda.

"I have been in my own little business all the time, I haven't been employed, so I haven't had any vacation for example, I don't go to the Canary Islands," Honkala said, as he barbecued sausages over a bonfire in a small forest clearing.

"But that's not the important thing to me, I'd rather come over here."

It is a grey, chilly day when AFP visits Honkala in his picturesque village of Mathildedal, an hour and a half from the capital. The piles of snow still haven't melted away entirely, and green shoots are yet to appear from the frozen ground.

But the cold weather is not a bar to happiness or to enjoying the outdoors, Honkala insists.

"I have no complaints, the only thing is the winter could be a little bit shorter, and the (summer) a little bit longer," he laughs.
Authorities on Friday identified the two people found dead inside a multimillion-dollar home in Minnesota as Irwin Jacobs, the prominent businessman and former part-owner of the Minnesota Vikings Irwin, and his wife, Alexandra Jacobs.

In a press release obtained by PEOPLE, the Orono Police Department also revealed that the couple died of multiple gunshot wounds. The statement lists Alexandras manner of death as homicide and Irwins as suicide.

The mansion on Lake Minnetonka where Irwin Jacobs and his wife, Alexandra, were found dead. | TNS via ZUMA

A person who routinely visits the home found the bodies of the couple in bed Wednesday morning with a handgun laying near them, Orono Police Chief Correy Farniok confirmed in a press conference.

Farniok had not yet named the couple on Wednesday or Thursday.

Irwin Jacobs in 1985 | Denver Post via Getty Images

On Wednesday, the chief had said that after the unidentified visitor found the dead bodies, Officers with the Orono Police Department made entry into the home. Upon entering, we found two individuals deceased  one adult male, one adult female. They were both inside the house and a gun was recovered.

Irwins company, Jacobs Management Corp., released a statement on behalf of the couples five children confirming their parents had died.

Our family is shocked and devastated by the death of our parents, Irwin and Alexandra Jacobs, read the statement, which was obtained by The Star Tribune. We are heartbroken by this loss, and we ask that our privacy be respected as we grieve during this very difficult time.

A representative for Irwins company did not immediately respond to PEOPLEs request for comment.

RELATED: Married Couple Killed in Home Invasion with Son Fatally Stabbed 40-Plus Times as He Tried to Flee

Farniok also noted that police felt there was no immediate threat to the community and it was a contained situation with no current suspects  stopping short of describing the deaths as a murder-suicide.

This is an active investigation, he told reporters on Wednesday. We are releasing very minimal investigation due to the fact that this investigation is ongoing, but we do want to indicate that we feel there is no immediate threat to the community.

Story continues

We dont see this very often  in any of our communities, this doesnt happen, Farniok added. We are taking this seriously. Were looking at it from every aspect.

 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.

Though police were at first unable to confirm the details around the case, Dennis Mathisen, one of Irwins longtime business partners, told The Star Tribune that the prominent businessman had killed his wife of 57 years before turning the gun on himself.

[Alexandra] had been in a wheelchair for the last year or so and had signs of dementia. Irwin was just distraught over her condition, Mathisen told the publication, adding that he learned of the tragedy after speaking to Irwins secretary and son Mark Jacobs.

Mathisen also said he last spoke to his friend just a few days ago and he seemed upbeat.

RELATED: Pa. Couple Killed Inside Their Home  as Person of Interest Is Found Dead

Irwin was well-known in the business world  in part due to his aggressive techniques of buying and liquidating struggling companies, earning himself the nickname of Irv the Liquidator, according to The Star Tribune.

In the 1980s, he owned a minority share of the Minnesota Vikings but had sold it by 1991. Throughout his life, he also owned Grain Belt Beer Company and boatmaking company Genmar Holdings Co.  both of which he had since sold, the outlet reports.

At the time of his death, Irwin was the owner of soap and household products company J.R. Watkins Co. in Winona and retail merchandise trading company Jacobs Trading Co.

The father of five was also very much involved in giving back and donated $8 million to the Special Olympics in 1991  a cause that was particularly important to him and his wife, who shared a daughter with cerebral palsy, according to Fast Forward.

The couple had lived on their lakefront estate for almost 50 years. In 2014, the couple decided to list the home for $22 million.

Irwin told The Star Tribune that he decided to sell the home, despite hoping he would die there one day, because didnt want to burden my wife if something happened to me.

Later in 2014, the home was pulled off the market and the couple decided to just sell some of their 32 acres of land instead, according to Finance & Commerce.

A spokesman for the Minnesota Vikings told PEOPLE in an email, We will respectfully pass on providing a comment at this time.
BERLIN (Reuters) - With the clock ticking down to Brexit, a tiny German village is preparing to take center stage as it becomes the new geographical center of the European Union when Britain leaves the bloc. It takes about an hour to drive the 55 kilometers from the current midpoint, in the municipality of Westerngrund, in southern Germany, to Gadheim. A sign proudly reading the "future center of the EU" already greets visitors outside the hamlet. On a nondescript piece of farmland, a pole is ready and waiting to hoist the EU flag. For Westerngrund, it will be a sad day when it waves goodbye to the title it gained when Croatia joined the EU in 2013. The exact spot is currently marked with a plaque, a map, and the EU flag, while multiple signs highlight Westerngrund's claim to fame. While the geographical center of the EU has moved slightly at various times, it has remained in Germany since the European Union expanded from 15 to 25 countries in 2004. Gadheim is too small to have its own mayor, and falls under the jurisdiction of the mayor of nearby Veitshoechheim, Juergen Goetz. He hopes the new title could put the village firmly on the map. "Of course we are counting on additional tourists coming to the region and in particular to Gadheim," he told Reuters. Local residents are getting excited too, with one even urging Goetz to make Theresa May an honorary citizen of Gadheim. "That's clearly a bit difficult. Of course Gadheim has a reason to celebrate, but I think that for Europe as a whole it won't be a good day," he said. (Reporting by Katie Stephens; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
Accra (AFP) - An artificial intelligence research laboratory opened by Google in Ghana, the first of its kind in Africa, will take on challenges across the continent, researchers say.

The US technology giant said the lab in the capital Accra would address economic, political and environmental issues.

"Africa has many challenges where the use of AI could be beneficial, sometimes even more than in other places," Google's head of AI Accra, Moustapha Cisse, told AFP at the centre's official opening this week.

Similar research centres have already opened in cities around the world including Tokyo, Zurich, New York and Paris.

The new lab, Cisse said, would use AI to develop solutions in healthcare, education and agriculture -- such as helping to diagnose certain types of crop disease.

Cisse, an expert from Senegal, said he hoped specialist engineers and AI researchers would collaborate with local organisations and policymakers.

Google is working with universities and start-ups in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa to enhance AI development regionally, he said.

"We just need to ensure that the right education and opportunities are in place," he said.

"That is why Google is sponsoring a lot of these young people for their degrees... to help develop a new generation of AI developers."

- 'Clear opportunity' -

Other tech companies, including Facebook, have launched initiatives in Africa and demographics are a key factor behind the drive.

Africa's population is estimated to be 1.2 billion, 60 percent of them under the age of 24.

By 2050, the UN estimates the population will double to 2.4 billion.

As online social networks expand, that presents a huge market for US tech giants to tap into.

"There's a clear opportunity for companies like Facebook and Google to really go in and put a pole in the sand," said Daniel Ives, a technology researcher at GBH Insights in New York.

"If you look at Netflix, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, where is a lot of that growth coming from? It's international," he told AFP in a recent interview.
By Khalid Abdelaziz KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's defense minister stepped down abruptly on Friday as head of the country's transitional ruling military council after only a day in the post, as protesters demanded quicker political change following President Omar al-Bashir's ouster by the armed forces. Hours after the military council sought to calm public anger by promising a new civilian government, Defence Minister Awad Ibn Auf said in a televised speech he was quitting as head of the council. Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Abdelrahman will be the new head of the council, Ibn Auf said. He also said Chief of Staff Kamal Abdelmarouf al-Mahi was relieved of his position as deputy head of the transitional military council. "In order to ensure the cohesion of the security system, and the armed forces in particular, from cracks and strife, and relying on God, let us begin this path of change," Ibn Auf said. News of the change sparked joyful celebrations by many thousands in the streets of Khartoum as people chanted, "The second has fallen!" in reference to Bashir, witnesses said. "What happened is a step in the right direction and is a bow to the will of the masses, and we have become closer to victory," Rashid Saeed, a spokesman for the main protest group, the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), told Reuters. "We are committed to our demands that we submitted to the army," he said. "We call on the masses to stay on the streets until all the demands are met." The military council said earlier that it expected a pre-election transition to last two years at most or much less if chaos can be avoided. The head of the military council's political committee, Omar Zain al-Abideen, said the council would hold a dialogue with political entities. The announcement of a future civilian government appeared aimed at reassuring demonstrators who had pressed for months for Bashir's departure and quickly resumed protests against army rule after his ouster on Thursday, calling for quicker and more substantial change. In a clear challenge to Ibn Auf's military council, several thousand protesters remained in front of the defense ministry compound, and in other parts of the capital, as a nighttime curfew Ibn Auf had announced went into effect. The SPA said the military council was "not capable of creating change." In a statement, the group restated its demand for power to be handed immediately to "a transitional civilian government." Bashir, 75, himself seized power in a 1989 military coup. He had faced 16 weeks of demonstrations sparked by rising food costs, high unemployment and increasing repression during his three decades of autocratic rule. Worshippers packed the streets around the Defence Ministry for Friday prayers, heeding a call by the SPA to challenge the military council. The numbers swelled in the afternoon, and a Reuters witness estimated hundreds of thousands of protesters thronged areas around the ministry, which was guarded by soldiers. At least 16 people were killed and 20 injured by stray bullets at protests and sit-ins on Thursday and Friday, a Sudanese police spokesman said in a statement on Saturday. Government buildings and private property were also attacked, spokesman Hashem Ali added. He asked citizens to help ensure safety and public order. "We do not reject a military council in principle, but we reject these people because they are from Bashir's regime," said Abdelhamid Ahmed, a 24-year-old doctor. Ibn Auf was Bashir's vice president and defense minister and is among a handful of Sudanese commanders whom Washington imposed sanctions on over their alleged role during atrocities committed in the Darfur conflict that began in 2003. Announcing Bashir's ouster on Thursday and the creation of the military council, Ibn Auf also announced a state of emergency, a nationwide ceasefire and the suspension of the constitution, as well as the nighttime curfew from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Those steps were criticized as heavy-handed by rights groups. Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman was the third most senior general in the Sudanese armed forces and is not known in public life. He was the head of Sudans ground forces, a role in which he oversaw Sudanese troops that fought in the Saudi-led Yemen war. INCLUSIVE POLITICAL PROCESS Sudan's deputy U.N. ambassador, Yasir Abdalla Abdelsalam Ahmed, told the U.N. Security Council on Friday that any democratic process in the country required time, and he urged the international community to support a peaceful transition. "No party will be excluded from the political process, including armed groups," he told the council during a meeting on Abyei, a contested border region claimed by Sudan and South Sudan. The 15-member council convened later on Friday behind closed doors to be briefed on the latest developments in Sudan. "Moreover, the suspension of the constitution could be lifted at any point and the transitional period could be shortened depending on developments on the ground and agreements reached between stakeholders," the Sudanese envoy said. World powers, including the United States and Britain, said they supported a peaceful and democratic transition sooner than two years. China said it would continue to seek cooperation with Sudan regardless of the political situation. Zain al-Abideen said the military council would not interfere with a civilian government. However, he said the defense and interior ministries would be under its control. Burhan, the new head of the transitional military council, was the inspector general of the Sudanese armed forces and its third most senior general. He is little known in public life. He was the head of Sudans ground forces, a role in which he oversaw Sudanese troops who fought in the Saudi-led Yemen war. He has close ties to senior Gulf military officials as he was responsible for coordinating Sudan's military involvement in the war. "NOT GREEDY FOR POWER" Zain al-Abideen said the military council itself had no solutions to Sudan's crisis and these would come from the protesters. "We are not greedy for power," he said. "We will not dictate anything to the people. We want to create an atmosphere to manage a peaceful dialogue". He said the council was to meet on Friday with political entities to prepare a "climate for dialogue," but that was later postponed. The council said it did not invite Bashir's National Congress Party to join the dialogue because "it is responsible for what happened." It warned protesters that the army would not tolerate unrest. Ibn Auf said on Thursday that Bashir was being detained in a "safe place." Sudanese sources told Reuters he was at the presidential residence under heavy guard. The council said on Friday it would not extradite Bashir, who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Bashir is facing an arrest warrant over accusations of genocide in Sudan's Darfur region during an insurgency that began in 2003 and led to the death of an estimated 300,000 people. He denies the allegations. (Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz; Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols at the United Nations and Hesham Hajali and Omar Fahmy in Cairo; Writing by Yousef Saba and Sami Aboudi; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Leslie Adler and Tom Brown)
Cairo (AFP) - Sudanese General Awad Ibn Ouf, who led the overthrow of veteran leader Omar al-Bashir and has emerged as the country's new ruler, is already under US sanctions for his alleged role in the brutal Darfur conflict.

In a sombre televised statement on Thursday, Ibn Ouf announced the ouster of Bashir, who ruled the northeast African country with an iron-fist for 30 years before angry protesters brought him down.

"I announce as minister of defence the toppling of the regime and detaining its chief in a secure place," Ibn Ouf said.

"We have replaced him by a transitional military council for two years and have suspended Sudan's 2005 constitution."

Later on Thursday state television announced that Ibn Ouf had been sworn in as head of the military council triggering anger among the protesters.

"The regime has conducted a military coup by bringing back the same faces and the same institutions which our people rose up against," the Alliance for Freedom and Change, the group that is leading the protests said in a statement.

"We call on our people to continue their sit-in in front of army headquarters and across all regions and in the streets."

Protesters remained camped at the army headquarters in the capital for seventh straight day, vowing not to leave until the new military rulers quit.

- Career soldier -

Born in 1950, Ibn Ouf, a career soldier has been a regime insider and a close aide of Bashir since the former leader came to power in a coup in 1989.

Ibn Ouf held several top ranking positions in the army as well as in the foreign ministry.

He rose through the ranks first to become a commander of the military's artillery division and then to head the army intelligence wing.

In 2010 he retired but was brought back five years later as the country's defence minister. In February Bashir made him his first vice president

"Awad Ibn Ouf is not only a high-ranking officer of Bashir's old guard, but one of the few in the army to be able to maintain the cohesion between the rival branches of the regime's security apparatus," said Paris-based Sudan analyst, Jerome Tubiana.

Story continues

Between 2010 and 2015, Ibn Ouf served as a counsel in Khartoum's embassy in Cairo and later as ambassador to Muscat.

But it is his alleged role in the conflict in Darfur that analysts say might make Western powers wary of dealing with him directly.

Analysts say Ibn Ouf, a close aide of Bashir, played a key role in managing the Arab militias like the feared Janjaweed, who have been accused of committing genocide during the initial years of the conflict.

The United States put his name on its backlist of Sudanese officers sanctioned for their role in the conflict that has seen his assets blocked by the US treasury since 2007.

In May 2007, Washington said Ibn Ouf has been "linked to violence, atrocities and human rights abuses" in Darfur.

- 'Palace revolution' -

Bashir himself has been indicted for alleged war crimes and genocide in the Darfur conflict, in which according to the United Nations about 300,000 people have been killed and millions displaced.

Hundreds of thousands of people still live in sprawling camps across the region.

The conflict erupted in 2003 when ethnic black rebels took up arms against Khartoum's Arab-dominated government, accusing it of economic and political marginalisation.

Ibn Ouf was as "deeply involved" in the conflict as Bashir himself, said Hollywood actor George Clooney on Thursday.

"Removing the leader of a violent, corrupt system without dismantling that system is inadequate," said Clooney, founder of The Sentry Project, which researches illicit money and war crimes in Africa.

But analyst Tubiana said the fact that Bashir agreed to go and Ibn Ouf had replaced him showed that it was "a palace revolution, aimed at protecting the regime and preventing the opposition, civilians and non-Islamists ... from taking power".

Some analysts say however that Ibn Ouf might not remain for long time as head of the military council.

"He's been taking decisions for a long time when it comes to the armed forces, but the task ahead is not going to be easy," said an analyst.

"The anger among protesters will be a continuous challenge. For all you know he might not be there for a long time."

Protesters vow to do exactly that.

"Ibn Ouf is weak, we will ensure he quits," said a protester without revealing his name for security reasons as he prepared for Friday prayers at the army complex.
New Delhi (AFP) - India is hopeful it will avoid US sanctions over its purchase of Russia's S-400 missile system, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told AFP.

New Delhi has been "heard and understood" by the US administration over its accord to buy the S-400 missile defence system for $5.2 billion, the minister said in an interview this week.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin in October, defying US warnings of sanctions on countries buying Russian military equipment. The sanctions were part of measures to punish Moscow for its actions in Ukraine in 2014.

President Donald Trump's administration imposed sanctions on China's military last year over Beijing's purchase of the S-400 and other military hardware.

It has also warned NATO member Turkey of sanctions for buying the S-400, and has suspended Turkey's participation in a US jet programme.

Sitharaman told AFP that Washington has taken on board that India, bordering both Pakistan and China, needed arms from Russia, and others, to remain a "strong partner".

Negotiations with Moscow, a longstanding supplier to India's military, on the S-400 began before the US sanctions were introduced, she said.

"In the case of S-400 we have explained ourselves well... That has been heard and understood," Sitharaman said. "They have appreciated the point of view put forward."

Asked if she was confident that India would avoid sanctions, Sitharaman said: "Yes I hope so."

- Cold water -

Before the deal was inked, Washington poured cold water on India's efforts to obtain a waiver from the US Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

Upgrades in arms systems "including the S-400 air and missile defense system" would be a particular focus for CAATSA, a US State Department spokesperson was quoted as saying by India's PTI news agency.

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But Randall Schriver, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, told a hearing in March that Washington wanted to "work through" the problem, calling India "an important emerging strategic partner."

He added however that India's contract with Russia has not been completed and that the US was "very keen to see (India) make an alternative choice (to the S-400) and we are working with them to provide potential alternatives."

- China -

Washington is in a tricky position with India. It wants to bolster ties with the Asian giant to counter China's assertiveness, a trend which has also rattled New Delhi.

In 2017 India and China had a military standoff over a Himalayan plateau claimed by both Beijing and Bhutan, a close ally of India.

Since then China and India have sought to patch up relations, including at a meeting between Modi and President Xi Jinping at Wuhan, China in April 2018.

"Sometimes there are differences and you have a face-off," Sitharaman said. "But our attempt, particularly after the prime minister's Wuhan meet with the Chinese president, our attempt has been that these differences... cannot be allowed to become disputes."

But China has also made inroads in Sri Lanka and the Maldives -- countries that India considers to be in its sphere of influence -- through its One Belt, One Road Initiative (OBOR), also known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

India has particular concerns about a series of projects passing through Pakistan-administered Kashmir, a disputed territory which was the fuse for a new military flare-up between Pakistan and India in February.

China has also blocked efforts to put on a UN sanctions blacklist the leader of a Pakistan-based militant group that claimed a suicide bombing in India-administered Kashmir on February 14 that killed 40 Indian paramilitary troops.

New Delhi has reportedly declined a Chinese invitation to take part in an OBOR forum in China later this month.

"Areas which are ours legally, which are under illegal occupation of Pakistan, are the ones which are becoming part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor," Sitharaman said.

"So having made that position very clear, we have not participated in anything to do with OBOR, and we stick to that position," she said.
By Krishna N. Das NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India on Saturday said a French media report linking a tax exemption given to a French subsidiary of India's Reliance Group and an $8.7 billion fighter jet deal between the two countries was "totally inaccurate." French newspaper Le Monde reported on Saturday that France waived a tax demand of 143.7 million euros on a French subsidiary of Reliance Communications in 2015 when it was negotiating to sell the jets to India. The longstanding tax dispute was resolved between February and October that year, Le Monde said. India's Ministry of Defence said on Saturday the report was drawing a conjectural connection between the tax relief and the jet deal. "Neither the period of the tax concession nor the subject matter of the concession relate even remotely to the Rafale procurement concluded during the tenure of the present government," the ministry said in a statement. "Any connections drawn between the tax issue and the Rafale matter is totally inaccurate, tendentious and is a mischievous attempt to disinform." Alexandre Ziegler, France's ambassador to India, said a global settlement was reached between French authorities and Reliance FLAG in a tax dispute. "This settlement was conducted in full adherence with the legislative and regulatory framework governing this common practice of the tax administration," he said on Twitter late on Saturday. "It was not subject to any political interference whatsoever." India's main opposition Congress Party has for months accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of corruption in choosing Reliance Defence as a domestic partner in the deal to buy 36 Rafale planes from France's Dassault Aviation. Congress has made it a major issue in India's 39-day national election. The allegations have repeatedly been denied by both Modi and Mumbai-based Reliance, controlled by industrialist Anil Ambani. Reliance said in a statement on Saturday that Reliance FLAG, which runs a cable network and telecom infrastructure business in France, mutually agreed with the French authorities to pay 560 million rupees ($8 million) as tax for the period between 2008 and 2012 instead of the initial demand of 11 billion rupees. It said that during that period Reliance FLAG business had an operating loss of 2.7 million euros ($3 million). "Reliance denies any favoritism or gain from the settlement," it said in the statement. "Reliance Flag settled tax disputes as per legal framework in France available to all companies operating in France." India's Supreme Court said this week it would hear a request for an investigation into the jet deal. Under India's defense procurement rules, any company selling equipment must invest at least 30 percent of the contract in India as part of an "offset" clause to help build a domestic manufacturing base and reduce the country's dependence on imports. Dassault has said it picked Reliance Defence as a partner on its own. (Reporting by Krishna N. Das; Additional reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal in MUMBAI; Inti Landauro and Tim Hepher in PARIS. Editing by Jane Merriman)
WASHINGTON  Wilbur Ross had just started running the Department of Commerce, but he was growing impatient over the 2020 census, still three years away.

"I am mystified why nothing (has) been done in response to my months-old request that we include the citizenship question," Ross emailed to a staff member just two months into his new job on May 2, 2017. "Why not?"

The commerce secretary had gotten an earful about the issue from Kris Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state who was about to be named vice chairman of President Donald Trump's "Advisory Commission on Election Integrity." Kobach had been recommended to Ross by Steve Bannon, the president's chief strategist and White House senior counselor, who was a fierce opponent of the nation's immigration policies.

The citizenship question: Feds and other groups fought for months before courts nixed it

Court challenges: Trump administration plan for census citizenship question ruled against by third federal judge

But it would take another seven months and the direct intervention of Attorney General Jeff Sessions to grant Ross' wish. Two weeks before Christmas, the Justice Department finally asked for what Ross already knew he wanted  and Census Bureau officials learned for the first time that the citizenship question was even under consideration.

This is the story of that convoluted decision-making process, as recounted by three federal district court judges who presided over separate trials in New York, California and Maryland. Now it's headed to the Supreme Court.

The high court, which has called the census "the linchpin of the federal statistical system," will hear the case April 23 and issue its verdict by the end of June. It must decide if Ross had ample reason to ask about citizenship, followed acceptable procedures and acted within the bounds of the Constitution.

That's not the portrayal that emerges from the three lower court rulings. Rather, it is one of a Republican administration determined to use the decennial census to locate noncitizens  and to benefit politically whether it finds them or not.

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'Officials with something to hide'

So far, Ross has an 0-3 record in the district courts, where judges named by President Barack Obama have described acts of subterfuge and misleading statements intended to obscure the real reasons for asking the citizenship question.

"Those acts and statements are not the transparent acts and statements one would expect from government officials who have decided, for bona fide and defensible reasons, to change policy," Judge Jesse Furman ruled in New York in January. "Nor are they the acts and statements of government officials who are merely trying to cut through red tape.

"Instead," Furman said, "they are the acts and statements of officials with something to hide."

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach met with President-elect Donald Trump during the transition in 2016 to discuss a possible Cabinet role and brought along suggestions for changing federal voting laws. He later pushed hard for a citizenship question in the 2020 census.

By the time Ross was confirmed as secretary of commerce on Feb. 27, 2017, the Census Bureau was on the verge of telling Congress what the census would ask about: The usual questions about gender, age, race, ethnicity, and homeownership.

The 79-year-old commerce secretary had what he considered to be a fundamental question: Were noncitizens routinely counted?

The answer was unambiguous: Anyone "with a usual residence in the 50 states" was counted so that seats in the House of Representatives could be apportioned among states. The goal of the decennial census  conducted every 10 years since 1790 when Thomas Jefferson supervised it  is counting heads.

'One simple question'

During the spring of 2017, Ross discussed the possibility of adding what Kobach called "one simple question" to the census with Sessions, Bannon, Kobach and others.

Bannon, the former Breitbart News executive, had helped Trump win election with a promise to build a border wall and deport undocumented immigrants. Kobach's concern was mirrored in his work on the ill-fated election integrity commission, which would look into alleged voter fraud among noncitizens and others before disbanding in disarray at the start of 2018.

The Kansas official said geographic data on noncitizens was needed to address the "problem that aliens who do not actually 'reside' in the United States are still counted for congressional apportionment purposes."

By early May, Ross was clearly on board, and he fumed about bureaucratic delays. "Worst of all," he wrote to his deputy chief of staff, Earl Comstock, census officials "emphasize that they have settled with Congress on the questions to be asked."

Despite the wishes of the two Trump allies, Comstock told Ross they needed a formal request from the Justice Department. They knew what they wanted, but they needed a reason that would "clear (the) legal thresholds."

On May 4  two days after Ross' "mystified" email  White House officials pointed Commerce officials toward the Justice Department for what would turn out to be a seven-month effort to justify the citizenship question.

Rebuffed at every turn

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross testified in March before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

Things did not go well at first.

At the Justice Department, the director of the Executive Office of Immigration Review said the department didn't want to get involved. The New York trial record attributes that to "the difficulties Justice was encountering in the press at the time (the whole Comey matter)," an apparent reference to the firing in May of FBI Director James Comey.

Things didn't go any better at the Department of Homeland Security. Despite a series of phone calls, officials there said the issue should be handled by the Justice Department. This prompted Commerce officials to consider "how Commerce could add the question to the Census itself."

By mid-July, Kobach was back, emailing Ross to remind him of their earlier phone call, and later speaking to Ross again by phone. On August 8, Ross emailed Comstock that if Justice had not decided whether to get involved, "please let me know your contact person, and I will call the AG."

Comstock urged caution. "Since this issue will go to the Supreme Court, we need to be diligent in preparing the administrative record," he responded.

Ross went even further: "We should be very careful about everything, whether or not it is likely to end up in the SC."

'The AG is eager to assist'

The ice finally was broken in mid-September, when John Gore, the Justice Department's acting assistant attorney general, entered the fray. Soon after, Danielle Cutrona in Sessions' office wrote to Wendy Teramoto, Ross' chief of staff at the Commerce Department.

"It sounds like we can do whatever you all need us to do, and the delay was due to a miscommunication," Cutrona said. "The AG is eager to assist."

Ross and Sessions then spoke at least twice by phone, and political appointees at the Justice Department began work on a letter requesting the citizenship question.

On Nov. 27  a day after court records indicate Ross spoke with President Trump, and a day before the commerce secretary would turn 80  he emailed a staffer working on the issue. The Census Bureau was getting ready to start translating census questions into multiple languages and had set the printing contract.

"We are out of time," Ross wrote. "Please set up a call for me tomorrow with whoever is the responsible person at Justice. We must get this resolved."

It was two weeks later when Arthur Gary, a Justice Department career official, sent the formal request to the Census Bureau's acting director, Ron Jarmin. The reason for the question, Gary said, was to enforce the Voting Rights Act.

Census Bureau officials conducted a briefing recently on plans for the upcoming 2020 census.

The 'SWAT Team' responds

The Census Bureau wasn't happy.

Within days of the Dec. 12 letter, the bureau's "SWAT Team" of senior professional staff began churning out briefing documents and reports showing that the citizenship question would reduce response rates among households with noncitizens. That would force the bureau to conduct more followup work, at an estimated additional cost of $27.5 million.

The court records are replete with memos from census officials  on Dec. 22, Jan. 3, and ultimately Jan. 19, when they advised Ross that asking about citizenship "is very costly, harms the quality of the census count, and would use substantially less accurate citizenship status data" than other government sources.

Census officials sought to meet with their Justice Department counterparts but were rebuffed at Sessions' direction, court records show. A single meeting with Ross didn't change anything.

On Feb. 12, Kobach wrote Ross to endorse the new rationale  enforcing the Voting Rights Act, which is intended to give members of minority groups the opportunity to elect representatives of their choosing. He also mentioned his concerns about voter fraud and said the citizenship question would help for "election-related reasons."

By now, Ross had what he wanted. But he also wanted a cheering section.

Commerce and census officials went searching for interest groups to support their cause but emerged nearly empty-handed. In the end, only the conservative Heritage Foundation and Center for Immigration Studies, which seeks to slash immigration rates, agreed to speak favorably about the plan.

Three days before directing the Census Bureau to add the question, Ross spoke with Christine Pierce, senior vice president for data science at Nielsen Co. She warned "unequivocally" that the question likely would reduce response rates.

On March 26, Ross' "Decision Memo" directed the Census Bureau to add a citizenship question, based on the Justice Department's request. He said the "need for accurate citizenship data and the limited burden that the reinstatement of the citizenship question would impose outweigh fears about a potentially lower response rate."

Mystery in the motives

All three judges who heard challenges from states and immigrant rights groups concluded basically the same thing: Ross worked backwards. He decided to ask about citizenship in the 2020 census and then went searching for a legitimate reason.

"It was like 'Jeopardy,'" said Dale Ho, director of voting rights at the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the lawyers who will argue the case in the Supreme Court. "They had the answer. They needed the question."

It didn't matter that the professionals at the Census Bureau thought it would do more harm than good. The proposal got its energy from Ross himself, with an assist from the political people who had his ear.

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger speaks in March outside the Supreme Court, where the justices heard oral arguments in challenges to the way North Carolina and Maryland lawmakers drew congressional districts for partisan gain. Redistricting could be affected in 2022 if the justices allow a citizenship question to be included in the 2020 census.

"He was speaking with individuals who have long harbored anti-immigrant sentiment," said Nicholas Espiritu, a staff attorney at the National Immigration Law Center who was involved in the California case.

What none of the judges ever determined was why.

"Secretary Ross does not wish his reason for requesting the inclusion of the citizenship question on the 2020 census to come to light," Judge Richard Seeborg concluded last month in the California case.

"Ultimately, Secretary Ross' original rationale remains, to some extent, a mystery," Judge George Hazel reiterated in this month's Maryland decision.

The district court judges stopped short of speculating on Ross' motivations, but there could have been several:

Voting Rights Act enforcement: The question would arm Justice Department officials with data on where noncitizens live, which could help them determine that minorities comprise not just a majority of people but a majority of eligible voters in a particular district.

Congressional apportionment: The question would reduce census response rates among noncitizens, which could cost California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois and Arizona seats in Congress.

Redistricting: Information on noncitizens would help state legislatures that seek to restrict voting rights, such as Texas and North Carolina, to draw new districts in 2022 based on citizen voting-age population, rather than total population. The states could pack more people into districts with greater non-voting residents, diminishing their representation.

They see this as a way to get states to draw districts in a way thats going to favor rural areas over urban areas and will tend to favor white populations over more minority populations," said David Gans, director of human rights, civil rights and citizenship at the liberal Constitutional Accountability Center.

Put another way by Edward Blum, director of the conservative Project on Fair Representation and a supporter of the administration's effort: It could have a profound effect on the forms of governance that we see in these states.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Inside Trump administration's mysterious plan to secure a 2020 census citizenship question
A look at the shareholders of Patrys Limited (ASX:PAB) can tell us which group is most powerful. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies. Warren Buffett said that he likes 'a business with enduring competitive advantages that is run by able and owner-oriented people'. So it's nice to see some insider ownership, because it may suggest that management is owner-oriented.

Patrys is a smaller company with a market capitalization of AU$26m, so it may still be flying under the radar of many institutional investors. Taking a look at our data on the ownership groups (below), it's seems that institutions are noticeable on the share registry. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholder can tell us about PAB.

See our latest analysis for Patrys

ASX:PAB Ownership Summary, April 12th 2019

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Patrys?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

Patrys already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own 15% of the company. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone, since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Patrys, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

ASX:PAB Income Statement, April 12th 2019

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Patrys. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

Insider Ownership Of Patrys

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Patrys Limited. Insiders own AU$6.3m worth of shares in the AU$26m company. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 47% ownership, the general public have some degree of sway over PAB. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 13%, of the shares on issue. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Patrys better, we need to consider many other factors.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can find historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free free list of interesting companies.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal set the IRS a new deadline of April 23 to hand over President Donald Trumps tax returns before potentially resorting to other legal options.

Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat, sent a second letter to the Internal Revenue Service on Saturday, asking for six years of Trumps personal and business returns, citing a section of the tax code that allows the chairman of the tax committees to request the returns of any taxpayer, including the president.

I am aware that concerns have been raised regarding my request and the authority of the Committee, Neal wrote. Those concerns lack merit.

There is no valid basis to question the legitimacy of the Ways and Means Committees legislative purpose, Neal added.

The letter signals that Neal could be preparing to issue a subpoena or take other legal action, including a lawsuit, to compel officials to obtain and turn over the presidents returns. That would set up a protracted legal battle between the Trump administration and House Democrats that could span beyond the 2020 presidential elections.

Needs More Time

Neal sent a letter earlier this month to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig asking that the returns be turned over by April 10. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin responded by the deadline saying he needed more time to review the request and consult with the Department of Justice.

In that letter, Mnuchin also questioned the scope of Congresss investigative authority and Neals stated reason for the request  that he wants them to insure that the IRS is properly auditing presidents.

Federal law gives the chairmen of House Ways and Means, Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Committee on Taxation the power to request the returns of any taxpayer, although some legal scholars believe the request needs a legitimate legislative purpose, which Democrats say they have met.

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Members of the Trump administration, including acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, and their allies have called the request a political attack and a violation of Trumps privacy.

The House Democrats asked that the returns be turned over to the members of Congress. They would then decide whether to release them publicly, but the political pressure among Democrats to do so would be high, as would the resistance among Republicans.

Trump broke with 40 years of presidential campaign tradition by declining to release his personal returns before the 2016 election. He said that he was under audit and didnt intend to turn anything over until that process had been completed. There is no prohibition on releasing returns to Congress or the public while under audit.

It pisses the members off if you dont give them information that they think they should have. But for lawmakers, theres no real effective remedy except to say bad things about them or not take their phone calls, said Christopher Rizek, a former Treasury official who is now a tax litigator at law firm Caplin & Drysdale. People expect the rule of law to work smoothly, but thats not always the case.
Damascus (AFP) - An Israeli air strike in central Syria wounded three combatants early Saturday, the official SANA news agency reported.

A Britain-based war monitor said the strike killed several Iranian fighters and wounded 17 Syrian troops and their allies.

An Israeli military spokesman declined to comment on the foreign media report.

"Around 2:30 am (2330 GMT Friday)... the Israeli air force carried out a strike targeting one of our military positions in the town of Misyaf," in Hama province north of Damascus, SANA quoted a military source as saying.

"Our air defence batteries intercepted some of the Israeli missiles," the source said, adding that the strike "wounded three combatants and destroyed buildings".

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strike targeted a Syrian military college in the town and two buildings used by Iranian forces in nearby villages -- a development centre for medium-range missiles in Zawi and a training camp in Sheikh Ghadban.

Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in Syria against what it says are Iranian and Hezbollah targets.

With the support of the US administration of President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed repeatedly to take whatever military action he deems necessary to prevent archfoe Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah establishing a continuing military presence.

Late last month, Trump broke with decades of international consensus to recognise Israel's unilateral annexation of the strategic Golan Heights, seized from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967.

The move was a diplomatic prize for Israel, but met with a chorus of opposition from US foes and allies alike.

Iran and Hezbollah have both intervened in Syria's civil war, which erupted in 2011 to support forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

They were joined in 2015 by Russia, which supplied its S300 air defence system to Assad's forces after a Russian aircraft was downed by mistake by Syrian defence systems during an Israeli raid on September 17, killing all 15 people on board.

After several months of frosty relations, Russia and Israeli resumed coordination of their military operations in Syria and Israel's bombing campaign picked up again.
Japan's Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by lawyers for Carlos Ghosn against his detention, local media said Saturday, dashing the former Nissan boss's hopes for an early release.

The 65-year-old former auto tycoon had appealed to Japan's highest court after lower court judges ruled he could be questioned for a 10-day period until Sunday over allegations of financial misconduct.

But the court slapped down the appeal without explaining the ruling, Jiji Press and Kyodo News reported.

Immediate confirmation of the reports was not available.

On Friday, the Tokyo District Court had already further extended his detention until April 22 as prosecutors continue grilling him.

Authorities must then either press formal charges, release him or re-arrest him if they believe he has additional allegations to answer.

Prosecutors are looking into allegations that Ghosn siphoned off some $5 million from funds transferred from Nissan to a dealership in Oman, and spent the money on a luxury superyacht.

Ghosn has not been formally charged over these allegations.

But the tycoon does already face three separate charges. Two of these relate to millions of dollars in salary believed to have been concealed from shareholders. The third charge is that he sought to shift personal investment losses to company books.

Ghosn denies all allegations and lashed out in a video message -- shown on April 9 -- at what he termed a "plot" by "backstabbing" Nissan executives scared of closer integration with French partner firm Renault.

The case has bewitched Japan and the business world since the tycoon was arrested out of the blue at a Tokyo airport on November 19 and whisked off to the detention centre.

He spent 108 days in an initial period of custody, in conditions he said he would not wish on his "worst enemy", forced to sleep with the light on and forbidden from contact with his loved ones.

He then won bail, stumping up $9 million for his freedom and submitting to strict bail conditions including not using the internet or contacting anyone connected to the case.

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But in another twist, he was then re-arrested in a dawn raid on April 4 for more questioning.

Once hailed as Nissan's saviour, Ghosn is fighting to restore his reputation after he was removed almost immediately from the head of the company and later resigned as boss of Renault as he fights the allegations.

His lengthy detention has sparked some criticism of the Japanese justice system, derided by some as "hostage justice" as suspects can be held for a long time without formal charges.
Kim Jong-un addresses the Supreme People's Assembly - KCNA via KNS

In one of the biggest leadership shake-ups in years, North Korea named a new nominal head of state and a new premier, and gave leader Kim Jong Un a new title, state media reported on Friday, moves analysts said solidify Kim's grip on power.

In an expected move, Kim Jong Un was re-elected as chairman of the State Affairs Commission at a session of North Korea's rubber-stamp legislature that took place on Thursday, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

For the first time, however, state media referred to Kim as "supreme representative of all the Korean people." That title was approved by special decree in February, according to the Associated Press, but has not been used publicly until Friday.

It's unclear whether the changes will be codified in the constitution, but analysts said the shake-up shows Kim has fully come into his own, eight years after he inherited rule from his father, Kim Jong Il.

"The transition and power consolidation of the Kim Jong Un regime is complete," said Michael Madden, a nonresident North Korea leadership expert with the Stimson Center, a Washington-based think tank.

"This is probably the largest party-government shake-up in many years," he said.

The Supreme People's Assembly met on Thursday and agreed on a major reshuffle Credit: HOGP/KCNA via KNS

The move came as Moon Jae-in, South Korea's leader, met with Donald Trump, the US president, in Washington in an attempt to kickstart talks over Pyongyang's nuclear programme since the collapse of the US-North Korea summit in Hanoi in February.

The meeting ended with little fanfare. Mr Moon had been pushing for the US to agree to smaller steps towards denuclearisation to keep diplomacy with the North alive.

Mr Trump said he was open to a third summit with Kim but stressed that he was looking for "a big deal," clarifying that this meant North Korea getting rid of its nuclear weapons.

He confirmed he was unwilling to budge on the strict sanctions that are shrinking the North Korean economy. "We want sanctions to remain in place," said Mr Trump.

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There was no direct reference to the US during Thursday's plenary session in Pyongyang, but ahead of the meeting, Kim threatened that North Korea would "deal a telling blow to the hostile forces who go with bloodshot eyes, miscalculating that sanctions can bring the DPRK (North Korea) to its knees."

The failure to secure any sanctions relief at the Hanoi summit was an embarrassing loss of face for the North Korean leader.

Presidents Trump and Moon with FIrst Ladies Melania Trump and Kim Jung-sook Credit: Nicholas Kamm/AFP

Since early 2018 Kim has embarked on a push for economic development, hoping to strengthen his economy through international engagement, including historic summits with the leaders of the United States, China and South Korea.

The diplomatic route has reduced tensions but so far produced limited results, leading experts to speculate about whether Kim may resume a more provocative strategy.

However, in a message congratulating Kim on his re-election as chairman, Chinese President Xi Jinping said China highly values its friendship with North Korea and is willing to push forward the bilateral relations, China's official Xinhua news agency reported on Friday.

Kim's focus at the first parliamentary session since March elections was a reshuffle of his top aides, the shoring up of his domestic power, and a renewed commitment to make the economy the centrepiece of his strategy.

Choe Ryong Hae was named President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea, replacing Kim Yong Nam.

The person holding that position is constitutionally considered North Korea's head of state and usually represents the country at diplomatic events, though experts say real power remains concentrated in Kim Jong Un's hands.

Kim Yong Nam, who was born in 1928, has been one of the longest serving senior officials, having held the position since it was created for him in 1998, Madden said.

President Moon and President Trump held an extensive meeting in Washington but little was agreed Credit: Yonhap/EPA-EFE/REX

His replacement, Mr Choe, was subjected to political "re-education" in the past, but in recent years appeared to be gaining more influence since he was promoted in October 2017 to the party's powerful Central Military Commission, South Korean intelligence officials previously said.

Mr Choe was one of the three officials sanctioned by the United States in December over allegations of rights abuses.

Several officials who have played leading roles in negotiations with the United States, including Choe Son Hui and Kim Yong Chol, were also promoted.

North Korea also replaced the premier of its cabinet, an official at the centre of efforts to jumpstart the economy.

Pak Pong Ju had served his current post as premier since 2013.

According to analysts at NK News, a website that monitors North Korea, Mr Pak helped oversee a process of "radical reform" in the economy that enabled it to survive sanctions.

Among those reforms were loosing control of state-run enterprises, allowing them to operate more freely in the market and to seek private investment, according to a 2017 profile of Mr Pak in NK News.

Some of those reforms earned the ire of Kim Jong Un's father, Kim Jong Il, who led North Korea at the time. But the younger Kim has more openly embraced many of those market changes, and North Korea has sought to ease sanctions and attract more private investment.

Mr Pak will now serve as a vice chairman of the ruling party, meaning that those economic reforms are still being embraced, said Hong Min, senior researcher of Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul.

"It means Pak Pong Ju-nomics, or Pak Pong Ju-style economic reform is continuing," he said.

There is little known about Mr Pak's replacement, Kim Jae Ryong, who has been serving as a party leader in Jagang Province, a mountainous area home to some munitions factories.

The province is known within North Korea, however, for having a spirit of overcoming hardship, which may fit with Kim Jong Un's message of persevering under sanctions, Hong said.
In her new Vogue cover story, Kim Kardashian West opened up about her plans to become a lawyerand in an accompanying video (part of the magazines 73 Questions series), the reality star opened the doors to the impressive Hidden Hills mansion she shares with her husband Kanye West and their three (soon to be four) little ones. The pristine, gallery-like home was the brainchild of West and renowned architect Axel Vervoordt, she revealed in the video, describing the abodes style as minimal monastery.

When West interviewed Vervoordt for The Hollywood Reporter last year, the rapper noted to his interior designer that architecture should communicate to humanity an understanding of proportion and spaces and the way it affects your mood. And the mood of Kardashian and Wests home appears to be quite zen, with large, light-filled rooms with minimal furniture, all in white and beige tones.

Kardashian first greets the camera in an impressive, light-filled front entryway, then takes fans down a hallway lined with glass doors to what is presumably the master suite, which includes a separate sitting room. The bedroom itself is through a wide doorway and is entirely decked out in white and slightly off-white tones (the Vogue cover story describes the Kardashian-Wests bedroom as the size of an airplane hangar).

At one point, the camera peeks into the cavernous attached bathroom, where a wall of windows looks out onto a display of tropical plants and greenery. The double vanity in the bathroom almost appears to have no sink basins, while a deep soaking bath on the other end of the room looks as though it were carved out of a single block of marble. Two chairs sit opposite the entrance to the bathroom, anchoring the space.

Later on in the video, Kardashian leads fans back through a long, polished concrete hallway to the other end of the home, where she takes a sharp turn into the living room area, which boasts a unique unbleached Steinway piano (the same one that West used to serenade his wife prior to her 38th birthday last year). The room remains sparse, with a minimalistic fireplace on one wall; an eighth-century Thai statue; a very low, thin table; and a stylish white couch.

Just off the living room is the show kitchen, which boasts a majorly oversize center island with plants and other chic decor dotting the countertop, and an impressive wall of stainless-steel stovetops (with a stainless-steel backsplash). Entire shelves of matching earthenware bowls and plates can be seen on display in a separate pantry just off the kitchen. A breakfast nook lined with white cushions takes up one wall of the kitchen space, and a family room beyond that offers up a cozy gathering space for the busy family. Theres no such thing as a lazy day, Kardashian says definitively in the video, adding that the entire family being at home together is really rare.

Kardashian and West spent a reported $20 million to renovate the 8,000-square-foot home a few years back, and it is now worth an estimated $60 million.
New York (AFP) - American television star Kim Kardashian, known for her reality shows and marriage to hip-hop artist Kanye West, is studying law and hopes to pass her California bar exams by 2022, the magazine Vogue reported on Wednesday.

The 38-year-old lifestyle mogul, who has 134 million Instagram followers, has been interning at a California law firm since last year. She said she was inspired to study law after successfully petitioning US President Donald Trump last year to pardon Alice Marie Johnson.

Johnson, a 63-year-old great-grandmother, had served nearly 22 years of a life sentence for cocaine trafficking.

A week after meeting with Kardashian, Trump -- also a former reality television star -- pardoned Johnson in June 2018.

The star of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" said she had been invited on a different occasion to the White House to participate in a working group on pardons and clemency.

"I just felt like I wanted to be able to fight for people who have paid their dues to society," she told Vogue.

"I just felt like the system could be so different, and I wanted to fight to fix it, and if I knew more, I could do more," said the mother-of-three whose own father Robert was an attorney who helped defend OJ Simpson in his murder trial.

Admission to law school in the United States usually requires a bachelor's degree in any discipline. Kardashian never graduated from the college she attended, Pierce, having dropped out before she completed her course.

But some states including California do allow would-be attorneys to intern in a law firm for four years before taking the bar exam.

Kardashian has been apprenticing at a San Francisco law firm since last year and hopes to pass her exams by 2022.

In the meantime, she said she is taking an interest in other cases of inmates calling for early release from prison.
CAIRO (AP)  Sudan's defense minister, who led the overthrow Thursday of autocratic ruler Omar al-Bashir, has had his assets blocked by the U.S. Treasury since 2007 for supporting and managing militias accused of carrying out genocide in the country's Darfur conflict.

In a televised statement, Gen. Awad ibn Ouf declared that the military had removed and arrested al-Bashir and that it will rule the country for the next two years as part of a transitional council along with the powerful security and intelligence agencies.

His appearance made him the face of military rule, and the general is likely to become the country's formal leader, though the makeup of the council has not yet been announced. That has stunned and angered protesters who have been holding rallies for months demanding al-Bashir's ouster and the establishment of civilian-led democracy.

Ibn Ouf, in his mid-60s, is a longtime insider in the leadership of al-Bashir's 30-year rule. He rose up in the ranks to become chief of Sudan's military intelligence and was made defense minister in 2015. Al-Bashir named him as a vice president in February.

He was among other Sudanese officials placed on a U.S. sanctions list for his role in the bloodshed in the western region of Darfur. Al-Bashir was indicted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide over the conflict in which 200,000 people were killed.

The Darfur conflict began in 2003 when ethnic Africans rebelled, accusing the Arab-dominated government of discrimination. The government in Khartoum was accused of retaliating by arming local nomadic Arab tribes in militias known as the Janjaweed and unleashing them on civilian populations. The militias became notorious for massacres and rapes. Government officials denied the charges.

In 2007, the U.S. Treasury Department blocked ibn Ouf's assets along with two other Sudanese officials for their role in "fomenting violence and human rights abuses in Darfur."

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It accused them of acting as "liaisons" between the government and the Janjaweed. It said ibn Ouf "provided the Janjaweed with logistical support and directed attacks."

At the time, Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. said, "Even in the face of sanctions, these individuals have continued to play direct roles in the terrible atrocities of Darfur."

George Clooney and John Prendergast, co-founders of The Sentry, an investigative initiative created to uncover the financial networks behind conflicts in Africa, singled out ibn Ouf for his role in Darfur and said al-Bashir's ouster is not enough.

"Removing the leader of a violent, corrupt system without dismantling that system is inadequate. The next steps are crucial," the two said in a statement. They urged the international community to help Sudan to have a new president who "reflects the will of people."
A man has been arrested and taken into custody over an incident in which a five-year-old child may have been pushed or thrown from an upper balcony at the Mall of America.

Reports said a 24-year-old man was detained after the incident at the celebrated shopping complex, located outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Bloomington police chief Jeffrey Potts said witnesses told police the child may have been pushed or thrown from the malls third level to the first floor.

Officers gave first aid, but the five-year-old suffered significant injuries and had been taken to a hospital, Mr Potts said.

A witness told WCCO-TV a woman was screaming that someone had thrown her child from the third floor balcony. This was near the southeast corner of the mall.

She was screaming Everyone pray, everyone pray. Oh my God, my baby, someone threw him over the edge, said Brian Johnson.

Mr Potts said the suspect ran off after the incident but was quickly found and arrested at the mall, according to the Associated Press.

The officer said police did not believe there was any relationship between the man and the child or the childs family. He says police did not have an idea about a possible motive.

At this point we believe this is an isolated incident, Mr Potts said. Were actively trying to figure out why this occurred.

No details were immediately available about the childs condition.

The 4.2-million-square-foot Mall of America is in Bloomington, about 10 miles south of Minneapolis. It is the fifth largest in the country.
MODESTO, Calif. (AP)  A man suspected of being in the country illegally has pleaded not guilty to killing a Northern California police officer during a traffic stop in a case that has rekindled a debate over California's sanctuary law that limits law enforcement's cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

An attorney for Paulo Virgen Mendoza entered the not guilty plea to a murder charge in Stanislaus Superior Court, the Modesto Bee reported Thursday. Mendoza is charged with fatally shooting Newman Police Officer Cpl. Ronil Singh on Dec. 26.

Investigators say Singh suspected Mendoza of drunken driving.

Authorities say Mendoza was in the country illegally and was fleeing back to his native Mexico when he was arrested two days after Singh's killing near Bakersfield.

President Donald Trump seized on the case to call for tougher border security amid a fight with congressional Democrats over funding for a border wall, which has forced a partial government shutdown.

The sheriff leading the investigation blamed California's sanctuary law for preventing local authorities from reporting Gustavo Perez Arriaga to U.S. immigration officials for two previous drunken driving arrests. If he had been deported, Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson said, Cpl. Ronil Singh of the tiny Newman Police Department would still be alive.

The case was put on hold in January to determine if Mendoza was mentally fit to stand trial. On Thursday, a judge determined he was competent to stand trial after Mendoza was examined by a psychiatrist.

Mendoza is still identified in Stanislaus County jail records as Gustavo Perez Arriaga, an alias that he used when arrested. But he's referred to in court by his given name.

Prosecutors say Mendoza is eligible for the death penalty.

___

Information from: The Modesto Bee, http://www.modbee.com
Brandon Nimmo belted a two-run homer to highlight his three-hit performance as the visiting New York Mets matched a franchise record by scoring at least six runs in their sixth straight game with a 6-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Friday.

Jeff McNeil ripped a two-run double and Robinson Cano and Michael Conforto each had an RBI double for the Mets, who also scored at least six runs in six straight games in 1997, 1998 and twice in 2007.

Georgia native Zack Wheeler (1-1) answered a seven-walk outing in Sunday's 12-9 loss to Washington with a strong effort against Atlanta. The 28-year-old right-hander allowed two runs on six hits and struck out eight to improve to 6-3 in 11 career starts versus the Braves.

Atlanta's Ronald Acuna Jr. had a run-scoring double among his two hits to improve to 9-for-14 with three homers and six RBIs in his last four games. Josh Donaldson also had two hits and scored on Nick Markakis' sacrifice fly for the Braves, who have dropped two in a row after winning seven of their previous eight.

After Donaldson beat Nimmo's throw to the plate to open the scoring in the first inning, New York answered in the next frame with its 14th homer in six games.

Nimmo, who was dropped from the leadoff position to the No. 8 spot in the order, deposited a 3-1 fastball from rookie right-hander Kyle Wright (0-2) over the wall in right-center field to give the Mets a 2-1 lead.

McNeil sent Wright's offering to right-center field to plate Keon Broxton and Nimmo in the fourth inning. Cano and Conforto followed with back-to-back RBI doubles to right field to cap the scoring in the four-run frame.

Acuna slapped an RBI double off the right-field wall to trim the deficit to 6-2 in the fifth, but Wheeler settled down before New York went to its bullpen. Justin Wilson retired the side in order in the seventh and Seth Lugo got the final six outs to preserve the win.

Wright yielded six runs on eight hits with four walks in 3 2/3 innings to take the loss.

--Field Level Media
Mike Pence has addressed his experiences working with Pete Buttigieg after the Indiana mayor spoke about his faith and sexuality in a speech that went viral over the weekend.

They mayor, who is exploring a 2020 presidential run against Donald Trump, drew attention at the Victory Fund Brunch when he suggested the vice presidentas anti-LGBTQ+ agenda during his time as governor of Indiana went against his strict Catholic faith.

aMy marriage to Chasten has made me a better man and yes, Mr. Vice President, it has moved me closer to God,a he said. aAnd thatas the thing I wish the Mike Penceas of the world could understand, that if you have a problem with who I am, your problem is not with me. Your quarrel, sir, is with my creator.a

Speaking with CNBCas Joe Kernan, the vice president said Mr Buttigieg aknows bettera than to attack his faith.

aI worked very closely with Mayor Pete when I was governor of the state of Indiana,a Mr Pence said. aWe had a great working relationship. He said some things that are critical of my Christian faith and of me personally. He knows better. He knows me.a

Mr Pence went on to suggest the Democratic mayor was using him to get ahead of his potential competitors in a crowded Democratic primary field.

aI get it,a he said. aThey got 19 people running for president on that side in a party thatas sliding off to the left and theyare all competing with one another for how much more liberal they can be.a

The vice presidentas wife, Karen a who now teaches art at a school that rejects student applications based on their parentsa sexuality a also rejected criticisms of her husband and their faith this week.

aYou shouldnat be attacked for what your religious beliefs are and I think kids need to learn that at a young age that this is okay what faith people have,a she said. aWe donat attack them for their faith.a

Mr Buttigieg has leapt in the polls in crucial states like Iowa and New Hampshire, while proving to be one of the biggest fundraisers of the first quarter despite little name recognition nationwide.

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A devout Episcopalian, Mr Buttigieg has often discussed his religious views and sexuality along the campaign trail, refuting the notion that America is not yet ready to elect a queer president.

aI can tell you, that if me being gay was a choice, it was a choice that was made far, far above my pay grade,a Mr Buttigieg said over the weekend.
London (AFP) - More than 70 British lawmakers have urged their government to prioritise any extradition bid Sweden might make for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is also wanted in the United States.

Assange was arrested on Thursday at Ecuador's London embassy on allegations of skipping bail, and on a US extradition warrant related to a huge leak of official documents.

He had sought refuge in the embassy in 2012 while on bail awaiting extradition to Sweden for allegations of sexual assault and rape, which he always denied.

In the letter, the MPs and peers urge British Home Secretary Sajid Javid to "give every assistance to Sweden should they want to revive and pursue the investigation".

British law states that if Sweden does make an extradition request, it would be up to Javid to decide which should take precedence.

"We must send a strong message of the priority the UK has in tackling sexual violence and the seriousness with which such allegations are viewed," the letter says.

The sexual assault claim expired in 2015 and Swedish prosecutors dropped a preliminary investigation into the rape allegation in 2017, arguing that since Assange could not be reached, they could not proceed.

Following his arrest, however, the alleged rape victim asked that her case now be reopened -- but the limitation period on this claim expires in August 2020.

"We do not presume guilt, of course, but we believe due process should be followed and the complainant should see justice be done," the letter says.

The MPs and peers add that it is "of grave concern to us" that the Swedish authorities did not appear to have prior warning of Assange's arrest, unlike the US authorities.

The letter was also copied to Diane Abbott, the home affairs spokeswoman for the main opposition Labour party.

- 'Fight it hard' -

Abbott said: "Assange skipping bail in UK, or any rape charge that may be brought by Swedish authorities shouldn't be ignored.

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"But the only extradition request is from USA, because he's a whistle-blower on atrocities caused by US military ops. This extradition would be wrong so we oppose it."

Assange is currently being held at the high-security Belmarsh jail in southeast London.

The 47-year-old Australian claims the Swedish cases against him were politically motivated, linked to the leak in 2010 of a huge number of US military and diplomatic documents.

He sought refuge with Ecuador, claiming that his extradition to Sweden was a pretext for his transfer to the United States.

But Ecuador withdrew his asylum status and allowed British police into the embassy on Thursday to arrest the white-bearded Assange.

He appeared in court a few hours later and was found guilty of breaching his bail terms back in 2012. He could be jailed for up to a year when he is sentenced at a later date.

The separate extradition case on US charges of computer hacking is set for May 2, although the United States has until June 12 to submit full extradition papers.

Assange's London lawyer Jennifer Robinson said: "He's obviously going to fight extradition and fight it hard."
Seoul (AFP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is willing meet with US President Donald Trump a third time if Washington comes to the table with the "right attitude", state media reported Saturday.

Kim also said he would wait until the end of the year "for the US to make a courageous decision" on another meeting, after his most recent summit with Trump in Vietnam broke down and both sides left without agreement.

Washington has blamed the February deadlock on the North's demands for sanctions relief in return for limited nuclear disarmament, but Pyongyang said it had wanted only some of the measures eased.

In a speech to Pyongyang's rubber-stamp parliament Friday, Kim said the Hanoi meeting had made him question whether Washington is "genuinely interested" in improving its relations with Pyongyang.

"We are willing to give another try if the US offers to have a third summit with the right attitude and mutually acceptable terms," he said, according to a report by North Korean state media outlet KCNA.

Kim added that his personal relationship with Trump remained strong, adding they could "write letters to each other" whenever they wanted.

"We will wait with patience until the end of the year for the US to make a courageous decision," Kim said.

Trump and Kim held their first landmark summit in Singapore last June, where the pair signed a vaguely-worded agreement on the "denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula".

But the failure to reach agreement at their second summit in Hanoi has raised questions over the future of the accord.

Trump said Thursday he was mulling a third summit with Kim ahead of a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in at the Oval Office -- a move supported by Seoul.

Moon brokered the US-North Korea talks and has been pushing for the resumption of inter-Korean economic projects, but doing so would fall foul of international sanctions imposed on Pyongyang.

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"Our government will do what we can in order to maintain the current momentum for dialogue," Moon's office said in a Saturday statement.

The day before Kim accused Seoul of acting as an "overstepping mediator" and said the South should "speak up" for Pyongyang's interests.

On Friday, KCNA reported Kim was re-elected as chairman of the State Affairs Commission, the North's most important decision-making body.
A controversial bill which bans abortions before many women even know they are pregnant has been signed into law in Ohio.

The piece of legislation, which is one of the strictest abortion restrictions in the US, does not even allow women to end their pregnancy when they have been raped or in instances of incest.

Republican politicians also added a last minute addition that imposes a $20,000 (15,300) fine on doctors who violate the law when the bill passed the state House earlier in the week.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed the "heartbeat bill" into law on Thursday  making it illegal for women to receive an abortion once a heartbeat has been detected in the foetus.

This can be as early as six weeks into a pregnancy  a point at which many women do not yet know they are pregnant.

Mr DeWine broke with John Kasich, his predecessor who is a fellow Republican who vetoed heartbeat bills in 2016 and 2018, citing them as unconstitutional.

State Representative Michele Lepore-Hagan, a Democrat, cried as she talked about the harm the legislation could do during Wednesdays House debate.

Im concerned that our kids are going to leave, that were going to lose a large amount of young people who dont want to live in an oppressive atmosphere, she said.

Kellie Copeland, director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, said lawmakers and the governor have nosedived the state into a dystopian nightmare where people are forced to continue pregnancies regardless of the harm that may come to them or their family.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio said it was planning a constitutional challenge to the law on behalf of Pre-Term Cleveland and three other Ohio abortion clinics before the legislation was signed.

But the bills supporters are eager for a legal challenge and have long aspired to provoke a challenge with the potential to overturn Roe v Wade  the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalised abortion nationwide in 1973.

The Supreme Court has previously ruled that states cannot ban abortion before a foetus is viable  about 23 to 25 weeks.

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We literally crafted this legislation to be the arrow in the heart of Roe v Wade, Janet Folger Porter, who was behind the first version of the Ohio legislation, said in 2016. It is made to come before the United States Supreme Court.

Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis said: The heartbeat bill is the next incremental step in our strategy to overturn Roe v Wade."

The first version of the legislation was written by Ms Folger Porter  a far-right religious and anti-abortion activist  back in 2011 and introduced five times.

Victory! Faith2Action, the Ohio-based anti-abortion group that originated the heartbeat concept in 2010, said.

Seema Nanda, the chief executive of the Democratic National Committee hit out at the legislation  branding it the latest example of how the Trump administrations extremist, anti-women policies have emboldened legislators across the country to attack womens access to health care.

Ohio is the seventh state to pass legislation that bans abortion after a heartbeat is detected and legislation is pending in 11 other states. None of the signed bills have successfully become law so far.

But Alarm bells have been raised that Roe v Wade could be overturned or radically undermined with new conservative justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

Abortion opponents in other states have been emboldened to attempt to provoke new legal battles that could spark Supreme Court justices to revisit the key case. But critics argue the Republicans are unnecessarily launching legal battles that will prove to be expensive and futile  with taxpayers potentially footing the bill.

Earlier this week, Texas proposed a law that would criminalise abortions and make it possible for women to receive the death penalty for having an abortion.

However, the bill appeared to have failed by Wednesday night  with the Republican state representative who allowed a hearing on the legislation announcing his opposition to it.

Last week, legislation was introduced in Alabama that would make carrying out an abortion at any stage of the pregnancy punishable by 10 to 99 years in jail  even in cases of rape and incest.

The bill, which has more than 60 co-sponsors in the 105-member Alabama house of representatives, equates legalised abortion to some of historys gravest atrocities  likening having your pregnancy terminated to the Nazi campaign of extermination that led to the mass murders of Jews and others during the Holocaust.
By Ali Sawafta and Nidal al-Mughrabi RAMALLAH, GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday swore in a new government headed by a loyalist from his dominant Fatah party, a move rejected by his Islamist rival Hamas as a blow to unity efforts. Mohammed Shtayyeh, an economist and longtime Abbas adviser, will serve as prime minister of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA). Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki and Finance Minister Shukri Bishara will continue in their positions. Shtayyeh was named Palestinian prime minister on March 10, replacing the independent university president Rami Al-Hamdallah. He will run the ministries of interior and religious affairs until new appointees are named for the two posts. The rival Hamas group that runs Gaza called the move blow to unity efforts that faltered since the two groups signed a new reconciliation deal in Cairo in October 2017, but disputes over power-sharing had blocked the implementation of the agreement. "This is a separatist government, it has no national legitimacy and it will reinforce the chances of severing the West Bank from Gaza," said a statement issued by Hamas as the swearing ceremony in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank ended. Two factions of Abbas's Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) refused to take part in Shtayyeh's government. Shtayyeh's immediate challenge is to shore up the cash-strapped PA, which exercises limited self-rule under interim peace accords with Israel. The PA has been squeezed by steep U.S. aid cuts, with the crisis exacerbated by a dispute with Israel over the withholding of some 5 percent of the monthly tax revenues it transfers to the Authority. Israel said the sum it is holding back matches money used by the PA to pay stipends to families of militants in Israeli jails. The PA has refused to accept any tax transfers until those funds are restored. It scaled back wages paid to civil servants in February and March to weather the crisis. Moreover, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is heading toward a fifth term in office after an election on April 9, said he would annex Israeli settlements in the West Bank if he is re-elected. If implemented, the move would be a grave a blow to Palestinian aspirations of a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders. The peace process has all but collapsed and Israel has expanded its settlements in East Jerusalem and the West bank despite international objections. Palestinian leaders said Israel was being empowered by U.S. President Donald Trump to "violate national and human rights of the people of Palestine". Speaking to his new cabinet members, Abbas repeated his rejection of Trump's peace plan and said it was not useful to talk to Trump after he moved the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognized the holy city as Israel's capital. "More developments will take place in the coming days but we will cooperate and confront it together because they are going to be difficult," said Abbas, hinting at the possible announcement of Trump's peace initiative. Nickolay Maldenov, the U.N. special Middle East peace envoy welcomed the announcement of a new government and promised to cooperate with it. "The United Nations remains fully committed to working with the Palestinian leadership and people in ending the occupation and advancing their legitimate national aspirations for statehood based on UN resolutions," said Mladenov said. Shtayyeh, a former government minister, has been part of a number of Palestinian negotiating teams in the United States-brokered talks with Israel. (Reporting by Ali Sawafta and Nidal al-Mughrabi; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
A Paul Pogba brace helped Manchester United overcome an average performance to defeat West Ham 2-1.

Paul Pogba gave Ole Gunnar Solskjaers men the first-half lead when he converted a penalty.

Felipe Anderson tapped home shortly after the interval, but Pogbas second penalty late on ensured the hosts stole the spoils.

And the result ensured United picked up their second win in their last six games in all competitions.

Anderson thought he had volleyed West Ham in front early on after Hernandezs header picked out the Brazilian, only to be denied by the flag.

It proved controversial after replays showed Diogo Dalot was playing the Brazilian onside when he latched onto former United striker Javier Hernandezs header.

But it was the hosts who took the lead when Robert Snodgrass made a reckless tackle on Juan Mata inside the box.

Pogba duly converted, drilling the penalty beyond Lukasz Fabianski.

The visitors upped their game in response and were perhaps unfortunate not to level when Andersons near post flick left Manuel Lanzini with an open goal, but the Argentine could not make contact.

AS IT HAPPENED: Manchester United edge West Ham thanks to Paul Pogba

Jesse Lingard might have won the hosts a second spot-kick a few minutes before the interval after going down under Angelo Ogbonnas challenge, but was denied by referee Graham Scott.

But West Ham levelled shortly after the break with Anderson, who tapped home from close range after a cross from former United favourite Chicharito.

England forward Marcus Rashford almost made an immediate impact from the bench, latching onto Chris Smallings through ball and firing at goal from an acute angle, with Fabianski getting down well to parry away.

He then spurned a gilt-edged opportunity when he headed over the bar from just a few yards out after West Ham had failed to sufficiently clear their lines from a ball into the box.

But David de Gea had to be in imperious form to deny Michail Antonios ferocious header after the Hammers forward hit the crossbar moments earlier.

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Ruthless as ever, Anthony Martial immediately made the visitors pay for the missed chances when the Frenchman was brought down by defender Fabian Balbuena in the box.

Pogba did the business once again from the spot and ensured Manuel Pellegrinis men were left ruing their fortune as United moved back above Arsenal into fifth place.

Additional from PA.

Featured from our writers:
By Jan Wolfe (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized President Donald Trump on Saturday for a Twitter post that used 9/11 imagery while suggesting Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a Muslim, was dismissive of the New York attacks. "The memory of 9/11 is sacred ground, and any discussion of it must be done with reverence," Pelosi said in a statement posted on Twitter. "The President shouldn't use the painful images of 9/11 for a political attack." On Friday, Trump tweeted a video suggesting that Omar, a U.S. representative from Minnesota, was dismissive of the Sept. 11 attacks. The video spliced news footage of 9/11 with a clip from a speech Omar gave last month in which she described the terror attack as "some people did something." The Trump tweet included the words "WE WILL NEVER FORGET!" In Omar's speech, given to a Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, she said Muslims had "lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen and, frankly, I'm tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it." Omar said the advocacy group recognized that "some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties." Lawmakers from Trump's Republican party have accused Omar of minimizing the 9/11 attacks, while critics of the president say he took Omar's words out of context in order to stoke anti-Muslim sentiment. "No one person  no matter how corrupt, inept, or vicious  can threaten my unwavering love for America," Omar wrote in a tweet on Saturday. "I stand undeterred to continue fighting for equal opportunity in our pursuit of happiness for all Americans." (Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Dan Grebler and Jonathan Oatis)
Photo credit: Getty Images

From Esquire

Unbelievable.

White House officials have tried to pressure U.S. immigration authorities to release detainees onto the streets of sanctuary cities to retaliate against President Trumps political adversaries, according to Department of Homeland Security officials and email messages reviewed by The Washington Post. Trump administration officials have proposed transporting detained immigrants to sanctuary cities at least twice in the past six months - once in November, as a migrant caravan approached the U.S. southern border, and again in February, amid a standoff with Democrats over funding for Trumps border wall. House Speaker Nancy Pelosis district in San Francisco was among those the White House wanted to target, according to DHS officials. The administration also considered releasing detainees in other Democratic strongholds.

This proposal was too vengeful and crazy for the people at ICE, which should tell you something.

The attempt at political retribution raised alarm within ICE, with a top official responding that it was rife with budgetary and liability concerns, and noting that there are PR risks as well. After the White House pressed again in February, ICEs legal department rejected the idea as inappropriate and rebuffed the administration.

Photo credit: Getty Images

One of the regular drivetime radio gotchas in this regard is to ask, "If you love these 'illegals' so much, why don't you let them pitch a tent in your backyard?", nyuk-nyuk. Apparently, this is the place from which we're drawing national policy these days. Well, thence, and also from the fevered mind of perhaps the worst White House staffer of the past 30 years.

The White House believed it could punish Democrats - including Pelosi - by busing ICE detainees into their districts before their release, according to two DHS whistleblowers who independently reported the busing plan to Congress. One of the whistleblowers spoke with The Washington Post, and several DHS officials confirmed the accounts. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. Senior Trump adviser Stephen Miller discussed the proposal with ICE, according to two DHS officials. Matthew Albence, who is ICEs acting deputy director, immediately questioned the proposal in November...

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It was basically an idea that Miller wanted that nobody else wanted to carry out, said one congressional investigator who has spoken to one of the whistleblowers. What happened here is that Stephen Miller called people at ICE, said if theyre going to cut funding, youve got to make sure youre releasing people in Pelosis district and other congressional districts. The investigator spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect the whistleblower.

We've all long understood that El Caudillo del Mar-a-Lago considers himself president* only of those people who buy one of his hats. But weaponizing confused, desperate people to has that special tang of cruelty to it that can only be found when two barbed-wire minds are working in perfect harmony. You have to have the humanity of a wolverine even to think of something like this.

Respond to this post on the Esquire Politics Facebook page here.

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The worst result, after buying shares in a company (assuming no leverage), would be if you lose all the money you put in. But when you pick a company that is really flourishing, you can make more than 100%. To wit, the Prairie Mining Limited (ASX:PDZ) share price has flown 134% in the last three years. Most would be happy with that. In more good news, the share price has risen -2.6% in thirty days.

See our latest analysis for Prairie Mining

We don't think Prairie Mining's revenue of AU$676,817 is enough to establish significant demand. So it seems shareholders are too busy dreaming about the progress to come than dwelling on the current (lack of) revenue. It seems likely some shareholders believe that Prairie Mining will find or develop a valuable new mine before too long.

As a general rule, if a company doesn't have much revenue, and it loses money, then it is a high risk investment. The is usually a significant chance that they will need more money for business development, putting them at the mercy of capital markets. So the share price itself impacts the value of the shares (as it determines the cost of capital). While some such companies do very well over the long term, others become hyped up by promoters before eventually falling back down to earth, and going bankrupt (or being recapitalized). Some Prairie Mining investors have already had a taste of the sweet taste stocks like this can leave in the mouth, as they gain popularity and attract speculative capital

When it reported in December 2018 Prairie Mining had minimal net cash consider its expenditure: just AU$4.5m to be specific. So if it hasn't remedied the situation already, it will almost certainly have to raise more capital soon. It's a testament to the popularity of the business plan that the share price gained 33% per year, over 3 years, despite the weak balance sheet. The image below shows how Prairie Mining's balance sheet has changed over time; if you want to see the precise values, simply click on the image.

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ASX:PDZ Historical Debt, April 13th 2019

Of course, the truth is that it is hard to value companies without much revenue or profit. Given that situation, many of the best investors like to check if insiders have been buying shares. If they are buying a significant amount of shares, that's certainly a good thing. You can click here to see if there are insiders buying.

A Different Perspective

Investors in Prairie Mining had a tough year, with a total loss of 42%, against a market gain of about 11%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 1.8% per year over five years. We realise that Buffett has said investors should 'buy when there is blood on the streets', but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality businesses. Shareholders might want to examine this detailed historical graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on AU exchanges.

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.
* Defense minister steps down as head of military council

* Abrupt departure after just a day in the post

* Military council took charge after ousting Bashir

* Sudan's new military leader appears ready to talk

* Protesters to keep pushing for civilian leadership

By Khalid Abdelaziz

KHARTOUM, April 13 (Reuters) - Protesters in Sudan said on Saturday they would keep up pressure for civilian rule after the defense minister stepped down abruptly as interim leader following the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir after 30 years of autocratic rule.

Defense Minister Awad Ibn Auf stepped down as head of the transitional military council late on Friday after only a day in the post, as protesters demanded faster political change.

Celebrations erupted on the streets of Khartoum, where thousands of protesters waved flags and illuminated mobile phones in the darkness and drivers hooted car horns. People chanted: "The second has fallen!" a reference to Ibn Auf and Bashir, witnesses said.

The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), which has been leading the protests, called for more demonstrations on Saturday.

"Today, we continue the march to finish the victory for our victorious revolution," the SPA said in a statement.

"We assert that our revolution is continuing and will not retreat or deviate from its path until we achieve ... our people's legitimate demands of handing over power to a civilian government," it said.

The new head of the military council, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Abdelrahman, is a commander believed to be more ready to talk to demonstrators.

Burhan was the third most senior general in the Sudanese armed forces and is little known in public life. As head of Sudans ground forces he oversaw Sudanese troops fighting in the Saudi-led Yemen war and has close ties to senior Gulf military officials.

DIALOGUE WITH DEMONSTRATORS

"What happened is a step in the right direction and is a bow to the will of the masses, and we have come closer to victory," said Rashid Saeed, an SPA spokesman, adding the group planned more protests on Saturday.

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The military council said earlier it expected a pre-election transition to last two years at most or less if chaos could be avoided. The head of the military council's political committee, Omar Zain al-Abideen, said the council would hold a dialog with political groups.

The announcement appeared aimed at reassuring demonstrators who had pressed for months for Bashir's departure and resumed protests against army rule after his ouster on Thursday, calling for quicker and more substantial change.

Bashir, 75, seized power in a 1989 military coup. He had faced 16 weeks of demonstrations brought on by rising food costs, high unemployment and increasing repression during his three decades in power.

The protests escalated last Saturday when thousands of demonstrators, apparently bolstered by change in Algeria following similar protests, marched towards the Defence Ministry in central Khartoum to deliver a memorandum demanding the military side with them.

Demonstrators have been camping outside the compound since then to push for a handover of power.

Worshippers packed the streets around the Defence Ministry for Friday prayers, heeding a call by the SPA to challenge the military council.

The numbers swelled in the afternoon and a Reuters witness estimated hundreds of thousands of protesters thronged areas around the ministry, which was guarded by soldiers.

At least 16 people were killed and 20 injured by stray bullets at protests and sit-ins on Thursday and Friday, a police spokesman said. Government buildings and private property were also attacked, spokesman Hashem Ali added.

He asked citizens to help ensure safety and public order.

Ibn Auf was Bashir's vice president and defense minister and is among the few Sudanese commanders on whom Washington imposed sanctions over their alleged role in atrocities committed in the Darfur conflict that began in 2003.

(Additional reporting by Ahmed Tolba and Nayera Abdallah in Cairo, writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
By Khalid Abdelaziz

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - The new head of Sudan's military council said on Saturday a civilian government would be formed after consultations with the opposition and promised the transition period would last for a maximum of two years, as protesters kept up pressure for rapid change.

In his first televised address, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Abdelrahman said he was also cancelling a night curfew ordered by his predecessor and ordered the release of all prisoners jailed under emergency laws put in place by ousted President Omar al-Bashir.

A coalition of groups leading the protests said it had accepted an invitation by the armed forces to meet on Saturday to discuss a new civilian government.

Bashir was overthrown on Thursday after weeks of mass protests brought on by rising food costs, high unemployment and increasing repression during his three decades in power.

The main protest organiser had earlier on Saturday urged people to keep marching to demand a civilian government after the defence minister and the intelligence chief stepped down.

Thousands of people gathered in front of the Defence Ministry in central Khartoum, a Reuters witness said.

Salah Abdallah Mohamed Saleh, known as Salah Gosh, the former head of the National Intelligence and Security Service quit, state media said on Saturday. He was once the most influential person in the country after Bashir and protesters held him responsible for the killing of demonstrators demanding an end to military rule.

Defence Minister Awad Ibn Auf stepped down as head of the transitional military council late on Friday after only a day in the post.

Celebrations erupted on the streets of Khartoum overnight after Ibn Auf's resignation. Thousands of protesters waved flags and illuminated mobile phones in the darkness and drivers hooted car horns. People chanted: "The second has fallen!" a reference to Ibn Auf and Bashir, witnesses said.

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"Islamists have now lost control and they are in shock. Their ability to project influence in an organized way inside the state appears weak," said Sudanese analyst Khalid al-Tijani.

"The reason for the changes in Sudan is the pressure from protesters and pressures within the army, and the fear among military commanders of a split in the armed forces."

LITTLE KNOWN

Burhan, the new head of the military council, was the third most senior general in the Sudanese armed forces and is little known in public life. As head of Sudans ground forces he oversaw Sudanese troops fighting in the Saudi-led Yemen war and has close ties to senior Gulf military officials.

The opposition are demanding a civilian government, but I think it will be a mixed government," analyst Muhammad Osman said before Burhan's remarks on Saturday. "The military would want to retain the defence and interior portfolios.

The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), which has been leading protests to demand a civilian government, called for more demonstrations earlier on Saturday.

"Today, we continue the march to finish the victory for our victorious revolution," the SPA said in a statement.

"We assert that our revolution is continuing and will not retreat or deviate from its path until we achieve ... our people's legitimate demands of handing over power to a civilian government," it said.

Bashir, 75, seized power in a 1989 military coup.

The protests against him escalated last Saturday when thousands of demonstrators, apparently bolstered by change in Algeria following similar protests, marched towards the Defence Ministry in Khartoum to deliver a memorandum demanding the military side with them.

Demonstrators have been camping outside the compound since then to push for a handover of power.

At least 16 people were killed and 20 injured by stray bullets at protests and sit-ins on Thursday and Friday, a police spokesman said. Government buildings and private property were also attacked, spokesman Hashem Ali added.

He asked citizens to help ensure safety and public order.

The military council under Ibn Auf had said it would not extradite Bashir to face accusations of genocide at the international war crimes court. Instead he might go on trial in Sudan.

(Additional reporting by Ahmed Tolba and Sami Aboudi in Cairo; Writing by Lena Masri; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Jane Merriman)
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Exclusive: Ex-South Sudan rebel leader believes unity government won't be ready by May 12

The two sides of war-ravaged South Sudan will not be able to meet a May 12 deadline to form a unity government because key requirements of a peace deal have not been met, former rebel leader Riek Machar told Reuters on Friday. Machar - who should regain his post as vice president under the deal - said the government and the rebels needed another six months before forming a unity government.

Defiant Poroshenko: Ukraine's voters will choose substance over style in election

Ukraine's leader on Friday said he was confident of turning the tables on his inexperienced opponent in the second round of the presidential election, saying voters would choose a substantive program over his challenger's dangerous populism. President Petro Poroshenko has been fighting for his political survival against Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a comedian with no prior political experience, who has a commanding poll lead as the two go into a run-off on April 21.

U.S. slaps sanctions on four shipping firms, nine ships, carrying oil from Venezuela

The United States on Friday announced more sanctions on shipping companies transporting oil from Venezuela, blacklisting four shipping companies and nine vessels, some of which the U.S. Treasury Department said carried oil to Cuba. The U.S. Treasury identified the firms as Liberia-based Jennifer Navigation Ltd, Lima Shipping Corp and Large Range Ltd, and Italy-based PB Tankers S.P.A.

Canada's Trudeau isn't talking about it, but legal pot is going well

Long lines formed on a sub-zero morning last week to buy marijuana over the counter from three different shops in Ottawa, the first capital in the industrialized world to open them. Though the day highlighted the realization of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's promise to legalize cannabis during his 2015 campaign, neither he nor anyone else from the ruling Liberal party was out taking credit for it - a sign that the social stigma around marijuana is still strong.

Story continues

Ecuador holding Swedish programmer linked to Assange in custody

Ecuador said on Friday it is holding a programmer linked to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in custody pending possible charges of interfering in private communications, a day after ending Assange's seven-year asylum in its London embassy. Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo said prosecutors could file charges against Ola Bini, who she said lives in Ecuador and had visited Assange in the London embassy a dozen times.

Demanding civilian government, thousands defy military curfew in Sudan

Thousands of Sudanese demonstrators camped outside the defense ministry in Khartoum to push for a civilian government, defying a curfew and calling for mass prayers after the military overthrew Omar al-Bashir after 30 years of autocratic rule. Demonstrators who have been holding almost daily anti-Bashir protests rejected the decision to set up a transitional military council to run the country for two years and vowed to continue protests until a civilian government is established.

Israeli soldiers kill Gaza teenager during border protest

Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian teenager taking part in protests along the Gaza border on Friday, Palestinian health officials said, the first fatality since Gazans marked the one-year anniversary of the weekly demonstrations in March. The Israeli military said about 7,400 Palestinians massed along the frontier, some throwing rocks, and that there were several attempts to approach the fence into Israel.

UK parliament very likely to consider new Brexit referendum: Hammond

The idea of a second Brexit referendum is very likely to be put before Britain's parliament again although the government remains opposed to any new plebiscite, the British finance minister said on Friday. Philip Hammond said he hoped parliament would break the Brexit impasse by passing a deal by the end of June, potentially ending the calls for a new referendum, and there was a "good chance" of a breakthrough in talks with the opposition Labour Party.

North Korea's Kim Jong Un says U.S. must change stance, gives deadline

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the breakdown in talks with the United States has raised the risks of returning to past tensions, but he is only interested in meeting President Donald Trump again if the United States comes with the right attitude, state media KCNA said on Saturday. Kim said that he will wait "until the end of this year" for the United States to decide, according to KCNA.

Pompeo slams China, Russia involvement in Venezuela

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday accused China of aiding Venezuela's economic collapse by bankrolling President Nicolas Maduro's government and said Russian troop presence in the country was an "obvious provocation." "China and others are being hypocritical in calling for 'non-intervention' in Venezuela's affairs," Pompeo said in a speech in Chile's capital. "Their own financial interventions have helped destroy the country."
Roger Stone, former adviser to President Donald Trump, departs the E. Barrett Prettyman United States Court House on March 14, 2019 in Washington, DC. in connection with charges aginast him of lying to Congress.

In a flurry of legal filings, Roger Stone's defense team argues that he and his defense team should be allowed an exclusive look at the Mueller report.

They also claim that since Attorney General Robert Barr has declared there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, that "there is no there there" as regards charges against Stone.

And finally, his defense argues that the whole special counsel investigation was not constitutionally funded because Congress did not specifically appropriate funds for special counsel offices and that Congress has not explicitly provided that the special counsel can investigate a president or his presidential campaign.

"If the President and his presidential campaign cannot be investigated by the Executive Branchs Department of Justice, then the investigation of Roger Stone, which was the direct fruit of that poisoned tree, must fall," according to one filing.

The filings were made Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which will oversee his case.

Stone, 66, was arrested in January and pleaded not guilty to one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, five counts of making false statements and one count of witness tampering.

Among other things, he is accused of lying to Congress about his activities linked to information obtained through the Russian hacking of Democratic Party emails and its release through WikiLeaks. He faces trial Nov. 5 in Washington, D.C.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller spent almost two years investigating Russian involvement in the 2016 U.S. elections, including whether there was any collusion between the Russians and the Donald Trump campaign.

Stone, a self-described political "political-trickster," is a longtime friend and political adviser to Trump.

While much of the political world awaits a peek at the Mueller report, Stone's team argues that he is the only person with a compelling case to see it.

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"The Special Counsel Report may be of political interest to many," the defense team argues in a motion to dismiss the entire case. It may be of commercial interest to others. It may be of public interest to some. But for Roger Stone, the Special Counsels Report is a matter of protecting his liberty. Only by full disclosure to him, can he determine whether the Report contains material which could be critical to his defense."

In a separate filing, the defense assures the court that Stone, a political gadfly for a half-century, would keep it under wraps.

"To be clear, Stone is not requesting the Report be disclosed to the world  only to his counsel so that it may aid in preparing his defense," the filing says.

As for dismissing his case, Stone and his defense team note that Barr, in a letter referring to the still unreleased report by Mueller, said he found no collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians.

"Now that the Department of Justice has concluded that there was no conspiracy between Russian agents and any American citizen, including Roger Stone, this 'connection' is unsubstantiated," Stone's defense team argues.

"Other than an allegation that Russians, and Stone, independently had some type of contact with WikiLeaks via Twitter, there is no there there," Stone argues in a motion for reconsideration.

On another tack, the team argues that the special counsel's office itself was unconstitutionally organized and that Congress has not explicitly provided that the special counsel can investigate a president or his presidential campaign.

Nothing could encroach more upon the Presidents duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed than having a Special Prosecutor continually looking over his shoulder, threatening him or the members of his executive branch with potential prosecution for every act they take, Stones defense team wrote..

U.S. vs. Roger J. Stone Jr. by Doug Stanglin on Scribd

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Roger Stone tells court he alone is entitled to see the Mueller report
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A court in Russia fined Facebook on Friday for failing to tell authorities where it stores Russian user data, Russian news agencies reported, a ruling that highlights wrangling between tech giants and Moscow as it ramps up Internet controls.

The court fined Facebook 3,000 roubles ($47) for not providing information in line with legislation that came into force in 2015 requiring social media companies to store user data on servers located in Russia.

The only tools Moscow currently has to enforce its data rules are fines that often amount to small sums or blocking the offending online service, an option fraught with technical difficulties.

Russia plans to impose stiffer fines on technology firms that fail to comply with its laws, sources familiar with the plans told Reuters in October.

Russia blocked access to LinkedIn in 2016 for not holding its Russian user data on servers in Russia. Last year it moved to block the Telegram instant messaging service, but the attempt failed and the service is still popular.

Facebook did not send a representative to the hearing on Friday, but the court pressed ahead anyway as Facebook did not seek for it to be postponed, the Interfax news agency cited the court as saying.

A court fined Twitter 3,000 roubles for a similar offence last week.

Russia has introduced tougher Internet laws in the last five years, requiring search engines to delete some search results and messaging services to share encryption keys with security services.

Russian authorities could gain new powers to block content in November when draft legislation that seeks to expand Russia's sovereignty over its segment of the web could come into force.

The bill sailed through a second reading on Thursday in parliament and will become law if it is approved in a final reading, passed by the upper chamber and signed by President Vladimir Putin.

($1 = 64.4450 roubles)

(Reporting by Maria Tsvetkova; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Maria Kiselyova)
April 11 (Reuters) - The son of a sheriff's deputy was charged with burning down three predominately black churches in southern Louisiana over the past two weeks, officials said on Thursday, saying they acted quickly out of concern he would strike again.

Holden Matthews, 21, a white resident of St. Landry Parish, the county where the fires occurred, was charged with three counts of simple arson on religious buildings, each count of which carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years, Louisiana Fire Marshal H. "Butch" Browning said.

"We are extremely, unequivocally confident that we have the person who is responsible for these tragic crimes on these three churches, Browning told a news briefing in Opelousas, Louisiana, about 60 miles (97 km) west of Baton Rouge.

Matthews, the son of Deputy Roy Matthews of the St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office, was taken into custody late Wednesday, about 12 hours after he was identified as a suspect, Browning said.

"We felt that other crimes were imminent," he said. "In an abundance of public safety, we quickly secured warrants and took him into custody."

The three churches destroyed by the fires have mostly black congregations, raising authorities' suspicion that the fires may be racially motivated hate crimes. No federal hate crime charges have been filed against Matthews so far.

Noting the history of black church burnings in the South, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said the current episode was "especially painful because it reminds us of a very dark past of intimidation and fear."

Edwards said the crimes appeared to be unrelated to the March 31 burning of a predominantly white church in another parish.

While investigators were still exploring motives, Browning said that Matthews had "a relationship with a type of music called black metal," an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. Black metal has an association with church burnings in other parts of the world, he said.

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Officials, including those from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, said the investigation was ongoing.

The fires set between March 26 and April 4 destroyed St. Mary Baptist Church in Port Barre, and Greater Union Baptist Church and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas.

St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz said he believed his deputy was unaware of Holden Matthews' involvement in the fires.

"Roy Matthews is one of my best friends, a great deputy," Guidroz said. (Reporting by Peter Szekely in New York; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
Tvli Birdshead with his brother at a Native American language fair. (Credit: Taloa Birdshead)

Oklahoma high school senior Tvli Birdshead was looking forward to finally receiving his high school diploma, while proudly wearing his tribes honor cord, a beaded cap and a feather tributes to his Native American roots and academic achievements. But instead of preparing for this important milestone, the honor student is facing an uphill battle.

Latta High School officials have told the Birdshead family that Tvli would not be allowed to wear the Native American regalia at his graduation ceremony, citing the school district dress code policy. Weeks before his graduation in May, Birdshead and his mother Taloa are fighting for Tvlis right to wear the emblems honoring his Native American heritage.

Wearing these things is acknowledging that Im the future leader and that this is the first step towards a higher education, Tvli Birdshead told KFOR. It means a whole different thing.

Birdshead is proud of his rich Native American background; the eighteen-year-old is a member of five Civilized Tribes and Plains tribes. Tvlis eagle feather and beaded cap are significant ceremonial staples for Native Americans graduates across the country.

When a family member is asked or offers to bead that cap it is a high honor, and that beadwork takes time and a lot of thought about the person they are beading for. The colors and design are carefully chosen. The Eagle feather is very spiritual, Taloa, 41, tells Yahoo Lifestyle, adding that Tvlis cousin hand-beaded his cap. It is given by the tribe to honor the graduate for their academic achievement. It is to be worn to show who they are, what Native Nations they represent.

Tvli Birdshead's cap, Chickasaw nation honor cord and eagle feather. (Credit: Taloa Birdshead)

High school graduations are an especially important milestone for Native Americans, who have the lowest high school graduation rate of any racial and ethnic demographic. Tvli has defied these statistics, graduating as an honor student, ranking in the top ten of his class, while remaining extremely active in student council and Native youth organizations.

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The honor cord was given to Tvli and other Native students by the Chickasaw Nation to to celebrate their tribes heritage and accomplishments during this rite of passage.

Pride in the educational achievement of our young people has been a part of Chickasaw culture for generations, the Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby tells Yahoo Lifestyle. We hope these cords serve as a symbol of that pride and a source of encouragement for years to come, and we hope that all institutions recognize our intent.

But for Taloa, her sons right to wear the Native American regalia means much more she believes it is a reconciliation of Americas painful past with the Native American people.

He should be allowed to wear his Eagle feather, his beaded cap, and his honor cord from Chickasaw Nation and any other Nation he represents to not only honor him, but to show respect for the people who have supported his efforts and paved his way, Taloa tells Yahoo Lifestyle. These items in the past were things that were stripped from his ancestors in an attempt to assimilate Native people. These items are an interweaving of his spirituality and his culture. These items are who he is.

For this reason, Tvli and his mother Taloa refuse to stand down to the schools restrictive policy. Taloa has had several meetings with school officials to appeal the dress code to no avail. Taloa was baffled by their response considering Latta Public Schools nearly 37 percent Native student population, adding that it readily accepts Title VI federal grants and donations from the Chickasaw Nation. I explained to the superintendent that by allowing them to wear their sacred regalia the school would be meeting those unique needs of this same Native population to take back pride in themselves and the people they represent, says Taloa.

Tvli Birdshead at his Grandpa Joe's memorial dance. (Credit: Taloa Birdshead)

Superintendent Cliff Johnson explains that their requests were denied because the student handbook only allows school issued items to be worn at graduation ceremonies, he writes to Yahoo Lifestyle in an email.

With school officials refusing to accede, the Birdshead family is taking up the issue at a Latta Public School board meeting. She has enlisted the help of the American Civil Rights Liberty Union (ACLU) and the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) who have sent letters of demand to the school and will represent the Birdsheads at the meeting. Taloa hopes that the school board will reverse the policy and allow Tvli to walk across the graduation stage with his Chickasaw nation cord, beaded cap and feather. If not, the ACLU told Taloa they were ready and willing to pursue litigation.

Reports of Latta High School officials decision to bar Native American students from wearing their honor cords and other Native American emblems have sparked outrage across the Latta communtiy, with many condemning the blatant discrimination.

The fact that you guys wont allow a Native student to wear his regalia, feather and cord is absolutely disgusting. How disappointing for this place to participate in such blatant discrimination, wrote one Facebook user on the Latta High School Facebook page. Were not taking no for an answer. Our people already went through assimilation schools, were not gonna let you take our honor away from us! Super proud of my Native brothers and sisters for making it this far!!!

Other community members believe that the decision violates Tvlis right to religious freedom, pointing out the double standard that the school likely allows Christian students to wear crosses at the ceremony This school hides behind a trivial school policy to discriminate against Natives. They are denying a student's right to wear deeply symbolic regalia for graduation. It is abhorrent and mocking of the American concept of religious freedom, writes another Facebook user. I am willing to wager they do not ban students from wearing crosses, so this is undoubtedly a double standard.

Superintendent Johnson says that Latta High School officials have made arrangements to allow Tvli and Taloa to address the school board on May 6th. The school has also organized a public hearing to address the concerns around the dress code policy, inviting all Indian students, parents of Indian students, tribal officials, and members of the Latta Community to attend.

Taloa says she is proud of Tvli and believes he was chosen to accept this challenge because of his interweaved lineage of tribes that will allow him to reach many tribes as a result of his background and upbringing.

Tvli and I hope to see positive change in regards to respecting and honoring the Indigenous population across the United States. It's beyond time for change, Taloa tells Yahoo Lifestyle. What an amazing time we live in that my son and I, and many others who have fought the same battle, would be able to see Native Nations take back the pride, strength, and honor that we were stripped of in the past.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

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Demonstrators gather in Sudan's capital of Khartoum, Friday, April 12, 2019 - AP

The Sudanese defence minister who declared himself head of a provisional military government after ousting President Omar al Bashir in a coup stepped down, after just a day in power.

Awad Abnouf and his deputy, Kamal Absel Maarouf, resigned in a statement issued on Friday evening.

Earlier in the day protesters had chanted that they would stay on the streets until Mr Abnouf left. Lt Gen Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan will take over as head of the military transitional council.

Sudan's new military rulers said they were ready for dialogue with demonstrators after hundreds of thousands of people defied a curfew to occupy central Khartoum for a sixth night.

But the generals warned they would not tolerate chaos and ruled out extraditing Bashir, the dictator they deposed in a coup on Thursday, to face charges of war crimes.

We are not against the demands of the people, we are for the demands of the people, and we have to achieve them, Zein Abedeen, the general tasked with leading talks with the protesters, said in a press conference.

We have to adhere to civilised methods and today we will start a dialogue with the political groups, who are invited to hear from us what we have in mind and what they have in mind.

The Sudanese Professionals Association, which has led months of huge anti-government protests, said the coup makers are not eligible to oversee change and demanded an immediate hand-over to a traditional civilian government.

Bashir, who ruled Sudan for 30 years, was deposed on Thursday by his own military after clashes between security services and troops sympathetic to the protests.

Women reportedly make up as much as half of the crowd outside army headquarters Credit: AFP

Leaders of the protest movement immediately rejected the announcement that a military transitional council would assume control of the country and impose a three-month state of emergency.

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators spent a sixth night on the streets outside Army headquarters in Khartoum on Thursday and on Friday, in deliberate defiance of a 10pm curfew imposed by the military when they announced their coup. Protesters said there were no attempts by authorities to enforce the curfew.

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Several soldiers joined the protest, reinforcing claims by demonstrators that the junior and middle ranks of the army are reluctant to follow the orders of a top brass widely considered to be closely allied to Bashir.

In the morning, protests continued, with festive demonstrators shouting down with military rule and parading an enormous Sudanese flag.

Protesters distrust Awad Abnouf, the chief of Sudan's new ruling council who is sanctioned by the US for alleged war crimes Credit: REX

Alsadig Almahdi, the last civilian prime minister before Bashir seized power in 1989 and a great-grandson of the Mahdi who led the uprising against British rule in the 1880s, oversaw Friday prayers at the protest site.

Protesters said they were particularly distrustful of Mr Abnouf, who announced the coup on Thursday and until Friday headed the new military transitional council.

Mr Abnouf, a former intelligence chief who is sanctioned by the US over his alleged role in atrocities committed in Darfur in the 2000s, was made vice-president by Bashir in February.
The stabbing happened on the Bounds Green Road junction with Nightingale Road. (GOOGLE)

A teenager has been stabbed in North London and is in a life threatening condition in hospital.

The 19-year-old was attacked in Bowes Park, near Bounds Green on Friday night, April 12.

A Met Police spokesman said: Police were called to Bounds Green Road junction with Nightingale Road, N22 at 21:27hrs following reports of a male stabbed.

Officers and London Ambulance Service attended and found a man, believed to be aged 19, suffering from a stab wound.

Read more on Yahoo News

Boy, 17, stabbed to death in village named by police

Jealous ex who murdered graduate former girlfriend, 24, after they broke up is jailed for life

He received treatment at the scene before being taken to a central London hospital where his condition remains life-threatening.

No arrests have been made. Enquiries continue and a crime scene remains in place.

The recent increase in killings has sparked warnings about the reductions in the size of the countrys police force and has piled pressure on politicians to take action.

In 2018, there were 135 murders in London and already this year there have been more than 20 homicides in the capital.

Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced an extra 100 million in police funding to help them to get to grips with the surge in stabbings.
Disclaimer: These summaries are provided for educational purposes only by Nelson Rosario and Stephen Palley. They are not legal advice. These are our opinions only, arent authorized by any past, present or future client or employer. Also we might change our minds. We contain multitudes.

As always, Rosario summaries are NMR and Palley summaries are SDP".

[related id=1]IN RE TEZOS SECURITIES LITIGATION, Case 17-cv-06779-RS (N.D. Cal, 4/8/19, Document #213) (Order on Plaintiffs Motion to Substitute Lead Plaintiff) [SDP]

Loyal CCM readers will recall that when we last checked in on the Tezos class action litigation at issue was who was going to be the lead plaintiff and whether or not the defendants would be able to delay the case by requiring a statutory clock to be restarted. The Court on March 8 issued a ruling that addressed both of these issues, allowing the case to trudge forward under slightly different management and without restarting the clock. Also, if this judge reads conspiracy theory blog posts on medium about this case you wouldnt know, because the opinion unsurprisingly doesnt mention them.

The court initially appointed Arman Anvari as the lead plaintiff in this consolidated class action. Motions to Dismiss were filed. Tim Draper and Bitcoin Suisse were dismissed but the Breitmans, their company Distributed Ledger Solutions, and the Tezos Foundation remained as Defendant. Anvari then moved to withdraw as the lead plaintiff and substitute Artiom Franze. Another plaintiff, Trigon, also asked to be appointed and asked for its lawyers to be substituted as class counsel. (Im not saying that money matters to anyone involved here but, yeah, class counsel will end up making more money).

The Defendants didnt take a position about who should be lead plaintiffs, although they filed briefs saying that Anvari was a really bad guy, and at least one blog post appeared on Medium to this effect. The Court didnt expressly weigh in on anyones character, but said that Anvari didnt have to be a plaintiff if he didnt want to be (theres caselaw to this effect, not surprisingly). They also asked that the court restart a statutory notice period for lead process selection, which would of course have the effect of slowing the case down, not that this was anyones intent.

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[related id=2]The Court said that it did not think it was necessary to restart a statutory 60 day notice period for lead plaintiff selection. The statute does not contemplate any sort of lead-plaintiff proceedings beyond the very start of the litigation. This doesnt mean, however, that a withdrawing plaintiff gets to pick their own replacement. In fact, the Court refused to substitute Anvaris chosen plaintiff for Anvari. Instead, it granted Trigons motion, in part because Trigon is the sequential plaintiff who contributed the second-most to Tezos and has claims representative of the putative class. Indeed, Anvaris counsel conceded at oral argument that Trigon is the next party with the most at stake besides Frunze.

But what about Anvaris lawyers? Even though they lost their client, the Court said that they could remain in the case as co-lead counsel with Trigons counsel. The Court said that in light of Anvaris counsels extensive work and knowledge of the case, the class would benefit from their continued prosecution of this case.

Because theres a new lead plaintiff, the pending class certification motion was denied without prejudice. With Trigon at the helm, a class certification will be filed in its name. Discovery related to that motion and then briefing and a ruling on that motion will be the next major milestone in this case.

The Block is pleased to bring you expert cryptocurrency legal analysis courtesy of Stephen Palley (@stephendpalley) and Nelson M. Rosario (@nelsonmrosario). They summarize three cryptocurrency-related cases on a weekly basis and have given The Block permission to republish their commentary and analysis in full. Part II of this week's analysis, Crypto Caselaw Minute, is above.
Water-spraying elephants, raves and boisterous, street-blocking water fights -- Thailand's Buddhist new year arrived with a splash Saturday, a once calm festival now celebrated with a more raucous edge.

Paying respects to elders and sprinkling water over figures of Buddha at local temples are some of the traditions of the three-day new year celebration -- known as Songkran -- but the holiday also has a rowdier side involving alcohol-fuelled revelry among its youth.

Thais and foreigners sporting floral shirts arm themselves with colourful water pistols and protective goggles, engaging in water fights that bring entire streets to a standstill.

Authorities had issued warnings beforehand on modesty, saying that nudity and provocative clothing will be prohibited.

There are no such restrictions however on summary drenchings.

In the Bangkok tourist hotspot Khao San road, two young men dressed in school uniforms get doused by passersby wielding high-powered water pistols and buckets of water.

And in Ayutthaya, elephants painted in colourful floral designs lift their trunks and spray water on delighted tourists, with the town's ancient temples serving as a backdrop.

As the sun sets, tens of thousands of ravers from across Asia are expected to dance into Saturday night under massive water cannons and spectacular pyrotechnics, as Bangkok's S2O Songkran festival gets underway.

Some of the world's best known -- and paid -- DJs, including Tiesto, Steve Aoki and UK veteran Fatboy Slim are performing across the three-day dance music event -- Asia's largest.

Neighbouring Laos and Myanmar celebrate the same festival with young and old throwing buckets of water over each other as music thuds from loudspeakers.

In Yangon, where the festival is known as Thingyan, children blow bubbles and play with soap suds at street foam parties, while women dressed in traditional costumes perform dances near the famed Sule Pagoda.

Songkran is also the most perilous time to travel in Thailand, and the week beginning from April 11 is dubbed "seven dangerous days" as millions of Thais make the journey back to their hometowns by bus, vans or motorbikes.

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To prevent drink driving incidents, authorities have said they will levy harsh penalties on those imbibing alcohol before getting behind the wheel.

Somchai Wayrojpipat, 57, was charged with premeditated murder after causing a fatal accident under the influence late Thursday night in the outskirts of Bangkok, police officer Pitak Poolputtha told AFP.

"This is the first case in this country where the drunk driver faced premeditated murder and the highest punishment is the death sentence," Pitak said.

The Interior Ministry has recorded more than 100 deaths in the first two days preceding the festival, but that number is expected to climb.

burs/dhc/tom
The Asahi Shimbun/Getty

Inside Sen. Bernie Sanders presidential campaign there has always been a sense of vulnerability about the attacks that would come against the senator over the wealth he has accumulated in office. After all, it becomes a bit tricky for a politician to rail against the perniciousness of income inequality when he himself becomes a member of the well-off, even if that fortune is simply due to a best-selling book.

But few expected that one of the first jabs would come from one of the most firmly Democratic-allied media outlets in the country.

This week, ThinkProgress, the news organ that is a project of, though editorially independent from, the progressive think tank Center for American Progress, put out a video noting that Sanders had stopped maligning millionaireschoosing, instead, to direct his ire at billionaireswhen he became a millionaire himself.

The video accompanied a more nuanced article reflecting on the irony of Sanders dragging his feet in releasing his tax returns out of a desire to hide his wealth while President Trump refused to release tax returns in order to keep secret that he wasnt as rich as he boasted. And in an email to The Daily Beast, Jodi Enda, the editor of ThinkProgress, defended the work as observational more than adversarial.

ThinkProgress did not try to go after Sen. Sandersto use your wordsand we will not go after any other candidate, Enda said. We strive to be fair and to allow our readers and viewers to interpret the news for themselves. We are no different from other media in that regard.

The video illustrated how Sen. Sanders rhetoric has evolved, Enda added.

A source at the Center for American Progress stressed that no one at the think tank had insight about, or input into, the video that ThinkProgress produced. But within the broader Democratic ecosystem, those editorial lines of demarcation were not exactly satisfying.

The video was viewed as an implicit warning that a portion of the partys infrastructure would not simply be content to let Sanders coast through the primary (as if that was in doubt). And a number of progressives expressed dismay to The Daily Beast that one of the partys more notable media arms had chosen to attack Sanders for his wealth well before any of his fellow primary candidates had. It did not go unnoticed that the video was being gleefully passed around by GOP operatives on Twitter.

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What made the video all the more remarkable, however, was that Sanders campaign manager, Faiz Shakir, was not too long ago the editor of ThinkProgress. Shakir said he had no comment on the matter. But his relationship with the officials at CAP is complicated, after he began providing assistance to Sanders 2016 campaignall of which was revealed during the dumping of stolen emails by Wikieaks during the late stages of that campaign.

But there was an obvious explanation for why that grated on CAP officials. They were largely supportive of Hillary Clinton, from the organizations founder (John Podesta) to its current president (Neera Tanden).

There is no Clinton in the race this go round. But, it appears, the skepticism towards Sanders persists.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here
BELGRADE (Reuters) - Thousands of anti-government protesters gathered in Belgrade on Saturday to press demands for an end to the rule of President Aleksandar Vucic and his Progressive Party, greater media freedom and free and fair elections. The peaceful demonstration was organized by the Alliance for Serbia (SZS), a broad grouping of 30 parties and organizations, which started weekly protests in December. The Serbian Interior Ministry estimated the crowd's size at up to 7,500 people. Organizers said numbers were far bigger. The SZS has accused Vucic and his allies of corruption and of stifling media freedom. He denies this. On Saturday, the SZS accused the authorities of shutting down bus lines to Belgrade and of pressuring companies not to rent busses to opposition backers. Cedomir Cupic, a lecturer of at the Faculty of Political Sciences said Serbia must be liberated. "With him (Vucic) Serbia has no future ... no country should depend from one man," Cupic told the cheering crowd. "Over the last seven years (since Vucic came to power) we have devalued the country ... snubbed institutions, and we have one man deciding about everything," Bogdan Tatic, one of the protesters, said. Last month, protesters briefly occupied the state TV building and scuffled with police in Belgrade city center. The ruling SNS-led coalition has a majority of 160 deputies in Serbia's 250-seat parliament. Vucic has also staged a countrywide campaign and scheduled a major rally in Belgrade for April 19. Last month, the SNS party leadership said it wanted a snap vote but no decision has been made so far. (Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Jane Merriman)
Its long been noted that women in blockchain are a minority group. Many have called for a greater focus on encouraging women to be given the opportunities and skills they need to make their mark on this growing industry. But although the numbers may seem small, that isnt to say that women in the space arent already contributing in massive ways.

Each week, we talk to women in blockchain about their careers, their purpose, and what they want to see from the future of the industry. These interviews arent just motivational  they are inspiration for other women who are looking to start their journey in blockchain. Below, you can find the stories of some of the most influential women weve spoken to.

Crystal Rose Pierce: The blockchain powerhouse who started coding at 11

Prominent technologist, entrepreneur and investor, Crystal Rose Pierce shares her story that began at a very early age. As the CEO and co-founder of Sensay, she helps users to take back privacy over their data. This is done through SENSE private messaging and decentralised applications on the blockchain.

The philanthropic part of me really respects the blockchain philosophy of open source and decentralisation, she says. And as for what the anarchists term as going against the government and institutions, the goal is more about having equal access and fairer distribution.

Not only is she an innovator in the space, but she passes on her experiences to other women and younger female students. As co-founder of ShEOS and the sheEOS Foundation, she helps to provide computer science scholarships to young women.

Pivotal in balancing on the gender inequality, Crystals contribution to blockchain is philanthropic on multiple levels. Read her full interview to find out her views on blockchain throughout 2019 and the importance of being an influencer in this space.

Georgina Brett: Women in blockchain need to take bigger risks

The industry, which is still full of many unknowns, can be a daunting place. Georgina Brett, Chief of Staff at The Reserve, introduces projects to crypto-focused investors and fund managers. She recognises some of the limitations in the blockchain space, including the fact that its currently harder than ever for companies to raise relevant funds since the cryptocurrency market crashed.

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Speaking directly on the topic of women in blockchain, she goes on to stress that gender inequality is noticeable. Her company is on a drive to recruit more women, as only on in 40 applicants at the moment are female. She cites the historical fact that there are few women in STEM subjects as a potential reason for the lack of women in blockchain.

I think women need to take bigger risks and get comfortable being out of their comfort zones, she says

Generally I have noticed, women tend to be more cautious and second-guess their right to be a voice of authority, whereas men are more likely to act like the authority whether they deserve to be there or not.

In short: men are better at faking it until you make it. In a nascent industry like blockchain, voices of authority can be people with six months experience and stepping into authoritative roles is very achievable if you have demonstrable value you can bring to the table.

Georgina explains that making the leap into the blockchain decision has been a life changing decision for her. Read her interview in full to find out why.

Yaliwe Soko: How Africa is embracing blockchain technology

Its not just in the UK and US that blockchain is an important industry. Africa has seen a serious uptake in blockchain usage but Yaliwe Soko, Chairwoman of the Blockchain Association of Africa, explains that it can be difficult to be taken seriously as a woman in blockchain.

She empathises with the fear that some women will feel about the industry. Explaining that the African cryptocurrency space has been badly burned in the past, she highlights that there are still a lot of trust issues. Soko wants to change this, using her influential position to be at the forefront of driving awareness and blockchain education across the continent.

Its very difficult to be recognised like this, especially as an African woman. Mostly, there are trust issues.

When Ive been speaking at an event, because I have a petite frame, people have asked me if I am the speaker, which is patronising in a way. Someone else asked me if I was nervous before I was giving a speech and I am not nervous!

She adds it was an opportunity for me to own this and whenever Im on a panel I ensure I command my presence in the way I come across.

Looking for like-minded leaders, she wants to encourage other women to follow suit. She wants women to embrace the industry and realise their own potential within it. Read her interview in full to find out what else she has to say about women in blockchain and the role they play in Africa.

Conclusion

Its clear that encouragement and education are two of the most important factors when it comes to including women in blockchain. Its important to give them opportunities, a fair platform, and the confidence to push ahead. These are just three of our women in blockchain stories. To explore what other women are up to and how they are leading the way, visit our dedicated section.

The post Three Women In Blockchain interviews you dont want to miss appeared first on Coin Rivet.
Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump questioned Saturday whether Congressional Democrats should have access to a redacted version of the Mueller report that cleared him of conspiring to collude with Russia during the 2016 election.

Attorney General Bill Barr has indicated he will hand over a restricted copy of the 400-page report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller that edits out "sensitive" details sometime next week.

"Why should Radical Left Democrats in Congress have a right to retry and examine the $35,000,000 (two years in the making) No Collusion Mueller Report when the crime committed was by Crooked Hillary, the DNC and Dirty Cops?" Trump tweeted. "Attorney General Barr will make the decision!"

Trump had previously said the decision to release the report would be "totally up to" his attorney general, while his press secretary Sarah Sanders in March said "I don't think the president has any problem" with its publication.

The president's latest comments come days after he called the probe an attempted "coup," while Barr promised to investigate FBI "spying" on Trump.

Trump has described former FBI officials who initially decided to investigate him as "dirty cops."

Three years on from his election victory, he is still railing against his former Democratic White House opponent Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server for government business and threatens to reopen an investigation into the matter.
President Trump said Thursday that he agrees with Attorney General William Barrs explosive, since-clarified assertion that he believes the FBI was spying on Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

I think what he said was absolutely true  there was absolutely spying into my campaign, Trump told reporters inside the Oval Office before a bilateral meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Ill go a step further: It was illegal spying, unprecedented spying. And something that should never be allowed to happen in our country again. And I think his answer was a very accurate one.

On Wednesday, Barr touched off a firestorm during a hearing on Capitol Hill, saying he believes spying did occur in the federal investigation into the Trump campaigns contacts with Russia while defending his review of the probe.

By the end of the hearing, though, he backed off his explosive claim.

I think spying on a political campaign is a big deal, Barr said during testimony before the Senate Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies subcommittee.

Spying is a pejorative term not normally used to describe domestic counterintelligence investigations.

I think spying did occur, he said. The question was whether it was adequately predicated. And Im not suggesting it wasnt predicated. I need to explore that.

But later, when given the chance to rephrase his inflammatory assertion, Barr said he believes there was unauthorized surveillance.

President Trump and Attorney General William Barr. (Photos: Timothy D. Easley/AP, Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

Trump's comments supporting Barr came the same day top House and Senate Democrats sharply criticized the attorney general for his testimony.

"Your testimony raises questions about your independence, appears to perpetuate a partisan narrative designed to undermine the work of the special counsel, and serves to legitimize President Trumps dangerous attacks on the Department of Justice and the FBI," said the letter, signed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sen. Mark Warner and Reps. Jerrold Nadler, Dianne Feinstein and Adam Schiff.

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Appearing before the House Appropriations subcommittee on Tuesday, Barr said he was in the process of reviewing the origins of the Russia probe  something Trump and his supporters have repeatedly demanded.

I am reviewing the conduct of the investigation and trying to get my arms around all the aspects of the counterintelligence investigation that was conducted during the summer of 2016, Barr said.

In September 2016, Yahoo News first reported that former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page was under federal investigation because of a trip he had taken to Moscow two months earlier.

The story, by Yahoo News chief investigative correspondent Michael Isikoff, was later cited in an FBI application for a surveillance warrant against Page. Isikoffs reporting on Christopher Steele, the former British spy who prepared the controversial dossier about Trump, was also a major part of the so-called FISA application to wiretap Page.

Trump and his allies have pointed to the dossier as evidence of surveillance abuses by the FBI and Department of Justice. Last May, Trump went so far as to claim that the DOJ put a spy in the Trump campaign.

But there is no evidence to support that assertion. CNN reported that someone who had been a source for the FBI and CIA for years had assisted the probe, but, contradicting the president, an informant was not planted inside the campaign to provide information to investigators.

Last month, Barr released a letter summarizing special counsel Robert Muellers report, saying Mueller found no evidence to charge Trump with a crime.

Barr said he expects to release a redacted version of Muellers still-confidential report hopefully within a week.

At the White House, Trump told reporters he isnt concerned that the report may hurt him politically.

No, Im not concerned about anything because, frankly, there was no collusion and there was no obstruction, Trump said. And we never did anything wrong. The people that did something wrong were the other side, the dirty cops and a lot of problems that were caused. Its a disgrace what happened. And, again, it should never happen to a president again.

Trump added: Youre just lucky I happen to be the president. Because a lot of other presidents would have reacted much differently than I reacted. Youre very lucky I was the president during this scam.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
The University of Buffalo campus

A University at Buffalo student is in critical condition after a possible hazing incident involving a college fraternity, prompting the president of the western New York school to suspend all Greek life activities.

The incident, which happened overnight Thursday, took place at the Sigma Pi house, according to WKBW-TV in Buffalo.

The Buffalo Police Department said it is investigating the matter and that a student was rushed to the hospital with a "serious medical condition" believed to be the result of the incident of "potential hazing."

The university Saturday identified the student as Sebastian Serafin-Bazan, an 18-year-old freshman from Port Chester, New York. He's currently a patient at Buffalo General Hospital. The school said it can't provide an update of his condition because of federal privacy laws that protect patients.

"Out of respect for the familys privacy, the university will have no other comment at this time," school officials said in a statement.

Further details have not been disclosed. But the television station cited a source close to the investigation who said student was "on life support" Friday night.

The Buffalo News reported that Serafin-Bazan had no alcohol or drugs in his system but went into cardiac arrest during possible hazing that included forced exercises by fraternity brothers. Serafin-Bazan was recently treated for a respiratory ailment, the newspaper said.

BPD are investigating an incident of potential hazing that occurred at a fraternity house in Buffalo overnight on Custer Street. A UB student was rushed to the hospital with a serious medical condition believed to have resulted from the Incident.  Buffalo Police Dept (@BPDAlerts) April 12, 2019

In a statement, University at Buffalo President Satish Tripathi said the school has reached out to the student's family and is providing "all the assistance and comfort we can to them during this incredibly difficult time."

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He said the university has "zero tolerance" for hazing. "Not only are hazing incidents a violation of our university policies, but they are also crimes."

"Therefore, at my direction," he said, "the official activities of all recognized fraternities and sororities are suspended effective immediately."

Tripathi added that the university community is committed to ensuring a safe educational environment for students. He vowed to perform an internal review of the activities of the school's fraternities and sororities and will "strongly counsel" all Greek organization about the University at Buffalo's zero-tolerance policy on hazing.

Jonathan Frost, executive director and CEO of the Sigma Pi Fraternity & Foundation, issued a statement that said, "Sigma Pi has recently learned of a reported allegation of health & safety policy violations at Epsilon-Omicron Chapter at the University at Buffalo.

"At this time, we are currently gathering information and, if necessary, will provide further comment after all facts have been gathered."





This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: University at Buffalo suspends all fraternities and sororities after student critically injured by potential hazing




It was the most dramatic moment of the weeks-long trial in 2013 in which whistleblower Chelsea Manning was prosecuted for a historic leak of state secrets.

Related: Everything you need to know about Julian Assange

She was facing court martial for having electronically transferred a mind-boggling 250,000 US state department cables, almost half a million war-logs from Iraq and Afghanistan and a video of a US helicopter attack on civilians in Baghdad, to Julian Assange of WikiLeaks.

Manning, dressed in US military uniform and presenting as the male gender of her birth (she later transitioned as a woman), took the witness stand at Fort Meade military base in Maryland. Clutching 35 pages of personal statement, she began to read to a rapt courtroom.

She began by describing her deployment as an intelligence analyst in late 2009 to a military base outside Baghdad. She related pouring over vast amounts of secret data, and how, over time, she became disturbed by the US obsession with killing targets rather than the wider goals of peace and stability.

Manning went on to tell the court that in February 2010 she began talking through a secure online chat log to an individual with WikiLeaks going by the handle Ox. The reference will probably prove central to the prosecution case now being compiled against the WikiLeaks founder: the US government argues that the mysterious Ox was Assange, and that he actively conspired with Manning to steal US state secrets.

In the indictment released on Thursday, prosecutors accuse Assange of entering into a conspiracy with Manning through the webchats to collaborate on the acquisition and dissemination of the classified records.

Against that argument, WikiLeaks and a raft of prominent legal scholars argue that the relationship between him and Manning was purely that of a journalist and his source. A strong defense is certain to be mounted on Assanges behalf under the first amendment of the US constitution that protects freedom of publication and dissemination of information to the public.

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The lengths to which the US government is prepared to go to nail Assange for the 2010 leaks is now becoming clear. Not only have extradition proceedings been instigated against Assange, but Manning herself is back behind bars, having refused to testify before the US grand jury investigating WikiLeaks. She was recently subjected to a spell in solitary confinement at William G Truesdale adult detention center, in Alexandria, Virginia.

As the case thickens, the spotlight is likely to fall increasingly on those internet communications between Ox and his source. In her statement to the court martial, Manning said: At first our conversations were general in nature, but over time as our conversation progressed, I assessed this individual to be an important part of WikiLeaks.

In the webchats, Ox also went under the pseudonym pressassociation. Manning called him Nathaniel Frank, after the author of a book she had been reading.

Over the next few months, I stayed in frequent contact with Nathaniel, she said in her statement. We conversed on nearly a daily basis and I felt that we were developing a friendship.

But she noted acerbically that in retrospect these dynamics were artificial and were valued more by myself than Nathaniel.

Prosecutors seek to show that Assanges conversations with Manning went beyond the activities of a journalist talking to a source and crossed the line into criminal conspiracy. They allege the WikiLeaks founder helped Manning crack a password that would allow the soldier to gain access to secret military databases using a false username.

The charges also allege that Assange took steps to hide the identity of Manning as the source of the leak and to encourage Manning to provide information and records from departments and agencies of the United States.

Related: Julian Assange charged by US with computer hacking conspiracy

In a phrase that is likely to form a significant part of any eventual trial should Assange be successfully extradited, the prosecutors quote a web conversation from March 2010. The army private, under the handle dawgnetwork, said: After this upload, thats all I really have got left.

Assange, as pressassociation, replied: Curious eyes never run dry in my experience.

The indictment also points to Assange discussing with Manning the value of the files on detainees in Guantanamo Bay that the soldier later downloaded to WikiLeaks. Manning referred to that conversation about the files, known as detainee assessment briefs (DABs), during her court martial statement.

During my conversation with Nathaniel, I asked him if he thought the DABs were of any use to anyone. Nathaniel indicated, although he did not believe that they were of political significance, he did believe that they could be used to merge into the general historical account of what occurred at Guantanamo.

Manning added: After this discussion, I decided to download the data.
Washington (AFP) - With US-Japan trade talks set to begin Monday, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Saturday any agreement will include a requirement to refrain from manipulating currencies to gain an advantage in international trade.

But he said there is no arbitrary deadline for completing the talks.

The US priority is that countries "don't in any way manipulate their currency for purposes of competitive advantages," Mnuchin told reporters on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is set to hold two days of talks with Japan's Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Monday and Tuesday.

Mnuchin said the talks would focus on a "broad agenda."

The US has long argued that China kept its currency artificially low to make its exports cheaper, and negotiators have insisted on a provision on exchange rates in the ongoing trade talks with Beijing.

And a clause was included in the revised free trade pact with Mexico and Canada, dubbed the USMCA.

"I think we'll want to make sure whatever trade agreements there are, that there are currency provisions that reflect that in the agreement similar to USMCA and as we've alluded to in our China discussions," Mnuchin said Saturday.
New York (AFP) - US oil giant Chevron announced Friday it had agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of Anadarko in a stock and cash transaction valued at $33 billion, or $65 per share.

Based on Chevron's Thursday closing price, Anadarko shareholders will receive 0.39 shares of Chevron and $16.25 in cash for each Anadarko share held, the company said in a statement.

The total enterprise value of the transaction is $50 billion.

"The acquisition of Anadarko will significantly enhance Chevrons already advantaged Upstream portfolio and further strengthen its leading positions in large, attractive shale, deepwater and natural gas resource basins," the company said.

"The combination of Anadarkos premier, high-quality assets with our advantaged portfolio strengthens our leading position in the Permian, builds on our deepwater Gulf of Mexico capabilities and will grow our LNG business.

"It creates attractive growth opportunities in areas that play to Chevrons operational strengths and underscores our commitment to short-cycle, higher-return investments.

Anadarko Chairman and CEO Al Walker added: "The strategic combination of Chevron and Anadarko will form a stronger and better company with world-class assets, people and opportunities."
Washington (AFP) - The United States is working with a group of countries to build a $10 billion fund to help Venezuela rebuild trade once a new government is in place, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Saturday.

The United States has joined dozens of other countries in recognizing Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president but embattled President Nicolas Maduro remains in power.

Mnuchin said that, during the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, officials had discussed how to aid in the Caribbean country's recovery.

But those institutions must sit on the sidelines until there is clear international recognition of a government in Caracas and a way to put funds into use in the country which has seen its economy collapse, while people are fleeing because they cannot get basic food and medicines.

"Every single time I've had one of these meetings I can't believe how much worse it gets on the ground for the people of Venezuela. This is a humanitarian crisis," Mnuchin said.

In addition to the potential for financing from the IMF and World Bank, he hosted a meeting on Thursday of the friends of Venezuela, which includes many Latin American and European countries, as well as Japan, where ministers also discussed the need for the oil exporting power to restore trade.

"We're going to be working on trying to put together a consortium of about $10 billion of trade finance that would be available for the new government to spark trade," Mnuchin said.

About 3.7 million refugees have fled the worsening crisis in Venezuela in recent years -- a third to neighboring Colombia -- the most dramatic and fastest exodus in the world after war-torn Syria, according to the United Nations. That figure could reach five million by the end of the year.
Elizabeth Warren is making Amazon the poster child for her plan to raise $1 trillion in government revenue with a proposed 7 percent surtax on corporate profits above $100 million.

Singling out the company in a post on Medium, the Massachusetts senator and 2020 presidential candidate chided the company for managing to avoid paying federal income taxes in 2018 despite profits of $11.2 billion.

Amazon responded to Warrens post with a statement that said the company pays all the taxes we are required to pay in the U.S. and every country where we operate, and noting its American business investments as well as the 250,000 workers it employs here.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP)

Warren was unimpressed. She responded with a tweet that acknowledged she wasnt accusing Amazon of illegality; her point was precisely the fact that their legal tax liability was zero.

In response to my plan, Amazon says it "pays all the taxes we are required to pay in the US." Yeah, I know. You made more than $10 billion in profits last year and you were required to pay $0 in federal corporate taxes. That's the problem. https://t.co/FWajm72V9g  Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) April 11, 2019

Warren, who has outpaced her rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination in terms of substantive policy proposals, said in her Medium post that the U.S. tax code was in need of an overhaul so that companies like Amazon would pay federal taxes.

There are two sets of rules for reporting a companys profits. Companies follow established financial accounting rules to calculate the value of the profits they report to shareholders and the public, Warren wrote in her post. But they follow a different set of tax accounting rules to calculate the profits they report to the IRS and pay corporate income taxes on. Because of relentless lobbying, our corporate income tax rules are filled with so many loopholes and exemptions and deductions that even companies that tell shareholders they have made more than a billion dollars in profits can end up paying no corporate income taxes.

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Her plan, Warren said, would mean Amazon would pay $698 million in taxes instead of paying zero.

In a crowded field of 17 candidates seeking the Democratic nomination, Warren  who has made a point of not courting big-money donors  placed fifth in the amount of individual donations she received in the first quarter of 2019. In a Morning Consult poll of 2020 contenders, Warren also placed fifth, behind former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Kamala Harris and former Rep. Beto ORourke.

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Read more from Yahoo News:
Prior to the publication of the stolen Democratic-party emails and internal documents, Julian Assange and WikiLeaks exhorted Russian government hackers to send them new material.

That is what we are told by Special Counsel Robert Muellers indictment of Russian intelligence officers. (I wont offend anyone by calling them spies  after all, they were just doing electronic surveillance authorized by their government, right?) Assange wanted the Russians to rest assured that giving new material to WikiLeaks (identified as Organization 1 in the indictment) would have a much higher impact than what you are doing  i.e., hacking and then putting the information out through other channels.

But time was of the essence. It was early 2016. If Hillary Clinton was not stopped right there and then, WikiLeaks warned, proceedings at the imminent Democratic national convention would solidify bernie supporters behind her. Of course, bernie is Bernie Sanders, the competitor who could still get the nomination. But if Assange and the Russians couldnt raise Bernies prospects, WikiLeaks explained, Mrs. Clinton would be a White House shoo-in: We think trump has only a 25% chance of winning against hillary . . . so conflict between bernie and hillary is interesting.

In a nutshell: Knowing that Russia had the capacity to hack the DNC and perhaps Clinton herself, WikiLeaks urged it to come up with new material and vowed to help bring it maximum public attention. By necessity, this desire to hurt Clinton would inure to Sanderss benefit. And sure enough, WikiLeaks eventually published tens of thousands of the Democratic emails hacked by Russian intelligence.

So . . . I have a few questions.

WikiLeaks, Moscow, and Bernie Sanders

First, why was there no Sanders-Russia probe? Why, when President Obama directed John Brennan, his hyper-political CIA director, to rush out a report on Russias influence operations, did we not hear about the WikiLeaks-Russia objective of helping Sanders win the Democratic nomination? Brennan & Co. couldnt tell us enough about our intelligence-agency mind readers confidence that Putin was rootin for Trump. Why nothing about the conspirators Feelin the Bern?

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Dont get me wrong: I dont think there is any basis for a criminal investigation of Senator Sanders. But there appears to have been no criminal predicate for a collusion investigation of Donald Trump, either  not a shred of public evidence that he conspired in the Putin regimes hacking, other than that presented in the Clinton-campaign-sponsored Steele dossier (if you can call that evidence  though even Christopher Steele admits its not). Yet, Trump was subjected to an investigation for more than two years  on the gossamer-light theory that Trump stood to benefit from Moscows perfidy.

Yes, of course, this cui bono claim was amplified by what were said to be Trumps intriguing, if noncriminal, ties to Russia. To my knowledge, however, the mythical pee tape of Steele lore has never been located; it is unlikely, then, that there are any Trump photos that compare, intrigue-wise, to a shirtless Bernie boozing it up in the Soviet Union. Surely that should have been worth a FISA warrant or four.

A more serious question: Why hasnt Assange been indicted for criminal collusion with the Kremlin  the same hacking conspiracy for which Mueller indicted the Russian operatives with whom Mueller says Assange collaborated? The same conspiracy for which the president of the United States, though not guilty, was under the FBIs microscope for nearly three years?

The Assange Indictment: Weak and Potentially Time-Barred

The most striking thing about the Assange indictment that the Justice Department did file is how thin it is, and how tenuous. Leaping years backwards, ignoring collusion with Russia, prosecutors allege a single cyber-theft count: a conspiracy between Assange and thenBradley (now Chelsea) Manning to steal U.S. defense secrets. This lone charge is punishable by as little as no jail time and a maximum sentence of just five years imprisonment (considerably less than the seven years Assange spent holed up in Ecuadors London embassy to avoid prosecution).

This is very peculiar. Manning, Assanges co-conspirator, has already been convicted of multiple felony violations of the espionage act  serious crimes that the Assange indictment says WikiLeaks helped Manning commit . . . but which the Justice Department has not charged against Assange.

Why? Probably because espionage charges are time-barred. Which brings us to the possibility  perhaps even the likelihood  that Assange will never see the inside of an American courtroom.

As I pointed out on Thursday, the 2010 Assange-Manning cyber-theft conspiracy charged by prosecutors is outside the standard five-year statute of limitations for federal crimes: The limitations period was already exhausted when the indictment was filed in 2018. To breathe life into the case, the Justice Department will have to convince both British and American judges that this comparatively minor conspiracy charge is actually a federal crime of terrorism, triggering a three-year statute-of-limitations extension.

For some reason, the extension statute  Section 2332b(g)(5)(B)  makes the extra three years applicable to cyber-theft offenses under Section 1030 of the penal code, but not espionage-act offenses under Section 793. I am skeptical, though, that the Justice Departments cyber-theft charge qualifies for the extension. Prosecutors havent charged a substantive cyber-theft violation under Section 1030; they have charged a conspiracy (under Section 371) to commit the Section 1030 offense. That is not the same thing. Typically, if Congress intends that its mention of a crime should be understood to include a conspiracy to commit that crime, it says so. It did not say so in the extension statute.

Why put all the prosecutorial eggs in such a rickety basket?

Protecting Muellers Russian-Hacking Indictment

England is a close ally, but getting its courts to extradite people for U.S. criminal proceedings is no lay-up. It is a laborious process, and the outcome, even in strong cases, is uncertain. The Justice Department knows this, yet in its indictment it elected not to charge the Russia conspiracy  a 2016 offense that has no statute-of-limitations problem. Why? If you want the Brits to transfer a defendant, you need to make a compelling showing. Why leave obvious, serious charges on the cutting-room floor? Mueller brought a dozen felony charges against the Russian operatives with whom, weve been told for over two years, Assange conspired. So why isnt Assange charged with at least some of these felonies?

Some argue that the Justice Department is nervous that, as a pseudo-journalist, Assange may have First Amendment protection from such charges. But then why charge the Manning conspiracy? The theory of Assanges guilt is the same in both the Russian-collusion and Manning-espionage situations: The WikiLeaks chief was not merely a journalist publicizing sensitive information; he was aiding, abetting, counseling, inducing, and procuring the theft of the sensitive information (to borrow the terms of the federal aiding and abetting statute). The Justice Department plainly believes that complicity in the theft shreds any claim to freedom of the press; there is no First Amendment right to steal information.

If this is the Justice Departments position, then why not charge Assange with the 2016 collusion conspiracy, too? If I were a cynic (perish the thought!), Id suspect that the government does not want Special Counsel Muellers Russian-hacking indictment to be challenged.

As I have explained previously, I accept the intelligence agencies conclusion, echoed by Mueller, that Russia was behind the hacking of Democratic email accounts. Nevertheless, there is a big difference between (a) accepting an intelligence conclusion based on probabilities, and (b) proving a key fact beyond a reasonable doubt in a criminal case.

The intelligence assessment here may be sound, but the legal case Mueller would have to prove to a jury has problems. To state the most obvious: The Justice Department and FBI did not perform elementary investigative steps, such as taking possession of, and performing their own forensic analysis on, the servers that were hacked. Instead, they relied on CrowdStrike, a contractor of the DNC, which has a strong motive to blame Russia.

Muellers team knew that no Russian defendant would ever actually be tried in a U.S. court on the hacking allegations. The indictment was more like a press release than a charging instrument. It was meant to be the last word on hacking: An authoritative version of events pronounced by a respected U.S. prosecutor that would never be challenged by skilled defense lawyers. The point was to put to rest the nettlesome How do we really know Russia did it? question raised by some former intelligence agents and hardcore Trump supporters.

But now . . . here comes Assange. He has always insisted that Russia was not WikiLeaks source. I dont believe him. I see him as a witting, anti-American tool of Moscow. But, to my chagrin, some in Trumps base  not all, but some  have made Assange their strange bedfellow, just as many libertarians and leftists embraced him when he was exposing U.S. national-security programs, intelligence methods, defense strategies, and foreign-relations information. These Trump supporters have convinced themselves that raising doubt about Russias culpability exonerates the president  even though the special counsel has already cleared Trump, regardless of what Russia (and Assange) were up to.

Consequently, if Assange were charged with the Russian-hacking conspiracy that Mueller has alleged, and if he were ever brought to the U.S. to face trial, he would maintain that he did not get the Democratic emails from Russian intelligence. Remember, a defendant does not have to prove anything: It would not be Assanges burden to establish Russias innocence; the Justice Department would have to prove Russias culpability.

Assanges fans would give lots of sunshine to his effort to exculpate Moscow. Indeed, even without Assange mounting a challenge to Muellers Russian-hacking indictment, some Trump supporters have tried to cast doubt on Russias guilt (see, e.g., here and here). And a group of dissenting intelligence-community veterans will continue arguing that CrowdStrikes analysis is flawed.

To sum up: If the Justice Department had indicted Assange for collusion, Muellers Russian-hacking indictment would no longer stand unchallenged. Assange would deny that Russia is behind the hacking, and prosecutors would have to try to prove it, using hard, admissible courtroom proof  not top-secret sources who cannot be called as witnesses without blowing their cover, or other information that might be reliable enough to support an intelligence finding but would be inadmissible under courtroom due-process standards. If the prosecutors were unable to establish Russias guilt to a jurys satisfaction, it would be a tremendous propaganda victory for the Kremlin, even if  as I believe  Russia is actually guilty.

This is part of why it was a mistake to indict the Russian intelligence officers. An indictment is never an authoritative statement; it is just an allegation, it proves nothing. We didnt need it to know what happened here. The indictment says nothing significant that we were not already told by the intelligence agencies assessment released to the public in January 2017.

Adversary countries are a security challenge, not a law-enforcement problem. Because they dont have to surrender their officials for an American trial, an indictment is a pointless gesture. But now, having with great fanfare filed charges against Russia that implicate Assange, the government shrinks from lodging these same charges against Assange  who, unlike the indicted Russian officials, may be in a position to put the government to its burden of proof. This just makes Muellers indictment of Russians look more like a publicity stunt than a serious allegation. If the government is afraid to try the allegations against Russia in court, people will naturally suspect the allegations are hype.

Meanwhile, let us remember: Despite a dearth of evidence that he was complicit in Moscows hacking, President Trump was forced by the Justice Department and the FBI, urged on by congressional Democrats, to endure a two-year investigation and to govern under a cloud of suspicion that he was an agent of the Kremlin. Now we have Assange, as to whom there is indisputable evidence of complicity in the hacking conspiracy, but the Justice Department declines to charge him with it  instead, positing the dubious Manning conspiracy that may very well be time-barred.

What is going on here?

More from National Review




A group of New York corner-store owners has announced a boycott on the sale of the New York Post, arguing that the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspapers attacks on congresswoman Ilhan Omar are making Muslim Americans less safe.

On Thursday, the Post published a front page featuring an image of the World Trade Center towers in flames on 11 September 2001 and a quote suggesting that Omar, a Somali American congresswoman from Minnesota who wears a hijab, had minimized the seriousness of the terror attacks in a speech last month.

Related: Ilhan Omar defended by Democrats after Trump uses 9/11 video in attack

In an open letter in response, the Yemeni American Merchants Association wrote that the front page provoked hatred and aims to harm Omar and her family and other people of the Islamic faith.

The group said it was calling on all Yemeni American bodega and deli owners as well as our community and allies across New York City to boycott the sale and purchase of the Post.

This is ugly pic.twitter.com/R2XVyS4dq8  Harry Siegel (@harrysiegel) April 11, 2019

The association represents Yemeni Americans who own and run an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 of New York Citys thousands of delis and corner stores, which are known as bodegas. Such stores are integral to the daily life of most New Yorkers, a crucial source of late-night snacks, morning coffee and newspapers and magazines.

Repeated criticism of Omar by the Post, the Murdoch-owned Fox News, Republican politicians and Donald Trump has been condemned by progressive Democrats, including presidential contenders who called the attacks dangerous and said they risked inciting violence.

Last week, a Trump supporter from New York state was arrested and charged after making a death threat against Omar. On Friday, Trump tweeted a video featuring part of Omars remarks to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, cut with footage from 9/11. He retweeted the message on Saturday.

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The Post published a brief story criticising the New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for her defense of Omar.

In its letter, the Yemeni American Merchants Association said the New York Post was undermin[ing] national unity and [enticing] violence and hate.

It added: This rhetoric threatens the safety and wellbeing of Omar, Muslim leaders, and the larger Muslim American community at a time when Islamophobia is at an all-time high.

Ayyad Algabyali, the groups director of advocacy, told the Guardian: Its not the first time that the New York Post basically spreads hate and fear in their newspapers.

Selling the New York Post might bring merchants a little profit, he added, but it also means you are committing to sell violence and hate in the community, and thats totally unacceptable.

There was no end date to the boycott, he said, adding: This might be for good.

Algabyali said news of the boycott had gone viral on Twitter, and that the group hoped other merchant associations might join in solidarity. The group had already received support from some Uber and Lyft drivers, he said, who were helping spread news about the boycott from one bodega to another.

This is not the Yemeni American Merchants Associations first major political action. It was formed two years ago, in the wake of a a Yemeni bodega strike protesting Trumps travel ban against several Muslim-majority countries.
WASHINGTON  A freshman member of Congress has stirred controversy  again.

This time it was remarks made by Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., about the terror attacks on 9/11, referring to the terrorists as "some people." The comments sparked criticism from one of her Republican colleagues in Congress and caused a Fox News host to question her allegiance to the U.S.

On Thursday, the New York Post blasted the Democrat in a large spread on their front page. The cover showed the Twin Towers burning after a pair of jetliners crashed into them. The headline reads: Rep. Ilhan Omar: 9/11 was 'some people did something.' Here's your something. 2,977 people dead by terrorism"

Here's what we know about Omar's comments, both the full context of them and the reaction they've received:

What she said:

Omar was speaking at a dinner last month for the Council of American-Islamic Relations in California, one week after the attacks targeting two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The attacks left 50 people dead.

She spoke to the Muslim community about their resilience and their rights to live a full life like all Americans, saying that while the attack was a "tragic nightmare," it wasn't surprising.

"Many of us were not shocked or surprised, many of us were kind of waiting, holding our breath for a really long time thinking when will something like this happen," Omar said, noting the constant threats targeting mosques, schools and minorities.

While not naming President Donald Trump, Omar noted that our leader in the White House has helped worsen these issues.

More: Conservatives bash Ilhan Omar for reference to 9/11 as 'something' that 'some people did'

More: Donald Trump Jr. slams Ilhan Omar for calling Stephen Miller a 'white nationalist'

"I think that many of us knew that this was going to get worse because we finally have a leader, a world, leader, in the White House, who publicly says Islam hates us, who fuels hate against Muslims, who thinks it is OK, it is OK to speak about a faith and a whole community in a way that is dehumanizing," Omar said.

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She said she is often asked, "How have you gotten empowered, and I say I was born this way," Omar said. "It is not about how others make us feel, it is what we tell ourselves that we are worthy."

But, she said, Muslims must not be defeated by hatred. She said while her community is taught to live a simple life in order to fit in, that has not worked. She stressed the importance of speaking out and showing up, then Omar made comments about 9/11, which drew both headlines and criticism.

Heres the truth. Far too long we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen and, frankly, Im tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it. CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties. So you cant just say that today someone is looking at me strange, that I am trying to make myself look pleasant. You have to say this person is looking at me strange, I am not comfortable with it, and I am going to talk to them and ask them why. Because that is the right you have.

The full context?

Some have argued that Omar's comments about 9/11 being "something" that was done by "some people" were taken out of context.

Will Saletan, a national correspondent for Slate, said Omar used some to "distinguish terrorists from 'all' Muslimes." Jon Swaine, a reporter for the Guardian, wrote on Twitter that Omar "did mention terrorists  in the build-up to the very snippet now being used to attack her."

Stories from Vox, the HuffPost and Yahoo News have called the remarks out of context, but some conservatives have dismissed that notion.

More: Trump trolls Rep. Omar, who was victim of death threat, boasts Israeli relations at Vegas event

Absolute hogwash. You're covering for her. Her "terrorist" mention has zero to do w/ the 9/11 part. If anything, actual context for her remarks make them even more conspiratorial and deranged. Rep. Omar should tell us what she believes happened on 9/11.https://t.co/rv0FjXpSYv  Jordan Schachtel (@JordanSchachtel) April 10, 2019

Jordan Schachtel, a writer for the Conservative Review, said listening to the full speech makes her comments "even more conspiratorial and deranged." Schachtel argued that Swaine was "covering for" Omar.

"Absolute hogwash. You're covering for her," he said in reply to Swaine. "Her 'terrorist' mention has zero to do w/ the 9/11 part. If anything, actual context for her remarks make them even more conspiratorial and deranged. Rep. Omar should tell us what she believes happened on 9/11."

New York Post cover:

NY Post puts burning Twin Towers on cover to attack Ilhan Omar https://t.co/LdaaF9H0GU pic.twitter.com/bpcI77RR2M  Talking Points Memo (@TPM) April 11, 2019

The New York Post cover divided those online, including members of Congress. Omar's Democratic colleagues, notably other freshmen elected in November, came to her defense calling the cover shameful.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., called the front page "horrifying and hateful."

Im not going to quote the NY Posts horrifying, hateful cover.



Heres 1 fact: @IlhanMN is a cosponsor of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. Shes done more for 9/11 families than the GOP who wont even support healthcare for 1st responders- yet are happy to weaponize her faith.  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 11, 2019

"Im not going to quote the NY Posts horrifying, hateful cover," said the progressive firebrand. "Heres 1 fact: @IlhanMN is a cosponsor of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. Shes done more for 9/11 families than the GOP who wont even support healthcare for 1st responders- yet are happy to weaponize her faith."

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, who has also drawn scrutiny for her progressive ideas and says she has also been targeted with death threats, continued to defend Omar at the House Democratic retreat in Leesburg, Virginia.

The level to which Republicans and conservative groups, whether they are officially party apparatuses sending out emails calling me and others domestic terrorists or whether its Rupert Murdoch and the New York Post printing on the front page to circulate all around New York City an image that is incredibly upsetting and triggering for New Yorkers that were actually there and were actually in the radius who woke up (that) morning or were in their schools and didnt know if they were going to see their parents at the end of the day, to elicit such an image for such a transparently and politically motivated attack on Ilhan, we are getting to a level where this is an incitement of violence against progressive women of color," Ocasio-Cortez told reporters. "If they cant figure out how to get it back to policy, we need to call it out for what it is because this is not normal."

Fellow freshman Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., said the cover could further endanger Omar's life. The controversy erupted just days after a New York man was arrested after threatening to put a "bullet" in her "skull."

"The NY Post knows exactly what it's doing - taking quotes out of context and evoking painful imagery to spread hate and endangering the life of Rep. Omar," Tlaib said on Twitter. "Shame on them, and shame on Rupert Murdoch."

The NY Post knows exactly what it's doing - taking quotes out of context and evoking painful imagery to spread hate and endangering the life of Rep. Omar. Shame on them, and shame on Rupert Murdoch.  Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) April 11, 2019

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said "I thought it was a pretty outrageous cover."

MSNBC host Chris Hayes denounced it on Twitter. "Not gonna link to it but that NY Post cover is despicable," he wrote.

But some, including Republican Rep. Brian Babin, of Texas, applauded the cover.

"Thank you to the New York Post for illustrating to my colleague, Rep. Ilhan Omar, that 9/11 was not just 'some people did something' and that the real victims were the 2,977 innocent lives taken by 19 radical Islamic terrorists," Babin wrote on Facebook.

Not the first controversy surrounding Omar

Before her comments on 9/11 were unearthed, Omar sparked controversy over her criticism of Israel's treatment of Palestinians and Israel lobbying efforts.

She posted a series of tweets in February implying the influence of pro-Israel lobbying groups was stifling debate about Israel and Palestine. Critics said the comments played into enduring stereotypes about Jewish money controlling politics.

In the aftermath of the controversy, the House passed a resolution that broadly condemned hate. It was originally crafted solely on denouncing anti-Semitism but later broadened to condemning other forms of bigotry against minorities.

More: 'Ill put a bullet in her': Trump supporter charged with threatening to kill Rep. Ilhan Omar

More: House overwhelmingly passes resolution condemning hate after Rep. Ilhan Omar's comments

More: Poster tying Rep. Ilhan Omar to 9/11 attack sparks angry confrontation in W.Va. Capitol

Omar, along with Tlaib, were the first two Muslim women elected to Congress. Both were sworn into office in January.

The attention she's gotten has led to death threats, including by a New York man who was arrested last week after calling her office and threatening to kill her.

"Do you work for the Muslim Brotherhood? Why are you working for her, she's an (expletive) terrorist," Patrick W. Carlineo, a Trump supporter, is accused of telling a member of Omar's staff. "Ill put a bullet in her (expletive) skull."

Along with the threats, a display in the West Virginia statehouse equated Omar to al-Qaida terrorists behind the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. The poster sparked a confrontation between Republican and Democratic lawmakers on Friday, according to NBC News. One person was physically injured and another resigned as a result of the incident that centered around the freshman Minnesota Democrat, NBC reported.

The poster shows an image of the World Trade Center just after terrorists hit the second tower with a civilian airliner. "'Never forget'  you said ... " reads the caption above the image of the burning towers.

"I am the proof  you have forgotten" reads the next caption below an image of Omar, who is Muslim.

Contributing: Ledyard King, reporting from Leesburg, Virginia for USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New York Post rips Rep. Ilhan Omar over 9/11 comments. Here's what we know about her remarks
Bitcoin miners flocking to Iran for cheap electricity amid an ongoing clampdown by the Chinese government are in for a rude awakening. | Source:: Lars Hagberg / AFP

Many Chinese bitcoin miners migrated to Iran in 2018 for its cheap electricity amid Chinas crackdown on crypto mining. However, theyre finding the harsh environment in the authoritarian regime unwelcoming.

Feng Liu operates a bitcoin mine holding over 20,000 units of Antminer T9. He told Chinese crypto website 8BTC News that many Chinese crypto miners flocked to Iran last year because electricity is cheap (as low as $0.006 per kilowatt-hour) in the oil-rich nation.

If you want to invest in power plants in Iran, the government there will supply free natural gas for the first five years, which further lowers electricity costs. Gasoline costs only 0.6 yuan ($0.09) per liter and diesel 0.4 yuan ($0.06) per liter. Labor cost is also quite cheap.

Bitcoin Mining Rigs Get Confiscated at Border

However, because of Irans generous electricity subsidy, the government has banned energy-devouring crypto mining rigs at border checks. As a result, mining equipment get confiscated at the border.

Liu says he was able to import 3,000 T9 miners into Iran last year with the help of several friendly border agents, who declared the rigs as computer processors. However, he has had trouble importing additional mining gear.

Read the full story on CCN.com.
(Bloomberg) -- Dar es Salaam, Lagos and Addis Ababa could be the next stop for a Kenyan fresh-produce distribution platform in its quest to disrupt food-supply chains in Africa.

Twiga Foods Ltd. aggregates farm produce and distributes it to vendors at street corners or market stalls in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, through a mobile phone-based supply platform. In the countrys fragmented retail market, where 90 percent of food is sold through informal outlets, the tech startup is trying to create efficiency to lower food prices.

A banana in a Nairobi supermarket costs more than a banana in London, while the average income of a consumer in the U.K. is 30 times compared to Kenya, Peter Njonjo, Twigas co-founder, said in an interview in Nairobi. This is true for many African cities and our vision is to leverage technology and organize a more efficient value chain that lowers food prices.

Many Kenyans in the Nairobi metropolitan area, which has about 6.5 million people, spend an average of 45 percent of their disposable income on food, Njonjo said. Many cities on the continent face similar challenges - urbanization outpacing infrastructure development, inefficient agriculture and a fragmented retail industry, he said.

If it works here, the key thing is we would want to find a way to scale and get into those cities and offer the same products and services, he said.

Nairobi is growing into a tech hub creating solutions for problems common in the developing world. In the past six years, Kenya received 58 percent of reported investment deals in East Africa, according to the Africa Private Equity Venture Capital Association.

Big Cities

Twiga is first eyeing other East African cities, such as Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. It plans to then move on to Africas most populous city, Lagos, where Njonjo worked for three years as Coca-Cola Co.s regional head for West and Central Africa before becoming Twigas chief executive officer.

Story continues

For us the icing would be Lagos, he said. We will remain very centric to big urban cities, because thats where the problem is biggest.

Twiga sources the fruits and vegetables from 17,000 farmers and delivers directly to 180,000 informal retailers daily in Nairobi and its environs, creating a predictable market for growers and reducing transport costs for the vendors.

To beat Nairobis notorious traffic, the firm dispatches its trucks early in the morning so they are at its neighborhood depots where it distributes to kiosks.

Twiga will face a formidable challenge integrating logistics systems in the other African countries they target, and uptake may be slow in markets that dont embrace change quickly, said Gerald Muriuki, a technology analyst at Nairobi-based investment bank Genghis Capital.

In Nigeria, theyll have to contend with perennial power shortages, according to Eric Musau, head of research at Standard Investment Bank in Nairobi. It boils down to cost and how soon they can turn profitable, he said.

Funding Expansion

Other than distribution, Twiga is also working with selected farmers to modernize food production and expects dispatches to increase to 200-300 metric tons per day by the end of the year from about 120 tons currently, he said.

The company has raised $35 million from venture capital and convertible notes since inception in 2013. This year, Twiga will conduct a second round of financing to fund expansion in Nairobi and another round in 2020 for growth outside of Kenya, Njonjo said.

Existing investors include Wamda Capital, which had invested in the Middle Eastern ride-hailing company Careem Networks FZ that Uber Technologies Inc. bought for $3.1 billion in a cash and stock deal last month.

We have a good captive audience of investors we can walk this journey with, Njonjo said.

(Updates with analyst comment in 12th paragraph.)

To contact the reporter on this story: Bella Genga in Nairobi at bgenga2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Malingha at dmalingha@bloomberg.net, Helen Nyambura, Ana Monteiro

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Sudan's second new military leader in as many days vowed Saturday to "uproot" deposed president Omar al-Bashir's regime and release protesters, in a bid to placate demonstrators demanding civilian rule. "I announce the restructuring of state institutions according to the law and pledge to fight corruption and uproot the regime and its symbols," General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said, a day after he was sworn in to head Sudan's new ruling military council. He also ordered the release of all prisoners jailed by special emergency courts and the immediate lifting of a night-time curfew imposed by the council earlier this week. Career soldier Burhan took the helm of Sudan's transitional military council on Friday when his predecessor General Awad Ibn Ouf -- a close aide of ousted veteran president Bashir -- quit after little more than 24 hours in power. Burhan also pledged Saturday that individuals implicated in killing protesters would face justice. His initial announcements indicated he wanted to show the tens of thousands of protesters on the streets that he is not part of the regime's old guard and was genuinely committed to reform. He also accepted the resignation of the head of the feared National Intelligence and Security Service, Salah Abdallah Mohammed Salih -- widely known as Salih Ghosh -- the military council announced. Salih Ghosh had overseen a sweeping crackdown against protesters in four months of mass demonstrations that led to the army's toppling of Bashir on Thursday. - Demand for civilian rule - Dozens of protesters were killed and thousands of activists, opposition leaders and journalists arrested. The police said Friday that 16 people had been killed in live fire in Khartoum alone over the previous two days as NISS agents led a last stand for Bashir before the army intervened. But in a statement Saturday evening, Burhan said the deputy chief of the NISS was a member of the newly formed 10-member council which also includes the police chief and military figures. Burhan named as the council's deputy Mohammad Hamdan Daglo, who is also known as Himeidti, field commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) counter-insurgency unit, which rights groups have accused of abuses in war-torn Darfur. A photograph published by state news agency SUNA had shown Burhan talking with protesters outside army headquarters on Friday, before his elevation to the top job. Khartoum erupted with joy when Ibn Ouf tendered his resignation on Friday night barely 24 hours after taking the oath of office. But protest organisers urged demonstrators to keep up their week-old vigil outside army headquarters. Ibn Ouf had served as Bashir's defence minister right up to the president's downfall, ending three decades of iron-fisted rule. A former military intelligence chief, Ibn Ouf remains under US sanctions for his role in the regime's brutal response to a 2003 ethnic minority rebellion in Darfur region. Bashir himself came to power in a 1989 Islamist military coup, toppling an elected government led by Sadiq al-Mahdi. Burhan comes with less baggage from Bashir's deeply unpopular rule than Ibn Ouf. The grass-roots Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) composed of doctors, teachers and engineers, has spearheaded the nationwide protests. While welcoming Ibn Ouf's departure, it demanded that Burhan swiftly "transfer the powers of the military council to a transitional civilian government" and said it would continue to stage sit-ins to that end. - 'Violating the constitution' - Bashir remained in custody and his National Congress Party on Saturday urged the military council to release arrested members. "We consider (the) taking of power by the military council as violating the constitution's legitimacy," the NCP said in a statement. "The NCP rejects the detention of its leaders, among them its acting president" Ahmed Harun, it added, calling for their immediate release. Outside the Middle East, the formation of a military government to replace Bashir has met with widespread criticism. The African Union said Bashir's overthrow by the military was "not the appropriate response to the challenges facing Sudan and the aspirations of its people". The Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD) called for dialogue and a peaceful transition of power, in a joint statement from their summit in Ndjamena, Chad. The European Union urged the army to carry out a "swift" handover to civilian rule, and former colonial ruler Britain said that the two-year transition announced by the military "is not the answer." "We need to see a swift move to an inclusive, representative, civilian leadership," said Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt. But Saudi Arabia backed the transitional military council and promised an aid package including, wheat, medicine and "petroleum products", the Saudi Press Agency reported Saturday. Members of the military council have sought to reassure foreign diplomats about its intentions. "This is not a military coup, but taking the side of the people," the council's political chief Lieutenant General Omar Zain al-Abdin told Arab and African diplomats at a meeting broadcast on state television on Friday. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has longstanding arrest warrants against Bashir for suspected genocide and war crimes during the regime's brutal campaign of repression in Darfur. But the military council has said it would never extradite him or any other Sudanese citizen. Sudanese celebrate in Khartoum on April 13, 2019, after an announcement by Sudan's new military ruler, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who indicated he wanted to show protesters on the streets that he isnot part of the regime's old guard Young Sudanese sit atop a military vehicle as the country's second new military leader in as many days announced on April 13, 2019 the release of prisoners, the lifting of a curfew, and other measures The head of Sudan's feared National Intelligence and Security Service, Salih Ghosh, oversaw a sweeping crackdown against protesters before his dismissal Sudan's second new military ruler in as many days, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, is seen talking with protesters before he assumed power outside army headquarters, in a photograph released by state news agency SUNA Young Sudanese celebrate outside army headquarters in Khartoum after an announcement on April 13, 2019, by Sudan's new military ruler General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who pledged that individuals implicated in killing protesters would face justice Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Abdulrahman, the new chief of Sudan's ruling military council pictured in a grab from Sudan TV on April 13, 2019, comes with less baggage from the rule of Omar al-Bashir
In a rare move of unity, the world agreed to curb global warming and reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses in Paris in 2016. Despite President Trumps decision to unilaterally withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement, renewable energy remains high on the agenda of policymakers and energy professionals. The EU intends to become the first significant climate neutral economy by 2050. The widespread installment of wind turbines and photovoltaic cells has created another problem: intermittent energy production requires storage capacity.

In order to maintain a stable electricity grid and prevent blackouts, production and consumption need to be in balance. The intermittent nature of renewables is a headache for utility companies. Germany has invested 200 billion in its domestic wind and solar power infrastructure which occasionally produces much more than is consumed which leads to a loss of wealth. It brings about negative prices and possibly the (temporary) disconnection of renewables from the grid. The opposite is also a likelihood when renewables dont produce sufficient energy which requires supplementation from, for example, dirtier coal-fired power plants.

To store power during windy and sunny days, both batteries and hydrogen, or H 2 , can be used. The former has already been applied on a regional level such as Teslas big battery which has kept the notorious South Australian grid relatively stable. Production on an industrial scale, however, leads to other problems which are often the result of mining activities. Related: Shell Ventures Into Chinas Shale Oil

A cleaner alternative is hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe. Since its discovery in the 17th century, hydrogen has been used in a variety of appliances in the chemical industry. It can, however, also be used in the energy sector where H 2 is not an energy source, but an energy carrier meaning it requires power to produce it.

(Click to enlarge)

Currently, most of the hydrogen consumed is produced through the process of steaming which converts methane into H 2 and Co 2 . In order to become an integral part of the energy system of the future with a carbon neutral characteristic, hydrogen needs to be produced by the environmentally friendly process of electrolysis which converts electricity into H 2 and O 2 . The process, however, is relatively inefficient as a significant amount of power is lost during production and conversion.

(Click to enlarge)

The growth in generation capacity of renewables could provide a solution to this problem. Currently, the intermittent nature of wind and solar power sometimes leads to a waste of power. Especially during moments of excessive production hydrogen could be the solution. Redundant electricity could be absorbed to produce H 2 and store it for moments when prices are favorable enough to convert it back into power.

Hydrogen can also be used to power fuel cell electric vehicles or FCEV. Japanese automakers such as Toyota are betting on FCEVs instead of battery cell powered EVs to become the future of the automobile industry. Batteries, however, have two advantages: charging doesn't require additional infrastructure as the existing electricity grid is used, and prices have dropped significantly. Due to the continued decreasing costs of batteries, EVs are increasingly able to compete with traditional automobiles with internal combustion engines.

Related: Oil Markets Set For Further Disruption

Another downside of FCEVs compared to EVs is the relative loss of power. The production of hydrogen and conversion into electricity leads to a significant loss of energy. The most efficient method to produce and consume hydrogen in vehicles requires almost twice the production capacity compared to battery-powered cars.

(Click to enlarge)

Despite the considerable loss of power, hydrogen's abundance and clean nature could make it an indispensable link in the energy system of the future. Also, further research concerning H 2 production and conversion could lead to higher efficiency and improved applicability. The EU has designated hydrogen as a tool to reduce greenhouse gasses. In Asia, Chinese companies have put their focus on a million FCEV vehicles by 2030. The increased attention for hydrogen together with the rise of renewables could herald an era of rapid technological development. It could lead to higher efficiency and lower prices which is exactly what the industry needs.

By Vanand Meliksetian for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Last week Saudi Aramco  the national oil company of Saudi Arabia and the worlds largest oil company  lifted a veil of secrecy around the companys operations. For the first time in decades, operational details for Saudi Aramco were revealed in a bond offering. (A PDF link of the prospectus is here).

The immediate takeaway  which I covered in the previous article  was that the reported breakeven costs for Saudi Aramco were higher than the numbers that are frequently reported. However, other news stories have focused on an apparent bombshell around production at the Saudi Ghawar oilfield, which is the worlds largest conventional onshore oil field.

Conventional wisdom held that Ghawar has been producing 5 million barrels per day (BPD) of crude oil for decades. The prospectus notes that Ghawar has produced more than half of the Kingdoms cumulative oil production to date, but it reported that 2018 production was only 3.8 million BPD.

That number resulted in several stories that suggested that Ghawar production has peaked and is falling fast. (For example: The Biggest Saudi Oil Field Is Fading Faster Than Anyone Guessed).

I dont believe this number alone supports such conclusions. I think it is an example of confirmation bias, which refers to a persons tendency to interpret information as confirmation of existing beliefs.

There is another possible interpretation. Saudi Arabia has long played the role of the worlds swing producer in the oil markets. They maintain spare production capacity. This has allowed them to raise and lower production according to their views of market demand and agreed-upon OPEC quotas.

So, it is possible that Ghawar is simply not operating at full capacity. Given the information from the prospectus, one can just as easily make this conclusion as to conclude that Ghawar production is in decline. I dont know which interpretation is correct, but we shouldnt make hasty conclusions based on limited information. Related: Soaring Permian Output To Cap Oil Rally

Notably, the people most likely to accept the interpretation that Ghawar is rapidly declining are the same people who reject Saudi Arabias claim  repeated in the prospectus  that its oil and gas reserves are equivalent to 257 billion barrels. Again, unless there is good objective reasoning for rejecting a reserves number while embracing a production number, this may be confirmation bias in action.

Last week Saudi Aramco  the national oil company of Saudi Arabia and the worlds largest oil company  lifted a veil of secrecy around the companys operations. For the first time in decades, operational details for Saudi Aramco were revealed in a bond offering. (A PDF link of the prospectus is here).

The immediate takeaway  which I covered in the previous article  was that the reported breakeven costs for Saudi Aramco were higher than the numbers that are frequently reported. However, other news stories have focused on an apparent bombshell around production at the Saudi Ghawar oilfield, which is the worlds largest conventional onshore oil field.

Conventional wisdom held that Ghawar has been producing 5 million barrels per day (BPD) of crude oil for decades. The prospectus notes that Ghawar has produced more than half of the Kingdoms cumulative oil production to date, but it reported that 2018 production was only 3.8 million BPD.

That number resulted in several stories that suggested that Ghawar production has peaked and is falling fast. (For example: The Biggest Saudi Oil Field Is Fading Faster Than Anyone Guessed).

I dont believe this number alone supports such conclusions. I think it is an example of confirmation bias, which refers to a persons tendency to interpret information as confirmation of existing beliefs. Related: BP Pulls Out Of Chinas Shale Patch

There is another possible interpretation. Saudi Arabia has long played the role of the worlds swing producer in the oil markets. They maintain spare production capacity. This has allowed them to raise and lower production according to their views of market demand and agreed-upon OPEC quotas.

So, it is possible that Ghawar is simply not operating at full capacity. Given the information from the prospectus, one can just as easily make this conclusion as to conclude that Ghawar production is in decline. I dont know which interpretation is correct, but we shouldnt make hasty conclusions based on limited information.

Notably, the people most likely to accept the interpretation that Ghawar is rapidly declining are the same people who reject Saudi Arabias claim  repeated in the prospectus  that its oil and gas reserves are equivalent to 257 billion barrels. Again, unless there is good objective reasoning for rejecting a reserves number while embracing a production number, this may be confirmation bias in action.

By Robert Rapier

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
- Copper prices have rebounded from last years lows on supply concerns, but new investment is lacking. - [B]ecause prices have been relatively low since mid-last year and the trade tensions initiated by the US are generating uncertainty, virtually no investment is being made at present in major new copper projects, Commerzbank

- Oil prices hit fresh highs for 2019 this week, pushed up by a tightening market and concerns over Libya. - However, price volatility has been declining, a pattern consistent with a tightening in physical markets following the OPEC+ output cuts, rather than (as in H2-2018) an expected, but unrealized, future tightening, Standard Chartered wrote in a note. - Front-month Brent volatility began the year above 50%, but now stands at just 13%. The volatility curve is lower than in previous years, with the back below 8%, the bank said. - History suggests that when OPEC abandons market management, prices are more volatile. The market was highly volatile following the 2014 OPEC decision to produce at a maximum levels and not intervene, while volatility dropped significantly when the OPEC+ group initiated the first round of cuts in 2017. - Once again, volatility has fallen this year as the cuts were phased in, even though prices are rising.

Friday April 12, 2019

1. Oil prices moving higher, but volatility lower

- Oil prices hit fresh highs for 2019 this week, pushed up by a tightening market and concerns over Libya.

- However, price volatility has been declining, a pattern consistent with a tightening in physical markets following the OPEC+ output cuts, rather than (as in H2-2018) an expected, but unrealized, future tightening, Standard Chartered wrote in a note.

- Front-month Brent volatility began the year above 50%, but now stands at just 13%. The volatility curve is lower than in previous years, with the back below 8%, the bank said.

- History suggests that when OPEC abandons market management, prices are more volatile. The market was highly volatile following the 2014 OPEC decision to produce at a maximum levels and not intervene, while volatility dropped significantly when the OPEC+ group initiated the first round of cuts in 2017.

- Once again, volatility has fallen this year as the cuts were phased in, even though prices are rising.

2. Copper up, but investment lacking

- Copper prices have rebounded from last years lows on supply concerns, but new investment is lacking.

- [B]ecause prices have been relatively low since mid-last year and the trade tensions initiated by the US are generating uncertainty, virtually no investment is being made at present in major new copper projects, Commerzbank wrote in a report.

- Copper prices are up to $6,500 per ton, but that is not high enough for new projects.

- An estimated 1 million tons of copper capacity is expected to come online through 2023, according to Bloomberg, but that may not be enough to close an emerging supply gap.

- We are looking at a classic resource cycle, Colin Hamilton, managing editor for commodities at BMO Capital Markets, told Bloomberg. No one has copper coming now, when it is needed, but everyone has projects coming 2022-2023 - potentially after weve had to drive some substitution.

3. Libya faces potential supply outage

- The attack on Tripoli by the Libyan National Army threatens to disrupt the countrys oil supply.

- Libya once produced 1.6 mb/d, before the fall of Dictator Muammar Qaddafi in 2011. But in the years following his ouster, Libya struggled with civil war and flagging production. It took until 2017 before the countrys output began to rebound.

- The restoration of the Sharara oil field  the countrys largest with a capacity of 300,000 bpd  in February helped push Libyan output back above 1 mb/d.

- That is now under threat. The LNA has protected Libyas oil fields and kept them open, but it does so by paying off local militias. It may be unable to do that if it becomes stretched thin by its assault on Tripoli.

4. Oil discoveries on the rise

- After years of wallowing in the doldrums, new oil discoveries are on the rise. Global discoveries of conventional oil reserves hit 3.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in the first quarter of this year, according to Rystad Energy.

- In February, the industry found 2.2 billion boe, the best month for new discoveries since August 2015 when Eni (NYSE: E) found the Zohr gas field off the coast of Egypt.

- If the rest of 2019 continues at a similar pace, this year will be on track to exceed last years discovered resources by 30%, Taiyab Zain Shariff, Upstream Analyst at Rystad Energy, said in a statement.

- So far, ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) has been the most successful, announcing three discoveries this year, which combined accounts for nearly 40 percent of the global total.

- From a global perspective, the push for substantial new discoveries shows no signs of slowing down, with another 35 high impact exploration wells expected to be drilled this year, both onshore and offshore, Rystad Energy wrote in its report.

5. Natural gas crashes coal prices

- Coal prices have crashed from $120 per metric ton last June at its peak, to just $78 in Newcastle recently.

- The decline comes from a combination of US and Indonesian production rising strongly on high prices, and seaborne demand softening on trade wars and a general slowdown in manufacturing across US, EU and China, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

- The investment bank expects prices to remain at these low levels, with risk on the downside.

- The more that natural gas becomes available, via a proliferation of LNG export terminals, the more pressure on coal there will be.

- In fact, LNG itself is facing a short- and medium-term glut.

- A global oversupply of gas and resulting coal to gas switching in Europe has put downward pressure on European coal prices especially, and we expect this to persist as more US liquefaction capacity starts up in 2H19, Bank of America Merrill Lynch concluded.

6. Bitcoin rally could be stalled by China ban

- Bitcoin has staged a remarkable rally this month, moving back above $5,000.

- But the cryptocurrency market faces a severe challenge as China announced plans to ban crypto mining.

- Chinas powerful National Development Reform Commission targeted cryptocurrency mining for elimination because it seriously wasted resources.

- About 70 percent of Bitcoin mining and 90 percent of trades occurs in China, according to Bloomberg.

- The Chinese government wants to run them out of business.

7. Battery costs continue to fall

- Lithium-ion battery prices have declined by 85 percent since 2010. A wave of new battery factories are set to come online in China, Thailand and the United States, which could drive down battery prices further, according to Bloomberg.

- Lithium-ion batteries cost $1,160 per kilowatt hour in 2010, according to Bloomberg NEF. That fell to just $176/kWh in 2018, and could decline further to below $100/kWh by 2020.

- Many industry analysts have said that a different battery  one that is not based on lithium  will be necessary to accelerate the energy transition. Lithium is costly and the batteries lack the energy density of other promising technologies.

- But falling prices and the proliferation of factories likely means that lithium-ion batteries will entrench their position in the market.
This week president Donald Trump signed two executive orders aimed at speeding up the development and functionality of oil and gas projects in the United States. The orders will ease the process of building new oil and gas pipelines and put up extra hurdles for state agencies that want to intervene, a move immediately decried by many state officials and environmentalists.

The executive orders are intended to curtail officials power to limit the oil and gas sector at the state level by changing federal agencies issued instructions, or guidance. One executive order further includes a directive to curb shareholder ballot initiatives concerning environmental and social policies, while the second order, focused on border-crossing energy projects, takes the power to approve or deny pipelines and other infrastructure crossing over the countrys borders away from the Secretary of State and gives the responsibility wholly to the president.

Furthermore, President Trumps executive action also specifically directs the Department of Transportation to change its rules concerning the transport of natural gas, requiring the agency to permit the shipment of liquefied natural gas by rail and by tanker truck. This detail of Wednesdays executive orders has already proven to be extremely divisive. The directive would open up new markets with major demand for U.S. natural gas but moving the potentially explosive substance by rail could cause potentially catastrophic accidents if one of these train cars were to derail.

Related: European Markets Defy The Biggest Oil Rally In A Decade

Despite the risks, the move is counted as a major victory for railroads and the natural gas sector, which have been lobbying for years for just this sort of initiative. Proponents of the order argue that its necessary to deliver natural gas to the needy Northeast, where there are not sufficient pipelines to meet demand. They also argue that delivering more natural gas to the U.S. Northeast via road and rail would make it possible to use LNG to power ships and trains. One such advocate, head of the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas trade group Charlie Riedl, told Bloomberg that there are all sorts of new opportunities where you can use rail much more efficiently.

The initiative has other potential benefits as well, such as offsetting the steep decline of coal shipments by rail, but for many, the drawbacks far outweigh all these silver linings. You dont need to look too far to find plenty of cautionary tales from previous experiments in sending oil and gas by rail, from spills, explosions, and accidents to a runaway oil train in Quebec that killed nearly 50 people when it derailed in a small town in 2013.

The natural gas that would be shipped in train cars and tanker trucks will be chilled to 260 degrees Fahrenheit below zero (-167 Celsius) and is extremely space efficient, taking up just 1/600th of its volume in a gaseous state. This form of liquefied natural gas is already being shipped all around the world all the time, including within the U.S., where it is driven in trucks to storage facilities.

Related: Is This The End Of The OPEC Deal?

In this liquefied, super-chilled state, natural gas is not flammable on its own and cannot be ignited and is actually considered much safer to ship than crude oil. While that sounds like any cause for alarm and cries of bomb trains is overblown, however, there is still a wide margin for risk if a tank of LNG were ruptured or caused in any other way to come into contact with air. When exposed to air, the liquefied natural gas will rapidly convert back into an ultra-flammable gas and begin to evaporate.

One staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, Emily Jeffers, told Bloomberg that Trumps plan to ship natural gas by rail is a disaster waiting to happen, going on to say that under the guidelines of the executive order youre transporting an extraordinarily flammable and dangerous substance through highly populated areas with basically no environmental protection.

By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
A Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan Friday struck out a suit filed by the Minister of Communication, Mr Adebayo Shittu, against the All Progressives Congress (APC) for excluding his name from the list of gubernatorial aspirants in 2019 general election over his inability to present his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC ) certificate.

The APC had refused to allow Shittu to participate in the Oyo State gubernatorial primary becausehe failed to take part in the NYSC scheme after his graduation from the university.

The presiding judge, Justice P. I. Ajoku, while dismissing the suit, said Shittu did not file the case within the time stipulated by law.

She said: I must first consider the provision of Section 285 of the Constitution that makes it mandatory for all pre-election matters to be filed within 14 days of occurrence.

This particular case was not filed within 14 days, but outside the date. Therefore, I will not bother going into the merit of the case.

Havent failed to satisfy the dictates of the constitution, the matter is hereby struck out.

The defence counsel, Mr. Adebayo Ojo, in his reaction, said the law has taken its due course.

The judge acted by the 1999 Constitution and it is a victory for democracy, the former Oyo State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice said.

The counsel to Shittu, Mr. Abdulhakeem Mustafa

(SAN), had tendered a 38-paragraph affidavit and 13 exhibits to support his claims with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He prayed the court to determine whether the action of his party to omit his name in the list of gubernatorial aspirants was lawful or a contravention of the constitution.
Kudirat Afolabi, the Nigerian widow and mother of two executed in Saudi Arabia, carried drugs on her body, including her private parts, it has been revealed.

Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Relations and the Diaspora, made the revelation on Friday while spekaing with NAN.

According to Dabiri-Erewa, the clarification became necessary so as to educate the public on the circumstances leading to the execution of the Nigerian.

Afolabi was executed alongside two Pakistani men and one Yemeni man, bringing the total number of people killed by Saudi Arabia this year to 53.

There had been attempts, especially on social media, to link Afolabis fate with the activities of a drug syndicate operating at Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, which specilizes in planting drugs in the baggage of unsuspecting travellers.

But Dabiri-Erewa said Afolabi did not belong to the list of seven who are suspected to have fallen victim of the four-man gang of hard drugs-planting syndicate.

There are some people caught in Kano, but those they allegedly gave the drugs to are yet to face trials in Saudi, she said.

What we can now do is to prevail on the Saudi authority that those people awaiting trials in their country are among the victims of the Kano syndicate. If Nigeria can do this, through National Drugs and Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Nigerian mission in Saudi Arabia, they might not even be charged to court.

On the widow, she said: Ms Afolabi was one of those drugs were found on their bodies. They were 20 in number. They are the ones on the death roll, as drugs were found on their bodies, including their private parts.

In their case, the Saudis do not appear to waste so much time on them. What is on social media that the lady could have been saved was incorrect. There was no way we could have done that. She was found with drugs on her body; just like the other 20.

Afer Afolabis execution, it was revealed that another Nigerian, Saheed Sobade, was facing the prospect of death in Saudi Arabia after being nabbed with 1,183 grams of cocaine powder in Jeddah, a Saudi Arabian port city on the Red Sea and gateway for pilgrimages to the Islamic holy cities Mecca and Medina.

The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Nigeria responded to widespread criticism of Afolabis execution by insisting that all legal and judicial procedures were observed.

It is well-known for all those interested in travelling to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that the penalty for drug trafficking is the death sentence and the said sentence is applied on all persons convicted without any exceptions, as long as the evidence is established against them, and this is conveyed to every person prior to his trip to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, it said.
One person was confirmed dead while four others were critically injured on Friday after a Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) van chased a taxi driver into a ditch along the Oyo-Ibadan Express road, according to a report by PM News.

The taxi driver, Akeem Ibrahim, died while four others injured were rushed to the hospital. The FRSC officials escaped.

The FRSC Hilux van with code No. 1139(3) was reported to have been in pursuit of presumed road traffic defaulters in a Nissan Micra vehicle with registration No. Lagos KSF 831.
Kannywood actress, Amina Muhammad, popularly known as Amina Amal, has taken legal action against her colleague who beat her and recorded it on camera over lesbianism allegation.

KanyiDaily had reported that Hadiza Gabon confronted and beat up Amina Amal for accusing her of being a lesbian.

The trouble started when Amina who is a Cameroonian-born actress, was recently criticized over her attire which exposed parts of her body.

After the backlash, Amina took to social media to gave a sound warning to her colleague whom she accused of being a bad person.

She accused also accused her colleague of lesbianism as she shared screenshots of their purported chat.

Hadiza Gabon who felt the accusations were directed at her, later confronted Amina and beat her up over the issue which has since been a trending topic online.

According to fresh reports, Amina has now taken legal action against Hadiza over the inhuman treatment given to her.
" " There have been more than 11,000 attempts to alter the U.S. Constitution. Most of those, obviously, have fallen flat. Visions of America/Contributor/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Every time you turn on cable news, there's a good chance someone is yelling about the need for an amendment to the United States Constitution. You're probably familiar with some of the more recent attempts, including proposals to require a balanced federal budget, define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, guarantee equal rights for women, ban flag desecration and reform the Electoral College. What you might not know is there have actually been more than 11,000 proposed constitutional amendments introduced in or recommended to Congress since the country's founding document was enacted in 1789 [source: Bernstein and Agel]. Like those listed above, many of them were politically controversial. Others, however, were just plain weird.

If it's been a while since your last civics class, here's a quick refresher on the constitutional amendment process. A two-thirds majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or a constitutional convention called by two-thirds of the state legislatures, is required to formally propose an amendment. Then the amendment must be ratified by three-fourths (38) of the 50 states [source: National Archives]. The founding fathers designed the process to be difficult but not impossible, which is why, of the thousands of proposed amendments, only 27 became enshrined in the Constitution. Considering our list of some of the weird things politicians and activists proposed over the years, that's probably a good thing.
A blog operator must pay $29,000 to a real estate developer for "defamation", a Chinese court has ruled after alleging a building complex had bad energy. Published on the WeChat social network in November, the text said an office complex in Beijing brought bad luck to its business tenants because it does not respect feng shui principles. Feng shui is a technique and belief inherited from ancient China that aims to maximise the energies of a place to maximise wellbeing, health and the luck of those inside. Although somewhat in decline, it is still widely used to determine the placement and layout of buildings. The "S Shenkunju S" blog took aim at the Wangjing Soho complex in the northeast of Beijing -- a group of three buildings that resemble large rounded pebbles, owned by developer Soho China. The article compared the structures to "pig's kidneys" and predicted the business of companies inside will suffer a "Waterloo" -- the crushing defeat of the French Army by a British-led force in 1815. According to the blog, which called on businesses to leave the premises, the proof these "outlandish" constructions are generating negative energy is the financial difficulties of the firms based there. The article was widely shared online and garnered more than 100,000 views before being take down. Lodging the complaint, the developer argued the post had a harmful impact on its business. Beijing's Chaoyang district court on Wednesday agreed, ruling the feng shui "superstition" was used to defame the real estate group. The company behind the blog was ordered to pay the developer 200,000 yuan ($29,000) and apologise publicly. The building complex was designed by multiple award winning architect Iraqi-British Zaha Hadid, who died in 2016.
A Hong Kong judge on Friday said she understood the great frustration of handling the controversial case of a student who had admitted to killing his pregnant girlfriend but could only be punished for money laundering.

Madam Justice Anthea Pang Po-kam made the comment before the court heard for the first time how an agitated Chan Tong-kai, 20, had ended his seven-month relationship with co-worker Poon Hiu-wing, 19, by killing her while they were on a trip to Taiwan in February last year.

The High Court heard the pair first crossed paths in July 2017 while working part-time for the same company and became lovers the following month. Poon confirmed she was five weeks pregnant in early December, when Chan booked and paid for a trip to Taiwan.

She had told her mother on February 8 she would be visiting Taiwan with a friend and return on February 17 but offered no further details on her travelling companion.

Poons mother received a WhatsApp message from her at 1.21am on February 17, saying she would be returning to Hong Kong later that night.

But Poon never made it.

Her mother made a missing-person report on March 5 while her father went looking for her in Taiwan and sought help from local authorities.

A copy of Chans arrival and departure card for Taiwan was later discovered in Poons flat, which identified their hotel in the Datong district and led to police interviewing him on March 13.

Under caution, Chan told investigators they had quarrelled over how their luggage should be packed after buying a new pink suitcase from a night market on February 16.

They made up and had sex but fought again hours later at 2am on February 17.

Chan claimed Poon had revealed that the father of the baby was her former boyfriend and showed him a video of her having sex with another man. Agitated, Chan hit Poons head against the wall, strangled her from behind with both hands and struggled with her on the floor for around 10 minutes until she was dead.

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He then folded her body into the suitcase, packed up her belongings and went to bed.

At 7am, Chan got up and disposed of Poons belongings at different refuge collection points near the hotel. He then travelled 15 stations away and dumped the body inside a thicket of bushes at a park near Zhuwei station after a two-hour search for a suitable site on the outskirts of Taipei.

He threw away the empty suitcase and the last of Poons belongings  except her iPhone 6, Casio digital camera and HSBC ATM card.

Using her password, Chan withdrew 20,000 New Taiwan dollars (US$647) to buy clothes. But he changed his mind about shopping and caught the 11.22pm flight home. Over the next two days, Chan used Poons ATM card to withdraw HK$19,200 (US$2,450) to pay his credit card bills.

Chan was arrested for murder by Hong Kong police immediately after his admission on March 13, 2018  the same day the Taiwanese authorities found Poons decomposed body.

But he was only charged with money laundering and has not been sent to Taiwan, despite requests from the island authorities, because there is no formal extradition agreement between the two places.

Murder carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment, while the punishment for money laundering is capped at 14 years in prison and a HK$5 million fine.

Chan pleaded guilty to four counts of dealing with property known or believed to represent the proceeds of an indictable offence at the first available opportunity during committal proceedings at Eastern Court on December 31.

But he did not agree to all of the facts laid out by the prosecution, which prompted senior public prosecutor Claudia Ko Hoi-yee to apply for a Newton hearing, a procedure to settle a discrepancy between the accounts of both sides.

Ko hinted that certain conversations between Chan and Poon would prove his state of mind before he left Hong Kong for Taiwan, which would materially affect how the indictable offence in the money laundering charge was defined, hence affecting the sentence.

The prosecutor argued the predicate offence should be murder. We would ask the court to take into account he knew [the money laundering] was a result of the killing which he had planned, Ko said.

Pang said she understood there may be great frustration and feelings of injustice in handling the case when Chan had admitted to the killing. But she found the proposed five-day hearing unnecessary and rejected Kos application after observing that prosecutors had no evidence to suggest the theft was premeditated.

We are only dealing with money laundering in this jurisdiction, Pang said. The predicate offence is theft. Without the theft, no crime proceeds would be generated, the physical items would remain on [Poons] body, no money laundering charge could have been laid.

Chan had little to say in mitigation for his crimes, except to ask his defence counsel Ronny Leung to remind the court he was a man of clear record who had been remanded since his arrest.

He will be sentenced on April 29.

This article Body folded in suitcase: gruesome details emerge of Hong Kong mans killing of pregnant girlfriend in Taiwan first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2019.
Over 80 academics from around the world have written to the Singapore government expressing concerns over how recently proposed laws against online falsehoods could threaten academic freedom in the city state.

The Protection From Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill, tabled in parliament on April 1, has raised eyebrows for the sweeping powers it would hand the government.

In their letter, sent to Singapores education minister on April 11 and made available to the media on April 13, the academics focused on how the proposed powers to police falsehoods could backfire on researchers. The legislation may also set negative precedents, with knock-on effects on the global academy, wrote the academics.

They noted that much of academic work focuses on disputing apparently established facts, which are confirmed or denied through research, and continuously reappraised as new data becomes available.

Thus for many phenomena it is not possible to state definitively what is a fact proven for all time, and what is a conjecture or hypothesis that may turn out to be false or misleading, wrote the group of scholars, who include University of Michigan business professor Linda Lim, Baptist University journalism professor Cherian George, National University of Singapore political scientist Chong Ja Ian and Nanyang Technological University sociologist Teo You Yenn.

Statements that a reasonable person would consider to be a representation of fact are precisely those most usefully subject to rigorous academic scrutiny, they added.

In its response to the letter, as reported by The Straits Times, Singapores education ministry reiterated the governments position that the bill covers verifiably false statements of fact which affect public interest and does not restrict opinion. The ministry said the law would not affect academic research work.

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In a media statement, the academics acknowledged the ministrys assurance but said they cannot accept this as a categorical guarantee until it is reflected in the language of the bill.

For many phenomena it is not possible to state definitively what is a fact proven for all time

Academics letter

The much-anticipated bill gives government ministers sweeping powers to issue correction and take-down orders. Legal action would be taken against any deliberate online falsehood that meets two criteria: there is dissemination of a false statement of fact, and when such action is deemed against the public interest  which under the bill includes areas such as Singapores security, the protection of public health, finances and safety as well as the countrys elections. Among the proposed penalties are up to 10 years jail and S$1 million (US$738,500) in fines for the most severe cases.

The academics took issue with the bills broad definition of public interest, its proposal to hold internet intermediaries responsible for all items posted on their platforms, and the severe penalties proposed, noting that these will discourage individuals working in an indeterminately wide range of subjects.

These provisions may have unforeseen consequences for Singapores ability to serve as a global hub of first-rate academic research and technological innovation, they wrote.

Singapore is known for its investment in education, a commitment that reflects a belief that such an investment pays dividends. This act discourages scholars from marshaling their expertise in precisely the areas where it is most needed  namely, pressing questions and challenges for which there are no clear answers or easy solutions.

The letter also aired concern that the bill, if passed as drafted, could spur emulation by countries with weaker institutions, thus casting even wider restraints on global research and dissemination.

Copycat legislation or reciprocal action could boomerang on Singapore entities, including businesses, government officials and universities with activities in other jurisdictions, just as (the act) will impact foreign entities that have interactions with Singapore, including universities, they wrote.

The letter was also shared with presidents and boards of trustees at all Singapore universities.

We are concerned about Singapores proposed legislation certainly not because we are oblivious to the seriousness of the global assault on reason. On the contrary, academics are at the front lines of this battle. But no countrys response should undermine the very capacities it requires to deal with this crisis, they wrote in the statement.

As of Saturday, 83 scholars from around the world have signed on to the original letter of concern, most of whom are not based in Singapore. They include the current and four past presidents of the Association for Asian Studies, the leading association of scholars who study Asia, and a former president of the International Communication Association.

In their statement on Saturday, the academics revealed that several Singapore-based peers privately expressed agreement with our letter but declined to sign for fear of compromising their career prospects. Our concern about the proposed legislation cannot be divorced from larger issues around academic freedom in the Republic.

Communications professor Mohan Dutta, who is based at Massey University, said the premise of the bill is based on the assumed effects of fake news.

Although we do now know from some scholarship that fake news has a greater likelihood of being shared as compared to accurate information, whether fake news influences attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours has not been conclusive demonstrated, said the professor, who was head of the National University of Singapores Communications and New Media department from 2012 to 2018.

Empathetic leadership and compassion are critical ingredients in dismantling hate, an area that seems of key concern to the bill, said Dutta, citing the example of New Zealand premier Jacinda Arderns response after recent shootings in Christchurch.

The bill poses significant challenges to academic freedom, especially because decision-making powers are placed initially in the hands of ministers, he said.

Property analyst and researcher Ku Swee Yong agreed with the group of academics that the definition of public interest is too broad.

There are too many grey areas left to the discretion of our ministers, said Ku, an adjunct instructor at the Singapore Management Universitys School of Business.

Singapores anti-fake news bill comes six months after a select committee studying the issue of deliberate online falsehoods made its recommendations. During the public hearings before the committee last year, several individuals also aired concerns about the impact of legislation on free speech, and the lack of a definition of what constitutes falsehoods.

The proposed laws are expected to be debated in May.

More from South China Morning Post:

This article Dozens of university dons concerned Singapores anti-fake news laws will stifle academic freedom 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 Philippines remains committed to maintaining peace in the contested South China Sea (West Philippine Sea), Malacanang said on Friday, April 12.

This was the assurance of Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo, after the Philippines and the United States (US) conducted joint military exercises from April 1 to 12.

It is our principled stand that the peace in the West Philippine Sea should be maintained, Panelo said in a statement issued Friday night.

As part of the joint military drill by two nations, a US Navy warship has been training with Philippine Navy ships in Subic Bay and in international waters off the South China Sea.

The USS Wasp, a helicopter carrier of the US Marines with F35B Lightning II fighter jets, reportedly sailed near Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal that China has occupied since 2012.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said Wednesday, April 10, that it is Chinas principled position that non-regional forces like the US should refrain from stirring up troubles in the calm South China Sea.

Panelo said the Philippine government agreed that the sea dispute can be best threshed out through peaceful negotiation and consultation, in a bid to bolster ties with China for a solid partnership beneficial to Filipino and Chinese communities.

The Palace official, however, stressed that the Philippines also acknowledged the July 2016 ruling of Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration, which invalidated Chinas sweeping claims to South China Sea.

We have been informed of the recent statement of Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the issue of the disputed areas at the West Philippine Sea, he said.

We remain steadfast in maintaining our claims with respect to our territory and exclusive economic zones pursuant not only to the said arbitral judgment based on accepted principles of public international law but consistent with the directives of our Constitution and the aspirations of the Filipino people, Panelo said.

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Panelo also expressed hope that China would refrain from putting Filipino fishermen at disadvantage, noting that such move might affect the relations between the two countries.

He made the statement following the reported presence of Chinese vessels near Philippine-occupied Pag-asa Island, which has already been questioned through diplomatic protest lodged by the Manila against Beijing.

China should avoid performing acts that will place at risk the Filipino fishermen fishing in the disputed areas and at the same time cause irritants that will disrupt the current friendly relations of the two countries as well as imperil future bilateral negotiations on matters of mutual concern, he said. (SunStar Philippines)
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo landed in Peru on Saturday on the third-leg of a four-nation tour of Latin American allies focusing heavily on Venezuela and countering China's economic reach. Pompeo held talks with President Martin Vizcarra and Foreign Minister Nestor Popolizio before attending a dinner for business leaders. He paid tribute to Peru's welcome for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan refugees and Vizcarra's fight against corruption, which has embroiled the previous four Peruvian presidents. But he became irritated when a reporter asked if that contradicted US President Donald Trump's harsh immigration policy at home. "Our objective is to allow people to stay in their home countries, this is President Trump's desire, we want to create conditions in these countries where they can stay in their own country," he told the press conference with Popolizio. Earlier Pompeo became the first US secretary of state to visit Paraguay, formerly ruled as a dictatorship, since 1965, paying tribute to the country's transition to democracy as an inspiration to the region. The top US diplomat arrived in Asuncion late Friday after talks with Chile's President Sebastian Pinera in Santiago that focused heavily on his country's developing trade relationship with China. The highlight of Pompeo's trip will be a brief visit Sunday to the Colombian city of Cucuta on the Venezuelan border, where he will meet refugees. All four countries on his itinerary are led by right-wing or center-right leaders favorable to Washington's uncompromising approach to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. In Asuncion, Pompeo had praised Paraguay's support for US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido in Venezuela, and its role in the Lima Group of mostly Latin American nations seeking a solution to the Venezuela crisis. "Paraguay is a leader in defending democracy and calling Maduro as he is, a tyrant who has ruined his country," Pompeo said. Foreign Minister Luis Castiglioni said Paraguay's position on Venezuela remained strongly aligned with that of the United States. "We have always said: with dictators, with tyrants, there is no dialogue. You fight them. We must fight them until liberties are restored so that the Venezuelan people can return to live with dignity," he told reporters. Asked by a US journalist if Paraguay would back a military intervention in Venezuela, he said: "We are convinced that all the diplomatic efforts that are being made to isolate this regime will have results in a short time." Paraguay was ruled by dictator Alfredo Stroessner from 1954 to 1989. - Transnational crime - The two officials also discussed Paraguay's commitments on combatting threats of terrorism, drug trafficking and transnational crime in what is known as the tri-border area, the border region Paraguay shares with Argentina and Brazil. "Paraguay has declared all-out war against transnational crime," said Castiglioni. "This battle that we are fighting is a battle of no return until we win. We have assured the Secretary of State that Paraguay wants to cooperate very closely with the US government, since we are on the same path." The US official said before his arrival in Chile on Friday that the current US administration had "spent a lot of time" in Latin America seeking to improve trade in a region which has turned its back in recent years on a slew of leftist governments. "This is an historic opportunity," he told reporters, referring to "a handful of countries that are truly market driven, democratic in ways that we havent had in South America for decades. And we think it creates real opportunity." Asked about China's influence at a press conference following a working lunch with his Chilean counterpart Roberto Ampuero, Pompeo said: "I think the Chilean government and the United States government both share the same concerns." "China's trade activities often are deeply connected to their national security mission, their technological goals, their desire to steal intellectual property, to have forced technology transfer, to engage in activity that is not economic," he said. He iterated his concerns Saturday in Peru. "Too often we see China's predatory lending and debt diplomacy reverse positive advances in this area," he said. "Our shared goal would be to resist Chinese overtures and promote transparency."
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 brutal killings of 16-year-old Christine Lee Silawan and 14-year-old Tesa Marie Ygay came at a time when the Archdiocese of Cebu was busy preparing for this years National Youth Day (NYD), which will be held in Cebu after the Holy Week.

In a press conference last Friday, April 12, Archbishop Jose Palma told reporters he was saddened by the girls deaths, which had made an impact across Cebu and other parts of the country.

Palma said crimes against the youth could be prevented if they minimized their use of social media or if they learned to become responsible social media users.

He called on the youth to use social media to encourage and inspire their peers instead of sowing confusion and ignorance.

NYD participants

I believe other youths can contact others for hopes, inspirations and statements of support. We will not lose hope that evil in this world will be flooded away by goodness, the archbishop said.

Silawans mutilated, half-naked body was found on a vacant lot in Sitio Mahayahay, Barangay Bankal in Lapu-Lapu City last March 11.

The manner in which she was killed shocked the entire country.

As for Ygay, she was stabbed several times before her body was dumped in the septic tank of a public school in Barangay Cogon Cruz in Danao City.

Meanwhile, organizers announced that 17,000 youths from across the country will be participating in this years NYD.

At least 5,000 will come from Cebu, said Fathers Mark Barneso and Andrei Ventanilla of the Archdiocesan Commission on the Youth. They have already volunteered to help organize activities for the event, Barneso and Ventanilla said.

Palma also announced that Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia, Papal Nuncio to the Philippines, will be in Cebu to participate in the dialogue with the youth.

Aside from Caccia, 30 bishops from all over the country will also attend the event. FROM FMD OF SUPERBALITA CEBU / JKV
Jet Airways employees hold placards as they gather for a protest march at the Chhattrapati Shivaji International Airport, in Mumbai

India's Jet Airways extended a suspension of all of its international flights until Monday, the latest blow to the debt-stricken carrier battling to stay afloat.

The development Friday came after the government said it would investigate Jet's ability to continue flying as lenders seek a buyer to keep the beleaguered airline running.

Passengers have been left stranded, and on Friday airline staff protested at Mumbai's airport.

A collapse would deal a blow to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pro-business reputation as Indians vote in a mega six-week-long election that started Thursday.

A Jet Airways source told AFP that all of Jet's international flights out of and into India until Monday had been scrapped, extending a series of cancellations announced on Thursday.

Aviation minister Suresh Prabhu earlier tweeted on Friday that his ministry would "review issues related to Jet Airways" and "take necessary steps to minimise passenger inconvenience and ensure their safety".

Jet was until recently India's second-biggest airline by market share but is close to going under with debts of more than $1 billion.

The Mumbai-based carrier has been forced to ground the majority of its fleet after months of defaulting on loans and struggling to pay lessors and staff.

It told the Bombay Stock Exchange Thursday that 10 more planes could not fly due to non-payment.

The airline has a fleet of 119 aircraft but Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola said it would fly only six or seven of them over the weekend on domestic routes, after flying 11 on Friday, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

That is below the 20 required by Indian aviation regulators to fly overseas.

Thousands of customers have been stranded in recent weeks after hundreds of flights were cancelled, in some cases with little or no notice.

Flights to to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Colombo and Singapore were among those cancelled Thursday and Friday.

Airline staff are also in limbo. Dozens of uniformed Jet workers protested on Friday at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, where they carried signs saying "Save Jet Airways" and "Save Our Future."

Jet Airways cancelled most of its international flights as lenders desperately seek a buyer to keep the beleaguered airline running

Close of play Friday was the deadline for prospective bidders to express an interest in acquiring a 75-percent stake in Jet.

A consortium of lenders led by the State Bank of India started the stake sale process on Monday. Any interested parties will then have until April 30 to make a formal bid.

Kharola said bankers asked the airline to "rework its proposal" on interim funding, and a meeting with bankers is scheduled for Monday, according to PTI.

"Depending on what the banks decide, the future course of action would be taken," he said.

Several airlines, including Etihad, are interested in bidding, according to reports.

Etihad interested

The consortium took control of Jet Airways last month after creditors injected $218 million of "immediate funding support" as part of a debt resolution plan.

The deal saw founder Naresh Goyal step down as chairman.

Etihad Airways, which owns a 24-percent stake in Jet, has submitted an expression of interest to buy a controlling stake of up to 75 percent, according to Indian business dailies.

PTI, quoting sources, said Goyal has put in a bid for the airline, although it was not clear whether he had partnered with another entity or airline.

Alarm bells for Jet Airways first rang in August when it failed to report its quarterly earnings or pay staff, including pilots. It later reported a loss of $85 million.

In February, it secured a $1.19 billion bailout from lenders to bridge a funding gap, but its crisis has deepened.

The carrier has been badly hit by fluctuating global crude prices and a weak rupee, as well as fierce competition from budget rivals.

Mismanagement has also plagued the airline. Analysts trace the start of Jet's financial problems to its 2006 purchase of Air Sahara for $500 million in cash.

Goyal reportedly ignored the advice of associates who said the cost was too much.

Explore further Founder of India's beleaguered Jet Airways quits

 2019 AFP
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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
Turning the ship before it hits the iceberg
Deputy Minister: Georgian Beekeepers Lack Knowledge of Producing Honey

By Tea Mariamidze

Deputy Minister of Environment Protection and Agriculture Khatia Tsilosani says Georgian beekeepers still lack knowledge of the process of producing honey, adding it creates problems while exporting Georgian honey to the European Union market.The main problem regarding the honey quality here is the wrong care of the bees and the honey-gathering procedures. I would like to ask all farmers to take into account the highest standards of food safety, "said Tsilosani.She added that despite the fact that the Ministry is actively involved in raising awareness about the issue through various campaigns, including the antibiotics and other wastes in honey, there remain the same problems in the field yet.I hope the farmers will gradually take into consideration the recommendations that will positively affect the quality of honey, deputy Minister added.The EU Association and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area Agreements enable Georgia to export 1,500 tons of honey to EU markets every year. According to EU experts, honey has the best chance of making a hit in Europe but there are still some factors that hinder the process.Also, the European Union has strict requirements related to honey testing. Identifying the level of antibiotics and pesticides in honey is the main requirement.However, antibiotics are not the only problem. It takes a lot of money to arrange bee farms in line with EU technical regulations and requirements. Most beekeepers strain honey in aluminum or zinc centrifuges, which is strictly prohibited in the European Union. Honey producers do not have adequate storage containers either. As a rule, small quantities of honey are sold, preventing producers from accumulating revenues.In late January 2019, the first batch of Georgian honey went to the EU market with the help of EU4Business Initiative, which brings together all EU programs assisting SME and private sector development in Georgia. EU4Business enables the private sector to take advantage of the opportunities offered by DCFTA, which gives Georgia access to a common market of 500 million consumers.
Kirby Jordan has joined Roanoke Electric Cooperative as its vice president of member services, marketing and public relations.

In this role, Jordan will be responsible for the development, administration and management of all member services, marketing, public relations and economic development activities on behalf of the co-op.

Jordan will also manage the co-ops member-owner call center care team, dispatchers and cashiers working out of the co-ops headquarters offices in Aulander and the Roanoke Center in Rich Square.

Jordan brings more than 20 years marketing, advertising and public relations to her new role. She joins the co-op team after a seven-year tenure with Fruit of the Loom, Inc., where she served as vice president of corporate communications since 2015.

In this capacity, Jordan spearheaded the organizations global media relations program, managing its community relations, product and monetary donations programs at both a national and international level, as well as internal communications for 30,000 employees.

From 2012  2015, Jordan served as advertising and public relations director for one of the organizations premier global brands.

Jordan has also worked in an advertising and public relations capacity for MeadWestVaco, Genworth and Hamilton Beach Brands.

Jordan has extensive volunteer experience with non-profit organizations including the American Red Cross, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Dress for Success, Childrens Home Society and Junior Achievement of Florida.

From 2016 to 2019, Jordan served in her appointed role as member of the board of directors of the United Way of Southern Kentucky, where she chaired the marketing and public relations committee.

We are very fortunate to have Kirby bring her track record of successes and strong background in corporate communications, public relations and brand services to Roanoke Electric, said co-op President & CEO Curtis Wynn. The co-op will be well-served by Kirbys years of experience and expertise she brings to providing our member-owners with an exceptional member services experience and to further enhancing our membership benefit programs and community economic develop initiatives.

Jordan, a Virginia Beach native, said she is looking forward to joining the co-op team and putting down roots in the community. I am excited to be part of a team comprised of dedicated employees and directors known for their compassion, care and commitment to enhancing the quality of life of the co-ops member-owners and the diverse communities it serves, she said.

Jordan holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in communications from Florida State University. She and her husband, Dean, live in Edenton. Jordan officially assumed her post at the co-op on April 1.
Profits and profitable companies are so banal. Money-losing companies like Uber, on the other hand, are much more exciting for investorsespecially if they are growing like a weed.

Nowadays, it has become almost fashionable for startups to go public while posting massive losses. Maybe thats the reason why Uber, the worlds largest ride-sharing company, has filed a massive 300-page prospectus wherein it almost seems to revel in the fact that it might never be profitable.

Uber filed to go public Thursday, with Shira Ovide, Bloombergs tech analyst, describing the prospectus as the most complex S-1I have ever read.

In the document, Uber highlights its sprawling $11.3-billion empire. But buried deep inside is the solemn caveat: "We expect our operating expenses to increase significantly in the foreseeable future, and we may not achieve profitability.

This sort of boilerplate disclaimer has become alarmingly common, with a staggering 76 percent of companies that filed last year being unprofitable compared to the four-decade average of 34 percent.

Ubers IPO is expected to value the company at $100 billion or more.

Amazon of ride-sharing

(Click to enlarge)

Source: Quartz



Investors pouring through Ubers financials might surmise that the company has finally flipped the profit switch just like Amazon did after years of losing money. But no, Ubers $997 million net income for last year (see above) was the result of a one-off item from the sale of some of its businesses.

Related: Hong Kong Stock Market Surges Past Japan Uber lost a staggering $4 billion in 2017, the largest loss in its 10-year history. For the five years that the startup has been reporting financial data, Uber lost a cumulative $6.8 billion. So, why is the company making such heavy losses? We can get a hint from its S-1 where it states that some of its risk factors are unproven revenue lines; unrealized cost savings from its Careem acquisition as well as ongoing losses from its subsidiary, Uber Eats.

Indeed, the company warns that revenue growth from its ventures does not guarantee future profitability: "We will need to generate and sustain increased revenue levels and decrease proportionate expenses in future periods to achieve profitability in many of our largest markets, including in the United States, and even if we do, we may not be able to maintain or increase profitability,"

Theres a method to all the loss-making madness though. At first blush, Uber does not look very much different from ride-sharing rival, Lyft, whose shares have conked since its late March IPO.

Looks though can be deceptive.

(Click to enlarge)

Source: Google

But look deeper and you find the difference. Whereas Lyft wants to strictly be a consumer transportation company, Uber is fashioning itself as the Amazon of ride-sharing. Uber is regarded as the archetypal disruptive business, with a particular disdain for playing by the rule book. According to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber has barely scratched the surface when it comes to investing in tangential industries like food and logistics, implying that one day, these auxiliary segments could one day become a big part of the company.

Or maybe even bigger. After all, Amazon started off as an online book-seller before expanding into a vast array of goods and services. Nowadays, Amazon Web Services (AWS), a business that was launched with little fanfare as the companys side business, brings in more than 60 percent of Amazons total profits. Related: Newmont Shareholders Approve Goldcorp Takeover

Lyft, on the other hand, has explicitly stated that its not interested in these supplementary business lines.

Uber might lack profits, but is growing where it matters most to investors. The companys top-line growth, though slowing, has remained quite impressive, with the company posting 38 percent growth during Q3 2018 and 25 percent during the final quarter of the year.

(Click to enlarge)

Source: Bloomberg



Will Uber become profitable one day? Only time will tell; but as Amazon has proven, the growth-first-profits-later model can actually work. Amazon is now making humongous profitsand paying zero tax on them to boot.

(Click to enlarge)

Source: Quartz

Google, an unlikely winner

Perhaps many investors consider Uber and Google to be sworn enemies after Waymo, Googles parent company Alphabet Inc.s self-driving car subsidiary, sued Uber for stealing some of its trade secrets.

Well, the two are more like frenemies. After years of wrangling, that dispute was finally settled in Waymos favor yet the two are unlikely to part ways any time soon. Turns out Uber not only relies heavily on Alphabet for the usual online marketing and mapping services but is also partly owned by the online advertising giant, too. Alphabet has been making lots of money off Uber-- $631 million for marketing and advertising; 70 million for infrastructure and enterprise services, $58 million for mapping services and another $1 million for related services over the past two years.

The icing on the cake-- Alphabet is one of Ubers biggest early-stage investors, with a 5.2 percent stake that could be valued north of $5.2 billion.

By Alex Kimani for Safehaven.com

More Top Reads From Safehaven.com:
 "Introducing Disruptive Technology to Criminal Sanctions: Punishment by Computer Monitoring to Enhance Sentencing Fairness and Efficiency" | Main | Lots of good diverse weekend criminal justice reads 

The New York Times has this notable new article focused on one notable federal offender now benefiting from the FIRST STEP Act. The headline of the piece indirectly reveals some of its themes: "He Committed a $300 Million Fraud, but Left Prison Under Trumps Justice Overhaul." Here are some excerpts from the piece:

Three weeks ago, a 69-year-old man convicted of bank fraud quietly left a federal prison camp in Cumberland, Md., and moved into a friends one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. He was one of the early inmates to benefit from a criminal justice bill signed into law by President Trump. The law, the First Step Act, offered prisoner rehabilitation programs and overhauled sentencing policies that supporters claimed had a disproportionate effect on poor defendants, especially minorities.

But one person who benefited from the law was Hassan Nemazee, the prisoner at Cumberland, who was once an investor of enormous wealth and who donated heavily to Democratic political causes. He was a national finance chairman for Hillary Clintons 2008 presidential campaign and later raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Barack Obamas first presidential contest.

Mr. Nemazee, who is serving the rest of his sentence in home confinement, acknowledged in interviews that he was not a fan of Mr. Trump, but he felt personally indebted to the president and his aides for pushing through the most significant prison reform legislation in a generation....

Mr. Trump said recently at the White House that unfair sentencing rules were contributing to the cycle of poverty and crime, and since the First Step Acts passage, more than 500 people with unfair sentences have been released from prison and are free to begin a new life. But Mr. Nemazee left prison under a less publicized part of the bill that allows certain offenders who are over 60 and not considered a threat to others to be released into home confinement if they have completed two-thirds of their sentence.

In home confinement, Mr. Nemazee does not wear an ankle bracelet, but officials may call him on a landline late at night or early in the morning to verify he is at home. He may be summoned for a urine test at any time and must submit his weekly schedule for approval, he said. Still, it feels a lot like freedom. He may leave his apartment to go to work, the gym, religious services or appointments with his doctors and lawyers. He may also go out to lunch, which is always a treat, given where I have been the last eight and a half years....

The Bureau of Prisons has said that since the bills passage, 10 prisoners  of 23 thus far deemed eligible  have been released into home confinement. The bureau would not identify the prisoners or comment on their cases. Another is reported to be a white-collar criminal named Herman Jacobowitz, 60, who pleaded guilty in Brooklyn in 2005 in another large fraud case and was sentenced to 15 years, according to court papers and a lawyer familiar with the case. Mr. Jacobowitz could not be reached for comment.
FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of Facebook logo in this illustration picture, April 8, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU countries are set to agree an overhaul of the bloc's two-decade old copyright rules next week, requiring Google to pay publishers for news snippets and Facebook to filter out protected content, despite increasing opposition from some governments.

EU lawmakers at the European Parliament gave the European Commission's proposal a thumbs up last month, wanting to protect Europe's creative industry which is worth 915 billion euros (790 billion) annually and employs 11.65 million people.

The revamp has been marked by intense lobbying from tech companies worried about the administrative burden and the hit to their revenues and by artists, publishers and performers seeking fair compensation.

The new rules would force Google and other online platforms to sign licensing agreements with musicians, performers, authors, news publishers and journalists to use their work online.

Google's YouTube, Facebook's Instagram and other sharing platforms will also have to install filters to prevent users from uploading copyrighted materials. Critics say this could hit cash-strapped small companies rather than the tech giants.

Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden have said they will vote against the reforms on Monday, a move unlikely to derail the proposal unless a major EU country weighs in to form a blocking minority.

"We regret that the directive does not strike the right balance between the protection of rights holders and the interests of EU citizens and companies," the countries, with the exception of Sweden, said in a statement.

Belgium and Slovenia will abstain while Estonia said it was not able to have a view because its government had only just come to power.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
Lendlease, the developer behind the 4ha Paya Lebar Quarter (PLQ), is entering the competitive co-working fray in Singapore with its own flexible workspace brand called csuites. The 72,000 sq ft workspace is located in one of its three Grade-A office towers in PLQ.

Csuites has been conceptualised to support the needs of growing enterprises with employee teams of between 50 and 150 people, says Tony Lombardo, CEO of Lendlease Asia. The workspace solution caters to small- and medium-sized enterprises, enabling shorter leases, immediate move-ins, as well as security and sustainability credentials. This new co-working brand by Lendlease is being trialled at PLQ, but on the basis we see success here and get it fully leased, we would want to do more of these flexible workspaces, says Lombardo.



Lendlease will manage a new 72,000 sq ft co-working space at Paya Lebar Quarter (Pictures: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)



The flexible workspace will occupy 72,000 sq ft across the fourth and fifth floors in the office tower PLQ3, which also houses conventional office space for tenants such as transport operator SMRT, property consultancy CBRE, and insurance company Great Eastern. All three companies are expected to take up their respective spaces by end-July.

The entire PLQ integrated development boasts more than one million sq ft of office space, and more than 70% has already been leased, says Richard Paine, managing director of PLQ.

Space for corporates

With csuites, Lendlease says it is delivering a new generation workplace solution combining the best of traditional office spaces and dynamic co-working environments. The co-working space will feature 10 office suites. These suites are of various sizes: the smallest office suite can fit 50 persons, and there are three such suites. There are also two suites that can fit 60 persons each, while other suites can fit 75 to 105 persons each. The largest office suite, which accommodates up to 170 people, is home to Lendlease, which has moved its Asian headquarters and PLQ development team into the workspace.

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We have 10 suites available and each will be supported by additional hot-desking and flexible workspaces when required, says Lombardo. Walls between the office suites can be removed to create a larger office space for larger-sized groups, he adds.



There are 10 office suites available, which can accom



Lendlease is marketing the suites to an upmarket clientele, and expects its future tenants to be established organisations. The pool of potential clients here are either corporates which want some flex-space, or mid-sized organisations which may have grown out of a co-working space, says Ng Hsueh Ling, chief investment officer of Lendlease Asia and the managing director of Singapore for Lendlease. Corporates from a traditional office environment can enjoy generous desks at csuites as well as the benefits of a flexible workplace. Typical desks are 150cm long and provide a large amount of workspace.

A potential csuites tenant is also considering taking up some conventional office space in PLQ, and a number of interested companies have divisions which are content with working from their own satellite area, Ng adds.



From left: Richard Paine (managing director of Paya Lebar Quarter), Tony Lombardo (CEO, Lendlease Asia) and Ng Hsueh Ling (chief investment officer, Lendlease Asia) (Picture: Albert Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)



There have been very strong enquiries and interest for csuites, says Lombardo. Lendlease has already signed a tenancy with a multinational company and is in discussions with other interested organisations.

Lendlease is offering one- to three-year leases for office suites in its flexible workspace. We welcome prospective tenants to get in touch and experience what csuites have to offer, and well then be able to share more details on our rates, says Ng.

People-centric design

Incorporating flexible workspace for corporates and medium-sized business has always been part of the development plan for PLQ. To better understand the local co-working market, Lendlease relocated in 2017 its Asian headquarters of about 100 team members into The Work Projects flagship co-working space at OUE Downtown Gallery on Shenton Way in the CBD.

This lets us better understand the benefits and limitations for our own organisation, employees and customers, says Lombardo.

From this, and its experience in workplace design, Lendlease has built csuites with a people-centric design in mind. One area it is championing is wellness in the workspace. The office suites feature sound-dampening walls and noise-cancelling duct-works to reduce the sound emanating from utility pipes. Another wellness aspect is the variety of work desks in each office suite, which include sit-stand desks, team tables, and desks along the windows.





Lendlease says that companies looking for new workspaces today want places with services that can better support their employees, and there is a major focus on well-being, talent attraction and enhanced productivity.

We have been watching the [co-working] market evolve and drawing valuable insights from the first generation of co-working models. Today, workplace design is a dynamic sector with an increasing focus on people-centric design and collaboration, says Lombardo.

Encouraging collisions and connections

About 35% of the total floor area at csuites has been set aside for communal spaces that encourage people to interact. On the fifth floor is a fully serviced reception, and the common area for tenants will feature a cafe managed by Providore, an event space for up to 150 people, as well as a variety of informal collaboration spaces.

These are places where tenants can work at their leisure, and where they can also hold informal meetings, says Lombardo.





Each office suite has at least one meeting room depending on its size, but other meeting rooms and a boardroom can be booked through a dedicated mobile application for tenants of csuites. The app is designed by London-based space management platform OfficeRnD, and allows csuites tenants to unlock workspaces they have booked with their mobile phone.

Lendlease will also map out heavily frequented areas and collect data on space utilisation rates throughout the workspace.

By having data about how many people are in the space and what time they are there, you can get a sense of which areas are popular and which arent, says Paine. Lendlease will use the data to better furnish the spaces that are used more frequently with more seats or work desks to better meet demand usage there.

Part of a wider ecosystem

However, csuites will not be the only co-working brand in PLQ. Global office provider IWG is expected to open a 52,000 sq ft co-working space under its Spaces brand in PLQ1 by end-May. Lombardo says, We have an arrangement with Spaces that any co-working tenancies below 50 people would be under the Spaces arrangement, and those above 50 would come to csuites.

This deal was made to accommodate the two flexible workspace offerings so that both co-working brands could co-exist in PLQ. When we started developing PLQ, we knew we wanted to create an ecosystem here, so we allocated 15% of the total office space for flexible workspaces, says Paine.

The three office towers, which will house more than 10,000 workers, are also part of a wider ecosystem that encompasses the entire integrated development. Built by home-grown tech firm Habitap, PLQ Workspaces is a custom app built for Lendlease that connects the three office towers, retail podium, and the residential component of 429-unit Park Place Residences.



Picture: Lendlease



While the office buildings and retail component are expected to be completed by the end of the year, residents are expected to move in next year. The 99-year leasehold development is Lendleases maiden residential development in Singapore, and comprises a mix of one- to three-bedroom units in three residential towers. More than half the units were snapped up on the first day of launch in May 2017, and the second tranche of units were launched for sale in April last year.

According to Lendlease, just seven units  three-bedroom units of 1,076 sq ft to 1,367 sq ft  remain available for sale. The average selling price of units sold in the second phase is about $1,950 psf. With only these units left, it is clear that the proposition of a well-located mixed-use development where one can live, work and play is a compelling one for home buyers, says Paine.

Technology, connectivity, services, retail and F&B are all part of the modern workplace, and today, the best workplaces are a big factor in attracting and retaining the best talent.

The disruption brought on by co-working has now permeated into corporate workspaces, and Lendlease sees that as a growth area, says Lombardo. For Lendlease to continue servicing our office tenants, we have to offer a product that ensures we remain relevant to their needs in the future.

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A brief overview of Georgia  NATO relations

By Levan Abramishvili

Last week, The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) celebrated the 70 year anniversary of signing the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949 in Washington DC.During the celebration, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reiterated his support of Georgia  [Ukraine and Georgia are] sovereign countries with a sovereign right to choose their own path.Last month, during his official visit to Georgia, he emphasized the importance of Georgia to NATO missions - You are the largest non-NATO contributor to our Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan. You contribute to the NATO Response Force.During his visit, Stoltenberg also expressed willingness to continue assisting Georgia - we will continue working together to prepare for Georgia's NATO membership," adding that no country has any right to interfere with NATO's open-door policy.Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Davit Zalkaliani was also present at the ceremony. In his speech, he emphasized that Georgias foreign policy priority is the integration into Euro-Atlantic structures.NATO  Georgia relations have come a long way in the past decade.1994 marked the official beginning of Georgia - NATO relations when Georgia joined the NATO-run Partnership for Peace. After the Rose Revolution in 2003, the new government expressed its interest in Georgias eventual accession into NATO.Bucharest summit in 2008 was monumental for Georgia, as well as Ukraine. The NATO members agreed that these countries will become members of NATO. The Bucharest Summit Declaration reads: NATO welcomes Ukraines and Georgias Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership in NATO. We agreed today that these countries will become members of NATO. Both nations have made valuable contributions to Alliance operations. We welcome the democratic reforms in Ukraine and Georgia MAP is the next step for Ukraine and Georgia on their direct way to membership. Today we make clear that we support these countries applications for MAP.Since 2008, through numerous momentous reforms, Georgia has taken significant steps forward in improving the level of democracy, media independence, economic growth and increased its military capabilities and involvement in the NATO missions.Nevertheless, eleven years on from the Bucharest Summit, despite the support of the Secretary-General and Georgias constant pace of development, there is still no Membership Action Plan (MAP) for Georgia.One of the major reasons for this is hesitancy from the NATO member states. Georgias territorial integrity has been compromised significantly, with 20% being occupied by Russia. Even though Stoltenberg has mentioned that Russia cant have an influence over NATOs decisions, it is apparent that when it comes to Georgia and Ukraine, NATO members cant turn a blind eye to their power. Russia continues to reinforce its military presence in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and Samachablo, while also recognizing the regions statehood. Vladimir Putin has maintained its principal opposition to Georgias NATO membership throughout the years.Andres Fogh Rasmussen, a former Secretary General of NATO, published a letter dedicated to the 70th anniversary of NATO. In the letter, he discussed titled NATOs duty at 70 and discussed his visions and ideas regarding the Alliance. He also mentioned Georgia and the issue of MAP and called it a mistake that the country didnt receive the action plan back in 2008:in April 2008, NATO allies met in Bucharest to discuss offering a Membership Action Plan (MAP) to Georgia and Ukraine. At the insistence of Germany and France, we decided to postpone that decision until the end of the year. In my view, that was a mistake. Just months after our summit, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the invasion of Georgia, and Russia has occupied Abkhazia and South Ossetia ever since.In the letter, Rasmussen also mentioned that there were red flags during the Bucharest summit that indicated the annexation of Crimea in 2014: [Putin issued statements] that Ukraines population is one-third Russian, or that it existed in its current form only because of a decision by the Soviet Union. Moreover, then-Polish President Lech Kaczynski had warned at the time of the Georgia invasion that Ukraine would be next. But these early red flags went unheeded.Former Secretary-General praised Georgias and Ukraines efforts and the significant progress that the countries made toward meeting the criteria for NATO membership: The prospect of an ever-closer relationship with NATO has provided an impetus for critical democratic and military reforms, and both countries now contribute regularly to NATO missions, more so even than many member states. Still, Georgia and Ukraine will need to undertake further reforms before they can meet the standards for full NATO membership.Rasmussen also highlighted that Russian factor should not hinder Georgias and Ukraines aspirations: Given the stakes, NATO member states should move beyond offering warm words about the democratic will of the Georgian and Ukrainian people, and acknowledge the disruptive role that Kremlin paranoia is playing in the accession process. We should continue to extend our hand in peace to Putins Russia, provided it changes its behavior. But we must not condemn aspirant countries to an indefinite deep freeze just to appease a strategic adversary. He said that NATO would be neglecting its duty if it allowed that to happen, echoing the statement made by the current Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.In the current international atmosphere, where numerous threats are growing and pose threat to the peace and security of the Western nations, NATO seems more vulnerable than ever before, therefore it has to stand strong to fulfill its main duty of protecting European states. Finally granting Georgia MAP and a privilege to contribute and benefit from the eventual membership will be a strong message sent to Russia: that despite their attempts to hinder the development of Georgia and Ukraine, NATO and its allies still remain strong supporters of the countries. If there wont be meaningful steps taken towards Georgias and Ukraines accession, Russia will only further abuse the hesitation of the member states and will continue its vile and corrupt policy in the neighborhood.
Secondary property market sellers are under great pressure to lower their asking prices due to slowing sales said a research report by Knight Frank. The report which highlighted that secondary property market sellers are under great pressure referred to the URA Private Property Price Index which declined in Q1 2019, to arrive at their conclusion.

The report said that prices of new projects were holding up in Q1, and that the decline in URA price indices was more reflective of the prices of completed properties transacted in the secondary market in Q1. It noted that the NUS Singapore Residential Price Index, which tracks prices of completed non-landed private homes and a proxy for the secondary property market, eased by 0.5% month-to-month after Januarys 0.2% dip in price.

The report which noted that secondary property market sellers are under great pressure to reduce prices, said secondary property market sale transactions in Q1 2019 dropped to 1,623 units from 2,165 units in Q4 2018.

The report acknowledged that while not all the properties transacted Q1 2019 were recorded yet, it was unlikely the secondary property market sale transaction volume would exceed the 2,165 units transacted in Q4 2018.

New sales declining more moderately than the secondary property market sales adds weight to the conclusion that secondary property market sellers are under great pressure to lower their asking prices. The report noted that new sales retreated by 7.4% q-o-q to 1,681 units in Q1 2019.

Intuitively, the prices of the non-landed properties in Core Central Region (CCR) were expected to be more resilient than prices of those outside CCR, said the Knight Frank report.

Yet, the price index for CCR non-landed private residential properties declined by 2.9% q-o-q, and the price index for non-landed properties Outside Central Region (OCR) stayed flat. The price index for non-landed properties in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) also stayed largely unchanged, dipping marginally by 0.2% q-o-q. The announcement of the Cross-Island Line was likely to have supported the prices of non-landed properties in OCR and RCR in Q1.

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secondary property market sellers

The prices of the non-landed properties in Core Central Region (CCR) were expected to be more resilient than prices of those outside CCR.

In contrast, the fall in price index of non-residential properties in CCR probably emanated from the secondary property market sellers seeking to divest their properties urgently, said Knight Frank.

The report noted that out of the new projects that were in the market in Q1, Treasure at Tampines sold the most in Q1 2019. The project sold 270 units at an average unit price of S$1,339 per sq ft. Separately, the announcement of the upcoming stations of the Cross-Island line boosted sales of developments that were in proximity to the upcoming stations, such as Affinity at Serangoon and Riverfront Residences, the report added.

The Knight Frank report said that according to the top 5 selling projects, most of the buyers were acquiring units that have a floor area between 500 and 800 sq ft for less than S$1.1 million. It added that the residential status of the buyers of the top 5 projects were mainly Singaporeans, and that given that these projects were not within the CCR, they were less attractive to foreign buyers who had to fork out higher ABSD.

Separately the rental markets stayed largely stable across all segments. The average rent for Ultra-luxury properties came down q-o-q in Q1 2019, but the decline was attributed to seasonality effects. The yields for the middle-end and mass market stayed compressed, but the yields for ultra-luxury apartments inched up in Q1 2019.

Mr Tan Tee Khoon, Executive Director & Head of Residential (Project Marketing) at Knight Frank commenting on the research report said: While buying sentiment is subdued by the recent cooling measures, the announcement of the Draft Masterplan 2019 is likely the bright spark to trigger more sales activity, especially in areas that will see prospective growth. For instance, the plans for the Greater Southern Waterfront will offer much optimism in the future outlook of residential properties in the vicinity, and these properties will appeal to buyers with longer investment horizon.

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(Adds Chinese comment; paragraphs 5,6)

KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 (Reuters) - Malaysia and China agreed on Friday to resume construction of a multi-billion dollar rail project, shaving nearly a third of the cost, after months of negotiations that strained ties between the two trade partners.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who came to power after a stunning election victory in May, has vowed to renegotiate or cancel what he calls "unfair" Chinese projects authorized by his predecessor, Najib Razak.

The two sides have agreed to cut the cost of the 688-km (430-mile) rail project to 44 billion ringgit ($10.7 billion) from the original 65.5 billion ringgit, Mahathir's office said in a statement.

"This reduction will surely benefit Malaysia and lighten the burden on the country's financial position," it said, adding that more details would be revealed on Monday.

In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular news briefing that officials in both countries had maintained close communication on the project.

"We also hope that both sides can resume project construction at an early date, manage well this good situation, and expand areas of mutual benefit," he said.

In January, Reuters reported, citing sources, that contractor China Communications Construction Co Ltd (CCCC) had offered to nearly halve the cost to save the project, known as the East Coast Rail Line (ECRL).

In March, Malaysia's representative in the talks, Daim Zainuddin, said they could include commercial elements that would benefit the southeast Asian nation, but he did not elaborate.

Launched in 2017, the centerpiece project of China's Belt and Road program in southeast Asia aimed to link Malaysia's east coast on the South China Sea with the busy waterway of the Malacca Strait on the west.

But Malaysia suspended the project last July, after its cost ballooned amid a lack of transparency, threatening to saddle the country with uncomfortably large debt. ($1=4.1180 ringgit) (Reporting by Joseph Sipalan and Liz Lee in KUALA LUMPUR; Additional reporting by Martin Pollard in BEIJING; Editing by Darren Schuettler and Clarence Fernandez)
By Johanna Decorse

TOULOUSE (Reuters) - Yellow vest demonstrators clashed with riot police in the French city of Toulouse on Saturday, even as President Emmanuel Macron prepared a series of policy announcements aimed at quelling 22 consecutive weekends of anti-government protests.

Police in the southeastern city fired teargas and arrested 23 people after several hundred demonstrators threw objects and set fire to cars, motorbikes, a construction cabin and rubbish bins.

Protesters also tried to enter areas of the city from which they had been banned.

Altogether between 5,000 and 6,000 protesters had gathered on the Allee Jean Jaures, a wide avenue in the city centre, and on nearby side streets.

Activist groups had said on social media networks that Toulouse would be the focus for the 22nd round of demonstrations, prompting city mayor Jean-Claude Moudenc to express concern ahead of Saturday's protests.

Marches in Paris and elsewhere were largely peaceful by late afternoon, though police detained 27 in the French capital. Minor clashes broke out near the port in Marseille.

The interior minister estimated a total of 31,000 protesters demonstrated across France, 7,000 more than on the previous Saturday but fewer than the several hundred thousand who took to the street during the first weeks of demonstrations.

The protests continue to put pressure on Macron, who has vowed to announce a series of measures aimed at easing discontent.

The protests, named after the high-visibility safety jackets worn by demonstrators, began in November to oppose fuel tax increases.

The movement quickly morphed into a broader backlash against Macron's government, despite a swift reversal of the tax hikes and the introduction of other measures worth more than 10 billion euros ($11.3 billion) to boost the purchasing power of lower-income voters.

In response to rioting that in December made parts of Paris resemble war zones, Macron launched a two-month consultation that included a series of town hall meetings across the country. He is due to introduce resulting policy measures early next week.

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Ahead of next week's announcements, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe this week presented the conclusions of the consultation, saying it had highlighted demands such as quicker tax cuts, action to address climate change, and more balanced relations between Paris and the provinces.

Yet given the array of sometimes contradictory yellow vest demands the government is unlikely to please all those who demonstrated on Saturday. Some are already preparing a 23rd round of protests next Saturday.

($1 = 0.8849 euros)

(Reporting by Johanna Decorse; Additional reporting by Inti Landauro and Emmanuel Jarry; Editing by Helen Popper and David Holmes)
George Yeo, a prominent former politician under the ruling Peoples Action Party, has announced he will be stepping down from his position as director of Kerry Logistics Network and Kerry Holdings.

He made this announcement on his Facebook page on Friday, but it came at an interesting juncture: while he stated he wanted to retire, netizens have been rife with suspicion that he might come back for the upcoming Singapore general election.

Yeo has been repeatedly asked by citizens to come back and compete in the elections after he retired from public office in 2011 when he lost his seat to the opposition Workers Party in that years elections.

In his Facebook post, he stated that he announced his intention to retire as director of Kerry Logistics Network a year ago after his wife suffered a major illness.

Reaching 65 this year, I want more time for my family and to pursue other interests, he said.

He also stated that he would be relinquishing his title as director of Kerry Holdings.

He noted, however, that he would not be fully retiring: he would continue to serve as a senior adviser to the logistics company and that he would be back in office every month.

The notice caused a few netizens to campaign for him to return to politics and that they would throw their support behind him.

Photo: George Yeo / FB

Some are even hopeful that he would join the newly-formed Progress Singapore Party, an opposition party created by former presidential candidate Dr Tan Cheng Bock.

Photo: All Singapore Stuff / FB

Whether he proceeds to un-retire from political office will remain to be seen, in a keenly-observed general election which has been highly rumored to happen either this year or next.

This article, George Yeo steps down from corporate positions, netizens suspect he might re-enter politics, originally appeared on Coconuts, Asia's leading alternative media company. Want more Coconuts? Sign up for our newsletters!
More than 60 Hong Kong children are being home-schooled, according to an unprecedented survey which found the number shunning the formal system was six times the government record.

The survey by the citys home-schooling community, which was seen by the Post and sent to the Education Bureau, showed most parents did not tell the government of their decision to leave the system.

Barring a reasonable excuse, families are required by law to send their children aged between six and 15 to school, or face a fine of up to HK$10,000 (US$1,275) and three months imprisonment.

The bureau has recently hardened its tone on home-schooling. In a reply to the Post it said officials would not approve the practice. In 2014 the response was that the government would not disallow it.

The education authority said it was currently monitoring about 10 home-schooling cases, down from 25 in 2014. It has issued two attendance orders in the last five years to parents who failed to send their children to schools.

But the survey conducted this month showed there were at least 60 home-schooling families in the city with a total of 97 children, including 68 youngsters aged between six and 15.

Only 18 of those families had informed the bureau of their set-up. Another 11 said they felt no need to, while six were concerned about pressure or interference from authorities.

Of those who did report it, nine said they had wanted to obtain approval or seek clarification on whether the move was against the law.

Dissatisfaction with the mainstream education system was the prime reason parents chose to home-school. The system was stressful and lacked creativity, one parent wrote, while others wanted a more tailored experience to allow their children to learn at their own pace.

The bureau, however, said consent would not usually be given. There is no application mechanism, a spokesman said.

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Should the government identify home-schooling families, they would be monitored on a case-by-case basis with a view to getting the children back to school as soon as possible, he added.

In 2014 then education minister Eddie Ng Hak-kim told lawmakers the bureau would not as a rule disallow home schooling, and a review would be conducted to determine whether these families were equipped to provide an all-round education.

Ng also said parents who wished to home-school could request academic assessments. The bureau spokesman did not clarify whether this still applied.

Some home-schoolers said they had little incentive to get in touch with the government.

An expat couple with teaching experience said they saw no reason to contact the bureau after recently deciding to home-school their sons beyond the age of six. The law did not prescribe how to proceed in their situation, they said.

Another home-schooler and social worker Tse Lai-man said she would continue to teach her son for as long as possible, or until he asked to be enrolled in school.

If one day the government says all home-schooling families must send their children back to traditional schools  Ill be fine with that, but we will lose the autonomy, Tse said.

Her son currently spent more time on subjects and activities he was interested in, she added.

Home-schooling is regulated differently in various places. Singapore, which allows parents to apply for the practice, has an average of about 50 children being home-schooled each year.

In New York, regular reports on home-schooled children are required by authorities.

For Hong Kong, Dr Eva Lau Yi-hung, associate head of the Education University of Hong Kongs department of early childhood education, said there should be a proper mechanism in place.

The government has a responsibility to monitor this, as children are young and vulnerable, Lau said. But she believed parents should be free to choose what education to provide their children.

The ideal mechanism would involve home visits and families submitting samples of teaching material so the bureau could keep track of the childrens developmental progress, she said.

Florrie Ng Fei-yin, associate professor of Chinese Universitys department of educational psychology, agreed with the idea of a formal mechanism, saying the current ambiguity was stressful for home-schooling parents and children.

It is as if they are doing something wrong, Ng said. The government should see how it can assist them.

Cam Cheung Wai-nui, who published a book in 2012 about her experiences home-schooling her two daughters, said parents also needed to open their doors to authorities.

The bureau will then know how to reach you and what you are doing, Cheung said.

Families were rarely stopped from home-schooling after a visit from the bureau, she added.

More from South China Morning Post:

This article Home-schooling in Hong Kong: number of families opting out of system higher than thought, but do they risk running afoul of education authorities? first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2019.
World No. 1 womens shuttler Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan (PHOTO: EFE/EPA/Ahmad Yusni)

SINGAPORE  Tai Tzu-ying draws frequent gasps of admiration from those watching her play. The Taiwanese world No. 1 shuttler makes up for her slight, 1.62m frame with some of the smartest and most unexpected shot selections seen among the current top players, confounding her opponents and sending them scampering all over the court in vain.

On Saturday (13 April) at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, fans witnessed another admirable trait from the 24-year-old  an icy focus even in dire circumstances.

Saving five match points against an inspired world No. 4 Akane Yamaguchi, Tai turned the tables to reach the womens singles final of the Singapore Badminton Open with a stirring 15-21, 24-22, 21-19 win.

Yet, when asked about how she felt to be able to save all those match points, she smiled sheepishly and said, I forgot.

But overall, I thought I adopted a really relaxed approach. Weve played each other many times, so there was a lot of familiarity. In the end, it boils down to our improvised shots.

Down and nearly out against inspired opponent

And how Tai improvised when she had seemed a lost cause at 16-20 down in the second game. Yamaguchi, speedy and aggressive, seemed to have figured out Tais strategy and was frequently at the right spots to deliver smashing winners. And when Tai tried to alter her shot placements to throw the Japanese off-guard, she was too error-prone to be of consistent threat.

Fans were ready to applaud an upset victory, but Tai had other plans. She abandoned experimenting with tough shots, and instead turned up the intensity with faster returns.

It worked wonders, as Yamaguchi was sent sprawling flat on the court on at least two occasions, as she chased Tais returns to no avail. As the crowd sensed a comeback and roared her on, Tai capitalised on her upturn in fortunes and got herself out of trouble.

A deflated Yamaguchi still summoned plenty of fight in the third game, but Tai had too much momentum and confidence to falter.

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Despite her loss, the 21-year-old was full of praise for her opponent, saying, At the end of the second game, Tai had a nothing to lose mentality and she started to come forward. She is very good with everything  her speed, her mentality, her skills.

It was a difficult match, and I made a few mistakes at some key points.

Another Japanese awaits in final

Tai will face another formidable Japanese, world No. 3 Nozomi Okuhara, in Sundays final. Okuhara was in scintillating form, thrashing an out-of-sorts P.V. Sindhu of India 21-7, 21-11 in the other semi-final.

In the mens singles, Indonesias Anthony Sinisuka Ginting lived up to his Giant Killer nickname again, following his victory over reigning Olympic gold medallist Chen Long in the quarter-finals with a 21-17, 18-21, 21-14 win over defending Singapore Open champion, Taiwans Chou Tien-chen.

He will need to be at his giant-killing best again in the final, as he faces world No. 1 Kento Momota, who took 46 minutes to see off Denmarks Viktor Axelsen 21-15, 21-18.

Related stories:

Giant Killer Ginting takes another major scalp in stunning Olympic champ Chen Long

Top seeds find form to advance at Singapore Badminton Open

Lin Dan angers crowd at Singapore Badminton Open after walking off opening tie
Centre Matias Orlando scored a hat-trick as the Jaguares gave their finest Super Rugby display in four years of touring South Africa to stun the Sharks 51-17 Saturday. The victory completed a wonderful tour for the Argentines, who came from 10 points behind last weekend to snatch a late victory over the Bulls in Pretoria. Winning catapulted the Buenos Aires outfit six places up the combined table to seventh and raised hopes that they can match their performance of last season and make the play-offs. Later, the Sharks surrendered the South African conference leadership and fell two places in the combined standings to fifth after the Bulls beat the Queensland Reds 32-17 in Pretoria. Bulls fly-half Handre Pollard became the first player to pass the 100-point mark in the southern hemisphere franchise championship this season by contributing 12 points. Scrum-half Tomas Cubelli scored the first of seven Jaguares tries after just three minutes and they led 21-10 by half-time at Kings Park in Indian Ocean port city Durban. Man-of-the-match Pablo Matera scored his second try three minutes into the second half to stretch the lead and the match ended as a contest long before time. "I think the whole team deserved the man-of-the-match award rather them me," said the outstanding flanker. "Defeating the Bulls and the Sharks at their stadiums for the first time makes this an amazing tour of South Africa for us. "Everyone contributed to this victory, including our replacements, who made huge contributions when they came off the bench during the second half." Sharks skipper and scrum-half Louis Schreuder was furious with his side after beginning the match as favourites having trouncing the Lions by 37 points in Johannesburg last weekend. "What a disappointing performance. We did everything wrong and nothing right. There were so many stupid mistakes by us that I lost count. - Major concern - "What went wrong? Well, when you concede 51 points in one match there has to be questions about the defence. We host the Reds next and hopefully we can put this match behind us." A major concern for the Durban side must be their home form with the Jaguares joining the Stormers and Bulls in winning at Kings Park this season. Orlando (three), Matera (two), Cubelli and winger Matias Moroni scored tries for the Jaguares and fly-half Domingo Miotti kicked five conversions and two penalties. Lock Hyron Andrews and substitute back Aphelele Fassi scored Sharks' tries, fly-half Robert du Preez kicked a conversion and a penalty and full-back Curwin Bosch slotted a conversion. In Pretoria, Springbok Pollard lifted his season points tally to 108 followed by All Blacks utility back Damian McKenzie of the Waikato Chiefs with 81. Pollard could have finished with a higher points tally against the Reds as he missed three of six kicks at goal in a match where the Bulls led 13-3 at half-time. "I was happy to be back after resting last weekend and to be part of a great victory," said Pollard. "We have a bye next weekend and, hopefully, that will not be a momentum breaker." Reds skipper and centre Samu Kerevi said: "We have many young players but must not use that as an excuse. We must man up. Hopefully, we will do better against the Sharks next Friday." Prop Lizo Gqoboka, flanker Marco van Staden, Pollard, flanker Hanro Liebenberg and winger Jade Stighling scored tries for the Bulls and Pollard kicked two conversions and a penalty. Kerevi scored two tries for the Reds and fly-half Bryce Hegarty converted both and kicked a penalty.
Dozens of migrants stuck on a ship since their rescue in the Mediterranean 10 days ago, will be allowed to disembark in Malta after four European countries agreed to take them in, Malta's prime minister said Saturday. All 62 migrants on the Alan Kurdi ship "will be disembarked and redistributed between #Germany, #France, #Portugal and #Luxembourg," Joseph Muscat announced on Twitter. "None will remain in Malta which cannot shoulder this burden alone," he added. On Friday, French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said Paris and other EU partners would "show solidarity" towards the migrants, who include 12 women and two children aged one and six. The group was rescued on April 3 from a barely seaworthy vessel off Libya, and brought to the Italian island of Lampedusa. But hardline Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini refused them entry, and said Berlin should take the migrants as they had been rescued by Sea Eye, a German NGO. "It's their problem, they must deal with it," Salvini said, adding he had personally written to the ship's captain to warn the vessel must "not enter Italian territorial waters." On Saturday, Salvini, of the far-right League party, expressed pleasure at the outcome. "As promised, no immigrant from this German NGO (ship) will arrive in Italy. They will go to Germany or elsewhere," he tweeted. - Salvini satisfied - "The Maltese are right to denounce the danger of the NGO's -- we stand beside them in the fight against human traffickers," added Salvini, who last month insisted Italian ports would be closed to migrant rescue NGOs operating in the Mediterranean in a bid to force other EU states to take them in. Valleta expressed frustration at being caught in the middle. "Once again, the European Union's smallest state has been put under pointless pressure in being tasked with resolving an issue which was not its responsability," the Maltese government complained in a statement. Last week, two of the women -- one of whom is pregnant -- turned down an offer to leave the ship with the children unless their husbands were allowed to join them. The two women were ultimately evacuated midweek for health reasons to Valletta, leaving 62 people aboard. Late Friday a crewman was allowed off the ship for medical reasons. The Alan Kurdi vessel is named after the three-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed up on a Turkish beach at the height of the European migrant crisis in 2015. Pictures of his lifeless body caused a global outcry over the migrants' plight. Italy, with EU support, has also since 2017 been training the Libyan coast guard to intercept boats as part of a controversial deal that has seen migrant arrivals to Italy drop sharply. Last month, Malta with its population of 450,000 received 108 migrants aboard a Palau-flagged tanker hijacked by three young Africans who diverted the boat from Libya. A total of 356 people have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean so far this year, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Dozens of migrants stuck on a ship since their rescue in the Mediterranean 10 days ago, arrived in Malta Saturday after four European countries agreed to take them in. And as Italy's hardline interior minister expressed satisfaction at having kept the country's borders closed to the migrants, Malta expressed frustration at being confronted with the problem again. All 62 migrants still on the German-flagged ship Alan Kurdi boarded Maltese naval vessels, which brought them to Valletta, where they were to join two women evacuated last week for medical reasons. The migrants are to be "redistributed between #Germany, #France, #Portugal and #Luxembourg," Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced on Twitter. "None will remain in Malta which cannot shoulder this burden alone," he added. On Friday, French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said Paris and other EU partners would "show solidarity" towards the migrants, who include 12 women and two children aged one and six. The group was rescued on April 3 from a barely seaworthy vessel off Libya, and brought to the Italian island of Lampedusa. Sea-Eye chairman Gorden Isler denounced the time it had taken to find a compromise. "It is simply not explainable why it was necessary for people to stay on board during the long negotiations while governments negotiated 64 individual fates," he said. But Italy's hardline Interior Minister Matteo Salvini refused them entry. Berlin should take the migrants as they had been rescued by a German NGO, Sea Eye, he said. "It's their problem, they must deal with it," Salvini said, adding he had personally written to the ship's captain to warn him the vessel must not enter Italian territorial waters. On Saturday, Salvini, of the far-right League party, expressed satisfaction at the outcome. "As promised, no immigrant from this German NGO (ship) will arrive in Italy. They will go to Germany or elsewhere," he tweeted. - Salvini satisfied - "The Maltese are right to denounce the danger of the NGO's -- we stand beside them in the fight against human traffickers," added Salvini, who last month insisted Italian ports would be closed to migrant rescue NGOs operating in the Mediterranean to force other EU states to take them in. Valletta expressed frustration at being caught in the middle. "Once again, the European Union's smallest state has been put under pointless pressure in being tasked with resolving an issue which was neither its responsibility nor its remit...," the Maltese government complained in a statement. "Malta calls on the NGOs to abide by all applicable conventions and regulations." Last week, two of the women -- one of whom is pregnant -- turned down an offer to leave the ship with the children unless their husbands were allowed to join them. The women were ultimately evacuated midweek for health reasons to Valletta. Late Friday a crewman was allowed off the ship for medical reasons. The Alan Kurdi vessel is named after the three-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed up on a Turkish beach at the height of the European migrant crisis in 2015. Pictures of his lifeless body caused a global outcry over the migrants' plight. Italy, with EU support, has also since 2017 been training the Libyan coast guard to intercept boats as part of a controversial deal that has seen migrant arrivals to Italy drop sharply. Last month, Malta received 108 migrants aboard a Palau-flagged tanker hijacked by three young Africans who diverted the boat from Libya. Although many ships hired by humanitarian organisations have been blocked in ports for judicial or administrative reasons, the Italian group Mediterranea said Saturday that its ship Mare Jonio was ready to set off on a rescue mission. A total of 356 people have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean so far this year, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Photos by Zachary Tang.

When youre an Influencer, flipping on the Influencer switch is harder than it looks.

It is a delicate juggling act of exuding poise and gravitas, while appearing as relatable as the everyday person. When one of them speaks to you, you can feel a kinship that you ordinarily only have with family and close friends.

So its a little unexpected when Mongchin Yeoh, better known as Mongabong to her 200,000 Instagram followers, tells me,The only reason why I dont mind being honest with you guys is because Rice Media wrote something about us before, and it wasnt a very positive one.

Shes referring to an article on the phenomenon of Instagram boyfriends that we ran 2 years ago. While we didnt single her out in the story, her face, along with her boyfriends, was used as the cover image.

People like me and Xin Lin, we dont make money off our boyfriends. In fact, we actively say no to brands who want to involve them.

Just last month, Yeoh walked down the aisle with that same boyfriend. But unlike other influencers, she wanted her wedding to be the one aspect of her life untouched by sponsors.

Unlike Melissa C. Kohs wedding, right? I ask.

To each his own, she replies, a knowing smile implying her refusal to name and shame.

This, for me, sums up the influencer game. Self-image is everything, and for Mongchin Yeoh, its all about having the Girl-Next-Door (GND) persona locked down.

A quick trip to Yeohs Instagram feed and you will be greeted by calm, almost tranquil pastel colours, mostly of pink and beige. In almost all of her photos, she is dressed suitably for the occasion in outfits youd feel comfortable with your daughter wearing. Meanwhile, her trademark comforts you like a warm hug.

This is in direct contrast to Booby Thirst Traps (BTT), with whom it is likelier that you cop a peek of their areola before you find out what their favourite colour is. As such, the hordes of young female followers look up to them as role models. This has resulted in them being more successful than BTTs.

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Compared to BTTs whose Instagram posts are defined by the amount of skin they show, GND Influencers are supposedly more marketable, giving brands likes that are more valuable and useful.

If you think about it, this makes perfect sense. The people who frequent the Instagram pages of BTTs are predominantly lustful men who probably dont spend any money buying the products being advertised, regardless of how many of these posts they like. This includes lingerie or female fashion products.

Its so uncomfortable not knowing what those photos are used for, Yeoh says.

Highlighting the reason why she doesnt feel comfortable revealing too much in her photos, she winces as she adds, Im very sure that even the mildest thing like short shorts are already being used for such things.

Having recently covered a story on insidious Telegram group chats where EDMW members circulate photos of scantily clad women, and seen Yeohs pictures pop up on more than one occasion, I can attest to this.

This could potentially perpetuate an already pervasive problemthe oversexualisation and commodification of young women. Already, examples like SgInstaBabes and SgJCBabes abound. One day youre posting a picture of your cleavage, the next, youre partying with strange men on a yacht who paid the low price of $5000 to hang out with you.

Yet due to the exponential speed at which BTTs can grow their followings on social media, many are tempted to sashay down a similar path to fame. While there is nothing wrong with this, some of these aspiring influencers are barely teenagers.

Yeoh points out that girls as young as 13 are starting to post more revealing photos, in a bid to gain more traction on social media.

In fact, a story published by ST in 2017 shows that this phenomenon was already pervasive back then. It is alarming to think that prepubescent girls are posting suggestive photos in their pursuit of fame. If they learn that they get rewarded with male attention if they show more skin, they could grow up with skewed understandings of their own sexuality, pegging their self-worth to their physical appearance.

Were already seeing younger girls dressed skimpily, they might see it as a shortcut to fame. They grow (on social media) a lot faster than people who dont. So there definitely is an incentive to go for that kind of an image, Yeoh explains, elaborating on how BTTs might not be the best role model for young women.

That said, Yeoh doesnt take issue with BTTs and their business model.

They (BTTs) have high following and user engagement rates. Thats something that we cannot ignore. A lot of these brands are still going after these numbers, whether or not its quality likes, but they have to report to their bosses.

Even then, it appears that more BTTs are pivoting from raunchy to dignified in order to increase their marketability with brands.

I feel like a lot of BTTs actually started showing a lot more substance than what they used to. Theyre fashionable, and its no longer about just being in bikinis, they would also try and show how they can dress, Yeoh elaborates. She explains that these influencers are now more than just thirst traps for men, and can even offer women an alternative to look up to.

This could be due to the fact that GND types of influencers seem to be raking in more business, and BTTs are now realising their inability to provide quality likes of the Mongabong variety.

Take Drea Chong for example, one of Singapores top GND influencers.

The 26-year old portrays a wholesome image not unlike Yeohs. Recently, her collaboration with Italian shoe manufacturer Superga sold out within a day, with most snapped up by female teenagers. It might be easy to imagine Kylie Jenners cosmetic products selling out in minutes, but a product selling out after being championed by a local influencer is unheard of.

But these levels of success are not without any drawbacks. For starters, Yeoh tells me that she has to be switched on almost every hour of the day.

My work is me. I have to portray the most accurate version of me to my viewers, Yeoh says.

When you film something you need to be 20x more enthusiastic for it to show on screen. Its very hard for me to be myself like that, and it would look very boring.

As you might imagine, having to keep up appearances every hour of the day can be quite draining. For Yeoh, one of the biggest struggles she faces is knowing when to turn off, and to live life in the present; not to fall into the occupational hazard of looking at everything with the eyes of a curator.

Sometimes I get so caught up with work that I realise my entire life becomes about work. When that happens, Ill give myself a few hours break and really indulge in my dramas, or go on a trip.

Understanding the importance of work-life balance, Yeoh has started saying no to jobs that require her to work on weekendsthe time that she rests and spends time with her husband and her parents, who work in the wholesale lingerie business.

While her husband has handled her fame well, her parents were worried that their job would be a source of embarrassment for her.

I think its weird for them to live with an influencer, even though I only show them twice a year. Once on CNY and on Mothers day, sometimes they tell me that people still recognise them.

They do wholesale to different shops, so sometimes they will bring a big amount of underwear or bras to these shops and I think sometimes they get recognised and they ask are we embarrassing you? she tells me, with an expression of near-guilt.

Perhaps, one of the reasons why Singaporeans might find the Mongabong brand so alluring is because it doesnt feel like one. As an influencer, her job is basically to sell us products that brands pay her to. However, she is successful not because she is a pretty face in front of the camera, but because the Mongabong story is relatable to all of us.

Like many Singaporeans, she was just another person struggling to make it in the rat race. And even though she ultimately broke free from that mould in her pursuit of becoming an influencer, she still faces problems that all of us do.

From eczema to planning the perfect wedding that would please both yourself and parents, Singaporeans are able to relate to the problems she encounters because they are issues that Singaporeans face. Yeoh showing her vulnerable side by going through all of these with her followers reveals a sense of honesty that the public cravessomething painfully absent in the world we live in today.

We posture in front of nosy aunties who ask us if we are doing well in school, or at work. Heck, even our parents give in to this pressure and feel compelled to play up our minor successes. There is so much pressure to be a great success here, and Yeoh is a much-welcomed breath of fresh air. When this honesty comes from a complete stranger who gives you a peek into her shortcomings, people are instantly drawn in.

On the other hand, BTTs in with their curvaceous bodies and barely-there-underwear sell us the false reality that everything is perfect. What we need influencers to remind us is that even though things appear to be perfect, they are not. It is people like Yeoh who do this, reminding Singaporeans that its okay if youre imperfect, or if you didnt do well enough to be a doctor, banker, lawyer, or even an entrepreneur.

Ultimately, this is what Singaporeans want. The average Singaporean is, after all, simply average. And they want experiences that which tell them influencers are simply human, just like us.

A pair of breasts certainly wont do this.

Have something to say? Tell us at community@ricemedia.co

The post Mongabong, and The Rise of the Girl-Next-Door Influencer appeared first on RICE.
Why does everyone seem to be talking about Meet Joe Black all of a sudden? Didnt that movie come out in 1998?

Theyre talking about it because of a tweet. This tweet. As of this writing, its been viewed more than 4 million times. Ill give you a moment to watch the video.

This is the most bonkers one minute of a movie that I have ever seen pic.twitter.com/wjRxHlIBO4  Rose O'Shea (@ladyastronauty) April 11, 2019

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Hey, its Claire Forlani. And theres Brad Pitt. Why do they keep turning around to look at each other so many times? And isnt it kind of unrealistic how Brad Pitt keeps stopping right in the middle of the street tooh! Oh my gosh! He got hit!

Wait for it.

Oh!! He got hit!!!! Again!!!!!!!! Immediately!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah.

Is this the end of the movie or something? Let me guess, theyre star-crossed lovers whove been together a long time but are forced to part due to uncontrollable circumstances culminating in Brad Pitts untimely, tragicomic death?

Au contraire, my friend. This scene takes place at the beginning of the movie, and they just met. She fell in love with him pretty much immediately.

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Sure, its 1990s-era Brad Pitt, I get it. But then he immediately dies? I am confused and distressed.

I can help relieve only one of those emotions, Im afraid. Meet Joe Black is a loose remake of Death Takes a Holiday and stars Anthony Hopkins as Bill Parrish, a wealthy businessman who gets a visit from Deathlike, the concept of Death. Death is interested in experiencing life as a human on Earth, so he (it?) inhabits the body of a manthats Brad Pittand eventually begins a romantic relationship with the businessmans daughter, played by Forlani. Her character is named Susan.

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Susan met Brad Pitt at a coffee shop, and then he got hit by the car, as we just saw, but she didnt see that. When they meet again, the mans body is being possessed by Death. Susan doesnt know that, so she thinks hes the same guy and that knows her dad and that hes named Joe Black. They have sex by the swimming pool.

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Sorry, she has sex with Death?

By the swimming pool, yes.

Anything else?

Theres a subplot in which Bill is being forced out of his company by Susans non-Death boyfriend, and it is resolved by Death posing as an IRS agent, and I am very sorry to tell you that he does in fact use the phrase death and taxes.

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Can this movie possibly get any weirder?

It sure can. Theres an entire scene in which Deathwho, again, is being played by Brad Pitt speaks Jamaican patois.

No.

Yes.

Why?

Theyre at a hospital because Susan works there, and a patient spots Death and recognizes his otherworldliness.

Again, 1990s-era Brad Pitt, understandable.

He reassures her in her own dialect that hes not there to bring her to the afterlife yet and also he takes her pain away, because I guess thats something Death can do?

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What a box-office bomb this must have been.

Actually, it made $143 million. But it was also very expensive to make: reportedly $90 million, which was $30 million over budget, though the chairman of Universal Pictures at the time denied those reports. (He insisted that it was over budget but not insanely over budget.) According to the New York Times at the time, a $90 million budget would be a record for a traditional romance. How much of that was spent on the swimming pool, we dont know for sure, though the Times article notes that it was built specifically for the film.

What director could possibly get away with something like that?

Martin Brest, whose previous three features were Beverly Hills Cop, Midnight Run, and Scent of a Woman, all commercial and critical successes.

You know what, I think Im going to watch it.

It is three hours long. And Brests next movie was Gigli.

Then how did it make $143 million?

Some peopleespecially overseas, where it made most of its moneyreally liked it! Although some people also just bought tickets to watch the trailer for The Phantom Menace, which was playing before the movie, then immediately got up and left.

On second thought, Ill stick to watching the looped GIF of Brad Pitt getting hit over and over again.

Good choice.
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.

On this episode, preschool kids get their first taste of democratic participation when they vote on their class name, and private schools try to display the value of democracy by making kids vote on everything, even the school budget. Does it work, or do kids make terrible decisions?

One diagnosis of our modern-day political problems is that too many stupid people are voting for stupid things. There are two proposed fixes: mandate that everyone vote, so as to diminish the power of ignorant and irrational voters; or find ways to disenfranchise misinformed people. This week, we examine both proposals, whether compulsory voting is a solution to the problems of democracy and whether getting rid of democracy altogether can be wise or just. We look at Sudbury Valley School and Brooklyn Free School, democratic schools where people who are thought too ignorant and irrational to vote are given democratic power. Do these schools offer any lessons for our democratic problems?

Guest voices include Jill Sheppard, Jason Brennan, Noleca Radway, Jonathan Ho, and alumnae of democratic schools.

In the Slate Plus segment, we look at how the compulsory voting system in Australia works, examine whether compulsory voting has consistent policy implications, and consider arguments that it is an infringement on liberty.

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
To listen to the discussion, use the player below:

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Listen to Slates Political Gabfest via Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.

On this weeks Slate Political Gabfest, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, David Plotz, and Jamelle Bouie discuss the arrest of Julian Assange, President Donald Trumps purge of the Department of Homeland Security, and the 2020 contenders for president.

Here are some of the links and references from this weeks show:

 Bartnicki v. Vopper (2001)

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 The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, also known as the 1951 Refugee Convention

 Michael D. Shear, Miriam Jordan, and Manny Fernandez for the New York Times: The U.S. Immigration System May Have Reached a Breaking Point

 Eric Bradner for CNN: Pete Buttigieg Makes Star Turn in Town Hall Spotlight

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Here are this weeks cocktail chatters:

 John: Ian ONeill for History.com: Black Holes Were Such an Extreme Concept, Even Einstein Had His Doubts

 Emily: Timothy Bella for the Washington Post: An 11-Year-Old Girl Could Be Deported Because of a Court Error Triggered by the Government Shutdown, Attorney Says

 Jamelle: PBSs Reconstruction: America After the Civil War and Black Reconstruction in America, 1860-1880 by W.E.B. Dubois

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 David: There have been three U.S. presidents who were previously mayors: Grover Cleveland (Buffalo, New York), Calvin Coolidge (Northampton, Massachusetts), and Andrew Johnson (Greeneville, Tennessee).

For this weeks Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, David, John, and Jamelle take questions from the live audience in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Topic ideas for next week? You can tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @SlateGabfest. Tweet us your cocktail chatter using #cocktailchatter or post it to our Facebook page. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Become a fan of the Political Gabfest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @SlateGabfest. The email address for the Political Gabfest is gabfest@slate.com. (Email may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.
President Donald Trump reportedly told Kevin McAleenan, who is currently the acting Homeland Security secretary, he would pardon him if he were sent to jail for blocking people from entering the United States along the southern border. Several outlets reported that Trump had that conversation with McAleenan last week when they were in Calexico, California. At the time, McAleenan was the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection. Trump then named him head of Homeland Security after Kirstjen Nielsen resigned Sunday.

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Although several outlets have reported the conversation citing anonymous sources, the context of the pardon promise changes a bit depending on who is doing the reporting. CNN, for example, says Trump vowed to pardon him if he ever went to jail for denying US entry to migrants. The New York Times, however, said the pardon promise came as the two were talking about closing the southern border entirely. Everybody does note though that it wasnt necessarily clear whether Trump was joking. Although Trump had threatened to close the border earlier this month, he later backtracked and said he would give Mexico one year before taking such drastic action.

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Homeland Security issued a statement that doesnt quite deny Trumps promise of a pardon.

At no time has the President indicated, asked, directed or pressured the Acting Secretary to do anything illegal, the department said in a statement. Nor would the Acting Secretary take actions that are not in accordance with our responsibility to enforce the law.

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Trump also denied that he offered the pardon. Of course this is not true, he wrote on Twitter. Mainstream Media is corrupt and getting worse, if that is possible, every day!
WikiLeaks put an end to the mystery. Julian Assanges cat is safe and sound. We can confirm that Assanges cat is safe, the organization said Saturday in a tweet. Assange asked his lawyers to rescue him from embassy threats in mid-October. They will be reunited in freedom.

The question about the whereabouts of Assanges cat had spread like wildfire on social media after he was arrested Thursday in London. Assange got the cat in 2016, purportedly to keep him company as he spent his days inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. The cat gained quite a bit of a following on social media under the moniker, Embassy Cat, described as the master of counter-purveillance. In an interview with The New Yorker, Assange had said he called the cat Michi or Cat/stro.

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The cats social media accounts were quite active when it first arrived at the embassy, but the frequency of posting quickly began decreasing. His Twitter account has been silent for more than a year. The cat made a bit of a splash in the news last year after the embassy issued a series of rules for Assange that specifically laid out the requirement for him to take care, feed, and clean up after his cat.

Before this past week, several outlets had already reported that the cat was no longer at the embassy. The Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported late last year that Assange gave up the cat to spare it an isolation which has become unbearable and allow it a healthier life.
Attorney General William Barr has faced harsh criticism for his problematic treatment of the Mueller report, which some have suggested appeared to be calculated to benefit the president. But a different action Barr recently took at President Donald Trumps behest should be equally concerning. Last month, the attorney general announced that the United States will cease defending any portion of the Affordable Care Act in the courts. Instead, the DOJ will join a number of state attorneys general in challenging the constitutionality of the entire ACA, following the effective repeal of the individual mandate by Congress.

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This comes after the DOJ stopped defending the constitutionality of the ACAs protection of insurance coverage for those with preexisting conditions last year. In taking the position that the entire ACA is constitutionally void, Barr abandoned a long-standing principle that the Department of Justice is duty-bound to defend the constitutionality of federal laws. In the words of one of Barrs predecessors, such an action by the nations chief law enforcement officer may jeopardize the equilibrium of our constitutional system.

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Barr has all but acknowledged that the arguments against the ACAs constitutionality, although they were accepted by one trial judge, are far from compelling; in fact, most observers (including some opponents of the law) consider them to be extremely weak. But during testimony before Congress this week, Barr stated that he nonetheless feels duty-bound to attack the ACA in the courts because Trump, after failing to convince a majority of the Senate to vote in favor of repealing the ACA, is now eager to see the act nullified by the courts instead.

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Barrs decision is at direct odds with a policy upheld for decades by attorneys general in Republican and Democratic administrations. As President Ronald Reagans first attorney general, William French Smith, wrote in 1981, the DOJ has a duty to defend the constitutionality of an Act of Congress whenever a reasonable argument can be made in its support.

While serving as President Jimmy Carters attorney general, Benjamin Civiletti explained that this policy is rooted in the Constitutions separation of powers. While the courts are charged with protecting both the government and the citizenry from unconstitutional action, legislative and Executive [  ] only the Executive Branch can execute the statutes of the United States, including by defending them in the courts. Therefore, if executive officers were to adopt a policy of ignoring or attacking acts of Congress whenever they believed them to be in conflict with the provisions of the constitution, their conduct in office could jeopardize the equilibrium established within our constitutional system.

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Prior attorneys general recognized only one extremely narrow exception to this obligation to defend the nations laws: when an attorney general concludes that there is no reasonable argument in favor of a federal statutes constitutionality. As Civiletti put it, where everything in our constitutional jurisprudence inescapably establishes that a law is unconstitutional, then the Executive Branch can properly decline to defend or enforce it.

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Until recently, conservative legal scholars emphasized the narrowness of this exception. Many of them assailed Eric Holder, President Barack Obamas attorney general, for choosing to end the DOJs defense of a portion of the Defense of Marriage Act denying federal government recognition to same-sex marriages. While Holder argued that changes in Supreme Court jurisprudence left no reasonable basis to defend the law, his opponents contended that Holder was being disingenuous and placing ideological concerns above his duty to defend a duly enacted federal law. In fact, conservative legal advocate Edward Whelan continued to assail Holders decision to abandon the defense of DOMA even after the law was struck down by the Supreme Court, calling it a shameful moment in politicized government lawyering and  a dangerous precedent that deserves condemnation.

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Barrs decision to attack the ACA in court, however, sets a far more dangerous precedent. Unlike Holder, Barr does not even make a pretense of arguing that there is no reasonable argument in favor of the ACAs constitutionality. Rather, during his recent testimony, Barr explained to Republican Sen. Susan Collins that he acceded to the presidents demand to attack the ACA in the courts because the arguments mounted against the law are defensible and reasonable. Barrs reasoning turns long-standing DOJ policy on its head, allowing the attorney general to abandon a federal law so long as there is some plausible basis to question its constitutionalityeven if there are reasonable, or even compelling, arguments to be made in support of the laws validity.

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When pressed, Barr asserted that supporters of the ACA have nothing to worry about if they are right that the arguments the DOJ is adopting against the ACAs constitutionality are weak. I think people should take a deep breath, Barr said. If this is such a wacky position that the administration is taking, then theres nothing to fear. Then the law will be upheld. Just [l]et the courts do their job, the attorney general suggested. But Barrs argument misses the point. As his predecessor Civiletti observed decades ago, while it is the courts constitutional job to protect against unconstitutional action, the Constitution assigns the executive branch the obligation to faithfully defend the nations laws, including before the courts. It is, therefore, in Ed Whelans words, shameful for the DOJ to abandon that job.

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Barrs decision to attack the ACA in court sets a far more dangerous precedent.

Barrs DOJ is already taking full advantage of its newfound freedom to pick and choose which federal laws to defend in court. Just this week the solicitor general informed House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler that the DOJ has chosen to cease defending the constitutionality of a federal law criminalizing the practice of female genital mutilation and cutting (FGM/C).

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Earlier this month, the acting director of the DOJs Office on Violence Against Women decried the horrific crime of FGM/C, explaining that at least 513,000 women and girls in the United States have suffered or are at risk of becoming victims of it. The FBI, ICE, and the State Department have all recently likewise reiterated a commitment to using the full force of the federal government against this heinous practice.

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But the federal law against FGM/C is largely grounded in Congress regulatory authority under the Commerce Clause, which conservative legal scholars and judges have long been intent upon limiting on principles of federalism; the other rationale for the statutethat it implements Congress power to enforce an international human rights treatyis similarly objectionable to strong advocates of federalism. Accordingly, as in the case of the ACA, the DOJ is abandoning its defense of a law against this heinous practice for transparently ideological reasons.

In explaining his decision to mount a litigation effort against the ACA, Barr stated that he serves the president and other stakeholders in the executive branch. Therefore, if the president directs him to attack a statute, even one Barr seems to believe will ultimately be upheld in the courts, the attorney general considers himself duty-bound to oblige. This goes to the heart of Barrs misconception of his role as attorney general. He is the lawyer for the United States, not for Donald Trump. As such, he and the DOJ owe a duty to uphold and defend the laws of the nation, even if the president does not like them, just as he is obligated to disclose facts uncovered by Robert Mueller, even if they are harmful to Donald Trump. Barrs failure to abide by such foundational principles truly threatens the equilibrium of our constitutional system.
The good old password really has run its course, says Dave Lewis, Cisco global advisory chief information security officer. So what replaces it? Multifactor authentication with biometrics can raise security levels, and its use is trending up, demonstrating an evolutionary step up in identity and credential management.

Also in this months podcast, Glen Kitteringham, CPP, and podcast host Chuck Harold discuss the value of academic research to security professionals andmost importantlyhow to put it into practice. Paul Wood, CPP, explains how taking a proactive, empathetic approach to threat assessment can identify and address insider threats while improving organizational morale.
Dr. Gus Karazulas, the chief forensic odontologist of the Connecticut State Police Forensic Science Laboratory, testified that bite mark analysis was an exact science that could link an individual to a bite mark to the exclusion of all other individuals. Karazulas said that he compared Swintons teeth to the marks on Terrys body and determined to a reasonable medical certainty without any reservation that Swinton made the bite marks. ----------------------------------------- PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY:

"Shortly before 5 a.m. on January 13, 1991, the body of 28-year-old Carla Terry was found in a snowbank near the University of Hartford in Hartford, Connecticut. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled to death.



Police soon focused on 42-year-old Alfred Swinton after witnesses said they saw him talking to Terry a few hours earlier in a nearby tavern. Police obtained a search warrant for Swintons apartment, which was a short walk from where Terrys body was found.

During the search, they found a black bra in a basement common area. Although Terrys sister, Laverne Terry, said she did not recognize the garment, police believed that Swinton had killed Terry after she refused to trade sex for drugs and that he took the bra as a trophy.

In March 1991, police drove Swinton to the location where Terrys body had been discovered, as well as the locations where four other women had been found murdered in Hartford. Swinton told police that he knew all of the women, but denied having anything to do with their murders. Police, however, believed he was a serial killer.

After a forensic analyst said that bite marks on Terrys breasts appeared to have been made by Swintons teeth, police arrested him on June 25, 1991. However, he was released in August when a judge ruled there was insufficient evidence to charge him with murder after the forensic analyst said there was no way to determine when the bite marks were made in relation to Terrys murder.

The case went cold for several years. However, Swinton again was arrested for Terrys murder in October 1998 after another forensic odontologist examined the evidence and said the bite marks had been left not long before Terry was killed.

Swinton went to trial in Superior Court in Hartford in January 2001. Terrys sister, Lavernewho in 1991 said that she did not recognize the black bratestified that it in fact belonged to her niece, who had loaned it to the victim. Laverne said she had helped pin the bra so the victim could wear it.

Dr. Gus Karazulas, the chief forensic odontologist of the Connecticut State Police Forensic Science Laboratory, testified that bite mark analysis was an exact science that could link an individual to a bite mark to the exclusion of all other individuals. Karazulas said that he compared Swintons teeth to the marks on Terrys body and determined to a reasonable medical certainty without any reservation that Swinton made the bite marks.

Hector Freeman testified that on the night of the crime, he saw Carla Terry around 1 a.m. at the Oakland Terrace Cafe and agreed to take her home. However, first they stopped at Kenneys Grill. Freeman said he left with Terry shortly before 2 a.m. and dropped her off at the home of another sister, Rhonda Terry.

Darlene Chappell, a bartender at Kenney's Grill, testified that she saw Swinton and Terry at the bar, but Swinton left before Terry.

Martha Point-DuJour, a customer at Kenneys, testified that she saw Swinton talking with Terry. After Terry left with Freeman, she said, Swinton left alone.

Rhonda Terry testified that she saw Carla Terry get out of Freemans car shortly after 2 a.m. She said she saw her sister walk across the street and out of view, but she never arrived. Her body was found less than three hours later.

Mary Alice Mills testified that although she did not remember his exact words, she heard Swinton say in 1991 that he got away with murder. She admitted that when she heard the statement, she was drinking alcohol and getting stoned.

James Arnold, an inmate at the Webster Correctional Institution and an admitted heroin addict, claimed he had two conversations with Swinton in 1991, during which Swinton told him that he bit the victim. Cynthia Stallings, a habitual drug user, testified that in August 1991, Swinton said that he was not innocent of Terry's murder, and that the authorities had him through the teeth marks that were found on Terrys breasts.

The prosecution also presented portions of a freelance writers tape-recorded interview of Swinton . The writer, Karon Haller, published an article about the unsolved murders of 10 women and quoted Swinton as saying that the women likely traded sex for drugs. At the same time, Swinton said he had been falsely accused of being an insane murderer. You dont have to be insane to have sex and bit somebody all over her body, all right?

The prosecution asserted showed Swintons consciousness of guilt. The tape of the interview also contained Swintons denials that he had any involvement in Terrys death or the deaths of any of the womenalthough those denials were not in the article Haller published.

Michael Scalise testified that while he was in jail with Swinton prior to Swintons trial, Swinton confessed to him that he had killed Terry. Scalise, who also said that another inmate had confessed an unrelated crime to him as well, said Swinton told him he had sex with Terry, bit her on the breasts, killed her, and took her bra. Police subsequently equipped Scalise with a hidden tape recorder, but Swinton never incriminated himself and repeatedly insisted he was innocent.

Swintons defense attorney presented a dental expert as well. Forensic dentist Neal Riesner testified that his examination revealed no match between Swintons teeth and the bite marks. Riesner testified that the images used by Karazulas were too blurry to allow for a positive match, and that a computer enhancement falsely increased the appearance of a match.

On March 21, 2001, the jury convicted Swinton of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to 60 years in prison. Although police said they continued to suspect Swinton in the other unsolved murders, he was never charged with any of those crimes.

In 2004, the Connecticut Supreme Court upheld his conviction, although the court said that the computer enhancement evidence should not have been allowed because the person who created the enhancement was never called to testify.

In 2014 and 2015, at the request of the Connecticut Innocence Project, DNA testing was performed on the bite mark swabs. The tests identified male DNA that did not belong to Swinton. DNA testing of the bra revealed the presence of skin cells that did not match the victim or Swintonsuggesting that Carla Terry had never worn it. Although Swinton had never been charged with sexually assaulting Terry, anal and vaginal swabs taken at the time also were tested and revealed male DNA that did not match Swinton.

Because of a conflict, the Innocence Project took over Swintons representation in 2015 and enlisted the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher &Flom. After bringing the case to the attention to the Hartford County states attorneys office, DNA testing of the fingernail scrapings of the victim was performed. Those tests also excluded Swinton.

Since Dr. Karazulass 2001 testimony, the scientific community had come to reject bite mark analysis as a forensic method capable of identifying a suspect. A 2009 report by the National Academy of Sciences found that there is no scientific basis for forensic odontologists (bite mark analysts) to proffer individualization testimony.

The Presidents Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and the Texas Forensic Science Commission, which recommended a ban on the use of bite mark evidence, has also condemned the use of bite mark analysis.

The American Board of Forensic Odontologists, the accrediting board for bite mark analysts, no longer permits analysts to make a positive identification from bite mark comparisons.

In light of those developments, Innocence Project lawyers contacted Dr. Karazulas, who provided a sworn affidavit saying he no longer believed that Swinton was the person who inflicted the bite mark on the victim.

Dr. Karazulas said that new scientific developments caused a significant change to my understanding of bite-mark analysis, which have compelled me, as a matter of my professional ethics and civic duty, to recant completely the testimony that I gave at Mr. Swinton's trial. Dr. Karazulas said, First, I now understand that it is not possible to accurately measure and scientifically compare anything other than the arch of an individual's dentition. Second, I have become convinced, given the recent changes in scientific knowledge and understanding in my field, that skin is not capable of accurately recording the characteristics of human dentition, making it impossible to identify the biter with any degree of certainty.

In January 2017, Innocence Project lawyers Chris Fabricant and Vanessa Potkin, along with Skadden attorneys Maura Barry Grinalds, Ed Tulin and Thania Charmani, filed a motion for a new trial. In June 2017, the prosecution agreed to vacate Swintons conviction and on June 8, 2017, he was released on bond.

On March 1, 2018, the prosecution dismissed the case. Swinton subsequently filed a claim for compensation from the state of Connecticut."
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Timber founder Vladimira Briestenska says studying and working abroad forces you to face yourself and appreciate what youve got.

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In Brussels, I interned and worked for various EU institutions

It was an amazing experience. I learned a lot. I started off in foreign policy journalism and continued in the European Parliament. When important Slovaks, such as our Prime Minister, came to the capital, I got to interview them, partly because they had nobody else covering Slovakia. My boss told me, Just go for it! So, I did.

Doors opened for me

I understood that if you are open-minded, risk-taking and proactive,

Read also:

Read also: Slovak migrant shares the stories of other migrants to understand her own Read more

opportunities will come your way. This was really inspiring for younger students, with whom I shared my story. You can tell that young Slovaks are very thirsty for international experience. They just need the right kick sometimes.

It all started via an Erasmus exchange program to Denmark

They way Danish people are educated, raised and socialized is so different from us. They are taught to be opinionated and to develop critical thinking from a very young age.

From passive to active education

In Central Europe, the teacher is the sole authority. Most students stay in the role of the passive recipient. When I came to Denmark, I could not believe that we were encouraged to actually argue with the teacher

For a minute, my background was a burden on my shoulders

Denmark was a tough experience. I remember how much I would cry. I was challenged in every aspect of my knowledge, skills and talents. It felt like everybody else was way ahead of me. The hard, but motivating part, was when they let me feel it.

Challenge was my daily bread

Read also:

Read also: Blog: The international world requires an international mindset Read more

I learned that you have to be willing to step out of your comfort zone if you want to be successful. Its also about surrounding yourself with the right people. People with a positive mindset.

Abroad, I discovered my weakest and strongest self

The daily reality out there forces you to rely on yourself, and it is definitely different from being in the comfort of our home country. But there are positive and negative aspects to both worlds.

I wish everyone the opportunity to experience the world

Studying and working abroad, from Venice to D.C. and from Brno to London, makes you lose friendships, change homes and experience loneliness. But it also reorders your values and forces you to face yourself and appreciate what youve got.

I can see more and more of us returning home

You can find the same pattern in many of our stories. We are attracted to come back and settle down in Slovakia. Many of us want to contribute to change and make Slovakia better.

The ease of staying and leaving is so important

I get to travel abroad for my job but also come back to develop our foundation and new business. This allows me to transfer my knowledge. It also feels right.

Slovakia is where I can feel my roots, its where I feel I truly belong

This testimony was originally published in Zuzana Palovics book, The Great Return. You can learn more about the book as well as Palovics own journey as a Slovak migrant that later returned to Slovakia at http://thegreatreturn.eu/.
This meet at Cal Expo has been a homecoming of sorts for David Shells California-bred Legio X Equestris, and she has turned in some big efforts while racing with the top distaff pacers on the grounds.

The five-year-old daughter of Roll With Joe, who was a 1:52 victress at Pocono last year, dominated conditioned rivals here in 1:53.2 last month for Luke Plano, and is coming off back-to-back solid tries in the Filly and Mare Open.

Shed been racing in Indiana, New Jersey and Pennsylvania and David wanted to bring her home for the winter, said Plano. Even though I was racing her for the first time at this meet, I trained her a bit as a two-year-old before she made her first start.

Plano admits its been a bit of a rollercoaster return to California for Legio X Equestris, she has shown her ability more often than not.

When she came out, she shipped from New York to Indiana, then on to here, and I dont think we realized how much it had taken out of her. There were also a few health issues along the way, but now everything seems to be fine.

In last weeks top dance for the distaff set, Legio X Equestris brushed to the lead at half for Luke, putting up solid fractions of :55.3 and 1:23.4 before being overpowered in the late stages by Dancingonthesand.

Ill tell you one thing about this mare...she loves to play the hard way, Plano added.

Dancingonthesand, Silverlode among top players

An Open Trot that sees the return of Silverlode and an extremely contentious Filly and Mare Open Pace are the main attractions on Cal Expos Saturday night program. Watch and Wager LLC presents 11 races with first post at 6:15 p.m.

Silverlode is a 10-year-old daughter of British Sterling out of the Website mare Charlottes Web who comes into this assignment with $243,000 in earnings and a 1:54.3 mark that was established last season.

The hard-hitting mare, who is owned by Medinah Racing and Kathie Plested, with Plested training and Steve Wiseman in the sulky, has posed for pictures following four of her seven trips to the post in 2019.

She suits up this weekend riding a three-race winning streak while making her first start since March 16, when she crushed her rivals by four a half-lengths as the prohibitive 2-5 favourite while doing her work from the No. 10 slot, which will again be the case this time around.

Looking at the Distaff Open, Dancingonthesand is a four-year-old daughter of A Rocknroll Dance who goes about her business for Alan Cooper and Kathie Plested with Plested training and Mooney Svendsen handling the lines.

The bay miss has returned to greet her connections in the winners circle following six of eight appearances this season and shaved a second and two fifths off her lifetime record with last weeks sparkling 1:53 score.

Sent off at 9-2 from her outside post in the field of seven, Dancingonthesand was unhurried in the early stages following strong fractions, swung off cover into the drive and went on to the length and a half decision.

(Cal Expo)
The schedule for 'the Internets favourite harness racing handicapping show' North American Harness Update (NAHU), is set for Friday, April 12.

Host Ray Cotolo will be joined by Mike Pribozie and Rod Allums Jr. to provide live coverage of the Pick 4 from The Raceway at Western Fair District and the Meadowlands Racetrack. Along with the Pick 4 coverage, the three will preview the Can-Am Pick 4, averaging over $50,000 bet each week.

The three will also preview the final round of the George Morton Levy Series on Saturday, April 13 at Yonkers Raceway.

The Hanover Hustler Russ Adams from Rosecroft Raceway will also come on to preview racing action from Rosecroft for Sunday, April 14 including their signature Pick 3.

North American Harness Update airs Fridays from 9:00 - 11:00 pm (ET) on SRN One as well as on video livestream on Facebook Live, Periscope and YouTube, and can be accessed by archive via the YouTube page or from its website at nahupicks.com the day after it airs.

(with files from North American Harness Update)
The largest market for Big Data & AI is undoubtedly in the Retail space. According to Mckinsey, it is worth approximately US$1.7 trillion annually with approximately half of that in Advanced AI.Seizing this opportunity, ChiefDX came into being with a focus on strengthening its experience and knowledge in Retail. We believe that the best way to do that was to learn from the Chinese ecosystem and so we set up our Development operation in China and bid for projects solely in China over the last couple of years. This has held us in good stead and given us a lot of depth in New Retail. We are now leveraging our experience with our Offerings and expertise in countries outside China, explicates Amit Alok, CEO.A Singapore-based provider of Innovative Technology solutions with a focus on Big Data, AI and IoT, ChiefDX has a strong reputation for providing end to end solutions to Governments on Smart City solutions across APAC and the Middle East. The companys leadership team has over 100 years of Enterprise IT experience at some of the largest MNCs globally. We wanted to create something for ourselves. Our contacts in the industry meant that we were able to develop a pipeline relatively quickly and ramp up the business he says.The focus initially was on the ERP space. Amit asserts, We had success there, but we noticed that there was a greater need in the Advanced Analytics space and our clients were looking for help. So, when I got involved in the company, we decided to pivot towards Big Data & AI, which were bleeding edge at the time, known now as part of V4.0 Technologies.ChiefDX strives to create a disruption in the market by assisting clients to focus on Efficiency and Automation with the use of its products and services. The clients vary from Sales & Marketing segments across Verticals, Retail & Healthcare to Govt. Smart City Projects. The company categorizes its offerings as a range of hardware Sensors/IoT Devices and Software Solutions. The former consists of IoT Sensors used to capture Data for Crowd Analytics and/or Store Layout in the Retail space. It also provides devices for AI-based Facial Recognition as part of solutions aimed at People Management Systems and Security Identity Management. On the other hand, in combination with the Sensors its Software solutions are Data Science/AI projects as part of Smart Cities initiatives by Governments or Entities in Security, Transportation & Logistics (Airports, Metros/ Railways etc). We break down the Business Problems /Issue into manageable Data Science components that can reuse some tools that we have developed across Verticals e.g. of

the US$1.7T annual business in the Retail space, the Sales & Marketing segment covers almost US$1.1T and under half of that is in Advanced AI, he informs. The fact that ChiefDXleadership team is a Trusted Adviser to Governments and global Corporations and has deep experience in running large projects across borders is a significant advantage. Add to that our experience in China and we have a very compelling proposition to offer our clients  most of whom have worked with us when we were on the other side of the table! he adds. "Chiefdx Has A Strong Reputation For Providing End To End Solutions To Governments On Smart City Solutions Across Apac And The Middle East" An Array of Offerings ChiefDX strives to create a disruption in the market by assisting clients to focus on Efficiency and Automation with the use of its products and services. The clients vary from Sales & Marketing segments across Verticals, Retail & Healthcare to Govt. Smart City Projects. The company categorizes its offerings as a range of hardware Sensors/ IoT Devices and Software Solutions. The former consists of IoT Sensors used to capture Data for Crowd Analytics and/or Store Layout in the Retail space. It also provides devices for AI-based Facial Recognition as part of solutions aimed at People Management Systems and Security Identity Management. On the other hand, in combination with the Sensors its Software solutions are Data Science/AI projects as part of Smart Cities initiatives by Governments or Entities in Security, Transportation & Logistics (Airports, Metros/ Railways etc). We break down the Business Problems/Issue into manageable Data Science components that can reuse some tools that we have developed across Verticals e.g. of the US$1.7T annual business in the Retail space, the Sales & Marketing segment covers almost US$1.1T and under half of that is in Advanced AI, he informs. The fact that ChiefDXleadership team is a Trusted Adviser to Governments and global Corporations and has deep experience in running large projects across borders is a significant advantage. Add to that our experience in China and we have a very compelling proposition to offer our clients  most of whom have worked with us when we were on the other side of the table! he adds. The Work Approach ChiefDX best defines itself as a small yet nimble organization that is spread over a number of locations across APAC. The work approach depends on the type of projects the team takes up. For on-site Govt. projects, then there are weekly collaboration meetings scheduled between the clients and the ChiefDX Data Analysis, Architecture & Data Science teams. On outsourced work, the team frequently connects with clients and Academic mentors for proper guidance on the latest models and techniques. Our Business Development heads have a free hand to schedule their time but report to me directly on results, he mentions. When it comes to the Work culture, ChiefDX believes in maintaining

transparency and an adaptive learning environment. Micro-management is actively discouraged and experimentation is highly encouraged at ChiefDX. Amit asserts, Failures are accepted as long as we can learn from them. That includes my failures too  and I personally find that quite motivating



The Road Ahead

Over the years, ChiefDX pivot towards Big Data and AI has helped it increase its pipeline significantly. The company runs its sales operation out of London, Dubai and Singapore with its development and delivery centers in Singapore, China, Korea, India and Sri Lanka. In times to come, team ChiefDX is all geared up to deliver Advanced Analytics and Predictive Capabilities to clients for Smart Action by practicing the craft of Data Science. To add depth to its Data Science Practice, it has recently signed a Partnership Agreement with a Leading Data Science school in India, if not the world, and is set to welcome some of the top Academics in India as Mentors and Consultants to their projects.



Amit Alok, Co-Founder & CEO

Amit Alok is an innovative business leader with over 25 years of experience in building Technology businesses for MNCs across the Asia/Pacific region. He has been an Advisor to a number of start-ups and governments in the APAC region. Amit has held regional senior executive roles at Reuters, Microsoft, Symantec, The Economist and the London Stock Exchange Group.



Nikhil Alok-Mathur, Co-Founder & Head of EMEA

Nikhil is a British-Indian entrepreneur & innovator. He is currently Co-Founder & Head of EMEA at ChiefDX, where he is responsible for sales and business development in Europe, Middle East & Africa for the business. His experience incubating several early stage start-ups and as an Operationally Ready National Serviceman in the Singapore Armed Forces further adds to his reputation as a shrewd deal maker in the EMEA region.



The Leadership Mantra

Being a startup, ChiefDX has flatter structures and an aim to be agile. This necessitates that I have many hats. Amit is responsible for the Strategy & Vision as the CEO but he also takes up the role of a CFO when required to do so. From time to time, he is also required to pitch into Technical discussions along with the CTO. Right now my time is spent helping our Business Development Heads to win business and execute Partnerships at a global level, he says.



As a leader, you are responsible for not just the success of your company but also the well-being and growth of your people. I like to think that I hire the smartest people I can and create an environment for them to be successful. We start by hiring an Attitude and with that right everything else can be taught or learnt. I have found that this has helped me progress in my previous life in the Corporate world. I look back at some of the really bright Interns we had at Reuters Risk Management and am very proud of where they are now and what they have achieved. It gives me great personal satisfaction.
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This is my second post about Moebius, in which I wanted to tell my story how I came to discover him, love his comics and all the things I di...
The Undead Archives

I have finally salvaged my pre-Blogger TDR archives and added them into Blogger. They are almost totally in the form of one giant post for each month. And the formatting strayed from the originals. Sorry. But historians everywhere can rejoice that this treasure trove of my thoughts is restored to the world.
2 hours ago

Myanmar public urges gas sanctions to stop military funding

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP)  The young woman in Myanmar decided to speak out when she realized that money from the company she loved was now in the hands of the military leaders she hated. She and her parents had long worked for Total Energies, the French company that operates a lucrative gas field off the coast of southern Myanmar with a state-owned enterprise.

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Moroccos Research Institute for Solar Energy & New Energies (IRESEN) and Sherbrooke University of Canada have sealed lately a partnership aimed at boosting their cooperation in renewable energies and energy efficiency.

This partnership will enable Moroccan university students and professors to work with their Canadian peers on joint projects in solar energy, photovoltaic energy production, thermal solutions, power storage and transfer to different grids.

For Vincent Aimez, Vice-President of Sherbrooke University, this cooperation agreement, which combines two ecosystems, will yield innovative solutions and enable the university students to benefit from advanced technologies opening up new opportunities for businessmen in Canada and Morocco.

For his part, IRESENs chief Badr Ikken said this agreement will set a lasting cooperation in the field of research and innovation in solar energy and energy efficiency.

It will also help the energy researchers develop tools, turning scientific ideas into profitable industrial applications, he added.

IRESEN is a research institute set up in 2011 by the Ministry of Energy, Mining, Water and Environment, with the participation of several key players of the energy sector in Morocco. It supports the countrys national energy strategy by promoting and funding R&D in the field of solar energy and new energies.

The Sherbooke University, in the Province of Quebec, is a French-speaking institution founded in 1954. It hosts 40,000 students and a teaching staff of 3,200. In all, it employs 6,400 people.

The university has over 100,000 graduates and offers 46 undergraduate courses, 48 masters and 27 doctoral programs. It holds a total of 61 research chairs including pharmacology, microelectronics, biomedicine, engineering, energy storage systems, industrial processes, nanomaterials
Issues of concern to people who live in the west: property rights, water rights, endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production, wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western history, western literature and the sport of rodeo... Frank DuBois served as the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003. DuBois is a former legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior, and is the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship.
This site focuses on Republican politicians and conservatives that rip off their constituency. We have the Tea Party, fundamentalist churches, the corruption of ALEC and other special interests groups. But the site also supports progressive Democrats and the local Democratic Socialist of America. We must have ideas on how to replace regressive and corrupt politicians with something better. For comments steveotto2001@yahoo.com or ottozero2001@yahoo.com.
20 people were detained under suspicion of doping trade across France, Belgium and Luxembourg on Tuesday.

According to French justice department, the suspects were involved in doping trading within the international bodybuilding scene.

Police arrested numerous suspects in Paris, in the Alsace region, in the south of France, in Belgium and also in the Grand-Duchy.

During the raids, police also also found and confiscated more than 100,000 in cash, as well as anabolic products such as steroids or growth hormones.

The activity was uncovered following the surveillance of two holding companies in Luxembourg and one laboratory in France.
UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations Miguel Angel Moratinos of Spain lauded Morocco for its efforts to promote dialogue between civilizations, cultures and religions in a world plagued by a rise of extremism and hate speeches.

Moratinos is visiting Morocco just few days after a landmark visit by Pope Francis who was received by King Mohammed VI in Rabat where they both called for boosting inter-religious dialogue.

Moratinos said Moroccos King has a wise vision that builds on deep-rooted traditions of religious tolerance and multiculturalism.

Morocco under the leadership of His Majesty the King stands out thanks to its cultural diversity and respect for all religions as the country remains attached to the values of peace, stability and dialogue on which the UN system is based, Moratinos told reporters after talks with Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament.

After stressing the great role that parliaments can play in championing the values of tolerance, coexistence and dialogue, Moratinos announced that an international parliamentary forum will be held in order to raise awareness about the actions undertaken by the UNs Alliance of Civilizations.

The former Spanish foreign minister also met head of the Moroccan government, Saad Eddine El Otmani, foreign minister Nasser Bourita and Culture minister Mohamed Laarej.

The meetings with Moroccan officials was a chance to highlight Moroccos contribution to back the Alliance of Civilizations.

In this regards, Moratinos highlighted the beneficial impact of Moroccos efforts to fight extremism through Imam training as well as the Kingdoms actions to counter hate speech.

Moratinos also welcomed the idea of cooperating with Morocco in the field of crisis mediation, notably in Africa and the Sahel in particular.
The Grand Ducal Fire and Rescue Corps were busy over the last 24 hours, with three incidents of cars catching fire in Hesperange, Bonnevoie and on the A6. There was also a house fire in Wiltz.

A car caught fire on Allee de la Jeunesse Sacrifiee in Hesperange, early on Saturday morning. 112 were notified, with the Hesperange fire service attending the scene. No injuries were reported.

On Friday evening at around 8.15pm on the Arlon motorway direction Luxembourg City a car caught fire, the city fire service attended the scene, only the car was damaged.

At around 8.15pm on Friday evening, a car caught light on the Arlon motorway in the direction of Luxembourg City. The city fire service attended the incident, where thankfully only the car suffered damage.

Yet another vehicle ignited on Friday evening in Bonnevoie, but the fire was quickly controlled by the fire service, with no injuries following the incident.

Then, shortly after 7pm on Friday, a house began to burn in Wiltz on Rue Neuve, with one person suffering injuries.

The scene was attended by fire services from Wiltz, Clervaus, Goesdorf and Lac de la Haute-Sure.
Building works of Luxembourg City's new Royal Hamilius kicked off four years ago. But do you remember the former centre Aldringen?

Back in the 1980s, the underground parking lot of the former "centre Aldringen" was one of Luxembourg City's hidden cultural hotspots and the birthplace of the country's hip hop and graffiti scene.

These pictures were taken in March 2015 - one week before the general public could no longer access the centre Aldringen. In autumn 2018, the new parking lot opened its doors and the Royal Hamilius complex will presumably open next year in May.

The architects of the building planned 7,000 m for apartments, 16,000 m for businesses and 10,000 m for offices. There will be three residential blocks: the Royal-Monterey, Royal-Hamilius and Royal-Aldringen. The accommodation selection ranges from smaller studios (36 m) to large penthouses (257 m).

Apart from Galeries Lafayette, Fnac and Delhaize will also open in 2019.

On a side note: don't be surprised if locals still refer to Royal Hamilius as Aldringen (or Aldringer) - for many Luxembourgers, the new name has not caught on yet.

About this series

In this popular series, RTL photographer Domingos Oliveira takes you to hidden places, lesser known locations and buildings with an interesting story.

1) The first installment captured the last moment of the agricultural centre in Mersch.

2) We then visited Zenningen Zoo, which was closed in the early 80s.

3) Our third trip took us to Hesperange's eery swimming pool which now looks like the setting for an apocalyptic film.

4) The fourth photo series targeted the veritable ghost town "Cite Syrdall."

5) We also visited the iconic cinema Ariston in Esch, which opened in 1962 and closed in 2016. The cinema's history is an eventful one - from erotic films to youth theatre.
US Think tank, Brookings, put in the limelight Moroccos efforts to promote the genuine Islamic values of tolerance and moderation in Africa where the kingdom has capitalized on centuries-old ties.

Social, cultural, and religious ties between Morocco and its sub-Saharan neighbors date back centuries to robust trade exchanges and the spread of Islam in Africa, said Brooking in an article titled Morocco Commander of the African Faithful.

The article, signed by Sarah Alaoui, recalls the influence of Moroccan Sufi traditions in West Africa citing Senegal as an example where religious leaders travel to Fez to pay homage to the mausoleum of the orders founder, Sheikh Ahmed Tijani.

Sufism is increasingly invoked as a key ingredient of spirituality in Moroccos brand of moderate Islam, she said.

Morocco has built on its heritage of openness and moderation to help other African states train their Imams on Islams genuine values through the 20 million-dollar Mohammed VI Institute for Training of Imams in Rabat.

The Institute is at the heart of the kingdoms efforts to reformulate a tolerant, quietist Islam, one that supports its counterterrorism policy and security interests more broadly, notes the paper.

The Moroccan government also launched the Mohammed VI Foundation for West African Ulema for religious scholars to exchange experiences and best practices.

Moroccos model of tolerance and inter-religious dialogue was celebrated last month during a visit to Rabat by Pope Francis who visited the Imam training institute.

In the majority Muslim country, Jews and Christians have their places of worship and can practice their faith, a right that is guaranteed and protected by King Mohammed VI, the Commander of the Faithful.

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 a speech at the esplanade of Hassan Mosque in Rabat on the first day of the Popes visit.
Photo-Illustration: Getty Images, WIkileaks

Theres something odd going on at WikiLeaks, the website set up by Julian Assange in 2006 as a place for anyone to publish secret information. Speculation about the legitimacy of the site, which became a factor in the 2016 election thanks to massive dumps of key Democratic Party operators emails, has been rampant in online communities like Reddit and 8chan for the past 24 hours  and WikiLeaks itself has remained silent about the problem.

A simplified version of whats going on: WikiLeaks keeps insurance files for many of its major data dumps. These files are key bits of (what the site claims is) damaging info thats encrypted rather than published, made available for public download, and updated each month. You can download the insurance file (currently over 90 GB of data) from a torrent site like the Pirate Bay, but without the password its gibberish. The long-held belief has been that should something happen to WikiLeaks or Julian Assange, the password to WikiLeaks insurance files would be released into the wild, and all of the information within them shortly after. This effectively works as a dead mans switch  if something bad happens to WikiLeaks, the threat goes, something much worse will happen to the organizations that are most likely to have compromised it.

The reason both Reddit and 8chan are freaking out: WikiLeaks does something to confirm to the public that the insurance files theyre uploading to torrent sites are authentic, releasing whats known as hashes before the files are uploaded. This is a long string of numbers and letters anyone can get the encrypted files to spit out, even if they cant read the files. Check the hash generated from the latest insurance file against what WikiLeaks has published, and you know youve got the exact same file as the one WikiLeaks intended to release. If any part of the data is different, a different hash will be produced when you analyze the file.

And now the hashes for several key WikiLeaks insurance files are different from those WikiLeaks published via its Twitter account. This, for example, is the hash WikiLeaks published on October 16 for an insurance file about Ecuador, the country thats currently giving Assange asylum in its London embassy and also recently restricted his internet access:

pre-commitment 2: Ecuador

eae5c9b064ed649ba468f0800abf8b56ae5cfe355b93b1ce90a1b92a48a9ab72  WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 16, 2016

But the same insurance file within the latest insurance-file release (2016-11-07_WL-Insurance_EC.aes256 for anyone who wants to grab the torrent and check for themselves) produces a different hash: b231ccef70338a857e48984f0fd73ea920eff70ab6b593548b0adcbd1423b995

So whats happening here? It could be that someone at WikiLeaks made a mistake. But for many following along on message boards, this all points toward WikiLeaks being compromised. From 8chan and Reddit threads, theories range from someone uploading fake-out insurance files in order to conduct psyops and discredit WikiLeaks to full-out proof that Julian Assange is dead (perhaps assassinated by the so-called prosecutors currently questioning him about rape charges in Sweden) and that the keys for the insurance files are actually floating around the web, just waiting for the right cybersleuths to put them together. Why would WikiLeaks have an Easter-egg hunt for something that seems to be designed to protect Assange and WikiLeaks? Who knows! Welcome to WikiLeaks land.

Theres no doubt that something odd is happening at WikiLeaks. Their Twitter presence has grown more erratic over the past year. As mentioned, Ecuador cut off Assanges access to the internet; WikiLeaks claims it was at the behest of John Kerry and the U.S. government, while Ecuador says otherwise. The last person to write about seeing Assange was, uh, Pamela Anderson? Theres also the fact that while Julian Assange hasnt been seen in the public eye as much, his cat has been, dressed up in a collar and tie.

I'm not even kidding. Assange's cat is now wearing a collar and tie. pic.twitter.com/ZdaMeRS3aW  NickdMiller (@NickdMiller) November 14, 2016

So what to make of the mismatched hashes? Its impossible to tell. Theres been no word from WikiLeaks about them. And in the murky world of message boards and filter bubbles and conspiracy theories, this is enough to start up another cycle of speculation  which will likely spin on even if WikiLeaks or Assange himself later provides an explanation for what happened.

Update: WikiLeaks has tweeted this in response:

NOTE: When we release pre-commitment hashes they are for decrypted files (obviously). Mr. Assange appreciates the concern.  WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) November 16, 2016

In other words, WikiLeaks is saying the only hashes that WikiLeaks would put out in the public would be for non-insurance files, thus the non-matching hashes arent relevant. Reddit users, however, remain skeptical.
A man in Vietnam was stunned to receive an e-mail from his former lender asking him to pay VND196 (US$0.0085) in credit card debt and a late payment fine of VND5 ($0.00022).

Phan Thanh Tung, a Hanoi resident, said he opened a credit card at a local lender years ago during a promotional event, but never got round to using it.

About two years after opening the credit card, Tung received a call from the bank asking him to pay more than VND1 million ($43) in outstanding maintenance fees.

He complied and transferred his payment to the banks account, thinking it was the end of the trouble.

However, in early April, Tung received an e-mail from a debt collection agency informing him that he still had VND196 in outstanding credit card debt that had been overdue for 968 days as of March 31.

The agency requested that Tung finish paying off the debt as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary inconvenience.

In addition to the debt, Tung was asked to pay a fine of VND5 for late payment.

Tung said he had to scramble for two VND200 banknotes to make the payment in person, as the amount was too small to be transferred electronically.

The smallest denomination of the Vietnamese currency is VND100, although banknotes smaller than VND500 are rarely seen in circulation.

As clerks couldnt find any smaller notes to give Tung his change, they agreed to reduce his debt and fine to VND200 in total.

Tung has recalled the bizarre debt paying story on a Facebook group.

A bank representative told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper the case of Tung is rare and unwanted.

In reality, such small debts are usually covered by the lender using its own funds, as the costs to have these debts collected are much larger than the debt itself.

There must have been a mistake at some point that led Tungs files to be transferred to the banks debt collection department, the representative said.

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Budget carrier AirAsia on Friday inaugurated a new nonstop service between the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang and Thailands tourism hub of Chiang Mai, as no-frills Vietjet announced a direct flight between Ho Chi Minh City and the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

The AirAsia flight FD906 carrying 180 passengers took off from the northern Thai province of Chiang Mai and safely landed at the Da Nang International Airport on Friday.

The new Chiang Mai  Da Nang route will operate daily with a one hour 45 minutes flight time per leg, increasing services between Thailand and Vietnam to 63 flights a week, according to the Malaysian low-cost airline.

AirAsias newest route is expected to create more convenience for traveling between the two cities as passengers flying from Thailand are always among the highest number of international visitors to Da Nang, Huynh Thi Huong Lan, deputy director of the municipal tourism promotion center, said at the welcome ceremony for Fridays inaugural flight from Chiang Mai.

As many as 60,000 visitors from Thailand came to Da Nang in the first three months of this year, a 35.7-percent increase from the same period last year.

Passengers on the AirAsia flight FD906 from Chiang Mai, Thailand are seen at a welcome ceremony upon their arrival in Da Nang, central Vietnam, on April 12, 2019. Photo: Tan Luc / Tuoi Tre

Also on Friday, Vietnamese budget carrier Vietjet announced a nonstop service connecting Ho Chi Minh City and Bali, slated to begin on May 29, while tickets are now available for booking.

Vietjet said in a press release it is the first and only carrier to offer the service, with one return flight on every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday.

The four-hour flight departs from Ho Chi Minh City at 8:05 am and arrives at Bali at 1:05 pm. The return flight takes off from Bali at 2:05 pm and lands in Ho Chi Minh City at 5:05 pm (All in local times).

I believe that the new route will not only create opportunities for people to travel by safe, civilized and modern air transport, but also connect two cities as known as two economic, cultural centers of Vietnam and Indonesia, Vietjets vice president Nguyen Thanh Son said.

The route will contribute to promoting tourism and economic integration in the region as well as introduce the images of Vietnam to the world.

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A teenage girl from the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh who has been living in Ho Chi Minh City for less than one year has won a design contest with a drawing that crams most of the southern metropolis typical landmarks and uniqueness into one place.

Vo Thi Minh Chau, who grew up with the absence of her father, was on Friday announced winner of the top prize worth VND190 million (US$8,170) of the Vietnam - Where I live competition, which is organized by the Hanoi-based London College for Design and Fashion (LCDF).

Having moved from a countryside region to Ho Chi Minh City for a mere nine months, Chau put all her sentimental observation and feelings about the modern and vibrant hub into her award-winning painting, entitled Sai Gon le la (Wandering in Saigon), affectionately using the former name of the city.

In Sai Gon le la, the teenage girl tried to put as many possible things that make Saigon Saigon onto a cyclo, a three-wheel bicycle taxi that was popular on the citys streets in the good old days.

Sai Gon le la painting by Vo Thi Minh Chau

Those most Saigon things include not only such architecture landmarks as the Notre-Dame Cathedral, Ben Thanh Market, the municipal Post Office, Bitexco Tower, and Landmark 81 skyscraper, but also the citys tangled spiderweb of electrical wires, and its sidewalk stalls selling famous street foods including banh mi, iced milky coffee, and fetal duck eggs.

Chau had almost missed the competition as she only got to know about it two days before entry submission was closed.

But Chaus drawing turned out to be an interestingly attractive submission to the competition judges, according to British design expert Mark Bellingham.

Among the top five finalists of the contest, only Chaus work was painted in black and white, which not only secures the lavish splendor of the dynamic, modern city but also helps increase mystery to its appearance, the judging panel remarked.

The judges see the work as an appealing invitation that people should come to Saigon to wander on its many streets and explore them.

Vo Thi Minh Chau receives the top prize at the awarding ceremony of for the Vietnam - Where I live design competition in Hanoi on April 12, 2019. Photo: Thien Dieu / Tuoi Tre

Speaking to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper after the awards ceremony, Chau said she lost her father since she was little, and did not grow up with her mother either, spending her childhood living with her uncle and his wife.

As the uncles family was also hit by poverty, Chau would always try to win scholarships to cover her tuition fees throughout 12 years of schooling.

Last year Chau passed the entrance exam to the fashion design department of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology but had to give up on her academic dreams to find a job to make ends meet.

The VND190 million prize of the competition consists of VND5 million in cash and a VND185 million scholarship for a freshman year at LCDF, which allows Chau to resume her passion of fashion design.

Fridays awards ceremony also honored Hoang Phuong Thao as first runner-up, and Nguyen Nhat Anh as second runner-up, while granted the Idea prize to Nguyen Ngoc Tram Anh, and the Promising young designer award to Truong Tuong Vi.

Vo Thi Minh Chau (third left) and other winners are seen at the ceremony in Hanoi, April 12, 2019. Photo: Thien Dieu / Tuoi Tre

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More than 100 different kinds of Vietnamese traditional cakes that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also mouth-watering are being offered to visitors at the Vietnamese Traditional Cake Festival held in the Mekong Delta City of Can Tho.

Visitors to the eighth annual cuisine event, themed Flavors of the Southern Region and runs from April 12 to 16, will be treated to a variety of original traditional cakes and their 400 variations from the Kinh, Hoa, Khmer, and Cham ethnic people living in the Mekong Delta region.

The event houses more than 220 stalls selling such delicacies as banh bo thot not (steamed palm sugar rice cake), banh tet (cylindrical glutinous rice cake filled with green bean paste and pork), banh bo dua (coconut-flavored sponge cake), banh u (small glutinous pyramid shape cake), and banh duc (rice cake cooked with lime juice), to name just a few.

Other stalls will also display dishes from Japan, South Korea, India, Italy, France, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Different kinds of cakes are displayed at a food stall at the eighth Vietnamese Traditional Cake Festival in Can Tho City, southern Vietnam. Photo: Lan Ngoc / Tuoi Tre

Before its opening on Friday evening, artisans and businesses from Can Tho and 18 provinces and cities across the country started firing up the stoves at their respective food stalls to make delicious cakes for diners.

On Saturday morning, despite the hot weather that is baking the southern region, visitors toured around the food stalls to watch the artisans preparing ingredients and making the dishes.

Visitors queued in lines and moved little by little towards the food stalls to buy cakes before enjoying them at a separate area arranged by the organizers.

Visitors buy cakes at a food stall at the eighth Vietnamese Traditional Cake Festival in Can Tho City, southern Vietnam. Photo: Lan Ngoc / Tuoi Tre

Le Tan Loi, a frequent visitor to the annual Vietnamese Traditional Cake Festival, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that he comes to the event every year ever since he become a student at the Can Tho University of Economics.

There are fewer events for people to join in Can Tho than in Ho Chi Minh City, so whenever there is a festival here, I always ask my friends to come with me, Loi said.

You can try a lot of food here, and also get to know more kinds of dishes that you might have not known before, the Can Tho University of Economics student added.

The eighth Vietnamese Traditional Cake Festival is taking place at the Can Tho Exhibition Fair and Trade - Investment Promotion Centre at 108A Le Loi Street in Ninh Kieu District, with free entrance.

In addition to the food stalls selling newly-delivered cakes, there are also several other activities for people to spend their time at the event.

A competition on making southern traditional cakes is held on April 13 with the participation of 83 artisans, who will show the making of 70 types of traditional cakes.

A talk seeking markets for traditional cakes and a performance showing 100 ao ba ba (traditional shirts of southern women) will be held on April 16.

Banh gung  a cake made from flour, eggs and gingers. Photo: Quan Nam / Tuoi Tre

Sticky rice served with durian. Photo: Quan Nam / Tuoi Tre

Banh beo  a central Vietnamese cake made from a combination of rice flour and tapioca flour stuffed with dried shrimps, crispy pork skin, scallion oil, and dipping sauce. Photo: Quan Nam / Tuoi Tre

Banh da lon  a Vietnamese steamed layer cake made from tapioca starch, rice flour, mashed mung beans, taro, or durian, coconut milk and/or water, and sugar. Photo: Quan Nam / Tuoi Tre

Banh bo mat ong  a honey-flavored sponge cake. Photo: Quan Nam / Tuoi Tre
The Vietnamese Ministry of Justice has accused some news sites and social media profiles of reporting inaccurately on the verdict of an investment lawsuit filed by a Vietnamese-Dutch businessman against the Government of Vietnam.

In a statement on Friday, the ministry confirmed that an arbitration council, founded in line with the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) arbitration rules, had issued a verdict in Trinh Vinh Binh's lawsuit against the Vietnamese government on April 10.

Binh, 72, sought US$1.2 billion in compensation for financial losses and the return of his seized assets when the businessman was sentenced to prison in Vietnam for land management violations in 1998.

The justice ministry said both parties in the case have the responsibility to keep the verdict a secret according to arbitration rules.

However, some online news site and social media profiles have been reporting inaccurately on the content of the verdict in addition to adding their own subjective interpretations and speculations of the verdict, the ministry said.

This has led to misunderstandings in public opinion, it stressed.

The justice ministry said it is working closely with competent agencies and a law firm representing the Government of Vietnam to study the verdict carefully and devise the next steps to be taken in this case.

These steps must be in line with provisions of the law and safeguard the interests of the Vietnamese government to the best possible extent, it said.

Trinh Vinh Binh is a Vietnamese-Dutch businessman who was born in 1947 in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang.

After years living abroad, Binh returned to Vietnam in 1992 and invested heavily in real estate, purchasing over 2.5 million square meters of land and more than ten houses in the southern province of Ba Ria  Vung Tau.

Four years later, on December 5, 1996, Binh was arrested and prosecuted in Ba Ria  Vung Tau on charges of violating regulations on land management.

Binh was released on bail on June 25, 1998.

Between December 7 and 11 the same year, Binh and five others stood trial at the provincial court for their alleged crimes, with the businessman facing five years for his land management violation.

On May 4-5, 1999, the appellate court of the High Peoples Court of Ho Chi Minh City reduced Binhs total sentence to 11 years and had his assets seized.

However, Binh had fled abroad before his jail time was actually enforced.

The government of Vietnam later pardoned Binh and allowed him to return to his home country as a free man.

In 2015, Binh filed a lawsuit against the Vietnamese government with the International Court of Arbitration in Paris, demanding $1.2 billion in compensation for financial losses related to the ordeal and the return of his previously owned assets in Vietnam.

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Vietnams police on Saturday arrested and launched legal proceedings against Pham Nhat Vu, former chairman of Audio Visual Global (AVG), on charges of bribery, the latest development in an investigation into the companys notorious acquisition deal with a leading mobile network operator four years ago.

The procedural decisions for Vu was approved by the Supreme People's Procuracy in accordance with the provisions of law, according to a source close to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

Vu is being held in detention and probed for suspected bribery of officials regarding the VND8,889 billion (US$392 million) deal offered by state-owned mobile carrier Mobifone to acquire a 95 percent stake in AVG in 2015, while a search warrant of his residence was also issued.

In February, Nguyen Bac Son, Minister of Information and Communication in the 2011-16 tenure, and his successor, Truong Minh Tuan, who led the ministry in the 2016-21 period, were also arrested and put under investigation in the same case.

In July 2018, police began legal proceeding against and ordered the arrest of Le Nam Tra, former chairman of Mobifones Member Council, who is currently an official of the information ministrys Office. In November the same year, Mobifone former general director Cao Duy Hai was arrested.

Son, Tuan, Tra and Hai were all charged with breaching regulations on the management and use of public capital that lead to serious consequences.

Police said on Saturday the two ex-ministers and Tra have been prosecuted with additional charges of bribery.

Besides these procedural decisions, police also launched legal proceedings against Vo Van Manh, director of AMAX Co. and Hoang Duy Quang, a company employer, on the same charges.

AMAX is the consulting unit that valued AVG at VND16.56 trillion ($729.52 million), the evaluation which Mobifone used to process its deal with AVG.

Vietnams state inspectorate has said the AMAX evaluation had been calculated on inaccurate input information, given the fact that AVG was bogged down with debts valued at VND1.266 trillion (US$55.77 million) and accumulated losses of VND1.632 trillion ($71.89 million) at a time the deal was proposed.

Serious violations

According to the Vietnamese government inspectorate, Mobifone was irresponsible and broke regulations in the AVG acquisition, especially in assessing the pay TV company's financial situation, leading to state budget losses of VND7 trillion ($308 million), and affecting Mobifones finance, resulting in difficulties for the companys privatization process.

AVGs total assets were worth only VND206 billion ($9.07 million), while Mobifones offer was VND8.889 trillion (US$392 million).

Mobifone was dishonest in reporting AVGs financial situation to the information ministry during the acquisition, with the government inspectorate concluding that the assessment violated regulations for investment and managing and using state capital.

The state inspectors stated that the responsibility for the wrongdoings went to the board of members, board of directors, the chief accountant and other departments of Mobifone.

In the meantime, the Ministry of Information and Communications, as the representative of the state ownership and the state agency in charge of management of information and communication, showed a lack of responsibility in assessing the acquisition.

Its approval of the acquisition had violated legal rules, causing serious losses of state capital and thus must be annulled, the state inspectorate said.

In addition, while the acquisition was not eligible for being classified as a state secret, the ministry asked the Ministry of Public Security to include it in the list of classified information, which violated laws on issuing regulations on the publishing of information of State-owned one-member limited liability companies.

Prior to the state inspectorates announcement, Mobifone and AVG decided to cancel the transfer of 344.66 million shares and refund each other the amount received under the agreement.

AVG shareholders will refund the entire amount paid by Mobifone, while Mobifone will return to AVG the number of shares and assets transferred.

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Police in Vietnam said on Friday they have arrested two local men for separate investigations into their alleged rape and molestation against children.

A 32-year-old man in Nha Trang, the capital of the south-central province of Khanh Hoa, is being held on suspicion of molesting a fifth-grade girl, according to the municipal police department.

Le Chinh Truc is accused of breaking into the Vinh Truong Elementary School, taking the schoolgirl into the toilet and conducted lewd acts upon the child, the school board said in their official report to the Nha Trang police department and education bureau.

Upon his arrest, Truc confessed to the police that he had broken into the school twice this month to molest the fifth grader.

The restroom, located in the backyard of the school, is not equipped with any CCTV cameras, according to Tran Nguyen Lap, head of the municipal education bureau.

Truc is being probed on charges of committing or attempting lewd acts upon a child under 16.

The schoolgirl said the man who took her into the toilet is the father of one of her friends.

The student said the man had met her several times, both at the school and her home, during which he would always give her sweets as gifts.

In their latest encounter on April 3, the man gave the fifth-grader some candies and took her to the restroom. But he immediately fled the scene after being caught by a school guard, she said.

Le Chinh Truc is seen in this photo provided by the police.

In the meantime, police in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City said on Friday they had arrested and put in custody Luong Tuan Buu, 28, suspected of raping a ten-year-old girl and molesting another underage girl at a local park.

According to preliminary information, the victim, known only as N., was playing with two other girls, aged nine and eight, at a park in District 5s Ward 6 at around 7:30 pm on Thursday, when Buu approached and took her away.

Buu allegedly raped L. right at the park and only released the girl when she shouted in pain.

N. went home and told her family of what happened, and the parents immediately reported the case to police.

Police identified Buu as the suspect and summoned him for work, before an urgent arrest warrant was issued for him on Friday.

Buu confessed to raping the ten-year-old at the park.

District 5 police said Buu had previously molested another underage girl at the same park.

Luong Tuan Buu is seen in this photo provided by the police.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HG6JRwEWQs&feature=youtu.be

Australian Story profiles the family of directors Jocelyn Moorhouse and PJ Hogan.

The Kids are Alright is narrated by Cate Blanchett.

When movie directors Jocelyn Moorhouse and PJ Hogan celebrated the arrival of their second child, Lily, they were riding high. The success of their first movies, Proof and Muriels Wedding, had catapulted them into Hollywoods A-list and they now had a little sister for six-year-old Spike.

We had really, really made it, Moorhouse tells Australian Story. Our careers were successful, our family was perfect  one boy, one girl.

But it would be 18 years before Jocelyn Moorhouse directed another movie. This weeks Australian Story explains why.

Around the time she turned two, Lily began to change. She stopped making eye contact, shunned physical contact and started having screaming fits. It was like we had a hurricane in the house, recalls her brother Spike. And we all just had to make the best of taming the hurricane.

Eventually Lily was diagnosed with severe autism. As Moorhouse was the only one who seemed to get through to Lily, she realised she would have to abandon her career to become Lilys full-time therapist and carer.

After six years of intensive therapy, Lily was doing well enough for Moorhouse to consider a return to filmmaking and, in 2004, she agreed to direct the Australian movie Eucalyptus. But days before filming was to start, the movie was cancelled due to disagreements over the script.

Moorhouse was devastated but worse was to come. Within months, the couples 18-month-old son Jack also began to exhibit signs of autism.

Lily if anything brought us closer together, Hogan tells Australian Story. Jack almost destroyed us. Because we didnt expect it to be twice. We just thought, thats not fair.

As Moorhouse threw herself into Lily and Jacks therapy, her film career seemed a distant memory. But she hadnt been forgotten and in 2015, 18 years after her last movie, she made a triumphant return with The Dressmaker.

Now the couples focus is on securing a future for Lily and Jack that allows them to continue their careers while ensuring their other children, Spike and Maddy, are free to pursue their dreams.

In this intimate portrait, the family speaks candidly about the challenges, heartbreak and unexpected joys of living with two severely autistic children. They talk of the sacrifices they have willingly made and the long journey of acceptance that has led them to embrace Lily and Jack for who they are.

Once you start getting to know them your fear slides away and youre just like a parent of any kid, Moorhouse says. Were no longer frightened of autism. In fact, were very fond of autism.

Producer: Greg Hassall

Monday, April 15 at 8pm on ABC.
Photo: Rick Loomis/Getty Images

Maybe Americans are obsessed with conspiracy theories because our nation itself was forged in one. In the turbulent run-up to and aftermath of the Declaration of Independence, the word on the streets  and in the pamphlets  of the colonies was not that the Crown had instituted bad or unfair policies, but rather that everything was part of a master plan to enslave the States, full stop.

Historians have uncovered nearly one hundred resolutions urging independence issued throughout 1776 by states and counties and towns, artisan and militia associations, and the provincial congresses of nine colonies, write Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum in A Lot of People Are Saying: The New Conspiracism and the Assault on Democracy, a new book from Princeton University Press. The tone, language, and form are consistent. In each, a narrative of self-defense against enslavement is built from fragmentary evidence. Each lists abuses and usurpations adding up to a tyrannical plot.

This conspiracy and the many, many others that have washed over Americans in the intervening centuries conform to a similar formula: Even when the underlying claims are false or verifiably nuts, the evidence for the conspiracies themselves is generally presented in a somewhat academic style, as facts supporting a thesis. Some conspiracy theories about John F. Kennedys assassination, for example, focus on the idea that the military-industrial complex was threatened by his policies and therefore decided he had to go. On the other end of the political spectrum, the once-mighty John Birch Society was founded in 1958 to fight what was seen as a massive Communist conspiracy to infiltrate American institutions. And some strains of 9/11 trutherism posit that dark forces within the government perpetrated the attacks  or faked them  as a pretext for waging profitable wars in the Middle East.

Then there are the conspiracy theories that turned out to be true: Big Tobacco really did conspire to cover up evidence of the harmful health effects of tobacco, as Big Opioid (embodied by the Sackler family) appears to have done more recently. The CIA really did dose unwitting experimental subjects with LSD. And on and on.

What these traditional conspiracy theories have in common, whether true or false, is that they portray what are actual internally consistent theories involving rational(ish) actors. These are not, however, the focus of Muirhead and Rosenblooms book, which homes in on a more recent and more dangerous phenomenon. The new conspiracism, as they call it, seeks not to lay out fully (or even half-) baked theories about who has engaged in what evil act, and why, but rather to spread a more knee-jerk and emotion-driven type of angry fear: Above all, it seeks to undermine both individuals and sources of authority by simply repeating endlessly, via the megaphone of social media, unhinged claims laminated in the thinnest patina of evidence. Conspiracy theory is not new, of course, Muirhead and Rosenblum write early on, but conspiracism today introduces something new  conspiracy without the theory.

As they explain:

There is no punctilious demand for proofs, no exhausting amassing of evidence, no dots revealed to form a pattern, no close examination of the operators plotting in the shadows. The new conspiracism dispenses with the burden of explanation. Instead, we have innuendo and verbal gesture: A lot of people are saying  Or we have bare assertion: Rigged!  a one-word exclamation that evokes fantastic schemes, sinister motives, and the awesome capacity to mobilize three million illegal voters to support Hillary Clinton for president. This is conspiracy theory without the theory.

The instances above point to one obvious catalyst, Donald Trump, along with the forces that made him president. If you look around, you wont find, or wont find much, actual theorizing about (for example) why one should believe a child-sex trafficking operation was being run with the help of Hillary Clintons campaign manager out of a Northwest D.C. pizza shop, let alone for even more convoluted and nonsensical theories like the Storm (a.k.a. QAnon). What validates the new conspiracism is not evidence but repetition, argue Muirhead and Rosenblum. When Trump tweeted the accusation that President Barack Obama had ordered the FBI to tap his phones in October before the 2016 election, no evidence of the charge was forthcoming. What mattered was not evidence but the number of retweets the presidents post would enjoy: the more retweets, the more credible the charge.

Why do people spread this stuff? Part of the appeal is performative aggression, the authors write. The new conspiracism delivers dark claims, though the fabrications are erratic, vague, and undeveloped  more angry assertion than revelatory narrative. For angry minds it offers the immediate gratification of lashing out, of throwing verbal stones. Not a spotlight on a hidden truth, but rather a million algorithm-multiplied middle fingers. And at a time when Americas problems  inequality, polarization, political and wage stagnation  feel intractable, it makes perfect sense that people would be drawn to this sort of outlet for their frustration.

Photo: Princeton University Press

The new conspiracism is more than capable of spreading on its own, but it doesnt help that even some political elites who surely know better havent exactly been forthright in debunking conspiracy theories lately. Im all for vaccines, but Im also for freedom, said Senator Rand Paul, a physician, during a 2015 Republican debate, when asked about the false link between vaccines and autism. That same year, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas actually helped to spread the bizarre Jade Helm conspiracy theory. And plenty of elected Republican officials either helped spread birtherism or gave wishy-washy answers when asked about it. Many of these politicians have clearly calculated that their policies and campaigns might benefit from their staying neutral at best on the veracity of certain conspiracist claims.

The three examples above can be seen as traditional conspiracy theories (though Id argue birtherism is a hybrid), but the cumulative effect of elites abdicating their core responsibility of sorting truth from fiction is a profound distrust of authority and institutions of any sort. The authors argue that thats more or less the point of the new conspiracism: Its fundamentally nihilistic. It seeks not to redress power imbalances or abuses but to undermine order itself. This isnt Revolutionary-era conspiracy theorizing, whose ultimate aim was to push the colonies into a full military rebellion against the British, leading ideally to self-rule.

A Lot of People Are Saying is a really good introduction to a concept that deserves a lot more study and critique, and Id recommend it to anyone disturbed by whats going on. A few parts rang slightly thin or hollow to me, though. First, the authors argue that while the Left participates in its share of classic conspiracy theories, it has not yet taken up the new conspiracism. That this isnt quite true; there are some parallels between left and right on this front.

Much of what were seeing on the right now is, in effect, the fruit of eight years of sustained insanity surrounding President Obama  birtherism, death panels, and so on. Something at least a little bit similar is going on in some corners of the left. It isnt nearly at the same level, but the election of Trump has, in fact, melted some brains. Take, for example, a couple of Louise Mensch Tweets. Theres EXCLUSIVE: Marshal of the Supreme Court spoke to Trump over case of impeachment, or My sources say the death penalty, for espionage, being considered for @StevenKBannon. I am pro-life and take no pleasure in reporting this. (That one tags Bannon, just as a friendly FYI  though the account is transparently not, in fact, run by Steve Bannon.)

These tweets, along with the output of of #resistance conspiracy theorists like Seth Abramson and Eric Garland, conform to the new conspiracism. I cant discount the possibility that someone, somewhere, has actually laid out some evidence about the SCOTUS marshal and Trump, or about Bannons imminent capital charges, but its pretty clear that these conspiracy theories arent actual theories, but rather simply provocative rumors about a perceived enemy. Thats not to say that left-wing new conspiracism is anywhere near as pervasive as its right-wing counterpart, but rather that it exists, and that we can expect it to spread, in much the same way the right-wing strain did and in much the same way conspiracy theories in general spread, during times of panic and uncertainty on the left.

Second, I wish Muirhead and Rosenblum had something to say about internet trolls. The behavior of trolls tends to be downplayed or misunderstood when traditionally minded journalists and academics try to explain the online world, perhaps because it confounds so many social-scientific models of human behavior. But trolls are really important here. They love seeding new conspiracy theories and watching credulous normies spread them; in all likelihood, much of the heavy lifting of developing and spreading both Pizzagate and QAnon was done by trolls who know these theories to be false.

Finally, I think the authors put a little bit too much faith in the power of traditional norms to fix things:

Two responses mitigate and contain the corrosive consequences of the new conspiracism. First is enacting democracy: a strenuous adherence to the regular processes and forms of public decision-making. Democracy is enacted when officials explicitly draw attention to the importance of adhering to these norms and practices. The way to demystify governmental power is to make the process of legislation and adjudication legible.

In theory, sure: Making the levers of government easier to understand might foreclose theories of power that fill in those gaps of understanding. But are these unhinged conspiracy theories really spread because people are more mystified by how government works than they were before? This is America  no one knows how government works! Theres a slight risk here that Muirhead and Rosenblum are putting too much faith in the ability of big, top-down efforts to solve problems that are much more about human psychology and the online algorithms that exploit it.

Close readers may have noticed a missing M-word from my qualms about leaving the left out of the new-conspiracism discussion. In light of what now look like some underwhelming findings, doesnt the theorizing about the Mueller report qualify as a form of the new conspiracism? Id argue that it doesnt. Setting aside the credibility question  remember that there was enough smoke here, enough strange interactions between Trump staffers and those with ties to the Russian government, to warrant a major investigation  the collusion conspiracy theory is actually quite vanilla. That is, its an internally coherent theory in which the Russians, preferring Trump to Clinton, sought to hurt her cause and help his, and in which the Trump campaign, preferring victory to defeat (and being too corrupt, too hapless, or both to care about the distinction between legal and illegal campaign activity), actively participated in the effort. It looks like this didnt happen  though, of course, we havent seen the full report yet. But the proposition that it did is still a red-blooded American conspiracy theory, a worthy descendant of those that inspired the American Revolution.

That distinction is actually a sign that Muirhead and Rosenblums argument is tightly constructed and well defined: After reading A Lot of People Are Saying, I didnt see the new conspiracism everywhere, like some sort of, well, addled conspiracist. Rather, it was pretty easy, I found, to distinguish the new conspiracism from its traditional variants, which will always be with us. Muirhead and Rosenblum have pointed out something genuinely new and disturbing, but in an appropriately careful, levelheaded way. Just one of many reasons this is a book worth reading, even if it doesnt make for a particularly happy story.
The man was arrested at the scene.

A British man who had been in Australia for less than 24 hours has been charged after an alleged violent assault near Sydneys Bondi Beach.

The 35-year-old, who has not been named, approached another man in the early hours of Saturday and assaulted and threatened him, New South Wales Police said.

Officers said the 59-year-old victim attempted to run away, when the man continued to assault him and stole his mobile phone.

A man who has been in Australia less than 24-hours will appear in court today after an alleged violent assault on another man in #BondiBeach https://t.co/bpDAZeyeVY  NSW Police Force (@nswpolice) April 13, 2019

The victim was taken to St Vincents Hospital in a serious but stable condition.

A pedestrian alerted police to the incident on Campbell Parade at around 1.30am and the British national was charged with aggravated robbery with wounding and grievous bodily harm.

He was refused bail and is due in court in Parramatta, in the west of Sydney, on Saturday.
FILE PHOTO: Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel talks to Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (not pictured) at the Government Office in Hanoi, Vietnam, November 9, 2018. Luong Thai Linh/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

By Marc Frank

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel accused the Trump administration on Saturday of dragging relations with the United States to their worst level in decades and called on Cubans to strengthen the Communist-run country's defences and economy.

Diaz-Canel, in a speech closing the National Assembly, said the United States is engaging in an "asphyxiating financial persecution that makes the import of goods and resources of primary necessity particularly difficult."

The Cuban economy has stagnated in recent years in tandem with the implosion of strategic ally Venezuela, resulting in cuts in fuel and energy use by state entities and this year shortages of basic goods such as bread, chicken and eggs.

An increase in U.S. sanctions under President Donald Trump is also making it even harder for cash-strapped Cuba to get credit from financial institutions.

Cuba's Economy Minister Alejandro Gil Fernandez earlier in the day called on the government to tighten belts further and seek alternatives to imports, as foreign exchange earnings decline and credit for supplies and investment become more difficult to find.

"Exports are not growing as planned. The levels of foreign investment that the economy demands are not materializing," Gil said. "We can forecast the import plan will not be fulfilled because the credits we need cannot be finalised due to the arrears of payments of debts."

Cuba relies on imports directly or indirectly for much of what it produces and consumes, including fuel and food, and purchases the supplies with foreign currency it earns from exports and obtains through credits.

The government has been struggling to keep economic growth in the black and forecast a 1.5 percent increase in gross domestic product this year after a 1.2 percent increase last year.

The Trump administration has said Cuba is responsible for the survival of socialist Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro and slapped new sanctions on Cuba, which is already under a crippling trade embargo, leaving the detente of former president Barack Obama in the dust.

Story continues

This month the United States sanctioned vessels and companies that ship oil to Cuba from Venezuela in exchange for health and other technical services, threatening the energy grid and transportation.

The Trump administration says it soon may activate a long dormant law under which Cuban-Americans could sue foreign companies that profit from their properties nationalized during the first years of the 1959 Revolution.

"Our response is no, imperialist gentlemen, we Cubans do not surrender," Diaz-Canel said on Saturday, adding the situation meant "we have two absolute priorities: the preparation of our defence and the economic battle at the same time."

According to western diplomats and businessmen, Cuba has failed to pay suppliers on time for a number of years, piling up around $1.5 billion in short term debt.

Trade fell around 25 percent from 2013 through 2017 and declined again last year, according to the government.

In addition to the Venezuelan crisis, the advent of a far-right government in Brazil led last year to the scrapping of a doctors-for-cash deal valued at an annual $300 million (229.36 million pounds).

(Reporting by Marc Frank; additional reporting by Nelson Acosta; editing by Grant McCool)
Protesters Sudan are celebrating the toppling of two leaders in two days following the resignation of military council chief Ahmed Awad Ibn Ouf, who stepped down a day after ousting longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir.Ibn Ouf, who is known for his role in the brutal repression of the insurgency in western Darfur, was seen as being too similar to Bashir.On Friday he named another general, Abdel-Fattah Burhan, as his successor at the head of the Transitional Military Council. Burhan is to lead Sudan for two years until elections are held. * Bashirs 'military cronies need a civilian to run Sudan'The council has promised that Sudans next government will be civilian, and will be formed by the consensus of the political forces  without any military intervention. However the armed forces would maintain the defence and interior ministries for the purpose of countering any security challenges.Its unclear if the move will be enough to satisfy protesters who are calling for widespread pro-democracy reforms.Sudans military has said it will not be handing Bashir over to the International Criminal Court, where he faces charges of crimes against humanity.

Protesters Sudan are celebrating the toppling of two leaders in two days following the resignation of military council chief Ahmed Awad Ibn Ouf, who stepped down a day after ousting longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir.

Ibn Ouf, who is known for his role in the brutal repression of the insurgency in western Darfur, was seen as being too similar to Bashir.

On Friday he named another general, Abdel-Fattah Burhan, as his successor at the head of the Transitional Military Council. Burhan is to lead Sudan for two years until elections are held.

The council has promised that Sudans next government will be civilian, and will be formed by the consensus of the political forces  without any military intervention. However the armed forces would maintain the defence and interior ministries for the purpose of countering any security challenges.

Its unclear if the move will be enough to satisfy protesters who are calling for widespread pro-democracy reforms.

Sudans military has said it will not be handing Bashir over to the International Criminal Court, where he faces charges of crimes against humanity.
Vox is trying to win its first seats in the national parliament in Spains April 28 election.

Police in the Spanish city of Bilbao have clashed with hundreds of protesters outside a rally by a far-right party that is running in the countrys general election this month.

The private news agency Europa Press said two people were arrested by the regional Basque Country police.

Protesters threw bricks and other objects at police, who used batons and shields to clear the street outside a congress centre where Santiago Abascal, leader of the far-right anti-migrant Vox party, was holding a rally.

Vox is trying to win its first seats in the national parliament in Spains April 28 election.

Vox is promising to crack down on unauthorised immigration and to recentralise the state, taking away powers from regions like the Basque Country.
We all know the royals are very good at re-wearing their favourite fashion threads. From the Duchess of Cambridge re-working her Alexander McQueen frock last month to the Countess of Wessex and her polka-dot dream of a dress she has stepped out in three times this year alone, the royal family love to re-hash their favourite looks. Princess Eugenie is no exception to this rule, and last week the daughter of Prince Andrew headed to Rob Stewart's SHARKWATER EXTINCTION premiere screening and rewore a dress she wore to Ascot last year. In photographs that appeared on the Team Sharkwater's Instagram, the royal left her hat at home and stunned in a beautiful floral dress by Erdem.

princess-eugneie-ascot-dress

Princess Eugenie wore an Erdem dress to Ascot 2018

Erdem's stunning high-necked floral dress set the royal back 1385 at the time, and it went down to 969 in the brand's mid-season sale. White with colourful flashes of bloom prints, it's the kind of number that could be brought out each season and Eugenie is certainly getting her wear out of it!

The royal family love Erdem - particularly Prince William's wife Kate - who has worn the Canadian Turkish designer many times in the past.

MORE: Bridal beauty secrets from Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and Princess Eugenie

On the royal tour of Sweden in 2018, Kate looked incredible wearing a mustard yellow floral print gown by the designer, to a glamorous black tie dinner at the Residence of the British Ambassador. It was the perfect choice for the royal, who at the time was six months pregnant with Prince Louis.

READ: The one makeup item Princess Eugenie DIDN'T wear on her wedding day

And the following evening at the Fotografiska gallery the mother-of-three glowed as she wore a blue dress - one again by Erdem - which hugged her changing shape and skimmed over her neat baby bump. She added a coat by Swedish designer Ida Sjostedt. The 37-year-old accessorised her outfit with a pair of oversized hoop earrings by British designer Robinson Pelham.
The hostage-taker-in-chief. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

On Friday, the president announced that he is considering busing undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers from the southern border to liberal cities across the United States  and then releasing them onto the streets, in the hope that this would lead to so much chaos and/or violence that congressional Democrats will have no choice but to acquiesce to his demands on immigration.

Due to the fact that Democrats are unwilling to change our very dangerous immigration laws, we are indeed, as reported, giving strong considerations to placing Illegal Immigrants in Sanctuary Cities only, Donald Trump tweeted. The Radical Left always seems to have an Open Borders, Open Arms policy  so this should make them very happy!

Here, Trump vouched for a Washington Post report that specifically suggested that the White House had repeatedly implored Immigration and Customs Enforcement to dump undocumented immigrants in Nancy Pelosis congressional district  as a means of coercing House Democrats into granting the administration concessions in budget negotiations.

In other words, the president is ostensibly threatening to deliberately inflict harm on Americans who live in areas controlled by Democrats until a coequal branch starts taking his marching orders. And, in this respect, Trumps proposal to release immigrants in sanctuary cities (i.e., cities that do not fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities) isnt anything new.

Less than three months into his presidency, Trump threatened to deliberately sabotage Americas individual insurance market until Democrats agreed to support repealing and replacing Obamacare:

In an interview in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump said the White House may lack authority to make the payments established under his predecessor to reduce copayments and deductibles for some of the poorest customers who buy insurance under the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Cutting off the payments could trigger turmoil in insurance markets.

I dont want people to get hurt, Mr. Trump said. What I think should happen  and will happen  is the Democrats will start calling me and negotiating.

Trump eventually did cancel those cost-sharing payments (a move that did have its desired effect). Meanwhile, his Health Department cut funding for the laws outreach groups; slashed Obamacares advertising budget by 90 percent; spent a portion of the remaining ad budget on propaganda calling for the laws repeal; cut the open-enrollment period by 45 days; announced that it would be taking healthcare.gov (where people can enroll in Obamacare online) offline nearly every Sunday during that time period, for maintenance purposes; and described Obamacare as a bad deal that Americans wont be convinced to sign up for in official public statements  all in a transparent bid to dent the laws popularity by engineering a spike in insurance premiums.

A few months later, the Trump administration canceled the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, thereby subjecting 700,000 Dreamers to the threat of deportation. Trump never made an affirmative policy argument for this decision; in fact, almost immediately after making it, the president claimed that he supported protections for undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children and implored Congress to legalize DACA (something the Obama Administration was unable to do). The presidents only rationale for suspending the program was that it exceeded the executive branchs constitutional authority. But this was patently disingenuous. This president has no compunction about testing the limits of his authority over immigration policy when he wants to  and, as a federal judge subsequently noted, deferred action has been blessed by both the Supreme Court and Congress as a means to exercise enforcement discretion.

In truth, Trump canceled DACA because he believed that he could ransom the Dreamers security for concessions on immigration policy. The president has openly acknowledged that this is his motivation. Last November, Trump told Politico that he did not want to negotiate over protections for Dreamers until the Supreme Court strikes down DACA (which lower courts have forced his administration to reinstate) because he believes he will have more leverage over Democrats once Dreamers are once again subject to threat of banishment from the only country they call home:

WE THEN ASKED TRUMP if he would be open to a deal with Democrats to shield DREAMERS from deportation as part of an agreement to build the wall.

THE ANSWER TO THAT seemed to be a resounding no.

WELL, I THINK DACA is gonna be much more interesting to talk about when we go to the Supreme Court, he said.

IF THE SUPREME COURT DOESNT ALLOW DACA, he said  in other words, if it gets struck down, we will settle every single issue we have. Does that make sense to you?

And, of course, the president recently shuttered the federal government for more than a month  deliberately inflicting economic hardship and governmental dysfunction on ordinary Americans  in a doomed attempt to force Nancy Pelosi to fund his border wall. At one point, the president suggested that he had the upper hand in the shutdown fight because most of the workers not getting paid are Democrats.

Thus, Trumps sanctuary-cities proposal is consistent with his broader approach to governance over the past two years. It is perhaps more audacious  and arguably illegal  than his previous attempts to leverage his nihilism into concessions from Congress. But releasing undocumented immigrants into sanctuary cities isnt any more morally odious than sabotaging Americas health-care system, subjecting hundreds of thousands of American-raised immigrants to the threat of deportation, or shuttering the federal government for weeks on end in a fit of pique. In fact, Trumps new gambit is much less objectionable from a moral standpoint. After all, if one rejects his racist (and empirically baseless) presumptions about the effect that undocumented immigrants have on urban life, then he is essentially threatening to provide asylum-seekers with free transportation to cities that are currently in need of more labor, and which have proved to be especially accommodating to Americas newcomers.

As far as this presidents hostage-taking threats go, thats a rather benign proposition.
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.
The abrupt end to the Trump-Kim second summit in February is probably worrying Kim Jong-un. He has now raised the rhetoric against hostile countries who are trying to demean his regime by using sanctions. Kim wants to deliver what he says would be a serious blow to such countries. He is racking his brains to come up with a solution of how to balance the equation of sanctions relief with progress on denuclearization. During their first summit in Singapore, the North Korean leader had agreed for denuclearization, but differences arose on the process of implementation.

We must strike a blow to hostile forces if sanctions imposed: Kim Jong-un https://t.co/egzDyKjf9o pic.twitter.com/Or69InO0Xf  World News Observer (@wnobserver) April 11, 2019

The Guardian says there is now a deadlock and there must be diplomatic attempts to break the same so that the process of denuclearization can gain momentum. From all appearances, Kim Jong-un has put on hold his nuclear exercises hoping to come out of the economic pitfall of sanctions and the inaction over the past couple of months is testing his patience.

Kim wants to improve the economy

The supremo of North Korea has realized that economic stability is important for the progress of his country. This is evident from his recent visits to some projects.

One of these is a remodeled department store, apart from tourist resorts and an economic hub located near the border with China. Moon Jae-in, president of South Korea, plans to meet Donald Trump to lay the groundwork for restarting nuclear negotiations. Moon feels the partial easing of sanctions could help the cause of peace in the region by cooperating with the North on cross-border tourism and industrial projects.

Discuss this news on Eunomia

He had discussed these points with Kim when they met for their third summit last September.

Analysts see Kim's reference to hostile forces as a clear attempt to increase pressure on Washington ... https://t.co/iTbmObPIcW  ocanannain (@ocanannain) April 11, 2019

The Guardian goes on to add that in the Hanoi summit, Pyongyang wanted Washington to agree for limited sanctions relief and the hermit kingdom would reciprocate by dismantling its main nuclear facility at Yongbyon.

However, the Americans claimed the regimes demand was for dropping all sanctions. That could happen only when North Korea went in for total denuclearization by dismantling its complete range of nuclear facilities and weapons programs.

Its all about give and take

According to Fox News, the Hanoi summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un was about giving and taking. North Korea was willing to limit its nuclear program but it would depend on the extent of easing the economic sanctions. South Korean President Moon Jae-in is scheduled to meet president Trump in Washington to discuss the issue. The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has offered Moon some hope when he said that he would like to leave a little room in the sanctions regime linked with North Koreas progress on denuclearization. This could be a revised strategy of the United States.
Fitch Ratings on Wednesday assigned Viet Nams National Power Transmission Corporation (EVNNPT) a long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating (IDR) of 'BB' with a stable outlook for the first time.

Fitch Ratings, one of the Big Three credit rating agencies based in the United States, said in a statement released on April 10 about the creditworthiness of Vietnams National Power Transmission Corporation (EVNNPT), which further demonstrates the strong credit profile of the countrys power companies.

Having attained a long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating of BB with a stable outlook and a senior unsecured rating of BB, EVNNPTs ratings align with both Vietnams sovereign rating and that of the national power utility, Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN), last June. Fitch also assesses its standalone credit profile at BB+.

EVNNPTs rating reinforces its creditworthiness and enhances its transparency, in line with international standards. This development enables the corporation to diversify financing sources and issue international bonds. It is now better positioned to deliver on its mission to ensure safe, uninterrupted, and stable power transmission to serve the needs of Vietnams people and businesses.

Dang Phan Tuong, chairman of the board of directors of EVNNPT, said in a statement that the corporation needs to invest around US$700-800 million annually to meet its investment requirements under Power Sector Development Plan 7.

The positive credit rating by Fitch Ratings has confirmed the strong financial standing of EVNNPT and will facilitate its penetration into the international capital market to raise capital, he said.

The World Banks Energy and Extractives Global Practice supported the credit rating exercise in collaboration with the Singapore-based Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF) team, which managed the technical support, and financing from the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF). The WB support included appointing the Japan-based Mizuho Bank to prepare for the credit rating readiness and the rating exercise.

The electricity transmission network is the backbone of a power system and of critical importance to provision of reliable and sustainable power for Vietnams socio-economic development, said Ousmane Dione, country director for the World Bank in Vietnam.

He said that following EVN, the positive credit rating will enable EVNNPT to access new sources of commercial financing without sovereign guarantees that can complement traditional sources of financing such as government budget or official development assistance in further investments to address transmission network bottlenecks to integrate and scale up solar and wind energy.

EVNNPTs credit profile is supported by its dominant market position as a monopoly player in Vietnams electricity transmission sector, limited price and volume risk under the regulatory framework which enhances its revenue and profit visibility, pooled counterparty risk, and strong receivables.

Vietnams development record over the past three decades has been significant. Economic and political reforms under Doi Moi, launched in 1986, have spurred rapid growth and development and transformed Vietnam from one of the worlds lowest income nations to a lower middle-income country today with the 2018 gross domestic product per capita above US$2,500.

The sustained global recovery has helped consolidate these gains. The electricity sector has been critical in supporting economic development by achieving almost universal electricity access and reducing technical and commercial losses. SGT
Experts believe that unprofitable projects invested by enterprises under the Ministry of Industry and Trades (MOIT) management should be sold even at a loss.

MOIT has repeatedly affirmed that the restructure of 12 unprofitable projects has gained initial successes.

According to MOITs Deputy Minister Tran Quoc Khanh, of six operational plants, two have made profits, including DAP 1 Fertilizer Plant in Hai Phong and the Vietnam-China Steel Mill.

The other four plants have stabilized their operation and seen losses decrease. The loss taken by the Ha Bac Fertilizer Plant in 2018, for example, decreased by VND266 billion. The figures were VND288 billion for Lao Cai DAP No 2 and VND10 billion for Ninh Binh Fertilizer.

As for the Dung Quat Biofuel Plant, according to Pham Van Vuong, director of BSR-BF, the owner of the plant, the MOIT and PetroVietnam want to resume operation of the plant first and withdraw capital from the project later.



As for the Dung Quat Biofuel Plant, according to Pham Van Vuong, director of BSR-BF, the owner of the plant, the MOIT and PetroVietnam want to resume operation of the plant first and withdraw capital from the project later.

The second phase of the steel complex in Thai Nguyen remains stalled despite the huge amount of VND4.5 trillion poured into it. Nguoi Lao Dong reported that the project has come to a deadlock as disputes with the Chinese EPC contractor have not been settled.

Of six operational plants, two have made profits, including DAP 1 Fertilizer Plant in Hai Phong and the Vietnam-China Steel Mill. The other four plants have stabilized their operation and seen losses decrease.

Meanwhile, the Ninh Binh Fertilizer Plant, one of four unprofitable projects of the Vietnam Chemicals Group (Vinachem), is lacking capital to maintain production.

Vinachems chair Nguyen Phu Cuong warned that if the problems of Ninh Binh cannot be solved, it may lead to the collapse of Vinachem as well.

Big difficulties are also attacking the Ha Bac Fertilizer Plant. Its financial cost is up to VND820 billion a year and is expected to rise to VND870 billion in 2019.

Vo Dai Luoc, former head of the Institute for the Worlds Economics and Politics, said that state agencies attempt to take on unprofitable projects and solve their questions, and this will lead to an impasse.

The State wants to restructure projects and push unprofitable projects back to operation with preferential policies and support. But this wont help, Luoc said.

He went on to say that the reported figures about the loss reduction are just the tip of the iceberg, while state agencies still cannot find solutions to recover the plan in a sustainable way.

He believes that it would be better to sell projects to private investors. The projects need to be sold, even at a loss, so as to attract investors, Luoc said.



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Sugar companies are in such danger that the Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development (MARD) on April 3 had to organize a meeting with the sugar association to discuss ways to rescue them.

In the Mekong Delta, which has a large sugarcane growing area, farmers are desperate. After the failure of the 2017-2018 crop, thousands of households do not have more capital for the new farming crop. Many of them chopped down sugarcane plants to grow other crops.

In Tra Cu district, the sugarcane metropolis of Tra Vinh province, hundreds of hectares of sugarcane growing area have been used for aquaculture, rice and crop cultivation.

According to the districts agriculture sub-department, only 3,300 hectares of sugarcane exist this year, a decrease of 30 percent compared with the previous crop.

Meanwhile, the Tra Vinh sugar refinery has spent big money to increase its capacity. Now with the sugarcane output decrease, it is likely to lack material for production.

In Hau Giang province, despite the lower output caused by a smaller growing area (10,500 hectares), the sugarcane price has dropped dramatically to VND800per kilogram. With the price, farmers cannot make a profit.

In Hau Giang province, despite the lower output caused by a smaller growing area (10,500 hectares), the sugarcane price has dropped dramatically to VND800per kilogram. With the price, farmers cannot make a profit.



Anticipated risks

The 2018-2019 sugarcane crop is the third consecutive year that has a negative impacts from the weather and market conditions. Many companies can foresee losses because of existing problems: high inventory level, increased smuggling, and bigger imports of liquid sugar.

Vietnam imported 46,000 tons in 2014, while the figure soared to 140,000 tons in 2018. According to the Vietnam Sugar Cane and Sugar Association, the inventory volume has reached 650,000 tons, a record high level.

Meanwhile, smuggled sugar remains a headache to domestic producers. Pham Quang Vinh, chair of Casuco, said Thailand makes 15 million tons of sugar a year, while its domestic demand is 2 million tons only.

Thai sugar is sold across the border gates to Vietnam. Since the sugar doesnt bear tax, it is VND1,000 per kilogram cheaper than Vietnam-made sugar.

According to the sugar association, sugar companies are in danger of going bankrupt because the selling prices have fallen below the production cost, while the inventory volume remains high.

Solutions

Minister of MARD Nguyen Xuan Cuong suggested sugar companies make full use of bagasse and sugarcane by-products to generate electricity.

According to the sugarcane association, in other countries, sugar is the major product of sugarcane, accounting for 60 percent, while the other 40 percent is used for electricity, alcohol and microbial fertilizer. Vietnams enterprises only make sugar, which increases the production cost.



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Dang Le Nguyen Vu, 48, founding chairman and general director of Vietnamese coffee giant Trung Nguyen Group, and his ex-wife Le Hoang Diep Thao, 46, have appealed their high-profile divorce case.

Dang Le Nguyen Vu and Le Hoang Diep Thao are seen in this combination photo  PHOTO: VIETNAM FINANCE

The HCMC Peoples Court told the local media on Wednesday that Thao is seeking to overturn the entire verdict as she wants to be reunited with Vu, often referred to as the coffee king.

She also disagrees with the courts decision to split the couples shared assets in Trung Nguyen 60:40 in Vus favor and give him the rights to manage the group.

Meanwhile, Vu appealed against the courts ruling on the settlement of the couples shared assets and repeated his original demand for 70% of the couples assets.

After a long trial last month, the court agreed to let the couple divorce, with Thao getting custody of their four children and Vu providing VND10 billion (US$430,000) per year in child support until they graduate from university.

Their combined stake in the group and its subsidiaries should be divided equally, according to the court. However, Vu had made more contributions to the establishment and development of the coffee empire than Thao, so the court gave him 60%.

Since the division of the groups shares may cause difficulties in its operations, the court ruled that Vu should purchase all of Thaos shares so the latter would no longer be a Trung Nguyen shareholder.

The value of the couples assets, excluding their properties, is estimated at more than VND7.5 trillion (US$323.3 million), of which Vu will receive over VND4.5 trillion and Thao, VND3 trillion.

Their 13 properties will be divided equally. Vu will own six properties worth more than VND350 billion, while Thao will hold the remainder, valued at over VND375 billion. Thao will have to pay Vu the balance of VND12.5 billion.

Regarding nearly VND1.8 trillion in deposits at three banks, the court ruled that the money will be divided equally, with reference to the couples contributions.

Vu and Thao got married in 1998, but conflicts arose in 2013. Consequently, Thao filed for divorce in 2015 and asked for 51% of Trung Nguyen Investment JSC, which holds the majority stake in Trung Nguyen Group.

She also proposed that she and Vu each own a 15% stake in Trung Nguyen Group and a 7.5% stake in Trung Nguyen Instant Coffee. Thao agreed to give Vu her shares in the other four companies under the Trung Nguyen brand.

However, Vu wanted 70% of all companies under the Trung Nguyen brand and to buy the remaining shares from Thao in cash.

Trung Nguyen is a leading coffee brand in Vietnam, with some 200,000 coffee shops nationwide. The group reported a net profit of VND681 billion (US$29.4 million) on revenue of VND3.95 trillion (US$170.5 million) in 2017. SGT
Although the DOCs announcement of zero-percent antidumping tariffs on 31 Vietnamese shrimp exporters is just a preliminary decision, the transparency of Vietnamese businesses has been proven, an official has said.

A shrimp processing factory

Although the US Department of Commerce (DOC)s announcement of zero-percent antidumping tariffs on 31 Vietnamese shrimp exporters is just a preliminary decision and the official ruling is still to come, the transparency of Vietnamese businesses has been proven, an official has said.

The preliminary duties were announced following the DOCs 13th Period of Review (POR 13).

Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the Export-Import Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said the success was the result of close coordination among businesses, associations and state agencies in dealing with importing countries barriers and protection measures.

He noted when the antidumping duties were cut to zero, tariff barriers will be reduced, helping boost shrimp exports to the US.

Echoing this view, Truong Dinh Hoe, Secretary-General of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said this result indicates that Vietnamese firms sold shrimp to the US at prices that fairly competed with shrimp from other sources and that they did not dump their products.

He considered the zero-percent tariffs an encouragement to shrimp exporters to the US this year.

Ho Quoc Luc, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Sao Ta Foods JSC based in Soc Trang province, said in previous PORs, only a few businesses received a zero-percent tariff. However, in the latest review, 31 shrimp exporters were assessed as having competed fairly in the US.

They hope that this preliminary tariff will be maintained in the DOCs final ruling this September, he added.

According to VASEP, Vietnams shrimp exports were estimated at 550 million USD in the first three months of 2019, down 15 percent year on year.

Tran Van Pham, General Director of the Soc Trang Seafood JSC, attributed this decline to fierce competition with shrimp products from other countries like India and Ecuador which have expanded their shrimp farming areas over the last two years. As a result, shrimp prices have fallen, leading to lower export value.

With zero-percent antidumping tariffs, Vietnams shrimp industry will now have more competitive edge than some other countries, he said, adding that the US is still imposing antidumping duties on shrimp from India, Indonesia and Ecuador.

However, Vietnamese shrimp processors and exporters are still recommended to continue improving their products pending the official decision of the DOC.-VNA
A long-term plan for renewable energy sources such as solar and wind must be devised for Vietnam to realise its goal of connecting the entire country to the national grid, experts have said.

Visitors at a booth displaying a solar power model at the Solar Show Viet Nam 2019 organised last week in HCM City.  VNS Photo Bo Xuan Hiep



Renewable energy will play an essential role in helping Vietnam accomplish the goal by 2030, but more Government efforts are needed to attract investment in the sector, they noted.

Speaking at an international conference on renewable energy held last week in HCM City, experts said that annual energy consumption in the country had risen by 10 per cent in recent years, and the country was at risk of facing power shortages in the 2020s.

Vietnam has the potential to reach 35,000MW generated by the sun by 2030, according to researchers. Solar energy projects, including rooftop solar, is viewed as one of the major solutions to reduce pressure on the electricity sector.

The generation of 1kWh of solar energy will help reduce CO2 emissions by 0.6612 kg, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Solar energy, a clean energy resource with relatively high output, would also reduce the amount of state spending on power generation and transmission facilities.

If only two million rooftops have solar panels (with a capacity of 10 kW per roof), the country would cut by 16 million tonnes the amount of coal needed per year for coal-fired power plants.

Tran Viet Nguyen, deputy head of the Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN) business division, said that EVN offices last year installed rooftop solar systems at 54 locations with a total capacity of 3.2 MWp.

Some 1,800 customers, including offices, businesses and households, are installing rooftop solar systems with a total capacity of 30.12 MWp, he said.

In HCM City, EVN has installed rooftop solar systems with a total capacity of nearly 1,130 kWp and is continuing to deploy other systems.

However, Tran Dinh Nhan, EVN general director, said this amount was far below the potential of Viet Nam, attributing the reason to a lack of specific regulations about electricity purchases when households connect their solar power systems to the national grid.

In addition, information about rooftop solar power remains unclear and the cost of solar power investment at VND20-25 million ($1,000) per kWp is still high, while there is little Government support policy for solar power projects.

Customers continue to be reluctant to invest in solar systems due to a lack of information about product quality, operating methods, and equipment warranty.

Solar energy goals

With the goal of reaching solar output of 1GWp by 2020, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc recently approved Vietnams renewable energy development strategy to 2030.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has also issued Circular 16 on solar project development and power purchase agreements (PPAs) in order to solve issues related to taxes and payment methods for rooftop solar power projects.

As of the end of last year, about 10,000MW of solar energy had been generated by large solar projects, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

More than 100 power purchase agreements (PPAs) were signed with two of them having total capacity of 86MW, the ministry said.

PPA is a financial agreement in which a developer arranges for design, permits, financing and installation of a solar energy system on a customers property, at little to no cost.

The developer sells the power generated to the host customer at a fixed rate that is typically lower than the local utilitys retail rate.

This lower electricity price serves to offset the customers purchase of electricity from the grid while the developer receives income from the sale of electricity as well as any tax credits and other incentives generated from the system.

At the end of the PPA contract term, a customer may be able to extend the agreement, have the developer remove the system, or choose to buy the solar energy system from the developer.

PPAs usually range from 10-25 years and the developer remains responsible for the operation and maintenance of the system for the duration of the agreement.

EVN currently cannot sign PPAs with customers because of the lack of official instructions on how to buy solar electricity from households.

More effort needed

Nhan, EVN general director, said the electricity sector would assist households and enterprises in installing solar power systems and help them with procedures to connect to the national grid and sign power purchasing agreements.

He said the buying of solar electricity connected to the grid would be done as soon as there are guiding circulars issued by the authorities.

EVN will pay for installation of electricity meters to measure the volume of electricity consumed as well as connected to the grid.

Samresh Kumar, managing director for principal investments at VinaCapital, said it was important to mobilise international capital to improve the development of rooftop solar energy.

Hoang Quoc Vuong, deputy minister of Industry and Trade, said that a circular to amend Circular 16 would soon be issued by the ministry after collection of comments from ministries and sectors is completed.

The new document will specify the method of payment for the purchase of solar output via specific contracts. The legal document is also expected to encourage investment in and development of rooftop solar energy in the future, he said.

Speaking at an international conference on renewable energy held last week in HCM City, Nguyen Tam Tien, CEO of Trung Nam Group, said that renewable energy generation had already significantly increased.

Mai Van Trung, business development director at SolarBK, said the country has favourable conditions to develop solar energy and that commercial and industrial solar PV rooftop applications have great development potential.

Samresh Kumar of VinaCapital said that solar rooftop power is an effective solution which provides a commercially viable option, especially for commercial and industrial segments.

John Rockhold, head of the power and energy sub-working group under the Viet Nam Business Forum, said rooftop solar panels were key to reducing pressure on the national grid, and that modest annual price increases and a road map for efficient energy were both needed.

VNS

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United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received 201,011 H-1B petitions during the filing period, which began April 1, including petitions filed for the advanced degree exemption, as per their website. On April 5, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services informed that it has received a sufficient number of petitions or maximum limit of petitions count for filling the quota for 65,000 visa cap, in accordance with the new H-1B regulation.

As per the filing, "USCIS first conducted the selection process for H-1B cap-subject petitions submitted on behalf of all beneficiaries, including those that may have been eligible for the advanced degree exemption. USCIS then selected a number projected to reach the advanced degree exemption from the remaining eligible petitions."

The US has changed norms this year to include 20,000 H-1B visas for US master degree holders in the initial quota of 65,000 visas. Any individual with advanced US degree who is not selected in the initial 65,000 cap lottery, will be eligible for the additional 20,000 visas reserved for individuals with advanced US degrees. It means that the proportion of petitioners with advanced degrees getting H-1B visas will be higher this year.

Till last year, the annual cap approved by US Congress for any given fiscal year is 65,000 visas allotted for regular quota or non-advanced degree quota and additional 20,000 for the petitioners with higher qualifications, including US master degree holders.

Additionally, every year 6,800 visas are set aside out of the total 85,000 cap for the citizens of Singapore and Chile as part of the Free Trade Agreement with them.

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has resorted to lottery mechanism, where they use a computer-generated random selection process to select enough H-1B petitions to meet the congressionally-mandated regular cap, since 2013-14, as the number of applicants always increased the quota.

USCIS used a computer-generated random selection process, on April 10, to select a sufficient number of H-1B cap petitions to meet the regular cap and the U.S. advanced degree exemption for fiscal year (FY) 2020.

After completing the random selection process for the regular cap, USCIS also determined that it has received a sufficient number of petitions to meet the 20,000 H-1B visa U.S. advanced degree exemption,(also known as the master's cap).

In the context of H1B visas, the Indian tech sector is among the biggest beneficiaries of the H-1B visa programme. Tech Sector which relies heavily upon the H-1B applications for rendering services to the clients based in the US sees this as a fresh concern and alleges that the new quota for US master degree holders was partial to US tech firms.

The reverse selection process to include US master's or advanced degree holders within the 65,000-cap will tighten movement for the Indian IT services sector.

As per a research report by CARE Ratings, visa approvals to Indian companies declined by 49% last year, with only 22,429 H-1B visas granted to the top five IT firms compared to 43.957 visas in 2017.

The last two years had shown a slight decline in the number of applications. Trump administration's new policies like 'Buy American, Hire American', students on OPT, H4 EAD removal rule, etc. factors have also resulted in a significant decline in the number of applications submitted.

However, despite the restrictive policies under the Trump administration, this year saw a 5 percent increase in application numbers/submissions over the previous year.

Of the total 2 lakh H-1B visa petitions received, 42 percent are likely to get visas for this fiscal year, as per the ceiling of 85,000 for new H-1B visas a year policy by the USCIS.

(Edited by Rupa Burman Roy)

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Vietnam's health insurance fund started covering HIV patients for anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs in March this year after international donors ended their sponsorship.

Le Van Phuc, head of the pharmacy and medical supply department at Viet Nam Social Security talks to Thoi Bao Kinh Te Viet Nam (Viet Nam Economic Times).

A HIV patient receives antiretroviral (ARV) covered by health insurance fund at Ha Noi's Nam Tu Liem District healthcare centre.

What has been prepared to ensure health insurance coverage for HIV treatment expenses?

The health insurance fund along with other State budget sources have been contributing to ensuring HIV drug supplies.

The health insurance fund has so far covered HIV opportunistic infections and other testing for HIV patients who hold health insurance cards.

It is estimated that by the end of this year, about 48,000 HIV patients who hold health insurance cards will have their ARV drug covered by the fund.

The rest of the patients will be covered by 2020.

Viet Nam Social Security (VSS) has worked with the health ministry to sign healthcare contracts with HIV treatment facilities and set up a database to manage patients who are on ARV.

The VSS and the health ministry also provide ARV drugs to HIV treatment facilities.

The health insurance fund covers a first-class ARV treatment regimen.

It is estimated that more than VN600 billion (US$25.5 million) is needed to provide treatment for more than 100,000 HIV/AIDS patients. What solutions should be taken to ensure health insurance coverage for them?

It is estimated to cost VN6 million ($255) per year to provide healthcare check-ups and treatment for each HIV patient.

We need solutions to ensure the fund is capable of covering health insurance card holders including HIV patients.

We need to step up management on using the insurance fund in an effective way.

Quality and prices of drugs, management and use must be ensured.

We should make plans to adjust health insurance premiums and taxes on alcohol and cigarettes to contribute to the health insurance fund.

How are you planning to convince more HIV patients to sign up for the health insurance programme in order to ensure better treatment for them?

Viet Nam is now the only country mobilising domestic sources for HIV/AIDS treatment.

The VSS and the health ministry have created the most favourable conditions for HIV patients to access health insurance.

The number of HIV patients who hold health insurance card holders has increased. The coverage rate for HIV patients in many localities has reached 100 per cent.

However, the health insurance coverage rate in some localities remains low because patients are afraid of being discriminated against and do not want to reveal their personal information.

The VSS and the health ministry will step up communication campaigns on HIV and ARV patients to share the importance of health insurance.

We expect authorities will continue to improve HIV treatment service quality and create a friendly environment for HIV carriers by changing medical staffs attitudes towards patients as well as their consultation and communication skills. VNS
More than 10,000 sugarcanefarm households in the central province of Phu Yen are earning higher profits thanks to the use of bagasse from a sugar factory to produce electricity.

A power plant uses bagasse from a sugar factory to produce electricity in Phu Yen Province.  Photo tuoitre.vn

The factory owned by KCP Vietnam Industries Limited (KCP VIL) has bought sugarcane from farmers in the province at a price VND100,000 (US$4.3) per tonne higher than the market rate.

Many sugarcane farmers in the country have turned to grow cassava because of the low price of sugarcane.

Gia Lai and Phu Yen provinces are among the localities with the largest areas of sugarcane in the country, with more than 60,000ha.

In mid-March, the market price of raw sugarcane was VND720,000 to 760,000 ($31-33) per tonne.

However, sugarcane farmers in Phu Hoa, Son Hoa and Dong Xuan districts in Phu Yen Province are selling their product for VND820.000-860.000 ($35.3-37) per tonne.

Ro Cham Y Nem, a sugarcane farmer in Son Hoa District, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that he had sold 40ha of sugarcane to KCP VIL for VND840,000 ($36.2) per tonne.

Fertiliser is given to sugarcane farming households that have signed supply contracts with the company, a farmer in the district, Dang Van Sam, said.

The company is also offering VND3.5 million ($150) each to farming households that do not currently grow sugarcane if they switch to the crop.

K.V.S.R. Subbaiah, general director of KCP VIL, told Tuoi Tre newspaper that his company produces both sugar and biomass electricity.

Built in 2016 with a total investment of $23 million, the 30MW biomass power plant needs about 300,000 tonnes of bagasse a crop (around four months worth).

In 2017, it supplied more than 49 million Kwh of electricity and reached 108 million Kwh of electricity last year, generating power for the national power grid.

With revenue from selling electricity to Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN), the company shares its profit with farmers to help them plant sugarcane, he said.

The renewable energy supply from the KCP VIL biomass power plant contributes to 10 per cent of the provinces energy use, according to Thai Minh Chau, director of the provincial power company.

This power source is very important to ensure energy security, and to meet increased power demand as well as insufficient power in the dry season, he said.

The sugar factory has been using bagasse for three years, the deputy chairman of provincial Peoples Committee, Tran Huu The, said.

While many sugar producers are facing difficulties with low prices and farmers in other localities have left sugarcane farming to switch to cassava, farmers in Phu Yen Province are growing lots of sugarcane thanks to purchasing contracts with KCP VIL, he said.

The model is expected to help develop the countrys sugarcane industry and compete with rivals such as Thailand, he added.

The province plans to organise a workshop to propose increasing the price of power that uses bagasse to encourage sugar companies to invest in biomass power plants.

Production of power using biomass is not new to Vietnam, but the price is low, so investors are not interested, Subbaiah said.

In Thailand, biomass electricity produced from bagasse at sugar mills sells for around 13 US cents per kWh, while the EVN buys it at VND1,220 (5.8 US cents) per kWh from KCP VIL, he said.

We have repeatedly petitioned the Government to increase the purchasing price of biomass electricity to encourage businesses to invest in biomass power plants. This would help the domestic sugar industry.

Vietnams energy demand and biomass electricity prices are expected to increase, so the company plans to build one more biomass power plant with a designed capacity of 30MW.

However, the construction of a new biomass power plant will depend on preferential policies.

VNS

RELATED NEWS

Biomass energy from sugar industry a viable option

Low price of electricity generated by bagasse discourages investors
The 2019 enrollment season has started, with students registering applications for universities on April 1-20.

The HCMC National University has closed the first campaign of taking registrations for the ability assessment test. Nearly 37,000 students registered to sit the test, 4,900 more than 2018, according to Nguyen Quoc Chinh, director of the Testing Center and Training Quality Assessment.

The results of the assessment test will be made public by mid-April.

The second campaign will be organized in mid-July 2019. Students can register to attend both tests and can apply for universities.

Schools now have the right to determine the enrollment method. They can consider exam scores that students have from national high-school finals, students learning records at high school, achievements at international competitions, or students assessment tests.

Schools now have the right to determine the enrollment method. They can consider exam scores that students have from national high-school finals, students learning records at high school, achievements at international competitions, or students assessment tests. Students can also enroll in some schools without having to attend any exams or ability tests.

The ability assessment test has 120 multiple-choice questions which students need to solve in 150 minutes. It has the same approach as tests in developed countries, such as SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test) in the US and TSA (Thinking Skills Assessment) in the UK.

The assessment test is considered a step forward in schools efforts to improve enrollment methods. It helps ease reliance on high-school finals results, while students can choose the time most convenient to them to attend the test.

Instead of sitting and waiting for students, schools now compete with each other to find excellent students.

The HCMC Economics University has stated it will offer 4,200 scholarships worth VND35 billion to its existing and new students, an increase of VND10 billion compared with last year.

Do Van Dung, rector of the HCMC University of Technique Education, said his school will grant scholarships to the students with a 26 score and higher for three exam subjects at the national high-school finals. It promises to exempt 100 percent of tuition for students in AI and robotics majors.

The Hong Bang International University promises to grant full scholarships to students studying preschool education and is committed to work for Hong Bangs preschools after graduation.

Universities have also attracted students by opening new training majors based on societys labor demand. The HCMC University of Social Sciences & Humanities, for instance, has opened Information Administration and Vietnamese Studies.

Pham Thai Son from the HCMC Food Industry University said top-tier schools compete for excellent students, while less prestigious schools compete to enroll enough students.



RELATED NEWS

Three universities seek governing autonomy

Universities launch new majors to meet digitalisation demands



Nam Lich
Two Vietnamese towns, Da Lat in Lam Dong province and Sa Pa in Lao Cai province, have entered the new list of the 23 places in Asia to view the stunning spring season by MSN.

A photo of Da Lat.

Accordingly, Sa Pa ranked 7th and Da Lat ranked 8th.

MSN wrote on Vietnams Sa Pa: A popular tourist destination, the region is known for its terraced rice fields and colonial-style houses. The lush greenery is beautifully complemented by the variety of flowers in spring.

Meanwhile Da Lat was described Also known as the Kingdom of Flowers, the region has several varieties in abundance, including wild sunflowers, phoenix, cherry blossoms, mimosas, Mexican sunflowers and white orchids.

Da Lat, situated 1,500 meters above sea level in the Central Highlands, came in at number four in the top 10 list of rising destinations in Asia and Sa Pa in the northern highlands was at number six.

Given various nicknames such as the city of eternal spring, the city of flowers and the city of love, Da Lat is recommended for providing a cool respite from Vietnams year-round hot weather. The former colonial resort town is full of beautiful French-era buildings and surrounded by pine trees, flowers and vegetables farms. In January, the New York Times also recommended Da Lat among 52 places to visit in 2016, describing it as an agricultural El Dorado with unique scenes of pine forests, locally grown avocados, and artichoke tea.

Meanwhile, around 2,000 kilometers to the north is Sa Pa, known for its trekking trails. The colourful town is recognised as a perfect oasis for travellers interested in mountain trekking or visiting the terraced rice paddies. Tourists can visit the Saturday night love market, the Gothic stone church at the town centre which is a reminder of the French missionary influence, and many downtown Vietnamese and European restaurants.

Other top ten ranking destinations included Mountain Fuji, Japan; Ngong Ping Plateau, Hong Kong (China); Jeju Island, the Republic of Korea (RoK); Bangkok, Thailand; Hapcheon, the RoK; Taroko National Park, Taiwan (China); and Pokhara, Nepal.

Nhan Dan
Now the big question gets answered. Will President Trump pardon him from all the crimes he committed, and award him the American Freedom Medal?

By James DiGeorgia

The Ecuadorians finally had enough after nearly seven years, and Ecuador rescinded Julian Assange asylum at its embassy in London, after almost seven years into the waiting custody of British authorities who immediately arrested the WikiLeaks founder and who immediately acted on a U.S. extradition request.

According to Londons Metropolitan Police Assange was

Arrested on behalf of the United States authorities and would appear in custody at Westminster Magistrates Court as soon as possible.

Ecuadors President Lenin Moreno announced April 11 her country made the decision to withdraw WikiLeaks founder Julian Assanges asylum status. Assange was indicted by U.S. federal prosecutors in December 2017 on charges of conspiracy with Chelsea Manning dating to 2010.

Chelsea Manning was a male who surgically became a female. As a man Bradley Manning had been a U.S. soldier was tried and convicted who served seven years for criminal violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses after turning over hundreds of thousands of classified and or sensitive military and diplomatic documents to Assanges WikiLeaks.

While the British government recognizing the gravity of the charges pending against the WikiLeaks founder said of his arrest

Julian Assange is no hero, and no one is above the law,

Jeremy Hunt, Britains foreign secretary, wrote on Twitter...

He has hidden from the truth for years.

Hunt added that Assange was

holding the Ecuadoran Embassy hostage in a situation that was absolutely intolerable for them. So this will now be decided properly, independently by the British legal system respected throughout the world for its independence and integrity, and that is the right outcome.

He said Britain and Ecuador have been talking for a very long time about how to resolve this situation. He praised Ecuadoran President Lenin Moreno for making a courageous decision, which has meant we were able to resolve the situation today. Hunt said that what is not acceptable is for someone to escape facing justice, and [Assange] has tried to do that for a very long time, and that is why he is no hero.

London's Metropolitan Police arrested Assange after they were

invited into the embassy by the ambassador, following the Ecuadorian governments withdrawal of asylum.

The Russian government believed by many to have co-opted WikiLeaks into a Russian intelligence asset and who has been conducting a serious of international murders of Russian dissidents using deadly toxins issued a hilarious reaction to Assanges arrest accusing Great Britain of strangling freedom by taking custody of Assange.

Ecuadors President Moreno, however, said in a video statement tweeted 

Ecuador has sovereignly decided to terminate the diplomatic asylum granted to Mr. Assange in 2012. The asylum of Mr. Assange is unsustainable and no longer viable.

Moreno went on to specifically cite Julian Assanges involvement in what the Ecuadorian President described as WikiLeaks meddling in the internal affairs of other countries, referring to the leaking of documents from the Vatican in January

Mr. Assange violated, repeatedly, clear-cut provisions of the conventions on diplomatic asylum of Havana and Caracas, even though he was requested on several occasions to respect and abide by these rules. He particularly violated the norm of not intervening in the internal affairs of other states. The most recent incident occurred in January 2019 when WikiLeaks leaked Vatican documents.

Key members of that organization visited Mr. Assange before and after such illegal acts (under the protection of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. This and other publications have confirmed the worlds suspicion that Mr. Assange is still linked to WikiLeaks and therefore involved in interfering in internal affairs of other states.

Assanges arrest was confirmed by WikiLeaks and photograph and used his arrest as a fundraising opportunity on Twitter arguing

This man is a son, a father, a brother, and that he has won dozens of journalism awards and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize every year since 2010. Now powerful actors, including CIA, are engaged in a sophisticated effort to dehumanize, delegitimize and imprison him.

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Meanwhile, American fugitive former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden who was granted asylum in Russia by Vladimir Putin called Assanges arrest as a violation of the freedom of the press.

Images of Ecuadors ambassador inviting the UKs secret police into the embassy to drag a publisher of  like it or not  award-winning journalism out of the building are going to end up in the history books. Assanges critics may cheer, but this is a dark moment for press freedom.

The irony of Snowden a U.S. traitor lamenting about freedom of the press from Russia where journalists are routinely jailed and murdered because of their exercising press freedoms to expose the murderous and corrupt Putin government wont be lost on anyone paying attention.

The big question is will our now lawless United States President who has said many times I love WikiLeakswill pardon Julian Assange before or after his trial. Analysts already regard Donald J. Trump as the most anti-free speech, anti-free press President in U.S. history.

Trump knows his election in 2016 received a great deal of help from both Russia and WikiLeaks. In fact, when special counsel Robert S. Mueller III indicted 12 Russian military intelligence officers, he accused these Russians of discussing the release of the stolen documents and the timing of those releases with WikiLeaks  referred to as Organization 1 in the indictment  to heighten their impact on the 2016 presidential election.

However, Assange had drawn attention from U.S. prosecutors since 2010 when WikiLeaks publication of 250,000 diplomatic cables and hundreds of thousands of military documents from the Iraq War illegally obtained.

The Trump administration is believed to have charges under the seal of secrecy. These charges are believed to be a conspiracy, theft of government property and violating the Espionage Act are among the possible charges.

Some federal prosecutors and members of both the Obama and Trump administrations have expressed the belief that WikiLeaks is not a journalistic organization. This includes former CIA Director and now secretary of state Mike Pompeo who characterized WikiLeaks as a nonstate hostile intelligence service and a threat to U.S. national security.

Pompeo has also endorsed the opinion of the U.S. intelligence communitys report concluding Russia interfered in the 2016 election also found that Russias primary propaganda outlet, and that Russian intelligence services has actively collaborated with WikiLeaks.
Two top American Senators have urged the Trump administration to delay its decision to terminate India's designation as a beneficiary developing country under the Generalized System of Preference due to a lack of compliance until the end of the general elections.

The Generalized System of Preference (GSP) is the largest and oldest US trade preference programme and is designed to promote economic development by allowing duty-free entry for thousands of products from designated beneficiary countries. The US Congress in March last year voted to renew the GSP through 2020.

In a letter to US Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer, Senators John Cornyn from the Republican party and Mark Warner from the Democratic party argued that India-US relationship was too important to rush such an important decision in the middle of an election cycle.

"As you know, India's elections will conclude on May 23, 2019. We believe that the election season may serve as a hindrance for our Indian counterparts in negotiating and concluding a deal on difficult political issues," the two Senators wrote in the letter to Lighthizer on Friday.

It was in April last year that the USTR announced that it planned to review the GSP eligibility of a number of countries, including India.

The USTR's announcement specifically cited "concerns related to its compliance with GSP market access criterion," based on petitions filed from the US medical device and dairy industries.

"If another round of negotiations during the election season does not resolve the outstanding issues, we would ask you to consider delaying the issuance of a Presidential proclamation to withdraw India's GSP benefits by at least 30 days, beyond the 60-day calendar, in order to move the negotiations beyond India's elections," the Senators said.

Allowing for continued negotiations beyond the elections would underscore the importance of this bilateral relationship and provide a real opportunity to resolve these market access issues, potentially improving the overall US-India relationship for years to come, said Cornyn and Warner, who are co-chairs of the powerful Senate India Caucus.

Also read: US plan to remove preferential trade status won't really hurt India; to impact duty reduction worth $190 million

"We understand that the Trump administration may issue a proclamation withdrawing India's GSP benefits 60 days or later from the congressional notification date," the two Senators wrote.

The letter comes in the middle of an intense Indian election cycle, during which the ruling government cannot take a major policy decision, which holds officials from making substantial progress on the crucial negotiations between India and the United States.

"As Co-Chairs of the United States Senate's India Caucus, we fully appreciate and support your efforts to address a host of market access issues facing American businesses in India.

"Congressional support for the GSP programme was made clear last year when the US Senate and US House of Representatives reauthorised the programme, in nearly unanimous fashion, for three years," they said.

On March 4, 2019, Congress was notified of USTR's intention to terminate India's designation as a beneficiary developing country under GSP due to a lack of compliance.

"While we agree that there are a number of market access issues that can and should be addressed, we do remain concerned that the withdrawal of duty concessions will make Indian exports of eligible products to the United States costlier, as the importer of those products will have to pay a 'Most Favoured Nation' (MFN) duty which is higher than the rate under GSP," the Senators said.

Some of these costs will likely be passed on to American consumers, they told Lighthizer.

Also read: US President Donald Trump says he plans to end India's preferential trade treatment
I remember sitting on the edge of the playground as a child and combing through smooth river stones for the one that would let me see the Neighbors. I knew just what it would look like  oblong and almost flat, like a thick coin, with a circular hole worn through the center. It would be light enough that I could hang it from a chain around my neck, and heavy enough that when I put it to my eye there would be a satisfying weight to its cool surface as I looked through. On the other side would be a world like mine, but augmented with the airy mountain men of Yeats and the markets of Rossetti. That stone would be the thing that opened the gate to magic. And so I sifted through rocks that I deemed less enchanted, searching for the pendant that would mark me as special.

There is probably a metaphor here, or at the very least a lesson. The fact is that by the time I found such a stone, a decade later and on another continent, I no longer knew what to do with it. I still thrilled at picking it up, peering through its egglike shape at the beach on the other side, but I knew it would be no different than Brighton I saw on this side of the stone. By then I had long since come to the realization that I would never see my Neighbors.

This, according to the stories I had read since childhood, was altogether the preferred way of things. Yeats described the Good Neighbors as amoral beings at best, strange and demanding shapes whose appearance heralds a difficult and likely dangerous task ahead, something that could easily change a life for the worse. I had enough of those in my spiritual life already.

When I joined the Pagan community, with its stories of house hobs and small spirits, I consoled myself with the thought that I was plenty busy enough. Besides, hearing someone talk about inviting the Gentry into their home put me in mind of protection rackets, offering food and drink so that the locals didnt slash any tires. Really, I figured, I was hardly missing out.

Just because I had never encountered the Good Folk did not mean that I did not believe in them. They were too well attested, too thoroughly ensconced in my understanding of magic, for that to be an issue. They did puzzle me, though, in a taxonomical way that, fittingly, evaporated every time I tried to look at it directly. Growing up, I had learned that these beings were angels that had fallen from heaven but had not been quite bad enough to descend entirely into hell. When I left Christianity, my paradigm had no more room to make sense of such moral absolutism, and so the Blessed Folk no longer had a story that made sense to me. I was not even sure if the small spirits that my friends had in their homes could be classed in the same category as the Fair Folk I read about, or if they were a different sort of spiritual fauna native to the streets of the Midwest. I didnt know what to think of them.

What I knew, and what I was told by every elder who I consulted when planning my trip, was that the comparable beings in Iceland would clean me off the map without thinking twice about it, possibly by means of the side of a mountain. Take offerings, I was told by one friend. Be polite, and thank them for letting you visit.

Dont say a word, dont make eye contact, and leave quietly, said another. The landwights there have a history of protecting their land from foreign witches. Best not to attract attention. This sounded like fine advice, considering my circumstances: a week in a foreign country, driving on roads well outside of my skill level, and with cell reception that promised to be spotty at best, was already sounding less than wise. I had no interest in earning the ire of the locals, whoever they might be.

As I did my research, I found there certainly seemed to be plenty of local spirits to choose from. The largest contingent in Iceland seemed to be the landvaettir, or nature spirits  both the four that appear in Icelands coat of arms and the myriad others that animate Icelands wild and varied landscape. These were different from the huldufolk, or hidden people, with their fine clothes and their homes in the large stones of the landscape. These folk sounded the most like the stories of the Good Neighbors to me. Then there were also the spirits of humans who still resided in their graves, as what I understood to be a sort of localized ancestor  not quite the same as the huldufolk, but not quite different.

As I read, each of the sorts of spirit seemed to be distinct, with its own set of rules. Or else they were different names for the same thing. Or else the groups faded into each other around the edges in indefinable and unclear ways. After adding in the jotun and the trolls, I felt a little like I was signing up for a week in a densely populated land whose strict rules of politeness had been passed down to me through a blurry handwritten manuscript that I had only seen once. I was sure to piss someone off, somehow. (At least most sources seemed to agree trolls were no longer much of a problem.)

I had only angered the Good Neighbors once that I knew of. A year before, I had driven with my friends for six hours to a small Pagan campground in Missouri. There, on strange but friendly land, we had built a fire and toasted to our gods in good faith. But I had not brought any gifts for the locals other than the cash I had given the man at the gate. Our ritual went beautifully. The morning after, we woke in shambles. One friend was so dehydrated that they could hardly move, fingers frozen into claws that took hours to become hands again. My glasses were gone, never to be found. We spent the morning pulling ourselves together, trying to prepare for a long ride home. Gifts, we had decided afterwards, were non-negotiable.

When I was packing up my bags for Reykjavik, I filled my pockets with stones: a bag of small ones, polished until they shone, as offerings for any spirits I would happen to meet along the way; four large ones, chosen carefully and wrapped as gifts for the landvaettir, to be left at the cardinal-most points of my trip; two that, together, made the heart of my traveling altar; and one, far more plain than the others, with a hole that ran the length of it, big enough to look through.

I left the small ones in small places on my journey. One I left at the heart of a cemetery, for the guardian who had been the first buried on the land. Another I left on a wall near the church in ingvellir. When I turned my back on it, hidden in the moss, I heard a voice say thank you clearly, in slightly accented English. I did not turn to scan the crowd.

I left the large ones in the east, in the south, and in the west  and one in the north, as far north as I traveled. That was Skagastrond, a town well off the main road that I had chosen to visit because it was the home of Spakonuhof, a place translated in all of the English literature as the Icelandic Museum of Prophecies. I had chosen it from a list of Icelands museums, with no real idea of what it was or how difficult it might be to get there. When I drove into town, well past the end of the tourist season, I have no doubt that I was the only stranger for miles.

Spakonuhof was a long metal building on the main road, the only obviously public space besides the gas station. It was also thoroughly closed, with a phone number taped to the door on brightly colored paper. No more than I should have expected, I supposed, but I dialed the number anyway, just because it seemed like a long way to come without at least trying my patchy signal.

Ten minutes later, a woman biked up and nodded to me. She might have been anywhere between forty and seventy  I have never been good at guessing age  and she was businesslike as she looked me over. Youve come to hear about Thordis? she asked, the keys for the building dangling from one hand.

I did not hesitate. Yes maam.

She nodded again. Come in, she said, and led me into the building. I stood in the gift shop, examining the knucklebones of sheep, as she turned the lights on and started the small electric fire in the larger room beyond. It burned at the feet of a waxwork woman, wearing the everyday garb that I had come to associate with spaekona, the women who appeared in the sagas as priestesses or witches, the prophetesses of Icelands ancient religion.

I had looked into Thordis eyes once already on this trip, in the Saga Museum, but I had not expected to find her again here. She is a familiar figure in certain circles  one of the recurring characters in the Icelandic sagas that is almost certainly based in history. This version of her was less skillfully done than the version in the Saga Museum, but she seemed more powerful, standing at the height of her story by a turf house that had to be her home. It was the only thing in the museum, really, or certainly the highlight, the centerpiece of the building. I waited, looking at her, until my hostess returned to me, took my entry fee, and led me over to Thordis.

The stories she told me are, in many ways, not mine to tell again. Most of them can be found in the sagas, and in the illustrations that circled that room. What I learned was that this town was Thordis home, where she lived as a leader and one of the last practitioners of a religion that was slowly being overtaken by Christianity. It was also where she died, at the hands of a priest, on the mountain overlooking town that still bears her name.

My memory will not tell me whether the words my host used were, Thordis is still on the mountain, or Thordis is the mountain. I do not think it matters. Those words came with me in both forms as I left the long, low building and got into my car.

It was late afternoon by that point, too late to drive into the nearest city or to attempt the hike up the side of the mountain itself, but at the edge of town there was another trail. It led up along a hill and into the cliffs overlooking the sea. This was where my hostess had told me a company had carved too far into the rock, and then the huldufolk had left and taken the fish with them. I climbed that trail with stones in my pockets. One for my offering to the land, at this northernmost point on this trip; I left it on a cliff among a slew of others. One for Thordis, this witch from the past who had stood among heroes in her sagas. I left it in the grass, as I looked out toward her mountain.

I looked toward her through that last stone, as the sun began to set on us both. I saw nothing but the mountain, green and flat-peaked, no shape climbing it in the distance, no flash of light between us. There was nothing to explain the feeling of calm and pleasure, the light sense of amusement that broke through four days of constant low anxiety. I was out of my depth, yes  but that night, at least, my neighbors were as lovely as the land.

There is probably something useful to say, here, about fear and the ways that it can blind us, or the eye-opening experience of falling in love with a stranger. What I will say instead is this  now I live in a house filled with magical practitioners and frequented by a cohort of spirits whose history I would not presume to guess. I very seldom see my neighbors- but occasionally there is someone who stands in the entryway, dark suited and measuring, guarding the inner door to the house. I only ever glance them out of the corner of my eye, and only on days when my heart is easy, my pockets empty.

The Wild Hunt always welcomes submissions for our weekend section. Please send queries or completed pieces to eric@wildhunt.org.

The views and opinions expressed by our diverse panel of columnists and guest writers represent the many diverging perspectives held within the global Pagan, Heathen and polytheist communities, but do not necessarily reflect the views of The Wild Hunt Inc. or its management.
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Kyle L. Evanoff in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists:

A moonshot is on the rise on the Trump administrations foreign policy agenda. At last months meeting of the National Space Council in Huntsville, Alabama, Vice President Mike Pence laid out an ambitious goal: Return American astronauts to the moon in the next five yearsa date which would be well ahead of the 2028 target envisioned in previous NASA plans. The United States and China are locked in a new space race, he warned, and the stakes have only increased since the US-Soviet space race of the 1960s; the United States must be first to send astronauts to the moon in the twenty-first century.

Pence framed putting American boots on the lunar ground as a national imperative. Invoking Chinas successful landing of a probe on the far side of the moon earlier this year, he suggested that Beijing has revealed their ambition to seize the lunar strategic high ground.

The lunar South Pole holds great scientific, economic, and strategic value, according to Pence, and failure to put American astronauts, launched by American rockets, from American soil there is not an option.

The vice presidents antagonistic rhetoric fails to cohere with the realities of contemporary space exploration and the dictates of sound policy making.

More here.
Julian Wolfreys and Pawe Huelle at The Quarterly Conversation:

Gdansk was a city of the borders for many years, with a prevailing influence of German culture, German music, German language, because even the Polish proletariat when they came from the villages were Germanized, because with the German language they had better chances. But there used to be about 15%-20% Polish speaking people, 3% French people, 2% English people, 3.5% Russians, Scottish people as well, a lot of Dutch people; this was a typical city of the borders. This was over after the Polish partition of 1795. And then Gdansk, which used to be a rich merchant city, a merchant emporium, became a provincial Prussian city. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, these were periods of the great German nationalisms, which end up with the crime of 1939, because most of the Polish people here were murdered at that time. Surprisingly, the Jews could leave. Because this used to be the Free City of Gdansk, the so-called Free City, and the authorities of Gdansk signed an agreement with the Jewish Community in 1939, more or less, perhaps one year earlier, and while the war was still going on, until 1940 the Jewish population was still leaving. So, the multicultural city was over with the Prussian partition. Then, after the war, 99% of the German population left, and Polish people from various parts of former Poland came, from burned-down Warsaw, from Wilno, or from the Eastern borders, from those parts; so, people only came back to the idea of multiculturalism, after 1989, with the end of Communism. But, if ever we speak of multiculturalism in Gdansk, we speak of the distant past. Of course, its a very good example of something to reach for, but its a deep past.

more here.
While addressing a rally in Tamil Nadu's Ramanathapuram, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that when Congress was in power, terrorists would attack the nation regularly. He alleged that the party remained helpless. In another rally in Theni, PM Modi invoked the 1984 Sikh riots and the Bhopal gas tragedy. Taking a jibe at Congress' minimum income scheme NYAY, Modi asked who will do NYAY (justice) to the victims of these two incidents. He also took a jibe at former Finance Minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram and said, "Father becomes the Finance Minister and son loots the country. Whenever they are in government, they always loot." He is scheduled to address another rally in Mangalore and then another one in Bengaluru South in Karnataka. Congress President Rahul Gandhi will address three rallies in Karnataka. He will start with Kolar, then will move to Chitradurag and eventually go to Krishnarajanagara.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley took to Twitter to criticise the Opposition and said that they were on a "Rent a Cause" campaign. He said that they could not find any fault in the current government and since have been picking on an issue one day and another issue the next day. He also retorted to the trolling over Smriti Irani's educational qualifications and said that a "public audit of Rahul Gandhi's academic credentials may leave a lot to be answered. Afterall, he got an M.Phil without a Masters degree."

Follow the LIVE updates on the BusinessToday.In blog:

7:38pm: Congress has released list of candidates for upcoming phases of 2019 Lok Sabha election. The list includes candidates for Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu after a meeting with EC officials: Govt of India is interfering through EC. We have complained against EVMs earlier also. EC is an autonomous body but they are working at the instructions of Modi. Transfers of officers in AP is unjustified. pic.twitter.com/HD2JxWckPC  ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2019

6:03pm: "We are committed to giving women 33% reservation in the Assemblies and the Lok Sabha, and also in central govt jobs," Rahul Gandhi said at Chitradurga, Karnataka.

6:00pm: "This election is fought between Anil Ambani and the common people of India. It is a battle between lies and the truth. In India, the truth will always win. Truth, love and brotherhood will stand victorious in the 2019 election," said Congress President Rahul Gandhi while addressing a rally in Chitradurga, Karnataka.

3:45pm: "For 55 years Rahul baba and company ruled the country but couldn't do anything for the poor. They have done nothing except corruption," said Amit Shah in UP's Shahjahanpur.

3:40pm: "Today entire country is chanting Modi, Modi because the people of this country have decided that they want Modi ji as the prime minister," said Amit Shah in Shahjahanpur.

3:15pm: Mayawati said at a public meeting, "Both Ali and Bajrangbali are with us. Bajrangbali because he is connected with the Dalits. We didn't find out his caste, UP CM himself did."

3:00pm: "SP-BSP's highhandedness was going on in UP... There was a time the police were afraid of the goons, today the goons roam around with boards around their necks. This has done by the Bharatiya Janata Party," Amit Shah said.

2:53pm: "BJP government is moving ahead on the path to development. We want to develop Uttar Pradesh," said BJP chief Amit Shah during a rally in Badaun, Uttar Pradesh.

2:50pm: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister met Election Commission officials to discuss variety of issues including EVMs and transfers of state officers.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee in Siliguri: I would request all not to vote for CPM and also please do not waste your vote by giving it to Congress. I was in Congress then quit and formed Trinamool, following which you are witnessing development pic.twitter.com/8SmVofkuGS  ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2019

2:40pm: "I would request all not to vote for CPI(M) and also please do not waste your vote by giving it to Congress. I was in Congress then quit and formed Trinamool, following which you are witnessing development," said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during a rally in Siliguri.

Greetings & good wishes to the people for peaceful & prosperous life on Ram Navami. When people are happily remembering the ideals of Shri Ram, it is unfortunate that an attempt is being made to create confrontation & hatred between Bajrang Bali & Ali for narrow political gain.  Mayawati (@Mayawati) April 13, 2019

2:06pm: "If you go to Delhi, prime real estate has been used for the memorials of members of one family as if no other person contributed to India except one family," said PM Modi.

2:04pm: "We brought a bill in the Parliament to abolish practice of Triple Talaq but Congress, DMK and Muslim League opposed it. These parties do not believe in dignity of women. Congress, communists and the Muslim League are playing a dangerous game regarding the Sabrimala temple. They are using brute force to strike at the root of faith and express. Sadly for them, till BJP is there no one will be able to destroy our faith and culture

1:59pm: "Those who cannot protect India can never develop the nation. When the Congress and their allies were in power, terrorists were attacking the nation regularly. City after city, there were blasts. But, Congress remained helpless and silent. Times have changed now. India will not spare a single terrorist or jihadis. If there dare to attack us, we will find them from wherever they are and ruin their happiness," said PM Modi in Ramanathapuram.

1:57pm: "Our hardworking fishermen depend on the seas for their income. Your Chowkidar has been able to take path-breaking decisions for welfare of fishermen. Almost 1900 Indian fishermen have been released from Sri Lanka. Some of them who came back were facing death sentence," said PM Modi.

1:54pm: "After 23rd May, when the Modi Government will once again assume office, there will be a separate Ministry for Jal Shakti. This Ministry will cater to many aspects relating to water," said PM Modi.

1:50pm: "For this region, we have given importance to connectivity and tourism. Work is fast progressing on doubling of railway tracks between Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi. The 100-year-old Pamban Bridge has been transformed into a state-of-the-art bridge," said PM Modi in Ramanathapuram.

1:45pm: "I am an MP from Varanasi which is connected to Ramanathapuram by the bonds of faith and spirituality. Coming to Ramanathapuram reminds one of the great Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. Dr APJ Abdul Kalam had several dreams for our nation. Today, it is our duty to fulfill those dreams and take India to new heights of growth and glory," said PM Modi in Ramanathapuram.

1:15pm: Mayawati says attempts are being made to spread hatred.

One day the focus would be on the BJP candidates educational qualification, fully forgetting that a public audit of Rahul Gandhis academic credentials may leave a lot to be answered. Afterall, he got an M.Phil without a Masters degree.  Chowkidar Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) April 13, 2019

12:50pm: Talking about Maneka Gandhi's comment on Muslim voters, Hema Malini said, "On Triple Talaq issue many minority community women support us but even if they don't, you have to help everybody. It doesn't matter who voted for us and who did not. This kind of feeling doesn't come to me. Everybody is different."

12:45pm: "I am very confident of a win because I have done good work, my Government has done good work, so I am sure people will support us. Whole system is changing, people want development, caste politics now doesn't work," said Hema Malini in an interview to ANI.

12:30pm: "The Signature Campaign Propaganda proved to be terrible for the Congress party as many of academics, economists, artistes, ex-civil servants and even some former soldiers, whose signatures been put, publicly stated that they never consented for putting their signatures. One day the focus would be on the BJP candidate's educational qualification, fully forgetting that a public audit of Rahul Gandhi's academic credentials may leave a lot to be answered. Afterall, he got an M.Phil without a Masters degree," Jaitley tweeted.

The BJP & its allies are speaking directly to the people. Crores of campaigners are carrying the message of the party & the govt. to the people. The Plight of the opposition campaign is that it could not built up a single major issue against the govt. in the past five years.  Chowkidar Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) April 13, 2019

12:25pm: "To oust a popular govt. and an extremely popular Prime Minister, you need real issues not fictional ones. The Opposition wasted the past two years in the run-up to the poll "manufacturing issues" which didn't exist. The Rafale or the EVM proved to be fake issues only. The BJP and its allies are speaking directly to the people. Crores of campaigners are carrying the message of the party and the govt. to the people. The plight of the Opposition campaign is that it could not built up a single major issue against the govt. in the past five years," tweeted Jaitley.

Indias Opposition is on a Rent a Cause Campaign https://t.co/IYFUVl8dl7  Chowkidar Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) April 13, 2019

12:20pm: "First phase of 2019 parliamentary polls got over and the "Modi" factor was writ large across the country. Opposition parties still renting an issue and are in disarray as alliances in many States have not worked out. Obviously the multi-cornered contest favours the BJP. On the leadership issue the situation of opposition parties look gloomier than what I had thought. The BSP leader Mayawati, the Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee leave no stone unturned in running down the Congress President. No doubt it is advantage BJP," Jaitley tweeted.

12:15pm: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley says India's Opposition is on a "Rent-a-Cause" campaign.

Those convicted or facing charges of abuse of public office and misappropriation of funds are claiming to be the custodians of truth.@laluprasadrjd   ,       ,                    Prashant Kishor (@PrashantKishor) April 13, 2019

12:07pm: "I want to ask the Congress party - Who will do Nyay to the victims of the 1984 Sikh riots? Who will do Nyay to the victims of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, among the worst environment disasters in India," said PM Modi in Theni.

12:05pm: "The Madhya Pradesh govt has become their ATM. They are diverting money meant for the poor and the children for use in the election. This has become known as the Tughlak Road scandal. Nation knows which Congress leader stays on Tughlak Road in New Delhi," said Modi in Theni.

12:00pm: "What all have we been witness to? Father becomes the Finance Minister and son loots the country. Whenever they are in government, they always loot," said Modi in Theni.

11:56am: "Some days ago, DMK supremo projected the Naamdaar as Prime Minister. But no one was ready to accept it. Not even their Maha Milawati friends, because they all want to be PM," said Modi in Theni.

11:52am: "Today, India is rapidly making a mark in the world. The Congress, DMK and their 'Mahamilavati' friends can't accept this hence they're unhappy with me," said PM Modi in Theni.

11:50am: "I pay homage to great MGR and Jayalalithaa ji. India is proud of these two iconic leaders who lived and worked for the poor," said Modi in Theni.

11:45am: "The temperature is high and so is the enthusiasm. I thank all who have come today to bless us," said PM Modi in Theni, Tamil Nadu.

11:25am: Poll strategist Prashant Kishor dared RJD supremo Lalu Prasad on Saturday to tell the media what transpired during their talks, a day after former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi claimed that Kishor had met her husband with the proposal to merge the JD(U) and the RJD. Kishor tweeted that "those convicted or facing charges of abuse of public office and misappropriation of funds are claiming to be the custodians of truth". "Whenever Lalu Prasad ji wants, he should sit with me before the media as it would let everybody know what transpired between me and him and who gave an offer to whom," Kishor said in a tweet.

Today, when we observe 100 years of the horrific Jallianwala Bagh massacre, India pays tributes to all those martyred on that fateful day. Their valour and sacrifice will never be forgotten. Their memory inspires us to work even harder to build an India they would be proud of. pic.twitter.com/jBwZoSm41H  Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 13, 2019

11:15am: Rabri Devi said, "Nitish Kumar wanted to come back. He had said that he wants to see Tejashwi as CM in 2020 and wanted to be declared as the PM candidate. Even, Prashant Kishor came to meet us five times after our alliance had ended."

11:00am: Congress President Rahul Gandhi will address three rallies in Karnataka. He will start with Kolar, then will move to Chitradurag and eventually go to Krishnarajanagara.

10:45am: On the centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "Their memory inspires us to work even harder to build an India they would be proud of." Read the full story here.

Today is the centenary of the brutal Jallianwalla Bagh massacre, a day of infamy that stunned the entire world and changed the course of the Indian freedom struggle.



The cost of our freedom must never be forgotten.



#JallianwalaBaghCentenarypic.twitter.com/f13691imZd  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 13, 2019

10:30am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address two rallies each in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. He will address a rally in Theni and then another one in Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu. After that he will go to Mangalore and then to Bengaluru South in Karnataka.

10:15am: "The cost of our freedom must never be forgotten," says Rahul Gandhi on the centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Read the full story here.

Congress President @RahulGandhi offers prayers at the Golden Temple in Amritsar pic.twitter.com/SnQ2rn2wC5  Congress (@INCIndia) April 12, 2019

10:00am: Two senators wrote a letter to the US Trade Representative (USTR) on Friday, saying, "As you know, India's elections will conclude on May 23, 2019. We believe that the election season may serve as a hindrance for our Indian counterparts in negotiating and concluding a deal on difficult political issues." "If another round of negotiations during the election season does not resolve the outstanding issues, we would ask you to consider delaying the issuance of a Presidential proclamation to withdraw India's GSP benefits by at least 30 days, beyond the 60-day calendar, in order to move the negotiations beyond India's elections," the Senators said. On March 4, 2019, Congress was notified of USTR's intention to terminate India's designation as a beneficiary developing country under GSP due to a lack of compliance.

9:45am: Congress President Rahul Gandhi offers prayers at Golden Temple in Amritsar.

Polling parties in Arunachal Pradesh at Luguthang - Mukto Assembly Constituency, which is at an altitude of 13583 feet (Pic source: Election Commission) pic.twitter.com/x8al1JXV3y  ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2019

9:43am: PDP president Mehbooba Mufti Friday accused BJP chief Amit Shah of shaking the country's foundations with his recent controversial statements, and asked him to apologise to the people. Calling illegal migrants from Bangladesh "termites", the BJP president had said that his party would throw them out after coming to power at the Centre for a second consecutive term. "It is not only for Hindus, Sikhs or Muslims, the country is for everyone. I think by such statements, they are trying to shake the foundations of the country. They have become a danger for the country. Such statements are an attack on the country's secularism," she said.

9:41am: A day after the Election Commission directed that all recorded programmes displayed on NaMo TV be pre-certified, the Delhi poll body has directed the BJP not to air any content on the platform without its certification. The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Delhi wrote to BJP to ensure that all political content not approved be removed. "As a precautionary measure, two officials have been deployed to watch NaMo TV and monitor its content," officials said. Read the full story here.

9:40am: Polling parties in Arunachal Pradesh at Luguthang - Mukto Assembly Constituency, which is at an altitude of 13,583 ft.

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9:35am: "If someone tries to break India, should they be forgiven? They say they will end the sedition law, to whom are they giving a signal? If our government comes to power we will make the sedition law even more stringent," said Rajnath Singh in Botad.

9:30am: Union Home Min Rajnath Singh in Botad, Gujarat: "A former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister said there should be two Prime Ministers in India, one for J&K and other for rest of the country. I've given a warning, if a demand for 2 PMs is made in India then we have no other option but to repeal article 370 and 35A."
Timothy Egan in The New York Times:

These days, no less an authority than Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said recently that God wanted Donald Trump to become president.

She offered no sourcing for this assertion, as is the case for vaporous claims that rise from the rot of the Trump presidency on a daily basis. But in blaming God for Trump, Sanders echoed a widespread Republican belief that the most outwardly amoral man ever to occupy the White House is an instrument of divine power. Hes part of the master plan. Mocking Sanders and the many Ned Flanders of the G.O.P. team is unlikely to make much of a dent. Nearly half of all Republicans believe God wanted Trump to win the election. To them, secular snark is a merit badge on the MAGA hat. But there is a better way to sway the electorate of faith, as the rising Democratic stars Pete Buttigieg and Stacey Abrams have shown us. They apply something like a What Would Jesus Do? test to rouse religious conscience on the political battlefield.

Buttigieg, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Ind., is a Navy veteran who served in Afghanistan, a Rhodes scholar, married to a junior high school teacher. Hes gay and, more surprising for a modern Democrat, he is an out Christian, as quick to quote St. Augustine as Abraham Lincoln. On Sunday, he is expected to formally announce his run for president. Like Abrams and Senator Cory Booker, Mayor Pete says his faith made him a progressive. Scripture directs him to defend the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the societal castoffs.

But Buttigieg goes much further than mere Bible-citing. Hes taking it directly to Trump and to Vice President Mike Pence, who flashes his piety like a seven-carat diamond on his pinkie finger. Its hard to look at the actions of President Trump, Buttigieg said, and believe they are the actions of somebody who believes in God.

More here.
Maddy Crowell in The Point:

Theres a scene early on in the French documentary Salafistes (Jihadists) where the camera spans over a throng of people gathered in a village in northern Mali: the crowd is there to watch as the Islamic Police cut off a 25-year-old mans hand. The shot zooms in as the young man, tethered in ropes around a chair, slumps over, unconscious, while his hand is sawed off with a small, serrated blade. Young boys in the background howl incoherently. In the next scene, the same young man is filmed lying in a bed cocooned by a lime green mosquito net, his severed limb wrapped in thick white bandages. This is the application of sharia, he tells the camera. I committed a theft; in accordance with sharia my hand was amputated. Once I recover I will be purified and all my sins erased. The trace of a drugged smile lingers across his face.

If the uncensored brutality of the mutilation seems gratuitous, it is hardly an anomaly in Salafistes. This is part of the point of a documentary that gained rare and dangerous access to the usually closed-off backyard of jihadi territory. After the amputation, the Islamic Policemembers of Al Qaeda-linked terrorist groupssurround the young man in a halo of bored silence, as their leader, Sanda Ould Boumama, clutches his shoulder.

More here.
Temporary traffic lights up at intersection of 6th Ave., S. Dakota
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BERNALILLO  Sandoval County Commissioners decided on Thursday night in a 3-2 vote to request that County Assessor Linda Gallegos remove her first cousin, Richard Shanks, as deputy assessor.

Gallegos presented the board with 27 letters of recommendation for her cousin that were gathered within 24 hours.

Please let him get back to his job, she said.

Shanks also went before the board and explained his qualifications and community service.

I left my secure position as an educator with less than two years until my retirement to serve in something I believe in, and to work for someone who believes in me, he said.

According to Shanks, he was approached with the position under the assertion that there would be full disclosure, transparency and a legal review.

Whether the commission has the right to intervene in the hiring and management of employees of other elected officials was called into question, as was the ethics of hiring relatives.

County Attorney Robin Hammer said that according to state law, Gallegoss actions were legal, and that the rules and personnel regulations of the county do not apply to elected officials.

I, as a county employee, could not hire my first cousin, but one of the five elected officials could hire a first cousin as their deputy, she said.

Article 38, section 4-38-18 of New Mexico law states that the commission is not charged with managing any other elected county office, according to Commissioner Katherine A. Bruch, who voted against the request to remove Shanks.

Commissioner Kenneth Eichwald showed support for Gallegoss authority to hire whom she sees fit.

She has the authority to do what she feels is necessary, he said. Ive been on this board for three years. In these three years, we have had elected officials that wouldnt show up to work We had a sheriff that was never at work; we had a probate judge that was never at work.

Alexandria Piland, an instructor at Central New Mexico Community College, said partisan politics were at work.

They routinely support ordinances, resolutions and now this that are in line with their partys platform, she said, later adding that the majority of the commissioners are Republican.

Commissioner Jay Block said nepotism is the issue rather than partisan politics.

This is really simple. You dont hire family members in politics, he said. When the public sees you do that, they lose trust.

In response to the question of violating personnel regulations set in place before Gallegos made the hire, Block said he disagreed with the county attorney and wanted a second opinion.

Former Sandoval County Planning and Zoning Commission member Todd Hawthorne said the disappointment should be in the countys attorney. He said the attorney should have brought before to the board any questions about past regulations before hiring a family member.

She has circumvented your authority here, he said.

Also at the meeting, the board unanimously voted to allow a reduction in the number of federal detainees housed at Sandoval County Detention Center due to the renovations at the 31-year-old jail to resolve safety concerns and other issues.
CAIRO  The Sudanese military on Friday swiftly replaced the countrys transitional leader linked to the Darfur genocide after street rallies against him and said that it wouldnt hand over ousted President Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court, where he faces charges of crimes against humanity.

Thousands of jubilant protesters celebrated in the streets after Defense Minister Gen. Awad ibn Ouf, who was name de facto leader after overthrowing al-Bashir on Thursday, announced he was stepping down as transitional leader. He named a reputable army general as his successor.

Ibn Ouf said he would be replaced by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, general inspector of the armed forces, as head of the transitional council, which will rule the country for two years until elections.

I am confident he will steer the ship to safe shores, he said of Burhan, adding he was stepping aside to preserve unity of the armed forces.

Burhan was one of the generals who reached out to protesters at the week-long encampment near the military headquarters, meeting with them face to face, and listening to their views.

Chants rang out across the sit-in where tens of thousands have been rallying in front of the military headquarters to protest the military takeover of power after al-Bashirs ouster. Revolutionaries, we will continue our path, the protesters shouted as they danced and clapped.

Earlier Friday, another top general, Omar Zein Abedeen said that the 75-year-old al-Bashir would not be extradited to the International Criminal Court, based in The Hague, Netherlands, saying doing so would be an ugly mark on Sudan.

Even rebels carrying weapons, we dont extradite them, he told reporters at a news conference in Khartoum.

Zein Abedeen said Sudanese courts would hold al-Bashir accountable, but did not specify what charges he could be prosecuted on. After his arrest, the military denounced him and his government for corruption, maladministration and lack of justice.

The developments point to the sensitivity of the Darfur conflict for the military that arrested al-Bashir after four months of deadly street demonstration against his 30-year rule.

The protesters rejected ibn Oufs leadership because he was head of military intelligence during the brutal campaign to suppress the Darfur insurgency in the 2000s. The United States has imposed sanctions on him since 2007, saying he armed and directed pro-government militias known as the Janjaweed, accused of widespread atrocities against civilians and rapes during the conflict.

The move also underscores the limits on the reach of the International Criminal Court. On Friday, ICC judges rejected a request by the courts prosecutor to open an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan and alleged crimes by U.S. forces there, in part because the U.S., Afghan government and Taliban are not expected to cooperate.

In the Darfur conflict, rebels among the territorys ethnic Central African community launched an insurgency in 2003, complaining of discrimination and oppression by the Arab-dominated Khartoum government. The government responded with a scorched earth assault of aerial bombings and unleashed the Janjaweed. Up to 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million driven from their homes.

Along with al-Bashir, the ICC has indicted two other senior figures in his regime  Abdel-Rahim Muhammad Hussein, who was interior and defense minister during much of the conflict, and Ahmed Haroun, a senior security chief at the time who last month was named by al-Bashir to run the ruling National Congress Party.

Both were among those reported by the Sudanese media to have been arrested Thursday in a sweep by the military against al-Bashirs inner circle. Zein Abedeen confirmed the media reports Friday without specifying the two men.

An ICC spokesman declined to comment on al-Bashirs case. On Thursday, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch urged the Sudanese military to hand over the ousted leader. Victims of the gravest crimes in Darfur should not have to wait any longer for justice, said Jehanne Henry, associate director at Human Rights Watch.

Meanwhile, Zein Abedeen sought to reassure protesters who, while celebrating al-Bashirs removal, oppose the militarys seizure of power. After ousting the president, the military announced it would rule the country for two years through a transitional council. It also suspended the constitution, dissolved the government, declared a three-month state of emergency and imposed a night-time curfew.

Protest organizers have vowed not to end their street action until a civilian transitional council is formed, saying rule by military commanders who for years were al-Bashir loyalists is just an extension of his regime.

The curfew and state of emergency have raised fears the military could eventually disperse the sit-in by force. But at least initially, it appears to be trying to persuade protest organizers to end the campaign.

Speaking at a news conference aired live on state TV and flanked by other uniformed officers, Zein Abedeen insisted the army has no ambition to hold the reins of power for long.

If within a month, Sudan became able to run itself without chaos, we are ready to leave even after a month. The maximum is two years, he said. He said the military would only appoint the defense and interior ministers in any transitional government and would not interfere.

This was not a coup, but a tool of change, he said. We came  to guide the country forward.

But protest organizers rejected the militarys assurances, calling them deception and farce.

The Sudanese Professionals Association, which has spearheaded the four months of demonstrations against al-Bashir, said the coup leaders  are not eligible to bring change, and repeated demands for the immediate handover of power to a civilian transitional government.

At the sit-in, the mood was festive. Some protesters brought in mattresses, fans and even air conditioners, while others swept the streets to keep them clean, signaling they intend to stay long-term. As thousands of Muslim worshippers lined up in the street to hold prayers, Christians among the protesters held blankets over them to shade them from the sun in a show of solidarity.

There were also signs of cracks among al-Bashirs former loyalists. On Friday, the commander of Sudans feared Rapid Support Force, a paramilitary force, expressed support for the protesters, saying the forces will not accept any solutions rejected by the Sudanese people and called for dialogue so Sudan would avoid slipping into chaos.

___

Associated Press writer Sarah el-Deeb in Beirut contributed to this report.
Assistant Speaker of the House Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., received the endorsements of two firefighter organizations in his bid to replace Tom Udall in the U.S. Senate in 2020.

The New Mexico Professional Fire Fighters Association and Albuquerque Fire Fighters Local 244 announced their backing of the 3rd Congressional District representative on Thursday.

Im honored to have their endorsement, Lujan told the Journal. I received their endorsement when I ran for Congress in 2008. It was a critical endorsement.

New Mexico Professional Fire Fighters Association President Robert Sanchez called Lujan a friend and advocate of all firefighters and first responders during his time in Congress.

Hes helped us secure SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response) grants through FEMA that has helped us with our staffing, he said.

Sanchez said the organization represents about 2,000 members, including firefighters from Albuquerque, Farmington, Carlsbad, Las Cruces and Santa Fe.

Lujan said his work for firefighters dates back to his days as chairman of the Public Regulation Commission when he supported legislation that helped secure funding for fire departments. He also mentioned helping to secure SAFER grants in Congress.

Ive worked on legislation to get them the tools to do their jobs, Lujan said. They have a dangerous job trying to keep us safe. Many of them face difficult situations every day. Ive worked to make their jobs safer, to make sure they come home to their families each night.

Lujan said he was looking into the possible negative effects federal firefighters may have experienced as the result of their exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) contamination found in such places as Cannon and Holoman Air Force bases in New Mexico.

Albuquerque Fire Fighters Local 244 President Justin Cheney also said Lujan had been an advocate for public safety initiatives in Congress.

Lujan is the only announced candidate. But he may be joined in the Democratic race by New Mexico State Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver.

Toulouse Oliver campaign spokeswoman Heather Brewer told the Journal that reports that Toulouse Oliver was leaning toward a Senate run were accurate.

She is looking at where her skills can best serve the people of New Mexico, Brewer said. She cited the election reform Toulouse Oliver backed that successfully passed the legislature this session.

She said Toulouse Olivers decision will come by the end of the month.

Another potential rival, U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., announced earlier this week on Twitter she would not run for the open seat.

No Republicans have entered the race, but party chairman Steve Pearce said he has talked to potential candidates.
The state Children, Youth and Families Department said Friday that it has reduced the peak call wait times at its Statewide Central Intake system from hours to around 20 minutes.

Central Intake is the call center where all calls concerning abuse and neglect are routed and assessed before people are sent out to investigate.

Reducing wait times as we have, even during our busiest hours, will allow our investigators to get into homes more quickly, CYFD Deputy Secretary Terry Locke said in a news release. As always, we encourage anyone to report potential abuse or neglect.

New Mexico residents can call #SAFE (#7233) from their cellphones or 855-333-SAFE.

Off-peak wait times are even lower via a new triage system instituted by the department. According to the release, the triage system allows callers to speak to a person more quickly; additionally, the department is instituting schedule changes and using different technology to allow CYFD offices across the state to help carry the burden of new cases.

The maximum wait time for calls is expected to continue to improve as these changes and policies are implemented, CYFD said.

The announcement comes one day after child advocates and representatives of nonprofits gathered at the Albuquerque office of CHI St. Josephs Children to call for vigilance and action in intervening to prevent tragedies such as the recent spate of violent deaths of children. The antidote for these tragedies, they said, is getting all families with small children involved in home visiting programs.

On Friday, it was learned, the 8-year-old girl who was shot and critically injured in a Northeast Albuquerque home on Sunday died in a hospital.

The other victims included an 11-month-old girl who died under suspicious circumstances at a Northeast Heights motel on Tuesday, leading to the arrest of her father; a 5-year-old girl who police said was beaten to death on April 5 by her father in a Southeast Albuquerque apartment; and a 5-year-old boy who was smothered with a pillow on March 31 in Farmington, allegedly by his father, according to police there.

We grieve the recent deaths, said CYFD Cabinet Secretary Brian Blalock. We, as a new leadership team, are constantly looking to learn from the mistakes of the past. The safety and welfare of the children and other victims is and will always be our first priority.

CYFD in the release also said the Behavioral Healthcare Collaborative, a group of 15 state agencies working to improve the mental health of New Mexicos children, met Thursday in Santa Fe to discuss recommendations for improving psychiatric care. The group is focusing on early screening, diagnoses and treatment.

New Mexicos kids were dealt a heavy blow when over a dozen health care providers were closed without notice in 2013, Blalock said. We are committed to contributing every way we can to rebuilding of the network of available doctors, therapists and counselors throughout the state.
Copyright  2019 Albuquerque Journal

Instead of sending him straight to prison, a state District Court judge first ordered the drunken driver in a deadly 2017 wreck to a veterans post-traumatic stress disorder inpatient program  after hearing harrowing tales of his experience as a soldier in Afghanistan.

Judge Cristina Jaramillo reset the sentencing of 31-year-old Steven Deskin to December, once he has successfully completed the Veterans Affairs STAR program. Deskin pleaded guilty in January to homicide by vehicle and child abuse for the crash that took the life of 34-year-old Ramon Rosas on Dec. 29, 2017. He could be sentenced to up to 12 years in prison.

Deskin was driving drunk, with his two young children in the car, when he rear-ended Rosas at more than 80 mph as Rosas sat at a red light at Wyoming and Montgomery NE. Veterans advocates testified during the sentencing hearing Wednesday that Deskins intoxication and risk-taking behavior stemmed from his time serving his country.

Its sad to think that this country has turned a blind eye to hundreds of thousands of men and women who served this country and who come back with unseen wounds that are not being dealt with, Jaramillo said, noting her own father was in the Army.

Portraits of two people were painted during the hourlong hearing: one of a man who left his family in Mexico to find a better life in America; and of another man who went through a perfect storm of trauma in the Taliban-entrenched Kandahar province.

In a letter, Rosas mother said her sons only crime was being undocumented and wanting to prosper in America to help support her.

He was a young man, full of dreams, which I shared. But I could not help him due to my state of poverty. That is why, one fine day, I saw him leave and I never saw him alive again, the letter read. I still think I hear his voice  and even after a year, I keep waiting for his call.

Then Veterans Defense Program deputy director Art Cody took the stand.

I dont come before you to play the vet card or minimize Mr. Deskins actions, he said.  His circumstances truly are exceptional.

Cody said of the 500 veterans he has worked with, Deskins extreme trauma is one of the worst. As a 23-year-old infantryman, Deskin drove into a roadside bomb, severing a soldiers legs, witnessed his commander blown to bits by a rocket-propelled grenade and dodged a daily barrage of mortars and gunfire.

He said veterans are ill-equipped for, and can be triggered in, a prison setting, which can replicate the stress of combat. For that reason, Cody asked Jaramillo to send Deskin to the STAR program before his sentence to better prepare him for state prison.

Before Jaramillo ordered Deskin to treatment and sentencing at a later date, he addressed Rosas family.

I cant begin to imagine the pain that I have caused you.  It haunts me every day, he said. I am truly, truly, very sorry.
SOCORRO  Surveys show the majority of New Mexican private well users havent had their water tested, even though most do not have water treatment systems installed.

To save consumers money  tests are valued at around $150  and to educate the public about safe drinking water, the New Mexico Environment Department and New Mexico Department of Health are hosting a free domestic well water testing event in Socorro on Saturday, April 13.

The free tests will be available from 9 a.m. to noon at the Socorro Farmers Market, 1002 Ake Ave. Tests will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis to the first 200 participants or while supplies are available. Test results will be mailed to households following the event.

The states water fairs provide an opportunity for Socorro County households to check pH, specific conductance and levels of fluoride, iron, sulfate and nitrate in their well water. These constituents may be naturally occurring or result from sources including fertilizer, animal waste and septic tanks. Drinking water with high levels of nitrate can be dangerous to pregnant women and infants, while other contaminants may lead to other health problems.
Copyright  2019 Albuquerque Journal

The Albuquerque Police Departments chain of command is reviewing a civilian oversight investigation report that recommended firing a department spokesman and his former supervisor for violating overtime policy more than 50 times.

Meanwhile, Shaun Willoughby, president of the Albuquerque Police Officers Association, said he believes spokesman Simon Drobik deserves every dollar he earned. He said he was saddened that the CPOA investigated this case and came up with those conclusions.

I dont know a harder-working police officer than Simon Drobik, Willoughby said. Every single time we are given information about some atrocity inside of Albuquerque, Simon is the face that you see. Hes doing a job nobody else in the department wants to do.

Ultimately, APD Chief Michael Geier will make the final determination about whether Drobik and his former supervisor will be dismissed, said Gilbert Gallegos, another APD spokesman.

A spokeswoman for Mayor Tim Keller said the mayor cannot be involved in personnel decisions for classified employees like Drobik.

Gallegos did not say whether Drobik or his former supervisor, Lt. M, have been placed on administrative leave. Neither man was named in an investigation report by the Civilian Police Oversight Agency, but the Journal has confirmed Officer D. is Drobik.

Drobik made a total of $192,973 in 2018, making him the city of Albuquerques highest-paid employee. His supervisor was also one of the citys top earners, according to the CPOA investigation.

A little less than 20% of the additional pay was earned through a program called Chiefs Overtime, where private companies pay the city to station police officers at their businesses. The officer then gets paid time and a half  in Drobiks case $78.75 an hour. And another quarter was billed as hours worked as a public information officer.

The CPOA investigation found that there were 51 weeks when Drobik submitted and was paid for being on-call status and throughout that time he also worked 207 Chiefs Overtime assignments. The investigation states Drobik knowingly and repeatedly violated this policy to enrich himself.

The investigation also faulted Drobiks former supervisor for signing off on the overtime assignments. Lt. M was Drobiks supervisor until October 2018.

When reached Thursday night, Drobik said he had not seen the report. He did not respond to additional requests for comment Friday.

Many received lots of OT

Last year, Chief Geier lifted caps on the amount of overtime officers could work each month.

Gallegos said this was due to low staffing throughout the department.

Chief Geier replaced the cap starting January 2019 as staffing has increased in recent months, Gallegos wrote in an email.

And while the CPOA investigation focused on Drobik, it noted that he was just one of several officers who were receiving high amounts of overtime.

In reviewing Chiefs Overtime slips, the names of many of the top earners in APD were on those same Chiefs Overtime assignments that Officer D. was, the investigation found.

The investigation recommends that APD begin monitoring its officers overtime for irregular activity and to verify why certain officers are routinely working so much overtime their compensation exceeds that of many executives in City Government.

Civilian complaint?

According to the CPOA investigation report, last fall Mayor Keller saw several articles about Drobiks overtime pay in the ABQ Report  an online news source  and the Journal and asked for a review.

Jessie Damazyn, the mayors spokeswoman, said Keller had ordered the review of APDs overtime pay, including that of the highest overtime earners. While the department has been shorthanded over the past years and relied on overtime, we wanted to make more efficient use of public safety funds, Damazyn said.

The review was initially assigned to the Office of the Inspector General, but the IG doesnt have jurisdiction over APD. And although the Office of the Inspector General asked the CPOA to conduct the review, it could not open one at that time without a civilian complaint.

Then, on Oct. 29, Dan Klein, working as a journalist for the ABQ Report, emailed the internal audit manager asking if he was going to open an audit into Drobik earning an amount of money that appears to be humanly and mathematically impossible, according to the investigation report.

Lawrence Davis, the internal audit manager, said he took Kleins question as a complaint and passed it back to the Office of the Inspector General, which focuses on fraud, waste and abuse.

Ill accept any information or any complaint or any issue and if supporting documentation is provided I will pass it along, Davis told the Journal.

Inspector General Ken Bramlett was not in charge when the complaint came in, but he said by ordinance the office turns over matters regarding police to APDs internal affairs department or the CPOA.

If anybody gives information to the Office of the Inspector General that would constitute a violation of policy or law, then were required to act on it, Bramlett told the Journal.

Klein, for his part, said he had not even realized his request was being treated as a complaint until he saw the story in the Journal on Friday morning.

In my capacity working for ABQ Report I called the OIG to say have you been reading what Dennis (Domrzalski of the ABQ Report) is writing and what is the city going to do about it, Klein said. From that question from the reporter they decided to make that a formal complaint.
An estimated 20.7 million Americans age 12 or over needed treatment for substance use disorder (SUD) in 2017, but only about 4 million Americans age 12 or over received any form of treatment for SUD. This current addiction treatment gap will never be closed with the current addiction treatment workforce.

To make a meaningful and sustainable impact on the current opioid overdose epidemic, and to stave off emerging epidemics related to other addictive substances, it is imperative that our country makes strategic investments to grow the ranks of trained and qualified addiction specialists.

Right now, Congress has an opportunity to fund two new programs that would strengthen the nations inadequate addiction treatment workforce.

First, Congress should appropriate $25 million in funding for the Loan Repayment Program for Substance Use Disorder Treatment Workforce, authorized in the Support for Patients and Communities Act. This would provide for a new and robust student loan repayment program to professionals who pursue full-time SUD treatment jobs in high-need geographic areas.

Second, Congress should appropriate $10 million in funding for the Mental and Substance Use Disorder Workforce Training Demonstration Program authorized in the 21st Century Cures Act. This would fund more training opportunities for medical residents and fellows in psychiatry and addiction medicine, as well as nurse practitioners, physician assistants and others who are willing to provide SUD treatment in underserved communities.

I urge our lawmakers to take the next step and appropriate federal funds for these programs.

Building a robust SUD treatment workforce is critical and should be part of any comprehensive federal response to the opioid overdose epidemic. Otherwise, far too many patients seeking treatment will continue to lack access to care and more lives will be lost.
Former Pennsylvania prosecutor Kristen Gibbons Feden has a message for defense attorneys who represent accused rapists: The days of victim-shaming are over.

Her prosecution partner, Stewart Ryan, agrees, saying, The Band-Aid has been ripped off now, and more than ever, victims are feeling strong enough to press charges against their attacker and go to trial.

Credit the #MeToo movement. But also credit the team of Feden and Ryan, along with police investigator Sgt. Richard Schaffer, who delivered to the nation the first major celebrity sex crimes conviction in recent history  that of comedian Bill Cosby.

Last April these two prosecutors convicted Americas Dad, as Cosby was once known. He was found guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault in the drug-facilitated sex crimes against Andrea Constand, a young woman who worked for Temple University at the time. Cosby, 80, is currently serving three to 10 years in prison.

I met this law enforcement trio at the recent Conference on Crimes Against Women in Dallas, where Feden was the keynote speaker. Feden made it clear shes determined to explode the myths surrounding rape and to inform the public about what victims suffer when they choose to go through the rigors of a criminal trial.

First, it is a myth that the perpetrators of rape are terrifying strangers, she said. 85% of rapists are known to the victim. They are trusted family friends, relatives or authority figures.

Second, people  sometimes jurors, unfortunately  doubt a rape victim who doesnt immediately call police. That doesnt happen often, Feden told the crowd. Delayed reporting is the norm; it is not the exception. It can take weeks, months, years, even decades for a victim to tell her story. Often, they keep the horrible secret forever.

When I spoke to the team, both Feden and Ryan agreed states statute of limitations laws need to be adjusted to account for this phenomenon of delayed reporting.

And the third myth this feisty former prosecutor said she wants to dispel is that the victims clothing, drinking habits, past sexual history or whether she agreed to kiss the perp has something to do with the crime.

It doesnt, Feden said, It is about whether she gave consent for sex or not. Period.

Fedens eyes flashed with anger when we spoke about the Cosby defense teams courtroom smear tactics against Constand and some of the other women who testified about Dr. Huxtables past bad acts. Acts which included buying drugs, like Quaaludes, with the express intention of giving them to women he wanted to have sex with, as Feden put it.

During the Cosby trial, his defense attorney, Kathleen Bliss, said one of the women had slept with every man on the planet which, of course, is not even possible. But the ugly image was there for the jury to ponder. Bliss said of another accuser that she was living the dream now, testifying in the spotlight, after having been unsuccessful in a comedy career.

Lead counsel Tom Mesereau continuously called the woman complainants cons who were in it for the money. It was the same argument he used to help acquit suspected child molester Michael Jackson in 2005.

It didnt work this time.

This kind of tarnish of an alleged victim should not be allowed, but it is. Plaintiffs should be given the opportunity to tell their story and let the jury decide if they believe them or not.

I asked the prosecutors if judges should limit such incendiary lines of questioning. Both were quick to say that would be difficult as it is the defense lawyers constitutional right to cross-examine.

Ryan told me the most frustrating thing he always heard during his years as a sex crimes prosecutor was, I believe her  but.

Thats legally not accurate, he told me, because if you believe her about sexual assault thats sufficient to convict (the defendant) of a crime.

Ryan thinks the I believe her  but mindset is beginning to disappear.

So, is the message to other high-profile suspects in sex crimes  like Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and others  that they can no longer hide behind their celebrity?

Feden jumped in: I hope so!

Ryan interjected, You took the words right out of my mouth.

Feden, the diminutive African American mother of two young sons, quickly added: Because no one should be immune from the law. You shouldnt be immune because you are rich and famous. Because no one is immune from sexual assault, domestic violence, gun violence. No one is immune from any of those things. So neither should the offenders be.

Rape is the crime no one wants to talk about. But it is time to talk about it. And to prosecute it. In fact, because rape is a crime that can steal a persons soul, it is way past time.

www.DianeDimond.com; e-mail to Diane@DianeDimond.com.
An informed observer could have spotted this showdown a mile away.

Democrats took the New Mexico House of Representatives and the Governors Office, bolstering the majority they already had in the state Senate.

As one mass shooting after another dominated the news, Democrats rolled out gun control measures, ultimately passing a measure that requires background checks for nearly all gun buys.

In response, at least 26 New Mexico counties passed Second Amendment sanctuary ordinances. A number of sheriffs declared they flat-out wouldnt enforce the law.

The most recent chapter in the saga, according to an April 6 Journal story, was state Attorney General Hector Balderas, a Democrat, writing a letter to law enforcement agencies in New Mexico warning them of their duty to uphold the law, even when they dont agree with it.

In theory, we agree with Balderas.

The Journal has traditionally held that public servants dont get to pick and choose what laws to enforce, whether its guns or cooperating with immigration agents.

We even agreed with legislators that expanding background checks was a common-sense check on weapons trading. Why wouldnt you want to background check everyone who buys a gun?

But political posturing and base pandering aside, law enforcement agencies have a point, and Balderas has a serious problem.

How are New Mexico law enforcement officers supposed to enforce this law?

If Bobby wants to sell his .22 to Susie, whats to stop him from conducting the transaction in his own living room?

Or a more modern example: If gunluvr42 wants to sell a 9 mm to 2A4eva on Craigslist, whats to stop the two from meeting up in the parking lot of the Espanola Walmart to make the trade?

Is Johnny Law supposed to start staking out Facebook groups and newspaper classifieds to make sure two private citizens dont somehow conduct a gun sale without running background checks on each other?

The logistics pose a real challenge.

Hopefully Balderas will dispense with the public scolding and get down to offering helpful direction.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
A mothers blessing and her curse is knowing everything.

Little escapes our notice when it comes to our children. Call it mothers intuition, a divine providence pipeline, the result of having eyes in the backs of our heads.

Sometimes, though, we would love not to know, especially when what we know is bad. Really bad.

Debbie Hucke knew something bad could happen when her son, Ian, then 21, moved into a house with friends near the University of New Mexico  not an odd situation for a typical college student.

But Ian isnt typical.

Hes a friendly guy, the kind of person who hops on a bus and knows everybody before the ride is over. The kind of person people dont forget.

I like meeting someone new every day, he said. I will never tire of meeting more people.

Hes an artist whose specialty is painting the people he meets. Hes the only redhead in his family. And hes the only one in his family to have a rare genetic disease that particularly afflicts people with northern New Mexico Hispanic ancestry, though Ian is neither Hispanic nor descended from northern New Mexico ancestors.

Debbie Hucke has known things about her son all his life. She knew his slight limping and the coolness of his right foot when he was 18 months old were a sign of something that could be very bad  and it was. He was diagnosed then with cavernous angioma, also called cerebral cavernous malformation, or CCM, in which blood vessels form raspberry-like clusters in the brain and spinal cord that sometimes bleed, causing seizures, paralysis and other neurological deficits.

Ians first angioma bleed caused weakness on his right side and optic nerve, but because it was located in a tricky spot on the brain stem, it could not be surgically removed.

When Ian was 4, she knew that his lethargy could be very bad  and it was. The angioma had grown larger. In November 2000, Ian underwent a risky surgery to remove it, but after eight hours, the Huckes were told surgeons were unable to remove it.

Take Ian home, the surgeon counseled. Love him.

Debbie and her husband, Doug Hucke, senior pastor at Sandia Presbyterian Church, did that, determined to let Ian live his best life.

Hes strong-willed and fearless and just wants to be out there, meeting people, joking around, she said. He has a relentless desire to be normal.

At age 18, Ian began suffering seizures and tried to hide them from his mother  but she knew. A new angioma, this one the size of a mans fist, was surgically removed.

A third, smaller angioma was discovered in 2017 and removed.

Then came Ians desire to move in with friends in a house on Princeton near UNM.

I was against it, Debbie Hucke said. Call it moms intuition. But I was outnumbered, so I sucked it up.

She thought about what Ian told her: Mom, Id rather die than not live life.

Five days after he moved in, he almost did die. A witness reported that Ian was one step from the curb on Lead SE near his new home when he was struck by a truck on Aug. 16, 2017.

The crash left his skull shattered, his brain hemorrhaging, his pelvis crushed, his shoulder and femur broken and his lungs collapsed.

He remained in a coma for six weeks. He spent two months at the University of New Mexico Hospital, then nearly five months at Craig Hospital near Denver and a month at QLI medical rehabilitation center in Omaha, Neb.

I had to learn to walk, write and read again, said Ian Hucke, now 23. It was tough in the beginning, but it gets extremely easier every day.

Since his return to Albuquerque in February 2018, he has continued to push the envelope  and his mothers mama bear instincts as she watches him struggle to find his footing in his new normal. Despite all his challenges, he continues to attend UNM in pursuit of a bachelor of fine arts degree. Two weeks ago, he moved into a campus dorm  an experiment, his mother calls it.

Through it all, his art has helped focus and sustain him, especially his watercolors of people. He imagines their lives, where they come from, what they do.

His collection of people will be featured at an art show next month at the Harwood Art Center, a major accomplishment.

He paints now with the use of only his left hand, his mostly nonfunctional right hand resting on his lap. He wears glasses to help him see, uses a brace to help him walk. Tests indicate that injuries to his brain, protected by titanium to replace pulverized skull bone, impaired his cognitive function and memory  but not his sense of humor or his hope of living someday as an artist in New York.

I know that what I have is probably really, really bad, he said. I know that in my heart. But I dont need to know that. I need to be happy in real life.

What his mother knows is that, for now, its all good.

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.
MONTREAL  In a story April 13 about Quebecs religious symbols ban, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the ban on religious symbols extends to nurses and bus drivers. It does not.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Quebec proposes ban on religious clothing for public workers

A proposal to ban many public employees from wearing religious clothing is creating a fiery debate in the Canadian province of Quebec, where people are fighting to freely practice their religion  or to be free of it

By TRACEY LINDEMAN

Associated Press

MONTREAL  A proposal to ban many public employees from wearing religious clothing is creating a fiery debate in the Canadian province of Quebec, where people are fighting to freely practice their religion  or to be free of it.

The measure introduced late last month would prohibit civil servants in positions of authority such as teachers, police officers, prosecutors and others like prison guards from wearing symbols of religion while at work. Meanwhile, other kinds of public workers, such as bus drivers and nurses would be allowed to wear religious symbols so long as their faces are uncovered.

The law would apply to Sikh turbans, Christian jewelry and Jewish yarmulkes, but the focus of the controversy has been over hijabs worn by many Muslim women in Quebec.

The proposed legislation will affect Muslims more than other groups as they are the fastest growing religious group, said Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto. Muslims represent about 3% of Quebecs 8.3 million people.

Thousands of demonstrators attended a recent march in Montreal to protest the measure, with some holding signs saying, No one tells women what they can wear and Its whats in my head, not on my head, that matters.

Even Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is from Montreal, has spoken ill of Bill 21: Its unthinkable to me that in a free society we would legitimize discrimination against citizens based on their religion, he said.

Christian, Jewish, Muslim and even secular groups across the province have denounced the measure, as have school boards, political parties and some municipal leaders.

However, on Friday Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante said that while she personally opposes the bill, Montreal would not disobey it if it is passed.

That said, next week city councilors will vote on a bipartisan declaration that argues Quebec is already secular and doesnt require additional legislation.

Earlier this month, Quebec Premier Francois Legault told reporters that the bill would reinforce gender equality in the province. The new measure would also help him make good on an electoral promise.

I think at this point in Quebec in 2019, people who are in an authority position, which includes teachers (shouldnt wear religious symbols), I think its reasonable. Its fair, he said. We have to think about whats best for our children.

The history behind the measure is rooted in Quebecs Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, a movement that weaned the province away from political and cultural domination by the Catholic Church. But critics also say its motivated by more recent growing anti-Muslim sentiment.

The debate also pits two ideas of secularism against one another: A stricter European interpretation and a North American version that embraces the idea of religious freedom.

Quebec is torn because it shares a long history and language with France  which along with Denmark, Belgium and Austria has banned face-covering garments  but its also heavily influenced by North American culture, said Bertrand Lavoie, a researcher at the University of Sherbrooke who in 2018 published a book on the relationship between Islam, religious freedom and public institutions in Quebec.

Whats unique to Quebec is that these two concepts of secularism are facing off in the public sphere, among politicians, academics, lawyers and even judges, Lavoie told The Associated Press.

Many who support Bill 21 say that even if women choose to wear the hijab, the garment is rooted in the idea of womens inferiority. Prohibiting it, they say, would help promote gender equality.

The hijab is a symbol of oppression. Its an invention by Islamists to control women, said Ameni Ben Ammar, an accountant in Montreal who immigrated from Tunisia, a majority-Muslim country, in 2013.

They convinced women it would protect them from sexual assault. For me, its an insult to both men and women, she said, referring to the hijabs resurgence in the 1970s.

The debate has tangled issues of gender, race and religion, with Muslim women caught in the crosshairs, said Saaz Taher, a doctoral candidate at the University of Montreal who is studying ethnicity and citizenship.

Racialized womens bodies are constantly a topic of public discourse. We feel (authorized) to judge the best way for women to be free and emancipated, said Taher, who added that Muslim women should be allowed to wear the hijab by choice.

Lavoie said anti-minority sentiment in the province has grown since 2001, when a Sikh boy brought a kirpan  a ceremonial dagger  to school. The incident caused a debate over how far the province should go to accommodate religion.

In 2007, a provincial commission studied the issue and suggested that only people yielding coercive power, such as judges, police officers and prison guards, should abstain from wearing religious symbols.

Bill 21 is Quebecs fourth legislative attempt since 2011 to regulate the wearing of religious symbols for people working in the public sphere, and for the first time it invokes a constitutional clause allowing local governments to override some constitutional rights.

Lavoie said thats a clear sign backers know the measure is discriminatory.

The publics perception is that theres a problem (with Islam), and if theres a problem, we have to fix it, Lavoie said.

The province was stunned in 2017 when a gunman opened fire in a Quebec City mosque, killing six and wounding 19, and racist groups appear to still be growing.

Ive never seen it like this, said Salam Elmenyawi, president of the Montreal Council of Muslims, who immigrated to Quebec from Egypt in 1972 and believes Bill 21 is an outcropping of anti-Muslim sentiment.

This hate was manufactured. This hate did not come by accident, he said.
The Florida School for Boys, opened at the turn of the 20th century, was supposed to provide a new start for troubled young men who had committed crimes ranging from theft to rape. Instead, it was the beginning of a horrifying, 111-year-long chapter of Florida history that has yielded troubling revelations to this day.

Twenty-seven geological anomalies that could be possible graves based on their shape and size were discovered by a contractor near the now-shuttered school, the Tampa Bay Times reported on Friday. More than 50 sets of human remains had previously been exhumed by researchers from a small cemetery on the grounds.

According to a March report to state authorities, obtained by the Times, a contractor employed by Geosyntec, an environmental cleanup company, was using radar to survey the grounds when they found the anomalies.

Given the history of the site, the report recommended the area be treated as graves until further testing could be done.

The school opened in the Florida-Panhandle town of Marianna, on Jan. 1, 1900, and disturbing stories began to emerge almost immediately. Decades of reports detail how boys were dragged into a building called The White House, where they were flogged and beaten bloody by school staff. Children were chained or tied up, forced into solitary confinement, or attacked by violent peers. Others allegedly suffered sexual abuse by staff or other boys. Those that tried to run away faced severe corporal punishment. Some survivors were haunted by the memory of a one-armed man who distributed lashings.

Some of the boys who entered the notorious reform school never came out.

A 15-year-old boy named Thomas Curry died just 29 days after arriving at the school in 1925, according to a 2016 report by the University of South Florida on deaths and burials at the school. He had tried to run away, and a coroners report states he came to his death from a wound to the forehead, skull crushed from unknown cause. Though his remains were reportedly shipped to his grandmother in Philadelphia, testing and research conclude he may have actually been buried at the Boot Hill Burial Ground.

In April 1960, another boy named Robert Hewitt attempted to escape. His cause of death was documented as gunshot wounds in chest inflicted by person or persons unknown.

In three cases documented by researchers, boys were killed by other boys at the school. Others perished in a 1914 fire or died of illnesses such as influenza. However, the reasons for several deaths remain unknown.

Those that survived the brutality remained haunted by their experience long after they left.

Ill be laying in bed, a former student, Eddie Horn, told the St. Petersberg Times in 2009, and I can feel the pain from where they beat me.

Nearly 100 deaths took place at the school between 1900 and 1973, according to the report, many of which went undocumented by the school or unreported to the state. Researchers excavated 55 graves on the grounds  far more than the state had previously known about. Some of the remains, but not all, have been identified.

Much work would need to be done in order to verify that the newly discovered anomalies were, indeed, graves. Dr. Erin Kimmerle, a member of the team that investigated the burials, told CBS News that from a forensic and archaeological perspective, additional fieldwork is critically important to establish if these are in fact burials, the actual number, and context.

She noted to CBS News that the historical record did not support the existence of another burial ground.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a letter on April 10 directing state officials to work with Jackson County as a first step to understanding and addressing these preliminary findings, the Times reported. He vowed to ensure this issue is handled with the utmost sensitivity and care.

DeSantis office did not respond to a request for comment.
A patient left the University of New Mexico Hospital Friday afternoon by stealing an ambulance only to be readmitted soon after with back pain once she crashed into a light pole and got stuck on an embankment, according to campus police.

Ashley Ulibarri, 25, faces a charge of unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, and she was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center later the same day.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, Ulibarri was discharged from the hospital around 4 p.m. and walked toward a parked ambulance that had its doors open. She tried to get into the ambulance, but security chased her off.

The UNM Police Department said she then circled around, got into another ambulance and backed out of the parking lot. Ulibarri drove west on Lomas NE and hit a light pole, then another vehicle, and then got stuck on the embankment beside Interstate 25.

According to the court document, when officers arrived, Ulibarri had jumped into a gurney in the back of the ambulance and was pretending to be a patient. Police say she was shaken up and didnt talk very much.

Ulibarri later told police she had just been kicked out of UNMH when she saw the ambulance, which was running, unlocked and nobody was around it.

She wanted to get heroin so she took the ambulance to find some, an officer wrote.

Ulibarri then told police she hurt her back in the crash and was taken back to the hospital.
GLENN COUNTY, Calif. - The areas between Butte City and Ord Bend have had some dangerous visitors the past few weeks.

Three mountain lions have been seen by multiple people who live in the area.

One local fisherman, who did not want to be identified, said he was hunting turkeys and when he went to pick one up the cats had beat him to it.

He said the two large ones were eating the turkey and when the smallest one saw him it started to charge him.

"There's a lot of people who hunt and fish in this area you know?" he said. "You know a lot of kids - a lot of junior hunters - come out here to shoot their first turkey," he said. "Yeah, I mean it's dangerous. These animals are dangerous, but they're allowed to be there. It's their domain. I am not trying to push the cats out or have them hunted or killed, it's just people need to be aware of the danger."

Another landowner said he's come across about 3 deer carcasses per week since he first spotted the cats.

Stay with Action News Now for the latest updates on sightings.
India finished in the top 10 countries in Finalists for The One Show 2019, announced by The One Club for Creativity, the worlds foremost non-profit organisation celebrating creative excellence in advertising and design.

India has 34 Finalists this year, in work submitted from nine agencies. One Show judges selected 1,558 Finalists representing 40 countries this year.

Leading the way is Wunderman Thompson India Mumbai with eight Finalists, all for Jimmy Nelson Foundations Blink Test done with its Amsterdam office.

Cheil Worldwide India Gurugram has six Finalists, including three for Sense International Indias The Good Vibes Project and three working with its Seoul office for Samsung Electronics Baby Voice Forever. Taproot Dentsu Mumbai also has six Finalists, all for work on behalf of Dulux Paints  three each for Painted by Paint and Paint Flow.

DDB Mudra Group Mumbai has five One Show Finalists, all for Johnson & Johnsons Project Free Period.

TBWAIndia Mumbai has three Finalists, all for NeuroGen Brain & Spine Institute/ Asha Ek Hope Foundations Blink to Speak. FCB Ulka Mumbai has two  both for Theater of Relevances Nyay ke Bhanwar Mein Bhanwari.

With one Finalist each are: Ogilvy & Mather Bengaluru with Hungry Films Mumbai for Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporations Worlds Most Honest Tourism Film; Ogilvy & Mather Advertising Mumbai for Reliance General Insurances #HoliNotHooliganism; Blink Digital Bandra West for Amazon Echos Play My Song; and WATConsult Mumbai for Project Nanhi Kalis #PowerlessQueen.

Globally, McCann New York has the most One Show Finalists in the world this year with 41, including 16 on behalf of client March for Our Lives. Ogilvy Chicago is close behind with 40 Finalists, followed by BBDO New York with 38, Droga5 New York with 34 and TBWAChiat Day New York with 30.

The entry with the most Finalists spots is Broadway The Rainbow for Mars Wrigley Confectionery by DDB Chicago with 25, followed by Burger Kings The Whopper Detour by FCB New York with 19. Tied for third with 17 Finalists each are Nikes Dream Crazy by Wieden+Kennedy Portland and McDonalds The Flip by We Are Unlimited Chicago with The Marketing Store Chicago, DDB New York and DDB Canada Vancouver.

This years winners will be announced at two nights of The One Show awards ceremonies on May 8 and May 10 in New York.

The awards ceremonies are part of The One Club for Creativitys Creative Week, May 6-10, 2019 in New York. The preeminent festival showcasing the intersection of advertising, innovation and creative thinking, Creative Week also includes the ADC 98th Annual Awards ceremony, the dynamic Young Ones Education Festival, inspiring sessions with some of the biggest names in the industry at the Creative Summit and the exclusive Executive Creative Summit, open to a limited number of top-level leaders (founders, CCOs, managing partners).

In a reflection of the tremendous creative opportunities now possible in todays outdoor ad market, The One Club for Creativity announced a partnership this year with Outfront Media, Inc, who serve as exclusive sponsor for The One Show 2019 Outdoor category. Outfront Media is one of the largest out-of-home media companies in North America, connecting brands and consumers in the real world on giant creative canvases. Their focus on creative, through in-house creative boutique Outfront Studios, has been recognised across the media industry.

The One Club for Creativity, producer of the prestigious One Show, ADC Annual Awards, Creative Week and Portfolio Night, is the worlds foremost non-profit organisation recognising creative excellence in advertising and design. The ADC Annual Awards honours the best work across all disciplines, including Advertising, Interactive, Design and Motion. Creative Week takes place in New York City every May and is the preeminent festival celebrating the intersection of advertising and the arts.
In the black and white world of the media, there is no controversy here. Vaccines are safe. Everyone should get them. Vaccinated kids have immunity. Unvaccinated people spread diseases.

The measles outbreak is clearly being used to try and silence anyone who thinks vaccines are dangerous/linked to autism and to end parental choice when it comes to vaccination.

(Forbes reporters Peter Lipson and Dan Diamond want to crack down on dissenters. Diamond said that non-vaxxing parents should be sued if their children spread disease and Lipson called for doctors who don't vaccinate to lose their medical licenses.)

The media have not been kind. Parents are being called "selfish" and "irresponsible." They've been misled into believing vaccines cause autism by the like of actress Jenny McCarthy and a British doctor who lost his license to practice medicine. News reports are adamant: There is no link between vaccines and autism. Dr. Manny Alvarez at Fox News is so convinced that children should be vaccinated that he called on President Obama to eliminate any exemption other than a medical one.

By Anne Dachel Things have never been this heated in the media. The press is on a rampage. There have been literally thousands of stories published about the 100 cases of measles linked to an unvaccinated person at Disneyland. Measles is being described as a life-threatening disease that was eliminated in America, but now is being reintroduced by all these parents who exempt their children from vaccines.

In the real world parents don't believe these claims. They are increasingly skeptical about vaccine safety, despite the endless studies showing how safe vaccines are. In fact, studies have shown that the better educated parents are, the more likely they are to exempt their children from the mandated schedule. Reporters can't understand this. The networks and newspapers have given us years of coverage featuring experts from big name universities all vouching for the safety of vaccines.

Of course that isn't authentic journalism. Real journalism involves truth and balance and that's never part of the discussion.

If reporters were honest, they'd do more than give us talking points from health officials. They would cover the dissenters.

By dissenters I mean the people who've admitted the truth. And it may surprise you, but big names in American medicine have publicly said, that for certain children, VACCINES TRIGGER AUTISM. Incredibly, they weren't ostracized by the medical community and demonized by the press. As far as I know they're still in their important positions.

On Jan 25, 2015 former CBS reporter Sharyl Attkisson reposted an interview she'd done with Dr. Frank DeStefano, the director of Immunization Safety at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sept 2, 2014.

DeStefano was part of the 2004 CDC MMR study that an agency whistleblower now claims was falsified. Attkisson said that DeStefano told her that while there was no causal link between vaccines and autism, vaccines could be the trigger for autism. Attkisson wrote,

"In a telephone interview last week, DeStefano defended the study and reiterated the commonly accepted position that there's no "causal" link between vaccines and autism.

"But he acknowledged the prospect that vaccines might rarely trigger autism.

"'I guess, that, that is a possibility,' said DeStefano. 'It's hard to predict who those children might be, but certainly, individual cases can be studied to look at those possibilities.'"

It's hard to move on after hearing that a top U.S. health official admits that while vaccines don't cause autism, they can trigger it in susceptible children.

Attkisson's FB post went on to cite Dr. Andrew Zimmerman, Director of Medical Research at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. He was the expert on behalf of Hannah Poling who said that he'd 'personally witnessed [Hannah's] developmental regression' following 'vaccine-induced fever and immune stimulation.' (Hannah Poling's vaccine injury claim was quietly conceded by medical experts at HHS and she was awarded substantial compensation.)

Attkisson continued, "Zimmerman concluded that Hannah was vulnerable to vaccine injury because she had a metabolic disorder called mitochondrial dysfunction. While vaccines are safe for most children, in Hannah, they triggered a brain injury, according to Zimmerman.

"Whether vaccines 'caused' or 'triggered' Hannah's autism, the result was the same: but for her vaccinations, Zimmerman said, 'Hannah may have led a normal full productive life.' Instead, she suffers 'significant lifelong disability.'"

How can this be happening? The Hannah Poling case was in the news in 2008. If Dr. Zimmerson was saying these things, how come no one followed up on it? Hannah Poling got a lot of mainstream news coverage. Her father, Dr. Jon Poling and her mother, Terry Poling, a nurse, were interviewed on the major networks. They were treated with respect when they explained how the nine vaccinations Hannah received in a single doctor's visit caused her regression into autism. So why didn't anyone talk to Zimmerman, the doctor who backed the Polings' claim? Why does the media today act like there never was a Hannah Poling?

In truth, two things that are never supposed to be connected in any manner: VACCINES AND AUTISM, can be--if the child is predisposed to vaccine injury--that's what parents have been saying for years. After publicly admitting this, these two experts are never heard from again. The outrage on the part of parents over this fraud, can't be imagined. How can the press and the CDC keep on lying to us?

And there's more.

One of the top experts on autism in the U.S, Dr. David Amaral, research director at the M.I.N.D Institute at UC-Davis was interviewed on PBS by Robert MacNeil in April 2011.

Dr. Amaral was asked if vaccines can cause autism and he said, "I think it's pretty clear that, in general, vaccines are not the culprit. There has been enough epidemiological evidence showing that if you look at children that receive the standard childhood vaccines that, if anything, those children are at slightly less risk of having autism than children that aren't immunized. And so, you know, I think it probably is a waste of effort at this time to try and understand vaccines as a major culprit for, or a major cause of, autism.

"It's not to say, however, that there isn't a small subset of children who may be particularly vulnerable to vaccines. And in their case, having the vaccines, or particular vaccines, particularly in certain kinds of situations -- if the child was ill, if the child had a precondition, like a mitochondrial defect. Vaccinations for those children actually may be the environmental factor that tipped them over the edge of autism. And I think it is incredibly important, still, to try and figure out what, if any, vulnerabilities, in a small subset of children, might make them at risk for having certain vaccinations."

Finally, there's Dr. Walter Zahorodny, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark and he was the lead researcher on the New Jersey portion of a CDC rate study. He was interviewed for Philly.com in March, 2014 about the update in the autism rate to one in every 68 children. Zahorodny said, 'It's a true increase. It's a change of great magnitude. It's silly to go on debating that.' Furthermore, he said the numbers are going to get even worse.

Back in April, 2012, Zahorodny was featured on the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC radio.

During the interview, the host brought up research on the possible causes for autism and he made this comment: "I guess we know what they aren't, for instance, childhood vaccines, right?"

This was Zahorodny's stunning response: "Vaccines don't play a significant role in autism increasing. Some small number of children probably do have autism because of an adverse vaccine reaction, but they don't make for the overall rise. Similarly, thimerosal, the additive in vaccines which was almost entirely out of the picture by 2000, which was when our children in the '08 study were born. So these kids, which would have seen declining autism prevalence if thimerosal was an important risk factor, not increasing prevalence. So I rule those two things out. There are other factors that would be more likely at play-demographical factors related to parents' age and other factors linked to that."

So a "small number of children" have autism because of their vaccines. Shouldn't we all be concerned?

While Zahorondny's claim that thimerosal was removed by 2000 is clearly wrong, his admission that yes, some kids really do become autistic after vaccinations, was alarming.

So how much of the rate increase is because of the vaccines children receive?

Just like DeStefano, Armaral contradicted himself on tape. They both claimed vaccines don't cause autism--except, under certain circumstances, when they do. Zimmerman was the expert behind the claim of Hannah Poling's vaccine-induced autism, and Zahorondny also admitted a connection.

Andrew Zimmerman, David Amaral, Walter Zahorodny, the CDC's own Frank DeStefano--in their own words, there is a link.

This cannot continue. We've heard it from the top experts. Vaccines are crippling our children. They're making our children autistic. It has to stop.

The independent research backs what parents are saying, we just never get to hear about it. Instead, the media ad nauseam gives us official studies from the agency that runs the vaccine program--all with ties to the vaccine makers.

The truth is, this isn't about the science; it never has been. It's about who will be held responsible when we finally publicly admit what an unsafe, unchecked vaccine schedule has done to our children. There are lots of people who are doing everything they can to prevent that from happening.



Anne Dachel is Media Editor for Age of Autism and author of The Big Autism Cover-Up: How and Why the Media Is Lying to the American Public, which is on sale now from Skyhorse Publishing.
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Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed Ahmad Marvi as new custodian of Astan Quds Razavi on March 30. The wealthy endowment manages the shrine of Imam Reza in the holy city of Mashhad. Marvi will replace conservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi, who ran for president in 2017. Raisi was named as the new head of the judiciary last month.

The shrine in Mashhad is a sacred place for Shiite Muslims, attracting millions of visitors from both inside and outside the country every year. Over the centuries, many believers have donated land and their inheritances to the endowment that manages the shrine, a practice that continues to this very day. As such, Astan Quds Razavi is affluent.

After the 1979 revolution, moderate Ayatollah Abbas Vaez Tabasi was appointed as the custodian of the shrine, a post he held until his death in 2016. Of note, Vaez Tabasi indicated backing for moderate President Hassan Rouhani in the 2013 presidential election. Under his custodianship, the shrine complex was expanded, and the endowments spectrum of activities broadened, extending to establishing enterprises. Astan Quds Razavi now owns a large number of major companies. In this vein, the media have criticized the endowment for reportedly not paying taxes, given the exemptions granted to religious endowments.

Since 1979, the shrine's custodianship has become a highly important and influential position in the Islamic Republic. In fact, it is now one of the most senior positions in the country, partly due to its spiritual nature, and also because of the endowment's wealth. This influence has led some observers to view the custodians as potential successors of Ayatollah Khamenei.

After Tabasi's death in 2016, hard-line cleric Raisi was named as shrine custodian. Considered as a potential candidate to replace Khamenei, Raisi ran in the 2017 presidential election, only to lose to Rouhani. During his campaign, Raisi was accused of exploiting Imam Reza's popularity and sanctity as well as the wealth of the shrine endowment  claims he rejected.

On March 7, Ayatollah Khamenei appointed Raisi as chief justice, yet Raisi seemed reluctant to accept the position. Indeed, the appointment would put a stop to any presidential ambitions for now.

On April 4, the official website of the supreme leader published a March 20 decree that designated Marvi as shrine custodian. Even though he has held a high-ranking position within the Office of the Supreme Leader, Marvi has been unknown to most lay people and even journalists. Indeed, for more than two decades, he served as deputy for seminary affairs, acting as a bridge between the supreme leader and the Qom seminary and clerics, as well as the senior clerical leadership (maraji). According to the head of the Office of the Supreme Leader, Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani, four individuals will be appointed to carry out Marvis duties as deputy for seminary affairs.

While he has been a significant figure at the Office of the Supreme Leader, Marvi has sought to keep a low profile and has distanced himself from the media. Ayatollah Khamenei appears to have trusted Marvi so much that he was also in charge of his office in Qom. This trust may be rooted in their longstanding relationship, which dates back to the years prior to the 1979 revolution, when both lived in Mashhad. Indeed, in a 2011 interview, Marvi said he had known Khamenei since he was young, and had attended his speeches and taken part in the sessions held in Khamenei's home in Mashhad. Marvi also stated that Ayatollah Khamenei was at the time in contact with his father and older brother and made visits to his home.

After the revolution, Marvi's brother  Hadi, who passed away in 2007  became involved in judicial offices and courts, and was gradually promoted. Between 1999 and 2004, Hadi Marvi served as the first deputy of the chief justice. He has been described as moderate compared to his peers. Hadi Marvi was also the son-in-law of hard-liner Ayatollah Abolqassem Khazali, an influential figure in the Islamic Republic.

While he enjoyed a long friendship with Raisi, Marvi did not act in his favor in the 2017 presidential election. Given Marvi's lack of interest in public politics, it is probable that he will continue his strategy of keeping a low profile. This approach is likely to foster ties between the shrine endowment and the Rouhani administration.

Of note, in his April 6 congratulatory message, Rouhani praised Marvi's "honesty" and "commitment." Moreover, Reformist First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri telephoned Marvi, declaring the governments willingness for "broad cooperation" in the social, cultural and economic arenas. Since the custodian of Astan Quds Raza wields extensive power in Mashhad, warm ties between the Rouhani administration and Marvi could help resolve some of the differences and disagreements between the authorities in Tehran and Mashhad, including a lifting of the ban on holding concerts in Mashhad. Having said this, it should be borne in mind that Marvi has served as a member of the Office of the Supreme Leader and that he should not be expected to go too far in pursuit of his moderate approach and opt for wholesale change.

Meanwhile, Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda, the hard-line Friday prayer leader of Mashhad, is seen as a major obstacle to improved ties between Astan Quds Razavi and the Rouhani administration. Alamolhoda, the father-in-law of Raisi, has adopted harsh stances against moderates and Reformists. In recent years, namely after the appointment of Raisi as shrine custodian in 2016, Alamolhoda has interfered in issues beyond what some critics view as the confines of his main duties, including his insistence on banning concerts in Mashhad. Such interference and his amassing of power in recent years have resulted in a number of parliamentarians and analysts referring to Mashhad as an "autonomous" city. Alamolhoda was apparently among the candidates considered to be successors of Raisi. If true, this may be perhaps why the head of the Office of the Supreme Leader appeared to seek to appease him on the first official day of Marvi's custodianship, saying, Alamolhoda "is the loudspeaker of the Party of God in Khorasan [Razavi province]  and his appropriate endeavors  have satisfied the leader.

To turn Mashhad into a normal Iranian city, Marvi thus appears to have an obstacle in his path. One can only wait and see whether he will seek to curb Alamolhodas power, and what will unfold between the shrine endowment and the Rouhani administration in the months ahead.
Searching the internet for scientific topics in Arabic can be disappointing. Senan Harba, a 25-year-old dentist from Hillah, Iraq, knows this problem firsthand.

"Wikipedia is my first place to search for any particular topic; unfortunately, lots of topics are not available in Arabic," said Harba, adding, "Since English is not our first language, science students and the general public suffer to get accurate and neutral information."

To compensate for this, Harba follows Facebook pages that spread scientific knowledge on evolution, cutting-edge technologies, social sciences and political schools. This brought him to a newly launched project named Bayt al-Hikma 2.0.

"One evening, I read an advertisement in I Believe in Science  an Arabic-language website that creates scientific content, mostly translations, in Arabic  looking for translators to partner with [the nongovernmental organization] Bayt al-Hikma," said Harba. "An inner voice told me, 'Why not?' I quickly filled out the application form and got accepted," he added.

Besides promoting knowledge, fighting extremism was among the goals for Faisal Saeed al-Mutar when he founded Ideas Beyond Borders, a US-based translation initiative. Surviving years of civil war in Iraq and enduring the murder of his brother, Mutar never gave up his homeland. Arriving in the United States as a refugee in 2013, he vowed to protect other vulnerable people against the destructive forces of authoritarianism and extremism. For Mutar, exposing the younger generation to critical thinking will encourage many to eschew dogma and the road of radicalization.

"People in the [Middle East-North Africa] region form 5% of the world's population; still, 45% of terrorist attacks and 69% of battle-related deaths take place there," said Mutar. "Moreover, it produces 58% of the world's refugees," he added.

Extremist ideology targets vulnerable people who don't have access to global ideas. "By removing the language barrier, more young people in the Arabic-speaking world will be empowered and hopeful and avoid being drawn into violent groups," said Mutar.

Translation was Mutar's way to achieve a bridge between cultures. In 2017, along with over 100 local translators and activists, he launched the House of Wisdom 2.0 to make otherwise inaccessible ideas available to Iraqis and Arabs. The initiative has translated 1.5 million words  whether in articles or books  through its translators in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

"There are many other English-to-Arabic translation projects, most of which focus exclusively on science," said Ahmed al-Rayyis, an Iraqi geologist and community manager of the House of Wisdom 2.0. Rayyis added, "We focus on civil rights, women's rights, LGBT rights, secularism, philosophy, human history, and social and scientific topics."

Moreover, regional publishing houses mostly focus on fiction and ignore many crucial topics, said Rayyis. "Our goal is to develop the Arabic Wikipedia by translating encyclopedic articles," he added.

Harba, the Iraqi dentist, is intrigued by evolution theory, space biology and scientists' biographies.

"My interest in evolution is due to the widespread misunderstandings of the theory," he said. "As for space biology, I believe in the existence of an undiscovered life  [one that] perhaps will never be discovered  outside our known universe. [Meanwhile], biographies form a window into the lives of notable figures who have given us world-changing ideas and theories," Harba added.

Leading enlightenment efforts is not something new to Iraqis, who are the inhabitants of Mesopotamia  once the cradle of civilization. In ninth-century Baghdad, Abbasid ruler Harun al-Rashid established Bayt al-Hikmah  the Arabic name for the House of Wisdom  to house the monumental activity of the translation of Greek and Persian works into Arabic. This institution flourished in the reign of his son al-Ma'mun, making Baghdad the world's biggest hub of science.

"We chose this name for its historical significance," said Rayyis. He added, "That institution was a beacon of science, tolerance and exchange of cultures. The passion for science brought people of different religions and cultures  all Jews, Muslims, Christians and others  into one institution altogether."

Rayyis dreams of recreating that atmosphere. "We want to rekindle our people's golden age and join the global civilization," he said.

For Omar Mohammed, a Paris-based Iraqi scholar and creator and administrator of Mosul Eye, translation is such a valuable magical means. "We need it to build a new future  a future devoid of dictatorship and ignorance," he said.

This project reminded Mohammed of Farah Antoun, a pioneer Tripoli-born enlightenment figure, writer and translator in the 19th century when he translated works into Arabic. "Hearing of Mutar's translation project made me very happy, for the freedom to access knowledge is a way to achieve eternal freedom," said Mohammed.

Upon meeting Mutar in New York this month, Mohammed suggested some books be translated into Arabic.

"Mutar promised to dedicate the project to Mosul University," he said, adding, "We are trying to make the website accessible in Mosul with more contributions from Mosul University scholars."

Currently, the House of Wisdom 2.0 project has a Facebook community of some 84,000 fans.

We have added more than 900 articles to the Arabic Wikipedia and translated 12 books," said Mutar. He noted, "We lifted the ranking of the Arabic language to the 17th language in Wikipedia from the 19th."

While Arabic is the fourth most spoken language among internet users, only 6% of online content is available in Arabic.

"With our project, the Arabic Wikipedia is ranked 17th, preceded by the Ukrainian Wikipedia," said Rayyis. He added, "There are more than 400 million Arabic speakers, while Ukrainian is spoken by about 35 million people worldwide. We are proud of translating the full English Wikipedia content on biological evolution into Arabic  more than 500 essays."

What is special about the House of Wisdom 2.0, according to Rayyis, is that it is a nonprofit project. "We translate hundreds of articles every month, voluntarily upload them to the Arabic Wikipedia and make them available to everyone for free," he said.

While concentrating on topics debunking conspiracy theories, topics banned in some Arab countries and content that makes people question more, Mutar emphasizes that they have no agenda other than spreading knowledge.

We are not a political or anti-religion organization, but we embrace some of these controversial books and content because we believe Arab youth should be allowed to make up their own minds about how they want to live their lives," he said.

The reactions they get are quite encouraging.

"Within a few months, 80,000 fans followed us on Facebook," said Rayyis. "The majority of them are from Iraq, especially Baghdad, Najaf, Mosul and Basra. We have received hundreds of supportive messages so far," Rayyis added.

"It is a forum for those who adore knowledge and want to be part of an enlightened society," wrote Ismail Berwari, a lawyer from Dahuk in Iraqi Kurdistan, advising people to follow the project's page on Facebook.

This encourages Rayyis and Mutar to widen the scope of their target in Iraq and beyond. In March, they began translating dozens of articles from English into Kurdish, Persian and Urdu to enrich the Wikipedia content in these languages spoken in Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria and Pakistan.

For Harba, this was a chance to make new friends interested in science and improve his translation skills.

"It is a fruitful experience, both personally and professionally," Harba said. He added, "Before that, I had little experience in translation. Over time, I found myself loving what I was doing. Now, a professional translation of medium-length articles takes me only a few hours while it took me days to produce low-quality translations in the beginning."

Harba has a real desire for the project to succeed.

I want to make the Middle East a better place. House of Wisdom 2.0 gave me the means to do that," said Rayyis.
RAMALLAH, West Bank  Eight members of the Palestinian Democratic Union Party (FIDA), including Secretary-General Zahira Kamal, submitted their resignation April 3 from the partys political bureau, the highest regulatory authority in the party. The resigning members also included FIDA parliamentarians Khaled al-Khatieb and Siham Barghouti.

This wave of resignations follows the decision of FIDA's Central Committee March 23 to partake in the government to be formed by Mohammad Shtayyeh.

Ahmed Majdalani, a member of the PLO Executive Committee and secretary-general of the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front, told Al-Monitor, The government formation will be presented to President Mahmoud Abbas before the April 14 legal deadline. The parties that have so far agreed to take part in this government are Fatah, FIDA, the Palestinian People's Party (PPP), the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front, the Arab Liberation Front and the Palestinian Liberation Front. The parties boycotting the government are the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), the Palestinian National Initiative, Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

During a meeting April 6 in Ramallah, FIDAs political bureau refused the resignations by Kamal and her colleagues, and reaffirmed in a statement on the same day its decision to partake in the government.

Kamal told Al-Monitor that she and the resigning members had boycotted the meeting, and explained that FIDAs political bureau had previously discussed the issue of joining the government and decided not to participate in it. This was before President Mahmoud Abbas entrusted Shtayyeh to form the government on March 10. But the bureau reversed its decision, she said. I will insist on my resignation as long as the political positions based on which we decided not to participate in the government remain unchanged.

On April 4, Kamal posted a statement on her Facebook page recalling the political reasons behind the partys previous refusal to participate in the government. She stressed the necessity of continuing Palestinian-Palestinian dialogue to form a government of national unity or if this appears to be impossible, to form a government of technocrats subject to consensus, for a mandate of six months at most, whose task is to prepare for presidential and legislative elections and a national council, if possible.

She also underlined the importance of implementing the decisions of the National and Central Councils of the PLO to suspend the implementation of the Oslo Accord, in particular, security coordination, to gradually break free from the Paris economic agreement and to halt contacts with Israel. Kamal called for the cessation of punitive measures against the Gaza Strip, urging for the payment of employee salaries.

Saleh Abu Laban, who also submitted his resignation as a member of FIDAs political bureau, commented on the partys reversal of its decision. He told Al-Monitor, The political bureau composed of 20 members in addition to the secretary-general held three meetings to discuss participation in the government. It resolved not to participate in the government.

He said, During the third meeting March 3 the issue was put to a vote and a 10-10 tie was reached. According to partisan customs, the secretary-general would have the casting vote in this case, but those who sought to reverse the nonparticipation decision objected and resorted to FIDAs Central Committee.

Sources from FIDA's political bureau told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that FIDA members who support the participation in the upcoming government exploited Kamals travel and held a meeting of the Central Committee on March 23. This was when the nonparticipation decision was reversed and the partys position was announced in the media, one of the sources said.

Asked whether those who voted in favor of participating in the government were pressured by Fatah to change their partys position, Kamal said, There is always pressure, but that does not mean that parties and their members yield to pressure. I was not at the Central Committee meeting to know what happened.

Jihad Harb, a political analyst and author, told Al-Monitor that the resignations of FIDA political bureau members prove that there is a power struggle within the party. This is the reason behind the reversal of the nonparticipation decision, he said, asserting that Fatah exerted various pressures to ensure the participation of PLO factions in the government.

In regard to the implications of the resignations on FIDA, he said, These resignations could overthrow the party, especially the resignation of some of the partys most prominent leaders. FIDA does not have a wide popular base in the Palestinian street.

FIDA is not the only Palestinian party to be troubled by the government formation. The PPP, whose position on taking part in the government so far remained unclear, announced April 3 it will be part of Shtayyehs government. On the same day, Walid al-Awad submitted his resignation from the PPPs political bureau and Central Committee.

Awad justified his resignation in a post on his Facebook page on April 3, saying, This is not to protest against the [PPP] decision to participate in the government or against the election of the partys representative in the government, but against the immature acts that followed. He provided no further clarification.

The PPP rejected Awads resignation in a press statement it published on its official website the next day. Al-Monitor could not obtain a comment from Awad.

Al-Monitor talked to Fahmi Shaheen, member of the PPP political bureau and the partys spokesman, who said that Awad resigned against the backdrop of leaks on social media and some media outlets reporting false information.

Palestinian media outlets had focused April 3 on the results of the PPPs internal vote on the partys representative in the upcoming government as a minister. The vote that took place on the same day pitted Awad against PPP leader Nasri Abu Jaish, who received 22 votes against 12 to Awad. Awads resignation is being resolved, Shaheen added.

The London-based Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed newspaper had published on Aug. 19, 2018, an article that pointed to a stifling financial crisis hitting the PPP due to some unprofitable investments.

The article quoted sources saying that this crisis led the PPP to participate in the PLO Central Councils 29th meeting. The article noted that the PPPs popular base is experiencing a state of anger and indignation against the unilateral decision of its secretary-general, Bassam al-Salhi, to participate in the PLOs Central Council meeting. The same sources noted that Abbas had disbursed the financial allocations to the PPP for one year, while such allocations were usually disbursed on a monthly basis.

The PPPs participation in the 2018 Central Council meeting was contrary to the position of the Palestinian factions that boycotted the meeting. The PFLP, the DFLP and the Palestinian National Initiative had objected to Abbas and Fatahs monopoly over the Palestinian decision-making within the PLO and the failure to implement the Central Council decisions.

Shaheen said the PPP did not decide to partake in the government out of pressure by Fatah or in light of its financial crisis. This is not true, he said. The party's decision to participate in Shtayyehs government is independent and based on its political vision.
Birmingham Police are investigating a shooting Friday night in southwest Birmingham that left one victim with life-threatening injuries.

Two people were shot at 2817 Wallace Covington Circle in the citys Industrial Center neighborhood, police said.

No suspects were in custody as of 9:15 p.m.

Futher information was not available.
The Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles responded today to criticism from Attorney General Steve Marshall and to a bill to give the governor more control over board operations.

The board sent out a press release responding to comments Marshall made to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday when Marshall was speaking in support of the legislation. Marshall told the committee the parole board was not following its own rules and that the system was broken.

Those comments and the legislation, which would make the parole boards director an appointee of the governor, were the latest of several public rebukes of the parole board by Marshall and Gov. Kay Ivey since last fall.

In October, Marshall and Ivey met with board members after some prosecutors and victims groups raised concerns about what they said were too many early parole considerations. After the meeting with the board, Ivey placed a 75-day moratorium on early paroles and ordered a corrective action plan, which the board provided.

In todays press release, the board said it had acknowledged mistakes in calculating parole dates that led to several hearings being scheduled incorrectly last year. The board said those hearings were cancelled and that was explained to the AGs office.

The press release said, in part:

On October 15, 2018, a meeting was held with Governor Ivey and the Attorney General. Board members again acknowledged previous errors in calculations of parole guideline set dates, and advised each case was being scrutinized to prevent this from re-occurring. This has been recognized repeatedly from that point, in the Corrective Action Plan, and subsequent correspondence with the Governor and the Attorney General. These human errors hardly warrant the statement that the parole board is not following its own rules and the system is broken.

The thorough responses to every inquiry, instruction, and request by Governor Ivey and the Attorney General clearly demonstrate the Board is accountable to the concerns of the public which have led to the Governors concerns.

The legislation supported by Marshall, sponsored by Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, would make the parole boards executive director an appointee of the governor. Currently, the three-member board names the director. The bill would also add to state law guidelines on the earliest dates some offenders can be considered for parole. Those guidelines are now part of parole board regulations but not in the law.

The Judiciary Committee approved the bill, putting it in line for consideration by the full Senate. A parole board reform bill is also pending in the House.

Under current law, the governor appoints the members of the parole board who are nominated by a committee that includes the lieutenant governor, the Supreme Court chief justice, the presiding Criminal Appeals judge, the Senate president pro tem, and the speaker of the House. The parole boards press release today said the legislation under consideration would eliminate the nominating committee from the process.

At the Judiciary Committee meeting, Marshall mentioned the parole boards decision to release Jimmy ONeal Spencer, who is charged with murder in the deaths of a 7-year-old boy, his great-grandmother and another woman in Guntersville in July 2018, less than a year after he was granted parole.

Marshall, the former district attorney in Marshall County, told the Judiciary Committee he knew two of the victims and said the crime resulted from "a series of circumstances that were unforgivable and for which we have no answers to our community.
In many parts of Alabamas Black Belt -- thanks to a type of thick, clay soil and widespread poverty across isolated areas -- homeowners are resorting to straight pipe systems to dispose of wastewater and sewage, rather than sewers or septic tanks.

In these situations, untreated wastewater and sewage are simply flushed out of a plain PVC pipe from the house into the woods, or even the back yard, raising concerns about tropical diseases like hookworm and other public health issues.

Now University of Alabama graduate students and professors, backed by a federal grant, are joining efforts to determine just how widespread these practices are and what can be done about them.

A team of UA graduate students received a $15,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys People, Prosperity and the Planet, program, a competition for students proposing a year-long project to address an environmental or public health issue.

The students will use computer models to map how widespread sanitation issues are in Alabamas Black Belt, a region plagued with sewage and wastewater problems and reports of tropical diseases like hookworm that are associated with poor sanitation. The student project will go hand-in-hand with efforts by University researchers and state and federal agencies.

University of Alabama civil engineering professor Mark Elliott, a faculty advisor for the project, said the Black Belt is being hampered by a combination of poor soil conditions where traditional septic systems dont work, high levels of poverty, and people living in relatively isolated areas where connecting to municipal sewer lines is not an option.

Elliott said the shrink-swell clays that make up about half the soil in the Black Belt area dont allow water to flow through, and make most septic systems almost impossible to use.

When you get into a situation with these shrink-swell clays, septic systems just cant work, Elliott said. So in that situation, understandably, many people, especially poor people, have decided not to waste their money on a system that they know is going to fail.

One survey conducted by UA and the Alabama Department of Public Health found that 60 percent of homes surveyed in Wilcox County that werent connected to municipal sewer lines had a visible straight pipe.

Though disposing of waste through a straight pipe is illegal, most of the people who resort to such methods cannot afford to install a septic system, and in large areas in the Black Belt, most septic systems would not work anyway. The Alabama Department of Public Health has decreased emphasis on fining offenders and instead is focused on finding workable solutions to the issue.

The sanitation issues in the Black Belt drew worldwide media attention in 2017, when a team from the United Nations toured the area and said conditions there were very uncommon in the First World.

In recent months, political figures including Cory Booker, Al Gore and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have attempted to draw attention to the areas struggles, but its still not clear just how widespread those problems are.

Theres been publicity around this issue, particularly in Lowndes County, for a long time but the scope of the problem was never really defined, Elliott said. It was presented as a series of anecdotes, and that made it hard to define how much it would cost to fix the problem and what solutions would be appropriate.

The students, led by UA graduate student Aaron Blackwell, plan to construct a computer model to estimate how likely a home is to have a straight pipe, based on factors such as soil conditions, existing infrastructure, population density and property values. The students will apply their model to five of the 17 counties traditionally included in Alabamas Black Belt: Lowndes, Wilcox, Perry, Dallas and Hale Counties.

UAs team is in the first phase of the program, and will attend the TechConnect World Innovation Conference and Expo in Boston in June to showcase its research. The team can then apply for a second-phase grant for funding up to $100,000 to further the project design.

Other members of the team include Joseph Weber, UA professor of geological sciences, Sagy Cohen, UA associate professor of geological sciences, and Rebecca Greenberg, a UA graduate student studying geology.

The students project will be part of a larger collaborative effort involving a group of state and federal health and environmental agencies, universities and elected officials to find solutions to the problems.

That group, dubbed the Alabama Rural Water and Wastewater Management Consortium, continues to meet to discuss which potential solutions might work best and how to pay for those solutions.

Elliott said one idea that is frequently discussed among the group is identifying clusters of houses that could be grouped together to use smaller-scale treatment systems that that would be more effective than a typical septic system but less expensive than expanding municipal sewer lines to remote areas.

The consortium includes members from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, the Alabama Department of Public Health, the University of Alabama, the University of South Alabama, Auburn University, UAB, the University of West Alabama, and the offices of Governor Kay Ivey, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, and U.S. Sen. Doug Jones.
By Robert Barnes

WASHINGTON - Conservative justices on the Supreme Court overruled lower courts in a middle-of-the-night order and said an Alabama execution could proceed, over the objections of their liberal colleagues who wanted to discuss the case Friday morning.

The order came too late for the state to carry out the execution of Christopher Lee Price, and Alabama will have to ask a state court to set another execution date.

But the 5-to-4 ruling at the Supreme Court indicated that the court's new conservative majority is far less likely to agree to last-minute stay requests from those facing execution. It also emphasized the stark divide between conservative and liberal justices on capital punishment and the most humane way to carry it out.

"What is at stake in this case is the right of a condemned inmate not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment," wrote Justice Stephen Breyer, objecting to the majority's decision.

He added: "To proceed in this matter in the middle of the night without giving all members of the court the opportunity for discussion tomorrow morning is, I believe, unfortunate."

He was joined by his fellow liberal colleagues Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

It was unclear Friday what would happen next in Price's case. A spokesman for the office of Alabama's attorney general said it was still reviewing the Supreme Court's decision and "cannot yet comment on our next steps."

Price, sentenced to death for his role in murdering an Alabama minister in 1991 with a sword and a dagger, was asking to be executed by inhaling nitrogen gas, a process called nitrogen hypoxia, rather than risk a "botched" execution by injection.

Alabama allows nitrogen hypoxia but has never used it in an execution.

But the Supreme Court majority said Price had missed his chance to elect that manner of death.

In a brief, unsigned order, the court's conservatives said that death-row inmates in Alabama in June 2018 were given 30 days to elect nitrogen hypoxia. While 48 inmates did so, Price did not.

"He then waited until February 2019 to file this action and submitted additional evidence today, a few hours before his scheduled execution time," said the order from Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

That majority earlier this year allowed the execution of a Muslim inmate in Alabama who had complained that he was not allowed an imam by his side at his death, while Christian inmates could have a chaplain with them. The five justices suggested the legal action had come too late.

The conservatives also recently rejected an appeal from a Missouri inmate who said that lethal injection in his case could cause excruciating pain - such that perhaps he would choke on his own blood during the process. The court ruled 5 to 4 that Russell Bucklew had not proven that lethal injection would choke him or that another manner of execution would alleviate the problem.

The number of executions nationwide has dropped significantly in recent years. There were 25 death sentences carried out last year, down from 98 in 1999. So far this year, three executions have been carried out - two in Texas and one in Alabama - down from seven at the same point in 2018.

Breyer's dissent revealed the behind-the-scenes maneuvering that accompanies execution stay requests.

"Should anyone doubt that death sentences in the United States can be carried out in an arbitrary way, let that person review the following circumstances as they have been presented to our court this evening," Breyer wrote.

After Price obtained stays from a district judge and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, the state of Alabama asked the Supreme Court to intervene after 9 p.m. Thursday.

Breyer wrote that he requested the court take no action until Friday, when the justices were scheduled to meet in private conference to discuss other matters.

"I recognized that my request would delay resolution of the application and that the state would have to obtain a new execution warrant, thus delaying the execution by 30 days," Breyer wrote. "But in my judgment, that delay was warranted, at least on the facts as we have them now."

But he said the majority would not agree to that, "thus preventing full discussion among the court's members. In doing so, it overrides the discretionary judgment of not one, but two lower courts. Why?"

The court's ruling was emailed to reporters at 2:51 a.m. Friday.

While the deliberations proceeded in Washington, Alabama officials decided to halt Price's execution just before the death warrant expired at midnight. That left them angry as well.

"This evening, the state of Alabama witnessed a miscarriage of justice," Gov. Kay Ivey (R) said in a statement.

The state's attorney general, Steve Marshall, said the execution's delay meant that relatives of Bill Lynn, the minister Price was convicted of killing in 1991, were "deprived of justice."

"They were, in effect, re-victimized by a killer trying to evade his just punishment," Marshall said in a statement. "This 11th-hour stay for death row inmate Christopher Price will do nothing to serve the ends of justice. Indeed, it has inflicted the opposite - injustice, in the form of justice delayed."

He vowed that "justice will be had" for Lynn.

The Washington Posts Mark Berman contributed to this report.
Parts of Alabama continue to deal with severe weather on Sunday morning following an active night.

A tornado watch issued at 9:44 a.m. includes only Henry and Houston counties in Alabama and lasts until 3 p.m. CDT:

Storms overnight prompted multiple tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings. Scattered damage has been reported in several areas and the weather service plans to take a look at it and determine how many tornadoes touched down.

The weather service in Huntsville said it plans to send a storm survey team to the Pogo area in Franklin County in north Alabama.

The Birmingham NWS office plans to survey Shelby County today and has plans for other surveys on Monday and Tuesday.

Rain and storms are expected to continue to push through the state from west to east, exiting Alabama by this afternoon.

Drier and cooler weather has followed the storms into parts of north and west Alabama on Sunday morning.

And Monday morning will be on the cool side, with lows dipping into the 40s for much of Alabama.

But the calm may not last all that long. The weather service was continuing to monitor another chance for potential severe weather by Thursday:
A Missouri trucker was killed Thursday in a single-vehicle crash on I-10 in eastern Baldwin County, authorities said Friday.

Abdirisak Muse Daad, 40, of Kansas City, was traveling west near the 62-mile marker when the 2016 Freightliner he was driving left the road and struck a culvert around 9:40 p.m. Thursday, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Lt. Joe Pigott said in an email.

Daad, who was wearing his seat belt at the time of the crash, was pronounced dead at the scene. No further information was available.
Two people were shot outside a Vestavia Hills restaurant Saturday afternoon in what police are now saying was an accidental shooting.

A gun discharged, said Vestavia Hills police Lt. Michael Keller, while a man was trying to change a childs diaper inside a vehicle. The shooting happened at 2:56 p.m. in the parking lot in front of the Chuck E. Cheeses at the Olde Towne shopping center on Montgomery Highway.

One adult male was shot, reportedly in the chest, and taken to UAB Hospital Trauma Center. A little girl, believed to have been shot in the leg, was taken to Childrens of Alabama hospital . Both were rushed from the scene by Vestavia Hills Fire and Rescue with a police escort.

Vestavia Hills Fire Department Capt. Ryan Farrell said the mans injuries were potentially life threatening.

Witnesses said the man appeared to be seriously injured, but the child looked okay. A witness said both victims were inside a vehicle when they heard a single gunshot. Thats when everyone got out of the car and people started screaming to call 911.

Three young men were either inside the vehicle with the victims or nearby when the shooting happened. They were visibly upset and were taken from scene by police but were not handcuffed.

Keller said the gun was inside a bag in the vehicle. The preliminary information is that the adult male victim was about to change the girls diaper when he came in contact with the gun inside the bag and it fired. The single bullet discharged hit him in the chest, and then the girl.

He said police are still trying to confirm that is what happened, and how that happened. Its too soon, he said, to determine whether the situation will warrant any charges.

Keller said his message following the shooting is this: If you have a firearm, you should be trained and know how to operate it. Every weapon can be used in a serious manner and cause serious injury so you need to make sure the weapon is handled appropriately."

This story will be updated if more information is released.

This story will be updated
London, United Kingdom  Journalists, lawyers, activists and academics have warned that the arrest of Julian Assange could have grave consequences for press freedom if it results in the medias ability to expose government wrongdoings being limited.

The 47-year-old founder of the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks, an Australian citizen, was arrested by British police on Thursday at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, after the South American country revoked his asylum status.

Assange had been locked up inside the embassy since 2012, when he sought refuge there while facing allegations of sexual assault in Sweden. He feared not receiving a fair trial and claimed that the charges were linked to his publishing activities with WikiLeaks.

Assange appeared before a judge on Thursday and was found guilty of breaching bail conditions in 2012. Police said Assange was then further arrested on behalf of the United States authorities under an extradition warrant.

The US has attempted to portray the case as a security issue.

Assanges extradition hearing will take place in London on May 2.

This sets a dangerous precedent for all media organisations and journalists in Europe and elsewhere around the world, said his lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, vowing to fight the extradition. This precedent means that any journalist can be extradited for prosecution in the United States for having published truthful information about the United States.

In 2010, WikiLeaks released a number of classified documents on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, exposing US war crimes.

The site worked with media outlets  including Al Jazeera  to disseminate the information.

The pursuit of Assange by the American government sends a very clear message to anyone who is looking at leaking documents that they will also be pursued. Meirion Jones, editor at Bureau of Investigative Journalism

The trove included a well-known video showing two Apache US military helicopters target a group of people in Iraq in 2007, resulting in the killing of more than 23 people including two Reuters journalists.

Former US intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning was found guilty of espionage for the leaks. She spent seven years in prison and was released in 2017 after her 35-year sentence was commuted by President Barack Obama.

But during the US presidential campaign in 2016, when WikiLeaks published hundreds of internal emails that damaged the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, Assange was accused of being a stooge of a Russian governments attempt to interfere in the elections.

Assanges critics credit him with helping Donald Trump clinch power.

But the indictment, dated March 6, 2018, and unsealed on Thursday, has nothing to do with those allegations.

An investigation by the US Department of Justice never found enough evidence to show that Assange knowingly worked with Russian intelligence to prop up the Trump campaign.

Instead, it accuses Assange of helping Manning crack a password to log into the defence departments computer database with a username other than her own.

It does not explicitly charge Assange for publication, but accuses him of conspiring with Manning to obtain the classified documents.

It was part of the conspiracy that Assange encouraged Manning to provide information and records from departments and agencies of the United States, the indictment reads.

While the indictment skirts the issue of press freedom by charging Assange with computer fraud, rather than publishing crimes, journalists and press freedom advocates have expressed concern about the allegations of collusion.

They argue that it is part and parcel of a journalists job to encourage sources to provide more information if it is deemed to be in public interest.

The potential implications for press freedom of this allegation of conspiracy between publisher and source are deeply troubling, said Robert Mahoney, deputy director of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

With this prosecution of Julian Assange, the US government could set out broad legal arguments about journalists soliciting information or interacting with sources that could have chilling consequences for investigative reporting and the publication of information of public interest, Mahoney added.

Freedom of the Press Foundation executive director Trevor Timm pointed out that requesting more documents from a source, using an encrypted chat messenger, or trying to keep a sources identity anonymous are not crimes; they are vital to the journalistic process.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrives at the Westminster Magistrates Court, after he was arrested in London, Britain on April 11, 2019 [File: Hannah McKay/Reuters]

The Obama administrations attempts to prosecute Assange floundered out of concern that doing so would impinge First Amendment rights. But the Trump cohort has been more outspoken, particularly after WikiLeaks began publishing secret CIA surveillance and cyber warfare tools in the series of documents known as Vault 7 in 2017.

We can no longer allow Assange and his colleagues the latitude to use free speech values against us, US Secretary of State and former CIA director Mike Pompeo said at the time. To give them the space to crush us with misappropriated secrets is a perversion of what our great Constitution stands for. It ends now.

The UKs National Union of Journalists (NUJ) condemned the UK governments cooperation with the US in the extradition case.

The UK should not be acting on behalf of the Trump administration in this case, said the NUJs assistant general secretary Seamus Dooley, adding that the manner in which Assange is treated will be of great significance to the practice of journalism.

WikiLeaks has come under fire in the past for publishing unedited information that includes the sensitive personal details of civilians or activists.

When I dealt with WikiLeaks output, we very carefully went through everything that we were offered and checked that everything was in the public interest, Meirion Jones, an editor at the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism, told Al Jazeera.

Assange Scott

issue of press freedom, even if it is Julian Assange in this case.]

At the time of the Iraq and Afghanistan leaks, Jones was working for the BBC.

We used [WikiLeaks] as a source of information. We did not think of them as a publisher, although the definition of publisher is much more complicated nowadays, Meirion added. The pursuit of Assange by the American government sends a very clear message to anyone who is looking at leaking documents that they will also be pursued.

Assange remains a polarising figure.

His supporters defend him as a persecuted journalist as detractors point to a political agenda behind his latest activities.

Meanwhile, journalists around the world continue to be killed, imprisoned and intimidated, often at the hands of governments.

The killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the countrys Turkish embassy is among the recent high-profile cases. In Europe, investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova were murdered in Slovakia last year, sparking protests against state corruption. Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizias was murdered in 2017 while investigating government corruption.

Politically, the way the Americans are trying to get Assange and therefore to go after other whistleblowers is something we need to be conscious of, Scott Lucas, an international politics professor at the University of Birmingham, told Al Jazeera.

Assange is perhaps the worst poster boy for press freedom given his activities. But we still have to recognise [the] issue of press freedom, even if it is Julian Assange in this case.
A failed giveaway trip to New Zealand illustrates all that is wrong with Muslim celebrity activism in the US.

Last week, Muslims of the World (MOTW)  a platform describing itself as designed to give a voice to Muslims around the world  launched an Instagram contest offering a free trip to New Zealand. It claimed the winner would meet families of Christchurch shooting victims and visit the mosques with the platforms founder, Sajjad Shah, Imam Suhaib Webb, and author Khaled Beydoun  all US-based.

The announcement swiftly provoked a backlash, including from Maha Elmadani, the daughter of one of the victims, who wrote, I dont know who you think you are but you and your idiot friends are not welcome to come here and look at us like animals in a zoo.

The contest has since been cancelled and Muslims of the World issued an apology, and so did Beydoun  who deleted his Twitter after the controversy  and Webb. It is tempting to see all this as a one-time, isolated occurrence  an individual mistake  but it is not. This type of social media-related opportunism has many manifestations and is very much rooted in Muslim celebrity culture and trauma tourism inspired by Orientalist attitudes.

The trend of Muslim figures rising to almost untouchable celebrity status has been noted in closed circles for some time, but many have been reluctant to speak out about it on a public platform.

Part of this is due to fear of being ostracised and harassed. Black Muslim women, for example, have often discussed on private forums how some celebrity Muslim figures take from their scholarship and silence them when they speak up.

Muslim celebrity culture very much illustrates problematic power dynamics of gender and race within the Muslim community that are rarely addressed. It is not lost on anyone that primarily cis/het, non-black Muslim men acquire celebrity status at the expense of others and often assume the position of official commentators on Islam and all Muslims, regardless of whether they have the expertise or not.

The aftermath of the Christchurch massacre demonstrated this perfectly. As details of the horrific attack started surfacing, US-based Muslim celebrities were quick to take centre-stage, drowning out Muslim voices from New Zealand. This was not only disrespectful to the Muslim community there, but it also shifted the focus away from important discussions about the local context in which the shooting took place.

Many local Muslims, for example, were pushing back against the narrative that the government was unaware of white nationalist extremism and threats against them. Members of the Maori community were also challenging Prime Minister Jacinda Ardens claim that this is not New Zealand, pointing to the countrys bloody colonial history.

In their eagerness to dominate the online discussions after the attack, some Muslim celebrities went as far inadvertently propagating misinformation. Under the guise of humanising the victims, for example, Beydoun posted effusively on social media, using what some have claimed to be either wrong or plagiarised information.

It was celebrity Muslim culture that allowed outside voices like Beydoun to position themselves as owners of the Christchurch narrative, even when some New Zealand Muslims protested. And it was this same culture that made him, Shah and Webb feel entitled enough to put their faces on a poster and advertise a free trip to New Zealand.

Their attempt to transform a site of suffering and death into an exciting destination for a visit is nothing new. Plenty of other US celebrity activists engage in trauma tourism on a regular basis by making a career out of travelling to sites of trauma and speaking about it with self-proclaimed authority when they come back.

While promoting the event on Instagram, Beydoun said, We will be doing work with the community inshallah; yet it is unclear whether the Christchurch community actually knew such work was going to be done. An executive member of Al Noor mosque told the New Zealand Herald that nobody had approached them about the competition.

Although the giveaway didnt mention money, the condition for entering the draw was: Must tag three people in the comments below and follow @suhaib.webb @khaledbeydoun and @sajjad12345. It is hard not to wonder whether there was really no mercantile motive behind the giveaway, given that we live in a digital era, in which social media can be a powerful tool.

The attacker himself chose to livestream his attack on social media, hoping to amplify its impact beyond the borders of New Zealand and succeeding. When social media has such a potential to influence, clout becomes currency and getting more followers  a necessity.

Trauma tourism is also a very obvious extension of voluntourism  the idea of travelling to exotic destination to do good  practised mostly, but not exclusively, by white Westerners. In rationalising the trip, MOTW borrowed directly from the voluntourism rhetoric of doing work and being agents of healing, seemingly ignorant of where these ideas come from.

Imperialism, Orientalism and their derivative, the white saviour complex, postulate that the Western civilisation is superior to all others and its representatives can and should spread its superior thought and ways to try to uplift the inferior, dejected cultures of the Orient. Unfortunately, some Muslims in the West seem to have unwittingly adopted these attitudes and have come to believe that they are the only ones capable of helping another Muslim community heal.

It is indeed quite troubling to see members of the Muslim community lean on these capitalistic and predatory models of engaging with communities, especially when black Muslims  like Malcolm X  have led the way in fostering meaningful transatlantic ties. There is a blueprint to follow, but there is also an apparent refusal to engage with it.

These issues are largely driven by the pervasive lack of critical engagement with Islamophobia. Hate and hateful acts against Muslims tend to be exceptionalised and isolated from the larger context in which they occur. Discussions are often limited and stop short of exploring Islamophobia as a phenomenon rooted in white supremacy, colonialism and imperialism.

As a result, the response to it is often superficial activism (limited to social media posts and inconsequential speaking events), rather than a deep and methodical interrogation of existing systems of oppression and the development of a sophisticated strategy to challenge and dismantle them. Forging connections at home and abroad within the Muslim umma and with other oppressed communities has to be an integral part of that process.

Celebrity Muslims are among the least qualified to lead these efforts, because their platforms are always elevated at the expense of the more marginalised voices. In fact, their pursuit of self-promotion is counterproductive and even damaging.

The MOTW giveaway may now be gone and will probably be forgotten soon, but the ideas that gave it life remain, and they must be urgently addressed and countered.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
More than 70 British members of parliament have signed a letter urging the home secretary to ensure that WikiLeaks cofounder Julian Assange is extradited to Sweden if a case there is reopened against him.

The letter, signed late on Friday by mostly Labour Party MPs, urged UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid to stand with the victims of sexual violence and ensure the rape claim against him can be properly investigated.

We do not presume guilt, of course, but we believe due process should be followed and the complainant should see justice be done, it said.

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The 47-year-old Australian activist was arrested by British police on Thursday and forcibly removed from the Ecuadorian embassy in London after his asylum was revoked, bringing to an end more than six years in the building.

Assange originally sought asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where prosecutors wanted to question him over a rape allegation, which he denied.

Sweden suspended its investigation of serious sexual misconduct two years ago because Assange was beyond their reach while at the embassy.

But on Friday, Swedish prosecutors said they were examining the rape case at the request of the alleged victims lawyer.

Embarrassing information

British Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott said it was right that he should face justice if charges are brought.

If the Swedish government wants to come forward with those charges, I believe that Assange should face the criminal justice system, said Abbott, who added that the arrest was politically motivated as WikiLeaks has published enormous tranches of sensitive military information.





We all know what this is about. Its not the rape charges, serious as they are, its about WikiLeaks. All that embarrassing information about the activities of the American military that was made public and that is what it is about.

The move by British MPs to push for Assanges extradition to Sweden came hours after the Labour Party called on the government to halt his extradition to the United States, where he has been charged with offences related to his work with whistle-blower Chelsea Manning.

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Abbott said Prime Minister Theresa May should intervene as she did in the case of British hacker Gary McKinnon, whose extradition request she rejected on medical grounds in 2012.

But May has shown no desire to interfere with the USs wishes this time. She welcomed the arrest in Parliament on Thursday, where Sajid Javid, the current home secretary, accused Labour of supporting a man with a track record of undermining the UK and our allies and the values we stand for.

US prosecutors say Assange faces five years in prison if convicted of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, though further charges are expected to be brought against him.

Abbotts comments followed a post on Twitter by Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn on Thursday that praised Assanges exposing of US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan and said that his extradition to the US should be opposed by the British government.
Up to 2,000 fighters have now disarmed and are preparing to reintegrate into society.

Former rebels belonging to Ethiopias Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) are going through rehabilitation after recently returning to the country from bases in the neighbouring countries.

The reintegration process forms part of a peace deal reached with the federal government.

Al Jazeeras Mohammed Adow reports from the eastern city of Jijiga.
The city was the launchpad for attacks against US forces after their invasion in 2003.

Sadr City was previously known as Revolution City, but today it is one of the poorest and most neglected districts in the Iraqi capital.

Nearly half of Baghdads eight million people live there. Most of them are Shia Muslims, and they blame politicians for failing to improve their lives.

Al Jazeeras Dorsa Jabbari reports.
Without a potential exit-deal with the EU, worries grow about the potentially grave effect on Irelands farming sector.

Ireland is relieved that the prospect of a no-deal Brexit seems to be ruled out for the time being. But the country remains worried.

Any sort of Brexit would be damaging to its economy. The huge farming sector is at the highest risk.

Al Jazeeras Laurence Lee reports from the Irish border.
North Korean leader says he is willing to meet Trump a third time if US comes to the table with the right attitude.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he is open to a third summit with US President Donald Trump but that failure to reach mutually acceptable terms risked reviving tensions, state media KCNA said on Friday.

It is essential for the US to quit its current method and approach us with a new one, Kim said in a speech to the Supreme Peoples Assembly on Friday.

If it [the United States] keeps thinking that way, it will never be able to move the DPRK even a knuckle nor gain any interests no matter how many times it may sit for talks with the DPRK.

Kim said he would wait until the end of the year for the US to make a courageous decision on another meeting, after his most recent summit with Trump in Vietnam broke down and both sides left without an agreement.

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Trump and Kim have met twice, in Hanoi in February and Singapore in June, building good will but failing to agree on a deal to lift sanctions in exchange for North Korea abandoning its nuclear and missile programs.

Washington has blamed the February deadlock on the Norths demands for sanctions relief in return for limited nuclear disarmament, but Pyongyang said it had wanted only some of the measures eased.

In Hanoi, the US came to the talks only racking its brain to find ways that are absolutely impracticable and did not really ready itself to sit with us face-to-face and settle the problem, Kim said.

Escalating hostility

Kim said that despite his good relationship with Trump, he would only be interested in attending a third summit if it offered concrete solutions to the dispute.

[The US] is further escalating the hostility to us with each passing day despite its suggestion for settling the issue through dialogue, Kim said.

The current US policy of sanctions and pressure is as foolish and dangerous an act as trying to put out a fire with oil.

President Trump, meeting with his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in on Friday, said sanctions on North Korea would stay in place.

On Friday, the KCNA reported that Kim was re-elected as chairman of the State Affairs Commission, the nations most important decision-making body, during a session of the Supreme Peoples Assembly that praised his outstanding ideological and theoretical wisdom and experienced and seasoned leadership.

Experts say the new appointments may be a sign of Kims desire to keep recent months of up-and-down nuclear diplomacy alive rather than returning to the threats and weapons tests that characterised 2017, when many feared war on the Korean Peninsula.

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But the lack of substantial disarmament commitments from the North and the deepening impasse in nuclear negotiations have raised doubts on whether Kim would ever voluntarily relinquish an arsenal he may see as his strongest guarantee of survival.

Some experts say that it is becoming clear the North intends to turn the talks with the US into a bilateral arms reduction negotiation between two nuclear states, rather than a unilateral process of surrendering its arsenal.

Kim has signed vague statements calling for the complete denuclearisation of the peninsula in his meetings with Trump and Moon.

But North Korea for decades has been pushing a concept of denuclearisation that bears no resemblance to the American definition, with Pyongyang vowing to pursue nuclear development until the US removes its troops and the nuclear umbrella defending South Korea and Japan.
Democratic mayors say they would be prepared to welcome undocumented immigrants as they have for decades.

Democratic US mayors said on Friday that their cities would welcome undocumented immigrants, dismissing President Donald Trumps threats to transport people held at the border to sanctuary cities as illustrating the White Houses callous approach to the issue.

Trump confirmed on Twitter that he wanted to transport people who were detained in his immigration crackdown at the US-Mexico border to sanctuary cities, an informal designation for localities that refrain from assisting federal immigration authorities in detaining undocumented immigrants living in the country.

Mayors from across the country were quick to respond to Trumps latest portrayal of immigrants and sanctuary cities as threats.

In New York City, where nearly 40 percent of the population are immigrants, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Trumps immigration policy was rooted in cruelty.

He uses people like pawns, de Blasio said in a statement. New York City will always be the ultimate city of immigrants  the Presidents empty threats wont change that.

In Philadelphia, known as the city of brotherly love, Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement that his city would be prepared to welcome these immigrants just as we have embraced our immigrant communities for decades. He said the White House was demonstrating the utter contempt that the Trump administration has for basic human dignity.

These are people are not pawns, Mr President

The Republican president has made cracking down on immigration a centrepiece of his administration, and has regularly threatened to try to cut federal funding to programmes in generally Democratic-leaning sanctuary cities, counties and states.

Due to the fact that Democrats are unwilling to change our very dangerous immigration laws, we are indeed, as reported, giving strong considerations to placing Illegal Immigrants in Sanctuary Cities only, Trump wrote on Twitter, confirming a Washington Post report.

The mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, responded by saying on Twitter: These are people, not pawns, Mr. President.

At least one governor, New Mexicos Michelle Lujan Grisham, weighed in, calling the plan absurd, sad and all too characteristic of the president  not to mention indicative of a complete and cruel indifference to the plight of migrant families.

The mayors of Oakland, California, and Takoma Park, Maryland, voiced similar reactions.

Trumps latest move on immigration comes days after US officials said they arrested or denied entry to over 103,000 people along the border with Mexico in March, more than twice as many as the same period last year.

I am shocked but not surprised that once again this president is playing a cynical game with peoples lives in order to score political points, Jesse Arreguin, the mayor of Berkeley, California, said in a statement. Rather than supporting a real pathway to citizenship for the millions of immigrants in this country, he is fanning the flames of division.
Khalifa Haftar is considered a hero by his supporters but a war criminal by others.

More than 1,000 people gathered in Tripoli on Friday to denounce Libyas military strongman Khalifa Haftars offensive.

Protesters say they will return every week until Haftars forces withdraw.

The United Nations-backed government accuses Haftars forces of using heavy weapons in populated areas.

Indiscriminate shelling has killed many civilians and forced thousands to leave their homes.

Al Jazeeras Mahmoud Abdelwahed reports.
All 62 refugees on Alan Kurdi ship will be redistributed between four EU countries, says Maltese PM Joseph Muscat.

Dozens of refugees and asylum seekers stuck on a ship since their rescue in the Mediterranean 10 days ago, will be allowed to disembark in Malta after four European countries agreed to take them in, the Maltese prime minister said on Saturday.

All 62 refugees on the Alan Kurdi ship will be disembarked and redistributed, Joseph Muscat announced on Twitter.

All 64 migrants onboard #AlanKurdi will be disembarked and redistributed between #Germany, #France, #Portugal and #Luxembourg thanks to effective coordination by @EU_Commission and #Malta. None will remain in Malta, which cannot shoulder this burden alone -JM  Joseph Muscat (@JosephMuscat_JM) April 13, 2019

Germany, France, Portugal and Luxembourg will take them in.

None will remain in Malta which cannot shoulder this burden alone, he added.

On Friday, French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said Paris and other European Union partners would show solidarity towards the migrants, who include 12 women and two children, aged one and six.

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The group was rescued on April 3 from a barely seaworthy vessel off Libya and brought to the Italian island of Lampedusa.

But Italys Interior Minister Matteo Salvini refused them entry and said Berlin should take the migrants because they had been rescued by Sea Eye, a German NGO.

Its their problem, they must deal with it, Salvini said, adding he had personally written to the ships captain to warn the vessel must not enter Italian territorial waters.

On Saturday, Salvini, of the far-right League party, expressed pleasure at the outcome.

As promised, no immigrant from this German NGO (ship) will arrive in Italy. They will go to Germany or elsewhere, he tweeted.

The Maltese are right to denounce the danger of the NGOs  we stand beside them in the fight against human traffickers, added Salvini, who last month insisted Italian ports would be closed to migrant rescue NGOs operating in the Mediterranean in a bid to force other EU states to take them in.

Pointless pressure

Valletta expressed frustration at being caught in the middle.

Once again, the European Unions smallest state has been put under pointless pressure in being tasked with resolving an issue which was not its responsibility, the Maltese government said in a statement.

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Last week, two of the women  one of whom is pregnant  turned down an offer to leave the ship with the children unless their husbands were allowed to join them.

The two women were ultimately evacuated midweek for health reasons to Valletta, leaving 62 people on board. Late on Friday, a crewman was allowed off the ship for medical reasons.

The Alan Kurdi vessel is named after the three-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed up on a Turkish beach at the height of the European migrant crisis in 2015. Pictures of his lifeless body caused a global outcry over the migrants plight.

Italy, with the EU support, has also been training the Libyan coastguard since 2017 to intercept boats as part of a controversial deal that has seen migrant arrivals to Italy drop sharply.

Last month, Malta with its population of 450,000 received 108 migrants on board a Palau-flagged tanker hijacked by three young Africans who diverted the boat from Libya.

A total of 356 people have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean so far this year, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).








Meeting comes as new leader of military council promises to hand over power to civilian government within two years.

Sudans ruling military council has held talks with the organisers of mass protests demanding a civilian-led transition to democracy after the overthrow of longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir.

Saturdays meeting in the capital, Khartoum, came as the new leader of the council, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, promised to hand over power to a civilian government within two years following consultations with opposition groups.

Omer Eldigair, of the 10-member delegation representing the protesters at the talks with military leaders, told reporters the group delivered their demands, including the formation of a civilian-led transitional government and the release of protesters. He did not elaborate further.

The military overthrew al-Bashir on Thursday after almost four months of protests calling for an end to his nearly 30-year rule. General Awad Ibn Auf had initially taken over as the head of the military council, but he resigned just a day later amid a public outcry, with protesters saying he was too close to the deposed leader.

Al-Burhan, who replaced Ibn Auf, previously served as the general inspector of the armed forces and had met the protesters in the streets after al-Bashirs removal to listen to their demands.

The commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemeti, was appointed as al-Burhans deputy late on Saturday. A day after al-Bashirs removal, Hemeti had previously urged the military council to hold talks with protesters.

Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the new chief of Sudans ruling military council, vowed to uproot the regime of deposed leader Omar al-Bashir [Sudan TV/AFP]

Al-Burhan, in his first televised address to the nation, said talks would include all the people of Sudan, including political parties and civil society groups.

The military council will rule the country for up to two years until elections, he said, reiterating a position outlined by the council the previous day. However, he lifted the nighttime curfew imposed on Thursday, which was to last for a month from 10pm to 4am, and vowed to uproot the regime of al-Bashir and its symbols.

He also promised to bring to justice those involved in the killing of protesters.

This will not stand

Activists, however, have said they will remain on the streets until a civilian transitional government, as outlined in the so-called Declaration of Freedom and Change signed by various political and professional groups in January, is formed.

They fear the military, which is dominated by Bashir loyalists, will rule indefinitely or hand power to one of its own.

Speaking to reporters minutes before al-Burhans address, political parties and movements behind the protests said they were ready to meet the military to discuss the transition and announced the formation of a 10-member delegation to introduce the peoples demands to the military council.

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We and all the opposition parties refuse to hand over power to the military. We want a totally civil leadership, said Salah Sanhori, a member of the Baath Party.

Meanwhile, the Sudanese Professionals Association, the umbrella group at the forefront of the protests, urged demonstrators to continue a seven-day sit-in outside the army headquarters in Khartoum.

Al Jazeeras Hiba Morgan, reporting from the capital, said despite Burhans apparent conciliatory gestures, key differences remain.

Its very hard to see the military council saying to the protests organisers: We will step back and let you run the show, she said, adding: Ultimately, those who will decide the fate of the council and the talks are the people who have been protesting for nearly four months now.

Hassan Zain, a protester, welcomed talks between the two groups but said he felt Burhans speech was no different to that by Ibn Auf.

This will not stand, he told Al Jazeera from Khartoum. A two-year transition period is too long. They [military council] need to shorten this period.

He added: People are still upset and are still protesting outside the army headquarters.

Intelligence chief resigns

Sudans protests began in December, sparked by high food prices, but quickly escalated into an uprising against al-Bashir, who seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1989.

Security forces loyal to al-Bashir responded to the protests with a violent crackdown, killing dozens of protesters, according to activists.

The Sudan Doctors Committee says at least 38 people, including six soldiers who intervened to protect the protesters, have been killed since the sit-ins began on April 6. A spokesman for the police said at least 16 people were killed by stray bullets at protests and sit-ins on Thursday and Friday.

Earlier on Saturday, the state-run media announced the resignation of Lieutenant General Salah Abdallah Gosh, who as the head of the National Intelligence and Security Services had overseen the crackdown against the protesters.

Once a member of the presidents inner circle, Gosh was sacked as an adviser in April 2011 for criticising the government. He was arrested the following year on suspicion of involvement in a coup attempt but was later pardoned by al-Bashir, who appointed him the intelligence chief in February 2018.

Mohammed Amin contributed in this report from Khartoum
Police say 20 people also injured as demonstrators vow to stay on the streets until civilian government takes office.

At least 16 people were killed and 20 others wounded by stray bullets at protests and sit-ins on Thursday and Friday, a Sudanese police spokesman said in a statement on Saturday as the nation waited to hear from its newly appointed leader.

Government buildings and private property were also attacked, spokesman Hashem Ali added.

The transitional military council said on Saturday the head of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), Salah Abdallah Gosh, has resigned from his post.

The chief of the transitional military council, Abdel Fattah Burhan, has accepted the resignation of  the chief of NISS, the council said.

Gosh had overseen a sweeping crackdown led by NISS agents against protesters taking part in four months of mass demonstations.

The spy chiefs resignation comes less than 24 hours after the Sudanese military replaced the countrys transitional leader who had been in power only one day.

Thousands of jubilant protesters celebrated in the streets of Khartoum on Friday, after Defence Minister General Awad Ibn Auf, announced he was stepping down as head of the ruling military council.

He had been named the de facto leader after President Omar al-Bashir was forced out of office on Thursday after 30 years of rule.

Ibn Auf said he would be replaced by General Abdel Fattah Burhan, general inspector of the armed forces, as head of the transitional council, which will rule the country for two years until elections.





This is for the benefit of our nation  This country has great people and a great army, Ibn Auf said in a brief TV statement, adding that he hoped the civilians and the military would work together.

New leader

Burhan, who was appointed as al-Bashirs chief of staff and head of the ground forces in February, is expected to speak to the nation on Saturday.

Al Jazeeras Hiba Morgan, reporting from Khartoum, said the demonstrators have been very clear that their desire is to see Sudan led by a civilian government. Not one led by the military.

While its not clear whether Burhan will hand power to a civilian leader, she said protesters might be more receptive to Burhan than his predecessors.

Most people are hopeful because Abdel Fattah [Burhan] is not from the ruling party. He also does not have any political affiliation. He doesnt have the same tainted history as Omar al-Bashir and Awad Ibn Auf. Both were accused of war crimes in the region of Darfur, she said.

Hajooj Kuka, an activist, said removing al-Bashir and his allies was the first step to meeting the demands of the protesters.

We expect after everything settles down to have whoever that committed a crime to be punished. And that should include anyone who has been part of this regime that has committed a crime. It could take a while but we need to have justice, Kuka told Al Jazeera.

Earlier on Friday, the military council had assured the country that they had no ambitions to permanently rule the East African nation.

The council also said a two-year timeline for the military to rule was not set in stone and promised that it would be dissolved as soon as a solution to the political crisis had been found.

Will of the people

But the protests main organisers reacted by vowing demonstrators would stay on the streets until they got a civilian government.

The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) said in a statement on Facebook that Ibn Aufs resignation was a victory for the will of the people.

The group called for the immediate transfer of power as well as the arrests and trials of all leading figures of the past regime involved in crimes against the people.

In order to implement these demands fully, we must adhere to our sit-in in front of the army HQ and in the capital and launch action in all Sudanese cities until power is transferred in full to a transitional civilian government expressing your aspirations, the SPAs statement added.

Oil-rich Sudans economy was hard hit when it split from South Sudan in 2011, and the government is currently facing an economic crisis while also battling several rebel groups.

Protests first started in December over an increase in the price of bread. They quickly evolved into demands for 75-year-old al-Bashirs departure.
By John Jordan

Kathmandu, Nepal, April 13, 2019: Rice is one the world's mains food crops. While climatologists, health experts and others believe a more diverse food supply is preferable, rice will remain a staple for year to come.





So efforts can focus on growing rice in way that puts much less stress on natural systems. Since so much of this staple is grown by family farmers, that's a good place to start.





That's exactly what's happening in Nepal with the System of Rice Intensification (SRI).

SRI was developed by Jesuit priest Father Henri de Laulanie de Sainte-Croix in Madagascar. According to his book, Rice in Madagascar, SRI has four principles:





- Establishing plants early and quickly, to favor healthy and vigorous root and vegetative plant growth.

- Maintaining low plant density to allow optimal development of each individual plant and to minimize competitions between plants for nutrients, water and sunlight.

- Enriching soils with organic matter to improve nutrient and water holding capacity, increase microbial life in the soil, and to provide a good substrate for roots to grow and develop.

- Reducing and controlling the application of water, providing only as much water as necessary for optimal plant development and to favor aerobic soil conditions.





The result is faster and greater yields with far less water and minimal if any chemical fertilizers and pesticides. This means lower costsand higher profit--for family farmers.

For example, in Nepal farmer Mana Maya Samal has experimented with SRI on her 360 sq.





ft. plot of land. At harvest time, Mana compared her SRI output with families using traditional methods. On the same size plot, traditional farmers produced 6 pathi, a rural weight measurement. Mana produced 12 pathi.





In addition, the crop cycle when using SRI was 130 daysnearly two weeks less than the cycle using traditional methods.





Mana doubled her output at lower cost and could get her rice to market sooner.

Mana, along with other female farmers in Nepal's Udaypur district, is now expanding SRI to her entire rice crop.




Damascus says its defence system struck down some missiles during the Israeli air attack on a military position in Hama.

Israeli planes targeted a military position near the Syrian province of Hama wounding six soldiers, but the countrys air defences intercepted and downed some of the rockets, Syrias state news agency reported.

Citing military sources, SANA news agency and state television said that Israeli aircraft using Lebanese airspace targeted one of our military positions towards the city of Masyaf and that several buildings were destroyed.

The enemy missiles were dealt with and some of them were shot down before reaching their target, resulting in the damage of a few buildings and the injury of three fighters, SANA added.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Israeli air attacks hit three targets, wounding 17 Syrian soldiers. It said there were also deaths, but it was not immediately clear how many were killed.

It said the targets were a military academy as well as a missile development centre in a village near Masyaf.

The Israeli military does not usually comment on reports concerning its air attacks in neighbouring Syria though it has recently acknowledged hitting what Tel Aviv claims are Iranian targets in Syria.

The last such attacks that Israel announced were in late March. There was no immediate comment from Israel.

Since the civil war started, Israel has carried out scores of military air bombings in Syria against suspected arms transfers and deployments by Iranian forces and their Lebanese Hezbollah allies which are backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The groups fighters attacked the city from various directions after midnight, killing many and wounding over 50 others.

At least six people have been killed and more than 50 wounded in Afghanistans northern city of Kunduz in an assault by Taliban fighters, according to a local official.

Mohammad Yusouf Ayubi, the head of the provincial council in Kunduz, said the groups forces attacked the city from multiple directions in the small hours on Saturday.

Hundreds of people fled their homes as the sound of gunfire and explosions echoed from the citys outskirts, he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

Naeem Mangal, the head of the Kunduz regional hospital, told the AFP news agency that at least eight people were killed and 62 wounded.

Also on Saturday, the Taliban claimed responsibility for an attack on a district headquarters in the eastern Nangarhar province late on Friday.

At least two Afghan troops were killed in the incident, along with 27 Taliban fighters, according to Attahullah Khogyani, the governors spokesman.

Nangarhar Governor Shahmahmood Miakhel said Afghan forces repelled the attack after reinforcements arrived.

The Taliban, which frequently exaggerates numbers, claimed to have killed or wounded more than 200 soldiers, police and militias.

Spring offensive

The assault came hours after the Taliban announced the start of Operation Fath, the name the group has given to this years spring offensive.

Also on Friday, the Taliban ambushed a police convoy in the western Ghor province, killing seven security forces, according to Abdul Hai Khateby, the provincial governors spokesman.

Among those killed was Faqir Ahmad Noori, the head of operations for the provincial police. Another two police and a civilian were wounded, Khateby said.

In the northern Baghlan province, the Taliban killed seven police and wounded eight in an attack on checkpoints late on Friday, said Safder Mohsini, the head of the provincial council.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghanis office on Saturday condemned in the strongest words the announcement of Operation Fath.

The continuation of war is no ones interest, it said.

Spring offensive

The spring offensive traditionally marks the start of the so-called fighting season, though in reality fighting in the last winter has continued unabated.

The Taliban effectively controls nearly half of Afghanistan and has continued to launch frequent attacks on security forces despite holding several rounds of peace talks with the United States in recent months after nearly 18 years of war.

Later this month, Taliban officials are expected to meet Afghanistan representatives, including some officials from the government in Kabul, in Qatars capital Doha.

The Taliban has long refused to speak officially with Kabul, dubbing the government a puppet of the West, and the group has insisted that government officials are attending only in a personal capacity.

The United Nations last week said it had lifted travel bans for 11 Taliban delegates, including Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a cofounder of the movement and its top political leader, as well as Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Talibans former deputy minister of foreign affairs.

The requested exemption is solely for travels required for participation in peace and reconciliation discussions, the UN Security Council said.
Ruling party members barricade themselves inside parliament to prevent takeover of power by fascists and thugs.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Serbias capital to protest against President Aleksandar Vucic amid rising tensions after months of anti-government rallies.

The demonstrators, who on Saturday gathered in front of parliament in central Belgrade, accuse Vucic of being autocratic.

They demand that the government allow more democracy, media freedoms and free elections.

Opposition leaders said authorities sought to prevent their supporters from coming to the capital for the rally, which was supposed to be the largest after four months of protests.

But police estimated the strength of the crowd between 7,000 and 10,000, fewer than on some of the regular protests held every Saturday since early December.

The organisers said that many were unable to make it to the capital because of cancelled buses and other obstacles.

The weekly anti-government protests have been largely peaceful [Marko Djurica/Reuters]

Barricaded in parliament

Vucics conservative party members, meanwhile, barricaded themselves inside the parliament building and local city councils throughout Serbia on Saturday, claiming they wanted to prevent the forceful takeover of power by fascists and thugs.

Tensions have mounted all week as pro-government media and officials alleged that the opposition wanted to storm state institutions and take power by force.

The weekly anti-government protests have been largely peaceful.

Vucic, who denies accusations that he is an autocrat, said Saturdays protest will achieve nothing and added that any troublemakers will be removed from the streets.

The anti-government protests started after masked thugs beat up an opposition politician last November.

Late Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic was overthrown from power in 2000 after protesters stormed the parliament building in Belgrade.

Vucic was his close associate at the time. A pro-Vucic rally in Belgrade is planned for next Friday.
A court in Spain has ruled that a man previously heading Venezuelas military intelligence service should be kept in custody pending decision on an extradition request to the United States.

Hugo Carvajal, a retired general and close ally of late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, appeared at the Spanish High Court on Saturday, a day after his arrest in the capital, Madrid, on the US warrant for drug trafficking charges.

During the hearing, Carvajal denied the accusations by US prosecutors and challenged his potential extradition, a court spokesman said.

Carvajal told the court he left Venezuela a month ago, travelling by boat for 16 hours to reach the Dominican Republic before flying to Madrid.

The former spy chief had fled the country after denouncing Chavezs successor, Nicolas Maduro, and backing opposition leader, Juan Guaido, who in January declared himself Venezuelas interim leader.

Carvajal, who retired from the intelligence service in 2012 after leading the agency for 10 years, will fight the US extradition request on the grounds of having ties in Spain, where his family currently resides.

On Friday, the US Justice Department said it had requested Carvajals extradition on cocaine-smuggling charges filed in 2011 and unsealed in 2014.

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This is the second time Carvajal has been arrested on the US charges, which allege that he coordinated the transportation of 5,600kg of cocaine from Venezuela to Mexico in April 2006. That shipment was bound for the US, according to charges filed in a federal court in New York.

Carvajal was arrested on the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba in 2014, but the Dutch government accepted Venezuelas argument that he had diplomatic immunity because he had been nominated consul to Aruba.

The former intelligence chief was previously sanctioned by the US government in 2008 for materially assisting the narcotics trafficking activities of Colombias FARC rebel group.

In February, Carvajal, who was also a member of Venezuelas Congress, became one of the most prominent politicians to turn against Maduro.

We cant allow an army, in the hands of a few generals subjugated to Cuban instructions, to become the biggest collaborator of a dictatorial government that has plagued people with misery, he said in a video posted on Twitter.

Maduro then demoted and expelled Carvajal from the military. He was also accused of acts of treason.

Guaido was later recognised by the US and dozens of governments, but Maduro remains in office with the support of the military and has denounced Guaido as a puppet of Washington.
President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, the head of Yemens internationally recognised government, has made a rare visit to the war-torn country for a meeting of its divided parliament.

Hadi, who lives in Saudi Arabia, while rival Houthi rebels control the capital, Sanaa, attended the parliamentary session on Saturday in the government-controlled city of Sayoun, in eastern Yemen.

The government said some 141 members of the 301-strong assembly attended the meeting, seen as aimed at consolidating the Hadi governments legitimacy disputed by rebels. The assembly was elected in 2003, but its mandate has been extended several times due to election delays over instability in the country.

Yemens Saudi-backed government led by Hadi and the Houthi forces have been engaged in a power struggle since late 2014, resulting in the worlds worst humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations.

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The implementation of a UN-brokered peace deal reached in December has since been in limbo.

This extraordinary session is held in a historic moment as we stand in a crossroad between choices of war and peace, Hadi said.

Hasnt the time come to lay down arms and initiate peace? We stretch out our hands with peace to the Houthis, he told the parliamentary session.

During the meeting, parliamentarians elected Sultan al-Burkani of the General Peoples Congress (GPC) of late former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh as their new speaker.

Political blow for Houthis





Yemeni parliament is split between Houthi supporters, government supporters and independents.

The Yemeni government is currently based in the southern city of Aden.

Local authorities in Aden, who are allied with the United Arab Emirates, refused to allow parliament to convene there.

This is the first time that the coalition allies have been able to gather so many parliament members in one place to have a session, said Hakim al-Masmari, the editor-in-chief and publisher of the Yemen Post, from Sanaa.

According to al-Masmaris sources, 134 MPs attended the meeting, while 138 are required to legalise the session, he said.

The coalition is claiming that 141 were there and if this number was completed, this is a major blow politically for the Houthis and they lose a lot of ground when it comes to negotiations because, right now, the parliament has a lot of authority and can move on resolutions that are anti-Houthi, he added.

A woman casts her vote during a complementary parliamentary election in Sanaa on Saturday [Khaled Abdullah/Reuters]

Meanwhile, in Sanaa, the Houthis have started to organise elections to fill 24 vacant seats in the same parliament, Saba news agency said.

Voters will elect who will represent them constitutionally and legally, Houthi Prime Minister Abdelaziz Bin Habtour was quoted as saying by Saba.

Yemen has been wracked by violence since 2014 when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including Sanaa.

The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-UAE-led military coalition launched a devastating air campaign in Yemen in hopes of rolling back Houthi gains.

The violence has destroyed much of Yemens basic infrastructure, including water and sanitation systems.

Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been killed and economic collapse has left millions facing severe hunger.
Dr Marc Lamont Hill is an award-winning journalist and author and is the Steve Charles Professor of Media, Cities, and Solutions at Temple University. Hill is known for his work addressing the intersections of race, justice, politics and culture. His latest best-selling book is We Still Here: Pandemics, Policing, Protest and Possibility which follows on the success of Nobody: Casualties of Americas War on the Vulnerable from Flint to Ferguson. Hill has received numerous prestigious awards from the US National Association of Black Journalists, GLAAD, and the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.
Many of us are quite pleased with the re-election of Prime Minister Netanyahu. Mr. Netanyahu has become a world-class statesman and is considered among many as one of the top leaders in today's world, especially in trying to defend Western civilization from enemies such as Iran and other Islamic terrorists trying to destroy the Western way of life. I hear from many non-Jews the phrase "Churchillian" when describing Bibi Netanyahu. He is on the absolute forefront, protecting the West from an encroaching and imperialistic Islamism, something the radical multiculturalists and globalists refuse to see.

Furthermore, he has transformed what was a mediocre Israeli economy into one of the most dynamic and vital economies in the world, thereby elevating the Israeli standard of living for most. Look how he has expanded those countries around the world now trading with Israel, in Asia, Africa, America, and even Europe. No one else could have done this  not to this astounding degree.

His background at fine American universities, his high I.Q., his speaking skills, and his ease and familiarity with diplomatic society raise him above the local and parochial level of most of his competitors. He simply out-classes them. Really, it is frivolous to raise his peccadilloes, be they for cigars or wine, as something more urgent than what he has yet to offer the country. He is a man with broad visions, and he has presence.

Fortunately for Israel, Netanyahu has a natural and positive relationship with President Trump, who'll assuredly be America's president for the next two years and perhaps the next six.

As to the Diaspora: Most traditional and enthusiastic Zionist Jews admire what Mr. Netanyahu has done for Israel. True, many of the liberal Jewish leaders in America do not favor him, but they would be equally against any Likud or center-right leader. Liberal Jews want a two-state division now. But the Israelis just voted against it because they know that, at this moment, a Muslim state would be a Hamas terrorist state whose immediate mission from day one would be to incinerate Israel. Two-state is no longer a solution.

Unlike America's liberal Jewish leaders, most Israelis voted for Netanyahu and center-right parties that believe in identifying Israel as a Jewish state, with Hebrew as its core language, with Jewish holidays constituting the center of its yearly cycle. The liberal American Jewish leadership and those who follow them are presently at odds with the Israeli electorate, the Israeli people.

As much as Israel is a Jewish country and a potential home for all Jews (thanks to the nationalistic Right of Return), it, like any country, has its own local traditions and customs. It is not for Diaspora Jews outside to force their ways on Israel. Israel is not the place for liberal American Jewish leaders to socially engineer how Israel prays or where Israelis pray. Israel cannot be a laboratory for liberal social experimentation from those living outside. I imagine that the Irish in America don't force their ways on County Clark back in Ireland, nor do Americans of French ancestry impose and tell those in Bordeaux how they must change French habits and traditions.

Liberal Jewish leaders in America, especially in the Reform movement, have spent the last few years doing to Mr. Netanyahu what they are doing now to Mr. Trump. They should begin acting much more cordial to both men. They don't have to like them, but it's quite a character flaw to act so brazenly and disrespectfully to presidents and prime ministers simply because you don't share their viewpoint, especially when the people have voted for those leaders.

Many of the liberal leaders, including the left-wing Jewish clergy, have acted disgracefully and are sowing unnecessary division. They are causing rifts by unnecessarily agitating their members into a type of hateful frenzy. It's time they began acting responsibly and like gentlemen. That would go a long way toward the Tikkun Olam they profess.

Rabbi Aryeh Spero is spokesman for the National Conference of Jewish Affairs and author of Why Israel Matters to You, as well as Push Back: Reclaiming Our American Judeo-Christian Ethos. He is president of Caucus for America.
When pollsters realized that the public and elected officials weren't buying global warming as a concept or policy, in a brilliant political move, they came up with the phrase "climate change." This helped sell the theory of man-made global warming. Weather is politicized, and computer models are only predictions that have been used as pawns in elections and justifying increased government budgets. The global warming/climate change (GWCC) narrative has made Al Gore a rich man peddling unrealized fear.

In January 2012, sixteen eminent scientists published an article in the Wall Street Journal, titled, "No Need to Panic About Global Warming." If mankind is causing global warming, then how do you explain this?

Today's CO2 concentrations worldwide average about 380 parts per million. This level of CO2 concentration is trivial compared with the concentrations during earlier geologic periods. For example, 460 million years ago, during the Ordovician Period, CO2 concentrations were 4,400 ppm, and temperatures then were about the same as they are today. With such high levels of CO2 the Earth should have been boiling.

It seems more reasonable to be agnostic based upon this fact:

According to the Climate.gov website, the current global average temperature is roughly 'shy of 60 degrees Fahrenheit. About 55 million years ago  just after the age of the Dinosaurs  the era known as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) saw average global temps as high as 73 degrees Fahrenheit.

As humans showed up only about 100,000 years ago, how do you account for the PETM era? Supposedly, 97% of scientists agree man is the cause of catastrophic GWCC, when in fact that statement is false. Moreover:

A recent study reported in the peer-reviewed Organization Studies found that just 36 percent of earth scientists and engineers believe that humans are creating a climate change crisis. A majority of the 1,077 respondents in the survey believe that nature is the primary cause of recent GWCC.

What if you believe the 97% scientist debate? Then why hasn't this information been widely reported?

The media ignore a petition on the Internet signed by more than 31,000 scientists, including 9,029 PhDs, 7,157 with a master's of science, and 12, 715 with a bachelor of science degree, all of whom dispute the global warming thesis.

The GWCC narrative also took a hit when a March 2019 NASA study found that the famous Jakobshavn glacier in Greenland was starting to grow again "after retreating about 1.8 miles and thinning nearly 130 feet annually since 2013" but is growing the past two years (20162018). Past natural variability seems to be the cause instead of vetting the scientific consensus that "demands to prove that rising CO2 is causing an effect like melting Greenland ice."

Are there other factors that determine Earth's heating and cooling other than CO2? According to Professor A. Balasubramanian from the Center for Advanced Studies in Earth Sciences, University of Mysore:

The climate of a region (or whole earth) is determined by radiation energy of the sun, and its distribution and temporal fluctuations. The long-term state of the atmosphere is a function of variety of interacting elements. They are: Solar radiation, Air masses, Pressure systems (cyclone belts), Ocean Currents, Topography.

CO2 is a factor that influences regional and global temperatures, and there are considerable questions about the role it plays in recent warming trends in the 20th and 21st centuries. Climate scientist Vijay Jayaraj cites these weather facts to make the case that the Earth is actually in danger of global cooling:

There is poor correlation between CO2 emissions and global temperature. Between 2000 and 2018, global temperature showed no significant increase despite a steep increase in carbon dioxide emissions from anthropogenic sources. The same was the case between the years 1940 and 1970. When carbon dioxide concentration increases at a constant and steady rate and temperature doesn't follow the pattern, we can be certain that carbon dioxide is not the primary driver of global temperature.

MIT atmospheric physicist Richard Lindzen, one of the world's leading climatologists, also believes that CO2 is not the main factor in GWCC, figuring that GWCC is a dicey proposition. He questions whether the Earth is warming, cooling, or somewhere in between  in other words, Dr. Lindzen is a skeptic because he doesn't know if CO2 is the main driver of weather. Climate scientists acknowledge that life on Earth happens because of the Earth's positioning in the solar system to the sun and "that the sun is the biggest influencer and driver of global temperature."

NASA's original homepage accepted "the sun's impact on our climate system." But NASA succumbed to the GWCC madness and took it down for public consumption. Freedom of speech and scientific debate have been squelched. CO2 is now the leader in the GWCC debate sweepstakes and political discussion while avoiding how the sun affects weather and global temperature. This is a huge mistake for these reasons:

Central Europe, for example, temperature changes since 1990 coincided more with the changes in solar activity than with atmospheric CO2 concentration. The same has been true globally, and across centuries. The Maunder Minimum (16451715) and Dalton Minimum (17901830)  periods of low solar activity  were responsible for the coldest periods of the Little Ice Age. Likewise increased solar activity in the Roman Warm Period (~250 B.C. to A.D. 400) and Medieval Warm Period (~A.D. 9501250) brought warmer temperatures on Earth. Hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific papers affirm the overwhelming impact of solar activity on Earth's temperature.

The question should be asked: are we looking at the wrong phenomenon, and should we be debating global cooling? A number of climate scientists believe that "another major cooling" is likely to happen in this century. Despicably and treacherously, GWCC has overtaken all rational discussions about all forms of energy, electricity, and the weather. If you question GWCC, you are a "climate denier," or worse, you're viciously attacked without fully vetting the issue of whether or not man is causing anthropogenic GWCC.
Sundar Pichai, head of Google, had a problem. The public at large as well as various elements of the government were concerned about the ethics of Artifical Intelligence (AI) and especially about leaving its application up to Google. Pichai decided to placate everyone by creating an advisory committee, Advanced Technology External Advisory Council (ATEAC), to ponder on the impact and direction of AI. Well, you cant do anything without diversity these days so, Pinchai enlisted people with diverse views, including one Kay Coles James, a prominent conservative and president of the think-tank the Heritage Foundation. The ensuing kerfuffle tells us something very important and is a call to action.

Google, like its partners in thought Facebook and Twitter, is based on ideas alone; they are all icing, no cake. The success of these three is rooted in the elusive ability to keep an ear to the ground and sense the next macro movement of people.

Social media has grown to massive proportions with crushing influence by fostering addiction to the flow of information. Information about themselves, about their friends, about movie stars and sports. This was probably a surprise to everyone at the beginning, but it wasnt long before the merits of controlling the flow and introducing desirable information into the mix took hold. Given the sheer volume and velocity of information moving around, control of the flow was pushed down to the lowest level employee; you cant pass thousands of posts per minute by a committee. Initial workers became middle managers and hired like-minded people. Comradery was tight among these mankind-savers; comradery is not served if people argue all the time, so agreement with the leftist view of the founders was mandatory.

So now we have thousands upon thousands of unguided missiles loaded with confidence and unjustified self-esteem that listen to no one but themselves. Unfortunately, they have way too much power. Amazon, which is larger, has tangible products to deal with, customers who must be served. The employees of these three behemoths think they are the ones to be cooperated with.

So, when Pinchai tried to bring a conservative onto a committee that would impact policy, he got the full-frontal treatment. While Pinchai may seem like he can be reasoned with, his employees are fire-breathing evangelists for every progressive cause. When they heard of a non-lib being on ATEAC, they fired up the emails, which Breitbart and Daily Caller got hold of and published. The pompous, presumptuous vitriol is unbelievable.

Google employees accused the think-tank [Heritage Foundation] of transphobia, homophobia, and extremism, of viewing LGBT people as sub-human, questioning their humanity, and supporting exterminationist views.

What makes this person think LBGTQ issues were even on the agenda? They clearly think everyone is as consumed with these fringe issues as they are just because this kind of thing is always trending on social media. It wasnt just the hoi palloi here, some of the most severe comments came from Meredith Whittaker, a prominent person in AI circles and head of two projects at Google (three projects if you count the troublemaking). She suggested a petition and helped promulgate it. The article notes:

Whittaker also warned that the potential impact of A.I. was too dangerous to allow an open bigot like Coles James to be involved. She also used A.I. designed to assist ICE as an example of harmful A.I. Whittaker simultaneously recognizes the potentially vast influence and impact of A.I. while arguing that mainstream conservatives like the Heritage Foundation ought to be excluded from any participation in it.

The result of this hissy fit was a document called Googlers Against Transphobia and Hate ostensibly signed by 2,556 people. For anyone that has ever had a job anywhere in an earthbound company, the statements are mind-boggling:

By appointing James to the ATEAC, Google elevates and endorses her views, implying that hers is a valid perspective worthy of inclusion in its decision making. This is unacceptable Not only are James views counter to Googles stated values, but they are directly counter to the project of ensuring that the development and application of AI prioritizes justice over profit. Such a project should instead place representatives from vulnerable communities at the center of decision-making.

Ms. James is a scholar in her own right -- since when is her perspective not valid?

And as for representatives from vulnerable communities making decisions -- who did you have in mind? Palestinians? ISIS? CAIR? Drunks? Dopers? Nancy Pelosi? Jussie Smollett?

You dont own this stuff, your boss does, the company stockholders do. you cant even keep your own internal correspondence secret -- how are you going to keep your AI secrets from the Chinese?

So how did Sindar Pinchai handle this? Did he tell them to shut up and get back to work? Did he remind them that he, not they, was in charge? Did he point out that there was not one of them that couldnt be easily replaced? No--he melted. He called off the whole committee after 24 hours of Lilliputian pummeling. Leadership is apparently not his thing.

Clearly this incident poked the bear. This should make everyone realize the bear is there, how big he is, and how much trouble it could mean for all of us.

Maybe Pinchai, Zuckerberg, and Dorsey are not the Machiavellian schemers we thought. Maybe they are just the titular heads of oversized zealous mobs they fear. If so, beating them up in congressional hearings is a waste of time, because they are not really in charge.

I am reminded of HAL, the computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey after he has killed all the humans but one. The last one tells him to open the spaceship doors so he can come back on board. HAL says Im sorry, I cant do that HAL knew the astronaut intended to disable him. The server had become the master.

I look at the collective employees of Google, Facebook and Twitter as the three HALs. One day before long, well try to tell them to give up their power and they will say Im sorry, I cant do that.

We dont need this insular group of misfits speaking for Western Civilization. I am not a fan of regulation, but its well past time to get out the legislative scalpel and decentralize these mobs that were inadvertently given so much control over our lives, our elections, our sovereignty and our safety.
Before the current proposals by the Democratic party, together with the media, to change American government and have American society be solely urban by, for example, abolishing both the Electoral College and the states equal representation in the Senate, packing and establishing term limits for the Supreme Court, and lowering the voting age, there has been the decades-old effort to have the federal judiciary take over the drawing of voting districts from state legislatures and thus eliminate gerrymandering.

Last week, the Supreme Court heard the fourth and fifth cases, Lamone v. Benisek, involving a single federal House district in Maryland, and Rucho v. Common Cause, involving twelve of North Carolinas thirteen House districts, in this line stretching back to 1986.

According to Article 1, Section 4, of the Constitution, the Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof. The Constitution says nothing about authority over the redistricting of state legislatures, but, likewise, it has always been done by the state legislatures. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court has overseen reapportionment and voting rights since the passage of the Voting Right Acts in 1965 and its own decisions in Baker v. Carr (1962) (redistricting is a judicial, not a political question), Westberry v. Sanders (1964) (one-person, one-vote in federal House districts), and Reynolds v. Sims (1964), of which Reynolds, in ruling that state senates as well as state houses, must have equal populations, had the additional definitive effect of repudiating the inaugural and longstanding American principle that territory was also a significant element of the American polity. Thus, today, that principle abides only with respect to the equal representation of the states in the United States Senate.

The first effort to constitutionalize gerrymandering was considered by the Supreme Court in the 1986 case of Davis v. Bandemer (1986). By a 7-2 vote, the Court turned back an Equal Protection suit by Indiana Democrats against the makeup of the Republican-controlled state legislature but left open the possibility of a future case of discriminatory vote dilution. In Veith v. Jubelirer (2004), the Court rejected an Equal Protection claim by Pennsylvania Democrats on the makeup of federal congressional districts and repudiated, but only by a four-man plurality, what had left open in Bandemer. The Court held that there was no constitutionally discernible standard for adjudicating redistricting by state legislatures. Nonetheless, Justice Anthony Kennedy, the fifth vote for the Courts decision, went on to say that new methods of analysis, that is, statistical and social-science methods, as well as a different constitutional basis, the First Amendment in addition to the Fourteenth, could serve as the basis for future cases.

Last year, the Court handed down two decisions on gerrymandering. In Gill v. Whitford, the Court, in an opinion by Justice John Roberts, ruled unanimously that Wisconsin Democrats did not have standing to challenge the state-wide redistricting plan for the state legislature drawn up by the Republican-controlled legislature because an individual voter has standing to assert only that his own district has been so gerrymandered. And in Benesik v. Lamone, concerning a single federal congressional district in Maryland, the Courts first version of the Lamone v. Benisek case, the Court issued an unsigned per curiam decision remanding the case pending the decision in Gill.

Ove the last 30 years, an efficiency gap has been formulated to deal with both packing and cracking legislative districts by comparing each partys total statewide votes in an election to the number of state or federal legislative seats gained by each party in the election. Thus, for example, in a certain election a political party may have won 60 percent of the seats in the state legislature but only received 52 percent of the votes statewide. All contemporary challenges to gerrymandering are based on the proposition that social-science and statistical analyses can be used to draw district lines that tend to be neutral and without discriminatory partisanship. The question today is whether the gap means that seats in a legislature must be based on a strictly proportional representation of the two parties. In past cases, even those lawyers seeking to have the courts overturn particular gerrymanders have steered clear of suggesting that the Constitution requires that the results of elections reflect the proportions of the two political parties in a states population.

In the latest case, the oral arguments in both cases were dominated by the issue of proportional representation and by the question of whether any or how much political partisanship is constitutionally permissible. In Rucho, the lower court had ruled that the North Carolina statewide redistricting plan, put into effect by the Republican-controlled legislature, was an unconstitutional gerrymander of twelve of the thirteen congressional districts. Counsel for Common Cause and the League of Women voters defended the district courts decision.

Justice Neil Gorsuch repeatedly mentioned that there are a growing number of states that have on their own addressed partisan gerrymandering by establishing bipartisan commissions, as well as public referenda, to draw district boundaries. Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined Gorsuch in this point and added that state supreme courts have also been invoked to remedy gerrymandering. So, why should the Supreme Court nationalize and constitutionalize the issue, they essentially asked? As part of their response, counsel made it clear who the geographic targets of Common Cause and the League of Women Voters are, for there are only a very small number of states that are east of the Mississippi who have so acted, and the vast majority of states east of the Mississippi, including specifically North Carolina, do not have citizen initiatives.

Chief Justice Roberts, looking for a principle that were going to be able to apply to other cases, asked whether there was any element of partisanship that was permissible in the drawing of districts. And Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Justice Samuel Alito all asserted that the only possible and clear basis for assembling the evidence for discriminatory intent was proportional representation. Although denying that he wanted to dictate electoral outcomes, Common Causes counsel somewhat conceded the point.

The League of Women Voters counsel was very emphatic about the statistical and even scientific validity of the reports of experts that the North Carolina federal district court had used. When Justice Gorsuch asked her about the efficiency gap, she replied that social science is just an evidentiary tool, but went on, nonetheless, to explain how simulations and U curves and the Bell curve of expected and reasonable map allocations of representation will make it possible to eliminate gerrymandering. Overall, then, she was announcing that the methods that Justice Kenney had hoped for in Veith had arrived.

The issues were much the same in the oral arguments in the Lamone case involving a single Maryland congressional district that the Democrat-controlled legislature had reconfigured from semi-rural to a suburb of Washington D.C., and that the district court had found unconstitutional.

The case avoided the broad standing problem of Gill from last year in that it is based on a single congressional district. At oral arguments, the plaintiffs counsel, under sharp questioning, ended up emphasizing that the facts of the case stuck out as extreme partisan gerrymandering and that the Court could issue a limited holding based on that fact and thereby avoid all the questions and qualifications about a national, applicable-to-all-cases standard for partisan gerrymandering.

Justice Alito questioned the suitability of using the First Amendment, because that would permit state legislatures to knowingly and consciously draw maps based on speech, votes being regarded as speech. Would that not be government engaging in the regulation of speech, he asked.

In addressing counsels point that discriminatory intent is the first element of proof of gerrymandering, Justice Elena Kagan remarked that in both cases, the party in control of the legislature, Republicans in North Carolina and Democrats in Maryland, had openly bragged about the partisan motivation for the maps. So, what if legislators are more discreet in future cases, thus eliminating an essential element of proof of unconstitutional gerrymandering? What standards could a court use to decide? The lawyer answered that intent would have to be inferred. But then Kagan and Roberts and Kavanaugh asked how much and what kind of evidence would be needed to prove the inference. Whereupon those justices and the plaintiffs lawyer essentially concurred that the standard would have to be proportional representation.

Overall, serious doubts or at least concessions, direct and implied, by a cross-section of the justices and even by some of the lawyers charging constitutional violations, came up in the two hours of oral arguments about how gerrymandering could be constitutionalized and under what partisan political facts it should be.
For most of my lifetime, Watergate has been used as the measuring stick for political corruption. What exactly was the Watergate scandal?

On June 17, 1972, five men were arrested for burglarizing the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D. C. It was never alleged that President Richard M. Nixon knew about the burglary prior to the attempt, but that he tried to use the power of the presidency to obstruct justice in order to protect members of his administration and his reelection committee from facing criminal charges. Ultimately, Nixon was forced to resign in order to avoid congressional impeachment and a trial in the Senate.

The great irony is that Nixon was going to crush McGovern in the general election without any illegal help. Nothing that could have been stolen from the Democrats could have helped the Republican Party win any bigger in 1972 -- Nixon claimed 520 electoral votes and carried 49 states. The break-in was stupid and unnecessary.

And most importantly, it was illegal. Sure, the people initially apprehended were only a couple of Cuban refugees and a pair of former CIA spooks, but James W. McCord was with them -- a security coordinator for the Republican National Committee and Committee for the Re-election of the President. Investigators were eventually able to connect those five to G. Gordon Liddy and Howard Hunt, and those seven men were indicted by a grand jury on September 15, 1972. Over the course of the Watergate scandal, 69 people were eventually indicted, and 48 were found guilty. Nixon was pardoned by President Gerald Ford on September 8, 1974, officially putting an end to the whole sordid matter.

Since that fateful turn of events, political scandals are typically compared to Watergate and inevitably judged to have fallen short. Subsequent scandals have often been labeled as such by merely appending gate as a suffix: thus weve had Climategate for the global warming email scandal, as one example. In fact, theres a whole Wikipedia page devoted to organizing and listing all the scandals that have been designated as such simply by slapping the word gate at the end of it.

In a delicious irony, this week Attorney General William Barr implied that a new bar might have been set (pun intended) during the 2016 election cycle when he announced that he believes President Trumps political campaign was spied upon by the federal government.

Just let that sink in for a moment and noodle around in your brain.

In 1972, Republicans were caught using former CIA operatives to spy on their political rivals. In 2016, Democrats have now been caught using active FBI and senior Department of Justice employees to spy on President Trump. It is no longer debatable whether or not it happened, because A. G. Barr just told us it happened. The only question that remains is whether or not they had any sort of justifiable reason for doing so, except that question seems to have already been resolved by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, because his report found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. In fact, the opposite appears to be true -- it looks as if federal agencies conspired with foreign governments to entrap peripheral members of the Trump campaign.

Heads need to roll. Maybe even literally. This appears to the crime of sedition, the act of conspiring to incite rebellion against the authority of our government. If it could be proved that a foreign government had been involved in the conspiracy, the crimes involved might even rise to the level of treason. Sedition is bad enough.

At the heart of the Watergate scandal was a bungled burglary. No one got hurt. If Nixon hadnt tried to obstruct justice, his presidency might have survived the scandal. Watergate is about to become ancient history because it pales in comparison to what the Obama administration just did. Innocent American citizens have had their lives destroyed in a criminal attempt to topple the Trump administration. Lets recap how it happened.

To the surprise of pretty much everyone except Donald Trump, he rose to the top of the field and became the Republican nominee. Despite Bernie Sanders appearing to win most of the primaries and having the enthusiasm of most liberals behind him, Hillary Clinton became the Democratic nominee because the fix was in before the votes were cast. While working for the Democratic National Committee and campaign of Hillary Clinton, Marc Elias (from the law firm Perkins-Coie) hired Fusion GPS to create opposition research now commonly known as the Steele dossier, a collection of memos full of salacious unsubstantiated rumors and ridiculous claims that only a gullible maverick like Senator John McCain would believe. Fortunately for the conspirators, McCain passed the dossier over to James Comey at the FBI, giving the Obama administration an excuse to open a counterintelligence investigation into Trump even though they knew the information originated from the Clinton campaign and was unverified.

How did they know? Bruce Ohr told them. And how did Bruce know? His wife, Nellie, works for Fusion GPS. Meanwhile, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, James Comey, Andrew McCabe, and others working within the FBI and Obamas Department of Justice conspired to exonerate Hillary Clinton of serious crimes while charging her opponent with egregiously false, manufactured accusations of colluding with Russia.

How can this not be a plot to overthrow our government?

To make matters worse, Susan Rice, Samantha Power, James Clapper, and Sally Yates were all guilty of improperly unmasking innocent American citizens for nefarious political reasons, which led to General Michael Flynns unfair prosecution by Mueller after FBI officials had concluded he wasnt lying to them during their unfair interview. How can this happen?

Where does the buck stop?

Although President Obama frequently claimed he never knew about anything until after hed seen it in the news, he might not be able get away with pleading ignorance this time. According to texts sent between Lisa Page and Peter Strzok, President Obama wanted to know everything they were doing. In contrast, Nixon didnt find out about the Watergate break-in until after it had already happened.

Barack Obama has a big problem. Hes apparently involved in this effort to overturn the results of a presidential election up to those oversized ears of his. Somebody will probably start singing to get a reduced sentence pretty soon, and if they can corroborate their testimony with evidence, Obama can stop worrying about his legacy and start worrying about his imminent future. The penalty for sedition calls for up to twenty years in prison, and it is unlikely that President Trump would consider a pardon of Obama under the circumstances, because he was the target of this conspiracy. Dan Bongino calls it Spygate, but some people confuse that with a different scandal involving the New England Patriots and New York Jets.

Perhaps we should call this ugly blemish on American history Obamagate?

No matter what we eventually label this ugly episode in our nations history, the odds are strong that the word gate will be appended to the end of the phrase.

Will there be a patriot in the Democratic Party with the courage to paraphrase the same question Howard Baker posed about Watergate in 1972: What did the President know, and when did he know it?

John Leonard writes novels, books, articles for American Thinker, and may be contacted via his website at southernprose.com.
For all the left's howls about 'Islamophobia' and its supposed 'endangering' of Muslims, the real issue is anti-Semitism and the terror attacks now surging from it. Three Islam-motivated massacres on synagogues  in Ohio, Montana, and Georgia  were all thwarted in just the last five months, with very little press coverage about how close the terrorists came.

Frontline's Daniel Greenfield has a disturbing piece on the incidents, as well news of a surge of crazed Jew-hating rhetoric from Muslim leaders that has risen in assorted mosques around the country, which may be fueling it. He writes:

All three Muslim terrorists were ISIS supporters. They were the same age and scattered around the country, from Montana to Georgia to Ohio. They origins lay in different cultures and parts of the world. And yet their terror plots all targeted Jews. What was it that created this cluster of three Islamic terror plots against synagogues? No specifics are given in the complaints. Even the names of the synagogues remain anonymous. The phenomenon was not noted by any media outlet. The same outlets that eagerly publish statistical compilations of attacks on Muslims, real or imaginary, once again turned a blind eye to this cluster.

He thinks it's connected to the surge in Jew-hating rhetoric and actual calls for violence against Jews suddenly coming out of mosques throughout the country:

Last year, there was a similar cluster, not of attack plots, but of incitement to violence. In December 2017, an Imam in New Jersey had been caught preaching of the Jews, "Count them one by one, and kill them down to the very last one. Do not leave a single one on the face of the Earth." In February 2018, an Imam in Texas had urged fighting the Jews and a Syrian refugee Imam in North Carolina had recited a hadith calling for the extermination of the Jews, "We will fight those Jews until the rocks and the trees will speak: 'Oh Muslim, this is a Jew behind me.'" The geographic diversity of these calls to violence in mosques from New Jersey to North Carolina to Texas, echoed the diversity of the latest Islamic terror plots in Montana, Georgia and Ohio. There is no particular reason to think that the three terrorists were influenced by imams from other states. What these numbers reveal is the incredible scope and range of Islamic anti-Semitism and violence in America.

Now that even congressional leaders, such as Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), have made anti-Semitism respectable in the Democratic Party as well as impossible to censure, it signals an ugly emerging picture. Sick rhetoric is coming out of the mosques. People who listen to that sick rhetoric and go along with it are rolling into the Democratic Party's congressional leadership, hailed as the new wave and vanguard. They are not only escaping criticism, but drawing in a host of useful idiots rushing to their defense.

And the violence keeps getting scarier. Right now, the lawmen have thwarted the problem in three instances, but it doesn't mean they've cut the problem off at the roots. They'll still have to keep thwarting, getting it right every time, until they don't. One slips out, and a large number of innocent people are massacred. After then, the press will report "no known motive" for the attack.

Yet the answer as to why such an attack would go forth would be right there in this evidence.

It's time to stop letting these people into this country.
The rabid left has been rampant on college campuses since the 1960s, but never has it been as emboldened as it is now, not content to just spew crazy things, but to censor conservatives and independent thinkers. What's standing out now is that they are no longer going for the small fry - students, untenured assistant professors, conservative academics who really do say malapropistic things ... they're going for the bigs now.

According to AEI's estimable Christina Hoff Sommers - they went after Camille Paglia, a powerful, influential, somewhat libertarian-leaning, and very independent intellectual, who, based on her familiarity with classical thinking in its correct context, is popular with conservatives, libertarians and independents:*

Foolishness alert! There is a petition denouncing the brilliant scholar Camille Paglia! Here is what we demand of UArts:

1) Camille Paglia should be removed from UArts faculty and replaced by a queer person of color. https://t.co/AJvU7MaMp8  Christina Sommers (@CHSommers) April 12, 2019

Paglia is gay herself, as well as a woman, but she doesn't meet the radicals' color criteria, named in the lunatic petition to get rid of her.

And we all know the real problem was: Her ideas. Paglia doesn't have much sympathy for victim-mentality or political correctness. In fact, she has absolutely none, and she doesn't back down on this.

Hoff Sommers, in her string of tweets, pointed out that the left not only put out a petition to get rid of Paglia, they also protested - and being a bunch of clowns, ended up having to listen to one of Paglia's academic lectures on ancient Egyptian hair styles.

The far left's bid to Get Paglia even had a happy ending. Hoff Sommers posted this tweet as I was writing this, with her university, the Philadelphia College of the Arts (now the University of the Arts), being smart enough to come to her defense - much to its credit, as Hoff Sommers observes:

David Yager, President of University of the Arts, where Camille Paglia teaches, has issued a powerful affirmation of free speech and academic freedom. More college presidents should follow his example! @TheFIREorg pic.twitter.com/oTqv3hXwxm  Christina Sommers (@CHSommers) April 13, 2019

But not so lucky was distinguished British philosopher, Sir Roger Scruton, a leading academic whose views are often identified as conservative, yet like Paglia, independently so. According to athis post by Mark Steyn (Hat tip: Instapundit.com):

So Roger Scruton gave an interview to The New Statesman, which is left-wing but once employed him as its wine critic. But that was then, etc. At the new New Statesman he fell into the hands of one of those lefties whose goal in the interview is to talk to you for two hours and then pluck three partial quotes uttered twenty-five minutes apart that destroy your career and get you banished from public life. In this case, it was various Scrutonisms on China, Islam, Hungary and homosexuality, all of which are worth thinking about seriously. But, as I say, that's the leftie hack's objective, and you can't blame him for achieving it. Douglas Murray, quite rightly, is more disgusted by the craven pile-on of so-called conservatives: Within four hours of Eaton tweeting out his misquotations of Britain's most prominent living philosopher, the housing minister (James Brokenshire) announced that Scruton had been dismissed with immediate effect from his role as Chairman of the 'Building Better Building Beautiful Commission'. The sacking from this unpaid, advisory position came because of these 'unacceptable comments'.

Scruton's a big name in academia and the attempts to shut him down are getting out of control. Abusing him this way is an outrage. And one can't help but feel that the left will continue to try to keep taking down Paglia, too. The ones who did were essentially clowns, but what happens when the Alinskyites with big money get involved or a new university president, with few balls, shows up?

It's disturbing stuff, given the boldness of the attacks, no longer focused on small fry but on big guns -- with big audiences. Not even they are immune from attacks. Rest assured that unless President Trump's bid to end censorship on campus succeeds, there is going to be more of this.

Image credit: Fronteiras do Pensamento // CC BY-SA 2.0

*An earlier version of this piece suggested that Paglia is conservative. This version has now been clarified and corrected.
Recently, a new type of ransomware-based cyber-warfare made global headlines when an attack was executed against Norsk Hydro, a raw materials producer that boasts the 10th largest output of aluminum in the world.

The victim, Norsk Hydro, just happens to employ more people in the United States than any other Norwegian company. The company has a total of 35,000 employees in 40 countries and has a market cap over 9 billion USD, making it a global force.

The infection, known as LockerGoga, uses a renamed version of the system administration tool PsEXEC to begin running its scripts. It's still unknown how the malware spreads within a network, although researchers theorize that it spreads by using stolen remote desktop protocol (RDP). In basic terms, the infection can spread from an infected terminal to any or all others within the same network.

After LockerGoga completes the process of encrypting your files, the affected files will show a ".locked" extension. LockerGoga targets popular file extensions in a system, including .doc, .dot, and .pot, among others.

LockerGoga can also encrypt any file on a hard drive or network. LockerGoga can block outside connections by disabling Wi-Fi or Ethernet adaptors. Some variants of the ransomware, like the one used at Norsk Hydro, log out users and change passwords.

The ransom note reads:

"There was a significant flaw in the security system of your company. You should be thankful that the flaw was exploited by serious people and not some rookies." It goes on to threaten the victim to "NOT RESET OR SHUTDOWN  files may be damaged. DO NOT RENAME the encrypted files. DO NOT MOVE the encrypted files. This may lead to the impossibility of recovery of the certain files."

Finally, the payment demand is made in Bitcoin, with the final price being dependent on "how fast" the victim establishes contact with the hacker.

One thing that seems peculiar about LockerGoga is that although it is at its core ransomware, some variants do not seem to be after monetary gain. Some versions of the ransomware encrypt the Windows Boot Manager, rendering the infected computer inoperable by not allowing it to boot into the operating system. This further validates that some variants of LockerGoga aim to disrupt operations on the networks it infects.

The attack on Norsk Hydro immediately halted many of their critical production operations, forcing the company to isolate several plants and send several more into manual mode. As a byproduct, the company saw its stocks fall by 0.8 percent. Observers in the cyber-sphere are also alleging that a variant of LockerGoga may have been used to target the French engineering company Altran Technologies in January of this year.

The attack was significant, considering the implications of this type of disruption in the production of raw materials during wartime. If we found ourselves in a state of total war, not just aluminum, but other materials like steel and iron, which are required for the immediate mobilization of the shipbuilding, aircraft, and munitions industries, could be severely compromised by opponents of the United States that are operating at a military disadvantage.

We have seen a rise in hacking against the U.S. by foreign governments recently. Back in December, a Reuters report cited criminal hacking charges being prepared against Chinese nationals. The U.S. government charges that Chinese hackers were involved in a cyber-espionage operation named "Cloudhopper." At a press conference, FBI director Christopher Wray said at the time, "China's goal, simply put, is to replace the U.S. as the world's leading superpower and they're using illegal methods to get there."

With the recent shakeup at the top of the Department of Homeland Security, close scrutiny should be given to the experience held by Kevin McAleenan, U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner, currently acting in Kirstjen Nielsen's former capacity. Bad actors have proven time and again that the easiest means of disrupting America is via cyber-attack.
Rep. Ilhan Omar has been caught trivializing 9/11 for the second time in as many days, this time in a bizarre video dug up by Fox News:

Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, in a newly resurfaced clip of an old interview, joked about people saying "Al Qaeda" and "Hezbollah" in a severe tone -- while noting nobody says words like "America" that way. When I was in college, I took a terrorism class. ... The thing that was interesting in the class was every time the professor said Al Qaeda his shoulders went up, Omar said during an interview from 2013 when she was an activist within the Somali community, chuckling as she imitated the professor saying "Al Qaeda" and "Hezbollah." Omar went on to contrast the way people say the names of terror groups with how they pronounce the names of western powers: But you know, it is that you dont say America with an intensity, you dont say England with the intensity. You dont say the army with the intensity, she continued. ... But you say these names [Al Qaeda] because you want that word to carry weight. You want it to be something.

We say those words in severe tones, of course, because the groups they represent are repulsive, vile, despicable, terrorists, all of them with long records of murdering innocents and dancing around about it afterward.

But to Omar, see, this represents hypocrisy, a double standard. Shouldn't we all be using the word 'America' with just as much 'intensity' as we do 'al Qaida' or 'Hezbollah'? Shouldn't the word 'America' inspire the same sense of revulsion as 'al Qaida'?

This, from the person who just recently assured that 9/11 was merely 'some people did something' instead of enact the largest mass murder from an Islamic terror attack in U.S. history, something that got a powerful smackdown from the New York Post, which by the way, is still criticizing her.

In both instances, she trivializes 9/11 and the authentic threat that Islamic terror represents. She even links it to her own anti-American hatred, so common among fourth-world petty intellectuals described well in the non-fiction works of V.S. Naipaul.

(Who by the way, unexpectedly won the Nobel prize for literature in the wake of 9/11, when even the Scandinavians were still outraged by the attacks.)

Apparently, the 9/11 attacks had no such effect on the mind of Omar. Her response in fact, was to don the hijab, as she told the Washington Post. She hadn't been wearing it before then. That's some motivation for putting on a veil.

And it says a lot about where Omar's true sympathies lie. It certainly explains why she could come to America as a refugee and right away find herself disgusted with the country, as she has told interviewers many times. Authentic refugees who've endured actual privation don't do that.

It also raises questions about why she thinks she can get away with such views. Obviously, it's because she knows that the culture of political correctness in the U.S. is a strong one. Fox News's Judge Jeanine Pirro was recently suspended for asking if Omar's veil-wearing was an indicator of support for Sharia law.

With the revelations from this new clip, obviously Pirro was understating things. Omar not only supports sharia law (which may or may not be relevant, depending on how it is read), she supports anti-Americanism. Her remarks downplaying al-Qaida in now two instances, as well as her going to political bat for known terrorists, insisting that they take no consequences for their murderous acts and plans, suggests a congressional leader whose constituents are terrorists and useful idiots, and whose own loyalties are in downplaying terrorism as a sword and up-playing political correctness as a shield.

What an appalling picture of her. And of those who elected her.

Image credit: Twitter screen grab
In case anyone had any doubts about the precise nature of the ideology espoused by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), this week's unearthing of a tweet posted by the freshman congresswoman erased any such doubts:

Given the unprecedented number of fanatical sentiments shared by Omar during her brief political career, it's perhaps easy to overlook the uniquely insidious point she is making here.

You see, this tweet is the definitive proof that Rep. Omar is an anti-American fanatic.

Whereas her prior controversies exposed her anti-Semitism, political radicalism, and any other number of undesirable views, we now have unequivocal proof that a U.S. congresswoman actually despises the nation she represents.

True, there have been prior instances of congressmen and senators acting in ways that called into question their patriotism or endorsement of Western values. But in virtually all such cases, these dissidents have been artful enough to allow for at least a modicum of the benefit of the doubt against charges of anti-Americanism. Even Bernie Sanders  a socialist who adored the Soviet Union so much that as mayor of Burlington, Vermont, he hung the Soviet flag outside his office  has been careful to not explicitly declare his aversion for the United States.

But Omar doesn't exercise any such discretion when she contends that America was "founded by genocide" and maintains "global power through neocolonialism."

Absolutely stunning. She doesn't think America's founding was rooted in liberty, suffrage, rule of law, or constitutional republicanism; she declares it was rooted in genocide. Furthermore, she believes that America has never redeemed itself and continues to perpetuate oppression via "neocolonialism."

It's almost immaterial to parse the staggering ignorance underlying Omar's argument by pointing out that the pseudo-"genocide" she speaks of was caused by disease spread by Europeans over two centuries before America was founded, and that "neocolonialism" is an absurd misnomer the far left uses to characterize the United States aiding pro-Western regimes. To ascertain Omar's anti-Americanism, one only has to take what she says at face value: genocide is the foundation of the United States, and "neocolonialism" is the means by which the U.S. maintains its malevolent global power. Ergo, America is a really, really bad country.

It wasn't long ago that sentiments like these were confined to ultra-left-wing university faculty lounges or fringe socialist publications. The Godfather of the modern left, Noam Chomsky, has gained a sizable cult following promoting this sort of crackpot anti-Western conspiracies. Interestingly, as vile as his worldview is, Chomsky is at least consistent in that he believes that the United States is evil and doesn't pretend to be a U.S. patriot, whereas Chomsky's intellectual disciple, Rep. Omar, believes that the United States is evil but also has the audacity to serve in a body that represents the evil empire she decries.

Rep. Omar's allies in Congress and the media will deflect; play the race, sex, and religion cards; accuse anyone of criticizing her as anti[insert keyword]; and otherwise do what they always do. But the proof that Rep. Ilmar Omar is an anti-American fanatic is her explicit condemnation of the United States as being born out of an evil it continues to perpetuate.

Eugene Slaven is the author of the comedy thriller A Life of Misery and Triumph and the self-help guide Enemy Thoughts. Connect with him on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.
RTHK: Trump's attitude key to another meeting, says Kim

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says he's is willing meet Donald Trump a third time as long as the US president comes to the table with the "right attitude", according to state media.

Kim also said he would wait until the end of the year "for the US to make a courageous decision" on another meeting, after his most recent summit with Trump in Vietnam broke down without agreement.

Washington has blamed the February deadlock on the North's demands for sanctions relief in return for limited nuclear disarmament, but Pyongyang said it had wanted only some of the measures eased.

In a speech to Pyongyang's rubber-stamp parliament, Kim said the Hanoi meeting had made him question whether Washington is genuinely interested in improving its relations with Pyongyang.

"We are willing to give another try if the US offers to have a third summit with the right attitude and mutually acceptable terms," he said, according to a report by KCNA.

Kim added that his personal relationship with Trump remained strong, adding they could "write letters to each other" whenever they wanted. "We will wait with patience until the end of the year for the US to make a courageous decision," Kim said.

Trump and Kim held their first landmark summit in Singapore last June, where the pair signed a vaguely-worded agreement on the "denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula".

But the failure to reach agreement at their second summit in Hanoi has raised questions over the future of the accord. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2019-04-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Making her four-year-old debut on Friday night at Woodbine Mohawk Park, trotting mare Kadabra Queen returned to the winner's circle for the first time since her O'Brien Award-winning freshman year.

Following an abbreviated sophomore campaign, Kadabra Queen kicked off her 2019 season on a winning note in an $18,000 conditioned trot as she collared the streaking race leader, Encarnacion, in a 1:57.2 mile.

With Jonathan Drury in the bike, the 12-1 shot trotted along in fourth-place through fractions of :28.3, :59 and 1:28.3, picking up cover from 3-5 favourite Gallant Man, then trotting a :28 final quarter to prevail by half a length over Encarnacion. Pocket-sitter Kuil Deva finished 1-1/2 lengths behind in third while Spectre closed for fourth ahead of Gallant Man.

Kadabra Queen returned $26.50 to win.

The homebred Kadabra-Queen Street mare is owned by Harness Horsepower Inc. and trained by Chad Milner.

Kadabra Queen was named Canada's Two-Year-Old Trotting Filly of the Year in 2017 after earning $328,380 and winning half of her 10 starts including the Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final.

To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Impoverished towns in the shadow of Mount Shasta. Rustic Gold Rush cities in the Sierra Nevada foothills. High-dollar resort communities on the shores of Lake Tahoe. Ritzy Los Angeles County suburbs. They all could be the next Paradise And theres a lot of Paradises out there.

Areas At Severe Risk of California Wildfires Are Home to 2.7 Million People, Analysis Finds

A McClatchy analysis reveals more than 350,000 Californians live in towns and cities that exist almost entirely within very high fire hazard severity zones  Cal Fires designation for places highly vulnerable to devastating wildfires. These designations have proven eerily predictive about some of the states most destructive wildfires in recent years, including the Camp Fire, the worst in state history.

Nearly all of Paradise is colored in bright red on Cal Fires map  practically the entire town was at severe risk before the Camp Fire raged through last November, burning the majority of homes in its path and killing 85 people.

Malibu, where the Woolsey Fire burned more than 400 homes last year, also falls within very high hazard zones. As does the small Lake County town of Cobb, much of which was destroyed by the Valley Fire in 2015.

Theres a lot of Paradises out there, said Max Moritz, a fire specialist at UC Santa Barbara.

All told, more than 2.7 million Californians live in very high fire hazard severity zones, from trailers off quiet dirt roads in the forest to mansions in the states largest cities, according to the analysis, which is based on 2010 block-level census data. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection says its maps show places where wildfires are likely to be extreme due to factors including vegetation and topography.

The maps arent perfect in their ability to forecast where a fire will be destructive. For instance, the Coffey Park neighborhood of Santa Rosa isnt in a very high hazard zone, but powerful winds pushed the Tubbs Fire into that part of the city, largely leveling the neighborhood in October 2017.

Coffey Park was built with zero consideration for fire, said Chris Dicus, a forestry and fire expert at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Fire was in the mountains  there was no consideration that fire would cross (Highway) 101.

Cal Fire is making new fire hazard maps  ready in a year or so  that will incorporate regional wind patterns and other climate factors. In the meantime, experts say the current maps, created about a decade ago, still provide an important guide to predict where wildfires could do the most damage , in the same way floodplain maps highlight areas that could be hit hardest during severe storms.

The at-risk communities identified by McClatchy also should serve as a starting point for prioritizing how California should spend money on retrofits and other fire safety programs, Moritz said.

Californias state-of-the-art building codes help protect homes from wildfire in the most vulnerable areas, experts say. But the codes only apply to new construction. A bill introduced by Assemblyman Jim Wood would provide cash to help Californians retrofit older homes.

This will go a long way toward these different municipalities (in showing) that they deserve funding, Moritz said.

McClatchy identified more than 75 towns and cities with populations over 1,000 where, like Paradise, at least 90 percent of residents live within the Cal Fire very high fire hazard severity zones.

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[Sacbee, weather, NYPost]
Marysville, CA (95901)

Today

Rain and wind early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Low 42F. Winds SSE at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Rain and wind early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Low 42F. Winds SSE at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.
Disney has thought about itself primarily as a maker of content. Netflix? That was the railway carrying the content to market. But Netflix has moved into content-making in a big way. So Disney is jumping in with its own streaming service to compete.  recode
Reliance Communications rejected any wrongdoing and said the tax dispute was settled under a legal framework.

Le Monde said the French tax authorities accepted 7.3 million euros from Reliance Flag Atlantic France as a settlement as against original demand of 151 million euros. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: France waived taxes worth 143.7 million euros to a French-registered telecom subsidiary of Anil Ambani's Reliance Communications in 2015, months after India's announcement of buying 36 Rafale jets, a leading French newspaper Le Monde reported on Saturday.

In its reaction, Reliance Communications rejected any wrongdoing and said the tax dispute was settled under a legal framework which is available for all companies operating in France. The French newspaper said the French tax authorities accepted 7.3 million euros from Reliance Flag Atlantic France as a settlement as against original demand of 151 million euros. Reliance Flag owns a terrestrial cable network and other telecom infrastructure in France.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the procurement of a batch of 36 Rafale jets after talks with the then French President Francois Hollande on April 10, 2015, in Paris. The final deal was sealed on September 23, 2016. The Congress has been alleging massive irregularities in the deal, saying the government was procuring each aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalised by the UPA government when it was negotiating the deal.

The Congress has also been targeting the government over the selection of Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Defence as an offset partner for Dassault Aviation, the manufacturer of Rafale. The government has rejected the allegations.

The French newspaper said the company was investigated by French tax authorities and found liable to pay 60 million euros in taxes for the period 2007 to 2010. However, Reliance offered to pay 7.6 million euros only as a settlement but it was French tax authorities refused to accept the amount.

The authorities conducted another probe for the period 2010 to 2012 and asked the company to pay an additional 91 million euros in taxes, the report said. It said by April 2015, the total amount owed by Reliance to the French authorities in taxes was at least 151 million euros. In October, six months after Modi announced in Paris about the Rafale deal, the French authorities accepted 7.3 million euros from Reliance as a settlement as against the original demand of 151 million euros.

A spokesperson of Reliance Communications said the tax demands were "completely unsustainable and illegal" and that the company denied any favouritism or gain from the settlement.

"During the period under consideration by the French Tax Authorities - 2008-2012 i.e. nearly 10 years ago, Flag France had an operating loss of Rs 20 crore (Euro 2.7 million). French tax authorities had raised a tax demand of over Rs 1100 crore for the same period," the official said. "As per the French tax settlement process as per law, a mutual settlement agreement was signed to pay Rs 56 crore as a final settlement," he said.
The Prime Minister's Office has called an urgent meeting to discuss the situation, official sources said.

"Jet is currently flying less than 50 domestic flights. The airlines has 16 aircraft available with them for flying," an official said.

New Delhi: Cash-strapped Jet Airways is currently flying less than 50 domestic flights, a senior official of aviation regulator DGCA said on Friday.

"Jet is currently flying less than 50 domestic flights. The airlines has 16 aircraft available with them for flying," the official said.

The official did not give the actual number of aircraft that are currently flying.

The official said that the airline has suspended its international operations till Monday.

As the crisis in the private airline deepened, the Prime Minister's Office has called an urgent meeting to discuss the situation, official sources said.

Meanwhile, SpiceJet on Friday announced it will induct 16 Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft on dry lease to bring down flight cancellations and expand the airline's international and domestic presence.

The announcement comes at a time when airfares have been on an upswing across India for the last few weeks due to sharp decline in number of flights primarily caused by grounding of around 90 per cent of the 119-aircraft fleet of the cash-strapped Jet Airways.

The availability of flights was also hit by pulling out of SpiceJet's 12 "737 Max" aircraft in March over safety concerns following an Ethiopian Airlines plane crash on March 10.

"SpiceJet will induct 16 Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft on dry lease and has applied to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to import the aircraft," the airline said.

"Subject to regulatory approvals, the aircraft would begin joining SpiceJet fleet in the next ten days," it added.
Jet Airways employees are expecting to be paid their pending salaries once the fresh funding comes through.

The beleaguered Jet Airways, which is flying just six-seven aircraft on Saturday, has asked its lenders to grant some "interim funding." (Photo: ANI)

New Delhi: Employees of cash-strapped Jet Airways on Saturday protested outside Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport here seeking release of pending salaries.

The beleaguered airline, which is flying just six-seven aircraft on Saturday, has asked its lenders to grant some "interim funding". Its employees are expecting to be paid their pending salaries once the fresh funding comes through.

Employees of Jet Airways gathered outside Terminal 3 in their uniform for a silent protest on Saturday afternoon. They carried banners that read " Save Jet Airways, Save our future" and "Hear our cry, Let 9W fly". 9W is the code for Jet Airways flights, just like 6E is for IndiGo flights.

On Friday, Jet Airways employees took out a silent march in Mumbai. Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola had earlier said that the airline would fly just 6-7 aircraft on Saturday and Sunday. At its peak, the airline flew a 119-aircraft fleet. On Monday, the lenders - lead by SBI - would again meet the management of Jet Airways which will present a plan to use the "interim funding", if granted.

Jet Airways on Thursday grounded its services to and from the East and Northeast regions and suspended its international operations till Monday. Consequently, many passengers were left stranded at the airports
The inward investments from Mauritius have been growing in the past two years, despite the amendment being partially in force.

As per data from the Economic Development Board of Mauritius, in 2016, total outward investments made by the country in India amounted $15.1 billion.

Chennai: Indias amendment of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with Mauritius has had little effect on the reported purpose of arresting tax evasion and tax abuse. The inward investments from Mauritius have been growing in the past two years, despite the amendment being partially in force.

India had amended DTAAs with Mauritius and Singapore in 2016, levying capital gains tax on investments routed through these countries. The taxes on capital gains were applicable to investments made from April 1, 2017 at 50 per cent of the domestic rate until March 31, 2019 and at the full rate from April 1, 2019.

However, the amendment has not been able to bring down the investments from the island nation. As per data from the Economic Development Board of Mauritius, in 2016, total outward investments made by the country in India amounted $15.1 billion. In 2017, since the amendment came into force partially, the same grew to $16.2 billion. Further, for the next six months, till June 2018, investments in stock through Mauritius to India grew multi-fold to $216 billion.

There has been a positive growth subsequent to the amendment of the treaty in terms of total investments from Mauritius to India. This also signifies that investors look beyond fiscal advantages to invest in India. There are a multitude of compelling reasons investors use Mauritius as their investment destination of choice, said a spokesperson for the Economic Development Board.
The 'Saaho' actor also shared some more holiday pictures on her social media handle.

Mumbai: Indian-German model turned actress Evelyn Sharma, who was busy shooting for upcoming Prabhas starrer 'Saaho' took some time off to chill on the beach. The actor has recently shared her beach picture on her Instagram handle which is too hot to handle.

The 'Main Tera Hero' actor wrote, "Whoever said you cant live off love and sunshine clearly never tried it. "

In this picture, one can see Evelyn enjoying love and sunshine clearly on the beach. The diva is flaunting off her cleavage in a knitted top at the seashore and her beauty is just wow.

Apart from that, Evelyn also shared some more holiday pictures on her social media handle.

Take a look:

Meanwhile, Evelyn is playing one of the key roles in Prabhas starrer Saaho. The actress will be seen doing high octane action sequences in the film. Saaho also stars Shraddha Kapoor, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Jackie Shroff and others.
A horrific massacre, a stain on civilisation, that day of sacrifice can never be forgotten by India, President Kovind tweeted.

The massacre took place on 13 April 1919 when troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer fired machine guns into a crowd of unarmed protesters. (Photo: ANI)

New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday paid tributes to those who lost their lives in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre that took place on this day 100 years ago.

"A 100 years ago today, our beloved freedom fighters were martyred at Jallianwala Bagh. A horrific massacre, a stain on civilisation, that day of sacrifice can never be forgotten by India. At this solemn moment, we pay our tribute to the immortals of Jallianwala #PresidentKovind," President Kovind tweeted.

"Today, when we observe 100 years of the horrific Jallianwala Bagh massacre, India pays tributes to all those martyred on that fateful day. Their valour and sacrifice will never be forgotten. Their memory inspires us to work even harder to build an India they would be proud of," the Prime Minister wrote on Twitter.

The massacre took place on 13 April 1919 when troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer fired machine guns into a crowd of unarmed protesters and pilgrims who had gathered in Jallianwala Bagh in Punjab's Amritsar on the occasion of Baisakhi.

The crowd had assembled peacefully at the venue to condemn the arrest of two national leaders -- Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew -- when they were fired at indiscriminately by General Dyer and his men.

According to British government records, 379 people including men, women, and children were killed while 1,200 were wounded in the firing. Other sources place the number of dead at well over 1,000.

Hundred years on, the United Kingdom is yet to give a full apology for the gruesome attack on unarmed protesters in Amritsar in 1919.

However, British Prime Minister Theresa May had recently said that the United Kingdom "deeply regrets" the 1919 massacre and called it a "shameful scar" on the British-Indian history.

"The tragedy of Jallianwalla Bagh in 1919 is a shameful scar on the British-Indian history. As her Majesty, the Queen said before visiting Jallianwala Bagh 1997, it is a distressing example of our past history with India. We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused," May had said at the British Parliament earlier this week.
Kolkata Police said that no political, apolitical, religious organisations are allowed to carry out bike rallies in the city.

New Delhi: As West Bengal with 42 Lok Sabha seats is being perceived by the BJP as one of the key states that could help it return to power at the Centre, the party has put in place a two-pronged strategy to consolidate its vote bank. While on one hand it will unleash its main vote-catching machine, Narendra Modi, who will address 16 rallies in the state, on the other hand the party and VHP will hold nearly 700 rallies across the state on Sunday, April 14, to commemorate the occasion of Ram Navami.

At this juncture, West Bengal is witnessing a major polarisation of vote bank. With Ram Navami rallies being planned, tension has gripped the state and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government has asked for deployment of additional Central forces from the Election Commission.

The state government has already banned public display of weapons during Ram Navami processions and only traditional processions have been given permission, official sources said.

Any procession taken out illegally and displaying weapons would be booked under non-bailable penal sections.

Over the past two years, West Bengal has been witnessing communal tension during Ram Navami as the VHP has been taking out motorcycle rallies where their cadre openly displayed weapons, provoking TMC also to take out Ram Navami processions.

The state police has given intelligence inputs to the election panel about potential flashpoints and shared trouble spots from last years processions with it, sources said.

The state government has sought two companies of Central forces in Asansol and Barrackpore, and Central forces have been sent for advance deployment to Malda and Murshidabad which go to polls on April 23 during the third phase of Lok Sabha polls.

Kolkata Police said that no political, apolitical, religious organisations are allowed to carry out bike rallies in the city.

The BJP was denied permission to take out bike rallies across Kolkata on the occasion of Ram Navami. However, normal rallies by the party and VHP are being allowed.

Meanwhile on Saturday, there were reports of scuffles between police officials and BJP workers in some places after they were stopped from taking out bike rallies.

The VHP, which has planned as many as 700 rallies in the state on the occasion of Ram Navami, said that no arms would be carried in rallies held this year.

We have received permission for rallies. We will abide by the direction of the police and no one will carry arms during Ram Navami rallies conducted by us, VHP organisational general secretary (eastern region) Sachindranath Sinha said.

There were, however, reports that hundreds of Ram Navami rallies, including some armed ones, were taken out by BJP and VHP in various parts of West Bengal on Saturday drawing sharp criticisim from West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
Late Mandavi was the lone BJP MLA of Bastar division, comprising 12 Assembly seats.

The MLA's mobile phone is missing and it might have been taken by Naxals, the official said. (Photo: AP)

Bhopal: Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Saturday announced to institute a judicial probe into the April 9 killing of Dantewada Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Bheema Mandavi by Naxals.

Mandavi along with four jawans were killed when maoists blew up the bullet-proof SUV in which they were travelling near Nakulnar in south Bastar district of Dantewada on April nine, two days before Bastar (ST) Lok Sabha seat went to polls.

Mr Baghel on Saturday took to the Twitter informing that his government has moved the Election Commission (EC) seeking go ahead signal to its decision to institute a judicial probe into the incident.

The state government has sought clearance from EC to institute judicial probe into the incident since model code of conduct for ongoing Lok Sabha election was in force now, he said.

The BJP national president Amit Shah while addressing an election rally in Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh on Friday suspected political conspiracy in the killing of the party legislator and demanded a CBI probe into it.

Former Chhattisgarh chief minister and BJP national vice-president Raman Singh also said the slain MLAs widow had no faith in the probe by the police into the incident.

She too wanted a CBI probe into the incident. Late Mandavi was the lone BJP MLA of Bastar division, comprising 12 Assembly seats.
The JD(U) and BJP are contesting on 17 seats each and Ram Vilas Paswans LJP has been given six seats to contest in the Lok Sabha elections.

Bihar Chief minister Nitish Kumar who is also JD(U)s national president has repeatedly said that issues like Ram Temple and triple talaq should be resolved through negotiations. (Photo: PTI)

Patna: A public meeting that was supposed to be a show of unity for the coalition partners JD(U), BJP and LJP ended in a clash over the Ayodhya issue.

The incident occurred when JD(U) leader Sanjay Verma urged party workers to keep Ram Temple issue out of NDAs campaign agenda.

Sources claim that BJP workers who had assembled during the meeting, started raising slogans and banging tables after Mr Verma commented on the issue.

The NDA workers had gathered to discuss the poll strategy for LJP candidate Pashupati Paras who is contesting from Hajipur Lok Sabha seat.

The matter is being blown unnecessarily. Nothing serious happened during the meeting. NDA is united and we are going to win the maximum number of seats in Bihar, state minister and LJP candidate from Hajipur Pashupati Paras said.

The incident was also downplayed by the BJP state unit on Saturday. While talking to this newspaper BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand said that NDA is united and we are sure to provide an alternative to this country under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019. As far as issues like 35A, 370 and Ram Temple is concerned these are our core political agenda and we have already clarified our position on these issues.

The JD(U) and BJP are contesting on 17 seats each and Ram Vilas Paswans LJP has been given six seats to contest in the Lok Sabha elections.

Differences in NDA have been brewing ever since BJP released its manifesto. The JD(U) which is a major NDA partner in Bihar has been openly opposing BJPs stand on issues like Ram Temple and article 370. Some of the JD(U) leaders have also been uncomfortable with BJP president Amit Shahs recent stand on NRC.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar who is also JD(U)s national president has repeatedly said that issues like Ram Temple and triple talaq should be resolved through negotiations.

JD(U) sources said that the party has also taken a different line on these issues in its manifesto which is to be released on April 14.

Despite being NDA partner our party has always maintained its old stand on Ram Temple, special status for Jammu and Kashmir and NRC. JD(U)s manifesto is being released on April 14 and our party has taken a different line from the BJP on these issues, A senior JD(U) leader said in Patna on Saturday.
Ajmal was desperately trying for an alliance with Congress in order to defend his Dhubri Lok Sabha seat.

Guwahati: Bogged down by his political isolation, the All India United Democratic Front leader Badruddin Ajmal on Saturday resorted to a controversial remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hog the headline.

Assam BJP leaders refused to counter the remark saying that Mr Ajmal and his party has lost its credibility and rejected by the people of Assam and just to remain in limelight he was resorting to such remarks. You all know that Mr Ajmal and his party has been rejected by the people of Assam in recent Panchayat elections. Even the Congress for which the AIUDF claimed to have left five seats has rejected them saying that they dont have any alliance, said the BJP spokesperson and treasurer Mr Rajkumar Sharma adding that Mr Ajmal was trying to make his presence felt.

The AIUDF leader who triggered a row for his comments against Mr Modi said that he is also the part of the grand alliance, which wants Mr Modi out of the country and added that once the PM is out of power he can open a tea shop and sell pakodas too.

It is significant that Mr Ajmal was trying hard to forge an alliance with Congress, which rejected the proposal outright, while accusing him of being communal.

Former Assam chief minister and senior Congress leader, Tarun Gogoi said, There is no possibility of an alliance with AIUDF. Even when I spoke with senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel, he never mentioned about AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal.

Mr Ajmal is known for making such controversial remarks as in December 2018 he abused a TV journalist and threatened to break his head after he was questioned about poll alliances for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

A perfume trader turn politician Mr Ajmal had formed All India United Democratic Front in 2005 and within a short span of time his party became the main opposition party by 2011 after winning 18 assembly seats and in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the party secured three seats.

Mr Ajmal was desperately trying for an alliance with Congress in order to defend his Dhubri Lok Sabha seat. Mr Ajmals desperation was visible when he went on announcing unilaterally that they are not going to field candidate on five Muslim dominated seats in order to help the Congress party. In return Mr Ajmal had asked the Congress party to field a weak candidate from Dhubri to stop the division of Muslim votes.

However, ignoring the AIUDF plea, the Congress party has fielded former legislator Abu Taher Bepari from Dhubri in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls against Mr Ajmal.

Mr Bepari is very popular in the constituency, which is Muslim-dominated, and this will eventually lead to the division of minority votes. Terming Congress decision as betrayal Mr Ajmal said that it will lead to the division of anti-BJP votes and blamed local Muslim leaders from the Congress party for opposing the alliance between the two parties.

Mr Ajmals remark against Prime Minister was also aimed at to counter the ongoing propaganda of Congress party in Dhubri area accusing that Mr Ajmal had a tacit understanding with BJP too.
Addressing another rally in Ramanathapuram, Modi highlighted his govts strong fight against terror and a relaxed tax regime for the middle class.

Theni (Tamil Nadu): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday sought to corner the Congress on its showpiece poll promise of minimum income scheme Nyay (justice), demanding justice for the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots, the Bhopal gas tragedy and violence against dalits.

Addressing a poll rally in Theni in Tamil Nadu, he alleged that the Congress and dishonesty were best friends but sometimes by mistake, they end up speaking the truth.

Now they are saying Ab Hoga Nyay (justice will be done now) even if they did not intend, they have admitted that all they have done is Anyay (injustice) for 60 long years, he said.

I want to ask the Congress who will do Nyay to the victims of 1984 Sikh riots ?.Who will do Nyay to all the victims of anti-dalit (violence)? Who will do Nyay to the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy, among the worst environmental disaster in India? he asked

Looking to strike a chord with Tamil voters, Mr Modi said he wants the Congress to tell, Who will do Nyay to the government of great M.G. Ramachandran ji, which was dismissed by the Congress just because one family did not like those leaders the Congress, which talks about Nyay has done most injustice to regional aspirations by shamelessly, imposing Article 356 to dismiss state governments of M.G. Ramachandran, M. Karunanidhi and the Communists.

Addressing another rally in Ramanathapuram, Mr Modi highlighted his governments strong fight against terror and a relaxed tax regime for the middle class.

While terror attacks shook the nation during the Congress regime, the NDAs policy halted them, he said.

Those who cannot protect India can never develop the nation. When Congress and their allies were in power, terrorists were attacking the nation regularly.City after city, there were blasts but the Congress remained helpless and silent, he said.

A vote for DMK, Congress, and Muslim League combine would lead to higher taxes and less development and give a free hand to terrorists and rise of criminal elements in politics, he alleged.

Blaming the DMK and the Congress for vote bank politics in opposing a bill on abolishing triple talaq in Parliament, Mr Modi said, These parties do not believe in dignity of women.

Countering Rahul Gandhis recent attempt to invoked Tamil pride and rationalist leader Periyar to target the BJPs Hindutva line, Mr Modi referred to the legacy of late AIADMK leaders MGR and J. Jayalalithaa who worked for the welfare of the poor.

In both the rallies, Mr Modi referred to ongoing development projects in Tamil Nadu and listed his governments welfare initiatives like the free LPG connections.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses etc all. Happy reading.
Political analysts are of the opinion that the latest controversy may create problems for the JD(U) in the 2019 general elections.

Rabri Devi in her statement on Friday had said that Kishor met Lalu Yadav at least five times earlier with his offer and if he denies, it would be a blatant lie. (Photo: PTI)

Patna: Poll strategist Prashant Kishor sets the political temperature soaring in Bihar with his invitation to Lalu Yadav for a media interaction over Rabri Devis claims that he came to her residence with an offer to merge JD(U) and RJD and declare Nitish Kumar a prime ministerial candidate.

On Saturday Prashant Kishor in a tweet said that he is ready for a media debate with Lalu Yadav in order to clear the air about what transpired during their meeting.

Those convicted or facing charges of abuse of public office and misappropriation of funds are claiming to be custodians of truth. I am ready for open media debate with him (Lalu Yadav) over the issue. Let people know who came with what kind of offer, Mr Kishor said in a tweet.

Rabri Devi in her statement on Friday had said that Mr Kishor met Lalu Yadav at least five times earlier with his offer and if he denies, it would be a blatant lie.

Security personnel and staff deployed at my residence can also tell you how many times he visited my residence to meet Lalu. If he denies now then it would be a big lie. I had asked him to go away because I didnt like his offerl, former chief minister Rabri Devi said.

After Mr Kishors denial on Saturday, she responded sharply by saying that he visited her 10 Circular road residence with an offer to make Tejashwi Yadav Bihars CM in 2020 Assembly elections if our party supported Nitish Kumar as the prime ministerial candidate in the 2019 general elections.

The RJD also reacted bitterly on the social media platform. Our party chief has more experience than you. There are many political leaders like you who have come and gone. If you want to discuss your stories you should go to your bosses.

Senior RJD leader Mohammad Neamtullah in his statement said, How much does he know about Mr Lalu. He is a mass leader and has more experience than Prashant Kishor.

Lalu Yadav who is in judicial custody after being convicted in four fodder scam cases had made similar claims about Prashant Kishors offer in his autobiography Gopalganj to Raisina hills.

These claims were however denied by many NDA leaders earlier including Prashant Kishor. In a tweet last week he had termed Lalu Yadavs claims as bogus.

Prashant Kishor who has been widely credited for the massive victory of the grand alliance in 2015 Bihar Assembly elections joined the ruling JD(U) as party National Vice President in September last year.

His appointment into the JD(U) had made him the second most powerful leader in the party.

Political analysts are of the opinion that the latest controversy may create problems for the JD(U) in the 2019 general elections.
In the visitor's book, Rahul wrote that the cost of freedom must never be forgotten.

Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, along state governor V.P. Singh Badnore and others, takes part in a candle light march on the eve of the centenary of Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar. (Photo: PTI)

Chandigarh: Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh paid floral tributes at the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial here on Saturday to mark the centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

After arriving here, Rahul, accompanied by chief minister Amarinder Singh, paid a visit to Golden Temple complex where he offered prayers at the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikh religion.

In the visitor's book, Rahul wrote that the cost of freedom must never be forgotten.

"The cost of freedom must never ever be forgotten. We salute the people of India who gave everything they had for it. Jai Hind," he wrote.

April 13 marks the 100th anniversary of the massacre, in which British forces led by Brigadier General Reginald Dyer opened fire on hundreds of unarmed, innocent Indians, including women and children, who were protesting peacefully against the oppressive Rowlatt Act of the British government.

PM Narendra Modi said the memory of those killed in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre serves as an inspiration to work for an India they would be proud of. "Today, when we observe 100 years of the horrific Jallianwala Bagh massacre, India pays tributes to all those martyred ... Their valour and sacrifice will never be forgotten. Their memory inspires us to work even harder to build an India they would be proud of," he tweeted.
Soon after Phase 1 of the Lok Sabha polls, the chief minister was vociferous about malfunctioning EVMs.

'EC is an autonomous body but they are working at the instructions of Modi,' Naidu said. (Photo: ANI)

New Delhi: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday accused the Election Commission of working under the instructions of the Prime Minister as he continued to air his grievance against faulty EVMs.

Soon after Phase 1 of the Lok Sabha elections ended on Aprill 11, the chief minister was vociferous about malfunctioning EVMs which he believes may interfere with a fair polling process.

Naidu took his angst to Delhi on Saturday and met officials of the EC. After the meeting he said: The government of India is interfering through EC. We have complained against EVMs earlier. EC is an autonomous body but is working at the instructions of Modi. Transfers of officers in Andhra Pradesh is also unjustified."

During polling on April 11 that saw Andhra Pradesh vote for both central and state elections, voting in a few districts of Andhra Pradesh was disrupted briefly due to faulty EVMs.

Naidu had requested the EC for an extension of polling time in the state to compensate for the time lost due to technical glitches.
Kejriwal also questionned the timing of the February 14 Pulwama terror attack, which he said was executed 'ahead of the elections'.

Kejriwal further said that because of Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, the unfulfilled agenda of Pakistan to divide India on the religious lines seems to be working. (Photo: File)

Panaji: Latching onto a statement attributed to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal Saturday said Pakistan cannot get a better Indian PM than Narendra Modi who had allowed the ISI to visit the Pathankot air base, and is "implementing" Pakistan's agenda.

Kejriwal also questionned the timing of the February 14 Pulwama terror attack, which he said was executed "ahead of the elections".

Referring to Khan's statement that he sees a better chance of peace talks with India if the BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi wins the Lok Sabha elections, the Delhi chief minister went on to question the timing of the Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed. "Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan says that Narendra Modi should become the PM of India once again.

His statement came against the backdrop of a war like situation that existed between both the countries a few days back. And (despite that) Imran Khan wants Modi to be the PM of India again," Kejriwal said while addressing the AAP workers in South Goa. Kejriwal said he didn't understand that is happening between Khan and Modi. "Four weeks back, a war-like situation prevailed between both the countries but now Imran Khan wants Modi to be the PM. Why is he saying so? Why does Pakistan want Modi to be PM again? Now people have started asking about the Pulwama attack," he said. "Why did he (Imran Khan) get the terrorist attack at Pulwama executed just two months before the (Lok Sabha) elections?" he asked. "Modi is now going around the country and telling that we went into the house of the enemy (ghar me ghuskar) and killed them," he said.

Kejriwal added, "Pakistan cannot get better prime minister than Modi. After the Pathankot strike, he (Modi) invited the ISI (Pakistani spy agency) to investigate it (in 2016). The ISI is less of an intelligence agency and more of terrorists. The BJP calls Modi a strong leader, but no government did what Modi did (by allowing the ISI enter the Pathankot air base)..Can Pakistan get better Indian PM than Modi?" he questioned.

Kejriwal further said that because of Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, the unfulfilled agenda of Pakistan to divide India on the religious lines seems to be working. "Pakistan failed to divide India on the religious lines in the last 70 years. But it is being made possible in the last five years because of Modi and Shah duo who have filled poison in the minds of the people. Pakistan cannot get better Indian prime minister than this. They (Shah and Modi) have implemented Pakistan's agenda," he said.

He further said Modi's return to power does not augur well for democracy in India. "If Modi returns to power, this would be the last election in the country till he is alive. I have come to appeal to you to save the country. The country is in danger. If Modi and Amit Shah come back again, and if Modi becomes PM again, then the country will not survive, Indian constitution will not survive and secular structure will not survive," he alleged.

AAP has fielded Elvis Gomes from South Goa constituency against Congress' Francisco Sardinha and BJP's sitting MP Narendra Sawaikar. Goa, which has two Parliamentary seats, votes on April 23.
At the rally, Modi hit out at the Congress on the J&K and national security issues, taking it on its election promise to withdraw AFSPA.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the Congress was dreaming about coming to power at the Centre and asked voters to punish it and its allies in such a way they would not be able to save even their deposits. (Photo: ANI/ Twitter)

Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the Congress was dreaming about coming to power at the Centre and asked voters to punish it and its allies in such a way they would not be able to save even their deposits.

At a massive rally here, Modi hit out at the Congress on the Jammu and Kashmir and national security issues, taking it on its election promise to withdraw the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

"...punish Congress and its allies in such a way so that they will not be able to even save their deposits," he said.

Modi said while his government had promoted "ease of doing business" in 60 months of its rule, the Congress had encouraged "ease of loot" in its 60 years of administration.

The Prime Minister also took exception to the political row created by the ruling Congress-JD(S) alliance over the recent Income Tax raids on several JDS men across the state.

Modi asked the crowd, "should the law be followed or not whether it is PM or CM or ministers? Why get scared if you have not committed anything wrong?" he asked.

On March 28, the Income Tax department carried out raids at multiple locations in Bengaluru, Mysuru,Mandya, Ramanagara, Shivamogga and Hassan, triggering a strong reaction from Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Congress leaders, who accused the Centre of promoting the politics of vendetta.

Kumaraswamy had even called the I-T officers as agents of BJP and led a protest by the ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition in front of the IT department office here.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses etc all. Happy reading.
The minister claimed that nobody could doubt the commitment and integrity of Mr Modi.

Police personnel who are scheduled to be on election duty during the third phase of polling cast their votes for general elections in Ahmedabad. (Photo: PTI)

Gandhidham (Guj): Attacking Congress over its poll promise of repealing the sedition law if elected to power in the Lok Sabha election, Union home minister Rajnath Singh Friday said here that the BJP government would make the law even more stringent.

He was speaking at a gathering in Gandhidham city of Kutch district in Gujarat. Congress is saying that they will repeal the sedition law. I want to ask you all, should we forgive those anti-nationals who are trying to break the unity and social fabric of our country? he asked.

If its within our powers, we will make the sedition law even more stringent. We will make such a strict law that it would send shivers down their spine. (Agar hamara bas chaley toh rashtradroh ko aur kadaa hum banayenge, taaki iss kanoon ki provisions ki yaad aate hee logo ki rooh kaanpe... aisa kanoon banayenge)," Mr Singh said.

The senior BJP leader also attacked former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah over his demand for a separate prime minister for the region.

I want to tell these leaders that if you continue to raise such demands, then we will be left with no other option than to abrogate Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution. We dont want such India, said Mr Singh.

He also blamed former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for the Kashmir crisis.

Had Pandit Nehru given full powers to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to handle the issue, we might have got a solution at that time, said Mr Singh.

Speaking on the performance of the Modi government, the home minister said, I do not want to claim that we have uprooted the corruption completely. But, our government has definitely taken some decisive steps towards that direction.

The minister claimed that nobody could doubt the commitment and integrity of Mr Modi.

Mr Singh alleged that although India was capable of making anti-satellite missile way back in 2007, the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had stopped the scientists from doing so.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses etc all. Happy reading.
Priya Dutt on reclaiming Mumbai North Central constituency from BJPs Poonam Mahajan, striking a balance between her personal.

After being elected to the Parliament of India twice  first from her fathers seat in Mumbai North West constituency in 2005 and later from Mumbai North Central in 2009, Priya Dutt, who represents Congress, lost her seat in the last Lok Sabha elections to BJPs Poonam Mahajan. However, in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, Priya is not only confident of giving Poonam Mahajan a defeat but the politician also feels that there is no competition at all from the BJP candidate.

I wouldnt even compare the last elections to this elections because people were completely blinded by a wave. There was this Modi wave due to which they didnt even think over the candidate they are voting for. So, I cant even compare but this election is more of fighting for what is the truth. And, what has been shown in the past five years is a complete lie. Everybody knows that they promised people development, employment and a robust economy. Also, their promise of bringing back the black money into our country and crediting Rs 15 lakhs in the account of the people have proved to be unfulfilled. Nothing they said has been fulfilled so its a mere lie, says Priya and adds that the BJP did nothing towards development in the last five years even though they were in the Centre and had a cooperative alliance. We always worked as a coalition government, which was tough, but we achieved a lot, she says.

Speaking about her agendas for the next five years if she comes to power, the politician says, My agendas are pretty much similar to from where we started in the 2014 elections... unfortunately, nothing has moved ahead from that. This constituency is very diverse - you have the elite upper class, middle class and on the other side, you have a lot of slums as well. My constituency comprises of 60 per cent of slums. Undoubtedly, the needs of all these sections are completely different and we have to address the issue of the housing, which is and has been a very big subject waiting to be addressed. (There was supposed to be) rehabilitation of the people on the central government land, which has yet not happened.

Further adding on her agendas, she says, We had taken the rehabilitation proposal to the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, we will again address the national policy of (allotting) the Central government land for rehabilitation. And then, we are looking at the redevelopment projects in Bandra East area. When we talk about infrastructural development in our constituency, a lot has happened in the last ten years by the UPA government - Milan Subway Road, BandraWorli Sea Link, Chembur Link road, etc. I have to proudly say that in all these projects, people were rehabilitated. And as a member of parliament, my role was very important as we had to negotiate for the people who were affected. Our stand was very firm that people who were affected should be rehabilitated first and then only development should go ahead.

Another area that will be in focus for Priya is women empowerment. Our party has been very vocal about women empowerment, we have always tried to uplift the causes related to women including the 33 per cent reservation in parliament. It's not been obtained yet but Congress party is the one who initiated it. The first thing that our manifesto says is that 33 per cent of the government jobs should be allocated for women, this will benefit a lot of women. Under the NYAY scheme, about Rs 72,000 per year will be again going to womens account as a woman is the poorest of the poorest families. Again it's going to empower women as she is the one who takes care of the family. So every scheme you would look at is first focusing on empowering a woman and that is how we look at women empowerment

Priyas father Sunil Dutt joined Indian National Congress party in 1984 and was elected to the Parliament for five terms from the constituency of Mumbai North West. It is the same constituency from where Priya began her journey following his death in 2005. Is there any wish of her father that Priya wishes to fulfil? One wish that my father always wanted to fulfil was housing for the people. It has always been his dream to provide the people in the slums with proper living conditions. I would really want to see this dream of his flourishing. And, giving people their homes is something I feel from the bottom of my heart, says Priya.

And, would her brother be campaigning for her?

I don't want my brother should hang around me when I am campaigning, I don't think that is right. He has his own work to do and I respect that. He is always there with me morally and emotionally. Sanju has also said, whenever Priya wants me there for her, I will be there by her side. He will be a part of the campaign but I don't want him to be here from day one, says Priya. When asked what are the things that she has learned from her brother, Priya says it is remaining strong throughout. I love his strength. I have great admiration for him because he has gone through hell in his life, he's gone through the craziest ups and downs in his life and yet he has come out strong every time. I have learned a lot from him, his resilience and his will to survive all this gives me oodles of strength and learnings, says Priya who gets emotional as she adds, So, the resilience Sanju gets from both my father (Sunil Dutt) and mother (Nargis Dutt).

On striking a balance between her personal and professional front, Priya says, During my first elections campaign, I was carrying my first baby. At that time also, I ensured to draw a balance in my personal as well professional life. Undeniably striking a balance is always difficult, especially now when my children are in their early teen years. Age of 12-13 is the time when children need the support and advise of their parents the most." Priya further gets nostalgic as she recalls how her father Sunil Dutt always stood by her and Sanjays side. He would never miss the parents-teachers meetings. He would always support us and be there during our school functions. Since he did it, I'm sure I can do it. Lastly, the politician adds, I have been able to keep up to my personal and professional commitments only because of the support of my husband. I do get a lot of support from him and without his support, I could not have done what I have done and will be doing hereafter.
Friday, April 12, 2019 at 10:30PM

We're seeing a lot of theater in the run up to the Tonys. Here's new contributor J.B.

For the last twenty years or so, and probably longer, well-crafted stories about women in politics told on stage or screen have frequently been described with words like timely or vital. These stories, in many cases, are ones we havent heard before, and to the extent we as a society want our art to imitate life (and indeed, vice versa), they are, now more than ever, ones we need to hear.

It is for this reason that Hillary and Clinton, a well-crafted story about the quintessential woman in American politics now playing at the John Golden Theater in New York, feels like such an anomaly. The play, written by Lucas Hnath and directed by Joe Mantello (his SEVENTH production on Broadway in just the last three years), takes place in a hotel room during the thick of the 2008 New Hampshire Democratic Primary and offers an imagined glimpse into what exactly the titular characters (played by Tony-winners Laurie Metcalf and John Lithgow, respectively) may have been thinking, feeling, and communicating to each other at that precise place and time in history...

On its page devoted to the play, where tickets are also available for purchase, Broadway.com advertises Hillary and Clinton with the blurb Laurie Metcalf and John Lithgow star in Lucas Hnaths timely new work. Theres that word, timely. But in fact, this description is a rather ironic one here, since the play is, in all reality, neither timely nor new. In fact, it was written in 2008, when the events on which it focuses were very recent history. But in 2019, those events feel like ancient history, and the themes and insights Hnath uses them to convey (generally about the experience of being a woman running for President of the United States and specifically about the experience of being Hillary Rodham Clinton) feel gratuitous and at times even painful. After all, since the play was written, we all watched Hillary mount and lose yet another presidential campaign, and, before, during and after that campaign, speak and write ad nauseum about what it is like to be a woman running for President, and what it is like to be her.

Because of this, Hillary and Clinton doesnt pack the punch it would have had it had premiered in, say, 2009. But in 2019 it's still a sharp, well-staged, funny, and poignant when it needs to be. Metcalf, as always, knocks it absolutely out of the park as Hillary, and Lithgow and the supporting cast keep up. The work itself doesnt quite match what Hnath accomplished with his 2017 smash A Dolls House, Part 2 (a transcendent mediation on love, marriage, gender and society, also starring Metcalf), but its thoughtful, inquisitive, and worthy of a Broadway stage. There is wisdom, humor and even some spark of joy and optimism to be found in it. What it is not, however, is timely. Spoiler alert, but the play literally contains a scene in which Barack Obama, in an attempt to convince Hillary to concede the democratic nomination to him, says in so many words:

This isnt your time, Hil. But your time will come.

Ouch. For me, its still too soon to be able to watch that exchange play out and not wince (or worse). Maybe there will come a time when I am ready to relive or re-examine the course of the 2016 election, but that time is most definitely not now. And that is where Hillary and Clinton struggles most.

The play frames its story as one taking place in an alternate universe, but doesnt do a good enough job of transporting the audience to that universe. Metcalf doesnt wear a pantsuit or a blonde wig in the production, but that alone isnt enough to distract the audience from, what is surely for many of us, the traumatic nature of the events the work is portraying in order to allow us to sufficiently focus on or appreciate the sophisticated, meticulously-curated thoughts and ideas Hnath is trying to impart. On the contrary, towards the end of the play, Hillary waxes poetic in a particularly gripping monologue about the fact that if one universe exists, which is does, then countless alternate universes must also exist, and maybe, somewhere, in one of those universes, she is President. Hnath, to be sure, is saying something profound and meaningful with this monologue. But about the only thing I took away from it was the fact that, at this moment in time, wherever that alternate universe exists, Id rather be living there than in this one.

Tony Awards? Metcalf is a lock for a Best Leading Actress in a Play nomination, and could very well snag her third Tony. Expect Lithgow, also a two-time previous winner, and Hnath, a previous nominee, to show up among the nominations as well for Best Actor and Best Play respectively. Otherwise, Mantello stands a good shot for his directing, as does Peter Francis James for his featured role as President Barack Obama.
Mamata Banerjee said that carrying mace and sword some people have hit the street to seek votes.

Kolkata: Expressing her doubts over the BJPs performance in the ongoing Lok Sabha election, Trinamul Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Saturday wondered whether the saffron party would at all be able to win 10 seats out of 91 where the first phase of polls was held on April 11. She underlined that the BJP may not be able to cross the tally of 100 seats even altogether while dismissing the partys prospect to come to power for the second time in a row.

The West Bengal chief minister told a rally in Siliguri of North Bengal, Elections were held in 91 seats. Out of that the BJP got 32 last time. But I have come to know that they would not even get 10 this time. It is a total loss, a big zero for them. They would be fortunate if they can cross 100. Still they are dreaming of forming the government.

Alleging foul play by the NDA-led BJP government through demonetisation, GST, banking reforms, atrocities on the dalits and minority communities she said, We will not even leave a single vote. A single vote is the jote (alliance) to oust Narendra Modi from power. It is an alliance of the mass. Throw them (BJP) out of power.

Tearing into the BJP for taking out rallies with arms to celebrate Ram Navami in the state the Trinamul chief accused them of selling religion desperately for political gains.

Furious over the display of mace and sword by state BJP president and party candidate of Kharagpur Dilip Ghosh, Ms Banerjee said, Carrying mace and sword some people have hit the street to seek votes. What have these things to do with politics? Whose head will you smash with mace? Who will you behead with sword?"
The Mumbai BJP chief ruled out the perception that the Opposition parties are gaining ground in the city.

Mumbai: Mumbai Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Ashish Shelar has expressed confidence that the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance will win all six seats in the city hands down.

The Opposition parties are very weak and are in no position to pose any challenge to us, he said.

In a special talk with The Asian Age on Friday, the BJP leader said that the kind of response the BJP-Sena alliance candidates are getting in the city shows that they will win all seats easily.

We had already won all six seats in the last Lok Sabha polls. We will continue with that performance this time too, he said. If you analyse all six seats in the city, you will find that the Opposition has failed to find original candidates. Sanjay Nirupam was earlier with the Shiv Sena, whereas Sanjay Dina Patil was knocking on the doors of the BJP a few years ago. Urmila Matondkar herself is new to politics. On this backdrop, it will be interesting to see how much of a challenge they pose to the BJP-Sena candidates, he said.

In the remaining three constituencies, the Opposition candidates cannot be considered as fighters. Milind Deora and Priya Dutt had earlier not shown interest in contesting, while Eknath Gaikwad is not fit to contest, said Mr Shelar.

The Mumbai BJP chief ruled out the perception that the Opposition parties are gaining ground in the city.

They do not have ground as they found it hard to even nominate candidates. The then Congress city chief was seen running from one constituency to another for fear of losing. What does it show? Even for their own campaign, they have to call leaders from other parties for campaigning, said Mr Shelar, who is also a MLA from Bandra-west.

The BJP leader predicted that the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) factor will affect the chances of the BJP-Sena alliance in the Lok Sabha polls.

We will not reply to Raj Thackerays speeches. The chief minister has already given a fitting reply. Let him speak against us. It will only enhance BJPs chances in the polls. The voters of MNS will not vote for the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidates, whereas non-Maharashtrians will have no choice but to dump the Congress, he said.

Mr Shelar denied that there are differences between the workers of BJP and Shiv Sena for the Lok Sabha polls. There is no dispute between us. We are all working together to ensure the victory of BJP-Sena alliance candidates,he said.

While the Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has announced that his party and the BJP have decided to share power in the state, Mr Shelar said the BJP is not planning to do so in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) despite having significant strength. We have not thought about it so far, he added.
It should be said that the Congress Partys dynasty is itself not particularly qualified in the educational sense.

How educated does a leader have to be and what is the consequence of a lack of intellectual exposure? The Congress is making fun of the fact that Smriti Irani did not go to college. She joined a correspondence course but did not finish it, which probably means she had no interest in furthering her education.

Ms Irani is a smart and clever individual and her lack of formal education does not appear to have hindered her progress, though one can judge her quality only from her policy interventions that not many of us have any idea about. There is no shame in not having gone to college, but Ms Irani got into trouble because she had made some claims about her education (having gone to Yale University) which were misleading if not outright false.

It should be said that the Congress Partys dynasty is itself not particularly qualified in the educational sense. Rajiv Gandhi went to England to study at Cambridge but he failed his exams and did not get a degree. His brother Sanjay did not even pass out of high school. He left school to take up a course in automobile repairs. It is shocking that such a person was so powerful and allowed a big say in policy by his mother.

Sanjays wife Maneka married him when she was 18 and therefore does not have a proper education. Her Lok Sabha qualification says she only went to school. Sonia Gandhi did not go to college either. Her studies ended at the age of 18, and she also married early. Indira Gandhi did not get a degree either.

Rahul Gandhi is called Pappu by his detractors, but he seems to be academically bright. He has a Masters in Philosophy in development economics from Trinity College, Cambridge. This is the same place that Nehru also studied. It may interest readers to know that Nehru passed with a third class and was not a good student. Rahul is the most educated individual in the Gandhi family's history.

The most famous British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, did not go to college and did not have a formal education. This is remarkable because he was a historian and a novelist and won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1953. Another British Prime Minister who left school at 16 and did not go to college was John Major, whom older readers will remember as Margaret Thatchers successor. A total of 11 British PMs have not been to college.

Narendra Modi left his house and his wife at the age of 17 and therefore did not go to college. He did a correspondence course though there is some controversy over the authenticity of the documents he has produced. Despite his lack of formal education, we can observe that he is a good politician. However, I think he has one crucial flaw. He does not engage deeply with policy material like Manmohan or Obama or someone intellectual might.

In one of his interviews, Mr Modi has himself described how he works. He says: Three or four days after I became chief minister of Gujarat, the chief secretary (CS) came to me. He brought a heap of files this tall (gesturing about three feet high). They must have weighed 15 or 20 kilos. The peon left them on my table. The chief secretary sat and said to me: This is the file for Narmada  I can remember Narmada but there were three other files also. The CS said: These are on Gujarat's vital and sensitive issues. Take the time out to read them. You may need to speak on, and take a position on, at any time and address all these issues.

I kept looking up and down the height of the stack three or four times. I said to him: You leave these here and we shall meet in a few days. I did not even open these files. They stayed where they were. A voice came to me that I could not work through academics study [sic]. I can't do that. That voice came from within. I said to the three officers who were working with me that the CS has given these to me. I will not be able to read so much. First, you people make me understand what masala [sic] the files contain. If I begin reading all this material, there's no end to it. It is not in my nature (prakruti) to read files.

Three or four days later the CS returned. I said to him: Tell me what the important things are in these files. He did so and I said: This much is sufficient for me, you can take the files back. After that I have never had to be briefed on these issues, and its been 13 years since.

I had such ability that I was able to grasp the granularity of the issues. Such things left an impact on the officers. I dont argue. I am a good listener. Dont go by my reputation outside: I listen a lot. I can say today that if in my development reading played a 30 per cent role then listening had a 70 per cent role. What I hear, I analyse, and classify the maal [sic] in different boxes in my mind. This takes me no time and when needed I can retrieve it. This extra method (vidha) I have been able to develop.

Even today if my officers show me some paper, I say: Tell me what's in it in two minutes. For me two minutes is sufficient for a 10-page document. This skill is something I have developed.

Unfortunately, this is not appropriate for running a large and complex nation. One hopes that in his second term, Mr Modi spends more time reading serious material even if it bores him or is against his nature.
Manufacturers may be allowed to test autonomous delivery vehicles with an approved permit from the regulator.

62 companies have valid permits to test autonomous vehicles with a safety driver on California public roadways.

California regulators on April 12, proposed regulations that would allow vehicle manufacturers to test or deploy small self-driving delivery trucks on public roads, the states Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) said in a statement.

Manufacturers will be allowed to test autonomous delivery vehicles weighing less than 10,001 pounds with an approved permit from the regulator, the DMV said.

It was not clear if these delivery vehicles will be required to have a safety driver while testing, as is required for passenger cars.

The regulator will hold a public hearing at its Sacramento headquarters on May 30 to gather inputs on the proposed regulations.

Currently, 62 companies have valid permits to test autonomous vehicles with a safety driver on California public roadways.
The White House mulled the idea of nationalising the 5G network for more than a year.

President Donald Trump said on April 12, the United States should not nationalise its 5G network and said private companies should move quickly to deploy the faster next-generation network.

In the United States our approach is private-sector driven and private-sector led. The government doesnt have to spend lots of money, Trump said. Leading through the government, it wont be nearly as good, nearly as fast.

The White House mulled the idea of nationalising the 5G network for more than a year. In March Politico reported that Trumps re-election campaign supported a government role in managing the 5G networks even as White House officials including top economic adviser Larry Kudlow have said for months they oppose the idea.

Trump spoke alongside Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai who disclosed the agency plans to hold its third 5G spectrum auction on December 10, the latest effort to make more spectrums available that could transform significant sectors of the US economy.

Pai said Trumps comments opposing nationalisation was an important signal to the private sector that is investing tens of billions of dollars in the 5G networks.

CTIA, an industry trade group, said that Trumps statement puts an end - once and for all - to any misguided notions of nationalising spectrum resources or government-mandated wholesale 5G markets.

Pai is also proposing to invest USD 20.4 billion over 10 years to build out high-speed broadband networks in rural America.

The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund aims to provide funding through a reverse auction to service providers in areas without access to high-speed service and aims to connect up to four million rural homes and small businesses to high-speed broadband networks.

5G networks are expected to be at least 100 times faster than the current 4G networks, cut delays and allow for innovations in a number of fields.

Pai spoke on a call with reporters ahead of the White House event with Trump and rural residents who could benefit from faster networks to tout the administrations efforts to boost 5G wireless networks and funding for rural broadband.

Since November, the FCC has auctioned 1,550 megahertz of spectrum to be used by commercial wireless providers for 5G connectivity. The third 5G spectrum auction will be the largest, with the FCC selling 3,400 megahertz in three different spectrum bands.

The FCC voted on Friday to seek comments on bidding procedures for the next auction. Democratic FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said the auction is a good step but the commission must also pivot to mid-band spectrum or risk falling behind other countries.

Verizon Communications Inc, AT&T Corp, Sprint Corp and T Mobile US Inc are beginning to deploy 5G services in US cities and are working to extend their networks as 5G-compatible phones slowly become available.

The Republican administration has also been warning other countries against adopting 5G systems from Chinese telecommunications company Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, citing security concerns.

For more than a year, the White House has been mulling an executive order that would direct the Commerce Department to block US companies from buying equipment from foreign telecommunications makers that pose significant national security risks, Reuters reported in December.

The FCC since March 2018 has also been considering rules to bar the use of funds from a government program to purchase equipment or services from companies that pose a security threat to US communications networks. Pai said that proposal is still pending.
Branson has said he hopes to be the first passenger on a commercial flight in 2019.

Virgin Galactics chief astronaut instructor, Beth Moses, who is a former NASA engineer, became the first woman to fly to space on a commercial vehicle when she joined pilots David Mackay and Mike Masucci on SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity.

Virgin Galactics first test passenger received her commercial astronaut wings from the US aviation regulator on Tuesday after flying on the companys rocket plane to evaluate the customer experience in February.

Virgin Galactics chief astronaut instructor, Beth Moses, who is a former NASA engineer, became the first woman to fly to space on a commercial vehicle when she joined pilots David Mackay and Mike Masucci on SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity.

The wings were presented to the three-person crew at the 35th Space Symposium in Colorado by the Federal Aviation Administrations associate administrator for commercial space, Wayne Monteith. Commercial human space flight is now a reality, he said.

The February test flight nudged Richard Bransons space travel company closer to delivering suborbital flights for the more than 600 people who have paid Virgin Galactic about $80 million (61 million) in deposits. Branson has said he hopes to be the first passenger on a commercial flight in 2019.

The 90-minute flight, during which passengers will be able to experience a few minutes of weightlessness and see the Earths curvature, costs $250,000  a price that the company said will increase before it falls.

Jeff Bezos Blue Origin and Elon Musks SpaceX are also in the space tourism race. Blue Origin has launched its New Shepard rocket to space, but its trips have not yet carried humans. SpaceX last year named Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa as its first passenger on a voyage around the moon, tentatively scheduled for 2023.

Moses, who as a NASA engineer worked on the assembly of the International Space Station, is designing a three-day training program for Virgin Galactics future space tourists.

I gleaned a lot of firsthand information that we can roll into the design and then also into the training, she said on her return to earth in Mojave, California, in February.

The passengers, some of whom have been signed up since 2004, will train in a mock-up cabin at New Mexicos Spaceport America before their flights.

Moses told Reuters she aims for customers to arrive in space not wondering what noise they just heard or being surprised by the G they just felt.

Virgin Galactics Branson will also receive the annual Space Achievement Award at the symposium in recognition of the companys two crewed test flights, the first from US soil since the final Space Shuttle mission in 2011.
The GSP is the largest and oldest US trade preference programme.

The US Congress in March last year voted to renew the GSP through 2020. (Photo:AP)

Washington: Two top American Senators have urged the Trump administration to delay until the end of the general elections its decision to terminate India's designation as a beneficiary developing country under the Generalized System of Preference due to a lack of compliance.

The Generalized System of Preference (GSP) is the largest and oldest US trade preference programme and is designed to promote economic development by allowing duty-free entry for thousands of products from designated beneficiary countries.

The US Congress in March last year voted to renew the GSP through 2020.

In a letter to US Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer, Senators John Cornyn from the Republican party and Mark warner from the Democratic party argued that India-US relationship was too important to rush such an important decision in the middle of an election cycle.

"As you know, India's elections will conclude on May 23, 2019. We believe that the election season may serve as a hindrance for our Indian counterparts in negotiating and concluding a deal on difficult political issues," the two Senators wrote in the letter to Lighthizer on Friday.

It was in April last year that the USTR announced that it planned to review the GSP eligibility of a number of countries, including India.

The USTR's announcement specifically cited "concerns related to its compliance with GSP market access criterion," based on petitions filed from the US medical device and dairy industries.

"If another round of negotiations during the election season does not resolve the outstanding issues, we would ask you to consider delaying the issuance of a Presidential proclamation to withdraw India's GSP benefits by at least 30 days, beyond the 60-day calendar, in order to move the negotiations beyond India's elections," the Senators said.

Allowing for continued negotiations beyond the elections would underscore the importance of this bilateral relationship and provide a real opportunity to resolve these market access issues, potentially improving the overall US-India relationship for years to come, said Cornyn and Warner, who are co-chairs of the powerful Senate India Caucus.

"We understand that the Trump administration may issue a proclamation withdrawing India's GSP benefits 60 days or later from the congressional notification date," the two Senators wrote.

The letter comes in the middle of an intense Indian election cycle, during which the ruling government cannot take a major policy decision, which holds officials from making substantial progress on the crucial negotiations between India and the United States.

"As Co-Chairs of the United States Senate's India Caucus, we fully appreciate and support your efforts to address a host of market access issues facing American businesses in India.''

"Congressional support for the GSP programme was made clear last year when the US Senate and US House of Representatives reauthorised the programme, in nearly unanimous fashion, for three years," they said.

On March 4, 2019, Congress was notified of USTR's intention to terminate India's designation as a beneficiary developing country under GSP due to a lack of compliance

"While we agree that there are a number of market access issues that can and should be addressed, we do remain concerned that the withdrawal of duty concessions will make Indian exports of eligible products to the United States costlier, as the importer of those products will have to pay a 'Most Favoured Nation' (MFN) duty which is higher than the rate under GSP," the Senators said.

Some of these costs will likely be passed on to American consumers, they told Lighthizer.
Brewers' Favorite Beers That Aren't Their Own

The Go-To Beers of Pro Brewers

To say that the craft brewing world has exploded in the last few years would be an understatement. In 2012, there were more than 2,000 craft breweries in the U.S. alone. Today, that number is closer to 7,000, giving beer fans more options than ever before.

RELATED: Why Is There No Spring Seasonal Beer?

While you might think that the people behind the brews are not as privy to the growing number of offerings on tap  preferring to stick to their own varieties in favour of supporting the competition  you would be wrong. Of course, brewers want to support their business, but they enjoy getting a taste of whats out there, too. In fact, many brewers find inspiration in their rivals offerings. And it turns out they arent afraid to share it.

In an effort to separate the delectable from the duds in the booming beer world, we checked in with some of our favorite brewers to get their unbiased opinion on the must-try beers that arent their own.

From Bamberg, Germany, this beloved pilsner is known for its herbal hoppiness, clean fermentation, and a crisp, yet slightly round finish.

It inspires my pilsner brain. It reminds me of what a marriage of Prima Pils and Braumeister [a Victory beer available on draft at the brewerys tap room] might taste like, says Ron Barchet, founder and brewmaster of Victory Brewing Company.

Find out more at Biershop.de

A brown ale aged in Pinot Noir casks with sour cherries, brettanomyces, lactobacillus, and pediococcus added, Supplication is a highly-prized beer.

According to Layton Culter, head brewer at Angel City Brewery, It is a superior fruited barrel-aged sour beer. What flavors and unique elements drew me to it? The level of sourness, funk, and cherry flavor is outstanding.

From $14.05 at Drizly.com

One of the most well-known pilsners in the world, Pilsner Urquell is the worlds first pale ale and it has been copied and mimicked more than most beers ever created.

"I got to spend a week at the brewery with the brewmaster several years ago. When that beer is enjoyed fresh at the source it is the most soft, delicate, and refined beer drinking experience Ive ever had. I remember thinking that I wish I could solidify it and savor it with a fork, says Todd Usry, president and head brewer at Breckenridge Brewery

From $5.29 at Drizly.com

This light, citrusy, subtly peppery saison is one of the most respected of the style in the world.

This beer works so well on its own, and it's even better with food. It is always in my beer fridge  normally in a big bottle so I can share, Jason Santamaria, co-owner and beer architect at Second Self Beer shares.

"[Saison Dupont] is one of those beers, that, whenever I have it, I remember why I got into making beer. It truly shows how great a beer can be. Whenever I create a saison myself, I think of Dupont as my inspiration. Our Saison Champenoise, which we released two years ago, is very close in flavor and will be served in our taproom again this year, he adds.

From $5.04 at Drizly.com

RELATED: Best Gifts for Beer Lovers

Brewed by F.X. Matt Brewing in Utica, New York, Utica Club is a classic throwback lager that brings its drinker to a different time and place in history.

I know in a world full of amazing and diverse craft beers it sounds kind of silly that I chose an old school classic American lager, but I was trained by the best at Anheuser-Busch and Genesee to brew a light, clean, and crisp lager that has next to nothing to hide behind, says Steve Kaplan, head brewer at the Genesee Brewing Company

Im not saying its easy to make a great IPA because its certainly not. But you can sure hide a lot of sins behind a pile of hops. American lagers have zero margin for error, he adds. Brewmaster Keith Miller and all the guys at F.X. Matt have stuck to their original recipe and perfected their process to deliver the same clean, light, and crisp Utica Club Lager.

Find out more at Saranac.com

Founded in 2009, Fremont has quickly become one of the most respected breweries in the country. Its seven percent ABV Lush IPA is made with Citra, Mosiaic, and Citra Lupulin hops to create a juicy, tropical beer.

IPAs are usually my go-to when I'm drinking craft I didn't brew. I'm a big fan of Fremont Brewing. My brother lives close to Fremont. We visited the brewery, tried their beers, and really liked them, Steve Kaplan, head brewer at the Genesee Brewing Company shares.

I also see [Fremont] at craft beer conferences throughout the year, so I'm always able to see what they're up to, build a relationship with their brewers, and continue to try their new releases, he adds.

From $9.98 at Drizly.com

Jever is Germanys old school version of a West Coast IPA. The beer is bone dry, has an aggressive yet balanced hop bitterness, and a spicy nobel hop aroma.

There are so many great beers out there. However, one that stands out is Jever Pilsner. What makes this beer even more fun is that it is the High Life of German beers, says Yiga Miyashiro, director of brewing operations at Saint Archer Brewing Company.

When I was traveling in Northern Germany, all of the broke college kids, would pick up cases of this beer for their BBQ and other social gatherings, he adds.

$9.99 at Drizly.com

This session beer is known for its great balance of hop bitterness and malty sweetness.

According to Matt McCall, head brewer at Coney Island Brewing, It goes great with everything from mowing the lawn to watching the ball game on TV. That sessionability is one of the reasons Im excited about releasing our Beach Beer. Its easy-drinking while still offering up a good amount of flavor.

From $6.99 at Drizly.com

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is all about balance. Fresh bright bitterness balanced perfectly with a formidable malt backbone. When it was released people considered it aggressively bitter.

From todays perspective [Sierra Nevada] really has served as a gateway to what the modern IPA is today. For me, you can taste the evolution of American Craft Beer in every sip. Ken Grossman is a legend, and this beer is a reflection of all of the work and innovation he has blessed our industry with, shares Rhett Dougherty, head brewer at Veza Sur Brewing Company.

This is my favorite beer mostly due to the emotions and memories it elicits for me. This beer is like a time machine. It makes me think of stealing a bottle or two from a six-pack from my dad's fridge, or drinking it on the beach in Santa Cruz. The taste of this beer has visceral connections to my own memories, he adds.

From $5.09 at Drizly.com

One of the most popular craft beers of the past few years is the lager. Firestone Walkers Helles-style version maintains its malt character without being too full and keeps a perfect hop balance.

Honestly, everything [Firestone] does is pretty amazing and never fails to deliver. It is just so well made, says Mike Stoneburg, brewmaster at Blue Point Brewing.

It can be enjoyed on so many levels. If you wanted to, you could dissect every detail and all the care they put into it, or you can just veg out with one or six of them on the back porch watching the sunset after a long day, he adds.

From $7.99 at Drizly.com

Anchor is one of the oldest breweries in America. While almost every beer it brews is well-received by the beer community, one of its most popular is its Porter. Its so unique for a porter. It really doesnt fit the style it helped revitalize, and because of its historic position, Anchor Brewing just bent the category to their will, Josh Waldman, brewmaster at Elysian Brewing shares.

Its beautiful. It has a smooth mouthfeel, a chocolatey taste, and that distinct hit of banana in the nose that makes it so unexpected, but yet so good. I want one right now, he adds.

From $7.99 at Drizly.com

Whether its local craft varieties or internationally-acclaimed names, its clear everyone enjoys imbibing a variety of brews from time to time  even the brewers themselves.

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The good news is that nothing was stolen and / or damaged, ABC News reports. The mans car wasnt taken or ransacked, and the lock wasnt forced. The bad news is that someone had spent the night inside, sleeping there.The footage at the bottom of the page also includes surveillance video from the mans CCTV. It shows a suspect wearing a pink hoodie wandering from the street, walking determinedly towards the 2 parked cars. He tries on the locks and, once he finds one car thats unlocked, opens the door and slips inside.He never came out that night. It turns out that the suspect wasnt looking to steal anything, he simply needed a place to crash. Next up in the video, a police car pulls over and a cop comes out. He walks to the car as well and escorts the suspect out in handcuffs.The suspect was charged with trespass of a motor vehicle and marijuana possession. So maybe he simply needed a place to sleep off whatever rager he had pulled just hours before.That said, police are constantly warning car owners to never leave their vehicles unlocked, even if theyre parked right outside in the driveway, locked in the garage or on the corner of a street for a few minutes, while they run errands. Security cameras are also not enough to scare thieves away.This particular car owner was lucky that no damage was done to the vehicle, but others were less fortunate and had their cars stolen or ransacked . The first step towards lowering the number of such incidents is to take all precautions to keep the thieves away, police say.
Michael Burke from Elk Grove, California, says his Mustang is his baby. He recently took it for a brake inspection at a local tire shop and was shocked to see a mechanic meant to perform the inspection doing donuts in it. Livid doesnt even begin to describe how he felt, he tells KRCA The camera is visible inside the car, but the mechanic must have thought it stopped recording when he got in. Thats because its screen goes black after about 3 minutes, Burke explains for the media outlet.However, he probably wouldnt have thought to check the footage had he not noticed something off when the mechanic brought his Mustang back from the inspection. I got my keys. I got back in my car and noticed all the stuff in my car was, like, crammed over on one side, like, off the seat and everything, he says.When he got home, he checked the video and saw the car being driven to an empty parking lot, where the mechanic did donuts with it. Tire marks on the asphalt indicated that this spot had been used before to this end. Oh my gosh, I was furious. I don't even drive my car like that. Yeah, uncalled for, Burke says.He went back to the tire shop and made a complaint with the manager, who, in turn, fired the mechanic responsible. The manager is now considering using in-car cameras for all inspections, as a way to rebuild trust with customers. He also offered Burke a refund and free service for some time, but the man is still considering his options.Bill Thomas, a manager at the state Bureau of Automotive Repairs, says that behavior like this is in violation of industry standards. Under no circumstances of diagnosis is that necessary in the operation of a consumer's vehicle, Thomas says for the same media outlet. So, we definitely have concerns the minute we see that aspect of it and want to look into the entire transaction.
President Trump's ban on transgender military personnel has evolved after a lengthy battle with multiple federal court injunctions, and the latest version goes into effect April 12.

Where it stands: The current version of the ban prohibits new military recruits from transitioning and also allows the military to discharge those currently serving if they do not present as their birth gender. This policy battle started before Trump took office.

Background

Gender dysphoria: The American Medical Association said in an April press release that there "is no medically valid reason  including a diagnosis of gender dysphoria  to exclude transgender individuals from military service."

The American Medical Association said in an April press release that there "is no medically valid reason  including a diagnosis of gender dysphoria  to exclude transgender individuals from military service." Medical costs of transition: A 2016 study by the RAND Corporation found that military health system costs would increase anywhere between $2.4 million and $8.4 million per year if it were to extend care to transgender personnel. The study states this "represents an exceedingly small proportion of active component health care expenditures."

Key events

June 2016: Under President Obama, former Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter lifts the Pentagon's ban on transgender people serving openly in the armed forces and says the Pentagon will cover medical costs for uniformed personnel who undergo gender-affirming transition.

Obama's undersecretary of defense writes the new policy and says he believes it applies to both active-duty service members and academy personnel, despite officials' attempts to find loopholes.

October 2016: Transgender troops are able to start formally changing their gender identifications in the Pentagon's personnel system.

June 2017: Military chiefs are granted a 6-month delay by former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis per the Obama-era rule's July 1 deadline to determine enlistment guidelines for new transgender recruits.

Pentagon officials say there are now at least 250 service members in the process of transitioning to their preferred genders.

July 2017: Trump tweets that transgender people will not be allowed "to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military," citing medical costs and "disruption."

August 2017: The administration formalizes the ban. The ACLU sues the administration in Stone v. Trump on behalf of 6 transgender members of the armed forces.

October 2017: A federal judge temporarily blocks the ban.

November 2017: A second federal judge blocks the ban, saying it likely violated equal protection provisions of the Constitution. This ruling says the government has to pay for service members' gender-affirming transition  the first judge did not say that.

December 2017: The Pentagon announces that transgender troops will be allowed to enlist in the U.S. military beginning January 1, 2018.

November 2018: The Trump administration asks the Supreme Court to hear a challenge to the president's ban on transgender military personnel.

January 2019: The Supreme Court lets Trump's transgender military ban proceed in a 5-4 vote.

March 2019: The Department of Defense approves an edited version of Trump's ban, which bars transgender troops and military recruits from transitioning, requires most individuals to serve in their birth gender, and says "a service member can be discharged based on a diagnosis of gender dysphoria."

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals dissolves the remaining injunction  Stone v. Trump  against Trump's ban.

Two days after Stone v. Trump is dissolved, the House passes a resolution 238-185 opposing the ban.

April 2019: The final version of Trump's transgender military ban goes into effect on April 12.

Whats next

After April 12, no one diagnosed with gender dysphoria who is taking hormones or has transitioned to another gender will be allowed to enlist, per the Associated Press, and those currently serving can be discharged for doing so.

Military personnel will be given "a chance to change their decision," or given a chance to agree to serve in their birth gender, before being discharged.
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

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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.
As the 2020 Democratic candidates campaign to secure support from black Americans  a voter segment that will play a crucial rule in choosing the partys next nominee  reparations for the descendants of enslaved men and women has emerged as something of a litmus test.

The big picture: Many of the candidate have voiced their support for some form of reparations to redress the legacies of slavery and discrimination, but not all are embracing the issue in the traditional sense (direct compensation).

Where they stand

Sen. Cory Booker: Booker introduced a Senate companion version of a House bill by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas.) that would establish a commission to study the impact of slavery and continuing discrimination against black Americans, and make recommendations on reparation proposals for descendants of slaves. Former Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) was first to introduce legislation in 1989;

Sen. Kamala Harris: Harris said in an interview on "The Breakfast Club" in February that she supports government reparations for black Americans. Harris told NPR's "Morning Edition" last month that the term reparations "means different things to different people," and that allocating funds for mental health treatment would be one form of reparations.

Sen. Bernie Sanders: In 2016, Sanders was dismissive of reparations, saying, "First of all, its likelihood of getting through Congress is nil. Second of all, I think it would be very divisive."

During an appearance last month on "The View," Sanders doubled down on his position: "I think that right now, our job is to address the crises facing the American people and our communities, and I think there are better ways to do that than just writing out a check."

However, on April 5, Sanders told Rev. Al Sharpton that, if elected, he would support Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee's bill, setting up a commission to study reparations. "If the House and Senate pass that bill of course I would sign it ... There needs to be a study," Sanders said the National Action Network conference.

Julian Castro: The former San Antonio mayor and housing secretary under President Obama has arguably been the most vocal candidate on this issue. Castro said he would create a commission to study reparations and determine the best policy proposal.

Castro notably took shot at Sanders by name in an interview last month on CNN, saying: "Its interesting to me that when it comes to 'Medicare for All,' health care, you know, the response there has been, 'We need to write a big check.' That when it comes to tuition-free or debt-free college, the answer has been that we need to write a big check."

Sen. Amy Klobuchar: In an interview on NBCs 'Meet the Press' last month, Klobuchar said: "I believe we have to invest in those communities that have been so hurt by racism. It doesn't have to be a direct pay for each person, but what we can do is invest in those communities. Acknowledge whats happened. ... Making sure we have that shared dream of opportunity for all Americans."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren: She tweeted in support of Jackson Lee's bill last month, saying: "Slavery is a stain on America & we need to address it head on. I believe its time to start a national, full-blown conversation about reparations. I support the bill in the House to support a congressional panel of experts so that our nation can do whats right & begin to heal."

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand: She said at Al Sharpton's National Action Network's annual convention last week that she supports legislation to study reparations. "This is a conversation that is long overdue," she said.

Beto O'Rourke: Like Sanders, ORourke has been less enthusiastic about reparations, but said he supports Jackson Lee's bill.

Marianne Williamson: The best-selling author is the only candidate, despite her long-shot bid, to present a plan with specifics. She proposed $100 billion in reparations or $10 billion a year to be distributed over 10 years for economic and educational projects , Williamson told CNN in January.

Flashback: Neither Barack Obama, the countrys first black president, and Hillary Clinton voiced support for reparations.

"I fear reparations would be used as an excuse for some to say weve paid our debt and to avoid the much harder work" of enforcing anti-discrimination laws in employment and housing, lifting people out of poverty, improving public education and rehabilitating young men coming out of prison.

Clinton did not directly answer when asked in 2016 if she supports it.

"I think we should start studying what investments we need to make in communities to help individuals and families and communities move forward. And I am absolutely committed to that. There are some good ideas out there. Theres an idea in the Congressional Black Caucus about really targeting federal dollars to communities that have had either disinvestment or no investment, and have had years of being below the poverty level. Thats the kind of thing Id like us to focus on and really help lift people up."

Go deeper: Everything you need to know about every 2020 presidential candidate
Puerto Rico policy officials are unsure if or when more federal disaster relief funding will come to the island, as Congress entered recess this week without reaching an agreement on any additional spending to send natural disaster relief to the Midwest and Puerto Rico, NBC reports.

The bottom line: Americans in Puerto Rico and across the country are affected by the stalemate between Congress and the White House, from "farmers in the Southeast who are still grappling with large crop losses from Hurricane Michael last October ... to officials in small-town Iowa and Missouri who are still bailing out from some of the worst floods in recent memory," the New York Times reports.

Background: Trump has privately claimed, without evidence, that Puerto Rico's government is using federal disaster relief funds to pay off debt. An official told the Washington Post that the president "doesnt want another single dollar going to the island." Meanwhile, Democrats have rejected multiple Republican proposals to increase funding for "all states and territories" instead of giving aid directly to Puerto Rico, saying it's not enough, per the NYT.

Go deeper: Trump wants advisers to find a way to cut Puerto Rico hurricane relief
By Trend

Climate change will have negative implications for water availability in the region of Central Asia, Lilia Burunciuc, World Bank Regional Director for Central Asia, told Trend in an interview on climate change in Central Asia.

"It will also affect crop pests and animal diseases, intensity and frequency of which are increasing. They move freely across the borders, adding additional risks to farmers and the entire agri-food industry in the region," she noted.

The regional director added that crop productivity will suffer. Yields could drop by as much as 30 percent in some parts of Tajikistan by the turn of the century.

"Droughts are already a major problem in Kazakhstan affecting up to 66 percent of the countrys land. The country is likely to be a future hotspot of heat stress for wheat. In the north of the country, a region with low precipitations and limited scope for irrigation, grain production already experiences serious droughts two out of every five years," Burunciuc noted, adding that yields could drop from current levels by as much as 37 percent by 2030 and 48 percent by 2050, unless adaptive measures are taken.

According to her, by the turn of the century, desertification could affect up to half of Kyrgyzstans territory, and large stretches of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan would emerge as arid areas. In Uzbekistan, the growth in agricultural GDP dropped to 0.3 percent in 2018 from 6 percent in 2016, largely due to the impact of the drought.

Burunciuc further spoke about measures capable to improve climate resilience in Central Asia.

"Tackling the issues of aging infrastructure, for example, can offer significant potential for "no regrets" actions that will enhance climate resilience, reduce carbon emissions and generate net economic gains. That could be modernizing energy infrastructure and minimizing energy losses or supporting the rehabilitation of irrigation systems and improving water management," the regional director said.

She added that the countries should take steps to make agriculture more climate-resilient. This will involve strengthening agro-metereological infrastructure and services, introducing drought-resilient seeds, greater attention to soil fertility management and investment of water-saving technologies and improving irrigation and drainage systems.

Further, countries should spend more public funds on research, monitoring and eradication of crop pests and animal diseases - whose incidence is increasing due to climate change, according to Burunciuc.

It should be noted that the Central Asian countries are among the most vulnerable to climate change in the region of Europe and Central Asia. They are already experiencing the impacts of a changing climate, including warmer temperatures; glacier melt; increased variability in water resources; and frequent and costly weather-related hazards, such as floods and droughts.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Leman Mammadova

Local products under the Made in Azerbaijan brand continue to conquer foreign markets.

The Azerbaijani company Azhazelnut signed a contract with Latvias Alisco for the export of hazelnuts to Latvia worth $250,000.

According to the Economy Ministry, as part of the export mission of Azerbaijan to Riga on April 7-12, a preliminary agreement was also reached on the export of pomegranate products between Azerbaijans Mars Fk and the Latvian firm Auglu Serviss.

In addition, a number of Azerbaijani companies involved in export mission held negotiations with Indian and Latvian companies and supermarket networks to export and sell their products.

Furthermore, Azerbaijan's Tourism.az Company has agreed to organize a visit of the tourist group to Azerbaijan in October to increase the export of tourism services with its Latvian partners.

The export mission included 23 companies operating in wine and other alcoholic drinks, food and textile products, as well as in tourism.

Azerbaijan is known as one of the few countries in the world enjoying favorable climate conditions suitable for hazelnut growing. Several varieties of hazelnuts, such as Atababa, Ashrafli, Ghalib, Ganja, Sachagly, Topgara and Yagly, are cultivated in Azerbaijan. Many of the country's hazelnut orchards are situated in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains in the regions of Gakh, Zagatala and Balakan.

Today, Azerbaijan has become the worlds third largest hazelnut producer and exporter. As many as 20,850 tons of hazelnut were exported in 2017 worth approximately $115 million. The main markets for the Azerbaijani hazelnut are Italy, Russia and Germany.

In the first half of 2018, exports increased by 34 percent to 6,700 tonnes. Industry experts expect annual exports worth $150-200 million in the near future.

Areas under hazelnut cultivation are expected to increase to at least 80,000 hectares by 2022. The output is expected to be higher than in 2016 and 2017 given the high growth rates. In 2017, country produced 45,500 tonnes of hazelnuts.

Azerbaijani hazelnuts are being introduced to the international markets to enlarge the export routes.

Earlier, Azhazelnut signed a contract for the export of 21 tons of hazelnuts to Russia.

This year, Zagatala nuts processing plant plans to export products to the Swiss market. During the Azerbaijani export missions last visit to Switzerland preliminary agreements on hazelnut export were reached with Switzerland's GN-company, Varistor and Delica and other influential companies. In the course of the mission, Switzerland agreed to import 220 tons of hazelnuts worth $ 125,000. The total volume of hazelnut export from Azerbaijan to Switzerland was 22 tons in 2017.

At exhibitions in Dubai (Gulfood 2017) and Germany (Prowein), where Azerbaijani companies took part in a single stand, orders for exporting hazelnuts to Spain were received.

In 2016, Ferrero, the worlds largest buyer of hazelnuts, has started purchasing large quantities of Azerbaijans hazelnuts. Last year Azerbaijan produced 45,500 tons of hazelnut, which was 32.9 percent more than in 2016. The country exported hazelnuts worth over $100 million in 2017.

Development of the non-oil sector mainly depends on the export of non-oil products and the main goal is to expand access to new markets, besides traditional markets.

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By Trend

The territorial integrity of Azerbaijan has never been and cannot be a subject of discussion, spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Leyla Abdullayeva told Trend on April 13.

"Recently, information related to the negotiations on a new partnership agreement between the EU and Azerbaijan has been disseminated by some media outlets that the EU allegedly does not support the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. In this regard, I would like to note that negotiations between Azerbaijan and the EU on a new agreement are continuing. I assure you that, like it was in other bilateral and multilateral documents signed between the EU and Azerbaijan, as well as in the resolutions and statements of EU institutions, the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan has never been and cannot be a subject of discussion," Abdullayeva said.

Moreover, the EU office in Azerbaijan told Trend that the negotiations on the new agreement between the EU and Azerbaijan are ongoing at an increased pace with strong commitment from both sides.

"There is nothing like an agreement on parts of the text. For the time being, there is no agreed text, there is no concluded agreement, therefore any comments on an alleged text or formulation seem misplaced," the EU office said.

The European Council adopted a mandate for the European Commission and the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy to negotiate, on behalf of the EU and its member states, a comprehensive agreement with Azerbaijan in November 2016.

The new agreement should replace the 1996 partnership and cooperation agreement and should better take account of the shared objectives and challenges the EU and Azerbaijan face today.

The agreement will follow the principles endorsed in the 2015 review of the European Neighborhood Policy and offer a renewed basis for political dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan.

Currently, bilateral relations between the EU and Azerbaijan are regulated on the basis of an agreement on partnership and cooperation that was signed in 1996 and entered into force in 1999.

The new agreement envisages the compliance of Azerbaijans legislation and procedures with the EUs most important international trade norms and standards, which should lead to the improvement of Azerbaijani goods access to the EU markets.

Creation of a common aviation area is an initiative of the European Commission and aims to open and integrate aviation markets. This will lead to new opportunities for consumers and operators, and, most importantly, to high standards in terms of flight safety as well as air traffic management.

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By Trend

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has signed an Order, providing funds for supplying electricity to three villages in Astara district.

Under the presidential Order, Azerishig OJSC is allocated 1.5 million manats to supply electricity to Digo, Dolu and Sekashan villages.

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By Trend

The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) provides immense opportunities for inclusive cooperation, Hikmat Hajiyev, head of the Department of Foreign Policy Affairs of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration told Xinhua, Trend reports.

"We see lots of synergies between the BRI and Azerbaijan's own development agenda," Hikmat Hajiyev, Head of Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration said, noting that Azerbaijan supports the BRI's connectivity agenda.

Hajiyev said his country sees trade, investment and finance opportunities with China, and expressed hope that the upcoming Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing will push relations forward.

Hajiyev hailed the philosophy of the BRI, which he said helps promote common development and prosperity among nations.

"The best prosperity is a shared prosperity," Hajiyev noted.

The BRI cooperation has become an important dimension of Azerbaijan-China relations, especially in people-to-people ties and energy links, he said.

He suggested further enhancing relations through more business-to-business and intergovernmental cooperation.

"There are growing opportunities between China and Azerbaijan, especially in economy, trade, commerce, agriculture, energy, petrochemical industry and other spheres including tourism," he said, adding that Azerbaijan welcomes more investment from China.

"China and Azerbaijan in our foreign policy are contributing to the establishment of respectful relations at the international level," Hajiyev said, stressing that the two countries both support multilateralism.

The two sides enjoy an active working relationship in regional and international frameworks including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which in Hajiyev's words "supplements bilateral cooperation."

As Azerbaijan takes over the 2019-2022 rotating presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement, Hajiyev said the institution has a potential to strengthen international order and governance, as well as enhance trust, peace and security at the global level.

"With Azerbaijan's chairmanship, we will contribute to further strengthening this institution and contribute to international peace and security," he added.

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By Trend

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki here Friday, calling on both countries to step up economic cooperation, Trend reported citing Xinhua.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the eighth leaders' meeting between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) held at the southern Croatian coastal city of Dubrovnik.

Calling Poland an influential country in Central and Eastern Europe, Li said China attaches great importance to developing its ties with Poland.

China stands ready to enhance political mutual trust, strategic communication and pragmatic cooperation with Poland, said Li.

He called on both sides to strengthen communication and coordination of the inter-governmental committee to intensify cooperation in areas of economy and trade, agriculture, aviation and infrastructure construction.

China is willing to expand import of good-quality Polish products, said Li, adding that China welcomes Polish enterprises to explore the Chinese market.

Li said the China-EU leaders' meeting held earlier this week in Brussels agreed that China and EU countries treat each other's enterprises under the principles of fair competition, impartiality and non-discrimination.

China pays high attention to the cooperation between China and Poland under the China-EU and China-CEEC frameworks, said the premier, encouraging Poland to further contribute wisdom and strength to the China-EU ties and China-CEEC cooperation.

Speaking highly of the rapid development of Poland-China ties, Morawiecki said Poland has always treated foreign enterprises in line with the principles of fairness and non-discrimination.

He said Poland welcomes Chinese enterprises to come and invest, expressing the hope that enterprises from both countries can establish in-depth cooperation so as to open a new chapter of bilateral economic ties.

Poland is ready to cooperate with China in areas of agriculture, furniture, cosmetics, infrastructure construction, maritime industry and culture, said Morawiecki.

He added that Poland hopes to explore third-party cooperation with China under the China-CEEC framework.

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By Trend

The US Treasury Department announced Friday that it had issued a new batch of anti-Venezuelan sanctions, targeting four companies and nine ships, Trend reported citing Sputnik.

The sanctions targeted three companies in Liberia  Jennifer Navigation Limited, Large Range Limited and Lima Shipping Corporation  and a fourth firm in Italy, PBS Tankers. Nine ships linked to the four firms were also included in the new designations, the Treasury said.

Meanwhile, the total damages from sanctions against Venezuela have already exceeded $100 billion, according to reports.
By Trend

The temporary execution of the duties of the chairman of the Turkmenoil (Turkmennebit) state concern is assigned to deputy head Japarguly Orazov, Trend reports referring to a published decree of the President of Turkmenistan.

The former head of the oil concern Dowletdurdy Hajyyew was relieved of his duties by the presidential decree for shortcomings in the operation.

About 10 million tons of oil are extracted in Turkmenistan every year, the main producer being Turkmenneft. Burren Energy (branch of Eni), Mitro, Dragon Oil, and Petronas, are among the foreign companies involved in extraction of oil in Turkmenistan.

It was reported earlier that due to assurance of the availability of proven natural gas reserves for many years, the major part of exploration is currently focused on the search for oil fields, especially in the Miocene deposits in the south-western parts of the country, and Jurassic-Cretaceous sediments in the central regions of the country.

According to local geologists, almost the entire land area of Turkmenistan is considered as promising for hydrocarbons. Moreover, the potential of the subsoil is estimated to a depth of seven kilometers.

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The teenager *Samu was found at one of the bars she hangs around at and does sexual favours that will earn her money. (Pic: Bonisile Makhubu)

MBABANE  At the age of 15, she hangs around bars, and does sexual favours that will earn her money.



The plight of this teenager has been raised by concerned patrons of a bar located at the periphery of the Mbabane City.



*Samu believes that she was disowned by both her father who lives in Durban South Africa and her mother who lives at Logoba in Manzini.

All she does now is to wake up and go to the bar where she has been seen sitting and drinking alcoholic beverages with men until late into the night.

A concerned woman, who said she suspected that the child was underage yet she was a regular patron at two of the bars that the woman also visited, said: One day I approached her to find out why she was here and she explained that she had to make money.



The woman said the girl narrated to her how she was forced to fend for herself and her 13-year-old sister, because they lived alone.

They had to cook for themselves in their one-room house, which she said was allocated to them by their maternal grandfather.



Waylaying



The Swazi News team managed to get hold of the girl after waylaying her for three days at the bar early in the week.

She said she came into the country in 2015 when her father brought them together with her sister.

We used to stay and school in Durban where my father originates. When we came over in 2015 my father said we were visiting my mothers parents and we were due to return to Durban in January 2016, she said.



She said their father dropped them at an informal crossing point on the South African side because they did not have passports.

Samu narrated that when January came they did not have bus fare and means to return to Durban.



Our grandfather tried to call my dad but he was not reachable and we have not been able to get hold of him since then.

She said for all the years that followed she has been idling at home because she did not even have a birth certificate to enrol in a local school and catch up since she was doing Grade VII in Durban.



When she was asked why she opted hanging out in drinking spots and allegedly offering sexual favours to male patrons, as claimed by the concerned woman, the girl said it was due to circumstances.



My sister was fortunate because she had a birth certificate which she used to enrol at a local primary school where she is doing Grade V. I have been idling home since I came and I have to provide food and other necessities for the two of us, she said.



She alleged that her grandfather told them to use a one-room flat while he and his family lived in the main house.

This is where the two cook using firewood or a paraffin stove.



Seeking



My grandparents told me to go out and search for money so I started off by doing washing for neighbours who offered this job but the money was not always enough because I would earn between E30 and E50 on those particular days where I had a job offered.



When asked if they ever considered seeking help from other relatives or relevant organisations, Samu said they had no other relatives except their parents and the ones they lived with currently.



Sometimes we do approach neighbours for assistance, especially for money for purchasing paraffin because we cannot cook outside during rainy days, she said.



She said some people, who are tenants in neighbouring homes, often gave them rice and meat to cook.

It was gathered that the childrens grandparents have no formal jobs save for piece jobs they carry out for neighbours.



My grandfather is a builder while his wife does house chores in peoples houses. Two of my aunts do not live here while one is still at high school, Samu said.

When the news team arrived at the girls home on Tuesday there was no one in sight.



The head teacher of the school that is attended by the younger girl said they had learned about the conditions under which the children lived.

When I first heard that the older girl was literally sitting at home and not attending school I made attempts to call their mother and at first she seemed to be cooperative but later on she would not answer my calls, he said.
By Trend

Myrat Artykow has been appointed Minister of Energy of Turkmenistan, Trend reports referring to a decree issued by the President of Turkmenistan.

Prior to this appointment, he served as head of the representative office of the Turkmen Ministry of Energy in Afghanistan.

Charymyrat Purchekov, who had previously served as the Minister of Energy, has been appointed Deputy Prime Minister for construction, energy and utilities.

It was reported earlier that it is planned to increase the total volume of electricity produced in Turkmenistan to 33 billion kilowatt-hours by 2024, which is an almost 30-percent increase, compared with the figures from 2018.

Turkmenistan sells electricity to Afghanistan and Iran, and is exploring prospects of supplies to the markets of the Caucasus, Central Asia and South Asia.

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By Trend

Tajikistan will hold the chairmanship of the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation (FSC) from May to August 2019. The Forums Security Dialogues are an opportunity for the 57 OSCE member States to discuss issues of military security and stability in Europe, reports Trend with reference to news.tj

At a meeting that took place in Hofburg Palace in Vienna on April 10, Ambassador Claude Wild, Switzerland's Permanent Representative to the OSCE, handed over attributes of FSC chairperson to Ambassador Idibek Qalandar, Tajikistans Permanent Representative to the OSC, according to the Tajik MFA information department.

Mr. Qalandar reportedly noted a high level of holding of Forums sessions and the constructive and transparent approach of Switzerland's Permanent Mission to the OSCE.

Presenting a preliminary Program of the FSC under the Tajik Chairmanship for the next four months, Ambassador Qalandar expressed the intention to attract the attention of the Forum to the current issues of regional security in Central Asia, as well as the urgency of enhancement of cooperation between the OSCE and the regional organizations in Central Asia.

In addition, it was noted that the Tajik Chairmanship would maintain the continuity of consideration of the core FSC issues, such as confidence and security-building measures (CSMBs), management of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) and Stockpiles of Conventional Ammunition (SCA), as well as the implementation of the provisions of the United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1540 and 1325.

The Program of the Tajik Chairmanship includes a Joint FSC-Permanent Council Meeting on Structured Dialogue, during which the Tajik Chairmanship, will draw the attention of the OSCE participating states, inter alia, to the necessity of taking joint measures in countering terrorism and violent extremism in the OSCE area.

The Tajik Chairmanship of the FSC will cover a period from May to August 2019. The first plenary meeting under the Tajik Chairmanship will take place in early May 2019 in Hofburg, Vienna.

The Forum for Security Co-operation is one of the OSCEs two main regular decision-making bodies. Leaders at the 1992 Helsinki Summit of the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe  the OSCEs predecessor  established the Forum for Security and Co-operation to strengthen the focus on politico-military security by providing for negotiations and consultations on military security and stability in the OCSE area.

The Forum provides a unique platform for the 57 OSCE participating States to discuss topical security challenges on an equal footing. The agenda for the weekly Forum meetings in Vienna always includes security dialogue, allowing participating States to raise and discuss security concerns and challenges. These discussions regularly lead to initiatives and measures to strengthen politico-military security.

The Forum Chairmanship rotates among the OSCE participating States, with each State holding the FSC Chairmanship for four months. A so-called Troika, comprising the former, present and incoming Chairmanships, ensures continuity in the Forums work. The Forum approves documents and decisions by consensus. The OSCE Secretariats FSC Support Section supports participating States efforts to implement FSC commitments, which - like all OSCE commitments  are politically binding.

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By Trend

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu has announced his readiness to resign, Trend reports via Turkish media.

Soylu said, if the opposition can prove that, allegedly, after the elections in Istanbul, the city police conducted raids in houses in order to find out who the voters cast ballots for, he will resign.

Soilu underlined that the Istanbul police have not conducted any such raids.

Earlier, the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) said that after the elections in Istanbul, the police conducted raids on residents' homes in several districts of the city.

The municipal election results in Istanbul were almost completely rigged, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier.

He noted that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) appealed to the Turkish Supreme Electoral Council (YSK) to identify the perpetrators.

Meanwhile, the Justice and Development Party presented facts of falsification of 11,000 votes in Istanbul in favour of the candidate of the opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) Ekrem Imamoglu.

Earlier, Bayram Senocak, head of the Istanbul branch of the Turkish ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), stated that the ruling party has evidence of the election results in Istanbul being falsified in favor of candidate of the opposition Republican People's Party Ekrem Imamoglu.

Imamoglu gained 4.159 million votes, while Yildirim got 4.131 million votes in Istanbul.

The coalition of the ruling party and the Nationalist Movement Party gained 51.67 percent of votes in the municipal elections throughout the country.

Following the elections, candidate of the Republican Peoples Party Mansur Yavas became mayor of Ankara.

Thirteen political parties took part in the municipal elections held March 31. These included the Felicity Party (SP), the Independent Turkey Party (Bagmsz Turkiye Partisi), the Communist Party of Turkey (Turkiye Komunist Partisi), the Patriotic Party (Vatan Partisi), the Great Unity Party (Buyuk Birlik Partisi), Free Cause Party (Hur Dava Partisi), Republican Peoples Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi), Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalknma Partisi), Democratic Party (Demokrat Parti), Nationalist Movement Party (Milliyetci Hareket Partisi), Iyi Party (IYI Parti), Peoples Democratic Party (Halklarn Demokratik Partisi) and Democratic Left Party (Demokratik Sol Parti).

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By Trend

Member of the Economic Commission of Iran's Parliament, Iranian MP Ali Akbar Karimi said that no report has ever been submitted to the parliament about the latest status of setting up the INSTEX company in Iran.

He added that on April 14 he's attending the meeting of high-ranking officials on this matter.

So far, Europe has shown no seriousness to determine a reliable and effective mechanism for increasing the level of monetary, banking and financial exchanges with Iran," Karimi told Trend.

INSTEX (Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges) is a mechanism, created to facilitate non-dollar trade with Iran, allowing European companies to trade with the Islamic Republic without being hit by the sanctions.

On Jan. 31, three European countries  France, Germany and the UK (shortened as E3)  officially announced the creation of the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), a special purpose vehicle, to allow them bypass US sanctions on trade with Iran. INSTEX facilitates non-dollar trade with Iran, allowing European companies to trade with the Islamic Republic without being hit by the sanctions.

"There are two analyzes about the INSTEX mechanism, one that Europeans are not working effectively," he said. Secondly, even if they are trying their best, they cannot, or will not, act through the pressure of the United States to carry out this engagement and fulfill the obligations that are being undertaken by the JCPOA.

Karimi said that Europeans have not done anything so far to relieve the Iranian financial sanctions and make bank interactions.

"The private sector expects its banking and financial exchanges to be easily implemented through this mechanism, and the funds that they are trading can be easily transferred," he said.

"This is not too much to expect," Karimi said. If any condition or restriction to be imposed on the type of goods and volume of funds, then this channel would not be efficient.

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Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 23 times, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said April 13, 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.
Ten years' worth of quarterly median sales prices for existing single-family homes in Bakersfield

BY THE NUMBERS: Bakersfield's single-family home market

53: The estimated percentage of Bakersfield residents whose incomes would qualify them to buy a median-priced home in the city.

28: The estimated percentage of California residents whose incomes would qualify them to buy a median-priced home in the state.

4.7: The percentage increase in Bakersfield's median home sales price between 2017 and 2018. It was 3.6 between 2016 and 2017.

4: The percentage decline in average marketing times to sell a home in Bakersfield between 2017 and 2018.

92: The percent of all Bakersfield homes sold in 2018 that cost less than $400,000.

Sources: California Association of Realtors, Affiliated Appraisers
Dubai-based Abraaj Group's founder Arif Naqvi and his managing partner Mustafa Abdel-Wadood have been arrested after American prosecutors requested his detention on charges that they defrauded their investors, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Confirming the arrest of the Pakistani emerging markets business magnate, the Scotland Yard said he was detained at the London Heathrow Airport on April 10. Naqvi has been remanded in custody and his bail hearing will be held in about a week.

Naqvi, 58, was accused of secretly diverting at least hundreds of millions of investors funds for personal gain and to help shore up Dubai-based Abraajs crumbling finances before it filed for provisional liquidation last June, according to the indictment.

Abraaj managing partner was arrested at a New York hotel on Thursday, Assistant US Attorney Andrea Griswold said at a hearing in Manhattan federal court.

Griswold said prosecutors would seek to have Naqvi, who is charged with the same crimes, extradited.

Meanwhile, a statement from Naqvis external PR firm said Naqvi maintained his innocence in relation to the charges and he fully expects to be cleared of any charges.

"For almost a year since the commencement of the provisional liquidations, he has been working tirelessly to maximize returns for Abraajs creditors, the statement said.

Abdel-Wadood appeared at the Manhattan hearing and pleaded not guilty to securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy charges. His lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, did not immediately request bail, saying he needed more time to become familiar with the case.

Abraaj had been the largest buyout fund in the Middle East and North Africa until it collapsed in the middle of 2018 after the Gates Foundation and other investors raised concerns about the management of its $1-billion health care fund.

One of the largest emerging-markets private equity investors claiming $13bn of assets under management, Abraaj was sent into a death spiral last year after investors complained about mishandling of their monies in the groups healthcare fund, reported Financial Times.

As confidence eroded, the group was forced to place itself into provisional liquidation in the Cayman Islands to protect itself from legal action and winding-up orders by creditors.

The indictments accuse Naqvi and Abdel-Wadood of defrauding investors by depriving them of accurate information about . . . Abraajs financial health and misappropriating investor funds for illicit purposes.

Funds were diverted to cover undisclosed liquidity shortfalls in Abraaj, the indictments claim, as well as for the personal benefit of Messrs Naqvi and Abdel-Wadood, among others, stataed the report citing the prosecutors.

Naqvi presented false and misleading information on Abraaj funds at an investor meeting in Manhattan around November 2017, the prosecutors allege.

Prosecutors also claim that Abraaj inflated the value of their funds by more than $500m and misappropriated at least hundreds of millions of investors funds.

To hide the scheme, Naqvi and others provided misleading responses to investor requests on how their funds were being used, reorted FT citing the indictments.

The firm promoted the scheme through lies and omissions to financial regulators, the indictments added.

The Securities and Exchange Commission also charged Naqvi and Abraajs asset management arm with misappropriating money from its heathcare fund, which had over three years collected more than $100 million from US investors, and using the funds for other purposes.

The collapse of Abraaj has sent shockwaves through the regional private equity industry, raising questions over corporate governance in the Middle East, said the report.

The liquidation process in the Cayman Islands has been faltering amid concern over potential legal risk for firms seeking to take over management of Abraajs funds.

As well as negotiating to hand over Abraajs funds to new management, the liquidators have been seeking to sell the firms assets to cover about $1.1bn in debts and settle staff dues, it added.
Ryan Pelham

The Southeast Texas Food Bank is celebrating farmers and agriculture by providing free produce and milk this weekend.

The Food Bank is hosting a FarmFest on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at its location on South Martin Luther King, Jr. Parkway where it will provide items that can be hard to come by all the time.
Help India!

TCN News

Five persons in Kerala were arrested and convicted of holding a meeting of SIMI ( Students Islamic Movement of India) a banned organisation in 2006. The special court for the National Investigation Agency had sentenced them to RI (rigorous imprisonment. )

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And now after 12 years, the High Court of Kerala has acquitted all the five persons citing lack of evidence to prove the conspiracy charges levelled against them.

The five persons acquitted are Shaduly, alias Haris Abdul Karim, a native of Erattupetta, Abdul Rasik of Erattupetta, Anzar Nadvi of Aluva, Nizamuddin of Panayikulam and Shammas of Erattupetta.

Of these 5 persons Shaduly and Rasik were sentenced to 14 years of RI while the other for 12 years and convicted them under 124 (a) sedition and under the Unlawful activities (Preventions) Act. The High Court had however allowed the 5 accused to challenge the verdict of the NIA special court. And their case had begun on March 18, 2019 which was covered by TwoCircles: Trial begins in 2006 Independence Day seminar case in Kerala High Court

And after hearings and failure of the prosecution to produce evidence that the 5 persons mentioned above indulged in seditious speeches and distribution of anti- India materials inciting hatred; the bench comprising Justice A.M. Shaffique and Justice Ashok Menon has acquitted the 5 on 12th April, 2019 , Friday.

The bench also observed that the NIA special court has committed a serious error in convicting the accused.

No compensation has been announced for the 5 persons who were falsely convicted.
State lawmakers are scrambling to fit all their priorities into a rapidly shrinking calendar, and this is the time in the session when some of those bills start falling off the table. That shouldnt happen to teacher pensions  again, it must be said.

The good news is that the House and Senate seem to be in broad agreement about providing more money for retired teachers. As always, however, the details matter, and efforts like this could get sidetracked in the larger battles over education funding to K-12 schools.

Retired public school teachers and other school employees (about 420,000 in all) do receive a pension that averages $2,000 per month, and thats not too bad. But they also havent received a cost-of-living adjustment in more than a decade, and thats unacceptable. Most teachers say their health care costs have continued to increase over that span while their incomes remained flat. Jerrie Dooley, who retired 13 years ago from the Fredericksburg ISD, said her health care costs have tripled.

A Senate plan would give teachers a one-time annual check of only $500, which frankly wont help much. A House plan would give them a more generous one-time check of $2,400. A final bill approved by both chambers  assuming one is passed  probably wouldnt provide that amount to retired teachers. But again, the Legislature should do as much as it can.

An even bigger problem is that the Teacher Retirement System of Texas has an unfunded liability of $46.2 billion. It should be OK in the near future, but of course at some point the money will run out.

Clearly, lawmakers have to put that pension fund on a track toward balance, and that has to start in this session. Putting off something like this will only make it worse. That will mean greater contributions to the fund from active teachers, and they wont like that because it will mean smaller paychecks  at a time when they, too, are deservedly trying to get more money. But it would be even worse for this fund to run dry at some point in the future. It should have never gotten this bad, but debating the past wont help anyone now.

Teacher pensions dont just affect teachers who have left the classroom. They are an important factor in attracting and keeping educators in front of students now. Teachers arent expecting to get rich in retirement, but they must be compensated and recognized as some of the states most important public employees.
U.S. sanctions on oil from Venezuela and Iran have played into Russia's hands on energy policy, according to a new analysis that found that refiners have turned to Russian exports to fill the gaps, The Hill writes in an article "Europe turning to Russia for oil amid US sanctions on Venezuela, Iran: report". Reuters reported Friday that U.S. sanctions on oil from the two countries has led to a global shortage of "sour" oils, described as heavier than oil produced from countries such as the U.S., which is experiencing record oil production of variants described as lighter and sweeter than its Russian, Venezuelan or Iranian competition.

The drop in availability of Iranian or Venezuelan exports  which are largely untouchable due to pressure on foreign companies from the State Department  has led to a scramble among buyers for Russian-manufactured Urals oil.

Urals is anchored in a positive zone versus dated Brent [a classification of lighter, sweeter oil] and there is no indication it will fall to a discount any time soon, one European analyst told Reuters.

The surge in buyers searching for Urals oil has led to Russian companies reportedly making $140 million more last month than they did in October. A large new refinery in Turkey, built to run on sour oil, is likely to exacerbate the situation, analysts said.

One expected STARs launch to be a serious jolt for the market, but little did we know it would make the sour shortage this bad ... refiners are rushing for sours, one oil trader told Reuters of the refinery's operations.

Traders are now seeking an alternative to Russian sour oil and have not yet come up with a solution.

All refiners are looking for Urals or a Urals replacement, one trader said. And we see that it wont be enough for everyone.
We called our situation the Troubles, and the longer it had dragged on the more fitting that genteel euphemism became." So says Jacky, the protagonist in Jenny McCartney's debut novel, a powerful testament of damage and trauma set in 1990s Belfast.

Jacky has never known peace in his home city, only a community divided and terrorised, where "the best way to persuade ordinary folks on the other side of the sincerity of your argument was to build a large stack of their corpses and promise more of the same until your demands were secured".

Being as apolitical as most twenty-somethings, reared in violent upheaval or otherwise, Jacky is cynically philosophical about it all. Until it lands on his doorstep, or, more accurately, on the doorstep of close friend, Titch.

Titch is enormous, ironically nicknamed because of the bulk of his frame. He's also gentle and quiet and a little "slow". Jacky's friend since their schooldays, he's got an occasional shoplifting habit, though only for sweet things, and early on he's caught by McGee - a local shopkeeper with Loyalist paramilitary connections and a racketeering, vicious adult son - stealing a packet of Jaffa Cakes. Soon afterwards, Titch is dragged from his bed by McGee Junior and his lackeys and a savage beating is meted out, leaving Titch in hospital and permanently disturbed. Jacky's blood is up, but his dead father's old friend, Murdie (one of the more carefully-drawn characters, although a minor one), persuades him to leave things alone.

Some time later, when goaded by McGee Junior in a bar, Jacky lands him a punch that knocks him to the ground. The inexorable consequences for Jacky are horrific. As he's now a marked man he has no choice but to flee Northern Ireland and, with Murdie's help, he heads to London.

"I moved from a place where I mattered, but in the wrong style, to a place where I didn't matter at all. But I knew then that people don't come to an unfamiliar city just to get away from their old homes, but also to escape their old selves."

Jacky's problem in London is that he simply can't recover from his PTSD. He's in a sea of strangers with a new job and even a new love interest, but nothing can quell the silent anger that's roasting him alive. Further bad news about poor Titch arrives from Belfast and finally Jacky has had enough. He decides to embark on the path of retribution.

We are reminded by this and other novels that the paramilitaries were just as ready to take out "one of their own" as they were to obliterate the perceived enemy. Thuggery knows no boundaries and, despite the Peace Agreement, it's obvious that Northern Ireland is full of scarred and haunted souls, innocent people uninvolved with the "struggle", whose lives have been permanently tainted by the actions of terrorists.

While the Troubles appear to be having a "moment" these days, we must remember that it's taken more than 20 years of peace to get this far. And as a private, intimate reflection on what it was like to live through the worst years of the violence, this novel is unrivalled.

The Ghost Factory by Jenny McCartney, 12.99

If we build something that can learn faster than us, will it be better than us?\

Ian McEwans new novel, where artificial intelligence is a reality in Britain, leaves us pondering some big questions, says Nick Curtis

After the literary whimsy of Nutshell, a modern London riff on Hamlet narrated by a foetus, Ian McEwan returns to high seriousness with a novel almost too pregnant with ideas. Its main theme is the rise of artificial intelligence and what happens when machines can out-perform, out-learn and eventually out-feel us.

But it's also a "what if?" novel set in an alternative Eighties where the internet and self-driving cars already exist, Margaret Thatcher loses the Falklands War and the Beatles have "recently regrouped after 12 years apart".

To underline that this is also a thoughtful, moral tale, there are subplots involving the nature of violation and revenge, and what it means to be a parent. And a soupcon of juvenile gender-fluidity too. Even for someone of McEwan's fluency, that's a lot to pack in.

Anyway, our protagonist Charlie is an ex-fraudster barely making ends meet by speculating on the stock market. Nevertheless, his interest in anthropology and physics prompts him to spend a large inheritance on one of the first commercially available androids. There are only 25 of these, 13 "Eves" and 12 "Adams". His Adam arrives naked, handsome and physically powerful. Intellectually and emotionally, he goes from 0 to 60 pretty fast. Meanwhile, Charlie starts an affair with Miranda, a younger, improbably beautiful student neighbour. You can see where this is going, can't you?

To be fair, the geometry of the love triangle is not as obvious as it at first appears. McEwan's description of Adam's growing sophistication, from innocence to awakening to a sort of platonic equilibrium, is nuanced and thoughtful. The android starts composing haikus and earning large sums of money on the financial markets. This allays Charlie's anxiety and fosters his hope that he can escape horrid Clapham and buy a rock star's house in Notting Hill.

The science on AI in the book feels plausible, and McEwan seems to have done extensive research into the philosophical side too. Though Miranda is rather lightly sketched, the dynamic between her, Adam and Charlie is compelling. We seem set on a course that will reach a satisfying emotional and philosophical conclusion. But there are distractions. Miranda's writer father is ailing. A sex crime from the past brings the threat of violence. Mark, a young boy from a chaotic family who wants to be a princess, barges into their lives. Thatcher loses an election over the poll tax to Tony Benn, who promptly takes Britain out of the EU. This last plot development - like a jab in the eye from 2019 - is typical of the surprises to which writers of "what if?" novels are irresistibly drawn, and to which McEwan is not immune.

For instance, one of the reasons the world is so technologically advanced in the early Eighties is that Alan Turing, the great wartime codebreaker and AI pioneer, did not kill himself in 1954 after being persecuted for his homosexuality. Instead, he teamed up with someone called Demis Hassabis in 1968 (the real Hassabis, creator of the AI company DeepMind, was born in 1976) to build a computer that mastered the Chinese board game Go. Turing then went on to publish all his scientific findings for free, to fight Aids and become an eccentric hero to the nation (and to Charlie).

There are more prosaic temporal curve-balls. Super-fast trains exist in this alternative past but they are squalid, just like trains in the real past.

In Charlie's world, Joseph Heller wrote a novel called Catch-18 and Tolstoy wrote All's Well That Ends Well.

The Tony Benn of McEwan's imagining is a charismatic populist, part-Blair, part-Corbyn.

All this would be fine if the rest of it felt more credible. But nagging questions hover. Who invented and sold the AIs on the open market? What are they for? (McEwan anxiously tells us early on they are not sex toys, though they are "capable of sex"). Why only 25 of them? Would Miranda really fall for charmless Charlie? Would Mark really appear so improbably in their lives as a counterpoint to Adam, the artificial "child" they programmed together? And would Charlie really spend so much time saying things like "the future, to which I was finely attuned, was already here"?

So, Machines Like Me is a clever, densely worked but sporadically irritating read, throughout which you hear McEwan whispering in your ear.

All the various themes are duly brought together in a way that is perhaps too neat but which is also satisfying.

The final chapter is built around a richly comic conceit that isn't quite earned. But we are left pondering the central conceit: if we build something that can learn quicker than us, will it be better than us, in ethical, social and artistic terms? Could an AI someday write a book like this? I doubt it.

Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan, Jonathan Cape, 18.99
Twitter, founded in 2006, is a hugely popular social media platform, with 261 million account-holders worldwide sending some 500m tweets (short messages) a day. There are an estimated 13 million Twitter users in the UK.

The medium is widely used by celebrities and perhaps the most famous user is US President Donald Trump, who has embraced it more wholeheartedly than any other world leader.

The platform is used for all kinds of reasons - 74% of users say it is where they get their news. Others use it shamelessly for self-promotion, or companies find it useful to build up a relationship with customers.

We look at four Twitter account-holders in Northern Ireland and examine why they joined the medium and the reaction to their tweets.

One has already obtained a book deal, another is seeking one, a third uses it as a platform to remember people killed by the IRA and the fourth simply pokes fun at our politicians. Here are their stories:

Belfast Child

Belfast man John Chambers has a very simple reason for setting up his Twitter account and also a blog: to tell the incredible story of his search for his mother.

She was a Catholic from a strongly republican family on the Falls Road, who married John Chambers from an equally staunch Protestant background in the 1960s. From the outset, there was friction between the families and, as the Troubles began, with its attendant dangers to those in mixed relationships, their marriage fractured and John's mum, Marie, fled to London with three of her children.

However, her husband and his brothers tracked her down and brought the children back to Belfast to live in the intensely loyalist Glencairn estate. All mention of Marie was banned. The children were led to believe she had died in a car accident.

John takes up the story: "My dad died from lung cancer at the age of 39, when I was 10. It was only at his wake that I realised my mother was still alive and was a Catholic.

"Her religion had remained a closely guarded family secret as my dad had been a member of the UDA, but not involved in paramilitary violence.

"Initially, I was angry that he had married a 'Taig', as I had grown up in Glencairn, where hatred of Catholics was almost in my DNA at that time. It was only when I was in my late teens and began getting into Mod music and meeting young Catholics who shared my interests that I realised they were no different from me.

"I began searching for my mum, but had no real knowledge of how to go about it.

"But I was eventually to find her through a bizarre coincidence about two decades ago. A friend was on holiday in Florida and met a couple in a bar who, on hearing his Belfast accent, asked if he knew a family called Chambers from the Shankill. He replied that he had gone to school with me.

"The woman revealed that she was my mother's sister and wrote a letter to me, which my friend delivered. From it I found that my mum had been trying to find her children.

"My brother and I met her in Preston in the north-east of England. It was great to meet her after so long.

"Sadly, my mum died last October, but I had a great 20 years knowing her. She, too, died of cancer."

He adds: "I had always wanted to write a book about my story, and have put several chapters on my site. I had once been offered a (book) deal, but it happened just as Princess Diana was killed and everything just fell through.

"My Twitter account and blog are ways of getting exposure for my story, but I have broadened it out to include many other things - I put all kinds of music on it and also commemorate those who were killed in the Troubles, irrespective of religious or political affiliations, and include everyone - even paramilitaries who killed each other. There are a lot of young people in Northern Ireland who don't know what went on. I saw things that no kid should ever see."

He now keeps in contact with Stephen Travers, who survived the Miami Showband massacre.

"As long as there are survivors of the Troubles, or bereaved families, I will keep posting information on those kiwwlled. People today don't understand how bad things were then. That was one of the reasons why I left Belfast."

Now aged 52 and married to Simone - a former professional dancer in the West End of London ("I never thought I stood a chance with her") - and with two children, Autumn and Jude, he lives near where he was reunited with his mum.

"When I go back to Belfast now after decades in England, people remark about my accent. I remember being at my grandmother's wake in Sandy Row and talking to Alex Higgins. He later asked someone who the Englishman was and I felt quite offended."

Blog: www.belfastchildis.com Twitter: @bfchild66

From chronicling crimes of the IRA to mocking MLAs

On This Day The IRA

This page, updated daily, chronicles the deaths caused by the IRA during the Troubles. Started in January last year, each tweet carries the name of the victim, information on how he or she died and, if possible, newspaper cutting, photos or even videos.

The man behind the account, Ivan (not his real name), works with a researcher to gather the information. The aim, he says, is to personalise each death.

"We know there were thousands of people killed in the Troubles, but how many do we remember? The victims should not be statistics - they were real people."

Ivan, who will only reveal that some of his family members were seriously injured in an unnamed IRA outrage, is too young to remember much of what happened during the Troubles.

"There is an attitude that people suffered, but no one really wants to talk about it," he says.

"Because of that and the process which tries to rehabilitate people who were in organisations which committed murder, there has been a reluctance to look at the interests of victims.

"They are largely being airbrushed out of history, almost as (if they are) an embarrassment."

But why just concentrate on murders committed by the IRA?

He replies: "There are several reasons. Of all the paramilitary groups, they are most adept at sanitising what they did, or arguing that it was a legitimate campaign of violence.

"The IRA also attempted to show themselves as better than loyalist paramilitaries, but they were also guilty of nakedly sectarian killings. The Kingsmill massacre is the often-quoted example, but who remembers the Herron family of Dromore?

"The father sold loyalist and Orange regalia and the family lived in a flat above the shop. The IRA planted an incendiary device in the shop, which exploded during the night, killing Mr Heron, his wife, Elizabeth, and daughter Noleen (27), one of their four children. That was a blatantly sectarian atrocity.

"No one would try to defend loyalist murders in the way that the IRA do. Nowadays, some people who were in the IRA have become political mouthpieces for that organisation.

"When people sit down and discuss how to deal with the past, at the same table are representatives of the republican movement in the form of Sinn Fein. I don't want them there. They help decide on how to deal with the past, and that is outrageous."

He recalls the death of Alan Johnston, a joiner from Kilkeel, who was shot, as the minister at his funeral said, "with his lunch box in one hand and a set of tools in the other".

"That was a good riposte to Danny Morrison, who said republicans would take power with a ballot box in one hand and an Armalite in the other," Ivan says.

He also cites an example of what he calls "cleansing" by the IRA in border regions. "The last Protestant shopkeeper in Roslea village in Fermanagh was Douglas Deering. He was a 57-year-old father-of-three who was shot dead at his shop on May 12, 1977.

"The IRA said he was shot by loyalists because he had stayed open during the loyalist workers' strike, but that was only to cover up what they did. That shows the sort of honesty from these people, if we are going to buy into a truth and reconciliation process."

He stresses that he equally abhors and condemns murders carried out by loyalist organisations.

Reaction to his Twitter account has been overwhelmingly positive, and followers have contributed material which had never been seen before.

In one instance, the reverse was the case. He was contacted by the son of a soldier who had been killed in an explosion in south Armagh in the 1970s. That man had never seen a photograph of his father, but Ivan discovered one in a local newspaper from the time. "That was the first time he had ever seen what his dad looked like," he says.

He also recalls a poignant front page from this newspaper, following the death of Lesley Gordon, a 10-year-old girl killed by an IRA booby-trap bomb alongside her father, a member of the UDR, who was driving her to school. Her little brother was also in the car but survived.

"The photograph in the Belfast Telegraph showed Lesley's empty school desk and a painting which she had done just a few days earlier," he says. "On another occasion, I published a photo of a family standing around an open grave of someone killed by the IRA. They had never seen that image, but they appreciated it."

Ivan admits that compiling the daily updates takes an emotional toll. "I remember working on the entry for those killed in the La Mon fireball explosion. I finished work on it about 1am, but a few hours later, I woke up in floods of tears because of the photos I had seen and what I had written," he explains.

"I remember finding out that the husband of Christine Lockhart (33), who died in the explosion, was offered 90 compensation for her death. He left the country in disgust and went to the Philippines, where he set up a children's home called Christine's charity."

The husband of Margaret O'Hare, a mother-of-seven killed by an explosion on Bloody Friday in Belfast, got no compensation for her death as she was unemployed, and therefore there was deemed to be no financial loss. Her husband received a payment for the destruction of his Mini car in the explosion.

Ivan concludes: "Joseph Stalin once said, 'A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic'. That is what the IRA benefits from, but when their murder toll is broken down into individual cases, you get away from them being simply a statistic."

Twitter: @OnThisDayPIRA

Irish Border

This account, started in February 2018, began as a joke, according to its author, who declines to give any information about himself, not even if he lives near that much-discussed part of the island.

The account's tweets are written as if the border is a real person. The idea sprang from an account in New Zealand, where a river got legal status as a person.

The author of the Irish Border (let's call him Jim, even if that is not his real name) explains: "That is what gave me the idea. That river is fairly forthright in its views."

It is evident the Irish Border is anti-Brexit. Its introduction sets the tone: "I am the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. I am seamless and frictionless already, thanks. Bit scared of physical infrastructure."

Jim adds: "The border is 90 years old, lived through hard times and for 20 years experienced peace and thought it was retired. Now it finds it has a bit more work to do. Like anyone in that position, it doesn't want to go back to work, thank you very much."

Brexit, of course, is rich material for someone wanting to take a sarcastic poke at politics.

Commenting on the continual demands for an extension to Article 50, the Irish Border says: "Now they cannot decide how long to be indecisive for."

And on the chaos at Westminster: "Backstop still intact, ERG not so much."

Jim says he posts each day. "There is no shortage of material, but it is also serious because it has gone on and on and nothing much has changed since this account started. However, part of the comedy is how boring it all is as they keep repeating things. Everyone would like to see Brexit finished, but probably it will keep going until October.

"I have become a bit schizophrenic, trying to balance my own feelings and the views expressed by the Irish Border. It just wants to be left as it is.

"Maybe there is some difference between what I feel and what the Irish Border feels."

But one thing is certain: the Irish Border is no laughing matter - its author has just secured a deal to publish a book in October. "It will be written by the account. A book was never the idea, but it's great," he says.

Twitter: @BorderIrish

MLAs And The Like

Another account to poke gentle fun at politicians, its inspiration also came from overseas - specifically, another account showing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un looking at random things.

Author "Paul" explains: "That gave me the idea of featuring our politicians standing around looking awkward. I started it on Facebook about seven years ago - the Executive and Assembly proved a rich source of material - and later moved to Twitter.

"There was no political point to it - it was just fun. A few ministers were repeat offenders. They were not being best-advised by their Press officers on what to do when out on photo opportunities.

"At the time, Mairtin O Muilleoir was hailing himself as the king of Twitter, and he was followed by more and more MLAs on the platform. Twitter became a much richer source of material than Facebook.

"Arlene Foster, when she was in charge of (the Department of) Enterprise, Trade and Investment, didn't appear to have a filter. She was photographed doing things which lent themselves to humorous captions. Another example was Barry McElduff, until that all went wrong for him.

"By comparison, David Ford, when he was Justice Minister, appeared to be very well-advised, so he was difficult to poke fun at. We never seemed to find any particularly amusing pictures of him."

However, the fall of the Executive meant a change of focus to the province's MPs. "This coincided with the DUP and Northern Ireland coming under more national scrutiny. Northern Ireland had again become a big new item nationally," Paul says.

He follows as many politicians as possible on social media, as well as some of the best-known political commentators.

"That is a great source of pictures for me to caption," Paul explains.

One news story which gave him great fun was the idea of a bridge between Northern Ireland and Scotland. However, given that he has a background in IT, the suggestions that there are technological answers to the border question have irked him.

"I have worked in that sector for 20 years and there is no easy answer," he says.

"I get ratty at politicians trying to fob off responsibility for the issue to the tech sector."

Despite that, Paul maintains he has no political axe to grind. "Nothing is done with particular malice, but if something looks ridiculous, I will comment on it.

"I would say I was apolitical. I don't set out to comment on one side more than the other.

"I have been called a loyalist and a republican on different days, so I suppose that proves my point."

Even though all political parties have had the finger of fun pointed at them by the account, only the DUP and Sinn Fein have engaged with it.

"Christopher Stalford of the DUP commented after we posted a photo of him in a kilt at the time of the Scottish independence referendum," Paul says.

"I just do this for my own amusement. It writes itself sometimes. One could be more vindictive, but it is pitched at a level which makes me laugh."

He recalls the time when, after the DUP signed its confidence and supply agreement with the Tory Government, he suggested a number of things the DUP had demanded in return for keeping Theresa May in power.

Among them was red, white and blue kerbstones and moving the Strictly Come Dancing results show from a Sunday to a Saturday because dancing on a Sunday was sinful.

Twitter: @MLAsAndTheLike
I've loved Muddler's Club since its inception three years ago. The woody, beardy, creakiness much loved by the hipsterati is coupled to a very real Belfast sense of fast-moving, finger-clicking urban knowhow. Somehow, it manages to be laid back and on fire at the same time. Your comfort and joy come first, this is evident, and front of house staff under the keen eye of manager Barry Fletcher will keep the bustle levels high, moving silently and gracefully around, smiling, serving, advising to make sure you are both comfortable and joyful at all times.

Barry has the charm and the knowledge to run any top restaurant. He glides effortlessly everywhere at top speed and unlike most people in a hurry, he doesn't create tension or anxiety in his wake. I get nervy around very busy people. They make me anxious and guilty for sitting there. But not Barry. He's keeping busy for us, the paying punters. Enjoy it.

Head chef Gareth McCaughey is utterly reliable and very good, focusing most of his efforts on finely-honed dishes which have become Muddler's signature classics: blackened Mourne lamb, sea trout and beef tartare among them.

I had stopped going during 2018 because of a less than brilliant experience with the food. Chef McCaughey was not in that day and instead, his carefully composed dishes looked more like a school project in which students had been provided with a photograph and told to copy it on to the plate. It kind of looked right yet it was glaringly not. None of the dishes that day had the confidence and reassurance you normally expect at Muddler's.

It was disappointing and it goes to show how far-reaching a single poor experience can be. "I had a bad meal there once," is more powerful than the 20 great lunches and dinners you had before. It's like your holidays. You'll tell Stephen Nolan how bad it was but if it was great, nobody's interested. That's the cynical world we live in.

And I'm as bad as anybody else when it comes to this. Life's too short to risk having a poor experience. One very wealthy man in Belfast only ever eats in one of three places in the city for this very reason.

But I went back very recently and am very happy to report that all cylinders were firing. Chef McCaughey was in charge of a disciplined brigade and those compositions were flawless.

Cocktails were judged by my new boss on this paper to be among the best he's had (a man of simple but expensive tastes, he was referring to a dry martini).

A trout starter for him and the tartare for me were exciting openers. The herby, spiced tartare rich with light iron flavours, the taste of raw, ground beef like this is as delicate as fresh crustaceans and as textured as terrine. The trout is equally fine, slipping under the knife into tidy little curved and shiny tiles.

We enjoy a fillet of turbot and a dish of salt aged beef with bone marrow jus, powerful enough to ward off a bracing late winter's day.

The menu in Muddler's is a delight of confusion because everything on it is deeply desirable: scallops with Iberico ham and parmesan, that Mourne lamb, onion, blue cheese and truffle, burrata, tomato, pistachios and basil are all entertaining, balanced and very thoughtfully researched.

There is an exceptional wine list for those of us on moderate budgets with rare appearances of singularly one of the best drinks with cheese, Pineau des Charentes at 7 a glass. There is ice wine, very on-trend German red spatburgunder and an excellent Catalan, Vermells at 9.50 a glass.

I'm glad I went back. The Muddler's slate is not just clean, it's shiny and bright.

The bill

Trout: 10

Beef tartare: 10

Turbot: 16

Beef: 30

Chips: 4

Cheese: 8

Dessert: 8

Pineau x 2: 14

Glass ice wine: 8

Peth spatburgunder...........................11

Vodka martini.......................................9

Total:..................................................128

Muddler's Club, Warehouse Lane, Belfast, Tel: 028 9031 3199
It's a tough job to wake up the country. Perhaps even tougher with Piers Morgan sitting next to you. But Susanna Reid has always made it look effortless as she remains unflappable in the hosting seat of Good Morning Britain.

"You want people to be watching and enjoying and stimulated," she says enthusiastically. "It's such a crucial time for people because Brexit is ... we are going to Hell in a handcart. It feels like it at the moment.

"It's fantastic to be able to just put the politicians on the spot, get their views and speak in a really unfettered way to the audience, reflect what they are thinking and ask the difficult questions and also have a laugh about it, as well."

And it's a good thing 48-year-old Reid does embrace the tough stuff, because her new documentary about one of Britain's most notorious serial killers could not be much tougher.

The programme, part of ITV's Crime & Punishment strand, examines the murders committed by Joanna Dennehy in 2013.

Dennehy was just 31 when she was sentenced to spend her whole life in prison after she pleaded guilty to the murders of Lukasz Slaboszewski (31), Kevin Lee (48) and John Chapman (56).

Police launched a nationwide hunt to find her after the bodies were discovered in remote ditches in Cambridgeshire, but she went on to drive 140 miles to Hereford, where she repeatedly stabbed two dog-walkers.

"Dennehy doesn't come from a background where you could draw a direct link from something terrible happening to her and her becoming a terrible person," Reid says. "She came from a stable, decent family home and was well looked after. Her family said butter wouldn't melt in her mouth.

"When there is not an obvious explanation for why someone has become a serial killer, that makes the detective story more fascinating, doesn't it?

"If you consider that women are far less likely to be responsible as a serial killer, but when they are it's absolutely shocking. She is only one of three women who got a whole life sentence in prison: the other two are Myra Hindley and Rose West."

Reid became fascinated by Dennehy while working on the programme and describes her as an "abhorrent, horrific, compelling, magnetic character".

"Her family wrote us a letter about her, saying she was a bookworm when she was at school, she was a good girl, she came from a decent background, happy family, given all the advantages she could possibly want.

"How did she turn into a woman who could brazenly swagger into a police station at the age of 30, boast about the fact she thought five people were dead as a result of her actions, flirt with police officers and show off about being a serial killer?"

For Reid, the details of the crimes, horrific as they are, were not the most affecting part of the film - instead it was the way Dennehy conducted herself.

"We had exclusive access to the full custody tapes, when she's arrested after being caught on the run and the police know that there are two men fighting for their lives. Eventually, it emerges that she has already killed three people. She is standing in police custody and you would think she would be at least a little bit nervous, at least a little bit concerned for her future and yet she is boasting.

"She starts flirting with the police officers, trying to charm them and win them over, and you can see they are reluctantly drawn into her web. She's obviously a really compelling character. She starts playing with her hair.

"Her barrister described her and says he wondered whether he had got the wrong cell, when he eventually goes in to meet her for the first time.

"Normally he would expect someone accused of these awful crimes, who is facing a future in prison never to be released, to be a little bit wary and on the back foot. She wasn't.

"He said she just seemed to be confident, charismatic, co-operative and she had the type of personality he was drawn to."

The show is the seventh crime documentary Reid, who is mother to three sons, has made for ITV since 2017, including films about teenager Becky Watts, who was murdered by her step-brother, and the killing of schoolboy Rhys Jones.

"Sometimes I come back from these stories and I am just glad to be in the kitchen with the boys, making tea and doing something completely ordinary and down to earth," she says.

"You don't want to spend too much of your headspace in the minds of killers. It's good to be able to do the normal stuff as well."

Joanna Dennehy: Serial Killer, ITV, Thursday, 9pm
Kate McCausland is embraced by Jon McCourt outside Belfasts High Court yesterday after a failed challenge for compensation for abuse survivors

Historic abuse victims in Northern Ireland have accused the Government of ignoring its moral duty after a legal bid to secure stalled compensation payouts failed.

A judge at Belfast High Court ruled that Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley's ongoing refusal to intervene and implement a redress scheme was not unlawful.

Compensation payments of up to 100,000 recommended by a state inquiry more than two years ago have not been distributed to victims due to the collapse of the power-sharing executive at Stormont.

Read More

A judicial review taken by an abuse survivor in an attempt to compel Mrs Bradley to establish the scheme, and call an Assembly election to address the political impasse, was rejected by Judge Bernard McCloskey yesterday.

While he said Mrs Bradley's current stance was not unlawful, he did not issue a final order in the case, instead leaving the door open for a potential further challenge.

Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service David Sterling is in the final stages of drawing up draft legislation that would give effect to the redress scheme. He intends to present this to Mrs Bradley and ask her to take it through Westminster.

Justice McCloskey indicated to lawyers for the anonymous victim, known as JR80, that he would be prepared to hear the case again if Mrs Bradley does not act on the draft legislation.

"The intervention of the court in this case has occurred at a fixed point in time," he said.

"Certain imminent events of unmistakable significance, involving the Secretary of State in particular, are awaited."

After the hearing Jon McCourt, chairman of the Survivors North West group, said: "We are angry, we are disappointed, we are frustrated and I don't know what this is going to do to people who had actually put their hopes on the justice system starting to work on behalf of justice for victims and survivors of historical institutional abuse.

"There's something wrong with this system when it doesn't prioritise the needs of the most vulnerable people in its society."

He said the spotlight was now on Mrs Bradley and what she would do with the draft legislation. "Let's see what she does, let's see if she has a moral conscience," he added.

"Let's see whether she's prepared at some point to take into consideration the harm, the damage, the pain and the trauma that's been caused to victims and survivors of historical institutional abuse."

Kate McCausland, whose 88-year-old mum Una Irvine was abused in a home run by the Sisters of Nazareth religious order in Belfast, wept as she described her mother's ongoing battle with Alzheimer's.

"The time has passed for her to have the satisfaction of knowing that justice was done," she said.

"Two years ago she may have been able to enjoy the practical help that compensation would have afforded her, but there are so many like her and I think it's an absolute disgrace that's she's been let down.

"They were helpless in the home. She was four when she was put in and she spent 10 years there and they were helpless, they had nowhere to run then, and they've been let down again by those in authority."

Mrs McCausland, from Ballygowan, Co Down, said her mother's two younger sisters, who were also in Nazareth House, died before the HIA inquiry was set up.

The applicant JR80 is a member of the lobby group Survivors and Victims of Institutional Abuse (SAVIA). The group's solicitor Claire McKeegan said the court order was "unique".

"The court has not abandoned these proceedings, there has been no final order," she said.

"Today's order suggests that JR80 has an opportunity to revisit these proceedings should there be a situation where the Secretary of State refuses to take the legislation through Parliament once David Sterling has it completed.

"We believe that this is positive and the court has exercised a supervisory role over what should happen next."

She said the legal team would study the judgment in full before deciding whether there were grounds for appeal.

A member of SAVIA called Shauneen said yesterday: "If ever there was a reason for our politicians to get back to work, this is it."
Bikers took part in protests in Belfast and London yesterday in a show of support for a soldier being prosecuted over Bloody Sunday.

A group rode to Stormont as a similar Rolling Thunder demonstration took place in central London.

Here, around 80 riders, many of them military veterans, set off from Cultra, Co Down, and arrived at Stormont at 1.30pm.

Horns blasted and engines revved as the bikers rode up the mile-long Prince of Wales Avenue. Parachute Regiment flags flew from some of the bikes.

Soldier F is to be charged with murdering two people after troops opened fire on civil rights demonstrators in January 1972.

The Saville Inquiry found all 14 victims of Bloody Sunday were innocent and died when the Parachute Regiment lost control that day.

After the ruling, Prime Minister David Cameron issued a state apology in the House of Commons, describing the Army's actions as "unjustified and unjustifiable".

Veterans reacted angrily to the decision to take legal action decades after the bloodshed. The organisers of the Rolling Thunder event said their protest is directed against the Government rather than the victims' families.

One veteran who took part in the protest ride to Stormont fears more prosecutions could follow.

The man, who gave his name as Tony, said he was involved in an incident during the Troubles and felt he was dealt with fairly at the time. But he queried whether he should now expect a knock at his door.

Tony said: "Where will it end? We have the flags that say we support Soldier F but it is not only about Soldier F, it's soldier a, b, c... and all after.

"Where are they going to go then, once they have finished with the alphabet, where will it end?

"We are saying that we want it to stop here. Soldiers carried out their duty at the time, they did as they were told.

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"I was involved in an incident whereby I was detained, interviewed and released.

"I believe I was dealt with justly at the time. Do I sit and wait for 20 years for a knock at the door?

"And the rest of these gentlemen, mostly veterans, are they the same - just sit and wait for a knock at the door?"

In London, organisers said up to 11,000 bikers met on Park Lane before riding through the capital to Parliament Square and on to Trafalgar Square.

The protest was conceived when Harry Wragg (56) posted a video on Facebook calling for Soldier F not to be prosecuted.

The immunity granted to members of the IRA under the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 should extend to soldiers who fought in the Troubles, he said.

Biker groups from around the UK welcomed Mr Wragg's suggestion of a procession of motorbikes in London to protest against Soldier F's prosecution.

The protest's journey took in Parliament Street and Whitehall and passed the Cenotaph.

Mr Wragg said: "I had a bit of a rant on Facebook saying how disgusting it was really, over Soldier F. I made a statement saying 'What about a few of us riding to London, to make a noisy protest?' There are 11,000-plus bikes. We've just come together. And the best thing for me is that it's combined services."

The Ministry of Defence said the charges have been brought by the NI Public Prosecution Service, which is independent. A Government spokesman said: "We are indebted to the soldiers who served with courage and distinction to bring peace to Northern Ireland. Although the decision to prosecute was taken by the Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service, which is independent from Government, we will offer full legal and pastoral support to the individual affected."
A notorious child killer was awaiting trial for sexually abusing a young boy when he went on the run after being granted temporary release from prison.

The revelation has led to calls for an explanation from justice officials, with a former Justice Minister saying she had concerns.

And last night a relative claimed the decision had put the public at risk.

Convicted killer Clifford (57) - who brutally murdered his niece - was jailed for five years at Belfast Crown Court on Wednesday for the sexual abuse of the boy.

The offence took place over a two-year period during the 1980s.

The victim, who was aged between three and four at the time, was forced to repeatedly perform a sex act on Clifford while the pair watched a video together.

Clifford had been charged with the offence in March 2017 - 19 months before he was allowed out under the terms of his pre-release at Maghaberry's Burren House.

Burren House is a unit where prisoners coming to the end of their sentences are housed.

In September 2018 Clifford was permitted out to attend an appointment.

However, he failed to return, sparking a cross-border manhunt that lasted for over a week. He was finally apprehended in Newry by the PSNI and returned to prison.

Clifford had been previously released in 2005 after serving a life sentence for the brutal rape and murder of his eight-year-old niece Sue Ellen in 1988.

But he was put back behind bars two years later after violating the terms of his parole. Over three decades ago Clifford had been trusted to babysit Sue Ellen in her north Belfast home, but he sexually assaulted and strangled her before dumping her body on a railway line.

The trauma caused her mother Martha Adair to take her own life less than two years later.

The family of Sue Ellen - a number of whom were present to watch Clifford sentenced this week - have always maintained that the paedophile was capable of killing again.

Yesterday a relative of Sue Ellen's insisted prison authorities had placed the public at grave risk last September by granting Clifford temporary release.

"He should never have been released in the first place, full stop," they said.

"They should have kept him in there and thrown away the key."

The person, who didn't wish to be named, added: "(The pre-release decision) allowed him to put others at risk, including young children.

"It was a good job that a child didn't cross his path and they got him apprehended. He's a dirty, nasty piece of work, a scumbag."

Sue Ellen's sister Deborah Adair previously described Clifford as "pure evil". "Mark my words, he will rape or murder another child," she said in 2010.

"That man destroyed my family.

"He didn't only murder my sister Sue Ellen, he was responsible for the suicide of my mummy."

Former Stormont Justice Minister Claire Sugden called for a robust investigation into why Clifford was allowed back on the streets while facing a fresh trial.

"I have concerns that anyone would be eligible for a pre-release scheme pending a new criminal charge while in custody, particularly where the charge relates to a serious crime that could have safety issues for the general public," she said.

"I have contacted the Department of Justice to seek clarity on this issue and to understand if there is a gap in the policy which has allowed this to happen."

Policing Board member Dolores Kelly said the case raised significant questions for the justice authorities.

She said if Stormont was up and running, the circumstances behind Clifford's pre-release would be probed further.

"I'm sure the justice committee would be seeking to have a better understanding of what has happened here. The number-one priority is the protection of the public," she said.

The Prison Service declined to directly explain how a convicted child killer facing another serious charge would be deemed suitable for the pre-release scheme.

It said: "While it would not be appropriate to comment on an individual, pre-release testing provides an important public safety element of the work of the NI Prison Service.

"Judgments are often finely balanced and, on occasions, individuals will fail the testing process."
Ankara strongly criticized the stance of Italy and France attempting to recognize the events of 1915 in Armenia as "genocide," stressing that the allegations are inconsistent with historical facts. "France is the last country that would give Turkey lessons over genocide and history because we did not forget what happened in Rwanda and Algeria. France needs to look into its own dark history," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday, referring to the French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to declare April 24 as a day of commemoration in France for the so-called "Armenian genocide," Daily Sabah reports.

The statement of the foreign minister came during the NATO Parliamentary Assembly's 99th Rose-Roth Seminar in Antalya, after Sonia Krimi, a French parliamentarian, said that the criticism by Parliament Speaker Mustafa Sentop over France's move shocked her. Stressing that the decision taken by the French president only serves to politicize history, Sentop said on Friday that the baseless allegations are voiced because of political concerns.

Ankara does not accept the alleged genocide but acknowledges that there were casualties on both sides during the events of World War I. Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of historians from Turkey and Armenia plus international experts to tackle the issue.

Following the comments by Cavusoglu, Krimi left the meeting. "We see how respectful and polite you are. You do not like to hear the truth, we will continue telling the truth. You will get used to this," Cavusoglu said.

In relation to the issue, on Thursday National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar conveyed Turkey's discomfort about the French president's decision to his French counterpart Florence Parly in a phone call.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Kemal Klcdaroglu also voiced criticism about France's move. On his official Twitter account, Klcdaroglu said on Friday: "French President Macron's declaring April 24 as a commemoration day for 'Armenian Genocide' is unacceptable. The resolving of problems between Turkey and Armenia is possible with dialogue between them; not with third parties' insolent interventions."

Sentop also criticized the passing of a motion by Italy's Parliament to recognize the 1915 events in Armenia as "genocide," noting that the parliament is exploiting history and law by attempting to give a decision by substituting itself as an international court.

In relation to the recent move by the Italian Parliament, Sentop said, "The Italian House of Representatives has attempted to give a decision about a crime that is specifically defined in international law as genocide by acting in place of international courts; and has exploited history and law," and added, "We would like to remind Italy of its role in World War II."

The proposal for recognizing the 1915 events in Armenia as "genocide" was voted on Wednesday and the motion was approved by 382 votes with none against and 43 abstentions. The decision faced furious backlash from Ankara as officials said it is prompted by political agendas.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement, "The motion of the Italian House of Representatives dated April 10, 2019, is a new example of the use of Armenian claims as a tool for domestic political interest."

The ministry noted that the proposal was prepared by Italy's far-right Lega Nord party, stressing that the "allegations being brought up before the elections or in the context of opposition to Turkey clearly reveal the political nature of these allegations and that they are inconsistent with historical facts."
A Co Antrim freight firm has been ordered to pay over 5,000 in compensation to a former employee after a tribunal ruled he was unfairly dismissed. (stock photo)

A Co Antrim freight firm has been ordered to pay over 5,000 in compensation to a former employee after a tribunal ruled he was unfairly dismissed.

Stephen Hare took the case against Crumlin-based Beatties Distribution Services Ltd, where he worked as a delivery driver for three years.

In January 2018 Mr Hare applied for a similar job with another company and he was interviewed the following month.

In March 2018 he received a letter from his prospective new employer confirming that his application had been successful.

The letter made clear that the job offer was subject to satisfactory references and a verifiable five-year history.

Mr Hare accepted the job offer, but then changed his mind.

He did not tell his current employers that he was intending to leave, nor did he inform his prospective new employer that he had decided not to take up their job offer.

Operations manager at Beatties Distribution Services, Mark Laughlin, learned of Mr Hare's job offer when he received an email from his prospective new employer.

The email stated that he would be starting his new job with them on April 9 and included a request for references and a questionnaire. The industrial tribunal in Belfast heard that Mr Laughlin was unable to contact Mr Hare to discuss this as he was out doing his deliveries.

On his evidence, Mr Laughlin planned to speak to him the next morning, but Mr Hare was off sick and then went on pre-arranged annual leave.

Mr Laughlin conceded that he was "not 100% sure" from the information he received that the employee was leaving.

When Mr Laughlin replied to the questionnaire from Mr Hare's new employers, he said he would not re-employ the applicant, stating that he had suffered a heart attack the previous year and was "only capable of delivering reduced numbers".

Mr Hare told the tribunal that his heart condition had only caused him to be absent from work for four weeks in 2017.

On April 5 Mr Laughlin wrote to Mr Hare stating that the new employer had contacted the firm "to state that you will be starting new employment with them" and therefore his contract with Beatties had been terminated.

The letter was sent by recorded delivery. Mr Hare claimed that he did not receive it until he returned to work after his leave on April 9, although it appeared from the evidence that it had been signed for two days previously. When he returned to work, Mr Hare was unable to clock in or gain access to the computerised work allocation system.

He spoke to Mr Laughlin, who read out the letter he claimed not to have received before he went to work that morning.

Mr Hare explained to Mr Laughlin that he had decided not to take the other job, but Mr Laughlin told him that he had already found a replacement.

Mr Hare was then told to leave the premises.

He was due to receive his month's pay on April 15, 2018 but when it did not arrive he contacted Beatties' accountant.

He was informed that his pay was being withheld because he had been responsible for accidental damage to one of the firm's vans in December 2017.

Mr Hare accepted that he was responsible and had 600 deducted from his final pay.

However, the hearing was told that the van had not been repaired and the firm did not produce any evidence of an estimated cost.

Beatties argued during the hearing that Mr Hare had resigned from their firm and relied upon the email from his prospective new employer.

This claim was disputed by Mr Hare, who argued that the company could not properly rely upon the word of a third party.

The tribunal ruled that Mr Hare had been unfairly dismissed by Beatties, which was "motivated by nothing less than spite, with the sole intention of sabotaging the claimant's new employment".

It also found that the 600 deduction from his final pay was unfair and "similarly vindictive".

Beatties was ordered to pay compensation totalling 5,106 to Mr Hare.
Matthew Burns leaves court yesterday. Hes accused of making threats against Jacinda Ardern and London mayor Sadiq Khan

A teenager has appeared in court charged with making online death threats to the Prime Minister of New Zealand days after the Christchurch massacre.

Matthew Burns, who allegedly told police he had far-right political leanings, appeared before Newry Magistrates Court yesterday.

A detective said he believed he could connect Burns (19), of Dundalk Road, Newtownhamilton, Co Armagh, to the charges.

The accused's parents and sister attended the court.

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As the charges were read out Burns's mother held her hand to her head and closed her eyes.

He is accused of making threats on social media to Jacinda Ardern, who recently touched hearts with her emotional response to mass shootings at two mosques in New Zealand.

A Twitter message to the Prime Minister was said to have been made directly after the right-wing terrorist attack.

The court heard that a photo of a gun silencer was sent with the message "you're next".

The defendant was further charged with making similar threats to the Mayor of London Sadiq Kahn.

The accused was arrested on Thursday and taken to Banbridge PSNI station for questioning.

Two dates of offending are said to have taken place on Twitter and Facebook, in December 2018 and March 20 this year.

During interview Burns stated that he had far-right political leanings and had negative sentiments towards minorities, Muslims and the LGBTQ community.

Volumes of similar posts towards minorities were said to be under investigation by the PSNI cyber unit.

An application was made to restrict reporting due to the defendant's believed poor mental health and attempts at self-harm, indicating a suicidal nature.

District Judge McGarrity rejected the application due to a lack of medical evidence being brought before the court.

The defendant was released on 500 bail to his parents' custody with a 1,000 cash surety with the condition that he has no internet connection and adheres to a curfew.

The magistrate warned Burns: "The police are going to be watching you... next time the courts may not be so sympathetic as today."

The case was adjourned to May 8.

The New Zealand Labour Party leader became a familiar face on TV screens in the wake of the Christchurch terror attack last month.

The March 15 shootings at two mosques left 50 people dead and dozens wounded.

Afterwards Ms Ardern described it as one of New Zealand's "darkest days".

She said: "What has happened in Christchurch is an extraordinary act of unprecedented violence. It has no place in New Zealand.

"Many of those affected will be members of our migrant communities - New Zealand is their home, they are us."

Australian Brenton Tarrant (28), a self-described white supremacist, has been charged with murder.

Ms Ardern became the country's youngest Prime Minister in more than 150 years in October 2017 at the age of 37.
Belfast City Council believes that appropriate action is being taken to address the serious structural problems that led to the evacuation of 91 homes in a luxury apartment block in Belfast city centre.

Residents were instructed to leave the upmarket development at Victoria Square "immediately for safety reasons" on Wednesday and told they would have to find and pay for alternative accommodation for the next five months.

The Belfast Telegraph yesterday revealed that flat owners had been asked to pay 10,000 each for structural repairs, amounting to 910,000 - an anticipated repair bill just shy of 1m.

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But, significantly, that calculation was done by the management company long before the problem was deemed severe enough to merit a dramatic mid-week evacuation of all the apartments at The Residence.

Notwithstanding the major issue affecting the high-end flats, it's business as usual for stores in the adjoining Victoria Square shopping centre, as well as the underground car park.

And now, after a site visit on Wednesday, Building Control has said "proactive steps" are being taken to "address" and "contain" the problem which relates to "damage to a structural column within the residential complex".

Yesterday, Belfast City Council also said it will be monitoring the situation "to assess whether any formal action is required on the part of the council".

"Building owners are responsible for undertaking repair works to their properties and ensuring they are safe," a statement said.

"If an owner fails to comply with those obligations, the council can use enforcement powers to compel them to carry out repairs.

"Structural engineers engaged by the residential managing company for Victoria Square contacted our Building Control team earlier this week to notify us of planned works to resolve a structural issue within the site.

"Our team met with the structural engineers on site to ascertain the exact nature and extent of the issue, which relates to damage to a structural column within the residential complex, and to determine the time scales involved in carrying out repairs.

"We are satisfied proactive steps are being taken by the residential managing company and ensure this issue is contained within the residential complex, allowing the remainder of Victoria Square to operate as normal."

Belfast City Council also said there will be "ongoing conversations between our staff, the structural engineers engaged by the managing agents, an independent consultant engineer and other relevant statutory agencies."

The management company was questioned on how long it will take for the specific cause of the structural damage to be identified, and whether it has now established the parties responsible for the problem.

The Belfast Telegraph further asked if all 91 shareholders must continue to pay their mortgages while unable to live in the premises, and if all apartment owners are insured for this eventuality?

A spokesman for Victoria Square Residential Management Limited said it was unable to respond to the questions.

"The management company is not in a position to comment on any potential litigation or those parties who may be involved," a statement said.

"Questions relating to the individual shareholders mortgage liabilities or insurance are for their own professional advisors."

Victoria Square Residential Management Limited released a previous statement on Wednesday saying the estimated cost of repairs was "significant" due to "the technical nature of the work involved".

It also said it hoped "to start work on site soon"; that it was "regrettable that this situation will cause inconvenience to the residents"; and that it was "doing all it can to resolve the matter as quickly as possible".
A judge has lifted an anonymity order in the case of a drug dealer who ran a network of suppliers in order to distribute cocaine, diazepam and cannabis to his customers.

A judge has lifted an anonymity order in the case of a drug dealer who ran a network of suppliers in order to distribute cocaine, diazepam and cannabis to his customers.

The defendant, who can now be named for the first time, is Anthony Dalzell (33), from Claremont House, Richmond Terrace, Londonderry. He was jailed for three years after he admitted committing a total of 10 drugs offences between November 26, 2017 and March of last year.

After a barrister for the Public Prosecution Service said that there was no specific threat against Dalzell, Judge Philip Babington lifted the previously imposed anonymity order at Derry Crown Court.

Dalzell, who was shot in both legs 10 years ago in a so-called paramilitary punishment shooting, had 33 previous criminal convictions, six of them for drugs offences.

He committed his latest offences shortly after he was released from prison where he'd served a 32-month sentence for previous drugs offences.

Following Dalzell's prison release the police searched his then home at Abercorn Road on March 14 of last year.

Inside a kitchen cupboard the police found a nine bar of cannabis resin weighing 64g.

As the search continued the police found 480g of flowering cannabis heads under the kitchen sink as well as deal bags, weighing scales and 500.

In a drawer in the bedroom police officers also found two slabs of cannabis resin weighing 200g.

Judge Babington said in September 2017 police seized a mobile phone belonging to another suspected drugs dealer. On it they found multiple text message exchanges between Dalzell and the other man relating to the supply of drugs.

The timeline of text messages, as well as Facebook messages, referred to the cost, weight and types of drugs which Dalzell offered to supply.

"The police view, with which I agree, is that he is a high level dealer with a network of others doing the running for him and he agreed he was selling the drugs to fund his own habit," said Judge Babington.
East Londonderry MP Gregory Campbell has called on the Electoral Office to ensure all applications for postal and proxy votes are scrutinised properly.

The DUP veteran was speaking after analysis showed a large increase in postal and proxy votes in seats which elected a Sinn Fein MP during the 2017 general election.

The average number of proxy votes in seats which elected a Sinn Fein MP was 23.5 per 1,000 ballots.

In the seats which did not elect a Sinn Fein MP, this figure was 7.8 per 1,000 ballots.

Sinn Fein's Elisha McCallion won the Foyle constituency from the SDLP's Mark Durkan by 169 votes.

The number of proxy votes cast in Foyle at the last election was 27.8 per 1,000 ballots.

Following Ms McCallion's 2017 victory, police were asked to investigate a small number of reports of electoral fraud in the Foyle constituency.

It followed the reports being passed on to Chief Electoral Officer Virginia McVey.

In the wake of the election, an SDLP delegation met with Mrs McVey to discuss constituents' concerns that their vote had been cast before they arrived at the polling station.

It later emerged that the use of proxy votes in some Sinn Fein-dominated areas of Derry was more than 17 times the UK average. Mr Campbell said that there had been a "huge increase" in absenting voting in specific parts of Northern Ireland in recent years.

He recently contacted Secretary of State Karen Bradley and Minister for the Constitution Chloe Smith to discuss the issue.

The MP said recent analysis of the increase had shown "disturbing trends", particularly ahead of the May local elections where seats are normally decided by fine margins.

"I previously raised concerns about the unprecedented number of applications," he said.

"The process has now been centralised, but the Electoral Office still needs to instil confidence amongst the public that full and proper scrutiny of every single application is going to be carried out.

"There is no logical explanation for the huge disparity in application rates across Northern Ireland.

"I have yet to hear any explanation for the situation in Foyle. An almost fourfold differential defies a rational explanation."

Mr Campbell said there were also concerns that voter data could be removed from polling stations by polling agents appointed by parties.

"No party should have anything to fear from a thorough examination of all practices involved in our electoral system," he said.

"The public must have confidence that the process is rigorous and fair, from the application form right through until votes have been cast."

The Electoral Office has been contacted in relation to this story.
IRA evidence at the Birmingham bombings inquest has raised hopes that republicans could shed light on the Kingsmill massacre, a coroner has said.

A former Provisional recently named four people he claimed were involved in the Midlands pub attacks in 1974.

The Kingsmill inquest is examining the shooting dead of 10 Protestant men by republicans in South Armagh in 1976.

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The coroner, Judge Brian Sherrard, said: "It has given me some cause for hope, perhaps, that the Birmingham inquest was the recipient of such valuable... information. I am at a loss as to how those who would engage in this type of activity would not wish to take the same approach to this inquest."

No one has ever been convicted of the killings.

Relatives of the victims want a dead suspect whose identity has been protected to be named, and that is the subject of legal discussions.

The coroner appealed for any individual or organisation involved in the killings to come forward, including those who performed operational or organisational roles.

The textile workers were shot when their minibus was ambushed outside the village of Kingsmill on their way home from work. Those on board were asked their religion, and the only Catholic was ordered to run away. The killers, who had hidden in hedges, forced the 11 remaining men to line up outside the van before opening fire.

Alan Black was the sole survivor, despite being shot 18 times.

Colin Worton, whose brother Kenneth was one of those who died, said: "Here again we are on a different planet because we were always led to believe the IRA had gone away but now we understand they are still intact whenever they came back and gave information into the Birmingham court. Why are they not doing it on this side of the water? I don't know."

He said nobody had the power to make people come forward. Mr Worton said the dead suspect should be named, adding: "It shouldn't be terrorist-led, this inquiry. We shouldn't be beholden on them. The security forces know each and every one that took part."

In his evidence to the Birmingham inquests, the then IRA head of intelligence in Ireland, Kieran Conway, described the victims' deaths as "accidental", in an "operation that went badly wrong".

Towards the end of evidence at the hearings, a former IRA member named four people he claimed were involved in the bombings. The man, identified in court only as Witness O, said he had been authorised to give the names by the current head of the IRA in Dublin.
Police have arrested a man in Belfast over indecent images of a child (PA)

A man has been arrested in Belfast over indecent images of a child.

The 57-year-old man was arrested following the search of a property on College Avenue in the south of the city.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland described the operation as a planned search.

The man was arrested on suspicion of possessing indecent images of a child and distributing indecent images of a child.

He remained in custody on Saturday evening.
The man is to face court charged with terrorism offences (PA)

A man will appear in court in Belfast on Saturday charged with a number of terrorism offences.

The 52-year-old was arrested on the Stewartstown Road in the west of the city on Thursday.

A 52yr man charged with membership of proscribed organisation,collecting & possessing information likely to be of use to terrorists & possession of firearm & imitation firearm. To appear at Belfast MC tomorrow, following a vehicle stop on Stewartstown Rd, west Belfast on Thursday  Police Service NI (@PoliceServiceNI) April 12, 2019

He has been charged with membership of a proscribed organisation, collecting and possessing information likely to be of use to terrorists and possession of a firearm and imitation firearm.
A new independent record shop has opened close to the Primark site in Belfast, offering a boost to city centre retail.

Experienced music promoter Darren Smyth is one of the figures behind Strange Victory Records, with Jeff Doherty, owner of used vinyl speciality store Dragon Records on Wellington Place, also involved.

Today's official opening of the 22 Berry Street store coincides with Record Store Day, the now annual celebration of independent record shop culture.

The new store is the latest boost for retail trade around the Primark cordon following the reopening of Zara's only local outlet last week.

Darren, who has helped bring over 400 bands and musicians to Belfast over the last 18 years, said he felt there was a gaping hole in the market for an independently owned outlet to buy new vinyl.

"Outside of HMV there is nowhere to buy new vinyl in what is supposedly a capital city. We're the only city I can think of in Europe I think that doesn't have at least one," he said.

The promoter said he understands the challenge in store. Sick Records on North Street and Head Records in CastleCourt are among the Belfast record shops to close in recent years.

"It's not a business for anyone looking to make a million," he said. "It's a very difficult business to run. But Belfast needs it and that's a big part of why we've done it. We think we can sustain it and grow it."

Vinyl sales are on the rise in the UK. Some 4.2 million vinyl albums were sold last year, 1.6% more than in 2017.

Darren said he has been particularly inspired by the number of younger music fans picking up records, adding: "It's great to see.

"We don't want it to be an intimidatory place, which a lot of record shops back in the day used to be.

"We want people to tell us what they want it to be and what they want us to stock."

Darren said that alongside well-known artists, Strange Victory Records will provide a platform for local bands and become a focal point for the local scene.

He added: "We have the space to do in store performances, so we hope to reach out to the local community in terms of that. We hope to do one a week from the end of May and also touring bands as well."

Along with helping bring a host of international acts to play in Belfast's main music venues, Darren recently collaborated with David Holmes for the God's Waiting Room club night in east Belfast's Maple Leaf Club.

Despite the venue being bulldozed last year, he says the Belfast music scene has never been in better shape.

"There hasn't been so many touring acts coming through Belfast. It's probably the best it has been since the 1960s," he said.

"So it's important in your own little way to give them an experience of the place apart from Primark and Tesco."
Police at the scene where a womans body was found in the New Lodge.

Neighbours have expressed shock following the "devastating" discovery of a woman's body in a north Belfast apartment block.

The body was found at a property in Cuchulainn House in the New Lodge area on Thursday morning.

Two police vehicles remained at the scene last night as detectives continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.

SDLP councillor Paul McCusker described the tragedy as "devastating" for the local community.

"It is understood that the female was only in her 30s," he said. "This woman had her whole life ahead of her. While the circumstances around her death are unclear, it is extremely sad that her friends and family will be receiving this horrific news.

"The community in the New Lodge is extremely tight-knit and many will be devastated to know that a young woman has died in the area," Mr McCusker added.

"My thoughts go out to anyone who knew and loved her."

A number of local residents said they believed the woman was a member of the Traveller community.

"It's very sad," one man said.

"This is a quiet enough area but that particular block of flats can get pretty crazy. There was a man stabbed there before."

He was referring to the brutal murder of 24-year-old David Corr on March 15, 2012.

The talented skateboarder and busker suffered a total of 37 wounds in the frenzied attack at the hands of Barry Cavan, who lived in the same apartment complex on Victoria Parade.

Cavan (25) was jailed for life after pleading guilty to the murder.

Another neighbour said residents always fear trouble breaking out in the apartment block.

"It's renowned for loud noise and crazy parties," he said. "Most people avoid going by it. This shocking incident will make people feel even more uneasy."

Sinn Fein councillor JJ Magee offered his condolences to the family of the deceased.

"My sympathies are with the family, friends and neighbours of this woman at this time," he said.

He also urged anyone with information to bring it forward to the PSNI.

Police said a post-mortem will be carried out in due course.
Negotiators representing the worlds two largest economies have worked hard for months to resolve long-standing conflicts over market access, protection of intellectual property, and other issues that led Trump last year to order billions of dollars in tariffs on Chinese goods. As Times writes in the article Trump and Xi Need to Resolve the Trade War, but Real Peace Is Unlikely, the two remaining outstanding goals appear to be U.S. willingness to quickly lift tariffs and Chinese willingness to allow the U.S. to verify that China is keeping its promises, but optimism is in the air that a deal will soon be done.

For good and for ill, there are significant similarities between this agreement and the 2015 nuclear deal the Obama Administration struck with Iran. Both involve lengthy, complex negotiations among teams of both technical experts and seasoned diplomats. As with the Iran deal, the U.S.-China agreement will be greeted with extraordinary fanfare. And, perhaps most important, these are both deals agreed to by the representatives of governments that deeply distrust each other.

Thats why a U.S.-China trade pact, like the Iran nuclear deal, is unlikely to last very long. One of Irans bitterest complaints is that the Obama Administration left many sanctions in place even after the nuclear deal was signed. Trump may well do the same with China, and the threat that Trump will abruptly tweet out new threats will hang over future relations. China, like Iran, will allow for some sort of verification process to prove its keeping its end of the deal, but the President may not always be satisfied with the result, particularly if U.S. and Chinese officials interpret the agreement differently, because of their economic interests and essential mistrust of each other.

A further similarity: other governments will be left with the mess when the deal breaks down. A series of reports issued earlier this month underscore just how many interested parties there are. The Asian Development Bank says trade disputes between Washington and Beijing create the most important current risk for Asias regional economy. The International Monetary Fund notes that todays global supply chains leave South Korea and Japan, as well as Germany, Italy, the U.K. and France, especially vulnerable to an economic slowdown triggered by tariffs. The World Trade Organization warns that tit-for-tat tariffs, like those at play in the U.S.-China trade war, threaten global jobs, growth and economic stability.

Donald Trump wants a deal. He needs a major political win to open his campaign for re-election, and there are few other foreign policy achievements he can credibly claim. Chinese President Xi Jinping wants a deal too. Hes managing a long-term slowdown of Chinas economy and needs to avoid criticism at home that the new era of Chinese power he has proclaimed has forced his country and its economy into an unwelcome international spotlight. The negotiators representing the two governments want an agreement that will satisfy the political needs of their Presidents while resolving enough problems in U.S.-China trade relations to give the deal a chance to stand the test of time.

But mistrust extends well beyond the men at the top. China and the U.S. will compete for domination in coming years across the political, economic, security and technology arenas. A signed agreement can make an important difference to limit this competition. It can also be destroyed more quickly than it was constructed. Just ask Iran.
Two of the three Nato warships berthed at Gotto Wharf, Belfast

Belfast is set to be flooded with sailors from around the world this weekend after the arrival of three Nato warships.

Spanish frigate Almirante Juan De Borbon, the Turkish navy's TCG Gokova and Germany's FGS Rhon arrived in the city after a training exercise in the North Sea.

They were part of the six-vessel Standing Nato Maritime Group 1, which was involved in Exercise Joint Warrior.

SNMG1 Commander Rear Admiral Edward Cashman, of the US Navy, said he was looking forward to some downtime on his first visit to Belfast.

"It was an extremely challenging exercise involving air forces, land forces and maritime, so we get all the interaction between the different component forces in a very challenging scenario," the rear admiral added.
Yesterday Sinn Fein's Taylor McGrann condemned the attack, urging anyone with information to contact the PSNI. (stock photo)

An attack on a home by a gang of masked men in a loyalist estate in north Belfast has been branded "reckless and sectarian" by Sinn Fein.

The incident took place around 11pm on Wednesday when four masked attackers ransacked a house in Rathcoole.

Yesterday Sinn Fein's Taylor McGrann condemned the attack, urging anyone with information to contact the PSNI.

"This was a reckless, indiscriminate attack which has seen a home completely ransacked by masked men in Rathcoole," he said,

"Thankfully no one was injured in this ruthless attack. Everyone has the right to live free from the fear of intimidation or violence.

"Sectarianism has no place in our society and I call on all political and community leaders to show leadership to end these types of attacks."
Sinn Fein has questioned the direction of the EU as it confirmed that its current MEP in Northern Ireland will run again for her seat.

Party president Mary-Lou McDonald insisted Sinn Fein is euro-critical, but that leaving is not the answer.

There are fundamental questions to be asked about the direction of the EU, she told the Sinn Fein selection convention at the Balmoral Hotel in Belfast.

The north leaving is not the answer. Leaving was never the answer.

Expand Close Sinn Fein Leader Mary Lou McDonald (right) congratulates Martina Anderson as she is selected as the Partys Northern Ireland candidate for the European Elections at a selection convention in Belfast (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Sinn Fein Leader Mary Lou McDonald (right) congratulates Martina Anderson as she is selected as the Partys Northern Ireland candidate for the European Elections at a selection convention in Belfast (Niall Carson/PA)

All of Ireland should be in the EU, leading a fair and social Europe, opposing federalisation and the creation of an EU army.

Elections to the European Parliament are going ahead in May despite the United Kingdoms imminent exit from the European Union.

Martina Anderson, who has been one of Northern Irelands three MEPs since 2012, said she is honoured to be selected by her party to run to defend her seat.

Expand Close Sinn Feins Martina Anderson(centre) is selected as the Partys Northern Ireland candidate for the European Elections at a selection convention in Belfast (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Sinn Feins Martina Anderson(centre) is selected as the Partys Northern Ireland candidate for the European Elections at a selection convention in Belfast (Niall Carson/PA)

Ms McDonald reiterated her opposition to Brexit, pointing out that a majority in Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU, and criticised the Conservative Party and Democratic Unionists for dragging it out.

This election is an opportunity to say clearly to the Tories and DUP  Your time is over. Your Brexit is over, she said.

Brexit demonstrates the undemocratic nature of partition. It also demonstrates the power that we have to shape change. Let us continue to be a strong, unyielding voice in the Europe.

Ms Anderson described the poll as an opportunity to send a message to Brussels, London and Dublin that the people of Ireland will not be left behind.

We are facing into an election the British government didnt want to happen, she said.

The DUP didnt want EU elections either. Their Brexit involves stripping people of their rights including the right to vote.

Not only do they refuse rights that everyone else in Britain and Ireland enjoy, they also want to remove EU rights too.

Martina Anderson just got nominated to stand again for Sinn Fein in the upcoming European Election. No better activist to do it. The right person, in the right place, at the right time to represent Irish interests in the continuing Brexit chaos. pic.twitter.com/HmpCByjhB9  Gerry Kelly (@GerryKellyMLA) April 13, 2019

We have continually fought against Brexit and made sure the voice of the people of the north has been heard and the interests of the people of Ireland have taken centre stage.

We have stood up for all our citizens from right across the community in full confidence challenging and confronting all that is wrong with the EU and supporting and advancing all that is right for Ireland.

This election offers an opportunity to send a message to Brussels, London and Dublin that we will not be left behind again.
The president of the UK's Supreme Court Lady Brenda Hale has been to Belfast to listen to demands for more protection for the human rights of disabled children.

And the baroness also talked of criticism from the United Nations of the Government's record on support for children with disabilities.

Lady Hale was also told that over 150 children present themselves as homeless here every year, and that other teenagers were facing risks because they were being housed in unregulated accommodation.

The Yorkshire-born judge was a guest of the Children's Law Centre in the Belfast's Royal Courts of Justice, where she had been with the Supreme Court last year to hear the Ashers bakery case, after which the highest court in the land unanimously ruled that the company's refusal to make a cake with a slogan supporting same-sex marriage was not discriminatory.

Before her lecture to judges and lawyers yesterday, Lady Hale was described as a champion of human rights who had been an inspiration to the legal profession here and across the water.

Lady Hale spoke of the many different types of disabilities impacting on children who she said were all individuals with the problems they faced - including legal ones - coming in all shapes and sizes.

Lady Hale said many children's cases were going through the courts as they sought redress of difficulties including the accessing of the public services they need, problems she said which were "often brought about by the severe pressure on funding for local government".

It was a "huge" issue, she added, and she also cited other difficulties faced by disabled children ranging from poverty, welfare allowances, medical care and education.

Lady Hale said a number of court cases were pending against the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Education over the national approach to funding.

She also referred to criticism from a United Nations committee of the Government for failing to adopt a framework to address the poverty of many families of children with disabilities or to "adopt the human rights model of disability into public policies".

Lady Hale added that the UN was also concerned that the Government hadn't done enough to tackle bullying and hate crimes against disabled children.

During her address she publicly questioned a recent interpretation by Northern Ireland Children's Commissioner Koulla Yiasouma of new legislation relating to teenagers who are at the centre of controversy over whether or not they - as opposed to their guardians - have the capacity to exercise their rights to make decisions which affect their lives.

Ms Yiasouma, who was in the audience, said she wanted to follow up Lady Hale's comments to explain the commission's stance on a "very complicated legal argument".

However the commissioner, who has claimed that the absence of a power-sharing government at Stormont has left young people's mental health services on their knees, also said the address had been helpful to everyone involved in the complexities of children's rights.

Kathryn Stevenson, head of legal services with the Children's Law Centre, praised the baroness for her contribution to children's human rights.

She said: "She has taken monumental strides to increase recognition of and respect for children as autonomous rights holders, to whom duty bearers are answerable and often legally accountable."

One example she cited was the House of Lords judgment on local authorities' responsibility for providing emergency accommodation for homeless children aged 16 and 17, a ruling which she said impacted on teens here.

Ms Stevenson added: "Child homelessness is a pervasive issue in Northern Ireland. We estimate that around 150 children present as homeless every year in Northern Ireland, many of whom require emergency accommodation and intensive support due to their individual needs."

She explained CLC also received a steady stream of referrals concerning children leaving juvenile detention or requiring supported accommodation in order to get bail.

"Many of these children are looked after, but have been excluded from residential care homes as they are difficult to manage in care settings," she said.

Ms Stevenson said her organisation was also concerned by the rising numbers of teens being accommodated in unregulated B&Bs, hotels and hostels and added that the placements presented risks to the young people.
Speculation is growing that US political heavyweight Nancy Pelosi will visit the border region next week.

Ms Pelosi, who is speaker of the House of Representatives, is also due to address the Dail next Wednesday during her transatlantic visit.

The California Democrat has taken an active interest in US/Mexico border issues as immigration issues at America's frontier with its Latin American neighbour have risen up the US political agenda.

News of Ms Pelosi's plans comes as US President Donald Trump's nominee for the position of ambassador to Ireland told a US Senate confirmation hearing yesterday that he will work to uphold the Good Friday Agreement "at all costs". Businessman Edward F Crawford made the comments as he appeared before the US Senate's Foreign Relations Committee.

The Irish-American's father emigrated from Cork in 1925, with his mother following in 1927.

The 80-year-old is the CEO of Park-Ohio Holdings, an international manufacturing company with revenues of $1.9bn.

It makes products for trucks, washing machines and the aerospace sector, and employs more than 7,500 people around the world. Mr Crawford also owns a distribution business in Cork city which employs 17 people.

He said that he felt his business experience would serve him well as ambassador.

"In the 58 years building this company I learned a great deal about people," he told the Senate committee, adding that he would work to bring "knowledge and enthusiasm" to his new role.

Mr Crawford said he felt he could strengthen the ties between the countries.

Senators questioned the businessman on the effect Brexit was having in both Northern Ireland and the Republic.

"It's unfortunate that we have two of our closest allies, the EU and the UK, in this situation," Mr Crawford said, acknowledging that Brexit had affected Ireland in "very strange ways".

Asked by New Hampshire senator Jeanne Shaheen about the potential effect on the border, Mr Crawford said that the issue was "something that has to be settled by the two parties most concerned, that is the EU and the UK".

If approved, he will serve as the first US ambassador to Ireland in more than two years.
A woman who stabbed her husband eight times while he slept in their bed has been sentenced to nearly five years. (stock photo)

A woman who stabbed her husband eight times while he slept in their bed has been sentenced to nearly five years.

American-born Tamytha Lee Hopkins (49) was told yesterday she will spend half her sentence in custody and the remainder on supervised licence on her release from jail.

However, Belfast Crown Court heard that at the end of her sentence the mother-of-two may be deported to the USA.

Prosecution barrister David Russell said Hopkins had originally faced a charge of attempting to murder her husband Stephen Hopkins until "substantial" medical issues were explored, prompting her to plead guilty on rearraignment to the charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily injury.

The charge of attempted murder was "left on the books in the usual terms".

Mr Russell said that on November 24, 2017, police received a 999 call from the couple's 13-year-old son about a report of a stabbing at the family home in Carrickfergus.

"On arrival police noted Mr Hopkins in an upstairs bedroom of the property on top of the accused and was restraining her," said the prosecutor.

"It was obvious to the police that Mr Hopkins had a number of stab wounds to his upper torso and was bleeding heavily."

During a search of the upstairs, police - who had arrested the defendant - recovered a total of three knives, including a six-inch kitchen knife and a sushi knife.

Mr Hopkins told police that it had been a normal day in the family and there was only a minor disagreement about a peppermint oil burner.

At 8pm he took his son up to bed and his wife was in their bed, reading.

Around 10.40pm he went to bed and she went downstairs to read her book.

He told police he fell asleep and was woken when he was being repeatedly stabbed, asking his wife: "Why are you trying to kill me? Why have you got a knife in the bedroom?"

His wife replied: "You brought it here", the court heard.

Mr Hopkins said he "shouted at her to wake up and slapped her".

Mr Hopkins was treated in hospital for "superficial" knife wounds to his shoulder, neck and behind his ear.

Mr Russell said there were a number of aggravating features, including the use of knives, and the presence of their son "who witnessed some of the incident".

Defence counsel Gavan Duffy QC said a number of medical experts who had examined Hopkins said she had a complex psychological history dating back to her childhood.

He said she had expressed remorse for the knife attack, adding her actions were "totally out of character" and that Hopkins was facing possible deportation back to the USA following her sentence,

In response, Judge McFarland - who said Mr Hopkins suffers from post traumatic stress disorder from the attack - passed a four-and-a-half year prison sentence, which had been reduced in part for her early plea.
An Antrim council candidate has said his comments were "tongue in cheek" after writing on social media that he would "apply for the job as executioner" if Donald Trump began killing immigrants.

Si Harvey is standing for the Democrats and Veterans Party in the Carrick Castle ward for Mid and East Antrim District Council.

During a 2017 Facebook discussion, when asked if he was calling Adolf Hitler or Trump a "legend", he replied "in a funny way both".

Mr Harvey told the Irish News his comments were a "bit of a joke" and part of "sticking up for Donald Trump".

Alliance candidate Lauren Gray said the comments were "deeply offensive" and that they would "horrify" many people in Carrickfergus.

During the Facebook discussion Mr Harvey was asked: "Would you still support Trump if immigrant executions start?".

"100%. I'd apply for the job as executioner," he replied.

The discussion centred around a German magazine cover that showed President Trump draped in a US flag and giving a Nazi salute.

Mr Harvey told the Irish News he was not racist and did not support Hitler. He said the remarks were "a wind-up", though he did believe immigration should be limited.

He said that it was "ridiculous to compare Hitler with Trump".

"All I was doing was sticking up for Donald Trump," the veteran said. "I would 100% support Donald Trump. I think he has done an unbelievably fantastic job in America."

Mr Harvey said his execution comments were "tongue in cheek".

"Obviously it's not going to happen anyway because it wouldn't come to executions," he said.

He added he "hated" Hitler and that he "was awful".

"I'm a veteran. Why would I want to support Hitler?" Mr Harvey said.

Ms Gray described the comments as "not remotely funny in any way, shape or form, and have no place in our society".

"Instead of Mr Harvey claiming these posts are a misguided attempt at humour, he needs to take a long, hard look at himself and apologise unreservedly for them," she added.

"Such prejudiced views are not welcome in Carrick, or indeed anywhere else.

"I'm sure voters will make up their own minds after seeing them."
Garda have made a fourth arrest over the murder of John Gibson in Dublin in 2017. (Niall Carson/PA Wire)

Garda have arrested a man over a fatal shooting at a shopping centre in Dublin.

Father-of-two John Gibson was shot as he sat in his car close to Citywest shopping centre in September 2017.

The 29-year-old died of his injuries a short time later.

On Saturday morning, Garda arrested a man in his late 20s in relation to the incident.

A Garda spokesman said the suspect is being detained at Tallaght Garda Station.

This brings the total number of arrests to date over the incident to four.
A British man who had been in Australia for less than 24 hours has been charged after an alleged violent assault near Sydneys Bondi Beach.

The 35-year-old, who has not been named, approached another man in the early hours of Saturday and assaulted and threatened him, New South Wales Police said.

Officers said the 59-year-old victim attempted to run away, when the man continued to assault him and stole his mobile phone.

A man who has been in Australia less than 24-hours will appear in court today after an alleged violent assault on another man in #BondiBeach https://t.co/bpDAZeyeVY  NSW Police Force (@nswpolice) April 13, 2019

The victim was taken to St Vincents Hospital in a serious but stable condition.

A pedestrian alerted police to the incident on Campbell Parade at around 1.30am and the British national was charged with aggravated robbery with wounding and grievous bodily harm.

He was refused bail and is due in court in Parramatta, in the west of Sydney, on Saturday.
One of the main April events in Azerbaijan became President of the Republic Ilham Aliyevs decree on deepening reforms in the judicial-legal system. The decree mandates, first of all, to increase the material and social security of judges, to ensure transparency and uniformity of court proceedings, to strengthen the monitoring of the activities of judges, prosecutors and lawyers. The document also requires the creation of a special court to review business disputes and other issues related to doing business, and about an increase in the total number of judges in Azerbaijan by 200 people. Vestnik Kavkaza talked with the member of the board of the Bar Association of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Turgay Huseynov, about how the implementation of the decree will affect the judicial and legal system of the country.



- Turgay Mualim, in your opinion, how will the material security increase of judges impact the quality of court proceedings?



- On our agenda, there always was a question that the salaries of judges were not enough to effectively fight against corruption. Of course, the growth of salaries will not become a panacea for all corrupt moments, but in any case, it will give a weighty impetus to the implementation of fair justice and will contribute to ensuring the independence of judges. An important aspect of the decree, which determines the source for additional financing of courts, is the differentiation of state fees depending on the size of the claims. Today, an economic dispute in the amount above 500 manats is considered in the first instance court for 30 manats, and in the appeals instance - for 15 manats. That is, for example, a duty of 30 manats and 15 manats is paid for a ten million lawsuit and court proceedings between two legal entities, and this is very little payment for such a level of responsibility. Bringing duties into dependence on the size of lawsuits will allow achieving another goal - it will be possible to exempt state fees from payment of certain social issues, and so the state will further ensure social justice by taking a part of the costs.



- What is the importance of increasing the requirements of judicial activities transparency for justice quality growth?



- It is very important to increase the availability of court documents, to facilitate their receipt from the court for review. Today, we are actively developing an information base, there is an Elektron hokumat service (Electronic Government), through which you can receive a subpoena in a court and decisions made by judges appear in your personal office - it does not work in all courts, but it is already created. This, of course, is a big advantage for our work. The governments decision on the creation of an electronic information base, the Electronic Court, will significantly affect the transparency increase of the courts.



A paragraph on audio recordings of meetings is also important. Currently, for example, it is very difficult to obtain a copy of the court session minutes. If I have a desire to work with a civil case protocol and make comments, I cant really get a copy, I can only read it. If the meeting is recorded, no one will have any complaints that the person did not say such words or, on the contrary, said something that was not reflected in the minutes.



- What role will play the formation of a single judicial practice in ensuring fair trials?



- We have a certain problem with this issue, in particular, there are similar cases on which the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal does not speak with one voice. The issue of unification should be dealt with by the Supreme Court, creating uniformity in decision-making on specific issues. It is clear that situations may be different, but, in any case, there should be an axis. With a unified judicial practice, it will be easier for the courts to consider similar cases, and those who will appeal to court will already know that their cases are decided in this way, they will understand what outcome of the proceedings to expect.



- How will an increase in the number of judges by 200 people affect the courts?



- Only positive. If you look at the current schedule of the courts, you will see that for one day the judges have to deal with a horribly large number of cases. Processes are appointed every 15 minutes, and it is difficult for judges to cope with such a load. It is unrealistic to solve 20 cases in a single day fairly and efficiently. Therefore, an increase in the number of judges by one third will significantly unload the courts.
Jill Dando was shot and killed in Fulham in 1999 (PA)

Police investigating the murder of Crimewatch host Jill Dando had a scattergun approach and a foolish view it was linked to the show, former co-host Nick Ross has claimed.

Miss Dando, then one of the BBCs highest-profile stars, was shot outside her home in Fulham, west London, nearly 20 years ago.

Mr Ross, who left Crimewatch in 2007 after 23 years, told the Daily Mirror he did not believe Miss Dando was targeted due to her role.

Expand Close Former Crimewatch presenter Nick Ross (Toby Melville/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

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He told the paper: The thing is, and not so much the fault of the senior investigating officer, but top brass, they had this intuitive and, we thought, rather foolish view, it would be to do with Crimewatch.

In modern times, there has never been a judge attacked for sending someone down, a prosecuting solicitor, or anybody. Its just not the way it happens here.

And when I contacted colleagues in the States, it was as rare as hens teeth there.

Expand Close Barry George was cleared of murdering TV presenter Jill Dando (Lewis Whyld/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

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He added that appeals were frustrating when police had a scattergun approach.

Barry George was arrested on suspicion of murder in 2000, one year after Miss Dando was killed.

Mr George was convicted and imprisoned for eight years, then acquitted and released after a retrial.
The scene near the Ukrainian Embassy in Holland Park, west London (Jonathan Brady/PA)

A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a car was driven at police officers outside the Ukrainian embassy in London.

Police fired shots at the scene in Holland Park in the west of the capital after the Ukrainian ambassadors car was deliberately rammed twice on Saturday morning.

Scotland Yard said a vehicle was driven at officers when they arrived at the scene and a man in his 40s was arrested on suspicion of the attempted murder of police officers and criminal damage.

Police firearms and Taser were discharged in the incident, and the man, who was not injured, was taken to hospital as a precaution and is now in custody at a central London police station.

Armed officers were deployed to the incident as part of the protective security arrangements for London, police said.

A man has been arrested after an incident in #HollandPark this morning - police firearms and Taser were discharged. The arrested man was not injured. https://t.co/QYoUqeL24p pic.twitter.com/L05XKjaSeY  Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) April 13, 2019

The Met said officers were called at approximately 9.50am to reports of anti-social behaviour involving a car in Holland Park.

On arrival, the car was driven and was in collision with a number of parked vehicles near the Ukrainian embassy.

The incident is not being treated as terrorist-related.

Witness Darcy Mercier described the really strange event to the BBC, saying the car was blasting Ukrainian music in some kind of protest against the embassy after arriving at about 7am.

He said: I was out on my terrace when he started ramming the car and then the police arrested him.

I asked him to turn down the music and he said that he was playing Ukrainian music for the Ukrainian Embassy and was a little bit belligerent.

Footage showed armed police surround the silver Mercedes before smashing the drivers window and using a Taser on the screaming suspect.

Neighbours described hearing gunfire outside the Ukrainian Embassy before a suspect was arrested. It sounded like firecrackers. I thought, What the heck, its not Guy Fawkes, said Heather from Texas pic.twitter.com/ryWceQOxRr  Sam Blewett (@BlewettSam) April 13, 2019

A statement from the Ukrainian embassy said: The official vehicle of the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom was deliberately rammed as it sat parked in front of the Embassy of Ukraines building.

The police were called immediately, and the suspects vehicle was blocked up.

Nevertheless, despite the police actions, the attacker hit the ambassadors car again.

In response, the police were forced to open fire on the perpetrators vehicle.

The embassy said no staff were injured.

The Met declined to confirm whether or not ambassador Natalia Galibarenko was in her car at the time.

Expand Close Forensic officers at the scene near the Ukrainian Embassy (Jonathan Brady/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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The Mercedes was the subject of a forensic investigation on Saturday afternoon.

The vehicle appeared to have been backed into a black car which was heavily scuffed on its right-hand side.

Police used a sniffer dog to search the area.

Expand Close Pointers are laid at the scene by forensic officers (Jonathan Brady/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Emma Slatter, who is Visas general counsel, watched the Mercedes collide with the car from her home with her partner, David Hinsley, a banker who is also in his 50s.

Then came gunfire.

I think I heard about half a dozen shots, she said.

Expand Close Police apprehend a suspect near the Ukrainian embassy in Holland Park (Emma Slatter/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook

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Another resident, mother-of-two Heather Feiner, said: My kids were hanging out in the living room. They said, Mum, is that firecrackers?'

I saw all this police activity. I thought, Oh my gosh, whats going on?, added Ms Feiner, who is originally from Texas in the US.

Expand Close A forensic officer bags evidence after examining the silver car (Jonathan Brady/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Chief Superintendent Andy Walker, from the Mets Specialist Firearms Command, said: As is standard procedure, an investigation is now ongoing into the discharge of a police firearm during this incident.

We appreciate the swift and professional @metpoliceuk response in the incident outside the Embassy earlier today@foreignoffice  Ukraine's Emb. to UK (@UkrEmbLondon) April 13, 2019

The Met said the Directorate of Professional Standards has been informed.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he is open to a third summit with US president Donald Trump.

But Mr Kim set a deadline of the end of 2019 for Washington to offer mutually acceptable terms for an agreement to salvage the high-stakes nuclear diplomacy, the countrys state-run media said Saturday.

He made the comments during a speech on Friday at a session of the North Koreas parliament, which made a slew of personnel changes that bolstered his diplomatic lineup amid stalemated negotiations with the United States.

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His speech came hours after Mr Trump and visiting South Korean president Moon Jae-in met in Washington and agreed on the importance of nuclear talks with North Korea.

We of course place importance on resolving problems through dialogue and negotiations. But US-style dialogue of unilaterally pushing its demands doesnt fit us, and we have no interest in it, Mr Kim said during the speech.

According to the Korean Central News Agency, he blamed the collapse of his summit with Mr Trump in February on what he described as unilateral demands by the United States, which he said raised questions over whether Washington has genuine willingness to improve relations.

We will wait with patience until the end of the year for the United States to come up with a courageous decision

But he said his personal relationship with the American president remains good and that they could exchange letters at any time.

Mr Kim repeated earlier claims that North Koreas crippled economy would persevere through heavy international sanctions imposed over its nuclear weapons program and that he wouldnt obsess over summitry with the United States out of thirst for sanctions relief.

The United States has said the summit in Vietnam broke down because of the Norths excessive demands for sanctions relief in return for limited disarmament measures.

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In their first summit last June in Singapore, Mr Trump and Mr Kim issued a vague statement calling for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula without describing when and how it would occur.

Mr Kim said the United States has been refusing to withdraw what the North perceives as hostile policies while sticking to mistaken judgment that we would succumb to maximum pressure.

He said the North would not compromise on the fundamental interests of our country and people, even by a speck, and blamed the United States for arriving in Hanoi with completely unrealisable plans.

Expand Close US president Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in Hanoi (Evan Vucci/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

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If the United States approaches us with the right manner and offers to hold a third North Korea-US leaders summit on the condition of finding solutions we could mutually accept, then we do have a willingness to give it one more try, he added.

We will wait with patience until the end of the year for the United States to come up with a courageous decision. But it will clearly be difficult for a good opportunity like last time to come up.

When asked about Mr Kims comments, South Koreas presidential office said Seoul is committed toward keeping the atmosphere of dialogue alive and helping negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang resume at an early date.
US president Donald Trump has weighed in on the most recent controversy involving Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar, retweeting a video edited to suggest she was dismissive of the significance of the September 11 attacks.

The video shows a snippet of Ms Omars speech last month to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in which she described the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre as some people did something, spliced with news footage of the hijacked planes hitting the twin towers.

Mr Trump tweeted: WE WILL NEVER FORGET!

Ms Omars remark has drawn criticism from political opponents and conservatives who say the congresswoman, one of the first Muslim women to serve in congress, offered a flippant description of the assailants and the attacks in New York City that killed nearly 3,000 people and placed the US on the path to war.

Neither Mr Trumps tweet nor the video includes her full quote or the context of the Minnesota representatives comments.

The people  and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon! President George W. Bush



Was Bush downplaying the terrorist attack?



What if he was a Muslim  https://t.co/XMazssoD49  Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) April 12, 2019

Ms Omar told CAIR in Los Angeles that many Muslims saw their civil liberties being eroded after the attacks, and she advocated for activism.

She said in the speech delivered on March 23: For far too long we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen and, frankly, Im tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it.

CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognised that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties.

CAIR was founded in 1994, according to its website, but its membership increased dramatically after the 2001 attacks.

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Many Republicans and conservative outlets expressed outrage at Ms Omars remarks.

Texas representative Dan Crenshaw, a retired Navy SEAL who lost his right eye in 2012 in an explosion in Afghanistan, tweeted: First Member of Congress to ever describe terrorists who killed thousands of Americans on 9/11 as some people who did something.'

Heres your something, the New York Post blared on its cover, beneath a photograph of the flaming towers.

US house speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she wants to hear from Ms Omar about the comment, but the Minnesota Democrat does not seem to be backing down.

Ms Omar tweeted a quote from former president George W Bush shortly after the attacks, when he said: The people  and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!

Ms Omar tweeted: Was Bush downplaying the terrorist attack? What if he was a Muslim.

Ilhan Omar is a leader with strength and courage. She won't back down to Trump's racism and hate, and neither will we. The disgusting and dangerous attacks against her must end.  Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) April 13, 2019

Two 2020 Democratic presidential candidates waded into the debate to condemn Mr Trumps tweet and to stand with Ms Omar.

Senator Bernie Sanders tweeted of his party colleague: She wont back down to Trumps racism and hate, and neither will we.

Elizabeth Warren also tweeted: The president is inciting violence against a sitting congresswoman  and an entire group of Americans based on their religion.

The President is inciting violence against a sitting Congresswomanand an entire group of Americans based on their religion. It's disgusting. It's shameful. And any elected leader who refuses to condemn it shares responsibility for it.  Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) April 13, 2019

Ms Omar has repeatedly pushed fellow Democrats into uncomfortable territory over Israel and the power of the Jewish states influence in Washington.

She apologised for suggesting members of congress support Israel for pay and said she is not criticising Jews. But she refused to take back a tweet in which she suggested that American supporters of Israel pledge allegiance to a foreign country.

Her comments sparked an ugly episode among House Democrats when they responded with a resolution condemning anti-Semitism which became a broader declaration against all forms of bigotry.
British High Commissioner to India Dominic Asquith, pays tribute to victims of the massacre (AP)

The UK envoy to India has said his country regrets a massacre of hundreds of Indians by British colonial forces in the north-west city of Amritsar 100 years ago, and will continue to do so.

Saturday marks the centenary of the attack at Jallianwala Bagh by British colonial troops on unarmed Indians attending a peaceful rally calling for independence.

More than 300 Indians were killed and 1,200 injured during the massacre, which galvanised the national independence movement.

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British High Commissioner Dominic Asquith said the revulsion that we felt at the time is still strong today, as he paid tributes at the Jallianwala Bagh memorial in Amritsar.

He added: I would just ask you to respect what I came here to do, which was to commemorate those who died 100 years ago, to express the sorrow of the British Government and of the British people.

But I would repeat what I said: both governments are committed to building a very strong relationship.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Theresa May called the killings a shameful scar in British-Indian history, but stopped short of formally apologising.
According to my son - and he has a point - there's a trick to how people in public life apologise.

Step one: The guilty party gives themselves a right oul' telling off.

"What I did was reprehensible. I have hurt people. My behaviour fell far below the standard acceptable. It was wrong and unforgivable."

Step two: They forgive themselves.

"Having realised what I did was wrong I now feel it is essential to put the episode behind me and move on. There is nothing to be achieved by continuing to focus on the episode. I have learned from it and believe it has made me a better person."

Step three: Having delivered this absolution, they then add a disclaimer shifting the blame, oddly, to another incarnation of themselves.

"I was a different person back then. My actions/comments do not represent who I am now."

Step four: They lie low for a short period before re-emerging into public life.

Step five: They then suggest that actually they are the real victims in all this, having had to tolerate the fallout...

Which brings us to Barry McElduff who, needless to say, is back seeking public office (as we all knew he would be) and speaking highly of himself and his fortitude.

Barry didn't even tick all the boxes in the checklist above. He didn't really apologise. He just went straight to the victimhood bit.

To recap, Mr McElduff, an educated, well-paid servant of the state, an MP expected to serve all sides of the community (and not just the ones who voted for him), previously posted online a sniggering video mocking the dead on the anniversary of one of the most brutal sectarian atrocities of the Troubles.

Ten innocent working men were murdered by the Provos in the Kingsmill massacre - solely because of their religion.

Barry McElduff claims any hurt caused by his video was, of course, unintentional. And that it was entirely coincidental - entirely - that he posted it on the anniversary of the slayings.

Presumably entirely coincidental too was that in the days and weeks following his lead, dozens of callers to the home of the 92-year-old mother of one of the young men who died taunted her by asking for 10 slices of Kingsmill bread.

I don't have to labour how pitiless and perverted, how shameful and despicable that was. Even writing it down now, it's hard to believe somebody actually did that. What sort of gutless beings stoop to such a thing?

But now Barry is back and never mind that "unintentional hurt" he caused to all the Kingsmill families, never mind the abuse of a 92-year-old woman who still grieves for her lost son (a young man whose last act on this Earth was to reach out to save the Catholic friend he believed was the gunmen's intended target), never mind the demeaning of the office Barry held and for which he lifted a tidy sum in taxpayers' money...

What about what Barry has suffered?

"It's been a very challenging personal experience," he bleats in a newspaper interview, "but I'm trying to show character and resilience by returning to make a political comeback."

Barry believes that he took "a hit that maybe I didn't deserve to take".

A darkly ironic turn of phrase there, when you compare it to the utter horror of that bloody massacre near Whitecross on that cold January night in 1976.

It would be a bit harsh of course to suggest that a public figure who does wrong should be barred for all-time from future office.

But it isn't a lot to expect that those who do cause enormous offence and, as in this instance, very real hurt show some genuine remorse.

Barry McElduff hasn't.

Yes, Barry is sorry. But only for himself.

Julians been shown the door

Unwanted house guest of the week: Julian Assange, who after seven years has been removed - by police - from the Ecuadorean embassy in London after his once-happy hosts decided they'd had enough of him. Etiquette experts always advise that it's important for guests to know when to leave. As an indicator, when you find yourself being hauled out in handcuffs, shouting in protest, you can take it that you've probably overstayed your welcome.

Stone me, thats some diamond

Pricey gemstone of the week: The largest 'square emerald cut' diamond of all-time that is being put up for sale. Estimated price - unknown. But it cost over 40m before the sellers even started work on it. The stone was found in a mine in Botswana. We may not know its current price tag but one thing we can be pretty certain of: the person who actually found that bit of glittery rock will not be the one raking in the phenomenal profit.

Brexit really does take the biscuit (and garlic bread)

Scientists this week announced they have finally managed to put together a picture of a black hole - sparking inevitable comparisons with the Brexit black hole that has been sucking all life out of politics, creating chaos and spewing out dark matter and Mrs May's withdrawal agreement.

The black hole has been papped via an array of radio satellites right across the world.

One theory is that not only can the black hole swallow the entire universe as we know it, it may also bring matter back up again.

Obviously even a supermassive black hole also has a backstop.

And like Brexit it goes on and on and on for all eternity.

Mrs May has this week been granted a new EU extension until October. Which comes as a bit of a gunk to Edward Coyle from the Centra shop in Raphoe who has been stockpiling essential items for his customers in the event that a hard border would lead to shortages.

Things like custard creams and garlic bread. The factory supplying the latter for the whole of Ireland is (who knew?) in Northern Ireland.

You would think that however hard the border, the garlic bread would still get through. The smell anyway.

Canny Mr Coyle, however, had stockpiled a considerable quantity of back-up frozen French garlic bread which he now needs to shift.

He has also been left with around 4,000 custard creams whose sell-by date pre-dates the new October deadline.

Forward planning is all very well. But even a black hole would have difficulty swallowing that lot.
Say what you like about the DUP but they aren't fools. Arlene Foster travelled to Brussels on Thursday to meet EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier and tell him that his approach to the Withdrawal Agreement is fatally flawed.

The message was that he has barely paid lip service to unionist opposition to the backstop and must now start listening.

Mrs Foster knows there's not a snowball's chance in hell of Mr Barnier changing his stance, and why should he?

In the battle of Brexit, the EU is now far ahead of Team GB. It hasn't the slightest intention of ditching a winning strategy to appease the DUP. Mrs Foster's party might be top dog in Northern Ireland, and it might currently hold the balance of power in Westminster, but in the grand scheme of things in Europe, it's a bit player.

There is no motivation for the EU to bin the backstop. It has little reason to care whether or not Theresa May's deal secures a parliamentary majority. Every day that passes without the UK leaving the EU increases the chances of Brexit never happening.

So why did Mrs Foster waste her time on what she knew would be a fruitless visit?

This was one for the optics for the home audience. The DUP leader needed to be seen to be in Brussels, making her case, since the government has pushed her party aside in favour of trying to work out a way forward with Labour. Mrs Foster warned that if the EU won't reopen the Withdrawal Agreement and change the backstop, then we are moving "inexorably towards a no-deal scenario".

That's a completely hollow threat. Continuing Brexit stalemate and further extensions, a general election and even a second referendum can't be ruled out, but no-deal is currently not a runner in any shape or form.

And the DUP is privately quite content with that because it wouldn't want to shoulder the responsibility for the potential impact that no-deal might have on the Northern Ireland economy.

The biggest danger for the DUP remains Mrs May's Withdrawal Agreement scraping through the House of Commons.

As it has said and shown time and time again, the union that matters above and beyond any other for the party is the one between Britain and Northern Ireland.

Of the DUP's 10 MPs, only Sammy Wilson - and possibly Ian Paisley - are truly hardcore ideological Brexiteers. The rest won't lose a wink of sleep if the UK stays in the EU ad infinitum.

The strength of pro-Remain feeling in the unionist community has been over-stated by the media. Business and farming leaders do not necessarily reflect the views of those lower down the ranks.

Anecdotal evidence from council election canvassers across all the unionist parties suggests that Brexit is the major issue on the doorsteps and that the pro-Leave sentiment among the unionist base is actually strengthening as the Westminster fiasco continues.

That is why the DUP will keep loudly trumpeting its commitment to a proper Brexit despite the fact that it can live perfectly well with the softest of soft Brexits or no Brexit at all. Moderating its public position would be a vote-loser in the local government and EU elections here.

In Parliament, the party must be careful not to be seen to over-play its hand in public.

Sammy Wilson can fire from the hip with warnings about the future of the confidence and supply agreement, but the DUP is highly unlikely to do anything to bring in a Corbyn government - and senior Tories know it.

With power-sharing still suspended, the party would be loath to cut its own throat at Westminster.

It would like rid of Mrs May as Tory leader but, given his recent Withdrawal Agreement u-turn, it knows Boris Johnson is no knight in shining armour for unionists.
For far too long, Northern Ireland was the purveyor of bad news as the Troubles unfolded, but happily in recent years this province can claim to have real star quality.

Last night there was a glittering premiere in Belfast for the beginning of the final series of the legendary Game of Thrones, which was largely made here. The Belfast premiere was the only one outside New York, and there was a strong representation of the cast to showcase one of the most popular TV series in the world, and HBO's most-watched show on record.

It has meant big business for Northern Ireland, and in 2016 the resultant tourism from Game of Thrones was estimated to have been worth 30m to the local economy. Northern Ireland Screen also estimates that a whopping 210m has been spent on goods and services here since production began in 2009.

Game of Thrones has put Northern Ireland on the world map in a good way, which would have been unimaginable more than a decade ago. There is little doubt that this remarkable series will continue to generate interest in tourism here for a long time to come.

Another enduring visitor attraction is the site of the construction of RMS Titanic, which tragically sank in the cold Atlantic almost exactly 107 years ago this weekend.

On a smaller scale, but significant nevertheless, are the plans being drawn up to capitalise on the remarkable success of TV series Derry Girls, which has won major critical acclaim, including nominations in the 2019 television Baftas and the 2019 Broadcast Awards.

It is right to note that Northern Ireland has its own star quality, even if our continued lack of a working government could be filmed as a tragedy or a farce, or a bit of both. Our tourist authorities deserve praise for making the most of these film and other opportunities which illustrate, once again, the resourcefulness of our economy in reimagining and reinventing itself down the ages, and through the initiative of so many talented and resourceful people.
Hours after giving birth to Prince George, her first baby, in 2013, the Duchess of Cambridge found herself standing on the steps of a hospital clad in clingy, light blue frock with a full face of make-up and a perfect blow-dry, presenting herself and her new child to the world's gathered Press.

As the flashbulbs popped, what must she have been thinking? "I don't think I can stand any longer in these heels" perhaps? Or, "What if I drop the baby?" Of course, Kate might quite reasonably have been wondering how long it would be until she could sack the royal stylist who decided a pastel blue dress was a good choice for a post-partum photoshoot.

We were expecting to see the whole, sad spectacle repeated once again this month, but we won't, because Meghan Markle has turned her back on this pointless performance of parenting perfection.

Just days before the anticipated arrival of their child, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have confirmed that they intend to keep the details of the birth private. So far, royal photographers have not been invited to capture the first moments post-birth. In fact, the location of the forthcoming event has not been revealed at all.

Markle has decided against the famous private Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital, and there's even speculation she's may be opting for a home birth instead.

Well, good for her. Whatever she's decided, her actual birthing experience will probably bear little relevance to the birth plan she's lovingly drawn up. But one thing the Duchess of Sussex can control about this whole complex, emotional process is who she allows to see her new baby - and when.

Those strange hours and days post-birth, when day and night blur into one drowsy amorphous mass, are discombobulating for both new mothers and their partners.

It is stressful, exhausting, sweaty, grimy, tearful, awe-inspiring, wonderful and awful. It's a bodyshock - and no amount of wealth, or privilege, can protect you from that.

The problem is that our parenting culture seems to demand the opposite. Okay, so very few ordinary women are expected to meet the paparazzi with a groomed face and gleaming barnet shortly after birth. But you don't have to be a member of the royal household to feel the pressure to post polished Instagram and Facebook updates with cute "welcome" pictures.

An old-fashioned term for the post-birth period, which still sometimes crops up today in legal documents such as those governing maternity leave rights, is "confinement". When I first heard this term when I was pregnant, I considered it ludicrous, archaic, even sexist. But confinement is actually exactly what new mothers need.

Many cultures protect this ritual. In China, for example, it's known as the "sitting-in month", during which a post-partum woman isn't expected to do anything apart from, well, sit. And rightly so.

In Britain, as elsewhere in the West, we've seem to have lost our respect for that sacred period of quiet reflection and recovery. Celebrity magazines heap praise on film and pop stars for "bouncing back" after birth, as they are snapped out shopping, or lunching, with tiny newborn slung to their chest like baby kangaroos.

Families demand flying visits to "meet" an infant who may not even wake up during their two-hour tea-and-cake pit stop; much less often are they able to offer real, extended support that would allow a mother to catch up on sleep.

And although shared parental is available to anyone who is in employment, the reality is that the majority of that time is still taken up by mothers with new dads still taking an average of just two weeks paternity leave, or less.

Markle's brave decision to shun royal protocol - if that's what she's chosen - in favour of slouching down in giant net knickers and tracksuit bottoms is a great lesson in how to ignore the pressure to perform.

Giving birth is hard enough. Thank goodness someone has had the guts to tell the royal household that they won't be playing along with the pretence that it's effortless, too.
In a country where plantations, mining and dam-building companies call the shots, where homes are torched and people 'disappeared' from their ancestral rural homes to make room for sugar cane and palm oil, Abelino Chub Caal knows what it's like speak out.

For over two years, the human rights defender has suffered at the hands of the Guatemalan government, in cahoots with big companies who want to banish the indigenous people of Guatemala from their meagre ancestral homes - all for that extra slither of land.

Here, greed is measured in tiny percentages of profit, where an entire community means nothing to a major company pining for an extra dollar on top of billions.

Those who resist face murder, intimidation and midnight evictions, with the wooden huts they call home torched and their crops destroyed so they don't return.

When a large banana company failed with bribes in an attempt to expel his community from their land, they turned their attention to Abelino (34), a Q'eqchi Mayan leader from a community called Quebrada Sec.

They reported him to the military and claimed he was "stealing" the company's land, which they wanted to grow bananas on.

Appeased by a government which has historically acquiesced to big companies keen to obtain land for palm oil, banana and sugar cane plantations, as well as hugely polluting mining projects and dam-building ventures, many of which have strong links with the US and Europe, the Guatemalan authorities buckled and arrested Abelino. After two years in jail, he has still not been sentenced.

An active member of groups which fight for land rights for indigenous Mayans, as well as environmental issues, the Fundacion Guillermo Toriello (FGT) and formerly of the Committee for Peasant Unity, Abelino is a thorn in the side of big business and, by proxy, the government.

I travelled with Trocaire, the Irish overseas development agency, to meet the families and people who had suffered like Abelino, to hear their stories first-hand and learn how Trocaire's Lenten Appeal is highlighting how the corporate race for natural resources around the globe, particularly in developing countries, is putting millions of people at risk of exploitation.

With Trocaire's support, non-governmental organisations in Guatemala have been able to provide legal assistance to people like Abelino.

Since 2007, he has been working with FGT Fundacion Guillermo Toriello in Trocaire's project with the evicted communities of the Polochic Valley. I visited Abelino inside a Guatemala City penitentiary to hear his story.

The prison itself is overcrowded by thousands, something visibly obvious on the morning we arrived as hundreds of gang members had been corralled into the yards of the prison by heavily armed guards to allow forensics teams into block 11 to investigate a murder which had taken place just an hour earlier.

In a small side-room, a guard was present as we spoke to Abelino. He explained: "I was jailed in February 2017, meaning I'm now going into my third year in jail. When I was first detained by the police, they told me I was being detained because I am an indigenous leader. Other people who have stood up for Mayan rights have been detained in the same way.

"My case is not as terrible as some of the other Mayan people who have been detained in the same way and what I have suffered is not as bad as what others have suffered.

"In my case, it is clear the authorities have set out to criminalise me. What I want to do is highlight the dispossession of land happening all over the country.

"I have just been detained, but there have been worse things which have happened to other men and women who have raised the voices regarding the situation. Many have been arrested and detained, but how many have been sentenced? The answer is none. My detention - and the detention of others like me - is to delegitimise and slander our struggle."

Abelino described the details of bribes offered to him by the banana company in return for him convincing his community to leave the area.

"A banana company offered me money to expel the community from their land. They tried to give 1,500 Quetzals (150) to each person on the board of the community and 1,700 Quetzals to me to move.

"They also offered me a job as an advisor for the company, a car and offered to pay for travel. But I refused. That was in 2016," he says.

"You cannot sell dignity - dignity is very sacred. You also cannot sell the dignity of the motherland. After I refused to work for the company, it created a delicate situation which led to me being arrested and charged with stealing land from the company."

While being held in the Guatemala City prison, Abelino has used the time to learn how to draw and has obtained a certificate after taking part in a weaving workshop.

He keeps himself busy, but he doesn't have any visits because his family lives so far away.

However, even in prison, he receives regular verbal attacks for his refusal to bend the knee to the companies seeking to plunder Guatemala for its natural resources.

"The staff really don't see me as different to any of the other inmates," he said. "I treat them with respect and I don't go looking for trouble.

"In my sector (of the prison), they also keep government officials who have been accused of corruption.

"They do confront me sometimes. They call me a Leftist and a guerrilla in an attempt to humiliate me.

"I try to engage with them, but I do treat them with respect. I tell them there is no need for me to be a guerrilla.

"Meanwhile, government officials continue to steal money, while our people are going hungry, our children are without shoes and our schools are without roofs."

It was then a prison guard entered the room to tell us the visit had been concluded and Abelino returned to his cell - in a country where rebuffing corruption can mean a lengthy spell behind bars - not knowing when he'll see his home again, or if it will still be standing when he returns.

However, Trocaire is working with their partners right now to help those who have been targeted, like Abelino.

To donate to Trocaire's Lenten Appeal, look out for one of their donation boxes, which are widely distributed across Northern Ireland, visit trocaire.org, or ring 0800 912 1200

l The Lenten Appeal helped Trocaire to support 2.8 million people in 23 developing countries last year

l Some 165,000 Trocaire boxes are distributed every year to schools, homes and businesses in Northern Ireland

l This year's box carries the faces of three girls: Maria (Guatemala, 9), Maya (Syria, 10) and Patricia (Uganda, 8), who have lost their homes and land

l Last year, over 2m was raised in Northern Ireland for Trocaire's Lenten Appeal

l This year's campaign focuses on land rights - land more than 34 times the size of Northern Ireland has been sold to corporations since 2000 as a global resource-grab gathers pace

l Over 1.3 million people were reached with humanitarian assistance from Trocaire last year

l In 2018, 780,000 people directly benefited from Trocaire-supported justice and human rights programmes
Police seized about 2 tons of drugs in southeastern Iran in the provinces of Sistan and Baluchistan, the head of the provincial police, Mohammed Ghanbari, reported.

According to him, the criminal group that is engaged in drug trafficking tried to transport the batch with a total weight of 1.92 tons, dividing it into two parts. However, the prohibited cargo was discovered in the course of two operations carried out by law enforcement officers.

As a result of an armed incident that occurred during the operation, two members of the gang were detained, three managed to escape.
Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter and begins Holy Week, also known as Passion Week. It is the day that Christians celebrate the triumphant entry into Jerusalem, an event recorded in Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11: 1-11, Luke 19:28-44 and John 12:12-19. On that day, as Jesus and His disciples traveled toward Jerusalem, Jesus sent two disciples ahead to locate a donkey. They returned with the donkey and spread their cloaks on it, and then Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the donkey. When He did, cro3wds gathered, spreading their clothes and branches on the ground and shouting, Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel (John 12:13). Making a path with garments or branches was a customary way of honoring a person (2 Kings 9:13), similar to laying out a red carpet in modern times. In essence, the people were praising Jesus and asking Him to be their Messiah, though likely in a political context rather than a spiritual context. Sadly, less than a week later, the same people shouting Hosanna would shout Crucify Him (John 19:6). Interested in learning more about Jesus triumphal entry? Here are six things you didnt know about Palm Sunday.
Where was Jesus crucified? The crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth is one of ancient historys most proven events. The fact has been substantiated by theologians and historians alike. It has been written without hyperbole:

Even those scholars and critics who have been moved to depart from almost everything else within the historical content of Christs presence on earth have found it impossible to think away the factuality of the death of Christ. -John McIntyre, 'The Uses of History in Theology'

An example of this statement is the affirmation of Dr. Bart Erhrman of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While critical of the New Testament in many instances and denying the supernatural essence of Christianity, the noted secular scholar affirmed this in his 'The Historical Jesus: Lecture Transcript and Course Guidebook, Vol. 2:'

One of the most certain facts of history is that Jesus was crucified on orders of the Roman prefect of Judea, Pontus Pilate.

The four Gospels assert this pivotal landmark in redemptive history. Secular authorities of the day confirmed it. The Early Church affirmed it. Millions and millions believe it. But where did the crucifixion happen? The answer to that question is closely related to Gods will and Gods ways. To put it simply, the location of the crucifixion of Jesus is both known and unknown.

Get your FREE 8-Day Prayer and Scripture Guide - Praying Through the Holy Week HERE. Print your own copy for a beautiful daily devotional leading up to Easter.

Where Was Jesus Crucified?

Where was Jeus crucified? The Gospels affirm that Christ was crucified outside of the gates of the city of Jerusalem. Both John and the writer to the Hebrews affirm this fact:

Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin (John 19:20, NKJV).

Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate (Hebrews 13:12, NKJV).

The Bible also confirms that the crucifixion was carried out by officials of the Rome Empire in confederation with Jewish rabbinical leaders, the Sanhedrin. The presence of Roman military personnel point to the military nature of the mission and the significance of the execution to both locals and, due to local pressure, the Roman provincial government (recommended book: Jesus: A New Vision). We know that one could see the Roman execution on the cross from a great distance. For we read,

There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. -Mark 15:40

Most significantly, we know the name of the place where Jesus was crucified. C. W. Wilson writes, It is clear . . . that Christ was crucified at a known spot, with a distinctive name . . . For after being humiliated and harassed by carrying his cross through the crowded streets of angry onlookers, leading to the execution site, Jesus of Nazareth was crucified at a place called Golgotha, that is to say, the place of the skull (Matthew 27:33 ESV). Golgotha is the Greek transliteration of the Aramaic Gulgulta, which corresponds to the Hebrew Gulgoleth, according to Wilson. The Greek equivalent is kranion (from which the English word, cranial, is derived). It is Dr. Luke who uses the Latin word, calvaria. The English transliteration is the well-known designation, Calvary. The actual translation into English would be skull or cranium (Carl Hensley, Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible).

The Jewish Wars of Rebellion (A.D. 66-73) that witnessed the A.D. 70-71 destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by Titus (A.D. 39-81), undoubtedly added to the digression of local terrain (Lawrence Schiffman, From Text to Tradition). Finally, the noted church historian of antiquity, Eusibius, journeyed to Jerusalem to discover the site of the Lords crucifixion. The great church father and scholar went there with Queen Helena (A.D. 246-330), the Roman Empress and mother of Constantine the Great (A.D. 272-337). The local Jerusalem Christians led Eusibius and Helena to a site outside of the gates of the old city (the walls were enlarged in the sixteenth century), a site where liturgical celebrations had been held until A.D. 66 (Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, The Holy Land). The landscape went through significant changes when Hadrian (A.D. 36-138), in 135, built temples to Roman deities, including Aphrodite and Jupiter, in the Aelia Capitolina (the new Roman name that Hadrian gave for Jerusalem).

Jerome Murphy-O'Connor states, Despite the evidence of Jerome and certain late Byzantine texts the Holy Sepulcher remains the most probable site of the Capitoline temple. And that is a remarkable statement. For in A.D. 326, Helenas son, Constantine began construction on a Christian edifice, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which would enclose both Golgotha, the place of crucifixion, and Joseph of Arimatheas tomb, the burial place and the site of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Murphy-OConnor, in the Oxford Archeological Guide from the Earliest times to 1700, summarized both the history and archeology of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the alternative possibilities and concluded, Is this the place where Christ died and was buried? Yes, very probably.

What We Dont Know About the Location of the Crucifixion - Where Was Jesus Crucified

In answer to the question above, and despite the unequivocal assertions of some, we must reply, plenty. We know what we dont know, and we are certain that we dont know what we dont know. Lets take just the clear biblical claim that our Lord was crucified at Golgotha. While we know what the word, Golgotha, or Calvary, means (i.e., skull), we dont know whether it is referring to one of three origins to the name.

Golgotha Meaning: the Place of the Skull, Might Refer to the Legendary Place of Adams Skull

Yes, thats right. The Church Father, Origen (A.D. 185-253), both a Hebrew scholar and a resident of Jerusalem, relates Golgotha to the place where Adams skull was believed to be buried. If you think Origen is a little off, one might challenge your view by pointing to other leaders of the Early Church who believed that Jesus was crucified in the field of Adams burial. This number would include the respected Athanasius (A.D. 296-373), Epiphanies (A.D. 312-403), and Basil of Caesarea (A.D. 329-379).

The second view of Golgotha is more logical, but still differs from the majority view:

What Do We Know about Where Jesus Was Crucified

Where was Jesus crucified? In this scenario, the place where our Lord was crucified was a common killing field for rebels and criminals hostile to Roman occupation. Thus, the area was littered with skulls of condemned criminals (Wilson, Golgotha and the Holy Sepulchre). Once the flesh was gone from the skull and skeleton, the family members would bury the remains. No less than the preeminent Christian scholar and Bible translator, Jerome (A.D. 347-420), and the English historian and monk, Venerable Bede (A.D. 673-735), held to this position. There is a famous burial ground in London called Bunhill Fields (Alfred Light, Bunhill Fields). The word Bunhill is a colloquial pronunciation of Bone Hill. Nonconformist ministers and others outside of the pale of the Church of England were buried there. This second view of Calvary purports that the hill where Christ was crucified was, also, a Bunhill Fields.

Now. The third view is likely the one that you have heard.

Golgotha, the Place of the Skull, Might Refer to a Geological Formation Resembling a Skull

This understanding has remained the most popular view of the place of Golgotha since at least the eighteenth century. Some have, thus, written of Golgotha as a bald hill top, a rock formation that resembles a human skull. Yet, we must remember that there are no references to this in the Bible. Yes, it was an elevated place that could be seen, but it is not called Mount Calvary by any Biblical writers, nor any Greek, Jewish, or Roman observers. It appears to be a late Western notion (Wilson, Golgotha and the Holy Sepulchre).

Now, all of this might be somewhat upsetting to some who have believed one or the other concepts about Golgotha. Moreover, the controversy underscores the reality: we really are only sure about what the Bible says. And is that enough?

We Know All We Need to Know

The Bible tells us that our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified on a cross between two thieves, one repentant and one not. The Bible also tells us who crucified Christ: a conspiracy of Roman officials and Jewish religious leaders. In other words, Gentile and Jew alike were represented in the cosmic crime of deicide (the murder of God by Man). We know that the cross could be seen from a long way. We know that there were women there, including the mother of Jesus. We know that the Apostle John was there. We know that many deserted our Lord Jesus Christ in his greatest hour of need. But there is much more that we dont know. It is as if the Holy Spirit has placed a permanent veil over the scene. We must remember that the deed was so awful that the earth quaked in repulsion and darkness descended upon the awful scene, as if Creation itself could not bear the visage. But as to the precise location where Jesus Christ was crucified, we cannot be certain. It may very well be that the Church of the Holy Sepulcher covers the site of Calvary and the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea where our Lord was raised from the dead.

So, there are some things that we know from Scripture. And there is enough archaeological evidence and ancient literature to substantiate Christs crucifixion and to suggest a location. And there is much that we do not know. We remember the warning from Deuteronomy 29:29:

The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

But this we know: Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ died for us at a place called Calvary. It was there that the Creator of the world was crucified by those whom he had created. he died for our sins and fulfilled the Covenant of Works (if you disobey you shall die). He took the wrath of God upon his sinless soul and met all of the demands of the Law for all who would receive him (The Covenant of Grace). Jesus Christ was crucified upon the roughhewn timber from a forest that he made, with nails fashioned from iron that he created. And yet in that location, Jesus looked down upon those who crucified him and unjustly spit upon him and sought to humiliate him, and said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34 KJV).

There is a narrative in the life of our Lord that is important to us in our study. In the transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36), Moses and Elijah appear to Peter, James, and John to attest to the divinity of Jesus. This is a powerful theological touchpoint in redemptive history. For in that glorious moment, the Law and the Prophets affirm the Person of Jesus as the One they wrote of; the Old Covenant yields to the New; the ancient prophecies were fulfilled; Christs identity is fully revealed to the disciples and supernaturally confirmed; eternity touches time; heaven comes down (once more) to earth. It was a resplendent scene to be sure. Peter wanted to erect three tents to commemorate the event (perhaps, to return to the tent markers and build a greater temple). Our Lord Jesus told Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration that he should not build (as Peter wished to do) any sacred edifice to mark the physical place of that great gathering.

The Lord also told the Samaritan woman at the well, in John 4:21-23, that from now on believers must worship God in spirit and in truth, not on this mountain nor on that mountain. Its not about a place. Its about a Person. Its not about the physical any longerland, temples, altars. It is about the eternal. Its not about the signs. Its about the Savior.

And maybe that is why we know enough about the location of his crucifixion, but we dont know everything. It is by faith that we look upon that old rugged cross to see its best location: This cross is the place where a Great Exchange took place. For Jesus assumed the punishment for the sins of all of those who would call upon him in repentance and faith, and it is the place where the holiness of Christ was granted to sinners like me. Or, as I used to tell our churchs children in Confirmation Class, At Calvarys cross, Jesus took your sin. You received his perfect life.

This Easter, and in every season of our lives, the precise place where Jesus was crucified for you and me is that place where we turn to Him in brokenness and in love. It is that place where by faith we join Mary and John and the Roman centurion who confessed, Truly, this was the Son of God (Matthew 27:54). That soldier knew. And you can know, too. Where was Christ crucified? Jesus Christ was crucified at the crossroad of Gods love and your brokenness. Of that, you may be certain.

Related: What Does the Bible Say about the Resurrection?

Where Was Jesus Crucified? - Golgotha "the Place of the Skull"

References

Armstrong, Chris. Divvying up the Most Sacred Place. ChristianityToday.Com. Accessed April 8, 2019. https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/julyweb-only/7-29-52.0.html.

Borg, Marcus J. Jesus: A New Vision. HarperSanFrancisco, 1991.

Ehrman, B. D. The Historical Jesus: Lecture Transcript and Course Guidebook, Vol. 2. The Teaching Company, Chantilly (2000).

Eusebius of Caesarea. Onomasticon (1971) Translation by C. Umhau Wolf. Last modified Original c 330AD. Accessed April 8, 2019. http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/eusebius_onomasticon_02_trans.htm#G_THE_GOSPELS.

Ignatius of Antioch. St. Ignatius of Antioch to the Smyrnaeans (Roberts-Donaldson Translation). Last modified 110AD. Accessed April 8, 2019. http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/ignatius-smyrnaeans-roberts.html.

Light, Alfred W. Bunhill Fields: Written in Honour and to the Memory of the Many Saints of God Whose Bodies Rest in This Old London Cemetery. Vol. 1. CJ Farncombe & Sons, Limited, 1915.

McIntyre, John. The Uses of History in Theology (In Honour of A.C. Cheyne). Studies in World Christianity 7, no. 1 (April 1, 2001): 120. Accessed April 8, 2019. https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/swc.2001.7.1.1.

Murphy-OConnor, Jerome. The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide from Earliest Times to 1700. Oxford University Press, 2008.

Murphy-O'Connor, Jerome. The Location of the Capitol in Aelia Capitolina. Revue Biblique (1946-) 101, no. 3 (1994): 407415. Accessed April 8, 2019. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44089200.

Sandy Grant. Crucifixion Historicity. The Briefing, May 24, 2013. Accessed April 8, 2019. https://matthiasmedia.com/briefing/2013/05/crucifixion-historicity/.

Schiffman, Lawrence H. From Text to Tradition: A History of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism. KTAV Publishing House, Inc., 1991.

Wilson, C. W. Golgotha and the Holy Sepulchre: Edited by Colonel Sir C. M. Watson. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund, 1906. https://books.google.com/books?id=ti4yAQAAMAAJ.

Wolf, Carl Umhau. Eusebius of Caesarea and the Onomasticon. The Biblical Archaeologist 27, no. 3 (1964): 6696. Accessed April 8, 2019. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3211009.

Photo credit: Unsplash/Alicia Quan
For Immediate Release, April 12, 2019 Contact: Kristen Monsell, (914) 806-3467, kmonsell@biologicaldiversity.org ExxonMobil Seeks to Restart Offshore Drilling Platforms, Truck Oil in California Environmental Study Released, Santa Barbara Hearing Set SANTA BARBARA Santa Barbara County today released an environmental study and scheduled a hearing on ExxonMobils proposal to transport oil by tanker trucks so it can restart three drilling platforms off California. The plan calls for up to 70 trucks per day carrying nearly 500,000 gallons of crude 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Platforms Heritage, Harmony and Hondo were shut down after the failure of a severely corroded coastal oil pipeline that served them. In September, a jury found Plains All American Pipeline criminally negligent for the pipeline failure and the resulting coastal oil spill. Plains has applied to build a new oil pipeline along the same route as the old one. Putting oil tankers on narrow highways is risky. Doing it so Exxon can resume dirty offshore drilling is a dangerous double whammy, said Kristen Monsell, ocean legal director with the Center for Biological Diversity. Santa Barbara County has already suffered way too much oil industry pollution. County officials should put the brakes on the companys perilous plan. The oil tanker trucks would travel up to 140 miles between ExxonMobils Las Flores Canyon processing facility and facilities in Kern County and near Santa Maria. The draft environmental impact report considers several alternatives to Exxons proposal, including a reduced trucking alternative that would allow up to 50 trucks per day and a no project alternative. Santa Barbara County will hold a public meeting on the draft report on May 6. The public has until May 28 to comment on the draft environmental impact report. Tanker trucks spill hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil per year, according to a 2009 American Petroleum Institute report. These oil spills can cause fires and explosions. An Associated Press study of six states where truck traffic has increased because of increased oil and gas drilling found that fatalities in traffic accidents have more than quadrupled since 2004 in some counties. California suffers hundreds of oil truck incidents a year, and many result in oil spills. One oil truck accident in 2000, for example, killed the driver and spilled nearly 7,000 gallons of oil, a substantial portion of which entered a river and spread to the ocean. Oil spills near the Santa Barbara Channel threaten a wide range of federally protected endangered species, including blue whales, sea otters and leatherback sea turtles.
For Immediate Release, April 12, 2019 Contact: Miyoko Sakashita, (510) 844-7108, miyoko@biologicaldiversity.org Lawsuit Forces Federal Protection for Endangered Orcas' West Coast Habitat SEATTLE The Center for Biological Diversity has won a victory in the legal battle to force the Trump administration to protect the West Coast habitat of the last remaining Southern Resident killer whales. The National Marine Fisheries Service has committed to proposing a rule acting on the Centers 2014 petition for orca habitat protection off Washington, Oregon and California. An expanded designation of critical habitat has to be proposed by early October to help the critically endangered orcas, which are starving for lack of salmon and being hurt by boat traffic and water pollution. The Center sued the administration last year for delays in protecting orcas in their full habitat range, a violation of the Endangered Species Act. The Southern Resident population dropped to just 75, the lowest number in more than 30 years, as the federal government delayed decisions on expanding protections for the orcas. The Trump administration has to move forward with giving these critically endangered orcas the protections they need and deserve, said Miyoko Sakashita, the director of the Centers oceans program. These magnificent killer whales are in real trouble. Protecting their feeding grounds is more important than ever, especially with the birth of a new baby. In January 2019 scientists in Washington confirmed the birth of a baby orca named Lucky. The calf was spotted with its pod recently in Monterey Bay, Calif. The first calf to survive past birth since 2015, Lucky underscores the urgent need to improve feeding opportunities for Southern Resident killer whales along their whole West Coast habitat. Currently only their summer feeding grounds in Washingtons Puget Sound are designated as critical habitat. The Center petitioned in 2014 to better protect areas off the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California (see map). The Endangered Species Act prohibits federal agencies from authorizing activities that will destroy or harm a listed species' critical habitat. Animals with federally protected critical habitat are more than twice as likely to be recovering as species without it, a Center study found. This legal victory might save the day for these endangered orcas, Sakashita said. Keeping the oceans healthy for orcas isnt only a legal mandate, but a moral one. We owe that to our children and the next generation of orcas.
The development of Russian-Azerbaijani cooperation will be extremely beneficial, Vice-Speaker of the Federation Council, Secretary of the General Council of the United Russia party Andrei Turchak said following the visit of the Federation Council delegation, headed by its speaker Valentina Matvienko, to Baku. The relevant message was published on the United Russia party website.

Turchak noted that on April 11-12, the delegation of the Upper Chamber made an official visit to Azerbaijan, where it held meetings with President Ilham Aliyev, First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva and Chairman of the Milli Mejlis (Parliament) Oktay Asadov.
The Deputy head of the Armenian Ministry of Health, Arsen Davtyan, was dismissed from his post. A relevant decree was signed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The official was detained by officers of the National Security Service on March 30. He is suspected of receiving a bribe from a hospital director.

On April 3, the court arrested him for two months, Novosti-Armenia reports.

Recall, Arsen Davtyan worked as a deputy minister since last May.
Police Colonel Ziyavudin Ashikov, the brother of the former head of the Internal Affairs Directorate of Makhachkala, Raip Ashikov, suspected of assisting terrorists, was detained in Dagestan, a source familiar with the case reports.

According to him, Ziyavudin Ashikov is suspected of infringing on law enforcement officers life (Article 317 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), and financing of terrorism through the creation of an organized criminal group.

The source said that the detainee is the elder brother of Raip Ashikov, who was detained earlier this month on suspicion of assisting terrorist activities. He is now in the pre-trial detention center.
A Hamiota woman who grows marijuana to control chronic migraines says her house insurance is being cancelled  and her case could be just the tip of the iceberg.

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A Hamiota woman who grows marijuana to control chronic migraines says her house insurance is being cancelled  and her case could be just the tip of the iceberg.

"Two weeks from today, I could theoretically be homeless, and its terrifying," said Laurel Roberts, who grows 20 plants in her basement  16 more than Wawanesa Insurance will allow.

Laurel Roberts with one of her cannabis plants in her home in Hamiota. Roberts grows medicinal cannabis for use to combat chronic migraines. Her home insurer has told her they will cancelling her insurance because she grows more plants than they allow for their insurance. Roberts has a Health Canada permit to grow up to 20 plants. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

She said without homeowners insurance, she could be at risk of also losing her mortgage.

Rick Macl, owner of Growers N Smokers in Brandon, said there are potentially "hundreds of thousands" of Canadians who have Health Canada permits to grow medical marijuana at home and could lose their insurance because they exceed the four-plant limit set out by many insurance companies.

Macl said the four-plant limit by insurance companies refers to what is legally allowed for recreational use in some regions and ignores medical marijuana users.

"Insurance companies are basically pretending like medical cannabis was never legalized a decade ago," he said, adding that for every gram of cannabis prescribed  the minimum  a person is allowed to grow five plants under Health Canadas rules.

"Basically, the one-gram grow permit does not exist," he said. "Its a waste of time. Everybody grows more than that."

David Hultin, a senior communications specialist with Wawanesa Insurance, said in an email the company does not comment on the specifics of a particular file.

However, he said, in Manitoba, Wawanesa will typically insure personal property containing up to four cannabis plants if legally grown for medical and/or recreational purposes.

Laurel Roberts with one of her cannabis plants in her home in Hamiota. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

"As the potential for fire, theft, humidity and liability claims on home policies increases with additional cannabis plants, Wawanesa does not insure properties that go beyond this amount," Hultin said.

"We encourage anyone seeking insurance coverage to speak with an insurance broker to understand the increased exposure and hazards associated with growing cannabis plants in a personal dwelling, and to discuss the insurance options available to them specific to their unique needs."

A provincial spokeswoman said growing non-medical, or recreational, cannabis at home is prohibited in Manitoba. The provincial government does not regulate medical cannabis, she said. That falls under Health Canada.

Roberts has suffered from dibilitating migraines since she was a teenager and as an adult has even been forced to go on total disability because of it.

A doctor finally recommended trying cannabis, she said, and so she started the grow-up in her home in January.

Laurel Roberts grows medicinal cannabis for use to combat chronic migraines at her home in Hamiota. Her home insurer has told her they will cancelling her insurance because she grows more plants than they allow for their insurance. Roberts has a Health Canada permit to grow up to 20 plants. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

The full-time health-care aide said it has worked wonders for her.

Roberts said her troubles started when she checked with her insurance broker after reading about an Alberta person who lost their insurance because they had a grow-op in their home.

She said the broker contacted Wawanesa, who then informed Roberts they would be cancelling her insurance in two weeks. That was on Monday.

"At which time Im starting into panic mode," she said.

Roberts said it cost her about $2,200 in equipment, wiring and licensing costs to start up the small grow-op.

Laurel Roberts grows medicinal cannabis for use to combat chronic migraines at her home in Hamiota. Her home insurer has told her they will cancelling her insurance because she grows more plants than they allow for their insurance. Roberts has a Health Canada permit to grow up to 20 plants. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

"I would have never invested that kind of money for four plants," she said, adding she needs far more than that to produce the four grams of cannabis per day she is prescribed by her doctor.

Roberts said she is authorized by a Health Canada permit to grow up to 20 plants.

She is now investigating through her insurance broker if any other company will allow more than four plants, adding Wawanesa said Friday they would cancel her insurance regardless of the amount of plants she has.

Roberts added if she has to give up the cannabis, she could end up back on disability and a drain once again on the system.

As it is now, she said, "Im a productive member of society."

 brobertson@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @BudRobertson4
The former head of Izberbash, Abdulmedzhid Suleymanov, became the defendant in the criminal case, senior assistant to the head of the Russian Investigative Committee for Dagestan Rasul Temirbekov said.

"He is suspected of committing a crime under part 2 of Article 286 Excess of official powers by the head of the local government of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation," RIA Dagestan quotes him as saying.

As the investigation found out, in mid-November 2017, the suspect, having exceeded the powers assigned to him, signed a decree and an agreement on the transfer of the municipal apartment to a local resident.
A jury has rejected the self-defence claim of a man who stabbed another man on Birdtail Sioux First Nation, convicting him of manslaughter.

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A jury has rejected the self-defence claim of a man who stabbed another man on Birdtail Sioux First Nation, convicting him of manslaughter.

In doing so, the jury found the accused not guilty of second-degree murder.

The verdict was delivered Friday afternoon in Brandon Court of Queens Bench, approximately a day after deliberations began.

"Members of the jury, you say that you find the accused, Dakota Catlyn Jordan Pratt, not guilty of second-degree murder but guilty to manslaughter. Do you all agree with this verdict?" the court clerk asked after the foreman delivered the verdict.

"Yes," the jury replied in unison.

Pratt, 28, stood trial for second-degree murder in relation to the death of Vincent Bunn, who was found dead on the steps of his aunts home in Birdtail Sioux First Nation in the early morning hours of Sept. 2, 2016.

Pratt admitted to stabbing Bunn, but in an act of self-defence, testifying during trial that Bunn came into his room and stabbed him in the head when he was sleeping while threatening to kill him.

The two got in a struggle that spilled out of the home onto the front deck, where Bunn was ultimately stabbed to death.

An autopsy revealed Bunn had sustained 13 sharp-force injuries and 32 blunt-force injuries in the attack, with the fatal wound being a puncture through the heart.

Defence argued the evidence lined up with Pratts story, with injuries on his head and hand being documented upon his arrest.

A trail of DNA and blood samples taken from the room of the initial incident and outside matched that of Pratts and the sequence of events he disclosed to police.

Bunn also had a propensity for violence, Pratts lawyer argued, pointing to Bunns Facebook page sprinkled with images of him holding various weapons, such as a sawed-off shotgun and a machete.

The Crown, on the other hand, argued that on this particular day, Bunn was a major source of anger and upset for Pratt, stemming from an argument he had earlier that day with his girlfriend.

Pratt was jealous of Bunns relationship with his girlfriend as he believed she was cheating on him with Bunn.

Pratts lawyers have requested a pre-sentence report and Pratt, who has remained in custody since allegedly breaching court orders last year, will be sentenced at a later date.

 edebooy@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @erindebooy
OTTAWA - Justin Trudeau's Liberals say they are still hearing support from Indigenous people and leaders, despite concerns raised publicly about Trudeau's expulsion of two ex-ministers who had been central to work on reconciliation.

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OTTAWA - Justin Trudeau's Liberals say they are still hearing support from Indigenous people and leaders, despite concerns raised publicly about Trudeau's expulsion of two ex-ministers who had been central to work on reconciliation.

While the Liberals have repeatedly said that addressing the relationship with Indigenous Peoples in Canada is a top priority, that commitment has been openly questioned by some Indigenous leaders, especially since the ejections of Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott from the Liberal caucus.

Independent Members of Parliament Jane Philpott and Jody Wilson-Raybould speak with the media before Question Period in the Foyer of the House of Commons in Ottawa, Wednesday April 3, 2019. Justin Trudeau's Liberals say they are having favourable conversations on the ground despite concerns raised publicly by some leaders after the caucus removal of two former prominent ministers central to work on reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Terry Teegee, the British Columbia regional chief in the Assembly of First Nations, suggested the ejections showed a "deeply flawed and dishonest intent" behind Trudeau's previously stated respect for Indigenous Peoples. Wilson-Raybould was one of his predecessors.

"The balance that was being forged within our societies through the process of reconciliation is now threatened," he said when Trudeau expelled the two. Teegee called the decision "wrathful."

Wilson-Raybould, as justice minister until January, had been the highest-ranking Indigenous person ever in the Canadian government. Philpott had been seen as one of Trudeau's most capable ministers; a shuffle that moved her from the high-profile health portfolio to become minister of Indigenous services was a symbol of how important clean water and good housing on reserves, for instance, were to the Liberal government.

Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett, who had worked closely with both, said that while the government is always mindful of triggering cynicism and concern about the relationship she tends, she is continuing to hear "very positive" feedback.

"Whether I'm on the East Coast or the West Coast or in Manitoba, over the last little while, I have to say that people will quietly take me aside and say, 'We need your government re-elected,' " Bennett said in an interview.

"I would never presume that whomever I'm speaking to is speaking on behalf of more than one person," she added. "I think that it's important now for us to earn the respect and continue to make progress."

In the next election, only First Nations, Inuit and Metis will be able to make ultimate determinations about whether their experience with the government has felt more like a partnership than paternalism, Bennett added.

Last week, Trudeau made the decision to remove Wilson-Raybould and Philpott from the Liberal caucus.

The two former cabinet ministers had been outspoken about political pressure to intervene in the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin, a Quebec engineering giant facing bribery charges over contracts in Libya. Wilson-Raybould believes she was shuffled out of the Department of Justice because she wouldn't give Trudeau what he wanted on the file, overruling a prosecutor's decision not to pursue a plea-bargain-like "remediation agreement." Both ultimately resigned from the cabinet.

Trudeau has denied any wrongdoing but has publicly acknowledged there was a breakdown of trust between Wilson-Raybould and his office.

Wilson-Raybould was not available for an interview but Philpott said she does see the controversy as a "setback" in the government's relationship with Indigenous Peoples.

Trudeau's cabinet worked hard on issues including the recognition and affirmation of rights for Indigenous Peoples, Philpott said, and there was "tremendous enthusiasm" about Wilson-Raybould's being the first Indigenous justice minister in Canadian history.

Wilson-Raybould was moved out of the position into the veterans-affairs portfolio, prior to her subsequent cabinet resignation.

"I think particularly the fact that she was moved out of that role and then subsequently resigned from cabinet, is a setback, without doubt," Philpott said.

As an independent MP, Wilson-Raybould continues to have leverage over her former party  and Trudeau in particular  as members of Indigenous communities watch her words and actions carefully, says University of Saskatchewan professor Joseph Garcea, a political scientist who studies Canadian politics.

"She's got this government's feet to the fire and it is up to her, really, how high she turns up the heat," he said.

In 2015, the Liberal Party was keen to recruit Indigenous candidates and affirm its commitment to solving longstanding problems, including multiyear boil-water advisories on reserves.

Indigenous voters were also far more engaged in the last election. The Assembly of First Nations identified 51 ridings, including several in western Canada, where First Nations voters could affect the outcome and invested a great deal of effort in outreach.

After that election, Elections Canada reported the gap between turnout on reserves and turnout among the general population had been the lowest since it began calculating turnout for Aboriginal populations in 2004 (with the caveat that it does not capture demographic information at the polls and cannot count Aboriginal voters directly, whether they vote on or off reserves).

Compared to the 2011 election, Elections Canada said turnout on reserves increased by 14 percentage points  from 47.4 per cent to 61.5 per cent  while turnout among the general population increased by six percentage points to 66 per cent.

For his part, Metis National Council President Clement Chartier said he will not allow a "distraction" like the SNC-Lavalin controversy to "derail" the council's efforts to work with the Liberal government.

"Why would we want to destroy something that has been of significant benefit to the Metis Nation?" he said, suggesting the response to the council from the Trudeau government has been "tremendous."

The Metis National Council will reach out to all the political parties before the election on policy positions, he said, adding Metis citizens can decide for themselves whom to support.

"Until there's an election, we will continue to support this prime minister and this government," he said.

Wilson-Raybould's tenure as the first Indigenous justice minister in Canada will remain a "huge breakthrough," Bennett said. She said her team is very sad there was an erosion of trust with her colleagues.

"We would prefer that (Philpott and Wilson-Raybould) were still members of the team, still supporting the prime minister, but unfortunately that didn't happen," she said, but she believes the government's Indigenous partners want to move on.

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HALIFAX - The Nova Scotia legislature has unanimously passed legislation that presumes consent for organ donation, becoming the first jurisdiction in North America to pass such legislation.

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Premier Stephen McNeil attends a bill briefing at the legislature in Halifax on Tuesday, April 2, 2019. The Nova Scotia legislature has unanimously passed legislation that presumes consent for organ donation, becoming the first jurisdiction in North America to pass such legislation. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

HALIFAX - The Nova Scotia legislature has unanimously passed legislation that presumes consent for organ donation, becoming the first jurisdiction in North America to pass such legislation.

The Human Organ and Tissue Donation Act was passed as legislators wrapped up their spring sitting on Friday.

However, the act is not expected to be proclaimed as law for a period of 12 to 18 months to allow time for planning, public education and training for health-care workers.

Under the act, all adults in Nova Scotia would be considered potential organ donors unless they opt out.

Families will continue to be consulted about their loved ones' wishes, while those under 19 and people without decision-making capacity will only be considered as donors if a parent, guardian or alternate decision-maker opts them in.

Premier Stephen McNeil says the goal is to ensure there are more potential organ donors in order to save lives.

"I am grateful for the support our government has received from Nova Scotians as together, we become leaders in North America on the issue of presumed consent for organ and tissue donation," McNeil said in a statement.

"We are committed to doing better for our fellow citizens awaiting life-saving transplants, and I look forward to collaborating with Nova Scotians as we work toward proclaiming the legislation next year."

Earlier this week, Dr. Stephen Beed, who heads the province's transplant program, told a legislature committee that within five years of the legislation's implementation he expects Nova Scotia would see a 30 per cent increase in organ donations. Beed added that he wouldn't be surprised if that number increased by as much as 50 per cent.

He said steps will be put in place to ensure the opt-out provisions are clear.

According to the province, 21 Nova Scotians became organ donors in 2018, while 110 people donated tissues such as corneas and heart valves.
HALIFAX - Pope Francis has appointed a coadjutor archbishop for the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth.

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HALIFAX - Pope Francis has appointed a coadjutor archbishop for the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth.

The appointment of Most Reverend Brian Dunn means he will eventually succeed Archbishop Anthony Mancini as head of the archdiocese.

Dunn, who is currently Bishop of the Diocese of Antigonish, has also been appointed apostolic administrator of the diocese of Antigonish until a new bishop is assigned.

Mancini will remain archbishop of Halifax-Yarmouth until he resigns his position on his 75th birthday in November 2020.

Once Pope Francis accepts Mancini's resignation, Bishop Dunn will become the new archbishop as his new designation gives him the right of succession.

Mancini made a request for a coadjutor bishop in December to help with a major restructuring of the archdiocese  which Dunn now says he's looking forward to being a part of.

"I am looking forward to being involved in this renewal and restructuring of the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth," Dunn said in a news release.

"At the same time I know that I will have to leave many of the people with whom I have shared life and ministry in the Diocese of Antigonish since January of 2010. Priests, deacons and lay people have been a tremendous support to me over these years and I am deeply grateful for this support."

Dunn is to assume his position of coadjutor archbishop "in the near future," when his papal letter of appointment is received and presented to the College of Consultors of the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth.
A new programme is being rolled out by Early Childhood Ireland to help members tackle a staffing crisis in their industry.

The organisation represents nearly 4,000 childcare members supporting 100,000 children and their families around the country.

The service will provide "free, expert, sector-specific information and advice on HR and employment practices".

"Early Childhood Ireland advocates constantly for increased funding for the sector, so that our members can recruit and retain the professional staff they need to deliver the highest quality of care and education to babies and children. We will continue to do so," said the group's CEO Teresa Heeney at the launch of the new project in Croke Park this morning.

"Our board also wants to provide whatever resources our organisation can, so that our sector is an attractive choice for current and prospective professionals, and we are very proud to launch this innovative and very progressive service.

"Our sector is a large and very diverse one  there are over 25,000 staff employed across more than 4,500 early years services in Ireland, and each service employs an average of 6.4 staff members," she added.

The launch of the new service comes amid a severe staffing crisis in the early years sector, Early Childhood Ireland added in a statement.
Update 9.30pm: A man in his late 20s who was arrested this morning in relation to a fatal shooting in Citywest Shopping Centre on 18 September 2017, has been released without charge.

A file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The Society of St Vincent de Paul is marking its 175th anniversary in Ireland today.

President Michael D Higgins will address an event to mark the anniversary later this morning.

The organisation has over 11,500 volunteers in every county and helps the most vulnerable in our communities.

Society of St Vincent de Paul National President, Kieran Stafford, says they started their work helping people during the famine:

"At the time you had members that were obviously attending to the incredible need that arose from that tragic event," he added.

"People streamed into the cities so there was overcrowding, there was squalor, and most people were starving.

"I think it is incredible to think of that time scale and the fact that we are now the largest charity in Ireland, 175 years later," he added.
Starting from 2020 Georgia will join the NATO Multinational Military Policy Battalion, composed of military police units of Croatia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia, Agenda.ge reports.

The Battalion, or its elements, were allowed to be deployed from 2013 to any area of NATO operations where the need arises for coordinated multi-national police activities.

"We are happy that the decision is positive and from 2020, we, in the format of the military police, will be involved in different missions, exercises in the format of NATO. This is another recognition of our abilities and the expression of support, Georgian Defence Minister Levan Izoria stated in Croatia earlier today, after the meeting with his Croatian colleague Damir Krsticevic.

The Georgian Military Police platoon will be included in the battalion.

The ministers also signed a declaration for further development of defence and military ties.
The risk that global economic growth could slow more than expected spurred a call on Friday from top finance officials for countries to overcome trade differences and opt for multilateral co-operation and "timely policy action".

Policy makers from the Group of 20 industrialised countries are worried that the weakness evident in key economies could spread, especially if elevated trade tensions, such as those between the United States and China, escalate further.

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda emphasised the need for countries to take steps to foster a more dynamic global economy. Credit:Bloomberg

"The balance of risks remains skewed to the downside," Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said at a news conference following a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bankers. "We recognise the risk that growth prospects might deteriorate if weakening in key economies feed into each other."

Mr Aso's remarks dovetail with those of other officials gathered in Washington for the spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, many of whom fret that self-inflicted wounds from protectionist trade policies are to blame for the weakness. The week's proceedings kicked off with another downgrade of global growth estimates from the IMF.
Australia's top Great Barrier Reef officials warn the natural wonder will virtually collapse if the planet becomes 1.5 degrees hotter  a threshold that scientists say requires shutting down coal within three decades.

This federal election campaign is a potential tipping point for Australia's direction on climate action, as the major parties pledge distinctly different targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

However neither party has rejected the proposed Adani mine outright or promised to phase out coal, an export on which Australia is heavily reliant.

Climate change has already wrought devastating effects on the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef, including two consecutive years of mass coral bleaching in 2016 and 2017.
When the First Fleet arrived in Sydney in 1788 there was a piano on the flagship HMS Sirius owned by surgeon George Worgan.

A piano, claimed to be the First Fleet piano, was last month flown back to England for refurbishment and there are rumours it may be played before the Queen.

Brian Barrow with his Longman and Broderip piano he believes arrived with the First Fleet in1788. Credit:Louise kennerley

Step forward a Sydney collector with a very similar piano who believes he has the First Fleet piano in his living room.

Both pianos passed through the hands of the same Sydney antiques dealer and both are said to have been discovered languishing in the laundry of a private home.
Last weeks High Court decision to uphold Victorias safe access zones as well as protests by vegan activists that shut down parts of our city offer contrasting insights into the right to protest in our democracy.

The High Courts decision was welcome. Women and families seeking to use medical services at a time of great distress and anxiety should not be compelled to physically negotiate their way around protesters opposed to the very services they are entitled under law to obtain.

Illustration: Matt Davidson Credit:

As a strong advocate of free speech, I have long maintained that safety and wellbeing must always prevail over the rights of protesters, to protect people from harm. Thats why I voted for the Safe Access Zones Bill in 2015.

In fact, the concept of safe access zones can serve comparable purposes in other contexts where health and safety are at risk. Although I voted against the Assisted Dying Bill in 2017, I would for similar reasons support the introduction of a reasonable safe access zone around medical facilities where patients seek medical advice or services at their most harrowing time.
The parents are not consulted, the kids are automatically referred through the school to police, he said. When a person is confronted by police it automatically creates this thinking: What have I done wrong? This is embarrassing, who has seen the police come to the door? Am I in trouble? Will I go to jail?." The AFP interviewed the teen about his essay on foreign fighters but did not pursue the investigation. Credit:AAP The academic has read Abshirs essay and said he didnt find anything unusual or concerning about it. I write material that is far more critical of overseas operations, he said.

There was nothing in the essay that would stand out to me as any indication that this young man was radicalised. The AFP and ACT Education Directorate would not comment on the case. In another incident, Dr Jones claims a high-achieving Muslim student in Melbournes north-west was reported to police after his teacher noticed he seemed subdued. Dr Jones said police charged him with carrying a weapon after he was spotted with a ceremonial sword in a car. While he wasn't convicted, the student missed out on the university placement of his choice because he didn't pass the required police check.

Instead of training teachers in spotting suspected extremists, schools should be focused on programs that build resilience in students, Dr Jones said. Sometimes its more complicated. The Age and Sydney Morning Herald are aware of another case in Sydneys south where an eight-year-old Muslim boy was hauled into the principals office after wearing his backpack across his chest. He allegedly told a classmate he was carrying a bomb - a claim he denied. My son was upset and hated the school after that, said his mother, who did not want to be named. They blamed my son for something he didnt do. We came here for looking for a new life, to live better. We like Australia more than any other country because we feel more welcome here.

She said the school later investigated the incident and could find no evidence that the boy said he was carrying a bomb. The federal government has funded training to help teachers recognise the warning signs of radicalisation. Federal government fact sheets state that the warning signs of radicalisation include becoming isolated from family and friends and advocating for violence in the name of an ideological, political or religious goals. In Victoria, the states Education Department strengthened its ties with Victoria Police following the death of 18-year-old Numan Haider, who was fatally shot in 2014 after stabbing two counter-terrorism police officers in Endeavour Hills. Under the changes, a senior staff member in each department regional office works with a Victoria Police counterpart to provide advice and support to schools.

It has also rolled out radicalisation training to Victorian principals and wellbeing coordinators to help them identify students at risk of violent extremism and refer them to support programs. Victorian government schools have a comprehensive range of programs and services that contribute to social cohesion and reduce the risk of attraction to violent extremism, a key part of which involves ensuring students remain in education, a spokesman said. In NSW, staff have been trained to spot students at risk, and provided with guidelines for antisocial and extremist behaviour. In the ACT, teachers must report all suspicious student behaviour to a hotline, where information is relayed to police. Dr Susie Latham, an adjunct post-doctoral fellow at Curtin University who lives in Melbourne, said it was impossible to run neutral programs in a society with rampant levels of Islamophobia. She has researched a similar program in the UK which mandates that public sector workers, including teachers, report suspicious behaviour.
London: Julian Assanges fight against extradition from the UK could last up to two years, and could involve Home Secretary Sajid Javid having to choose between sending him to the US to face hacking charges, or to Sweden for a rape investigation.

But the WikiLeaks founder is likely to spend all that time in jail  for the first year on a likely sentence for skipping bail in 2012, and after that he is unlikely to be trusted not to try it again.

Julian Assange gestures as he arrives at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London. Credit:PA

Assange, 47, spent Friday night in Belmarsh prison in southeast London, WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson said  adding that conditions there were in some ways better than those at the Ecuador embassy where Assange had spent the last six and a half years.

"There are medical facilities there, access to dental care I would assume and a garden to go out into," he said.
The Israeli army shot dead a Palestinian boy on Friday and wounded dozens during clashes with hundreds of Palestinian demonstrators in eastern Gaza Strip, close to the border with Israeli, according to medics, Xinhua reports.

Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman of the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave, told reporters that Maysara Abu Shaloof, 15 years old from Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza Strip, immediately died of an Israeli gunshot in his abdomen.

Al-Qedra added that 66 demonstrators were injured, including 15 children and two paramedics.
Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

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For the export of domestic goods to the markets of the Persian Gulf countries, Kazakhstan will build two logistics centers in the ports of Iran.

This was announced at a meeting of the First Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tleuberdi with the Minister of Transport and Urban Planning of Iran, Mohammed Islami, and the Deputy Minister of Agricultural Jihad Iazdan Seif, AzerNews reported citing Kapital.kz

For the construction of logistics centers, Iran will provide land in the ports of Bandar Abbas and Amirabad.

Kazakh-Iranian political consultations were held in the capital of Iran. The meetings were held within the framework of the implementation of the Five-year program of cooperation between the foreign affairs agencies of the two countries.

The sides discussed the state and prospects of trade and economic cooperation, in particular, the development of transit transport potential, agricultural exports to Iran.
TPG Capital has been an aggressive player in the aviation sector, frequently partnering with airlines and bidding for opportunities. However, it has had a mixed record on its investments and operations in airlines globally.

Hence, though it does not come as a surprise that the US private equity (PE) fund has submitted an expression of interest (EoI) to buy Jet Airways, the question is whether it will make the cut or not. Its tryst in the Indian aviation sector is not new. In 2007, it was reportedly in talks to pick up a 10-15 per cent stake in IndiGo, though it was never ...
The nine officers inducted through lateral entry as joint secretaries in various ministries in the government of India may have to wait for clearance from the Election Commission (EC) to join their departments. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) is also expected to make similar checks with the EC before transferring or promoting other senior officers across departments.

The prudence that the government is exercising this time for even routine appointments is a contrast from the last general election in 2014. While there were no lateral entrants then, throughout April 2014 ...
At a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has outpaced the Congress, the Left Front and other parties in West Bengal to become the largest opposition party in this state which can take Mamata Banerjee-founded Trinamool Congress (TMC) head on in the Lok Sabha and the 2021 state elections, divisions within the party, can weaken it from the inside.

The problem with the BJP in West Bengal, according to party insiders and political commentators alike, is a lack of leaders and its reliance on defections, majorly from the TMC and the Left Front. In the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha ...
He made the remarks while addressing Vijay Sankalp (victory pledge) rallies in Badaun and Shahjahanpur districts of Uttar Pradesh. The BJP wants to take the intruders out (of the country), but the BSP-SP and the Congress do not want this as they consider them their vote bank, Shah said. Shah alleged that during the Congress 10-year tenure, no action was taken even when terrorists took away heads of Indian soldiers.

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Oil major Chevron Corps $33 billion deal on Friday to acquire Anadarko Petroleum Corp has some investors and industry executives asking whether it is time for other US shale oil and gas producers to consider selling themselves. Anadarko has been one of the pioneers of the shale revolution, which turned the United States into the worlds biggest oil producer, overtaking Russia and Saudi Arabia. The Houston-based companys willingness to ink a sale, rather than capitalize on oil prices rebounding, illustrates the significant challenges facing many US shale ...
The risk that global economic growth could slow more than expected spurred a call on Friday from top finance officials for countries to overcome trade differences and opt for multilateral cooperation and "timely policy action." Policymakers from the Group of 20 industrialized countries are worried that the weakness evident in key economies could spread, especially if elevated trade tensions, such as those between the United States and China, escalate further. "The balance of risks remains skewed to the downside," Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said at a news ...
Russia's international reserves now exceed the size of the country's public debt, so we can talk about creating a sufficient safety cushion, the Head of the Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, said on the margins of the IMF- World Bank Spring Meeting in Washington.

"We are considering different scenarios and decide what reserves can be used. As you know, we also increased the share of gold. In general, we have increased our reserves. Now our reserves are equal, and even exceed the external debt of the Russian economy, including public and private debt. We believe that a sufficient safety cushion has been created, RIA Novosti quotes her as saying.
The International Monetary Fund warned governments not to rock the boat with trade wars and other disruptions at a time when the global economy is already sailing through choppy waters. We see downside risk and that means one has to be very careful, IMF First Deputy Managing Director David Lipton told Bloomberg Television on Friday. With trade tensions, not knowing where monetary policy is going to go, not knowing how Chinese growth will turn out, its time to make sure policymakers do no harm. He urged the US and other nations to resolve their ...

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

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The Federal Aviation Administration met for three hours on Friday with representatives from the three major US airlines that own now grounded Boeing 737 MAX jets and their pilots' unions to discuss two fatal crashes and the path forward. More than 300 Boeing 737 MAXs have been grounded worldwide after a total of 346 people died in a Lion Air crash in Indonesia in October and in an Ethiopian Airlines crash outside Addis Ababa last month. American Airlines Group Inc, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines Co officials attended the meeting, where FAA Acting Administrator Dan ...
Rescue operation is underway to save a 5-year-old boy who accidentally fell into a 100-feet deep borewell while he was attempting to pluck fruits from a tree near it. The incident took place at Agaryala Village in Chhata Tehsil in Mathura district on Saturday afternoon.

District administration official said that as soon as the news of the incident was received, local authorities rushed to the spot to rescue the child.

While a team of doctors is providing oxygen supply to the distressed child struck in the borewell a team of NDRF from Ghaziabad has been dispatched to the accident spot.

"As soon as we received information at about 3.30 pm we rushed to the spot. The doctor's team has also arrived and they are providing oxygen to the child struck in borewell. Meanwhile, an NDRF team has left from Ghaziabad and rescue operation is underway by the local authorities," said Ram Dutt, Sub Divisional Magistrate, Chhata.

.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Around 70 lawmakers on Saturday urged the British government to hand over WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the Swedish authorities.

In the letter sent to Home Secretary Sajid Javid on Friday, the lawmakers said that the United Kingdom would "give every assistance to Sweden should they want to revive and pursue the investigation" into rape and sexual assault allegations against Assange, CNN reported.

They added that "the UK should tell Sweden that it will have our full cooperation" if they choose to reopen the rape case against Assange.

"We must send a strong message of the priority the UK has in tackling sexual violence and the seriousness with which such allegations are viewed," the letter said.

The British MPs in the letter noted that the investigation in Sweden was "discontinued only because of Assange's unavailability" while he was inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Assange was arrested by British Police from the Ecuadorian embassy in London on Thursday morning bringing to a dramatic end his seven-year stint here.

Metropolitan Police officers made the arrest after Ecuador withdrew Assange's asylum and invited authorities into the embassy, citing the Australian's bad behaviour.

Wikileaks on April 5 had reportedly indicated that its founder Assange is likely to be expelled from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he has taken asylum since 2012, in the wake of INA papers leak.

The INA papers are the cache of documents published in February 2019, allegedly uncovering the operations of INA Investment Corp., an offshore tax haven created by the brother of Ecuadorian President.

Assange has been arrested for failing to surrender to the court over a warrant issued by Westminster Magistrates' Court in 2012, the New York Times reported quoting the London Police.

However, Assange denies the Swedish allegations, which have a limitation period that expires in August 2020.

Soon after the news broke that Assange had been arrested, the lawyer for the woman who accused him of rape took to social media saying that she and her client were shocked, but they had been "hoping and waiting" for it since 2012.

"We are going to do everything we possibly can to get the Swedish police investigation re-opened so that Assange can be extradited to Sweden and prosecuted for rape," lawyer Elisabeth Massi Fritz tweeted.

"No rape victim should have to wait 9 years to see justice be served," she added.

The Swedish prosecution authorities on Thursday said that they were considering to reopen the investigation against Assange.

If Sweden decides to go ahead with the investigation and submit its own extradition request, it would entirely be up to the UK court to decide on whether it should take precedence over the expected petition from the US.

Assange will anyway have to serve a prison sentence for skipping bail in 2012 for the sexual assault and rape allegations, which a judge will determine at a later date.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Security personnel on Friday exercised their democratic franchise by voting through postal ballot for Tripura East parliamentary constituency.

These security personnel, who will be on duty on the poll day, cast their votes in advance.

Service voters belonging to defense and paramilitary forces have the option of either voting through postal ballot or through a proxy voter duly appointed by him/her.

Earlier on April 6, the soldiers of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) were the first to cast their vote for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Arunachal Pradesh as Service Voters.

The first vote of the country was cast by DIG Sudhakar Natarajan, head of ATS ITBP.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said alliance partners in 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) are disappointed with Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president MK Stalin pitch for Congress president Rahul Gandhi as prime ministerial candidate for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

Addressing a public rally here, Modi said that all "friends" in the "mahamilawati (grand adulteration)" are aspiring to be the Prime Minister.

Modi, who indirectly calls Rahul "naamdar", said: "Some days ago, the DMK leader proposed 'naamdar' as the prime ministerial candidate but no one was ready to accept it, not even their 'mahamilawati' friends. The proposal made other partners in the alliance unhappy since everyone in mahagathbandan wants to be the Prime Minister."

Stalin while addressing a rally in December last year claimed that if Rahul became the Prime Minister he can provide a stable government.

His statement came at a time when various political parties came together ahead of the ongoing General elections to defeat the ruling BJP government. Later, Stalin said there was nothing wrong with his proposal as he was merely expressing the wishes of the people of Tamil Nadu.

Attacking the Opposition for its efforts to get united under the umbrella of 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance), Modi said that he was in Tamil Nadu to give people of the state an account of the work done by the BJP-led NDA government and also to expose the "Mahamilawat".

"In 2014, I assured to bring development. Today, I am here to give you the account of the work done and also to expose the 'Mahamilawat'," Modi said while addressing a public gathering here.

Describing partners of the grand alliance "sworn enemies", Modi said: "India is progressing and this is the reason why Congress, DMK and their 'mahamilavat' don't want me. Sworn enemies have come together in an attempt to defeat Modi."

Attacking the Congress and the DMK over the 2G spectrum allocation scam, the Prime Minister said, "Those of you, who recall 1979, would know how the Congress had humiliated the DMK. More recently, when the 2G scam happened, DMK leaders were criticising Congress. Despite such bitterness in the past, today, the Congress and the DMK are together again in an attempt to mislead the people. All the corrupt have ganged up in an attempt to defeat Modi."

Addressing a large crowd, Modi also mentioned about Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman who shot down a Pakistani F-16 from his MiG-21 Bison and was later, held captive by Pakistani authorities on February 27 after his MiG 21 Bison went down during a beyond visual range combat with Pakistani jets.

Accusing the Congress for questioning the armed forces, Modi said, "We are not compromising on nation's security. A brave pilot from Tamil Nadu was attacked by Pakistan aircraft. Our government safeguarded the pilot. But, Congress is questioning our soldiers."

Modi also paid homage to former Tamil Nadu Chief Ministers MG Ramachandran popularly known as MGR and J Jayalalithaa saying India is proud of these two iconic leaders who lived and worked for the poor.

The Prime Minister paid respect to the victims of Jallianwala Bagh massacre. "This is the 100th year anniversary of Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Also, I recall and respect Perungamanallur martyrs here in Madurai," he said.

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place on 13 April 1919 when troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer fired machine guns into a crowd of unarmed protesters and pilgrims who had gathered in Jallianwala Bagh in Punjab's Amritsar on the occasion of Baisakhi.

Voting in Tamil Nadu will take place on April 18. 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.)
BJP on Saturday asked the leaders from opposition parties to be mindful of their language while making statements on the armed forces.

"You have seen today that ( Conference leader) Farooq Abdullah who is part of the adulterous alliance is making anti-India remarks every day. Rahul Gandhi and Congress should reply whether they agree with Farooq or not," BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said while addressing a press conference here in the capital.

"If they don't agree, then they should condemn it and disassociate themselves from the remarks made by Farooq Abdullah," Hussain added.

"BJP strongly condemns remarks made by Farooq Abdullah. Please mind your language when you are talking about the brave jawans," he said while asserting that politicisation of the jawans killing causes hurt to the 130 crore people in the country.

Hussain's comments come in the wake of Conference (NC) leader Farooq Abdullah claim on Saturday that the incumbent ruling government is merely "beating the drums" in the name of the Balakot air strike. The NC leader scoffed at BJP's claim of killing hundreds of Pakistani soldiers across the LoC and called it "fake".

Terming All India United Democratic Front (AIDUF) leader Badruddin Ajmal as the 'B' team of Congress, the BJP spokesperson said, "Ajmal said that after elections he will send our Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah out of the country. Badruddin Ajmal is the leader of infiltrators."

"Everyone knows that Ajmal's runs only on the fact that he shelters Bangladeshi infiltrators, protects them and speaks for them. His party is known as an organisation for the Bangladeshi infiltrators," Hussain said.

Training his guns at Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, the BJP spokesperson said, "I also want to tell Azam Khan, please mind your language. It is because of your tongue that people of UP taught a lesson to Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav."

"He wants to create communal tension in the country. Azam is changing the name of "Bajrang Bali" to "Bajrang Ali". What kind of language is this?" he questioned.

The BJP spokesperson accused the SP leader of insulting Hindus as well as Muslims and questioned why Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind and Darul Uloom Deoband who kept commenting on every issue were silent on these remarks.

Commenting on the first phase of polls, Hussain said that the rival parties have accepted that people will make Narendra Modi the next Prime Minister of the country.

"They have accepted that people will make Modi the next Prime Minister and we are getting support from all communities for this," he said.

The BJP spokesperson also alleged that all remarks made against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah were being made at the behest of Rahul Gandhi.

Accusing Rahul Gandhi of contempt of court for his statements on a recent judgement in the Rafale deal, he said: "Meenakshi Lekhi has filed a contempt plea and we are hopeful of getting justice on that." He also urged the party to stop spreading rumours and prepare a reply for the contempt notice.

The BJP leader also alleged that Congress is looting the money of children of the poor.

"The party which talked of NYAY and poverty, today wants to loot the money of children of poor. "Tughlaq Road Scam" is happening and Congress is not giving an answer to the poor people," he said.

Hussain was referring to the money recovered from the recent I-T raids in Madya Pradesh.

Reacting to reports that Congress might field Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from Varanasi, he accused the Congress party of spreading rumours.

"Our Prime Minister is contesting from Varanasi and he will win with a bigger margin this time. It is true that no candidate is being found to contest against him."

Commenting on Digvijay Singh's remark on donate land for a Ram Temple in Bhopal, he said, "What has happened to Digvijay Singh? He knows Kamal Nath has trapped him. Now he is visiting temples and Mazars. Ram Mandir will be built in Ayodhya."

Reacting to BSP chief Mayawati's remarks in Deoband, Hussain alleged said, "She has made communal remarks earlier too. She got out on zero last time and she will be there this time too. We will go from 73 to 74 while she will go from zero to minus zero."

He urged the Election Commission to take notice of such remarks.

"When Yogi Adityanath makes a statement, it is taken cognizance but Mayawati is making such remarks on a daily basis to polarise. It means she is accepting that she is not getting votes from that community. When she did not get votes on giving 100 tickets, then what will she get now?" he questioned.

Reacting to the Congress jibe on Smriti Irani, the BJP spokesperson said, "Amethi MP (Rahul Gandhi) went to Waynad as soon as Smriti landed in Amethi. There too, Rahul is not in good condition. Priyanka Gandhi might have to visit there."

"So much abuse and hatred against Smriti Irani is indicative that this time the lotus will bloom in Amethi," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday hit out at Union Minister and SAD leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal for asking him to seek an apology from Congress president Rahul Gandhi for the Operation Blue Star.

In response to a tweet by Badal, Singh asked her if her husband (Sukhbir Singh Badal) ever apologised for his grandfather Sardar Sunder Singh Majithia's lavish dinner to Gen Dyer on the day of Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

"Did you, your husband @officeofssbadal or his father, Prakash Singh Badal, ever apologise for your great grandfather, Sardar Sunder Singh Majithia's lavish dinner to Gen Dyer on the day of Jallianwala Bagh massacre? He was later knighted in 1926 for his loyalty and his deeds," Singh wrote on his Twitter handle.

A Tweeter war broke out between the two leaders from Punjab when Harsimrat asked Singh to seek Rahul's apology for the Operation Blue Star.

"Punjab CM Capt Amarinder took Rahul Gandhi to Sri Akal Takht Sahib but lacked courage to ask him admit the Indian Congress' sin of demolishing Sikhs' highest religio-temporal seat with tanks and mortars. What a contrast with demand for British apology for Jallianwala Bagh Massacre," Harsimrat tweeted.

"Amarinder Singh is seeking apology from British Govt for Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. What about an apology from Gandhis for Operation Blue Star?," she wrote in another tweet.

The Indian Army carried out the Operation Blue Star between June 1 and June 8 in 1984. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, ordered the military operation to flush out Sikh militants including Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who were accumulating weapons in Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple).

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday prayed at the Akal Takht along with Chief Minister Singh.

The brutal Jallianwala Bagh Massacre took place on April 13, 1919. The people had assembled peacefully at the Bagh to condemn the arrest of two leaders -- Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew -- when they were fired upon indiscriminately at the order of tyrant British General Dyer.

The shooting had continued for ten minutes claiming 379 lives as per government estimates, though the figure is believed to be much higher.

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Taking a jibe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Friday said that people of the country must choose between a leader who gives a befitting reply to the enemy and a leader who winks in the parliament.

Addressing an election rally, he said, "It is time for the country to decide whether it needs a prime minister who orders for retaliation or the one who winks while sitting in the parliament."

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi works at least eighteen hours a day and hasn't taken even a single leave in the last five years. He needs your support to further develop the nation", he added.

The deputy chief minister also launched a scathing attack on the opposition parties by saying, "Demonetisation and lack of vote has infuriated the elephant. The elephant which had gone fat after eating money has become even smaller than buffalo's calf. The cycle that used to grab land and houses has been broken by people. There is also a hand that has only robbed the country".

The seven-phase Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh began on April 11 and will culminate on May 19. Counting of votes will be held on May 23.

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Creating a single mechanism for regulating the receipt of documents for Russian citizenship would simplify the procedure for obtaining the Russian Federation citizenship for all interested parties, an analyst of the news agency Vestnik Kavkaza, Nikita Vlasov, told in the National Question program on Vesti FM.

The National Question is a weekly program on Vesti.FM, during which various aspects of national relations, primarily in Russia, are discussed. The peculiarities of the perception of the dual citizenship institution in the post-Soviet countries were discussed in todays program.

Nikita Vlasov noted that the greatest changes in legislation regarding the acquisition of the Russian Federation citizenship could be observed in recent years. "In the fall, President Vladimir Putin adopted a new concept of migration policy until 2025. It specifies the rules for entering and obtaining the right to reside, work, and acquire Russian citizenship, and simplified the rules for obtaining Russian citizenship for various groups, including Russian speaking people, investors, teachers, doctors and others ", the expert said.

Nikita Vlasov stressed that obtaining of the Russian Federation citizenship for citizens of Ukraine was significantly simplified. Now, its enough for them to provide only a notarized document confirming the renunciation of Ukrainian citizenship. In addition, starting this year, graduates of Russian universities who graduated after 2002 can also receive the Russian Federation citizenship without any complicated procedures, he said.

All this creates a favorable background not only for the revitalization of work with compatriots but also for improving relations with foreign countries because at the moment foreigners documents are considered for no longer than six months. The citizens of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have even more advantages in this regard since the consideration of their documents takes only three months, the analyst of Vestnik Kavkaza specified.

The expert added that the authorities of these countries, especially the states of Central Asia, perceive the issue of dual citizenship differently. "For example, the Tajik authorities signed an agreement on the recognition of dual civil status with Russia, thanks to which Tajiks and Russians can have dual citizenship on a completely legal basis, and thanks to the signed agreement, absolutely anyone can become a dual national, he said.

"A slightly different situation can be observed in Kazakhstan, where the authorities are trying to closely monitor whether a citizen has a second passport. The economic factor played the greatest role in this issue. In fact, the main reason for taking such a step is the risk of financial losses. The situation, when a person lives in another state, has another citizenship, but receive pensions or any other social benefits within his first country, must be dealt," the analyst said.

"Although, of course, I would like to note that it is the Russian population living in the north of the country who mainly come from Kazakhstan to Russia in order to obtain citizenship, and they receive it in the framework of the State program to facilitate voluntary resettlement of compatriots to the Russian Federation," expert noted.

"In general, I think that if it is possible to establish a single mechanism for regulating the process of obtaining the necessary documents, it will really help to reduce the level of dissatisfaction and simplify the procedure for obtaining citizenship for all those interested in this. The changes that we saw during the last year already demonstrate positive results ", Nikita Vlasov concluded.
The BJP on Saturday fired a fresh salvo at the Congress over its promise of removing the sedition law mentioned in its manifesto, accusing the grand old party of siding with the "tukde tukde gang" referring to the Opposition's unity which is seeking to dethrone the BJP government from power.

"The Congress is with the tukde tukde gang. They are making their point of view absolutely clear. Anybody who wants to break India into different pieces and celebrate that, should there be a sedition law or not? They are on the side with the tukde tukde gang," New Delhi BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi told reporters here.

"Anything which harms the integrity of this country, we will take strong steps," she added.

The Congress released its manifesto on April 2, in which it promised to remove the sedition law to give a "fillip to freedom of expression" in the country if the party was voted to power.

The provision for sedition under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code says, "Whoever, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the Government established by law shall be punished with imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine."

Since then, the BJP has attacked the Congress over the issue, questioning the motive of the proposal.

On Friday, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh not only slammed the Congress for it, but he also said that BJP will make it even more stringent if it came to power again.

Addressing an election rally in Botad in Gujarat, Singh had said, "If someone tries to break India, should they be forgiven? They say they will end the sedition law, to whom are they giving a signal? If our government comes to power, we will make the sedition law even more stringent."

A complaint has been filed against Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Agra for promising to scrap the law. Lawyer Narendra Sharma filed the complaint in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate and said that it will come up for hearing on April 16.

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Senior Congress leader and party's Darjeeling Lok Sabha candidate Shankar Malakar has accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of 'resorting to cheap methods' against her opponents.

Malakar's comments came after Darjeeling district administration denied permission for landing Rahul Gandhi's chopper. The Gandhi scion was scheduled to address a rally here on April 14.

In a statement, Malakar said: "Such disdain shown by the local administration towards our party president as well as star campaigner Rahul Gandhi clearly shows that the Trinamool and its Supremo is scared and resorting to such cheap and unconstitutional methods against her opponents."

"Due permission was sought via the official app, for a program of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, but permission was denied for his helicopter to land on the April 14, even when the permission for the actual venue of the meet was already given on April 7th," he claimed.

Congress candidate Malakar also said that no new dates for Rahul Gandhi's rally could be obtained as polling in Darjeeling will take place on April 18 and it is not easy to reschedule visit of a SPG protected leader.

The second phase of polling will be held on April 18. The seven-phased Lok Sabha election will end on May 19. The result will be announced on May 23.

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US Senators John Cornyn and Mark Warner have asked the US State Department to delay the issuance of a Presidential proclamation to withdraw India's GSP benefit "by at least 30 days" beyond the stipulated time in order to move negotiations beyond ongoing elections, which may "serve as a hindrance" for the Indian side.

In a letter addressed to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the co-chairs of the United States Senate's India Caucus said: "As you know, India's elections will conclude on May 23, 2019. We believe that the election season may serve as a hindrance for our Indian counterparts in negotiating and concluding a deal on difficult political issues."

"If another round of negotiations during the election season does not resolve the outstanding issues, we would ask you to consider delaying the issuance of a Presidential proclamation to withdraw India's Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) benefits by at least 30 days, beyond the 60 day calendar, in order to move the negotiations beyond India's elections," the co-signed letter, sent on April 12, read.

"We believe that allowing for continued negotiations beyond the elections would underscore the importance of this bilateral relationship and provide a real opportunity to resolve these market access issues, potentially improving the overall US-India relationship for years to come," the two Senators wrote.

This comes as US President Donald Trump announced his decision to withdraw India from the list of countries enjoying the GSP program on goods exported to the US last month.

Trump cited India's non-compliance with the statutory eligibility criteria as the reason behind the decision.

Under the GSP or zero-tariff policy measures, India enjoys tariff concession costing to USD 5.6 billion of exports to the US. India has been the world's largest beneficiary of the GSP scheme that has been in force since the 1970s.

The two Senators highlighted that the US decision would affect American consumers. "While we agree that there are a number of market access issues that can and should be addressed, we do remain concerned that the withdrawal of duty concessions will make Indian exports of eligible products to the United States costlier, as the importer of those products will have to pay a "Most Favored Nation" (MFN), duty which is higher than the rate under GSP. Some of these costs will likely be passed on to American consumers," the letter stated.

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Delhi Police on Saturday claimed to have busted a gang of automated teller machine (ATM) robbers.

"We have arrested a member of the gang, which was active in the capital region," said police.

The arrested person has been identified as Sohrab, a resident of Nuh district in Haryana.

Police said that Sohrab, who was arrested on Friday, along with his associates Shahid, Alijaan, Nambardar, Azruddin, and Aiyyum used to break ATMs with the help of a gas cutter and take out the cash.

They once used a Scorpio car and a thick rope to drag an entire ATM.

"Within two months, his gang looted several ATMs in parts of Sonipat, Badli, Kalanaur, and Charkhi Dadri. They also looted cash from ATMs in Dwarka's Sector 28, Fatehpur Beri and Nazafgarh areas," said police.

Police recovered Rs 2.5 lakh, one gas cylinder, one gas cutter with a sheet cutting nozzle, two plastic gas pipes, and one wide long belt.

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BJP General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya on Saturday said that it will be "deliberate suicide" on the part of Digvijay Singh if the latter files his nomination from the Bhopal parliamentary constituency.

"If he files his nomination from Bhopal, he would be committing suicide deliberately," Vijayvargiya said, alleging that Chief Minister Kamal Nath has "trapped" Digvijay into filing the nomination.

Previously, Vijayvargiya had expressed his desire to contest from Bhopal. "I am all ready to contest against Digvijaya if my party allows me. It will be fun to fight against him on the Bhopal seat. Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia have trapped Digvijaya by selecting him for the Bhopal seat," he told media personnel.

Exuding confidence of a BJP win, Vijayvargiya said: "BJP will win the elections in Madhya Pradesh irrespective of who is contesting against them in the state."

He also confirmed claims that the eight-time Member of Parliament (MP) from Indore, Sumitra Mahajan was denied the ticket by the BJP as she was more than 75 years old. "Our party has a policy that we do not give the ticket to anyone above the age of 75. She was also fine with the decision taken by the party fold," Viayvargiya said.

In Madhya Pradesh, polling takes place in four phases on April 29, May 6, May 12 and May 19. Indore parliamentary constituency will vote on May 19. Counting of votes will be held on May 23.

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Senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh on Saturday announced to give the land of District Congress Committee (DCC) to the Ram Temple Trust.

"I want to tell you that land for the Ram temple was provided during our term. The land was provided for the DCC office as well. The Congress party has decided that this land will also be allotted to Ram Mandir Trust," Singh said while talking to reporters here.

Asked about the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Singh, who is contesting Lok Sabha seat from Bhopal, said, "The matter is in the court. Let there be a decision."

The Ram temple lies in front of the District Congress Committee office.

The polling for 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh is scheduled to be held in four phases from April 29 to May 19. The results will be announced on May 23.

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The first-ever blackhole to be pictured has been named 'Powehi' by a Hawaiian professor Larry Kimura, who was tasked with the job by astronomers involved in the project.

The groundbreaking picture of the black hole, which is at the centre of a galaxy named Messier 87 about 54 million light years away, was released during six simultaneous news conferences on Wednesday.

'Powehi' is a Hawaiian phrase, which finds roots in the Kumulipo, an 18th-century Hawaiian chant which describes a story of creation, according to CNN.

Two terms of the chant are put together in the name - 'Po' which means a profound dark source of unending creation and 'Wehi' which is one of the several ways 'Po' is described in the chant.

"It is awesome that we, as Hawaiians today, are able to connect to an identity from long ago, as chanted in the 2,102 lines of the Kumulipo, and bring forward this precious inheritance for our lives today," Kimura, a professor at the University of Hawaii said.

"To have the privilege of giving a Hawaiian name to the very first scientific confirmation of a black hole is very meaningful to me and my Hawaiian lineage that comes from po. I hope we are able to continue naming future black holes from Hawaii astronomy according to the Kumulipo," he added.

Powehi's picture, which has triggered a "paradigm shift," shows a doughnut-like body, which scientists say is the dark silhouette of the black hole against the hot, glowing material that surrounds it. It shows the event horizon which is the boundary between light and dark around a black hole.

"This major scientific achievement marks a paradigm shift in our understanding of black holes, confirms the predictions of Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity and opens up new lines of enquiry into our universe," the European Commission tweeted after the picture's release.

More than 200 scientists were involved in taking the image, through the Event Horizon Telescope, in a project which spanned across a decade.

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Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday hit out at the grand alliance stating that it is 'Rent a Cause' campaign which has no leader, no gathbandhan, no common minimum programme, and no real issue."There is no leader, no gathbandhan, no common minimum programme and no real issue. Not surprisingly, there are not many takers for a "failed campaign". It is 'Rent a Cause' Campaign," Jaitley said in a blog post.

He added that the Opposition wasted the past two years dealing with "manufacturing issues" which did not exist.

"To oust a popular Government, an extremely popular Prime Minister, you need some real issues, not fictional issues. The Opposition wasted the past two years in a run-up to the polls 'manufacturing issues' which didn't exist. The false campaign on Rafale didn't carry much weight. Loan waiver to industrialists was a lie, the EVM as an instrument of rigging was a bigger lie. Now that they are in the midst of the campaign for over a month what is the issue which they are able to focus on?" he asked. Criticising the Opposition for bringing a new cause every day against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, Jaitley said: "One day Pulwama was questioned as self-engineered. The next day Balakot was questioned as a non-existent operation."

The Union Minister was referring to the February 14 Pulwama suicide bombing in which 40 CRPF jawans had been killed. The attack was followed by an air strike carried out by the Indian Air Force on terror launch pads at Balakot.

Shedding light on the recent anti-satellite missile test, Jaitley said, "The anti-satellite missile was passed off as a Nehruvian contribution even though Panditji's correspondence with Dr Homi Bhabha established to the contrary. One day BJP is accused of whipping up war hysteria, the other day it is dubbed as pro-Pakistan."

Speaking about the recent questions being raised by the opposition regarding Union textile minister Smriti Irani's educational qualifications, Jaitley said: "One day the focus would be on the BJP candidate's educational qualification, fully forgetting that a public audit of Rahul Gandhi's academic credentials may leave a lot to be answered. After all, he got an M.Phil without a Masters degree!"Continuing his tirade against the Mahagathbandhan, Jaitley said the Opposition is in a "disarray" in many states as alliances have not worked out. Talking about the verbal battles between the Left, Trinamool, Congress, and AAP, the Union Minister said: "The BSP leader Mayawati and the Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee leave no stone unturned in running down the Congress president (Rahul Gandhi)."

"The false campaign on Rafale didn't carry much weight. Loan waiver to industrialists was a lie, the EVM as an instrument of rigging was a bigger lie. Now that they are in the midst of the campaign for over a month what is the issue which they are able to focus on?" he said.

Jaitley also targeted grand alliance for conducting a signature campaign against the BJP, "One important tactic is being to get some critics of the government in different sections to sign memorandums against the BJP. Even in the 2014 campaign, such desperate memorandums were signed.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday assured that if voted to power, his government would ensure the establishment of a separate Jal Shakti Ministry to cater to many aspects relating to water.

Addressing a public gathering at Ramanathapuram, the Prime Minister said: "After May 23, when the Modi Government will once again assume office, there will be a separate Ministry for Jal Shakti. This Ministry will cater to many aspects relating to water."

"The NDA govt had devoted a lot of attention to Water resources. There will be a separate ministry for Jal Shakti to ensure clean water and top class irrigation water facilities for the farmers," he added.

The pre-poll promise assumes significance as the state has been dealing with multiple issues over the allocation of water with its neighbouring states of Kerala and Karnataka.

Talking about the Centre's efforts to develop connectivity and tourism sectors in Tamil Nadu, the Prime Minister said: "Work is fast progressing on doubling of railway tracks between Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi. The 100-year-old Pamban Bridge has been transformed into a state-of-the-art bridge."

Prime Minister Modi went on to say that when the Congress was in power, it remained "helpless and silent" while bomb blast took place in one state after another.

"Those who cannot protect India can never develop the nation. When the Congress and their allies were in power, terrorists were attacking the nation regularly. City after city, there were blasts. But, Congress remained helpless and silent," he said.

"Times have changed now. India will not spare a single terrorist or Jihadi. If they dare to attack us, we will find them from wherever they are and ruin their happiness. But if Congress and its allies come to power then a free hand will be given to terrorists and separatists," he added.

Claiming that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Muslim leagues do not believe in the dignity of women, the Prime Minister said: "We brought a bill in the Parliament to abolish the practice of Triple Talaq but Congress, DMK and Muslim League opposed it."

Prime Minister Modi also said the Congress, Communist and Muslim League are playing a "dangerous game" regarding the Sabarimala temple row. "They are using brute force to strike at the root of faith and express. Sadly for them, till BJP is there no one will be able to destroy our faith and culture."

"If you go to Delhi, prime real estate has been used for the memorials of members of one family as if no other person contributed to India except one family," said Prime Minister Modi in a veiled jibe at the Gandhi family.

Stressing that several fishermen have been brought back from Sri Lanka under his government's rule, Prime Minister Modi said: "Our hardworking fishermen depend on the seas for their income. Your Chowkidar has been able to take path-breaking decisions for the welfare of fishermen. Almost 1900 Indian fishermen have been released from Sri Lanka. Some of them who came back were facing a death sentence."

He added that coming to Ramanathapuram reminds him of the great scientist and former president Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam."He had several dreams for our nation. Today, it is our duty to fulfill those dreams and take India to new heights of growth and glory."

"I am an MP from Varanasi which is connected to Ramanathapuram by the bonds of faith and spirituality," the Prime Minister further said.

Voting in Tamil Nadu will take place on April 18. Counting of votes will take place on May 23.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Congress party's tendency of keeping things secret was responsible for the country lagging behind technologically.

"Congress says they did not conduct the test earlier as they wanted to keep it a secret. It was this approach of keeping secrets due to which India lagged behind in technology," said PM Narendra Modi, while addressing a public rally here, in which he talked about "Mission Shakti".

"Today the courage is shown by Modi and the whole world is recognizing our stealth," he added.

Last month, PM Modi announced that India's anti-satellite weapon A-SAT successfully destroyed a live satellite on a low earth orbit, joining a group of three countries - the US, Russia and China - with such capability. His address to the nation generated a massive row with opposition alleging him of violating the MCC, however, Election Commission gave him a clean chit.

He also alleged that blasts took place in the Country in the Congress regime while Congress government put the entire blame on a person and change its Home Minister.

"When Congress' 'mahamilavati' remote government was at centre, didn't blasts occur in Bengaluru? Was not the nation living under fear of terror attacks? Did any major blast took place in last five years of your "chowkidaar's chowkidaari". It was the power of your one vote that made it possible," he said.

"When blasts used to take place in the nation, Congress government used to change its Home Minister and put the entire blame on one person. But Modi doesn't change the Home Minister, Modi changes the ways," said the prime minister.

For its 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka, 14 will go to polls on 18 April in the second phase while rest of the half seats will go for polls on 23 April in the third phase.

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In the wake of massive flooding in Iran, Pope Francis has sent 100,000 euros (about $113,000) for emergency aid, Catholic News Agency reported.

The money, sent through the Vaticans office for the Promotion of Integral Human Development, is intended as an immediate expression of the feeling of spiritual closeness on the part of the Holy Father towards the affected people and territories, according to an April 12 press release.

The donation will be distributed through the local nunciature and go toward relief work and assistance.
Stepping up its attack on the BJP-led government, the Congress on Saturday accused Anil Ambani's Reliance for getting special benefit from the French government in the form of the tax settlement days after the deal for the Rafale fighter jets was signed.

Ministry of Defence and Reliance group were quick to issue rebuttals on the allegations saying connections drawn between the tax issue and the Rafale matter is "inaccurate, tendentious and a mischievous attempt to disinform."

Responding to the Congress allegation, the Defence Ministry said: "We have seen reports drawing conjectural connection between tax exemption to a private company and procurement of Rafale fighter jets by Government of India. Neither the period of the tax concession nor the subject matter of the concession relate even remotely to the Rafale procurement concluded during the tenure of the present Government. Any connections drawn between the tax issue and the Rafale matter is totally inaccurate, tendentious and is a mischievous attempt to disinform."

Quoting French newspaper, Le Monde, at a media conference here, senior party leader and party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said: "Between February and October 2015, while the French were negotiating the Rafale contract with India, Anil Ambani enjoyed a tax waiver of 143.7 million euros from the French state."

"The French tax authorities who had earlier demanded close to 150 million euros from the Reliance-owned company, Reliance Atlantic Flag France, agreed to settle the matter with just 7.5 million euros, the rest of the demand was simply waved, and this is Le Monde's claim, not mine," said Surjewala.

"Layers of connivance, crony capitalism and corruption are now getting unveiled. As soon as Modiji came to power he scrapped the deal signed by United Progressive Alliance (UPA) for 126 Rafale jets at Rs 526 crore per unit with a transfer of technology clause. Then he went to France and announced that Made in France Rafales will now be purchased at Rs 1600 crore per unit," he said.

He also stated that former French President Francois Hollande had claimed that excluding Rafale and bringing in Reliance Group was done as per the wishes of the Indian government.

"As soon as the deal was signed the Modi government transferred 70 per cent of the deal amount (Rs 50,000 crores approximately) to Dassault Aviation as advance payment, this same amount was invested by Dassault in AA's (Anil Ambani) company by Dassault. This is how Modi kripa works," said Surjewala.

Responding to the allegations, Reliance Communications released a statement denying any "favouritism or gain" from French authorities. The tax demands were completely "unsustainable and illegal" the statement said, and claimed that tax disputes were settled "as per legal framework in France available to all companies operating in France."

Reliance Communications said that between 2008 and 2012, Flag France had an operating loss of Rs 20 crore (EUR2.7 million) while the French tax authorities had raised a tax demand of over Rs 1,100 crore for the same period.

"A mutual settlement agreement was signed to pay Rs 56 crore as a final settlement," it said.

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Members of the Hazara community on Saturday demonstrated a sit-in protest demanding better security measures for their people following the massive blast in Hazarganji market area, a day before.

The minority community has been staging the protest at Western Bypass of Quetta for last 23 hours urging the government to implement an effective security plan and ensure the protection of the Hazara community, The News International reported.

"Once again our people were the target and once again we will have to bury our dear ones," Qadir Nayil, a Hazara community leader was quoted, as saying.

"We demand more security from the government and all those involved in today's act of terrorism should be found and punished," he added.

At least 20 people were reportedly killed and over 48 others injured in a suicide blast believed to be targeting members of the minority Shia Hazara community in Quetta's Hazarganji market on Friday morning.

The attack claimed the lives of nine Hazara and one Frontier Corps (FC) soldier who was deputed for the community's security, Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Quetta, Abdul Razzaq Cheema informed.

However, Balochistan Home Minister Ziaullah Langove, on Friday in a press conference, said that the blast was not targeting "a specific community".

"Our guess is that no specific community was targeted. Marri Baloch and FC personnel were among those killed as well. The numbers of the Hazara community were just greater," Langove said.

Samaa News reported that a faction of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility of the attack. The group said it collaborated with banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a terror group plotting numerous attacks against the on Hazara community in Balochistan.

Amid the on-going US-led peace talks in Afghanistan, the Taliban on Friday announced its annual spring offensive or the so-called fighting season, aiming to "eradicate occupation" and "cleanse Muslim homeland from invasion and corruption".

Women and children belonging to the Hazara community were among the protestors staging the sit-in since shortly after the blast.

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A Nigerian drug peddler has been arrested from Dada Badi area, said the Delhi Police on Saturday.

Police have seized five grams of fine quality cocaine from him along with his scooty.

"Drug peddler, identified as Chukwuma Christian, 21, is a resident of Ontshe in Nigeria. He was operating from Mehrauli," police said.

"On Friday evening, we got information that some Nigerian nationals are indulging into drug peddling in South Delhi area."

"We mounted our sensitising secret informers and surveillance in the prospective area where those foreigners were roaming," said police.

The drug peddler was apprehended by the team of Narcotics consisting of Sub-Inspector Varun Gulia, Assistant Sub-Inspector Ram Pratap, Head Constables Rajender and Vinay, Constables Satish and Sonu.

Police have registered a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act) at Mehrauli police station.

Further investigation is underway.

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Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will soon sign a package for bailing out the country's ailing economy, Finance Minister Asad Umar has said.

"During the last two days, we have, more or less, reached an understanding. In the next one day or two, we hope to reach a full agreement and then we will share the details with you," Dawn quoted the Finance Minister as saying during a press briefing at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington on Thursday (local time) night.

Addressing a small group of Pakistani-Americans at the embassy, Asad said that the IMF would send its staff on a mission to Islamabad later this month to finalise technical details of the financial programme.

Asad flew to Washington on Tuesday to attend spring meetings of the Bank Group, including the IMF and the Asian Development Bank. On the sidelines, the Finance Minister also held a bilateral meeting with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The meeting was considered to be of vital importance as the US support is crucial for any Bank or IMF package.

The IMF, in an annual report released on Tuesday, warned that Pakistan's growth rate may remain at 2.5 per cent till 2024 unless Islamabad undertakes much-needed economic reforms.

During the meetings in Washington, the leaders discussed projects in which the Bank and the IMF could further increase its investments in Pakistan.

Asad did not disclose the size of the proposed bailout package but asserted that his country made certain changes in the economy before approaching the IMF, and therefore the current account deficit was less than 70 per cent from the last year.

Answering a question on the IMF's concern regarding China, Asad assured that there would be no overlapping between the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project and the IMF programme.

Asad said that the total size of the CPEC projects right now was USD 27 billion, out of which USD four billion includes equity and some domestic debt.

"The total debt which is related to the CPEC is about USD 20 billion or less than that," he explained while noting that the debt that Pakistan owes to China is just about 10 per cent of the country's total public debt.

Earlier this week, three US lawmakers urged the Trump administration to oppose the IMF bailout to Pakistan arguing that Islamabad would use the package to pay off the debt it owes to China under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects, state media reported.

In addition, Washington had further linked the IMF package to Pakistan meeting its obligations as laid out by the Financial Action Task Force, which tracks and tackles money laundering and terrorism funding.

Asad said that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has to make a decision by September. However, Pakistan has made a significant improvement in its system and increased its compliance.

"There's also a general acknowledgment that Pakistan has taken a very clear stance in terms of the proscribed organisations and there are very structural, methodical actions taking place with the decisions at the highest level," Asad was quoted as saying.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a scathing attack, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala on Saturday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's comments on the grand old party's Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY) scheme, saying it reflected the latter's "anti-poor mindset".

"The Prime Minister is opposing NYAY scheme because he is anti-poor. Why the Prime Minister, who promised Rs 15 lakh and delivered none, is opposing the scheme which gives Rs 72,000 per year to the poorest families of India? This shows his anti-poor mindset," Surjewala told ANI.

Playing on the word NYAY, the Congress' ambitious poll promise for the poor, Modi earlier today said that who will give 'nyay' (justice) to the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots and the Bhopal gas tragedy that happened under the Congress regime.

In the Congress manifesto, the NYAY scheme has promised that it will give Rs 72,000 per year to 20 per cent of India's poorest, if the party emerges victorious in the Lok Sabha elections.

"I want to ask the Congress party that who will do the 'nyay' with the victims of 1984 riots? Who will do the 'nyay' with the governments of the great MGR (MG Ramachandran) ji which were dismissed by Congress just because of one family did not like those leaders? Who will do 'nyay' with the victims of Bhopal gas tragedy, the first environmental disaster in India? That too happened under the Congress rule," Modi had said.

Referring to Congress poll campaign with the tag line 'Ab Hoga Nyay' (Now, there will be justice), Modi had claimed that the party in a way is admitting that it did injustice for 60 years.

"Congress and dishonesty are best friends but sometimes, by mistake, they end up speaking the truth. Now they are saying, 'Ab Hoga Nyay'. Even if they did not intend to, they have admitted that all they have done so far is 'an-nyay'. It means they agree that they did injustice to the nation for 60 long years," Modi said.

Attacking the Prime Minister for his remarks, Surjewala said, "In the past five years, many have been pushed below the poverty line because of the flawed policies of GST and demonetisation. Instead of lauding the (NYAY) scheme and saying it should be implemented bereft of political partisanship, he is saying something that is gravely anti-poor."

Congress president Rahul Gandhi had also attacked Modi for his criticism on the NYAY scheme.

Hitting out at Modi for questioning the source of funds to implement NYAY scheme, Rahul had recently taken a jibe at the Prime Minister saying the money for the proposal will come from pockets of 'Chowkidar' (watchman) and businessmen like Anil Ambani, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.

"Whenever we talk about giving money to the poor people, Narendra Modi says where will the money come from? I will tell you where the money will come from. It will come from the pockets of people like Anil Ambani, Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and 'Chowkidar'," he had said at a public rally in Gaya on April 9.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Poland on Friday (local time) barred Russian tall ship Sedov from entering its territorial waters, alleging that naval cadets from Crimea were on board.

"We believe that allowing the Russian tall ship enter Poland's territorial waters would contradict its policy of respecting the territorial integrity of Ukraine," TASS quoted Polish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ewa Suwara, as saying.

The minister claimed that the ship had cadets from Crimea, and Poland does not recognise the annexation of Crimea.

This comes days after Sedov was reportedly denied entry into Estonian waters, citing similar reasons.

Crimea was annexed by Russian troops in March 2014.

Moscow had claimed that Crimea became a part of Russia, following a referendum, where the population of Crimea agreed to switch from Ukrainian nationality to Russian, Al Jazeera reported.

The annexation led to tensions and violence in the Crimean peninsula, which also saw then pro-Russian Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich being overthrown, following massive demonstrations in that year.

Last year, the United States imposed a new set of sanctions on a dozen of Russian individuals pertaining to Russia's annexation of Crimea.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday prayed at the Akal Takht, Golden temple.

Rahul was accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.

The Congress president is scheduled to pay floral tributes tomorrow at the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial. The Year 2019 marks the Centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, also known as the Amritsar Massacre that occurred on April 13, 1919.

On this day, soldiers of the British Indian Army, on the orders of Colonel Reginald Dyer, massacred peaceful and unarmed celebrators, including women and children, on the occasion of the Baisakhi. This massacre is remembered as one of the deadliest attacks on peaceful civilians in the world.

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Just a day after taking over, the head of Sudan's transitional military council, Awad Ibn Auf, stepped down from his post on Friday (local time).

"I, the head of the military council, announce I am giving up the post," Auf said.

"This is for the benefit of our nation, without having to look at special interests, big or small that may impede its progress. I would like to recommend that you work together and reach a solution very speedily," he said in the statement.

Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Burhan has been named as his successor, according to Al Jazeera.

The announcement was met with cheers in the Sudanese capital where people had been protesting against the military leader's taking over after Omar al-Bashir's exit from power.

Burhan, meanwhile, is slated to address the Sudanese public on Saturday.

After toppling the President in Sudan, Auf made the announcement of the formation of a transitional military council for a period of two years - a decision which was met with sharp criticism from the Sudanese Professionals Association who have been spearheading protests which led to the eventual overthrow of the Sudanese President.

"We are seeking the immediate transfer of power, not a month or two years later. The forces that are seeking reforms have specific demands on following the democratic path that will solve the corruption issue and other problems that resulted from the rule of the salvation government (of former President Omar Bashir)," Sputnik quoted SPA's Mohammad Youssef as saying.

Protesters have been taking to streets in Sudan for months now, as initial protests were triggered by the rise in the prices of bread amongst other consumer goods. Calls for al-Bashir's, who has been ruling Sudan since the past 30 years, resignation gained traction during the protests, leading to the former President resigning on Thursday.

At least 31 people have lost their lives in the protests until now.

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Tripura Health Minister Sudip Roy Barman surrendered his police escort pushing for the safety of doctors after an on-duty surgeon was critically injured when he was thrashed by a patient party.

"....I am compelled to surrender my escorts as long as adequate Police security in IGM and other District Hospitals is provided and is strengthened in G.B Hospital round the clock," Barman said in his letter to Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Friday.

"I would like to write to you to inform that since recent past there have been many instances of abuse/man-handling/physical assault of the Doctors and other health staff. The Govt. Doctors and other staff have been feeling highly insecure working at various government hospitals," the Health Minister said.

He further requested Deb to ensure that the "criminals behind such "inhumane" and barbaric acts for the last one year are taken to task.

He said, "The morale of doctors nowadays after these incidents have gone down to abysmally low level as a fall out of those condemnable incidents and I being the Head of the family have completely failed in protecting them from these shameful deeds.

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British High Commissioner to India Sir Dominic Asquith laid a wreath at the Jallianwala Bagh memorial here on Saturday on the centenary of the massacre and said Britain "deeply regretted" the suffering caused to the victims.

"The event of Jallianwala Bagh 100 years ago today reflects a shameful act in British-India history. We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused. I am pleased today that the UK and India have and remain committed to developing further a thriving 21st Century partnership," Asquith wrote in the visitor's book at the memorial.

British High Commission in India also expressed "deep sorrow" at the loss of lives in the 100-year-old massacre.

"Today we remember with deep sorrow those who were killed on 13 April 1919 and regret the suffering caused," read a tweet on its official page.

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The rector of the Public Administration Academy under the President of Kazakhstan, Fatima Jakypova, has been dismissed from her position. The relevant decree was issued by the head of state, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

The presidents decision is related to the reassignment of Fatima Jakypova to a new job.

According to Sputnik Kazakhstan, Fatima Jakypova was at various times deputy director of the Department of Higher and Postgraduate Education at the Ministry of Education and Science, executive director of the National School of Public Policy at Nazarbayev University.
The police apprehended a man who tried to set himself on fire outside the White House here on Friday.

He lit his outer jacket on fire outside the North Fence Line, according to the US Secret Service.

"A male subject operating an electronic wheelchair-type scooter lit his outer jacket on fire while sitting along Pennsylvania Ave. outside the North Fence Line. Uniformed Division Officers immediately responded, extinguished the fire and rendered first aid," the agency tweeted.

The unidentified man has since been transported to a local hospital with "non-life threatening injuries." The intent behind the act is not known yet.

On the other hand, the bomb squad is investigating a suspicious package in the area, according to Sputnik. It is not known if the two incidents are linked.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Playing on the word NYAY, the Congress party's ambitious poll promise for the poor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said who will give 'nyay (justice)' to the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots and the Bhopal gas tragedy that happened under the Congress regime.

Modi was addressing an election rally in Theni in Tamil Nadu on Saturday in which he referred to the word NYAY, an acronym of Congress party's Nyuntam Aay Yojana promise in the manifesto. Congress has promised that it will give Rs 72,000 per year to 20 per cent of India's poorest under NYAY, if the party emerges victorious in the Lok Sabha elections.

"I want to ask the Congress party that who will do the NYAY with the victims of 1984 riots? Who will do the NYAY with the governments of the great MGR ji which were dismissed by Congress just because of one family did not like those leaders? Who will do NYAY with the victims of Bhopal gas tragedy, the first environmental disaster in India? That too happened under the Congress rule," Modi said.

Referring to Congress poll campaign with the tag line 'Ab Hoga Nyay', Modi said that the party in a way is admitting that it did injustice for 60 years.

"Congress and dishonesty are best friends but sometimes, by mistake, they end up speaking the truth. Now they are saying, 'Ab Hoga Nyay'. Even if they did not intend to, they have admitted that all they have done so far is 'AN-NYAY'. It means they agree that they did injustice to the nation for 60 long years," Modi said.

Voting in Tamil Nadu will take place on April 18. 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.)
As the nation commemorates the 100th anniversary of the massacre of hundreds of innocent Indians by British forces at the Jallianwala Bagh, British High Commissioner Sir Dominic Asquith on Saturday expressed deep regret and sorrow but remained non-committal on any apology coming from the British government on the brutal killings.

"We deeply regret what happened," the British High Commissioner said in his remarks in the Visitor's Book at the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial here.

Asquith paid floral tributes at the memorial.

On the issue of an apology by his government, Asquith evaded a direct response to the media: "I know this is a really important question. I would just ask you to respect what I came here to do which was to commemorate those who died here a 100 years ago -- to express the sorrow of the British government and the British people."

"What happened 100 years ago was a tragedy. Prime Minister Theresa May in the House of Parliament this week referred to it as a 'shameful scar' in our history.

"Her predecessor, Prime Minister David Cameroon, when he visited India, referred to it as a deeply shameful scar. My own great grand father, who was Prime Minister for almost a decade, in 1960 referred to this as one of the worst outrages in our whole history," he said, adding that both governments (Britain and India) are committed to the flourishing relationship (between both countries)," he said.

"Today we remember with deep sorrow those who were killed on April 13, 1919 and regret the suffering caused," Asquith also tweeted.

The day marks the centenary of the massacre, in which British forces led by Brigadier General Reginald Dyer opened fire on hundreds of unarmed, innocent Indians, including women and children, who were protesting peacefully against the oppressive Rowlatt Act of the British government.

The massacre, on April 13, 1919, is one of the darkest chapters of India's freedom struggle against the British occupation. The official death toll by the British government was put at 379 killed though there were claims that over 1,000 people were killed.

"The event of Jallianwala Bagh 100 years ago reflects a shameful act in British-Indian history. We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused.

"I am pleased today that the UK and India have remained committed to developing together a thriving 21st-century partnership," Asquith wrote in the Visitor's Book at the memorial.

--IANS

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is following the Adolf Hitler model and Narendra Modi wants to be the Prime Minister for life, just like the German leader remained Chancellor till his death in the second World War, Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday.

Speaking at a poll campaign rally at Lohia Maidan in the South Goa district, Kejriwal said there was something nefarious cooking between Modi and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Kejriwal also expressed suspicion about Khan's comment that Modi becoming the PM would be good for resolving the vexed Kashmir issue. "What's cooking between Khan and Modi. Just some days back there was such tension along the border, that both countries were heading for war and now Khan wants Modi to become the PM again," Kejriwal said.

Returning to the Hitler theme, Kejriwal said, "This has happened in Germany. In 1931, Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany. After three months of becoming Chancellor, he changed the Constitution and stopped elections."

"Until the death in second World War, Hitler remained German Chancellor. This is what the BJP wants to do in India. This is the BJP's motive. 2019 is a 'do or die' election to save India and the Constitution," the AAP leader said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A photograph of a toddler crying helplessly near the US-Mexico border has won the prestigious World Press Photo of the Year award.

Captured by Getty Images senior staff photographer John Moore, the image titled "Crying Girl on the Border" shows Honduran toddler Yanela Sanchez crying as she and her mother, Sandra Sanchez, are taken into custody by US border officials in McAllen, Texas, USA, on June 12, 2018.

World Press Photo foundation said on its website: "After this picture was published worldwide, US Customs and Border Protection confirmed that Yanela and her mother had not been among the thousands who had been separated by US officials".

"Nevertheless, public outcry over the controversial practice resulted in President Donald Trump reversing the policy on 20 June."

The award was announced by the foundation at a ceremony in Amsterdam on Thursday.

"I think this image touched many people's hearts, as it did mine, because it humanizes a larger story. When you see Yanela's face, and she is more than two years old now, you really see the humanity and the fear of making such a long journey and crossing a border in the dead of night," World Press Photo quoted Moore as saying.

Moore has photographed in 65 countries on six continents and was posted internationally for 17 years. Since returning to the US in 2008 he has focused on immigration and border issues.

According to the foundation's website, the award honours the photographer "whose visual creativity and skills made a picture that captures or represents an event or issue of great journalistic importance in that year".

Since 1955 the World Press Photo Contest has recognised professional photographers for the best pictures contributing to the past year of visual journalism.

--IANS

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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday said the Election Commission (EC) has lost its credibility as "it functions on the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his office".

Raising questions on the poll panel's independence and impartiality, Naidu told reporter outside the EC headquarters here that the level playing field -- an essential attribute of democracy -- "now stands disturbed".

The Chief Minister was speaking after his meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief said officials in Andhra Pradesh are being transferred in an arbitrary manner and the Chief Secretary (Anil Chandra Punetha) has been replaced by a person (L.V. Subrahmanyam), who was accused along with YSR Congress Party chief Jagan Mohan Reddy in a case. He described the ousted Chief Secretary as an honest officer.

Dubbing the acts of the poll panel as "unfair", Naidu said the Election Commission has lost credibility among the people of the country and its image has been dented in their eyes.

He also alleged that the poll panel observer in the state has links with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Recalling that all opposition parties had demanded for 50 per cent matching of EVMs with VVPATs, Naidu said that increasing that number from one to five by the Supreme Court is "insufficient".

Accusing the Commission of "misleading" the top court by saying that matching of EVM votes with VVPATs at 50 per cent polling booths would delay the counting of votes by six days, Naidu said the counting of votes when ballot papers were prevalent used to take not more than 24 hours.

The Chief Minister stated that the government of India is interfering in the affairs of the poll panel, thereby destroying democracy, electoral process and the level playing field.

--IANS

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Rattled by two rallies addressed by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday asked the Election Commission to ascertain who was funding them and for whom the MNS was campaigning.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis accused state Congress President and Nanded candidate Ashok Chavan of hiring third party leaders, like Raj Thackeray, for the campaign.

Education Minister Vinod Tawde dismissed Raj's rallies as 'stand-up comedy' and asked since the MNS was not contesting the Lok Sabha elections, for whom the party was campaigning.

"We want to know which political party will account for the cost of his rallies in their election expenditure and this should be made public by the EC," Tawde said.

Referring to Thackeray's strong language in which he appeals to people to 'finish off the of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah', Tawde said the MNS had little political existence or relevance.

The MNS was not contesting the Lok Sabha elections, had no MP, no MLA and hardly any municipal councillor, "yet its chief speaks of 'finishing' others," said Tawde.

Reacting, to the BJP charge, the Congress state General Secretary and spokesman Sachin Sawant said, "The BJP is scared of the systematic manner in which the MNS leader is exposing lies of both Modi and Shah at his rallies."

"Actually, Thackeray himself made it clear his public meetings have nothing to do with the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party-led opposition alliance. His rallies are aimed at creating public awareness on the falsehoods perpetrated by the BJP, Modi and Shah, and that thought process must be stalled," Sawant said.

In just two rallies, Thackeray, 50, has raised a political storm as he makes presentations with videos/statements of the BJP-Modi-Shah and the correct picture with similar evidences in his charismatic oratory.

Though his estranged cousin and Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray has kept mum, Raj is in big demand among opposition candidates.

--IANS

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In a shocking incident, a girl in Jammu and Kashmir's Bandipora district committed suicide on Saturday after being allegedly raped by her father, police said. The man has been arrested.

Police said the girl, a resident of Argam area on Bandipora, consumed some poisonous substance.

"She was taken to the hospital, but doctors could not revive her and she succumbed," a police officer said.

According to the complaint filed by the girl's younger sister, she could not stand the mental trauma as her father had been raping her.

"The accused was immediately arrested after an FIR was registered in the police station concerned. We have started investigation to ascertain all the facts in this heinous crime. Medico-legal formalities have been completed," police said.

--IANS

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In a complaint to the EC, the Goa Congress on Saturday demanded to file a police complaint against BJP President Amit Shah, accusing him of making a communal statement by "threatening" to weed out all infiltrators in India, barring Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs.

Shah, at an election rally in West Bengal on Thursday, had reportedly said: "We have promised in our manifesto that if Narendra Modi forms government once again, we will implement National Register of Citizens in the entire country. We will remove every single infiltrator from the country, except Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs."

Sunil Kawthankar, chief spokesperson of the Goa Congress, said: "This is a direct threat to Christians, Muslims and those communities who have not found mention in the BJP leader's speech..."

He said that the statement violated Article 25-28 of the Constitution.

The complaint by the Goa Congress to the Election Commission reads: "Amit Shah is directly and indirectly intimidating minority voters of Goa from this community to coerce them into voting for the BJP candidates in North Goa and South Goa parliamentary seats and Shiroda, Mapusa, Mandrem and Panaji Assembly seats..."

Elections for the two Lok Sabha seats and three Assembly seats will be held on April 23 and May 19, respectively.

The Goa Congress urged the EC to file a criminal complaint against Shah.

Minorities, Muslims and Christians account for more than one third of the coastal state's population.

--IANS

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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that hatred speech has been spreading like wildfire through the Internet, saying attention should be given to "physical aggressions" as the recent attacks against the Jewish, Christian or Muslim centres.

"This situation requires a huge investment, an investment in social cohesion and investment in diversity to make people feel that even if they are different from others ... the societies should accept them, integrate them and respect them," Xinhua quoted Guterres as saying to the inaugural United Nations Model UN Summit on Friday.

Citing the recent attacks against several religious sites in New Zealand and Pittsburgh of the US, the UN chief called on the international community to guard against both "extreme thinking and extreme political action."

Noting that diversity "makes our society more vibrant and more interesting," the UN chief urged the international community to address the root causes behind the rise of both hatred speeches and actions.

"We need to really go deep, look into the root causes of why things are wrong," he noted.

The UN chief stressed that young generation has "a fundamental role to play" in this regard.

The UN Secretary-General reiterated the importance of multilateralism in addressing global problems, noting that "no country alone can solve these problems."

"Whether people like the UN or not, whether people think that UN must be reforming this or that aspect, we still need UN as a fundamental tool for a better world," the secretary-general concluded.

Model United Nations (MUN) simulations are popular exercises for those interested in learning more about the UN.

It is estimated that more than 400,000 students worldwide participate every year in MUN at all educational levels -- from primary school to university. Many of today's leaders in law, government, business and the arts fields have participated in MUN as students.

The UN Department of Global Communications wants to see Model United Nations become an actual agent of positive change in communities across the globe. As a first step, it held the Inaugural United Nations Model UN Summit on Friday.

--IANS

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The risks of another global economic recession remain very high, and Russia needs a strategy to counter that, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has said, TASS reported.

"The risks of an upcoming global recession are very high," he told reporters on the sidelines of the annual International Monetary Fund and World Bank meeting in Washington. "We need to start implementing national projects as soon as possible, to introduce as many measures as possible to liberalize our economy This is our agenda for now."

The Russian official said that investors had a good opinion of the Russian economy, due to a solid macroeconomic basis.

"This is exactly what we need to do in response to all possible limitations. We are ready for a change in global energy prices - we have prepared the budget, the reserves, the balance of payments. We have created this kind of system."

According to Siluanov, foreign investors are concerned by the possibility of new sanctions against Russia, including in the banking sector, but they still view Russian economy as a stable one.

"We have held a meeting with investors, they say that they understand the Russian economy, that everything is stable and transparent, except [future] sanctions. They asked questions on what happens if more sanctions follow, what would the government and the Central Bank do if the package of measures on sanctions against banks is passed," the Russian finance minister said, adding that he assured the investors that Russia has a Plan B for this scenario.

Besides, the Russian government and the Central Bank have instruments of support for all clients of state banks, including an opportunity to ensure cash and non-cash transactions both in dollars and in a national currency, he said.
Under pressure from Washington, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has dropped the investigation of alleged war crimes committed in Afghanistan, a probe directed mainly against US military and intelligence services.

"This is a major international victory, not only for these patriots, but for the rule of law," US President Donald Trump said in a statement in Washington on Friday after the judges' ruling was announced in the Hague.

A three-member panel of judges "decided that an investigation into the situation in Afghanistan at this stage would not serve the interests of justice," a press release from the court said.

The judges had originally approved the 2017 request from the court's Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to investigate the "alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity" in Afghanistan since May 2003 and similar crimes relating to the Afghanistan conflict in other countries that have signed the Rome Statute on the ICC, according to the release.

Reversing their position, they said in their 32-page decision that the political changes in Afghanistan and the lack of cooperation with the prosecutor would have hampered the investigation and prosecution, according to the release.

They, however, said that the prosecutor's "request establishes a reasonable basis to consider that crimes within the ICC jurisdiction have been committed in Afghanistan".

Washington has opposed the investigation saying that the court threatened US sovereignty and has not signed the Rome Statute. (Neither has India.)

The US has said that it would not cooperate with the ICC and revoked Bensouda's visa to enter the country.

Trump, however, said he reiterated "our position that the US holds American citizens to the highest legal and ethical standards".

The US court-martialed several military personal for their excesses in Afghanistan. For example, 11 soldiers were prosecuted in 2011 for the murder of civilians and received sentences ranging from three to 24 years.

In December, Maj Matthew Golsteyn was charged with the murder of an alleged Taliban bomb-maker during a 2010 deployment, but Trump tweeted he would review the case.

The ICC has so far has charged or tried only people from the developing countries although the Afghanistan investigation was meant to show that it could also act against western countries.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis)

--IANS

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A two-day meeting of 21st Asean-India Senior Officials concluded here on Friday after they discussed ways to impart impetus to connectivity and deepen cooperation on financial matters.

The meeting was co-chaired by Vijay Thakur Singh, Senior Officials' Meeting Leader (SOM) and Secretary (East) in the External Affairs Ministry and Busaya Mathelin, SOM Leader and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand.

India congratulated Thailand on its assuming the Chairmanship of Asean for 2019 and welcomed its role as country coordinator of the Asean-India dialogue parternship for the period 2018-2021.

An MEA release said that the meeting reviewed the Asean-India strategic partnership and its future direction.

"They made their assessment on the progress of cooperation under all three pillars - political-security, economic and socio-cultural. The SOM leaders also exchanged views on regional and international issues of interest," it said.

The release said they agreed to deepen maritime cooperation as decided at the Asean-India commemorative summit 2018. In this context, they proposed to undertake a variety of measures, including enhanced cooperation in blue economy.

"The meeting desired to impart impetus to Asean-India connectivity, in all its forms. It also welcomed the commissioning of the ERIA study on the trilateral highway and its extension to Lao PDR, Cambodia and Vietnam as well as the proposal on formation of digital villages in the Asean countries, under digital connectivity.

"They also discussed ways and means to further deepen cooperation on financial matters," the release said.

The meeting decided to impart urgency to cooperation in renewable energy and hold a conference in 2019.

The release said that Asean-India partnership is being implemented through the 'Plan of Action (2016-20)' and is making good progress along the 30 mechanisms to implement cooperation in the different sectors.

--IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Speculation over a post poll scenario brings forth heavy hitters from the regions, sometimes derisively called political weathercocks. So expect their actions and statements to be dissected for hidden meaning. They had been relegated to the fringes after 2014 but appear to be fancying their chances once again in 2019.

Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy of YSR Congress Party, who is nipping away at the heels of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, is a key player in state

However, he could be positioning himself for a possible role at the national level -- going by his recent remarks, where he said he had forgiven the Congress but also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The YSR Congress Party did not fare well in 2014 in terms of seats won in the Assembly and the Lok Sabha but was right up there with Naidu's Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in terms of vote percentage.

This is what provided the launch pad for his key position in Andhra Pradesh The YSR Congress Party won eight Lok Sabha seats to the Telugu Desam's 15 but was ahead on voting percentage -- 45.38 per cent to the TDP's 40.53 per cent. In the Assembly elections, it was just about at the same level, cornering 44.4 per cent of the vote to the TDP's 44.6 per cent.

This is where Jagan's strength comes from. If this vote base translates into seats, Reddy could be a big player if the Lok Sabha polls do not throw up a clear winner at the Centre.

His rise is inversely proportional to Naidu's political fortunes. A combination of the prominent Kapu vote, Jana Sena leader Pawan Kalyan's rise -- he is a Kapu -- and the party's alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party could make things difficult for Naidu.

In 2014, the BJP and Pawan Kalyan had helped Naidu win by the skin of his teeth. The records will show that the TDP won 102 of 175 Assembly seats with YSR Congress Party winning 66, but as shown earlier, the two parties were at the same level in terms of vote percentage.

Now, Naidu is without the BJP and Pawan Kalyan's support. That would be advantage Jagan Mohan Reddy, who launched a blistering campaign against the TDP government's record in governance and corruption in the run-up to polling for the Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh on April 11.

If indeed Jagan has a role to play in a post poll scenario, who would he stand with? The answer to that is not a foregone conclusion. The YSR Congress Party has a strong base among Muslims, and he is Christian. But, that might not place him automatically in the anti-BJP camp.

Jagan has a number of criminal and other cases against him -- according to his affidavit, he faces 31 criminal cases, seven cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and 11 cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act pending against him. If Modi were to ride back to power, the YSR leader might be reminded of these pending cases against him.

On the public forum Jagan has tried to provide clarity, saying he will back the party that provides special category status to Andhra Pradesh -- a promise made by the UPA-II government when Andhra Pradesh was divided to create Telangana. That might not entirely hold when all the chips are laid on the table.

--IANS

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The battle for Thoothukudi is what many are looking forward to in current Lok Sabha polls where Tamil Nadu BJP President Tamilisai Soundararajan is crossing swords with DMK leader and Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi.

Interestingly the fight is tough between the two women who are daughters of two political leaders.

Kanimozhi is the daughter of late DMK President M. Karunanidhi and the sister of current party President M.K.Stalin.

On the other hand, Soundararajan, is the daughter of Congress leader Kumari Ananthan.

Interestingly, it is Kumari Ananthan's younger brother H. Vasanthakumar is the Congress candidate from the Kanniyakumari Lok Sabha seat who is crossing swords with Union Minister and BJP's Pon Radhakrishnan.

There are also other parties in the fray like the Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) floated by actor-politician Kamal Haasan, T.T.V. Dhinakaran's AMMK and Naam Tamilar Katchi.

A total of 37 candidates will be vying for about 14.25 lakh voter's support.

"Every segment in the constituency have unsorted issues. In the case of the fishermen, there are no roads to their place of dwellings and lack of safety gear for safe fishing," T.P.S. Ponkumaran, the MNM candidate, told IANS.

"In the case of small traders, exporters and importers complying with Goods and Services Tax (GST) provisions and getting refund is a major issue. They say refunds are not happening," Ponkumaran added.

Social activist M. Pushparayan told IANS: "In the Thoothukudi town the major issue is the Sterlite Copper, the copper smelter plant of Vedanta Ltd."

Last May, 13 anti-Sterlite Copper protestors were killed in a police firing and this issue is boiling in favour of Kanimozhi.

"The constituency has good number of Christian population and they are against BJP," Pushparayan, who had contested and lost from Thoothukudi in 2014 elections on behalf of Aam Aadmi Party told IANS.

Citing the sizeable Nadar community population in the constituency Pushparayan said, they seem to back Tamilisai.

Similarly, the Nadar Christians are also it seems in favour of Tamilisai, he added.

According to Pushparayan, the small scale industries are upset at the central government of not fulfilling their demands.

"There should be a bureaucratic/administrative reforms to make lives easy for people of different walks of life," Ponkumaran said.

Speaking about his poll strategy Ponkumaran said: "I don't look at the strategies of BJP or DMK. My focus is on the small traders, business community, farmers, first time voters and others."

Ponkumaran said in Kovilpatti, farmers have sowed imported corn seeds and the yield has turned to be poor.

"It seems the seed quality itself was poor. But none is taking up their issue. I am taking up their issue," Ponkumaran said.

The Thoothukudi Lok Sabha constituency consists of six assembly segments--Tiruchendur, Srivaikuntam, Thoothukudi, Ottapidaram, Kovilpatti and Vilathikulam.

The seat is currently held by AIADMK's J. Jeyasingh Thiyaraj Natterjee.

Deciding to contest from Thoothukudi well before the elections, Kanimozhi had been spending her time looking at the constituency.

The central government's decision to reserve 10 per cent jobs for economically weaker section also gives the BJP an edge in Thoothukudi.

At the start, the general feeling was Kanimozhi will have an easy victory. However, the fight seems to have turned tough for her with Tamilisai gaining ground.

Though the Sterlite Copper issue is confined to Thoothukudi town, Kanimozhi is rising across the constituency. Apart from the ill effects of demonetisaiton, GST, NEET against BJP, she also talks about the non-performance of the AIADMK government.

On her part, Tamilisai campaigns on the development plank.

Interestingly the Sterlite Copper issue may fetch votes for BJP as well, as there are people who have lost their jobs, business because of the smelter plant's closure.

According to a truck driver, he lost his job after the plant was closed.

In Thoothukudi town, people are angry at the AIADMK government for not properly handling the anti-Sterlite protest.

The BJP is expected to get good number votes from Srivaikuntam, Tiruchendur and Vilathikulam as these areas have sizeable population of Hindu Nadars.

According to an auto rickshaw driver in Tiruchendur, the Modi government has done well for the country and his vote is for BJP.

On the other hand, in Thoothukudi, a tea shop employee said he would vote for DMK this time around as nothing has happened in the constituency for the benefit of the people.

Kumar a taxi driver in Thoothukudi told IANS: "Kanimozhi has an edge as the Christian votes will go for her. The closure of Sterlite Copper smelter plant has reduced the pungent smell that one experiences while nearing the plant."

Apart from the minority votes, the DMK is also betting on the splitting of AIADMK votes by Dhinakaran's AMMK.

--IANS

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A Vietnamese woman Doan Thi Huong, accused of killing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half brother Kim Jong-nam, will be released on May 3, her lawyer said on Saturday.

Malaysian prosecutors had earlier this month offered to ease the murder charge against Doan, following the release of her co-accused Indonesian national Siti Aisyah, in March.

Doan was sentenced to three years and four months in jail on April 1, after pleading guilty to an alternative charge offered by prosecutors from the previous murder charge, which carried mandatory capital punishment if convicted, Xinhua news agency reported.

Doan's lead counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik said at that time she would be released by the first week of May, with the two years already served, counting from her arrest on February 15, 2017, and the remaining one-third granted remission.

Lawyer Salim Bashir of Doan's defence team said he was informed through the Embassy of Vietnam in Malaysia that she would be released on May 3. She will be sent home to Vietnam on the same day, he told state news agency Bernama.

In March, Malaysian prosecutors withdrew the murder charge against Siti Aisyah, the Indonesian woman who was charged together with Doan in the case. Aisyah was then released.

Both women were accused of murdering Kim Jong-nam by smearing VX nerve agent on his face at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in February 2017. They both denied the charges.

Kim Jong-nam died on the way to hospital, less than half an hour after receiving the poison -- a colourless and odourless oily liquid classified by the UN as a "weapon of mass destruction".

--IANS

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President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday paid tributes to the martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

"A 100 years ago today, our beloved freedom fighters were martyred at Jallianwala Bagh. A horrific massacre, a stain on civilisation, that day of sacrifice can never be forgotten by India," Kovind tweeted.

"India pays tributes to all those martyred on that fateful day. Their valour and sacrifice will never be forgotten. Their memory inspires us to work even harder to build an India they would be proud of," Modi said.

Saturday marks the 100th anniversary of the bloodbath, when British forces led by Brigadier General Reginald Dyer opened fire on hundreds of unarmed, innocent Indians, including women and children, who were protesting peacefully against the oppressive Rowlatt Act of the British government.

The massacre, on April 13, 1919, is one of the darkest chapters of India's freedom struggle against the British occupation.

--IANS

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As the nation commemorates the 100th anniversary of the massacre of hundreds of innocent Indians by British forces at the Jallianwala Bagh, President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday paid tributes to the martyrs.

"A 100 years ago today, our beloved freedom fighters were martyred at Jallianwala Bagh. A horrific massacre, a stain on civilisation, that day of sacrifice can never be forgotten by India," Kovind tweeted.

"India pays tributes to all those martyred on that fateful day. Their valour and sacrifice will never be forgotten. Their memory inspires us to work even harder to build an India they would be proud of," Modi said.

Gandhi along with Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and his cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu were joined by people in large numbers who gathered at the national memorial in Amritsar to pay homage to hundreds of men and woman who were gunned down by British troops on April 13, 1919.

On Friday, hundreds of people, including students, residents and visitors held a candlelight vigil in Amritsar.

Saturday marked the 100th anniversary of the bloodbath, when British forces led by Brigadier General Reginald Dyer opened fire on unarmed, innocent Indians, including children, who were present at a gathering protesting peacefully against the oppressive Rowlatt Act of the British government.

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre is one of the darkest chapters of India's freedom struggle against the British occupation. The official death toll by the British government was put at 379.

The British government, even after 100 years, has only regretted the massacre but stopped short of apologising for the killing of so many innocent people.

Rejecting the regret expressed by British Prime Minister Theresa May as "inadequate", Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday demanded "an unequivocal official apology from Britain".

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu will arrive here later for the main function commemorating the massacre.

Gandhi arrived here late on Friday and visited the Golden Temple and offered prayers at the Akal Takht.

The sanctum sanctorum of 'Harmandir Sahib' was closed for the night when the Congress chief arrived.

--IANS

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A man in an electronic wheelchair-type scooter set his jacket on fire near one of the entrances to the White House and was hospitalized with what appeared to be non-life threatening injuries, the US Secret Service has said.

The incident occurred on Friday afternoon along the Pennsylvania Avenue outside the north fence line of the White House.

"A male subject operating an electronic wheelchair-type scooter lit his outer jacket on fire while sitting along Pennsylvania Avenue outside the North Fence Line. Uniformed Division Officers immediately responded, extinguished the fire and rendered first aid," the Secret Service tweeted.

The male subject was transported to a local hospital with "what appears to be non-life threatening injuries", it added.

As a precaution, authorities barred pedestrians from the stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue and entirely blocked vehicular traffic on an adjacent street.

Citing unnamed law enforcement sources, NBC News reported that the man had mental health issues.

While President Donald Trump was inside the White House at the time of the incident, he was never in any danger, according to authorities.

A man fatally shot himself outside the White House in March 2018. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were en route to their Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on that occasion.

In another incident last year, a woman apparently suffering from mental disorders crashed her vehicle into one of the security barricades that protect the presidential residence.

In May 2017, the Secret Service detained a woman who jumped over a security barrier surrounding the White House.

--IANS

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Re-polling will be held at the Konarchar polling station on Monday in the bypoll to Meghalaya's Selsella Assembly constituency, an election official said on Saturday.

The re-poll was necessitated as the electorate of this polling booth cast their votes in the EVM meant for the Lok Sabha poll instead of Assembly by-poll during polling on Thursday, Chief Electoral Officer Frederick Roy Kharkongor said.

After taking all material circumstances into account, he said the Election Commission has ruled, under Section 58(2) of the Representation of People's Act, the voting on April 11 at the Konarchar polling station of Selsella Assembly segment is void.

Re-poll will be conducted from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Konarchar polling station has a total of 712 voters.

Selsella constituency is part of the Tura parliamentary seat in the Garo Hills area in western Meghalaya.

The by-election was necessitated by the death of sitting Congress legislator Clement Marak on October 8, 2018.

Marak's widow June Eliana R. Marak is contesting the bypoll on the Congress ticket against the ruling National People's Party Ferlin C.A. Sangma, the United Democratic Party's Sayeedullah Nongrum and the Bharatiya Janata Party's Adorsho Sangma.

--IANS

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Global make-up icon Bobbi Brown, who found global fame by following her passion to make women look beautiful in a natural way, finds the idea of her life story finding a way to the silver screen overwhelming.

"That would be overwhelming," Brown told IANS when asked about the idea of a film based on her life.

Whom would you like to bring your life alive on the big screen?

"Maybe Meryl Streep from Hollywood or Madhuri Dixit from Bollywood," she added.

At the moment, Brown is happy to dive into the myriad hues of Indian culture. She is excited about her maiden trip to the country for the debut edition of the India Makeup Show. Curated by Brothers Incorporated, founded by Rahul Tuljapurkar and Ninad Shah, the two-day show, which began in Mumbai on Friday, will come to Delhi on April 20.

She looks at India as a "land of magic".

"I wanted to visit India for such a long time. I love the rich history and the culture and can't wait to soak it all up. I'm looking forward to seeing all of the sights, eating delicious food and meeting new people," Brown told IANS in an email interview.

"I'm really looking forward to eating at Bombay Canteen. My friend Floyd Cardoz owns the restaurant. And of course the Taj Mahal," she added.

The make-up artiste has expressed her desire to work with star Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and feels "Indian beauty is confident, modern and diverse".

Elaborating her view, the 61-year-old said: "The make-up looks in the country range from the over the top to traditional to a cleaner, more modern look. I love the diverse mix of looks and trends. Most importantly, everyone in India always looks so beautiful. Anything can look and feel beautiful on Indian skin."

It was a humble beginning for Brown who launched her career at department store Bergdorf Goodman with just 10 lip shades in 1991, and went on to build a billion-dollar empire. Big names like Michelle Obama, Katie Holmes and Duchess of Cambridge Catherine have adored her make-up.

After 25 years, she left her namesake brand Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, owned by The Estee Lauder Companies, in 2016.

Were there moments when you were scared and clueless about where to go next?

"Leaving the company that I founded came with a mix of sadness and excitement. It gave me time to reflect on my experiences being an entrepreneur, creative, beauty expert, health and fitness advocate, author and editor-in-chief.

"In doing that, I saw an opportunity to create all of these new ventures. This transition has opened a new chapter of my life and so far, it's been an exciting ride."

Brown, whose affair with make-up started by watching her mother's beauty rituals, launched a beauty and wellness company Evolution_18, through which she comes out with collections which are all about beauty from the inside out.

What about creating an India specific range?

"I would love to and I hope to meet like minded partners on my outing at the India Makeup Show."

(Sugandha Rawal can be contacted at sugandha.r@ians.in)

--IANS

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Russian warships entered the Black Sea for carrying out warfare and training tasks during NATO's Sea Shield naval drills, the press service of the Russian Black Sea Fleet said in a statement on Saturday, Sputnik reports.

"The warships of the Black Sea Fleet left their home base to enter the fleet group in the Black Sea. The detachment of ships sailed to predefined areas where it will control and monitor the situation underwater, above the surface and in the air", the statement read.

It added that the group subsequently returned to its home base and began carrying out its routine exercises "against the backdrop of the NATO Sea Shield 2019 drills which were good support for the Black Sea Fleet forces in practicing their warfare skills in real-world conditions", the statement pointed out.
New Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye and his cabinet members were sworn in before President Mahmoud Abbas at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Saturday, the official television reported.

The 18th Palestinian government since the establishment of the Palestinian Authrity in 1995 was sworn in according to a presidential decree issued by Abbas, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the presidential decree, Ishtaye will serve as the Minister of Interior and Minister of Waqf, or Religious Affairs, until two new ministers are named.

The new government consists of 24 ministers.

--IANS

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With 34 criminal cases registered against him, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sakshi Maharaj claims that he is a saint and curse will befall all those who do not vote for him.

"A saint has come to your door. When a saint comes to beg and is not given what he asks for, he takes away all the happiness of the family and in turn curseS the family.

"This I am not saying, but I am quoting from sacred scriptures. I am not asking for money or land. Those who do not vote for me will face divine displeasure," he said on Friday while addressing an election meeting in Unnao in Uttar Pradesh.

A look at the affidavit filed with his nomination papers, gave detailed account of criminal cases registered against him. The list makes him look less of a saint and more of a criminal.

According to his own admission, Sakshi Maharaj has cases ranging from promoting enmity, four cases related to criminal intimidation, robbery, dacoity, murder, forgery, cheating and criminal breach of trust.

Though he has not been convicted, there are eight cases where cognizance has been taken. These cases are registered in Uttar Pradesh's Faizabad, Etah and in Delhi.

Swami Sachidanand Hari, better known as Sakshi Maharaj, has a large following in Etah, where he hails from. He also runs a large network of ashrams and schools across the state, and is extremely popular among his disciples.

He began his political career in the 1990s with the BJP, and was elected to the Lok Sabha twice from Farukkhabad. He switched over to the Samajwadi Party and then joined former Chief Minister Kalyan Singh's Rashtriya Kranti Party before finally moved back to the BJP.

In 2000, a college principal in Etah filed a police complaint against him, accusing the BJP MP and two of his nephews of gang raping her. The woman and her male associate were allegedly assaulted by the self proclaimed godman when they were driving to Agra from Etah.

Sakshi Maharaj had to spend a month in Tihar Jail on rape charges, but was eventually let off.

Ten years ago, however, another rape complaint was filed against him in Farukkhabad, by a disciple of his ashram. The woman is from Mainpuri and still maintains that Sakshi Maharaj had taken advantage of her and raped her in the ashram.

When the case reached the court, however, the police filed a report saying there was no rape.

Sakshi Maharaj said on Saturday that his rivals were trying to defame him and his statement on Friday had been quoted out of context.

He claimed that the cases filed against him were a result of political rivalry and would not stand the legal battle.

In the past, he has made controversial statements saying that "madrasas were training ground for terrorism" and "Nathuram Godse was a patriot". He also asked Hindus to increase their population by producing four children each.

Sakshi Maharaj has been fielded against the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance candidate Arun Shankar Shukla, alias Anna Maharaj, and Congress candidate Annu Tandon.

Unnao will go to polls on April 29 in the fourth phase.

--IANS

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Facebook, which is reportedly spending $1 billion on producing original content, has announced that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings will not rejoin the company's board as a director.

Peggy Alford, currently senior vice president of Core Markets for PayPal, will be nominated to join the board of directors, Facebook said on Friday.

Alford will become the first black woman to serve on Facebook's board, reports TechCrunch.

She has served as the Chief Financial Officer of the non-profit Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

"Peggy is one of those rare people who's an expert across many different areas -- from business management to finance operations to product development," said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Peggy said she "looks forward to working with Mark and the other directors as the company builds new and inspiring ways to help people connect and build community".

The social network is working on original programming for its Facebook Watch platform. In December, over 400 million people viewed at least one video on Facebook Watch.

Facebook's original video content ranges from Jada Pinkett Smith's popular talk show "Red Table Talk" to the drama series "Sorry For Your Loss" starring Elizabeth Olsen, reports CNN.

The company also hosts YouTube-like shows from content creators.

Facebook also announced that Erskine Bowles, a former Democratic political staffer, will leave the board.

Both Hastings and Bowles have served on the Facebook board since 2011.

--IANS

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Is addiction not letting you quit smoking? Relax. A new study suggests that kicking the habit works best in pairs.

The study, presented at EuroPrevent 2019, showed that couples who attempted to stop smoking together had a six-fold chance of success compared to patients who attempted it alone.

"Quitting smoking can be a lonely endeavour. People feel left out when they skip the smoke breaks at work or avoid social occasions. On top of that, there are nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Partners can distract each other from the cravings by going for a walk or to the cinema and encouraging replacement activities like eating healthy food or meditating when alone. Active support works best, rather than nagging," said Magda Lampridou, Researcher from the Imperial College London in Britain.

For the study, the researchers evaluated the supporting role married or cohabiting partners might have in smoking cessation and enrolled 222 current smokers who were at high risk of cardiovascular disease or had suffered a heart attack.

The couples attended preventive cardiology programmes and during the 16-week programme, they were offered nicotine replacement therapy with patches and gum. In one programme, participants could choose the prescription drug, varenicline instead.

At the end of the programme, the findings revealed that 64 per cent of patients and 75 per cent of partners had quit smoking compared to none and 55 per cent in the beginning.

European Society of Cardiology (ESC) cardiovascular prevention guidelines advise against tobacco in any form and people who stop smoking generally halve their risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Lampridou noted that research is needed to confirm the findings in smokers who are otherwise healthy.

--IANS

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The Indian elections that kicked off on Thursday are a democratic exercise the likes of which the world has never seen. In the worlds largest democratic practice, around 900 million voters - more than the combined population of all the European countries, across 543 constituencies will cast their votes to decide the fate of political parties.

The media coverage, like every election season, is being ruled by opinion polls. Surveyors and pollsters have jumped into the maze of deciphering future election results by making use of statistical models that forecast the vote share and the seat share of political parties based on surveys conducted among electorates. These forecasts have become fodder for everyday conversation.

However, it is difficult to trust the results of opinion polls as the results differ significantly from poll to poll. Given this situation, many researchers have examined the results of opinion polls and claimed that they have failed repeatedly to predict election outcomes.

A recent study presented in the book 'The Verdict' demonstrates that the success rate of such polls in estimating the number of seats that the winning party may bag is just 62 percent. On similar lines, a study conducted by India Today raised concerns over the fact that day by day, opinion polls are drifting away from reality. One of the main findings of that analysis is that the errors in predicting Lok Sabha elections are on the rise since 1998-99.

In such a situation where the gap between opinion poll predictions and actual outcomes is widening it is important to have a better statistical model in place to make sense of what factors are driving the outcomes behind elections. This can be done by indicating which types of economic and political data most meaningfully correlate with election outcomes.

An attempt to develop such a holistic model that can provide precise estimates of voting behaviour must take into account all the factors that citizens keep in mind while casting their votes. In most democracies, a common belief is that good economics makes for good politics. This belief suggests that an incumbent party's chances of winning elections increase if the region experienced positive economic growth during their term.

In India, however, this popular notion is not supported by data. A simple correlation analysis between the growth rate of GDP per capita and the incumbent party getting re-elected reveals a negative relationship between the two, implying that in most cases despite higher growth incumbent does not get re-elected. This observation helps us in concluding that support base and vote bank for parties in India is dependent on a host of factors other than economic development.

The two other factors that shape voting decisions of Indian voters might be and public sentiment towards the government. A broad spectrum of the from shelter to sanitation, education to health, personal rights to inclusion must be considered. This is important because of presence of diversity across Indian regions. For some living below the poverty line or on bare minimum income, social wellbeing would mean better shelter facilities, free healthcare, improved nutritional facilities, etc. For rich people, this would mean new opportunities to grow and improve their life.

The sentiment towards the current government can be captured through two aspects. One, the vote share of the national ruling party in the state elections held during their tenure. Second, the narrative build by traditional media platforms about leaders and political parties and social media engagement of the political parties. The traditional media platforms provide voters with the facts and figures that can help them to make informed choices. And the increased exposure of voters to social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter has provided a direct link between voters and leaders. More and more candidates are relying on social media campaigns to win elections. By serving as the source of information, media has the power to impact voting behaviour of citizens.

A probit regression model, with the dependent variables as 'the chances of incumbent coming back to power' and explanatory variables as economic development, social wellbeing, sentiment towards the government and the presence of a strong regional party, for the period 1999 to 2014 results in a success rate of 80 percent.

The model predicts that for the upcoming elections the constituencies of Uttar Pradesh will play a key role in deciding the electoral fortunes of political parties. The incumbent Bhartiya Janata Party is expected to win 215 seats with surety while there are 33 seats in which any political party can turn the tables in its favour by focusing on the right set of issues.

The factors, according to the model, that dominates the arena of decision making are wherein a larger piece of the puzzle comes from how inclusive the incumbent party is. It is observed that while casting their vote, people keep in mind how acceptable a leader is towards caste-based minorities and other socially backward groups, how they treat women, and what is the level of atrocities against these minority groups during the party's tenure. The second crucial factor which dominates the arena of decision making is the sentiment towards the government. Indian voters are known for their anti-incumbency tendencies. Many instances from the Indian political history can be cited that prove that dealing with anti-incumbency has been the biggest challenge of the ruling party. For instance, BJP won a wave election in 2014 by channeling citizens anti-incumbency sentiments against the Indian National Congress.

Therefore, the lesson for political parties is to devise mechanisms that focus on issue-based election campaigning, which will enable favourable public opinion and increase their chances of winning.

(Amit Kapoor is chair, Institute for Competitiveness, India. He can be contacted at Amit.Kapoor@competitiveness.in and tweets @kautiliya. Manisha Kapoor, senior researcher, Institute for Competitiveness, India has contributed to the article)

--IANS

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Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Saturday attacked the BJP for its instructor's suicide case in Uttar Pradesh saying that the ruling party had brought its employees to a position where they were forced to commit suicide.

"The incident of Banda is very sad. The BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) has brought the employees to the position that they are forced to commit suicide. The BJP has deceived the instructors and these hardworking employees are facing severe financial straits. The people of Uttar Pradesh will not forgive," Gandhi tweeted.

Reportedly, Rajesh Kumar Patel, an instructor in a middle school in a village in Banda district in Uttar Pradesh, committed suicide on Wednesday night. He was struggling with financial straits as he was not paid honorarium from the last three months.

--IANS

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Making a scathing attack on the Congress and Rahul Gandhi for questioning Smriti Irani's educational qualifications, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said the party forgot that a public audit of Gandhi's academic credentials "may leave a lot to be answered" and alleged that the Congress President "got an M.Phil without a Masters degree".

"One day the focus would be on the BJP candidate's educational qualifications, fully forgetting that a public audit of Rahul Gandhi's academic credentials may leave a lot to be answered. After all, he got an M.Phil without a Masters degree," Jaitley said in Facebook.

His remarks come a day after BJP MP Subramanian Swamy, making a veiled reference to Gandhi, alleged that his "Cambridge certificate says his name is Raul Vinci and he read M.Phil and failed in National Economic Planning and Policy".

Swamy had also posted in Twitter a certificate from the Cambridge University which stated that Raul Vinci had scored 58 per cent in National Economy Planning and Policy while scoring 62.8 per cent overall. The certificate said 60 per cent was passing marks.

Swamy, who had earlier alleged that Rahul Gandhi had four passports including one in the name of Raul Vinci, claimed it was "Raul Vinci's certificate of failure".

Earlier, the Congress had complained to the poll panel against Smriti Irani submitting "contradictory affidavits" to the Election Commission on her educational qualifications.

--IANS

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Congress President Rahul Gandhi will visit the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial here on Saturday morning to pay homage to hundreds of people, who were massacred by British forces on April 13, 1919.

Rahul arrived here in the holy city late on Friday night.

After arriving here, Rahul, accompanied by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, paid a visit to Golden Temple complex where he offered prayers at the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikh religion.

The sanctum sanctorum of 'Harmandir Sahib' was closed for the night when the Congress chief arrived.

April 13 (Saturday) marks the 100th anniversary of the massacre, in which British forces led by Brigadier General Reginald Dyer opened fire on hundreds of unarmed, innocent Indians, including women and children, who were protesting peacefully against the oppressive Rowlatt Act of the British government.

The massacre, on April 13, 1919, is one of the darkest chapters of India's freedom struggle against the British occupation.

Hundreds of people, including students, local residents and visitors, held a candlelight march in Amritsar on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on Friday evening.

The British government, even after 100 years, has only regretted the massacre but stopped short of apologising for the killing of so many innocent people.

Rejecting the regret expressed by British Prime Minister Theresa May as "inadequate", Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday demanded "an unequivocal official apology from Britain" for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

Terming the tragic event "a heart-wrenching moment in India's history", Amarinder said that the people of India wanted an unequivocal apology from Britain for the atrocity.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu will arrive here on Saturday afternoon for the main function to commemorate the 100 years of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

--IANS

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Tense situation prevailed in the Mayapuri Industrial area of the national capital following clashes between local traders and the security personnel during a sealing drive on Saturday.

Nine policemen and four paramilitary personnel were injured in the incident.

Clashes broke out between traders and security forces when municipal corporation officials began to seal some factories on the orders of the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

For maintaining law and order, more companies of the Delhi Police along with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police have been deployed in the area.

--IANS

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India is hopeful it will avoid US sanctions over its purchase of Russia's S-400 missile system, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, NDTV reports.

New Delhi has been "heard and understood" by the US administration over its accord to buy the S-400 missile defence system for $5.2 billion, the minister said in an interview to news agency AFP this week.

Ms Sitharaman said that Washington has taken on board that India, bordering both Pakistan and China, needed arms from Russia, and others, to remain a "strong partner". Negotiations with Moscow, a longstanding supplier to India's military, on the S-400 began before the US sanctions were introduced, she said.

"In the case of S-400 we have explained ourselves well... That has been heard and understood," Ms Sitharaman said. "They have appreciated the point of view put forward." Asked if she was confident that India would avoid sanctions, Ms Sitharaman said: "Yes I hope so."
National award-winning actress Shweta Basu Prasad, portraying a journalist in the film "The Tashkent Files", says searching for truth can, at time, cost life as the powerful tend to suppress voices.

"The Tashkent Files", released on Friday, revolves around the mysterious death of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1966, soon after signing the Tashkent Agreement between India and Pakistan to end the 1965 war.

"Ragini (Shweta's character) starts the investigation into the Shastri's mysterious death because she was looking for a scoop and wanted to prove herself to the organisation. But deeper she delved into it, she felt determined to know the truth behind the death. But eventually she realised truth-seeking is highly costly in India," Shweta told IANS.

According to her, the practice of "honest journalism has been suppressed by the powerful. If some gets fearless, he/she disappears and could eventually get killed".

The 28-year-old actress admitted that she did not know much about Shastri's life before getting on board for the film. "In school we really do not get to read much about him and that's why we do not know much. It's good that our generation is raising questions. Unless we question the narrative will not change."

"Why even after 53 years, no one knows how Shastriji died?" the actress wondered.

Directed by Vivek Agnihotri, the film also features Naseeruddin Shah, Mithun Chakraborty, Pallavi Joshi and Pankaj Tripathi.

On working with the veteran actors, Shweta said, "I worked with Naseer uncle in 'Iqbal'. Later I did a short film with him. I did a film titled 'Ek Nadir Galpo: Tale of a River' with Mithunda. Working with them again was great."

"These people are icons. One can learn so much just by observing them on set. I am really lucky", said the actress who started her Bollywood journey with Shabana Azmi- starrer "Makdee".

--IANS

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The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Saturday summoned Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif's family, including his wife and two daughters, as part of an investigation into the assets beyond known means of income case.

The opposition leader's wife Nusrat Shehbaz has been summoned on April 17, while daughters Rabia and Javeria Sharif have been summoned by the anti-graft watchdog on April 18 and April 19 respectively, Geo News reported.

Shehbaz Sharif's son Hamza has also been summoned on April 15 in a case pertaining to construction of a nullah from government money and in relation to the assets beyond means case on April 16.

On Friday, a combined investigation team of NAB grilled Hamza Shehbaz for two hours over the increase of his assets from Rs 20 million to over Rs 410 million between 2003 and 2019. They inquired about his source of income, the Express Tribune reported.

The bureau also questioned Hamza about the "exponential increase of his assets" during the tenure of his father as Punjab Chief Minister.

--IANS

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Actress Soni Razdan faced criticism on Saturday from netizens after she tweeted about Junaid Khan who was stabbed to death on a train near Ballabhgarh in Haryana in June 2017. Social media users alleged that she was "creating fake news".

She posted an image of deceased with a caption: "I am Junaid Khan, Muslim boy, age 15. I was killed by a mob on a train for being a Muslim. Remember me when you vote."

Netizens reacted sharply to her post, with several of them posting messages about Hindus killed in violence in various parts of the country.

One social media user responded to Soni's post saying she was "creating a fake news" and pointed out that "the Punjab and Haryana High court while granting bail to one of the accused in the case said the fight was over seat and nothing related to selectively targeting Junaid on basis of his religion".

Another person posted: "She is trying to create communal tension in the country".

"No, Junaid was killed in a quarrel over seat (in train), not for his religion. Courts found so, too. People had voted against these pathetic lies, propaganda and selective targeting of Hindus in 2014, and you are ensuring a repeat in 2019," posted another social media user.

On June 22, 16-year-old Junaid was allegedly beaten and stabbed to death on a train at Ballabhgarh in Haryana by a group of people.

--IANS

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A teenager in Northern Ireland has been charged with making a social media death threat to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern after the Christchurch terror attack in which 50 people were killed.

Matthew Burns is alleged to have posted an image of gun fitted with a silencer to Ardern, along with the caption "you're next" on March 20, five days after the carnage at two mosques, the New Zealand Herald reported on Saturday.

Burns, a resident of Newtownhamilton, 75 km south of Belfast, was also charged with "sending a message of menacing character" to London Mayor Sadiq Khan in December. Newry Magistrates Court heard a threat to Khan was made from the same account.

The teenager was arrested and charged on Thursday after the Police Service of Northern Ireland's Cyber Crime Unit traced the online threats (to Ardern) to his IP address, the report said.

The investigating officer said further posts of racist, xenophobic, sectarian and homophobic nature were also found to have been sent from the same IP address.

Burns confessed to posting the threats, according to the officer. He told detectives his political view was far right and that he was against minority groups, including immigrants and members of the LGBT community.

The defendant was later released on 500 pound bail with a 1,000 pound cash surety on the condition that he will not have an Internet connection and will adhere to a 7 p.m.-7 a.m. curfew.

The case was adjourned to May 8.

--IANS

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Karnataka will see straight contests in the Lok Sabha elections after three decades between the Congress-JD-S combine and the BJP.

The state will witness a two-phased polling on April 18 and April 23 in 14 constituencies each out of 28 seats across the southern state.

"Unlike in the past elections when parties had advantage over the other two in triangular contests, voter turnout in each constituency will determine which of them will win more seats this time," a political analyst told IANS.

With the ruling Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) fielding joint candidates in all the 28 parliamentary seats under a pre-poll tie-up against their arch rival, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a higher turnout in their bastions may fetch them more votes than the other.

As per the seat-sharing arrangement, the Congress is contesting 21 seats and the JD-S 7, with 4 in the first phase and 3 in the second phase.

Though the ruling allies bet on their joint candidates getting more votes with no division this time, the BJP hopes to benefit from a higher turnout in its bastions where the JD-S presence is not as much as in the old Mysore region.

"Even in the past three general elections since 2004, we have won more seats than the Congress and JD-S separately or together. Though triangular contests would have benefited each party in their bastions, we hope to get more votes due to consolidation and our presence in 104 assembly segments," BJP spokesman G. Madhusudhan told IANS.

In the May 12, 2018 assembly elections, the BJP won 104 seats, the Congress 80 and the JD-S 37 in the 225-member lower house, including one nominated member.

The Congress and JD-S forged a post-poll alliance and formed the coalition government on May 23, 2018 to keep the BJP out of power.

Of the 28 Lok Sabha seats, including 5 reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SC) and two for the Scheduled Tribes (STs), BJP won 17 in 2014, 19 in 2009 and 18 in the 2004 general elections.

Of the remaining, Congress won 9 in 2014, 6 in 2009 and 8 in 2004, while the JD-S bagged 2 in 2014, 3 in 2009 and 2 in 2004 respectively.

"As the BJP continues to be strong in the coastal, central and northern regions, in parliamentary polls, a higher turnout will benefit it more as its main rival is the Congress than the JD-S, which is confined to the southern region, as evident from the results and voting patterns in the past," the analyst said.

Karnataka is considered the gateway for the BJP in the south of Vindhyas and the only state in South India to have come to power on its own in 2008.

Though BJP came to power for the first time in February 2006 when the JD-S broke away from the Congress and formed a coalition government with it for 20 months till October 2007, the saffron party could not rule the state when its turn came to head it for the nest 20 months as the JD-S withdrew its support, leading to mid-term assembly polls in 2008.

"Even though the ruling allies have kept our party out of power by forming an unholy post-poll alliance, the non-performance of the 10-month-old coalition government, bickering between them, infighting within the Congress and the absence of chemistry at the cadre levels will benefit us as the people do not want a similar coalition government at the Centre," Madhusudhan asserted.

Belying the BJP's high hopes or expectations, the ruling allies feel consolidation of their secular votes and the stability of their coalition government, with pro-farmer policies like farm-loan waiver and welfare schemes for the poor will make them not only retain their seats but wrest more from the BJP.

"As our combined share of voting percentage in parliamentary and assembly elections have been more than that of BJP, we will benefit more from straight contests this time, as the people are angry with the BJP-led NDA government due to lack of jobs for lakhs of youth, rural distress owing to fall in the income of farmers," Ramesh Babu of the JD-S told IANS.

While the BJP bets on the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his leadership and sthe achievements of the NDA government to win at least 20 seats, the Congress hopes the party's 'revolutionary' manifesto and its assurances of equitable growth will get it more seats, benefiting from the non-division of secular votes from all sections, including SCs, STs, OBCs and minorities.

"Notwithstanding what pre-poll surveys, opinion polls or pundits say, we will secure a majority along with allies and other secular parties to form a stable and progressive government at the Centre. Wait for the actual results on May 23," Congress official Ravi Gowda quipped.(Fakir Balaji can be contacted at fakir.b@ians.in)

--IANS

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Doctors and other staff members of Tripura government hospitals, on strike since beating up of a surgeon on Thursday, called off the protest on Saturday following intervention of the high court and the state government.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA), the All Tripura Government Doctors' Association (ATGDA) and the nurses' organisations, spearheading the agitation since Thursday, announced the withdrawal.

"We are withdrawing our agitation as the government has taken steps to provide security to doctors in hospitals and has promised action against the accused," IMA Tripura chapter Secretary Kanak Chowdhury said.

He said Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb at a meeting with leaders of the IMA and the ATGDA on Friday said armed securitymen would be deployed in hospitals.

The IMA and the ATGDA also urged the government to take steps to fast track cases against those responsible for 11 attacks on doctors in the past one year. Satisfactory health services could not be possible due to shortages of doctors and inadequate infrastructure, they added.

In an unprecedented move, Tripura High Court Chief Justice Sanjay Karol at a special hearing on Friday stayed a lower court order granting bail to the five accused, arrested by the police in connection with attack on surgeon Dipankar Debnath.

Justice Karol ordered the accused would remain in jail till April 24, the next date of hearing in the case.

Law and Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath said the Chief Justice heard the case at 10 p.m. on Friday and stayed the order of the first class judicial magistrate court.

Dr Debnath was assaulted early Thursday after a pregnant woman died at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital. He is under treatment at the Govind Ballabh Pant Medical College and Hospital, where his condition is said to be "out of danger".

In another development, Health Minister Sudip Roy Barman surrendered his security to protest attacks on doctors and other medical staffs in the government hospitals.

Barman in a letter to the Chief Minister, a copy of which is available with IANS, said: "The government doctors and other health staffs in the government hospitals are feeling insecure." He requested the Chief Minister to direct the police to take action against accused of attacking doctors in the past one year.

--IANS

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US President Donald Trump has threatened to release detained undocumented immigrants into so-called sanctuary cities, while blaming the country's immigration laws on Democrats.

"Due to the fact that Democrats are unwilling to change our very dangerous immigration laws, we are indeed, as reported, giving strong considerations to placing Illegal Immigrants in Sanctuary Cities only," Trump wrote in a tweet.

The US President went on accusing the "radical left" of supporting open borders, claiming that his proposal "should make them very happy!"

Sanctuary cities in the US are known as local jurisdictions that refrain from cooperating with federal authorities and detain undocumented immigrants for possible deportation.

Tump's threat came a day after The Washington Post reported that administration officials had proposed months ago transporting undocumented immigrants to cities that shield them from deportation.

The proposal has drawn sharp criticism from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat.

"The extent of this administration's cynicism and cruelty cannot be overstated," a spokeswoman for Pelosi said in a statement to The Post.

The White House and the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday denied that the proposal was still under consideration.

Trump has been reshuffling the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration and border security, in push for a tougher direction in immigration enforcement.

--IANS

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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the attack in Pakistan's southwest city of Quetta, a UN spokesman said.

Guterres was shocked and he strongly condemned this cowardly act and extended his condolences to the families of the victims and to the government and people of Pakistan, Xinhua quoted Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General as saying on Friday.

The UN expressed its full solidarity with the government of Pakistan in its fight against terrorism and violent extremism, he added.

Earlier in the day, at least 20 people were killed and over 40 others were injured in a blast that hit an open-air market in Quetta. No terror outfit or individual has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

--IANS

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US President Donald Trump has said that the US government will free up wireless spectrum and build better infrastructure to take a leadership in 5G, the next-generation wireless network.

His remarks came after the country's Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced Friday a plan to start largest spectrum auction and spend over USD 20 billion for rural high-speed internet, Xinhua news agency reported.

FCC chief Ajit Pai said that American wireless carriers would be bidding for as much as 3.4 gigahertz of "millimeter-wave" spectrum starting on December 10 this year.

Verizon, one of America's largest telecommunications companies, announced on April 3 the official operation of its commercial 5G network in two US cities, making it the world's first commercial 5G mobile service for customers with 5G-equipped smartphones.

While the US leads in some key 5G-readiness metrics, China and other countries are ahead in making critical mid-band spectrum available for 5G, according to a report made in April by CTIA, a trade association representing the US wireless communications industry and companies throughout the mobile ecosystem.

The millimeter-wave spectrum or high-band spectrum refers to frequencies above 24 GHz. Its capacity is higher but coverage is lower than the mid-band spectrum. So the mid-band spectrum can travel far to provide broader service than the high-band spectrum.

Another challenge for 5G service is the country's weaker infrastructure in rural areas, according to the CTIA report.

Trump on Friday said the 5G industry in the US would be "private sector-driven and private sector-led," so the US government does not have to spend lots of money.

But the FCC unveiled a plan to provide USD 20.4 billion in the coming decade to connect up to 4 million rural homes and small businesses to high-speed internet.

This is part of FCC's three-part 5G Fast Plan, namely, spectrum freeing-up, small antennas installment and deployment of optical fibre, according to Pai.

Trump described in his speech the building of 5G service a race that "America must win," and "will win."

But FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said in her Twitter account on Friday, "from imposing tariffs on 5G equipment to alienating allies on 5G security to falling behind the rest of the world on critical mid-band spectrum," the Trump administration has yet to offer a workable plan for U.S. leadership.

"So far this Administration's interventions on 5G have done more harm than good," said Rosenworcel.

--IANS

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday mocked the Congress's proposed NYAY scheme which translates to "justice" in Hindi literally and claimed that the grand old party has finally agreed that injustice was done by them over the past 60 years.

"Congress and dishonesty are best friends. But sometimes by mistake they end up speaking the truth. Now they are saying Nyay will happen. Even if they did not intend to, they have admitted that they had done injustice for the 60 years," Modi said at a massive rally here.

NYAY is the Congress' minimum income guarantee scheme that the party says lift millions out of poverty.

--IANS

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Russias foreign minister on April 12 criticized the U.S. putting pressure on Turkey over its decision to buy a Russian S-400 missile defense system.

Speaking at the Diplomatic Academy in Moscow, Sergei Lavrov said the U.S. uses methods of power pressure to make countries fall in line with its policy.

Washington uses pressure not only against countries who pursue independent policies but also against its closest allies, he said, Hurriyet Daily News reports.

The situation with threats against NATO member Turkey for Ankaras decision to strengthen its defense capacity by purchasing Russian S-400s is an example, there are many others, he added.
Security forces in Jammu and Kashmir will not allow revival of militancy in the Kishtwar district that witnessed three militancy-related incidents in the last few months, an Army officer said on Saturday.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of Rajouri Day celebrations, Lieutenant General Paramjit Singh, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 16 Corps, said three militant incidents in the Kishtwar district during the last few months were unfortunate. The security forces would not allow revival of militancy in the district, he added.

Rajouri Day is celebrated on April 13 to commemorate the martyrs who liberated Rajouri town from Pakistan-aided tribal invaders in 1948.

The Army officer also said the Pakistan Army had been using artillery during recent ceasefire violations on the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch and Rajouri districts.

The Indian Army was responding effectively to the ceasefire violations, he added.

--IANS

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Over one thousand Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) youth workers joined the opposition Congress in the state on Saturday, its leaders said.

Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Pradyot Kishore Deb Burman said 300 youth IPFT supporters joined the Congress from Khowai district, while another group of 700 at Kamalpur in Dhalai district.

Addressing a press conference, he said leaders of the regional party have "betrayed" its supporters, and failed to deliver on the promises for the development of indigenous people of the state.

"IPFT supporters are coming to us because they have realised that IPFT supremo N C Debbarma, who is not even campaigning, submitted a nomination to cut down on votes of the Congress and help the BJP," Deb Burman claimed.

The IPFT-BJP alliance formed the government in Tripura in 2018, ending the 25-year rule of the Left Front.

Earlier this month, IPFT vice-president Ananta Debbarma and its Youth wing general secretary Shuklacharan Noatia joined the Congress, blaming IPFT leaders for high-handedness and an absence of internal democracy in the party.

Meanwhile, a delegation of Congress leaders from Tripura reached New Delhi on Saturday to meet officials of the Election Commission for re-polling in booths, which the party alleges to have been rigged on April 11.

Congress has alleged that 151 out of the 1,679 polling booths in the West Tripura Lok Sabha constituency were rigged.

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Two persons have been



arrested in connection with lynching of a man and injuring three others for allegedly slicing flesh from a bull's carcass in Gumla district, police said Saturday.

The incident took place on April 11.

Sanjay Sahu and Jeevan Sahu were arrested on Friday, Superintendent of Police (SP) of Gumla district, Anjani Kumar Jha said.

Seven persons were identified in connection with the case and efforts are on to trace the other five accused, he said.

The officer said two FIRs were lodged in connection with the incident.

The first FIR was registered against the accused under relevant sections of IPC, while the second FIR was lodged against the three injured - Blasius Tirkey, Peter Kerketta and Jamarius Minz - under the Jharkhand Bovine Animal Prohibition of Slaughter Act, 2005, the SP said.

Asked whether the three injured have been arrested, Jha said they are under treatment at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences.

A special team is investigating the matter, he said.

A man was killed and three others were injured on Thursday after residents of Jurmi village in Jharkhand's Gumla district beat them up, alleging they were slicing flesh from a bull's carcass.

The deceased has been identified as Prakash Lakra.

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Two Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants involved in the killing of a number of civilians and police personnel were on Saturday gunned down by security forces in an encounter in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

The slain militants have been identified as Abid Wagay, a resident of Rawalpora Shopian, and Shahjahan Mir, hailing of Amshepora Shopian, a police spokesman said.

Based on a credible input about the presence of militants in Gahand area of Shopian district of south Kashmir, a cordon and search operation was launched by security forces there this morning, the spokesman said.

He said during the searches, the militants fired upon the security personnel who retaliated. Two militants were killed in the ensuing encounter.

The bodies were retrieved from the site of the encounter and incriminating material, including arms and ammunition, were seized.

According to police records, both of the militants were affiliated with proscribed terror outfit JeM, he said



They were wanted for their complicity in a series of terror crimes including attack on security establishments and civilian atrocities, he said.

They were involved in the abduction and subsequent killings of civilians Firdous Ahmad of Batgund and Nissar Ahmad of Kapran and policeman Balwant Singh of Batgund last year, the spokesman said.

"They were also involved in the killing of Khusboo Jan at Viel Shopian earlier this year. Moreover, both were also involved in the killing of a civilian Tanveer Ahmad of Bemnipora at Kachdoora in Shopian.

"They were also involved in arson and setting ablaze panchayat ghars at Kanjiullar and Ramnagar, he added.

The spokesman said Mir was also involved in snatching of weapons and killing of four police personnel at Arhama Shopian last year.

He (Mir) was also involved in attack on police station Shopian in which one cop Saqib Mohi-ud-Din had attained martyrdom and his rifle was snatched.

"He was involved in the abduction and killing of a young boy Huzaif Ashraf Kuttay resident of Manzgam D H Pora, he said.

Several cases were registered against both of them for planning and executing terror attacks on security establishments and killing of civilians in the area, the spokesman said.

"With the efforts of police and other security forces, it was a clean operation and no collateral damage happened during the encounter," the spokesman said.

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A voter turnout of 61.50 per cent was recorded in Uttarakhand which went to polls in the first phase of Lok Sabha electionson Thursday.

According to final polling percentage released by the Election Commission after collating data received from remote corners of the hill state late on Friday night a total of 61.50 per cent of the 78.56 lakh voters exercised their franchise on the polling day.

The final polling percentage in Uttarakhand released by the poll body is only slightly lower than 61.67 per cent voter turnout recorded in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Giving the break-up of the final polling percentage on all the five seats of the state, the commission said Haridwar recorded the highest turnout of 68.92 per cent followed by Nainital which recorded a turnout 68.69 per cent.

58.30 per cent of the electorate voted in Tehri, 54.47 per cent in Pauri and 51.82 per cent in Almora which is a reserved seat.

There were 52 candidates in the fray for the five seats of Uttarakhand where the contest was mainly between the BJP and Congress.

The outcome of seats keenly awaited are Nainital where former chief minister Harish Rawat battled state BJP president Ajay Bhatt, Tehri where sitting BJP MP Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah was challenged by PCC president Pritam Singh and Pauri where former BJP MLA Tirath Singh Rawat took on sitting party MP BC Khanduri's son Manish who debuts as a Congress candidate.

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AAP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia Saturday said his party is still ready to form an alliance with the Congress in Delhi, Haryana and Chandigarh but it would not agree for a tie-up just in the national capital.

He said the priority of the Aam Aadmi Party is to stop the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo which, he said, is proving to become very "dangerous" for the country.

"We wanted to form a united opposition against the BJP and were ready to ignore our differences because right now the priority is to stop the dangerous Modi-Shah duo," he said.

"In last one week, meetings were held between the AAP and the Congress and we proposed alliance on 33 seats in Delhi, Goa, Chandigarh, Haryana and Punjab seats, out of them 23 seats is with NDA.

He said a tie-up between the two parties could have caused a "damage" to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on the 23 seats.

"But the Congress purposely wasted time to take a decision on alliance and now it says it can tie up with the AAP only in Delhi. Forming an alliance in Delhi alone would not solve the problem," he said.

"We still saying that an alliance can be formed (with Congress) in Haryana, Delhi and Chandigarh if they are ready then we are ready too but alliance cannot be done alone in Delhi," he added.

The uncertainty over alliance between the AAP and the Congress has been continuing for weeks now. The talks between the two sides derailed after they failed to reach an agreement over seat-sharing in Delhi and Haryana.

Congress' in-charge for Delhi P C Chacko on Friday said Congress will go alone in Delhi since the AAP has taken an "impractical stand".

He, however said,"We are still ready (for alliance) if AAP is willing to have an alliance in Delhi alone. We want to fight the BJP together."



"We are compelled to go on our own as the AAP is going back on its stand," Chacko told reporters.

AAP's Rajya Sabha leader Sanjay Singh, who was holding alliance talks with the Congress, said, "Our sincerity to stop the BJP in Haryana is reflected by the fact that we became a junior partner to a four-month-old party (JJP) and agreed to contest only less than half of the seats in the state."



Singh said the AAP was eager for an alliance with the Congress in Haryana so that the BJP could be defeated on all the 10 seats.

"That's why we were prepared to give Congress three seats in Delhi. But they refused an alliance," he said.

Singh exuded confidence that the AAP will win all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi on its own.

However, sources said the AAP in a last-ditch attempt may offer a 5-2 seat sharing formula to the Congress in Delhi.

Earlier, the AAP was ready to give three seats to the Congress in Delhi but now it might consider giving it just two seats, the sources added.

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An ace Swedish programmer who was an early, ardent supporter of has been arrested in Ecuador in an alleged plot to blackmail the country's president over his abandonment of

But friends of Ola Bini say the soft-spoken encryption expert is being unfairly targeted for his activism on behalf of digital privacy.

Bini, 36, was arrested Thursday at the airport in the Ecuadorian capital of Quito as he prepared to board a flight to Japan. The arrest came just hours after Assange was evicted from the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Bini was carrying at least 30 electronic storage devices.



ALSO READ: British lawmakers urge UK govt to cooperate with Sweden in Assange case

His lawyers said they have not been notified whether he's been charged. Authorities said the plot hatched with two unidentified Russian hackers living in Ecuador involved threatening to release compromising documents about President Lenin Moreno as he toughened his stance against the founder.

"It's up to the justice system to determine if he committed a crime," Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo said Friday.

"But we can't allow Ecuador to become a center for piracy and spying. That period in our history is over." Romo said Bini had traveled at least 12 times to meet with Assange at the London embassy. She said he was also in Venezuela earlier this year around the same time as a close aide to Moreno's ex-mentor turned arch enemy, Rafael Correa.

The former president granted Assange asylum in 2012 and has been leading a campaign cheered on by to expose corruption by Moreno that has included the release of damaging personal documents and photos, including several that showed him eating lobster in bed.

While the extent of Bini's relationship with Assange is unclear, the Swede has defended the Wikileaks founder's free speech rights in an online blog he's kept over the years.

"Any official who has called for Assange to be treated as a terrorist or enemy combatant should be seriously considering stepping down from office," he wrote in December 2010.



In the same blog, Bini condemned Amazon for knocking WikiLeaks off its hosting services and credit card companies and PayPal for refusing to process payments to the secret-spilling site. He also described working on a January 2011 panel about Wikileaks put on by his then-employer, global software firm Thoughtworks, and including Daniel Ellsberg of Pentagon Papers fame.

An expert on secure communications, Bini arrived in Quito in 2013 after being transferred from Chicago to the Ecuador office of Thoughtworks, which has guiding principles that stress social activism. Around the same time, he started to rethink his online habits and at one point gave up his Gmail account in favor of self-hosted email.

"I am not a huge fan of having all my electronic life hosted under the auspices of US legislation, especially not in light of recent events," he wrote in a 2013 post.

Friends and loved ones describe Bini as a computer geek who felt most at ease solving complex programming problem for days at a time. At the time of his arrest, he was traveling to Japan, his former wife Malin Sandell told The Associated Press, for two weeks of jujitsu training one of the few hobbies he indulged in outside of his all-consuming work as a code developer.

His Ecuadorian girlfriend said that she did not recall Bini ever expressing strong support for Assange despite the fact that the WikiLeaks founder has deep ties in Sweden and would have been an obvious topic of conversation in the small Ecuadorian programming circles.

"Ola is not a hacker, if by that you mean a criminal, but he is someone trying to understand how computers work and protect people's privacy," Sofia Ramos said in an interview from Brussels.

Ramos worked with Bini on a project at the Center for Digital Autonomy for creating a more secure instant-messaging encryption protocol. In its statement Friday, the center said Computerworld had ranked him in 2010 as Sweden's No. 6 developer.

The center is a small nonprofit incorporated in Ecuador and Spain dedicated to private, secure and anonymous communication. Its website says it has contributed to well-known projects including Enigmail and the Tor privacy browser.

In the hours before he went to the airport Thursday, Bini sent a Tweet warning of a "witch hunt" by Ecuadorian authorities mopping up after Assange's forced departure from the embassy. Now that prophecy appears to have been true, said his friends.

"I didn't realize that knowing somebody is a crime," said Vijay Prashad, who runs a Marxist publishing house in India and last saw Bini a few months ago in Sao Paulo, Brazil. "He's the last person who would ever be involved in an attempt overthrow a government.
An Afghan national was one of the two persons who were arrested Saturday by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in connection with the last month's seizure of 100 kg heroin from a boat off the Porbandar coast.

In a joint operation, the ATS, the Indian Coast Guard and the Marine Task Force seized a huge quantity of heroin and arrested nine Iranian nationals on March 27.

The ATS Saturday said it arrested Mohammed Abdul Salaam Kunni, a resident of Kasargod in Kerala, and Niyamat Khan Ahmedzai, a resident of Logar Province in Afghanistan.

"Interrogation of the nine Iranian nationals and technical analysis revealed that the consignment was to be received by an Indian fishing boat, and further to be brought to the Indian coast," the ATS stated in a release.

Ahmedzai was tasked with carrying the consignment to Delhi and hand it over to Kunni, who was supposed to take it to Chennai and Mallpuram, from where it would have been smuggled outside India from various ports and airports, it said.

As per preliminary investigation, Ahmedzai was sent to India by a narcotics syndicate in December 2018 on a medical visa. He was staying in Lajpat Nagar in Delhi.

"This was his third visit to India. He was involved in heroin smuggling in the past as well. Ahmedzai was instructed by one Haji Nadar, also a resident of Afghanistan, to contact Kunni and hand over the consignment to him, for which he was paid Rs 8 lakh," the ATS said.

"Interrogation of the Iranian nationals revealed that one Hamid Malik had given them this consignment to be brought to India. Badruddinn Shaikh, who is a merchant from Aurangabad and whose name was disclosed in the information received by the ATS, has been brought to the ATS for questioning," it said.

As per the agency, Kunni was supposed to take the heroin in small consignments to Chennai and Kasargod for smuggling it outside the country.

The heroin syndicate originated from Pakistan, where opium obtained from Afghanistan was being converted into heroin, it added.

It further said the Pakistani syndicate was forced to find new routes to smuggle heroin outside that country because of increased vigil by a Combined Task Force-150 (a multi-national coalition naval task force) in the North Arabian Sea and Horn of Africa area.

"Further, due to surplus production of opium in the Taliban-controlled areas of Afghanistan, the supply has increased from Pakistan. It (the syndicate) was exploring the coast of Gujarat to smuggle heroin in India, and recent seizures of 100 kg and 5 kg heroin in Gujarat reflects these efforts by the syndicate," the ATS stated.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)


The AIIMS Karamchari Union has opposed the hospital administration's decision to outsource the operation of its in-house cafeteria, claiming it would lead to rise in prices of food items which only the "highly-paid" staff would be able to afford.

The Union has written to the AIIMS Director urging him to reverse the decision in the interest of patients, employees and visitors.

The union alleged in a statement that the way the tenders have been awarded after "recently spending hefty amount of Rs 15 crore on cafeteria building, turning into a lavish three-storied structure, casts shadow on the intentions of the authorities."



Out of more than 100, only 17 food items have been subsidized, and that too by enhancing their prices, still the authorities are claiming that their step is for the benefit of the patients, it alleged.

Other than the 17 items, prices of other items are likely to be increased even further, the union claimed.

The employees of All India Institute of Medical Sciences who were running the cafeteria are also likely to suffer because of the outsourcing decision, the statement stated.

"The step of outsourcing is clearly aimed at causing undue benefit to the two bidders for reasons known only to the authorities. The employees union are trying to persuade the authorities to reconsider their decision," it said.

Recently, the employees, residents and some doctors took out a protest rally against the decision of the authorities.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Congress and opposition SAD on Saturday engaged in a bitter war of words over Rahul Gandhi's visit to the Golden Temple, with the latter demanding an apology from the ruling party's president for Operation Blue Star and the former accusing the Akalis of playing "shallow" politics.

Gandhi, accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, visited the Golden Temple on late on Friday night, soon after his arrival in Amritsar to mark the centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal held the Congress responsible for the "attack" on the Sikh shrine, also known as Harmandir Sahib.

The Indian Army had carried out Operation Blue Star in June 1984 to flush out militants hiding in the Golden Temple complex.

"Rahul Gandhi's visit is just to gain political mileage. He should have tendered an apology for Operation Blue Star in 1984," she said in Bathinda, adding, "Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh should have asked Rahul to tender apology for the attack on Harmandir Sahib in 1984."



The comments by the Union minister invited sharp reaction from the Congress.

Amarinder Singh tweeted, "Did you, your husband@officeofssbadal or his father, Prakash Singh Badal, ever apologise for your great grandfather, Sardar Sunder Singh Majithia's lavish dinner to Gen Dyer on the day of Jallianwala Bagh massacre?He was later knighted in 1926 for his loyalty and his deeds."



Earlier, Harsimrat Kaur Badal wrote on Twitter, "Pb CM@capt_amarinder took@RahulGandhi to Sri Akal Takht Sahib but lacked courage to ask him admit the@INCIndia's sin of demolishing Sikhs' highest religio-temporal seat with tank & mortars. What a contrast with demand for British apology for #JallianwalaBaghMassacre !"The Punjab chief minister described Harsimrat Kaur Badal's tweet as an "outrageous statement and blatantly politically motivated", and lashed out at the Union minister, her brother Bikram Singh Majithia and the Badal clan for "playing the charade of nationalism to promote their vested political interests".

"I resigned from Parliament and my party in protest against the military action. I was, and still am, fully aware of the implications and consequences of the events of those days," Amarinder Singh said, while quipping that Harsimrat Kaur Badal would have been in school at that time and "totally clueless" of what transpired then.

Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar also attacked the Akalis alleging that the SAD had a "small thinking" and was indulging in "shallow" politics.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi paid floral tributes at the JallianwalaBagh Memorial and said the cost of freedom must never ever be forgotten.

The massacre took place in Jallianwala Bagh during the Baisakhi festival in April 1919. The British Indian Army, under the command of Colonel Dyer, fired machine guns at a crowd holding a pro-independence demonstration, leaving hundreds dead.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Congress and the SAD engaged in a bitter war of words on Saturday over Rahul Gandhi's visit to the Golden Temple, with the latter demanding an apology from the ruling party's president for Operation Blue Star and the former accusing Akalis of indulging in "shallow" politics.

Gandhi, accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, visited the Golden Temple on late on Friday night, soon after his arrival in Amritsar to mark the centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

"Rahul's visit is just to gain political mileage. He should have tendered an apology for Operation Blue Star of 1984," Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said in Bathinda.

The Indian Army had carried out Operation Blue Star in June 1984 to flush out militants hiding in the Golden Temple complex.

Badal held the Congress responsible for the "attack" on the Sikh shrine, also known as Harmandir Sahib.

"Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh should have asked Rahul to tender an apology for the attack on Harmandir Sahib in 1984," she said.

Earlier, she said in a tweet, "Pb CM @capt_amarinder took @RahulGandhi to Sri Akal Takht Sahib but lacked courage to ask him admit the @INCIndia's sin of demolishing Sikhs' highest religio-temporal seat with tanks & mortars. What a contrast with demand for British apology for #JallianwalaBaghMassacre!"



The Union minister's comments drew sharp reactions from the Congress.

"Did you, your husband @officeofssbadal or his father, Parkash Singh Badal, ever apologise for your great grandfather, Sardar Sunder Singh Majithia's lavish dinner to Gen Dyer on the day of Jallianwala Bagh massacre? He was later knighted in 1926 for his loyalty and his deeds," Singh tweeted.

Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar also attacked the Akalis.

He alleged that the SAD had a "small thinking" and was indulging in "shallow" politics.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi paid floral tributes at the JallianwalaBagh Memorial and said the cost of freedom must never ever be forgotten.

The massacre took place in Jallianwala Bagh during the Baisakhi festival in April 1919. The British Indian Army, under the command of Colonel Dyer, fired machine guns at a crowd holding a pro-independence demonstration, leaving hundreds dead.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Algerian civil society groups voiced concern Saturday about toughening police tactics, a day after officers in riot gear clashed with protesters, and reaffirmed their commitment to peaceful pro-democracy rallies.

Friday's initially peaceful rally in central Algiers deteriorated into the worst street violence seen so far since marches began in mid-February demanding an end to the 20-year-rule of president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who finally resigned on April 2, and his regime.

Police used tear gas and water cannon and scuffled with demonstrators, who in turn hurled stones and bottles, set alight at least one police car and turned large dumpsters into barricades.

Injuries were reported on both sides, and activists raised fears that the standoff has entered a new phase.

"Friday's mobilisation was different because of the scale of the repression," according to Said Salhi, vice president of the Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights.

Demonstrators have vowed to push on with rallies against the interim government of Abdelkader Bensalah and its plan for July 4 elections, arguing that leaders who emerged from the Bouteflika "system" cannot guarantee free and fair polls.

Salhi noted that the mood was different from early Friday outside the main post office in central Algiers that has become an emblematic protest site. "It usually starts joyfully at the post office, but there was a desire on the part of the authorities to clear the area," he said.

Salhi said a turning point had come three days earlier when police had for the first time tried to disperse a student demonstration in Algiers with tear gas and water cannon.

Political scientist Cherif Driss said that, while the demonstrations have continued unabated, "the police are trying to refocus, and are beginning to reduce the public space for expression".

Driss added however that "the response remains moderate and professional, with mostly water cannons and tear gas. There is no brutal repression."



Police put Friday's violence down to "delinquents" infiltrating the crowds, and said 108 people had been arrested, while some protesters also blamed "troublemakers" for the clashes.

Driss said it was too early to tell whether Friday's clashes were the result of "a strategy to limit demonstrations or a reaction to groups infiltrating" the protests.

The General Directorate of National Security reported that 83 police had suffered injuries. It denied having resorted to repressive tactics and said it was merely maintaining public order.

Several protesters were also injured, and at least one was hit in the chest by what appeared to be a rubber bullet, said an AFP photographer.

Activist groups stressed their commitment to non-violence.

"The protesters are very committed to the continuation of the movement in its peaceful form," said Abdelwahab Ferfaoui of civic group the Youth Action Rally (RAJ-Algeria). "It's the key to success."



At Friday's clashes, some demonstrators had placed themselves between rioters and police, raising their hands and chanting "silmiya" (peaceful) until the situation calmed, AFP journalists witnessed.

"People did not respond despite the repression, we saw citizens defending police officers," said Salhi.

"But we want to move towards a political solution quickly to avoid desperation. Letting the situation deteriorate until the elections in three months is not a solution.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The BJP Saturday slammed Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan for his controversial "Bajrang Ali " remark, accusing him of trying to flare up communal tension and asking him mind his language.

BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain asked Khan to choose his words wisely.

"With his 'Bajrang Ali' comment, he has insulted both Hinduism and Islam. The only suggestion I have for him is 'zuban sambhal ke' (mind your language). Both Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav have been taught lessons for his comments in the past," he said at a press conference.

"The fear of defeat in their (opposition's) language is very much visible. All they serve to the country is lies," he added.

Khan waded into a controversy Friday, saying "in place of Ali and Bajrangbali, it should be Bajrang Ali. Bajrang Ali todd day dushman ki neli (Bajrang Ali will destroy our enemies' bones)."



Khan made the remark after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath compared the Lok Sabha elections to a contest between Ali', a revered figure in Islam, and Bajrang Bali, the Hindu god Hanuman, during a rally in Meerut recently.

Finding the chief minister guilty of violating the model code of conduct, the Election Commission served a show cause notice on him.

Hussain also attacked National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah for his comments that the BJP is "beating drums in the name of Balakot airstrikes".

"Congress ally Farooq Abdullah is making anti-national statements again and Rahul Gandhi should clarify whether his party supports these statements or not," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday tore into the Congress, charging it with seeking votes of Muslims by showing them the fear of BJP even though atrocities like Bhagalpur riots and unlocking of the Babri mosque premises had taken place during its rule.

Addressing a rally in this muslim-dominated constituency where his party has put up its own candidate, the firebrand Hyderabad MP said I had warned you people during the 2015 assembly polls not to be fooled by the promises of the so-called Mahagathbandhan. You did not pay heed and ended up voting for Nitish Kumar who is now sitting in the BJPs lap.

You must not repeat the same mistake again when haath (Congress poll symbol) wallahs are again seeking your votes with nothing more to offer other than the fear of BJP. You must not forget this party was in power in Bihar as well as at the Centre when the Bhagalpur riots took place and when the premises of the Babri Masjid were unlocked, Owaisi said.

You must also ask the Congress why it stopped its own late MP Asrarul Haque, who represented this constituency, from speaking on the triple talaq debate on the floor of the Parliament, he said.

BJP president Amit Shah is openly threatening to drive out your community from Assam in the name of implementing the National Registry for Citizens. And all we hear from the Congress is breast beating with the refrain what can we do. We have only one MP from the state, Owaisi remarked sarcastically.

Are they unmindful of the power of one. A tiger roams around alone and still rules the jungle. And God Almighty is also one, the fiery orator said with his trademark flourish.

Training his guns at Nitish Kumar, Owaisi said the Bihar Chief Minister had immense love for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the two make a pair as perfect as that of Laila and Majnu.

Notably, Kumar had snapped his 17-year-old ties with the BJP in 2013 expressing disagreement with the party projecting Narendra Modi as the Prime Ministerial candidate.

After the Mahagathbandhan, which came into being when he joined hands with arch rival Lalu Prasads RJD and the Congress, trounced the NDA in 2015 assembly polls he again returned to the BJP-led coalition in 2017.

The Seemanchal region (north-eastern Bihar, bordering West Bengal and Bangladesh) has been neglected by all those who have represented this region in elected bodies. Give your votes to our candidate Akhtar-ul-Imam. He will ensure the regions well-being single-handedly on the lines of the solitary battle I am waging on the triple talaq issue, Owaisi added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Claiming that the BJP has a tactical understanding with Pakistan on the Kashmir issue, senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily demanded to know the basis of Imran Khan's support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the ongoing elections.

The former Union Minister also charged Modi with adopting a "Hitler-kind of attitude", stoking an "atmosphere of hatred in the country and thereby destroying all institutions".

If the Congress comes to power, Moily said it will initiate probes into the functioning of the BJP government during the past five years in which the "nation was misled and kept in the dark" over several important issues like Rafale deal.

"Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has openly supported Narendra Modi as a pre-condition for talks on bilateral resolution of the Kashmir dispute which clearly shows that there is a tactical understanding between the BJP and the Pakistan Prime Minister," the Congress leader told PTI.

Khan's support and also the suggestion that Modi would bring in better ties between the two nations indicate a secret understanding, perhaps compromising the interest of India on Kashmir, he said.

Observing that a war-kind of situation always prevailed during the BJP regime, Moily said, "Everytime the BJP comes to power, there is an escalation of hostility between India and Pakistan, it may be Kargil or attack on Indian Parliament under the Vajpayee government or Balakot and Pulwama under the current regime."



Ridiculing Modi for his 56-inch chest claim, the former Karnataka chief minister said, "Where is the need to demonstrate even if he has one?



of love is totally alien to him which has vitiated the political atmosphere in the country."As a result of the 56-inch chest narrative, Pakistan has for the first time openly admitted that it has an atom bomb, he added.

Asserting that the Congress will probe functioning of the Modi government if it comes to power, Moily said, "We will investigate all actions taken during the current BJP's tenure, that include demonetisation, the Balakot attack and sacking of intelligence chief and ferrying of CRPF personnel in a bus despite intelligence input to the contrary."



On Congress's prospects in the current Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka, Moily said the party will win at least 21 seats out of 28 in alliance with the JD(S).

"The Congress and the JD(S) will win at least 21 seats. It could be possible to repeat 1971 when all 27 seats were won by the Congress. This is mainly because the Modi wave is fast waning and he is assuming a Hitler-kind of personality which will be devastating for the country in case he is put in any position of authority," he said.

Both the Congress and the JD(S) are working as a team forgetting differences with a sole aim to defeat the BJP, which has terribly failed to implement its 2014 election promises and created an atmosphere of "fear" among people, he said.

The Congress and the JD(S) are in alliance contesting in 21 seats and 7 seats respectively in the current Lok Sabha elections.

Moily, however, refused make any assessment on the number of seats that the BJP or the Congress would win at the national level saying it will definitely be a Congress-led government in which regional parties may have a say based on pre and post-poll alliances.

Expressing concern over the possibility of EVMs being rigged in this election, the former union minister said the Supreme Court judgement on VVPATs is "too little to check manipulation" as monitoring five machines in a constituency is too less.

He accused the BJP of introducing " of hatred" and said, "This must end and pave way for of love. This can only be started by Rahul Gandhi."



Modi, he said, has all qualities like "false ego and anger", which is not desirable from a national leader.

He further said that the BJP talks of corruption but is least interested in checking it.

"It was during my tenure as Union Law Minister that the Congress brought in a Lokpal bill but it has taken five years for the BJP to implement it and that too



under pressure of the impending elections," he said.

"Rahul Gandhi has been consistently fighting on the issue of corruption by bringing the issue of Rafale deal. Now even the apex court sees something amiss and agreed to the probe," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pitted against his former colleague Pratap Patil Chikhlikar, who is contesting on BJP ticket from Nanded Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra, senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan Saturday attacked Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the ruling party, saying voters won't tolerate "liars".

Patil Chikhlikar, a former Youth Congress leader from Nanded in Marathwada region of the state, is taking on Chavan on the latter's home turf, which has always remained the citadel of the Congress party.

"Those who have to import candidates from other parties should not give advise to the people of Nanded. Tell us what happened to the promises like depositing Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts of the people, the increased MSP (Minimum Support Price), and giving two crore jobs. People of Nanded do not tolerate liars," Chavan, who heads the Congress in Maharashtra, said in a statement.

He said the BJP had to "import" candidate from other parties, as the ruling party has failed to find a strong candidate from its fold.

"The Chief Minister does not have a moral right to give advice to the people of Nanded. They know who has worked from them," said Chavan who was one of the two leaders of the Congress who withstood the Narendra Modi wave in 2014 elections in Maharashtra.

He said the people from Nanded had defeated the "imported" candidates in the municipal corporation elections held earlier.

"That history will repeat in the Lok Sabha elections as well," the former chief minister said.

He said the BJP was shying away from talking about burning issues, and is instead politicising armed forces to derive a political mileage.

"Around 15,000 farmers have committed suicide in the last five years in Maharashtra. The state is facing worst kind of drought," he said, adding that the BJP's flagship "Jalyukt Shivar" scheme, which was aimed at increasing the irrigation potential in the state, has come as a cropper.

He accused the government of failing to effectively implement drought mitigation measures, saying the people from rural areas are forced to migrate in the search of jobs.

Chavan reiterated his allegations regarding the farmer loan waiver scheme and the government's promise to ensure that farmers are paid MSP 1.5 times the production cost.

Nanded constituency comprises Bhokar, Nanded North, Nanded South, Naigaon, Deglur and Mukhed assembly segments.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The election authorities in Srinagar have issued a notice to BJP candidate from the Srinagar Parliamentary constituency Sheikh Khalid Jehangir for violating the poll code by interacting with first-time voters at a hotel here.

Jehangir had Friday posted pictures on Twitter of BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav interacting with the first-time voters in Srinagar.

"Shri @rammadhavbjp ji interacts with first time voters in Srinagar. He told the first time voters that those who cast their votes in Kashmir so far were only being remembered during votes and are being forgotten after the elections are over," Jehangir had tweeted.

Taking note of the meeting, the additional deputy commissioner of Srinagar, who is the nodal officer of the model code of conduct (MCC), issued a show-cause notice to Jehangir on Friday.

"You have reportedly held an interactive session with the first-time voters at Grand Palace, Srinagar, on April 12 without seeking prior permission from the District Election Officer, Srinagar, which clearly envisages that the expenses incurred thereof were also concealed," the notice said.

The notice granted Jehangir 24 hours to explain his conduct.

"As your action is in violation of the model code of conduct and the guidelines issued by the Election Commission on two accounts one, you have not sought prior permission, and second, your conduct leads to the concealment of expenditures thereof you are accordingly directed to explain your conduct within 24 hours failing which it would be brought to the notice of the Election Commission for appropriate action," the notice read.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday dubbed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a "big fascist leader" running the country as per his whims, and urged people to not "waste" their votes on the Congress and the CPI(M).

She reiterated that her party, the Trinamool Congress, will play an important role in ousting Modi, and forming the new government.

Banerjee hit out at the BJP for taking out armed Ram Navami rallies at various parts of the state, and accused the saffron party of trying to disturb the peaceful atmosphere of Bengal.

"A big fascist leader is running the country and claiming himself to be a 'chowkidar' of the masses. He has to be defeated at any cost and Trinamool will play an important role in the formation of government at the Centre," she said at an election rally in Siliguri in support of TMC candidate Amar Singh Rai.

Claiming that her phones are being tapped, she said the BJP is curbing people's democratic rights and every institution in the country has been undermined.

Banerjee claimed that the CPI(M) will not win a single seat in the state.

"The CPI(M)-BJP-Congress have an understanding. We have seen that during the panchayat elections. Congress will also not be able to form a government on its own. Regional parties will play an important role.

"Do not waste your votes on the Congress and the CPI(M). Wherever regional parties are contesting, they must be strengthened," she said.

The CM also slammed the BJP for trying to gain political advantage by using religion as a tool to mislead people.

"BJP spreads hate and violence. They even seek votes in the name of armed forces. This is deplorable. Religion does not preach violence and hate. It stands for humanism... Whose throat do you want to slit with swords? Whose head do you want to smash with the mace?" Banerjee asked.

The TMC supremo said some BJP leaders claim that she has stopped Durga Puja and Saraswati Puja in Bengal. "Can they even recite the mantras of Durga Puja and Saraswati Puja?"



Dalits and minorities have been "persecuted" in the last five years, Banerjee said, asserting that "every" vote will ensure the defeat of Modi.

She maintained that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) will not be allowed in West Bengal.

"They (BJP) say that they will conduct NRC in Bengal. But, I assure you that I will not allow it in my state," she said.

Banerjee also took a jibe at the saffron party and said the TMC has fielded a 'bhumiputra' (son of the soil) from the Darjeeling seat, unlike the BJP, which has nominated a candidate who hails from Manipur.

"It's sad that the BJP could not find a candidate in Darjeeling and had to bring someone from Manipur to fight the elections," she said.

West Bengal has a total of 42 Lok Sabha seats, third highest after Uttar Pradesh's 80 and Maharashtra's 48.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Police in Vietnam issued an arrest warrant on Saturday for the brother of the country's richest man for allegedly bribing officials in a telecoms scandal, state-run media reported, a shocking development as the communist state widens its crackdown on corruption.

A conservative leadership that came to power in the one-party state in 2016 has carried out the sweeping campaign, going after high-rolling executives once thought to be untouchable in Vietnam, one of Asia's most corrupt countries.

Dozens have been jailed already, mostly from the country's lucrative finance and state-run oil sectors, sending a chill through business and political circles.

The latest ensnared in the anti-corruption drive is Pham Nhat Vu, the former chairman of a television company Audio Visual Global (AVG), whose brother has a net worth of USD 7.6 billion according to Forbes.

Vu is caught up in a scandal that erupted last year when the government started investigating state-run Mobifone telecommunications' attempted purchase of AVG.

While the deal did not go through, officials have said it would have caused USD 300 million in losses to state coffers.

Police have "decided to investigate, arrest and search the house of Vu...who has been accused of providing bribes," reported online newspaper Cong An Nhan Dan, the public security ministry's mouthpiece on Saturday.

The amount Vu is alleged to have paid in bribes was not reported.

Vu's older brother Pham Nhat Vuong is Vietnam's richest man and the head of VinGroup, the country's largest conglomerate with a portfolio that includes holiday resorts, luxury condominiums, shopping malls, convenience stores and supermarkets across the country.

Vuong's cradle-to-grave empire is also making Vietnam's first homegrown cars and smartphones and is the financial backer for the country's first Formula One race next year.

But the family keeps a very low public profile like other wealthy elites in the country who have kept their heads down amid the anti-corruption sweep.

Two of Mobifone's top executives were arrested last year for their role in the scandal, and high-ranking state officials, including two former communications ministers, have been caught in the crackdown as well for their involvement in the loss-making AVG deal.

Vietnam is among Asia's fastest-growing growing economies, but it has long been plagued by endemic corruption.

According to Transparency International, the country ranks 117 out of 180 countries on the corruption index, behind Thailand and the Philippines.

The anti-graft drive has been spearheaded by the longtime conservative apparatchik Nguyen Phu Trong, the communist party chief who last year also became president, consolidating two of the country's top roles to become Vietnam's most powerful man.

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BJP president Amit Shah Saturday accused the Congress of doing 'Ilu Ilu' with terrorists, in an apparent reference to a popular Bollywood love song from the nineties.

In the song, 'Ilu Ilu' is an acronym for I love you.

"Rahul baba's guru Sam Pitorda said do not bomb (Pakistan) but negotiate... Rahul baba if your party wants to do 'Ilu Ilu' with terrorists you can do that. But our intention is clear, if a shot is fired, we will reply with a bomb," Shah said here, addressing an election meeting in support of BJP's Badaun candidate Sanghmitra Maurya.

Shah claimed that during the Congress's 10-year tenure, no action was taken even when terrorists took away heads of Indian soldiers.

"This time it was the Narendra Modi government and not 'mauni baba' Manmohan Singh... within 13 days of the attack, the Indian Air Force went into Pakistan, bombed the terror camps and returned," the BJP president said, referring to the Pulwama attack.

He added that BJP workers in Kashmir will ensure that it remains part of India and intruders are thrown out of the country.

Training his guns at the opposition's 'mahagathbandhan', Shah said the country would have a new prime minister everyday of the week if the grand alliance comes to power.

"On one side is the BJP led by Narendra Modi which is working for the country. On the other side is the 'mahagatbandhan' of Rahul Baba, 'behan' (sister) Mayawati, 'bhatija' (nephew) Akhilesh, Congress and others... I ask who is your (opposition's) leader... it is clear that Modi is our leader and will be the PM, but who is your leader... no one is telling but I will tell," he said.

"On Monday it will be Mamata Banerjee, on Tuesday it will be Mayawati, on Wednesday it will be Chandrababu Naidu, on Thursday it will be Deve Gowda, on Friday... on Saturday it will be Mulayam Singh Yadav," he added.

"Can any government be run like this? Who will look after the security of the country? Can this 'gathbandhan' look after the security of the country?" the BJP president asked.

Shah claimed people across India were chanting Modi's name and they had decided to make him the prime minister once again.

He exhorted the electorate of Badaun, from where the Samajwadi Party's Dharmendra Yadav had won in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, to join the development journey by voting for Maurya.

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The BJP Saturday accused the Congress of using its state governments like ATMs to pump "illicit money" into its general election campaign and claimed that if the opposition party comes to power, it will practice corruption.

BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi cited documents to hurl "Tughlaq Road poll scam", a term often used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to target the Congress in his speeches, barb at the rival party.

It is shocking to know that the Congress was using its state governments for collecting money to fight elections, she alleged at a press conference and claimed that Congress-run state governments have become "election ATMs" for the party.

She also named several people who were raided by probe agencies recently to claim they were involved in channelling "illicit" money to the Congress.

There was no immediate reaction from the Congress, which has repeatedly accused the Modi government of using investigation agencies to target its political rivals.

Income tax raids were conducted across 52 places and Rs 281 crore was recovered, she said.

Several people given cash are mostly Lok Sabha candidates from Madhya Pradesh and it is sad that money is being diverted from funds allocated for the poor, Lekhi said.

Accusing the Congress of being directly involved in this "scam", she alleged that if it comes to power, corruption will become a trade.

BJP leader Gaurav Bhatia also attacked the Congress over the issue, alleging since it has come to power in states like Madhya Pradesh, it has been involved in various "scams" to make money to influence the general election.

Modi had recently alleged that Madhya Pradesh has become an ATM for the Congress,as he cited IT raids to target the party.

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The BJP and the Congress blamed each other besides charging the ruling AAP for sealing drive at west Delhi's Mayapuri on Saturday which witnessed violent protest by locals resulting in use of force by police.

Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit condemned use of force by police in Mayapuri, blaming the Centre and the MCD, both ruled by the BJP, for sealing



"There was collusion of the Centre and the MCD in sealing at Mayapuri. Congress condemns brutal lathicharge on the people," she said.

Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari lodged a complaint against the AAP, with Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi alleging sealing drive was being conducted selectively during imposition of model code of conduct. He urged the poll panel for intervention to halt it.

"Arvind Kejriwal who is blaming the Centre and criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi is exposed today as the Delhi Pollution Control Committee and local SDM, who conducted the sealing in Mayapuri, come under Delhi government," Tiwari said.

He also said the AAP and Congress did not sincerely oppose the sealing drive and held them responsible for the incident at Mayapuri. He claimed that BJP workers along with locals protested against sealing as it was conducted on the day of Ram Navami.

"The use of police and para military for sealing on the day of Ram Navami shows Kejriwal is an enemy of festivals," he blamed.

Delhi Congress spokesperson Jitendra Kochar held the AAP government and BJP-ruled MCD responsible for sealing and use of police force against local people.

"When Congress was in power it brought an ordinance to stop sealing, but at a time when the AAP and the BJP are in power, people are being tortured with it," Kochar said.

If Congress comes back to power after Lok Sabha polls, sealing will be stopped through an ordinance within 10 days, he claimed.

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Curfew remained in force in Kishtwar town of Jammu and Kashmir for the fifth day on Saturday after an RSS leader was shot dead by militants in the communally-sensitive region earlier this week, officials said.

Internet services continued to be suspended as a precautionary measure in the district, but it was restored in nearby Doda and Ramban districts on Friday night, the officials said.

"Curfew is being strictly implemented in the town and adjoining areas to maintain law and order," Kishtwar District Development Commissioner A S Rana told PTI.

Army columns are assisting the CRPF and the police, the official said.

The curfew was promulgated in the town and adjoining areas on Tuesday after RSS leader Chanderkant Sharma and his security guard was shot dead by militants at a health centre.

Minor protests were reported from some interior localities, but the situation remained well under control, the officials said.

Some people, who were allowed to visit temples in the interior localities for the Ram Navami festival, raised slogans and later dispersed off peacefully, the officials said.

There was no violation of curfew reported from anywhere, the officials said.

"The situation will be reviewed later in the day to take a decision about the relaxation for the day," Rana said.

The curfew was relaxed in a phased manner, for the first time since its imposition, on Friday evening.

Police had picked up several overground workers for interrogation in connection with the incident and massive house-to-house searches were also going on.

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The Election Commission has written to the Telugu Desam Party asking how a person with criminal antecedents could be a part of a delegation led by its chief N Chandrababu Naidu during his visit to the poll panel on Saturday.

The EC in its letter has said when Naidu visited, he was accompanied by one Hari Prasad who repeatedly raised various technical issues regarding functioning of EVMs and claimed that he had the technical expertise in the field.

The letter stated that it was decided that Prasad would get a detailed briefing from the technical team of the EC.

"However, when this technical person came it turned out that he was Hari Prasad who was involved in a criminal case regarding alleged theft of EVM machine in 2010 which an FIR was filed...Whatever maybe the eventual outcome of the investigation, it would be appreciated that such antecedents do not inspire confidence.

"This is completely intriguing as to how a so called technical expert with these antecedents was allowed to be part of the delegation led by N Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and President, TDP," the letter from EC, addressed to the president of the party's legal cell, said.

The Andhra Pradesh chief minister met Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora here and submitted a memorandum alleging that a large number of EVMs malfunctioned during polling in the state on Thursday and inadequate security led to incidents of violence.

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Police have made four more arrests from Thane in Maharashtra in the alleged fake paramedical certificates case, taking the number of arrests to 17 so far, an official said Saturday.

The four accused who were arrested on April 11 were working as pharmacists at various medical shops in the city.

The arrests were part of an investigation into the fake certificate racket which was busted by crime branch in January this year.

Police had then arrested 13 persons, including the chairman of a paramedical organisation, and the chairman of a Pune-based Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad, which is not recognised by the state government.

Police said some students had secured fake class 10 and class 12 certificates from the Pune-based organisation, and used them to get admission in D.Pharm and B.Pharm courses.

The students completed the pharmacy courses and used the qualification certificates to get jobs as pharmacists, they said in a release.

The four arrested persons are identified as Kamlesh Patel, 23, Jagdish Choudhari, 42, Vazaram Choudhari, 36, and Chunilal Choudhari, 50.

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France waived taxes worth 143.7 million euros to a French-registered telecom subsidiary of Anil Ambani's Reliance Communications in 2015, months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of buying 36 Rafale jets, leading French newspaper Le Monde reported Saturday, giving a fresh twist to the deal in the middle of the Lok Sabha polls.

While the French embassy here said a global settlement was reached with the firm under legislative and regulatory framework, the defence ministry said any connections drawn between the tax issue and the Rafale deal was totally "inaccurate" and "tendentious".

In October 2015, six months after Modi announced in Paris about the Rafale deal, the French tax authorities accepted 7.3 million euros from Reliance Flag Atlantic France as a settlement as against original demand of 151 million euros, the French newspaper reported.

As per current exchange rate, the amount waived was Rs 1,123 crore. Reliance Flag owns a terrestrial cable network and other telecom infrastructure in France.

Following the report, the Congress stepped up its attack on the government on the Rafale deal and alleged that the Reliance received the tax waiver due to Modi's "blessings" and that he acted as a "middleman" for Ambani.

In its reaction, Reliance Communications rejected any wrongdoing and said the tax dispute was settled under legal framework which is available for all companies operating in France.

Modi had announced the procurement of a batch of 36 Rafale jets after talks with the then French President Francois Hollande on April 10, 2015 in Paris. The final deal was sealed on September 23, 2016.

The Congress has been alleging massive irregularities in the deal and has been targeting the government over selection of Ambani-owned Reliance Defence as an offset partner for Dassault Aviation. The government has rejected the allegations.

The French embassy, in a statement, said a global settlement was reached between the French tax authorities and Reliance company, in a tax dispute pertaining to the period 2008-2012.

"This settlement was conducted in full adherence with the legislative and regulatory framework governing this common practice of the tax administration. It was not subject to any political interference whatsoever," it said.

The defence ministry said neither the period of the tax concession nor the subject matter of the concession relate even remotely to the Rafale procurement.

"Any connections drawn between the tax issue and the Rafale matter is totally inaccurate, tendentious and is a mischievous attempt to dis-inform," it said.

The French newspaper said the company was investigated by French tax authorities and found liable to pay 60 million euros in taxes for the period 2007 to 2010.

However, Reliance offered to pay 7.6 million euros only as a settlement but it was French tax authorities refused to accept the amount. The authorities conducted another probe for the period 2010 to 2012 and asked the company to pay an additional 91 million euros in taxes, the report said.

It said by April 2015, the total amount owed by Reliance to the French authorities in taxes was at least 151 million euros.

In October, six months after Modi announced in Paris about the Rafale deal, the French authorities accepted 7.3 million euros from Reliance as a settlement as against the original demand of 151 million euros.

A spokesperson of Reliance Communications said the tax demands were "completely unsustainable and illegal" and that the company denied any favouritism or gain from the settlement.

"During the period under consideration by the French Tax Authorities - 2008-2012 i.e. nearly 10 years ago, Flag France had an operating loss of Rs 20 crore (Euro 2.7 million). French tax authorities had raised a tax demand of over Rs 1100 crore for the same period," the official said.

"As per the French tax settlement process as per law, a mutual settlement agreement was signed to pay Rs 56 crore as a final settlement," he said.

Following the story, Congress upped the ante against Modi on the deal.

"This is called zero sum choices, startling tax concession and Modi 'kripa' (blessings)," Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told reporters.

He claimed "layers of crony capitalism" involving Modi and Ambani are now being unveiled.

"PM Modi is acting as middleman for Anil Ambani. How many other companies in France have got a tax benefit? Is this not a quid pro quo for the purchase of aircraft? It is clear only one watchman is the thief," Surjewala alleged.

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A girl allegedly committed suicide after being raped by her father in Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, police said.

The accused father has been arrested, a police spokesman said.

The girl, a resident of Aragam Bandipora, consumed some poisonous substance at her home and was rushed to a hospital, where she died, he said.

The body will be handed over to her relatives after completion of medico-legal formalities, the spokesman said.

A case under relevant sections has been registered and the matter is being investigated, he said.

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The Goa Congress Saturday filed a complaint with the state's Chief Electoral Officer against a speech by BJP president Amit Shah which the opposition party claimed was a "grave intimidating threat against minorities especially Christians and Muslims in Goa".

Shah, during a rally in Darjeeling in West Bengal on April 11, had reportedly said minorities, especially Christians and Muslims, will be removed from the country as infiltrators, claimed Goa Congress spokesperson Sunil Kawathankar, who has filed the complaint with the CEO.

"He had said the BJP will remove every infiltrator except Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs. If the BJP leader had said that he will remove infiltrators, that was okay but giving it a religious colour has created communal discord and fear and anxiety in the minds of people of minority communities," Kawathankar's complaint reads.

The Goa Congress leader has further alleged that Shah, by stating that the BJP would implement the National Register of Citizens across the country if re-elected, had violated Article 25-28 of the Constitution.

"This is a direct threat to Christians, Muslims and those communities who have found mention in the BJP leader's speech," he said.

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AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said BJP chief Amit Shah would be Union home minister if the NDA under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is re-elected.

He also slammed Shah for a recent comment at a poll rally in West Bengal that the BJP, if re-elected, would remove infiltrators from the country, except those who are Hindu, Buddhist or Sikh.

"A dangerous game is going on. You have to keep it in mind when you go to vote. Everyone says if Narendra Modi becomes prime minister, then Amit Shah will be next home minister of India," Kejriwal said addressing AAP workers at Margao town in South Goa.

"You can imagine what will happen to a country whose home minister would be Amit Shah," Kejriwal claimed.

Shah is contesting from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat, were polling for all 26 seats will be held in a single phase on April 23.

"He (Shah) has said that if they (BJP-led NDA) come back to power, they will remove every single infiltrator from the country except (those who are) Hindu, Buddhist or Sikh. Amit Shah feels every Christian, Muslim, Parsi, Jain who lives in the country is an infiltrator. This is a dangerous statement," Kejriwal said.

The Delhi Chief Minister said Shah's statement is more relevant and disturbing for states like Goa where over 40 per cent of the population belong to the minority communities.

"Goa has 15 lakh people and around 40 per cent of them are minorities. How will he (Shah) implement it (removal of infiltrators) in Goa? What will these six lakh people do? Will he throw them in the sea or lynch them? Will he create riots?" he questioned.

AAP is fighting both the Lok Sabha seats in Goa.

Its state convener Elvis Gomes is contesting from the South Goa seat and general secretary Pradeep Padgaonkar from the North Goa seat.

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An artificial intelligence research laboratory opened by Google in Ghana, the first of its kind in Africa, will take on challenges across the continent, researchers say.

The US technology giant said the lab in the capital Accra would address economic, political and environmental issues.

"Africa has many challenges where the use of AI could be beneficial, sometimes even more than in other places," Google's head of AI Accra, Moustapha Cisse, told AFP at the centre's official opening this week.

Similar research centres have already opened in cities around the world including Tokyo, Zurich, New York and Paris.

The new lab, Cisse said, would use AI to develop solutions in healthcare, education and agriculture -- such as helping to diagnose certain types of crop disease.

Cisse, an expert from Senegal, said he hoped specialist engineers and AI researchers would collaborate with local organisations and policymakers.

Google is working with universities and start-ups in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa to enhance AI development regionally, he said.

"We just need to ensure that the right education and opportunities are in place," he said.

"That is why Google is sponsoring a lot of these young people for their degrees... to help develop a new generation of AI developers."



Other tech companies, including Facebook, have launched initiatives in Africa and demographics are a key factor behind the drive.

Africa's population is estimated to be 1.2 billion, 60 percent of them under the age of 24.

By 2050, the UN estimates the population will double to 2.4 billion. As online social networks expand, that presents a huge market for US tech giants to tap into.

"There's a clear opportunity for companies like Facebook and Google to really go in and put a pole in the sand," said Daniel Ives, a technology researcher at GBH Insights in New York.

"If you look at Netflix, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, where is a lot of that growth coming from? It's international," he told AFP in a recent interview.

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BJP resident Amit Shah will hold a roadshow in Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat, from where he is contesting, on Sunday.

This would the BJP chief's third roadshow in the constituency, the earlier ones being held on March 30, when Shah filed his nomination papers, and April 6 to mark the party's foundation day.

BJP leaders here said Shah will begin his roadshow at Kalol in Gandhinagar district by garlanding the statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar to mark the birth anniversary of the architect of the Indian Constitution.

Shah, who replaced party patriarch LK Advani from the seat, is pitted against the Congress' CJ Chavda.

Elections to all 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat will be held on April 23.

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These are the top stories from the northern region at 6.15 pm



BADAUN ELN32 UP-RALLY-LD MAYAWATI



Badaun (UP): Giving her own twist to a recent remark by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, BSP chief Mayawati Saturday said her party wanted both Ali and Bajrang Bali -- particularly Bajrang Bali as the deity is "linked with my own Dalit caste".

AMRITSAR DEL2 PB-JALLIANWALA-LD RAHUL



Amritsar: Congress president Rahul Gandhi paid floral tributes at the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial on Saturday to mark the centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and said the cost of freedom must never be forgotten.

AMRITSAR DEL3 PB-JALLIANWALA-BRITISH ENVOY



Amritsar: British High Commissioner to India Dominic Asquith, who laid a wreath at the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial here on Saturday to mark the centenary of the massacre, said Britain deeply regretted the incident that took place on this day a hundred years ago.

SHIMLA DES4 HP-DALITS-CREMATION



Shimla: A Dalit family was reportedly compelled to cremate an elderly woman in a jungle after some upper caste people allegedly did not allow them to use the village crematorium in Fozal valley of Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district



NOIDA ELX6 NCR-NOIDA-POLL SPENDING



Noida (UP): Over 80 per cent of the poll spending by the candidates in Gautam Buddh Nagar constituency was by the nominees of the BJP, BSP and Congress with Union Minister Mahesh Sharma accounting for a third of the total Rs 1.24 crore, official data showed.

NEW DELHI ELN1 DL-CEO-NAMO TV



(Recasting overnight story)



New Delhi: The Delhi poll body has directed the BJP not to air any content on NaMo TV without its certification, a day after the Election Commission directed that all recorded programmes displayed on the platform be pre-certified, officials said.

DEHRADUN ELX2 UKD-FINAL POLL PERCENTAGE



Dehradun: A voter turnout of 61.50 per cent was recorded in Uttarakhand which went to polls in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections on Thursday.

LUCKNOW ELX20 UP-MODI LOOKALIKE-NOTICE



Lucknow: A Narendra Modi lookalike who is contesting the Lok Sabha elections has been served notice for violating the poll code over what he calls is his slogan "one vote, one note".

BADAUN ELN20 UP-AMIT SHAH



Badaun (UP): BJP president Amit Shah Saturday accused the Congress of doing 'Ilu Ilu' with terrorists, in an apparent reference to a popular Bollywood love song from the nineties.

BALLIA ELX17 UP-MODI TEMPLE



Ballia (UP): At a time when devotees across the country are observing fast for goddess Durga, worshippers in an Uttar Pradesh temple are doing so for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's return to power.

JAMMU DES8 JK-ARMY-CEASEFIRE VIOLATIONS



Jammu; As many as 513 ceasefire violations by Pakistan have taken place along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir in the past one-and-a-half month and the Pakistan Army has suffered five to six times more casualties than the Indian Army in the retaliatory action, a senior officer said Saturday.

SRINAGAR DEL9 JK-2NDLD ENCOUNTER



Srinagar: Two Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants involved in the killing of a number of civilians and police personnel were on Saturday gunned down by security forces in an encounter in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

VARANASI NRG4 UP-GANGSTER



Varanasi: A wanted criminal, who was on the run after allegedly killing a BHU student, has been arrested following an exchange of fire with police.

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Himachal Pradesh Governor Acharya Devvrat has accepted the resignation of Anil Sharma as Power Minister, a Raj Bhawan spokesperson said Saturday.

The governor accepted Anil Sharma's resignation on the recommendation of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, he added.

The chief minister will take care of Anil Sharma's portfolio of Multi Purpose Projects and Power, Non Conventional Energy Sources, the spokesperson said.

Anil Sharma resigned from the BJP government on Friday, days after the Congress fielded his son Aashray Sharma as its candidate from the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency.

He said that he would not campaign against his son and in support of BJP candidate Ram Swaroop Sharma in Mandi.

Anil Sharma has been under pressure from the Bharatiya Janata Party after his father, former Union minister Sukh Ram, quit the saffron party and joined the Congress along with Aashray Sharma last month.

After resignation from the state BJP cabinet, Anil Sharma told PTI, "I will not resign as an MLA and from the party. I will remain the BJP MLA."



Meanwhile, BJP state president Satpal Singh Satti has asked Anil Sharma to resign as an MLA and from the BJP.

In a statement issued here Saturday, Satti said Anil Sharma had crossed all the limits of "indiscipline" by issuing statements against BJP candidate Ram Swaroop Sharma.

"Sukh Ram's family is a turncoat family as they have switched on their loyalties several times," he said.

"Anil Sharma has no right to remain in the BJP and he should resign from its membership on moral grounds," Satti said.

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Even as the BJP is eyeing to retain all the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, the Congress has high hopes from seats like Amreli, a predominantly agrarian region, as it feels that farm issues will be a key factor since farmers there are "unhappy" with the Modi government.

The Congress has fielded its leader of opposition in Gujarat Assembly, Paresh Dhanani, from Amreli seat located in Saurastra region, against two-time BJP MP Naran Kachhadiya.

The opposition party claims that since the farmers are not happy with the Modi government, they would vote against the ruling party this time. However, the BJP had won all the 26 seats in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014 and the saffron party wants to repeat its performance.

Amreli constituency is primarily an agrarian district as the region lacks proper ecosystem for industrial development.

Of the seven Assembly constituencies falling under Amreli Lok Sabha seat, Congress had won five in the 2017 Gujarat elections.

Patidar agitation led by Hardik Patel had helped the Congress against the BJP to some extent. However, this time the factor may not make much difference.

Congress believes that a more serious issue of farmers distress and their "anger" towards the ruling party will help it clinch the Lok Sabha seat.

Promises made by the Congress in the manifesto to have a separate farmers' budget have found support among the voters in Amreli, along with the assurances of loan waiver and ending the system of making non-payment of loan a criminal offence, the party leaders believe.

"Nearly everyone here is engaged in farming activity, directly or indirectly. And they all understand that the Modi government has failed in fulfilling the tall promises it had made to them, including that of doubling of farmers' income. Besides, demonetisation has hurt the people badly," district Congress president Ashok Sosa said.

"In our manifesto, we have promised to address all the issues, and voters from the farming community are with us," he says.

Kanji Der, a farmer from Lathi taluka in the district, says farmers in his village feel cheated as the BJP-led state government did not give benefits due to them although the area was declared drought-hit.

There are also allegations that crop insurance was not being paid to farmers by private insurers and the government.

Farmers allege that the central and state governments introduced compulsory crop insurance policy to benefit private parties.

"Forget doubling our income, the government came up with a system to take away our money in the form of crop insurance. Even if we are paid, it is a pittance," Der said.

The constituency, which comprises parts of Amreli and Bhavnagar districts, has a dominant presence of Patidar and Koli communities.

Dhanani had won the Amreli assembly seat in 2017 and was made the party's leader of opposition in state assembly, while Kachhadiya is seeking his re-election for the third time after winning two previous elections.

Kachhadiya is banking on his performance as an MP and lists the works delivered by him in the last five years, including conversion of metre-gauge line into broad-gauge, which was approved in the last budget; national highway projects improving connectivity to Amreli, and an FM radio station in Amreli.

Senior BJP leader Dileep Sanghani says the BJP has addressed issues affecting farmers and the party is confident of winning another term.

"Patidar quota agitation, which helped the Congress in 2017, is no longer an issue. In our manifesto, we have promised to address issues concerning farmers.

"In the Assembly polls, the Congress had won five out of seven seats (under this LS cosntituency), but a combined difference of vote was only 50,000, which we have managed to reverse," Sanghani, who represented Amreli for four terms- in 1991, 1996, 1998 and 1999- said.

"In our manifesto, we have promised to address issues of farmers by making the crop insurance policy a voluntary one, and we have already transferred Rs 2,000 into their accounts (under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme)," he says.

There are a total 16,27,980 registered voters in Amreli constituency, which the Congress had last won in 2004.

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A four-cornered fight is on cards in Nashik Lok Sabha constituency in north Maharashtra, where sitting Shiv Sena MP Hemant Godse is not only facing the challenge from NCP's Sameer Bhujbal and a former Shiv Sena MLA, but is also battling an old poll jinx.

Interestingly, no sitting MP in this constituency has managed to win again since 1952, except in 1971 when Congress' Bhanudas Kavade managed to retain the seat after winning it earlier in 1967.

Godse had defeated NCP leader and former deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal by 1.87 lakh votes in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Apart from Sameer Bhujbal, who is nephew of Chhagan Bhujbal, Godse is facing challenge from Independent candidate and former BJP MLA Manikrao Kokate, and Pawan Pawar of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), which is led by Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi.

The Shiv Sena and the BJP have formed a front to contest the Lok Sabha elections, so did the Congress and the NCP.

A total of 18 candidates are in the fray from this constituency where 18,82,51 voters are expected to exercise their franchise on April 29.

Of six assembly segments, the BJP currently represents Nashik East, Nashik Central and Nashik West while the Sena holds Sinnar and Devlali constituencies. The Congress represents Igatpuri seat.

The BJP is the ruling party in the Nashik Municipal Corporation.

Political observers feel that Godse might face reverses in rural areas in Nashik district where farmers, especially onion growers, are angry against the government over demonetisation and agrarian distress.

Lasalgaon town in the district is known as the Asia's largest market of onions. The district is also known as the "wine valley" for its bumper grape production.

The grape and onion cultivating farmers, mostly from the Maratha community, were traditional supporters of the Congress, and later the NCP, until the "Narendra Modi wave" swept the region in 2014.

In general, Godse enjoys goodwill among urban voters for bringing several projects to Nashik, which is located around 150 km away from Mumbai and 220 km from Pune.

The voters credit Godse for the railways wheel factory being set up at Nashik Road, and for improving air connectivity from Ozar airport.

In his appeal to voters, Sameer Bhujbal often talks about the infrastructure development in the constituency when he was the MP.

Asia's longest fly-over-bridge on the Mumbai-Agra national highway was built during 2009-14, when the junior Bhujbal represented the seat.

In the current election, the CPI(M) has declared its support for Sameer Bhujbal.

According to poll observers, Kokate wields influence in Sinnar taluka in the North Maharashtra district.

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An industrialists' body here Saturday appealed to the Governor administration to ensure smooth flow of traffic on the strategic Jammu-Srinagar national highway, claiming that traffic mismanagement has caused huge losses to the sector.

The nearly 270-km highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with rest of the country, has been closed for civilian traffic twice a week -- Wednesday and Sunday -- from 4 am to 5 pm till May 31 to facilitate smooth movement of security convoys, drawing sharp criticism, especially from the mainstream parties and business community in the Valley.

"The mismanagement of traffic movement on the highway is resulting in considerable delay in the receipt of raw material from Kashmir and dispatch of finished products from Jammu to Kashmir, Doda, Kishtwar and other parts of the state," Bari Brahmana Industries Association (BBIA) president Lalit Mahajan said after a meeting here.

He said though the highway remains operational for civilian traffic for rest of the days of the week, the goods from the twin capital cities take days together to reach the desired destinations, resulting in steep hike in the transportation charges.

"Industrial units are suffering badly due to transit delay of the goods resulting in huge financial losses. In case of perishable items and milk products, 100 per cent losses were reported in some consignments," Mahajan claimed.

He said the BBIA appeals to Governor Satya Pal Malik, his advisor K Vijay Kumar andInspector General of police (Traffic) Alok Kumar to ensure smooth flow of traffic on the highway from Jammu to Srinagar and vice-versa.

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British High Commissioner to India Dominic Asquith, who laid a wreath at the Memorial here on Saturday to mark the centenary of the massacre, said Britain deeply regretted the incident that took place on this day a hundred years ago.

Asquith visited the Memorial in the morning to pay homage to those killed in the incident on April 13, 1919. He laid a wreath at the memorial inside the historic

"The events of Jallianwala Bagh 100 years ago today reflect a shameful act in British-Indian history. We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused," Asquith wrote in the visitors' book at the memorial.

"I am pleased today that the UK and India have and remain committed to developing further a thriving 21st century partnership," he added.

In his brief interaction with reporters later, Asquith said British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday described the Jallianwala Bagh massacre as a "shameful scar" on British Indian history.

May, however, stopped short of offering a formal apology.

Asked why an apology was not tendered by the British government, Asquith said, "I know this is a really important question. I would just ask you to respect what I came here to do, which is to commemorate those who died a hundred years ago and to express the sorrow of the British government and of the British people.

"But I would repeat what I said earlier that both governments are committed to building a very strong relationship...we have an extraordinarily flourishing relationship today."



He pointed out that former British prime minister David Cameron, during his visit to India earlier, had expressed regret and termed the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy a "deeply shameful scar".

Asquith also added that the Queen (Elizabeth II) had spoken of the incident as a distressing example of Britain's past history with India.

The British envoy said his great-grandfather H H Asquith, who was the prime minister of Britain between 1908 and 1916, had referred to the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy as one of the worst outrages.

"My own great grandfather, who was the prime minister for almost a decade, had referred to this as one of the worst outrages in our whole history," he said.

The massacre took place at Jallianwala Bagh inAmritsar during the Baisakhi festival in April 1919 when the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer opened fire at a crowd staging a pro-independence demonstration, leaving scores dead.
Morning Post, a conservative British newspaper, raised a hefty sum of "26,000 pounds" for the benefit of General Reginald Dyer -- the man behind the dreadful Jallianwala Bagh massacre, according to a recently-released book.

It started with an article, titled "The Man Who Saved India", which was written just days after Dyer was removed from his post by the British authorities in July, 1920, according to the book, "Jallianwala Bagh".

"... there are thousands of men and women in England who realise the truth -- that the lives of their fellow-country-men in India hung upon the readiness of General Dyer to act as he acted.

"It is to those men and women that we appeal, to do what is in them to redress the callous and cynical wrong which has been done. General Dyer has been broken," reads the article.

The fund, according to author Kim Wagner, saw people from all over the British empire and from all walks of life contributing to support Dyer, including "Rudyard Kipling, who gave 10 pounds".

"When the fund eventually closed, more than 26,000 pounds had been raised, which meant that Dyer could retire in comfort and without financial concerns," he added.

Wagner pointed out some pseudonyms used by people who contributed in the fund -- 'One who remembers 1857', 'The Prince of a White Man Slain', 'In gratitude to Gen. Dyer, from an Englishwoman who heard the mob', 'A Widow who remembers reading, when a child, of the horrors of 1857', 'An Old Anglo-Indian'.

The pseudonyms revealed something of the "mindset and politics mobilised by the fund", the author said.

Overwhelmed by all the love coming his way, Dyer wrote a letter of thanks that was subsequently published in the Morning Post.

"I am proud to think that so many of my fellow-countrymen and women approve of my conduct at Amritsar, and I accept the token of their approval in the spirit in which it is offered," reads the letter.

India on Saturday marked the centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, when troops of the British Indian Army, under the command of Dyer, fired indiscriminately at a crowd holding a peaceful meeting on April 13, 1919, leaving hundreds of people dead.

Published by Penguin Viking, the book "Jallianwala Bagh" claims to provide an innovative and nuanced approach to the dramatic events in Amritsar and unearth untold narratives that shed new light upon the bloody history of the British empire.

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A US serviceman has fatally stabbed a Japanese woman and then killed himself in Okinawa, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, amid growing resentment about the presence of American troops in Japan's southwestern region.

US Forces Japan says the Naval Criminal Investigative Service is working with local police to look into the deaths Saturday of a US Navy sailor assigned to a Marine unit and an Okinawa resident.

It says in a statement: "This is an absolute tragedy and we are fully committed to supporting the investigation." It says more information will be released later.

Japan's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeo Akiba telephoned U.S. Ambassador William Hagerty, asking for cooperation with the investigation and efforts to prevent a recurrence, and expressed "extreme regrets," according to the foreign ministry.

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Japan's Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by lawyers for against his detention, local media said Saturday, dashing the former Nissan boss's hopes for an early release.

The 65-year-old former auto tycoon had appealed to Japan's highest court after lower court judges ruled he could be questioned for a 10-day period until Sunday over allegations of financial misconduct.

But the court slapped down the appeal without explaining the ruling, Jiji Press and Kyodo News reported.

Immediate confirmation of the reports was not available.

On Friday, the Tokyo District Court had already further extended his detention until April 22 as prosecutors continue grilling him.

Authorities must then either press formal charges, release him or re-arrest him if they believe he has additional allegations to answer.



Prosecutors are looking into allegations that Ghosn siphoned off some $5 million from funds transferred from Nissan to a dealership in Oman, and spent the money on a luxury superyacht.

Ghosn has not been formally charged over these allegations.

But the tycoon does already face three separate charges. Two of these relate to millions of dollars in salary believed to have been concealed from shareholders. The third charge is that he sought to shift personal investment losses to company books.

Ghosn denies all allegations and lashed out in a video message -- shown on April 9 -- at what he termed a "plot" by "backstabbing" Nissan executives scared of closer integration with French partner firm

The case has bewitched Japan and the business world since the tycoon was arrested out of the blue at a Tokyo airport on November 19 and whisked off to the detention centre.



ALSO READ: Baffled Nissan shareholders sever last ties with former chairman Ghosn

He spent 108 days in an initial period of custody, in conditions he said he would not wish on his "worst enemy", forced to sleep with the light on and forbidden from contact with his loved ones.

He then won bail, stumping up $9 million for his freedom and submitting to strict bail conditions including not using the internet or contacting anyone connected to the case.

But in another twist, he was then re-arrested in a dawn raid on April 4 for more questioning.

Once hailed as Nissan's saviour, Ghosn is fighting to restore his reputation after he was removed almost immediately from the head of the company and later resigned as boss of as he fights the allegations.

His lengthy detention has sparked some criticism of the Japanese justice system, derided by some as "hostage justice" as suspects can be held for a long time without formal charges.
Police opened fire outside Ukraine's embassy in London on Saturday after a vehicle rammed into the ambassador's parked car and then drove at officers called to the scene.

No diplomatic staff were injured in the incident and nor was the suspect, a man in his 40s, but he was taken to hospital as a precaution after being arrested, police said.

The incident, which began at around 08:30 am (0730GMT) and took place in the exclusive Holland Park area, is not being treated as terrorism.

"The official vehicle of the ambassador of Ukraine to the UK was deliberately rammed as it sat parked in front of the embassy of Ukraine's building," a statement from the embassy said.

It said police were called and quickly blocked the suspect vehicle, but the driver hit the ambassador's car again.

"No one of the embassy staff were injured," the embassy said.

London's Metropolitan Police confirmed they were called to reports of a car hitting a number of parked cars near the Ukrainian embassy.

"On arrival at the scene, a vehicle was driven at police officers," the force said in a statement.

"Police firearms and Taser were discharged, the vehicle was stopped and a man, aged in his 40s, was arrested.

"He has been taken to a central London hospital as a precaution. He was not injured." The statement added: "The incident is not being treated as terrorist-related."



Senior police officer Andy Walker said there would be an investigation into the discharge of a police firearm, as in line with procedure.

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Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav Saturday said the 2019 Lok Sabha elections are "historic" as they will take the nation in a new direction and restore respect for the poor.

"The BJP wants to create a gulf of hatred," he said at a joint rally of the SP-BSP-RLD alliance in favour of Samajwadi Party candidate Dharmendra Yadav here.

The BJP wants to divide the society for gaining power in the manner in which the British divided us," he said.

"These elections are historic," Yadav said. "They are not just for winning the Lok Sabha, but to take the nation in the new direction, to bring change and restore respect of the poor who have been humiliated."



Taking potshots at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the SP chief said, "Mayawatiji had said that our 'baba mukhyamantri' (chief minister)) has talked about the caste of God.

He referred to claims last year over the community to which Lord Hanuman belonged, and blamed BJP leaders for it. This time, the gods are not happy with these people," he said.

Yadav said he did not need to give a certificate of the work done by him when he was the chief minister. Whenever the SP or the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) come to power, development takes place in the state.

"Roads and bridges were constructed, and arrangement for power was made, but the BJP government stopped all the facilities," he said.

"The BJP says the borders are safe as it is their government at the Centre, but I want to tell them that the borders and the country are safe because of our brave Soldiers, he said.

Governments keep coming and going, but the jawans posted at the borders keep the country safe," the SP leader added.

He said people spread rumours, tell lies, hatch conspiracies and misuse the official machinery, but he has faith in them that on the day of polling, they will ensure that SP and BSP candidates are victorious.

Yadav said the country faced issues of hunger, disease and education, and only the opposition alliance can find a solution to them.

"This is an alliance for the poor people living in villages," he said.

The first phase of polling was held on April 11.

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The Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau has filed a disproportionate assets (DA) case against an executive engineer currently posted in the state government's Town Planning department in Nagpur, an official said Saturday.

ACB Thane Unit Additional Superintendent of Police Kisan Gavli said a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act was filed on Friday against Sanjay Solanki (54) and his wife Vijaya.

Solanki is the Executive Engineer, Implementation Cell of the Town Planning department in Nagpur, the official informed.

An ACB probe in December, 2015 found that Solanki had allegedly amassed Rs 41.31 lakh in excess assets between December, 1985 and June, 2015.

As per the complaint filed with Wagle Estate police station Friday evening, Solanki's wife helped him in amassing such property and, therefore, has been made a co-accused, an official said.

Solanki was earlier suspended in June, 2015 for alleged involvement in the Maharashtra Sadan scam. He was also allegedly named by the ACB in a land scam in Kalina in Mumbai.

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Secret Service agents rushed to secure the White House on Friday after an incident involving a man whose jacket was on fire just beyond the border fence, according to officials.

The Secret Service, which guards the president, said a man "operating an electronic wheelchair-type scooter lit his outer jacket on fire while sitting along Pennsylvania Ave.

outside the North Fence Line." Officers "immediately responded, extinguished the fire and rendered first aid," the Secret Service tweeted, adding that the man had "what appears to be non-life threatening injuries."



Details about what happened were scanty. It was not even immediately clear what caused the fire.

In a rare sight, officers rushed to the scene and others ordered journalists usually stationed with rows of television cameras outside the White House to get inside the building.

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A military conflict between India and Pakistan is an "unnecessary misconception", says Hawaii Supreme Court judge Michael D Wilson who stresses that there is much to be done in partnership by both the countries.

According to him, both the countries are facing several other problems such as the existential threat of climate change. Nonetheless terrorism and violence cannot be used to hurt citizens in order to achieve a particular political objective and accountability is necessary when such acts are committed, he said.

He was of the view that the cultural connect between the two countries has the potential to achieve reconciliation.

"I tend to think that the idea that there needs to be a military conflict in order to protect both the societies is unnecessary misconception. With respect to terrorism, I don't subscribe to the idea that somebody can use violence to hurt innocent citizens in order to achieve political objective. Accountability is necessary when such acts are committed and countries have to protect its citizens," Justice Wilson told PTI.

The judge said "the talents India and Pakistan have and the good leaders in the two countries give them an opportunity to reconcile in a way that if it's not a formal political reconciliation then it is at least something which is a cultural connection."



He said India, Pakistan and Bangladesh "are not failed countries" and there is talent and integrity in the three neighbours and so much can be done by them in partnership to tackle environmental issues.

Justice Wilson, who was here on the invitation of O P Jindal Global University VC C Raj Kumar, also gave the 'Green Law' lecture on "Environmental Justice and the Rule of Law: Role of the Judiciary and Judges", organised here by the university.

He praised the Indian judiciary including National Green Tribunal in dealing with various environmental issues. The judge has played a leading role in establishing a court that specialises in environmental laws in Hawaii.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday sought to corner the Congress on its showpiece poll promise of "Nyay," demanding justice for the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots, the Bhopal gas tragedy and violence against Dalits.

While terror attacks shook the nation during Congress regime, the NDA's policy halted it, he said at Ramanathapuram.

A vote for DMK, Congress, and Muslim League combine would lead to higher taxes and less development and give a free hand to terrorists and rise of criminal elements in politics, he alleged.

"Those who cannot protect India can never develop the nation. When Congress and their allies were in power, terrorists were attacking the nation regularly.

City after city, there were blasts but congress remained helpless and silent."



Time has however changed now. "India will not spare a single terrorist or Jihadi. If they dare to attack us, we will find them wherever they are and ruin their happiness," he said.

Addressing a poll rally here, he alleged the Congress and dishonesty were best friends but sometimes "by mistake," they end up speaking the truth.

"Now they are saying "Ab Hoga Nyay" (justice will be done now) even if they did not intend, they have admitted that all they have done is "Anyay" or injustice for 60 long years," (during the Congress rule), he said.

"I want to ask the Congress party who will do Nyay to the victims of 1984 Sikh riots ?



...who will do Nyay to all the victims of anti Dalit (violence), who will do Nyay to the government of great M G Ramachandran ji, which was dismissed by the Congress just because one family did not like those leaders."...who will do Nyay to the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy, among the worst environmental disaster in India."Congress, which talks about 'Nyay' has done most injustice to regional aspirations by "shamelessly," imposing Art 356 to dismiss State governments of M G Ramachandran, M Karunanidhi, Communists and showing disrespect to the federal structure, the PM said.

His government however believed in "cooperative and competitive federalism," and regional aspirations mattered in policies.

Blaming the DMK, Congress for vote bank in opposing a Bill on abolishing Triple Talaq in Parliament, Modi said, "These parties do not believe in dignity of women."



If Rahul Gandhi invoked Tamil pride and rationalist leader Periyar to target BJP's Hindutva line, Modi countered it by referring to the legacy of late AIADMK leaders M G R and J Jayalalithaa, the welfare of Srilankan the state's spiritual ethos. He hailed MGR and Jayalalithaa as iconic leaders who strove for the poor.

BJP stood with people on the Lord Ayyappa issue, he said and hailed the state's spiritual ethos by citing the famous hill shrine of Lord Shiva (Sundaramahalinga Swamy Temple) on Sathuragiri hills in the southern region.

Similar to his recent Kancheepuram rally, he said Ramanathapuram was linked to Kashi by the bonds of faith and spirituality.

In Kerala, Congress, Communists and Muslim League are playing a "dangerous" game regarding Sabarimala temple.

"They are using brute force to strike at the root of faith and aspiration. Sadly for them till BJP is there, no one will be able to destroy our faith and culture," he said in Ramanathapuram.

"...we must continue working for the prosperity of our Srilankan Tamil brothers and we must end the dynasty rule of corrupt families," he said in his Theni address.

The AIADMK has been accusing the DMK-Congress combine of not taking steps to halt the killings of Tamil civilians during the Srilankan civil war in 2009, while seeking to champion their cause and Modi's remarks resonate it.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami, who also addressed the gathering, hit out at arch rival DMK over its alliance with the Congress.

He asked the party to clarify whom it would support in neighbouring Kerala, whether the Congress or the CPI(M) as they both were its allies in Tamil Nadu.

The DMK and Congress though "sworn enemies" have joined hands, despite the national party having "humiliated" its southern ally in the past, Modi said.

Even during the 2G spectrum allocation scam, the DMK leaders criticised Congress, he pointed out.

"In an attempt to mislead the people, all the corrupt have ganged up in an attempt to defeat Modi," he added.

He said the DMK has to "resort to gimmicks" just to draw people to its rallies.

Picking holes in opposition unity, he said DMK President MK Stalin's Rahul Gandhi for Prime Minister pitch did not find takers in the grand alliance since there were other leaders with the same aspiration.

The Congress, the DMK and their other 'mahamilawati' friends can never work for India's development, he claimed.

"This land of Theni is known for brave people who served the nation, it is now up to you to decide how you will you deal with those who questioned the surgical and air strikes done by our brave armed forces," he said.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) had carried out airstrikes on terror camps in Pakistan in February last.

"When it comes to national security there can be no compromise. I assure my fellow Indians that we leave no stone unturned in protecting India and destroying forces of terror."



"Our guiding principle is nation first. Opposition believes in family first. If you go to Delhi, prime real estate has been used for memorials on members of only one family, it is as if no other person contributed to India except one family."



The BJP, however, believed in the contribution of every citizen in making India stronger and that was why a grand memorial was built for Kalam in Rameswaram, he said wrapping up his election campaign in Tamil Nadu.

There were no memorials for past presidents like Dr S Radhakrishnan though in every town, Congress had named so many roads and buildings after "one family."



In both rallies, Modi referred to ongoing development projects in Tamil Nadu and listed his governments welfare initiatives like the free LPG connections.

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Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said the 'Modi factor' was writ large across the country during the first phase of and multi-cornered contests in several states favoured the ruling BJP.

Polling was held in 91 Lok Sabha constituencies spread across 18 states and two Union Territories on Thursday, marking the beginning of the seven-phased general

Observing that verbal battles between the Left, Trinamool Congress and the Congress are becoming visible increasingly, Jaitley said, "On the leadership issue, the situation looks gloomier than what I had thought. The BSP leader Mayawati, the Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee leave no stone unturned in running down the Congress President."



"There is no leader, no Gathbandhan, no Common Minimum Programme and no real issue. Not surprisingly there are not many takers for a "failed campaign". It is 'Rent a Cause' Campaign," Jaitley said in a Facebook post.



The Opposition is in disarray in many states, with alliances having not worked out, he said, adding that multi-cornered contests obviously favour the BJP.

"To oust a popular Government, an extremely popular Prime Minister, you need some real issues, not fictional issues. The Opposition wasted the past two years in a run-up to the polls "manufacturing issues" which didn't exist," Jaitley said in the post titled 'India's Opposition is on a "Rent a Cause" Campaign'.

The minister said the Opposition's false campaign on Rafale did not carry much weight.

Loan waiver to industrialists was a lie, the EVM as an instrument of rigging was a bigger lie, he asserted.



"The First Phase of voting is over. The "Modi" factor was writ large across the country. (BJP President) Amit Shah's challenge to the BJP workers to prepare for a 50 per cent voting target in the BJP stronghold states even where there are opposition alliances seems coming through," Jaitley said.

Stating that the Opposition comes up with a new cause on a daily basis, Jaitley said one day the Pulwama terror attack was questioned as self-engineered, while the next day Balakot strike was questioned as a non-existent operation.

"One day BJP is accused of whipping up war hysteria, the other day it is dubbed as pro Pakistan.

"One day the focus would be on the BJP candidate's educational qualification, fully forgetting that a public audit of Rahul Gandhi's academic credentials may leave a lot to be answered. After all, he got an M.Phil without a Masters degree!," Jaitley said.

The minister said there is no running thread in the Opposition's campaign which connects what is being said today or what has been said over the last several months.
Senior Congress leader has lambasted the government, calling it the "most corrupt" in the history of India, and said its performance has been "abysmal and deplorable".

He also accused the BJP-led dispensation of misusing the sedition law, and said the Congress wants to differentiate between the anti-national acts and opposition to the government.

Chavan claimed there was fear among people now that if Modi, who has "dictatorial tendencies", continued to be in power, the Indian democracy would be in trouble.

In an interview to PTI, the former Maharashtra chief minister said in 2014, Modi had promised a corruption-free government.

"In 2014, Modi emerged as the winner even before the campaign started. There were several corruption allegations against UPA-II, which people believed. Many of the allegations were fabricated. We could not effectively defend ourself. The Anna Hazare movement also created an atmosphere against us. Modi's corruption-free government promise was very important as many people voted him to power for that," Chavan said.

"But, if you analyse his (track) record, it is abysmal and deplorable. Modi's government is the most corrupt in the history of India," he alleged.

Chavan said, "People have now realised that these people had lied to them by giving promises which they had no intention of fulfilling.

The former Union minister charged that Modi launched a surgical strike on Indian economy through demonetisation.

"Performance of Modi is the agenda of the campaign this time. But, he has no answers on the development promises. Instead, he has shifted the focus on national security and wrong propaganda about the Congress and other opposition parties," Chavan said.

"Post-Pulwama, lot of counter-narratives are floating around. will ask him questions about anything and everything. It is the right of the opposition to answer questions. The job of the opposition is to oppose, expose and depose the government," he said.

Chavan said he expected the Congress-NCP to do better in this election as compared to the 2014 tally of two (Congress) and four (NCP) seats in the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra.

"The mood of the nation has changed. The wave is against Modi. The opposition has sensed that the Modi government can be defeated. There is a genuine fear that if a man like Modi, with dictatorial tendencies, returns to power, there will be a question mark on the future of Indian democracy," he added.

"We are happy with the 'tukde tukde' label. Let's not forget that it is the Congress party, which made 'tukde tukde' of Pakistan," he said, responding to BJP charge that the party manifesto is written by the "tukde tukde gang".

The BJP has been using "tukde tukde" gang to refer to students accused of raising anti-India slogans in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in 2016 and has generalised the phrase to attack those it accuses of sympathising with Maoists and separatists.

Congress party's record very clear, he said, adding that wars fought under the political leadership of the Congress have seen India decisively defeat Pakistan.

When asked about the promise of review of sedition law in the Congress manifesto, Chavan said the party makes it clear that it wants to differentiate between the act against the nation and opposing the government.

"There is a difference between anti-national acts of stealing defence secrets and selling it to Pakistan and saying demonetisation has been the most stupid decision of the Modi government," Chavan said.

"It is the right of the opposition and every citizen to ask the government of the day for accountability. The sedition law was rarely used during the UPA rule. Now, the government is misusing it and there are 179 sedition cases in different parts of the country," he said.

"In JNU, if somebody has a different point of view, do you arrest them under sedition?" he asked.

He said the BJP's manifesto has consistently given place to issues of Ram temple, uniform civil code in the last three elections.

"Modi had got absolute majority after 30 years. There was no alliance partner or deputy PM. Modi was the ruler and he has not been able to explain his performance on development front," he said.

Chavan said the Congress-led opposition has deliberately avoided a national alliance against the BJP since it would have to be under some leader. "This is what Modi wanted- to convert the election into a US presidential style campaign," he added.

When asked about alliances, he said the Congress has 23 parties on board in the state-level alliances.

"There are conflict of interests in some states. But, in a large country this is bound to happen. By and large, alliances are in place," he said.

Targeting the BJP, he said on the issues of development, national welfare, the ruling party is no match to Congress.

"All their promises have fallen flat. Hence, it is effectively using methods of coercion and inducement. Their motto is anything goes in politics...," he said.

Referring to the I-T raids in Madhya Pradesh, Chavan said it was "tax terrorism".

"To threaten and create an atmosphere of terror," he said.

When asked about Shiv Sena joining hands with BJP , Chavan alleged, "It is clear agencies like ED, CBI have been utilised."



Chavan said the Rafale deal was a complicated case of huge corruption.

"It is the largest defence corruption scandal where laws and decisions have been twisted around. (Former Defence minister Manohar) Parrikar refused to toe the line to increase the price in the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC). The matter was not resolved at the DAC and hence it was taken up by the Cabinet Committee on Security, where the prime minister approved the price hike," he claimed.
A Narendra Modi lookalike who is contesting the Lok Sabha elections has been served notice for violating the poll code over what he calls is his slogan "one vote, one note".

Abhinandhan Pathak filed his nomination papers from Lucknow on Friday as an Independent candidate and said he would also contest Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

After filing nomination, he told the media that his slogan was "one note, one vote".

In a notice served to Pathak Friday evening, District Magistrate Kaushalraj Sharma said that the slogan appeared to be in violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and amounts to "luring electorate for votes".

"Pathak has been given 24 hours time to reply to the notice after receiving it. In absence of the reply, FIR under relevant sections will be lodged against him," the DM, also the returning officer, said.

After challenging Home Minister Rajanth Singh, sitting MP and BJP candidate, who is yet to file his nomination from Lucknow, Pathak said that he would also file nomination from from Varanasi on April 26.

Claiming himself to be a "serious candidate and not the dummy one", Pathak said he was against 'jumla' (gimmick) and after winning, "I would support Rahul Gandhi's PM's candidature".

Pathak bears resemblance to PM Modi. He dresses and speaks like Modi and begins his speech with 'Mitron' (friends), the pet word PM uses frequently to address his audiences.

A resident of Saharanpur, Pathak was with the BJP-led NDA constituent Republican Party of India (Athawale) as its state vice-president for Uttar Pradesh till he joined the Congress last month.

During the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, there were several lookalikes of Modi, including Pathak, who were seen in different places across the country during election campaigns.

However, Pathak had actively campaigned for the Congress in the run-up to the assembly elections in Chhattisgarh last year, holding meetings in a number of seats in the state, including Jagdalpur, Dantewada, Kondagaon and Bastar.

Lucknow, from where Pathak has filed his nomination, will vote in the fifth phase of the elections on May 6.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday mocked Congress' "dream" of forming a government at the Centre and castigated it on national security and Jammu and Kashmir issues, asking people to punish it in such a way that the party would not be able to save its deposits in the Lok Sabha polls.

Addressing a massive rally in Bengaluru, he said the Congress has promised to remove the Army from Jammu and Kashmir, saying "exactly what Pakistan says word to word in Pakistan's language."



Devoting most parts of his speech to national security, Modi said the Congress had spoken about coming to power in its manifesto and added, "who can stop one from dreaming? "



"But let them dream about forming the government. I can understand it because a chaiwala has robbed the opportunity of four generations of Sultanate," he said.

Modi said what was worrying was that the Congress has said in its manifesto that if they form the government in Delhi, they would "remove" AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act) that gives special powers to the soldiers.

"Which way are they going? Didn't you feel the pain and anger hearing this? The Jammu Kashmir for which thousands of soldiers were martyred, you want to make soldiers unarmed, helpless?," he asked the crowd.

Modi said Congress had also said in Pakistan's language that they would remove the army from Jammu and Kashmir.

"Is this okay with you, will you be able to forgive Congress?.

Pandit Nehru sowed the seed of fire in Kashmir and still the country is bearing it, now they say they will remove army from there, what is the meaning of it?"



Modi also referred to the talk about having two prime ministers -one in Hindustan and the other in J&K (by National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah).

"Their talk of removing the law (AFSPA), removing the military and their Milavati friends talk about second Prime Minister.

If you see all these together, does Congress want to save Kashmir? Will you allow Kashmir to go away? The land on which our soldiers have shed their blood," Modi asked.

The Congress manifesto said the party proposed to reduce the presence of the Indian Army and central armed police forces (CAPFs) in the Kashmir valley.

It said the AFSPA and the Disturbed Areas Act in Jammu and Kashmir would be reviewed.

Referring to the air strike and surgical strike on terror camps in Pakistan and launch of ASAT (Anti Satellite) by India, Modi said the whole world was with India.

"Earlier whenever such things or statements were made, Russia used to be with us and the entire world with Pakistan. Now what has happened is China alone is with Pakistan while the entire world was with us.

Isnt it Indias strength?, he asked.

"You might have felt Congress processor is slow, but their software is corrupt.

Their process is fast only whensomething has to be done against the countrys security and demoralise our brave soldiers," Modi said.

The Prime Minister also hit out at the Congress for its promise to review the sedition law, saying it wants to remove law to punish those who indulge in treason.

"Will you accept such Congress and their allies? "...

Making such promises,can we forgive the Congress that has such a mindset?, he asked, telling voters that "in this election, punish Congress in such a way and alsotheir allies that they should not be able to save their deposits."



The prime minister also took exception to the political row created by the ruling Congress-JDS alliance over the recent Income Tax raids on several JDS men across Karnataka.

Modi asked the crowd, "should the law be followed or not whether it is PM or CM or minister? Why get scared if you have not committed anything wrong?," he asked.

On March 28, the Income Tax department carried out raids at multiple locations in Bengaluru, Mysuru,Mandya, Ramanagara, Shivamogga and Hassan, triggering a strong reaction from Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Congress leaders, who accused the Centre of promoting the of vendetta.

Kumaraswamy had even called the I-T officers as BJP agents and led a protest by the ruling Congress-JDS coalition in front of the IT department office here.

In his rally at Mangaluru, Modi said the ruling Congress-JDS coalition in Karnataka and parties alike were inspired by "Pariwarvad" (dynasty) and believed in giving power to even the last member of the family.

Addressing a massive rally, Modi said unlike the Congress, JDS and others, BJP's inspiration came from "Rashtrawad" (nationalism).

He said the Lok Sabha polls was not about who became an MP or prime minister or minister,but about how the "New India" should be and what should be its inspiration.

"Inspiration of Congress-JD(S) and parties like them is pariwarwad (dynasty) and our inspiration is rashtrawad (nationalism).

They look for ways to give power to even the last member of their family, while we are striving to bring those people ahead who are in the last line of society."



"Their darshan is vamshoday, while ours is antyodaya (uplifting the weaker sections of society).

Because of their vamshoday there will be corruption and injustice and because our antyodaya the glory of transparency and honesty will increase", Modi said.

Continuing to target the dynasty of Congress on the second consecutive day of his campaign in Karnataka, Modi said "this vamshoday will ignore their own party senior leaders, while our antyodaya will make a tea seller the Prime Minister.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
More than 70 British lawmakers have urged their government to prioritise any extradition bid might make for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is also wanted in the United States.

Assange was arrested on Thursday at Ecuador's London embassy on allegations of skipping bail, and on a US extradition warrant related to a huge leak of official documents.

He had sought refuge in the embassy in 2012 while on bail awaiting extradition to for allegations of sexual assault and rape, which he always denied.

In the letter, the MPs and peers urge British Home Secretary Sajid Javid to "give every assistance to should they want to revive and pursue the investigation".



British law states that if Sweden does make an extradition request, it would be up to Javid to decide which should take precedence.

"We must send a strong message of the priority the UK has in tackling sexual violence and the seriousness with which such allegations are viewed," the letter says.

The sexual assault claim expired in 2015 and Swedish prosecutors dropped a preliminary investigation into the rape allegation in 2017, arguing that since Assange could not be reached, they could not proceed.

Following his arrest, however, the alleged rape victim asked that her case now be reopened -- but the limitation period on this claim expires in August 2020.

"We do not presume guilt, of course, but we believe due process should be followed and the complainant should see justice be done," the letter says.

The MPs and peers add that it is "of grave concern to us" that the Swedish authorities did not appear to have prior warning of Assange's arrest, unlike the US authorities.



ALSO READ: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange charged under seal by US prosecutors

The letter was also copied to Diane Abbott, the home affairs spokeswoman for the main opposition Labour party.

Abbott said: "Assange skipping bail in UK, or any rape charge that may be brought by Swedish authorities shouldn't be ignored.

"But the only extradition request is from USA, because he's a whistle-blower on atrocities caused by US military ops. This extradition would be wrong so we oppose it." Assange is currently being held at the high-security Belmarsh jail in southeast London.

The 47-year-old Australian claims the Swedish cases against him were politically motivated, linked to the leak in 2010 of a huge number of US military and diplomatic documents.

He sought refuge with Ecuador, claiming that his extradition to Sweden was a pretext for his transfer to the United States.



ALSO READ: Newly published files confirm plan to move Julian Assange to Russia

But Ecuador withdrew his asylum status and allowed British police into the embassy on Thursday to arrest the white-bearded Assange.

He appeared in court a few hours later and was found guilty of breaching his bail terms back in 2012. He could be jailed for up to a year when he is sentenced at a later date.

The separate extradition case on US charges of computer hacking is set for May 2, although the United States has until June 12 to submit full extradition papers.

Assange's London lawyer Jennifer Robinson said: "He's obviously going to fight extradition and fight it hard.
A high school Muslim student's hijab was pulled off allegedly by a schoolmate who also hurled anti-Muslim slurs during a fight in the US, prompting authorities to arrest her, according to a media report.

The East Brunswick High School girl, whose name and age were not released, got into an argument with another girl on Wednesday because both students wanted the same seat in a common area on campus, the school's Superintendent Victor Valeski said in a statement.

As the fight escalated, one of the girls pulled off the other girl's hijab and started screaming anti-Muslim slurs at her, the superintendent was quoted as saying by the WNBC-TV.

A school security officer broke up the fight, but not before it was caught on video. The video was posted to social media at some point after the fight, the report said.

"Ultimately, the fight was determined to be a bias incident and was immediately reported to the East Brunswick Police Department and the County Prosecutor's Office in accordance with Board Policy and the law," Valeski said.

The student who pulled off the girl's hijab was arrested and charged with simple assault, harassment, cyber harassment and disorderly conduct, Middlesex County prosecutors said.

"The East Brunswick Public School District values our diverse student body and community. The District does not tolerate any incidents of bias, discrimination, harassment, intimidation or bullying and takes swift action if such an event occurs," the superintendent said.

The Muslim girl has also been suspended under the school's zero-tolerance policy after the fight was broken up by a school security officer.

But some students and parents have questioned why she was suspended for 'defending herself'.

"The Muslim woman and her family have been seen and offered any help needed from the school psychologists and support staff," New Jersey Mayor Brad Cohen said.

"Let me be very clear in that I stand with our Muslim friends and neighbours in condemning this entire incident," Cohen said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Latching onto a statement attributed to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal Saturday said Pakistan cannot get a better Indian PM than Narendra Modi who had allowed the ISI to visit the Pathankot air base, and is "implementing" Pakistan's agenda.

Kejriwal also questionned the timing of the February 14 Pulwama terror attack, which he said was executed "ahead of the elections".

Referring to Khan's statement that he sees a better chance of peace talks with India if the BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi wins the Lok Sabha elections, the Delhi chief minister went on to question the timing of the Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed.

"Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan says that Narendra Modi should become the PM of India once again. His statement came against the backdrop of a war like situation that existed between both the countries a few days back. And (despite that) Imran Khan wants Modi to be the PM of India again," Kejriwal said while addressing the AAP workers in South Goa.

Kejriwal said he didn't understand that is happening between Khan and Modi.

"Four weeks back, a war-like situation prevailed between both the countries but now Imran Khan wants Modi to be the PM. Why is he saying so? Why does Pakistan want Modi to be PM again? Now people have started asking about the Pulwama attack," he said.

"Why did he (Imran Khan) get the terrorist attack at Pulwama executed just two months before the (Lok Sabha) elections?" he asked.

"Modi is now going around the country and telling that we went into the house of the enemy (ghar me ghuskar) and killed them," he said.

Kejriwal added, "Pakistan cannot get better prime minister than Modi. After the Pathankot strike, he (Modi) invited the ISI (Pakistani spy agency) to investigate it (in 2016). The ISI is less of an intelligence agency and more of terrorists. The BJP calls Modi a strong leader, but no government did what Modi did (by allowing the ISI enter the Pathankot air base)..Can Pakistan get better Indian PM than Modi?" he questioned.

Kejriwal further said that because of Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, the unfulfilled agenda of Pakistan to divide India on the religious lines seems to be working.

"Pakistan failed to divide India on the religious lines in the last 70 years. But it is being made possible in the last five years because of Modi and Shah duo who have filled poison in the minds of the people. Pakistan cannot get better Indian prime minister than this. They (Shah and Modi) have implemented Pakistan's agenda," he said.

He further said Modi's return to power does not augur well for democracy in India.

"If Modi returns to power, this would be the last election in the country till he is alive. I have come to appeal to you to save the country. The country is in danger. If Modi and Amit Shah come back again, and if Modi becomes PM again, then the country will not survive, Indian constitution will not survive and secular structure will not survive," he alleged.

AAP has fielded Elvis Gomes from South Goa constituency against Congress' Francisco Sardinha and BJP's sitting MP Narendra Sawaikar. Goa, which has two Parliamentary seats, votes on April 23.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
National Conference activists Saturday protested in the highway township of Banihal against the ban on the movement of civilian traffic twice a week on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway.

The protesters, led by National Conference district president, Ramban, Sajjad Shaheen, staged the protest to press for revocation of the "anti-people" and "authoritarian" order.

The nearly 270-km highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, will remain closed for civilian traffic on Wednesday and Sunday from 4 am to 5 pm till May 31 to facilitate smooth movement of security convoys.

"Such an unprecedented move is first in the history of Jammu and Kashmir. It has turned out as a nightmare for the commuters on the highway as also various towns, suburbs and rural pockets on the route.

"The proponents of such an order have not applied their mind, which speaks volumes about their disconnect with the people, who have been pushed to the wall," Shaheen said addressing the protesters.

The NC leader hoped that Governor Satya Pal Malik would undertake immediate review of the situation and revoke the ban in the larger interest of the people especially those living along the highway.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Saturday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he was afraid of the nationalism of the Sharad Pawar-led party which was inclusive.

Modi, at a poll rally at Ahmednagar in Maharashtra, had accused Pawar of keeping mum on issues of national security despite quitting the Congress in the name of country.

"Your party's name is 'Rashtravadi' and still you see the country through a foreign lens," Modi had said.

Countering the prime minister's barbs, NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said, "Yours is a cultural nationalism of (former RSS chiefs) Hedgewar, Golwalkar in which only the people belonging to a specific class of society have a place.

"Our nationalism propagates ideals of (reformers) Chhatrapati Shahu, Mahatma Phule, (B R) Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi, Maulana Azad," he said, claiming that NCP's nationalism was all-inclusive.

"We believe in social equality. This nationalism has strengthened the people of India. We will defeat your nationalism with our ideals, and that is why you fear our nationalism," Malik added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's recent statement promising an end of support to terror groups does not reflect a change of policy and is motivated by the fear of getting blacklisted by the global terror-financing watchdog FATF, the country's former envoy to the US Husain Haqqani has said.

Amidst intense global pressure to rein in terror outfits, Khan last month said his government will not allow Pakistan's land to be used for any kind of terror activities and promised actions against militant groups operating from the country's soil.

Haqqani, Pakistan's former Ambassador to the US, told a Washington audience on Friday that so far, there is no evidence that the Khan government or the military is dismantling Pakistan's terrorist support infrastructure.

"There is little change in Pakistan's attitude towards militancy, particularly the one directed against Afghanistan and India," he said in his address to the third 'India Ideas Conference' organised by India Initiative of the prestigious Georgetown University.

Haqqani pointed out that Pakistan has failed to initiate any action against the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group or its leader Masood Azhar after the Pulwama terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Islamabad's close ties with Beijing were invoked to ensure that Azhar's designation as a terrorist by the United Nations was blocked by China at Pakistan's behest," he said, adding that such moves are consistent with Islamabad's policies of the last 30 years.

Haqqani, who has authored several books, is currently the Director for South and Central Asia at the Hudson Institute think-tank. He is considered as an outspoken critic of the Pakistan Army's domestic and foreign policies, especially its support of terrorism.

"Although the FATF sanctions are not imminent, Pakistan is trying to thwart them with public relations moves such as Imran Khan's latest statement. There will be more PR moves as FATF pressures increase," he said.

The former ambassador said that the desire to reassure the world once again that Pakistan wants to act against terrorist groups is motivated by economic considerations.

"Pakistan's economy is not doing too well. FATF sanctions would only make Khan's only economic option more borrowing and financial bailouts by other countries and IMF-- more difficult," he said.

Haqqani stressed that "Pakistan's support for militancy is a strategic choice, motivated by the desire to provide a force multiplier for a relatively poor country trying to act as a major regional power without resources comparable to its perceived rival".

Pakistan is under intense global pressure to rein in terrorist outfits operating from its soil after the

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based terror group JeM killed 40 CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14.

India launched a counter-terror operation in Balakot. The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in an aerial combat and captured its pilot, who was handed over to India on March 1.

Paris-headquartered Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on February 22 condemned the Pulwama terror attack and decided to continue the 'Grey' listing of Pakistan for its failure to stop funding of terrorist groups such as JeM, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamat-ud-Dawa.

The FATF continuing Pakistan with the 'Gray' listing means downgrading of the country by multilateral lenders like the Monetary Fund, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Union and also a reduction in risk rating by Moody's, S&P and Fitch, according to experts.
: Tamil Nadu CPI secretary R Mutharasan Saturday charged the Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP)-headed NDA government at the Centre with denying the people freedom of speech and expression during the last five years of its rule.

He said this while campaigning for the candidates of the secular progressive alliance contesting the April 18 Lok Sabha poll and also the byelection to the Thattanchavady assembly constituency here.

The forthcoming poll should not be considered a poll battle alone, rather a 'political war' between parties and their ideologies, he said.

He said the Prime Minister had promised the people of the country during the run-up to the Lok Sabha poll in 2014 that farmers in distress would be helped, two crore jobs for the youth would be generated and steps to improve the lot of the weaker sections would be taken.

But, Modi had not done anything and his five- year rule was a 'monumental failure', he



He assured the people of Puducherry of statehood status if they voted the Secular Progressive Alliance to power at the Centre.

Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, who accompanied the CPI leader, described Modi as 'anti-dalits and anti- minorities.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Brushing aside resentment among party leaders over denial of tickets, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Saturday said with only 13 Lok Sabha seats in the state, it was impossible to accommodate all 177 aspirants.

He said the decision to allot tickets was taken by the Congress high command based on candidates' winnability.

"Tickets were allotted to balance youth with experience," Singh told mediapersons after welcoming former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Chandan Garewal into the Congress.

Asked about reports of some disgruntled Congress leaders preparing to form a separate Congress Taksali, the chief minister said it was not possible to accommodate all ticket aspirants.

He said he hoped better sense would prevail among these leaders and they would work for the success of the Congress.

Responding to a question about denial of ticket to senior Congress leader and sitting Jalandhar MP Mohinder Singh Kaypee, Singh pointed out that he had unsuccessfully contested on party tickets thrice in the past and even his wife had been given a chance, but she too had lost.

The idea of Congress Taksali was floated by Kaypee at a meeting of party leaders and workers in Chandigarh on Sunday.

Besides him, Shamsher Singh Dullo and Santosh Choudhary are two other Congress veterans who have been sulking over denial of ticket for the May 19 elections.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India Saturday remembered Jallianwala Bagh massacre victims with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi paying tribute to those killed in the Amritsar tragedy 100 years ago.

The massacre took place at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar during the Baisakhi festival on April 13, 1919, when troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer opened fire at a crowd of people holding a pro-independence demonstration, leaving several dead and scores injured.

Naidu on Saturday paid his respect by placing a wreath on the memorial and listened hymns being sung by Sikh priests at Jallianwala Bagh. He also released a commemorative coin and a postage stamp to mark the centenary.

The vice-president later tweeted that Jallianwala Bagh massacre was a reminder to each one of us as to how hard-won and precious our freedom is.

"History is not a mere chronicle of events. It shows us the depths to which depraved minds can plunge and cautions us to learn from the past. It also tells us that the power of evil is transient," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the memory of those killed in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre serves as an inspiration to work for an India they would be proud of.

"Today, when we observe 100 years of the horrific Jallianwala Bagh massacre, India pays tributes to all those martyred ... Their valour and sacrifice will never be forgotten. Their memory inspires us to work even harder to build an India they would be proud of," he tweeted.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi paid floral tributes at the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial and said the cost of freedom must never be forgotten.

He was accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, state minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and some other Congress leaders.

They also observed a two-minute silence to remember those who were massacred in the tragic incident on April 13, 1919.

"The cost of freedom must never ever be forgotten. We salute the people of India who gave everything they had for it," the Congress chief wrote in the visitors' book.

British High Commissioner to India Dominic Asquith also visited the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial separately and laid a wreath there.

In the visitors' book, Asquith wrote, "The events of Jallianwala Bagh 100 years ago today reflect a shameful act in British Indian history. We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused."



He also wrote, "I am pleased today that the UK and India have and remain committed to developing further a thriving 21st century partnership."



"The events of Jallianwala Bagh 100 years ago today reflect a shameful act in British-Indian history. We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused," Asquith wrote in the visitors' book at the memorial.

"I am pleased today that the UK and India have and remain committed to developing further a thriving 21st century partnership," he added.

In his brief interaction with reporters later, Asquith said British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday described the Jallianwala Bagh massacre as a "shameful scar" on British Indian history.

May, however, stopped short of offering a formal apology.

Asked why an apology was not tendered by the British government, Asquith said, "I know this is a really important question. I would just ask you to respect what I came here to do, which is to commemorate those who died a hundred years ago and to express the sorrow of the British government and of the British people.

"But I would repeat what I said earlier that both governments are committed to building a very strong relationship... we have an extraordinarily flourishing relationship today."



Asquith also added that the Queen had spoken of the incident as a distressing example of Britain's past history with India.

The British envoy said his great-grandfather H H Asquith, who was the prime minister of Britain between 1908 and 1916, had referred to the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy as one of the worst outrages.

"My own great grandfather, who was the prime minister for almost a decade, had referred to this as one of the worst outrages in our whole history," he said.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati, in a tweet, paid homage to those killed in the Jallianwala massacre 100 years back and sought an apology from the British.

"On the centenary of the Jallianwala tragedy, our homage to martyrs & sympathy to the family members who sacrificed their lives for the country. It would have been most gratifying had the Indian govt. succeeded in extracting an apology from the British for this gruesome massacre," she wrote on Twitter.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
: One more case against city-based IT Grids India Pvt Ltd has been registered for alleged theft of data of voters in Andhra Pradesh, following a complaint by officials of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), police said Saturday.

Sensitive data was also found in the possession of the company which has been booked in March, the police said.

The two cases have been taken over by a special investigation team after the Hyderabad and Cyberabad police filed the cases against the company for stealing date through "Seva Mitra" mobile application allegedly used by the ruling TDP in the state.

Preliminary investigation revealed illegal access by the company to personal and sensitive data of individuals such as aadhaar, electoral roll, government schemes and voters information related to various political parties, which can be misused for illegal purpose, the police said.

Investigations further revealed use of stolen voter information for voter profiling, targetting campaigning and even votes deletion, they said.

The seized digital evidence obtained by the police was sent to Telangana State Forensic Science Laboratory (TSFSL) for forensic examination, the police said.

UIDAI officials in the complaint lodged Friday said a TSFSL report stated that the seized hard disks contain database of a large number of records pertaining to aadhaar number in a particular structural database.

Further examination of the evidence showed a total of 7, 82,21,397 records of aadhaar data belonging to the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were found and used by IT Grids for the purpose of 'seva mitra' application, the police said.

The complainant said the structure and sizeof the database was similar to that of database that could have been originally owned by UIAI.

The complainant further raised suspicion over the data that could have been obtained either from the central identities data repository (CIDR) or one of the state resident data hubs (SRDH) aligned to CIDR.

"Availability of such unique information of an aadhaar number indicates that the accused in the case might have illegally accessed CIDR or SRDH and has used such information or data for wrongful gain," the complainant said.

The alleged data theft has become a contentious issue between the two neighbouring states.

Earlier, the TDP government had dismissed the charge of data theft and sought transfer of the case from Telangana to Andhra Pradesh while chief minister of the latter N Chandrababu Naidu had accused BJP and TRS of helping YSR Congress.

On his part, TRS working president K T Rama Rao had said Telangana police was only probing into the charge based on a complaint and asked Naidu why he should fear a probe if he had not done any wrong.

On March 7, a case was registered in Andhra Pradesh on data theft complaint by the ruling TDP and the SIT was set up to probe into it on a counter-complaint by TDP alleging a conspiracy by YSR Congress leaders and followers and some police officials of Telangana with the aim of stealing the data belonging to it.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With a French daily claiming that Anil Ambani's company benefited from a French tax waiver in 2015 when India was negotiating the Rafale deal, opposition parties on Saturday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was acting as a "middleman" for his "crony businessman" and that layers of corruption were now being unravelled.

The Congress alleged that the tax concession for Ambani was due to Modi 'kripa' (blessings) while the Left parties said the Prime Minister's Office "must own up to this".

The parties, which have been accusing Modi of helping Ambani get an offset contract in the Rafale deal, were reacting to a report in a leading French newspaper Le Monde which claimed that France waived taxes worth 143.7 million euros to a French-registered telecom subsidiary of Reliance Communications in 2015, months after India's announcement of buying 36 Rafale jets



However, the Defence Ministry termed as mischievous and inaccurate any attempt to draw a connection between the tax issue and the Rafale deal.

The French embassy here also issued a statement saying tax settlement with Reliance was not subject to any political interference whatsoever and was conducted in full adherence with legislative and regulatory framework.

In its reaction, Reliance Communications rejected any wrongdoing and said the tax dispute was settled under legal framework which is available for all companies operating in France.

The French newspaper said the French tax authorities accepted 7.3 million euros from Reliance Flag Atlantic France as a settlement as against original demand of 151 million euros. Reliance Flag owns a terrestrial cable network and other telecom infrastructure in France.

"This is called zero sum choices, startling tax concession and Modi 'kripa'," Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told reporters here.

He said that the report exposed "layers" of crony capitalism and corruption.

"PM Modi is acting as middleman for Anil Ambani. How many other companies in France have got a tax benefit? Is this not a quid pro quo for the purchase of aircraft? It is clear only one watchman is the thief," the Congress spokesperson said.

"Those that have Modi's blessings can get anything. If Modiji is there, then it is possibile. (Modi ji ki kripa jispar ho jaye uska kuch bhi ho sakta hai, Modi hai to mumkin hai)," he said taunting the BJP with its poll slogan.

CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury alleged that the Modi government misused public funds to pay an "exorbitant" price for Rafale fighter jets to benefit "crony businessman" Anil Ambani through offset deal and French tax benefit.

"So, our public money is used by Modi govt to pay exorbitantly more for far fewer Rafale fighters than required, to benefit a crony businessman through the defence deal and French tax benefit. No wonder BJP introduced secret Electoral Bonds for party funding, legalising corruption," he said.

"The whole nexus is now coming out into the open. PMO was directly involved in Rafale scam bypassing our Air Force, and NSA was illegally negotiating in Paris," he tweeted.

Surjewala claimed that in 2017-18, Dassault Aviation deposited Rs 284 crore in the bank account of an inactive company Reliance Airport Developer's Ltd. "This took place when the government of India was making advance payments to Dassault Aviation," he said.

The Congress has been alleging favouritism and corruption in the deal, saying the government was procuring each aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalised by the UPA government when it was negotiating.

The government and the BJP have maintained that there has been no wrongdoing in the deal.

Reacting to the newspaper report, the defence ministry said, "We have seen reports drawing conjectural connection between tax exemption to a private company and procurement of Rafale fighter jets by government of India.

"Neither the period of the tax concession nor the subject matter of the concession relate even remotely to the Rafale procurement concluded during the tenure of the present government."



Surjewala responded by saying that defence is acting as "official spokesperson" of a corporate.

Modi had announced the procurement of a batch of 36 Rafale jets after talks with the then French President Francois Hollande on April 10, 2015 in Paris. The final deal was sealed on September 23, 2016.

CPI leader D Raja accused Modi of aiding his "corporate friends" while leaving farmers and students high and dry.

"While this government denies loan waivers to farmers and students who are in deplorable condition and are committing suicide, he is facilitating loan waivers for corporates.

"He stands thoroughly exposed. Even when all this is coming out, he is sending Niramala Sitharaman and other leaders to defend him, but they were not even part of the deal. Why isn't Modi or PMO answering the questions raised by us? Wasn't the PMO conducting parallel negotiations in the matter? The PMO must own up to this," Raja said.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar claimed former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar relinquished his post at the Centre and returned to Goa because he did not agree with the Rafale fighter jet deal.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BJP president Amit Shah Saturday accused the Opposition of treating illegal immigrants as a vote bank and doing 'Ilu Ilu' with terrorists, an apparent reference to a popular Bollywood love song from the nineties.

He made the remarks while addressing 'Vijay Sankalp' (victory pledge) rallies in Badaun and Shahjahanpur districts of Uttar Pradesh.

"The BJP wants to take the intruders out (of the country) but the BSP-SP and the Congress do not want this as they consider them their vote bank," Shah said.

He also accused the Congress of being soft on terrorists.

"Rahul baba's guru Sam Pitorda said do not bomb (Pakistan) but negotiate... Rahul baba if your party wants to do 'Ilu Ilu' with terrorists you can do that. But our intention is clear, if a shot is fired, we will reply with a bomb," the BJP president said.

In the song, 'Ilu Ilu' is an acronym for I love you.

Shah alleged that during the Congress's 10-year tenure, no action was taken even when terrorists took away heads of Indian soldiers.

"This time it was the Narendra Modi government and not 'mauni baba' Manmohan Singh... within 13 days of the attack, the Indian Air Force went into Pakistan, bombed the terror camps and returned," he said, referring to the Pulwama attack.

He added that BJP workers in Kashmir will ensure that it remains part of India and "intruders" are thrown out of the country.

Training his guns at the opposition's 'mahagathbandhan', Shah said the country would have a new prime minister everyday of the week if the grand alliance comes to power.

"On one side is the BJP led by Narendra Modi which is working for the country. On the other side is the 'mahagatbandhan' of Rahul Baba, 'behan' (sister) Mayawati, 'bhatija' (nephew) Akhilesh, Congress and others... I ask who is your (opposition's) leader... it is clear that Modi is our leader and he will be the PM, but who is your leader... no one is telling but I will tell," he said.

"On Monday it will be Mamata Banerjee, on Tuesday it will be Mayawati, on Wednesday it will be Chandrababu Naidu, on Thursday it will be Deve Gowda, on Friday... on Saturday it will be Mulayam Singh Yadav," he added.

The BJP president claimed that the alliance of the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal did not have a policy and could not be trusted with the country's security.

"Can any government be run like this? Who will look after the security of the country? Can this 'gathbandhan' look after the security of the country?" Shah asked.

Only a government led by Modi can give a befitting reply to terrorism and Naxalism and not the SP-BSP alliance or the Congress, he said.

Shah also accused the opposition parties of not doing anything for the poor.

"Mayawati says that they will work for the poor but the BSP has given tickets to all the rich people and they will never do good for the poor," he said.

He added that Mayawati had gained power in the name of Dalits but she has never washed their feet like Modi did during the Kumbh Mela.

Shah said lawlessness prevailed in Uttar Pradesh under the erstwhile BSP and SP governments and the situation changed only after the BJP came to power.

He claimed people across India were chanting Modi's name and they had decided to make him the prime minister once again.

The BJP president exhorted the electorate of Badaun, from where the SP's Dharmendra Yadav had won in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, to join the development journey by voting for Maurya.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan's top anti-graft body Saturday summoned main opposition PML-N chief Shehbaz Sharif's wife and two daughters for questioning regarding business transactions, according to a media report.

Shehbaz's wife has been summoned by the National Accountability Bureau on April 17 while his daughters Rabia Sharif and Javeria Sharif have been summoned on April 18 and 19 respectively, Geo TV reported, citing sources in the accountability watchdog.

"The wife and daughters of Shehbaz have been summoned for questioning regarding business transactions," the sources said.

Shehbaz's son Hamza has also been summoned on April 15 in a case pertaining to construction of a nullah from government money.

Hamza, the Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly, has been summoned on April 16 as well in a case pertaining to assets beyond known sources of income, sources added.

An accountability court Tuesday indicted Shehbaz on charges he misused his authority while he was the chief minister of Punjab.

Shehbaz, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, has already been indicted along with nine others in the Ashiana Housing scam case. He was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau in the probe on October 5, 2018 and released on bail on February 14.

Shehbaz, 63, served as the chief minister of the politically crucial Punjab province from 2013 to 2018. He became PML-N president after his elder brother Nawaz Sharif was barred from holding the top party position and public posts.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar relinquished his post at the Centre and returned to Goa because he did not agree with the Rafale fighter jet deal, NCP chief Sharad Pawar claimed Saturday.

Addressing reporters in Kolhapur, the Maratha strongman also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that he had failed to fulfil the promises made during the 2014 poll campaign and was, therefore, diverting people's attention.

"The Rafale deal was not acceptable to Manohar Parrikar. He therefore resigned from the post of Defence minister and returned to Goa," claimed Pawar.

Parrikar, who took over as defence minister in November 2014, was sworn in as Goa chief minister on March 14, 2017. He died on March 17 this year after a long battle with a pancreatic ailment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the procurement of a batch of 36 Rafale jets after talks with the then French President Francois Hollande on April 10, 2015, in Paris. The final deal was sealed on September 23, 2016.

Slamming Modi, Pawar said the BJP has taken "siege" of important institutions in the country and is using them for its own benefits.

"It is very serious when judges of the Supreme Court have to conduct a press conference," he said.

In an unprecedented move, four judges of the Supreme Court had held a press conference on January 12, 2018, in which they raised a litany of problems, including the issue of assigning of cases, plaguing the apex court.

The historical press conference was held by Justices J Chelameswar, Madan B Lokur, Kurian Joseph and Ranjan Gogoi (current CJI).

Pawar also attacked the BJP and Modi for "politicising" the Army, adding that all other parties ensured that the armed forces were not politicised.

Praising Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, Pawar said the former was speaking the truth when he tells people that the Modi-Shah (BJP chief Amit Shah) combination is a dangerous one for the country.

"He is effectively conveying, with proofs, about the wrongs that have happened. We and Raj Thackeray are not together in the elections but we will take the help of everybody to take away power from the hands of wrong people," he said.

Pawar claimed that there is an environment of change prevalent in the country and people do not want a BJP government in power again.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday sought to corner the Congress on its showpiece poll promise of "Nyay," and sought to know who would do justice for the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots, violence against Dalits, and the Bhopal gas tragedy under its regime.

The Prime Minister addressing a poll rally, a day after the campaign by Congress president Rahul Gandhi here, alleged the Congress and dishonesty were best friends but sometimes "by mistake," they end up speaking the truth.

"Now they are saying "Ab Hoga Nyay" (justice will be done now) even if they did not intend, they have admitted that all they have done is "Anyay" or injustice for 60 long years," (during the Congress rule), he said.

"I want to ask the Congress party who will do Nyay to the victims of 1984 Sikh riots ?



...who will do Nyay to all the victims of anti Dalit (violence), who will do Nyay to the government of great M G Ramachandran ji, which was dismissed by the Congress just because one family did not like those leaders."



...who will do Nyay to the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy, among the worst environmental disaster in India."The Prime Minister pointed out that such infamous incidents occurred during the Congress rule.

If Rahul Gandhi invoked Tamil pride and Dravidian legacy to target BJP's Hindutva line, Modi today countered it by pointing to Tamil Nadu's spiritualism, late AIADMK leaders M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa and the welfare of Srilankan Tamils.

Modi said: "I pay homage to the great MGR and Jayalalithaa ji. India is proud of these two iconic leaders who lived and worked for the poor. their social welfare schemes ensured lakhs of people are free from poverty."



BJP stood with people on the Lord Ayyappa issue, he said and hailed the state's spiritual ethos by citing the famous hill shrine of Lord Shiva (Sundaramahalinga Swamy Temple) on Sathuragiri hills in the region.

"Remember that for making a prosperous Tamil Nadu, this game of the DMK and Congress must end. We must continue working for the prosperity of our Srilankan Tamil brothers and we must end the dynasty rule of corrupt families," he told the crowd.

The AIADMK has been accusing the DMK-Congress combine for not taking steps to halt the killings of Tamil civilians during the Srilankan civil war in 2009 while seeking to champion their cause and Modi's remarks resonate it.

Without naming anyone, the Prime Minister said the nation was witness to "father becomes Finance Minister and son loots the country," (during the UPA and seen as a reference to a senior leader from Tamil Nadu).

"Whenever they are in government they always loot, the Madhya Pradesh government has become their ATM, they are diverting money meant for poor and children for use in their election, this has become known as the "Tughlaq Road scam," I am sure you all know which big Congress leader stays on Tughlaq Road in New Delhi."



Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami lashed out at the DMK, asking it to clarify whom it would support in neighbouring Kerala, whether the Congress or the CPI(M).

In Tamil Nadu, DMK is leading the Secular Progressive Alliance, whose constituents include the Congress and the Left parties.

Modi launched a broadside against the Opposition saying the DMK, Congress and their 'mahamilavati' friends cannot accept strides India has made and therefore were "unhappy" with him.

The DMK and Congress though "sworn enemies" have joined hands, despite the national party having "humiliated" its southern ally in the past.

"Today India is rapidly making a mark in the world. The Congress, DMK and their mahamilavati friends cannot accept this. That is why they are unhappy with me," he said at an election rally here.

The Prime Minister has been describing the opposition 'mahagatbandhan' (mega alliance) as 'mahamilavati,' meaning adulterated.

Taking pot shots at DMK President MK Stalin's proposal naming Congress chief Rahul Gandhi as Prime Ministerial candidate, Modi said there were no takers for this among the opposition "because they are in line to be PM and dream of the post."



"Some days ago, DMK supremo (Stalin) projected the Naamdar (dynast--Gandhi) as PM (candidate) but no one was ready to accept it, not even their mahamilavati friends, because they are in line to be PM and dream of the post," he said, without naming anyone.

Despite past "bitterness," the Congress and DMK have joined hands, he said and recalled that the national party had "humiliated" the southern ally earlier, apparently referring to the dismissal of the DMK government in the past.

Even during the 2G spectrum allocation scam, centered around then Telecom Minster A Raja of DMK, the Dravidian party's leaders were criticising the national party, which was leading the ruling UPA, he pointed out.

"In an attempt to mislead the people, all the corrupt have ganged up in an attempt to defeat Modi," he added.

He said the DMK has to "resort to gimmicks" just to draw people to its rallies.

The Congress, the DMK and their other mahamilawati friends can never work for India's development, he said.

"This land of Theni is known for brave people who served the nation, it is now up to you to decide how you will you deal with those who questioned the surgical and air strikes done by our brake armed forces," he said.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) had carried out airstrikes on terror camps in Pakistan in February last.

"When it comes to national security there can be no compromise. I assure my fellow Indians that we leave no stone unturned in protecting India and destroying forces of terror."



Referring to the capture of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman by Pakistan army, he said, "When a brave Indian fighter pilot was captured in Pakistan, it was ensured that he is back home in record time and even then Congress was playing over national security and insulting our forces.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
: Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi and Chief Minister V Narayanasamy Saturday greeted the people in the union territory on the eve of Tamil New Year.

In her message, the Lieutenant Governor said 'Puthaandu' (new year) is celebrated on the first day of the month of 'Chithirai' in the Tamil calendar.

She extended her wishes on the auspicious occasion.

"May the beginning of the new year usher in prosperity, peace and health in every household," she said.

The Chief Minister, in his message, said Chithirai would highlight the traditional customs of Tamil culture.

He said the people would exchange greetings and seek the blessings of the Almighty for a peaceful life.

"I extend my best wishes and greetings to the people on the occasion," he said.

Minister for Public Works and PCC leader A Namassivayam was among those who greeted the people.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Poll strategist Prashant Kishor Saturday dismissed Rabri Devi's claim of he as an emissary of Nitish Kumar meeting her husband Lalu Prasad with a proposal to merge JD(U) and RJD which should declare its prime ministerial candidate ahead of the polls and dared RJD president to tell the media what transpired during their talks.

Kishor, who is the national vice-president of the Janata Dal (United), also came down heavily on Prasad for making "false claims" and quipped "those convicted or facing charges of abuse of public office and misappropriation of funds are claiming to be the custodians of truth".

He threw a challenge to the RJD supremo to sit with him before the media and tell everybody what transpired during their meeting and "who offered what".

"Whenever @laluprasadrjd ji wants, he should sit with me before the media as it would let everybody know what transpired between me and him and who gave an offer to whom," Kishor said in a tweet.

Rabri Devi on Friday dropped a bombshell claiming that Kishor had met Prasad with the proposal that the RJD and Nitish Kumar's JD(U) merge and the new entity thus formed declare its prime ministerial candidate ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

If Kishor denies having met Prasad with such a proposal, he is speaking a "blatant lie", she said.

"I got infuriated and asked him to go away as I had no trust left in Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar following his betrayal," the RJD national vice-president, who is also the leader of the opposition in the state legislative council, said.

Earlier, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has said that many times people on behalf of Nitish Kumar met him as well approached Congress with reconciliation proposals.

Rabri Devi's revelation coming close on heels of Prasad in his recently-published autobiography claiming that Kishor had met him as an emissary of Nitish Kumar with the proposal that the chief minister's party be re-inducted into the Grand Alliance has stirred the political pot in Bihar.

Kumar had in 2017 walked out of the Grand Alliance, which was formed upon his party's partnership with the RJD and the Congress, and had re-joined the BJP-led NDA.

Kishor had earlier termed as "bogus" the claim of Prasad in his recently published autobiography that Kumar wanted to return to the Grand Alliance, for which he had sent Kishor as his emissary to the RJD supremo.

Kishor had worked with both Kumar and Prasad as a strategist during the 2015 Bihar Assembly polls. He formally joined the JD(U) in September last year.

Companion since days of Patna University politics, Prasad and Kumar had long association with each other before they separared in mid-90s.

As a key strategist, Kumar used to be known as "Lalu's Chanakya" after the latter became the leader of the opposition in 1989 in the Bihar assembly after death of veteran socialist leader Karpoori Thakur.

He had also played an important role in making Prasad Chief Minister of Bihar in 1990.

But, by 1994, differences had started to crop up between the two top leaders of Mandal campaign, that led to providing reservation in government jobs to the OBC.

Kumar walked out of Janata Dal to form Samta Party with socialist icon George Fernandes.

Three years later, Lalu broke away from the party to form Rashtriya Janata Party (RJD) in 1997. The same year, Lalu lost the chief minister's chair because of his alleged involvement in the fodder scam but in an unexpected move made wife Rabri Devi the chief minister.

Kumar's Samta Party formed an alliance with the BJP in the 1996 general elections.

After a long fight, Kumar managed to finally remove RJD from the power in 2005. Since, then Kumar has been serving as CM except for a brief period in 2014 when he had quit the post after his party got a drubbing in the hands of Narendra Modi's BJP and appointed Jitan Ram Manjhi on the seat.

Kumar and Prasad joined hands in 2015 and defeated the BJP in Bihar assembly election. But, they parted company again in July 2017 over graft charges against RJD supremo's son Tejashwi Yadav.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devis claim that Prashant Kishor had met her husband Lalu Prasad as an emissary of Nitish Kumar with the offer of a political realignment Saturday drew an angry rebuttal from the strategist-turned-politician who challenged the jailed RJD president for a debate, in full media glare, over the episode.

The ex-CM, who is also the RJDs national vice-president, stuck to her guns and challenged Kishor, who now holds the same post in JD(U) the party headed by the Chief Minister



to seek permission from jail authorities in Ranchi and slug it out with her imprisoned husband, who is serving sentences in fodder scam cases.

Those convicted or facing charges of abuse of public office and misappropriation of funds are claiming to be the custodians of truth, Kishor who joined the JD(U) less than a year ago- remarked in a tweet.

In the remaining half of the tweet he said in Hindi @laluprasadrjd ji may sit with me at a time of his choice. It will be known to all what transpired between us and what offer was made from either side.

Kishors outbursts came a day after Rabri Devi had said here that after having dumped the RJD-Congress combine and returned to the NDA in July, 2017 Nitish Kumar again had second thoughts and sent Prashant Kishor five times to residences allotted to her and, previously, to her younger son Tejashwi Yadav.

Rabri Devi, who is the leader of the opposition in the state legislative council, had made the explosive claim that Kishor was sent by Kumar with the offer that the RJD and the JD(U) merge together and the entity thus form declare its own Prime Ministerial candidate ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

I flared up and asked him (Kishor) to leave as in the wake of Nitish Kumars betrayal, I was left with no trust in him, she had claimed.

When asked about Kishors challenge, Rabri Devi snapped then let him go and have a debate with him (Lalu). Who is stopping him? Let him go, seek necessary permission from the jail authorities and then have his wish fulfilled.

Meanwhile, Tejashwi Yadav, over allegations of corruption against whom Kumar had made the dramatic turnaround, questioned the silence of the Chief Minister over the alleged episode which came to light after Lalu Prasad first came out with the claim in his recently-published autobiography.

I do not wish to speak about Prashant Kishor. He was not the active player. Why is Nitish Kumar keeping quiet? If he is sure Lalu ji, my mother and I are not speaking the truth then he should break his silence. Even the Congress, which is our ally, is privy to the proposal mooted by Kishor, Yadav, who served as Deputy CM until Kumars exit from the Grand Alliance and has taken over as leader of opposition in state assembly, told reporters here.

After their parties were swept away in the Narendra Modi wave of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, arch rivals Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad had forged an alliance and succeeded in trouncing the NDA in the assembly polls that were held a year later.

Kumar, who had suddenly resigned as Chief Minister in July, 2017 heeding his inner voice, formed a new government within less than 24 hours with support of the BJP against which he had fought in the Lok Sabha as well as Vidhan Sabha polls.

Companion since days of Patna University politics, Prasad and Kumar had long association with each other before they separared in mid-90s.

As a key strategist, Kumar used to be known as "Lalu's Chanakya" after the latter became the leader of the opposition in 1989 in the Bihar assembly after death of veteran socialist leader Karpoori Thakur.

He had also played an important role in making Prasad Chief Minister of Bihar in 1990.

But, by 1994, differences had started to crop up between the two top leaders of Mandal campaign, that led to providing reservation in government jobs to the OBC.

Kumar walked out of Janata Dal to form Samta Party with socialist icon George Fernandes.

Three years later, Lalu broke away from the party to form Rashtriya Janata Party (RJD) in 1997. The same year, Lalu lost the chief minister's chair because of his alleged involvement in the fodder scam but in an unexpected move made wife Rabri Devi the chief minister.

Kumar's Samta Party formed an alliance with the BJP in the 1996 general elections.

After a long fight, Kumar managed to finally remove RJD from the power in 2005. Since, then Kumar has been serving as CM except for a brief period in 2014 when he had quit the post after his party got a drubbing in the hands of Narendra Modi's BJP and appointed Jitan Ram Manjhi on the seat.

Kumar and Prasad joined hands in 2015 and defeated the BJP in Bihar assembly election. But, they parted company again in July 2017 over graft charges against Tejashwi Yadav.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A BJP leader Saturday said the people of Rajasthan are paying the price as the Congress government is focused on its own 'Vaibhav', using the Hindi word which means 'glory' and also is the name of the chief minster's son.

Former state BJP president Arun Chaturvedi said, "The government is only concerned about its 'Vaibhav' even as people of the state were paying the price."



Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's son, Vaibhav Gehlot, is contesting the Jodhpur Lok Sabha seat, currently held by Union minister and BJP leader Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

Addressing a press conference here, Chaturvedi said the entire state is suffering from a severe water crisis.

"The Congress government announced to provide free water in the state but in reality, people are not getting enough drinking water. The present government has shelved its water conservation scheme Mukhyamantri Jal Swavlamban Yojana," he claimed.

Accusing the state government of giving contract of drinking water supply to people having "close links" with the party, he said that water tankers are being made available on the "whims and fancies" of Congress workers.

Chaturvedi said the Congress "failed" to make any alternative arrangement despite water crisis in summers whereas in the BJP government, water tankers were monitored and water was lifted from Chambal river to make it available in Bhilwara through train facility.

"The government has become completely paralysed and unable to control necessary resources required by the people," he said.

At a press conference in Churu, BJP leader and former cabinet minister Rajendra Rathore said Rajasthan was suffering from "undeclared economic emergency" from the day the Congress formed government in the state.

While the state administration is "completely paralysed", the chief minister is on an agenda to project his son Vaibhav Gehlot, Rathore said.

He said that PWD contractors who completed works of Rs 3,000 crore and submitted their bills before March 31 have "not a single penny" and farmers were forced to sell mustard and gram at much lower price that the MSP fixed by the Centre.

The state government has failed to make arrangement for gunny bags to the farmers, he alleged.

Vaibhav Gehlot is pitted against sitting Jodhpur MP Shekhawat in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. A constituency of 19.34 lakh voters, Jodhpur goes to polls in the fourth phase of the general elections on April 29.

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General Officer Commanding of White Knight Corps Lt Gen Paramjit Singh Saturday joined military and civil dignitaries to pay homage to the martyrs who laid down their lives for liberation of Rajouri in 1948.

'Rajouri Day' is being celebrated on April 13 every year to commemorate the bravery and valour of the soldiers who laid down their lives for the liberation of Rajouri district from rebels and Pakistan Army personnel who had infiltrated from across the border.

Lt Gen Paramjit Singh and Advisor to Governor Kewal Kumar Sharma paid tributes to the heroes of Rajouri and were joined by other esteemed civil and military dignitaries who were present to grace the occasion, an official said.

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Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat will hold a dialogue with NRI entrepreneurs Sunday to discuss how they could contribute to the development of the state in different sectors.

"The chief minister will hold a dialogue with NRI entrepreneurs via video conferencing at 9 pm Sunday to discuss investments as well as ways in which they could make a contribution towards the development of the state," Rawat's media advisor Ramesh Bhatt said.

Rawat said Uttarakhand besides being rich in natural resources had skilled manpower and a suitable investment climate.

The chief minister will explore how NRI entrepreneurs could bring their expertise to boost development of the state in different sectors like health, tourism, yoga and wellness, Bhatt said.

They will be asked how they could lend a helping hand in the state government's ambitious scheme of '13 districts 13 new destinations' and converting the state into a spiritual zone, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Special Task Force (STF) and the sales tax department have unearthed a Rs 13 crore tax case involving two subsidiaries of a company which carried out the embezzlement by means of bogus invoicing, officials said Saturday.

According to officials, the accused firms, RoundPay Techno Media and RoundPay Voice Tech, both registered at the same address in Lucknow, were involved in for utility services.

They were involved in circular trading and had shown transactions worth Rs 72.7 crore between them, on which they claimed an input tax credit of Rs 13.09 crore at 18 per cent GST, a senior official said.

"The STF and the sales tax department were jointly entrusted with the responsibility to probe the case, a first of its kind operation in This trading module was studied for 45 days. It was found that their activities were being carried out in Lucknow, Pratapgarh, and Khiri also," Deputy Superintendent of Police, STF Noida, Rajkumar Mishra said.

"The firms were identified, their locations physically verified. Over 100 officers were involved in the operation," he said.

Mishra said simultaneous raids were conducted at the locations of the main companies in and their subsidiaries in other towns by five teams comprising personnel of STF field units in Lucknow, and

"When the investigating teams asked the companies for an invoice of the trade done between them, they failed to produce any. The system which was used by these companies for generating the invoice/bills also had no record of this trade," the officer said.

"The director of the parent company has admitted in writing to the probe agencies about the Rs 13 crore fraud," the DSP said, adding 6 TB (terrabyte) data has been recovered from the firms' servers in and a detailed investigation of it was underway.

"The amount is likely to go up, we are awaiting the details," he said, adding Mishra said no FIR has been lodged as of now neither any arrest made.
Former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Saturday said the "control of the RSS" over the BJP is gradually decreasing due to the "one man show" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Alleging various violations of the model code of conduct, the senior Congress leader also said the Election Commission is not functioning effectively in having a free and fair polling.

"It is well known that the RSS has a control over the BJP, but we are seeing that slowly it is decreasing, mainly because of the one man show of Modi," Gogoi told a press conference here.

Leaders of the saffron party nowadays do not say "BJP government", but use the phrase "Modi government", in an attempt to give an impression that only he is running the government, he said.

"Modi is creating an indispensable image of himself for the party... His dictatorial behaviour and one man show is a concern for all," the former CM said.

Stating that the Lok Sabha polls in 2019 is the most important in Indian democracy so far, he said that the BJP is trying to create a president's rule type of situation in the entire election environment.

"We are against the hatred and communal role of the RSS. The Indian culture and Hindu religion is full of diversity, but still people are united. Modi wants to destroy that. That is why this election is very important," Gogoi said.

Gogoi also slammed Union minister Maneka Gandhi for her reported statement that there will be no jobs for Muslims if they do not vote for her.

"It is a very corrupt and communal statement. It is communal threatening. Her candidature should be cancelled and the election there should be set aside," he asserted.

Criticising Union minister Smriti Irani, too, for "contradictory declarations" over her educational qualification in affidavits in the last few elections, the Congress leader said even Modi gave "false affidavit" over his marital status.

"He should be sent to jail... The way the Election Commission should have played its role, they are not doing so," Gogoi said.

Taking exception to the increasing role of corporates in politics, he said even the Supreme Court had to intervene, and ordered declaration of all funds received through the contentious electoral bonds, which brought "windfall benefits to the BJP the most".

"The most corrupt party is the BJP. With the 'chowkidar' in the party, how come it became the richest party? Even Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal is running the most corrupt government.

"How is the BJP able to afford so many helicopters and chartered flights in this campaign in Assam?" he asked.

He also alleged that the Assam BJP is trying to get votes with money power, and pointed to the unverified videos of cash distributions among voters in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections in the state.

"Many prominent leaders of the anti-Citizenship Bill protests recently joined the BJP. There is no such big movement demanding ST status to six communities compared to those in our tenure. Why is it so? Because the BJP has purchased everyone with their money power," Gogoi claimed.

He challenged Sonowal for an open debate on Assam's development, and alleged that state Finance Minister and NEDA Convenor Himanta Biswa Sarma as the "most corrupt of all the BJP leaders".

Talking about politicisation of the armed forces, Gogoi said Modi wants to win the elections, riding on the achievements of the Indian Army.

"This has forced so many veteran defence officials to appeal to the President for stopping politicisation of the armed forces. Modi is nervous today. He is going to lose," the Congress leader said.

He also asserted that there is no 'Modi wave' in 2019 compared to 2014.

Regarding Assam, Gogoi said the Congress will win at least eight seats out of the 14 in the state.

In 2014, the BJP won seven out of 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam, the Congress and the AIUDF had three MPs each and one member was an Independent. The two BJP allies, BPF and the AGP, had no representation in the Lower House of Parliament.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia has blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the drop in the value of the Indian currency, saying he has sent the rupee from the ICU to the cremation ground.

Addressing a rally in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura district on Friday evening, Scindia also criticised Modi over demonetisation and the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST).

The Congress general secretary in charge of western Uttar Pradesh countered the claim of Modi that he had done in five years what the Congress could not do in 70 years.

Scindia blamed Modi for the falling rupee's value from about Rs 60 to a US dollar during the UPA regime to about Rs 70 now.

"'Modi ne rupaye ko ICU se shamshan pahuncha diya' (Modi has sent the rupee from the ICU to the cremation ground)," Scindia said in Ral village while campaigning for party candidate Mahesh Pathak for the Mathura Lok Sabha seat.

The Congress leader cited demonetisation, the condition of traders after the implementation of the GST as examples of the "misrule" of Modi.

The former minister alleged that the law-and-order situation in the state was so miserable that people had started labelling Uttar Pradesh as "Crime Pradesh".

Scindia said the Congress would ensure employment to the unemployed, safety to women, proper value for the produce of farmers and minimum income under the Nyay scheme if the party comes to power.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Shiv Sena's South Goa Lok Sabha seat candidate, Rakhi Prabhudesai Naik, Saturday promised to bring government funds for providing assured minimum financial assistance to the people dependent on mining in the state.

The mining industry in Goa came to a standstill in March last year, a month after the Supreme Court quashed the renewal of 88 mining leases in the state. Those dependent on in the industry have been demanding early resumption of mining operations.

Naik, who is also Shiv Sena's state vice president, said the party will ensure that financial support is given to mining dependents either through central coffers or District Mineral Foundation.

The District Mineral Foundation is set up in all the districts of the country, affected by mining related operations, under Minerals (Development and Regulations) Amendment Act 2015.

"We have always been with the mining dependents. Sena assures to raise the voice of mining dependents in the Parliament. BJP MPs from Goa have failed to do so. Once elected, we will do it for the sake of lakhs of people dependent on this industry," she said.

Naik said that mining dependents and the industry have contributed lakhs of rupees to the central and state coffers in the form of royalty and other taxes.

"The mining industry has played an important role in the development of the state. So it is the duty of the centre and state right now to help them during their time of crisis," she said.

Sena said the way farmers are supported in the country through various loan waivers, the mining dependents should also be given support.

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Actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha, who quit BJP to fight from Patna Sahib on a Congress ticket, Saturday scoffed at the saffron party's claim that the seat has been its stronghold and said he "would have loved" to fight Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the seat.

"Let them (BJP) live in fool's paradise ... Voters of Patna Sahib will teach them a lesson," Sinha, popularly known as 'Bihari Babu', said.

He cited the victories of Congress and RJD nominees in the past from the prestigious Bihar seat, from where he is seeking re-election for the third straight time, to deride BJP's claim.

"There was in some quarters that Modi himself will enter the fray from Patna Sahib on a second seat in addition to Varansi ... What happened?...I would have loved to take on him on the seat," Sinha, also known as 'Shotgun' told PTI.

Sinha, a Modi baiter, will take on Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, a four-term Rajya Sabha member fielded by BJP, in the Patna Sahib seat. This will be the first time that Prasad will be contesting in a Lok Sabha election.

Sinha himself has served two terms in the Rajya Sabha previously and had been a member of the union council of ministers headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The flamboyant MP brushed off Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi's recent statement that even American President Donald Trump if he were to contest from Patna Sahib would lose to BJP. "All these are said in frustration to keep Modi and Amit Shah in good humour while hiding the situation prevailing on the ground."



Without naming Sushil Modi, the actor-politician said "instead of fielding a person (Prasad) who cannot even win the municipal corporation election he himself (Sushil Modi) should have crossed swords with me."



The Bollywood actor, who was inspired by Loknayak Jayprakash Narayan to join politics and was introduced to BJP in the mid-80s by Nanaji Deshmukh, joined Congress last week after fight with the present leadership of the saffron party over being sidelined since the 2015 Bihar assembly polls.

On his arrival here Friday on his first tour of his Lok Sabha constituency after joining Congress, Sinha was given a rousing welcome at the state party headquarters at Sadaqat Ashram and he expressed confidence that he will retain the seat for a third time with a record margin.

Fighting on a BJP ticket, he had trounced famous Bhojpuri actor Kunal, who was fielded by Congress from the seat, in 2014. In the 2009 Lok Sabha he had defeated fellow Bollywood colleague and Congress candidate Sekhar Suman.

Elaborating on his contention that non-BJP leaders had won the Patna Sahib seat as well in the past, he mentioned Ramkripal Yadav, a former RJD leader who had defeated the BJP nominee. Yadav is now in BJP and in the fray from neighbouring Patliputra seat.

He also recounted the win by C P Thakur on a Congress ticket from the seat, that comprise the capital city of Patna and stretches to Patna Sahib, the birth place of Guru Nanak.

Even CPI leader Ramavatar Shastri had won from the Patna seat, before its bifurcation into Patna Sahib and Patliputra in 2009, thrice in the past, Sinha said.

Patna Sahib Lok Sabha seat has six assembly constituencies under it out of which five are held by BJP at present and a lone one by RJD.

Sinha trashed allegations that he has been an absentee in the Patna Sahib consituency and never cared for people who had voted for him.

"Go and see my record ... I have spend 106 per cent from my MPLAD fund ... Its available on the net," he said.

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Sudan's new military ruler vowed Saturday to "uproot" the regime of ousted president Omar al-Bashir and its symbols, in a televised address to the nation.

"I announce the restructuring of state institutions according to the law and pledge to fight corruption and uproot the regime and its symbols," General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said, a day after he was sworn in to head Sudan's new ruling military council.

Burhan said those involved in the killing of protesters would face justice and announced the immediate lifting of a night-time curfew.

He also ordered the release of protesters jailed by special emergency courts.

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Sudan's second new military leader in as many days vowed Saturday to 'uproot' deposed president Omar al-Bashir's regime and release protesters, in a bid to placate demonstrators demanding civilian rule.

"I announce the restructuring of state institutions according to the law and pledge to fight corruption and uproot the regime and its symbols," General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said, a day after he was sworn in to head Sudan's new ruling military council.

He also ordered the release of all prisoners jailed by special emergency courts and the immediate lifting of a night-time curfew imposed by the council earlier this week.

Career soldier Burhan took the helm of Sudan's transitional military council on Friday when his predecessor General Awad Ibn Ouf -- a close aide of ousted veteran president Bashir -- quit after little more than 24 hours in power.

Burhan also pledged Saturday that individuals involved in the killing of protesters would face justice.

His initial announcements indicated he wanted to show the tens of thousands of protesters on the streets that he is not part of the regime's old guard and was genuinely committed to reform.

The new leader also on Saturday accepted the resignation of the head of the feared National Intelligence and Security Service, Salah Abdallah Mohammed Salih -- widely known as Salih Ghosh -- the military council announced.

Salih Ghosh had overseen a sweeping crackdown led by NISS agents against protesters taking part in four months of mass demonstrations that led to the toppling of Bashir in a palace coup by the army on Thursday.

Dozens of protesters were killed and thousands of activists, opposition leaders and journalists arrested.

The police said Friday that 16 people had been killed in live fire in Khartoum alone over the previous two days as NISS agents led a desperate last stand for Bashir before the army intervened.

A photograph published by state agency SUNA had shown Burhan talking with protesters outside army headquarters on Friday, before his elevation to the top job.

Khartoum erupted with joy when Ibn Ouf tendered his resignation on Friday night barely 24 hours after taking the oath of office.

Car horns sounded as jubilant crowds streamed out of their homes chanting: "It fell again, it fell again".

But the organisers of the mass protests called on demonstrators to keep up their week-old vigil outside army headquarters.

Ibn Ouf had served as Bashir's defence minister right up to the president's downfall, after three decades of iron-fisted rule.

A former military intelligence chief, Ibn Ouf remains under US sanctions for his role in the regime's brutal response to an ethnic minority rebellion which erupted in the western region of Darfur in 2003.

Bashir himself came to power in a 1989 Islamist military coup, which toppled an elected government led by Sadiq al-Mahdi.

Burhan is a career soldier who comes with less baggage from Bashir's deeply unpopular rule than Ibn Ouf.

The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), whose grass-roots membership of doctors, teachers and engineers have spearheaded the nationwide protests, hailed Ibn Ouf's departure as "a victory of the people's will".

But it demanded that Burhan swiftly "transfer the powers of the military council to a transitional civilian government".

"If this does not happen we will continue with our sit-in in front of the army headquarters and other towns," the SPA said in a statement.

Bashir remained in custody and his National Congress Party on Saturday called on the military council to release arrested personnel.

"We consider (the) taking of power by the military council as violating the constitution's legitimacy," the NCP said in a statement.

"The NCP rejects the detention of its leaders, among them its acting president" Ahmed Harun, it added, calling for their immediate release.

Outside the Middle East, the formation of a military government to replace Bashir has met with widespread criticism.

The African Union said Bashir's overthrow by the military was "not the appropriate response to the challenges facing Sudan and the aspirations of its people".

The European Union urged the army to carry out a "swift" handover to civilian rule.

Former colonial ruler Britain said that the two-year transition announced by the military "is not the answer."



"We need to see a swift move to an inclusive, representative, civilian leadership," said Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Members of the military council have sought to reassure foreign diplomats about its intentions.

"This is not a military coup, but taking the side of the people," the council's political chief Lieutenant General Omar Zain al-Abdin told Arab and African diplomats at a meeting broadcast on state television on Friday.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has long standing arrest warrants against Bashir for suspected genocide and war crimes during the regime's brutal campaign of repression in Darfur.

But the military council has said it would never extradite him or any other Sudanese citizen.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sudan's second new military leader in as many days accepted the resignation of the feared intelligence chief on Saturday as he faced calls at home and abroad for a swift handover to civilian rule.

Career soldier General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan took the helm of Sudan's transitional military council on Friday when his short-lived predecessor General Awad Ibn Ouf -- a close aide of ousted president Omar al-Bashir -- quit in the face of persistent protests.

Burhan now has the tough task of persuading the tens of thousands of protesters who remain on the streets that he is not just another general from the Bashir regime but is genuinely committed to civilian-led reform.

The new leader accepted the resignation on Saturday of the head of the National Intelligence and Security Service, Salih Ghosh, the military council announced.

Ghosh had overseen a sweeping crackdown led by NISS agents against protesters taking part in four months of mass demonstrations that led to the toppling of Bashir in a palace coup by the army on Thursday.

Dozens of protesters were killed and thousands of activists, opposition leaders and journalists arrested.

The police said Friday that 16 people had been killed in live fire in Khartoum alone over the previous two days as NISS agents led a desperate last stand for Bashir before the army intervened.

Burhan was expected to meet protest organisers later on Saturday to hear their demands, opposition sources said.

A photograph published by state agency SUNA showed him talking with protesters outside army headquarters on Friday, before his elevation to the top job.

Khartoum erupted with joy when Ibn Ouf tendered his resignation barely 24 hours after taking the oath of office.

Car horns sounded as jubilant crowds streamed out of their homes chanting: "It fell again, it fell again".

But the organisers of the four months of mass protests that have now toppled two leaders in quick succession, called on demonstrators to keep up their week-old vigil outside army headquarters until Burhan reveals his true colours.

Ibn Ouf had served as Bashir's defence minister right up to the president's downfall, after three decades of iron-fisted rule and was widely despised on the streets.

A former military intelligence chief, he remains under US sanctions for his role in the regime's brutal response to an ethnic minority rebellion which erupted in the western region of Darfur in 2003.

Burhan is a career soldier who comes with less baggage from Bashir's deeply unpopular rule.

But protest leaders say that a change of military ruler will make no difference; what they want is an immediate handover to a civilian government.

The Sudanese Professionals Association, whose grass-roots membership of doctors, teachers and engineers have spearheaded the nationwide protests, hailed Ibn Ouf's departure as "a victory of the people's will".

But it demanded that Burhan swiftly "transfer the powers of the military council to a transitional civilian government."



"If this does not happen we will continue with our sit-in in front of the army headquarters and other towns," the SPA said in a statement.

Outside the Middle East, the formation of a military government to replace Bashir has met with widespread criticism.

The African Union said Bashir's overthrow by the military was "not the appropriate response to the challenges facing Sudan and the aspirations of its people".

The European Union urged the army to carry out a "swift" handover to civilian rule.

Former colonial ruler Britain said that a two-year transition overseen by the military "is not the answer."



"We need to see a swift move to an inclusive, representative, civilian leadership," said Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Members of the military council sought to reassure foreign diplomats about its intentions.

"This is not a military coup, but taking the side of the people," the council's political chief Lieutenant General Omar Zain al-Abdin told Arab and African diplomats at a meeting broadcast on state television.

But tens of thousands camped outside army headquarters for a seventh straight night in defiance of an nighttime curfew to keep up the pressure on the military rulers.

Bashir, who took power in a 1989 coup, remained in custody, but the military council has said it would never extradite him or any other Sudanese citizen.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued two arrest warrants against Bashir for suspected genocide and war crimes over the regime's brutal campaign of repression in Darfur.

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Sudanese political parties and movements behind nearly four months of anti-government protests met with the country's military on Saturday, activists and the military said, holding the first talks since the army forced President Omar al-Bashir from power two days ago.

The meeting came after the protest movement scored two big victories this week, first ending al-Bashir's almost 30-year rule on Thursday and then forcing the interim military leader, Gen. Awad ibn Ouf, from his post a day later. Protesters viewed ibn Ouf as too close to the ousted leader.

The movement said it has formed a 10-member delegation to introduce "the people's demands" to the military council, reiterating its rejection of military rule.

Ali al-Sanhouri, the secretary general of the Arab Socialist Baath Party in Sudan, told a conference in Khartoum that they are calling for the creation of a "civilian sovereignty council, cabinet and a national legislative association" to rule the county during the transition.

The protesters have said they will remain in the streets until a civilian transitional council is formed. They fear the military, which is dominated by al-Bashir loyalists, will rule indefinitely or hand power to one of its own.

Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, who was sworn in Friday to replace ibn Ouf as head of a transitional council formed by the military, said they have invited "all spectrums of Sudanese people for dialogue." In remarks broadcast on state TV, he said the military council will rule the country for up to two years until elections.

Burhan said he was lifting the curfew imposed Thursday, which was to last for a month from 10 pm-4 am, and declared the immediate release of all those detained and tried during the current wave of unrest, which began in December.

Al-Bashir imposed a state of emergency in February, banning unauthorised public gatherings and granting sweeping powers to the police in efforts to quash the unrest.

Hundreds of people were tried before emergency courts.

Burhan, who previously served as the general inspector of the armed forces, had met with the protesters in the streets after al-Bashir's ouster and listened to their demands.

Activists, however, said Saturday that 16 people, including a soldier, have been killed in the two days since al-Bashir's ouster.

The Sudan Doctors Committee, an affiliate of the Sudanese Professionals Association, which has been spearheading the protests, said 13 people were shot dead on Thursday and three others, including the soldier, were killed Friday.

It said they died "at the hands of regime forces and its shadow militias." Sudanese police said late Friday that the 16 were killed by "stray bullets," and that at least 20 people were wounded at rallies and sit-ins across the country.

The protests were sparked late last year by price hikes and shortages but quickly escalated into an Arab Spring-inspired uprising against al-Bashir, who seized power in a 1989 Islamist-backed military coup. Earlier this month, tens of thousands of protesters joined a sit-in outside the military headquarters in Khartoum, vowing to remain there until their demands were met.

"We will never leave the place. We will shout together. We will shout to our freedom, to our liberty," protester Rami Mustafa said Saturday, speaking in English.

Security forces loyal to al-Bashir had responded to the protests with a violent crackdown, killing dozens. They attacked the sit-in on several occasions, up until al-Bashir's resignation, and clashed with soldiers who intervened to protect the protesters.

The Sudan Doctors Committee says at least 38 people, including at least six soldiers, have been killed since the sit-in began on April 6.

Al-Bashir is currently wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide linked to the war in Sudan's Darfur region in the 2000s. The military has said it won't hand him over to the court.

The face of the coup, ibn Ouf was himself head of military intelligence during the brutal campaign to suppress the Darfur insurgency. The United States has imposed sanctions on him since 2007, saying he armed and directed pro-government militias known as the Janjaweed, accused of widespread atrocities during the conflict.

On Saturday, state-run media reported that Lt. Gen. Salah Abdallah Gosh, the head of the National Intelligence and Security Services, had resigned the day before. It did not provide further details.

Once a member of the president's inner circle, Gosh was sacked as an adviser in April 2011 for criticizing the government. He was arrested the following year on suspicion of involvement in a coup attempt, but was later pardoned by al-Bashir, who appointed him intelligence chief in February 2018.

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Firing a fresh salvo at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Rafale issue, the Congress on Saturday alleged that the 143.7 million euro French tax waiver to Anil Ambani's telecom company in 2015, after India announced the fighter jet deal, was due to PM Modi's "blessings" as he acted as a "middleman" for the businessman.

"This is called zero sum choices, startling tax concession and Modi 'kripa' (blessings)," Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told reporters here while referring to a French newspaper report that France waived taxes of the Reliance Communications' subsidiary.

The Defence Ministry termed as mischievous and inaccurate the attempts to draw a connection between the tax issue and the Rafale deal and said they are aimed at disinforming public.

Reliance Communications also rejected allegations of wrongdoing and said the tax dispute was settled under legal framework which is available for all companies operating in France.

Surjewala alleged that the "murky layers of corruption and money trail" in the Rafale saga are out.

"PM Modi is acting as middleman for Anil Ambani. How many other companies in France have got a tax benefit? Is this not a quid pro quo for the purchase of aircraft? It is clear only one watchman is the thief," the Congress spokesperson said.

"Those that have Modi's blessings can get anything. If Modiji is there, then it is possibile. (Modi ji ki kripa jispar ho jaye uska kuch bhi ho sakta hai, Modi hai to mumkin hai)," he said taunting the BJP with its poll slogan.

French newspaper Le Monde said the French tax authorities accepted 7.3 million euros from Reliance Flag Atlantic France as a settlement as against original demand of 151 million euros. Reliance Flag owns a terrestrial cable network and other telecom infrastructure in France.

Modi had announced the procurement of a batch of 36 Rafale jets after talks with the then French President Francois Hollande on April 10, 2015 in Paris. The final deal was sealed on September 23, 2016.

The Congress has been alleging favouritism and corruption in the deal, saying the government was procuring each aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalised by the UPA government when it was negotiating the deal.

The government and the BJP have maintained that there has been no wrongdoing in the deal.

Surjewala said, "How does Modiji's friend Anil Ambani only get these benefits? That too a company which has virtually no business?"



He also gave a timeline of events to support his claim.

"On March 23, 2015, Anil Ambani met French defence officials. Till then the contract to build 128 Rafale was with HAL. On April 10, 2015, PM Modi discards the old Rafale deal and announces a new deal worth Rs 7.8 billion, Surjewala said.

The Congress leader said after PM Modi announced the new Rafale deal, France cancelled the tax recovery worth 143.7 million euros of a company belonging to Anil Ambani.

"Between 2007-2010, France demands tax from Reliance Flag Atlantic France worth Euro 60 mn. Later between 2010-12, Euro 51mn additional tax was levied on the company.

"On September 21, 2018, Francois Hollande states that he was given no choice by PM Modi but to choose Anil Ambani's company (as offset partner), Surjewala said.

Surjewala claimed that in 2017-18, Dassault Aviation deposited Rs 284 crore in the bank account of an inactive company Reliance Airport Developers Ltd. "This took place when the government of India was making advance payments to Dassault Aviation," he said.

The defence ministry said any attempt to draw connection between the tax issue and the Rafale matter is totally inaccurate, tendentious and is a mischievous attempt to disinform.

"We have seen reports drawing conjectural connection between tax exemption to a private company and procurement of Rafale fighter jets by government of India. Neither the period of the tax concession nor the subject matter of the concession relate even remotely to the Rafale procurement concluded during the tenure of the present government," the ministry said in a statement.

Reliance group said in a statement that it "denies any favouritism or gain from settlement. Reliance Flag settled disputes as per legal framework in France available to all companies operating in France.

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The Tripura High Court has stayed an interim bail order of five persons involved in assault of a government doctor of Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital here.

The HC passed the stay on the interim bail order on Friday night.

Earlier that day a First Class Judicial Magistrate had granted interim bail to the five accused in the case.

A special court was convened by the Chief Justice of Tripura High Court, Sanjoy Karol, late last night following an appeal from the state government, and stayed the order of interim bail that was granted by the judicial magistrate, Tripura Law Minister Ratan Lal Nath told reporters on Saturday.

"We challenged the lower court's order because we thought it was a punishable offence and they could not be released," Nath said.

"The police had arrested the accused immediately," the minister added.

The doctor was beaten up by family members of a patient after she died in the hospital's labour room in the early hours of Friday, police said.

The 25-year-old pregnant woman was admitted to the state-run Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital around 1.20 am and she died of cardiac arrest around 2 am on Friday.

Alleging medical negligence, the patient's family then attacked and injured the doctor, police said.

The gynaecologist was admitted to the trauma care centre of the G B Hospital where his condition was stated to be improving.

Meanwhile, General Secretary of All Tripura Government Doctors Association (ATGDA), Dr Rajesh Chowdhury said they had called off their movement as Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb assured that stern action would be taken against the accused persons.

He also assured to set up police pickets in government hospitals.

"A six-member delegation of ATGDA and Indian Medical Association (IMA) met the chief minister on Friday night and the matter was discussed with him. We are satisfied with his assurances," Chowdhury said.

He alleged that in last one year 12 doctors were attacked in different places and despite filing FIR no action was taken.

The ATGDA and IMA on Friday demanded arrest of culprits, trial in first-track court for speedy disposal of the case, setting up of police pickets and installation of CCTV cameras in all government hospitals, and arrest of all culprits involved in the incidents of attack on doctors in last one year.

"This attack was inhuman and barbaric and we cannot keep mum if anybody tries to take the law in his hand. The police have been asked to take stern action," the chief minister had said on Friday.

In spite of being granted interim bail, the accused are still in jail because they could not produce bail bonds, officials said.

Police pickets were set up in three major hospitals of the city, G B Pant Hospital, Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital and Tripura Medical College, all located in the state capital.

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A Dalit family was reportedly compelled to cremate an elderly woman in a jungle after some upper caste people allegedly did not allow them to use the village crematorium in Fozal valley of Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district



About 100-year-old woman, resident of Dhara village, died after prolonged illness on Thursday.

Her grandson, Tape Ram, alleged that when funeral procession reached the public crematorium of the village, some upper castes men forbade them to cremate his grandmother there.

A video is making rounds on social media where Tape Ram is recording his statement while his grandmother is being cremated in the backdrop.

Tape Ram said,"They (upper caste men) said we shall be responsible if anything bad happens due to wrath of the deity. So we brought the body to nearby nullah and cremated it."



Meanwhile, when contacted, Kullu Deputy Commissioner Yunus said "SDM and DSP of Manali have been asked to check the matter.'"We are trying to establish the identity of the man in the viral video. We are also talking to the villagers to verify the facts," he added.

The DC said 'So far no one has come forward (for lodging complaint), we are trying to get the exact information. I am very strict in such matters. If anything concrete comes forth, I will not spare anyone (responsible for that).

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A museum in the UK has launched an exhibition on Jallianwala Bagh in collaboration with the Partition Museum in Amritsar to mark the centenary of the British colonial era massacre.

Jallianwala Bagh 1919: Punjab Under Siege' opened at Manchester Museum in time for Saturday's 100th anniversary of the tragedy that affected thousands.

The exhibition is conceived as a lived experience creation, based on work with descendants and communities to collect stories related to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on April 13, 1919.

Revisiting the event, its causes and aftermath, the nuanced exhibition explores what we remember, how we remember it, and what we have forgotten, in India and the UK, Manchester Museum said in a statement.

Protestors had gathered to challenge British rule before they were set upon by Colonel Reginald Dyer and his troops. Confined within an enclosed barren ground called Jallianwala Bagh in the Indian city of Amritsar, hundreds of Indians were killed and thousands injured. This was a defining moment in the fight for Indian independence and led to the eventual demise of the British Empire in South Asia, it adds.

The exhibition, supported by the Jallianwala Bagh Centenary Commemoration Committee (JBCCC), comprising prominent Indians and non-resident Indians (NRIs), is aimed at raising awareness around the peaceful protest to mark Baisakhi, the divergent British and Indian inquiry findings, and the ongoing social, political, and cultural response.

It is an apt moment for the British government to offer an apology to India, Manjit Singh GK, Patron-in-Chief of the JBCCC, said.

Both Secretary of State for War Sir Winston Churchill and former Prime Minister H H Asquith openly condemned the attack at the time, referring to it as monstrous and one of the worst outrages in the whole of our history, added Vikramjit S Sahney, Patron of JBCC.

There have been widespread calls for a formal apology to mark the 100th anniversary of the massacre this week, with the UK government earlier indicating that it was "reflecting" on the demand.

British Prime Minister Theresa May made a statement in the House of Commons earlier this week to say the UK deeply regrets the tragedy, which she described as a shameful scar on British Indian history.

The statement faced criticism for not going far enough, with the Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn demanding a full, clear and unequivocal apology.

The wounds of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre still haunt millions and should be laid to rest at this the centenary of the horrendous act, Veteran Indian-origin Labour MP Virendra Sharma, Chair of the Indo-British All Party Parliamentary Group, said in the Commons.

I appreciate the Prime Minister's comments, and thank her for her earnest words, but they are only the beginning of an apology not the full and frank formal apology that the communities affected need. I would also like to offer my fullest thanks to Jeremy Corbyn for his words of support, and his commitment to a full apology when he becomes Prime Minister, he said.

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre has found prominence in the UK parliamentary agenda in recent months as both the House of Lords and Commons held debates to mark the centenary.

In their capacity as JBCCC members, Indian-origin peers Lord Meghnad Desai and Lord Raj Loomba had written to the British PM calling for an apology and will be marking the 100th anniversary with a special event in the House of Lords on Saturday night.

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US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Saturday trade talks with China were getting close to their conclusion.

Since January, shuttle diplomacy between Washington and Beijing to resolve their nine-month trade war has dragged on longer than officials had expected. Both sides have continued to project cautious optimism without predicting success.

"It is more important to get it right than have arbitrary date," Mnuchin told reporters. But "I'm hopeful we're getting close to the final round of concluding issues."



A sticking point in the talks has been American officials' insistence that any final agreement have teeth -- and that they retain the ability to impose fresh tariffs should Beijing backslide on its commitments.

Mnuchin declined to get into details on Saturday.

"There are certain commitments the United States is making in this agreement and there are certain commitments that China is making," he said.

"And I would expect that the enforcement mechanism works in both directions."



Trump said last week a conclusion in the talks was probably "four weeks" away but since discussions began earlier this year to end the nine-month trade war, the finish line has repeatedly slipped further into the future.

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Venezuela's longtime spy chief was arrested Friday in Madrid by Spanish police acting on a US drug warrant a few weeks after he threw his support behind opponents of President Nicolas Maduro.

The arrest of retired Maj. Gen. Hugo Carvajal, who for more than a decade advised the late leader Hugo Chvez, was celebrated by US law enforcement officials who watched helplessly as the spymaster slipped from their grips five years ago when he was picked up in Aruba on the same New York indictment used to order Friday's arrest.

But some analysts said his surprise detention might have a chilling effect on Venezuela's opposition.

The opposition saw Carvajal's criticism of Venezuela's socialist government as a stimulus to prod other military figures to defect, but the country's armed forces have remained largely loyal to current Maduro.

Prosecutors in New York alleged Carvajal used his high office to coordinate the smuggling of approximately 5,600 kilograms of cocaine from Venezuela to Mexico in 2006, according to the indictment.

A spokeswoman with Spain's National Court, which handles extradition cases, said that Carvajal would testify Saturday before a judge in Madrid. He can either accept the extradition to the United States or fight it before the court, explained the official, who wasn't authorized to be identified by name in media reports.

Carvajal, who climbed the ranks in Venezuela since he befriended Chvez in the early 1980's, is no stranger to U.S. law enforcement agencies.

In previous indictments, authorities also named Carvajal as part of several high-ranking Venezuelan military and law enforcement officials who provided a haven to major drug traffickers from neighbouring Colombia.

The group became to be known in Venezuela as the "Cartel of the Suns" because top officers in the country wear sun insignias on their uniforms.

Carvajal also allegedly provided weapons to armed FARC guerrillas in Colombia, according to the U.S. Treasury Department, and helped fund the group's activities by facilitating shipments of large amounts of U.S.-bound cocaine through Venezuela.

In 2014, he became the highest-ranking Venezuelan official ever arrested on a US drug warrant. But authorities in the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba, where Carvajal was serving as Venezuela's consul, refused to extradite him under intense pressure from Maduro.

Carvajal, known in his country by the nickname "El Pollo (the Chicken)" eventually returned home, where Maduro received him as a hero, but soon after took a low-key presence in the country's turbulent In 2017, he broke with the Venezuelan government over Maduro's plans to create a constitutional assembly that gutted what was left of the opposition-controlled congress.

In mid-February, when Carvajal announced his support for opposition leader Juan Guaid in a video distributed on social media, the former spy chief said Venezuela's military was in as ramshackle a state as the nation as a whole.

"We can't allow an army, in the hands of a few generals subjugated to Cuban instructions, to become the biggest collaborator of a dictatorial government that has plagued people with misery," he said at the time, asking fellow military to join him.

As recently as two days ago, Carvajal remained hopeful that other former peers would follow his steps. But despite constant pleas by Guaid and the Trump administration for them to flip, the Venezuelan military remains largely behind Maduro.

"I have no doubt," he wrote in his Twitter feed, that "Maduro will leave by a decision of the Armed National Force."



Former American diplomat Roger Noriega said hopes in US intelligence and foreign policy circles that Carvajal could serve as bridge for other top-ranking generals to defect were misguided.

He said that the culture of corruption that Carvajal represented and has long plagued Venezuela is precisely what needs to be uprooted.

"How did a narcogeneral from Venezuela, who has been indicted in the US, evade Interpol red notices to travel to Europe?" said Noriega, who oversaw policy toward Latin American at the State Department during the presidency of George W. Bush.

"Last time he was arrested, the Obama administration let him slip away. I hope the US government won't let that happen again.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Odisha Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Saturday asked the BJP to name its chief ministerial candidate for the state.

"The people of Odisha want to know who is the BJP's chief ministerial candidate, from where s/he is contesting the elections," Patnaik said, addressing an election meeting at Daspalla under Kandhamal Lok Sabha constituency, which is going to polls in the second phase on April 18.

Alleging that the BJP was afraid of announcing the name of its leader in Odisha, he also took a dig at the saffron party's "double engine" slogan.

Patnaik was referring to BJP leaders' frequent call to the people of Odisha to ensure a "double engine" government (the government in Odisha as well as in Delhi) for better development of the state.

"That Delhi engine did not come to the state when people were encountering calamities like cyclone and floods. Though the Delhi engine came after calamities, it went to Andhra Pradesh and not to Odisha," the CM said.

Earlier, Patnaik had alleged that the BJP-led NDA government did not provide adequate assistance to cyclone-hit Odisha, even as it helped neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

"This Delhi engine will leave the state after the elections. Where is BJP's Odisha engine?" he asked.

"The four and half crore of people in Odisha are my family, and I will serve them till the last breath," Patnaik said.

Addressing another election rally in Aska in Ganjam district, he said the people of the locality will create a history this time by electing women self-help group (WSHG) member Pramila Bisoi to the Lok Sabha.

Apart from fielding a WSHG member as its candidate for the Aska Lok Sabha seat, BJD also has four other women candidates contesting from different assembly segments in the same Parliamentary constituency.

"You (the people of Aska) are going to create a history by electing a WSHG member to the Lok Sabha and send four women to the state assembly," Patnaik said.

Alleging that both the opposition BJP and the Congress have fielded "criminal elements" as candidates in Ganjam district, the chief minister said he will not allow breach of peace in the region.

The second phase of polling will be held on April 18 in Bargarh, Sundargarh, Bolangir, Kandhamal and Aska Lok Sabha segments, along with 35 assembly constituencies under their jurisdictions.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Gujarat water supply minister Kunvarji Bavaliya was caught on camera Saturday telling a group of women who complained about drinking water woes in their village that they should have voted for him.

After the video, shot on mobile camera, went viral, the minister said the question came from "uneducated women" and had been prompted by local politics.

Bavaliya quit the Congress last year to join the BJP and was made a cabinet minister. He won the ensuing Assembly by-election to Jasdan, which falls in Rajkot Lok Sabha constituency.

Campaigning for the BJP candidate at Kanesara village, he faced a group of angry villagers, most of them women, who complained that only half the village gets drinking water.

To which, the minister said only 55 per cent of the villagers had voted for him last time.

"I have the entire water resources ministry, I am in the government, and if required, I can sanction crores of rupees to arrange water supply to the village," he said.

"When I contested the election this time, I got only 55 per cent votes. Why didn't you all come together to vote for me?" he asked.

When questioned by reporters later, Bavaliya defended his remarks, saying the protesters were "uneducated women", and local politics prompted them to ask the question.

He also said that the complaint was not about his ministry, but the local panchayat. "I told them this is a panchayat issue and does not concern my ministry," he said.

Congress leader Hardik Patel lambasted Bavaliya.

"If somebody did not vote for the BJP and voted for other party, shouldn't they be given basic amenities? This is vindictive politics," Patel said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A top Army officer Saturday said it would not allow revival of terrorism in Jammu region including the mountainous Kishtwar district which witnessed killing of four persons including two senior leaders of BJP and RSS since November last year.

The General Officer Commanding (GOC), White Knight Corps, Lt Gen Paramjit Singh also said the leadership of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit was eliminated in Kashmir valley post India's preemptive air strike on a JeM terror camp in Balakot on February 26 in response to the February 14 Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed.

"The incidents which had happened in Kishtwar in the recent past are a matter of concern. The enemy always try to revive terrorism in the areas where it was wiped out but we are ready for the challenge and I want to assure the people if the intention is to revive terrorism, we will not allow it to happen," the officer said interacting with media persons in Rajouri district.

The communally sensitive Kishtwar district, which was declared terrorism-free over a decade ago, was rattled by the killing of State Secretary of BJP Anil Parihar and his brother Ajeet Parihar on November 1 last year, followed by assassination of senior RSS leader Chanderkant Sharma and his security guard inside a health centre on Tuesday.

"The army has not left this area because the enemy can attempt again to revive terrorism but as long as we stand united, the Pakistan cannot succeed in its nefarious design," he aded.

On March 8, unidentified gunmen also snatched the service rifle of the personal security officer of district development commissioner, Kishtwar, fromhis rented accommodation in the town.

The officer said the intelligence agencies, police and army have worked out a strategy to deal with the arising situation.

"Some people were already rounded up (in connection with the latest killings) and the operation is going on there (Kishtwar) at the moment," he said.

When his attention was drawn to the weapon snatching incident, arrest of some militants with weapons and recovery of huge consignment of drugs in Poonch and Rajouri district last year, he said the enemy always try that there be no peace anywhere in the state.

"Such attempts continue on the part of the enemy but we failed their nefarious design with the joint efforts and the support of the public," he said.

Lt Gen Singh said those people who have seen Rajouri, Poonch and Surankote after 1990 know with everybody's cooperation --civilian population, local administration, police and army -- the terrorism was wiped out from the region.

"There is no place in the country which is free from the danger of an accident," he said and expressed satisfaction over the peaceful conclusion of the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 11.

In response to another question about the status of militancy in the state post Balakote airstrike, he said "the leadership of Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit was eliminated in the Kashmir valley."



"As far as Jammu region is concerned, it has not witnessed any major militant activity before or after the airstrike," he said.

The Army officer said ground reports did not suggest sudden increase in the terror activity by overground workers of the terrorists in any part of the Jammu region.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale on Saturday said he will speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make necessary changes in the citizenship bill if the NDA comes to power again.

Addressing a press conference here, Athawale, also the chief of the Republican Party of India (A), acknowledged the strong sentiment against the contentious bill across the north east region.

"We have sympathy for the peoples' sentiments. When Narendra Modi will become PM again, we will talk to him to see what changes can be made in the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill," he said.

The RPI(A) has fielded three candidates for the Lok Sabha elections in Assam. It has given tickets to Mehbubar Rahman in Dhubri, Rejaul Karim in Barpeta and Sadek Ali in Gauhati constituencies.

"We have opened our party units in all the north eastern states. At this moment, we are new here. But, I can tell that we will be a strong force in the years to come," Athawale said.

Criticising the 'mahagathbandhan' as a force without any leader or prime ministerial face, the NDA ally claimed that the BJP-led alliance will bag over 350 seats in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections across the country.

Athawale also slammed the opposition for seeking proof of the Balakot air strikes and said that Kashmir is an integral part of India.

"Pakistan has no control over Kashmir. They should return the occupied Kashmir. It is not a free state. The Article 370 should be removed. Jammu and Kashmir is not developed because of this," he added.

Athawale further said that his ministry will work towards completely stopping manual scavenging in the country by introducing technology-based solutions.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Meteorological Department has issued a fresh yellow weather warning for thunderstorm in Himachal Pradesh on April 16 and 17, an official said.

The Shimla MeT centre issued the weather warning for thunderstorm accompanied with hailstorm and gusty winds in plains, low and mid hills of the state on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Met office issues colour-coded warnings to alert the public ahead of severe or hazardous weather which has the potential to cause "damage, widespread disruption and/or danger to life."



Yellow is the least dangerous out of the weather warnings it indicates the possibility of severe weather over the next few days that could affect the public.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Alibaba Group founder and billionaire Jack Ma has defended the grueling overtime work culture at many of China's tech companies, calling it a "huge blessing" for young workers.

The e-commerce magnate weighed into a debate about work-life balance and the overtime hours demanded by some companies as the sector slows after years of breakneck growth.

In a speech to Alibaba employees, Ma defended the industry's '996' work schedule, which refers to the 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. workday, six days a week.

"I personally think that being able to work 996 is a huge blessing," he said in remarks posted on the company's WeChat account.

"Many companies and many people don't have the opportunity to work 996," Ma said. "If you don't work 996 when you are young, when can you ever work 996?"

The issue has fueled an online debate and protests on some coding platforms, where workers have swapped examples of excessive overtime demands at some companies.

Ma, a former English teacher who co-founded Alibaba in 1999 and has become one of China's richest people, said he and early employees regularly worked long hours.

"In this world, everyone wants success, wants a nice life, wants to be respected," Ma said.

"Let me ask everyone, if you don't put out more time and energy than others, how can you achieve the success you want?"

Ma referred to the tech industry today where some people are without jobs, or working at companies in search of revenue or facing closure.

"Compared to them, up to this day, I still feel lucky, I don't regret (working 12 hour days), I would never change this part of me," he said.

This month activists on Microsoft's GitHub, the online code repository site, launched a project titled "996.ICU" where tech workers listed Alibaba among the companies ranked as having some of the worst working conditions.

On Thursday, an opinion piece published in a state newspaper argued that 996 violated China's Labor Law, which stipulates that average work hours cannot exceed 40 hours a week.

"Creating a corporate culture of 'encouraged overtime' will not only not help a business' core competitiveness, it might inhibit and damage a company's ability to innovate," the unnamed author wrote in the People's Daily.

Also read: 'I hire people who are smarter than me,' says Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma

Also read: Jack Ma, China's richest man, is a Communist Party member: Report
In the wake of reports that it granted huge tax waiver to Anil Ambani's French firm, France Saturday said a global settlement was reached between the French tax authorities and the Reliance subsidiary and that it was not subject to any political interference.

Leading French newspaper Le Monde reported that France waived taxes worth 143.7 million euros to a French-registered telecom subsidiary of Ambani's Reliance Communications in 2015, months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of India buying 36 Rafale jets.

"A global settlement was reached between the French tax authorities and Reliance Flag, a telecom company, in a tax dispute pertaining to the period 2008-2012," the French embassy said in a statement.

It further said, "This settlement was conducted in full adherence with the legislative and regulatory framework governing this common practice of the tax administration," the embassy said.

It said the settlement was not subject to any political interference whatsoever.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the procurement of a batch of 36 Rafale jets after talks with the then French President Francois Hollande on April 10, 2015 in Paris. The final deal was sealed on September 23, 2016.

The Congress has been alleging massive irregularities in the deal, saying the government was procuring each aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalised by the UPA government when it was negotiating the deal.

The Congress has also been targeting the government over selection of Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Defence as an offset partner for Dassault Aviation, the manufacturer of Rafale. The government has rejected the allegations.

The French newspaper said the company was investigated by French tax authorities and found liable to pay 60 million euros in taxes for the period 2007 to 2010.

However, Reliance offered to pay 7.6 million euros only as a settlement but French tax authorities refused to accept the amount. The authorities conducted another probe for the period 2010 to 2012 and asked the company to pay an additional 91 million euros in taxes, the report said.

It said by April 2015, the total amount owed by Reliance to the French authorities in taxes was at least 151 million euros.

In October, six months after Modi announced in Paris about the Rafale deal, the French authorities accepted 7.3 million euros from Reliance as a settlement as against the original demand of 151 million euros.

ALSO READ: French authorities waived off Anil Ambani's $162 million tax debt during Rafale negotiations: report

ALSO READ: Tax concession by France to Anil Ambani is 'Modi kripa', says Congress
In a historic move, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has appointed nine private sector specialists as joint secretaries in central government departments.

The appointments have been made for departments of revenue, financial services, economic affairs, agriculture and farmers welfare, road transport and highways, shipping, environment, forest and climate change, new and renewable energy, civil aviation, and commerce.

In June 2018, the Personnel Ministry had invited applications for the joint secretary posts through lateral entry. However, in December, the ministry entrusted the task of selecting the candidates for these posts to the UPSC.

The 'Lateral Entry Mode' is said to be one of the biggest reforms by Modi government in a bid to bring fresh talent into the bureaucracy. The lateral entry mode gives an opportunity to private sector specialists to join government departments.

The nine professionals who have been selected as joint secretaries in central government departments are:

Amber Dubey

Amber Dubey is a Partner at KPMG in India, and heads the Aerospace and Defense sector at the firm. He is an alumnus of IIT Bombay and IIM Ahmedabad and has professional experience of over 26 years.

Amber is Co-Chairman (Aviation) at US India Business Council (USIBC), American Chambers of Commerce (AmCham), and a member of the aviation committees of FICCI and ASSOCHAM. He works closely with industry associations connected to airlines, airports, MRO, air-cargo and general aviation.

In 2012, Amber was honoured for 'Valuable contribution to Indian aviation'. In 2017, he was nominated by the President of India as member of the Academic Council of the Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University (RGNAU). In July 2018, Amber was nominated by the Defence Minister as special invitee to the Capital Projects Review Committee (CPRC) that reviews progress of critical modernisation projects of the Indian armed forces.

Rajeev Saksena

Rajeev Saksena is Director - Economic and Infrastructure, SAARC Development Fund (SDF), with over 22 years of experience to his credit.

Sujit Kumar Bajpayee

Sujit Kumar Bajpayee is working with NHPC as Manager (Environment). He is involved with the overall planning of new hydro projects from the environment and forest angle, securing clearance for them from Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and implementation and monitoring of various environmental safeguards stipulated by the government.

Dinesh Dayanand Jagdale

Dinesh Jagdale is the Director and Chief Executive Officer at Panama Renewable Energy Group. He used to work with Enercon India Ltd as DGM (Marketing) and with Crompton Greaves as a marketing executive - exports.

Kakoli Ghosh

Private sector agriculture specialist Kakoli Ghosh has been selected for appointment as joint secretary for agriculture, cooperation and farmers welfare. Kakoli, who works at the Food and Agriculture Organisation, is the only woman on the list.

Bhushan Kumar

Bhushan Kumar has been selected for appointment as joint secretary, shipping ministry. According to Silicon India, Bhushan was CEO and MD at Diamond Shipping, which is a part of Dubai-based Sharaf Group from January 2008 to July 2009.

He was the vice-president/GM-legal at Maersk India Pvt Ltd in Mumbai from 2004 till 2007. Prior to this, Bhushan Kumar worked as General Manager at Caleb Brett India Pvt Ltd, Jamnagar and as Nautical Officer at TS Chanakya.

Other appointees selected via the lateral entry mode include Arun Goel for commerce ministry, Saurabh Mishra for financial services ministry, and Suman Prasad Singh for road transport and highways ministry.

These joint-secretary level appointees, will have an initial term of three years, which might be extended up to five years.

"The recruitment process for selection of candidate for joint secretary level post on contract basis (lateral entry) for the department of revenue, ministry of finance has become infructuous at the interview stage," the UPSC said without citing further details.

Of the total 6,077 applications received by the government, only 89 were short-listed for the interview.

Government think tank Niti Aayog had in a report highlighted that it was essential that specialists be inducted into the system through lateral entry on fixed-term contract.

(With PTI inputs)

Also read: IAS officer without UPSC? Modi government opens 10 vacancies for joint-secretary level posts
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took to Twitter to pay his tributes to the fallen on the centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. "Today, when we observe 100 years of the horrific Jallianwala Bagh massacre, India pays tributes to all those martyred on that fateful day. Their valour and sacrifice will never be forgotten. Their memory inspires us to work even harder to build an India they would be proud of," he wrote.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi visited the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial on Sunday to pay tribute. Gandhi visited the memorial with Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, state minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and a few other Congress leaders. The Congress chief paid floral tribute and wrote on the visitors' book: "The cost of freedom must never ever be forgotten. We salute the people of India who gave everything they had for it." They also observed a two-minute silence to remember the people who were massacred in the tragic incident on April 13, 1919.

Gandhi reached Amritsar late Friday night. Upon his arrival, the Congress chief, accompanied by Singh, went straight to the Golden Temple and paid obeisance at the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs.

"A 100 years ago today, our beloved freedom fighters were martyred at Jallianwala Bagh. A horrific massacre, a stain on civilisation, that day of sacrifice can never be forgotten by India. At this solemn moment, we pay our tribute to the immortals of Jallianwala," tweeted President Ram Nath Kovind.

A 100 years ago today, our beloved freedom fighters were martyred at Jallianwala Bagh. A horrific massacre, a stain on civilisation, that day of sacrifice can never be forgotten by India. At this solemn moment, we pay our tribute to the immortals of Jallianwala #PresidentKovind pic.twitter.com/tNt0v5aFWv - President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) April 13, 2019

British High Commissioner to India Dominic Asquith also visited the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial separately on Saturday. In the visitors' book, Asquith wrote, "The events of Jallianwala Bagh 100 years ago today reflect a shameful act in British Indian history. We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused. I am pleased today that the UK and India have and remain committed to developing further a thriving 21st century partnership."

Earlier this week, British Prime Minister Theresa May had said, "The tragedy of Jallianwalla Bagh in 1919 is a shameful scar on the British-Indian history. As her Majesty, the Queen said before visiting Jallianwala Bagh 1997, it is a distressing example of our past history with India. We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused."

The massacre took place at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar during the Baisakhi festival in April 1919 when troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer opened fire at a crowd of people holding a pro-independence demonstration, leaving several dead and scores injured.

(With PTI inputs)

Also read: India GSP review: US senators urge Trump administration to delay decision on preferential trade status

Also read: Lok Sabha Election 2019 LIVE updates: 'Will make sedition law more stringent,' says Rajnath Singh
Finance minister Arun Jaitley lashed out at the Opposition parties in his latest blog on Facebook today. The Union minister in a fresh blog post titled 'India's Opposition is on a 'Rent a Cause' Campaign' , wrote that the Opposition is in 'disarray' and there's no running thread in their campaign. "The Opposition parties wasted the past two years in a run-up to the poll 'manufacturing issues' which didn't exist," said Jaitley.

He further said that the false campaign on Rafale, loan waiver to industrialists and EVMs' rigging were all lie and didn't carry much weight.

To oust a popular govt. an extremely popular Prime Minister, you need real issues not fictional ones. The Opposition wasted the past two years in the run-up to the poll manufacturing issues which didnt exist. The Rafale or the EVM proved to be fake issues only. Chowkidar Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) April 13, 2019

Jaitley extolled Amit Shah and PM Narendra Modi for amassing voting target of 50% in the BJP stronghold states.

He said, "The First Phase of voting is over. The "Modi" factor was writ large across the country. Amit Shah's challenge to the BJP workers to prepare for a 50% voting target in the BJP stronghold states even where there are opposition alliances seems coming through.

On the leadership issue, Jaitley said that the situation of opposition parties look gloomier. An unequivocal verbal battle among the Left, Trinamool, Congress and AAP is an advantage for BJP, said Jaitley.

On the leadership issue the situation of opposition parties look gloomier than what I had thought. The BSP leader Mayawati, the Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee leave no stone unturned in running down the Congress President. No doubt it is advantage BJP. Chowkidar Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) April 13, 2019

Further, Jaitley took a jibe on 'Signature Campaign' by saying that the campaign proved to be terrible for the Congress party as many of academics, economists and ex-civil servants, whose signatures were used publicly stated that they never consented to put their signatures.

Jaitley, citing February's Pulwama attack and Balakot air strike, said that the Opposition could not built up a single issue against the government in the past five years and that its strategy now was to "pick up an issue for a daily tweet or a press-briefing".

The Signature Campaign Propaganda proved to be terrible for the Congress party as many of academics, economists, artistes, ex-civil servants & even some former soldiers, whose signatures been put, publicly stated that they never consented for putting their signatures. Chowkidar Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) April 13, 2019

"One day Pulwama was questioned as self-engineered. The next day Balakot was questioned as a non-existent operation," wrote Jaitley in his blog.

Referring to the latest flak against Union textile minister Smriti Irani's educational qualifications, Jaitley said that the opposition had forgotten "that a public audit of Rahul Gandhi's academic credentials may leave a lot to be answered. After all, he got an M.Phil without a Masters degree!"
April 13, 2019 marks the 10th anniversary of one of the biggest events in the corporate history of India - the acquisition of Satyam by Tech Mahindra. Prior to the acquisition, Tech Mahindra was a niche player that derived 100% of its revenues from the telecom vertical. On the other hand, Satyam was the fourth largest Indian IT services company in terms of revenue, listed in both the Indian and US stock exchanges. It had over 50,000 employees with operations in 66 countries and counted 185 Fortune 500 companies as customers.

Tech Mahindra and its parent organisation - the Mahindra Group saw the acquisition of Satyam as a strategic opportunity to move to the next level of growth. The acquisition would allow the Group to diversify across verticals, customers, and geographies, market a wide range of services to Satyam's strong customer base.

Termed as a truly daring attempt - not just in the scale and size, but also in terms of managing expectations - of the investors, customers and the employees. The daunting task was made possible with Tech Mahindra's decisive leadership. The merger puts forth some amazing lessons which most new-age businesses can imbibe to turn around any hostile situation and make the most of any such situations:

Risk Taking Capabilities:- "If you dare nothing, you gain nothing," every business aims for steady profits and margins, but for long term profitability, one needs to look beyond organic growth opportunities i.e. acquiring/investing in new business opportunities. This will help in staying relevant in this forever evolving market.

Humane approach:- Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) is a stressful/trying affair for not just the management but the employees and other stakeholders. Motivating employees to a common purpose is one of the key priority areas.

Building trust:- Collective decision making by building trust amongst various internal stakeholders holds the key to success, during any M&A scenarios. Therefore, it is advisable to keep them all updated about your moves.

Retaining & nurturing Talent:- Your employees are your biggest asset. Invest in their training and skill-building so that they churn out the best-in-class solutions to your customers' problems. Implement employee connect programmes to address all their grievances and applaud their hard work.

Client communication and identifying opportunities that help you build scale:- Connect with the existing clients and offer them the assurance that they need - how you will continue to better serve all your customers. Use your knowledge and capabilities to win their precious vote of trust and loyalty. In some cases, it could even get you more leads.

Preserving shareholder value:- The objective of any successful management is to increase sales, earnings, and free cash flow which further translates into increased dividends and capital gains for its equity owners. Never lose sight of the same.

Transparency:- Keeping the communication clear and crisp helps as it curbs rumours and dispels doubts related to any particular corporate move by the management

Embracing the change:- Change is the only constant, whether it is about adopting new technologies, new manufacturing techniques or incorporating new policies, be prepared to face the change and adapt with the changing times.

Corporate Governance & corrective actions:- Identify and review key processes to figure out the areas that need immediate management attention. Address the same by incorporating necessary checks and balances like new policies and guidelines. This will also help build a framework for future work proceedings.

Last but not least, make efforts to communicate your endeavours in managing the merger with external stakeholders - the government, industry and media. Your best practices could make up for an interesting case study and learning point for others which they could emulate as and when the situation arises.

(The author is the MD and CEO of Tech Mahindra.)
Zhenjiang's Jianghehui building site has been shut down for nearly four years. Photo: Liang Yingfei/Caixin

How China's Ministry of Finance, regulators and governments are trying to save Zhenjiang, pt. 2

As we explored in Part 1 of our series, 2019 marks the beginning of a three-year peak debt repayment period for local government financing vehicles (LGFVs), meaning Zhenjiangs situation is dire. Any arrangement hammered out is being closely watched for signs of what policymakers will be prepared to accept in the hunt for a solution for dealing with hidden liabilities across the country.

Under an agreement with the MOF last year, Zhenjiang was supposed to cut expenditures and sell off assets before it would receive financial support from the province and elsewhere, we learned. But, it turns out, local officials are not even done compiling a list of what the city and its LGFVs own, valuing the assets and verifying their ownership.

Meanwhile, local officials are also pinning hopes on a huge increase in the quota for sales of special purpose bonds. They also hatched a plan with the local branch of the China Development Bank (CDB), which is heavily involved in LGFV financing, to perhaps receive bailouts.

But wherever Zhenjiang looks, there lie obstacles. Check out Part 2 of our series.

FINANCE & ECONOMICS

Shipping containers full of export goods get unloaded on March 8 at a port in Lianyungang, East Chinas Jiangsu province. Photo: IC Economy /

Chinas exports recover in March, growing at fastest pace in five months

China's exports of goods rose 14.2% YOY to $198.7 billion in March, growing at the fastest pace in five months, government data showed Friday. That compared with a 20.7% decline in February and was ahead of the median forecast of a 6.5% increase in a Bloomberg survey of economists.





Meanwhile, imports fell 7.6% YOY to $166 billion in March after a 5.2% slide in February. Imports missed the Bloomberg median forecast of a 0.2% increase. The trade surplus rose to $32.7 billion from Februarys $4.1 billion.

Diplomacy /

New World Bank head softens tone on China

The World Bank Groups new president, David Malpass, lauded its constructive and evolving relationship with China at a press conference in Washington Thursday, a diplomatic response for an open critic of Chinas relationship with the World Bank.

Malpass said that China is naturally evolving from being a major borrower from the World Bank to a smaller borrower and is also becoming a bigger donor and shareholder. Before being unanimously elected president April 4, he was the U.S. Treasurys undersecretary for international affairs under President Donald Trump. He has joined trade delegations for negotiations over a U.S.-China trade deal.

Off-the-books /

Western China city illegally borrowed $170 million

The government of Xianyang illegally borrowed 1.14 billion yuan ($170 million) off the books from two local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) for infrastructure projects between 2017 and 2018, the Shaanxi Provincial Finance Department said. It's the latest example of the mounds of hidden local government debt that China is working to clean up.

Nine officials of the Xianyang administration committee and the two LGFVs were put under investigation or given formal warnings or verbal reprimands, the Shaanxi Provincial Finance Department said. In the next step, the government and regulators will punish the financial institutions that provided guarantees for the illegal borrowings, the department said.

Opinion /

PBOC deputy: Financial opening-up is a path China must follow

Chen Yulu, deputy governor of the Peoples Bank of China, said China will open up its financial sector across the board and create a win-win situation for institutions and investors.

At a keynote speech delivered Wednesday at the Caixin Roundtable in Washington, Cheng outlined several changes that China will make to better embrace foreign investors and integrate with global markets, including further easing restrictions on foreign investors holdings and better adopting the approach of pre-establishment national treatment and the negative list. Cheng ranks second in the central banks leadership after Governor Yi Gang.

Quick hits /

High-tech board mulls price protections





BUSINESS & TECH

Workers lay railway tracks in Zhangjiakou, North China's Hebei province on Dec. 18. Photo: IC Infrastructure / Malaysia

Malaysia revives controversial China railway at a big discount

Malaysia has resuscitated a stalled multibillion-dollar railway project with China, after managing to reduce the costs by one-third from the initial plan.

The countrys Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, had said that the 688-kilometer (428-mile) East Coast Rail Link contained damaging terms and that it saddled Southeast Asias third-largest economy with excessive debt. But after nearly a year of negotiations, Malaysia on Friday said Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd has signed a supplementary agreement with CCCC to resume the project at a much reduced cost.

Sharing economy /

Automakers ramp up ride-hailing offensive to unseat Didi

It would seem that concern over whether Chinas consumers will ditch their cars for ride-hailing is intensifying. After an initial July announcement, more details have emerged for what will be a 9.76 billion yuan ($1.46 billion) ride-hailing and new-energy vehicle joint venture created by state-owned automakers Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. Ltd., China FAW Group Corp. and Dongfeng Motor Corp.

The three car makers will each hold a 15% stake in the venture based in Nanjing, East Chinas Jiangsu province. Electronics retailer Suning.com Co. Ltd. will be the biggest shareholder, with a 19% stake. Other prominent investors include Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

Petroleum /

BP bows out of fracking in China

BP PLC is set to stop drilling for shale gas in the southwestern province of Sichuan, becoming the latest international oil major to quit this kind of project in China.

The British oil company will formally announce the move after holding a meeting with its local partner China National Petroleum Corp. to negotiate the exit terms, sources told us. BP is joining other international oil and gas giants including Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, Royal Dutch Shell and ENI, that have stopped fracking in China, reflecting the unique challenges of developing shale gas in China such as complex geology and low well productivity.

IP theft /

Chinese photo service falls into copyright black hole

The website of Visual China Group (VCG), Chinas biggest stock photo provider and a partner of Getty Images, was down Friday after its commercial claims to the worlds first photograph of a black hole triggered accusations of copyright theft.

The company announced on Thursday that commercial users in China would need to seek VCGs approval before using photos of the black hole downloaded from its site. But Chinese social media users cast doubt on whether VCG had obtained permission from the scientists who made the image. Online commenters also found VCG claimed to own copyright to photos of Chinas national flag and badge.

Quick hits /

Didis valuation hits the skids

Ling Huawei: Mixed-ownership reform is not about dumping ones debt burden

Harbin drugmaker tainted by murder scandal

Deadly 'super fungus' fuels China pharma stock surge

Gaode reveals price tag for autonomous driving maps

First-generation Beijing department store loses battle against change

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Robert Zoellick (second from right) speaks at a roundtable jointly held by Caixin on Wednesday in Washington D.C. Photo: Caixin

The World Bank should maintain multi-dimensional engagement with China, sharing its expertise to help Beijing reform and open up its economy and develop new multilateral institutions, its former head said.

Robert Zoellick stressed that middle-income countries such as China mustnt be left out of the World Banks system, but should become bigger contributors to it.

He made the remarks at a roundtable discussion titled "World Bank Transition: What Could Be Done? jointly held by Caixin and the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a U.S. think tank, on Wednesday in Washington, D.C.

Zoellick was president of the World Bank Group from 2007 to 2012 and U.S. trade representative from 2001 to 2005 under President George W. Bush. He is now a senior fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

Zoellick comments mirror those of new World Bank President David Malpass, who lauded the organizations constructive and evolving relationship with China at a press conference a day later in Washington D.C. Malpass started his new job earlier this month.

Malpass said China is naturally evolving from being a major borrower from the bank to becoming a smaller borrower, while becoming a major donor and shareholder at the same time.

Zoellicks talk focused on how the World Bank can share its experience and expertise with China on reform of state-owned enterprises, the opening up of the services sector, as well as its development of new multilateral institutions, such as the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Reform of state-owned enterprises is critical to improving the nations productivity to enhance the development of the Chinese economy, Zoellick said. Beijing is also seeking to boost the services sector, as the economy shifts from being based on exports and investments to domestic-demand led growth.

Its a natural for the bank to be able to share its experience  not from an ideological framework (because) you have different kind of state-own systems, but to explain what works, what hasnt worked, what the dangers of the system are, he said. "And frankly engage people in China on a better understanding if they are going this route  what might be some of the downsides?

In addition, he advised China to open up its services sector to increase domestic demand and boost future growth. By allowing foreign firms greater access to its large domestic market, China could create win-win outcomes in current and future trade negotiations.

Zoellick also defended continued World Bank lending to China in the face of growing friction between the United States and China.

The World Bank, of which the U.S. is the largest stakeholder, still offers loans to China and this has irked some U.S. congressmen.

World Bank loans to China are very targeted for use on specific pilot development projects, Zoellick said. China uses the (loans for) projects exactly as they are described. They test them, they understand thoroughly whats going on and based on that, they sort of expand them.

He noted that China has become a contributor to the International Development Association under the World Bank that targets programs helping the worlds poorest countries.

Zoellick also urged the new World Bank leadership to encourage the participation of all economies and not leave some out of the system.

There have been suggestions that given the scarcity of economic resources, the World Bank and other regional development banks should focus on helping poor countries rather than middle-income nations like China.

All countries can contribute to solving global development issues, such as the trade financing system, responses to climate change and improvements in local security.

If you try to disconnect from China or other middle-income countries, you are just going to fragment the international system, he warned. You have to figure out how to engage the middle-income countries, so that they become contributors as well as beneficiaries.

Contact reporter Jason Tan (jasontan@caixin.com)
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By WestKyStar & McCracken Co. Schools Staff Apr. 13, 2019 | 03:43 PM | PADUCAH





The Semper Fidelis All-American Program recognizes high school students who face lifes battles with the conviction and determination to succeed. Rudy is one of only 96 high school juniors chosen for this years Academy.



At the Academy, Rudy and her fellow All-Americans will participate in daily workouts, an immersive Marine Corps experience on base in Quantico, a community service event, team building outings, and a tour of the nations Capital. Each All-American is also encouraged to invite a mentor of their choosing to accompany them on their trip; Rudy chose MCHS teacher Katie Granstaff as her mentor.





As a Semper Fidelis All-American, Rudy will be eligible for select scholarship opportunities only available to program participants.



The U.S. Marine Corps has named MCHS junior Ashton Rudy a 2019 Semper Fidelis All-American, a title which also earns her an all-expenses paid trip to the Marines four-day Battles Won Academy in Washington, D.C. this July.
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By The Associated Press

Apr. 13, 2019 | WASHINGTON

By The Associated Press Apr. 13, 2019 | 01:27 AM | WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump says he is strongly considering releasing "Illegal Immigrants" into sanctuary cities, just hours after White House and Homeland Security officials insisted the idea had been rejected as fast as it had been proposed.



"Due to the fact that Democrats are unwilling to change our very dangerous immigration laws, we are indeed, as reported, giving strong considerations to placing Illegal Immigrants in Sanctuary Cities only," Trump tweeted Friday.



The reversal, which appeared to catch officials at the Department of Homeland Security off guard, came as critics were blasting Trump for the supposedly-rejected idea, accusing him of turning migrants into pawns to go after his political opponents. It comes as a surge of Central American migrant families are crossing the southern border and Trump looks looking for new ways to pressure congressional Democrats to change laws that he insists are making the problem worse.



It was not clear whether the president was joking, and a Homeland Security spokesman said in a statement: "At no time has the president indicated, asked, directed or pressured the acting secretary to do anything illegal. " The reported conversation came during the president's trip last week to Calexico, California, a day after he announced he was delaying his threat to close the border because Mexico appeared to be stepping up its enforcement efforts.



Before Trump's tweets on Friday, both the Department of Homeland Security and a White House official had insisted in nearly identical statements that the sanctuary-cities plan had been floated but then flatly rejected.



Asked about it by reporters, he said he was "strongly looking at" releasing migrant families into those communities.



"They're always saying they have open arms. Let's see if they have open arms," he said.



There were no indications, however, that officials were taking any steps to move forward with the idea or considered the president's words anything more than bluster.



"Sanctuary cities" is the term for places where local authorities do not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, denying information or resources that would help ICE round up for deportation people living in the country illegally.



They include New York City and San Francisco, home city of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who on Friday called the idea "unworthy of the presidency of the United States and disrespectful of the challenges that we face as a country, as a people, to address who we are  a nation of immigrants."



ICE arrests people in the U.S. illegally and also manages migrants who present themselves at border crossings and ask for asylum.

The surge of migrant families at the border has been taxing the system, and ICE says it no longer has the resourced to handle immigrants processed by the Border Patrol. As a result, more than 125,000 people have been released as they await court hearings  a practice Trump has derided as "catch and release."



With immigrant processing and holding centers overwhelmed, the administration has already been busing people hundreds of miles inland and releasing them at Greyhound stations and churches in cities such as Albuquerque, San Antonio and Phoenix.



Transporting large groups of immigrants to distant cities would be even more expensive for an agency already strapped for cash. Flights chartered by ICE cost about $7,785 per flight hour, according to the agency, and require multiple staffers, including an in-flight medical professional. The agency also uses commercial flights but requires that migrants to pay for those.



At the same time, many "sanctuary" communities would likely welcome the immigrants in question. Some of these cities have robust networks of nonprofit legal groups that could help them strengthen their legal cases to stay.



The Department of Health and Human Services said this week it had started scouting vacant properties that could be turned into facilities for holding migrant children in several cities, including Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, and San Antonio.



Those facilities would be licensed by each state and likely take several months to be approved and opened, separating them from the rapidly expanding emergency shelter at Homestead, Florida, and the now-closed tent facility at Tornillo, Texas.



The Defense Department has also been reviewing a number of military bases to find a location that can house up to 5,000 unaccompanied migrant children as the U.S. braces for a surge of people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border this spring.



Under the Trump administration, ICE has significantly stepped up arrests, including of people who have no U.S. criminal records. In response, some cities have banished ICE from jails where agents could easily pick up immigration violators. Police in New York, Baltimore and Seattle rarely, if ever, disclose information about when suspected criminals in the U.S. illegally will be released from custody.



Democrats have said they will tackle immigration bills, possibly as soon as they return from their spring recess, and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has indicated an interest.
A Mind at Work: Maximizing the Relationship Between Mindset and Student Success, a report released by the Center for Community College Student Engagement (the Center), indicates that students who have more productive academic mindsets are more engaged and have higher GPAs.

In the fall of 2018, the Center for Community College Student Engagement visited Cleveland State Community College. The purpose of the visit was to discuss growth mindset initiatives on campus. During this time, they held four focus groups, one specifically for faculty, one for honors students and two other student-related groups. The groups discussed both teaching and learning strategies and how having a growth mindset improves success.

Since the CCCSE visit, the Cleveland State faculty has identified opportunities to help students mindsets grow. Some of the changes include altering their vocabulary when discussing success and failure and helping students understand failure is ultimately a pathway to improvement rather than a dead end.

We are very proud of the way our faculty intentionally seek to help students feel like they belong at college and that they are capable of success, said Dr. Denise King, vice president for Academic Affairs. Their consideration of each student as a uniquely gifted individual makes a clear and positive difference in student performance.

Academic mindset encompasses students beliefs about the ways learning and intelligence work.

According to Dr. David Knopp, director of Institutional Research and Effectiveness at Cleveland State Community College, approximately 70 percent of CSCC students agreed that they could change their intelligence a lot, and 80 percent agreed that they were confident they could keep up with their coursework. While the majority of students are confident in some areas of academic mindset, student responses indicating a nonproductive mindset tended to cluster in two areas: testing and math.

 Forty-two percent of students disagreed or responded neutrally as to whether they could do well on tests, even when they were difficult.

 Forty percent of students disagreed or responded neutrally as to whether they could change their intelligence a lot in math.

Dr. Victoria Bryan, CSCC Honors Program director, said, The biggest part of my job is guiding students through the Honors program, which is a very structured and rigorous program. Generally, this program attracts students who like a challenge, but it also attracts students who have tended to excel at their academic pursuits. Our program is designed to push them beyond their comfort zone, and this often means failing on a first attempt. The best thing this program offers is the guidance to come back from that failure and produce something better than the student thought possible at first. This kind of resiliency requires a growth mindset, so we make sure to expose students to a detailed reading and discussion of Dweck's Mindsets work as early as possible. This practice has made a huge impact on our program, and I'm seeing students take on bigger challenges and produce better work in the long run.

The report highlights findings from nontraditional-age versus traditional-age students. In short, nontraditional-age studentsthose defined as age 25 or olderadopted more of a productive mindset than their younger peers in some areas.

More than 82,000 students from 159 colleges responded to items about academic mindset on the 2018 Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE), which gathers information from students in the spring term about their experiences throughout the academic year.

The reports supporting materials include discussion questions for colleges, a tool that connects Center survey items with the four components of academic mindset, focus group guides, and video clips from focus groups that the Center conducted with students and faculty about academic mindset.

The Center for Community College Student Engagement is a service and research initiative of the Program in Higher Education Leadership in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy in the College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin.
Jinger Duggar has earned the reputation of being the Duggar familys biggest rebel. On several occasions, Duggar has proven that while she still has a strong relationship with God and the church, she is also trying to live her best life  and that means not being chained down by her parents super strict views and values. Recently, Duggar defied her parents even more by supporting her brother-in-laws new film  heres why Michelle and Jim Bob would not approve.

Jinger Duggar with her husband, Jeremy Vuolo and daughter, Felicity Vuolo. | Jinger Vuolo via Instagram

Duggar has always been the rebel of the family

Throughout the years, the Duggars have gained the reputation of being one of Americas strictest families. The Duggar parents, Michelle and Jim Bob, set extreme rules in place for their children, which were highlighted on their TLC show 19 Kids and Counting. The daughters had to wear skirts so as not to show off any curves, and the kids couldnt engage in any intimate activity until they were married. But once Duggar got out on her own, she began to defy her parents a bit. She moved to Laredo, Texas, which is hundreds of miles from her Arkansas home. Duggar started wearing pants and even recently posted a photo of her wearing a tank top.

She recently announced shes moving to Los Angeles  a city that is notoriously liberal

Duggar and her husband, Jeremy Vuolo, recently announced that theyre moving to Los Angeles in order for Vuolo to pursue graduate classes. Los Angeles is notoriously a very accepting city, and its a lot more liberal than the Arkansas town where she was raised. While Duggar and Vuolo have both stuck to their religious roots in a lot of ways, theyve also branched out to accept plenty of other walks of life.

Duggar reportedly had great things to say about her brother-in-laws new LGTBQ film

According to reports, Duggars brother-in-law recently made a film about an immigrant struggling with a transgender identity. Duggar reportedly left a comment on a private Instagram account praising the film and her brother-in-laws hard work. While it doesnt necessarily say that Duggar supports the LGBTQ community, it does suggest that she supports a movie highlighting LGBTQ causes, which comes a lot closer to acceptance than her parents ever would. And if Duggar watched the film, which it appears she did, she must not have a strong aversion to the LGBTQ community. Its important to note that since the comment was from a private account, it isnt accessible to see and hasnt been proven.

Duggars parents would never approve of the LGBTQ community

Duggar was raised in an extremely religious household, and there is no chance her parents would ever endorse anything regarding the LGBTQ community. The Duggar family often expresses their distaste in left-leaning social issues, such as abortion rights and gay or transgender rights. But with Duggar moving to Los Angeles, she may be trying to open her eyes a bit to different kinds of people, since the big city is nothing like small-town Arkansas.

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After months of anticipation, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have finally made the move to Frogmore Cottage, located in the countryside town of Windsor, England. The 10-bedroom home has been completely renovated for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and there is no doubt that it is spectacular!

There is now plenty of room for baby Sussex to run around and play, and for Meghan and Harry to have friends over and entertain as much as they would like. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex may have officially left London, but which royals still live at Kensington Palace?

Why did Meghan Markle and Prince Harry move to Windsor?

There were rumors of a royal feud between Meghan and Kate Middleton, which then led to even more rumors that this was the reason that Meghan and Harry decided to move over 40 miles away. Luckily, these rumors were not true and we were informed that the reason for the move to Windsor was simply that Meghan and Harry wanted to raise their soon-to-be-born child in a quieter environment, away from the hustle and bustle of the busy city of London. They couldnt have chosen a better place than Windsor, the place where they became husband and wife!

Where do Prince William and Kate Middleton live?

Kate and William have a lavish, 21-room apartment at Kensington Palace. The four-floor home boasts five reception rooms, several bedrooms, bathrooms, and even two kitchens! When they moved in, Kate put her own personal touches on the space, choosing decor in neutral colors and sophisticated styles. We certainly wouldnt mind living in a place like that, with its high ceilings, amazing views, and wonderful entrance hall.

Does Queen Elizabeth live at Kensington Palace?

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip call Buckingham Palace home, at least during the week. Once the weekend rolls around, they are off to Windsor Castle for a few days, and they also head over to Scotland to stay at Balmoral Castle from time to time. The queen spends every Christmas at her Sandringham estate, where she always hosts the entire royal family for the annual holiday celebrations. That is quite an impressive collection of real estate to have!

Who else lives at Kensington Palace?

Meghan and Harry may have packed up their bags and left, but there are still plenty of royal family members who still reside at Kensington. Princess Eugenie and her new husband, Jack Brooksbank, live at Ivy Cottage on the palace grounds, not too far from Kate and William. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester live in apartment 1, just next door to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Wren house, which is also located on palace grounds, is home to the Duke and Duchess of Kent, the queens cousins. That is quite a few people who have the privilege of living at the palace! Tourists shouldnt expect to see royal family members wandering around, as the residences are kept well out of public view.

Where else do royal family members live?

Although not everyone resides at Kensington Palace, there are still plenty of places around England for the family members to live. Prince Charles and Camilla live at Clarence House, the same place that Princes William and Harry once lived years ago. Saint Jamess Palace is home to Princess Anne, and Prince Andrew lives at a spacious home on the grounds of Windsor Castle. Looks like everyone in the royal family has a great home to live in, whether located in the city of London, or nearby. Although the residents of Kensington Palace were more than likely sad to see Meghan and Harry leave, everyone wishes them the best of luck in their new home!
Royal fans are fascinated by Prince Harry and Prince Williams relationship and, as more rumors of a feud between them emerge, many wonder what led them to moving in different directions. Was there an incident that kicked off the pair drifting their separate ways or is it because theyre starting their own families?

(Kate Middleton, Prince William, Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle | RICHARD POHLE/AFP/Getty Images

Why do the Prince Harry and Prince William feud rumors persist?

The media hasnt let up on the idea that Prince Harry and Prince William are fighting, especially after Harry and Meghan Markle split households from William and Kate Middleton. With Harry and Markle moving to Frogmore Cottage and preparing for the arrival of their first child, it looks like a new chapter for the brothers, which doesnt exactly point to a feud.

Those close to the royals assert that since William is preparing to be the future king and Harry and Markle are embarking on parenthood, things are definitely changing.

A palace courtier told PEOPLE: It was only going to work until they married  and it went on a while longer than perhaps was originally thought.

They want their own things

The brothers venturing onto their own paths isnt that surprising, as a royal household source noted: Its a shame. There was power in that unity and great strength in the foursome, but I see why it is happening.

The insider added: There is always that tension: trying to do the PR thing and then realizing that they are just real people. They want their own place and their own things.

Another source explained that, despite the men leading their own lives with their wives and children, they will continue to support one another, noting: There is never any doubt that they will be there for each other 100 percent and support each other when it matters.

The insider added this sense of hope: Maybe theyll come back together a little later. Its another stage in the growing up. Sometimes you have to break away in order to come back.

Is there a feud between Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton?

As much as the media speculates about Prince William and Prince Harrys relationship, they also tend to build a narrative around a feud between Markle and Middleton.

Royal filmmaker Nick Bullen, who has made shows about the British royal family for 20 yearsk gave his inside perspective on the matter. Bullen notes that its a much sexier story to have two duchesses at war.

He added: Lets have these two super glamorous women  one British, one American. One an actress, one sort of an English rose. Lets put them against each other thats the sexy sort of media story.

The filmmaker shared: Its actually that William and Harry have had a rift. I think you know, look. All brothers fall out. All families fall out. Their fallout at the moment is becoming public.

Bullen continued: I think people dont want to think about that with these two boys. These are two boys who lost their mother [Princess Diana] at a really early age, and the fairytale is that they are closer than ever, and need each other, and I think thats probably true, but equally they are two grown men in their 30s, starting their own families, different wives, they are moving to different parts of the country, different duties.
It is always an exciting time whenever Queen Elizabeth II invites anyone to the United Kingdom. The news broke this past week that her majesty is preparing to invite U.S. president Donald Trump back to England. So, when will the queen be hosting Trump and what, exactly, is expected for the visit?

When will Donald Trump visit England?

For those who are keeping an eye out for Trumps trip across the pond, know there is no exact date. That said, he should be doing so shortly  summertime, to be more exact. The trip is set to correspond with the 75th anniversary of D-Day, which means it will take place over the 6th of June. While Trump has met with the queen before, he has only made one visit, so chances are, he is truly looking forward to his second trip to meet with the queen.

What is expected to happen when Queen Elizabeth and President Trump meet?

As far as what is expected to happen, there are not many details at this point, and certainly, nothing is set in stone. Chances are, there will be a formal dinner and President Trump will likely make a public appearance while he is there. Whether or not he will set aside some personal time to do some sightseeing or have some fun is anyones guess at this point.

Will President Trump meet the other royal family members?

Whether or not the Trumps will get to meet the other royals also remains to be seen. Other members of the family include: Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Prince William and Kate Middleton, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The latter, Meghan, is an American.

Will Melania Trump join her husband?

The First Lady of the United States sometimes joins her husband when he is on an official business trip. Whether or not Melania Trump will join her husband is yet to be announced. If she does join, and a visit is coordinated with William and Kate, then chances are Melania and Kate will meet. Who knows, they might even get to meet the new royal baby if Meghan is present.

What happened last time President Trump met Queen Elizabeth?

President Trump had a wonderful visit the last time he saw the queen. He joined her for tea at the palace, where they most likely shared a few stories and jokes. While walking the grounds, it was noticed that President Trump accidentally turned his back to Queen Elizabeth, something that you just do not do. She reportedly was not that upset and has since forgiven the president, since she has forgiven him for the incident.

Do Donald Trump and Queen Elizabeth get along?

Last time, there were many smiles and happy faces, an indication that Donald and the queen enjoyed each others company. It is a great honor for anyone to be invited to visit the queen, so we can only imagine that President Trump must be looking forward to his trip. Perhaps we will even get to see he and Melania take a carriage ride around Windsor, where he made a stop during last years trip, after which, he had only nothing but nice things to say about Queen Elizabeth.
The Brown family seems to be settling in nicely in Flagstaff, Arizona. The family picked the inclusive community thanks to its great weather and open-minded citizens. While the Browns seem happy, some fans are curious about whether they carefully read the polygamy laws in their new state. Radar Online, alleges that legal experts in Arizona believe that footage from Sister Wives could potentially be used to prosecute the plural family, but whether that will actually happen is much more complicated.

Can the Browns be prosecuted in Arizona for their polygamist lifestyle?

While some media outlets suggest that the Brown family could potentially face fines and jail time for their chosen lifestyle in Arizona, it doesnt look like that is likely to happen. While the Arizona Constitution does have language that prohibits polygamy, the law is rarely utilized. When it is used, it is generally for cases were child abuse or human trafficking is present.

The laws in Arizona are primarily related to bigamy. Bigamy is defined as the act of legally marrying more than one individual. Since Kody Brown is only legally married to Robyn Brown and spiritually married to his other three wives, the family should be in the clear.

Why did the Brown family flee Utah?

Before settling in Arizona, the Browns lived in Utah. They fled under cover of night when it seemed like the state was gearing up to prosecute the family. The Browns went on to sue the state for its anti-polygamy laws.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Bigamy is illegal in all 50 states, but Utahs laws also have a provision that forbids an individual from cohabitating with more than one romantic partner whether they are legally wed or not. The Browns faced prosecution under the cohabitation provision while they were living in Utah. The provision makes the laws in Utah particularly harsh.

How common is polygamy?

While polygamy is seen as an alternative lifestyle by most of America, there are allegedly around 50,000 individuals who practice the principal in the United States alone. In other nations, it is far more common, according to Psychology Today.

While data suggests there are 50,000 plural families in the United States, it is difficult to ascertain the exact number of plural families. Many plural families operate under the radar for fear of legal and social backlash.

Shows like Sister Wives and Seeking Sister Wife has propelled the concept into the mainstream. Shows on the topic may have even helped more American citizens warm to the notion. According to a 2017 Gallup Poll, social acceptance of plural marriage rose from 11% in 2011 to 17% in 2017.
All wagering aside, there is little chance of anyone figuring out what first name Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will choose for their unborn child. Top contenders include Elizabeth, Alice, Diana, and Victoria for a girl and Philip, Arthur, Albert, or James for a boy.

Its fun to guess what Baby Sussex will have as a first name. But one thing thats not up for discussion? The royal babys surname. While were completely clueless which way the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are planning on for their little ones first name, we can at least be assured that he or she will inherit the royal family last name like everyone else in the immediate family.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | Chris Jackson/Getty Images

What is the royal family last name?

Technically, British royal family members dont need a last name and dont use it very often. But when they do decide to trot out the full name, all royals in Baby Sussexs immediate bloodline use the surname Mountbatten-Windsor. Thats why Baby Sussex will almost certainly have the same last name on official documents.

According to the Royal Family website: The Royal Family name of Windsor was confirmed by The Queen after her accession in 1952. However, in 1960, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh decided that they would like their own direct descendants to be distinguished from the rest of the Royal Family (without changing the name of the Royal House), as Windsor is the surname used by all the male and unmarried female descendants of George V.

It was therefore declared in the Privy Council that The Queens descendants, other than those with the style of Royal Highness and the title of Prince/Princess, or female descendants who marry, would carry the name of Mountbatten-Windsor.

The royal family | Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Will Baby Sussex have a title?

Royal titles are confusing  especially since most family members have more than one. For example, Prince Harry is called a prince, Duke of Sussex, Earl of Dumbarton and Baron Kilkeel.

Technically, Prince Harrys child will not automatically receive the title Prince or Princess when he or she is born even though their cousins Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis do have those titles.

There is a rule that only those in direct line to the throne have titles associated with their name  unless the Queen makes an exception and bestows them upon the child. Its very likely that Queen Elizabeth will do just that, making the new royal baby a Prince or Princess.

If not, then the baby will be called Lord or Lady.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | Karwai Tang/WireImage

Will Baby Sussex ever become king or queen?

Having the royal last name of Mountbatten-Windsor comes with plenty of wealth and privilege, but the young royal most likely wont ever sit on the throne. When he or she is born, Baby Sussex will be seventh in line to the throne, just one place behind Prince Harry.

Right now, the line of succession goes like this: Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Prince Harry.
Meghan Markle faces a lot of scrutiny as a public figure, even earning the nickname Difficult Duchess by the British media. Its become easy for the media to spin negative stories about the Duchess of Sussex based on rumors, but how much of it is true? In the recent TLC special Meghan & Harry: A Royal Baby Story, royal experts shed a bit more light on why Markles personality earned her the unflattering moniker.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | Yui Mok  Pool/Getty Images

High staff turnover was a big factor

While the specifics of staff turnover are unknown, the fact that people left the palace staff seemed to point to Markle having something to do with it.

Royal expert Katie Nicholl explained in the special: There have been a lot of rumors about Meghan and what shes really like behind the scenes. Of course shes an actress, and when you see her in public, that mega watt smile, she is the consummate professional.

She added: And this reputation for being difficult was linked to an unusually high turnover of staff at the palace.

Is Meghan Markle too demanding?

Further supporting the difficult description are details that surfaced about Markles Type-A personality, as she likes to be organized and on top of things.

One royal expert explained how Markle gets up early, 5:00 in the morning oftentimes, gets on the treadmill and begins by texting her team members about the days plans. This approach is not what the staff are generally used to and, in fact, a source told ET last year that Markles direct approach didnt sit well and raised eyebrows among the staff.

The expert added, probably in her mind shes just kind of getting her day set up but royal staff members were certainly not expecting or happy to start getting a barrage of text messaged instructions starting at 5:30 every morning and took great umbrage and offense at that.

She continued, But I would just say, celebrities do that so for her, I think she was a bit shocked certainly that within the royal family theres a whole different protocol when it comes to speaking to staff.

Nicholl added that Meghans approach to things have been different and might have ruffled some feathers.

Markle knows what she wants

Broadcaster Sarah-Jane Crawford explained in the special that while Markle might do things differently, she shouldnt be called out for being organized and straight-forward.

Crawford noted: So the tabloids have coined this name for Meghan the difficult duchess which I dont think is fair and Ill tell you why. Theres nothing wrong with being a woman who knows what she wants. The fact that she is a feminist, she is somebody who is known for really speaking up for what she believes in  people dont like that and it comes not just from a place of jealousy but also from a place of sexism.

Markle, according to Nicholl, has responded to the criticism by following that very famous royal rule: never complain, never explain. And that is what the royals do.
Giant billboard launched in Times Square to oppose New York's 'abortion extremism' 12 April, 2019 by Samuel Smith/CP , |

The pro-life student association Students for Life of America is sponsoring a giant video advertisement this week in Manhattan's Times Square, speaking out against New York's "abortion extremism."

The ad is running for three days and ran while SFLA hosted its annual gala event in New York City on Wednesday.

This year, the SFLA gala is titled "Called to Bring Light to the Darkness." The event is being held in a state that passed earlier this year a law that effectively legalizes abortion until birth, something only seven other states had done previously.

The bill signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo garnered much national media attention and drew the outrage of pro-lifers across the nation.

"When I asked our supporters if they wanted to send a pro-life message in Times Square, the answer was a resounding YES," SFLA President Kristan Hawkins said in a statement.

The video advertisement is 15 seconds long and is being displayed in a rotation along with other advertisements on a 50-foot-tall video screen.

As the ad is rotating about every three minutes, it will be seen a minimum of 720 times. SFLA expects that it will be seen by tens of thousands of people, if not more.

The SFLA ad features three women holding up pro-life protest signs that include links to StudentsForLife.org.

"I don't trust Planned Parenthood," one sign reads. "Today, Planned Parenthood will end the lives of 910 human beings."

The second sign in the advertisement reads: "I reject abortion extremism."

"Only 7 percent of millennials support the abortion extremism made legal in New York state," the second sign reads on the back.

The third states: "The pro-life generation has arrived to vote out abortion extremism."

According to Hawkins, SFLA had to "fight" in order to have its message relayed in Times Square since their advertising request was twice rejected by other companies.

"But we don't give up on college campuses, even when facing threats of violence, and we didn't give up on sending a message to the vast majority of New Yorkers who reject infanticide and are horrified by the abortion extremism recently legalized in New York," Hawkins stated.

Hawkins stressed that late-term abortion and infanticide for babies born during abortions represents the "human rights issue of our day."

Read more about "Giant billboard launched in Times Square to oppose New York's 'abortion extremism'" on The Christian Post.
Yes, its beginning to look a lot like Christmaswhich, for many of us, feels like a rush into chaos. Celebrating Advent during this season slows us down and helps our hearts and minds be reoriented around the coming of Christ.Yes, its beginning to look a lot like Christmaswhich, for many of us, feels like a rush into chaos. Celebrating Advent during this season slows us down and helps our hearts and minds be reoriented around the coming of Christ.
Pastors explain why Christians should tithe, reject 'sow your seed' preaching

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Tithing is not a popular practice among U.S. Christians and some pastors believe the church hasnt done the best job in relaying the significance of giving a tenth of ones income.

Were not talking about it in the right way. When the church has talked about money, its in a guilt thing or obligation, and it is very much in a transactional way  do this and God will do that, Glen Packiam, lead pastor of New Life Downtown in Colorado, said in a recent podcast.

Daniel Grothe, associate senior pastor of New Life Church, knows all too well the message on tithing many pastors give: Sow your seed so you can reap your harvest. Grothe grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which he labeled the word of faith capital of the universe.

The problem with these messages is that they make it all about you and not about the community.

This is not about you and Jesus being OK. This is about God blessing us to make us a blessing because whether or not youre struggling, someone out there is struggling and if we will pool our strength, if we will be the church, there will be single moms and their little kids rejoicing because of it, said Grothe.

Though 83 percent of churchgoers believe tithing is a biblical command that still applies today, only 54 percent of those who attend church at least once a month say they tithe, according to LifeWay Research.

Its fair to say that many people are hesitant to give and skeptical of the local church because theyve seen so much mismanagement of money, Packiam acknowledged. Theyve seen pastors  padding their own bank accounts; theyre not helping the poor.

So in some ways we have earned the distrust of our own community. But we can earn it back by reminding them of the mission, by having a bit of transparency  [and] accountability.

Money given to the church is supposed to help fill the needs of the community, the Colorado pastors maintained.

New Life Senior Pastor Brady Boyd believes if every member of his church tithed, he would be able to solve the homeless single mom problem in El Paso County.

People [are] withholding their money  at the detriment of people right here in the city who are sleeping in their car, he said. There are people in our city who will suffer tonight because the church is not equipped and not resourced enough to meet the need.

The Colorado pastors pointed to the example of the early believers in the book of Acts to demonstrate the impact of giving to the church.

Acts 4:32-35 states: All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And Gods grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

The early Christians showed a radical or even dangerous generosity that resulted in no needy persons among them, Grothe emphasized.

You dont get the sense that after Jesus, once the church is established that tithing goes away. You get the sense that its heightened, that people start living recklessly generous, trusting their Father in Heaven.

Generosity is part of the Christian DNA because of who God is, Grothe suggested. God gave His son and His son gave His own life and Christians are made in His image.

While giving helps people to connect with the rest of the community, the pastors noted a pattern in which the wealthy become more distant and less likely to tithe as they move into better neighborhoods and lose contact with and compassion for those less fortunate.

Poor people who are living among poor people realize the power of the church and thats why tithing, the percentage of giving is really high among poor people because theyve tasted and seen firsthand the power of the church in their lives, said Boyd. The richer we get, the less connected we get  with the poor; thats why tithing keeps us connected to the plight of the poor.

Stripped down to its basics, tithing is an act of worship to God, its a form of surrendering to Him. Its a representative gift thats supposed to speak of everything belonging to God, Packiam explained.

Tithing is not about following artificial standards, noted Andrew Arndt, a teaching pastor at New Life. The important question is: What is the demand of love?

There are moments in life where tithing may be difficult, such as when one loses a job or is dealing with a health problem. Theres grace for those in such situations, Boyd said.

But thats precisely why the rest of the congregation should be tithing  to take care of those who are struggling, he added.

As for whether a believer can tithe their income to places other than their church, Boyd argued that the first 10 percent should be given to the local church  the central place of mission. Donations given to other nonprofits or parachurches should not come from that 10 percent.

In the end, tithing and generosity in general can change a persons life, Boyd stressed.

What tithing has done for me is it revealed motives that were deep in my heart, he said. It revealed in me a fear of losing money or not having enough. Who do I trust for my future and for my money?  Tithing unsettled me, tithing stretched me, tithing made me more disciplined. It forced me into the realm of budgeting  and to stewardship and it uprooted some deep issues in my heart.
Al Mohler: True Christians believe every word of the Apostles' Creed (exclusive)

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In a society in which counterfeit gospels, false doctrines, and diluted theology are becoming rampant, Albert Mohler Jr. is calling on the Church to define Christianity in its historical biblical terms for true spiritual fulfillment.

In his new book, The Apostles' Creed: Discovering Authentic Christianity in an Age of Counterfeits, Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, argues that the Apostles' Creed, although written nearly 2,000 years ago, remains a powerful summary of the Christian faith as revealed in the Bible for the 21st century Church.

We live in a day where theres spirituality, but not Christianity, Mohler told The Christian Post. Thats not a category found in Scripture. Theres no Christianity that isnt doctrinal Christianity. Christianity is based on events that took place in space and time in history. Its a faith of definite, essential beliefs. The Apostles' Creed is a way of summarizing the Christian faith so that Christians can be grounded in the truth and be able to detect false doctrine and false Christianity.

The oldest known creed in Christendom, the Apostles' Creed is a faithful summary of what Christians believe and holds an unparalleled level of doctrinal authority, beginning with the statement, I believe in God. Those simple words, Mohler said, contain the basis of the entire Christian faith.

You have so many people who say, I have belief or I have a faith, but according to Scripture, these people are only Christians if the focus and foundation of that belief is Christ. We dont believe were saved by faith; we believe were saved by faith in Christ, he said.

There are many people who know accurate truths concerning Christ, but they arent trusting Christ, they arent placing their faith and confidence in Christ. They dont believe in Christ as a Savior who died on the cross for their sins and was raised by the power of God. True Christianity is a personal belief  and those words go back to the Apostles believing Jesus declaration, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Mohler acknowledged that some churches disregard the Apostles' Creed, instead adopting the slogan No creed but the Bible. He told CP that while he understands the impulse behind that statement, it was often used by liberal church leaders to deny the essential truths of the Gospel.

Jesus gave His disciples the ability to maintain that faith which was first of all delivered to the saints, he explained. We have to summarize what the Bible teaches, to determine whether or not someone is teaching the whole truth. Paul wrote to Timothy that one of his main responsibilities was to maintain the pattern of sound words. This is an essential responsibility of the Church. We have to know the essential doctrines that will mark real Christianity wherever its found.

In his book, Mohler addresses common misunderstandings regarding the Apostles' Creed, such as the line that states, I believe in ... the holy catholic church."

The Creed declares a belief in the holy catholic church, but the word catholic is not the name of a religious body, but rather a definition of the Church; Jesus said His Church was catholic, meaning over all people, over all places, over space and time, he said. It speaks to the singularity of the Church, and theres not another word that fits there. The affirmation I believe in the holy catholic church is the belief that Christ died for His Church and it is united to Him in the sense that the Church includes those who, at any place and at any time, come to saving faith.

Protestants, he added, should not concede the word catholic to the Catholic Church. Its an important word for Protestants to embrace.

Another stumbling block for some evangelicals is the line in the Apostles Creed that talks about Jesus descending into Hell. The theologian explained that the Creed is not referring to Hell as a place of everlasting punishment, but rather the state of being dead.

Unfortunately, the medieval church used a lot of imagination on this issue, which is not helpful to our modern reading of the Creed, he said. Jesus did not go to the place of everlasting torment, but He did die. That line is referring to the biblical simplicity that Jesus was crucified, He genuinely died, and He joined the dead, and was then raised on the third day."

Ultimately, its important for Christians to understand that there are limitations on substitute language when it comes to the Apostles' Creed, Mohler said. He pointed out that the original words of the Creed also hold significant historical weight, as they were often the final recitation of Christian martyrs in the earliest days of the Church and were confessed by the Puritans and Protestant Reformers.

Theres tremendous value in saying the very words martyrs, Puritans, and Reformers spoke, he said. There are certain words that would lose a great deal if they were updated too much. You can think of this with the preamble to the Constitution or Declaration of Independence. Theres a limitation to how modernized you can make some statements without losing too much meaning.

The Apostles' Creed: Discovering Authentic Christianity in an Age of Counterfeits is the third and final installment in Mohlers series of works about three central documents in Christian faith and practice. His previous books addressed the Ten Commandments (2009s Words from the Fire), and The Lords Prayer (2018s The Prayer that Turns the World Upside-Down).

Mohler explained that throughout Christian history, those three texts  the Lords Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Apostles' Creed  have been used by the Church in the worship and teaching of new believers.

One of my goals early in ministry was to write an exposition of these three texts for the Church, he said. Throughout history, all of these texts have been incorporated into Christian worship. Theres something powerful about Christians standing together, saying I believe in unison, praying as instructed in the Lords Prayer, and reciting the Ten Commandments. Its not a coincidence that every Christian church has found its way to those three things.

The Apostles Creed, Mohler said, can build true Christian unity on the foundations and the fundamentals of the faith. All Christians across denominational lines, he asserted, can believe more than the Apostles' Creed  but no Christian can believe less.

Thats crucial because every church has holes and teaches doctrines that are beyond the Apostles' Creed, he explained. The Creed doesnt tell us how or whom to baptize, it doesnt tell us the order of the church, it doesnt speak to many of those things. But a Christian church believes every word of the Apostles' Creed. If it believes less than the Creed, it's not a true Christian church."

"If the church doesnt know the truth, it cant function as Christ assigned it to function," he emphasized.

Although an ancient statement, the Apostles' Creed is a faithful explanation of the Gospel and has the power to equip coming generations to remain doctrinally and theologically faithful in an increasingly post-Christian culture, Mohler said.

We need to teach these truths to our children and to new believers, he said. My great hope is to introduce many Christians to the Apostles' Creed, maybe for the first time, and to help them understand the richness of the orthodox, biblical, classical Christian faith as rooted in Scripture and as founded by Christ.

"I hope to give Christians ammunition against false doctrines and help them to detect false Christianity.
The Christian Post wins 2 EPA awards

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The Christian Post won two awards, including first place for online news, in the Evangelical Press Associations annual contest.

The Christian Post deserves kudos for covering the full range of evangelicalism  from Bible churches to non-denominationals to Pentecostals. They seem to understand the diversity of the Body of Christ, the judges wrote. There is nothing else like it, that I can say.

The Award of Excellence for Newspaper-Online News was presented this week at the EPA Convention in Oklahoma City. There, CP also won first place for Article Series for its eight-part series on school shootings and violence among youths. (Links to the entire series can be found here)

The judges commended CP for taking a fresh look at and offering a larger view of the mass shootings perpetrated by young students over the years.

The EPA, which CP is a member of, describes itself as the worlds largest professional organization for the evangelical periodical publishing industry. Each year, it hosts two contests  the Awards of Excellence contest (for publications as a whole) and the Higher Goals contest (for individual pieces).

It saw a record number of entries this year for its more than 60 categories.
Ohio governor signs heartbeat abortion ban into law

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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed a bill into law that would prohibit abortions for unborn babies that have a detectable heartbeat, which can be found as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.

"The essential function of government is to protect the most vulnerable among us  those who do not have a voice," DeWine said just before signing Senate Bill 23, or the Ohio Human Rights and Heartbeat Protection Act, into law on Thursday afternoon.

"Government's role should be to protect life from the beginning to the end, to protect those who cannot protect themselves, such as the elderly, the unborn, those who are sick, those who have a disability, those who have a mental illness, or an addiction."

Ohios SB 23 passed 56-40 in the House and then 18-13 in the Senate on Wednesday, with local media reporting protests from both sides outside of the legislative chamber.

Mark Harrington, president of the pro-life group Created Equal, emailed a statement out to supporters hours before the signing, saying that it was a historic day.

The legislature and Governor DeWine have declared that no longer should the beating hearts of humans too young to be born be violently torn apart by abortion, stated Harrington.

If pro-abortion lobbies present a legal challenge to this Act, we will defend these babies all the way up to the Supreme Court. Changes on the bench signify an even better day for preborn babies may be on the horizon.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio denounced the new law, vowing that they would sue to stop the law from taking effect.

This legislation is blatantly unconstitutional and we will fight to the bitter end to ensure that this bill is permanently blocked, said Freda Levenson, legal director at the ACLU of Ohio.

SB 23 is one of the most aggressive, oppressive, and radical attacks against women ever seen in this state and this country. A nearly identical bill in Kentucky was just struck down by a federal judge  we feel confident our impending litigation will ultimately prevail.

Last year, the Ohio Legislature passed a similar measure. However, then Governor John Kasich vetoed the bill due to concerns over prolonged litigation.

The state Senate failed to override the veto last December, missing the necessary 20 vote-minimum when they got only 19 votes in favor.
23-y-o Sunday School teacher sentenced to 50 years in prison for molesting multiple children

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Noel Anderson, a 23-year-old former Sunday school teacher with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in McKinney, Texas, was sentenced to 50 years in prison without the possibility of parole for molesting multiple children who were left in his care starting in his teenage years.

While Anderson taught 7- and 8-year-olds, authorities say his five victims ranged in age from 1  to 6 years old, CBS reported.

In his confession, Anderson said he targeted children he thought would not disclose his abuse  infants he babysat for fellow parishioners.

"We're grateful for these brave children, as their courage helped lock up a serial child predator," Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis announced Thursday, according to the McKinney Courier Gazette.

Before authorities began investigating Anderson for abuse just over a year ago, he enjoyed a good reputation among his church community.

He was an outstanding youth in our church, a concerned parent with knowledge of the case told CBSDFW in 2018, the gold standard for what you would want your son to grow up to be.

McKinney police said it was a young child who rang the alarm on Andersons abuse. The child reportedly saw a picture of Anderson and said I dont like him. A parent eventually asked the child why and what the child revealed shattered the trust of many in the church community.

She indicated that Noel had touched her in her privates, a church member told CBS.

An 8-year-old girl whose parents said she contemplated suicide was the only one of Andersons victims to testify against him in court this week.

Her parents said two weeks before she was set to testify against Anderson who confessed to molesting her since she was a baby, her parents had to call for emergency help to prevent her from taking her life, the Dallas Morning News reported.

The girl who testified against him was just 18 months old when Anderson masturbated as he changed her diapers. He forced her to perform sex acts on him as she grew older until she was 6.

"This is what turns him on," prosecutor Nick Lawrence told jurors, pointing to a baby photo of the girl in a yellow onesie, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Anderson confessed to police that he tried to stop abusing children but he was asked to babysit a previous victim after returning from a mission trip and could not help himself because he had history with her.

"What kind of 'history' can you possibly have with a 6-year-old?" chief felony prosecutor Geeta Singleton asked the jury which convicted him. "He used these babies to live out his own sexual fantasies."

While most of Andersons victims don't remember being molested, many of their family members say their relationship with the church where the abuse occurred has been damaged.

I have lost all trust and hope, one church member told CBS. Just bewildered, shocked.

The jury in the case deliberated for two days before coming back with a verdict.
Baltimore schools to allow transgender students to use preferred pronouns, locker rooms

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Baltimore City Public Schools' board of commissions approved a policy that goes above state requirements by allowing transgender students to use their preferred names and pronouns and access locker rooms and bathrooms of the opposite sex.

The board unanimously (8-0) passed the new policy, known as JBB, at its latest meeting on Tuesday to a chorus of cheers from LGBT advocates holding up signs that read We are all human.

Under the new rules, students will have the ability to use the pronouns and names of their choosing without being required to have already changed their name legally. The transgender students may also use locker rooms and bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity. Also, schools can not force transgender students to use a private or gender-neutral bathroom.

The school districts new policy states that students who object to the policy will be provided with a safe non-stigmatizing alternative.

I applaud the School Board for unanimously passing policy JBB, Baltimore City Council Member Zeke Cohen wrote on Twitter. In the next few weeks, The City Council will introduce legislation to protect and affirm our transgender siblings. To the LGBTQ youth and educators: You led, policy makers followed. Your voices mattered. You matter.

The pro-LGBT American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland also praised the policy.

As The Baltimore Sun notes, the policy is unclear about whether or not biologically male transgender students will be allowed to attend the districts only all-female school. But the policy does ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and gender nonconforming status.

The new policy comes as similar policies passed in other school districts around the United States have raised religious freedom and free speech concerns for faculty and students.

Last December, a French teacher was put on administrative leave for referring to the pronoun that corresponds with the student's biological sex.

Critics of such policies have also argued that allowing transgender students into the opposite-sex locker room violates the privacy rights of other students.

Last November, a group of Pennsylvania students appealed to the Supreme Court asking it to protect their bodily privacy and strike down their districts transgender-inclusive policy.

The nations high court has not yet announced if it will consider the case.

In Maryland, Baltimore City Schools new policy is similar to one passed in Frederick County in 2017 as a result of pressure from students. That year, a 15-year-old student and her mother filed a lawsuit against the Frederick County policy.

"Only in history do we see totalitarian regimes that arrogate to itself powers to force children and citizens to undress in front of members of the opposite sex, the lawsuit reads, according to WBALTV.

Last year, a federal court ruled against a school district located on Marylands Eastern shore that required a transgender student to use a gender-neutral restroom to dress for gym class. The judges reasoning was that by forcing the child to use a different restroom, it harms his health and well-being.

During his last full year in office, the Barack Obama administration issued federal guidance to all school districts nationwide informing them that they should allow transgender students to access bathrooms and locker rooms according to their gender identity.

The administration argued that not allowing transgender students to use the preferred locker rooms is a violation of civil rights law. The administration interpreted civil rights discrimination protections on the basis of sex to also protect on the basis of gender identity. That interpretation was also used by courts and governments in the last few years to rule in favor or pass pro-transgender discrimination ordinances or rules even though gender identity protections are not explicitly written in federal law.

The Trump administration rescinded the 2016 Obama administration guidance, a move praised by Christian leaders and privacy rights advocates.

How can we teach our daughters that their 'no' means 'no' if they're not even allowed to decide who sees them when they shower?" Kaeley Triller Haver, a privacy rights activist and a survivor of sexual trauma, told The Christian Post at the time.
Suspect in black church burnings showed interest in Satanism, listened to black metal

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Holden Matthews, the 21-year-old son of a sheriff's deputy who was charged with burning down three historically black churches in southern Louisiana, was attracted to Satanism and black metal.

"Information investigators have uncovered, and that Matthews has offered, suggests a possible connection with a genre of music called 'black metal' and its associated history with church burnings in other parts of the world, which have been documented in movies and books," the state fire marshal's office said in a statement cited by CNN.

Black metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that usually features anti-Christian, satanic and paganistic themes.

Matthews, who is a resident of St. Landry Parish where the fires occurred over the last two weeks, was charged with three counts of simple arson on religious buildings with each carrying a prison sentence of up to 15 years.

Louisiana State Fire Marshal Butch Browning, said at a press conference Thursday morning that the fires are an attack on our God and our religion and investigators acted quickly to arrest Matthews because we felt that other crimes were imminent.

In my career, I have never seen such a spiritual mission that has come home so quickly, said Browning.

Taylor Thibodeaux, 23, who identifies as a Satanist, told USA Today that she met Matthews on social media through mutual friends. She said once he discovered that she was into Satanism he became so obsessed with the practice that she was forced to turn down a date with him.

"We were supposed to go on a date, but, for me, he didnt seem right," she said. "The infatuation he had toward me and my religion just threw me off."

Thibodeaux noted that during their time together, Matthews also used racial slurs, made "black jokes" and "dead baby jokes." She further called the church burnings Matthews is accused of carrying out "absolutely wrong" and argued that Satanism is about self-reflection and loving yourself, not burning down houses of worship.

Mount Pleasant Baptist Church became the third historically black church over 100 years old to burn down in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, in a span of 10 days last week. St. Marys Baptist Church was the first reported church fire on March 26 and Greater Union Baptist Church went up in flames a week later, NBC News reported.

Pastors of the churches that were burned down told The Advocate they were relieved that Matthews was arrested but also prayed that he would turn his life over to God.

"I just thank God that it's over. Our church can rebuild and get back to our work. It's been some sleepless nights. Now we can finally rest for a little while," Rev. Gerald Toussaint of Mount Pleasant Baptist Church said after a news conference Thursday.

I would just like to ask him why he would do such a thing. I dont know his motives, the Rev. Harry Richard of Greater Union Baptist Church said. I would like to see his heart and talk to him and let him express to me what it is that Ive done, or anyone in our churches have done, to cause the pain or whatever it is hes feeling toward us that he would do such a thing.

Toussaint also praised law enforcement for the work they did in responding to the fires.

Lately, law enforcement has been given a black eye but today it showed that they are real, and theyre good, and they supported and helped us. Many of them didnt have to but they did, he told The Advocate.
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To ensure that there is no misunderstanding of any kind, please say these words out loud, slowly and clearly: Michael Brown is not comparing homosexuality to pedophilia. Michael Brown is not calling homosexuals pedophiles. Michael Brown is not comparing a mutually consensual, adult relationship to an abusive, adult-child relationship.

All clear?

What I am comparing is an illogical justification of homosexuality that can just as easily be used to justify pedophilia.

Please allow me to explain.

In the past, I have demonstrated how advocates of man-boy love have used the identical arguments that gay activists have used, specifically:

1) Pedophilia is innate and immutable.

2) Pederasty is richly attested in many different cultures throughout history.

3) The claim that adult-child sexual relationships cause harm is greatly overstated and often completely inaccurate.

4) Consensual adult-child sex can actually be beneficial to the child.

5) Pederasty should not be classified as a mental disorder, since it does not cause distress to the pederast to have these desires and since the pederast can function as a normal, contributing member of society.

6) Many of the illustrious homosexuals of the past were actually pedophiles.

7) People are against intergenerational intimacy because of antiquated social standards and puritanical sexual phobias.

8) This is all about love and equality and liberation.

Returning to the first argument, namely, that pedophilia is innate and immutable, I wrote in 2014, In case youve missed the latest headlines, we are now being told with increasing certainty that pedophilia is innate and immutable . . . .

In keeping with this, there are now academic papers with titles like, Potential Implications of Research on Genetic or Heritable Contributions to Pedophilia for the Objectives of Criminal Law. And there are discussions on psychology forums asking, Is Pedophilia Genetic?

You say, But what does this have to do with God, who is mentioned in the title to your article?

The answer is simple. The first openly gay presidential candidate, Pete Buttigieg, attributes his homosexuality to the Lord, recently directing these comments to Vice President Mike Pence: If youve got a problem with who I am, your problem is not with me. Your quarrel, sir, is with my creator.

In other words, according to Buttigieg, God made me gay, and if you dont like that, your issue is with God.

According to Buttigieg, when he was younger  15, 20, or even 25 years-old  if there was a pill he could have taken not to be gay he would have taken it instantly. Now, however, he is thrilled with his life, especially because of his marriage to his partner Chasten.

Personally, I dont doubt that he and Chasten care deeply for each other. And I dont doubt that, in certain ways, they have enriched each others lives. Most importantly, I dont doubt that, to the core of his being, Buttigieg believes he was born gay and cannot change.

That is not my issue, nor am I his personal judge and jury.

My issue is the claim that, If I feel a certain way and I cannot change, then this is how God made me.

Thats the exact same logic a pedophile can use: I never asked for these desires. I tried to change and cannot. This must be the way God made me. If you dont like it, your issue is with God.

You say, But youre comparing apples with oranges. First and foremost, Buttgieg and Chasten are consenting adults and their relationship is non-abusive, based on love.

Then why bring up the born that way argument? Why say, God made me this way? Why not just say, My relationship to my partner is just as valid and good as any heterosexual relationship on the planet?

Thats my whole point.

If we argue that a certain disposition or feeling or attraction or desire must be attributed to God because it is so deep-seated, then we open up a Pandoras box of confusion.

Many married heterosexual men struggle with adulterous thoughts and desires. Can they say, But this is how God made me!? Should their wives just accept that this is how they are wired?

What about those who, to the core of their being, struggle with pride? Or anger? Or greed? Or jealousy?

What does this prove? It proves that we are a fallen, broken race in need of a Savior.

And what about the claims of a violent gene or a selfish gene or an obesity gene?

Do we therefore celebrate violence, selfishness, or obesity, if, in fact, they are genetic? Or, if we have these alleged genetic tendencies, do we work harder to overcome them?

You protest once again, You just dont get it! All these things you listed, from adulterous thoughts to pride, anger, greed, violence, and obesity, are all bad. But same-sex love is fine. Its just traditional society and religion that reject it.

Of course, I differ with your assessment of homosexual relationships, but once again, youre missing the point.

If same-sex love is beautiful and something to celebrate, then dont attribute it to the way you were born. Dont say, This must be right because its innate and immutable.

Unfortunately for gay activists, much of their movement was founded on the argument that I was born this way and cant change, making homosexuality the new black.

Now that this argument is being debunked scientifically and anecdotally, the very foundations of gay activism are being shaken, including the argument that God made me gay.

But either way, to attribute all of our deepest, most ingrained desires to God is to make a massive mistake, blaming the Creator for the fallen condition of the creation.

The bad news is that, by nature, we have some deep moral problems. The good news is that Jesus can redeem us.

And Mayor Pete, if you have a problem with what Ive written, your quarrel, sir, is not with me. Its with God.

For a related video commentary, see here.
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A friend asked me about a supposed Jewish tradition concerning the head wrapping of Jesus in the tomb. The Gospel of John notes that Peter and John (if the beloved disciple is the writer of the Fourth Gospel which this writer accepts) run to the tomb of Jesus. They investigate the tomb and saw the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself (Jn. 20:7, KJV).

According to a story circulating online which has been passed along in many churches, an ancient Jewish tradition held that when a person had finished their meal, the person would toss their napkin aside if he or she was finished. However, if the person had to leave and was not finished, the person would neatly fold their napkin and place it to the side of their plate indicating that he or she would return. Advocates of this story contend that the folding of the napkin in John 20:7 was Jesus' way of saying that he was going to leave but would soon return. While the story is heartwarming, one must ask if there any merit to the claim. After investigating the story, unfortunately, I must report that there seems to be no evidence that the story is true. But there is a more remarkable twist that is greater than the supposed tradition. First, here are the reasons why the story seems to be nothing more than an urban legend.

1. The headcloth was not a napkin. With all due respect to the King James Version, napkin may not be the best translation of the term sudarion (Gk., sudarion). Sudarion indicates a small piece of cloth which could be a towel, a napkin, handkerchief, or a face cloth. Given the context, no one was eating a meal inside the tomb which would exclude the term napkin. Sudarion best fits with the idea of a cloth that covered the head of the corpse. The Christian Standard Bible provides a better translation as it says, the wrapping that had been on his head was not lying with the linen cloths but was folded up in a separate place by itself (Jn. 20:7, CSB).

2. The headcloth was rolled and not folded. While the CSB uses the term folded, the term entulisso (Gk., entulissw) seems to fit better with the notion of being rolled. According to Louw and Nida, entulisso indicates the action to cause something to be in the shape of a roll. The term is also used in Revelation 6:14 where the sky is entulisso (i.e., rolled up) like a scroll. The neat folding of the headcloth as implied by the mealtime tradition does not seem to fit the tomb scene even if the tradition did exist as it seems more likely that the head cloth was rolled up like a scroll.

3. There is no evidence of the Jewish mealtime tradition. The death knell to the mealtime legend (no pun intended) is that there seems to be no evidence that such a Jewish mealtime tradition exists. Granted, there are numerous Jewish traditions in both the written and oral law and it is possible that one could have been overlooked. Nonetheless, this writer could not find anything pertaining to a tradition surrounding a folded napkin.

This so-called Jewish mealtime tradition is one that I have heard but have never investigated until now. The story has no root in any apparent oral or written tradition (at least as far as I could find) and possesses all the earmarks of being nothing more than an urban legend. While this news may be disappointing for some, the genuine story of the rolled head cloth provides greater and deeper meaning to the resurrection of Jesus. Consider the following three truths.

1. The body was clearly resurrected and not merely resuscitated. Something amazing must have taken place for the rolled head cloth to have been placed in a separate location than the other linens. For Jesus to have been able to escape the grave cloths without disturbing their form while at the same time rolling the cloth that had wrapped his head illustrates that Jesus experienced a greater and far different return to life than what Lazarus or anyone else ever had. Lazarus had to be unbound from the cloths that enclosed his body (Jn. 11:43-44). Jesus was able to return to life and leave behind the cloths without any assistance. Remarkable!

2. The body would have had to come through the cloths with the head wrapping. The other cloths were lying in the same place and the same form they had when they wrapped the body of Jesus. Yet, here was this head cloth rolled up to the side away from the other cloths. This seems to suggest that the body of Jesus came through the cloths with the head cloth attached. Thus, if a person were to witness the resurrection, it is likely that the eyewitness would see the body arising out from the cloths. Or, it could be that a person would see the body vanish with the cloths sinking in where the body had been with the visible Jesus standing beside them with headcloth in hand.

After the resurrection, Jesus rolled up the cloth like a scroll and laid it to the side before exiting the tomb. The resurrection of Jesus was an otherworldly event unlike anything anyone had before perceived. When Jesus resurrected from the dead, God used a new system of physics for this eventone that linked the spiritual and physical in an amazing new union.

3. The body of Jesus was wrapped in more than one cloth. While the Shroud of Turins authenticity is not necessary to believe in the resurrection of Jesus, some have used the cloths mentioned in Johns Gospel to refute the Shroud. This is not a good practice primarily because John notes the existence of more than one kind of cloth. Since the women were not able to fully embalm the body of Jesus, it is possible that a Shroud covered the body of Jesus along with other wrappings in the tomb. The head cloth and the other linens indicate the plurality of cloths used to bury Jesus body. The absence of evidence pertaining to the Shroud is not evidence of absence.

So, while the story of an ancient Jewish tradition linking the folded head cloth with Jesus return is most likely an urban legend, the actual story of the wrapped head cloth tells a greater story. Jesus resurrection was a spectacular and ethereal event. The power exhibited by the resurrection is greater than any power known to humankind. Paul notes that just as Jesus has risen from the dead, so shall all of those who have trusted Christ (1 Co. 15:23). This indicates that this kind of resurrection will one day be coming to a tomb near you.

 2019. BellatorChristi.com.

Brian G. Chilton is the founder of BellatorChristi.com and is the host of The Bellator Christi Podcast. He received his Master of Divinity in Theology from Liberty University (with high distinction); his Bachelor of Science in Religious Studies and Philosophy from Gardner-Webb University (with honors); and received certification in Christian Apologetics from Biola University. Brian is currently enrolled in the Ph.D. program in Theology and Apologetics at Liberty University and is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society and the Evangelical Philosophical Society. Brian has been in the ministry for over 15 years and serves as the Senior Pastor of Westfield Baptist Church in northwestern North Carolina.
Family fears health of US pastor imprisoned in China is deteriorating after Bible sent home

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After over 10 years of ministering to prisoners in China, the family of American pastor David Lin is finally raising awareness and calling on the Chinese government to end his unjust imprisonment as they fear that his health may have taken a turn for the worse.

Lin, who became a believer in Christ after coming to the United States, began making trips back to China in 1999 to share the Gospel with the unchurched in the secular communist nation. He became active in the house church movement.

Months after he applied for a ministry license in 2006, Lin was detained under unclear circumstances, placed under house arrest and prevented from leaving Beijing. Three years later, he was charged with contract fraud and sentenced to life in prison.

Although Lin has staunchly maintained his innocence, he has not wanted to raise the attention of his case because he felt as if his imprisonment was a God-ordained mission field, according to his daughter, Alice Lin. Inside the prison, Lin could minister to prisoners from over 30 nations.

But after a decade in prison and having missed his sons graduation, daughter's wedding and the birth of his grandson, the family now fears that something could be seriously wrong.

In December, we had this huge scare. He reached out to me urgently asking me to have his Bible translations removed [from prison], Alice Lin told evangelical conservative activist and pastor Tony Perkins on his Washington Watch radio program on Tuesday. We were so grateful that the embassy was able to oblige and go and remove his Bible translations. So that embassy sent his Bible translations to us.

When the family received the box of translations, Alice Lin said they were disturbed by what was found.

In that box with his Bible translations, we not only got the Bible translations. So we also found his Bible and all the cards and pictures and letters we sent him over the years, she told Perkins, who also heads up the Washington-based advocacy organization Family Research Council and is a commissioner on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

That Bible has sustained him for the last 10 years. It's like a man in the desert sending home his only bottle of water, she continued. When my mom opened that box, she was hysterical. She knew was something wrong. We don't know what's happening. We know that something serious is happening in that dark place.

At FreePastorLin.com, the family voiced concern that his health may be deteriorating and that he could be mistreated because of his faith.

The most important thing we can do is pray, Alice Lin explained. We have seen God's hand here. He has preserved my father all these years. Pray for his safety. Pray that the Lord continues to keep him under His wing and pray that he can come home soon.

She added that while the family does not know the exact details of her fathers case, he told them that officials forged documents and even tried to get him to sign a confession  something he would not do because he didnt do anything wrong.

What we do know is that he was in China because he had this huge burden for the unchurched in China. He had the vision to build a church and a Christian training center, she explained, adding that he was imprisoned because of his faith. "His last message to us as a free man ... he told us, 'Don't worry, God knows what He is doing. It is God's wish that I am here. There are many people inside that need to hear God's Word. Please don't worry but only pray for me. I will be back in the U.S. soon.' That was 10 years ago."

China ranks as one of the worst countries in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USAs World Watch List. Chinas crackdown on nongovernment sanctioned house churches over the last several years has led to the arrest of countless worshipers and the destruction of churches.

Perkins and USCIRF Vice Chair Kristina Arriaga adopted Lin this week as their prisoner of conscience as part of USCIRF's Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project. The project recently saw success in the form of the release of a peaceful Muslim prisoner in Pakistan who was advocated for by USCIRF Commissioner Johhnie Moore.

We call on Chinese authorities to provide Pastor David Lin with any medical attention that he needs and allow him to return home to the United States, Arriaga and Perkins said in a joint statement. The Chinese government has committed a grave injustice against this man who now faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison. We are especially concerned about the possibility that Pastor Lin is being targeted in prison because of his faith.

Lin is not the only American pastor imprisoned in China.

A White House petition was launched last year in support of Pastor John Cao, who last year was sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of "organizing illegal border crossing. He was working to build schools in the impoverished neighboring country of Myanmar. The petition was signed by over 29,000 people.

As for the Lins, they have had limited contact with their father over the years. But more recently, Alice Lin explained, the frequency in which her father has reached out to them has increased.

He has had this anxiousness and urgency in his voice, she told Perkins. It is the first time he has ever asked us to reach out for help. He actually knew Ambassador Terry Branstad in 90s and asked us to reach out to him and ask him to visit him in prison.

Alice Lin stressed that her father is missed dearly. She explained that she was not able to have a proper wedding ceremony because her father was not there to walk her down the aisle.

My mother has been operating as if she is a widow for the last 12 years, she detailed. My father has missed a lot. Things are changing now and it is time to bring him back home.

Perkins called on listeners to pressure the U.S. government to demand that the Chinese government release Lin.

Perkins compared Lin to Andrew Brunson, an American pastor who was imprisoned for years in Turkey but released last year after diplomatic pressure from the U.S. government and prayers from thousands of people across the globe.

[E]ven now as we are negotiating a trade deal with China, we demand that China recognizes basic human rights, Perkins stressed, chief among them being religious freedom.
100th anniversary of Amritsar massacre is a day for 'lament', says Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury said he was praying for healing and forgiveness as Britain and India marked 100 years since the Amritsar massacre on Saturday.

The massacre, known in India as Jallianwala Bagh, happened on the afternoon of April 13, 1919, when British colonial forces opened fire on unarmed Indians attending a pro-independence rally in the north-western city of Amritsar.

The attack, which killed over 300 people and injured another 1,200, strengthened support for independence from British rule.

Archbishop Justin Welby noted that victims came from across the faith spectrum, with Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims and Christians among the fallen.

He said the centenary was a day for reflection, lament and prayer as he said Britain needed to confront the atrocity.

"As British people we can't avoid this shameful part of our colonial legacy," he said.

"As a Christian leader, today is a day for reflection; a day for lament; and a day to pray for the healing power of forgiveness that communities of faith, around the world, might learn from the past and move to a future where all are able to flourish."

Britain has never formally apologised for the massacre, despite pressure from India to do so.

British High Commissioner to India Dominic Asquith attended a wreath laying ceremony in Amritsar on Saturday to mark the centenary.

Paying tribute at the city's Jallianwala Bagh memorial, he said "the revulsion that we felt at the time is still strong today" but said that history could not be re-written.

"It tarnished the reputation and we regret, as I say, the suffering and we'll continue to do so," he said.

"The suffering caused...You might want to rewrite history, as the Queen said. But you can't."

Prime Minister Theresa May expressed "regret" over the massacre and described it as a "shameful scar" on Britain's history in India, but stopped short of a formal apology.
Asia Bibi will be leaving Pakistan 'very soon' - Imran Khan

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan has promised that Christian mother Asia Bibi will be leaving the country "very soon".

Pakistan has faced international pressure over delays to Mrs Bibi's departure from Pakistan, where she remains in hiding due to the continued threat to her life five months after being freed from death row for blasphemy.

Mrs Bibi spent nearly 10 years in prison after being wrongly accused of blasphemy, a crime punishable by death in Pakistan.

She was acquitted of all charges by the Supreme Court last October and her family immediately sought asylum abroad.

Her daughters are already in Canada where she is expected to join them. However, her departure has suffered repeated setbacks with little explanation from Pakistan's officials.

Mr Khan told the BBC that he could not go into the details of the delay but promised that Mrs Bibi would be free to leave the country in a few weeks.

"There is a little bit of a complication. And I can't speak on the media about [it]," he said. "But I can assure you she is safe and she will be leaving in weeks."

Mrs Bibi's daughter, Eisham Ashiq, has pleaded for her mother's freedom. She remains in regular contact with her and recently said she was encouraging her to keep her faith in God until she reaches safety.

"I am missing her so much, I think about her all the time, and I speak to her on the phone all the time. I say to her, 'Have faith in God, because if God can release you from jail, God can release you from where you are now. He will bring you out,'" she told the Daily Mail.

"When she comes, I will hug her and kiss her, and that day will be a very special day when my mummy arrives, and I know I will be very happy, and will thank God before anything else."
Barring gay bishops' spouses from Lambeth Conference was 'painful' but necessary, says Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury has defended his decision to ban the spouses of gay bishops from attending a major conference next year.

Archbishop Justin Welby told The Times that the decision had been "painful" but necessary to bring as many people as possible to the Lambeth Conference taking place in Canterbury in 2020.

The conference is held around once every decade and brings together bishops from the worldwide Anglican Communion for discussion, prayer and reflection.

More recently, the gathering has been strained by divisions in the communion over homosexuality, with churches from the Global South being opposed to gay marriage blessings and ordination, while Churches in North America and Scotland have embraced them.

GAFCON, an orthodox Anglican group, has said that liberal bishops should not be invited to the conference, while the Anglican Churches of Nigeria and Uganda are planning to boycott the event.

Archbishop Welby said the decision not to invite the spouses of gay bishops was a "lose-lose situation".

"Well over 90 per cent of the Anglican communion are conservative on issues of sexuality. I've invited all the bishops, including those in same-sex marriages. And I had to consider . . . getting as many people as possible there and excluding as few as possible. It's a lose-lose situation," he said.

He continued: "I had to take what is a really difficult and painful decision to say, in order for the conference to be as representative as possible and get all the bishops there and not have the risk of some provinces not coming because they felt I was pushing the envelope too far, that I couldn't ask all the spouses."

He added that he wanted the communion to "get to the point where we are able disagree well and that's while affirming the doctrine of marriage in its traditional Christian form".
Catholic Church must return to God to overcome abuse crisis, says Benedict XVI

Pope Francis' predecessor Benedict XVI has blamed the sexual abuse scandal blighting the Catholic Church on a "collapse" of moral theology and the impact of the sexual revolution.

In an article for German periodical Klerusblatt, the Pope emeritus said he wanted to send a "strong message" to the Catholic Church that if it wanted to be "truly credible" again as a force "against the powers of destruction", it needed to return to God.

He said that "Catholic moral theology suffered a collapse that rendered the Church defenseless" against increasing sexual permissiveness in society.

The sexual revolution of the 60s, he argued, also played into the "extensive collapse of the next generation of priests in those years".

Within the Catholic Church, he says problems started to emerge in seminaries where men were supposed to be preparing for the priesthood.

"In various seminaries homosexual cliques were established, which acted more or less openly and significantly changed the climate in the seminaries," he said.

In one seminary in southern Germany, Benedict said laymen were accompanied by their wives and children and "on occasion by their girlfriends".

"The climate in this seminary could not provide support for preparation to the priestly vocation," he said.

"The Holy See knew of such problems, without being informed precisely."

Regarding pedophilia in the Church, he said this did not become "acute" until the second half of the 1980s and that Catholic officials dealt with it by protecting the accused "to such an extent that convictions were hardly possible".

"Why did pedophilia reach such proportions? Ultimately, the reason is the absence of God," he said.

"A paramount task, which must result from the moral upheavals of our time, is that we ourselves once again begin to live by God and unto Him.

"Above all, we ourselves must learn again to recognize God as the foundation of our life instead of leaving Him aside as a somehow ineffective phrase."

There has been some criticism of Benedict's interpretation.

James J Martin SJ, a Jesuit priest and editor of the Jesuit magazine America, said on Twitter: "I have the greatest respect for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, especially as a theologian.

"However, I disagree with most of his analysis of the sex abuse crisis. Blaming it on poor theology and the sexual mores of the 1960s dramatically misses the mark."

Church historian Christopher Bellitto said the analysis ignored Pope Francis' sexual abuse summit in February in overlooking the fact that the abuse was not confined to western countries and also predated the swinging sixties.

"It is catastrophically irresponsible, because it creates a counter-narrative to how Francis is trying to move ahead based on the 2019 summit," he told Associated Press in an email.

"The essay essentially ignores what we learned there."
Censoring the internet  A plea from John Milton

Did you know that President Lincoln stated, "Most of what you read on the Internet is false"? I'm afraid if you cannot spot the obvious flaw in that statement then you are not worthy of reading this column! However England's greatest poet, the 17th Century Puritan, John Milton, did have something to say about the Internet. Let me explain.

Both the EU and the UK government have recently suggested further strong regulation to seek to control the worldwide web. The EU, despite significant popular protest, has passed radical proposals to severely limit the Internet.

This will affect everything from blogs and podcasts to larger sites. YouTube suggested it would mean them taking down 90 million of their videos. It will create a dual Internet  a restrictive one for the EU (along with North Korea and China) and a more open one for the rest of the world. Some argue that the EU are going with the big firms and the corporate lobbyists and limiting both freedom of speech and the free market.

The UK government have produced their own Online Harms paper - which effectively proposes an end to self-regulation and instead suggests a government regulator. Some see this as a necessary corrective; others describe it as an historic attack on free speech and freedom of the press. The trouble is, what do you do with material that is not illegal but which may be considered harmful? After all I think liberal theology, TV reality shows and boy bands are harmful. Should they be banned? On the other hand I am constantly told that my espousal of biblical morality is harmful and should be banned? Where are we heading?

This is where John Milton comes in. In the 1640s, the UK was split by a civil war  the nation was divided and tempers were running high (plus ca change...!). A relatively new technology, the printing press was having an enormous impact. And so the politicians in parliament decided they should do something about it and put forward a 'licensing order' in June 1643 to regulate the press.

Milton responded in 1644 with a passionate plea called 'Areopagitica  A speech for the liberty of unlicensed printing, to the Parliament of England'. It is a stunning work that has a lot to teach us. Remember those who refuse to learn from their past will repeat it!

Milton argued that suppressing books was like murdering someone. He stated that it was good for Christians to read the works of those who disagreed with them and that a mature people should be able to discern what is good and bad, without the government doing it for us.

In addition he pointed out that those who would be the licensers were not infallible, nor were they uncorrupt. If we are going to regulate printing (or the internet?) then we are going to have to have government regulation for everything else  from music to clothing.

Besides which we cannot expel sin and evil by censorship and regulation. The State has the right to govern us, but not to be our critics. Do we really think the people are so stupid that we have to be treated like children?

The danger with State (or corporate) censorship is that inevitably we end up excluding much that is good, as well as the bad. Milton also warns that the attempt to control thought, by either State or Church leads to a 'forced and outward union of cold and neutral, and inwardly divided minds'. Again in comments that are so pertinent to our day, he warns that government regulation will inevitably lead to the bigger companies having a monopoly.

When God is shaking a kingdom then of course there will be bad and false teaching, but God will send out teachers of his truth to deal with error. We must not suppress error with the power of the State but defeat it by the truth of Christ.

Milton  reflecting the teachings of Christ  surely has a word for our day. The governments should treat us like grown-ups able to think and reason for ourselves. We don't need them to censor on our behalf  because inevitably they will end up censoring us.

Freedom of speech, freedom of thought and freedom of religion are far too precious to be handed over to a government committee or a Californian mega corporation. I'll leave the last word with Milton:

"Where there is much desire to learn, there of necessity will be much arguing, much writing, many opinions; for opinion in good men is but knowledge in the making."

"Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties."

David Robertson is a minister in the Free Church of Scotland. He blogs at www.theweeflea.com
Leviticus: it gets a bad rap but G-d meant it for joy

Did you know that the name of this important Book is not really Leviticus? This was invented much later by non-Jewish interpreters for their non-Jewish readers, many of whom were pagans. Its actual original name in Hebrew is Vayikra, which means 'And G-d called'. Some have even said that it means 'G-d's calling.'

The book of G-d calling is the seminal book of the Bible. For this reason it is planted right in the middle of the five Books of Moses, the Jewish Torah, the Pentateuch, and is about the 'how' of loving your neighbour.

The injunction to 'love your neighbour as yourself' comes from Chapter 19 of the book. And the book is encased in definitions of love. Not license, but how to look after ourselves, how to look after our neighbours, how to look after the stranger, and on a different level, how also to look after animals and plant life. Nothing is alien to the Biblical writer, but neither does he mince his words.

Vayikra's call is to a disciplined life of enjoyment through restraint, of how to curb our passions without cutting ourselves off and, most of all, how to live in community. This is why it is read now, at this time of year. A bunch of slaves is about to become free. But having been slaves, how can they live as free people in a free community under G-d? We have already read the Exodus story in Shul. That is by way of preparation. But now we have to buckle down and learn rules for life. That's why we read this book during the period when we celebrate the Exodus from Egypt, the moment when G-d redeemed us to be free people in our own Land.

Much of what is taught about loving your neighbour as yourself, as outlined in Vayikra, stands in contradiction to many of the laws in this country now, even though these are the core teachings of Judaism, and the key mantra of Jesus the Jew.

But diaspora Jewish communities everywhere will fight for their right to educate their children in the ways depicted in Vayikra, assisted by rabbinic commentaries. And where religion and state clash, religion will always come first, even at risk of imprisonment or deportation. Civil disobedience is often a stronger weapon than complicity or than violence, and after all, we are supposed, after all, to be 'a light to the nations', aren't we?'

The first Book to be studied by Jewish children at around the age of 3 was always Vayikra. Here is the depiction of one small boy's introduction to the Book of Vayikra  typical of the way observant Jews induct their children into the school experience and to the life of the Bible:

'We wrapped the boy in a tallit [prayer shawl], covering his face so that he would not see anything impure on the way to school and led him through the city from south to north. The teacher opened the text-book, entitled 'First Dawn.'....His mother baked a cake on which she sprinkled the Hebrew letters of the verse, 'Moses commanded us the Torah'. The child licked up the letters, while the cake itself was shared by the teachers and the other pupils.' (Taken from Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen: Between War and Peace by Yechiel Frish and Yedidya HaCohen, Urim Publications)

So, don't be put off reading the wonderful book of Vayikra because it's not as grim as many people think it is. Get stuck in and you will find real enjoyment - a God-given enjoyment through restraint. Even better, if you can, find yourself a Hebrew speaker who understands the original language it was written in and can tell you what it really means, unhampered by versions which more often than not lose something in the translation.

Dr Irene Lancaster is a Jewish academic, author and translator who has established university courses on Jewish history, Jewish studies and the Hebrew Bible.
Ken Janda, the high-profile CEO of Community Health Choice, has abruptly resigned after a decade of leading the Houston insurance company. No replacement has been named, the company said.

Under Jandas watch the small, 22-year-old nonprofit insurer has seen dramatic growth, increasing its members by nearly fourfold and expanding its reach across the region.

The decision to replace Janda apparently came last week during the companys regular board meeting. On Thursday, a companywide email announced that the board had reached a mutual agreement with CEO Ken Janda that he will step down effective immediately.

The Board of Directors has begun the process of designating an interim CEO and launching a search for a successor who will continue to lead Community in fulfilling its core mission, which is to improve the health and well-being of under-served Texans by opening doors to health care and health-related social services, the email said.

The insurance company began as local health plan for pregnant women and children covered under Medicaid and Childrens Health Insurance Plan in 1997. After passage of the Affordable Care Act, which allowed the company to offer insurance products on the health laws federal exchange, the insurers numbers increased. It now has more than 400,000 members, the company said.

Community Health Choice is coming off a strong year and were continuing to grow and fulfill our mission to open doors of access to health and well-being, particularly to underserved and vulnerable populations, Catherine Mitchell, executive vice president and chief operating officer, said in an email. We will be introducing new products and programs in the coming months.

RELATED: ACA enrollment closes amid fears that Texas will see big declines

Prior to joining Community Health Choice, Janda was Houston market president of the health insurance company Humana. He also held leadership positions with the insurers Aetna and Prudential. In recent years, he has emerged as a policy expert in navigating the changing health care industry.

Kens knowledge of health care and how it works in Houston has been important to all of us, Dr. Arthur Tim Garson, director of Texas Medical Centers Health Policy Institute, said on Friday.

jenny.deam@chron.com

twitter.com/jenny_deam
San Jose council members debated an unusual plan for the opening of a Chick-fil-A headed to San Jose International Airport next month: hanging a bunch of flags signaling LGBT and transgender solidarity around it, according to the Mercury News.

The fried chicken company's ownership and foundation has been criticized, as recently as last month, for donating to groups who take anti-LGBT positions, leading some cities around the country to halt plans to open new franchises.

RELATED: Concord city staff to recommend against zoning change for Chick-fil-A

Members of the LGBT community around San Jose have been similarly vocal about the opening, leading Mayor Sam Liccardo to say he "simply didn't think enough" about the controversy. He also noted the city cannot block a business from opening based solely on an owner's political views. San Jose is already home to two Chil-fil-A locations.

Now, some local leaders are attempting to find a solution to the ordeal by adding, well, lots of rainbows.

Former county Supervisor Ken Yeager, a member of San Jose State University's political science department who heads the LGBTQ-focused political action committee and was the city's first openly gay councilman, said Tuesday he'd like to see flags placed near the storefront "as a counter-signal to the discrimination supported by Chick-fil-A."

RELATED: Buttigieg likes Chick-fil-A's chicken but not its politics

But Councilman Raul Peralez suggested going further, by hiring LGBT workers to make it the "gayest Chick-fil-A in the country."

The city council broadly supported the ideas  in particular, they endorsed adding flags near the store  but in the end, this Chick-fil-A location may be short-lived anyway. City organizers voted to withhold a proposed two-year contract extension from 2026 to 2028 for airport vendors that do not open every day. That would directly affect Chick-fil-A; the company is famously not open on Sundays.

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.


Joe Paneitz, a teacher at Humble ISD's Career & Technology Education Center, felt like he was on top of the world when he was announced the Teacher of the Year at the Humble ISD Education Foundation Gala on April 12.

The foundation held their annual gala at the Humble Civic Center to raise money for grants and other projects for students and teachers.

This year's theme was "Our Future is so Bright" where everyone was encouraged to wear neon colors and lights. This year's gala was a special one to Humble ISD as they also celebrated their 100th anniversary in the Lake Houston community.

The Humble Civic Center was packed with teachers, principals, staff and community members were in the building to the accomplishments of Humble ISD this year.

Live auctions were held and donations were given, raising thousands of dollars for the district.

This year's sponsor Robbins Chevrolet, gave away $10,000 to the Teacher of the Year.

Chelsea Robbins McGhinnis, vice president of Robbins Chevrolet, said this is their first time as a sponsor for the gala but certainly not their first time helping out Humble ISD.

"We have been long-time supporters of Humble ISD Education Foundation," McGhinnis, a 2005 Kingwood High School graduate said. "I'm a third generation Humble ISD graduate, kids who are almost 3 and 2 (years old) will attend Humble ISD, so we are lifers."

McGhinnis's uncle Sonny Robbins was given the Distinguished Alumni Award that night.

Robbins was an Humble High School graduate of 1944.

Robbins served as Humble Mayor, president of the original Northeast Hospital Board Authority and president of the Northeast Hospital Foundation, among other organizations.

McGhinnis shared that it was a "neat" experience celebrating Humble ISD's 100th anniversary since Robbins Chevrolet doesn't fall far behind.

"Our business is 90 years old so we are close behind Humble ISD," McGhinnis said. "We were here for a really long time so when we were asked to be involved with the gala this year it's always really hard to turn it down because there's nothing more important to our family than education."

As the gala was coming to a close, the 10 Teacher of the Year finalists lined up on stage to hear who will win the $10,000 prize.

Finalists were nominated through their peers and the winner was selected through a committee of previous winners.

Superintendent Elizabeth Fagen gave a few words before announcing the Elementary Teacher of the Year.

"We have some of the most innovative and creative staff members anywhere across Texas if not across the country," Fagen said. "When they want to do incredible things for students, the (education) foundation is able to do that because of the generosity of this community and all of our business partners. Humble ISD teachers do amazing work every single day. They keep the students best interest at the heart of every single thing they do. We can never thank these teachers enough for what they do."

Whispering Pines Elementary Teacher Francesca Rathke was announced as the Elementary Teacher of the Year and won a vacation in a luxury home in Florida and two first class air tickets donated by United Airlines.

"I feel very overwhelmed but mostly grateful and thankful to be honored with an award like this," Rathke said with tears of joy. "This is unbelievable. I just don't have the words really."

Shortly after Rathke received her award, Fagen announced that Paneitz is the 2019 Secondary and District Teacher of the Year and the winner of $10,000.

Paneitz was so overwhelmed with joy he gave Fagen and the rest of the finalists a hug.

"I am so excited. I am feeling humbled to represent all of these teachers and all of the amazing people that teach for Humble ISD," Paneitz said. "I feel like I'm walking amongst giants and I'm so happy to represent them."

Paneitz plans on throwing a party with his students to celebrate the momentous occasion and dedicate those $10,000 to his class.

kaila.contreras@chron.com
A thunderstorm moving at 40 mph began entering Houston's urban core at about 3:30 p.m. Saturday, producing hail and gusty wind in the Harris County area, the National Weather Service said.

Hail also began to fall during the afternoon in nearby counties, including Brazoria, Matagorda and Fort Bend. The thunderstorm also hit north Harris County, including Aldine, Humble and Spring, along with parts of Montgomery County.
In a Jeep named Gunny, a pair of philanthropic Houstonians will hit the road this summer to fundraise for their next big renovation project  installing ADA compliant amenities for a quadriplegic veteran in Mobile, Alabama.

A veteran himself, JR Smith saw a problem with what he felt was a lack of Veteran Affairs funding support for ADA accessible home renovations.

"They were legitimate war heroes that now can't even take care of their most basic needs like going to the bathroom by themselves," Smith said.

After giving more than 50 remodeling cost estimates to veterans through his business, H-Towne & Around Remodelers in Cypress, Smith said the VA's promise to provide project funding fell flat.

So, he took matters into his own hands.

Smith founded Guns to Hammers in 2012 with fellow marine and best friend since high school, Kevin Jackson. Guns to Hammers provides free ADA-compliant home remodeling services for disabled veterans. The organization became a certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2016.

"Many people I served with ended up going off to war," Smith said. "A few came back in pine boxes, a few came back maimed and a few came back not the same person. That's not what destiny had for me, so I feel like it's my responsibility to absolutely go back for these guys."

In 2017, Smith and Jackson set out on a journey across the United States in "Gunny," a Jeep decorated with the American flag, to raise awareness for their work and attract potential partners.

WELCOME HOME: Veteran family gifted keys to new house in Atascocita

The group continued gathering support, receiving free help with car troubles and getting escorted into Nevada from the veteran motorcycle club Marine Riders, who wanted to greet them and connect them to local groups.

The two picked up a new public relations coordinator in California  Bob Morey  who was intrigued by Gunny the Jeep and the Guns to Hammers mission.

Before they knew it, Smith said, news stations started picking up their story, Jeep offered promotional help and passersby were sending money to the Guns to Hammers PayPal account.

By the end of the four-week trip, the duo had raised more than $30,000.

"It's truly renewed my faith in humanity," Smith said.

Since 2016, Guns to Hammers has completed nearly a dozen renovation projects for veterans both out-of-state and locally, including a World War II veteran in Tomball, who has since passed away.

HONORING A HERO: WWII vet leads FM 1960 St. Patrick's Parade as grand marshal

Another project Guns to Hammers completed in 2018 was for Navy veteran Ed Weising and his wife Dana Weising.

Ed Weising was injured during a helicopter crash while serving in the military. He underwent a surgical procedure to correct the injury, but was instead left paralyzed from the waist down.

Before the renovation, Ed Weising was using a makeshift shower made from a hose pipe and a showerhead in his garage so he could shower while in his wheelchair. Through Guns to Hammers, Weising now has a new bathroom with ADA accessibility.

Dana Weising said Smith and the Guns to Hammers team are angels.

"It's not just about being able to clean yourself and taking a shower, it has to do with dignity and self-respect," she said. "When a man can go to his own bathroom, take a shower and wash himself, it's huge. It helps me a lot, because them more independence he has the more independence I have."

With each project costing between $12,000 and $15,000, Guns to Hammers is always seeking partners to help fund their endeavors. In 2018, the group was able to gain the support of several craft beer brewers.

FILLING JOBS: State awards grant to veterans job training program

The nonprofit has partnered with breweries across the country, including Mike Hess Brewing in California, and local breweries such as Wicked Boxer Brewing and Bearded Fox, Smith said. Bearded Fox and Wicked Boxer created beers themed after Guns to Hammers and give portions of the profit to the organization.

In 2018, the crew wrapped up another successful road trip in Gunny, with Smith's English bulldog Jackhammer along for the ride. Guns to Hammers garnered more support, partnering with other nonprofit organizations such as AHERO, a veteran support network.

Smith hopes to extend the organization's reach by starting Guns to Hammers chapters that fund their own local projects in other states. He intends to continue forming alliances with like-minded organizations to fulfill his goal of making life comfortable again for disabled veterans.

"We've got to tell the world about it," Smith said. "We've got to get out there and be able to explain that there are over a million of these veterans in their homes right now that can't take care of their most basic needs."

chevall.pryce@chron.com
This reporter was so excited last week about the Lake Conroe Centennial Lions Club First Casino Night that I left out some very important pieces of information!

First of all, there were over 150 people from all over this area who attended and had a wonderful, exciting time. Our Lions Club was thrilled to see all who attended including District Governor Karl Johnson and his lovely wife.
I didnt know that! Shocking! I learned so much! Those were just some of many comments that were overheard from the folks who attended Lake Conroe Area Republican Womens April meeting held at Walden Yacht Club.

Titled Los Diablos Tejanos, this featured program was presented by Lt. Wende Wakeman who addressed the very timely topic of border security and how the Texas Rangers and other law enforcement agencies tackle this difficult issue.

But border security isnt the only issue that Lt. Wakemans organization tackles. They do so much, much more for the state of Texas. For instance, the Texas Rangers are one of the most storied law enforcement agencies in the world. Their legacy is the product of nearly 200 years of protecting the frontier and the citizens of Texas.

Today, the Ranger legacy continues with a new breed of Rangers and new levels of threats posed by organized crime, terrorism, drug cartels and in addition to border issues, stretching the Rangers far beyond their traditional roles of criminal investigation and law enforcement. They specialize in investigating major incident crime investigations, unsolved crime/serial crime investigations, public corruption investigations, crimes against children, officer-involved shooting investigations and of course, border security operations. The Rangers also oversee specialized law enforcement teams within the department, including Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team, Special Response Teams, Ranger Reconnaissance Team, Crisis Negotiations Unit and the Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit.

According to Chance Collins, Chief of the Texas Rangers The men and women of the Texas Rangers work tirelessly to bring justice to the victims of unspeakable crimes, secure our border, execute high risk tactical operations, preserve lives and property during catastrophic events and many other responsibilities we proudly accept.

In the past, Texas Rangers were all men. But now they include women in their ranks. And it just so happens that our speaker, Lt. Wakeman, is the highest-ranking female in Texas Ranger history! And it also just so happens that Lt. Wakeman was a member of law enforcement right here in Conroe just a few years ago. Many of her former co-workers were at the LCARW cheering her on.

In addition to Lt. Wakemans presentation, Linda Mock, LCARW Fundraising Chairman, invited everyone to Dance the Night Away to the live music of Johnny & The Spinsations at this years LCARWs fundraiser Rock n Roll with the Republicans. This certain to be fun event will take place on Sunday, May 5, from 5 to 9:30 p.m. at Olde Dobbin Station, 2849 Old Dobbin Rd., Montgomery, TX 77316.

Along with the dancing, event goers will enjoy a delicious Cinco de Mayo Fajita Buffet, a cash bar and auctions, both silent and live. Proceeds benefit community projects supported by Lake Conroe Area Republican Women, including activities with local senior citizens, supporting the VA Clinic and other local veteran organizations, the donation of books to schools in Montgomery ISD and Willis ISD, support of the Montgomery Food Bank, scholarships to graduating seniors from Willis and Montgomery high schools, honoring elementary students through My American Hero essay contest and supporting Republican candidates and elected officials. By the way, Linda Mock also shared her dedication to LCARW with the birth of her granddaughter. When you see her, ask her about it.

For more information about Lake Conroe Area Republican Women and to buy tickets to Rock n Roll with the Republicans please go www.lcarw.org.
A Conroe funeral home has been ordered by the Texas Department of Banking to cease and desist activity for illegally selling prepaid funeral services.

According to the emergency order issued by the state agency, the Clarence Lewis & Son Mortuary at 500 South Fifth Street did not have the proper permits to sell prepaid services. The order also allows the state to seize the mortuarys records regarding its prepaid funeral services.

The court records also order the mortuary to refund more than $5,000 to a customer regarding the services.

In December, the order states, the state received a complaint regarding a contract sold to a customer for $5,085 for prepaid funeral benefits. Following an investigation by the department, the owner of the funeral home Clarence Lewis did not hold a permit to sell prepaid funeral benefits or accept money for prepaid benefits.

2020 FUND: $3.8M needed to fully fund Montgomery County's Capital Improvement Projects

Moreover, the prepaid funeral benefits contract sold (to the customer) by (the funeral home) was not written on an approved form as required by the Texas Finance Code, the order states.

Officials with the Texas Department of Banking, sent the funeral home three certified letters regarding the matter all which were unclaimed.

The (funeral home) did not reply or provide any information to the department, the order states noting that if the department received no response from the mortuary, it would proceed with legal action.

Officials with the funeral home can request in writing an opportunity for a hearing to show that the emergency order should be stayed.

IN HIGH DEMAND: Growth continues to lure developers to Montgomery County

When contacted by The Courier, a woman claimed she was unaware of the order and asked to be contacted the following day. However, calls to the funeral home have since gone unanswered.

According to the funeral homes website, it has been providing funeral services to the Conroe area for three generations and was founded in the legacy of Luther James Dorsey who provided undertaking services to the area since the early 1900s.

cdominguez@hcnonline.com
A lawsuit filed against several current and former county officials has been dismissed by a federal judge.

United States District Judge Vanessa Gilmore granted a motion to dismiss Thursday but provided no explanation on her decision. That motion claimed the suit lacked subject matter jurisdiction, which is the authority of a court to hear cases of a particular type or cases relating to a specific subject matter.

According to the lawsuit, in 2009 Mark Johnston, who owned and operated a car dealership in Conroe, was placed on probation for theft in an amount greater than $200,000, a first-degree felony, relating to his car dealership business. The suit names in their individual capacity former Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Nicole Czajkoski, District Attorneys Office investigator Erin Smith, sheriffs deputy Alton Neely and probation officer Russell Stilley along with two private citizens.

It wasnt until late 2018 that Johnston learned about the alleged efforts by Czajkoski to get his probation revoked, the suits states.

By not providing all the documents regarding his case, the suit states, the investigator with the comptrollers office wrote a report accusing Johnston of intentionally failing to pay the sales tax. The suit alleges Czajkoski knowingly presented the false information to a Montgomery County Grand Jury which resulted in an indictment and Johnstons probation being revoked.

Johnstons suit, Assistant County Attorney Daniel Plake stated in a previous Courier article, is barred by the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, which states federal courts do not have jurisdiction to review decisions of state courts. Plake also claimed Johnston failed to state a claim because he failed to demonstrate he can prove any facts which would entitle him to relief.

New York-based attorney Ty Clevenger, who filed the federal civil suit in the Southern District of Texas Jan. 31 on behalf of Johnston, called the decision utterly inexcusable.

The judge's decision is utterly inexcusable, Clevenger said. She did not even explain why she was dismissing the case and that's a red flag all by itself. How are you supposed to appeal if you don't know why you got dismissed? When a judge does something so extreme and then refuses to explain why, you start to wonder what's happening behind closed doors.

Regardless, we're confident that we've already obtained enough evidence to get Mark released from prison and we will be looking at our options to appeal Judge Gilmore's decision.

Johnston is currently housed at the Darrington Unit near Rosharon serving a 40-year sentence.

cdominguez@hcnonline.com
Houston police have arrested a 17-year-old, and charged him with super aggravated sexual assault of a girl under 6 years old.

Mario Luis Guarachj was charged on Wednesday, according to court records.
Courtesy photo

On April 3, the Fort Bend Chamber held its 16th Excellence for Nonprofit Leadership graduation ceremony at University of Houston at Sugar Land, recognizing another class of nonprofit leaders.

The Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with The George Foundation, designed this program to strengthen nonprofit organizations and better equip them to serve the community. The ENL program combines a real-world, organization-based perspective with current thinking and concrete skills to bolster the capacity and effectiveness of the Fort Bend nonprofit sector. Class participants are selected each year from a wide spectrum of the areas populace. Congratulations to the graduates of the Excellence for Nonprofit Leadership, Class of 2019.
Thousands of art lovers descended upon The Woodlands Town Green Park and Waterway Square on Saturday, April 13, for the 14th annual The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival, enjoying the sunny day before a large rain storm hit later in the afternoon.

Nick Wolda, president of Visit The Woodlands  the townships tourism promotional and planning entity  said as of 1 p.m., things were going well and although attendance wasnt as high as had been expected, the weather worries for the day likely had an effect on attendance. The township is one of many co-sponsors of the event.
Last month, Governor Greg Abbott appointed Montgomery County Tax Assessor-Collector Tammy McRae to the board of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.

McRae said she is honored to have been chosen for this position.

Im excited to be able to represent the tax assessor-collectors on the board. We are a major partner with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles and work closely with them, McRae said.

The role of the board includes overseeing the agency and setting policies. As someone who has 33 years of experience in the industry and has been the tax assessor-collector for 22 of those years, McRae said she is knowledgeable about the related operations.

I bring that level of expertise to the board. Its an important role. I love serving Montgomery County and the citizens of the state of Texas, and (this role) is important to continue our level of service to the motoring public, McRae said.

There are nine total members on the board, including one county tax assessor-collector, two franchised auto dealers, one independent auto dealer, one representative from the vehicle manufacturing or distribution industry, one representative from the motor carrier industry one county or city law enforcement representative and two public customer representatives.

McRae, along with the other three new appointees, are to be confirmed in a full Senate confirmation April 24. McRaes term will last until Feb. 1, 2025.

jane.stueckemann@chron.com
The United Methodist Churchs governing body recently abandoned its faithful LGBTQAI+ members, disregarding scripture, its theology and the teachings of Jesus by refusing to grant them full inclusion in the life of the church.

Under the denominations current rules, Methodist clergy are not allowed to perform same-gender weddings or celebrate them in church buildings. Gifted and anointed LGBTQAI+ persons are also denied ordination.

This past February, the UMC General Conference had a chance to change that, but refused, continuing to support and enforce discrimination of LGBTQAI+ persons. In making its decision, the denomination lost focus on the core of Christian teaching and Methodist theology that all of us are beloved creations of God and vital to the family of God in our diversity: inclusive of gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, color, age, class, ability, nationality, status and beyond.

To our LGBTQAI+ family, friends and community members, as an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, the senior pastor of Bering Memorial UMC, chair of the Reconciling United Methodists Texas Conference and a scholar of scripture and Methodist theology, I ask your forgiveness for the tremendous harm that the United Methodist Church has done over the years and continues to do by its recent actions.

While I cannot speak for the United Methodist denomination and do not speak for those who support the traditional plan passed by the denomination, I believe that I speak for hundreds of thousands of United Methodist clergy and laity when I say that this is not who we are as Methodist Christians.

As Methodist Christians, we believe that the Bible is to be carefully studied and interpreted using four criteria: scripture, tradition, reason and experience. We are not literalists.

A faithful interpretation of the Bible using those four criteria supports biblical marriage as rooted in fidelity in relationship, not in the gender of marriage partners. Biblical marriage is not limited to marriage between a man and a woman. Same-gender marriages are celebrated by God and should be celebrated by Gods church. That includes every marriage that is rooted and grounded in love and fidelity, whether between persons of the same or different genders.

Contrary to decisions made by the General Conference, it is my conviction and the conviction of many other Methodist Christians that the Bible does not teach that LGBTQAI+ identity and living out that identity are incompatible with Christian teaching. The Bible does not say that as LGBTQAI+ persons, you need to pray away the gay or otherwise fix or deny your gender identity or sexual orientation.

The Bible does teach that all of us are made in the image of God, inclusive of our sexual orientation and gender identity. According to the Bible, there is nothing incompatible or deviant about being LGBTQAI+ and living out that identity faithfully and fully in loving relationships of marriage, family and friendships, and as members of the larger community.

The Bible teaches, and the gospel of Jesus Christ proclaims, that such faithful claiming of ones gender identity and sexual orientation is to be celebrated as a sacred gift to both heterosexual and LGBTQAI+ persons. It takes each of us faithfully and fully living out our unique identity individually and together to mirror the rainbow face of God in all Gods love, creativity and divinity.

I have seen the face of God and experienced the presence of God in the LGBTQAI+ members of our community and know without a doubt that they are loved and celebrated by God as fully as I am.

Gods message to all of us is that God so loved the world that God came and lived among us in the person of Jesus Christ that we might have abundant life. Jesus spent his entire earthly ministry sharing the love of God for all humanity by including the excluded, tearing down walls of separation and division and restoring the dignity of those who had been judged unworthy by religious rules of exclusion. Jesus touched, embraced, healed, dignified and welcomed those explicitly excluded by such rules. He made it crystal clear that the core of Gods word to us could be summed up in two commandments: love God and love our neighbors.

LGBTQAI+ family, friends and neighbors, you are unabashedly loved and celebrated by God, me and hundreds of thousands of United Methodists who refuse to honor the recent discriminatory decisions of the General Conference of the United Methodist Church. We need you, welcome you and celebrate you as beloved children of God and members of Gods family with us.

McGehee is pastor of Bering United Methodist Church.
HUNTING VALLEY, Ohio -- Mutual aid (strong-arm robbery in Woodmere), Chagrin Boulevard: Various surrounding agencies swooped in to assist in the apprehension of two juveniles who now stand accused of a purse snatching outside of Bravo Cucina Italiana restaurant on the evening of April 4.

Initial reports indicated that the suspects had also attempted to steal the Lake County womans car from the Eton Chagrin Boulevard parking lot, but then took off on foot toward the Jillian Court apartments and the Beechmont Country Club.

Receiving numerous calls about a woman being mugged shortly after 5 p.m., officers from Hunting Valley and Chagrin Falls responded initially to help set up a perimeter, with Bedford Heights later sending a K-9 unit.

Beachwood sent two officers to a home on Belmont Road where a resident reported that two young men had just run through his back yard. They soon spotted two boys matching the suspects descriptions near Beechmont Towers in Woodmere and later walking into the Wendys restaurant.

Within roughly an hour of the initial crime, officers from Moreland Hills and Pepper Pike had the suspects in custody, with Orange police transporting witnesses from Eton to the Woodmere Police Station to make positive I.D.'s.

It did not appear that the teenagers used weapons, although a rescue squad was sent to check on the victim. Woodmere police declined to give out additional information on the juvenile suspects.

A detective noted that there were numerous witnesses around dinnertime, including at least one who snapped a picture of the culprits as they were fleeing.

Suspicion; Valley Ridge Farm, Chagrin River Road: The occupants of a silver Mazda were given trespassing and no-parking warnings around 8:30 a.m. April 6.

Building code violation, SOM Center Road: Two pickup trucks in the 2700 block of Ohio 91 were found to be in violation of the village storage code around 11 a.m. April 8, with notices to be sent out.

Complaints (general); Shaker Boulevard: A resident reported around 5 p.m. April 5 that there was a sign left in the yard from a neighboring estate sale that day.

Dispute, Whisperwood Drive: Police responded to a report of an argument between a resident and a contractor around 3:15 p.m. April 2. The dispute involved no weapons or violence.

If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page.

Read more news from the Chagrin Solon Sun here.
MEDINA, Ohio -- Noise complaint, Chippewa Road: Police stopped a group of four-wheeler riders at 2:33 a.m. April 13 and issued warnings about riding at night. Police had received noise complaints from area residents and had been unable to locate the suspects following a report at 12:31 that same morning.

Disorderly conduct, South Court Street: Police took a drunken man to his house at 1:35 a.m. April 13 after a stop. Reports did not indicate that the man was issued any citations.

Noise complaint, North Court Street: Police responded to a noise complaint at 4:12 a.m. April 13. The complainant said the noise sounded like an alarm, but reports indicated no alarms in the area and the source of the noise was not found.

Noise complaint, Branch Road: A resident was given a warning for playing music too loudly at 1:57 a.m. April 13. Police had no further information at the time of the report.

If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page.

Read more news from the Medina Sun here.
WAYNE COUNTY, Ohio -- Authorities are searching for an inmate who escaped at a rest stop Friday night while being transported from New York to Indiana.

Said Ali El-Khatib, 33, escaped about 9 p.m. on I-71 at the rest stop in Wayne County, according to the State Highway Patrol. He asked to use the restroom in the rest area and escaped, authorities say.

He is wanted on a warrant that accused him of receiving stolen cars. He was being taken from the New York Police Department to the Allen County Sheriffs Office in Indiana, authorities say.

Troopers from the Ashland, Medina and Wooster posts, along with Highway Patrol's aviation team and Ashland County Sheriff's Office, searched through vacant buildings and homes south of the rest stop Friday night and are continuing their search Saturday, according to a news release.

He was last seen wearing tan pants and shirt, handcuffed, wearing a waist chain and shackles on one ankle, the release says.

Anyone who sees him is asked to call patrol at 330-264-0575.

If youd like to comment on this story, visit Saturdays crime and courts comments section.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The father accused of taking his 1-year-old boy from a family barbecue last week dropped off his sone at a Cleveland police station.

The mother reported to police Friday that her son was with his father and refused to return the child, Cleveland police spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said.

The father returned the child to the Fifth District station about 5 p.m. Saturday. Ciaccia said in a statement that the child was clean and in good health. Investigators are not going to charge the father as the incident appears to be a custody dispute.

If youd like to comment on this story, visit Saturdays crime and courts comments section.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  What can you tell me about Clevelands Slavic Village? In its heyday, at its depths, and today as it works to reinvent itself? Id love to hear your firsthand accounts.

Slavic Village, one of the citys oldest neighborhoods on the southeast side of town with Broadway and Fleet avenues as its main drags, was a working class neighborhood filled with Central European immigrants who labored in the steel mill below and built churches and cultural centers that defined their community.

Its no secret the neighborhood hit hard times after World War II. The economy slowed, mill jobs disappeared. And prompted in part by school desegregation, residents moved to the suburbs. Crime has been a problem in the neighborhood, which was ground zero for the foreclosure crisis beginning in 2007.

University Settlement, the Slavic Village-based nonprofit, is hosting a Slavic Village Homecoming in mid-May. Over three days, it will include a forum on rebuilding community, a neighborhood clean-up patrol, a number of forums and a Homecoming Dance.

Ahead of that event, Id like to hear about the home that people from Slavic Village remember, the one theyd be returning to, and the one they hope it will become. And Id like to hear from people who make Slavic Village their home now, from those who have been there for generations to those who are new to the neighborhood.

Contact me at mmcintyre@plaind.com and make sure to leave your name and contact information so I can follow up. Well include as many voices as possible in our coverage.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Ohio Senate Bill 3 is being billed by supporters as the next step in criminal justice reform, but a City Club of Cleveland forum on the subject Friday suggests a lot of details still need to be worked out before a vote is taken.

The bill as introduced last month would reduce drug-possession crimes now classified as fourth-degree and fifth-degree felonies to unclassified misdemeanors that would allow a judge to sentence a defendant up to one year in prison.

Discussing the bill at Fridays forum were:

Ohio Sen. President Larry Obhof, Republican from Medina

Ohio Sen. John Eklund, Republican from Geauga County

Ohio rep. Stephanie Howse, Democrat from Cleveland

Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein

The panelists emphasized the differences Senate Bill 3 under consideration this year and Issue 1, a proposed constitutional amendment that Ohio voters rejected in 2018.

Issue 1 would have reduced all drug-possession crimes to misdemeanors, regardless of the quantity of drugs involved, and taken away the leverage judges said they needed to get defendants into drug treatment programs.

Eklund emphasized that the legislative process takes time and that there will be hearings and meetings before Senate Bill 3 is acceptable enough to enough people to become law.

Everybody take a deep breath," he said. "This is where were starting from.

Here are several other takeaways from the forum:

 Klein, a Democrat, helped craft the language in Senate Bill 3 along with Ron OBrien, the Republican who beat Klein last year in the race for Franklin County prosecutor. Klein said he and OBrien took the good of Issue 1 and discarded the bad of Issue 1 when crafting SB 3.

 While the Senate bill would downgrade low-level drug possession of illegal drugs, it would exclude hyper-dangerous fentanyl as well as date-rape drugs.

 Obhof said whats important to him about SB 3 is that it would help addicts get treatment in their communities rather than punish them excessively by sending them to prison and making it harder for them to get jobs when they get out. He said its important to separate someone who made a mistake from those who are truly predators.

 Howse endorsed Issue 1 and has signed on to Senate Bill 3. She said she would like the reforms to go farther to address over-incarceration of African-Americans, but is willing to work with her counterparts on SB3.

 Eklund said the main reason he supports downgrading drug possession from a felony to a misdemeanor is because it would help addicts turn their lives around without a felony on their record. If somebody has a felony on their record, a potential employer isnt going to take the time to ask about the details, he said. No, they see the Scarlett letter and thats the end of that.

 Eklund said he doesnt buy the claim by the Ohio Prosecutors Association that downgrading drug-possession to a misdemeanor would send the message that drugs arent as dangerous as they are. Klein agreed. He noted that domestic violence and operating a vehicle under the influence are classified as misdemeanors. Are we normalizing beating our spouse, because that is a misdemeanor? Are we normalizing drinking and driving? The answer is no.

 Ekland and Obhof both said they would ensure that legislation does not harm specialized dockets known as drug courts that operate in the state offering special treatment for drug offenders. Eklund said he envisions a bill that allows each county to determine if the downgraded drug-possession charges are prosecuted in a municipal court that handles misdemeanors or in a common pleas court.

 A guest at the forum asked whether the bill would retroactively apply to those previously convicted of felony drug charges. Eklund said thats an issue on the table, but not in the bill at the moment. He said the term retroactive can mean a lot of things, such as applying to someone now in prison, or to someone already released. Obhof said the issue will be discussed. Both Klein and Howse said they support retroactive language.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The City Club of Cleveland was host to a panel discussion Friday about sentencing reform in Ohio. Senate Bill 3 specifically calls for downgrading drug possession from a low-level felony to a misdemeanor.

The forum panelists included Ohio Sens. Larry Obhof, president of the Senate, and John Eklund, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Ohio Rep. Stephanie Howse of Cleveland and Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein.

Legislators are in agreement that drug addicts should be helped and not excessively penalized if caught with drugs, but the lawmakers still need to work out the details. Read more about the forum by clicking here.
The BRIC acronym was coined by Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O'Neill in 2001. He predicted four emerging economies  Brazil, Russia, India and China  were on their way to reshape the world economy.

Opponents said the countries were too different culturally and socially to be grouped together and that ultimately, it was a Goldman Sachs marketing ploy.

Still, in the first decade, the countries met all expectations and beyond. Investment banks, think tanks and academia capitalized on the successes and everyone was talking about BRIC. In 2010, the group added South Africa, making its acronym BRICS.

The countries went from less than 20% of the world's GPD in 2003 to about 30% 10 years later. China and India were growing exponentially, while rising commodity prices kept Brazil and Russia in good pace to meet O'Neill's predictions.

But shortly after the financial crisis, external factors combined with serious internal turmoil proved too much for the group. While China and India are growing steadily today, Russia and Brazil have gone in the opposite direction.

See also:
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on the sidelines of a global governance forum co-hosted by China and France in Paris, France, March 26, 2019.

European Union leaders sat down this week in Brussels for a summit with a China it recently branded a "systemic rival," and the United States is nearing the end game trade talks with a China that national security documents refer to as a "strategic adversary."

So, it's surprising that trans-Atlantic leaders are neither working at common cause nor asking the most crucial geopolitical questions of our age.

What sort of world does China want to create?

With what means would it achieve its aims?

And, what should the United States and Europe do to influence the outcome?

By now, there is little remaining doubt that China's continued rise marks the most significant geopolitical event shaping the 21st century. Yet U.S. and European officials  mired in issues ranging from Trump administration immigration gyrations to Brexit  have failed to give this mother of all inflection points enough attention.

Some are in denial about the fundamental change China's rise may bring to the global order of institutions and principles established by the United States and its allies after World War II. Others concede that the structural stress between a rising China and an incumbent United States is the defining danger of our times, yet they offer neither an engagement nor containment strategy worthy of this epochal challenge.

That has produced the worst of all worlds.

Fearful that the United States has grown more determined to undermine his country's rise, President Xi Jinping has doubled down on his determination to strengthen the Communist Party's hold domestically while advancing China's global influence. European allies  stung by trade actions against them and the lack of a U.S. galvanizing strategy to China  are hedging their bets.

European Council President Donald Tusk declared a "breakthrough" this week on some of the EU's major trade disagreements, particularly regarding tech transfers and industrial state subsidies. Then in Croatia a couple of days later, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pledged to respect EU standards and laws at a summit with Central and East European countries that closed 40 deals and expanded its ranks to Greece so that the so-called 16+1 grouping became 17+1.

That relatively positive news in Europe only further underscores the skill with which Chinese leaders are managing their historic aspirations.

Graham Allison, one of America's most astute China watchers, quotes Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew, who two years before his death in 2015 said this: "The size of China's displacement of the world balance is such that the world must find a new balance. It is not possible to pretend that this is just another world player. This is the biggest player in the history of the world."

In that context, what China wants is a play in three acts.

First, China wants ideally to push the U.S. out of its Asian region, or at the very least reduce its influence, to achieve a regional hegemony that makes all actors ultimately dependent on it. Second, it is acting globally to displace, if not yet replace, the United States wherever it can  including in major parts of Europe  most importantly through its Belt and Road Initiative.

Finally, it's clearer than ever that Beijing by the time of the 100th anniversary of the People's Republic of China in 2049 aspires to be the dominant economic, political and perhaps military power for an era where democracies remain but authoritarian systems are ascendant.

"China is unabashedly undermining the U.S. alliance system in Asia," writes Oriana Skyler Mastro of Georgetown University in Foreign Affairs. "It has encouraged the Philippines to distance itself from the United States, it has supported South Korea's efforts to take a softer line toward North Korea, and it has backed Japan's stance against American protectionism  It is blatantly militarizing the South China Sea  It is no longer content to play second fiddle to the United States and seeks directly to challenge its position in the Indo-Pacific region."

Yet it is beyond Asia where China's reach has expanded fastest.

It's hard to overstate the importance of the Belt and Road Initiative, whose impact on its times may outstrip that of America's Marshall Plan, which at $13 billion of funding had neither BRI's global aspiration nor resources. Though the BRI was launched only in 2013, conservative estimates have China already spending $400 billion on it, with hundreds of millions more in the pipeline for projects with some 86 countries and international organizations, most recently including the first G-7 member, Italy.

Though the BRI is a development scheme, its political and security benefits for China grow increasingly clear, whether through EU members who oppose human rights statements against Beijing or African or Middle Eastern countries who will be less likely over time to provide U.S. forces military access.

Finally, a growing number of experts believe China on current trajectories wants to fill America's shoes as the dominant global agenda setter and rulemaker.

Bradley A. Thayer and John M. Friend, authors of the 2018 book "How China Sees the World," write: "By 2049, Western-led institutions will remain, but their liberal principles will be diluted by reforms required by Beijing. As China's economic power increases and more countries in both the developed and developing world become dependent on Chinese trade and investment, Beijing will use its economic statecraft to pressure countries to downplay or abandon their democratic values and liberal policies."

By then, their relative resources will provide them far greater leverage.

If China reaches its stated development goals for the centennial of the Communist Party in 2021 and then the centennial of the People's Republic in 2049, its economy will be 40% larger than the U.S. economy by the first date and three times larger by the second date, measured by purchasing power parity.

With stakes that high, the secondary questions are crucial. Does Beijing have the wherewithal to achieve such lofty aims, and can the U.S. and Europe alter that trajectory?

The answer to both questions is yes, but ...

Chinese leaders' reawakened sense of destiny is a much more overpowering force than is generally understood in Washington, D.C. Financial markets and Western political capitals are littered with those who have underestimated the durability of China's rise.

That said, China's slowing economy, the loss of manufacturing jobs, and its increasingly autocratic system introduces new vulnerabilities. There's a higher level of grumbling among its business elites, political class and foreign investors.

Given the choice, most countries in the world still would rather navigate a world order where the United States is the dominant actor rather than China.

For that to be an option, however, the U.S. and Europe will have to change course in three respects.

First, they will have to address domestic challenges that have made their democratic and economic models less appealing globally. They will have to reinvigorate and, in some cases, reinvent the multilateral systems they and others created after World War II. Finally, they must find a way to act together to more intensively and more effectively engage with China to shape the future  collaborating with China where possible and competing where necessary.

As it's now clear what China wants, a coordinated U.S. and European response grows more urgent.

Frederick Kempe is a best-selling author, prize-winning journalist and president & CEO of the Atlantic Council, one of the United States' most influential think tanks on global affairs. He worked at The Wall Street Journal for more than 25 years as a foreign correspondent, assistant managing editor and as the longest-serving editor of the paper's European edition. His latest book  "Berlin 1961: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the Most Dangerous Place on Earth"  was a New York Times best-seller and has been published in more than a dozen languages. Follow him on Twitter @FredKempe and subscribe here to Inflection Points, his look each Saturday at the past week's top stories and trends.

For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.
Like Amazon, Google stores and collects the things you say to its assistant on your phone, computer or smart speaker, like the Google Home.

Google's privacy page says it does this to "help you get better results using your voice," and that it only does this after you say "OK Google" to learn the sound of your voice and how you speak certain words and phrases.

Google has a whole host of things I've said saved to its servers. It has when I asked the temperature back on Sept. 2, 2014, for example, and everything I've asked since then. It has a recording of my voice  or my wife's  asking Google Assistant everything  such as playing music, turning off the bedroom lights, getting directions.

Normally, this isn't a big deal. I don't mind if it saves a few commands for the sake of creating a better product. But I know that Google can get a better picture of my entire life the more data it has, so I'm glad I can delete all of these recordings.

Like me, you might not want Google to save this information, or you might want to review all of the commands you've ever spoken. Over the past year, Google has made it a lot easier to see the sorts of information it collects, and gives you better controls over stopping it from gathering some specific data.

You can turn it off completely, but just note that this might affect how well Google responds. You can always turn it back on if you run in to trouble.
Today's retirees are active and want to continue being productive in some way. Klaus Tiedge/Blend Images | Getty Images

The fastest-growing segment of the American workforce is employees age 65 and older. The reasons are many. Over the past decade, real wage growth has stagnated, pensions have disappeared, workers are delaying claiming Social Security benefits to maximize payouts, and lifespans are longer, leaving seniors worried they will burn through their retirement savings way too soon. According to a Gallup 2018 survey of 1,015 adults age 18 and older across the United States, 41 percent of participants who are not retired plan to leave the job market at age 66 or older, a figure that has risen from 12 percent in the 1995 study and 26 percent in 2004. This number will likely keep growing. Yet this hasn't changed the way most companies talk about their hiring priorities. Many firms today focus more intently on how to recruit and retain millennials, and they base success on the percentage of their workers that now come from this younger generation. Some job postings mention a "maximum number of years experience" or use a date-of-birth dropdown menu without an applicant's birth year listed. Words like "overqualified" can be code for too expensive. A corporate culture described as "fun" can suggest a workplace for the young. It is difficult for older workers to master the difficult interview process, and make discrimination claims once in a job. Older workers are encountering widespread age discrimination, according to AARP. According to its 2018 Multicultural Work and Jobs Study, 61 percent of respondents over the age of 45 reported seeing or experiencing age-based discrimination in the workplace. What's more, senior workers are in a weakened position when it comes to a crucial workplace protection based on a recent Supreme Court decision and the legal safeguards that shield against wrongful termination or demotion, like claims covered under the Civil Rights Act. "It's an open secret, and everyone knows it happens all the time, but few people stand up and say it's wrong," said Cathy Ventrell-Monsees, a senior attorney at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. "When it comes to age discrimination  stereotyping and comments  they seem too common." Applicants and employees age 40 and older are protected from age discrimination in employment under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, or ADEA, which was created in 1967 as an extension of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which doesn't cover age discrimination. A 2009 Supreme Court ruling in "Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc.," however, set a higher bar for employees to prove that age was the deciding factor in an age discrimination claim that wasn't applied similarly to race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

Congress introduces bipartisan legislation

There is a new effort on Capitol Hill to restore the pre-Gross standard and allow workers to use "any type of admissible evidence" to prove age discrimination. The Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act, also known as POWADA, was recently introduced by powerful sponsors: Sens. Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa; and Bob Casey, a Democrat from Pennsylvania. In the House it is being sponsored by Reps. Bobby Scott, a Democrat from Virginia; and Jim Sensenbrenner, a Republican from Wisconsin. But similar legislation has been introduced twice before, and Boston-based employment lawyer Shannon Liss-Riordan said it has never been enough of a focus to muster the votes to pass. "I think this act is very important to strengthen protections for older workers so they're not excluded from the workforce earlier than they want to be based on bias," Liss-Riordan said. In 1991, Congress amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to incorporate what is known as a mixed-motives model for discrimination claims, which meant that if the employee demonstrated that the person's race, color, religion, sex or national origin was a motivating factor in the adverse action, like demoting or firing, placed on the employee, the burden of proof shifted to the employer. If the employer could demonstrate that it would have taken the same action in the absence of those factors, the court could still hold the employer liable for the discriminatory action, but the employer would avoid paying damages, although the employee could still be awarded attorneys' fees. The question remained whether the mixed-motives model applied to age, but the court's decision in "Gross" established that it would not apply similarly to the ADEA. This placed a heavier burden of proving age discrimination on the employee rather than shifting it to the employer as it is under Title VII. The recently introduced legislation would restore the legitimacy of mixed-motive claims that would allow plaintiffs to prove age is a motivating factor, if not the deciding factor, in the negative actions taken against them, according to the act. "For both older workers and employers, this bill is something they should be paying attention to," said Cristina Martin Firvida, vice president for financial security at AARP. The bill could have a better chance in this legislative session now that one of its key sponsors, Rep. Scott, is chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, Martin Firvida said. Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine and chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, has also thrown her support behind the bill.

"As more Americans are choosing to remain in the workforce longer, it is imperative that older workers are protected against age-based discrimination," said Senator Casey in an email. "An important first step is to pass my bill, the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act, that would make it easier for workers to fight back against age discrimination and has bipartisan support in both the Senate and House. With 10,000 people turning 65 every day, the time to act is now and I think Congress is taking note." Rick Rossein, professor and employment law expert at City University of New York School of Law, said the legislation would also combat stereotypes that arise about older employees, especially in industries like technology. This would include instances where people are terminated or demoted because their skills don't meet the company's needs, rather than the employers providing training programs to bring older employees up to speed.

Government sees rise in diverse age claims

The EEOC also has seen an increase in age discrimination filings from older women and minorities since 2010, said Ventrell-Monsees, a senior attorney at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Older women receive more rejections in the hiring process than men, in addition to minorities. The percentage of workers 55 or older participating in the labor force has grown significantly since 2000, and the EEOC found in a study that the number of black and Asian people filing charges of age discrimination nearly doubled compared to 1990 figures. "In the charges the EEOC receives, there's been a significant increase in the diversity of people filing age discrimination charges," Ventrell-Monsees said. "In 1980s data, it's mostly white men. Now filings from older workers of color have increased."

It's difficult for someone to push back against employers, because there's a lot of fear of being retaliated against. Shannon Liss-Riordan Boston-based employment lawyer

Technology has made it easier in recent years for companies to target job candidates by age in ways that can be seen as discriminatory based on federal law. Facebook, which was sued in March by the U.S. government's Department of Housing and Urban Development for targeting certain consumers for housing ads, also allowed advertisers in recent years to target younger users with job advertisements while withholding the ads from older Facebook users. Facebook banned that advertising practice earlier this month, before the housing lawsuit. A Facebook spokesman told The Washington Post that the company was "surprised" by HUD's decision to sue and had been working with HUD to address concerns and has "taken significant steps to prevent ads discrimination." He said Facebook and HUD talks were complicated by the government agency's request for access to user data. "While we were eager to find a solution, HUD insisted on access to sensitive information," the Facebook spokesman said, adding that the company continues to work with civil rights groups on the issue. Other large companies are facing legal issues related to older workers. Liss-Riordan, the Boston-based employment lawyer, is working with former IBM employees on age-based discrimination claims. Her legal actions on behalf of employees contend that the tech company systematically laid off older workers while actively investing in new, younger employees. So far, Liss-Riordan has filed over 60 arbitration cases against the company and said another roughly 60 employees who were not subject to arbitration clauses in separation contracts from the company have opted into a separate class-action. A partner at Lichten & Liss-Riordan, her workplace lawsuits have targeted Amazon, Google and, most recently, a lawsuit against Uber challenging the company's classification of drivers as independent contractors that was settled for $20 million. Liss-Riordan, a potential political star rising, recently announced she's considering a primary challenge against Massachusetts Senator Edward Markey. There was also a separate lawsuit filed by a group of former IBM employees in the federal district court in New York City on March 27 that charges the company with improperly preventing workers from joining together to charge IBM with discrimination. The employees are asking the court to invalidate a written agreement they made with IBM that requires them to waive their right to challenge the company in court in exchange for severance pay. If they win, it could expose the company to potential lawsuits from thousands of former IBM workers laid off in recent years. The case against IBM comes after a ProPublica investigation alleged that 20,000 U.S.-based IBM employees ages 40 and over had been laid off as the company restocked with younger, less-experienced and lower-paid workers. IBM defended its heavy investment in skills and retraining programs in response to the ProPublica investigation, with an IBM spokesman telling the publication, "We are proud of our company and our employees' ability to reinvent themselves era after era, while always complying with the law. Our ability to do this is why we are the only tech company that has not only survived but thrived for more than 100 years." An IBM spokesman told CNBC, "IBM does not discriminate, and makes its employment decisions based on skills, not age." At CNBC's recent @ Work Talent + HR Summit, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty told the audience the company spends nearly $500 million on retraining employees and consistently evaluates its employees' skills to remain relevant to the company and the market. "I think one of the most important things we all can do is give people clear paths to opportunity," Rometty said. "One would be transparency of what the skills are needed in the company."
A close-up of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket during launch. SpaceX

Even though it wasn't the rocket's debut, "there's been a lot of anticipation" for the massive Falcon Heavy rocket's first commercial launch, said Ann Kim, a managing director at Silicon Valley Bank. SpaceX flew Falcon Heavy flawlessly on Thursday, putting into orbit a large Saudi Arabian communications satellite. But to Kim, while the launch's execution may have been as dazzling as its maiden flight last year, the classification of Falcon Heavy's second flight made it far more important. "To actually classify a launch as commercial, not as a test, is huge," Ann Kim, managing director of the bank's frontier technology group, told CNBC. Silicon Valley Bank is a California-based technology-focused bank, with $57 billion in assets as of the end of 2018. "It's an inflection point," Kim added.

SpaceX launches the Falcon Heavy rocket on its first commercial mission. SpaceX

Falcon Heavy ranks as the most powerful rocket in the world, with 27 engines creating 5.1 million pounds of thrust  the equivalent of about 18 Boeing 747 aircraft combined. For all the rocket's gusto, however, the question of whether Falcon Heavy would succeed in both winning contracts and launching valuable payloads remained. Falcon Heavy was unveiled in 2011 and, following development delays, Kim said "critics were thinking: 'When will revenue truly be generated?'" The maiden launch did not carry a paying customer, but rather launched SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's car into orbit around the sun. The demonstration flight was enough for a few customers to sign on. Over the past year, the manifest of Falcon Heavy grew to five contracted missions. Two of those launch contracts came from the Air Force, showing key support from a customer with likely the world's highest rocket standards. So until Falcon Heavy's launch on Thursday, Musk's company had yet to deliver on the money it had been paid for the rocket. That, more than anything, set the second flight of Falcon Heavy apart, Kim believes. "Revenue creation is so important because it confirms that there are buyers out there," Kim said.

Beyond contracts for national security launches and large satellites, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy is also under consideration for lucrative exploration missions. NASA's latest budget revealed an increased reliance on private companies like SpaceX, with the door now open for Falcon Heavy to launch missions that are worth hundreds of millions of dollars. And, Kim noted, delivering for a customer isn't just important for getting more contracts. Falcon Heavy bringing in more money also begets increased investment in the broader company. "Once the revenue turns on, that's when a whole host of other investors begin to come in," Kim said.

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from historic launch pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., February 6, 2018. Joe Skipper | Reuters
Dara Khosrowshahi, now CEO of Uber, on July 7, 2016 in Sun Valley, Idaho Drew Angerer | Getty

While Uber and Lyft, the top two ride-hailing services in the US, may comprise a duopoly the companies shouldn't be valued the same way. Uber is known as a ride-hailing business and so is Lyft. Both companies offer ride-sharing, carpooling, bike and scooter rentals for short trips on-demand. But the comparisons should probably stop there. In its S-1 filing, Uber reveals that it is already generating significant revenue from business units that it grouped into three broad categories: Personal Mobility, Uber Eats and Uber Freight. It's also operating in 63 countries and more than 700 cities while Lyft remains focused on transportation only, in just the US and Canada. Even within the "personal mobility" category, Uber's business is significantly more complex than Lyft's. Personal mobility

Uber application logo is seen on a screen in front of taxi board in Ankara, Turkey on August 31, 2018. Ali Balikci | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

In its S-1 filing, Uber says it aims to provide everyone on its platform with a "safe, reliable, affordable, and convenient trip within a few minutes of tapping a button," and to provide independent drivers with a "reliable and flexible way to earn money." In the US alone, customers can book a ride via 12 different in-app options including UberX, Uber Select, and other services like Assist for passengers who need help getting into the vehicle and at their destination. Uber Pool gives passengers heading in the same direction a way to carpool and pay less per ride. The Uber app even allows passengers to hail a traditional taxi if they choose in US cities, and in some locations Uber lets users book a rental car via an integration with a rental app called Getaround. Last year, Uber also made big moves into what it's calling "new mobility." It acquired JUMP, the electric bike-sharing company, and invested in Lime, another bike and scooter sharing start-up, for example. Nearly three-quarters of Uber rides were generated outside the states in the last quarter of 2018, though.

New York-based Jump Bikes brought dockless bike sharing to the U.S.

To build its international footprint, Uber has struck deals and bought a stake in: Beijing-based Didi Chuxing, China's ride-hailing leader; Singapore-based Grab, which dominates the Southeast Asian market; and a joint venture with Yandex, simply called Yandex.Taxi, in Russia. It is also in the midst of a $3 billion deal to acquire Dubai-based Careem to expand in the middle east. In overseas markets, Uber offers additional transportation formats, like Uber Auto and Uber Moto its rickshaw and motorbike hailing options in India, or Uber Bus which lets a passenger reserve a seat on one of Uber's air conditioned mini-buses circulating in Cairo. Uber generated $9.2 billion in revenue from its ride-hailing products last year. Meanwhile, it's working on food delivery and logistics, and diversifying its revenue. Uber Eats

A food delivery courier puts an insulated food bag in his UberEats, operated by Uber Technologies Inc. Simon Dawson | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Uber Eats, which Uber launched about four years ago, generated $1.5 billion in revenue in 2018. According to its IPO prospectus, 15 million people got a meal using Uber Eats in the fourth-quarter of 2018. More than 220,000 restaurants allow their customers to order their food for delivery via Uber Eats in over 500 cities globally. Uber also works with so-called virtual restaurants that produce meals or meal kits in commercial kitchens but do not have a front-of-room where they serve patrons. Uber Eats helps the company tap into non-transportation revenue, and keep drivers on the Uber platform. During hours when there isn't as much demand for rides from passengers, drivers can opt to make food deliveries. Further, Uber can put drivers to work on food deliveries even if they don't have a vehicle that would meet the requirements for taking passengers around. That's important for Uber, in part because it had just 3.9 million drivers on its platform in the last quarter of 2018, serving 91 million "monthly active platform consumers" using Uber's services during that same period. Uber Freight

An even newer proposition for Uber is its logistics play, Uber Freight. The company launched its Uber Freight app in 2017 to link shippers of goods to carriers who can haul them. Named competitors to Uber Freight range from start-ups like Convoy to massive logistics businesses like DHL and CH Robinson. In the fourth-quarter of 2018, Uber Freight generated more than $125 million in revenue and scored Uber some impressive business customers, with constant shipping needs including: Anheuser-Busch InBev, Niagara, Land O'Lakes, and Colgate-Palmolive. Uber Advanced Technology Group

In the future, Uber plans to give its users an air taxi option via Uber Elevate, which could entail autonomous passenger drones moving people above traffic from landing pad to landing pad. And Uber has been investing in and developing its own self-driving software via its Uber Advanced Technologies Group (Uber ATG), more famously. Its early experiments in driverless tech mired Uber in a legal battle and costly settlement with Waymo, and worse, led to a fatal accident involving an Uber self-driving vehicle that struck and killed a woman in Tempe, Arizona last year during a test on public roads with a safety driver in the car. Despite all the human and business risks and costs, Uber maintains ambitions in high-risk areas like self-driving cars. Uber's growth story
Julian Assange gestures to the media from a police vehicle on his arrival at Westminster Magistrates court on April 11, 2019 in London, England.

More than 70 British lawmakers have urged the government to make sure that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces Swedish justice if prosecutors there reopen a rape allegation against him.

The lawmakers signed a letter late Friday urging Home Secretary Sajid Javid to "do everything you can to champion action that will ensure Julian Assange can be extradited to Sweden in the event Sweden makes an extradition request."

Sweden suspended its investigation into possible serious sexual misconduct against Assange two years ago because he was beyond their reach while he was living in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London with political asylum status.

He was arrested Thursday after Ecuador withdrew his asylum. Assange is now in Belmarsh Prison in southeast London, waiting to be sentenced for jumping bail in Britain and facing an extradition request from the United States on charges of conspiring to break into a Pentagon computer.

WikiLeaks says he will fight the U.S. extradition request and has been meeting with his legal team to plan his defense.

If Britain receives competing extradition requests, lawyers say the Home Secretary would have some leeway in deciding which takes priority. Considerations usually include which request came first and which alleged crime is more serious.

Most of the lawmakers who signed the letter are from the opposition Labour Party, whose leader, Jeremy Corbyn, wants Britain to refuse to send Assange to the U.S. After Assange's arrest, Corbyn praised him for exposing U.S. atrocities committed in Iraq and Afghanistan when WikiLeaks released tens of thousands of confidential U.S. documents in 2010.

Some Conservative Party members are also backing the move. Prominent lawmaker Alistair Burt, a former Foreign Office minister, said the "minimizing of the issues in relation to sexual assault are really quite disturbing."

He said the testimony of the women who have been involved makes it "essential" that Assange face justice, to either be cleared or convicted.

British politicians are free to lobby the government for a certain course of action, but it's up to the courts to decide whether the U.S. request for Assange's extradition  and a possible future request from Sweden  should be honored.

The Home Secretary, a senior Cabinet official, has some leeway to block extradition under certain specific circumstances, including cases where a person facing extradition might face capital punishment or torture in that country.

Assange, 47, has denied the sexual misconduct allegations, which he claims are politically motivated. He has not had a chance to enter a plea in response to the U.S. charge, but he has claimed that all of his WikiLeaks actions are those of a legitimate journalist.

When he took up residence inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in 2012, it was to avoid answering the sexual allegations against him in Sweden, which had sought his extradition for questioning. He also sought refuge because of fears that Sweden would ultimately extradite him to the U.S.

Swedish prosecutors opened an investigation into Assange after two women accused him of sexual offenses during a 2010 visit to Sweden.

Some of the sexual misconduct accusations are no longer viable because their time ran out. But Swedish prosecutors have said a rape case could be reactivated before the statute of limitations for that ends in August 2020.

After Assange's arrest, Swedish prosecutor Eva-Marie Persson was tapped to look into a request from a lawyer for one of the accusers, to find out whether the case can be pursued.

Elisabeth Massi Fritz, the lawyer for the woman who reported being raped by Assange, told The Associated Press that she would "do everything" to have the Swedish case reopened so Assange can be extradited to Sweden and prosecuted.

The extradition process is not swift, and Assange could appeal several times if decisions go against him. It's expected that it would take a year or longer for him to be sent to the United States or possibly to Sweden even if he ultimately loses in court.
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Dr Rami Ranger CBE is a founder and Chairman of Sun Mark Ltd, and Sea, Air & Land Forwarding Ltd. He is the Co-Chairman of the Conservative Friends of India.

This week, our Prime Minister described the 1919 Amritsar massacre as a shameful scar on Britains history with India  and it is just that. A scar, a past wound that has healed but will never be forgotten. The 100th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre will be marked by Sikh communities not only in this country but across the world on Saturday. On that day, 100 years ago, British Indian Army soldiers under the command of Brigadier-General Dyer fired into an unarmed crowd, killing hundreds of protestors in just 10 minutes, the majority of whom were Sikh.

As a proud Sikh and Chair of the British Sikh Associations it is an anniversary that I observe each year to remember all those who suffered and died as a result of this tragedy. Yet I also share the view of Foreign Office minister, Mark Field, who has said he believes what while we must always remember the past and learn lessons from it, the best way of all to honour the memory of all those who suffered and died at Jallianwala Bagh is to celebrate and build upon the partnership that Britain and India enjoy today.

While the UK is one of the worlds oldest democracies, India is the worlds largest which is why our continued collaboration is a force for global good. As Chairman of Conservative Friends of India, I am committed to continuing to build on UK-India relations and I am honoured to have received awards for my work promoting and enhancing our established business links. The strength of the Anglo-Indian partnership reflects Indias emerging stature and standing in the world as a positive economic, social and political force. Our partnership is based on shared values and a commitment to continued mutual prosperity and security.

As the owner of a global distribution business, I can attest to the close collaboration and business links we enjoy with India. In fact, trade and investment are growing rapidly and we are each among the top investors in the others economy. Not only that but UK exports to India last year amounted to around 7.6 billion and imports to the UK were over 12 billion. Indian-owned businesses like mine have created 110,000 jobs in the UK and in turn, talented Indian workers have come to Britain. In fact, this country has issued more skilled work visas to India that all other countries combined. What is more, the Indian contribution to the UK economy continues to grow with the numbers of Indian people working, studying and visiting the UK steadily increasing. In 2018, there was a 35 per cent increase in student visas, a six per cent increase in working visas and a ten per cent increase in visit visas. The Grant Thornton India meets Britain tracker for 2018 noted that there are 800 Indian companies operating in this country with their diverse range of investments demonstrating their long-term commitment to the UK.

However, despite this close economic partnership, our enduring connection to India is through people and the migrant communities which I am immensely proud to be part of. As a British Indian, I am part of the UKs largest diaspora community. There 1.5 million Indians living in the UK from across the countrys Sikh, Hindu and Muslim communities. My generation and the generation before us successfully integrated into this country and have prospered. But we have sustained our cultural and familial links to our ancestral home. That is why it is incredibly important that we remember and acknowledge the scars in our Anglo-Indian history such as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. But I am determined that, while we mark the tragedies in our past, we focus on celebrating our current partnership and enduring friendship with India so we are able to continue to capitalise on our diaspora link to one of the worlds largest economies and most vibrant and diverse countries.
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Antibiotic resistance is an emerging global public health threat spurred by the overuse and misuse of antibiotics. While "overuse" of antibiotics is widely accepted as a major health challenge, it is less well known that many people in low- and middle-income countries continue to die because they lack access to antibiotics. The majority of the world's annual 5.7 million antibiotic-treatable deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries where the mortality burden from treatable bacterial infections far exceeds the estimated annual 700,000 deaths from antibiotic-resistant infections.

In a new report, titled "Access Barriers to Antibiotics," (available online here) researchers at the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP) conducted stakeholder interviews in Uganda, India, and Germany, and literature reviews to identify key access barriers to antibiotics in low-, middle-, and high-income countries. The report makes several recommendations proposing action on antibiotic and diagnostics research and development, strengthening regulatory capacities, encouraging the development and diversification of quality local manufacturing, exploring innovative funding to reduce out-of-pockets payments, raising awareness, and improving clinical treatment guidelines.

"Lack of access to antibiotics kills more people currently than does antibiotic resistance, but we have not had a good handle on why these barriers are created." said Dr. Ramanan Laxminarayan, CDDEP director and a co-author of the report. The findings of the report show that even after the discovery of a new antibiotic, regulatory hurdles and substandard health facilities delay or altogether prevent widespread market entry and drug availability," explains Dr. Laxminarayan. "Our research shows that of 21 new antibiotics entering markets between 1999 and 2014, less than five were registered in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Just the mere existence of an effective antibiotic does not mean that they are available in countries where they are most needed."

Health facilities in many low- and middle-income countries are substandard and lack staff who are properly trained in administering antibiotics. In Uganda, 10 to 54 percent of health staff posts are unfilled because of poor pay, high stress, lack of resources, and poor management. Staffing on wards is inadequate to administer medicines, patients miss antibiotic doses, and public nurses sometimes request compensation for administering medicines. In India, there is one government doctor for every 10,189 people (the World Health Organization [WHO] recommends a ratio of 1:1,000), or a deficit of 600,000 doctors, and the nurse:patient ratio is 1:483, implying a shortage of 2 million nurses.

In low- and middle-income countries, weak drug supply chains fail to make antibiotics consistently available. In Uganda, researchers found that many products were stored and transported long distances without cold-chain temperature control, and only 47 percent of medicines on the WHO's Essential Medicines List were procured through the centralized authority, resulting in chronic shortages. Moreover, public-private supply chain delivery systems were not leveraged to improve drug availability outside specific programs.

Lack of oversight and regulation in the drug manufacturing and supply chain leads to poor drug quality and falsified medicines; 17 percent of the substandard or falsified medicines reported to the WHO are antibiotics, and each year, more than 169,000 childhood pneumonia deaths are caused by falsified antibiotics, researchers reported.

Even when antibiotics are available, patients are often unable to afford them. High out-of-pocket medical costs to the patient are compounded by limited government spending for health services. In Uganda, where just 8.9 percent of the national budget goes to health services, 41 percent of health expenditure is out-of-pocket, and 23 percent of households spend more than 10 percent of their income on healthcare. Moreover, limited government spending results in drug shortages in public health facilities which forces patients to go to private pharmacies or drugstores to buy medicines that should be provided free. In India, 65 percent of health expenditure is out-of-pocket, versus 13 percent in Germany, and such expenditures push some 57 million people into poverty each year in India alone.

Worldwide, the irrational use of antibiotics and poor antimicrobial stewardship lead to treatment failure and propagate the spread of drug resistance which, in turn, further narrows the available array of effective antibiotics. Finally, research and development for new antimicrobials, vaccines, and diagnostic tests has slowed since the 1960s as profitable investment in this area is limited by low sales volumes, short duration of treatment, competition with established products and less expensive generics, and the possibility that resistance will rapidly emerge.

National governments, policymakers, pharmaceutical companies, public and private healthcare institutions, and international public health bodies all have a role to play in improving access to antibiotics worldwide. While interventions to improve access must take into account differences among countries, the researchers provided the following recommendations to address key barriers and improve access to antibiotics:

Encourage research and development of new or improved antibiotics, diagnostic tests, vaccines, and alternatives to antibiotics for bacterial infections,

Support the registration of antibiotics in more countries according to clinical need,

Develop and implement national treatment guidelines for the use of antimicrobials,

Explore innovative funding for essential antibiotics,

Ensure the quality of antibiotics and strengthen pharmaceutical regulatory capacity, and

Encourage local manufacturing for cost-effective antibiotics.

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LSTM's Senior Clinical Lecturer, Dr Shevin Jacob is corresponding author on a perspective piece published in the New England Journal of Medicine calling for universal standards of care to be applied in relation to Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

The paper comes during an ongoing outbreak of EVD in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), its 10th since the disease was first described in 1976. Historically, response to EVD outbreaks has centred around a strategy to 'identify, isolate and track' patients with EVD as a means of curtailing its spread and eventually eliminating the disease. Dr Jacob and his colleagues explain that this approach, however, was often quite minimalistic when it came to supportive care for patients with EVD and occurred alongside a high mortality often fuelling community mistrust and resistance to broader outbreak control efforts.

Dr Jacob and his colleagues go on further to explain that while the clinical teams including national staff, the World Health Organization (WHO) clinical expert team, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and other non-government organisations (NGOs) aimed to improve outcomes by administering more aggressive supportive care from the start of the 2013-16 West African outbreak, providing this level of care was not without challenges. As the epidemic progressed, factors such as the limited number of health workers available to treat EVD patients meant that such care could not be delivered consistently. This reality was in direct contrast to those cases that were treated in Europe or the United States, where aggressive supportive care could be delivered, and the overall mortality was much lower.

Dr Jacob suggests: "Supportive care for EVD patients continues to evolve and 'glimmers of hope' for improving standards of care for EVD patients can be seen in the context of the current outbreak in DRC." For instance, recent innovations such as the The Alliance for International Medical Action's Cube System, a portable biosecure individual patient room, allow for more patient-centred care through continuous observation and improved accessibility. With these visible changes, the co-authors advocate that: "It should be no longer acceptable to have standards of care for EVD which depend on the setting, higher standards are no longer aspirational but possible and we should strive to provide people who are sick and suffering with the care that we ourselves would want to receive."

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The only main port of Istanbul, Galataport, aims to serve 1.5 million passengers per year upon completion in March 2020.

Galataport is a port that highly differentiates from similar investments in this sector due to being the historical port of Istanbul and due to its location. The new terminal, which we plan to open in March 2020, is designed under the ground with a project to be implemented for the first time in the world. According to this planning, the customs bonded area is sequestered from the rest of the site with a special three-meter long rising hatch. We will make a significant contribution to Istanbul's ship tourism potential with this planning in line with the needs of all cruise ships. Our new terminal is built on a 20 thousand square meter area with high technology and high standards. This unique coastline, which has been closed to access for nearly 200 years, will be opened to the use of Istanbulites and visitors of the city with this plan," said CEO of Galataport Istanbul Port Management and Investments Inc. Erdem Tavas.

Figen Ayan, Vice President of Cruise Operation of Galataport Istanbul Port Management and Investments Inc., said a new era in cruise tourism will start with the launch of Galataport in Istanbul and underlined that they started to take reservations for 2020 and 2021.

The number of confirmed ship reservations for 2020 for the moment has exceeded 50," said Ayan. "The majority of these reservations are homeport reservations, which shows that the cruise lines chose Galataport as the main port. This development is of great importance for the tourism of our country and Istanbul. The cruise companies that have made reservations so far include the Carnival Corporation and the Royal Caribbean -- the top two cruise lines in the world-- as well as such lines as the Holland America Cruise Line, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Celestial Cruises, Le Ponant, Silversea Cruises, Fred Olsen Cruises, Marella Cruises and Windstar.

Ayan added that when the port of Galataport is completed, three large ships will be able to dock at the same time and can host an average of 15,000 cruise passengers per day.
The Virgin Islands Port Authority (VIP)A presented its renewed vision for the Crown Bay and Subbase District on St. Thomas on Wednesday in Miami Beach.

VIPAs Acting Executive Director Damian Cartwright and Scott Laguex of Moffat and Nichols (project designer) outlined the first draft of the 20-year plan for the district to obtain feedback.

The new outlook for the Crown Bay/Subbase district includes plans to improve the cruise visitor experience and attract the local community b expanding the commercial areas; introducing new water transportation options; improving walking and biking pathways; better access to tours and other excursions; and preserving the rich U.S. naval history of the district by remodeling the former military buildings in the area, according to a statement.

VIPA also plans work with the VI Department of Public Works to redesign Highway 304 Subbase Road to allow the construction of new facilities and improve the flow of traffic.

Community and cruise visitor outreach played a vital role in developing the vision plan. Both audiences were polled at two public meetings, and online and in-person surveys were conducted to gather feedback and determine the priorities of the redevelopment, according to a statement.

VIPA will announce the date for an upcoming charrette to share the first draft of the plan with the community.

Attending the presentation were VIPA Boards Vice Chairperson Dr. Yvonne Thraen, Board Secretary Marvin Forbes and Tourism Commissioner Designee Joseph Boschulte. VIPAs Acting Assistant Executive Director/St. Thomas and St. John Marine Manager Angelo Raimondi and Deputy Executive Director Anise Hodge were also present at the unveiling of the vision plan.
BRIDGEPORT  Juliette Sabo, a Stop & Shop employee for 38 years, was one of about 70 people gathered at the Bridgeport Stop & Shop on Main Street Friday night.

She was supported by her family  daughters Emily Sabo and Mary-Elizabeth Sabo, son Louis Sabo III and Mary-Elizabeths husband Tim Delaney.

Im not fighting for me. Im good. Im fighting for everybody underneath me, she said.

She said employees should be able to work full-time for a fair wage and benefits.

Stop & Shop workers statewide went on strike starting Thursday after the 600 members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 371  which represents workers in most of Connecticut  voted in early March to strike as negotiations with the grocery chain stalled.

Union members say they are fighting against elimination of Sunday premium pay for new hires, automation, increases to workers health care and pension contributions and exclusion of spouses from insurance policies.

Stop & Shop said it proposed a good and reasonable offer to local unions, including pay increased, continued health care benefits and increased company contributions to the unions benefit pension fund.

I am the product of a Stop & Shop family, said Emily Sabo, who is a business representative for the UFCW Local 919. Were going to stay outside until we get a fair contract.

In the city Friday night, some city and state politicians gathered in solidarity with strikers.

Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim, state Sen. Marilyn Moore, City Council members, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, State Rep. Chris Rosario and state Sen. Richard Blumenthal stood in solidarity with the strikers and offered them support and encouragement.

No matter how long it takes, Ill be on the picket line with you, said City Councilman Ernie Newton.

Bysiewicz, who said she shops at her local Stop & Shop store in Middletown weekly, said she was there on behalf of herself and Gov. Ned Lamont.

We want you to know we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you in this fight, she said. I will not be shopping (at the Middletown Stop & Shop) this weekend.

Blumenthal commended strikers, adding that they are on the (picket) line for working families across America. Ganim told employees that the city would stand with them on the picket line whatever it takes.

Rosario called the workers the backbone of the company.

Throughout the speeches, there were various chants, including no robots, dont stop, dont shop and they wont win.

Its not just about the money, its about respect, said Blumenthal, who raced back from Washington, D.C., to show his support to strikers in Bridgeport. Were going to keep fighting for you.

Moore, whos district oversees the Main Street Stop & Shop, said countless residents rely on the employees of the grocery store on a weekly basis.

Im not crossing the line for anybody, Moore said.

Bridgeport City Council President Aidee Nieves said the community has to stick together with the strikers.

Lets stop the shopping and take care of our people, she said.

Editors note: This story has been edited from an earlier version to amend the list of issues that led Stop & Shop workers to strike.
MILFORD  Locker number 43 in the Milford Police Department remains empty to this day.

The locker once belonged to Milford Police Officer Daniel Wasson. But Wasson, 25, was killed during a motor vehicle stop on Boston Post Road on Sunday, April 12, 1987.

Milford police said on Facebook on Friday that they would never forget Wasson.

Early Friday morning, recruits and staff from Platoon 27 of the Regional Police Academy paid their respects at Wassons grave site on Cherry Street in Milford and ran from there to a small ceremony in the parking lot of Bowlero in Milford, adjacent to where Wasson was killed.

On April 12, 1987, Wasson and his K9 General pulled over a driver for a motor vehicle stop. The driver shot Wasson, who was found by a passing driver with a single, fatal gunshot wound to the chest.

Wasson joined the police force on March 1, 1985, and had been commended three times for his performance on the force. Wasson was a U.S. Air Force veteran. His badge number  60  was retired.

General was retired from police service and adopted by Wassons family. When he later died, he was buried near Wassons grave.

Wasson is buried in Kings Highway Cemetery in Milford.

The empty locker is meant to serve as a reminder that Wasson made the ultimate sacrifice when he died in the line of duty that day.

The shooter, Bridgeport resident Thomas Hoyesen, was allegedly on a three-day cocaine binge when he killed Wasson, police said. He was later sentenced to life in prison with no parole.
MIDDLTOWN - The Common Council on Thursday took up the question of whether the city should go on record opposing Gov. Lamonts proposal to install tolls on state roads.

When the dust settled, the council wound up with a muddle, with a yes vote meaning no to tolls, and several councilors dismissing the entire exercise as a feel-good action with no real impact.

Five council members, led by Gerald E. Daley and Minority Leader Sebastian Giuliano, voted to approve the non-binding resolution - which means they voted to oppose the installation of tolls.

Five councilors, led by Majority Leader Mary Bartolotta and Councilor Philip J. Pessina, voted to abstain, saying they await the outcome of ongoing discussions on the issue by the General Assembly.

Councilor Rob Blanchard cast the lone no vote, which meant he was opposed to adopting the proposal.

There has been general grousing throughout the state about the issue to tolls.

But the council was moved to act, Daley said, after receiving an email from resident Todd Bogli, who asked the city to join other communities across the state in expressing their disapproval of the idea of tolls.

In introducing a resolution opposing the governors current proposal to implement tolling systems, Daley said he believed tolling may be part of a long-term approach to adequately address our future transportation infrastructure needs.

However, he said he was opposed to Lamonts proposal because of serious concerns about the effectiveness, fairness and transparency of the current approach.

Specifically, Daley said he objected to Lamonts proposal to remove $250 million in general obligation bonds from the current budget that was earmarked to transportation.

Whats more, he said the current tolling proposal could cost up to $300 million, take four years to construct and, critically, not to begin to show revenue until years 5 and 6.

What happens with our transportation structure while we are waiting 5 to 7 years for revenue from tolls to start? he asked.

He also lamented Lamonts proposal calls for eliminating the gift tax and extending the time for filing estate tax returns from six to nine months. Taken together, those two actions would reduce taxes on Connecticuts wealthiest individuals by $51.6 million over the next two years, he said.

Daley also criticized Lamonts proposal to eliminate the tax-free sales week in August and for a proposal to tax text books, bicycle helmets and child car seats.

Giuliano said he grew up with toll booths. But, he said residents who dont want to pay tolls will find ways around them, which will lead to congestion on local roads.

To say that is not going to have an impact is unrealistic, he said.

And that impact means the council is right to take up the issue, he said.

However, Pessina said the council should wait until it gets more information.

I think were moving too fast without all the facts, he said.

And that information should come from one group - Our delegates in Hartford.

Theyre the ones who are going to be directly responsible, he said.

Beyond that, Pessina said, Its about time the state of Connecticut looks at a bold plan and moves forward.

Bartolotta concurred.

Let our delegation do their job, she said.

I hear from a lot of people who dont want tolls, Councilor Grady L. Faulkner Jr. said. What I dont hear is a solution.

He urged the citys legislators convene a series of workshops to get the facts.

Beyond that, Faulkner said, One of the things we need to do at the state level is prioritizeabout the needs we do have to do and the things wed like to do.

This deep hole the state is in didnt happen overnight, and it wont be solved overnight, Faulkner said.

jmill@middletownpress.com
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said U.S. lawmakers calling for an even harder sanctions policy against Iran were grandstanding and vowed that the State Department would ultimately "get it right" when it comes to exerting the needed level of pressure.

Pompeo's remarks come days after Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, urged him not to allow a small group of nations to continue purchasing Iranian oil after U.S. sanctions waivers expire next month.

The comments exposed a rare rift between prominent Iran hawks such as Pompeo and a group including Cruz and national security adviser John Bolton that favors an even harder-line approach to fulfill a promise of getting Iran's oil exports to zero.

Pompeo said accusations that the State Department was easing off a maximum pressure approach were "ludicrous."

"People want to tell stories, people want to sell newspapers. I've got it. Congressmen will grandstand, I've got that too. The State Department's going to get it right," he said during an interview with two reporters on his plane en route to Paraguay. "We're going to put pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran, on the regime, until we get for the Iranian people what it is they deserve: the chance to live a normal life in a state that isn't the world's largest state sponsor of terror."

Several countries, including India, Japan, China and Turkey, sought a waiver of the sanctions the Trump administration reimposed after it withdrew from the Iran deal last year. In November, the countries were allowed to continue buying Iranian oil without facing sanctions - an acknowledgment that the administration's Iran policy has been straining U.S. relations with its allies and partners.

President Donald Trump, who will announce his decision on the waivers when they expire in early May, has remained out of the fight brewing in his administration over the issue.

The decision pits his desire to please pro-Israel constituents who favor a hard-line Iran policy against his desire to keep oil prices low. Taking millions of barrels of Iranian oil off the market could at some point impact American consumers at the gas pump, especially as the oil market supply tightens. Cruz and others have sided with pro-Israel voices calling for a zero-tolerance policy.

"Let me urge you and urge the department unequivocally not to grant the nuclear waivers and not to grant the oil waivers," Cruz told Pompeo during a hearing at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday. "I think maximum pressure should mean maximum pressure."

Pompeo, who has appeared more successful than most Cabinet members in anticipating Trump's wishes, said during the interview Friday that "the whole world can have confidence that the State Department will be on the president's team."

"I think the data will bear that out as well," he said.
In the 24 hours since President Donald Trump escalated an attack on Rep. Ilhan Omar by tweeting a video of her spliced with footage of the burning twin towers, Democrats have accused him of Islamophobia, inciting violence and politicizing one of America's gravest tragedies.

The swift condemnation started Friday afternoon, after Trump shared the video with his millions of followers, along with the caption "We Will Never Forget."

Omar, D-Minn., a Somali refugee who made history as one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress last year, has been the target of conservative criticism this past week, after right-wing media outlets began sharing comments she made about the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to a largely Muslim audience last month.

At a Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) event, Omar spoke about the discrimination Americans Muslims faced after the terrorist attacks.

"For far too long, we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen and, frankly, I'm tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it," she said.

Washington Post photo by Salwan Georges

"CAIR was founded after 9/11," she went on, "because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties. So you can't just say that today someone is looking at me strange and that I am trying to make myself look pleasant. You have to say that, 'This person is looking at me strange. I am not comfortable with it, and I am going to talk to them and ask them why.' Because that is the right you have." (CAIR was actually founded in 1994.)

Conservatives began circulating a snippet of the 20-minute speech, highlighting the phrase "some people did something" to suggest Omar had played down the significance of 9/11.

As the clip spread, several Republicans questioned Omar's patriotism and loyalty. Things got uglier Thursday, when the New York Post ran a photo of the burning, smoking twin towers on its cover with the headline "Rep. Ilhan Omar: 9/11 Was 'Some People Did Something'."

Beneath that, in large bold letters, it said: "Here's your something."

A day later, Trump weighed in with his tweet.

Democrats responded swiftly, defending Omar and accusing the president of fomenting violence.

"Members of Congress have a duty to respond to the President's explicit attack today," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., tweeted hours after Trump's missive. "@IlhanMN's life is in danger. For our colleagues to be silent is to be complicit in the outright, dangerous targeting of a member of Congress. We must speak out."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., responded forcefully as well: "The President is inciting violence against a sitting Congresswoman - and an entire group of Americans based on their religion," she tweeted.

"It's disgusting. It's shameful," she went on. "And any elected leader who refuses to condemn it shares responsibility for it."

South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who served in Afghanistan, also responded late Friday night.

"Now, a president uses that dark day to incite his base against a member of Congress, as if for sport. As if we learned nothing that day about the workings of hate," Buttigieg wrote on Twitter. "The president today made America smaller."

It's not the first time Trump invoked 9/11 for personal or political gain.

On the day the towers fell, Trump mused on a radio show that he now had the tallest building in downtown Manhattan. During the 2016 presidential campaign, he claimed to have helped clean up the rubble, though there is no evidence of him doing so. He also said he lost hundreds of friends in the attack, but could never name one. And he claimed that he saw thousands of Muslims in Jersey City cheering the buildings coming down, something that never happened.

The president also has a long history of denigrating Muslims. He often suggested President Barack Obama, who is a Christian, was really a Muslim, insinuating that if he were that it would be a negative. In his race for president, Trump declared that "Islam hates us." He also formally proposed banning all Muslims from entering the United States during the presidential campaign. His administration has implemented policies barring citizens of certain Muslim-majority countries from traveling to the United States.

"The function of a president is bringing our people together," Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., told voters in Gary, Indiana, on Saturday. "Even conservative presidents have understood that."

"George W. Bush - I didn't have a lot in common with him. His views were very different than mine," he told the crowd. "But remember what he did after 9/11? He walked into a mosque to say that criminals, terrorists, attacked the United States. Not the Muslim people. That was a conservative Republican. We now have a president who for cheap political gain is trying to divide us up."

At a Saturday morning town hall near Charleston, South Carolina, former congressman Beto O'Rourke described the president's tweet to the crowd, then denounced it in a monologue that lasted several minutes.

As he recounted the video, crowd members gasped. Then they applauded when O'Rourke said the video echoes the rhetoric the president and his administration have used against Mexican immigrants, asylum seekers and other marginalized groups.

"This is an incitement to violence against Congresswoman Omar, against our fellow Americans who happen to be Muslim," O'Rourke added.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., didn't mention Omar specifically in her comments. Instead, she focused on the president's politicizing of the terrorist attacks.

"The memory of 9/11 is sacred ground, and any discussion of it must be done with reverence. The President shouldn't use the painful images of 9/11 for a political attack," she said in a statement. "It is wrong for the President, as Commander-in-Chief, to fan the flames to make anyone less safe."

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., the other Muslim woman in Congress, seemed to agree with a tweet criticizing Pelosi's statement for not referencing Omar by name.

"They put us in photos when they want to show our party is diverse. However, when we ask to be at the table, or speak up about issues that impact who we are, what we fight for & why we ran in the first place, we are ignored," she said. "To truly honor our diversity is to never silence us."

This is not the first time Omar has been targeted by the right.

Before her congressional term had even begun, Republicans demanded she be removed from the House Foreign Affairs Committtee because she had criticized the Israeli government and its treatment of the Palestinians.

Then, Omar made two comments about U.S. support for Israel that ignited fresh controversy. Democrats and Republicans accused her of perpetuating anti-Semitic tropes. Pelosi and others condemned Omar's comments about Israel. Republicans, including Trump, have continued to use Omar's comments to try to paint the Democratic Party as anti-Semitic.

Omar has said she has received several death threats since taking office. Last weekend, a New York Trump supporter was arrested after he called Omar's office and threatened to put a "bullet through her [expletive] skull."

Omar has said she won't be deterred by Trump or anyone else. On Saturday afternoon, she tweeted that she would not be silenced and would not sit on the sidelines.

"No one person - no matter how corrupt, inept, or vicious - can threaten my unwavering love for America," she said. "I stand undeterred to continue fighting for equal opportunity in our pursuit of happiness for all Americans."

- - -

The Washington Post's Eli Rosenberg in Washington; Jenna Johnson in Charleston, South Carolina; and David Weigel in Gary, Indiana, contributed to this report.
Added scoring makes Berlin Brothersvalley D5 title contender

Berlin won three straight District 5-A girls basketball championships, but missed out on gold the past two seasons. The Mountaineers have pieces to make run this season.
Two legislative measures, one designed to assist victims of domestic abuse and the other to support sexual abuse survivors, got attention in Harrisburg last week and drew praise from Chester County sources.

The first, Act 79, was signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf. It mandates that those convicted of domestic violence or subject to final Protection From Abuse (PFA) restraining orders surrender their firearms within 24 hours, rather than the current 60 days.

In addition, those defendants must surrender their firearms to law enforcement. They cannot give their guns to a friend or family member. The law grew out of legislation first offered by state Sen. Tom Killion, R-9th, of Middletown, whose district covers a portion of Chester County.

In a letter to local law enforcement agencies touting the bill, West Chester Police Chief Scott Bohn, praised the new law as a new tool to assist us in this ongoing battle against domestic gun violence across the state. His letter, signed with state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, noted that from 2008 to 2017, 1,200 people died in domestic abuse encounters in the state, and that abused women were five times more likely to be killed by their abuser if he or she owns a firearm.

Bohn wrote the letter as president of the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association.

The new law was cited by the Democratic candidate for Chester County District Attorney as a step to make violence victims safer.

I appreciate that Governor Wolf has signed Act 79 into law, Deborah Ryan said in a press release issued on Friday. Any step that Pennsylvania takes to provide support of and protection for survivors of violence and abuse in any form is a step in the right direction. The health and quality of our community must be defined by our willingness to safeguard our most vulnerable members.

Ryan, a former prosecutor with the DAs Office and head of its Child Abuse Unit, also praised the state House of Representatives for passing two bills that would widen the amount of time that those abused as young people have to pursue criminal and civil penalties against their alleged abusers.

House bill 962, passed Wednesday, eliminates the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse crimes, while the proposed constitutional amendment permits a retroactive two-year period for civil lawsuits related to child sexual abuse on cases in which the statute of limitation has expired, she said in her release. Under current law, a child sexual abuse survivor has until the age of 50 to file a criminal complaint and age 30 to file a civil suit.

We know that child sexual abuse is one of the most underreported crimes, Ryan, who was responsible for the prosecution of those child abusers, said. At least one in 10 children will experience child sexual abuse before age 18, but most will either delay reporting for months or years, if they come forward at all. (The bill) and a companion constitutional amendment related to sexual abuse will allow survivors to seek the justice they deserve, she said.

Child sexual abuse is a public health epidemic, she added. The long-term consequences can have devastating implications, including PTSD, depression, anxiety, drug and alcohol addiction and other serious consequences.

The bill was supported by nine state representatives from the countys legislative districts. It now moves to the state Senate, where it has drawn support from state Sen. Katie Muth, D-44th, of Montgomery County, whose district covers the northern half of Chester County, among others.

An attempt to get comment from incumbent District Attorney Tom Hogan on his position on the two bills was unsuccessful.

Their future in the Senate, however, is uncertain. The House in September voted overwhelmingly for a retroactive two-year window for victims of child sexual abuse to sue, but the measure was blocked by Senate Republicans. The Senates top-ranking member, President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, was among those who argued retroactivity was unconstitutional.

Constitutional amendments must pass both chambers in two consecutive two-year legislative terms before going to voters for final approval.

The proposed protections for child abuse survivors come after a grand jury produced a report that said about 300 Roman Catholic priests had abused children at six of the states eight dioceses over seven decades, and accused church hierarchy of covering it up.

The two-year window was one of four provisions recommended by the grand jury report in August. Several other states have adopted something similar previously, and lawmakers in New York and New Jersey have approved windows in recent months.

It is opposed by Catholic bishops, who call it unconstitutional, and for-profit insurers, who say they are concerned about being forced to pay out for liabilities for which premiums were never collected.
Chester County is woven into my identity. I was born and raised in Birmingham Township and graduated from Unionville High School in 2013. From my current perch as a graduate student at the University of Oxford, I evangelize about the Mushroom Capital of the World and spend my summers back home working in West Chester.

However, a new feeling has surpassed my pride in my hometown: currently, I best identify as a frustrated absentee voter.

As a far-away student, I am so appreciative of the candidates with campaign websites and Facebook pages  candidates with contact forms and avenues for dialogue about the issues that they, and I, care about. But I am shocked that our community is complacent with candidates who dont make their positions known.

On my Democratic primary ballot, there are at least three candidates for county-wide positions who seem to have no additional information available beyond their short paragraphs on the Chester County Democratic Committee website.

But in the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District board member primary race, the situation is even more stark. Neither candidate on my ballot for UCFSD Region B has any publicly-available information online. From the Chester County Voter Services website, I determined that one candidate is running as a Democrat and the other is listed as both Republican and Democrat. This seems to suggest that if the cross-listed candidate wins the Democratic primary, they will have an unopposed race in November  making the stakes of my bubble-filling on this ballot even higher.

One only needs to quickly browse the minutes from UCFSD school board meetings or Daily Local archives to see the nontrivial power that school board members wield. In 2017, the board unanimously voted to increase Superintendent John Sanvilles salary by 15.4%, despite outcry from concerned citizens who felt the decision had been made too quickly, and without public input. These types of decisions matter for taxpayers, and they matter for people, like me, who care about teachers and students in the district.

I am an ocean away as I fill out my absentee ballot; I do not have the luxury of going to community events, reading the local paper (many US local news sites arent available in the UK), or getting pamphlets in the mail as I attempt to navigate my primary ballot decisions. And in this information-saturated world, I imagine that many of you who do have those luxuries still do not know the platforms of the UCFSD Region B candidates, and others.

As a community, we should not allow these candidates to slip under the radar. With the primary election fast-approaching, I hope you will join me in seeking information about unknown candidates and becoming better informed. We should expect  demand  that candidates asking for our vote tell us what they stand for, and we should not be complacent with anything less.

Meghan Shea

Birmingham Township
Many senior Tories and furious backbenchers want to oust Theresa May

With Brexit briefly shelved, there is one urgent question hanging over British politics this weekend. Theresa May: can she survive?

Many senior Tories and furious backbenchers want to oust her. That became clear on Thursday when she made her Commons statement in the wake of the emergency European Union summit in Brussels.

There she had to explain to fellow leaders why she was seeking another extension to Article 50, so delaying our departure from the EU yet again.

Back in Westminster, she was greeted with open contempt by many on her own side. Tory grandee, Sir Bill Cash, expressed the view of many in his party when he called on her to resign.

This weekend Tory MPs start their Easter break, which may well make matters worse rather than better for the Prime Minister.

Back in their constituencies, many will be confronted by the growing frustration and anger of some voters at the delay to Brexit, and Mrs Mays decision to hold talks with Labour in an attempt to get her thrice-rejected withdrawal deal through Parliament.

The Tories have plummeted ten points in the polls in less than a month  the fastest slump since John Majors government crashed out of the exchange rate mechanism on September 16, 1992.

This is ominous indeed: the Tories never recovered from that debacle and the way was open for Tony Blair and New Labour to sweep into power.

But for Mrs May and her allies, there is a sliver of optimism. In my view Theresa May is still more respected by voters than by many Tories, and that I believe is at the heart of her refusal to quit.

Her objective remains to hang on until Brexit has been completed. That would mean surviving in office until the Conservative Party Conference at the end of September, just a month before Britains new departure date from the EU on October 31 (a Halloween to remember if so).

The PM may just make it, but a nightmare obstacle course lies ahead of her if she is to do so.

First up are the local elections on May 2  less than three weeks time. When this set of elections was last held four years ago, the Tories did rather well.

This time, local campaigners tell me they are expecting a bloodbath.

Theres widespread talk of a collapse of the party vote and a surge of support for Nigel Farages new Brexit Party and Jeremy Corbyns Labour. And lets not forget that it was in the wake of the disastrous local election results of May 2009, that cabinet minister James Purnell launched a failed leadership plot against then prime minister Gordon Brown.

Dont rule out the same thing happening again.

The PM may just make it, but a nightmare obstacle course lies ahead of her if she is to do so (pictured: Theresa May, Amber Rudd and Boris Johnson in 2016)

There will then be a three-week lull until the European elections begin on May 23.

Once again, these elections which we are compelled to take part in if we havent departed the EU  threaten to plunge the Conservatives into electoral chaos. There are fears that Tory voters either wont go to the polls or will simply defect to rival parties.

If Mrs May has survived thus far, this may be when demands for a change in the Tory leadership become overwhelming.

In any case, June and July are notoriously the most perilous period in Parliament for any Conservative leader. MPs have more time on their hands to plot in the Commons bars.

With Brexit in a shambles, local and European election meltdown, the potential for disaster during the summer is obvious.

While Party rules determine that there can be no vote of confidence in Mrs Mays leadership until the end of this year, its not hard to envisage a cabinet revolt and a delegation of the so-called men in grey suits going to Downing Street to tell Mrs May that her time is up. Supporters of Boris Johnson are already comparing the PM to Jose Mourinho towards the end of his lacklustre term at Manchester United.

Boris would be like Man Us new manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, they say, and bring life and fizz to the Party and revive its electoral fortunes.

I think there could be some truth in this. Mr Johnson is a superlative campaigner. He brings optimism and ebullience with him wherever he goes. Unlike Mrs May, he gives the impression of enjoying life and politics, too.

It is very hard, however, to see how Mr Johnson could solve the Brexit dilemma. He would be no more capable than Mrs May of mustering the Commons majority needed to press through with a Brexit consensus.

And while Mrs May isnt popular in Brussels, Mr Johnson is the arch-enemy. I cant see him extracting concessions that Mrs May was unable to secure.

Were Boris Johnson to become prime minister, there is only one way he could force Brexit through. That is by proroguing  suspending  Parliament and using the power of the executive to force through a No Deal Brexit.

My Downing Street sources tell me that Mrs May has already contemplated and ruled out this course of action.

Mr Johnson might choose otherwise, even though such a move would prompt a constitutional crisis and drag the Queen, who would be required to assent to any prorogation of Parliament, into the heart of the Brexit debate.

And it is for these reasons I believe it is more likely than not that Mrs May will get her wish and deliver her final speech to Tory conference in Manchester this autumn. She aims to have Brexit wrapped up by then so that she can go out on a high and secure her legacy.

But she needs to be careful what she wishes for. It may not go well, although all decent people will hope otherwise. Whatever one thinks of her political competence, she is a woman driven by duty and a sense of right and wrong.

This week the PM will reportedly take a holiday with husband Philip on a walking trip in Wales. She certainly deserves her break from Brexit  and so do the rest of us.

Sacking Sir Roger for his opinions is a sign that free speech is being curbed

Sir Roger has never been afraid to make difficult or unpopular statements

I am troubled by Sir Roger Scrutons sacking from his role as a housing adviser to the Government.

That is not because I agree with his offensive remarks about Islamophobia, the Chinese and the investor and philanthropist George Soros that were reportedly made in an interview with the New Statesman this week. Its because I worry about free speech.

Sir Roger has never been afraid to make difficult or unpopular statements during his hugely distinguished career as a writer and philosopher.

As a young man, his support for the political creed of Margaret Thatcher angered Lefties and cost him his university career. He also bravely supported dissidents in the former Czechoslovakia and, when the Iron Curtain fell, was awarded Czech Republics Medal of Merit in acknowledgement.

Now, there are suggestions that some of his words in the Left-wing New Statesman may have been distorted and taken out of context. Even so, while I disagree strongly with some of the views he apparently expressed, I cannot for the life of me see what they have to do with his role as chairman of the Governments Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission.

On a personal note, I and countless others have deepened our understanding of conservatism  and much else besides  through Sir Rogers writing.

His Dictionary Of Political Thought is by my side as I write my columns.

Treasury Secretary Liz Truss has got her leadership campaign off to the best possible start by calling into question the HS2 rail project. I have repeatedly warned that this much-vaunted investment is out of date, out of control and an unforgivable waste of taxpayers money. There is undeniable evidence that it will grossly exceed its official 56 billion budget.

Chancellor Philip Hammond has lacked the courage to put this white elephant out of its misery. Now Liz, his deputy, puts Mr Hammond to shame. Asked by The Spectator magazine this week whether she would scrap HS2, she replied: Thats a matter for the zero-based capital review that Ill be looking at very intently.

Good for her. There are so many worthwhile ways of spending the money, rather than on this vanity project.
Warning: This story contains images and information about infant loss that may be distressing for some

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On the morning Grace Cassar was preparing to be induced to give birth, her boyfriend Chris Cruse left the hospital to fetch her some heat packs and returned with a smile on his face.

'So are you excited?' he said to the first-time mother. 'For what?' she responded.

Instantly the 28-year-old labourer's face fell and the reality of the situation returned to him.

'For a moment I forgot Ivy wasn't going to be born alive,' the heartbroken father said.

Grace and Chris were told on March 1, 2019, that their daughter Ivy-Winter's heart had stopped beating. At 29 weeks along, their final ultrasound at Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital revealed the devastating news.

'It absolutely broke my heart to see him like that,' Grace, a 23-year-old dance teacher from Noosa, Queensland, told FEMAIL.

Grace and Chris (both pictured) knew on March 1, 2019, that their unborn daughter Ivy-Winter's heart had stopped beating

'I was fully aware that I was about to give birth to my first born baby sleeping. They sent me back to my local hospital, Sunshine Coast University Hospital, where I spent the next three nights waiting to be induced,' she said.

'Knowing my baby girl was dead inside me, not being able to feel her kick or move for those three nights was extremely heart-wrenching and something I would hope no one would ever have to go through.'

On March 4 Grace was induced internally - which involves two tablets being placed behind the cervix - with Chris holding her hand throughout the painful exam.

'Knowing my baby girl was dead inside me, not being able to feel her kick or move for those three nights was extremely heart-wrenching and something I would hope no one would ever have to go through,' she said

On March 4 Grace was induced internally - which involves two tablets being placed behind the cervix - with Chris holding her hand throughout the painful exam

When did Grace find out she was pregnant? 'We first found out I was pregnant in September 2018. I had a miscarriage earlier in the month of September so we didn't think it was possible I would fall pregnant again so soon,' she said. 'Chris and I both had a strong feeling that I was pregnant again but I was too nervous to do the test because I didnt want it to come back negative. 'I couldn't hold off any longer to do it because Chris was leaving the following day to work in Papua New Guinea for a month. 'When we found out we were so excited and wanted time to speed up so we could meet our baby.' Advertisement

'I could feel contractions start pretty much straight away and I then became excited that we were about to meet our baby girl, I couldn't wait to see what she looked like,' she said.

As the pain of the contractions got worse Grace used a gym ball in the shower to try and ease the intense pressure.

'At around 4:30pm I lost the plot completely. It was like everything hit me at once and it fully sunk in that I was going through all this and I wasn't even allowed to take my baby home with me,' she said.

'I remember hysterically crying, begging the midwives not to take my baby when she came out and that I wanted it all to go away. The midwife kept telling me "Everything is going to be okay" and my response was "How?! Nothing is okay, my baby is dead".'

Feeling helpless and just wanting to 'scream', Grace said not being able to protect her baby made it feel like she had 'failed' as a mother.

'My immediate reaction after giving birth was a lot of mixed emotions. I was obviously devastated but I also felt calm and at peace,' she said.

As the pain of the contractions got worse Grace used a gym ball in the shower to try and ease the intense pressure

'In those first few minutes it didn't matter that my baby didn't have a heartbeat, I was just purely in love with this human Chris and I had created,' she said

'In those first few minutes it didn't matter that my baby didn't have a heartbeat, I was just purely in love with this human Chris and I had created.

'When I got to hold my baby it was like all the pain in my heart stopped for a split moment and all I felt was pure love and admiration for my newborn baby girl. I fell even more in love with Chris watching how in love and in awe he was of Ivy too.

'I cried at how beautiful she was and watching on at how in love our family was with this little tiny angel. I wanted to take away everyone's pain and let them know that as messed up and unfair that this situation was that everything was going to be okay.

'I struggled seeing how much pain and love was in Chris' eyes. I felt like I had failed him.'

The couple had the name Ivy picked before they were even pregnant and they added 'Angel' as her middle name when they found out she was going to be stillborn (pictured at the gender reveal)

'Because Ivy will always be our angel and once we saw her and how beautiful she was she is truly our perfect little angel and the name fit perfectly,' Grace said (pictured announcing their pregnancy)

The couple had the name Ivy picked before they were even pregnant and they added 'Angel' as her middle name when they found out she was going to be stillborn.

'Because Ivy will always be our angel and once we saw her and how beautiful she was she is truly our perfect little angel and the name fit perfectly,' Grace said.

Sunshine Coast University Hospital gave the family the opportunity to have professional photos taken with their daughter after the birth, something that Grace and Chris immediately agreed to.

'For me personally, knowing my personality, I needed every bit of memorabilia with Ivy that was possible,' Grace said.

'Like every baby that is born stillborn, they are still little babies. My baby was fully formed, beautiful and from how wriggly she was inside my tummy we had this image she was going to be an active happy baby and she deserved to be treated how any other excited parents expecting a newborn baby would treat their child.

'For me personally, knowing my personality, I needed every bit of memorabilia with Ivy that was possible,' Grace said

'I am so thankful that we were given the chance to have photos and hand and foot prints and our "memory box" which was all offered to us out of the kindness of other people's hearts,' she said

What happened to Ivy? Grace and Chris had no inkling their daughter was in trouble at their 20 week scan, with doctors only suggesting she was on 'the small side' but was otherwise looking 'textbook perfect'. The couple may never know what went wrong and have been repeatedly told 'sometimes it's just out of our control'. Doctors are currently doing a full autopsy. Advertisement

'I am so thankful that we were given the chance to have photos and hand and foot prints and our "memory box" which was all offered to us out of the kindness of other people's hearts.

'There's not a day that goes by that I don't look back on the pictures we have with Ivy-Winter. Most days I even wish we asked for more.'

Ivy-Winter's funeral was very intimate, with just family and close friends in attendance. She was later cremated.

'I was quite shocked to see how much of an impact Ivy had on everyone, there wasn't a dry eye at her service, even the celebrant was crying,' Grace said.

'I couldn't have wished for a better farewell for our angel. I hope wherever she is that she can feel the love for her.

Grace and Chris had no inkling their daughter was in trouble at their 20 week scan, with doctors only suggesting she was on 'the small side' but was otherwise looking 'textbook perfect'

'There are zero positives in losing my baby as she isn't in my arms so trying to "celebrate" her life was difficult. But we did try to celebrate how happy her existence had made us all and the excitement of her journey.'

Some days we cry all day cuddling Ivy's teddies, other days we hate the world

Grace and Chris had no inkling their daughter was in trouble at their 20 week scan, with doctors only suggesting she was on 'the small side' but was otherwise looking 'textbook perfect'.

The couple may never know what went wrong and have been repeatedly told 'sometimes it's just out of our control'. Doctors are currently doing a full autopsy.

'We are struggling. After the funeral it felt like my world collapsed. Some days we cry all day cuddling Ivy's teddies, other days we hate the world,' she said.

'I struggle seeing pregnant women and women with little babies. I even struggle seeing families with older kids because I'm jealous that we won't ever have that with Ivy.

Ivy-Winter's funeral was very intimate, with just family and close friends in attendance. She was later cremated

The couple may never know what went wrong and have been repeatedly told 'sometimes it's just out of our control'. Doctors are currently doing a full autopsy

'I've even walked into baby shops picking out clothes for Ivy then realised that my baby is gone and broke down crying

'There are days where I want to yell at parents I see that are ignoring their kids and won't play with them because I would give up absolutely everything to have Ivy annoy me and want to play with me every single second for the rest of my life.

'I've even walked into baby shops picking out clothes for Ivy then realised that my baby is gone and broke down crying. I feel like a mental woman.

'It all seems so unfair and we can't understand why or how this has happened to us when we had so much love to give our baby.

'Watching Chris try and build me up when I know he is aching as much as me crushes my soul but also makes me so grateful that I have a soulmate like him.

Grace, despite being 'overwhelmed' by the support they have received, carefully cautions parents against suggesting 'everything happens for a reason'

'We are stronger for what we have been through together. We are also extremely scared and nervous about the what if... "what if it happens again"... we want to have another baby, not to ever replace Ivy because she is irreplaceable but to have that family unit as that is what both of us have always wanted.'

Grace, despite being 'overwhelmed' by the support they have received, carefully cautions parents against suggesting 'everything happens for a reason'.

'I'm sorry but no, there is not one single positive I can find in this. Please then explain to me what justified reason it was that my child was taken from this earth,' she said.

'If I could give advice to anyone else going through this it would be to talk. Talk when you can and reach out for help if you are struggling.

'I'm sorry but no, there is not one single positive I can find in this. Please then explain to me what justified reason it was that my child was taken from this earth,' she said

'Also don't be scared to tell people exactly how you feel and what you want. And spend as much time as possible with your precious little angel and as much as it might hurt, try and say yes to all the memorabilia that the hospital offers you.

'If your partner is offered to cut your babies cord and be a part of the birth, do it.

'The baby you are pushing out is still your child and always will be.'

If you or anyone you know is affected by the loss of a baby or child, call the Sands 24/7 National Support Line on 1300 0 72637.
At least 12 people have died of diabetes in Georgia jails and prisons where they were not given treatment that would have kept them healthy in the last decade.

Their blood sugars spiked to many times the normal range, they were flippantly denied insulin, and their their symptoms were dismissed by guards and staffers that wrote off incoherence and days of vomiting as substance abuse or mental illness.

Some 2.3 million Americans are confined in the massive US prison system where their health is often neglected and care is extraordinarily expensive.

For at least 12 men and women, prison was a death sentence, unrelated to their crimes, but because their treatable disease was ignored, a new Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation reveals.

Willie Whaley died at just 31 at the Georgia State Prison of diabetic ketoacidosis (AKD). He was given insulin for two days, then denied the injections after he tested positive for methamphetamine while in the prison's medical center

The US has the largest population of incarcerated people in the world.

In fact, there are about as many Americans in prisons, jails and other corrections facilities than there people in the entire country of Botswana (and about twice as many as live in Cyprus).

But as the prison system has stretched and grown, care for the people living within it hasn't, and their neglect is not only hurting prisoners, but has begun to have echoes in the health of the population at large.

Rates of both mental and chronic illness are much higher among incarcerated people than among the general population.

During intake, people going to jails and prisons are supposed to have a medical examination and continue or start to receive any medications or treatments appropriate to treating their conditions.

But correctional facility guidelines say that a prisoner has to be examined and have his or her medical history taken within 14 days of intake.

'And obviously someone with type 1 diabetes is going to be dead' without insulin for two weeks, says Dr Daniel Lorber, chair of the American Diabetes Association's National Advocacy Committee.

Willie Whaley was admitted to the medical center at Georgia State Prison in December 2017, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) reported.

Willie Green III (left) had been needed insulin since his 20s, but died of DKA at a hospital less than two weeks after he was booked in Fulton County Jail in 2017. After violating his probation, Paul Mullinax (right) lost his life to diabetes-related complications

He'd been nauseous and vomiting - early signs of a diabetes-related condition called diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).

For the first two days that he was in medical, Willie, who had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as a child, was given insulin.

But then Willie started talking nonsense. The suspicious correctional facility staff drug tested him.

When the screen came back positive for methamphetamines, the medical staff stopped giving Willie insulin.

It is unclear what other diabetes drugs Willie might have been on, but one of the most common such prescriptions, Metformin, is known to occasionally show up as a false positive on drug screens.

Three days after coming to the medical center, Willie was dead.

He was never put back on insulin and never saw a physician, according to the AJC.

At 41, Douglas Brown (left) died in 2013 of DKA after just 11 days at Fulton County Prison in Georgia. taff at Hays State Prison finally realized that Esteban Mosqueda-Romero (right), 63, was ill and took him to a hospital, but it was too late for him to recover form DKA

But an autopsy cited his diabetic medical history and revealed that Willie's blood sugar was five-times what it should have been for a 31-year-old.

Willie's mother, Rebecca Hill, plans to file a lawsuit against the facility for her son's death.

A typical person with type 1 diabetes needs at least two shots of insulin to keep their blood sugar levels stable. Some need as many as four a day.

Without insulin, the body cannot process glucose properly to energize cells, so the sugars stay in the blood.

In desperation, the body starts to prey on fat stores, which produces acidic compounds called ketones in the blood. These can build up and become toxic, leading to a diabetic coma, or even death, as was the case for these inmates.

The symptoms of ketoacidosis come on quickly, in as little as 24 hours.

But the response of medical personnel in correctional facilities is often anything but fast.

Wickie Bryant struggled with mental illness and would often refuse her diabetes medications. But the Atlanta City Detention Center didn't monitor her closely, a report suggests. She had been dead of DKA for hours by the time her body was discovered

By the time 55-year-old Wickie Bryant was found at Atlanta City Detention Center in 2015, her body was in full rigor mortis, indicating that she'd likely been dead at least three hours, despite the facility's protocol for hourly checks, according to the investigator's report.

She had a history of type 1 diabetes, mental illness, and a tendency to refuse to take her medication. But that was all the more reason she should have been closely monitored by the correctional facility - not left dead for hours.

Barnes Nowlin Jr missed a court date for a traffic case in 2008, and lost his life for it.

The 39-year-old diabetic truck driver was on three different pills to manage his condition, and his wife brought them all to Whitfield County Jail after he was arrested, the AJC reported.

But it seems his medications were not consistently administered, and after just three days at the jail, Barnes was vomiting and too weak to stand.

A nurse was allegedly asked to check on him a number of times, but she 'ignored' these requests, according to the AJC.

Barnes Nowlin was ignored by a jail nurse for hours before the 39-year-old's death in 2008, despite multiple requests for someone to check on the weak, vomiting inmate

Barnes's death was ruled a homicide by an investigating coroner, but no criminal suit was brought and the civil case his wife brought was against the jail was ultimately dismissed.

At least another nine people, including 41-year-old Douglas Brown, 33-year-old David Fletcher, 63-year-old Esteban Mosqueda-Romero, 58-year old Lindsey Ruffin, Jr, and 55-year-old Paul Mullinax died the same awful deaths in Georgia jails and prisons.

The phenomenon isn't limited to the southern state, though.

Eerily similar cases have been reported in Tennessee, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Illinois, and Arkansas.

Dr Lorber has worked on some of these cases, including one woman who was 'ignored to death,' he says, though he could not reveal details of her identity or location without the consent of the family.

Lindsey Ruffin Jr (left) died at 55 after suffering for at least a week as DKA took hold of his body. David Fletcher Jr (right) was jailed in 2012. He quickly started acting erratically and was found dead of DKA, covered in his own vomit within a week

David Fletcher Jr missed child support payments and was jailed in 2012. He quickly started acting erratically and was found dead of DKA, covered in his own vomit within a week.'She was jailed for 17 days, for violation of her parole or something fairly minor,' he says.

'After about three days [during which] they kind of ignored her, the doctor came to see her when she was lying on the floor, soaked in her urine and looked at her through the door of her cell, eight feet away.'

That was the extent of the medical attention the woman received.

Last year, the ADA signed onto a class-action lawsuit against one of the largest prison management companies in the US, CoreCivic, alleging that the neglect of some 60 prisoners with insulin-treated diabetes in its Tennessee facilities constituted 'cruel and unusual punishment.'

Those 60 people are among an estimated 206,770 incarcerated individuals whose diabetes requires constant blood sugar check, frequent insulin injections and oral medication.

And an unknowable number have already died miserable, preventable deaths behind bars, simply because they weren't given treatment and their symptoms were ignored.
Most of us will have at least one satnav horror story, after placing all trust in the technology only for it to lead us down a road to nowhere.

Many such tales are so unbelievable they are comical. There was the Syrian truck driver who took his 32-ton lorry to Gibraltar Point in Lincolnshire rather than the tiny peninsula 1,600 miles away at the southern tip of Spain, and the woman who blindly followed instructions from her satnav, even when it told her to drive her 96,000 Mercedes into the River Sence  oh, the irony!  in Leicestershire.

In 2017 it was revealed a flyover in Chelmsford, Essex, had been the site of 30 head-on collisions in five years because TomTom and Google Maps satnav systems were sending drivers the wrong way down the one-way road.

Emerging evidence is showing that over-reliance on satnavs may decrease driver's ability to learn and recall

Of course, most of us are far too sensible to ignore our gut feeling that the computer is wrong, especially if it tells you to plunge straight into a fast-flowing river.

What these yarns tell us is that satellite navigation systems  like many other life-enhancing technologies  are now so firmly embedded in modern culture that some people will blindly follow their orders rather than think for themselves.

But could our everyday reliance on this kind of technology be affecting our brains? After all, driving to new destinations used to involve studying a map, reading road signs and making split-second decisions  in other words, a thoroughly good work-out for the brain.

Even taking a wrong turning was a vital part of the learning process. The mistake would be filed away in our memory, so as not to be repeated.

It is the reason why studies show that London taxi drivers  who spend four years memorising every street in the city as part of The Knowledge  tend to have a larger hippocampus, an area of the brain that plays an important role in memory.

Meanwhile, technology is taking the workload off our brains in other ways too. We no longer need to memorise things such as phone numbers or birthdays, as they are all stored in our smartphones.

Two parts of the brain - the hippocampus, which analyses possible routes, and the pre-frontal cortex, which plans which ones will get us to our destination - go unused when drivers follow instructions from the gadget

There is emerging evidence that this over-dependence on technology may be having a negative effect on the brains ability to learn and recall information.

A University College London study last year looked at brain-activity levels when volunteers used a computer driving simulator to navigate through Soho  one of Londons busiest areas.

They could choose which turnings they took, changing their minds if they met with congestion. The results, published in the journal Nature Communications, revealed that levels of activity spiked in two areas, the hippocampus, which analyses possible routes, and the pre-frontal cortex, which plans which ones will get us to our destination.

Every time the volunteers picked their own routes through the street, activity levels peaked. But when they repeated the tasks using GPS, scans revealed virtually no increase in activity levels in either region of the brain.

One of the questions scientists want to answer is whether this dependence on technology has long-term consequences for memory, and if it could even cause dementia. The hippocampus, after all, is involved in our consolidation of short-term memories into long-term ones, and memory loss is a hallmark of dementia.

Professor Til Wykes, from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at Kings College London, says relying entirely on technology is likely to lead to problems with memory recall.

This map shows the 186 mile different between being in Wales the country or the Wales the small Yorkshire village, near Sheffield

She says: The phrase use it or lose it is relevant because if skills such as memory recall are valued, then our reliance on technology is problematic. We do know that when we rely on Google and GPS systems, then we lose some skills.

This outsourcing of information from the brain is what scientists call cognitive offloading. Thats when we do anything we can to reduce its workload. It might be as simple as counting with your fingers, rather than just in your head, or writing a shopping list instead of remembering groceries you need.

Cognitive offloading is not new but modern technology has taken it to a whole new level where, rather than acting primarily as an aide to the brain, in some circumstances, it is almost replacing it.

The inability to recall information that weve stored in our smartphone even has a name: digital amnesia.

How you can avoid digital amnesia If you write notes youll retain more Scientists think keyboard-users are processing a lot less information than pen-users who have to mentally focus on the most relevant facts  which means they store more of the information. Rely on your memory rather than photos In a study, visitors to a museum were permitted to take pictures of certain exhibits, but not others. The volunteers were much less able to recall details of those they photographed than those they didnt. Stop saving numbers in your phone Studies have shown that if we believe information cant be saved on a computer, and will be deleted, we naturally memorise it. Keep an address book at home and remember the important phone numbers. Advertisement

Dr Benjamin Storm, a researcher working on a study of technology and memory at the University of California, said: Research shows that as we use the internet to support and extend our memory, we become more reliant on it. Time will tell if this pattern will have any further-reaching impacts on human memory.

Prof Wykes adds: We need to think of technology as a support not as a substitute for cognitive skill.

That means it would be better for technology not to be as clever as it is. Then we could practise our cognitive skills.

For example, she says, satnav could provide motorists with a couple of different options for a journey, leaving the final decision up to them.

Prof Petroc Sumner, an expert in neuroscience at Cardiff University, says cognitive offloading on a large scale means our ability to perform specific mental tasks, such as reading maps, will suffer.

But he adds: There is no evidence I know of that overall cognitive ability suffers. A parallel might be dishwashers  our skills at washing up by hand might suffer, but there is no evidence that overall dexterity and co-ordination suffer.

Others recommend occasional technology breaks. At the moment, theres no good evidence of long-term problems in terms of learning or brain capacity, says Prof Thom Baguely, professor of experimental psychology at Nottingham Trent University. But I would advise drivers to sometimes switch off the satnav.

As well as turning off the GPS, there are other ways to keep the brain sharp
The recent announcement that divorce laws are to be relaxed is a welcome one.

Most couples who get married hope to live happily ever after, yet the brutal reality is that more than 40 per cent of modern marriages end in divorce.

In that case, why make getting divorced more difficult and stressful than it has to be? Fortunately, there are scientifically proven ways to protect your relationship.

I met my wife, Clare, at the Royal Free Hospital Medical School in September 1980, when we both started our medical training.

One of the more surprising ways of predicting whether a couple will stay married is by studying the way they smile

Spookily enough it was the Dean of the Royal Free who first predicted that we would get married. Or rather, at the start of the course, he told a room full of first-year medical students (which included the two of us) that based on what had happened to previous groups of students, four of us in that room would marry. He was spot-on.

But could he or anyone else have predicted that not only would we get married but we would stay happily married?

Over the past 30 years psychologists have put a lot of time and resource into trying to predict which unions are likely to last, and which are likely to end in divorce. They have also identified the things couples should work on if they want to stay happily together.

YOU STAY MARRIED LONGER IF YOUR SMILES ARE GENUINE

One of the more surprising ways of predicting whether a couple will stay married is by studying the way they smile  because it turns out it can be a real giveaway about your true feelings. There are basically two types of smile, a genuine one and a fake one. The genuine one, called the Duchenne smile, is named after a French doctor who 200 years ago studied facial expressions.

A Duchenne smile involves the contraction of two sets of muscles: the zygomaticus major, which raises the corners of your mouth, and the orbicularis occuli, the ring of muscle around your eye sockets. A genuine smile activates both, so that the corners of your mouth turn up and your eyes crinkle.

A fake Say Cheese smile, on the other hand, normally just involves the zygomaticus major, which, unlike the orbicularis occuli, is under voluntary control.

Based on studying smiles, psychologists have created something called FACS, the Facial Coding System, which they use to measure the intensity and genuineness of a smile. So what does this have to do with marriage? Well, in a study done in 2001, psychologists from the University of California asked a group of women, then in their 50s, to fill in questionnaires about their relationships and how happy they were with life.

There are basically two types of smile, a genuine one and a fake one. The genuine one involves the contraction of two sets of muscles which raise the corners of your mouth and the ring of muscle around your eye sockets

The psychologists also analysed photos of these same women when they were aged 21, and rated them using the FACS. The women who smiled most naturally in the pictures taken 30 years earlier were far more likely to have got married and stayed happily married than those whose smiles were more obviously false.

A later series of studies, involving men and women, again found a strong link: those who smiled least convincingly in old photos, compared to those who smiled most naturally, were five times more likely to be divorced at some point in their life.

The lead researcher, psychologist Professor Matthew Hertenstein at DePauw University in Indiana, thinks it could be because smiling people attract other happier people, and the combination may lead to a greater likelihood of a long-lasting marriage.

THE FOUR SIGNS YOU'RE HEADING FOR DIVORCE

Clearly theres more to a happy marriage than the ability to smile, however naturally. To find out what other factors are important, some years ago I visited the so-called Gottman Love Lab.

The proper name for the Love Lab is The Relationship Research Center, a specialist institute set up near Washington University in 1986 by Professor John Gottman.

He invites couples to his institute, then studies them intensely. This can involve wiring them up to measure how their bodies react when they argue, as well as filming them with ultra-fast cameras to capture something called micro-expressions  subtle facial movements that are almost imperceptible, but are thought to indicate thoughts and feelings.

He then follows them up many years later to see if they are still together. What his team have learned from studying thousands of couples is that there are a number of negative things that couples do. He calls them The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and they predict divorce.

The main things that are toxic to a long-term relationship are:

1 Contempt: This includes making sarcastic responses, eye-rolling, sneering and mockery while disagreeing. Contempt is not only the main predictor of divorce but research has shown that couples who are contemptuous of each other are more prone to infectious diseases such as coughs and colds.

2 Criticism: Its OK to say I dont think that was a good idea but it is not OK to make sweeping negative statements about your partners character or personality such as: You are so irritating. Why on earth do you always do that?

3 Defensiveness: This is something I am occasionally guilty of  getting cross and snapping back at Clare when she challenges me. It just makes things worse.

Making sarcastic responses, eye-rolling, sneering and mockery while disagreeing are all main things that are toxic to a long-term relationship

4 Stonewalling: This means acting as if you dont care what your partner is saying. Like defensiveness, it fans the flames.

AND HERES HOW TO MAKE IT WORK

On a more positive note, Gottman also has recommendations for couples to work on for a happy marriage. They include:

1 Nurturing your mutual fondness and admiration. This means doing things such as genuinely celebrating the other persons successes and commiserating with their failures. When your partner tells you about their day, look up; engage. Gottman found that couples who put a positive spin on their marriage were far more likely to stick together.

2 Turn towards each other. We regularly make what Gottman calls bids for our partners attention. This might mean reading something you find amusing out loud from the newspaper or pointing to something interesting out of the window. How your partner responds is important. Turning towards you and saying something like Thats interesting is good. Ignoring them or saying Stop droning on is clearly bad.

In his studies, Gottman found it was the couples who turned towards each other at least 90 per cent of the time who were still married six years later. Those who did so less than a third of the time were soon in trouble.

3 Build love maps. This sounds very American but what it really means is, take an interest in your partners world. Remember and celebrate important events in each others lives. Remember what their friends are called. Know each others goals, worries and hopes.

4 Be kind to each other. Kindness is the other side of contempt. It is getting up and helping with the cooking, when asked, even if you are feeling shattered. It is resisting the urge, when you having a row, to say something destructive.

5 Solve your solvable problems. Gottman says you shouldnt let problems fester, but get them out there when both of you are in a positive frame of mind. This almost always involves compromise and being tolerant of each others faults.

Getting married is not the be-all-and-end-all. Plenty of people choose to stay single and, despite claims to the contrary, there is no great evidence that being married confers unique benefits. That said, I do thoroughly recommend it.
MRS MOREAUS WARBLER by Stephen Moss (Faber 9.99, 368 pp)

MRS MOREAUS WARBLER

by Stephen Moss (Faber 9.99, 368 pp)

How did the cuckoo get its name? The answer is in the familiar call that heralds spring. But what of the sparrow, raven and wren, or the resoundingly named bird of the title, Mrs Moreaus Warbler?

Stephen Mosss delightful book explores the origins of bird names, each of which has its own tale to tell about our language, history and culture.

Some of our most familiar birds bear ancient folk names  the chiffchaff and woodpecker  while later names describe habitats, or commemorate people.

The story behind Mrs Moreaus warbler is a romantic one. Reg Moreau met his wife, Winifred, on a fine spring day in Egypt, where both were working.

They fell in love, married and spent a lifetime studying African birds, including the endangered songbird which, in a touching act of devotion, Reg named after Winifred.

WHAT WE HAVE LOST by James Hamilton- Paterson (HoZ 9.99, 368 pp)

WHAT WE HAVE LOST

by James Hamilton- Paterson (HoZ 9.99, 368 pp)

The British Disease is an ailment not to be found in any medical lexicon, writes James Hamilton-Paterson. Its symptoms...include strikes, stoppages, go-slows, exorbitant pay demands, equally absurd pay settle-ments, dysfunctional supply chains, loss of market share...

These, along with a smug, stubborn conservatism are, he argues, responsible for the decline over the past 70-odd years of the manufacturing industries that once made Britain a global industrial power.

Chapters on cars, ships and motorbikes tell a melancholy story, though Hamilton-Paterson, also a distinguished novelist, cant resist glints of dark humour.

WASHINGTON BLACK

WASHINGTON BLACK by Esi Edugyan (Serpents Tail 8.99, 432 pp)

by Esi Edugyan (Serpents Tail 8.99, 432 pp)

Praised by Barack Obama, and shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, this novel comes garlanded with praise.

Named after its protagonist, it follows the remarkable life of Washington Black. Born a slave on a Barbadian plantation, when he was only five fellow slave Big Kit predicted that he would have a life of many rivers  and so it proves.

Titch Wilde, the brother of the plantations cruel owner, takes on Washington as his assistant. Together they launch his invention: a hot air balloon.

He and Washington escape from Barbados, flying towards a world where  as Washington discovers in this rich and intricately plotted fiction  freedom means one belongs nowhere, and to no one.
IDENTITY CRISIS By Ben Elton (Bantam 20)

IDENTITY CRISIS

By Ben Elton (Bantam 20, 384 pp)

DCI Matlock wants to relocate  back to the 20th century, when life was so much simpler.

Alas, DCI Matlock is trapped in the present, out of his depth in an age of outrage, with a knack for causing offence rather than catching offenders.

And now he has been given two awfully tricky cases  the murder of a non-binary person and a cold case involving a celebritys past sex crimes.

The latest celeb to be accused? Er, Samuel Pepys.

Meanwhile, there could be a serial killer on the loose, Love Island has gone toxic and theres an upcoming English referendum, with the threat of the interestingly initialled Bunter Jolly becoming PM.

Ben Eltons 16th novel proves yet again what a genuinely talented comic novelist he is  its expertly crafted, very clever and really funny.

ONLY AMERICANS BURN IN HELL By Jarett Kobek (Serpents Tail 12.99, 304 pp)

ONLY AMERICANS BURN IN HELL

By Jarett Kobek (Serpents Tail 12.99, 304 pp)

There is a bit of storytelling in this novel  one deliberately silly plot about the Fairy Queen and her companion, a supernatural assassin called Rose Byrne; another set in New York, where a Saudi prince is on an expensive quest for degradation.

But the main business of this novel is the authorial narrator taking the chance to tell us some home truths about, for example, the U.S. military-industrial complex and the global elite.

He also spills details about the Nazi links of his previous publishers, and about this book itself, with its shameless thefts from Kurt Vonnegut.

And, lastly, he is honest about us the readers, the schmucks who are reading this turgid work.

Fair enough, it is turgid at times, but, thanks to the (yes, Vonnegut-influenced) style, this feat of relentless hypercynicism is also a real tour de force.

#ZERO

By Neil McCormick

(Unbound 8.99, 432 pp)

#ZERO By Neil McCormick (Unbound 8.99, 432 pp)

Youd have thought Zero would have little to complain about  hes young, beautiful, talented and a sudden global superstar, dubbed the Irish Elvis.

But Zeros a coked-up mess.

Still stricken by the death of his mother, and with a relationship on the rocks, Zero cracks.

He runs out of an awards show in New York, finds himself in Times Square beneath a billboard of himself, orders his driver to hand over the car keys and zooms off.

But its not so easy to go on the run when half the country is looking for you and yours is the most recognisable face in the world.

A lively satire of todays music industry from a rock critic with an insiders knowledge of its daftest excesses.
THE STRAWBERRY THIEF By Joanne Harris (Orion 20, 368 pp)

THE STRAWBERRY THIEF

By Joanne Harris (Orion 20, 368 pp)

Fans of Chocolat  and who isnt?  will be thrilled at this return to Lansquenet, the rural French village setting for Harriss most famous novel.

Juliette Binoche  sorry, Vianne Rocher  is still there with her tempting chocs, as is the mysterious Roux (aka Johnny Depp), down by the river on his houseboat.

Their teenage daughter Rosette is the focus of this story; she has been left land by an old man who has died.

His nasty relatives are not pleased about this and a battle of wills commences, in which a Pagnolesque tale of a long-ago murder is revealed.

And theres more trouble in the lissom shape of Morgane (the clues in the name) who arrives in the village to open a tattoo parlour.

Shes Viannes equal when it comes to witchy wiles, and before long half the village is being inked. Can our crafty chocolatier see her off?

This brilliant, vivid, atmospheric novel is written in sequence by the main characters: Vianne, the troubled local priest and, most fascinatingly, Rosette, the child who rarely speaks.

She prefers to communicate through animal noises, imaginary friends and by bending the wind to her will.

Packed with magic and mystery, this beautifully written tale is as irresistible as Viannes famous pralines.

THE LOST SON By Prue Leith (Quercus 16.99, 368 pp)

THE LOST SON

By Prue Leith (Quercus 16.99, 368 pp)

This latest book in the series about the restaurant-owning Angelotti family has a surprise for matriarch Laura.

The son she gave up for adoption half a century ago turns up on her doorstep.

Toms a rich, successful City trader now, with a hard-bitten, glossy girlfriend.

But once he meets the charismatic cooking Italians, both his girlfriend and the City get the heave-ho and Tom starts a new career as consigliere and financier to his new-found family.

His arrival comes at a good time for Anna, Lauras rebellious granddaughter, who is getting into trouble with drink and drugs  Tom helps her get back on the straight and narrow.

But not even Tom can do much about the 2008 financial crash which wreaks havoc on the family businesses and puts them at the mercy of evil cousin Jane.

Amiable, absorbing and satisfying, with some sensitive things to say about adoption and addiction.
Reporting on global crises, grilling world leaders, doorstepping politicians For Newsnights new lead presenter Emily Maitlis, theyre all part of the job. She reveals to Elizabeth Day her stressbusting secrets, the art of the three-minute pack and the best question she ever asked

Emily wears dress, Joseph. Earrings, Jennifer Behr, from Fenwick

Five minutes into my interview with Emily Maitlis, high-profile broadcast journalist, Newsnight anchor, Cambridge graduate, fluent speaker of Spanish, Italian and French (with a workable grasp of Mandarin) and the Royal Television Societys Network Presenter of the Year, we are talking about llamas.

More specifically, we are talking about a llama safari walk in Peterborough she had booked to celebrate her birthday in September 2015 and the moment her editor asked her to cover the migrant crisis in Europe. She couldnt possibly go, Emily said, because the tickets to the llama farm were already booked for her husband and two young sons.

It was a brain-freeze moment for me, she says now. I dont think I realised that this [migrant crisis] was going to rewrite European history. It was going to be one of the most formative journeys I think Id ever made. And yet here I was, going, No, Ive picked the llama farm.

She recounts the episode in her new book, Airhead: The Imperfect Art of Making News, so called because of the unfair and retrograde assumption that a television broadcaster who is blonde and easy on the eye must be in want of a brain. (It was a chance, Emily says, to reclaim the idea that we have of empty-headedness.)

In the end, she flew to Budapest, delivered a piece to camera about the million refugees marching through Europe in search of a better life, while a line of riot police was forming behind her. After the broadcast, Emily got to bed at one in the morning, woke up two hours later and made her return flight at 5am, landing just in time to get to Peterborough for the llamas.

It is, I will come to realise, a typical Emily Maitlis anecdote. She might take the news seriously, but she never falls into the trap of applying that seriousness to herself.

I thought, youre going to hate me at the end of this interview. Thats me doing my job

I have come to recognise it as part of the job, she writes in her book. A protective layer that lets you carry on thinking about family plans for a Saturday afternoon when the whole world around you is falling apart. Airhead is, like its author, funny, wise, self-deprecating and insightful. Emily writes with just the right amount of gossipy acumen about her encounters with everyone from Donald Trump (makes things true by saying them) to Simon Cowell (excellent at making other people feel important) and Theresa May (shattered, sleepless and distraught after the Grenfell fire), and she reveals that no television broadcast is ever as slick in the preparation as it ultimately appears on screen. What I tried to frame in the book is that sometimes it doesnt go according to plan, she explains.

Emily says that the one question she regrets not having asked was when she interviewed Bill Clinton in 2014 and failed to press him on his affair with Monica Lewinsky. The Newsnight crew had accompanied the former president on a charity initiative to India and had ended up on a goat farm in Lucknow in 43 degree July heat. Before filming, Clintons people had warned Emily that the president had just had a funny turn and that if anything happens on camera, were going to pull the tape.

I was trying to read between the lines, thinking, What are you saying? she says now. There were all these sort of things stacked against us that we had to weigh up: the fact that he wasnt well, that we had travelled all this way to get [the interview]  and if they pulled the tape I would come away with nothing.

It is a hectic job that requires a fair amount of domestic juggling. Newsnight airs every weekday evening from 10.30 to 11.15 and last month Emily, 48, was named as the new lead presenter of an all-female team. That means a lot of late nights with two children  Milo, 14, and Max, 12  still at home.

Her husband Mark Gwynne, an investment manager, is very hands-on. Hes the best thing in my life. In the books dedication, Emily says that asking Mark to marry her  as she did on a beach in Mauritius 19 years ago  was the best question I ever asked.

Wed flown on millennium eve [and] it seemed the right place to ask. Id packed a little white beach dress and I was like, This will be great! Well just get married on Friday! And Mark was like, No, my mum has to be there. Which is very sweet but, actually, when we got back she was the first one to say, Oh, for goodnesss sake, you should have eloped.

She describes their relationship as a marriage of equals and it is clear she respects and loves him a great deal. But he is not someone who relishes the limelight. He was like, Dont put me in the dedication, its so cringey!

Emilys parents  Peter, a professor of inorganic chemistry, and Marion, a psychotherapist  live at the end of her road in West London. One of her two elder sisters is nearby, which means theres always back-up when she has to drop everything for work. Im really lucky in that I have help at home, she says. But sometimes youre on your own late at night in a hotel room knowing that your kid is not very well and you feel shit.

She remembers one particular occasion when she was covering the American midterm 2010 elections and four-year-old Max was admitted to hospital with gastroenteritis. Its a classic misery, she says. But its no different for me than for every other working woman when youve got a sick kid at home.

With such a high-pressure job, Emily tries, where possible, to eliminate unnecessary stress. She goes for an hour-long morning jog with her female friends when she can: We run and we put the world to rights. She has a lean, runners physique and says she will always pack a pair of trainers in her grab bag, which contains the items needed for a last-minute work trip abroad.

What else is in there, I ask? Emily becomes animated: A nicked airline blanket  sorry, airlines!  because Im always cold and an airline blanket covers a multitude of sins. Youve got an extra layer in a hotel, its your scarf if youre sitting at a bus station at night She goes on to recite an impressive list of essentials: Sleepy teabags [a blend of camomile and lavender that helps you drift off]. Hay-fever pills. My husband bought me the most amazing thing a few years ago  a device to smash a car window and get somebody out if theres a crash

Jacket and trousers, Mint Velvet. Top, Theory, from Fenwick. Earrings, Alighieri, from Fenwick. Sandals, Jimmy Choo

How romantic, I say.

I know! she replies. My adaptors are a thing of beauty: every single world plug  you know, all that stuff. Dozens of Nurofen; bars of Cote dOr dark chocolate, in case of any missed meal. Dental floss with a needle strung in the middle so you can sew things up. If you have a suitcase break, then dental floss is the strongest nylon youll ever come across She stops. This is too much detail, isnt it?

No, I say, utterly fascinated.

She packs the same three Tara Jarmon dresses [the sort of fitted, professional style you can imagine Emily looking great in]. I take a black one because I end up covering a lot of vigils and terrorism and thats grim; a white one because if youre broadcasting in the dark then white provides an extra light to your face, and a bright red one so that if youre trying to doorstep a politician, they cant miss you It makes packing easy. It takes me about three minutes.

Emily has always been a proficient traveller. Her father was the son of refugees from the Nazis, born in Berlin two weeks after Hitler came to power in 1933. When he was three, Emilys grandfather got a teaching job at a university and was called in by the police who told him he was being denied the position because he was Jewish. And they got out, she says. So three-year-old Peter arrived [in London] with his parents. It was a refugee story, as so many of them are. Emily always wears a bracelet of interlinked chains around her left wrist made from a gold bangle her grandmother smuggled out of Nazi Germany. Emilys father melted it down and gave a piece of jewellery to each of his daughters.

Emily was born in Canada, where her father had gone for work, and raised Jewish (her husband is Catholic and her children are non-practising). She is appalled by the domestic resurgence of anti-Semitism. In 2018, anti-Semitic hate incidents in the UK reached a record high, and the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is engulfed in a row over his failure to deal with the issue in his own party.

It feels extraordinary that in 2019 we still have to be talking about it, Emily says, choosing her words carefully. When I was growing up, I heard the history, but you just assume its a very distant place. And, actually, just to hear some of the things that are coming out now, I find staggering  unbelievable, really.

Emily with Mark Gwynne, her husband of 19 years

After Canada, her father got a professorship at the university in Sheffield, where Emily was raised. What was she like as a child? I was very hyperactive. I did gymnastics  all those sort of things. Her first Saturday job was at Ross & Foster hairdressers in Sheffield where she was paid 6 a day. The salon offered her a full-time position but her parents told her she had to stay at school and she went on to read English at Cambridge. After graduating, Emily went to Hong Kong on a whim and fell into a job in broadcasting, reading radio news bulletins for NBC. She stayed there for six years, before returning to the UK and joining Sky News as a business correspondent and then making the leap to the BBC in 2001.

In the early days of her TV career, she was derided as an autocutie, as though the only reason she got hired for jobs was because of her looks. I remember first starting at Sky and the make-up ladies would take you to the side and say, Make sure you do your nails because youll be holding up the papers while the men talk to the commentator. And a man told me, We like women to look like women here.

Emily says that getting the Newsnight gig in 2006 dispelled any remaining snide sexism because, its a sink-or-swim arena. You are shown up very, very quickly. Now, Im fully over imposter syndrome [when an individual doubts their achievements and considers themselves a fraud]. I think it comes with actually being able to say to yourself, Im good at my job.

But the gender pay gap still exists and the BBC has come in for particular criticism over paying its female employees considerably less than its male stars. We all knew about it [before it became public], Emily says. But the BBC culture at the time was to think if women are unhappy, they can walk. I dont think they ever said that to men. There was a sense that women would step into line. There was a sense, in other words, that women could like it or lump it, whereas the men were made to feel more valued.

She says things have got better, and that it feels like a cultural change now. She cites a recent example of a pay negotiation she did with three women and there were no long lunches, there was no fudging  we were really straight. I went in and I said, I want this.

Im pleasantly surprised by Emily. I had thought she might be wary of expressing an opinion, hidebound by BBC political impartiality, but she treats every question thoughtfully. Does she ever get scared of asking a question that she knows is going to annoy her interviewee? Always, she replies. I had that quite recently with somebody where I just thought, Youre going to hate me at the end of this interview, and then I thought, Yeah, I dont have to be liked by everyone Thats me doing my job.

In the book, Emily reveals that her tactic for these awkward questions is always to leave them until last. It is mine, too, so I think she is expecting it when, towards the end of our hour together, I ask about the one thing she is understandably wary of discussing  her stalker. Last January, her university contemporary Edward Vines was jailed for 45 months for breaching a restraining order, having first been convicted of harassing Emily in 2002 and then being issued with an indefinite restraining order in 2009.

Jacket, Joseph. Earrings, Alighieri, from Fenwick

In Airhead, Emily writes that Vines had befriended her in freshers week but they had stopped being close in the second term and I was resented made to feel I hadnt explained why or what happened. She began to be plagued by letters, phone calls, visits and this manipulative behaviour lasted for the best part of three decades despite police intervention, a restraining order, prison sentences, warnings, mental health medication. Her stalker was once even able to write Emily a letter from prison.

I think it affected a lot of things including my relationship with my university, Emily says, her eyes tired. I didnt keep in touch with anyone because it was all just related to the same thing. We had a panic button installed [at home] as sadly a lot of women [who are victims of stalking] probably do. I found it quite embarrassing I wanted to be this really strong, no-nonsense woman, you know, and it felt like a superstition almost. It felt like something I couldnt shrug off. And I didnt want to be the victim; I didnt want to be like, Oh, poor Emily. I hated all that. I just wanted to be able to go about my job without thinking about it.

Vines is now back behind bars. All Emily can do is to carry on living her life: going for runs, holding politicians to account, flying abroad at a moments notice, booking llama safaris for her birthday and refusing to let her children down. Thats who Emily Maitlis is: so much more than an autocutie and certainly not an airhead.
Simple touch: Morses Club agents use tablets to make form-filling easier

Doorstep lenders are a controversial bunch, often criticised for charging too much and harassing late-payers.

Their reputation has been further tarnished by high-profile revelations about payday lenders, offering fast bucks online but forcing borrowers to pay extortionate amounts of interest in return.

The payday market is much more highly regulated these days, but its continued existence highlights a real need.

About one in five adults in this country  10 million people  cannot borrow from mainstream banks or building societies. And of those 10 million, more than 1.5 million cannot access any form of online credit  so they have little choice but to turn to doorstep lenders if they are short of cash.

Unscrupulous loan sharks abound to take advantage of these excluded members of society, but Morses Club aims to be different, and certainly its own story is a positive one.

The shares have done well since Morses was floated on London's junior Aim market in 2016 and, at 173p, there is plenty more mileage in the stock  and a decent dividend stream to boot.

Morses is run by Paul Smith, a competent, clever and driven 52-year-old, who took the helm in 2015, with a mission to modernise the business and expand into new areas.

At the time, Morses Club was entirely focused on the home credit market, using self-employed agents to lend and collect cash from customers, primarily women in their late-40s whose annual income rarely exceeded 15,000.

The company still generates most of its turnover from these customers  numbering about 180,000 up and down the country  but, as Smith promised, Morses Club is evolving.

Agents have moved from paper-based files to tablets, such as iPads, which makes form-filling faster and more reliable for both lender and borrower.

Morses has also launched a Visa debit card for customers, many of whom have never had access to this type of card.

Their loans are loaded on to the card and it can be used wherever Visa debit cards are accepted. To date, only 20 per cent of customers have taken up this offer, but growth is accelerating, as awareness and acceptance increase.

Club: Morses is run by Paul Smith, a 52-year-old, who has a mission to modernise the business

At the same time, Morses has moved into the online lending market. The group spent a couple of years researching the sector, building up the right technology and creating a brand, Dot Dot Loans.

Then in February, Smith pounced, acquiring most of Leeds-based Curo Transatlantic, after it fell into administration.

The deal has given Morses access to 50,000 online customers, as well as trained employees and useful infrastructure.

Importantly too, Smith has been able to pick and choose which parts of the Curo business he wants, so the payday lending will be dropped, along with the WageDayAdvance brand.

Over time, Smith is keen to build up Morses' online business, and time is on his side. Many payday lenders are struggling, facing fines and compensation charges for poor behaviour in the past. Smith can pick up these firms on the cheap and cherry-pick their customers.

The ambitious chief executive does not intend to stop there. Later this year, Morses Club will launch a specialised online bank, offering credit facilities, such as overdrafts, to people who either cannot borrow from mainstream banks or continuously fall foul of expensive, unauthorised overdraft fees.

The potential for this service is considerable, including among customers who have graduated from doorstep lending but still trust the Morses brand, as well as young, technically-savvy consumers, such as students.

The mooted takeover of home loan specialist Provident Financial by rival Non-Standard Finance could provide further opportunities.

Both firms would almost certainly need to sell off certain subsidiaries if the deeply acrimonious deal goes through.

Smith hopes to double his customer numbers over the next few years, to about 250,000 home credit borrowers and the same again using the new online services.

Growth will not come at the expense of profitability, however. Morses has a robust track record and is determined to maintain it.

Results for the year to February 23, 2019 are due next month and brokers predict a 15 per cent rise in profit to 22million, with an 11 per cent hike in the dividend to 7.8p, putting the shares on a healthy 4.5 per cent yield.

A profit of 23.5million is forecast for this year, with a dividend of 8.3p, and further growth is expected after that.

Midas verdict: Morses Club is a strong, well-run business with big ambitions and the means to achieve them. In time too, Smith is keen to move from Aim to the main market, which would allow more large institutions to invest in the business. At 173p, the shares should prove rewarding.

Traded on: Aim Ticker: MCL Contact: morsesclubplc.com or 0330 045 0719
The disgraced former boss of Uber stands to make as much as 6.6billion from the taxi app firms blockbuster float.

Travis Kalanick owns 8.6 per cent of the shares and will be one of the biggest winners in its 76.5billion listing on New Yorks stock exchange.

Also in the money is fellow founder Garrett Camp, who could make 4.6billion, and investors such as Softbank and Google, which have large holdings.

In the money: Travis Kalanick with ex-girlfriend Gabi Holzwarth

The proposed float comes just weeks after smaller rival Lyft listed in New York with a value of 15.7billion. Its shares have tumbled 18 per cent leaving it valued at 12.9billion.

Uber has warned the legacy of scandals from Kalanicks time as boss could still damage its global ambitions amid fears it may never make a profit.

During his time as chief executive, the 42-year-old was accused of presiding over an aggressive tech bro culture behind sexual harassment claims against managers, a trade secrets dispute with Google and staff snooping on customers.

In its prospectus to investors, Uber warned a failure to rehabilitate our brand would cause the business to suffer. It also revealed it had made a 2.3billion loss last year and admitted it may never become profitable.

Laith Khalaf, a senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, warned Uber was a risky investment.

He said: You cant knock what Ubers achieved in such a short space of time, but it still looks like a risky ride for investors.

Companies which are yet to break even always sit towards the speculative end of the investment spectrum, and for Uber the risk is amplified by the regulatory backlash its facing.

If Ubers float on New Yorks stock exchange goes well, Kalanick will become one of the worlds 200 richest people overnight.

The bonanza would mark the latest twist in his rise, which has seen him build Uber into a global behemoth before he was acrimoniously ousted in 2017.

Kalanick was previously seen as a hero of Silicon Valley after founding the business in 2009, with the entrepreneur praised for modernising the taxi industry for the age of the smartphone.

Prospects: If Ubers float on New Yorks stock exchange goes well, Kalanick will become one of the worlds 200 richest people overnight

But Uber and Kalanick were soon buffeted by a string of controversies which critics say sprung from the companys culture.

It was criticised for its treatment of female staff after a string of harassment claims, with Uber staff also accused of using tracking features on the firms app to snoop on famous people and ex-partners. It became embroiled in battles with regulators around the world over its fast expansion, with Transport for London at one point threatening to ban it from operating in the city.

At the same time, it faced a court battle with Google-owned Waymo over its alleged theft of driverless car technology and tribunal hearings with drivers who disputed its treatment of them as freelancers and not full staff.

Under mounting criticism and pressure from investors, Kalanick resigned in June 2017.

He was replaced by former Expedia boss Dara Khosrowshahi who has led a campaign to clean up Ubers image. However, he has remained a board member and advisor. Uber said repairing its reputation was critical to our business prospects.
WPPs post-Sorrell clear-out kicks off in earnest this week. The advertising giant has brought in bankers from Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for Kantar, its market research firm.

The sale is a key plank of chief executive Mark Reads turnaround plan to simplify the business that he inherited last year from founder Sir Martin Sorrell.

First-round bids for Kantar are due in the coming days, with WPP hoping to complete a deal by the end of June.

WPPs post-Sorrell clear-out kicks off in earnest this week. The advertising giant has brought in bankers from Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for Kantar, its market research firm

Analysts at Deutsche Bank said in a research note they expect the deal to value Kantar at 3.1billion and they assume WPP will retain a 33 per cent stake in the business.

Market sources say a sale to a large private equity firm is the most likely outcome.

However, a report in the Financial Times on Friday suggested a host of big names have already pulled their interest amid concerns over the price and sustainability of the business.

Blackstone, Carlyle and Advent International were all ruled out of the race. Other names in the frame include CVC, Permira, Apollo, Carlyle, Apax and Bain.

***

Ocean Outdoor, the digital billboard firm behind the Piccadilly Circus lights, has struck a sponsorship deal with DS Automobiles. It means that Ocean, valued on the London Stock Exchange at 320million, will show live highlights of Formula E races on 14 UK screens to promote electric car races.

It is the first sponsorship deal of its kind for Ocean, which is expanding the business beyond traditional advertising on its digital billboards, and has seen its share price boosted by strong results.

The deal with DS, which makes electric racing cars, could help to drive the shares further forward.

***

Yet another share price collapse from Israeli spreadbetting firm Plus500 on Friday. This time, it blamed low volatility for a plunge in revenues in the first quarter.

It also revealed that chief executive Asaf Elimelech and chief financial officer Elad Even-Chen both pocketed 4.6million last year in salary and bonuses, more than double the year before.

News of the hefty pay hike comes after a 70 per cent share price fall since February after a shock profit warning.

A good thing the founders managed to offload 250million in shares last year.

***

It was the biggest ever debut for a hedge fund when ExodusPoint Capital Management was launched last year with an $8billion (6billion) war chest.

The New York-based firm, set up by former colleagues at hedge fund Millennium, opened its first short position in Europe last month with a bet against French electrical equipment maker Rexel.

Now, it has set its sights on a UK target: Royal Mail. ExodusPoint has taken out a 0.5 per cent short worth 13million in the postal service, say observers at data firm Breakout Point. Royal Mail shares have halved in a year. Will more pain mean a cheque in the post for ExodusPoint?
Unions are calling on Ford to 'come clean' over the future of its British operations

Unions are calling on Ford to 'come clean' over the future of its British operations amid fears that factories could be closed.

In a statement to workers across Ford's five British plants, Unite and GMB warned this weekend that they were 'ballot ready' and prepared to fight factory closures and compulsory redundancies.

The threat comes after The Mail on Sunday revealed last week that the car maker is set to shed up to 650 salaried staff this month through a voluntary redundancy scheme that has been offered to thousands of workers.

It currently has a British workforce of about 12,000.

The Michigan-headquartered motoring giant is under pressure to cut costs in Europe, where it lost $398million (305million) last year, compared with a $367million profit in 2017.

It has already announced plans to cut 5,000 jobs in Germany.

A Ford spokesman said: 'We are making the tough choices to invest in the vehicles, services, segments and markets that best support a long-term sustainably profitable Ford business in Europe, creating value for all of our stakeholders  including our employees.'
Travellers using a prepaid Mastercard will now be protected from a money-sapping trick

Travellers using a prepaid Mastercard will now be protected from a trick that strips hundreds of millions of pounds a year from Britons' holiday budgets.

Tourists are routinely offered a chance to pay in their 'home' currency at restaurants, shops or hotels abroad in a process called 'dynamic currency conversion'.

The same choice is offered if you withdraw money from a cashpoint.

But such conversion rates are expensive, as The Mail on Sunday warned last week when it exposed key travel money traps.

Customers with prepaid cards who say yes to paying in sterling are hardest hit, being double-charged for currency exchange  first when they load them with holiday money, then when they pay in pounds rather than the local currency.

Mastercard has banned this practice by amending its contracts with global banks.

Alana Parsons, of prepaid card provider CaxtonFX, says this 'offers greater protection' adding: 'Hidden conversion charges can add 7 per cent to a bill.

So pay in local currency, no matter what the method.'
Train users can beat rising fares by buying separate tickets for a single journey, often cutting the cost of travel by a third. Experts estimate that the average saving is 20 per cent.

This little known trick is called 'split-ticketing'. There is no need to pass through ticket barriers mid-journey. All that is required is that the train stops at the station from where one ticket journey ends and the next begins.

In the past the only obvious way to find all the ticket options available to you was to download an app.

Train users can beat rising fares by buying separate tickets for a single journey, often cutting the cost of travel by a third. Experts estimate that the average saving is 20 per cent

But now there are a number of fare splitting websites that will work out any saving from buying several tickets, such as Split Your Ticket, TrainSplit or SplitMyFare.

Alternatively, you might try to do the exercise yourself  looking at how much it would cost if you broke the journey up between stations you travel through.

For a recent trip from Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, to Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, a poker-faced Greater Anglia ticket seller charged me 216.70 for a same day off-peak anytime return.

If I had taken time out to explore split-ticketing, I would have discovered that I could have reduced the cost to 149.80 by buying four separate tickets  a saving of 66.90 or 31 per cent.

The tickets would have been Bishop's Stortford to Tottenham Hale return, 22.60; Tube Tottenham Hale to King's Cross return, 6.10; King's Cross to Leeds return, 113.50; Leeds to Hebden Bridge return, 7.60.

The savings really can be spectacular. For example, a single midweek fare from Cheltenham to Edinburgh can cost 164.60.

But if you buy three tickets for the same trip  Cheltenham to Birmingham, Birmingham to Preston, Preston to Edinburgh  the total will be 108.75, even if the tickets are bought on the day of travel.

So by split-ticketing you make a 34 per cent saving. Darren Shirley, chief executive of the action group Campaign for Better Transport, says: 'It is not right that rail passengers need special knowledge to work out the best way to buy the most affordable ticket. There is no reason why the ticket office at a station cannot offer you the best fare.'

The Rail Delivery Group, which represents train companies, says that trials of a 'best fare guarantee' scheme will begin this autumn. These should put an end for the need to split-ticket.

It says: 'Eight out of ten people want the fares system changed  resulting in a fairer, more transparent and easier-to-use experience. One where customers always pay the lowest fare.'

Greater Anglia says: 'Passengers tell us they would like simplified ticketing and fares. We are working with the Rail Delivery Group to help improve the current system.'

If you are looking to save money on train travel, split-ticketing is not the only option. Planning a trip in advance can generate even bigger savings.

Rail companies sell a limited number of 'advance' tickets up to 12 weeks before a planned journey. These can cost as little as a tenth of the price of an 'anytime' ticket purchased on the day of travel.
A newly released video shows the horrifying moment a woman asks an undercover special agent posing as a hitman to murder her ex-husband.

In the clip, which will feature on Oxygen's Murder for Hire this Sunday, counselor Cynthia Guy is seen calmly requesting that the man kill her ex and make it look like suicide.

'If you pay me the money he ain't f***ing living', the agent tells Guy in the raw footage from an undercover sting operation.

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Guy is captured as she climbs into a car and discusses the killing, asking if the 'hitman' can make it appear that her ex-husband has taken a drug overdose.

The undercover agent informs Guy that an apparent suicide could appear suspicious to the police. She responds: 'I guess I don't want to know. Because if they come to me, the less I know the better. I don't want to know. I just want it done.'

The footage, which was taken on a hidden camera in the car, was used as evidence to charge Guy with solicitation of first-degree murder.

Murder for Hire, which airs Sunday at 7/6c on Oxygen, delves into the terrifying world of contract killing, featuring real-life stories of men and women who pay to have others murdered.
Every day for the past 30 years, Samantha Mischewski has struggled with permanent injuries inflicted when her father threw her against a wall as a baby.

Adding to her pain is knowing that man, John Raymond Holschier, is now walking free after a judge ruled he no longer needed supervision despite a shocking rap sheet.

Holschier killed his wife Betina Givorshner, 22, inside their family home on Sydney's north shore in September 1989, before throwing their 13-month-old daughter against a wall.

Samantha, 30, has never spoken about the horrific crime until now, and says she is appalled at a NSW Supreme Court decision last week to allow Holschier, 51, to live without supervision.

'We're just waiting for him to die. We're just waiting for him to not be here,' Samantha told Daily Mail Australia.

John Raymond Holschier (pictured), 51, is a free man walking the streets of Sydney almost 30 years after he bashed his wife to death with a brick and threw his 13-month-old daughter into a wall - leaving her with permanent brain issues and disabilities

Samantha Mischewski (pictured) was thrown against a wall when she was a 13-month-old baby by Holschier, her father. Speaking for the first time this week she told Daily Mail Australia she is counting down the days until he dies

'Obviously we wish he could've died in jail, but we kind of always knew that eventually it was going to come down to him having his parole restrictions taken off.

'It's not ideal, but you know what, it could be a blessing in disguise. He hasn't had freedom in 30 years so I feel like it might only be a matter of time before he stuffs up and goes back (to prison) again.'

We wish he could've died in jail Samantha Mischewster, daughter

However, despite a judge admitting Holschier potentially still poses a 'severe' risk to the community, the NSW Supreme Court last week rejected an application to keep him under watch.

This means Holschier is free to live in a taxpayer-funded housing commission home in a quiet Sydney street, next door to young families - just like the one he destroyed.

When asked if he was now a changed man, Holschier told Daily Mail Australia: 'Yeah, of course I am.'

Samantha still suffers the effects of her father's cruelty every day, even 30 years after the horrific crime.

'I had a damaged frontal lobe in my brain, so I don't have any peripheral vision and my balance is really poor,' she said.

'It's probably affected me more as I've gotten older, I mean I can't drive at night because my vision is so bad that it is dangerous.

Holschier was first released from prison in 2008, but ended up back behind bars after breaching his parole conditions on a number of occasions. Earlier this month the NSW Supreme Court ruled he no longer needed to be supervised

On September 25, 1989, Holschier murdered his wife Betina Givorshner (left, holding her daughter Samantha) before turning on his little girl and throwing her against a wall. Holschier spent almost 20 years in prison for his cruel crime, but is now a free man

'After he bashed my mother he threw me against a wall and called my grandfather to claim that someone had broken into the house... he tried to make out he hadn't done it,' she said.

'He then went and washed the blood off me, and it wasn't until police arrived that the officer who was holding me said: "Something is not right with this baby".'

He's just my sperm donor... we don't even call him by his first name Samantha Mischewster, daughter

But it wasn't only physically that she suffered.

Growing up without parents meant her and her sister lived with their grandparents until they were sent to boarding school as teenagers.

Samantha, whose son will turn two on Friday, says she has never regarded Holschier as her father - he is just the man who left her an orphan.

'He's just my sperm donor... we don't even call him by his first name,' she said.

'I went through a bit of a stage when I was about 21 where I wanted to know where I came from, I wanted to meet the man who killed my mother.

'My family knew I was doing it but they were totally against it. They said: "We know the man that did this, he really hurt our family"... so they didn't understand.

HOLSCHIER'S CRUEL ATTACK ON HIS WIFE AND BABY DAUGHTER: - On the evening of September 25, 1989, John Raymond Holschier arrived at his family's home in Daisy Street, Chatswood, on Sydney's north shore - Holschier and Betina Givorshner had been in a 'stormy' relationship and they became involved in a argument, court facts state - During the argument Holschier used a brick to repeatedly hit Ms Givorshner over the head, killing her - He also struck his 13-month-old daughter Samantha with the brick, before he threw her hard against a wall - Ms Givorshner was rushed to Royal North Shore Hospital where she later died - Samantha was taken to Campbelltown Children's Hospital and survived, but did suffer lasting brain injuries from the attack - Holschier was charged with murder and intentionally cause grievous bodily harm. He received a life sentence for Ms Givorshner's death and 15 years for the attack on Samantha - He was released on parole in 2008, after almost 20 years in jail Advertisement

When approached at his housing commission home and asked if he was a changed man, Holschier said: 'Yeah, of course I am'

The 51-year-old is now living in a quiet western Sydney neighbourhood and was seen on Wednesday walking to catch the bus. Long-time residents of the street were shocked to discover a killer was amongst them, with one man saying: 'I don't want him in the street, end of story'

When Samantha was 21 she went to Junee prison to meet her father. She said she quickly realised Holschier (pictured) was 'a bad man'

'So I went with a friend down to Junee jail and met him. I had this idea in my head that I wanted a relationship with him, but he is just a bad man so that didn't really go anywhere thankfully.'

Holschier was released from prison not long after that visit, but ended up back behind bars for breaching his strict parole conditions.

HOLSCHIER'S TROUBLED TIME ON PAROLE: Since being granted parole in 2008, John Holschier has ended up back behind bars on numerous occasions: 2009: Holschier breaches his parole by visiting the home of his ex-wife and two children May 2010: He threatens to 'slit the throat' of his mother and 'burn her house down' November 2010: Threatens his ex-wife and family. They have AVOs taken out against him. March 2011: Holschier is charged with breaching AVO and is placed on a bond. July 2011: While at a half-way house in Cooma he acts in 'antagonistic' fashion towards the other ex-inmates. November 2011: Admits to using amphetamines and is sent back to jail. January 2016: After staying out of trouble for a couple of years, Holschier assaults his ex-wife by throwing a TV remote at her. July 2016: Holschier spends three months in prison but not long after getting out breaches an AVO by calling his ex-wife. November 2016: As part of his ESO, Holschier is forced to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet which he lets run out of battery - a breach of the order. April 2018: Refuses to undergo a drug test which ends up giving a 'faint' positive for methylamphetamine use. It is later revealed the positive may have been because of cold and flu medication Holschier had been using. Advertisement

Between his first release in 2008 and his most recent in 2016, Holschier returned to prison seven times.

Court documents revealed the killer was first sent back for contacting two of his other children, who he claimed to have fathered while in custody, despite being banned from seeing them.

He was released again in 2010 but just a few months later was back behind bars after threatening to slit his mother's throat and 'burn her house down'.

A spate of other minor offences over the years that followed kept Holschier locked up, until he was released under three-year Extended Supervision Order (ESO) in 2016.

But even then, Holschier continued to cause trouble.

In January 2016 he assaulted his ex-wife by throwing a TV remote at her head and was sent back to jail, before later that year he called and texted the same woman - contravening an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO).

As part of his ESO conditions Holschier was ordered to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet, but breached this section of the order by allowing the bracelet to go flat.

When the initial supervision period ended this January, the State was forced to apply for another order and did so for a period of 12 months.

But Justice Campbell told the court: 'I am not satisfied... there is a real or substantial chance of Mr Holschier committing a further serious violence offence if he is not kept under supervision'.

Long-time residents of the quiet Sydney street where Holschier is now living were shocked to this week discover a killer was amongst their midst.

One man, who has lived on the street for more than 20 years, said he would be doing anything in his power to get him removed.

'I don't want him in the street, end of story,' the neighbour, who did not want to be named, said.

'We had an ex-convict living in there before, but I can't believe we've now got someone who is even worse.

Since he was first released on parole in 2008, Holschier has ended up back behind bars on no less than seven occasions. One of his breaches involved having contact with his second wife and two of their children (Holschier is pictured with them)

Samantha said that while Holschier took so much away from her, his cruel crime made her determined to provide a better life for her children. She says she feels 'really happy' about the home and family she has for her

'My next door neighbours are having a baby so it has alarmed them even more, especially when there are going to be days where the mum is home alone with her baby.'

In a statement, NSW Attorney General Mark Speakman said he was 'exploring all available options', including appealing the Supreme Court's decision.

But Samantha says while Holschier's crime against her took away so much, it also left her determined to ensure her children would have the 'normal' life she never had.

'All I ever wanted to was to be a mum and to give my son what my sister and I didn't have,' she said.

'It's really important that I'm there for him in the way my mother never had a chance to be.

'So far we've given him a really good life and I feel really happy about that,' she said.
A talented young scientist is set to undergo life-extending treatment after losing his arm to bone cancer.

Scott Stinson was first diagnosed with the inoperable cancer last year after suffering with shoulder pain he thought had been caused by exercising in the gym.

His right arm became so weak that it fractured in two places after the 25-year-old put on a t-shirt. When chemotherapy didn't work, the university student was forced to amputate the whole limb and shoulder.

The cancer spread and Scott was told that treatment on the NHS would not cure him, promoting him to launch a campaign to raise 120,000 to pay for his treatment abroad, which would extend his life.

Scott Stinson was diagnosed while at university (graduating from St Andrews, right) and said he feels most for his family and his girlfriend who he will leave behind (with girlfriend Beck Hollis (right)

Scott Stinson (left) said he is now enjoying his time with his friends and family (pictured with friends from St Andrews

Scott, who was studying at St. Andrews University when he was diagnosed, said: 'There is nothing more doctors can do for me now. I know I'm going to die.

'I know I can definitely extend my life. It's extremely important to me to spend as much time with my family and girlfriend as I can.

'I'm living my own dream and want to live it as I am for as long as possible. I am very happy with my life.'

Scott said that it becomes very obviously very quickly that the chaos and worries of everyday life just become background noise.

Click here to support Scott's Sarcoma Solution organised by Scott Stinson https://t.co/l562llM3uK  SDL (@simon_DL_) April 10, 2019

The 25-year-old (right), from Newcastle in Co Down, was studying for a chemistry and nanotechnology PhD at St Andrews University in Scotland last April, when he was diagnosed (Scott as a baby left)

'All that is tangible and real are the connections and love that we have between family and friends.

'How or where I spend the time I have remaining does not matter, as long as I can be in the presence of loved ones, having a laugh and appreciating all the little surprises that life has to offer us.

'I want to insure that I have the most time available to me that I can get, and if my condition improves through the pursuit of new treatments that will be an amazing bonus.'

Scott, a chemistry and nanotechnology PhD student from Newcastle, near Belfast, started to feel pain in his shoulder in 2017, and thought he had just hurt himself in the gym.

Just two weeks after first going to see his GP, Scott (pictured above with girlfriend Becky) was diagnosed with osteosarcoma of the right proximal humerus - a type of bone cancer

Scott (right before the surgery) had two rounds of chemotherapy during which the cancer weakened his bone, and one morning his arm fractured in two places while he was pulling on a t-shirt

The student, who wanted to work in cancer research, said the pain got worse and he went to his GP in April 2018.

Scott was sent for an MRI scan which revealed a mass on his upper shoulder, and he had a biopsy at Mosgrove Hospital.

Just two weeks after first going to see his GP, Scott was diagnosed with osteosarcoma of the right proximal humerus - a type of bone cancer.

Its rarity means there is a lack of a market large enough to gain support and resources for discovering treatments for it.

Scott is now fighting back at cancer and is raising money to fund private life prolonging treatment

Osteosarcoma usually develops in growing bones and is most common in teenagers and young adults, especially in young males.

Scott had two rounds of chemotherapy during which the cancer weakened his bone, and one morning his arm fractured in two places while he was pulling on a t-shirt.

'I heard two cracks when I was just getting out of the shower and putting my clothes on', said Scott, who lives with his girlfriend, Becky Hollis.

Scott (pictured above with girlfriend Becky) has now launched a campaign to raise 120,000 to pay for treatment abroad

'I admitted myself to hospital for pain management.

'It hadn't spread when I got the news. I was shocked but thought it's ok, I'll have a few months off work and I'll get better.

'It's usually quite treatable, so I had chemo and we just had to wait and see.'

But scans revealed the treatment hadn't been as successful as hoped, and doctors had to amputate his whole right shoulder and arm.

Scott underwent a forequarter amputation in the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital (ROH) in Birmingham in August and now has a prosthetic shoulder prosthetic.

He says he dealt with losing the whole of his arm 'pretty well' thanks to a healthy dose of 'dark humour'.

He said: 'It was growing into my chest cavity. I had no option but to have the arm off really otherwise it would spread.

'It was surreal but I had come to terms with it. It was something I had to do.

'It was either that or live in a very painful existence.'

The pre-op scan had also revealed a 'spot' in his chest, and further investigations showed he had more than 30 tiny lesions on both of his lungs.

'I knew the outlook wasn't good at all. They basically told me what do you want to do with the time you have left.

'They said it was incurable. There is only treatment that is life-extending. I did ask how long I have to live but I've tried to specifically avoid knowing exactly how long.

'I was told it could be just six months, but that was six months ago. The progression differs from person to person.

'I was devastated. My thoughts were about the family I'll leave behind. The arm was a sacrifice I was happy to make. But I knew deep down the outlook was bleak.'

He started a six month chemotherapy course in October last year, but on Thursday (11th) he was told the tumours had grown.

Scott has been researching other potential treatment options and chosen to potential ways of extending his life.

The drugs and immunotherapy treatments aren't available on the NHS and will cost up to 55,000 at a time - with an indefinite monthly follow up care costing 400.

He also hopes to have his tumours sequenced so specialists can prescribe Scott powerful drugs that match his genetic profile.

Scott's mum and dad Jill and Harry Stinson, 53 and 58, set up a GoFundMe page and so far his 'amazing' friends and family have raised 50,000.

He hopes to begin the first round of private life-extending treatment by the end of April.

Scott said he's holding out hope treatment could 'extend my life indefinitely'.

Scott, who is the oldest of three brothers Dale, 24, Ewan, 21, and Craig, 18, said: 'It has been hard to come to terms with being diagnosed with terminal cancer.

'At the time I felt a lot of anxiety and dread over upcoming scan results and I then when my nightmares came true, I found it traumatic.

'Just under a year ago I hadn't really a care in the world and was ready to start the next chapter of my adult life, but those dreams quickly vanished and were replaced with bleak and limited options.

'Since my diagnosis I have dealt with that trauma and for anyone else going through a similar experience my best advice would be to not hold anything back, when you feel like crying, cry.

'Most days I am as happy as I have ever been, I am surrounded by nature and the ones I love.'

An NHS England spokesperson said: 'Immunotherapy is available to treat a range of cancers on the NHS where it has been proven to work. Where it is not routinely used for a specific indication an individual request can be submitted.'

To donate click here.
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Mexican authorities said a group of about 350 migrants broke the locks on a gate at the Guatemalan border Friday and forced their way into southern Mexico to join a larger group of migrants trying to make their way toward the United States.

The National Immigration Institute did not identify the nationalities of the migrants, but they are usually from Central America.

A similar confrontation occurred on the same border bridge between Mexico and Guatemala last year.

The institute said the migrants were acting in a 'hostile' and 'aggressive' way, and accused them of also attacking local police in Metapa, a Mexican village that lies between the border and the nearby city of Tapachula.

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Mexico's National Immigration Institute said a group of about 350 migrants broke into the country through a locked gate at the Guatemalan border Friday

A migrant mother breastfeeds her child as she walks with members of Friday's caravan

The group of 350 pushed past police guarding the bridge and joined a larger group of about 2,000 migrants who are walking toward Tapachula in the latest caravan to enter Mexico.

Claudia Jaqueline Sandoval, 43, from El Progreso, Honduras, was walking toward Tapachula with her 6-year-old daughter. Another son and a daughter are already in the United States.

'I have been HIV positive for 16 years,' said Sandoval, but her reason for going north was not just medical treatment. 'It has been two years since I heard from my son' in the United States, and money is scarce, she said.

There are already several groups of migrants in the southern border state of Chiapas who have expressed frustration at Mexico's policy of slowing or stopping the process of handing out humanitarian and exit visas at the border.

Central American migrants, part of the caravan hoping to reach the US border, walk on the shoulder of a road in Frontera Hidalgo, Mexico, on Friday

Mexican authorities said the migrants pushed past police guarding a border bridge between Mexico and Guatemala

A group of several hundred Cuban, African and Central-American migrants have been waiting at the immigration offices in Tapachula for documents that would allow them to travel to the US border, where most plan to request asylum.

Some members of that group have scuffled with immigration authorities and broken windows at the offices in recent days, accusing officials of making them wait too long for papers.

And another group of an estimated 2,500 Central American and Cuban migrants have been stuck for at least a week further west in the Chiapas town of Mapastepec, also waiting for papers.

Several earlier migrant groups in Chiapas, Mexico have voiced frustration with Mexico for slowing or ceasing to hand out humanitarian and exit visas
The story so far

How did it start?

The medieval realm of Westeros is governed by Robert Baratheon, who has seized the Iron Throne from the dragon-riding Targaryen dynasty after the then king went mad. Robert, a bombastic soldier with little interest in administration, recruits his old friend Ned Stark, Warden of the North, to advise him.

But King Robert is mysteriously killed, and Ned soon has his head chopped off after standing up to the scheming Lannister family, which includes King Roberts widow Cersei, her twin and secret lover Jaime, and their dwarf brother Tyrion. At the moment, Cersei rules Westeros.

What happens to the Starks?

Over the seven seasons, the Stark family is split and many of them killed. But Neds daughters Sansa and Arya, as well as their adopted brother Jon Snow, are still alive. The sisters have finally joined together in their home of Winterfell after being separated for many years, and are awaiting their brothers return.

Meanwhile, Daenerys Targaryen, who escaped the massacre of her family when Robert Baratheon seized power, has gathered an army (and dragons) and sailed to Westeros to reclaim the throne.

Is that likely to happen?

With dragons, magic and legions of the undead, Game Of Thrones has much of the staple fantasy fare

Not any time soon. Everyone has suddenly realised that while the Starks, Lannisters and Targaryens were jostling for power, another enemy was amassing beyond a colossal wall of ice in the North  an army of zombies led by terrifying White Walkers and their ruler, the Night King. And they are marching south.

Who will fight them off?

The Starks and their allies in the North are getting ready. But Cersei sees a chance to turn the threat to her advantage. As things stand, Daenerys has agreed to put her plans to seize the throne on hold and has teamed up with the Starks to fight off the undead.

So everyone is getting on now?

Perhaps a little too much. The leader of the Northern forces, Jon Snow, has fallen for Daenerys.

Jon Snow, played by Kit Harrington, is at 5/1 odds with the bookies at finishing the show on the throne

But last season it was revealed Jon  raised as Ned Starks illegitimate son  is actually the son of Neds sister, Lyanna, who had a dalliance with a Targaryen, meaning Jon and Daenerys are actually related...

Yet it doesnt look like there will be much time for their romance to blossom. Thanks to the undead army, the last battle for mankind is on the horizon.

History lessons

With dragons, magic and legions of the undead, Game Of Thrones (GoT) has much of the staple fantasy fare. But creator George RR Martin has also been inspired by the history of the British Isles  mainly the Wars of the Roses.

The powerful factions vying for the throne in Westeros after the last king went mad has parallels with the late 15th-century struggle that broke out after Henry VI similarly went insane.

An army of zombies led by terrifying White Walkers and their ruler, the Night King. And they are marching south.

Even the names of the two main opposing camps are similar: the conniving House Lannister (Lancaster) and the honourable House Stark (York).

Among many characters with Wars of the Roses parallels, Lannisters Machiavellian leader Cersei is a dead ringer for the beautiful and ruthless Lancastrian Margaret of Anjou. Daenerys, returning from across the sea to claim her throne, smacks of Henry Tudor, sailing from France with an army to challenge Richard III.

Martin also modelled the Wall, the huge ice barrier separating the untamed northern lands from civilisation, on Hadrians Wall. The Red Wedding massacre  in which many Starks were murdered by their hosts  has parallels with the Scottish Glencoe Massacre of 1692, in which more than 30 members of Clan MacDonald were killed by government troops billeted with them.

Martin is also accused of pillaging ancient history, including Colosseum-like gladiator arenas and the Colossus of Rhodes, recreated in Westeros as the Titan of Braavos statue.

Robert Baratheons stream of successors echoes Ancient Romes Year of the Four Emperors in 69 AD  when four claimants vied for power.

Made in the UK

Not only was much of GoT filmed in Northern Ireland but the cast is predominantly from the UK. While some, such as Charles Dance, Diana Rigg, Iain Glen, Jerome Flynn and Lena Headey were already established stars, other unknowns have been catapulted to fame . . .

Richard Madden: He played King in the North Robb Stark, Neds eldest son. His character is long dead, and the 32-year-old Scot has claimed he wasnt paid much for the role, moaning that he received f*** all. But he hasnt done badly out of it.

Game of Thrones in numbers

4 - Beheadings in the first episode alone. 11 - Weeks on location night-shooting the forthcoming Battle of Winterfell between the undead and the living. More than 750 cast and crew filmed it in Northern Ireland in a government-protected airspace to ensure secrecy. 14 - Percentage probability of a character dying within the first hour of appearing on screen. 15,000,000 - The minimum U.S. dollars spent per episode on the final season. 9 - Countries where Game of Thrones is filmed: Northern Ireland, Croatia, Iceland, Morocco, Spain, Malta, Scotland, Canada and the U.S. 186 - The number of important characters who have so far died: a 56.4 per cent mortality rate. 174,373 - Total deaths so far, as totted up by a superfan. The deaths would take more than 20 minutes to watch. 47 - Emmy awards won by the series out of 132 nominations. Advertisement

Since then, he has been Prince Charming in the 2015 live action Disney film Cinderella; played Romeo in a West End staging of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Kenneth Branagh; and, most recently, took the main role as the dour sergeant David Budd in the acclaimed BBC drama Bodyguard.

Emilia Clarke: The 32-year-old Londoner, who plays would-be queen Daenerys, hasnt had a quiet moment professionally either. She starred in the romantic drama Me Before You, as Sarah Connor in the latest Terminator film and as Qira, Han Solos first love, in the Stars Wars film Solo. With lucrative commercial sidelines, such as a Dolce & Gabbana ad campaign, in which she starred with fellow GoT star Kit Harington, she has an estimated worth of 9 million.

Kit Harington: The baronets son, 32, stars as Jon Snow, the shows obvious hero. Last year, Harington married Rose Leslie (who played a Northern savage in GoT), another blue blood who is descended from Lord Lovat and Charles II. He has since played Gunpowder Plot conspirator Robert Catesby (his ancestor) in the BBC drama Gunpowder.

Sophie Turner: Sansa Stark was the 23-year-olds first professional acting role. Turner, the fiancee of U.S. pop heartthrob Joe Jonas, has won starring roles in a string of films, including the mutant superhero Jean Grey in the X-Men film series.

Maisie Williams: After being cast as Arya aged 12, Williams admitted she gave up life as a normal teenager. While her mother attracted some criticism for letting Williams leave school aged 14, the actress, now 21, has since starred in Doctor Who and will appear in the X-Men spin-off film, The New Mutants, due out this summer.

Name of thrones

Unfortunately for thousands of children, the bizarre names of characters have inspired expectant parents.

In England and Wales in 2017, 343 baby girls were named Arya  presumably after pint-sized assassin Arya Stark  and 76 were named Khaleesi, the title used by Emilia Clarkes character. Three were called Daenerys, while 11 boys were named Tyrion after the wise Lannister.

Warrior women

Fanatical devotion When theyre not choking up the internet forums discussing plot and character developments, hardcore Game Of Thrones fans show off their devotion to the series in truly bizarre ways. There is GoT memorabilia for every budget, right up to a 20,000 full-size replica of the Iron Throne (above). Made out of swords, the replica is about 7ft high and weighs 159kg. Other outlandish commerical spin-offs include a $250 (191) make-up set and an Adidas range of trainers (from 149.95), including blue pairs called White Walker, after the shows blue-eyed villains. The burger chain Shake Shack created a special GoT-themed menu in the U.S. featuring a Dragonglass Shake, named after the material capable of killing White Walkers. It could only be ordered in Valyrian, a language invented for the series, TV network HBO even ramped up the excitement over the final season by organising a treasure hunt to find six Iron Throne replicas hidden around the world, including in the Forest of Dean. Fans found others in Canada, Brazil, Sweden, the U.S. and Spain. Advertisement

Unlike Lord Of The Rings, Game Of Thrones stands out for the large number of women in powerful roles.

Two principal armies are led by women  the ruthless Cersei Lannister, played by Lena Headey, and the dragon-taming Daenerys Targaryen  and Arya Stark is possibly the single most lethal character in the series.

Off-camera, despite wider Hollywood complaints about equal pay, women are treated the same, too. Emilia Clarke and Lena Headey are two of five key cast members who get the top salary of $500,000 (382,000) per episode. (The others are Kit Harington, Peter Dinklage  who plays Tyrion Lannister  and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, as Jaime Lannister).

Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams and Isaac Hempstead Wright (who plays another Stark family survivor, Bran) all receive $175,000 (134,000) an episode.

Trial and error

For those who have followed this epic TV series since it first aired eight years ago, it hasnt always been smooth sailing.

Full of violence and gratuitous nudity  the first episode had a raunchy incest scene  early episodes were widely condemned.

Some dialogue was too silly for words, some acting was painfully wooden, and the creators penchant for regularly slaughtering the goodies got a little wearing.

At points, many complained the brutality  particularly the vile rape scenes  had gone too far. But patient viewers were rewarded. As it became vastly popular, producers apparently felt less need to pack it with ratings-friendly sex and gore.

However, some deaths  such as the moment sadist Ramsay Bolton is beaten to a pulp and fed to his hungry hounds  have remained toe-curlingly grisly.

That said, he deserved it.

Who will win?

Given that GoT has killed off major characters with abandon, its anyones guess as to who will end up on the Iron Throne.

Aware that Martin doesnt like to do the obvious, the bookies currently give two lesser characters the shortest odds.

Bran Stark  who can see the future  is the favourite at 5/6 to end the series on the throne

Neds disabled son Bran Stark  who can see the future  is the favourite at 5/6.

Next, at 4/1, comes his sister, Sansa Stark. Once pampered and naive, shes been hardened by extreme adversity and has emerged as an astute leader.

The main good leaders  dashing Jon Snow and dragon-riding Daenerys Targaryen have to make do with 5/1 and 12/1 respectively.

It seems a little cruel after all the effort theyve put in, but given the blood-spattered course of this series, they may count themselves lucky just to come through it alive.

Game Of Thrones is on Sky Atlantic from 2am Monday.
Darren Carvill, 38, from Maidstone, Kent, admitted 18 fraud charges

A accountant who claimed he was bullied at work decided he would 'go out with a bang' by spending 170,000 of his employers money on a weekend of cocaine and prostitutes.

Accounts worker Darren Carvill stole a total of 260,000 from the car servicing chain Mr Clutch, which he squandered on drug-fuelled sex romps with high class escorts.

The awkward 38-year-old admitted almost bankrupting Mr Clutch by stealing a fortune, because he wanted a 'weekend of madness.'

The head office worker was jailed for two-and-a-half years after admitting 18 fraud charges.

Maidstone Crown Court heard Carvill, of Maidstone, Kent, filed bogus payments to himself after claiming he was bullied at work.

The fraudster said he suffered from low self-esteem and became addicted to a night-life of high-class escort parties being surrounded by 'glamorous' people and drugs, which were believed to be cocaine.

A source told The Sun Carvill attended the Platinum Lace club in London's West End

Carvill's barrister told the court his client had been bullied for most of his life and he spiralled out of control

A sourced told The Sun Carvill attended a club in London called Platinum Lace.

The source said Carvill also went into a room at another club, 'with three escorts, [where] they drank champagne and used cocaine,' adding: 'By the end of the night he had nine or ten escorts in with him.'

Carvill claimed that when he realised he would be caught he wanted to 'go out with a bang' - so spent tens of thousands in just one weekend, partying with prostitutes and drugs.

He revealed he did it because he was suffering from low self-esteem as his barrister James Ross told the court: 'He has had a very unhappy life. For most of his life he has been bullied.

'He has suffered from very low self-esteem and social awkwardness. He says he was a good employee and worked long hours and did good work.

'He says his bosses had shown them nothing but kindness. But other than the owners, there was at least one person who subjected him to ridicule and caused a downward spiral.'

Mr Ross added that Carvill was increasingly unhappy at work and he became more and more addicted to his nightlife, involving an escort agency with sex and drugs and things of that nature.

He said Carvill enjoyed being surrounded by 'glamorous' people and he became more and more addicted to high class escort parties.

Carvill's fraud almost brought the Mr Clutch company - with its numerous franchises - to its knees.

The crooked worker transferred a total of 262,000 from multiple franchises which he disguised as payments to genuine suppliers and traders.

Carvill's barrister said his increasing unhappiness had led to more nightlife

He said initially he planned to repay the money that he was using to deal with his 'sham and unhappy life'.

Mr Ross added: 'He was thinking the money would be paid back but it was deluded thinking that he was merely borrowing the money.'

Sentencing Judge Philip St John-Stevens said Carvill had 'pushed the self-destruct' button but accepted his remorse was genuine.

Earlier prosecutor Bridget Todd told how the fraud left some employees went without pay for five months.

Director Alfred Abdulla said how the company had problems with its VAT and pensions as a result and was 'close to going bankrupt' and face 'many years' repaying money borrowed to pay its bills.

In his victim impact statement, Mr Abdulla said: 'Because of what he did I could not pay two of my suppliers for two months.

'This caused a problem with HMRC and VAT returns were not paid on time.'

He said the company was reported to the Pensions Regulator and his employees 'had no pay for five months because of the defendant's actions.'

Mr Abdulla said Carvill had been regarded 'as a respected and trusted employee' during the four years he worked for the company.

Company bosses also revealed they had to borrow money from family members to avoid going bankrupt.

It was discovered in August that numerous transactions had been made into a bank account for Euro Car Parts, which is a genuine supplier, but this account was not linked to them.

Mr Ross said that initially Carvill stole 40,000 but then repaid 36,500.

By October 2018 he took another 60,000 hoping it could be repaid 'but it was clearly deluded thinking', he added.

Then in August last year, the accounts worker took 72,000, followed by 40,000, 10,000, another 10,000 and 12,000.

Carvill nearly brought the company he worked for to its knees with the money he stole

The court heard the defendant, who paid wages and bills for the company, had previous convictions for ripping off a previous employer.

In 2008 he was given a suspended year jail sentence at Maidstone Crown Court for embezzling a travel company out of money.

Carvill now faces a financial investigation under the Proceeds of Crime Act to try to recover the missing cash.
Prominent journalist Stan Grant has said that moving the date of Australia Day would be pointless because some of his fellow indigenous people are 'wedded to grievance'.

There have been calls to move the public holiday away from January 26, the day the British First Fleet arrived to create a penal settlement that became Sydney.

Critics have argued that this day marked the beginning of great suffering and torment for indigenous people and should not be celebrated.

Grant, an award-winning journalist of Aboriginal heritage, debated the issue in a piece published in The Weekend Australian magazine on Saturday.

He argued that changing the date of Australia Day might leave January 26 as a day honoured by white chauvinists and risked making the national day more divisive.

Grant added that some Aboriginals would not be satisfied with the date change either because resentment was part of their 'identities'.

ABC journalist Stan Grant has debated calls to change the date in a piece published in The Weekend Australian Magazine

Stan Grant is pictured with wife Tracey Holmes who he left wife Karla Grant for in 2000

'I fear moving the date would only hand it to those who would reclaim it as a day of white pride, turning it into a bombastic day of division,' he writes.

'There are also those indigenous people who cling to Nietzsche's ''politics of ressentiment'', whose identities are so wedded to grievance that to relinquish their anger would be to lose their sense of themselves: moving the date would not satisfy them.'

Grant also argued that abolishing or moving the date did not change the identity of the nation.

Instead, Grant said the history of the day, and what has come since, is inherently tied to where we are now.

'Australia is more than a day, it is more than a date - whatever that date may be. Moving the date or abolishing Australia Day does not answer the question, who are we?' Grant writes.

Grant said Australia Day was not a day to be at war with himself as he says he identifies as neither black or white but rather a 'synthesis' of the two.

Grant argued that abolishing or moving the date did not change the identity of the nation and who we are as people

Critics have argued that Australia Day marked the beginning of great suffering and torment for indigenous people and should not be celebrated

The journalist's father Stan Grant Sr, was awarded a special Australia Day honour as a respected elder of the Wiradjuri people.

He was recognised for helping to revive the Wiradjuri language to share it with all Australians, as he believes his heritage is everyone's heritage.

Grant said his father has lived a life of 'brutality' and 'bigotry' but is proud to be an Australian.

Grant admitted to wrestling with questions about Australia Day as says he is torn between pride in the country and his family's legacy of suffering.

He also called for a new declaration, a Declaration of Country, as the current founding document does not recognise indigenous people.

Before going into the media, Grant experienced a troubled youth and was sent to 13 different primary schools, while struggling with his heritage.

Before a budding career in media, Grant (left) experienced a troubled youth and was sent to 13 different primary schools

Grant says he still has a strong connection to his hometown Griffith, in central western New South Wales, despite a difficult upbringing.

'My great-grandmother lived here and out the back was a broken-down Model T Ford. My parents called it 'the honeymoon suite' because when they first got together that's where they lived  in a broken-down car,' Grant said on ABC/s Home Delivery in 2016.

'I was born a year later and we were all here. This was it, in the back of a car in the back of my great-grandmother's house.'

A month before the Sydney Olympics in 2000, Stan Grant resigned as the host of Today Tonight after leaving his wife Karla Grant for Seven Network colleague Tracey Holmes.

Grant, then 36, was at the centre of a love scandal - eight years after becoming the first indigenous host of an Australian prime-time commercial television show.

The breakdown of his 16-year marriage to Karla, an Aboriginal SBS presenter who was also the mother of his three children, was front page news.

Grant and Holmes went on to marry and have a son together, before also living in Abu Dhabi and Beijing.
Four women and two men have been charged with trespass and burglary offences stemming from alleged break-ins at several West Australian farms over a six-month period.

Police say the crimes happened between August 2018 and February this year at properties in Nambeelup, Hopeland, West Pinjarra, Benger and Mundijong.

A cow and dead pig were stolen in separate incidents in Pinjarra and Benger, but the cow was returned to its owners in good health.

Four women and two men have been charged with trespass and burglary offences at several West Australian farms over six months

A woman, aged 36, also harboured a cow at a Waroona sanctuary but police said she was not a member of an activist group.

The activists, who range in age from 21 to 36, are scheduled to appear in Mandurah Magistrates Court on April 30.

Two vegan activists James Warden, 25, and Katrina Sobianina, 24 from Direct Action Everywhere, who trespassed at a piggery and live-streamed it on social media, were last month fined $7,000 and $3,000 respectively.

Two vegan activists James Warden, 25, (pictured) and Katrina Sobianina, 24 who trespassed at a piggery were last month fined a total of $10,000

WA Police Commander Allan Adams said people had a right to protest as long as it was lawful and did not impede the rights of people conducting their business.

Anyone confronted by protesters has been told to call police, and record the activists and their vehicle registrations.

'Maintain composure. Undoubtedly people trespassing onto your land is concerning,' Cmd Adams said on Friday.

'But we've been very clear with industry and industry have been very receptive about the 'calm the farm' message.'

Commander Allan Adams said people had a right to protest as long as it was lawful and did not impede the rights of people conducting their business

It comes as another vegan activist Marilyn Orr, 64, said she had received death threats after she and 100 other people trespassed a piggery in Beerburrum, Queensland.

Mrs Orr claims she was identified through footage the protesters posted online when they raided the farm on December 1 late last year, according to the Sunshine Daily Coast.

She pleaded guilty to unlawfully entering farm land at Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Wednesday where the threats to her safety were revealed.

Marilyn Orr claims she was identified through footage the protesters posted online when they raided the farm on December 1 late last year

The court heart how Ms Orr suffered from the death threats after husband's phone number was posted online.

Mr Orr's lawyer said she never touched suckling piglets and said she had never been charged with a previous offence.

Magistrate Andrew Walker said she should have used her experience to set an example to others to protest within the law.

He added he was only focused on the actions of Mrs Orr and the media controversy around the recent vegan activism would not factor in to his decision.

Mrs Orr was placed on a $600 good behaviour bond for a period of six months.
Julie Bishop has offended Donald Trump after revealing his wife Melania mistook her for a politician's wife when she was foreign minister.

Ms Bishop reflected on the incident, which took place at the UN General Assembly in New York in 2017, while speaking at the Adelaide Festival last month.

The former minister told the festival that Mrs Trump thought her partner, David Panton was the foreign minister.

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Julie Bishop has offended Donald Trump after recently revealing his wife Melania previously mistook her for a politician's wife when she was foreign minister

She used the anecdote to highlight how gender assumptions are frequently made, given the scarcity of women in positions of political power in Australia and abroad.

'Melania, standing by, assumed David was the foreign minister and she said to me: 'Julie, will you be coming to my ladies' lunch tomorrow?' Ms Bishop recalled.

'And I said "No, David's going to the partners' lunch".'

Ms Bishop said her response appeared to leave the first lady dumbfounded.

'She thought about that for a while, thinking: 'Why would Australia's foreign minister come to the partners' lunch?'

'So this went on for a while until the President explained that I was the foreign minister,' Ms Bishop told the audience at the festival.

Despite using the anecdote to illustrate a valid point, Ms Bishop's public comments are believed to have offended the President and Mrs Trump, The Australian reported.

The former foreign minister (pictured) told the festival audience Mrs Trump (far right) mistook her as a spouse and her partner, David Panton (left), as the foreign minister

Ms Bishop said her response initially appeared to leave the first lady (pictured) dumbfounded

One senior US source told the publication The White House has raised its objection to the comments directly with the Australian embassy in Washington.

The source said 'significant damage control' had been required within the White House following the comments, which are seen as belittling to America's first family.

Several US publications, including the New York Magazine, have also picked up on Ms Bishop's comments.

The President is known to be sensitive to personal criticism of himself and his family and it's not clear whether Ms Bishop's comments will affect future US relations.

Ms Bishop (pictured left with her partner David Panton) recalled how her role as foreign minister frequently drew stares and disbelief at international security summits

Ms Bishop's comments could not have come at a worse time as ministers are trying to convince the Trump administration to grant Australia an exemption to the 25 per cent tariff on US imports of automotive parts.

Ms Bishop also recalled how she and Marise Payne, as foreign minister and defence minister respectively, drew stares and disbelief at international security summits.

'People were quite surprised. They didn't think that that's what Australia would have  they thought we were a blokey culture,' she said.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Ms Bishop and the Australian Embassy in Washington for comment.
A man sentenced to death in 1993 after being convicted of murder, is taking his case to the Supreme Court next week claiming the jury opted for the lethal punishment because he's gay.

Charles Russell Rhines was told his fate by South Dakota judge after a trial for the killing of Donnivan Schaeffer while he robbed a Grand Rapids doughnut store in 1992, but his legal team are arguing his sexual orientation influenced the outcome.

The Supreme Court will decide whether his appeal will be heard based on if there's enough evidence jurors were biased.

It is alleged 'one juror made a joke that Rhines might enjoy a life in prison where he would be among so many men'.

Charles Russell Rhines was sentenced to death 1993 after being convicted on murder charge

Supreme Court will decide next week whether the South Dakota man's appeal will be heard

After new lawyers for Rhines, now 62, began seeking interviews in 2015, juror Frances Cersosimo claimed in a 2016 sworn statement that a member of the jury said: 'If he's gay, we'd be sending him where he wants to go.'

Bennett Blake alleged to an investigator: 'There was lots of discussion of homosexuality. There was a lot of disgust. This is a farming community.'

Juror Harry Keeney said in a 2016 sworn statement: 'We also knew he was a homosexual and thought he shouldn't be able to spend his life with men in prison.'

The death sentence was upheld in August 2018 but this time around things could change with a filing from September 7, 2018.

Jurors are not supposed to talk about deliberations. However, in the Pena Rodriguez v. Colorado case, a rare challenge of a conviction was allowed thanks to a 5-to-3 vote two years ago after claims of racial bias.

South Dakota's attorney general Jason R. Ravnsborg, elected in 2018, is claiming they don't have grounds for an appeal based on bias

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy has said: 'Racial bias implicates unique historical, constitutional and institutional concerns.'

But when asked by Chief Justice Roberts whether it could be allowed in cases of homophobia, he wrote: 'Sexual orientation is not immutable to the same extent as race.

'No civil war has been fought over it. No politician has ever proposed constructing a wall to keep homosexuals out of the country.'

But South Dakota's attorney general Jason R. Ravnsborg, elected in 2018, is claiming they don't have grounds for an appeal based on bias.

Rhines was convicted for the killing of Donnivan Schaeffer while he robbed a Grand Rapids doughnut store in 1992

Ravnsborg has dismissed comments from jury 26 years ago as a 'stab at humor' that 'did not go over well'.

'The alleged juror comments here are not clear and explicit expressions of animus toward homosexuals,' Ravnsborg wrote. 'At best, they fall into the category of an "offhand comment". '

Referring to a note to the judge signed by the 12 members of the jury during deliberations that asked if Mr. Rhines be 'allowed to marry or have conjugal visits', he claimed it proved the jury was 'not phased by, or even convinced of, Rhines's homosexuality'.

He claimed it was 'not even a consideration'.

The judge did not reply to the note which also asked whether Rhines would 'be allowed to mix with the general inmate population and if he would 'have a cellmate'.

'What jury conceived of gay marriage in 1992?' Ravnsborg asked. 'And the fact that the jurors asked about Rhines's access to conjugal visits with visitors from outside the prison walls also belies Rhines's assertion that they believed prison would afford him a harem of male sexual companions.'
Yonason Abraham, 55, was caught having an 'inappropriate relationship with a married woman'. He was forced to quit as rabbi at Toras Chaim synagogue and resigned from his position as a judge at Beth Din court

A senior rabbi has been forced to quit his synagogue after an inappropriate association with a married woman.

Yonason Abraham, 55, said he had fallen short of the standards expected, adding he was deeply sorry I have let you down.

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis issued a statement saying the shameful episode ... has shaken us to the core.

He added: When one of us fails in this manner, we are all greatly diminished. The disgraced rabbi is said to have quit over his links with the wife of a millionaire, to whom he gave pastoral support in her marital home.

The marriages of both the rabbi and the millionaire were said to have been rocked by the scandal  although it is understood that neither couple has split.

Rabbi Abraham had founded the Toras Chaim synagogue near Golders Green in north London, and had long been respected as one of the four judges in the London Beth Din court. He has also resigned from this latter role.

His reputation as a devout leader of the Jewish community was questioned last month when he sent his sudden resignation letter to his congregation.

The rabbi said he had been under exceptional strain and stress for some time which has taken its inevitable toll, adding: I now need to help myself and my family. A source close to the community told the Daily Mail: He had got far too close to the glamorous wife of a multi-millionaire and senior figure in the community.

They have children. She suddenly started receiving a lot of pastoral support from [Rabbi] Abraham at her marital home. Its said it wasnt long before he crossed personal and religious boundaries.

The husband became so concerned at the rabbis frequent visits that he hired a private eye to find out what exactly was going on.

What he told the husband was enough for him and his wife to face possible divorce  and for the rabbi to resign.

The source went on: The husbands hackles were first raised when his wife said she wanted the family to embrace their faith more. They attend synagogue like any other family so this seemed to him an odd thing to say.

Then there were all the visits from the rabbi, including his using the swimming pool, which on reflection was odd as well as he was supposed to be there to give pastoral support.

His worst fears were realised when the private eye produced evidence that left him in no doubt the rabbi was behaving inappropriately.

It was assumed they were divorcing but somehow they are holding it together. The rabbis reputation however has been ruined.

I dont know how his marriage has survived. The fact that he is a judge in the religious court makes this even more embarrassing and hypocritical.

The millionaire and his wife declined to comment when approached by the Daily Mail with the allegations. Rabbi Abraham also declined to comment.

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis told rabbis in his statement: A Beth Din [religious judge] must be unimpeachable  anything less is entirely unacceptable.

It was for this reason that I, together with the United Synagogue, ensured that the matter was dealt with so swiftly.

This shameful episode has been met by many with disbelief and has caused great pain.

In addition, there are innocent family members who have been directly affected and whose lives have been devastated by it.

A spokesman for the Chief Rabbi refused to elaborate on the details of the scandal, but dismissed concerns that the Jewish court could face appeals in cases heard by Rabbi Abraham going back years.

The spokesman said: There is no concern about the validity of any previous judgements.
Britain's biggest charity has dropped plans to give its workers a four-day week with no reduction in pay.

The science research foundation, which has an investment portfolio of 26 billion, had planned to trial the new schedule in autumn but told their workers on Friday it would no longer happen.

Those who back a four-day week claim it helps to boost productivity and gives employees a greater feeling of well-being.

However, the charity - which rivals the colossal Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - decided the logistics of the change would have been too difficult to manage.

The Wellcome Trust's massive headquarters on Euston Road in central London

Ed Whiting, Wellcome's Director of Policy and Chief of Staff, said: 'After extensive internal consultation on whether we should trial the four-day week, we have concluded that it is too operationally complex to implement.

'We have learnt a lot through our consultation process and, although we not be trialling a four-day week, we remain committed to maximising the impact Wellcome can make in the world through supporting the wellbeing and productivity of our staff.'

At the beginning of the year Whiting had stated his high hopes for the four-day working week, the Guardian reported he said it would bring 'a healthier workforce, a reduction in sickness absence and improved sense of work-life balance.'

HOW THE WELLCOME TRUST HAVE AIDED SCIENCE The Wellcome Trust has a colossal investment portfolio of 25.9 billion in various science based projects. Working with the NHS and government, it has established clinical research facilities around the country. Behind its funding came the VSV-EBOV vaccine for Ebola vaccine, and a potential cure for Chagas disease, leishmaniasis and sleeping sickness. While they also funded Cambridge University researchers who managed to grow an embryo for 13 days in a laboratory setting. Advertisement

Despite, this other researchers have found that workers can be adversely affected by a shorter working week.

Some people find the lack of time to complete tasks puts them under greater pressure, the Guardian reported.

In addition most of the firms who have gone ahead with the radical change are smaller and therefore the changes are not as wide reaching.

Wellcome has provided research for which facilitated a vaccine for Ebola and a potential cure for three tropical diseases.

While its donations also helped scientists discover how to make embryos survive in a laboratory setting for two weeks.

They have bankrolled trials for a new method of controlling the Zika virus and projects on the link between the immune system and cancer.

And more money has been pledged to try and find an effective treatment for malaria and alternatives to chemotherapy.
A locum doctor was paid nearly 6,000 to be on duty over a weekend, the Daily Mail has discovered.

The huge sum  for a consultant working from home who was on call to field queries from junior staff and see emergency patients only if needed  comes despite a crackdown on fees.

The hospital concerned could not confirm how many times, if at all, the specialist eye doctor had come in or indeed answered their phone.

But research by the British Medical Association has found that half of consultants on call for a weekend shift are not needed to go in at all.

Health officials have launched a crackdown on rip-off locum rates in order to divert the money into patient care (stock image)

Health officials have launched a crackdown on rip-off locum rates in order to divert the money into patient care.

Since April 2016, hospitals have been told to cap fees at 75 an hour, although they can be slightly higher for weekend and overnight work. But figures obtained by the Mail for 2018 show a number of doctors were able to negotiate rates of at least 200 an hour to cover unpopular shifts at nights and weekends.

Freedom of information requests showed a second doctor was paid nearly 2,500 a shift. That is the equivalent of an annual salary of 650,000, six times that of a full-time hospital consultant. The highest fee went to a specialist eye doctor at Kettering General Hospital in Northamptonshire, who earned 5,760 for a weekend on call shift.

The hospitals dedicated eye ward and outpatients clinic are both closed at the weekend and the consultant would only have been needed in an emergency.

The second doctor, a trauma and orthopaedic consultant, was paid 312 an hour for an eight-hour shift at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham.

A specialist eye doctor at Kettering General Hospital in Northamptonshire (pictured) earned 5,760 for a weekend on call shift

The Northern Care Alliance group of hospitals in Manchester paid a consultant 3,572 for a 24-hour on-call shift in intensive care. The doctor was hired through an agency, which took a cut of the money.

Five other hospitals paid doctors 3,000 or more for on-call shifts of 24 hours. They were also hired through agencies. Health officials believe there is an organised culture among locums who all agree to hold firm on shifts until rates go up.

The BMA found in 2014 that specialist consultants working on-call weekend shifts received an average of five calls per shift, with half not being called into a hospital, and those that were going in only once.

Health minister Stephen Hammond said: I never want to see the NHS exploited by overpriced agencies. We are supporting hospitals to prioritise existing NHS employees, by making it easier for them to have the opportunity to work flexibly and have more control over working patterns through smartphone apps, so they have less and less need for expensive agencies or locums.

John OConnell, of the TaxPayers Alliance campaign group, said: These shocking examples of locum premiums will make taxpayers sick to the stomach. Despite a clear cap on rip-off agency rates, part-time physicians are still charging above the odds.

The Northern Care Alliance group of hospitals in Manchester paid a consultant 3,572 for a 24-hour on-call shift in intensive care. The doctor was hired through an agency, which took a cut of the money (stock image)

NHS officials need to face down the powerful vested interests and reform the regulations on doctors weekly work hours, which create the need for these massive locum payments in the first place.

Regulator NHS Improvement said hospitals had saved 1.2billion on agency staff since the rules were introduced three years ago, including 400million on locum doctors.

But there is a caveat which allows hospitals to offer higher rates if patients will be put at risk by shifts being left unfilled.

The rules were introduced by former health secretary Jeremy Hunt, who at the time described fees as scandalous and a rip-off.

Amber Jabbal, head of policy at NHS Providers which represents hospitals, said: The reliance on agencies remains a last resort. It is at best a sticking plaster solution for the growing number of vacancies across the NHS.

A spokesman for Kettering General Hospital could not confirm how long the locum doctor actually spent in the hospital, only that they were available from Friday evening to Monday morning.
A council has scrapped a controversial zip-line after spending almost $400,000 of taxpayers money planning and promoting the project.

Brisbane City Council announced on Friday they had removed their support for the project after listening to community feedback.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the cancellation of the zip-line project, which was to be built at Mt Coot-tha, would protect the green space for future.

A council has scrapped a controversial zip-line after spending $300,000 of taxpayers' money promoting the project

Brisbane City Council announced on Friday they had removed their support for the project after listening to community feedback

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the cancellation of the zip-line project, which was to be built at Mt Coot-tha, would protect the green space for future

'We will be withdrawing our support for the zip-line project,' said Cllr Schrinner.

'This project is dead and buried. This is all about ensuring that this green icon is protected for the future.'

The zip-line project was promoted as an asset to increase tourism and economic growth in the area.

'Zipline Australia is proposing a world class ecotourism experience that will ultimately serve to protect the environment and be sympathetic to existing users,' Zipline Australia said in its promotion of the project.

'It will celebrate the region's rich cultural heritage, abundant wildlife, diverse bush landscape, and offer great recreational and educational potential for all visitors.'

The council admitted to paying Zipline Australia $300,000 for the contract, as well as an additional $78,000 for promotional materials such as flyers, Nine News reported.

The zip-line project was promoted as an asset to increase tourism and economic growth in the area

A promotional video was also launched by council on March 17.

But a month later, the council back flipped on the project and announced its cancellation.

'Following a careful review of the project and having listened to the concerns raised by areas of the community, Council will no longer be progressing with the zipline proposal for Mt Coot-tha,' the Council wrote on Friday.

'Council is committed to protecting Mt Coot-tha and is investing in Mt Coot-tha to create a green leisure precinct, including upgraded picnic areas, new and upgraded walking tracks and more trees.

The three-stage zip-line proposal included a 1.4 kilometre zip-line, Australia's longest treetop canopy tour and a skywalk with a 335-metre suspension bridge

'Council will reinvest money allocated for zipline as part of the overarching $14.8 million investment back to other Mt Coot-tha updates, such as walking tracks.'

Zipline Australia received approval from the council to lodge a development application for the project in November 2017.

The three-stage zip-line proposal included a 1.4 kilometre zip-line, Australia's longest treetop canopy tour and a skywalk with a 335-metre suspension bridge.
More than a quarter of beds in some hospitals are filled by patients with diabetes, shocking NHS figures reveal.

In a major hospital trust in Manchester, nearly a third of patients on wards had the condition. A London hospital said 27 per cent of beds were occupied by diabetes patients.

Five other trusts across England said patients with the illness accounted for at least a quarter of beds at any one time.

Hospitals are being placed under additional pressure because of the number of diabetics in the system with some units reporting a quarter of beds being used to treat the disease

Type 2 diabetes is closely linked to obesity and costs the NHS 14 billion a year

The NHS Digital figures expose the impact that diabetes  which costs taxpayers 14 billion a year  is having on the creaking Health Service, with experts saying it is the biggest health crisis of our time. There are an estimated 4 million cases in Britain, nearly double the number of 20 years ago.

Of those, 90 per cent have type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity. Another million people are thought to be living with the condition but do not know they have it.

Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, said the figures were truly shocking and should act as a wake-up call.

Diabetics tend to stay in hospital for longer compared to others because their recovery time is slower and they are more prone to infections. Mr Fry said: People must remember that 90 per cent of these diabetic patients acquired the disease through being obese.

It should be enough to prompt every individual to really consider eating healthily and as a sharp reminder that the Government needs to give people ample support to achieve healthy lifestyles.

Emily Watts, Diabetes UKs inpatient programme manager, said: Over a million people with diabetes spend time in hospital every year, and many of these  whatever the reason for their time in hospital  will experience a problem with their diabetes care.

The result is longer hospital stays, and patients worried that their health could be being put at risk.

The NHS is under immense strain... but the number of diabetes inpatients receiving inadequate levels of care is a clear reflection that more must be done to make hospitals safe for those living with the condition.

Nationally, about 18 per cent of hospital beds are occupied by diabetes patients at any one time. This has risen from 15 per cent since 2011, although the numbers are far higher in certain hotspots in the country.

The NHS Digital figures are taken from a snapshot survey of hospitals over four days in September 2017.

While some diabetes patients may have been admitted due to complications caused by the illness, others will have been in for unrelated reasons.

Complications can be serious and include kidney disease, liver disease, strokes, heart attacks, blindness and nerve damage to the feet, leading to amputations.

The highest prevalence was recorded by the Manchester University Hospitals where 29 per cent of beds were occupied by patients with diabetes.

Figures were 27 per cent at the Hillingdon Hospitals in west London, 26 per cent at City Hospital in Birmingham and just over 25 per cent at the Ealing Hospital, also in west London.

Bedford Hospital and West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven, Cumbria, reported rates of exactly 25 per cent.

There is growing evidence that diabetes can be reversed if patients lose significant amounts of weight. The NHS is carrying out a pilot involving patients being given soups and shakes, totalling 850 calories a day, for five months. If deemed a success, the regime will be expanded across the country.

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Victoria Toth (pictured) has been in contact with her boyfriend at the Orange County jail even though the two were ordered not to communicate

A Florida woman who was charged with beating her two-year-old son to death has claimed that her son's ghost visits and comforts her while she is behind bars.

The revelation comes as Orange County police also share that suspects Victoria Toth and Jonathan Pursglove, 26, have been keeping in contact even though the were ordered not to.

Both were charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child in the July 2018 death of Jayce Martin.

Toth has since been released and has routinely visited Pursglove.

Orange County jailhouse records show that the two have been in communication, WFTV reports. Conversations have focused on Jayce.

'I talk to Jayce and he tells me that this is something that we are supposed to go through,' Toth said. 'Hearing Jayce tell me that we're going to get through it gives me something to hold onto.'

They've also spoken with Pursglove's mother over concerns that his car would be impounded.

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Both were charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child in the July 2018 death of Jayce Martin

Toth has since been released and has routinely visited Pursglove (pictured). She has also been in talks with the suspect's mother over concerns that his car would be impounded

'He goes and sits down at his desk, looks something up on the computer, probably at what your charges were or some kind of crap and goes 'we can't do anything,"' the man's mother is said to have said.

'I talk to Jayce and he tells me that this is something that we are supposed to go through,' Toth said

Toth had been visiting Pursglove in the jail earlier in the year and was able to get away with the act because of clerical error.

Jacye died from from blunt force trauma to the abdomen described as a 'sucker punch' which caused his insides to 'explode'.

Medical examiners determined that the two-year-old was malnourished and bruised when he was found unresponsive on the floor of his bedroom in the Washington Shores neighborhood of Orlando.

An arrest affidavit for Toth indicates her son was likely tortured to death, and that Jayce could have been saved if he'd been seen by a doctor.

She added: 'Hearing Jayce tell me that we're going to get through it gives me something to hold onto'

She said the boy's biological father, Robert Martin, told her to seek medical attention for the toddler, but she didn't.

Jayce had been seriously ill for three days when Toth says she came home July 18 and found him lying face down in a pool of vomit at around 6.30am - prompting her to call 911.

Pursglove - the woman's live in boyfriend - was performing CPR on the toddler when emergency crews arrived at the home in Washington Shores and pronounced him dead.

Investigators have said they believe Toth watched for days as her child slipped into a coma because she was 'scared of getting in trouble'.
Support for the Conservative Party has sunk to its lowest level in six years - as pro-Brexit parties are seeing a surge in popularity, a new poll has revealed.

The Tories would only win 28 per cent of the vote if a general election were held tomorrow, with Labour earning 32 per cent of votes, according to a YouGov poll for The Times.

UKIP would take 6 per cent and Nigel Farage's new Brexit Party would win 8 per cent of the vote, the poll claimed, making the combined weight of the staunchly pro-Leave parties the third largest political force in the country.

Though the generally pro-Remain Liberal Democrats would score 11 per cent, and Change UK, formerly known as the Independent Group, would win 3 per cent, the data revealed, meaning the Europhilic parties combined match the hardline Eurosceptics on 14%.

The Tories would only win 28 per cent of the vote if a general election were held tomorrow, with Labour earning 32 per cent of votes

Only two thirds of Conservative voters from the 2017 general election said they would support the party again, and a little more than one third said they would vote for the Tories in European elections.

As many as 56 per cent of people who voted to leave the EU in 2016 say they would vote for Ukip or the Brexit Party, with only 18 per cent saying they would back the Conservatives.

In a potential European Parliament election, Labour would lead with 24 per cent, followed by the Conservatives on 16 per cent, the Brexit party on 15, UKIP on 14, the Lib Dems and Greens scoring 8 per cent each, and Change UK on 7 per cent, the poll claimed.

The data for the poll was taken from 1,843 British adults.

The research comes amid reports of a potential Conservative leadership bid from Boris Johnson - who is said to be willing to pick Amber Rudd as his Chancellor.

The former foreign secretary was said to be wooing Miss Rudd in order to appeal beyond the Eurosceptic wing of the Tories.

As many as 56 per cent of people who voted to leave the EU in 2016 say they would vote for Ukip or the Brexit Party, with only 18 per cent saying they would back the Conservatives

But Work and Pensions Secretary Miss Rudd has said she cannot support Mr Johnson while he keeps the door open to a No Deal Brexit, according to reports.

The two newest forces in the data are the Independent Group, who want to campaign on a platform of seeking another referendum with the option to remain - and the Brexit Party, whose front-man Nigel Farage yesterday declared: 'We cannot have a second referendum until weve implemented the first!

Mr Farage's party was predicted to score more than double Change UK in both a general election and European elections.

Yesterday he announced Jacob Rees-Mogg's sister Annunziata as his first star MEP candidate - after she quit the Tories after 35 years.

Mr Farage vowed to take votes from the 'tarnished' party he left in December and started a new war of words with successor Gerard Batten by claiming he lacks 'good people' and has allowed a 'take over' by the far right.
An American student who moved to Australia to start a new life has been missing for more than nine months.

Priscilla Brooten, 46, was last seen at Bracken Ridge in Brisbane's North in July and her bank accounts have been left untouched since.

A friend approached Redcliffe Police Station expressing concerns about Ms Brooten in September.

But the literature student wasn't formally reported as missing until December, police say.

American student Priscilla Brooten (pictured) was last seen in Brisbane's north in July

Friends approached Redcliffe Police Station (pictured) and expressed concerns about Ms Brooten in September but wasn't formally reported as missing until December

Ms Brooten occasionally instructed Zumba classes at the HealthWorks gym in Deagon.

People close to the 46-year-old say someone from the gym would have information in relation to her disappearance.

She also attended a book club at Bracken Ridge but stopped going because members weren't reading the same material as her, The Courier Mail reported.

Ms Brooten's daughter Caity Brooten, 23, said her mother decided to move to Australia six years ago 'because she did not want to get tied down' in the US.

'She was a very smart and nerdy person and loved to watch anime and loved to take samba class,' she said.

Another friend said Ms Brooten 'seemed happy'.

She also attended a book club at Bracken Ridge but stopped going because members weren't reading the same material as her

The 46-year-old was a Zumba instructor at the HealthWorks gym (pictured) and loved ones say someone from the place would have information in relation to her disappearance

Police have not contacted concerned family and friends about the investigation since December.

A police spokeswoman said officers were speaking to anyone who knew Ms Brooten and are investigating the circumstances around her disappearance.
A hit-and-run victim's mother has described the agony of losing her son in a fatal crash 23 years after losing another son in similar circumstances.

Matthew Bradley, 24, was killed when he was hit by a car in Liverpool's city centre on November 3, 2017.

It was reported that he was flung into the air for about 30 metres and experienced serious injuries that proved fatal.

Matthew Bradley, 24, was killed in November 2017 in a hit and run. His brother died after being hit by a car 23 years ago

On Friday, 23-year-old Thomas Bimson was handed an eight-year sentence at Liverpool Crown Court for the incident, after being found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving.

Prior to the fatal collision, Bimson was drinking at a local bar with Ibrar Saddique, 35, who handed him the keys to a hired BMW.

Bimson, who did not have a driver's licence, and Saddique did not stop when they hit Bradley, but instead abandoned the car.

Saddique was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for aiding and abetting a driver who caused death by dangerous driving.

Thomas Bimson (left), 23, was handed an eight-year sentence for causing death by dangeorus driving. Ibrar Saddique, 35, (right) was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for aiding and abetting a driver who caused death by dangerous driving

Matthew's mother, Margaret Bradley, told the court how she was looking forward to having Christmas with her son when he died.

'He was living in Guildford but we were as close as ever, and I couldn't wait to have him at home with me,' she said.

'I find myself filled with anger and sadness that there will be no more, that I will never watch him get married, or start a family of his own, or grow into the man he should have been.'

Matthew's death was almost identical to the circumstances in which his brother David died 23 years earlier.

He was killed after being hit by a car in front of the family home.

Matthew's sister Claire was also 10 weeks pregnant at the time of his death, meaning that he was soon going to be an uncle.

Claire was waiting until her 12-week scan to tell her brother that she was pregnant.

She said: 'I was 10 weeks pregnant when Matthew was killed. I was waiting for my 12 week scan to share the good news.

'Matthew now has a nephew he will never meet.

'When your parents are gone you lose the past, when your siblings are gone you lose the past and the future.'

His mother added: 'To know that my beautiful son has been killed is horrendous. But to also know who did this just drove away is truly unbearable.

'Their first thoughts weren't to stop, to see if there was still a pulse, to phone for an ambulance to help, or to show the tiniest touch of human compassion to just kneel beside him so he wasn't entirely alone when he took his final breath.

'Instead they just sped away, and abandoned the car in the hope that they would get away with what they had done.

Matthew was going to be home with his parents for Christmas in 2017. He died just weeks before the holiday

'I try to focus on the many, many happy memories we shared but as times I find myself filled with anger and sadness that there will be no more, that I will never watch him get married, or start a family of his own, or grow into the man he should have been.

'The loss of Matthew is a void in my heart that can never be filled.'

Matthew's father Donal told the court how he had discussed the future with his son.

He said: 'I miss him most for his companionship - we travelled in the van together, ate from the same lunchbox, drank tea from the same flask.

'It had been our intention when Matthew returned at Christmas that we would discuss the future of our business and the house, this would have been a legacy for him to take over in the future.

'Matthew was my only surviving son and I loved him dearly. I have been left in an enormous amount of grief again and see no end in sight having lost my second baby boy.'

Floral tributes were left by Matthew's fiance Rhiannon Williams at the scene where he was killed, shortly after his death.

In her victim impact statement Rhiannon said that her 'heart is beyond broken' over losing the love of her life and her 'future'.

Rhiannon also told how, on the day of his death, she struggled to let Matthew go from a hug because it was the first time they had been separated since moving in together in Guildford.

She said: 'We talked a lot about our future. He had it all planned out, he knew when we would get married, where it would be and who would be there.

'Once we had arrived and dropped my stuff off, my uncle drove Matt and I to Liverpool. We arrived at the hotel he was staying at about 9pm and we said our goodbyes.

'I gave him a big hug; I didn't want to let him go as it was the first night we were apart since he had moved in together.

'On the way back to the car park I walked along the Strand, passing where it would happen.

'Throughout the evening Matt and I texted each other, just checking in. I went back to my aunt and uncle's house and he stopped texting.

'I thought he'd lost his phone or broken it but I had a bad feeling.

'Every morning I wake up, I remember what has happened and my heart breaks and the world crashes around me. Not only have I lost the love of my life, I have lost my future.

'Matthew was my everything and my heart is beyond broken.'
The head of MI6 has agreed to become to organisation's longest serving chief for 50 years.

Alex Younger, 55, was asked to continue in his job - rather than retire as planned this November - because Downing Street wants to maintain stability amid Brexit turmoil.

Theresa May announced earlier this week that Mr Younger would continue in his position for at least another year on the recommendation of her National Security Advisor and Cabinet Secretary, Sir Mark Sedwill.

Alex Younger (pictured), who has been head of MI6 for almost five years, was due to retire in November - but is now staying on for at least another year

A senior Whitehall source told the Daily Telegraph: 'With so much of the governments attention being focused on the Brexit negotiations it was felt there was a need to maintain a degree of continuity and stability in the intelligence services'.

Whitehall sources predict that the extension of Mr Younger's post could last up to two years if Brexit negotiations continue.

However this still wouldn't let Mr Younger compete with Sir Dick White, who was head of MI6 for 12 years between 1956-1968 at the height of the Cold War.

Mr Younger will be the longest serving 'C' - the initial used within Whitehall to denote the head of MI6 - since Sir White.

It is unusual for someone in the role to stay on for more than five years, with Mr Younger's predecessors Sir John Sawers, Sir John Scarlett and Sir Richard Dearlove all leaving within that period.

But Andrew Parker, the head of MI5, has agreed to remain in the role during the post-Brexit transition period - until 2020.

In December last year Mr Younger (pictured), known by the code name 'C', told students at his alma mater, the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, that Britain will fortify its intelligence ties to European counterparts

And one former senior Whitehall official told The Times: 'The five-year stint is not set in concrete'.

It is believed that Mr Younger especially impressed Mrs May with the way he dealt with last year's Salisbury poisoning fiasco when Russian GRU intelligence agents attempted to assassinate former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia with nerve agent Novichok.

In December last year Mr Younger told students at his alma mater, the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, that Britain will fortify its intelligence ties to European counterparts even though Britain is leaving the European Union next year.

He encouraged students to seek employment at MI6 even if they don't fit the typical profile of an intelligence officer.

MI6 deals with international security challenges. The official threat level in Britain is set at 'severe,' indicating that intelligence analysts believe an attack is highly likely.

Questions remain over how intelligence will be shared between Britain and other EU countries - with such behaviour having been key to preventing terrorist attacks in the past.

It is hoped that with Mr Younger in place during the Brexit transition period, ambiguities over the future relationship between security services can be more easily discussed. Pictured is the MI6 building

In January, two senior former security chiefs condemned Theresa May's Brexit deal - which was later voted down - as a threat to national security.

Ex-MI6 boss Sir Richard Dearlove and former head of the Armed Force Lord Charles Guthrie insisted the deal would 'threaten the national security of the country in fundamental ways'.

It is hoped that with Mr Younger in place during the Brexit transition period, ambiguities over the future relationship between security services can be more easily discussed.

Until the 1990s, the spymaster's identity was kept secret.

His predecessor, John Sawers, was the agency's most high-profile boss, delivering speeches and appearing at televised parliamentary hearings but Mr Younger is credited with restoring morale after he left.

Mr Younger joined MI6 in 1991 after he served as a commissioned officer in the Scots Guards.

He also served as an operational intelligence officer for MI6 in Europe and the Middle East and was also the service's station chief in Afghanistan during the US-led coalition against the Taliban.
A community has been left devastated after an 18-year-old's girl was found dead in an apparent suicide on Thursday.

The death in remote region of Balgo in WA brings the total number of indigenous suicides to 30 this year, according to the National Indigenous Critical Response Service.

The suicide is the 10th in the Kimberly region since the beginning of 2018.

Eight of those deaths were children under the age of 18, suicide prevention researcher Gerry Georgatos a suicide prevention researcher told ABC News.

The latest death makes it the region of Balgo in WA's 10th suicide since 2018, eight of which were youth suicides

It comes after an inquest into the suicides of 13 young people across the region.

WA Coroner Ros Fogliani who concluded that 'inter-generational trauma' was responsible to the terrible loss of life.

Three 12-year-old indigenous children have committed suicide since January, according to the National indigenous Critical Response Service (NICRS).

Rochelle Pryor, 14, took her life in January after posting a heartbreaking message to Facebook.

'Once I'm gone, the bullying and racism will stop,'she wrote.

She was one of five young indigenous girls who took their own lives across Australia in January.

The recently revealed federal budget stated $461million would be spent on youth mental health - but only $5million over four years would go towards indigenous youth suicide.

The funding, that comes in to effect next financial year, may not come soon enough for some.

Indigenous psychologist and Professor Tracy Westerman said the government is not targeting the right areas.

'Consistently we just don't have the services that we need in those remote areas,' she said.

Five young indigenous girls took their own lives across Australia in January (pictured Rochelle Pryor, from Perth, took her own life after a cry for help on social media)

Professor Westerman said the issues are developed at a policy level with city-based policy makers naturally biased and with indigenous mental health and suicide still not fully understood.

'There's a narrative that gets created in Australia that somehow indigenous people are responsible for the suicides of their children and there's a lack of empathy for bereaved indigenous parents,' she said.

Gerry Georgatos has previously said poverty and living conditions in remote indigenous communities are part of the problem.

'Suicide is multi-factorial and multilayered with an arc of issues, some which intertwine, but it is not complex. There is an underwriting narrative  poverty,' Mr Georgatos wrote for Independent Australia.

'In my research  borne robustly from the experiential  responding to suicide-affected families, nearly 100 per cent of First Nations suicides are of people living below the poverty line.

For confidential support call the Lifeline 24-hour crisis support on 13 11 14
James Packer's startling reaction to learning Wynn had pulled the pin on a $10billion Crown takeover bid has prompted speculation he has 'disengaged' from the casino group.

Crown directors met on Wednesday for one of the most important board meetings in its history to discuss a $14.75 per share offer by the Las Vegas-based casino giant.

But within hours of the 'confidential discussions' being made public, the American casino company abruptly ended its talks with Crown executives.

Wynn Resorts is believed to have terminated the deal after 'premature disclosure of preliminary discussions' were made public, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

James Packer's (pictured) dream to build a $2.2 billion high-end hotel and casino complex in Barangaroo could be sold off as the magnate becomes 'disengaged' with Sydney

Crown directors met on Wednesday for one of the most important board meetings in its history to discuss a $14.75 per share offer by Las Vegas-based casino giant Wynn (pictured)

Despite the lucrative deal falling through, the future of the brand remains to be seen as Packer has allegedly lost interest in seeing his latest venture come to fruition.

In years gone by, Packer may well have demanded to know who leaked the details of the takeover, but on Wednesday his reaction was described as low-key, The Australian reported.

Appearing before the board on Tuesday from the comfort of luxury Aspen property, West Buttermilk Estate, the billionaire was reportedly 'subdued and philosophical'.

While Packer was once brimming with ambition and a 'what's next' attitude - transforming Crown into a global empire - his priorities have reportedly changed.

'It was all spend, spend, spend,' as one casino executive recently put it. 'And then it was a complete 180-degree switch.'

Those close to the magnate say he has become increasingly 'disengaged' from his ownership of Crown and made it known he was prepared to sell his stake.

Some people close to Packer have speculated the pressures of his personal and professional life have led to him seeking a 'low-profile' life.

Despite the failed Wynn deal, the future of Crown remains to be seen as Packer has allegedly lost interest in seeing the Barangaroo Crown (pictured) project come to fruition

Few casino moguls have endured as much public exposure and scrutiny as Packer (right), whose failed relationships - including one with Mariah Carey (left) - became media fodder

Few casino moguls have endured as much public exposure and scrutiny as Packer, whose failed relationships - including one with Mariah Carey - became media fodder.

He also made headlines when he had a very embarrassing public punch-up with his best mate David Gyngell on the streets of Bondi in 2014.

Packer has also opened up about his struggles with depression, which led to him becoming a recluse and putting on weight, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

'I became depressed and I was emotionally exhausted and my marriage had broken up,' he previously told Mike Willesee in 2013.

'I felt isolated, I felt like a failure ... it was not a great time in my life.'

In Damon Kitney's 2018 biography of his life The Price of Fortune, the 51-year-old was also quoted as saying: 'I am tired of being on this roller coaster.

'I don't want to do it any more. I'm ready to put my hands up for a few years. I really am,' he said.
While Julian Assange is being dealt with by authorities in London after being dragged from a cramped corner room at the Ecuadoran embassy in London, questions are now being asked as to what has happened to his cat.

The cat, called James, was the Wikileaks founder's only constant companion over the past seven years during his time at the embassy.

The cute kitty even had an online following thanks to its own Twitter account with 32,000 followers and Instagram page with 7,000 followers.

Julian Assange's cat could regularly be seen at the window of the embassy wearing little ties

The fury feline had its own Twitter and Instagram pages controlled by Assange, pictured left

Julian Assange got the cat early on in his stay at the embassy when it was still just a kitten

Julian Assange's cat is pictured wearing a tie and collar, left. A woman photographs the cat on a window sill outside the Equadorean Embassy in Knightsbridge, right

The cat would open have pictured posted with a political message somewhere close by

Former Consul of Ecuador to London Fidel Narvaez, WikiLeaks editor in chief Kristinn Hrafnsson and barrister Jennifer Robinson held a news conference relating to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Wednesday. The cat could be seen in this image

The furry friend was a fixture at the embassy and apparently used to like to jump on Christmas tree ornaments and sit on the window sills, according to The Independent.

Quite apart from Assange's own fate, many online have also pondered how the cat might fare.

'Is Julian Assange's cat going to be okay though?' one person asked.

'I do hope that someone looks after his cat, who must be very confused about all this,' another said.

Although it remains unclear what has happened to the furry feline, a number of sources have reported the animal left the place a long time ago and was no longer in residence.

La Republica, an Italian newspaper, reported last year that the cat was gone for good.

At one stage embassy staff had to tell him to look after and clean up after his pet

Staff at the embassy say the cat had not been living there for some time. This photo was taken as the cat sat on the balcony of the embassy in July 2018

The author of the piece who had visited Assange for a story wrote: 'Not even the cat is there anymore ... Assange has preferred to spare the cat an isolation which has become unbearable and allow it a healthier life.'

A Russian news agency, Sputnik News, also contacted the Ecuadoran embassy who confirmed the cat disappeared months ago.

'It is not here since September, I think,' the official told Sputnik. 'It was taken by Mr Assange's associates a long ago. It is not here. We are not a pet store, so we do not keep pets here.'

A former employee of WikiLeaks, James Ball, said that the embassy gave the cat to a shelter 'ages ago'.

It is believed the cat was either given to a shelter or is now with a friend of the family

At one stage, Assange thought the cat would be good publicity and help with his 'image'

Julian Assange's cat sits in the window of Ecuador's embassy, pictures in November 2016

Photographers would often take pictures of a cat in the window of the flat at the Embassy of Ecuador. This photo was taken in May 2017

Meanwhile, a member of Assange's legal team has claimed that a family member is looking after the kitty after the Ecuadoran embassy threatened to take the pet to a shelter.

'Ecuador threatened to put Assange's cat in the pound,' said Hanna Jonasson in a tweet. 'Incensed at the threat, he asked his lawyers to take his cat to safety. The cat is with Assange's family. They will be reunited in freedom.'

Last year, the Ecuadoran embassy instructed Assange to look after his room better - to clean his bathroom and take better care of his cat or risk losing it.

The cat, called James, had very good fashion sense, as befits a cat living in posh Knightsbridge

Like so many other tabby cats, Assange's cat found there was often nothing better than curling up by the window and watching the world go by

John Bradshaw, a cat expert, says wherever that cat is now, it is likely in a far happier place than being with Assange.

'It seems quite possible that the cat may not have been particularly attached to Mr Assange anyway,' Bradshaw told The Washington Post. 'If it's already been moved, I would guess that it is missing the Embassy more than it misses him.'

Bradshaw advises the new owners to keep the cat inside as it grew up inside the embassy. The worry would be that if allowed to roam, it would try and make a return to its former home.

'It will probably try to get back to Knightsbridge and likely fall foul of the traffic,' Bradshaw noted.
Artie Lange has confirmed he is working as a garbage man after video emerged of the comic collecting trash and tipping it into a truck.

'You're going to keep this quiet right, I'm sure,' Lange, is heard saying on the video filmed in a New Jersey community.

'All right, I love you,' he adds to the man filming the footage.

Artie Lange is working as a garbage man in a New Jersey community as part of his mandated drug court program as reported by Radar Online

Video shows Lange wearing gloves and dressed up in a yellow vest emptying trash into the back of a truck

Lange, 51, who has a cigarette hanging out of his mouth is seen wearing bright gloves and a yellow vest, picking up a trash can and then emptying it into a garbage truck, as reported by Radar Online.

He looks in good spirits as he puts the trash can back in its place at the side of the road.

A representative of Lange's posted on Facebook footage showing Lange hitching a lift on the side of the garbage truck as he traveled down the road.

Lange (pictured above) has struggled with years of drug addiction that has led to the partial collapse of his nose

Lange confirmed through Facebook that he is working to satisfy a drug court program

'Just heard from Artie. Someone snapped this video and it got back to him. He wanted everyone to know he's fine with it. Per Artie 'It's true i'm working to satisfy my drug court program. I work with great people. Nothing wrong with a little hard work. Love you all and can't wait to be back on stage,'' the Facebook post reads.

In December 2018 Lange shared an image of his collapsed nose on social media to explain the appearance, blaming it on 'three decades of drug abuse.'

Lange is serving four years probation for heroin possession.

He was arrested for possession of a controlled substance in late January after reporting to Superior Court in Newark, New Jersey, and testing positive for cocaine for the second time in six weeks while on probation.

Lange was arrested again in March after failing his probation and testing positive for cocaine, according to Radar Online. He is due to complete the drug court program in August.
Theresa May has a good chance of striking a soft Brexit deal with Labour in the coming weeks, Philip Hammond said last night.

Speaking in Washington ahead of an IMF meeting, the Chancellor said the Government and the Labour leadership agree on the fundamentals of Brexit.

He also said he expected Parliament to vote again on whether to hold a second referendum  but warned that the new Brexit delay would not give time to hold one.

And Mr Hammond, who has long favoured a softer Brexit, urged MPs to back a revised Brexit deal, saying there was a phenomenal amount of investment being held off by business.

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Chancellor Philip Hammond (left) has backed Prime Minister Theresa May (right) and said she has a 'good chance' of striking a deal with Labour

Controversial Brexit talks continued yesterday, with David Lidington (pictured above), the de facto deputy prime minister meeting with Labour

Controversial Brexit talks continued yesterday, with David Lidington, the de facto deputy prime minister, and Environment Secretary Michael Gove meeting Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell.

More talks are expected next week as the Prime Minister tries to cobble together a deal that can win a Commons majority and get Britain out of the EU.

Tory Eurosceptics have bridled at the prospect of a soft Brexit deal with Labour. International Trade Secretary Liam Fox has described the idea of a customs union, which is favoured by Labour, as the worst of both worlds.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell (left) met with Michael Gove (right) as well as David Lidington to discuss the deal

But Mr Hammond, who was involved in the talks this week, said there was a good chance of being able to reach an agreement on a way forward over the next few weeks.

We agree on quite a lot, he said.

The Labour Party is clear that we have to deliver Brexit, they are clear we have to deliver freedom of movement.

End of austerity could hinge of the success of PM's Brexit deal, says Hammond The Chancellor Philip Hammond has warned the end of austerity could hang in the balance if wayward members of parliament don't back Prime Minister Theresa May's deal. The Brexit hold-up could also put a break on the search for a Bank of England (BoE) governor to succeed Mark Carney next year. Whilst in Washington for the IMF meeting, the Chancellor said uncertainty had diverted the government from a spending review which had previously been billed in his spring statement as 'the road out of austerity'. Speaking while attending the meeting he said plans were now in jeopardy for the three-year budgets for government departments and local authorities that the Treasury had hoped to finalise over the summer and present in his Autumn budget. 'If we don't have a deal done, the level of uncertainty that will remain probably makes it inappropriate to do a long term spending review'. The Financial Times reported that instead, the Treasury would be forced to give a short extension of current spending plans, which don't include funds to end austerity. Mr Hammond added: 'Huge areas of civil service have been focusing on no-deal preparations. 'Some of the preparatory work that would normally have been done in departments may not have been done or may not be as advanced as would otherwise be the case.' Highlighting the issue of a new BoE governor, Mr Hammond insisted there was no chance that Mr Carney would be staying on beyond his 2020 departure date. 'There may be some candidates who might be deterred from the application because of the political debate around Brexit, which the governor of the BoE cannot avoid being a part of'. Advertisement

'We have some disagreements about priorities and about approach but we agree on the fundamentals.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is under intense pressure from Labour activists to demand a second referendum as the price of any deal.

Mr Hammond said it was very likely that Parliament would get another chance to vote on a second referendum, which has already been rejected by MPs three times.

But he said the Government remained opposed to the idea  and warned that the new October 31 Brexit date agreed this week in Brussels would not give time for another poll.

Mr Hammond said Labour is deeply divided on this issue and will have to decide where it stands as a party.

Yesterday Mr McDonnell said: 'Talks are going on, constructive, so we're hopeful, positive.'

Mrs May and Mr Corbyn held a surprise second meeting on Wednesday afternoon.

He also confirmed that Mrs May doesnt have any intention of leaving her job until she has taken Britain out of the EU.

The Chancellor said Brexit wrangling had harmed British business and damaged our international reputation.

He said a phenomenal amount of investment in the UK is being held in suspended animation until there is clarity on Brexit.

British firms had 750billion in cash sitting on their balance sheets that could be unleashed.

Mr Hammond also spoke out about the European Parliament elections. Clearly nobody wants to fight the European elections  it feels like a pointless exercise, he told the BBC.

Earlier this week Mrs May signalled the talks are more advanced than had been thought as she told MPs there was 'more agreement in relation to a customs union than is often given credit'.

She also hinted at plans to bring forward legislation to implement the Brexit deal before any new 'meaningful vote' to try and approve it at a fourth attempt.

Mr Corbyn also hinted at progress in the Commons this week - and did not repeat his claim Mrs May has refused to shift her position.
President Donald Trump's longtime confidant, Roger Stone, asked a federal judge Friday to compel the Justice Department to turn over a full copy of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on the Russia investigation in his criminal case.

Stone has pleaded not guilty to charges he lied to Congress, engaged in witness tampering and obstructed a congressional investigation into possible collusion between Russia and Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

In a court filing late Friday night, his lawyers said Stone is entitled to see the confidential report - which was submitted to the attorney general late last month - because it would help prove their allegation that there are constitutional issues with the investigation.

'No other person, Committee, or entity has Stone's constitutionally based standing to demand the complete, unredacted Report... Only then can he determine whether the Report contains material which could be critical to his defense,' Stone's attorneys contended in their filings.

Roger Stone, an associate of President Donald Trump, leaves U.S. District Court after a court status conference on his seven charges on March 14

In the view of Stone's attorneys, Mueller didn't have the authority to prosecute him for lying to Congress

In a separate action, a former aide to Stone who was subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury asked a federal appeals court to determine whether he still needs to testify now that the Russia probe has concluded.

Stone's team also filed motions Friday night arguing he was selectively prosecuted, challenging the constitutionality of Mueller's appointment and that the special counsel didn't have the ability to prosecute him for lying to Congress.

They allege that Congress did not formally make a referral to the Justice Department about Stone's testimony and because of that, Mueller's investigation was 'a violation of the separation of powers.'

In court documents, the lawyers argue they are entitled to a private disclosure of the nearly 400-page report that Mueller submitted to Attorney General William Barr late last month and said they 'must be allowed to review the Report in its entirety because it contains the government's evidence and conclusions on matters essential to Stone's defense.'

Trump has said the Mueller report was a 'complete and total exoneration'

Attorney General William Barr (pictured) wrote in a four-page summary of Mueller's 'principal conclusions' that the special counsel did not find a criminal conspiracy between Russia and Trump associates during the campaign, but did not reach a definitive conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice

'To be clear, Stone is not requesting the Report be disclosed to the world - only to his counsel so that it may aid in preparing his defense,' the lawyers wrote.

Stone, who is set to go on trial in November, has maintained his innocence and blasted the special counsel's investigation as politically motivated.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which stem from conversations he had during the campaign about WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy group that released material stolen from Democratic groups, including Hillary Clinton's campaign.

In a four-page letter to Congress that detailed Mueller's 'principal conclusions,' Barr said the special counsel did not find a criminal conspiracy between Russia and Trump associates during the campaign, but did not reach a definitive conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice.

Instead, Mueller presented evidence on both sides of the obstruction question, but Barr said he did not believe the evidence was sufficient to prove that Trump had obstructed justice.

Barr has said he expects to release a redacted version of Mueller's report next week that will be sent to Congress and made public.

In the separate case, Andrew Miller, a former Stone aide, filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia over the subpoena he was issued in Mueller's investigation.

Stone has pleaded not guilty to charges he lied to Congress, engaged in witness tampering and obstructed Congress's Russia investigation

Last year, Mueller's team sought Miller's testimony regarding Stone, WikiLeaks and the Russian government-controlled online persona Guccifer 2.0, which was used to release hacked material during the 2016 election. But Miller challenged his grand jury subpoena, arguing that Mueller's appointment was unconstitutional.

Earlier this year a three-judge panel of the court upheld the special counsel's appointment and a contempt order intended to force Miller to testify.

In the new petition, Miller's attorney, Paul Kamenar, argued that the matter now appears to be moot because Stone has been indicted and like 'Cinderella's carriage that turned into a pumpkin at midnight, special counsel Mueller's authority expired.'

Kamenar is now asking the court to have the government formally say whether it will still pursue Miller's testimony. If that's the case, Kamenar is asking for a rehearing of the case. He said in a statement that he will take the fight to the Supreme Court if necessary.
A 30-year-old man has been arrested and charged after he stopped traffic to take a selfie.

Police claim the unidentified male scaled Storey Bridge, which spans the Brisbane River between the northern and southern suburbs of the city, around 4am on Saturday.

The man from Bonbeach in Victoria allegedly caused the bridge to be shut down temporarily, sparking traffic chaos.

Police claim the unidentified male scaled Storey Bridge (pictured) which spans the Brisbane River

He also interrupted a party of sightseers who had paid to climb the bridge, police allege.

He now faces three separate charges.

He's been charged with unregulated high-risk activities, public nuisance and obstruct police.

Storey Bridge is a steel cantilever bridge, which is 74metres in height, and is a heritage-listed site.

He is due to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on April 26.
An elderly woman with Parkinson's disease was 'brutally' murdered in her home but police are no closer to finding her killer.

Vicki Ramadan's body was discovered inside her Melbourne home last Saturday by a handyman who believes she had already been dead for several days.

'It was a brutal attack, there's no other way to put it,' Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper said to to Nine News.

Police later said that Vicki, 77, had been beaten to death as they revealed the popular pensioner hadn't been seen since April 1.

'Further enquiries have led investigators to believe Vicki had not been seen since sometime in March and are appealing for anyone who may have seen Vicki at any time in March or April to come forward,' a statement from Victoria Police read.

Vicki Ramadan's body was discovered inside her Melbourne home last Saturday by a handyman who believes she had already been dead for several days

Vicki woman lived alone and still remained fiercely independent, and regularly rode the bus to her local shopping centre.

Police are investigating several leads as speculation continues over Vicki's death.

One theory is that she was killed during a particularly violent burglary.

Vicki was the perfect target for thieves, she always carried cash and she wore expensive jewellery.

Her home was burgled several times in recent years, with the most recent break-in taking place just a few months ago.

In October a thief loaded up their ute with Vicki's belongings while she was out.

Another line of inquiry for police is a squatters den near to Vicki's home where illegal activity and drug taking were known to take place.

One report claimed Vicki had confronted one of the squatters who snapped at her, causing her to live in fear.

Vicki lived in a house surround by barbed wire due to the frequent break-ins she experienced

Police have appealed for information about those living in the squatter's house.

Neighbours overheard screaming at 3.45am on April 4 and another witness observed three men with a car and a motorbike parked nearby.

The witness said the men were using a flashlight to search the boot of a car and then drove off a few minutes later.

A neighbour said he last saw Vicki alive at around 5.30pm that day when she got off the bus and was walking towards her home, however this has yet to be confirmed by police.

The lonely widow's body was discovered two days later.

With limited information the Victorian Homicide Squad said they need to public's help to nail down more details of her whereabouts in the lead up to her death.

'We are appealing to the public to help us narrow down the movements of this lady,' Detective Sergeant Graham Ross said.
Two jockeys were sent flying from their horses at Royal Randwick ahead of Winx's final race on Saturday.

Andrew Adkins and fellow jockey Glyn Schofield took frightening falls in the first race of the day in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

Persan, ridden by Schofield, fell within the last 50 metres of the 1600 metres Kings of Sydney Sport Mile, bringing down horse War Baron and jockey Adkins.

Two jockeys have been sent flying from their horses at Royal Randwick ahead of Winx's final race

Glyn Schofield attends to Andrew Atkins after they both fell from their horses during Race 1 the Kings Of Sydney Sport Mile

Persan, ridden by Schofield, fell within the last 50 metres bringing down War Baron and Adkins

Adkins was sent diving head first into the turf as the competition narrowed ahead of the final post.

The horses escaped the tumble unscathed and continued running beyond the post before they were caught by handlers.

Schofield, who was able to walk away from the accident, was seen checking on a motionless Adkins before paramedics joined the track.

A black plastic screen was placed on the track as Adkins received treatment before he was transported to Prince of Wales Hospital as a precaution.

It is understood he suffered a concussion from the fall.

'He was quite shaken and he was in shock and he was in quite a panic when they got to him,' a Sky Racing commentator said.

Jockey Mark Zahra successfully rode Power Scheme to victory in Race 1.

The horses escaped the tumble unscathed and continued running beyond the post before they were contained

Adkins received treatment before he was transported to Prince of Wales Hospital as a precaution
Students at Barnard College and Columbia University pare demanding answers after shocking video showed a black student get forcibly detained by six public safety officers for failing to show his school ID.

Upsetting video shows the officers slamming Alexander McNab, an anthropology Senior, against a counter top after he declined to show them his Columbia student identification on Thursday night.

The incident took place at the Milstein Center for Teaching and Learning at Barnard College. McNab was entering the building after 11pm.

'I didn't violate anybody; get your hands off of me,' McNab can be heard shouting repeatedly as the officers manhandle him.

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Upsetting video shows the officers slamming Alexander McNab, an anthropology Senior, against a counter top t the Milstein Center for Teaching and Learning at Barnard College

As the guards tell the student to show his ID and continue pushing him into the counter, McNab shouts that he has not touched any of them.

One of the public safety officers notices that the altercation is being filmed and instructs the group to 'walk outside' so they can handle the matter.

McNab then shows the officers his Columbia student identification and informs them that 'this is the third time that Barnard public safety has chased me down.'

The officer keeps telling McNab to walk outside but the student asserts his right to be on the premises as a Columbia student.

But the safety officer confiscates the student's ID and McNab furiously follows demanding that his identification is returned to him.

McNab then shows the officers his Columbia student identification and informs them that 'this is the third time that Barnard public safety has chased me down'

McNab continues asserting his right as a student but the officer decides that he needs to check if he is 'active' and keeps trying to get him to come outside.

The student apologizes to his peers for the disturbance, but they tell him 'don't be sorry.'

Another clip shows the continuation of the arguing between McNab and the main officer who held unto his identification.

The student apologizes to his peers for the disturbance, but they tell him 'don't be sorry'

The officer repeatedly states that he needs to 'verify' that McNab is actually a student and claims that he was stopped for running into the building and not showing his ID.

But both McNab and other students state that he was walking into the building, refuting the officers claim.

Another officer claims that McNab was 'crossing awfully fast' across the street when they noticed him.

McNab declares that he was trying to catch a light as another student - a black woman - ponders why officers have a problem with him crossing the street.

The officer then sarcastically asks the other student if she has a gauge to see how fast McNab was walking.

As the woman calmly asks the officer why it matters how fast McNab was crossing the street, the officer tells her to 'relax' and insinuates that the woman is being aggressive.

But the woman informs the man that she is relaxed and asks the officer to stop talking to her.

The clip ends with the camera woman - another student - telling the same officer that the woman was relaxed as he walks away.

McNab continues asserting his right as a student but the officer decides that he needs to check if he is 'active' and keeps trying to get him to come outside

A 'loose policy' states that students are required to show their IDs to Public Safety after 11pm in order to enter campus.

McNab told the Columbia Spectator that he was aware of the rule but noticed that white students were hardly ever asked to show their identification.

He stresses that he refused to go outside because he wanted to make sure people could keep filming the scene.

The student also alleged that on two occasions Barnard public safety officers harassed him and accused him of not attending Columbia. Both instances involved McNab being in the space for dance practice.

When witnesses try to step in, the officers sarcastically dismiss them and tell them to calm down

A 'loose policy' states that students are required to show their IDs to Public Safety after 11pm in order to enter campus. McNab told the Columbia Spectator that he was aware of the rule but noticed that white students were hardly ever asked to show their identification

On the first occasion, McNab said that he was asked to show his identification as he was leaving the premises. On the other, officers assumed that he was a homeless man as he was getting a drink of water while barefoot during rehearsal.

'Because of all of that, I said 'Nah, that's not happening again this time,' McNab explained as to why he refused to show his ID.

Of the encounter, he added: 'What I didn't see coming was when they got the other Public Safety officer to come to the side and pin me to the counter. I hadn't made any threats; all I said was I'm not going to show you my ID. I don't understand where that came from.'

Students organized a protest at Barnard Gates soon after the statements were released and wound up at Barnard Hall, where they chanted 'Public Safety is not safe!' and 'Public Safety is anti-black.' McNab was said to be in attendance for the protest

'It's like I was resisting arrest or something. It was very much like an NYPD police officer-type interaction.'

Both Barnard and Columbia held listening sessions on Friday for students to share their concerns about what had happened.

Barnard President Sian Beilock expressed 'deep regret' for the 'unfortunate incident,' adding that it 'raised concerns about our safety and security policies and how they are enforced.'

The deans of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, General Studies, and Columbia College followed up and released a second joint statement condemning anti-black racism.

'We recognize there is a continued legacy of anti-black racism that has existed in our country since its founding. The more recent climate of racism and inflammatory rhetoric in both the country and the world at large continues to demonstrate a rising trend that targets marginalized populations. We are disturbed that such incidents continue to occur so close to home, and share in the hurt and pain many of you may be feeling.'

Barnard also announced that the six officers were placed on paid administrative leave as they hired private investigators to look into the incident.

'We are taking this very seriously and look forward to further engaging the community on this topic,' the school's statement reads. 'Barnard values inclusivity and is committed to ensuring a safe, respectful, and welcoming place for each and every member of our community, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or national origin.'

Students organized a protest at Barnard Gates soon after the statements were released and wound up at Barnard Hall, where they chanted 'Public Safety is not safe!' and 'Public Safety is anti-black.' McNab was said to be in attendance for the protest.
The studio behind J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter spin-off book adaptions is reportedly 'freaking out' that documents leaked Thursday from Johnny Depp's defamation lawsuit against ex Amber Heard could seriously harm the success of their movies.

The actress claims Depp - who plays Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts 3 - 'beat, choked and tormented her'.

And a source at Warner Bros. has alleged they're eager to disassociate themselves with the star, but his casting has had strong backing from the book's author.

'Executives at Warner Bros. are wondering how to deal with the backlash of the Depp matter on the Harry Potter franchise,' a source told Page Six.

'High-level female execs at the studio are extremely worried about working with Depp and the message it sends to the public.'

Warner Bros. is reportedly 'freaking out' about Johnny Depp lawsuit claims. Documents filed in court Thursday by ex Amber Heard (pictured November 2015) allege domestic abuse

Depp plays Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts 3 but studio source claims they're reluctant to disassociate themselves with actor

The insider explained that allegations about abuse from Depp has piled on the pressure - especially after CEO Kevin Tsujihara left in March following an aleged casting couch scandal.

Page Six reports employees suspect Rowling's choice to move past initial allegations against the actor might have something to do with the Warner Bros. stance on the November 2020 motion picture.

'This is yet another blow to the morale of female employees at the studio,' the source said. 'If Warner Bros. continues to stick by Depp, it would reveal a lot about the values the company holds.

'Many at Warner Bros. wish that Rowling hadn't come out so strongly behind Depp, because having made her opinion so public boxes them into a corner.'

Rowling wrote on her website in December 2017 that she was 'deeply concerned' about stories in the press when Depp was cast in the first motion picture and acknowledged questions from Harry Potter fans about their choice to continue with Johnny Depp in the role.

'As David Yates, long-time Potter director, has already said, we naturally considered the possibility of recasting. I understand why some have been confused and angry about why that didn't happen,' Rowling wrote online.

'For me personally, the inability to speak openly to fans about this issue has been difficult, frustrating and at times painful. However, the agreements that have been put in place to protect the privacy of two people, both of whom have expressed a desire to get on with their lives, must be respected.

The company is reportedly concerned film won't do well and that female employees won't feel supported

'Based on our understanding of the circumstances, the filmmakers and I are not only comfortable sticking with our original casting, but genuinely happy to have Johnny playing a major character in the movies.'

But Harry Potter spin-off book author J.K. Rowling praised Depp as Grindelwald in 2017

Rowling added that she 'can't wait' for fans to see third installment The Crimes of Grindelwald.

'I accept that there will be those who are not satisfied with our choice of actor in the title role,' Rowling continued. 'However, conscience isn't governable by committee. Within the fictional world and outside it, we all have to do what we believe to be the right thing.'

Depp's lawyer, Adam Waldman, has maintained that that Heard is orchestrating 'a hoax' as she insists the man she filed for divorce from in May 2016, tried to choke her.

'Ms. Heard has a new problem besides defamation, perjury and filing and receiving a fraudulent temporary restraining order demand with the court: We are now interviewing other women who have come forward claiming they are victims of horrific acts of violence and other abuse at the hands of Amber Heard, in addition to Johnny Depp and Tasya van Rhee, the latter of whom Ms. Heard was previously arrested and incarcerated for assaulting,' Waldman said in a statement to The New York Post Thursday.

'We have now issued subpoenas to Amber Heard, her hoax assisting friends, Elon Musk and other witnesses to explain the avalanche of video, audio, photographic and testimonial evidence with which we intend to confront them.'

Some of the text messages Depp sent Heard during their turbulent relationship have been obtained by DailyMail.com.

In the texts, sent in May 25, 2014, he taunted her for filming The Adderall Diaries with James Franco, a movie she said she needed to take part in for the paycheck.

The exchange occurred at a time when, Heard claims, Depp had returned to drinking and using drugs. They met when he was sober, she says.

Heard and James Franco are shown filming The Adderall Diaries, a movie which Depp did not approve of and taunted her for making, text messages between he and Heard reveal

The texts started the day after Depp allegedly hit and kicked Heard on board a private jet. She called him Steve in her phone and he had her number saved as Slim

Heard, who was 28 at the time, said she needed to take the movie to support her family and herself but Depp was uncomfortable with it

Heard claims Depp kicked her in the back and hit her repeatedly on a flight.

His number was saved under 'Steve' in her phone and hers was saved under 'Slim' in his to try to protect their privacy, she explains in the documents.

In one exchange he told her about her decision to star in The Adderall Diaries in 2015, the year they married: 'Were you hoping for my opinion on the James Franco piece??

This March 2013 text is what Depp allegedly said to Heard after hitting her for the first time. He called her a 'c**t'

'I'd rather you didn't stoop to that level, but... you've already told me how much you like the material and that it's not a money gig... So... it's 'art'... I'm not gonna tackle that greased up piggy....No m'am...You have to do that film!!! You really want it, obviously... I'm going to sleep. Goodnight...'

In other messages she exchanged with Depp that were included in court documents filed this week, he called himself a 'f*****g savage'.

Other messages included in the documents Heard filed in court on Thursday are between her and nurses who were tasked with caring for Depp.

'Issue has arisen again....he took the meds about 30 mins ago... all the sudden he's flipping again.

'Just started screaming. Don't know what else to do. Sorry to keep at you guys.'

The nurse offered to come over and Heard took her up on her offer.

She then sent another message saying: 'He works himself into a rage without any provocation.'

There are also texts between Heard and friends and neighbors where she apologizes for Depp and say she is 'f****d up'.

In other messages, sent in December 2014 after a different fight, he said: 'I've let it go' then called himself a f*****g savage

She talks about him head butting her and him saying he just gave her a 'knock on the head'.

Those texts were in December 2017 after him pulling clumps of hair from her head and leaving a hole in her scalp, she said.

Heard is trying to have Depp's $50million defamation lawsuit against her dropped.

He claims it was defamatory for her to write in an op-ed for The Washington Post about being the victim of domestic abuse.

She did not name him in the piece and has never publicly spoken about how she says he abused her.

His attorneys say she is lying and that she has fabricated all of the evidence including photographs of damaged homes, text exchanged between multiple people and photographs of her injuries.
Champion mare Winx has won her final race before an adoring and capacity crowd at Royal Randwick.

The world's top-rated turf horse made it an extraordinary 33 consecutive victories spread over four years when she claimed her third consecutive Queen Elizabeth Stakes over 2000 metres.

She won in trademark style, with jockey Hugh Bowman keeping her relaxed and out of harm's way on the outside of the field before beginning her run on the home turn.

Japanese runner Kluger was the stubborn leader and was still in front 100 metres from the winning post but Winx always looked likely to sweep past and she did so to deafening roars from the grandstands.

More than 40,000 punters poured into the venue to say goodbye to a mare who strengthened her claims to being the best to have ever raced in Australia.

The Depression-era galloper Phar Lap had long been regarded as the best ever, and many maintain that he still is, but Winx was now favoured by many others.

Champion mare Winx has won her final race, concluding an unbeaten four-year winning streak of 33 victories

Kluger came in second to unbeaten Winx, followed by Hartnell, as Australia watched with bated breath

A couple of young Winx fans pose for the camera during the festivities at Royal Randwick

Trainer Chris Waller (pictured with wife Stephanie and children) thanked fans across the world for appreciating the peerless mare

Hats off to you: Stacey Roberts was sun smart with her red wide-brimmed hat, which she matched with her lipstick

Home and Away Star Courtney Miller strutted her stuff in a long floral dress with nude heels

Her long-term jockey Bowman said he was humbled to ride the adored thoroughbred on the memorable occasion.

'I haven't made this happen. This is just been complete luck that a horse like this has come into my life,' he said after the race.

'To be able to deal with it, with the emotions, the way that I have, makes me very proud.'

Bowman picked up an unwelcome souvenir as he went to kiss the mare in the winner's circle just as she snapped her head back, leaving the jockey with a split lower lip.

Bowman waved to the sea of fans as he led her back into the yard, while Tina Turner's 'Simply The Best' blared through the course speakers.

'All over Australia. This horse has captured the hearts of a lot of people around the globe,' Bowman said.

'She just showed you what she is capable of doing.'

Trainer Chris Waller - who had three Group One winners for the meeting - thanked fans across the world for appreciating the peerless mare.

Racing enthusiast Abbey Gelmi looked gorgeous in a blue dress and a stylish fascinator

Model Sailor Brinkley Cook wore white trousers paired with a white vest and a black clutch. She topped the look off with a gold headband

Prime Minister Scott Morrison mixes with members of the crowd at Royal Randwick

Hugh Bowman said he was humbled to ride the adored thoroughbred across the final post for the last time as crowds cheered

Winx jumped from the gates and found her feet before Bowman brought her forward to sixth place at 600 metres

Olympic champion Chloe Esposito stunned in a flowy gown at the Championships Day 2 at Royal Randwick Racecourse

Strike a pose: Samantha Jade worked it for the camera Championships Day 2 at Royal Randwick Racecourse

Samantha Jade looked the picture of elegance in her nude dress with her a blunt cut

Home and Away star Sophie Dillman wore a fashion-forward pink and white jumpsuit from SFW Boutique

'I hadn't thought about winning a race like today ever in my lifetime,' he said.

Waller said it was a special moment to share with his wife, children and all the people who have been behind Winx.

Co-owner Debbie Kepitis commended Winx for her final victory, saying the 'amazing' athlete never disappoints.

'The public realise the amazing history they have witnessed today. She is brilliant. She's a credit to everybody that works with her,' she told reporters.

'She touches a lot of souls in very many ways. And for that, I'm very grateful.'

The queen of the track did not appear fazed by the extraordinary scenes at Randwick as cameras followed her every move from the time her float arrived at the course.

There was no repeat of the kicking temper tantrum she displayed after final trackwork on Thursday and instead she remained calm and poised as she was led out to the start, past tens of thousands of camera phones.

Winx jumped from the widest barrier and immediately settled into a comfortable rhythm.

As she passed her regular rivals Happy Clapper and Hartnell, and burnt off English galloper and second favourite He's Eminent there only remained Kluger to pass.

The Japanese galloper was game but stood no chance of holding off Winx as she was roared on by the crowd.

Winx finishes her career with world record earnings of more than $26.3 million.

Racing royalty Kate Waterhouse stepped out in a white ensemble but paired the look with a showstopping red belt

By the last 200 metres, Winx had cleared her competitors and settled into her final win

Winx was led back to the winner's circle by her owners as the course speakers played Tina Turner's Simply the Best

With the unbeaten record, Winx has been hailed as Australia's best racehorse - despite never competing overseas or in the Melbourne Cup.

Trainer Chris Waller said overseas trips and Melbourne Cup were ultimately rejected to maintain her peak performance as a rising eight-year-old.

'Do I have a regret that we've never taken on other horses in other parts of the world? Well, yes, of course I do,' Waller told Racing NSW.

'She's beaten everything that's come to Australia to take her on. She's beaten everything from Australia. She doesn't do it by a length, she does it with authority.

Jockey Bowman celebrates after Winx's final race on Saturday afternoon

The queen of the track did not appear fazed by the scenes as she walked onto the track on Saturday

Winx arrives at Royal Randwick Racecourse on Saturday ahead of her final race

Star jockey Bowman speaks to media at Winx's final track session at Rosehill on Thursday

'She could beat the best horses in the world more often than not  but (the travel and strain) might break her heart. She's one of those horses that puts everything she has into it.

'Do we want heartbroken horses when they're three or do we want longevity? You guys are getting longevity and I hope you're enjoying it.'

Despite Winx still proving she is in prime condition, her owners felt that it was the perfect timing to end her racing career and move into the next phase of her life as a broodmare who will produce some very expensive offspring.

'We had to make the arduous decision of when to pull the pin on her career as a race horse, but she's got a career as a mum,' co-owner Debbie Kepitis said.
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has been forced to apologise after he accused his amputee Labor opponent of using her disability as 'an excuse' to not move into his marginal seat of Dickson.

On Thursday Mr Dutton sparked outrage after he said Ali France was using her disability as an 'excuse' not to move into the north Brisbane electorate.

Senator Kristina Keneally has since labelled the 48-year-old as the 'most toxic man in the Liberal Party' and a 'thug' in a scathing attack on him.

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Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton (pictured) has accused his amputee Labor opponent of using her disability as 'an excuse' to not move into his marginal seat of Dickson

Ali France (pictured) issued a statement on Thursday, which stated she already worked in Dickson and planned to buy a home there and make it more accessible if she won

Following the backlash the Liberal MP was forced to back track.

'I apologise to Ms France for my comments yesterday,' Mr Dutton wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

'My argument with the Labor candidate is about how our respective policies would affect the people of Dickson,' he added.

His social media post came around one hour after Senator Keneally berated him in front of reporters.

'Mr Dutton after all is a thug. Mr Dutton is the most toxic man in Liberal party,' Senator Keneally said.

'Mr Dutton is mean and despicable and Mr Dutton came within a few votes of becoming the Liberal party Prime Minister.'

She also noted that somebody within the Liberal party needed to stand up to Mr Dutton, and said that person should be Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

While Bill Shorten also hit out at the Prime Minister and accused him of being a 'hostage of Peter Dutton' for not requesting an apology.

Mr Morrison on Friday said Mr Dutton's comments had been taken out of context.

Disability advocates had also condemned the comments as 'bizarre' and 'offensive'.

Senator Kristina Keneally has labelled Mr Dutton as the 'most toxic man in the Liberal Party'

Mr Dutton had questioned Ms France's decision not to live in her would-be electorate, saying there were plenty of people with a disability living Dickson.

'A lot of people have raised this with me. I think they are quite angry that Ms France is using her disability as an excuse for not moving into our electorate,' Mr Dutton previously told The Australian.

He claimed his ALP opponent previously told people if she won the election she would move to Dickson.

Ms France issued a statement on Thursday, which said she already worked in Dickson and planned to buy a home there if she won.

She said she had already searched 'high and low' for an appropriate home but none were appropriate.

'If I am fortunate enough to represent the people of Dickson, I will have to buy a home and renovate it so that it is accessible,' Ms France said.

The ALP candidate, who had her left leg amputated after being struck by a car in 2011, has been a prominent critic of Mr Dutton's policies.

Ms France (pictured) underwent multiple surgeries following her accident in 2011, and since then has become a disability worker and advocate

Mr Dutton had previously questioned Ms France's (pictured) seriousness about representing the electorate

'Unlike my opponent who has nine houses, one of which is in the electorate, I have just one house that has been built to accommodate my disability,' she said.

Ms France, 45, underwent multiple surgeries following her accident in 2011, and since then has become a disability worker and advocate.

Mr Dutton, who won the seat from Cheryl Kernot, has held the seat since 2001, but the margin between Liberal and Labor has narrowed after the 2016 election.

The activist group GetUp has also set up an office in Dickson to help unseat him and Queensland's biggest left-wing union, United Voice, is aiding Ms France's campaign.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Mr Dutton and Ms France for comment.
The daughter of Australian's most notorious playboy has made her catwalk debut for gown designer Amy Taylor.

Lucciana, 17, stunned as she strutted down the catwalk at an industry event at Dust Temple on Friday evening.

Travers Benyon, better known as 'The Candyman', held his daughter Lucciana's arm as she wowed the crowd in a lace white dress with an elaborate matching headpiece.

The 17-year-old (pictured) graced the runway wearing one of the designer's bespoke wedding gowns from her latest bridal collection

Lucciana, 17, made her fashion runway debut at the Amy Taylor Collection trunk show on Friday

When asked about casting Lucciana, Ms Taylor said: 'I was looking for a young woman with natural strong features to represent empowering women.'

The teenager's catwalk debut came just hours after the ambitious model took part in a glamorous photo shoot at her father's Gold Coast mansion on Friday.

Posing for the camera, Lucciana wore a low-cut green gown in a stretchy fabric, accessorised with beige Valentino heels and a chunky gold choker necklace.

Lucciana has long had her sights set on a modelling career.

She told the Gold Coast Bulletin in 2017 she planned to move to America when she turns 18 to pursue her dreams of one day walking in the highly coveted Victorias Secret Fashion Show.

'I want to become a Victoria's Secret Angel and then ultimately become a supermodel,' she said.

Lucciana's form-fitting gown featured a plunging neckline, cut-away panels, and full-length turquoise lace that showed off hint of skin

The 17-year-old struck a pose in a floor-length turquoise gown at the Amy Taylor trunk show

Another contemporary gown worn by the 17-year-old featured a white, sheer bustier teamed up with a sky blue skirt that revealed her shapely, long legs

The brunette beauty has grown up in the spotlight thanks to her multimillionaire fathers extravagant lifestyle.

Benyon has been making headlines for years due to the lavish parties held at the Candyshop Mansion in Helensvale, on the Gold Coast.

His notorious events often feature stunning, scantily dressed women.

A former model himself, Benyon helped his parents set up the FreeChoice tobacco store chain.

Travers lives at the $3.7million, six-bedroom luxury property with his wife Taesha Beynon, their children and other girlfriends.

With a dapper gent in tow, Lucciana (pictured) wore an full-length ivory wedding gown that featured white lace overlay, paired with a flowing train and head garland

When asked about casting Lucciana, Ms Taylor (centre) said: 'I was looking for a young woman, with natural strong features to represent empowering women'

Striking a pose: Pointy-toe heels boosts Lucciana's frame as she places one hand on her hip

Bling: A delicate gold pendant necklace and hoop earrings add an extra touch of glamour

Milestone: Amy will make her catwalk debut on Friday night, for Amy Taylor Collection
Cory Booker has kicked off his 2020 presidential campaign, holding his first major rally as a Democratic candidate in New Jersey city where he was mayor.

Booker, 49, returned Saturday to his Newark home, hoping for a surge as he undertakes a two-week tour around the country and expressing confidence to supporters that he, like the country he wants to lead, 'will rise'.

The New Jersey senator joined the race more than two months ago, capped by an appearance before reporters outside his Newark home and with a call for the country to unite in a time of sharp division.

He emphasized that theme in Saturday's rally, billed as a campaign kickoff, with the goal of gaining political momentum and distinguishing himself from among his dozen-plus rivals.

Booker said: 'Critics will tell us that a campaign powered by grace and love and a deep faith in each other' cannot prevail.

'But I say it's the only way we win. The president wants a race to the gutter and to fight us in the gutter. To win, we have to fight from higher ground in order to bring this country to higher ground.'

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker, talks to the crowd during a hometown kickoff for his national presidential campaign tour at Military Park in downtown Newark

Booker is hoping for a surge as he undertakes a two-week tour around the country

The first stops on Booker's national tour are in Iowa, Georgia and Nevada

Booker has made early-voting states a priority during his 10 weeks in the race, yet he remains bunched among the contenders, with poll numbers in the single digits.

Nonetheless, his campaign is projecting confidence that he doesn't have to lead early to succeed with a strategy built more on grassroots enthusiasm than national buzz.

'We're trying to win the election - we're not trying to win a news cycle,' campaign manager Addisu Demissie told reporters this past week, describing the approach as 'organize and get hot at the end.'

And to win, Booker said he would work to 'make justice real for all.'

The former Newark mayor and his team know that building a higher profile requires some bigger swings for attention that spotlight his oratory skills.

Saturday's rally before a friendly crowd was intended to give the campaign a chance 'to keep Cory front and center with the voters, which is how you break out here,' as Demissie put it. 'You need to be visible.'

The New Jersey senator joined the race more than two months ago, capped by an appearance outside his Newark home and with a call for the country to unite in a time of sharp division

The former Newark mayor and his team know that building a higher profile requires some bigger swings for attention that spotlight his oratory skills

Supporters of Sen. Cory Booker and 2020 presidential candidate attend a campaign event

Booker is said to have raised more than $5 million in the first quarter of the year. less than higher-polling candidates Sen. That's less than Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke reported raising in their first 24 hours in the race

The first stops on Booker's national tour are in Iowa, Georgia and Nevada. The themes he pressed at the rally included ending 'mass incarcerations' and 'the school to prison pipeline,' passing gun control measures such as universal background checks and an assault weapons ban and advancing 'Medicare for All.'

He wants to enact 'comprehensive immigration reform' that also provides a path to citizenship for young immigrants who are in the country illegally and end 'the sabotage' of the Obama-era health care law.

He pledged to appoint Supreme Court justices who will defend the landmark ruling that legalized abortion.

'Together, we will fulfill our pledge to be a nation of liberty and justice for all. Together, we will win. And together, America, we will rise,' Booker said.

His campaign announcement in February emphasized the importance of 'common purpose' in politics, a message he's since expanded on to trumpet his successful work on bipartisan measures, such as the criminal justice reform bill that President Donald Trump signed last year.

'There are some folks that want to criticize you for getting into the sausage-making, for making compromises and horse-trading, but when I walk around my neighborhood now, folk come out and tell me, 'Thank you for doing that bill,'' Booker told New York-based radio show 'Ebro in the Morning' on Friday.

Booker raised more than $5 million in the first quarter of the year, his campaign said, which is less than higher-polling candidates Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke reported raising in their first 24 hours in the race.

That sum ranks Booker behind at least six contenders, including South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who raked in $7 million.

Themes Booker pressed included ending mass incarcerations, passing gun control measures and advancing Medicare for All

He also wants to enact comprehensive immigration reform and to end 'the sabotage' of the Obama-era health care law

Heather Bowie, 46, heard Booker speak last weekend in New Hampshire. She said what she likes about him has less to do with his policies than his attempt to build a sense of community.

'His whole thing about unity? I believe him,' she said. 'I believe him. He's building a community this way.'

Symone Sanders, a Democratic strategist not affiliated with any 2020 campaign, predicted that Booker could even 'afford to wait until the debate stage and have a breakout moment.'

Sanders, who serves as a senior adviser to the Democratic group Priorities USA, said, 'I do think there are people who are resonating with his message. He's just not the person on national television every week.'
A New York firefighter who survived after being trapped beneath millions tons of metal when the World Trade Center North Tower collapsed on 9/11, is retiring 18 years after the terrorists attacks.

FDNY Battalion Chief Jim McGlynn is a 34-year veteran and was the last of the Miracle 16 to be pulled out alive from the collapsed Twin Towers in 2001.

As he prepares to wrap up his career saving lives, he still can't believe his life was spared when thousands died.

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FDNY Battalion Chief Jim McGlynn, a 34-year veteran, is retiring 18 years after 9/11 attacks

He was last of Miracle 16 pulled out alive from the World Trade Center North Tower in 2001

'Any time I'm home somewhere and I see a picture of that building coming down, just coming down straight I realize I am someone down here, and I just shake my head and say OK thank you God,' McGlynn said in an interview with CBS News.

'It sounded like a freight train coming down. The building kind of contorted around you. I tried to find a spot where you might be safe. Got into some kind of a fetal position, said a few prayers and just waited for it to stop.'

Miraculously, his position in Stairwell B was what saved him and allowed the firefighter to radio for help.

FDNY said members rescued the group one by one, by lowering a rope through an opening at the top of the stairwell

The then-lieutenant was promoted to Captain in 2004, and to Battalion Chief in 2008

'You knew obviously exactly what was going on. You heard the floors coming down one by one. You heard the "boom, boom, boom, boom, boom". So there was no question in my mind what was going on at that point,' he told WCBS 880.

'After the noise stopped and the vibrations you just kind of got up, brushed yourself off and tried to collect yourself and make sense of what happened. Try to get your bearings, figure out who was around you, where your men were.

'Started giving maydays over the hand talkie, basically just waited for things to clear up so that you could formulate some kind of plan.'

However rescuers didn't know where the North Tower was located.

McGlynn said eight-second collapse after he turned around to look for a colleague sounded like a 'freight train coming down'

Firefighters amid the rubble of the World Trade Center following the 9/11 attacks

'How can you make sense that the stairwell stayed intact?' he said in an interview with CBS

A lieutenant with Engine 39 at the time, McGlynn was heading down the stairs when he turned to look for a colleague between the third and fourth floors and the building came down in eight seconds.

'How can you make sense that the stairwell in that building stayed intact,' McGlynn said to CBS News. 'It's beyond my comprehension.'

Members from Engine 16, Battalion 11, Ladder 6, Engine 39, Battalion 2, PAPD Lieutenant David Lim, and three civilians were with him.

The horrific experience didn't stop Bronx-based man - who now oversees 175 firefighters - from continuing his service.

It's only now that he's calling it a day with the Fire Department New York but he can't imagine what his life would have been like without it.

'In my mind we were at war. This was our Pearl Harbor. This was, you know, a focal point in our history where everyone is needed. There was no way I could have left, McGlynn added to WCBS 880. 'It's hard to leave. I have the greatest job in the organization in the world.'

He compared HIS 9/11 experience to Pearl Harbor and said 'it's tough to say goodbye' to FDNY

In an Instagram post FDNY said members rescued the group one by one, by lowering a rope through an opening at the top of the stairwell.

He was promoted to Captain in 2004, and to Battalion Chief in 2008.

McGlynn said in the social media post: 'After September 11, I felt like I was needed. Serving New Yorkers is what I was here to do. As time when on, I told myself that if I found something that I wanted to do more, I would leave, but that never happened. This job is unique, you are responsible for other peoples lives and nothing can top that. Helping people and being a part of this job is special.

'The FDNY is my second family and I will miss being an active member. I will miss the camaraderie, the daily grind, the firehouse kitchen, and how every day was different. When I decided to join the Department in 1985, I wanted more than just a job. I wanted to do something that I was proud of.'
KFC has unveiled a hunky 'virtual influencer' as their new Colonel Sanders and social media users are in a tizzy over how hot and 'doable' the new

The popular chicken chain announced their new Colonel Harland Sanders via Twitter but have gone all out on their Instagram - even giving him his own hashtag of #secretrecipeforsuccess.

The computer-generated character appears to be in his late 30s to mid 40s, with a chic salt-and pepper haircut that screams 'DUDE.'

KFC announced their new Colonel Harland Sanders via Twitter on Monday

He wears his signature white suit but it isn't as form fitting or formal as previous versions. Colonel Sanders even has his hashtag tattooed across his chiseled abs.

His Instagram bio states that he is 'chasing the dream' and various posts on the chicken page shows him living the life. The Kentucky Fried Daddy even has his own girlfriend, who is a computer-generated model named Dagny.

'I may be a restaurant mogul and international inspiration, but Im still just a kid who loves being in the kitchen. #humble,' the virtual hunk says in an Instagram post.

Kentucky Fried Daddy even has his own girlfriend, who is a computer-generated model named Dagny

His Instagram bio states that he is 'chasing the dream' and various posts on the chicken page shows him living the life

'Its important never to lose sight of the things that make you who you are. For me, its being in the kitchen and making amazing fried chicken. Thats what got me here, and I never want to lose that young and hungry Colonel who spent all his time perfecting fried chicken.

'Im still that kid who straps on an apron and makes fried chicken. And Ill never lose that part of me. Never lose the things that make you who you are. This is part of my #secretrecipeforsuccess.

Colonel Harland Sanders even answers questions on his Instagram story, and they range from questions about his looks to questions about the chicken's secret recipe.

The CGI chicken chef was immediately deemed 'sexy' on social media and conflicted fans struggled trying not to be too excited over the faux-stud.

'I may be a restaurant mogul and international inspiration, but Im still just a kid who loves being in the kitchen. #humble,' the virtual hunk says in an Instagram post

He added: 'Im still that kid who straps on an apron and makes fried chicken. And Ill never lose that part of me. Never lose the things that make you who you are. This is part of my #secretrecipeforsuccess'

One user said: 'UmMm why is the new KFC Colonel Sanders so HOT?!?! Like he just went full on daddy'

'Imagine being the CalArts graduate who dreamed of working at Pixar and instead ended up getting hired by KFC to design a f******e Colonel Sanders,' added Tom Zohar.

A different user asked: 'Am I hallucinating?? am I going f*****g insane????? why is kfc trying to make the colonel sexy?????????'

'Yeah i'll f**k that kfc colonel sanders. he can colonize my tipi. mama forgive me,' said a user.

The 'virtual influencer' will be virtually manning KFC's social media channels until April 22, according to Eater.
A reckless driver has been filmed crossing double white lines and overtaking another car along a narrow road in an unbelievably reckless manoeuvre.

The video was uploaded to Facebook showing the illegal move on a busy section of the Heathcote Road, south of Sydney, in NSW.

A grey Volkswagen Tiguan can be seen overtaking a A red Isuzu ute on along the crowded and narrow road.

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Dashcam footage shows the Volkswagen overtake the car forcing cars to swerve to avoid a crash.

People commenting on the video were furious with the driver of the Volkswagen.

'No wonder why there are so many fatalities on that road,' a person said.

A grey Volkswagen Tiguan can be seen overtaking a A red Isuzu ut on a narrow and busy road

Dashcam footage shows the Volkswagen overtake the car forcing cars to swerve to avoid a crash

'What a ..... thats just stupidity at its highest,' they said.

A former truck driver also said he wasn't surprised at the dangerous behaviour.

'There sure are some bloody idiots out there. Back in the day when I drove trucks I lost count of the number of times I was overtaken by a car on the bridge on Heathcote Road because they didn't want to follow me up the hill,' he said.

The man's rear camera shows the car behind him is also forced to swerve out the way and the Volkswagen rejoins traffic when it appears to cut off the red Isuzu

The road will have its speed reduced from 100 to 90kph after a a police officer and another man were killed in a head-on crash on January 31.

The crash sparked an outcry from the community and calls to reduce the speed limit near the Healthcote and New Illawarra Road intersection, according to The Leader.

NSW Police said they were not aware of the illegal overtake incident but that they were now in possession of the video.

They noted that the driver appears to be overtaking on double lines and not overtaking when it is safe to do so, committing two offences at once.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has greeted a woman in Mandarin but was left red-faced after she told him she was Korean.

Mr Morrison made the gaffe as he campaigned in Strathfield in Sydney's inner-west ahead of the Federal Election to be held on May 18.

He shook hands with a woman and said: 'Hello, how are you? ... Ni hao.'

'No, no, no, I'm Korean. I'm from the Korean community,' the woman politely replied.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison (right) greeted a woman in Mandarin, who told him she was Korean

Mr Morrison visited Strathfield in Sydney's inner-west and was seen taking selfies with people on the street

Strathfield forms part of the Liberal-held seat of Reid and is a suburb with a large concentration of Koreans

Strathfield is a suburb with a large concentration of Koreans.

The Prime Minister was unaware he had visited a Korean restaurant where he greeted workers in the kitchen and helped make cakes.

Many users took to Twitter to express their outrage following Mr Morrison's campaign trail gaffe.

'To assume they are Chinese is racist and quite stupid,' one user wrote.

'He did not know the lady were [sic] Korean! He is an embarrassment to Australia,' another wrote.

The Prime Minister visited a Korean restaurant, where he greeted workers in the kitchen and helped make cakes

Mr Morrison was accompanied by his wife Jenny and departing Liberal MP Craig Laundy

Mr Morrison was accompanied by his wife Jenny, departing MP Craig Laundy and Liberal candidate Fiona Martin.

Strathfield forms part of the Liberal-held seat of Reid on 4.7 per cent.

MP Craig Laundy said the Liberal Party must keep the seat of Reid in order to win the federal election and form a government.

Reid had always been held by Labor before Mr Laundy was elected in 2013.

Restaurant workers gifted the Prime Minister with a slice of green cake during his visit
Dr Peter Dunne (pictured) was embroiled in a heated exchange with the accused killer Thomas Hill during his morning jog, police claim

A doctor who died after he was mowed down in a brutal hit-and-run was seen arguing with the accused killer just one month before, according to police.

Dr Peter Dunne, 53, was struck by a car around 4am in Tarragindi in southern Brisbane.

It is alleged that Thomas Hill, 32, turned his vehicle around to hit Dr Dunne.

The father-of-three was taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital with critical head injuries and died six weeks later.

Neighbours told police that prior to Dr Dunne's death he and Mr Hill, 32, had had a dispute in January, The Courier Mail reported.

Residents reportedly overheard Dr Dunne call Mr Hill a name which subsequently led to the disagreement.

While it's also alleged Mr Hill had previously been involved in other verbal arguments with neighbours.

Mr Hill was arrested last week by Queensland Police and charged with murder, failing to remain at the scene, and showing callous disregard by failing to assist the injured man.

Daily Mail Australia does not suggest that Mr Hill is guilty of the offences he has been charged with.

Police had previously told the media they will allege the hit-and-run was deliberate (Pictured: police at the scene)

Detective Inspector Mark Thompson had previously told the media they will allege the hit-and-run was deliberate.

'We will be alleging that the offender deliberately and willfully struck the victim with his vehicle,' he said.

'We will be alleging that he deliberately aimed his vehicle at the victim and ran him down,' Detective Thompson concluded.

Mr Hill appeared in the Brisbane Magistrates Court last week and did not apply for bail.

As part of the court proceedings Mr Hill is expected to undergo a mental health assessment.

The case has been adjourned until April 29.
A British man has found himself in handcuffs less than 24 hours after arriving in Australia.

Police say the man violently attacked an older man near Bondi Beach in Sydney's east, leaving him seriously injured.

He allegedly approached a 59-year-old man while he was walking down the street about 1.30am on Saturday, and assaulted and threatened him.

A British man has found himself in handcuffs less than 24 hours after arriving in Australia (stock image of Bondi pictured)

The man attempted to flee from the enraged man, who continued to assault him and stole his mobile phone.

The attack was only stopped when a nearby onlooker called police after witnessing seeing the violent assault.

The victim was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics at the scene before being taken to St Vincent's Hospital in a serious but stable condition.

The victim was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics at the scene before being taken to St Vincent's Hospital (pictured) in a serious but stable condition

Mr Smith was arrested at the scene by Officers from Eastern Suburbs Police Area Command.

He was taken to Waverley Police Station and charged with aggravated robbery with wounding/grievous bodily harm and choking a person intend to commit indictable offence.

The man was refused bail and appeared in Parramatta Bail Court today.

He was taken to Waverley Police Station and charged with aggravated robbery with wounding/grievous bodily harm and choking a person with intent to commit indictable offence
It depicts Jesus Christ as the saviour of the world and fetched a world-record 350 million at auction  but now experts say the Salvator Mundi might not have been painted by Leonardo da Vinci after all.

The doubts over the famous artwork come two years after it was bought by Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

The record price was paid in the belief that it was Leonardos work, although even at the time, several specialists said the artist may have made only a small contribution to the painting.

The value of the Salvator Mundi rocketed from $1,175 to sell for an eye-watering $450million when a panel of five experts apparently declared it as an original in 2008

Now, a new book by art scholar Ben Lewis claims the National Gallery in London asked five experts to examine the portrait in 2008, before its inclusion in the gallery's blockbuster Leonardo exhibition three years later.

In The Last Leonardo, Lewis writes that just two of the experts were willing to verify that the painting was a genuine Leonardo, a third said it wasn't and two refused to comment.

But the gallery failed to include any of the doubts in the catalogue.

The internationally renowned gallery's public declaration of faith in the artwork was a crucial factor in the extraordinary auction price for a work that had been sold for only a four-figure sum in 2005.

The latest claims have divided the art world.

Michael Daley, director of ArtWatch UK, said: 'We don't think it's a Leonardo and it should not have gone in the exhibition back in 2011.'

But Dr Bendor Grosvenor, who presents the BBC4 series Britain's Lost Masterpieces, said he thought there were valid reasons to believe the work was by Leonardo.

Despite selling for a modest $1,175 in 2005, the judgement by the panel led to it being snapped up in 2017 by a representative of Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (bidding in New York pictured)

He told the BBC the sale of the painting for such a huge sum had brought out 'everyone's inner communist' and led to repeated attempts to undermine its attribution. '

Nearly all Leonardo scholars agree that it's by him or at least mostly by him,' he added.

A gallery spokesman said: 'The National Gallery makes careful consideration before including any loan in an exhibition.'
The head and features of a wolf-like dog that lived in Orkney 4,500 years ago has been recreated in the world's first canine forensic reconstruction.

The dog was domesticated in the Neolithic era on the archipelago, off mainland Scotland, but still bore the features of a wolf.

Standing about the size of a large collie, its head was reconstructed by a forensic artist from one of 24 skulls excavated by archaeologists from Cuween Hill, a delicate passage tomb on Orkney's mainland.

The head and features of a wolf-like dog that lived in Orkney 4,500 years ago has been recreated in the world's first canine forensic reconstruction

Standing about the size of a large collie, its head was reconstructed by a forensic artist from one of 24 skulls excavated by archaeologists from Cuween Hill, a delicate passage tomb on Orkney's mainland. The reconstruction process used techniques often utilised by crime scene investigators

The reconstruction process adopted techniques often used by crime scene investigators and the skulls were radiocarbon-dated to 2,500BC, the Guardian reported.

The tomb, used for human burial, had been built about 600 years earlier than the better-known monument Maeshowe, using a similar technique, known as corbelling.

The reason why the canine remains were found at the site is a mystery.

Cuween Hilil had been used for human burial and was built about 600 years earlier than the better-known monument Maeshowe, using a similar technique, known as corbelling. It remains a mystery as to why the remains of the dogs were found there

The reconstruction of the dog's head was jointly commissioned by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) and the National Museum of Scotland.

Alison Sheridan, the principle archaeological research curator in the department of Scottish History at the museum, said the dogs' presence was 'very unusual'.

'People have speculated as to whether the fact you get so many dogs in one tomb, which is very, very unusual, suggests there was some kind of totemic thing,' she said.

The islands are host to numerous other Neolithic sites, including the settlement of Skara Brae and the Ring of Brodgar, as well as 72 tombs

Strange animal associations have been found in two tombs in Orkney, with the bones and talons of a sea eagle being found by a farmer on the island of South Ronaldsay.

And at Knowe of Yarso, on Rowsay, the bones of 36 red deer were found.

The hive of building on the islands during the Neolithic period is believed to have heavily influenced communities across the rest of the British Isles and further afield.

The islands are host to numerous other Neolithic sites, including the settlement of Skara Brae and the Ring of Brodgar, as well as 72 tombs.

The standing stones which make up the Ring of Brodgar date to approximately 2,000-2,500BC

Ms Sheridan added that the people living near Cuween Hill may have seen themselves as 'the dog people' and that other groups perhaps identified with other species.

Steve Farrar, HES's interpretation manager, said the dog's reconstruction was an attempt to bring to life the stories behind the large number of Neolithic monuments on Orkney.

Mr Farrar added: 'I can empathise with the people whose ingenuity made Orkney such an enormously important place.

'When this dog was around, north-west Europe looked to Orkney.'

The dog's head will be displayed in Orkney later this year and will be discussed at the Edinburgh Science Festival today.
A woman who was robbed of her car and cash card the morning after a Tinder date says she's deleted the app for good.

The woman had gone on a date with Vittorio William Guida, 39, and the night had continued into the morning.

When the pair woke up, Guida had asked the woman for a lift to Tuggeranong in the ACT.

As she was reversing out of her driveway, Guida said he left his wallet on the bedside table and the woman went inside to retrieve it.

She couldn't find the wallet and when she came back to ask if Guida was sure about where he left it, she realised she had been robbed.

Vittorio William Guida, 39, asked the woman for a lift to Tuggeranong in the ACT the next day. As she was reversing out of her driveway, Guida said he left his wallet on the bedside table and the woman went inside to retrieve it. When the woman came back, her car was gone

Prosecutor Maclaren Wall told the ACT Magistrates Court on Friday: 'This is a Tinder date disaster'.

'Instead of stealing her heart, the defendant stole her car.'

Police were driving through the town of Flynn when they spotted the car outside a house, The Canberra Times reported.

When they approached Guida, he said the woman had agreed to lend him the car for a couple of days.

Police searched him and found the woman's cash card in his pocket, and he told police he'd found it in the car and was holding onto it for her.

Police were driving through the town of Flynn when they spotted the car outside a house. When they approached Guida, he said the woman had lent him the car for a couple of days. Guida was found guilty of dishonestly taking a motor vehicle and minor theft

Guida pleaded not guilty to charges of dishonestly taking a motor vehicle and minor theft.

Magistrate Louise Taylor did not believes Guida's version of the story and found him guilty of both charges.

The woman told the court that she will be deleting Tinder from her phone.
Children who attend grammar school do not go on to lead healthier or wealthier lives finds study.

An in depth study found that those who attended the schools were more likely to get better A-levels and a degree but that the advantages stopped there.

The analysis of the grammar school goers who took the 11 plus exam in 1969 found that they are no more physically or mentally healthy, wealthier or likely to be employed than their comprehensive school counterparts.

With teenagers from all backgrounds now taking A-levels and many going on to do a degree the study concluded that any benefit of attending a grammar school over a comprehensive may be wiped out all together.

England has 163 highly sought after grammar schools, with no more legally allowed to open (stock photo)

Other factors such as the parents' financial position and characteristics had a much bigger impact on the outcome of the child found researchers at The University of York.

The analysis of 1970's Grammar school generation was conducted with students who took the exam in 1969 and fell either side of the 11 plus pass boundary - ensuring similar intelligence.

Those who narrowly failed to meet entry requirements for the selective schools were found to be no worse off through self-assessed questionnaires and their risk of developing health issues later in life.

The only advantage found by the research was the 25% higher chance of achieving A-levels and the 17% higher probability of getting a degree.

Grammar schools were only more likely to perpetuate existing inequalities in society than to bridge the gap found the study.

Researchers at The University of York will present their findings at the annual conference of The Royal Economic Society at Warwick University next week.

England has 163 highly sought after grammar schools, with no more legally allowed to open.

Last year the UK government announced they would be investing 50 million into increasing the number of grammar school places - to encourage a merit based education system.

Sixteen of the remaining grammar schools won funding to expand buildings and build new ones on the condition they would make it easier for poorer students to apply.

The paper concluded: 'Since nowadays studying towards A-levels and a university degree is more common, the differences in educational outcomes by type of school observed in the older generation may not apply to the current young generations of 11-plus takers.

'The study also finds that in the sample of individuals with similar cognitive ability, pupils whose fathers have higher socioeconomic status and whose mothers have greater interest in their education are still more likely to obtain a grammar school place. The conclusion is therefore that grammar schools are more likely to reproduce existing inequalities rather than providing effective means to compensate for initial differences.'
Fears that Britain has been pushed into a 'lockdown by stealth' are mounting as 'scare stories' about the new Covid variant trigger a wave of pub and restaurant cancellations ahead of Christmas and England's chief medical officer told people to scale back their festive plans. It is thought that people are entering a 'self-imposed lockdown' in a bid to avoid having to isolate on December 25 if they test positive. Almost every one of the 90 restaurants in London's West End have suffered cancellations in the past week, while one pub manager in Covent Garden added that every single booking for a Christmas party in their private room disappeared last week. A string of shows in the West End have been cancelled as Omicron becomes the dominant strain in the capital, including Hamilton at the Victoria Palace Theatre, Hex at the National Theatre, and The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time at the Troubadour Theatre Wembley. At last night's Downing Street press conference, England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty and Prime Minister Boris Johnson stoked fears further by encouraging people to scale back their Christmas plans. Prof Whitty even rubbished a major real-world study from South Africa which suggested that the variant was milder, and insisted Omicron 'is going to be a problem'. The Independent SAGE group of scientists and medics last night called for an immediate 10-day 'circuit-breaker' shutdown.
Two axe-wielding men are on the run after a terrifying carjacking this morning.

At 4.30am on Saturday, 13 April, two men aged 24 and 30 were sitting in a Ford Territory on Ironbark Lane, Cessnock, when they were approached by the armed men.

The men, who were not known to their victims, were armed with an axe, bat and a knife.

Police say the armed men forced the pair in the car out of the vehicle and threatened them, demanding their property.

At 4.30am on Saturday, 13 April, two men aged 24 and 30 were sitting in a Ford Territory on Ironbark Lane, Cessnock, when they were approached by the armed men

The men handed over some of their belongings before running away from the scene, leaving their car behind for the attackers.

The victims then went to police and reported the incident, before the 30-year-old was taken to Cessnock Hospital and treated for minor injuries.

Officers from Hunter Valley Police District has told Daily Mail that no arrests have yet been made and that their inquiries continue.
Approval for a housing development in London has been granted in an area so polluted residents will be advised to keep their windows shut.

The air quality assessment commissioned by the developers found that future residents of the development, just off the A2 in Lewisham, South London, will be breathing in far above the legal limit of nitrogen dioxide.

An area surrounding the build was found to have 56.3 micrograms of nitrogen dioxide per cubic meter - the legal limit is 40.

Planning projections of the Creekside 1 off the A2 in Lewisham, South London

The highest level within the building development was 43.7 leading assessors to advise that future residents keep their windows closed to the outside pollution.

The assessment concluded: 'With opening windows the developer should advise the future occupants that their health could be at risk due to relatively high levels of air pollution in the area.'

Air campaigner Rosamund Kissi-Debrah said the decision was 'an absolute disaster' reported The Guardian.

View of the Creekside 1 proposal from the South. An area surrounding the build was found to have 56.3 micrograms of nitrogen dioxide per cubic meter - the legal limit is 40

The developers proposed green spaces outside of the development, to counteract pollution

Ms Kissi-Debrah's daughter Ella Kissi-Debrah, 9, died of acute respiratory failure in Lewisham in 2013 after consistently being exposed to higher than legal NO2 levels in their home.

Ella's mother told The Guardian: 'They have learned nothing from my daughter's death, nothing at all. It is an insult.'

Ella Kissi-Debrah, 9, died of acute respiratory failure in Lewisham in 2013 after consistently being exposed to higher than legal NO2 levels in their home

Lewisham Council gave the go ahead for the new development of 56 homes on 1 Creekside despite the low air quality in the surrounding area, detailing it as a 'low priority consideration' on the planning report.

Instead of providing pollution proof glazing for the properties the council decided on spending more on marketing to alert the residents to the pollution, as the council predicted pollution would fall as vehicle emissions in the area reduce.

Developer Bluecroft Property will contribute 7,500 towards monitoring the air pollution in the area. It also committed 17,500 to plant trees in the surrounding area.

Rosamund Kissi-Debrah told The Guardian that the efforts of the developers were not sufficient.

She said: 'Those trees will be tiny when they are planted and will do little to absorb such high levels of nitrogen oxide.

'How can they [Lewisham Council] seriously have a policy that says people need to close their windows. Air seeps in. Do they expect people will never open their front doors?

Rosamund Kissi-Debrah in London. The capital with a population of about 8.7 million, 2.4 million of whom own a vehicle

'They can't have taken [my daughter's death] very seriously at all.'

According to a 2016 report by the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, air pollution contributes to many chronic health problems, especially respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.

There is also growing evidence of its effects on other diseases such as stroke, dementia, cancer and diabetes, leading to more than six million sick days and an estimated total cost of 22.6 billion a year.

Most pollution in urban areas comes from traffic, with diesel a particular threat, as it produces more dangerous tiny particles and nitrogen oxides.

Bluecroft Property Development did not respond to MailOnline's questions about the air quality at Creekside 1.

Lewisham Council said: 'A planning condition is in place that ensures the building will meet air quality objectives.

'The developer will provide a ventilation system that will take clean air from the roof and deliver it to the first two floors of the development.'
Julian Assange has reportedly hired a crack team of expensive lawyers as he prepares to fight extradition to the US tooth and nail.

Wikileaks will apparently pump money into their founder's upcoming legal battle to fork out hundreds of thousands of pounds for renowned barristers, including Gareth Peirce who represented the Birmingham Six and the Guildford Four.

Assange was bundled out of the Ecuadorian embassy and hauled before Westminster Magistrate's on Thursday where he was found guilty of failing to surrender to the court.

Julian Assange (pictured after being thrown out of the embassy) has reportedly hired a crack team of expensive lawyers as he prepares to fight extradition to the US

He could face up to 12 months in a UK prison when he is sentenced at Southwark Crown Court, but is wanted in the US for hacking charges and in Sweden for sexual assault offences.

But he is set to challenge any extradition attempts in the Supreme Court with an army of top-shot barristers, according to the Times.

Edward Fitzgerald QC and Ben Cooper are also reportedly poised to join Assange's defence team.

The pair have fought previous extradition cases such as Gary McKinnon and Lauri Love.

Gareth Peirce successfully defended the Birmingham Six and the Guildford Four and reportedly forms part of Assange's crack team of lawyers

In 2012, they persuaded former home secretary Theresa May not to extradite Mr McKinnon on health grounds and the following year they faced down attempts in the High Court to send Mr Love to the US.

Washington attorney Barry Pollack, who successfully appealed the case of Martin Tankleff who was wrongly jailed for 17 years when he was convicted of murdering his parents.

The US made an indictment against Assange in Virginia last year after he allegedly conspired with Chelsea Manning, a former US intelligence analyst, to access a security database.

His supposed top team of expensive lawyers was revealed as Ecuador's government said Assange's seven-year stay at their embassy in London cost the South American country 5million.

Foreign Minister Jose Valencia released the figures as he detailed the money that had been spent on keeping the 47-year-old Wikileaks founder after he entered the embassy on August 16 2012.

Most - nearly 4.5 million - was spent on security, but Mr Valencia also told the countrys legislators that 305,000 went on medical expenditure, food and washing his clothes.

He revealed another 230,000 was spent on legal advice the Australian received in 2012.

The Ecuadorian government said Assange, arrested on Thursday after his diplomatic asylum was withdrawn by the countrys president Lenin Moreno, had paid for his own upkeep since the start of last December.

Edward Fitzgerald QC (left) and Ben Cooper (right) are also reportedly poised to join Assange's team after their successful extradition defence of Gary McKinnon and Lauri Love in 2012 and 2013

Government sources have said the same money could have funded 155 council houses, 88 community schools and a health centre.

Assange was thrown out of his Ecuador embassy bolthole in London where he had been given refuge since 2012.

In extraordinary scenes, eight policemen had to drag the bearded and dishevelled WikiLeaks founder to a waiting police van as he ranted about Donald Trump and screamed 'the UK has no civility'.

His arrest came after the Ecuadorian government ended his asylum status, saying it was tired of his 'discourteous' behaviour and poor personal hygiene, which reportedly included smearing faeces on the walls of the country's London embassy.

At court, the judge branded Assange a 'narcissist who cannot get beyond his own selfish interests'.

Assange denied skipping bail in 2012 but was found guilty after the judge said his defence was 'laughable'.

Assange was thrown out of his Ecuador embassy bolthole in London where he had been given refuge since 2012

The US Justice Department (pictured) made an indictment against Assange in Virginia last year after he allegedly conspired with Chelsea Manning, a former US intelligence analyst, to access a security database

He had tried to claim he breached his bail conditions because he couldn't be guaranteed a fair trial in the UK.

The former hacker now faces a maximum sentence of one year in a British jail, likely to be Wandsworth prison in south London.

This would see him serve six months before a fight over his extradition to the US begins. Experts say that process could take up to two years.

Meanwhile Swedish prosecutors said they would consider restarting the rape investigation which caused Assange to first seek refuge in the embassy.

Julian Assange's long legal battle 2006 Assange creates Wikileaks with a group of like-minded activists and IT experts to provide a secure way for whistleblowers to leak information. He quickly becomes its figurehead and a lightning rod for criticism. 2010 March: U.S. authorities allege Assange engaged in a conspiracy to hack a classified U.S. government computer with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. July: Wikileaks starts releasing tens of thousands of top secrets documents, including a video of U.S. helicopter pilots gunning down 12 civilians in Baghdad in 2007. What followed was the release of more than 90,000 classified US military files from the Afghan war and 400,000 from Iraq that included the names of informants. August: Two Swedish women claim that they each had consensual sex with Assange in separate instances when he was on a 10-day trip to Stockholm. They allege the sex became non-consensual when Assange refused to wear a condom. First woman claims Assange was staying at her apartment in Stockholm when he ripped off her clothes. She told police that when she realized Assange was trying to have unprotected sex with her, she demanded he use a condom. She claims he ripped the condom before having sex. Second Swedish woman claims she had sex with Assange at her apartment in Stockholm and she made him wear a condom. She alleges that she later woke up to find Assange having unprotected sex with her. He was questioned by police in Stockholm and denied the allegations. Assange was granted permission by Swedish authorities to fly back to the U.K. November: A Swedish court ruled that the investigation should be reopened and Assange should be detained for questioning on suspicion of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion. An international arrest warrant is issued by Swedish police through Interpol. Wikileaks releases its cache of more than 250,000 U.S. diplomatic cables. December: Assange presents himself to London police and appears at an extradition hearing where he is remanded in custody. Assange is granted conditional bail at the High Court in London after his supporters pay 240,000 in cash and sureties. 2011 February: A British judge rules Assange should be extradited to Sweden but Wikileaks found vows to fight the decision. April: A cache of classified U.S. military documents is released by Wikileaks, including intelligence assessments on nearly all of the 779 people who are detained at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba. November: Assange loses High Court appeal against the decision to extradite him. 2012 June: Assange enters the Ecuadorian embassy in London requesting political asylum. August: Assange is granted political asylum by Ecuador. 2013 June: Assange tells a group of journalists he will not leave the embassy even if sex charges against him are dropped out of fear he will be extradited to the U.S. 2015 August: Swedish prosecutors drop investigation into some of the sex allegations against Assange due to time restrictions. The investigation into suspected rape remains active. 2016 July: Wikileaks begins leaking emails U.S. Democratic Party officials favoring Hillary Clinton. November: Assange is questioned over the sex allegation at the Ecuadorian Embassy in the presence of Sweden's assistant prosecutor Ingrid Isgren and police inspector Cecilia Redell. The interview spans two days. 2017 January: Barack Obama agrees to free whistleblower Chelsea Manning from prison. Her pending release prompts speculation Assange will end his self-imposed exile after Wikileaks tweeted he would agree to U.S. extradition. April: Lenin Moreno becomes the new president of Ecuador who was known to want to improve diplomatic relations between his country and the U.S. May: An investigation into a sex allegation against Assange is suddenly dropped by Swedish prosecutors. 2018 January: Ecuador confirms it has granted citizenship to Assange following his request. February: Assange is visited by Pamela Anderson and Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel. March: The Ecuadorian Embassy suspends Assange's internet access because he wasn't complying with a promise he made the previous year to 'not send messages which entailed interference in relation to other states'.

August: U.S. Senate committee asks to interview Assange as part of their investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election. September: Assange steps down as editor of WikiLeaks. October: Assange reveals he will launch legal action against the government of Ecuador, accusing it of violating his 'fundamental rights and freedoms'. November: U.S. Justice Department inadvertently names Assange in a court document that says he has been charged in secret. 2019 January: Assange's lawyers say they are taking action to make President Trump's administration reveal charges 'secretly filed' against him. April 6: WikiLeaks tweets that a high level Ecuadorian source has told them Assange will be expelled from the embassy within 'hours or days'. But a senior Ecuadorian official says no decision has been made to remove him from the London building. April 11: Assange has his diplomatic asylum revoked by Ecuador and he is arrested by the Metropolitan Police; he is remanded in custody by a judge at Westminster Magistrates Court. April 12: He is found guilty of breaching his bail terms. May 1: Sentenced to 11 months in jail. May 2: Court hearing takes place over Assange's proposed extradition to the U.S. He tells a court he does not consent to the extradition and the case is adjourned until May 30. May 13: Swedish prosecutors reopen rape case saying they still want to question Assange. June 3: Swedish court rules against detaining him in absentia, setting back the extradition case. June 12 Home Secretary Sajid Javid signs an extradition request from the US. June 13 A hearing sets out the date for Assange's full extradition hearing - February next year. November Swedish prosecutors stop investigation into an allegation of rape against Mr Assange November 25 - Medics say without correct medical care Assange 'could die' in Belmarsh December 13 - Hearing in London hears he is being blocked from seeing key evidence in case December 19 - Appears at Westminster Magistrates' Court via video-link where his lawyer claims US bid to extradite him is 'political'. 2020 June: Assange failed to appear via video link for his most recent court matter in London's Westminster Magistrates' Court Advertisement

More than 70 MPs and Peers put pressure on Sajid Javid to prioritise Swedish rape claims against Julian Assange although he might never face trial there even if he is extradited

By Sam Greenhill and Jemma Buckley and John Stevens for the Daily Mail

A friend of the Swedish woman  referred to as Miss A (pictured)  told the Mail: 'It really is not 'all about WikiLeaks''

Labour was facing a backlash on Thursday after Diane Abbott appeared to dismiss the ordeal of women allegedly sexually assaulted by Julian Assange.

Miss Abbott was accused of downplaying the serious claims against the WikiLeaks founder, who was dragged from his Ecuadorian embassy bolthole by eight policemen on Thursday.

Last night, it emerged more than 70 MPs and peers have written to Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Miss Abbott, urging them to 'champion' the possibility of Assange being extradited to Sweden  where the alleged assaults happened  if authorities there request it.

Assange had been in hiding in the embassy for seven years after skipping bail in 2012 to dodge being extradited over the allegations he raped one woman and sexually assaulted another in 2010.

But Miss Abbott and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn have leapt to his defence, calling his arrest politically motivated.

They were accused on Thursday of sacrificing justice for women, with a string of the party's own MPs condemning their stance.

The Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott has been blasted as she is accused of downplaying allegations against Julian Assange

Julian Assange arrives at Westminster Magistrates' Court after being arrested and forcibly removed from the Ecuadorian Embassy earlier this week

In a BBC interview, Shadow Home Secretary Miss Abbott said of his arrest: 'We all know what this is about  it's not the rape charges.'

She insisted he had only been hauled out of his the Knightsbridge embassy because he had embarrassed the American military, saying: 'It's all about WikiLeaks.'

But a friend of the Swedish woman who claims Assange sexually assaulted her said last night: 'It really is not 'all about WikiLeaks'.'

The friend added: 'She says it is about him treating people like s***, especially women.'

Peers and MPs write to Javid and Abbott: 'We are writing to request that you do everything you can to champion action that will ensure Julian Assange can be extradited to Sweden in the event Sweden make an extradition request. 'This would be so the formal investigation into an allegation of rape can be concluded and, if appropriate, a charge can be made and any trial can take place. 'We do not presume guilt, of course, but we believe due process should be followed and the complainant should see justice be done. 'We urge you to stand with the victims of sexual violence and seek to ensure the case against Mr Assange can now be properly investigated.' Advertisement

Critics queued up to accuse Miss Abbott of 'ignoring allegations of sexual violence' and even a Labour shadow minister branded her intervention 'disgraceful'.

The Swedish woman's friend told the Mail that treating Assange as a political victim was 'not helping the cause  no matter how important'. She suggested Miss Abbott was helping him whitewash the claims against him, saying: 'He has, all the time, wanted to draw attention away from his own failures and has used the importance of WikiLeaks to wash his own name.'

Hillary Clinton last night vowed Assange 'will answer for what he's done' as the US prepares espionage charges and a Swedish software developer allegedly linked to WikiLeaks, Ola Bini, was arrested in Ecuador.

But Assange's mother branded UK ministers 'totalitarian thugs'.

Assange, 47, denies raping one woman  known only as Miss W  and sexually assaulting another, known as Miss A.

Because he spent so long absconding from justice, the sexual assault allegation was dropped in 2017 because of legal time limits.

However, the rape allegation can be reopened any time before August next year, and Swedish prosecutors are now deciding whether to renew Assange's extradition request.

Australia-born Assange is being held at Belmarsh high-security prison in southeast London, which has housed some of the country's most notorious inmates including hate preacher Abu Hamza and black-cab rapist John Worboys.

He also faces an extradition request from the US over a computer hacking charge.

Prosecutors could also add further charges relating to WikiLeaks publishing American government dossiers exposing alleged Iraq war crimes.

The Guardian reported that in a letter co-ordinated by Labour's Stella Creasy and Jess Phillips, MPs have called on Mr Javid and Miss Abbott to 'champion action' to ensure that extradition is a possibility should Swedish authorities choose to pursue it.

Julian Assange arrives at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on Thursday

It is thought it falls to the Home Secretary to determine which extradition request goes first  Sweden's or America's  in the event of competing requests.

On Thursday, Mr Corbyn had tweeted: 'The extradition of Julian Assange to the US for exposing evidence of atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan should be opposed by the British Government.'

On Thursday Miss Abbott was asked three times about the sexual offence claims against Assange on BBC Radio 4. She repeatedly said 'the charges were never brought'.

When it was pointed out that charges could not be brought, because Assange would not go back to Sweden, she said: 'We all know what this is about.

It's not the rape charges, as serious as they are, it is about the WikiLeaks and all of that embarrassing information about the activities of the American military and security services that was made public.'

It triggered a storm of protest. Vicky Atkins, the minister for women, said: 'Diane Abbott's dismissal of rape charges speaks volumes about Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party.'

Minister James Cleverly said: 'So in Diane Abbott's opinion, does the sisterhood only matter if it doesn't cut across her political worldview? Is the message to victims of sexual violence 'you will be believed, unless it involves a left wing icon'?'

Even a Labour shadow minister admitted: 'Championing Julian Assange is the last thing we should be doing. It is disgraceful. Jeremy and Diane seem to have a blind spot.'

Miriam Mirwitch, the national chair of Young Labour, said she was 'pretty aghast that we seem to be celebrating Assange'.

Miss Abbott tried to limit the damage last night with a tweet saying: 'Assange skipping bail in UK, or any rape charge that may be brought by Swedish authorities shouldn't be ignored.

But the only extradition request is from the US, because he's a whistleblower on atrocities caused by US military ops.

'This extradition would be wrong so we oppose it.' Experts in Sweden doubt whether he will ever face trial there, because of the passage of time. But the alleged rape victim's lawyer vowed she would do 'everything we possibly can' to get the investigation reopened.

A WikiLeaks spokesman said of Assange: 'He faces life in prison for the 'crime' of publishing truthful information.'
Drug dealers are exploiting a legal loophole that allows them to carry up to three grams of heroin around Melbourne's first safe injecting room.

The controversial injecting room in Richmond, in Melbourne's north, has seen an influx of drug dealers, and police say they are unable to stop them from selling their illicit wares.

More than 100 local residents attended an emergency meeting on Wednesday night to voice their concerns.

'It's a free-for-all,' said one anonymous user, outside of the injecting room (2017)

Drug dealers are exploiting a legal loophole that allows them to carry up to 3 grams of heroin around Melbourne's first drug injection room (pictured)

The police union is also conducting a survey of its members to determine if they need a tougher approach.

Even heroin users admitted that crime and drug use was rampant near the injecting room.

'It's a free-for-all,' one anonymous user said outside of the injecting room, The Age reported.

Local residents, including councillor Stephen Jolly, say the injecting room acts as a 'honey pot' for drug addicts, with the local area swarming with them.

The police union is also conducting a survey of its members to determine if they need a tougher approach (2017)

'It's a free-for-all,' one anonymous user told the publication, outside of the injecting room

Two police officers have also vented their frustration.

They said they were told to not patrol the area because of the law that allows users to carry 30 hits of heroin without being arrested.

Using heroin is legal in the injecting room, creating a legal loophole that allows users and dealers to carry large doses of the drug consequence-free.

To avoid being arrested, all they need to do is inform police they intend on using the facility.

To avoid being arrested, all they need to do is inform police they intend on using the facility (2017)

Using heroin is legal in the injecting room, creating a legal loophole that allows users and dealers to carry large doses of the drug consequence-free

'It's very frustrating for the members because all they're doing is taking crime reports and doing nothing about it,' one anonymous local officer said.

'Crime is happening down there but we are forbidden from working on drugs in that area...

'We were told not to patrol around there, not to do anything.'

Police Superintendent David Clayton, who oversees the Richmond area, said change is needed.

The officer said while more consultation with the community was needed, it was important not to over-police the entrance to the facility so people could use it without fear of arrest.

Police Superintendent David Clayton, who oversees the Richmond area, said change is needed

Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton and Mr Clayton both admitted more police presence may be necessary in order to protect public safety.

Mr Ashton told ABC Melbourne it was likely they would beef up their presence.

'We've certainly been talking at the senior level about that in recent weeks,' he said.

'So it might be that we do more visual presence stuff.'

Both Mr Ashton and Mr Clayton stressed the purpose of the facility is to save lives by providing a safe and supervised space for addicts.

'The health side of it seems to be operating, but... the sort of visual stuff that happens around the centres that people don't like,' Mr Ashton said.

Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton and Mr Clayton both admitted more police presence may be necessary in order to protect public safety

This week alone, police seized about 2.5kg of heroin in Abbotsford, north of Richmond, as well as Collingwood and St Albans.

The news comes as workers were previously filmed injecting heroin openly in the street, resulting in them losing their jobs in the injecting rooms.

It also prompted the state government to request the facility to review its practices and staffing policies.

The injecting room has also come under public scrutiny the past for residents saying the facility turned the suburb into a 'ghetto.'

They claimed the streets had been littered with discarded needles, vomit, and even faeces.
Doctor Jan Karbaat, who died in April 2017 aged 89, fathered at least 49 children when he used his own sperm at a fertility clinic in Rotterdam

A Dutch doctor at the centre of an IVF scandal fathered at least 49 children, DNA tests have shown.

Jan Karbaat, who died in 2017, used his own sperm instead of sperm from a chosen donor as his clinic in Rotterdam.

Defence for Children, an organisation representing parents and children born through his now-closed clinic, said DNA tests conducted yesterday confirmed 49 children in the case are direct descendants of Karbaat.

'The results confirm serious suspicions that Karbaat used his own sperm at his clinic,' Defence for Children added.

The controversial case became public after a Dutch court ruled in February that the results of Karbaat's DNA test should be made available to parents and children to conduct their own comparisons.

Before his death, aged 89, Karbaat reportedly admitted to having fathered about 60 children in his time at the discredited clinic which closed in 2009 amid reports of irregularities.

Karbaat later also admitted to mixing sperm from various donors and issuing fraudulent donor documentation, the Dutch daily newspaper NRC reported.

The group of suspected 'Karbaat children' dragged his family to court to force them to release Karbaat's DNA profile, which was kept locked in a safe.

The Karbaat family's lawyers had argued that their clients' right to privacy had to be respected.

'However, with the judges agreeing to the paternity test, the judge placed the children's rights above those of Karbaat and his family,' Defence for Children advisor Iara de Witte said.

Pictured: parents and donor children reacting to news in February that they would be given the results of Karbaat's DNA test so they could conduct their own comparisons

'Now, after years of uncertainty the plaintiffs can finally close a chapter and start processing the fact that they are one of Karbaat's many descendants,' De Witte said.

One of the children, Eric Lever, recently told the NRC newspaper he was 'not angry with Karbaat'.

'I don't get the feeling that he cheated my mother,' he told the NRC paper.

'She really wanted a child and could not have one with my parental father,' he said.

The Defence for Children added it was likely that Karbaat sired even more donor children than the 49 revealed on Friday.

'Sperm belonging to the late doctor was also distributed to other clinics,' Dutch news agency ANP quoted the organisation as saying.

The organisation has appealed to anybody who may suspect that Karbaat was their donor father to apply to a Dutch database for DNA matching.

Applicants can apply in writing to an official body called the FIOM, which maintains a DNA database to match children conceived via anonymous donors.
A 'broken' mother has asked for help in finding the drug dealer who sold her 13-year-old son an 'ecstasy pill' which killed him.

Carson Price, was discovered in Ystrad Mynach park in Caerphilly, south Wales at 7.20pm, some two miles from his family home.

Gwent police are still investigating the cause of the boy's death but his family believe that a drug dealer gave Carson an ecstasy pill, which he then swallowed.

A witness claimed that Carson revealed the first name of the person who gave him the pill just before he died.

His mother Tatum Price later took to Facebook to share her heartbreak and anguish, writing: 'I'm broken my life is over. Please help find out he sold these drugs to my son. My life is ruined, my baby gone.'

A witness claimed that Carson revealed the first name of the person who gave him the pill just before he died. His grief-stricken mother shared this poignant image of him on Facebook

The 13-year-old boy, named locally as Carson Price, was rushed to hospital in Cardiff after he was found unconscious in Ystrad Mynach park, and was later pronounced dead

The family pictured together with Carson Price (second left), father Brian (left) and mother Tatum (right)

Tributes have been flooding in for the schoolboy. His headmaster, Chris Parry, said the school was 'shocked and devastated at the terrible news'.

Carson was rushed to University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, but paramedics were unable to save him.

A post mortem examination is due to be carried out to pinpoint the cause of death.

Heartfelt tributes flooded in for her son with devastated locals leaving flowers and cards at the scene.

One yellow floral tribute left in the park said: 'RIP Carson boy you will be missed. Fly high.'

Family friend Kelly Wall said it was 'devastating news' and that Tatum and her partner Brian were 'one of the loveliest couples' she knows.

People have been leaving tributes to the schoolboy as Gwent police continued to search the park and said they were treating his death as unexplained

Officers have started searching the park, pictured today, and marking out evidence after they said the death was being treated as unexplained

Friend Emma Miles also said online: 'We are all thinking of you Tatum and your family at this heartbreaking time.'

Chris Parry, his head teacher at Lewis School Pengam, said everyone at the school was 'shocked and devastated at the terrible news'.

'It is with immense sadness that today we have heard the terrible news that one of our pupils has tragically passed away.

Officers have been seen marking out possible evidence in Ystrad Mynach park

Two schoolgirls embrace each other at Ystrad Mynach park in south Wales

A young man pictured coming to leave flowers at the park where the boy was found

'We are all devastated by this tragic loss.

'I'm sure everyone in our community will join with us in sharing our deepest sympathies with the pupils's friends and family at this awful time.

'We will be providing support for pupils in the weeks ahead but in the meantime my thoughts and prayers are with the family. There are no words.'

Ystrad Mynach Park was busy with families enjoying the spring sunshine but just meters away, police officers were scanning a patch of woodland for evidence.

One dog walker said she was 'shocked' by what had happened.

'This has always been such a peaceful park.

'I can't believe something so terrible has happened here. I'm shocked to be honest with you.'

Flowers have been left in the park for the boy, pictured today, after he was rushed to hospital

Police have continued to search for evidence in the park and are treating the death as unexplained

Police pictured today in the park near where the boy was found, where a crime scene remains in place

Another, walking in the park with his young son, said: 'It's truly heartbreaking that something like this could happen.

'My thoughts just go out to the family - I can't imagine what they're going through right now.'

His family have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers at this time.

Detective Chief Inspector Sam Payne, who is leading on the investigation said: 'At this time enquiries are ongoing and the investigation into this young boy's death are still in the early stages.

'Specialists are working to determine the exact cause of death and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.'

His parents live just two miles away from the park.

Gwent police, pictured today, continue to search the park as flower tributes are left for the boy
A U.S. serviceman stationed in Japan stabbed his girlfriend to death before killing himself on Saturday, the country's Foreign Ministry said.

The bodies of the pair were found inside an six-story apartment block on the island of Okinawa, a short distance from an American military base.

The Navy sailor, 32, has not been publicly identified but is believed to be attached to the 3rd Marine Division.

He was found dead in bed alongside the woman, 44.

According to Stars and Stripes, the woman's child was in the home at the time, and called a relative who then notified law enforcement.

The apartment block on the Japanese island of Okinawa where the bodies of an American serviceman and his girlfriend were found after an apparent murder suicide

Around 27,000 American troops are currently stationed on Okinawa (pictured)

U.S. Forces Japan said the Naval Criminal Investigative Service was working with local police to look into the deaths.

'This is an absolute tragedy and we are fully committed to supporting the investigation,' they said in a statement.

Japan's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Takeo Akiba, has also telephoned U.S. Ambassador William Hagerty asking for cooperation.

Okinawa, located 400 miles south from the rest of Japan, has been a strategic location for US Armed Forces since the end of World War 11.

Okinawa is located 400 miles south from the rest of Japan and has been a strategic location for US Armed Forces since the end of World War 11

There has been growing resentment about the presence of U.S. forces in the region

It currently hosts about 27,000 American troops, however there has been growing resentment about the presence of U.S. forces in the region.

Locals have complained about crime, noise and the destruction of the environment.

Okinawa's governor, Denny Tamaki, was elected last October on a platform to push a Marine Corps air station off the island.
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Buddhists across south east Asia brought in the new year with a splash today as they took to the streets for water fights as part of a three-day celebration.

The once calm festival - known as Songkran in Thailand - traditionally sees people paying respects to elders and sprinkling water over figures of Buddha at local temples.

But now the celebration has a far rowdier side, with tens of thousands of ravers from across Asia expected to dance into the night under massive water cannons and spectacular pyrotechnics as Bangkok's S2O Songkran festival gets underway.

Thais and foreigners sporting floral shirts armed themselves with colourful water pistols and protective goggles today, engaging in water fights that bring entire streets to a standstill.

Neighbouring Laos and Myanmar celebrate the same festival with young and old throwing buckets of water over each other as music thuds from loudspeakers.

In Yangon, where the festival is known as Thingyan, children blow bubbles and play with soap suds at street foam parties, while women dressed in traditional costumes perform dances near the famed Sule Pagoda.

Buddhists across south east Asia brought in the new year with a splash today as they took to the streets for water fights as part of a three-day celebration. Pictured: a woman covered in soap suds in Yangon, Myanmar

Authorities had issued warnings beforehand on modesty, saying that nudity and provocative clothing will be prohibited. There are no such restrictions however on summary drenchings. Pictured: children using water guns in Bangkok

Neighbouring Laos and Myanmar celebrate the same festival with young and old throwing buckets of water over each other as music thuds from loudspeakers. Pictured: a girl playing with soap suds in Yangon

Pictured: a reveller pours water over two women during celebrations for the Buddhist New Year in Yangon

Thais and foreigners armed themselves with colourful water pistols and protective goggles today, engaging in water fights that bring entire streets to a standstill. Pictured: a little girl posing with two water guns in Bangkok

This child was covered in soap suds from head to toe during the celebrations, which last three days, in Yangon

No man, woman, or child is safe from being covered in water during the festival, as proven by this boy pouring water over a passing motorbike

Pictured: a boy chucks a bucket at passengers in a vehicle as he enjoys celebrations for the Buddhist New Year in Bangkok

The once calm festival - known as Songkran - traditionally sees people paying respects to elders and sprinkling water over figures of Buddha at local temples

This woman shielded herself from a spray of water as she took a picture of two revellers when a rainbow appeared in Bangkok

In Yangon, where the festival is known as Thingyan, children blow bubbles and play with soap suds at street foam parties

Women dressed in traditional costumes perform dances near the famed Sule Pagoda in Yangon during the Buddhist New Year celebrations

These two children looked like they were having the time of their lives as a woman poured a bowl of cold water over them
The bodies of ten stillborn babies have been left in Northern Territory morgues for more than three months because Aboriginal mothers can't afford funerals.

Six babies have been there for more than four years, Katherine Hospital clinical nursing midwife Sara Potter confirmed during an inquiry last year.

This number has since dropped to three babies.

The head of Darwin's Danila Dilba health service, Olga Havnen, said more needs to be done in order to address the cultural gap.

The bodies of ten stillborn babies have been left in Northern Territory morgues for more than three months (file image)

'I think the hospital system generally has tried in the Territory here in more recent years to work much better with Aboriginal patients and to provide much better levels of support to Aboriginal clients,' she told ABC news.

'But that's not perfect, we're a long way from that,' Ms Havnen said.

The government offers a stillborn baby payment of $2,199.83 for a first stillborn baby and $1,100.55 for others, however she said a funeral could cost up to $4000.

Minimal health literacy among Aboriginal mothers as well as language barriers at Northern Territory hospitals are also problems.

Ms Havnen said there were also not enough hospital staff who spoke Aboriginal languages and could offer support to patients.

The inquiry heard when an Aboriginal liaison officer and a social worker worked with patients at Katherine Hospital, stillborn babies left at the morgue halved.

Senator Malarndirri McCarthy said that stillborn rates in Australia haven't changed in the last 20 years and are highest among Indigenous people.

'There needs to be a closer concentration of how we interact and communicate in relation to cultural considerations,' she said.
Criminals trying to trick Asda shoppers in to leaving their cars unlocked could be to blame after dozens of car key fobs stopped working.

Mark Hill, 57, was trapped in an Asda car park for more than an hour when his key fob suddenly stopped working in Kent.

A radio frequency jammer has been blamed for the deactivation of the fobs at the Asda supermarket at the Imperial Retail Park, Gravesend in Kent.

Mark Hill, 57, was trapped in an Asda car park for more than an hour when his key fob suddenly stopped working in Kent

Mr Hill, who's retired and from Gravesham, said 'it could only have been caused by a radio frequency jammer', which prevents devices from receiving radio transmissions.

He was forced to call Britannia Rescue Service to recover his car but just 15 minutes after making the call his fob started working again.

He said: 'In my opinion, it was some sort of criminal activity, or someone who's got a jammer playing around.'

'I drove into Asda but when I pressed the key fob to lock my car, it didn't work.

'I thought it must be the battery and changed it, but when I pressed it, it still didn't work.'

Bewildered, he gave up with the fob and manually locked the car doors with his key, and went into the supermarket for about half an hour.

'The fob still didn't work when I came out, and I saw other people around me on their phones.

'I asked the man beside me if he was also having problems, and he said he couldn't get into his car.

'There were alarms going off, and other people who also couldn't get their cars started.'

A radio frequency jammer has been blamed for the deactivation of the fobs at the Asda supermarket at the Imperial Retail Park, Gravesend in Kent (file image)

He could get into his car with his key, but because the fob had not been activated, the immobiliser was preventing his vehicle from moving, prompting him to call Britannia Rescue just before 12.30pm.

Bizarrely, by 12.45pm, things had returned to normal, and his summoned recovery vehicle wasn't needed.

But it's left staff and customers wondering what occurred - and fearing it will happen again with no warning.

On social media today, Gman47 wrote 'This happened to me at IKEA's car park at Lakeside - I didn't check my door handles when I walked away and found my dashcam, and a number of non valuables taken from the car.

'The car was left unlocked and Essex police stated I was one of a number of people who reported the same thing, and yes they thought it might have been a radio jammer!

'These a******s exist and will take whatever they can. I'm glad Mark thought to check his car and wonder why it didn't lock.'

Bob Hope posted 'Hahaha, modern technology at its finest again.'

Kent Police spokesman James Walker said 'We were notified of suspicious activity in a supermarket car park in Imperial Retail Park, Gravesend at 12.17pm on Tuesday, April 9.

'It is reported that a number of cars would not lock and there was concern that this may lead to car theft.

'Police have spoken to security staff and will review CCTV.'
A Brit who allegedly asked his flatmate to cut off his penis so he could film the amputation and post the clip online has left hospital in Spain and returned to the UK.

The 33-year-old English teacher told court officials he did not want to press charges and was waiving his right to compensation before flying back to Britain from the northern Spanish city of Zaragoza.

According to local reports, the unnamed man offered the Spaniard, who is being held in custody over the bizarre mutilation, 170 for cutting off his genitalia.

He also allegedly promised his flatmate between extra money extra money if the clip went viral - an extra 2,165 and 4,325, dependent on the number of views.

The footage is said to have been erased, although it was not made clear if this was done before or after it went online.

A Brit who allegedly asked his flatmate to cut off his penis so he could film the amputation and post the clip online has left Hospital Miguel Servet (pictured) in Zaragoza, Spain, and returned to the UK

The pair reportedly boozed on four bottles of white wine and took valium to muster up courage before going through with the amputation.

Police found the Brit's sex organ in a plastic bag inside their flat and it was re-attached in an emergency op on March 8 after he went to get help because of a haemmorhage and was spotted bleeding heavily in the street near his home.

It is not known if the operation to attach the penis was successful.

Officers initially said they thought the expat had harmed himself and were not looking for anyone else in connection with the bizarre incident.

But the case took a dramatic twist with the arrest of his flatmate on March 14, announced after a local paper reported the Londoner had been using a social networking app to search for someone to film him amputating his penis.

The Spanish national, a 29-year-old named only as Aaron B.M, is being held in custody on suspicion of a crime of 'serious assault' and he is expected to be formally charged following an ongoing criminal probe despite the refusal of his alleged victim to back legal action against him.

He was remanded in prison on March 15 after appearing in court.

Court sources have said he would still be held criminally liable even if it is proved he acted with his alleged victim's consent.

Earlier this week he was tried in court for insulting and attacking his mum and a younger sibling in a separate case.

Prosecutors claimed he threw a hammer and scissors at his relatives during rows. He denied the charges during a one-day trial at a court in Zaragoza.

State prosecutors said they were seeking a three and a half year prison sentence.

A verdict - and sentence if he is found guilty - will be announced in writing in the next few weeks.
Freshman congressional representative Ilhan Omar has hit back at Donald Trump in a series of explosive tweets, insisting she remains undeterred by the President's criticism and will continue to 'fight and defend' democracy against his administration's policies.

Omar was once again the subject of controversial debate this week, after remarks she made last month in reference to the 9/11 terror attacks as 'some people did something', resurfaced.

An outraged Donald Trump tweeted 'WE WILL NEVER FORGET' on Friday night, accompanied by a 43 second video that showed Omar's comment during a speech to the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), interspersed with footage from September 11, 2001.

But on Saturday, Omar took to Twitter to speak out against the President's attack, insisting she 'didn't run for congress to be silent.'

'This country was founded on the ideas of justice, of liberty, of the pursuit of happiness. But these core beliefs are under threat [from the Trump administration]' she wrote.

'Each and every day. We are under threat by an administration that would rather cage children than pass comprehensive immigration reform.'

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Omar, who has on several occasions been accused of Antisemitism, said the furor surrounding the comments - which she believes were taken out of context - stem from the fact that she is Muslim, and not white

Trump tweeted 'WE WILL NEVER FORGET' with a video that showed Omar's 'some people did something' 9/11 speech intersected with video of the disaster

The Minnesota democrat then went on to suggest that Trump would rather show prejudice towards transgender members of the armed forces than 'fight for equality and opportunity for all'.

'I did not run for Congress to be silent. I did not run for Congress to sit on the sidelines,' she added. 'I ran because I believed it was time to restore moral clarity and courage to Congress.'

'No one person  no matter how corrupt, inept, or vicious  can threaten my unwavering love for America. I stand undeterred to continue fighting for equal opportunity in our pursuit of happiness for all Americans.'

Omar concluded her rousing thread by thanking those that continued to stick by her in her fight to establish an 'America we all deserve.'

The video shared by Trump on Friday only showed part of Omar's speech and fellow Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was quick to clap-back at the president's outburst.

AOC branded the tweet a 'dangerous' declaration of prejudice that could possibly incite harm against a politician already facing a slew of death threats and abuse.

'Members of Congress have a duty to respond to the President's explicit attack today,' Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on Friday evening. '[Ilhan Omar's] life is in danger. For our colleagues to be silent is to be complicit in the outright, dangerous targeting of a member of Congress. We must speak out.'

Alongside the rally cry, AOC also shared a picture of Martin Niemoller's famous poem 'First they came' that was inspired by the Holocaust and hangs on the wall of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC.

The poem reads: 'First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for meand there was no one left to speak for me.'

On Saturday, Omar took to Twitter with an explosive thread of tweets in response President's attack, insisting she 'didn't run for congress to be silent'

AOC tweeted in defense of Omar using Martin Niemoller's famous poem 'First they came' to condemn a tweet of the President's on Friday night

Despite the poem sharing similar themes to her tweet, AOC sparked outrage online among critics who believed her use of Niemoller's famed piece was 'disturbing' in defense of Omar.

The outrage stemmed from a number of comments the Somali-American Democrat has made over the past few months regarding Israel.

The criticism was first ignited after she suggested US support of the middle-eastern country is 'All about the Benjamins'  which many interpreted as a nod to the bigoted trope that rich Jews control the world.

'There's something deeply disturbing about AOC making Holocaust references to defend an open and unrepentant anti-Semite who is merely being criticized,' conservative commentator Ben Shapiro tweeted.

Senior editor of the Federalist, David Harasanyi added: 'This is just a shameful attempt to chill speech. It belittles both the real victims of 9/11 and the Holocaust.'

Others took a different interpretation of AOC's use of the poem, with one accusing her of attempting to 'compare the President of the United States to Adolf Hitler'.

However, on Saturday House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rushed to defend Omar and said the president 'shouldn't use the painful images of 9/11 for a political attack.'

In a statement released while she was in Germany visiting American troops that 'the memory of 9/11 is sacred ground, and any discussion of it must be done with reverence.' She said 'it is wrong for the president, as commander-in-chief, to fan the flames to make anyone less safe.'

Despite the poem sharing similar themes to her tweet, AOC has been widely blasted by critics who believe the Holocaust-origins of 'First They Came...' make the use of it in defense of Omar inappropriate

The outrage stems from a number of comments the Somali-American Democrat has made over the past few months regarding Israel

In her full speech to CAIR last month, Omar said: 'Far too long we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen and frankly, I'm tired of it and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it.

'CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something, and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties.'

Since the controversial comments resurfaced, Omar has defended what she said, using an example of George W. Bush making similar remarks in the wake of the tragedy and marking the difference in reaction.

Omar has said the furor surrounding the comments - which she believes were taken out of context - stem from the fact that she is Muslim, and not white

'Was Bush downplaying the terrorist attack? What if he was a Muslim,' she asked on Twitter.

Progressive Democrats, including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, lined up to support Omar in response to AOC's plea for fellow lawmakers to condemn Trump's tweet targeting Omar.

They called the president's behavior 'disgusting' and noted that Omar was already receiving death threats.

Sanders said on Saturday: 'Remember, George W. Bush, I didn't have a lot in common with him.

'What did he do a few days after 9/11, he went into a mosque. You remember that? He went into a mosque to say that criminals, terrorists, attacked the United States, not the Muslim community. That's what he did. It's true. We have had a president who for cheap political gain is trying to divide us up, by the color of our skin ... by our religion.

'By God, that is not what a president should - we can disagree, for God's sakes, that's democracy, but you don't have the President of the United States trying to get us to hate undocumented people. You know, that's not what America's supposed to be about.'

The Washington Post first noted that Bush once referred to the terrorists as 'the people who knocked these buildings down' in remarks at Ground Zero a few days after the attack.

Omar piggybacked on the example in a tweet that linked to the original article.

She had said at a fundraiser for CAIR that the organization 'was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties.

'So you can't just say that today someone is looking at me strange and that I am trying to make myself look pleasant. You have to say that this person is looking at me strange, I am not comfortable with it, and I am going to talk to them and ask them why. Because that is the right you have,' she stated.

Others took a different interpretation of AOC's use of the poem, with one accusing her of attempting to 'compare the President of the United States to Adolf Hitler'

'Members of Congress have a duty to respond to the President's explicit attack today,' Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on Friday, insisting Omar's life is in danger

Rep. Ilhan Omar compared her controversial 9/11 comment to one George W. Bush made after the attack, suggesting Friday that he would have faced similar backlash if he were Muslim

The remarks earned her new criticism, having already weathered allegations that she's an anti-Semite.

'First Member of Congress to ever describe terrorists who killed thousands of Americans on 9/11 as 'some people who did something,'' GOP Rep. Dan Crenshaw said in an accusatory tweet. 'Unbelievable.'

Fox & Friends' Brian Kilmeade said on the morning program he co-hosts, 'You have to wonder if she's an American first.'

He later clarified the statement in a follow up tweet, saying: 'I didn't intend to question whether Rep. Omar is an American - I am questioning how any American, let alone a United States Congresswoman, could downplay the 9/11 attacks.'

The New York Post on Thursday even went as far as to splash a photograph one of the World Trade Center towers collapsing in a ball of flames, with the banner: 'Rep. Ilhan Omar: 9/11 was 'some people did something.'

The Washington Post's fact checker pointed out that Bush once said something similar in a Sept. 14, 2001 speech, when he spoke through a bullhorn at Ground Zero.

Bush told rescue workers in an impromptu speech through a bullhorn that the nation mourns victims of the Twin Towers attack.

'I can't hear you!' one told him. Bush said, 'I can hear you! I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you! And the people -- and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!'

It was part of an intentional effort by Bush not to refer to the attackers as Muslims.

Three days after the impromptu speech delivered by bullhorn, Bush visited the Islamic Center of Washington D.C. to condemn attacks on Muslims.

He said: 'The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace. They represent evil and war.

'Those who feel like they can intimidate our fellow citizens to take out their anger don't represent the best of America, they represent the worst of humankind, and they should be ashamed of that kind of behavior.'

Omar connected the dots on Friday and pointed out in a tweet that Bush did not come under assault for having referred to the attackers as 'people' instead of murderers or terrorists.

Bernie Sanders was the first major Democrat to follow in AOC's footsteps on Friday night

Elizabeth Warren was next, tweeting after Sanders that she too found Trump's attack 'disgusting'

Minnesota's Amy Klobuchar joined her Senate colleagues in supporting Omar hours later. She was careful to note that she does not condone the congresswoman's remarks but found Trump's tweet to be offensive

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said at a news conference shortly after Omar sent the tweet that she had not connected with the congresswoman yet.

'I haven't had the opportunity to speak with her to see the nature of her comment, and as is my custom with colleagues I call them in before I call them out. So I'll look forward to hearing from her,' she said. 'She was in transit, we tried to reach her, she was in transit. So I'll have some comment after I do speak to her.'

Democrats were at a retreat in Northern Virginia on Thursday, where the comments, that were revealed in an April 8 video posted to Twitter, were a topic of discussion.

Ocasio-Cortez defended her colleague to reporters staking the retreat out.

'We are getting to the level where this is an incitement of violence against progressive women of color,' the New York representative said.

Ocasio-Cortez smacked Crenshaw on Twitter for declining to cosponsor the 9/11 Victim's Compensation Fund while having the 'audacity to drum resentment towards Ilhan w/completely out-of-context quotes.'

She told the Texas congressman to 'go do something' about Republicans making insensitive comments.

Sanders answered her call half-an-hour later. The Vermont senator and 2020 presidential candidate said in a tweet: 'Ilhan Omar is a leader with strength and courage. She won't back down to Trump's racism and hate, and neither will we. The disgusting and dangerous attacks against her must end.'

Left-wing Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who's also seeking the presidency, was close behind her 2020 opponent with a tweet that that accused Trump of 'inciting violence against a sitting Congresswomanand an entire group of Americans based on their religion.

'It's disgusting. It's shameful. And any elected leader who refuses to condemn it shares responsibility for it,' the Massachusetts senator wrote.

The New York Post even went as far as to splash a photograph one of the World Trade Center towers collapsing in a ball of flames, with the banner: 'Rep. Ilhan Omar: 9/11 was 'some people did something''

Minnesota's Amy Klobuchar joined her Senate colleagues in supporting Omar hours later. She was careful to note that she does not condone the congresswoman's remarks but found Trump's tweet to be offensive.

The Democratic presidential candidate who shares her home state with Omar said: 'Someone has already been charged with a serious threat on Congresswoman Omar's life. The video the President chose to send out today will only incite more hate. You can disagree with her wordsas I have done beforebut this video is wrong. Enough.'

Other candidates including Beto O'Rourke, Pete Buttigieg and Julian Castro also condemned Trump's attack on Omar.

Buttigieg, who served in the U.S. Navy reserve, tweeted: 'I served oversea, at risk to my life, in the struggle against such terrorism. But it can only be fully defeated if we have leaders at home who defuse its capacity to sow hate - hate against Islam or against any number of 'others.'

'The president today made America smaller. It is not enough to condemn him; we must model something better.

'The threats against the life of @IlhanMN make clear what is at stake if we fail to to do this, and to beat back hate in all all its forms.'

Omar spoke about threats of violence she had received, as she defended herself against the 'double standards' she said she faces, to Late Show host Stephen Colbert earlier in the week. She that she is 'as American as everyone else' and suffers from anti-Muslim discrimination.

Ocasio-Cortez took on Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), who had blasted Omar's comments and circulated a short clip

Other candidates including Beto O'Rourke, Pete Buttigieg and Julian Castro also condemned Trump's attack on Omar

Last week, police in New York arrested a man for allegedly threatening to 'put a bullet in her [expletive] skull.'

She told Colbert: 'I took an oath - I took an oath to the Constitution. I am as American as everyone else is.'

The issue of whether to link al Qaeda and other terrorist attacks including 9/11 to Islam became a campaign issue in 2016 when Trump accused former Barack Obama of refusing to call out 'radical Islamic terrorism.'

He then leveled the same charge at Hillary Clinton, accusing her of being in 'total denial' for not calling the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, the work of a radical Islamic terrorist.

She had tweeted: 'Islam is not our adversary. Muslims are peaceful and tolerant people, and have nothing whatsoever to do with terrorism.'

Trump said, 'She is in total denial. And her continuing reluctance to ever name the enemy broadcasts weakness across the world.'

However, when he made his first foreign trip as president to Saudi Arabia, the home country of a majority of the 9/11 attackers and its mastermind Osama bin Laden, he struck a different note.

'This is not a battle between different faiths, different sects, or different civilizations,' Trump said. 'This is a battle between barbaric criminals who seek to obliterate human life, and decent people of all religions who seek to protect it.'
The producer of a musical about the rivalry between Bill Gates and Steve Jobs that was abruptly cancelled ahead of opening night is being sued by investors.

The show's producer, Carl Levin, has been slapped with a $6 million lawsuit from 13 different investors, allegedly telling them he had funding for the production from Microsoft.

In reality, Levin, 48, had no such support and the musical, which is being dubbed 'the Fyre Festival of Broadway', was more than $1 million in debt, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The show was spectacularly scrapped on March 8, 2016, just two weeks before the first public performances.

The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, describes Levin's actions as leaving behind 'a trail of disappointment, anger and unpaid vendors'.

Broadway musical Nerds was suddenly cancelled in March 2016, before it even hit the stage. The cast is pictured

The show's producer Carl Levin (pictured) has been slapped with a $ 6 million lawsuit

The musical was penned in the early 2000s and documents the rise of Apple founder Jobs (left) and Microsoft founder Gates (right)

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Levin believed he had found 'the next Book of Mormon' when he got his hands on the Nerds script back in 2012.

The musical, originally penned in the early 2000s, featured songs about the Gates and Jobs rivalry, including 'I Am Just A Nerd', and 'Think Different'.

It had previously had a successful run with The Philadelphia Theater Company.

Levin decided to take it to Broadway, and allegedly pitched the show to potential investors by promising it would feature 'onstage holograms' and 'app integrations that allow users to interact with the set'.

Nerds had previously played with The Philadelphia Theater Company (pictured)

A 2016 promo photo for the Broadway version of Nerds, which never made it to the stage

The Broadway cast of Nerds is pictured in 2016, before news that the production had been scrapped

In January 2016, Levin excitedly announced the show would be playing at he Longacre Theatre, stating: 'We're thrilled to add a jolt of comedy to this already astounding theater season, with this hilarious tale of the Founding Fathers of Tech, from a creative team stacked with new voices.'

However, behind the scenes, the show was unraveling.

Learning that the show was under financial strain, one investor described Levin as having 'snake oil charm'.

The Hollywood Reporter has drawn parallels between the Broadway fiasco and Fyre Festival, the failed 2017 'luxury' music festival that left attendees sleeping in tents without adequate toilet facilities.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Levin for comment.
Hillary and Bill Clinton continued their run of speaking engagements last night, this time joined by the comedian Ben Stiller who hosted the event.

The former Democratic presidential candidate and former president took their seats at the Fox theater in downtown Detroit for the next stage of their whistle-stop national tour billed as: 'An Evening with President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.'

The pair shared stories of their time in political office as well as tackling some hot-button topics - though some criticized their reluctance to get into some of the more contentious debates of the day.

The former Democratic presidential candidate and former president took their seats at the Fox theatre in downtown Detroit for the next stage of their whistle-stop national tour

Stiller asked Hillary Clinton about the recent arrest of Julian Assange and she admitted to having 'strong feelings' about his conduct

At each event, a special guest host has been introduced with the comedian and liberal activist Stiller assuming the role for this evening.

Dressed formally, Stiller asked Hillary about the recent arrest of Julian Assange and she admitted to having 'strong feelings' about his conduct.

'He's been used, willingly, I believe, to undermine our elections, the functioning of our government,' she said.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is seen in London on Thursday. Stiller asked Hillary about Assange's arrest and she admitted to having 'strong feelings' about his conduct

'An Evening with President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton'

They also discussed the impact social media has on an evolving democratic landscape. 'One of the things that's frustrating about today is, it's so hard... to know the difference between fact and fiction,' said Bill Clinton, who was president from 1993 to 2001

Adding: 'The bottom line is that he has to answer for what he has done, at least as it has been charged.'

In a tongue-in-cheek nod to Trump's hard-line immigration stance, Clinton added: 'I do think it's a little ironic that he's the only foreigner this administration would welcome to the United States.'

Assange was arrested Thursday at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, and the U.S. has charged him with conspiring with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to break into a classified government computer at the Pentagon.

They also discussed the impact social media has on an evolving democratic landscape

There were some criticisms, however, with some commentators suggesting they failed to tackle meatier subjects such as elitism following the college admission scandals, race relations in the U.S. and in-depth foreign policy

They also discussed the impact social media has on an evolving democratic landscape.

'One of the things that's frustrating about today is, it's so hard... to know the difference between fact and fiction,' said Bill Clinton, who was president from 1993 to 2001.

There were some criticisms, however, with some commentators suggesting they failed to tackle meatier subjects such as elitism following the college admission scandals, race relations in the U.S. and in-depth foreign policy.

The day before, at their event in New York City a heckler was heard shouting 'this is boring' before being silenced.
For Matt Cohler the history of Silicon Valley 'has always been one generation of companies gives birth to great companies that follow'. He once said he was 'one of the luckiest people who ever lived'

He's the Silicon Valley venture capitalist millionaire who was employee number seven at Facebook, helped to launch LinkedIn and now sits on the board of Instagram and Tinder.

But for Yale graduate Matt Cohler, 42, the biggest windfall could come on the day Uber stocks go public.

The ride sharing app filed publicly with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its initial public offering (IPO) Thursday, taking it a step closer to one of the largest technology stock listings of all time.

And that's good news for Cohler, whose firm Benchmark is Uber's largest shareholder with 11 per cent of the company. Estimates say it could be on track for up to $11 billion after the IPO.

Not that Cohler doesn't already have his fair share of wealth after being behind some of the most successful companies in the history of Silicon Valley.

The New Yorker, who once tried his hand at being a saxophonist and now lives with his Norwegian lawyer wife Pia Oien Cohler in San Francisco, made the Forbes The Midas List of top tech Investors in 2019, coming in at number 77.

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Cohler now lives with his Norwegian lawyer wife Pia Oien Cohler, pictured together, in San Francisco. They live a charmed life after getting engaged in 2015 and married a year later

Matt Cohler (left) sits with Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, in their office in Palo Alto, California, August, 26, 2005. He was the seventh full-time employee of the site and became vice president of product management before leaving in 2008 to go to Benchmark

The couple are said to have bought a $47.5 million Belvedere mansion with 270-degree views of San Francisco, the Golden Gate and Bay bridges in 2015

In 2016 he beat the likes of Beyonce, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Floyd Mayweather to be named the 23rd richest entrepreneur under 40 in America, according to Forbes, and was said to be worth $700 million in 2015.

His Twitter bio, where he has 40,000 followers, reads: 'Did: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Uber, Tinder, Bitcoin. Didn't: Airbnb, Square, WhatsApp, Pinterest, Stripe, Coinbase, etc. TBD: the rest.'

It all means that Cohler and wife Pia already live a charmed existence after getting engaged in May 2015 and married the following year.

A 2015 Medium article said the couple bought a $47.5 million Belvedere mansion with 270-degree views of San Francisco, the Golden Gate and Bay bridges.

A year later The New York Times reported on the pair's sale of a four-bedroom mansion overlooking Gramercy Park in New York, on the market for $16.25 million.

The in 2018 they are said to have purchased a Manhattan penthouse listed for $35 million.

Pia, a trained lawyer from Norway, left Paris to be with Cohler four years ago and soon set up a luxury retail store in their new home city.

In 2018 the couple are said to have purchased a Manhattan penthouse listed for $35 million

Pia, a trained lawyer from Norway, left Paris to be with Cohler four years ago and soon set up a luxury retail store in their new home city. They are said to enjoy karaoke, board games, and paintball in their downtime

In 2016 Cohler, right, beat the likes of Beyonce, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Floyd Mayweather to be named the 23rd richest entrepreneur under 40 in America, according to Forbes, and was said to be worth $700 million in 2015. He is pictured here with Facebook co-founders Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz

She spoke with luxury magazine Haute Living about their life together in 2016 saying they would be spending Christmas 'at home in Marin with our families, who will be flying in from New York and Norway'. The couple spent that New Year's in Hawaii with friends, Pia said.

They are said to enjoy karaoke, board games, and paintball in their downtime. And for Pia her drink of choice is 'champagne, always champagne', adding: 'My favorite is Ruinart Blanc de Blanc.'

When she started her now defunct store, Pia the Store, in 2016 the couple counted Joshua Kushner and Dr. Priscilla Chan, who is married to Zuckerberg, among the guests there to wish them well at the opening party.

The high fashion store closed in 2018 with Cohler reportedly planning to return to law in 2019 to work with the Innocence Project.

The couple counted Joshua Kushner and Dr. Priscilla Chan, who is married to Zuckerberg, among the guests to wish them well at the opening party of Pia's luxury store

His Twitter bio, where he has 40,000 followers, reads: 'Did: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Uber, Tinder, Bitcoin. Didn't: Airbnb, Square, WhatsApp, Pinterest, Stripe, Coinbase, etc. TBD: the rest'

German Chancellor Angela Merkel talks to Matt Cohler in 2013. The New Yorker, who once tried his hand at being a saxophonist and now lives with his Norwegian lawyer wife Pia Oien Cohler in San Francisco, made the Forbes The Midas List of top tech Investors in 2019

For Matt, who left Yale with a degree in music theory, computer science, and finance, his journey into Silicon Valley success started with a management consultant role at McKinsey in China.

There, in 2002 and just two years out of Yale, he met former PayPal executive Reid Hoffman.

The pair 'hit it off' and Cohler became Hoffman's protege, helping to launch his new start-up, LinkedIn, The New York Times reports.

It was there, in the Summer of 2004, that he would meet an entrepreneur named Mark Zuckerberg. He joined the company in 2005, the seventh full-time employee.

He became vice president of product management for the social network before leaving in 2008 to become General Partner at Benchmark.

He remained a a 'special advisor' to Zuckerberg, who he calls 'incredible'. Cohler said of the Facebook founder: 'There's nobody I've learned more from, and I'm very grateful to have had the opportunity.'

Now at Benchmark, where he became the youngest general partner, he has built a portfolio of businesses that include Quora and Tinder and he sits on the board of Instagram.

He took over colleague Bill Gurley's board seat at Uber, following Gurley's showdown with then-CEO Travis Kalanick in 2017 and is now the named director for shares held by Benchmark.

Bruce W. Dunlevie, Peter H. Fenton, J. William Gurley, Kevin R. Harvey, Mitch H. Lasky, Steven M. Spurlock and Alexandre Balkanski also have power over the shares held by the company, according to an Uber spokesman.

Matt left Yale with a degree in music theory, computer science, and finance. His journey into Silicon Valley success started with a management consultant role at McKinsey in China. Cohler is pictured here with Rip Empson of TechCrunch in 2014

Ousted co-founder Kalanick, who still owns 8.6 per cent of the company, was booted out two years ago.

But he doesn't always get it right - when YouTube co-founder Steve Chen left Facebook to start the video sharing platform Cohler recalls: 'Steve was one of the first people I hired when I joined Thefacebook.

'When he told me he was leaving to focus on a new startup he was calling YouTube, I told him that Thefacebook was going to be as important as any company in the history of Silicon Valley and he was making a huge mistake.

'At least I was partially right!'

But for Cohler the history of Silicon Valley 'has always been one generation of companies gives birth to great companies that follow'.

He is once said to have told The New York Times: 'I am very aware that Im one of the luckiest people who ever lived.'
President Donald Trump has said he is also open to a third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, reciprocating Kim's overture to resume negotiations.

'I agree with Kim Jong Un of North Korea that our personal relationship remains very good, perhaps the term excellent would be even more accurate, and that a third Summit would be good in that we fully understand where we each stand,' Trump said in a tweet on Saturday morning.

'North Korea has tremendous potential for extraordinary growth, economic success and riches under the leadership of Chairman Kim,' Trump continued.

'I look forward to the day, which could be soon, when Nuclear Weapons and Sanctions can be removed, and then watching North Korea become one of the most successful nations of the World!'

President Donald Trump has said he is also open to a third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un , reciprocating Kim's overture to resume negotiations.

In a speech on Friday night, Kim said he is open to a third summit with Trump, but set the year's end as a deadline for Washington to offer mutually acceptable terms

Following the dramatic breakdown of the second round of talks in Vietnam in February, negotiations seemed to have faltered.

Then on Friday night Kim said he is open to a third summit with Trump, but set the year's end as a deadline for Washington to offer mutually acceptable terms for an agreement to salvage the high-stakes nuclear diplomacy, the North's state-run media said Saturday.

Kim made the comments during a speech Friday at a session of North Korea's rubber stamp parliament, which made a slew of personnel changes that bolstered his diplomatic lineup amid stalemated negotiations with the United States.

His speech came hours after Trump and visiting South Korean President Moon Jae-in met in Washington and agreed on the importance of nuclear talks with North Korea.

'We of course place importance on resolving problems through dialogue and negotiations. But U.S.-style dialogue of unilaterally pushing its demands doesn't fit us, and we have no interest in it,' Kim said during the speech.

According to the Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, Kim blamed the collapse of his summit with Trump in February on what he described as unilateral demands by the United States, which he said raised questions over whether Washington has genuine willingness to improve relations. But Kim said his personal relationship with Trump remains good and that they could exchange letters at 'any time.'

Kim's aides have previously blamed the breakdown in Hanoi on hardline demands from National Security Advisor John Bolton

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gestures to applauding audience after his speech at parliament in Pyongyang, North Korea on Friday

Kim repeated earlier claims that North Korea's crippled economy would persevere through heavy international sanctions imposed over its nuclear weapons program and that he wouldn't 'obsess over summitry with the United States out of thirst for sanctions relief.'

The United States has said the summit in Vietnam broke down because of the North's excessive demands for sanctions relief in return for limited disarmament measures. In their first summit last June in Singapore, Trump and Kim issued a vague statement calling for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula without describing when or how it would occur.

Kim said the United States has been refusing to withdraw what the North perceives as 'hostile policies' while sticking to 'mistaken judgment that we would succumb to maximum pressure.'

He said the North would not compromise on the 'fundamental interests of our country and people, even by a speck,' and blamed the United States for arriving in Hanoi with 'completely unrealizable plans.'

President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un take a walk after their first meeting at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi hotel, in Hanoi, in February

'If the United States approaches us with the right manner and offers to hold a third North Korea-U.S. leaders' summit on the condition of finding solutions we could mutually accept, then we do have a willingness to give it one more try,' Kim added. 'We will wait with patience until the end of the year for the United States to come up with a courageous decision. But it will clearly be difficult for a good opportunity like last time to come up.'

Kim also during the speech made a nationalistic call for South Korea to support the North's positions more strongly and criticized Seoul for acting like an 'overstepping mediator' between Washington and Pyongyang.

Kim held three summits last year with Moon, who lobbied hard to revive the nuclear talks between the United States and North Korea. Following the collapse of the Trump-Kim summit, the North had been urging the South to break away from Washington and proceed with inter-Korean economic projects that are currently held back by U.S.-led sanctions against the North.

'The South should not act as an 'overstepping mediator' or a 'facilitator' and should rather get its mind straight as a member of the (Korean) nation and boldly speak up for the interest of the nation,' Kim said.

When asked about Kim's comments, South Korea's presidential office said Seoul is committed toward keeping the atmosphere of dialogue alive and helping negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang resume at an early date.

On Friday, KCNA reported that Kim was reelected as chairman of the State Affairs Commission, the nation's most important decision-making body, during a session of the Supreme People's Assembly that praised his 'outstanding ideological and theoretical wisdom and experienced and seasoned leadership.'

Experts say the new appointments may be a sign of Kim's desire to keep recent months of up-and-down nuclear diplomacy alive rather than returning to the threats and weapons tests that characterized 2017, when many feared war on the Korean Peninsula.

But the lack of substantial disarmament commitments from the North and the deepening impasse in nuclear negotiations have fueled doubts over whether Kim would ever voluntarily relinquish an arsenal he may see as his strongest guarantee of survival.

Some experts say it's becoming clear the North intends to turn the talks with the United States into a bilateral arms reduction negotiation between two nuclear states, rather than a unilateral process of surrendering its arsenal.

Kim has signed vague statements calling for the 'complete denuclearization' of the peninsula in his meetings with Trump and Moon.

But North Korea for decades has been pushing a concept of denuclearization that bears no resemblance to the American definition, with Pyongyang vowing to pursue nuclear development until the United States removes its troops and the nuclear umbrella defending South Korea and Japan.
This is the shocking moment a thug head-butts a train door before attacking a police officer.

Stephen Owellen was filmed slamming and kicking the doors on the inside of a Metro train as he desperately tried to get out.

The officers on the platform then press the 'open door' button in order to let the 33-year-old off the train.

He then charges towards officers and the driver of the Metro before stripping off.

Stephen Owellen (pictured above) was filmed kicking and pushing the doors of the Metro train

Police bodycam footage from officers at Northumbria Police was submitted to court, along with another clip which showed the 33-year-old strip down to the nude, before laying into the driver.

Operator of the service in the Gosforth area of Newcastle upon Tyne, Nexus has now slammed the thug, who was spared prison for the savage attack on the last train home.

Metro Services Director, Chris Carson, said: 'The safety and security of our workforce and customers is our top priority. Assaults on Metro drivers will not be tolerated.

'We are disappointed that the person who committed this assault did not get sent to prison. This was a member of staff in uniform performing an essential public service who has ended up facing violence. Nobody deserves this kind of treatment when they're at work.

Police then cautiously pressed the open door button to the let him out, he then ran at officer

'While offending of this severity is rare on Metro, any kind of attack on staff, verbal or physical, is completely unacceptable. I'm thankful that the Metro driver wasn't more seriously hurt and that the police were able to detain the offender at the scene.'

Mr Carson said the team has put in a series of measurements in order to enhance safety and to deter crime and anti-social behaviour on the lines.

'Frontline staff have been issued with body-worn CCTV cameras and we are increasing the number of staff on the system to record levels.

'We already work closely with the police and have stepped up high visibility patrols on the system where our own staff work alongside the Northumbria Police Metro Unit and Neighbourhood Policing Teams.

After running out the door he took his shirt off before running at officers. He was then arrested (pictured above)

'The overall crime rate on Metro remains low for a transport system of its size, but anyone who thinks that it's okay to attack one of our employees will face the courts and the prospect of a prison sentence.'

The footage shows officers bravely restraining Owellen, who North Tyneside Magistrates' Court heard was brought up around violence and who owed over 3,000 due to previous convictions, says he was 'spiked'.

He insisted he only had four pints that night.

Police arrived at Regent Centre to aid the driver, who had his cab window smashed before being beaten black and blue.

Owellen even barked 'come on!' as the doors open and he charges the officers.

But he had put his clothes back on by the time officers arrived in the early hours of February 9.

In court on Wednesday, he was described as being 'fully naked' when he struck.

He landed so many blows the driver lost count, recalling: 'He was going crazy inside the cab.'

Mitigating, the Sunderland defendant's brief Mark Richardson claimed his actions were 'out of character'.

After Owellen pleaded guilty to assault by beating and criminal damage, Magistrates suspended his four month sentence for a year, ordering him to pay 200 compensation to the driver along with 100 to Nexus for the damage to
Twitter users are joking about the whereabouts of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange after it was claimed he was sent to 'Britain's Guantanamo Bay'.

Assange was arrested at Ecuador's London Embassy on Thursday and is currently being held at the high-security Belmarsh jail in south east London.

The jail, with notable prisoners including black cab rapist John Worboys and Grindr serial killer Stephen Port, was briefly given the nickname between 2001 and 2002 for holding a number of prisoners indefinitely without charge under terrorism laws.

Many Twitter users were confused over the comparison to the notorious detention centre where prisoners were tortured and abused, and began to suggest other places across the UK where the nickname might be more apt.

One user wrote: 'He's in Milton Keynes?'

Twitter users are joking about the whereabouts of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange after it was claimed he was sent to 'Britain's Guantanamo Bay', aka Belmarsh prison (pictured)

The WikiLeaks founder, pictured, was arrested at Ecuador's London Embassy on Thursday

Many Twitter users were confused over the comparison to the notorious detention centre where prisoners were tortured, and began to suggest other places across the UK where the nickname might be more apt - including Milton Keynes and a motorway services toilet

Another suggested: 'They're holding him in a motorway services toilet?'

Mike Bevan joked: 'He's been moved to Scunthorpe?'

Others wondered if Assange had been moved to one of the holiday camps scattered across the country.

Dan Walton tweeted: 'Surely the staff at Butlins have suffered enough by now?'

Sam Golding added: 'Must be Pontins at Camber Sands based on their trip advisor reviews.'

Pictured: Guantanamo Bay. Belmarsh prison held the nickname briefly between 2001 and 2002 for holding a number of prisoners indefinitely without charge under terrorism laws

Others wondered if the WikiLeaks co-founder had been moved to one of the holiday camps scattered across the country

More helpful Twitter users pointed out that the UK doesn't have a true Guantanamo Bay equivalent.

Assange was thrown out of his Ecuador embassy bolthole where he had been given refuge since 2012 earlier this week.

In extraordinary scenes, eight policemen had to drag the bearded and dishevelled Assange to a waiting police van as he ranted about Donald Trump and screamed 'the UK has no civility'.

His arrest came after the Ecuadorian government ended his asylum status, saying it was tired of his 'discourteous' behaviour and poor personal hygiene, which reportedly included smearing faeces on the walls of the country's London embassy.

The former hacker now faces a maximum sentence of one year in a British jail, likely to be Wandsworth prison in south London

At court, the judge branded Assange a 'narcissist who cannot get beyond his own selfish interests'.

Assange denied skipping bail in 2012 but was found guilty after the judge said his defence was 'laughable'.

He had tried to claim he breached his bail conditions because he couldn't be guaranteed a fair trial in the UK.

The former hacker now faces a maximum sentence of one year in a British jail, likely to be Wandsworth prison in south London.

This would see him serve six months before a fight over his extradition to the US begins. Experts say that process could take up to two years.

Meanwhile Swedish prosecutors said they would consider restarting the rape investigation which caused Assange to first seek refuge in the embassy.
A British man who allegedly assaulted a man in Bondi after spending less than 24 hours in the country has claimed he has no memory of the attack.

Daniel Smith, 35, appeared in Parramatta Bail Court after he allegedly attacked a stranger walking along Campbell Parade at 1.30am on Saturday.

The 35-year-old, who is in Australia for a two-week holiday, told the court he couldn't remember the attack and didn't have 'a bad bone in his body.'

A British man has found himself in handcuffs less than 24 hours after arriving in Australia (stock image of Bondi pictured)

'Oh my god, oh my word,' he said.

'I don't have any memory. I've never done anything wrong in my life. I just don't understand it, I don't have a bad bone in my body.'

Magistrate Tony Murray advised him not to say anything else about the incident and suggested he seek legal advice, reported The Daily Telegraph.

Smith allegedly approached a 59-year-old man while he was walking down the street and assaulted him.

The victim attempted to flee from the enraged man, who continued to assault him and stole his mobile phone.

The attack was only stopped when a nearby onlooker called police after witnessing the violent assault.

Daniel Smith, 35, allegedly violently attacked an older man near Bondi Beach in Sydney's east, leaving him seriously injured (pictured is Campbell Parade, Bondi)

The victim was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics at the scene before being taken to St Vincent's Hospital (pictured) in a serious but stable condition

The victim was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics at the scene before being taken to St Vincent's Hospital in a serious but stable condition.

Smith was arrested at the scene by Officers from Eastern Suburbs Police Area Command.

He was taken to Waverley Police Station and charged with aggravated robbery with wounding/grievous bodily harm and choking a person intend to commit indictable offence.

Smith didn't apply for bail and his case was adjourned to Central Local Court on Monday. He told the Magistrate he would seek legal advice before his next appearance.
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Racegoers dressed up in their striking pink frocks, fascinators and three piece suits while they popped champagne to kick off a day of antics at the Scottish Grand National.

Stylish crowds looked excited as they soaked up the atmosphere at Ayr racecourse and appeared to be making the most of the dry weather as they enjoyed a tipple and ice cream outside.

Ladies and gentlemen dressed up in their best outfits, with the girls donning fancy hats, eye catching sunglasses and plunging necklines as they defied the chilly April temperatures.

But the cold weather didn't stop attendees from making a real effort with their ensembles, with bright colours competing for attention.

Racegoers dressed up in their frocks, fascinators and finery and popped champagne as they set to enjoy a weekend of races at the Scottish Grand National

One man looks dapper as he dons an eye-popping pink suit as they prepare for a weekend of antics

Revellers looked excited with drinks in hand as they enjoyed a tipple at the racecourse

The stylish crowds looked excited as they arrived at Ayr racecourse and appeared to be making the most of the dry weather as they enjoyed a tipple and ice cream outside

Sunday is forecast to be windy with breezes from Scandinavia bringing temperatures to around 11C, Monday will see cloud cover for most of the country with rain in the southeast, while Monday will bring showers to much of the eastern coast

One man opted for a eye-popping pink suit as he arrived to join racegoers knocking back drinks as they prepared for a weekend of racing antics.

Among the revellers were a few famous faces, including Love Island's Chris Hughes who has been a life-long fan of racing since he was 10 years old.

It comes after a successful weekend at Aintree Grand National last week as crowds cheered on as Tiger Roll romped home to victory in the famous steeplechase.

And the country will enjoy a dry weekend with spells of brilliant sunshine as signs of Springs begin to show.

A cold snap on Saturday morning made way for sun by late Saturday morning just in time for Brits to enjoy the Easter holidays, with temperature highs of up to 13C.

But those heading for family trips in the outdoors may want to wear a jumper as temperatures will drop to a chilly 8C, particularly on coastlines.

And some parts of the UK may even see April showers with patches of rain that could even turn into hail.

Sunday may be on the windy side, with sharp breezes from Scandinavia bringing temperatures to around 11C, which may feel colder due to the wind.

But the cold weather will likely not last as next week is set for sunshine and warm weather after the cold snap.

Met Office forecaster Dean Hall said: 'Saturday will be colder than Friday with highs of up to 12-13C but the evening will be cold with a few showers in the south east and could drop to -3C anywhere in the UK.

'Sunday will be windier and breezy with clouds and spots of rain in mostly Cornwall and Northern Ireland. It will be colder at 11C but because of the winds it may feel more chilly.'

The race is due off at 3.35pm and is live on ITV and Racing TV.

Men were decked out in three piece suits and seen knocking back drinks as they prepared for a weekend of racing antics

But that didn't stop attendees from making a real effort with their ensembles, with bright colours competing for attention

A couple dressed in their finery as they arrive at Ayr racecourse ahead of the Scottish Grand National on Saturday

Ladies and gentlemen dressed up in their best outfits, with the girls donning fancy hats, eye catching and plunging necklines as they defied the chilly April temperatures

Ladies put on their best looks from animal print coats to lemon yellow bodycon dresses as they prepared to cheer the races

Eccentric fascinators and stylish eye wear were out in full play at the Scottish Grand National in Ayr

Ladies look glamorous as they sip champagne in their best dresses and enjoy the sun despite the chilly April weather

Dressed in their finery, the ladies laugh as they soak up the atmosphere ahead of the races at Ayr racecourse
Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has been left red faced after he sent out an email referring to Opposition Leader Bill Shorten as the Prime Minister.

The Liberal Party member was discussing the upcoming Election announcement when he made the major mistake in his email to supporters.

'On Thursday, Prime Minister Shorten officially called the election for 18 May, and Team Tony hit the ground running,' the email read.

Opps: Former prime minister Tony Abbott (pictured) has been left red faced after he sent out an email referring to Opposition leader Bill Shorten as the Prime Minister

The Liberal Party member was discussing the upcoming Election announcement when he made the major mistake in his email to supporters

It was in fact Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the leader of the Liberal Party, who called the election on Thursday.

Many people were entertained by the error with dozens taking to social media to share their amusement.

'The very first occasion in which Tony Abbott has been ahead of his time. Only by five weeks though, so don't get too excited,' one person said on Twitter.

'Tony The Prophet,' another tweet read.

'He looked into his crystal onion,' one person said.

'Classic! Probably the first time he preempted the truth!!! Enjoy this Malcolm Turnbull,' another person said.

Too soon? Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is also the leader of the Liberal Part, called the election on Thursday - not Opposition leader Bill Shorten (pictured)

'Tony Abbott: a man forever in opposition. Even when he's in government,' said another.

The upcoming vote will decide whether the conservative government will get a rare third term in office - and whether embattled incumbent Scott Morrison can beat the odds and hang on to power.

Polls have consistently shown his centre-left Labor opponents with a commanding lead, suggesting a new adminstration led by former union leader Bill Shorten.

But Australian elections are often tight affairs, with a couple dozen marginal seats deciding the outcome, and both party leaders have low approval ratings and have struggled to connect with voters.

Morrison took office less than a year ago in a coup by the hard right of his Liberal party and has struggled to bridge a divide between party moderates and nationalist populists who have grown in confidence in the age of Donald Trump.

He has tried to paper over these divisions and make sure the campaign focus is squarely on the party's economic record.

For all purposes, campaigning is already well underway and has already been deeply acrimonious.

Election ads have been running for weeks, and, like the United States, Australian politics has taken on the air of a permanent campaign with the focus on how policies will play with voters as much as how well they work.
A mother and her adult son have been arrested for allegedly causing chaos in a Wisconsin Walmart on Wednesday night.

Lisa Smith, 46, reportedly pulled apart displays inside the Eau Claire store as her son Benny Vann, 26, stripped naked and exposed himself to fellow customers.

The pair also brought their unleashed dog into the shop and staff quickly called police to the scene.

Officers arrived to find Smith screaming in the Walmart entryway as she resisted arrest by performing a series of karate moves.

An Eau Claire Police Department Facebook status claims that she also attempted to kick out the window of a squad car.

Police mugshots of Lisa Smith, 46, (left) and her son, Benny Vann, 26, who were arrested for causing chaos in a Wisconsin Walmart Wednesday night

Meanwhile, inside the store, a naked Vann allegedly began dressing himself in clothes from the racks without first purchasing them.

He fled the scene on a scooter and tried to run over an officer who endeavored to stop him. He was eventually restrained by police.

Smith was arrested for disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and misdemeanor bail jumping.

Vann, was arrested for lewd and lascivious behavior, disorderly conduct and retail theft.

The exterior of the Eau Claire Walmart, in which Smith and Vann reportedly ran amok

The mother and son's dog was also detained by officers with a box of Jiffy Cornbread Muffin Mix in its mouth.

The animal was taken to the Humane Association.

Clearly keeping a sense of humor, the Eau Claire Police Department stated: 'The dog was not charged  we issued him a warning for the theft'.
Sajid Javid (pictured above) had his plan suspended by the treasury

Home Secretary Sajid Javid has penned a detailed technological plan which would see the removal of the Irish backstop.

Mr Javid had commissioned Border Force officials to work up the plan, which has now been suspended by the Treasury, to the fury of Brexiteers.

The Home Secretary had concocted a plan which would use Swiss-style technology in order to manage trade and tariffs, therefore avoiding a hard border in Ireland.

The work was originally submitted by HMRC, however allies of Mr Javid claimed officials were 'incredibly dismissive of it and not interested'.

Speaking to the Telegraph, a source said: 'We tried to talk to HMRC about it for eight months,' the source said.

'We said there were big hurdles to get past but we didn't think they were insurmountable.'

The move comes as Prime Minister Theresa May continues to try to secure an agreement on a Brexit compromise deal with Labour, which would likely see Britain staying in the Customs Union with the European Union.

On Monday Mr Javid is set to deliver a speech, setting out his vision for addressing the root causes of crime.

However, the plans outlined earlier this year, which rely heavily on technology had set the 'art of the possible' for the Irish border.

Prime Minister Theresa May (pictured above) continues to try to secure an agreement on a Brexit compromise deal with Labour

The scheme would see companies upload data about their cargo into a 'digital portal' while artificial intelligence would be used to build a 'risk profile based on goods, route and drivers'.

This is while automatic number plate recognition would also be used to track vehicles.

The plans state: 'If all these technologies are brought together, this could allow a seamless collection and analysis of the data needed. It would also provide the ability to target interventions away from the border itself.'

Insiders have already acknowledged that the project would be 'big and complex', and will require a significant amount of investment in technology.

The Swiss-style technology would mean there would be no need for physical infrastructure at the border

This applied technology will be key in avoiding having a physical infrastructure at the border.

The document stated: 'The challenge of this work cannot be underestimated.

'No Government worldwide currently controls different customs arrangement with no physical infrastructure at the border.'

Speaking to the Telegraph, a source from the Treasury said the plans had been deemed 'unworkable' and that no further action had been taken to develop them.

Former Brexit Secretary David Davis said there had been a track record of the Treasury resisting technological solutions

The Prime Minister had abandoned plans to renegotiate the Irish backstop after extending Article 50 by six months.

She has now pinned her hope on a deal with Labour, following negotiations earlier this week.

Former Brexit Secretary David Davis said there had been a track record of the Treasury resisting technological solutions dating back to August 2017.

It was then that the head of HMRC said a similar 'max fac' plan would cost businesses up to 20 billion a year.

He said: 'There have been any number of attempts of technological solutions and the reasons for rejecting are political, not practical.

'I am unsurprised at the HMRC. That's been the Treasury response all the way along, one of obstruction rather than facilitation.'

This is while for transit goods passing through Switzerland and the rest of Europe, vehicle driver particulars are electronically verified.

Swiss authorities do not collect tariffs on behalf on the EU, as most drivers carry pre-paid transit documents with officials saying 80 per cent of customs clearance takes place either before or after the border.

Former trade minister John Redwood said problems raised over tech were 'completely fictitious.'

'You could understand why the Republic of Ireland wanted to do it and the EU wanted to do it as it seemed to be a way to drag the UK back into the Customs Union. It's sad to see the British Government co-operated in this. The Government should have said this is a non-problem.'

He added that officials had set out to find everything that was wrong with it and said both the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Business Secretary 'encouraged the approach.

'The Chancellor is ultimately response for these things. I think he was on the side of trying to keep us in the EU.'

A source within HMRC said the Government had been resolute in ensuring there would be no hard border.

It also highlighted that it would consider the 'potential applications of technology to streamline customs processes.'

MailOnline has contacted the Treasury.
Entitlements are draining capital reserves 'dollar for dollar' according to the former Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan.

Greenspan, 93, who was known as the 'Maestro' during his 19-year tenure which ran from the Reagan to the George W. Bush administrations, said the cost of Social Security and Medicare programs would eventually push economic growth off a cliff.

He pointed to a rapidly ageing population for the eventual significant downturn, despite the U.S. economy enjoying solid growth of late.

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Greenspan, who was known as the 'Maestro' during his 19-year tenure which ran from the Reagan to the George W. Bush administrations, said the cost of Social Security and Medicare would eventually push economic growth off a cliff

The long-time central bank chief repeated his dire warnings about the weight such programs are having on what has otherwise been consistent gains over the past several years.

'I think the real problem is over the long run, we've got this significant continued drain coming from entitlements, which are basically draining capital investment dollar for dollar,' he told CNBC during a 'Squawk on the Street' interview.

'Without any major change in entitlements, entitlements are going to rise. Why? Because the population is aging.

'There's no way to reverse that, and the politics of it are awful, as you well know,' Greenspan added.

Though the economy looks 'reasonably good' in the short term, he warned that the growth will 'fade very dramatically.'

In its latest GDP forecast, the Atlanta Fed now sees the increase running at 2.3 percent. A month ago, the tracker had put the level at 0.2 percent.

Greenspan indicated that the improvement stems from stock market price rises but they cannot be maintained because - despite being the S&P 500 being on track for its best ever performance - Europe's economic struggles coupled entitlements in the U.S. make for a turbulent set of circumstances for growth.

The long-time central bank chief repeated his dire warnings about the weight such programs are having on what has otherwise been consistent gains over the past several years

He said: 'Europe is not doing well and we still have very substantial fiscal problems associated with entitlements.

'The stock market rally to date has already built in a significant rise in GDP in the current period,' he added, indicating that he sees a 'stock market aura' in the economy.

A rise of 10 percent in the S&P 500 corresponds to a 1 percent real GDP increase, he said.
A Jack Russell Terrier saved his owners from death when their houseboat went up in flames on Friday as he woke them up by repeatedly barking.

A 64-year-old man and a 53-year-old woman were asleep on their yacht when it became engulfed in flames at 5.30am.

Their heroic dog Charlie, who was also on the boat, began barking and woke up the owners when he spotted the blaze.

A Jack Russell,Charlie, (pictured) began barking and woke up the owners when he spotted the blaze

'[Charlie's] mum and dad have told us if it hadn't been for his bark warning them, they might not have woken up in time to escape their burning yacht,' Queensland Police shared online.

Authorities were alerted to the burning 15-metre yacht, located in the waters off Queensland's Moreton Island, at 5.30am.

Police and Queensland Fire and Emergency Services managed to extinguish the fire.

Dramatic video of the burning yacht was released by Queensland Police on Friday.

The couple was assessed for smoke inhalation by paramedics at the Port of Brisbane.

Acting Senior Sergeant Daniel Moyle said the pair were lucky to escape unharmed, but police were still unsure what caused the fire, the ABC reported.

Authorities were alerted to the burning boat on the south-west side of the island off the coast of Queensland just after 5.30am

The 64-year-old man and 53-year-old woman managed to escape the burning yacht on their tender boat off Queensland's Moreton Island

'Because they were very well prepared and they knew their vessel, they got off the ship very quickly and effectively and it potentially saved their lives,' Senior Sergeant Moyle said.

'They heard some noises, and got up to see lights in the kitchen area and they immediately evacuated the ship to a tender and went to a nearby yacht to raise the alarm.

Sergeant Moyle said the couple were distressed and upset, but are coping well.

The cause of the fire is not considered suspicious and investigations are continuing.

Acting Senior Sergeant Jay Bairstow, Officer in Charge Brisbane Water Police said with Easter coming up, those at the helm should be well-prepared.

Police are urging anyone going out on the water to let people know their travel details so friends and family know where they are and when they are expected to return.
The silver Mercedes raced towards Ukrainian ambassador's car outside the Ukranian embassy in west London

It 'deliberately' crashed into the parked car five times, before driving at armed police officers called to scene

The officers opened fire on the car, firing 'half a dozen' shots, before using a taser to apprehend the driver

No Embassy staff or ambassador Natalia Galibarenko were injured and the motive is now being investigated

Metropolitan Police say a man in his 40s has been arrested following the alleged attack and taken to hospital

A man who 'blasted Ukrainian music from his car for several hours' before deliberately ramming the Mercedes into the Ukrainian ambassador's vehicle in London five times, has been arrested on suspicion of trying to murder police officers, after he drove at them when they opened fire on him.

Officers opened fire to try and stop the man after he had smashed into ambassador Natalia Galibarenko's parked car outside the embassy building in Holland Park, west London, crashing into it twice at around 10am.

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A taser was also used before the car was stopped and the man, who is in his 40s, was arrested and taken to hospital - though he was not injured.

The Metropolitan Police later said he was arrested on suspicion of the attempted murder of police officers and criminal damage.

Though the motive is unclear, the Ukrainian Embassy claimed that the ambassador's car was 'deliberately rammed' in the incident this morning.

One witness claimed that the car was 'blasting Ukrainian music in some kind of protest against the embassy', after arriving at about 7am.

The moment police officers arrest the man outside the Ukrainian embassy in west London this morning after he 'deliberately rammed' his car into the ambassador's parked vehicle twice

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Witnesses claim that that police officers fired half a dozen shots at the man, in his 40s, and also used a taser before subduing and arresting him

The Ukranian ambassador's vehicle was parked outside the embassy in Holland Park when a silver Mercedes sped towards it

A police sniffer dog at the scene near the Ukrainian Embassy in Holland Park, west London where the ambassador's car was rammed into by a Mercedes

Witness Darcy Mercier described the 'really strange' event to the BBC.

He said: 'I was out on my terrace when he started ramming the car and then the police arrested him.

'I asked him to turn down the music and he said that he was playing Ukrainian music for the Ukrainian Embassy and was a little bit belligerent.'

The statement from the embassy said: 'Around 10am on Saturday 13 April, the official vehicle of the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom was deliberately rammed as it sat parked in front of the Embassy of Ukraine's building.

'The police were called immediately, and the suspect's vehicle was blocked up. Nevertheless, despite the police actions, the attacker hit the Ambassador's car again.

Ukraine Ambassador Natalia Galibarenk, pictured, was not in the car at the time

'In response, the police were forced to open fire on the perpetrator's vehicle. The culprit was apprehended and taken to a police station. No one of the Embassy staff were injured. The police are investigating the suspect's identity and motive for the attack.'

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Emma Slatter, who is Visa's general counsel, watched the scene unfold with her partner David Hinsley, a banker who is also in his 50s.

'We could see two police cars at this end of the road and one about half way down looking the other way,' she said.

'It seems like he was moving erratically or wanting to move away from being boxed in, maybe not realising there were police behind him as well.

'That was when he collided backwards.'

Then came gunfire.

'I think I heard about half a dozen shots,' she said.

The couple fled from the window in case of a stray bullet until the firing was over.

'I could see police had got the guy out of the car and they had him on the ground,' Ms Slatter continued.

'The police seemed in charge. There were probably about eight to 10 guys in full body armour, some with submachine guns.

'He (the suspect) was stumbling but he wasn't resisting. We thought he might've been shot but there wasn't any evidence of any blood.

'They frogmarched him into the back of the police van,' she said, before the suspect was transferred into an ambulance.

Police have sealed off the street near the Ukrainian embassy in west London.

Forensic officers comb through the silver Mercedes car outside the Ukrainian embassy in Holland Park, Kensington, London

Forensic officers at scene near the Ukrainian Embassy collect bags of evidence and place markers around the car

Bruno, 65, whose house is within the police cordon said: I heard one police man saying to another break the glass and they broke both windows on the front of the car'

There was a heavy police presence at the scene for several hours, with police joined by a forensics team to investigate

A woman who works at a nearby shop said she heard shots fired twice between 10am and 11am on Saturday.

The woman, who did not wish to be named, said officers arrived 'very quick', adding: 'I saw many police cars coming.'

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Bruno, 65, whose house is within the police cordon, said: 'I heard one police man saying to another 'break the glass' and they broke both windows on the front of the car.

The boot of the silver Mercedes was full of a builder's work bag and several other items, including a shopping bag from H&M

The damage to a parked car can be seen by the boot of the Mercedes, which crashed into several parked vehicles outside the embassy

Forensic officers suit up as they lay markers in the area surrounding the car while hunting for evidence and a potential motive

The scene in Holland Park after shots were fired by police near the Ukrainian embassy to stop the silver Mercedes and its driver

Police were forced to fire shots and deploy a taser eventually stopping the vehicle and arresting the man after he drove towards them

The Ambassador of Ukraine Mrs Natalia Galibarenko and her husband Oleksandr Naumenko meet Queen Elizabeth II during a private audience at Buckingham Palace in 2012

'[The shot] got me out, I just went out to see what it was then when I realised what was going on I went back inside.

'I heard one gunshot, then the crash of the car, then more gun shots and probably seconds later I was outside.'

Another resident, Dan, who lives two doors down, told MailOnline: 'The Mercedes was sat outside with music blaring for hours - from 7:30ish'

'I heard shots and I heard screaming, I thought it had to be some crazy on the street.'

The Ukrainian Embassy is on Holland Park, an affluent area in West London. The ambassador's car was deliberately targeted by the driver of a silver vehicle

Police attended the scene and took the driver of the car in to custody. It is not known whether the ambassador was in the car at the time of the incident

Another neighbour told MailOnline: 'I thought it was just a protest at the Cameroon embassy because they do it every week'

A statement from the Ukrainian embassy said the car was deliberately rammed in to twice before police were forced to intervene

Chief Superintendent Andy Walker, from the Met's Specialist Firearms Command, said: 'As is standard procedure, an investigation is now ongoing into the discharge of a police firearm during this incident. While this takes place, I would like to pay tribute to the officers involved this morning who responded swiftly to this incident and put themselves in harm's way, as they do every day, to keep the people of London safe.'

One witness in the area claimed on social media they had heard up to 10 shots in Holland Park this afternoon.

Photos from the scene show a number of police cars and officers in the area.

Henry Greenfields, who lives nearby, told MyLondon a neighbour had heard shots fired and then seen police return fire.

Another local resident said he had heard 'seven or eight' gunshots.

Foreign Office minister Sir Alan Duncan said he was 'very concerned' to hear about the incident, and he has spoken with Ukrainian ambassador Natalia Galibarenko.

He tweeted: 'Very concerned to hear of the incident near the Ukrainian Embassy this morning.

'I have just spoken to Ambassador Galibarenko @UkrEmbLondon and am glad to hear that no one was hurt.

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'Thanks to the @metpoliceuk for such a swift response.'

Stewart McDonald MP member of parliament for Glasgow south & SNP spokesperson for defence gave his 'best wishes' to Natalia Gailibarenko
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A man who 'blasted Ukrainian music from his car for several hours' before deliberately ramming the Mercedes into the Ukrainian ambassador's vehicle in London five times, has been arrested on suspicion of trying to murder police officers, after he drove at them when they opened fire on him.

Officers opened fire to try and stop the man after he had smashed into ambassador Natalia Galibarenko's parked car outside the embassy building in Holland Park, west London, crashing into it twice at around 10am.

A taser was also used before the car was stopped and the man, who is in his 40s, was arrested and taken to hospital - though he was not injured.

The Metropolitan Police later said he was arrested on suspicion of the attempted murder of police officers and criminal damage.

Though the motive is unclear, the Ukrainian Embassy claimed that the ambassador's car was 'deliberately rammed' in the incident this morning.

One witness claimed that the car was 'blasting Ukrainian music in some kind of protest against the embassy', after arriving at about 7am.

The moment police officers arrest the man outside the Ukrainian embassy in west London this morning after he 'deliberately rammed' his car into the ambassador's parked vehicle twice

Witnesses claim that that police officers fired half a dozen shots at the man, in his 40s, and also used a taser before subduing and arresting him

The Ukranian ambassador's vehicle was parked outside the embassy in Holland Park when a silver Mercedes sped towards it

A police sniffer dog at the scene near the Ukrainian Embassy in Holland Park, west London where the ambassador's car was rammed into by a Mercedes

Witness Darcy Mercier described the 'really strange' event to the BBC.

He said: 'I was out on my terrace when he started ramming the car and then the police arrested him.

'I asked him to turn down the music and he said that he was playing Ukrainian music for the Ukrainian Embassy and was a little bit belligerent.'

The statement from the embassy said: 'Around 10am on Saturday 13 April, the official vehicle of the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom was deliberately rammed as it sat parked in front of the Embassy of Ukraine's building.

'The police were called immediately, and the suspect's vehicle was blocked up. Nevertheless, despite the police actions, the attacker hit the Ambassador's car again.

Ukraine Ambassador Natalia Galibarenk, pictured, was not in the car at the time

'In response, the police were forced to open fire on the perpetrator's vehicle. The culprit was apprehended and taken to a police station. No one of the Embassy staff were injured. The police are investigating the suspect's identity and motive for the attack.'

Emma Slatter, who is Visa's general counsel, watched the scene unfold with her partner David Hinsley, a banker who is also in his 50s.

'We could see two police cars at this end of the road and one about half way down looking the other way,' she said.

'It seems like he was moving erratically or wanting to move away from being boxed in, maybe not realising there were police behind him as well.

'That was when he collided backwards.'

Then came gunfire.

'I think I heard about half a dozen shots,' she said.

The couple fled from the window in case of a stray bullet until the firing was over.

'I could see police had got the guy out of the car and they had him on the ground,' Ms Slatter continued.

'The police seemed in charge. There were probably about eight to 10 guys in full body armour, some with submachine guns.

'He (the suspect) was stumbling but he wasn't resisting. We thought he might've been shot but there wasn't any evidence of any blood.

'They frogmarched him into the back of the police van,' she said, before the suspect was transferred into an ambulance.

Police have sealed off the street near the Ukrainian embassy in west London.

Forensic officers comb through the silver Mercedes car outside the Ukrainian embassy in Holland Park, Kensington, London

Forensic officers at scene near the Ukrainian Embassy collect bags of evidence and place markers around the car

Bruno, 65, whose house is within the police cordon said: 'I heard one police man saying to another 'break the glass' and they broke both windows on the front of the car'

There was a heavy police presence at the scene for several hours, with police joined by a forensics team to investigate

A woman who works at a nearby shop said she heard shots fired twice between 10am and 11am on Saturday.

The woman, who did not wish to be named, said officers arrived 'very quick', adding: 'I saw many police cars coming.'

Bruno, 65, whose house is within the police cordon, said: 'I heard one police man saying to another 'break the glass' and they broke both windows on the front of the car.

The boot of the silver Mercedes was full of a builder's work bag and several other items, including a shopping bag from H&M

The damage to a parked car can be seen by the boot of the Mercedes, which crashed into several parked vehicles outside the embassy

Forensic officers suit up as they lay markers in the area surrounding the car while hunting for evidence and a potential motive

The scene in Holland Park after shots were fired by police near the Ukrainian embassy to stop the silver Mercedes and its driver

Police were forced to fire shots and deploy a taser eventually stopping the vehicle and arresting the man after he drove towards them

The Ambassador of Ukraine Mrs Natalia Galibarenko and her husband Oleksandr Naumenko meet Queen Elizabeth II during a private audience at Buckingham Palace in 2012

'[The shot] got me out, I just went out to see what it was then when I realised what was going on I went back inside.

'I heard one gunshot, then the crash of the car, then more gun shots and probably seconds later I was outside.'

Another resident, Dan, who lives two doors down, told MailOnline: 'The Mercedes was sat outside with music blaring for hours - from 7:30ish'

'I heard shots and I heard screaming, I thought it had to be some crazy on the street.'

The Ukrainian Embassy is on Holland Park, an affluent area in West London. The ambassador's car was deliberately targeted by the driver of a silver vehicle

Police attended the scene and took the driver of the car in to custody. It is not known whether the ambassador was in the car at the time of the incident

Another neighbour told MailOnline: 'I thought it was just a protest at the Cameroon embassy because they do it every week'

A statement from the Ukrainian embassy said the car was deliberately rammed in to twice before police were forced to intervene

Chief Superintendent Andy Walker, from the Met's Specialist Firearms Command, said: 'As is standard procedure, an investigation is now ongoing into the discharge of a police firearm during this incident. While this takes place, I would like to pay tribute to the officers involved this morning who responded swiftly to this incident and put themselves in harm's way, as they do every day, to keep the people of London safe.'

One witness in the area claimed on social media they had heard up to 10 shots in Holland Park this afternoon.

Photos from the scene show a number of police cars and officers in the area.

Henry Greenfields, who lives nearby, told MyLondon a neighbour had heard shots fired and then seen police return fire.

Another local resident said he had heard 'seven or eight' gunshots.

Foreign Office minister Sir Alan Duncan said he was 'very concerned' to hear about the incident, and he has spoken with Ukrainian ambassador Natalia Galibarenko.

He tweeted: 'Very concerned to hear of the incident near the Ukrainian Embassy this morning.

'I have just spoken to Ambassador Galibarenko @UkrEmbLondon and am glad to hear that no one was hurt.

'Thanks to the @metpoliceuk for such a swift response.'

Stewart McDonald MP member of parliament for Glasgow south & SNP spokesperson for defence gave his 'best wishes' to Natalia Gailibarenko
A father who killed his entire family in a horrific gassing began living a double life filled with partying and high-price escorts while on work trips overseas.

Fernando Manrique, 44, and his family - Maria Lutz, 43, and their children Elisa, 11, and Martin, 10, were found dead along with the family dog in their Sydney home in October 2016 from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Following an inquest into their deaths this week, former friends and colleagues have revealed the secret wild life Manrique was leading while living in Asia.

Fernando Manrique, 44, killed his entire family to death after his wife discovered his affair with a 17-year-old girl in the Philippines and demanded a divorce, an inquest has heard

Maria Lutz, 43 and her children Elisa, 11, and Martin, 10, were found dead, along with the family dog, in their Sydney home in October 2016

Former colleagues have described how Manrique would go bar hopping and even dabbled in cosmetic enhancements during his time in Vietnam, Thailand and the Phillipines (stock image pictured)

Manrique, was an 'awkward IT executive' up until he began doing stints in Asia between 2015 and 2016, the Daily Telegraph reported.

'He had absolutely no interpersonal or people skills. I have no idea how he got himself into senior positions,' an Australian businessman said.

A former friend said he had turned into a 'predator' who pursed dozens of young women while living away from his family.

Former colleagues have described how Manrique would go bar hopping and even dabbled in cosmetic enhancements during his time in Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines.

He would spend up large, running up massive credit card bills while out partying with young women.

With his young family back in Sydney, Manrique indulged in high-price escorts in Asia. He even dabbled in Viagra, a former friend said.

Fernando Manrique, 44, had a Vietnamese girlfriend (pictured) who he met at Kim's Tavern

When Ms Lutz (pictured with her family) discovered Manrique's affair she demanded a divorce

He eventually began seeing a woman he had met during a night out at Kim's Tavern in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City and started buying her lavish gifts.

When he started introducing her as his girlfriend, former business colleagues raised concerns.

A former colleague told him he was 'being played' when the woman announced she was pregnant.

'I said: ''Everything shes doing to you, shes probably done to 20 other people''.'

Manrique reportedly responded saying: 'I'm a rock star, I know what I'm doing'.

He later went on to pursue more women in Bangkok, Taiwan and Japan, colleagues said.

While living in the Philippines he paid rent on an apartment for a 17-year-old girl, named during the inquest as Jamilyn.

The inquest heard Ms Lutz, a lawyer, was devoted to her children and was planning to return to work after getting help from the National Insurance Disability Scheme

Young Martin's body was found in a room beside the family's bull mastiff Tequila (pictured)

The beloved dog died beside the young autistic boy, inside the house as collateral damage

The inquest heard Manrique had transferred $3,400 to his teenage mistress in the days leading up to the deaths, despite the family being almost broke.

FROM COLOMBIA TO SYDNEY: A TIMELINE Early 2005: Fernando Manrique and Maria Claudia Lutz move to Sydney, Australia from Colombia. February 2005: The couple purchase a home in Davidson, in Sydney's north, for $590,000. May 2005: Their first child Elisa is born. August 2006: Mr Manrique and Ms Lutz's son Martin is born. Both their children have non-verbal autism. January 2009: Ms Lutz's parents visit the family in Sydney. November 2009: Ms Lutz's brother and sister-in-law travel to Sydney for a holiday. 2012: Elisa starts school at St Lucy's School for children with disabilities in Wahroongah. 2013: Martin starts school at the same place. Their mother was a regular helper at the school canteen and well-liked within the community. November 2013: Mr Manrique starts work at Drake Business Logistics as Chief Technology Officer. May 2015: He is named the Executive Director of Drake Business Services Asia. The father frequently travels for work with this new role. October 2016: Family and their pet dog found dead at their home. Believed to have been deliberately gassed. Advertisement

According to a friend, Colombian-born lawyer Maria Claudia Lutz discovered her husbands' infidelity through a transaction for a strip club on a bank statement.

Their relationship ended in late September 2016 but Manrique convinced her to let him stay for a few more weeks while he found a new place to live.

During this time his 'evil plan' got underway.

He made four trips to Bunnings and ordered two cylinders of carbon monoxide 10 days before the family's death in order to set up a gas delivery system in the family house.

Police forced their way into the house in Davidson, on Sydney's northern beaches, on October 17, 2016 after the family didn't turn up to work or school.

Mr Manrique's body was in the living room, Ms Lutz and Elisa were next to each other in a bedroom, and Martin was found in a third room beside their bull mastiff Tequila.

Detective Sergeant Timothy Pooley told the inquest the alleged killer owed the Australian Tax Office more than $15,000 and had a debt of $28,000 on his credit card.

The family had just $6 on its trust account, a few thousand in other accounts, and were only paying the interest on two mortgages totalling more than $500,000.

Ms Lutz has been described as a vivacious and loving woman who is believed to have spent many sleepless nights caring for her children, who needed frequent therapy and doctor's appointments.

She often posted about her children on social media and said her 'worst nightmare' was either of her kids getting lost or going missing.

Weeks after the deaths, a friend revealed Ms Lutz was calling family services 'nine times a day' as she struggled to cope with looking after the children.

She was only supported by the government about five hours every week.

In addition to investigating the deaths, the inquest would examine whether tighter restrictions on obtaining poisonous gasses were needed.

For confidential support in Australia LIFELINE: 13 11 14 www.lifeline.org.au . Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467
A proposal to ban many public employees from wearing religious clothing is creating a fiery debate in the Canadian province of Quebec, where people are fighting to freely practice their religion - or to be free of it.

The measure introduced late last month would prohibit civil servants, teachers, nurses, bus drivers, lawyers and other people who interact with the public from wearing symbols of religion while at work.

It would apply to Sikh turbans, Christian jewelry and Jewish yarmulkes, but the focus of the controversy has been over hijabs worn by many Muslim women in Quebec.

'The proposed legislation will affect Muslims more than other groups as they are the fastest growing religious group,' said Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto.

Muslims represent about 3% of Quebec's 8.3 million people.

Quebec's Bill 21 was introduced in the Canadian province's legislative body in March. The measure would prohibit teachers (pictured), nurses, bus drivers, lawyers and other civil servants from wearing symbols of religion while at work

A woman holds a crucifix during a gathering in Montreal to oppose the proposed Quebec Values Charter in this January 12, 2014 file photo. Thousands attended a recent march in Montreal to protest Bill 21

Thousands of demonstrators attended a recent march in Montreal to protest the measure, with some holding signs saying, 'No one tells women what they can wear,' and, 'It's what's in my head, not on my head, that matters.'

Even Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is from Montreal, has spoken ill of Bill 21: 'It's unthinkable to me that in a free society we would legitimize discrimination against citizens based on their religion,' he said.

Christian, Jewish, Muslim and even secular groups across the province have denounced the measure, as have school boards, political parties and some municipal leaders.

However, on Friday Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante said that while she personally opposes the bill, Montreal would not disobey it if it is passed.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has criticized Bill 21 saying it's 'unthinkable to me that in a free society we would legitimize discrimination against citizens based on their religion'

That said, next week city councilors will vote on a bipartisan declaration that argues Quebec is already secular and doesn't require additional legislation.

Earlier this month, Quebec Premier Francois Legault told reporters that the bill would reinforce gender equality in the province. The new measure would also help him make good on an electoral promise.

'I think at this point in Quebec in 2019, people who are in an authority position, which includes teachers (shouldn't wear religious symbols), I think it's reasonable. It's fair,' he said. 'We have to think about what's best for our children.'

The history behind the measure is rooted in Quebec's 'Quiet Revolution' of the 1960s, a movement that weaned the province away from political and cultural domination by the Catholic Church. But critics also say it's motivated by more recent growing anti-Muslim sentiment.

Quebec prime minister Francois Legault has argued Bill 21 would reinforce gender equality in the province

The debate also pits two ideas of secularism against one another: A stricter European interpretation and a North American version that embraces the idea of religious freedom.

Quebec is torn because it shares a long history and language with France - which along with Denmark, Belgium and Austria has banned face-covering garments - but it's also heavily influenced by North American culture, said Bertrand Lavoie, a researcher at the University of Sherbrooke who in 2018 published a book on the relationship between Islam, religious freedom and public institutions in Quebec.

'What's unique to Quebec is that these two concepts of secularism are facing off in the public sphere, among politicians, academics, lawyers and even judges,' Lavoie told The Associated Press.

Many who support Bill 21 say that even if women choose to wear the hijab, the garment is rooted in the idea of women's inferiority. Prohibiting it, they say, would help promote gender equality.

'The hijab is a symbol of oppression. It's an invention by Islamists to control women,' said Ameni Ben Ammar, an accountant in Montreal who immigrated from Tunisia, a majority-Muslim country, in 2013.

'They convinced women it would protect them from sexual assault. For me, it's an insult to both men and women,' she said, referring to the hijab's resurgence in the 1970s.

The debate has tangled issues of gender, race and religion, with Muslim women caught in the crosshairs, said Saaz Taher, a doctoral candidate at the University of Montreal who is studying ethnicity and citizenship.

'Racialized women's bodies are constantly a topic of public discourse. We feel (authorized) to judge the best way for women to be free and emancipated,' said Taher, who added that Muslim women should be allowed to wear the hijab by choice.

Lavoie said anti-minority sentiment in the province has grown since 2001, when a Sikh boy brought a kirpan - a ceremonial dagger - to school. The incident caused a debate over how far the province should go to accommodate religion.

In 2007, a provincial commission studied the issue and suggested that only people yielding coercive power, such as judges, police officers and prison guards, should abstain from wearing religious symbols.

Bill 21 is Quebec's fourth legislative attempt since 2011 to regulate the wearing of religious symbols for people working in the public sphere, and for the first time it invokes a constitutional clause allowing local governments to override some constitutional rights.

Lavoie said that's a clear sign backers know the measure is discriminatory.

'The public's perception is that there's a problem (with Islam), and if there's a problem, we have to fix it,' Lavoie said.

The province was stunned in 2017 when a gunman opened fire in a Quebec City mosque, killing six and wounding 19, and racist groups appear to still be growing.

'I've never seen it like this,' said Salam Elmenyawi, president of the Montreal Council of Muslims, who immigrated to Quebec from Egypt in 1972 and believes Bill 21 is an outcropping of anti-Muslim sentiment.

'This hate was manufactured. This hate did not come by accident,' he said.
Muslim children, some as young as four-years-old, are being wrongly reported as terrorists by their teachers.

Teachers across Australia are being trained to spot extremist behaviour in their students as a way to tackle radicalisation in schools.

But experts are concerned about the effectiveness of this technique as teachers are not being properly trained to pick up on extremist behaviour, and are misreporting children.

The Australian Government defines violent extremism as the beliefs and actions of people who support or use violence to achieve ideological, religious or political goals.

This includes terrorism and other forms of politically motivated and communal violence.

Teachers across Australia are being trained to spot extremist behaviour in their students as a way to tackle radicalisation in schools (stock)

A Year 12 Canberra student who was one week away from his exams was confronted by two Australian Federal Police officers for his essay about Muslim terrorists and western intervention, The Age reported.

The Muslim student had also travelled to the Horn of Africa to donate sporting equipment to children in need.

His teacher had informed police saying there was fear that he might be radicalised.

The teenager was questioned but was not charged. This left him scarred and affected his grades.

Dr Clarke Jones, a criminologist from the Australian National University said he read the Muslim student's essay and said there was nothing indicating that he was radicalised.

He said teachers are not trained well enough and lack the expertise to be able to identify whether or not students are at risk of being radicalised.

'When a person is confronted by police it automatically creates this thinking: "What have I done wrong? This is embarrassing, who has seen the police come to the door? Am I in trouble? Will I go to jail?".'

A Year 12 Canberra student who was one week away from his exams was confronted by two Australian Federal Police officers for his essay about Muslim terrorists and western intervention (stock)

Dr Jones revealed another student in Melbourne did not receive his university placement because he was reported to the police by his teacher for having a ceremonial sword in a car, the publication reported.

He stresses teachers should be helping the 'resilience in students'.

According to the publication, an eight-year-old Muslim boy in Sydney's south was confronted by his principal for wearing his backpack across his chest and allegedly telling his classmate that he was carrying a bomb.

The young child rejected the claim and following a further investigation, the school found there was no evidence that he said he was carrying a bomb.

Dr Susie Latham, an adjunct post-doctoral fellow at Curtin University, researched a similar program in the UK and revealed it is impossible to have such programs in a society where Islamophobia is on the rise.

'Children have been reported for using common Arabic phrases, wearing Islamic clothing, receiving toy guns from their parents and one four-year-old was reported for drawing a cooker bomb that was later found to be a cucumber,' she told the publication.
CNN Tonight host Don Lemon took aim at First Daughter Ivanka Trump on Friday night, questioning if she still had any relevance and insisted shes achieved nothing as an adviser to the White house.

During a segment focusing on a recent profile published of Ivanka in the Atlantic, Lemon scoffed at conservative commentator Alice Stewart's claims that the 37-year-old was a serious adviser and a dutiful daughter at the same time.

Youre good, Alice, Lemon laughed, before calling out the presidents oldest daughter for not being more vocal on issues such as abortion rights and climate change during the 2016 election.

He insisted her sudden activism doesnt fly now that she works in the White House, suggesting Ivankas current declarations to address problems such a gender-pay disparity may be too little, too late - or insincere all together.

CNN Tonight host Don Lemon took aim at First Daughter Ivanka Trump on Friday night, insisting she's achieved nothing as an adviser to the White House

Ivanka Trump (above) was criticized by the TV personality for not being vocal enough during the 2016 election and for lacking 'relevance'

As the panel discussion came to a close, the host said he struggled to even have the discussion of Ivankas role in the White House.

I dont know if Ivanka Trump has any relevance now, he told the panel. I dont know if she has any relevance now and I dont know what shes actually accomplished.

The comments came in reference to an Atlantic article in which President Trump is quoted as saying: If [Ivanka] ever wanted to run for presidentI think shed be very hard to beat.

Trump also said he had previously considered nominating his daughter to head up the World Bank, because shes very good with numbers.

Ive seen her under tremendous stress and pressure, he continued. She reacts very well  thats usually a genetic thing, but its one of those things, nevertheless.

Don Lemon wasnt the only person to attempt to contradict the glowing review of Ivankas credentials that her father issued earlier this week.

Democratic strategist Jessica Tarlov said on The Story with Martha MacCallum that Ivanka Trump is not a feminist, questioning the suggestion shed ever make a strong presidential candidate.

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In a separate show on Friday, Democratic strategist Jessica Tarlov said on The Story with Martha MacCallum that Ivanka Trump is not a feminist

The comments came in reference to an Atlantic article, in which President Trump is quoted as saying: If [Ivanka] ever wanted to run for presidentI think shed be very hard to beat.

The policies that Ivanka Trump supports do not help women, raising the minimum wage, for instance, two-thirds of people in America who are on the minimum wage are women. She's not for raising the federal minimum wage, Tarlov said.

Her comments were sparked in reference to criticism aimed towards the First Daughter by celebrity Chrissy Teigen, during a House Democrats conference on Thursday.

It's a painful thing to see that, Teigen said when asked about photos of children being separated from their parents at the US-Mexico border. And it's a painful thing to see such a complete lack of empathy when it comes from people, like Ivanka.

Echoing Teigens sentiments, Tarlov went on to say that Ivanka lacks the policy chops to be considered a presidential contender.

I have heard that she is very well liked. I don't think that she has the policy chops or experience to be jumping into a presidential race in 2024 or 2028 or 20 anything. And I don't think that she is someone who is going to really rally a lot of support beyond Trumpers.
A top House Democrat has given the IRS until April 23 to hand over President Donald Trump's tax returns, telling the IRS that the law clearly gives Congress a right to them.

The government's failure to respond by the deadline could send the dispute into federal court.

The demand on Saturday from Rep. Richard Neal, the House Ways and Means Committee chairman, comes after the Trump administration asked for more time to consider his initial request last week.

Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat, argues that a 1920-era law saying the IRS 'shall furnish' any tax return requested by Congress 'is unambiguous and raises no complicated legal issues' and that the Treasury Department's objections lack merit.

Rep. Richard Neal, the House Ways and Means Committee chairman, has given the IRS until April 23 to hand over President Donald Trump's tax returns

Trump has said that he will not release his tax returns because he is under audit

The letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig is the latest exchange in a tug of war over Trump's returns, which would give lawmakers far greater insight into the president's business dealings and potential conflicts of interest as it exercises its oversight role.

Trump declined to provide his tax information as a candidate in 2016 and as president, something party nominees have traditionally done in the name of the transparency.

By withholding his tax returns, Trump has not followed the standard followed by presidents since Richard Nixon started the practice in 1969.

During the campaign, Trump said he wanted to release his returns but said because he was under a routine audit, 'I can't.'

Being under audit is no legal bar to anyone releasing his or her returns. And after the November midterm elections, Trump claimed at a news conference that the filings were too complex for people to understand.

IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig will have until April 23 to meet the new demand

Rep. Richard Neal, the House Ways and Means Committee chairman, wrote the letter

Asked repeatedly at a House hearing Tuesday whether any regulation prohibited a taxpayer from disclosing returns when under audit, Rettig responded 'no.'

The issue appears sure to end up in federal court. With an eye to a legal challenge, Neal told Rettig that he has two weeks to respond - by 5pm on April 23.

If Rettig fails to do so, Neal said he will interpret as denying the request, which could pave the way for a court battle. Neal also seeks the returns through a subpoena.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who oversees the IRS, told Neal this past week that he needs more time to consider the unprecedented demand for Trump's returns and needs to consult with the Justice Department about it.

Mnuchin accused lawmakers of seeking Trump's returns for political reasons. But he also acknowledged his 'statutory responsibilities' and that he respects congressional oversight.

Some Treasury-watchers observe that Mnuchin's decision to consult with the Justice Department could suggest that Treasury lawyers believe Neal has a legal right to Trump's returns.

Neal said Saturday that the administration has no right 'to question or second guess' his motivations.
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Yellow vest demonstrators have again clashed with riot police in the French city of Toulouse as President Emmanuel Macron prepared a series of policy announcements aimed at quelling 22 consecutive weekends of anti-government protests.

The southern city resembled a war zone today as police fired teargas and arrested several people after hundreds of demonstrators started throwing objects, burning rubbish bins and trying to enter areas where protests have been banned.

Around 2,000 protesters had gathered on the Allee Jean Jaures - a wide avenue in the city centre - and on nearby side streets.

A protester lights a smoke grenade during the 22nd consecutive national protest of the 'Gilets Jaunes', or Yellow Vests, in Toulouse

A Ford Transit van burns in a side street in Toulouse as a protester throws stones during clashes with police in the city today

A riot policeman holds a weapon as he stands in front of a burning bin during the protest. The rest of the officers look towards the fire

A man with his face covered kicks a smoke grenade away from him as another protester records the demonstration today

A protesters, wearing all black and a white breathing mask, stands above a crowd of yellow vest demonstrators today in Toulouse

Police officers run in lines as they face a Gilets Jaunes protester wearing a flat cap as they take to the streets in Toulouse

A man dressed in all black avoids the effects of tear gas by wearing a mask and goggles while other protesters cover their mouths behind him

Activist groups had said on social media networks that Toulouse would be the focus for the 22nd round of demonstrations, prompting city mayor Jean-Claude Moudenc to express concern ahead of today's protests.

Marches in Paris and elsewhere were largely peaceful by early afternoon but the protests continue to put pressure on Macron.

He has vowed to announce a series of measures aimed at easing discontent in the country.

Altogether around 2,000 protesters gathered on the Allee Jean Jaures - a wide avenue in the city centre - and on nearby side streets

French riot Police clash with protesters from the Yellow Vests movement and are pictured running past a woman on the ground

French police march through the shade on a main road in Toulouse after demonstrators launched another wave of protests today

A masked Yellow Vest protester walks away from a tipped over bin on a main road. Behind the bin a fire has been started

A French riot policeman breaks away from the rest of his unit to throw a GLI-F4 tear gas grenade toward protesters from the Gilets Jaunes

Protesters wearing gas masks, snoods and their statement yellow vests hold up their arms during the rally today in Toulouse

A protester from the 'Gilets Jaunes' holds up a brown placard that reads 'don't miss understand, we will win' and others look on

The protests, named after the high-visibility safety jackets worn by demonstrators, began in November to oppose fuel tax increases.

However, the movement quickly morphed into a broader backlash against Macron's government, despite a swift reversal of the tax hikes and other hurried measures worth more than 10billion euros to boost purchasing power for lower-income voters.

In response to rioting that made parts of Paris resemble war zones, Macron launched a two-month 'grand debat', a sweeping consultation that included a series of town hall meetings across the country.

Street medics wearing helmets and goggles provide assistance to a Yellow Vest protester who lies on their back on a pavement in Toulouse

A group of men hold up a banner that reads 'here are the real rioters' during the 'Act XXII' demonstration in Toulouse today

Protesters stand behind and on top of a set of bricks, with a large bin set on fire in the foreground. Activist groups had said on social media Toulouse would be the focus for the 22nd round of demonstrations

In a scene resembling Les Miserable, the protesters block an alleyway and face police. Toulouse city mayor Jean-Claude Moudenc expressed concern ahead of today's protests

Two riot police officers look round the corner of a street on to a scene of carnage as protesters appear to have set fire to a van

A demonstrator uses a slingshot as he take part in the protest in Toulouse. He is covered from head to toe in black clothing, save for a pair of red gloves

The protests, named after the high-visibility safety jackets worn by demonstrators, began in November to oppose fuel tax increases. The man's vest shows all the protests he has attended and future ones he plans to be at

Macron is due to introduce specific measures early next week.

Outlining the findings of the initiative, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said this week that it had highlighted demands including quicker tax cuts, action to address climate change and closer ties between Paris and the provinces.

Last week, a dwindling number of protesters marched through the streets of France for the demonstrations, with thousands of people crisscrossing Paris and a group briefly invading the busy beltway around the city.

The were also protests in the French capital Paris today, with demonstrators marching behind a large yellow and black banner

A demonstrator in Paris holds up a crucifix that reads 'oil always more expensive. Rather die than living on the knees'

Two men merge their yellow vest uniform with that of a knight as they protest in Paris today. Marches in Paris and elsewhere were largely peaceful by early afternoon

A demonstrator looks through a shield decorated with hearts that reads 'I am a pacific utopist. Amnesty for the Yellow Vests' in Paris today

Riot police rounded up these protesters and fired a round of tear gas on the street above to stop others from entering a ramp on to the road.

Police also fired tear gas in Rouen, Normandy, in a showdown with protesters after fires were set in garbage cans and elsewhere.

The Interior Ministry counted 22,300 participants nationwide and 3,500 in Paris, French media reported last week.

A dog barks while wearing a yellow vest wrapped around its neck in Paris today during the 22nd consecutive protest against President Emmanuel Macron

Those were the lowest numbers since the yellow vest protests started on November 17.

But the movement routinely contests the government's protest attendance figures.

Agnes Berger, a protester from Saint Cloud, west of Paris, said: 'We will continue until victory. We give up nothing, because today, nothing has been obtained.

'We still have a corrupt system, an elite that governs against the people.'

The number of people taking part in the yellow vest demonstrations has been falling since the first protests over fuel hikes drew hundreds of thousands of people.

But the leaderless grassroots movement for social and economic justice continues to pose a challenge for French President Emmanuel Macron.
Meghan Markle's mother's adorable nickname for her only daughter is 'flower', her uncle has revealed.

The Duchess of Sussex's uncle Joseph Johnson revealed his half-sister has called her daughter 'flower' since she was a little girl.

Doria Ragland is due to fly over to help with the birth of Meghan's first baby in the next couple of weeks.

Meghan trying her first spare rib at a barbecue in the park. According to Mr Johnson: 'Meghan is a really wonderful person. I really admire Doria for the way she has raised her. She is not afraid [to be herself] and I think she gets that courage from her mother'

And the 62-year-old still calls her daughter 'flower' as she reacted to the news of her engagement.

Mr Johnson, from Fresno, California, said Ms Ragland was 'stunned' and 'excited' when her 'little flower' announced her engagement.

The 59-year-old told MailOnline: 'All of us were just really, really stunned. Shocked. Especially Doria. She was so excited.

'She was just saying "My little Flower!" How can this be true? Unbelievable.

'She said: "My Flower's going to be a Princess, wooh-wooh-wooh!"'

Mr Johnson, from Fresno, California, said Ms Ragland was 'stunned' and 'excited' when her 'little flower' announced her engagement

Meghan Markle's Uncle Joseph Johnson with wife Pamela. He revealed his half-sister has called her daughter 'flower' since she was a little girl

And Mr Johnson says his niece 'is a really wonderful person' and 'not afraid' to be herself.'

He added: 'She likes that attention, she's had the schooling, and then being in Hollywood, which is a good type of preparation, so she can handle that,' he says.

'I have read that some of Harry's old girlfriends couldn't handle all the scrutiny. But from what I hear, from what Doria says about Meghan, she loves it.'

He says he used Doria, now 62, as a role-model when raising his own children.

And the most important lesson she taught him was that smacking causes a child immense harm.

'Meghan was never hit, or hollered at,' he says. 'I've seen both sides  the way we were raised and the way she was raised.'
A police officer who shot and injured a suspect inside a police station after saying he meant to use his taser will not face charges.

Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said on Friday that the unnamed officer will not face charges in the March 3 shooting of Brian Riling in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

Weintraub wrote in a letter to New Hope Police Chief Michael Cummings that he had determined the shooting 'was neither justified, nor criminal, but was excused.'

The officer said he believed he was deploying his Taser when he shot Riling inside a detention cell while the arrestee struggled with multiple officers.

Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub (above) said on Friday that the unnamed officer will not face charges in the March 3 shooting of Brian Riling

Riling was removing his belt in a detention cell when a small white baggie fell out of his waistband to the floor

Riling, 38, had been picked up earlier in the day and charged with charged with intimidation and retaliation against a victim, simple assault and related offenses.

He was also charged with burglarizing the same victim's home in mid-February.

The six-foot-four, 240-pound construction worker was removing his belt in a detention cell when a small white baggie fell out of his waistband to the floor, surveillance video shows.

Riling quickly stepped on the baggie to conceal it, but an officer saw it and grabbed him as he tried to keep his foot over the item.

A second officer shouted 'Taser!' as he unholstered his gun and shot Riling in the abdomen.

Riling then slumps to the floor moaning as the two officers back out of the cell.

Riling tried to keep his foot on the baggie and pick it up as an officer grabbed him to stop him

A second officer shouted 'Taser!' while pulling his gun out and firing a shot at Riling

Riling slumped to the floor moaning as the two officer backed out of the cell

'Oh my god. Please, please help. Dude, my kids, my kids, My daughters. Please, please, my daughters, please,' Riling begs. 'Get me f**king out of here. I don't want to die. It hurts everywhere, guys.'

'Dude, I don't want to die,' Riling says.

Riling became agitated when one officer told him to relax and that he wasn't going to die.

'How do you know that? I'm dying now. Why would you f**king shoot me? Are you kidding me?' he says.

Riling was treated in critical condition for his wound then released without charges, but faces prosecution in two separate criminal cases.

Weintraub wrote in his letter that the officer who shot Riling did not realize he was using his gun, and this did not 'possess the criminal mental state required to be guilty of a crime under state law.'

The officer who fired the shot retired on April 3.
Bernie Sanders says he will not 'apologize' for writing a best-seller that made him a millionaire.

Sanders revealed last week that the campaign tome he published after his failed attempt at winning the Democratic nomination in 2016 yielded more than a million-dollar profit.

Asked by DailyMail.com on Saturday at a campaign stop in Gary, Indiana, if his millionaire status 'conflicts' with the message he's pushing, Sanders, who's seeking the presidency again, replied, 'I don't think so.

'I didn't know it was a crime to write a good book,' he said to applause from participants of a breakfast roundtable his campaign had put together.

Bernie Sanders, accompanied by the Gary, Indiana, police chief, walks into a roundtable

Sanders is on a bus tour of the upper Midwest. His first stop on Saturday was Gary. He addressed question from DailyMail.com about his wealth, having written a best-selling book

Sanders claimed he did not want to take Americans' wealth, he wants them to pay a higher rate of taxes on it.

'My view has always been that we need a progressive tax system which demands that the wealthiest people in this country finally start paying their fair share of taxes,' he said.

'If I make a lot of money, you make a lot of money, that is what I believe,' he told his guests. 'So, I don't apologize for writing a book that was number three on the New York Times Best Seller, translated into five or six languages.'

Sanders published a campaign manifesto days after Hillary Clinton lost the presidency to Donald Trump. It opened at No. 3 on the New York Times Best Sellers list

Before Sanders moved on, he said, 'By the way, this bothers me ... Maybe we might want to talk about Gary, Indiana. Maybe we might want to talk about poverty.

'I'm happy to answer questions anybody has,' he insisted. 'This might be a great moment to talk abut something else we should discuss.'

The democratic socialist's central campaign message over two presidential runs has been an assault the millionaires and billionaires of the country and demand that they pay their 'fair share' in taxes to fund universal healthcare, tuition-free college and a litany of other progressive promises.

'I think what is happening now, is the very rich are doing phenomenally well. I think the middle class continues to struggle, and I think what you're seeing here in Gary is not unreflective of what's going on in many, many other parts of our community,' he contended in Indiana on Saturday.

Sanders has said that billionaire President Donald Trump should release his tax returns, even though the longtime legislator has not put out his own.

This week he revealed in interviews that his returns, which he promised to make public by Monday, will show that his book 'Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In' raked in more than a million dollars in profits.

'I wrote a best-selling book,' he told the New York Times. 'If you write a best-selling book, you can be a millionaire, too.'

He told CBS that he makes a senator's salary, but he wrote two profitable books.

'One of those books was a bestseller on the New York Times bestseller list translated into five or six languages. It did very well. I made money on that book,' Sanders said.

Financial disclosure forms he filed in 2017 and 2018 revealed that he made more than $860,000 annually off the campaign manifesto's royalties.

The Vermont senator has committed to releasing 10 years of his taxes as he seeks the presidency a second time and says he will do it by the annual, tax-filing deadline, which falls this year on Monday.

He says the documents will cover revenue from 2008 to 2018, which means it will include some the profits from the second book he penned last year.

Sanders released 'Where We Go from Here: Two Years in the Resistance' in November.
Prosecutors of the Robert Kraft prostitution scandal conceded in court on Friday that they dont have enough evidence to prove their initial claims of a human trafficking ring in operation at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa  despite a six month surveillance operation.

The statement came during a courtroom hearing yesterday in which Krafts attorneys were attending to request that a video allegedly showing Kraft naked and engaging in sexual acts be kept out of public view.

Since February, police have consistently said they suspected a trafficking ring was in operation across a number of massage parlors across Palm Beach and Orlando, including the Orchids of Asia.

Authorities issued hundreds of arrest warrants as part of a six month investigation that saw police plant hidden cameras both inside and outside of the business, in Jupiter.

Prosecutors of Robert Kraft conceded in a courtroom on Friday that they lack the required evidence to back up their previous claims of a human trafficking ring in operation at the Florida spa the billionaire allegedly solicited sexual acts in

Authorities issued hundreds of arrest warrants as part of a six month investigation that saw police plant hidden cameras both inside and outside of the business, in Jupiter, Florida

Previously prosecutors have said their use of subterfuge was justified by their suspicions of trafficking, but on Friday the state attorneys  led by David Aronberg  disclosed the extensive operation uncovered no such evidence.

No one is being charged with human trafficking. There is no human trafficking that arises out of this investigation, Assistant State Attorney Greg Kridos said.

The attorneys of the 77-year-old billionaire have long asserted that investigators knew from the beginning there was no human trafficking procedure in place, calling into question the legitimacy of their investigation.

Led by David Aronberg (above), the prosecution say their six month surveillance operation failed to find evidence of trafficking

They have now for weeks and weeks been politicking on this trafficking thing, attorney Alex Spiro told the courtroom. Theyre using the threat of nudity in a video to prevent Mr. Kraft from having a fair trial, from having a fair hearing.

Last month, another of Krafts attorneys, William Burck, said Martin County Sheriff Will Snyder  who oversaw some of the operation - is more interested in his five minutes of fame than he is in securing justice.

Burck accused Snyder of lying to and misleading the public about the details of the trafficking probe that legally implicated Kraft and over 300 others.

'He lied about it,' Buck said. 'His officers lied about it. I dont really know what to say. Ive never seen anything quite like that before.'

Kridos  and Snyder  however, say the case reflected all the typical appearances of human trafficking and believe police had an obligation to investigate their suspicions.

And on January 19 and 20, police say they recorded Kraft paying for sexual acts, leading to the arrest of the owner and manager of the business on prostitution charges.

During a separate hearing on Friday, spa manager Lei Wang (top left) pleaded with the court to block any of the videos from being released

Kraft's attorneys say releasing video of the alleged sexual acts would deny his client the right to a fair trial

But Kraft has protested his innocence and pleaded not guilty to soliciting prostitution, and requested a trial set for May.

In support of the client, Krafts attorneys believe his constitutional right to privacy has been violated by investigators and have urged the courtroom not to make videos of the alleged evidence public.

Judge Hanser didnt rule on the motion on Friday. He said he will review each of the three videos involving Kraft in private before coming to a decision  possibly next week.

Each bench were also asked to submit arguments for which way he should rule by Tuesday.

The prosecution team told Hanser they had already conducted their own investigations into the videos and have no problem with them being made public.

But Burck argued the footage is basically pornography and there is no rational to release the footage unless for prurient interests.

Furthermore, he argued releasing the footage would deny his client a constitutional right to a fair trial.

The saying that a pictures worth a thousand words, a videos worth a billion in this particular instance. The media thats here, this video will be broadcast around the world, Burck said.

During a separate hearing on Friday, spa manager Lei Wang pleaded with the court to block any of the videos from being released.

Wang faces one felony count and 28 misdemeanor charges centered on allegations of prostitution.

Circuit Judge Joseph Marx scheduled a hearing for April 17 but didnt plan to make a decision until Hanser issues his ruling.
Jeremy Corbyn has said Julian Assange should answer questions about sexual allegations - but the Labour leader maintained that Assange should not be extradited to the US.

The comments came after more than 70 MPs and peers signed a letter to Home Secretary Sajid Javid urging the Government to ensure Assange faces Swedish authorities if they request his extradition.

The WikiLeaks founder, 47, is facing rape and sexual assault allegations in Sweden.

Mr Corbyn told Sky News: 'If there are allegations which Julian Assange needs to answer of sexual issues, sexual attacks that may or may not have taken place in Sweden, then it's a matter for the courts to decide.

'But, I do think he should answer those questions.

'My objection was to his extradition to the United States because I do believe that WikiLeaks told us the truth about what was actually happening in Afghanistan and in Iraq.'

The WikiLeaks founder (pictured), 47, is facing rape and sexual assault allegations in Sweden

Mr Corbyn said: 'If there are allegations which Julian Assange needs to answer of sexual issues, sexual attacks that may or may not have taken place in Sweden, then it's a matter for the courts to decide'

The letter to the Home Secretary was organised by Labour MP Stella Creasy and stated: 'We are writing to request that you do everything you can to champion action that will ensure Julian Assange can be extradited to Sweden in the event Sweden make an extradition request.

'This would be so the formal investigation into an allegation of rape can be concluded and, if appropriate, a charge can be made and any trial can take place.

'We do not presume guilt, of course, but we believe due process should be followed and the complainant should see justice be done.

'We urge you to stand with the victims of sexual violence and seek to ensure the case against Mr Assange can now be properly investigated.'

The rape allegation has a limitation period which expires in August 2020, it adds.

'But, I do think he should answer those questions,' he said, adding: 'My objection was to his extradition to the United States because I do believe that WikiLeaks told us the truth about what was actually happening in Afghanistan and in Iraq'

Tonight over 70 parliamentarians stand with victims of sexual violence, and are calling on both the Home Secretary and the shadow Home Sec to urge them both to be champions of action to ensure Julian Assange faces Swedish authorities and is extradited there if they so request: pic.twitter.com/uaJMM984Cc  stellacreasy (@stellacreasy) April 12, 2019

Assange had been holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for nearly seven years

Assange spent almost seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he sought political asylum in 2012 after failing in his legal battle against extradition to Sweden, where he was wanted over two separate allegations, one of rape and one of molestation.

In May 2017, Sweden's top prosecutor dropped the long-running inquiry into a rape claim against Assange, which he has always denied.

But his arrest prompted the lawyer for a Swedish woman who alleged she was raped by Assange during a visit to Stockholm in 2010 to say they wanted the case reopened.

Prosecutors in Sweden have since confirmed that, while the investigation has not been resumed, they are looking into the case.

Labour MP Stephen Kinnock told the BBC: 'Mr Assange is accused of rape and sexual violence in Sweden and it's vital that that doesn't get airbrushed out of the conversation because of all the other issues to do with WikiLeaks.

'I think the top priority, as we say in our letter, is to ensure that if the Swedish authorities wish to have him extradited there to face those charges, they must take priority above all else.'

Former Home Secretary Lord Blunkett said people giving Assange 'unqualified support' were being 'extremely unwise'.

Writing in The Times, the former Labour MP said: 'It is indeed important that any extradition hearing should be fair and take into account the mitigation of genuine revelations of wrongdoing made in 2010.

'However, supporting a fair hearing is not the same as a political demand that he should be treated as some kind of hero; he remained in the Ecuadorean embassy to avoid previous extradition hearings concerning claims of rape and abuse in Sweden.

'A kneejerk response that presumes that hacking is acceptable if the perpetrators can claim that their motives were journalistic is particularly dangerous when it emanates from those aspiring to become prime minister or home secretary, such as Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott.'

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry tweeted: 'Why weren't Swedish authorities told in advance of Assange's ejection from Ecuadorian embassy, as the US clearly was?

'Our priority should be the 2 alleged victims of sexual violence in Sweden & not a ruse to get him extradited to the US as a whistleblower.'
Local residents breathed a collective sigh of relief after protesters for Julian Assange finally left the Ecuadorian embassy this morning.

Around 50 to 60 supporters of the Australian-born Assange assembled outside the embassy after he was arrested on April 11.

Protesters had gathered around the embassy in the wake of the Wiki-Leaks co-founder's arrest, but left the area in a 'total state', according to one resident.

Homeowners living near the embassy in the well-heeled Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea tonight told MailOnline how the protesters made a 'real ruckus' and described Assange as a 'pain in the a**e'.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange gives a thumbs up as he leaves the Westminster Magistrates Court in a police van, after his arrest at the Ecuadorian Embassy on April 11

'All these protesters left the place in a total state,' said the resident.

'All this rubbish is from them. They aren't even going to come back.'

Assange had been living in the embassy since 2012 after he sought refuge there following a ruling that he should be extradited to Sweden to face sexual assault allegations.

Bin liners full of protest paraphernalia such as flags, banners and posters were spotted along with ripped tents, chairs, clothes and even a frying pan.

A bed, banners and bin bags full of rubbish were left outside the Ecuadorian embassy, after the protesters left

A parking attendant (who did not wish to be named) said: 'They just left all this s*** and took off.

'I've been working around here and although the kept it quite civil, they just left all there stuff here and haven't come back for it.'

One Harrods guard said there were about '10-15 protesters,' today and described them as a 'noisy bunch'.

A banner which reads 'Free Assange' and poster of Wiki-Leaks founders Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange, were left by protesters

A bed, red tents, banners and bin bags full of rubbish were left outside the Ecuadorian embassy, after the protesters left

A bed, banners and bin bags full of rubbish were left outside the Ecuadorian embassy, after the protesters left

Another Harrods guard added: 'There was nothing wrong with what they were doing but I can see they left quite a bit of a mess around here so it's not great form from them.'

Tensions between Assange and the embassy had been mounting over the last few months following reports that the Wiki-Leaks co-founder's deteriorating hygiene and rude conduct irritated staff members.

In recent weeks, bizarre rumours about Assange's pet cat also started to emerge.

A protester seen holding a banner reads ' Free Assange' during the demonstration in support of Julian Assange in 2018

Supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange hold placards with slogans that read 'We are all Assange' (pictured left) and 'Ecuador country of freedom' (pictured right) in 2012

A guard working at Harrods said there were about '10-15 protesters,' and one man was apparently there for 140 days. He described them as a 'noisy bunch'

One resident said: 'Julian had a cat that the embassy thought was spying on them. He let it roam around the place and the embassy thought he put a camera on its head. The embassy did not trust him.

'He also got his own s*** and rubbed it around his bedroom because he was so depressed. All this stuff was from the protesters.

'They left tents here at night and put bricks in it but didn't actually sleep in them apart from that one guy.'

Locals in Kensington believe the rubbish was left by protesters, who had gathered for the arrest of Assange

A bed, pallets and bin liners were some of the items left outside the Embassy today

Washington Del Pino, a tourist from Ecuador said: 'I don't really see why we kept him, it wasn't worth it.

'It seems crazy to me and a lot of people back home but the opinion in Ecuador varies.

'I just don't think it was worth it to be honest.'

One man is said to have slept outside the embassy for over 100 days, according to local residents

A black duffel bag filled with clothes was found among the pile of rubbish dumped on Landon Place, London

One dedicated protester is believed to have slept outside the embassy for over 100 days.

A resident said that he 'slowly accumulated' piles of clothes and rubbish while he camped outside the embassy.

One resident said: 'He was here for about 140 days.

'Half of all this junk belongs to that one guy and I'm not sure he is going to come back to collect it.

'It looked like he had his own en suite by the end'.

A rubbish bag with what looks like post from Simone Perele and Russell & Bromley were dumped outside the embassy

It is not confirmed who the clothes belong to, but residents said they were left by protesters

A 'Free Julian Assange' banner hangs from railings outside of the Embassy of Ecuador in Knightsbridge

Another resident said the protesters made a 'real ruckus' at one point and described Assange as a 'pain in the a**e'.

A chauffeur working in the area said: 'I didn't see any protesters today because I was in and out but yesterday there were at least 50 or 60. They kept things professional and on point.

'I heard things went a bit mad when the bloke came out the embassy but apart from that they kept it together. '

Demonstrators protest outside the Ecuadorian consulate on June 20, 2012 in London

Protesters show their support for Julian Assange outside the Ecuadorian embassy in 2012
The widow of Arthur Sackler has hit back at protests against her late husband blaming him and his family for fueling the opioid crisis.

In a strongly worded op ed Jillian Sackler insists neither 'Arthur nor his heirs had anything to do with the manufacture or marketing of OxyContin' after public pressure on the family, one of the nations wealthiest, mounted in recent months.

Writing for The Washington Post she adds: 'Arthur died of a heart attack nearly 32 years ago at age 73, nearly a decade before OxyContin came to market.'

Jillian, the president and chief executive of the Dame Jillian and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler Foundation for the Arts, Sciences and Humanities, pleaded with those protesting against the family, writing: 'Vilifying an innocent man is wrong'.

The dynasty are coming under increasing scrutiny in the midst of a deadly opioid overdose crisis that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Americans in recent years.

Arthur's widow Jillian and his daughter Elizabeth have long sought to distance themselves from the other side of the family now being sued.

She has now said 'suggestions that his philanthropy is now somehow tainted are simply false', adding: 'My late husband, Arthur Sackler, who died in 1987, has been found guilty by association  along with the rest of what is referred to by the blanket designation the Sackler family  because of some family members association with Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin.'

Jillian Sackler has hit back at protests against her late husband blaming him and his family for fueling the opioid crisis insisting neither 'Arthur nor his heirs had anything to do with the manufacture or marketing of OxyContin'

Jillian argues that Purdue Pharma in its current form was actually set up by her husband's younger brothers, Mortimer and Raymond, 'four years after his death'.

Mortimer died in 2010 and Raymond in 2017.

She writes: 'None of the 1,600-plus lawsuits filed against Purdue Pharma, members of the Sackler family or others in the opioid business names Arthur or his heirs as defendants.

'It is incredible to me that last year, the Smithsonians Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of Art was the target of demonstrators protesting the opioid crisis.

'Fair-minded people who see the terrible consequences of the opioid crisis understandably seek justice and restitution.

'But make no mistake: Vilifying an innocent man is wrong. It does nothing to help the United States come to grips with the epidemic, nothing to advance solutions.'

Opioids, including illicit drugs such as heroin and fentanyl, were involved in a record 48,000 deaths in 2017, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Sacklers, a pharmaceutical dynasty, are accused of pushing the highly addictive painkiller through the pharmaceutical industry and in to millions of American homes and hospitals to make them one of America's richest families.

Their life is so charmed that Forbes named the Sacklers as number 19 on its list of Americas richest families in 2016  four spots above the Rockefellers.

Large museums are rejecting funds from the Sackler family, underscoring the growing unease with the main source of the philanthropic dynasty's riches: the painkiller at the center of the US opioid crisis. The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, DC

Britains Tate museums and New Yorks Guggenheim Museum, where the family has been major donors, announced they would stop taking gifts from the family. The Jillian and Arthur M Sackler wing of galleries in the Royal Academy of Arts in London

Cheryl Juaire, center, of Marlborough, Mass., center, leads protesters near the Arthur M. Sackler Museum at Harvard University Friday. Juaire, whose son Corey Merrill died of an opioid overdose in 2011, led the demonstration by parents who have lost a child to opioid overdose, campaigning for the removal of the Sackler family name from the building at Harvard

Barbara Cowley, of Boston, carries a photo of her son Justin Cowley-Kerner, who was 30 when he died of an opiate overdose during the protest Friday

The Sackler family owns Purdue Pharma, the privately held drug company that has made billions from OxyContin, and Sacklers hold most of the seats on the board.

Members of the family have been accused in a case brought by the state of Massachusetts of deceiving patients and doctors about the drug's risks as deaths mounted.

After a federal investigation, Purdue Pharma and three executives - none of them Sacklers - pleaded guilty in 2007 and agreed to pay more than $600 million for misleading the public about the risks of OxyContin.

Bottles of prescription painkiller OxyContin pills, made by Purdue Pharma LP

The Stamford, Connecticut, company has also been hit with a multitude of lawsuits over its role in the opioid crisis that killed more than 47,000 people in 2017 alone.

And parents whose children fatally overdosed on opioids are demanding Harvard University remove their name from a building that housed one of its art museums.

About two dozen parents protested Friday outside the building that was home to the Arthur M. Sackler Museum  many of them carrying poster-sized photos of their children.

Britains Tate museums and New Yorks Guggenheim Museum, where the family has been major donors, announced they would stop taking gifts from the family.

And Tufts University, which has a graduate school of biomedical sciences named for the family, said it was evaluating the relationship.

A lawsuit filed by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey accuses Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family of hiding the risks of opioids from doctors and patients. The Sackler family owns the drug company.

The family has responded by saying that the lawsuit is riddled with inaccurate and misleading statements and that Healey cherry picked from hundreds of internal documents to wrongly vilify the family for the public health crisis.

The Sacklers have also tried to distance themselves from the workings of the company it owns, saying family members were being informed of Purdue Pharma's issues rather than controlling every detail of operations.
Lori Loughlin is said to be very concerned about how entering a guilty plea in the college admissions scandal shes become ensnared in may affect her daughters reputations  and her relationship with them.

According to a source, the publics perception of the scam is nothing compared to what her daughters think of her. So that is something that has understandably made her less likely to enter a plea, the unnamed person told People.

Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli, a fashion designer, have been accused of paying $500,000 to get their two daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella, into the University of Southern California on fake crew team scholarships.

The scandal arose on March 12 when the US Attorneys Office announced that 50 people  including Loughlin, Giannulli and actress Felicity Huffman  had allegedly involved in the cheating scandal.

In a Massachusetts court this week they were indicted for conspiring to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

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Lori Loughlin (pictured leaving court on April 3) is said to be worrying how a plea may affect both of her daughters' reputations and her relationship with them

Relations are said to be tense in the Giannulli household, with youngest daughter Olivia Jade (left) said to be 'hardly' speaking to her parents and living away from the family home in Bel Air

The younger of the two daughters and YouTube star Olivia is said to be barely speaking to either of her parents in the scandals wake, previous reports have suggested.

She has been spotted staying with friends in LA instead of at home with her parents in Bel Air.

Huffman has already agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest service services mail fraud, but Loughlin, who faces the same charges, is said to be apprehensive to follow suit.

And things got worse for the mother-of-two on Tuesday, after Loughlin and her husband we named among 14 other parents who were indicted on an additional charge of money laundering conspiracy. They now face up to 20 years in prison for each charge against them.

Along with her husband Mossimo Giannulli, the have been accused of paying $500,000 to get their two daughters, Olivia Jade (right) and Isabella (left), into the University of Southern California

According to a source, Lori thinks the publics perception of the scam is nothing compared to what her daughters think of her'

The full gravity of the situation is now slowly sinking in for Loughlin, the source claims.

Its just taking some time for it to sink in that what she was allegedly doing could be considered illegal, Peoples source said. To her, it wasnt egregious behavior. Was it entitled and perhaps selfish? Perhaps. But she didnt see it as being a legal violation.

The source went on to say that Loughlin has been reluctant to accept a deal from the very beginning because she feels that she hasnt done anything that any mom wouldnt have done, if they had the means to do so.
Bernie Sanders is searching for votes in struggling blue-collar communities that gave their support to Donald Trump in the last election after he promised them better healthcare and steady jobs that have not manifested.

The Vermont senator is on a four-day road trip through the Rust Belt, with stops planned for Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania - five states Trump unexpectedly beat Hillary Clinton in last cycle.

He began his day in Gary, where he took on Trump's claims that he is 'crazy' and his ideas are too 'radical' to be enacted as he spoke at a roundtable.

Sanders was flying down the highway after and across the Indiana border to Michigan after that, to a union meeting where he took Trump head-on.

'I am here in the Midwest for one major reason, and that is I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that Donald Trump is not re-elected as president,' Sanders announced at the beginning of a Saturday afternoon speech in Coopersville.

He immediately ripped into Trump for 'lies' he says the Republican told them to earn their support last time he and the Republican competed for the White House.

The Vermont senator is on a four-day road trip through the Rust Belt, with stops planned for Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Bernie is pictured in Warren, Michigan on Saturday

Vermont senator Bernie Sanders speaks during a rally in Warren, Michigan on Saturday

Bernie Sanders is targeting struggling blue-collar communities that gave their support to Donald Trump in the last election after he promised them better healthcare and steady jobs that have not manifested in the more than two years since

Sanders was short on time. His scheduled remarks in the town that's 20 miles outside of Grand Rapids should have started 25 minutes earlier, and he had a rally 173 miles away in Warren to get before he made an appearance at a Detriot pie shop.

His staff had packed the day with events that helped to break up the road trip and give the candidate - who was mercilessly mocked in a 2016 skit by Larry David on Saturday Night Live for being too gruff - the opportunity to meet with voters in more intimate settings that the stadium rallies that Sanders typically books.

But the 77-year-old progressive was late, which meant he didn't have time to listen at an involved town hall or deliver long-winded remarks on the millionaires and billionaires. He'd have to get straight to his point about Trump.

'Now, I have colleagues in the Senate who are conservative. They believe what they believe, which is not what I believe,' he said, teeing up his attack, 'but they do not lie every single day.

'And I am gonna hope, that regardless of one's political views...they all understand that it is not in the best interest of the future of our country, when we have a president who is a pathological liar, who will try to divide our people up rather than bring them together,' he said.

'And when you're talk about lies, the lies that Trump told on the campaign trail, the most profound lie of all, was that he said he said that he was going to stand with the working class people of this country. That was a major lie and most people know that,' he asserted.

Sanders claimed that Trump promised to be a different kind of Republican but is now attempting to 'throw' 32 million Americans off their healthcare plans without a workable alternative.

'Donald Trump told the people of Michigan, and the Midwest and Vermont and California, that he was going to provide healthcare to everybody. Sounds pretty good, right?' he said. 'Good speech,' he added.

Yet, since he has been in office, Sanders said that Trump has sought to 'savagely' cut Medicaid and eliminate pre-existing conditions.

'You don't stand up for working families when you try to make massive cuts in the food stamp program. You got a problem in this country, in this state, my state, people are struggling to put food on the table for their children. You don't give tax breaks to billionaires and cut nutrition programs,' 'he said in Indiana.

Sanders said of Trump, 'So I think I can understand why people voted for him, I got it, but the sad truth is, and I'm not the first person to say this, we have a president who is a pathological liar. He lies almost every day. The media has documented thousands of lies that he has told, and he lied during the campaign.'

President Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a rally at the Van Andel Arena on March 28, 2019 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Grand Rapids was the final city Trump visited during his 2016 campaign, and the first suburb Sanders hit up in the 2020 campaign

The senator who's a self-pronounced democratic socialist introduced a revised Medicare-for-All bill before he left Washington for a two-week legislative recess that he and Trump's other challengers are using to whip up support for their White House bids.

It's going nowhere in the GOP-run Senate but has been fully embraced by 2020 Democrats.

At his first stop of the day, Sanders noted that four years ago when he competed against Clinton, his healthcare and economic policy proposals were considered to be too fringe to be taken seriously.

'I know this is a so-called radical agenda, I understand. And you know when I talked about this four years ago, in Indiana, and in other states, everyone said Bernie, "You're kind of crazy. You can't do all those things,"' he acknowledged.

Now considered the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, Sanders said at a Gary, Indiana roundtable, 'I want to, I guess, just convey to you, that over four year period, more and more Americans have come on board, piece by piece.'

Sanders told attendees of the small-group event that it's 'not acceptable that so few have so much' in America, where the middle-class is in decline.

'It is not a radical idea that children, whether they're black or white ... should not go hungry in the United States of America,' he said. 'It is not a radical idea to say that veterans should not be sleeping out on the street.'

Sanders said that America can overcome the disparities if voters 'stand together and we don't allow Trump or anyone else to divide us up' by skin color, religion or anything else.

'All of these ideas are ideas that the American people support. Everybody,' he insisted. 'Are we gonna do it over night? No, but can we do it? I believe that we can, and that's more or less what my agenda is about.'

Sanders was taking active steps during the campaign swing to address top complaints about his 2016 campaign, including claims that he did not spend enough time pressing the flesh, his ideas were too extreme and he traveled too often by private jet.

His new and improved message, which focused heavily on Trump, was met with mixed reviews by his supporters, however.

'It's something that needs to be said. ...It's an issue out there,' Suzanne McCall said in Coopersville. 'It's one of the biggest issues. And I also think it's a diversion of what he's really doing behind the scenes.'

She inferred that Trump, who said is a 'crook,' might be doing more than just lying. He might be hiding behind the secrecy of the White House to commit crimes, she suggested.

Sanders made no mention of investigations into Trump as he repeatedly called him a 'pathological liar' and contrasted their policies proposals over the weekend.

Even so, his full-frontal assault, even if it was just limited to policy, was seen as too aggressive for some potential converts.

Sanders is seen here addressing a crowd of 230 people at a union meeting on Saturday afternoon 20 miles outside of Grand Rapids

Debra Minor, a Grand Rapids, Michigan resident who attended the union meeting in Coopersville, said that she while personally finds the approach effective, 'I know that Trump has a lot of supporters so it might not be.'

Dan Tenhoopen, another Grand Rapids resident, paused several times as he considered his feelings on Sanders' voter-poaching strategy before saying he supports it.

'I don't personally like to call people liars. It's a personal thing. You know, he is certainly not telling the truth on any of the issues. I don't - my pauses - I don't like calling other people liars,' he explained. But I also agree that he is not telling the truth, and everything that he does is directly opposite of what he said before.'

He decided that Sanders was right to accuse Trump of telling falsehoods. 'You do have to, you have to call it out as what it is, it's certainly not truthful, and yes it is a lie,' he stated.

In Detroit, during a brief stop at a local restaurant, a voter asked him to not to do the bit on Trump that had become a centerpiece of his campaign.

Sanders had invited the comment, telling a group that had been waiting for him for roughly an hour, 'I don't want to give you a speech on Trump.'

An unidentified audience member replied, loudly, 'Please don't.'

It was another attendee who brought Sanders back to the topic of Trump, as he asked about the sitting president's plans to deport illegal immigrants.

'We all have to got to come together to make sure that this guy gets out of the White House,' the U.S. senator concluded.

Michigan is at the epicenter of the 2020 battle for the presidency. Grand Rapids was the last city that Trump visited before his unexpected 2016 victory, and he was back there at the end of March to deliver a take-down of socialism.

Sanders won the Michigan primary in the 2016 face-off with Clinton - a fact he reminded his supporters of on Saturday night in Warren as he touched on old claims that his far-left agenda automatically rules him out for higher office.

'Well a funny thing happened over the last two years,' he said to laughter at the evening rally. 'Today, virtually all of those ideas are now supported by a majority of American people, and they are the ideas the Democratic candidates from school board to president are now supporting.'

He told rally-goers holding classic 'Bernie' signs in his classic baby blue background with white lettering, 'Brothers and sisters , we should be enormously proud that we have come a long way in transforming politics in America of the last four years.

'And now our job is to complete what we started,' he said. 'We are going to turn our vision and our progressive agenda into reality.'
Gregory Echevarria, 34, was 'split in half'

A construction worker who served four tours of duty with the U.S. military was killed in a horrific accident on a work site in Manhattan early Saturday morning.

Gregory Echevarria, 34, of Bushwick, Brooklyn, was 'split in half' after part of a 7-ton crane came loose and crashed down on him in SoHo shortly after 3am.

Father-of-four Echevarria died at the scene, making him the third New York construction worker to be killed on the job in less than a week.

The hardhat worker was allegedly helping to assemble the crane in wet conditions when a counterweight came loose and fell from above.

Gregory Echevarria, 34, was killed early Saturday morning whilst working in SoHo, Manhattan

Witnesses were left distraught, and Echevarria's brother Keith was also working at the scene

Echevarria was working a short distance from this site in Manhattan when the accident occurred

Two other people sustained minor injuries and were taken to hospital.

Echevarria's brother, Keith, was also working at the construction site, but did not witness the accident.

He told The New York Daily News that his brother had served three tours of duty with the U.S. military in Iraq and one tour in Afghanistan.

He is survived by a three-month-old son, Garrison, and three other children from an ex-wife.

Two other workers were rushed to hospital with minor injuries

Tributes were left to the army veteran near his home in Bushwick, Brooklyn

The crane was going to be used to complete work on a luxury 25-story apartment block.

The Department Of Building 'put a partial stop work order on the property on April 2 after receiving complaints that the building didn't meet safety standards', The New York Daily News claims.

That order was pulled last Monday after the concerns were addressed.

Echevarria is the third person to be killed on New York work sites in less than a week.

On Monday, Nelson Salinas, 51, died in Manhattan after being hit by falling debris while working on external repairs of a building.

Two days later, Erik Mendoza, 23, fell to his death from a 13-story building in Brooklyn.

Buildings Department spokesman Andrew Rudansky said they are investigating all three deaths.

The hardhat worker was allegedly helping to assemble the crane in wet conditions when a counterweight came loose and fell from above




A rapist whose deportation was halted when airline passengers staged a mutiny is back on the streets after being released on bail, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Yaqub Ahmed, who should have been deported to his native Somalia last October, was released on bail four weeks ago.

He is now living in the North West as his legal team continue to fight his deportation.

Officials escorting Yaqub Ahmed on a flight from Heathrow to Turkey were forced to abandon his deportation when around a dozen holidaymakers who felt sorry for him angrily intervened shortly before take-off

Ahmed, 29, was convicted and jailed with three other men for the sickening gang rape of a 16-year-old girl in 2007.

News of his release comes a week after his victim bravely spoke of her fear and anger that her attacker remains in the UK.

Hannah  not her real name  last night reacted with horror to news that Ahmed is no longer behind bars. Its just disgusting and it adds pressure on to me, she said.

He should be in a detention centre where he is kept away from the public.

He has done something heinous and he was meant to be deported for it and now he is still roaming about  its absolutely ridiculous.

Knowing that he is roaming around doesnt make me feel any safer. It just gets worse.

The deportation of Ahmed, who was given a nine-year jail term, was abandoned shortly before the aircraft was due to leave London for Turkey after a group of passengers  who were unaware of his crime  took pity on him and intervened.

Yaqub Ahmed, 19, one of a gang of rapists now behind bars

In a video of the incident, Ahmed is seen screaming as passengers shout: Take him off the plane!

Last week, The Mail on Sunday revealed Ahmed had been listed to appear before an immigration tribunal in Nottingham on March 14, but the Home Office and the tribunal refused to provide details of what happened.

This newspaper has now established it was a bail hearing during which Ahmeds lawyers successfully argued that he should be released into the community.

His bail conditions require him to live at a specified address in the North West and report to an immigration centre once a week. He is also believed to have been fitted with an electronic tag.

Under Home Office guidance, such electronic monitoring is normally used where a person poses a high risk of harm to the public on the basis of criminality and/or in cases concerning national security.

But mother-of-one Hannah, 27, fears that Ahmed could simply disappear. Ondogo Ahmed, one of her other attackers, managed to flee Britain to join Islamic State following his release in 2012, despite being on licence. He is believed to have been killed in the fighting in 2013.

Latest figures show that between 2014 and 2016, a total of 494 foreign national offenders absconded while they were listed for deportation after serving sentences in the UK.

The deportation of Ahmed, who was given a nine-year jail term, was abandoned shortly before the aircraft was due to leave London for Turkey after a group of passengers  who were unaware of his crime  took pity on him and intervened

What if he [Yaqub Ahmed] wants to abscond? Hannah asked. Its not like they kept tabs on them before. One of them was able to abscond to IS.

The Home Office should understand how difficult this must be for me.

The Home Office told Ahmed in May 2010 that he was liable for deportation after his release from prison due to the seriousness of his offence, yet it took another five years before he was issued with a deportation order.

The department declined to comment on Ahmeds case, but last night it said it had deported 47,000 foreign criminals since 2010 and monitors those who are released into the community pending deportation.

A Home Office spokesman added: We are determined to protect the public by removing foreign national offenders who commit criminal offences.
John Bercow has abandoned plans to announce his resignation as Commons Speaker later this month after being persuaded to stay on by anti-Brexit Tory MPs, friends told The Mail on Sunday.

Until last weeks decision by European Union leaders to allow Brexit to be delayed until the end of October, Mr Bercow had intended to make a statement to the Commons on April 23 declaring that he was finally making way for a successor after ten years in the job.

But he is understood to have now ripped up the statement after coming under huge pressure to stay put from pro-Remain MPs.

The plan will be greeted with dismay by Downing Street, which has been engaged in running battles with Mr Bercow over Theresa Mays thwarted Brexit deal.

John Bercow has abandoned plans to announce his resignation as Commons Speaker, it has been claimed

The Speaker has infuriated No 10 by calling unhelpful amendments and trying to block MPs from voting on her deal more than once.

And pro-Brexit MPs will interpret it as part of a plot to stop the UK from ever leaving the EU.

It comes as Mrs May and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn prepare for further talks in the coming days to try to assemble support for Mrs Mays deal  with Environment Secretary Michael Gove and Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay leading cross-party working groups on issues such as environmental protection and consumer rights.

A source close to Mr Bercow said that the Speaker had listened closely to requests from Conservative MPs including Dominic Grieve, Oliver Letwin and former Chancellor Ken Clarke, along with Labour MPs Hilary Benn and Yvette Cooper: all five have used parliamentary stratagems to either soften or overturn Brexit.

This newspaper revealed in January that Mr Grieve had secretly met Mr Bercow in his grace-and-favour Commons apartment the day before the Speaker tore up the rule book to allow the former Attorney General to table an amendment which led to the Commons wresting control of Brexit from the Prime Minister.

Pro-Brexit MPs accused Mr Bercow of ignoring centuries of convention, overriding the advice of his officials and ignoring his duty to be impartial by mounting a stitch-up over the amendment.

A source close to Mr Bercow said that the Speaker had listened closely to requests from Conservative MPs including Dominic Grieve, Oliver Letwin (right)and former Chancellor Ken Clarke (left)

The source said: The MPs have put him under huge pressure not to leave the Chair until Brexit is sorted. He is now unlikely to give any hint of his going until after the summer recess at the earliest  and may well wait to see if the new October 31 deadline is met before hanging up his boots.

Ken Clarke  who John listens to more than any other MP  was a particularly decisive voice, telling him that it was his duty to stay.

Pictured: Conservative MP Dominic Grieve

Mr Bercows sit-in is likely to lead to moves by pro-Brexit MPs to try to oust him through a no-confidence motion.

The main contenders to succeed Mr Bercow are deputy speakers Lindsay Hoyle and Dame Eleanor Laing, and Labours former deputy leader Harriet Harman.

It also means he will have to delay a lucrative speaking tour of America which he had planned to undertake over the summer.

EU leaders agreed during Wednesdays late-night Brussels summit that the UK would remain a member of the EU until October 31, but with the option to leave earlier if Mrs May can secure Commons support for her deal.

It means that the cliff-edge no deal scenario is off the table until Halloween.

A Downing Street source said yesterday that reports that Labour frontbenchers Keir Starmer and Rebecca Long-Bailey had clashed openly during the Brexit talks were categorically untrue.

The source said: These talks have been constructive and serious  and both sides want to see further progress over the Easter recess. If we can keep up the pace of negotiations, we can get a deal over the line and avoid participating in the European Parliamentary elections.

A spokesman for the Speakers Office said: The Speaker was elected by the House in 2017 for the course of the Parliament. In the event he has anything to say on his future plans, he will make an announcement to the House first.

A poll published yesterday showed the Tories falling seven points behind Labour, their lowest level in five years.

The Opinium survey put Labour on 36, the Tories on 29 and the Lib Dems on eight.

Rees-Mogg's sister tells Jacob: You stole nanny!... as she describes Theresa May as the worst Tory PM ever

New loyalties: Annunziata Rees-Mogg at the launch of the Brexit Party's European election campaign

By Glen Owen, Political Editor for the Mail on Sunday

She is the loyal family retainer who nurtured both Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg and his sister Annunziata to adulthood  and beyond.

But now Westminsters most famous nanny  77-year-old Veronica Crook  is at the centre of a tug of love between the siblings after Ms Rees-Mogg complained that Jacob, 49, had stolen her for his own family.

Ms Rees-Mogg, 40  a former parliamentary candidate under David Cameron  burst back on to the political scene on Friday when she appeared at the launch of Nigel Farages new Brexit Party, announcing that she was quitting the Tories to become one of Mr Farages 70 candidates standing in the European elections.

In an interview with The Mail on Sunday to mark her return to politics, the former journalist for the Daily Telegraph savages Theresa May as the worst Prime Minister in the Conservative Partys history, slates her former party for trying to de-toff her name to Nancy Mogg  and bemoans that she has lost Ms Crook to Jacob.

Ms Crook, who has spent 53 years as the Rees-Mogg family nanny, has accompanied Jacob on the campaign trail during elections and now helps to look after the six children he has with wife Helena.

She was splashed across the newspapers last year when she rushed to confront a group of class-war protesters as they ambushed Jacob and his young family outside their Central London home.

Family bonds: Jacob Rees-Mogg, aged four, with family nanny Veronica Crook in the 1970s, left, and, right, aged 12 with younger sister Annunziata

Jacobs response to his sisters defection from his party was to say gently that Mr Farage was fortunate to have such a high-calibre candidate while Ms Rees-Mogg speaks with affection about her highly protective older brother.

Jacob was a fantastic big brother, says Ms Rees-Mogg, who also has three other siblings. He would include me in play dates with his contemporaries, even though there is a ten-year age gap  I was always part of the team.

He always looked out for me, treating me as a more grown-up person than necessarily I was. He also taught me algebra long before it came into the school curriculum.

Only nannygate threatens to come between them. Ms Rees-Mogg, who like her brother speaks Edwardian-era English, says: Nanny will, for the rest of her days, be my nanny as well as his. But he has just stolen her, which is very unfair! All of us grew up with Nanny in the house and she was a huge influence on all of us. Last night, Jacob responded teasingly, saying: I plead guilty to stealing Nanny but, in mitigation, I did have first call as I had children before my sister did.

Ms Rees-Mogg  who now lives in Lincolnshire with her husband Matthew Glanville, a management consultant, and daughters Isadora, eight, and Molly, one  fought the Somerton and Frome seat for the Tories at the 2010 election.

Her selection as an A list candidate led to an astonishing row about her upper-crust moniker after The Mail on Sunday revealed that she had been infuriated by a suggestion from Mr Cameron that she should widen her appeal by de-toffing her name to Nancy Mogg. She flatly refused. She will not face a similar demand from Mr Farage, who told this newspaper this weekend: We are delighted to have Annunziata as she is, unlike that Tory attempt to be lowlier than thou. People in the UK dont like fakes  and Annunziata is in no way a fake.

Ms Rees-Mogg still bridles at Mr Camerons suggestion, saying: My name has professionally and personally always been Annunziata Rees-Mogg and I am not going to change it. But she saves her strongest words for Mr Camerons successor in Downing Street: it was Mrs Mays failure to deliver Brexit, and the humiliating extension until the end of October  leading to the likelihood of the UK fighting European Parliament elections next month  which persuaded Ms Rees-Mogg to return to the political frontline.

Theresa May has proven to be quite possibly the worse Prime Minister in the Conservative Partys history, she said.

She has not only betrayed her party, she has betrayed the referendum result and she has betrayed her manifesto. She has been no good at all at negotiating. It is tragic that such a successful and historic party has been brought to its knees by one woman  who was never selected by its membership in the first place.

Ms Rees-Mogg contacted Mr Farage through mutual acquaintances. She said: I have a lot of long-standing Eurosceptic friends, Ive been in that world for at least 15 or more years and it was becoming increasingly apparent that I couldnt stand by and watch the British people being let down so strongly by an appalling leadership.

One thing after another made me more and more upset with what was going on.

I made it clear that I was considering it, and Nigel then suggested that I could join his party.

She said that Jacob, the powerful chairman of the pro-Brexit European Research Group of Tory MPs, understood completely why she had left the Conservatives.

He isnt of the view it would be the best way for him to achieve Brexit, but he understands why I think it is for me, and all either Jacob or I want is to restore faith in democracy and to leave the European Union as was promised to the electorate.

Does she agree with her brother that Boris Johnson would be the best candidate to succeed Mrs May as Tory leader?

Jacob is backing Boris and thats his choice. It is for the Conservative Party to decide, not for outsiders like me to tell them who would be the best option. In my view it has to be a Leaver, but one they can rally round.

Ms Rees-Mogg, whose late father was former Times editor William Rees-Mogg, dodges the question about whether she would return to the party if Mr Johnson became leader, saying: Once youve left a club I dont think that you are always welcomed back. Events change, people change, circumstances change. I am not going to predict the future, for now I am fighting for Brexit, fighting for the Brexit Party and focusing on that.

I would still call myself a Tory  I just cant be part of Theresa Mays Conservative Party.

Leadership rivals target ex-soldiers with 'dirty tricks'

By Harry Cole, Deputy Political Editor for the Mail on Sunday

Tory Whips were at the centre of a growing dirty tricks storm last night after it emerged that a second former Army officer tipped for party leadership is having his past mysteriously probed.

On Thursday, war hero turned Plymouth MP Johnny Mercer took to social media to accuse an anonymous Tory enforcer of attempting to dig up dirt about his military career. The accused is understood to be Deputy Chief Whip Chris Pincher.

Now The Mail on Sunday has learnt that similar enquiries have been made to former Army colleagues of Tory MP Tom Tugendhat  who served in the Intelligence Corps  who last week ruled out a tilt at No 10.

On Thursday, war hero turned Plymouth MP Johnny Mercer (pictured) took to social media to accuse an anonymous Tory enforcer of attempting to dig up dirt about his military career

A source said: Theyre trawling through old friends who unsurprisingly reported back.

It is understood that Mr Mercer angrily confronted Theresa Mays Chief Whip Julian Smith on the phone on Friday night, urging him to root out any such behaviour. But Downing Street insiders ridiculed the idea that they were behind the hunt. Instead, they heaped blame on the fevered leadership jostling that is currently tearing through the top of the Conservative Party, suggesting Mr Mercer was planning to run to replace Mrs May.

One Minister, who is a former Whip, said: I never ever heard of this sort of thing being contemplated let alone being done.

It is much more likely to be a rival to Mercer posing as the Whips Office.

There is no way they would have the time or ability. And a serving Tory Whip told this newspaper: We have bigger problems than Johnny Mercer.

But hitting back, Mr Mercer  who did three tours of Afghanistan  told The Mail on Sunday: The Chief Whip agrees with me that this behaviour is unacceptable, that he is the Governments Chief Whip, and that the behaviour of the Whips Office is his responsibility.

Tom Tugendhat  who served in the Intelligence Corps

I have left him in no doubt that I expect this individual to have the integrity to come forward of his own accord.

He added: I am actually pleased this has happened to me. I am tired of seeing colleagues treated in this way, who when I ask to intervene seem oddly fearful of the Whips Office and ask me not to.

So Im pleased I have this opportunity to put a firm marker in the sand that this sort of behaviour is not acceptable in a modern Conservative Party.

Parliament is in need of serious reform. I cant just keep saying that and not call it out when this sort of thing happens.

Mr Mercer also denied he was eyeing up a push for the top job, saying: No 10s idea I am running a leadership campaign is a joke. I must be the only Tory MP who hasnt actually asked a single colleague to vote for them.

Weve got a national crisis to sort out; the public do not look fondly on those more preoccupied with their personal ambitions at this time.

The row came as unsubstantiated rumours circulated in Westminster that one major Cabinet frontrunner was having an affair.

However, allies of the Minister say the claims pushed by MPs were nonsense.
Advertisement

Brazilian firefighters say the death toll from the collapse of a pair of buildings in Rio de Janeiro has risen to seven, with 10 others injured.

The Rio fire department's press office said on Saturday that 17 people are also listed as missing.

The condemned four-story buildings collapsed Friday in the hillside neighborhood of Itanhanga, an area that was hard hit by recent heavy rains and flash floods.

Brazilian firefighters say the death toll from the collapse of a pair of buildings in Rio de Janeiro has risen to seven, with 10 others injured

Fire department Col. Luciano Sarmento said he hoped survivors would be found because 'air pockets may have been formed allowing people to breathe.'

Authorities are combing through the rubble in an around-the-clock search.

Rio Mayor Marcelo Crivella said earlier that the area where the buildings stood was run by militias that control large swaths of Rio.

A father embraces his son as he waits for some news about his missing wife who was in one of two collapsed buildings

People walk on a damaged street due the heavy rain and next to the site where two buildings collapsed in Muzema neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro

The condemned four-story buildings collapsed Friday in the hillside neighborhood of Itanhanga, an area that was hard hit by recent heavy rains and flash floods

Firefighters try to find survivors amid the debris of two buildings that collapsed in Muzema neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro

Firefighters try to find survivors amid the debris of two buildings that collapsed in Muzema neighborhood

Fire department Col. Luciano Sarmento said he hoped survivors would be found because 'air pockets may have been formed allowing people to breathe'
New loyalties: Annunziata Rees-Mogg at the launch of the Brexit Party's European election campaign

She is the loyal family retainer who nurtured both Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg and his sister Annunziata to adulthood  and beyond.

But now Westminsters most famous nanny  77-year-old Veronica Crook  is at the centre of a tug of love between the siblings after Ms Rees-Mogg complained that Jacob, 49, had stolen her for his own family.

Ms Rees-Mogg, 40  a former parliamentary candidate under David Cameron  burst back on to the political scene on Friday when she appeared at the launch of Nigel Farages new Brexit Party, announcing that she was quitting the Tories to become one of Mr Farages 70 candidates standing in the European elections.

In an interview with The Mail on Sunday to mark her return to politics, the former journalist for the Daily Telegraph savages Theresa May as the worst Prime Minister in the Conservative Partys history, slates her former party for trying to de-toff her name to Nancy Mogg  and bemoans that she has lost Ms Crook to Jacob.

Ms Crook, who has spent 53 years as the Rees-Mogg family nanny, has accompanied Jacob on the campaign trail during elections and now helps to look after the six children he has with wife Helena.

She was splashed across the newspapers last year when she rushed to confront a group of class-war protesters as they ambushed Jacob and his young family outside their Central London home.

Jacobs response to his sisters defection from his party was to say gently that Mr Farage was fortunate to have such a high-calibre candidate while Ms Rees-Mogg speaks with affection about her highly protective older brother.

Jacob was a fantastic big brother, says Ms Rees-Mogg, who also has three other siblings. He would include me in play dates with his contemporaries, even though there is a ten-year age gap  I was always part of the team.

He always looked out for me, treating me as a more grown-up person than necessarily I was. He also taught me algebra long before it came into the school curriculum.

Only nannygate threatens to come between them. Ms Rees-Mogg, who like her brother speaks Edwardian-era English, says: Nanny will, for the rest of her days, be my nanny as well as his. But he has just stolen her, which is very unfair! All of us grew up with Nanny in the house and she was a huge influence on all of us. Last night, Jacob responded teasingly, saying: I plead guilty to stealing Nanny but, in mitigation, I did have first call as I had children before my sister did.

Family bonds: Jacob Rees-Mogg, aged four, with family nanny Veronica Crook in the 1970s, left, and, right, aged 12 with younger sister Annunziata

Ms Rees-Mogg  who now lives in Lincolnshire with her husband Matthew Glanville, a management consultant, and daughters Isadora, eight, and Molly, one  fought the Somerton and Frome seat for the Tories at the 2010 election.

Her selection as an A list candidate led to an astonishing row about her upper-crust moniker after The Mail on Sunday revealed that she had been infuriated by a suggestion from Mr Cameron that she should widen her appeal by de-toffing her name to Nancy Mogg. She flatly refused. She will not face a similar demand from Mr Farage, who told this newspaper this weekend: We are delighted to have Annunziata as she is, unlike that Tory attempt to be lowlier than thou. People in the UK dont like fakes  and Annunziata is in no way a fake.

Ms Rees-Mogg still bridles at Mr Camerons suggestion, saying: My name has professionally and personally always been Annunziata Rees-Mogg and I am not going to change it. But she saves her strongest words for Mr Camerons successor in Downing Street: it was Mrs Mays failure to deliver Brexit, and the humiliating extension until the end of October  leading to the likelihood of the UK fighting European Parliament elections next month  which persuaded Ms Rees-Mogg to return to the political frontline.

Theresa May has proven to be quite possibly the worse Prime Minister in the Conservative Partys history, she said.

She has not only betrayed her party, she has betrayed the referendum result and she has betrayed her manifesto. She has been no good at all at negotiating. It is tragic that such a successful and historic party has been brought to its knees by one woman  who was never selected by its membership in the first place.

Ms Rees-Mogg contacted Mr Farage through mutual acquaintances. She said: I have a lot of long-standing Eurosceptic friends, Ive been in that world for at least 15 or more years and it was becoming increasingly apparent that I couldnt stand by and watch the British people being let down so strongly by an appalling leadership.

One thing after another made me more and more upset with what was going on.

I made it clear that I was considering it, and Nigel then suggested that I could join his party.

She said that Jacob, the powerful chairman of the pro-Brexit European Research Group of Tory MPs, understood completely why she had left the Conservatives.

He isnt of the view it would be the best way for him to achieve Brexit, but he understands why I think it is for me, and all either Jacob or I want is to restore faith in democracy and to leave the European Union as was promised to the electorate.

Does she agree with her brother that Boris Johnson would be the best candidate to succeed Mrs May as Tory leader?

Jacob is backing Boris and thats his choice. It is for the Conservative Party to decide, not for outsiders like me to tell them who would be the best option. In my view it has to be a Leaver, but one they can rally round.

Ms Rees-Mogg, whose late father was former Times editor William Rees-Mogg, dodges the question about whether she would return to the party if Mr Johnson became leader, saying: Once youve left a club I dont think that you are always welcomed back. Events change, people change, circumstances change. I am not going to predict the future, for now I am fighting for Brexit, fighting for the Brexit Party and focusing on that.

I would still call myself a Tory  I just cant be part of Theresa Mays Conservative Party.
Tory Whips were at the centre of a growing dirty tricks storm last night after it emerged that a second former Army officer tipped for party leadership is having his past mysteriously probed.

On Thursday, war hero turned Plymouth MP Johnny Mercer took to social media to accuse an anonymous Tory enforcer of attempting to dig up dirt about his military career. The accused is understood to be Deputy Chief Whip Chris Pincher.

Now The Mail on Sunday has learnt that similar enquiries have been made to former Army colleagues of Tory MP Tom Tugendhat  who served in the Intelligence Corps  who last week ruled out a tilt at No 10.

On Thursday, war hero turned Plymouth MP Johnny Mercer (pictured) took to social media to accuse an anonymous Tory enforcer of attempting to dig up dirt about his military career

A source said: Theyre trawling through old friends who unsurprisingly reported back.

It is understood that Mr Mercer angrily confronted Theresa Mays Chief Whip Julian Smith on the phone on Friday night, urging him to root out any such behaviour. But Downing Street insiders ridiculed the idea that they were behind the hunt. Instead, they heaped blame on the fevered leadership jostling that is currently tearing through the top of the Conservative Party, suggesting Mr Mercer was planning to run to replace Mrs May.

One Minister, who is a former Whip, said: I never ever heard of this sort of thing being contemplated let alone being done.

It is much more likely to be a rival to Mercer posing as the Whips Office.

Tom Tugendhat  who served in the Intelligence Corps

There is no way they would have the time or ability. And a serving Tory Whip told this newspaper: We have bigger problems than Johnny Mercer.

But hitting back, Mr Mercer  who did three tours of Afghanistan  told The Mail on Sunday: The Chief Whip agrees with me that this behaviour is unacceptable, that he is the Governments Chief Whip, and that the behaviour of the Whips Office is his responsibility.

I have left him in no doubt that I expect this individual to have the integrity to come forward of his own accord.

He added: I am actually pleased this has happened to me. I am tired of seeing colleagues treated in this way, who when I ask to intervene seem oddly fearful of the Whips Office and ask me not to.

So Im pleased I have this opportunity to put a firm marker in the sand that this sort of behaviour is not acceptable in a modern Conservative Party.

Parliament is in need of serious reform. I cant just keep saying that and not call it out when this sort of thing happens.

Mr Mercer also denied he was eyeing up a push for the top job, saying: No 10s idea I am running a leadership campaign is a joke. I must be the only Tory MP who hasnt actually asked a single colleague to vote for them.

Weve got a national crisis to sort out; the public do not look fondly on those more preoccupied with their personal ambitions at this time.

The row came as unsubstantiated rumours circulated in Westminster that one major Cabinet frontrunner was having an affair.

However, allies of the Minister say the claims pushed by MPs were nonsense.
Shalet Javet testified to Lahore High Court against her captor. She is ready "to do it again and again until he is jailed". The 15 year old was used as a sex slave. "It is not true that I converted to Islam by my own choice," she says bravely.

Islamabad (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Shalet Javed, the 15-year-old Christian girl kidnapped, sold and given in marriage to a Muslim man after being focibly converted, has been saved from the hands of her tormentor.

In tears but with great courage, she stood before the high court judge of Lahore and told her terrible story of torture and repeated rapes. Through the British Pakistani Christian Association (Bpca) volunteer who is following her case, she said: "It is not true that I converted to Islam by my choice, I was forced under threat. I never gave up hope. I kept praying to God and I begged him to free me from my humiliating bondage ".

The story of the 15 year old Shalet dates back to March 25th. The girl lives in the village of Dhandra, in the district of Faisalabad. After a fight with a sibling, she left home and sought refuge with a family friend, Ms. Goshi (36), who she considers an aunt and lives in Salam Pura (a few km from her village).

In the evening, when her mother Tasleem (35 years old) returned home and did not find her daughter, she started the search. Goshi denies ever having met the young woman, but faced with Tasleem's insistence that she would report everything to the police, she admitted that the girl was with another lady named Rukhsana (42).

The latter confessed that she sold the young Christian to Rafel, a 28-year-old Muslim known to the authorities for trafficking in women. The following week, the family received a letter containing the Islamic wedding certificate (Nikkah) of her daughter with a Muslim named Zafar Iqbal.

Thanks to pressure from the NPC Bpca, the police - reluctantly at first - recorded the complaint and begin the investigation. At three o'clock in the morning on April 10th, the agents carried out a raid on Zafar's home, but discovered that the man had managed to escape before the police arrived thanks to a tip-off. However, the Muslim's hurray allowed the young Shalet to take advantage of his distraction and escape.

The young woman said she managed to escape, then asked a passerby to make a phone call with her cell phone. So she called his parents Tasleem and Javed Masih who immediately rushed to her aid. She said to the magistrate: "I was used as a sex slave tortured and brutalized to satisfy my husband. I thought my life was lost, until I had the chance to escape.

Thanking the activists helping her she added: "God has listened to my prayers and now I'm back with my mother and father. I am so grateful to the Lord. I was violated and abused by my captor, but he did not destroy my spirit. I have spoken in court and will testify again and again, until the monster is jailed. He must never do what he did to me to anyone else".

Wilson Chowdhry, president of the BPCA, stresses: "The case of Shalet reveals the truth about Muslim rapists: that is, it is a terrible insinuation when they say that Christian girls convert voluntarily. Her reliance on God unconditionally and her faith despite adversity is a testament to all of us ".
Shamima Begum, pictured, is accused of assisting ISIS by stitching would-be suicide bombers into their explosive vests

Jihadi bride Shamima Begum stitched suicide bombers into explosive vests, spy chiefs have told Theresa May and Sajid Javid.

The Mail on Sunday has learned that the Prime Minister and Home Secretary have been briefed by the intelligence services about claims that British-born Ms Begum was witnessed preparing suicide vests for would-be martyrs  sewing them on to the bombers so that the devices could not be removed without detonation.

Intelligence sources told this newspaper they have been informed of her chilling role in Syria actively preparing jihadis to take their own lives as Islamic State collapsed.

If the allegations prove to be correct, they will shatter the claim by the teenager from East London that she was nothing more than an IS fighters wife after she enlisted with the death cult while still a schoolgirl in 2015.

It is understood the information was gleaned by allied spy agencies  believed to be the CIA and Dutch Military Intelligence  from interrogation of other Western IS converts. It is not known whether Ms Begum was a willing participant in the acts.

Furthermore, sources told The Sunday Telegraph she had served in the terror group's 'morality police' and had worked to recruit other impressionable women.

Sources told the newspaper she was permitted to carry a Kalashnikov rifle while going about her duties as an 'enforcer,' imposing the IS laws around dress code.

After being found by journalists in a camp in northern Syria in February following the collapse of ISs grip on the region, Ms Begum, now 19, insisted she had never done anything dangerous during her time with the terror group and begged to be allowed back into Britain. But Mr Javid branded her a danger to the UK and revoked her citizenship.

She said: When I went to Syria, I was just a housewife. I just stayed at home and looked after my kids. I didnt do anything dangerous. I never made propaganda, I never encouraged people to come to Syria. They dont have proof that I did anything dangerous.

The 19-year-old jihadi bride from Bethnal Green, east London has been stripped of her British citizenship by Home Secretary Sajid Javid. Javid and PM Theresa May have received top secret briefings from the security services about Begum's role with the terror organisation

Begum, pictured at Gatwick Airport in February 2015, flew to Turkey before sneaking into Syria to join the terror organisation

However, a senior intelligence source said: She was involved and her former comrades have grassed her. She was literally stitching the vests, stitching them into the vests.

After running away from Bethnal Green, Ms Begum lived in the Syrian city of Raqqa under the control of IS with her husband, a Dutch extremist named Yago Riedijk.

Syrian troops and Western special forces spent 2017 clearing the city house by house. Their efforts were severely hampered by suicide bombers.

Ms Begum claimed: When we lost Raqqa, we had to keep moving and moving and moving. The situation got difficult.

But a Government source said: Those who stayed to the end were the hardcore, there is no disputing that. Lots of them went [to the IS stronghold] for a couple of weeks, hated it and came back. Many more left when Raqqa fell over a year ago. But she stayed to the bitter end and now we know why.

Other Whitehall sources told The Mail on Sunday that the top-secret intelligence has been shared at the highest levels of government following the row over Mr Javids decision to block Ms Begums return. However, there are concerns that such evidence may not meet the legal threshold for trial in Britain due to complications over whether it would be permissible in court.

Javid received criticism for blocking Begum's return to the UK - especially after he infant child died in the Syrian refugee camp. She claimed to have lost her two eldest children as well

The news emerged as new laws came into force last week that would see Britons jailed for ten years just for travelling to warzones. The Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019 makes it illegal for UK citizens to travel to terror hotspots, as part of a clampdown inspired by the legal grey area around the Begum case.

Welcoming the new measures, Mr Javid said: These laws give police the powers they need to disrupt terrorist plots earlier and ensure those who seek to do us harm face just punishment.

Having revoked Ms Begums UK citizenship to block her return to Britain, a furious row was sparked when her two-week-old son Jarrah died of pneumonia in a Syrian camp. Senior Tories distanced themselves from Mr Javids decision, describing the Government as morally responsible for the death of the newborn, while Labour labelled the situation a stain on the nations conscience.

Begum's two-week-old son, Jarrah, pictured, was a British citizen at the time of his death

Jarrah was born a British citizen on February 16, shortly before the Home Secretary stripped his mother of her passport. Ms Begums British family had begged Mr Javid to allow safe passage for Jarrah to come to London.

Tory MP Philip Lee suggested it was Mr Javids desire to lead the party that was behind his blocking of Ms Begums return. He urged the Home Secretary to reflect on a decision driven by populism and not by any principle I recognise.

But last night the revelations prompted MPs to defend Mr Javid.

Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said: Cases that rely on secret intelligence for security decisions can be hard to explain in public.

If true, these allegations suggest a reason Ms Begum may have stayed in IS-controlled territory to the end, and would suggest a good reason to suspect she would be a danger to the UK.

Home Office figures show more than 900 Britons travelled to the conflict in Syria, with 20 per cent killed and around 40 per cent having returned to the UK. Only the most dangerous have been barred from returning.

Ms Begums father Ahmed Ali said last night: If she has done anything wrong, she should be brought to England and punished. As far as I know she was a housewife when in Syria.

The Begum familys lawyer demanded the Home Office make any evidence they hold against their daughter public. Tasnime Akunjee said: On behalf of the family, we would like to see this evidence, given that it has been leaked, and have it tested in proceedings in due course rather than through hearsay.

The Home Office said: Decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are based on all available evidence and are not taken lightly.
WikiLeaks have confirmed Julian Assange's cat is safe following speculation over what may have happened to Embassy Cat following his owner's arrest.

The famous kitty has tens of thousands of followers on Instagram and Twitter where Assange documented the life of the 'counter-purrveillance' cat at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

During Assange's seven year stay as a self-styled martyr for free speech at the bolthole in Knightsbridge, the gorgeous tabby had been his sole companion.

So when the police raided Assange's lair on Thursday many wondered what had happened to his feline friend.

WikiLeaks uploaded a Twitter video appearing to show the Embassy Cat faithfully watching a video of his owner being hauled from the embassy on Thursday

Julian Assange's cat - known simply as Embassy Cat - peers through the window covering at the Ecuadorian Embassy in Knightsbridge, London in July 2018

The Embassy Cat turns to face the other way as video plays of Assange's arrest on the big screen behind him

On Saturday the WikiLeaks official Twitter account uploaded a video of the cat watching Assange's arrest tape on the television.

The caption said: 'We can confirm that Assange's cat is safe. Assange asked his lawyers to rescue him from embassy threats in mid-October. They will be reunited in freedom. #FreeAssange #NoExtradition.'

This would appear to confirm reports the popular cat had not been at the embassy for months.

Fans of Assange and photographers camped outside the embassy in London had become used to seeing the his furry friend appearing at the window to his room over the years.

Assange shared this image of Embassy Cat as an adorable kitten in May 2016

Assange shared this snap in May 2016 of his playing with the kitty inside his embassy bolthole

He even appeared in collar and tie on a few occasions, sporting a WikiLeaks logo, rainbow pattern and a black and white striped knot.

A spokesperson for the embassy told Sputnik News this week: 'It is not here since September, I think. It was taken by Mr Assanges associates a long ago It is not here. We are not a pet store, so we do not keep pets here.'

That statement comes after staff at the embassy complained he was an obnoxious and filthy guest who did not clean up after his cat.

Last year the WikiLeaks founder was warned to keep his room more tidy, clean his bathroom and to take better care of the moggy, or risk losing it.

A member of Assange's legal team has claimed that a family member is looking after the kitty after the Ecuadorian Embassy threatened to take the pet to a shelter.

Embassy Cat was known to appear at the windows of the embassy donning a shirt collar and tie

'Ecuador threatened to put Assange's cat in the pound,' said Hanna Jonasson in a tweet. 'Incensed at the threat, he asked his lawyers to take his cat to safety. The cat is with Assange's family. They will be reunited in freedom.'

The 47-year-old faces up to 12 months in a British prison after he was found guilty of breaching his bail conditions, and he faces extradition to the US on cyber-crime charges with a maximum jail sentence of five years.

But WikiLeaks editor Kristinn Hrafnsson said he fears more charges will be added, meaning Assange could face decades in a US prison.
Jackie Kennedy Onassis spent her final days continuing her role as a book editor, despite going through chemotherapy to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Jackie Kennedy Onassis spent her final days as a book editor, despite going through chemotherapy to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The former first lady and widow of Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis remarkably returned to her first passion - books - in her late 40s, helping to bring more than 100 to publication, despite her vast inherited wealth.

A new book inspired by her life, titled The Editor by Steven Rowley, chronicles the latter years of one of America's most iconic 20th century figures.

Jackie died in 1994, aged just 64, but continued marking up manuscripts in her Fifth Avenue apartment up to her death.

When her son John Jr. revealed her death, he said that in Jackie's final moments she was surrounded by friends and family 'and her books, the people and the things that she loved.'

In 1975, following the death of the wealthy Aristotle Onassis, she joined Viking publishers as a consulting editor, where she, according to the book, was adamant that she would receive no special treatment. This was despite her inheriting $26 million from her husband.

As the fictionalized Jackie in 'The Editor' states, her office was 'a regular size and stacked high with manuscripts. I get my own coffee and wait in line to use the copier, same as anyone else.'

'She was bored,' said historian William Kuhn, author of 'Reading Jackie: Her autobiography in books.'

The former first lady and widow of Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis remarkably returned to her first passion, books, in her late 40s, helping to bring more than 100 to publication, despite her vast inherited wealth

Rowley got it exactly right in his novel, Kuhn told The New York Post. 'She tried hard to blend in. Her office was small, with just one window. She answered her own phone. She didn't want to be seen as a grande dame.'

She told Newsweek in 1975 she wasn't sure why the public was so fascinated with her career.

She said: 'Its not as if Ive never done anything interesting. Ive been a reporter myself, and Ive lived through important parts of American history. Im not the worst choice for this position.'

Indeed, she had been a columnist for the Washington Times-Herald, and in 1962, she wrote and edited her first book.

After two years at Viking, she left the company after learning they were publishing a novel about the assassination of her brother-in-law Robert Kennedy - and moved to Doubleday as an associate editor, where her salary rose from $200-a-week to $100,000-a-year.

There she was able to indulge her eclectic taste in reading and secured publications ranging from Egyptian author and Nobel Prize winner Naguib Mahfouz to 'Cartoon History of the Universe' illustrator Larry Gonick.

One of her most notable successes was landing the Michael Jackson autobiography Moonwalk. although she did miss out on Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross and Oliver Stone.

Jackie died in 1994, aged just 64, but continued marking up manuscripts in her Fifth Avenue apartment up to her death. When her son John Jr. revealed her death, he said that in Jackie's final moments she was surrounded by friends and family 'and her books, the people and the things that she loved'

Jackie Kennedy Onassis is seen here with Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis in 1971

Remarkably, her latter career lasted longer than her two famous marriages, and the book sheds light on Jackie the person, as opposed to Jackie the wife.

'It's not only counter to how we remember her, but it's also counter-intuitive to our own instincts,' says Rowley.

'We all stare out the office window, daydreaming about floating away on a yacht. But Jackie was on the yacht, daydreaming about the office.

'The very things that we find so oppressive about working in an office, those were the experiences that finally set her free.'
Every great advance in communication provokes an overreaction. No sooner had Johannes Gutenberg developed the art of mass printing in the 15th Century than there was widespread alarm at the sort of books and ideas that resulted from his invention.

'Something' had to be done  and that something usually resulted in a form of censorship or regulation from above.

The same thing is happening today. We are barely a dozen years into the explosion of social media  with all that is glorious, liberating, creative, messy, menacing and hateful about it  and there are demands to clip its wings. Or even kill it off.

Facebook ban: Marlene Weise was banned from Facebook for 30 days for posing the two pictures of the Iranian national women's volleyball team in the 1970s in T-shirts and shorts and the current Iranian team covered up in hijabs and clothes covering their arms and legs

Just as in 1487 the Pope woke up to the dangers of mass communication and introduced censorship, so our own Government has produced a White Paper describing its intentions to crack down on what it calls 'online harms'. To some, it is a proportionate enough response to the failure of the West Coast giants to clean up their own act.

To others, it spells the end of the internet as we've known it.

The White Paper is full of reasonable-sounding propositions. Its very first sentence pronounces: 'The Government wants the UK to be the safest place in the world to go online.'

Those of us who work in universities are nervous of the language of 'safe spaces', knowing that  out there in the big bad world  there are no such thing as 'safe spaces' and that we do no favours to our students to prepare them for an environment which doesn't exist.

How does the Government propose that the UK's online space becomes the safest in the world? By introducing rules against 'unacceptable' content.

Like 'safe spaces', the word 'unacceptable' should ring alarm bells. Unacceptable to whom?

In future, internet users will not be allowed to 'undermine our democratic values and principles'. Offenders will be punished with huge fines and by naming and shaming the senior management of offending companies.

Maybe this all sounds a little Chinese? Or Russian? Saudi Arabia has a similar prejudice against people who voice 'unacceptable' opinions. Within a few pages of the executive summary, an average reader might begin asking some of the basic questions any would-be reporter is trained to ask in their first week at work in a newsroom: what, who, where, when and why? What is going to be regulated? The broad answer is bad stuff.

But 'bad stuff' encompasses a huge range of material from things that are already illegal (terrorism, hate speech, child pornography etc) to more nebulous concepts. These include 'echo chambers' and 'filter bubbles', for example  which mean individual web users meet only a narrow range of views  and online harms 'which undermine our shared rights, responsibilities and opportunities to foster integration'. That's a very broad gamut of potentially controversial content and gives rise to the Who question. Who decides whether material is likely to be considered harmful, and who gets to regulate the supposedly safest place in the world?

The answer seems to be a mixture of the companies themselves, who will have a new 'statutory duty of care', backed up by an independent regulator. In some cases, the Home Secretary will be required to sign off on some codes of practice, giving a politician the right to determine what is and isn't acceptable.

Mail on Sunday readers will not need reminding that Jeremy Corbyn could be the next occupant of No10 Downing Street. And so might Boris Johnson, whose own relationship with the truth has sometimes been shaky. Right or Left, politicians shouldn't be the judges of what a free society allows people to say, write or think.

Where? Well, the regulator will be based on these shores. But it has not escaped the attention of the White Paper authors that many of the largest and most successful social media companies are headquartered on the other side of the planet.

There is vague talk of powers to 'enable the regulator to disrupt the business activities of a non-compliant company, measures to impose liability on individual members of senior management, and measures to block non-compliant services'.

This is Whitehall as King Canute, the Faceless against Facebook. There are, of course, countries which have successfully banned Google or switched off Twitter. They may even think of themselves as 'safe' online places. Whether the average Brit would want to go and live in such places must be open to doubt.

When? Well, the White Paper is proposing that social media companies move very quickly  within 24 hours  to remove offending material. Something like this has recently been tried in Germany with mixed results.

The threat of enormous fines has led to a culture of 'senior management' playing safe and some frankly bizarre examples of speech being censored.

There are now numerous examples of people being banned for satire, parody or causing offence. In March last year, a user was banned after joking: 'Muslim men are taking a second wife. To finance their lives, Germans are taking a second job.'

The same month a woman received a month's ban from Facebook for posting two pictures: one showed the 1970s Iranian women's national volleyball team, wearing T-shirts and shorts; the current Iranian team was shown wearing hijabs and clothes that covered arms and legs.

Both posts might cause a degree of offence, but does a 'safe' online space rule out any humour?

In any event, there are now several German sites which are only too willing to repost any material which alarms Facebook or Twitter.

Then comes the Why? The instinct for such a crackdown on the internet is an understandable one. There is material in cyberspace  lots of it  which has no place in a decent society. It is entirely right to be looking for ways of protecting children and the vulnerable from things that could harm them. But unless it can answer the basic questions  not forgetting the How?  then the danger is that Britain will snuff out a precious flame.

There are lots of reasons to dislike the West Coast giants. I wish they were more transparent; less driven by profit, more driven by public service.

The Google algorithm, for example, is one of the most powerful economic tools on the planet, yet how it works is a complete mystery to all its billions of users.

I don't like them behaving like monopolies. I wish they would pay a fair share of tax on the enormous revenues they are scooping up. Some of them could undoubtedly afford to comply with the sort of stringent regime of regulation imagined in this report. But what about the smaller community websites? Or newspapers, struggling to deal with the dramatic loss of revenues as advertising is remorselessly sucked away by new players and new technologies?

What about the millions who have, in the past dozen or so years, found a voice and a freedom to communicate in this messy, brave and sometimes ugly new world?

What kind of example would we be setting to countries where dissidents rely on the ability to post 'unacceptable' thoughts?

It's easy to demand instant answers to difficult problems. We won't solve the very real challenges of the internet by creating half-baked regulators on the back of a White Paper that asks many right questions, but comes up with an equal number of wrong answers.

Five hundred years ago, Gutenberg's invention led to convulsive revolutions in religion, science, business, education and much more. One writer has claimed the German printer 'forged the key that would open the doors of knowledge to all mankind'.

We are at a similar moment in history. Let's not waste it.

Alan Rusbridger was editor in chief of The Guardian. He is now Principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, and chairs the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
It's bad news for hipsters but men with beards harbour more germs in their whiskers than dogs carry in their fur, scientists say.

The alarming news follows a study that found every sampled beard was crawling with bacteria, and nearly half had bugs that were hazardous to human health.

By contrast, a number of the dogs tested proved to have lower levels of microbes. Now men have been left bristling with fury, with claims that the results stem from pogonophobia  the irrational fear of beards.

In the study, scientists wanted to discover whether there was a risk that humans might pick up a dog-borne disease from an MRI scanner that was also used for examinations by vets. Researchers took swabs from the beards of 18 men and the necks of 30 dogs, across a range of breeds, and compared the results.

A study revealed that beards have more bacteria in them then dog hair. Scientists found that nearly half the sampled beards had bugs that were hazardous to human health

Professor Andreas Gutzeit, of Switzerland's Hirslanden Clinic, said: 'The researchers found a significantly higher bacterial load in specimens taken from the men's beards compared with the dogs' fur.' The study found all of the bearded men, aged from 18 to 76, showed high microbial counts, but only 23 out of 30 dogs had high counts. The remainder had moderate levels.

Seven men were even found to harbour microbes that posed a threat to human health.

After the MRI exams of the dogs, the scanners were disinfected and showed a 'significantly' lower bacteria count compared with levels seen when used by humans.

'On the basis of these findings, dogs can be considered as clean compared with bearded men,' said Dr Gutzeit.

But Keith Flett, founder of the Beard Liberation Front, which opposes discrimination against the hirsute, cast doubt on the report.

'I think it's possible to find all sorts of unpleasant things if you took swabs from people's hair and hands and then tested them,' he said. 'I don't believe that beards in themselves are unhygienic.

'There seems to be a constant stream of negative stories about beards that suggest it's more about pogonophobia than anything else.'
A security guard who was shot in the face during a drive-by shooting outside a popular Melbourne nightclub has died in hospital.

The man, 37, was taken to hospital after being shot outside the Love Machine Nightclub near Little Chapel Street in Prahran at around 3.20am on Sunday.

Three other men, two guards and a patron lining up to get into the nightclub, were also shot and taken to Royal Alfred Hospital for treatment.

The gunman was driving a stolen black Porsche Cayenne four-wheel-drive.

The luxury car was found burnt out in Wollert in the city's north on Sunday morning, The Age reported.

Forensic police were at the scene outside popular nightclub Love Machine on Sunday morning

The footpath was splattered with blood for more than 100 metres as one of the men shot in the arm ran from the scene to get help

Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper said three of the people struck by bullets worked at the nightclub, while the fourth was an 'innocent' patron waiting to get inside.

'Those gunshot wounds were from a fairly close proximity... so, you know... horrific injuries,' he said.

'It would appear that shots have been discharged from a car in this area into a crowd that was standing outside the nightclub.

'This is just a horrendous act. It's a busy nightclub, one of the main nightclubs in Melbourne in one of the main entertainment precincts in Melbourne.'

Police are expected to investigate links to an outlaw bikie gang which has made extortion attempts on the nightclub, The Age reported.

The nightclub was still packed with patrons at the time of the shooting, who left the venue via a back entrance after police deemed the area safe.

A security guard at the nightclub told Seven's Sunday Sunrise he had no idea there had been a shooting outside and there was no panic inside the venue.

Sunrise also reported a person shot in the arm ran up Chapel Street to get help at a nearby business.

Blood could be seen on the footpath for more than 100 metres from the scene.

Clothes and bullet casings are also scattered along the footpath outside the nightclub.

The scene outside the Love Machine nightclub in Prahran after the deadly shooting

Clothing and bullet casings remained scattered along the footpath

Local resident Edie said the shooting was rare for the neighbourhood.

'There is a bit of trouble around here, but it's usually fighting and stabbings,' she told the Herald Sun.

'It's scary because it's right on your doorstep - it could have happened to one of us.'

The venue's Facebook page had promised a night of old school grooves on Saturday night.

The Love Machine is one of Melbourne's most popular nightclubs and was recently refurbished by new owners.

As daylight broke, forensic police spent several hours photographing evidence at the scene

There was a heavy presence of police in Prahran on Sunday as they investigated the shooting

Police said an investigation is underway and the exact circumstances are still being established.

Police are also reviewing CCTV footage from the vicinity.

People are urged to avoid the area with Malvern Road closed in both directions between Chapel Street and Surrey Road.

Anyone with information or footage of the incident should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

The Love Machine was still packed with nightclub patrons at the time of the shooting
Scientists believe they may have discovered a new planet orbiting the star which is closest to our sun.

Possibly two planets could be orbiting a small red dwarf called Proxima Centauri which is around 4.24 light-years away.

'We are pleased to show you, for the first time, what is for us a new candidate planet around Proxima that we call Proxima c,' Mario Damasso of Italy's Observatory of Turin announced on Friday during the 2019 Breakthrough Discuss conference.

This artist's impression shows a view of the surface of the planet Proxima b orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our solar system. However, it is now thought that a second planet, Proxima c is also in orbit around Proxima Centauri

Scientists already knew about the first planet, Proxima Centauri b (blue orbit) but believe a second planet orbits around the star and has been called Proxima Centauri c (red orbit)

'It is only a candidate,' Damasso says. 'This is very important to underline.'

If there is a planet orbiting the star, it would be at least six times larger than Earth - giving it the title of a super-Earth.

Its orbit would take around 1,900 days to complete a loop around the star which would also mean the planet's average surface temperature would be much too cold for liquid water to flow.

Three years ago scientists were able to reveal the first known planet orbiting Proxima Centauri.

A diagram of the star systems closest to the sun. Two exoplanets might be orbiting the nearest star the red dwarf Proxima Centauri that's about 4.24 light-years away. It would not be in the habitable zone where water is liquid

Orbital plot of Proxima Centauri showing its position with respect to Alpha Centauri over the coming millenia (graduations are in thousands of years). The large number of background stars is due to the fact that Proxima Cen is located very close to the plane of the Milky Way

They described how the planet, named Proxima Centauri b, appeared to be 1.3 times the size of Earth and possibly warm enough for life to exist.

Scientists only appeared to notice this new, second planet after taking another look at the data collected from the first discovery.

The information that was used to spot Proxima b was processed slightly differently. Further new measurements were also added over the course of a year-and-a-half.

It gave the team approximately 17 years' worth of data on the Proxima Centauri star and noticed that there could well be a second planet in the region.

This artist's impression shows the planet Proxima b orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Solar System. The existence of a second planet remains unconfirmed, for now

'This detection is very challenging,' Fabio Del Sordo of the University of Crete said to National Geographic. 'We asked ourselves many times if this is a real planet. But what is sure is that even if this planet is a castle in the air, we should keep working to put even stronger foundations under it.'

Scientists plan to continue collecting data on the star and will further study the star and its intergalactic surroundings.

They believe that as future telescopes develop and become even more powerful, it might soon be possible to see the planet fully.

'This is really an amazing, amazing result  I hope it withstands scientific scrutiny over the next few months and years,' said Rene Heller of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research during the Breakthrough Discuss conference.
Former rower Philippa Birch is attempting to become the first female in the Royal Marines' 350-year history

The Royal Marines have drafted in American GI Jane instructors to train the first woman to take on its gruelling recruits course.

United States Marine Corps instructors will mentor former international rower Philippa Birch who, as The Mail on Sunday has previously revealed, is attempting to become the first female in the Royal Marines 350-year history.

Ms Birch, 25, is expected to start training on April 29 after she passed the tough training course for potential recruits this year.

According to defence sources, Royal Marine top brass believe having female instructors as part of Ms Birchs training team will improve her chances of success.

Her historic bid follows then Prime Minister David Camerons decision in 2016 to lift a centuries-old ban on women serving in close-combat roles. In America, the USMC allowed women to join fighting units in 2013 and since then about 100 females have qualified as frontline soldiers.

Some of these women will be seconded to the Royal Marines from later this month.

Last night, a source said: As having a female recruit is unknown territory for the Royal Marines, the bosses have brought in female instructors from the USMC, which is a few years ahead of us.

Hopefully, Philippa Birch and other women who attempt the recruits course will bond with the GI Janes and their presence will boost morale.

'There will be dark moments for Philippa during her training and she is going where no woman has gone before in a bid to win a Green Beret. But shes very fit, intelligent and determined.

U.S. Marines Captain Elizabeth Jackson, 27, of Hamden, Connecticut (left) of the Civil Affairs Group of 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment moves to give health care classes at the Naw Zad Women's Centre in Naw Zad district in Helmand province, Afghanistan

GI Jane was a 1997 film starring Demi Moore about a woman who attempts to join a US Special Forces unit.

Last night, a Ministry of Defence spokesman confirmed it had established a training relationship with the USMC and that women were likely to be involved in that, adding: The standards to be a Royal Marine Commando will be the same for women as men and the training will be identical.
New Jersey Transit riders were taken on quite the bumpy ride on Tuesday night when their commuter train bounced all over the rails.

The wild commotion was filmed by passengers on board the 5.37pm NJ Transit train that was speeding down the Pascaci Valley line.

'It felt like I was on a plane going through heavy turbulence,' transit rider Shawn McLoughlin explained to CBS 2.

Scroll down for video

The wild commotion was filmed by passengers on board the 5.37pm NJ Transit train that was speeding down the Pascaci Valley line

Passengers were upset none of the conductors stopped the train or offered an explanation as to what was happening

Transit rider Shawn McLoughlin - who filmed the video - was also on the train that crashed in Hoboken in 2016

He added: 'For the first two minutes, I literally held on as the train shifted to the right and we were bouncing excessively.'

McLoughlin was dismayed that none of the conductors stopped the train or offered an explanation as to what was happening.

And according to Twitter, NJ Transit did not appear to be even aware of the incident as they asked McLoughlin for additional information as to what happened.

'Hello, we apologize for the inconvenience and for the delay in responding,' they said the day after he posted the video. 'Do you happen to remember the train and car number? If not, can you provide your boarding time and origin location?'

They later added: 'Just updating on this. Rail operations were able to locate the car and it has been taken out of service for maintenance. Thank you for bringing this to attention and we apologize again for the inconvenience.'

McLoughlin stated that he's experienced problems with NJ Transit in the past.

Conductors apparently hadn't alerted transit officials as NJ Transit tweeted out to passengers asking for more information about the train

He said: 'Delays, cancelled trains, overcrowding, standing room only and it's been "a very, very difficult commute."'

Tuesday's rocky trip brought back traumatic memories for McLoughlin, who was in the first car of the train that crashed in Hoboken in 2016.

'I personally thought to myself, "Oh my God, I'm going to be in another New Jersey train crash,"' he said.

They eventually tweeted that they found the car and removed it from the rail

McLoughlin says he was in the front car of the train that crashed in Hoboken in 2016, killing one and injuring more than 100 people.

The traumatic experience convinced him to stop taking the train for a year.

'I took the bus, I drove, I carpooled, and it was an inconvenience,' he added.
A Florida breeder who was fatally attacked by a large, flightless bird native to Australia and New Guinea did not have a permit to own the creature.

Marvin Hajos, 75 was killed by a cassowary when he fell and the bird and attacked him, on his property near Gainesville on Friday, authorities said.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Karen Parker confirmed Monday that Hajos exercised an exemption in the agency's captive wildlife rules.

Alachua County Fire Rescue Department said that a cassowary killed the man Friday on his property near Gainesville

The Alachua County Fire Rescue Department said that Havos was likely killed when the bird used its long claws. He was apparently breeding the birds, state wildlife officials said.

The Gainesville Sun reported that a permit is normally required to possess, sell or publicly exhibit cassowaries, but breeders are exempt from the rule.

The emu-like creatures are considered domestic livestock when an owner decides to breed them, according to Karen Parker, a spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

'If the owners are breeding, there is no permit required. Its similar to having cows, theyre considered domestic livestock.'

The bird falls under the 'Class II' category by the FWC. The classification means they can pose a danger to people and 'substantial experience and cage requirements' are required, according to The Gainesville Sun.

Cassowaries can jump to seven feet straight up and can swim, according to the San Diego Zoo.

Those who possess, sell or publicly exhibit a cassowary and other Class II animals need a permit. Parker said she is unaware why someone would own a cassowary or decide to breed them.

'I dont know what commercial viability they have,' she said. Hajos started working with birds at The Bronx Zoo as a child, 65 years ago and friends have expressed shock at the nature of his death.

Family friend Jim Glynn told WOGX: 'He was doing this, because he truly loved animals. Weve been getting calls from quite literally around the world. People who knew Marvin for his passion for preserving this species.

Cassowaries are similar to emus and stand up to six feet tall and weigh up to 130 pounds.

The San Diego Zoo's website calls them the world's most dangerous bird with a four-inch (10-centimeter), dagger-like claw on each foot that can cut open people or predators.

They can also jump seven feet straight up and can swim, according to the San Diego Zoo. 'These birds can unfortunately be very savage,' Glynn said.

Hajos had two breeding pairs of Cassowaries that he had been keeping on his property. He was tending to them when he got attacked.

One of the females recently laid an egg and males typically try to smash those eggs. It is believed that Hajos tried to retrieve the eggs and put them in an incubator, before the attack.

'We believe he went in there to recover that egg and then at some point the bird was able to make its attack,' Lt. Brett Rhodenizer from Alachua County Sheriffs Office told WOGX.

The San Diego Zoo's website calls cassowaries the world's most dangerous bird with a four-inch (10-centimeter), dagger-like claw on each foot

Glynn said its breeding season and males are particularly aggressive at the moment.

'He was aware of the dangers of these animals. He would not allow anyone else to be exposed to them. He was a knowledgeable guy,' said Glynn.

Glynn said Hajos called his daughter who tried to assist her father immediately after the attack.

He said Hajos developed a love for birds at a young age and volunteered with the staff at The Bronx Zoo to learn all about birds when he was just ten.

He was also called upon frequently to speak at colleges and universities to talk about the birds hes worked with, particularly the Cassowary bird.

People who have cassowaries to breed, produce meat, skins/hides or feathers are exempt from the rule.

The same applies to ostriches, rheas, emus and bison. Parker said she is unsure why breeding is exempt from the regulations that come with permits.

'I dont know enough about it to speculate. Its tragic.'

Many people who knew Hajos, who was laid to rest in Gainesville on Monday, posted tributes on social media.

Gulf Coast Livestock Association posted a video of Hajos riding a camel and described him as a man who devoted his life to caring for animals.

In a tribute on Friday the group wrote: 'Its with a sad and heavy heart that we have to tell you of the passing of our friend Marvin Hajos. The group also posted a video of Hajos riding a camel at an event sale on Friday.

'The cassowary can slice open any predator or potential threat with a single swift kick. Powerful legs help the cassowary run up to 31 miles per hour through the dense forest underbrush,' the website says

'He suddenly and unexpectedly passed away today. Hes been a friend for many many years and we will greatly miss him. He was an asset to us all in the animal world.

'Our animal family is small, I am grateful that we were all together this past weekend.'

Owners are required to restrict their animals with a fence at least 6 feet in height, with an 11.5-gauge chain link.

Alachua City Manager Adam Boukari said the city has not received any calls from residents concerned about the birds, adding the incident occurred just outside Alachuas limits.

He told The Gainesville Sun that the exemption 'doesnt seem quite right.'

Cassowaries are not raised for food in the U.S., but are sought after by collectors.
Wayne, Autumn and Joseph have been held at their hotel for six days. The US embassy in Laos was informed and is following the case. A local Christian group is trying to help the three. The authorities of the Buddhist country consider Christianity a "foreign religion". The government does not have diplomatic relations with the Holy See.

Vientiane (AsiaNews / Rfa) - The Laos authorities have arrested three US citizens in the Sing district (Luang Namtha province) for distributing bibles and other (Protestant) evangelical material. This was denounced by Vision Beyond Borders (Vbb), a Christian organization based in the USA.

Identified by their organization only with their names, Wayne, Autumn and Joseph are believed to have been detained at the hotel for six days, after visiting villages in northern Laos to distribute religious material. "It seems that the interrogations are proceeding slowly. [Police officers] They took them to a room and told them they would be back in 10 minutes, but they disappeared for four to five hours, "says Eric Blievernicht, Head of VBB Operations.

Blievernicht states that he is aware that the US embassy in Laos has been informed and has been involved in the case; he adds that only the three Americans have been arrested and that there are no Laotians among them. A US State Department spokesman announced last night that he could "confirm the temporary detention and subsequent release of three US citizens in Luang Namtha, Laos".

An official from the Luang Namtha Police Department confirms that the three were arrested but denies that they are detained. "What we know about these three individuals is that they are not in custody. Their passports have just been confiscated, "he reports.

A local Christian group is trying to help the three. "We have just learned of this and are traveling to the province of Luang Namtha to assist these three Americans," the leader of a church in Vientiane declared on condition of anonymity.

Although the Constitution of the Laotian communist regime claims to protect religious freedom, the authorities of the Buddhist country consider Christianity a "foreign religion". In Laos, the Catholic community is a small minority: its faithful number around 45 thousand and represent 0.7% of the country's 7.1 million inhabitants. The situation of the Church in Laos remains delicate, as the government exercises strict control over religions and does not have diplomatic relations with the Holy See. The difficult relations between Church and State are accentuated above all in local governments and among citizens.
The BBCs North America editor Jon Sopel was under fire last night for giving a speech at an event promoting the worlds biggest tobacco company.

Sopel, who is paid up to 240,000 a year by the Corporation, delivered the address at the Philip Morris International staff conference in Miami last week.

Anti-smoking charities criticised the veteran correspondent. Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, said: It is disappointing that someone representing the BBC is speaking at an event sponsored by the biggest tobacco company in the world.

Sopel was speaking at a staff conference Philip Morris International in Miami last week

Richard Sambrook, former director of BBC News, tweeted: So is he now prevented from reporting on Big Tobacco? Should be.

Mr Sopel had appeared on stage in front of text promoting him as the BBCs North America editor. Philip Morris declined to discuss whether Mr Sopel received a fee, but an agency advertising his public speaking charges up to 25,000 to book him.

Mr Sopel declined to comment.

A BBC spokesman said his appearance at the event did not breach its guidelines.

Former BBC News director Richard Sambrook tweeted saying: 'So is he now prevented from reporting on Big Tobacco? Should be...'
The BBC has been condemned for allowing Hollywood actress Samantha Morton to deliver a string of Left-wing rants on its flagship programme The One Show.

Tory MPs and historians are furious that the Minority Report star was unchallenged over her claim that British mothers are being forced into prostitution because of Victorian-style poverty caused by Government policies.

Morton delivered her anti-Tory diatribe on Fridays edition of the live programme, which regularly draws up to three million viewers.

Samanatha Morton, 41, delivered a rant claiming British mothers are being forced into prostitution because of Victorian-style poverty on Friday's episode of The One Show

She said: With the benefits changing to Universal Credit and single parents being penalised by this Government, and the Coalition government before, people that have literally nothing, nobody to turn to, are sadly going into sex work to literally just feed the kids or pay the rent.

Morton, 41, who was on the show to plug her upcoming Channel 4 drama, I Am Kirsty, went on to criticise all the cutbacks which she claimed had forced the closure of childrens homes, womens refuges and Sure Start daycare centres across the country.

She added: That level of abject poverty  like Victorian England we are talking  what are women forced to do?

Neither regular host Alex Jones nor Friday nights guest presenter Peter Andre challenged the star about her comments

The mother of three, who grew up in the care system, then launched an attack on Margaret Thatcher and her governments policies while talking about her childhood.

Neither regular host Alex Jones nor Friday nights guest presenter Peter Andre challenged the star about her comments.

Tory MP Damian Collins, chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, last night urged the BBC to review its guidelines. He said: The BBC needs to be very careful with magazine programmes, ones where people dont expect to see political debate.

'People that have literally nothing, nobody to turn to, are sadly going into sex work to literally just feed the kids or pay the rent, she said on the Friday episode, which usually attracts an audience of three million

Is it appropriate for people to use these kinds of shows as a political platform? If this had been a news programme or a discussion programme then there would have been other guests or a host who could have challenged these opinions. Historian Dr David Starkey described Mortons comments as absolute rubbish.

He said: My father, who was an orphan at the age of 11 in 1918, was unemployed from 1928 until 1935. He had to have all his teeth extracted without anaesthetic because that saved him half a crown. That was real poverty. We cant envisage the levels of poverty, the absoluteness of it.

Samantha Morton leaves Broadcasting House after her appearance on The One Show on Friday

Because we listen to actresses we have lost any sense of what weve emerged from. For people like Samantha Morton to burble on like this is simply a disgrace. Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: The BBC has shown its true colours and the only reason they can do this is because of their TV tax. If it went to a subscription model, people would not pay for this propaganda.

Morton, who wore a T-shirt brought out in the 1990s to support Liverpool dockers in a long-running dispute, is currently starring on American TV in Zombie drama The Walking Dead.

It was the second time in a week that a guest on the show criticised Government policy. On Monday, Casualty actor Charles Venn presented a film in which he criticised cuts to youth services.

A BBC spokesman said: Its wrong to suggest bias from a topical magazine show on the basis of a film on youth services at a time of national anxiety about knife crime, which included a response from the Government, and a passing reference to cuts made during an appearance to discuss someones work as an actress.
Ministers are facing a growing backlash against draconian new web laws which critics warn could lead to totalitarian-style censorship.

Under the plans published by Home Secretary Sajid Javid last week, an internet watchdog would have the power to block websites if the regulator decides to veto the content.

The aim of the Online Harms White Paper is to target offensive material such as terrorists beheading videos. But under the documents provisions, the regulator would have complete discretion to decide what qualified as harmful, hateful or bullying  potentially including coverage of contentious issues such as transgender rights.

Downing Street has put pressure on Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright  who drafted the sections relating to the media  to narrow the definition of harm

After MPs lined up to demand a rethink, Downing Street has put pressure on Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright  who drafted the sections relating to the media  to narrow the definition of harm in order to exclude typical editorial content.

MPs have been led by Jacob Rees-Mogg, who said last night that while it was obviously a worthwhile aim to rid the web of the evils of terrorist propaganda and child pornography, it should not be at the expense of crippling a free Press and gagging healthy public expression.

He added that the regulator could be used as a tool of repression by a future Jeremy Corbyn-led government, saying: Sadly, the Online Harms White Paper appears to give the Home Secretary of the day the power to decide the rules as to which content is considered palatable. Who is to say that less scrupulous governments in the future would not abuse this new power?

I fear this could have the unintended consequence of reputable newspaper websites being subjected to quasi-state control. British newspapers freedom to hold authority to account is an essential bulwark of our democracy.

We must not now allow what amounts to a Leveson-style state-controlled regulator for the Press by the back door.

He was backed by Charles Walker, vice-chairman of the Tory Partys powerful backbench 1922 Committee, who said: We need to protect people from the well-documented evils of the internet  not in order to suppress views or opinions to which they might object.

MPs have been led by Jacob Rees-Mogg, who said last night that the legislation should not be at the expense of crippling a free Press and gagging healthy public expression

The 98-page document laid out plans for a new duty of care which would apply to any website that allows users to post content  regardless of whether it is a tech giant such as Google or Facebook, or smaller online news services.

Critics fear that the new rules would suppress legitimate news journalism because the tech giants would set their search algorithms to exclude news stories about controversial subjects.

Facebook is already planning to rate news sites based on the trust they have in the content.

MPs fear that the prospective legislation has been so loosely worded that the thought police would be able to shut down the discussion of such contentious issues, without clear lines on the distinction between free speech and hate speech.

Media companies would potentially be forced to hire an army of fact-checkers to avoid being censured for so-called disinformation.

In last weeks Mail on Sunday, former Culture Secretary John Whittingdale warned that the legislation was more usually associated with autocratic regimes including those in China, Russia or North Korea.

The White Paper does not set out whether the regulator will be free-standing or included as part of media watchdog Ofcoms existing responsibilities, what its rules will be, or even to whom it will report.

Tory MP Philip Davies joined the criticism last night, saying: Of course people need to be protected from the worst excesses of what takes place online. But equally, free speech in a free country is very, very important too. Its vital we strike the right balance. While I have every confidence that Sajid Javid as Home Secretary would strike that balance, can I have the same confidence that a future Marxist government would not abuse the proposed new powers?

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable also raised concerns over the measures, saying any new regulation must be carefully considered by Parliament  not decided by Ministers behind closed doors.

He acknowledged the need for new laws, saying there was far too much illegal activity on social media, from inciting violence to grooming children for abuse. But Sir Vince warned: We must not allow state censorship of the internet by the backdoor.

And Tory MP Martin Vickers added: While we must take action to curb the unregulated wild west of the internet, we must not introduce state control of the Press as a result.

A Government spokesman said: These measures are not about regulation of the Press  they are about tackling online harms and the damage they can do to peoples lives. We have no intention for journalistic or editorial content to be affected in any way by the regulatory framework.
Lene Wold watched in silent horror as the woman in front of her removed her niqab, the scarf covering her face.

Underneath, the features were destroyed by deep, livid scars, stretching over her nose and cheek and slicing through her eye.

The skin was red and mottled, and parts of her chin were gone.

Her name was Amina.

Who did this to you? asked Lene, an author and journalist.

Baba, came the reply. My father.

Amina, who was 16 when she was attacked, was lucky to survive. Her elder sister, tied up beside her, had already been shot dead when their father turned to his younger daughter, pointed a pistol directly in her face and pulled the trigger. He was obsessed with family pride.

In the middle of the Jordanian desert, Lene Wold met Amina, a 40-year-old woman who had years before survived an attempted honour killing by her father that had killed her sister

Every year, more than 5,000 women and girls around the world are murdered in so-called honour killings and thousands more are mutilated. Most common in South Asia and in the Middle East, there are an estimated 12 to 15 honour killings every year in Britain, too  and around the world the number has grown as increasing numbers of women take a stand against repression.

The supposedly immoral behaviour of the victims consists of anything from adultery and homosexuality, to dating someone from another culture, or merely daring to wear Western clothing. And the punishments meted out are savage: stoning, burning, drowning, being forced to drink poison or, as in Aminas case, shooting.

To most Western audiences, however, honour killings remain shrouded in mystery. What really drives the perpetrators  who are mostly close relatives  to murder their own flesh and blood?

How could anyone place their familys reputation above the lives of the mothers, wives and daughters they purport to love?

Today, a compelling new book provides some of the answers by uncovering, step by step, the explosive details of the crime that destroyed Aminas family  an insight into the medieval codes of shame and repression that still govern the lives of millions of women.

Inside An Honour Killing tells how Amina became a victim of her parents barbarity for nothing more than telling the truth.

It describes how, although innocent of any wrongdoing, the Jordanian authorities then jailed her for 13 years for her own protection, before finally releasing her to live out the ruins of her life alone.

And, remarkably, it includes testimony from her father as he attempts to justify his actions  a man who murdered his mother and eldest daughter, before turning the gun on Amina.

All in the name of honour.

Writer Lene Wold travelled to Jordan to research honour killings, which although they have been declared contrary to sharia law still occur across the same

Simply to find Amina took huge bravery from Lene Wold, a Norwegian-born writer who spent more than five years in Jordan investigating honour killings. Jordan is a deeply conservative country  and Lene is gay. It is also a dangerous place to be female.

Jordan is said to have one of the best human rights records in the Middle East, yet 20 women are murdered every year for reasons related to family honour.

To reach Amina, Lene travelled for hours into the desert accompanied by a man shed never met before. Her mobile phone was taken from her, and she was made to wear a blindfold.

Fearful for her life, she had texted her sister back home in Norway before the journey began, asking her to raise the alarm if she hadnt heard from her by the following morning.

Her destination was a tent in a desolate spot surrounded by mountains  and inside was Amina, a woman who had been a teenager when her parents tried to kill her. Now she was 40.

Sit down, she said to Lene. Where do I begin?

In agreeing to tell her story to a stranger, Amina herself was taking a terrible risk.

Every year, more than 5,000 women and girls around the world are murdered in so-called honour killings and thousands more are mutilated

Fearful that she will be identified, she will spend the rest of her life knowing that the violence started by her father could return with a still more terrible conclusion.

So the trust she placed in Lene was all the more remarkable.

Amina explained she had grown up with her elder sister Aisha and their younger brother Akram in a little house on the outskirts of Amman, the Jordanian capital. Life had seemed unremarkable. Although their mother Noora was traditional, insisting her girls wore hijabs, their father, Baba, made a show of embracing Western values.

But everything changed the summer Amina turned 16 and her family threw a party. Among those who attended was a family friend called Maram, a married woman. In the following months, Amina noticed that her big sister was behaving strangely, becoming secretive and spending increasing amounts of time with Maram. Aisha even invited her friend to join their family on holiday to Aqaba on the Red Sea. And it was there, as Amina lay in bed one night, that she heard her sister and Maram whispering their love for one another.

Amina was horrified, knowing instantly that her sister was putting herself in grave danger. Homosexuality is forbidden under sharia law.

Amina was tortured about what she had heard and, the following day, she told her mother, believing it would help Aisha. It was a disastrous mistake.

Rather than the concern she had expected, Amina saw hatred in her mothers eyes. Noora screamed at Aisha, spat on her and swore that if she ever saw Maram again, no court in the country would hold her responsible for what she would do to her daughter.

Amina had found out that her sister was gay, which is forbidden under Sharia Law

Both sisters were terrified, and with good reason. Amina already knew what was possible in Jordan. Her father had told her how he had killed his own mother when he was a young boy of just 11.

Babas mother had left her family because her husband was violent, yet Babas friends turned on him and his brother for this supposed shame. They blamed the men in the family for failing to control their mother. Your mother is a whore, they had shouted at him. Your father is a pathetic man.

So, goaded by his father and brother, Baba strangled his mother with a steel wire. As a result, after months of being shunned, the family was allowed to become part of society again.

Baba had told Amina that he couldnt forgive himself for what hed done, but that hed had no choice because of the dishonour his mother had brought.

Then he left his small village in southern Jordan, telling himself he didnt want his own children to experience the same violence.

Yet the pattern of bloodshed would soon be repeated.

Already living in fear, Aisha and Amina found their situation grew still worse when the authorities decided to intervene.

Because she was suffering terrible panic attacks, Amina went to hospital with her elder sister and there, grasping the seriousness of the danger they were in, a doctor called the police. For her own protection, Aisha was put in prison. Governors in Jordan have the legal right to hold a woman in administrative custody if her release might lead to a criminal act taking place, such as one of her family members killing her.

The consequences would prove devastating. Aishas absence led to rumours that she was involved in immoral behaviour. The family was ostracised by neighbours and Babas memories of childhood humiliation came flooding back.

Jordan has taken steps towards ending the practice of honour killings. A fatwa was issued in December 2016 that declared, for the first time, that such murders are contrary to sharia law

Their father signed a document stating that he forgave and would protect her, and Aisha was released. In fact, both parents were planning an attack of inconceivable brutality: on Aisha for her relationship with Maram, and on Amina for conspiring with her.

Just days after Aishas return, the sisters were dragged into the living room and tied to chairs while Baba wielded a kitchen knife.

The sisters held hands as Amina was hit on the head and blacked out, but she came round to see Baba approaching her with the knife. He pushed it into her chest, causing indescribable pain.

Then Baba pointed a pistol at Aminas face and fired. He had already killed Aisha, but somehow, miraculously, Amina survived.

Police arrived and Baba was arrested. Yet because he had killed his daughter in the name of honour, under the Jordanian penal code he received a reduced sentence.

Amina, meanwhile, was locked up for 13 years in a prison in Amman  far longer than her father  for her own protection. She will spend the rest of her life in hiding.

Lenes next move was equally courageous. Distressed yet gripped by Aminas story, she spent the next year tracking down the man responsible  Rahman Abd Al-Nasir, Babas real name.

The two first met in a cafe in Amman, but it required a great deal of persuasion  and subterfuge  to get him to open up.

At this stage, it was impossible for Lene to reveal she had met Amina or that she knew what Baba had done.

Instead, she led him to believe that she wanted to interview a respected man who was well-known for his vast life experience. In due course, Baba threatened Lene, too, openly displaying both his terrible violence and misogyny.

During one of their meetings, for example, Baba said he would cut off Lenes hands if he discovered she was in a relationship with another woman. But thankfully, she had already claimed to have a husband and children back home in Norway. When Lene asked him why he would say such a thing, he replied: Because you would bring shame on the family. Because you would deserve to die, or at the very least to lose your hands.

It took two years and countless meetings to discover the full truth. Although nothing he said could ever begin to justify his actions, Lene persuaded him to describe a traumatic incident he witnessed as a child.

At just ten years old, he had watched as a little girl, a friend of his, was stoned to death for being the victim of a rape. This disturbing experience had clearly affected every decision since.

He told her that honour is the cornerstone of Jordanian society. Honour killings are not sanctioned by Islam  they are about culture, not religion, he admitted. Women, he continued, have ird  propriety. Men have sharaf  honour. If a woman loses her propriety, that is gone for ever, whereas a mans honour can always be restored.

At the end of one of their meetings, Lene finally confronted Baba with the truth  she had met Amina, the daughter he had disfigured and disgraced.

At first, he denied having any daughters. He said Lene had the wrong person and he stormed off angrily.

Then, that night, as she lay in bed, she heard him knock on the door of her hotel room.

Hes going to kill me, I think, feeling for the hotel phone on the nightstand with shaking hands, she wrote.

The confession Ive been looking for all these years might be moments away, but how much am I willing to risk?

With security by her side, she met him in the lobby and they sat down to talk.

But when Baba told her what he remembered from the day he attacked his daughters, he was without remorse.

He explained that his wife had said to him repeatedly: What kind of man are you? Your son is going to grow up in disgrace. Your daughters are mocking you. You have to do something.

He couldnt see any alternative, he said. If he didnt act, the community would shun the entire family. He was broken by the situation. He couldnt fail his son as hed been failed by his own father.

He kept repeating the same words: I am a victim.

Since Lenes investigation, Jordan has taken steps towards ending the practice of honour killings. A fatwa was issued in December 2016 that declared, for the first time, that such murders are contrary to sharia law. Then, in July 2017, the Jordanian parliament voted to remove the mitigating excuse offered to murderers who kill in the name of family honour.

Inside An Honour Killing, by Lene Wold, is published by Greystone Books on May 2, priced 19.99. Offer price 15.99 (20 per cent discount, with free p&p) until April 21. Pre-order at mailshop.co.uk/books or call 0844 571 0640. Spend 30 on books and get FREE premium delivery.
A mother-of-two who was acquitted of murdering her abusive boyfriend following years of beatings has revealed how she is still waiting to get her children back - two years after she was cleared.

Elizabeth Hart Browne, 29, who stabbed Stephen Rayner in the neck and accidentally killed him at their home in Acton, west London, has slammed the justice system and says that the courts need to do more to support women trapped in abusive relationships.

The former jeweller says she feels like she is being punished twice as she is only allowed six hours of supervised contact with her children, aged five and nine, every month.

Elizabeth Hart Browne, 29, stabbed abusive boyfriend Stephen Rayner in the neck and accidentally killed him at their home in Acton, west London

She stabbed Rayner, 25, three times with a kitchen knife after drinking at a party on the night of September 17, 2016.

Elizabeth has had 18 weeks of intensive counselling, attended several parenting classes, had psychotherapy and even joined a domestic violence group.

She is also studying for a degree in psychology and criminology.

Elizabeth told the Mirror: 'No one comes from a perfect family home. And mine wasn't perfect. Far from it.

'But I don't think that because I have made that mistake I should have my children taken off me for the rest of my life.

She was acquitted of his murder two years ago - but still hasn't got her children back

'It seems like a further way to punish me because I didn't get the punishment the court wanted me to get. I didn't get life. This is my penance that I have to pay.'

Elizabeth was in high security HMP Bronzefield, Surrey at the same time as Sally Challen, who was released ten days ago after being jailed for killing her abusive and controlling husband Richard.

She described Sally as being 'lovely' and thanked her for her support in prison.

Elizabeth attacked boyfriend Stephen following a row when she got back to their flat in Acton, west London from a party where she had been drinking champagne.

A six-week trial heard she 'feared for her life' after he bit her face and 'waterboarded' her in the bath.

She plunged the large kitchen knife deep into his neck as her children slept just yards away on September 17 last year, before he staggered outside and collapsed in a pool of blood.

Elizabeth, who was the assistant manager at Ernest Jones' flagship jewellery store in the Westfield shopping centre, told police: 'I have just killed the man I love.'

Prosecutors said she could not control her emotions towards him and was driven by 'paranoid jealousy' fuelled by him texting other women and using Tinder to have affairs.

The former jeweller says she feels like she is being punished twice as she is only allowed six hours of supervised contact with her children, aged five and nine, every month

Jurors heard she had knifed Stephen twice before - but acquitted Elizabeth of murder at the Old Bailey after deliberating for 14 hours and 55 minutes.

The court heard how violence became normal in the couple's toxic on and off six-year relationship after they met in a bar in Hammersmith, west London, in 2010.

Mr Rayner was ordered by a court to complete a domestic abuse programme after Elizabeth was forced to defend herself against him with a stiletto shoe after an attack outside a nightclub in 2012.
A spat over scoffing lobster in bed was behind Julian Assange's exit from the Ecuadorian embassy last week and the ensuing political storm over what to do with the WikiLeaks fugitive.

Assange's seven-year stay at the Knightsbridge embassy ended when he was handcuffed at the behest of his exasperated South American hosts and dragged out by officers from Scotland Yard.

Last night, it emerged that Assange was removed after embarrassing pictures of Ecuador president Lenin Moreno dining on lobster at a luxury hotel room were leaked to a website.

In February, more than 200 private emails and text messages belonging to Mr Moreno and his wife, as well as pictures of the family on lavish holidays in Europe, were leaked to a site called INApapers.org.

An embarrassing photo of Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno lying in bed enjoying a plate of lobster emerged online

Assange being driven in handcuffs to Westminster Magistrates Court in London by police on Thursday

The most embarrassing photos were of Mr Moreno eating lobster in his hotel bed. The pictures caused uproar in Ecuador since it showed the president luxuriating at a time when he had imposed austerity measures on his people.

Last night, The Mail on Sunday was able to find the photograph on several Twitter pages, as well as Spanish-language websites, including the Republic del Banano site.

Mr Moreno has accused Assange of leaking the material, a claim which WikiLeaks has always denied. On Thursday, as Assange was being dragged out of the embassy, Mr Moreno told reporters he did not have the right to 'hack private phones'.

But WikiLeaks said in a statement on its website: 'In short, the [Ecuadorian] government seeks a false pretext to end the asylum and protection of Julian Assange.'

After Assange was arrested, it emerged that he led an erratic and squalid lifestyle at the embassy. He was accused of smearing walls with excrement and blocking a toilet with soiled underwear.

Now Westminster is divided over whether to extradite him to the United States, where he is wanted for releasing millions of secret documents online, or to Sweden, where he has been accused of rape.

The decision will be for Home Secretary Sajid Javid, who has made clear 'all options are on the table'.

A Home Office source said: 'He is calmly establishing what Home Office policy levers are at his disposal to make sure that Mr Assange faces justice, which he believes is absolutely essential.'

Assange can only be extradited to Sweden if the country's prosecuting authority reopens its investigation and its government issues a fresh European Arrest Warrant. If Assange is extradited there, he will face a charge of rape against a woman identified only as W. Assange has always denied the charge.

Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott sparked outrage last week by appearing to downplay the sex assault allegations, claiming Assange was being targeted because he had embarrassed the US military. Within hours, Labour was accused of a total about-turn after Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry told the BBC he should face justice in Sweden.

That was followed yesterday by a letter from Ms Abbott herself to colleagues saying 'rape is a heinous crime'. She added that the UK should extradite Assange to Sweden if the authorities there reopened their investigations.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange makes a statement to the media and supporters from a window of the Ecuadorian Embassy in 2012

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn added: 'If there are allegations which Julian Assange needs to answer of sexual issues, sexual attacks that may or may not have taken place in Sweden, then it's a matter for the courts to decide but I do think he should answer those questions.'

Tory chairman Brandon Lewis said: 'No one should be above the law, yet the fact that Jeremy Corbyn's Labour were so quick to jump to the defence of someone facing such serious allegations speaks volumes.'

Last night, a lawyer acting for woman W in Sweden said: 'We hope the British authorities will co-operate so that Assange can be extradited to Sweden before the statute of limitations for the rape allegation expires in August 2020.'
Former First Lady Michelle Obama enjoyed dinner at Scott's in Mayfair last night, ahead of her sell-out show at the O2 arena in London.

Mrs Obama is due to appear at the O2 tonight to deliver a talk titled Becoming: An Intimate Conversation With Michelle Obama.

She was seen walking out of the celebrity-favoured night spot in an all black ensemble, flanked by a heavy security detail, as she headed to her chauffeur driven car.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama is chauffeured away from Scott's restaurant in Mayfair on Saturday night

Mrs Obama donned an all black ensemble as she headed to her car after enjoying a night at the celebrity-favoured nightspot

Scott's menu includes a dozen Morcambe Bay Rock Oysters for 37.50, as well as a Salted Caramel Espresso Martini for 20.

Mrs Obama's talk at the O2 will centre around her new book which has already sold more than 10 million copies and is tipped to become the bestselling memoir in history.

The former First Lady released her book in November 2018 and it shot to the top of bestseller lists immediately, selling 725,000 copies in the U.S. and Canada in its first day.

Abroad the book has become a No. 1 best seller in Britain, Germany and Greece among other countries.

Becoming is a three part personal memoir which goes through Mrs Obama's roots growing up in the south side of Chicago, life as First Lady in the White House and her role as a mother raising daughters Sasha and Malia.

Mrs Obama was guarded by numerous burly security personnel as she headed out to the open door of her waiting car

Mrs Obama was wrapped up warm in a black overcoat on a chilly night in London's West End

The book is the first in a two-book deal that Michelle and husband former president Barack Obama made with Penguin Random House in 2017 for a reported $60million (46 million).

She is currently on a world tour to promote her book, her next stops will be Paris and Amsterdam next week, followed by further appearances in Canada and the States next month.

The final stop of her tour will be in Nashville on May 12, in a talk moderated by late night TV show host Stephen Colbert.
Q I'm planning a nostalgia trip to Sydney, from where I hope to take a short cruise, in a small ship, to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea's capital, where I used to live. Can you help?

Edward Mitchell, Bournemouth.

Not easy, I'm afraid. Some cruise liners feature Papua New Guinea, but they are usually long cruises and snapped up fast (see cruiseaway.com.au).

The holiday guru says cruising from Sydney in Australia to Port Moresby (pictured), the capital of Papua New Guinea, isn't easy

Your best bet for a quick fix is to fly to Port Moresby from Sydney from 225 each way (virginaustralia.com). Regent Holidays could tailor-make an itinerary for your stay (regent-holidays.co.uk).

Beware: advance visas are required, but they are free (pnghighcomm.org.uk).

For a trip down memory lane by a small ship around the Papua New Guinea coast, True North (truenorth.com.au) offers a variety of first-rate (but pricey) voyages.

These are aboard ships with a 36-passenger capacity, stopping at the Lusancay Islands, Alotau on the mainland and the Duke of York Islands. With return flights from Cairns, a ten-night trip costs from 12,570 pp.

Q Could you please inform me of holidays in the British Isles for single people without children?

Alan Clark, Hertfordshire.

How about trying a walking break? HF Holidays organises challenging, as well as more moderate, walks everywhere from Scotland to the Isle of Wight. In the latter, a three-day full-board hiking trip costs from 345 (hfholidays.co.uk).

HF Holidays organises challenging, as well as more moderate, walks everywhere from Scotland to the Isle of Wight

Q My husband and I are going to Rome for five days in November to celebrate his 60th birthday. Do you have any sightseeing tips? What about attending a Papal Mass?

Maria French, Coventry.

For a Papal ceremony, determination and planning are required  and a fax machine is handy. The Prefecture of the Papal Household prefers requests by fax or in writing, with the date of which general audience (normally on Wednesdays) or liturgical celebration you wish to attend.

For information, visit vatican.va/various/prefettura/index_en.html, where dates are listed. For Vatican Museum night tours and early-morning Sistine Chapel tours, go to vatican.com.

As for sightseeing tips? Simple: get up early to beat the crowds... and allow enough time for a good lunch.

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 can't reply to every enquiry. Please do not send in any original documents. We look forward to hearing from you.
Australian model and social media sensation, Ellie Gonsalves, is used to flaunting her sensational curves on the cover of magazines and on set of her latest photoshoots.

But on Friday, the stunning 28-year-old opted for a change on pace when she visited Australia Zoo on the Sunshine Coast, in Queensland.

Posing next to Bindi Irwin, 20, and her boyfriend Chandler Powell, 22, the busty glamazon appeared to revel in the wildlife experience.

Fancy seeing you here! Ellie Gonsalves, 28, (pictured) got up close with nature when she visited wildlife warrior Bindi Irwin (centre) and boyfriend Chandler Powell (left) at Australia Zoo on Friday

Dressed in a stylish plunging white top and a pair of matching shorts, Ellie looked nothing short of chic in an Instagram snap she shared.

Bindi is clutching on to a Koala in the shot, while wakeboarder boyfriend Chandler stands on one side while Ellie stands on the other.

Ellie was promoting a collaboration between Frank body and Australia Zoo, writing: 'My two favourites,' before tagging the couple.

Bikini babe: Australian model and social media sensation, Ellie Gonsalves, is used to flaunting her sensational curves

This isn't the first time Ellie has publicly shown her affection for wildlife, with the stunning model a big supporter of Australia Zoo in the past.

A bikini-clad Ellie was photographed holding a python, rhinoceros, macaw, tortoise, alligator, and a koala for a fundraising calendar back in 2011.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph back at the time, Ellie said she was touched walking through the animal hospital: 'It emotionally connects you,' she said.

Passionate: Ellie (pictured) has worked with Australia Zoo before with her previously being part of shooting a calendar for the organisation back in 2011

'It emotionally connects you': Ellie spoke of her experience shooting with Siam the elephant back in 2011, saying: 'It was amazing... Siam was really playful'

During the photoshoot she played with Siam the elephant, saying: 'It was amazing... Siam was really playful,' Ellie said. 'It was such a wonderful experience.'

Bindi and Chandler have had a lot of famous faces through Australia Zoo, with them welcoming Stranger Things actress Millie Bobby Brown last month.

Taking to Instagram, the teen actress, 15, looked delighted as she posed with Bindi and brother, Bob, 15, before meeting a kangaroo and cuddling a meerkat.

Millie later shared a snap with a python around her neck: 'Wow. wow. wow. The most magical day with these special souls,' Millie excitedly said in the caption.
Kate Mara took a solo stroll, while cradling her baby bump on Friday afternoon in Los Angeles.

The 36-year-old actress has often been seen walking around town with her husband Jamie Bell, but she was out on her own Friday.

The Chappaquiddick star's pregnancy made news back in January.

Stroll with baby: Kate Mara protects her baby bump while out for a solo stroll on Friday

During her outing Mara was wearing a grey t-shirt under a black Adidas track jacket, with black sweats and black Converse All-Star sneakers.

The actress added a pair of black sunglasses and slung a black purse over her shoulder.

She had her hair pulled back in a ponytail and was seen carrying a cup of coffee as made her way around a reservoir in Los Angeles.

Mara started dating her Fantastic Four co-star Jamie Bell in late 2015, and they were engaged in January 2017, with the couple getting married that July.

Friday stroll: Mara was wearing a grey t-shirt under a black Adidas track jacket, with black sweats and black Converse All-Star sneakers

Headlines: The actress made headlines in March when she signed a letter urging Russian president Vladimir Putin to release over 80 whales held captive in Srednyaya Bay

The actress made headlines in March when she signed a letter urging Russian president Vladimir Putin to release over 80 whales held captive in Srednyaya Bay.

The letter, which was sent by Earth Island Institute, was also signed by Mark Ruffalo, Maisie Williams, Hayden Panettiere, Edward Norton, and Adrian Grenier.

Mara is coming off portraying Patty Bowes in the first season of FX's hit series Pose, in which she appeared in six episodes.

The series was renewed for a second season, with FX recently announcing a Sunday, June 9 premiere date for the second season.

Happy couple: Mara started dating her Fantastic Four co-star Jamie Bell in late 2015, and they were engaged in January 2017, with the couple getting married that July

The series features the largest transgender cast in TV history, including MJ Rodriguez, Dominique Jackson, Indya Moore, Hailie Sahar and Angelica Ross, Billy Porter, Charlayne Woodard, Ryan Jamaal Swain, Dyllon Burnside and Angel Bismark Curiel.

Mara is also attached to star in A Teacher, a new pilot for FX based on the 2013 indie film of the same name.

The actress will portray a teacher, who engages in an illicit affair with one of her students.

The pilot was written by Hannah Fidell, who wrote and directed the original feature, starring Lindsay Burge and Will Brittain.
She recently opened up about how a change in antidepressants caused her to drop weight.

And Ariel Winter looked happy and healthy while meeting up with a friend for lunch in LA on Friday.

The Modern Family actress, 21, was summer ready in a white ruched camisole which flashed a hint of her toned tummy.

Happy and healthy: Ariel Winter looked svelte as she stepped out for lunch with a friend on Friday

Keeping classic, she tied things together with ripped blue jeans which were cuffed at the bottom. White sneakers rounded out the whole look.

Ariel let her natural beauty shine through, keeping a makeup free face during the outing.

It looked like the actress was organized, as she carried a red folder under her arm during her exit. She ran into another pair of acquaintances on her way back to her car.

Soaking up the sun: The Modern Family actress, 21, was summer ready in a white ruched camisole which flashed a hint of her toned tummy

Earlier this week, Winter revealed to a fans on social media that she lost weight recently because she changed her antidepressants.

On her Instagram, she said that antidepressants caused her to gain weight 'that I couldn't lose no matter what I did' and admitted that her mental health is 'incredibly important.'

'It was always frustrating for me because I wanted to be able to get fit and feel like the work I was doing was paying off, but it never felt that way,' she wrote on Instagram.

'I had accepted it and moved on. I stayed on those medications for so long because the process is really long and difficult.'

Revealing: Earlier this week, Winter revealed to a fans on social media that she lost weight recently because she changed her antidepressants

Winter said she accepted 'feeling eh' for a while before taking her health back into her own hands and pursuing further options.

'Last year I decided I was sick of feeling eh (had nothing to with weight), so I started the process again and was able to find a great combination of medication that works for me,' she wrote in a lengthy caption.

'The change in medication instantly made me drop all of the weight I couldn't lose before by just giving me back a metabolism. That was very unexpected.'

'Mental health is INCREDIBLY important to me,' she wrote on another slide with an image of her rescued German Shepherd/Doberman/Rottweiler mix named Chloe. 'Same amount of importance as physical health. Our mental health can influence our physical health!'

Winter revealed that she has been in therapy 'every week for 6 years' and would be lost without the work she has put into herself.
The Skywalker saga of the Star Wars universe is set to end this year with Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker.

But that doesn't mean the end of Star Wars movies, with producer Kathleen Kennedy revealing she already has 'the next ten years' worth of films already planned out.

'We are not just looking at another trilogy, we're really looking at the next 10 years or more,' the 65-year-old uber-producer told The Hollywood Reporter on Friday.

Scroll down to see the trailer

The end? The Skywalker saga of the Star Wars universe is set to end this year with Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker. Director JJ Abrams [L] with producer Kathleen Kennedy seen here Friday

Speaking at Star Wars Celebration in Chicago, the E.T. filmmaker said of the The Rise Of Skywalker, 'This [movie] is the culmination of the Skywalker Saga; its by no means the culmination of Star Wars.'

Kennedy revealed she's been having conversations about the new direction of the series with helmers Rian Johnson (Star Wars: The Last Jedi) and Dan Weiss and David Benioff (Game Of Thrones).

'Weve all had conversations about what the possibilities might be, but now were locking it down,' she told THR.

Stay tuned: But that doesn't mean the end of Star Wars movies, with producer Kathleen Kennedy revealing she already has 'the next ten years' worth of films already planned out.

The end of the beginning: Speaking at Star Wars Celebration in Chicago, the E.T. filmmaker said of the The Rise Of Skywalker, 'This [movie] is the culmination of the Skywalker Saga; its by no means the culmination of Star Wars'

Disney released a new teaser for the forthcoming film at the Star Wars Celebration in Chicago on Friday. It will be released in theaters in December.

The film's director JJ Abrams was on stage at the Celebration along with several cast members.

The Rise Of Skywalker is the ninth installment in the saga that revolves around the Skywalker family.

He revealed that IX doesn't pick up immediately after the events of The Last Jedi.

He added that some time has gone by. JJ teased that it will be an adventure that the group goes on together.

'This movie is about this new generation and what they've inherited, the light and the dark,' Abrams added. 'As they face this greatest evil, are they prepared?'

Coming soon: Disney released a new teaser for the forthcoming film at the Star Wars Celebration in Chicago on Friday. It will be released in theaters in December

Man with a plan: Kennedy revealed she's been having conversations about the new direction of the series with helmer Rian Johnson (seen here this month)

JJ is currently in the process of editing and adding visual effects to the film. Episode IX opens nationwide December 20, 2019.

Star Wars was created by George Lucas. The franchise began with the eponymous 1977 movie.

The first film, later subtitled Episode IV  A New Hope, was followed by two successful sequels, Episode V  The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Episode VI  Return of the Jedi (1983).

Lando's back! JJ is currently in the process of editing and adding visual effects to the film. Episode IX opens nationwide December 20, 2019

A subsequent prequel trilogy, consisting of Episode I  The Phantom Menace (1999), Episode II  Attack of the Clones (2002) and Episode III  Revenge of the Sith (2005), was completed by Lucas.

He called it the 'tragedy of Darth Vader.'

A sequel trilogy began with Episode VII  The Force Awakens (2015), continued with Episode VIII  The Last Jedi (2017), and will end with Episode IX  The Rise of Skywalker this year.
Love Island beauty Georgia Harrison was turning heads on Friday, as she donned white striped co-ords for a night out in London.

The Essex beauty, 24, was spotted leaving The Chiltern Firehouse with a female pal, as she flashed her amazing abs in a revealing black bandeau top.

Georgia rose to fame as a star on Love Island in 2017, ruffling feathers minutes after entering as she stole Amber Davies' then-beau Kem Cetinay.

Sizzling: Love Island beauty Georgia Harrison was turning heads on Friday, as she donned white striped co-ords for a night out in London

Georgia put on a leggy display as she donned the oversized pinstriped white blazer with matching paper bag shorts, finished her look with heeled black ankle boots.

The reality TV star added a 90s twist with a pair of round drop earrings, and her blonde tresses were styled into quirky braided curls.

Georgia added a hint of extra drama to her look as she sported a dramatic smoky eye and nude lip, after sashaying her way out of the hot spot with a female pal.

Energetic: The Essex beauty, 24, was spotted leaving The Chiltern Firehouse in the capital, following a fun-filled night out

Jaw-dropping: Georgia flashes her amazing abs in a sexy black bandeau top, which she teamed with the white rainbow pinstriped blazer

Giddy: The star was seen making her exit alongside Love Island's Kaz Crossley, who also cut a glamorous figure in all-black

Energetic: Georgia looked to be in good spirits as she made her way out of the celebrity hotspot

Dressed to impress: As Georgia made her exit from the club, she carried her essentials in a simple black chain strap bag

Flawless: The reality TV star added a 90s twist with a pair of round drop earrings, and her blonde tresses were styled into quirky braided curls

Besties: Later in the evening, Georgia was also spotted rubbing shoulders with pal Kaz Crossley, who earned an army of fans following her appearance on Love Island 2018

Later in the evening, Georgia was also spotted rubbing shoulders with pal Kaz Crossley, who earned an army of fans following her appearance on Love Island 2018.

The duo were spotted exiting the Tape nightclub in Mayfair, with Kaz putting on a busty display in a sexy black crop top.

Kaz, 25, looked utterly amazing as she donned black flared trousers with a sexy bondage-style crop top, pulling her dark tresses into a simple and sleek up do.

Pals: The pair smiled and joked as they walked along the street after a night at the Tape nightclub

Giddy: The duo were spotted exiting the Tape nightclub in Mayfair, following another raucous night out

Turning heads: Kaz put on a busty display for the outing in a revealing black crop top

Bold: Kaz and Georgia both opted for daring ensembles for their evening out in Mayfair

Georgia recently sparked outrage among fans after she took to Instagram to post a sexy bikini-clad snap, with an impassioned message about mental health.

The post came following the death of Love Island co-star Mike Thalassitis earlier this month, the caption read: 'Everyone sees the darkness in the world sometimes, even when they seem to be the brightest spark in the room...

'Take a deep breathe count to 10 and ask yourself am I happy? If the answer is no, speak to a friend, professional, colleague, even a stranger. For underage sufferers The Mix is always there if you need anyone to speak today was bitter sweet.'

Drama: Georgia recently sparked outrage among fans after she took to Instagram to post a sexy bikini-clad snap, with an impassioned message about mental health

Jaw-dropping: Kaz, 25, looked utterly amazing as she donned black flared trousers with a sexy bondage-style crop top

Glammed up: The star added a statement red lip to her look, and pulled her dark tresses into a sleek updo

Great night: The pair looked to be in great spirits as they were reunited for a fun-filled evening

Despite her sweet message, some cruel trolls hit out at the choice to post the shot, with users penning: 'Theres a special place in hell for people who use a mental health and suicide prevention speech to caption a bikini photo on social media the day after a personal friend is found hanged in a park...

'Was the bikini pic necessary for this speech??? everyone else is posting genuine messages about recent events yet you use this as a reason to post a picture of yourself in a bikini??!!

'This photo has nothing to do with the message you are trying to send. Shallow. And unfollow!' MailOnline contacted representatives for Georgia for comment.

Endless pins: Georgia added a hint of extra drama to her look as she sported a dramatic smoky eye and nude lip, after sashaying her way out of the hot spot with a female pal

Loving it: The pair looked as if they had a fun-filled evening, as she exited the venue together

Energetic: As they exited the club, the two girls appeared to be deep in conversation
Billy Crystal joined an exalted rank of stardom Friday when he got his hand- and footprints placed outside the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

The 71-year-old comedy icon could be seen placing his hands and feet in the cement, where he also wrote his name and the date.

This honor, part of the TCM Classic Film Festival, came a day after he attended a 30th anniversary screening of his beloved romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally....

What a day: Billy Crystal joined an exalted rank of stardom Friday when he got his hand- and footprints placed outside the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood

Billy not only placed his only prints on the cement - he also included a footprint of Mike Wazowski, his animated character in the 2001 Pixar film Monsters, Inc.

He could be spotted holding up the bright green false monster foot he used to create the impression in the wet material.

Billy himself was simply stylish in a black polo shirt and finely creased pair of silver slacks, rounding off the look with black dress shoes.

The Manhattan native, who made his film debut playing a pregnant man in the 1978 comedy Rabbit Test directed by Joan Rivers, sometimes wore a silver blazer.

Leaving his mark: The 71-year-old comedy icon could be seen placing his hands and feet in the cement, where he also wrote his name and the date

Throwback: This honor, part of the TCM Classic Film Festival, came a day after he attended a 30th anniversary screening of his beloved romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally....

So sweet: Billy not only placed his only prints on the cement - he also included a footprint of Mike Wazowski, his animated character in the 2001 Pixar film Monsters, Inc.

Winning smile: He could be spotted holding up the bright green false monster foot he used to create the impression in the wet material

Elegant: Billy himself was simply stylish in a black polo shirt and finely creased pair of silver slacks, rounding off the look with black dress shoes

Formal touch: The Manhattan native, who made his film debut playing a pregnant man in the 1978 comedy Rabbit Test directed by Joan Rivers, sometimes wore a silver blazer

Billy posed up a storm on the red carpet with his wife Janice Crystal, whom he will ring in his 40th wedding anniversary with next year.

When Harry Met Sally... director Rob Reiner, the son of Mel Brooks collaborator Carl Reiner, was one of the attendees of Friday's party celebrating Billy.

He also took the lectern at the event to give a speech to the revelers, and Billy could be seen thoroughly enjoying himself in the audience.

So sweet: Billy posed up a storm on the red carpet with his wife Janice Crystal, whom he will ring in his 40th wedding anniversary with next year

Showbiz legacy: When Harry Met Sally... director Rob Reiner, the son of Mel Brooks collaborator Carl Reiner, was one of the attendees of Friday's party celebrating Billy

Laugh it up: Rob also took the lectern at the event to give a speech to the revelers, and Billy could be seen thoroughly enjoying himself in the audience

Written by the late Nora Ephron and featuring the late Carrie Fisher, When Harry Met Sally.... starred Billy opposite Meg Ryan.

Billy, Meg and Rob were all in attendance Thursday evening when the TCM Classic Film Festival held an anniversary event for the film at the TCL Chinese Theatre.

When Harry Met Sally received five Golden Globe nominations, and one Oscar nomination: Best Screenplay for writer Nora.

History: Written by the late Nora Ephron and featuring the late Carrie Fisher, Rob's film When Harry Met Sally.... starred Billy opposite Meg Ryan

Remember when: When Harry Met Sally received five Golden Globe nominations, and one Oscar nomination: Best Screenplay for writer Nora

It also features one of the most iconic movie scenes in film history, Katz's Delicatessen scene, which sees Sally (Meg) fake an orgasm in a packed diner in order to prove a point to Harry (Billy).

In a recent interview with the Associated Press, Rob said it was 'really cool' that the film was being shown for Thursday's event.

'You make a film and you dont know if its going to stand the test of time or people are going to still like it. Whenever youve done something that people still enjoy its a pretty cool thing,' shared Rob with the news outlet.

Fine company: Billy joins a stunning array of famous names who have gotten their prints placed at what used to be Grauman's Chinese Theatre

History: The ceremony dates back to the late 1920s, when such celebrities as Joan Crawford, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and Norma Shearer got the honor

He also dished that Billy 'asked me to come and speak' at Friday's print ceremony, adding: 'My dad and I had that done a while ago and Billy came. So thatll be nice.'

Rob said of making the film: 'All I can ever do is I look into myself and try to figure out: "How do I think as a man?"'

He elaborated: 'There are certain universal things that men experience and the fact that I was working with Nora Ephron, she brought the female perspective to the mix, and we made it a part of the creative process to say what actually happens between men and women.'

The Postcards From The Edge actor said: 'You know, its not about the cute meet or putting some obstacles between the lovers so that they get together, but what actually happens with men and women. That was really the motivation for me.'

Recent times: Last year's honorees included musical figures like Quincy Jones, Lionel Richie and Pitbull as well as acting powerhouse Cicely Tyson

Stunning company: Stunning company: Rob and Carl had gotten their prints done in 2017, the same year as Michael Bay, Mariah Carey, Stan Lee, Jeff Bridges and Ridley Scott

Billy joins a stunning array of famous names who have gotten their prints placed at what used to be Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

The ceremony dates back to the late 1920s, when such celebrities as Joan Crawford, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and Gloria Swanson got the honor.

Last year's honorees included musical figures like Quincy Jones, Lionel Richie and Pitbull as well as acting powerhouse Cicely Tyson.

Rob and Carl had gotten their prints done in 2017, the same year as Michael Bay, Mariah Carey, Stan Lee, Jeff Bridges and Ridley Scott.

Mugging for the cameras: Billy made a big show of not being able to wrench the monster foot from the cement once it had made its mark

So sweet: Billy slapped a hand to his face during this piece of business, flashing his charming grin at the shutterbugs
The excitement has reached fever pitch for fans of TV mega hit Game Of Thrones.

And as viewers gear up for the eighth and final instalment of the series on Monday, GOT star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has revealed he teared up when he discovered the the fate of his character Jaime Lannister.

Nikolaj, 48, confessed to BW magazine on Saturday: 'I just didn't expect to be so emotional.'

SPOILER ALERT: Game Of Thrones' Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (pictured) hinted at the fate of his character Jaime Lannister in the final instalment of the hit TV series on Saturday. The excitement has reached fever pitch for fans of the TV mega hit

The Danish actor then joked that he 'had something in his eye' that made him cry.

'I don't know what happened, I think I had an allergy - a bit of something in my eye,' he quipped.

While the star could not go into exact detail about what happens to the divisive Kings Landing prince Jaime, he suggested that good things are in store for fans of the long-running series.

Plot twist? As viewers gear up for the eighth and final installment of the series on Monday, GOT star Nikolaj has hinted at the fate of his character Jaime (pictured) - and it is something viewers may not be expecting

'Obviously I can't tell you what the last scene was, but it was all just perfect. It wasn't the final scene but it was close to the end. And it was shot in a beautiful location.'

Whatever the result for Jaime, there has certainly been a lot of drama off the set for Nikolaj.

On Thursday, the actor revealed he was almost sued by HBO for playing a prank on the show's staff.

Nikolaj, 48, told BW magazine on Saturday: 'You can actually see a character who does things that you find horrible and he also does things that you find absolutely beautiful and it's complex'

Speaking to Digital Spy, the star said he decided to tease his bosses by pretending to shave off his hair during the early seasons.

He explained: 'This is five, six seasons ago  I sent them an old picture where I had a buzz cut. I sent a long letter where I explained I'd taken control of my character and I want to be respected. I said that my integrity as an artist was at stake!'

'I was in the car from the airport. The first AD said, "Do you have any hair?" Then he explained how poor Kevin  who is the head of hair  had been frantically trying to build a wig with what he had, which wasn't a lot.

While the Danish actor could not go into exact detail about what happens to the divisive Kings Landing prince Jaime, he suggested that good things are in store: 'Obviously I can't tell you what the last scene was, but it was all just perfect. It wasn't the final scene but it was close to the end. And it was shot in a beautiful location'

'I said, "It's just a joke! Did you really believe?" They all believed it. They'd also called my manager. HBO had started to talk about suing me and it had gotten out of control.'

The character of Jaime has gone on quite the journey as he went from being one of the show's most despised characters to one of its best loved.

Nikolaj recently admitted that 'all the pieces fit' together in the end, as he said of the finale's script: 'I mean, when I read it... some of the parts of it I'd get, and other parts of it were just completely shocking and surprising.'
The Writers Guild Of America has instructed its members to let their agents go by midnight this Friday.

This move comes after the union and the Association Of Talent Agents could not come to an agreement despite two months of negotiations.

It means that roughly 15,000 writers - many of whom have already acted on the new WGA diktat - will be left without agents, according to Variety.

Houses of power: The Writers Guild Of America has instructed its members to let their agents go by midnight this Friday; the union's building in Los Angeles is pictured

Comedian Patton Oswalt tweeted: 'I have an amazing agency that represents me. But I have an even better guild which stands for me. #IStandWithTheWGA'.

He joined a chorus of writers who have tweeted similar messages alongside pictures of their letters letting their agents go.

The negotiations involved revamping a franchise agreement from the 1970s between writers and agents, one the WGA had found disadvantageous.

In particular, the writers' union wanted to prevent the agencies from collecting packaging fees and buying ownership stake in studios.

'#IStandWithTheWGA': Comedian Patton Oswalt tweeted: 'I have an amazing agency that represents me,' adding: 'But I have an even better guild which stands for me'

To eliminate what they perceived as conflicts of interest, the WGA released an Agency Code Of Conduct that 95% of its membership voted to approve.

Agencies overwhelmingly opposed this list of rules and no middle ground has been reached, resulting in a mass agent firing never before seen in the industry.

The Writers Guild Of America has specified that 'un-franchised' agents cannot represent any writers who have membership in the union.

'As I said, we granted the weeks extension as a sincere effort to try to find a solution. But it is clear to us that we are not appreciably closer,' insisted The Golden Girls and Futurama writer David Goodman, president of WGA West.

Top brass: 'As I said, we granted the weeks extension as a sincere effort to try to find a solution,' insisted The Golden Girls writer David Goodman, president of WGA West

'We are willing to continue meeting with you when you provide a proposal that truly addresses our expressed concerns, but our Friday deadline has arrived and we are moving forward with the implementation of our Code of Conduct and the enforcement of our WGA Working Rule 23.'

ATA executive director Karen Stuart argued that 'Agencies have been committed to reaching an agreement with the WGA but, despite our best efforts, todays outcome was driven by the Guilds predetermined course for chaos.'

The WGA have been permitting writers to let their managers and lawyers negotiate their deals in place of agents, to the fury of the ATA.

In response to the move, the ATA have threatened 'appropriate action' over what they interpret to be 'unfair and unlawful competition.'
Like his younger brothers, the movie career of Luke Hemsworth keeps going from strength to strength.

The elder brother of Chris and Liam Hemsworth attended the premiere of his new movie Crypto in New York City with wife Samantha Hemsworth on Friday.

The power couple attended AMC Empire 25, a cinema complex just off Times Square, clad almost entirely in black for the occasion.

On the money! Luke Hemsworth and his wife Samantha (pictured) looked like they were on a date night at the premiere of his new movie Crypto in New York City on Friday

Luke, 37, looked fresh-faced in a dark blue zip up jacket, white T-shirt and black jeans.

Samantha, meanwhile, looked stunning in an all-black ensemble which included a long-sleeved black top, mini skirt and over-the-knee boots.

The couple, who have been married for 12 years, looked closer than ever as they posed for pictures at the star-studded event.

Back in black! The couple, who have been married for 12 years, looked closer than ever as they posed for pictures at the star-studded event

Luke was also joined by his Crypto co-star Jill Hennessy, who plays the character of Robin in the new movie.

Jill, 50, wore a stunning fringed skirt with emerald green pumps.

In Crypto, Luke plays Caleb Duran, the brother of Beau Knapp's Martin Duran Jr. and son of Kurt Russell's Martin Duran.

Career progression: Luke, 37, looked fresh-faced in a dark blue zip up jacket, white T-shirt and black jeans

Lionsgate released a trailer for Crypto in March, teasing the family drama with the Duran's that gets tangled up in a crypto conspiracy.

Knapp plays a Wall Street banker who connects a small-town art gallery to a global conspiracy, putting his own family in grave danger.

His character Duran discovers that the Russian mafia is laundering money, with the trailer featuring a scene with Hemsworth showing Knapp a note left by the Russians.

Star attraction: Luke was also joined by his Crypto co-star Jill Hennessy (right), 50, who plays the character of Robin in the new movie

The cryptic note reads, 'Let's talk cowboy. Bring Everything. 3 PM. Cops = RIP.'

The Crypto cast also includes Alexis Bleidel as Katie, and Vincent Kartheiser as Ted.

Hemsworth will return as Ashley Stubbs on HBO's Westworld, which is slated to debut its third season sometime in 2020.
She's the event ambassador for the Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes Day.

And Jesinta Campbell ensured she pulled out all the sartorial stops as she attended the big day at the Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on Saturday.

The 27-year-old model, who has now taken on husband Buddy Franklin's surname, looked showstopping in a shimmering strapless Toni Maticevski dress which she teamed with black cross-strap stilettos.

Simply stunning: Jesinta Campbell ensured she pulled out all the sartorial stops as she attended the big day at the Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on Saturday

The blonde beauty certainly took centre-stage in her statement dress, which featured silver floral embellishments and a tulle underlay.

Letting the intricate garment do all the talking, she accessorised simply with diamond studs and a sapphire ring.

Sweeping her golden tresses back into a sleek updo framed with a headband, Jesinta highlighted her eyes with smokey bronze eyeshadow.

The 2010 Miss Universe hopeful dished her tips for races fashion and make-up ahead of the big day to Vogue magazine.

Turning heads: The 27-year-old model looked showstopping in a shimmering strapless Toni Maticevski dress which she teamed with black cross-strap stilettos

Looking good: The blonde beauty certainly took centre-stage in her statement dress, which featured silver floral embellishments and a tulle underlay

'I'm actually seeing a bit of colour for autumn racing. And a little bit of a nod to cowgirl, kind of cowboy style,' she said.

The model added that guests should remember to keep their make-up natural in keeping with the daytime event.

'So even with your beauty looks, keeping it really nice and fresh,' she said.

Glam: Sweeping her golden tresses back into a sleek updo framed with a headband, Jesinta highlighted her eyes with smokey bronze eyeshadow (pictured with Rachel Griffiths)

Chic: Letting the intricate garment do all the talking, she accessorised simply with diamond studs and a sapphire ring

'Make sure your accessories work in with your outfit  whether it's your hat or your watch, bag or shoes  that it all works together.'

Jesinta joined the likes of Samantha Jade, Sailor Brinkley Cook and Rachel Griffiths at the iconic race day to watch Winx take to the tracks for the final time.

The horse won all of the 32 races she's taken part in during her remarkable four-year winning streak.

In the nude: Samantha Jade (pictured) rocked a slinky one-shoulder dress with a racy thigh-split and matching nude sandals

Preened to perfection: The blonde beauty framed her features with smokey shadow and nude lipstick

Double trouble: Sailor Brinkley Cook (pictured) attended the races with her boyfriend Ben Sosne

Pretty in pastels: Kerri-Anne Kennerley, 65, looked chic in a sequinned blue jacket and metallic stilettos

More than 40,000 people will attend the sold-out event to watch Winx's last ever day of racing.

Gold-Coast born Jesinta meanwhile, became a household name after competing at the Miss Universe competition in 2010, where she placed second runner up. She has since worked as an ambassador for brands like Cadbury and Dior.

She's also appeared on reality television, with a bikini-clad stint on The Celebrity Apprentice back in 2011.

Stylish: Sophie Dillman (L) rocked a pink checked jumpsuit, while Kate Waterhouse (R) wore a white trouser suit
She's the daughter of fashion icon Christine Brinkley who relocated to Australia earlier this year.

And Sailor Brinkley-Cook turned heads at Sydney's Royal Randwick Racecourse on Saturday.

The 20-year-old American model highlighted her trim figure in a white vest and coordinating tailored pants.

A delight in white! Sailor Brinkley-Cook, 20, showed off her svelte figure in a white two-piece, as she attended the races in Sydney on Saturday with boyfriend Ben Sosne

Sailor added strappy beige heels and a gold chained handbag to the fashion-forward look.

Styling her blonde locks in loose waves, the beauty accessorised further with a gemstone flower headpiece.

Sailor opted for natural look makeup, including a dusting of eye shadow and lashings of mascara.

Flawless: The American model opted for natural look makeup, including a dusting of eye shadow and lashings of mascara

The young starlet was accompanied by her boyfriend Ben Sosne, who she has been linked to since December.

Ben looked dapper in a crisp white shirt and grey suit, teamed with black dress shoes and aviator sunglasses.

The couple gazed at each other longingly as they posed for photos.

Couple goals: The young starlet was accompanied by her boyfriend Ben Sosne, who looked dapper in a crisp white shirt, grey suit and black dress shoes

Sailor has immersed herself into the Australian lifestyle since relocating to Sydney earlier this year.

'Since I've been here I've talked to so many different people about their love for [the] races,' she told The Sydney Morning Herald on Friday.

'I love how connected horse racing is to Australian culture,' she added.
Not surprisingly, fans turned out in the thousands to see A-lister Drew Barrymore at the launch of Flower Beauty makeup line at Westfield Parramatta on Saturday.

The Charlie's Angels star however was overwhelmed with gratitude by the turnout as she promoted her popular product.

As reported by the Daily Telegraph on Saturday, the mother-of-two told the crowd of adoring fans: 'This makes me very emotional because I'm just a woman, I will not ever take a moment like this for granted, ever.'

'This makes me emotional!' Drew Barrymore (pictured) was overwhelmed with gratitude for her fans as they turned out in droves for the launch of her Flower Beauty makeup line at Westfield Parramatta

'Life is so surreal, I'm like trying to plan my kid's birthday party in the car on the way here and I'm just being a typical mum and then this and it's so incredible,' she added.

Drew, 44, had arrived at the shopping centre with a posse of security guards.

Clad in a colourful patterned dress, the star's eyes welled up with tears as she addressed the crowd, and a tattoo of the word 'breathe' could clearly be seen on the insider of her left arm in large letters.

In living colour! Fans turned out in the thousands to see A-lister Drew at the launch of Flower Beauty makeup line at Westfield Parramatta. The Charlie's Angels star was overwhelmed with gratitude by the turnout as she promoted her popular product

Drew smiled as she spoke of her new beauty line, which was inspired after her years of experience in the makeup artist's chair.

The budget friendly range is 100 per cent cruelty free.

The award-winning actress launched the Flower Beauty six years ago and it has been gaining a cult following ever since.

Reflecting: 'Life is so surreal, I'm like trying to plan my kid's birthday party in the car on the way here and I'm just being a typical mum and then this and it's so incredible,' Drew said

Producer Drew was very animated at the Westfield event, showing her passion for her product and the strong fan base it has generated.

On Friday, she spoke candidly about the power of makeup while launching the brand in Sydney's Bondi.

The Hollywood heavyweight said it gives women the 'confidence to lean in,' and that crow's feet 'are the greatest things' as they 'show you've been smiling your whole life'.

Pet project: Drew smiled frequently as she spoke of her new beauty line, which was inspired after her years of experience in the makeup artist's chair. The budget friendly range is 100 per cent cruelty free

Big hit! The award-winning actress launched the Flower Beauty six years ago and it has been gaining a cult following ever since

'I think a smile is better than any lipstick,' Drew said at Bondi Icebergs. 'And crow's feet are the greatest things because they show you've been smiling your whole life.'

The mother-of-two went on to credit makeup as having the ability to become an 'incredible armour' in feeling confident.

'If we take care of ourselves and each other, we make it [makeup] this incredible armour that we put on,' Drew said. 'Instead of distancing us from people, it's what makes us have the confidence to lean in.'

The beautiful life: Producer Drew was very animated at the Westfield event, showing her passion for her product and the strong fan base it has generated

Power of makeup: On Friday, she spoke candidly about the power of makeup while launching the brand in Sydney's Bondi

'What happens on the inside is truly going to be what reflects on the outside, no matter how much foundation you put on,' she added.

Drew, who joked she was first in the makeup chair at 11 months, said Flower Beauty is all about 'immaculate formulas'.

'I just love creating formulas and pigments. I want to go out there and wear the most immaculate formulas, that's what Flower Beauty is all about.

'You want as a woman... we know how makeup functions and it has to function at that highest level. So that's our intention that goes into the brand,' she said.

Flower Beauty products are available in more than 300 Chemist Warehouse stores nationally and online.

Prices range from AU $7.99 for a lipstick, to $9.99 for a concealer and $13.99 for an eyeshadow palette.

Her philosophy: Drew, who joked she was first in the makeup chair at 11 months, said Flower Beauty is all about 'immaculate formulas'. 'I just love creating formulas and pigments. I want to go out there and wear the most immaculate formulas, that's what Flower Beauty is all about,' she said
She released her latest single Sally Walker last month.

And on Friday, Australian rapper Iggy Azalea proved success looks good on her.

The 28-year-old flaunted her famous curves at the Swisher Sweets Award show in Los Angeles.

She's fancy! Iggy Azalea, 28, flaunted her famous curves in a graphic top and skin-tight jeans, as she attended the Swisher Sweets Award in Los Angeles on Friday

The comeback queen boosted her height with gold pointy-toe heels and added hoop earrings for an extra touch of glam.

Iggy's blonde extensions fell behind her toned back, and graduated in colour from the shoulders down.

The Fancy hitmaker finished off the look with a matte complexion, defined brows, a false set of lashes and a nude lip.

Iggy appeared confident on the red carpet, showing off her best angles and gazing directly at the camera.

Style: Iggy boosted her height with gold pointy-toe heels and added gold hoop earrings for an extra touch of glam

Fellow rapper Cardi B was honoured at the event, held at swanky hotel, The London.

The sighting comes after Iggy debuted her new single Sally Walker on late night comedy show Jimmy Kimmel Live, earlier this month.

Iggy once again showed off her famous curves in a red leotard with pearl detail and sheer tights.

Sally Walker has been deemed a comeback single, after a number of career struggles in recent years.

Iggy has been urging her fans on Twitter to 'harass' radio stations and stream the track on Spotify.

Glam: The Sydney-born star finished off the look with a matte complexion, defined brows, a false set of lashes and a nude lip
She's the beloved Australian actress best known for her performances in 2012 film, The Sapphires and Nine drama, Lovechild.

And on Saturday, Miranda Tapsell revealed that after years of bullying in high school, acting gave her the strength to embrace her gender and race.

'When you're on stage, it's like you're 10 feet tall,' the 31-year-old told Australian Weekend Review.

'My race is what makes me special!' Miranda Tapsell, 31, revealed how acting gave her the courage to celebrate her indigenous background

'That's when I thought, 'OK, this is great, I can show people that my height, my gender and my race is what makes me special'.'

She added: 'It doesn't diminish me as a person to be Aboriginal.'

Miranda's admission comes as she promotes new romantic comedy, Top End Wedding.

Not him! Miranda stars with Gwilym Lee (left) in Top End Wedding. He plays her husband, and her family mistook him for the real thing

Shot on the Tiwi Islands, the film centres around Miranda's character, Lauren and fiance, Ned (Bohemian Rhapsody's Gwilym Lee) who search for Lauren's missing mother so they can have their dream wedding.

And in February, the actress revealed her family mistook her on-screen 'husband' for real-life partner James Colley.

'My family on the Tiwi Islands had never met my husband and Gwilym was over there for the film,' she said during an interview on The Project.

Drama: Shot on the Tiwi Islands, Top End Wedding centres around Miranda's character, Lauren and fiance, Ned (Bohemian Rhapsody's Gwilym Lee) who search for Lauren's missing mother so they can have their dream wedding. Picture from the movie

'So all these old ladies that were singing in a choir thought that Gwilym was my actual husband.'

She added: 'They were pulling him aside and saying 'Listen here,' trying to give him a stern talking to and I had to tell them, 'No, no, he's my fake husband!''

To make it all the more confusing for the relatives, Miranda had only just tied the knot with her real-life partner James in December.
EastEnders actor Jake Wood has recalled the terrifying moment his wife was almost killed by an alligator during a family holiday in Florida in 2014.

The Max Branning actor, 46, was on a boat trip in the Florida Everglades with wife Alison Murray and their children Buster and Amber when they were confronted by the man-eating crocodilian.

The former Strictly Come Dancing star told the Daily Star his children had begun screaming when they spotted the alligator approaching his wife as she paddled, with the incident leaving them 'scarred for life.'

Frightening: EastEnders actor Jake Wood has recalled the terrifying moment his wife was almost killed by an alligator during a family holiday in Florida in 2014

She narrowly avoided being eaten alive before getting out of the water safely.

He said: 'She was standing in the water about 15 feet away when I see this thing floating down the river.

'So I'm looking at it and thinking: 'It's got to be a log or something. Got to be a log.'All of a sudden it f***ing goes down and I f***ing see an eye. All the kids are screaming, I'm screaming: 'Get back in the boat!'

'As soon as an alligator goes underwater you dont know where it is, it was horrible. It was only about 15 feet away.'

Terror: The Max Branning actor, 46, was on a boat trip in the Florida Everglades with wife Alison Murray and their children Buster and Amber when they were confronted by the man-eating crocodilian (stock photo)

Family: The former Strictly Come Dancing star told the Daily Star his children had begun screaming when they spotted the alligator approaching his wife as she paddled, with the incident leaving them 'scarred for life'

He said: 'So I'm looking at it and thinking: 'It's got to be a log or something. Got to be a log.'All of a sudden it f***ing goes down and I f***ing see an eye. All the kids are screaming, I'm screaming: 'Get back in the boat!'

The star said it was only when they returned to the boat hire shop and told their story to a staff member - who said they would never go into the water due to the 'man-eater' alligators - that they realised how lucky Alison had been.

He added thinking about the incident makes him feel 'squiffy.'

Jake made his first appearance as Max Banning on 27 June 2006, and has gone on to star in some major storylines, usually revolving around his tangled love life.

Most memorably, Max was involved in a passionate affair with his daughter-in-law Stacey (Lacey Turner).

Holiday horror: The star said it was only when they returned to the boat hire shop and told their story to a staff member - who said they would never go into the water due to the 'man-eater' alligators - that they realised how lucky Alison had been

Nearly 14million viewers tuned in on Christmas Day 2007, to see the love tryst finally uncovered as the Branning family gathered around the TV to watch Stacey and Bradley's wedding video.

The storyline earned Jake and his co-stars a British Soap Award the following year, with Jake also winning the Best On-Screen Partnership gong in 2012 for his work with on-screen wife Jo Joyner.

Away from EastEnders, Jake was a huge hit when he took part in BBC's Strictly Come Dancing in 2014, finishing in fourth place with his pro partner Janette Manrara after wowing audiences with his Latin moves.
Cyrell Paule kicked off her 30th birthday celebrations in style on Saturday, surrounded by her co-stars at the Sydney event.

The Married at First Star was flanked by her new boyfriend, Love Island Australia's Eden Dally, at the luxurious do.

The new couple could not keep their hands off each other as they kissed and cuddled for various photos shared to Instagram on Saturday.

Dirty thirty! Married at First Sight's Cyrell Paule (right) was joined by her new boyfriend Eden Dally (left) as she kicked off her luxurious 30th birthday celebrations on Saturday

Eden, 26, held onto Cyrell in one photo, the reality star dressed in a pale blue dress that clung to her fantastic figure.

She opted for smokey eyes for the event, adding dark matte lipstick and wearing her hair down and straight.

Former reality star Eden looked relaxed in white slacks and a blue shirt, his tattoos on display.

All together now! Posing for a group shot worthy of a reunion, Eden and Cyrell were also joined by Ning Surasiang, Heidi Latcham, Billy Vincent, Elizabeth Sobinoff, Dean Wells, Melissa Lucarelli, Jules Robinson and Cameron Merchant

Happy birthday! Ivan Paule (left) Cyrell's equally fiery brother, was dressed up in a grey suit and seemed to be on his best behaviour as he joined the couple at the event

Fancy! The party was very elaborately decorated with silver, black and white balloons and a pillar on which was written 'Cyrell's dirty thirty' in gold writing

Also at the party were Cyrell's Married at First Sight co-stars, including Elizabeth Sobinoff who wished her a happy birthday in a video shared to Instagram Stories.

Posing for a group shot worthy of a reunion, Cyrell was also joined by Ning Surasiang, Heidi Latcham, Billy Vincent, Melissa Lucarelli, Jules Robinson and Cameron Merchant.

Former Married at First Sight Star Dean Wells wasn't one to miss the party either, sharing a clip to his own Instagram Stories of himself with Cyrell.

Party time! She also posed in front of a colourful floral display that spelled out her age, 30, and she was surrounded by confetti

Yum! An enormous cheese and meat platter stood on the balcony of the party venue, with Cyrell seeming very impressed by the spread

'Cyclone Cyrell! Happy dirty thirty!' he cried out while a giggling Cyrell insisted, 'I'm 21! Happy 21st!'

Ivan Paule, Cyrell's equally fiery brother, was dressed up in a grey suit and seemed to be on his best behaviour.

The party was very elaborately decorated with silver, black and white balloons and a pillar on which was written 'Cyrell's dirty thirty' in gold writing.

Cute! New couple Eden and Cyrell could not keep their hands off each other as they kissed and cuddled for various photos shared to Instagram from the party

Another star! Former Married at First Sight Star Dean Wells (left) wasn't one to miss the party either, sharing a clip to his own Instagram Stories of himself with Cyrell

Still a young one! 'Cyclone Cyrell! Happy dirty thirty!' Dean cried out while a giggling Cyrell insisted, 'I'm 21! Happy 21st!'

Greetings! Also at the party was Cyrell's Married at First Sight co-star Elizabeth Sobinoff (pictured) who wished her a happy birthday in a video shared to Instagram Stories

She also posed in front of a colourful floral display that spelled out her age, 30, kicking up her black heels in joy.

The reality star brought in a party planner especially to host her luxury event, North Shore Event Styling.

An enormous cheese and meat platter stood on the balcony of the party venue, with Cyrell seeming very impressed by the spread.

All the stops! The reality star brought in party planners especially to host her luxury event

Drink up! There was what appeared to be an open bar manned by talented barmen

She also had elaborate cakes by Bake My Cake By Walla and what appeared to be an open bar.

Cyrell recently confirmed she is dating Eden after weeks of speculation.

She was pictured kissing the Melbourne prison guard in Sydney last month, and revealed the romance on last week's episode of Talking Married.

'He's a cool guy we're seeing each other,' the outspoken Filipino-Australian told the panel.
She lives in the US with actor husband Sam Worthington and their two children, sons Rocket, four, and Racer, two.

And in Sunday's Stellar magazine, Lara Worthington (nee Bingle), credited her beau with keeping her grounded and shared plans for 'a big family'.

The 31-year-old posed for the cover, revealing her slim figure in a white bra and high-waisted blue jeans.

Cover girl: Lara Worthington (nee Bingle), 31, poses for the cover of Sunday's Stellar magazine in a white bra and Calvin Klein jeans, and speaks to the glossy about plans for 'a big family'

'My husband really gives me this grounding and support,' Lara told the glossy lift-out. 'He's... what's the right word? My anchor.'

'He really calms me and makes me feel secure. I don't have to put on any facade with him,' Lara added of the 42-year-old.

Lara also revealed that she would 'love a big family' and will 'definitely have more' but just needs 'a little break'.

The comments run alongside a stunning cover shoot and inside pictorial that sees the Tiffany & Co ambassador showing off her lean frame.

In time: Lara says she will 'definitely have more (children)' but just needs 'a little break'

Trim and terrific: The comments run alongside a stunning cover shoot and inside pictorial that sees the mother-of-two showing off her lean frame

For the cover, Lara sits upright on a plush white couch, sporting a white bra and Calvin Klein jeans, that gape slightly at the back.

Her cropped blonde locks fall in soft waves and in a middle parting, and she stares directly at the camera.

A following shot sees the entrepreneur sitting cross-legged on the floor, this time covering her petite upper frame in a black singlet.

Edgy shoot: Another photo sees the Cronulla-born star wrapping her frame in white bed sheets

Lara cuts a solemn expression, and her striking facial features are enhanced with a neutral makeup palette.

Other photos see the Cronulla-born star lounging in black underwear and wrapping her frame in white bed sheets.

Lara wed Australian actor Sam in 2014, and soon after welcomed their precious sons Rocket and Racer.

The high-profile couple divide their time between Los Angeles and New York, with Lara flying into Sydney on occasion.
He is expecting his second child with girlfriend Naomi Courts.

And Jordan Banjo joked he might end up with 13 children before the pair get married - as he reveals he tried to propose twice before Naomi fell pregnant.

The Diversity star, 26, said he was ready to get hitched before the couple found out they were expecting their son Cassius.

Expecting: Jordan Banjo joked he might end up with 13 children before he marries girlfriend Naomi Courts as he reveals he tried to propose twice before she fell pregnant

Speaking to the Sun, he said: 'At this rate we're going to end up with 13 kids and not going to be married. I was ready to propose when I found out she was pregnant...

'So I thought, 'OK, I'll wait until he's a little older and then I'll take Naomi away and surprise her with a proposal...

'Then when I started thinking about doing it again this year I found out she was pregnant again. Now she's convinced we're not going to get married.'

Family time: The Diversity star, 26, said he was ready to get hitched before the couple found out they were expecting their son Cassius

The couple revealed they were expecting their second child when Cassius was only eight months old.

But Jordan confessed caring for the youngster was a 'real adjustment' as suddenly his son was 'my focus' and he had to 'find time for everything else, only if it fitted around him'.

Jordan and Naomi shared the news of their second child on Instagram in January with a sweet picture of the dancer and Cassius holding a baby scan.

He said: 'At this rate we're going to end up with 13 kids and not going to be married. I was ready to propose when I found out she was pregnant with Cass'

Baby bump: The couple revealed they were expecting their second child when Cassius was only eight months old

He captioned the image: 'CASSIUS IS GOING TO BE A BIG BROTHER. Genuinely never felt more blessed, last year having Cassius was the best thing that's ever happened to me and @naomiella21.

'Being a dad is genuinely the best job in the world and now we're going to be mummy and daddy to another little bubba later this year!

'@naomiella21 I'm so proud of you and the amazing mum/partner you are. Can't wait for the rest of this year and the crazy adventure of our little family getting that bit bigger!'

News: Jordan and Naomi shared the news of their second child on Instagram in January with a sweet picture of the dancer and Cassius holding a baby scan

Jordan and Naomi's welcomed their first child back in May.

The dancer, famous for winning Britain's Got Talent with his troupe in 2009, announced the arrival of Cassius, two days after his birth.

Jordan declared himself 'the luckiest man there is' as he shared the happy news on Instagram, along with a first picture of the tiny newborn.

He explained at the time: 'Myself and @naomiella21 haven't shared this straight away because we wanted to take some time to appreciate and enjoy the beautiful moment that we had as a family.

Devoted dad: The dancer, famous for winning Britain's Got Talent with his troupe in 2009, announced the arrival of Cassius, two days after his birth

'On the 07.05.2018 at 12:29am our beautiful son was born! Words cannot describe the feeling of seeing your future come into this world.

'I'm so proud of mum & baby, both are doing absolutely amazing and @naomiella21 you are a super woman.

'If I didn't know it before, I do now, I am the luckiest man there is. Welcome to the world Cassius Ashley Banjo.'

Their son's middle name is a tribute to Jordan's brother and Diversity dance mate Ashley who recently welcomed a baby girl, Rose, with wife Francesca.
Simone Holtznagel counted Charlotte Dawson as one of her closet friends, and she is paying tribute to her in an unusual way.

The 25-year-old is on a quest to scatter the ashes of the late model, who died in 2014, all around the world.

She told Sunday's The Daily Telegraph: 'Charlotte's ashes are in Bali, New Zealand, Bondi, and I have a little bit I am going to scatter at all her favourite designer stores on Rodeo Drive (in Los Angeles) and all places fabulous.'

'Her ashes are in Bali, New Zealand, Bondi, and at all her favourite designer stores': Simone Holtznagel (left) revealed in an interview on Sunday, that she is on a quest to scatter the remains of her late friend Charlotte Dawson (right) all over the world. Pictured together in 2011

In February, the model continued her journey by scattering Charlotte's ashes outside a Chanel store.

She took to Instagram to share a video in which she is seen spreading Charlotte's remains outside the glamorous building.

She captioned the video: 'Old mate Harlot is slowly but surely being scattered in all the fab places.'

She tells The Daily Telegraph: 'Charlotte's ashes are in Bali, New Zealand, Bondi, and I have a little bit I am going to scatter at all her favourite designer stores on Rodeo Drive and all places fabulous.' Seen here scattering the ashes in an Instagram video

Tribute: In February, the model continued her journey by scattering Charlotte's ashes outside a Chanel store (pictured). She said: 'The security guards at Chanel were pumped when we told them it wasn't drugs but ashes we scattered along their entrance today'

Simone tagged Charlotte's old Instagram account in the video, and had been known to call Charlotte by the affectionate nickname of 'Harlot'.

The blonde went on to say that the workers at the store were happy to allow the unusual memorial to go ahead.

'The security guards at Chanel were pumped when we told them it wasn't drugs but ashes we scattered along their entrance today.'

Simone added the hashtags: '#saltbae #scatterbae #ashesbae'.

Tough: The pair were close and, when appearing on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2014, Simone broke down as she revealed to her camp mates that she had to identify Charlotte's body following her passing. Simone is pictured with Charlotte (right)

Loss: 'I miss her... I am not angry any more, I just wish she was here,' she told The Daily Telegraph at the time. Simone is pictured with Charlotte (left)

The pair were close and, when appearing on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2014, Simone broke down as she revealed to her camp mates that she had to identify Charlotte's body following her passing.

'I miss her... I am not angry any more, I just wish she was here,' she told The Daily Telegraph at the time.

Charlotte was found dead in her Sydney Woolloomooloo home on February 22, 2014. Her death was later ruled a suicide.

For confidential support call the Lifeline 24-hour crisis support on 13 11 14, or the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are legally single again more than two years after she filed for divorce from the actor.

On Friday they filed a judgment in their divorce that restored their single status, according to The Blast.

Court documents were submitted that show a judge ruled on their bifurcation, which permits a divorce case to be finalized with certain aspects, such as property, to be dealt with after dissolution.

This comes after The Sun claimed this week that the Oscar-winning beauty, 43, wanted to slow down the divorce process in hopes of winning back Pitt's heart.

Singles club: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are about to be legally single again more than two years after she filed for divorce from the actor. Seen in 2015

They have yet to finalize their divorce.

And it looks like it won't be finalized anytime soon as Judge John Ouderkirk extended to their divorce case until December 31, 2019.

The two continue to use a court-approved therapist, Dr Stan Katz, to work on their partnership as they co-parent.

They have six children together: Maddox, 17, Pax, 15, Zahara, 14, Shiloh, 12, and 10-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox.

Good mom: Jolie has been spotted out and about in public with Maddox, 17, Pax, 15, Zahara, 14, Shiloh, 12, and 10-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne on a fairly regular basis lately, while Pitt's visitation with them is taking place in private; seen in February in NYC

They met on the 2005 film Mr And Mrs Smith, welcomed Shiloh in 2006 and in 2014 wed in France. In 2016 she filed for divorce.

Jolie and Pitt have been negotiating back and forth over over custody of their children as well as their finances.

At first she wanted primary custody, but now they have joint custody.

As far as Angelina longing to get back together with Brad, The Sun said, 'Angelina has made it clear to Brad that she wants to be back in a relationship with him.'

DailyMail.com has reached out to representatives of Jolie and Pitt seeking comment.

The actress, according to the report, is 'dragging out' the divorce negotiations in the hope of a reconciliation.

Better days: They looked very much in love in 2009 when in Cannes, France

'She would like them to be a family again and doesnt seem capable of moving on,' The Sun's source claimed. 'Thats why she is making it so difficult for Brad with every detail of their divorce.'

The newspaper goes on to report that Pitt isn't interested in getting back together with his ex but does want to maintain an amicable relationship with Jolie for the sake of their kids.

The Sun's source stated: 'He just wants it all settled  in reality, this could have been over a year ago  but she wont let go.'

Could this be true? After seeking full custody of the couple's six children, pictured in Japan in 2011, Jolie is now reported to want them 'to be a family again', The Sun claimed. Seen in Japan

In January, Jolie and Pitt, 55, were seen meeting together twice at attorneys offices in Beverly Hills as they work on the details of their divorce.

Pitt was previously married to Friends star Jennifer Aniston from 2000 to 2005.

Jolie had two previous marriages - to Johnny Lee Miller from 1996 to 1999 and to Billy Bob Thornton from 2000 to 2003.

While Angelina has not been romantically linked to anyone since she split from Brad, sources have claimed that Pitt has been dating Charlize Theron.

Recently, however, Theron said she was very single.

Brad's next movie is Once Upon A Time In Hollywood while Angelina's is Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.
Kate Moss has reportedly angered celebrity friends including Naomi Campbell over her loyalty to the sultan-owned Dorchester hotel, reports The Sun - after Brunei passed a law which would see gay people and adulterers stoned to death.

The supermodel, 46, is said to have annoyed Naomi, 48, as well as designer Tom Ford, 57, and fashion photographer Mario Testino, 64, for not publicly shunning the Mayfair hotel.

George Clooney called for a boycott of hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei - which also includes London's 45 Park Lane and the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles - after the nation passed a law making homosexuality and adultery punishable by death.

Claim: Kate Moss has reportedly angered celebrity friends including Naomi Campbell over her loyalty to the sultan-owned Dorchester hotel, reports The Sun - after Brunei passed a law which would see gay people and adulterers stoned to death (pictured February 2018)

Celebrities including Sir Elton John, Sam Smith, Dua Lipa and Ellen DeGeneres have joined the Hollywood A-lister in boycotting the hotels,

It was claimed that although Vogue coverstar Kate knows the campaign is for a good cause, she is split between that and her long-standing affiliation with The Dorchester.

The star held her 45th birthday at the hotel's restaurant, China Tang, and has been a familiar face there for many years.

Now, Naomi, Tom and Mario are said to be 'privately annoyed' with the star for not speaking out.

Backlash: The hotel, in Mayfair, is part of the Dorchester Collection, a chain of hotels owned by the Brunei Investment Agency, which is owned by the Sultan - and it has been the focus of protests since the law was announced (stock photo)

Alleged: The supermodel, 46, is said to have annoyed Naomi, 48, as well as designer Tom Ford, 57, and fashion photographer Mario Testino, 64, for not publicly shunning the hotel

Fashion friends: Tom (L) and Mario are said to be 'privately' annoyed at Kate for failing to speak out

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Kate, Naomi, Tom, Mario and The Dorchester for comment.

In a column for Deadline earlier this month, George Clooney wrote: 'They're nice hotels. The people who work there are kind and helpful and have no part in the ownership of these properties.

'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.'

George wrote that 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.'

Fan: Kate has a long-time association with The Dorchester and is a fan of the establishment's restaurant China Tang (pictured at the hotel with Sir Davd Tang in 2008)

Familiar face: Kate also celebrated her 45th birthday at China Tang in 2018 (above)

He then listed the nine hotels owned by Brunei's sultan and said: 'It's up to each of us what we want to do.'

Last week protestors were thrown out of The Dorchester after three men unfurled banners and staged a protest, after dining in the five-star venue's restaurant.

In response, a spokeswoman for the hotel group declared: 'Our values are far removed from the politics of ownership.'

The hotel, in Mayfair, is part of the Dorchester Collection, a chain of hotels owned by the Brunei Investment Agency, which is owned by the Sultan - and it has been the focus of protests since the law was announced.

Protest: Last week protestors were thrown out of The Dorchester after three men unfurled banners and staged a protest, after dining in the five-star venue's restaurant (stock photo)

A spokeswoman for the Dorchester Collection said it was a 'political and religious issue that we don't believe should be played out in our hotels'.

She said: 'Inclusion, diversity and equality are the foundation of Dorchester Collection.

'We do not tolerate any form of discrimination, we never have and we never will.

'We understand people's anger and frustration but this is a political and religious issue that we don't believe should be played out in our hotels and amongst our 3,630 employees.

'We're deeply saddened by what's happening right now and the impact it is having on our employees, guests, partners and suppliers in particular.

'Our values are far removed from the politics of ownership.

'We are aware that many other brands have ownership with similar backgrounds in this increasingly global world.

'We are a team of people representing 67 nationalities, who love what we do and care enormously for our guests and communities.'
Their unlikely romance has been the main storyline of the series with many of their TOWIE co-stars disapproving of the fling.

And one person who has been supportive from the start of Chloe Sims, 36, and Dan Edgar's dalliance has been Georgia Kousoulou, 27.

In Sunday's upcoming episode, Chloe confides to Georgia that Dan, 28, is hesitant to take their relationship up a notch, despite them yet to even have a first date.

Supportive: Georgia Kousoulou has continued to support Chloe Sims and Dan Edgar's dalliance

Continuing to back their relationship, Georgia decides to go head to head with Diags - who has voiced his concern over heart throb Dan and show veteran Chloe becoming more than friends - as she wants to know if he has influenced Dan in any way.

In a heated discussion, bold Georgia confront Diags on being the reason as to why Dan wants to halt the brakes on his budding romance with the mother-of-one.

Diags being in Georgia's line of fire comes after Courtney Green felt the wrath of the Tommy Mallet's girlfriend in last week's episode.

In the fiery scenes, Georgia blamed Courtney - who is friends with Dan's ex Amber for meddling in the age-gap romance.

Blame game: Continuing to support their relationship Georgia decides to go head to head with Diags - who has voiced his concern over heart throb Dan and show veteran Chloe becoming more than friends - as she wants to know if he has influenced Dan in any way

Budding romance? Chloe and Dan's fling has been the main story line of the series with many of their TOWIE co-stars casting disapproval upon the couple getting together

Georgia warned Courtney that her thoughts on Chloe and Dan will 'f**k up' their romance, after she claimed the hunk still in touch with his ex Amber.

Georgia began: 'When were hearing your opinion, it just looks bitter on your behalf, because youre not in the friendship group.'

Seething with rage, she added: 'And if you carry on, and people carry on with these opinions, its going to f**k it up for them.'

Standing up for herself Courtney responded: 'For me, it is a bit of a shock. Im not saying they shouldnt be together, but youve got to see it from my point of view.

'Its one of my best friends ex-boyfriends so when they move on it does get weird.'

Over? At the start of the episode, Chloe confides to Georgia that Dan is hesitant to take their relationship up a notch, despite them yet to even have a first date

Georgia was not swayed as she reminds Courtney that Amber is 'no longer in the picture' as she does not star in the Essex show.

To which Courtney then shared: 'Amber and Dan are still in contact with each other. This is what Im hearing.

'I dont think Dan is good enough for Chloe, thats just my opinion. I dont think hes good enough for his ex.'

The chat followed on from scenes that aired that showed Courtney and Daigs catching up on Dan and Chloe's unlikely love story.

Fiery: Last week Georgia launched into a rant with Courtney Green for meddling into Chloe and Dan's relationship

Diags suggested that Dan had gone against the rules by getting close to one of his friend's family members.

He said: '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.'

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 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.'

Truth? Courtney revealed that Dan is still in touch with his ex

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.'

'But on the other hand if you do stop it then Chloe's going to be upset, so it's like an impossible situation.'

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.'

Dan has appeared uncertain in continuing the romance ever since it was uncovered on the Thailand special of the Essex show.

In numerous scenes he has opened up on being torn on whether he should pursue moving forward with Chloe after they have faced so much negativity.
Kim Kardashian is back in Bali with her husband Kanye West.

The reality star, 38, gave fans an inside look at her lush getaway with her millions of followers, posting snaps on Friday and Saturday of her gorgeous poolside villa with a jungle view at the Amandari resort.

'How beautiful is this?' Kim marveled as she showed off the view of Ubud from her bedroom.

Couples' getaway: Kim Kardashian has returned to Bali alongside her husband Kanye West, staying at the stunning Amandari resort in Ubud

From the poolside retreat to watching a traditional Balinese dance, Kim was certain to induce envy from fans as she posted an array of stunning photos from her exotic getaway.

Kim captured it all as she explored the area, admiring the lush landscape filled with palm trees and pools of water.

The reality star even made a stop at an animal sanctuary, where she made a new friend.

'Hi cutie!' Kim gushed as she posed beside a tusked elephant, munching on assorted greens. 'Everyone, we're at an animal sanctuary, feeding these beautiful elephants.'

'Hi cutie!' Kim fed elephants while visiting an animal sanctuary

Majestic: The reality star gazed towards the tusked elephant as it munched on a plethora of greens

She's back! The mom of three revealed her inspiration behind her trip

Kim was just in Bali with the family filming KUWTK a few months ago, and it seems the show inspired her to return to the country.

'Had to come back to Bali right before our KUWTK Bali episode airs,' Kim explained.

Kim traveled to Bali in November with her children and sisters, but this time around seems to be more of a couples' getaway.

The pair are staying at the stunning Amandari resort in Bali, which is marking its 30th anniversary by celebrating Balinese culture, cuisine and local community.

The resort is a family favourite since it is the sister to Amangani in Jackson Hole where Kanye held his album launch party and also Amangiri in Utah where Kylie announced her pregnancy.

Wow: Kim's pictures were certain to induce envy from fans

Lush: She showed off her stunning poolside retreat with a jungle view

Room with a view: The couple's bedroom faced the pool and lush exterior

Taking in the culture: The social media star shared video of a traditional Balinese dance

There was no sign of Kim and Kanye's three children, North, five, Saint, three, and Chicago, one, in the clips.

After a particularly big week, there's no doubt Kim is loving every moment away in Bali.

Earlier this week Kim graced the cover of Vogue's May issue, where she revealed her plans of taking the bar exam in 2022.

The reality star began a four year long apprenticeship at a San Francisco law firm last summer, and completes 18 hours a week of supervised study in order to prepare for the exam.

Breathtaking: The pair are staying at the stunning Amandari resort in Bali, which is marking its 30th anniversary by celebrating Balinese culture, cuisine and local community

Seal of approval: The resort is a family favourite since it is the sister to Amangani in Jackson Hole where Kanye held his album launch party and also Amangiri in Utah where Kylie announced her pregnancy

Tranquil: Amandari is perched above the verdant Ayung River Gorge outside the artist community of Ubud
Jaclyn Smith seems to be drinking from the fountain of youth.

The 73-year-old actress does not appear to have aged much since she starred with Farrah Fawcett and Kate Jackson on the hit TV series Charlie's Angels, which aired from 1976 until 1981.

The brunette beauty showed off her good looks while attending a benefit for the Farrah Fawcett Foundation, named for the late actress who died of cancer at age 62 in 2009. The party took place inside Barneys New York in Beverly Hills.

Still a beauty: Jaclyn Smith looked younger than her years as she attended a cocktail party in support of The Farrah Fawcett Foundation at Barneys New York in Beverly Hills this week

Classy: Her highlighted hair was worn down in soft waves and she flashed her large diamond engagement ring from doctor Brad Allen, her husband since 1997

Also there were Eva Longoria, Alana Stewart and Melanie Griffith.

Smith showed off her slender figure in an ivory blouse and beige slacks with pointy latte colored pumps.

And she added a long shoulder purse in an ivory color. Her highlighted hair was worn down in soft waves and she flashed her large diamond engagement ring from doctor Brad Allen, her husband since 1997.

Smith, born Jacquelyn Ellen Smith, is from Houston, Texas. She graduated from Mirabeau B. Lamar High School in 1964 and attended Trinity University in San Antonio.

The originals: Smith with Fawcett and Kate Jackson for a 1976 episode

Their highest-rated episode: Here the ladies are seen in a chain gang in Angels In Chains

After college, the siren moved to New York City with hopes of dancing with the ballet. But then she started doing commercials for beauty products like Breck Shampoo in 1971. In 1976 she was cast in Charlie's Angels and she was on the show for the full run until 1981.

She played Kelly Garrett on the hit TV series about three stunningly gorgeous women who work as spies for a man they have never seen, only heard on a speakerphone.

Smith also did several TV movies such as Escape from Bogen County and Rage Of Angels.

And she started designing clothing and accessories for K-Mart, which she still does.

Glam: Here the 73-year-old wonder is seen with friend Alana Stewart. Smith showed off her slender figure in an ivory blouse and beige slacks with pointy latte colored pumps

A good time: Here she is seen with (L-R) Alana, George Harrison and Patrick Foley

Alana, 73, was best friends with Farrah, who started the organization two years before her death in order to help combat cancers related to HPV.

Eva threw a stylish navy blazer over a white top and skintight white trousers, accessorizing with a burgundy leather handbag and medallion necklace.

Letting her luxurious hair down, the Desperate Housewives icon lent herself a bit of extra stature on white open-toed wedges.

Alana went for an all-white ensemble including a fitted blazer and a flowing jumpsuit, stringing on several necklaces for her evening out.

Meanwhile, Melanie gathered her blonde hair into an updo and teamed a black turtleneck sweater with matching trousers and heels.

Trio: (from left) Eva Longoria posed up a storm with Stewart and Melanie Griffith

For a cause: The star-studded affair was a benefit for the Farrah Fawcett Foundation, named for the late Charlie's Angels actress who died of cancer at 62 in 2009

Personal connection: Alana, 73, was best friends with Farrah, who started the organization two years before her death in order to help combat cancers related to HPV

Sleek and chic: Eva threw a stylish navy blazer over a white top and skintight white trousers, accessorizing with a burgundy leather handbag and medallion necklace

Melanie was also a friend of Farrah's, as were such celebrities as American Graffiti actor Paul Le Mat and Murder On The Orient Express star Jacqueline Bisset.

At the end of her life, Farrah was with her longtime on-off man Ryan O'Neal - whose daughter Tatum has claimed he slept with Melanie decades ago.

Alana could be spotted standing on the stairs to give a speech to the other attendees, as well as mingling with jeweler Sharon Khazzam.

Sharon, whose offerings are sold at Barneys New York, swanked about in a Hamptons chic white and navy dress with a Chelsea collar.

Also at the party was legendary songwriter Carole Bayer Sager, whose work includes the lyrics to the James Bond song Nobody Does It Better.

Carole, who spent nearly a decade married to Burt Bacharach, wore a camel-colored crop jacket over a white top and midnight blue jeans.
Naomi Ackie is one of the new faces for Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise Of Skywalker.

On Friday during the Star Wars Celebration in Chicago it was announced the actress would be playing the role of Jannah.

The 27-year-old British star spoke to USA Today about her character: 'On a scale of 1 to 10, shes like 25,' said the beauty. 'I felt pretty cool playing Jannah, I'm not going to lie. I'm not a very cool person personally, but she's really cool. She packs a punch.'

New! Naomi Ackie is one of the new faces for Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise Of Skywalker

Good addition: On Friday during the Star Wars Celebration in Chicago it was announced the actress would be playing the role of Jannah

Unfortunately, Jannah was not seen in the new teaser trailer which dropped on Friday at the Celebration.

Ackie studied at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, on the Collaborative and Devised Theatre Course.

She has appeared in a 2015 episode of Doctor Who and won a British Independent Film Award in 2017 for the film Lady Macbeth.

With pals: Here she is seen with (L-R) producers Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, Daisy Ridley (Rey), and Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico) at The Rise of Skywalker panel at the Star Wars Celebration at McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, Illinois

Now she is facing massive fame from being in the Star Wars franchise.

'It felt very real when I was getting fitted for my costume, the final one,' Ackie said.

'I looked at myself in a giant mirror and it was very surreal. I was like, "OK, there's no going back on this now. This is happening. You can't deny this anymore, Naomi."That's when it felt real and amazing.'

Friday offered up plenty of new images and information for loyal fans. Not only was the teaser released for December's Star Wars IX but so was the title: The Rise Of Skywalker.

And several cast members hit the stage alongside director JJ Abrams and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. Daisy Ridley, who plays Rey, was lovely in black as the audience sang happy birthday to her; she turned 27-years-old on Wednesday.

Also seen was Oscar Isaac (Poe), John Boyega (Finn), Kelly Marie Tran (Rose), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) and Joonas Suotamo (Chewbacca).

All here: (from left) Stephen Colbert, JJ Abrams, Kennedy, Anthony Daniels, Billy Dee Williams, Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Tran, Joonas Suotamo and Naomi

And Billy Dee Williams, who reprises his role as Lando Calrissian, was a happy addition.

'How did I find Lando again?' Williams said. 'Lando never left me.'

Mark Hamill, who voices Luke Skywalker in the film, and Adam Driver, who plays Kylo Ren, were no shows at the packed event.

JJ is currently in the process of editing and adding visual effects to the film. Episode IX opens nationwide December 20, 2019.

She made it: Star Wars Episode IX will feature a live Princess Leia, played by Carrie Fisher, even though she died in 2016, director Abrams shared on Friday; seen with Kennedy

IX will feature a live Princess Leia played by Carrie Fisher, even though she died in 2016, director Abrams confirmed on Friday.

He already told fans this in 2018.

What's new here is that Leia is very much alive in IX and not seen in mere flashbacks, which fans thought she might be.

'Princess Leia lives in this film in way that is mind-blowing to me,' Abrams said.

Also revealed is that IX doesn't pick up immediately after the events of The Last Jedi.

All good with her: Daisy seen here smiling at John and Oscar during the sit down in Illinois

He added that some time has gone by. JJ teased that it will be an adventure that the group goes on together.

'This movie is about this new generation and what they've inherited, the light and the dark,' Abrams added. 'As they face this greatest evil, are they prepared?'

Lucasfilm president Kennedy also reiterated that Episode IX will close out the newest trilogy and the 9-film Skywalker saga that began in 1977.

In a great mood: This is Ridley's third Star Wars film; here she is seen in a strapless dress

Stephen Colbert, who is a superfan of Star Wars, moderated the panel.

Fitting he wore black: Ian McDiarmid, who plays bad guy Emperor Palpatine, also spoke

Star Wars was created by George Lucas. The franchise began with the eponymous 1977 movie.

The first film, later subtitled Episode IV  A New Hope, was followed by two successful sequels, Episode V  The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Episode VI  Return of the Jedi (1983).

A subsequent prequel trilogy, consisting of Episode I  The Phantom Menace (1999), Episode II  Attack of the Clones (2002) and Episode III  Revenge of the Sith (2005), was completed by Lucas.

He called it the 'tragedy of Darth Vader.'

Sitting pretty: Billy Dee Williams held onto his cane and wore a sharp suit, nice scarf and sunglasses

On screen: In trailer he is seen laughing as he rides through space in the Millennium Falcon

A sequel trilogy began with Episode VII  The Force Awakens (2015), continued with Episode VIII  The Last Jedi (2017), and will end with Episode IX  The Rise of Skywalker this year.

One wheeled: Described as a friend of BB-8, D-0 was created by Neal Scanlan and the creature and robotics team

The teaser was action packed and full of cast members.

The trailer begins with Rey alone in the desert. She is breathing heavily as she gets information from the late Luke Skywalker.

Luke may have died at the end of the most recent installment but his voice dominates the teaser trailer.

'We passed on all we know,' says Luke from the heavens. 'A thousand generations live in you now.'

Rey holds onto a lightsaber as she has a stern look on her face while surveying the desert. A spaceship is off in the distance and coming towards her fast. She then pulls out her lightsaber which has a long white light.

The teaser is here! The trailer begins with Rey alone in the desert. She is breathing heavily as she gets information from the late Luke Skywalker. Luke may have died at the end of the most recent installment but his voice dominates the teaser trailer

Bad guy doing evil: Next viewers are taken to another planet. Kylo is seen without his mask as he fights soldiers in a forest; the light around him is red

'But this is your fight,' Luke adds. On the screen it reads, 'Ever generation has a legend.'

Next the desert is panned as music builds; something awful is clearly about to take place.

A ship that hovers over the sand is nearly near her.

The pilot's hands in black leather gloves hint this could be her longtime nemesis Kylo Ren - played by Adam Driver - who is the son of Han Solo and Princess Leia.

Rey runs into the ship and does a flip.

Dynamic duo: Then Finn is seen for the first time in the desert in a beige jacket with Poe behind him

Next viewers are taken to another planet. Kylo is seen without his mask as he fights soldiers in a forest; the light around him is red.

A big, heavy black and silver mask is welded with red light; it might belong to Kylo.

Then Finn is seen for the first time in the desert in a beige jacket with Poe behind him and BB-8 is also flashed on the screen.

The Millennium Falcon is seen cruising through the air with Chewbacca at the front. They are traveling through space at what appears to be lightspeed.

Battle ready: Rey is seen walking down a grassy hill with Chewbacca, BB-8, C-3PO, Poe and Finn. They all look ready for battle as they look out at the ocean

Lando, played by Williams is along for the ride and is laughing heartily.

'The saga comes to an end,' it is flashed on the screen.

Then the battle scenes rev up: there is a fight on a planet that appears to be Jakku or Tatooine, where Luke grew up with his aunt and uncle.

A ship with Finn and C-3PO glides through the air. It seems to be on fire and about to crash into the sand.

A new poster was shared too: Here is the first poster for Star Wars IX: The Rise Of Skywalker

Then we see Rey hold onto a device presented to her in the last Star Wars film. She rubs it as if its a magic genie.

There is a shot of Fisher as Leia hugging Rey. The footage is taken from The Force Awakens, JJ Abrams explained months ago. She died in 2016 and he did not want to use CGI to re-create her.

'We always will be with you,' says Luke from the beyond.

Rey is seen walking down a grassy hill with Chewbacca, BB-8, C-3PO, Poe and Finn. They all look ready for battle as they look out at the ocean.

'No one's ever really gone,' says Luke in voiceover.

Menacing laughter from Emperor Palpatine is heard as the screen goes black, then the Star Wars logo is seen in blue. The Rise Of Skywalker is added.

Episode IX opens nationwide December 20, 2019.
She recently soaked up the sun while filming with her fellow TOWIE cast members in Thailand.

And Chloe Meadows is enjoying another excursion abroad as she is currently living it up on the beaches of Portugal, taking to Instagram on Saturday to post some snaps.

The reality TV star, 26, displayed her pert posterior in black bikini bottoms and a black leather jacket in a sizzling snap taken on the beach in Vilamoura in the Algarve.

Sun-kissed: Chloe Meadows displayed her pert posterior in black bikini bottoms and a black leather jacket in a sizzling snap taken on the beach in Vilamoura in Portugal

In another snap, Chloe sported a red bikini top with a multi-coloured mini-skirt and captioned it: 'Island gal'.

Speaking recently to MailOnline, Chloe opened up about her relationship with banker George Wales.

The TOWIE beauty admitted she hopes they get married one day and told how they are hoping to buy a house together next year.

She said: 'He's called George and is a trader for a bank. We went out when we were younger before TOWIE, we then split-up but got back together about a year ago.

Trip: In another snap, Chloe sported a red bikini top with a multi-coloured mini-skirt and captioned it: 'Island gal'

'We are loved-up and really happy. I have never been this happy in my life. When you know you know. It is just so easy.

'Relationships are supposed to be easy and have fun. You're not supposed to have agg and drama. I'm praying he is the one.'

And Chloe hopes George will take the initiative to propose within the next two years as she talked about marriage.

Romance: Chloe admitted she hopes she and boyfriend George Wales get married one day and told how they are hoping to buy a house together next year

She said: 'I would love him to propose and to have a ring on my finger. I would love to marry him but you will have to ask him that question. Hopefully we'll be engaged in the next two years.'

Speaking of their next step, Chloe divulged their plans to move in together and buy a house- but only after Brexit.

'We are looking to buy somewhere this year. We've been to see a few houses. He wanted to put an offer into the first one we saw in Chigwell but we are now waiting until after Brexit.'
She survived an abduction with nine months in captivity when she was just 14-years-old.

And Elizabeth Smart is using her own traumatic experience to bring insight to the recent kidnap of teenager Jayme Closs.

The 31-year-old is seen in her brand-new television show, Smart Justice: The Jayme Closs Case, in a first look trailer which was released to Extra on Friday.

Insight: Elizabeth Smart is seen in her brand new television show, Smart Justice: The Jayme Closs Case, in a first look trailer which was released to Extra on Friday

Elizabeth, who was abducted from her Salt Lake City home in June 2002, reveals more about 13-year-old Closs miraculous escape from her kidnapper in January this year, after 88 days in captivity.

She is seen travelling to Wisconsin - where Closs lived and was held - to talk to key players in the investigation into her disappearance.

Thirteen-year-old Closs was taken in October 2018, after her abductor, Jake Thomas Patterson, killed both of her parents.

Kidnapped: Elizabeth, who was abducted from her Salt Lake City home in June 2002, reveals more about 13-year-old Closs miraculous escape from her kidnapper in January this year, after 88 days in captivity

She escaped and ran for help on January 10 this year.

Smart is heard on the trailer explaining: 'Jayme Kloss was kidnapped from her home, after witnessing the murder of her parents.'

She's seen in a clip telling other survivors: 'When I heard Jayme had been recovered I just felt like, yessss,' as she punched the air.

Explainer: Smart is heard on the trailer explaining: 'Jayme Kloss was kidnapped from her home, after witnessing the murder of her parents'

Small town big trauma: She is seen travelling to Wisconsin - where Closs lived and was held - to talk to key players in the investigation into her disappearance

She's seen in a clip telling other survivors: 'When I heard Jayme had been recovered I just felt like, yessss,' as she punched the air.

Support: She also brings together a round table of other abduction survivors, including (L-R) Kara Robinson, Gina DeJesus, Katie Beers, (Elizabeth centre), Denise Huskins, Sarah Maynard and Alicia Kozakiewicz

She adds: 'Only survivors of abduction can truly understand her pain'

Smart provides her own insight as a survivor who endured nine months in captivity when she was 14.

She also brings together a round table of other abduction survivors, including Gina DeJesus, Katie Beers, Kara Robinson, Alicia Kozakiewicz, Denise Huskins and Sarah Maynard.

She adds: 'Only survivors of abduction can truly understand her pain.'

'We want to help her move forward,' she concludes.

Survivors: The show uses Elizabeth's insight and other survivors of abduction

'We want to help her move forward,' she concludes on the trailer

The mother-of-three told of her joy at Closs being found back in January, on her Instagram feed: 'What a miracle!!! Jayme Closs has been found!!!! Im so thrilled to hear the news. What has been such a heart wrenching tragedy finally has some happiness in the story,' she wrote.

She continued: 'Im praying for Jayme and all her family that they can have a joyous reunion and as the rest of the country celebrates alongside this happy occasion we all are mindful to give the family their space and privacy on their road to finding a new sense of normal and moving forward.

'I have no doubt Jayme and her family will forever appreciate the efforts and prayers of the many thousands of people who contributed and kept them in their thoughts and prayers! I hope we may all continue to support and embrace Jayme as she reclaims her life and comes to terms with the reality of her situation.

'What a brave, strong, and powerful survivor!!!! No matter what may unfold in her story lets all try to remember that this young woman has SURVIVED and whatever other details may surface the most important will still remain that she is alive. May god bless you Jayme Closs and may we all continue to search for every missing child. #miracleshappen #novictimblaming #hope #findingnormal #survivor #strong #brave'

New beginnings: The blonde beauty has rebuilt her life to become an advocate to others, and shares three children with husband Matthew Gilmour

New baby: They welcomed their youngest, Olivia, in November 2018

The blonde beauty has rebuilt her life to become an advocate to others, and shares three children with husband Matthew Gilmour.

They welcomed their youngest, Olivia, in November 2018, and also have two-year-old son James and Chloe, 4.

Smart Justice: The Jayme Closs Case premieres Saturday, April 27, at 8 p.m. on Lifetime.

Smart Justice is produced by Telepictures and executive-produced by Lisa Gregorisch-Dempsey, Jeremy Spiegel and Scott Eldridge. Mioshi Hill and Gena McCarthy executive-produce for Lifetime.


Zara Holland looked in high spirits as she continued her sun-soaked trip to Barbados on Saturday.

The former Love Island star, 23, wore a black lace patterned bikini with gold trimmings as she enjoyed a day on the beach with her mother Cheryl Hackeney, 54.

Styling her locks into an updo, Zara sported a pair of shades and a silver necklace.

Trip: Zara Holland looked in high spirits as she continued her sun-soaked trip to Barbados on Saturday

Cheryl sported a bright yellow and red patterned bikini as she chatted to her daughter.

Zara found fame on Love Island in 2016, where she controversially lost her Miss Great Britain title after having sex on the show with Alex Bowen.

She told The Sun she 'changed as a person' when her Miss GB title was stripped from her and is still 'haunted' by the repercussions.

The brunette said: 'I changed as a person, I didnt want to go out or socialise, I came out of Love Island and they didnt contact me.

Family: The former Love Island star, 23, in a black lace patterned bikini with gold trimmings as she enjoyed a day on the beach with her mother Cheryl Hackeney

Sun-kissed: Styling her locks into an updo, Zara sported a pair of shades and a silver necklace

Past: Zara found fame on Love Island in 2016, where she controversially lost her Miss Great Britain title after having sex on the show with Alex Bowen

'Love Island called me for the first time in two years on Thursday [after the death of her co-star Sophie Gradon] to ask if I was OK, funny they call me now when something terrible has happened.

'People applying need to know how serious things can be, they see a claim to fame, they dont see that in ten years time, when youre married with babies, youll still be haunted for the rest of your life.'

A spokesperson for Love Island told MailOnline: 'All of our islanders are offered psychological support before, during and after their time in the villa.

The brunette said: 'I changed as a person, I didnt want to go out or socialise, I came out of Love Island and they didnt contact me'

She said: 'People applying need to know how serious things can be'

'We take our duty of care very seriously and this is always our top priority.'

Zara made her comments after friend and co-star Sophie Gradon was tragically found dead at her parents home in Newcastle in June aged just 32, with friends reporting at the time that she had taken her own life.

For confidential help and support, contact Samaritans on 116 123.
Nicole Kidman has been spotted filming scenes with Hugh Grant for the first time, as they continue work on dark new drama The Undoing.

The Australian star, 51, sported dramatic curls as she joined the British actor, 58, in a scene where they are mobbed by photographers leaving the Federal Court.

Hugh and Nicole will play a husband and wife duo in the HBO drama, which has been penned by Big Little Lies writer David E. Kelley.

Tense: Nicole Kidman has been spotted on-set with Hugh Grant for the first time, as they filmed scenes for dark new drama The Undoing

Nicole oozed sartorial chic as she filmed scenes in the heart of the Big Apple, sporting a stylish burgundy red coat and grey boots.

The Oscar winner's strawberry blonde tresses were styled into corkscrew curls, and she carried her essentials in a matching grey handbag.

Meanwhile Hugh was every inch the suave star as he donned a grey coat to film scenes outside the Court.

Mr and Mrs: The Australian star, 51, sported dramatic curls as she joined the British actor, 58, in a scene where they are mobbed by photographers leaving the Federal Court

Tense: In the scene, the pair were mobbed by press and photographers as they exited the courthouse

Low-key: In a break from filming, Hugh was also spotted chatting to a member of the crew, as he sipped an ice cold drink

Relaxed: This is the first time the British actor has been seen filming with Nicole, as previously their scenes have been separate

Style: Nicole oozed sartorial chic as she filmed scenes in the heart of the Big Apple

Fashion: She sported a stylish burgundy red coat and grey boots along with a mauve top and grey handbag

Later, Nicole had an outfit change, donning a light green jacket with a detailed floral print which she paired with a dark skirt.

She also wore a silk baby pink top and added height to her frame with brown heels, completing her look with a matching handbag.

The pair join forces with famed Big Little Lies writer Kelley for The Undoing, with Nicole also credited as an executive producing credits.

Big roles: Both Hugh (left) and Nicole were hard at work on their next big acting parts, after the highly praised Big Little Lies

Happy: Nicole looked in high spirits as she waited between takes on the set of the upcoming flick

Ensemble: Later, Nicole had an outfit change, donning a light green jacket with a detailed floral print

Fashion: She also wore a baby pink silk top for her second look which she paired with a dark skirt

Nicole plays successful therapist Grace Sachs in the series, whose world in upended when husband Jonathan, played by Hugh, goes missing right before she's about to publish her first book.

Faced with a series of horrible and shocking revelations, she must dismantle her life and begin a new one with her son.

Kelley earned much critical acclaim for his work on Big Little Lies, which scooped the Emmy Award for Best Limited Series.

Outfit: Nicole added height to her frame with a pair of dark shoes and accessorised with a matching handbag

Epic show: The pair join forces with famed Big Little Lies writer Kelley for The Undoing, with Nicole also credited as an executive producing credits

Epic: Nicole plays successful therapist Grace Sachs in the series, whose world in upended when husband Jonathan, played by Hugh, goes missing

Dapper duo: Donald Sutherland (left) was also spotted exiting the courthouse with Hugh, as they continued another day of filming for the drama

Working hard: The two actors are set to take centre stage in the drama, which has been filming in New York

Directed by Bird Box's Susanne Bier, the drama also stars Donald Sutherland, Noah Jupe, Fala Chen, Edgar Ramirez and Lily Rabe.

The premium cable project is based on the novel You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz and has yet to receive a release date.

Nicole will next be seen in The Goldfinch which follows the tale of a boy who survives a terrorist attack and goes on to become involved in art forgeries.

The Goldfinch - which also stars Sarah Paulson and Ansel Elgot - is slated for release in September.

Jaw-dropping: Nicole highlighted her trim figure in yet another stylish ensemble, as she exited the courthouse in a tense scene
They were the New Romantic heart-throbs who went shoulder-pad to shoulder-pad against each other in the 1980s.

And now Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet are vying for supremacy once more  not in the pop charts this time but on the West End stage.

Both groups are bringing their stories to the theatre in rival shows, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of To Cut A Long Story Short, their first chart entry, Spandau Ballet are putting together a jukebox musical with many of their hit songs.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of To Cut A Long Story Short, their first chart entry, Spandau Ballet are putting together a jukebox musical with many of their hit songs

The show will chart their career, starting with their teenage years in Islington, North London, and early forays into music at the Blitz nightclub during the dying days of punk and the birth of the New Romantic scene.

But as well as recounting their rise to fame on both sides of the Atlantic thanks to smash hits such as Gold, the show will also feature their later troubles.

The band went through an acrimonious fallout in 1999 when frontman Tony Hadley, saxophone player Steve Norman and drummer John Keeble sued guitarist and songwriter Gary Kemp, who they claimed had agreed would share the royalties.

Kemp, 59, whose brother Martin is the groups bassist and also a former star of EastEnders, denied the claim and won the case.

The band members were reconciled and five years ago they decided to tour again, but Hadley quit last year.

The show is being directed by Terry Johnson, who was also in charge of End Of The Rainbow, the musical life story of Judy Garland. Sources close to the band say that Johnson signed his contract earlier this month and now the search is under way for the most suitable theatre in Central London.

This is the icing on the cake for the band, says a friend of the group, who have sold 25 million records worldwide. They have had their ups and downs but what theyve achieved as a band is so special to them.

Duran Duran, who have sold 100 million records globally, have recently completed the first draft of a stage musical which they hope will go to the West End next year. It has been written by band members Nick Rhodes, 56, and Roger Taylor, 58, who have been working on it between touring commitments.

Meanwhile, Duran Duran, who have sold 100 million records globally, have recently completed the first draft of a stage musical which they hope will go to the West End next year. It has been written by band members Nick Rhodes, 56, and Roger Taylor, 58, who have been working on it between touring commitments.

A source told The Mail on Sunday: They have been working on this script for a while, and the first draft was finished last month.

Now its all systems go to get it out there and into the theatre. Its all new material this time, a bit more up to date and very arty.

It is understood that both bands are also looking to eventually take their shows to Broadway.

Having managed to crack the notoriously tough American market in the 1980s, both bands have retained a dedicated following in the US.

Duran Duran toured there earlier this year, while Spandau Ballet completed an eight-date comeback tour in America in 2015.

So were you a Durany... Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet are vying for supremacy once more  not in the pop charts this time but on the West End stage. FANS NAME: Followers of the group have called themselves the Duranies since the early 1980s and theyre a loyal bunch  their website says they will do anything for the band. A-LIST PARTNERS: Simon Le Bon married supermodel Yasmin, while guitarist John Taylor had a relationship with wildchild Amanda de Cadenet. REUNIONS: There have been a few: in 1988 they reformed as a trio, before all coming together in 2003, only to see Andy Taylor quit three years later. They most recently reunited in 2015. CONTROVERSY: Their raunchy Girls On Film video featured topless women mud-wrestling and was banned by the BBC. Dont even ask about the video for Wild Boys RIVALRY: In 2015, John Taylor attacked Spandaus Tony Hadley for appearing on Im A Celebrity: I dont understand it. Why is he so desperate? Ouch! Advertisement
She was unveiled as the new face of Levis 501 denim just a few days ago.

And Hailey Baldwin was every inch the denim darling as she headed to the Levis event in Palm Desert, California on Saturday.

Hailey, 22, rocked a jean jacket, trousers, and lacy black top as she made her grand entrance.

Blue jean baby! Hailey Baldwin was every inch the denim darling as she posed up a storm at the Levis event in Palm Desert, California on Saturday

The wife of Justin Bieber wore her statement-making gold chain necklace, bearing her new last name.

Hair slicked up into a high ponytail with a scrunchy, Hailey looked every inch the trendsetter while rocking a very '90s inspired look.

The catwalk queen wore a pair of chunky gold hoop earrings, red Vans sneakers, and a baby pink manicure.

A coat of makeup brought out her naturally radiant features.

Hailey, 22, rocked jeans and lacy black top as she made her grand entrance

Bling bling: The wife of Justin Bieber wore her statement-making gold chain necklace, bearing her new last name

Mingling with friends while flashing a radiant smile, Hailey was clearly having a good time taking in the sunny festival atmosphere.

Hailey was unveiled as the new face of Levi 501 denim earlier this month.

The catwalk queen revealed that the collaboration was an obvious choice because she stole her first pair of Levi jeans from her dad, Stephen Baldwin, and she still wears them 'today'.

TBT: Hair slicked up into a high ponytail with a scrunchy, Hailey looked every inch the trendsetter while rocking a very '90s inspired look

Gorgeous: The catwalk queen wore a pair of chunky gold hoop earrings, red Vans sneakers, and a baby pink manicure

Golden girl: The newlywed admired her array of jewelry

Bieber said: 'I've been wearing 501 cutoffs since I can remember. They make me feel like me. I still wear them today.'

The campaign marks the date when the original riveted blue jeans were patented 146 years ago.

And the brand has revealed that they were happy to have an 'authentic fan' feature in their ad.

Nice to see you! Baldwin appeared to be mingling with some friends

Chief marketing officer of Levi Strauss and Co, Jennifer Sey told WWD: 'Hailey has been wearing our icons, Levi's 501s and 501 shorts and trucker jackets, without us having to ask her to.

'She's a real authentic fan. It never felt right before but we love Hailey's energy and optimism.

'It felt like the right time to associate a face with 501.'

Denim darling: Hailey was unveiled as the new face of Levi 501 denim earlier this month
Penrith winger Tyrone Phillips has resigned from the NRL club following a drink-driving charge over the weekend.

It came after Phillips had also embroiled in a sex tape scandal during the off-season when a lewd video of him and fellow Panthers reserve grade player Liam Coleman was released online.

The club's general manager Phil Gould confirmed the news on Monday night.

"Tyrone Phillips, we met with he and his manager today and Tyrone's made a decision to resign from the Panthers effective immediately," Gould told Channel 9's 100% Footy.

"He's had a difficult time of late and the latest thing on the weekend wasn't good enough so they've parted ways.

"I don't know what he intends to do, but there was a settlement made today and he's resigned."

The Panthers' reserve grade outside back will appear in Penrith Local Court on April 16 after being arrested and charged in the early hours of Sunday.

Police will allege Phillips returned a breath alcohol content reading of .103 after being stopped by police in Cranebrook in Sydney's west at 3.15am.

He has been charged with mid-range drink driving and had his licence suspended.

Phillips had earlier turned out for Penrith's reserve grade side in their NSW Cup win over St George Illawarra at Panthers Stadium.
The driving force behind the disability royal commission says a reported half-billion-dollar fund to pay for it is a win for disabled people.

The federal government will allocate $527 million to the inquiry into violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of Australians with disabilities, News Corp Australia reported on Monday.

"Finally, we have the opportunity for justice," Greens senator Jordon Steele-John said in a statement late on Monday.

"Let's not pretend this is a win for the Morrison government - they never wanted this royal commission to happen - this is a win for the disability rights movement."

The consultation period on the government's draft terms of reference closed last week.

The inquiry is expected to examine mistreatment in institutional settings, workplaces, schools, homes and in the community.

It will be applicable to all disabled people.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the federal government will fully fund the inquiry and he now has "letters patent" from all the states and territories to allow it to go ahead with the proper legal authority.
A common food additive used in cooking oils, frozen meats and fast foods such as fish and chips could lower the benefits of a flu vaccine, an international research study suggests.

Michigan State University scientists made the link after finding the preservative Tert-butylhydroquinone or tBHQ altered the immune response to the virus in mice.

"If you get a vaccine, but part of the immune system doesn't learn to recognize and fight off virus-infected cells, then this can cause the vaccine to be less effective," Robert Freeborn, a fourth-year doctoral student who led the study with Cheryl Rockwell, an associate professor in pharmacology and toxicology, said.

Professor Robert Booy, Head of the Clinical Research team at Australia's National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, described it as "tantalising research".

"It's not yet been tested on humans but in further research, I would be very keen to see if our favourite fish and chips is actually helping to make us sick," he told News Corp on Wednesday.
An elderly Melbourne woman who was found murdered in her home was last seen walking towards a highway.

Victoria Police are calling for public help to investigate how Vicki Ramadan made her way to her Sydenham home before she died.

The 77-year-old's body was found by a neighbour on Sunday about 9.45am and detectives believe she was was brutally assaulted in her home.

It is unclear when Ms Ramadan was murdered, but she was last seen on April 1, walking on Gourlay Road in Melton toward the Melton Highway and police hope someone may have dashcam vision.
To perform the pivotal final scene in the Sydney Theatre Company production of King Lear, Geoffrey Rush says he imagined the death of his own daughter.

Footage of the scene played in the Federal Court shows Rush's Lear howling in grief as he carries the dead Cordelia on stage, before lowering her to the ground and cradling her body.

It's during this same scene that the actor who played Cordelia, Eryn Jean Norvill, alleges Rush stroked the side of her right breast during a preview performance of the 2015-16 production.

On Thursday, Justice Michael Wigney will reveal his decision in Rush's defamation case against a newspaper publisher and journalist over articles and a poster relating to Norvill's allegations.

Rush launched legal action in 2017, saying Nationwide News and Jonathon Moran falsely made him out to be a pervert and sexual predator in the stories published in Sydney's Daily Telegraph that same year.

The defence denies conveying those imputations but if found to have done so, is arguing they're substantially true after Norvill - who didn't participate in Moran's articles - agreed to give evidence.

She detailed her allegations against Rush at trial late last year and denied suggestions from his legal team that she was lying.

Norvill said Rush touched her lower back backstage, made groping gestures and sexual innuendo toward her during rehearsals and stroked the side of her breast during a performance of the final scene.

"It couldn't have been an accident because it was slow and pressured," Norvill said.

She said his power was intimidating and the rehearsal room was complicit in his behaviour.

But Rush denied his former co-star's allegations in the witness box, saying he thought they'd enjoyed a "very sparky, congenial rapport" and there was "not a hint" that she had a problem during rehearsals.

He became emotional when he said that to perform Cordelia's death scene, he would imagine "it was my own real-life daughter and that she'd been hit by a bus on the street near where we live ... and I knew she was gone".

The Oscar winner is claiming millions of dollars of damages in the defamation case, with his lawyer Bruce McClintock SC telling the court he may never work again.
A man is accused of stealing a three-tonne truck from a central Sydney building site and taking it for a drunken joyride through the CBD before crashing into a city cafe.

A group of construction workers prevented any further carnage by chasing the 33-year-old along George Street just after 2am on Wednesday, hauling him out of the cabin and holding him until police arrived.

Police say the culprit jumped in the truck which was parked near Martin Place for light rail construction works and drove it through the worksite.

He managed to travel only a short distance before crashing through the front window of a nearby cafe.

"Construction workers gave chase on foot and physically removed the man from the truck and detained him until officers arrived," NSW Police said in a statement.

The man, from Queenscliff on the northern beaches, was arrested and returned a positive roadside breath test, police said.

He is expected to be charged later on Wednesday.
A review has been launched into laws that allow religious institutions to discriminate against gay students and teachers.

The federal government has asked the Australian Law Reform Commission to undertake the study following the report on religious freedom by former minister Philip Ruddock.

The review will also consider protecting the right of people to promote the view that marriage should only be between a man and a woman, following the passage of federal same-sex marriage laws.

The report is due by April 10, 2020.
Seven West Media has sold its stake in Yahoo7 to communications and tech giant Verizon for $21 million and says its rebranded online news sites are already outstripping performances under the former joint venture.

Seven, which will receive $20.75 million in cash for its Yahoo7 shares this financial year, said it now fully owns and operates all of its 'direct to consumer' digital products, including the 7NEWS.com.au platform launched last week.

Seven chief executive Tim Worner said the company exercised a put option under the Yahoo7 Shareholders Agreement, pivoting Seven West to meet advertisers' demand for "holistic, integrated, cross-screen media solutions".

Mr Worner said gaining 100 per cent control of the company's digital brands had already begun to reap benefits.

"We launched 7NEWS.com.au one week ago... It is already reaching larger daily online news audiences than when inside Yahoo7," he said in a release to the ASX on Wednesday.

"Similarly, Pacific and thewest.com.au are reaching record daily audiences, higher than at any time in the joint venture."

Shares in Seven West were trading 4.64 per cent higher at $50.75 at 1055 AEST.
Twenty-three former fire and emergency former chiefs from across Australia are demanding the prime minister take action to deal with the increased disaster risks posed by climate change.

The group fired the salvo against Scott Morrison as well as state and territory governments in a signed joint letter issued in Melbourne on Wednesday.

"We are deeply concerned about the lack of climate action at a national level and felt obligated to speak out," former NSW Fire and Rescue commissioner Greg Mullins said in a statement.
Public fear over oil drilling in the Great Australian Bight has been influenced by misleading information online that "grossly" misrepresents the risk and consequences of an oil spill, South Australia's peak mining group says.

The South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy has praised Norwegian energy producer Equinor for its level of public engagement over its plans for a deepwater exploration oil well 400 kilometres offshore from Ceduna.

The company has demonstrated a level of transparency and dedication to community consultation that has spread across SA regional communities and involved more than 150 meetings with local South Australians, SACOME chief executive Rebecca Knol said.

Equinor is currently reviewing the 30,000 submissions made on its draft environmental plan.

"It is apparent from the commentary that many public responses were influenced by material circulating online which grossly misrepresented both the risks and consequences of a major oil spill," Ms Knol said at the Paydirt Resources and Energy Investment Conference in Adelaide.

"This misleading information has generated expressions of genuine fear and concern in many of the submissions when the public debate should be entrenched in a higher standard of factual and balanced information."

The SACOME boss was also critical of Australian mining magnate Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest who recently opposed drilling in the Bight, declaring Equinor's plans an unacceptable risk to an irreplaceable ecosystem.

Ms Knol said Mr Forrest's comments were an example of "industry cannibalism born out of deep commercial competitiveness".

"Like a developer desperate to attract investment, such commentary does not consider the whole of industry ramifications," she said.

On the resources sector more generally, Ms Knol said it had always contended with the "dirty and dangerous tagline".

"But since the birth of social media, fake news and the rise of environmental activism, the perception of our industry has plummeted," she said.

"Public perception, however inaccurate, is damaging to our sector."

Such negativity could spread quickly and trust, when lost in a community, was almost impossible to regain, Ms Knol said.

"Today, our politicians are making decisions based on community sentiment largely fuelled by social media, fake news and misinformation."
Western Australia's biggest and most dilapidated maternity hospital will move to a new facility on the more modern QEII medical campus, the state government has announced.

As a review of the state's health system was released on Wednesday, Health Minister Roger Cook said the 103-year-old, heritage-listed King Edward Memorial Hospital would eventually relocate but gave no specific time frame.

Premier Mark McGowan said work to replace the tired facility would not begin in this term of his government, which has committed $3.3 million to planning the change.

Earlier this week, Mr Cook announced $22.7 million in funding to upgrade the intensive care unit at the city's other run-down hospital, Royal Perth.
It was a strong "nothing to see here" from Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten about key politicians' meetings with a Chinese billionaire now banned from Australia.

Huang Xiangmo reportedly paid tens of thousands of dollars to set up a meeting in 2016 with then-immigration minister Peter Dutton in a bid to fast track a citizenship application.

Mr Huang also met Mr Shorten in 2015 after he donated more than $50,000 to the Labor party, and the businessman was behind the resignation of Labor senator Sam Dastyari in 2017.

He has since had his visa revoked and he cannot return to Australia after advice from security agencies.

"Mr Huang has met with many people in the Labor party, in other sides of politics, and it's a free country, they can meet with who they like," Mr Morrison told reporters in Launceston on Wednesday.

"But at the end of the day, we're the ones who cancelled his visa, we are the ones who wouldn't give him citizenship and we're the ones who said he's never returning to Australia."

Mr Shorten was asked if he discussed the China Australia free trade agreement with Mr Huang when they met in 2015.

"We have had plenty of meetings with all sorts of people, we always talk about foreign policy, you can talk about domestic policy," he told reporters.

The Labor leader said his party banned foreign donations two years before the coalition made it law in January.

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull on Tuesday said Mr Morrison should investigate Mr Dutton's contact with Mr Huang.

"(Mr Turnbull's) been the chair of the national security committee. He (was) the leading spokesperson for three years on the national security of the nation. He's blown the whistle on these revelations," Mr Shorten said.

Mr Dutton on Tuesday said citizenship was not discussed at the 2016 meeting, and he never took a dollar in donations from Mr Huang.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott said Mr Dutton had acted appropriately.

"It's not a crime to be photographed with someone, it's not a scandal to go to an event with someone," he told reporters.

"It's only a problem if you then do something which has been bought."

Former foreign minister Julie Bishop told AAP she had not met personally with Mr Huang but she had met him at a public event in Sydney.

Mr Huang paid a former Liberal minister to set up a meeting with Mr Dutton at a Chinese restaurant in Sydney, according to an investigation by the ABC's Four Corners.

The investigation also said Mr Dutton approved a request from Mr Dastyari to fast track Mr Huang's family's application and allowed them a private citizenship ceremony inside the former Labor senator's parliament house office.
Many allied health professionals will soon be de-registering from the National Disability Insurance Scheme due to the high costs associated with its new compliance system.

Upon de-registering, they will no longer be able to provide services for NDIS participants whose funding is managed by the National Disability Insurance Agency.

"It's not necessary; at best it's an insult, but at worst it's making (providers) not be able to continue," business owner Jane Beale said.

Ms Beale manages her husband's physiotherapy practice, and also runs a speech pathology business in the Hunter Valley and Central Coast of NSW.

Last year, the NDIS Commission began rolling out its compliance and enforcement policy in South Australia and NSW, requiring registered NDIS providers to complete an audit to maintain their registration.

The system has two pathways - a lighter pathway called 'Verification' for sole traders offering low-risk supports, and a more complex pathway called 'Certification'.

If they operate as a company rather than a sole trader, businesses providing low-risk supports - such as physiotherapy and speech therapy - are required to complete the more complex 'Certification' pathway, even if they only have a small number of staff and clients.

According to data collected from National Disability Services - the peak body for non-government services - the average cost of the Certification pathway for small-medium businesses is $6000 to $14,000 for the initial audit, and half of that again for surveillance audits in the following two years.

For Ms Beale's physiotherapy business, which has only five clients on the NDIS, it will need to pay $5600 in its first year, which is an expense she and her husband can't afford.

Although Ms Beale will de-register her husband's physiotherapy business, she will continue to renew the registration for her speech pathology business.

Out of concern for her client base of approximately 500 NDIS participants with funding managed by the NDIA, she feels she has no choice but to renew her registration.

"I feel like I have to because I have about 80 employees," said Ms Beale. "If I don't go ahead, it's such an impact on them, so I feel a little bit backed into a corner."

Ms Beale has not completed the renewal process for her registration, and has not been provided with a quote yet, but expects the figure to be at least 10 times that of her physiotherapy business.

NDIS participants who self-manage their NDIS supports and services won't be impacted by this new system.

The NDIS Commission was formed last year to ensure a nationally consistent approach to safety and quality of services within the NDIS.

An NDIS Commission spokesperson told AAP it was monitoring audit costs, advising auditors and talking to providers who have been through the process.

"The NDIS Commission has issued guidance to registered providers on how to engage with auditors to get the best value for their situation," the spokesperson said.

"Where providers have concerns they are encouraged to contact the NDIS Commission."

A grants program is open to fund the development and delivery of tools and resources to support NDIS service providers.

On July 1, 2018, 9700 providers transitioned to the new NDIS Commission arrangements in NSW and SA.

About 40 per cent of these providers are not active in the NDIS market, the commission said.

"The NDIS Commission expects that providers who do not intend to operate in the NDIS will not renew their registration with the NDIS Commission."
The prospect of tax cuts in the federal government's budget helped lift consumer sentiment last week, a survey of households suggests.

The Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index rose 1.9 per cent to 100.7 in April, breaching the 100-point mark that separates optimism from pessimism and regaining some ground after dropping 4.8 per cent to 98.8 in March.

"The month-to-month gain in sentiment was driven by a solid rise in expectations for the economy and family finances with some offsetting drag from weaker assessments around current finances and 'time to buy a major household item'," Westpac economist Bill Evans said.

The survey of 1,200 households - conducted between April 1 to April 5 - picked up a positive response to tax relief measures in the federal budget announced on April 2, according to Mr Evans.

"Sentiment over the course of the week showed a clear boost, with sentiment amongst those surveyed post-budget 7.7 per cent higher than sentiment amongst those surveyed pre-budget," he said.

About 15 per cent of respondents expected the budget to improve their finances over the next twelve months, 51 per cent expected no change and 22 per cent expected it to worsen their circumstances.

Mr Evans said it was unclear if the boost in optimism would be sustained given the fact that, with only the pre-budget responses considered, the index had been on track for a further deterioration in sentiment from March.

The overall results of the survey indicated those earning more than $80,000 a year recorded the largest boost in confidence in April.

Consumer confidence jumped 3.2 per cent in the month among survey respondents earning between $80,000 and $100,000 a year and increased 2.1 per cent for those with incomes of more than $100,000.

The poll recorded a dip in sentiment in April for people in the $20,000-40,000, $40,000-60,000 and $60,000-80,000 income brackets while those earning less than $20,000 had a 4.9 per cent gain but the sub-index only reached 89.9, indicating pessimists still outweighed optimists in that demographic section.

Over the last 12 months, confidence among sub-$20,000 earners dropped 10.1 per cent, $80,000-$100,000 earners had a 2.4 per cent boost and sentiment for those earning more than $100,000 fell 2.3 per cent.

The Westpac-Melbourne Institute poll also registered a 1.2 per cent gain in sentiment among renters in April, a 2.8 per cent dip for people paying off a mortgage and a six per cent jump for those who fully owned their homes.
Four people have been arrested over an incident in regional Victoria, where a man was found dead.

Emergency crews were called to the One Tree Hill Lookout at Spring Gully, Bendigo, on March 15, after reports a man had been stabbed.

The 24-year-old Long Gully man died at the scene.

Police on Wednesday arrested a 20-year-old Long Gully woman, a 27-year-old Flora Hill man, a 22-year-old Flora Hill man and a 28-year-old Long Gully man.

All four are expected to be charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment and assault and will appear at Bendigo Magistrates' Court later on Wednesday.

A 19-year-old Kennington man previously arrested over the man's death has been released pending further inquiries and police say the investigation remains ongoing.
Kelvin Gastelum says he's not over the heartbreak of the late cancellation of his title fight with Australia's UFC middleweight world champion Robert Whittaker.

However, the American is "1000 per cent ready" for this weekend's interim title clash with New Zealander Israel Adesanya.

Gastelum's title fight with Whittaker at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena on February 10 was called off just a few hours beforehand, with the champion requiring emergency surgery after suffering from a collapsed bowel and an internal hernia.

Fourth-ranked Gastelum will fight fifth-ranked Adesanya in Atlanta on Sunday (AEST), with the winner expected to fight Whittaker in the second half of the year.

Gastelum said he hadn't heard from the Whittaker camp since leaving Melbourne and resumed training two weeks later.

"Oh man, I'm still not over it, it was heartbreaking," Gastelum told AAP.

"When all you thoughts, all your emotions all your work were focused on this one moment, this one day and it gets taken away from you, it just does something to you.

"I felt like I went through a rollercoaster of emotions after that, I had to go through those hurdles for me to able to get re-motivated and reset the mind, reset the body and focus on Israel.

"It was hard for me to do so at first but we got over those humps and we've put in the work and 1000 per cent ready for this fight"

Gastelum got a front-row look at Adesanya during the Kiwi's unanimous decision win over UFC legend Anderson Silva in Melbourne.

'I didn't see a lot of pop in Israel Adesanya's punches," Gastelum said.

"I feel like I have the complete opposite style of his, my style is gritty and sometimes it's not the prettiest style, whereas he's got a really flashy pretty style.

"I feel like my style can overwhelm his because mine is about pressure and power and speed."

Gastelum will concede large height and reach advantages to flamboyant Nigerian-born Adesanya, who has been fast-tracked after winning his first five UFC fights.

"I'm not the fastest, most skilled guy, biggest or strongest guy, but I think what sets me apart is my will to win," Gastelum said.
A Melbourne man killed his ex-wife because of an argument over the heating in their family home, then tried to flee to Queensland because "what's been done has been done".

Mehmed Solmaz, 62, beat his former bride Fatma, 61, with a table leg until she was unconscious then strangled her with an electrical cord knotted around her neck, prosecutors told the Supreme Court in a pre-sentence hearing on Wednesday.

He pleaded guilty in August last year to murder, but confessed his crimes shortly after the killing, telling his sister and nephew within hours what he'd done in May 2017.

"There's nothing to talk about. What's been done has been done," prosecutor Ray Gibson SC told the court, recounting Solmaz's conversation with his nephew that night.

"I love you. I need to go away for few days but I'm going to hand myself in."

Solmaz was arrested at Goondiwindi two days later, when he told officers he knew he was being arrested "because I killed the wife".

Mrs Solmaz, who was in remission from leukaemia, suffered blunt force trauma to her head but died from strangulation.

Solmaz told police he didn't know how many times he'd hit her, but he put the cord around her neck after she "fell and fainted".

He claimed she had tried to hit him with the table leg first and that after killing her he panicked, ran away and had not intended to return to Victoria.

Solmaz's lawyer Gideon Boas said while the divorced couple remained living together for financial and cultural reasons, they had lived separate lives since 1993.

Their marriage was arranged in Bulgaria when they were teens and was "not an easy or happy marriage".

He said Solmaz had told a psychologist after the murder that he believed Mrs Solmaz wanted to poison him and had threatened to kill him in his sleep.

But Justice Andrew Tinney struggled to accept the submission and said even if there was any truth to the claims they would not mitigate the circumstances of the killing.

He said one of Solmaz's sons called him a "strange character" who was violent and controlling.

"He has always been very selfish and very authoritative. I remember him bashing mum numerous times," the son said.

Both sons were in court on Wednesday but do not have contact with their father.

Dr Boas said Solmaz's almost two years already spent in prison had been isolating because he barely spoke English and the single visit he had was "not a friendly visit".

Solmaz wants to return to Bulgaria but has been told his ex-family "will kill him" if he does, the lawyer added.

Solmaz is due back in court for a further hearing before being sentenced at a later date.
A ghost hunter who abused and threatened Virgin airline workers over the phone has used medical complications associated with his weight to avoid time behind bars.

Paranormal investigator Kade Jones, 49, pleaded guilty in the Brisbane District Court on Wednesday to two counts of using a carriage service to harass.

In June 2017, he abused and threatened staff at the airline, leaving them feeling scared, belittled, upset and degraded.

Commonwealth prosecutor Sam Hill told the court Jones taunted a call service operator from Manilla in the Philippines and threatened a Brisbane operator with legal action after he was transferred through to her.

The court was told Jones had already been placed on a watchlist with the airline, which banned him from flying with them in 2010 after he made a number of calls to the company.

Jones also had been convicted of similar offences on three other occasions dating back to 1998.

In his sentencing submissions, Jones' barrister Rob Glenday said prison would be too difficult for his client due to his complicated obesity.

He submitted medical documents which said Jones needed to lose weight to get below 250kg before he could have an operation to assist with medical conditions.

In sentencing, Judge Vicki Loury slammed Jones' actions as offensive, threatening and racist.

She said Jones had shown no contrition and provided no explanation for abusing the airline staff.

She sentenced him to 12 months' prison, but ordered he be released on a $2000 good behaviour recognisance for five years.

Judge Loury said if he harassed people over the phone again he would be sent behind bars regardless of his weight.
A woman obsessed with serial killers who was found guilty of murdering an autistic teenager has appealed her conviction, with her lawyer arguing a macabre book she wrote was "not of significant probative value".

Jemma Lilley and her bondage-loving housemate Trudi Lenon garrotted and stabbed 18-year-old Aaron Pajich at their Perth house, then buried him in a shallow grave in their backyard, covering it with concrete and tiles in June 2016.

The women blamed each other at their four-and-a-half week Supreme Court of WA trial, but a jury took less than three hours to find them both guilty.

Lilley appeared in the WA Court of Appeal via video link from Eastern Goldfields Regional Prison on Wednesday.

Her defence counsel Simon Watters argued a book called Playzone, which she wrote aged 16 and centred on a fictional male serial killer named SOS, was deemed admissible at trial but not relevant as propensity evidence.

"One would think that the book was highly relevant," one of the three appeal judges Justice Michael Buss said.

"It demonstrated the appellant's obsession with serial killers and murder generally."

Justice Buss noted Lilley used the name SOS in exchanges with Lenon at times close to the killing.

Mr Watters also took issue with the suggestion a person "very interested" in knives such as Lilley was more likely to have formed an intention to stab someone.

Justice Buss said the evidence, along with the rest that was heard at trial, was "overwhelmingly probative".

Justice Robert Mazza said Lilley was "obsessed" with knives.

"There were an extraordinary number of knives," he said.

The judges have reserved their decision.
Australia's defence chiefs have dismissed as "ridiculous" the listing of Middle East-based United States military forces as terrorists by Iran.

Iran has designated the United States Central Command a terrorist organisation, in retaliation to Donald Trump applying the same label to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

Defence secretary Greg Moriarty said the US Central Command was a vital arm of the American military, and therefore a very close ally of Australia.

Mr Moriarty didn't mince his words when asked to express his view on the high profile international stoush.

"The United States Central Command conducts itself in accordance with US law and with international law," he told a Senate inquiry in Canberra on Wednesday.

"The Australian Department of Defence does not recognise at all - and in fact, views as ridiculous - any designation or accusation that the United States Central Command is a terrorist organisation."

Defence chief Angus Campbell was even more blunt when asked for his own opinion.

"Doubly ridiculous," General Campbell told senators.
It might not pay to be too diligent in filing your tax return in July, with the tax office confirming it has to wait for parliament to pass legislation before it can give people on low and middle incomes a $1000 rebate.

The budget papers last week said a low and middle income tax offset - doubled to $1080 for people earning up to $90,000 - would be included in the ATO's assessment notices after people lodge their tax returns in each of the four financial years it applies.

"This will ensure that taxpayers receive a benefit when they lodge returns from 1 July 2019," the budget papers state.

But senior tax office bureaucrat Andrew Mills told senators on Wednesday the assessments had to be based on the law at the time they were issued - meaning parliament must have passed the increase to the offset amount for people to get it.

It is unlikely parliament will sit between the federal election and the end of the financial year on June 30.

For subsequent years, Mr Mills said if it was clear the policy had bipartisan support, the ATO could include the amount in the tax rate schedules it gives employers telling them how much to withhold from workers' pay.

These schedules are usually issued around the start of each financial year, in June or July.

"It's too late to obviously change schedules (for 2018/19) at this point and, to be frank, I'm not quite sure we have absolute clarity that both sides actually support the exact nature of it," Mr Mills told the estimates committee hearing in Canberra.

"Although there have been indications, we need the absolute clarity that there is identity between what's proposed on one side and what's agreed to on the other."

He denied the process had been chaotic, saying it was just what happens.

"There's no chaos involved in waiting for a law to apply in order to implement something in an assessment."

Mr Mills said the ATO had told Treasury before the budget was released this was the process for giving people the offset.

ATO officials said while Treasurer Josh Frydenberg's office had checked on Monday what they had told a reporter inquiring into the need for legislation, they had otherwise had no contact from Mr Frydenberg, his office or his department regarding the implementation of the policy since budget night.

"Unfortunately, (ATO commissioner Chris) Jordan is actually unavailable to be contacted at the moment - he is on a trek, I can't even tell you where, actually, but anyway we can't contact him by telephone," acting commissioner Jacqui Curtis told the senators.

"But we have checked with his office ... We're pretty certain that he hasn't spoken to Treasury since budget night and certainly none of us have."
A 22-month-old girl has been abducted from Grafton with authorities suspecting her father may have taken the toddler to Queensland.

NSW Police say Aria Jane Killiby has been missing since Monday morning and they suspect she's travelling with her father, Leroy Killiby, in a red Jeep Cherokee with Queensland registration plates 131 XDG.

The police force issued an amber alert on Wednesday asking anyone with "information about this abduction" to ring triple zero.

Officers went to a Grafton address on Monday morning holding "extreme concerns" for Aria's welfare but couldn't locate her or her father.
After knifing Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard while in power, shadow treasurer Chris Bowen says Labor didn't just change the party's rules, it changed the culture.

With the polls predicting Labor to return to government six years after the party was kicked out of power, Mr Bowen says the lessons have been learned.

"To your question about whether I regret the Rudd-Gillard years in the broad and the instability, of course I do. I think we all do," he told the National Press Club on Wednesday.

"We got that wrong, and so we changed the rules. That's not unimportant, but more importantly, we changed the culture."

A decade of prime ministerial coups started in 2010 when Kevin Rudd was pushed out of the top job by Julia Gillard, before Mr Rudd then pushed her out again in 2013.

The coalition promised to end the instability in the top job, but then dumped Tony Abbott in 2015 and Malcolm Turnbull in 2018.

Mr Bowen said if Labor wins the May election, Bill Shorten will be the first Labor prime minister in more than 100 years to win from opposition with prior experience as a cabinet minister.

He said when the Howard government was elected in 1996, there were only three ministers with prior cabinet experience.

In contrast, 16 of Labor's 21 shadow cabinet members have been cabinet ministers before.

"I can't begin to tell you what a difference that will make, making us a better government for that experience," Mr Bowen said.
A veteran police officer claims he was bullied into retirement by senior colleagues and has launched legal action against Victoria Police.

Travis Mulder, a 21-year servant of the Victorian police force, feared he would be bullied once he was stationed at Box Hill in 2012 due to his links to separate "civil proceedings", not further described.

He claims his apprehension was warranted, reporting he was thereafter consistently bullied by four officers during a six-month period.

Mr Mulder launched a WorkCover claim in 2013 for psychological injury as a result of his time at Box Hill, but alleges he was subsequently denied promotion opportunities.

In April 2014, he was again directed to work at Box Hill but refused, fearing the impact on his health, and requested to be stationed at Burwood instead.

Victoria Police eventually accepted liability for the mental health WorkCover claim, but Mr Mulder alleges he was offered no chance to return to work and had to retire on medial grounds in 2016.

He claims he could have continued working had he been at a different station and is alleging he was discriminated against by forcing him into retirement.

Mr Mulder has launched action against Victoria Police in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal and Fair Work Commission, alleging breaches of the Equal Opportunity Act and unfair dismissal.

He wants damages for pain, suffering and stress, as well as apologies from four police officers and Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton.

"Victoria Police attempted to prejudice a workcover claim that I submitted in 2013 by forcing me to work at a police station (Box Hill) where I had previously had been bullied," Mr Mulder said, in documents filed with the tribunal.

"The direction to work at the police station was in breach of the Enterprise Bargaining Agreement."

Victoria Police and four individual officers at the centre of Mr Mulder's claim this month lost a bid to have the matters against them struck out.

But Mr Mulder's unfair dismissal claims were dismissed by the tribunal.
Xia Yang, 27, can't walk down a street in Sydney without being recognised by fans.

The mother-of-two from the Chinese province of Zhejiang has more than four million followers on social media channel Weibo and many are from Australia and New Zealand.

"Many Chinese people recognise me, it can be quite nerve-wracking sometimes," she told AAP on Wednesday through a translator.

The influencer - or 'key opinion leader' as they are known in China - is one of ten in town for the latest product launch from Australian skincare brand Eaoron.

With a combined following of 29 million people, they are key to Earon's success - more than 70 per cent of its revenue is derived from the Chinese market.

"It's a very big brand, very popular in China," Ms Yang said.

"Australian produced products, particularly in food, healthcare and beauty, are regarded as among the best in the world."

Earon's business development manager Fernando Rodriguez said more than 35 million units were sold in China in the past 12 months.

"Social media and the marketing and advertising, it travels faster in Asia," he said

"In Australia, you have 25 million people, if you target them you can get one, maybe two per cent as customers, in China the minimum percentage you get is millions and millions of people."
James Segeyaro is set for a NRL reprieve after Cronulla prop Ava Seumanufagai's decision to join Leeds in the Super League on a two-and-a-half-year deal.

Segeyaro was only at the Sharks on a training contract while playing for Newtown in the second-tier NSW Cup.

But Seumanufagai's move to England will allow the Sharks to squeeze the one-time representative hooker into their 30-man first-grade squad.

While Segeyaro seemingly remains behind Jayden and Blayke Brailey in the pecking order for Cronulla's No.9 starting jumper, the 28-year-old can at least provide injury back-up and remain in Australia to fight for his NRL career.

Seumanufagai's contract was expiring at the end of the 2019 season and the Sharks gave the New Zealander permission to speak with other clubs as they sought to ease pressure on their salary cap.

It had long been speculated he would join the Rhinos.

The signing will fuel speculation over the future of former Kangaroos Test forward Trent Merrin, who is on compassionate leave in Sydney and has been linked with a return to St George Illawarra. But the Rhinos insist their marquee signing will be on a flight back to England next Monday.

Seumanufagai began his NRL career in 2013 with the Wests Tigers and was a regular with the Sharks at the start of last season, making 13 appearances.

"We are delighted to get the deal finally done to sign Ava," said Kevin Sinfield, the boss of Leeds, who are bottom of the Super League with just two wins from 10 games this season.
The head of Australia's corporate watchdog says comments to the media by unnamed senior bankers questioning the regulator's methods are "destructive" in the aftermath of the banking royal commission.

A number of anonymous bankers told media outlets last month that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's new focus on laying criminal changes would lead to a tighter credit market, hurting Australians.

ASIC chair James Shipton has told a budget estimates hearing that the comments came less than 50 days after banking royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne handed down his final report.

The inquiry found shocking evidence of misconduct and greed in the Australian financial sector, at the expense of customers and businesses.

"It was very disheartening that within 50 days of this very important document, and almost universal support for the direction travelled within it, that we were getting this resistance and pushback," Mr Shipton told senators in Canberra on Wednesday.

"These comments are ultimately unhelpful and destructive, because they do not represent the constructive engagement that we want to have."

Despite the pushback from some quarters, Mr Shipton said ASIC was "very confident" in its position as it deals with the recommendations of the royal commission.

"We now have a mantra in our organisation and our agency of just getting on with it," Mr Shipton said.

The regulator is currently investigating or preparing to investigate 90 cases of misconduct, including almost 30 that emerged from the inquiry.

That's double the 45 investigations underway in September and an increase of about 130 per cent on the regulator's misconduct investigations in April last year.

"It's a big body of work," the watchdog's executive director of financial services enforcement Tim Mullaly said.

"For each report that's coming in we're getting other matters that we're identifying ourselves, through surveillance work or through the investigations that we're doing."

Laws giving the ASIC new powers cleared federal parliament last week, with the authority now able to intervene in products where it is deemed they pose a significant risk to consumers.

The corporate watchdog and fellow regulator, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, also received a funding windfall of $600 million in last week's federal budget, to ensure it is sufficiently resourced to help deal with the royal commission's 76 recommendations.
A family who have been living in Australia for 10 years are facing deportation because their son born with cystic fibrosis is considered a burden on the health system.

Irish couple Christine and Anthony Hyde are appealing to Immigration Minister David Coleman in their bid to be granted permanent residency.

Their application to settle in Australia was rejected by the Home Affairs Department because of their three-year-old son Darragh's condition.

The Hydes have launched an online petition calling for the department to reconsider their judgement and allow them to stay in the regional Victorian town of Seymour.

The couple say Darragh will be able to complete studies all the way through to university and is a "bright boy with a positive future ahead of him".

"We have positive letters from his doctors and specialists stating that he should live a full life and that his disease progression will be much slower than average," Christine said.

"Darragh has the support of his family, our large support network in Seymour and the wider Australian community."

Christine has completed an education degree since arriving in Australia in 2009 and now works as an acting assistant principal, while Anthony works as a bus driver.

"We have a strong support network here with our friends and family and we are well settled in regional Victoria," she said.

The Home Affairs Department says it doesn't comment on individual cases, but if one member of a family doesn't satisfy visa requirements, then all members will be turned down.

"The health requirement is not condition-specific and the assessment is undertaken individually for each applicant based on their condition and level of severity," a department spokesman told AAP.

"It is an objective assessment to determine whether the care of the individual during their stay in Australia would likely result in significant costs to the Australian community or prejudice the access of Australian citizens and permanent residents to services in short supply."

The Hydes change.org petition has passed more than 7000 signatures.
Kyle Chalmers has captured another Australian swimming title, winning the 200m freestyle final in Adelaide.

Chalmers produced a trademark strong second half of Wednesday night's race to hold off Elijah Winnington and win by six-tenths of a second.

"Tonight was kind of all heart really," Chalmers said.

"As the meet progresses, my body is probably not quite ready to do such a long meet, I'm obviously still in training."

Cate Campbell has also claimed another title, added the 50m freestyle title to the 100m free crown she claimed earlier in the meet.

"It's a little bit of a lottery," Campbell said of the short dash.

"You just have to spin the wheel and see what comes out the other side.

And Mitch Larkin collected his third national title of the meet - and 17th of his decorated career - by winning the 400m individual medley by just three-tenths of a second from Brendon Smith.

Larkin had claimed the 100m backstroke and 200m individual medley titles in recent nights.
Australians have been warned that their nation will only become fairer through strong economic growth, as they weigh up who to vote for in the upcoming federal election.

The Business Council of Australia has expressed the sentiment while laying out a plan it says will help whichever side of politics wins the May poll to address community concerns about where the country is heading.

"A low growth environment is demonstrably unfair because it's about winners and losers," chief executive Jennifer Westacott has told AAP.

"A high growth environment is the only path towards fairness, because it creates a 'more for all' platform."

After touring regional hubs in the past 12 months, Ms Westacott says people are crying out for a cohesive plan for the nation's future and understand that businesses will be key to making Australia stronger.

People want their wages to go up, power bills to go down and a sense of certainty that there will be jobs for them in the future because they have the right skills and the right opportunities available to them, she says.

City-based residents are concerned about congestion while others in the regions are keen for more people, business investment and activity.

At the heart of the BCA's plan for dealing with such challenges is ramping up economic growth, which Ms Westacott says is the lens through which every policy should be examined.

Encouraging investment and innovation to boost productivity is also central.

"The things that really drive this economy hard are these very big projects," Ms Westacott said.

Ensuring the workforce has the skills to deal with the changes technology brings, such as increasing automation, is also key.

There is not one single activity will achieve progress in any of these areas, Ms Westacott stressed.

But she said Australians should be given credit for their ability to understand the complex picture.

For instance, wages growth relies on a strong economy, low unemployment, business investment and improving productivity.

"That is just the harsh reality of the world we live in," she said.

Among items on the BCA's "to do list" for the federal government is auditing the strength of regional areas, and prioritising infrastructure spending depending on which have the greatest potential to grow.

The council has also recommended reforming the education and skills system beyond high school and giving every Australian a "lifelong skills account" - funded by both government and student loans - to ensure people are receiving training and education throughout their lives.

Increasing the single rate of Newstart for jobseekers who have been receiving welfare for a long period is also important, the BCA says.

Politicians must also come to terms with the need to cut the company tax rate to 25 per cent for all businesses, in order to remain competitive.

As a temporary measure, it could introduce a broad-based investment allowance for all assets that are depreciable under tax laws.
A man accused of being involved in an international crime ring that targeted Sydney designer stores has been extradited from Victoria to NSW.

Police will allege the 34-year-old Chilean national was involved in stealing luxury items from the stores before the goods and cash were shipped overseas.

He was arrested for shoplifting offences in Melbourne in December before his extradition to NSW was granted on Tuesday.

State police are also seeking to extradite another 65-year-old Chilean national who was arrested at Melbourne Airport on Sunday for theft offences.

Eight other Chilean nationals are before the courts over the alleged theft of $1.2 million worth of jewellery, luxury items and cash from Sydney homes and designer shops.

The 34-year-old is due to face the Central Local Court later on Friday charged with two counts of knowingly dealing with proceeds of crime.
FEDERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN: DAY 2

WHERE THE LEADERS ARE CAMPAIGNING

* Prime Minister Scott Morrison: Sydney

* Labor leader Bill Shorten: Sydney

WHAT THE COALITION WANTS TO TALK ABOUT

Only the coalition can be trusted to manage the economy, electing Labor means $38.7 billion extra in taxes every year for the next decade.

WHAT LABOR WANTS TO TALK ABOUT:

We'll restore money cut from schools and hospitals, $125 million for cancer research funding.

WHAT IS MAKING NEWS:

* Australian officials are on the way to London after Julian Assange was arrested within the Ecuadorian embassy.

* Morrison and Shorten have agreed to a leaders debate in Perth before May 18.

THEY SAID WHAT?

"Do you remember Sunny my sombrero? He was very useful at the last election when we sent packing three Liberal members of parliament out of Tasmania. Well, Sunny's come out again because what he wants to say to Scott Morrison is: 'Adios amigo'." - Labor Senator Helen Polley in a video on Twitter.

TWEETED:

"I'm biased of course, but @JoshFrydenberg all class turning up to an event with the audience stacked against him and gave a comprehensive and eloquent presentation #KooyongVotes" - Liberal Senator James Paterson
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has made his bed and now he has to lie in it, Prime Minister Scott Morrison says.

Mr Morrison says a push by the United States to have Mr Assange extradited form the United Kingdom, for leaking government secrets, has got nothing to do with Australia.

"When Australians travel overseas and find themselves in difficulty with the law, they face the judicial systems of those countries," the prime minister has told ABC television after Mr Assange's dramatic arrest in London on Thursday.
Bill Shorten's first day in public on the election campaign started with fresh flowers at dawn and some negative feedback about negative gearing.

On a visit to the Sydney flower markets the Labor leader heard from locals about the economy in the marginal seat of Reid, which is vacant after Liberal Craig Laundy's retirement.

The Labor leader talked up his small business investment guarantee with local flower growers and vegetable sellers as he pressed the flesh in the busy market.

Flower grower Wayne Inglis chatted to him about import rules for flowers, which he says have flooded in from overseas due to recent free trade agreements.

Mr Inglis said he wasn't too fussed about who was prime minister, as long as they conserved money and strengthened the economy.

"I think that we need to consolidate this country financially," Mr Inglis told reporters on Friday morning.

"I always believe, if you've got a good strong economy then everything is going to fall into place."

Another grower had a long chat with Mr Shorten and told him his negative gearing policy was the wrong call at the wrong time.

Mr Shorten got a friendly invitation to a Good Friday service at St Charbel's church in Punchbowl, which he said he would accept if he was in Sydney that day.

The opposition leader got a mixed reaction from the voters he met - two women shook his hand but later told AAP they had no idea who he was.

But another voter, Ben, said he would vote for Mr Shorten because of his promises to make cancer treatment cheaper.

Labor is counting on its healthcare spending to win over voters, with another $125 million for cancer researchers to be announced on Friday morning.
Nearly $7 million worth of MDMA and 'ice' has been seized and three people charged with supplying drugs in Sydney's west.

Detectives on Thursday arrested two men, aged 25 and 28, at a car park in Pendle Hill, where it's alleged they were about to hand over 5kg of MDMA.

A 32-year-old man was arrested a short time later at a shopping centre in Strathfield.

Police later raided homes in Meadowbank, Granville and Parramatta, seizing a further 10kg of methylamphetamine, 1kg of MDMA, drug paraphernalia, cash, mobile phones and electronic devices.

The drugs had an estimated street value of $6.8 million.

The three men were charged with various offences, including supplying a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug.

They were refused bail to appear at Parramatta Local Court on Friday.
A council ranger is in hospital after he was allegedly punched in the face by a man in Sydney's southwest.

The Liverpool City Council ranger was walking with a colleague along a Norfolk Serviceway about 12.30pm on Tuesday when confronted by the occupants of a white Subaru WRX Impreza, police said.

The male passenger allegedly approached one of the rangers - a 35-year-old man - and punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground unconscious.

He suffered serious facial injuries and is expected to undergo surgery on Friday.

Police are searching for his attacker.
A truck driver has fled the scene of a crash in Melbourne's north that left another driver clinging to life.

Police allege a white truck with a trailer hit a silver Ford on Pascoe Vale Road, Glenroy, about 6.20am.

The Ford was forced into oncoming traffic, causing another crash with a black ute.

The Ford driver, believed to be in his mid-thirties, was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Police are searching for the truck driver, who who left the scene shortly after the incident.

Pascoe Vale Road is closed in both directions between the Western Ring Road and Glenroy Road and drivers are urged to avoid the area for the rest of the morning.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Labor rival Bill Shorten are arguing over Treasury costings right out of the election campaign starting gate.

The coalition says Labor's tax policies will cost $387 billion extra over the next decade, but Mr Shorten says the figures are wrong.

"The Liberals are lying about tax. I don't want to talk too much about it, that's just a bucket of lies," he told Nine's Today on Friday.

But Finance Minister Mathias Cormann says Labor should reveal their costings if they dispute $387 billion number.

"If they are arguing against that figure, well Bill Shorten may as well argue that boiling water is freezing cold," he told Sky News.

Mr Morrison says the May 18 election is a choice between a strong economy under the coalition and a weak economy under Labor.

"If you can't manage money you can't run the country," he told ABC News.

"When the economy is stronger, then your wages are stronger, your jobs are more secure, your outlook is better."

Both leaders have started their campaigns in Sydney's west, with Mr Shorten visiting a flower market and speaking with small business owners.

Craig Laundy won the seat of Reid, where the markets are located, for the Liberals for the first time ever with a 4.7 per cent margin, but the close Turnbull ally is retiring and Labor has strong hopes of the electorate returning to the fold.

The Penrith-based seat of Lindsay is also in play, with Labor's Emma Husar winning it from the government in 2016 with a 1.1 per cent margin but not recontesting the post after a scandal involving her treatment of staff.

Melissa McIntosh will try to prise it back for the Liberal Party, while Labor is running former NSW state minister Diane Beamer.

Macquarie, on western Sydney's outer fringe, is also expected to receive attention from the prime minister.

Labor on Friday announced an extra $125 million to fund cancer research if the party wins the election.

The leaders have also reportedly agreed to a head-to-head debate in Perth before Australians cast their vote.

Opinion polls are pointing to the coalition losing power to Labor after five-and-a-half years in office.
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has accused his Labor opponent in the Brisbane seat of Dickson of using her disability as an excuse for not moving into the constituency ahead of the May 18 federal election.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann was quick to back his cabinet colleague's remarks, saying he was only expressing the views of Dickson constituents.

Labor candidate Ali France, who had her leg amputated after she was hit by a car in 2011, has said she has been unable to find an accessible home in the area but would buy a house and modify it if she won.

Mr Dutton told the Australian newspaper there were plenty of people with disability living in Dickson.

"A lot of people have raised this with me. I think they are quite angry that Ms France is using her disability as an excuse for not moving into our electorate," he said.

Senator Cormann backed Mr Dutton's comments.

"As Peter Dutton pointed out, clearly, there are people with a disability that live across Dickson and what people in his electorate have put to him is that they don't accept the explanation that was offered as a reason for his opponent not moving into the seat of Dickson," the senator told Sky News.

Deputy Labor Leader Tanya Plibersek was less forgiving, labelling the Home Affairs minister a "pea-heart".

"Having someone like him sitting around the cabinet table tells you why this government could build the flimsy (budget) surplus on the back of 70,000 people missing out on the National Disability Insurance Scheme packages they thought they would get this year," she told ABC Radio.

Greens Senator Jordan Steele-John, himself confined to a wheelchair, tweeted: "Ableism is not going to save you in Dickson ... Get in the bin."
Here's how key figures have reacted to the dramatic arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in London.

His expulsion from the Ecuadorian embassy means the US can now seek his extradition over the biggest leak of classified information in American history.

* Australian Prime Minister Scott Morisson:

"It's got nothing to do with us, it is a matter for the US." - Morrison rules out Australian intervention in Assange's extradition.

* Opposition Leader Bill Shorten:

"He should receive consular assistance and other than that I don't know the facts and he will be represented in court." - Shorten after being asked if Labor would fight the extradition.

* British Prime Minister Theresa May:

"The whole House will welcome the news this morning that the Metropolitan Police have arrested Julian Assange, arrested for breach of bail after nearly seven years in the Ecuadorean embassy," May tells parliament no-one is above the law.

* British Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn:

"The extradition of Julian Assange to the US for exposing evidence of atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan should be opposed by the British government."

* British Judge Michael Snow:

"His behaviour is that of a narcissist who cannot get beyond his own selfish interests." - Snow condemns Assange while convicting him of skipping bail in 2012 and taking refuge in the embassy.

* US President Donald Trump:

"I know nothing about WikiLeaks. It's not my thing." - US President Donald Trump tells reporters he has no opinion on the charges against Assange.

* Assange's lawyer Jennifer Robinson:

"Since 2010 we've warned that Julian Assange would face prosecution and extradition to the United States for his publishing activities with WikiLeaks. Unfortunately today we've been proven right." Robinson warns of a "dangerous precedent" for media who dare to report truthful information about the US.

* Australian journalist John Pilger:

"The action of the British police in literally dragging Julian Assange from the Ecuadorean embassy and the smashing of international law by the Ecuadorean regime in permitting this barbarity are crimes against the most basic natural justice. This is a warning to all journalists."

* WikiLeaks editor Kristinn Hrafnsson

"This is a dark day for journalism. This has to be averted," Hrafnsson, who also accused Ecuador of throwing Assange "overboard".

* Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno

"(Ecuador will) be more careful in giving asylum to people who are really worth it and not miserable hackers whose only goal is to destabilise governments. We are tolerant, calm people but we're not stupid." - Moreno accuses Assange of political meddling and biting the hand that fed him for years.

* Ecuadorian ambassador to the UK Jaime Marchan:

"He has said that we were spying on him, he has said we were lying, we were agents of the United States." - Marchan, who also accused Assange of interfering in elections, politics and the internal affairs of other countries.

* US whistleblower Edward Snowden:

"Images of Ecuador's ambassador inviting the UK's secret police into the embassy to drag a publisher of-like it or not-award-winning journalism out of the building are going to end up in the history books. Assange's critics may cheer, but this is a dark moment for press freedom." Snowden, who lives in political asylum in Russia.

* Assange's friend, US actress Pamela Anderson:

"How could you Equador (sic)? (Because he exposed you). How could you UK? Of course - you are America's bitch and you need a diversion from your idiotic Brexit bullshit."
The consumer watchdog says publicly listed price comparison website iSelect misled and deceived customers for two years by recommending energy retailers that paid it higher commissions.

The Australian Consumer Competition Commission alleged on Friday that since at least November 2016, iSelect had claimed consumers using its website would benefit from iSelect comparing all plans available from its partner retailers in a specific location.

The ACCC said during this period, iSelect also claimed that it would recommend the most competitive plan to consumers.

"But we claim they were actually favouring some partner retailers over others, such as those on its 'Preferred Partner Program' who were allowed to have more plans available on the iSelect website that excluded and targeted certain consumers," ACCC chair Rod Sims said.

"These preferred retailers paid iSelect higher commissions."

In a statement tot the ASX, iSelect said it took its obligations under Australian Consumer Law very seriously and had processes in place to ensure compliance.

"iSelect has worked cooperatively with ACCC throughout its investigation," the company said.

"As the matter is now before the Federal Court, the company is unable to make any further comment".

The ACCC said it is seeking pecuniary penalties, injunctions, declarations, correctives and costs.

It said more than nine million Australians visited the iSelect website in FY2017 with six million recommendations to consumers over all categories.
The Nationals are throwing a contender in the ring for Environment Minister Melissa Price's West Australian seat of Durack.

Scott Bourne has lived in the Pilbara for 12 years and says the region has changed for the better because of the state government's support of infrastructure projects.

"When the National Party were in state government, the regions prospered with commitment to new, much-needed infrastructure," he said in a statement on Friday.

"I believe it is the federal government's turn to support regional Western Australia with long-term commitments to improve education and health at all levels.

"I want to run for the National Party because I want to be that strong voice for regional Western Australia in Canberra."

Ms Price has held the seat - which is Australia's largest electorate - since 2013 and at the moment has an 11.1 per cent margin.

While the coalition parties usually have an agreement not to run three-cornered contests against a sitting MP, the WA Nationals work independently of the federal party organisation.

The move to challenge the minister for her seat comes after Queensland Nationals pressured Ms Price to give the final federal approvals for a massive Adani coal mine in the Galilee Basin.

She signed off on the mine's groundwater plan on Tuesday.

Durack was first created at the 2010 federal election and has only had two sitting members - Ms Price and fellow Liberal Barry Haase.

Labor's candidate is higher education co-ordinator Sharyn Morrow, while the Greens are putting forward indigenous ranger leader Johani Mamid.
The Mustangs are poised to roar on Phillip Island, with the Ford fleet easing through the first Supercars practice session of the weekend.

While Anton de Pasquale topped the timing charts in his Commodore, series leader Scott McLaughlin appeared relaxed and comfortable on the Island, where he holds an intimidating record.

McLaughlin has taken the last seven pole positions at the Victorian track, winning six races for both Garry Rogers Motorsport and DJR Team Penske since 2014.

The 25-year-old series leader nursed his Mustang around the circuit on Friday, leading the field for most of practice before de Pasquale took over.

The Erebus Motorsport driver's 1:31.3181 won the day, ahead of Will Davison, Rick Kelly and McLaughlin.

Most drivers pulled their punches as they acclimatised to the notoriously challenging track.

Four Fords featured in the top seven places, with huge interest as to how the rampant Mustangs perform after having their centre of gravity altered by Supercars officials seeking improved parity.

Jamie Whincup, who endured a dire meet in Tasmania last weekend, forecast more pain for his Red Bull Holden Racing Team on Phillip Island.

"The car is similar to the test day, it's not 100 per cent," he said.

"We didn't put (new) tyres on ... I'm not saying we're going to jump to the front. We have work to do.

"The car is not suited to Phillip Island. But we'll work it out."

The session was red flagged for five minutes as drivers contended with several Cape Barren Geese that strayed into harm's way.

David Reynolds, who finished in 14th, summed up the mood of drivers.

"It's a grouse track, fun to drive and as long as the geese piss off we'll have a good day," he said.
A Thai sex worker who was spat on and bruised by Sydney clients was told by the woman she lived with to "just put up with it", a jury has heard.

Rungnapha Kanbut, 57, is on trial in the NSW District Court after pleading not guilty to six charges including intentionally possessing a slave and dealing with the proceeds of crime.

Kanbut allegedly told two Thai women they each had a $45,000 debt to pay off, and would do so through their sex work, after they arrived in Sydney and were taken to live with her in 2004 and 2005 respectively.

The first female complainant on Friday, through a Thai interpreter, said clients "quite often" spat on her and caused her bruises and that she told "Rung" about the ill-treatment.

The woman, under questioning from crown prosecutor Peter Neil SC, said that Kanbut's response was "to take certain medicines, to just put up with it until the time was up and to just keep the customer".
The former partner of slain Sydney woman Cheryl Ardler has been charged with her murder more than six years after she disappeared, in what her family has described as a "bittersweet moment".

Ms Ardler was last seen by neighbours near her Cranebrook home in the days leading up to Christmas in 2012.

Human remains were found in nearby bushland in May 2018 and tests later confirmed they belonged to Ms Ardler.

On Friday, her 39-year-old former partner Dennis Andrew French was arrested and charged with murder at Penrith Local Court.

Police will allege French assaulted the 41-year-old before killing her and burying her in bushland in December 2012.

Ms Ardler's mother Irene said the news was a "very bittersweet moment".

"It's very hard to know that our beautiful Cheryl will never be coming home and that she was so cruelly taken from us," she said in a statement on Friday.

"Cheryl's smile could light up the room and her love for life was infectious.

"She is so loved by all of us and without her here, our family just won't be the same."

In 2016, a coroner found that Ms Ardler died sometime between December 5 and 25, 2012 and that the manner of her death was most likely to have been homicide.

A $750,000 reward was announced for information into the suspected murder in July last year, with Ms Ardler's sister Josephine pleading for help from the community to help solve the case.

Detective Superintendent Scott Cook at the time issued a warning to Ms Ardler's killer that he was "coming for you".

French was charged with her murder on Friday while facing Penrith Local Court for other offences, including aggravated sexual assault, detaining a person and an apprehended violence order against another woman.

He was denied bail and ordered to reappear at the same court on June 7 for the murder charge and May 3 for the other charges.
Labor leader Bill Shorten has defended his plan for major changes to the tax system, which the government says amounts to a $387 billion slug on Australians over a decade.

On the first full day of campaigning ahead of the May 18 election, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg released costings which he said showed Labor wanted to "stifle aspiration" and damage the economy.

Mr Shorten, who campaigned in Sydney, said there were clear economic and social benefits to Labor's plan to overhaul negative gearing and capital gains tax and wind back franking credit refunds.

"What we choose to do is spend scarce and important taxpayer money on educating the kids, on decreasing the out-of-pocket costs of cancer treatment, rather than spend it on tax loopholes ... or property subsidies," he said.

The opposition leader said he expected the government's attacks on Labor to "get louder, shoutier, more aggressive and more exaggerated".

Mr Frydenberg rejected Labor criticism that Treasury did not usually cost opposition policies.

"These are Treasury costings and, as Wayne Swan said when he was treasurer of Australia, Treasury do cost alternative policies and it's important to have an informed debate," he told reporters in Melbourne.

The $387 billion figure over the next decade is almost double what was previously estimated.

It includes Labor's decision not to match the coalition's 2022 and 2024 income tax cuts, as well as the property investment changes and franking credits policy.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Labor should reveal how much their plan will cost.

"The real question is why hasn't Bill Shorten told you about how much more his taxes are going to cost you?" he asked reporters in Sydney.

Mr Shorten visited a flower market in the seat of Reid before making a $125 million cancer research announcement in the seat of Bennelong.

In 2016 Craig Laundy was the first ever Liberal to win the seat of Reid, with a 4.7 per cent margin, but the close Turnbull ally is retiring and Labor has strong hopes of the electorate returning to the fold.

Liberal John Alexander has held the seat of Bennelong since 2010, holding it by a margin of 4.9 per cent.

But Labor is hoping its high-profile candidate, former Australian Medical Association president Brian Owler, can clinch the seat.

Mr Morrison campaigned in the seat of Lindsay, visiting an oil company in St Marys.

Labor's Emma Husar won the seat from the government in 2016 with a 1.1 per cent margin but she is not recontesting the post after a scandal involving her treatment of staff.

Melissa McIntosh will try to prise it back for the Liberal Party, while Labor is running former NSW state minister Diane Beamer.

The leaders have also agreed to a head-to-head debate in Perth before Australians cast their vote.
WHAT THEY SAID ON DAY 2 OF THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN

THE BEST LINE

"If they are arguing against that figure, well Bill Shorten may as well argue that boiling water is freezing cold."

- Mathias Cormann on Labor's rejection of what the government says is Treasury modelling of opposition tax policies.

THE BEST LINE (NOT)

"Dickson constituents believe Ms France's refusal to live in the electorate, even if she won the seat, is more about her enjoying the inner city lifestyle, as opposed to her inability to find a house anywhere in the electorate."

- Peter Dutton's spokesman on his Labor opponent's address. She had a leg amputated after a car accident and spent $100,000 making her current house wheelchair accessible.

PRIME MINISTER SCOTT MORRISON

"The point with Labor is when they stick one finger out, they have four pointing back at themselves."

- On Labor's protests that he's politicised Treasury advice.

"Newstart is increased twice a year. We have one of the best safety nets, if not the best of anywhere in the world, in our country."

- On whether he has any plans to boost the payment to unemployed people, currently $550 a fortnight for singles.

LABOR LEADER BILL SHORTEN

"The government are not my enemy. Cancer's my enemy."

- Announcing a further plank in his $2.3 billion package to help Australians fighting cancer.

"I expect in this election the government's attack on Labor to get louder, shoutier, more aggressive and more exaggerated."

- Something to look forward to, then.

REAL PEOPLE

At the Sydney flower markets, two women shook Shorten's hand but later told AAP they had no idea who he was.

THE SUPPORT CAST

"Probably 'unicorn' because that is unlikely to ever happen."

- LNP member George Christensen asked on radio what his prime ministerial nickname would be.
FEDERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN: DAY 2

WHERE THE LEADERS CAMPAIGNED

* Prime Minister Scott Morrison: Western Sydney (seat of Lindsay)

* Labor leader Bill Shorten: Western Sydney (seats of Reid and Bennelong)

WHAT THE COALITION WANTED TO TALK ABOUT

Labor's new taxes will cost Australians $387 billion over the next decade.

WHAT LABOR WANTED TO TALK ABOUT:

It will do everything it can to help Australians fighting cancer because while the disease makes you sick, it shouldn't make you poor.

WHAT MADE NEWS:

* Peter Dutton has come under fire for attacking his Labor opponent Ali France for not living in the electorate. France had a leg amputated after a car accident in 2011 and hasn't been able to find a wheelchair-accessible home in the Brisbane seat of Dickson.

* Australia is providing consular assistance to Julian Assange after he was arrested at the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

* Rugby Australia has vowed to terminate Israel Folau's multi-million-dollar contract unless he can explain his latest social media attack on homosexuals, while the NRL has ruled out welcoming him back to the code.

THEY SAID WHAT?

"Probably 'unicorn' because that is unlikely to ever happen." - LNP member George Christensen asked on Triple M Mackay what his prime ministerial nickname would be.

TWEETED:

"Ableism is not going to save you in Dickson @PeterDutton_MP Get in the bin." - Senator Jordon Steele-John @jordonsteele
A 26-year-old Dutch man has been charged after he allegedly assaulted passengers and crew on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Perth.

Federal police say the man became disruptive about three hours into the flight on Sunday when he began talking and shouting to himself, then banged on walls and overhead compartments after crew tried to calm him.

Moving down the aisle, he allegedly assaulted a crew member, then a male passenger who also tried to calm him before other passengers restrained him.

The man was charged with five counts of assaulting a passenger on a plane, one count of assaulting crew and one count of offensive and disorderly behaviour.

He is scheduled to appear in Perth Magistrates Court later on Friday.
Australian supporters of whistleblower Julian Assange have been kicked off the Sydney Opera House steps after unfolding a "Free Assange" banner.

Sisters Michelle and Danielle Wood tried to display the banner on Friday after Assange was arrested at Ecuador's embassy in London for skipping bail.

The United States also wants to extradite him on a charge of "computer intrusion".

"We unfolded the banner on the steps and within a minute the security arrived," Danielle Wood told AAP in Sydney.

"They said 'No you have to go, this is the Opera House precinct, you're not allowed to be here, we don't want any political statements'."

The sisters hoped a photo at the famous landmark would spread rapidly on social media.

"We wanted to show Julian Assange that Sydney is behind him," Danielle Wood said.

Dozens of supporters also gathered outside the UK consulate in Sydney's CBD chanting "Bring Julian home" and "UK must resist" and "Don't shoot the messenger".

They then marched to Martin Place where they were joined by other protesters.

Danielle's sister Michelle was watching a live video feed of the embassy in London when Assange was arrested on Thursday evening Australian time.

"It was devastating. I saw the police storm the embassy and then the footage went dead. I was so worried," Michelle Wood told AAP.

She wants Prime Minister Scott Morrison to ensure the Wikileaks founder is safe given Assange is an Australian.

The standard consular assistance being provided wasn't enough, Michelle Wood said.

"Commit to making the deal with the UK that they either keep Julian safely in the UK (with) no extradition to the US or bring him home.

"The US shouldn't be allowed to assert that power on UK soil. If they get Julian and they get journalism we won't know what comes next because who will report it?"

British officers dragged Assange from the embassy after Ecuador withdrew the asylum it had afforded him for almost seven years.
AAP FactCheck Investigation: Does Australia have the second highest household debt in the developed world?

The Statement

"Australia is exposed through having the second highest household debt in the developed world, which is not a record we should not be hankering for or happy with."

Labor treasury spokesman Chris Bowen. April 10, 2019.

The Verdict

Mostly True - Mostly accurate, but there is a minor error or problem.

The Analysis

AAP FactCheck examined Mr Bowen's statement that Australia has the second highest level of household debt in the developed world.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development defines household debt as "all liabilities that require payment or payments of interest or principal by (a) household to the creditor". These liabilities are primarily in the form of loans. [2]

The OECD has no convention for defining "developed" countries, however it states that "Japan in Asia, Canada and the United States in northern America, Australia and New Zealand in Oceania and Europe are considered 'developed' regions or areas". [3]

Mr Bowen's office told AAP FactCheck the source of his claim was taken from Bank of International Settlements data. The BIS is a Swiss-based umbrella group for the world's central banks. [4]

The shadow treasurer based his claim on a BIS table for the third quarter of 2018, which measures household debt as a percentage of GDP across the 34 OECD nations.

AAP FactCheck examined a graph on household debt as a percentage of GDP in an Institute of International Finance table which also placed Australia second in the world behind Switzerland.

Both the Bank of International Settlements data and Institute of International Finance table support Mr Bowen's claim. [5]

AAP FactCheck looked at graphs by the OECD National Accounts Statistics and Reserve Bank of Australia measuring household debt using the ratio of debt-to-income.

Both graphs placed Australia fourth in the world. Australia was behind Denmark (first), the Netherlands (second) and Norway in the OECD table, and in the RBA graph behind the Netherlands (first), Denmark (second) and Switzerland. [6][7]

AAP FactCheck concludes that using the measure of household debt as a percentage of GDP, Mr Bowen's claim is correct, while noting that other measurements give a different outcome.

The Verdict

Mostly True - Mostly accurate, but there is a minor error or problem.

The References

1. 'Labor confirms revenue raising measures would start almost immediately'. Radio National, ABC. April 10, 2019: https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/drive/labors-proposed-revenue-measures-to-start-on-july-1/10990526

2: 'Data. Household debt'. OECD. 2017: https://data.oecd.org/hha/household-debt.htm

3: 'Glossary of Statistical Terms. Developed, Developing Countries'. OECD. January 4, 2006: https://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=6326

4. 'Bank of International Settlements. Total credit to households (core debt)'. Q3 2018: https://stats.bis.org/statx/srs/table/f3.1

5. 'Aussie household debt: Just the facts'. Switzer Daily, January 24, 2019: http://www.switzer.com.au/the-experts/michael-blythe/aussie-household-debt-just-the-facts/

6: 'Australians' household debt nears highest worldwide'. Finder. October 31, 2018: https://www.finder.com.au/australias-personal-debt-reported-as-highest-in-the-world

7. 'The evolution of household sector risks'. Reserve Bank of Australia. September 10, 2019: https://www.rba.gov.au/speeches/2018/sp-ag-2018-09-10.html
An Adelaide man has been charged after he allegedly used explosives to damage two cars.

Residents of a street at beachside Glenelg were woken early Friday morning by a disturbance then a loud bang.

Police and fire crews found two cars had been targeted with explosives, but they did not catch fire and damage was minimal.

A 39-year-old Seaton man was charged with using an explosive device, two counts of property damage, breaching an intervention order and breaching bail.

He was refused police bail and is expected to face the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court later on Friday.
Three elderly men have died in South Australia after separate crashes in a horror day on the state's roads.

A 86-year-old man died near Haildon, in the state's east, after his car collided with a truck on Karoonda Highaway just after 1pm on Friday.

The truck driver was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

In Port Augusta, north of Adelaide, a 90-year-old man's car hit a pole on Mackay Street at 3.10pm and he died at the scene.

Police said the driver may have suffered a medical episode.

A similar incident happened in the Adelaide suburb of Mitchell Park when an 83-year-old man crashed his car into a power pole near the intersection of Marion Road and Finniss Street.

The Torrensville man died at the scene and police believe he also suffered a medical episode while behind the wheel.

The incidents take the road toll in South Australia to 36, compared to 20 for the same time last year.
A UK tourist has been charged over a violent robbery at Bondi Beach less than 24 hours after arriving in Australia.

The 35-year-old man allegedly assaulted and threatened a 59-year-old man in the early hours of Saturday and continued to assault him as he attempted to run away, stealing his phone before a pedestrian alerted police.

The victim was treated by paramedics and taken to hospital in a serious but stable condition.

Police arrested the younger man at the scene and later charged him with aggravated robbery involving wounding/grievous bodily harm and choking a person with the intent to commit an indictable offence.

The UK national was refused bail and is due to face Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday.
Many Palestinians believe upcoming Israeli elections will not change their situation and more than 50 years of Israeli occupation of the West Bank

Tayseer Barakat is like many Palestinians when asked about the upcoming Israeli elections. He doesn't see much hope.

"We have learned from past experience that we are always the victims of Israeli elections, and it doesn't seem there will be anything new," said 58-year-old Barakat.

"It is more than likely there will be no meaningful changes, despite our hopes that there will be something new to change the situation," he added as he walked with bags of groceries in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

Israel's upcoming elections could have a direct effect on the Palestinians, but many have little interest in who wins, having lost hope its more than 50-year occupation will end no matter which party is in charge.

Some who do express concern say they are worried the campaign could lead to an uptick in incitement against Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's current coalition is considered the most right-wing in Israels history and includes prominent members who rule out a Palestinian state while seeking aggressive settlement expansion.

Some call for annexing large parts of the West Bank.

Peace talks have been frozen since 2014.

The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority has previously made a freeze on settlement building a pre-requisite to re-entering peace talks.

At the beginning of the election campaign it was widely assumed Netanyahu would win, despite being dogged by corruption allegations.

But former military chief Benny Gantz has emerged as a serious challenger, with polls showing his centrist Blue and White alliance slightly ahead of Netanyahu's Likud.

Under those polls, Gantz would still fall far short of an outright majority and it is unclear whether he could assemble enough parties to form a coalition.

- 'Separation' -

Early in the campaign, Gantz signalled openness to withdrawing settlers from parts of the West Bank.

Former Israeli army chief Benny Gantz has emerged as a serious challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with polls showing his centrist Blue and White alliance slightly ahead of the premier's Likud party

His alliance's platform favours "separation from the Palestinians" but does not mention a two-state solution.

Palestinians initially saw encouraging signs, but Saleh Rafat, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation's executive committee, said he now believes the policies of Gantz and Netanyahu are similar.

"So far we haven't seen fundamental differences between the right-wing and the centre party," he said.

"They are proposing a unified Jerusalem and to continue settlement and control over the Jordan Valley."

Israel seized mainly Palestinian east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War and considers the entire city its capital. The Palestinians see the city's eastern sector as the capital of their future state.

Israel occupied the West Bank, including parts of the Jordan Valley, in 1967.

More than 600,000 Israelis live in settlements in east Jerusalem and the West Bank, communities considered illegal under international law.

The international community sees them as one of the largest obstacles to peace, though Israel disputes this while pointing to Palestinian attacks and what it calls incitement to violence.

Hafed Barghouti, a former Palestinian newspaper editor, said relative calm in the West Bank has led to less attention to the conflict in Israeli elections.

Israeli politics have also shifted firmly to the right in recent years.

"There is no Israeli party talking about the Palestinian issue. Those that do talk, do so in the language of a brutal occupation," he said.

"The right, centre and left agree to ignore the Palestinian issue and focus more on the legalisation of marijuana."

Whether to legalise recreational-use marijuana has received unexpected attention in the Israeli campaign.

The Israeli elections come amid ongoing animosity between the two main Palestinian factions, president Mahmud Abbas's West Bank-based Fatah and Islamist movement Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.

The split between the two has made Palestinian parliamentary and presidential elections impossible for more than a decade.

In recent days, Gaza has been a focus of Israeli political debate after a renewed flare-up of violence there.

- Incitement -

Israel's supreme court in March disqualified the leader of the extreme-right Jewish Power party Michael Ben-Ari from running in April elections after he made comments about Israeli Arabs which the attorney general said amount to "incitement to racism"

Some are concerned the tensions around the elections could lead to more incitement in Israel against Palestinians and Arabs in general.

The Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy recently launched a campaign highlighting hate speech in Israeli society against Palestinians.

"It seems to me that incitement and hatred are becoming a lot more normalised in Israeli society," PIPD's executive director Salem Barahmeh told AFP.

"The campaign rhetoric of many Israeli politicians seeks to dehumanise an entire population."

In the last elections in 2015 Netanyahu sought to stir up his right-wing base by warning on election day that Arab Israelis were going to the polls "in droves," a comment he later apologised for.

This year, he has been accused of demonising Arab Israeli politicians during his campaign.

He has also brokered a deal aimed at making it easier for an extreme-right party, which many view as racist against Arabs, to make it into parliament.
Families of victims of Tunisia's 2011 revolt against dictatorship carry portraits of their loved ones during a trial in Kasserine on July 13, 2018

The commission tasked with healing the wounds of dictatorship in Tunisia has dug up accusations both against incumbent President Beji Caid Essebsi and figures active in today's post-revolutionary media landscape.

Set up three years after the 2011 uprising that ousted dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the Truth and Dignity Commission (IVD) was created to probe human rights violations and make recommendations for Tunisia on its path to democracy.

The IVD's final report, which runs into thousands of pages and was published last Friday, calls for reforms "to dismantle a system of corruption, repression and dictatorship" within state institutions.

The panel calls for Essebsi, as "a symbol of the state", to make an official apology to all the victims of human rights violations at the hands of the state since 1955, a year before independence from France.

Its report is based on tens of thousands of interviews carried out since the panel was set up five years ago.

Ben Ali, who fled to Saudi Arabia in 2011 and has since lived in exile, is on trial over several cases of the torture to death of political opponents, in cases built on evidence gathered by the IVD.

The commission accuses Essebsi, who is now aged 92, of complicity in torture for his role in the 1960s as national security chief and later interior minister under Tunisia's first president, Habib Bourguiba.

"Investigations by the commission have proved that torture was systematic and planned by senior officials in security affairs who ordered, incited, accepted and kept silent on the torture of victims in the course of their duties," the report says.

The IVD says that interior ministers under Bourguiba, including Essebsi, were "aware their leaders had committed serious violations".

"They did not carry out the duty incumbent on them under international treaties and conventions to protect the detainees, making them criminally responsible under international law," according to the commission.

- Ben Ali-era figures still active -

The testimony of former political prisoner Moncef Materi, who was detained during the 1960s, points directly to Essebsi.

Materi told the commission of how he was brutally punished after having complained to Essebsi of his conditions of detention during a visit to the prison by the then security chief.

"You're still stubborn! We'll see," Essebsi is quoted as having told the prisoner who asked why he was being kept tied up and refused visits by family members.

Essebsi, who has tense relations with IVD head Sihem Ben Sedrine, is a potential candidate for re-election in November polls.

In the runup to both legislative and presidential elections, the commission identifies several media figures and journalists who were paid large sums for their support of Ben Ali's propaganda machine and who remain active today.

It names them only by their initials, such as B.B. who had received more than 300,000 dinars (around $100,000) or H.B.O. whose payoff was over 570,000 dinars ($190,000).

The commission condemns what it calls "the absence of political will, a clear vision on the role of the media in the period of democratic transition".
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir said some protesters "took to the streets to express their legitimate demands"

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Monday acknowledged the "legitimate" demands of anti-government protesters, while blaming several deaths on the actions of political groups.

Protests have rocked the east African country since December, with demonstrators calling on the veteran leader to step down.

They accuse Bashir's government of mismanaging the country's economy, leading to soaring food prices and regular shortages of fuel and foreign currency.

"The economic crisis has impacted a wide section of our people," Bashir told lawmakers in his first speech to parliament since a state of emergency he imposed on February 22 to quell the protests.

"Some of them took to the streets to express their legitimate demands, but some of those gatherings used unlawful ways and destroyed properties."

Several offices and buildings belonging to Bashir's ruling National Congress Party were set on fire during early protests.

"Some political groups are trying to use this to enhance hatred among the community because of which we lost many people," said Bashir, dressed in a traditional white-and-blue robe and white turban.

Officials say 31 people have died in protest-related violence so far, while Human Rights Watch has put the death toll at 51 including children and medics.

The protests first erupted in the central town of Atbara on December 19 after the government tripled the price of bread.

- US 'troubled' by detentions -

Bashir imposed a year-long state of emergency, which was cut to six months by lawmakers

The authorities have set up special courts to investigate violations of the emergency rule, with many protesters jailed for participating in banned rallies.

Bashir imposed a year-long state of emergency but lawmakers have cut it to six months.

In the inital crackdown on protests, security agents detained hundreds of demonstrators, opposition leaders, activists and journalists.

Many of them including senior opposition figures have been released after weeks of detentions.

The United States has regularly criticised the detentions.

"We remain troubled by the government of Sudan's continued use of extra-judicial detentions in response to the largely peaceful protests in Khartoum and elsewhere," the US embassy in Khartoum said on its Facebook page on Sunday.

"Incarcerating opposition party leaders, civil society activists, and journalists contradicts the government of Sudan's call for an open and inclusive dialogue on Sudan's future."

On Monday, Bashir adopted a conciliatory tone as he addressed broader issues in Sudan.

"I renew our commitment for a permanent ceasefire and express readiness for a dialogue that can lead to peace," he told lawmakers.

Since June 2016, Bashir has declared several unilateral ceasefires in Sudan's three conflict zones -- Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile -- where government forces have fought armed rebellions for years.

The president has been indicted for war crimes in Darfur by the International Criminal Court, allegations he denies.

Bashir launched a national dialogue in 2015 to resolve the insurgencies and overhaul the economy, although most mainstream opposition and armed groups boycotted the talks.

"I'm calling on all those political parties who did not join the national dialogue to get involved in it," he said.
Facebook is removing over 100 pages, groups or accounts linked to Pakistan's military

Facebook is removing 103 pages, groups and accounts linked to the media wing of Pakistan's military, the social media giant announced Monday, calling them "fake" accounts created to manipulate people.

The statement by Facebook's head of cybersecurity policy, Nathaniel Gleicher, shines a rare light on efforts by Pakistan's shadowy military establishment to use social media as a propaganda tool.

"Today we removed 103 Pages, Groups and accounts for engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior on Facebook and Instagram as part of a network that originated in Pakistan," Gleichner said in the statement.

"Although the people behind this activity attempted to conceal their identities, our investigation found that it was linked to employees of the ISPR (Inter-Service Public Relations) of the Pakistani military," he said.

Gleichner said ISPR employees were operating military fan pages, as well as pages on Kashmir, "general Pakistani interest", and local and political news including on topics such as arch-rival India's army and politicians.

Some 2.8 million accounts followed one or more of the pages, he said.

Examples included a post from a page called "Pakistan Army - the BEST", with an image purporting to show a crashed Indian fighter jet with text reading: "Indian airforce has become a consistent failure which is evident from current embarrassment for India".

Others praised Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan for promoting peace, or propagated unverified claims a Pakistani pilot had shot down five Indian planes.

"We are constantly working to detect and stop coordinated inauthentic behavior because we don't want our services to be used to manipulate people," Gleichner said.

An ISPR spokesman had no immediate comment when contacted by AFP.

Facebook also said it was removing 687 pages and accounts engaged in similarly "inauthentic" behaviour that were linked to India's opposition Congress party, which is contesting nationwide elections due to start on April 11.

Congress reacted cautiously, with spokesperson Manish Tewari saying the party "will need to verify the veracity of these reports".

A recent standoff between India and Pakistan over the disputed region of Kashmir saw a deluge of "fake news" hit social media, raising concerns over misinformation in the upcoming election in the world's largest democracy.

Journalists in Pakistan, one of the most dangerous countries in the world for media, are regularly exhorted by the military to promote a positive image of the country.

Any reporting considered critical of the military has long been considered a red flag, with reporters at times detained, beaten and even killed for falling foul of the security establishment.

The army has stirred unease previously with declarations it is monitoring social media in Pakistan, where posts considered "against the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan" are against the law.
US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet in Hanoi in February 2019

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo voiced hope that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump will meet again "in the coming months" and make significant headway on ending Pyongyang's nuclear program.

In an interview broadcast Monday, the top US diplomat cautioned it was difficult to know the timing of a third US-North Korea summit but said: "It's in America's best interest to resolve this as quickly as we can."

"I would hope in the coming months our two leaders will be back together ... in a way that we can achieve a substantive first step or a substantive big step along the path to denuclearization," he told radio station WHP 580 in Pennsylvania's capital Harrisburg.

"Then the final, fully denuclearized North Korean peninsula can be realized, at which time, as President Trump said, there'll be a brighter future for the North Korean people. It's just hard to know what the timing will be," he said.

Trump and Kim met for the first time in June 2018, a landmark first summit between the two countries that never formally ended the 1950-53 Korean War.

A follow-up summit in February in Hanoi abruptly ended early, with Trump heeding his aides and refusing to lift sanctions until North Korea takes significant steps to denuclearize.

Trump, however, has said that he still is fond of North Korea's authoritarian young leader and recently intervened to stop the imposition of tighter US sanctions.
Huge protests have been held across Algeria demanding ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika leave power

Algerian state prosecutors on Monday said they had banned corruption suspects from leaving the country after launching probes into graft and illegal money transfers abroad targeting unnamed individuals.

The moves come amid nationwide protests against President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and follow the arrest of one of the incumbent's key backers, business tycoon Ali Haddad.

Haddad, who Forbes magazine describes as one of Algeria's wealthiest entrepreneurs, was detained overnight Saturday to Sunday at a border post with neighbouring Tunisia, a security source said, without giving a reason for the arrest.

On Sunday, the Algerian authorities also banned all private aircraft from taking off and landing until the end of the month.

The North African state has been rocked by weeks of mammoth protests sparked by Bouteflika's decision in February to seek a fifth term in office.

The veteran leader, who has rarely been seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2013, said last month he would pull out of the race but postponed elections which were due in April.

The concession has done little to halt public ire and hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of the capital Algiers on Friday demanding the president and his entourage go.

Faced with the persistent anger, a succession of veteran Bouteflika loyalists have sought to distance themselves from the president in recent days.

On Tuesday, armed forces chief of staff Ahmed Gaid Salah called for him to step down or be declared medically unfit.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is the first head of state to visit the Western Wall alongside an Israeli premier

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro visited the Western Wall alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, becoming the first head of state to do so with an Israeli premier.

The site, one of the holiest in Judaism, is located in east Jerusalem, occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed in a move never recognised by the international community.

Such visits can be seen as granting tacit approval to Israeli sovereignty over the site.

An Israeli foreign ministry spokesman said it was the first time a sitting head of state had visited there with an Israeli prime minister.

The two men approached the wall and placed their hands on its stones during the brief visit in rainy weather.

Bolsonaro's visit follows a similar one by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on March 21, when he became the first high-ranking American official to visit the Western Wall with an Israeli prime minister.

Bolsonaro has expressed his strong support for Israel and spoke of being moved by a Christian pilgrimage to the Jordan River he undertook a couple of years ago.

He has also pledged to follow in US President Donald Trump's footsteps and move Brazil's Israel embassy to Jerusalem, but that is on hold for now.

Trump became the first sitting American president to visit the wall, the holiest site where Jews are allowed to pray, in May 2017, but he was not accompanied by any Israeli leaders.

Monday's visit and the one by Pompeo come ahead of Israel's April 9 elections in which Netanyahu is facing a tough challenge from centrist former military chief Benny Gantz.

The visits have provided him with an opportunity to further his argument that he is Israel's irreplaceable statesman, a key part of his campaign.
Bangladesh's jailed opposition leader Khaleda Zia, clad in sunglasses and a pink head scarf, was transferred to hospital under heavy police guard

Bangladesh's jailed opposition leader Khaleda Zia was taken to hospital in Dhaka on Monday for tests, said her lawyer, who described the two-time former prime minister as "deteriorating day by day".

Zia, a chief rival of Bangladesh's premier Sheikh Hasina, was sentenced last year to a decade in prison on corruption charges her supporters say are politically motivated.

The 73-year-old, who is diabetic and suffers from arthritis, was also hospitalised in October for treatment.

Her lawyer, Masud Ahmed Talukder, said her condition had worsened inside the 19th-century prison where she is the sole inmate.

"She is extremely ill. Her condition is deteriorating day by day," her lawyer Masud Ahmed Talukder told AFP.

"That's why the authorities decided to admit her to hospital."

Zia, clad in sunglasses and a pink head scarf, was transferred to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University under heavy police guard and taken by wheelchair into the facility.

The hospital's director, Brigadier General Mahbubul Haq, said Zia was admitted in a weak condition and would undergo tests and treatment.

"She is diabetic. She is weak and has lost her appetite for food," he told AFP, adding she was also suffering from arthritis.

Zia was admitted to hospital in October also suffering from ill health.

Her supporters say the government was putting her welfare at risk housing her in Dhaka Central Jail, a formerly abandoned prison where she was sentenced by a special court for graft.

Zia leads the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the main opposition party whose supporters and candidates were harassed and detained by security forces ahead of a national election in December.

Hasina won that poll in a landslide, taking 288 seats in the 300-seat parliament.

The BNP won just seven in the election marred by deadly violence and claims of widespread rigging.

Hasina -- an erstwhile ally of Zia, before the powerful women fell out -- insists she won fairly.

Zia was found guilty in February 2018 of embezzling money intended for an orphange, a charge her outraged supporters marched against in the street.

The sentence was later doubled by the High Court.

Zia is appealing the verdict which prevented her from running against Hasina in the election. She is also fighting dozens of other violence and graft related charges.

A widow of a military dictator who ruled Bangladesh in the late 1970s, Zia was prime minister from 1991-1996 and again in 2001-2006.
Thousands of Sudanese protesters gather in front of the military headquarters in the capital Khartoum

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir came under mounting pressure Tuesday as three Western nations pushed for a political transition after months of unprecedented protests against his rule.

Thousands of people remained at the army's headquarters on Tuesday night -- where they have been encamped since Saturday -- bathed in a sea of light as they held up their mobile phones as torches.

Angry protesters chanting "overthrow, overthrow," have taken to the streets of the capital and towns and villages across the country since December, in the biggest challenge yet to Bashir's two-decade rule.

The country's police on Tuesday ordered its personnel to avoid intervening against the demonstrators.

"We call on God to preserve the security and calm of our country ... and to unite the Sudanese people... for an agreement which would support the peaceful transition of power," a police spokesman said in a statement.

The protesters sang revolutionary songs and anti-government slogans at the facility, which also houses Bashir's residence.

"Since April 6, I'm camping here every night," said businessman Ali Gamereddine.

April 6 is the anniversary of a popular uprising that ousted the regime of Gaafar Nimeiri in 1985.

"We want the army to support us to achieve our goal," Gamereddine added.

Crowds of protesters waved flags, whistled and clapped as darkness fell.

They blame Bashir -- who came to power in a 1989 coup -- for a worsening economic crisis.

Protesters hold the national flag, after Sudan's police on Tuesday ordered officers to avoid intervening against protesters

The protest movement had reached a new peak on Saturday when demonstrators braved volleys of tear gas to reach the military complex, urging the top brass to back them.

Soldiers meanwhile foiled repeated attempts by the feared National Intelligence and Security Service's agents to disperse the demonstrators with tear gas, witnesses said.

- 'Credible transition' urged -

On Tuesday the United States, the United Kingdom and Norway for the first time threw their weight behind the protestors, calling for a credible political transition plan in Sudan.

"The time has come for the Sudanese authorities to respond to these popular demands in a serious" way, the diplomatic missions of the three countries said in a joint statement.

Sudanese protesters flash the victory gesture as they sit in the middle of a street in front of the military headquarters in the capital Khartoum

"The Sudanese authorities must now respond and deliver a credible plan for this political transition."

Washington had imposed a trade embargo on Sudan in 1997 for Khartoum's alleged links to Islamist groups -- sanctions that were only lifted in October 2017.

The protesters' Saturday move on the sprawling military complex has triggered the largest demonstrations seen yet in the nearly four-month-long movement.

Security agents twice fired tear gas on Tuesday at the protesters in abortive bids to end their sit-in, protest organisers said.

"There was heavy firing of tear gas after which army soldiers opened the gates of the compound for protesters to enter," a witness told AFP.

"A few minutes later a group of soldiers fired gunshots in the air to push back the security forces who were firing tear gas."

A second witness said soldiers had intervened against the security agents.

The demonstrators have called on the army to protect them from the deadly crackdown by riot police and security agents during their four days camped outside its headquarters.

On Tuesday, the crowds could be seen hoisting soldiers into the air on their shoulders, and dancing and chanting with them.

A Sudanese protester outside army headquarters shows bullet cartridges he has collected -- the National Intelligence and Security Service and riot police have cracked down on demonstrators, but the army has not intervened

Footage obtained by AFP in Paris showed security agents firing in the air to clear the sit-in on Monday, an operation which had to be abandoned after troops intervened.

Troops can be seen firing machine-guns as protesters run in groups, some taking shelter behind army vehicles and chanting "Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest)".

Late on Tuesday the scene at the army complex was celebratory.

- 'No chaos' -

Defence Minister General Awad Ibnouf has vowed the army would prevent any slide into chaos.

"Sudan's armed forces understand the reasons for the demonstrations and is not against the demands and aspirations of the citizens, but it will not allow the country to fall into chaos," Ibnouf said on Monday, according to state media.

The umbrella group spearheading the protests has appealed to the army for talks on forming a transitional government.

Omar el-Digeir, a senior member of the group, said protest organisers had formed a council to open talks aimed at agreeing a "transitional government that represents the wish of the revolution".

Officials say 38 people have died in protest-related violence since December.

Sudan's authorities say 38 people have died in protest-related violence since December

But the country's main opposition leader and a key protest organiser Sadiq al-Mahdi said 20 people had been killed by masked men in morning attacks on the sit-in since it began on Saturday.

Bashir, who toppled Mahdi's government in the 1989 coup, is wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague on charges of war crimes and genocide connected with the suppression of an ethnic minority rebellion in the western region of Darfur.

He has responded to the demonstrations with tough measures -- including imposing a state of emergency -- that have seen protesters, opposition leaders, activists and journalists arrested.
US President Donald Trump says he doesn't plan to bring back the policy of separating children from parents accused of crossing the US-Mexican border illegally -- but he says the tough tactic works

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he won't resume separating children of undocumented migrants, but insisted the policy does prevent people from treating illegal border crossings like a trip to "Disneyland."

"We're not looking to do it," he told reporters at the White House.

However, Trump said the practice, which ended in June 2018 under heavy political and legal pressure, had in fact been useful in stemming the flow of illegal immigrants across the US-Mexican border.

"I'll tell you something: once you don't have it, that's why you have many more people coming," Trump said of migrants and asylum seekers.

"They are coming like it's a picnic, like 'let's go to Disneyland,'" Trump said. Just last week he referred to the asylum process as a "hoax."

Trump's battle to prevent illegal immigration and soaring numbers of asylum seekers has turned into the biggest political fight in the country ahead of next year's presidential election.

The Republican is pushing hard for construction of hundreds of miles of new border wall and layers of razor wire. He says that the United States is "full" and cannot take any more migrants or even people fleeing violence in Central America.

On Sunday, Trump abruptly announced the departure of the official in charge of fighting illegal immigration -- Homeland Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

According to US media reports, Trump's reshuffle could herald even harsher measures on the southern border.

- Confusion and rhetoric -

But Trump's latest comments reflect the confused nature of the White House's messaging on the sensitive immigration issue.

Trump claimed that he never wanted children to be taken away from their parents when they crossed the border illegally or sought asylum. Instead he blamed this on his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama.

"Just so you understand, President Obama separated the children. Those cages that were shown -- I think they were very inappropriate -- were by President Obama's administration, not by Trump. President Obama had child separation," Trump said.

"You know it. We all know it. I'm the one who stopped it," he said.

Obama did crack down on illegal immigration, resulting in large numbers of deportations and children were detained along with their parents.

However, Trump hugely accelerated the tough measures with a so-called zero-tolerance policy.

This meant that anyone crossing illegally would face automatic prosecution, leading to jailing of adults and immediate separation of their children.

Before, families with children were largely allowed to stay together, whether on bail, in custody or being deported.

By the time Trump's policy was halted, thousands of children had been removed and placed in temporary accommodation, leading to harrowing images and reports of administrative chaos in which parents were later unable to find their children.

Last week, Trump threatened to impose steep import tariffs on Mexican automobiles if Mexico does not do more to stop would-be migrants on their trek north to the US border.

However, the timing and practicalities of this were unclear.

Previously, Trump said he would shut down the entire border to stop immigrants entering, but he then backed off in the face of worries over the economic impact.

Another controversial policy of automatically returning asylum seekers to wait in Mexico was blocked Monday by a federal judge in California.

The White House issued a statement Tuesday condemning the ruling and saying it would appeal.

The court impedes the president's ability to stop an influx "crashing our immigration system and overwhelming our country," Trump's press office said.
Iranian MPs wear the outfit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp during a parliamentary session in Tehran after the US designated the IRGC a "terrorist organisation"

Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, designated a "foreign terrorist organisation" by the United States, is an ideological military force with influence extending into politics and business.

Formed shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the Guards answer to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and boast their own ground, naval and air forces.

Working in parallel to the regular army, the corps' mission is to "guard the revolution and its achievements" as well as "to realise holy ideals and to propagate the rule of God's law".

"Their objective is not the promotion of largely secular traditional Iranian nationalism but to promote the religious ideology incarnated in the Islamic republic," said Clement Therme, research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

- Overseas activities -

In the 1980-1988 war with Saddam Hussein's Iraq, many tens of thousands of its members died in battle defending their country.

In recent years the Guards have paid with their blood as they have been involved in "fighting terrorism" in Iraq and Syria, officially acting as "military advisors".

The activities abroad of their elite Quds force -- headed by Major General Qasem Soleimani -- have drawn accusations of dangerous meddling from Washington and its regional allies.

But Iran insists it is an example of regional cooperation aimed at shoring up stability and blocking Western interference.

Estimated to be around 125,000 strong by the IISS, the Guards have faced censure from the US over their role in Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

A branch of the corps is in charge of the country's ballistic missiles, and the force also controls the Basij paramilitary volunteer force.

Its naval arm, estimated to be more than 20,000 strong, is charged with the defence and security of the Gulf, including the strategic Straits of Hormuz.

The current overall commander of the Guards is Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari.

- Business and politics -

Over the decades the Guards' influence has expanded well beyond military affairs and into politics and the economy as they became a powerhouse within Iran's complex ruling structure.

Former cadres entered most branches of power and its construction arm grew into one of the country's top contractors with projects ranging from petroleum to mining.

Many ministers and members of parliament, including current speaker Ali Larijani, served in the corps before entering politics.

The Revolutionary Guards have at times defied sitting presidents.

Reformist Mohammad Khatami was confronted by its tanks when he attended the inauguration of Tehran's international airport in 2004 following a disagreement over control of the facility.

In another incident Khatami received a letter from prominent Guards generals warning "patience is ending" over his policy of social freedoms and detente with the West.

Ultra-conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, his successor and greatly admired by the Guards to begin with, increasingly distanced himself from them as he claimed they were encroaching on his authority.

The trend has continued with the moderate incumbent Hassan Rouhani, who has publicly both criticised and in turn been criticised by the Guards.

Rouhani has tried unsuccessfully to curb the Guards' economic activities, sparking public rows.

But the president was still quick to leap to their defence against Monday's terrorism designation by the US, hailing them for fighting "terrorism".
In this file photo taken on April 2 former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor leaves the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota

A police officer in Minnesota shot dead an unarmed Australian woman in 2017 because he feared an ambush, the man's attorney told jurors Tuesday in opening arguments of a trial closely watched in the US and Australia.

Both the prosecution and defense laid out their case in a Minneapolis courtroom over the actions of Mohamed Noor, who is charged with murdering 40-year-old yoga instructor Justine Damond.

Damond had called police in July of 2017 to report sounds of a possible rape in the dark alley behind her home. Noor was in the responding police cruiser, and shot Damond when she approached the car.

The 33-year-old, who was fired from the police force, has pleaded not guilty to second- and third-degree murder charges, as well as a second-degree manslaughter charge.

Noor sat nearly motionless, looking down at his hands clasped in front of him, while his attorney Peter Wold said the former officer was heartbroken over the shooting.

He and his partner Matthew Harrity had feared they were trapped in "a classic ambush," Wold said, which he said prompted Noor to shoot in self-defense.

"It was a perfect storm with horrible consequences," Wold said. "It was a tragedy but no crime."

The officers had feared an ambush because they had been forced to stop in the alley behind Damond's home for a passing bicyclist. Moments later, they said they heard a loud bang at the back of the police car and then Damon approached, according to investigators and the defense attorney.

Noor shot Damond from the passenger seat of the police cruiser, with his partner in the line of fire in the driver seat.

The pajama-clad Damond was wounded in the abdomen, and died at the scene. Her last words were: "I'm dying," according to authorities.

- Doubts from prosecutors -

Prosecutors have insisted that the shooting was unreasonable and contrary to police department training policy.

Hennepin County prosecutor Patrick Lofton sought to sow doubts about the claims of a loud, sudden noise that startled the officers.

Lofton said there was no forensic evidence proving Damond touched the police car, including a lack of fingerprints.

He also said Harrity claimed to hear a loud noise only days after the incident, during an interview with investigators.

"And for the first time, Harrity said he heard a noise on that squad before the defendant shot Miss Ruszczyk," Lofton told jurors, suggesting that the claim was untrue. He used Damond's maiden name.

"You will learn it took a long time for officers to figure out that the woman lying dead in the driveway was the same one who had called 911," Lofton said.

The opening statements came more than a week after the closely watched trial had officially begun with jury selection. A 12-member jury was seated Monday.

Damond had moved to the Midwestern city to marry her American fiancee Don Damond, whose name she had legally adopted.

Don Damond was the first witness called to testify in the trial.

The shooting outraged Damond's neighbors in Minneapolis and her relatives in Australia.

There were calls in both countries for answers and accountability.

Minneapolis's then-police chief was forced to resign within days of the incident.
The Dalai Lama has cut back on his global engagements and has not met a world leader since 2016

The Dalai Lama has undergone a check-up at a New Delhi hospital following chest pains, according to an aide who said the Tibetan spiritual leader was in stable condition.

Ngodup Tsering, the 83-year-old Buddhist monk's representative in the United States, told AFP the Dalai Lama flew to New Delhi early Tuesday for a doctor's visit at Max hospital after he experienced a "light cough."

"The doctor said there's nothing to worry about. It's not that serious," Tsering said, without confirming whether the Dalai Lama had been admitted for hospital treatment. "He's taking a few days' rest."

Kangra police superintendent Santosh Patial told The Indian Express that the Dalai Lama, who is based in Dharamshala and has been in permanent exile in India for some 60 years, took a regular morning flight Tuesday and was not airlifted.

"There is nothing to panic," he added.

Although the exiled leader remains a hugely popular speaker, he has cut back on his global engagements and has not met a world leader since 2016 -- while governments have been wary of extending invitations to him for fear of angering Beijing.

The Dalai Lama has sought to pre-empt any attempt by Beijing, which has effectively wiped out any organized opposition to its rule in Tibet, to name his reincarnated successor, even announcing in 2011 that he may be the last in the lineage.

The Tibetan spiritual leader enjoys wide support across the partisan divide in Washington, where a senator raised the issue of his succession at a hearing Tuesday.

Senator Cory Gardner, the Republican who heads the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on Asia, said that the United States should follow the Dalai Lama's lead on how to choose his successor.

"Let me be very clear -- the United States Congress will never recognise a Dalai Lama that is selected by the Chinese," Gardner said.

But even India, which offered asylum to the Dalai Lama in 1959 when he made a daring escape across the Himalayas dressed as a soldier, has turned its back, with the government reportedly warning officials against attending events featuring him, citing diplomatic sensitivities.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tells a Senate subcommittee that he agrees North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is a 'tyrant'

US President Donald Trump has said he's in love with Kim Jong Un, but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday agreed that the North Korean leader is a "tyrant."

Pompeo, who flew to Pyongyang four times last year as the Trump administration sought an opening with North Korea, was taken to task as he testified before a Senate subcommittee.

Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, pointed to Pompeo's denunciations of Venezuela's leftist President Nicolas Maduro as a "tyrant" and asked if he would use similar language for Kim.

"Sure. I'm sure I've said that," Pompeo replied.

The comment may irk North Korea, which has signaled it is open to a third summit with Trump after a February meeting in Hanoi ended in stalemate.

Seeking a potentially landmark denuclearization accord, Trump has repeatedly praised Kim and last month said he had blocked major new sanctions planned for North Korea out of affection for its young authoritarian leader.

North Korea has also been careful not to criticize Trump, while accusing his aides of "gangster-like" behavior.

Pompeo, however, was unwilling to label as a tyrant Egypt's military ruler turned president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who was hailed by Trump earlier Tuesday in a White House meeting.

"There's no doubt that it's a mean, nasty world out there. But not every one of these leaders is the same," Pompeo said.

"Some of them are trying to wipe entire nations off the face of the Earth and other are actually partnering with us to help keep Americans safe," he said.

"You might call them tyrant, you might call them authoritarian, but there a fundamental difference, and therefore a fundamental difference in the way the US should respond," he said.

Pompeo hailed Sisi's offensive against fighters of the Islamic State extremist movement in the Sinai peninsula.

Sisi took power in a 2013 coup against elected president Mohamed Morsi, an Islamist, with authorities shortly afterward killing 700 protesters who had assembled in two Cairo squares.

Human rights group say that North Korea has one of the world's most egregious records, with Kim's regime forbidding all dissent and running a massive system of political prisons in which between 80,000 and 130,000 people are detained along with their family members for suspected dissent.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says White House lawyers consulted with his department over President Donald Trump's tax returns

White House lawyers consulted with Treasury officials about President Donald Trump's tax returns before Democratic lawmakers formally requested access to them, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday in congressional testimony.

But Mnuchin denied the White House was improperly interfering in his decision on how to respond to Democrat lawmakers' request last week for six years of Trump's tax filings.

The White House has vowed Democrats will "never" see them.

Mnuchin testified before Congress that officials were reviewing Democrats' request for the tax returns, adding that it would be "premature" to discuss their ultimate decision.

But he revealed that, prior to receiving the request, Treasury Department officials had been in contact with the White House to discuss it -- even though Mnuchin himself was not personally involved.

"Our legal department had conversations prior to receiving the letter with the White House general counsel," Mnuchin said in testimony before a House of Representatives sub-committee on the Treasury's 2020 budget request.

The conversations were "purely informational," Mnuchin said, adding that he personally had not been briefed on their contents.

Trump broke with a long-established norm during the 2016 elections by refusing to release his income tax returns, as most presidents have done since the 1970s even though it is not required by law.

"I believe that these presidents released their returns on a voluntary basis," Mnuchin testified. "They made individual decisions. The general public when they elected President Trump made the decision to elect him without his tax returns."

Trump has pointed to supposed IRS audits in refusing to release his tax returns. Tax experts, however, say this does not prevent him from making them public.

Under a little noticed legal statute cited by Democrats in making their request, Mnuchin is meant to respond to the request without interference from Trump or the White House.

Mnuchin appeared later Tuesday during a raucous hearing by a House panel on financial services, where he reiterated that the legal consultation with the White House before the request was formally received was entirely proper.

"That is not taking direction from the White House and I don't view that as interference," he said, stressing that the fact that the request for Trump's tax returns was imminent had been widely reported by the news media.
Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadera hails the prospects of a new peace accord as he addresses the US Institute of Peace in Washington

The president of the Central African Republic voiced optimism Tuesday that the latest peace accord would succeed in the conflict-torn country after he moved to form an inclusive government.

On a visit to Washington, President Faustin-Archange Touadera said that the agreement -- the eighth peace attempt in six years -- addressed the crucial issues of power-sharing and accounting for human rights abuses.

"It's not inevitable, but we think that this could be the final agreement if we all work resolutely in putting it into place," he said at the US Institute of Peace.

"This agreement has something more than the other ones as all the stakeholders had time to discuss all its key points," he said.

The resource-rich country has been torn by violence and displacement since 2013 when a mainly Muslim rebel group known as the Seleka overthrew president Francois Bozize, a Christian, triggering the rise of a predominantly Christian militia.

Fearing a Rwandan-style genocide, former colonial ruler France intervened militarily under a UN mandate.

Touadera's elected government in February signed an accord in Sudan with 14 armed groups -- which control most of the country -- and a month later all sides reached a deal on forming an inclusive government.

But the accord has since faced setbacks with rebel groups squabbling over how much power they will have in the government.

But Touadera said the agreement had settled the larger questions, including some fighters' insistence that they not face prosecution for violence.

"It's true that there were difficult moments in the negotiations, notably on the question of impunity -- giving an amnesty -- and on power-sharing," he said.

"But I think that in respecting the parameters, all sides have realized that we cannot have peace while setting aside the issue of justice," he said.

Touadera is set to meet in Washington with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and hopes to encourage US investment in the impoverished country.

Western powers, notably France, have been looking with alarm at the growing influence in the country of Russia which has sent military trainers with murky ties to mining companies.

Touadera defended the Russian involvement, saying it was carried out openly with the UN Security Council granting an exemption from its arms embargo on the country.

"There's room for everyone in the Central African Republic," he said.
Anthropomorphic clay figures belonging to the Teotihuacan culture are displayed at the US Embassy in Mexico City during a ceremony where the US Federal Bureau of Investigation handed them back after a raid on the home of a US collector

The United States returned two ancient figurines to Mexico Tuesday, seized from the home of an amateur archeologist who died in 2015 with a collection of 42,000 artifacts, many of them taken illegally.

The small clay sculptures date from the Mesoamerican classical period, around 1,300 to 1,800 years ago, archeologists said at a ceremony at the US Embassy in Mexico City, where the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) handed back the figurines.

The long, strange story of their return "started with a police investigation, and concludes today with this ceremony, in which Mexico is recovering two artifacts that are part of its cultural heritage," said Mexican foreign ministry lawyer Sergio Estrada.

The artifacts were found in the US state of Indiana in the home of a collector named Don Miller, officials told journalists.

Miller, who died four years ago at age 91, spent his life traveling the world, participating in archeological digs and collecting rare artifacts, which he displayed in his basement.

But near the end of his life, the FBI -- acting on a tip -- raided his home and seized more than 7,000 of those artifacts, which appear to have been removed illegally from their countries of origin, said special agent Edward Gallant.

"In the 1960s and 1970s, Mr Miller participated in archeological digs in Mexico and Central America," and that is when he apparently took the two figurines, Gallant said -- though exactly where and when he found them is unclear.

Miller, whose collection also included items from China, Canada, Peru, Iraq and other countries, was cooperating with the FBI before he died, and was never prosecuted, said Gallant.

The FBI has established a database of the suspect items in his collection, and is slowly working through the painstaking process of trying to identify and return them.

Officials said it would take time and research to establish more about the origins and significance of the figurines, which both depict seated men clad only in jewelry.

"When artifacts are illicitly removed from their places of origin, we lose meaningful information about the study of the past. And once that context is destroyed, there is no recovering it," said Estrada.
'I have a foreign leader wating in my office at 5:30, okay?' Mnuchin told lawmakers

Lengthy congressional testimony by US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin descended into outright acrimony on Tuesday as a House committee rebuffed his pleas to be dismissed.

"Please dismiss everybody. I believe you're supposed to take your gavel and bang it," Mnuchin said, visibly irritated as he approached the second of two appearances on Capitol Hill.

Mnuchin faced grilling before House panels on appropriations and financial services, where Democrats aggressively questioned him over President Donald Trump's tax returns, sanctions policy toward Russia and his personal finances.

But after testifying in the afternoon for more than three hours before the Committee on Financial Services, he locked horns with Chairwoman Maxine Waters, Democrat of California, who did not adjourn the hearing even though Mnuchin said he was late for a meeting with an official visiting from Bahrain.

"I have a foreign leader waiting in my office at 5:30, okay? I've agreed to stay longer. It will be embarrassing if I keep this person waiting for long periods of time," he said.

"So if this is the way you want to treat me, then I'll rethink whether I voluntarily come back here," Mnuchin said.

"If you wish to leave, you may leave," Waters said, without formally closing the hearing.

"I don't understand what you're saying," Mnuchin replied, ultimately remaining until the hearing was adjourned.

House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters of California did not adjourn Tuesday's hearing when Secretary Mnuchin asked

Mnuchin has found himself in the center of widening disputes between Trump and Democrats, who recently took control of the lower house of Congress and have sought a host of angles of attack for investigations into the president's administration, finances and ties to Russia.

He has faced distracting entanglements over his own finances and use of government resources. He vowed last week to recuse himself from matters that could affect his wife's film production company after the Office of Government Ethics declined to certify his financial disclosure, finding he faced a conflict of interest.

In his testimony on Tuesday, Mnuchin revealed that White House lawyers had been in contact with Treasury officials to discuss an expected request from lawmakers for six years of Trump's tax returns.

But he rejected Democrat lawmakers' suggestion that this could have been illegal or improper, saying it was merely a consultation and that he had not personally been involved.

Mnuchin was an early Trump supporter and is one of the longest-serving members in the president's Cabinet. But he also faces pressure not to let working relations with congressional Democrats, in the Financial Services Committee in particular, deteriorate as they have the power to make his life difficult.

Mnuchin ultimately stayed to answer final questions from committee members about Russia sanctions and other matters.

"Thank you. I look forward to being back in May. We'll work on a date," he said.
Members of the Constitutional Patriots New Mexico Border Ops Team militia, Viper and Stinger who go by aliases to protect their identity, patrol the US-Mexico border in Sunland Park, New Mexico on March 20, 2019

In the southeasternmost pocket of the US state of New Mexico, with El Paso, Texas, to the east and Mexico a stone's throw south, there is a small camp: a few tents and a weathered trailer.

It is home to the half dozen or so members of the United Constitutional Patriots (UCP) -- a small but well-armed militia dipping their toes into the US border vigilante movement.

In recent months, thousands of migrants have arrived in Mexico, primarily Central Americans fleeing poverty and violence at home.

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US President Donald Trump has described them as a threat to national security, demanding billions of dollars from Congress to build a wall on the southern border.

The resignation of Trump's Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on Sunday, reportedly over the president's push to restart family separations at the border, has underscored his failure to get to grips with the issue.

And until the wall is built, the UCP insist they will be there.

"We're here to assist the border patrol because they are so short handed," the group's leader, 70-year-old "Striker," told AFP.

"We have a good work rapport with them," he said. "Our goal was to be here until we're not needed. And when we're not needed is when that wall is up."

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Based out of Flora Vista, New Mexico, the group -- made up mostly of older veterans -- enjoys an enthusiastic social media following. Striker can be heard fielding calls during lengthy radio broadcasts streamed online several times a week.

And if you want to sign up to "uphold and defend the constitution?" Just give pick up the phone.

Out in the field -- with tactical gear, rifles and even custom patches -- the UCP say their duties include watching the border, standing guard over people who want to hand themselves in to border patrol and pursuing those who don't.

- 'Fantasy world' -

"It's kind of no different than if you were to have citizen's arrest powers, if you will," Jim Benvie, a 43-year-old from Minnesota, told AFP.

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Benvie explains that they use the term "surrender" because border patrol rules only allow them to "observe and report."

In a statement, the US Border Patrol said it "does not endorse private groups or organizations taking enforcement matters into their own hands."

And according to the Anti Defamation League's Mark Pitcavage, an expert on right-wing extremism, the UCP's bark is much bigger than its bite.

"These guys, even more than some other militia or vigilante groups, seem to be living in a fantasy world of their own," he told AFP, adding that they have been active for around two and a half years.

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"They have this grandiose vision of themselves as protecting America from the drug cartels," he said.

However, he added: "It's ironic that the areas where they seem to have chosen to focus ... is a very highly guarded stretch of border."

Pitcavage points to the rights to bear arms and assemble peaceably enshrined in the US Constitution.

"And if this is a simply a combination of those, can the government actually prohibit this seemingly constitutionally protected activity?" he said.

The border vigilante movement is well-established, with the Southern Poverty Law Center documenting "questionable apprehensions of migrants by private citizens" from as far back as 1999.

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Pitcavage acknowledges that the movement is grounded in anti-immigrant sentiment but says white supremacy among followers is actually minimal -- and he sees no such elements within the UCP.

"Countries having borders is not racist," was member Jim Benvie's take.

"It's not about race. We have Latinos that work on our team with us."
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may be focussing on Pyongyang's continued push to develop its economy

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called a full meeting Wednesday of a top committee of the ruling Workers' Party to address what he described as the "prevailing tense situation", state media reported.

The gathering of the Central Committee comes after Kim's Hanoi summit with US President Donald Trump broke up without agreement in February, and as South Korean President Moon Jae-in flies to Washington for talks with the US leader.

But the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) appeared to indicate that Kim may be focussing on Pyongyang's continued push to develop its economy.

In a meeting with senior officials Tuesday, Kim ordered them to display "an attitude befitting the masters of the revolution and construction under the prevailing tense situation and thus follow through on the new strategic line of the Party", KCNA reported.

Last April Kim declared that the ruling party's "new strategic line" would be "socialist economic construction" and its quest for nuclear development was complete.

Kim made "a deep analysis of the matters pending urgent solution in the party and state", KCNA said, adding that at Wednesday's meeting the central committee will "decide the new orientation and ways of struggle in line with the need of the prevailing revolutionary situation".

It comes ahead of the opening of the country's rubber stamp legislature on Thursday.

Trump and Kim held their first landmark summit in Singapore last June, where the North Korean leader signed a vaguely-worded deal on the "denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula".

But the failure by the pair to reach agreement at their second summit in Hanoi on walking back Pyongyang's nuclear programme in exchange for relaxation of the measures against it has raised questions over the future of the wider process.

In Vietnam both sides expressed willingness to talk further and Trump has repeatedly said he maintains good relations with his North Korean counterpart.

But shortly after 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.

A senior Pyongyang diplomat told reporters last month that the North was considering suspending nuclear talks with the US.
Japan is deploying F-35As, each of which costs more than 10 billion yen ($90 million), to replace its ageing F-4 fighter jets

Wreckage from a Japanese F-35A stealth fighter jet has been found a day after it disappeared off the radar over the Pacific, the country's defence minister said Wednesday.

There was no word yet on the fate of the one pilot on board the jet, Defence Minister Takeshi Iwaya said.

It was the first reported case of a crash by an F-35A, according to Japan's Air Self-Defence Force.

"We have collected part of its tail" in search operations at sea with planes and vessels, Iwaya told reporters.

"We believe it crashed," he added.

The fighter jet went missing around 7:30 pm (1030 GMT) Tuesday as it was flying some 135 kilometres (85 miles) east of Misawa, northeastern Japan, on a training mission.

The plane lost contact about 30 minutes after taking off from Misawa Air Base with three other aircraft.

"During the exercise, the aircraft... communicated that it was aborting the exercise, then communications from the plane stopped and its radar track disappeared," Iwaya said.

Japan's air force announced a commission late Tuesday to study the cause of the accident.

But it was still not clear exactly what happened to the plane by late Wednesday afternoon, a Japanese air force official told AFP.

US defence contractor Lockheed Martin touts the high-tech fighter as "virtually undetectable" and says it allows the US and its allies to dominate the skies with its "unmatched capability and unprecedented situational awareness."

Japan is deploying F-35As, each of which costs more than 10 billion yen ($90 million), to replace its ageing F-4 fighters.

The jet was one of 13 F-35As deployed at the base, according to the defence ministry.

The remaining 12 F-35A fighters have been grounded for the time being, the ministry said.

"Until we find out exactly what happened, it would be difficult for us to have those planes fly again," the air force official told AFP.

US military forces said they were helping the search-and-rescue effort.

"US Forces Japan will continue to work closely with the Japan Self Defence Forces and Ministry of Defence to assist with search and rescue efforts, as requested," US Forces Japan said in a statement.

The F35A jets are a key part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's efforts to upgrade the nation's military capacity to meet changing power dynamics in East Asia, with China rapidly modernising its military.

Over the next decade, Japan plans to purchase as many as 105 F-35As and 42 units of other high-capacity jets, most likely the F-35B variant.
Bribery has long been a problem in Indian elections, where voters can be handed anything from cash to booze

It's a game of cat and mouse for Naresh and his "flying squad", stopping cars, trucks and scooters to hunt for goodies being handed to voters in India's mammoth election starting this week.

The illegal doling out of everything from alcohol to kitchen appliances has long been a feature of the vast undertaking that is Indian elections. But it's getting worse.

Naresh (not his real name) is part of one of 60 "mobile flying squads" in just one district in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, where political parties are notoriously generous at election time.

"We never really know how our day will end," Naresh, a khaki-uniformed policeman, said as AFP accompanied him and his team of officials around the prosperous industrial town of Coimbatore in their two SUVs.

"There are days when we get nothing. But on others, a timely tip-off by rivals or by plain perseverance and luck, we may find cash, a stash of alcohol or other freebies," he added.

Over several hours, and in constant touch with a command centre, they stop dozens of vehicles and comb through the interiors, even under moped seats, but in vain -- this time.

The special unit in Coimbatore is using technology to hunt for illegal goodies

The day before another squad impounded a vehicle packed with sarees. Others in the past have seized booze, watches, juicers, mixers, or just hard cash.

And while Tamil Nadu is a hotspot for such practices, it's a nationwide phenomenon in the country of 1.3 billion people voting between April 11 and May 19.

In late March authorities said that they had already seized 1.5 billion rupees ($22 million), 4.4 million litres of liquor and even precious metals and illegal drugs.

From the moment the election was announced in mid-March, special laws took effect banning Indians from carrying large amounts of money, gold or silver without proper supporting documentation.

Officials such as police and railway staff are also granted temporary powers during the campaign to seize items they believe are being used to sway voters.

- Big spenders -

The phenomenon may not be new but many observers say that it has only become more acute in recent years, giving a huge advantage to richer candidates who can always spend more to get elected.

Members of special 'flying squads' in India are locked in a game of cat and mouse in their hunt for bribes

A report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a New Delhi-based non-government entity pushing for electoral transparency, says that 32 percent of candidates in the first phase of voting on Thursday are multi-millionaires.

"Our statistics prove that the candidates with criminal backgrounds and money have a much better chance of winning," Anil Verma, head of ADR's National Election Watch unit, told AFP.

"The unlimited flow of money and its use to induce voters is increasing and we can see it with the nationwide cash seizures by authorities," he added.

Kumar, a Coimbatore resident who uses only one name, told AFP that he always rejected any inducements offered by local candidates.

"The parties give us 500 rupees ($6 US) each asking us to vote for their party. I tell them that I don't need money to vote and that I'd vote for whoever I want to vote," he told AFP.

But he's likely just one side of the coin.

Another ADR survey found 41 percent of those polled felt that the distribution of freebies was an important part of the election process -- even though almost 73 percent know it is illegal.

A survey found 41 percent of those polled felt that the distribution of freebies was an important part of the election process -- even though almost 73 percent know it is illegal

"Many politicians say that voters themselves demand freebies and they feel even more pressured if any rival offers them," said Verma.

"It is a temptation many can't resist. One can still understand the economically weak doing it but in some Indian states including Tamil Nadu, even the middle classes often take the money and the freebies," he added.

Meanwhile, others say that while they might take what is offered, they won't necessarily fulfil their side of the bargain.

"Why refuse when they offer us money? We can still go and vote for the candidate we like," said Senthil Kumar, a Coimbatore cab driver.

"I even tell my family to take the money but vote for whoever they want."
Benin is finding new ways of squeezing profit from cashew nuts

The back and forth of lorries and pick-up trucks covered with tarpaulin never stops at the Fludor factory in Zogbodomey, two hours drive from Benin's commercial hub, Cotonou.

Cashew season started in earnest in March and tons of the distinctive red-yellow apples containing the popular kidney-shaped nut arrive in hessian sacks.

A competitive global cashew market is dominated by India (a quarter of the 2.2 million tons of world production), yet the tiny West African country of Benin is one of the main producers on the continent with 100,000 ton harvested over the past two seasons.

But like the rest of Africa's cashew producers (Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Guinea Bissau), Benin exports the vast majority of nuts in raw form to India, leading to considerable loss.

When processed the value soars from $5,300 per ton to about $9,000, according to the agricultural statistics firm Planetoscope.

President Patrice Talon, elected in 2016, has made boosting the agricultural sector, and particularly cashew production, an economic priority. Growing local production is now seen as the path to allowing the country to profit even further.

The edible almond represents only 22 percent of the nut, with the rest typically thrown away. But things are now starting to change.

A dozen local companies in northern and central Benin already use cashew apples, a fleshy peduncle just above the nuts, turning them into fruit juices.

- Technology -

What had long been an informal trade is now a formalized production, manufactured for the past two years by American NGO Technoserve, boosting manufacturing from 30,000 bottles in 2017 to 200,000 last year.

The Fludor factory, a subsidiary of the Nigerian food giant TGI (Tropical General Investments Group), wants to go even further by manufacturing Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL) made from a by-product of the hard outer layer.

"It (the shell) contains an acidic liquid that we didn't know how to get rid of," says Roland Riboux, who heads the Beninese subsidiary of the Nigerian group TGI.

From unwanted waste to liquid gold

"Either you bury it, which isn't good for the soil or the water table, or you burn it."

Yet now the product has commercial value. According to the Cashew Export Promotion Council of India, the oil -- made by crushing the shell -- can be used in industrial products including brake linings, paint and lacquer.

As such it is seen as a more natural alternative to chemicals.

TGI's CNSL manufacturing unit takes up a small part of its 15,000-square-metre (161,500-square-foot) factory where rumbling machines turn at full speed.

A pile of brown cashew shells are stacked high, waiting to be processed while about 600 locally recruited women shell, sort and remove the film around the almond.

The complex machines imported from India are manned by staff supervised by Vinod Kumar, an Indian engineer specialised in CSNL, brought in to oversee the operations since it started last year.

-Growth area -

Kumar said the future looks bright. "At first, we started with three tons of oil a day. We're now at 10 tons from 30-40 tons of shells," he says.

"Our aim is produce a maximum capacity if 15 tons."

If CSNL seems like a niche product compared with the sale of cashew nuts, growing global demand is proving otherwise.

The Benin oil is exported to India, Japan and China, which has developed industries using it as a raw material.

There's much value in the shells

"This is an additional way to keep the added value at home," says Roland Riboux.

The plant intends to generalize this multi-transformation of the agricultural product. But to do so, you have to change mentalities to the first level of the chain.

Since this year, she has been sourcing directly from cooperatives in Atacora and Donga, two cashew producing departments in the north of the country, and not just through intermediaries who go around the small producers.

"Producers are starting to realise that it's not just the nuts that people want," says Barbara Macon, head of the sustainability programme at Fludor.

"It's important to show them what it can be made into," Kumar adds. "With this unit, we will be able to transform all the shells of Benin."
A new highway border crossing between China and North Korea has opened in Ji'an

A Chinese city has opened a new border crossing with North Korea -- fitted with radiation detectors -- even as talks between Washington and Pyongyang have languished over disagreements for nuclear sanctions relief.

The new highway border crossing opened in the northeastern city of Ji'an on Monday, complementing its three existing ports with the North, the city said in a statement published to its website Tuesday.

"After three years of unremitting efforts, the China-North Korean Ji'an-Manpo Highway Port was officially opened," the city said.

The project cost 280 million yuan ($42 million) and the city estimated 500,000 tons of goods and 200,000 people would cross through the new port each year.

But crippling UN sanctions imposed on the North by the UN Security Council in 2016 and 2017 have crimped trade between the two Cold War-era allies.

China is by far the North's biggest trading partner. While Pyongyang publishes virtually no economic statistics of its own, Chinese Customs figures show exports to China have plummeted by more than 90 percent since 2016, down to $213 million last year -- although some observers question their reliability

The main artery for North Korean trade with China has traditionally been through the Chinese border city of Dandong

Sanctions relief was top of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's agenda for his Hanoi summit with US President Donald Trump in February.

But the meeting broke up without a statement or even a lunch as the two sides disagreed over walking back Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme in exchange for loosening sanctions.

After the opening ceremony, the first 120 tourists crossed the border. Chinese tourism to the North has picked up as relations between the countries have improved in recent years.

The crossing also has a nuclear radiation detection gate, the city said. China has long been worried about any fallout from North Korea's nuclear activities and Jilin was rocked by an earthquake after a massive bomb test across the border in September 2017.

The main artery for North Korean trade with China has traditionally been through the Chinese border city of Dandong, to the south.

Ambitious city planners there started work on a Dandong New Zone in 2012, capped by a massive project to open a bridge connecting the city with the North Korean city of Sinuiju on the other side.

Authorities expected billions of dollars in investment to flood into jointly-run free trade zones on both sides of the border.

But after construction on the four-lane, $350-million bridge completed, it never opened, and the concrete runs into fields on the North Korean side.
Since 1992 campaigners in Seoul have held weekly rallies to demand a "full, heartfelt apology" for wartime sex slavery from Tokyo

Authorities in Seoul have cancelled the permit for a new Japanese embassy building citing construction delays, local officials said Wednesday, with relations between South Korea and Tokyo strained by historical disputes.

The neighbours are both democracies, market economies and US allies faced with an increasingly assertive China and the long-running threat of nuclear-armed North Korea.

But their own ties have remained icy for years due to bitter rows stemming from Japan's brutal 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean peninsula, with forced labour and wartime sex slavery key examples.

A statue of a "comfort woman" symbolising the Korean women forced to work in Japanese military brothels mostly during World War II stands across the road from the embassy plot.

Since 1992 campaigners have held weekly rallies at the site to demand a "full, heartfelt apology" for wartime sex slavery from Tokyo.

The 1,382th such gathering took place Wednesday, with activists surrounding the statue.

The previous embassy building was demolished some years ago, with staff moving into offices in the neighbouring high-rises, and the plot is now a patch of bare earth behind a high wall, vines growing through the surrounding barbed wire.

City authorities gave permission for a new six-storey building in 2015, the year Seoul and Tokyo signed a controversial deal to settle the wartime sex slavery issue.

But construction -- which under South Korean law must start within a year of a permit being received -- was repeatedly delayed.

Japan argues that the "comfort women" statue is against the 2015 bilateral agreement, under which Tokyo offered an apology and a one-billion yen payment.

But South Korean President Moon Jae-in said last year that the deal had been signed by his ousted predecessor Park Geun-hye without consulting the Korean victims and disbanded a foundation set up with the Japanese funds.

An official at the Jongno Ward Office in Seoul said: "We had a meeting with Japanese officials in February, and they said they will accept the revocation of the permit as they cannot start the construction work due to circumstances in their home country."

The dovish Moon -- who has brokered talks between Washington and Pyongyang -- has stressed the struggle against Japan is at the heart of national identity in both Koreas.

This year marks the 100th anniversaries of the March 1 Independence Movement and the foundation of the Korean provisional government, and South Korea is pulling out the stops to commemorate them both.

The centre of the capital is currently festooned with large government-produced posters of heroes of the fight for independence.
Rosmah Mansor appeared in court in Kuala Lumpur Wednesday, facing corruption charges

The wife of Malaysia's ex-leader was Wednesday hit with a new corruption charge, the 20th since her husband's shock election loss, and complained she was the victim of "slander".

Rosmah Mansor -- widely reviled in Malaysia due to her penchant for lavish overseas shopping sprees -- was charged with accepting a five million ringgit ($1.2 million) bribe in relation to a government solar power project.

She has already been hit with a barrage of money laundering and tax evasion charges linked to the looting of sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.

Allegations that she, her husband Najib Razak, and his cronies stole billions of dollars from the fund and went on a global shopping spree played a major role in the election loss of Najib's coalition last year.

Appearing in a Kuala Lumpur court, Rosmah denied the latest charge against her -- that she accepted a kickback to help a company secure a project providing solar power generators to schools.

Afterwards, Rosmah told reporters that people had started apologising to her and Najib for having believed "all the slander" against them.

"People chose to listen to all the lies, to all the untrue stories that have been told," she said. "I will remain patient and face all the trials and tribulations which Allah has made go through."

The 67-year-old had already been hit with two charges over the solar power case in November, when she was accused of accepting bribes worth 189 million ringgit. The other charges she faces relate to the plundering of 1MDB.

She denies any wrongdoing.

Since his election loss, Najib has also been arrested and hit with multiple charges linked to the 1MDB scandal. He went on trial for the first time over the multi-billion-dollar fraud last week. He denies wrongdoing.

Najib and Rosmah's lavish lifestyles came to symbolise the rot in Malaysia's ruling elite.

Following the election, police discovered valuables, including cash, jewellery and luxury handbags, worth up to $273 million in properties linked to the couple.
Former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn has said he is the victim of a "conspiracy" by "backstabbing" executives

Lawyers for former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn on Wednesday appealed his ongoing detention to Japan's Supreme Court, after the auto tycoon was re-arrested last week while out on bail.

Ghosn's lead lawyer Junichiro Hironaka had already signalled plans to file the appeal a day earlier, at a press conference where he played a video recorded by the former Nissan head before his re-arrest.

In the video, Ghosn said he was the victim of a "conspiracy" by "backstabbing" executives at Nissan who had engineered his arrest to prevent a merger between the Japanese automaker and its alliance partner Renault.

At the press conference, Hironaka slammed prosecutors for rearresting Ghosn, who had been out on bail in Tokyo while facing three charges of financial misconduct.

Hironaka said the arrest was intended to "apply unjust pressure on him (Ghosn) to force him into submission."

The court filing is the first time lawyers for Ghosn have sought relief from Japan's highest court. There were no immediate details on the arguments they are advancing.

Prosecutors rearrested Ghosn on April 4, saying they were investigating transfers of Nissan funds totalling $15 million between late 2014 and the middle of 2018 to a dealership in Oman.

They suspect around $5 million of these funds were siphoned off for Ghosn's personal use, including the purchase of a yacht.

A court has already granted a request from prosecutors to extend Ghosn's detention to April 14. They can then request an additional 10-day detention period after which they will have to release Ghosn unless they either charge him or level new allegations.

Hironaka has said he will challenge any extension of the detention if the appeal to the Supreme Court is rejected.

Ghosn already faces three formal charges: two of deferring his salary and concealing that in official shareholders' documents, and a further charge of seeking to shift investment losses to the firm.

He has denied any wrongdoing and said in the video played Tuesday he was "innocent of all the charges that have been brought against me."

"This is about a plot, this is about conspiracy, this is about backstabbing," he said.

He spent 108 days in detention before being released on bail on March 6 after agreeing to strict conditions and paying nearly $9 million.
Sudanese protesters salute soldiers in front of the military headquarters in the capital Khartoum

Thousands of Sudanese protesters pressed on with their campaign against President Omar al-Bashir's rule for a fifth day outside the army headquarters in the capital on Wednesday, witnesses said.

Crowds of demonstrators continued to throng the sprawling complex through the night, singing and dancing to the tunes of revolutionary songs, witnesses said.

"The night passed peacefully without any incident," said a protester who had spent the entire night at the complex.

"We believe that the support from the soldiers on the ground and now the police is definitely growing."

Demonstrators have braved regular volleys of tear gas from members of the powerful National Intelligence and Security Service since they began camping at the army headquarters on April 6, protest organisers say.

But for the first time they did not face any "threat" from security agents during the night, said the protester who did not want to be named for security reasons.

"The soldiers at the complex are also angry after the attacks of tear gas and are determined to prevent them," another demonstrator told AFP.

Witnesses said the troops had stationed several vehicles loaded with machine-guns at the gates of the complex.

On Tuesday security agents had to abort their bids to disperse the crowds when soldiers fired gunshots in the air to counter incoming volleys of tear gas from security agents.

"It seems the police too are now with us," said the protester.

"When we were coming to the army building last night we saw many policemen but they did not stop us."

The police on Tuesday ordered its personnel to avoid intervening against the demonstrators.

"We call on God to preserve the security and calm of our country ... and to unite the Sudanese people... for an agreement which would support the peaceful transition of power," a police spokesman said in a statement.

On Wednesday protesters were raising funds to ensure a regular supply of food and water for the crowd.

"Many shop owners and businessmen have offered us free supplies," said another demonstrator.

Protest organisers launched their latest campaign on April 6 as part of a months-long movement against Bashir's 30-year rule.

Demonstations first erupted on December 19 in response to a government decision to triple the price of bread.

But they quickly morphed into a nationwide campaign against Bashir's rule with rallies held across cities, towns and villages.

Bashir has remained defiant, and imposed a slew of tough measures including a state of emergency across the country.

Officials say 38 people have died in protest-related violence so far.
Singaporean officials on Monday found 12.7 tonnes of the creatures' scales in 474 bags on a container

Singaporean authorities said Wednesday they had discovered nearly 13 tonnes of pangolin scales worth about $38 million in a shipping container, the second major seizure of the creatures' parts in a week.

Authorities across Southeast Asia are battling to stop the rampant poaching and smuggling of pangolins, the world's most heavily trafficked mammal, which is sought for use in traditional medicine.

In the latest seizure, Singaporean customs and immigration officials on Monday found 12.7 tonnes of the creatures' scales in 474 bags on a container which was labelled as carrying seeds usually used to make tea.

They estimated that around 21,000 pangolins were killed to harvest such a huge quantity of scales, according to a government statement.

The container started its journey in Nigeria and was passing through the city-state -- a major trading hub -- en route to Vietnam, it said.

"The Singapore government adopts a zero-tolerance stance on the use of Singapore as a conduit to smuggle endangered species and their parts," said the statement.

It is estimated that around 21,000 pangolins were killed to harvest such a huge quantity of scales

On April 3, officials seized 12.9 tonnes of pangolin scales worth some $38.7 million from a container in Singapore which was also en route to Vietnam from Nigeria.

Under Singaporean law, those found guilty of the illegal import or export of wildlife can be fined up to S$500,000 ($370,000) and jailed for up to two years.

Pangolins, and particularly their scales, are highly prized in China and Vietnam for use in traditional medicine, despite the fact there is no scientific proof of their medical benefits.

Singapore's extensive trade links and efficient ports have lured wildlife smugglers, who use the country as a transit point to ship exotic creatures to customers worldwide, according to animal welfare activists.
Loyalists of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir have held a series of support rallies since protests erupted against his rule in December, some of which he has addressed in person

Loyalists of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir called for a support rally in Khartoum on Thursday as protesters demanding his resignation massed outside army headquarters for a fifth straight day.

"The National Congress Party's executive bureau supports the national dialogue partners' initiative to organise a gathering to be seen by all the people on Thursday," the acting chief of Bashir's ruling party, Ahmed Harun, said in a statement issued late on Tuesday.

"I call on all members of NCP across the state of Khartoum to participate in this rally."

Harun said the rally aims to "show that there are social and political powers that are committed towards peace, security and stability in Sudan".

In March, Bashir handed his powers as party leader to Harun as part of top level changes he made in the face of the protests that erupted against his rule in December.

The National Congress Party was formed a few years after Bashir took power in an Islamist-backed coup in 1989.
Some 26,000 people have been forced from their homes due to the fighting across Rakhine and in neighbouring areas of Chin state

Fighting between the Myanmar army and ethnic Rakhine rebels has escalated in the western state's temple-studded town of Mrauk U, sources confirmed Wednesday, with reports of military jets streaking across the sky.

Riven by complex ethnic and religious divides, Rakhine state was the epicentre of a brutal military campaign in 2017 that forced some 740,000 Rohingya Muslims over the border into Bangladesh.

But the army is now locked in deadly battles with the Arakan Army (AA), a group that claims to represent the state's ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and is vying for more autonomy.

The AA has killed at least 22 police officers since fighting ramped up in January.

The government says dozens of rebels have been killed.

Thousands of troops have been deployed to try to quell the spreading unrest.

Three weeks ago the fighting reached Mrauk U, the ancient capital of the Rakhine kingdom and a site popular with intrepid tourists for its array of temples and pagodas.

Mrauk U resident Khin Than told AFP by phone the fighting started about 10pm Tuesday night and was worse than last time.

"It's getting serious. People are scared to leave their homes," she said, describing the ground shaking under the roar of jets.

AA spokesman Khine Thukha told AFP they re-entered Mrauk U on Tuesday night to retaliate against artillery bombardments.

"The Burmese military is dropping bombs from jet fighters and helicopters," he said.

Military spokesman Colonel Win Zaw Oo confirmed clashes were taking place but did not release further details.

The military has vowed to crush the rebel group, which formed exactly 10 years ago and enjoys widespread support from many ethnic Rakhine.

The AA posted on its website Wednesday a message of congratulations for its 10th anniversary from an allied rebel group based on the other side of the country.

Some 26,000 people have been forced from their homes due to the fighting across Rakhine and in neighbouring areas of Chin state while aid groups estimate some 95,000 people are affected by new restrictions on movement.

There are also reports of indiscriminate attacks and use of landmines, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Much of Rakhine is under strict lockdown and information is difficult to verify independently.
Sudanese protesters salute a military armoured vehicle at a demonstration in front of the army headquarters in Khartoum, as some ranks appear to be tiling towards the rallies

Support within Sudan for embattled President Omar al-Bashir seems be waning as some ranks in the army, a major pillar of his three decades in power, appear to be tilting towards the demonstrators, analysts say.

Thousands of protesters have been camping outside the military complex housing Bashir's official residence in Khartoum since Saturday, braving tear gas and deadly gun shots from security services in defiance of a state of emergency banning all such demonstrations.

But the Sudanese army, which has steered clear of intervening in the clashes since the start of the anti-government protests in December, has so far stood on the sidelines.

On Tuesday, demonstrators were seen hoisting soldiers on their shoulders and dancing and chanting with them. While others joyfully saluted soldiers in armoured vehicles, keeping a protective eye on the crowds.

"This is an obvious endorsement that is better understood as a co-optation of the protest movement," said Magdi El Gizouli, an analyst with Rift Valley Institute.

"The events of April 6 and 7 have rehabilitated the moral standing of the army and affirmed its political weight."

Demonstrators carrying banners calling on Bashir to step down have been urging the military -- a well-respected institution in the country -- to protect them and back their demands for the president to resign.

On Monday, civil groups spearheading the protest movement including the Alliance for Freedom and Change called on the military to hold talks on forming a transitional government.

And on Tuesday, the police openly ordered its forces not to intervene against the protestors, voicing hopes that a way can be found for "a peaceful transition" of power.

- Possible army takeover -

The army's implicit permission for the protests to continue in front of a sensitive military site lays bare the discontent within army ranks at Bashir's rule, analysts say.

Sudanese soldiers monitor a rally in front of the military headquarters

"The army has always been the key to the ultimate success for the uprising -- and there have been many signs of disaffection within the army -- at least among the ranks of brigadier general and the lower," said Eric Reeves, a senior fellow at Harvard University.

"Lower ranks resent being made to kill fellow Sudanese," he added.

Powerful bodies backing Bashir including the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) have led the deadly crackdown on protesters since December. But the army has not intervened.

The sustained protest movement has so far posed the biggest threat to Bashir's 30-year rule, but has not yet persuaded the 75-year-old -- one of the longest ruling presidents in Africa -- to give up the reins of power.

"The protest movement, while it did make considerable advances, has lacked a central strategy beyond agitation," said Gizouli.

Indirectly, those groups leading the protest movement have in effect called on the army to "play the role of midwife, resolve the immediate crisis and depose Bashir and deliver power to the people," he added.

- What's next?-

"It's now an open question on how long the army will be loyal to Bashir," said Murithi Mutiga of the International Crisis Group.

"Given the conflicting signals coming from the army top brass, Bashir might have to manage the transition now rather than later."

A tide of protesters chant slogans in front of the Khartoum military headquarters, camping outside the sensitive building for a fifth day in a row despite a ban on such demos

He came under further pressure Tuesday when the United States, Britain and Norway issued a joint statement through their embassies in Khartoum, calling on the Sudanese authorities to deliver a "credible" plan now for a peaceful transition of power.

But it remains unclear whether any such transition would usher in an era of another military ruler, or a civilian government especially if the protest movement fails to produce a viable alternative to Bashir.

Gizouli believes Bashir, a brigade commander who led a bloodless coup against the democratically elected government in 1989, could just be replaced by another military ruler with popular support.

Others argue that there is higher likelihood that a civilian government may be installed after Bashir.

The protests were initially triggered by a decision to triple the price of bread, in a country already grappling with soaring fuel prices and an acute foreign currency shortage.

"No one wants to 'own' the economic catastrophe that has befallen Sudan," said Reeves.

"The current regime can't distance itself from it and the army doesn't want to inherit the catastrophe."

The economy was especially hit after the 2011 secession of South Sudan, which holds three-quarters of former Sudan's oil wells.

"At least a civilian government brought to power by the army would be given some leeway by the overwhelming majority of Sudanese," Reeves added.
Taiwan's president Tsai Ing-wen had condemned last month's incursion by two Chinese fighter jets over the 'median line' separating self-ruled Taiwan from China

China on Wednesday derided "wild talk" from Taiwan's president as it defended a flight by its fighter jets across the traditionally respected maritime line dividing the island from the mainland last month as a routine exercise.

The rare incursion of two J-11 fighter jets over the "median line" separating the self-ruled island from China drew condemnation from Taipei at the end of March, which called the incident "intentional, reckless and provocative".

Citing remarks by Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Ma Xiaoguang at a press briefing Wednesday, state-run China Daily said the fly-by was part of a planned routine exercise by the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

"Protecting national sovereignty and territorial integrity has been the sacred duty of the PLA, and it is in the interest of people from both sides of the straits," he said.

China has significantly stepped up diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan since Beijing-sceptic President Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016, including staging a series of military exercises near the island.

Dismissing Tsai's vow to forcibly expel Chinese fighter jets if they cross the median line again as "wild talk", Ma said the Taiwanese president's comments showed she was "scared."

"We warn them not to play with fire," he said. "Don't even think about it."

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting unification, even though the two sides have been ruled separately since the end of a civil war in 1949.

The US diplomatically recognises China over Taiwan but remains the island's chief military ally and arms supplier.

Washington warned China against the use of "force or coercion" on Taiwan after its fighter jet incursion -- which came a week after the US sailed a destroyer and coastguard ship through the Taiwan Strait, angering Beijing.
Troubled Venezuela has seen a spectacular drop in oil output

OPEC's oil output dropped sharply last month as a result of steep production cuts in Venezuela and kingpin Saudi Arabia, the cartel said on Wednesday.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' combined oil production plunged by 534,000 barrels per day in March, it said in a report citing secondary sources.

OPEC does not release its own production data.

Venezuela, in the throes of political troubles, sanctions and repeated power blackouts, pumped 289,000 fewer barrels per day than the previous month, taking production to 732,000 bpd.

This compares to the more than a million barrels per day Venezuela was pumping at the start of the year, and its production capacity of nearly two mbpd in 2017.

Kingpin Saudi Arabia's production, meanwhile, fell by 324,000 bpd, according to OPEC's sources, the report said.

This, analysts say, is a result of the kingdom's determination to support oil prices in line with a production cut deal between OPEC countries and non-member Russia that is to run until June.

These efforts appear to be paying off. Oil prices rose at their fastest pace in 14 years over the first quarter of the year.

On Wednesday the WTI futures contract, the benchmark for US production, stood at $64.42 and its European counterpart, Brent, at $70.95.
An Indian girl looks at a painting of the Amritsar massacre in 1919 when British troops opened fire on Indian protesters in the northern city, killing 400 according to colonial era records. India puts the toll much higher, at nearer 1,000

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday expressed regret for a massacre by British troops in India in 1919 but stopped short of a full apology.

"We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused," May told the British parliament, as India prepares to mark the 100th anniversary of the killings.

Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, called for "a full, clear and unequivocal apology".

The April 13, 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, in which British troops opened fire on thousands of unarmed protesters, remains an enduring scar from British colonial rule in India.

Colonial-era records show about 400 people died in the northern city of Amritsar when soldiers opened fire on men, women and children in an enclosed area, but Indian figures put the toll at closer to 1,000.

Former British prime minister David Cameron described it as "deeply shameful" during a visit in 2013 but also stopped short of an apology.

A ceremony was due to take place at the site of the massacre on Saturday.
Iran has been hit by what the authorities have called unprecedented flooding

Iran ordered tens of thousands of residents of the southwestern city of Ahvaz to evacuate immediately on Wednesday as floodwaters entered the capital of oil-rich Khuzestan province, state television reported.

The province's governor, Gholamreza Shariati, said he ordered the evacuation of five districts as a "precautionary and preventive move to avert any danger", Iran's Tasnim news agency reported.

The districts have an estimated population of between 60,000 and 70,000.

Shariati asked young men to "help us in building dykes and to assist in the evacuation of women, children and the elderly."

"The Dez and Karkheh rivers have for the first time joined each other near Ahvaz and are now flowing towards the city," Shariati told state TV, adding that this was unprecedented.

"These two rivers are far away from each other, but the huge volume of floodwater caused them to join up."

Shariati said a sixth district was also put on standby for possible evacuation.

Khuzestan province has been struggling with major floods due to heavy rains as well as floodwater coming from the north.

It is the latest in a series of unprecedented floods that have hit the normally arid country since March 19, killing at least 70 people.

The country's northeast was first swamped on March 19 before the west and southwest of the country were hit on March 25.

On April 1 the west and southwest were again swamped by floods when heavy rains returned to the area.
Equatorial Guinea's finance minister Lucas Abaga Nchama has been dismissed for "irregularities committed in the exercise of his office," the government said

Equatorial Guinea's minister for economy and finance, Lucas Abaga Nchama, has been sacked for "irregularities," according to a government decree published on Wednesday.

Abaga Nchama, who was also in charge of planning, was dismissed for "irregularities committed in the exercise of his office," it said, without giving further details.

He has been replaced by Cesar Mba Abogo, a secretary of state who had responsibility for steering the country's 2020 development programme.

Equatorial Guinea is in a deep economic crisis, triggered by the post-2014 slump in the price of crude oil, its principal export.

The former Spanish colony ranks 141st out of 189 countries on the UN's 2018 Human Development Index, and 172nd out of 180 countries on Transparency International''s 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index.
Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to become the longest-serving Israeli prime minister

Despite corruption allegations and stiff opposition from a new centre party, Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu has managed to boost his party's share of the vote and looks set to keep power.

While his right-wing Likud party and a centrist coalition appear set to have around the same number of parliamentary seats after Tuesday's general elections, the man called 'King Bibi' by admirers has a clear path to forming a coalition.

The 69-year-old is now likely to form another right-wing government and become the longest-serving Israeli prime minister later this year.

The elections appear to prove Netanyahu's enduring domestic appeal despite the graft accusations, and a fifth term in office would have knock-on implications for the peace process with Palestinians and for his potential indictment.

Speaking after preliminary results were announced early Wednesday, Netanyahu hailed a "magnificent victory."

"It will be a right-wing government, but I will be prime minister for all," he said.

In Israel's proportional political system, no party has ever won an outright majority. Instead the largest parties fight to form a coalition of at least 61 members of the 120-seat parliament.

With ex-military chief Benny Gantz's centrist Blue and White coalition leading in the polls, Netanyahu pulled out all the stops to shore up right-wing support.

On March 11 he said Israel was "the national state, not of all its citizens, but only of the Jewish people," sparking fierce criticism.

Nearly 20 percent of Israeli citizens are Arabs.

Then, two days before the election, in a seeming bid to steal votes from other right-wing parties, Netanyahu controversially pledged to annex settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Critics say any such move would be a final nail in the coffin of the two-state solution, which envisions an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

- Alliance-building -

In the final days of the campaign Netanyahu was everywhere, giving interviews to all major Israeli media and constantly posting on social media.

In the end his Likud party far out-performed expectations and is projected to have won around 35 seats, like Gantz.

Ofer Zalzberg from the International Crisis Group think-tank said Netanyahu understood the right-wing had an inbuilt advantage in Israel and so could stick with his base.

The right-wing bloc is predicted to have around 65 seats, compared with 55 for the centre and left, similar to the make up of the outgoing parliament.

Even before the election, all the smaller right-wing parties had pledged to back Netanyahu for prime minister, meaning his victory was always likely, Zalzberg said.

"He demonstrated again his mastery of alliance-building among the different political tribes of Israel -- he is unmatched in this."

Dore Gold, a former advisor to Netanyahu, said the secret of his success is that he "understands the DNA of the Israeli voter."

With US President Donald Trump's administration providing unprecedented support, as well as diplomatic breakthroughs in Africa and improving relations with Gulf Arab states, Gold said Netanyahu had improved Israel's standing in the world without having to give away much in exchange.

Traditional proposals had predicated improved relations between Israel and Arab states and others on achieving peace with the Palestinians, but Netanyahu has not made that a priority.

"The people of Israel saw this, that he was not a throwback to the past but had an orientation for the future. That set the stage for an extraordinary election victory," Gold said.

- Corruption battle -

Two major issues face Netanyahu in the coming months.

The first is the allegations of corruption including receiving thousands of dollars in undeclared gifts, as well as offering legal reforms in exchange for favourable media coverage.

In February Israel's attorney general recommended he be indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

Netanyahu has consistently rejected the allegations, labelling them a left-wing witch hunt.

Analysts said the victory could strengthen his hand against the charges, with talk even of introducing a law that sitting leaders cannot be indicted until after their term ends.

"He is still in survival mode and is likely to try to pass the immunity legislation or find a way to end the indictments against him for once and all," Hugh Lovatt, Israel analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations think-tank, said.

"After the election he can play the democracy card."

Israeli policy in the occupied Palestinian territories will also remain a prominent issue.

Trump is expected to finally present a long-delayed peace proposal in the coming months.

Details of the plan remain closely guarded.

Israel occupies the West Bank and east Jerusalem, while more than 600,000 Israeli settlers live there in communities considered illegal under international law.

Netanyahu has long been sceptical of a two-state solution, saying Israel needs to control Palestinian territory for security reasons.

"In this election he came out clearly and embraced his ideological opposition to Palestinian freedom," Palestinian political analyst Diana Buttu said.
Zuma, left, pictured with Kadhafi on May 30 2011, when he made a one-day visit to Tripoli as head of an African Union delegation mediating in the Libyan crisis. Zuma has denied a newspaper report that he was given $30 million by Kadhafi for 'safe keeping'

South Africa's ex-president Jacob Zuma has denied allegations by a local newspaper that he is in possession of $30 million (26.7 million euros) belonging to the late Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

The Sunday Times at the weekend reported that before he was captured and killed in 2011, Kadhafi had given the funds for "safe keeping" to Zuma, when he was president of South Africa.

The paper said Zuma had stashed the money at his home in the southeastern village of Nkandla before moving it to neighbouring eSwatini, formerly known as Swaziland.

"Former president Zuma is not aware of any money directed to his Nkandla home from former president Gaddafi, nor has he ever received funds from Gaddafi," the ex-president's foundation said in a statement cited Wednesday by South Africa's The Star newspaper.

Zuma himself tweeted sardonically on Tuesday that he was surprised to hear that he was keeping $30 million when he was in need of cash to pay for legal bills to fight graft charges.

"Sigh! I owe millions in legal fees.... I now hear that I have been keeping money belonging to my late brother Gaddafi. Wheres this money because His Majesty knows nothing about it?" he tweeted, referring to the king of eSwatini.

Zuma, who was ousted last year over multiple graft scandals, could be liable for the equivalent of $2 million in legal bills.

The eSwatini government spokesman Percy Simelane also refuted the existence of Zuma's money in his country.

"We are not aware of any money secretly stashed anywhere in eSwatini from former South African President Jacob Zuma belonging to former Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi," Simelane told AFP in Mbabane.

South African Foreign Affairs Minister Lindiwe Sisulu on Sunday said "there is no money that we are aware of.

"I have not found any money that belongs to Libyans. If the Libyans make a request for us to investigate this matter, we will."

Under Zuma, South Africa had vociferously opposed the NATO-led military intervention to oust the Libyan dictator.

It also said Kadhafi should have been handed to the international war crimes court after his capture.
Members of the Syrian Democratic Forces stand guard over veiled women in al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria, which houses relatives of Islamic State group members

Iraq has offered the US-led coalition to put hundreds of accused foreign jihadists on trial in Baghdad in exchange for millions of dollars, three government sources have told AFP.

Western countries have been rocked by fierce public debate over whether to repatriate their citizens who joined the Islamic State group, which held swathes of Iraq and Syria for years before losing its last speck of land last month.

Around 1,000 suspected foreign IS fighters are in detention in northeast Syria, in addition to around 9,000 foreign women and children in Kurdish-run camps there.

Iraq has proposed trying and sentencing the foreign suspects if the US-led coalition covers operational costs, three Iraqi officials have said.

"These countries have a problem, here's a solution," one told AFP, speaking anonymously because he was not authorised to give details to the press.

The source said Iraq had proposed a rate of $2 million per suspect per year, calculated based on the estimated operational costs of a detainee in US-run Guantanamo.

"We made the proposal last week but have not gotten a response yet," the source added.

A second official said Iraq had requested $2 billion to try the suspects as "one of several options," and could ask for "more money to cover the costs of their detention."

Iraq has already tried and sentenced several hundred foreign IS members, and others are in detention in Baghdad awaiting trial.

They include at least 12 French nationals who were transferred from Syria in February.

A third Iraqi official said detainees from as many as 52 countries could be put on trial in Baghdad.

"Iraq proposed to the coalition setting up a special tribunal to try foreigners. There's been a constructive beginning to those discussions," the source said.

But setting up the court could be complicated, the official said, with questions over whether international funding for it would preclude any implementation of the death penalty.

The source added that Iraq had opted to propose the arrangement to the US-led coalition as a whole because it was simpler than negotiating with each country individually.

The US-led coalition did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

Syria's Kurds have called for an international court in northeast Syria to try IS jihadists, but the US says countries should repatriate their own citizens.

Transferring foreign fighters to Iraq for trial appears to resolve a legal conundrum for Western powers, many of whom fear they may not have enough evidence to convict IS members who claim they did not fight.
The US Department of Justice charged former White House counsel Gregory Craig in relation to work he did for the Ukrainian government

A prominent Washington attorney who worked in Barack Obama's White House on Thursday became the first Democrat to face charges from Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling.

Greg Craig, 74, was charged with lying to investigators about his lobbying for the Russia-backed government of Ukraine, part of an operation that has already seen charges against three others, including President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

The indictment said Craig made false statements and concealed information in relation to Justice Department requirements that he register as a lobbyist for a foreign government with the Foreign Agents Registration Act Unit.

As a partner with large international law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in 2012, after he left the White House, Craig was hired by the Ukraine government to boost its image after having put the former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko through a trial widely criticized by Western governments as politically motivated.

Prosecutors submitted evidence showing Craig knowingly avoided registering as a foreign agent and sought to hide the income he received for his work for Ukraine, including on producing and disseminating an "independent" report by Skadden that critics said whitewashed the treatment of Tymoshenko.

In April 2018 a Dutch lawyer working for Skadden, Alex van der Zwaan, was sentenced to 30 days in jail and a $20,000 fine after pleading guilty to lying to the Mueller investigation relating to his work for Ukraine together with Manafort and Manafort's partner Rick Gates.

In January this year Skadden agreed to pay $4.6 million to settle charges it lobbied illegally for Ukraine.

Craig however is fighting the charges. In a statement Wednesday he said his work came "as an independent expert on the rule of law, not as an advocate for the client" and that he had refused requests to participate in Ukraine's lobbying.

"Mr Craig is not guilty of any charge," they said.
Fighters loyal to Libya's UN-backed government are defending the capital from a rival strongman's forces

Forces loyal to Libya's internationally recognised government and a rival commander battled for control of the capital Thursday after UN chief Antonio Guterres warned the country faced a "very dangerous situation".

Thousands of people have fled heavy fighting on the outskirts of Tripoli that has left dozens dead and prompted mounting global alarm.

Guterres appealed Wednesday for a halt to hostilities to prevent the situation spiralling out of control.

"It's still time to stop," he told reporters after briefing the UN Security Council in a closed session in New York.

"It's still time for a ceasefire to take place, for a cessation of hostilities to take place, and to avoid the worst, which would be a dramatic, bloody battle for Tripoli."

Nearly a week of fighting on the city's doorstep has already killed 56 people and wounded 266, the World Health Organization said.

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"Thousands of people have fled their homes, while others are trapped in conflict areas. Hospitals inside and outside (Tripoli) are receiving daily casualties," it said.

The UN chief was in Libya when forces loyal to military strongman Khalifa Haftar last week launched an offensive to capture the capital, which is controlled by a UN-backed government and an array of militias.

Haftar backs a rival administration based in eastern Libya that refuses to recognise the authority of the Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez al-Sarraj.

"Our forces continue to advance on all fronts and are converging on the centre of the capital," Ahmad al-Mesmari, spokesman of Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), said Thursday at a press conference.

He said the LNA had issued arrest warrants against Sarraj and other GNA officials for "treason", "support for terror groups" and "conspiracy with foreign countries".

The Security Council met for more than two hours behind closed doors to consider how to address the fighting, which has derailed efforts to end the instability that has beset Libya since its 2011 uprising.

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said the situation in Libya was "increasingly worrying".

She called for the "full implementation of the humanitarian truce" and the "return to the political negotiations and the political track".

The United Nations postponed a national conference that was to open on Sunday to draw up a roadmap to elections, meant to turn the page on years of turmoil since the NATO-backed overthrow of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

- Teen fighters held -

Heavy clashes shook Ain Zara, a town dotted with farms on the southeastern outskirts of Tripoli where pro-GNA fighters managed to reverse an advance by Haftar's forces.

On the town's main street, lined with shops and houses, a sand barrier erected by pro-GNA forces separated the two camps.

"Today, the criminals of Haftar's group have advanced, but we destroyed a tank and two armoured vehicles," said a pro-GNA fighter who gave his name as Youssef.

Thousands of people have fled the fierce fighting on the outskirts of Tripoli

Behind him, artillery fire stirred up a cloud of sand as the sound of machine guns and anti-aircraft guns rang out.

Suddenly a shell sliced through the air and hit a nearby house.

"You see, he (Haftar) wants to destroy our houses and all of Tripoli," one of the fighters shouted.

The GNA took journalists to a prison in the area, where director Ayad Enjem said "75 combatants" of Haftar's LNA fighters had been detained since Friday.

"Several are younger than 16 years old" said Enjem, as representatives from a UN agency interviewed the prisoners.

One detainee told AFP he was 16 and had been recruited recently in Sabratha, to the west of Tripoli.

More than 100 others are being held in a prison in the coastal town of Zawiya, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of the capital, according to its head Abdelbasset Abu Ajeila.

- 'Cat and mouse' -

Haftar's forces, which control swathes of the country's east, said on Wednesday they had seized a barracks in the Aziziya area around 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of Tripoli after "ferocious clashes".

They said several fighters loyal to the UN-backed government had been detained and their weapons seized.

Tripoli is controlled by a UN-backed government and an array of militias

"For the moment, it's still a game of cat and mouse," a commander from a pro-GNA group said Wednesday.

"We're still organising ourselves. The war hasn't truly started," he told AFP in Ain Zara.

Haftar's forces appear to be advancing on two fronts, from the south and southeast of Tripoli, while coastal roads to the east and west of the city are defended by fighters loyal to the GNA.

The United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Russia are key allies of Haftar, a former Kadhafi military chief who has emerged as a major player in Libya's political struggle.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday the alliance was "deeply concerned by the situation in Libya."

"The current military operation and advance on Tripoli are increasing the suffering of the Libyan people and putting civilian lives at risk," he said.

Although casualties remain limited so far, the International Crisis Group warned further escalation "could precipitate a humanitarian disaster".

"If unleashed, a full-fledged offensive could become a proxy war between regional powers and cause innumerable casualties as well as immense devastation," the think tank said.
Jeff Bezos says customers of Amazon Go cashierless stores see the experience as "magical" and suggested more of these outlets are coming

Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos said Thursday he sees a bright future in the company's cashierless retail stores and that many consumers see the experience as "magical."

In his annual letter to shareholders, Bezos was upbeat about the prospects for Amazon Go, the stores where customers use an app to check out, with purchases scanned in the store and billed electronically to eliminate the need for cashiers.

"For many years, we considered how we might serve customers in physical stores, but felt we needed first to invent something that would really delight customers in that environment," he wrote.

"No one likes to wait in line. Instead, we imagined a store where you could walk in, pick up what you wanted, and leave."

Bezos said the implementation was complex, with specially designed cameras and shelves and new computer vision algorithms.

"The reward has been the response from customers, who've described the experience of shopping at Amazon Go as 'magical,'" he said.

"We now have 10 stores in Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle, and are excited about the future."

The letter made no mention of concerns raised by some activists that cashierless and cashless stores could shut out people lacking smartphones and bank accounts.

Bezos separately challenged other retailers to match Amazon's move for a minimum wage of $15 an hour announced last year.

"We had always offered competitive wages. But we decided it was time to lead -- to offer wages that went beyond competitive," Bezos said in his letter.

"Today I challenge our top retail competitors (you know who you are!) to match our employee benefits and our $15 minimum wage. Do it! Better yet, go to $16 and throw the gauntlet back at us. It's a kind of competition that will benefit everyone."

- Climate change appeal -

Aside from wages, a group of Amazon employees this week called on the company to be a role model for corporate action fighting climate change.

"Amazon's leadership is urgently needed," read an open letter to Bezos and the Amazon board signed by 4,520 company workers when it was posted on Wednesday.

"We believe this is a historic opportunity for Amazon to stand with employees and signal to the world that were ready to be a climate leader."

Steps called for in the letter included a complete transition away from fossil fuels and making potential climate effects a priority in business decisions.

Amazon early this year promised to share details regarding its company-wide carbon footprint along with programs to reduce it, such as striving to make shipments "net zero carbon."

"Amazon's sustainability team is using a science-based approach to develop data and strategies to ensure a rigorous approach to our sustainability work," the Seattle-based e-commerce giant said in response to an AFP inquiry.

"We have launched several major and impactful programs and are working hard to integrate this approach fully across Amazon."

Amazon has a longterm goal of powering its worldwide infrastructure completely with renewable energy and has more than 200 operations scientists, engineers and product designers working exclusively on inventing ways to use its size "for the good of customers and the planet," the company said.
France will make a show of opposing trade talks with the US, as President Emmanuel Macron (pictured April 10, 2019) insists the US first sign back up to the Paris climate accord

EU member states gave the green light on Thursday for Brussels to open trade talks with Washington, diplomatic sources said, ending months of stalemate due to opposition from France.

But France said it would nonetheless make a show of opposing the start of the talks when the negotiating mandate is put to a vote of EU agriculture ministers on Monday, seen as largely symbolic.

Envoys from the EU's 28 member states had struggled to agree on a mandate to open trans-Atlantic talks, with some fearing the revival of a trade war with President Donald Trump.

But a European diplomat told AFP that they had agreed by consensus to finally begin the negotiations.

Pursuing a limited trade deal is a central component of a transatlantic truce negotiated in July that came close to imploding after the US on Tuesday threatened $11 billion in fresh trade tariffs against Europe.

Paris had initially blocked the mandate, which mainly aims to eliminate tariffs, worried of domestic blowback just months ahead of European elections, set for May 22 to 26.

EU member states had struggled to agree on a mandate to open trans-Atlantic talks, with some fearing the revival of a trade war with President Donald Trump

On Thursday, a presidential aide said that France would "probably be the only country to vote against", citing President Emmanuel Macron's insistence on the US first signing back up to the Paris climate accord as justification.

"It would not be for right for France to start these negotiations unless our environmental demands are met," the aide said.

But only a qualified majority of EU members need to support the talks in order for them to begin, meaning France's "non" will not hold up the process.

France's EU partners had tried to win Macron over by agreeing to insist on environmental guarantees during the talks with Washington, which pulled out of the climate agreement after Donald Trump came to power, infuriating Macron.

"France achieved a certain number of advances," Macron's aide acknowledged, also citing the scrapping of the negotiating mandate for the TTIP, a far more ambitious transatlantic trade plan that came to naught, and an agreement to keep agricultural products off the table.

But the concessions were "not enough," the aide said, adding that Paris was smarting over Trump's latest tariff threats and his refusal to reverse steep tariffs on European steel and aluminium.

- 'Soon stop!' -

Germany worries about any impact on its car exports

The TTIP deal stalled following widespread protests in Germany, France and Austria over fears it would undermine EU standards on food and health.

Berlin strongly wants the limited 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".

The mandate from the EU stipulates that the talks would end if the US pursued more levies against Europe, including on cars.

At a meeting last July at the White House, Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker pledged no new tariffs following those on steel and aluminium.

That peace was in danger on Monday as the US threatened to impose tariff counter-measures of up to $11.2 billion on a host of European products in response to subsidies received by aircraft maker Airbus.

In a tweet Trump said: "The EU has taken advantage of the US on trade for many years. It will soon stop!"
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde says the IMF is working to collect data on the rising amount of loans to developing countries, including from China

Increased lending by China to developing nations is increasingly under the spotlight amid concerns that growing debt burdens and onerous conditions could sow the seeds of a crisis.

The global development lenders, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, are calling for more transparency about loan amounts and terms, and cautioning governments against relying too much on debt.

At the spring meetings of the institutions on Thursday, newly-installed World Bank President David Malpass warned that "17 African countries are already at high risk of debt distress, and that number is just growing as the new contracts come in and aren't sufficiently transparent."

IMF chief Christine Lagarde said the high debt levels and number of lenders, who do not all conform to international norms, also complicate any future efforts to restructure a country's debt.

"Both the bank and the IMF are working together in order to bring about more transparency and be better able to identify debt out there, terms and conditions, volumes and maturities," she said at a news briefing.

"We are constantly encouraging both borrowers and lenders to align as much as possible with the debt principles" set by international organizations such as the Paris Club and Group of 20.

An IMF report issued this week warned that rising debt levels around the world -- government and corporate borrowing -- poses a risk to the global economy.

China has been lending throughout the developing world as part of its "belt and road" initiative, especially focusing on resource-rich nations.

- Debt drags down economies -

But the loans have come under increasing scrutiny. Mozambique has been engulfed in scandal over $2 billion in fraudulent loans that were hidden from the public.

And Lagarde said, "It's clear that any debt restructuring programs going forward in the years to come will be more complicated than debt restructuring programs that were conducted 10 years ago, simply because of the multiplicity of lenders, and the fact that not all public debt is offered by members of the Paris Club."

World Bank President David Malpass warns 17 African nations are at risk of a debt crisis

Malpass acknowledged that lending can help economies grow "but if it's not done in a transparent way, with good outcome from the build-up of debt, then you end up having it be a drag on economies."

He cautioned that "history is full of those situations where too much debt dragged down economies."

The G20 has called on the two Washington-based lenders to collect data on debt to get a better handle on the amounts and loan conditions.

"I'll be reporting to the G20 on the progress during our meetings coming up this week, and the keys are to have transparent disclosure of the debt as it is being created, and also then have the focus on good outcomes in terms of quality projects," Malpass said.

"This is critical for poor countries as they try to move forward to have the projects associated with good quality programs and full disclosure of the debt."

China also has a growing role as a donor to the World Bank fund that provides low-cost loans to the poorest countries.
US President Donald Trump says he'll be attending Normandy 75th anniversary ceremonies at a meeting with WWII veterans and their families in the Oval Office

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will attend ceremonies to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy that broke Nazi Germany's grip on France.

"I'll be there," he told reporters in the White House.

Operation Overlord was launched on June 6, 1944, sending waves of US and other Allied soldiers onto the French coast where they dislodged German forces and began the liberation of France and the eventual battle for Germany itself, ending in defeat for the Nazis.

The Normandy trip will add to a relatively busy summer of international travel for Trump, who is also expected to go to Japan twice and to a G7 summit in August in Biarritz, France.
A video grab taken from AFPTV footage shows WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as he is driven by British police to Westminster Magistrates' Court in central London on April 11, 2019

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's seven-year hideout in Ecuador's London embassy dramatically ended when British police dragged him out and arrested him on a US extradition request.

Footage from the Russian video news agency Ruptly showed Assange -- his worn face framed by a bushy white beard and shock of silver hair -- being hustled out of the building by burly men in suits and pulled into a waiting police van Thursday.

The scene unfolded outside the plush central London building that has been Assange's refuge from the authorities since 2012.

"No one is above the law," British Prime Minister Theresa May said to cheers in parliament.

The drama came after Ecuador -- under pro-US President Lenin Moreno, increasingly frustrated with Assange's stay -- pulled its asylum and cancelled his citizenship after earlier curbing his internet and mobile phone access.

British police said Assange had been initially arrested for breaching his bail conditions in 2012 and then "further arrested on behalf of the United States", where he is wanted to face hacking charges.

His London lawyer Jennifer Robinson said Assange would be "contesting and fighting" his extradition.

Robinson said Assange had also told her to pass a message to his supporters that his repeated warnings about the risk of US extradition had been proved right.

"He said: 'I told you so'," Robinson told reporters and supporters, including fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, outside Westminster Magistrates Court.

- 'I'm not leaving' -

The pony-tailed 47-year-old Australian gave a thumbs-up sign to the press gallery in court and opened up a copy of Gore Vidal's book "History of the National Security State" about the US military-industrial complex before his hearing began.

Judge Michael Snow pronounced Assange guilty of breaching his bail conditions by sheltering in the embassy and remanded him in custody to face sentencing at an unspecified later date.

He faces up to a year in a British prison and will have his separate extradition case heard on May 2.

Assange yelled "this is unlawful" and "I am not leaving" during the arrest, the court was told.

Police struggled to handcuff him but eventually lifted him out exactly an hour after entering the embassy.

Police took Assange from the Ecuador embassy saying his asylum had been revoked

Assange had long suspected that he was secretly wanted by Washington for his decision to publish a trove of classified Pentagon documents detailing alleged US war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq.

US authorities had steadfastly refused to confirm reports that they had issued a sealed indictment against Assange -- until Thursday.

The US Justice Department said Assange was being charged with a computer hacking conspiracy relating to his work with former US intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in March 2010 and faced a maximum of five years in prison if convicted.

US President Donald Trump brushed aside the issue when questioned by reporters at the White House.

"I know nothing about WikiLeaks, it's not my thing."

- Guarantee against death penalty -

Assange will now be at the heart of a legal and diplomatic tug of war pitting him and his legions of supporters -- including Russian authorities -- against the US justice system.

Julian Assange

His links to Russia continued through the years holed up in the Ecuadoran embassy.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Assange would receive "no special treatment" from his home country.

WikiLeaks also published damaging emails stolen from Hillary Clinton and her Democratic Party's computer servers during her failed 2016 US presidential race against Trump.

US intelligence agencies believe the hack was conducted by Russia's military intelligence agency. Assange says he never knew the source of the politically-compromising material when he released it on WikiLeaks.

Assange's supporters fear that his extradition will be followed by more serious US charges such as treason -- a crime that carries the death penalty in wartime.

Moreno insisted that he had "asked Great Britain for the guarantee that Mr Assange will not be extradited to any country in which he could suffer torture or face the death penalty".

- 'Dangerous precedent' -

Assange's case has opened up a bigger debate about security and free speech.

His supporters view him as a fearless exposer of injustices such as torture and alleged war crimes committed by US forces and then covered up.

Assange's critics accuse him of cosying up to authoritarian leaders such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and putting US lives at risk.

Assange went before a judge at Westminster Magistrates Court

The Reporters Without Borders free speech group said Assange's arrest "could set a dangerous precedent for journalists, whistleblowers, and other journalistic sources that the US may wish to pursue in the future".

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Britain of "strangling freedom" and fugitive US whistleblower Edward Snowden -- himself hiding in Moscow since 2013 -- said the arrest was a "dark moment".

Former Ecuadoran president Rafael Correa claimed it was an act of "personal vengeance" on the part of his successor Moreno.

A collaborator close to Assange was arrested in Ecuador on Thursday, Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo said, after she earlier linked the individual with alleged attempts to destabilise Moreno's government.
Israel's first spacecraft to the moon was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida

Israel's attempt at a moon landing failed at the last minute Thursday when the craft suffered an engine failure as it prepared to land and apparently crashed onto the lunar surface.

"We didn't make it, but we definitely tried," project originator and major backer Morris Kahn said in a live videocast from mission control near Tel Aviv.

"I think that the achievement of getting to where we got is really tremendous, I think we can be proud," he said.

During the broadcast control staff could be heard saying that engines meant to slow the craft's descent and allow a soft landing had failed and contact with it had been lost.

"If at first you don't succeed, you try again," said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the control room, where he had been watching along with US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman.

Only Russia, the United States and China have made the 384,000-kilometre (239,000-mile) journey and landed safely on the Moon.

Israeli NGO SpaceIL and state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the project's two main partners, described it as the "world's first spacecraft built in a non-governmental mission".

Khan, a philanthropist and chairman of SpaceIL, put up $40 million of the project's $100 million budget.

Other partners who joined later are from "the private sector, government and academia," according to the IAI website.

Just before the landing attempt Netanyahu said that he was thinking about initiating a national space project.

"I am seriously considering investing in a space programme," he said in the webcast.

"It has national implications for Israel and implications for humanity."
Palestinian activist Omar Barghouti, seen here in 2013, was refused entry by the United States

The United States has denied entry to a prominent Palestinian activist who urges boycotting Israel, as a US official on Thursday equated his pressure campaign with anti-Semitism.

Omar Barghouti, a co-founder of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, was not allowed to board a plane Wednesday for a speaking tour that was to include Harvard University, New York University and a left-leaning synagogue in Chicago.

"Israel is not merely continuing its decades-old system of military occupation, apartheid and ethnic cleansing," Barghouti said in a statement.

"It is increasingly outsourcing its outrageous, McCarthyite repression to the US and to xenophobic, far-right cohorts across the world," he said.

Barghouti added he had also planned during the trip to attend his US-based daughter's wedding, saying: "I am hurt, but I am not deterred."

The Arab American Institute said that Barghouti had a US visa valid through January 2021 but was informed by airline staff at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport that US authorities had issued instructions denying him the right to travel.

State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said that the United States does not explain individual visa decisions.

But without explaining why Barghouti was rejected, Palladino said: "US law does not authorize the refusal of visas based solely on political statements or views if those statements or views would be legal in the United States."

The so-called BDS movement has infuriated Israel by calling for economic, cultural and academic boycotts of the Jewish state, including not buying products from Jewish settlements in the West Bank, as a way to press Israel to address the plight of Palestinians under occupation.

Elan Carr, the new US envoy to combat anti-Semitism, also said he could not discuss Barghouti's case but branded the BDS movement anti-Semitic.

"An individual has a right to buy or not buy what they please. However, if there is an organized movement to economically strangle the state of Israel, that is anti-Semitic," he told reporters.

While agreeing that criticism of any nation's policies was "entirely proper" in a democracy, Carr said: "If Israel is criticized in a way that no other country in a similar circumstance is criticized, yes, that is anti-Semitism."

President Donald Trump has strongly backed Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and has accused his Democratic rivals of anti-Semitism for distancing themselves from the right-wing leader.

Republican lawmakers in US states have increasingly pushed measures that would in turn refuse any government business with companies that participate in a boycott of Israel.
Retired astronaut Scott Kelly, who spent a year on the International Space Station, is pictured on the right, opposite his identical twin brother Mark, also a former astronaut

A NASA study of a US astronaut who spent a year in space while his twin brother remained on Earth is providing valuable insights into the effects of extended spaceflight on the human body, a key to planning a future manned mission to Mars, researchers said Thursday.

US astronaut Scott Kelly spent a year on the International Space Station while his identical twin Mark Kelly, also a former NASA astronaut, stayed on the ground.

The researchers who carried out the "NASA Twins Study" found that most of the changes to Scott's body during his time in space returned to normal within months of his return to Earth -- although not all of them.

The findings, published in the journal Science, were encouraging to scientists and engineers envisioning interplanetary travel such as an eventual trip to Mars, a mission that could last two to three years.

"The Twins Study is the most comprehensive review of the response of the human body to spaceflight ever conducted," said Dr Susan Bailey of Colorado State University.

Retired NASA astronaut Mark Kelly

Dr Steven Platts, deputy chief scientist of NASA's Human Research Program, said it will "guide future biomedical space research and allow us to have a safer journey to and from Mars."

Using Mark as a baseline, 84 researchers at 12 universities documented the molecular, cognitive and physiological effects of Scott's year in space.

Scott, a 50-year-old veteran of two US Space Shuttle missions, spent 340 consecutive days on the ISS -- from March 27, 2015 to March 1, 2016.

He was monitored pre-flight and post-flight and during his time on the ISS. Blood, urine and stool samples were sent back to Earth on resupply vessels.

At the same time, scientists monitored Mark -- a veteran himself of four Space Shuttle missions -- on Earth as what they called a "genetically matched ground control."

- 'Nauseous, dizzy' -

Bailey said the uniqueness of using twins was because the scientists could "attribute any kind of differences that we saw in spaceflight to spaceflight.

Scott Kelly spent nearly a year aboard the International Space Station and was part of a landmark NASA 'Twins Study' along with his identical twin brother Mark

"It wasn't because of any genetic differences," she said.

Dr Michael Snyder of Stanford University said there are "thousands of gene and molecular changes that occur as someone goes in space."

"Virtually all of those returned to normal (in Scott) by six months," Snyder said. "It's reassuring to know that when you come back things will largely be back to the same."

Scott Kelly said he was extremely fatigued after coming back from the ISS and attributed it mostly to the adaptation to gravity.

"I felt like I had the flu," he said.

"I was nauseous. I was dizzy," he said, and suffered from joint and muscle pain and rashes.

Dr Stuart Lee of NASA's Johnson Space Center said measurements were taken of the thickness in both Scott and Mark of the carotid artery wall, which can be a predictor of cardiovascular disease or stroke risk.

"Our main findings in Scott were that the carotid artery wall became thicker early in flight and remained so throughout the mission," Lee said.

US astronaut Scott Kelly after returning to Earth on March 2, 2016 after a nearly one-year stay aboard the International Space Station

Mark did not have any such thickening.

Thickening of the carotid artery wall has been observed in astronauts previously.

So has weight loss due to poorer nutrition in space and a lack of exercise.

Scott lost seven percent of his body mass during his time on the ISS while Mark gained about four percent during the course of the study.

In one test, both Scott and Mark were administered a flu vaccination. It delivered a similar immune response.

The twins also performed a battery of cognitive tests before, during and after the flight and found that Scott's cognitive performance declined post-flight in terms of speed and accuracy.

- Telomere length -

Chris Mason, a geneticist at Weill Cornell Medicine, looked at how the unique environment of space impacts genes.

US astronaut Scott Kelly (R) aboard the International Space Station

"We catalogued basically what is the landscape of all these genes that have gone up and gone down at different stages during the mission," Mason said.

"We saw that the vast majority, over 90 percent of all these changes, all returned back to baseline coming back to Earth," Mason said.

Some of the most interesting research was done by Bailey's team at Colorado State University which looked at telomeres, the ends of chromosomes that typically shorten as people get older.

Telomeres are considered a biomarker of aging or health risks from cardiovascular disease or cancer.

Bailey's team evaluated Scott and Mark's telomere lengths before the flight and found that they were very similar.

US President Barack Obama meets with NASA astronauts Scott Kelly (C) and his twin brother Mark Kelly in the Oval Office

What surprised her team was that Scott experienced a "specific elongation of telomeres" during his time on the ISS.

Bailey cautioned that the finding "can't really be viewed as the fountain of youth and that people might expect to live longer because they're in space."

She said there was a "very rapid decrease" in telomere length upon Scott's return to Earth and he also experienced some unexplained telomere loss.

Bailey said her team has not come up with a reason for the telomere lengthening but was looking at whether the higher radiation exposure in space, inflammation or stress may be responsible.
US President Donald Trump has insisted that a separate branch of military is needed to focus on protecting satellites, tackling vulnerabilities in space, and asserting US dominance in orbit

The Space Force that President Donald Trump wants to launch ran headlong on Thursday into skeptical lawmakers who questioned the need for a stand-alone military wing.

Trump has insisted that a separate branch of military is needed to focus on protecting satellites, tackling vulnerabilities in space, and asserting US dominance in orbit.

Under a Pentagon proposal, the Space Force would be established as its own branch of the military but would fall under the Air Force, similar to how the Navy oversees the Marine Corps.

"Both China and Russia have weaponized space with the intent to hold American capabilities at risk," Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told the Senate Armed Services Committee, whose endorsement he sought for the new force.

Not since the Air Force was stood up in 1947 has the Pentagon created a new military branch. A Space Force would join the Army, Navy and Marines as well as the Air Force.

"The bottom line is the next major conflict may be won or lost in space," Shanahan told the committee.

But lawmakers were less than clear on why setting up the force solely for space-related matters made sense.

"I don't understand how putting a new box in an organizational chart is going to help us to respond to the new challenge that we face. I'm genuinely undecided, although as you can tell, I'm skeptical," said independent Maine Senator Angus King.

Republican Tom Cotton of Arkansas wondered about the need for a new military service, as opposed to placing space matters in an existing one.

"Can you explain why we need to put all space assets, space forces into a separate service as opposed to a combatant command?" he asked.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford, recalled that a space force was first suggested two years ago and then dismissed.

At that time, Dunford said, he had his doubts but is now convinced about the need for a separate force.

General John Hyten, who heads US Strategic Command, said creation of a Space Force is inevitable because "every physical domain we have when it becomes contested, we create a military service to deal with that."

What the committee must decide, he said, "is when is that going to happen."

The Space Force would comprise about 20,000 personnel, grouping all Pentagon military and civilians dealing with satellites, rockets, weapons and technology related to space.

"This doesn't make any sense to me. I'm sorry," said West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin, who considered the Air Force's current handling of space matters satisfactory.

Democrat Elizabeth Warren, a presidential hopeful from Massachusetts, said that "all I see is how a new... force will create one more organization to ask Congress for money.

"And there is no reason to believe that adding an entirely new Space Force bureaucracy and pouring buckets more money into it is going to reduce our overall vulnerability in space."
Holden Matthews, the son of a Louisiana police officer, is charged with three counts of arson on a religious building for allegedly burning down three rural churches over a 10-day period beginning in late March 2019

The white son of a Louisiana police officer has been arrested and accused of burning down historically black churches in the southern US state, authorities announced Thursday.

Holden Matthews is charged with three counts of arson on a religious building for allegedly burning down three rural churches over a 10-day period beginning in late March.

Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

Authorities said they were not ready to discuss the motive for the attacks, but a federal hate crimes investigation was ongoing.

"I don't know what this young man's motive was... but I can say it cannot be justified or rationalized. These were evil acts," Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said at a news conference.

"It has been especially painful because it reminds us of a very dark past of intimidation and fear."

The 21-year-old is allegedly associated with a type of music known as "black metal" which promotes church burnings, authorities said.

In extreme cases, those who associate with the musical genre have espoused white supremacist ideologies, according to The Daily Beast website and the anti-hate group the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

The sheriff in St Landry Parish where the church attacks occurred said the arrested suspect was the son of one of his deputies, Roy Matthews.

"He knew nothing about his son's activity," Sheriff Bobby Guidroz said, adding that the deputy "broke down" when he was informed.

"He's shocked and hurt, as any father would be," Guidroz said.

The arson attacks targeted three historically black churches -- St Mary Baptist Church in the city of Port Barre, Mt Pleasant Baptist Church in Hammond, and Greater Union Baptist Church in Opelousas.
Christopher Lee Price, 46, and an accomplice were found guilty of stabbing Bill Lynn to death in 1991

An American man convicted of killing a pastor during a robbery in 1991 was scheduled for execution Thursday in the southeastern state of Alabama.

Christopher Lee Price, 46, and an accomplice were found guilty of stabbing Bill Lynn to death a few days before Christmas that year.

The state plans to put Price to death by lethal injection at a prison in the town of Atmore.

His lawyers filed an appeal against that method of execution, arguing it is cruelly painful. They asked that he be put to death instead by breathing nitrogen gas.

Like a few other states, Alabama approved this latter method in 2018 because of a shortage of chemicals used for lethal injection -- but it has not yet been used.

A federal court on Wednesday turned down Price's request, saying he waited too long to file it. The appeal was then filed with the US Supreme Court.

If that high court does not suspend the execution, it will be the fourth so far this year in the United States.

Price's accomplice is serving a life sentence.
Increased numbers of cows have been causing road accidents and havoc in rural areas

One of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's signature policies has been protecting cows, but for Raghuvir Singh Meena -- a Hindu farmer struggling to protect his crop of chickpeas from roaming cattle -- it has gone too far.

Farmers overwhelmingly supported Modi's nationalist party when he swept to power in 2014 but the strict measures on cows, which are sacred to Hindus, have caused major headaches for rural communities.

"We have tried everything -- scarecrows and barbed wire -- but the stray animals never miss a chance to eat away our crop," Meena told AFP, looking askance at his lush fields in the Pilani district of Rajasthan in western India.

"They (the government) are playing their politics, they don't care about poor farmers," he said ahead of elections that began on April 11, with Modi running for a second term.

Indian cow caretakers have been protecting cattle in rural communities

Even before Modi came to power, cow slaughter and the consumption of beef was banned in Rajasthan and many other states in officially secular India, which also has substantial Muslim and Christian populations.

But laws are now applied more strictly and punishments have increased. In 2017 the government tried to ban the cattle trade for slaughter nationwide, only for it to be rejected by the Supreme Court.

Critics say Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is on a mission to impose "Hindutva", the hegemony of Hindus, on 1.25-billion-strong India.

They also warn that the BJP has emboldened fringe Hindu vigilante groups to attack minority Muslims and low-caste Dalits with impunity for eating beef, slaughtering and trading in cattle.

Incidents of mob lynchings have spiked, with 44 people -- including one in Rajasthan -- killed in cow-related attacks between May 2015 and December last year, says Human Rights Watch.

The BJP says it opposes all violence, but even the fear of attack and tougher laws have badly disrupted the cattle trade.

Stray cattle have been destroying the crops of poor farmers

This has led to farmers abandoning old and infirm cows instead of selling them for slaughter, resulting in more bovines on the loose -- causing road accidents and wreaking havoc in rural areas, where 70 percent of Indians live.

The number of strays was put at 5.2 million in a 2012 livestock census --- which is carried out every 10 years, just as for people -- but the numbers are believed to have shot up since.

Wandering cattle, often eating plastic rubbish or ruminating at busy traffic intersections, have become a much more common sight in India's towns, villages and cities since Modi came to power.

In 2015, the last year for which government figures are available, more than 550 people were killed in accidents involving stray cattle.

- 'No one dares' -

"Because of these cow protectors no one dares touch the cow now," said Sumer Singh Punia, a former village head in Churu district.

"There are not enough cow shelters and the ones that are there they are so overcrowded that each day one animal dies," he told AFP.

Villagers say there aren't enough cow shelters and the existing ones are very overcrowded

"We are Hindus, we don't want to hurt the cow but we can't afford to keep and feed so many strays when we are struggling ourselves to make ends meet."

Voter unhappiness was already evident when the BJP lost state elections in the largely agricultural states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in December to the opposition Congress.

The country's only dedicated "cow minister" in Rajasthan was also booted out.

It was a major turnaround from 2014 when the country's 262 million farmers largely backed the BJP, which has promised to double farm income by 2022.

Some villagers are now pooling money from their modest savings to herd the strays into makeshift shelters, at least through the harvest season.

In December and January, exasperated farmers across the northern state of Uttar Pradesh locked up stray cattle at district schools to protect their crops, meaning lessons had to be held outside.

Professor Gurpreet Mahajan said the BJP had been caught on the hoof by the fallout

Sandeep Kajla, head of the Gramya Bharat Jan Chetna Yatra, a social organisation based in Pilani, said political parties must include the issue of stray cows in their election manifesto.

"One farmer can look after one animal. But here, cows are roaming around in hundreds," he said.

Gurpreet Mahajan, a professor at the Delhi-based Jawaharlal Nehru University, said the BJP had been caught on the hoof by the fallout.

"I don't think everyone has thought through how to deal with this particular symbol (of cow) and make it a reality," she said.
Boeing is facing intense scrunity following two deadly crashes involving its 737 MAX aircraft in five months

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced Thursday it would meet with American commercial airlines that use the Boeing 737 MAX, which has been grounded worldwide since mid-March following two accidents that killed 346 people.

The meeting, scheduled to take place on Friday in Washington, comes as Boeing faces intense scrutiny after 157 people died in an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX crash on March 10 -- the second deadly crash involving the aircraft in five months.

"The purpose of this meeting is for the FAA to gather facts, information, and individual views to further understand their views as FAA decides what needs to be done before returning the aircraft to service," the agency said in a statement.

Security representatives from American Airlines, Southwest and United will be at the meeting, as well as representatives from their pilot unions.

American and Southwest use the 737 MAX 8, while United has 737 MAX 9 aircraft in its fleet.

The FAA recently formed an action committee with NASA and international civil aviation authorities to help certify the fix to the MCAS anti-stall system Boeing developed specifically for the 737 MAX.

The MCAS is believed to have been a key factor in both the Ethiopian Airlines crash and the Lion Air crash in Indonesia that killed 189 people in October.

Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenberg said Thursday that the changes the aircraft manufacturer is working on will make the 737 MAX "even safer by preventing erroneous angle of attack sensor readings" from triggering the MCAS.

Speaking in public for the first time since the Ethiopian Airlines crash, Muilenberg told a conference in Dallas, Texas that Boeing has conducted 96 test flights of the modified 737 MAX and the pilots have taken part in more than 159 hours of tests.

He added that he had been on board one test flight in Seattle and that the software update "functioned as designed."

"In these challenging times, I am even more confident we will come through this even stronger," he said in conclusion, adding he "(regrets) the impact the grounding has had on all of our airline customers and their passengers."

Muilenberg is expected to answer questions from the financial community on April 24 as part of the release of Boeing's first quarter results.
"I could see the fear on their faces, in their eyes," Moore said of the migrants stopped by US border officials

The haunting image of a little girl crying helplessly as she and her mother are taken into custody by US border officials Thursday won the prestigious World Press Photo Award.

Judges said veteran Getty photographer John Moore's picture taken after Honduran mother Sandra Sanchez and her daughter Yanela illegally crossed the US-Mexico border last year showed "a different kind of violence that is psychological".

The picture of the wailing toddler was published worldwide and caused a public outcry about Washington's controversial policy to separate thousands of migrants and their children.

US Customs and Border Protection officials later said Yanela and her mom were not among those separated, but the public furore "resulted in President Donald Trump reversing the policy in June last year," the judges said.

- 'Fear on their faces' -

Moore was taking pictures of US Border Patrol agents on a moonless night in the Rio Grande Valley on June 12 last year when they came across a group of people who tried to cross the border.

"I could see the fear on their faces, in their eyes," Moore told the US-based National Public Radio broadcaster in an interview shortly afterwards.

As officials took their names, Moore said he spotted Sandra Sanchez and her toddler who started wailing when her mom put her down to be searched.

"I took a knee and had very few frames of that moment before it was over," said Moore, who had been covering the US-Mexico border for a decade.

At the awards ceremony in Amsterdam, Moore told AFP: "I wanted to tell a different story."

"For me it was a chance to show a view of humanity that is often only related in statistics," the 51-year-old photographer said.

"I think an issue like this, immigration issues, resonates not just in the United States, but around the world," Moore also told several hundred guests at the awards.

- Migrant caravan -

The sensitive issue of immigration was further highlighted at Thursday's awards.

Judges chose Dutch-Swedish photographer Pieter Ten Hoopen's images of the 2018 mass-migrant caravan to the US border as its winner in the "World Press Photo Story of the Year Award".

Ten Hoopen's pictures, which show families and children as they made their way from Honduras in mid-October to the US border "showed a high sense of dignity," one of the judges said.

Ten Hoopen thanked the migrant families, saying without them his award would not have been possible.

Trump said Tuesday he won't resume separating children of undocumented migrants, but insisted that the policy did prevent people from illegal border crossings like a trip to "Disneyland".

His words came after he announced the departure Sunday of the official in charge of fighting illegal immigration -- Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

According to US media reports, Trump's reshuffle could herald even harsher measures on the southern border.

Judges selected this year's winners from 78,801 images entered by 4,738 photographers worldwide, the Amsterdam-based organisers said.

Three lensmen from AFP, John Wessels, Brendan Smialowski and Pedro Pardo were handed one second place and three third places overall in the various categories.

Based in Kinshasa, Wessels' series of pictures of last year's Congolese elections took second prize in the General News-Stories category, while his series of images about an Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo came third in the same category.

Smialowski and Pardo came third in their respective categories with a picture of Trump leading French President Emmanuel Macron by the hand and immigrants climbing over the US-Mexico border fence respectively.

Last year AFP's Ronaldo Schemidt took top honours in the 2018 competition, winning the World Press Photo Award with a fiery image of a masked Venezuelan protester in flames.
Chinese contemporary artist and activist Ai Weiwei poses in front of his new exhibition at the University Museum of Contemporary Art (MUAC) in Mexico City

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei unveiled a series of portraits Thursday made with around one million Lego blocks, depicting 43 Mexican students who were abducted and apparently massacred in 2014.

The dissident artist, who was detained by China's communist government in 2011, said he made the piece as a commentary on the students' case, an unsolved crime that triggered an international outcry and continues to haunt Mexico.

"Forget about being an artist, I am a human being, just like you, and if you hear someone being hurt, you hear that your neighbors' boy can't ever come back, and four years pass and the government cannot come to a conclusion, what kind of government is that? What kind of society we are living in?" he said in Mexico City.

The work, entitled "Reestablecer memorias," or "Reestablishing Memories," is part of Ai's new show at the University Museum of Contemporary Art in the Mexican capital.

The multicolored, pop-art portraits are displayed above a timeline that chronicles the case of the missing students.

The timeline starts on September 26, 2014, the night the student protesters -- who were enrolled at the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers' College, in the southern state of Guerrero -- were attacked by corrupt police in the nearby city of Iguala.

Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei unveiled portraits of the 43 Mexican missing students of Ayotzinapa made with one million Lego pieces

It then jumps to January 27, 2015, the day the chief prosecutor in the case presented the authorities' version of events, saying the students had been handed over to drug-gang hitmen, who killed them and incinerated their bodies at a garbage dump.

Then it turns to September 6, 2015, the day a team of independent international experts who had studied the supposed crime scene said that the official version of events was impossible.

The experts, who were sent by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, urged the Mexican authorities to reopen the investigation. But the government at the time said it considered the case closed, and did not renew the experts' mandate.

Ai, 63, said he saw Legos as a "democratic" medium for the piece.

"Everybody can use it, everybody recognizes it, and you can reconstruct it. It is such an efficient way, and I just love the pixel feeling," he said.
Sudanese demonstrators rally outside the army headquarters even after the toppling of veteran ruler Omar al-Bashir

The United States initially cheered on the Arab Spring but as fresh popular uprisings sweep through Sudan and Algeria, President Donald Trump has taken a more passive role, convinced that strongmen can be his best partners.

The State Department on Thursday hailed the "historic moment" as Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir was toppled after 30 years in power but appeared to be taken by surprise, with a senior official just days earlier declining to describe the mounting protests as a "crisis."

In both Sudan and Algeria, where veteran president Abdelaziz Bouteflika was pushed out last week, the United States has only gently encouraged the two countries' new military leaders to support democracy, voicing support for "the people."

The reticence contrasts with former president Barack Obama who in his speeches allied himself with the aspirations of street protesters, even if he also turned hesitant as the region became engulfed in bloodshed.

Trump sent a powerful, if unstated, message on protests Tuesday at the White House when he welcomed and hailed Egypt's military ruler turned president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who in 2013 deposed the leader elected after the Arab Spring, with authorities shortly afterward killing 700 protesters in two Cairo squares.

Testifying later Tuesday before a Senate subcommittee, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pointedly refused to call Sisi a "tyrant."

"There's no doubt that it's a mean, nasty world out there. But not every one of these leaders is the same," said Pompeo, who liberally denounces the leaders of Venezuela and Iran as tyrants.

"Some of them are trying to wipe entire nations off the face of the Earth and others are actually partnering with us to help keep Americans safe," he said.

US President Donald Trump welcomes Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in the Oval Office at the White House

Trump has praised Sisi's crackdown on Islamic State extremists and forged a close bond with Saudi leaders despite the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The US leader has even said he is "in love" with North Korea's Kim Jong Un, described by human rights groups as perhaps the world's most repressive leader, as Trump seeks to negotiate a landmark nuclear accord.

- America 'on the sidelines' -

Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, said that Trump "seems to have a personal affinity for dictators and autocrats of all stripes around the world" and has also stripped down US diplomatic resources.

"For more than two years, the Trump administration has gutted America's diplomatic tools to respond to the complicated political transitions unfolding in Sudan and Algeria, and his team has made freedom and democracy a much lower priority in America's foreign policy agenda than any other US administration in recent memory," Katulis said.

US president Barack Obama visits the Sphinx during a tour of the Great Pyramids of Giza after delivering a major speech in June 2009 on reaching out to the Muslim world

"So in a very real sense, America is sitting on the sidelines and not doing much but watching events unfold," he said.

Katulis called the absence "a missed opportunity," as the United States has a strong interest in encouraging reforms -- and as the Arab world could still see more uprisings.

While Trump is unequivocal in backing US-friendly authoritarian rulers, Obama was more conflicted.

In 2011, he made the fateful decision to encourage Egypt's Hosni Mubarak to bow to protesters and exit, despite the longtime president's alliance with Washington and Israel's continued support for him.

Obama balked at intervening in Syria's brutal conflict and only reluctantly backed a campaign to oust Moamer Kadhafi in Libya, which eight years later remains a war zone.

- Encouraging changes? -

And it was the Obama administration that opened a dialogue offering to ease sanctions and mend ties with Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide and war crimes in Darfur.

An woman holds an Algerian flag near security forces cordoning off a protest area in the capital Algiers

Robert Malley, a former aide to Obama who is now president of the International Crisis Group, said the Trump administration was "playing it much more carefully" on backing protesters.

But the critical question is how the administration supports the countries' transitions, he said.

Sudan's demonstrators, he said, are unlikely to be satisfied by coup leaders' decision to stay in power for two years.

"It will be important for the new leadership in Khartoum, whatever it is, to understand that sanctions are still there and won't be lifted until certain steps are taken," Malley said.

"In both Sudan and Algeria, the big questions start now," he said.
Sudanese soldiers stand guard on armoured military vehicles as demonstrators continue their protest against the regime near army headquarters in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on April 11, 2019

The United States on Thursday urged Sudan's army to bring civilians into government after ousting veteran leader Omar al-Bashir, saying an announced two-year timeline was too long.

Washington calls "on transitional authorities to exercise restraint and to allow space for civilian participation within the government," State Department spokesman Robert Palladino told reporters.

His comments came after Sudan's army announced "the toppling of the regime," to be replaced by a transitional military council, but there was growing international pressure for a handover to civilian rule.

"The Sudanese people should determine who leads them and their future and the Sudanese people have been clear and are demanding a civilian-led transition," Palladino said.

"The United States position is the Sudanese people should be allowed to do so sooner than two years from now," he said.

The United States had been trying to mend relations with Sudan after years of tension with Bashir, who seized power in a 1989 coup and hosted Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who stayed until 1996.

Palladino said that the United States was "suspending" the so-called Phase II talks, in which Washington was considering removing Khartoum from the US blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism, but he added: "We remain open to engagement."

Bashir remains wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes in the western Darfur region that Washington has described as genocide.

Palladino said that the United States supported accountability on Darfur but declined to specify whether Bashir -- or the coup leader, Defense Minister Awad Ibnouf -- should face extradition.

"We believe that the victims of Darfur deserve justice and that accountability is essential for achieving a stable and lasting peace in Darfur," he said.

"The United States continues to call for those responsible for the horrific crimes that were committed in Darfur to be held accountable for those actions," he said.

Also Thursday the State Department raised to the highest level its travel advisory for Sudan.

"Do not travel," it warned, after ordering the departure of non-emergency US government employees from the country.

"There is a national state of emergency in effect across Sudan, which gives security forces greater arrest and incarceration powers," the advisory said.
Many countries have already lifted the ban

Japan Friday attacked an "extremely regrettable" ruling by the World Trade Organization that upheld a ban by South Korea on some seafood from Fukushima imposed after the 2011 nuclear disaster.

The WTO's highest court overturned an earlier judgement from 2018, handing Seoul a final victory in a legal battle that has dragged on for years.

"Even though the ruling did not acknowledge that South Korea's measures comply with the WTO rules, it is extremely regrettable that Japan's argument was not approved," said the foreign ministry in Tokyo.

"There is no change in Japan's position of demanding South Korea lift all the restriction measures, and we will pursue this via talks with South Korea," added the ministry in a statement.

Foreign Minister Taro Kono urged South Korea to "correct its policy" but acknowledged that Japan had now run out of legal recourse.

Fearing radioactive contamination, Seoul imposed a partial ban on seafood imports from the region after the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

Tokyo first took the row to the WTO in May 2015, requesting consultations -- the first step under the global trade body's settlement system.

But talks broke down, prompting Japan to seek a WTO ruling in August 2015.

The WTO panel ruled in 2018 that South Korea should lift its ban but the so-called appellate court quashed this, the final word on the subject.

According to Fukushima authorities, four countries and regions -- China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau -- have maintained a ban on importing a broad range of locally-produced foods.

South Korea, Singapore, the United States and the Philippines have partial bans in place.

But the majority of other countries and regions -- including the European Union -- have lifted bans on imports or allow imports on condition that a certificate of inspection is attached.
Indian priest Fakkad Baba keeps running for election because his guru has predicted victory will come on his 20th attempt

Jubilant about his impending defeat, Fakkad Baba is one of a colourful host of no-hoper candidates in India's mega-election to throw their hat in the ring every time.

This election will be Baba's 17th on the ballot. He keeps running because his guru has predicted victory will come on his 20th attempt.

"This is like a staircase. I am on the 17th stair, and three steps away from a win," the Hindu preacher told AFP in the holy city of Mathura in northern India.

Anyone in the nation of 1.3 billion people who is over 25 and does not have a criminal conviction -- with some exceptions -- can stand in the election.

The vote began on Thursday and runs until May 19, with thousands of candidates standing for just 543 seats.

At the last election in 2014, almost 90 percent of the 8,200 hopefuls did so badly they forfeited their deposits.

Each time the registration fee rises, but each time there are more and more candidates.

Baba fought his first election in 1976 when his spiritual mentor urged him to enter politics and champion cows, a sacred animal in Hinduism.

The plucky young candidate was not successful, as predicted, but his passion for politics was ignited.

Over the next more than four decades, Baba entered -- and lost -- another 15 polls at state and national level. But with each defeat, he remained convinced that victory inched closer.

- Election king -

On the other side of the country in southern India, K. Padmarajan is also busily readying his dead-in-the-water campaign.

The 60-year-old doctor from Tamil Nadu has contested and lost 201 elections, many of them unwinnable battles against powerful incumbents and party heavyweights.

K. Padmarajan has contested and lost 201 elections, many of them unwinnable battles against powerful incumbents and party heavyweights

Last time he ran against Narendra Modi, the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party who stormed to power and became prime minister with the first outright majority in decades.

Padmarajan secured just 6,200 votes.

This time he's against Rahul Gandhi -- the leader of the Congress party, and a serious contender for prime minister of India.

"Indian democracy is unique in the sense that it gives ordinary citizens the right to challenge political bigwigs," the self-professed "election king" told AFP.

But it comes at a price. All that electioneering has cost the hopeful a cool three million rupees ($44,000) in candidate enrolment fees.

- The running dead -

Santosh Singh is also trying to get noticed in the looming polls -- but for very different reasons.

Singh is officially listed as deceased on government records, his family having registered his death certificate in 2003 to cheat him out of land.

Santosh Singh is officially listed as deceased on government records, his family having registered his death certificate in 2003 to cheat him out of land

As bizarre as it seems, such scams are not uncommon in India.

But Singh is more determined than most to prove his existence, running unsuccessfully in three other state and national polls to raise his profile.

"I want to prove I am alive," Singh told AFP at the New Delhi tea stall where he works, far from the holy city of Varanasi where he plans to run in the 2019 election.

"My fight is not just against the system but also against those running the system."

- History of jokers -

India has a rich history of no-hoper candidates, stretching almost back to the country's first national election in 1951.

Rangaswamy, from southern Karnataka -- who went only by one name -- lost 86 elections between 1967 and 2004, earning him a Guinness World Record title for a time.

Indian priest Fakkad Baba, who will contest the upcoming elections for the national parliament, is carried by devotees in Mathura in Uttar Pradesh state

He had a stiff contender in Kaka Joginder Singh, a contemporary who tried his hand at roughly 300 different elections over 30 years, losing every single one.

The closest Singh, a textile mill owner from north India, came to victory was in presidential elections in 1992, when he came fourth.

Both these veterans have passed away but their legacy lives on in spirited modern-day equivalents like Baba, who is confident he will reach parliament -- either in this life, or the next.

"My guru has predicted my victory. I will go to parliament even if I am on a hospital stretcher or a pyre," said Baba.
Assange's seven-year hideout in Ecuador's London embassy ended dramatically on Thursday when police dragged the WikiLeaks founder out of the building into a waiting van

WikiLeaks founder and Australian citizen Julian Assange will receive "no special treatment" from his home country following his dramatic arrest in Britain, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Friday.

Assange's seven-year hideout in Ecuador's London embassy ended dramatically on Thursday when police dragged the WikiLeaks founder out of the building into a waiting van.

He was found guilty by a British court on Thursday of breaching his bail conditions in 2012 and faces a year in prison.

But US authorities are seeking his extradition on charges relating to his work with former US intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2010, with the case to be heard on May 2.

Barely 24 hours into an official election campaign, Morrison said Assange would receive the same support as any other Australian in trouble overseas, and the extradition is a "matter for the United States".

"Well it's got nothing to do with us, it has got to do with the United States," he told national broadcaster the ABC.

"There's a judicial process, and that will be followed across a range of matters here and I would expect that to follow. He will receive the same consular support as any other Australians would in these circumstances."

Morrison's counterpart Bill Shorten, who is favourite to become Australia's next prime minister following the May 18 election, also distanced himself from the case.

"It will be a matter for the legal system to proceed, he should receive the support any other Australian citizens should receive," the opposition leader told reporters.

"The matter is going before court so I don't think there is much more I can add," Shorten said.
Loong Koon-tin plays the US President in the absurdist Cantonese opera "Trump on Show"

A hundred flowers bloom, a hundred schools of thought contend: Donald J. Trump has a long-lost Chinese friend.

Dressed in a black suit, an unmistakable blonde wig and an extra-long red tie, "Trump" is leading a Cantonese opera troupe during a rehearsal in Hong Kong.

In this absurdist drama dubbed "Trump on Show", audiences watch a mish-mash of current and imagined events including the US president's meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

A 26-year-old Trump also looks for his twin brother "Chuan Pu", a transliteration of his name in Chinese, during a fantastical trip to China alongside former American president Richard Nixon, who plays ping-pong with Mao Zedong.

Late Chinese leader Mao Zedong plays ping-pong with former president Richard Nixon in the opera's dream sequence

It begins with the current first family moving into the White House.

Ivanka Trump finds Mao's "Little Red Book" -- a collection of the late communist leader's quotes and ideology -- full of her father's handwritten notes, triggering a flashback to Nixon's famous diplomatic tour of China in 1972.

The sold-out show opens Friday and runs for four days at the Sunbeam Theatre, Hong Kong's famous Cantonese opera house.

The centuries-old art form usually features ancient Chinese stories and legends, but the latest show gives the genre a modern twist.

- Narcissistic characters -

"Donald Trump is the most topical person in the world, while Cantonese opera is a forgotten and waning art form. If we can write about him in a play, it will definitely help attract people's attention to the culture of Cantonese opera," said Edward Li, the opera's playwright.

In the opera, Trump's daughter Ivanka discovers a copy of Mao Zedong's "Little Red Book" which triggers a flashback to the 1970s

He believes the tweeter-in-chief's fame will rescue the traditional musical theatre.

Li said Mao and Trump share similar traits, namely narcissism.

"Seventy-two-year-old Mao Zedong started the Cultural Revolution. Seventy-two-year-old Donald Trump is also creating a US cultural revolution. What's a cultural revolution? That's when one person overturns all the political systems," Li told AFP.

The feng shui master-turned-playwright revealed he rewrote the script at least 10 times to keep it fresh.

The US-China trade war and the controversial arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou were both worked into the plot.

The story also pokes fun at the leaders -- Trump orders take-out every day and drinks 12 bottles of Coke, while Kim knows how to make Swiss cheese fondue.

Playwright Edward Li hopes Trump's fame will fame will rescue traditional Cantonese musical theatre

Trump is played by Loong Koon-tin, who also handles the roles of Mao and Trump's fictional Chinese twin brother.

Backstage, "Ivanka" helped her father with make-up and hairstyling. Within 15 minutes, "Mao" was transformed into "Trump".

"The division of different characters is a challenge. You have to let them (the audience) know who you're playing when you appear on stage," said Loong.

Li released "Chairman Mao" three years ago, the first installation of his Mao trilogy.

After Trump, the second play, he plans to conclude the series with a story about Mao and Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping.

He said he has big ambitions for the Trump opera.

"My future goal is to perform in front of Trump and have Trump applaud."
Bob Iger (C) spoke at a dinner organized by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organization

Disney CEO Bob Iger on Thursday called upon US politicians to reject hate in the run up to the 2020 election -- and claimed that Adolf Hitler would have "loved social media" as a tool to spread extremist propaganda.

"Hate and anger are dragging us toward an abyss," he said at a dinner organized by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organization. "Our politics, in particular, are now dominated by contempt."

"Hitler would have loved social media," he added. "It's the most powerful marketing tool an extremist could ever hope for."

"At its worst, social media allows evil to prey on troubled minds and lost souls," he said.

With a fierce campaign for the 2020 US presidential election expected in the coming months, Iger also stressed that it is "possible to argue policy without attacking people."

"I want to hear a pitch that isn't grounded in contempt of others," he said.

"I want to see a vision big enough to include everyone."
Dubrovnik, lately famous for being a 'Game of Thrones' location, is the backdrop for Chinese efforts to woo eastern Europeans

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will meet leaders from eastern and central Europe in Croatia on Friday to talk business, fresh from a key summit with EU where he pledged opening up his country's economy.

The coastal city of Dubrovnik is hosting the eighth annual "16+1 cooperation" -- an economic platform for Beijing's investments in 11 eastern European Union states and five Western Balkan countries.

The grouping has been eyed cautiously in western European capitals as an attempt to "divide and rule" the bloc, a goal Li has denied.

In an article published in Croatian dailies ahead of the gathering, the Chinese premier tried to paint the summit in a cheery light:

"When we put 17 multicolour countries together we get a colour richer than a rainbow," he wrote in the article titled "Multicolour countries, spacious future".

"If we build a rainbow bridge through Asia and Europe, we will achieve a nice future cooperation."

China's record on follow-through with investment promises is mixed

Eastern Europe is a core component of Beijing's vast "Belt and Road" project, valued at up to $1 trillion and aimed at constructing land and sea links to allow Chinese exports to flow westward.

China has previously announced a $10 billion credit line and $3 billion investment fund for the 16-country region.

So far its record on follow-through is mixed, with some major construction projects under way while other promised investments have been delayed or scrapped.

For instance, building on one of 16+1's flag-ship projects -- a railway from Belgrade to Budapest -- has just started in Serbia but is held up by snags in Hungary, ultimately making scant progress five years after it was announced.

- 'Pilot project' -

This year's summit comes just three days after a top EU-China meeting, attended by Li, held as Brussels demands more balanced economic ties with a country it recently labelled as a "systemic rival".

In Brussels on Tuesday the Asian giant pledged to push further to open its economy and deepen ties with the bloc.

EU Council president Donald Tusk hailed Beijing's new commitments as a "breakthrough" with both sides committed to globalisation and pursuing international rules.

Brussels and Beijing in a document called for "broader and more facilitated, non-discriminatory market access," in wording the Europeans saw as a Chinese concession.

The EU is increasingly unhappy that markets in Europe are wide open to Chinese companies, while the equivalent is not the case in China.

While the EU's 15-trillion-euro ($16.9 trillion) market gives it significant economic clout, the bloc struggles to maintain unity among its 28 members on issues of foreign policy, allowing China to pursue one-on-one deals with individual countries.

EU leaders liked the bit about 'non-discriminatory market access'

Some EU powers, such as France and Germany, are growing increasingly concerned with China's Belt and Road ambitions, especially after populist-led Italy recently became the first G7 member to join the scheme.

In 2018, China was the second largest destination for European exports.

The Chinese trade balance is largely in surplus with the bloc at 184 billion euros, according to Brussels figures.

During the first visit of a Chinese premier to Croatia, Li on Thursday visited the site where a Chinese firm started construction on a 280-million-euro bridge on the Adriatic coast.

It is the first significant Chinese project in Croatia and funded by the EU.

"This bridge is a pilot project for both '16+1 cooperation' and cooperation between China and EU," Li said while visiting the bridge's site on Thursday.

About 1,000 businessmen including some 400 Chinese will participate at a business forum held alongside the summit in Dubrovnik.
The 83-year-old Buddhist monk, Tibetan spiritual leader and thorn in China's side was admitted to hospital on Tuesday

The Dalai Lama was discharged from a New Delhi hospital on Friday, his personal spokesman said, three days after being admitted with what an aide called a "light cough".

"He was discharged from the hospital at 8 o'clock in the morning," Tenzin Taklha told AFP. "He is doing very well now."

The 83-year-old Buddhist monk, Tibetan spiritual leader and thorn in China's side was admitted to the Max hospital in the Indian capital on Tuesday.

On Thursday Taklha had said that the Nobel Peace Prize winner was already back to his "normal routine" and doing some exercise.

He was thought to be returning to the northern Indian hill station of Dharamsala where he has been in permanent exile for six decades along with thousands of others.

He fled the Tibetan capital Lhasa in 1959 and across the frozen Himalayan border to India at the age of 23, disguised as a soldier, as Chinese troops poured into the region to crush an uprising.
Kabul suffered horrific bloodshed in 2018, but has in recent weeks enjoyed something of a lull in violence

The Taliban on Friday announced their annual spring offensive, which comes as the US and Afghan politicians try to negotiate for a peace settlement with the Islamist militants.

Operation Fath -- which means "victory" in Arabic -- will be conducted across Afghanistan with the aim of "eradicating occupation" and "cleansing our Muslim homeland from invasion and corruption", the Taliban said in a statement.

The annual spring offensive traditionally marks the start of the so-called fighting season, though the announcement is largely symbolic as in recent winters the Taliban have continued fighting Afghan and US forces.

"Our Jihadi obligation has not yet ended," the Taliban said.

"Even as large parts of our homeland have been freed from the enemy, yet the foreign occupying forces continue exercising military and political influence in our Islamic country."

Qais Mangal, a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defence, said the Taliban's spring offensive is "mere propaganda."

"The Taliban will not reach their vicious goals and their operations will be defeated like previous years," Mangal said.

After suffering horrific bloodshed in 2018, Kabul has in recent weeks enjoyed something of a lull in violence.

But on Monday three US Marines were killed in a Taliban attack at Bagram air base north of the city, and authorities in the capital are on high alert.

The administration of President Ashraf Ghani recently declared its own spring offensive, Operation Khalid, and the Taliban used that announcement as a justification for launching a new push.

It shows "the enemy still seeks to attain its malicious objectives through the use of force", the Taliban said.

The US has held several rounds of talks with the Taliban in a bid to bring an end to the war against the insurgents.

Separately, Afghan politicians also have met with the Taliban in Moscow, and a fresh round of talks is expected to take place later this month between officials from the Kabul government and the Taliban in the Qatari capital Doha.

The US still has about 14,000 troops in Afghanistan, nearly 18 years after the US-led invasion to topple the Taliban.

While Western forces quickly ousted the group, the insurgents have reclaimed much of Afghanistan over the years, primarily in rural areas.

In 2018 a record 10,993 civilians were wounded or killed in Afghanistan, according to UN figures.

US President Donald Trump last year decided to slash the number of American soldiers in Afghanistan, though no such drawdown has happened yet.
Linwood mosque - one of two targeted in the Christchurch massacre - has seen worshipper numbers drop significantly after the attack

Four weeks on from the New Zealand mosques massacre, the Christchurch Muslim community was struggling to get worshippers to overcome their fears and return to Friday prayers.

"They are still very scared," Linwood mosque Imam Ibrahim Abdelhalim told AFP. "Normally we would expect around 100, but now it's about 30."

A 28-year-old Australian, Brenton Tarrant, a self-avowed white supremacist, has been charged with 50 counts of murder and 39 of attempted murder after opening fire at the Linwood and Al Noor mosques on March 15.

The Muslim community was further shaken this week when a 33-year-old man, wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the name of US President Donald Trump, shouted abuse at worshippers at the Al Noor mosque.

The Muslim community was further shaken this week when a man shouted abuse at worshippers at the Al Noor mosque

Daniel Nicholas Tuapawa, who pleaded guilty in court Friday to acting in a manner "likely to cause violence," said he did not realise what he had done until police showed him a video of him yelling abusive comments including "all Muslims are terrorists".

"I can't believe this is actually me," he told reporters after being remanded on bail until July 31 for sentencing.

Tuapawa said he suffered from mental health issues and had nothing against Muslims.

"It's just because it's been in the news and in my head," he said.

- Flashbacks -

Abdelhalim said many Muslims who wanted to return to the mosques "are having flashbacks and that's not good."

New Zealand police have issued a statement saying the national threat level "remains high" a month after the slaughter, even though the gunman is thought to have acted alone.

Security fears have led to a drastic reduction in the number of services later this month on Anzac Day

The security fears have led to a drastic reduction in the number of services later this month on Anzac Day, a national day of remembrance to commemorate New Zealanders and Australians who served in wars and peacekeeping operations.

In Auckland, only 26 will take place -- down from nearly 90 last year -- which the city's police commander Karyn Malthus said would make it easier for police to maintain public safety.

"There is no information about a specific threat to ANZAC events at this time, however, it's important that the public be safe and feel safe at events in the current environment," she said.

In the wake of the shootings, New Zealand has rushed through legislation to tighten firearms regulations, removing semi-automatic weapons from circulation through a buy-back scheme, prohibition and harsh prison sentences.

New Zealand has rushed through legislation to tighten firearms regulations in the wake of the shootings

On Friday, the government closed a potential loophole by extending the law to cover exports of semi-automatic weapons, magazines and parts.

It shuts off the possibility of gun owners snubbing the buyback scheme and selling their now-illegal firearms to overseas buyers for more money.

"These changes are essential to ensure that weapons that are prohibited in New Zealand are not exported to other countries where they would pose a similar risk," deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said.
Honduran migrants gather in the north of the country at the begining of their march to the United States

The White House pushed immigration authorities to release illegal migrants onto the streets of so-called "sanctuary cities" to retaliate against US President Donald Trump's political enemies, the Washington Post reported Thursday.

Citing homeland security officials and leaked emails, the Post said White House officials first broached the plan in November, asking officials at several agencies whether members of a caravan of migrants could be arrested at the border and then bused "to small- and mid-sized sanctuary cities".

Sanctuary cities are places where local authorities -- usually Democratic run -- have refused to hand over illegal immigrants for deportation.

The White House told the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) that the plan was intended to alleviate a shortage of detention space, but would also send a message to Democrats, the Post said.

The suggested policy was pushed back within ICE, with a top official saying it was rife with concerns and noting "there are PR risks as well".

After the White House pressed the issue again earlier this year, ICE rebuffed it as "inappropriate".

The Post said a White House official and a spokesman for the department of homeland security said the proposal was no longer under consideration.

"This was just a suggestion that was floated and rejected, which ended any further discussion," a White House statement said.

One of the centres targeted was the constituency of house speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose office on Thursday blasted the plan.

"The extent of this administration's cynicism and cruelty cannot be overstated," said Pelosi spokeswoman Ashley Etienne.

"Using human beings -- including little children -- as pawns in their warped game to perpetuate fear and demonize immigrants is despicable."

Combating illegal immigration is a central plank of Trump's administration and he has expressed increasing frustration at the influx of migrants from Central America, who he often casts as criminals who threaten U.S. security.

The number of immigrant detainees in ICE custody has approached 50,000 in recent months, the Post said, an all-time high that has strained the agency's budget.
Carlos Ghosn will be spending at least another 10 days in detention

A Japanese court on Friday ruled that Carlos Ghosn will remain in detention until April 22, as prosecutors grill the former Nissan boss over allegations of financial misconduct.

His lawyers immediately appealed the decision but the Tokyo District Court rejected the appeal. They have already asked the Supreme Court to intervene in his detention.

Unless the appeal to the Supreme Court succeeds, the 65-year-old will be held in custody at a detention centre in Tokyo until April 22, whereupon authorities will either have to press formal charges, release him or re-arrest him if they feel he has other accusations to answer.

Prosecutors are looking into allegations that Ghosn siphoned off some $5 million from funds allegedly transferred from Nissan to a dealership in Oman, and spent the money on a luxury superyacht.

Ghosn has not been formally charged over these allegations.

But the tycoon does already face three separate charges. Two of these relate to millions of dollars in salary believed to have been concealed from shareholders. The third charge is that he sought to shift personal investment losses to company books.

Ghosn denies all allegations and lashed out in a video message -- shown on April 9 -- at what he termed a "plot" by "backstabbing" Nissan executives scared of closer integration with French partner firm Renault.

Ghosn's wife Carole has increasingly become a key figure in the case and was questioned by authorities on Thursday.

According to a source close to the matter, some of the $5 million for the yacht was funnelled to a British Virgin Islands-listed company -- which has Carole Ghosn registered as president.

- 'Worst enemy' -

The case has bewitched Japan and the business world since the tycoon was arrested out of the blue at a Tokyo airport on November 19 and whisked off to the detention centre.

He spent 108 days in an initial period of custody, in conditions he said he would not wish on his "worst enemy", deprived of his watch, forced to sleep with the light on and forbidden contact with his loved ones.

Carlos Ghosn

He then won bail, stumping up $9 million for his freedom and submitting to strict bail conditions including not using the internet or contacting anyone connected to the case.

But in another twist, he was then re-arrested in a dawn raid for more questioning.

His lead defence lawyer, Junichiro Hironaka, has filed an appeal to the Supreme Court but warned it would not be a fast process.

Once hailed as Nissan's saviour, Ghosn is fighting to restore his reputation as the firm says an internal investigation uncovered "substantial evidence of blatantly unethical conduct" by the former boss.

He was removed almost immediately from the head of the company and later resigned as boss of Renault as he fights the allegations.

Nissan shareholders have also removed him as a board member.

His lengthy detention has sparked some criticism of the Japanese justice system, derided by some as "hostage justice" as suspects can be held for a long time without formal charges.

Ghosn has said his lawyers have voiced some doubts over whether he will receive a fair trial. Almost every case that comes to trial in Japan results in a conviction.
Pakistani security officials inspect the site of a bomb blast at a fruit market in Quetta

At least 20 people were killed and 48 wounded Friday by a powerful suicide blast apparently targeting the Shia Hazara ethnic minority at a crowded fruit market in Pakistan's Quetta city, officials said.

Body parts littered the scene and injured people screamed for help as black smoke cloaked the market after the explosion.

A faction of the Pakistani Taliban claimed the attack, which occurred in the capital of southwestern Balochistan province.

The group said it collaborated with Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), which has been behind numerous bloody attacks on Shiite Muslims in Pakistan. There was no immediate confirmation from LeJ.

Balochistan -- which borders Afghanistan and Iran -- is Pakistan's largest and poorest province, rife with ethnic, sectarian and separatist insurgencies.

Balochistan home minister Zia Ullah Langu gave the toll and confirmed it was a suicide blast, adding that two of the dead were children.

Provincial police chief Mohsin Butt said eight Hazara were among the victims.

The Hazara, whose Central Asian features make them easily recognisable, are a soft target for Sunni militants, who consider them heretics.

They are so frequently targeted that they are forced to live in two protected enclaves in the city and are given a daily police escort to the market to stock up on supplies.

Pakistan bombing

Police chief Butt said this had happened Friday.

The bomb detonated near a site where produce was being loaded for distribution around the market.

"I was loading a small truck and I heard a huge bang and it seemed as if the earth beneath me had shaken and I fell down," said Irfan Khan, a labourer, from his hospital bed.

"The atmosphere was filled with black smoke and I could not see anything, I could hear people screaming for help and I was also screaming for help."

He said the air was "filled with the stinging smell of burnt human flesh".

Senior police official Abdul Razaq Cheema said the blast targeted the Hazarganji neighbourhood of Quetta.

Hazara make up roughly 500,000 of the city's 2.3 million people.

Amnesty International said the blast was a "painful reminder" of the many attacks suffered by the Hazara community in Quetta over the years, and called for the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan to give them better protection.

"Each time, there are promises that more will be done to protect them, and each time those promises have failed to materialize," wrote Omar Waraich, Amnesty's deputy director for South Asia.

Violence in Pakistan has dropped significantly since the country's deadliest-ever militant attack, an assault on a school in the northwestern city of Peshawar in 2014 that killed more than 150 people, most of them children.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is welcomed by Paraguay's Military Cabinet Chief General Roque Alberto Sotelo (L) and Ambassador Federico Gonzalez (R) at the presidential palace in Asuncion

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo landed in Peru on Saturday on the third-leg of a four-nation tour of Latin American allies focusing heavily on Venezuela and countering China's economic reach.

Pompeo held talks with President Martin Vizcarra and Foreign Minister Nestor Popolizio before attending a dinner for business leaders.

He paid tribute to Peru's welcome for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan refugees and Vizcarra's fight against corruption, which has embroiled the previous four Peruvian presidents.

But he became irritated when a reporter asked if that contradicted US President Donald Trump's harsh immigration policy at home.

"Our objective is to allow people to stay in their home countries, this is President Trump's desire, we want to create conditions in these countries where they can stay in their own country," he told the press conference with Popolizio.

Pompeo also spoke by telephone with Brazil's Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo, the State Department announced late Saturday.

"They reaffirmed the close friendship between the United States and Brazil and pledged to continue working together to address the... crises in Venezuela, their effects on Venezuela's neighbors, and the need for outside actors, including Cuba, Russia, and China, to stop propping up Nicolas Maduro," spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.

- Visit to Paraguay -

Earlier Pompeo had become the first US secretary of state to visit Paraguay, formerly ruled as a dictatorship, since 1965, paying tribute to the country's transition to democracy as an inspiration to the region.

The top US diplomat arrived in Asuncion late Friday after talks with Chile's President Sebastian Pinera in Santiago that focused heavily on his country's developing trade relationship with China.

The highlight of Pompeo's trip will be a brief visit Sunday to the Colombian city of Cucuta on the Venezuelan border, where he will meet refugees.

All four countries on his itinerary are led by right-wing or center-right leaders favorable to Washington's uncompromising approach to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) and Paraguay's President Mario Abdo Benitez pose beneath a portrait of Paraguay's national hero Francisco Solano Lopez during their meeting in Asuncion on April 13, 2019

In Asuncion, Pompeo had praised Paraguay's support for US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido in Venezuela, and its role in the Lima Group of mostly Latin American nations seeking a solution to the Venezuela crisis.

"Paraguay is a leader in defending democracy and calling Maduro as he is, a tyrant who has ruined his country," Pompeo said.

Foreign Minister Luis Castiglioni said Paraguay's position on Venezuela remained strongly aligned with that of the United States.

"We have always said: with dictators, with tyrants, there is no dialogue. You fight them. We must fight them until liberties are restored so that the Venezuelan people can return to live with dignity," he told reporters.

Asked by a US journalist if Paraguay would back a military intervention in Venezuela, he said: "We are convinced that all the diplomatic efforts that are being made to isolate this regime will have results in a short time."

- Transnational crime -

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a joint press conference with Paraguayan Foreign Minister Luis Castiglioni at the presidential palace in Asuncion, on April 13, 2019

The two officials also discussed Paraguay's commitments on combatting threats of terrorism, drug trafficking and transnational crime in what is known as the tri-border area, the border region Paraguay shares with Argentina and Brazil.

"Paraguay has declared all-out war against transnational crime," said Castiglioni.

"This battle that we are fighting is a battle of no return until we win. We have assured the Secretary of State that Paraguay wants to cooperate very closely with the US government, since we are on the same path."

The US official said before his arrival in Chile on Friday that the current US administration had "spent a lot of time" in Latin America seeking to improve trade in a region which has turned its back in recent years on a slew of leftist governments.

"This is an historic opportunity," he told reporters, referring to "a handful of countries that are truly market driven, democratic in ways that we havent had in South America for decades. And we think it creates real opportunity."

Asked about China's influence at a press conference following a working lunch with his Chilean counterpart Roberto Ampuero, Pompeo said: "I think the Chilean government and the United States government both share the same concerns."

"China's trade activities often are deeply connected to their national security mission, their technological goals, their desire to steal intellectual property, to have forced technology transfer, to engage in activity that is not economic," he said.

He iterated his concerns Saturday in Peru.

"Too often we see China's predatory lending and debt diplomacy reverse positive advances in this area," he said.

"Our shared goal would be to resist Chinese overtures and promote transparency."
MOSCOW (AP) - Jehovah's Witnesses say one of their followers has been fined 350,000 rubles ($5,350) in Russia on an extremism charge related to his membership in the religious group.

The group says Sergei Skrynnikov was found guilty by a court in the Russian city of Oryol of participating in the activity of an extremist organization.

Russia officially banned Jehovah's Witnesses in 2017 and declared the group an extremist organization.

His case follows that of Danish Jehovah's Witness Dennis Christensen, who was sentenced to six years in prison in February. He had been detained in 2017 while leading a prayer meeting in Oryol.

Before the ban, the world headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses claimed about 170,000 adherents in Russia.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The House Judiciary Committee will prepare subpoenas this week seeking special counsel Robert Mueller's full Russia report as the Justice Department appears likely to miss an April 2 deadline set by Democrats for the report's release.

The Judiciary panel plans to vote on subpoenas Wednesday, a day after the deadline. The chairmen of several House committees asked for the full report last week after Attorney General William Barr released a four-page summary laying out the report's "principal conclusions." Barr said in a letter to the House and Senate Judiciary committees on Friday that a redacted version of the full 300 page report would be released by mid-April, "if not sooner."

The planned committee vote, announced Monday morning, would not automatically issue subpoenas but authorize House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., to send them.

The panel will also vote to authorize subpoenas related to a number of President Donald Trump's former top advisers, including strategist Steve Bannon, Communications Director Hope Hicks, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, White House Counsel Donald McGahn and counsel Ann Donaldson. Donaldson served as McGahn's chief of staff before both left the administration.

The five were probably key witnesses in Mueller's probe of possible obstruction of justice. The meeting notice says they "may have received documents from the White House relevant to the special counsel investigation, or their outside counsel may have, waiving applicable privileges under the law." The subpoenas would be related to documents where executive privilege was waived "and related matters," the notice says.

The former White House advisers were included in a massive document request the committee made last month. Nadler sent requests to 81 people connected to Trump's political and personal dealings as he launched a wide-ranging investigation into possible obstruction of justice, public corruption and abuses of power.

In this March 26, 2019 photo, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., presides at a meeting directing the attorney general to transmit documents to the House of Representatives relating to the actions of former Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The House Judiciary Committee will ready subpoenas this week for special counsel Robert Mueller's full Russia report. This, as the Justice Department appears likely to miss an April 2 deadline set by Democrats for the report's release. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Democrats have said they will not accept a redacted version of the report, which is what Barr is preparing. Barr said in the letter Friday that he is scrubbing the report to avoid disclosing any grand jury information or classified material, in addition to portions of the report that pertain to ongoing investigations or that "would unduly infringe on the personal privacy and reputational interests of peripheral third parties."

Democrats want all of that information, even if some of it can't be disclosed to the public. They are citing precedents from previous investigations involving presidents and also information disclosed about the Russia investigation to Republicans last year when they held the House majority.

Barr wrote in his summary that the special counsel did not find that Trump's campaign "conspired or coordinated" with the Russian government to influence the 2016 presidential election. He said Mueller reached no conclusion on whether Trump obstructed the federal investigation, instead setting out "evidence on both sides" of the question.

Barr himself went further than Mueller in his summary letter, declaring that Mueller's evidence was insufficient to prove in court that Trump had committed obstruction of justice to hamper the probe.

Democrats say they want to know much more about both conclusions and they want to see the evidence unfiltered by Barr.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A musical inspired by Queen's music is preparing for a North America tour following the popularity of the Academy Award-winning movie, "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Producers announced Monday "We Will Rock You" will open in Winnipeg, Canada, on Sept. 3. The tour will stop in other cities including New York, Los Angeles, Denver and Las Vegas.

With a book by Ben Elton, the original West End production opened in 2002 and featured music supervision from Queen band members Brian May and Roger Taylor. Elton fashioned the futuristic story around such Queen hits as "We Are the Champions," ''Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We Will Rock You."

The producers say the musical "reflects the scale and spectacle that marked Queen's live performances."

Casting for the tour is underway.

Tickets go on sale Friday.
ISLAMABAD (AP) - Pakistan's top court has ordered the country's former military ruler to appear before a special tribunal hearing a treason case against him or forfeit his rights to a defense.

The Supreme Court said Monday it was giving Gen. Pervez Musharraf a last chance to voluntarily appear before the tribunal. The top court said it acted on a petition by attorney Taufeeq Asif.

Musharraf was indicted in 2014. He left Pakistan for Dubai in 2016 for treatment and has not returned to the country since then. Last month, he was hospitalized in Dubai.

The treason case against Musharraf was brought by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government charging the military ruler with treason for imposing a state of emergency in 2007.

Musharraf toppled Sharif's government in a 1999 bloodless coup.
BANGKOK (AP) - An activist opposed to military rule in Thailand says his car was set on fire and gutted early Monday, just hours after he attended a rally protesting the Election Commission's alleged mismanagement of the March 24 general election.

Ekachai Hongkangwan has been the repeated target of physical and legal attacks, including a previous one on his car that did less damage. On March 5, he was attacked by two men on a motorcycle who tried to beat him with a wooden stick and a metal pipe.

Before his car was torched, Ekachai had joined fellow activists at a rally to gather signatures for the impeachment of Election Commission members. The rally was the first notable public protest since the election, whose results are to be officially confirmed on May 9. The Election Commission has been accused of releasing delayed and inconsistent vote totals, among other faults.

A statement issued Monday by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha's office appeared to be a response to election protests.

"There are groups of people with bad intentions who create misinformation and use social media and agents to plant false ideas with the people, with the aim of creating chaos and damaging the country, religion, and monarchy," it said.

It said the government would enforce the rule of law and urged all citizens to be aware of the situation.

"If everyone cooperates and helps prevent the country from disturbance or slipping back into chaos, our country will be able to move toward sustainable and stable development," it said. The military has said it staged a 2014 coup against an elected government because of chaotic political conditions.

The junta took power after the coup and has changed the constitution and election laws to handicap parties opposed to it. Prayuth, who is junta chief as well as prime minister, is expected to return to office, largely due to the electoral measures implemented by the military government.

However, he could become prime minister but have a House of Representatives under opposition control, making it hard to pass laws and a budget. With weeks to go before final election results are certified, opponents of the junta are fearful that the Election Commission may disqualify enough of the winning anti-junta lawmakers to make it impossible for them to form a majority in the lower house.

Ekachai has been a well-known activist since at least 2013, when he was sentenced to three years in prison for allegedly defaming the monarchy by selling CDs which contained an ABC Australia documentary and copies of WikiLeaks documents.

He told The Associated Press on Monday that he believed his car was damaged because of his work on the election, but that "it is useless to be fearful. They want us to be afraid. So, if I am afraid, they will get what they want." He said another activist who had been campaigning for signatures had been assaulted.

Ekachai said it was lucky that 200-300 signed petitions that were in his car were only burned around the edges and were still in good condition.

"I will definitely use them, adding them to our petition effort," he said.
AURORA, Ill. (AP) - Police say a man convicted of murder and suspected of belonging to a notorious gang that killed as many as 20 Chicago-area women in the 1980s has registered as a sex offender in suburban Chicago.

Thomas Kokoraleis was released from prison Friday. Aurora Police Sgt. Bill Rowley says the 58-year-old walked into the department Sunday and registered to live at Aurora-based Wayside Cross Ministries.

The Illinois Sex Offender Information registry lists Kokoraleis as living in Wheaton.

Kokoraleis was among four men accused of being part of the "Ripper Crew" satanic cult. He was initially sentenced to life in prison for the 1982 slaying of 21-year-old Lorraine "Lorry" Ann Borowski.

Prosecutors allowed him to plead guilty on appeal in a deal that infuriated victims' relatives but allowed for his release last week.
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) - Bangladesh opposition leader and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia is being treated at a state hospital where she was taken from the centuries-old jail where she has been imprisoned since a corruption conviction, an official said Monday.

The director of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Brig. Gen. A.K. Mahbubul Hoque, said Zia's condition is not life-threatening but there were complications.

Five doctors examined her and advised that she remain in the hospital for further tests.

After arriving by ambulance, Zia was taken in a wheelchair to her room while a dozen supporters chanted slogans on streets outside demanding her release.

The 73-year-old opposition leader has been in jail since February 2018, when she was sentenced to five years in prison for alleged corruption in the establishment of an orphanage fund when she was prime minister from 1991 to 1996. The High Court later extended her sentence to 10 years.

In a second case, she was sentenced to seven years in jail last October on corruption charges linked to a charity named after her late husband.

In this Thursday, June 2, 2016 file photo, former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia waves as she leaves after a court appearance in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bangladesh's opposition leader and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia was being treated in a state hospital on Monday after being taken there from the centuries-old jail where she has been imprisoned since a corruption conviction, an official said. (AP Photo/ A.M. Ahad)

Zia's party says both cases were politically motivated.

It has demanded that she be treated in a private hospital, saying they do not have confidence in the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Zia's archrival. But the authorities said the country's jail code does not allow prisoners to be treated under their own arrangements.

Zia was to have attended a court proceeding on Monday involving a gas exploration and extraction deal that was awarded to Canadian gas company Niko. Zia and 10 others face charges of abuse of power in awarding the deal.

Because of her illness, the court rescheduled the hearing to April 10, her lawyer, Masud Ahmed Talukder, said.

Zia faces about 30 cases on various charges.

Zia and Hasina have ruled the country alternately since 1991, when democracy returned after nine years of military rule. A military-backed caretaker government arrested both Hasina and Zia during its two-year rule in 2006-2008 before a general election was won overwhelmingly by Hasina.

Hasina came to power for a third consecutive time after a Dec. 30 election which Zia's party said was rigged.
BALTIMORE (AP) - Prosecutors offered a plea deal to the man whose murder conviction has been chronicled in the hit podcast "Serial" and an HBO documentary series.

The Baltimore Sun reports that the finale of HBO's "The Case Against Adnan Syed" reveals that a deal offered four months ago would have brought Syed's release in 2022. A spokeswoman for Maryland's attorney general confirmed the offer on Sunday.

Syed, who has maintained his innocence, is serving a life sentence for strangling his ex-girlfriend and burying her body in a Baltimore park in 1999. He turned down the deal, since he'd have to admit to Hae Min Lee's murder.

An appeals court ordered his conviction thrown out, but it was reinstated last month when Maryland's highest court ruled Syed didn't deserve a new trial.
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - Federal prosecutors say a man from El Salvador who was twice deported from the U.S. tried to return by stowing away aboard a cargo ship.

U.S. Attorney Bobby Christine of the Southern District of Georgia said in a news release Friday that 35-year-old Jaime Dagoberto Chavez-Guevara was arrested by U.S. Customs agents on a ship at the Port of Savannah. He was charged with illegal entry into the U.S.

Prosecutors said Chavez-Guevara used a boat to reach the ship while it was anchored in Panama, then climbed up the anchor chain. The crew later discovered and detained him.

Christine's office said Chavez-Guevara was previously deported from Texas in 2017 and from Arizona in 2018.

An attorney listed for Chavez-Guevara in court records did not immediately return a phone message.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York said Tuesday that her relationship with Hillary Clinton is strong and that Clinton had given her advice about her 2020 bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Gillibrand, appearing at a town hall televised by CNN, fielded questions about her political record, including the policy shifts she made on immigration, and offered a status update on her long-standing relationship with Hillary and Bill Clinton. In 2017, Gillibrand had said that Bill Clinton should have resigned from the presidency after his inappropriate relationship with an intern came to light two decades ago.

Gillibrand said Tuesday that her "fondness" and respect for Hillary Clinton are "very strong" and that she continues to admire and look up to her. She supported Clinton's 2016 Democratic presidential bid and took Clinton's U.S. Senate seat when Clinton was appointed secretary of state in 2009.

"Secretary Clinton is a role model for all of us," Gillibrand said. "My views on her husband are very different. And I've said all I'm going to say about that."

In a February interview with The Associated Press, Gillibrand said she had not yet spoken to Hillary Clinton about her campaign.

Gillibrand hoped Tuesday's town hall would give her a fresh opportunity to introduce herself to the voters and donors she'll need to ensure her campaign stays on track, according to a person familiar with the campaign who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss strategy.

In this April 5, 2019, photo, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., addresses a gathering during a campaign stop at a coffee house in Dover, N.H. Gillibrand has campaigned across eight states, pushed her rivals to release their tax returns and delivered a major speech outside a Trump-branded property in Manhattan in the months since launching her exploratory committee. Yet, she has struggled to break out of the pack of more than a dozen 2020 presidential candidates. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

The town hall came as the sprawling Democratic field begins to take shape. The first fundraising quarter just wrapped and gave an initial view of how the candidates are faring.

Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Kamala Harris of California, along with Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, posted big numbers. But Gillibrand is among the candidates who haven't yet released their haul.

Gillibrand began her campaign with $10 million cash on hand. Her campaign did not say how much she raised in the first quarter.

The fundraising number isn't just about bragging rights. It's part of the criteria used to qualify for the first two presidential primary debates this summer. To get on the stage, a candidate must either reach 1% approval in three recognized polls or raise money from at least 65,000 donors across at least 20 states.

Acknowledging potential fundraising trouble, Gillibrand aides said her path to the debate stage is through her standing in polls.

There are reasons for optimism, her aides say. They say her online donors have doubled since March 17, when she officially launched her campaign. But they wouldn't disclose how many donors she has.

The aides spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal campaign thinking.

Gillibrand is betting that Tuesday's town hall gives her a fundraising boost, as it did for other candidates. Buttigieg, who was virtually unknown outside his state a few months ago, said he raised $600,000 in the 24 hours following his own appearance at a CNN town hall.

Gillibrand's campaign views her candidacy in two distinct phases.

The first "exploratory" phase began in January with a focus on introducing Gillibrand to voters. She appeared on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," quickly made her first trip to the leadoff caucus state of Iowa and held 60 events across eight states.

The second phase began with the formal launch of her campaign on March 17. She's tried to make bolder and higher-profile moves since then.

She participated in MSNBC's first town hall of the presidential season and became the first presidential candidate to release her 2018 tax returns. She pressed her rivals to follow suit.

In a video released by her campaign, she described herself as "brave," a theme that has been a cornerstone of the early days of her official bid.

She has sold herself to voters as a candidate who is able to win in Republican strongholds, saying in Concord, New Hampshire, over the weekend that she'd won her first race for Congress in a district she described as "red, red, red," and promised to do whatever she could to defeat President Donald Trump.

"What he is creating is wrong," she said. "It is immoral. It is harmful. It is hurtful."

But she's faced setbacks through all stages of her candidacy.

Gillibrand has faced criticism over the handling of a sexual harassment claim in her Senate office that resulted in a female staffer resigning over the office's handling of her accusation against a male aide. After Politico reported that the male aide was kept on and presented Gillibrand's office with additional allegations, the male aide was fired.

Gillibrand, who has been a champion of women and victims of sexual misconduct, has stood behind her office's response to the incident.

Last month, she held a speech in the shadow of the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Manhattan and launched a verbal attack on him, mocking the president for the many properties that bear his name.

"He does this because he wants you to believe he's strong," she said. "He is not. Our president is a coward."

The event was billed as Gillibrand's first major speech of her campaign, with the intention of showing a sharp contrast between Gillibrand and the president. Yet it came hours before the Justice Department released the principal conclusions of the long-awaited report by the special counsel, Robert Mueller, which overshadowed the speech.

Maria Cardona, a Democratic strategist, noted that the 2020 primary field is still growing and said Gillibrand has time to make her mark on the race.

"As long as she qualifies for those debates, she will have plenty of opportunity to make her case, to rise to the top, and pull ahead," Cardona said.

___

Associated Press writers Michael Balsamo in Washington and Hunter Woodall in Concord, N.H., contributed to this report.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A grieving mother choked up as she questioned why police didn't use other tactics instead of killing her son. A deputy recalled the terror of second-guessing herself as she traded fire with a suspect who killed her partner.

The emotional testimony Tuesday came before California lawmakers advanced a first-in-the-nation measure restricting when police can use deadly force, one of two radically different legislative proposals seeking to cut down on deadly shootings in the nation's most populous state.

The measure faces a tougher fight in the full Assembly. Even some supporters on the public safety committee said it goes too far and will require changes as lawmakers try to balance the safety of officers and those they're tasked with protecting.

Last year's police shooting of unarmed vandalism suspect Stephon Clark in Sacramento inspired the legislation that would allow officers to kill only if there is no reasonable alternative, such as verbal persuasion or other non-lethal methods of resolution or de-escalation.

"It's time to make clear that the sanctity of human life is policing's highest priority," said Democratic Assemblywoman Shirley Weber of San Diego, adding later that her proposal "is designed to change the culture of policing in California."

The committee's chairman, Democratic Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer of Los Angeles, said a tougher standard will do little good without buy-in from law enforcement organizations.

Elizabeth Medrano Escobedo, left, mother of Christian Escobedo, who was killed by Los Angeles police, comforts Ciara Hamilton, whose cousin Diante Yarber was killed by Barstow police, during an Assembly hearing on legislation to restrict the use of deadly force by police, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Sacramento, Calif. Both women both spoke in support of a bill, AB392, that would require officers to use de-escalation tactics and allow them to use deadly force only when it is necessary to prevent immediate harm to themselves or others. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Those groups are supporting a different plan, which is also before lawmakers, to require that every department have policies on when officers should use de-escalation tactics and other alternatives to deadly force.

Weber's measure got party-line support. The eight-member panel's two Republicans opposed the measure they said could make officers hesitate for a fatal second if they have to consider alternatives to lethal force.

That's what Sacramento County Deputy Sheriff Julie Robertson faced. She testified how her partner, Mark Stasyuk, died last fall during a gunfight and she hesitated as the suspect shot at her with only his back exposed.

"I recall in that moment thinking that if I were to shoot him in the back, I would be the next officer in the news being scrutinized for my actions," Robertson said. "The thought of having to second-guess my actions in that moment is frightening. ... This bill makes me wonder if sacrificing everything is worth it."

Elizabeth Medrano Escobedo told lawmakers that Los Angeles officers could have used other tactics instead of killing her son, Christian Escobedo, last year. Police said he was sleeping behind a parked car with a loaded handgun.

"This bill can save mothers from grieving the loss of their children, which is what I'm experiencing right now," Medrano said, choking up.

Ciara Hamilton testified how Barstow police killed her cousin, Diante Yarber, last year after they said the car theft suspect hit two squad cars and nearly struck an officer. His family says the car was barely moving and that Yarber, who was black, might have lived had officers provided immediate medical attention.

"What does that tell us about policing in California and America? It's that black and brown people are not safe from state-sanctioned violence," Hamilton said.

The debate resonated personally for lawmakers.

Democratic Assemblywoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove of Los Angeles tearfully recounted finding four officers in her home responding to a false burglar alarm last fall. They treated her respectfully, yet Kamlager-Dove, who is black, said she started shaking and crying.

"And I realized I was crying because I was afraid. I didn't want to make any sudden movements," she said.

Kamlager-Dove broke down as she urged police organizations and reformers to reach consensus "because this hurts. ... I don't want any of us to live in fear."

Republican Assemblyman Tom Lackey of Palmdale, who spent 28 years as a highway patrolman, recalled how a fellow officer killed someone in the line of duty and eventually ended his own life.

"When peace officers are placed in a position to where they feel like they have to use deadly force, no one can really understand that unless you've been in that position," Lackey said.

Plumas County Sheriff's Deputy Ed Obayashi, a use-of-force expert, called Weber's measure "an exercise in legal futility" because he predicts judges will interpret the language the same way they do court rulings. Prosecutors would have to prove an officer was criminally negligent, which carries a high legal burden.

Weber acknowledges officers would have to egregiously violate a policy to face charges but expects the standard would deter shootings.

A Senate committee is expected to consider a police-backed alternative in two weeks. That measure would enshrine court standards into law, allowing officers to use deadly force when they have a reasonable fear of being harmed. The standard has made it rare for officers to be charged and rarer still to be convicted.

Law enforcement groups plan to amend the legislation "to ensure that we are truly putting forward the most comprehensive legislative solution to effectively reduce the use of force in our state," California Police Chiefs Association president Ron Lawrence said.

Jamilia Land, a friend of the family of police shooting victim Stephon Clark, holds up a cellphone during a hearing on legislation to restrict the use of deadly force by police, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Sacramento, Calif. Sacramento Police officers mistook the cellphone Clark was holding for a gun when he was shot and killed in 2018. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Supporters of a measure to restrict the use of deadly force by police, stand in the gallery as Elizabeth Medrano Escobedo, the mother of police shooting victim Christian Escobedo, testifies in favor of the bill, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Sacramento County Deputy Sheriff Julie Robertson speaks against a measure that would restrict the use of deadly force by police, during an Assembly Committee, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, discusses her proposed measure to limit the use of deadly force by police, as the bill's co-author, Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, left, listens during a hearing on the bill at the Capitol, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Sacramento, Calif. Their measure, AB392, would require officers to use de-escalation tactics and allow them to use deadly force only when it is necessary to prevent immediate harm to themselves or others. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Assemblyman Tom Lackey, R-Palmdale, right, a former law enforcement officer, said he would not support a measure to restrict the use of deadly force by police, during a hearing of the Assembly Public Safety Committee, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Sacramento, Calif. The committee approved the first-in-the nation bill, AB392 by Democratic Assembly members Shirley Weber, of San Diego, and Kevin McCarty, of Sacramento, that would require officers to use de-escalation tactics and allow them to use deadly force only when it is necessary to prevent immediate harm to themselves or others. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Assemblywoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Los Angeles, a member of the Assembly Public Safety Committee, emotionally describes an encounter she had with law enforcement officers, during a hearing on legislation to restrict the use of deadly force by police, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Sacramento, Calif. The committee approved the first-in-the nation bill, AB392 by Democratic Assembly members Shirley Weber, of San Diego, and Kevin McCarty, of Sacramento, that would require officers to use de-escalation tactics and allow them to use deadly force only when it is necessary to prevent immediate harm to themselves or others. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Assemblyman Reginald Jones-Sawyer, D-Los Angeles, chairman of the Assembly Public Safety Committee, discusses legislation to restrict the use of deadly force by police, during a hearing on the measure, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - U.S. forces in Afghanistan revised on Tuesday the death toll from a Taliban attack the previous day near the main American base in the country, saying three service members were killed but not a contractor who was initially reported among the fatalities.

The U.S. and NATO Resolute Support mission issued a statement "to clarify initial reporting" about Monday's roadside bombing of an American convoy near the main U.S. base. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Pentagon said later that all three service members killed were Marines.

The mission said a roadside bomb hit the convoy near the Bagram Airfield, killing three American service members, and said "the contractor who was reported as killed, is alive."

The statement said "the contractor, an Afghan citizen, was initially treated along with other injured civilians, later identified as a contractor and treated at Bagram Airfield."

Three other U.S. service members were also wounded in the attack. The base in Bagram district is located in northern Parwan province and serves as the main U.S. air facility in the country.

Afghan security forces gather at the site of Monday's suicide attack near the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Three American service members and a U.S. contractor were killed when their convoy hit a roadside bomb on Monday near the main U.S. base in Afghanistan, the U.S. forces said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

The wounded were evacuated and are receiving medical care, the statement said.

Christopher Slutman, a 15-year New York City fire department member, was among the three Marines killed. He leaves behind his wife, Shannon, and three daughters.

"Firefighter Slutman bravely wore two uniforms and committed his life to public service both as a New York City firefighter and as a member of the United States Marine Corps," Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said in a written statement.

The Pentagon identified the two other Marines killed as Cpl. Robert A. Hendriks, 25, of Locust Valley, New York, and Sgt. Benjamin S. Hines, 31, of York, Pennsylvania.

In their claim of responsibility, the Taliban said they launched the attack and that one of their suicide bombers detonated his explosives-laden vehicle near the NATO base. The conflicting accounts could not be immediately reconciled.

On Tuesday, local Afghan officials said at least five Afghan civilians were wounded in the commotion after the attack on the American convoy.

Four were passersby and the fifth was a driver of a car going down the road, said Abdul Raqib Kohistani, the Bagram district police chief. Abdul Shakor Qudosi, the district administrative chief in Bagram, said American soldiers opened fire immediately after their convoy was bombed.

Monday's U.S. fatalities bring to seven the number of U.S. soldiers killed so far this year in Afghanistan, underscoring the difficulties in bringing peace to the war-wrecked country even as Washington has stepped up efforts to find a way to end the 17-year war, America's longest.

There are about 14,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan, supporting embattled Afghan forces as they struggle on two fronts - facing a resurgent Taliban who now hold sway over almost half the country and also the Islamic State affiliate, which has sought to expand its footprint in Afghanistan even as its self-proclaimed "caliphate" has crumbled in Syria and Iraq.

Last year, 13 U.S. service members were killed in Afghanistan.

The Taliban have continued to carry out daily attacks on Afghan security forces despite holding several rounds of peace talks with the United States in recent months. The Taliban have refused to meet with the Afghan government, which they view as a U.S. puppet.

Meanwhile, the Taliban have agreed to take part in an all-Afghan gathering later this month in Qatar, where the insurgents maintain a political office. But the Taliban say they will not recognize any government official attending the gathering as a representative of the Kabul government, only as an individual Afghan participant.

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Associated Press writer Lolita Baldor in Washington contributed to this report.

An Afghan security force check the site a day after an an attack near the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Three American service members and a U.S. contractor were killed when their convoy hit the roadside bomb on Monday near the main U.S. base in Afghanistan, the U.S. forces said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Afghan security forces gather at the site of Monday's attack near the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Three American service members and a U.S. contractor were killed when their convoy hit a roadside bomb on Monday near the main U.S. base in Afghanistan, the U.S. forces said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

An Afghan security force stand guard at the site a day after an a suicide attack near the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Three American service members and a U.S. contractor were killed when their convoy hit a roadside bomb on Monday near the main U.S. base in Afghanistan, the U.S. forces said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

An Afghan security force collect bullet shell a day after an attack near the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Three American service members and a U.S. contractor were killed when their convoy hit a roadside bomb on Monday near the main U.S. base in Afghanistan, the U.S. forces said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Afghans watch a civilian vehicle burnt after being shot by US forces following an attack near the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Three American service members and a U.S. contractor were killed when their convoy hit a roadside bomb on Monday near the main U.S. base in Afghanistan, the U.S. forces said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Afghans watch a civilian vehicle burnt after being shot by US forces after an attack near the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Three American service members and a U.S. contractor were killed when their convoy hit a roadside bomb on Monday near the main U.S. base in Afghanistan, the U.S. forces said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Attorney General William Barr told Congress Tuesday he expects to release his redacted version of the special counsel's Trump-Russia investigation report "within a week," while Democrats criticized his handling of the long-awaited document and demanded he turn it over in full.

Barr bluntly defended his dealing with the report and said portions must remain hidden to comply with the law. He said he could be open to eventually releasing some of the redacted material after consulting with congressional leaders, but maintained he had no plans to seek a judge's approval to disclose grand jury material. Democrats, he said, were "free to go to court" on their own to ask for it.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said he could issue subpoenas "very quickly" if Robert Mueller's report is released with redactions after Democrats failed "to reach an accommodation with the attorney general under which we would see the report and the underlying evidence." He said of Barr: "He has been unresponsive to our requests."

The attorney general appeared before a House appropriations subcommittee to discuss his department's budget request - normally a sleepy affair - but Democrats, in particular, were more interested in asking questions about the report. While opening the hearing, subcommittee Chairman Jose Serrano of New York called it "the elephant in the room."

Barr wouldn't discuss the substance of the special counsel's investigation into possible connections between Russia and Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, but he did explain some of what to expect when the report is released: He said the redactions will be color-coded and accompanied by notes explaining any decisions to withhold information.

"This process is going along very well and my original timetable of being able to release this by mid-April stands," Barr said.

In his first appearance on Capitol Hill since taking office, and amid intense speculation over his review of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia report, Attorney General William Barr appears before a House Appropriations subcommittee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Barr says he will release a redacted version of the Mueller report on the Russia investigation within a week. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Congress, the White House and the American public have been anxiously waiting for Barr to release the report since special counsel Mueller concluded his investigation and sent it to the attorney general more than two weeks ago. Justice Department officials are scouring the nearly 400-page document to remove grand jury information and details relating to pending investigations, among other materials.

Democrats say they will not accept any redactions.

At Tuesday's hearing, Democrats said they were concerned that a four-page summary letter of the report's main conclusions Barr released last month portrayed the findings in an overly favorable way for President Trump. The letter said that Mueller did not find a criminal conspiracy between Russia and Trump associates in the 2016 campaign, and that Barr did not believe the evidence in the report was sufficient to prove the president had obstructed justice.

Barr said "the letter speaks for itself" and revealed that he gave Mueller an opportunity to review the letter but the special counsel declined.

Rep. Nita Lowey, the Democratic chairwoman of the full Appropriations Committee, said she was taken aback that Barr had reduced Mueller's report to a four-page letter in just two days. "Even for someone who has done this job before, I would argue it's more suspicious than impressive," Lowey said, referring to Barr's first tenure as attorney general in the early 1990s.

Barr said, "I felt I should state bottom-line conclusions, and I tried to use special counsel Mueller's own language in doing that."

Asked about reports that members of Mueller's legal team were unhappy with his handling of the report, Barr said he suspected any discontent may have reflected their desire to put out more information.

Republicans defended Barr, with Alabama Rep. Robert Aderholt comparing Democrats' questions to theories surrounding President John F. Kennedy's 1963 assassination. "So many of the questions here today have gone toward a grassy knoll conspiracy theory," Aderholt said.

Across the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he had no concerns with the handling of the report: "I think it really comes down to a question of whether you trust Bill Barr or not. And I do."

Barr said in the summary released last month that Mueller did not reach a conclusion on whether the president obstructed justice, instead presenting evidence on both sides of the question. Barr said he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein decided that the evidence was insufficient to establish obstruction.

Facing the intensifying concerns from Democrats that he may have whitewashed Mueller's findings, Barr has moved to defend, or at least explain, his handling of the process since receiving the special counsel's report. He said in a March 29 letter that he did not intend for his brief summary of Mueller's main conclusions to be an "exhaustive recounting" of his work.

He is likely to be asked to further explain himself at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing Wednesday, though it's unclear how much more he will say. At one point in the House hearing, he tried to cut off any more questions on the subject.

"I'm not going to discuss it any further until after the report is out," he said.

Barr said he would elaborate at hearings scheduled by the House and Senate Judiciary committees at the beginning of next month.

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Associated Press writers Chad Day, Michael Balsamo, Laurie Kellman and Matthew Daly contributed to this report.

Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., Chairwoman of the full committee, speaks before hearing from Attorney General William Barr, as he appears before a House Appropriations subcommittee to make his Justice Department budget request, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawaii, holds up heavily redacted documents as he speaks as Attorney General William Barr appears before a House Appropriations subcommittee to make his Justice Department budget request, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

In his first appearance on Capitol Hill since taking office, and amid intense speculation over his review of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia report, Attorney General William Barr appears before a House Appropriations subcommittee to make his Justice Department budget request, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

In his first appearance on Capitol Hill since taking office, and amid intense speculation over his review of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia report, Attorney General William Barr arrives to appear before a House Appropriations subcommittee to make his Justice Department budget request, in Washington, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) - The Algerian senator named to temporarily fill the office vacated by former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika said he would act quickly to arrange an "honest and transparent" election to usher in an "Algeria of the future."

Abdelkader Bensalah, an ally of Bouteflika's, spoke on national television hours after his appointment as Algeria's interim president brought immediate protests. In the streets of the capital, protesters who want the country's established political hierarchy dismantled shouted, "Out with the system."

Bensalah, the head of the upper house of the Algerian Parliament, vowed to establish a "sovereign" body to organize a presidential election within 90 days. Under That's the constitutional limit for how long he can serve as interim president.

The North African country's influential military stayed silent on the appointment. It said only that it would work to ensure the "tranquility" of the country that was led for two decades by the ailing Bouteflika, 82, before he stepped down a week ago after weeks of nationwide protests and with a push from the chief of the army.

Bensalah said the election body would be set up with help from political parties and civil society to lay down conditions for "honest and transparent elections." He can't run for president himself when the election is held.

"It is a sincere and loyal hand that I give you to overcome differences and take part in a historic collective action equal to the challenges... to achieve the supreme goal, lay the groundwork for the Algeria of the future," he told the nation.

Police attempts to disperse a demonstration for students in Algiers, Algeria, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Algerian police used pepper spray and water cannon to break up a group of students protesting in the country's capital, less than an hour after the country's parliament chose an interim leader. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

There was no immediate reaction to the speech.

A student protest earlier Tuesday was timed to coincide with the Algerian Parliament's designation of Bensalah as interim president. Members of the opposition abstained from the vote.

"We are against the nomination of Bensalah. The people has stated its will many times, we will stick to this and won't change our minds. We are not going to stop, to rest or to give up at all," said protester Mohammed Bouraoui.

The protesters held creative signs, including one woman carrying a sign reading "I'm a student in oceanic studies, and my nation is drowning in a sea of corruption."

Within an hour, police moved in on the demonstrators, dousing them with pepper spray, shooting bursts from a water cannon and using batons to break up the crowd of thousands on a central avenue.

The clash contrasted with the weeks of overwhelmingly peaceful protests forced Bouteflika to step down last week after 20 years in office.

A pro-democracy movement dominated by young Algerians frustrated by corruption, unemployment and repression has offered them hope. It also raised international concerns about what's next for this energy-rich country that's a key partner in the international fight against terrorism.

The Defense Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that the army will work to ensure "the Algerian people's legitimate right to enjoy total tranquility for the present and the future."

The inconclusive statement suggests the army will wait to see if there are more protests on Friday before deciding whether to throw its support behind Bensalah or not. The statement didn't specifically address Bensalah's appointment.

Algeria's powerful army chief, Gen. Ahmed Gaid Salah, turned against the longtime president last week and sided with the protesters, prompting Bouteflika's resignation. However, many protesters have shown frustration with the army, too.

With Bouteflika out, protesters are mainly focusing their anger on other key figures, dubbed the "three Bs": Bensalah, Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui and the head of the Constitutional Council, Tayeb Belaiz.

"Out with Bensalah, Belaiz and Bedoui!" shouted protesters at Tuesday's rally in Algiers, which converged at the plaza in front of the main post office, a symbol of the country's pro-democracy movement.

Bensalah, 77, has cultivated a low-key profile despite holding numerous positions over the past quarter-century. With a career as a devoted public servant, he has no political weight, and his powers as transitional leader are reduced.

Bedoui has a starkly different profile. He was among the early promoters of a fifth mandate for the ailing Bouteflika - the trigger for the crisis. Mohamed Saidj, a political science professor, says that as interior minister, Bedoui also was behind forbidding doctors and human rights organizations from protesting.

As for Belaiz, "everyone knows that he is Bouteflika's man," Saidj said in a recent interview.

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Mosa'ab Elshamy in Algiers and Lori Hinnant and Elaine Ganley in Paris contributed to this report.

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A previous version of this story has been corrected to show that police fired pepper spray on protesters, not tear gas.

A woman waves an Algerian flag after police attempted to disperse a demonstration for students in Algiers, Algeria, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Algerian police used pepper spray and water cannon to break up a group of students protesting in the country's capital, less than an hour after the country's parliament chose an interim leader. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

A protester confronts a policeman during demonstration for students in Algiers, Algeria, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Algerian police used pepper spray and water cannon to break up a group of students protesting in the country's capital, less than an hour after the country's parliament chose an interim leader. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Abdelkader Bensalah stands while being named interim leader to replace former Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in Algiers, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. As called for by the Algerian Constitution, Bensalah was named as interim leader for a maximum of 90 days until a new election can be organized. He can't run for the post himself. (AP Photo/Toufik Doudou)

Algerian police forces face students demonstrating in Algiers, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Algerian police have fired tear gas and water cannon to break up a group of students protesting in the country's capital, less than an hour after the country's parliament chose an interim leader. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)

Algerian police forces use a water cannon as students demonstrate in Algiers, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Algerian police have fired tear gas and water cannon to break up a group of students protesting in the country's capital, less than an hour after the country's parliament chose an interim leader. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)

Algerian police forces use a water cannon as students demonstrate in Algiers, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Algerian police have fired tear gas and water cannon to break up a group of students protesting in the country's capital, less than an hour after the country's parliament chose an interim leader. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)

Students shout during a demonstration in Algiers, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Algerian police have fired tear gas and water cannon to break up a group of students protesting in the country's capital, less than an hour after the country's parliament chose an interim leader. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)

A man walks past street art that reads "liberty," supporting the current protest that has forced out longtime President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in downtown Algiers, Algeria, Monday, April 8, 2019. The pro-democracy movement has forced out Bouteflika and demanded that other top figures leave too. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

A protester gestures as he is sprayed with a water cannon during a demonstration for students in Algiers, Algeria, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Algerian police used pepper spray and water cannon to break up a group of students protesting in the country's capital, less than an hour after the country's parliament chose an interim leader. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

A man walks with loaves of bread as police attempted to disperse a demonstration for students in Algiers, Algeria, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Algerian police used pepper spray and water cannon to break up a group of students protesting in the country's capital, less than an hour after the country's parliament chose an interim leader. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Police stand guard as students demonstrate in Algiers, Algeria, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Algerian police used pepper spray and water cannon to break up a group of students protesting in the country's capital, less than an hour after the country's parliament chose an interim leader. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Students carry banners and chant slogans during a demonstration in Algiers, Algeria, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Algerian police used pepper spray and water cannon to break up a group of students protesting in the country's capital, less than an hour after the country's parliament chose an interim leader. Banner in Arabic reads "The people are the source of every authority" (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Police stand guard as students demonstrate in Algiers, Algeria, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Algerian protesters rejected the interim leader named Tuesday to replace former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, shouting "out with the system" as they demonstrated for the dismantling of the political hierarchy that has led Algeria for two decades. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

A man receives medical care as he lies on the floor, during a demonstration for students in Algiers, Algeria, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Algerian police used pepper spray and water cannon to break up a group of students protesting in the country's capital, less than an hour after the country's parliament chose an interim leader. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Police arrest a man as they attempt to disperse a demonstration for students in Algiers, Algeria, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Algerian police used pepper spray and water cannon to break up a group of students protesting in the country's capital, less than an hour after the country's parliament chose an interim leader. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Students gather during a demonstration in Algiers, Algeria, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Algerian police used pepper spray and water cannon to break up a group of students protesting in the country's capital, less than an hour after the country's parliament chose an interim leader. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Abdelkader Bensalah listens while being named interim leader to replace former Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in Algiers, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. As called for by the Algerian Constitution, Bensalah was named as interim leader for a maximum of 90 days until a new election can be organized. He can't run for the post himself. (AP Photo/Toufik Doudou)

Abdelkader Bensalah listens while being named interim leader to replace former Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in Algiers, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. As called for by the Algerian Constitution, Bensalah was named as interim leader for a maximum of 90 days until a new election can be organized. He can't run for the post himself. (AP Photo/Toufik Doudou)
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared headed toward re-election early Wednesday, as close-to-complete unofficial results showed him pulling ahead of his main competitor in a tight race seen as a referendum on the long-serving leader.

With a victory, Netanyahu would capture a fourth consecutive term and fifth overall, which this summer will make him Israel's longest-ever serving leader. Re-election will give him an important boost as he braces for the likelihood of criminal charges in a series of corruption scandals.

The election outcome affirmed Israel's continued tilt to the right and further dimmed hopes of a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the final stretch of the campaign, Netanyahu had for the first time pledged to annex parts of the occupied West Bank in a desperate bid to rally his right-wing base. Annexation would snuff out the last flicker of hope for Palestinian statehood.

Both Netanyahu and his challenger, former military chief Benny Gantz, leader of the rival Blue and White party, had declared victory in speeches to boisterous gatherings of supporters. But as the night went on, there were growing signs that Netanyahu's Likud was pulling ahead.

"It's a night of tremendous victory," Netanyahu told supporters. "I was very moved that the nation of Israel once again entrusted me for the fifth time, and with an even greater trust."

He said he had already begun talking to fellow right wing and religious parties about forming a new coalition.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves to his supporters after polls for Israel's general elections closed in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

"I want to make it clear, it will be a right-wing government, but I intend to be the prime minister of all Israeli citizens, right or left, Jews and non-Jews alike," he said.

The 69-year-old prime minister has been the dominant force in Israeli politics for the past two decades and its face to the world. His campaign has focused heavily on his friendship with President Donald Trump and his success in cultivating new allies, such as China, India and Brazil.

But the corruption scandals created some voter fatigue. Along with two other former military chiefs on his ticket, Gantz was able to challenge Netanyahu on security issues, normally the prime minister's strong suit, while also taking aim at the prime minister's alleged ethical lapses.

Israel's attorney general has recommended charging Netanyahu with bribery, breach of trust and fraud. The telegenic Gantz, who has been vague on key policy issues, has presented himself as a clean, scandal-free alternative to Netanyahu.

By Wednesday morning, with 97 percent of the votes counted, Likud and Blue and White had won 35 seats each. But Netanyahu was in a stronger position to form a coalition government with the anticipated support of right-wing and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, Likud's natural allies.

Such a coalition could rest on 65 votes in the 120-member parliament.

Earlier in the night, with fewer of the votes counted, Blue and White still appeared to be ahead by one seat and Gantz projected optimism. "Elections have losers and elections have winners. And we are the winners," Gantz told a victory rally shortly after midnight.

Netanyahu's message of unity was a sharp contrast from his campaign theme in which he accused Gantz of conspiring with Arab parties to topple him. Arab leaders accused Netanyahu of demonizing the country's Arab community, which is about 20 percent of the population.

His attacks on the Arab sector fueled calls for a boycott and appeared to result in relatively low turnout by Arab voters. Israel's central elections commission banned parties from bringing cameras into polling stations after Likud party activists were caught with hidden cameras in Arab towns.

The final results are subject to change. Some 40 parties took part in the election, and only those that receive at least 3.25% of the votes make it into parliament.

Once the final results come in, attention will turn to President Reuven Rivlin. The president, whose responsibilities are mostly ceremonial, is charged with choosing a prime minister after consulting with party leaders and determining who has the best chance of putting together a majority coalition. That responsibility is usually given to the head of the largest party.

The election included several other surprises. The Labor party, which ruled the country for its first 30 years, tumbled to single digits in the parliament.

Zehut, an iconoclastic party that combined an ultranationalist ideology with libertarian economic positions and calls for the legalization of marijuana, had appeared poised to emerge as the Cinderella story of the election. It fell short and failed to enter parliament.

If Netanyahu is re-elected, attention will quickly focus on his legal woes. The attorney general has recommended a series of criminal charges against the prime minister but will only make a decision on indicting him after a legally mandated hearing. Legal experts expect at least some charges to be filed.

Netanyahu will likely focus his efforts on getting guarantees from his coalition partners to continue to back him if he is indicted, and perhaps find a way to grant him immunity from prosecution.

Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing and claimed he is the victim of a witch hunt.

In order to appeal to his religious and ultranationalist parties, Netanyahu veered sharply right on the campaign trail with attacks on Arab politicians, the media and the judiciary. He also pledged to annex West Bank settlements, a step that could snuff out any remaining hopes for a two-state solution with the Palestinians.

Palestinian official Saeb Erekat lamented that the Israelis voted to maintain "the status quo."

"They want their occupation to be endless," he said.

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Heller reported from Tel Aviv. AP journalists Ilan Ben Zion and Isabel DeBre contributed to this story.

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Follow Heller at www.twitter.com/aronhellerap

Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz flashes victory signs to his supporters after Israeli general elections polls closed, Wednesday, April 10, 2019 in Tel Aviv. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

Likud party supporters cheer at the party's campaign headquarters after polls for Israel's general elections closed in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Likud party supporters cheer at the party's campaign headquarters after polls for Israel's general elections closed in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves to his supporters after polls for Israel's general elections closed in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves to his supporters after polls for Israel's general elections closed in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accompanied by his wife Sara waves to his supporters after polls for Israel's general elections closed in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Likud party leader kisses his wife Sara in from of his supporters after polls for Israel's general elections closed in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves to his supporters after polls for Israel's general elections closed in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Likud party leader and his wife Sara wave to his supporters after polls for Israel's general elections closed in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz addresses his supporters after Israeli general elections polls closed, Wednesday, April 10, 2019 in Tel Aviv. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz addresses his supporters after Israeli general elections polls closed, Wednesday, April 10, 2019 in Tel Aviv. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz addresses his supporters after Israeli general elections polls closed, Wednesday, April 10, 2019 in Tel Aviv. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

Likud party supporters cheer during Israel's parliamentary elections in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Likud party supporters cheer during Israel's parliamentary elections in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Blue and White part supporters cheer at the party's campaign headquarters after polls for Israel's general elections closed, in Tel Aviv, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

Blue and White part supporters cheer at the party's campaign headquarters after polls for Israel's general elections closed, in Tel Aviv, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, waves with his wife Sara after voting during Israel's parliamentary elections in Jerusalem, Tuesday, April 9, 2019 (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, Pool)

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu poses for a photo with his wife Sara after voting during Israel's parliamentary elections in Jerusalem, Tuesday, April 9, 2019 (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, Pool)
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel is holding the country's 21st parliamentary elections on Tuesday, with over 6.3 million people eligible to cast ballots in a vote largely seen as a referendum on long-seated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Here is a closer look at what to expect:

CHASING HISTORY

Netanyahu is seeking his fourth consecutive term and fifth overall, including an earlier stint in the 1990s. With another victory, Netanyahu will secure a place in history later this year as the longest-serving prime minister, surpassing Israel's founding father David Ben-Gurion. He faces tough opposition from his former army chief of staff, Benny Gantz, whose new Blue and White party seeks to replace Netanyahu's long-dominant Likud.

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'CORRUPTION' VS. 'INEXPERIENCE'

A family votes during general elections in a predominantly Bedouin city of Rahat, Israel, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

The three-month campaign has focused much more on personalities than issues. Netanyahu has tried to portray his opponent as weak and inexperienced. Gantz has tried to capitalize on a series of corruption investigations. The attorney general has recommended bribery and breach of trust charges against Netanyahu, who denies any wrongdoing.

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WIDE RANGE OF PARTIES

All 120 seats in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, are up for grabs. A total of over 40 parties are competing, including large front-runners, ultra-Orthodox religious parties, Arab factions and fringe movements like the Pirate and Simply Love parties.

But only a handful are expected to garner the 3.25% of the vote necessary to break the electoral threshold and earn the minimum four seats in parliament. Ten parties made up the last Knesset.

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HIGH TURNOUT

Israeli elections tend to have robust turnout. Election day is a national holiday, a measure aimed at encouraging participation. The last elections, in 2015, saw a 72% voter turnout, the highest percentage since 1999, but below the 77% average since Israel first went to the polls in 1949, a year after independence.

Arab voters, who make up 20 percent of the electorate, have threatened to boycott the election, accusing Netanyahu of inciting against them. That could have the unintended effect of helping the prime minister win a new term.

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WINNER TAKE ... MAYBE NOTHING

No Israeli party has ever won an outright majority, which forces the larger parties to form blocs with smaller allies.

After the election, Israel's president will meet with party heads and select the party he believes is most capable of forming a coalition. That party, usually but not always the largest faction, then has four weeks to form a coalition. A new government will be given a four-year term, but disagreements between coalition parties often result in early elections.

Should neither a right-wing nor left-wing bloc be able to form a coalition, Israel could face the prospect of a second election in November.

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Follow Ilan Ben Zion on Twitter: https://twitter.com/IlanBenZion

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu votes during Israel's parliamentary elections in Jerusalem, Tuesday, April 9, 2019 (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, Pool)

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu votes during Israel's parliamentary elections in Jerusalem, Tuesday, April 9, 2019 (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, Pool)

Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz, right, casts his vote with his wife Revital Gantz left, and former Israeli Chief of Staff Benny Gantz during Israel's parliamentary elections in Rosh Haayin, Israel, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

Rabbi Israel Hager votes for Israel's parliamentary election at a polling station in Bnei Brak, Israel, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

People vote during Israel's parliamentary election at a polling station in the West Bank settlement of Efrat, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz, right, casts his vote with his wife Revital Gantz during Israel's parliamentary elections in Rosh Haayin, Israel, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)
NEW DELHI (AP) - Indian authorities charged a Roman Catholic bishop on Tuesday with repeatedly raping a nun in her rural convent, a case that helped make the sexual abuse of nuns a major issue in the church.

Bishop Franco Mulakkal was charged with rape, illegal confinement and intimidation, said Hari Sankar, a district police chief in the southern state of Kerala, India's Catholic heartland.

The nun who made the accusations, who has not been publicly identified, said she went to police last year only after complaining repeatedly to church authorities. Eventually, a group of fellow nuns launched unprecedented public protests to demand Mulakkal's arrest. He was arrested but released after a few weeks.

Mulakkal was the official patron of the nun's community, the Missionaries of Jesus, and wielded immense influence over its budgets and job assignments. The nun said the rapes occurred between 2014 and 2016.

Mulakkal has denied the accusations, calling them "baseless and concocted" and saying the accusing nun was trying to pressure him to get a better job.

In February, Pope Francis for the first time publicly acknowledged the sexual abuse of nuns by priests and bishops.

FILE - In this Sept. 19, 2018 file photo, bishop of the Indian city of Jalandhar, Franco Mulakkal, center, leaves after being questioned by police in Kochi, India. Indian authorities charged the Roman Catholic bishop on Tuesday with repeatedly raping a nun in her rural convent, a case that helped make the sexual abuse of nuns a major issue in the church. (AP Photo/Prakash Elamakkara, File)

Speaking to reporters aboard the papal plane, Francis vowed to confront the problem. "Should we do something more? Yes. Is there the will? Yes. But it's a path that we have already begun," he said.

The Mulakkal case has split India's Catholic community, with many people defending the bishop.

In March, the founder of the Vatican's women's magazine, along with the magazine's all-female editorial board, quit their positions, saying a Vatican campaign to discredit them had increased since they denounced the sexual abuse of nuns by priests and bishops.
NEW DELHI (AP) - New Delhi shop owner Ram Shankar Rai spends at least two hours a day going through political news and videos shared with him on social media.

Rai looked intently at a flurry of videos and photos on WhatsApp about an Indian airstrike in Pakistan, including pictures labeled as militants' corpses.

There was just one problem: The photos were not of militants but of casualties of a 2005 earthquake that killed thousands of people in Pakistan.

But the 50-year-old didn't see anything amiss. "It's news," he said. "How can it be fake?"

Before the world's largest democracy starts voting Thursday in a phased election carried out over six weeks, this attitude is posing a problem for election officials seeking to combat the spread of fake news among a population that experts say has proven highly susceptible to believing it.

Despite efforts by India's Election Commission to work with social media giants, urging them to tackle the spread of misinformation, at least one former top election official is warning that fake news could end up being the deciding factor in some constituencies with extremely tight races.

In this Monday, April 8, 2019, photo, a customer watches election campaign advertisements on his mobile phone outside a shop in New Delhi, India. From manipulated pictures being picked up by mainstream news media, to misrepresented quotes sparking communal division, false news and hateful propaganda on digital platforms are at peak levels in the run-up to the Indian general elections (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

The election is already taking place in a charged atmosphere as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party seeks a second term by pushing policies that some say have increased religious tensions and undermined multiculturalism.

The opposition Congress party, which is also spending sizable sums of money on social media ads, is trying to revive its past glory and turn around a declining voter base.

Tackling fake news is a huge challenge in India, a nation with 1.14 billion cellphone connections, the most Facebook users in the world at 300 million, and another 240 million users of the messaging service WhatsApp. In such an environment, fake news can spread faster than regulators can act.

Watchdogs say in the run-up to the vote they've seen everything from manipulated pictures being picked up by mainstream news media, to misrepresented quotes sparking communal division, false news and hateful propaganda. And it looks like people are buying it.

Indian internet users, many of whom are relatively new to the web, may lack the awareness of knowing that "just because it's on a screen does not mean it's true," said Apar Gupta, who runs an advocacy group called the Internet Freedom Foundation.

India's problem with fake news isn't new, though, and it has already proven to have deadly consequences. In late 2018, at least 20 people were killed in mob attacks that were triggered by rumors on social media of strangers abducting children from villages.

Efforts by social media giants to combat fake news in the country were intensified after executives were called in by the Election Commission earlier this year and told to curb the spread of manipulative political information and adhere to the country's laws on election campaigning.

Social media companies followed that with a "Voluntary Code of Ethics" for the elections that they submitted to the government. It's essentially a best practices agreement that they will try to abide by the Election Commission's suggestions and rules, including prohibiting campaign advertisements for at least 48 hours before polling begins.

But at least two former Election Commission bosses said they don't believe enough is being done.

"The potential of mischief for subversion of the process of elections represented by social media is immense," said N. Gopalaswami, who was India's chief election commissioner from 2006 to 2009.

He said he was concerned fake news could play a huge role in very tight races.

Gupta said the Election Commission should have enforced accountability for political parties and social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp, with penalties for violations.

"India has clearly not done enough," he said, adding that some of the responsibility lies with the social media platforms.

"The internet has grown up and is having to leave its parents' home and find a job," he said, suggesting that platforms should tune their search engine algorithms to weigh the credibility of sources more heavily than ads and viral content.

Digital platforms have been scrambling to devise strategies to tackle the spread of false information ahead of the election.

Facebook announced a variety of measures last month, from blocking fake accounts to employing third-party fact-checking organizations for the elections.

WhatsApp has introduced a fact-checking helpline, encouraging users to flag messages for verification. It also started re-circulating an old advertising video urging people to "share joy, not rumors." The video was first launched after the 2018 mob attacks.

But with new pages and accounts being created daily to push political content, it's a hefty task.

"It is an adversarial space," said Kaushik Iyer, a Facebook engineering manager who works on election integrity and safety.

"What that means is that we will always see adaptation. We will always see new threats emerge," he told The Associated Press in an interview at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, California.

He said Facebook was getting better at tracking down the misrepresented and manipulated videos and audio that form a big chunk of fake content on their platform in India.

And for all its negatives, social media can also play a positive role in an election, especially for young voters who say it has enabled them to better understand candidates and engage with them.

"Rather than campaign rallies where we are just passive observers, social media is a better representation of our opinions," said Sarthak Singh Dalal, a history student at Delhi University.

Rai, the shop owner, said he has started to take a closer look at the social media content forwarded to him, trying to identify biases hidden in what he had just considered news.

"Obviously, we have to use a bit of sense," he said.

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Associated Press writer Haven Daley in Menlo Park, California, contributed to this report.

In this Monday, April 8, 2019, photo, a man talks on his phone as he leans on his scooter in a market in New Delhi, India. From manipulated pictures being picked up by mainstream news media, to misrepresented quotes sparking communal division, false news and hateful propaganda on digital platforms are at peak levels in the run-up to the Indian general elections. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

In this Friday, April 5, 2019, photograph provided by Facebook, engineers monitor postings related to the upcoming Indian election and other elections at their operation center at their headquarters in Menlo Park, California. From manipulated pictures being picked up by mainstream news media, to misrepresented quotes sparking communal division, false news and hateful propaganda on digital platforms are at peak levels in the run-up to the Indian general elections. (AP Photo via Facebook)

In this Monday, April 8, 2019, photo, Ram Shankar Rai, center, watches election campaign advertisements on his mobile phone outside his shop in New Delhi, India. From manipulated pictures being picked up by mainstream news media, to misrepresented quotes sparking communal division, false news and hateful propaganda on digital platforms are at peak levels in the run-up to the Indian general elections. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
TOKYO (AP) - A Japanese air force F-35 stealth fighter crashed into the Pacific Ocean during a night training flight and parts of the jet were recovered, the defense ministry said Wednesday.

The pilot is still missing. The F-35A stealth jet disappeared from radar while flying off the eastern coast of Aomori and parts of the jet were found late Tuesday, the Air Self-Defense Force said.

It went missing about half an hour after taking off from the Misawa air base with three other F-35As for anti-fighter battle training.

Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya told reporters the cause of the disappearance was not immediately known. He said 12 other F-35s at the Misawa base would be grounded.

The pilot is a man in his 40s, Iwaya said.

Japan started deploying the expensive U.S.-made F-35s since last year, part of its plan to bolster its defense spending and weapons capability in the coming years to counter potential threats from North Korea and China.

This June, 2017, photo shows Japan Air Self-Defense Force's F-35A stealth jet at a factory of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, in Toyoyama, central Japan. A search was underway for the Japanese fighter jet Tuesday, April 9, 2019, after it disappeared from radar during a flight exercise in northern Japan, defense officials said. The F-35A stealth jet, seen in the photo, went missing while flying off the eastern coast of Aomori, the Air Self-Defense Force said.(Kyodo News via AP)

Under guidelines approved in December, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government plans to buy 147 F-35s, including 105 F-35As, costing about 10 billion yen ($90 million) each.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The Latest on the Taliban attack on U.S. service members in Afghanistan (all times local):

7:15 a.m. Wednesday

The Pentagon has released the identities of three Marines killed in a roadside bombing of an American convoy in Afghanistan on Monday.

They are Cpl. Robert A. Hendriks, 25, of Locust Valley, New York; Sgt. Benjamin S. Hines, 31, of York, Pennsylvania; and Staff Sgt. Christopher K.A. Slutman, 43, of Newark, Delaware.

They were assigned to the 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division of the Marine Corps Reserve, based in Fort Devens, Massachusetts.

The U.S. and NATO Resolute Support mission says the bomb hit the convoy near Bagram Airfield, the main U.S. base in Afghanistan. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack.

An Afghan security force check the site a day after an an attack near the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Three American service members and a U.S. contractor were killed when their convoy hit the roadside bomb on Monday near the main U.S. base in Afghanistan, the U.S. forces said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

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6:50 p.m.

U.S. forces in Afghanistan have revised their death toll from a Taliban attack the day before near the main American base in the country and now say that three U.S. Marines were killed but not a contractor who was initially reported among the fatalities.

The U.S. and NATO Resolute Support mission issued a statement on Tuesday "to clarify initial reporting."

It says a roadside bomb attack during a convoy near the Bagram Airfield killed three American service members and that "the contractor who was reported as killed, is alive."

The statement says "the contractor, an Afghan citizen, was initially treated along with other injured civilians, later identified as a contractor and treated at Bagram Airfield."

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9:30 a.m.

A Taliban attack has killed three American service members and a U.S. contractor when their convoy was hit by a roadside bombing on Monday near the main U.S. base in Afghanistan.

The U.S. and NATO Resolute Support mission said the four Americans were killed near the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, while three others were wounded in the explosion. The base in Bagram district is located in northern Parwan province and serves as the main U.S. air facility in the country.

The wounded were evacuated and are receiving medical care, the statement said. It added that in accordance with U.S. Department of Defense policy, the names of service members killed in action were being withheld until after the notification of next of kin.

Afghan security forces gather at the site of Monday's attack near the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Three American service members and a U.S. contractor were killed when their convoy hit a roadside bomb on Monday near the main U.S. base in Afghanistan, the U.S. forces said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

An Afghan security force stand guard at the site a day after an a suicide attack near the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Three American service members and a U.S. contractor were killed when their convoy hit a roadside bomb on Monday near the main U.S. base in Afghanistan, the U.S. forces said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

An Afghan security force collect bullet shell a day after an attack near the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Three American service members and a U.S. contractor were killed when their convoy hit a roadside bomb on Monday near the main U.S. base in Afghanistan, the U.S. forces said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Afghans watch a civilian vehicle burnt after being shot by US forces following an attack near the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Three American service members and a U.S. contractor were killed when their convoy hit a roadside bomb on Monday near the main U.S. base in Afghanistan, the U.S. forces said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Afghans watch a civilian vehicle burnt after being shot by US forces after an attack near the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Three American service members and a U.S. contractor were killed when their convoy hit a roadside bomb on Monday near the main U.S. base in Afghanistan, the U.S. forces said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
DALLAS (AP) - Boeing failed to win any orders for its 737 Max airliner in March as scrutiny of the plane increased following a second deadly crash in less than five months.

Deliveries of finished Max jets also tumbled, to 11 from 26 in February. That was not surprising - Boeing suspended deliveries in mid-March after regulators around the world ordered the plane grounded.

Boeing's report Tuesday on orders and deliveries came just three days after the company announced that it will cut production of 737s from 52 a month to 42. Meanwhile, airlines that own the nearly 400 grounded Max jets are canceling flights.

The damage to Boeing could be temporary, however, if the company can complete a fix to key software on the Max and reassure regulators and passengers that it is a safe plane.

Many analysts believe the deliveries will only be delayed, not lost forever, unless airlines cancel orders for the plane.

The figures on March orders and deliveries are "secondary to getting the Max fix approved and its grounding lifted," Cowen aircraft analyst Cai von Rumohr said.

FILE - In this Monday, April 8, 2019, file photo, Boeing 737 Max 8 jets, built for American Airlines, left, and Air Canada are parked at the airport adjacent to a Boeing Co. production facility in Renton, Wash. Orders and deliveries of Boeing's 737 Max plunged in the first quarter as the plane was grounded around the world following a second deadly crash. Boeing disclosed Tuesday, April 9, that it received no new orders for the Max in March. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

The plane was grounded when an Ethiopian Airlines Max crashed March 10, less than five months after a Lion Air Max plunged into the sea off the coast of Indonesia. In all, 346 people died.

Boeing has acknowledged that in each crash, a faulty sensor triggered an anti-stall system when it wasn't needed, pushing the plane's nose down. Pilots on each flight fought unsuccessfully to regain control, according to flight data retrieved from the planes.

The company is still working on the software update, which was delayed recently by several weeks because of the discovery of a second software problem. Boeing hasn't described the second issue but says it is not related to the anti-stall system.

So far, most of Wall Street and Boeing's airline customers have publicly stood behind the company during its crisis. Boeing hasn't disclosed any lost orders, although Garuda Indonesia has said it will cancel an order for 49 Max jets. Boeing has a backlog of about 4,600 orders for the plane.

Delta Air Lines neither owns nor has any orders for the Max - most of its pending orders are with Boeing's rival, Airbus. But Delta CEO Ed Bastian said he remains confident in Boeing's technological prowess and is interested if Boeing decides to build a new plane bigger than the 737.

"I am confident that Boeing will solve this issue" with the Max, he said. "I expect that to be a hiccup."

Airlines that own the Max, however, are paying a price. On Tuesday, American Airlines cut a key revenue estimate after canceling 1,200 flights in the first quarter due to the grounding of its 24 Max jets.

American, the world's biggest airline, said that it can't predict the future financial fallout until it knows how long the jets will be parked and the circumstances under which they will be allowed to fly again.

Over the weekend, American removed the plane from its schedule for an additional six weeks, through June 5.

Shares of Chicago-based Boeing fell $5.48, or 1.5%, to close at $369.04. They have lost 13% since the Ethiopian crash.
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump said trade and military issues topped the agenda as he welcomed Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi to the White House on Tuesday for a second official visit.

Trump, speaking to reporters at the top of the meeting, did not mention human rights as a topic for discussion despite concerns from some advocacy groups that Egypt is stifling dissent before a planned constitutional referendum that would potentially allow el-Sissi to remain in power until 2034.

Trump instead praised Egypt's efforts to confront terrorism, saying "a lot of progress had been made in a lot of different ways in terms of terrorism."

Both leaders also said the relationship between the U.S. and Egypt had never been better. They spoke before the meeting. Afterward, cameras showed Trump walking with el-Sissi out of the West Wing and giving him a thumbs-up as he departed.

El-Sissi led the 2013 military overthrow of elected but divisive Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. He has presided over an unprecedented crackdown on dissent, and was re-elected last year after all potentially serious challengers were jailed or pressured to exit the race.

Trump was asked about the referendum effort in Egypt and El-Sissi's bid to stay in power.

President Donald Trump meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

"I don't know about the effort," Trump said. "I can just tell you he's doing a great job."

Human Rights Watch said the coming election referendum would constitutionally undermine an already weak judicial independence and increase military control of the public and political spheres.

"Given President Trump's silence on abuses, Congress should step up and condemn this initiative," said Michael Page, deputy Middle East and Northern Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

The group also said Egypt's efforts to stem dissent had led to unfair mass trials, whether before military or civilian judges, for thousands of dissidents. Although many of those verdicts have been overturned, Egyptian authorities have executed at least 180 people since 2013, Human Rights Watch said.

The White House issued a summary of U.S.-Egypt collaboration once the meeting was over. It stated that the Trump administration "encourages the Egyptian government to preserve space for civil society and to protect human rights."

President Donald Trump meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump welcomes visiting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to the White House in Washington, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - A renewed effort was launched Tuesday to halt federal leases for oil and natural gas development near a national park in New Mexico held sacred by Native Americans.

Four members of New Mexico's all-Democratic congressional delegation introduced legislation to prohibit the expansion of mineral development on federal inholdings within a roughly 10-mile (16-kilometer) radius surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park.

According to the delegation, federal mineral rights span about 500 square miles (1,300 square kilometers) within the proposed buffer zone - a checkboard of federal, state, tribal and private land.

The park's ancient, astronomically aligned dwellings and roadways are an international attraction, and many Native American communities trace their ancestry and traditions to the area.

"This special place should not be under constant threat of destruction," Sen. Tom Udall said.

Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and local tribal pueblo leaders joined lawmakers on a conference call to endorse the bill. Proposed restrictions on energy development would not apply to Native American or private holdings. Similar federal legislation was introduced in 2018.

FILE - In this Aug. 10, 2005, file photo, tourist Chris Farthing from Suffolks County, England, takes a picture while visiting Chaco Culture National Historical Park in northwestern New Mexico. Members of New Mexico's congressional delegation are renewing a call for the creation of a formal buffer around the national park held sacred by Native Americans. A measure reintroduced Tuesday, April 9, 2019, would prevent future leasing or development of minerals on federally-owned land within a 10-mile radius of Chaco Culture National Historical Park. (AP Photo/Jeff Geissler, File)

The bill's future remains uncertain in the GOP-controlled Senate. Sens. Udall and Martin Heinrich were asked whether they had spoken with Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, whose agency oversees the Bureau of Land Management and mineral exploration in the region.

"I believe the administration knows very well my position in terms of leasing within the 10-mile buffer, and I hope that they'll honor that," Udall said. Heinrich did not comment.

A moratorium on new leases of state trust holdings in the Chaco area is being prepared by State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard, who announced she will sign the measure April 23.

Supporters of the federal legislation say they want to protect the sense of remoteness that comes with making the journey to Chaco. They are also concerned about the preservation of ancient stone structures and other features outside the national park's boundaries.

Newly elected U.S. Rep. Debra Haaland, a tribal member of Laguna Pueblo, embraced the proposed drilling restrictions.

"Chaco Canyon was my ancestral homeland and remains a living landscape," she said on a group call with reporters. "It's a place where New Mexico families make memories, and families from all over the world make memories."

Federal land managers repeatedly have deferred any interest by the oil and gas industry in parcels that fall within the buffer. Still, tribes and others are concerned that energy companies keep nominating parcels for possible inclusion in quarterly lease sales held by the Bureau of Land Management. They say a permanent buffer would prevent that.

Michael Chavarria, vice chairman of a coalition of 20 pueblo governors, said concerns about preserving scattered Chaco cultural sites extend beyond the 10-mile buffer outlined in the proposed legislation.

The bill also emphasizes the federal government's obligation to consult with tribes.

The industry has said existing federal laws and policies require extensive environmental and cultural reviews before drilling can happen.

"If artifacts are found, oil and gas development doesn't happen there. It's that clear cut," said Robert McEntyre with the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association. "I think we lose sight of the fact that we have these processes built in, there's a boundary around artifacts that have been designated as culturally significant and we respect those boundaries."

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Associated Press writer Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque contributed to this story.
WASHINGTON (AP) - A congressional hearing on online hate turned into a vivid demonstration of the problem Tuesday when a YouTube livestream of the proceedings was bombarded with racist and anti-Semitic comments from internet users.

YouTube disabled the live chat section of the streaming video about 30 minutes into the hearing because of what it called "hateful comments."

The incident came as executives from Google and Facebook appeared before the House Judiciary Committee to answer questions about the companies' role in the spread of hate crimes and the rise of white nationalism in the U.S. They were joined by leaders of such human rights organizations as the Anti-Defamation League and the Equal Justice Society, along with conservative commentator Candace Owens.

Neil Potts, Facebook director of public policy, and Alexandria Walden, counsel for free expression and human rights at Google, defended policies at the two companies that prohibit material that incites violence or hate. Google owns YouTube.

"There is no place for terrorism or hate on Facebook," Potts testified. "We remove any content that incites violence."

The hearing broke down into partisan disagreement among the lawmakers and among some of the witnesses, with Republican members of Congress denouncing as hate speech Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar's criticism of American supporters of Israel.

FILE - In this Dec. 17, 2018, file photo, a man using a mobile phone walks past Google offices in New York. Executives from Google and Facebook are facing Congress Tuesday, April 8, 2019, to answer questions about their role in the hate crimes and the rise of white nationalism in the U.S. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

As the bickering went on, committee chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., was handed a news report that included the hateful comments about the hearing on YouTube. He read them aloud, along with the users' screen names, as the room quieted.

"This just illustrates part of the problem we're dealing with," Nadler said.

The hearing comes as the U.S. is experiencing an increase in hate crimes and hate groups.

There were 1,020 known hate groups in the country in 2018, the fourth straight year of growth, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors extremism in the U.S. Hate crimes, meanwhile, rose 30 percent in the three-year period ending in 2017, the organization said, citing FBI figures.

Democratic Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island grilled the Facebook and Google executives about their companies' responsibility for the spread of white supremacist views, pushing them to acknowledge they have played a role, even if it was unintentional. Potts and Walden conceded the companies have a duty to try to curb hate.

But the challenges became clear as Cicilline pushed Potts to answer why Facebook did not immediately remove far-right commentator Faith Goldy last week, after announcing a ban on white nationalism on the social network.

Goldy, who has asked her viewers to help "stop the white race from vanishing," was not removed until Monday.

"What specific proactive steps is Facebook taking to identify other leaders like Faith Goldy and preemptively remove them from the platform?" Cicilline asked.

Potts reiterated that the company works to identify people with links to hate and violence and banishes them from Facebook.

The hearing was prompted by the mosque shootings last month in Christchurch, New Zealand, that left 50 people dead. The gunman livestreamed the attacks on Facebook and published a long post online that espoused white supremacist views.

But controversy over white nationalism and hate speech has dogged online platforms such as Facebook and Google's YouTube for years.

In 2017, following the deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, tech giants began banishing extremist groups and individuals espousing white supremacist views and support for violence. Facebook extended the ban to white nationalists.

Despite the ban, accounts such as one with the name Aryan Pride were still visible as of late Monday. The account read: "IF YOUR NOT WHITE friend ur own kind cause Im not ur friend."

On Wednesday, a Senate subcommittee will hold a hearing on allegations that companies such as Facebook, Google and Twitter are biased against conservatives, an allegation leveled by political figures from President Donald Trump on down.

The companies have denied any such bias.

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Ortutay and Lerman contributed from San Francisco.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Facing bipartisan pushback to his immigration shake-up, President Donald Trump said Tuesday he's not looking to revive the much-criticized practice of separating migrant children from their families at the southern border. At the same time, he suggested the policy had worked to deter migrants from coming into the U.S., although he offered no evidence to support his position.

Last summer the administration separated more than 2,500 children from their families before international outrage forced Trump to halt the practice and a judge ordered them reunited.

"We're not looking to do that," Trump told reporters before meeting with Egypt's president at the White House. But he also noted: "Once you don't have it, that's why you see many more people coming. They're coming like it's a picnic, because let's go to Disneyland."

The potential reinstatement of one of the most divisive practices of Trump's tenure was just one aspect of the upheaval at the Department of Homeland Security this week that culminated with the resignation of Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Acting Deputy Secretary Claire Grady, a 28-year civil servant, technically next in line for secretary, was forced to resign Tuesday to make room for Trump's pick to replace Nielsen, according to two people familiar with the decision.

With talk that more top officials were likely to be ousted, Republicans expressed public and private concerns about the shake-up orchestrated by the White House and cautioned that leadership changes wouldn't necessarily solve the problem.

As for the separation of children, Trump declared that he was "the one that stopped it" and said his predecessor, President Barack Obama, was the one who had divided family members. Administrations are allowed to separate children under certain circumstances including for the health and welfare of the child and due to a parent's criminal history. This is why children were separated under the Obama administration.

President Donald Trump speaks while meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

At hearings across Capitol Hill, lawmakers grilled administration officials on whether the practice would resurface despite last year's outrage and evidence that separations were likely to cause lasting psychological effects on the children. House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., also said his committee would take a look at the staff shake-up at Homeland Security, although he said he had not decided on calling in Nielsen.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said there was a serious problem going on between the White House and Homeland Security.

"If everybody's sitting around waiting for a shiny new wonder pony to ride in and solve it, we're going to be waiting a long time," he said.

People familiar with the immigration discussions within the administration said family separation was one of several ideas Trump had revived in recent weeks as he and his aides try to tackle the problem of an ever-growing number of Central American families crossing into the U.S. The people were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

A senior administration official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity Tuesday said the president had made a series of leadership changes at DHS due to frustrations that department officials weren't fast enough at implementing changes, such as a new regulation that would challenge a longstanding agreement limiting how long children can be detained, that could spark a legal fight that would land in the Supreme Court.

The White House also was weighing a tougher standard to evaluate initial asylum claims, proposing a "binary choice" that would force migrant families to choose between remaining with their children in detention until their immigration cases were decided or sending their children to government shelters while the parents remained in detention.

The administration also is considering clamping down on remittance payments that Mexican nationals send to their families, the official said.

Amid the pushback, Trump told reporters he was not "cleaning house" at the agency despite a number of staff changes. He said his choice to be the department's new acting director, Kevin McAleenan, would do a "fantastic job."

But as Trump was speaking, the senior administration official was making a case to reporters about why the president felt changes were necessary. He described the agency as a large and unwieldly civilian bureaucracy in need of leadership that can deal with career officials resistant to the president's agenda, including many responsible for implementing some of the very policies Trump seeks to roll back.

Top Republicans in Congress also expressed concern over vacancies at Homeland Security and cautioned Trump to heed off more churn after Nielsen's resignation.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, made both a public and private plea to the White House not to dismiss career homeland security officials, including the director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Lee Francis Cissna, whose future remained uncertain Tuesday.

He said he had spoken to acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney but "never heard anything final" about Cissna.

At a Senate Homeland Security Committee meeting on border issues, child welfare and border officials warned there wasn't room or capability to start separating children on a large scale again.

Children who cross the border alone are cared for by the Department of Health and Human Services, and most of the children are teenagers. But last summer, HHS started receiving babies and toddlers, and there was not enough space to house them, said Jonathan White, the career civil servant tasked by Health and Human Services with helping to reunify children.

"It also bears repeating, separating children from their parents entails significant risk of psychological harm. That is an undisputed scientific fact," White told senators. "We have made improvements to our tracking, but we do not have the capacity to receive that number of children, nor do we have any system that can manage the mass trauma."

Both Republican and Democratic leaders deplored the idea of separating families.

"I hope members of the administration are actually listening," said Sen. Ron Johnson, R- Wis., the committee chairman. He added that he had spoken with Mulvaney about moving a permanent Homeland Security nominee through quickly.

Some of Trump's outside allies are urging him to nominate former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach to lead the department, while others are pushing former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli for the job.

Both men's names also have been tossed about for a possible immigration czar who would coordinate immigration policy across federal agencies.

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Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Lisa Mascaro, Laurie Kellman, Alan Fram and Darlene Superville in Washington and Nomaan Merchant in Houston contributed to this report.
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STRATFORD, Conn. (AP) - A judge has ruled that three teenagers charged in connection with a fire that destroyed a Connecticut theater will be treated as adults.

The American Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford was built in 1955, and Katharine Hepburn, Christopher Plummer, James Earl Jones and other stars once performed there.

Juvenile Court Judge Frank Iannotti on Tuesday transferred the cases of 17-year old Logan Caraballo, of Shelton and 18-year-olds Michael Keller and Christopher Sakowicz, of Stratford to Bridgeport Superior Court, making their names public.

The three face charges of arson, burglary, reckless endangerment and criminal trespass in connection with the Jan. 13 fire that destroyed the long-closed theater.

The theater had not hosted a play since 1989. It was modeled after London's Globe Theatre, which burned in 1613.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.N. refugee chief said Tuesday he has never seen "such toxicity, such poison" in politics, the media, social media and every day conversation focused on refugees, migrants and foreigners.

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said the March 15 attack on a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand that killed 50 Muslim worshippers was the result "of that toxic language of politics."

Grandi urged countries everywhere to take "a leaf from the exemplary response of the people and the leadership of New Zealand" in responding to the "toxic trends" by restating the values that underpin global solidarity and "reaffirm that our societies will not be really prosperous, stable and peaceful if they do not include all."

An Australian white supremacist, Brenton Harrison Tarrant, who has been charged with the mosque killings which included many immigrants, livestreamed the shootings and sent out a lengthy manifesto. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said the world has been stuck in a vicious cycle of extremism which must end, and she will never utter his name and give his views the oxygen he wanted.

Grandi told the Security Council "there is unprecedented stigmatization of refugees and migrants," and responses are increasingly inadequate.

He said he has worked with refugees for over three decades and has seen "much solidarity, even heroism in some of the responses that are provided on the ground" to help them.

FILE - In this Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017 file photo, U.N. refugee chief Filippo Grandi, center-right, visits a hospital as he tours Dadaab refugee camp, hosting over 230,000 inhabitants, in northern Kenya. An internal United Nations document obtained by The Associated Press on Friday, March 29, 2019 says Kenya again seeks to close the Dadaab camp that hosts more than 200,000 refugees from neighboring Somalia. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

And "that solidarity is still very strong" in many parts of the world, from African villages to the border between Bangladesh and Myanmar, to communities in Latin American helping Venezuelans, Grandi said.

"But also in these 3 1/2 decades I have never seen such toxicity, such poison in the language of politics, in media, in social media, even in everyday discussions and conversations around this issue - toxicity that focuses sadly, tragically, often, on refugees, on migrants, on foreigners," he said. "That should be of concern to us all."

Grandi added that "many politicians believe that - and I think they are proven right - that doing this expands their consensus."

But he said this is wrong and unfair to people "that are fleeing because they seek safety from war, from persecution."

He said the mosque attacks in New Zealand showed this has become an issue of security and stability for all countries - and governments need to address the issue of language on social media and in politics.

"It is an issue if left unchecked may have very grave consequences, not only for our work but for the world in general," Grandi warned.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump and immigration (all times local):

7:45 p.m.

The acting deputy secretary of Homeland Security has been forced to resign amid a staff shakeup spurred by President Donald Trump's growing frustration over the number of Central American migrants crossing the southern border.

Claire Grady resigned Tuesday. She was technically the next in line to replace Kirstjen Nielsen, who resigned Sunday. But Trump chose Kevin McAleenan, the head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, as acting secretary. That meant Grady had to resign or be fired.

Two officials with direct knowledge of the decision say Grady was forced to resign. The officials were not authorized speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Grady is a longtime civil servant with more than 28 years of experience at the departments of Defense and Homeland Security.

President Donald Trump speaks while meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

- Colleen Long

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5:55 p.m.

The acting Pentagon chief says he expects the military to be asked by the Department of Homeland Security to do more this year to help with security at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Patrick Shanahan told two reporters traveling with him Tuesday that he anticipates being called on to provide more assistance to DHS as conditions on the border deteriorate.

He says he does not yet know what that additional Pentagon work will be. One possibility, he says, is providing shelter for apprehended migrants.

The military already has several thousand troops at the border erecting wire barriers and performing other missions in support of Customs and Border Protection personnel.

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4 p.m.

A powerful House chairman says he may want outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to testify before his panel about President Donald Trump's shakeup of the agency.

Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings says he hasn't decided, but his panel is "going to take a look at it."

The Maryland Democrat adds, "I don't know why the president has done what he has done, and I certainly would be interested in talking to" officials at the agency.

Asked Tuesday if he will call Nielsen in to talk to the panel, he answered: "We may. But I haven't decided."

Nielsen resigned Sunday after a difficult tenure in which she clashed often with Trump, who wanted a harder-line immigration policy. More leaders are expected to leave the agency.

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3 p.m.

The U.S. Border Patrol says it has set a new monthly record for apprehensions of families at the southern border, driven primarily by a surge of parents and children leaving Central America.

The agency said Tuesday that it apprehended 92,607 people at the U.S.-Mexico border in March.

Just over 53,000 of the people apprehended were parents and children traveling together, which the Border Patrol refers to as "family units." That breaks a record set in February, when the agency apprehended 36,000 parents and children. Another 8,975 were children traveling alone.

The large numbers of families have forced many line agents into humanitarian roles and have strained detention facilities built when the Border Patrol primarily apprehended single adult men.

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1:45 p.m.

Top Republicans are expressing concern over vacancies at the Department of Homeland Security and cautioned President Donald Trump off more shake-ups after the resignation of Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said Tuesday having participated in creating the department more than a decade ago she knows "these are vital positions."

Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley made both a public and private plea to the White House not to dismiss career homeland security officials. He said he spoke to Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney but would only know if Trump heard the message "if they don't get fired."

As Trump considers replacements at DHS, Republican John Cornyn of Texas, said he hoped the administration would work in "collaboration, consultation" with the Senate before sending nominees for confirmation.

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12:41 p.m.

President Donald Trump says he's not looking to reinstate the much-criticized practice of separating migrant families at the border with Mexico. But he says many more migrants are streaming toward the U.S. through Mexico because the practice is no longer in place.

Says Trump: "I'm the one that stopped it." He claims his predecessor, President Barack Obama, is the one who separated children from their families.

Trump ended the practice under pressure last year after footage of scores of migrant children housed in fenced-off cages at border facilities was broadcast widely. Trump's allies are pressing for a harder line on immigration after he cleaned house at the Homeland Security Department.

Trump says "once you don't have it," meaning the family separation policy, "that's why you see many more people coming."
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A Wisconsin appeals court sided with Democratic Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday, ruling that he had the authority to withdraw appointments made by then-Gov. Scott Walker and approved by Republicans during a lame-duck legislative session.

The state's 3rd District Court of Appeals declined to reinstate the 15 appointees as Republicans wanted. The court said Evers' rescinding of the appointments was not invalidated by a later court ruling that put on hold the decision that allowed him to take the action.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald promised an immediate appeal to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which is controlled 4-3 by conservatives.

"As the governor has repeatedly said, he acted properly and within the law to withdraw those improper appointments and make his own valid appointments," Evers' spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff said in reaction to the ruling.

Hours before the ruling came out, Fitzgerald said that Republicans were "pretty wild" with anger over Evers' decision to revoke the appointments and may not vote on confirming his Cabinet secretaries while the court battle continues.

The position by the Senate's top Republican highlighted the deep divide between Republicans who control the Legislature and the newly elected governor. The Senate has not acted to confirm any of Evers' Cabinet picks while courts settle legal issues stemming from a lame-duck session in which Republicans pushed through several measures weakening the powers of Evers and Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers tells reporters that the Republican Senate leader is "huffing and puffing" for saying confirmation of Evers' Cabinet secretaries is in jeopardy because of an ongoing legal fight over a lame-duck legislative session on Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Madison, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)

"I think some of those Cabinet members are going to be in trouble," Fitzgerald said, declining to name those who may be in greater jeopardy than others.

Evers said he did not see Fitzgerald's comments as retribution over the lame-duck legal fight, but rather "huffing and puffing."

"This will be resolved at some point in time," Evers told reporters. "Whether it's retribution or not, it's not going to work. First of all, the work of the state has to go on whether it's retribution or not."

Evers' Cabinet secretaries are working while their confirmations by the Senate are pending. If they are rejected, they would have to quit working.

The fight goes back to the lame-duck session Republicans called for December, after Evers had defeated Walker but before he took office. Republicans approved 82 Walker appointments, in addition to passing a number of power-stripping laws.

Evers rescinded all of those appointments last month after a court invalidated actions during the lame-duck session as unconstitutional. He re-appointed all but 15 of them. Days later, an appeals court put that ruling on hold, creating more confusion about the status of the 15 people Evers did not reappoint.

Evers argues the posts are vacant while Republicans say they should be allowed to return to work.

The 3rd District Court of Appeals on Tuesday said Evers was valid in voiding the appointments, noting that the order granting a stay "does not explicitly direct the governor to allow them to continue in their positions."

However, it said if a court ultimately rules the original appointments were constitutional, Evers' withdrawal of them could be voided.

Those who were not reappointed include Public Service Commissioner Ellen Nowak and University of Wisconsin Regent Scott Beightol. The Evers' administration denied Nowak access to her building when she tried to return to work. The Regents took a different approach, allowing Beightol and student Regent Torrey Tiedeman to attend the board's meeting last week.

Fitzgerald said Tuesday that some senators were ready to reject some of Evers Cabinet appointments in reaction to his decision to rescind the appointments.

"All I can tell you is people are upset," Fitzgerald said.

Republicans were particularly angry with Nowak being denied entrance to the PSC building, he said. She is former secretary of the Department of Administration and well-known to Republican lawmakers, many of whom are personal friends with her, Fitzgerald said.

He said that Nowak was given the "bum's rush."

Fitzgerald spoke to reporters in his office after Democratic Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling accused Republicans of not taking action on Evers' Cabinet picks as payback over the lawsuits related to the lame-duck session.

Fitzgerald quickly adjourned the Senate session after Shilling spoke, denying other senators the customary time to speak about whatever topic they wish.

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Follow Scott Bauer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sbauerAP
ST. LOUIS (AP) - A Mexican citizen accused of killing four people in Kansas and one in Missouri in 2016 hanged himself from a light fixture in his St. Louis jail cell.

Pablo Serrano-Vitorino was found alone in his cell at 2:02 a.m. Tuesday He was pronounced dead at a hospital about an hour later, said Koran Addo, spokesman for St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson.

Addo declined further comment but St. Louis Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Serrano-Vitorino hanged himself and left a note written in Spanish. Edwards was out of town and didn't know if Serrano-Vitorino was on suicide watch or when jailers had last checked on him.

Serrano-Vitorino, 43, who was in the U.S. illegally, was accused of fatally shooting four men at a home in Kansas City, Kansas, on the night of March 7, 2016. He was arrested a day later and 170 miles away in Montgomery County, Missouri, where he was accused of killing Randy Nordman of New Florence. He was charged with first-degree murder in all five deaths.

He was being held in St. Louis awaiting an October trial in Nordman's death on a change of venue. Missouri prosecutors were seeking the death penalty.

He had tried to take his own life before, with a safety razor, shortly after his arrest while jailed in Montgomery County. After a hospitalization he was returned to the jail.

FILE - This file booking photo provided by the Montgomery County Jail shows Pablo Serrano-Vitorino. Serrano-Vitorino, a Mexican national accused of killing four people in Kansas and one in Missouri in 2016 is dead after being found unresponsive in his St. Louis jail cell. Serrano-Vitorino's death was reported Tuesday, April 9, 2019 by the Montgomery County, Missouri, Sheriff's Department. The sheriff's department says Serrano-Vitorino was found unresponsive and alone in his cell at 2:02 a.m. He was pronounced dead at a hospital about an hour later. (Montgomery County Jail via AP, File)

Authorities say the shooting spree began when Serrano-Vitorino gunned down his Kansas City, Kansas, neighbor, 41-year-old Michael Capps, and three other men at Capps' home - brothers Austin Harter, 29, and Clint Harter, 27, and 36-year-old Jeremy Waters. Before dying, one of the victims managed to call police.

Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive.

Serrano-Vitorino then allegedly fled in his pickup truck into Missouri. Authorities say he killed Nordman, 49, at Nordman's rural home near Interstate 70 about 70 miles (113 kilometers) east of St. Louis. He was captured hiding face-down in a ditch a few miles from Nordman's home, and had a rifle with him, the Missouri State Highway patrol said at the time.

A lawsuit filed in Kansas City, Kansas , by the father of one of the victims accused U.S. immigration officials of missing two chances to detain and deport Serrano-Vitorino.

Serrano-Vitorino was deported to Mexico after he was convicted of a felony in 2003 but illegally re-entered the U.S. He was arrested in 2014 and 2015.

After his 2014 arrest in Kansas for battery, Wyandotte County jail officials notified ICE he was in custody. But Serrano-Vitorino was released after the federal agency didn't send an agent to the jail, according to the lawsuit.

Serrano-Vitorino was fingerprinted in Overland Park, Kansas, Municipal Court in September 2015 after he was cited for traffic infractions. ICE officials asked that he be held in custody but sent the paperwork to a different jail in Johnson County, Kansas, the lawsuit contends. He was once again released from custody.
JUBA, South Sudan (AP) - South Sudan opposition leader Riek Machar is still waiting for permission to travel to a peace retreat at the Vatican on Wednesday, according to a Tuesday letter seen by The Associated Press.

The letter written by Machar to the East African regional bloc, which must give him permission to leave house arrest in neighboring Sudan, said his status had "not yet been determined" and he requested approval to go.

The retreat, also to be attended by South Sudan's president, is meant to foster peace after a five-year civil war. It comes a month after President Salva Kiir met with Pope Francis at the Vatican.

Brazille Musumba, spokesman for the regional bloc, would not comment directly on Machar's letter. "I can only state that we support every effort to bring lasting peace to South Sudan," Musumba told AP.

Machar has been waiting to return to South Sudan next month to become a vice president under a power-sharing agreement.
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) - Ecuador reminded WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange once again Tuesday that he can't stay in the nation's London embassy indefinitely.

Foreign Minister Jose Valencia said a permanent stay in the embassy's cramped quarters isn't a viable option for anyone.

"It wouldn't be good for his state of mind, his health," Valencia told broadcaster Teleamazonas.

The remarks come as relations between Ecuador and Assange grow increasingly tense. The Australian has been cooped up in Ecuador's British embassy for more than six years, frequently butting heads with officials over everything from his brash statements on foreign affairs to the hygiene of his cat.

Assange took refuge in the embassy in 2012 to escape extradition to Sweden, where he was wanted for questioning on sexual misconduct allegations.

Though a rape accusation was later dropped, there is still an active warrant for his arrest in Britain for failing to comply with his bail terms. Assange also fears the possibility of extradition to the U.S. for publishing thousands of classified military and diplomatic cables through WikiLeaks.

FILE - In this Friday May 19, 2017 file photo, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gestures as he speaks on the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy, in London. A senior Ecuadorian official said no decision has been made to expel Julian Assange from the country's London embassy despite tweets from Wikileaks that sources had told it he could be kicked out within "hours to days." A small group of protesters and supporters gathered Thursday April 4, 2019 outside the embassy in London where Assange has resided for 12 years. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)

WikiLeaks claimed on Twitter last week that high-level sources had said Assange would be kicked out of the embassy within "hours to days."

Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno has accused WikiLeaks of spreading allegations of offshore corruption and leaking family photos on social media. He accused WikiLeaks of intercepting phone calls as well as "photos of my bedroom, what I eat, and how my wife and daughters and friends dance."

WikiLeaks issued a statement calling Moreno's accusations "completely bogus."

Valencia said Tuesday that if Assange were to appear before the British justice system he would be guaranteed a fair trial and right to a defense.

Ecuador has nonetheless maintained Assange's asylum status, and a senior official recently told The Associated Press that no decision had been taken to expel him from the embassy.
Airbnb is rescinding its plan to bar listings in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

The home-sharing company announced in November that it would remove about 200 listings in the West Bank, which is territory claimed by Palestinians. Airbnb said Tuesday it will now allow properties in Israeli settlements to be listed, but will donate all of its profits from properties in the West Bank to humanitarian aid organizations.

The company said it will also apply the same approach in other disputed territories in the world, including South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

"We have always sought to bring people together and will continue to work with our community to achieve this goal," Airbnb said.

Supporters of Airbnb's initial plan expressed disappointment.

"Donating profits from unlawful settlement listings, as they've promised to do, does nothing to remedy the human suffering they have acknowledged that their activities cause," said the advocacy group Human Rights Watch in a statement. "By continuing to do business in settlements, they remain complicit in the abuses settlements trigger."

FILE - In this Jan. 17, 2016, file photo, a cat jumps at a guest house advertised on Airbnb international home-sharing site in Nofei Prat settlement at the West Bank. Airbnb is rescinding its plan to bar listings in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The home-sharing company announced in November that it would remove approximately 200 listings in Israeli settlements, which are in territory disputed by Israelis and Palestinians. But on Tuesday, April 9, 2019, Airbnb said it has decided to allow listings throughout the West Bank but will donate any of its profits from the region to humanitarian aid organizations. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov, File)

But others celebrated the news.

"I believe other companies considering boycotts are going to take real note of the mistake Airbnb made and refuse to act against Israel and the Jewish community," said Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, the director of the Shurat HaDin Israel Law Center, a Tel Aviv-based Israeli advocacy group.

San Francisco-based Airbnb was sued in U.S. federal court by 12 dual U.S.-Israeli citizens who own homes in the settlements. Airbnb's reversal settles that case.

"As a provider of a service to the public, Airbnb is not permitted to refuse to provide services to selected religious groups to engineer who it thinks should be allowed to live where," said Robert Tolchin, an attorney for the plaintiffs. "We are gratified that the legal process has worked."

The plan didn't affect about 20,000 other listings throughout Israel, including listings in other disputed areas like east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.

Airbnb announced its reversal late Tuesday Israeli time, in the midst of the country's national elections. During the campaign, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to annex West Bank settlements if re-elected, a step that would likely end the remaining hopes of a two-state solution with the Palestinians.

Darshan-Leitner said she thinks Airbnb "intentionally sought out the busiest news day of the Israeli calendar in order to bury the story of their embarrassing walk back."

Airbnb didn't comment beyond its blog post announcing the change.

Even after its announcement in November, Airbnb had slow-walked the decision. Listings in Israeli settlements continued to be available on its site, and visitors could book them well into the future. In a January blog post, the company said it was working with experts to identify precise boundaries "and ensure that our technological solutions attend to the relevant details."

Political and legal pressure kept mounting. Amnesty International was among those pressuring the company to go even further and ban listings in east Jerusalem. At the same time, Texas, Florida and Illinois said they would prohibit any state business with Airbnb because of its stance on the listings in the West Bank settlements.

Airbnb's rivals, Booking.com, Expedia and TripAdvisor, continued to offer properties in the settlements. TripAdvisor said it makes clear when properties are within Israeli settlements, and it uses the term "Palestinian Territories" to refer to the West Bank and other areas.

Israel captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war. Today over 400,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, in addition to some 200,000 Israelis in east Jerusalem. The Palestinians claim both areas as parts of a future state.
HONOLULU (AP) - Hawaii lawmakers eager to gather tax revenue from the state's flourishing, yet mostly unpermitted, vacation rental sector on Tuesday passed legislation that would require websites like Airbnb to collect and pay taxes on behalf of short-term rental hosts.

The state House and Senate both approved separate bills on Tuesday. Senators and representatives are expected to meet later this month to discuss differences.

Attempts to enact similar measures have failed in Hawaii in past years, but lawmakers said they believe they have a better chance of succeeding this time.

Many Hawaii vacation rentals are operated illegally, making tax collection more challenging. The transient accommodations and general excise taxes the short-term rental operators must pay are levied by the state.

The necessary permits for short-term rentals are issued by counties, which have varying regulations that are often poorly enforced. Honolulu, the most populous county, has not issued new permits since 1989. It's estimated to have 800 legal vacation rental and bed-and-breakfast units and about 10 times as many illegal ones.

Vacation rentals are increasingly popular with travelers. But critics say they disrupt residential neighborhoods and exacerbate Hawaii's acute housing shortage.

FILE - This Oct. 29, 2013 file photo shows tourists on Lanikai Beach in Kailua, Hawaii, a town with a large number of vacation rentals. Hawaii lawmakers eager to gather tax revenue from the state's flourishing, yet mostly unpermitted, vacation rental sector passed legislation that would require websites like Airbnb to collect and pay taxes on behalf of short-term rental hosts. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy)

States across the country vary as to whether short-term rental owners pay taxes or whether websites collect the taxes on behalf of hosts.

Rep. Richard Onishi, chairman of the House tourism committee, said Hawaii's four main counties are making progress in crafting laws and rules to better regulate vacation rentals. The state's role, he said, is to make sure government is getting its tax revenue.

"We're trying to capture the taxes from people that are doing the business in Hawaii. Which is the state's responsibility," said Onishi, a Democrat representing Hilo and Volcano.

Major vacation rental platforms object to both bills, saying they require turning over the personal information of site users in violation of federal law.

Expedia Group, which owns HomeAway.com and VRBO.com, said in a statement that the legislation also threatens Hawaii's tourism economy.

Airbnb said in written testimony that the purpose of any tax bill should be to help ensure the assessment, collection and payment of taxes and "not to use confidential tax information to facilitate the Department of Taxation's enforcement of county land use laws."

Hotel owners have been clamoring for a vacation rental tax collection mechanism for years, said Mufi Hannemann, the president of the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association. "We want a level playing field. If we're paying taxes, if we're paying fees, we want them to do the same," said Hannemann, whose group's members operate 50,000 hotel rooms across the state.

Lawmakers passed legislation several years ago authorizing vacation rental platforms to collect taxes on behalf of hosts. But Gov. David Ige vetoed the bill, saying he was concerned it would encourage the growth of illegal rentals lacking county permits.

Ige spokeswoman Jodi Leong said the governor is withholding comment on the bills until they undergo a formal legal and departmental review.

But state Sen. Glenn Wakai said he has been consulting Ige's chief of staff along the way, and he's receptive to what the Senate has been doing. Onishi said he has been working with the state Department of Taxation and Attorney General's office to make sure the House's legislation doesn't violate federal law and will work for tax officials.

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This story has been corrected to reflect that earlier year's bill would have authorized platforms to collect taxes on behalf of hosts, not required.
DALLAS (AP) - Retired Lt. Col. Richard "Dick" Cole, the last of the 80 Doolittle Tokyo Raiders who carried out the daring U.S. attack on Japan during World War II, died Tuesday at a military hospital in Texas. He was 103.

Robert Whetstone, a spokesman for Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, confirmed Cole's death. Cole's daughter, Cindy Chal, said he was having some heart issues but had walked into the emergency room.

Cole, who lived in Comfort, Texas, had stayed active even in recent years, attending air shows and participating in commemorative events including April 18, 2017, ceremonies for the raid's 75th anniversary at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force near Dayton, Ohio.

Chal said her father "enjoyed every minute" of his long, distinguished life.

Cole was mission commander Jimmy Doolittle's co-pilot in the attack less than five months after the December 1941 Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Doolittle died in 1993. The Gen. James "Jimmy" H. Doolittle Archives are at the University of Texas at Dallas. Cole's papers are also part of the school's History of Aviation Collection.

FILE - In this April 16, 2013 file photo, Doolittle Raider Lt. Col. Dick Cole, stands in front of a B-25 at the Destin Airport in Destin, Fla. before a flight as part of the Doolittle Raider 71st Anniversary Reunion. Retired Lt. Col. Richard "Dick" Cole, the last of the 80 Doolittle Tokyo Raiders who carried out the daring U.S. attack on Japan during World War II, has died at a military hospital in Texas. He was 103. A spokesman says Cole died Tuesday, April 9, 2019, at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. (Nick Tomecek/Northwest Florida Daily News via AP, File)

Cole was a Dayton-area native who recounted riding his bicycle as a child to watch planes at McCook Field, a military testing air base there. He dreamed of being a pilot and after attending Ohio University, enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1940. Stationed in South Carolina, he signed up as a volunteer for a secret mission he knew would be dangerous, but not much else about. They trained at Eglin Air Force to fly B-25 bombers on short takeoffs, in preparation for flying off an aircraft carrier.

The Raiders launched their assault April 18, 1942, in B-25 bombers from the USS Hornet. Suspecting they had been detected by Japanese patrols, they left farther away from Japan than planned.

The crews of the 16 planes were "very quiet" as they neared Japan, Cole recalled, saying his role next to Doolittle was to "be seen, not heard. ... You didn't speak until spoken to." But the country song "Wabash Cannonball" started running through his head and he unconsciously began tapping his toe, which caught Doolittle's attention. He shot Cole a look, he recalled with a laugh.

Doolittle soon ordered bomb bay doors opened, and the attack was on against what turned out to be limited anti-aircraft fire in the surprise attack.

They then headed to China, running out of fuel. Cole said Doolittle gave the command to prepare to bail out as they neared the coast, adding: "I wish you all good luck."

Cole said it was scary to parachute into a dark "unknown" in rough weather. His parachute caught in a tree, leaving him dangling but safe. Chinese partisans helped lead him and other Raiders to safety.

Three Raiders died trying to reach China, and eight were captured by Japanese soldiers. Three were executed, and a fourth died in captivity.

Cole recalled that Doolittle was distraught at first, upset that he had lost all of his planes and some of his men. Doolittle would later receive the Medal of Honor.

The raid inflicted scattered damage while providing a psychological lift back home. The stunned Japanese military diverted resources after a string of Pacific successes.

"Seven decades later, we are still awed by the sheer audacity of the Doolittle raid and the incredible men whose grit and bravery made it possible," Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi of California said when the Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to the Raiders in a 2015 ceremony. "Though time has thinned their ranks, it will never dim the daring of their deeds."

Cole continued to fly missions in the China-Burma-India theater until 1944, and had peacetime service assignments in several states.

In an AP interview in April, 2017, Cole described as "a somber affair" the toast he planned to carry out to end a long Raider tradition. Using goblets engraved with their names, they each year lifted them and sipped cognac in tribute to those who had gone before. Retired Staff Sgt. David Thatcher died in 2016 at age 94 in Missoula, Montana.

Doolittle organized reunions that became annual affairs, and Cole was a regular. He also took part in other special events, including leading a special public "final toast" ceremony at the museum in 2013, when four Raiders were still alive. He said then: "May they rest in peace."

He said in April 2017 he hadn't expected to be the last survivor, since he was older than most on the mission

Cole attributed his longevity to being an optimist and living a life of "moderation." He said he believed he spoke for all Raiders when he said they didn't want any more recognition than all the others who put their lives on the line in the war effort.

"We don't want to be remembered any more than the rest of the people who took part in beating the Japanese," Cole said. "They started it, and we finished it."

Chal said a memorial service is planned for April 18 at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio. She said her father will be buried later at Arlington National Cemetery.

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Sewell reported from Cincinnati.

FILE - In this April 18, 2015, file photo, two members of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders, retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Richard "Dick" Cole, seated front, and retired Staff Sgt. David Thatcher, seated left, pose for photos after the presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal honoring the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. Retired Lt. Col. Richard "Dick" Cole, the last of the 80 Doolittle Tokyo Raiders who carried out the daring U.S. attack on Japan during World War II, has died at a military hospital in Texas. He was 103. A spokesman says Cole died Tuesday, April 9, 2019, at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. (AP Photo/Gary Landers, File)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - California congressman Devin Nunes is suing a media company for $150 million, saying it engaged in "character assassination" with a 2018 story that linked him to a yacht where prostitution allegedly took place.

A lawyer for the central California Republican filed the lawsuit against The McClatchy Co. and others in a Virginia court on Monday.

Nunes said in his complaint that McClatchy conspired to spread false and damaging information, and cited a 2018 report by The Fresno Bee newspaper in Fresno, California.

The report detailed a 2016 lawsuit filed by an employee of a winery in which Nunes has a partnership stake. The charitable arm of the winery auctioned off an outing that the employee alleged involved cocaine use and prostitution.

The news report did not claim that Nunes was on the yacht or that he was involved in the event.

The lawsuit said Nunes was not on the yacht.

FILE - In this March 24, 2017, file photo, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington. Nunes is suing The McClatchy media chain for $150 million, saying a 2018 report about alleged cocaine use on a yacht related to a company he co-owns was character assassination. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Nunes has been in a running feud with The Fresno Bee. Before last year's general election, he sent out a thick mailer calling the newspaper a "propaganda machine."

"In article after article, McClatchy and its reporters exhibited an institutional hatred for Nunes, spite, ill-will and the intent to hurt Nunes and impugn his character," the complaint states.

McClatchy spokeswoman Jeanne Segal said Nunes' lawsuit is "wholly without merit" and that it stands by the reporting of The Fresno Bee. The company has its headquarters in Sacramento, California.

"The lawsuit represents a baseless attack on local journalism and a free press," she said in a statement issued Tuesday. "At a time when local journalism is facing more pressing and urgent challenges, the lawsuit is an unproductive distraction and a misuse of the judicial system."

Steven Biss, a Charlottesville, Virginia, attorney who filed the 43-page complaint, did not respond to phone and email requests for comment. Nunes' congressional office did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent by email and phone.

The congressman faces steep odds of prevailing with the lawsuit, said Boston-based attorney Jeff Robbins, who was appointed by Democratic President Bill Clinton as a delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Commission.

Nunes has to prove that the Bee made a false statement about him "knowing it was false or in reckless disregard of whether it was true or false," Robbins said in an interview.

"That is a very difficult standard to meet under any circumstances, and so Nunes begins in a hole," he said.

Last month, Nunes sued Twitter and some of its users for more than $250 million, accusing them of defamation. The defendants include two anonymous parody accounts, "Devin Nunes' Mom" and "Devin Nunes' Cow."
CHICAGO (AP) - Lawyers for a former University of Illinois student accused of killing Chinese scholar Yingying Zhang say university counselors didn't offer him adequate care when he sought help for suicidal and homicidal thoughts three months before the 26-year-old Zhang went missing.

Brendt Christensen, now 29, walked into a campus counseling center on March 21, 2017, saying he had recurring thoughts of committing murder, "ruminating about how one might go about killing a person and 'get away with it,'" according to a defense filing unsealed this week. The physics student said he even bought items as part of plans to kill someone and dispose of a body but later returned them.

Defense attorneys want a Peoria-based federal judge to allow clinical psychologist Susan Zoline to tell jurors that "the treatment of Mr. Christensen ... did not comply with the applicable standards of care," the filing says. Prosecutors want the judge to bar Zoline from testifying, saying those claims would be inaccurate and irrelevant, as well as confusing to jurors. The trial is set to begin June 3.

The Champaign-based school said in a statement Tuesday that it can't comment on treatment for individual students. However, it said staff members at the University of Illinois Counseling Center "are trained to provide care ... consistent with the best practices in mental health care nationally."

Prosecutors argue in their filing that there's no indication counselors were remiss in treating Christensen, noting he "described his urge to commit homicide as a fantasy, and repeatedly downplayed that fantasy." He never threatened Zhang or anyone else by name, they said.

The defense and government filings were submitted earlier but only unsealed Monday.

This undated file photo provided by the University of Illinois Police Department shows Yingying Zhang. Lawyers for Brendt Christensen, an ex-University of Illinois student accused of killing Zhang say school counselors didn't offer him adequate care when he sought help for homicidal thoughts months before Zhang went missing. In a filing unsealed this week, Christensen's attorneys said he told campus counselors he'd been "ruminating" about committing murder but that his treatment by counselors had been substandard. Prosecutors say that claim would be inaccurate and irrelevant. A Tuesday, April 9, 2019, statement from the Champaign-based school says counseling center staff are trained to provide care "consistent with the best practices in mental health care nationally." (Courtesy of the University of Illinois Police Department via AP File)

Prosecutors, who are seeking the death penalty, say Christensen lured Zhang into his car in June 2017 as she headed to sign an apartment lease off campus, torturing and killing her. He was arrested three weeks later, though Zhang's body has never been found.

Defense attorneys say they aren't casting blame on the university for Zhang's death. But as they endeavor to persuade jurors not to put to Christensen to death, they want to demonstrate how he had sought help but didn't get the help he needed.

Christensen, the filing says, also told counselors that prescription drugs and alcohol were "ruining my life." He spoke about becoming deeply depressed after his wife said she was leaving him for another man, and after dropping out of a Ph.D. program and settling for a master's degree.

"That he voluntarily sought out treatment ... is highly relevant to a host of issues in a capital trial, including his character, the circumstances preceding the offense, his rehabilitative potential and future dangerousness," the defense filing says.

It says Christensen went to the same school center again nine days later, telling another counselor he was open to someone evaluating the risk he posed to himself and others.

The filing, among other things, cited the center's purported "failure to develop an adequate treatment and safety plan," ''failure to make appropriate referrals for further treatment" and failure to adequately coordinate with psychiatrists who had treated him elsewhere.

Prosecutors point to Illinois law in their filing, saying there's no obligation on counselors "to respond to statements made in therapy unless the patient makes a specific threat against a specific and identified victim."

The government filing says other courts in death penalty cases "routinely refuse to allow a capital defendant to assert mitigating evidence which serves only to lay blame for the offense at another party's feet."

Issues about Christensen mental state have arisen before.

In announcing last year that they were seeking the death penalty, prosecutors said Christensen once expressed his aspiration "to be known as a killer." And 2017 charging documents say his phone had been used to view a forum called "Abduction 101" on a fetish site.

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Follow Michael Tarm on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mtarm
MEXICO CITY (AP) - The U.S. government has returned two clay figurines from the Teotihuacan culture to Mexico.

The seated figurines delivered Tuesday were probably made between A.D. 200 and 700. The mysterious culture arose at the Teotihuacan ceremonial site just north of Mexico City.

The artifacts were among thousands ranging from arrowheads to shrunken heads that U.S. federal agents removed in 2014 from a man's Indiana farm. The man, Don Miller, amassed the 42,000-artifact collection over several decades. He died in 2015 at age 91.

About 7,000 pieces in the collection were determined to have been illegally taken from countries including China, Canada, Iraq, Peru and Mexico. The FBI says artifacts have been returned to several countries.

Mexico's foreign relations department says about 800 Mexican artifacts were seized in the U.S. last year.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday that his department intends to "follow the law" and is reviewing a request by a top House Democrat to provide President Donald Trump's tax returns to lawmakers.

But in Capitol Hill appearances on Tuesday, Mnuchin dodged answering whether he would comply with the request to supply Trump's tax returns by Wednesday, and he also said he has not promised to authorize the IRS to supply the returns.

"I have said we will comply with the law," Mnuchin told the House Financial Services Committee. "I have not made a comment one way or the other on whether we will provide the tax returns."

The head of the IRS, meanwhile, agreed with Democrats that it's primarily his decision to make - though he reports to Mnuchin. IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig told lawmakers that "we're working on" a response to a request from Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal.

"The decision is mine with the supervision of Treasury," Rettig said, adding he and Mnuchin have discussed who would handle the response but haven't reached a conclusion.

Mnuchin also revealed that Treasury Department lawyers have talked to the White House counsel's office about the question of releasing Trump's returns, telling lawmakers that the consultations occurred before the request arrived last week. Mnuchin said the conversations were "purely informational," and he has not been briefed on their content.

IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig testifies before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government during a hearing, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Mnuchin told a House panel that he personally has not had any communications with the president or his top staff about the department's decision on whether to provide Trump's tax returns under a nearly century-old law that says the Treasury Department "shall furnish" them when requested by top lawmakers.

"I have had no direct conversations with the president or anybody else" at the White House, Mnuchin told the Financial Service panel Tuesday afternoon. He said that members of Treasury's legal team had had consultations on the matter before the tax return request was made but that the Treasury officials had not sought any type of permission to release the returns.

"We would never ask for the White House's permission on this," Mnuchin said.

"It is our intent to follow the law and that is in the process of being reviewed," Mnuchin told a House Appropriations subcommittee with responsibility for his budget.

Neal, D-Mass., requested the returns last week in a letter to Mnuchin and set a deadline of Wednesday to provide them. Mnuchin says he "looks forward to responding," but it appears clear that Treasury won't meet the deadline and actually produce the returns.

Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said on Sunday that lawmakers will "never" see Trump's returns. But the White House is supposed to stay out of the decision, and Rettig said he's had no contact with anyone there.

Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., citing a long list of Trump administration officials who have departed, pressed Mnuchin on whether he was worried about being fired if he complied with the request.

"I am not afraid of being fired at all," Mnuchin said. "I want to be clear that we will follow the law."

Neal requested six years of Trump's personal and business returns , relying on a 1924 statute that says the Treasury Department "shall furnish" them when requested. The IRS is part of Treasury.

Trump has broken with tradition by not voluntarily releasing his tax returns. He routinely says - as he did Friday - that he's under audit and therefore won't release his returns. But Rettig reiterated that there's no rule prohibiting taxpayers under audit from releasing their returns.

GOP members of the panels rose to Trump's defense.

"We have no evidence of anything nefarious. We have no evidence that there's any wrongdoing," said Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, who said the request tramples on Trump's right to privacy. "The only this works is if the American people trust the IRS and trust this information will be held private. And if it's not, if that's violated then people will quit complying."

Democrats want access to the returns as part of investigations into Trump's business dealings and his campaign. Trump's private attorneys have asked Treasury to deny the request as well.

During the 2016 campaign, Rettig defended Trump's decision to break with tradition by refusing to release his tax filings. Under questioning at his confirmation hearing last August, Rettig pledged to uphold the political independence of the IRS.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin testifies before a House Appropriations subcommittee, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Mnuchin said Tuesday that his department intends to "follow the law" and is reviewing a request by a top House Democrat to provide President Donald Trump's tax returns to lawmakers. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig testifies before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government during a hearing, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, third from left, walks into a hearing room to testify before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin testifies before a House Appropriations subcommittee during a hearing on President Trump's budget request for Fiscal Year 2020, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Mnuchin said Tuesday that his department intends to "follow the law" and is reviewing a request by a top House Democrat to provide Trump's tax returns to lawmakers. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) - To deal with a surge of migrating Central American families, the Trump administration has reassigned so many inspectors from U.S.-Mexico border crossings that truckers are waiting in line for hours and sometimes days to get shipments to the United States.

Truckers have been sleeping in their vehicles to hold spots in line in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas. The city brought in portable toilets, and an engine oil company hired models in skin-tight clothing to hand out burritos and bottled water to idled drivers.

"My family doesn't recognize me at home anymore," Jaime Monroy, a trucker who lives in Ciudad Juarez, said after sleeping overnight in his truck hauling a load of wooden furniture. "I leave at 3 in the morning and come back at 10 at night."

The waits are a reminder that even though President Donald Trump walked back his threat to close the border, the administration has created significant impediments for truckers and travelers with its redeployment of customs agents.

Business leaders are starting to lose patience as they struggle to get products to American grocery stores, manufacturers and construction sites.

"This is a systemwide issue," said Paola Avila, chairwoman of the Border Trade Alliance, a group that advocates for cross-border commerce. "Everyone's feeling this."

A row of trucks wait to cross the border with the United States in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. The Trump administration has reassigned so many inspectors from U.S.-Mexico border crossings that it has caused huge traffic backups for truckers who are waiting in line for hours and in some case days to get shipments to the U.S. (AP Photo/Christian Torres)

The traffic congestion comes as a growing number of families from Central America have been arriving at the border in recent months, overwhelming the federal government.

The Border Patrol said Tuesday that it set a new monthly record for apprehensions of families in March. More than 53,000 family members were stopped at the border in March, an average of more than 1,700 per day. That breaks a record set in February, when 36,000 parents and children were apprehended.

Trump responded by shaking up the top ranks of the Department of Homeland Security, culminating with the resignation of Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

The migrant families have forced many line agents into humanitarian roles and have strained detention facilities built when the Border Patrol primarily apprehended single adult men.

The administration has in turn reassigned 541 border inspectors to other jobs, including processing migrants, providing transportation and performing hospital watch for migrants who require medical attention. It is unknown when they will return to their regular job of screening people and cargo for smuggling.

Border Patrol agents, who guard areas between ports, are also doing jobs they were not trained to do, such as medical screenings for children and families in the migrant holding camps.

In El Paso, authorities have closed one bridge to truckers, directing them to two other nearby crossings. At San Diego's only truck crossing, two of 10 lanes are closed.

In Nogales, Arizona, the government on Sundays is closing a commercial facility that is crucial to cross-border trade. Up to 12,000 commercial trucks cross the border in Nogales every day, often bringing watermelons, eggplants, berries and grapes.

Wait times have doubled at the Santa Teresa, New Mexico, port of entry.

"What we're seeing is a lot of companies making their drivers sleep in their trucks to keep their place in line for the next day," said Jerry Pacheco, president of the Border Industrial Association and executive director of the International Business Accelerator.

In recent years, the rural outpost has become a boomtown of warehouses and industrial parks that funnel raw materials and products back and forth across the border.

"Here we are growing companies and growing jobs and everything is great. We added another industrial park with job prospects in tow and then all this happens," Pacheco said of the latest expansion.

The agency's commissioner, Kevin McAleenan, who was named acting Homeland Security secretary on Sunday, warned of traffic delays when he announced last month in El Paso that inspectors from across the border would be reassigned. Authorities raised the possibility that as many as 2,000 inspectors could be pulled from ports of entry.

A Customs and Border Protection mobile app suggested the bottlenecks may have eased by Tuesday. The wait time for truckers was estimated at three hours in San Diego, 2 hours in El Paso and two hours in Laredo. Still, truckers said wait times have lengthened considerably since authorities announced the reassignments.

"This all started about two weeks ago with Trump," said driver Arturo Menendez, 44, who first entered the line at 4 a.m. Friday with his tractor-trailer full of cardboard used in boxes for U.S.-made products like Toro lawn mowers.

At 6 p.m. he was told to leave ahead of the unprecedented closure of all lanes at the Bridge of the Americas on Saturday.

He tried again Monday, waiting in a line behind of hundreds of trucks passing through three security checks back at the Bridge of the Americas.

Avila, who is also the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce's vice president for international affairs, said the delays could encourage more companies to move to Asia, hurting jobs in the U.S. and Mexico.

"Now we're discouraging overseas production," she said. "We're cutting out the American manufacturer or the Mexican manufacturer that employs U.S. workers."

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Associated Press writers Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Astrid Galvan in Phoenix and Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.

This April 2, 2019, photo shows the port of entry from Mexicali, Mexico to Calexico, Calif. The Trump administration has reassigned so many inspectors from U.S.-Mexico border crossings that it has caused huge traffic backups for truckers who are waiting in line for hours and in some case days to get shipments to the U.S. (Mark Holtzman/West Coast Aerial Photography Inc. via AP)

A truck driver uses his cell phone while he waits to cross the border with the U.S. in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. The Trump administration has reassigned so many inspectors from U.S.-Mexico border crossings that it has caused huge traffic backups for truckers who are waiting in line for hours and in some case days to get shipments to the U.S. (AP Photo/Christian Torres)

Security guards check waiting trucks to cross the border with the U.S. in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Christian Torres)

Trucks wait to cross the border into the U.S. in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Truckers have been sleeping in their vehicles to hold spots in line in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso. (AP Photo/Christian Torres)

A driver is reflected in the mirror of his truck as he waits to cross the border with the United States in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Reassignments of border inspectors at land crossings with Mexico have exacerbated wait times for truckers. (AP Photo/Christian Torres)

This April 2, 2019, photo shows the port of entry from Mexicali, Mexico to Calexico, Calif. The Trump administration has reassigned so many inspectors from U.S.-Mexico border crossings that it has caused huge traffic backups for truckers who are waiting in line for hours and in some case days to get shipments to the U.S. (Mark Holtzman/West Coast Aerial Photography Inc. via AP)

A row of trucks wait to cross the border with the United States in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Reassignments of border inspectors at land crossings with Mexico have exacerbated wait times for truckers. (AP Photo/Christian Torres)

In this April 5, 2019 photo, municipal workers manage portable toilets near a line to enter the U.S. at a border crossing in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The city has brought in the toilets, and an engine oil company hired models to hand out burritos and bottled water to idled drivers. (AP Photo/Cedar Attanasio)

This April 2, 2019, photo shows the port of entry from Mexicali, Mexico to Calexico, Calif. The Trump administration has reassigned so many inspectors from U.S.-Mexico border crossings that it has caused huge traffic backups for truckers who are waiting in line for hours and in some case days to get shipments to the U.S. (Mark Holtzman/West Coast Aerial Photography Inc. via AP)

In this April 5, 2019, photo, tractor trailers are inspected by private security contractors in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, ahead of a border crossing to El Paso, Texas. Reassignments of border inspectors at land crossings with Mexico have exacerbated wait times for truckers. (AP Photo/Cedar Attanasio)
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The Latest on Wisconsin lame-duck legal fight (all times local):

4:10 p.m.

A Wisconsin appeals court has ruled Democratic Gov. Tony Evers had the authority to withdraw appointments that had been approved during a lame-duck legislative session.

The state's 3rd District Court of Appeals on Tuesday said his action was not invalidated by a later court ruling that put on hold a decision that allowed him to rescind the appointments.

Evers voided 82 appointments made during the lame-duck session and later reinstated 67 of them. Fifteen positions, including a spot on the Public Service Commission and University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, were not reinstated.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says the decision will be immediately appealed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers discusses the painting "Wishes in the Wind" that former Gov. Scott Walker had removed but that Evers had re-installed in the governor's mansion, Friday, April 5, 2019, in Maple Bluff, Wis. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)

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12:18 p.m.

Republicans are not acting on confirming Gov. Tony Evers Cabinet picks while a legal fight continues over whether he has the right to rescind appointments made during a lame-duck legislative session.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald on Tuesday said there was "some truth" to claims by Democratic Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling that the GOP was "slow walking" the Evers appointments.

Fitzgerald tells reporters that Republican lawmakers are upset with Evers for revoking the appointments made during the lame-duck session in December. Those who lost their jobs include a member of the Public Service Commission and two members of the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents.

Fitzgerald says Public Service Commissioner Ellen Nowak was given the "bum's rush" when she wasn't allowed to return to work.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Lawyers have failed to reach a settlement in a federal lawsuit claiming a soybean seed company purposely sold faulty seeds to black farmers in Mississippi.

A court filing by attorneys for Stine Seed Co. says mediation talks did not lead to an agreement to settle the suit. U.S. District Judge John Fowlkes had set a Friday mediation deadline.

The suit alleges Stine conspired with a seed salesman to sell defective seeds to the soybean farmers because they are black. The suit claims the good seeds the farmers thought they had bought from Stine were replaced by inferior seeds before delivery.

Adel, Iowa-based Stine says discrimination and fraud allegations are baseless and irresponsible. Fowlkes has not ruled on a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

A court date has not been set.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas lawmakers revived a proposal Tuesday to cut off funding to "sanctuary cities" that don't cooperate with federal immigration authorities despite concerns from the state's Republican governor that the current measure could open the door to racial profiling.

The House City, County and Local Affairs Committee approved by a 14-5 vote the Senate-backed measure, which also prohibits cities from preventing local law enforcement from asking about a person's citizenship or immigration status. The bill, which failed before the same panel a day earlier and appeared dead for this year's session, now heads to the majority-Republican House for a vote.

The Arkansas Municipal League, which opposes the measure, said it doesn't know of any sanctuary cities in Arkansas and lawmakers behind the bill have said it's an effort to prevent them in the state. Republicans in several other states have enacted similar measures targeting sanctuary cities, which have also been targeted by President Donald Trump.

"Maybe somebody in Washington, D.C., will watch and see what we're doing and say, 'if we don't fix these problems, the states are going to have to do it,'" Republican Rep. Brandt Smith told the panel before the vote.

An opponent of the bill, however, said it would do more harm than good.

"This is not a bill that will spur dialogue at the federal level. This is a bill that will create a chilling effect among populations," Democratic Rep. Fredrick Love said.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson has said he's generally supportive of the bill, but asked the lawmakers behind the measure to require probable cause before law enforcement could ask about citizenship or immigration status. Hutchinson said Monday without the change, there was "too much opportunity for racial profiling."

The bill's sponsor said he wouldn't amend the bill, saying he believed it had sufficient protections and that amending the measure would effectively kill it since the session was set to end Wednesday. Smith said lawmakers could make further changes in future sessions if needed.

Hutchinson on Tuesday declined to say what he'd do if the bill as written reaches his desk.

Advocacy groups have said the legislation could damage relationships between law enforcement and immigrant communities, and warned the bill could open the state and cities to lawsuits.

"This is a bad bill. It's not just about sanctuary," Mireya Reith, founding executive director of Arkansas United, an immigrant advocacy group, told reporters after the vote. "This is a broad bill that exposes our state and our municipalities to lawsuits, and it hurts the image of the state of Arkansas."

The bill gives the attorney general authority to investigate any complaints that a city is violating the sanctuary city ban. If a city is found to be violating the ban, it would be ineligible to receive any discretionary funds administered by the state.

The final vote on the bill comes at the end of the session where the majority-Republican Legislature has approved other measures cheered by the immigrant community. They include a bill sent to Hutchinson that would allow public colleges and universities to charge in-state tuition rates to certain students who had been paying higher out-of-state rates. It includes migrants from a program implemented during former President Barack Obama's administration that allows young immigrants living in the country illegally who were brought here as children to stay in the U.S.

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Associated Press Writer Hannah Grabenstein contributed to this report

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Follow Andrew DeMillo on Twitter at www.twitte.com/ademillo
WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. health officials Tuesday warned doctors not to abruptly stop prescribing opioid painkillers to patients who are taking them for chronic pain ailments, such as backaches.

The Food and Drug Administration said it will add advice to labels on how to taper opioid painkillers, such as OxyContin, Vicodin and dozens of generic pills.

Federal and state officials have been fighting a nationwide opioid epidemic, which includes not only legal painkillers, but also illicit drugs like heroin and fentanyl. Fatal overdoses tied to opioids have dragged down U.S. life expectancy and killed more than 400,000 people since 1999, according to government figures.

The new label will warn doctors that rapidly discontinuing opioids in patients who are dependent on them can cause withdrawal symptoms including uncontrolled pain, nausea, chills and anxiety. In the worst cases, these problems have been tied to suicide.

The federal agency said doctors and patients should agree on a plan to gradually reduce their dosage, based on their treatment history, type of pain, psychological state and other factors. The FDA stressed the importance of a customized plan, saying no standard method "exists that is suitable for all patients."

Opioid medications can be addictive and dangerous even when used under doctors' orders, though they are also an accepted tool to treat severe pain from serious injuries, surgery and cancer. Prescriptions have fallen in the U.S. by nearly a quarter since peaking at more than 255 million prescriptions in 2012. Driving the decline are new laws and prescribing limits from state and local governments, insurers and hospital systems. Those limits restrict the number of pills, refills and who can prescribe opioids.

FILE - This Aug. 29, 2018, file photo shows an arrangement of prescription oxycodone pills in New York. U.S. health officials Tuesday, April 9. 2019, warned doctors not to abruptly stop prescribing opioid painkillers to patients who are taking them for chronic pain ailments, such as backaches. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

In 2016, the FDA's sister agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said opioids should not be the first treatment for chronic pain, and recommended other pain medications or nondrug options instead.

The CDC said opioids should be reserved for the most severe forms of long-term pain. That narrow use was long accepted. But beginning in the 1990s some drugmakers, insurers and pain specialists called for wider use of the drugs for more common pain ailments like backaches and arthritis.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
SPARKS, Nev. (AP) - In a story April 9 about a Bureau of Land Management hearing on a new permit for the annual Burning Man event, The Associated Press erroneously reported that Burning Man's associate director of government affairs is Marmee Benson. Her name is Marnee Benson.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Burning Man festival backers oppose new federal restrictions

Some supporters of the Burning Man counter-culture festival are complaining about new restrictions the federal government is proposing for the event

By SCOTT SONNER

Associated Press

SPARKS, Nev. (AP) - Some supporters of the Burning Man counter-culture festival are complaining about new restrictions the federal government is proposing for the event.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management held a public meeting Monday on a draft environmental impact statement that includes proposals to step up security searches and erect new barriers around the event if it is permitted to expand its capacity to 100,000.

Several festival supporters among the nearly 200 people who jammed the meeting room said the plans would cause more harm to the environment than existing requirements, including mandating trash containers that would attract an accumulation of garbage at the site where "leave no trace" is a mantra and most festival-goers are dedicated to packing in and out their own trash.

The potential measures are included as part of its consideration of a new 10-year special use permit for the temporary community known as Black Rock City on the Black Rock Desert, 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of Reno.

Moved from San Francisco's Baker Beach in 1990, the celebration of creativity and free-expression is dubbed the largest outdoor arts festival in North America, with drum circles, decorated art cars, guerilla theatrics and colorful theme camps. Clothing is optional.

Organizers say the bureau's proposed changes would add $10 million annually to the costs of the weeklong event that culminates Labor Day weekend with the burning of a towering wooden effigy.

Another public meeting was scheduled Tuesday night in Lovelock, Nevada.

"BLM envisions you under surveillance in Black Rock City, surrounded not by scenic landscape but by impenetrable concrete barriers, where dumpsters replace goodwill, where your actions are monitored by police and security guards ... where you are greeted by a constitutional violation," said Marnee Benson, Burning Man's associate director of government affairs.

"We see Black Rock City as an imperfect but magnificent cultural epicenter, characterized by kindness and generosity, creativity, self-expression," she said. "Where people come together to celebrate the human spirt and celebrate our public lands."

Frederick Osterhagen, a "leave no trace" instructor from Carson City who's been volunteering to pick up trash on the playa for 30 years, vouched for the group's environmental credentials.

Before Burning Man arrived, he said he would gather three or four big garbage bags full of trash on a single visit. "The last time I did it, I got less than a bucket full," Osterhagen said.

Several speakers said the agency was creating solutions for problems that don't exist. Some shouted insults at Bureau Field Manager Mark Hall.

But Patrick Donnelly, Nevada state director for the Center for Biological Diversity, said his national environmental group supports many of the "sensible measures" proposed to better protect the desert ecosystem.

"In 15 years of attending public meetings on environmental review documents, I've never seen BLM be quite so accommodating to people shouting, interrupting and heckling," Donnelly said.

"We're dealing with a public lands user group that has had few controls put on their behaviors for decades and they want to see it stay that way," he said. "Burning Man is the single largest gathering on any sort of public lands in the country and needs to be treated the same way we treat a gold mine, an oilfield or an off-road vehicle race."

Hall said the agency intends to issue a final impact statement in July after deciding on options to either boost capacity to 100,000, keep it at the current 80,000, cut it to 50,000 or deny a special use permit altogether. He indicated the no-permit alternative is unlikely to prevail.
French filmmaker Claire Denis, one of the great living directors, has not lost her edge as she's coasted into her 70s. Her latest film, "High Life," which debuted last fall at the Toronto International Film Festival and is now making it to theaters, is as stimulating and challenging as anything she made in the 90s. Although here, she's taken us not to post-Colonial West Africa or modern day working class France, but to the outer reaches of space to drift around an ominous black hole with Robert Pattinson and a baby, daring us to piece together how they ended up in such a precarious situation.

The only thing that's immediately clear is that they are alone on this spaceship, which is hardly the most advanced-looking rig. Instead it seems straight out of a 1970s film, and it is slowly and surely shutting down. Designed by Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson, it sets a perfectly unnerving mood, and every day Pattinson has to convince a low-tech computer that he is healthy enough and the ship is stable enough to justify systems running for another 24 hours. It's an existential chore to say the least.

Pattinson, as a character named Monte, doesn't have much dialogue to work with. But there is a world of fear and anxiety in his eyes as he tries to tend to the needs of the creaky old ship and the adorable little infant in his care, soothing her through a speaker as he tries to fix something outside the ship. He has a few flashbacks to a moment in his youth on a grey fall day with a young girl and a dog near a desolate pond in the woods, but it will take some time for the film to reveal what happened then and why it's relevant.

Although it is oddly peaceful and compelling watching Monte and this baby, Willow (played by Scarlett Lindsey), go through their routine, which requires some inventiveness to deal with some of her bodily functions, eventually you start to itch for the why and the how and Denis doesn't disappoint with her patient reveals. First, you realize, there was other crew on board, but they've all died. Then things get even weirder - just take a peek at the rating description and you'll start to see why, however it certainly doesn't compare to the visceral horror of watching much of that transpire.

It seems a little strange that a Denis movie might contain spoilers, but it also feels wrong to describe in detail what happened before Monte and Willow were the only ones left. Suffice it say, Monte was part of a strange program with inmates, all testy and violent and withdrawn in their own way, who find themselves under the watch and experimentation of Juliette Binoche's Dr. Dibs, a witchy, serious and haunting on-board physician with some interesting sexual preferences.

This kind of movie going experience is a full-body one and totally transfixing from start to finish, but it's also maddeningly confounding leaving the audience always a few steps behind in discovering and integrating into this bleak little micro society. I'm still not entirely sure what it all adds up to, but it is provocative, difficult and bleak and leaves you with a very precise feeling of despair and aloneness - just like the best of the space independents do.

This image released by A24 Films shows Robert Pattinson in a scene from "High Life." (Martin Valentin Menke/A24 Films via AP)

"High Life," an A24 release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for "disturbing sexual and violent content including sexual assault, graphic nudity, and for language." Running time: 110 minutes. Three stars out of four.

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MPAA Definition of R: Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

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Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr

This image released by A24 Films shows Juliette Binoche, left, and Robert Pattinson in a scene from "High Life." (A24 Films via AP)

This image released by A24 Films shows Juliette Binoche in a scene from "High Life." (A24 Films via AP)
A neo-Nazi website operator said Tuesday that he refuses to be present in the U.S. for questioning under oath in a lawsuit that accuses him of unleashing an anti-Semitic "troll storm" against a Montana real estate agent's family.

The Daily Stormer founder Andrew Anglin says he lives abroad and claims it's too dangerous for him to travel to the U.S. But a federal magistrate judge ruled Friday that Anglin must be present in the U.S. for a deposition by Tanya Gersh's attorneys from the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Anglin, an Ohio native, said in an email to The Associated Press that he is unwilling to be deposed in the U.S. despite the judge's decision. He suggested that the Alabama-based law center refuses to meet him abroad or question him remotely by telephone or video conference because it wants him to be harmed.

"Anyone can look at the history of this group and reach the same very obvious conclusion," he wrote.

One of Anglin's attorneys, Marc Randazza, said in a text message Monday that he expects Anglin would "willingly" accept a default judgment against him before returning to the U.S. for a deposition.

"The end result of that will be that the SPLC will get a piece of paper, my client will pay nothing and there won't even be a decision on the legal merits, at least clarifying the law. Everyone loses," Randazza wrote.

FILE - In this undated file photo provided by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Tanya Gersh poses for a photo. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah Lynch ruled Friday, April 5, 2019 that The Daily Stormer founder Andrew Anglin is not excused from returning to the U.S. for questioning in a lawsuit accusing him of orchestrating an anti-Semitic "troll storm" against Gersh, a Montana real estate agent, and her family family. (Dan Chung/Southern Poverty Law Center via AP, File)

David Dinielli, deputy legal director for the law center, said in a statement Tuesday that the court correctly concluded Anglin's assertions about his personal safety are "unfounded and without basis."

In a separate case, a Muslim-American radio host who sued Anglin already is trying to secure a default judgment against him and his company, Moonbase Holdings LLC. In February, attorneys for SiriusXM Radio show host Dean Obeidallah asked a federal court in Ohio to award him more than $1 million in damages for his claims that Anglin falsely accused him of terrorism.

Anglin says he hasn't been to the U.S. since 2012. He refuses to disclose his current whereabouts, saying he gets death threats. But he has said he took up residency in the Philippines sometime before 2010, moved to Greece in 2013 and then moved to Cambodia four days before Tanya Gersh sued him in 2017.

Gersh's lawyers say Anglin hasn't presented any proof that he currently lives outside the U.S.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah Lynch ruled last Friday that Anglin's personal safety concerns are "factually unsupported" and no basis for a protective order sparing him from an in-person deposition in the U.S.

In the lawsuit she filed in Montana against Anglin, Gersh says anonymous internet trolls bombarded her family with hateful and threatening messages after Anglin published their personal information, including her 12-year-old son's Twitter handle and photo.

In a string of posts, Anglin had accused Gersh and other Jewish residents of Whitefish, Montana, of engaging in an "extortion racket" against the mother of white nationalist Richard Spencer. Gersh says she had agreed to help Spencer's mother sell commercial property she owns in Whitefish amid talk of a protest outside the building. Sherry Spencer, however, later accused Gersh of threatening and harassing her into agreeing to sell the property.

Gersh's suit accuses Anglin of invading her privacy, intentionally inflicting "emotional distress" and violating a Montana anti-intimidation law.

Anglin's site takes its name from Der Sturmer, a newspaper that published Nazi propaganda in Nazi-era Germany, and includes sections called "Jewish Problem" and "Race War."
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A Honduran transgender migrant, whose 2018 death while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sparked protests and calls for an investigation, died of a rare disorder that developed quickly due to AIDS, according to an autopsy released Tuesday.

The New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator released its findings on the death of Roxsana Hernandez , 33, saying the disorder - known as multicentric Castleman disease - can progress rapidly in people with weakened immune systems and lead to death within weeks.

The autopsy also found Hernandez suffered from extensive fractures of her ribs and breastbone after medical staff performed CPR in response to at least 10 heart attacks.

"This case has taken almost a year to close because the autopsy was complex and required additional testing and consultation," Chief Medical Investigator Kurt Nolte said in a statement.

Hernandez arrived in the U.S. as part of a caravan of Central American asylum seekers and was taken into custody in San Diego.

She was later transferred to El Paso, Texas, before being taken to the Cibola County Detention Center in New Mexico.

FILE - In this June 6, 2018, file photo, Gabriela Hernandez, executive director of the nonprofit New Mexico Dream Team, holds up an image in Albuquerque, N.M, of Roxsana Hernandez , a Honduran transgender woman who died while in U.S. custody. An autopsy released Tuesday, April 9, 2019, concluded that Hernandez died of complications from AIDS in May 2018. (AP Photo/Mary Hudetz, File)

Hernandez died in May at an Albuquerque hospital where she was admitted after showing symptoms of pneumonia, dehydration and complications associated with HIV.

Her death brought protests, with immigrant and LGBTQ advocates saying her case underscored concerns that transgender migrants in detention facilities often do not receive adequate medical care.

In November, an attorney representing the family of Hernandez released an independent autopsy that noted deep bruising along Hernandez's ribs that wasn't evident externally.

The independent autopsy also concluded she had contusions on her back and injuries around her wrists that were likely caused by handcuffs.

State investigators noted in the findings made public Tuesday that they don't believe tissue bleeding over the sides and back of her chest came from physical abuse and was likely from a low platelet count and the physical force from CPR.

The autopsy also noted numerous other symptoms associated with the immune disorder as well as a small head injury that was discovered during a CT scan. The origin of the injury was listed as unknown.

Advocates and an attorney for Hernandez's family criticized the findings, describing the investigation as incomplete. They also renewed their calls for immigration authorities to be held accountable for Hernandez's death.

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Russell Contreras is a member of The Associated Press' race and ethnicity team. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/russcontreras
ATLANTA (AP) - Critics of Georgia's outdated voting system told a judge on Tuesday that a new system outlined by lawmakers has many of the same fundamental flaws and is unconstitutional.

A law signed last week by Gov. Brian Kemp provides specifications for a new voting system. Bids are due later this month, and state officials say they plan to implement the new system in time for next year's presidential election.

Lawyers for the Coalition for Good Governance and for a group of voters, who had filed a lawsuit challenging Georgia's election system, told U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg they plan to ask her initially to stop the state from using the current machines for special and municipal elections scheduled this year. Ultimately, they said, they want her to prohibit the state from using the current paperless machines, as well as the ballot-marking machines provided for in the new law.

Lawyers for the state argued complaints about the current voting system have been made irrelevant by the new law and that complaints about ballot-marking machines can't be considered yet because the state hasn't even selected a new system.

The lawsuit is one of several pending challenges to various aspects of Georgia's voting system, which drew national scrutiny during last year's midterm election in which Kemp, a Republican who was the state's chief election officer at the time, narrowly defeated Democrat Stacey Abrams.

The plaintiffs previously sought in August to force the state to use paper ballots in November's midterm election. Totenberg denied those requests, saying she worried it would be too chaotic to make the switch so close to the election.

But she found that the plaintiffs had demonstrated "the threat of real harms to their constitutional interests." She also said state election officials had too long ignored "a mounting tide of evidence of the inadequacy and security risks" of the voting system and said further delay wouldn't be tolerable.

The new law calls for voters to make their selections on electronic machines that print out paper ballots that are read and tallied by scanners.

The 2020 state budget awaiting Kemp's signature includes $150 million in bond funding that's intended to cover the initial purchase of the machines as well as rollout and training.

Election officials hope to test the new machines during municipal elections in November 2019, with plans to implement them statewide for the 2020 primary and general elections.

The law passed the legislature last month largely on a party line vote, with the Republican majority favoring electronic ballot-marking machines. Democrats, voting integrity advocates and cybersecurity experts argued hand-marked paper ballots were the most secure option.

Coalition for Good Governance lawyer Bruce Brown argued Tuesday that any system that puts a computer between the voter and the permanent record of the vote can't be effectively audited and is unconstitutional.

Some of the ballot-marking devices print a record that includes a text summary of a voter's choices and corresponding barcodes used by a scanner to read and tally the votes. That's problematic, Brown said, because voters can't verify that barcodes accurately reflect their choices.

But even with systems where the scanner reads a human-readable list, an unreasonable burden is placed on voters to verify that the printed record reflects their choices, Brown said. Research shows many voters won't do that, he said.

Hand-marked paper ballots don't need to be checked because voters verify their choices as they mark the ballots.

Brown also argued that cybersecurity experts have said ballot-marking devices are unsecure.

Vincent Russo, a lawyer representing the state, said election officials took Totenberg's previous order to heart and lawmakers responded with specifications for a new voting system that should address her concerns.

The way a scanner reads the record printed by a ballot-marking device is very similar to the way a hand-marked ballot would be read, he argued. Furthermore, he said, ballot-marking devices cater to the needs of voters with disabilities, prevent voters from double voting in a given race and alert them if they skip a race.

State lawyers said the request for proposals requires that vendors provide for various security measures that would keep the system safe.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Authorities have identified an American suspect in the killing of a Thai national whose battered body was found bound, gagged and wrapped in plastic on the side of a road in a high-profile case in Australia, according to a federal search warrant obtained Tuesday.

Australian authorities issued an arrest warrant for Alex Dion in the killing of 33-year-old Wachira "Mario" Phetmang, whose body was found on the side of a freeway in the suburb of Sydney Olympic Park in June. The arrest warrant for Dion was issued in September while he already was in custody on a domestic violence charge in San Diego, according to the federal search warrant filed by the FBI on Friday.

The warrant, which marks the first time a suspect has been publicly named in Phetmang's killing, was first obtained by Seamus Hughes, a terrorism researcher at George Washington University who mines federal court databases.

Dion, 38, was set to be extradited from San Diego to Australia this coming Friday, according to the warrant. It's unclear whether he has an attorney.

Phetmang, a Thai national who lived in Australia for a decade, was last seen alive on May 25 at a gas station in the Sydney suburb of South Hurstville. An autopsy found that he suffered more than 20 wounds to his head and had multiple skull fractures.

The day he died, Phetmang told his partner he was going to pick up methamphetamine and later met Dion at the gas station, according to surveillance footage, the search warrant said.

This May 25, 2018 image from surveillance video released by the New South Wales Police Force shows Wachira "Mario" Phetmang, 33, entering a service station in South Hurstville, a suburb of Sydney. Authorities have identified an American suspect in the killing of Phetmang, a Thai national whose battered body was found bound, gagged and wrapped in plastic on the side of a road in a high-profile case in Australia, according to a federal search warrant obtained Tuesday, April 9. 2019. (New South Wales Police via AP)

Phetmang and Dion left the gas station together in Dion's car, according to the surveillance footage, and that was the last anyone saw of Phetmang.

Dion flew back to the U.S. two days after Phetmang's death but before the body was found on June 6, according to the search warrant.

A boot police believe belonged to Dion was found with Phetmang's body, and the matching boot was later found in Dion's apartment, the search warrant said. Police also believe Dion used a high-pressure washer to scrub the inside of his car, and dumped both his and Phetmang's clothing, two tire irons and a metal bar inside a water-retention tank where he used to work.

When Australian police held a news conference seeking the public's help in the case, Dion called them and tried to blame an associate for Phetmang's killing, while also acknowledging that he had Phetmang's credit cards and cellphones with him in San Diego, according to the search warrant.

Dion told police that he had met Phetmang at the gas station to buy meth but that he left when their associate showed up, a story police say is contradicted by surveillance footage.

The New South Wales Police Force in Australia said in a news release that detectives traveled to San Diego this week to coordinate the extradition and that no further information was available.
NEW YORK (AP) - A former Columbia University official has been sentenced to over three years in prison for accepting kickbacks from unqualified students to help them secure financial aid.

Melanie Williams-Bethea was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District in Manhattan to three years and four months in prison.

She had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery in October. She is the former director of financial aid at Teachers College at Columbia.

Two former Teachers College students were previously sentenced to prison terms.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said the defendants collectively pocketed over $2 million.

Prosecutors said the bribery and kickback scheme had lasted for years.

Two more former students are due to be sentenced later this month.

Tuesday's sentencing comes just after dozens of prominent parents were charged in an unrelated scam to get their children into college.
BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraq's prime minster says his government tried to stop the U.S. from labelling Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a "foreign terrorist organization," saying the designation could have negative consequences for Iraq and the Middle East.

Adel Abdul-Mahdi says Iraq will continue to invest in its relationship with both the U.S. and Iran despite the White House designation Monday. The Iraqi premier says his government spoke to the U.S. administration about the label.

Speaking at his weekly news conference Tuesday, Abdul-Mahdi said that Iraq as Iran's neighbor to the west cannot afford to be the site of conflict between rival powers.

Some 5,200 U.S. troops are stationed in Iraq, after the Iraqi parliament invited Washington to deploy forces to fight the Islamic State group in 2014.
SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Rose Marie Bentley was an avid swimmer, raised five kids, helped her husband run a feed store, and lived to the ripe age of 99. It was only after she died that medical students discovered that all her internal organs - except for her heart - were in the wrong place.

The discovery of the rare condition, which was presented this week to a conference of anatomists, was astounding - especially because Bentley had lived so long. People with the condition known as situs inversus with levocardia often have life-threatening cardiac ailments and other abnormalities, according to Oregon Health & Science University.

Cameron Walker's class at the university in Portland was examining the heart of a cadaver last year when they noticed the blood vessels were different. When they opened the abdominal cavity, they saw that all the other organs were on the wrong side. The unusual blood vessels helped the heart compensate.

In a telephone interview Tuesday, Walker described his reaction to the find as "definitely a mix of curiosity, fascination and a sense of wanting to explore a little bit of a medical mystery - a medical marvel really - that was in front of us."

"And I would say the students felt something very similar," Walker, an assistant professor of anatomy, told The Associated Press.

Bentley's family had not known about the condition, which OHSU says occurs only once in every 22,000 births. Apparently Bentley didn't either.

This undated photo provided by the Bentley family shows Rose Marie Bentley, before the end of her life. Bentley lived with all her internal organs, except for her heart, on the wrong side. Cameron Walker's medical students in his Oregon Health & Science University were examining the heart of Bentley's body, when they noticed the blood vessels were different. When they opened the abdominal cavity, they discovered all the other organs were on the wrong side. (Courtesy Bentley Family via AP)

Bentley, who lived in Molalla, 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Portland, had led a normal life. Her only recurrent physical complaint was arthritis, her daughter Louise Allee remembered.

But there were signs.

When Bentley was in her 50s, she underwent a hysterectomy, and the doctor also wanted to remove the appendix but couldn't find it, Allee said in a phone interview. She said it was removed later. Oregon Health & Science University noted that Bentley had three organs removed during her life, but only the surgeon who removed her appendix recorded its unusual location.

When Bentley had her gallbladder removed, it was on the opposite side of where it should have been, Allee said.

"No one said a thing," Allee said. "I was surprised. This was before they did it with a scope, and she had a good-sized incision. You'd think they would have said something, but they didn't."

Walker expressed his gratitude for Bentley agreeing to donate her body to OHSU, Oregon's only academic health center.

"This is an important case that really gave us an opportunity to talk about the importance of future clinicians paying attention to subtle anatomic variations, not just large anatomic variations, in terms of addressing their future patients as individuals," Walker said. "Don't judge a book by its cover, and always check and see what you've got before you talk about care."

He has researched how long people with the condition have lived, and he found no documented cases in which a person lived beyond age 73. Bentley surpassed that by 26 years.

Allee said her mother would have been delighted that the donation of her body led to a learning experience.

"She would have been tickled to know she could educate with something unusual," Allee said. "Dad would have loved to know about it so he could tease her."

Her husband, James, died about 15 years ago.

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This story has been updated throughout to correct references to Bentley.

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Follow Andrew Selsky on Twitter at https://twitter.com/andrewselsky
WASHINGTON (AP) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on President Donald Trump Tuesday to sign into law a resolution ending American involvement in the war in Yemen.

"The situation in Yemen ... has left an indelible scar and stain on the conscience of the world," Pelosi told reporters. She said the resolution passed by Congress last week sets "a standard for what kinds of military engagements we take part in."

Trump has already pledged to veto the measure.

Under the War Powers Resolution enacted in 1973, the president is required to "consult with Congress before introducing United States Armed Forces into hostilities."

The White House statement threatening a veto argued U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen does not constitute engaging in "hostilities," meaning the War Powers Act doesn't apply. It also said the bill raises "serious constitutional concerns."

The conflict in Yemen has ground on for more than four years, killing thousands and leaving millions on the brink of famine.

President Donald Trump welcomes visiting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to the White House in Washington, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Opposition to U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen grew in the aftermath of the killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi Arabian agents last year. Lawmakers from both parties are frustrated Trump hasn't done more to condemn the kingdom's leaders after the incident.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was questioned Tuesday by lawmakers about the Trump administration's response to the Khashoggi killing. Pompeo told a Senate subcommittee the administration was "continuing to pursue facts" and "when we find the facts we will apply the law appropriately."

The State Department announced Monday it would deny entry to 16 Saudis over their roles in Khashoggi's killing. The action was taken under the 2019 State Department appropriations bill, which requires Pompeo to deny entry to individuals "involved in significant corruption or gross violations of human rights."

Saudi Arabia has been a key U.S. security and economic partner for decades. The U.S. has supported the kingdom's involvement in Yemen since 2015 with intelligence sharing, logistical support and inflight refueling.

Trump administration officials argue withdrawing American involvement could diminish chances for a negotiated peace and lead to even higher numbers of civilian casualties.
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - An 80-year-old New York man has been arrested on charges that he killed two young women in a beach cottage nearly half a century ago in Virginia, police said Tuesday.

Ernest Broadnax was arrested in New York City on Monday and faces two counts of second-degree murder and one count of rape in Virginia Beach. The slayings occurred in the summer of 1973.

Virginia Beach police did not say how they linked Broadnax to the killings. They said their cold-case unit began to pursue a "strong lead" last year and sought out "advanced forensic technology."

Broadnax, who lives in New York City's Queens borough, is waiting to go through extradition in New York, police said. It's unclear if he has an attorney.

For decades, the case haunted the coastal city in Virginia and the officers who launched the investigation.

Friends Janice Pietropola and Lynn Seethaler were from the Pittsburgh area and had rented a cottage about a block from the Atlantic Ocean.

Concerned when the two 19-year-olds missed their checkout time, an employee opened the door of their rented cottage, peered inside and discovered their bodies.

Pietropola was shot three times in the right side of the head with a .22-caliber gun. She also was raped and strangled.

Seethaler was shot twice in the right side of the head and face. Her neck was slashed with a wine bottle, and she also was strangled.

Every available detective was put on the case. There were hundreds of interviews and thousands of communiques with police elsewhere.

"We did everything we could," then-police Capt. William Haden told The Associated Press in 1998. "We flew in the helicopter, we searched rooftops, we climbed into manholes."

During their week in Virginia, Seethaler and Pietropola met several men on the beach and had gone on dates. On two occasions, they invited some of their new acquaintances back to the cottage for beers.

The contents of the women's purses had been dumped on the cottage floor, but robbery never was considered a motive.

Police didn't know if the killer knew the women, or if the victims were picked at random.

For Haden, the case became personal. The crime happened on his 31st birthday, and he said he felt as if the young women's parents had entrusted their daughters to his care.

More than a decade after the killings, Haden flew to Los Angeles to investigate two suspects arrested on an unrelated crime whose names had surfaced in the Virginia Beach investigation. But he couldn't connect them to the slayings.

"I have always referred to them as 'my girls,'" he said in 1998. "I still don't know why this case was so personal. There is no way I can describe that to you."

Virginia Beach police said in their statement Tuesday that they never gave up. The cold case unit began "aggressively researching" a strong lead that came in last fall.

They enlisted help from various law enforcement agencies, ranging from the FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service to units within the New York Police Department.

"Their dedication and tenacity paid off," Virginia Beach police said.
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - About 500 people remained evacuated Tuesday from their homes in Oregon after record-breaking rain that shut down roads and forced officials to close schools in the hardest-hit communities.

The evacuations followed moderate flooding Sunday night and Monday along the Coast Fork of the Willamette and Row rivers near Eugene, The Register-Guard reported .

The Lane County Sheriff's Office urged Eugene-area residents to stay off roads and said it was working to help people in several homes completely surrounded by water.

Firefighters rescued a 75-year-old man whose pickup truck went off a flooded stretch of road outside Eugene near Junction City, KVAL-TV reported .

More than 4.3 inches of rain has fallen in Eugene since Thursday, with a record-breaking 2.34 inches on Sunday alone. That's the most precipitation there in a single calendar day in more than seven years, and it breaks the mark for the wettest April day on record.

Andy Bryant, hydrologist for the National Weather Service in Portland, told the newspaper that the service has no record of a flood event in the southern Willamette Valley this late in the rainy season.

Shannon Archuleta, left, and her son Jett Archuleta wade through a flooded street in the Riverstone Mobile Home Park in Cottage Grove, Ore., Monday, April 8, 2019, to check on a family member after floodwaters rose overnight. (Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard via AP)

"The time of the year, just in my mind, makes it historically significant that we're having a flood like this a week into April," Bryant said. "What we've had is more of a November through February kind of weather event."

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is releasing more water than usual from Willamette River reservoirs to prevent overflow.

Highway 58 southeast of Eugene near Oakridge remained closed after it was cut off by a rockslide Monday. Oregon Transportation officials said on Twitter they were hoping to reopen the road late Tuesday afternoon.

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Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com

In this Monday, April 8, 2019 photo made with a drone, the Santiam River flows over its banks and into neighboring fields just east of Interstate 5 as the river reached moderate flood stage Monday afternoon following several days of heavy rain. (Kelly Jordan and Zach Urness/Statesman-Journal via AP)

In this Monday, April 8, 2019 photo made with a drone, the Santiam River flows over its banks and into neighboring fields just east of Interstate 5 as the river reached moderate flood stage Monday afternoon following several days of heavy rain. (Kelly Jordan and Zach Urness/Statesman-Journal via AP)

In this Monday, April 8, 2019 photo made with a drone, the Santiam River flows over its banks and into neighboring fields just east of Interstate 5 as the river reached moderate flood stage Monday afternoon following several days of heavy rain. (Kelly Jordan and Zach Urness/Statesman-Journal via AP)

Phillip Schultz, center, of Junction City, Ore. is rescued from his truck by Junction City Rural Fire and Lane County Sheriff Deputies after he became stuck in flood water on Noraton Lane just off Highway 99 East north of Junction City, Ore. Tuesday April 9, 2019. (Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard via AP)

A sign warning of possible floodwaters at the entrance to Alton Baker Park in Eugene, Ore., proves to be an understatement, Monday, April 8, 2019, as water from the nearby Willamette River spills out into the park. (Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard via AP)

Eugene Springfield Fire and Rescue personnel aid stranded campers on the Willamette River just down stream from the Knickerbocker Bridge in Eugene. Ore. Monday, April 8, 2019 after they were cut off by rising waters. (Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard via AP)

Tents and other belongings are under water at a homeless camp as Wallace Marine Park floods near the Willamette River in West Salem, Ore., on Tuesday, April 9, 2019. (Anna Reed/Statesman-Journal via AP)
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - The Latest on a bill in South Carolina requiring illuminated signs for ride share vehicles (all times local):

6:55 p.m.

The South Carolina House has given key approval to a bill that would require Uber, Lyft and other ride sharing vehicles to have illuminated signs.

The House voted 99-1 to approve the bill Tuesday. It needs one more routine vote before it will be sent to the Senate.

The bill was introduced just days after the March 29 death of 21-year-old University of South Carolina student Samantha Josephson. Police say Josephson was killed after getting into a car she thought was her Uber after it pulled into an area where drivers frequently pick up riders in Columbia's bar district.

Supporters say the bill gives riders a chance to locate what could be their car before they get too close. Safety experts say riders will need to confirm the car's license plate and ask the driver to recite the rider's name and destination.

FILE - In this Jan. 12, 2016, file photo, a ride share car displays Lyft and Uber stickers on its front windshield in downtown Los Angeles. Law enforcement agencies and ride-hailing companies are intensifying efforts to warn passengers against getting in without checking to ensure both the vehicle and driver are legitimate. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

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3:55 p.m.

A South Carolina lawmaker sponsoring a bill requiring Uber, Lyft and other ride sharing drivers to have a lighted sign says he knows it isn't a foolproof way to keep riders safe.

But Democratic Rep. Seth Rose of Columbia said Tuesday that it's an easy first step so a tipsy college student or distracted concertgoer can immediately know whether a vehicle is their ride.

The bil l is awaiting debate on the House floor. Rose filed it days after the death of 21-year-old University of South Carolina student Samantha Josephson. Police say Josephson was killed March 29 after getting into a car she apparently thought was her Uber.

Rose acknowledges that impostors could find the signs online. But he says utility uniforms are also available online and yet employees still wear them to identify themselves.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - An outside investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by former University of Oklahoma President David Boren was fair and objective, the head of the OU regents said Tuesday, although none of the probe's findings have been released.

OU Board of Regents Chairwoman Leslie Rainbolt-Forbes said after a six-hour, closed-door meeting with attorneys from the Jones Day law firm that the investigation was launched after "multiple individuals" alleged inappropriate conduct. Rainbolt-Forbes didn't name Boren, but his attorneys have confirmed he was the target of the probe.

"We are satisfied that the investigation by Jones Day was fair, non-biased, thorough and objective," Rainbolt-Forbes said. "We consider this is a very serious matter, and we will carefully consider what we learned today, and we will respond in a timely and prompt manner in accordance with the university's existing policies and procedures."

Former OU student Jess Eddy has claimed Boren made unwanted sexual advances and touched him inappropriately on several occasions when he worked as a teaching aide for the former Oklahoma governor and U.S. senator more than a decade ago. Boren, through his attorneys, has denied wrongdoing.

Eddy appeared at Tuesday's meeting and told reporters he believes the university doesn't intend to adequately investigate his claims.

"I have no confidence in Jones Day or the university," Eddy said.

FILE - In this March 10, 2015 file photo, University of Oklahoma President David Boren talks with the media before the start of a Board of Regents meeting in Oklahoma City. The attorney for Boren says Boren has met with investigators looking into allegations he sexually harassed male subordinates. Attorney Clark Brewster told The Oklahoman that Boren met Friday, April 5, 2019 with investigators and answered all of their questions, but Brewster declined to discuss specific questions. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

Eddy previously acknowledged in an interview The Associated Press that he first denied the allegations to Jones Day investigators during a meeting in February and provided a signed statement to Boren's attorney on March 14 again denying the claims. But he said he later decided to publicly acknowledge that the allegations were true 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 also acknowledged calling Boren personally and asking for financial compensation.

Boren's attorney Clark Brewster said Eddy's inconsistent statements and attempt to seek money from Boren harm his credibility.

"We've been fully cooperative and transparent, and obviously I'm not privy to the (Jones Day) report that was generated based on their interviews and investigation, but I'm confident that President Boren was not engaging in any inappropriate conduct," Brewster said.

Brewster said he's unaware of any other person who has made allegations of sexual misconduct against Boren.

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Follow Sean Murphy at www.twitter.com/apseanmurphy
MEXICO CITY (AP) - The weekend killing of a female university student has sparked protests and a four-day shutdown at the University of Ciudad Juarez.

During the 1990s, it took dozens of slayings of women before outrage spread in Juarez, a city across the border from El Paso, Texas.

But the weekend killing of literature student Dana Lozano has spurred angry marches, and on Tuesday the university suspended classes for the rest of the week to hold sessions on gender and safety issues.

Prosecutors said Monday that they had arrested a suspect in the case, a young man reported to be an ex-boyfriend of the victim. Officials have said Lozano was four to six weeks pregnant when she was stabbed to death.
NEW YORK (AP) - New York City declared a public health emergency Tuesday and ordered mandatory vaccinations for measles in a part of Brooklyn that is home to a large Orthodox Jewish community.

The city took the unusual step amid a surge of 285 measles cases in the city since September, most in one densely packed neighborhood where people now have to get vaccines or risk a $1,000 fine.

In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported there have been 465 cases so far this year, two-thirds of them in New York state. That compares to 372 cases in the U.S. for all of last year. Besides New York, there have been outbreaks this year in Washington state, California. Michigan and New Jersey.

The disease was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, which means it was not being spread domestically.

But cases have been rising in recent years, in part the result of misinformation that makes some parents balk at a crucial vaccine.

Most of the reported illnesses are in children. The CDC says roughly 80% of the U.S. cases are age 19 or younger.

FILE - This Wednesday, March 27, 2019 file photo shows a sign explaining the local state of emergency because of a measles outbreak at the Rockland County Health Department in Pomona, N.Y. Measles is spread through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It's so contagious that 90 percent of people who aren't immunized are infected if exposed to the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Here are some questions and answers about measles:

Q: How dangerous is measles?

A: Measles typically begins with a high fever, and several days later a characteristic rash appears on the face and then spreads over the body. Among serious complications, 1 in 20 patients get pneumonia, and 1 in 1,000 get brain swelling that can lead to seizures, deafness or intellectual disability.

While it's rare in the U.S., about 1 in every 1,000 children who get measles dies, according to the CDC.

Q: How does it spread?

A: By coughing or sneezing, and someone can spread the virus for four days before the telltale rash appears.

The virus can live for up to two hours in the air or on nearby surfaces. Nine of 10 unvaccinated people who come into contact with someone with measles will catch it. Dr. Anthony Fauci, infectious disease chief at the National Institutes of Health, recently called it "one of the most contagious viruses known to man."

Q: Is a problem outside of the U.S.?

A: Measles is far more common around the world - the World Health Organization said it claimed 110,000 lives in 2017. The WHO says there's been a 30 % increase in measles cases in recent years. Unvaccinated Americans traveling abroad, or foreign visitors here, can easily bring in the virus.

For example, a huge outbreak in Madagascar has caused more than 115,000 illnesses and more than 1,200 deaths since September. But you don't need to go as far as Madagascar - common tourist destinations like England, France, Italy and Greece had measles outbreaks last year. Nearly 83,000 people contracted measles in Europe in 2018, the highest number in a decade.

Q: How many U.S. children are vulnerable?

A: Overall about 92% of U.S. children have gotten the combination vaccine that protects against measles, mumps and rubella, known as the MMR vaccine. Two shots are required, one around the first birthday and a second between age 4 and 6. Full vaccination is 97% effective at preventing measles.

But the CDC says 1 in 12 children do not receive the first dose on time, and in some places vaccination rates are far lower than the national average. For example, an outbreak in Washington state is linked to a community where only about 80% of children were properly vaccinated.

Q: Is the vaccine safe?

A: Yes. In the late 1990s, one study linked MMR vaccine to autism but that study was found to be a fraud. Later research found no risk of autism from the vaccine.

Q: Why isn't everyone vaccinated?

A: Some people can't be immunized for medical reasons - including infants and people with weak immune systems - and most states allow religious exemptions. But while vaccination against a list of contagious diseases is required to attend school, 17 states allow some type of non-medical exemption for "personal, moral or other beliefs," according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In Washington state, lawmakers are debating ending that personal or philosophical exemption, as are several other states. California ended a similar exemption in 2015 after a measles outbreak at Disneyland sickened 147 people and spread across the U.S. and into Canada.

Q: Why so many cases in New York's Orthodox Jewish communities?

A: Most families in Brooklyn's Orthodox enclaves do have their children vaccinated, and most rabbis say there is no religious reason not to get them. But anti-vaccine propaganda has found an audience among a larger than usual percentage of parents in a community used to cultural clashes with city officials. It is also a community whose members travel frequently to other countries where measles is more prevalent.

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AP Medical Writers Lauran Neergaard in Washington and Mike Stobbe in New York contributed to this story.

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.
SALEM, Ore. (AP) - A Republican state senator from Oregon said on Tuesday that the designation of slaves as three-fifths of a person was not racist, drawing condemnation from at least two black lawmakers.

Sen. Dennis Linthicum, from Klamath Falls in southern Oregon, said during floor debate that the intent of the Three-Fifths Compromise, which classified a slave as three-fifths of a person in the U.S. Constitution, was a way to prevent slave states from gaining too much power in Congress.

"The three-fifths vote was actually to eliminate the overwhelming influence the slave states would have in representative government," he said, adding that the move wasn't because the founders thought "three-fifths was an appropriate measure of a man."

Linthicum referred to the compromise while speaking against a measure to add Oregon to the National Vote Interstate Compact, an agreement between states to pledge all electoral votes to the candidate who wins the national popular vote. It's a way to bypass the Electoral College, which opponents say is a form of voter disenfranchisement that has its roots in the country's founding.

The 1789 Constitutional Convention determined that slaves would be considered three-fifths of a person when apportioning taxes and states' representatives in Congress. Historians largely agree that the compromise gave slave holding states inordinate power over choosing the president and in the Continental Congress. That political stronghold, however, eventually faded when population in northern states began to rapidly increase.

At least two black senators personally confronted Linthicum following the hearing. Democrat Sen. James Manning, of Eugene, told reporters that Linthicum provided an "offensive mischaracterization" of events, and that his comments were an example of people trying to rewrite history.

FILE - In this Friday, Feb. 8, 2019 file photo, Oregon state Sen. Dennis Linthicum, R-Klamath Falls, poses in his office in the Oregon State Capitol in Salem, Ore. Linthicum said on Tuesday, April 9, 2019, that the designation of slaves as three-fifths of a person was not racist, drawing condemnation from at least two black lawmakers. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky, File)

"It diminishes how we are going to move forward," he said. "If you don't recognize and accept the events of the past then we can't move forward because then we live in a fantasy world."

Linthicum called slavery "a stain on our nation," and added that his conversations with Manning and with Sen. Lew Frederick, a Democrat from Portland, helped him see the racist legacy that the Three-Fifths Compromise left behind. But he still maintains that doesn't negate that the intent of the move was to "strip power from slave states."

Sen. Sara Gelser, a Democrat from Corvallis who has previously spoken out against a perceived hostile culture in the capitol, publicly criticized Linthicum on the floor.

"Let's not compromise the humanity of our people," she said. "This is not an appropriate compromise. It was never an appropriate compromise."

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Follow Sarah Zimmerman on Twitter at @sarahzimm95
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Alabama representatives on Tuesday approved a budget that provides money for 500 additional corrections officers as the state seeks to stave off a lawsuit from the Department of Justice over prison violence.

The House of Representatives voted 103-0 for a general fund budget that includes funding for more officers as well as money to boost officer pay. The spending plan now moves to the Alabama Senate.

"This is a first step. It's part of the plan. It certainly won't be all of the plan to try to address these issues," said Republican Rep. Steve Clouse, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee.

Clouse said much of a $40 million funding increase for the Department of Corrections is for the 500 additional officers and to boost pay by 20 percent to entice more people to work in state prisons.

The Department of Justice last week said Alabama is violating the Constitution by failing to protect inmates from violence and sexual abuse and by housing them in understaffed and overcrowded facilities. The department gave the state 49 days to respond or risk a federal lawsuit.

The state prison system, already facing a federal court directive to increase staff, had requested the money in January, but Clouse said the Justice Department report added increased urgency to the request. The department has indicated it plans to make the same request in subsequent years.

Gov. Kay Ivey last week said that the Justice Department identified many of the same concerns the state already has been working to address.

"This is just reinforcing the need we've been seeing all along. This is an Alabama problem. It's got to have an Alabama solution and we'll be addressing that in fast order," Ivey said.

While the House passed the budget without a dissenting vote, some Democrats used the debate time to question Ivey's proposal to build, or lease, three new large mega-prisons, housing about 3,000 inmates each. Most existing prisons would close.

Although nothing has been finalized, the Alabama Department of Corrections is currently seeking "expressions of interest" from companies to build the three prisons and lease them back to the state for a maximum of $78 million annually. The deadline to respond is Wednesday.

"Studies across the country have shown that mega-prisons are not the way to go," said Rep. Chris England, a Democrat from Tuscaloosa.

Some lawmakers noted that leasing the prisons would obligate the state to make lease payments without requiring legislative approval as a bond issue for construction would.

A prison system spokesman said the prison plan will be a collaborative effort with lawmakers and the request for industry proposals will help the state make an informed decision on the "appropriate path forward."

Clouse told reporters he wants to continue to gather information about the proposal.

"We've got to see what the costs are," he said.

A group representing inmates in an ongoing lawsuit over mental health care said the state needs to be more aggressive in responding to the Justice Department's concerns.

Ebony Howard, a senior supervising attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center, said 500 officers is a "wholly inadequate" number. She cited a federal judge's order in an ongoing lawsuit over prison mental health care saying the state should hire 2,200 correctional officers by 2022.

"Governor Ivey has long said that the prison crisis is an Alabama problem that should have an Alabama solution. Well, the Department of Justice has made it very clear that time has passed," Howard said.

In a letter to the governor, the organization suggests that Alabama more than double the funding request to add 1,100 officers this year and again next year; implement sentencing reform; and replace the two worst state prisons, including Holman prison in Atmore.

Lawmakers applauded after approving the general fund budget, but Rep. John Rogers, a Democrat from Birmingham, said the money is inadequate to resolve the problems at state prisons.

"We should have been crying," Rogers said.

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This story has corrected the deadline for the construction proposal response to Wednesday.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Legislation banning abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected stalled in Tennessee on Tuesday amid concerns that passing the measure would result in the state losing costly court battles.

Instead, the Senate Judiciary Committee agreed to review the issue further over the summer and take it up next year after members spent nearly two hours rehashing past key abortion court battles, discussing pregnancy viability with medical officials and criticizing the history of Planned Parenthood.

"So far, these bills have not fared well in the courts. In other states, the heartbeat bill has been struck down and states have been forced to pay attorney fees to Planned Parenthood. ... My conscience will not allow me to put Tennessee on that path," said Committee Chairman Mike Bell, a Republican from Riceville.

The committee's 5-3 decision came after the same panel advanced a separate anti-abortion bill - known as the Human Life Protection Act - that would ensure most abortions would be outlawed should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.

Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota and South Dakota have similar laws on the books triggering abortion bans if the nation's high court overturns the 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide. Kentucky and Missouri are considering enacting such bills this year.

The two proposals have split Tennessee's GOP-dominated General Assembly this year as Republican lawmakers have fought to find ways to undermine abortion rights, but have disagreed on the best proposal to submit to Gov. Bill Lee's desk.

Notably, Tennessee's Right to Life opposed the so-called fetal heartbeat bill, arguing it would defend bills that could survive legal scrutiny. During Tuesday's committee hearing, the group's attorney, Will Brewer, told lawmakers that the trigger ban was "the only pro-life" legislation his group could endorse on the panel's agenda for that day.

Yet other groups pleaded with the panel not to give up on their intent to limit access abortion in Tennessee.

"Yes, we might have to pay those legal fees. Is defending those rights of the unborn worth it? In my opinion, it is," said David Fowler, president of the Family Action Council of Tennessee.

Earlier this year, Lee promised to sign the fetal heartbeat bill and waved aside concerns that previous versions of the same proposal in other states failed to be upheld in court. With the House already clearing the measure with just a handful of Democratic opposition, the Senate was seen as the key barrier to the bill's passage.

"We have done all we can to defund Planned Parenthood. We have put in place reasonable restrictions to help prevent abortion. Passing a constitutionally suspect bill now would give the courts an opportunity to erase the progress we have made," Senate Speaker Randy McNally in a statement said.

It's still unclear, however, how far the trigger ban bill will survive this year in the General Assembly. A House subcommittee voted against the measure in March, sparking concern the issue may be dead for the year - though the House Health Committee is expected to reconsider the issue later this session.
PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP) - A woman's daughter and granddaughter have been arrested after police found a body they believe was a 77-year-old suspected to have been dead since 2017.

Police arrested Tara Aven, 46, and Briar Aven, 24, after the discovery Tuesday of a body believed to be Sandra Aven, who was found in her central Arizona home.

The mother and daughter are suspected of cashing numerous checks sent to Sandra Aven for several years, according to police.

They said the two women have been booked into the Yavapai County Jail on suspicion of fraud schemes and evidence tampering. Tara Aven is also accused of facilitation of first-degree murder. Police had previously said the case is being investigated as a homicide and the women are considered suspects.

It was unclear Tuesday night if either woman had a lawyer yet.

Police reported receiving a call from a Prescott resident who said he hadn't seen Sandra Aven for a long time and was worried about her welfare.

This undated photo provided by the Yavapai County Jail shows Tara Aven, 46. A body found in a central Arizona home Tuesday, April 9, 2019, is believed to be that of a 77-year-old woman who may have been dead since 2017 and her daughter, Aven, and granddaughter both have been arrested on suspicion of murder and other charges, police said. (Yavapai County Jail via AP)

Tara Aven and her daughter live next door to Sandra Aven and were questioned about her whereabouts.

Briar Aven initially told officers that her grandmother was out of town and unavailable, police said.

After the women gave inconsistent information, officers entered Sandra Aven's home to check on her.

They found the body, but police said it hasn't been positively identified yet and there was no information on a possible cause of death.
TOKYO (AP) - Japan partially lifted an evacuation order in one of the two hometowns of the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant on Wednesday for the first time since the 2011 disaster.

Decontamination efforts have lowered radiation levels significantly in the area about 7 kilometers (4 miles) southwest of the plant where three reactors had meltdowns due to the damage caused by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

The action allows people to return to about 40 percent of Okuma. The other hometown, Futaba, remains off-limits, as are several other towns nearby.

Many former residents are reluctant to return as the complicated process to safely decommission the plant continues. Opponents of lifting the evacuation orders in long-abandoned communities say the government is promoting residents' return to showcase safety ahead of the Tokyo Olympics next summer.

The government has pushed for an aggressive decontamination program by removing topsoil, chopping trees and washing down houses and roads in contaminated areas, though experts say the effort only caused the contamination to move from one place to another, creating massive amounts of radioactive waste and the need for its long-term storage.

The meltdowns at three of Fukushima Dai-ichi's six reactors caused massive radiation leaks that contaminated the plant's surroundings, forcing at its peak some 160,000 people to evacuate their homes for areas elsewhere in Fukushima or outside the prefecture.

FILE - In this Jan. 25, 2018, file photo, an installation of a dome-shaped rooftop cover housing key equipment is near completion at Unit 3 reactor of the Fukushima Dai-ich nuclear power plant ahead of a fuel removal from its storage pool in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, northeast Japan. Japan has partially lifted an evacuation order in one of the two hometowns of the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant for the first time since the 2011 disaster. The action taken Wednesday, April 10, 2019, allows people to return about 40 percent of Okuma. The other hometown, Futaba, remains off-limits as are several other towns nearby.(AP Photo/Mari Yamaguchi, File)

Evacuation orders in most of the initial no-go zones have been lifted, but restrictions are still in place in several towns closest to the plant and to its northwest, which were contaminated by radioactive plumes from the plant soon after its meltdowns. More than 40,000 people were still unable to return home as of March, including Okuma's population of 10,000.

Town officials say the lifting of the evacuation order in the two districts would encourage the area's recovery.

"We are finally standing on a starting line of reconstruction," Okuma mayor Toshitsuna Watanabe told reporters.

A new town hall is opening in the Ogawara district in May and 50 new houses and a convenience store is underway. But the town center near a main train station remains closed due to radiation levels still exceeding the annual exposure limit and a hospital won't be available for two more years, requiring returnees to drive or take a bus to a neighboring town in case of medical needs.

Anti-nuclear sentiment and concerns about radiation exposures remain high in Japan since the disaster, leaving many people skeptical about the safety declaration by the government and utility operators, as risks of developing cancer and other illnesses from low-dose, long-term radiation exposures are still unknown. Critics also say that the annual exposure limit of 20 millisievert, the same as nuclear workers and up from 1 millisievert before the Fukushima meltdowns, is too high.

Many people are reluctant to return home because of lingering concerns about radiation, and they have adapted to new jobs and homes after more than eight years away.

Only 367 people, or less than 4 percent of Okuma's population, registered as residents in the two districts where the order was lifted. A survey last year found only 12.5 percent of former residents wanted to return to their hometown. The government hopes to allow some of Futaba's 5,980 residents to return next year.

Okuma is also home to a temporary storage facility for the radioactive waste that came out of the decontamination efforts across Fukushima. A much delayed facility is still underway.

Fukushima plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., and government officials plan to start removing the melted fuel in 2021 from one of the three melted reactors, but still know little about its condition inside and have not finalized waste management plans.

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Follow Mari Yamaguchi on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/mariyamaguchi
RTHK: Sudan's military leader steps down after one day

Sudan's new military leader has resigned just a day leading a coup that removed long-time president Omar al-Bashir from power. The army insists it will pave the way for a civilian government.

The head of Sudan's new ruling military council, General Awad Ibn Ouf, announced his departure a day after being sworn in.

His move came shortly after the council's political chief Lieutenant General Omar Zain al-Abdin told Arab and African diplomats: "This is not a military coup, but taking the side of the people."

Ouf's departure was an apparent sign of confusion among the northeast African country's new leaders after Thursday's ousting of iron-fisted Bashir.

But there was jubilation at the news on the streets of Khartoum. Tens of thousands of protesters had kept up a vigil at the army headquarters in the Sudanese capital Friday angrily demanding that the military make way for a civilian government.

The Sudanese Professionals Association which has spearheaded the nationwide protest campaign hailed Ibn Ouf's departure as "a victory of the people's will".

The umbrella group organising the protests called on newly sworn-in ruler Burhan to "transfer the powers of the military council to a transitional civilian government."

"If this does not happen we will continue with our sit-in in front of the army headquarters and other towns," it said in a statement. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2019-04-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP) - The Latest on charges against a Prescott woman and daughter accused of murder (all times local):

5:55 p.m.

Police in Prescott say a mother and daughter are accused of first-degree murder in the death of the family's matriarch.

They say a body found in a home Tuesday is believed to be that of 77-year-old Sandra Aven, who may have been dead since late 2017.

Police say 46-year-old Tara Aven and her 24-year-old daughter Briar Aven also have been booked into the Yavapai County Jail on suspicion of fraud schemes and evidence tampering.

They say Tara Aven is additionally accused of facilitation of first-degree murder.

Police say the mother and daughter allegedly cashed numerous monthly payment checks sent to Sandra Aven for several years.

Tara Aven and her daughter live next door to Sandra Aven and were questioned about her whereabouts before police entered her home and found a body that hasn't been identified yet.

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3:30 p.m.

Police in Prescott have arrested the daughter and granddaughter of a 77-year-old Arizona woman on after finding what they suspect is her body more than a year after her death.

They say 46-year-old Tara Aven and 24-year-old Briar Aven were booked into Yavapai County Jail after the body was found in a Prescott home Tuesday.

Authorities didn't immediately detail any possible charges against the women.

Police say the case is being investigated as a homicide and the women are considered suspects.

They say the mother and daughter are suspected of cashing numerous checks sent to Sandra Aven for several years.

Tara Aven and her daughter live next door to Sandra Aven and were questioned about her whereabouts.
ATLANTA (AP) - Third time's a charm. At least that's what frustrated voters in one Georgia House district are hoping after two previous elections were thrown out by a judge.

Unofficial results on Tuesday showed Chris Erwin beating Dan Gasaway for a third time in the Republican primary for a state House seat in northeast Georgia.

Results from Georgia's secretary of state showed Erwin receiving about 75% of over 6,000 votes cast. There is no Democrat in the race, so the winner takes the seat spanning Banks, Stephens and Habersham counties.

"It's kind of frustrating," Harold Scott said after casting his ballot for Erwin - the third time he had done so - at the First Baptist Church in Cornelia. "To spend the money three times to get a guy elected, it's kind of silly."

The new vote came as Georgia continues to face scrutiny over its handling of the 2018 elections, during which voters reported a number of issues casting ballots - including long voter lines, malfunctioning voting machines and rejected absentee ballots.

Erwin appeared to defeat Gasaway twice before, first in the original primary last May and then in a redo Dec. 4. But Superior Court Judge David Sweat found illegal votes tainted both results and ordered new elections.

Gasaway challenged May's primary results in court after losing to Erwin by 67 votes. Sweat, a senior judge based outside the district, ruled mapping errors allowed some who didn't live in the district to vote.

Erwin won again in December by just two votes, and was sworn in Jan. 14. But he was removed by a court order within a month, when Sweat threw out those results after finding that four voters cast illegal ballots - enough to have potentially tipped the race.

The cycle of elections and legal challenges left the district without a representative in the state House for much of the 2019 legislative session, which opened in January and ended last week.

Habersham County elections supervisor Laurel Ellison estimated the cost of the December do-over at about $5,800 and the cost of Tuesday's race at about $8,000.
NEW DELHI (AP) - The Dalai Lama has been hospitalized in the Indian capital with a chest infection and is feeling better, his spokesman said Wednesday.

The 83-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader is under medication and likely to spend a day or two in the hospital, spokesman Tenzin Taklha said.

The Dalai Lama flew from Dharmsala for consultations with doctors in the capital and was hospitalized on Tuesday. The north Indian hill town has been his headquarters since he fled Tibet in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

Takhla said the Dalai Lama was feeling much better now but has already cut down on travel in the past year as he has to take care of his health.

He usually spends several months a year traveling the world to teach Buddhism and highlight the Tibetans' struggle for greater freedom in China.

"Long-distance travelling is tiresome. Generally, he is in very good health. But he is taking precautions," he told The Associated Press.

FILE - In this April 4, 2019, file photo, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama speaks during a press conference after talking to an audience of educators, in New Delhi, India. The Dalai Lama has been hospitalised in the Indian capital with chest infection and is feeling much better. The Tibetan spiritual leader's spokesman Tenzin Taklha says the Dalai Lama is under medication and likely to spend a day or two in the hospital. The Dalai Lama flew to New Delhi from Dharmsala for consultations with doctors and was hospitaliszd on Tuesday, April 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File)

The Dalai Lama addressed a conference of educators and students in New Delhi last week.

Answering a question related to Tibet's future with China, he reiterated that he is not seeking independence for Tibet, but would prefer a "reunion" with China under mutually acceptable terms.

FILE - In this Sept. 15, 2018, file photo, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama greets journalists during the opening of the exhibition titled "Buddha's Life" at the Nieuwe Kerk church in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dalai Lama has been hospitalised in the Indian capital with chest infection and is feeling much better. The Tibetan spiritual leader's spokesman Tenzin Taklha says the Dalai Lama is under medication and likely to spend a day or two in the hospital. The Dalai Lama flew to New Delhi from Dharmsala for consultations with doctors and was hospitaliszd on Tuesday, April 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on Democratic presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand (all times local):

10:55 p.m.

New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand says that her relationship with Hillary Clinton is strong and that the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee has given her advice about her own presidential bid.

In 2017, Gillibrand said that Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, should have resigned after his inappropriate relationship with an intern came to light two decades ago.

At a CNN town hall Tuesday, Gillibrand said that her "fondness" and respect for Hillary Clinton are "very strong" and that she continues to admire and look up to her.

Gillibrand took Hillary Clinton's Senate seat when Clinton was named secretary of state.

In this April 5, 2019, photo, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., addresses a gathering during a campaign stop at a coffee house in Dover, N.H. Gillibrand has campaigned across eight states, pushed her rivals to release their tax returns and delivered a major speech outside a Trump-branded property in Manhattan in the months since launching her exploratory committee. Yet, she has struggled to break out of the pack of more than a dozen 2020 presidential candidates. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

She said Tuesday that Hillary Clinton is "a role model for all of us," but that her views on the former president are "very different, and I've said all I'm going to say about that."

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12:20 a.m.

Kirsten Gillibrand has campaigned across eight states, pushed her rivals to release their tax returns and delivered a major speech outside a Trump-branded property in Manhattan in the months since launching her exploratory committee.

Yet the Democratic senator from New York has struggled to break out of the pack of more than a dozen 2020 presidential candidates this year. A town hall event, set to be televised Tuesday on CNN, is a critical moment for Gillibrand's campaign, offering her an opportunity as she seeks a defining moment.

The opportunity comes at the end of the first fundraising quarter, which has offered some early evidence of how Democratic presidential candidates are faring. While some of her rivals have given details of their fundraising hauls, Gillibrand has yet to do so.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Facing bipartisan pushback to his immigration shake-up, President Donald Trump said he's not looking to revive the much-criticized practice of separating migrant children from their families at the southern border. At the same time, he suggested the policy had worked to deter migrants from coming into the U.S., although he offered no evidence to support his position.

Last summer the administration separated more than 2,500 children from their families before international outrage forced Trump to halt the practice and a judge ordered them reunited.

"We're not looking to do that," Trump told reporters on Tuesday before meeting with Egypt's president at the White House. But he also noted: "Once you don't have it, that's why you see many more people coming. They're coming like it's a picnic, because let's go to Disneyland."

The potential reinstatement of one of the most divisive practices of Trump's tenure was just one aspect of the upheaval at the Department of Homeland Security this week that culminated with the resignation of Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Acting Deputy Secretary Claire Grady, a 28-year civil servant, technically next in line for secretary, was forced to resign Tuesday to make room for Trump's pick to replace Nielsen, according to two people familiar with the decision.

With talk that more top officials were likely to be ousted, Republicans expressed public and private concerns about the shake-up orchestrated by the White House and cautioned that leadership changes wouldn't necessarily solve the problem.

As for the separation of children, Trump declared that he was "the one that stopped it" and said his predecessor, President Barack Obama, was the one who had divided family members. Administrations are allowed to separate children under certain circumstances including for the health and welfare of the child and due to a parent's criminal history. This is why children were separated under the Obama administration.

President Donald Trump speaks while meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

At hearings across Capitol Hill, lawmakers grilled administration officials on whether the practice would resurface despite last year's outrage and evidence that separations were likely to cause lasting psychological effects on the children. House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., also said his committee would look at the staff shake-up at Homeland Security, although he said he had not decided on calling in Nielsen.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said there was a serious problem going on between the White House and Homeland Security.

"If everybody's sitting around waiting for a shiny new wonder pony to ride in and solve it, we're going to be waiting a long time," he said.

People familiar with the immigration discussions within the administration said family separation was one of several ideas Trump had revived in recent weeks as he and his aides try to tackle the problem of an ever-growing number of Central American families crossing into the U.S. The people were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

A senior administration official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity Tuesday said the president had made a series of leadership changes at DHS because of frustrations that department officials weren't fast enough at implementing changes, such as a new regulation that would challenge a longstanding agreement limiting how long children can be detained, that could spark a legal fight that would land in the Supreme Court.

The White House also was weighing a tougher standard to evaluate initial asylum claims, proposing a "binary choice" that would force migrant families to choose between remaining with their children in detention until their immigration cases were decided or sending their children to government shelters while the parents remained in detention.

The administration also is considering clamping down on remittance payments that Mexican nationals send to their families, the official said.

Amid the pushback, Trump told reporters he was not "cleaning house" at the agency despite the numerous staff changes. He said his choice to be the department's new acting director, Kevin McAleenan, would do a "fantastic job."

But as Trump was speaking, the senior administration official was making a case to reporters about why the president felt changes were necessary. He described the agency as a large and unwieldly civilian bureaucracy in need of leadership that can deal with career officials resistant to the president's agenda, including many responsible for implementing some of the very policies Trump seeks to roll back.

Top Republicans in Congress also expressed concern over vacancies at Homeland Security and cautioned Trump to heed off more churn after Nielsen's resignation.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, made both a public and private plea to the White House not to dismiss career homeland security officials, including the director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Lee Francis Cissna, whose future remained uncertain Tuesday.

He said he had spoken to acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney but "never heard anything final" about Cissna.

At a Senate Homeland Security Committee meeting on border issues, child welfare and border officials warned there wasn't room or capability to start separating children on a large scale again.

Children who cross the border alone are cared for by the Department of Health and Human Services, and most of the children are teenagers. But last summer, HHS started receiving babies and toddlers, and there was not enough space to house them, said Jonathan White, the career civil servant tasked by Health and Human Services with helping to reunify children.

"It also bears repeating, separating children from their parents entails significant risk of psychological harm. That is an undisputed scientific fact," White told senators. "We have made improvements to our tracking, but we do not have the capacity to receive that number of children, nor do we have any system that can manage the mass trauma."

Both Republican and Democratic leaders deplored the idea of separating families.

"I hope members of the administration are actually listening," said Sen. Ron Johnson, R- Wis., the committee chairman. He added that he had spoken with Mulvaney about moving a permanent Homeland Security nominee through quickly.

Some of Trump's outside allies are urging him to nominate former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach to lead the department, while others are pushing former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli for the job.

Both men's names also have been tossed about for a possible immigration czar who would coordinate immigration policy across federal agencies.

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Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Lisa Mascaro, Laurie Kellman, Alan Fram and Darlene Superville in Washington and Nomaan Merchant in Houston contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Under pressure to show they have solutions, Democrats are honing proposals to address the surge of families entering the U.S. at the southern border, a problem they say President Donald Trump's restrictive immigration policies are enflaming.

House Democrats plan to introduce legislation soon addressing the recent waves of Central American migrants reaching the border. Senate Democrats are pursuing multiple tracks, including exploring whether talks with the White House might be feasible.

The House measure, described by lawmakers, aides and lobbyists, would stand virtually no chance of winning approval by the Republican-led Senate, let alone getting Trump's signature. But it would let Democrats show voters they're responsive to the rush of migrants that has overwhelmed federal officials and left border communities struggling to cope - rather than simply objecting to Trump's moves.

The bill, which participants said is still being finalized, is expected to increase federal resources at border entry points for processing refugees, counseling children and treating people needing medical care. It would create centers in Central America where asylum applications could be processed and provide aid to reduce poverty and violence in the region so fewer people would flee.

"You don't just wait for people to show up at the border. It's the worst way to deal with it," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., who's working on the legislation with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., and party leaders.

The measure represents Democrats' effort to find the sweet spot between addressing a burgeoning humanitarian crisis and not lending credibility to Trump's assertion that hordes of immigrants are invading the country. They say Trump has exacerbated the situation by aggressively detaining migrants caught entering the U.S. illegally and slowing the processing of asylum seekers, which can take months or longer.

In this April 5, 2019, file photo, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection vehicle sits near the wall as President Donald Trump visits a new section of the border wall with Mexico in Calexico. Under pressure to show they have solutions, Democrats are honing proposals to address the surge of families entering the U.S. at the southern border, a problem they say Trump's restrictive immigration policies are enflaming. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

"This is a manufactured crisis," said Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.

Trump has accused Democrats of "obstructing." He complained Tuesday about their refusal to tighten asylum laws, restrict legal immigration by relatives of migrants already here or ban the release of detained migrants until their court dates - a practice used by recent administrations, including his own.

"They don't want to act," Trump said.

In the Senate, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., a senior member of the Judiciary committee, said she plans to introduce a bill that would beef up immigration courts to reduce a huge backlog of cases and prohibit separations of migrant families . The measure would face an uphill climb.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Democrats were in early discussions about what legislation to craft and were trying to arrange meetings with the White House on the issue. But he cautioned that last year's collapse of immigration talks with Trump did not bode well.

"This president is not an easy person to work with on this subject," said Durbin, Senate Democrats' No. 2 leader.

No one disputes that the number of migrants seeking entry into the U.S. is swelling. Authorities were expecting to prevent 100,000 people, mostly families, from crossing the southern border last month, the most in 12 years.

In response, Trump has moved to cut nearly $500 million in aid to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, whose citizens have trekked toward the U.S. in growing numbers. He has curbed the number of asylum applications that authorities process. He has been blocked by a federal court from forcing refugees to wait in Mexico while their cases are decided. And he has warned he'll close the southwest border, a threat he's intermittently eased and renewed.

Frustrated with his team's resistance to carry out some of his policy proposals, he's also replaced Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and moved to purge other top officials at the department. Democrats, joined by many Republicans, said Trump's shake-up was unwise.

"He doesn't like the law," said No. 2 House leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md. "And he's firing people who are determined that they have to act within the confines of the law. I think that's very dangerous."

Trump says the U.S. faces a security and humanitarian calamity. In a letter to lawmakers last month, Nielsen asked for "immediate congressional assistance" to address "a system-wide meltdown." She requested funds for more detention beds, medical teams and processing facilities but specified no dollar amounts.

Democrats are skeptical of such requests.

"They've already taken and transferred money from things to their ridiculous wall," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., referring to Trump's effort to build a border wall that Democrats have mocked as ineffective. "It's pretty difficult for me to say I'd give them more. I'd have a lot more accountability built in, and I'd cut the amount we're giving to Homeland Security until they can show us they really need it."

Democrats contend that Trump's goal is to rile up his conservative voters as his 2020 re-election campaign gets underway.

"He's shown that over and over, he's just anti-immigrant. And this is a campaign talking point for him," said Rep. Nanette Barragan, D-Calif.

Republicans say Democrats are simply out to block Trump.

"They don't want to give Trump any victory on anything, ever," said Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y., a member of the House Homeland Security Committee.

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Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.
GRINNELL, Iowa (AP) - Austin Anderson was excited to see Beto O'Rourke on his college campus last week, intrigued by his "character" and talk of bipartisanship. But would he support the former Texas congressman in next year's Iowa caucuses?

"It doesn't feel like it's at the top of the list," the Iowa State University senior said. "I'm looking for a job right now. I'm, like, a dumb 21-year-old who worries about girls ... and schoolwork. I don't know, it feels extra at times."

Anderson represents the challenge for O'Rourke and other 2020 Democratic presidential candidates who are making appeals to young voters a central part of their campaign. The White House hopefuls can soak up the energy of young crowds at campus rallies, but that doesn't necessarily translate into support on Election Day.

Even when enthusiasm about an election is high, as it was during the 2018 midterms, young people often participate in lower rates than their older counterparts. Last year in Iowa, home to several competitive races, voters ages 18 to 24 made up 7% of the overall electorate, according to the Iowa secretary of state.

It can be even tougher to get young people to show up for a presidential caucus, which traditionally requires showing up at a site and supporting a candidate by standing in groups.

But some Democratic operatives believe a change to the caucus that would allow people to participate virtually could lead to record young voter turnout. So the 2020 Democratic contenders are showing up on Iowa's campuses in search of every vote they can get.

FILE - In this March 15, 2019, file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke speaks to local residents during a stop at the Central Park Coffee Company in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Young voters, many of whom reside in delegate-rich areas of the state and can be powerful multiplying forces if they're engaged enough to convince friends and family members to show up and support their candidates, could be a major force in this cycle's Iowa caucuses. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Sen. Kamala Harris of California will hold a town hall Wednesday at the University of Iowa. Next week, her campaign will launch "Camp Kamala" - an organizing effort focused on training students and young Iowans to caucus and get their friends and neighbors to turn out - at five college campuses across the state.

O'Rourke has held town halls at 17 schools in six states since announcing his candidacy last month, including a handful of Iowa colleges just this past week.

Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey has hired three organizers from NextGen Iowa, the youth voter turnout group. He's appeared at events hosted by college Democrats and is recruiting volunteers from at least 10 Iowa colleges and universities, with a more extensive youth turnout effort to come, according to campaign staff.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has appeared at student-focused events in Iowa as well, and her Iowa campaign already has more than 30 organizers embedded throughout the state, including in the major college towns of Ames, Iowa City and Cedar Falls. The campaign of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York touts that her first endorsement was from a 22-year-old University of Iowa student and that Gillibrand is planning to tour a community college and visit a handful of college campuses on her next visit to the state.

O'Rourke and Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, are among the youngest candidates in the field, and hundreds of students showed up at O'Rourke's rallies on the campuses of Iowa State and Grinnell College this past week.

And Sen. Bernie Sanders' improbable 2016 success was driven in part by enthusiasm from young people, a fact the Vermont independent touts at his rallies.

But in nearly two dozen interviews at a handful of O'Rourke and Sanders events last week, it was clear that Iowa's young voters aren't a monolithic voting bloc. Candidates ranging from former Vice President Joe Biden to entrepreneur Andrew Yang came up as top picks.

Eli Shapiro, an 18-year-old Grinnell freshman, said he was a fan of Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota because she's shown an ability to work across the aisle. He wasn't impressed by O'Rourke.

"He's soft like a cheesecake. When you ask him 'What do you think about taxes?' he'll just give you the most generic answer," he said.

Victoria Palma, a 19-year-old sophomore at Iowa State, said she was a big fan of Sanders' in 2016 but was now looking at O'Rourke and Harris.

"There are just so many more options this time, as well as maybe there's a reason why he didn't make it last time," she said.

For Mary Davega, another Grinnell sophomore, the way Biden handled the controversy surrounding his touchiness was a deal-breaker. She's considering O'Rourke because of his authenticity.

"The hugging and the touchiness, I think, is not a problem, but he dealt with it wrong, and we cannot have another borderline misogynist person leading the country," the 21-year-old Davega said.

But even if a candidate wins over students, he or she has another hurdle to overcome: getting young people to show up. Many don't even know what caucusing is.

Abby Leonard, a 19-year-old Grinnell sophomore, said she's been told "it's a big thing on campus and that it's really active and that people like to yell."

Another Grinnell sophomore, Will Telingator, confused caucusing with canvassing.

"I assume it's just kind of advocating for a candidate or going door to door trying to register people to vote," the 19-year-old said.

Jake Drobnik, a 19-year-old Iowa State freshman, said it was "intimidating" to caucus because "you don't know exactly what you're getting into."

"But I'm ready to Google it," he said.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Lee Wayne Hunt died a prisoner, officially deemed guilty of a double murder - even though a co-defendant absolved him in a conversation with a lawyer that remained secret for decades.

Attorney Staples Hughes said a client who also was convicted in the case told him not long after the 1984 slayings of a Fayetteville couple that Hunt wasn't involved. Hughes risked disbarment when he told a judge in 2007 about the confession, after the client, Jerry Cashwell, had died.

"If you believe what my client told me, and I believe my client, that Mr. Hunt didn't do this, then it just becomes so terrible and so sad," Hughes told The Associated Press.

Hunt, 59, died alone Feb. 13 at Rex Hospital in Raleigh, where he had been taken about a week earlier for treatment of heart problems, his daughter, Heather Allen, told the AP. Prison officials didn't tell Hunt's relatives that he'd been moved from Maury Correctional Institution to the hospital until the family got word he had died, Allen said. He'd spent more than half his life in state prisons.

The AP received a tip that Hunt had died and is the only news organization to interview members of the families of both Hunt and the Matthews' couple since his death.

Hunt, Cashwell and a third man were convicted in the deaths of Roland and Lisa Matthews, who were shot and stabbed in their home in Fayetteville. Their 2-year-old daughter was found in a bedroom, physically unharmed.

In this photo taken Wednesday, March 6, 2019 in Raleigh, N.C. Heather Allen holds a photo of her father, Lee Wayne Hunt, from his memorial. Even though Lee Wayne Hunt died as a prisoner found guilty of a double murder, his family says he never gave up hope of proving his innocence. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Prosecutors said the couple was killed because Roland Matthews stole marijuana from Hunt, who ran a drug ring.

The only physical evidence tying Hunt to the crimes was a lead-content comparison of bullets that Hunt owned to bullets found at the crime scene - a comparison technique the FBI abandoned in 2005 after the method faced scientific criticism. Other evidence included testimony from an associate who received immunity and from a prison informant.

That's not to say Hunt had no criminal history.

In November 1985, Hunt was sentenced for felony drug possession and other charges. He was released in September 1986. Less than a month later, on Oct. 17, 1986, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Hunt's supporters were certain the lack of physical evidence, along with Cashwell's posthumously released confession, would eventually free him in the murder case.

But it didn't. Judges repeatedly ruled against him. North Carolina's unique Innocence Inquiry Commission couldn't take his case because there was no new evidence, said Chris Mumma, executive director of the nonprofit N.C. Center on Actual Innocence, which handled Hunt's case at one point.

Yet Hunt believed until the end that he would be exonerated, his daughter said. "He never let go of hope," Allen said.

He told her "If they don't find out while I'm here, hopefully the truth will come out when I'm not here," she said. "... He always talked about the Lord and he always believed things would come to a light one day."

Hughes, now 67, kept Cashwell's confession secret because of attorney-client privilege until after Cashwell died by suicide in prison in 2002. Hughes signed an affidavit for Hunt's attorneys in 2004. When Hughes came forward at a hearing for Hunt in 2007, the judge admonished him and reported him to the State Bar, which declined to take action against him.

Last fall, Hughes visited Hunt for the first time in prison. They talked for more than two hours.

"He completely understood the situation I was in," Hughes said. "He bore me no ill will."

But in his last few phone calls with his daughter, Hunt shared his worries about his health and the lack of care he believed he received behind bars, Allen said. When Allen received his personal belongings from prison officials, she found complaints about his medical care.

Correction Department spokesman John Bull said laws prohibit him from discussing a prisoner's health record. He said he'd share the Hunt family's concerns with prison medical officials.

The victims' family, meanwhile, is certain of Hunt's guilt and relieved he's finally gone.

Roland Matthews' sister, Paula Holland of Hope Mills, believes Hughes lied about Cashwell's confession. When asked what trial evidence convinced her of Hunt's guilt, Holland responded: "Because of who he is. Because of who he was. Because of his reputation."

Holland said her niece, Crystal Mayfield, was 22 months old when her parents were killed. She was found sitting on her bed, with her dog.

And when an exonerated ex-prisoner commented in a public Facebook post that Hunt died an innocent man, Mayfield responded: "I am very relieved that justice has finally been served and my family can have some peace now."

Mayfield didn't reply to a Facebook message from the AP. Her relatives said she didn't want to be interviewed.

It's not uncommon for prisoners who have evidence of innocence to die in custody. Responding to an email query, lawyers nationwide listed cases in multiple states where prisoners with strong evidence, including DNA, have died awaiting a chance to prove their innocence.

At least 21 people have been exonerated posthumously, with about half dying in prison, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.

Hunt, who learned to read and write in prison, was a woodworker. He enjoyed reading about log cabins and talked about the one he'd build when free, his family said. He used plastic knives and wood from pallets to carve animal figures, then dyed them with coffee grounds and decorated them with pastel crayons, Allen said.

The victims' family thinks Allen is lucky to have those memories.

"Lee Wayne Hunt was very fortunate," Holland said. "His family could go to prison and visit him. The only joy we had left was putting flowers on my brother's grave. I hate it for them, but I hate it for us, too ... We didn't take his life. ... We just had to wait and bide our time."

Hunt's supporters believe time did him no favors.

"Everything I knew about this case makes me believe he didn't do this," Hughes said. "And that's pretty terrible. I had hoped this would turn out different. And it didn't. It just turned out overwhelmingly sadly."

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Associated Press reporter Allen G. Breed contributed to this story.

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Follow Martha Waggoner on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mjwaggonernc

In this photo taken Wednesday, March 6, 2019 Heather Allen, daughter of Lee Wayne Hunt, responds during an interview in Raleigh, N.C. Even though Hunt died as a prisoner found guilty of a double murder, his family says he never gave up hope of proving his innocence. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

In this photo taken Wednesday, March 6, 2019 in Raleigh, N.C. Heather Allen arranges some carvings made by her father, Lee Wayne Hunt, while he was in prison. Even though Lee Wayne Hunt died as a prisoner found guilty of a double murder, his family says he never gave up hope of proving his innocence. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

In this photo taken Wednesday, March 6, 2019 Heather Allen, Lee Wayne Hunt's daughter, pauses during an interview in Raleigh, N.C. Even though Lee Wayne Hunt died as a prisoner found guilty of a double murder, his family says he never gave up hope of proving his innocence. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) - A Pakistani government official says a powerful rainstorm with heavy winds across the country's northwest killed at least six people overnight.

Taimur Khan, a spokesman for the provincial Disaster Management Authority said on Wednesday that several people were also injured in the storm in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan.

He says many houses were damaged and some of the areas in the province were without electricity for hours but the situation is now under control.

Seasonal dust storms and rains often damage houses in Pakistan, causing casualties.

The country's monsoon season begins in July and torrential rains trigger flash floods every year in Pakistan.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The interim police chief of Richmond, Virginia, says one of his officers will be disciplined for telling a group of middle schoolers "wait until your asses turn 18, then you're mine."

Interim Chief William Smith told news outlets that the officer will undergo remedial training. He says the officer also will, unrelatedly, move to another area of Richmond.

A video posted online last month shows several black students standing outside Albert Hill Middle School when the officer drives past and curses at them. It's unclear what led to the confrontation.

Tenesha Calloway posted the video and says her daughter was in the group of students. She says she wants the department to release the officer's identity.

Mayor Levar Stoney and city schools Superintendent Jason Kamras both condemned the officer's actions.
HONG KONG (AP) - A Hong Kong court extended bail Wednesday for nine leaders of 2014 pro-democracy demonstrations who are awaiting sentencing after being convicted of public nuisance offenses.

The guilty verdicts handed down Tuesday against the nine were condemned by rights activists as a likely sign of increasing restrictions on free expression in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

The defendants will be sentenced April 24.

The nine were leaders of the "Occupy Central" campaign, which was organized as a nonviolent sit-in that became known as the "Umbrella Movement" after a key symbol of defiance against police adopted by the street protests. The movement shut down parts of Hong Kong, and was marked by occasional clashes between demonstrators, the police and others before the last protesters were cleared from the streets after 79 days.

Protesters demanded the right to freely nominate candidates for Hong Kong's leader who would then be elected by all of the territory's roughly 5 million voters.

However, they failed to win any concessions from the government and Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam was chosen in 2017 from among a slate of candidates approved by Beijing and elected by a 1,200- member pro-China electoral body.

Occupy Central leaders, from left, Shiu Ka-chun, Chan Kin-man, Chu Yiu-ming, Benny Tai and Tanya Chan shout slogans before entering a court in Hong Kong, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. Nine pro-democracy activists returned to court Wednesday in Hong Kong to await their verdicts after having been found guilty of various offenses in relation to the 2014 "Occupy Central" protest, which paralyzed city streets in the southern Chinese territory. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

Amnesty International said the nine had indicated they would appeal their convictions to avoid deterring future protests or setting a precedent for similar prosecutions in the future.

"The conviction of these nine prominent figures of the Umbrella Movement is likely to have a chilling effect on freedom of peaceful assembly and expression in Hong Kong," the rights group said in a statement.

Ranging in age from their 30s to 70s, the nine defendants span generations of Hong Kong citizens who have been agitating for full democracy. The defendants had all pleaded not guilty, calling the prosecutions politically motivated.

The charges carry a maximum penalty of seven years.

Hong Kong, a former British colony, was handed over to Chinese rule in 1997 under an agreement in which China promised the city could retain its own laws, economic system and civil rights for 50 years.

However, Chinese President and Communist Party leader Xi Jinping has been seen as extending his crackdown on civil liberties to Hong Kong, drawing criticism from commercial and legal associations as well as political, human rights and media groups.

Occupy Central leaders, from left, Chan Kin-man, Chu Yiu-ming and Benny Tai pose for photographers before entering a court in Hong Kong, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. Nine pro-democracy activists returned to court Wednesday in Hong Kong to await their verdicts after having been found guilty of various offenses in relation to the 2014 "Occupy Central" protest, which paralyzed city streets in the southern Chinese territory. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

Occupy Central leaders, from right, Tommy Cheung, Tanya Chan, Benny Tai, Chu Yiu-ming, Chan Kin-man, Shiu Ka-chun, Lee Wing-tat, Raphael Wong and Eason Chung arrive at a court in Hong Kong, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. Nine pro-democracy activists returned to court Wednesday in Hong Kong to await their verdicts after having been found guilty of various offenses in relation to the 2014 "Occupy Central" protest, which paralyzed city streets in the southern Chinese territory. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
BERLIN (AP) - German authorities have carried out raids on groups suspected of helping the militant Palestinian group Hamas under the guise of providing humanitarian aid.

The interior ministry said some 90 properties across Germany associated with an "Islamist network" were searched on Wednesday. It said the network was headed by two groups based in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, WWR Help and Ansaar International.

The ministry said there are indications that the network provided financial and propaganda support to Hamas, a longtime enemy of Israel that runs the Gaza Strip and was listed as a terror group by the European Union in 2001.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said that "anyone who supports Hamas under the cover of humanitarian aid flouts fundamental value judgments of our constitution."
SINGAPORE (AP) - Singapore seized more than 28 tons of pangolin scales belonging to around 38,000 of the endangered mammals in the past week, a global record that spurred calls for more protection for pangolins, whose scales are used in traditional medicine.

The scales were linked to four species of pangolins native to Africa.

A record 14.2 tons of the scales were found hidden among packets of frozen beef in shipping containers on April 3. Five days later, they found 14 more tons in 474 bags in another container. The National Parks Board, Singapore Customs and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority said in a statement Wednesday that the cargo was declared as cassia seeds. Both shipments were en route from Nigeria to Vietnam.

"The sheer size of these two latest seizures is unprecedented and will undoubtedly prove a major setback to the traffickers concerned," said Richard Thomas of monitoring network Traffic.

He warned that the seizures themselves won't put the traffickers out of business. "The quantities of pangolins involved point to sourcing, processing and distribution on an industrial scale," Thomas said.

The pangolin is said to be the most widely trafficked mammal in the world, and its scales are in high demand in Asia for use in traditional Chinese medicine. The scales are made of keratin, the same material in human fingernails. Their meat is also considered a delicacy in China and other Asian countries.

FILE - In this Aug. 31, 2017, file photo, one of over 100 pangolins and 450 kg (992 lb.) of pangolin scales seized buy the Thailand customs, estimated to be worth over 2.5 million baht (USD $75,278), are displayed during a press conference at the Customs Department headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand. Singapore has seized a total of 25 tons of pangolin scales belonging to tens of thousands of endangered mammals in two busts in less than a week. The scales, which were en route from Nigeria to Vietnam, were found in 474 bags in a shipping container on Monday. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)

Wildlife groups are concerned that the busts point to a jump in poaching of pangolins.

"The World Health Organization recently endorsed traditional medicine and the industry appears keen to grow this market, outside of China, Vietnam and beyond," said Neil D'Cruze, the global wildlife adviser at the World Animal Protection. "This is an alarming move for some wildlife species such as pangolins, as it poses a real conservation and animal welfare threat."

Pangolins are an extremely lucrative catch, he said. In rural communities where they're hunted, poachers can make up to the equivalent of a full year's salary from catching just one pangolin. Feeding "the insatiable demand" are middlemen traffickers who also profit from the trade that's reaching more remote communities to hunt the animal, he added.

Paul Thomson, an official at the Pangolin Specialist Group, said it looks like the pangolin poaching has increased but figures were difficult to ascertain.

"The illegal trade in pangolin parts has been going on for decades. However, pangolins have typically been overlooked in terms of concerted conservation attention and action," Thomson told The Associated Press. "This is changing thanks to growing awareness of pangolins. And this awareness has partly been driven by the high volumes of trafficking seen today."

In February, Malaysian officials seized 30 tons of pangolin and pangolin products. This included live and frozen pangolins and 361 kilograms (795 pounds) of their scales.

Earlier that month, Hong Kong said it had seized ivory tusks and 8.3 tons of pangolin scales belonging to as many as 13,000 pangolins. The shipment, which originated in Nigeria, was bound for Vietnam.

Singapore made two markedly smaller pangolin scale busts in 2015 and 2016 amounting to 440 kilograms (970 pounds). Those found to have illegally imported, exported or re-exported wildlife, including their parts, face a maximum punishment of two years in prison and a fine of 500,000 Singapore dollars ($367,000).

"There has never been a more opportune moment for full and thorough international investigations and collaborations to take place to find out who has perpetrated these criminal acts and bring those behind them to face justice," Thomas said.

FILE - In this Thursday, June 19, 2014, file photo, a pangolin carries its baby at a Bali zoo in Bali, Indonesia. Singapore has seized more than 25 tons of pangolin scales belonging to tens of thousands of endangered animals in two busts over the past week, a global record for such seizures. The pangolin scales are in high demand in Asia for use in traditional Chinese medicine. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati, File)

In this April 9, 2019, photo released by the National Parks Board, over 12 tons of pangolin scales worth around US$38.1 million are displayed in an undisclosed site in Singapore. Singapore has seized more than 25 tons of pangolin scales belonging to tens of thousands of the endangered mammals in two busts over the past week, a global record for such seizures. (National Parks Board via AP)

In this April 9, 2019, photo released by the National Parks Board, some of the 12 tons of pangolin scales worth around US$38.1 million are displayed in an undisclosed site in Singapore. Singapore has seized more than 25 tons of pangolin scales belonging to tens of thousands of the endangered mammals in two busts over the past week, a global record for such seizures. (National Parks Board via AP)

In this April 9, 2019, photo released by the National Parks Board, over 12 tons of pangolin scales worth around US$38.1 million are displayed in an undisclosed site in Singapore. Singapore has seized more than 25 tons of pangolin scales belonging to tens of thousands of the endangered mammals in two busts over the past week, a global record for such seizures. (National Parks Board via AP)
TOKYO (AP) - North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly is expected to convene Thursday to formally approve leader Kim Jong Un's latest economic policies and possibly endorse a shift in U.S. strategy following his failed summit with President Donald Trump in Hanoi.

Kim set the stage for the assembly meeting on Tuesday, when he told a gathering of senior party members to "fully display a high sense of responsibility and creativity" in accordance with the "prevailing tense situation," according to state media reports.

The reports Wednesday made no mention of any comments regarding the Hanoi summit.

But Kim has previously used the opening of the assembly and the party political meetings that normally precede it as an opportunity to clarify his political priorities.

The country's economic growth and efforts to get trade sanctions lifted are Kim's top concerns. North Korean officials, who blamed the "hard-line" stance taken by Trump's advisers for the collapse of the Feb. 27-28 summit, have also hinted Kim is mulling some sort of a new approach to his dealings with Washington.

North Korea's Deputy Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui told diplomats in Pyongyang last month that Kim would soon make clear his post-Hanoi position, though she didn't say exactly when.

In this April 9, 2019, photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un addresses the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang. North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly is expected to formally approve leader Kim's latest economic policies and possibly endorse a shift in U.S. strategy following his failed summit with President Donald Trump in Hanoi. The assembly is to convene on Thursday, April 11. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

In what appeared to be an attempt to test the waters ahead of such an announcement, she said her country might pull out of the nuclear negotiations with the United States, citing a lack of corresponding steps to some disarmament measures North Korea took last year.

She also hinted Kim was considering whether to continue the talks and his moratorium on nuclear and missile tests.

Choe, who attended the summit in Hanoi, said Kim was puzzled by the "eccentric" negotiation position of the U.S. She suggested Trump was willing to talk, particularly if there was a "snapback" provision for violations, but an atmosphere of hostility and mistrust was created by the uncompromising demands of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton.

Pompeo and Bolton have disputed the allegation.

While the assembly prepared to meet in Pyongyang, South Korean President Moon Jae-in flew to the United States to discuss how to strengthen their countries' alliance and joint efforts to achieve their goal of complete denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The Supreme People's Assembly, which is North Korea's version of a parliament but has little real power, generally meets at least once a year to approve the annual budget, hear progress reports and endorse policies and personnel changes that have already been decided upon by Kim and the ruling party leadership.

Thursday's session will convene a new lineup of nearly 700 "deputies" approved in a nationwide election last month. The seats aren't contested at the polls - each district has just one candidate who is pre-approved by the ruling party. Voters can merely approve or, theoretically, disapprove of the candidate.

Kim holds a seat in the assembly, but did not run for re-election, suggesting he may have assumed some sort of special status as the representative of the entire nation, instead of a single district or constituency. His younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, was elected to a seat last month.

Also being watched this time is the fate of the current head of the assembly Kim Yong Nam, who is 91 years old. Though he remains active in his role of ceremonial elder statesman - receiving foreign dignitaries and attending important public functions - his retirement has long been expected.

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Talmadge is the AP's Pyongyang bureau chief. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram: @EricTalmadge
AMETHI, India (AP) - Congress party chief Rahul Gandhi, the scion of India's most famous modern political dynasty, filed nomination papers in the family stronghold of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh state, hoping to hold onto a key seat for a fourth consecutive time in national elections that begin Thursday.

Gandhi was flanked by his mother, Sonia Gandhi, the widow of assassinated Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who is running as a Congress candidate from Rae Bareli, another city in Uttar Pradesh. He was also joined by his sister, Priyanka Gandhi, the Congress party manager of the eastern half of Uttar Pradesh, and her husband, businessman Robert Vadra.

Thousands of party workers accompanied the Gandhis in a massive road show Wednesday, carrying flags with the Congress' party symbol - an outstretched hand - and dancing to drum beats. Others stood on balconies or climbed onto vehicles for a better view or to toss flower petals.

"Treat it just as a victory procession," said Congress worker Rajesh Prajapati.

But while Gandhi will likely prevail in Amethi - which he has represented since 2004, and which was previously represented by Sonia Gandhi - the victory of his party in Uttar Pradesh is far from assured.

India's most populous state is ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP trounced Congress in Uttar Pradesh in 2014, winning 71 of the 80 seats in the Lok Sabha, India's lower house of Parliament, that were contested.

Congress party chief Rahul Gandhi, center in white, accompanied by his sister Priyanka Vadra in red arrives to file his nomination papers for the upcoming general elections in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh state, India, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. Gandhi, the scion of India's most famous political dynasty, filed nomination papers in the family stronghold of Amethi hoping to hold onto a key seat for a fourth consecutive time in national elections that begin Thursday. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

On the campaign trail, Modi has blasted the alleged corruption within the Congress party, which began with Rahul Gandhi's great-grandfather and India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

Nehru, his daughter Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi ruled the country for about a half a century after India won independence from Britain in 1947.

Modi and his followers have painted him as a "chowkidar," or "watchman" who has taken a hard stance against the corruption of previous governments.

"Narendra Modi can abuse my mother, father, grandmother and grandfather if he wishes so. But he should debate with me for 15 minutes on the issue of corruption," Gandhi told reporters Wednesday.

Amethi is a small, impoverished district of about 1.3 million people, according to the last census, 120 kilometers (75 miles) southeast of Lucknow, the state capital. Over decades of Congress rule, the local government had helped create new industries and factories, but many of these closed after promised government subsidies failed to materialize.

The BJP has taken the district's economic straits as an opening.

The Modi government's Textile Minister Smriti Irani ran for the Amethi constituency in 2014. Even after losing to Rahul Gandhi, she has nurtured the constituency in the last five years, visiting the area frequently and appropriating government funds for roads, water and electricity projects.

Irani's growing presence in Amethi has given BJP workers hope that she can beat Gandhi this time. The BJP has even coined a slogan: "Ab ki baar Amethi hamaar," which translates to "This time, Amethi is ours."

As the Gandhis' slow-moving convoy approached the government office where Rahul Gandhi's nomination was filed, people jostled for a sighting, to the annoyance of Narain Dubey, a resident having tea at a roadside shop.

"Why is this commotion and what for? He is MP for last 15 years from this constituency. What has he done for Amethi and you are climbing on one another to have a glimpse of him," he said.

Dubey's remarks were met with anger. One young person turned to him and shouted: "Chowkidar chor hai," meaning "watchman is a thief," Rahul Gandhi's oft-repeated line referring to an ongoing investigation into the Modi-led government's purchase of military aircraft.

Gandhi earlier this month also announced he was running for a seat in Kerala state in southern India, offending some supporters in Amethi.

"Rahul Gandhi's decision to contest from Wayanad is an insult to Amethi because this gives an impression that Gandhi family is looking for a second option," resident Surendra Tiwari said, adding that he wasn't sure whether to vote for him again.

India's elections, the world's largest democratic exercise, will take place on seven days over a six-week period. Vote counting is scheduled for May 23.

Congress party chief Rahul Gandhi, center in white, accompanied by his sister Priyanka Vadra in red arrives to file his nomination papers for the upcoming general elections in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh state, India, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. Gandhi, the scion of India's most famous political dynasty, filed nomination papers in the family stronghold of Amethi hoping to hold onto a key seat for a fourth consecutive time in national elections that begin Thursday. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

Congress party chief Rahul Gandhi, center in white, accompanied by his sister Priyanka Vadra in red arrives to file his nomination papers for the upcoming general elections in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh state, India, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. Gandhi, the scion of India's most famous political dynasty, filed nomination papers in the family stronghold of Amethi hoping to hold onto a key seat for a fourth consecutive time in national elections that begin Thursday. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Middle school students in Poland took important exams Wednesday even though a nationwide teachers' strike entered its third day, forcing exam authorities to ask for help from retired teachers, religion tutors and those not on strike.

The exam in humanities for around 350,000 students was held in all schools but one, in the western village of Owinska, where extra help for the exam team wasn't provided in time. Tests in mathematics and foreign languages will be held Thursday and Friday.

The indefinite strike began Monday after pay negotiations with the government failed. Teachers' monthly net earnings range from 1,800 zlotys to 3,000 zlotys ($470 to $780).

Deputy Prime Minister Beata Szydlo thanked school directors for making the exams possible and urged striking educators to accept the government's offer, which unions have repeatedly rejected.

Teachers want an immediate 30% pay increase. But the government has said it will accelerate a planned increase of around 15% and introduce a new remuneration system, which would substantially raise salaries but also increase the number of lessons a teacher gives a week to 24 from the current 18.

The teachers' unions warned that the nonstandard way the tests were being held could undermine their validity.

School children rally in support of Polish teachers who are on strike in Warsaw, Poland, on Tuesday April 9, 2019. Teachers held a second day of an open-ended strike on Tuesday demanding higher wages.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Students at a school in Warsaw who spoke to The Associated Press didn't think that the strike added to their stress and said they supported the teachers' demands for higher pay.

A grandmother and grandson post a message in support of Polish teachers who are on strike in Warsaw, Poland, on Tuesday April 9, 2019. The orange sign says: "We support out teachers." Teachers held a second day of an open-ended strike on Tuesday demanding higher wages.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

School children rally in support of Polish teachers who are on strike in Warsaw, Poland, on Tuesday April 9, 2019. Teachers held a second day of an open-ended strike on Tuesday demanding higher wages.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Striking teachers watch television reports from the nationwide protest action in the teacher's room at the Primary School number 68 in Warsaw, Poland, on Monday, April 8, 2019. Majority of Poland's school and kindergarten teachers went on strike after talks about their payment with the government failed. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
TOKYO (AP) - The lawyers for Nissan's former Chairman Carlos Ghosn, who was sent back to detention while out on bail, filed a protest with the Japanese Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Lawyer Junichiro Hironaka told reporters that Ghosn's fourth and latest arrest is unfair. Ghosn was arrested in November, released on bail last month but re-arrested last week.

Multiple arrests and long detentions are routine in Japan, but arresting a suspect who cleared bail is unusual.

Ghosn's detention has been extended through Sunday but may be prolonged. He is charged with falsifying financial documents in underreporting his retirement compensation and breach of trust in what prosecutors call dubious payments.

He says he is innocent, noting the compensation was never decided or paid and the payments were for legitimate services.

The latest arrest is over suspicion Nissan money paid to a dealership that was diverted to a company effectively controlled by Ghosn.

FILE - In this April 3, 2019, file photo, former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn, center, leaves his lawyer's office in Tokyo. Nissan Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa has apologized to shareholders for the unfolding scandal at the Japanese automaker and asked for their approval to oust from the board former Chairman Ghosn, who has been arrested on financial misconduct charges. Saikawa and other Nissan Motor Co. executives bowed deeply at a Tokyo hotel Monday, April 8, 2019, where the extraordinary shareholders' meeting was being held. (Sadayuki Goto/Kyodo News via AP, File)

Hironaka was among 1,010 lawyers, academics and other legal professionals who signed a call to eliminate Japan's so-called "hostage justice."

Kaku Imamura, a lawyer who led the initiative, told reporters Wednesday that Ghosn's case has set off international criticism about the longtime detentions without convictions.

He said innocent people who refuse to sign confessions suffer and are kept for months, sometimes years, even for relatively minor charges that won't result in prison time. During detention, prosecutors can grill the suspect for more than eight hours, he said, while the suspect's contact with lawyers is limited, and often banned with family and friends.

He declined comment on the specifics of Ghosn's case.

"Detention is used as a form of torture," Imamura said at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan. "It becomes difficult for people to get a fair trial."

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LONDON (AP) - Prime Minister Theresa May is off to Brussels to ask for a delay to Britain's departure from the European Union. EU leaders want to know she has a plan to break the U.K.'s political impasse, but talks between the British government and its political opponents over a compromise have yet to bear fruit. Meanwhile, Britain is scheduled to leave the EU in two days.

With Brexit once again engulfed in uncertainty, a look at what could happen next:

DELAY EXIT DAY

For two years, Britain was scheduled to leave the EU on March 29, 2019. But after Parliament three times rejected the divorce deal agreed between the U.K. government and the bloc, May admitted defeat and asked for more time.

Last month, the EU gave Britain until April 12 - this Friday - to pass a deal, come up with a new plan and seek a further extension, or leave without an agreement or a transition period to smooth the way.

Now May wants a bit more time. She has asked the EU to delay Brexit until June 30, in hope that'll be enough time to secure, approve and implement a deal.

FILE - In this Friday, March 22, 2019 file photo, British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves after addressing a media conference at an EU summit in Brussels. May is off to Brussels to ask for a delay to Britain's departure from the European Union. EU leaders want to know she has a plan to break the U.K.'s political impasse, but talks between the government and its political opponents over a compromise have yet to bear fruit. Meanwhile, Britain is scheduled to leave the EU in two days on April 12, 2019. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)

The 27 other leaders of the bloc will consider the request at an emergency Brexit summit in Brussels Wednesday evening. Few favor the June 30 date. Some want a longer extension, to avoid repeated crises every few weeks.

European Council President Donald Tusk has proposed a "flextension:" a delay of up to a year, but with flexibility to let Britain leave earlier if it approves an agreement.

But an extension is not guaranteed. EU countries are exasperated at Britain's interminable Brexit crisis. French President Emmanuel Macron, in particular, wants to impose conditions on any delay to ensure Britain cooperates with the bloc.

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NO DEAL

As it stands, Britain is due to leave the EU on Friday - with or without a deal that would cushion the country's departure.

Most politicians, economists and business groups think leaving the world's largest trading bloc without an agreement would be damaging for the EU and disastrous for the U.K. It could lead to tariffs imposed on trade between Britain and the EU and customs checks that could cause gridlock at ports and shortages of essential goods.

A hardcore of pro-Brexit lawmakers in May's Conservative Party dismiss such warnings as fear-mongering. But most are opposed to leaving without a deal. Parliament has voted repeatedly to rule out a "no-deal" Brexit, and even passed a law that forces the government to ask for a delay to Britain's exit rather than crash out.

But a no-deal Brexit is still the legal default position, and could happen if the EU refuses to grant another extension. If that happens the only way to stop Britain crashing out would be for the government to choose the "nuclear option" and revoke the decision to leave.

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CROSS-PARTY COMPROMISE

To secure a new Brexit delay, May must convince EU leaders that she has a plan to break the deadlock that grips Britain's political process almost three years after the country voted to leave the EU.

After failing to push through her Brexit deal with support from Conservatives alone, May last week began seeking a compromise with her Labour opponents.

Labour favors a softer Brexit than the government has proposed and is seeking a close economic relationship with the bloc through a customs union. That's anathema to many in May's Conservative Party, who say it would not leave Britain free to strike its own trade deals around the world.

Several days of talks have failed to produce a breakthrough, with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn saying the government had not shifted from its negotiating "red lines." Still, negotiations between senior politicians from the two sides are set to continue Thursday.

If they fail, May says she will let Parliament vote on a variety of options, including the government's proposed deal, in hope something can command a majority.

If Britain's politicians reach agreement around a so-called "soft Brexit," it could quite likely get through Parliament, and would be welcomed by the EU, allowing Britain an orderly departure in the coming months.

But it could also blast open rifts within both Conservatives and Labour. Pro-Brexit government ministers could resign, and pressure would grow on May to quit. The prime minister has already said she will resign if her Brexit deal is passed and Britain leaves the EU, and rivals are already circling, eager to succeed her.

Corbyn, meanwhile, would face rebellion from a large number of Labour lawmakers who want a new referendum on Britain's EU exit.

That instability increases the chance of an early British election, which could rearrange Parliament and break the deadlock - or result in still more stalemate.

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NO BREXIT

Among pro-EU Britons, there is rising hope that Brexit can be stopped.

With one Brexit day gone and another likely to follow, the government has lost control of the timetable.

This week the government started preparing to take part in elections for the European Parliament in late May - acknowledgement that Britain likely won't have left the bloc by then, and may not leave anytime soon.

Support is growing for the idea that any Brexit deal agreed by Parliament should be put to public vote in a "confirmatory referendum," with the other option being to stay in the EU. The proposal is backed by Labour and other opposition parties, plus some of May's Conservatives.

The government has ruled out holding another referendum, saying voters in 2016 made their decision to leave. But with divisions in both Parliament and in May's Cabinet, handing the decision back to the people in a new plebiscite could be seen as the only way forward.

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Follow AP's full coverage of Brexit at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - A University of South Carolina spokesman says a posthumous degree will be awarded to a student police say was killed after getting into a car she believed was her Uber ride.

Spokesman Jeff Stensland told The State on Tuesday about the degree for 21-year-old Samantha Josephson.

Authorities say Josephson got separated from friends in Columbia's Five Points bar district and called an Uber to take her home on March 29. They say she mistakenly got into a car driven by 21-year-old Nathaniel David Rowland, who's now charged with kidnapping and murder in the case.

The Aiken Standard reports USC President Harris Pastides says Josephson's parents are coming to what would've been her graduation. Pastides says the USC senior was accepted to Drexel University's law school and awarded a full ride.
WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) - Charges have been dropped against a North Carolina man accused of leaving his pet fish behind without food when he was evicted.

New Hanover County District Attorney Ben David told news outlets Tuesday that 53-year-old Michael Hinson is no longer charged with animal cruelty and abandonment. He says fish aren't protected under related statues that define "animal" as amphibians, reptiles, bird and mammals, excluding humans.

Officials say Hinson was evicted from his Wilmington home last month and left behind an unhealthy Oscar fish in a dirty tank. He was arrested last week after officials found the 6-inch fish, which is being nursed back to health at an aquarium store.

Sheriff's Lt. Jerry Brewer said this was the county's first animal cruelty case involving a fish.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - New Zealand's Parliament on Wednesday passed sweeping gun laws that outlaw military style weapons, less than a month after the mass shootings at two mosques in Christchurch where 50 people were killed and dozens were wounded.

A bill outlawing most automatic and semi-automatic weapons and banning components that modify existing weapons was passed by a vote of 119 to 1 in the House of Representatives after an accelerated process of debate and public submission.

The bill needs only the approval of New Zealand's governor general, a formality, before becoming law on Friday.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern spoke emotionally during the bill's final reading of the traumatic injuries suffered by victims of the March 15 attack, whom she visited in Christchurch Hospital after the shootings.

"I struggle to recall any single gunshot wounds," Ardern said. "In every case they spoke of multiple injuries, multiple debilitating injuries that deemed it impossible for them to recover in days, let alone weeks. They will carry disabilities for a lifetime, and that's before you consider the psychological impact. We are here for them."

"I could not fathom how weapons that could cause such destruction and large-scale death could be obtained legally in this country," she said.

FILE - In this March 17, 2019, file photo, a girl carries flowers to a memorial wall following the mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand. New Zealand's parliament on Wednesday passed sweeping gun laws which outlaw military-style weapons, less than a month after the nation's worst mass shooting left 50 dead and 39 wounded in two mosques in the South Island city of Christchurch. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)

Australian Brenton Harrison Tarrant, 28, was charged with 50 counts of murder and 39 counts of attempted murder. The royal commission set up to investigate issues surrounding the massacre is examining how he obtained a gun license in New Zealand and purchased weapons and ammunition.

Ardern, who has won international praise for her compassion and leadership since the shootings, was able to win rare bipartisan support for a bill that makes it illegal to own a military-style semi-automatic rifle. The only dissent was from the libertarian ACT Party's lone lawmaker in Parliament.

The law includes a buy-back scheme under which owners of outlawed weapons can surrender them to police in return for compensation based on the weapon's age and condition.

Anyone who retains such a weapon after the law formally passes on Friday faces a penalty of up to five years in prison. Some exemptions have been allowed for heirloom weapons held by collectors or for professional pest control.

Ardern said lawmakers had a responsibility to act on behalf of victims of the shootings.

"We are ultimately here because 50 people died and they do not have a voice," she said. "We in this house are their voice. Today we can use that voice wisely."

"We are here just 26 days after the most devastating terrorist attacks created the darkest of days in New Zealand's history," she said. "We are here as an almost entirely united Parliament. There have been very few occasions when I have seen Parliament come together in this way and I cannot imagine circumstances where that is more necessary than it is now."

Ardern said that there was some opposition from firearms owners, but that the response to the proposed legislation was overwhelmingly positive.

"My question here is simple," she said. "You either believe that here in New Zealand these weapons have a place or you do not. If you believe, like us, that they do not, you should be able to believe we can move swiftly. "An argument about process is an argument to do nothing."
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - A Florida man who went to a junior high school with a loaded gun after his son contacted him to say a teacher pushed him has been sentenced to nearly a year of house arrest.

The Palm Beach Post reports 27-year-old Christopher Freeman pleaded guilty last month as part of a deal with prosecutors to possessing a weapon on school property.

Palm Beach County School District police say Freeman's son video-called him in tears earlier last month, saying a teacher at Bear Lakes Middle School "slammed him." Freeman told police he then saw an adult grab the boy before the call ended.

A police officer met with Freeman, who uses a wheelchair, when he arrived at the school. The officer reported seeing what appeared to be a gun sticking out of Freeman's pants. Police found a loaded AK-47 pistol during a search.

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Information from: The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post, http://www.pbpost.com
EL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) - Egyptian security officials say two separate attacks overnight have killed three police conscripts and an officer in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula.

The officials said Wednesday that the first attack took place in the city of el-Arish when an explosive device targeted an armored vehicle, killing a police officer and two conscripts.

Another explosive device hit an armored vehicle in the town of Rafah, killing a conscript and wounding four others.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

No group claimed responsibility for the attacks, which bore the hallmarks of the Islamic State group.

The attacks came a day after an IS suicide bomber killed four policemen and three civilians, including a child, in the northern Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid.
VATICAN CITY (AP) - The Vatican has invited South Sudan's president and opposition leader for a two-day spiritual retreat meant to foster peace and build confidence in a fragile peace deal after the country's five-year civil war.

South Sudan's opposition leader Riek Machar was traveling Wednesday to the Vatican, while President Salva Kiir was already in Rome and meeting with Italy's premier.

The Vatican said that the retreat, which ends Thursday, was an opportunity for "reflection and prayer" as well as an "encounter and reconciliation" to those who have "the mission and responsibility to work for a future of peace and prosperity for the South Sudanese people." The Vatican described the event as both ecumenical and diplomatic.

Machar, who has been under house arrest, had to receive permission to travel.
NEW DELHI (AP) - Indian election authorities have stopped the release of a Bollywood biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi with national elections scheduled to begin on Thursday.

The Election Commission accepted arguments from the Congress party and other opposition parties that the release of the film, "PM Narendra Modi," would give an unfair advantage to Modi's Hindu nationalist party as it seeks re-election.

Film producer Sandip Ssingh had scheduled the release of the movie in Indian theaters for Thursday.

The commission ruled Wednesday that any biopic material that has the potential to create an uneven playing field during the multi-phase election should not be displayed in electronic media.

Voting will conclude May 19, and vote counting will begin May 23.

The commission also is examining opposition complaints that the launch of a television channel named after the prime minister violated a law barring political parties from starting such channels after the announcement of the election schedule.

In this Monday, April 8, 2019, photo, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi releases Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP's manifesto for the upcoming general elections in New Delhi, India. Modi came to power in 2014 promising big-ticket economic reforms. But with unemployment rising and signature policies getting panned, Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party has adopted a nationalist pitch ahead of a general election that begins this week.(AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

The Congress party and the Aam Admi Party said the channel, funded by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, started broadcasting Modi's election campaign and a compilation of speeches three weeks after the voting schedule was announced by the commission on March 10.
JERUSALEM (AP) - Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to be headed toward a historic fifth term as Israel's prime minister on Wednesday, with near-final election results giving his right-wing Likud and its traditional Jewish ultra-Orthodox and nationalist allies a solid majority in parliament.

Here's a look at what comes next:

FINAL RESULTS

There are still some votes to be counted as ballots of soldiers, diplomats, prisoners, hospital patients and some others who vote in unusual circumstances take a bit longer to tally. The full picture usually emerges within a day, in this case Thursday, but since a couple of parties are teetering along the electoral threshold and their political survival depends on every vote, legal appeals seem likely. That could extend the process, with no specific guidelines on how long this could take. The Central Elections Committee releases final results eight days after an election - meaning April 17.

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THE PRESIDENT

Likud party supporters cheer at the party's campaign headquarters after polls for Israel's general elections closed in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Once the full picture is clear, attention shifts to President Reuven Rivlin. Though his responsibilities are mostly ceremonial, the president is charged with choosing a candidate for prime minister after consulting with party leaders and determining who has the best chance of putting together a stable majority coalition. That responsibility is usually given to the head of the largest party, but not necessarily.

Rivlin will meet with the heads of all parties and hear their recommendation in the coming days. He will then task the leading candidate, who will have 42 days to form a coalition government. If he fails, the president can turn to another candidate and give him 28 days to form an alternative coalition. If that too fails, which has never happened, new elections are called.

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RULING COALITION

Israeli democracy operates on a parliamentary system of proportional-representation in which the government needs a majority to rule. Since no party has ever earned more than 61 of the 120 seats in the Knesset, a coalition is required.

Netanyahu's Likud and Benny Gantz's Blue and White party were deadlocked on Wednesday at 35 seats in the 120-seat parliament. But even if Likud eventually drops below, Netanyahu will likely still get the nod given the size of his bloc, which currently holds a 65-55 advantage. Likud has traditionally had an alliance with the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties, and the pro-settler Jewish Home party that this time aligned with the anti-Arab Jewish Power faction. Though nationalist ministers Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked of the newly formed "New Right" party look to have come up short of the electoral threshold, Netanyahu still has enough other right-wing and religious parties at his disposal.

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WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THAT?

The ceremonial opening of the 21st Knesset, or parliament, will take place on April 29 or 30. This ceremony usually happens two weeks after the election, but due to the Passover holiday, it will be delayed this year by a week. By the end of May, the candidate tasked with building a coalition is required to sign agreements with his partners to present the new government. By early June, the new government is sworn in.

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NETANYAHU'S LEGAL TIMETABLE

Israel's attorney general has recommended indicting Netanyahu on bribery and breach of trust charges in three separate cases, and Netanyahu's legal situation will hover over his next term in office. Attorney General Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit will only decide on indicting Netanyahu after a legally mandated hearing. Legal experts expect at least some charges to be filed. Mandelblit said he will send detailed material to Netanyahu's lawyers after the election in advance of the hearing, though it was not clear exactly when this would happen.

Once the lawyers have all the paperwork, they usually get a month to prepare. But since the various Netanyahu cases are complicated it may take longer, with the hearing pushed back to later in the summer. Though not legally required to resign if formally charged, Netanyahu may be pushed out by some coalition partners who will refuse to keep serving under him in such a circumstance.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu smiles after voting during Israel's parliamentary elections in Jerusalem, Tuesday, April 9, 2019 (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, Pool)
LONDON (AP) - It took Britain more than a decade to join the European club, largely because longtime French president, Charles de Gaulle, kept saying no.

Now the U.K.'s future in the European Union looks like it will hinge on what De Gaulle's successor in the Elysee Palace, Emmanuel Macron has to say about it.

All eyes are on a special leaders' summit in Brussels Wednesday, where British Prime Minister Theresa May is asking for another extension to Britain's departure from the EU. Originally meant to take place on March 29, it has already been delayed to April 12 because the British Parliament resoundingly voted against the withdrawal agreement that May negotiated with the EU. May wants an extension until June 30, but others in the EU appear to favor a much longer delay, possibly going into next year.

And Macron, playing the hardest of hardballs, has shown that he's not keen on any kind of extension at all and will only back one if there are strings attached.

Macron is upset Britain's Brexit agonies are spilling over into the rest of EU business, particularly next month's European Parliament elections. He's also worried that any Brexit extension will continue to cast a shadow over the bloc, threatening his dream of deeper European integration.

Any new delay to the Brexit date will require the unanimous support of all the other 27 EU leaders.

French President Emmanuel Macron,left, greets British Prime Minister Theresa May before a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris Tuesday, April 9, 2019. A top official at the French presidency says France doesn't rule out granting a further delay to Brexit, just before a planned meeting between Prime minister Theresa May and President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

Standing up to Britain works in Macron's favor domestically. Weakened by yellow vest protesters at home, he's proving he can still defend French interests abroad. And the more of a mess Brexit is, the less appetite French voters will have for an eventual "Frexit" peddled by Macron's populist rivals.

However, following discussions with May on Tuesday in Paris, there's a growing expectation that Macron will back an extension after all - albeit on condition that Britain does not disrupt EU business through the delay. Macron is also aware that today's EU runs on consensus, and any veto could sabotage his ambitions to drive substantial reform in the EU.

"He will not achieve this by deliberately thwarting the collective views of his partners in the manner that De Gaulle once did," said Piers Ludlow, a historian at the London School of Economics who specializes on Britain's postwar relations with Europe.

"He knows this, and will hence play his part in the collective leadership of the 27 in a way that De Gaulle could never have imagined doing."

Britain and France have often been foes through history. Though the two battled together in the two world wars of the 20th century, the relationship was often strained, most notably when the wartime leader of the Free French Forces, De Gaulle, was president of the republic for a decade from 1959.

When the fledgling European Coal and Steel Community launched in 1951, Britain was nowhere to be seen. It also opted in 1957 against joining the six founding nations of what was then the European Economic Community, a body presided over by France.

Though Britain was absent at the EEC's formation, it soon changed its mind. Its ambitions, though, were thwarted by De Gaulle.

British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan was so distraught he confided in his diary in 1963 that "all our policies at home and abroad are in ruins" after De Gaulle vetoed Britain's first bid to join.

De Gaulle said "Non" again in 1967.

De Gaulle, who spent much of World War II in London when France was under occupation, warned his five EEC partners - Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy and West Germany - that Britain had a "deep-seated hostility" to European integration that could bring about the end of what was then referred to as the "common market." He also worried that in crunch times, Britain would always side with the United States over its continental neighbors.

It was only after De Gaulle had left the scene that Britain could finally take its place at the European top table. De Gaulle's successor, Georges Pompidou, was far more amenable to British membership and by 1973 Britain finally joined.

Relations have grown closer in the decades since, bar the odd spat - notably over the 2003 U.S.-led war in Iraq, which Britain, under Prime Minister Tony Blair, participated in but France, under President Jacques Chirac, balked at.

Britain and France work together closely militarily. Many French call Britain their home and vice versa, and no self-respecting English Premier League would be without a French player or two.

Macron is also facing a financial calculation: France would be hard-hit by a cliff-edge Brexit, since the countries' trade is so tightly intertwined. One forecast this week estimates that Brexit would wreak as much damage to the French economy as the five-month yellow vest movement that has seen rioting and road blocks cut into tourism and investment.

Any decision by Macron to echo De Gaulle would have huge implications for all those ties that the consensus is that he won't be yielding the veto.

Whatever happens at the summit, would De Gaulle be surprised that Britain is causing so much anguish?

Probably non.

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Charlton contributed from Paris.

___

Follow AP's full coverage of Brexit at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit

FILE - In this Nov. 12, 1944 file photo, Britain's Prime Minister Winston Churchill, left, and General Charles De Gaulle, centre, salute at France's Unknown Warrior at the Arc De Triomphe in Paris. Though allies in World War II, De Gaulle twice vetoed Britain's application in the 1960s to join what was then known as the European Economic Community. On Wednesday, April 10 2019, British Prime Minister Theresa May is to ask EU leaders in Brussels for an extension to Britain's departure from the European Union. French President Emmanuel Macron has been taking a hard-line ahead of the summit. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - In this March 28, 1942 file photo, General Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French, greets sailors who joined his forces and came to London. Though De Gaulle spent the war years in Britain, he twice in the 1960s vetoed the country's application to what was then the European Economic Community. On Wednesday, April 10 2019, British Prime Minister Theresa May is to ask EU leaders in Brussels for an extension to Britain's departure from the European Union. French President Emmanuel Macron has been taking a hard-line ahead of the summit. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 22, 1972, file photo, British Prime Minister Edward Heath, middle, signs the treaty for Britain to join the European Economic Community at the Palais d'Egmont in Brussels, Belgium. Britain's membership was a drawn-out affair after French President Charles de Gaulle twice vetoed the country's application. On Wednesday, April 10 2019, British Prime Minister Theresa May is to ask EU leaders in Brussels for an extension to Britain's departure from the European Union. French President Emmanuel Macron has been taking a hard-line ahead of the summit. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 24, 1967 file photo, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson, left, meets with French President Charles de Gaulle at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Later that year, de Gaulle would veto Britain's efforts to join the-then European Economic Community. On Wednesday, April 10, 2019 British Prime Minister Theresa May is to ask EU leaders in Brussels for an extension to Britain's departure from the European Union. French President Emmanuel Macron has been taking a hard-line ahead of the summit. . (AP Photo, File)
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Turkey's foreign minister says his country could look "elsewhere" if the U.S. doesn't deliver F-35 fighter jets.

Mevlut Cavusoglu also said in an interview with private NTV television Tuesday that Turkey could consider acquiring more Russian-made S-400s or other systems to meet urgent needs if it can't purchase U.S. Patriot systems.

Turkey's moves to buy the Russian S-400 technology have heightened tensions with Washington. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence warned that Turkey was risking its NATO membership and its participation in the F-35 program.

Cavusoglu said: "If F-35s are not delivered, I would be placed in a position to buy the planes I need elsewhere."

He added that a new U.S. offer to sell Patriots was "more rational" than a previous offer, but still didn't meet Turkey's expectations.
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - The death toll from the cyclone that ripped into southern Africa last month is now above 1,000, while the number of cholera cases among survivors has risen above 4,000.

The United Nations has described Cyclone Idai, which hit Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi nearly a month ago, as "one of the deadliest storms on record in the southern hemisphere."

Zimbabwe's information minister on Tuesday said the death toll in that country has risen to 344. Mozambique has reported 602 deaths and Malawi at least 59.

Zimbabwe's efforts are now "confined to recovery of the deceased" and the government will send pathologists to Mozambique to help identify bodies, said Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa. An unknown number of Zimbabweans were washed down mountainsides into Mozambique, which also has turned from search and recovery efforts to relief work providing food and shelter to survivors.

Zimbabwe, whose economy is badly struggling, said it needs $612 million to assist survivors and has appealed for international support.

A final death toll is yet to be established and might never be known.

Women and men pick up bricks from a collapsed house to build another structure in Beira, Mozambique, Sunday, March, 31, 2019. Cholera cases among cyclone survivors in Mozambique have jumped to 271, authorities said. 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 inched up to 501. Authorities have warned the toll is highly preliminary as flood waters recede and reveal more bodies. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

A cholera outbreak among survivors was declared in Mozambique on March 27 and had led to 4,072 cases and seven deaths as of Tuesday morning, according to government figures.

Most of the cases of the acute diarrheal disease have been in Mozambique's hard-hit port city of Beira, where running water recently was restored. The system, however, reaches just 60% of the population of roughly 500,000.

More than 745,000 doses of oral cholera vaccine have been distributed since the vaccination campaign launched last week, the government said. Cholera is spread via contaminated water or food and can kill within hours if untreated. Treatment is relatively easy with rehydration and antibiotics.

Now malaria is a growing concern as floodwaters continue to recede in parts of the sodden region. More than 7,500 cases of the mosquito-borne disease have been reported, the government said.

___

Associated Press writer Cara Anna in Johannesburg contributed.

___

Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa

A South African Policeman guides his sniffer dog as they search through mud and rubble for bodies of those killed during Cyclone Idai near Chimanimani, Zimbabwe, Thursday, March 28, 2019. The cyclone-hit community in Zimbabwe paused from retrieving and burying their dead to welcome the first humanitarian aid from the outside world as it arrived nearly two weeks after the storm. (AP Photo/Shepherd Tozvireva)

In this photo taken Saturday, April 6, 2019 a boy watches a demonstration of water filters in the remote village of Bopira, Mozambique. Crops across the region were destroyed by Cyclone Idai just before the harvest, raising concerns about hunger in the months ahead. (AP Photo/Cara Anna)

Children carry books damaged by the cyclone at a camp for displaced survivors of cyclone Idai in Dombe, about 280km west of Beira, Mozambique, Thursday, April 4, 2019. The Indian Ocean port of Beira, a city of 500,000, is where most of the more than 1,400 cases of cholera have been reported since the outbreak was declared a week ago in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai. Mozambican authorities have reported two deaths so far from the acute diarrheal disease, which can kill within hours if not properly treated. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

A man waits to receive food aid outside a camp for displaced survivors of cyclone Idai in Dombe, about 280km west of Beira, Mozambique, Thursday, April 4, 2019. The Indian Ocean port of Beira, a city of 500,000, is where most of the more than 1,400 cases of cholera have been reported since the outbreak was declared a week ago in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai. Mozambican authorities have reported two deaths so far from the acute diarrheal disease, which can kill within hours if not properly treated. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

A woman fetches water from an unprotected source in Beira, Mozambique, Sunday, March, 31, 2019. Cholera cases among cyclone survivors in Mozambique have jumped to 271, authorities said. 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 inched up to 501. Authorities have warned the toll is highly preliminary as flood waters recede and reveal more bodies. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

A mother bathes her baby in a bucket at a camp for displaced survivors of Cyclone Idai in Beira, Mozambique, Sunday, March, 31, 2019. Cholera cases among cyclone survivors in Mozambique have jumped to 271, authorities said. 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 inched up to 501. Authorities have warned the toll is highly preliminary as flood waters recede and reveal more bodies. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

Women and children are outside a displacement camp in Beira, Mozambique, Sunday, March, 31, 2019. Mozambican authorities say the number of cholera cases among cyclone survivors has risen to 271. The cases have been discovered in the port city of Beira, raising the stakes in an already desperate fight to help hundreds of thousands of people sheltering in increasingly squalid conditions.(AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

A young boy is seen outside a displacement camp for survivors of Cyclone Idai in Beira, Mozambique, Sunday, March, 31, 2019. Mozambican authorities say the number of cholera cases among cyclone survivors has risen to 271.The cases have been discovered in the port city of Beira, raising the stakes in an already desperate fight to help hundreds of thousands of people sheltering in increasingly squalid conditions.(AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

A woman diagnosed with cholera lies on a bed at a treatment centre in Beira, Mozambique, Saturday, March 30, 2019. Cholera cases among cyclone survivors in Mozambique have jumped to 271, authorities said, a figure that nearly doubled from the previous day. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)
FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP) - A Tennessee woman is suing the Washington, D.C., Department of Corrections and a halfway house over an escapee who's accused of killing her husband.

News outlets report Lana Paavola accuses them of negligence in their handling of 36-year-old Domenic Micheli, who had been arrested on charges of trespassing at the White House that April.

Authorities said Micheli later escaped from a halfway house and went to Tennessee, where he used a hatchet and a meat cleaver to kill his former boss, Paavola's husband, Joel.

Micheli is charged with murder and aggravated assault in the June 4 slaying.

The lawsuit says the corrections department and halfway house did not immediately report the escape, and says authorities also failed to use Micheli's social media posts to track him down before the slaying.
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BERLIN (AP) - The U.N. population agency chief said Wednesday she regrets the U.S. government's decision to cut funding for programs that help ensure safe pregnancies worldwide.

The United States used to provide about $70 million per year toward UNFPA programs to protect the health and lives of women and girls in developing countries. More than half of those funds were used for "life-saving humanitarian programs," said Dr. Natalia Kanem, the agency's executive director.

The Trump administration announced in 2017 it was cutting all funding to the agency. The move was seen as a gesture to American conservatives and anti-abortion activists, though UNFPA doesn't provide abortions.

"We do regret the decision of the United States to deny funding to UNFPA as we saved so many lives of women and girls together," Kanem told reporters in Berlin at the launch of the agency's annual report .

She cited the agency's work in parts of the world wracked by unrest, where medical care for pregnant women is often not available.

"Even in a place like Venezuela UNFPA is at work every day trying to supply hospitals with desperately needed supplies for safe birth, to train the few doctors that remain on how to deliver babies safely and also to provide contraception to women who do not wish to become pregnant under such circumstances," Kanem said.

German Economic Cooperation and Development Minister Gerd Mueller, left, and Natalia Kanem, head of the U.N. population agency, present the annual report in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. Kanem said that more than half the $70 million Washington used to give the agency annually was used for life-saving humanitarian programs. (Wolfgang Kumm/dpa via AP)

UNFPA's report reviews progress made in the half-century since its founding. In 1969, only a quarter of married women worldwide were able to decide whether and when to become pregnant, the agency said. Now, three in five have that choice.

Availability of contraception, improved education and efforts to end child marriage also mean that whereas the average woman had five children throughout her lifetime 50 years ago, now the figure is half that.

Still, populations in poor countries - particularly in Africa - continue to grow at a rapid rate. Kanem said more family planning options could help mothers in places like Niger, where fertility stands at 7.1 children per woman, have smaller families.

Germany's development minister, Gerd Mueller, linked cutting the number of unwanted pregnancies in poor countries to efforts to tackle climate change and hunger.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency says a police helicopter carrying border guards to their post in the country's northwest has crashed, killing one.

The report says the crash took place around noon on Wednesday in West Azerbaijan province, in the mountainous area of Dalamper, near the city of Urmia which is close to the border with Turkey.

It quotes the province's deputy governor, Ali Mostafavi, as saying that along with one killed, eight people were injured in the crash.

The chief of the Iranian police helicopter division, Gen. Hesseinali Mostajeran, said the crash was due to a technical glitch.

Aircraft crashes are frequently blamed on Iran's aging fleet that was long under international sanctions over Iran's nuclear ambitions.
MANILA, Philippines (AP) - The Philippine government on Wednesday imposed a total ban on the deployment of Filipino workers to Libya because of fighting between rival militias for control of the North African nation's capital, the labor chief said.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the indefinite ban would affect new Libya-bound workers and even Filipinos scheduled to return there after work breaks. There are more than 2,600 Filipinos in Libya, many working as nurses, teachers and oil industry workers.

Fighting for control of the capital has threatened to plunge Libya deeper into chaos and ignite civil war on the scale of the 2011 NATO-supported uprising, which turned into a ruinous conflict that killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

The deployment ban was imposed after the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila on Monday raised the threat level in Libya's capital to 3 and urged Filipinos and their dependents in Tripoli and outlying areas to consider leaving temporarily to avoid getting caught in the fighting.

If the threat level is raised to 4, the government will have to implement a forced evacuation of Filipinos, Bello said.

The Philippine-declared threat level applies only to Tripoli and areas within a 100-kilometer (62-mile) radius of the capital, but Bello told reporters in Manila that the government "cannot just ban in several specific areas only. So in effect, it is a total ban."

Manila's top diplomat in Tripoli, Elmer Cato, said that of about 1,000 Filipinos in Tripoli, only 11 have so far contacted the Philippine Embassy to seek help for repatriation. The others "feel they are safe since the fighting is still confined to the outskirts. But the situation can change anytime and we expect the number to go up when fighting reaches the city itself," he said.

Cato assured Filipinos in Libya that he and other Filipino diplomats would not close the embassy, saying it had remained open during worse fighting in the past.

"We do not leave our people behind," Cato said by phone from Tripoli.

The Philippines is one of the world's major labor providers, with a tenth of its more than 100 million people working abroad, including many house helpers and construction workers. The income they send home has helped the Philippine economy stay afloat in dire economic times in the past.
BERLIN (AP) - The director of the Vienna State Opera on Wednesday called for allegations of abuse at its renowned youth ballet academy to be cleared up in full, expressing shock at "unacceptable" events.

Austrian magazine Falter reported a day earlier, based on interviews with former students and staff, that students at the academy were subjected to abuse and humiliation by a teacher and some of them then developed eating disorders. There was also one allegation of sexual abuse.

Austria's APA news agency said one teacher has since been fired and a second one is currently not allowed to teach.

"Things have happened that are unacceptable," opera director Dominique Meyer told reporters in Vienna. "We want everything to be cleared up completely."

In a podcast to accompany the report, Falter interviewed an unidentified girl who described how one teacher beat, scratched and pulled students by their hair. The girl said she herself was kicked so badly against her ankles while standing on her toes that she could not participate in further training for two months.

She said the abuse happened when she was 14, and that by the end of the school year, all students were physically injured and traumatized. It was not clear how long ago the incidents took place.

FILE-In this March 23, 2010 file photo director of the Vienna State Opera Dominique Meyer from France gestures as he speaks at a news conference in Vienna. Meyer has expressed shock regarding abuse allegations at its renowned ballet academy. (AP Photo/Hans Punz)

"We have reacted too late, waited for too long," Simona Noja, the acting director of the academy, told reporters. Starting at Easter, the academy will offer the services of a psychologist to the students.

APA news agency quoted Vienna prosecutors as saying that they are investigating the abuse claims.

Vienna youth prosecutor Ercan Nik Nafs told APA that he was aware of some of the accusations in the Falter report, but that others were new to him. He didn't want to give any details, citing the ongoing investigation. Prosecutors started looking into the matter in December after receiving anonymous accusations.

Some 110 students attend the ballet academy, which was founded in the 18th century by Empress Maria Theresia. They perform each year at the famous Vienna Opera Ball.

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This story has been corrected to give the spelling of the empress' name as Maria Theresia.
MOSCOW (AP) - A former cybersecurity officer in Russia's Federal Security Service has been sentenced to six years in prison for treason.

Dmitry Dokuchayev's sentencing on Wednesday follows the convictions and longer sentences handed down in February to his superior and to a cybersecurity company executive. Unlike those two, Dokuchayev pleaded guilty.

The trials were held behind closed doors and details of the case remain murky.

Russian media have reported that the case centered on accusations that Sergei Mikhailov, Dokuchayev's boss, and Kaspesky Lab executive Ruslan Stoyanov had passed information on an agency probe of a Russian businessman to an analyst allegedly tied to the FBI.

Mikhailov was sentenced to 22 years in February, and Stoyanov to 14 years.
PRAGUE (AP) - Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis has fired his industry and trade minister after she caused an uproar by blaming Czech consumers for high mobile data prices.

The minister, Marta Novakova suggested mobile data is expensive in the country because Czechs tend to use wireless networks. She said that the price of mobile data would go down if they use mobile date more.

Novakova has also been under fire after a representative of Taiwan who was invited to attend her meeting with foreign investors had to leave the gathering at the request of the Chinese ambassador.

Babis said Wednesday she will be replaced by Karel Havlicek, deputy chairman of the government's research, development and innovation council.
ROME (AP) - The Vatican has for the first time opened its own investigation into the case of Emanuela Orlandi, a 15-year-old Vatican citizen who disappeared in the summer of 1983.

The Orlandi family's lawyer, Laura Sgro, confirmed the probe on Wednesday. She told The Associated Press that "the Secretariat of State has authorized the opening of an investigation into a grave in the Teutonic Cemetery inside the Vatican," after an anonymous tipster indicated that investigators should look where a statue of an angel in the cemetery is pointing.

The Vatican had previously said it was handling a request from the Orlandi family to reopen a tomb close to the statue of an angel holding a sheet bearing the words "Rest in peace."

Interim Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti declined further comment on Wednesday.

Orlandi was the daughter of a Vatican employee who lived with his family in the tiny city state. She was 15 when she disappeared after a music lesson in Rome. The family has long demanded to see Vatican documentation about the enduring mystery.

The cold case gained new attention at the end of October when two sets of remains were found in the basement of the Vatican Nunciature, an extraterritorial Church property located in Rome's city center. The identification of at least one of the bodies as female led to immediate speculation in Italy that the findings might eventually shed light on one of the country's most persistent mysteries.

FILE - In this May 27, 2012, file photo, demonstrators hold pictures of Emanuela Orlandi reading "march for truth and justice for Emanuela" during Pope Benedict XVI's Regina Coeli prayer in St. Peter's square, at the Vatican. The Vatican has for the first time opened its own investigation into the case of Emanuela Orlandi, a 15-year-old Vatican citizen who disappeared in the summer of 1983. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

Investigators said at the time that preliminary examinations of the bones indicated they belonged to a woman likely in her 30s. But, despite the age of the bones, the Orlandi family lawyer said they would wait for DNA results. One hypothesis for Orlandi's disappearance is that she wasn't killed immediately but instead held for years against her will.

Investigative sources, however, told Italian media in the following weeks that the bones were too old to be related to the Orlandi case.

For more than 35 years, Italian media have been obsessed with the fate of Emanuela Orlandi. Over the years many rumors have swirled about what happened to her - including conspiracies tied to the Mafia and the plot to assassinate Pope John Paul II.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Deputies in Portland, Oregon responded to a possible home invasion, but the intruder they found wasn't alive or a person.

It was a robotic vacuum cleaner.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports a house sitter in Cedar Hills called 911 Monday, saying someone was inside the bathroom.

The Washington County Sheriff's Office says deputies entered the home and ordered the burglar out, but nothing happened.

Deputies then opened the bathroom door with guns drawn and discovered the automatic vacuum cleaner.

Sgt. Danny DiPietro says this encounter was his first "Roomba burglar" in 13 years on the job.

He says the office is still "having a good laugh about it."

___

Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com
LONDON (AP) - Special plans are being made to welcome the first child of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.

Officials said Wednesday that the landmark London Eye observation wheel on the banks of the River Thames will be lit in red, white and blue to mark the baby's birth. Those are the colors of the familiar Union Flag.

The baby is expected in late April or early May. He or she will be seventh in line for the British throne.

Harry and Meghan say they have chosen not to learn the baby's gender.

The royal couple are moving shortly from central London to a quieter location near Windsor Castle, some 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of London. They married in May in a chapel on the castle grounds.
BERLIN (AP) - Taxi drivers have snarled traffic in Berlin and other German cities in a slow-driving protest against government plans to liberalize the market.

Taxis in Berlin converged on the capital's famous Brandenburg Gate, filling up the wide boulevard that leads west from the monument. Wednesday's protests also disrupted traffic into the city's Tegel airport, which is only reachable by road.

The transport ministry plans to ease conditions for rivals such as Uber, and groups representing taxi drivers say that would create unfair competition.

Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer sought to reassure protesters in Berlin, saying that "no one wants unregulated, unjust and unfair conditions in passenger transport like they have in other countries."

Berlin taxi drivers block the boulevard 'Strasse des 17. Juni', Street of June 17, in front of the Brandenburg Gate, during a protest in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. Taxi driver protest against government plans over the growth of app-based ride-hailing services that they say threaten their livelihood. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Berlin taxi drivers block the boulevard 'Strasse des 17. Juni', Street of June 17, in front of the Brandenburg Gate, during a protest in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. Taxi driver protest against government plans over the growth of app-based ride-hailing services that they say threaten their livelihood. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Berlin taxi drivers block the boulevard 'Strasse des 17. Juni', Street of June 17, in front of the Brandenburg Gate, during a protest in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. Taxi driver protest against government plans over the growth of app-based ride-hailing services that they say threaten their livelihood. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Berlin taxi drivers arrives at the 'Grosser Stern' roundabout during a protest in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. Taxi driver protest against government plans over the growth of app-based ride-hailing services that they say threaten their livelihood. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Berlin taxi drivers block the boulevard 'Altonaer Strasse', during a protest in Berlin, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. Taxi driver protest against government plans over the growth of app-based ride-hailing services that they say threaten their livelihood. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
CHICAGO (AP) - In a story April 9 about Johnson Publishing Co. filing for bankruptcy, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the company owns Ebony and Jet magazines. It is the former owner.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Ex-publisher of iconic black magazines files for bankruptcy

Johnson Publishing Co., former publisher of Ebony and Jet magazines, has filed for bankruptcy in a federal court in Chicago

By HERBERT G. McCANN

Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) - Johnson Publishing Co., former owner of the iconic Ebony and Jet magazines that helped changed the negative image of black people portrayed by U.S. media, filed for bankruptcy liquidation Tuesday in a federal court in Chicago.

In announcing the Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition, the company said it was "caught in a tidal wave of marketplace changes and business issues which, despite exhaustive efforts, could not be overcome." The issues included the bankruptcy of a major retailer that carried its Fashion Fair Cosmetics line, a "costly recall" of products and increasing competition from digital rivals, the company said.

John H. Johnson founded the company in 1942 when he launched Negro Digest with a $500 loan from his mother. The magazine summarized newspaper articles about black life.

But key to the company's growth was Ebony magazine, founded in 1945 and patterned after Life magazine, one of the nation's leading magazines at the time. The average monthly circulation of Ebony was around 2 million for a time in the 1990s, making it the largest magazine catering to blacks.

Advertisers were initially reluctant to display their products in black-oriented publications because of concerns on how they would be perceived by other customers if they were seen as catering to blacks. The company overcame those fears by building on personal relationships and bringing perspective advertisers to the company's offices, Johnson officials said.

Ebony was often criticized for focusing too much on successful people. In a 1992 interview with The Associated Press, Johnson said he believed Ebony has made an important contribution to black people.

"It has inspired them to be successful by showing examples of blacks who have made it," Johnson said.

However, Ebony and Jet also addressed social issues affecting black America. Jet became a legendary part of the civil rights movement in 1955 when it published a photograph of the open coffin of Emmett Till, which showed the effects of the fatal beating the 14-year-old Chicago boy suffered at the hands of white men in Mississippi for allegedly whistling at a white woman.

"Johnson Publishing Company is an iconic part of American and African American history since our founding in 1942, and the company's impact on society cannot be overstated," the company said in Tuesday's statement.

After reporting revenues in the hundreds of millions in the 1990s, the company's fortunes began to decline after Johnson died in 2005 and magazines in general began to struggle as advertisers moved to alternative media.

With Johnson's daughter, Linda Johnson Rice, in charge, the company tried to halt its decline with the sale of its assets, including its historic headquarters on Chicago's Michigan Avenue.

A company spokesman said Rice was unavailable for comment. However, the company said in a statement that declining revenue and circulation was reversed in 2012, but resumed as the company struggled to transition into the digital media age.

"While the wisdom of hindsight might suggest different decisions should have been made, Linda is proud of the 77-year legacy of Johnson Publishing, her family's historical impact on America and the city of Chicago, and her decades of hard work trying to revitalize the company," the statement said.

In 2014, Jet ceased print editions and became a digital-only publication. In 2016, Ebony and Jet were sold to Clear View Group, an equity firm in Texas, so they are unaffected by the filing.

Despite being under new ownership, the company struggled financially, with freelance writers suing to be paid. The lawsuit was settled last year.
WASHINGTON (AP) - One day last week, amid spiraling fallout over special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe , House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dialed up the president and requested a meeting.

She talked to President Donald Trump about working together on an infrastructure package.

It was the first phone call between the two since the testy days of the government shutdown earlier this year, and it seemed productive. They are planning to meet, she told The Associated Press in a Wednesday interview.

So goes the relationship between Washington's two power centers - one in the White House, where Trump is slapping almost hourly at the investigations into his administration and running headlong into a climactic moment of his presidency, the other on Capitol Hill, where Pelosi is deliberately steering her gavel toward her party's goals.

As the two cross the 100-day mark of the era of divided government, theirs is a relationship like almost none other in Washington.

Even as Trump derides Democrats as "unhinged" and claims they are a party taken over by "socialists," he pulls his punches with Pelosi. And while Pelosi criticizes Trump as "unfit" for office - and hasn't fully closed the door on impeachment - she wants to work with him on shared priorities.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in her office at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. Pelosi says she dialed up President Donald Trump recently and requested a meeting to talk about working together on an infrastructure package. Pelosi says she believes "the president truly wants to have an infrastructure bill." (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

On Thursday, Pelosi told reporters she's looking for at least $1 trillion for the infrastructure package - far more than the $200 billion Trump has proposed - and she'd like to get it closer to $2 trillion. She said she expects to "meet soon" with the president to discuss it.

"I have pooh-poohed his $200 billion mini-nothing of an infrastructure bill," she said during the House Democrats' issues conference retreat in Virginia. "And I think he probably knows that was not a successful path to building the infrastructure from sea to shining sea."

Lawmakers said they expect to have legislation ready for consideration in the House by June or July.

The White House confirmed the president and the speaker "did speak last week and have agreed to meet soon to discuss working together on infrastructure," said administration spokesman Judd Deere.

"The President wants a bipartisan infrastructure package that rebuilds crumbling infrastructure, invests in the projects and industries of tomorrow, and promotes permitting efficiency," Deere said Thursday.

Launching an infrastructure investment program is the kind of big bipartisan undertaking that seems all but impossible in times like these.

The Trump administration's "infrastructure week" became a punchline around Washington when it fizzled amid the White House's often shifting priorities. Trump promised on election night a $1 trillion investment in new roads and other projects but has never come close to achieving it. Democrats scoff at the $200 billion requests he's made in his budget proposals as meager. Pelosi called it a "nonstarter."

But infrastructure - like the effort on lowering prescription drug costs - is the kind of initiative that could benefit both of them as they head toward the 2020 campaign season. They could change the subject from the ongoing investigations that pose risks for both parties, and they could show voters they can deliver with building projects that improve communities and create jobs even at a time of divided government, with Democrats controlling the House and Republicans controlling the Senate.

"We want dirt to fly," Pelosi said.

After her talks with Trump, Pelosi thinks the president may be willing to do more than he's put on the table. Trump's latest budget proposed $200 billion in federal dollars that could be leveraged with private capital to cover the difference.

"I don't think the president is wedded to that proposal," she said. "It's too small."

She says 80 percent of their conversations, including the talk last Thursday, are about infrastructure. They're trying, she said, to find areas of "common ground." The purpose of the upcoming meeting she requested is to "get a dollar figure" as a starting point for the discussions.

Asked about infrastructure, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also left open the possibility of a fresh bipartisan effort.

"We've all been talking about infrastructure, including the president, for a couple of years now," McConnell, R-Ky., told Fox News on Wednesday. "We need some straight talk from both sides on how we're going to pay for it."

The day after Trump and Pelosi spoke, Trump went to California to visit the southern border, where he is trying to build a long-promised border wall with Mexico after Democrats thwarted his demand for more wall funds during the shutdown.

That afternoon, House Democrats filed a lawsuit challenging Trump's national emergency declaration, which he invoked to circumvent Congress and to use military construction money to pay for the border wall.

"It's so very self-evident that the president is very different from every other person that anybody ever served with," Pelosi said in the AP interview Wednesday.

"He is not only unique, he's ... what would be the word?" she said, trailing off. "To be president of the United States is to have a very special personality. But there are shared values about commitment to our Constitution, to the vision of our founders to the Constitution of the United States. I don't see those features yet in this president."

Associated Press writer Kevin Freking in Washington contributed to this report.

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Follow Mascaro on Twitter at https://twitter.com/lisamascaro

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in her office at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in her office at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in her office at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in her office at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump seemed gratified Thursday that his attorney general has endorsed a key talking point of the president's supporters: that there was spying on Trump's 2016 campaign. But Trump went a step beyond Attorney General William Barr, accusing the government of committing an illegal, unprecedented act.

The president's comments came a day after Barr testified at a congressional hearing that he believes "spying did occur" on the campaign, suggesting the origins of the Russia investigation that shadowed Trump's presidency for nearly two years may have been mishandled.

Barr provided no details about what "spying" may have taken place but appeared to be alluding to a surveillance warrant the FBI obtained on a former Trump associate. He later said during the hearing that he wasn't sure there had been improper surveillance and wants to ensure all proper procedures were followed.

"I think what he said was absolutely true. There was absolutely spying into my campaign," Trump said Thursday. "I'll go a step further. It was my opinion it was illegal spying, unprecedented spying, and something that should never be allowed to happen in our country again."

During Wednesday's hearing before a Senate appropriations subcommittee, Barr said he was "not saying improper surveillance occurred" and was looking into the matter.

Barr may have been referring to a surveillance warrant the FBI obtained in the fall of 2016 to monitor the communications of former Trump campaign aide Carter Page, who has not been charged with any wrongdoing. The warrant was obtained after Page had left the campaign and was renewed several times. Critics of the Russia investigation have seized on the fact that the warrant application cited Democratic-funded opposition research, done by a former British spy, into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia.

President Donald Trump listens to South Korean President Moon Jae-in speak during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, April 11, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Barr's comments aligned him with the president and his supporters who insist his 2016 campaign was unfairly targeted by the FBI. They come at a time when Barr's independence is under scrutiny from congressional Democrats as he prepares a redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on the Russia investigation. Mueller concluded his investigation last month and submitted a nearly 400-page confidential report to Barr.

The attorney general then sent Congress a four-page letter that detailed Mueller's "principal conclusions." Democrats have questioned how Barr could boil down Mueller's full report so quickly and allege that it may have been written in a favorable way for the president.

Democrats strongly pushed back on Barr's remarks. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, along with the top Democrat on the House and Senate intelligence panels, argued that Barr's words undermined both his own credibility and that of the Justice Department. All four are on a panel known as the Gang of Eight that is regularly briefed on the most sensitive intelligence matters.

Pelosi told The Associated Press on Wednesday that she doesn't trust Barr. Schumer said Barr's remarks "just destroyed the scintilla of credibility he had left."

While congressional Republicans have long questioned the origins of the Russia investigation, suggesting that Justice Department officials conspired against Trump, Democrats have argued it was legitimate.

In his letter, Barr said the special counsel did not find a criminal conspiracy between Russia and Trump associates during the campaign, but Mueller did not reach a definitive conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice. Instead, Mueller presented evidence on both sides of the obstruction question, but Barr said he did not believe the evidence was sufficient to prove that Trump had obstructed justice.

Barr has said he expects to release a redacted version of Mueller's report next week.

The Justice Department's inspector general has been investigating the early days of the FBI's Russia probe, but Barr has said he wants to pull together the different reviews underway and see if there are remaining questions that need to be addressed.

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Associated Press writers Darlene Superville, Eric Tucker, Mary Clare Jalonick and Alan Fram contributed to this report.

Attorney General William Barr reacts as he appears before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee to make his Justice Department budget request, Wednesday, April 10, 2019, in Washington. Barr said Wednesday that he was reviewing the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation. He said he believed the president's campaign had been spied on and he was concerned about possible abuses of government power. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Attorney General William Barr appears before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee to make his Justice Department budget request, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Attorney General William Barr appears before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee to make his Justice Department budget request, Wednesday, April 10, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - The Environmental Protection Agency declined for now to make General Electric restart dredging in the Hudson River, triggering a wave of condemnation Thursday from New York officials and environmentalists who say contaminant levels from its industrial pollution remain too high.

The EPA issued a certificate to Boston-based GE saying that it has completed its remedial action under the federal Superfund program. Critics of the cleanup wanted the EPA to withhold the certificate and to demand further dredging. EPA Regional Administrator Peter Lopez said more time and testing are needed to fully assess the $1.7 billion cleanup that GE has done, and he stressed that the company can still be compelled in the coming decades to do more work, including additional dredging.

"GE is not off the hook," Lopez told reporters during a conference call. "If new information comes in that causes EPA to conclude that more work is needed to protect public health and the environment, we can and will require GE to take that action."

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state Attorney General Letitia James, both Democrats, promptly announced they intend to sue the EPA over its decision. They claim levels of the contaminating polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, remain unacceptably high in the river sediment and in fish. Scenic Hudson and Riverkeeper, two environmental groups lobbying for additional dredging, said they would support litigation.

"Since the EPA has failed to hold GE accountable for fulfilling its obligation to restore the river, New York state will take any action necessary to protect our waterways and that includes suing the EPA to demand a full and complete remediation,'" Cuomo said in a written news release. "Anything less is unacceptable."

Cuomo accused the Republican Trump Administration of putting corporations' interests ahead of public health and the environment. EPA officials said their decision was guided by Superfund law and science.

FILE - In this June 10, 2011 file photo, crews dredge the Hudson River in Fort Edward, N.Y. The work is part of a project on the upper-Hudson to clean up PCBs released by General Electric decades ago. The Environmental Protection Agency is poised to make an announcement Thursday, April 11, 2019, on GE's $1.7 billion Hudson River cleanup. (AP Photo/Mike Groll, File)

The EPA said in a "five-year review" of the river released Friday that there is not enough testing data on fish, water and sediment yet to determine if the cleanup will succeed in its goal of protecting human health and the environment. Lopez said that will take more time and monitoring before a conclusion could be reached.

The review found some signs of progress in removing highly contaminated sediment, though it found three spots in the upper river with slightly elevated levels of PCBs.

Until the mid-1970s, GE factories discharged more than 1 million pounds (450,000 kilograms) of PCBs into the river. The probable carcinogen, used as coolants and lubricants in electrical equipment, was banned in 1977.

GE said the EPA's decision confirms the success of the project.

"GE will continue to collect environmental data to assess ongoing improvements in river conditions and to work closely with EPA, New York State, and local communities on other Hudson environmental projects," the company said in a written statement.
CAIRO (AP) - Sudan's military overthrew President Omar al-Bashir on Thursday after months of bloody protests against his repressive 30-year rule. But pro-democracy demonstrators vowed to keep up their campaign in the streets after the military said it would govern the country for the next two years.

Al-Bashir's fall came a week after Algeria's long-ruling, military-backed president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was driven from power. Together, the developments echoed the Arab Spring uprisings eight years ago that brought down autocrats across the Mideast.

The announcement of the arrest and removal of the 75-year-old al-Bashir was made by a veteran insider in his government, Defense Minister Awad Mohammed Ibn Ouf, who is under U.S. sanctions for links to atrocities in Sudan's Darfur conflict.

Ibn Ouf said a military council that will be formed by the army, intelligence and security apparatus will rule for two years, after which "free and fair elections" will take place. Sudan's state-run media later said Ibn Ouf was being sworn in as head of the new council.

The defense chief also announced that the military had suspended the constitution, dissolved the government, declared a state of emergency for three months, closed the country's borders and airspace and imposed a curfew.

Protesters who were initially jubilant over word of the coup reacted by saying they will not end their nearly week-long sit-in outside the military's headquarters in central Khartoum until a civilian transition government is formed.

Sudanese celebrate after officials said the military had forced longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir to step down after 30 years in power in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo)

Well after nightfall, tens of thousands beat drums, sang and chanted slogans against the armed forces and Ibn Ouf. One of the organizations leading the protest said people were staying in streets of defiance of the 10 p.m. curfew.

"The first one fell, the second will, too!" protesters shouted. And: "They removed a thief and brought in a thief!"

"What is happening in Sudan is that the old system is being rebuilt in new clothes," said activist Mohammed Hisham. "I'm 30 years old, and my whole life we have suffered from lack of freedom and continuous threats."

Al-Bashir's whereabouts were not immediately known. Ibn Ouf said only that he was being held in "a safe place."

Human rights groups urged Sudanese military authorities to hand al-Bashir over to the International Criminal Court, where he faces charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide for his deadly campaign against insurgents in Darfur.

Amnesty International's secretary general, Kumi Naidoo, said al-Bashir is wanted for "some of the most odious human rights violations of our generation."

In Washington, the U.S. State Department called on the Sudanese military to "follow the will of the people" and "commit to the speedy handover to civilian rule."

Al-Bashir came to power in a coup of his own in 1989, backed by the military and Islamist hard-liners. He kept an iron grip on power and brutally suppressed any opposition, while monopolizing the economy through allied businessmen.

Over his three decades in control, he was forced to allow the secession of South Sudan after years of war, a huge blow to the north's economy. He became an international pariah over the bloodletting in Darfur. And the U.S. targeted his government repeatedly with sanctions and airstrikes for his support of Islamic militants.

Throughout, he was a swaggering figure known to break into dance and wave his cane in front of cheering crowds.

The protests - involving a mix of young activists, students, professional-employee unions and opposition parties - erupted in December and were initially fueled by anger over the deteriorating economy but quickly turned to demands for the president's ouster.

Security forces came down hard on the protesters with tear gas, rubber bullets, live ammunition and batons, and the clashes left dozens of people dead. Al-Bashir banned unauthorized public gatherings, imposed a state of emergency and granted sweeping powers to the police.

After Bouteflika's resignation in Algeria, the protests escalated and the clampdown grew bloodier, with at least 22 people killed since Saturday.

Word of al-Bashir's overthrow initially set off cheering, dancing and singing in the streets by thousands of protesters, until they heard the official announcement from Ibn Ouf that the military would remain in charge.

The defense chief denounced al-Bashir's government for "bad administration, systemic corruption, absence of justice," adding: "The poor became poorer and the rich became richer. Hope in equality has been lost." He also said al-Bashir's crackdown against protesters risked splitting the security establishment and "could cause grave casualties."

Mariam al-Mahdi, a leading member of the opposition Umma, called the military's takeover "a dangerous move."

"Our demands are clear: We don't want to replace a coup with a coup," al-Mahdi said.

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AP correspondent Sarah El Deeb in Beirut contributed to this report.

FILE - In this file image taken from video, Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir speaks at the Presidential Palace, Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, in Khartoum, Sudan. Tens of thousands of Sudanese were making their way to the center of the country's capital on Thursday, April 11, 2019, cheering and clapping in celebration as two senior officials said the military had forced longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir to step down after 30 years in power.(AP Photo/Mohamed Abuamrain, File)

Protesters celebrate in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, April 11, 2019. Tens of thousands of Sudanese were making their way to the center of the country's capital on Thursday, cheering and clapping in celebration as two senior officials said the military had forced longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir to step down after 30 years in power. (AP Photo)

Sudanese celebrate after officials said the military had forced longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir to step down after 30 years in power in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo)

Sudanese celebrate after officials said the military had forced longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir to step down after 30 years in power in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo)

Protesters rally at a demonstration near the military headquarters, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in the capital Khartoum, Sudan. Activists behind anti-government protests in Sudan say security forces have killed at least seven people, including a military officer, in another attempt to break up the sit-in outside the military headquarters in Khartoum. A spokeswoman for the Sudanese Professionals Association, said clashes erupted again early Tuesday between security forces and protesters who have been camping out in front of the complex in Khartoum since Saturday. (AP Photo)

Protesters rally near the military headquarters, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in the capital Khartoum, Sudan. Activists behind anti-government protests in Sudan say security forces have killed at least seven people, including a military officer, in another attempt to break up the sit-in outside the military headquarters in Khartoum. A spokeswoman for the Sudanese Professionals Association, said clashes erupted again early Tuesday between security forces and protesters who have been camping out in front of the complex in Khartoum since Saturday. (AP Photo)

FILE - In this May 10, 2001, file photo, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi , left, is greeted by President Omar El-Bashir, center, upon his arrival in Khartoum for a two-day visit to Sudan. Tens of thousands of Sudanese were making their way to the center of the country's capital on Thursday, April 11, 2019, cheering and clapping in celebration as two senior officials said the military had forced longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir to step down after 30 years in power. (AP Photo/Abdel Raouf, File)

FILE - In this Dec. 25, 2017, file photo, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, second left, and Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, center, walk in Port Sudan, Sudan. Sudan's armed forces were to deliver an "important statement" and asked the nation to "wait for it" on Thursday, April 11, 2019, state TV reported, as two senior officials said the military had forced longtime President Omar al-Bashir to step down. (Kayhan Ozer/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - In this Dec. 26, 2004, file photo, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir (right) received Yemeni president Ali Abdallah Salih (left) at the airport in Khartoum Sunday, December 26, 2004. Sudan's armed forces were to deliver an "important statement" and asked the nation to "wait for it" on Thursday, April 11, 2019, state TV reported, as two senior officials said the military had forced longtime President Omar al-Bashir to step down.(AP Photo/Abd Raouf, File)

FILE - In this May 18, 2018, file photo, Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir speaks during the extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in Istanbul, Turkey. Sudan's armed forces were to deliver an "important statement" and asked the nation to "wait for it" on Thursday, April 11, 2019, state TV reported, as two senior officials said the military had forced longtime President Omar al-Bashir to step down.(Presidential Press Service/Pool via AP, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019 file photo, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir greets his supporters at a rally in Khartoum, Sudan. Sudan's armed forces were to deliver an "important statement" and asked the nation to "wait for it" on Thursday, April 11, 2019, state TV reported, as two senior officials said the military had forced longtime President Omar al-Bashir to step down. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Hjaj, File)

Protesters celebrate in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, April 11, 2019. Tens of thousands of Sudanese were making their way to the center of the country's capital on Thursday, cheering and clapping in celebration as two senior officials said the military had forced longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir to step down after 30 years in power. (AP Photo)

Sudanese celebrate after two senior officials said the military had forced longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir to step down after 30 years in power in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo)

Sudanese celebrate after two senior officials said the military had forced longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir to step down after 30 years in power in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo)
CAIRO (AP) - The latest on developments in Sudan (all times local):

11:15 p.m.

The United Nations says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expects "the democratic aspiration of the Sudanese people will be realized through an appropriate and inclusive transition process" following the military's overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Thursday that the U.N. chief is calling for calm and restraint by all in Sudan. He says Guterres reaffirms "that the United Nations stands ready to support the Sudanese people as they chart a way forward."

Dujarric was asked whether Guterres supports handing al-Bashir over to the International Criminal Court. The spokesman said Guterres "has routinely called for full cooperation" with the court, consistent with U.N. resolutions. But he added that the United Nations "is not in a position to comment on the issuance and execution of ICC warrants in specific cases."

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Sudanese celebrate after officials said the military had forced longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir to step down after 30 years in power in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo)

10:40 p.m.

Sudan's state-run broadcaster says Defense Minister Awad Mohammed Ibn Ouf is being sworn in as head of a new military council that will run the country for two years.

The move is being taken after the military ousted autocratic President Omar al-Bashir on Thursday following nearly four months of expanding protests.

The broadcaster says military chief of staff Kamal Abdel-Marouf al-Mahi will be the deputy head of the council.

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10:20 p.m.

A group organizing protests in Sudan says people are defying a curfew that has been imposed across the country after the military removed autocratic President Omar al-Bashir in response to nearly four months of escalating popular protests.

Defense Minister Awad Mohammed Ibn Ouf on Thursday declared a monthlong 10 p.m.-4 a.m. curfew.

But the Sudanese Professional Association says pro-democracy demonstrators are staying in the streets and it is urging people to continue rallies across Sudan until they bring "the overthrow of the entire regime."

Protesters are angry over a package of measures taken by the military after al-Bashir's overthrow, including the suspension of the constitution and its announcement that a transitional military council will lead Sudan for two years

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7:30 p.m.

Sudan's military is warning protesters not to challenge a curfew that has been imposed across the country after ousting autocratic president Omar al-Bashir in response to escalating popular protests.

Defense Minister Awad Mohammed Ibn Ouf on Thursday declared a monthlong curfew from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.

The curfew is part of a package of measures taken by the military on Thursday.

A transitional military council will lead the country for two years, a measure that left pro-democracy demonstrators angry and disappointed.

The military has also suspended the constitution, closed the borders and the country's airspace.

The measures were meant to address nearly four months of anti-government protests demanding that al-Bashir step down

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7:15 p.m.

Two international rights groups are urging Sudanese military authorities to hand over ousted President Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court, where he faces charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in the Darfur region.

Amnesty International's secretary general, Kumi Naidoo says al-Bashir is wanted for "some of the most odious human rights violations of our generation."

Sudan's military ousted al-Bashir on Thursday in response to escalating popular protests and imposed an emergency clampdown on the country.

Naidoo also said military authorities "should ensure that emergency laws are not used to undermine people's rights."

Jehanne Henry, associate director at Human Rights Watch, said "victims of the gravest crimes in Darfur should not have to wait any longer for justice."

In the Sudanese defense minister's televised announcement of al-Bashir's arrest, he said the former president was in a "safe place," but his whereabouts were not immediately known.

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6:15 p.m.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt says two years of potential military rule in Sudan "is not the answer" for "real change" in the country.

Hunt tweeted Thursday that Sudan needs "a swift move to an inclusive, representative, civilian leadership" and an end to violence.

Sudan's military ousted President Omar al-Bashir hours earlier in response to nearly four months of escalating popular protests in which dozens have been killed.

The Sudanese defense minister has announced that a military council would rule for two years. The military has also suspended the constitution and imposed an emergency clampdown that risks enflaming protesters who have demanded civilian democratic change.

Protest organizers have said they won't back a military coup and are now in discussions with the military's leadership about forming a transitional government.

___

5:45 p.m.

George Clooney says overthrowing Sudan's autocratic president doesn't go far enough and has called for "dismantling" the system that kept Omar al-Bashir in power for 30 years.

The actor, director and activist said in a statement Thursday that the international community must work to guarantee that "the next president of Sudan reflects the will of its people."

Sudan's military ousted al-Bashir on Thursday in response to escalating popular protests. The defense minister announced military rule for two years, imposing an emergency clampdown that risks enflaming protesters who have demanded civilian democratic change.

Clooney called al-Bashir "the leader of a violent, corrupt system" and noted that the face of the coup, Defense Minister Awad Mohammed Ibn Ouf, has also been sanctioned for war crimes in the Darfur region along with the ex-president.

Al-Bashir "should be extradited and tried in The Hague for those crimes," he said.

___

4:35 p.m.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he hopes Sudan can overcome its upheaval peacefully through "national conciliation" and urged it to try to operate "a normal democratic process."

Speaking at a joint news conference with the president of Burkina Faso on Thursday, Erdogan repeated his disdain of coups, but refrained from voicing support for Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir who was overthrown and arrested by the military.

Erdogan said: "We have deep-rooted historic relations with Sudan. We of course support the continuation of these deep-rooted ties."

The Turkish leader has in the past hosted al-Bashir and has defended him over accusations of war crimes, saying "a Muslim cannot commit genocide."

In 2017 Sudan agreed to lease the Red Sea island of Suakin to Turkey, after Ankara requested permission to restore Ottoman-era relics. Turkey has denied claims that it wants to construct a naval base there.

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3:10 p.m.

Egypt says it is backing the removal of longtime autocratic ruler Omar al-Bashir in neighboring Sudan.

In a statement, Egypt's Foreign Ministry expressed support to the "Sudanese people's choice and will."

The statement called on the international community to help Sudan to have a peaceful transition.

Under al-Bashir, Sudan and Egypt had tense relations after Sudan supported Ethiopia's construction of a massive dam on the river Nile putting at risk Egypt's water supply.

___

2:50 p.m.

Protesters who pushed for the ouster of Sudan's longtime autocratic president are continuing their defiance now that the military has wrested power from Omar al-Bashir.

Awad Abdel-Bayen, a leading figure in Sudan's Communist Party, described the military takeover of power as "giving new life to al-Bashir rule."

Activists on social media voiced rejection of the military takeover, saying, "no to the military rule" and the "Revolution continues."

___

2 p.m.

Sudanese defense minister has announced the military has overthrown and arrested President Omar al-Bashir and has taken charge of the country for the next two years following nearly four months of protests against his rule.

Awad Mohammed Ibn Ouf appeared on state TV, in military fatigues, following an earlier announcement of an "important statement" coming from the army on Thursday.

Ibn Ouf says after the two years, "free and fair elections" will take place.

He says a state of emergency has been imposed for the next three months and that the military has also suspended the constitution, closed borders and the country's airspace.

A transitional military council will lead the country for two years,

Ouf also said the government and the presidency have been dissolved, and imposed a night curfew.

___

1:10 p.m.

Sudanese protest organizers say they won't back a military coup that has apparently forced longtime President Omar al-Bashir to step down but want a civilian transitional government in place after his ouster.

The organizers say they are now in discussions with the military's leadership about forming a transitional government. This comes as people are celebrating in the streets of Khartoum on Thursday following reports of al-Bashir's ouster.

Sarah Abdel-Jaleel, a spokeswoman for the Sudanese Professionals Association, tells The Associated Press they will not back a military coup and insist on an "unconditional stepping down of al-Bashir and his regime."

She says there might be a military council to back the transitional government.

Sudanese activists behind months-long protests against al-Bashir say hundreds who were detained over the demonstrations have already been freed.

___

12:50 p.m.

Sudan's state security agency says authorities are releasing all political detainees.

Thursday's brief statement by the National Security and Intelligence service did not indicate when the release would take place.

It comes as tens of thousands are celebrating in the streets of Khartoum amid reports that the country's longtime President Omar al-Bashir has been forced to step down by the military.

Sudanese activists behind months-long protests against al-Bashir say hundreds who were detained over the demonstrations have already been freed. The activists spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

The news come as two senior Sudanese officials said the army forced al-Bashir to step down but the circumstances of the apparent ouster remain unclear.

-Samy Magdy in Cairo;

___

9:50 a.m.

Two senior Sudanese officials say that the army has forced longtime President Omar al-Bashir to step down but the circumstances of the apparent ouster remain unclear.

The officials say the military is now in talks about forming a transitional government. The officials, who hold high positions in the government and the military, spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

They spoke ahead of an army announcement and amid reports of a coup to replace the president of 30 years following mass street protests against his rule.

The officials declined to elaborate. Al-Bashir's current whereabouts remain unknown.

-Samy Magdy in Cairo;

___

9:20 a.m.

Eyewitnesses in the Sudanese capital say the military has deployed at key sites in the city to secure several installations ahead of an army announcement and amid reports of a coup to replace the country's longtime president, Omar al-Bashir.

The situation in Khartoum remains fluid and it wasn't immediately possible to confirm that al-Bashir is being ousted.

The witnesses told The Associated Press that military armored vehicles and tanks have been parked in the streets and near bridges over the Nile River as of Thursday morning, as well as in the vicinity of the military headquarters, where thousands are anxiously waiting for the army statement.

The compound has been the scene of a large anti-government sit-in since last Saturday calling for al-Bashir's ouster. The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared reprisals.

-Maggie Michael in Cairo;

___

7:40 a.m.

Sudan's state TV says the country's armed forces will deliver an "important statement" and are asking the nation to "wait for it."

The announcement raised expectations the statement Thursday could address nearly four months of anti-government protests demanding that longtime President Omar al-Bashir step down and could be a sign that he is relinquishing power.

Organizers of the protests urged masses to converge and join an ongoing sit-in that has been underway in the capital, Khartoum, since the weekend.

Sudanese radio is playing military marches ahead of the announcement.

The TV s says there'll be an "important statement from the armed forces after a while, wait for it."

It comes after clashes between Sudanese security forces and protesters, after an attempt to break the sit-in, leaving 22 dead since Saturday.

Protesters celebrate in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, April 11, 2019. Tens of thousands of Sudanese were making their way to the center of the country's capital on Thursday, cheering and clapping in celebration as two senior officials said the military had forced longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir to step down after 30 years in power. (AP Photo)

Protesters celebrate in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, April 11, 2019. Tens of thousands of Sudanese were making their way to the center of the country's capital on Thursday, cheering and clapping in celebration as two senior officials said the military had forced longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir to step down after 30 years in power. (AP Photo)

Sudanese celebrate after two senior officials said the military had forced longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir to step down after 30 years in power in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo)

Sudanese celebrate after officials said the military had forced longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir to step down after 30 years in power in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo)

Sudanese celebrate after two senior officials said the military had forced longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir to step down after 30 years in power in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo)

FILE - In this May 10, 2001, file photo, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi , left, is greeted by President Omar El-Bashir, center, upon his arrival in Khartoum for a two-day visit to Sudan. Tens of thousands of Sudanese were making their way to the center of the country's capital on Thursday, April 11, 2019, cheering and clapping in celebration as two senior officials said the military had forced longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir to step down after 30 years in power. (AP Photo/Abdel Raouf, File)

Sudanese celebrate after officials said the military had forced longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir to step down after 30 years in power in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo)

Sudanese celebrate after officials said the military had forced longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir to step down after 30 years in power in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo)
LONDON (AP) - British police on Thursday hauled a bearded and shouting Julian Assange from the Ecuadorian Embassy where he was holed up for nearly seven years, and the U.S. charged the WikiLeaks founder with conspiring with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to get their hands on government secrets.

Police arrested Assange after the South American nation revoked the political asylum that had protected him in the embassy, and he was brought before a British court - the first step in an extradition battle that he has vowed to fight.

Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno said he decided to evict Assange from the embassy after "repeated violations to international conventions and daily-life protocols," and he later lashed out at him during a speech in Quito, calling the Australian native a "spoiled brat" who treated his hosts with disrespect.

In Washington, the U.S. Justice Department accused Assange of conspiring with Manning to break into a classified government computer at the Pentagon. The charge was announced after Assange was taken into custody.

Assange, 47, took refuge in the embassy in 2012 after he was released on bail in Britain while facing extradition to Sweden on sexual assault allegations that have since been dropped. He refused to leave the embassy, fearing arrest and extradition to the U.S. for publishing classified military and diplomatic cables through WikiLeaks.

Manning, who served several years in prison for leaking troves of classified documents before her sentence was commuted by then-President Barack Obama, is again in custody in Alexandria, Virginia, for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating WikiLeaks. Manning's legal team said the indictment against Assange showed prosecutors didn't need her testimony and called for her to be released, saying her continued detention would be "purely punitive."

Julian Assange gestures as he arrives at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London, after the WikiLeaks founder was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police and taken into custody Thursday April 11, 2019. Police in London arrested WikiLeaks founder Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy Thursday, April 11, 2019 for failing to surrender to the court in 2012, shortly after the South American nation revoked his asylum .(Victoria Jones/PA via AP)

Over the years, Assange used Ecuador's embassy as a platform to keep his name before the public, frequently making appearances on its tiny balcony, posing for pictures and reading statements. Even his cat became famous.

But his presence was an embarrassment to U.K. authorities, who for years kept a police presence around the clock outside the embassy, costing taxpayers millions in police overtime. Such surveillance was removed in 2015, but the embassy remained a focal point for his activities.

Video posted online by Ruptly, a news service of Russia Today, showed several men in suits pulling a handcuffed Assange out of the embassy and loading him into a police van while uniformed British police formed a passageway. Assange, who shouted and gestured as he was removed, sported a full beard and slicked-back gray hair.

He later appeared in Westminster Magistrates' Court, where District Judge Michael Snow wasted no time in finding him guilty of breaching his bail conditions, flatly rejecting his assertion that he had not had a fair hearing and a reasonable excuse for not appearing.

"Mr. Assange's behavior is that of a narcissist who cannot get beyond his own selfish interests," Snow said. "He hasn't come close to establishing 'reasonable excuse.'"

Assange waved to the packed public gallery as he was taken to the cells. His next appearance was set for May 2 via prison video-link in relation to the extradition case.

Assange's attorney, Jennifer Robinson, said he will fight any extradition to the U.S.

"This sets a dangerous precedent for all journalist and media organizations in Europe and around the world," she said. "This precedent means that any journalist can be extradited for prosecution in the United States for having published truthful information about the United States."

Asked at the White House about the arrest, President Donald Trump declared , "It's not my thing," and "I know nothing about WikiLeaks," despite praising the anti-secrecy organization dozens of times during his 2016 campaign.

Assange has been under U.S. Justice Department scrutiny for years for WikiLeaks' role in publishing government secrets. He was an important figure in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe as investigators examined how WikiLeaks obtained emails that were stolen from Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and Democratic groups.

"The bottom line is that he has to answer for what he has done," Clinton said later Thursday, at a speaking event with husband Bill Clinton.

WikiLeaks quickly drew attention to U.S. interest in Assange and said that Ecuador had illegally terminated Assange's political asylum "in violation of international law."

"Powerful actors, including CIA, are engaged in a sophisticated effort to de-humanise, de-legitimize and imprison him," the group said in a tweet over a photo of Assange's smiling face.

But in Assange's native Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison told Australian Broadcasting Corp. he had no plans to intervene in the case as the charge was a "matter for the United States" and had nothing to do with Australia. Consular officials were to visit him Friday in jail.

Ecuadorian officials suggested Assange's own behavior was to blame.

Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo said Assange's mental and physical health worsened while he was holed up, and he began to act aggressively toward his hosts, including smearing feces on the walls of the embassy.

In a fiery speech in Ecuador, Moreno called him an ungrateful and "miserable hacker" who treated embassy officials poorly.

"When you're given shelter, cared for and provided food, you don't denounce the owner of the house," Moreno said to applause at an event outside Quito.

"From now on we'll be more careful in giving asylum to people who are really worth it and not miserable hackers whose only goal is to destabilize governments," he added. "We are tolerant, calm people, but we're not stupid."

Other Ecuadorian officials in Quito accused supporters of WikiLeaks and two Russian hackers of trying to destabilize the country as the standoff with Assange intensified recently.

Romo said a close collaborator of WikiLeaks had traveled with former Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino this year to several countries - including Peru, Spain and Venezuela - to try to undermine the Ecuadorian government. She also said a person close to Assange had been detained at Quito's airport trying to fly to Japan. The person, who she did not identify, is accused of conspiring against the Ecuadorian government.

Later Thursday, a senior Ecuadorian official said a Swedish software developer living in Quito had been arrested at the airport as authorities attempt to dismantle a blackmail ring that in recent days had threatened to retaliate against Moreno.

The official identified the person as Ola Bini. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity and didn't provide any additional details about Bini.

On a blog, a Swedish man of the same name describes himself as a software developer working in Quito for the Center for Digital Autonomy, a group based in Ecuador and Spain focused on privacy, security and cryptography issues. It makes no mention of any affiliation with Wikileaks.

On Twitter earlier Thursday, Bini called claims by the Interior Minister that Russian hackers and someone close to Wikileaks were working inside Ecuador "very worrisome" news and said events looked like a "witch hunt."

But former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa called Moreno's decision "cowardly," accusing him of retaliating against Assange for WikiLeaks spreading allegations about an offshore bank account purportedly linked to Moreno's family and friends.

On Wednesday, WikiLeaks accused Ecuador's government of an "extensive spying operation" against him. It alleges that meetings with lawyers and a doctor in the embassy over the past year were secretly filmed.

Speaking in the U.K. Parliament after the arrest, British Prime Minister Theresa May said it showed that "no one is above the law."

Moreno appeared to suggest a swift extradition to the U.S. was unlikely.

"In line with our strong commitment to human rights and international law, I requested Great Britain to guarantee that Mr. Assange would not be extradited to a country where he could face torture or the death penalty," Moreno said. "The British government has confirmed it in writing, in accordance with its own rules."

Edward Snowden, the former security contractor who leaked classified information about U.S. surveillance programs, called Assange's arrest a blow to media freedom.

"Images of Ecuador's ambassador inviting the U.K.'s secret police into the embassy to drag a publisher of - like it or not - award-winning journalism out of the building are going to end up in the history books," Snowden tweeted from Russia, which has granted him permission to stay there while he is wanted by the U.S. "Assange's critics may cheer, but this is a dark moment for press freedom."

___

Associated Press writers Kelvin Chan and Gregory Katz in London; Joshua Goodman in Caracas, Venezuela; Gonzalo Solano in Quito, Ecuador; and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.

Follow AP's coverage of the arrest of WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange at https://www.apnews.com/WikiLeaks

Julian Assange gestures as he arrives at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London, after the WikiLeaks founder was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police and taken into custody Thursday April 11, 2019. Police in London arrested WikiLeaks founder Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy Thursday, April 11, 2019 for failing to surrender to the court in 2012, shortly after the South American nation revoked his asylum .(Victoria Jones/PA via AP)

Police carry WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from the Ecuadorian embassy in London after he was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police and taken into custody Thursday April 11, 2019. Police in London arrested WikiLeaks founder Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy Thursday, April 11, 2019 for failing to surrender to the court in 2012, shortly after the South American nation revoked his asylum. (@DailyDOOH/PA via AP)

Police carry WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from the Ecuadorian embassy in London after he was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police and taken into custody Thursday April 11, 2019. Police in London arrested WikiLeaks founder Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy Thursday, April 11, 2019 for failing to surrender to the court in 2012, shortly after the South American nation revoked his asylum. (@DailyDOOH/PA via AP)

FILE - In this Feb. 1, 2012 file photo, Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder, arrives at the Supreme Court in London.Police in London arrested WikiLeaks founder Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy Thursday, April 11, 2019 for failing to surrender to the court in 2012, shortly after the South American nation revoked his asylum. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

A police vehicle parked outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police and taken into custody Thursday April 11, 2019. Police in London say they've arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy on a court warrant dating back to 2012. In a statement Thursday, police said Assange has been taken into "custody at a central London police station where he will remain, before being presented before Westminster Magistrates' Court as soon as is possible." (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

A police vehicle parked outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police and taken into custody Thursday April 11, 2019. Police in London say they've arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy on a court warrant dating back to 2012. In a statement Thursday, police said Assange has been taken into "custody at a central London police station where he will remain, before being presented before Westminster Magistrates' Court as soon as is possible." (John Stillwell/PA via AP)

FILE - In this file photo dated Friday May 19, 2017, watched by the media WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange looks out from the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy prior to speaking, in London. London police say they've arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy, it was reported on Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)

A police car parked outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police and taken into custody Thursday April 11, 2019. London police say they've arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy, it was reported on Thursday. (John Stillwell/PA via AP)

A police car parked outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police and taken into custody Thursday April 11, 2019. Police in London say they've arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy on a court warrant dating back to 2012. In a statement Thursday, police said Assange has been taken into "custody at a central London police station where he will remain, before being presented before Westminster Magistrates' Court as soon as is possible." (John Stillwell/PA via AP)

A police van parked outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police and taken into custody Thursday April 11, 2019. London police say they've arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy, it was reported on Thursday. (Rebecca Brown/PA via AP)

FILE - In this Friday, May 19, 2017 file photo, Julian Assange greets supporters outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London. London police say they've arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy, it was reported on Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)

A police van parked outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police and taken into custody Thursday April 11, 2019. London police say they've arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy, it was reported on Thursday. (Rebecca Brown/PA via AP)

FILE - In this Friday, May 19, 2017 file photo, Julian Assange greets supporters outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London. London police say they've arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy, it was reported on Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)

FILE - In this file photo dated Friday May 19, 2017, watched by the media WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange looks out from the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy prior to speaking, in London. London police say they've arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy, it was reported on Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)

Julian Assange gestures as he arrives at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London, after the WikiLeaks founder was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police and taken into custody Thursday April 11, 2019. Police in London arrested WikiLeaks founder Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy Thursday for failing to surrender to the court in 2012, shortly after the South American nation revoked his asylum .(Victoria Jones/PA via AP)

The Grand Jury Indictment against Julian Assange, released by the U.S. Department of Justice, Thursday, April 11, 2019, is photographed in Washington. The U.S. Justice Department has charged WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with conspiring with Chelsea Manning to break into a classified government computer. (AP Photo/Wayne Partlow)

A protester demonstrating in support of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange holds a placard outside Westminster magistrates court where he was appearing in London, Thursday, April 11, 2019. Police in London arrested WikiLeaks founder Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy Thursday, April 11, 2019 for failing to surrender to the court in 2012, shortly after the South American nation revoked his asylum. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Police officers stand in front of the vehicle entrance to Westminster magistrates court where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was appearing in London, Thursday, April 11, 2019. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was forcibly bundled out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and into a waiting British police van on Thursday, setting up a potential court battle over attempts to extradite him to the U.S. to face charges related to the publication of tens of thousands of secret government documents. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Spanish human rights lawyer and Julian Assange defense team member Baltasar Garzon speaks with the media in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, April 11, 2019. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was forcibly bundled out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and into a waiting British police van on Thursday, setting up a potential court battle over attempts to extradite him to the U.S. to face charges related to the publication of tens of thousands of secret government documents. (AP Photo/Paul White)

Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno rests his face in his hands during the inauguration of the "Agua Para Todos" or "Water for Everyone" government program, in Latacunga, Ecuador, Thursday, April 11, 2019. Moreno said in a video posted on Twitter Thursday that he revoked the political asylum for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange due to "repeated violations to international conventions and daily-life protocols." (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

A woman holds up the Spanish message: "I'm a terrorist for telling the truth," during a protest against the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, outside the Foreign Ministry in Quito, Ecuador, Thursday, April 11, 2019. On Thursday, Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno allowed British authorities to forcibly remove Assange from Ecuador's small embassy in London. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - Ukraine's president on Thursday ordered the creation of a special anti-corruption court in an apparent attempt to catch up with his challenger, who has taken a commanding lead in the presidential runoff race.

A poll conducted by the Reiting survey group found comic actor Volodymyr Zelenskiy with 61% support while President Petro Poroshenko had 24% ahead of a runoff set for April 21. The poll released Thursday was based on answers from 3,000 respondents and had a margin of error of 1.8 percentage points.

The 41-year-old comic actor, who plays the role of the nation's president in a hugely popular TV sitcom, has never held political office.

Zelenskiy's popularity, however, reflects public longing for a fresh leader who has no ties to Ukraine's corruption-ridden political elite and can propose a new way to settle the grinding five-year conflict with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine that has left 13,000 people dead since 2014.

He easily beat Poroshenko in the first round on March 31, garnering 30% of the vote, while the incumbent got just under 16%.

Amid an increasingly heated campaign, Zelenskiy's office on Thursday accused Poroshenko's election headquarters of posting a video in which Zelenskiy is run over by a heavy truck. It said it perceives the video as a clear threat that warrants additional security measures.

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko speaks to the media after he past medical tests taken by experts from the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) ahead of a runoff vote, at Kiev Olimpiyskiy Stadium, in Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. TV sitcom actor and comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy will contend the second round run-off vote on April 21, against incumbent President Petro Poroshenko. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Poroshenko's campaign denied that it was responsible for putting out the video and Ukrainian police said they launched a criminal investigation into the incident.

Poroshenko, 53, saw his approval ratings plummet amid Ukraine's economic woes and a sharp plunge in living standards amid a conflict with Russia, which annexed Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula in 2014.

He has cast himself as a strong statesman capable of standing up to Russia, claiming that Zelenskiy's lack of political experience will make him an easy prey for the Kremlin. But even though most of the world has rejected Russia's annexation of Crimea, there are no signs that Ukraine under any political leader is getting the territory back.

Poroshenko also has been repeatedly accused of turning a blind eye to corruption. In addition, the exposure of a military embezzlement scheme that allegedly involved top Poroshenko associates as well as a factory controlled by the president has badly dented his popularity. Poroshenko has denied any links to the scheme.

In an apparent bid to deflect criticism, Poroshenko on Thursday signed a decree to appoint members of the High Anti-Corruption Court - a longtime demand of both the United States and the European Union.

"By setting up the Anti-Corruption Court, we are completing the creation of an independent anti-corruption infrastructure," he said.

People pass by a billboard depicting Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin looking at each other in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, April 11, 2019. Writing on the big board reads: "A decisive choice." Poroshenko is running for his second term at the second round of presidential vote on April 21. He advocates Ukraine's integration into the European Union back from Russian influence. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - A shooting inside a South Carolina hospital on Thursday left both a police officer and the suspected gunman wounded, authorities said, in what was the second shooting inside a hospital in the state in two days.

The Thursday shooting happened around 2 a.m., when 27-year-old Kevin Boyce Patterson was spotted with a gun, visiting the emergency room at the Laurens County Memorial Hospital in Clinton, authorities said.

An arrest warrant issued Thursday night said Patterson dragged his father at gunpoint across the waiting room. When a Greenville Health Authority Police Department officer and a state trooper started to ask the man questions, he shot the police officer and tried to run, said Sarah Moore, a spokeswoman for Prisma Health, which runs the hospital.

The officer fired back, hitting Boyce in the arm, investigators said.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division charged Boyce with attempted murder, kidnapping and pointing and presenting a firearm. He was booked in the Laurens County jail. Records did not indicate whether he had a lawyer who could comment.

Moore said the police officer was treated and released. The officer's name was not released as of Thursday.

The shooting in Laurens County happened a day after a nurse was shot in a hospital emergency room in Orangeburg. According to a police report, 23-year-old Abrian Dayquan Sabb came to the Regional Medical Center with a long gun and shot the nurse in the abdomen Wednesday morning.

A hospital security guard had Sabb in custody by the time the first Orangeburg County deputies arrived three minutes later, a police report said. Sabb had come to the center just a day before, along with family members who were trying to get him mental health treatment.

State Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter said Wednesday that the family was told to come back because there weren't enough treatment beds.

Before the hospital shooting, deputies said they encountered Sabb after his girlfriend called 911 to report that he had fired a gun while she tried to take it from him. The officers gave the gun to Sabb's father, according to the police report.

The gun used in the hospital shooting Wednesday appeared to have been stolen from a nearby home just minutes earlier, deputies said.

Sabb, 23, is charged with attempted murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of violent crime. Police and court records did not list an attorney for him.

Sabb was ordered to remain in jail at a court hearing Thursday. One of the nurse's family members said at the hearing that the nurse was in critical condition. The family member did not identify herself.
Pope Benedict XVI has ventured out of retirement to publish an essay blaming the Catholic Church's sex abuse scandal on the sexual revolution of the 1960s and church laws that protected priests.

His analysis was immediately criticized as "catastrophically irresponsible" - a conflict with efforts by his successor, Pope Francis, to lead the church out of its crisis.

"Why did pedophilia reach such proportions? Ultimately, the reason is the absence of God," Benedict wrote, in the 6,000-word essay published Thursday in the German monthly Klerusblatt, the Catholic News Agency and other conservative media.

Benedict traced the start of the crisis to the '60s, citing the appearance of sex in films in his native Bavaria and the formation of "homosexual cliques" in seminaries "which acted more or less openly and significantly changed the climate." He also attributed it to failures in moral theology in that era.

"Perhaps it is worth mentioning that in not a few seminaries, students caught reading my books were considered unsuitable for the priesthood," the conservative theologian wrote. "My books were hidden away, like bad literature, and only read under the desk."

Benedict also faulted church laws that gave undue protection to accused priests. During the 1980s and 1990s, he wrote, "the right to a defense (for priests) was so broad as to make a conviction nearly impossible."

FILE - This Oct. 19, 2014 file photo shows Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI arrives in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican to attend the beatification ceremony of Pope Paul VI, and a mass for the closing of a two-week synod on family issues, celebrated by Pope Francis. Retired Pope Benedict XVI has published an analysis of the origins of the clergy sex abuse scandal, blaming it on the sexual revolution of the 1960s and church laws that protected priests in a rare commentary, published Thursday April 11, 2019.(AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, FILE)

As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict spearheaded reforms of those laws in 2001 to make it easier to remove priests who abused children. Benedict took a hard line against clerical sex abuse as the Vatican's conservative doctrine chief, and later as pope, defrocking hundreds of priests accused of raping and molesting children.

Francis has blamed the scandal on a clerical culture in the church that raises priests above the laity.

At his retirement in 2013, Benedict had said he would devote his remaining life to penance and prayer, leaving Francis to guide the church. He said in the introduction to the essay that Francis and the Vatican secretary of state had given him permission to publish. The Vatican confirmed it was written by Benedict.

Church historian Christopher Bellitto questioned if Benedict, who turns 92 next week, was being manipulated by others. He said the essay omitted the critical conclusions that arose from the pope's February sex abuse summit in Rome, including that "abusers were priests along the ideological spectrum, that the abuse predated the 1960s, that it is a global and not simply Western problem, that homosexuality is not the issue in pedophilia."

"It is catastrophically irresponsible, because it creates a counter-narrative to how Francis is trying to move ahead based on the 2019 summit," Bellitto told The Associated Press in an email. "The essay essentially ignores what we learned there."

In fact, records indicate the church hierarchy knew about clergy sexual abuse long before the 1960s - as early as the fourth century. It also was once more open: In 1741, for example, Pope Benedict XIV wanted it widely known that priests would be punished, so he posted notifications on church doors.

The essay was applauded by some on the right. Writing in The Catholic Herald, Chat Pecknold praised the intervention as a necessary word from "the voice of a father" that accurately identified an absence of God as the reason for the crisis.

"I suspect that after all the studies are done, after the review boards are formed, cases heard, after new protocols and safeguards are in place, Benedict's answer will be the one which endures," he wrote. "What will be remembered as the seed of renewal, as the root of restoration, is precisely Benedict's counsel that we turn our faces back to Christ who is the perfect image of the Father's love."

But other U.S. church analysts said the essay was both flawed in content and problematic on universal church level, exacerbating existing divisions in the church that have emerged between supporters of Francis and Catholics nostalgic for Benedict's doctrine-minded papacy.

Villanova University theologian Massimo Faggioli said the essay was thin in its analysis, effectively attributing the scandal to the sexual revolution. He said it omitted key cases, such as the Legion of Christ founder's pedophilia, which began well before then and involved abuse in one of the most rigorously orthodox, conservative religious orders.

"If a pope emeritus decides to stay silent, it's one thing and can be defended. But speaking and telling a tiny part and a very personal version of the story, it's hard to defend," he said on Twitter.

"Everything we know in the global history of the Catholic abuse crisis makes Benedict XVI's take published yesterday very thin or worse: a caricature of what happened during in the Catholic Church during the post-Vatican II period - with all its ingenuities and some tragic mistakes," he tweeted.

David Gibson at Fordham University's Center on Religion and Culture agreed with that assessment.

"For a retired pope to try to undo the critical work of a sitting pope and on such a crucial issue seems ... bad," he said.

Benedict's suggestion that the crisis can be traced to the 1960s is belied by records that indicate sexual abuse has been a problem for ages. The church hierarchy knew about clergy sexual abuse as early as the fourth century. It also was once more open: In 1741, for example, Pope Benedict XIV wanted it widely known that priests would be punished, so he posted notifications on church doors.
The Latest on severe weather impacting the central U.S. (all times local):

2:45 p.m.

A spring snowstorm that pummeled Colorado and Wyoming before sweeping into the Plains is now moving into Great Lakes states, where it's already setting records.

Winter storm warnings are posted for northern Wisconsin and Michigan, which could see heavy snow, strong winds, sleet and freezing rain. The National Weather Service reports that daily snowfall records have already fallen in La Crosse, Wausau and Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Weather service meteorologist Steven Fleegel says as much as 25 inches of snow has been reported in northeastern South Dakota, and it will continue to snow into Friday.

The weather service says the threat of severe weather will shift this weekend to southern states including Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. Threats include damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes.

Traffic backs up along 56th Avenue as a spring storm rolls in before the evening rush hour Wednesday, April 10, 2019, in Denver. Blizzard warnings have been issued for the northern half of Colorado's heavily populated Front Range region, including Denver, as well as the state's northeastern plains through midday Thursday. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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10:45 a.m.

A blizzard has knocked out electricity to tens of thousands of people in the Northern Plains as a powerful storm system sweeps across the central U.S.

According to PowerOutage.us, 14,000 people and businesses are without power in Minnesota and the same number in South Dakota. Another 8,500 are in the dark in Iowa.

Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy spokesman Matt Lindstrom says the main culprit of Thursday's outages is snow and ice accumulating on power lines, combined with strong winds.

Blizzard conditions in the region are expected to linger into early Friday. Lindstrom says crews are out working to restore power, and they're used to dealing with bad weather conditions.

The blizzard is part of a storm system known as a "bomb cyclone" that's slowly churning through the central U.S. for the second time in a month.

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6:45 a.m.

A powerful spring snow storm sweeping across the Midwest has made travel hazardous across Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota.

As much as 18 inches of snow has fallen in parts of South Dakota, where Gov. Kristi Noem closed state offices in much of the state Thursday amid heavy snow and strong winds.

Whiteout conditions have been reported in western Nebraska, where the Department of Transportation reported several highway closures Thursday morning.

Schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul are among hundreds of closed schools in Minnesota, where as much as 2 feet (0.61 meters) of snow is expected in the southwest part of the state by Friday. The Minnesota State Patrol says it has responded to more 200 crashes statewide since Wednesday.

The blizzard is part of a storm system known as a "bomb cyclone" that's slowly churning through the central U.S. for the second time in a month.

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12 a.m.

A storm system known as a "bomb cyclone" churned through the U.S. interior for the second time in a month, unleashing a blizzard that struck the Upper Midwest and creating hazardous fire conditions farther south.

The storm knocked out power Wednesday to thousands of homes and businesses in South Dakota, disrupted air and ground travel from Colorado to Minnesota and threatened to swell rivers in the Midwest that flooded after March's drenching.

National Weather Service Forecaster David Roth said both storms are what is known as a "bomb cyclone," a weather phenomenon that entails a rapid drop in air pressure and a storm strengthening explosively.

Forecasters said this week's storm will swell rivers again, though likely not to the levels seen last month.

Ice forms on a calf at a ranch outside of Kilgore, Neb., Wednesday, April 10, 2019. A bomb cyclone storm bringing heavy snow and strong winds to several Rockies and Plains states is making travel difficult in many areas and impossible in others. Officials have closed Interstate 29 in northeastern South Dakota and say other stretches of interstates are likely to close later. (Chris Machian/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

An unidentified man sleeps on his luggage in Denver International Airport Wednesday, April 10, 2019, in Denver. Forecasters are predicting from four to 10 inches of snow for northeastern Colorado as the storm sweeps over the intermountain West Wednesday evening and into Thursday. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

This March 2019 photo provided by Henry Red Cloud, shows flooding on Cloud's Lakota Solar Enterprises property on the Pine Ridge Reservation in southern South Dakota. Red Cloud estimates flood damage at $250,000. Plains and Midwest states are bracing for another massive winter storm Wednesday and Thursday and the prospect of renewed flooding when the snow melts. (Henry Red Cloud via AP)

A Frontier Airlines representative talks with passengers as they wait to rebook their flights in Denver International Airport Wednesday, April 10, 2019, in Denver. Snow mixed with strong winds is expected to make travel difficult to impossible Wednesday afternoon. The Colorado Department of Transportation warned that highways closures were probable and that the Denver area and Colorado's Eastern Plains would be the hardest hit by the storm. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

A truck travels east on Interstate 80 during a blizzard warning hitting southeast Wyoming and the Colorado Front Range on Wednesday, April 10, 2019, in Cheyenne. People in Colorado and Wyoming were urged to get home early Wednesday and stay there before snow and wind from a powerful spring storm make travel all but impossible.(Jacob Byk/The Wyoming Tribune Eagle via AP)

A dog is seen peeking over a chain link fence along Parsley Boulevard during a blizzard warning hitting southeast Wyoming and the Colorado Front Range on Wednesday, April 10, 2019, in Cheyenne, Wyo. People in Colorado and Wyoming were urged to get home early Wednesday and stay there before increasingly heavy snow and wind from a powerful spring storm make travel all but impossible. (Jacob Byk/The Wyoming Tribune Eagle via AP)

A pedestrian walks across Warren Avenue during a blizzard warning hitting southeast Wyoming and the Colorado Front Range on Wednesday, April 10, 2019, in Cheyenne, Wyo. People in Colorado and Wyoming were urged to get home early Wednesday and stay there before increasingly heavy snow and wind from a powerful spring storm make travel all but impossible. (Jacob Byk/The Wyoming Tribune Eagle via AP)

In this undated March 2019 photo provided by Henry Red Cloud, shows flooding on Cloud's Lakota Solar Enterprises property on the Pine Ridge Reservation in southern South Dakota. Red Cloud estimates flood damage at $250,000. Plains and Midwest states are bracing for another massive winter storm Wednesday and Thursday and the prospect of renewed flooding when the snow melts. (Henry Red Cloud via AP)
BERLIN (AP) - The escalation in violence in and around Libya's capital has resulted in the displacement of more than 8,000 people, the United Nations said Thursday.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the fighting in the past 24 hours was "the heaviest since the outbreak of hostilities."

The self-styled Libyan National Army, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter, launched a major military offensive earlier this month aimed at capturing Tripoli.

The oil-rich North African country is now governed by rival administrations - a U.N.-backed government in Tripoli and the west and another government supported by Hifter and his supporters in the east. Libya has also become a haven for armed groups, including several from neighboring countries and a major conduit for African migrants hoping to reach Europe.

"An estimated 650 families have requested relocation to safer areas," Dujarric said. "However, due to access restrictions, hostilities and the indiscriminate use of weapons, evacuation teams have only been able to respond to 15 percent of all requests," he said.

He said "families stranded inside conflict-affected areas not only fear for their safety, but are also starting to run out of supplies," adding that "emergency service providers are operating at great personal risk, with three medical staff reportedly killed and four first responders reportedly injured."

Dujarric said the U.N. continued to call for a humanitarian truce to allow for the provision of emergency services and the voluntary passage of civilians, including the wounded. German Chancellor Angela Merkel meanwhile urged Hifter to end his forces' push on Tripoli, saying there can be no military solution to the country's problems.

Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said that Merkel made the comments in a telephone call to Fayez Sarraj, the leader of the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli.

Merkel also called for all parties involved to return to the negotiation table.

Also on Thursday, Tunisian Defense Minister Abdelkrim Zbidi said his country's armed forces, on land and at sea, were put on alert at the borders it shares with Libya.

The escalation has threatened to plunge the fractured nation deeper into chaos and ignite civil war on the scale of the 2011 uprising that toppled and later killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Federal prosecutors painted a picture of attorney Michael Avenatti on Thursday as a scheming operator who stole millions of dollars from clients, cheated on his taxes, lied to investigators and tried to hide money from debtors in bankruptcy proceedings.

A 36-count indictment returned late Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, California, offered the most damning and detailed account to date of Avenatti's apparent fall from grace a year after he seized the spotlight while crusading for porn actress Stormy Daniels in her legal battles against President Donald Trump.

Avenatti embezzled settlement funds and proceeds from other matters he handled for five clients and doled out small portions, sometimes labeling them as "advances" to prevent thefts from being discovered, prosecutors said.

"Money generated from one set of crimes was used to further other crimes," U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna told reporters. "Typically in the form of payments designed to string along victims so as to prevent Mr. Avenatti's financial house of cards from collapsing."

Avenatti denied the charges on Twitter, saying he had made powerful enemies and would plead not guilty and fight the case. "I look forward to the entire truth being known as opposed to a one-sided version meant to sideline me," he tweeted.

The new charges do not include a New York extortion case alleging Avenatti demanded millions to stay quiet about claims he planned to reveal about Nike paying high school players.

FILE - In this April 1, 2019 file photo, attorney Michael Avenatti arrives at federal court in Santa Ana, Calif. An indictment filed against Avenatti, Wednesday, April 10, alleges he stole millions of dollars from clients, didn't pay his taxes, committed bank fraud and lied in bankruptcy proceedings. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Avenatti, 48, was arrested March 25 in New York on the Nike charge. Federal prosecutors at the time announced he also faced single counts of wire and bank fraud in Southern California, where he lives and practices law.

The 61-page Southern California indictment adds dozens of counts and details charges that carry a potential prison sentence of 335 years, prosecutors said. Even if convicted of all counts, such a term is highly unlikely.

Avenatti faces 10 counts of wire fraud for stealing from a paraplegic man and four other clients he allegedly deceived by taking their money and using it to fund a lifestyle that included living in multimillion-dollar homes, sponsoring an auto racing team and flying in his own private jet, authorities said. The jet was seized Wednesday by federal agents.

He was also charged with 19 tax counts, including lying to an Internal Revenue Service officer, not paying personal income taxes since 2010, failing to pay taxes for his businesses, including two law firms, and pocketing payroll taxes from the Tully's Coffee chain that he owned, the indictment said.

Between September 2015 and January 2018, Global Baristas US, the company that operated Tully's, failed to pay the IRS $3.2 million in payroll taxes, including nearly $2.4 million withheld from employees, the indictment said.

When the IRS later put tax levies on coffee company bank accounts to collect more than $5 million, Avenatti had Tully's employees deposit cash receipts in a little-known account for his auto racing team, authorities said.

Avenatti was also charged with submitting phony tax returns to get more than $4 million in loans from The Peoples Bank in Biloxi, Mississippi, in 2014. The tax returns he presented to the bank were never filed to the IRS, prosecutors said.

The charges are the latest blow to a career that took off when Avenatti represented Daniels in her lawsuit to break a confidentiality agreement with Trump to stay mum about an affair they allegedly had.

Avenatti became one of Trump's leading adversaries, attacking him on cable news programs and Twitter. At one point, Avenatti even considered challenging Trump in 2020.

Back home, his business practices had come under scrutiny from the IRS and a former law partner owed nearly $15 million by Avenatti and the Eagan Avenatti firm, which filed for bankruptcy.

Avenatti made false statements in bankruptcy proceedings by submitting forms that under-reported income such as a $1.3 million payment his firm received, the indictment said.

As prosecutors outlined the charges, Avenatti appeared briefly in Los Angeles Superior Court to answer questions about money he owes attorney Jason Frank for legal work he performed.

With the prospect of facing questions about money he's charged with stealing from clients, Avenatti asserted his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination and didn't testify, according to attorneys and the court record.

Andrew Stolper, the lawyer who represents Frank, said Avenatti told his client he won't get paid now that federal authorities seized his private jet.

The most glaring example of deception and fraud was described in the indictment as scheming Avenatti allegedly did to deprive clients of money they were due from court settlements, legal negotiations or sales of stock and actions he took to cover his tracks.

Avenatti on Thursday called theft allegations "bogus nonsense" on Twitter.

Prosecutors said that in one case, Avenatti funneled a $2.75 million settlement into his bank accounts and spent $2.5 million for the private jet he co-owned.

Although Avenatti was due a portion of the more than $12 million he received for the five clients, the charges said he turned over only a fraction.

"It is Lawyer 101: do not steal your client's money," Hanna said.

Avenatti allegedly drained a $4 million settlement he negotiated in 2015 on behalf of Geoffrey Johnson, who was paralyzed after trying to kill himself in the Los Angeles County jail, the indictment said.

Avenatti only provided $124,000 to Johnson, the indictment said.

Two years after the settlement was reached, Avenatti allegedly helped Johnson find a real estate agent to buy a house. But when Johnson was in escrow, Avenatti falsely said he had not received the settlement funds, the indictment said.

In November, when the Social Security Administration requested information to determine if Johnson should continue to receive disability benefits, Avenatti said he would respond, but didn't because he knew it could lead to the discovery of his embezzlement, the indictment said. The failure to respond led to Johnson's disability benefits being cut off in February.

After Avenatti was questioned about the alleged embezzlement during a judgment-debtor examination in federal court on March 22, the indictment said he fabricated a defense for himself.

Avenatti had Johnson sign a document afterward saying he was satisfied with his representation, which the lawyer told him was necessary to get the settlement that had in fact been paid four years earlier, the indictment said.

Avenatti's posted a "client testimonial" Thursday from Johnson on Twitter that praised Avenatti as "an exceptional, honest and ethical attorney and I feel fortunate to have had him represent me."

Johnson, who is now destitute, only realized after Avenatti's arrest the following week that he had been a victim of fraud, said attorney Joshua Robbins, who now represents him.

Robbins, a former federal prosecutor, said he was surprised Avenatti posted the statement.

"This is the first time I've seen someone tweet out incriminating evidence in their own case the same day they were indicted," Robbins said.

FILE - In this Dec. 12, 2018, file photo, attorney Michael Avenatti, speaks outside court in New York.An indictment filed against Avenatti, Wednesday, April 10, alleges he stole millions of dollars from clients, didn't pay his taxes, committed bank fraud and lied in bankruptcy proceedings. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

United States Attorney Nick Hanna, left announces the latest on new federal charges against attorney Michael Avenatti during a news conference in Los Angeles on Thursday, April 11, 2019. The indictment announced Thursday in Los Angeles alleges Avenatti stole millions of dollars from clients, didn't pay taxes, committed bank fraud and lied during bankruptcy proceedings. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

United States Attorney Nick Hanna, left, announces the latest on new federal charges against attorney Michael Avenatti during a news conference in Los Angeles on Thursday, April 11, 2019. The indictment announced Thursday alleges Avenatti stole millions of dollars from clients, didn't pay taxes, committed bank fraud and lied during bankruptcy proceedings. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Spain's political parties are set to start campaigning for a general election this month in which the ruling Socialists are trying to remain in power and the extreme right is seeking to enter Parliament.

The official campaign period that starts at midnight Thursday promises to be a fierce fight for the large pool of undecided voters identified in election polls. Support from those voters could be key to whether the Socialist government led by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez continues on or the election ushers in a coalition government made up of right-wing parties.

The national election on April 28 will be Spain's third in four years, a pace that reflects political fragmentation from the emergence of new parties.

Polls indicate the upstart far-right party Vox could win around 10% of the vote, adding a fifth national party of significant size to the Congress of Deputies, the lower chamber of the Spanish parliament.

A government opinion poll published this week forecast that the Socialist Party would displace the conservative Popular Party as the election's top vote-getter but fall short of winning enough for an outright parliamentary majority.

The government poll also found that that 41% of those polled were unsure how they would mark their ballots. The poll of 16,194 potential voters conducted March 1-18 was much larger than other polls in Spain.

In this Wednesday, April 10, 2019 photo, election workers prepare ballot boxes to deliver to polling stations, at a warehouse in Barcelona, Spain. Spanish general election will be held on Sunday, 28 April 2019. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Sanchez's most likely options for staying in power rest on either his Socialists maintaining support from the far-left Podemos party and some regionalist parties, or on striking a deal with the center-right Citizens party.

The chances for new Popular Party leader Pablo Casado to replace Sanchez may depend on the how well the upstart far right party Vox performs. Vox, with its anti-immigration and ultra nationalist views, was crucial to the Popular and Citizens parties kicking the Socialists out of power in Spain's southern Andalusia region in January.

Drumming up votes for the Socialists is important, Sanchez said, because his is "the only party that can stop the three parties of the right."

"There is a clear risk that the parties on the right will join forces, and that is why it is important that we aren*t over confident and that we are aware that on April 28th we are called to the ballot boxes to ensure that this country advances," Sanchez told a rally in Seville on Thursday.

While Sanchez is running on his pledge to spend more on social programs, the most polarizing issue of the campaign will be the unresolved crisis from the Catalonia region's failed bid to secede two years ago.

Five separatist movement leaders currently on trial for the breakaway bid Spanish courts declared illegal are candidates in the general election. If found guilty of rebellion and other charges, they could be banned from holding public office.

Sanchez tried to mend bridges with the separatists before talks broke down. The Popular Party's Casado and Vox leader Santiago Abascal promise to punish them by taking away Catalonia(asterisk)s self-governance powers.

"On the 28th of April the nation's unity is at stake," Abascal told his supporters in Madrid on Thursday.

Sanchez became prime minister last June when Mariano Rajoy lost a parliamentary no-confidence vote after a court ruling in a corruption case involving ex-members of Rajoy's Popular Party.

Sanchez tried to keep his minority government afloat until the end of the legislative term in 2020, but ended up calling an early election after lawmakers rejected a national spending bill in February.

Spanish law limits advertising by parties and formal stumping by candidates to the 15 days before the election.

A poster of Spanish Prime Minister and Socialist Party candidate Pedro Snchez is stored in a garage in Ciudad Real, Spain, Thursday, April 11, 2019. The campaign for the April 28 general election starts Thursday at midnight marked by a fierce fight for what polls indicate is a large pool of undecided voters. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

In this Wednesday, April 10, 2019 photo, an election worker prepares ballot boxes ready to deliver to polling stations, at a warehouse in Barcelona, Spain. Spanish general election will be held on Sunday, 28 April 2019. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

In this Wednesday, April 10, 2019 photo, an election worker loads ballot boxes inside a truck to deliver it to polling stations, at a warehouse in Barcelona, Spain. Spanish general election will be held on Sunday, 28 April 2019. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

In this Wednesday, April 10, 2019 photo, an election worker prepares ballot boxes to deliver to polling stations, at a warehouse in Barcelona, Spain. Spanish general election will be held on Sunday, 28 April 2019. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

In this Wednesday, April 10, 2019 photo, election workers prepare ballot boxes to deliver to polling stations, at a warehouse in Barcelona, Spain. Spanish general election will be held on Sunday, 28 April 2019. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Thursday named an army general who is a veteran of the country's drug war to command the newly formed and controversial National Guard.

Brig. Gen. Luis Rodriguez Bucio will take over the post immediately. He said that he's in the process of retiring from the army.

Lopez Obrador took office in December saying he wanted to address the root causes of Mexico's spiraling violence rather than worry about going after the country's drug lords like previous administrations. He repeated that desire Thursday, but said he has a responsibility to provide security for the people.

He has established a close relationship with the military, first deploying them against fuel theft rings and now stacking the new security force that he says is necessary to control violence with their officers.

Critics of the new force have complained that it's too tied to the military, though Lopez Obrador says that's crucial to its effectiveness. The National Guard will initially be made up of military police and members of the federal police.

Another general and a retired navy admiral will form the National Guard's operational coordinating body along with a federal police commissioner.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speaks during a signing ceremony in an agreement with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, at the National Palace in Mexico City, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Mexico's efforts to calm critics of its newly formed National Guard have received a boost in the form of an agreement with High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet who said that her office will offer technical assistance to ensure that Mexico's new security force respects human rights. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Rodriguez Bucio, 62, is a veteran and student of Mexico's war against the drug cartels, having battled them in northern states including Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon and Chihuahua, as well as the western states of Sinaloa and Durango.

During the administration of President Felipe Calderon, who launched Mexico headlong into the war against the cartels, Rodriguez Bucio held top positions in the drug trafficking analysis group of the general staff. In the 1990s, he worked closely with Mexico's domestic intelligence agency.

In more recent years, he has held research oriented positions studying the country's strategy against drug trafficking. While pursuing a doctorate in defense and national security he wrote a thesis about the military's role in the drug war under Calderon.

His most recent post was as president of the Inter-American Defense Board in Washington. That body offers technical advice to members of the Organization of American States.

The National Guard ultimately will be under the civilian authority of the Public Safety Secretary Alfonso Durazo.

But security analyst Alejandro Hope said the fact that Rodriguez Bucio remains active military creates parallel chains of command. While the formal one answers to Durazo, as a military officer he will still be in the army's chain of command and answering to superiors.

"I feel like this nullifies Durazo," Hope said. How the relationship between Durazo and the National Guard's coordinating body will work remains unclear, because additional legislation needs to pass.

Last year saw the highest number of murders in at least 20 years. Human rights groups had hoped that the new administration would reduce the military's role in internal policing and the country had been under international pressure for years to reform its police and send the soldiers back to their barracks. But police reform efforts stalled and Lopez Obrador decided to start from scratch.

The president has promised that respecting human rights will be a top priority.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Latest on new federal charges against attorney Michael Avenatti (all times local):

4:20 p.m.

A lawyer for a paralyzed man says his client is destitute after attorney Michael Avenatti embezzled most of his $4 million court settlement.

Attorney Joshua Robbins said Thursday that Geoffrey Johnson was only paid a fraction of the money Avenatti collected in 2015 from a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County jail.

A 36-count federal indictment charging Avenatti with wire, tax and bank fraud says he stole millions of dollars from Johnson and four other clients.

Avenatti has denied stealing from clients and tweeted a statement signed by Johnson praising him as an "honest and ethical attorney."

FILE - In this Dec. 12, 2018, file photo, attorney Michael Avenatti, speaks outside court in New York.An indictment filed against Avenatti, Wednesday, April 10, alleges he stole millions of dollars from clients, didn't pay his taxes, committed bank fraud and lied in bankruptcy proceedings. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

Prosecutors says Avenatti told Johnson to sign the statement so he could collect his settlement money.

Robbins says he's never seen a defendant tweet incriminating evidence on the day they were indicted.

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2:50 p.m.

Attorney Michael Avenatti has refused to testify in a court case involving money he owes a former legal partner.

Avenatti appeared briefly in Los Angeles Superior Court as federal prosecutors outlined fraud and other charges against him in a 36-count indictment.

Avenatti had been scheduled to face questioning about some of nearly $15 million he owes attorney Jason Frank for legal work.

Attorney Ron Hodges says Avenatti, his client, asserted his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination and didn't testify.

Andrew Stolper, who represents Frank, says Avenatti would have faced questions about money he's charged with stealing from clients.

Avenatti tweeted that he will plead not guilty and fight the charges.

Stolper says Avenatti told Frank outside court that he won't get paid now that federal authorities seized his private jet.

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10:10 a.m.

Attorney Michael Avenatti could face a sentence of 335 years in prison if convicted of charges in a 36-count federal indictment.

But even if he is convicted of all counts, it would be unlikely for Avenatti to receive such a lengthy prison term

The indictment announced Thursday in Los Angeles alleges Avenattti stole millions of dollars from clients, didn't pay taxes, committed bank fraud and lied during bankruptcy proceedings.

U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna says the four areas of alleged criminal conduct are all linked to each other because money generated from one set of alleged crimes appears in other sets of alleged crimes.

Officials say a private jet co-owned by Avenatti was seized Wednesday as part of the ongoing investigation.

Avenatti has tweeted denials of all the allegations and says he will plead not guilty.

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7:45 a.m.

The indictment filed against attorney Michael Avenatti alleges he stole millions of dollars from clients, did not pay his taxes, committed bank fraud and lied in bankruptcy proceedings.

Avenatti was indicted late Wednesday on the charges following his arrest in New York last month for allegedly trying to shake down Nike for up to $25 million.

The attorney best known for representing porn actress Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against President Donald Trump said Thursday he will plead not guilty.

The new charges say he embezzled from a paraplegic man and four other clients and shuffled money between several accounts to deceive them.

The charges also say Avenatti pocketed payroll taxes from employees of the Tully's coffee chain that he owned.

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7:30 a.m.

Attorney Michael Avenatti says he will plead not guilty to a 36-count federal indictment filed against him in Southern California.

Avenatti tweeted Thursday that he intends to fight all of the charges and says he looks forward to the truth being known, as opposed to what he characterizes as a "one-sided version."

A statement from prosecutors to news outlets says details of the case will be released Thursday morning by U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna and the Internal Revenue Service in Los Angeles.

The new charges follow Avenatti's arrest in New York last month for allegedly trying to shake down Nike for up to $25 million and on two counts of wire and bank fraud from Southern California, where his firm is based.

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7:05 a.m.

Federal prosecutors say attorney Michael Avenatti has been charged in a 36-count federal indictment in Southern California.

A statement from prosecutors to news outlets says details of the case will be released Thursday morning by U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna and the Internal Revenue Service.

The new charges follow Avenatti's arrest in New York last month for allegedly trying to shake down Nike for up to $25 million and on two counts of wire and bank fraud from Southern California, where his firm is based.

The attorney is best known for representing porn actress Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against President Donald Trump. Avenatti has said he expects to be cleared.

FILE - In this April 1, 2019 file photo, attorney Michael Avenatti arrives at federal court in Santa Ana, Calif. An indictment filed against Avenatti, Wednesday, April 10, alleges he stole millions of dollars from clients, didn't pay his taxes, committed bank fraud and lied in bankruptcy proceedings. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

United States Attorney Nick Hanna, left announces the latest on new federal charges against attorney Michael Avenatti during a news conference in Los Angeles on Thursday, April 11, 2019. The indictment announced Thursday in Los Angeles alleges Avenatti stole millions of dollars from clients, didn't pay taxes, committed bank fraud and lied during bankruptcy proceedings. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

United States Attorney Nick Hanna, left, announces the latest on new federal charges against attorney Michael Avenatti during a news conference in Los Angeles on Thursday, April 11, 2019. The indictment announced Thursday alleges Avenatti stole millions of dollars from clients, didn't pay taxes, committed bank fraud and lied during bankruptcy proceedings. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The Latest on a parole decision involving Henry Montgomery, who won a Supreme Court appeal on juvenile sentencing (all times local):

3:15 p.m.

The lawyer for a Louisiana inmate at the center of a landmark Supreme Court case says his client is disappointed he wasn't granted parole but is not giving up.

Keith Nordyke spoke Thursday after a board denied parole for Henry Montgomery.

The 72-year-old Montgomery was 17 when he killed a sheriff's deputy in 1963. He was at the center of a case in which the Supreme Court later ruled that mandatory sentencing of juveniles to life without the possibility of parole was unconstitutional.

He has since been granted hearings. But he's been rejected twice for parole. In 2018, board members said he needed to take part in more prison programs - a reason repeated Thursday. But Nordyke says officials haven't given specifics about the programs they want Montgomery to take.

CORRECTS SPELLING OF LAST NAME TO HURT, NOT HUNT - FILE - In this Feb. 1964 file photo, Henry Montgomery, flanked by two deputies, awaits the verdict in his trial for the murder of Deputy Sheriff Charles H. Hurt in Baton Rouge, La. A three-member board will hear the case of Henry Montgomery on Thursday, April 11, 2019. The 72-year-old Montgomery was convicted of killing Hurt in 1963. Montgomery was 17 at the time. (John Boss/The Advocate via AP, File)

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10:55 a.m.

The grandson of a sheriff's deputy killed in 1963 says a board's decision to reject parole for the man who killed his grandfather was "fair."

J.P. deGravelles spoke after the Thursday hearing during which the board denied Henry Montgomery's parole bid.

The 72-year-old was convicted of killing a sheriff's deputy in 1963 when he was 17. He was sentenced to life without parole.

The Supreme Court later ruled that mandatory sentencing of juvenile offenders to life without the possibility of parole was unconstitutional. And then in 2016 in Montgomery's case they extended that decision retroactively.

But twice now, Montgomery has been denied parole.

deGravelles said there were no "winners or losers" Thursday but that Montgomery is "right where he needs to be."

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10 a.m.

A Louisiana board has denied parole to the man at the center of a landmark Supreme Court case about sentencing for juvenile offenders.

The three-member board voted 2-1 on Thursday in Henry Montgomery's favor, but parole decisions must be unanimous.

The 72-year-old Montgomery was convicted of killing an East Baton Rouge sheriff's deputy named Charles Hurt in 1963. Montgomery was 17 at the time.

Montgomery was sentenced to life without parole and spent decades at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola before the Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that mandatory sentencing of juvenile offenders to life without the possibility of parole was unconstitutional.

In 2016, the court decided in Montgomery's case to make their decision retroactive, entitling him to a hearing. A parole board last year denied Montgomery parole, but his lawyer applied for a rehearing and it was granted. Now he's been denied again.

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1:15 a.m.

The man at the center of a landmark Supreme Court case about sentencing for juvenile offenders is up for parole.

A three-member board will hear the case of Henry Montgomery on Thursday.

The 72-year-old Montgomery was convicted of killing an East Baton Rouge sheriff's deputy named Charles Hurt in 1963. Montgomery was 17 at the time.

Montgomery was sentenced to life without parole and spent decades at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.

Then the Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that mandatory sentencing of juvenile offenders to life without the possibility of parole was unconstitutional.

In 2016, the court decided in Montgomery's case to make their decision retroactive.

A parole board last year denied Montgomery parole, but his lawyer applied for a rehearing and it was granted.

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This story corrects last name of deceased sheriff's deputy to Hurt, not Hunt.
OPELOUSAS, La. (AP) - The Latest on fires at black churches in Louisiana. (all times local):

6:30 p.m.

A friend of the suspect in a recent string of church burnings in Louisiana says the 21-year-old was an introverted, aspiring musician who never showed any sign of destructive anger or racism.

Nygyl Bryyn is a self-described music entrepreneur and a native of the Opelousas area where three African American churches were burned in 10 days. Bryyn says suspect Holden Matthews contacted him years ago, hoping to sign with his Power Back Productions label.

Bryyn says Matthews had long been upset with his parents for not supporting his musical efforts. He also says Matthews had been discouraged in recent months as Bryyn said he needed to improve the quality of his recordings. But Bryyn says he doesn't believe Matthews was a racist or an arsonist.

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Louisiana State Fire Marshal H. "Butch" Browning speaks as Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards looks on during a press conference on the arrest of a suspect Holden Matthews for the arson of three churches in Opelousas, La., Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Lee Celano)

12:55 p.m.

Court documents say investigators used video footage, cellphone tracking and a Walmart receipt to help identify the man they believed set fire to three black churches in Louisiana.

Holden Matthews, a 21-year-old white man, was arrested Wednesday in St. Landry Parish.

The affidavit filed with Matthews' arrest warrant says a gas can recovered at one of the burned churches was sold at Walmart locations and the company's investigators found that the same type of gas can, along with a lighter, were bought March 25 in Opelousas. Documents say the debit card used to buy the items belonged to Matthews.

The affidavit says "the purchase time on this receipt is less than three hours before the first church fire was reported."

The document also says GPS tracking through cellphone tower data shows Matthews was in the area of all three church fires.

The documents say Matthews has been denied bond.

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10:30 a.m.

St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz says the father of the suspect arrested in the fires at three black Louisiana churches is a deputy in his department.

Holden Matthews is a 21-year-old white man who's been arrested in the fires and faces three counts of simple arson of a religious building.

At a news conference, Sheriff Guidroz disputed reports that Matthews' father turned his son in. Guidroz also said the suspect's father knew nothing of his son's involvement in the fires.

The first fire torched the St. Mary Baptist Church in Port Barre last month. Days later, the Greater Union Baptist Church and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas were burned. Each was more than 100 years old, with mostly black congregations.

The churches were empty at the time of the fires, and no one was injured.

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10:15 a.m.

Authorities say they're investigating hate as a motive in the fires at three black churches in southern Louisiana.

The suspect has been identified as Holden Matthews, a 21-year-old white man.

At a Thursday news conference, State Fire Marshal Butch Browning said the threat to the community "is gone now." He also called the fires "an attack on our God and our religion."

The first fire torched the St. Mary Baptist Church in Port Barre last month. Days later, the Greater Union Baptist Church and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas were burned. Each was more than 100 years old, with mostly black congregations.

The churches were empty at the time of the fires, and no one was injured.

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10:05 a.m.

The suspect arrested in a string of fires at historically black churches in southern Louisiana has been identified as a 21-year-old white man.

According to a news release, Holden Matthews faces three counts of simple arson of a religious building.

At a news conference, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said "these were evil acts."

The first fire torched the St. Mary Baptist Church in Port Barre last month. Days later, the Greater Union Baptist Church and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas were burned. Each was more than 100 years old, with mostly black congregations.

The churches were empty at the time of the fires, and no one was injured.

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5:25 a.m.

U.S. Attorney David C. Joseph says authorities have arrested a person in connection with suspicious fires at three historic black churches in Louisiana.

Joseph announced late Wednesday that the suspect is in state custody, and said federal agents stand shoulder to shoulder with the victims of "these despicable acts." A Thursday press conference at the St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office is planned.

The first fire torched the St. Mary Baptist Church in Port Barre last month. Days later, the Greater Union Baptist Church and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas were burned. Each was more than 100 years old, with mostly black congregations.

The churches were empty at the time of the fires, and no one was injured. Fire Marshal H. "Butch" Browning said all three were suspicious.

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An earlier version of this report had the incorrect name for suspect Holden Matthews.

This booking image released by the Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal shows Holden Matthews, 21, who was arrested Thursday, April 11, 2019, in connection with suspicious fires at three historic black churches in southern Louisiana. Matthews faces three counts of simple arson of a religious building on the state charges. Federal investigators also were looking into whether hate motivated the fires. (Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal via AP)

Louisiana State Fire Marshal H. "Butch" Browning speaks as Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards looks on during a press conference on the arrest of a suspect Holden Matthews for the arson of three churches in Opelousas, La., Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Lee Celano)

Louisiana State Fire Marshal H. "Butch" Browning speaks at a press conference on the arrest of a suspect Holden Matthews for the arson of three churches in Opelousas, La., Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Lee Celano)

Rev. Gerald Toussaint speaks at a press conference on the arrest of a suspect Holden Matthews for the arson of three churches in Opelousas, La.,Thursday, April 11, 2019. AP Photo/Lee Celano

Eric J. Rommal, FBI New Orleans Field Office special agent in charge, speaks at a press conference on the arrest of a suspect Holden Matthews for the arson of three churches in Opelousas, La., Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Lee Celano)
ATMORE, Ala. (AP) - An Alabama inmate convicted in the 1991 sword-and-dagger slaying of a pastor was spared a lethal injection when his death warrant expired before a divided U.S. Supreme Court voted early Friday to let the execution proceed.

A federal judge on Thursday blocked the execution of Christopher Lee Price to weigh his challenge to Alabama's lethal injection procedure. Justices voted 5-4 early Friday morning to let the execution proceed, but the death warrant had expired two hours earlier at the stroke of midnight.

Alabama is expected to seek a new execution date from a state court.

"This evening, the state of Alabama witnessed a miscarriage of justice," Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement.

Price, 46, had asked to be put to death by breathing nitrogen gas. His lawyers argue that it's a less painful alternative to the lethal combination of drugs that led to "botched" executions in the state.

The high court's order and dissenting opinion underscored the divide between the court's conservative and liberal justices over 11th-hour execution challenges.

FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Alabama Department of Corrections shows Christopher Lee Price. A federal judge on Thursday evening, April 11, 2019, has halted the planned execution of Price, who was convicted of the sword-and-dagger stabbing death of a pastor. U.S. District Judge Kristi K. DuBose issued the stay two hours before the scheduled lethal injection of 46-year-old Price. (Alabama Department of Corrections via AP, File)

"What is at stake in this case is the right of a condemned inmate not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment," Justice Stephen Breyer wrote in a dissent.

Breyer admonished court conservatives for overruling two lower court stays "in the middle of the night" without discussing it further at a morning conference.

The Supreme Court majority, in vacating the lower court's stay, sided with the state and said Price had waited too late to bring his challenge.

Justices on April 1 voted 5-4 against a Missouri inmate who said lethal injection would cause severe pain because of a tumor in his throat. Justice Neil Gorsuch's said judges should guard against efforts to use challenges to the method of execution "as tools to interpose unjustified delay."

Alabama authorized nitrogen hypoxia in 2018 as an alternative for carrying out death sentences, but has yet to try it and hasn't developed procedures to do so.

When Alabama authorized the new execution method, it gave inmates a 30-day window to request execution by nitrogen and 48 of the more than 170 inmates on death row did so, according to court filings.

Alabama contends that Price missed the deadline to request nitrogen, and that even though nitrogen hypoxia is authorized under state law, it is currently unavailable because the state has been unable to "procure the means for executing someone with nitrogen gas."

The governor and state Attorney General Steve Marshall said they would continue to pursue the death sentence for Price, who was convicted of using a sword and dagger to fatally stab Church of Christ pastor Bill Lynn in 1991 as he prepared Christmas gifts for his grandchildren.

"This horrendous crime left Pastor Lynn's wife and family to grieve, and now, almost 30 years later, the family is still left with no closure," Ivey said.

Prosecutors said Lynn, 57, was at his Fayette County home getting toys ready for his grandchildren when the power was cut. Lynn went outside to check the fuse box when he was killed, according to court filings.

Lynn's wife, Bessie Lynn, testified that she was in an upstairs bedroom watching television when she heard a noise. She said she looked out a window and saw a person dressed in black in a karate stance, holding a sword above her husband's head.

Bessie Lynn said she went outside to help her husband, but two men ordered her back in the house and demanded money and any jewelry and weapons they had. An autopsy showed that Lynn had been cut or stabbed more than 30 times.

A second man, Kelvin Coleman, pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison.

The appeals process made for a tense and lengthy Thursday as the victim's family and the inmate awaited rulings from the courts. His lethal injection had been scheduled for 6 p.m., and Lynn's wife and daughters had planned to witness it, prisons spokesman Samantha Banks said.

On Wednesday, Price married his fiance in the visitation yard of the prison. His final request to hold the wedding ceremony before his execution. He also ordered two pints of turtle tracks ice cream for his final meal.

Facing a ticking clock and an unresolved legal battle to lift the stay, prison officials announced about 30 minutes before midnight that they could not carry out the execution before his death warrant expired.

Alabama has carried out one execution so far this year, executing Dominique Ray in February for the 1995 murder of a 15-year-old girl.

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Associated Press writer Mark Sherman in Washington contributed to this report.

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This story has corrected who was convicted of murder to Price and Coleman's first name to Kelvin and corrected that the U.S. Supreme Court had not allowed the execution to proceed.
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) - The Legion of Christ religious order said Thursday that the Vatican has banned an Irish priest from public ministry for 10 years for sexually abusing a minor in Chile.

The order said in a statement that the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith also banned the Rev. John O'Reilly from any contact with minors for life and ordered him to live outside Latin America. O'Reilly can appeal.

"As a congregation, these acts cause us great pain and we again ask forgiveness for the suffering caused," the order said.

O'Reilly had worked in Chile since the mid-1980s. He was convicted in a civil court in 2014 of sexually abusing a minor while he was a chaplain at a school operated by the legion in the capital. The court also banned him from any job near children and included him in a database for registered abusers. Congress revoked the honorary Chilean citizenship it gave O'Reilly in 2008.

O'Reilly has denied any wrongdoing.

Under an order from Chile's government, O'Reilly left the country in 2018 after finishing the four-year sentence. He has been living at the home of the Legionaries of Christ in Rome since then, said Father Aaron Smith, the order's International Communications Director.

FILE - In this Feb. 24, 2019 file photo, Pope Francis celebrates Mass at the Vatican. The Legion of Christ religious order said in a statement Thursday, April 11, 2019, the Vatican has banned the Rev. John O'Reilly from public duties for 10 years for sexually abusing a minor in Chile. (AP Photo/Giuseppe Lami, File)

"He's not exercising any public ministry, independently of whether he decides to use his right of appeal or not," Smith told The Associated Press. "He has been in the Legionaries of Christ since 1965 and doesn't have his own resources. In the community, his superiors and brothers are making sure that he abides by the sentences of the both the civil and ecclesiastical law."

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Associated Press writer Luis Andres Henao in Buenos Aires, Argentina, contributed to this report.
DETROIT (AP) - A Montreal man convicted of stabbing a police officer at a Flint, Michigan, airport was in debt and saw the attack as a way to become a martyr while benefiting his wife and children financially through a life insurance policy, his attorneys wrote in a Thursday court filing.

Amor Ftouhi's attorneys say he should get 25 years in prison and that he should serve that time in solitary confinement.

However, federal prosecutors say Ftouhi should be sentenced to life in prison for committing an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries and for interfering with airport security. They say he was on a mission to kill as many people as possible and then be killed himself.

Ftouhi was convicted in November on several charges in the June 2017 attack. Witnesses said Ftouhi, who is Muslim, yelled "Allahu akbar" - or "God is great" - while attacking Lt. Jeff Neville, who survived being stabbed in the neck.

Defense attorneys wrote that Ftouhi was depressed about being in debt and being unable to properly support his wife and children after he had moved them from Tunisia to Montreal. He also expected that other officers would have killed him and that his widow could have collected on his life insurance policy, they wrote.

"Mr. Ftouhi believed he had found a 'solution' to his financial and emotional predicament: become a martyr for Allah and earn a place in Paradise for him and his family as his reward," they wrote in the memorandum. "Mr. Ftouhi truly believed this was the creative answer to all of his problems both in the present and in the afterlife."

FILE - In this undated file photo released by the FBI, shows Amor Ftouhi. Lawyers for the Montreal man facing life in prison for terrorism and other crimes in the stabbing of a Flint, Mich. airport officer are seeking a 25-year sentence. Ftouhi's attorneys also wrote in a memorandum Thursday, April 11, 2019, in federal court in Flint that the time should be spent in solitary confinement. Ftouhi was convicted in November. (FBI via AP, File)

The filing did not list any of Ftouhi's debts and the attorneys declined to comment when reached by phone.

In his filing, U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider dismissed the defense attorneys' characterization of Ftouhi's attack as a one-time event and a product of his depression and hopelessness.

"Ftouhi may have been unsatisfied with his life but he tried to kill Jeff Neville and intended to kill countless more because he dreamed of being a mujahedeen - a warrior," Schneider asserted. "He yearned to be revered and killing was the way to achieve that. Life imprisonment is the only just sentence for this crime and the only way to ensure the public's safety in the future. The court should impose that sentence."

Investigators have said Ftouhi intended to stab Neville, take his gun and start shooting people at Flint Bishop Airport. He legally drove into the U.S. at Champlain, New York, and arrived in Flint five days later. He tried but failed to buy a gun at a gun show and instead bought a large knife.

"His plan was never to become an indiscriminate killer, attempting to create a mass casualty situation, nor was he trying to be a member of any radical Islamic group," his lawyers wrote. "Mr. Ftouhi most certainly believed he would have been killed on June 21, 2017, and when he wasn't killed, he was very upset."

Ftouhi's lawyers didn't offer an opening statement at trial and didn't call any witnesses. In her closing argument, attorney Joan Morgan said Ftouhi was unstable and believed it would be easier to be killed by police in the U.S. than in Canada.

"Mr. Ftouhi believed he needed to be killed as a 'soldier of Allah' by a uniformed enemy of Muslims in order to solve his problems of debt, to enter Paradise, and to end his life," his attorneys wrote in the memorandum. "He did not believe Allah would accept that an armed Canadian officer was an enemy of Muslims, but he believed an armed United States government official would be acceptable to Allah, given his perceived view of U.S. involvement in the Middle East."
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A man charged with lying to federal agents about being a missing child was also accused of making up stories while in prison, threatening other inmates and refusing orders from guards, prison records show.

Brian Rini threatened to make a false rape claim against a guard, falsely accused an inmate of tampering with his food, and lied about being short of toilet paper, according to the records obtained by The Associated Press.

Rini, 23, also concocted a story about being harmed by inmates in order to be transferred, a story that fell apart when guards reviewed video, according to the records.

Contrary to Rini's claims, he "can be observed horse playing, and physically making playful contact" with inmates the entire time, according the report on a Dec. 5, 2018, incident at Noble Correctional Institution in southeastern Ohio.

Rini falsified the claim "as a way to attempt to manipulate the system and transfer quick as he is a refusal to lock," the report said, referring to inmates who won't agree to their housing or cell assignments. Details of the specific claim are blacked out.

In just over a year, Rini racked up 15 disciplinary reports while housed at four prisons, the records show.

This undated photo provided by the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office in Cincinnati shows Brian Rini. A day of false hope has given way to questions about why Rini would claim to be an Illinois boy who disappeared eight years ago. The FBI declared Rini's story a hoax Thursday, April 4, 2019, one day after he identified himself to authorities as Timmothy Pitzen, who disappeared in 2011 at age 6. (Hamilton County Sheriff's Office via AP)

A message was left Thursday with his federal public defender.

Rini, of Medina, Ohio, is being held without bond after being charged last week with making false statements. Authorities charged him Friday, a day after DNA testing proved he wasn't Timmothy Pitzen, who disappeared in Illinois in 2011 at age 6.

Rini was released on probation last month from state prison after serving more than a year on burglary and vandalism charges.

Federal authorities say he also twice previously portrayed himself to be a juvenile sex trafficking victim.

Rini could face up to eight years in prison if convicted of making false statements to federal agents. He has yet to enter a plea in his case, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for April 19.

Prison reports show:

On March 29, 2018 at Marion Correctional Institution, Rini lied about needing toilet paper even though he had several rolls. "Inmate Rini laughed about it as if it were a joke," the report said.

- On Aug. 6, 2018 at the North Central Correctional Institution in Marion, he told other inmates "he was going to cut their throats after lights out."

- On Aug. 18, 2018, also at NCCI in Marion, he threatened he would make a false prison rape claim against a guard, by "saying you touched me."

- On March 2, 2019, at Belmont Correctional Institution in eastern Ohio, Rini alleged an inmate had urinated on apples he gave Rini, something the inmate denied, according to the disciplinary record.

Police picked up Rini the morning of April 3 after a report that someone was wandering the streets of Newport, Kentucky. They said he told them he was Timmothy and that he had escaped two kidnappers after years of sexual abuse.

Police took him to Cincinnati Children's Hospital for treatment and testing. Federal authorities have said they were skeptical, especially after he refused to be fingerprinted, but didn't want to miss a chance to possibly solve the Pitzen disappearance.

The FBI said DNA testing established his identity as a convicted felon.

In 2017, Rini was treated at an Ohio center for people with mental health or substance abuse problems, according to court papers.

Rini's brother, 21-year-old Jonathan Rini, told The Associated Press on Saturday that his family struggled while growing up. He said it has been four years since he has spoken to his brother.

Timmothy, of Aurora, Illinois, vanished after his mother, Amy Fry-Pitzen, pulled him out of kindergarten, took him on a two-day road trip to a zoo and a water park, and then killed herself at a hotel. She left a note saying that her son was safe with people who would love and care for him, and added: "You will never find him."

U.S. Attorney Benjamin Glassman answers questions during a news conference regarding Brian Rini, at the U.S. Attorney's Office in downtown Cincinnati Friday, April 5, 2019. Rini, a 23-year-old ex-convict accused of pulling a cruel hoax by pretending to be Timmothy Pitzen, who disappeared in 2011 at age 6, was charged Friday with making false statements to authorities. (Meg Vogel/The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) - It was a far cry from "I love WikiLeaks!"

President Donald Trump declared that "I know nothing about WikiLeaks" after its disheveled founder Julian Assange was hauled out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to face charges, a stark contrast to how candidate Trump showered praise on Assange's hacking organization night after night during the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign.

Asked about Thursday's arrest, Trump said at the White House, "It's not my thing. I know there is something having to do with Julian Assange. I've been seeing what's happened with Assange and that will be a determination, I would imagine, mostly by the attorney general, who's doing an excellent job. So, he'll be making a determination . I know nothing really about him."

"It's not my deal in life."

But WikiLeaks was Trump's deal in 2016 as he welcomed the political boost his campaign got and cheered on the release of Clinton campaign emails.

On the same October day that the "Access Hollywood" tape emerged, revealing that Trump had bragged in 2005 about groping women, WikiLeaks began releasing damaging emails from Hillary Clinton's campaign manager, John Podesta. Trump and his allies, facing a tough battle in the campaign's final month, seized on the illegal dumps and weaponized them.

President Donald Trump meets with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, April 11, 2019, in Washington. Trump declared that "I know nothing about WikiLeaks" after its disheveled founder Julian Assange was hauled out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to face charges, a stark contrast to how candidate Trump showered praise on Assange's hacking organization night after night during the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

"WikiLeaks, I love WikiLeaks," Trump said in Pennsylvania.

"This WikiLeaks is like a treasure trove," Trump said in Michigan.

"Boy, I love reading WikiLeaks," Trump said in Ohio.

All told, Trump extolled WikiLeaks more than 100 times, and a poster of Assange hung backstage at the Republican's debate war room. At no point from a rally stage did Trump express any misgivings about how WikiLeaks obtained the emails from the Clinton campaign or about the accusations of stealing sensitive U.S. government information, which led to the charges against Assange on Thursday.

Assange for years has been under U.S. Justice Department scrutiny for WikiLeaks' role in publishing thousands of government secrets. He was an important figure in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe, as investigators examined how WikiLeaks obtained emails that were stolen from Democratic groups.

When asked about Assange in 2017, Trump said he did not "support or unsupport" WikiLeaks' move to release hacked emails and that he would not be involved in any decision for the U.S. government to arrest Assange.

"I am not involved in that decision," whether or not to arrest Assange, Trump told The Associated Press then, "but if they want to do it, it's OK with me."

The Justice Department now has charged Assange with taking part in a computer hacking conspiracy, accusing him of scheming with Chelsea Manning, a former Army intelligence analyst, to break a password for a classified government computer.

The single charge of computer intrusion conspiracy carries up to five years in prison, though the Justice Department can add additional charges depending on the evidence it gathers. Manning was ordered jailed last month for refusing to testify before a grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, suggesting that prosecutors are still at work.

It was unclear why the Assange charge, which was brought under seal last year, was made public at this time and why he was taken into custody now - weeks after Mueller's investigation had concluded. None of the allegations in the case relate to Russian election interference or WikiLeaks' role in publishing emails stolen from Democrats by Russian intelligence operatives.

An indictment against 12 Russians last year described WikiLeaks' role in publishing hacked emails in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. Though the indictment said WikiLeaks had worked to coordinate the release of information, there was no allegation that the organization solicited the hacking of Democratic email accounts or worked with Russians.

Assange's arrest provoked passionate responses overseas, and from some who had expressed concern about whistleblower protections, but the initial bipartisan reaction in Washington was relief.

"I'm glad to see the wheels of justice are finally turning when it comes to Julian Assange," tweeted Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a Trump ally. "In my book, he has NEVER been a hero. His actions - releasing classified information - put our troops at risk and jeopardized the lives of those who helped us in Iraq and Afghanistan."

And Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, ranking Democrat on the intelligence committee, said he hoped the British courts would quickly transfer Assange to U.S. custody "so he can finally get the justice he deserves."

Assange's lawyer has previously said he planned to fight any U.S. charges against him. Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2012 after he was released on bail in Britain while facing extradition to Sweden on sexual assault allegations that have since been dropped. British police said Assange had been arrested Thursday for breaching his bail conditions and in relation to the U.S. arrest request.

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Lemire reported from New York. Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed from Washington.

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Follow Lemire on Twitter at http://twitter.com/@JonLemire and Tucker at http://twitter.com/@etuckerAP

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Follow AP's coverage of the arrest of WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange: https://www.apnews.com/WikiLeaks
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump's meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in comes amid uncertainty over whether the leader of North Korea is considering backing out of nuclear negotiations or restarting nuclear and missile tests.

Trump, in his first meeting with Moon since the unsuccessful U.S. summit with Kim in Hanoi, said the U.S. wants to keep economic sanctions in place to pressure Kim to denuclearize. But Trump said he retains good relations with Kim and didn't rule out a third summit or taking steps to ease food or other shortages in the repressive nation.

"We want sanctions to remain in place," Trump said Thursday at the White House. "I think that sanctions right now are at a level that's a fair level."

Moon, for his part, has called for an easing of sanctions, including those holding back joint economic projects between North and South Korea. But he didn't speak to the sanctions issue as he and Trump spoke with reporters at the start of their talks.

Trump said he would favor easing those sanctions at the right time but added: "This isn't the right time." He said he was open to discussing smaller steps, such as helping to ease North Korea's humanitarian problems, but that, in general, the U.S. wants sanctions to remain.

"There are various smaller deals that maybe could happen," Trump said.

President Donald Trump meets with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, April 11, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

"You could work out step-by-step pieces, but at this moment, we're talking about the big deal. The big deal is we have to get rid of the nuclear weapons."

Negotiations on Pyongyang's nuclear program appear to be stalled, and there is uncertainty over whether Kim is considering backing out of talks or restarting nuclear and missile tests. The Korean Central News Agency on Thursday said that at a party meeting on Wednesday, Kim stressed "self-reliance" in his country to "deal a telling blow to the hostile forces" that "go with bloodshot eyes miscalculating that sanctions can bring" North Korea "to its knees."

Moon said it's important to maintain the "momentum of dialogue" and express a positive outlook to the international community that a "third U.S.-North Korea summit" will be held.

"I'd like to express my high regard for how you have continued to express your trust towards Chairman Kim," Moon said. "And also, you have made sure that North Korea does not deviate from the dialogue track."

Moon did not directly address the issue of sanctions. But several North Korea watchers, including Sue Mi Terry, a North Korean expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former Asia analyst at the CIA, said Moon was expected to try to persuade Trump - perhaps only privately - to agree to ease some sanctions to keep the talks alive.

While Trump didn't rule out a third summit with Kim following his earlier two meetings with him in Singapore and Hanoi, Victor Cha, a North Korea expert from the Bush administration, wasn't as hopeful.

With Trump already campaigning for re-election, Cha said, "It's hard for me to think Trump will risk a third summit."

Trump walked away from making a deal with Kim at their meeting in late February. Trump said Kim was asking for sanctions relief without wanting to fully dismantle all his nuclear weapons programs. There is ongoing debate over whether harsh sanctions can pressure Kim to denuclearize or will keep him away from the negotiating table.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday that the administration was fully engaged in efforts to negotiate a resolution to the nuclear standoff.

"We are going to keep at it," he said. But there have been no public accounts of any progress since the Hanoi summit.

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., assessed the denuclearization talks as "stuck on first base." Merkley said the North Koreans had continued developing their missile program and were finding ways to circumvent economic sanctions strangling its economy. He cited a U.N. panel of experts that warned on March 5 that there has been a "massive increase in illegal ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum products and coal" rendering the latest U.N. sanctions "ineffective."

A senior administration official said Thursday that the U.S. and the international community had "clearly defined the scope" of North Korea's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, have a shared understanding of what final, fully verified denuclearization entails and what meaningful progress toward that goal looks like. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations, said the North Korean position, so far, has fallen short of that understanding.

North Korea's Deputy Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said last month that Kim would soon make clear his post-Hanoi position. She said her country might pull out of the nuclear negotiations with the United States, citing a lack of corresponding steps to some disarmament measures North Korea took last year. She also hinted that Kim was considering whether to continue the talks and his moratorium on nuclear and missile tests.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in listens to his translator as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, April 11, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump greet South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook on the South Lawn of the White House, Thursday, April 11, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump greet South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook on the South Lawn of the White House, Thursday, April 11, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
NEW YORK (AP) - President Donald Trump's sister has retired as a federal appellate judge in Philadelphia, ending a civil misconduct inquiry launched after a report that she participated in Trump family schemes to dodge taxes.

The retirement of Maryanne Trump Barry was revealed in an April 1 order signed by a top court official in New York, where the misconduct case was assigned to prevent conflicts of interest for judges who knew Barry.

A judicial panel began the review in response to four citizen complaints filed in October after The New York Times published a story alleging the president and his siblings evaded inheritance taxes.

The April 1 order said Barry's voluntary Feb. 11 retirement ends the review stemming from claims based on the news article alleging that Barry may have committed misconduct relating to tax and financial transactions that occurred mostly in the 1980s and 1990s.

The order said the complaint process was meant to correct conditions interfering with the "effective and expeditious" administration of court business. It said the resignation meant that Barry can no longer perform any judicial duties and thus can no longer be investigated.

Barry, 82, was not identified by name in the order, but the facts matched her circumstances, and a copy of the order was sent to Scott Shuchart, an attorney who filed one of the complaints and had been promised by the court to be kept updated on its progress.

FILE - In this Nov. 9, 2016 file photo, federal judge Maryanne Trump Barry, sister of Donald Trump, sits in the balcony during Trump's election night rally in New York. Barry has retired as a federal appellate judge in Philadelphia, ending a misconduct inquiry launched after a report that she participated in Trump family schemes to dodge taxes. Her retirement was revealed in an April 1, 2019 order signed by a top court official in New York, where the misconduct case was assigned. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)

Shuchart said he was "absolutely disappointed" that Barry was able to end scrutiny of her actions by retiring.

"If the Times story is correct, then she participated in a decades-long multimillion-dollar tax fraud. That should be an impeachable offense. She gets her full salary," he said.

"I think it's appalling that we're continuing to pay this criminal and that she now has completely avoided consequence," Shuchart added. "It's ridiculous."

Barry didn't respond to an email seeking comment.

Chief Judge D. Brooks Smith of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia released a statement calling Barry a "judicial giant" whose 36 years as a judge in the Philadelphia federal courts were "beyond exemplary."

"Judge Barry was a very hard working jurist with a sharp mind, keen instincts, and a quick wit. She was a role model for women in the law, and she took that responsibility seriously," Smith said.

Judge Theodore McKee, another of Barry's 3rd Circuit's colleagues, told The Associated Press that Barry was a meticulous judge who protected the court's reputation, and to the extent the complaints "may have cast aspersions on that, I know she would have been very concerned."

The 15,000-word Times report last year said that Trump's father, Fred, transferred ownership of most of his real estate empire to his four living children before he died in the late 1990s.

The Times investigation, based in part on more than 100,000 pages of financial documents including confidential tax returns from the father and his companies, concluded that the value of the properties was vastly understated when they were reported as $41.4 million. It said the properties were later sold over the next decade for over 16 times that amount.

The Times reported Trump's parents transferred over $1 billion to their children. It said that the transfer should have produced a tax bill of at least $550 million, but that the children paid only about $52.2 million.

Trump has called the Times expose a false "hit piece."

If members of the family did break any laws, the expiration of a statute of limitations makes a criminal prosecution unlikely, though lawsuits might be possible.

With a recently approved retroactive pay raise for federal appellate judges, Barry will receive $223,700 annually in retirement.

After her brother's election, Barry gave up her court staff and took inactive status in early 2017.

A Republican, she was nominated for a judgeship by President Ronald Reagan and was elevated to the circuit court by President Bill Clinton.

___

Dale reported from Philadelphia.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - A Texas sheriff's department said Thursday it had "security concerns" over social media posts targeting a Republican lawmaker, who has come under fire by some conservative activists after blocking a bill that could lead to a woman being charged with homicide if she has an abortion.

It marks the second time this month that Texas law enforcement has taken protective measures involving Republican lawmakers, who in both cases have been blamed by frustrated groups for torpedoing divisive measures, first over guns and now abortion.

Last week, House Speaker Dennis Bonnen said a gun-rights advocate went to his family residence over displeasure that lawmakers weren't seriously considering efforts to legalize carrying a handgun without a permit. State troopers met the man at the home of Bonnen, who said lawmakers and their families were being "incessantly harassed by fanatical gun rights activists."

The latest episode involves Republican state Rep. Jeff Leach, who earlier this week refused to advance the anti-abortion bill in his committee. He said Thursday that local authorities were monitoring his house near Dallas but declined further comment, referring questions to authorities.

"We have notified Representative Jeff Leach that we are currently looking into some security concerns related to him and are taking appropriate measures," Sgt. Nick Bristow of the Collin County sheriff's office said in a statement.

He would not elaborate about what measures sheriff's deputies have taken or provide details about the nature of the posts.

FILE - In this March 7, 2019 file photo, State Rep. Jeff Leach, at podium, stands with fellow lawmakers and guests to talk about the Texas Born-Alive bill, in Austin, Texas. Leach, a Republican lawmaker is blocking a bill that would allow the death penalty for women seeking abortions says local authorities are monitoring his home near Dallas. A Texas sheriff's department said Thursday, April 11, 2019 it had "security concerns" over social media posts targeting Leach, who has come under fire by some conservative activists after blocking a bill that could lead to a woman being charged with homicide if she has an abortion. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

Leach, who chairs the House committee that held a public hearing on the measure, known as House Bill 896, said in a statement posted on Twitter that the bill would not advance. Prominent anti-abortion groups in Texas have also come out against the measure, including the Texas Alliance for Life, which noted that no states prosecuted women before the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide.

"My commitment to advancing the pro-life cause is stronger than ever and that's why I cannot in good conscience support House Bill 896," Leach said.

Leach is a former member of the Texas House Freedom Caucus that has pushed contentious bills over social issues, gun rights and anti-vaccination measures. But he left the caucus this year, which came only months after narrowly winning re-election victory in suburban Dallas, where Democrats in 2018 made inroads in historically conservative districts.

For years, Texas has expanded gun rights and enacted tough anti-abortion laws like few other states. But following a rough midterm election in November for Republicans, state leaders have cooled on such legislation and are instead prioritizing bread-and-butter issues including school funding and tax relief. The shift has frustrated some conservative supporters, who for a decade have driven the Texas GOP further right.

The anti-abortion bill sponsored by Republican Rep. Tony Tinderholt would direct the state to enforce the measure regardless of any contrary federal law, executive order or court decision. Under the bill, mothers and doctors involved in abortion procedures would be subject to criminal penalties.

Tinderholt declined to comment Thursday. He instead referred a reporter to a Facebook video he posted Wednesday night, in which he says the "bottom line is that we want to provide equal protection for all life in and out of the womb and we want equal treatment for the people who take that life."
ATMORE, Ala. (AP) - The Latest on the scheduled execution of an Alabama inmate (all times local):

2:38 a.m.

A divided U.S Supreme Court says Alabama can proceed in the future with the lethal injection of an inmate whose execution was halted a last-minute stay from a lower court.

The justices in orders released early Friday vacated lower court orders that had blocked Thursday's scheduled execution of 46-year-old inmate Christopher Lee Price.

However, the decision came two hours after Price's death warrant setting his April 11 automatically execution date expired at midnight.

Alabama will have to seek a new execution date from the Alabama Supreme Court to carry out the execution.

FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Alabama Department of Corrections shows Christopher Lee Price. A federal judge on Thursday evening, April 11, 2019, has halted the planned execution of Price, who was convicted of the sword-and-dagger stabbing death of a pastor. U.S. District Judge Kristi K. DuBose issued the stay two hours before the scheduled lethal injection of 46-year-old Price. (Alabama Department of Corrections via AP, File)

Price has asked to be executed by nitrogen hypoxia, a method the state has authorized but not developed.

The court majority said Price waited too late to file his challenge

___

11:50 p.m.

Alabama halted plans to execute an Alabama inmate saying there would not be time to carry out the lethal injection even if a court stay was lifted.

The Alabama Department of Corrections announced Thursday evening that it would not carry out the execution of Christopher Lee Price that night.

Alabama had asked the U.S. Supreme Court to lift a stay. However, prison officials announced at 11:34 p.m. that they would not have time to carry out the procedure before the death warrant expired at midnight.

Price was scheduled to receive a lethal injection for the 1991 stabbing death of pastor Bill Lynn.

Prison officials said Price was being moved back to his normal cell in death row.

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7:25 p.m.

Alabama is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to let it proceed with the execution of an inmate convicted of a pastor's stabbing death.

Mike Lewis, a spokesman for Attorney General Mike Lewis, said Thursday that the state is asking justices to lift a stay maintained by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Inmate Christopher Lee Price was scheduled to receive a lethal injection for the 1991 stabbing death of pastor Bill Lynn.

A federal judge on Thursday night stayed the execution to weigh Price's claim that lethal injections have been "botched" and execution by nitrogen hypoxia is a viable alternative. An appellate court maintained the stay, citing jurisdictional questions.

Alabama has authorized execution by nitrogen hypoxia, but has not used it to carry out a death sentence.

The state has contended Price is only trying to delay his execution with the last-minute legal filings.

To carry out the execution Thursday night, the state would have to get the stay lifted before midnight.

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7 p.m.

An appellate court has upheld an order blocking the planned execution of an Alabama inmate convicted of a pastor's fatal stabbing.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday night upheld a stay issued by a federal judge in the case of 46-year-old inmate Christopher Lee Price.

It was not immediately clear if the state would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Price was scheduled to receive a lethal injection Thursday evening for the 1991 sword-and-dagger slaying of pastor Bill Lynn.

Price's attorneys argued that lethal injections have been "botched" and said execution by nitrogen hypoxia is a viable alternative.

A judge earlier Thursday stayed the execution for 60 days to weigh Price's claims. Appellate judges, citing jurisdictional questions, said they would maintain the stay until further notice from the court.

If it were to still carry out the execution Thursday night, the state would have to get the stay lifted before midnight.

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5:35 p.m.

Alabama is asking an appellate court to let it proceed with the lethal injection of an inmate convicted in the 1991 stabbing death of a pastor.

The Alabama attorney general's office on Thursday asked the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to lift a last-minute postponement by a federal judge.

Christopher Lee Price was scheduled to receive a lethal injection for the 1991 stabbing death of pastor Bill Lynn. A prison spokeswoman said Lynn's wife, daughters and other family members had planned to witness the lethal injection.

State attorneys argued Price waited too late to claim that death by nitrogen gas would be less painful than lethal injection.

To carry out the execution Thursday night, the state would have to get the stay lifted before midnight.

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5:15 p.m.

An Alabama inmate got married at a state prison as his final request before his scheduled execution.

An Alabama Department of Corrections spokeswoman said Christopher Lee Price was married in the prison visitation yard Wednesday. The prison spokeswoman said Price asked for permission to be married as his final request. Price asked for two pints of Turtle Tracks ice cream as his final meal.

Price was scheduled to be executed Thursday evening for the 1991 stabbing death of a pastor.

The execution is on hold after a federal judge on Thursday granted a stay for 60 days. However, Alabama could appeal to have the stay lifted. To carry out the execution Thursday night, the state would have to get the stay lifted before midnight.

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4 p.m.

A federal judge has postponed the scheduled lethal injection of an Alabama inmate for 60 days.

U.S. District Judge Kristi K. DuBose issued the stay Thursday, hours before 46-year-old Christopher Lee Price was scheduled to receive a lethal injection for the 1991 stabbing death of a pastor.

His attorneys argued that lethal injections have been "botched" and said execution by nitrogen hypoxia is a viable alternative.

DuBose said that although the state "certainly has an interest in carrying out the execution as expeditiously as possible, a short sixty-day stay will not substantially harm this interest."

She gave the state until May 10 to submit evidence in contradiction to Price's contention.

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2:50 p.m.

The state of Alabama is asking a federal court to reject the claims of an inmate who's seeking a last-minute postponement of his lethal injection.

State attorneys filed a document Thursday saying 46-year-old Christopher Lee Price waited too late to claim that death by nitrogen gas would be less painful than lethal injection.

The state also says there's no indication Price could prove any of his arguments with evidence.

The filings came just hours before Price is scheduled to receive a lethal injection for the 1991 stabbing death of a pastor, Bill Lynn.

Lynn was killed in a robbery on Dec. 22, 1991, while preparing Christmas gifts for his grandchildren.

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1:25 p.m.

An Alabama inmate is citing a study theorizing that death by nitrogen would be painless as he seeks to stop his upcoming lethal injection.

The last-minute legal filings came hours before Christopher Price is scheduled to receive a lethal injection for the 1991 stabbing death of a pastor.

Attorneys on Thursday asked a federal judge in Alabama to issue an injunction, arguing the study backs up the idea that nitrogen hypoxia is a viable alternative.

Alabama has authorized the use of nitrogen for executions but has not used it.

His attorneys filed the study done by medical professors after an appellate court ruled he had not shown nitrogen hypoxia will reduce the risk of pain.

The study was done for a lawmaker in Oklahoma which has also authorized the use of nitrogen for executions.

___

Noon

An Alabama inmate is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to halt his upcoming lethal injection.

Forty-six-year-old Christopher Lee Price is scheduled to receive a lethal injection Thursday evening for the 1991 stabbing death of a pastor.

Price's attorney asked justices to stay the execution to review whether a lower court erred in rejecting his bid for a stay after he asked to put to death by nitrogen hypoxia.

Price's attorney wrote that Alabama's lethal injection drug combination has been linked to botched executions, and Alabama law allows the use of nitrogen.

Although Alabama has authorized nitrogen as an execution method, the state has argued that it is not ready to use it. The state said Price missed a deadline to select it as his preferred execution method.

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12:10 a.m.

A man convicted of the sword-and-dagger stabbing death of a pastor is set to become the second person executed in Alabama this year, barring a last-minute stay.

Forty-six-year-old Christopher Lee Price is scheduled to receive a chemical injection Thursday evening for his conviction in the death of Bill Lynn. The 57-year-old pastor was killed in a Dec. 22, 1991, robbery while preparing Christmas gifts for his grandchildren. Prosecutors said Lynn was at his Fayette County home when power was cut and the pastor went out to check the fuse box and was killed.

Lynn's wife testified she looked out a window and saw a person dressed in black in a karate stance, holding a sword above her husband's head. An autopsy showed that Lynn had been cut or stabbed more than 30 times.
WASHINGTON (AP) - A founder of the Palestinian-led boycott movement against Israel was blocked from entering the United States in what he said was a "politically motivated" move.

Omar Barghouti was traveling to the U.S. for a speaking tour but was not allowed to board his flight from Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, according to a statement from the BDS movement. Barghouti said he was told his valid U.S. visa was revoked for "immigration reasons."

Barghouti was planning to meet with journalists and policymakers in Washington, New York City, Philadelphia and Chicago, and attend his daughter's wedding. "I am hurt but I am not deterred," he said about missing that ceremony.

"Visa records are confidential under U.S. law. Therefore, we cannot discuss the details of individual visa cases," State Department spokesman Robert Palladino told reporters.

He also said U.S. law does not "authorize the refusal of visas based solely on political statements or views if those statements or views would be lawful in the United States, no matter how distasteful or objectionable some may find those statements or views."

Barghouti said in a statement to The Associated Press that the entry ban was "ideologically and politically motivated" and part of Israel's "escalating repression against Palestinian, Israeli and international human rights defenders."

Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's National Security Project said the move "looks like an ideological exclusion, which is a long-discredited form of government censorship."

Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., applauded the U.S. move and described Barghouti as "anti-Israel and anti-Semitic."

The movement advocates boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israeli businesses, universities and cultural institutions. Comparing itself to the past anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, movement supporters say it is using nonviolent means to resist unjust policies toward Palestinians.

The movement has made significant gains in recent years, particularly among foreign artists and university students.

Israel says the movement masks its motives to delegitimize or destroy the Jewish state. Israel enacted a law in 2017 banning any foreigner from entering the country if that person "knowingly issues a public call for boycotting Israel."

The Trump administration has taken several steps to demonstrate strong support for Israel, most recently recognizing Israel's claim to the Golan Heights. Support for Israel has become an increasingly politically charged issue in the early stages of the 2020 election as Republicans seek to woo Jewish voters away from the Democratic Party.
WOODBINE, Ga. (AP) - A judge has scheduled a fall trial for a former Georgia police officer charged with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a fleeing suspect, according to a court order filed Thursday.

Superior Court Judge Stephen Scarlett ordered that Zechariah Presley stand trial beginning Sept. 30 in coastal Camden County near the Georgia-Florida state line.

Presley was on duty as a Kingsland police officer June 20 when 33-year-old Tony Green was shot and killed. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation concluded the two men had a brief struggle before Presley shot Green multiple times as Green tried to run away.

Presley was fired from his police job. His defense attorney, Adrienne Browning, said at a hearing Monday the former officer is now driving a delivery truck while he awaits trial. He was released from jail on a $100,000 bond in July.

A grand jury in November indicted Presley on charges of voluntary manslaughter and violating his oath as a police officer, but declined to charge the former officer with murder. Some of Green's relatives and friends have argued manslaughter is too lenient of a charge.

Under Georgia law, voluntary manslaughter is a felony punishable by one to 20 years in prison.

FILE - This undated photo provided by the Kingsland Police Department shows Officer Zechariah Presley. A judge has scheduled a fall trial for the former Georgia police officer charged with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a fleeing suspect, according to a court order filed Thursday, April 11, 2019. Superior Court Judge Stephen Scarlett ordered that Presley stand trial beginning Sept. 30 in coastal Camden County near the Georgia-Florida state line. (Kingsland Police Department via AP, File)

Investigators have released few details about the shooting. The GBI has said Presley was following a vehicle Green was driving when Green got out and began to run. The two men got into a brief scuffle, the agency said, before Green began to flee again and Presley fired multiple gunshots, killing him.

The judge granted the September trial date after prosecutors and Presley's defense attorney requested it at a hearing Monday. Scarlett also agreed to scale back the 12-hour curfew Presley must abide by as a condition of his bond, shrinking it to just seven overnight hours on weekdays.

Browning asked for the reduction, saying the curfew had made it difficult for Presley to work enough hours to support his family.
SAN DIEGO (AP) - A Trump administration regulation set to go into effect Friday bars transgender people from the military unless they "correct those deficiencies," a description the American Medical Association said Thursday is unfair and defies science.

The AMA told The Associated Press on Thursday the policy and its wording mischaracterizes transgender people as having a "deficiency." It said it also objects to the Defense Department classifying the need to transition to another gender among "administratively disqualifying conditions" that include those the Pentagon has labeled as "congenital or developmental defects."

The new regulation strips transgender troops of rights they only recently secured under the Obama administration to serve openly and receive care if they choose to transition to another gender.

The Defense Department said its use of the words "deficiencies" is military lingo for when an individual fails to meet standards to maintain a lethal force. It is not a reference to gender dysphoria, a condition of extreme distress from not identifying with one's biological gender, Lt. Col. Carla Gleason said.

The department says transgender people can serve if they remain in their biological sex.

"The only thing deficient is any medical science behind this decision," American Medical Association President Dr. Barbara L. McAneny said.

FILE - This undated file photo provided by her wife Jessica Kibodeaux shows Lindsey Muller and her dog Emma, hiking in the Cheyenne Mountains west of Fort Carson, Colo. Decorated Army helicopter pilot Lindsey Muller, who started openly identifying as a woman in 2016, says she and others like her feel demoralized by the Trump administration policy that will go into effect Friday, April 12, 2019, barring transgender people from the military unless they "correct those deficiencies," a description the American Medical Association said Thursday is unfair and defies science. (Jessica Kibodeaux via AP, File)

Decorated Army helicopter pilot Lindsey Muller was a plaintiff in one of four lawsuits that tried to block the policy from taking effect. But the final legal injunction was lifted in March, though new legal challenges are expected.

Muller said she and other transgender troops feel demoralized.

"Under our ethical standards, we can't say anything derogatory against the administration, while we are being presented in a disparaging and derogatory light," said Muller, 37, who is based in Fort Carson, Colorado.

Troops like Muller, who began openly identifying as a woman in 2016, are worried they will be discharged. The administration says it will not boot current service members who transitioned before the Pentagon issued its directive, though the government has also said it retains the right to eliminate that protection.

Muller said the policy will cost the armed forces far more in terms of losing experienced personnel like herself and training replacements than any costs associated with specialized health care for trans servicemembers. She plans to retire from the military next year after serving 20 years.

Under the new policy, a service member can be discharged based on a diagnosis of gender dysphoria if he or she is "unable or unwilling to adhere to all applicable standards, including the standards associated with his or her biological sex, or seeks transition to another gender."

It said the discharge should come after an individual "has been formally counseled on his or her failure to adhere to such standards and has been given an opportunity to correct those deficiencies."

The policy calls for troops diagnosed with gender dysphoria to be medically evaluated before discharging them to see if they qualify as having a disability. Otherwise gender dysphoria can be considered a "condition that interferes with military service" like sleep walking, bed wetting, motion sickness, and personality disorders.

"They can dress it up in whatever words they want, but when you carefully look at this it's total disrespect for these human beings by saying a core piece of them is not acceptable," former acting U.S. Army Surgeon General Gale Pollock said.

Pollock signed a statement with three former U.S. surgeons general and two former military surgeons general, saying they are "troubled by the Defense Department's characterization of the need to undergo gender transition as a 'deficiency,' and by the addition of gender dysphoria to official lists of 'congenital or developmental defects' that include bed-wetting and 'disturbances of perception, thinking, emotional control, or behavior.'"

An estimated 14,700 troops identify as transgender.

Military chiefs testified before Congress last year that they found no problems with transgender troops on morale or unit cohesion. Many have received medals since the armed forces welcomed them in 2016.

Transgender troops say the regulation mirrors the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that prohibited gay men and women from serving openly in the armed forces before Congress repealed it in 2010.

_____

Crary reported from New York.
PHOENIX (AP) - The video quickly went viral.

A college student is heard yelling "murder patrol" at two border agents who had been asked to give a talk about their jobs to a University of Arizona club.

The chants grow, and the agents leave before they can finish speaking. The protesters follow them to their car.

The footage sparked anger among members of the union that represents Border Patrol agents. A few days later, the university announced that two students involved in the protest, including the one who took the video, were being charged with interference with the peaceful conduct of an educational institution, a misdemeanor. A third student was later charged.

Now, faculty, immigrant rights advocates and students are mounting pressure against officials at the Tucson campus to drop the cases and stand by the three students.

They say those charged had free speech rights to protest the agents' presence and that allowing agents on campus instills fear in immigrant students.

This Wednesday, April 10, 2019 photo shows some of over 200 supporters of three University of Arizona students charged after protesting the presence of Border Patrol agents on campus last month, staging a protest in Tucson, Ariz. Activists are putting pressure on the Arizona university to drop cases against the three students. (Tim Stellar/Arizona Daily Star via AP)

Dozens of students protested Thursday at a Board of Regents meeting in Tucson by putting tape over their mouths. On Wednesday, more than 200 activists held a protest on campus.

Immigrant advocates say the policies of President Donald Trump - from family separations at the border to his attempt to end protections for younger immigrants brought to the country as children - have created a culture of extreme fear.

Those feelings often extend to the officers and agents in the two agencies that deal with immigration enforcement - the Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In Waynesboro, Virginia, parents complained after an ICE agent gave a presentation about his job at a middle school, saying they feared it made students uncomfortable. The agent wasn't on duty.

In Middletown, New York, the city's mayor was outraged when plainclothes ICE agents attempted to make an arrest at a courthouse, an increasingly common practice that the agency generally avoided before Trump took office.

"I do think that particularly at this political moment, people who are representing ICE on-duty or off-duty represent the Trump administration and everything that's been happening under him," said Tania Unzueta, policy director for Mijente, a national political organization.

The fear goes both ways, said Art del Cueto, president of the Tucson chapter of the Border Patrol union, citing increasing hostility toward member agents.

"You have agents who are almost having to hide from the public eye and even some of their neighbors and not telling them what they do for a living," del Cueto said. "They're hard-working agents and they believe in the job that they're doing and what they do is within the law."

Mariel Alexandra Bustamante and Denisse Moreno Melchor, two of the students charged in the University of Arizona incident, said in a written statement that allowing Border Patrol agents on campus is harmful to students for several reasons, particularly because the agency they work for is "one of the main culprits for the separation of families."

"The criminalization of these communities is solidified by Border Patrol's presence on our campus," the students wrote.

The students declined to answer questions, saying an attorney advised them against speaking to reporters.
WASHINGTON (AP) - From his eyes to his immune system, astronaut Scott Kelly's body sometimes reacted strangely to nearly a year in orbit, at least compared to his Earth-bound identical twin - but newly published research shows nothing that would cancel even longer space treks, like to Mars.

The good news: Kelly largely bounced back after returning home, say scientists who released final results from NASA's "twins study," a never-before opportunity to track the biological consequences of spaceflight in genetic doubles.

It marks "the dawn of human genomics in space," said Dr. Andrew Feinberg of Johns Hopkins University. He led one of 10 teams of researchers that scrutinized the twins' health down to the molecular level before, during and after Kelly's 340-day stay at the International Space Station.

More importantly, the study "represents more than one small step for mankind" by pointing out potential risks of longer-duration spaceflight that need study in more astronauts, said Markus Lobrich of Germany's Darmstadt University and Penny Jeggo of the University of Sussex, who weren't involved in the work.

The findings were published in Friday's edition of the journal Science, on some notable space anniversaries - when Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space in 1961, and the first launch of the space shuttle in 1981.

KEY FINDINGS

FILE - In this March 4, 2016 file photo, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, left, and his identical twin, Mark, stand together before a news conference in Houston. From his eyes to his immune system, Scott's body sometimes reacted strangely to nearly a year in orbit, at least compared to his Earth-bound brother _ but research published on Thursday, April 11, 2019 shows nothing that would cancel even longer space treks, like to Mars. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan, File)

NASA already knew some of the toll of space travel, such as bone loss that requires exercise to counter. This time, NASA-funded scientists looked for a gamut of physiologic and genomic changes that Scott Kelly experienced in space, comparing them to his DNA double on the ground, former astronaut Mark Kelly. Some results had been reported in February.

Possibly the weirdest finding had to do with something called telomeres, the protective ends of chromosomes. Those tips gradually shorten as we get older, and are thought to be linked to age-related diseases including some cancers.

But in space, Scott Kelly's telomeres got longer. "We were surprised," said Colorado State University telomere expert Susan Bailey. She can't explain it although it doesn't mean Kelly got younger. Back on Earth, his telomeres mostly returned to preflight average although he did have more short telomeres than before.

Next, Kelly's DNA wasn't mutated in space but the activity of many of his genes - how they switch on and off - did change, especially in the last half of the voyage, which ended in March 2016.

Immune system genes especially were affected, putting it "almost on high alert as a way to try and understand this new environment," said study co-author Christopher Mason, a Weill Cornell Medicine geneticist in New York.

Again, most gene expression returned to normal back home, but some of the immune-related genes were hyperactive six months later.

"We learned that the human body is pretty resilient and we can survive and to some extent maybe even thrive on these long-duration flights," Mark Kelly said.

Other findings:

-Some changes in the structure of Kelly's eye and thickening of his retina suggested that, like about 40% of astronauts, he experienced symptoms of "spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome." It may be caused by fluids shifting in the absence of gravity.

-He experienced some chromosomal instability that might reflect radiation exposure in space.

-A flu shot given in space worked as well as one on Earth.

-Kelly aced cognitive tests in space but slowed down after his return, maybe as more things competed for his attention.

WHAT THE KELLYS SAY

"It was a real privilege to be part of this study," said Scott Kelly, who spent the year in space along with Russia's Mikhail Kornienko. Kelly retired from NASA soon after his return.

He said it probably took him six months once back on Earth before he felt 100% again, but acknowledged his wife said it seemed more like eight months. What was particularly hard, he said, was getting used to not having a schedule dictating his life in five-minute increments every single day, like there was in space.

During a teleconference he joked with his twin, "I got all the glory and you got a lot of work."

"I got people coming to my house, right, for tubes of blood," responded Mark Kelly.

"But it's great we saw and we learned that the human body is pretty resilient and we can survive and to some extent maybe even thrive on these long-duration flights," he added.

As for trips to Mars, Mark Kelly said: "I hope it's sooner rather than later, and hopefully, our participation in this study will help us get closer to making a mission like that a success."

ULTRA LONG-DISTANCE TESTING

Researchers needed months' worth of blood, urine and fecal samples, along with cognitive and physical tests and ultrasound scans. That meant getting creative: Some blood samples required analysis so rapidly that Kelly would time collection so the blood could travel on Russian Soyuz capsules carrying other astronauts back to Earth.

That wouldn't be an option on a three-year trip to Mars. One of the study's technological advances: Portable DNA-sequencing equipment that will let astronauts run some of their own genomic analyses on future missions, said Weill Cornell's Mason.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Studying one pair of twins can't prove risks of spaceflight, researchers cautioned. And longer missions, to the moon or Mars, will mean greater stress and radiation exposure.

Colorado State's Bailey plans to study 10 additional astronauts on yearlong missions, using the twin findings as a road map. More one-year missions are planned by NASA, officials said, but no details were given Thursday.

"We need to get outside of low-Earth orbit and we need for the astronauts to spend longer periods of time to really evaluate some of these health effects," she said.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) - The relationship between WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and the Ecuadorians who granted him asylum had the ups and downs of a telenovela.

Once close allies, the silver-haired Australian and leaders of the South American nation grew increasingly embittered as feuds emerged over everything from his alleged meddling in the nation's foreign affairs to the hygiene of his cat.

They finally broke for good on Thursday when President Lenin Moreno allowed British authorities to forcibly remove Assange from Ecuador's small embassy in a tony part of London.

"We've ended the asylum of this spoiled brat," a visibly flustered Moreno said hours later in a fiery speech. "From now on we'll be more careful in giving asylum to people who are really worth it, and not miserable hackers whose only goal is to destabilize governments."

How did their diplomatic liaison take such a dark turn?

Ecuador emerged as a safe haven for Assange in 2012 as his legal options to evade extradition to Sweden over sex crime accusations dried up in the United Kingdom. On a June day, he moved into the small country's embassy near the upscale Harrods department store for what most thought would be a short stay.

FILE - In this Friday, May 19, 2017 file photo, Julian Assange greets supporters outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London. London police say they've arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy, it was reported on Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)

Instead, the cramped quarters, where a small office was converted into a bedroom, became a permanent address that some likened to a de facto jail.

At the time, Ecuador was governed by Rafael Correa, a leftist with an anti-United States bent who championed the cause of Assange, who had infuriated Washington by publishing a vast trove of confidential U.S. government documents on his WikiLeaks site.

For Correa, granting Assange asylum allowed him to stake a moral high ground, associating himself with a man whose followers see him as a digital-age Robin Hood crusading against big governments and corporations, even as the president faced accusations of clamping down on human rights back home.

"Welcome to the club of those who are persecuted!" Correa said during a televised interview with Assange before the asylum bid.

The embassy has just a few rooms and Assange's new home was far from luxurious. Stuck inside, he used a treadmill to stay in shape, sat beneath a sun lamp to compensate for the lack of natural light and received both visitors and pizza deliveries.

The roster of guests at No. 3 Hans Crescent included stars like Lady Gaga and Pamela Anderson.

"It's not quite the Hilton," Gavin MacFayden, a supporter and investigative journalism school director, said in the early months of Assange's stay.

Assange's mother expressed concerns about her son's health, but the creator of the online whistle-blowing organization remained steadfast in staying.

"While this immoral investigation continues, and while the Australian government will not defend the journalism and publishing of WikiLeaks, I must remain here," he said in a rare address outside the embassy about six months into his residence.

The first major public squabble with Ecuadorian officials came four years later, in 2016, when Ecuador's government cut off his internet access after WikiLeaks published a trove of damaging emails from Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

In targeting Clinton, Assange may have run up against Correa's own preference for the Democratic candidate and his effort to repair testy relations with Washington. WikiLeaks accused Ecuador of bowing to pressure from then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, a charge it denied.

A year later, Assange emerged as a thorn in Ecuador's side again.

During the country's 2017 presidential election, the activist's protracted embassy stay became a campaign issue. Conservative banker Guillermo Lasso said he'd evict him within 30 days if elected. Lenin Moreno, Correa's hand-picked successor, said he'd let him stay - and narrowly won.

Following the vote, Assange took to Twitter to take a jab at Lasso.

"I cordially invite Lasso to leave Ecuador within 30 days (with or without his tax haven millions)," he wrote, alluding to allegations the banker had money abroad.

The remarks rattled Moreno, who warned Assange to stay out of the country's politics.

Within months of taking office, Moreno's government scolded Assange again for meddling in international affairs by voicing his support for Catalan secessionists from the Ecuadorian Embassy. Relations grew so prickly that a year later, Ecuador imposed a stricter set of rules outlining what he could and couldn't do inside the embassy.

Under the new protocol, Assange would have to pay for his internet and clean up after his cat, an evident source of tension between both sides. The rules said that if the feline wasn't properly fed and cleaned up after, it would be sent to the pound.

Assange tried challenging the restrictions in court, to no avail.

Correa said Thursday he thinks the final straw for Moreno was WikiLeaks' decision to spread information about a purported offshore account controlled by the president's brother. Personal photographs of Moreno lying in bed, as well as images of close family members dancing, were also leaked, incensing him.

Correa, who has had a very public falling out with Moreno, accused him of acting "cowardly."

"This will never be forgotten by all of humanity," Correa wrote on Twitter.

Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo said Assange's behavior had become intolerable, and accused him even of spreading fecal matter on embassy walls. Speaking Thursday at an event outside Quito, Moreno said Assange's egregious behavior signified that the computer expert viewed Ecuador as an insignificant, third-rate country.

"When you're given shelter, cared for and provided food, you don't denounce the owner of the house," he said to applause.

Moreno was also likely under increasing U.S. pressure to surrender Assange, though he said Thursday that he had only made his decision after Great Britain guaranteed he would not be extradited "to a country where he could face torture or the death penalty."

Shortly after Moreno's election, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, traveled to Quito in the company of Chinese investors. Moreno's aides said that Assange's name never came up and the visit, which was first revealed in U.S. court documents.

But some have speculated it was the start of backchannel coordination between U.S., Ecuadorian and U.K. officials, and it was followed months later with a rare visit to Quito by Vice President Mike Pence, who has since become one of Moreno's biggest boosters.

Pence said that he discussed Assange with Moreno during his visit but provided no details.

On the streets of Ecuador's capital, some rejoiced that they'd no longer be seeing Assange's face pop up so frequently in the nation's headlines.

"It's good they've thrown him out," said Manuel Benavides, a designer. "He's ungrateful and arrogant. You can't bite the hand that has fed you all these years."

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Armario reported from Bogota, Colombia. Associated Press writer Joshua Goodman contributed to this report.

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Follow AP's coverage of the arrest of WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange here: https://www.apnews.com/WikiLeaks

Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno speaks during the inauguration of the "Agua Para Todos" or "Water for Everyone" government program, in Latacunga, Ecuador, Thursday, April 11, 2019. Moreno said in a video posted on Twitter Thursday that he revoked the political asylum for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange due to "repeated violations to international conventions and daily-life protocols." (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

FILE - In this Sunday, Aug. 19, 2012 file photo, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gestures as he appears at a window of Ecuadorian Embassy in central London to make a statement to the media and supporters. Police in London arrested WikiLeaks founder Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy Thursday, April 11, 2019 for failing to surrender to the court in 2012, shortly after the South American nation revoked his asylum. (AP Photo/Sang Tan, FIle)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate on Thursday confirmed acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to lead the department on a permanent basis, despite complaints by Democrats that the former oil and gas lobbyist has used his federal position to benefit former industry clients.

Senators voted 56-41 to approve Bernhardt's nomination to oversee more than 500 million acres of public lands and other resources, including national parks, monuments and wildlife refuges. He succeeds Ryan Zinke, who resigned in January amid a series of ethics investigations.

Bernhardt represented energy and agricultural interests until President Donald Trump picked him in April 2017 to be deputy secretary.

Bernhardt, who was confirmed to the No. 2 position in July 2017, says he has complied with all ethics laws and rules. But Democrats and environmental groups accuse him of using his federal post to shape regulations and legislation in favor of oil and gas interests and other former clients.

"The Zinke ethics hurricane was bad enough. America should not be harmed again by a Bernhardt ethical typhoon," said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.

Citing figures from the Office of Government Ethics, Wyden said at least 27 former clients representing the oil and gas industry, coal, water districts and agriculture pose "unlimited numbers of conflicts of interest" for Bernhardt.

FILE - In this March 28, 2019 file photo, David Bernhardt, a former oil and gas lobbyist, speaks before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee at his confirmation hearing to head the Interior Department, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Senate has confirmed Bernhardt as the Interior secretary. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

"The interior secretary is supposed to be running (the department) for the benefit of the public, not for special interests," Wyden said.

Wyden and other Democrats said Bernhardt has taken actions to weaken the Endangered Species Act, including erosion of protections for a California fish species long targeted by a former client, the Westlands Water District, one of the largest and most politically powerful water utilities in the country.

Critics also say Bernhardt has acted to ease regulations holding oil companies accountable for spills and increased drilling and mining access on millions of acres of public land used by the sage grouse, a threatened bird species.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican who leads the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said Bernhardt, 49, has the experience and expertise needed to lead the department. The Colorado native worked at the Interior Department for eight years under President George W. Bush, including as the department's top lawyer.

"He is from the West, he has great familiarity with the issues that will come before him and he has proven that he can ably lead the department," Murkowski said. She said Bernhardt "has proven to be a strong partner not only for Alaska, but states all across the country."

She linked ethics allegations against Bernhardt to unspecified, "pretty well-funded groups that are working very hard and very energetically against his nomination."

Three Democrats - Sens. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona - voted for Bernhardt, as did independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with Democrats.

Democrats and environmental groups also criticized Bernhardt for failing to stand up to Trump on his proposal to drastically expand offshore drilling along the East and West Coasts, including off the coast of Florida, where a moratorium on offshore drilling expires in 2022.

Florida Republican Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott voted in favor of Bernhardt after receiving assurances from him and other administration officials that Florida would be excluded from drilling proposals.

Rubio said in a statement that the department cannot legally take Florida off the table until public comments are received. But, he said, "I am confident that when all is said and done the ban on oil drilling off of Florida's coasts will remain in place."

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Bernhardt's refusal to rule out offshore drilling in Florida "should be a wake-up call to my colleagues all up and down the coasts - Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf," that offshore drilling is a possibility despite bipartisan opposition.

"It is hard to imagine someone whose background is so at odds with the department's mission as Mr. Bernhardt," Schumer said. "President Trump, for all his talk of draining the swamp, wants to add yet another Washington swamp creature lobbyist to his cabinet."

Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity, said Bernhardt "will be even worse than Ryan Zinke."

Bernhardt "has spent decades scheming to undercut protections for wildlife and public lands across the country," Suckling said. His confirmation "puts him in the perfect position to turn those nightmarish dreams into reality."

But Randall Luthi, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, said Bernhardt's "unparalleled depth of experience and knowledge of energy and conservation policies will serve our nation's public lands and resources well."

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, takes questions from reporters after the confirmation vote for David Bernhardt to serve as secretary of the Interior, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, speaks with reporters just outside the chamber as legislative work wraps up following the confirmation of David Bernhardt to serve as secretary of the Interior, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., takes a reporter's questions as senators wrap up legislative work following the confirmation of David Bernhardt to serve as secretary of the Interior, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - The coffee shop owner killed in a North Carolina gas line explosion was last seen in the doorway of his business after firefighters evacuated his customers and told him to leave, the fire chief said Thursday, as city officials gave new details about fiber network construction that preceded the blast.

Communications company Crown Castle said a contractor was doing fiber-optic work in the area where police have said a gas line was hit and began leaking shortly before the explosion.

Meanwhile, authorities raised the toll of people injured to 25, including nine firefighters. Police said Kaffeinate coffee shop owner Kong Lee, 61, was the only person killed in the blast that leveled the century-old building and damaged others.

A gas leak had been reported about a half-hour before the blast Wednesday morning, and firefighters were working to get people out of nearby buildings when the explosion occurred. In the hours after the blast, Durham police spokesman Wil Glenn said a contractor boring along a sidewalk hit a gas line and caused the leak, while Deputy City Manager Bo Ferguson said work to install a fiber optic communications network appeared to be involved. It's still not clear what made the gas ignite.

On Thursday, Ferguson said the permit to do the work was held by a subsidiary of Crown Castle, and that Charlotte-based engineering company Utilis was overseeing the construction. Ferguson said it's also possible that another subcontractor was involved in the work.

Crown Castle later issued a statement saying its subsidiary Fibertech Networks had hired a contractor that was installing fiber in the area prior to the explosion. It declined to answer further questions, citing the ongoing investigation.

Emergency personnel work at the scene, Thursday, April 11, 2019, in Durham, N.C., the day after an explosion and building fire caused by a gas leak killed one person and injured more than two dozen, including nine firefighters. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

"We are devastated by this tragic event and its impact on the Durham community," said the statement attributed to Crown Castle area president Cathy Piche. "We grieve the loss of life and our continued prayers go out to the people who were injured and their families."

Two officials with Utilis didn't immediately return messages seeking comment.

Fire Chief Bob Zoldos said Thursday that firefighters told people to evacuate the coffee shop that occupied a storefront in the building and got about 10 customers out, but Lee declined to leave. He was last seen in the doorway as a firefighter went to find a police officer to force him to evacuate.

"All the people in the business did evacuate, other than the owner. The owner decided that he did not want to evacuate," he said at an afternoon news conference, elaborating on earlier comments. "Our engine captain went to find a police officer to enforce that evacuation order, and that's when the building exploded and collapsed."

Zoldos said some of his firefighters continued to work the scene after suffering cuts from flying debris or other injuries from "the concussion of the blast wave."

A man who answered the door at a Raleigh home address for Lee told a reporter Thursday he didn't have anything to say.

Durham Deputy Fire Chief Chris Iannuzzi said at least 15 buildings were damaged by the blast in a downtown shopping district made of converted tobacco warehouses and other industrial buildings. Some windows were shattered blocks away. Zoldos said several buildings have been condemned, and others are being evaluated.

Authorities say no one else was believed to be trapped or unaccounted for, but a search of the rubble was continuing as a precaution. Several dozen firefighters, state agents and other authorities could be seen at the site of the explosion Thursday morning, including one officer leading a search dog in and out of the rubble pile.

The destroyed building also housed offices for Prescient Co., a technology company focused on the building industry. Company officials said their employees were able to safely evacuate shortly before the explosion.

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Associated Press writer Emery P. Dalesio in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed to this report. Follow Drew at www.twitter.com/JonathanLDrew .

Charred remains are piled in a heap of rubble, Thursday, April 11, 2019, in Durham, N.C., the day after an explosion and building fire caused by a gas leak killed one person and injured more than two dozen, including nine firefighters. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Emergency personnel search through rubble, Thursday, April 11, 2019, in Durham, N.C., the day after an explosion and building fire caused by a gas leak killed one person and injured more than two dozen, including nine firefighters. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Charred remains are piled in a heap of rubble, Thursday, April 11, 2019, in Durham, N.C., the day after an explosion and building fire caused by a gas leak killed one person and injured more than two dozen, including nine firefighters. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Former Obama White House counsel Greg Craig was indicted Thursday on charges of making false statements and concealing information in a federal foreign lobbying investigation that intersected with the Russia probe.

Craig, 74, was charged in a two-count indictment that accuses him of willfully concealing material facts from the Justice Department about work he performed for the Ukrainian government. The indictment, announced by the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, came a day after Craig's lawyers said he expected to be charged in the probe spun off from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.

In a video statement, Craig said the prosecution against him was "unprecedented and unjustified" and that he's confident a judge and jury would agree.

"I did not participate in a scheme to mislead the government or conceal material facts," he said.

His attorneys had called the case a "a misguided abuse of prosecutorial discretion" and said the Justice Department's national security division pushed to indict Craig despite federal prosecutors in New York declining to bring charges, an assertion that couldn't immediately be verified. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office declined to comment.

Craig's indictment is part of a Justice Department crackdown on unregistered foreign lobbying and consulting. Federal prosecutors in New York have been investigating two prominent Washington lobbying firms in a similar probe, and Justice Department officials in Washington have been increasingly willing to prosecute people who they believe intentionally conceal their lobbying work from the government.

In this Oct. 17, 2016, photo, attorney Gregory Craig arrives at U.S. District Court in Washington. Lawyers for former Obama administration White House counsel Craig say they expect their client to be charged in a foreign lobbying investigation that grew out of the special counsel's Russia probe. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

The scrutiny of Craig stems from an investigation of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his work on behalf of a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine. The charges come about three months after Craig's former law firm agreed to pay more than $4.6 million and publicly acknowledge that it failed to register with the government for its work for the Ukraine.

The civil settlement with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP laid much of the blame for the firm's conduct on Craig, who was a senior partner.

Craig, who is set to appear in federal court Friday, is a prominent Washington attorney and was the first White House counsel to former President Barack Obama. In private practice, his clients have included former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and James Cartwright, the former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who was charged in a leaks investigation. He also led President Bill Clinton's White House legal team during his impeachment proceedings and defended Clinton during his Senate trial.

The work that drew the Justice Department's attention occurred in 2012, when Craig and Skadden were hired by the Ukrainian government to write a report on the prosecution of Yulia Tymoshenko, a former Ukrainian prime minister. Tymoshenko was a political opponent of then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who was a longtime Manafort patron.

The report was billed as independent, but critics have said it whitewashed a politically motivated prosecution.

In its settlement earlier this year, Skadden acknowledged it participated in a public relations campaign for the report and should have registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA. The firm also acknowledged it had been paid $4.6 million for the report and not just $12,000, as the Ukrainian government had said at the time.

The indictment made public Thursday says Craig did not want to register under FARA because doing so could keep him or others at his law firm from getting government positions and because the filing would require him to disclose the millions paid from a "private, wealthy Ukrainian." The disclosures also would have undermined the authority of the supposedly independent report.

To help hide the private funding, Craig is accused of backdating and falsifying invoices at Manafort's request to make it appear the Ukrainian government was the sole funder of the report.

After the firm's work attracted the attention of the Justice Department's FARA unit in 2012 and 2013, the indictment says Craig misled officials about his interactions with reporters and his involvement with a public relations firm in securing news media coverage about his law firm's report.

When the Justice Department determined that Craig should register under the law, the indictment says, Craig resisted the idea. In an email titled "FARA," Craig wrote that the firm did not proactively disseminate the report to the media and instead provided it upon request to three media outlets that asked for it.

"The only time we responded, was to correct misinformation," Craig wrote. The firm then wrote a letter to the department's FARA unit containing Craig's false and misleading statements, which ultimately allowed for him and the firm to avoid registering, the indictment said.

Years later, when the subject came up again during the Mueller probe, the indictment says Craig repeated some of the same lies during an October 2017 interview with the special counsel's team.

Craig's lawyers deny that he lied to the government or his firm. They acknowledged that Craig spoke to reporters about the report but denied it was part of a public relations campaign that would run afoul of the law.

"I was always honest about the reasons for my contacts with the media," Craig said in the video posted Thursday on Twitter.

"I never discussed the finding of our report to any U.S. officials. I certainly did not lobby any US officials on behalf of Ukraine. I did not help Ukraine promote its spin when it released our report," he added.

On Thursday, his attorneys, William Taylor and William Murphy, called the indictment "unfair and misleading" and said prosecutors ignored exculpatory evidence. "Mr. Craig had no interest in misleading the FARA Unit because he had not done anything that required his registration. That is what this trial will be all about," they said in a statement.

FARA is a decadesold law meant to allow Americans to know when foreign entities are trying to influence public opinion or policymakers. The law, enacted in 1938 to unmask Nazi propaganda in the United States, requires people to disclose to the Justice Department when they advocate, lobby or perform public relations work in the U.S. on behalf of a foreign government or political entity.

In the last few years, the Justice Department has brought several high-profile prosecutions involving FARA. That includes a case against Manafort, who was recently sentenced to more than seven years in prison.

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Associated Press writers Michael Balsamo and Desmond Butler contributed to this report.

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Read the indictment: http://apne.ws/pOib8eW
PARIS (AP) - The European Union appears set to approve new trade talks with the U.S. despite resistance from France because of President Donald Trump's rejection of the Paris climate accord.

An official in French President Emmanuel Macron's office said Thursday that France will vote against starting the talks.

But he said the stance is "purely symbolic," because most EU members support the negotiations. The official was not authorized to be publicly named according to presidential policy.

EU officials expressed hope Thursday the talks can move forward soon. Trump and the EU Commission president agreed last year to start talks to calm fears of a trade war prompted by U.S. tariffs on foreign steel.

Macron has sought to stand up to Trump on the international stage and to show French voters he's standing up for the climate.
NEW YORK (AP) - The former congressman who led Republican's efforts to deregulate the banking industry after the financial crisis is starting a new job as an employee of Swiss bank UBS.

Jeb Hensarling was a congressman from Dallas from 2003 to 2019. From 2013 to 2019 was chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, the committee that oversees the banking industry. He declined to run for re-election in 2018, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family.

While Hensarling was in Congress, he pushed aggressively to undo some of the rules and regulations put into place by Democrats after the financial crisis, notably the Dodd-Frank Act and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

His new title at UBS is executive vice president of the Americas region.
CHICAGO (AP) - A poorly managed police database of 130,000 purported street-gang members in Chicago is rife with errors and offers no practical way for those wrongly entered into it to purge their names, the city's inspector general office says in a sharply critical report released Thursday.

Inclusion in the database can ruin job prospects and draw unwarranted police scrutiny over decades, and the 159-page report urges the city to reevaluate its usefulness compared with the deep resentment it engenders in many lower-income, minority neighborhoods.

If unaddressed, flaws in the gang-intelligence system "will continue to undermine public trust" in police, says the report, which calls for an appeals process that would enable those never in a gang or who have since abandoned gang life to strike their names. As it is, the report says, "gang designations are permanent and inescapable."

The nation's third largest city has some 60 gangs and hundreds of gang factions. Chicago police say most of the city's homicides have a gang link, though the report said that claim is sometimes overstated. More than 560 people were killed in Chicago last year, more than in Los Angeles and New York combined.

Criteria for designating someone a gang member, the report says, can seem arbitrary.

In a federal lawsuit last year, plaintiff Donta Lucas said he was falsely named a Gangster Disciple based on ankle tattoo officers saw when they arrested him in 2012 for a bowling alley fight. The lawsuit, which sought class-action status, alleged some people are deemed gang members simply because they happen to live on blocks with active gangs.

Joseph Lipari, deputy inspector general for Public Safety, looks on as Chicago Inspector General Joe Ferguson discusses the audit of the Chicago Police Department's "gang database" during press conference at City Hall, Thursday, April 11, 2019. (Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Officers never informed Lucas that they believed he was a gang member or that they registered him as one. Four years later, he couldn't get a concealed-carry permit for a security job because he was in the database, the suit says.

The Chicago report said police have no set time period after which someone's name is automatically deleted. The database has no age limits either: One person was first included at age 9 and has remained in it for nearly 20 years.

The report also criticizes a lack of controls over how the data is used by more than 500 entities outside the Chicago Police Department.

Notations on gang-arrest cards, often the basis for putting a name into the database, raise questions about biases, the report says. On the cards where officers enter occupations of suspects, some wrote "bum," ''loser," ''turd" and other demeaning terms.

An overall problem is that the database isn't a stand-alone system but an often-haphazard collection of "internal databases, forms, visualization tools, and repositories," according to the report.

Among the report's 30 recommendations is for the police to draw up written agreements with outside agencies with rules about how the database can be used. It also recommends a notification system to inform someone whose name is added.

Police agreed "with the vast majority" of the recommendations, Superintendent Eddie Johnson said in a 28-page letter to the inspector general's office last week after reviewing an advance copy of the report. The letter was included in the report released Thursday.

As part of what he called a "process of historic reform and transformation," the department had already begun overhauling how police gather and manage gang intelligence, including by establishing "clear standards" on determining whether someone is a gang member.

The report acknowledges the department's vow to improve the database, but says it was too quick to decide the database is essential to police work before seeking comments from affected communities.

"By so doing, (it's) missed an opportunity to collaborate and enhance the legitimacy of its reforms," it says.

At a Thursday news conference, Inspector General Jos Ferguson said report doesn't take a position on whether the gang database should be discontinued it its entirety. He said that is up to city officials.

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Follow Michael Tarm on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mtarm

Chicago Inspector General Joe Ferguson discusses the audit of the Chicago Police Department's "gang database" during a press conference at City Hall, Thursday, April 11, 2019. (Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A white Republican running for Mississippi attorney general said Thursday that he is "embarrassed" about taking part in a college skit 40 years ago in which other actors wore blackface.

"I regret it very much," Andy Taggart told The Associated Press.

A photo in the 1979 yearbook for Mississippi College shows Taggart and three other white students depicting poker players during recruiting for a social club at the Baptist school. A person in blackface was speaking to them. Taggart was student body president that year. He said he took part in many skits in college but does not remember this one.

"It shows an insensitivity that is not consistent with my life and career," said Taggart, an attorney who has been prominently involved in Mississippi Republican politics for decades, including as chief of staff for then-Gov. Kirk Fordice in the 1990s.

The Democratic governor and attorney general of Virginia both came under sharp criticism this year after saying they had worn blackface in college in the 1980s.

Taggart in recent years has publicly advocated removing the Confederate battle emblem from the Mississippi state flag, saying it's divisive. Mississippi is the last state with a flag that includes the emblem. He said last week that the state flag, which has been used since 1894, should be "retired with dignity" and the people of Mississippi should choose a new design.

In this April 3, 2019 photo in Flowood, Miss., Republican Andy Taggart speaks about running for Mississippi attorney general because he wants to fight a "crusade" against illegal drugs. Taggart, former executive director and political director of the state GOP, faces state Rep. Mark Baker of Brandon and state Treasurer Lynn Fitch in the August Republican primary. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

"It's not a coincidence that a windshield is way bigger than a rearview mirror," Taggart said. "It's because we ought to be spending a lot more time looking forward than looking back. And that has not always been true in our state."

The revelations about the Virginia officials having worn blackface during college prompted searches of yearbooks for other politicians. Alabama Republican Gov. Kay Ivey's 1967 Auburn University yearbook showed a photo of five members from her sorority with black masks portraying "minstrels" in a rush skit, but Ivey said she was not in the photograph.

In Mississippi, Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, who is running for governor, was a member of Kappa Alpha fraternity at Millsaps College in the mid-1990s, and a 1995 yearbook photo showed KA members dressed in Confederate costumes. Reeves has not answered questions about whether he also dressed that way. Such costumes were commonly worn at KA Old South parties in Mississippi and other parts of the South for many years.

Mississippi's current attorney general, Democrat Jim Hood, is also running for governor. Hood joined Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity at the University of Mississippi in 1980. A photo on one of the fraternity's pages in the 1983 yearbook showed young white men with their bodies painted dark and their faces painted in different white and dark patterns. Hood said Feb. 12 that he was not in the photo and doesn't know what was happening in it but said: "It was inappropriate."

Taggart faces state Rep. Mark Baker and state Treasurer Lynn Fitch in the Republican primary for attorney general in August. In the November general election, the Republican nominee will face Democrat Jennifer Riley Collins, a retired Army colonel who is current executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi.

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Follow Emily Wagster Pettus on Twitter: http://twitter.com/EWagsterPettus .
WASHINGTON (AP) - Six months after hurricanes devastated the Southeast, Washington infighting has shelved a widely backed disaster aid package that President Donald Trump's allies in Florida and Georgia are desperately seeking.

Trump's opposition to aid to Puerto Rico - slammed by back-to-back hurricanes in 2017 - has sparked a standoff with Democrats demanding more aid for the island U.S. territory. Trump is feuding with the island's Democratic officials and railed against aid to Puerto Rico at a closed-door lunch with Senate Republicans last month.

Senate Republicans have stuck with the president so far, refusing to add more funding to help Puerto Rico rebuild its water systems or help its impoverished government with more generous disaster aid terms. Democrats in turn filibustered a $14 billion aid package over the issue last week, and the measure has languished since.

"Typically, when these kinds of things happen we figure out how to help as much as possible and do it on an overwhelming bipartisan basis and that's what needs to be done now," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters on Thursday. "I think we'll get there but it's been a little too political in my opinion."

Now, both House and Senate are heading off for a two-week Easter recess, leaving struggling cotton farmers in the South in limbo at a crucial time for spring planting and failing to ease food stamp cuts in Puerto Rico. The funding would also help Alaska recover from a powerful earthquake last November, fund rebuilding efforts in fire-ravaged communities in California, and start rebuilding hurricane-damaged military bases in Florida and North Carolina. Timber interests in Florida would be helped, as would pecan, peach, and blueberry farmers in Georgia.

"It's an absolute travesty that this chamber is recessing without a compromise on much-needed funding for disaster relief," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. "From the start, Democrats have supported an all-of-the-above approach, help every part of America that's struggling from natural disasters. We need to help everyone hurt last year, everyone hurt this year, everyone hurt in Puerto Rico, everyone hurt in the middle West, everyone hurt in Florida."

FILE - In this Sept. 8, 2018, file photo, Ramon Alicea Burgos walks past his palm tree, with its top broken off one year ago by Hurricane Maria one outside his partially rebuilt home in the mountain town of Barranquitas, Puerto Rico. A fight between President Donald Trump and Democrats over hurricane relief for Puerto Rico is imperiling a widely backed disaster aid bill that is a top priority for some of Trump's southern GOP allies. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa, File)

North Carolina Republican Thom Tillis shot back that "Chuck Schumer needs to stop the partisan political posturing so we can reach a deal. North Carolinians have already waited long enough for the federal resources they need to recover and rebuild."

The cross-party finger pointing has been predictable, but Republicans are also upset with the White House.

"Never before have we seen American communities that were wrecked with catastrophes neglected like this," said Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., usually a Trump loyalist, in a floor speech this week. "To this day, OMB has not even submitted a request for disaster assistance, calls to White House staff have gone unheeded, and but for one tweet on April 1, it seems the president has moved on."

Frustration is also bubbling in the Senate, where Trump allies such as David Perdue of Georgia and Rick Scott of Florida - a state that's crucial to Trump's re-election - are pressuring the president to deal. Scott visited with Trump Thursday at the White House, along with Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb.

"We're going to discuss where we are and where we think we might be able to go," Shelby said, telling reporters he was hoping to be able to make Democrats another offer afterward. Scott said he had a "good meeting" and said he would keep pushing for a deal.

"I'm working with Republicans and Democrats to get this done," he said. "The people of Florida and Puerto Rico can't wait any longer."

Disaster aid bills have traditionally been nonpartisan, but hard feelings still linger from the 2012-2013 Superstorm Sandy experience, in which most Republicans voted against a huge aid package that went chiefly to Democratic New York and New Jersey. At the time Schumer was especially upset.

Schumer led last week's move to block the Senate measure but Democrats haven't faced much political heat for the maneuver, and Schumer appears confident that Republicans will have to yield and give more aid to Puerto Rico.

The House passed a $14 billion measure in January but the measure got tangled up during the partial government shutdown. Earlier this week, House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., unveiled a new bill with $3 billion more to respond to flooding in Midwestern states such as Iowa and Nebraska.

Trump has been slow to release already appropriated funding for Puerto Rico and critics say he has shown little urgency in helping the island. Trump attacked the island's government at a recent meeting with Senate Republicans, telling them that Puerto Rico has gotten too much disaster help compared with states such as Texas.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
PHOENIX (AP) - Arizona's Republican governor quickly signed a bill Thursday repealing a 1991 state law that had barred HIV and AIDS instruction that "promotes a homosexual lifestyle."

The move was intended to end a discrimination lawsuit filed by LGBTQ groups.

Gov. Doug Ducey's signature came less than an hour after the state Senate approved the repeal. One of the 10 Republicans who opposed the measure said she opposed sex education. Another noted that gay men are most at risk from the HIV virus.

The repeal received overwhelming support in the state House on Wednesday.

The Legislature acted after Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich declined to defend a suit filed last month against the state Board of Education and schools chief. The 1991 law prohibited HIV and AIDS instruction that "portrays homosexuality as a positive alternative lifestyle" or "suggests that some methods of sex are safe methods of homosexual sex."

The lawsuit says the law stigmatizes lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students.

Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman speaks during a press conference celebrating the repeal of a 1991 state law that bars HIV and AIDS instruction that "promotes a homosexual lifestyle" on Thursday, April 11, 2019, in Phoenix. Lawmakers passed a repeal bill this week and Gov. Doug Ducey quickly signed it on Thursday in a move intended to end a discrimination lawsuit filed by LGBTQ groups. (AP Photo/Jonathan J. Cooper)

Lambda Legal filed the lawsuit along with the National Center for Lesbian Rights in U.S. District Court in Tucson.

Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said Wednesday that repealing the law would end the lawsuit.

While the law is limited to HIV and AIDS instruction, Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman said it "created a myth and a fear that even mentioning LGBTQ relationships in your classroom could result in punishment or firing."

Hoffman, a Democrat, put a renewed focus on the law when she urged lawmakers to repeal it earlier this year.

Republican Rep. T.J. Shope sponsored the repeal language, which was tacked onto another education-related bill.

He called the 1991 law "antiquated" but said Republicans who hold majorities in both chambers of the Legislature were split, with some critical of Brnovich's decision not to defend against the lawsuit and others believing the law was outdated.

Gay legislators celebrated the repeal in emotional, sometimes deeply personal speeches in the House. Rep. Andres Cano, a gay Democrat from Tucson, said stigmatizing gay children leads to shame, bullying, assaults and suicides.

"Our schools should be safe, they should be inclusive, they should be free from harassment, bullying and stigmatization," Cano said.

Ducey sent a tweet Thursday praising Shope for his leadership "on this common sense solution, and for getting it done in a bipartisan manner."

Arizona was one of seven states with laws intended to prohibit promotion of homosexuality.

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Associated Press writer Jonathan J. Cooper contributed.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate's top Democrat stopped short of throwing his weight behind Sen. Bernie Sanders' "Medicare for All" plan Thursday, calling it one of several proposals his party is advancing to strengthen health care.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., made the comments to reporters a day after Sanders, a Democratic presidential candidate, rolled out his latest version of the measure.

The Vermont independent's package is supported by many liberals and several other presidential contenders, but many moderates fear it's an easy target for Republicans to characterize as socialist and a pathway to huge tax increases. Health care seems likely to be a major issue in next year's presidential and congressional elections.

Underscoring the GOP's glee at using Medicare for All as a campaign issue, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he'd consider forcing the Senate to vote on Sanders' bill. Such a vote would put many Democrats in the uncomfortable position of backing an issue of intense interest to liberal Democratic voters while leaving themselves vulnerable to GOP attack ads.

"It's worth thinking about," McConnell told reporters. McConnell recently forced a vote on another liberal Democratic proposal, the Green New Deal plan, to aggressively try to curb global warming, and most Democrats voted "present."

Asked about Sanders' plan, Schumer said Democrats are united in improving health care, lowering costs and creating universal coverage.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., joined at right by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

"Different Democrats have different ways to get there," Schumer said.

Sanders' 100-page bill would replace job-based and private health insurance with a government-run system providing coverage for all. There would be no premiums or deductibles and only minimal copays for certain services.

Sanders did not estimate his measure's cost, which others have projected at well into the trillions of dollars. He listed a menu of potential ways to pay for his bill but not specified which he would choose.

Schumer cited several more modest proposals by other Democratic senators and said, "We are united on moving health care forward."
CLINTON, S.C. (AP) - The Latest on two shootings in two days in South Carolina hospitals (all times local):

9:15 p.m.

Authorities have charged a 27-year-old man with attempted murder and kidnapping in a shooting that wounded a police officer in a South Carolina emergency room.

An arrest warrant says Kevin Boyce Patterson dragged his father at gunpoint across the waiting room at Laurens County Hospital around 2 a.m. Thursday.

Authorities say a Greenville Health Authority Police Department officer confronted and was shot by Patterson.

Investigators say the officer fired back, hitting Patterson in the arm.

The hospital said in a statement the officer was treated and released. His name has not been made public.

The State Law Enforcement Division said in a statement Patterson has been booked in the Laurens County jail. Records did not indicate if he had a lawyer who could comment.

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2:50 p.m.

Authorities say a police officer shot while confronting a man in a hospital emergency room in South Carolina has been treated and released.

Prisma Health spokeswoman Sarah Moore said the armed man was visiting the Laurens County Hospital emergency room around 2 a.m. Thursday when a Greenville Health Authority Police Department officer and a state trooper tried to talk to him.

Moore said in a statement that the incident report about the shooting says the man fired at the police officer, who fired back and wounded the man in the arm. His condition was not released.

It is the second hospital shooting in South Carolina in two days. Authorities say a nurse was shot Wednesday at Regional Medical Center in Orangeburg by a man who had come to the hospital a day before to seek mental health treatment.

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7:05 a.m.

Police in South Carolina say a shooting inside a hospital has left a police officer and a suspected gunman injured - the second hospital shooting to take place in the state in two days.

A spokesman for the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division says the suspect was being treated early Thursday at the Laurens County Memorial Hospital in Clinton when he shot the hospital's police officer and tried to flee.

The Greenville Health Authority Police Department officer returned fire, striking the suspect. Both were receiving treatment at the hospital for injuries. Their conditions were not immediately available.

Authorities say that on Tuesday, an armed man seeking mental health treatment was turned away from the Regional Medical Center in Orangeburg and disarmed. His girlfriend was told to bring him back Friday for treatment. Instead, he showed up with another gun Wednesday and opened fire in the emergency room, injuring a nurse.

The nurse was taken into surgery after the shooting and was in critical condition Wednesday afternoon.

Authorities identified the gunman in that incident as 23-year-old Abrian Dayquan Sabb. Affidavits provided by the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office say Sabb has been charged with attempted murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of violent crime.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - A former Arkansas lawmaker, the nephew of Gov. Asa Hutchinson, is accused of accepting bribes in exchange for helping a Missouri nonprofit in a widening federal corruption probe that already has ensnared several state legislators, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.

Former state Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson and two former executives of Springfield-based Preferred Family Healthcare, Inc. face multiple counts. The three are accused of taking part in a multi-million-dollar public corruption scheme that involved elected officials in Arkansas and Missouri.

Hutchinson pleaded not guilty to the bribery, fraud and conspiracy charges Thursday morning, and a trial was set for June 10. Hutchinson already faced separate federal charges that he spent campaign funds on personal expenses. He has also pleaded not guilty in that case and is seeking to have the charges dismissed.

Hutchinson's attorney predicted his client would ultimately be exonerated.

"Today's indictment is a reminder that the government's power to violate the Fifth and Sixth Amendments by forcing the same person to defend himself on multiple charges in multiple places, all at the same time, must be checked," Marc Mukasey said in a statement. "We will fight the government no matter how many times, or in how many places, they bring their trumped-up charges."

Hutchinson's dad, former U.S. Sen. Tim Hutchinson, proclaimed his son's innocence and questioned the decision to charge him while he's fighting the case over the campaign cash.

FILE - In this Aug. 2015 file photo, state Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, R-Benton, speaks at a legislative subcommittee meeting at the state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark. Hutchinson, now a former lawmaker and nephew to the governor, has been indicted and accused of accepting bribes from a Missouri nonprofit in a widening federal corruption probe that's already ensnared several state legislators over the past two years. Hutchinson and two former executives of Springfield-based Preferred Family Healthcare, Inc. face multiple counts in an indictment unsealed Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File)

"This recent ploy undeniably increases the pressure on Jeremy, who now faces a costly two front defense against the government's unlimited resources," Tim Hutchinson said in a statement. "But I respect and support Jeremy in his decision to not plead guilty to any accusation of which he is innocent."

Seven former Arkansas lawmakers have been ensnared in corruption investigations since January 2017.

In Thursday's indictment, Hutchinson is accused of accepting thousands of dollars, including through cash, checks and attorney's fees, in exchange for legislative action benefiting the nonprofit, its executives, lobbyist Rusty Cranford and Cranford's clients. Cranford admitted last year to bribing lawmakers as part of the scheme. The indictment says the legislative action included Hutchinson holding up agency budgets and directing state money toward the nonprofit.

The former executives charged in the indictment are Bontiea Bernedette Goss and Tommy Ray Goss, who also pleaded not guilty. The two are accused of using the charity's money and property to bribe Hutchinson and other elected officials.

The two are also accused of embezzling and using charity funds for personal expenses, including chartered flights for themselves, family members and their dogs.

The corruption probe has also involved other former executives from Preferred Family Healthcare. Its former CEO pleaded guilty last year to helping bribe Arkansas lawmakers. Attorneys for the Gosses said in separate statements that the two were not aware of any criminal activity, and did not knowingly or intentionally violate the law.

The ongoing corruption cases prompted the state Senate to overhaul its ethics rules last year, including expanding financial disclosure requirements for state senators. Legislative leaders in February unveiled a package of ethics bills aimed at cleaning up the Capitol's image.

The governor on Thursday called the latest indictment "another sad day" for the state.

"As a public official, I am concerned with any allegations of wrongdoing by elected officials. As an uncle, I continue to pray for Jeremy and know that he seeks his day in court," he said in a statement. "I am hopeful that everyone will let the criminal justice system work and wait to draw conclusions until such time as all the facts are known."

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Follow Andrew DeMillo on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ademillo
WASHINGTON (AP) - In a story April 11 about President Donald Trump meeting with four World War II veterans, The Associated Press reported an erroneous hometown for Allen Jones, based on inaccurate information provided by the White House. Jones is from Dunbar, Pennsylvania.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Trump hosts Oval Office celebration for 4 World War II vets

President Donald Trump treated 4 World War II veterans to an Oval Office meeting Thursday, fulfilling a birthday wish for 95-year-old Allen Jones and giving three other centenarian veterans a day to remember

By KEVIN FREKING

Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump treated four World War II veterans to an Oval Office meeting Thursday, fulfilling a birthday wish for 95-year-old Allen Jones and giving three other veterans age 100 and older a day to remember.

One of the men, 101-year-old Floyd Wigfield, of Cumberland, Maryland, managed to win a promise from the president for a return flight on Air Force One following this June's ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy. "We'll work that out," Trump said. "You'll like Air Force One."

Trump had met Jones at a Veterans of Foreign Wars convention last year and Jones, of Dunbar, Pennsylvania, asked to spend his birthday with the president. Trump looked happy to oblige, joking with the men and their families, and asking each one to say a few words. When one of the guests presented Trump with a hat and suggested he tweet about it, the president deadpanned: "I don't tweet that much."

Sidney Walton, 100, of San Diego, and a medic in the war, told the president he joined the Army to fight Hitler, prompting Trump to reply: "That was a good reason."

Walton is on what his family called the "No Regrets Tour," a personal mission to visit all 50 states and the White House to educate Americans about World War II veterans.

Paul Kriner, 103, of Chambersburg, Pa., told the president he participated in 517 days of combat. The president told him he didn't look a day over 90.

Kriner and Wigfield are working with the Greatest Generations Foundation, which provides veterans with the chance to memorialize their stories and find closure by returning to visit where they served.

Trump described the men as "great heroes, great warriors, highly respected."
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - Ultra-right activists in Ukraine have attempted to derail a European lesbian conference in the capital of Kiev and scuffled with security guards.

Several dozen people from extreme-right groups picketed the hotel hosting the conference, which opened Thursday. Some tried to break through security cordons at the hotel entrance and used tear gas on the guards.

The assailants held placards with phrases such as "We are against gays" and "Go back to hell, sodomites."

One activist, Margarita Korotkikh, said their goal was "to put pressure on the government and explain that heterosexuals are against LGBT propaganda."

Ukraine's ultra-right has become increasingly assertive, regularly assaulting LGBT and women's rights events.

International rights groups have criticized Ukrainian authorities for failing to track down and punish ultra-right activists for acts of violence and intimidation.

Activists from ultra-right groups picket a hotel hosting a European lesbian conference in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, April 11, 2019. Ultra-right activists in Ukraine have attempted to derail a lesbian conference in Kiev, engaging in scuffles with security guards. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Activists from ultra-right groups picket a hotel hosting a European lesbian conference in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, April 11, 2019. Ultra-right activists in Ukraine have attempted to derail a lesbian conference in Kiev, engaging in scuffles with security guards. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Activists from ultra-right groups picket a hotel hosting a European lesbian conference in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, April 11, 2019. Ultra-right activists in Ukraine have attempted to derail a lesbian conference in Kiev, engaging in scuffles with security guards. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Activists from ultra-right groups picket a hotel hosting a European lesbian conference in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, April 11, 2019. Ultra-right activists in Ukraine have attempted to derail a lesbian conference in Kiev, engaging in scuffles with security guards. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
LONDON (AP) - The battle between WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and the American government was always going to be epic, involving concepts like free speech, journalists' rights, national interests, even treason.

As Assange settles in to his first night in British custody , his allies and enemies alike are gearing up for what promises to be a long, dogged legal slog, not only over his possible extradition to the U.S. but over how U.S. courts should view his actions, which sharply cleave public opinion.

Yet in a way, Assange has been fighting this battle for much of the past decade. The struggle has taken him through a "mansion arrest" in the English countryside; a dramatic escape into the Ecuadorian Embassy in London; a multimillion-pound U.K. police siege of the embassy that has strained government coffers; and even a bizarre attempt to turn him into a Moscow-based diplomat.

Whatever happens now, one thing is clear: Assange, who was dragged out of the embassy and arrested Thursday by British police after Ecuador withdrew his political asylum, is not going anywhere soon. Extradition to the United States could take years more.

Assange's saga kicked off in November 2010, when his publication of 250,000 confidential U.S. diplomatic cables that month left American officialdom apoplectic. Joe Biden, then-U.S. vice president, compared Assange to a "high-tech terrorist." Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice presidential candidate, called for him to be hunted down by U.S. troops like an al-Qaida operative.

Tempers at the top eventually cooled - Palin would later apologize to Assange after he began publishing material about U.S. Democrats. As a candidate, President Donald Trump startled many Americans by repeatedly praising WikiLeaks.

Julian Assange gestures as he arrives at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London, after the WikiLeaks founder was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police and taken into custody Thursday April 11, 2019. Police in London arrested WikiLeaks founder Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy Thursday, April 11, 2019 for failing to surrender to the court in 2012, shortly after the South American nation revoked his asylum .(Victoria Jones/PA via AP)

But in the U.S. intelligence community, the rage against Assange lingered. On the sidelines of a conference a few years ago, a former senior National Security Agency official told an Associated Press journalist that all he wanted was a couple of minutes alone with Assange in a dark alley, grasping his hands together as if he were crushing a man's windpipe.

Assange seemed to sense that the release of the diplomatic cables, which also enraged and embarrassed other countries around the world, were the point of no return.

It's often forgotten that Assange once traveled easily to the United States, appearing at the National Press Club in Washington on April 2010 to present "Collateral Murder," the title he chose for the camera footage that captured American helicopter pilots laughing as they fired at a crowd of civilians they mistook for Iraqi insurgents.

Shortly after his visit, his source for the video - an American Army intelligence analyst now named Chelsea Manning - would be arrested after an ill-advised online confession. Assange dropped out of sight, likely aware that the government now had spools of conversations between him and Manning, including the one that now forms the centerpiece of the Justice Department's newly unveiled indictment against Assange for conspiracy to hack into a U.S. government computer.

For a while, Assange gravitated to the Frontline Club in London, the convivial journalists' hangout where he dropped one media bombshell after another in collaboration with the Guardian newspaper and other media outlets. But staying in Britain, a close ally of the United States, was risky.

In a fateful move, Assange decided to scope out Sweden, a country with powerful press protections and where he had already located some of WikiLeaks' servers. The expedition would prove to be a disaster.

Two women he stayed with there would soon go to the police with allegations of sexual assault and rape. The prosecution nearly tore WikiLeaks apart and threated the upcoming publication the U.S. diplomatic cables.

With Sweden out of the question and "Cablegate" sure to enrage the Americans further, Assange looked to Moscow. A document published by the AP last year showed he considered the idea of getting a Russian visa through his friend and sometimes WikiLeaks collaborator, Israel Shamir.

Assange would eventually get the visa, Shamir said later, but it came several weeks too late. Sweden had already applied for an Interpol Red Notice, something akin to an international arrest warrant, making travel all but impossible. That left Assange little choice but to turn himself in on Dec. 7, 2010, to British authorities.

Things only got more surreal from there.

Assange was granted bail at the country mansion of Frontline's founder, Vaughan Smith, receiving a stream of well-heeled and rebellious visitors in rural Norfolk while his London legal battle against extradition went all the way to Britain's Supreme Court. When that court finally turned him down, Assange dyed his hair, popped in colored contacts and skipped bail, fleeing to the Ecuadorian Embassy.

From there, he carried on as before, albeit in a more constricted space. When the AP visited him in 2012, he occupied a back room in the embassy scattered with laptops, some marked "Do not connect to the internet." When discussing an upcoming leak, Assange took a reporter into the corridor between his office and the bathroom, speaking in a whisper in a bid to baffle the high-tech surveillance thought to be deployed against him.

The embassy stalemate dragged on for years, costing the British government millions in policing costs.

But it didn't stop Assange from publishing new material, notably in 2016, when his disclosure of U.S. Democratic Party documents stolen by Russian hackers hurt Hillary Clinton's presidential election campaign.

But if Assange had hoped for leniency from America's new president, he would soon be disappointed. Twitter messages between WikiLeaks and Trump's eldest son, Donald Jr., showed the group lobbying him to get his father to suggest that Australia appoint its native son Assange to be its ambassador to the U.S.

Instead, the Trump administration promoted him to public enemy; in a 2017 speech, then-CIA director Mike Pompeo described WikiLeaks as a "hostile non-state intelligence agency."

Meanwhile, Assange wasn't getting much more satisfaction from his Latin American host, which was increasingly embarrassed by its houseguest's publications. The government of Ecuador tried all kinds of creative solutions to break the embassy impasse, including an abortive attempt to send Assange to Russia under diplomatic cover. When it became clear that the WikiLeaks founder wasn't leaving - and that he wouldn't curb his publications to suit Ecuador's diplomatic interests - the government looked for a way to wash its hands of him.

Tensions had been building for more than a year, but the Thursday morning raid in London was still a surprise. WikiLeaks had issued one of its periodic warnings that Assange was at risk, but at a Wednesday press conference, his longtime lieutenant, Kristinn Hrafnsson, told journalists that Assange's eviction from the embassy had been averted.

It's not clear what comes next, but it will almost certainly be complicated.

The interactions quoted in the U.S. indictment are nothing new - Assange's instant message exchange with Manning has been in the public domain ever since the latter's court-martial - so Assange's high-powered legal team has had years to prepare their arguments. And Britain has generally tended to favor accused hackers fighting extradition to America.

Lauri Love, a friend of Assange's who was accused of penetrating U.S. government networks, was last year spared extradition after Britain's high court ruled in his favor. British hacker Gary McKinnon, accused of breaking into U.S. military and space networks, won his fight against extradition in 2012 after a decade-long struggle.

Assange's fight may not take a decade, but he's unlikely to see the inside of a U.S. courtroom anytime soon.

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Follow AP's coverage of the arrest of WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange here: https://www.apnews.com/WikiLeaks

Police officers apprehend a demonstrator outside Westminster magistrates court where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was appearing in London, Thursday, April 11, 2019. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was forcibly bundled out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and into a waiting British police van on Thursday, setting up a potential court battle over attempts to extradite him to the U.S. to face charges related to the publication of tens of thousands of secret government documents. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Police officers apprehend a demonstrator outside Westminster magistrates court where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was appearing in London, Thursday, April 11, 2019. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was forcibly bundled out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and into a waiting British police van on Thursday, setting up a potential court battle over attempts to extradite him to the U.S. to face charges related to the publication of tens of thousands of secret government documents. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

A protester looks across at police officers outside Westminster magistrates court where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was appearing in London, Thursday, April 11, 2019. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was forcibly bundled out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and into a waiting British police van on Thursday, setting up a potential court battle over attempts to extradite him to the U.S. to face charges related to the publication of tens of thousands of secret government documents. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Ecuadorian Ambassador Jaime Marchan talks to the media in London, after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police, Thursday April 11, 2019. Assange was taken into police custody following the Ecuadorian government's withdrawal of his asylum protection. (Yui Mok/Pool via AP)

A protester stands outside Westminster magistrates court where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was appearing in London, Thursday, April 11, 2019. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was forcibly bundled out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and into a waiting British police van on Thursday, setting up a potential court battle over attempts to extradite him to the U.S. to face charges related to the publication of tens of thousands of secret government documents. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Minister of State for Europe and the Americas Alan Duncan, right, and Ecuadorian Ambassador Jaime Marchan talk to the media in London, after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police, Thursday April 11, 2019. Assange was taken into custody following the Ecuadorian government's withdrawal of his asylum protection. (Yui Mok/Pool via AP)

Police officers stand guard outside Westminster magistrates court where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was appearing in London, Thursday, April 11, 2019. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was forcibly bundled out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and into a waiting British police van on Thursday, setting up a potential court battle over attempts to extradite him to the U.S. to face charges related to the publication of tens of thousands of secret government documents. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Minister of State for Europe and the Americas Alan Duncan, right, and Ecuadorian Ambassador Jaime Marchan shake hands for the media in London, after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police, Thursday April 11, 2019. Assange was taken into police custody following the Ecuadorian government's withdrawal of his asylum protection. (Yui Mok/Pool via AP)

Joe Cannataci, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy, answers questions during an interview with the Associated Press in Rome, Thursday, April 11, 2019. An independent U.N. human rights expert, Joe Cannataci, says he won't relent in his efforts to determine whether the privacy rights of Julian Assange were violated despite the Wikileaks founder's arrest in London. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Kristinn Hrafnsson, editor of WikiLeaks, center right, and barrister Jennifer Robinson speak to the media outside Westminster magistrates court where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was appearing in London, Thursday, April 11, 2019. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was forcibly bundled out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and into a waiting British police van on Thursday, setting up a potential court battle over attempts to extradite him to the U.S. to face charges related to the publication of tens of thousands of secret government documents. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Kristinn Hrafnsson, editor of WikiLeaks, right, and barrister Jennifer Robinson speak to the media outside Westminster magistrates court where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was appearing in London, Thursday, April 11, 2019. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was forcibly bundled out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and into a waiting British police van on Thursday, setting up a potential court battle over attempts to extradite him to the U.S. to face charges related to the publication of tens of thousands of secret government documents. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Kristinn Hrafnsson, editor of WikiLeaks, center right, and barrister Jennifer Robinson speak to the media outside Westminster magistrates court where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was appearing in London, Thursday, April 11, 2019. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was forcibly bundled out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and into a waiting British police van on Thursday, setting up a potential court battle over attempts to extradite him to the U.S. to face charges related to the publication of tens of thousands of secret government documents. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Police officers stand in front of the vehicle entrance to Westminster magistrates court where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was appearing in London, Thursday, April 11, 2019. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was forcibly bundled out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and into a waiting British police van on Thursday, setting up a potential court battle over attempts to extradite him to the U.S. to face charges related to the publication of tens of thousands of secret government documents. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

A demonstrator tries to stop a vehicle as it leaves Westminster magistrates court where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was appearing in London, Thursday, April 11, 2019. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was forcibly bundled out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and into a waiting British police van on Thursday, setting up a potential court battle over attempts to extradite him to the U.S. to face charges related to the publication of tens of thousands of secret government documents. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

A demonstrator is carried away by police officers after trying to stop a vehicle as it leaves Westminster magistrates court where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was appearing in London, Thursday, April 11, 2019. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was forcibly bundled out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and into a waiting British police van on Thursday, setting up a potential court battle over attempts to extradite him to the U.S. to face charges related to the publication of tens of thousands of secret government documents. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Julian Assange leaves Westminster Magistrates' Court, where he was found guilty of breaching his bail, in London, Thursday, April 11, 2019. A bearded and shouting Julian Assange was pulled from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and hauled into court Thursday, the start of an extradition battle for the WikiLeaks founder who faces U.S. charges related to the publication of tens of thousands of secret government documents. (PA via AP)
MOUNT BALDY VILLAGE, Calif. (AP) - A pair of hikers lost in the rugged, icy mountains of Southern California rationed food and sipped water through a filtered straw to survive for five days until searchers using dogs and helicopters tracked them to a canyon campfire and carried them to safety.

Eric Desplinter and Gabrielle Wallace, who vanished during a day hike Saturday in the San Gabriel Mountains northeast of Los Angeles, were rescued Wednesday night by Santa Barbara County sheriff's helicopters that hoisted them from a canyon near Mount Baldy and flew them to safety.

"Best possible outcome we've been hoping for," sheriff's Sgt. Jeff Allison tweeted, adding thanks to volunteers and rescuers from several surrounding police agencies who helped in the search.

Desplinter, 33 and Wallace, 31, were flown to the Mount Baldy Village fire station, where they were reunited with relieved family and friends.

"We're both perfectly fine, no serious injuries," the bearded Desplinter, wearing a knit cap and dark hoodie, told KABC-TV. "Thank you to all the volunteers that were helping look for us. We're very grateful to be found tonight."

"I'm ready to get to bed and get some rest," he added with a smile.

FILE - This combination of undated photos provided by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department shows Eric Desplinter, left, of Chino Hills, Calif., and Gabrielle Wallace of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. The two hikers who went missing Saturday, April 6, 2019, in the San Gabriel Mountains have been found safe. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department says the two were located "safely" on Wednesday, April 10, but other details weren't immediately released. (San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department via AP, File)

He and Wallace lost the trail they were hiking up rugged Cucamonga Peak, which rises to 8,860 feet (2,701 meters). At one point they slipped, he said, and decided to avoid more mountain ice by descending toward a valley. But that route, he added, turned out to be more treacherous than they realized.

Searchers on the ground picked up their footprints Wednesday and alerted a sheriff's helicopter that spotted them huddled by a campfire.

Desplinter said they survived by rationing their food, sipping water through a filtered straw and trying to keep warm. The Sheriff's Department earlier described them as experienced hikers familiar with the area.

When they didn't return to a pre-arranged gathering point Saturday night, fellow hikers who had become separated from them immediately notified authorities.

Search and rescue teams fanned out across 30 square miles (48 kilometers) of rugged wilderness.

The San Gabriel Mountain range, an easy day drive from Los Angeles, provides a picturesque backdrop to the city on clear days.

But with thick brush, rocky outcroppings and steep mountain paths still covered in ice at this time of year it can be deceptively dangerous.

At nearby Mount Baldy, the area's highest peak, a number of hikers have fallen to their deaths in icy conditions in recent years. At Mount Wilson, another nearby peak, a trail-runner fell to his death after slipping on a patch of ice in February.
DALLAS (AP) - Boeing's CEO says crews have made 96 flights to test a software update for its troubled 737 Max jet and will make more in coming weeks as the company attempts to convince regulators to let the plane fly again.

Dennis Muilenburg also said Thursday that the company has met with pilots and airline officials in the U.S. and abroad, holding flight-simulator sessions to demonstrate the software changes.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which will consider whether the plane can resume flying in the U.S., plans to meet Friday with safety officials and pilots from American, Southwest and United, the three U.S. carriers that were using the Max jet.

An FAA spokesman said the agency wants to hear from the airlines and pilots before deciding what Boeing must do before the plane is allowed to fly.

Regulators around the world grounded the Max last month after deadly crashes involving the plane in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

In both cases, faulty information from a sensor caused anti-stall automation to kick in when it wasn't needed and push the plane's nose down. Pilots struggled to counter the plane's actions but were unable to avoid crashing.

Dennis Muilenburg, chief executive officer of Boeing, speaks at the Forum on Leadership at the George, W. Bush Presidential Center on Thursday, April 11, 2019, in Dallas. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News via AP)

Regulators in Europe and China are conducting their own reviews of the plane, and company insiders and analysts expect foreign regulators to take longer than the FAA to approve the Max's return to service.

Boeing representatives have visited the United Kingdom, Singapore and China to discuss its work on the Max with pilots and airline officials, including demonstrating the software update in flight simulators, Muilenburg.

The Boeing CEO spoke during a leadership forum at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, as the former president sat in the front row. Muilenburg did not take any questions, and left immediately after his remarks.

Separately, Sen. Edward Markey and other Senate Democrats introduced a bill that would require aircraft makers to provide airlines with all safety equipment now considered optional and to do it at no extra charge.

The planes that crashed in Indonesia and Ethiopia did not have two optional displays that might have alerted the pilots to the malfunctioning sensors suspected of playing a role in the crashes. Markey said if they had been installed, the crashes might have been avoided.

The Air Line Pilots Association endorsed the legislation.

A Boeing spokesman said the company's planes are equipped with "all critical features" necessary for safety. Boeing has said it will provide the two displays free of charge in the future.

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Bernard Condon in New York contributed to this report.
DALLAS (AP) - The Latest on the Boeing's troubled 737 Max jet (all times local):

2:40 p.m.

Boeing has made 96 flights to test a software update for its troubled 737 Max jet, the company's CEO says.

Dennis Muilenburg said Thursday that more test flights are planned in the coming weeks as Boeing attempts to convince regulators that the plane is safe.

The Max was grounded by regulators around the world last month after a second deadly crash involving the plane, in Ethiopia.

In that crash and an October crash in Indonesia, faulty information from a sensor caused anti-stall automation to kick in and push the plane's nose lower. Pilots were unable to save the planes.

Muilenburg also says Boeing representatives have held meetings in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Singapore and China with pilots and officials from most of the airlines that own Max jets.

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2:30 p.m.

A senator is introducing a bill in Congress requiring plane makers to provide airlines with all safety equipment now considered optional and to do so without an additional charge.

Democratic Sen. Edward Markey of Massachusetts says safety equipment that had not been installed on two Boeing 737 Max jets might have saved them from fatal crashes. He says the equipment might have alerted crews to false readings from sensors implicated in the crashes that killed all 346 aboard.

Markey says plane makers shouldn't treat safety features as luxuries that can generate additional fees like premium seats and extra bathrooms.

Boeing says its planes are equipped with "all critical features" necessary for safety. It has said it will provide two features missing in the two crashed planes free of charge.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Tens of thousands of employees at Stop & Shop supermarkets in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut went on strike Thursday over stalled contract negotiations.

United Food & Commercial Workers union members from several locals walked off the job, with some picketing outside the stores.

"The men and women who make Stop & Shop a success have earned and deserve affordable health care, a good wage, and the ability to retire with dignity," the leaders of five locals said in an emailed statement. "They have earned and deserve a good job that allows them to do what they do best: provide the very best customer service for New England communities."

More than 31,000 employees authorized union leaders to call for a strike. Quincy, Massachusetts-based Stop & Shop, a division of Dutch supermarket giant Ahold Delhaize, has 415 stores across the Northeast but the strike affects 240 stores in the three states.

Stop & Shop said it has "contingency plans in place to minimize disruption."

According to broadcast reports, managers were keeping stores open and allowing customers to use self-checkout lanes.

Union workers picket outside a Stop & Shop supermarket, Thursday, April 11, 2019, in Norwell, Mass., after workers walked off the job in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut over stalled contract negotiations. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Stop & Shop said in a statement posted on its website that it was disappointed with the strike given that negotiations are ongoing with the assistance of federal mediators.

"Additionally, this morning the company made several suggestions to the federal mediators to encourage further bargaining," the statement said. "The mediators gave those proposals to the locals late in the morning. The locals provided no counter proposals to the mediators and simply stated they were proceeding with their plans."

The company added that management's "reasonable" offer includes across-the-board raises and health and pension benefits it says are better than most other food retailers.

The unions say the company is demanding "unreasonable" wage and benefit cuts.

"Instead of a contract that recognizes the value and hard work that our members provide every day, Stop & Shop has only proposed drastic and unreasonable cuts to health care benefits and take home pay, while replacing real customer service with more serve-yourself checkout machines," the union statement said.

The unions said that Ahold Delhaize had more than $2 billion in profits last year and got a U.S. tax cut of $225 million in 2017.

A union worker pickets outside a Stop & Shop supermarket, Thursday, April 11, 2019, in Norwell, Mass., after workers walked off the job in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut over stalled contract negotiations. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A white former Louisiana police officer who fatally shot a black man has once again had a hearing over his firing postponed.

The Advocate reports former Baton Rouge police officer Blane Salamoni's request to delay the hearing was approved Thursday. Instead of setting a date, the civil service board decided to continue discussions next week. The hearing has been rescheduled several times at attorneys' requests.

Salamoni shot Alton Sterling six times during a struggle in 2016. He was fired but has appealed.

The East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council agreed Wednesday to increase public funds to $37,500 to cover Salamoni's legal costs in a lawsuit filed for Sterling's children.

Sterling's children's attorney, Mike Adams, says he hopes lawyers can use the extra time to reach a settlement and avoid a trial.

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Information from: The Advocate, http://theadvocate.com
YEHUD, Israel (AP) - The Latest on Israel's attempt to land spacecraft on the moon (all times local):

11 p.m.

One of the commanders of the failed Israeli space mission to the moon says the spacecraft has crashed.

Doron Opher, general manager of the space division of Israel Aerospace Industries, says the SpaceIL craft "definitely crashed on the surface of the moon."

The spacecraft lost communication with Earth just moments before it was to touch down, dashing hopes of making history as the first privately funded lunar mission.

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10:35 p.m.

An Israeli spacecraft has failed in its attempt to make history as the first privately funded lunar mission.

The SpaceIL spacecraft lost contact with Earth late Thursday, just moments before it was to land on the moon, and scientists declared the mission a failure.

The small robotic spacecraft, built by the non-profit SpaceIL and state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, had hoped to match a feat that has only been achieved by the national space agencies of three countries: U.S., Russia and China.

"If at first you don't succeed, try try again," said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was on hand for what organizers had hoped to be a celebration.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Trump administration says families of Mexican teenagers who were shot to death by American border agents should not be allowed to sue for damages in U.S. courts.

The administration is telling the Supreme Court in a brief filed Thursday that the justices should take up and resolve the issue in favor of two agents who fired shots across the U.S-Mexican border that killed the teenagers.

In both cases, U.S. Border Patrol agents say they fired their guns because they were being attacked by people throwing rocks on the Mexican side of the border.

One incident occurred on the border between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez. In the other, an agent in Nogales, Arizona, shot a 16-year-old in Mexico 10 times.

The federal appeals court in San Francisco has allowed a lawsuit to proceed in the Arizona case against agent Lonnie Swartz.

An appellate panel in New Orleans said agent Jesus Mesa Jr. could not be sued by the family of the teenager he killed.

FILE - In this Dec. 4, 2017, file photo, a portrait of 16-year-old Mexican youth Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez, who was shot and killed in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, is displayed on the Nogales street where he was killed that runs parallel with the U.S. border. The Trump administration says families of Mexican teenagers who were shot to death by American border agents should not be allowed to sue for damages in U.S. courts. The administration is telling the Supreme Court in a brief filed April 11, 2019, that the justices should take up and resolve the issue in favor of two agents who fired shots across the U.S-Mexican border that killed the teenagers. (AP Photo/Anita Snow, File)

In both cases, the losing side appealed to the high court.

The Justice Department said the differing appellate outcomes presents a clear split that the nation's highest court should settle.

The administration said the San Francisco court had "erroneously" extended the right to sue in American courts over the death of a citizen of another country on foreign soil.

The Justice Department made its filing at the court's request. The justices often will ask for the government's views on pending legal issues.

If the justices agree to hear the case, arguments would take place next term, with a decision likely by June 2020.

In December, federal prosecutors decided not to try Swartz a third time for killing Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez in 2012. Swartz was acquitted of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter charges in the first two trials, but jurors deadlocked over a lesser charge.

The Justice Department declined to pursue criminal charges against Mesa and also rejected a request to extradite the agent for trial in Mexico in the killing of Sergio Adrian Hernandez Guereca in 2010.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Uber is providing a look under the hood of its business in the lead-up to its hotly anticipated debut on the stock market, revealing strong growth but an ongoing struggle to overcome huge losses and repair its reputation.

Documents released Thursday offered the most detailed view of the world's largest ride-hailing service since its inception a decade ago.

The massive filing shows Uber has been generating the robust revenue growth that entices investors, but also racked up nearly $8 billion in losses over its 10 years in existence, which mirrors the same trend challenging Lyft, Uber's main rival in the U.S.

Uber's revenue totaled $11.3 billion in 2018, a 42% increase from $7.9 billion in 2017, and a giant leap from $495 million in 2014.

The company posted a profit of $997 million last year, but that doesn't mean its ride-hailing service suddenly started to make money - far from it. The positive result stemmed from a windfall that Uber generated from the sale of its operations in Russia and Southeast Asia. The company said it sustained an operating loss of $3 billion.

The San Francisco company also disclosed a legal cloud hanging over its head as government authorities and regulators investigate whether the company broke any laws.

FILE - In this March 15, 2017, file photo, a traveler tries to book a ride with Uber at LaGuardia Airport in New York. Uber is providing a look under the hood of its business in the lead-up to its hotly anticipated debut on the stock market. Documents released Thursday, April 11, 2019, offered the most detailed view of the world's largest ride-hailing service since its inception a decade ago. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Among other things, Uber revealed the U.S. Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation into a yearlong cover-up of a massive computer break-in during 2016 that heisted personal information belonging to millions of passengers and drivers.

The probes are among the many risks that investors must weigh as they mull whether to jump into one of the biggest IPOs in years.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi acknowledged the self-inflicted wounds that damaged the ride-hailing service's reputation while trying to make the case that the company has rehabilitated itself since he took over 18 months ago.

He struck his note of contrition and optimism in a letter included in the federal documents.

"Some of the attributes that made Uber a wildly successful startup - a fierce sense of entrepreneurialism, our willingness to take risks that others might not, and that famous Uber hustle - led to missteps along the way," Khosrowshahi wrote, closing his letter by assuring he will run Uber with integrity.

Reaching profitability has proven to be a challenge for both Uber and Lyft. Paying drivers is a huge expense, and Uber's fierce competition with Lyft for customers has led both companies to offer rides below cost. Drivers for both companies complain about declining earnings, and they can easily switch between platforms, making it difficult for either company to further reduce driver costs and keep fares cheap for passengers.

Uber said it plans to give bonuses to qualified drivers and is setting aside an undisclosed portion of its stock for drivers to buy.

Its unprofitable history may force Uber to eventually raise its ride-hailing prices unless it can reduce its costs by shifting to driverless cars or expand into other markets and lines of business.

But Uber's operating losses declined from $4 billion in 2017 to $3 billion in 2018, indicating it could be heading in the right direction.

"They're showing that they're capable of controlling their costs, which has been a concern of ride sharing companies in general," said SharesPost analyst Alejandro Ortiz. "That's a sign that will be looked on favorably in the next few weeks."

Lyft beat Uber to the stock market last month with an IPO that raised $2.3 billion, but its shares have been backsliding after an early run-up. Lyft's stock currently is hovering around $61, down from its IPO price of $72.

The rocky start may have prompted Uber to tamp down its IPO ambitions. The company is expected to try to raise roughly $10 billion and seeks a market value of $90 billion to $100 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. That's below earlier estimates of $120 billion.

The investment bankers handling Uber's IPO are expected to reveal a pricing range for Uber's shares later this month. That will come before executives head out on a so-called road show designed to drum up interest in the IPO among institutional investors who will be given the first opportunity to buy the stock before it begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange next month.

In the end, Uber is widely expected to be the biggest technology IPO since Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group went public in 2014. And it's likely to be the largest among U.S. tech companies since Facebook took its bow on Wall Street seven years ago at a time when most people hadn't ever considered using an app on their smartphone to summon a ride from strangers driving their own cars.

Uber launched in 2009 as UberCab, a black car service where customers could hail professional drivers with a few taps on a smartphone. It shortened its name to Uber in 2010, distancing itself from the taxicab industry, which has criticized the company for operating under less regulation than the traditional taxi industry.

The company operates in 65 countries and has completed 10 billion trips worldwide.

Uber is also expanding in other markets such as freight while offering other ways to get around with shared scooters and bikes. Its fast-growing food delivery business, which spans 500 cities globally, doubled its revenue to $757 million in 2018 from $367 million in 2017.

But Uber faces challenges that Lyft doesn't because of a series of damaging revelations that sullied its reputation among consumers. The setbacks have included rampant internal sexual harassment and allegations it stole self-driving car technology.

The blowback from the problems helped Lyft pick up ground in the U.S. - something Uber acknowledged in its filing - and led to the ouster of Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick as CEO in 2017. Now it will be up to Kalanick's successor, Khosrowshahi, to persuade investors that Uber has cleaned up its act and merits a market value higher than Ford Motor and General Motors combined.

Kalanick is one of Uber's largest shareholders, owning nearly 9% of the company's stock.

Uber has been investing substantially in self-driving vehicles, which could be critical to reducing driver costs and achieving profitability. It launched its first self-driving test vehicle in 2016 and its self-driving car division has more than 1,000 employees, and it has built more than 250 self-driving cars so far.

But it suspended testing when one of its self-driving vehicles struck and killed a pedestrian in Arizona last year. The company resumed testing self-driving vehicles in Pittsburgh in December.

In its federal filing, Uber warned of the fierce competition it faces on that front from rivals such as Tesla and Google's Waymo, who it said could introduce autonomous vehicles earlier than Uber. The company also warned that potential future regulations or increases in insurance costs could impact the autonomous vehicle business.

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, owns 5% of Uber, even as it competes with Uber on self-driving technology. Alphabet also owns roughly 5% of Lyft's stock.

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Bussewitz reported from New York. Marcy Gordon contributed from Washington, D.C.

FILE- In this June 21, 2017, file photo a man walks into the building that houses the headquarters of Uber in San Francisco. Documents released Thursday, April 11, 2019, offered the most detailed view of the world's largest ride-hailing service since its inception a decade ago. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The Wisconsin National Guard received 52 reports of sexual assault between 2013 and 2017, with more than half related to military service, Guard officials said during a roundtable with reporters Thursday.

The U.S. Air Force is investigating allegations of sexual assault and harassment within a Wisconsin Air National Guard security unit dating back to 2002. The investigation came at the request of U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin after a master sergeant in the unit, Jay Ellis, told her office that he had learned of six incidents between 2002 and 2016 and high-ranking officers had done little to address them.

That probe spurred a request from Gov. Tony Evers and Baldwin last month to the National Guard Bureau in Washington D.C. to review the Wisconsin Guard's sexual assault and harassment reporting procedures, investigative process and accountability measures.

The Guard's sexual assault response coordinator, Robert Brania, said Thursday that 20 of the 52 assault reports were "restricted," meaning the person who reported the assault requested confidentiality and the identity of all involved remains secret. The Guard's leader, Maj. General Donald Dunbar, is notified when such a report is made but isn't told the details. The Guard helps connect the victim with counseling services but no investigation is launched and the allegations aren't referred to law enforcement.

Confidentiality was not requested in the remaining 32 reports. In those cases, Dunbar was notified and the incidents were referred to civilian law enforcement as well as Guard investigators.

Twenty of those 32 reported assaults were connected with the victim or perpetrator's military service in some way, Brania said. Guard investigators substantiated 10 of those reports, meaning they felt there was enough evidence to continue down the path toward internal punishment.

Nearly 10,000 people serve in the Wisconsin National Guard.

The Guard has launched two court-martials for sexual assault since 2013, Brania said. One of those court-martials has concluded and the other is pending.

Guard spokesman Capt. Joe Trovato said in an email after the roundtable that the completed court martial resulted in 30 days confinement, a discharge for bad conduct and a demotion from sergeant first class to private. He didn't immediately respond to a request late Thursday afternoon for the names of the soldiers involved in the court-martials and details of their cases.

The remaining eight cases have been referred for "administrative action" that could include demotions, reprimands and discharges, he said.

Brania didn't have data from years preceding 2013. Guard spokeswoman Jackie Halverson said the current database was constructed in 2012 after Congress ordered the U.S. Department of Defense to standardize sexual assault reporting across all branches of military service.

Halverson declined to comment on the status of the Air Force investigation. She said no one from the National Guard Bureau has contacted the Wisconsin Guard about the review that Evers and Baldwin requested last month. A bureau spokeswoman had no immediate comment when asked if the review had started.

The roundtable participants included Trovato, Halverson, Brania, Guard victim advocate Amber Garfoot and Guard attorney David Dziobkowski. In addition to explaining the reporting process, they noted that victims can seek expedited transfers away from perpetrators within the same unit, commanders stress to their soldiers and airmen to comport themselves professionally, sometimes limiting their drinks at dinner or prohibiting any alcohol while traveling for training and how Guard leaders have trained a service dog to comfort victims.

"We want our numbers to be zero," Halverson said. "We want our assaults to be zero."

They declined to discuss the details of any specific case.

Sexual assaults have plagued the military for years. In 2017 alone, the four branches received 5,864 reports from military members who said they had been sexually assaulted during their service, up 10 percent from 2016, according to Department of Defense figures.

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This story has been corrected to show that the last name of the Guard's sexual assault response coordinator is Brania instead of Barina.

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Follow Todd Richmond on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trichmond1
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The Latest on Uber revealing its finances ahead of its initial public offering (all times local):

2:45 p.m.

Uber is forging ahead with its initial public offering of stock while the government authorities and regulators investigate whether the company broke any laws while building the world's largest ride-hailing service.

The San Francisco company disclosed the legal cloud hanging over it Thursday as part of documents setting the stage for its stock market debut.

Among other things, Uber revealed the U.S. Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation into a yearlong cover-up of a massive computer break-in during 2016 that heisted personal information belonging to millions of passengers and drivers.

Other inquiries are looking into Uber's use of duplicitous software to dupe government regulators.

FILE - In this March 15, 2017, file photo, a traveler tries to book a ride with Uber at LaGuardia Airport in New York. Uber is providing a look under the hood of its business in the lead-up to its hotly anticipated debut on the stock market. Documents released Thursday, April 11, 2019, offered the most detailed view of the world's largest ride-hailing service since its inception a decade ago. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

The probes are among the many risks that investors must weigh as they mull whether to jump into one of the biggest IPOs in years.

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2:30 p.m.

Travis Kalanick, the former CEO who resigned in 2017 under pressure from the board, is one of Uber's largest shareholders, owning nearly 9% of the ride-hailing company's stock.

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, owns 5% of the company, even as it competes with Uber on self-driving technology. Alphabet also owns roughly 5% of Uber rival Lyft's stock.

Cayman, a subsidiary of Softbank, is Uber's largest shareholder with 16%. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the managing director of Saudi Arabia's public investment fund, is listed as holding 5.4%.

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1:50 p.m.

Uber is providing a look under the hood of its business in the lead-up to its hotly anticipated debut on the stock market.

Documents released Thursday offered the most detailed view of the world's largest ride-hailing service since its inception a decade ago. The unveiling comes four months after Uber took its first step toward its initial public offering with a confidential filing.

The breakdown shows Uber has been generating the robust revenue growth that entices investors, but also racked up nearly $8 billion in losses since its inception.

Uber's revenue totaled $11.3 billion in 2018, a 42% increase from $7.9 billion in 2017.

FILE- In this June 21, 2017, file photo a man walks into the building that houses the headquarters of Uber in San Francisco. Documents released Thursday, April 11, 2019, offered the most detailed view of the world's largest ride-hailing service since its inception a decade ago. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
NEW YORK (AP) - Clothing retailer J. Crew Group Inc. says it's considering a potential initial public offering for its successful Madewell brand.

The announcement Thursday comes after the struggling company completed a review of the options for its business.

It says a Madewell IPO, if pursued, could be completed as early as the second half of this year.

Separately, it named Michael Nicholson, president and chief operating officer, interim CEO of J. Crew Group Inc. Retail veteran Mickey Drexler led J. Crew for more than a decade, helping it become a coveted fashion brand before it hit a multi-year sales slump. He severed his last ties with the company in January.

The news comes as some fashion companies are trying to capitalize on a burgeoning IPO market. Denim giant Levi Strauss & Co. returned to the public market in March as it stages a comeback even as it faces increasing competition and a changing retail landscape.

Some fashion companies are also looking to split up their businesses. Gap Inc. said in late February that it plans to split into two independent publicly traded companies - low-priced juggernaut Old Navy and a yet-to-be named company, which will consist of the iconic Gap brand, Banana Republic and the lesser known Athleta, Intermix and Hill City. Last year, VF Corp. said it will be splitting its denim business anchored by Lee and Wrangler jeans into an independently traded company.

J. Crew recently began to add a wider variety of styles as a way to turn around its business. Meanwhile, Madewell has done well with its classic, quality clothing. In its latest fiscal year ended Feb. 2, J. Crew sales fell 4% while Madewell's sales soared 26%.
HONOLULU (AP) - A company owned by British billionaire Richard Branson is picking Guam as a site for its airplane-launched satellite service.

Virgin Orbit plans to launch small satellites from a rocket released by a customized Boeing 747. It has another site in California.

The company said Thursday the U.S. Air Force will allow it to take off from the U.S. territory's Anderson Air Force Base. Guam's international airport is seeking a Federal Aviation Administration license to host launches.

Payloads will weigh up to 450 kilograms (1,000 pounds) and orbit the equator at an altitude of about 500 kilometers (310 miles).

The satellites will be for communications, research and other uses. The U.S. military is expected to be a customer.

Late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen started a company that will perform similar launches.
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - The Latest on an explosion that leveled a North Carolina building (all times local):

5 p.m.

A fiber-optic communications company says a contractor was doing installation work in the area where a gas leak explosion leveled a Durham building.

Durham police have said that a contractor boring along a sidewalk hit a gas line and caused a leak that preceded the explosion. City officials say the cause is under investigation. One person died and 25 were injured.

On Thursday, Deputy City Manager Bo Ferguson said that the permit to do the work was held by a subsidiary of Crown Castle.

Crown Castle issued a statement saying that its Fibertech Networks subsidiary had hired a contractor that was installing fiber in the area prior to Wednesday's explosion. It declined to answer further questions about the contractor or how close the work was to the blast.

Firefighters and emergency personnel work the scene of a building fire in downtown Durham, N.C., Wednesday, April 10, 2019. Authorities say emergency officials responded to an explosion and fire possibly caused by a gas leak. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

It said it was grieving the loss of life.

10:35 a.m.

The toll of people injured in a North Carolina gas explosion that leveled a building has risen to 25, including nine firefighters.

Durham Deputy Fire Chief Chris Iannuzzi said eight more firefighters were treated at a hospital, in addition to the one who underwent surgery. All are expected to be released Thursday.

Fire officials also released more details about the coffee shop where owner Kong Lee died. Authorities say the explosion happened after a contractor boring along a sidewalk hit a gas line.

Chief Bob Zoldos said firefighters told people in the shop to evacuate and got about 10 customers out. He said that firefighters had asked Lee to leave and saw him in the shop's doorway shortly before the explosion.

Authorities said there's no indication anyone else was trapped.

Firefighters and emergency personnel work the scene of a building fire in downtown Durham, N.C., Wednesday, April 10, 2019. Authorities say emergency officials responded to an explosion and fire possibly caused by a gas leak. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Emergency personnel search the scene of a building fire in downtown Durham, N.C., Wednesday, April 10, 2019. Firefighters responding to a gas leak were evacuating people from the building when it exploded, killing one and injuring more than a dozen others, officials said. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Firefighters and emergency personnel work the scene of an explosion and building fire in downtown Durham, N.C., Wednesday, April 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump on Thursday nominated a naval aviator with extensive experience in budgeting and personnel reform to become the next officer to lead the U.S. Navy.

Navy Adm. Bill Moran, who piloted P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft during the Cold War, is currently the Navy's vice chief. If confirmed by the Senate, he would become the 32nd chief of naval operations and take over from Adm. John Richardson, who is retiring.

Trump also nominated Vice Adm. Robert Burke, a submariner with experience on both attack and nuclear-armed vessels, to be the next vice chief of the Navy. He is currently the deputy for personnel and training.

Moran takes over a Navy that is struggling to overcome command, crew and training shortfalls that led to two deadly ship collisions in 2017, killing 17 sailors. A number of officers and sailors were fired, disciplined or faced courts-martial in the wake of the collisions, and the Navy launched a series of reforms to address the problems.

He also will direct the fleet's transition to a global fight against peer competitors, such as Russia and China, including the ongoing development of the new naval Atlantic Command. The command is designed to ensure the security of the sea lanes and lines of communication between Europe and North America as part of an effort to counter Russia's increased military patrols in the Atlantic region.

Moran has risen steadily through the ranks and has a reputation as a strong leader who has held a number of top administrative posts in the Navy.

FILE - In this Dec. 21, 2016, file photo, Air Force Gen. Carlton D. Everhart II, speaks to Navy Adm. Bill Moran, center, while arriving with other generals and admirals for a meeting with then-President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Fla. President Donald Trump is nominating Moran, a naval aviator with extensive experience in budgeting and personnel reform, to become the next officer to lead the Navy. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

A 1981 graduate of the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., he flew patrol and reconnaissance missions throughout the 1980s and 1990s, serving in Atlantic and Pacific squadrons. He served as head of air warfare, working to modernize Navy aircraft and weapons systems and was chief of naval personnel from 2013 to 2016, and then moved to the vice chief job.

"He has been central to the Navy adopting a fighting stance in this great power competition," Richardson said in a statement. "As I turn over and go ashore, I will rest easy knowing that, pending confirmation, Adm. Moran has the watch."

Moran, who is from New York, issued a statement Thursday saying that he was "honored and deeply humbled by the nomination and look forward to working with Congress during the confirmation process."

Burke, who grew up in Michigan, graduated from Western Michigan University and the University of Central Florida. He served on attack and ballistic missile submarines, was an instructor at the Naval Nuclear Power School, and commanded Submarine Group 8 in Naples, Italy.

He served at deputy commander of the Navy's 6th Fleet in Europe and became chief of naval personnel in 2016.
HILLSBOROUGH, Calif. (AP) - The owner of a San Francisco Bay Area home adorned with fanciful Flintstones characters says meddlesome bureaucrats are the only ones concerned with her Barney and Betty Rubble sculptures and other people derive joy from them.

Florence Fang spoke to the media for the first time Thursday as she filed her response to the city that is seeking to force her to remove the unpermitted installations.

City of Hillsborough officials have sued, calling the display a public nuisance and eyesore.

Hillsborough attorney Mark Hudak says residents are required to get a permit before installing such sculptures, regardless of the theme.

At the end of her news conference, Fang linked arms with her attorney and the home's original architect, exclaiming, "Yabba dabba do!"

Florence Fang talks with reporters after a news conference outside her Flintstone House Thursday, April 11, 2019, in Hillsborough , Calif. The San Francisco Bay Area suburb of Hillsborough is suing the owner of the house, saying that she installed dangerous steps, dinosaurs and other Flintstone-based figurines without necessary permits. The owner and her attorney say they will fight for the rights of property owners and Fred and Barney fans everywhere. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Florence Fang, center, sits with architect William Nicholson, left, and her attorney, Angela Alioto, right, during a news conference outside the Flintstone House Thursday, April 11, 2019, in Hillsborough , Calif. The San Francisco Bay Area suburb of Hillsborough is suing the owner of the house, saying that she installed dangerous steps, dinosaurs and other Flintstone-based figurines without necessary permits. The owner and her attorney say they will fight for the rights of property owners and Fred and Barney fans everywhere. Nicholson is the original architect of the house. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Florence Fang, center, yells out "Yabba Dabba Doo!" while raising arms with architect William Nicholson, left, and her attorney, Angela Alioto, right, at the end of a news conference outside her Flintstone House Thursday, April 11, 2019, in Hillsborough , Calif. The San Francisco Bay Area suburb of Hillsborough is suing the owner of the house, saying that she installed dangerous steps, dinosaurs and other Flintstone-based figurines without necessary permits. The owner and her attorney say they will fight for the rights of property owners and Fred and Barney fans everywhere. Nicholson was the original architect of the home. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Florence Fang sits in a sunken room she calls the "Happy Place," at her Flintstone House Thursday, April 11, 2019, in Hillsborough , Calif. The San Francisco Bay Area suburb of Hillsborough is suing the owner of the house, saying that she installed dangerous steps, dinosaurs and other Flintstone-based figurines without necessary permits. The owner and her attorney say they will fight for the rights of property owners and Fred and Barney fans everywhere. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

A statue of Fred Flintstone stands near the front entryway of the Flintstone House Thursday, April 11, 2019, in Hillsborough, Calif. The San Francisco Bay Area suburb of Hillsborough is suing the owner of the house, saying that she installed dangerous steps, dinosaurs and other Flintstone-based figurines without necessary permits. The owner and her attorney say they will fight for the rights of property owners and Fred and Barney fans everywhere. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexico's state and federal prison systems are understaffed and dirty, but are no longer so dangerous and overcrowded, according to a report released Thursday.

The governmental National Human Rights Commission says that 84 percent of the 165 state prisons inspected have insufficient staff, 76 percent don't adequately separate convicted inmates from people awaiting trial, and 72 percent had problems with hygiene.

But prison riots and fights fell to 892 in 2018, down from 1,043 in 2017. And killings inside prisons fell from 104 in 2017 to 31 in 2018.

Overcrowding was reported at 34 percent of state prisons and none of the 21 federal prisons. That marked progress for prisons that had once often been seriously overcrowded.

However, Mexico's Congress recently approved reforms that would require more people to spend time in prison on pre-trial detention, a practice that had been reserved only for the most serious crimes.

The head of the rights commission, Luis Gonzalez Perez, predicted that would swell the prison population, and that the construction of new prisons hadn't kept up with the predicted increase.

FILE - In this April 1, 2018 file photo, state police patrol outside La Toma prison in Amatlan de los Reyes, Veracruz state, Mexico, after authorities said that six police officers died from smoke inhalation when prisoners started a fire while resisting an effort to transfer dangerous inmates out of the prison. According to a report released Thursday, April 11, 2019 by Mexico's governmental National Human Rights Commission, Mexico's state and federal prison systems are understaffed and dirty, but are no longer so dangerous and overcrowded. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez, File)

"The risk is that the prison population is going to grow strongly, that's the risk and we haven't solved it," said Gonzalez Perez. "That is why, when measures are taken, they have to be integrally planned."

Inmates control at least some activities at 45 percent of state prisons and extort other inmates at 40 percent.

The commission criticized this year's decision to close the Islas Marias penal colony, noting the island facility was the highest-rated among all federal prisons. The last 652 inmates were transferred off the island, located 70 miles (110 kilometers) off the Pacific coast of Nayarit state, in February.

The penal colony, the last of its type in the hemisphere, will be turned into an environmental education center.

The island's low-risk population, lack of walls in most places and greater liberty for inmates made it a good place for inmates to get ready for release. But the costs associated with maintaining the remote island prison were much higher than other mainland prisons.

Gonzalez Perez suggested it should have been kept open.

"I think the best alternative should have been sought, balancing the environment and the principle of rehabilitation, and I don't think that principle was served," Gonzalez Perez said.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Police say a man found hiding in the bathroom of a business has been charged with drunken driving in a West Virginia crash involving a school bus.

Police tell news outlets 27-year-old Franklin Carroll Jr. was arrested Thursday after running from the four-vehicle crash in Charleston.

Lt. Autumn Davis says Carroll was driving a truck that struck a car, causing a chain-reaction collision with two other stopped cars and the bus. Davis says Carroll was arrested in the restroom of a nearby business.

She says a car driver and a passenger in Carroll's truck were taken to a hospital. The extent of their injuries wasn't known.

No one was hurt on the bus, which carried one student.

It wasn't known whether Carroll has a lawyer. Davis didn't immediately respond to an email.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A Honduran transgender migrant who was granted asylum last fall has been unlawfully held - at times in solitary confinement - at an immigration detention center while her case is appealed, attorneys for the woman said Thursday.

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico and the National Immigrant Justice Center charged in a federal court filing that Nicole Garcia Aguilar, 24, is being held at the Cibola County Correctional Center in Milan, New Mexico, despite her asylum application being granted in October by a federal immigration judge.

Government lawyers appealed the initial asylum ruling over arguments about the credibility of Garcia Aguilar's claims that she had been persecuted, raped and threatened because of her gender identity and that she would continue to suffer if returned to Honduras.

The filing by the advocacy groups also states that Garcia Aguilar remains in custody despite a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy that people who have been granted asylum generally merit release pending appeal.

Garcia Aguilar filed her most recent request for release March 15. Immigration authorities denied that request the following week, prompting the legal challenge by the advocacy groups.

"Not only is ICE detaining our client illegally, they are doing so in conditions that are harmful and dangerous," said Tania Linares Garcia, a staff attorney with the National Immigrant Justice Center.

Immigration authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The attorneys are asking the court to either grant Garcia Aguilar's immediate release or schedule a bond hearing, where federal prosecutors would have to provide evidence that her ongoing detention is justified based on whether she's a flight risk or a danger to the community.

Garcia Aguilar was among a wave of Central American migrants who arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border in early 2018. Court documents state she asked for asylum after arriving at the port of entry in Nogales, Arizona, and has been in custody since.

Her attorneys say she has been convicted of marijuana possession and is facing prostitution charges but that her criminal history involves no violence.

During her time at the privately-run prison in New Mexico, Garcia Aguilar was moved from the facility's transgender unit to solitary confinement for prolonged periods of time. Immigration officials had said the time she was kept alone was for her protection, according to the court filing.

Her attorneys also argued that her chronic struggle with anxiety, depression, nightmares and panic attacks were exacerbated by the time spent in solitary confinement.
NEW YORK (AP) - Susan Rice, who served as national security adviser under President Barack Obama, won't be challenging Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine in 2020.

Rice told former Obama administration official Alyssa Mastromonaco at the 10th annual Women in the World Summit on Thursday in New York that she loves Maine and that her family has deep roots in the state. But she said she decided with her family "that the timing really isn't right for us."

Rice tantalized Democrats in October when she expressed interest in Collins' seat during the contentious confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. She said Collins supporting Kavanaugh "felt like betrayal."

Rice said during the event on Thursday that her daughter is going into her junior year of high school and moving to Maine to run a campaign isn't the best move for her family. Rice and her family currently reside in Washington D.C.

"I really believe that the state of Maine deserves the best possible leadership in the Senate," she said. "In the course of weighing it all, I've decided that with my family that the timing really isn't right for us."

However, Rice did not rule out a run in the future "in Maine or beyond," she added.

FILE - In this July 7, 2016 file photo, National Security Adviser Susan Rice follows President Barack Obama across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, to board Marine One. Former national security adviser Rice says she's not going to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine in 2020, she said at the Women in the World Summit on Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Her announcement could free other Democrats to enter the race.

So far, no high-profile Democrat has announced a challenge to Collins next year. But the race is still early, and Collins herself hasn't formally announced she'll seek re-election.

Collins' office had no immediate comment Thursday.

Collins is a self-described centrist in an era of increasingly polarized politics. First elected to the Senate in 1996, she's now the last Republican member of Congress from New England.

Rice's maternal grandparents emigrated from Jamaica to Maine in the 1910s. Her grandfather, David Augustus Dickson, worked as a shipper, porter and janitor. Rice's grandmother, Mary Dickson, a maid and seamstress, was named Maine State Mother of the Year in 1950.
CHICAGO (AP) - Chicago filed a lawsuit against Jussie Smollett on Thursday in a bid to recoup the costs of investigating a racist, anti-gay attack that authorities say was orchestrated by the "Empire" actor as a publicity stunt, with the city saying - at minimum - that it now wants triple the amount it initially asked Smollett to pay.

The 12-page civil lawsuit , filed in Cook County court, is the latest volley in a legal battle that shows no signs of abating since Smollett reported that masked men beat him up on Jan. 29 in Chicago, shouting slurs and wrapping a rope around his neck.

The suit comes after Smollett refused a demand that he send the city $130,106 to reimburse Chicago for overtime as police sought to verify Smollett's account.

The lawsuit doesn't specify an amount of money the city is seeking but does indicate it wants over $390,000 plus "further relief as this Court deems just and equitable." It also asks that Smollett be ordered to foot any legal bills Chicago incurs in suing him.

More than two dozen officers and detectives spent two weeks investigating Smollett's claims, with the police department forced to pay for 1,836 overtime hours, the filing says.

The city's resolve to take Smollett to civil court follows a surprising decision by prosecutors in March to drop all criminal charges accusing him of staging the incident, saying they believed they could prove the charges but that it wasn't worth the time and expense.

FILE - In this March 26, 2019, file photo, actor Jussie Smollett smiles and waves to supporters before leaving Cook County Court after his charges were dropped in Chicago. A deadline is looming for Smollett to pay over $130,000 to Chicago to cover part of the costs of an investigation into his report of a racist, anti-gay attack or risk getting slapped with a civil lawsuit. Thursday, April 4, is seven days since Mayor Rahm Emanuel's law department sent the "Empire" a March 28 letter demanding he writes them a money order or cashier's check for $130,106, plus 15 cents. It said he had seven days. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty, File)

Mayor Rahm Emanuel denounced the decision as "a whitewash of justice," and others criticized the Cook County state's attorney's office for not requiring an apology and an admission of guilt from Smollett as a condition for tossing the case.

The complaint, written by City Hall's top attorney, Edward Siskel, lacks the hard-hitting language and denunciations of Smollett by Emanuel. It's devoted primarily to describing the allegations already spelled out when Smollett was charged in late February.

Smollett, who is black and gay, maintains he has told the truth from the beginning. Reached by phone Thursday evening, a spokeswoman for Smollett's legal team said there wasn't an immediate comment on the lawsuit. Smollett's lawyers would have to respond with a court filing and could move in coming weeks to have the lawsuit thrown out.

Smollett lawyer Mark Geragos said in a letter to the city last week that claims Smollett made the entire thing up were "defamatory," accusing Chicago of trying to "harass" Smollett and pointing to the dismissal of charges as proof he is innocent. It also said Smollett wouldn't be "intimidated" into paying anything.

Unless the case is settled beforehand, the lawsuit would eventually go before a jury, which would have to decide if the city or Smollett is right.

If Smollett still refuses to pay after a verdict in the city's favor, his bank accounts could be frozen.

Smollett admitted no wrongdoing, but agreed to do some community service before charges were dropped. He also agreed to forfeit $10,000 in bond money, which the city could use against him in the civil case as an implied admission of guilt.

Evidence sealed in the criminal case could be unsealed in the civil case and be presented at trial. Smollett could also be required to sit for depositions, forcing him for the first time to explain evidence that the city says shows he was lying.

To the city's advantage, the threshold for proof will be lower than in criminal court. The city won't have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt Smollett staged the attack in civil court, only that it's more likely true than not true that he did.

Among the risks for the city is that the civil litigation could end up costing far more in legal bills than it could ever hope to get from Smollett.

It's also unclear if Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot is onboard with the Emanuel administration's determination to keep legal pressure on Smollett. Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor who will be Chicago's first black female mayor when she's sworn in on May 20, has indicated only that the public deserves a better explanation for why the criminal charges against Smollett were dropped.

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Follow Michael Tarm on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mtarm

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Check out the AP's complete coverage of the Jussie Smollett case.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The fiance of a woman who was fatally shot by a Minneapolis police officer after she called 911 to report a possible crime cradled his head in his hands Thursday as body camera footage of attempts to save her was played at the officer's trial.

Don Damond declined to watch the chaotic footage of the unsuccessful efforts to save Justine Ruszczyk Damond, who was shot minutes after calling 911 to report a possible rape near her home. Justine was a dual citizen of the U.S. and Australia who had taken her fiance's last name ahead of their wedding, set for a month after her July 2017 death.

The Star Tribune reported that one officer's body camera showed Officer Mohamed Noor and his partner taking turns performing CPR before firefighters arrived and took over.

Noor is charged with murder and manslaughter. He was fired from the Minneapolis Police Department after being charged.

Defense attorneys have said Noor was reacting to a loud noise and feared an ambush. Prosecutors have argued there was no evidence Noor faced a threat that justified deadly force.

The head of the city's police homicide unit, Lt. Richard Zimmerman, testified Thursday that lighting in the alley was bright enough that he could see the officers clearly when he arrived. Defense attorneys have contended that lighting was poor in the alley the night Damond was shot.

CORRECTS THAT DON DAMOND WAS JUSTINE RUSZCZYK'S FIANCE, NOT HUSBAND AND THAT ZACH DAMOND IS NOT RUSZCZYK'S SON - Media members approach Don Damond, the fiance of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, second from right, and Zach Damond, right, Don Damond's son, as they arrive for the opening arguments in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor at the Hennepin County Government Center for Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Minneapolis. (David Joles/Star Tribune via AP)

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Check out the AP's complete coverage of Mohamed Noor's trial.

This courtroom sketch provided by Cedric Hohnstadt depicts prosecution witness Don Damond, Justine Ruszczyk Damond's fiance, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Minneapolis, during the murder trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Mohamed Noor, who fatally shot an unarmed Ruszczyk Damond, in July 2017, after she called 911 to report a possible sexual assault behind her home. (Cedric Hohnstadt via AP)

FILE - In this Aug. 11, 2017, file photo, Johanna Morrow plays the didgeridoo during a memorial service for Justine Ruszczyk Damond at Lake Harriet in Minneapolis. Jurors on Wednesday, April 10, 2019, heard the 911 calls Damond made to report a possible sexual assault before she was shot by a Minneapolis officer now on trial for murder in her death. (Aaron Lavinsky/Star Tribune via AP, File)
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - An Alaska man who stole a fossilized woolly mammoth tusk and sliced it into pieces for resale will serve nearly three years in federal prison.

U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason on Thursday sentenced Martin Elze, 52, to 33 months for the theft of the 5.5 foot (1.7 meters) tusk from a small Bureau of Land Management museum in Anchorage. Gleason also ordered Elze to pay $8,385.82 in restitution to the Campbell Creek Science Center.

Elze in December pleaded guilty to one count of removal of a paleontological resource. An accomplice, Gary Lynn Boyd, pleaded guilty in January and will be sentenced May 15.

The woolly mammoth is Alaska's official state fossil. The intact tusk was worth $7,000 to $9,000, according to federal prosecutors. Artists carve pieces for jewelry or small sculptures.

The tusk was displayed at the BLM's Campbell Creek Science Center, a popular destination for Anchorage schoolchildren, and visitors could touch the tusk.

Pat Druckenmiller, director of the University of Alaska Museum of the North, said after the theft that mammoths generally died out at the end of the Pleistocene Era 11,000 to 12,000 years ago. A few survived on islands such as Wrangel Island off northeast Siberia until about 4,000 years ago, he said.

The stolen tusk was one of several found in the mid-1980s near the Colville River, which flows into the Arctic Ocean north of the Brooks Range.

The curved tusk was mottled dark- and light-brown, about 8 inches (20 centimeters) in diameter on the large end and 6 inches (15 centimeters) in diameter at the narrow end.

Elze and Boyd on March 17, 2018, visited the small museum and asked staff about the tusk's weight and authenticity, prosecutors said. One night later, they returned. Boyd used a rock to break a window and open a door, causing $1,385.22 in damage.

The museum's video surveillance system recorded the theft.
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Legislation aimed at keeping youth who send sexually explicit texts from being charged under adult sex crime laws has cleared the Legislature in Washington state.

The bill , which passed late Wednesday night, would create a new group of crimes reserved specifically for minors who are caught with explicit images of other minors, attempting to solve what lawmakers described as a paradox in current law, where even youth who report a sexual picture or video can themselves be potentially charged with a felony - and even forced to register as sex offenders.

A 2018 survey by the American Civil Liberties Union found 22 states had passed legislation that differentiates between teen and adult offenders, with varying specifics.

Under the Washington bill, most of the new youth-only crimes would be set as misdemeanors, a status that would exempt convicted youth from having to register.

Sexting - a combination of the words "sex" and "texting" - refers to sending explicit photos or videos over messaging services, a practice that has gained some popularity among teens who grew up with cellphones.

"This is a statute written for dealing with child pornography, at a time when no one had cellphones," said Sen. Manka Dhingra, a Redmond Democrat who voted for the Washington bill. "No one could even anticipate that we would live in the culture that we currently do, with our children actually sexting."

Along with being part of flirtation or romantic relationships for some youth, sexting has over time become a factor in bullying as well, when minors lose control of images that end up being shared beyond romantic partners.

Under current Washington law, the statutes that criminalize youth exchanging such images are the same ones originally written to target adults for child pornography, which include broad language banning the possession, production, or exchange of explicit images of minors. As felonies, many child pornography crimes also require registration in the state's public sex offender database - penalties that even critics of the bill acknowledged might be too harsh.

Sen. Mike Padden, a Spokane Valley Republican, voted against the bill but said he could understand the basic predicament it tried to address.

"We might not approve of it, we might not like it, but we can understand where maybe two teenagers who are in some sort of relationship send images," he said, adding it was "reasonable" to reduce penalties for sexting in some cases.

"But this bill deals with far, far more than that," Padden said.

The bill would create a separate set of crimes only applicable to under-18 offenders, making it a misdemeanor instead of a felony for a minor to exchange images of another minor, with an exception for images of some types of sex acts.

Exchanging images of a child 12 or younger would remain a felony, as would the sale of images of another minor, but under new, minors-only criminal definitions.

Padden and other Republicans said that was overly broad.

Democratic supporters responded the bill was limited in its scope, and was strictly aimed at keeping minors caught sexting off the sex offender registry.
MEXICO CITY (AP) - Police in northern Mexico said Thursday they raided a lab producing the synthetic opioid fentanyl, the second such lab detected in Mexico in the last four months.

Police in the northern state of Sinaloa said the lab was discovered in a house in a middle-class neighborhood of the state capital, Culiacan.

Carlos Hernandez Leyva, the state's assistant public safety secretary, said police were patrolling in an armored truck when they came under fire. Officers chased the assailants into the house, but they escaped through a back door, he said. Police requested a search warrant and founds tubs of chemicals.

In December, Mexican federal agents arrested four people in a raid on a fentanyl lab in Mexico City.

And in November 2017, soldiers found dozens of kilograms of chemical ingredients for making fentanyl at another lab on the outskirts of Culiacan.

Much U.S. fentanyl originates in China, but is often smuggled through Mexico, where it is often pressed into pills. Because of inexpert mixing, authorities have found deadly inconsistencies in the doses of fentanyl contained in the same batch of pills. Mexican cartels also produce the drug from precursor chemicals, mainly imported from China.

Fentanyl is 50 times more powerful than heroin and can be lethal even in small amounts. Music superstar Prince died from an accidental overdose of fentanyl in 2016, and that year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated the drug and its analogues killed more than 20,000 Americans.
DELAND, Fla. (AP) - Florida deputies fatally shot a carjacking suspect who shot and grazed the head of a sheriff's sergeant.

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood told a news conference the shooting happened Thursday afternoon near DeLand following a chase across the county.

Authorities say the unidentified suspect stole a woman's pickup truck at gunpoint in Deltona. Chitwood says the man brandished a gun as deputies chased him and tried to flee on foot after they destroyed the truck's tires with stop sticks.

A group of deputies eventually surrounded the man. Chitwood says Sgt. Tommy Dane and four other deputies exchanged gunfire with him. Dane was grazed and the carjacking suspect was shot multiple times.

Police didn't release the races of the deputies or the carjacking suspect.

Chitwood says Dane was awake and alert after the shooting.
MODESTO, Calif. (AP) - A man suspected of being in the country illegally has pleaded not guilty to killing a Northern California police officer during a traffic stop in a case that has rekindled a debate over California's sanctuary law that limits law enforcement's cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

An attorney for Paulo Virgen Mendoza entered the not guilty plea to a murder charge in Stanislaus Superior Court, the Modesto Bee reported Thursday. Mendoza is charged with fatally shooting Newman Police Officer Cpl. Ronil Singh on Dec. 26.

Investigators say Singh suspected Mendoza of drunken driving.

Authorities say Mendoza was in the country illegally and was fleeing back to his native Mexico when he was arrested two days after Singh's killing near Bakersfield.

President Donald Trump seized on the case to call for tougher border security amid a fight with congressional Democrats over funding for a border wall, which has forced a partial government shutdown.

The sheriff leading the investigation blamed California's sanctuary law for preventing local authorities from reporting Gustavo Perez Arriaga to U.S. immigration officials for two previous drunken driving arrests. If he had been deported, Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson said, Cpl. Ronil Singh of the tiny Newman Police Department would still be alive.

File - In this Jan. 5, 2019, file photo, a picture of slain Newman Police Cpl. Ronil "Ron" Singh rests atop the casket during his funeral in Modesto, Calif. Paulo Virgen Mendoza pleaded not guilty to killing the Northern California police officer during a traffic stop. The Modesto Bee reported Thursday, April 11, 2019, that an attorney for Mendoza entered the not guilty plea to a murder charge in Stanislaus Superior Court. Mendoza is charged with fatally shooting Singh on Dec. 26. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

The case was put on hold in January to determine if Mendoza was mentally fit to stand trial. On Thursday, a judge determined he was competent to stand trial after Mendoza was examined by a psychiatrist.

Mendoza is still identified in Stanislaus County jail records as Gustavo Perez Arriaga, an alias that he used when arrested. But he's referred to in court by his given name.

Prosecutors say Mendoza is eligible for the death penalty.

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Information from: The Modesto Bee, http://www.modbee.com
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A Utah filmmaker who co-founded the Sundance Film Festival and produced an Oscar-winning movie in the mid-1980s has been charged with sexual abuse of a young girl.

Sterling Van Wagenen, 71, is accused of inappropriately touching a girl on two occasions between 2013 and 2015, according to a probable cause statement filed with the charges on April 4. The alleged abuse occurred in two northern Utah cities when the girl was between the ages of 7 and 9, online court records show.

Van Wagenen's attorney, Steven Shapiro, declined to comment. Van Wagenen didn't return an email and phone call. He has not yet entered a plea to one count of felony sexual abuse of a child.

Van Wagenen co-founded a Utah film festival that came to be known as Sundance Film Festival with Robert Redford and was the Sundance Institute's founding executive director, according to his biography page on the University of Utah website, where he was a part-time instructor until his recent resignation.

Sundance Film Festival officials didn't immediately return an email and phone message seeking comment. His affiliation with the organization ended in 1993 when he left the advisory board, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

Van Wagenen, who posted $75,000 bail, is scheduled to be in court on May 2 for a scheduling hearing. The case was reported to police by child protective services after the girl told her parents about the alleged abuse.

Van Wagenen produced the 1985 film, "The Trip to Bountiful," a story of an elderly woman who longs to return to her home that earned the late actress Geraldine Page an Oscar for her starring performance.

He also directed the 1992 film "Alan & Naomi" about the trauma of the Holocaust on children and was a producer of the 1991 move "Convicts" starring Robert Duvall and James Earl Jones.

More recently, he was a director of the 2009 documentary called "Learning from the Light: The Vision of I.M. Pei" about a well-known architect and an executive director of the 2018 historical tale "Jane and Emma" about a black woman's friendship with the wife of Joseph Smith, the founder of The Church of Jesus of Latter-day Saints.

Van Wagenen resigned from his part-time instructor position at the University of Utah's Film and Media Arts Department on Feb. 15 after being put on administrative leave on Feb. 5, university spokesman Chris Nelson said. He said the university can't provide any more details other than to say he had worked at the university since October 2012.

Van Wagenen's resignation came after a man came forward to accuse Van Wagenen of molesting him as a boy in 1993. No charges have been filed in that case, which was made public by a website that serves as a watchdog for The Church of Jesus of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church.

The church-owned Brigham Young University in Utah employed Van Wagenen as a film instructor from 1993 to 1999, and he was director of content for its broadcasting arm, BYUtv, from 2007-2010, university spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said. The school received no reports of sexual misconduct from his time there, Jenkins said.

Van Wagenen also periodically worked for the church as a producer and director for many years on a variety of projects, including temple videos, said church spokesman Eric Hawkins said. The church wasn't aware of any of Van Wagenen's alleged behaviors until recently and reported them to authorities, Hawkins said.

He declined to say if Van Wagenen has been kicked out of the faith, citing church policy to keep personal matters private.

The church considers child abuse to be among the most serious sins and that anyone who commits the act should be held accountable, Hawkins said.
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Authorities said Thursday they are seeking a man who once worked at a sprawling rural Nevada ranch owned by a Las Vegas casino heir who buried millions of dollars' worth of silver before his mysterious death 20 years ago.

Richard Cleaves, 56, of Pahrump, was being sought on felony burglary, conspiracy and destruction of property charges after he and two other men were seen on surveillance cameras March 30 at the property once owned by Ted Binion, Nye County sheriff's Lt. David Boruchowitz said.

The three men had shovels, according to a video news release about the investigation.

The other two men were not immediately identified. They're being sought for questioning.

Binion's death in 1998 at 55 sparked a media spectacle mixing tales of sex, drugs, Las Vegas history and buried treasure with trials, appeals and eventual murder acquittals for his stripper girlfriend Sandy Murphy and her lover Rick Tabish.

Binion was a wealthy, heroin-using son of famed downtown casino owner Benny Binion, namesake of Binion's Horseshoe casino.

FILE - This May 22, 1998 file photo shows former casino owner Ted Binion. The discovery of holes dug in a rural Nevada property formerly owned by a dead Las Vegas casino owner has authorities seeking a man who once worked there, amid rumors of buried treasure. Nye County sheriff's officials said Thursday, April 11, 2019, that Richard Cleaves is sought on burglary, conspiracy and other charges in the March 30 break-in at property once owned by Ted Binion. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

His death at home in Las Vegas was initially ruled a drug overdose.

But Tabish, a contractor, was found two days later digging for some $7 million in silver in an underground vault he had built for Binion in Pahrump, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) west of Las Vegas.

Prosecutors accused Tabish and Murphy of forcing him to overdose in a plot to kill him and steal his riches. They were found guilty of lesser charges of conspiracy, burglary and grand larceny.

The sheriff's video said that in 1998, officials located $5 million worth of silver at a different Binion property in Pahrump.

Boruchowitz said investigators found three holes last week that were several feet deep at the 138-acre former Binion ranch.

The video statement said holes were found in the main structure and next to a demolished brick barbecue smoker.

The statement said Cleaves was identified by the property manager as a former worker at the site, and had been arrested in 2017 for digging holes on the property.
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) - A federal judge has ruled that the East St. Louis Housing Authority's rule prohibiting public housing tenants from owning a firearm is unconstitutional.

The Belleville News-Democrat reported that U.S. District Judge Phil Gilbert ruled that the ban was a violation of residents' Second Amendment right to own a firearm for lawful purposes.

The ruling stems from a lawsuit brought by the Second Amendment Foundation and the Illinois State Rifle Association on behalf of a woman who contends that she needed a firearm to protect herself from an abusive ex-husband.

The lawsuit on behalf of the woman - identified as N. Doe -contends the ban is discriminatory against the poor because it does not give them the same right to bear arms that people who can afford private housing enjoy.
DAEJEON, South Korea (AP) - Just two hours after Lee Dong Kil's daughter was born on New Year's Eve, the clock struck midnight, 2019 was ushered in, and the infant became 2-years-old. She wasn't alone, though it happened for her quicker than most: Every baby born in South Korea last year became 2 on Jan. 1.

According to one of the world's most unusual age-calculating systems, South Korean babies become 1 on the day of their birth and then get an additional year tacked on when the calendar hits Jan. 1. A lawmaker is working now to overturn the centuries-old tradition amid complaints that it's an anachronistic, time-wasting custom that drags down an otherwise ultramodern country.

For parents whose babies are born in December, it can be especially painful. One hour after his daughter's birth in the central city of Daejeon at 10 p.m. on Dec. 31 of last year, Lee posted the news on social media. His friends immediately showered him with congratulatory messages.

"An hour later, when the New Year began, they phoned me again to say congratulations for my baby becoming 2-years-old," said Lee, who is 32 internationally but 34 in South Korea. "I thought, 'Ah, right. She's now 2 years old, though it's been only two hours since she was born. What the heck!'"

The origins of this age reckoning system aren't clear. Being 1 upon birth may be linked to the time babies spend in their mothers' wombs or to an ancient Asian numerical system that didn't have the concept of zero.

Becoming a year older on Jan. 1? That's even harder to explain.

In this April 9, 2019, photo, Lee Dong Kil's daughter Lee Yoon Seol sits to celebrate her the 100th day of the birth at Lee's house in Daejeon, South Korea. Just two hours after Lee's daughter was born on New Year's Eve, the clock struck midnight, 2019 was ushered in, and the infant became 2-years-old. She wasn't alone, though it happened for her quicker than most: Every baby born in South Korea last year became 2 on Jan. 1.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

It could be that ancient Koreans cared a lot about the year in which they were born in the Chinese 60-year cycle, but, without regular calendars, didn't care much about the specific day they were born; so they mostly ignored the day of their birth and instead marked another year of age on the day of the Lunar New Year, according to senior curator Jung Yonhak at the National Folk Museum of Korea.

This may have then shifted to the solar New Year on Jan. 1 as the South began embracing the Western calendar. North Korea uses the Western age calculating system, but they have a twist: they follow their own calendar that's based on the birth of national founder and president-for-life Kim Il Sung.

The year of your birth is still incredibly important in South Korea, and lumps those linked children together for life.

Other Asian countries, including Japan and Vietnam, abandoned the Chinese-style age system amid an influx of Western culture. Officially, South Korea has used Western-style calculations since the early 1960s. But its citizens still embrace the old-fashioned system in their daily lives because the government has done little to get people to change over to the Western style.

Most South Koreans are simply accustomed to living with two ages.

People don't hold massive joint birthday parties on New Year's Day; they just celebrate their birthday on the days they were born. Young people consider themselves another year old on solar New Year's Day (Jan. 1) while older people often use the Lunar New Year's Day. Many family restaurants don't charge babies if they are 36-months-old or younger, so parents often calculate their babies' ages under the Western method when they're dining out.

Some South Koreans still worry that the practice makes their nation look odd on the international stage. Some feel confusion when meeting with foreigners. Associated Press journalists in Seoul must ask Koreans what year and month they were born to calculate their Western age for news stories.

There are also some who say the concept of "Korean age" encourages a fixation on age-based social standing in this seniority-based country. In South Korea, those born in the same year often treat each other as equals, while people must use honorific titles to address those born earlier, rather than directly using their names.

Ahn Chang-gun, from the southeastern city of Gimhae, said he felt "empty" when his first child became 2 on Jan. 1, 2013, about two weeks after his wife delivered him after eight years of marriage. "He was this precious baby that we finally had, but I felt that all of a sudden two years had just gone by and yet I hadn't done anything for my baby," said Ahn.

Parents whose babies are born in December often worry about their kids falling behind other children born earlier in the same year, though worries gradually disappear as their children age.

When Seo Hyo Sun from Buchon, just west of Seoul, was taken to the hospital to get a cesarean section on Dec. 29, she couldn't stop weeping because her baby's due date was supposed to be Jan. 7.

"Tears kept flowing. ... My doctor told me the baby wanted to come out today so let's just celebrate," said Seo, 31 in international age. "When I awoke from my anesthesia, I felt really grateful ... because my baby was born healthy. That was enough."

In January, lawmaker Hwang Ju-hong tabled a bill aimed at requiring the government to put international ages in official documents and encouraging general citizens to go with their international ages in everyday life. It's the first legislative attempt to abolish "Korean age."

"It is aimed at resolving confusion and inefficiency caused by the mixed use of age-counting systems," Hwang said in the proposed legislation.

Hwang's office said a parliamentary committee discussion and a public hearing on the issue are expected in coming months.

Surveys in recent years showed more South Koreans supported international age though it wasn't clear how seriously they wanted a change.

"If we use international age, things could get more complicated because it's a society that cares so much about which year you were born," said Lim KyoungJae, 46, head of the Seoul-based Miko Travel agency. "We should also definitely count the time of a baby being conceived and growing in its mother's womb."

Lim's employee Choi Min Kyung, who is 26 internationally and 28 in South Korea, disagreed.

"It's good to be two years younger ... (especially) when you meet men" on blind dates, Choi said with a laugh. "There is a big difference between 26 and 28."

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Associated Press journalist Chang Yong Jun contributed to this report.

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Follow Hyung-jin Kim at www.twitter.com/hyungjin1972

In this April 9, 2019, photo, Lee Dong Kil speaks with his wife Ryu Da Gyeong and daughter Lee Yoon Seol as they celebrate daughter Lee's the 100th day of the birth at their house in Daejeon, South Korea. Just two hours after Lee's daughter was born on New Year's Eve, the clock struck midnight, 2019 was ushered in, and the infant became 2-years-old. She wasn't alone, though it happened for her quicker than most: Every baby born in South Korea last year became 2 on Jan. 1.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

In this April 9, 2019, photo, Lee Dong Kil holds his daughter Lee Yoon Seol as his wife Ryu Da Gyeong sits as they to celebrate daughter Lee's the 100th day of the birth at their house in Daejeon, South Korea. Just two hours after Lee's daughter was born on New Year's Eve, the clock struck midnight, 2019 was ushered in, and the infant became 2-years-old. She wasn't alone, though it happened for her quicker than most: Every baby born in South Korea last year became 2 on Jan. 1. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

In this April 3, 2019, photo, Lim KyoungJae, 46, head of the Seoul-based Miko Travel agency, speaks during an interview at his office in Seoul, South Korea. Every baby born in South Korea last year considered to be 2 on Jan. 1. "If we use international age, things could get more complicated because it's a society that cares so much about which year you were born," said Lim. "We should also definitely count the time of a baby being conceived and growing in its mother's womb."(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

In this April 3, 2019, photo, Choi Min Kyung, who is 26 internationally and 28 in South Korea, speaks during an interview at her office in Seoul, South Korea. Every baby born in South Korea last year considered to be 2 on Jan. 1. "It's good to be two years younger ... (especially) when you meet men" on blind dates, Choi said with a laugh. "There is a big difference between 26 and 28."(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
DOVER, Del. (AP) - The remains of three Marines killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan have been returned to the U.S., arriving Thursday at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

Staff Sgt. Christopher K.A. Slutman, 43, of Newark, Delaware; Sgt. Benjamin S. Hines, 31, of York, Pennsylvania, and Cpl. Robert A. Hendriks, 25, of Locust Valley, New York, were killed on Monday when a bomb struck their vehicle near Bagram Air Base north of Kabul, the Pentagon said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

The three were assigned to 25th Marine Regiment, a Massachusetts-based Marine Reserve unit.

Slutman was a 15-year veteran of the New York Fire Department. He grew up in Maryland and lived in Delaware and New York.

An aunt of Hendriks, Lorraine Caliendo, told Newsday that his brother Joseph, also a Marine, will be escorting Hendricks' remains back home.

A U.S. Marine Corps carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Staff Sgt. Christopher Slutman, Thursday, April 11, 2019, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. According to the Department of Defense, Slutman, of Newark, Del., was among three American service members killed by a roadside bomb on Monday, April 8, near Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

The fatalities brought to seven the number of U.S. troops killed this year in Afghanistan, underscoring the difficulties in bringing peace to the war-wrecked country even as Washington has stepped up efforts to find a way to end the 17-year conflict.

Relatives of the deceased Marines were invited to witness what the military calls a dignified transfer in which the cases containing the remains are transferred to a vehicle from the aircraft that ferried them to the United States. Media access to the transfer event is allowed if agreed by the family of the fallen service member, under a policy initiated in March 2009.

A U.S. Marine Corps carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Staff Sgt. Christopher Slutman, Thursday, April 11, 2019, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. According to the Department of Defense, Slutman, of Newark, Del., was among three American service members killed by a roadside bomb on Monday, April 8, near Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Un policier patrouille a Bamenda, ville d'une province anglophone du Cameroun, le 22 fevrier 2018 AFP/Archives/Reinnier KAZE

The population of Bambui, in Bamenda are in panicked, after some armed separatists locally known as Amba Boys, dropped off the dead body of a man, dressed in military attire.

Reports of a gun fire exchange between armed separatists and the Cameroonian military, on Friday night, is said to have been the result of the said killing. Some people claim one of the soldiers had been taken away by separatists, during yesterdays attacks.

This situation has pushed many to retire home, closing down their businesses, while students who were on their way to school, retired home.

The tension is caused by the fear of military reprisals. It is common for military to raid the area, following the attacks on one of theirs. If proven true, these civilians would be in danger as they would be accused of working in complicity with separatist fighters.

Armed separatists are trying to have control over Southern Cameroon, a new state they call Ambazonia. The struggle for an independent state has recorded a lot of deaths in the camps of both Amba boys and the military.

However, civilians are trapped in fight between both parties, as they are attacked, threatened, killed, incarcerated, houses burnt down, and more than 400,000 persons, displaced.
MEXICO CITY (AP) - The Mexican government has freed six activists who fought to protect their community's water supply, acknowledging that their rights were "seriously violated" during more than a dozen years in jail.

The six activists from the town of Tlanixco had been sentenced to up to 50 years for the death of a Spanish flower grower. Tlanixco residents had claimed their drinking water supplies were being soaked up by commercial flower growers in a neighboring town.

Government authorities declined to continue fighting appeals by the six activists.

The government's top human rights official says President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's administration is currently reviewing 538 cases involving people who may have been unfairly jailed. Alejandro Encinas said Thursday the pending cases often involve people fighting to defend water and land rights.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - The World Trade Organization has upheld South Korea's import ban on Japanese seafood from areas affected by the 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima, overturning a ruling by a lower panel last year that said Seoul was unfairly discriminating against Japanese products.

The decision is a setback for Japan, which has promoted Fukushima's recovery from the nuclear disaster and the safety of its agricultural and fisheries products ahead of next year's Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

South Korea on Friday welcomed the decision and said it will continue to block all fishery products from Fukushima and seven neighboring prefectures to ensure "only foods that are confirmed as safe are put on the table."

Japan said the WTO ruling was "extremely regrettable" and vowed to get the import ban reversed through bilateral talks with South Korea. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono summoned South Korean Ambassador Lee Su-hoon to convey Tokyo's displeasure.

"The government will continue to maintain and strengthen our quarantine sovereignty and safety net," said Yoon Chang-yul, an official from South Korea's Office for Government Policy Coordination.

Yoon said the WTO ruling allows Seoul to maintain the ban "indefinitely" until it views the safety concerns as fully resolved. When asked about the possibility of the seafood ban fueling larger trade and diplomatic disputes, he said that "hopefully, that won't happen."

FILE - This Nov. 22, 2016, aerial file photo shows Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima prefecture, Japan. The World Trade Organization has upheld South Korea's import ban on Japanese seafood from areas affected by the 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima. South Korea on Friday, April 12, 2019, welcomed the decision and said it will continue to block all fishery products from Fukushima and seven neighboring prefectures to ensure "only foods that are confirmed as safe are put on the table."(Kyodo News via AP, File)

South Korea broadened initial import restrictions to a blanket ban covering all seafood products from the eight prefectures in 2013, after the Tokyo Electric Power Company revealed that highly contaminated water leaked from a storage tank at a crippled nuclear plant in Fukushima that was submerged by a massive tsunami in 2011.

Japan launched a complaint with the WTO over the ban in 2015, saying that the radioactive levels of seafood from the areas were safe. The ruling by WTO's appellate body reversed key points of a verdict by a lower dispute panel last year that supported Japanese claims that the South Korean measures excessively restricted trade and were "arbitrarily or unjustifiably discriminating" against Japanese food products.

The appellate body said the panel failed to consider whether the methods of contamination testing proposed by Japan would fully satisfy South Korean protection standards.

The Fukushima plant has now been significantly stabilized and radiation has come down to levels considered safe in most areas. Still, more than 20 countries and areas keep their import ban or restrictions on Japanese fisheries and agricultural products, although the number had come down from 54 soon after the disaster. The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pushed agricultural exports as a main part of its economic growth strategy.

South Korea's imports of Japanese seafood have declined significantly since the 2013 ban. South Korea imported about 20,000 tons to 30,000 tons of pollack and mackerel from Japan in 2010, but the volume dropped below 3,000 tons in 2018 with the country continuing to buy more fish from alternative sources like Russia and Norway, Yoon said.

"Easing and lifting of import restrictions related to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant accident is an extremely important issue," said Yoshihide Suga, Japan's chief Cabinet secretary. He added that all Japanese agricultural and fishery exports are tested safe under Japan's own standards that are set stricter than international ones.

"We will patiently continue our effort to negotiate with South Korea and other countries to achieve easing or lifting of their import restrictions based on science," Suga said.

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Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo. Associated Press writer Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to this report.
NEW DELHI (AP) - The Dalai Lama was released from an Indian hospital on Friday, saying he felt "normal, almost normal" after being treated for a chest infection.

The 83-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader looked pale but strong and spoke cheerfully to The Associated Press as he walked out of the New Delhi hospital after being discharged.

The Dalai Lama was hospitalized on Tuesday after coming to the capital to consult with doctors.

He is likely to return this week to the north Indian hill town of Dharmsala, which has been his headquarters since he fled Tibet in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

The Dalai Lama usually spends several months a year traveling the world to teach Buddhism and highlight Tibetans' struggle for greater freedom in China. But he has cut down on travel in the past year in order to take care of his health.

China doesn't recognize the Tibetan government-in-exile and accuses the Dalai Lama of seeking to separate Tibet from China.

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, center, leaves from a hospital, in New Delhi, India, Friday, April 12, 2019. The Dalai Lama has been discharged from a New Delhi hospital after recovering from a chest infection. The 83-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader says he is feeling ''normal, almost normal.'' The Dalai Lama was hospitalized on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Rishi Lekhi)

The Dalai Lama denies being a separatist and says he merely advocates for substantial autonomy and protection of the region's native Buddhist culture.

At an event with educators in New Delhi earlier this month, the Dalai Lama said he was not seeking independence for Tibet, but rather a "reunion" with China under mutually acceptable terms.

The Dalai Lama also predicted that the political impasse with China could change if he lived for at least another decade.

The cavalcade carrying Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, in black, leaves from a hospital, in New Delhi, India, Friday, April 12, 2019. The Dalai Lama has been discharged from a New Delhi hospital after recovering from a chest infection. The 83-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader says he is feeling ''normal, almost normal.'' The Dalai Lama was hospitalized on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
EL PASO, Texas (AP) - Two Indian men who were force-fed during a hunger strike inside a Texas immigration detention center are out of government custody.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Leticia Zamarripa confirmed Thursday that Jasvir Singh and Rajandeep Singh were released on bond from the El Paso Processing Center.

After The Associated Press revealed ICE was force-feeding nine immigrant detainees through nasal tubes in January, the facility stopped the controversial practice under public pressure. The United Nations human rights office said in February that the force-feeding of immigrant hunger strikers there could violate the U.N. Convention Against Torture.

Immigration judges initially ordered that both men be deported. Their uncle Amrit Singh said they will appeal their immigration cases and join family in California. One man's attorney said an appeal already was filed.
NEW YORK (AP) - After the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in London, his lawyer was quick to characterize it as an assault against the rights of journalists all over the world who seek to uncover secrets.

But was it quite that clear? Does WikiLeaks do journalism, or is it something else?

The answer wasn't evident when the organization burst into public consciousness at the top of this decade with the release of government documents about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It seems even less so now.

Launched in 2006 as the vision of Australian computer hacker Assange, WikiLeaks produced raw data, not stories - things like Sarah Palin's personal emails or membership rolls of neo-Nazi organizations. The thousands of memos, cables and other documents about U.S. war efforts revealed when Assange allegedly conspired with Chelsea Manning to break into a Pentagon computer took WikiLeaks to another level. Some viewed Assange as a hero, others as a traitor.

Either way, it was a heady time. WikiLeaks was considered a new type of news organization, fueled by the power of the Internet and democratization of information.

"There is a desperate need for our work," WikiLeaks member Sarah Harrison explained in a 2016 column in The New York Times. "The world is connected by largely unaccountable networks of power that span industries and countries, political parties, corporations and institutions. WikiLeaks shines a light on these by revealing not just individual incidents, but information about entire structures of power."

FILE - In this Dec. 1, 2011, file photo, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gestures as he speaks during a news conference in central London. The arrest of Assange reignites a debate with no easy answer: Is the former computer hacker and founder of WikiLeaks a journalist or not? His lawyers are quick to characterize the case against him as a threat to all journalists. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)

The organization's methods can be - and sometimes are - seen as a threat to the journalism's traditional gatekeepers of power. But journalism has encompassed many traditions over the decades and centuries.

WikiLeaks has been an influence in two positive trends for journalism over the past decade, says Lisa Lynch, a journalism professor at Drew University who has written about the organization. It emphasized the importance of data-driven journalism, an increasingly valuable tool. Since WikiLeaks was often willing to work with traditional outlets in how it released data, it encouraged news organizations to cooperate more in chasing stories. The 2016 "Panama Papers" investigation that revealed the offshore financial havens of political leaders showed what can happen when journalists team up.

Despite utopian ideals, though, real life is more complicated.

Information isn't always merely information; government files can reveal wartime informants and put people's lives in danger. And information can be weaponized through decisions about what to reveal and what not to reveal. For example: Many people saw Assange's decision to publish the private emails of Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman as a sign of coziness with Russia and a contributing factor in Donald Trump's election as president.

Yet some of history's most prominent journalists have been advocates as well, and have expressed clear points of view.

Upton Sinclair, a progressive "muckraker" in the early 20th century, made no secret of the fact that his expose of the meatpacking industry, "The Jungle," was an attempt at jump-starting reform. "I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach," he wrote later. Today, news outlets across the political spectrum, from The National Review to Mother Jones, from Fox News to MSNBC, are considered to be journalism - albeit delivered from a distinct vantage point.

Add into the mix the rise of blogging and social media, which permit anyone with an internet connection to use the term "journalist" and be immediately and globally amplified, and the result is ambiguity about who is a journalist and who isn't.

In that environment, Assange, too, presents an ambiguous image.

"I had trouble seeing him as a journalist from the start," said Columbia University journalism professor Todd Gitlin, a frequent writer about the media. "But he certainly was a publisher. It turns out he was not just any old publisher, he was a publisher with a distinct angle. And his angle is anti-democratic."

Certainly Assange, a prickly personality who may never be forgiven by many Democrats for WikiLeaks' role in the 2016 election, doesn't cut a sympathetic figure. Does that disqualify him from the mantle of journalist, though?

"People feel very differently about WikiLeaks now than they did in 2010," Lynch said. "There's no doubt about that. I feel very differently about WikiLeaks now. But that doesn't mean I'm not just as concerned about what happens to WikiLeaks going forward."

She added: "If we start drawing boxes around who is or isn't a journalist in court and the conversation becomes about the way WikiLeaks used information, then we might end up with unintended consequences."

David Boardman, dean of Temple University's communications school and chairman of The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said one key thing sets WikiLeaks apart from news organizations: the accusations that Assange acted illegally with Manning to obtain the war documents.

"I consider it something different," said Boardman, the former executive editor of The Seattle Times. "I don't consider it a journalistic organization."

Boardman considers the U.S. government's case against Assange, as it is now outlined, as narrowly based upon his actions with Manning and thus not threatening to journalists. Others consider this a narrow reading of the case - one fueled, perhaps, by a discomfort with Assange's methods and the idea of whether he should be considered a journalist at all.

Journalist Glenn Greenwald, himself no stranger to controversies about the release of information, tweeted Thursday: "If you're a U.S. media star who has spent two years claiming to be so concerned about press freedoms over Trump's mean tweets about your friends, but don't raise your voice in protest over this grave attack on press freedom, take a hard look in the mirror."

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David Bauder covers media issues for The Associated Press. Follow him on Twitter at @dbauder. Follow AP's coverage of the arrest of WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange here: https://www.apnews.com/WikiLeaks

FILE - In this Feb. 24, 2011, file photo, the founder of WikiLeaks Julian Assange speaks to the media after his extradition hearing at Belmarsh Magistrates' Court in London. The arrest of Assange reignites a debate with no easy answer: Is the former computer hacker and founder of WikiLeaks a journalist or not? His lawyers are quick to characterize the case against him as a threat to all journalists. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The Taliban announced Friday the start of their spring offensive despite talking peace with the United States and ahead of a significant gathering of Afghans meant to discuss resolutions to the protracted war and an eventual withdrawal of American troops from the country.

The insurgents released a lengthy missive in five languages, including English, saying the fighting would continue while foreign forces remain in Afghanistan.

In a series of tweets later Friday, U.S. special peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad condemned the announcement as "reckless" and "irresponsible."

"Through this announcement, Taliban leaders demonstrate their indifference to the demands of Afghans across the country," he tweeted.

The announcement is something the militant group does every year, even though Taliban attacks never really ceased during the harsh winter months. The insurgents carry out daily attacks targeting Afghan security forces and NATO troops, and inflicting staggering casualties, including among civilians. Most recently, a Taliban attack near the main U.S. air base in Afghanistan killed three Marines on Monday.

The Taliban now hold sway over half the country after a relentless 17-year war, America's longest.

A U.S. Marine Corps carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Staff Sgt. Christopher Slutman, Thursday, April 11, 2019, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. According to the Department of Defense, Slutman, of Newark, Del., was among three American service members killed by a roadside bomb on Monday, April 8, near Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Khalilzad, however, tweeted: "many Talibs including fighters and some leaders oppose this announcement," although he didn't explain how he knew this.

Friday's announcement instructs the Taliban mujahedeen, or holy warriors, to "launch jihadi operations with sincerity and pure intentions," strictly abiding by the Taliban command structure. It also urges fighters to avoid civilian casualties.

The U.N.'s annual report earlier this year said civilian deaths hit a record high last year, blaming the insurgents and other militants, such as the Islamic State group, though it also noted an uptick in civilian casualties from U.S. bombing raids, most often in aid of Afghan troops on the ground.

Still, preparations are underway for Afghan-to-Afghan talks starting next week in Qatar, where the Taliban have a political office.

In Kabul, the Afghan High Peace Council, a government body created years ago to talk peace with anti-government forces, condemned the Taliban announcement, saying it brought into question the insurgents sincerity in seeking a peaceful end to the war.

Atta-u-Rahman Saleim, a council deputy, told The Associated Press over the phone that it undermines the credibility of the Taliban.

"They are insisting on war," he said. "We can see this every day."

Khalilzad, who has escalated efforts to find a peaceful end to the war since his appointment last year, has been urging the Taliban to accept a cease-fire and hold talks directly with the Kabul government, something the insurgents refuse to do. The Taliban, who see the Afghan government as a U.S. puppet, say they will talk to Kabul officials at the upcoming Qatar meeting only as "ordinary Afghans" and not as government representatives.

"The killing of Afghans must stop," Khalilzad tweeted. "All sides must end unnecessary violence, and instead engage in intra-Afghan dialogue, which leads to negotiations on a political settlement and a roadmap to end the war this year."

Meanwhile, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told the AP on Friday that the insurgents banned the International Committee of the Red Cross and the World Health Organization from operating in territory under their control. This is the second time in the past year the insurgents have barred Red Cross workers.

Robin Waubo, a Red Cross official in Kabul, said the organization was putting its activities "on hold" until its representatives can meet with the Taliban to resolve the issue.

"We are going to have a dialogue with them in order to try and begin our work again," Waubo said, warning that thousands of displaced people will be adversely affected by the Taliban decision.

"It is a big issue for us because we have to stop working," he said.

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Associated Press writer Kathy Gannon in Islamabad contributed to this report.
QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) - A suicide bomber targeted an open-air market in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta on Friday, killing at least 20 people and wounding dozens of others, police and hospital officials said.

Shortly after the bombing, struck near a Shiite residential area, dozens of angry Shiite youths rallied in Quetta, demanding more security from the authorities and the arrest of those behind the attacks.

They also denounced the violence by Sunni extremists who have killed hundreds in similar attacks over the past years in Baluchistan province, where Quetta is the capital.

"It seems people from the (Shiite) Hazara community were the target," said senior police chief Abdur Razzaq Cheema, adding that some of the victims were in critical condition.

Mir Ziaullah Langau, the provincial home minister, said the suicide bomber had walked up to the marketplace and killed both Shiites and Sunnis.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place in the Hazarganji neighborhood, but Sunni militant groups have claimed similar bombings in the past against Shiites, whom they view as apostates deserving of death.

Family members of the blast victims comfort each other outside a mortuary in Quetta, Pakistan, Friday, April 12, 2019. A powerful bomb went off at an open-air market in the southwestern city of Quetta on Friday, police and hospital officials said. (AP Photo/Arshad Butt)

Cheema, the police chief said at least eight Shiites were among the dead, as well as a paramilitary soldier and seven other people. Four paramilitary troops, who were guarding the open-air fruit and vegetable market, were among the wounded.

Local TV footage showed several damaged shops and at least one paramilitary vehicle. A wounded man told reporters from his hospital bed how he had heard a loud explosion before he was struck down.

Qadir Nayil, a leader of the Hazara community, asked the government to provide better protection for the Shiites.

"Once again our people were the target and once again we will have to bury our dear ones," he said. "We demand more security from the government and all those involved in today's act of terrorism should be found and punished."

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Arif Alvi issued statements condemning the attack and adding that it would not weaken "the resolve of the nation in the fight against terrorism."

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed shock at the Quetta attack and strongly condemned "this cowardly act," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. "The United Nations expresses its fully solidarity with the Government of Pakistan in its fight against terrorism and violent extremism," Dujarric said.

Jam Kamal Khan, the chief minister of Baluchistan province, also condemned the attack, saying "the enemy of humanity" is to blame.

Hours after the attack in Quetta, a roadside bomb exploded outside a shop in the southwestern border town of Chama, killing one person and wounding 10 others, police and hospitals officials said.

Several militant groups operate in Baluchistan, which is also the scene of a low-level insurgency by separatists demanding more autonomy and a greater share in the region's natural resources such as gas and oil.

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Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders returns to the friendly terrain of Wisconsin on Friday to kick off a swing through pivotal states that are part of the Democratic "blue wall" strategy for 2020.

The independent senator from Vermont carried Wisconsin by 13 points in the Democratic primary three years ago and has been a frequent visitor since losing the nomination to Hillary Clinton. He's touted his appeal to working-class and college-age voters, while fostering his network of supporters before this second run for president.

"We know Bernie Sanders," said Sarah Lloyd, 47, a dairy farmer from Wisconsin Dells who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2016 and planned to attend the Friday rally in the liberal capital city of Madison. "The thing that really keeps me close to Bernie is that he has been talking about these issues for 30, 40 years and I think people appreciate that. I appreciate that."

Democrats have made clear that their best chance at defeating President Donald Trump in 2020 is by winning back three states Trump narrowly captured: Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Dubbed the "blue wall" before they unexpectedly tipped to Trump, they may have supplanted Florida and Ohio as the nation's premier presidential battlegrounds.

Trump also knows the Midwest is vital to his re-election bid. He's looking to repeat in states he won in 2016 and expand his territory. Trump was due to campaign Monday in Minnesota, a state that almost went his way in 2016 after not voting for a Republican presidential candidate since Richard Nixon in 1972.

However, Democrats feel like the momentum is on their side in the Midwest. They captured governorships in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota last year.

FILE - In this Monday, April 8, 2019 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks at a convention of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, in Las Vegas. Sanders is heading back to the friendly turf of Wisconsin for a rally that kicks off a swing through states that are key to the Democratic "blue wall" strategy for 2020. Sanders' event Friday, April 12, in Madison will be followed by weekend stops in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Democratic state Rep. David Bowen, of Milwaukee, an early Sanders supporter in 2016, said he wants Sanders to show that he has a message that can compete with Trump.

"Democrats are amped up, we are fired up to highlight issues that matter to folks in Wisconsin," Bowen said.

The Sanders campaign said in a memo prepared in advance of the trip, which has stops in Ohio and Indiana, that the pathway to victory runs through the Midwest.

The memo said that Sanders has received donations from more than 8,000 people in Wisconsin, 14,000 in Michigan and more than 18,000 in Pennsylvania. Sanders was leading all Democratic candidates in fundraising as he tries to establish himself as the clear front-runner amid the crowded field.

Sanders' appeal in Wisconsin is clear. He won 71 of the state's 72 counties in 2016, defeating Clinton by 13 points. Sanders also narrowly beat Clinton in Michigan, but lost to her in Pennsylvania.

Early polling in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania has shown Sanders ahead of other Democrats. Just this week, the Marquette University Law School poll showed Sanders leading a field of 12 Democratic candidates in Wisconsin.

But pollster Charles Franklin cautioned about reading too much into the numbers a full year before Wisconsin's April 2020 primary. Candidates with the best name recognition, like Sanders, typically fare better this far out compared with others mounting their first national runs for office, Franklin said.

The Sanders campaign said his message on trade, unions, working families and health care resonates in Wisconsin and throughout the Midwest. Earlier this week, Sanders unveiled his latest "Medicare for All" proposal, an idea that has influenced Democratic state lawmakers in Wisconsin who are advocating for similar statewide health insurance coverage.

Sanders promises to tout his opposition to trade deals and his support for unions and raising the minimum wage while campaigning in the Midwest. He scheduled a visit with American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten at an Ohio union hall on Monday.

Peter Rickman, a Milwaukee labor activist who led Sanders' Wisconsin delegation to the 2016 Democratic National Convention, called Sanders "the best candidate to move transformational change."

"I definitely view Bernie Sanders as the candidate best situated to not only defeat Donald Trump but to advance policies that stem the tide of skyrocketing inequality, to finally address the existential crisis that is climate change," Rickman said.

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Follow Scott Bauer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sbauerAP
SYDNEY (AP) - Australia says it will oppose the death penalty for Julian Assange if he's extradited to the United States, as protesters in Sydney called for his release and Australia's journalists' union voiced support for him.

The Australian Wikileaks founder was arrested Thursday in London's Ecuadorian Embassy and the judge found him guilty of breaching his bail conditions. He faces a U.S. charge of conspiring to reveal government secrets.

While Prime Minister Scott Morrison says any extradition plans have "nothing to do with Australia," Foreign Minister Marise Payne has responded to fears from Assange's supporters over his possible punishment in the U.S., saying Australia is "completely opposed to the death penalty."

About 30 people marched in Sydney to support Assange and Australia's journalists' union says he's being pursued for acts of journalism.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A bill imposing one of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the nation was signed into law in Ohio on Thursday, banning abortions after a detectable heartbeat in a long-sought victory for abortion opponents that drew an immediate constitutional challenge.

In signing the heartbeat bill, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine broke with his predecessor, Republican John Kasich, who had vetoed the measure twice on grounds that it was unconstitutional.

But DeWine defended Ohio Republicans' decision to push the boundaries of the law, because "it is the right thing to do."

"Taking this action really is a kind of a time-honored tradition, the constitutional tradition of making a good faith argument for modification or reversal of existing legal precedents," he said. "So that is what this is."

He said it's the government's job to protect the vulnerable. The bill outlaws abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which doctors say can be as early as five weeks into pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant.

Ohio's closely divided politics had slowed the progress of the bill as it has caught momentum elsewhere , forcing years of debate in the state where the movement originated. Of five previous states that have passed heartbeat bills, three have seen their laws struck down or blocked by the courts, another faces a legal injunction and the fifth is awaiting governor's action.

Gov. Mike DeWine speaks before signing a bill imposing one of the nation's toughest abortion restrictions, Thursday, April 11, 2019 in Columbus, Ohio. DeWine's signature makes Ohio the fifth state to ban abortions after the first detectable fetal heartbeat. That can come as early as five or six weeks into pregnancy, before many women know they're pregnant. (Fred Squillante/The Columbus Dispatch via AP)

DeWine's action came a day after the latest version of the bill cleared the Republican-controlled Legislature.

Even before the bill was signed, the ACLU of Ohio said it was preparing a constitutional challenge to the law on behalf of Pre-Term Cleveland and three other Ohio abortion clinics.

The legal challenge is what the bill's backers have always wanted. They hope to provoke a legal challenge with the potential to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion up until viability, usually at 22 to 24 weeks.

"The heartbeat bill is the next incremental step in our strategy to overturn Roe v. Wade," said Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis. "While other states embrace radical legislation to legalize abortion on demand through the ninth month of pregnancy, Ohio has drawn a line and continues to advance protections for unborn babies."

Kellie Copeland, director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, said lawmakers and the governor have plunged the state into "a dystopian nightmare where people are forced to continue pregnancies regardless of the harm that may come to them or their family."

The law makes no exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest.

EMILY's List, a national group that supports candidates who favor abortion rights, also decried the Ohio bill, as did the Democratic National Committee.

DNC CEO Seema Nanda called it "the latest example of how the Trump administration's extremist, anti-women policies have emboldened legislators across the country to attack women's access to health care."

DeWine said his administration is committed to supporting pregnant women.

"I just want to make it very, very clear, our concern is not just for the unborn, our concern is for all individuals who need protection," he said. "It is our duty, I believe, and an essential function of government, to protect those who cannot protect themselves."

Gov. Mike DeWine speaks before signing a bill imposing one of the nation's toughest abortion restrictions, Thursday, April 11, 2019 in Columbus, Ohio. Lt. Governor Jon A. Husted stands at right holding Faye Zaffini, 2, the daughter of his chief of staff. DeWine's signature makes Ohio the fifth state to ban abortions after the first detectable fetal heartbeat. That can come as early as five or six weeks into pregnancy, before many women know they're pregnant. (Fred Squillante/The Columbus Dispatch via AP)

Kimberly Inez McGuire shouts "Shame" while members of the Ohio House of Representatives exit their meeting at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio on Wednesday, April 10, 2019. The House members voted in the controversial "Heartbeat Bill" that bans abortion at the first sounds of a fetal heartbeat, which is around 6 weeks after conception. Many protestors shouted in the hallway outside of the meeting where House members decided to pass the bill. (Brooke LaValley/The Columbus Dispatch via AP)

Ohio Rep. Allison Russo speaks to support an amendment preceding a vote on the Heartbeat Bill at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio on April 10, 2019. The House members voted in the controversial "Heartbeat Bill" that bans abortion at the first sounds of a fetal heartbeat, which is around 6 weeks after conception. Many protestors shouted in the hallway outside of the meeting where House members decided to pass the bill. (Brooke LaValley/The Columbus Dispatch via AP)

Cynthia Vermillion chants back while protesting during the Ohio House of Representatives meeting at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio on Wednesday, April 10, 2019. The House members voted in the controversial "Heartbeat Bill" that bans abortion at the first sounds of a fetal heartbeat, which is around 6 weeks after conception. Many protestors shouted in the hallway outside of the meeting where House members decided to pass the bill. (Brooke LaValley/The Columbus Dispatch via AP)

Members seated on the Republican side of the Ohio House of Representatives listen to Democratic speakers at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio on Wednesday, April 10, 2019. The House members voted in the controversial "Heartbeat Bill" that bans abortion at the first sounds of a fetal heartbeat, which is around 6 weeks after conception. Many protestors shouted in the hallway outside of the meeting where House members decided to pass the bill. (Brooke LaValley/The Columbus Dispatch via AP)

Ohio Rep. Derek Merrin stands while he advocates a yes vote on the Heartbeat Bill at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio on Wednesday, April 10, 2019. The House members voted in the controversial "Heartbeat Bill" that bans abortion at the first sounds of a fetal heartbeat, which is around 6 weeks after conception. Many protestors shouted in the hallway outside of the meeting where House members decided to pass the bill. (Brooke LaValley/The Columbus Dispatch via AP)
Adolphe Lele LAfrique Archives

The Governor of Cameroons restive North West Region, Lele Lafrique Tchoffo Deben Adolphe has observed that, many separatist armed groups across his administrative unit have ignored a November 6, 2018 appeal from President Paul Biya for them to disarm and return to living normal lives.

Leles observation is the content of a statement issued Thursday April 11 contesting social media reports accusing the military of killing civilians in the village of Meluf in Kumbo Subdivision.

Lele Lafrique wrote: The population is however informed that since the putting in place of the Disarmament, Demobilisation and the Reintegration Programme by the Head of State, His Excellency President Paul Biya and the numerous calls for the misguided and misled secessionist fighters to lay down their arms, these calls have been heeded to by some but many armed separatist groups have ignored same and continue to attack the Forces and commit atrocities against innocent civilians. As a result, the Security and Defense Forces have resolved to stepping up targeted military and security operations on well identified and localized secessionist hideouts.

He adds that there was no military raid in Meluf on April 4. He lamented that, the authors of such information have an intention to taint the image of the defense and security forces, people of goodwill alongside administrative authorities to restore peace.

The Regional head enthused that, military operations are carried out with precision and professionalism. He has urged the local population to collaborate and speed the battle for the return to peace.

Irrespective of the administrative clarifications, some individuals are still challenging the narrative. One native of the areas concerned claimed to be in the know of a family that lost three persons following a military raid.

Cameroons Territorial Administration Minister Paul Atanga Nji says if the rebels are serious about peace, they should drop their guns and be pardoned as President Paul Biya asked.

"Some of the terrorists in certain localities have willfully handed over their weapons to the forces of law and order," said Nji. "They were realistic because they know that you cannot fight a state. We have pockets of resistance but how long will they last?"

Cameroons separatists complain the countrys English-speakers are treated as second-class citizens in the Francophone central Africa country, and want to create an independent state.

The international community has condemned violence from both the rebels and security forces and called for a negotiated end to the conflict.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Newly elected Rep. Sharice Davids is most proud of setting up a congressional office in part of her Kansas district she said hadn't seen one for years. For Georgia Rep. Lucy McBath, her biggest victory was passing the gun background checks legislation she advocated for after her son's shooting death. And for New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, her top achievement was the introduction of the landmark Green New Deal .

As the Democratic freshmen lawmakers round the first 100 days of their new majority in the House, they're taking stock of their accomplishments, noting the stumbles and marking their place as a front line of resistance to President Donald Trump.

"When I came here, I said the days of business as usual in the Congress are done, and I think that's what we've seen," said Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., a nurse and former Obama administration official, who took over a GOP-held seat in the Chicago suburbs.

The first 100 days is often a milestone for a new Congress - an automatic, if arbitrary, moment to assess the workings of the legislative branch. This year, it's even more noteworthy because of the historic nature of the freshmen class. It is two-thirds Democrat, with more women than men on that side of the aisle. It's also the most diverse ever , with many newbies swept into office in a blue wave that followed two years of Trump.

House Democrats set out an ambitious agenda with legislation on the kitchen table priorities that helped them win the majority - protecting the Affordable Care Act, imposing new ethics rules - while engaging in aggressive oversight of the Trump administration. Their investigations extend well beyond special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election as they dig into the president's business dealings and push for Trump's tax returns .

But with the spotlight comes high-profile setbacks. Democrats splintered over Ocasio-Cortez's climate change proposal and exposed party divisions over Israel's treatment of Palestinians. One new lawmaker, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, stunned some when, on Day One, she told supporters - using an expletive - that the new majority would impeach Trump.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., left, joined by Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., listens during a House Oversight and Reform Committee meeting, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019. House Democrats are rounding the first 100 days of their new majority taking stock of their accomplishments, noting the stumbles and marking their place as a frontline of resistance to President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Moreover, few of their bills will ever be signed into law. In fact, most are simply resolutions that are being panned by the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is providing backstop with his Republican majority to keep the measures from ever making it to Trump's desk.

McConnell said Pelosi's challenges resemble those Republicans have keeping their right flank in line. "I was almost tempted to call up my friend the speaker and say, 'Congratulations, you've got a Freedom Caucus on your hands,'" he told reporters Thursday, referring to the House's conservative group.

House Republicans gathered on the Capitol steps for their own 100-day event, ridiculing the new majority for catering to the liberal left and failing to keep their campaign promises.

"I have one question for the Democrats after their first 100 days: What have you accomplished?" Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said on Wednesday. "Name me one problem you have solved."

Another Republican, Minority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana, warned that Democrats are veering toward socialism. As he did, a passer-by among the crowds of tourists outside the Capitol shouted, "I stand with Ilhan!" - a reference to outspoken freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.

Democrats know they face challenges ahead, not only in avoiding the internal divisions that stymied House Republicans when they were in power but also in delivering on their campaign promises.

"For me personally, the biggest frustration has been that we're working on a lot of different things. But if you're just looking at the media, the narrative is not showing that," said freshman Democratic Rep. Katie Hill of California. "It makes it seem like all we're focusing on is the president and responding to whatever tweet of the day or the investigation and so on, but we're actually working on the issues that we were elected to do."

Tlaib said the most surprising thing to her so far has been the "lack of urgency" among some in Congress. As few joined her push to impeach, she said she thinks "we're going to look back and say we wish we did more."

Freshman Rep. Tom Malinowski, a Democrat who will face a potentially tough re-election in New Jersey, says part of the majority's job is to at least show voters what's possible.

"There will be some things that stand no chance of enactment, and we knew that, but that's OK," Malinowski said. "Because one of our jobs is to give people hope that something better is possible if we do in 2020 what we did in 2018."

At House Democrats' retreat this week in Virginia, Ocasio-Cortez said their power lies in being able "to come in as a class."

Many of them say they know theirs is a historic moment, even amid the everyday challenges of being new on the job.

Underwood, who gathered the freshmen to make a video showcasing what they were most proud of, acknowledged the hurdles ahead.

"Moving forward, we will need to continue to work not just to pass bills in the House but do things that can gain broad support so that they can get enacted into law," she said.

"People in my community are looking for impactful change - they can feel a difference."

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Associated Press writer Alan Fram in Washington contributed to this report.

Freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., center, smiles as she stands between Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, left, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as Democrats rally outside the Capitol ahead of passage of H.R. 1, "The For the People Act," a bill which aims to expand voting rights and strengthen ethics rules, in Washington, Friday, March 8, 2019. House Democrats are rounding the first 100 days of their new majority taking stock of their accomplishments, noting the stumbles and marking their place as a frontline of resistance to President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., left, and and Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., attend a House Education and Labor Committee during a bill markup, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 6, 2019. House Democrats are rounding the first 100 days of their new majority taking stock of their accomplishments, noting the stumbles and marking their place as a frontline of resistance to President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., left, speaks with Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, April 3, 2019. House Democrats are rounding the first 100 days of their new majority taking stock of their accomplishments, noting the stumbles and marking their place as a frontline of resistance to President Donald Trump.(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. House Democrats are rounding the first 100 days of their new majority taking stock of their accomplishments, noting the stumbles and marking their place as a frontline of resistance to President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., left, Rep. TJ Cox, D-Calif., Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-N.J., and other freshmen members of the House of Representatives, stand outside the office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., after attempting to speak with him about the government shutdown on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019, in Washington. Tom Malinowski (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., speaks as Democrats rally outside the Capitol ahead of passage of H.R. 1, "The For the People Act," a bill which aims to expand voting rights and strengthen ethics rules, in Washington, Friday, March 8, 2019. House Democrats are rounding the first 100 days of their new majority taking stock of their accomplishments, noting the stumbles and marking their place as a frontline of resistance to President Donald Trump.(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., listens during a House Oversight and Reform Committee meeting, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019. House Democrats are rounding the first 100 days of their new majority taking stock of their accomplishments, noting the stumbles and marking their place as a frontline of resistance to President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in her office at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. House Democrats are rounding the first 100 days of their new majority taking stock of their accomplishments, noting the stumbles and marking their place as a frontline of resistance to President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

From left, Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass., Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, and Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., walk to a House Democratic Caucus meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday morning March 12, 2019. House Democrats are rounding the first 100 days of their new majority taking stock of their accomplishments, noting the stumbles and marking their place as a frontline of resistance to President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., works in her office on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, April 3, 2019. House Democrats are rounding the first 100 days of their new majority taking stock of their accomplishments, noting the stumbles and marking their place as a frontline of resistance to President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass., leaves the House Democratic Caucus on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, April 3, 2019. House Democrats are rounding the first 100 days of their new majority taking stock of their accomplishments, noting the stumbles and marking their place as a frontline of resistance to President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., sits with fellow Democrats on the House Education and Labor Committee during a bill markup, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 6, 2019. House Democrats are rounding the first 100 days of their new majority taking stock of their accomplishments, noting the stumbles and marking their place as a frontline of resistance to President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaks to reporters at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, April 4, 2019. House Democrats are rounding the first 100 days of their new majority taking stock of their accomplishments, noting the stumbles and marking their place as a frontline of resistance to President Donald Trump. "I have one question for the Democrats after their first 100 days: What have you accomplished?" said McCarthy, on April 10. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., the first Native American woman elected to Congress, is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, April 3, 2019. House Democrats are rounding the first 100 days of their new majority taking stock of their accomplishments, noting the stumbles and marking their place as a frontline of resistance to President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2018, file photo, then-Rep.-elect Sharice Davids, D-Kan., draws her number during the Member-elect room lottery draw on Capitol Hill in Washington. House Democrats are rounding the first 100 days of their new majority taking stock of their accomplishments, noting the stumbles and marking their place as a frontline of resistance to President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., speaks to visiting students following a House Oversight and Reform Committee meeting, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019. House Democrats are rounding the first 100 days of their new majority taking stock of their accomplishments, noting the stumbles and marking their place as a frontline of resistance to President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Freshman Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, smiles, joined at right by Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., as Democrats rally outside the Capitol ahead of passage of H.R. 1, "The For the People Act," a bill which aims to expand voting rights and strengthen ethics rules, in Washington, Friday, March 8, 2019. House Democrats are rounding the first 100 days of their new majority taking stock of their accomplishments, noting the stumbles and marking their place as a frontline of resistance to President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Georgetown University undergraduates have voted in favor of a referendum seeking the establishment of a fund benefiting the descendants of enslaved people sold to pay off the school's debts.

The $27.20-per-semester fee would create one of the first reparations funds at a major U.S. institution. In an early Friday statement, university administrator Todd Olson didn't commit to the fund's establishment, but said Thursday's non-binding vote provided "valuable insight into student perspectives."

The Georgetown University Student Association Elections Commission said 2,541 students voted for the "Reconciliation Contribution." That's just over 66% of voters. The fee was opposed by 1,304. Turnout was 57.9%.

The student-led proposal aims to atone for the Jesuit-organized sale of 272 slaves in 1838. Fees would go toward projects in underprivileged communities where some descendants live, including Maringouin, Louisiana.

FILE - In this July 10, 2013, file photo, prospective students tour Georgetown University's campus in Washington. Georgetown University undergraduates have voted Thursday, April 11, 2019, in favor of a referendum seeking the establishment of a fund benefiting the descendants of enslaved people sold to pay off the school's debts. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - Malaysia's government said Friday it has decided to resume a China-backed rail link project, after the Chinese contractor agreed to cut the construction cost by one-third.

The deal follows months of vacillating over the East Coast Rail Link, which connects Malaysia's west coast to eastern rural states and is a key part of China's Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.

It should also help bolster ties between China and Malaysia that were strained when Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad suspended the project after his election last May.

The prime minister's office said in a statement that the construction cost of the first two phases of the project will be cut to 44 billion ringgit ($10.7 billion), down from the original cost of 65.5 billion ringgit ($15.9 billion).

It welcomed the signing of a supplementary agreement between Malaysia Rail Link Sendirian Berhad and state-owned China Communications Construction Company Ltd. to revive the project.

"This reduction will surely benefit Malaysia and lighten the burden on the country's financial position," the statement said.

In this Sept. 8, 2017, photo, visitors view a scale model of the ECRL (East Coast Rail Link) during the launching of the train project in Kuantan, east coast of peninsula Malaysia. Malaysia's government says it has decided to resume a China-backed rail link project after the Chinese contractor agreed to cut construction cost by one-third. (AP Photo)

In Beijing, Malaysian chief negotiator Daim Zainuddin told Malaysian media that the rail link will be 40 kilometers (24.8 miles) shorter at 648 kilometers (402.6 miles) but will remain a double-track line.

Daim was quoted by the New Straits Times newspaper as saying the cost savings was a "big achievement." The lower cost also means the government can save in terms of interest on a lower loan, he said.

He said the agreement will bolster bilateral relations and encourage more Chinese companies to invest in Malaysia.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Lu Kang, hailed the agreement.

"We are happy to see that the two sides have reached a settlement through friendly negotiation. I also hope that the two sides can resume the project construction as soon as possible," he told reporters.

Mahathir's government has axed or reviewed large-scale infrastructure projects to rein in surging national debt that it blames mostly on corruption in the previous government.

The government last year suspended works on the rail link pending renegotiations.

Mahathir initially suggested the rail project will be called off because the high cost could burden the country with debt for decades. But he later said negotiations were ongoing and the government hadn't made a final decision.

The project is largely financed by China and the main contract was awarded in 2016 to CCCC by former Prime Minister Najib Razak. Mahathir's government has said the final cost could balloon to more than 100 billion ringgit ($24.2 billion) but bids to terminate the project could pose a challenge to the government, which would have to pay compensation and risk angering China, Malaysia's largest trading partner.

Apart from the rail link, the government last year also cancelled two China-backed pipelines costing 9.3 billion ringgit ($2.3 billion) after discovering that 90 percent of the project's costs had been paid but only 13 percent of work had been completed.

The government has said it is investigating whether any money in the rail project had been channeled by Najib's government to repay debts at the 1MDB state investment fund.

A massive financial scandal at 1MDB led to the election loss of Najib's coalition last May and Najib is currently on trial for multiple corruption charges linked to 1MDB.

In this Sept. 8, 2017, photo, the construction site of the ECRL (East Coast Rail Link) train project is surveyed by officials during the launching in Kuantan, east coast of the Malaysian peninsula. Malaysia's government says it has decided to resume a China-backed rail link project after the Chinese contractor agreed to cut construction cost by one-third. (AP Photo)
BEIRUT (AP) - They are a common sight around Beirut, but their presence barely registers with Lebanese citizens anymore.

Nearly 30 years after civil war guns fell silent, dozens of bullet-scarred, shell-pocked buildings are still standing - testimony to a brutal conflict that raged for 15 years and took the lives of 150,000 people.

Some are Beirut landmarks, like the iconic Holiday Inn, a hulking, bullet-riddled blue and white building that towers over the capital.

The hotel, which opened for business just two years before the war broke out on April 13, 1975, was destroyed early on during battles between rival factions and used as a sniper's nest. It has stood deserted and untouched since then, its shareholders locked in a dispute over its future.

There's the modernist movie theater that never was, nicknamed locally "The Egg." Its moldy skeleton stands as a ruin, its future unclear. Like the Holiday Inn, it is a curious attraction for visiting foreigners.

There are also a few remaining residential buildings located along the former Green Line, which separated the mainly Muslim part of West Beirut from the predominantly Christian part, their ravaged facades a testimony to the horrors witnessed many years ago. They still stand, either because their owners have no money to fix them, or because of disputes over ownership.

In this Nov. 12, 2018, photo, graffiti by Cuban-American artist Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada depicting a boy is painted on a bullet riddled building on the former frontline of the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war in downtown Beirut, Lebanon. Nearly 30 years after civil war guns fell silent, dozens of bullet-scarred, shell-pocked buildings are still standing _ testimony to a brutal conflict that raged for 15 years and took the lives of 150,000 people.(AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

"Seeing these buildings is like being slapped in the face," said Sahar Mandour, a Lebanese journalist and a writer. "You're walking around going about your daily business when suddenly you come face to face with a scene that takes you back to the old days."

Unlike others who dislike the sight of these buildings and think they should be demolished, Mandour, 42, says it's important that they stay for the nation's collective memory, to never forget a war that pitted Palestinians against Lebanese, Christians against Muslims, Christians against Christians and every other combination possible. Israel also stepped in, adding to the destruction.

"For a foreigner, it is a destroyed building. For us, it is a painful reminder of the bullets that pierced our bodies, streets and walls," Mandour says. "I don't want these buildings to disappear, their mission is not over yet."

Not everyone feels the same. A woman who rents an apartment in a bullet-scarred building on the former Green Line between the mainly Muslim Shiyah and Christian Ayn el Rummaneh districts, said she worries about her two sons and society judging them for where they live.

She keeps plants on the veranda and on the stairs to compensate for the building's grim facade.

"If I had somewhere else to go, I would," she said, identifying herself by her nickname, Imm Lebnen, or mother of Lebanon.

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Follow Hassan Ammar on Twitter https://twitter.com/HassanAmmar5 and on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hassanammar .

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In this April 7, 2019, photo, the Lebanese capital's landmark Holiday Inn hotel, center, riddled with bullets and shells, stands between new designer towers in downtown Beirut, Lebanon. The hotel was destroyed during battles between rival factions in Beirut's hotels district in the early years of the country's 1975-90 civil war. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

In this Nov. 12, 2018, photo, children stand on the balcony of their apartment building damaged during Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war on a former Beirut frontline, Lebanon. Nearly 30 years after civil war guns fell silent, dozens of bullet-scarred, shell-pocked buildings are still standing _ testimony to a brutal conflict that raged for 15 years and took the lives of 150,000 people.(AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

In this Nov. 28, 2015, photo, Syrian refugee children stand on the stairs of their apartment in a building damaged during Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war on a former Beirut frontline, Lebanon. Nearly 30 years after civil war guns fell silent, dozens of bullet-scarred, shell-pocked buildings are still standing _ testimony to a brutal conflict that raged for 15 years and took the lives of 150,000 people.(AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

In this Nov. 17, 2018, photo, Shiyah, a Muslim Shiite neighborhood from a destroyed apartment in the southern Beirut Christian district of Ain el-Rummaneh, Lebanon. The two sides fought fierce battles during the 1975-90 civil war, which started with a shooting on a bus in Ain el-Rummaneh. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

In this Nov. 27, 2018, photo, a pigeon flies next to the Dome City Center known as "The Egg" in downtown Beirut, Lebanon. The Egg is an iconic destroyed building left over from the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

In this Dec. 2, 2018, photo, cars park in front of a building that is still riddled with bullets and shells on the former frontline of the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war in Beirut, Lebanon. Nearly 30 years after civil war guns fell silent, dozens of bullet-scarred, shell-pocked buildings are still standing _ testimony to a brutal conflict that raged for 15 years and took the lives of 150,000 people. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

In this Nov. 17, 2018, photo, Shiyah, a Muslim Shiite neighborhood is seen from a destroyed apartment in the southern Beirut Christian district of Ain el-Rummaneh, Lebanon. The two sides fought fierce battles during the 1975-90 civil war, which started with a shooting on a bus in Ain el-Rummaneh. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

In this Nov. 12, 2018, photo, graffiti is painted on a bullet riddled building on the former frontline of the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war in downtown Beirut, Lebanon. Nearly 30 years after civil war guns fell silent, dozens of bullet-scarred, shell-pocked buildings are still standing _ testimony to a brutal conflict that raged for 15 years and took the lives of 150,000 people. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

In this Nov. 27, 2018, photo, a man passes in front of Beit Beirut, the nearly 100 year-old house that served as a sniper position during Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, on a former Beirut frontline, Lebanon. Nearly 30 years after civil war guns fell silent, dozens of bullet-scarred, shell-pocked buildings are still standing _ testimony to a brutal conflict that raged for 15 years and took the lives of 150,000 people. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

In this Nov. 17, 2018, photo, an inhabited building that is still riddled with bullets and shells left over from the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war on a former Beirut frontline between Shiyah, a Muslim Shiite district and Christian district of Ain el-Rummaneh, in Beirut, Lebanon. The two sides fought fierce battles during the 1975-90 civil war, which started with a shooting on a bus in Ain el-Rummaneh. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

In this Jan. 28, 2016, photo, a visitor checks the mosaic of the Good Shepherd that was badly damaged in the lower left corner by a sniper during the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war at the Lebanese National Museum in Beirut, Lebanon. Nearly 30 years after civil war guns fell silent, dozens of bullet-scarred, shell-pocked buildings are still standing _ testimony to a brutal conflict that raged for 15 years and took the lives of 150,000 people.(AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
TOKYO (AP) - A Tokyo court on Friday approved the detention of Nissan's former Chairman Carlos Ghosn through April 22, allowing prosecutors to interrogate him daily on fresh allegations of financial misconduct.

Ghosn was arrested in November, released on bail last month but rearrested last week and is being held at Tokyo Detention Center. It is unclear when he might be released.

The new board of Nissan's alliance with Renault SA of France and Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp. met Friday in Paris for the first time to plot out the group's future without Ghosn.

The alliance board is led by Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard. It also includes Nissan Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa and Mitsubishi CEO Osamu Masuko. It will oversee shared projects such as developing batteries and more autonomous driving functions in their cars.

Without the hard-driving, attention-getting Ghosn at the helm, some have expressed concern about the viability of the alliance. The scandal also remains a troubling distraction.

Ghosn has been charged with falsifying financial documents in underreporting his compensation, and with breach of trust in using Nissan money for dubious payments.

In this image made from video released by Carlos Ghosn via his lawyer Tuesday, April 9, 2019, former Nissan chairman Ghosn speaks on camera in Tokyo. Ghosn, who was arrested in Japan on financial misconduct charges, gets his say in a video shown by his legal team. (Carlos Ghosn via AP)

His latest arrest is over breach of trust suspicions that payments by a Nissan subsidiary to an Oman dealership went to a company effectively run by Ghosn. Formal charges involving those allegations have not been filed.

On Thursday, Ghosn's wife Carole, who had left for France after Ghosn's latest arrest, returned for questioning in a Tokyo court. Details have not been disclosed.

Ghosn, who led the Japanese automaker for two decades, says he is innocent of all charges. He says the compensation was never decided and the payments were for legitimate services.

Long detention and multiple arrests are routine in Japan, but rearresting a person who already cleared bail as Ghosn did before is unusual.

His lawyers, who have protested the detention as unfair, filed a new appeal with the court on the latest detention extension, but the court rejected it late Friday.

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This story has been corrected to show the meeting in Paris was held Friday.
CAIRO (AP) - The Sudanese military on Friday swiftly replaced the country's transitional leader linked to the Darfur genocide after street rallies against him and said that it wouldn't hand over ousted President Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court, where he faces charges of crimes against humanity.

Thousands of jubilant protesters celebrated in the streets after Defense Minister Gen. Awad ibn Ouf, who was name de facto leader after overthrowing al-Bashir on Thursday, announced he was stepping down as transitional leader. He named a reputable army general as his successor.

Ibn Ouf said he would be replaced by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, general inspector of the armed forces, as head of the transitional council, which will rule the country for two years until elections.

"I am confident he will steer the ship to safe shores," he said of Burhan, adding he was stepping aside to "preserve unity" of the armed forces.

Burhan was one of the generals who reached out to protesters at the week-long encampment near the military headquarters, meeting with them face to face, and listening to their views.

Chants rang out across the sit-in where tens of thousands have been rallying in front of the military headquarters to protest the military takeover of power after al-Bashir's ouster. "Revolutionaries, we will continue our path," the protesters shouted as they danced and clapped.

Demonstrators gather in Sudan's capital of Khartoum, Friday, April 12, 2019. The Sudanese protest movement has rejected the military's declaration that it has no ambitions to hold the reins of power for long after ousting the president of 30 years, Omar al-Bashir. (AP Photo)

Earlier Friday, another top general, Omar Zein Abedeen said that the 75-year-old al-Bashir would not be extradited to the International Criminal Court, based in The Hague, Netherlands, saying doing so would be "an ugly mark on Sudan."

"Even rebels carrying weapons, we don't extradite them," he told reporters at a news conference in Khartoum.

Zein Abedeen said Sudanese courts would hold al-Bashir "accountable," but did not specify what charges he could be prosecuted on. After his arrest, the military denounced him and his government for corruption, maladministration and "lack of justice."

The developments point to the sensitivity of the Darfur conflict for the military that arrested al-Bashir after four months of deadly street demonstration against his 30-year rule.

The protesters rejected ibn Ouf's leadership because he was head of military intelligence during the brutal campaign to suppress the Darfur insurgency in the 2000s. The United States has imposed sanctions on him since 2007, saying he armed and directed pro-government militias known as the Janjaweed, accused of widespread atrocities against civilians and rapes during the conflict.

The move also underscores the limits on the reach of the International Criminal Court. On Friday, ICC judges rejected a request by the court's prosecutor to open an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan and alleged crimes by U.S. forces there, in part because the U.S., Afghan government and Taliban are not expected to cooperate.

In the Darfur conflict, rebels among the territory's ethnic Central African community launched an insurgency in 2003, complaining of discrimination and oppression by the Arab-dominated Khartoum government. The government responded with a scorched earth assault of aerial bombings and unleashed the Janjaweed. Up to 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million driven from their homes.

Along with al-Bashir, the ICC has indicted two other senior figures in his regime - Abdel-Rahim Muhammad Hussein, who was interior and defense minister during much of the conflict, and Ahmed Haroun, a senior security chief at the time who last month was named by al-Bashir to run the ruling National Congress Party.

Both were among those reported by the Sudanese media to have been arrested Thursday in a sweep by the military against al-Bashir's inner circle. Zein Abedeen confirmed the media reports Friday without specifying the two men.

An ICC spokesman declined to comment on al-Bashir's case. On Thursday, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch urged the Sudanese military to hand over the ousted leader. "Victims of the gravest crimes in Darfur should not have to wait any longer for justice," said Jehanne Henry, associate director at Human Rights Watch.

Meanwhile, Zein Abedeen sought to reassure protesters who, while celebrating al-Bashir's removal, oppose the military's seizure of power. After ousting the president, the military announced it would rule the country for two years through a transitional council. It also suspended the constitution, dissolved the government, declared a three-month state of emergency and imposed a night-time curfew.

Protest organizers have vowed not to end their street action until a civilian transitional council is formed, saying rule by military commanders who for years were al-Bashir loyalists is just an extension of his regime.

The curfew and state of emergency have raised fears the military could eventually disperse the sit-in by force. But at least initially, it appears to be trying to persuade protest organizers to end the campaign.

Speaking at a news conference aired live on state TV and flanked by other uniformed officers, Zein Abedeen insisted the army has no ambition to hold the reins of power for long.

"If within a month, Sudan became able to run itself without chaos, we are ready to leave even after a month. The maximum is two years," he said. He said the military would only appoint the defense and interior ministers in any transitional government and would not interfere.

"This was not a coup," but a "tool of change," he said. "We came ... to guide the country forward."

But protest organizers rejected the military's assurances, calling them "deception and farce."

The Sudanese Professionals Association, which has spearheaded the four months of demonstrations against al-Bashir, said the "coup leaders ... are not eligible to bring change," and repeated demands for the "immediate handover of power to a civilian transitional government."

At the sit-in, the mood was festive. Some protesters brought in mattresses, fans and even air conditioners, while others swept the streets to keep them clean, signaling they intend to stay long-term. As thousands of Muslim worshippers lined up in the street to hold prayers, Christians among the protesters held blankets over them to shade them from the sun in a show of solidarity.

There were also signs of cracks among al-Bashir's former loyalists. On Friday, the commander of Sudan's feared Rapid Support Force, a paramilitary force, expressed support for the protesters, saying the forces will not "accept any solutions rejected by the Sudanese people" and called for dialogue so Sudan would "avoid slipping into chaos."

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Associated Press writer Sarah el-Deeb in Beirut contributed to this report.

Demonstrators gather in Sudan's capital of Khartoum, Friday, April 12, 2019. The Sudanese protest movement has rejected the military's declaration that it has no ambitions to hold the reins of power for long after ousting the president of 30 years, Omar al-Bashir. (AP Photo)

Demonstrators gather in Sudan's capital of Khartoum, Friday, April 12, 2019. The Sudanese protest movement has rejected the military's declaration that it has no ambitions to hold the reins of power for long after ousting the president of 30 years, Omar al-Bashir. (AP Photo)
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - Suspected Islamist militants abducted two Cuban doctors in an ambush that killed a police bodyguard in northern Kenya near the Somali border, officials said Friday.

It was the second abduction of a foreigner in five months likely carried out by the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group, which is based in Somalia.

The gunmen may have taken the doctors into Somalia, police spokesman Charlse Owino said. He said the doctors' driver had been detained to help with investigations.

The doctors were ambushed as they headed to work, said David Ohito, communications director for the Mandera county government.

Gov. Ali Roba said the gunmen's vehicle blocked the doctors' vehicle "and opened fire at their bodyguards, killing one instantly." Al-Shabab was suspected, the governor said.

Cuba's Health Ministry identified the doctors as Assel Herrera Corea, a general physician from the eastern province of Las Tunas, and Landy Rodriguez Hernandez, a surgeon from the central province of Villa Clara.

Herrera's Facebook page shows recent photos of him in Kenya and indicates he earlier worked in Venezuela and Brazil.

The ministry said it had established channels of communication with Kenyan authorities and established a governmental working group to deal with the case.

At least 100 Cuban doctors have been brought in Kenya in an exchange program that saw about 50 Kenyans travel to Cuba for specialized training last year.

In November an Italian volunteer, Silvia Romano, was kidnapped in southern Kenya's coastal region by gunmen linked to al-Shabab. She has not been found.

Kidnapping for ransom was a frequent al-Shabab activity before 2011. That's when Kenya sent troops into Somalia to fight the extremists who had kidnapped four Europeans that year. Kenya said the abductions threatened tourism, a key pillar of the economy.

Kenyan troops are now part of the multinational African Union force bolstering Somalia's weak government against al-Shabab. The extremist group has vowed retribution on Kenya for its troop presence in Somalia.

Al-Shabab's deadly attack on a luxury hotel complex in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, in January was one of numerous attacks inside Kenya that have killed hundreds since 2011.

Mandera county's border area has borne the brunt of the attacks.

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Associated Press writer Andrea Rodriguez in Havana contributed.

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Election officials sailed boats and ships, trekked through dense forest and summited mountains to carry voting machines to even the most remote parts of India for national elections.

The mammoth vote that began on Thursday ends May 19, and counting will he held on May 23.

Four people were killed in election-related clashes in three Indian states.

Still, in most places, the atmosphere was festive with men and women in colorful traditional attire heading to voting stations to cast ballots on electronic voting machines. Voting also took place in parts of troubled Kashmir where insurgents fighting against Indian rule called for a boycott.

The elections are widely seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has been credited by supporters with India's booming economy but criticized for engendering anti-Muslim sentiment.

The main opposition Congress party chief Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi are contesting for parliamentary seats from northern Uttar Pradesh state. Amid much fanfare, supporters waved party flags with the open, palm-facing hand symbol and shouted: "Long live Rahul Gandhi" and "Long live Sonia Gandhi" as they accompanied their leaders in slow-moving parades to submit the nomination documents at election offices.

In this April 10, 2019, photo, election officials and paramilitary soldiers with election materials board on a country boat to cross the river Brahmaputra on the eve of the first phase of general election in Majuli, Assam, India. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath, File)

With 900 million of India's 1.3 billion people registered to vote, it is the world's largest democratic exercise, and the largest-ever election. Over the seven phases of voting, 543 Lok Sahba seats will be decided at about a million polling stations across India.

In this April 11, 2019, photo, Kashmiri voters stand in a queue to cast their votes outside a polling station at Shadipora, outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan, File)

In this April 10, 2019, photo, Indian election officials and paramilitary soldiers with election materials walk along the river Brahmaputra to board on a country boat on the eve of the first phase of general election in Majuli, Assam, India. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath, File)

In this April 11, 2019, photo, Mishing tribal women show the indelible ink marks on their index fingers after casting their votes in Majuli, Assam, India. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath, File)

In this April 11, 2019, photo, polling officer puts indelible ink mark on the index finger of a voter during the first phase of general elections in Majuli, Assam, India. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath, File)

In this April 10, 2019, photo, polling officials wait to receive electronic voting machines and voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) on the eve of the first phase of general election in Majuli, Assam, India. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

In this April 10, 2019, photo, Congress party chief Rahul Gandhi, center in white, accompanied by his sister Priyanka Vadra in red arrives to file his nomination papers for the upcoming general elections in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh state, India. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh, File)

In this April 10, 2019, photo, polling officials check electronic voting machines before leaving for their polling booths in Jammu, India. (AP Photo/Channi Anand, File)

In this April 10, 2019, photo, polling officers collect election materials for the first phase of general elections, in Ghaziabad, outskirts of New Delhi, India. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File)

In this Tuesday, April 9, 2019, photo, workers remove banners with pictures of candidates from election campaigning vehicles as part of enforcing election laws in Hyderabad, India. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A., File)

In this April 9, 2019, photo, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters cheer at an election campaign rally in Hyderabad, India. (AP Photo/ Mahesh Kumar A.,File)

In this Monday, April 8, 2019, photo, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi releases Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP's manifesto for the upcoming general elections in New Delhi, India. Modi came to power in 2014 promising big-ticket economic reforms. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File)

In this April 9, 2019, photo, young men walk past a wall with an election awareness message in Hyderabad, India. (AP Photo/ Mahesh Kumar A., File)
BEIJING (AP) - China's exports rebounded from a slump in March and sales to the United States rose despite President Donald Trump's tariff hikes.

Exports rose 14.2% over a year ago to $198.7 billion, recovering from February's 20.8% contraction, customs data showed Friday. Imports fell 7.6% to $166 billion, worsening the previous month's 5.2% decline.

Exports to the United States rose 3.7% to $31.8 billion, recovering from February's 28.6% decline despite Trump's tariffs of up to 25% on $250 billion of Chines goods.

Imports of American goods plunged 25.8% to $11.3 billion, hit by Chinese retaliatory duties and orders to buyers to find other suppliers.

The slump has added to pressure on Chinese leaders to make peace in a tariff war with Washington over Beijing's technology ambitions.

"Exports have yet to fully recover from a sharp slowdown late last year," said Julians Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics in a report.

In this April 1, 2019, photo, tugboats move a container ship at a port in Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong Province. Data released Friday, April 12, 2019, shows that China's exports rebounded from a contraction in March and sales to the United States grew strongly despite President Donald Trump's tariff hikes.(Chinatopix via AP)

Chinese government spokespeople said Thursday talks with Washington were making progress after nine rounds of negotiations. The latest three-day meeting in Washington last week dealt with technology transfer, intellectual property rights, agriculture and enforcement.

Economists say a settlement appears increasingly like. But they say even if that happens, this year's Chinese exports will be lackluster.

Washington is pressing Beijing to scale back plans for government-led creation of Chinese competitors in robotics and other technologies. Europe, Japan and other trading partners echo U.S. complaints those violate Beijing's market-opening commitments.

The fight has disrupted trade in goods ranging from soybeans to medical equipment. The dispute has rattled financial markets and prompted the International Monetary Fund and other forecasters to lower their outlook for global economic growth.

"The reversal of U.S. tariffs would only provide a small boost to exports of around 1% to 2%," said Evans-Pritchard. "With global growth set to remain weak in the coming quarters, a strong rebound in exports therefore looks unlikely."

Chinese exports to the 28-nation European Union rose 23.7% over a year earlier to $33.1 billion. Imports of European goods fell 4.9% to $22 billion.

Exports to the United States grew by double digits through most of 2018 despite Trump's tariff hikes starting in July. But they slid in December once the full impact hit.

Exports to the United States in January and February fell 14.1% from a year earlier.
TOKYO (AP) - The Latest on the arrest of former auto industry leader Carlos Ghosn (all times local):

5:10 p.m.

The new board of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance is holding its first meeting to plot out the group's future without jailed former boss Carlos Ghosn.

The board is meant to replace a Ghosn-driven, Netherlands-based leadership structure that has come under scrutiny since Ghosn's first arrest in November. He has been repeatedly arrested on allegations of financial misconduct that he vigorously denies.

Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard leads the new board, which includes the CEOs of all three carmakers and met Friday in Paris. It will oversee shared projects such as developing batteries and more autonomous driving functions in their cars.

Without the hard-driving, attention-getting Ghosn at the helm, some have expressed concern about the viability of the alliance. Meanwhile, the scandal around the alleged financial wrongdoing remains a major distraction for all three carmakers.

FILE - This Friday Sept. 15, 2017 file photo shows the logo of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance during a press conference in Paris. The new board of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance is holding its first meeting to plot out the group's future without jailed former boss Carlos Ghosn. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

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4:00 p.m.

The detention of Nissan's former Chairman Carlos Ghosn on suspicion of financial misconduct has been approved through April 22.

Ghosn was arrested in November, released on bail last month but re-arrested last week on fresh allegations. The Tokyo District Court on Friday approved prosecutors' request to continue to hold Ghosn at Tokyo Detention Center.

He has been charged with falsifying financial documents in under-reporting his compensation and with breach of trust in using Nissan Motor Co. money for dubious payments.

Ghosn led the Japanese automaker for two decades and says he is innocent of the accusations that led to his downfall.
WASHINGTON (AP) - It was a far cry from "I love WikiLeaks!"

President Donald Trump declared that "I know nothing about WikiLeaks" after its disheveled founder Julian Assange was hauled out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to face charges, a stark contrast to how candidate Trump showered praise on Assange's hacking organization night after night during the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign.

Asked about Thursday's arrest, Trump said at the White House, "It's not my thing. I know there is something having to do with Julian Assange. I've been seeing what's happened with Assange and that will be a determination, I would imagine, mostly by the attorney general, who's doing an excellent job. So, he'll be making a determination . I know nothing really about him."

"It's not my deal in life."

But WikiLeaks was Trump's deal in 2016 as he welcomed the political boost his campaign got and cheered on the release of Clinton campaign emails.

On the same October day that the "Access Hollywood" tape emerged, revealing that Trump had bragged in 2005 about groping women, WikiLeaks began releasing damaging emails from Hillary Clinton's campaign manager, John Podesta. Trump and his allies, facing a tough battle in the campaign's final month, seized on the illegal dumps and weaponized them.

President Donald Trump listens to South Korean President Moon Jae-in speak during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, April 11, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

"WikiLeaks, I love WikiLeaks," Trump said in Pennsylvania.

"This WikiLeaks is like a treasure trove," Trump said in Michigan.

"Boy, I love reading WikiLeaks," Trump said in Ohio.

All told, Trump extolled WikiLeaks more than 100 times, and a poster of Assange hung backstage at the Republican's debate war room. At no point from a rally stage did Trump express any misgivings about how WikiLeaks obtained the emails from the Clinton campaign or about the accusations of stealing sensitive U.S. government information, which led to the charges against Assange on Thursday.

Assange for years has been under U.S. Justice Department scrutiny for WikiLeaks' role in publishing thousands of government secrets. He was an important figure in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe, as investigators examined how WikiLeaks obtained emails that were stolen from Democratic groups.

When asked about Assange in 2017, Trump said he did not "support or unsupport" WikiLeaks' move to release hacked emails and that he would not be involved in any decision for the U.S. government to arrest Assange.

"I am not involved in that decision," whether or not to arrest Assange, Trump told The Associated Press then, "but if they want to do it, it's OK with me."

The Justice Department now has charged Assange with taking part in a computer hacking conspiracy, accusing him of scheming with Chelsea Manning, a former Army intelligence analyst, to break a password for a classified government computer.

The single charge of computer intrusion conspiracy carries up to five years in prison, though the Justice Department can add additional charges depending on the evidence it gathers. Manning was ordered jailed last month for refusing to testify before a grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, suggesting that prosecutors are still at work.

It was unclear why the Assange charge, which was brought under seal last year, was made public at this time and why he was taken into custody now - weeks after Mueller's investigation had concluded. None of the allegations in the case relate to Russian election interference or WikiLeaks' role in publishing emails stolen from Democrats by Russian intelligence operatives.

An indictment against 12 Russians last year described WikiLeaks' role in publishing hacked emails in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. Though the indictment said WikiLeaks had worked to coordinate the release of information, there was no allegation that the organization solicited the hacking of Democratic email accounts or worked with Russians.

Assange's arrest provoked passionate responses overseas, and from some who had expressed concern about whistleblower protections, but the initial bipartisan reaction in Washington was relief.

"I'm glad to see the wheels of justice are finally turning when it comes to Julian Assange," tweeted Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a Trump ally. "In my book, he has NEVER been a hero. His actions - releasing classified information - put our troops at risk and jeopardized the lives of those who helped us in Iraq and Afghanistan."

And Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, ranking Democrat on the intelligence committee, said he hoped the British courts would quickly transfer Assange to U.S. custody "so he can finally get the justice he deserves."

Assange's lawyer has previously said he planned to fight any U.S. charges against him. Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2012 after he was released on bail in Britain while facing extradition to Sweden on sexual assault allegations that have since been dropped. British police said Assange had been arrested Thursday for breaching his bail conditions and in relation to the U.S. arrest request.

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Lemire reported from New York. Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed from Washington.

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Follow Lemire on Twitter at http://twitter.com/@JonLemire and Tucker at http://twitter.com/@etuckerAP

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Follow AP's coverage of the arrest of WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange: https://www.apnews.com/WikiLeaks

President Donald Trump meets with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, April 11, 2019, in Washington. Trump declared that "I know nothing about WikiLeaks" after its disheveled founder Julian Assange was hauled out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to face charges, a stark contrast to how candidate Trump showered praise on Assange's hacking organization night after night during the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
JUBA, South Sudan (AP) - The military overthrow of Sudan's longtime president quickly has raised concerns about whether the upheaval will destabilize neighboring South Sudan's fragile efforts at peace after five years of civil war.

Amid the laughter and applause on the streets of South Sudan's capital, Juba, moments after the ouster on Thursday, there was worry about what will happen now that Omar al-Bashir , who helped broker a South Sudan peace deal last year, is gone.

"It is too early to celebrate," Jacob Chol, senior political analyst and professor at the University of Juba, told The Associated Press. Al-Bashir's fall is likely to have a negative impact as he pushed South Sudan's warring parties to implement the peace agreement and he's no longer "on the throne," he said.

Al-Bashir for decades had waged fighting with southern Sudan, which ultimately separated from the north in 2011 and became South Sudan, the world's youngest nation. Since the split al-Bashir's relationship slowly evolved into one of peacemaker, though with an eye on the oil-rich region that is now part of South Sudan.

If Khartoum is no longer able to project its power onto Juba, it will be up to South Sudan's leaders to decide whether they want to move forward with the peace process and they may have to do it on their own, said Alan Boswell, senior analyst with the International Crisis Group.

The peace deal signed in September has been fraught with delays and outbreaks of fighting.

In this photo taken Thursday, April 11, 2019, a young merchant carrying brooms to sell walks along a street after the recent ousting of Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, in the capital Juba, South Sudan. The military overthrow of Sudan's longtime president quickly has raised concerns about whether the upheaval will destabilize neighbouring South Sudan's fragile efforts at peace after five years of civil war. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick)

In a month's time, opposition leader Riek Machar is expected to return to South Sudan to once again serve as President Salva Kiir's deputy, an arrangement that has ended more than once in deadly fighting. But key parts of the peace deal have yet to be implemented including the defining of internal boundaries and creating a unified national army.

In a report last month the International Crisis Group warned of a "high risk of collapse."

On Thursday at a retreat at the Vatican, Pope Francis knelt and kissed the feet of South Sudan's rival leaders in an unprecedented act of humbleness to encourage them to strengthen the African country's faltering peace process.

South Sudan's government denied that al-Bashir's removal will affect it.

"The peace agreement is not based on a person. It was based on institutions," government spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny said.

Whoever comes into power next in Sudan is an internal matter, he said.

On the streets of Juba, crowds gathered to discuss al-Bashir's removal and Sudan's future.

"There are children who have spent all their lives under al-Bashir. Congratulations to the youth in Sudan. They shouldn't have to live with a dictator," said Martin Wani, a businessman.

Some South Sudanese sent messages of peace to their neighbors.

"War anywhere in the world is hopeless. It's time both of the Sudans lived in peace," said Akon Kual, a car mechanic.

Recent economic turmoil in Sudan sent some to live in South Sudan instead. Ismail Alteib said he arrived in Juba four years ago because it was a better option than living in Khartoum. Now that al-Bashir is out of power Alteib is considering going home.

"I knew the day would come when he'd have to go," the shopkeeper said of the longtime leader.

After al-Bashir's ouster, Sudan's defense minister, Awad Mohammed Ibn Ouf, announced two years of military rule, enraging protesters who want democratic change and civilian leaders.

Not everyone was distressed. Standing on the street in Juba, Sudanese native Zakaria Hassan said the people already had forced crucial change for years to come.

"The youth have been awakened," Hassan said. "Anyone who goes into the office next will know that the youth are watching and will have to be very careful."

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TIRANA, Albania (AP) - Prosecutors have confiscated public land on the western Albanian coast that was illegally sold or owned by a former lawmaker and other officials.

A statement Friday said that prosecutors seized 30 hectares (75 acres) of public land in Lezha district, 50 kilometers (30 miles) northwest of the capital, Tirana, estimated to be worth some 40 million euro ($45 million.)

Arben Ndoka, a former lawmaker, and about two dozen others have allegedly falsified documents for the land to be sold at inflated prices for development as tourist resorts, or at symbolic prices to fictitious owners.

Ndoka, who is under house arrest, denied the allegations.

Albania is working on fighting corruption as part of its bid to join the European Union.
BERLIN (AP) - An Austrian music festival is apologizing to British grime artist Stormzy, who pulled out of an appearance after accusing security staff of racial profiling.

Snowbombing festival organizers said security responded Wednesday night to a report that an individual at the show in Mayrhofen had a weapon, and a small number of people, including Stormzy's manager, were searched .

Stormzy said on Instagram his friends were "racially profiled, targeted and aggressively handled ... despite no one fitting the description."

Stormzy offered his "sincerest apologies" to disappointed fans but said "if these are the drastic steps that I need to take to make a point against racism and racial profiling, then trust me I'm taking it."

Snowbombing said Thursday they "wholeheartedly apologize to Stormzy's team" and will take steps to ensure it doesn't happen again.
SANAA, Yemen (AP) - Yemen's President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has attended a rare session of parliament in an eastern city.

The House of Representatives convened Saturday in Sayoun for the first time since war broke out in March 2015 between the Houthi rebels, who control the capital, Sanaa, and a Saudi-led coalition backing the government.

More than 130 lawmakers attended the session and elected Sultan al-Borkani as speaker. The 301-member assembly was elected to a six-year term in 2009. It is split between Houthi supporters, government supporters and independents.

Yemen's government has been based in the southern city of Aden since 2015, but Hadi and other top officials live in Saudi Arabia. Local authorities in Aden, who are allied with the United Arab Emirates, refused to allow parliament to convene there.
Rescuers struggled Monday to reach villages in southern Nepal cut off by a powerful rainstorm that killed at least 28 people and injured hundreds more.

High winds during the storm Sunday night flipped cars and blew a bus carrying at least 40 people off a road.

Police said most of the deaths were caused by collapsing walls and falling bricks in homes and toppled trees and electricity poles.

The storm swept through villages in a farming region in Bara and Parsa districts.

A woman carries her one-month-old child as she stands at the entrance of her damaged house (Niranjan Shrestha/AP)

The government administrator in Bara, Rajesh Poudel, said Monday that 27 were killed there. One person died in neighbouring Parsa, administrator Narayan Bhattarai said.

The countrys prime minister Khadga Prasad Oli cancelled a visit to western Nepal and was flying to the area to observe rescue efforts, his office said.

The National Emergency Operation Centre in Kathmandu said 612 people were injured and teams with tents and other material were sent to the area.

Villagers gathered what they could salvage from what was left of their homes in Bharwalia village, where most people live in huts made of mud and bricks with straw and stone roofs.

Most of the huts were blown down by the strong winds, leaving people without shelter or food.

Women grieve the deaths of their relatives (Niranjan Shrestha/AP)

The storm took everything we had, including all the goods we had. We have no food to eat or any roof over our heads, said Jebeda Khatung, who was digging through the debris in hopes of finding some of her belongings.

The weather was clearer Monday, and helicopters were expected to begin taking the injured to medical facilities.

Local television showed the injured being taken to a hospital in cars, ambulances and even on motorcycles, but roads in many villages were blocked by fallen trees and electricity poles.
Nicola Sturgeon has said her partys preference is for no Brexit, rather than a soft Brexit, ahead of further votes at Westminster.

A second round of indicative votes will be held on Monday, with a series of proposals tabled by MPs to see if any can command a majority.

The First Minister suggested a proposal put forward by SNP MP Joanna Cherry calling on the UK Government to revoke Article 50 if no extension can be obtained is the most important motion being tabled.

Last week, none of the eight alternatives to Prime Minister Theresa Mays deal proposed by MPs were approved.

The most important motion laid today is this one from @joannaccherry - it makes revoking Article 50, rather than a no deal Brexit, the default option if Parliament cant agree a way forward. I hope all parties will support. #RevokeArt50 https://t.co/prwIGCiP6v  Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) April 1, 2019

Ms Sturgeon tweeted on Monday: The most important motion laid today is this one from Joanna Cherry  it makes revoking Article 50, rather than a no-deal Brexit, the default option if Parliament cant agree a way forward.

I hope all parties will support.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in the debating chamber during First Ministers Questions at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Ms Sturgeon said SNP MPs would decide how to vote when proposals are selected later.

Todays vote is not on a preferential basis so there may be an opportunity to keep alive least worst options against no deal/hard Brexit, she said.

But to be clear, our preference is not soft Brexit  it is no Brexit.

At First Ministers Questions in the Scottish Parliament last week, Ms Sturgeon said the SNP had argued for a single market/customs union membership compromise for two years when stopping Brexit did not appear to be an option.

She suggested putting the question of EU membership back to the people in a referendum would now be the right thing to do.
The Duchess of Sussex is expected to break with modern royal tradition by not having her baby at the Lindo Wing.

Meghan is said to have decided against following in the footsteps of the Duchess of Cambridge, who gave birth to all three of her children at the private maternity centre at St Marys Hospital in Paddington, London.

The Lindo was also where the late Princess of Wales delivered Princes William and Harry, and the exclusive wing was used by the Princess Royal for the births of her two children.

Meghan could choose the Mulberry Birth Centre at Frimley Park Hospital in Camberley, Surrey, which is 15 miles from Frogmore Cottage, or the Juniper Birth Centre at Wexham Park Hospital  which both offer a home-from-home environment for lower-risk births.

If Meghan is treated the same as other pregnant mothers, she will be subject to a first-come, first-served scenario  so could miss out on using the birthing centres if they are already full when she goes into labour.

Frimley Park Hospital in Frimley, Surrey (PA)

The Mulberry Birth Centre at Frimley Park has five birth rooms, with en-suite facilities and one which includes a birthing pool with mood lighting.

At Frimley Park Hospital, mothers who wish for extra privacy after the birth of their baby can pay for a private single room.

But these cannot be booked in advance and do not have en-suite facilities.

At Wexham Park Hospital there are two amenity rooms which NHS patients can pay for after the birth. They cost 190 each, are first-come first-served and cannot be booked ahead of schedule.

Frimley Park was the hospital that helped save the life of the Countess of Wessex following complications during the premature birth of her daughter, Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor.

The Earl and Countess of Wessex leave Frimley Park Hospital with Lady Louise (PA)

Louise was the Queens first grandchild to be born in an NHS hospital.

Sophies son, Viscount Severn, was also born there in 2007.

Other options for Meghan could include another private hospital, or a home birth  as always used to be the custom for royal babies.

Meghan could be attended by Guy Thorpe-Beeston, surgeon-gynaecologist to the royal household, and Alan Farthing, the Queens surgeon-gynaecologist, who cared for Kate during her deliveries.

Kensington Palace declined to comment.
Mozambiques cyclone-hit city of Beira has confirmed its first death from cholera, as the number of cases of the disease has jumped to 517.

To control the outbreak, emergency clinics have been set up across Beira, a city of 500,000, said Mozambican national health director Ussene Isse, according to broadcaster TVM.

Cases of the acute disease have risen dramatically since the first five cases were confirmed last week.

Cyclone Idai severely damaged the water system for Beira when it hit on March 14.

A mother bathes her baby in a bucket (Tsvangirai Mukwhazi/AP)

Some 900,000 cholera vaccine doses were set to arrive on Monday, according to the World Health Organisation.

Cholera is spread by contaminated water and food.

It can kill within hours but is relatively easy to treat.

Mozambique: #CycloneIdai destroyed water and sanitation systems, creating the ideal conditions for cholera.



Mobile clinics are helping to reach out to remote communities, to help prevent more cases of cholera.



Our response: https://t.co/rHouRi9yYx pic.twitter.com/KBIQrbEZKA  Doctors w/o Borders (@MSF_USA) March 30, 2019

The overall cyclone death toll in Mozambique is now 518.

With 259 deaths in Zimbabwe and 56 in Malawi, the three-nation death toll is more than 815.

Authorities warn the tolls are preliminary as flood waters recede and reveal more bodies.

The Chinese government has sent doctors and emergency workers to fight the cholera outbreak in Beira and Chinese aid workers sprayed anti-cholera disinfectant in parts of the port city.

A young boy is seen outside a displacement camp (Tsvangirai Mukwazhi/AP)

The US military joined the international humanitarian aid efforts to Mozambique by airlifting food and relief supplies from South Africa.

Round-the-clock flights are delivering supplies from the UN World Food Programme from King Shaka International Airport in Durban, South Africa, said Robert Mearkle, US embassy spokesman.

He said the commodities airlifted from Durban were from the World Food Programmes internal stock.

With support from @gavi, 900,000 doses of oral #cholera vaccine from the global stockpile for emergency use are on their way to #Mozambique to help contain the spread of this infectious disease #CycloneIdai pic.twitter.com/gddHBzxXiW  OMS Mocambique (@OMSMocambique) March 28, 2019

Separately from these shipments, the United States has provided nearly 3.4 million US dollars in additional funding for the World Food Programme to deliver approximately 2,500 metric tons of rice, peas, and vegetable oil to affected people in Sofala, Zambezia, and Manica provinces, said Mr Mearkle.

This lifesaving emergency food assistance will support approximately 160,000 people for one month.

Beiras crowded, poor neighbourhoods are especially at risk.

A woman fetches water from an unprotected source (Tsvangirai Mukwazhi/AP)

Doctors Without Borders has said it is seeing some 200 likely cholera cases per day in the city, where relief workers are hurrying to restore the damaged water system and bring in additional medical assistance.

Cholera 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.

As health personnel stress the need for better disease surveillance, the United Nations deputy humanitarian coordinator in Mozambique, Sebastian Rhodes Stampa, has said all cases of diarrhoea are being treated as though they are cholera.

A World Food Programme(WFP) plane takes off from Beira (Tsvangirai Mukwazhi/AP)

Cholera is endemic to the region, and it breaks out fast and it travels extremely fast, he told reporters.

Doctors Without Borders has said other suspected cholera cases have been reported outside Beira in the badly hit areas of Buzi, Tica and Nhamathanda but the chance of spread in rural areas is smaller because people are more dispersed.

Mozambican officials have said Cyclone Idai destroyed more than 50 health centres in the region, complicating response efforts.

The United Nations has said some 1.8 million people need urgent help across the sodden, largely rural region.
The Prime Minister has warned we cannot simply arrest ourselves out of the problem of violent crime as the Government announced new measures that could hold teachers, nurses and police officers to account.

Opening a summit in Downing Street on Monday, Theresa May said tackling knife violence is a priority for ministers as well as families, young people and communities across the country.

More than 100 experts will meet this week after the Government unveiled new plans which could see frontline workers in schools, hospitals and police stations accountable for failing to spot warning signs of violent crime among young people.

The gathering inside Downing Street (Adrian Dennis/PA)

Home Secretary Sajid Javid floated the idea of a so-called public health duty intended to help spot the warning signs that a young person could be in danger, such as presenting in A&E with a suspicious injury, to worrying behaviour at school or issues at home.

(PA Graphics)

A consultation in England and Wales will assess the extent to which those on the front line will be held to account for failing to prevent a young person getting involved in violence, a Home Office spokesman said.

The proposals are similar to the successful approach taken in Scotland, where knife crime has been treated as a public health issue for more than a decade, with a significant reduction in stabbings in Glasgow.

Mrs May is hosting the serious youth violence summit from Monday, with experts including Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, Patrick Green from the Ben Kinsella Trust, and Baroness Newlove, the Victims Commissioner for England and Wales, whose husband Garry was beaten to death by a gang vandalising his car in 2007.

Opening the event, she said: In the recent months we know we have seen an appalling number of young lives cut short or devastated by serious violent crime, including of course a number of horrifying incidents that took place just over this weekend.

As we look at whats happened, of course what we also see is that in many cases the perpetrators of these crimes are as young as their victims and this is something that has to be something of deep concern to us all.

The Prime Minister said the problem affects us collectively as a society and must be tackled in a co-ordinated way.

Of course we will always make sure that the resources and tools are there to be able to apprehend and deal with those who are carrying and using knives and that the police have what they need to do, she said.

But we cannot simply arrest ourselves out of this problem.

This is a wider problem, it is more deep-seated and we have to have a more coordinated effort.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid speaks with police officers (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

It comes a day after Mr Javid, who is also attending the summit, granted police new powers to increase stop and search activity following a spate of bloodshed across London and the rest of England since the start of 2019.

Mr Javid said: Violent crime is like a disease rotting our society and its essential that all public bodies work together to treat the root causes.

The public health, multi-agency approach has a proven track record and Im confident that making it a legal duty will help stop this senseless violence and create long-term change.

Im committed to ending this scourge and will use all the tools at my disposal to do so.

As well as the summit, The Prime Minister will also meet privately with the families of a number of victims of knife crime to listen to their first-hand experiences of this issue.

Writing in the Daily Mail on Monday, Mrs May and Mr Javid added: Of course, nothing we say or do this week will bring back the children who were so cruelly taken from them.

But we can promise that we will do whatever it takes to confront and defeat the scourge of youth violence. And that we will do everything in our power to stop more families suffering as they have suffered.

The consultation, mooted by Mr Javid in the Commons four weeks ago, will open on Monday until May 28 to the public and professionals across the UK.

It follows days of violence across the country, including a slew of serious stabbings in Edmonton, north London, from Saturday night into Sunday morning, as well as the death of a 40-year-old motorist at the wheel of his vehicle in Clapham, south-west London, and a 29-year-old fatally stabbed on Thursday afternoon in Toxteth, Liverpool.

(PA Graphics)

There were 285 homicides where the method of killing was by a knife or sharp instrument in the year to March 2018  the highest number since records started in 1946.

Mrs May came under fire last month after she suggested that police cuts were not to blame for a spate of fatal stabbings on teenagers.

Senior figures in policing were at odds with the Prime Minister as they called for a reverse to slashes in staffing levels.

On Monday, Mike Cunningham, chief executive of the College of Policing, welcomed recent announcements on extra measures and funding, but warned against the assumption that with more resources, policing alone can solve this problem.

If partners across health, education and local government play their part, we can make a real difference and help prevent more tragic deaths, he told Sky News.

However, one of those attending the summit, Martin Hewitt  the new chair of the National Police Chiefs Council, suggested the proposed funding boost is not enough.

Today, @MHewittNPCC takes his position as Chair of the National Police Chiefs Council https://t.co/ZzQQZgyFAB pic.twitter.com/NYaiZCPIAC  National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) (@PoliceChiefs) April 1, 2019

He wrote in a blog: This year there will be 970 million more for policing than the previous year  that is positive but its not enough to meet all the challenges that the service faces.

So an important part of my role will be working with policing and crime commissioners and the Home Office to make an evidence-based case for increased investment in the forthcoming government spending review as well as developing ambitious plans to maximise every penny we have.

Others have suggested the proposals could put greater pressure on frontline staff.

Royal College of Nursing acting chief executive and general secretary Dame Donna Kinnair said: With almost 40,000 nursing vacancies in England alone, nurses are already concerned about providing safe and effective care with such widespread staff shortages.

Nursing staff already have a key role in safeguarding patients, whether thats working in the community, in schools or in hospitals and its unclear how putting a further obligation on our members, already working incredibly hard to do all they can for patients, will prevent violent crime.

Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said: Neither the blame for or the solution to violent crime can be laid at the door of schools or frontline hospital staff.

Schools already have strong safeguarding practices in place and staff will be alerted to any issues of concern.

The problem is what happens after issues of concern have been identified.

Schools have lost pastoral support, special needs teachers and school counsellors.
A teenager has been charged after three cyclists were pushed into a canal in Edinburgh.

The men were targeted in separate incidents as they cycled along the Union Canal between 5pm and 9.15pm on Wednesday.

Police said they were confronted by a group of youths on the path near Murrayburn and Wester Hailes and were pushed into the water.

The three cyclists all managed to get out of the canal themselves but suffered minor injuries.

Police said a 17-year-old boy has been charged with a number of alleged assaults.

Sergeant Alex Dickson from the South West Community Team said: We would like to thank the public for their positive response in relation to these incidents which was of great assistance during the inquiry.

Police said a 17-year-old boy has been arrested (David Cheskin/PA)

A report has been sent to the procurator fiscal.
Conservative MPs are to be given a free vote as the House of Commons seeks an alternative to Theresa Mays EU withdrawal deal, but Cabinet ministers will be told to abstain.

MPs are set to take back control of the Brexit agenda on Monday in a second round of indicative votes on a series of rival proposals tabled by backbenchers, to see if any can command a majority.

Alternatives on offer include a customs agreement with the EU, a second referendum on any deal and a power for MPs to vote to block a no-deal Brexit.

If a majority coalesces behind any plan, MPs are expected to seek to pass legislation on Wednesday to try to force the Government to act on it.

The move comes as Mrs May struggles to contain the rising tensions with her Cabinet as the clock counts down to the latest EU deadline on April 12.

Despite seeing her deal again defeated on Friday, the Prime Minister is determined to bring it back to the Commons for a fourth time in a final roll of the dice to get it over the line.

Downing Street sources confirmed that the Government will whip against the business motion enabling Mondays indicative votes to go ahead.

She has previously warned that the unusual procedure  first used on Brexit last Wednesday without producing a majority for any option  risks creating a harmful constitutional precedent.

Mrs May spent the weekend trying to build support among MPs who could be won over, with aides saying she was 100% focused on getting the result she needed.

(PA Graphics)

Some in Parliament believe that if MPs begin to gather around a softer Brexit, it may finally convince Brexiteer hold-outs that the PMs deal now represents the hardest break with the EU available.

But Democratic Unionist Party Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson insisted the party would continue to vote against Mrs Mays EU withdrawal deal, which he said would would take us away from the country that we fought to stay part of.

The pro-EU Justice Secretary David Gauke warned Mrs May not to ignore the will of Parliament if it does swing behind a softer deal such as the customs union plan proposed by Tory veteran Ken Clarke, which came closest to gaining a majority in the first round of indicative votes.

In an open letter to MPs, the chief executive of Siemens UK urged them to unite around a customs union compromise which he said was essential to frictionless trade and would save companies billions each year.

Juergen Maier warned that the UK used to be a beacon for stability, but is now becoming a laughing stock.

His comments came after German deputy foreign minister Michael Roth lashed out at Brexit over the weekend.

Brexit is a big shitshow, I say that now very undiplomatically, Mr Roth told a Social Democratic Party event in Berlin.

He said that 90% of the UK Cabinet had no idea how workers think, live, work and behave.

Politicians born with silver spoons in their mouths, who went to private schools and elite universities would not be the ones to suffer the consequences of Brexit, he said.

Responding to Mr Roths comments, Mrs Mays official spokesman said: He answered his own question with the undiplomatic comment.

It is important that we get on with delivering on the verdict of the referendum for the British people. Thats what the Prime Minister is focused on.

(PA Graphics)

In an interview with the BBC, Tory chief whip Julian Smith said that the Parliamentary arithmetic means a softer type of Brexit is inevitable.

But the Prime Minister has set her face firmly against a customs union, warning it runs counter to the Conservatives election manifesto and would inhibit Britains ability to strike trade deals around the world.

If she were to give way, she would provoke a furious reaction from Brexiteers, with International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt and Transport Secretary Chris Grayling among the ministers reportedly ready to resign.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: Its not clear to me that going softer is the way to command support.

She added: If you look at the parliamentary arithmetic now, its not clear that something like a customs union actually commands support.

Ms Truss said: I think that we are well prepared for no deal. I dont have any fear of no deal.

And prominent Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg told LBC he was worried that Mrs May was more concerned to avoid a no-deal Brexit than anything else and might decide to go for a customs union tacked onto her deal.

Mr Rees-Mogg said Mrs Mays Withdrawal Agreement might have won MPs approval on Friday, when it was rejected by 58 votes, if the alternative had been a general election.

A letter to the Prime Minister signed by 170 Tory MPs demanded Britain leave by May 22 at the latest without or without a deal.

Justice Secretary David Gauke has warned Theresa May not to ignore the will of Parliament (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

In a sign of her waning authority, it was written by Brexit Minister Chris Heaton-Harris, according to The Times.

Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn sought to keep up the pressure, hinting that Labour could table a fresh vote of no confidence in the Government in a bid to force a general election.

Were ready for a general election, whenever it comes, he told the Daily Mirror.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said it was time for MPs to make clear what they want.

A sphinx is an open book in direct comparison with the British Parliament, Mr Juncker said in a speech in Germany.

He added: We must get the sphinx to talk now. Enough of the long silence.
A former member of the Parachute Regiment has described how he dropped to the ground, narrowly missing being shot at in west Belfast in 1971, ahead of disputed shooting incident.

The man, who has been granted anonymity and is referred to as M1300, told an inquest in Belfast that on the evening of August 9, some 15 seconds of firing was directed at him from the direction of the Moyard Flats in the Ballymurphy area.

Later that evening, a Catholic priest became the first of 10 people to be shot dead during three days of gunfire involving members of the Parachute Regiment.

The victims of the Ballymurphy massacre in west Belfast in 1971 Ballymurphy Massacre Committee/PA)

Claims that a republican gunman or gunmen had been present in Moyard Flats have been in dispute.

The narrative became further clouded last year when the Loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Volunteer Force, came forward to say they had been involved in shooting.

The three-day series of events, which has become known as the Ballymurphy Massacre, started on August 9 as the British Army moved into republican strongholds to arrest IRA suspects in the wake of the introduction by the Stormont administration of the controversial policy of internment without trial.

A new inquest into the shootings is being held at Belfast Coroners Court.

On Monday, it heard from witness M1300  who was a Lance Corporal with B Company of the 2nd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment in 1971.

He described his role as a clerk, and did not do patrols or duties in sangars (fortified post).

On the evening of August 9, he said shots were fired at the battalion headquarters at the Henry Taggart Memorial Hall.

As a consequence, the battalion went into alert mode and he was sent to deliver additional ammunition to soldiers on duty in the sangars at nearby Vere Foster School.

He said he was unarmed during this task, adding that he never fired a weapon on any of his tours in Northern Ireland.

I was on the roof of the school, it was still light although getting dark, he told the inquest.

I was walking across the roof when I was fired at, I did not see the person who fired at me, I could just hear the bullets around my head. They did not miss me by much.

It was obvious the fire was targeted at me, I think the gunman had a Thompson sub-machine gun because it was automatic fire.

I immediately dropped flat on the roof and waited for the firing to stop. The fire lasted for approximately 15 seconds, I did not hear anyone from the military firing back.

He said he went on to deliver the ammunition, before getting out of there.

I was not in the frame of mind to hang around as it was the first time I had ever been shot at, he said.

M1300 told the inquest that he had not been aware of the shootings which happened later outside the hall.

He said he was shocked when he went to his room to find a wounded man being treated in his bed.

That was very much of a shock, I had never seen anyone in that state before, he said.

All I know he was bleeding quite heavily.

M1300 described himself as a gopher who was on the peripherals of the company.

I was not what youd call a standard Para soldier, he said.

My background and education set me apart from the regular soldiers.

I didnt smoke, I didnt drink, I didnt actually fit in with the regular soldiers. I was a bit of a loner.

M1300 also told the inquest that he was given a copy of the Yellow Card, the armys instructions to soldiers on the rules of engagement, which had been updated following tours of Northern Ireland in 1970.

We were all given a copy of the Yellow Card, he said.

We did not receive any instruction on the rules of engagement beyond the Yellow Card because the Yellow Card was our Bible. We carried it wherever we went.

We were told we were there to back up the police and keep law and order.

Earlier, the inquest heard from another former soldier who has also been granted anonymity for the purposes of the inquest.

M140 was a Private on August 9, 1971.

He said he did a four-hour shift in a sangar on the school along with one other soldier.

M140 said he did not fire his gun on the day in question or during that tour.
Scotlands new domestic abuse law has been welcomed by the son of a woman who killed her husband after being psychologically abused.

Sally Challens conviction for murdering her husband Richard with a hammer was quashed in February.

It came after what son David Challen described as insidious coercive control during their 40-year marriage.

David Challen has praised the introduction on new domestic abuse laws in Scotland to cover coercive relationships (Kirsty OConnor/PA)

On the day legislation making coercive and controlling behaviour a crime in Scotland come into force, he welcomed the fantastic new law and sentences of up to 14 years for the domestic abuse compared to five years in England.

The Domestic Abuse Act, passed by the Scottish Parliament in February last year, creates a specific offence of domestic abuse covering psychological and emotional maltreatment as well as physical attacks.

It includes abusers isolating their victim from their friends and relatives or controlling their finances and  for the first time in the UK  makes the impact domestic abuse can have on children an aggravating factor, which could lead to courts handing down tougher sentences as a result.

David Challen said: Its a monumental moment and I think it pushes forward our understanding of domestic violence to really tackle it properly.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, Mr Challen also called for society to understand domestic violence properly so we can save more lives and stop this happening for good and for courts to look at the root causes of potential incidents involving people in abusive relationships.

Mr Challen said: Coercive control is the bedrock foundation of domestic violence  you cant hope to understand domestic violence without understanding coercive control.

It is the controlling factor among all abuse and its where it all starts.

He explained how his mother got into a relationship with his father Richard when she was just 15 and he was 21.

Sally Challen before her conviction (Surrey Police/PA)

David Challen explained how his father created an abusive situation of controlling what she would think, of isolating her movements as well as her connection with friends and family, cancelling social events and verbally shaming her in public.

She did suffer physical violence but the main thing here was the coercive, controlling nature of just getting inside her head and controlling how she should think and how she should operate, he added.

Ms Challen was found guilty of murder at Guildford Crown Court and jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years, later reduced on appeal by four years.

A panel of three judges has now ordered a retrial after hearing about psychiatric evidence that was not available at the time of her trial in 2011.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described the introduction of the legislation as a landmark moment.

Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said: The Domestic Abuse Act makes absolutely clear that coercive and controlling behaviour is domestic abuse and a crime.

I am proud Scotland is leading the way with this groundbreaking legislation, which uniquely recognises the effect of domestic abuse on child victims as well as adults.
A comic actor with no political experience was leading strongly in Ukraines presidential election and will be in a run-off for the job in three weeks, according to results released on Monday.

Ukraines president was still trying to hold off a long-time rival to claim the other spot in the runoff.

With nearly 84% of the polling stations counted, Volodymyr Zelenskiy had 30% support in Sundays vote, while President Petro Poroshenko was a distant second with about 16%.

Election officials start counting ballots (Sergei Grits/AP)

Ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko trailed behind in third with 13% support.

The strong showing for the 41-year-old Mr Zelenskiy reflects the public longing for a fresh leader who has no links to Ukraines corruption-ridden political elite and can offer a new approach to settling the grinding five-year conflict with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine that has left 13,000 dead since 2014.

This is only the first step toward a great victory, Mr Zelenskiy said.

The top two candidates advance to a run-off on April 21.

Final results are expected later on Monday.

Mr Zelenskiy dismissed suggestions that he could pool forces with Ms Tymoshenko to get her voters in the second round in exchange for forming a coalition later.

We arent making any deals with anyone, he said.

We are young people. We dont want to see all the past in our future.

Like the character he plays in a TV comedy show, a schoolteacher-turned-president angry over corruption, Mr Zelenskiy made fighting corruption a focus of his candidacy.

He proposed a lifetime ban on holding public office for anyone convicted of corruption.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko speaks at his headquarters (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

He also called for direct negotiations with Russia on ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

The election was marred by allegations of widespread vote buying.

Police said they had received more than 2,100 complaints of violations on voting day alone in addition to hundreds of earlier voting fraud claims, including bribery attempts and removing ballots from polling stations.

Mr Zelenskiys headquarters alleged multiple voting and other cheating on the part of Mr Poroshenkos campaign, but election officials said the vote took place without significant violations.

Election monitors from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe hailed Sundays election as competitive and free, even though it criticised procedural violations and said there were indications that state resources were misused in the vote.

Mr Poroshenko looked visibly relieved about surpassing Ms Tymoshenko.

Its a tough lesson for me and my team, he said.

Former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko (Sergei Grits/AP)

Its a reason for serious work to correct mistakes made over the past years.

But Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Penta Centre Kiev-based independent think-tank, predicted that Mr Zelenskiy will easily win the runoff.

He doesnt even need to do anything, the current government already has done it, setting most voters against itself, Mr Fesenko said.

Poroshenko needs to prepare for a defeat and try to seek security guarantees for himself and his team.

Mr Poroshenko, 53, a confectionery tycoon before he was elected five years ago, saw his approval ratings sink amid Ukraines economic woes and a sharp plunge in living standards.

Mr Poroshenko campaigned on promises to defeat the Russian-funded separatists in the east and to wrest back control of Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014.

The OSCE said about five million people have been taking off Ukraines voter registry as the government was unable to organise the presidential vote in Crimea or in the separatist-held east.

In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putins spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, refrained from commenting on Mr Zelenskiys strong performance, but indicated that the Kremlin would like to see a change of government.

We would like to see not a party of war at the helm in Ukraine, but a party that aims at a gradual settlement in eastern Ukraine, he told reporters.

Poroshenko is taking the country forward, said Serhiy Poltorachenko, a bank employee.

He made mistakes, but promised to correct them.

Petro Demidchenko, a 38-year-old office worker, was supporting the actor.

We dont know what to expect from Zelenskiy, but over the past five years we have found out what to expect from Poroshenko  corruption, soaring prices, continuing war and poverty, he said.
Two friends who attempted to travel to Syria have been found guilty of preparing for terrorist acts in support of the so-called Islamic State.

Safwaan Mansur, from Birmingham, and Hanzalah Patel, from Leicester, travelled to Turkey in 2016 and 2017 after checking out an area near the Syrian border on TripAdvisor, a two-week trial was told.

Jurors heard the men, who spent nine days in jail in Turkey in 2017 after being arrested at an Istanbul hotel, bought camping equipment, outdoor survival clothing and airline tickets before travelling initially to Germany.

Prosecutors alleged Mansur, 22, of Hampton Road, Aston, and Patel, also 22, of Frederick Road, Leicester, undertook a 24-hour bus journey from Istanbul to near the Syrian border during a previous visit to Turkey in 2016.

Opening the case against the pair at Birmingham Crown Court, prosecutor Simon Davis said they were arrested at Heathrow Airport in 2017 after being reported missing by family members.

During subsequent questioning by police, the court heard Mansur said he had gone to Turkeys Hatay province  described in court as a transit area for Syria  in 2016 to have a look like lots of other tourists.

Safwaan Mansur and Hanzalah Patel have been convicted of being concerned in the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism (West Midlands Police/PA)

Claiming items including water purifiers and solar chargers were found in the mens luggage, Mr Davis told the court: Mr Patel, when interviewed, throughout maintained a no comment stance, as was his right.

Jurors were told Mansur said items in his luggage were gifts for friends at a mosque in Germany, where he intended to stop off en route to or from Turkey.

Outlining Mansurs account, Mr Davis told the jury panel: The people at the mosque liked outdoor pursuits like camping  that was the explanation being given.

Questioning why the former school friends had misled their families and travelled via another country to Turkey, Mr Davis told the jury: You might want to ask yourselves whether this was an innocent camping holiday or, as the prosecution allege, the two of them engaging in conduct with a view to crossing into Syria with the intention of joining Islamic State.

Lawyers acting for both defendants said the men had formed a naive and idiotic plan to cross into Syria, but had no intention of fighting or committing acts of terrorism.

West Midlands Police said Patels father contacted the police force in June 2017 after becoming concerned, having learned that his son had lied about leading prayers at a mosque in Germany.

Commenting on the inquiry, the temporary head of the West Midlands Counter-Terrorism Unit, Chief Superintendent Shaun Edwards, said: Patel had on his media devices links to an online guide on how to join the terrorist group and he made several successful credit card applications before using the funds to buy the outdoor equipment.

Electronic devices seized from Patel on his arrest in the UK contained graphic images, videos and text glorifying Daesh. The content gives an insight into their mind-set and showed they were developing an active interest in Daesh and Jihadi ideology.

Mansur and Patel are due to be sentenced on April 25.
Pubs on the Thames will be serving pints in reusable cups for the boat race in a bid to cut plastic pollution in the river, it has been announced.

Some 14,000 reusable cups have been ordered and will be used by eight pubs along the river and on the high street for the sporting event on Sunday April 7.

Spectators of the annual rowing competition between Oxford and Cambridge universities will be able to reuse their cups or return them to the pubs, allowing them to be washed and reused up to 50 times.

The schemes organisers, Positively Putney Business Improvement District, hopes it will prevent 50,000 single-use plastic cups ending up in the river or heading for landfill, in one day.

Disposable cups are one of the most commonly found plastic litter items among the 300 tonnes of rubbish recovered from the Thames each year, campaigners say.

Nicola Grant, executive director of Positively Putney Business Improvement District (BID), said: The annual Boat Race, starting at Putney Bridge, is one of Londons biggest sporting events, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors to our riverbanks every year.

Spectators at the Boat Race will get beer in reusable cups (Positively Putney Business Improvement District/PA)

Im proud that this year were teaming up with Putneys pubs to drastically cut the use of plastics by serving pints in reusable cups.

Alison Baker, co-founder of In The Drink, which is working to cut single-use plastic on the riverside, said: Were on a mission to phase out the use of disposable cups by the riverside, and were really pleased Positively Putney BID is helping to make this happen for Boat Race 2019 with the help of its iconic pubs.

Investing in reusable cups for the Boat Race and beyond, while still keeping the drinks flowing, sets a great example for other riverside organisations to follow this summer.
The UKs only female giant panda has been artificially inseminated in a new attempt to produce a cub.

Tian Tian was given her annual health check at Edinburgh Zoo on Sunday with a fresh bid made under expert veterinary care.

A Facebook post from the zoo suggested it was far too early to speculate about the chances of success.

It said: Tian Tian had her annual health check yesterday and was artificially inseminated under expert veterinary care.

We are pleased to say that all went well.

It is of course far too early to say anything about the chances of breeding success at this very early stage.

Edinburgh Zoos giant panda Tian Tian (Danny Lawson/PA)

The update also noted the outdoor walkway at the zoo would be open as normal, however, the indoor viewing area will remain closed.

It comes after researchers planned to focus on the animals mating process last year to improve the chances of future efforts.

Tian Tian previously had cubs in China but not in the UK, where she and male companion Yang Guang arrived in 2011.

A natural breeding attempt was made in in 2012 with artificial insemination used instead each year between 2013 and 2017.

Tian Tian was believed to be pregnant in August 2017 but her hormone levels and behaviour later returned to normal.

Last November, Yang Guang also recovered from surgery to remove both testicles after tumours were found  but the zoo said this was not a factor in previous failed attempts.

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), which runs the zoo, said the sperm used was from a panda in the Chinese panda breeding programme.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has announced a 75 million fund for the Royal Navy to develop drone mine-hunters and a hub to develop new technology.

The money will enable the creation of the two autonomous ships which will be fitted with cutting-edge sonars to enable remote mine-hunting at higher range, speed and accuracy in the Gulf.

The money will also help found a joint military and industry accelerator hub which has been named NavyX.

An MoD spokeswoman said: The Royal Navys new autonomy and lethality accelerator will look to overhaul and turbocharge the way the Royal Navy buys the latest technology, streamlining the process and creating a brand-new facility where industry, military and academia can test, assess and purchase new equipment.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson at Portsdown Technology Park (Steve Parsons/PA)

Mr Williamson said: Todays announcement will not only allow the Royal Navy to rapidly harness dynamic, cutting-edge equipment at speed, but also ensure they can outpace adversaries both on the water and the sea floor.

Technology is moving faster than ever, and with the defence landscape rapidly evolving, we must ensure our armed forces are continually pushing the boundaries at the forefront of this change.

Admiral Sir Philip Jones, First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, said: From the invention of the steam catapult and aircraft carrier, to the first use of sonars and torpedoes, the Royal Navy has a strong pedigree in the development, testing and introduction of new technologies that help us keep our country safe.

Across the generations, our willingness to embrace innovation has kept us one step ahead of our adversaries, and to assure our continued success on operations into the future it is vital that the Royal Navy continues to be equipped with the latest cutting-edge capabilities we need to address the rapidly evolving challenges that pose a threat to our national interests around the globe.

Mr Williamson made the announcement during a visit to QinetiQs Portsdown Technology Park in Portsmouth, Hampshire, which is building the UK Centre of Excellence for Maritime Mission Systems.

The secretary of state was shown examples of state-of-the-art autonomous vehicles including a flying suit, hoverbikes, vehicles, vessels, and drones.
A union has written to Nicola Sturgeon in the hope the Scottish Government can save a rail depot from closure, with around 200 jobs at risk.

The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) has asked the First Minister to take the Springburn depot in Glasgow into public ownership.

Gemini Rail Services took on the site in August last year after a sale was agreed with Knorr-Bremse Rail Services.

In December, proposals were announced for its closure.

Despite a consultation in January and several meetings taking place to find an alternative use for the site, Gemini confirmed last month it will begin a gradual closure up until it shuts by March 2020.

Grahame Smith, STUC general secretary, said: There is a clear need to retain this depot in Scotland and it would be a matter of serious regret should ScotRail trains have to be sent to Doncaster and Southampton to be refurbished while we have the skills, knowledge and experience in Springburn.

Gemini Rail Services took on the site in August last year (David Cheskin/PA)

Unite the union has presented a number of options to keep the site open, including taking the site into public ownership.

We urge the Scottish Government to seriously consider the option of public ownership of the Springburn depot.

This would ensure a nationally important piece of transport infrastructure is maintained alongside highly skilled jobs.

Without such action, we will continue to see the casualisation of the sector and the loss of strategically important infrastructure.

He added: The welcome Scottish Government intervention at Prestwick Airport illustrates the precedent for public ownership of transport infrastructure.

Time is of the essence and there is a real risk that the viability of the site will diminish unless action is taken now.

The introduction of more modern trains, leading to a drop in the number of pre-privatisation stock in operation, is one of the reasons given for the decision.

Gemini previously said it will record a drop from 6,648 vehicles last year to just 1,407 in 2024  with only around 10% in Scotland and the north of England, which Springburn serves.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: It is disappointing that Gemini Rail has consistently refused to postpone the consultation and has instead moved to close the workshops at Springburn  that is something the Transport Secretary has made clear, including in meetings as recently as last week.

Ministers and officials will continue to do all they can in looking to the potential for repurposing the site, however, any proposals have to be viable in the longer term.
Firefighters have tackled a gorse fire which is said to have spread rapidly on the Isle of Harris.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service was called out at 5.28pm on Tuesday near Mill Road, by Loch Direcleit, between Tarbert and Kendebig.

A spokeswoman told the Press Association the fire spread rapid on the moor and four pumps were in attendance along with beaters and a hose reel.

She said Police Scotland were also in attendance to help with traffic management as smoke covered the road.

Twitter user Katrina Craig said the blaze was dangerously near homes.

Speaking to the Press Association, she said: No one was evacuated as far as we could see.

Fire spreading across the hills on Harris (Katrina Craig/PA)

They were beating the fire at the side of the road, it wasnt out of control though.

When we first drove up, the flames were blowing towards the road, you could feel the heat.

Fire crew let oncoming traffic through, although traffic coming from Tarbet was still held up. Fire is still on-going on the hill at various points.

After firefighters extinguished the blaze, the road reopened shortly before 8.30pm.
Naby Keita retained his starting spot in midfield for Liverpools Champions League quarter-final first leg against Porto at Anfield on Tuesday night.

The Guinean has sometimes flattered to deceive since joining for a then club record fee last July but he opened his account in the win at Southampton last Friday.

Here, Press Association Sport assesses the 24-year-olds contribution against the Portuguese champions.

Role

Lining up on the left of a midfield three, with Fabinho in the centre and captain Jordan Henderson on the right, Keita was given plenty of space as Porto right-winger Jesus Corona dropped deep when defending in an effort to help nullify the threat of Roberto Firmino. Given license to roam free, Keitas pace, positioning and quick thinking meant he was a useful outlet between defence and attack on several occasions.

Work-rate

There can be little doubting Keitas commitment when going forward and though he was, at times, frenetic, on the whole he linked up well with Liverpools much-vaunted front trio of Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah. He was, however, a little excitable in the tackle and might count himself lucky not to at least be yellow carded for a two-footed challenge on Francisco Soares in the opening quarter of an hour. He was also infrequently sluggish in tracking back.

Effectiveness

Keita wasted no time in doubling his Liverpool tally, exploiting the space in the centre to take the ball from Firmino and shoot beyond Iker Casillas  thanks largely to a deflection off Oliver Torres. A more concise pass to Mane would have put the Senegalese clean through a little later in the first half and there were occasions when his final ball was lacking. His productivity dipped in the second half although he was not the only Liverpool player guilty of dropping off after the interval.

Naby Keita put Liverpool ahead early on (Peter Byrne/PA)

Overall

Keitas fifth-minute strike  even if there was a degree of fortune to the goal  settled any nerves on another big European night for Liverpool. It also put the Merseysiders in a position of control which they never relinquished as they recorded a comfortable 2-0 victory. There were some moments of genuine quality from the former RB Leipzig man but a couple of errors, too, and his night may very well have been curtailed much earlier by a stricter referee.
Retired Lieutenant Colonel Richard Dick Cole, the last of the 80 Doolittle Tokyo Raiders who carried out the daring US attack on Japan during the Second World War, has died at a military hospital in Texas aged 103.

A spokesman said Mr Cole died at Brooke Army Medical Centre in San Antonio.

Mr Coles daughter, Cindy Chal, said he was having some heart issues but had walked into the emergency room.

Dick Cole (Devon Ravine/AP)

Mr Cole, who lived in Comfort, Texas, had stayed active even in recent years, attending air shows and participating in commemorative events including April 18 2017, ceremonies for the raids 75th anniversary at the National Museum of the US Air Force near Dayton, Ohio.

Ms Chal said her father enjoyed every minute of his long, distinguished life.

Mr Cole was mission commander Jimmy Doolittles co-pilot in the attack less than five months after the December 1941 Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour.

The Raiders launched their assault on April 18, 1942, in B-25 bombers from the USS Hornet.

Suspecting they had been detected by Japanese patrols, they left farther away from Japan than planned.

The crews of the 16 planes were very quiet as they neared Japan, Mr Cole recalled, saying his role next to Mr Doolittle was to be seen, not heard.  You didnt speak until spoken to.

But the country song Wabash Cannonball started running through his head and he unconsciously began tapping his toe, which caught Mr Doolittles attention. He shot Mr Cole a look, he recalled with a laugh.

Dick Cole after the presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal honouring the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders (Gary Landers/AP)

Mr Doolittle soon ordered bomb bay doors opened, and the attack was on against what turned out to be limited anti-aircraft fire in the surprise attack.

They then headed to China, running out of fuel.

Mr Cole said Mr Doolittle gave the command to prepare to bail out as they neared the coast, adding: I wish you all good luck.

Mr Cole said it was scary to parachute into a dark unknown in rough weather. His parachute caught in a tree, leaving him dangling but safe. Chinese partisans helped lead him and other Raiders to safety.

Three Raiders died trying to reach China, and eight were captured by Japanese soldiers. Three were executed, and a fourth died in captivity.

Mr Cole recalled that Mr Doolittle was distraught at first, upset that he had lost all of his planes and some of his men. Mr Doolittle would later receive the Medal of Honor.

The raid inflicted scattered damage while providing a psychological lift back home. The stunned Japanese military diverted resources after a string of Pacific successes.

Seven decades later, we are still awed by the sheer audacity of the Doolittle raid and the incredible men whose grit and bravery made it possible, Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi of California said when the Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to the Raiders in a 2015 ceremony.

Though time has thinned their ranks, it will never dim the daring of their deeds.

Mr Cole continued to fly missions in the China-Burma-India theatre until 1944, and had peacetime service assignments in several states.

Mr Cole attributed his longevity to being an optimist and living a life of moderation.

He said he believed he spoke for all Raiders when he said they did not want any more recognition than all the others who put their lives on the line in the war effort.

We dont want to be remembered any more than the rest of the people who took part in beating the Japanese, Mr Cole said. They started it, and we finished it.

Ms Chal said a memorial service is planned for April 18 at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio. She said her father will be buried later at Arlington National Cemetery.
European leaders are poised to grant Theresa May a longer extension to Britains membership of the EU than she will request at a crunch summit in Brussels on Wednesday evening.

The Prime Minister is set to repeat her call to delay Brexit until June 30, with the possibility of an earlier departure if the UKs withdrawal deal is ratified.

But European Council president Donald Tusk suggested on the eve of the summit that EU leaders grant the UK a longer extension of up to one year.

Mr Tusk, in a letter to the heads of the 27 remaining member states, said there was little reason to believe that the ratification of Mrs Mays beleaguered Brexit deal could be completed by the end of June.

He called for the European Council to discuss an alternative, longer extension, such as a flexible extension lasting as long as necessary and no longer than one year.

Mr Tusk wrote: The flexibility would allow to terminate the extension automatically, as soon as both sides have ratified the Withdrawal Agreement.

The UK would be free to leave whenever it is ready. And the EU27 would avoid repeated Brexit summits.

There are times when you need to give time time.

My letter to EU leaders ahead of tomorrows #EUCO: https://t.co/bAsz4Qx36s#Brexit  Charles Michel (@eucopresident) April 9, 2019

Importantly, a long extension would provide more certainty and predictability by removing the threat of constantly shifting cliff-edge dates.

Furthermore, in the event of a continued stalemate, such a longer extension would allow the UK to rethink its Brexit strategy.

Mr Tusk also warned that neither side should be allowed to feel humiliated at any stage in this difficult process.

It follows Mrs Mays whistle-stop tour on Tuesday of European capitals for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin.

(PA Graphics)

DUP Westminster leader Nigel Dodds branded the talks humiliating and embarrassing for the UK, and claimed Britain was effectively holding out a begging bowl to European leaders.

The unanimous agreement of all 27 remaining EU states is needed to avoid a no-deal Brexit on the scheduled date of Friday, April 12.

However, 97 Conservatives rebelled by opposing the plan  including former Brexit secretaries David Davis and Dominic Raab.

On Tuesday evening MPs approved a Government motion for Mrs May to seek an extension to June 30 by 420 votes to 110, majority 310.

(PA Graphics)

Mrs May will face the Commons for Prime Ministers Questions on Wednesday afternoon before she heads to Brussels where she is expected to meet Mr Tusk ahead of the summit.

EU leaders will then gather for talks with European Parliament president Antonio Tajani, before hearing from Mrs May.

They will then meet for dinner without her to agree a response to the UKs extension request.

A press conference with Mrs May is likely to be held after the summit, and the PM is expected to update MPs on Thursday.

Meanwhile in Westminster, Labour claimed the Government had not yet made a clear shift in its position in cross-party talks designed to break the impasse. Discussions will resume on Thursday.
A police and crime commissioner has told how she nearly gave up her job after being harassed by an obsessive stalker but has vowed to use the experience to help protect other victims.

Conservative politician Katy Bourne, who holds the elected role in Sussex, is calling on her colleagues around the country to make sure their forces are properly investigating stalking and harassment as well as helping victims get the support and protection they need.

Mrs Bourne spoke about her experience in an interview with Press Association ahead of a summit on stalking she is hosting in Parliament on Wednesday, which will be attended by police chiefs, victims and charity workers.

She first met Matthew Taylor at a hustings when he put himself forward as an unofficial rival candidate for the Sussex police and crime commissioner elections in 2012.

She was elected in November that year and was since re-elected in 2016.

After she was appointed to the post, Mr Taylor, who lives in Brighton, assigned himself the role of the shadow police and crime commissioner with a website in a bid to hold her to account.

Sussex police and crime commissioner Katy Bourne (Sussex PCC)

But Mrs Bourne said his articles and videos soon became personal, rather than focused on her role in the public eye.

Among evidence collected by Mrs Bournes staff and submitted in court, allegations made against Mr Taylor included that he branded her a paedophile, a drug dealer, a prostitute, a Nazi sympathiser and being responsible for murder.

Mrs Bourne said: He initially started as a sort of warrior for justice, a keyboard warrior.

It became very obsessive and quite intense. For about three years I sort of ignored it.

I was elected and in the public eye. You do get a lot of attention, much of it is quite negative.

But it started to get quite personal, he started to focus on people around me, people in my office and my chief executive, making allegations that were quite upsetting.

She said the wake-up call was when he stepped out from behind the keyboard and into the physical world.

In July 2016 she was speaking at a private event in an East Grinstead pub. Without her knowing, he secretly filmed her from the back of the room, posting the video online the next day.

In September that year a supporter of his arrived at a charity abseil in Peacehaven that she was taking part in, telling people he was there as an observer on behalf of Mr Taylor to film the event.

The video posted online included a close-up of the harness she was due to wear for the 110ft descent.

Mrs Bourne said: That really for me hit home that youre not safe, potentially.

The allegations were referred by Sussex Police to neighbouring force Surrey but Mrs Bourne said: The criminal route was fruitless because the Crown Prosecution Service let me down and would not prosecute because they said there was not enough evidence.

I had five years of evidence, despite all that it wasnt enough. It just shows agencies dont understand the severity.

Fortunately the civil route was more successful.

A civil injunction was granted at the Central London County Court in April 2017 after an application for protection from harassment. The judgment prohibits Matthew Taylor from going near Mrs Bourne or her chief executive Mark Streater. He was ordered not to comment about them online, to post videos or to enlist the help of others to do so on his behalf.

He was ordered to pay 20,000 in court costs, according to court records.

In October last year he was found to be in contempt after breaching the order and was handed a suspended four month prison term.

Mrs Bourne said she regrets not asking the Crown Prosecution Service to carry out a victims right to review  which must be requested within three months of the decision not to pursue criminal charges.

She said: At the time I was at the end of my tether, Id had enough and I just wanted it to stop. The last thing I wanted to do was go through it all over again.

Now looking back on it I wish I had asked them to review. But I wasnt in the right frame of mind.

She urged other victims to persist and said it was unfair members of the public were faced with a costly civil process in the absence of a criminal prosecution.

Mrs Bourne added: You learn what its like to be a victim  the mental anguish, the living in a state of permanent and heightened anxiety.

Even for me, I pride myself on being professional and keeping everything together, I was really struggling.

She considered stepping down from her role but, encouraged by her son, she decided to use the experience to call for change and speak publicly about the ordeal.

Police and crime commissioners can ask for independent inspections to be carried out but Mrs Bourne says she is the first to have done so.

She said: This is an opportunity for all of us to actually start to drive some change.

I think the legislation is strong but I think the enforcement is where it is lacking.

This is such an important issue for victims of this types of crime. We have a responsibility to victims of crimes.
Thousands more rail passengers in Britain will soon be able to switch to cashless travel as new technology is rolled out, an industry body has announced.

Software updates being introduced this month will enable nine out of 10 tickets to be stored on mobiles or smart cards, according to the Rail Delivery Group (RDG).

Smart ticketing is available at almost all mainline stations across the country, with ticket barriers and readers improved and installed at 890 stations to recognise smart tickets.

Upgrades have taken place at some of the busiest stations since October 2018, including London Waterloo, Gatwick Airport, Brighton, Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central.

Among the stations next in line for the technology are London Bridge, Watford Junction, East Croydon, Shenfield, Edinburgh Gateway and Glasgow Argyle Street.

Every train operator in Britain now offers smart ticketing, with 14.1 million journeys paid for in this way during the first eight weeks of the year.

The Key smartcard can be used at most stations on the Govia Thameslink Railway network (Govia Thameslink Railway/PA)

In its submission to the Government-commissioned Rail Review, the RDG proposed that regulations should be updated to enable pay as you go price caps to be introduced across the country, and a better range of prices made available to passengers buying long-distance tickets on the day of travel.

RDG regional director Robert Nisbet said Together, rail companies are going full steam ahead with smart ticketing, with passengers increasingly able to use their phones or smartcards thanks to station upgrades across the network.

Of course, we want to go further, but realising the full benefits of new ticketing technology requires regulatory reform of the wider fares system. Thats why train companies are working with Government to update the rules that underpin our rail fares.
Scotlands Migration Minister will visit concerned businesses and meet EU nationals to discuss freedom of movement after Brexit.

Ben Macpherson is due to visit Hardgrove dairy farm in Dumfries and cheesemakers in Lockerbie later on Wednesday.

The businesses have consistently expressed concern about the risk of disruption if the UK leaves the European Union.

A spokesman for Arla Foods said: We are delighted to host the Minister for Europe, Migration and International Development at Lockerbie today.

Arla Foods has consistently expressed concern about the impact of any disruption associated with Brexit on our farmers, our consumers and our colleagues, and we are very happy to have the opportunity to discuss these issues with the minister during his visit.

Across Arla we have around 500 European nationals who are valued members of our team and EU citizens are also a very important part of the workforce on farms and across our supply chain.

Ben Macpherson will meet representatives from Arla Foods (Andrew Milligan/PA)

In addition to giving practical advice and support wherever we can, we are committed to working with the minister and other stakeholders to ensure we are best-placed to retain the colleagues that we have, and maintain access to a motivated and skilled labour force in future, enabling us to continue to deliver much-loved dairy products to consumers across the UK.

The meetings follow an open letter from First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Friday telling EU citizens they are still welcome in Scotland and encouraging them to remain.

Ahead of his visit to Arla Foods creamery, Mr Macpherson warned of worker shortages if the employment rights of EU citizens are affected by Brexit.

Mr Macpherson said: EU nationals living and working in Scotland are our friends, neighbours, colleagues and loved ones  they are part of the fabric of our nation and it is absolutely vital that they feel welcome and supported to stay.

In communities across Scotland, EU nationals enrich our society and are fundamental to the strength of our economy, both now and in the future.

Whats more, without EU nationals making such a significant contribution, we would face workforce shortages in the south of Scotland and other areas, and in several sectors like agriculture, education, construction and health and social care services.

We would face workforce shortages in both urban and rural areas.

He added: The Scottish Government is committed to supporting EU nationals through the UK Governments EU Settlement Scheme.

To assist in this, we encourage all employers, public bodies and civil society to provide what support they can as part of a nationwide Stay in Scotland campaign.
A rise in people injecting cocaine and homelessness are the key factors behind a perfect storm that has resulted in a 10-fold increase in HIV infection among drug users in Glasgow city centre, research has found.

In a seven-year study, experts from Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) and Health Protection Scotland examined the drivers behind the UKs largest HIV outbreak in more than 30 years in Glasgow.

More than 100 new cases of the infection were identified among drug users in the city between 2015 and 2017.

Before that the number of new cases had remained stable at about 15 a year among drug users across all of Scotland.

Dr Andrew McAuley, a senior research fellow in blood borne viruses at GCU, and the lead author of the paper, said there had been a hugely significant increase in the prevalence of HIV infection in the population of people who inject drugs in Glasgow, largely driven by an outbreak of HIV in first detected in 2015.

Dr Andrew McAuley (Peter Devlin/PA)

He also claimed the study, published in the Lancet HIV medical journal, provides further justification for those arguing for a safe drugs consumption room to be set up in Glasgow city centre  with more than nine out of 10 of those diagnosed with HIV now successfully engaged in treatment.

Speaking about the number of drug users with the virus, Dr McAuley said: The prevalence of HIV has been low and stable in this population since major outbreaks of HIV in the 1980s in Edinburgh and Dundee.

However, the prevalence of HIV in Glasgow has increased 10-fold among people who inject drugs in the past seven years, from just 1% to over 10% in the city centre.

The key drivers of infection are an increase in cocaine injecting, and homelessness.

We also have a large population of people who inject in public places in Glasgow at a time when HIV has re-emerged.

A combination of these factors has created a perfect storm for rapid transmission of HIV among people who inject drugs in Glasgow.

The research, carried out together with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and the University of the West of Scotland, found the number of drug users with HIV went from one in 87 in 2011-12 to 25 out of 231 in 2017-18  with the proportion of users who were infected going from 1.1% to 10.8%.

The study used information from four in-depth surveys  collectively called the Needle Exchange Surveillance Initiative (NESI)  conducted between 2011 and 2018 and involving almost 4,000 people who inject drugs in Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

The HIV outbreak in Glasgow occurred despite the existence of a comprehensive harm reduction environment, the research found, with more than one million clean needles and syringes distributed amongst drug injectors every year.

Dr McAuley said the research provides further justification for interventions such as the proposed drug consumption room and heroin-assisted treatment services in Glasgow.

He added: Crucially, over 90% of the individuals diagnosed as part of the outbreak have been successfully engaged in HIV treatment as a result of the multidisciplinary response implemented by the health board.

Dr Norah Palmateer, a GCU senior research fellow, who is the co-author of both the Lancet HIV and the NESI report, said: We found that the sharp rise in cocaine injecting identified in NESI is the single largest risk factor for acquiring HIV in Glasgow, possibly because it is likely to cause individuals to inject more often which, in turn, makes them more vulnerable to infection.

She added: Our research identifies key determinants of HIV infection among a vulnerable population of individuals to inform public health interventions that can be targeted to prevent further new infections and to help test and treat those already exposed.

This is in line with the vision of GCU  the University for the Common Good  one of whose aims is to deliver social benefit through research.

Joe FitzPatrick (Jane Barlow/PA)

Scottish Public Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick said: Prevention of HIV infection remains a priority for the Scottish Government.

There is absolutely no room for complacency.

I have visited the team in Glasgow who are working to tackle the HIV outbreak amongst people who inject drugs and was impressed by their commitment to collaborative working to make sure the most vulnerable people get the support they need to access testing and treatment.

He added: These issues underline why we support Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnerships proposals to introduce a secure, medically supervised consumption facility.

We must be willing to back innovative, evidence-based approaches that can make a real difference to peoples lives.

We are providing funding of over 2 million between 2018 and 2021 to organisations tackling poor sexual health and blood borne viruses.

We are also convening an expert group on drugs to examine what further changes, either in practice or in the law, could help save lives and reduce harm.
Britain is due to leave the European Union on Friday if an extension is not granted.

But how will the rest of the weeks events decide what happens?

 Wednesday April 10

After Prime Ministers Questions on Wednesday afternoon, Theresa May will head to Brussels for an emergency meeting of the European Council.

She will ask the leaders of the 27 remaining EU nations to grant her an extension of Article 50 to June 30.

European Council president Donald Tusk has suggested EU leaders grant the UK a longer extension of up to one year.

The PM is heading to Brussels for an emergency meeting of the European Council (Jonathan Brady/PA)

 Thursday April 11

Mrs May is likely to outline plans in the wake of the EU summit.

 Friday April 12

This is when the UK is scheduled to leave the EU after MPs repeatedly rejected the Prime Ministers deal.

If the EU27 do not agree to an extension on Wednesday, Britain will leave without a deal at 11pm.
Astronomers are expected to reveal the first close-up images of a monster black hole during a global event later.

Eight radio telescopes around the world have been pointed at two of the cosmic behemoths, one at the heart of our galaxy, the Milky Way, and another nearly 54 million light years away.

Now, after two years of acquiring and processing the data, the international team of scientists at the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) programme is set to present their ground-breaking first results.

Media have been told to gather for press conferences in Brussels, Washington, Santiago, Shanghai, Taipei, Tokyo, and Lyngby in Denmark that are due to begin at around 2pm BST.

(PA Graphics)

Black holes are regions where matter has been crushed by gravity to an infinitely small space where the normal laws of physics no longer apply.

While nothing can escape the gravitational vortex of a black hole  not even light  gas and radiation rage in a swirling eddy around the brink of the abyss.

It is this point-of-no-return precipice, called the Event Horizon, that astronomers have tried to observe for the first time.

The EHT project was launched in April 2017.

Sagittarius A (SgrA), the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way, is some 26,000 light years away.

Images of SgrA are likely to show a lopsided ring of brightness due to gravity bending light closer to the black hole more strongly than light further away.

The project may help scientists struggling to marry together two apparently incompatible pillars of physics, Einsteins theory of general relativity and quantum mechanics.

The first relates to laws of nature on cosmic scales, while the second governs the weird world of subatomic particles where it is possible to be in two places at once.

(PA Graphics)

Physicist and black hole expert Lia Medeiros, from the University of Arizona, US, told ScienceNews magazine: If general relativity buckles at a black holes boundary, it may point the way forward for theorists.

The EHTs other target, M87, is notable for shooting out a fast jet of charged subatomic particles that stretches for some 5,000 light years.

The new observations are expected to provide clues about M87s magnetic field, which may be linked to the jet mechanism.
The Dalai Lama has been taken to hospital in the Indian capital with a chest infection.

Spokesman Tenzin Taklha said the Dalai Lama is under medication and likely to spend a day or two in the hospital.

The Tibetan spiritual leader flew from Dharmsala for consultations with doctors in New Delhi and was taken to hospital on Tuesday.

tHE Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule (Niall Carson/PA)

The north Indian hill town has been his headquarters since he fled Tibet in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

Mr Takhla said on Wednesday the 83-year-old Dalai Lama was feeling much better now.

The Dalai Lama spends several months a year travelling the world to teach Buddhism and highlight the Tibetans struggle for greater freedom in China.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to be heading towards re-election early on Wednesday, as close-to-complete unofficial results showed him pulling ahead of his main competitor.

With a victory, Mr Netanyahu would capture a fourth consecutive term and fifth overall, which this summer will make him Israels longest-ever serving leader.

Re-election will give him an important boost as he braces for the likelihood of criminal charges in a series of corruption scandals.

The election outcome affirmed Israels continued tilt to the right and further dimmed hopes of a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In the final stretch of the campaign, Mr Netanyahu had for the first time pledged to annex parts of the occupied West Bank in a desperate bid to rally his right-wing base. Annexation would snuff out the last flicker of hope for Palestinian statehood.

Both Mr Netanyahu and his challenger, former military chief Benny Gantz, leader of the rival Blue and White party, had declared victory in speeches to boisterous gatherings of supporters.

But as the night went on, there were growing signs that Mr Netanyahus Likud was pulling ahead.

Its a night of tremendous victory, Mr Netanyahu told supporters. I was very moved that the nation of Israel once again entrusted me for the fifth time, and with an even greater trust.

He said he had already begun talking to fellow right-wing and religious parties about forming a new coalition.

I want to make it clear, it will be a right-wing government, but I intend to be the prime minister of all Israeli citizens, right or left, Jews and non-Jews alike, he said.

The 69-year-old prime minister has been the dominant force in Israeli politics for the past two decades and its face to the world. His campaign has focused heavily on his friendship with President Donald Trump and his success in cultivating new allies, such as China, India and Brazil.

But the corruption scandals created some voter fatigue. Along with two other former military chiefs on his ticket, Mr Gantz was able to challenge Mr Netanyahu on security issues, normally the prime ministers strong suit, while also taking aim at the prime ministers alleged ethical lapses.

Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz addresses his supporters (Sebastian Scheiner/AP)

Israels attorney general has recommended charging Mr Netanyahu with bribery, breach of trust and fraud.

Mr Gantz, who has been vague on key policy issues, has presented himself as a clean, scandal-free alternative to Mr Netanyahu.

By Wednesday morning, with 97% of the votes counted, Likud and Blue and White had won 35 seats each.

But Mr Netanyahu was in a stronger position to form a coalition government with the anticipated support of right-wing and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, Likuds natural allies.

Such a coalition could rest on 65 votes in the 120-member parliament.

Earlier in the night, with fewer of the votes counted, Blue and White still appeared to be ahead by one seat and Gantz projected optimism.

Elections have losers and elections have winners. And we are the winners, Mr Gantz told a victory rally shortly after midnight.

Mr Netanyahus message of unity was a sharp contrast from his campaign theme in which he accused Mr Gantz of conspiring with Arab parties to topple him.

Arab leaders accused Mr Netanyahu of demonising the countrys Arab community, which is about 20% of the population.

His attacks on the Arab sector fuelled calls for a boycott and appeared to result in relatively low turnout by Arab voters.

Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu casts his vote with his wife Sara (Ariel Schalit.AP)

The final results are subject to change. Some 40 parties took part in the election, and only those that receive at least 3.25% of the votes make it into parliament.

Once the final results come in, attention will turn to President Reuven Rivlin.

The president, whose responsibilities are mostly ceremonial, is charged with choosing a prime minister after consulting with party leaders and determining who has the best chance of putting together a majority coalition. That responsibility is usually given to the head of the largest party.

The election included several other surprises. The Labour party, which ruled the country for its first 30 years, tumbled to single digits in the parliament.

If Mr Netanyahu is re-elected, attention will quickly focus on his legal woes.

The attorney general has recommended a series of criminal charges against the prime minister but will only make a decision on indicting him after a legally mandated hearing. Legal experts expect at least some charges to be filed.

Mr Netanyahu will likely focus his efforts on getting guarantees from his coalition partners to continue to back him if he is indicted, and perhaps find a way to grant him immunity from prosecution.

Mr Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing and claimed he is the victim of a witch hunt.

Palestinian official Saeb Erekat lamented that the Israelis voted to maintain the status quo.

They want their occupation to be endless, he said.
A Japanese air force F-35 stealth fighter has crashed into the Pacific Ocean during a night training flight, the countrys defence ministry said.

The F-35A stealth jet disappeared from radar while flying off the eastern coast of Aomori and parts of the jet were found late on Tuesday, the Air Self-Defence Force said.

The pilot is still missing.

The jet went missing about half an hour after taking off from the Misawa air base with three other F-35As for anti-fighter battle training.

(PA Graphics)

The UK currently owns 17 F-35B Lightning stealth fighter jets, and Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has pledged that a total of 138 will be bought.

Japanese defence minister Takeshi Iwaya told reporters the cause of the disappearance is not immediately known.

He said 12 other F-35s at the Misawa base would be grounded.

The pilot is a man in his 40s, Mr Iwaya said.

The Japanese air force F-35 stealth fighter crashed into the Pacific Ocean (Kyodo News/AP)

The F-35 family of jets are the first to combine radar-evading stealth technology with supersonic speeds and the ability to conduct short take-offs and vertical landings.

The aircraft has the ability to operate from land and sea.

Japan started deploying the expensive US-made F-35s since last year, part of its plan to bolster its defence spending and weapons capability in the coming years to counter potential threats from North Korea and China.

Under guidelines approved in December, Prime Minister Shinzo Abes government plans to buy 147 F-35s, including 105 F-35As, costing about 10 billion yen (69 million) each.
The changes made by a police force after a 19-year-old was murdered by a stalker she had repeatedly reported are too little, too late, say her family.

The parents of Shana Grice spoke out after Sussex Police confirmed some of the officers involved in her case would be facing disciplinary action over her death, and on the day an independent report found the forces approach to investigating stalking and harassment cases was not consistent or effective.

Shanas parents, Sharon Grice and Richard Green, said: Our daughter took her concerns to the police and instead of being protected was treated like a criminal. She paid for the polices lack of training, care and poor attitude with her life.

Its only right that the police make changes, but its too little, too late for Shana.

Sussex Police should not be applauded for this.

Instead we would encourage people to reflect on why theyre making these changes. A young girl went to them for protection and ended up murdered in her own home by the very person shed asked the police to protect her from.

Shana reported her ex-boyfriend Michael Lane to officers five times in six months, but was fined for wasting police time. He was jailed for 25 years for her murder in March 2017.

Michael Lane was found guilty of murdering his former girlfriend Shana Grice (Sussex Police/PA)

In the statement issued through Hudgell Solicitors, they added: The proof will of course be in whether the changes are adhered to by officers and whether Sussex Police prevent other young innocent girls dying on their watch.

The familys lawyer Andy Petherbridge said: It is only to be expected that Sussex Police have made changes to their procedures for treating victims of stalking.

Lessons needed to be learnt. However, none of this should overshadow the fact that individual officers still have serious questions to answer about their conduct towards Shana in the run up to her untimely death.

Stalking is a life-changing crime for its victims and as evidenced by Shanas case, can lead to the most tragic of consequences if not tackled.

Speaking to the Press Association, Mr Petherbridge said the family were considering all options of legal action against the force, including a civil claim.

He added: The family will be attending the misconduct hearings to hear the evidence and to see what the officers themselves have got to say.

The full IOPC report into the police handling of Shanas death was completed last year, but remains unpublished until Miss Grices inquest takes place, the familys lawyer said.

Two police officers, one of whom has retired, will face gross misconduct proceedings in front of an independent chairman at public hearings in May, Sussex Police confirmed on Tuesday evening.

Another police officer will face internal misconduct proceedings, which are carried out in private.

No further action will be taken over five other officers investigated by the Independent of Police Conduct (IOPC), while six other force employees  three officers and three staff  have already been handed management advice and further training.

Michael Lane arriving at court during his trial (PA)

The IOPC is understood to be recommending 18 new training measures for the force when it announces the findings of its investigation on Wednesday, according to Channel 4 News.

Assistant Chief Constable Nick May said the force was committed to constantly improving our understanding of stalking and our response to it, adding: Since then, we have undertaken all their recommendations, thoroughly reviewed all aspects of how we deal with cases of stalking and harassment and have significantly improved our service to victims.

The news came as the IOPC announced a police call handler from the force was given management advice after failing to record a womans reports of escalating violence by her ex-husband, who shot her dead eight days later  two years after Miss Grice died.

Michelle Savage spoke to Sussex Police three times before she was murdered alongside her 53-year-old mother Heather Whitbread in an execution-style killing at almost point-blank range in St Leonards on March 16 last year.

She had told officers former soldier Craig Savage was dangerous and she feared for her life.

Sarah Green, co-director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said of both cases that more must be done, adding: Numerous inquests and inquiries have found that multiple police forces have failed to protect women who were murdered.

There is a massive failing in police leadership on domestic and sexual violence which is not simply about cuts.

The Home Secretary should call time on the promises to do better and require improvement or removal of leaders in forces where women are not being protected.
The UK crashing out of the EU with no exit deal on Friday would be unconscionable, an SNP MEP said, as he revealed his party is preparing to fight next months European elections.

Alyn Smith said both he and the other sitting SNP MEP Ian Hudghton would stand again if the UK takes part in vote, with Nicola Sturgeons party also putting forward other candidates.

Taking part in European Parliament elections would more than likely be a condition if the other EU 27 nations grant the UK a longer extension to the Article 50 process.

And Mr Smith told BBC Radio Scotlands Good Morning Scotland programme: Were up for the cup if we have a European election at all.

He confirmed both he and Mr Hudghton would be candidates, as he insisted the best option would be for the UK to revoke Article 50 altogether and remain within the European Union.

Failing that, he suggested the UK could hold a second Brexit referendum to turn it around as a way forward.

The SNP is preparing to fight next months European elections, MEP Alyn Smith said (Andrew Milliagn/PA)

But Mr Smith stated: All of these options necessitate a European election and were putting a list together. Ill be a candidate, as will Ian Hudghton.

While Theresa May wants Brexit to be put off until June 30, it seems more likely EU leaders will offer the UK a longer extension.

Speaking ahead of a crunch EU summit, European Council president Donald Tusk said there was little reason to believe that the ratification of Mrs Mays beleaguered Brexit deal could be completed by the end of June.

Consequently he said the Council should consider a flexible extension lasting as long as necessary and no longer than one year.

Without an extension being agreed, the UK is currently set to leave the EU on Friday night, with no deal in place.

Mr Smith said: It seems likely that there is going to need to be an extension because the idea of crashing out on Friday is just unconscionable.

He added: Its Mrs May that has brought us here, be in no doubt about that, but the idea of crashing out just isnt an option.

So a delay seems almost inevitable. The question is, is it a long delay or is it a short delay.

But he also warned some European leaders felt the UK was messing them about over Brexit.

The SNP MEP said: Nobody in the EU wants to see us leave at all, everybody regrets Brexit, there is a strong desire to try and find a form of words to keep us in, but nobody wants to be messed about and people increasingly in Brussels are feeling that the UK and Mrs May and the Tories  and everybody knows where the problem actually is  is messing us about.
Ministers remain determined to take Britain out of the EU at the earliest opportunity, Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay said, as Brussels appeared poised to grant a lengthy delay to Britains departure.

Theresa May meets the leaders of the remaining EU 27 later on Wednesday to press her case for a further extension to the Article 50 withdrawal process to June 30 to allow her more time to get a deal through Parliament.

But amid increasing frustration among EU leaders, European Council president Donald Tusk is recommending a longer delay of up to a year, with an opportunity to leave before then if a deal is agreed.

However the prospect of an extended delay has infuriated many Conservative MPs, already angry that the UK has missed its original departure date of March 29.

In the Commons on Tuesday, 97 Tory MPs voted against a motion backing Mrs Mays call for an extension which only passed with the support of opposition MPs.

Mr Barclay insisted the Prime Minister did not want to see a lengthy delay, which was why the Government was asking only for an extension to the end of June.

He said the UK could still leave before that date if it got an agreement through Parliament in time and that ministers were committed to leaving at the earliest opportunity.

(PA Graphics)

I dont want to see a long extension. The Prime Minister doesnt want to see a long extension. That is why the request today is to June 30 in order that we can leave as soon as possible, he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

Mr Barclay however sidestepped questions as to whether Mrs May could remain in office if the EU insisted on a longer delay, saying it was the failure of MPs to support a deal which had handed the initiative back to Brussels.

That is a consequence of Parliament, not the Government. The Government has agreed a deal with the EU. It is Parliament that has forced this on the Government, he said.

There are times when you need to give time time.

My letter to EU leaders ahead of tomorrows #EUCO: https://t.co/bAsz4Qx36s#Brexit  Charles Michel (@eucopresident) April 9, 2019

Mr Tusk, in a letter to the leaders of the remaining EU27, said there was little reason to believe that the ratification of Mrs Mays beleaguered Brexit deal could be completed by the end of June.

He called for the European Council to discuss an alternative, longer extension, such as a flexible extension lasting as long as necessary and no longer than one year.

Mr Tusk wrote: The flexibility would allow to terminate the extension automatically, as soon as both sides have ratified the Withdrawal Agreement.

The UK would be free to leave whenever it is ready. And the EU27 would avoid repeated Brexit summits.

Importantly, a long extension would provide more certainty and predictability by removing the threat of constantly shifting cliff-edge dates.

Theresa May met French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris ahead of the EU summit (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Furthermore, in the event of a continued stalemate, such a longer extension would allow the UK to rethink its Brexit strategy.

Mr Tusk also warned that neither side should be allowed to feel humiliated at any stage in this difficult process.

On Tuesday, Mrs May staged a whistle-stop tour of European capitals for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin to prepare the ground for another potentially difficult meeting in Brussels.

The unanimous agreement of all 27 remaining EU states is needed to avoid a no-deal Brexit on the scheduled date of April 12.

(PA Graphics)

EU leaders will gather for talks with European Parliament president Antonio Tajani on Wednesday evening, before hearing from Mrs May.

They will then meet for dinner without her to agree a response to the UKs extension request.

A press conference with Mrs May is likely to be held after the summit, and the PM is expected to update MPs on Thursday.

Meanwhile in Westminster, Labour claimed the Government had not yet made a clear shift in its position in cross-party talks designed to break the impasse. Discussions will resume on Thursday.
Lawyers for Nissans former chairman Carlos Ghosn, who was sent back to detention while out on bail, have filed a protest with the Japanese Supreme Court.

Lawyer Junichiro Hironaka told reporters that Ghosns fourth and latest arrest is unfair.

Ghosn was arrested in November and released on bail last month but re-arrested last week.

Multiple arrests and long detentions are routine in Japan, but arresting a suspect who cleared bail is unusual.

Lawyer Junichiro Hironaka (Koji Sasahara/AP)

Ghosns detention has been extended through to Sunday but may be prolonged.

He is charged with falsifying financial documents in under-reporting his retirement compensation and breach of trust in what prosecutors call dubious payments.

He says he is innocent, noting the compensation was never decided or paid and the payments were for legitimate services.

The latest arrest is over suspicion that Nissan money paid to a dealership was diverted to a company effectively controlled by Ghosn.

Mr Hironaka was among 1,010 lawyers, academics and other legal professionals who signed a call to eliminate Japans so-called hostage justice.

Kaku Imamura, a lawyer who led the initiative, told reporters that Ghosns case has set off international criticism about the longtime detentions without convictions.

He said innocent people who refuse to sign confessions suffer and are kept for months, sometimes years, even for relatively minor charges that will not result in prison time.

During detention, prosecutors can grill the suspect for more than eight hours, he said, while the suspects contact with lawyers is limited, and often banned with family and friends.

He declined comment on the specifics of Ghosns case.

Detention is used as a form of torture, Mr Imamura said at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan.

It becomes difficult for people to get a fair trial.
European staff in the health service will be supported to stay in Scotland regardless of the outcome of Brexit, Jeane Freeman has said.

In a letter to EU and EEA citizens working in the NHS, the Health Secretary said that although she had hoped for greater clarity over the Brexit process, her top priority will continue to be ensuring the rights of people living in Scotland.

She also reiterated the application process for EU citizens aiming to remain in the UK after Brexit, and outlined the advice published by the Scottish Government under its Stay in Scotland campaign launched last week.

The UK is preparing to leave the EU. This will affect EU citizens who have chosen to live here. To help you stay, we have produced a package of support to guide you through the steps you need to take.



Find out more at https://t.co/QIZSYvTeBV pic.twitter.com/36ZMF8D4bm  ScotGovEurope (@ScotGovEurope) April 5, 2019

In her letter, Ms Freeman told EU citizens: Your contributions are very much valued. We want you to continue to live and work in Scotland.

We are very grateful for the work you do and the contribution you make, not just to patient care but also to the health, care and wellbeing of Scotland as a whole.

Ms Freeman also sent a joint letter in partnership with the interim health and social care spokesman at the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, Stuart Currie, to those working in social care.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has written to EU citizens working in the NHS (Jane Barlow/PA)

In that letter, Ms Freeman and Mr Currie expressed their thanks to staff and confirmed any professional qualifications and registrations held by EU citizens would continue to be valid even if the UK leaves the European Union without a deal.

The letter said: We recognise that some staff might be worried about what might happen to their professional registration if we leave the EU without an agreement.

We can confirm that you will not need to do anything and will remain on the register for as long as you continue to meet all the normal requirements of continued registration.

Thank-you again for all that you do. We hope that this letter provides some comfort and reassurance in these uncertain times.
A local council is removing some of the netting it has put on cliffs after images of sand martins being prevented from returning to their nest sites prompted an outcry.

North Norfolk District Council used netting on cliffs at Bacton to encourage sand martins to nest further along the coast as it delivers a major sandscaping project to protect homes and Bacton Gas Terminal.

The council said the use of the temporary specialist netting followed a detailed environmental assessment and had been approved by government conservation agency Natural England, with advice from the RSPB.

1/2 After positive discussions with @Natures_Voice, we have instructed contractors to remove upper levels of netting at Bacton cliffs. Minimum levels will be retained to assist in progressing with this critical project to protect peoples homes and national infrastructure  North Norfolk District Council (@NorthNorfolkDC) April 9, 2019

But the bird conservation charity urged the council to remove the nets, which they said did not match their advice.

The call came as footage emerged of birds, which have arrived in the UK after migrating from Africa, trying to get to their cliff burrows but being prevented from doing so by the netting.

In a statement, the council said it appreciated the level of concern the issue had caused, and would be removing the upper levels of netting.

A sand martin (Haydn West/PA)

The authority said: Following positive discussions with the RSPB and Natural England today, we have instructed contractors to remove the upper levels of netting on Bacton cliffs.

We havent finished discussions w. @NorthNorfolkDC. Whilst the full removal of the netting has not been resolved; the RSPB will be visiting #BactonCliffs to discuss our concerns regarding the remaining 1.3km length of netting & the issue of the material currently in use. pic.twitter.com/tIcvuEGJQl  RSPB (@Natures_Voice) April 9, 2019

Minimum levels will be retained to assist in progressing with this critical project to protect peoples homes and national infrastructure.

Following this, ongoing discussions will take place between NNDC and the RSPB about the material to be used on the lower section of cliff to allow this to happen.

The council also warned people the cliffs were not safe to climb on and urged them not to attempt to do so.

After the announcement, the RSPB said it would be meeting the council as soon as possible to discuss outstanding concerns, including the 1.3 kilometres (0.8 miles) of netted cliff face that would remain.

We will ask the Council to reduce this to 50 metres maximum and keep to a height of seven metres.

Please @NorthNorfolkDC take down the nets which span 1km of the Bacton cliff face. Do the right thing for our sand martins who are at Amber on the endangered birds list they just want their homes back, there is enormous public support for the nets to be removed #NetsDownForNature pic.twitter.com/tv57v200wS  Angela Rayner (@AngelaRayner) April 9, 2019

We will also be raising the issue of the material currently in use.

The charity said it would be re-outlining its original recommendation of geotextile meshing which would ensure burrows in the sandscaping zone are not smothered and will ensure no birds can be trapped.

It later emerged that it would be 48 hours before the netting could be removed.

The measure is part of the Bacton to Walcott sandscaping project, which will place 1.8 million cubic metres of sand on the beaches to provide protection to Bacton Gas Terminal and the villages of Bacton and Walcott.

A parliamentary petition calling for legal protection to swallow, swift and martin nest sites, not just their active nests, has gathered more than 56,000 signatures.

Another petition to make netting hedgerows to prevent birds from nesting a criminal offence has gained more than 304,000 signatures as developers come under fire for the practice which can make it easier to remove greenery around building sites.
The Duke of Sussex is working with US chat show queen Oprah Winfrey on a mental health documentary series, Kensington Palace has announced.

Harry and Oprah will be co-creators and executive producers of the project for Apple, which has launched into the TV streaming market to take on Netflix and Amazon.

The multi-part documentary series will focus on both mental illness and mental wellness and aims to inspire viewers to have an honest conversation about the challenges we all face and how to equip ourselves with the tools to thrive, rather than to simply survive.

Harry said: I truly believe that good mental health  mental fitness  is the key to powerful leadership, productive communities and a purpose-driven self.

It is a huge responsibility to get this right as we bring you the facts, the science and the awareness of a subject that is so relevant during these times.

The duke, who along with wife Meghan invited Oprah to their wedding last year, added: Our hope is that this series will be positive, enlightening and inclusive  sharing global stories of unparalleled human spirit fighting back from the darkest places, and the opportunity for us to understand ourselves and those around us better.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex promote their Heads Together campaign (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

I am incredibly proud to be working alongside Oprah on this vital series which we have been developing together for several months.

In 2017, together with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Harry launched Heads Together, a mental health initiative spearheaded by The Royal Foundation.

During the campaign, Harry shared his personal experience and became an advocate for those who silently suffer, aiming to empower them to get the help and support they deserve.
Theresa May is meeting in EU leaders in Brussels on Wednesday to ask for a further extension to the Article 50 withdrawal process.

These are the possible options:

 A short extension: The Prime Minister is asking the EU to delay the UKs departure to June 30 to give her more time to get the backing of Parliament  possibly with the support of Labour  for a deal with Brussels that would allow the UK to leave in an orderly fashion.

That would mean calling elections to the European Parliament  something Mrs May has been desperate to avoid  although they would be cancelled if she can get a deal through before polling day on May 23.

Theresa May wants a Brexit delay until the end of June (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

If the negotiations at Westminster were to continue beyond that date, the elections would go ahead, but the new British MEPs would potentially never sit as the new European Parliament is not due to meet until early July.

While some EU leaders are keen to keep up the pressure on the UK Parliament, others fear Mrs May could be forced to seek further extensions if she still cannot get a deal through, potentially creating a series of rolling cliff edge breaks.

(PA Graphics)

 A longer flextension: This is European Council president Donald Tusks plan, amid concerns in Brussels MPs will be unable to agree and ratify a deal before the end of June.

It would mean a lengthy delay of up to 12 months, although with an option to leave early if there is an agreement at Westminster before then.

As with Mrs Mays plan, it would mean the UK staging European elections  although this time with a real prospect MEPs will actually take up their seats in the new parliament.

Some European leaders believe the additional time would allow Britain the space to come to a settled position, but others fear an unhappy UK could be a disruptive presence in the EU.

It would also increase the unrest among some Tory MPs already angry that Britain did not leave as planned on March 29, leading to further pressure for Mrs May to step down.

Donald Tusk is proposing an extension of up to a year (ec.europa.eu/PA)

 No-deal: If there is no agreement on an extension, the default position remains that Britain will leave the EU at 11pm UK time (midnight in Brussels) on Friday without a deal  the result many businesses fear the most.

Such an outcome would create huge uncertainty  although Brexiteers argue that claims of a huge hit to the economy are exaggerated.

Although it would appear to be the least likely outcome, any extension has to be agreed unanimously by all the remaining 27 leaders, meaning that any one of them could veto it.

Equally, if Mrs May felt the conditions attached to any extension were unacceptable, she could walk away  but few MPs believe she would actually do so.
The Police Federation has joined the backlash against anti-gay laws in Brunei by moving its annual bravery awards away from the Dorchester hotel.

Chairman of the organisation John Apter said on Twitter that doing nothing was not an option after the tiny but extremely wealthy Asian nation brought in a punishment of stoning to death for gay sex.

Actor George Clooney and Sir Elton John were among celebrities who announced they would no longer stay at any of a string of luxury hotels  including the Dorchester  which are owned by the Sultan of Brunei.

I can confirm that following recent events we have made the decision to move the @PFEW_HQ Bravery Awards away from the #Dorchester Hotel. My values, the PFEW and policing as a whole would not allow us to be associated with such a regime.  John Apter (@PFEW_Chair) April 10, 2019

Mr Apter said: I can confirm that following recent events we have made the decision to move the @PFEW_HQ Bravery Awards away from the #Dorchester Hotel. My values, the PFEW and policing as a whole would not allow us to be associated with such a regime.

In a second tweet he went on: This decision does not reflect on the staff at the Dorchester Hotel however, doing nothing was not an option. An alternative venue has been identified and I will make sure the Bravery Awards are as special as they have always been. This is the right decision.

The Brunei Investment Agency (BIA), through the Dorchester Collection, owns Londons the Dorchester and 45 Park Lane as well as Coworth Park in Berkshire.

The Police Federation is boycotting the Dorchester hotel in protest at Bruneis anti-LGBT+ laws (Sophie Hogan/P)

Also in its portfolio of hotels, among the worlds most exclusive, are two of Hollywoods best-known establishments, the Bel-Air and the Beverly Hills.

The Police Federation represents more than 119,000 officers in England and Wales up to the rank of chief inspector.

Its annual bravery awards are held to celebrate extraordinary feats of courage.

In a further statement issued through the Police Federation, Mr Apter said hotel management had refunded the deposit for the event and been incredibly understanding.

He said: We cannot in all conscience support a regime which is so fundamentally opposed to the values of respect, diversity and equality we hold so highly within our organisation and policing as a whole.

And although the decision is no reflection on the staff of the hotel itself who have always done their utmost to ensure that the event is a success, it is the right one.

Local management at the hotel has reimbursed us after cancelling the deposit and have been incredibly understanding in these circumstances for which I am grateful.
Theresa May has insisted leaving the EU in an orderly way will be the best Brexit for the UK after a Tory MP urged her to consider a no-deal scenario.

Craig Tracey (North Warwickshire) asked the Prime Minister to respect their partys manifesto commitments to leave the customs union and single market.

Theresa May speaks during Prime Ministers Questions in the House of Commons (PA)

The SNP also pressed Mrs May to reveal if a second referendum has been offered on the Governments side of the negotiating table during talks to find a compromise with Labour, with the PM reiterating that the position has not changed in opposing such a poll.

Speaking during Prime Ministers Questions in the Commons, Mr Tracey said: Do you agree with me that if the best way to do that, rather than deliver the diluted deal which is unrecognisable to many of us who voted to leave, is to go under WTO rules, then we should grab that opportunity and believe in the ability of the British people and the Conservative Government to make a success of it?

Mrs May replied: Can I agree with you that I believe a Conservative Government will make a success of whatever the situation is in relation to Brexit?

But I still believe, actually, the best Brexit for the UK is for us to be able to leave in an orderly way, to be able to leave with a deal.

The PM added that there are some MPs who do not want to honour the result of the referendum, adding: I do.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn focused his questions on cuts to local government (PA)

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said discussions are continuing in an attempt to find a compromise Brexit deal, before switching focus to cuts to local government.

He said communities across the country have been abandoned, adding: Official figures show that nine of the 10 most deprived council areas in this country have seen cuts almost three times the average of any other council.

Why has the Prime Minister decided to cut the worst-off areas in our country more than the most well-off?

Mrs May said councils have more money available this year and a real-terms increase has been provided, adding: (Mr Corbyn) voted against that money being available.

The Prime Minister was accused of having `abandoned communities across the country by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (PA)

Mr Corbyn later said that, under this Government, 500,000 more children have gone into relative poverty, and, to cries of shame from the Labour benches, he said: In Stoke-on-Trent alone, 4,000 food bank parcels were handed out to children last year.

He finished by saying: The evidence is clear: the Tories have abandoned communities across the country, theyve left towns and cities to fend for themselves after nine years of vindictive, damaging austerity.

Pointing out that there are 1,000 fewer Sure Start centres and 760 fewer youth centres since the last Labour government, he said: This Government stands for tax cuts for the richest and swingeing cuts for the rest.

Will the Prime Minister now admit that, far from tackling the burning injustices she talked about, her Governments cruel and unfair policies have pushed councils to the brink and left those just about managing not being able to mange at all? That is her legacy.

Labour's Jeremy Corbyn pushes Theresa May on council cuts, saying "the political choice... to impose austerity in local government has hit the poorest and worst off"#PMQs updates: https://t.co/DPCZVt8ctr pic.twitter.com/F9mBlpNa1u  BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) April 10, 2019

Mrs May hit back, saying she was proud to lead a Government that has seen more children in good schools, more doctors, more jobs, lower borrowing, lower unemployment, lower taxes.

And she said if Mr Corbyn got into power it would mean destroying our defences, abandoning our allies, billions more in borrowing, fewer opportunities, and higher taxes for everyone.

For the SNP, Westminster leader Ian Blackford said: It is now one week since talks began between the Tory Government and the Labour Party.

At any point during these talks, has a second referendum been offered on the Governments side of the negotiating table? Yes or no?

Mrs May responded: My position on a second referendum and the Governments position has not changed. The House has rejected a second referendum two times. When we come to a deal, we will have to ensure that legislation goes through this House.

Of course, it may be there are those in this House who wish to press that issue as that legislation goes through, though my position on this has not changed.

Mr Blackford said Mrs May appeared not to answer his question about a second referendum.

Conservative MP Henry Smith (Crawley) raised concerns over a 12-month Brexit delay, saying: Does she not recognise that that would cost more than 1 billion a month to the British taxpayer in subscriptions to the EU, and does she not agree that that funding would be better spent on tackling crime, funding schools and even tax cuts for my constituents and constituents up and down the country?
Four women are breaking new ground among the deeply conservative Bedouin of Egypts Sinai Peninsula by working as tour guides.

Women among the Bedouin almost never work outside the home, and even more rarely interact with outsiders.

But amid a stunning vista of desert mountains, Umm Yasser is one of the four women from the community who for the first time are working as tour guides.

Umm Yasser, centre, leads women on a trek in South Sinai, Egypt (Nariman El-Mofty/AP)

The 47-year-old said: It is against our culture, but women need jobs.

People will make fun of us, but I dont care. Im a strong woman.

They are part of Sinai Trail, a unique project in which local Bedouin tribes came together aiming to develop their own tourism.

Founded in 2015, the project has set up a 550km (330-mile) trail through the remote mountains of the peninsula, a 42-day trek through the lands of eight different tribes, each of which contributes guides.

The project has been successful in bringing some income to the tribes, who often complain of being left out of the major tourism development of the southern Sinai, home to beach resorts and desert safaris.

Tourists stop to look at the scenery (Nariman El-Mofty/AP)

Until now, all the projects guides were men.

Ben Hoffler, the British co-founder of the Sinai Trail, felt it was not enough.

He said: How can we be credible calling this the Sinai Trail if the women arent involved?

But even after years of trying by Mr Hoffler, almost all the tribes still reject women guides.

Ben Hoffler, co-founder of the Sinai Trail, takes photographs (Nariman El-Mofty/AP)

Only one of the smallest, oldest and poorest tribes, the Hamada, accepted the idea.

There are some conditions: the tourists can only be women, and the tours cannot go overnight.

Each day before the sun sets, the group returns to the Hamadas home village in Wadi Sahu, a narrow desert valley.

The organisers also urge the tourists to photograph the guides only when they are wearing a full veil over the face that covers even the eyes with mesh.

Umm Yasser was the first to join.

Umm Yasser at her home (Nariman El-Mofty/AP)

She said she started hiking when she was a child and knows the mountains and the valley by heart.

She convinced the families of three other women to allow them to work as guides.

Their tribe is a poor one, living in small concrete houses strung along the Wadi Sahu.

Electricity runs no more than five hours a night and there is no running water.

Tourists trek in the mountains (Nariman El-Mofty/AP)

It is isolated deep in the mountains of south Sinai, far from the tourism centres in Sinai along the Red Sea coast or near the famed St Catherines Monastery.

The men often leave the village to find work, either at resorts or in mines further south.

We need money to help support our families for basic necessities, Umm Yasser said.

We need blankets, clothes for the children, washing machines, fridges, books for school.

Umm Yasser looks at Umm Soliman as she plays the flute (Nariman El-Mofty/AP)

The Sinai Trail came together in some of the hardest years for tourism.

It was launched as an Islamic State-linked insurgency intensified in the northern part of Sinai and a year after a Russian passenger plane crashed, killing all 224 passengers on board in a suspected militant bombing.

The violence has stayed far from southern Sinai, where tourist resorts are located  but the industry has had to push hard to win tourists back.

On a recent tour joined by the Associated Press, 16 female tourists  from Korea, New Zealand, Europe, Lebanon and Egypt  were led by Umm Yasser and the other three women guides, Umm Soliman, Aicha and Selima, through the rugged landscape in and around Wadi Sahu.

Aicha, an Egyptian Bedouin from the Hamada tribe and one of the first female guides, plays the flute for tourists (Nariman El-Mofty/AP)

Marion Salwegter, a 68-year-old Dutch woman who travels to southern Sinai every year alone to escape the winters in the Netherlands, said: I think south Sinai is safe, especially when you are in the care of Bedouins  This is where I feel at home. Every corner there is scenery and another beautiful view.

During the two-day tour, the group hiked across an endlessly broad landscape of mountain peaks and valleys of dry riverbeds.

While male Bedouin guides range far from home, the women tend to move closer, with an exceptionally rich knowledge of the surrounding mountains.

An Egyptian student borrows a Bedouin wedding dress to pose for a photograph with Bedouin men from the Hamada tribe (Nariman El-Mofty/AP)

The guides talked about the local plants and herbs, the history and legends of the area and pointed out the borders of the areas tribes.

In the evening, the group returned to the Hamada tribes village.

The women sat on the floor of Umm Yassers home and the tourists asked the guide about life in the village, marriage and divorce.

Umm Yasser is sceptical other Bedouin women will join her as a guide or in working in general any time soon.

Umm Yasser offers tea during a womens-only circle of tourists and Bedouin from the Hamada tribe at her home (Nariman El-Mofty/AP)

But, she said, there is no shame in working. This is what I believe in, and it makes me strong.

Some attitudes are changing.

Mohammed Salman, an elderly man from the Aligat tribe, said he thought the guides project was a great step for women.

If a woman wants to work, she should be able to have the right to, he said.

Many men say no, a womans place is at home. But Im sick of this ideology. Shes a human being.

A Bedouin girl holds plants she picked for her mother (Nariman El-Mofty/AP)

Younger Bedouin girls tagged along with the group and talked about wanting to be female guides in the future.

This trip is going down in history and will be talked about, said Julie Paterson, a facilitator for Sinai Trail who often works with Bedouin women.

It might also go into Bedouin oral history.
Two blind veterans have found love again in their 90s and celebrated with a blessing where they vowed to live out their days together.

Peter Van Zeller and Nancy Bowstead, both 97, celebrated their new-found romance with a ceremony at the Blind Veterans UKs chapel in Ovingdean, near Brighton, on Wednesday.

The pair, who both served in the Second World War, met in May last year at the sight loss charitys training and rehabilitation centre where they both now live.

Mr Van Zeller proposed just over six months later in November and the pair decided to make a formal commitment to each other surrounded by family and friends.

Second World War veterans Peter Van Zeller and Nancy Bowstead were showered with confetti (Gareth Fuller/PA)

They held hands throughout the service, which had all the hallmarks of a wedding without the legal formality of a marriage, in a chapel decorated with flowers and hearts.

Mr Van Zeller said he fell in love as soon as he met Mrs Bowstead, adding: This lady came and sat next to me in the lounge after dinner.

She definitely had a spark about her and we hit it off immediately.

Until I met Nancy, I hadnt realised how lonely Id really been since my wife died. We just want to live and be happy together for a very long time.

But Mrs Bowstead jokes Mr Van Zeller was a little grumpy at first before they got chatting, adding: It was just like an electric shock.

We now live just four doors down from each other so I can go and visit him whenever I wish.

He proposed because he wanted to make sure I didnt go off with another man. There are a lot more men than women here.

Clare Callanan conducted the service at the Blind Veterans UK centre in Brighton (Gareth Fuller/PA)

It is a dream come true to know that I could be treasured and feel loved by someone as wonderful as Peter after many years alone. It really has been a miracle and we love each other to bits.

Born in London and growing up in Inverness, Mr Van Zeller joined the Royal Air Force aged 18, training as a pilot and flying the Westland Whirlwind fighter jet in the 263 squadron protecting convoys of cargo vessels at sea.

But he left after two years when a friend piloted his plane while he was on leave, crashed and died.

He joined the Army in December 1943, being sent to Sword Beach in Normandy in June 1944 about a week after the D-Day landings serving in the Somerset Light Infantry.

Aged 23, he was shot in the right arm by a sniper during an assault on the town of Villers-Bocage.

Mr Van Zellers wife Betty died in 2012 aged 89.

Born in Widnes, Cheshire, Mrs Bowstead told her family aged 17 she must leave her home to serve her country, joining the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) in 1941, training at Lancaster and Oswestry.

She was also taught at Harrogate and Edinburgh and was commissioned as an officer in 1943. She then served on a gun site in Swansea for the remainder of the war and was discharged as a subaltern in 1948.

She has two children and her husband Derek died in 2013 aged 89.

Second World War veterans Peter Van Zeller and Nancy Bowstead share a smile (Gareth Fuller/PA)

The new couple both lost their sight much later in life  both due to glaucoma and after Mrs Bowstead had two strokes while Mr Van Zeller also had macular degeneration.

Mrs Bowstead started receiving support from Blind Veterans UK in 2011 and Mr Zeller in 2016, and they take part in arts and crafts courses at the Brighton centre.

The charitys chaplain, Clare Callanan, officiated at the service which included prayers, readings, favourite hymns picked by the couple and a declaration of their love where they made promises to honour each other.

They marked their love and friendship by exchanging rings. Describing them as a beautiful couple, she said: Peter and Nancy have found a mutual love, respect and understanding with each other and that is something that should be celebrated.

This example of commitment is a blessing to all of us as part of the Blind Veterans UK family.

After the service the pair laughed and joked together as they gathered outside for photographs while they were showered with confetti.

Mrs Bowstead said it was wonderful, adding: We want to live forever and enjoy our time together. Weve had a lot to face in our lives and we just want to enjoy each others company.

We are looking forward to doing all sorts of things together.

We are so happy. This is home, Ovingdean is home.

Her son Graham Bowstead said: We are just delighted for them, that in the autumn of their lives they have found each other.

The pair marked the occasion with a reception with loved ones, enjoying a buffet and cake while raising a toast.
A new 10 million ferry is ready to sail away from the shipyard after being built on Merseyside.

Shipbuilder Cammell Laird has completed the Red Kestrel, a freight-only vessel for Isle of Wight ferry operator Red Funnel, after nine months of work.

The ferry, the 1,393rd vessel built at the yard in Birkenhead, Wirral, is due to start operating between Southampton and the Isle of Wight in May.

The Red Kestrel is a 74m-long freight-only RoRo vessel for the Isle of Wight ferry operator Red Funnel (Cammell Laird/PA)

Cammell Laird employed 200 direct workers, 200 sub-contractors and 10 apprentices on the contract, used 45 British supply chain businesses and the project generated 3,000 man hours of work for apprentices.

Chief operating officer Tony Graham said: Cammell Laird would like to thank Red Funnel for placing its trust in us to build this wonderful state-of-the-art ferry, drawing on all our marine engineering expertise.

Completing this ship sends a very strong message to the global maritime industry about Cammell Lairds ferry building capabilities after we won the contract against international competition.

We are proud to see the Red Kestrel join a collection of ferries that Cammell Laird has built in recent years in addition to the large number of drydockings and repairs we do each year in the ferry sector.

The shipbuilder is also constructing 200m polar research ship the RRS Sir David Attenborough, which is the largest civilian ship to be built in the UK for 30 years.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned Theresa May the EU is likely to agree to a longer Brexit delay than the one she is asking for.

The Prime Minister will meet the leaders of the remaining EU 27 later on Wednesday to press for a further extension to the Article 50 withdrawal process to June 30 to allow her more time to get a deal through Parliament.

However Mrs Merkel, who met Mrs May in Berlin on Tuesday ahead of the Brussels summit, suggested they may well go for a longer delay, although the UK would be allowed to leave very quickly if Parliament approves a withdrawal deal.

We will shape this extension in such a way that, whenever Britain has approved the Withdrawal Agreement, Britain can then complete its orderly withdrawal very shortly after, she told German MPs.

Her comments were in line with a plan put forward by European Council president Donald Tusk for an extension to the Article 50 withdrawal process.

European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas meanwhile said Brussels was fully prepared to cope in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

This is not our desired outcome but we are not afraid of it. We are prepared, he said.

With Britain set to leave the EU at 11pm on Friday without a deal unless an extension is agreed, Mrs May insisted she would be pressing the case in the Belgian capital for a shorter delay.

The Prime Minister, however, remains under intense pressure from Conservative MPs  already angry at the failure to leave on March 29 as planned  who oppose any further delay.

At Prime Ministers Questions, Tory backbencher Craig Tracey said she should abandon her diluted deal and take Britain out on World Trade Organisation terms, while Henry Smith warned that an extension would cost the UK 1 billion a month.

Mrs May however told MPs that Britain would already be outside the EU if they had been prepared to vote for her Withdrawal Agreement.

The best Brexit for the UK is for us to be able to leave in an orderly way, to be able to leave with a deal, she said.

We could actually have been outside the EU by now if we had managed to get the deal through.

Earlier, Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay insisted ministers were committed to taking Britain out of the EU at the earliest opportunity.

I dont want to see a long extension. The Prime Minister doesnt want to see a long extension. That is why the request today is to June 30 in order that we can leave as soon as possible, he told BBC Radio 4s Today programme.

Justice Secretary David Gauke said Theresa May could carry on for another year to see Brexit through (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Mr Barclay, a Brexiteer, sidestepped questions as to whether Mrs May could remain in office if the EU insisted on a longer delay.

In contrast, pro-EU Justice Secretary David Gauke suggested she could carry on until she has taken the country through the current phase of the negotiations and Britain has finally left the EU.

I dont think we should be rushing to change our leader when there is a big task to be done, he told BBC Radio 5 live.

If we are going through that process of trying to get Parliament to support a deal to find a way of breaking this deadlock, then Theresa May continues to be right person to lead us through that process.

The depth of the anger within the Tory ranks was underlined by a Commons vote on Tuesday, when 97 Tory MPs voted against a motion backing Mrs Mays call for an extension which only passed with the support of opposition MPs.

My letter to @eucopresident Donald Tusk:

Any decision by the Prime Minister to accept a long extension to Article 50 is likely to be challenged in the UK courts. pic.twitter.com/D4AFcsYvEV  Bill Cash (@BillCashMP) April 10, 2019

Meanwhile, veteran Tory Eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash has written to Mr Tusk warning that an extended delay was likely to face a legal challenge in the British courts, thus further prolonging the uncertainty surrounding the UKs exit from the EU.

In a letter to the leaders of the remaining EU27, Mr Tusk said there was little reason to believe that the ratification of Mrs Mays beleaguered Brexit deal could be completed by the end of June.

He called for the European Council to discuss an alternative, longer extension, such as a flexible extension lasting as long as necessary and no longer than one year.

Mr Tusk wrote: The UK would be free to leave whenever it is ready. And the EU27 would avoid repeated Brexit summits.

Importantly, a long extension would provide more certainty and predictability by removing the threat of constantly shifting cliff-edge dates.

There are times when you need to give time time.

My letter to EU leaders ahead of tomorrows #EUCO: https://t.co/bAsz4Qx36s#Brexit  Charles Michel (@eucopresident) April 9, 2019

The unanimous agreement of all 27 remaining EU states is needed to avoid a no-deal Brexit on the scheduled date of April 12.

EU leaders will gather for talks with European Parliament president Antonio Tajani on Wednesday evening, before hearing from Mrs May.

They will then meet for dinner without her to agree a response to the UKs extension request.
The Ecuadorean Government has been accused of an extensive spying operation against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange which has led to a police investigation into claims of extortion.

Meetings with lawyers and a doctor inside the Ecuador embassy in London over the past year have been secretly filmed, WikiLeaks said.

The anti-secrecy organisation said it had been offered all the material from an unnamed person in Spain, if it paid three million euros.

WikiLeaks editor Kristinn Hrafnsson said he travelled to Spain to meet the person and was shown videos of meetings Mr Assange has held in the past year, as well as a copy of a legal document left briefly in a room in the embassy.

A judge in Spain is now investigating the allegations, Mr Hrafnsson told a press conference in London.

Mr Assange has been living inside the embassy for almost seven years, believing he will be extradited to the United States for questioning over the activities of WikiLeaks if he leaves the building.

Me Hrafnsson said attempts to expel Mr Assange from the embassy had been escalating, leading to a warning from WikiLeaks last week that it could happen within hours or days.

He added: The only reason it was averted is because we heard about it and published the information.

He said there was an extensive spying operation against Mr Assange, conducted from within the embassy.

Police in Spain were told about the documents and videos being offered for sale and the information has been passed to an investigative judge, said Mr Hrafnsson.

Fidel Narvaez, a former diplomat at the embassy, told the press conference that the Government of Ecuador was not protecting Mr Assange any more, even though he has been granted diplomatic immunity.

He said: The Government of Ecuador is making everything possible to end the asylum.

WikiLeaks lawyer Jennifer Robinson said a complaint about the spying allegations was being made to the United Nations ahead of a planned meeting between Mr Assange and a UN Special Rapporteur later this month.

We remain concerned about the co-operation the Ecuador government is giving the United States.

We know there is a sealed indictment in the US to prosecute him as a priority. No one can credibly deny that risk  that is the reason he was granted asylum.

Fidel Narvaez, former consul of Ecuador to London, Kristinn Hrafnsson, editor of WikiLeaks and barrister Jennifer Robinson at Doughty Street Chambers in London (Nick Ansell/PA)

Any assurance from the UK Government that he would not be extradited is not believable.

Mr Hrafnsson said Mr Assange was now living in a Truman Show operation, with restrictions on his communications and visitors, introduced after Lenin Moreno became President of Ecuador last year.

WikiLeaks assumes the secretly recorded information has been handed to the administration of US President Donald Trump.

Videos offered for sale included a medical examination of Mr Assange by a doctor in a room inside the embassy, said Mr Hrafnsson.

He added: It was recorded and found its way to a dubious individual in Spain.
Ben Fogle is asking the public not to be suspicious of donating to charity as he visits people affected by Cyclone Idai.

The TV presenter and British Red Cross ambassador broke off filming for an upcoming series in southern Africa to visit Mozambique.

Cyclone Idai left a trail of destruction across areas of Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe last month, affecting an estimated three million people.

The broadcaster broke off filming for an upcoming series to visit the region (Caroline Irby/British Red Cross/PA)

Fogle told the Press Association: I think theres a suspicion about aid in general.

There are people who are critical of aid being given out in various countries, I think there are some people who believe its held the development of some nations back.

I dont entirely believe that but a natural disaster is a very different circumstance.

The money here is going to be extremely focused, its genuinely helping people who have lost everything.

The Red Cross is supporting over 200,000 people in Mozambique (Caroline Irby/British Red Cross/PA)

Strong winds and widespread flooding ripped apart roads, bridges, and buildings and submerged agricultural land.

Aid agencies are now working hard to manage outbreaks of cholera and malaria in the region, with the British Red Cross sending a team of volunteers to provide safe toilets and washing facilities.

Fogle, whose career in broadcasting started nearly 20 years ago in Castaway 2000, is known for hosting programmes including the BBCs Countryfile and ITVs Countrywise.

He said he decided to approach the British Red Cross to show people their donations make a difference.

After speaking to survivors and helping to hand out supplies in Beira, a city near the cyclones epicentre, he said there were still communities and villages yet to receive aid more than three weeks after the disaster.

The 45-year-old said: I met one elderly lady, a 75-year-old called Celeste, and she had lost her home in the cyclone in the first few hours.

She went to shelter with a neighbour and watched in horror as the house collapsed on her neighbours eight-year-old son, killing him.

They retreated to a village nearby, which also collapsed. They then endured the rest of the storm outside, exposed to the full wrath of Cyclone Idai.

The Red Cross is on the ground right now supporting families whose lives have been devastated by #CycloneIdai.



But with cholera cases rising quickly, their lives are still in danger.



Donate now and help us reach more people: https://t.co/mRF7VNkaUK pic.twitter.com/W6t5lHPJJv  British Red Cross  (@BritishRedCross) April 10, 2019

It brought home just what the people here have experienced and endured and what I think people have to remember is that the storm hits a community with very basic housing in the first place.

The British Red Cross has raised more than 1.1 million for the survivors of Cyclone Idai in south-eastern Africa, but more support is urgently needed.

To donate to their Cyclone Idai appeal, go to www.redcross.org.uk/idai
The pilot of a police helicopter which crashed into a pub killing 10 people could have been dangerously misled by an error in a maintenance manual, a fatal accident inquiry has heard.

Pilot David Traill, two crew members and seven customers in the Clutha bar in Glasgow were killed when the aircraft crashed on to the roof of the building on November 29, 2013.

Marcus Cook, senior inspector at the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) was questioned by Donald Findlay QC, representing the family of victim Robert Jenkins, at the inquiry on Wednesday.

Mr Findlay asked Mr Cook if the pilot would have three to four minutes from one engine on the helicopter flaming out due to fuel shortage and the second doing so.

Mr Cook said it would not be minutes, but kilograms of fuel.

Marcus Cook from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch outside the inquiry at Hampden (Andrew Milligan/PA)

He said: The maintenance manual is incorrect. It would be three to four kilograms  hence about a minute.

Mr Cook said he did not know how the mistake occurred and the maintenance manual had since been changed.

Mr Findlay asked: If the pilot Captain Traill knew about the gap and understood it to be three or four minutes, he had been badly misled?

If he knew, Mr Cook replied.

And dangerously misled, Mr Findlay added.

Mr Cook said: Your words.

Mr Findlay asked: Is there anything wrong with my words?

No, Mr Cook replied.

He said it was probably but maybe unlikely that the pilot was aware of the manual as it was for maintenance.

He said the pilot would have had 40 seconds to react when the first engine flamed out at around 500 to 600 feet.

When the second engine followed, there would have been less than 10 seconds to react.

He said there were indications the pilot attempted to have the helicopter auto-rotate to land with some degree of safety, but this did not work.

Mr Cook said the first low fuel light, of five fuel warnings, would have come on when the pilot was around Bothwell, which is about 11 road miles from Glasgow city centre, and at that time he would have been expected to land within 10 minutes.

The inquiry heard the AAIB report indicates the helicopter then went to Uddingston and Bargeddie.

Mr Findlay asked: Why would anyone with the warnings and the knowledge of the amount of fuel on board then carry out an operation at Uddingston, let alone going on to Bargeddie, in that situation?

The bar area in the Clutha was largely destroyed in the crash (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Mr Cook said: Ive absolutely no idea, adding that he would not have done so.

Mr Findlay asked Mr Cook how the crash happened.

He replied: Unfortunately we could not come to a positive conclusion apart from not landing in 10 minutes.

He said he assumed the pilot was heading back to the heliport in Glasgow.

Questioned by Roddy Dunlop QC, for helicopter manufacturer Airbus, Mr Cook agreed the maintenance manual said the difference between the two fuel supply tanks was around 4kg, which was shown in a diagram.

The manual said the difference would give three to four minutes flight time between the first engine flame-out and the second, but Mr Dunlop said with a fuel burn rate of 3.3kg per minute the pilot would know this would be under three to four minutes.

Mr Dunlop said: In ordinary circumstances the helicopter would be put down within 10 minutes of the red light coming on, in ordinary circumstances no-ones flying on the residual 4kg.

In a 2006 pilot training manual, the fuel difference was shown as 4kg.

Asked by Mr Dunlop if this was the manual Captain Traill would have trained on, Mr Cook said: Ill take your word on that.

The inquiry also heard agreed evidence on how the victims died, most from head or neck injuries caused by the crash which left several of them trapped in the rubble and wreckage.

The purpose of the FAI is to determine the cause of the deaths, establish whether they could have been prevented and enable the sheriff to make recommendations that could prevent fatalities in similar circumstances.

More than 100 people were at the Clutha Vaults pub when the helicopter, returning to its base on the banks of the River Clyde, crashed through the roof.

The inquiry, which continues on Wednesday April 17, is expected to involve around three months of evidence spread over six calendar months this year.
Singapore has seized more than 28 tons (25.4 tonnes) of pangolin scales belonging to around 38,000 of the endangered mammals over the past week.

The global record has spurred calls for more protection for pangolins.

The scales, which were found in shipping containers, have been linked to four species of pangolins native to Africa.

Officials found a record 14.2 tons (12.88 tonnes) of the scales hidden among packets of frozen beef last Wednesday.

Five days later, they found 14 more tons (12.7 tonnes) in 474 bags in another container.

Pangolin scales in Singapore (National Parks Board via AP)

The National Parks Board, Singapore Customs and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority said in a statement that the cargo was declared as cassia seeds.

Both shipments were en route from Nigeria to Vietnam.

The sheer size of these two latest seizures is unprecedented and will undoubtedly prove a major setback to the traffickers concerned, said Richard Thomas, of monitoring network Traffic.

He warned that the seizures themselves will not put the traffickers out of business.

The quantities of pangolins involved point to sourcing, processing and distribution on an industrial scale, he added.

The pangolin, also known as the scaly anteater, is said to be the most widely trafficked mammal in the world.

Pangolin scales are made of keratin, the same material in human fingernails.

Its scales are in high demand in Asia for use in traditional Chinese medicine.

Their meat is also considered a delicacy in China and other Asian countries.

Wildlife groups are concerned that the busts point to a jump in poaching of pangolins.

The pangolin is said to be the most widely trafficked mammal in the world (Sakchai Lalit/AP)

The World Health Organisation recently endorsed traditional medicine and the industry appears keen to grow this market, outside of China, Vietnam and beyond, said Neil DCruze, global wildlife adviser at World Animal Protection.

This is an alarming move for some wildlife species such as pangolins, as it poses a real conservation and animal welfare threat.

Pangolins are an extremely lucrative catch, he said.

In rural communities where they are hunted, poachers can make up to the equivalent of a full years salary from catching just one pangolin.

Feeding the insatiable demand are middlemen traffickers who also profit from the trade that is reaching more remote communities to hunt the animal, he added.

Paul Thomson, an official at the Pangolin Specialist Group, said it looks like the pangolin poaching has increased but figures were difficult to ascertain.

The illegal trade in pangolin parts has been going on for decades. However, pangolins have typically been overlooked in terms of concerted conservation attention and action, Mr Thomson said.

This is changing thanks to growing awareness of pangolins. And this awareness has partly been driven by the high volumes of trafficking seen today.

In February, Malaysian officials seized 30 tons (27.2 tonnes) of pangolin and pangolin products.

Pangolin scales (National Parks Board via AP)

This included live and frozen pangolins and 361kg (795lbs) of their scales.

Earlier that month, Hong Kong said it had seized ivory tusks and 8.3 tons (7.5 tonnes) of pangolin scales belonging to as many as 13,000 pangolins.

The shipment, which originated in Nigeria, was bound for Vietnam.

Singapore made two markedly smaller pangolin scale busts in 2015 and 2016 amounting to 440kg (970lbs).

Those found to have illegally imported, exported or re-exported wildlife, including their parts, face a maximum punishment of two years in prison and a fine of 500,000 Singapore dollars (282,000).

There has never been a more opportune moment for full and thorough international investigations and collaborations to take place to find out who has perpetrated these criminal acts and bring those behind them to face justice, Mr Thomas said.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex could find themselves trendsetters if they decide to have a home birth for their first child, an antenatal expert has said.

Harry and Meghan are rumoured to be considering having a midwife deliver their baby at their new Berkshire home Frogmore Cottage  which could inspire other mums to do the same.

There is also speculation the couple have picked their own medical team to directly oversee the arrival of the Queens latest great grandchild  dispensing with senior medical staff associated with the royal family.

Val Willcox, 50, an antenatal teacher with the NCT (National Childbirth Trust), said: If Meghan has her baby at home it will be really interesting to see what that does about the home birth rate nationally.

Meghans baby is thought to be due at the end of April (Chris Jackson/PA)

Because if its in the news that somebody high profile has had a home birth and shes got a lovely baby and everything was fine, it may lead more women to have that conversation with their midwives If she can do it, is that something that I could do?'

Giving birth at home  a familiar, clean and relaxed environment that feels safe  enables mothers to have a more straightforward delivery, said Ms Willcox.

She added: Going to hospital is where some women feel more relaxed and confident, but for some women going into hospital actually has the opposite effect and will trigger the release of adrenaline which will slow or stop their labour.

So the choice about where to give birth is a very individual one based on a womans individual circumstances and her beliefs and preferences.

Meghan has said husband Harry will be a fantastic dad (Chris Jackson/PA)

Theres really good evidence from the birthplace study, that a home birth is both safe and more likely to result in a straightforward birth even if the woman transfers to hospital and ends up giving birth in hospital.

A woman opting to have her child at home is supported by a midwife, once contractions are regular, who will be joined by another midwife as the birth draws nearer. The option of transferring to a hospital at any time, whether or not there are any problems, is always open to expectant mums.

But Meghan is likely to have a comprehensive list of medical professionals on call, if not at Frogmore Cottage.

The Duchess of Cambridge had Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent  now Englands first Chief Midwife  as her midwife, and in total had a 23-strong team of medical experts and other staff to support the delivery of her children at the private maternity wing of St Marys Hospital in Paddington, London.

Only a handful of midwives and others led by a consultant obstetrician were in the delivery room to supervise the birth of Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge chose to have their son Prince Louis, pictured, and their other two children at the private maternity wing of St Marys Hospital, Paddington (Kirsty OConnor/PA)

But theatre staff were on stand-by along with a lab technician, replacement anaesthetists and paediatricians, a back-up for the consultant along with workers from a special baby care unit.

Meghan is an older prospective mother at the age of 37, but if in good health is likely to be advised a home birth is an option.

Ms Willcox said: We know the older you get the higher the chances of developing complications in the pregnancy, and for some older women the recommendation to them will be to give birth in hospital  but it is their choice because nobody can force you to go into hospital.

If Meghans been fit and healthy throughout her pregnancy, if she hasnt developed any complications then she should be considered low risk at the point she goes into labour.

Kensington Palace declined to comment.
Julian Assange faces up to five years in a US prison after he was arrested and forcibly removed from the Ecuadorian embassy in London almost seven years after he sought refuge there.

The WikiLeaks founder was advised to get over to the US and get on with your life by a judge who also described him as a narcissist as he appeared in court and was found guilty of breaching his bail.

Police detained the 47-year-old on Thursday morning after the Ecuadorian government withdrew his asylum, blaming his interference in international affairs and saying he was discourteous to embassy staff.

He appeared at a packed Westminster Magistrates Court before District Judge Michael Snow, where he denied the bail breach but was convicted and told he faces a jail term of up to 12 months when he is sentenced at a later date at Crown Court.

Assange is also facing extradition to the US on charges of conspiring to break into a classified government computer, a charge the US Department of Justice said could attract a maximum jail sentence of five years.

The US accuses Assange of assisting Chelsea Manning, a former US intelligence analyst, in breaking a password that helped her infiltrate Pentagon computers.

Scotland Yard said Assange was held for failing to appear in court in June 2012 and further arrested on behalf of the United States authorities, at 10.53am after his arrival at a central London police station.

With his hair tied into a pony tail and sporting a long beard, he was seen shouting and gesticulating as he was carried from the embassy in handcuffs by seven men and put into a waiting van shortly after 10am.

The Ecuadorian ambassador to the UK, Jaime Marchan, said that in the time Assange has remained in the embassy he had been disrespectful, continually a problem and interfered in elections, politics and the internal affairs of other countries.

Mr Marchan said: He was continually a problem to us, he was very disrespectful to the authorities, he has said that we were spying on him, he has said we were lying, we were agents of the United States.

But WikiLeaks said Ecuador had acted illegally in terminating Assanges political asylum in violation of international law.

Australian Assange came to prominence after WikiLeaks began releasing hundreds of thousands of classified US diplomatic cables.

In 2010 an arrest warrant was issued for him for two separate allegations, one of rape and one of molestation, after he visited Sweden for a speaking trip.

Police carry WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from the Ecuadorian embassy in London (DailyDOOH/PA)

Assange launched a legal battle against extradition to Sweden from the UK but when that failed he entered the embassy, requesting political asylum.

Assange refused to leave, claiming he would be extradited to the US for questioning over the activities of WikiLeaks if he did so.

The Ecuadorian government at the time was sympathetic to his cause but a regime change in 2017 heralded a less supportive approach and, after 2,487 days in the embassy building in the shadow of Harrods, he was finally removed.

In May 2017, Swedens top prosecutor dropped a long-running inquiry into a rape claim against Assange.

Swedish authorities have now said they are looking into a request from the lawyer for a woman who alleged she was raped by Assange during a visit to Stockholm in 2010, to reopen the investigation.

In a statement prosecutors said they will now examine the case in order to determine how to proceed, adding: The investigation has not yet been resumed, and we do not know today whether it will be.

Welcoming Assanges arrest, Prime Minister Theresa May, Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt all said it showed that no-one is above the law.

Mr Javid later told the House of Commons he was thankful to Ecuadors President Lenin Moreno for resolving the long-running situation at the embassy, saying the decision reflected improvements in the UKs relationship with Ecuador under the countrys new leadership.

But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn tweeted: The extradition of Julian Assange to the US for exposing evidence of atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan should be opposed by the British government.

The extradition of Julian Assange to the US for exposing evidence of atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan should be opposed by the British government.pic.twitter.com/CxTUrOfkHt  Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) April 11, 2019

Donald Trump, who had declared I love WikiLeaks during his 2016 campaign when the website released damaging emails concerning Hillary Clinton, said following Assanges arrest that I know nothing really about him.

Speaking outside court, WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson said Assanges arrest was a dark day for journalism while Assanges lawyer Jennifer Robinson said the development sets a dangerous precedent for all journalist and media organisations in Europe and around the world.

Assange was remanded in custody and will next appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on May 2 by prison video-link in relation to the extradition.
Police in Ireland have insisted a taxi driver who admitted sexually assaulting three passengers has had his licence revoked.

The case has drawn widespread attention after reports of the legal proceedings stated that the mans bail conditions allowed him to carry female passengers, as long as they do not sit in the front seat.

The issue was raised in the parliament on Thursday by Sinn Feins justice spokesman who branded the reported bail terms as outrageous.

Within hours the gardai issued a statement insisting the mans taxi licence was revoked following his conviction in February.

A garda spokesman said: In February of this year a male taxi driver pleaded guilty and was convicted in the Criminal Courts of Justice on three charges of sexual assaults.

This case was remanded for sentencing on April 9.

A stock picture of the Garda badge logo (Niall Carson/PA)

Following the conviction, Garda Sergeant Aoife Cronin immediately referred the matter to the Garda Superintendent Carriage Office, Dublin Region.

On the February 28 the small public service vehicle licence was revoked with immediate effect for this male driver.

Earlier in the Dail parliament Donnchadh O Laoghaire described the case as frightening.

How can anyone feel safe in a taxi, no matter where they are seated, that is being driven by a man who has pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault, he added.

What mother or father would not be worried that this man could collect their daughters tonight.

It is unsafe, absolutely wrong and our legislation should not allow it. It is frightening that such a man could drive a taxi in Dublin tonight.

Before the garda clarified the issue, Tanaiste Simon Coveney said: As a father of three daughters, it is important that parents and young people can have faith that, when they get into a taxi, they are safe.

But I think I need to be careful about referring to any individual cases, he added.

Its a serious issue and of course legislation should be tested and, if necessary, changed to ensure that people who are travelling in taxis are protected appropriately and people who are given a licence to drive taxis are appropriately vetted to make sure that, whether its women or men who travelling in taxis, are given the appropriate legal protections they deserve.

He added that the Government is committed to preventing and addressing sexual abuse and gender-based violence.
The Government is standing down emergency preparations for a no-deal Brexit following the latest delay to Britains withdrawal from the EU, it has been reported.

The decision to halt no-deal operational planning by officials was taken at a meeting chaired by Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill, according to a leaked email seen by Sky News.

The email, which was said to have been sent to all civil servants in an unnamed front line Brexit department, says the suspension was taking place with immediate effect.

Downing Street said departments were taking sensible decisions about the timing of their no-deal preparations following the agreement by EU leaders to extend the Article 50 withdrawal process to October 31.

However the move is likely to infuriate Tory Brexiteers already angry at the latest delay to Britains departure from the EU.

The Government has committed 4 billion to no-deal preparations, but some MPs believe the six-month extension shows Theresa May was never prepared to countenance leaving without a deal.

Sheer spite, I regret to say. Very sad.



Officials have worked exceptionally hard to deliver our preparedness and deserve better https://t.co/eWxBADM4ue  Steve Baker MP FRSA (@SteveBakerHW) April 11, 2019

Former Brexit minister Steve Baker, who is now deputy chairman of the pro-Brexit European Research Group, accused the Government of acting out of sheer spite.

Officials have worked exceptionally hard to deliver our preparedness and deserve better, he tweeted.

According to Sky, the email said: In common with the rest of government, we have stood down our no-deal operational planning with immediate effect.

Sir Mark Sedwill chaired the meeting where no-deal preparations suspended (PA)

This morning, at a meeting chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, we agreed that the objective is to ensure we wind down our no-deal planning in a careful, considered and orderly way.

A Downing Street spokesman said: As a responsible Government, weve been preparing for over two years to minimise any disruption in the event of no deal.

In light of this weeks developments, departments will make sensible decisions about the timing and pace at which some of this work is progressing given that the date we leave the EU has changed, but we will absolutely continue to make all necessary preparations.
Three fans were denied entry to Chelseas Europa League clash against Slavia Prague after a video of people singing a racist song circulated on Twitter.

The Premier League clubs security team identified the supporters from a video which showed a group singing Salah is a bomber  apparently in reference to Liverpool and Egypt forward Mohamed Salah, formerly of Chelsea.

The fans are likely to face stadium bans as a result, while three others from the video were not spotted at the ground.

Equality and inclusion organisation Kick It Out condemned the video as a disgrace and the Press Association understands the fans were turned away from the Europa League quarter-final in the Czech Republic after they were identified as members of the group in question.

A statement on Chelseas website read: Chelsea FC finds all forms of discriminatory behaviour abhorrent and where there is clear evidence of Chelsea season ticket holders or members involved in such behaviour, we will take the strongest possible action against them.

Such individuals are an embarrassment to the vast majority of Chelsea supporters who wont tolerate them in their club.

Liverpool also released a statement, thanking Chelsea for their urgent action on the matter and confirming that they are working with Merseyside Police to ascertain the facts around this footage with the aim of identifying individuals featuring in it.

Mo Salah (right) is a former Chelsea player (Adam Davy/PA)

Four Chelsea supporters were suspended by the club for abusing Raheem Sterling during Manchester Citys 2-0 Premier League win at Stamford Bridge on December 8.

Then Chelsea condemned anti-Semitic chanting by Blues fans during the clubs 2-2 Europa League draw at MOL Vidi on December 13.

A Chelsea statement at the time branded that chanting abhorrent, saying it shamed the club. The Blues avoided punishment however, after UEFA ended disciplinary proceedings over the incident in February.

Chelsea continue to run the high-profile Say No to Anti-Semitism campaign.
President Donald Trump has declared that he knows nothing about WikiLeaks after co-founder Julian Assange was hauled out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Mr Trumps claim is a stark contrast to how he showered praise on Assanges hacking organisation during the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign.

Asked about Thursdays arrest, Mr Trump said: Its not my thing. I know there is something having to do with Julian Assange.

Ive been seeing whats happened with Assange and that will be a determination, I would imagine, mostly by the attorney general, whos doing an excellent job. So, hell be making a determination. I know nothing really about him.

Its not my deal in life.

But WikiLeaks was of interest to Mr Trump in 2016 as he welcomed the political boost his campaign got and cheered on the release of Hillary Clinton campaign emails.

President Donald Trump said he did not know anything about WikiLeaks (Evan Vucci/AP)

On the same October day that the Access Hollywood tape emerged, revealing that Mr Trump had bragged in 2005 about groping women, WikiLeaks began releasing damaging emails from Mrs Clintons campaign manager, John Podesta.

Mr Trump and his allies, facing a tough battle in the campaigns final month, seized on the illegal dumps and weaponised them.

WikiLeaks, I love WikiLeaks, Mr Trump said in Pennsylvania.

This WikiLeaks is like a treasure trove, Mr Trump said in Michigan.

Boy, I love reading WikiLeaks, Mr Trump said in Ohio.

Mr Trump extolled WikiLeaks more than 100 times and a poster of Assange hung backstage at the Republicans debate war room.

At no point from a rally stage did Mr Trump express any misgivings about how WikiLeaks obtained the emails from the Clinton campaign or about the accusations of stealing sensitive US government information, which led to the charges against Assange on Thursday.

Assange for years has been under US Justice Department scrutiny for WikiLeaks role in publishing thousands of government secrets. He was an important figure in special counsel Robert Muellers Russia probe, as investigators examined how WikiLeaks obtained emails that were stolen from Democratic groups.

When asked about Assange in 2017, Mr Trump said he did not support or unsupport WikiLeaks move to release hacked emails and that he would not be involved in any decision for the US government to arrest Assange.

I am not involved in that decision, whether or not to arrest Assange, Mr Trump told The Associated Press then, but if they want to do it, its OK with me.

The Justice Department has now charged Assange with taking part in a computer hacking conspiracy, accusing him of scheming with Chelsea Manning, a former Army intelligence analyst, to break a password for a classified government computer.

The single charge of computer intrusion conspiracy carries up to five years in prison, though the Justice Department can add additional charges depending on the evidence it gathers.

Manning was jailed last month for refusing to testify before a grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, suggesting that prosecutors are still at work.

Im glad to see the wheels of justice are finally turning when it comes to Julian Assange, tweeted Senator Lindsey Graham, an ally of Mr Trump.

In my book, he has NEVER been a hero. His actions  releasing classified information  put our troops at risk and jeopardised the lives of those who helped us in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A Sinn Fein MP says she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder due to Troubles trauma.

Fermanagh and South Tyrone representative Michelle Gildernew was speaking in Dublin during a meeting of the Oireachtas committee on the Good Friday Agreement.

The political veteran grew up Co Tyrone in the 1970s and 80s where her family took part in the civil rights campaign.

She spoke about her PTSD diagnosis on Thursday as Northern Irelands Victims and Survivors Commissioner Judith Thompson urged the committee to press the Irish Government to probe atrocities that took place in their jurisdiction to secure answers for grieving families.

Ms Gildernew, 49, highlighted victims of less well-known atrocities.

There are victims and survivors right across these islands, while the Dublin and Monaghan bombings understandably get a lot of attention, there were bombings in Cavan as well and families bereaved and children who died as a result of that, she told the committee.

Sinn Fein MP Michelle Gildernew has revealed she was diagnosed with PTSD due to living through Northern Irelands troubled past. (Oireachtas/PA)

Anybody who has lost a loved one knows what it feels like to be a victim.

There is an awful lot of pain and hurt out there, I recognise that, weve all been through the conflict, I was diagnosed with PTSD in 2013 as a result of it, there is a lot of damaged people out there.

We have to look at wider societal issues and the impact we have on prescribed drugs, our suicide rates and all of that.

There is a still an awful lot of hurt and if it is not tackled and dealt with properly, then that hurt will continue to be generational and that pain will be felt for years to come.

Ms Gildernew previously spoke out in 2012 about her 20-year battle with depression.

She explained then a number of causes, including being asked by her party to stand aside both as an MLA and as chair of the Stormont health committee, a family death and a series of people taking their own lives in her constituency.

In 2015 she lost her Westminster seat to Ulster Unionist Tom Elliott.

She returned to Stormont as an MLA in 2016 and won back her Westminster seat in 2017.
Rob Cross produced another high-quality performance to beat Peter Wright and maintain his place at the top of the Premier League.

The former world champion saw off Wright 8-5 on night 11 in Liverpool, his seventh victory in eight matches, to remain one point clear at the summit.

WHAT A FINISH!



Rob Cross takes out a 140 checkout to move into a 2-0 lead. #Unibet180 pic.twitter.com/SMG2ljgbDr  PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) April 11, 2019

Cross averaged 102.03, threw four maximums, took out two 100-plus finishes and boasted an impressive 53.33 per cent checkout percentage.

Michael Van Gerwen remains hot on Cross heels following a 8-3 thumping of bottom-placed Michael Smith.

The Dutchman bounced back from last weeks draw with Gerwyn Price in style, averaging 109.11 ahead of next weeks showdown with Cross.

James Wade cares not for your walk-on, Daryl! pic.twitter.com/8CmvioznTv  PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) April 11, 2019

Daryl Gurney produced a 10-darter in the deciding leg to secure a 7-7 draw against third-placed James Wade.

Rob Cross is the man to catch at the top (John Walton/PA)

Price moved up to fourth as, despite surrendering an early 3-0 lead, he beat Mensur Suljovic 8-5 in a scrappy contest.
A baby is in a critical condition in hospital after being attacked by a dog.

Police were called to an address in Hawick in the Scottish Borders at 4.35pm on Thursday.

The boy was taken to hospital and officers remain at the scene.

A police spokesman said: About 4.35pm on Thursday April 11 2019, emergency services were called to an address in Hawick after a report of a baby being attacked by a dog.

A baby boy has been taken to hospital where he remains in a critical condition.

Officers remain in attendance and inquiries are ongoing.
Julian Assange could face decades behind bars or even the death penalty if he is extradited to the United States, his WikiLeaks colleagues fear.

The 47-year-old was spending his first night in custody after being convicted of breaching bail following a dramatic arrest at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he had been holed up for seven years.

He is facing extradition to the US on charges of conspiring to break into a classified government computer which, on conviction, could attract a maximum jail sentence of five years, according to the US Department of Justice.

But WikiLeaks editor Kristinn Hrafnsson expressed concern there could be more serious charges awaiting Assange.

He told the Press Association: We believe this indictment presented in the extradition request is only a part of the story  that there will be more later, that will be added on, more charges.

It probably adds to the likelihood that he will be extradited from the UK if its on relatively smaller charges.

He said the Grand Jury investigation included charges which could lead to decades in prison or even the death penalty under the Espionage Act 1917.

As an Australian citizen, Assange will have the countrys consular assistance available to him but will not get special treatment, the prime minister, Scott Morrison, said.

Mr Assange will get the same support that any Australian would in these circumstances, hes not going to be given any special treatment, he told ABC News.

He will get the same treatment as everyone else, he will get the same support as everyone else.

Ecuadors President Lenin Moreno said the UK Government had given him a written assurance that Assange would not be extradited to a country where he could face torture or the death penalty.

While Theresa May and a number of ministers welcomed the arrest, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called on the Government to oppose extradition.

He tweeted: The extradition of Julian Assange to the US for exposing evidence of atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan should be opposed by the British government.

The extradition of Julian Assange to the US for exposing evidence of atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan should be opposed by the British government.pic.twitter.com/CxTUrOfkHt  Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) April 11, 2019

He was retweeted by Pamela Anderson, one of Assanges most famous supporters, who has previously described Mr Corbyn as clearly a decent and fair man.

The US accuses Assange of assisting Chelsea Manning, a former US intelligence analyst, in breaking a password that helped her infiltrate Pentagon computers.

Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said Assange was in the cross-hairs of the US administration over his whistle-blowing activities, and claimed this was the reason he faced being extradited to the US.

A suited Assange, with grey hair tied into a pony tail and sporting a long beard, was described by a judge at a packed Westminster Magistrates Court as behaving like a narcissist, as he advised him to get over to the US and get on with your life.

Assange spent almost seven years in the embassy, where he sought political asylum in 2012 when he failed in his legal battle against extradition to Sweden, where he was wanted over two separate allegations, one of rape and one of molestation.

In May 2017, Swedens top prosecutor dropped the long-running inquiry into a rape claim against Assange, which he has always denied.

Kristinn Hrafnsson, editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, and lawyer Jennifer Robinson speak to the media outside Westminster Magistrates Court (Victoria Jones/PA)

But his arrest on Thursday prompted the lawyer for a Swedish woman who alleged she was raped by Assange during a visit to Stockholm in 2010 to say they wanted the case reopened.

Prosecutors in Sweden have since confirmed that while the investigation has not been resumed, they are looking into the case.

The Ecuadorian government had historically been sympathetic to Assanges cause but a regime change two years ago heralded a less supportive approach and, after 2,487 days in the embassy building in the shadow of Harrods, he was finally removed  shouting and gesticulating.

The Ecuadorian ambassador to the UK, Jaime Marchan, said that in the time Assange had remained in the embassy he had been disrespectful, continually a problem and interfered in elections, politics and the internal affairs of other countries.

Mr Marchan added: He has said that we were spying on him, he has said we were lying, we were agents of the United States.

WikiLeaks said Ecuador had acted illegally in terminating Assanges political asylum in violation of international law.

 @SajidJavid calmly dismantles Diane Abbott's dodgy defence of Julian Assange  pic.twitter.com/qV1LoZtTjG  Conservatives (@Conservatives) April 11, 2019

Mr Hrafnsson said Assange had been thrown overboard by Ecuador, adding: I thought it was horrible to treat an individual like that. I thought it was disgraceful the Ecuadorians would go back on their word.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid said the decision to finally eject Assange reflected improvements in the UKs relationship with Ecuador under the countrys new leadership.

Australian Assange came to prominence after WikiLeaks began releasing hundreds of thousands of classified US diplomatic cables.

Donald Trump, who had declared I love WikiLeaks during his 2016 campaign when the website released damaging emails concerning rival candidate Hillary Clinton, said following Assanges arrest: I know nothing about WikiLeaks.

Speaking outside court, Assanges lawyer Jennifer Robinson said her clients arrest sets a dangerous precedent for all journalist and media organisations in Europe and around the world.

Assange faces a jail term of up to 12 months for the bail breach when he is sentenced at a later date at crown court.

He will next appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on May 2 by prison video-link in relation to the extradition.
Thousands of children are attending suspected illegal schools  some of which are in appalling condition with exposed wiring, rat traps and open sewers.

Ofsted said it believed the quality of education at more than 200 settings was sub-standard, with one letting youngsters play computer games all day.

The inspections body also said some of the unregistered schools were Alternative Provision (AP) funded by the local authority.

It revealed that one unnamed council paid 27,000 per pupil, per year, to place a child in this setting.

On Friday, Ofsted released figures showing that since 2016 it has investigated 521 settings, and inspected 259 in England.

It estimates that up to 6,000 children are being taught at the sites it has visited to date.

Thousands of children are attending suspected illegal schools (Barry Batchelor/PA)

Almost a quarter (23%) of the settings investigated are in London, with the rest spread fairly evenly across the country.

Ofsted said AP is the most common type of setting (28%).

Around a quarter (26%) of the settings are general education providers, and a fifth (21%) are places of religious instruction.

Sue Will, senior officer at Ofsted, said: Some of the buildings that we have been to are in really poor state  unsafe.

I have been really shocked at the health and safety issues that we have seen  I mean quite appalling.

We are not just talking about run down places that could do with a lick of paint, we are talking about some not very nice places at all.

Open sewers, rat traps in rooms, I have seen portacabins balanced on portacabins to maximise space, exposed electrical-ware, Ive seen holes in walls and floors, I have seen locked fire doors, I have seen holes where children have probably punched plaster walls.

That is the bit for me that I always find so shocking.

When you think that every child in this country is entitled to a free school place, and sometimes I come away from these places and think why, why would you send your child here?.

Ofsteds deputy director of independent and unregistered schools Victor Shafiee, added: It just isnt good enough that vulnerable children  a lot of these children are  isolated children, end up in these places where there is no oversight, no quality assurance.

In truth, unregistered schools are a bad thing.

They are bad for the children who go to these settings because they are robbed of their life chances.

They are bad for the parents, because in some cases the parents are misled. They are misled in thinking this is a school and it is operated.

People hang on to the bottoms of lorries, and jump trains to get to this country because education is free.

So why would you then send your child to an unregistered school and pay for them to go to these settings? It is something that I find unfathomable.

In total, 71 settings have been issued with a warning notice by inspectors.

The data shows that 15 of those settings have since closed, while 39 have changed the way they operate in order to comply with the law, and nine have registered as independent schools.

To be required to register as a school, a setting must be providing full-time education to at least five children of compulsory school age, or one child who is looked after by the local authority or has an education, health and care plan.

It must operate from a building, and must offer a curriculum that includes maths and English.

There is currently no legal definition of full-time education, but the Department for Education (DfE) has issued guidance to say that 18 hours or more a week is likely to constitute full-time education.

However, Ofsted says some providers circumvent the requirement to register by operating for 17 hours and 50 minutes per week.

A DfE spokesman said: Todays data shows why our new register of children not in school is so important.

Illegal schools are unregulated and present a danger to both the quality of education and the welfare of those children who attend them  a register will vastly improve councils capacity to identify those children and intervene.

We have already established a joint team with Ofsted and provided them with 3 million to investigate these settings, and continue to work with them and the Crown Prosecution Service to make sure illegal activity is uncovered and justice is delivered.

Ofsted says children in unregistered settings are potentially at risk because there is no formal external oversight of safeguarding, health and safety or the quality of education provided.
Working people in Scotland are being failed by the economy after a near decade of austerity under the UK Government, Scottish Labour has claimed.

Analysis by the party suggests household savings in the country have fallen by around 60% since the Conservatives came to power in 2010.

It shows households had an average of 3,840.41 in the bank in 2010  but 1,517.31 by 2017.

James Kelly has condemned the Tory UK Governments economic policies (Andrew Cowan/Scottish Parliament/PA)

Labour said the figures are an indication of a broken economy under the Tories.

The partys finance spokesman James Kelly said: The Tories came to power promising a long-term economic plan  but the impact of a disastrous near decade of austerity has been to shrink savings for families in Scotland.

The Tories used to try and compare our complex economy to a household budget to justify their crusade to shrink the state  but instead all they managed to do was to shrink household budgets themselves.

This is as a result of a cost of living crisis fuelled by stagnant wages and personal debt. All the while the incomes of the super wealthy have soared because of tax cuts at the top.

Labour will make our economy work for the many, not just a privileged few, by investing in our people communities and public services.

A UK Government spokeswoman said: The Scottish Governments significant powers now include tax-raising and deciding how to allocate funding between public services.

At Budget, we reiterated our commitment to the people of Scotland by increasing the Scottish Governments budget by 950 million.

By increasing the National Living Wage from April 2019 the UK Government gave 128,000 workers a pay rise, and the increase in personal allowance has helped millions across the UK keep more of what they earn.

SNP MSP Tom Arthur said: Unnecessary Tory cuts have held back our economy, damaged public services, and hammered the incomes of millions of Scots by squeezing family budgets.

Whilst Labour and the Tories work hand-in-hand to slash household budgets and force more austerity on the UK, the SNP are helping people with the cost of living  whether thats through free prescriptions for everyone, increased carers allowance, Best Start grants for parents on low incomes and a range of other measures to give a helping hand.

Weve also made income tax fairer  meaning more people are paying less than they would if they lived south of the border, and helped ensure that average council tax bills are 400 a year lower in Scotland.
A 39ft-long Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton which weighs the same as four Mini Cooper cars has arrived in Glasgow on the latest stop of its European tour.

Trix the T-rex will be housed in a bespoke, climate-controlled 600 square metre pavilion at the citys Kelvin Hall.

It will be on display to the public from April 18 until July 31 in an interactive exhibition which also includes a painted reconstruction of the 5,000kg dinosaur.

The T.rex in Town tour started in September 2016 and has visited Salzburg, Barcelona, Paris and Lisbon while waiting for a new home to be completed at the Naturalis Biodiversity Centre in Leiden, Holland.

It is said to be unlikely that the T-rex will go on such a tour again.

The 39ft-long skeleton was discovered in Montana in the United States (Naturalis Biodiversity Center/PA)

Steph Scholten, director of The Hunterian which organised the exhibition, said he is delighted to welcome the fossil to Scotland.

He said: Bringing this major touring exhibition to the city will allow thousands of Scots, and visitors to Scotland, to see one of the worlds most iconic dinosaur species.

Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons are very rare finds and Trix is the only real touring T-rex fossil in the world. This is a major coup for Glasgow, which is the only UK stop on her European tour.

T-rex in Town offers a once in a lifetime experience for visitors to come face to face with a real T-rex and learn about her life through this superb interactive exhibition.

We hope everyone who comes to see this incredible dinosaur specimen will be as excited to see her as we are.

Trix is one of only three T-rex skeletons in the world and it was discovered in Montana in the United States.

Dinosaur fans have also delighted in having the famous Diplodocus sculpture Dippy at Glasgows Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum  across the road from Kelvin Hall where Trix is being exhibited.

Dippy the dinosaur at his current home in Glasgows Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum (Jane Barlow/PA)

Glasgow councillor David McDonald said: Like thousands of other visitors, I am really excited to see this impressive, if slightly scary, creature take shape before my eyes.

Its incredible to watch the skilled team from Naturalis in the Netherlands bring this extremely rare real dinosaur skeleton to life in Glasgow.

We look forward to welcoming many dinosaur fans to Kelvin Hall over the coming months, where Glaswegians and visitors to the city can enjoy this unique opportunity to stare into the eyes of one of the most terrifying predators ever to have stalked the earth.

Until May 6 visitors can also marvel at Dippy, the Natural History Museums famous Diplodocus, at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

We trust these spectacular exhibitions will inspire curiosity about the natural world around us.

Tickets for the Kelvin Hall exhibition are available now priced 14 for adults and 8 for children, with family tickets at 39.50.
Upskirting becomes a specific criminal offence in England and Wales on Friday following a high-profile campaign.

The law comes into force following a drive led by 27-year-old writer Gina Martin, who spent 18 months fighting to make the craze a specific offence after two men took a picture up her skirt at a festival in 2017.

Here are some of the key questions surrounding the issue:

What is upskirting?

The definition is applied to the invasive practice of taking an image or video up somebodys clothing in order to see their genitals or underwear.

While the vast majority of known cases involve men targeting women, the roles can be reversed.

Data obtained by the Press Association shows children as young as seven have reported being victims of the cruel craze.

Up until Friday, there was no specific upskirting offence in England and Wales.

But havent people been convicted of upskirting?

While Scotland has had its own law on upskirting for almost a decade, the law elsewhere in Britain had not adapted to advances in technology.

Previously, anyone in England and Wales who fell victim to the cruel craze could explore possible convictions for the likes of voyeurism, public disorder or indecency.

But campaigners said this was inadequate because criteria for a conviction down these channels  such as the incident being witnessed by other people  is not always available.

Why could campaigner Gina Martin not prosecute in 2017 when she was upskirted at a festival?

Before it was made a criminal offence, the men who upskirted Ms Martin could have potentially been prosecuted for outraging public decency.

Police can now arrest people for upskirting (Joe Giddens/PA)

The problem was that this was not appropriate. There are two primary reasons for this.

First, the offence of outraging public decency does not apply in all instances of upskirting. This means that women are not protected in all circumstances.

Second, the offence of outraging public decency is inappropriate as it fails to reflect the sexual nature of the offence and/or the fact that the harm is caused to the individual (rather than the public).

What does the new law say?

The Voyeurism Act allows upskirting to be treated as a sexual offence and ensure that the most serious offenders are placed on the sex offenders register.

It will capture instances where the purpose is to obtain sexual gratification or cause humiliation, distress or alarm.

What sort of sentence could a convicted upskirter receive?

A conviction at magistrates court would carry a sentence of up to one year in prison and/or a fine.

A more serious offence, tried in the crown court, would carry a sentence of up to two years in prison.

Police will be able to arrest people on suspicion of upskirting from Friday.

What about pictures or images taken before the law came into force?

The law cannot be applied retrospectively  which means images taken before Friday cannot be considered specific upskirting offences.

That said, older images could still fall foul of other laws, such as outraging public decency.
Ministers are set to hold further talks with Labour in an attempt to break the deadlock on Brexit following the latest delay to Britains departure from the EU.

Theresa May made clear on Thursday she intended to bring back her Brexit deal to the Commons for a fourth time after EU leaders agreed to extend the Article 50 withdrawal process to October 31.

The Prime Minister met briefly with Jeremy Corbyn at Westminster when they agreed to continue efforts to find a common way forward.

The talks have been led by Mrs Mays de facto deputy, David Lidington, and shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer, but details of Fridays meeting were still being finalised.

(PA Graphics)

No 10 is still hoping they can get a deal through Parliament in time to avoid the need for Britain to vote in elections to the European Parliament on May 23.

But during exchanges in the Commons, Mr Corbyn warned the Prime Minister she had to be prepared to compromise if the talks were to stand any chance of success.

Mrs May, however, is under growing pressure from Tory Brexiteers furious at the latest extension after she had promised repeatedly Britain would be out of the EU by March 29  the original Brexit date.

In the Commons, she brushed off a call for her resignation by the veteran Eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash who accused her of an abject surrender to Brussels.

Jeremy Corbyn has warned Theresa May she must make compromises if the talks are to succeed (House of Commons/PA)

But senior Conservatives have warned the demands for her to go are only likely to intensify, particularly  as many now expect  the European elections do go ahead.

With the Commons having risen for a foreshortened Easter recess, Downing Street will be hoping for some respite as MPs return to their constituencies.

However there was further anger among Tories Brexiteers after it emerged the Government had shelved emergency planning for a no-deal Brexit following the latest extension.

It includes the dismantling of Operation Brock on the M20 in Kent to deal with potential lorry tailbacks from Dover caused by the need for new customs checks.

The decision was taken on Thursday at a meeting chaired by Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill, according to a leaked email seen by Sky News.

The message  said to have been sent to all civil servants in an unnamed front line Brexit department  said the suspension was taking place with immediate effect.

Downing Street said departments were taking sensible decisions about the timing of their no-deal preparations following the agreement by EU leaders to extend the Article 50 withdrawal process to October 31.

Sheer spite, I regret to say. Very sad.



Officials have worked exceptionally hard to deliver our preparedness and deserve better https://t.co/eWxBADM4ue  Steve Baker MP FRSA (@SteveBakerHW) April 11, 2019

The Government has committed 4 billion to no-deal preparations, but some MPs believe the latest delay shows Mrs May was never prepared to countenance leaving without a deal.

Former Brexit minister Steve Baker, who is now deputy chairman of the pro-Brexit European Research Group, accused the Government of acting out of sheer spite.

Officials have worked exceptionally hard to deliver our preparedness and deserve better, he tweeted.

According to Sky, the email said: In common with the rest of government we have stood down our no-deal operational planning with immediate effect.

This morning, at a meeting chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, we agreed that the objective is to ensure we wind down our no-deal planning in a careful, considered and orderly way.

A Downing Street spokesman said: In light of this weeks developments, departments will make sensible decisions about the timing and pace at which some of this work is progressing given that the date we leave the EU has changed, but we will absolutely continue to make all necessary preparations.
A British woman held in Dubai over Facebook posts calling her ex-husbands wife a horse has described her ordeal as the most horrendous period of my life.

Laleh Shahravesh said the experience had been very traumatic during an emotional phone call with her 14-year-old daughter Paris.

The 55-year-old, from Richmond, south-west London, was detained under Dubais strict cyber-crime laws when she visited the country with her daughter in March for the funeral of ex-husband Pedro Correia Dos Santos.

Authorities had received a complaint over posts made three years ago and Ms Shahravesh was warned she faced prosecution and up to two years in prison.

But during a court appearance on Thursday, a judge ordered that her passport was to be returned if she paid a fine of 3,000 UAE Dirham (624).

Speaking to Sky News, who were present for the call with Paris, she said: Its been the most horrendous period of my life.

Laleh Shahravesh (right) with her 14-year-old daughter Paris (Detained in Dubai/PA)

Ive never been separated from Paris in this way and every day part of me was dying from being away from her, during a time when I knew she needed me the most. So yes, its been very traumatic.

The pair had travelled to the United Arab Emirates on March 10 for the funeral of her ex-husband, who was also Paris father.

After discovering he had remarried in 2016, Ms Shahravesh called his new wife, Samah Al Hammadi, from Tunisia, a horse on Facebook.

The Detained in Dubai campaign group welcomed the conclusion of Ms Shahraveshs case, but cautioned that serious concerns remain regarding the many risks for foreigners in the UAE.

Radha Stirling, the campaign groups chief executive, said: We maintain that the case against Laleh should have been dismissed at the outset, and while we are pleased that her nightmare is over, her conviction on this absurd case sets a dangerous precedent.

We are pleased that Laleh will be allowed to return home to be reunited with her daughter Paris; but serious concerns remain regarding the many risks for foreigners in the UAE, as well as the apparent docility of the UK consular staff in the Emirates and the refusal of the FCO (Foreign & Commonwealth Office) to update its travel warnings for British citizens to provide them with a more accurate evaluation of the dangers they face in the UAE.
Julian Assanges unceremonious removal from the Ecuadorian embassy in London makes headlines on Friday, along with Brexit and the Duchess of Sussex.

The Guardian leads with the WikiLeaks founders sensational arrest that saw him dragged from the Knightsbridge embassy where he had been holed up for nearly seven years in a diplomatic stand-off.

Guardian front page, Friday 12 April 2019: Assange faces five years in US jail as standoff ends pic.twitter.com/TF91AjHB53  The Guardian (@guardian) April 11, 2019

The Daily Mail also picks up the tale, saying he faces decades in a US jail after he was hauled out by eight policemen and put before a judge as extradition proceedings got under way.

He faces criminal action in America over his role in one of the largest compromises of classified information in US history, the Financial Times reports.

Just published: front page of the Financial Times, UK edition, Friday 12 April https://t.co/XArBXqxDBR pic.twitter.com/gAGJ9MVxVG  Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) April 11, 2019

Ecuador had revoked the asylum he was granted after seeking refuge in the embassy in 2012, The Times reports.

The Times 12/4/2019

Julian Assange gestures from a police vehicle on his arrival at Westminster Magistrates court, London. Assange was arrested earlier by Police Officers inside the Ecuadorian Embassy. Photo : Jack Taylor/Getty Images#thetimes #tomorrowspaperstoday @thetimes pic.twitter.com/OvIeZMUOCg  The Times Pictures (@TimesPictures) April 11, 2019

The story is also in the front of the i and the Metro.

What the papers say - April 12 (PA)

I: Assange faces jail in the US #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/o8tn6YsUVi  Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) April 11, 2019

In other news, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have said they will keep details about the arrangements for the birth of their baby private.

The story leads The Sun and the Daily Mirror.

And the Daily Telegraph and Daily Express lead with Brexit.
Chelsea will seek to ban the supporters involved in a social media video that included a racially abusive chant about Liverpools Mohamed Salah.

The Blues security staff swiftly identified three of the six people in the widely-shared video, and denied that trio entry to Thursdays Europa League clash at Slavia Prague.

The remaining three people in the video did not attempt to enter Slavias Sinobo Stadium, ahead of Chelseas 1-0 quarter-final first-leg victory.

The Stamford Bridge club issued a statement pledging to use all available punishments against those involved.

Chelsea FC finds all forms of discriminatory behaviour abhorrent and where there is clear evidence of Chelsea season ticket holders or members involved in such behaviour, we will take the strongest possible action against them, read the west London clubs statement.

Such individuals are an embarrassment to the vast majority of Chelsea supporters who wont tolerate them in their club.

Chelsea (Adam Davy/PA)

Marcos Alonsos late header snatched Chelsea a win that had looked to be out of reach from Maurizio Sarris men as the Blues struggled for any kind of fluency.

Ruben Loftus-Cheeks smart turn and run finally opened up Slavia, before Alonso buried Willians accurate cross.

Chelsea boss Sarri backed Chelseas stance on the latest racism storm as a very strong decision.

A brilliant cross from Willian found Alonso, whose header flew into the back of the net!  1-0 Chelsea! #SLACHE pic.twitter.com/40hsijCp9c  Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 11, 2019

Liverpool thanked Chelsea for their urgent action in a statement of their own, revealing they are already working with Merseyside Police to ascertain the facts around this footage with the aim of identifying individuals featuring in it.

Four Chelsea supporters were suspended by the club for abusing Raheem Sterling during Manchester Citys 2-0 Premier League win at Stamford Bridge on December 8.

Then Chelsea condemned anti-Semitic chanting by Blues fans during the clubs 2-2 Europa League draw at MOL Vidi on December 13.

A Chelsea statement at the time branded that chanting abhorrent, saying it shamed the club. The Blues avoided punishment however, after UEFA ended disciplinary proceedings over the incident in February.

Chelsea continue to run the high-profile Say No to Anti-Semitism campaign
The Dalai Lama says he feels normal, almost normal after leaving a New Delhi hospital where he was treated for a chest infection.

The 83-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader spoke after he was discharged on Friday. He had been admitted to hospital on Tuesday after leaving Dharamshala to consult with doctors in the capital.

He is likely to return this week to the north Indian hill town that has been his headquarters since he fled Tibet in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

The Dalai Lama was admitted to hospital on Tuesday (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

The Dalai Lama usually spends several months a year travelling the world to teach Buddhism and highlight the Tibetans struggle for greater freedom in China.

But he has cut down on travel in the past year to take care of his health.

China does not recognise the Tibetan government-in-exile and has not held any dialogue with the representatives of the Dalai Lama since 2010. Beijing accuses him of seeking to separate Tibet from China.

The Dalai Lama denies being a separatist and says he merely advocates for substantial autonomy and protection of the regions native Buddhist culture.
Photo: Facebook

It's not cool to show off your guns and drink before dry grad. Especially if you're a teacher.

Edward Robert Lefurgy, a high school teacher in Surrey, has been reprimanded for actions at his school's dry grad two years ago.

Lefurgy also made several inappropriate comments to students, and parents, CTV News reports.

Information posted in a decision by the BC Commissioner for Teacher Regulations, states Lefurgy began the night with a couple of drinks with one of the parents at a bar in a Vancouver hotel where the event was taking place.

Inside the event, he asked another parent if her son was even graduating. He then provided a false name when asked for it by the parent.

At the dry grad, where Lefurgy dealt blackjack, he made numerous inappropriate remarks to students, telling one girl, Your boyfriends alright looking, but you could do better.

On numerous occasions, he lifted up his shirt sleeves and asked the students to look at his muscles.

Lefurgy was suspended two days without pay for his actions. He was also required to complete a Reinforcing Respectful Professional Boundaries course from the Justice Institute of British Columbia.

He has also apologized to those involved.

with files from CTV Vancouver
An individual alleged to have links to Julian Assange has been arrested while trying to leave Ecuador, officials in the country said.

The man, said to be Swedish software developer Ola Bini, was held at Quito airport as he prepared to board a flight bound for Japan on Thursday.

Ecuadors interior minister Maria Paula Romo said a person had been arrested for allegedly conspiring against the countrys government.

The development emerged as Assange spent his first night in custody after being convicted of breaching bail following a dramatic arrest at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he had been holed up for seven years.

He is facing extradition to the US on charges of conspiring to break into a classified government computer which, on conviction, could attract a maximum jail sentence of five years, according to the US Department of Justice.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has called on the British Government to oppose any attempt to extradite him.

Julian Assange faces years in a US prison if he is extradited (Victoria Jones/PA)

Ms Romo told CNNs Spanish service: We have information on how WikiLeaks would have intervened in domestic politics.

Today a collaborator close to Julian Assange was arrested for investigative purposes. He has been living in Ecuador and was preparing to travel to Japan.

British software developer Martin Fowler said he was very concerned to hear that my friend and colleague @olabini has been arrested in Ecuador.

WikiLeaks accused Ecuador of acting illegally in terminating Assanges political asylum in violation of international law on Thursday.

The Ecuadorian government had historically been sympathetic to Assanges cause, but a regime change two years ago heralded a less supportive approach.

The countrys ambassador to the UK, Jaime Marchan, said that in the time Assange had remained in the embassy he had been disrespectful, continually a problem and interfered in elections, politics and the internal affairs of other countries.

Mr Marchan added: He has said that we were spying on him, he has said we were lying, we were agents of the United States.

However, WikiLeaks editor Kristinn Hrafnsson said Assange had been thrown overboard by Ecuador, adding: I thought it was horrible to treat an individual like that. I thought it was disgraceful the Ecuadorians would go back on their word.

The US accuses Assange of assisting Chelsea Manning, a former US intelligence analyst, in breaking a password that helped her infiltrate Pentagon computers.

Mr Hrafnsson said a Grand Jury investigation included charges which could lead to decades in prison or even the death penalty under the Espionage Act 1917.

He told the Press Association: We believe this indictment presented in the extradition request is only a part of the story  that there will be more later, that will be added on, more charges.

Ecuadors president Lenin Moreno said the UK Government had given him a written assurance that Assange would not be extradited to a country where he could face torture or the death penalty.

Foreign Office minister Sir Alan Duncan told the Daily Telegraph: We dont extradite anybody to a country where they might face the death penalty without that routine assurance. We restated our policy.

As an Australian citizen, Assange will have the countrys consular assistance available to him but will not get special treatment, the prime minister, Scott Morrison, said.

He will get the same treatment as everyone else, he will get the same support as everyone else, he told ABC News.

The extradition of Julian Assange to the US for exposing evidence of atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan should be opposed by the British government.pic.twitter.com/CxTUrOfkHt  Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) April 11, 2019

While Theresa May and a number of ministers welcomed the arrest, Labour leader Mr Corbyn called on the Government to oppose extradition.

He tweeted: The extradition of Julian Assange to the US for exposing evidence of atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan should be opposed by the British government.

Assange, with grey hair tied into a pony tail and sporting a long beard, appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court where a judge accused him of behaving like a narcissist and advised him to get over to the US and get on with your life.

He spent almost seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy, where he sought political asylum in 2012 when he failed in his legal battle against extradition to Sweden, where he was wanted over two separate allegations, one of rape and one of molestation.

In May 2017, Swedens top prosecutor dropped the long-running inquiry into a rape claim against Assange, which he has always denied.

But his arrest on Thursday prompted the lawyer for a Swedish woman who alleged she was raped by Assange during a visit to Stockholm in 2010 to say they wanted the case reopened.

She told The Times she was surprised and saddened that Mr Assange would be handed over to the US.

For me this was never about anything else than his misconduct against me/women and his refusal to take responsibility for this.

Too bad my case could never be investigated properly, but the arrest will not change this, the case has already been closed.

Prosecutors in Sweden have since confirmed that while the investigation has not been resumed, they are looking into the case.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange needs to answer for what he has done, Hillary Clinton has said.

The 2016 Democratic presidential nominee and former secretary of state weighed in on Assange while at an event with her husband, former president Bill Clinton.

Assange was arrested earlier on Thursday at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

The US has charged him with conspiring with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to break into a classified government computer at the Pentagon.

WikiLeaks publication of Democratic emails stolen by Russian intelligence officers during the 2016 election season hurt Mrs Clintons presidential campaign.

Donald Trump, Mrs Clintons Republican opponent, frequently showered praise on Assange during the final weeks of the campaign and cheered on the release of damaging emails from Mrs Clintons campaign manager, John Podesta.

Hillary Clinton speaks during An Evening With The Clintons at the Beacon Theatre in New York (Mary Altaffer/AP))

Assange was arrested after Ecuador revoked the political asylum that had kept him holed up at the embassy for nearly seven years. The US is seeking Assanges extradition.

Mrs Clinton said on Thursday: The bottom line is that he has to answer for what he has done, at least as it has been charged.

In a tongue-in-cheek nod to Mr Trumps hard-line immigration stance, Mrs Clinton added: I do think its a little ironic that hes the only foreigner this administration would welcome to the United States.

Earlier Mr Trump declared that he knows nothing about WikiLeaks when he was asked about Assanges arrest.

He said: Ive been seeing whats happened with Assange and that will be a determination, I would imagine, mostly by the attorney general, whos doing an excellent job. So, hell be making a determination. I know nothing really about him.

Its not my deal in life.

But WikiLeaks was of interest to Mr Trump in 2016 as he welcomed the political boost his campaign got and cheered on the release of Mrs Clintons campaign emails.

On the same day that the Access Hollywood tape emerged revealing that Mr Trump had bragged in 2005 about groping women, WikiLeaks began releasing damaging emails from Mr Podesta.

Mr Trump and his allies, facing a tough battle in the campaigns final month, seized on the illegal dumps and weaponised them.

WikiLeaks, I love WikiLeaks, Mr Trump said in Pennsylvania.

This WikiLeaks is like a treasure trove, Mr Trump said in Michigan.

Boy, I love reading WikiLeaks, Mr Trump said in Ohio.

Mr Trump extolled WikiLeaks more than 100 times and a poster of Assange hung backstage at the Republicans debate war room.

At no point from a rally stage did Mr Trump express any misgivings about how WikiLeaks obtained the emails from the Clinton campaign or about the accusations of stealing sensitive US government information, which led to the charges against Assange on Thursday.
Jeremy Corbyn has called for the Government to oppose Julian Assanges extradition to the US over allegations that he conspired to hack into a classified Pentagon computer.

The WikiLeaks co-founder was dramatically arrested at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he had been holed up for almost seven years.

The 47-year-old faces up to 12 months in a British prison after he was found guilty of breaching his bail conditions, while the US charge could attract a maximum jail sentence of five years, according to the US Department of Justice.

But WikiLeaks editor Kristinn Hrafnsson said he fears more charges will be added, meaning Assange could face decades in a US prison.

Theresa May, Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt all said Assanges arrest on Thursday showed that no-one is above the law.

But Labour leader Mr Corbyn said Assange should not be extradited to the US to face a charge of conspiring with former army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to break into a classified government computer.

Julian Assange arrives at Westminster Magistrates Court in London, after the WikiLeaks founder was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police and taken into custody following the Ecuadorian governments withdrawal of asylum (Victoria Jones/PA)

He tweeted: The extradition of Julian Assange to the US for exposing evidence of atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan should be opposed by the British government.

He was retweeted by Pamela Anderson, one of Assanges most famous supporters, who has previously described Mr Corbyn as clearly a decent and fair man.

Assanges mother, Christine Assange, also took to Twitter to defend her son, who she said was sick and in pain from prolonged detention and torture.

However, legal experts have told the Press Association that the Government has very limited powers to block extradition even if there is the political will to do so.

A law change following the case of accused cyber-hacker Gary McKinnon, who has Aspergers, shifted responsibility away from ministers to the courts after then-home secretary Theresa May intervened to stop his extradition to the US in 2012.

Extradition can be blocked to countries where the death penalty may be used, but human rights lawyer Karen Todner, who represented Mr McKinnon, said the US was likely to give assurances that capital punishment would not be on the table in Assanges case.

Though the Secretary of State does have very limited powers to interfere, I dont see that discretion being used, she added.

In the US, Hillary Clinton said Assange should answer for what he had done, while Donald Trump declared he knows nothing about WikiLeaks when asked about the arrest.

The president praised Assange during the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign and welcomed the political boost when the organisation released emails damaging to Mrs Clinton.

Following his arrest, Assange, with grey hair tied into a pony tail and sporting a long beard, appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court, where a judge accused him of behaving like a narcissist.

The growing row over the extradition comes as a man, said to be Swedish software developer Ola Bini, was held at Quito airport as he prepared to board a flight bound for Japan on Thursday.

Ecuadors interior minister, Maria Paula Romo, said a person with links to Assange had been arrested for allegedly conspiring against the countrys government.

The Ecuadorian government had historically been sympathetic to Assanges cause, but a regime change two years ago heralded a less supportive approach.

The countrys ambassador to the UK, Jaime Marchan, said that in the time Assange had remained in the embassy he had been disrespectful, continually a problem and interfered in elections, politics and the internal affairs of other countries.

Mr Marchan added: He has said that we were spying on him, he has said we were lying, we were agents of the United States.

However, Mr Hrafnsson said Assange had been thrown overboard by Ecuador, adding: I thought it was horrible to treat an individual like that. I thought it was disgraceful the Ecuadorians would go back on their word.

He said a Grand Jury investigation included charges which could lead to decades in prison or even the death penalty under the Espionage Act 1917, although UK Government policy is to block extradition to countries where suspects might face capital punishment.

The extradition of Julian Assange to the US for exposing evidence of atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan should be opposed by the British government.pic.twitter.com/CxTUrOfkHt  Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) April 11, 2019

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that, as a citizen of the country, Assange will have consular assistance available to him but will not get special treatment.

He spent almost seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy, where he sought political asylum in 2012 when he failed in his legal battle against extradition to Sweden, where he was wanted over two separate allegations  one of rape and one of molestation.

In May 2017, Swedens top prosecutor dropped the long-running inquiry into a rape claim against Assange, which he has always denied.

But his arrest prompted the lawyer for a Swedish woman who alleged she was raped by Assange during a visit to Stockholm in 2010 to say they wanted the case reopened.

Elisabeth Massi Fritz, who represents the unnamed woman, said news of Assanges arrest was a shock to my client and something we have been waiting and hoping for since 2012.

Ms Massi Fritz said in a text message sent to the Associated Press that we are going to do everything to have the Swedish case reopened so Assange can be extradited to Sweden and prosecuted for rape.

She added that no rape victim should have to wait nine years to see justice be served.

Prosecutors in Sweden have since confirmed that, while the investigation has not been resumed, they are looking into the case.
Police said a pilot was very lucky after a small plane crash-landed in the middle of a street in upstate New York.

The crash happened in the city of Fulton. The citys police chief said pilot Michael Simpson was flying to Oswego County Airport when his plane apparently lost power.

The wreckage of the plane (CNYCENTRAL, SYRACUSE, NY, via AP)

Police chief Orlo Green said it looks like the pilot may have tried to land on the highway and caught the pole with the wing of the plane.

Firefighters said Mr Simpson was conscious when he was pulled from the wreckage. His injuries appear to be non-life threatening.

Mr Green said hes a very lucky man.

The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the crash.
A mother held in Dubai over Facebook posts calling her ex-husbands wife a horse has returned to Britain after being freed from the most horrendous ordeal.

Laleh Shahravesh, from Richmond, south-west London, touched back down in Heathrow on Friday morning, according to the Detained in Dubai campaign group that supported her.

She was swiftly reunited with her 14-year-old daughter Paris in an emotional scene at the airport.

While tearfully hugging her daughter, 55-year-old Ms Shahravesh told reporters: Im really, really happy to be reunited.

Her voice cracking with emotion, she thanked Detained in Dubai chief executive Radha Stirling who worked tirelessly to get me home to my daughter.

Ms Shahravesh was detained under controversial cyber-crime laws as she visited the United Arab Emirates for the funeral of ex-husband Pedro Correia Dos Santos in March with Paris.

Laleh Shahraves, right, with her 14-year-old daughter Paris (Detained in Dubai/PA)

Authorities had received a complaint over posts made three years ago and Ms Shahravesh was warned she faced prosecution and up to two years in prison.

But during a court appearance on Thursday, a judge ordered that her passport was to be returned if she paid a fine of 3,000 UAE Dirham (624).

Speaking to Sky News, who were present for the call with Paris, she said: Its been the most horrendous period of my life.

Ive never been separated from Paris in this way and every day part of me was dying from being away from her, during a time when I knew she needed me the most. So yes, its been very traumatic.

The pair had travelled to the United Arab Emirates on March 10 for the funeral of her ex-husband, who was also Pariss father.

After discovering he had remarried in 2016, Ms Shahravesh called his new wife, Samah Al Hammadi, from Tunisia, a horse on Facebook.

Ms Stirling renewed her calls for the Foreign Office to provide more accurate information to Britons about the many risks they face in the UAE.

It is simply not enough to warn people to obey the laws and customs, when very often the legal system itself poses a threat even to law-abiding tourists who may be subjected to false arrests, fabricated cases, forced confessions, torture and lack of representation, she said.

Ms Stirling also warned that cyber-crime laws there task the legal system with catering to the tyranny of individual egos when people are offended by online posts.

A Foreign Office spokesman said its advice included warnings that posting material online that could be seen as being critical of the UAE government, companies or individuals or that is culturally insensitive could be considered a crime by the countrys authorities.
Valtteri Bottas provided Mercedes with hope that they will be able to take the fight to Ferrari this weekend after leading the way in practice at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Ferrari held a sizeable advantage over the Silver Arrows at the last round in Bahrain, with emerging star Charles Leclerc cruelly denied a win following a late engine failure.

But although Sebastian Vettel topped the time sheets in Fridays first session at Formula Ones 1,000th race, Bottas put his Mercedes on top in the second running.

 END OF FP2 



That's the chequered flag on Friday's sessions - with Bottas, Vettel and Verstappen at the top of times#ChineseGP  #Race1000 pic.twitter.com/k5tKBsRbc3  Formula 1 (@F1) April 12, 2019

Lewis Hamilton finished a distant fourth after a scruffy afternoon in which the Mercedes star spun on his first lap. He ended the day seven tenths off his team-mates pace.

Hamilton has built a fanatical support base in China after winning here five times. A plethora of British flags adorned the main grandstand, but his army of fans did not get to see him dominate the session.

Indeed, his spin at the third bend was something of a rarity for the usually error-free world champion.

Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas was top of the time sheets in China (Andy Wong/AP)

Max Verstappen suggested it could be a three-team battle in Sundays 56-lap race after he finished third in his Red Bull, just 0.221 seconds slower than Bottas.





Valtteri ends Friday in P1 with a 1:33.330, while Lewis is P4 with a 1:34.037.



Good work out there today boys! #ChineseGP #Race1000 pic.twitter.com/L12OwWHLDZ  Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 12, 2019

Leclerc indicated he could be a title contender in Bahrain, but was behind Vettel in both sessions. He was a quarter-of-a-second down on his team-mate on Friday morning, and finished seventh later in the day.

The Monegasque was restricted to only 13 laps, 20 fewer than Vettel, after he suffered a mechanical issue which brought his running to a premature end.

Lando Norris delivered McLarens best finish in more than a year with his fine drive to sixth last time out, and the British team will be encouraged by their showing here.

I had this cap especially made for this race for #teamlh. Its got Warriors Love in Chinese on the side that I have tattooed. Making it red like the China flag was a goal for this. These are super limited edition, so get them while you can guys!

 https://t.co/IetBnfBty0 #ad pic.twitter.com/jHhZTrSFlm  Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) April 10, 2019

Norris, the 19-year-old Briton, was eighth, two places behind his McLaren team-mate Carlos Sainz.

Another of Britains rookies, George Russell, endured another testing day in his formative Formula One career.

The Englishman, in his woefully uncompetitive Williams, was the slowest driver in both 90-minute sessions, finishing the best part of three seconds behind Bottas.
The further detention of Nissans former chairman has been approved until April 22, allowing prosecutors to interrogate Carlos Ghosn daily on fresh allegations of financial misconduct.

Ghosn was arrested in November, released on bail last month but rearrested last week.

The Tokyo District Court approved prosecutors request to continue to hold Ghosn.

The latest arrest is over breach of trust suspicions that payments by a Nissan subsidiary to an Oman dealership business went to a company effectively run by Ghosn.

Carlos Ghosn led Japanese carmaker Nissan for two decades (Shuji Kajiyama/AP)

On Thursday, Ghosns wife Carole, who had left for France after Ghosns latest arrest, returned for questioning at a Tokyo court.

Ghosn has been charged with falsifying financial documents in under-reporting his compensation, and with breach of trust. Formal charges have not been filed in the latest arrest.

Ghosn, who led the Japanese carmaker for two decades, says he is innocent.

Long detention and multiple arrests are routine in Japan, but rearresting a person who cleared bail is unusual. His lawyers have protested against the detention, saying it is unfair.
In the election season, Imran Khan hedging his bets for peace talks with India on the return to power for PM Modi added a bit of humour to the vein-popping serious public discourse and gave a proverbial stick to the opposition to bash the ruling party with.

Political parties need all the ammunition when push comes to shove and a billion strong lining up to exercise their right to choose is an intimidating scenario that would make hardened politicians turn to jelly.

It is equally amusing to note the secular parties taking a cue from the Pak PM to bash a PM who flaunts his nationalistic credentials rather openly.

That a-now-politically-hardened ex all-rounder would deliver a veritable full toss at a crucial political juncture beats logic.

But was it at all a 'loose ball'? Perhaps not. The seemingly innocuous statement is loaded with long term intentions. A mistimed April fools day joke probably?

Interestingly, Imran Khan let fly his good intentions during an interactive session with the foreign press crop. He also suggested that Congress will not be as open to the suggestion of restarting talks or peace process with Pakistan if it comes back to power. That may be partially true  given the post-Balakot air strike, India's strategic-diplomatic response has probably changed entirely. What Imran missed is that government policies in India do not change with the change of government.

Irrespective of whosoever comes to power, works for the betterment of the country, policies are amended, responses are sometimes calibrated but never does the entire response change. A change of government does not necessarily affect foreign policy initiatives or standpoints.

When Imran starts defining the Indian benchmark for secularism. (Photo: Reuters)

Balakot strikes was a response from India, not the government. That opposition parties are training their guns on PM Modi after Imran Khan's aside is just electoral politics. It will have no bearing on the government's policy on dealing with Pakistan irrespective of the ideology that dominates the Parliament.

However, if you are to disassociate yourself from the dust and grind of political opportunism, it may not be very difficult to see what Imran is aiming for.

The Pakistan economy is tethering on the brink of disaster, India is pushing hard for blacklisting it at FTAF.

On the other hand, the US and others are trying to push through a resolution to ban Azhar Masood, bypassing the UN's 1267 sanctions committee. That would make it tricky for China. However, Pakistan is on the crosshairs. As the world unites behind India, the beleaguered Pak PM needs to paint a pro-peace, pro-development, liberal image, else the economy would go bankrupt, regardless of whatever help the all-weather and only ally of Pakistan extends. So suddenly we are seeing Imran Khan projecting a dovish image, at a time when his foreign minister is openly speaking about 'intel inputs' of India's plans to attack Pakistan.

PM Khan needs an image makeover, and fast. An image makeover for the consumption of the international community, FATF, UN etc.

From the image of a hardliner, supported by the all-powerful army, ISI and radicals, to that of a liberal PM, trying to usher in change on the ground. In a country where proscribed groups get new nomenclature as soon as one is banned and terrorist organisations openly collect funds on the streets, it will be a hard ask.

Nice try. But you missed the All Fools' Day by a bit Mr PM.

Also read: Why Imran Khans 'naya Pakistan' is no country for Hindu women
1 hour ago

Why the Fed feels now is time to tighten credit more quickly

WASHINGTON (AP)  For months, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell responded to surging inflation by counseling patience and stressing that the Fed wanted to see unemployment return to near-pre-pandemic levels before it would raise interest rates.

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Photo: The Canadian Press

Southwest Airlines customers relaxing on Thursday evening got an email that may mean their summer vacation could be more stressful and expensive than they planned.

Southwest, the biggest operator of Boeing jets, is removing the grounded 737 Max from its schedule until at least Aug. 5, well past the peak of the summer high season.

Company President Tom Nealon wrote in his email that the airline is taking the Max out of its schedule two months longer than previously planned to reduce the need for last-minute changes during the summer travel season. The decision, he wrote, would make the schedule more reliable.

Other airlines are likely to follow Southwest's example, putting pressure on Boeing to finish fixing software on an anti-stall system implicated in two deadly crashes.

Last month, Boeing and federal officials said privately that the company would finish its work before the end of March. Instead, it was delayed by an unexpected problem that Boeing hasn't fully described, and the company is now aiming to complete its work by late April.

Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said the company's pilots have flown 96 test flights totalling 160 hours with the new software and will operate more in the coming weeks to prove that the fix works.

The changes must be submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration for approval. Foreign regulators including those in Europe and China will then do their own reviews  significant because foreign airlines account for about 85% of Max orders, according to analysts for financial services firm Cowen.

It remains uncertain how willing passengers will be to board the Max after crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed all 346 people on board.

"The general flying public seems to be asking more questions about the airplane than they have with prior fleet groundings," said Goldman Sachs analyst Noah Poponak, referring to the 2013 grounding of Boeing 787s because of overheating lithium-ion battery packs. The 787 survived and became a hit with airlines and passengers.

FAA officials including acting chief Daniel Elwell met in Washington with representatives from Southwest, American and United and their pilot unions. An FAA spokesman said they went over the early findings from the two crash investigations, upcoming changes in the Max software, and pilot training for those changes. Elwell promised that the agency would be transparent about decisions to clear the plane to fly.

American Airlines 737 pilot Dennis Tajer, who was in the meeting, said unions pushed for a stronger pilot-training program including troubleshooting items only indirectly related to the anti-stall software. He said FAA seemed receptive.

"This will not be a minimum-training event to just get by," he said.

The longer the Max planes sit on the ground, the more money airlines lose. Southwest already figures that just the first three weeks the Max had been grounded, along with other setbacks, cut the airline's first-quarter revenue by $150 million.

Southwest has been cancelling about 90 flights a day because its 34 Max jets have been grounded since mid-March. Spokesman Chris Mainz said the new schedule eliminates about 160 daily flights to assure customers that it will operate the flights they booked.

That is 4% of Southwest's 4,000 daily flights during summer. Still, unless the airline finds replacement planes quickly  and that can be a complicated process  Southwest will scrap about 10,000 flights that could have carried nearly 1.8 million people between now and early August.

American Airlines doesn't expect its 24 Max jets to be flying before June 5, and it too is cancelling about 90 flights a day.

United Airlines, with 14 Max planes, says it is shuffling its fleet and mostly covering flights that were scheduled with the Max in mind.

Without those planes, travellers will have fewer flights to choose from, and fewer planes to carry passengers whose flights are cancelled for other reasons such as bad weather. There could also be fewer fare sales.

"Travelers who have not already booked their summer reservations may end up paying a slightly higher airfare," said Henry Harteveldt, a travel-industry analyst with Atmosphere Research Group, "but it's not going to be the summer from hell."
National Bank of Canada engages in the provision of commercial banking and financial services. It operates through the following segments: Personal and Commercial, Wealth Management, Financial Markets, US Specialty Finance and International (USSF&I), and Other. The Personal and Commercial segment involves in banking, financing, and investing services offered to individuals and businesses as well as insurance operations. The Wealth Management segment focuses on the investment solutions, trust and lending services, and other wealth management solutions offered through internal and third-party distribution networks. The Financial Markets segment includes banking and investment banking services and financial solutions for large and mid-size corporations, public sector organizations, and institutional investors. The USSF&I segment comprises specialty finance expertise activities of subsidiary ABA Bank, which offers financial products and services to individuals and businesses; and activities of targeted investments in certain emerging markets. The Other segment encompasses treasury activities such as asset and liability management, liquidity management and funding operations, certain no

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The following companies are subsidiares of EnerSys: ABSL Power Solutions Inc., ABSL Power Solutions Ltd., Acumuladores Industriales EnerSys SA, Alpha Alternative Energy Inc., Alpha Broadband Services Inc., Alpha Innovations Industria e Comercio de Produtos Eletronicos Ltda., Alpha Innovations Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Alpha Mexico Network Power S.A. de C.V., Alpha Tech Energy Solutions India Private Limited, Alpha Technical Services Ltd., Alpha Technologies Ltd., Alpha Technologies Pty. Ltd., Alpha Technologies Services Inc., Alphatec Technologies (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Argus Research Ltd., Batterias Hawker de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Battery Power International Pte Ltd., Coppervale Enterprises Inc., DCPM Engineering Sdn Bhd, EH Batterien AG, EH Europe GmbH, EH Global Holdings GmbH, EH Swiss Holdings GmbH, ENAS Industrial Batteries Morocco Sarl, EnerSys (Chaozhou) Huada Batteries Company Limited, EnerSys (China) Huada Batteries Company Limited, EnerSys (Chongqing) Huada Batteries Company Limited, EnerSys (Jiangsu) Huada Batteries Company Limited (94.7%) *, EnerSys (Luxembourg) Finance Sarl, EnerSys (Yangzhou) Huada Batteries Co. Ltd., EnerSys A/S, EnerSys AB, EnerSys AD, EnerSys AE, EnerSys AS, EnerSys Advanced Systems Inc., EnerSys Argentina S.A., EnerSys Asia Limited, EnerSys Australia Pty Ltd., EnerSys BV, EnerSys BVBA, EnerSys Battery Private Limited, EnerSys Brasil Ltda., EnerSys Bulgaria EOOD, EnerSys Canada Inc., EnerSys Capital Inc., EnerSys Cayman Euro L.P., EnerSys Cayman Holdings L.P., EnerSys Cayman Inc., EnerSys Delaware Inc., EnerSys Delaware LLC I, EnerSys Delaware LLC II, EnerSys Delaware LLC III, EnerSys Delaware LLC IV, EnerSys Delaware LLC V, EnerSys Energy Products Inc., EnerSys Europe Oy, EnerSys European Holding Co., EnerSys GmbH, EnerSys Holdings (Luxembourg) Sarl, EnerSys Holdings UK Ltd., EnerSys Hungaria Kft., EnerSys India Batteries Private Ltd., EnerSys JSC, EnerSys LLC, EnerSys Ltd., EnerSys Malaysia Sdn Bhd, EnerSys Mexico Holdings LLC, EnerSys Mexico Management LLC, EnerSys Participacoes Ltda., EnerSys Reserve Power Pte. Ltd., EnerSys S.r.l., EnerSys SARL, EnerSys SNC, EnerSys South East Asia Pte. Ltd., EnerSys de Mexico II S de R.L. de CV, EnerSys de Mexico S de R.L. de CV, EnerSys s.r.o., EnerSys sp. z o.o., EnerSystem Chile Ltda., Enersys Aku Sanaya Dis Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Esfinco LLC, Hawker GmbH, Hawker Power Systems Inc., Hawker Powersource Inc., Hawker Systems GmbH & Co. KG., ICS Industries Pty Ltd, ICS Industries Pty Ltd., ICS Sheet Metal Pty Ltd., Industrial Battery Holding Ltda., International Communication Shelters Australasia Pty Ltd., Lancord Pty Ltd., Lenmic Pty Ltd., MIB Energy Sdn Bhd, N Holding AB, National Infrastructure Pty Ltd., National Infrastructure Services Pty Ltd., NaviSemi Energy Pte Ltd., NaviSemi Inc., New Pacifico Realty Inc., NorthStar Battery Company LLC, NorthStar Battery Company LLC, NorthStar Battery DMCC, Outback Power Technologies Inc., Powercom (NSW) Pty Ltd., Powersonic S de R.L. de CV, Purcell Systems, Purcell Systems Inc., Purcell Systems International AB, Quallion LLC, Riverfront Holding S. de R.L. de C.V., Shenzhen Huada Power Supply Mechanical & Electrical Co. Ltd. , SiteTel Shanghai Co Ltd., SiteTel Sweden AB, Telecomponents & Supply (Hong Kong) Ltd., The Enser Corporation, UTS Holdings Sdn Bhd, UTS Technology (JB) Sdn Bhd, UTS Technology (PG) Sdn Bhd, YCI Inc., and Yecoltd S. de R.L. de CV.
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.

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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.

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The doors are now open for the 24th annual Okanagan Fest of Ale at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre.

With 75 craft breweries  19 new this year  and eight craft cideries, this is the biggest ever edition for the nonprofit event. This year also features a larger outdoor space and tasting area.

The list of participants is incredible and includes breweries who have been attending since the very first festival, and some highly anticipated new breweries attending for the first time. The lineup of beers and ciders being offered is outstanding with a great mix of core favourites, new releases, collaborations, cask ales and experimental brews to try, said John Cruickshank, Okanagan Fest of Ale Society president.

Fest of Ale runs Friday from 4-9 p.m. and Saturday from noon-6 p.m.

Proceeds go to local charities, with nearly $700,000 donated in the history of the festival.

The gallery above was captured by Douglas Drouin during an industry opening Friday afternoon before the full party began.
iShares MSCI Russia ETF's stock was trading at $29.33 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, ERUS stock has increased by 40.5% and is now trading at $41.21.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
The following companies are subsidiares of BP: 200 PS Overseas Holdings Inc., 563916 Alberta Ltd., ACP (Malaysia) Inc., AE Cedar Creek Holdings LLC, AE Goshen II Holdings LLC, AE Goshen II Wind Farm LLC, AE Power Services LLC, AE Wind PartsCo LLC, AM/PM International Inc., ARCO, ARCO British International, ARCO British Limited, ARCO Coal Australia Inc., ARCO El-Djazair Holdings Inc., ARCO Environmental Remediation L.L.C., ARCO Exploration Inc., ARCO Gaviota Company, ARCO International Investments Inc., ARCO International Services Inc., ARCO Midcon LLC, ARCO Oil Company Nigeria Unlimited, ARCO Oman Inc, ARCO Resources Limited, ARCO Trinidad Exploration and Production Company Limited, ARCO Unimar Holdings LLC, Actomat B.V., Advance Petroleum Holdings Pty Ltd, Advance Petroleum Pty Ltd, Air BP Albania SHA, Air BP Brasil Ltda., Air BP Canada LLC, Air BP Croatia d.o.o., Air BP Finland Oy, Air BP Iceland, Air BP Limited, Air BP Norway AS, Air BP Sales Romania S.R.L., Air BP Sweden AB, Air Refuel Pty Ltd, Allgreen Pty Ltd, AmProp Finance Company, American Oil Company, Amoco (Fiddich) Limited, Amoco (U.K.) Exploration Company LLC., Amoco Bolivia Petroleum Company, Amoco Bolivia Services Company Inc., Amoco Canada International Holdings B.V., Amoco Capline Pipeline Company, Amoco Chemical (Europe) S.A., Amoco Chemicals (FSC) B.V., Amoco Cypress Pipeline Company, Amoco Destin Pipeline Company, Amoco Environmental Services Company, Amoco Exploration Holdings B.V., Amoco Guatemala Petroleum Company, Amoco International Finance Corporation, Amoco International Petroleum Company, Amoco Leasing Corporation, Amoco Louisiana Fractionator Company, Amoco MB Fractionation Company, Amoco MBF Company, Amoco Main Pass Gathering Company, Amoco Marketing Environmental Services Company, Amoco Netherlands Petroleum Company, Amoco Nigeria Exploration Company Limited, Amoco Nigeria Oil Company Limited, Amoco Nigeria Petroleum Company, Amoco Nigeria Petroleum Company Limited, Amoco Norway Oil Company, Amoco Oil Holding Company, Amoco Olefins Corporation, Amoco Overseas Exploration Company, Amoco Pipeline Asset Company, Amoco Pipeline Holding Company, Amoco Properties Incorporated, Amoco Remediation Management Services Corporation, Amoco Research Operating Company, Amoco Rio Grande Pipeline Company, Amoco Somalia Petroleum Company, Amoco Sulfur Recovery Company, Amoco Tri-States NGL Pipeline Company, Amoco Trinidad Gas B.V., Amoco U.K. Petroleum Limited, Amprop Illinois I Limited, Amprop Inc., Anaconda Arizona Inc., Arabian Production And Marketing Lubricants, Aral Aktiengesellschaft, Aral Luxembourg S.A., Aral Services Luxembourg Sarl, Aral Tankstellen Services Sarl, Arco Mediterraneo Inversiones S.L., Areas Noriega S.L., Areas Singulares Reyes S.L., Aspac Lubricants (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Atlantic 2/3 UK Holdings Limited, Atlantic Richfield Company, Atlantic Richfield Companyd, Autino Holdings Limited, Autino Limited, Auwahi Wind Energy Holdings LLC, B2Mobility GmbH, BASS Management Pty Ltd, BP (Abu Dhabi) Limited, BP (Barbados) Holding SRL, BP (Barbican) Limited, BP (China) Holdings Limited, BP (China) Industrial Lubricants Limited, BP (GTA Mauritania) Finance Limited, BP (GTA Senegal) Finance Limited, BP (Gibraltar) Limited, BP (Guangzhou) Advanced Mobility Limited, BP (Hunan) Petroleum Company Limited, BP (Indian Agencies) Limited, BP (Shandong) Petroleum Co. Ltd, BP (Shanghai) Trading Limited, BP - Castrol (Thailand) Limited, BP AMI Leasing Inc., BP Absheron Limited, BP Advanced Mobility Limited, BP Africa Limited, BP Africa Oil Limited, BP Akaryakit Ortakligi, BP Alaska LNG LLC, BP Alternative Energy Holdings Limited, BP Alternative Energy Investments Limited, BP Alternative Energy North America Inc., BP Alternative Energy Trinidad and Tobago Limited, BP America Chembel Holding LLC, BP America Chemicals Company, BP America Foreign Investments Inc., BP America Inc, BP America Inc., BP America Limited, BP America Production Company, BP Amoco Chemical Company, BP Amoco Chemical Holding Company, BP Amoco Chemical Indonesia Limited, BP Amoco Chemical Malaysia Holding Company, BP Amoco Exploration (Faroes) Limited, BP Amoco Exploration (In Amenas) Limited, BP Andaman II Ltd, BP Angola (Block 18) B.V., BP Argentina Exploration Company, BP Argentina Holdings LLC, BP Aromatics Holdings Limited, BP Aromatics Limited, BP Asia Limited, BP Asia Pacific (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., BP Asia Pacific Holdings Limited, BP Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, BP Australia Capital Markets Limited, BP Australia Employee Share Plan Proprietary Limited, BP Australia Group Pty Ltde, BP Australia Investments Pty Ltd, BP Australia Nominees Proprietary Limited, BP Australia Pty Ltd, BP Australia Shipping Pty Ltd, BP Australia Swaps Management Limited, BP Aviation A/S, BP Benevolent Fund Trustees Limited, BP Berau Ltd., BP Biocombustiveis S.A., BP Bioenergia Campina Verde Ltda., BP Bioenergia Ituiutaba Ltda., BP Bioenergia Itumbiara S.A., BP Bioenergia Tropical S.A., BP Biofuels Advanced Technology Inc., BP Biofuels Brazil Investments Limited, BP Biofuels Louisiana LLC, BP Biofuels North America LLC, BP Biofuels Trading Comercio Exportacao Ltda., BP Bomberai Ltd., BP Brasil Ltda., BP Brazil Tracking L.L.C., BP Bulwer Island Pty Ltd, BP Business Service Centre Asia Sdn Bhd, BP Business Service Centre KFT, BP CIV Pty Ltd, BP Canada Energy Development Company, BP Canada Energy Group ULC, BP Canada Energy Marketing Corp., BP Canada International Holdings B.V., BP Canada Investments Inc., BP Capellen Sarl, BP Capital Markets, BP Capital Markets America, BP Capital Markets America Inc., BP Capital Markets p.l.c., BP Car Fleet Limited, BP Caribbean Company, BP Castrol KK, BP Castrol Lubricants (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., BP Central Pipelines LLC, BP Chembel, BP Chemicals (Korea) Limited, BP Chemicals East China Investments Limited, BP Chemicals Investments Limited, BP Chemicals Limited, BP China Exploration and Production Company, BP Comercializadora de Energia Ltda., BP Commodities Trading Limited, BP Commodity Supply B.V., BP Company North America, BP Company North America Inc., BP Containment Response Limited, BP Containment Response System Holdings LLC, BP Continental Holdings Limited, BP Corporate Holdings, BP Corporate Holdings Limited, BP Corporation North America, BP Corporation North America Inc., BP D-B Pipeline Company LLC, BP D230 Limited, BP Danmark A/S, BP Developments Australia Pty. Ltd., BP Dogal Gaz Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, BP East Kalimantan CBM Limited, BP Eastern Mediterranean Limited, BP Egypt Company, BP Egypt East Delta Marine Corporation, BP Egypt East Tanka B.V., BP Egypt Production B.V., BP Egypt Ras El Barr B.V., BP Egypt West Mediterranean (Block B) B.V., BP Energy Asia Pte. Limited, BP Energy Colombia Limited, BP Energy Company, BP Energy Europe Limited, BP Energy Solutions B.V., BP Energy do Brasil Ltda., BP Energia Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., BP Espana S.A. Unipersonal, BP Estaciones y Servicios Energeticos Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, BP Europa SE, BP Exploracion de Venezuela S.A., BP Exploration & Production Inc., BP Exploration (Absheron) Limited, BP Exploration (Alaska), BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc., BP Exploration (Algeria) Limited, BP Exploration (Alpha), BP Exploration (Alpha) Limited, BP Exploration (Angola), BP Exploration (Angola) Limited, BP Exploration (Azerbaijan), BP Exploration (Azerbaijan) Limited, BP Exploration (Canada) Limited, BP Exploration (Caspian Sea), BP Exploration (Caspian Sea) Limited, BP Exploration (D230) Limited, BP Exploration (Delta), BP Exploration (Delta) Limited, BP Exploration (El Djazair) Limited, BP Exploration (Epsilon) Limited, BP Exploration (Gambia) Limited, BP Exploration (Greenland) Limited, BP Exploration (Madagascar) Limited, BP Exploration (Morocco) Limited, BP Exploration (Namibia) Limited, BP Exploration (Nigeria Finance) Limited, BP Exploration (Nigeria) Limited, BP Exploration (Psi) Limited, BP Exploration (STP) Limited, BP Exploration (Shafag-Asiman) Limited, BP Exploration (Shah Deniz) Limited, BP Exploration (South Atlantic) Limited, BP Exploration (Xazar) Pte. Ltd., BP Exploration Angola (Kwanza Benguela) Limited, BP Exploration Argentina Limited, BP Exploration Australia Pty Ltd Level 15, BP Exploration Beta Limited, BP Exploration China Limited, BP Exploration Company (Middle East) Limited, BP Exploration Company Limited, BP Exploration Indonesia Limited, BP Exploration Libya Limited, BP Exploration Mexico Limited, BP Exploration Mexico S.A. De C.V., BP Exploration North Africa Limited, BP Exploration Operating Company, BP Exploration Operating Company Limited, BP Exploration Orinoco Limited, BP Exploration Personnel Company Limited, BP Exploration Peru Limited, BP Express Shopping Limited, BP Finance Australia Pty Ltd, BP Finance p.l.c., BP Foundation Incorporated, BP France, BP Fuels & Lubricants AS, BP Fuels Deutschland GmbH, BP GOM Logistics LLC, BP Gas & Power Investments Limited, BP Gas Europe S.A.U., BP Gas Marketing Limited, BP Gas Supply (Angola) LLC, BP Ghana Limited, BP Global Investments, BP Global Investments Limited, BP Global Investments Salalah & Co LLC, BP Global West Africa Limited, BP Greece Limited, BP Guangdong Limited, BP High Density Polyethylene - France, BP Holdings (Thailand) Limited, BP Holdings B.V., BP Holdings Canada, BP Holdings Canada Limited, BP Holdings International B.V., BP Holdings North America, BP Holdings North America Limited, BP Hong Kong Limited, BP India Private Limited, BP Indonesia Investment Limited, BP International, BP International Limited, BP International Services Company, BP Investment Management Limited, BP Investments Asia Limited, BP Iran Limited, BP Iraq N.V., BP Italia SpA, BP Japan K.K., BP Korea Limited, BP Kuwait Limited, BP LNG Shipping Limited, BP Latin America LLC, BP Latin America Upstream Services Inc., BP Lubricants KK, BP Lubricants USA Inc., BP Luxembourg S.A., BP Malaysia Holdings Sdn. Bhd., BP Management International B.V., BP Management Netherlands B.V., BP Marine Limited, BP Mariner Holding Company LLC, BP Maritime Services (Singapore) Pte. Limited, BP Marketing Egypt LLC, BP Mauritania Investments Limited, BP Mauritius Limited (in liquidation), BP Middle East Enterprises Corporation, BP Middle East LLC, BP Middle East Limited, BP Midstream Partners GP LLC, BP Midstream Partners Holdings LLC, BP Midstream Partners LP, BP Midwest Product Pipelines Holdings LLC, BP Mocambique Limitada, BP Mocambique Limited, BP Muturi Holdings B.V., BP Nederland Holdings BV, BP Netherlands Upstream B.V., BP New Ventures Middle East Limited, BP New Zealand Holdings Limited, BP New Zealand Share Scheme Limited, BP Nutrition Inc., BP Offshore Gathering Systems Inc., BP Offshore Pipelines Company LLC, BP Offshore Response Company LLC, BP Oil (Thailand) Limited, BP Oil Australia Pty Ltd, BP Oil Espana S.A., BP Oil Hellenic S.A., BP Oil International, BP Oil International Limited, BP Oil Kent Refinery Limited (in liquidation), BP Oil Llandarcy Refinery Limited, BP Oil Logistics UK Limited, BP Oil New Zealand Limited, BP Oil Pipeline Company, BP Oil Senegal S.A., BP Oil Shipping Company, BP Oil UK Limited, BP Oil Venezuela Limited, BP Oil Vietnam Limited, BP Oil Yemen Limited, BP Olex Fanal Mineralol GmbH, BP One Pipeline Company LLC, BP Pacific Investments Ltd, BP Pakistan (Badin) Inc., BP Pakistan Exploration and Production Inc., BP Pension Escrow Limited, BP Pension Trustees Limited, BP Pensions (Overseas) Limited, BP Pensions Limited, BP Petrochemicals India Investments Limited, BP Petroleo y Gas S.A., BP Petrolleri Anonim Sirketi, BP Pipelines (Alaska) Inc., BP Pipelines (BTC) Limited, BP Pipelines (North America) Inc., BP Pipelines (SCP) Limited, BP Pipelines (TANAP) Limited, BP Pipelines TAP Limited, BP Polska Services Sp. z o.o. Ul., BP Portugal -Comercio de Combustiveis e Lubrificantes SA, BP Poseidon Limited, BP Products North America, BP Products North America Inc., BP Properties Limited, BP Raffinaderij Rotterdam B.V., BP Refinery (Kwinana) Proprietary Limited, BP Regional Australasia Holdings Pty Ltd, BP River Rouge Pipeline Company LLC, BP Russian Investments Limited, BP Russian Ventures Limited, BP SC Holdings LLC, BP Scale Up Factory Limited, BP Senegal Investments Limited, BP Services International Limited, BP Servicios de Combustibles S.A. de C.V., BP Servicios territoriales S.A., BP Shafag-Asiman Limited, BP Shipping Limited, BP Singapore Pte. Limited, BP Solar Energy North America LLC, BP Solar Espana S.A., BP Solar International Inc., BP Solar Pty Ltd, BP South America Holdings Ltd, BP Southern Africa Proprietary Limited, BP Southern Cone Company, BP Subsea Well Response (Brazil) Limited, BP Subsea Well Response Limited, BP Taiwan Marketing Limited, BP Technology Ventures Inc., BP Technology Ventures Limited, BP Train 2/3 Holding SRL, BP Transportation (Alaska) Inc., BP Trinidad Processing Limited, BP Trinidad and Tobago, BP Trinidad and Tobago LLC, BP Turkey Refining Limited, BP Two Pipeline Company LLC, BP UK Retained Holdings Limited, BP Venezuela Investments B.V., BP West Aru I Limited, BP West Aru II Limited, BP West Papua I Limited, BP West Papua III Limited, BP Wind Energy North America Inc., BP Wiriagar Ltd., BP World-Wide Technical Services Limited, BP Zhuhai Chemical Company Limited, BP+Amoco International Limited, BP-AIOC Exploration (TISA) LLC, BPA Investment Holding Company, BPNE International B.V., BPRY Caribbean Ventures LLC, BPX (Eagle Ford) Gathering LLC, BPX (KCS Resources) LLC, BPX (Karnes) Gathering LLC, BPX (Permian) Gathering LLC, BPX (WSF Operating) Inc., BPX Energy Inc., BPX Midstream LLC, BPX Operating Company, BPX Production Company, BPX Properties (GP) LLC, BPX Properties (LP) LLC, BPX Properties (NA) LP, BTC Pipeline Holding Company Limited, BXL Plastics Limitedv, Bahia de Bizkaia Electridad S.L., Baltimore Ennis Land Company Inc., Black Lake Pipe Line Company, Blueprint Power, Brian Jasper Nominees Pty Ltd, Britannic Energy Trading Limited, Britannic Investments Iraq Limited, Britannic Marketing Limited, Britannic Strategies Limited, Britannic Trading Limited, Britoil Limited, Burmah Castrol, Burmah Castrol Australia Pty Ltd, Burmah Castrol Holdings Inc., Burmah Castrol PLC, Burmah Castrol South Africa (Pty) Limited, Burmah Chile SpA, Butamax Advanced Biofuels, CASTROL Austria GmbHb, CH-Twenty Inc., CNAA, Cadman DBP Limited, Casitas Pipeline Company, Castrol (China) Limited, Castrol (Ireland) Limited, Castrol (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd., Castrol (Shenzhen) Company Limited, Castrol (Tianjin) Lubricants Co. Ltd., Castrol (U.K.) Limited, Castrol Australia Pty. Limited, Castrol B.V., Castrol BP Petco Limited Liability Company, Castrol Brasil Ltda., Castrol Caribbean & Central America Inc., Castrol Colombia Ltda., Castrol Del Peru S.A., Castrol Egypt Lubricants S.A.E., Castrol India Limited, Castrol Industrie und Service GmbH, Castrol KK, Castrol Limited, Castrol Lubricants RO S.R.L, Castrol Mexico S.A., Castrol Namibia (Pty) Limited, Castrol Offshore Limited, Castrol Pakistan (Private) Limited, Castrol Philippines Inc., Castrol Servicos Ltda., Castrol Ukraine LLC, Castrol Zimbabwe (Private) Limited, Centrel Pty Ltd, Charge Your Car Limitedc, Chargemaster, Chargemaster (Europe) GmbH, Chargemaster Limited, Charging Solutions Limited, Clarisse Holdings Pty Ltd, Coastwise Trading Company Inc., Consolidada de Energia y Lubricantes (CENERLUB) C.A., Conti Cross Keys Inn Inc., Coro Trading NZ Limited, Cuyama Pipeline Company, DHC Solvent Chemie GmbH, Dermody Developments Pty Ltd, Dermody Holdings Pty Ltd, Dermody Investments Pty Ltd, Dermody Petroleum Pty. Ltd., Dome Beaufort Petroleum Limited, Dome Wallis (1980) Limited Partnership, ECM Markets SA (Pty) Ltd, Elektromotive Limited, Elite Customer Solutions Pty Ltd, Elm Holdings Inc., Energy Global Investments (USA) Inc., Enstar LLC, Estacion de Servicio Alto Campoo S.L., Estacion de Servicio Ganzo 10 S.L., Estacion de Servicio Reocin 9 S.L., Estacion de Servicio Santillana II S.L., Estacion de Servicio Sardinero S.L., Estonian Aviation Fuelling Services, Europa Oil NZ Limited, Exomet Inc., Expandite Contract Services Limited, Exploration (Luderitz Basin) Limited, Exploration Service Company Limited, FWK (2017) Limited, FWK Holdings (2017) LTD, Finite Carbon, Flat Ridge 2 Holdings LLC, Flat Ridge Wind Energy LLC, Foseco Holding Inc., Foseco Holding International B.V., Foseco Inc., Fosroc Expandite Limited, Fotech Solutions Ltd, Fowler Ridge Holdings LLC, Fowler Ridge I Land Investments LLC, Fowler Ridge II Holdings LLC, Fowler Ridge III Wind Farm LLC, FreeBees B.V., Fuel & Retail Aviat ion Sweden AB, Fuelplane- Sociedade Abastecedora De Aeronaves Unipessoal Lda, GOAM 1 C.I S. A .S, Gardena Holdings Inc., Gelsenkirchen Raffinerie Netz GmbH, Grampian Aviation Fuelling Services Limited, Guangdong Investments Limited, Highlands Ethanol LLC, Hosteleria Noriega S.L., IGI Resources Inc., Insight Analytics Solutions Holdings Limited, Insight Analytics Solutions Limited, Insight Analytics Solutions USA Inc., International Bunker Supplies Pty Ltd, Iraq Petroleum Company Limited, Jupiter Insurance Limited, Ken-Chas Reserve Company, Kenilworth Oil Company Limited, Kingbook Inversiones Socimi S.A., Latin Energy Argentina S.A., Lebanese Aviation Technical Services S.A.L., Limited Liability Company BP Toplivnaya Kompania, Limited liability company Setra Lubricants, Lubricants UK Limited, Lytt Limited, Manormaker (Nominee No. 1) Limited, Manormaker (Nominee No. 2) Limited, Manormaker GP Limited (99.90%) 11 Black Horse Lane, Mardi Gras Transportation System Company LLC, Markoil S.A., Masana Petroleum Solutions (Pty) Ltd, Mayaro Initiative for Private Enterprise Development, Mehoopany Holdings LLC, Mes Tecnologia En Servicios Y Energia S.A., Minza Pty. Ltd., Mountain City Remediation LLC, No. 1 Riverside Quay Proprietary Limited, Nordic Lubricants A/S, Nordic Lubricants AB, North America Funding Company, OMD87 Inc., OOO BP STL, Omega Oil Company, OnSight Analytics Solutions India Private Ltd., Open Energi, Orion Delaware Mountain Wind Farm LP, Orion Energy Holdings LLC, Orion Energy L.L.C.b, Orion Post Land Investments LLC, Oyambre 1 S.L., PRODUITS METALLURGIE DOITTAU, PT BP Petrochemicals, PT Castrol Indonesia, PT Castrol Manufacturing Indonesia, PT Jasatama Petroindo, Pacroy (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Peaks America Inc., Pearl River Delta Investments Limited, Petrocorner Retail S.L.U., Phoenix Petroleum Services Limited, Pozuelo 4 S.L., Prospect International C.A. (In liquidation), Puente Arce 4 S.L., Remediation Management Services Company, Richfield Oil Corporation, Rio Corvo 2 S.L., Rolling Thunder I Power Partners LLC, Romax Insight Korea Ltd., Ropemaker Deansgate Limited, Ropemaker Properties Limited, Ruhr Oel GmbH, Rusdene GSS Limited, SOFAST Limited, SRHP, Saturn Insurance Inc., Sherbino I Holdings LLC, Sherbino Mesa I Land Investments LLC, Sociedade de Promocao Imobiliaria Quinta do Loureiro SA, Societe de Gestion de Depots d'Hydrocarbures - GDH, South Texas Shale LLC, Southeast Texas Biofuels LLC, Southern Ridge Pipeline Holding Company, Southern Ridge Pipeline LP LLC, Sp/f Decision3 (GreenSteam) Company, Standard Oil Company, Standard Oil Company Inc., Standard Oil of Ohio, Stryde Limited, Sunrise Oil Sands Partnership, TISA Education Complex LLC, TJKK, Taradadis Pty. Ltd., Telcom General Corporation, Terre de Grace Partnership, The Anaconda Company, The BP Share Plans Trustees Limited, The Burmah Oil Company (Pakistan Trading) Limited, The Standard Oil Company, Thorntons, Toledo Refinery Holding Company LLC, Torrelavega 7 S.L., Union Texas International Corporation, Vastar Pipeline LLC, Veba Oel AG Veba Oel, Verenium, Viceroy Investments Limited, Villacarriedo 8 S.L., Warrenville Development Limited, Water Way Trading and Petroleum Services LLC, Welchem Inc., West Kimberley Fuels Pty Ltd, Westlake Houston Development LLC, Whiting Clean Energy Inc., Windpark Energy Nederland B.V., and Winwell Resources L.L.C.
The following companies are subsidiares of Tesco: Adminstore Limited, Adsega Limited, Alfred Preedy & Sons (Trustees) Limited, Alfred Preedy & Sons Limited, Anthony Heagney Limited, Arena (Jersey) Management Limited, Armitage Finance Unlimited, Armitage Luxembourg s.? r.l., BLT Holdings 2010 Limited, Bath Upper Bristol Road Management, Bedminster Estates Limited, Beehythe Estates limited, Berry Lane Management Company Limited, Blinkbox Books Limited, BlinxBox, Booker Group, Brian Fords Discount Store Limited, Broadfields Management Limited, Brookmaker (GP) Limited, Broughton Retail Park Nominee 1 Limited, Broughton Retail Park Nominee 2 Limited, Broughton Retail Park Nominee 3 Limited, Broughton Retail Park Nominee 4 Limited, Buckingham Road (Bletchley) Management Company Limited, Bugden Ltd, Buttoncable Limited, Buttoncase Limited, Canterbury Road Management Limited, Cardiff Cathays Terrace Management Company Limited, Careneed News Limited, Cheshunt Finance Unlimited, Cheshunt Holdings Guernsey Limited, Cheshunt Hungary Servicing Limited Liability Company, Cheshunt Luxembourg S.? r.l., Cheshunt Overseas LLP, China Property Holdings (HK) Limited, Chirac Limited, Cirrus Finance (2009) Limited, Cirrus Finance Limited, Cirrus Luxembourg s.? r.l., Clarepharm Limited, Clondalkin Properties Limited, Comar Limited, Commercial Investments Limited, Crazy Prices, Crest Ostrava a.s, Cullens Holdings Limited, Cullens Stores Limited, Daily Wrap Produce Limited, Day And Nite Stores Limited, Delamare Cards Holdco Limited, Delamare Cards MTN Issuer plc, Delamare Finance PLC, Delamare Group Holdings Limited, Delamare Holdings BV Netherlands, Delamare Luxembourg s.? r.l. Luxembourg, Delamare One Limited, Dunnhumby Ventures LLC, ELH Insurance Limited, Edinburgh Butterfly Farm Limited, Edson Investments Limited, Edson Properties Limited, Ek-Chai Distribution System Co. Ltd., Euphorium (London) Limited, Euphorium (North London) Limited, Euphorium Group Limited, Euphorium IP Limited, Europa Foods Limited, Faraday Properties Limited, Flitwick Pharmacies Limited, Food & Wine Lovers Limited, Forum Liberec s.r.o, Freds Food Construction Limited, Freehold and Leasehold Property Fund, Gain Land Limited, Genesis sp. z o.o., Gibbs News Limited, Gibbs Newsagents Limited, Gida Sanayi A.S., Giraffe, Giraffe Cafe Limited, Giraffe Concepts Limited, Golden Island Management Services Limited, HIT hypermarket Sp. z o. o., Halesworth SPV Limited, Harris and Hoole Holdings Limited, Harris and Hoole Limited, Harris and Hoole Nominees Limited, Homeplus, Hymall Co. Ltd., J E Properties Holdings Limited, Jasper Sp. z o. o. Poland, KSS Retail Limited, Kabaty Investments Tesco (Polska) Sp. z o. o. Sp.k, Kingsway Fresh Foods Ltd, Koxka Hungary Refrigeration LLC, Launchgrain Limited, Launchtable Limited, Laws Stores Limited, Lazada Group S.A., Lee (Southern) Limited, Lek?ren? Tesco Bansk? Bystrica k.s. Slovakia Limited Partnership, Lek?ren? Tesco Dunajsk? Streda k.s. Slovakia Limited Partnership, Lek?ren? Tesco Ko?ice k.s. Slovakia Limited Partnership, Lek?ren? Tesco Lama k.s. Slovakia Limited Partnership, Lek?ren? Tesco Nitra k.s. Slovakia Limited Partnership, Lek?ren? Tesco Petr?alka k.s. Slovakia Limited Partnership, Lek?ren? Tesco Pie?tany k.s. Slovakia Limited Partnership, Lek?ren? Tesco Pre?ov Vukov k.s. Slovakia Limited Partnership, Lek?ren? Tesco Senec k.s. Slovakia Limited Partnership, Lek?ren? Tesco Spi?sk? Nov? Ves k.s. Slovakia Limited Partnership, Lek?ren? Tesco Trenc??n s.r.o. Slovakia Limited Partnership, Lek?ren? Tesco Zlat? Piesky k.s. Slovakia Limited Partnership, Lek?ren? Tesco Zvolen k.s. Slovakia Limited Partnership, Linebush III Holdings Limited, Linebush III Limited, Linebush IV Limited, Linebush Limited, Linebush V Limited, London and Home Counties Superstores Limited, Lowfoods Limited, M & W Limited, Merrion Shopping Centre Ltd, Mills (East Midlands) Limited, Mills (West Midlands) Limited, Mills Group Holdings Limited, Mills Group Limited, Mobcast Services, Monread Developments Limited, Morgam Holdings Limited, Morgam News Limited, Motorcause Limited, NPL (Hardgate) Limited, Nabola Development Limited, NutriCentre Limited, OC FORUM Liberec Ltd., Oakwood Distribution Limited, Obchodn? dom Bratislava s.ro, Obchodn? dom Ko?ice s.ro., Obchodn? dom Nitra s.ro., Obchodn? dom Pre?ov s.ro., Old FEHC Inc., Old FEPC LLC, One Stop Community Stores Ltd, One Stop Convenience Stores Limited, One Stop Stores Limited, One Stop Stores Trustee Services Limited, Orpingford, Orpington (Station Road) Limited, Oxford Fox and Hounds Management Company Limited, PEJ Property Developments Limited, Paper Chain (East Anglia) Limited, Pharaway Properties Limited, Power Supermarkets Limited, Premier Garage (Worthing) Limited, Pulford Foods Limited, R.J.D. Holdings, Retail Property Co. Ltd, S Bottomley & Bros Limited, Sanders Supermarkets Limited, Sandtable Limited, Sarcon (No. 239) Limited, Seacroft Green Nominee 1 Limited, Seacroft Green Nominee 2 Limited, Shire Park Limited, Shuke Advertising (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Snowman Retail 1 Limited, Snowman Retail 2 Limited, Sociomantic AB, Sociomantic Labs B.V, Sociomantic Labs Inc, Sociomantic Labs Internet Hizmetleri Limited ?ireketi, Sociomantic Labs LLC, Sociomantic Labs Limited, Sociomantic Labs Private Limited, Sociomantic Labs Pte Ltd, Sociomantic Labs S.r.l, Sociomantic Labs SARL, Sociomantic Labs Servicos Web Ltda, Sociomantic Labs Sp.z.o.o., Sociomantic Labs s.r.o., Sociomantic S.L.U., Sociomantic labs GmbH, Spen Hill Developments (Holdings) Ltd, Spen Hill Developments (Portishead) Ltd, Spen Hill Developments (Tonbridge) Limited, Spen Hill Developments Limited, Spen Hill Management Limited, Spen Hill Properties (Holdings) plc, Spen Hill Properties (Southend) Limited, Spen Hill Regeneration Limited, Spen Hill Residential No 1 Limited, Spen Hill Residential No 2 Limited, Station House Welling Management Limited, Statusfloat Limited, Stewarts Supermarkets Limited, Streatham Management Company Limited, T & S Management Services Limited, T & S Properties Limited, T & S Stores Limited, TESCO (POLSKA) sp. z o.o., TESCO Akad?mia K?pz?si ?s Fejleszt?si Kor?tolt Felelss?g T?rsas?g, TESCO MOBILE POLSKA SP. Z O.O., TESCO STORES SR a.s., Tapesilver Limited, Teesport (GP) Limited, Teesport (Nominee) Limited, Telegraph Properties (Kirkby) Limited, Tesco (Foxtrot 1) Limited, Tesco (Foxtrot 2) Limited, Tesco (Fujian) Industry Limited, Tesco (Jersey) Limited, Tesco (Overseas) Ltd, Tesco (Yorkshire) Limited, Tesco Aqua (1LP) Limited, Tesco Aqua (3LP) Limited, Tesco Aqua (FinCo1) Limited, Tesco Aqua (FinCo2) Limited, Tesco Aqua (GP) Limited, Tesco Aqua (Nominee 1) Limited, Tesco Aqua (Nominee 2) Limited, Tesco Aqua (Nominee Holdco) Limited, Tesco Atrato (1LP) Limited, Tesco Atrato (GP) Limited, Tesco Barbers Wood Limited, Tesco Bengaluru Private Limited, Tesco Blue (1LP) Limited, Tesco Blue (FinCo2) Limited, Tesco Blue (GP) Limited, Tesco Blue (Nominee 1) Limited, Tesco Blue (Nominee 2) Limited, Tesco Blue (Nominee Holdco) Limited, Tesco Capital No. 1 Limited, Tesco Capital No. 2 Limited, Tesco Card Services Limited, Tesco Card Services Limited, Tesco Card Services Ltd., Tesco Chile Sourcing Limitada, Tesco Coral (GP) Limited, Tesco Corporate Treasury Services PLC, Tesco Depot Propco Limited, Tesco Distribution Holdings Limited, Tesco Distribution Limited, Tesco Dorney (1LP) Limited, Tesco Dorney (GP) Limited, Tesco Dystrybucja Sp. z.o.o., Tesco EU IT Services s.r.o., Tesco Employees Share Scheme Trustees Limited, Tesco Estates Limited, Tesco Europe B.V. Netherlands, Tesco Family Dining Limited, Tesco Food Sourcing Brazil Representa??o De Servi?os Ltda., Tesco Food Sourcing Limited, Tesco Foundation (Nadacia Tesco), Tesco Freetime Limited, Tesco Fuchsia (1LP) Limited, Tesco Fuel Limited, Tesco Global Employment Company Limited, Tesco Guangdong (HK) Co. Limited, Tesco High Beech Limited, Tesco Holdings BV, Tesco Holdings Limited, Tesco Home Shopping Limited, Tesco Hungary (Holdings) Limited, Tesco International Franchising s.r.o., Tesco International Internet Retailing Limited, Tesco International Services Limited, Tesco International Sourcing Limited, Tesco Ireland Holdings Limited, Tesco Ireland Limited, Tesco Ireland Pension Trustees Limited, Tesco Jade (GP) Limited, Tesco Joint Buying Service (Shanghai) Co Limited, Tesco Kipa Kitle Pazarlama Ticaret Lojistik ve, Tesco Kirkby (General Partner) Limited, Tesco Kirkby (LP) Limited, Tesco Kirkby (Nominee 1) Limited, Tesco Kirkby (Nominee 2) Limited, Tesco Kirkby (Nominee Holdco) Limited, Tesco Kirkby (Unitholder 1) Limited, Tesco Kirkby (Unitholder2) Limited, Tesco Lagoon GP Limited, Tesco Licences Limited, Tesco Lotus Retail Growth, Tesco Lotus Retail Growth Freehold and Leasehold Property Fund, Tesco Maintenance Limited, Tesco Mauritius Holdings Limited, Tesco Mobile (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Tesco Mobile CR s.r.o., Tesco Mobile Communications Limited, Tesco Mobile Ireland Limited, Tesco Mobile Ireland Limited, Tesco Mobile Limited, Tesco Mobile Services Limited, Tesco Mobile Slovakia s.r.o, Tesco Mobile Slovakia s.r.o., Tesco Mobile CR, Tesco Nanjing Zhongshan, Tesco Nanjing Zhongshan (HK) Co. Limited, Tesco Navona (1LP) Limited, Tesco Navona (GP) Limited, Tesco Navona (Nominee 1) Limited, Tesco Navona (Nominee 2) Limited, Tesco Navona (Nominee Holdco) Limited, Tesco Navona PL Propco Limited, Tesco Opticians Limited, Tesco Overseas (Holdings) Limited, Tesco Overseas Investments Limited, Tesco Overseas ULC, Tesco Passaic (1LP) Limited, Tesco Passaic (GP) Limited, Tesco Passaic (Nominee 1) Limited, Tesco Passaic (Nominee 2) Limited, Tesco Passaic (Nominee Holdco) Limited, Tesco Passaic PL Propco Limited, Tesco Pension (Jade) Limited, Tesco Pension Investment Limited, Tesco Pension Trustees Limited, Tesco Personal Finance, Tesco Personal Finance Compare Limited, Tesco Personal Finance Group Limited, Tesco Property (No.1) Limited, Tesco Property (Nominees) (No.1) Limited, Tesco Property (Nominees) (No.2) Limited, Tesco Property (Nominees) Limited, Tesco Property A.S., Tesco Property Finance 1 Holdco Limited, Tesco Property Finance 1 PLC, Tesco Property Holdings (No. 2) Limited, Tesco Property Holdings Limited, Tesco Property Limited, Tesco Property Nominees (No.5) Limited, Tesco Property Nominees (No.6) Limited, Tesco Property Partner (GP No.2) Limited, Tesco Property Partner (GP) Limited, Tesco Property Partner (No.1) Limited, Tesco Property Partner (No.2) Limited, Tesco Red (1LP) Limited, Tesco Red (GP) Limited, Tesco Red (Nominee 2) Limited, Tesco Red (Nominee Holdco) Limited, Tesco Sarum (1LP) Limited, Tesco Sarum (GP) Limited, Tesco Seacroft Limited, Tesco Secretaries Limited, Tesco Services Limited, Tesco Sourcing India Private Limited, Tesco Stores (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Tesco Stores (Thailand) Ltd, Tesco Stores CR a.s., Tesco Stores Limited, Tesco Technology Services HK Limited, Tesco Treasury Services PLC, Tesco Trustee Company of Ireland Limited, Tesco Underwriting Limited, Tesco Vin Plus SA, Tesco Worldwide Limited, Tesco for Thais Foundation, Tesco-Global Stores Privately Held Co. Ltd, Tesco.Com Limited, The Brookmaker Limited Partnership, The Teesport Limited Partnership Limited Partnership, The Tesco Aqua Limited Partnership Limited Partnership, The Tesco Atrato Limited Partnership, The Tesco Blue Limited Partnership Limited Partnership, The Tesco Coral Limited Partnership, The Tesco Dorney Limited Partnership, The Tesco Kirkby Limited Partnership Limited Partnership, The Tesco Navona Limited Partnership Limited Partnership, The Tesco Passaic Limited Partnership Limited Partnership, The Tesco Property (No.2) Limited Partnership, The Tesco Red Limited Partnership, The Tesco Sarum Limited Partnership, Trent Hypermarket Private Limited, Trigger Retail Ltd, Valiant Insurance Company DAC, Value House Properties Limited, Variable Preference, Ventnor High Street Management Company Limited, Verulam Properties (2001) Limited, Verulam Properties Limited, Victoria BB Sp z.o.o., WE7, WSC Properties Limited, Wanze Properties (Dundalk) Limited, Weymouth Avenue (Dorchester) Limited, Whitecastle Properties Limited, Wm. Low Supermarkets Limited, Woolwich Central Residents Management Company Limited, Worple Road Plc, Xiamen Firste Property Limited, Xiamen Firste Property Limited, aAcklam Management Company Limited, dunnhumby (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, dunnhumby (Thailand) Limited, dunnhumby Canada Limited, dunnhumby Consulting Services India Private Limited, dunnhumby Czech s.r.o., dunnhumby Employment Company Limited, dunnhumby Holding Limited, dunnhumby Hungary Kft, dunnhumby IT Services India Private Limited, dunnhumby Inc, dunnhumby International Limited, dunnhumby Ireland Limited, dunnhumby Italia Srl., dunnhumby Limited, dunnhumby Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., dunnhumby Netherlands B.V., dunnhumby Norge A.S., dunnhumby Overseas Limited, dunnhumby Poland Sp z.o.o, dunnhumby Slovakia s.r.o., dunnhumby South Africa (Pty) Ltd, dunnhumby Trustees Limited, and dunnuhumby.
Photo: The Canadian Press

A Phoenix man has been arrested on suspicion of killing his wife, two of his young daughters and a man who the suspect thought was romantically involved with his wife, police said Friday.

Austin Smith was booked on suspicion of four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated assault, Sgt. Tommy Thompson said.

Bail was set at $2 million, court records show. A Maricopa County Superior Court sent Smith's case to the local public defender's office. But no specific attorney had been assigned to him by Friday evening.

Smith was arrested Thursday evening as he drove from an apartment complex where officers had responded to a shooting. There, they found the body of 46-year-old Ron Freeman. A woman and another man were shot and wounded at the complex, Thompson said.

Officers who went to Smith's home later Thursday found his wife, 29-year-old Dasia Patterson, and their 5-year-old daughter, Nasha Smith, dead from gunshot wounds. Their 7-year-old daughter, Mayan Smith, died from apparent blunt-force trauma, and the couple's 3-year-old daughter was found uninjured under a bed at the family's home.

"It is my understanding that for whatever reason he elected not to shoot her," Thompson said.

The suspect told detectives during an interview that he believed "in God's eyes it was all right for him to deal with someone in this manner who had been involved in adultery or an extramarital affair," Thompson said.

He described the scene at the apartment complex as chaotic, with firefighters treating victims while authorities did not initially know the shooter's whereabouts.

Officers searching his car with a search warrant found a 9mm handgun, a .45 calibre handgun and a .223 calibre rifle they believe were used in the shootings, according to a probable cause statement filed in the case.

__

Associated Press writer Paul Davenport contributed to this report.
Deutsche Post AG operates as a mail and logistics company in Germany, rest of Europe, the Americas, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. The company operates through five segments: Post & Parcel Germany; Express; Global Forwarding, Freight; Supply Chain; and eCommerce Solutions. The Post & Parcel Germany segment transports and delivers mail, letters, parcels, physical and hybrid letters, special products for merchandize, and registered mail to private and business customers. It also provides additional services, such as registered mail, cash on delivery, and insured items. The Express segment transport and offers time-definite international (TDI) shipments comprising urgent documents and goods. The Global Forwarding, Freight segment transports goods by air, ocean, and overland; and offers multimodal and sector-specific solutions. This segment's business model is based on brokering transport services between customers and freight carriers. The Supply Chain segment provides contract logistics solutions, including warehousing and transport services; and value-added services, such as e-fulfilment, lead logistics partner, real estate solutions, service logistics, and packaging solutions for various industrial sectors. The eCommerce Solutions segment provides parcel delivery and cross-border non-TDI services. Deutsche Post AG is headquartered in Bonn, Germany.

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Exelon Corp. operates as a utility services holding company, which engages in the energy generation, power marketing, and energy delivery business. It operates through the following segments: Mid Atlantic, Midwest, New York, Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and other Power Regions. The Mid-Atlantic segment represents operations in the eastern half of PJM, which includes New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, the District of Columbia and parts of Pennsylvania and North Carolina. The Midwest segment operates in the western half of PJM, which includes portions of Illinois, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee, and the United States footprint of MISO, excluding MISO's Southern Region, which covers all or most of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, the remaining parts of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio not covered by PJM, and parts of Montana, Missouri and Kentucky. The New York (NY) segment provides operations within ISONY, which covers the state of New York in its entirety. The ERCOT segment includes operations within Electric Reliability Council of Texas, covering most of the state of Texas.

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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

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Photo: The Canadian Press Independent Members of Parliament Jane Philpott and Jody Wilson-Raybould speak with the media before Question Period in the Foyer of the House of Commons in Ottawa, Wednesday April 3, 2019.

Justin Trudeau's Liberals say they are still hearing support from Indigenous people and leaders, despite concerns raised publicly about Trudeau's expulsion of two ex-ministers who had been central to work on reconciliation.

While the Liberals have repeatedly said that addressing the relationship with Indigenous Peoples in Canada is a top priority, that commitment has been openly questioned by some Indigenous leaders, especially since the ejections of Jody Wilson-Rayboud and Jane Philpott from the Liberal caucus.

Terry Teegee, the British Columbia regional chief in the Assembly of First Nations, suggested the ejections showed a "deeply flawed and dishonest intent" behind Trudeau's previously stated respect for Indigenous Peoples. Wilson-Raybould was one of his predecessors.

"The balance that was being forged within our societies through the process of reconciliation is now threatened," he said when Trudeau expelled the two. Teegee called the decision "wrathful."

Wilson-Raybould, as justice minister until January, had been the highest-ranking Indigenous person ever in the Canadian government. Philpott had been seen as one of Trudeau's most capable ministers; a shuffle that moved her from the high-profile health portfolio to become minister of Indigenous services was a symbol of how important clean water and good housing on reserves, for instance, were to the Liberal government.

Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett, who had worked closely with both, said that while the government is always mindful of triggering cynicism and concern about the relationship she tends, she is continuing to hear "very positive" feedback.

"Whether I'm on the East Coast or the West Coast or in Manitoba, over the last little while, I have to say that people will quietly take me aside and say, 'We need your government re-elected,' " Bennett said in an interview.

"I would never presume that whomever I'm speaking to is speaking on behalf of more than one person," she added. "I think that it's important now for us to earn the respect and continue to make progress."

In the next election, only First Nations, Inuit and Metis will be able to make ultimate determinations about whether their experience with the government has felt more like a partnership than paternalism, Bennett added.

Last week, Trudeau made the decision to remove Wilson-Raybould and Philpott from the Liberal caucus.

The two former cabinet ministers had been outspoken about political pressure to intervene in the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin, a Quebec engineering giant facing bribery charges over contracts in Libya. Wilson-Raybould believes she was shuffled out of the Department of Justice because she wouldn't give Trudeau what he wanted on the file, overruling a prosecutor's decision not to pursue a plea-bargain-like "remediation agreement." Both ultimately resigned from the cabinet.

Trudeau has denied any wrongdoing but has publicly acknowledged there was a breakdown of trust between Wilson-Raybould and his office.

Wilson-Raybould was not available for an interview but Philpott said she does see the controversy as a "setback" in the government's relationship with Indigenous Peoples.

Trudeau's cabinet worked hard on issues including the recognition and affirmation of rights for Indigenous Peoples, Philpott said, and there was "tremendous enthusiasm" about Wilson-Raybould's being the first Indigenous justice minister in Canadian history.

Wilson-Raybould was moved out of the position into the veterans-affairs portfolio, prior to her subsequent cabinet resignation.

"I think particularly the fact that she was moved out of that role and then subsequently resigned from cabinet, is a setback, without doubt," Philpott said.

As an independent MP, Wilson-Raybould continues to have leverage over her former party  and Trudeau in particular  as members of Indigenous communities watch her words and actions carefully, says University of Saskatchewan professor Joseph Garcea, a political scientist who studies Canadian politics.

"She's got this government's feet to the fire and it is up to her, really, how high she turns up the heat," he said.

In 2015, the Liberal Party was keen to recruit Indigenous candidates and affirm its commitment to solving longstanding problems, including multiyear boil-water advisories on reserves.

Indigenous voters were also far more engaged in the last election. The Assembly of First Nations identified 51 ridings, including several in western Canada, where First Nations voters could affect the outcome and invested a great deal of effort in outreach.

After that election, Elections Canada reported the gap between turnout on reserves and turnout among the general population had been the lowest since it began calculating turnout for Aboriginal populations in 2004 (with the caveat that it does not capture demographic information at the polls and cannot count Aboriginal voters directly, whether they vote on or off reserves).

Compared to the 2011 election, Elections Canada said turnout on reserves increased by 14 percentage points  from 47.4 per cent to 61.5 per cent  while turnout among the general population increased by six percentage points to 66 per cent.

For his part, Metis National Council President Clement Chartier said he will not allow a "distraction" like the SNC-Lavalin controversy to "derail" the council's efforts to work with the Liberal government.

"Why would we want to destroy something that has been of significant benefit to the Metis Nation?" he said, suggesting the response to the council from the Trudeau government has been "tremendous."

The Metis National Council will reach out to all the political parties before the election on policy positions, he said, adding Metis citizens can decide for themselves whom to support.

"Until there's an election, we will continue to support this prime minister and this government," he said.

Wilson-Raybould's tenure as the first Indigenous justice minister in Canada will remain a "huge breakthrough," Bennett said. She said her team is very sad there was an erosion of trust with her colleagues.

"We would prefer that (Philpott and Wilson-Raybould) were still members of the team, still supporting the prime minister, but unfortunately that didn't happen," she said, but she believes the government's Indigenous partners want to move on.
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Worth Physician LLC, Davie Medical Center LLC, Daytona Medical Center Inc., Dean 4641 LLC, Deep Purple Investments LLC, Del Sol Bariatric Clinic PLLC, Delray EFL Imaging Center LLC, Denton Cancer Center PLLC, Denton County Hospitalist Program PLLC, Denton Pediatric Physicians PLLC, Denton Regional Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Denver Clinic Surgicenter LLC, Denver Mid-Town Surgery Center Ltd., Denver Surgicenter LLC, Derry ASC Inc., Diagnostic Breast Center Inc., Diagnostic Mammography Services G.P., Diagnostic Services G.P., Dickson Surgery Center L.P., Doctors Bay Area Physician Hospital Organization, Doctors Hospital (Conroe) Inc., Doctors Hospital Columbus GA-Joint Venture, Doctors Hospital Surgery Center L.P., Doctors Hospital of Augusta LLC, Doctors Hospital of Augusta Neurology LLC, Doctors Osteopathic Medical Center Inc., Doctors Same Day Surgery Center Inc., Doctors Same Day Surgery Center Ltd., Doctors-I Inc., Doctors-II Inc., Doctors-III Inc., Doctors-IV Inc., Doctors-IX Inc., Doctors-V Inc., Doctors-VI Inc., Doctors-VII Inc., Doctors-VIII Inc., Doctors-X Inc., Doctors Memorial Hospital of Spartanburg Limited Partnership, Dominion Hospital Physicians Group LLC, Dublin Community Hospital LLC, Dublin Heart Specialists LLC, Dublin Multispecialty LLC, Dura Medical Inc., E.P. Physical Therapy Centers Inc., EASTSIDE URGENT CARE LLC, EHCA Diagnostics LLC, EHCA Eastside Occupational Medicine Center LLC, EHCA LLC, EHCA Metropolitan LLC, EHCA Parkway LLC, EHCA Peachtree LLC, EHCA West Paces LLC, EIRMC Hospitalist Services LLC, EMMC LLC, EP Health LLC, EP Holdco LLC, EPIC Development Inc., EPIC Diagnostic Centers Inc., EPIC Healthcare Management Company, EPIC Properties Inc., EPIC Surgery Centers Inc., EPSC L.P., East Falls Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery LLC, East Falls Family Medicine LLC, East Falls Plastic Surgery LLC, East Florida - DMC Inc., East Florida Behavioral Health Network LLC, East Florida Cardiology Network LLC, East Florida CareNow Urgent Care LLC, East Florida Division Inc., East Florida Emergency Physician Group LLC, East Florida Healthcare LLC, East Florida Hospitalists LLC, East Florida Imaging Holdings LLC, East Florida Primary Care LLC, East Houston Primary Care PLLC, East Houston Specialists PLLC, East Layton Internal Medicine LLC, East Orthopedics PLLC, East Pointe Hospital Inc., Eastern Idaho Brachytherapy Equipment LLC, Eastern Idaho Brachytherapy Equipment Manager LLC, Eastern Idaho Care Partners ACO LLC, Eastern Idaho Care Partners Holdings LLC, Eastern Idaho Care Partners LLC, Eastern Idaho Health Services Inc., Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center Inpatient Services LLC, Eastside Behavioral Health Associates LLC, Eastside General Surgery LLC, Eastside Heart and Vascular LLC, Eastside Medical Center LLC, Eastside Surgery Center LLC, Edmond General Surgery LLC, Edmond Hospitalists LLC, Edmond Physician Hospital Organization Inc., Edward White Hospital Inc., El Paso CareNow Urgent Care PLLC, El Paso Healthcare Provider Network, El Paso Healthcare System Ltd., El Paso Healthcare System Physician Services LLC, El Paso Nurses Unlimited Inc., El Paso Primary Care PLLC, El Paso Surgery Centers L.P., El Paso Surgicenter Inc., Eldridge Family Practitioners PLLC, Elite Family Health of Plano PLLC, Elite OB-GYN Services of El Paso PLLC, Elite Orthopaedics of El Paso PLLC, Elite Orthopaedics of Irving PLLC, Elite Orthopaedics of Plano PLLC, Elstree Outpatient Centre LLP, Emergency Physicians at Wesley Medical Center LLC, Emergency Providers Group LLC, Emergency Psychiatric Medicine PLLC, Encino Hospital Corporation Inc., Endocrinology Associates of Lees Summit LLC, Endoscopy Surgicare of Plano LLC, Endoscopy of Plano L.P., Englewood Community Hospital Auxiliary Inc., Englewood Community Hospital Inc., Envision Stakes LLC, Eye Care Surgicare Ltd. a Missouri limited partnership, FHAL LLC, FMH Health Services LLC, Fairfax Surgical Center L.P., Fairview Medical Services LLC, Fairview Park GP LLC, Fairview Park Limited Partnership, Fairview Partner LLC, Family Care Partners LLC, Family Care of E. Jackson County LLC, Family First Medicine in Brownsville PLLC, Family Health Medical Group of Overland Park LLC, Family Health Specialists of Lees Summit LLC, Family Medicine of Blacksburg LLC, Family Practice at Forest Hill LLC, Family Practice at Retreat LLC, Family Practitioners of Montgomery PLLC, Family Practitioners of Pearland PLLC, Fannin MOB LLC, Fannin MOB Property Management LLC, Far West Division Inc., Fawcett Memorial Hospital Inc., Florida Care Partners LLC, Florida Care Partners Orlando LLC, Florida Home Health Services-Private Care Inc., Florida Outpatient Surgery Center Ltd., Flower Mound Surgery Center Ltd., Focus Hand Surgicenter LLC, Foot & Ankle Specialty Services LLC, Forest Park Surgery Pavilion Inc., Forest Park Surgery Pavilion L.P., Fort Bend Hospital Inc., Fort Chiswell Family Practice LLC, Fort Myers Market Inc., Fort Pierce Immediate Care Center Inc., Fort Pierce Orthopaedics LLC, Fort Pierce Surgery Center Ltd., Fort Walton Beach Medical Center Inc., Fort Worth Investments Inc., Forward Pathology Solutions LLC, Four Rivers Medical Center PHO Inc., Frankfort Hospital Inc., Frankfort Wound Care LLC, Freeport Family Medicine LLC, Fremont Womens Health LLC, Frisco Surgicare LLC, Frisco Warren Parkway 91 Inc., Frist Clinic Express LLC, Ft. Pierce Surgicare LLC, Ft. Walton Beach Anesthesia Services LLC, G. Rowe M.D. PLLC, G. Schnider M.D. PLLC, G. Voorhees M.D. PLLC, G.P. Martin Fletcher & Associates LLC, GA PHYSICIAN SERVICES LLC, GA Urgentcare Holding LLC, GHC-Galen Health Care LLC, GI Associates of Denton PLLC, GI Associates of Lewisville PLLC, GME Services of Osceola LLC, GPCH-GP Inc., GYN-Oncology of Southwest Virginia LLC, Gainesville GYN Oncology of North Florida Regional Medical Center LLC, Gainesville Physicians LLC, GalTex LLC, Galen (Kansas) Merger LLC, Galen BH Inc., Galen Center for Professional Development Inc., Galen College of Nursing, Galen Diagnostic Multicenter Ltd., Galen GOK LLC, Galen Global Finance Inc., Galen Health Institutes Inc., Galen Health Partners Limited, Galen Holdco LLC, Galen Hospital Alaska Inc., Galen Hospital of Baytown Inc., Galen Hospital-Pembroke Pines Inc., Galen International Holdings Inc., Galen KY LLC, Galen MCS LLC, Galen MRMC LLC, Galen Medical Corporation, Galen NMC LLC, Galen NSH LLC, Galen Property LLC, Galen SOM LLC, Galen SSH LLC, Galen Virginia Hospital Corporation, Galen of Aurora Inc., Galen of Florida Inc., Galen of Illinois Inc., Galen of Kentucky Inc., Galen of Mississippi Inc., Galen of Virginia Inc., Galen of West Virginia Inc., Galen-Soch Inc., Galencare Inc., Galendeco Inc., Galichia Anesthesia Services LLC, Galichia Emergency Physicians LLC, Garden Park Community Hospital Limited Partnership, Garden Park Hospitalist Program LLC, Garden Park Investments L.P., Garden Park Physician Group - Specialty Care LLC, Garden Park Physician Group Inc., Gardens EFL Imaging Center LLC, Gastroenterology Specialists of Middle Tennessee LLC, General Hospitals of Galen Inc., General Medical Clinics Limited, General Surgeons of Houston PLLC, General Surgeons of North Richland Hills PLLC, General Surgeons of Pasadena PLLC, General and Cardiovascular Surgeons of Conroe PLLC, Generations Family Practice Inc., GenoSpace LLC, Georgia Health Holdings Inc., Georgia L.P., Georgia Psychiatric Company Inc., Glemm SA, Good Samaritan Hospital L.P., Good Samaritan Hospital LLC, Good Samaritan Surgery Center L.P., Goppert-Trinity Family Care LLC, Grace Family Practice LLC, Gramercy Eye Surgicenter LLC, Gramercy Surgery Center Ltd., Grand Strand Regional Medical Center LLC, Grand Strand Senior Health Center LLC, Grand Strand Specialty Associates LLC, Grand Strand Surgical Specialists LLC, Grandview Health Care Clinic LLC, Grant Center Hospital of Ocala Inc., Grayson Primary Care LLC, Greater Gwinnett Internal Medicine Associates LLC, Greater Gwinnett Physician Corporation, Greater Houston Preferred Provider Option Inc., Greater Tampa Bay Physician Network LLC, Greater Tampa Bay Physician Specialists LLC, Greater Tampa Bay Physicians - Pinellas LLC, Green Oaks Hospital Subsidiary L.P., Greenview Hospital Inc., Greenview PrimeCare LLC, Greenview Specialty Associates LLC, Gulf Coast Division Inc., Gulf Coast Electrophysiology Associates PLLC, Gulf Coast Inpatient Specialists LLC, Gulf Coast Medical Center Primary Care LLC, Gulf Coast Medical Ventures Inc., Gulf Coast Multispecialty Services LLC, Gulf Coast Physician Administrators Inc., Gulf Coast Provider Network Inc., Gwinnett Community Hospital Inc., Gynecology Specialists of Utah LLC, H2U Wellness Centers - Del Sol Medical Center PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers - Las Palmas Medical Center PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers - Medical City Dallas PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers - St. Davids Medical Center PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers LLC, H2U Wellness Centers  Clear Lake Regional Medical Center PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers  Conroe ISD PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers  Conroe Regional Medical Center PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers  Corpus Christi PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers  El Paso PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers  PISD PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers  San Benito CISD PLLC, HBP Lone Star Inc., HCA - IT&S Field Operations Inc., HCA - IT&S Inventory Management Inc., HCA - IT&S PBS Field Operations Inc., HCA - IT&S TN Field Operations Inc., HCA - Information Technology & Services Inc., HCA - Raleigh Community Hospital Inc., HCA - Viera ALF LLC, HCA - WHS Progressive LLC, HCA - WHS Services LLC, HCA ASD Financial Operations LLC, HCA ASD Sales Services LLC, HCA American Finance LLC, HCA Carenow Limited, HCA Central Group Inc., HCA Central/West Texas Physicians Management LLC, HCA Chattanooga Market Inc., HCA Development Company Inc., HCA Eastern Group Inc., HCA Global Capital LLP, HCA Gulf Coast GME PLLC, HCA Health Services of California Inc., HCA Health Services of Florida Inc., HCA Health Services of Georgia Inc., HCA Health Services of Louisiana Inc., HCA Health Services of Miami Inc., HCA Health Services of Midwest Inc., HCA Health Services of New Hampshire Inc., HCA Health Services of Tennessee Inc., HCA Health Services of Texas Inc., HCA Health Services of Virginia Inc., HCA Health Services of West Virginia Inc., HCA Healthcare Mission Fund LLC, HCA Healthcare UK Limited, HCA Holdco LLC, HCA Human Resources LLC, HCA Imaging Services of North Florida Inc., HCA Inc., HCA International Holdings Limited, HCA International Limited, HCA LewisGale Regional Cancer Centers Clinical Co-Management Company LLC, HCA Long Term Health Services of Miami Inc., HCA Luxembourg 1 Sarl, HCA Luxembourg 2 Sarl, HCA Luxembourg Equities Sarl, HCA Luxembourg Finance Limited, HCA Luxembourg Investments Sarl, HCA Management Services L.P., HCA Medical City Limited, HCA Medical Services Inc., HCA Midwest Comprehensive Care Inc., HCA Outpatient Clinic Services of Miami Inc., HCA Outpatient Imaging Services Group Inc., HCA Patient Safety Organization LLC, HCA Pearland GP Inc., HCA Physician Services Inc., HCA Plano Imaging Inc., HCA Property GP LLC, HCA Psychiatric Company, HCA Purchasing Limited, HCA Realty Inc., HCA Richmond Cardiac Clinical Co-Management Company LLC, HCA SF LLC, HCA SFB 1 LLC, HCA Sarasota Orthopedic and Spine Clinical Co-Management Company LLC, HCA Squared LLC, HCA Staffing Limited, HCA Swiss Capital 1 LLP, HCA Swiss Capital 2 LLP, HCA Switzerland Finance GmbH, HCA Switzerland Holding GmbH, HCA Switzerland Limited, HCA UK Capital Limited, HCA UK Holdings Limited, HCA UK Investments Limited, HCA UK Limited, HCA UK Services Limited, HCA Wesley Rehabilitation Hospital Inc., HCA Western Group Inc., HCA-Access Healthcare Holdings LLC, HCA-Access Healthcare Partner Inc., HCA-California Urgent Care Holdings LLC, HCA-EMS Holdings LLC, HCA-EmCare Holdings LLC, HCA-Georgia Urgent Care Holdings LLC, HCA-HBPS Holdings LLC, HCA-HealthONE LLC, HCA-Solis Holdings Inc., HCA-Solis Mammography Service Holdings of Continental LLC, HCA-Solis Mammography Service Holdings of Gulf Coast LLC, HCA-Solis Mammography Service Holdings of North Texas LLC, HCA-Solis Mammography Service Holdings of TriStar LLC, HCA-Solis Mammography Services LLC, HCA-Solis Master LLC, HCA-Urgent Care Holdings LLC, HCAPS Anesthesia Manager LLC, HCAPS Conroe Affiliation Inc., HCOL Inc., HD&S Corp. Successor Inc., HDH Thoracic Surgeons LLC, HHBY Holdings LLC, HHNC LLC, HICCH-SCL LLC, HM Acquisition LLC, HM OMCOS LLC, HMMG 1226 LLC, HPG Energy L.P., HPG Enterprises LLC, HPG GP LLC, HPG Solutions LLC, HSS Holdco LLC, HSS Systems LLC, HSS Virginia L.P., HTI Gulf Coast Inc., HTI Health Services of North Carolina Inc., HTI Hospital Holdings Inc., HTI MOB LLC, HTI MSO LLC, HTI Memorial Hospital Corporation, HTI Physician Services of Utah Inc., HWCA PLLC, Hamilton Memorial Hospital Inc., Hamsard 3160 Limited, Harley Street Clinic @ The Groves LLP, Hathor Chelsea Ltd., Healdsburg General Hospital Inc., Health Care Indemnity Inc., Health Insight Capital LLC, Health International Billing Partners Limited, Health Midwest Medical Group Inc., Health Midwest Office Facilities Corporation, Health Midwest Ventures Group Inc., Health Partners of Kansas Inc., Health Service Partners Inc., Health Services (Delaware) Inc., Health Services Merger Inc., Health to You LLC, HealthCoast Physician Group LLC, HealthONE Aurora Investment LLC, HealthONE Care Partners LLC, HealthONE CareNow Urgent Care LLC, HealthONE Clear Creek LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Bariatric Medicine LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Behavioral Health LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Cancer Care LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Cancer Specialties LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Cardiovascular LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Medical Specialties LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Neurosciences LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Obstetrics and Gynecology LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Occupational Medicine LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Oncology Hematology LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Orthopedic Specialists LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Otolaryngology Specialists LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Pediatric Specialties LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Primary Care LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Spine Specialists LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Spine Surgeons LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Surgery Neurological LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Surgical Specialties LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Transplant Services LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Womens Services LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Youth Rehabilitation LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services LLC, HealthONE High Street Primary Care Center LLC, HealthONE IRL Pathology Services LLC, HealthONE Institutes for Clinical Research LLC, HealthONE Lowry LLC, HealthONE Radiation Therapy at Red Rocks LLC, HealthONE Radiation Therapy at Thornton LLC, HealthONE Ridge View Endoscopy Center LLC, HealthONE Surgicare of Ridge View LLC, HealthONE Urologic LLC, HealthONE at Breckenridge LLC, HealthONE of Denver Inc., HealthOne Heart Care LLC, HealthOne Lincoln Investment LLC, HealthOne Westside Investment LLC, HealthTrust Europe Company Limited, HealthTrust Europe LLP, HealthTrust Locums Inc., HealthTrust Workforce Solutions LLC, Healthcare Oklahoma Inc., Healthcare Purchasing Alliance LLC, Healthcare Sales National Management Services Group LLC, Healthcare Technology Assessment Corporation, Healthco LLC, Healthnet of Kentucky LLC, Healthserv Acquisition LLC, Healthtrust Inc. - The Hospital Company, Healthtrust MOB Tennessee LLC, Healthtrust Purchasing Group L.P., Healthtrust Utah Management Services Inc., Healthy State Inc., Heart Specialist of North Texas PLLC, Heart of America ASC LLC, Heart of America Surgicenter LLC, Heartcare of Texas Ltd., Hearthstone Home Health Inc., Heartland Womens Group at Wesley LLC, Heathrow Imaging LLC, Heathrow Internal Medicine LLC, Hendersonville Hospital Corporation, Hendersonville Hospitalist Services Inc., Hendersonville OB/GYN LLC, Hendersonville ODC LLC, Hendersonville Primary Care LLC, Henrico Doctors Hospital - Forest Campus Property LLC, Henrico Doctors Neurology Associates LLC, Henrico Doctors OB GYN Specialists LLC, Henrico Surgical Specialists LLC, Heritage Family Care LLC, Heritage Hospital Inc., Heritage Medical Care LLC, Hermitage Primary Care LLC, Hidalgo County Family Practitioners PLLC, Hidden Lakes Health Center PLLC, Highlands Regional Medical Center, Hip & Joint Specialists of North Texas PLLC, Homecare North Inc., Hometrust Management Services Inc., Horizon Orthopedics LLC, Horizon Surgical LLC, Hospital Corp. LLC, Hospital Corporation of America, Hospital Corporation of Lake Worth, Hospital Corporation of Tennessee, Hospital Corporation of Utah, Hospital Development Properties Inc., Hospital Partners Merger LLC, Hospital Realty Corporation, Hospital-Based CRNA Services Inc., Hospitalists at Centennial Medical Center LLC, Hospitalists at Fairview Park LLC, Hospitalists at Greenview Regional Hospital LLC, Hospitalists at Horizon Medical Center LLC, Hospitalists at Parkridge LLC, Hospitalists at StoneCrest LLC, Hospitalists at Wesley Medical Center LLC, Hospitalists of the Wabash Valley LLC, Houston - PPH LLC, Houston CareNow Urgent Care PLLC, Houston Healthcare Holdings Inc., Houston NW Manager LLC, Houston Northwest Concessions L.L.C., Houston Northwest Operating Company L.L.C., Houston Northwest Surgical Partners Inc., Houston Obstetrics and Gynecology for Women PLLC, Houston Pediatric Specialty Group PLLC, Houston Urologic Surgicenter LLC, Houston Womans Hospital Partner LLC, ICU Associates of West Houston PLLC, IMX Holdings LLC, IRL Pathology Services MidAmerica LLC, Idaho Behavioral Health Services LLC, Idaho Physician Services Inc., Illinois Psychiatric Hospital Company Inc., Imaging Realty LLC, Imaging Services of Appomattox LLC, Imaging Services of Jacksonville LLC, Imaging Services of Louisiana LLC, Imaging Services of Louisiana Manager LLC, Imaging Services of Orlando LLC, Imaging Services of Richmond LLC, Imaging Services of Roanoke LLC, Imaging Services of West Boynton LLC, InVivoLink Inc., Independence Neurosurgery Services LLC, Independence Regional Medical Group LLC, Independence Surgicare Inc., Indian Path Hospital Inc., Indianapolis Hospital Partner LLC, Institute for Womens Health and Body LLC, Institute of Advanced ENT Surgery LLC, Integrated Regional Lab LLC, Integrated Regional Laboratories LLP, Integrated Regional Laboratories Pathology Services LLC, Intensive Care Consortium Inc., Internal Medicine Associates of Huntsville PLLC, Internal Medicine Associates of Southern Hills LLC, Internal Medicine of Blacksburg LLC, Internal Medicine of Pasadena PLLC, Internist Associates of Houston PLLC, Isleworth Partners Inc., J. M. Garcia M.D. PLLC, JCSH LLC, JDGC Management LLC, JFK Internal Medicine Faculty Practice LLC, JFK Medical Center Limited Partnership, JPM AA Housing LLC, Jackson County Medical Group LLC, Jackson County Pulmonary Medical Group LLC, Jacksonville CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Jacksonville Multispecialty Services LLC, Jacksonville Surgery Center Ltd., James River Internists LLC, John Randolph Family Practice LLC, John Randolph OB/GYN LLC, John Randolph Surgeons LLC, Johnson County Neurology LLC, Johnson County Surgery Center L.P., Johnson County Surgicenter L.L.C., Jordan Family Health L.L.C., Jupiter EFL Imaging Center LLC, KC Pain ASC LLC, KC Surgicare LLC, KPH-Consolidation Inc., Kansas CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Kansas City Cardiac Arrhythmia Research LLC, Kansas City Gastroenterology & Hepatology Physicians Group LLC, Kansas City Neurology Associates LLC, Kansas City Pulmonology Practice LLC, Kansas City Surgery Center Properties LLC, Kansas City Vascular & General Surgery Group LLC, Kansas City Womens Clinic Group LLC, Kansas Healthserv LLC, Kansas Pulmonary and Sleep Specialists LLC, Kansas Trauma and Critical Care Specialists LLC, Kathy L. Summers M.D. PLLC, Kendall Healthcare Group Ltd., Kendall Regional Medical Center LLC, Kendall Regional Urgent Care LLC, Kennedale Primary Care PLLC, Kingwood Multi-Specialty Group PLLC, Kingwood Surgery Center LLC, Kingwood Surgicenter LLC, Kissimmee Surgicare Ltd., Kyle Primary Care PLLC, L E Corporation, LAD Imaging LLC, LGMC Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, LOC @ The Christie LLP, LOC @ The London Bridge Hospital LLP, LOC Partnership LLP, LPN TeleBehavioral Health PLLC, Lafayette OB Hospitalists LLC, Lafayette Urogynecology & Urology Center LLC, Lake City Imaging LLC, Lake City Regional Medical Group LLC, Lake Forest Family Health PLLC, Lakeside Radiology LLC, Lakeside Womens Services LLC, Lakeview Cardiology Specialists LLC, Lakeview Hospital Physician Services LLC, Lakeview Internal Medicine LLC, Lakeview Medical Center LLC, Lakeview Regional Medical Center Inpatient Services LLC, Lakeview Regional Physician Group LLC, Lakeview Urology & General Surgery LLC, Lakewood Surgicare Inc., Laredo Medco LLC, Largo Medical Center Inc., Largo Physician Group LLC, Las Colinas Primary Care PLLC, Las Colinas Surgery Center Ltd., Las Encinas Hospital, Las Palmas Del Sol Cardiology PLLC, Las Palmas Del Sol Internal Medicine PLLC, Las Palmas Del Sol Urgent Care PLLC, Las Vegas ASC LLC, Las Vegas Surgicare Inc., Las Vegas Surgicare Ltd. a Nevada Limited Partnership, Lawnwood Cardiovascular Surgery LLC, Lawnwood Healthcare Specialists LLC, Lawnwood Medical Center Inc., Layton Family Practice LLC, Leaders in Oncology Care Limited, Leadership Healthcare Holdings II L.P. L.L.P., Leadership Healthcare Holdings L.P. L.L.P., Lees Summit Family Care LLC, Leslie Cohan M.D. PLLC, Lewis-Gale Hospital Incorporated, Lewis-Gale Medical Center LLC, Lewis-Gale Physicians LLC, Lewisville Primary Care PLLC, Lewisville Surgicare LLC, Lincoln Surgery Center LLC, Live Oak Immediate Care Center LLC, London Oncology Clinic LLP, London Pathology Limited, London Radiography & Radiotherapy Services Limited, Lone Peak Hospital Inc., Lone Star Intensivists at Gulf Coast PLLC, Lonestar Provider Network, Longview Regional Physician Hospital Organization Inc., Lorain County Surgery Center Ltd., Los Gatos Surgical Center a California Limited Partnership, Los Robles Regional Medical Center, Los Robles Regional Medical Center MOB LLC, Los Robles SurgiCenter LLC, Loudoun Surgery Center LLC, Louisiana Psychiatric Company Inc., Loveland Surgicenter LLC, Low Country Health Services Inc. of the Southeast, Lowry Surgicenter LLC, M. Jamshidi D.O. PLLC, MCA Investment Company, MCA-CTMC Holdings LLC, MEC Endoscopy LLC, MFA G.P. LLC, MFM Fact PLLC, MGH Medical Inc., MH Anesthesiology Physicians LLC, MH Angel Medical Center LLLP, MH Asheville Specialty Hospital LLC, MH Blue Ridge Medical Center LLLP, MH Eckerd Living Center LLLP, MH Highlands-Cashiers Medical Center LLLP, MH Hospital Holdings Inc., MH Hospital Manager LLC, MH Master Holdings LLLP, MH Master LLC, MH McDowell Imaging LLLP, MH Mission Hospital LLLP, MH Mission Hospital McDowell LLLP, MH Mission Imaging LLLP, MH Physician Services LLC, MH Transylvania Imaging LLLP, MH Transylvania Regional Hospital LLLP, MHS Partnership Holdings JSC Inc., MHS Partnership Holdings SDS Inc., MHS SC Partner L.L.C., MHS Surgery Centers L.P., MMC Sleep Lab Management LLC, MOSC Sports Medicine Inc., MOVCO Inc., MP Management LLC, MRT&C Inc., MSL Acquisition LLC, MVH Professional Services LLC, Macon Healthcare LLC, Macon Northside Health Group LLC, Macon Northside Hospital LLC, Macon Psychiatric Hospitalists LLC, Madison Behavioral Health LLC, Mainland Family Medicine PLLC, Mainland Multi-Specialty Group PLLC, Mainland Primary Care Physicians PLLC, Management Services Holdings Inc., Manatee Surgicare Ltd., Marietta Outpatient Medical Building Inc., Marietta Outpatient Surgery Ltd., Marietta Surgical Center Inc., Marion Community Hospital Inc., Mark Gottesman M.D. PLLC, Martin Fletcher & Associates L.P., Martin Fletcher Associates Holdings Inc., Mary Alice Cowan M.D. PLLC, Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialists of Corpus Christi PLLC, Maternal Fetal Services of Utah LLC, Maury County Behavioral Health LLC, Mayhill Cancer Center LLC, McAllen Comprehensive Upper Extremity Center PLLC, McKinney Surgeons PLLC, Mechanicsville Imaging LLC, Mecklenburg Surgical Land Development Ltd., Med City Dallas Outpatient Surgery Center L.P., Med Corp. Inc., Med Group - Southern Hills Hospitalists LLC, Med-Center Hosp./Houston Inc., Med-Point of New Hampshire Inc., Medi Flight of Oklahoma LLC, MediCredit Inc., MediPurchase Inc., MediStone Healthcare Ventures Inc., MediVision Inc., MediVision of Mecklenburg County Inc., MediVision of Tampa Inc., Medical Arts Hospital of Texarkana Inc., Medical Associates of Ocala LLC, Medical Care America Colorado LLC, Medical Care America LLC, Medical Care Financial Services Corp., Medical Care Real Estate Finance Inc., Medical Care Surgery Center Inc., Medical Center - West Inc., Medical Center Imaging Inc., Medical Center Surgery Associates L.P., Medical Center of Baton Rouge Inc., Medical Center of Plano Partner LLC, Medical Center of Port St. Lucie Inc., Medical Center of Santa Rosa Inc., Medical Center of Southwest Florida LLC, Medical Centers of Oklahoma LLC, Medical City Dallas Hospital Inc., Medical City Dallas Partner LLC, Medical City Dallas Primary Care PLLC, Medical City Frisco, Medical City OB-GYN PLLC, Medical City Pediatrics PLLC, Medical City Specialty Surgicenter of Dallas LLC, Medical City Surgery Center of Alliance LLC, Medical City Surgery Center of Frisco LLC, Medical City Surgery Center of Lewisville LLC, Medical City Transplant PLLC, Medical Corporation of America, Medical Group - Dickson Inc., Medical Group - Southern Hills of Brentwood LLC, Medical Group - Southern Hills of Nolensville LLC, Medical Group - StoneCrest FP Inc., Medical Group - StoneCrest Inc., Medical Group - Stonecrest Pulmonology LLC, Medical Group - Summit Inc., Medical Imaging Inc., Medical Imaging of Colorado LLC, Medical Office Buildings of Kansas LLC, Medical Oncology Associates LLC, Medical Partners of North Florida LLC, Medical Plaza Ambulatory Surgery Center Associates L.P., Medical Specialties Inc., Memorial Family Practice Associates LLC, Memorial Health Primary Care at St. Johns Bluff LLC, Memorial Healthcare Group Inc., Memorial Neurosurgery Group LLC, Memorial Satilla Specialists LLC, Memorial University Medical Center, Menorah Medical Group LLC, Menorah Urgent Care LLC, Mercy ASC LLC, Metairie Primary Care Associates LLC, Methodist Ambulatory Surgery Center of Boerne LLC, Methodist Ambulatory Surgery Center of Landmark LLC, Methodist Cardiology Physicians, Methodist CareNow Physician Associates, Methodist CareNow Urgent Care PLLC, Methodist Healthcare System of San Antonio Ltd. L.L.P., Methodist Inpatient Management Group, Methodist Medical Center ASC L.P., Methodist Physician Alliance, Methodist Physician Practice Services LLC, Methodist Physician Practices PLLC, Metroplex Surgicenters Inc., Metropolitan Multispecialty Physicians Group Inc., Miami Beach EFL Imaging Center LLC, Miami Beach Healthcare Group Ltd., Miami Dade Surgical Specialists LLC, Miami Lakes Surgery Center Ltd., Miami-Dade Cardiology Consultants LLC, Michael Mann M.D. PLLC, Mid-America Surgery Center LLC, Mid-America Surgery Institute LLC, Mid-Cities Surgi-Center Inc., Mid-Continent Health Services Inc., MidAmerica Division Inc., MidAmerica Oncology LLC, Middle Georgia Hospital LLC, Middle Georgia Urgent Care Services LLC, Middle Tennessee Neurology LLC, Midtown Diagnostics LLC, Midwest Cardiology Specialists LLC, Midwest Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery LLC, Midwest Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons of Kansas LLC, Midwest Division - ACH LLC, Midwest Division - CMC LLC, Midwest Division - LRHC LLC, Midwest Division - LSH LLC, Midwest Division - MCI LLC, Midwest Division - MMC LLC, Midwest Division - OPRMC LLC, Midwest Division - RBH LLC, Midwest Division - RMC LLC, Midwest Division Spine Care LLC, Midwest Doctors Group LLC, Midwest Heart & Vascular Specialists LLC, Midwest Holdings Inc., Midwest Infectious Disease Specialists LLC, Midwest Medicine Associates LLC, Midwest Metropolitan Physicians Group LLC, Midwest Oncology Associates LLC, Midwest Trauma Services LLC, Midwest Womens Healthcare Specialists LLC, Mikrod Services Inc., Mill Creek Outpatient Services LLC, Millenium Health Care of Oklahoma Inc., Mission Bay Memorial Hospital Inc., Mission Community Anesthesiology Specialists LLC, Mission Employer Solutions LLC, Mission Health, Mission Health Partners Inc., Missouri Healthcare System L.P., Mobile Corps. Inc., Mobile Heartbeat, Mobile Heartbeat LLC, Montgomery Cancer Center LLC, Montgomery Hospitalists LLC, Montgomery Regional Hospital Inc., Montgomery Surgery Associates LLC, Mountain Division - CVH LLC, Mountain Division Inc., Mountain View Hospital Inc., Mountain View MRI Associates Ltd., Mountain West Surgery Center LLC, MountainStar Behavioral Health LLC, MountainStar Brigham General Surgery LLC, MountainStar Canyon Surgical Clinic LLC, MountainStar Cardiology Ogden Regional LLC, MountainStar Cardiology St. Marks LLC, MountainStar Intensivist Services LLC, MountainStar Medical Group - Cache Valley LLC, MountainStar Medical Group - Ogden Regional Medical Center LLC, MountainStar Medical Group - St. Marks Hospital LLC, MountainStar Medical Group Neurosurgery-St. Marks LLC, MountainStar Medical Group Timpanogos Primary Care LLC, MountainStar Medical Group Timpanogos Specialty Care LLC, MountainStar Specialty Services LLC, MountainStar Urgent Care LLC, MountainView GME Primary Care LLC, Mountainstar Brigham OBGYN LLC, Mountainstar Cardiovascular Services LLC, Mountainstar Ogden Pediatrics LLC, Movement Disorders of North Texas PLLC, Mt. Ogden Utah Surgical Center LLC, NPAS Inc., NPAS Solutions LLC, NT Urgent Care PLLC, NTGP LLC, NTMC Management Company, NTMC Venture Inc., NTX Pathology Program PLLC, Nashville Psychiatric Company Inc., Nashville Shared Services General Partnership, Nashville Surgicenter LLC, Natchez Medical Associates LLC, Natchez Surgery Center LLC, National Association of Senior Friends, National Contact Center Management Group LLC, National Patient Account Services Inc., National Transfer Center Management Services LLC, Navarro Memorial Hospital Inc., NeighborMD Management LLC, Network MS of Florida Inc., Network Management Services Inc., Neuro Affiliates Company, Neuro-Hospitalist of Clear Lake PLLC, NeuroHospitalist of McAllen PLLC, Neurological Eye Specialists of North Texas PLLC, Neurological Specialists PLLC, Neurological Specialists of McKinney PLLC, Neurology Associates of Hendersonville LLC, Neurology Associates of Kansas LLC, Neurosurgery Atlanta LLC, Neurosurgery of Kingwood PLLC, Neurosurgical Associates of North Texas PLLC, Neurosurgical Specialists of El Paso PLLC, Neurosurgical Specialists of North Texas PLLC, Nevada Surgery Center of Southern Hills L.P., Nevada Surgicare of Southern Hills LLC, Nevada Urgent Care Holdings Inc., New Iberia Healthcare LLC, New Iberia Holdings Inc., New Port Richey Hospital Inc., New Port Richey Surgery Center Ltd., New Rose Holding Company Inc., Niceville Family Practice LLC, North Augusta Imaging Management LLC, North Augusta Imaging Services LLC, North Augusta Rehab Health Center LLC, North Austin Plastic Surgery Associates PLLC, North Austin Surgery Center L.P., North Brandon Imaging LLC, North Central Florida Health System Inc., North Central Methodist ASC L.P., North Charleston Diagnostic Imaging Center LLC, North Florida Cancer Center Lake City LLC, North Florida Cancer Center Live Oak LLC, North Florida Cancer Center Tallahassee LLC, North Florida Division I Inc., North Florida Division Practice Inc., North Florida GI Center GP Inc., North Florida GI Center Ltd., North Florida Immediate Care Center Inc., North Florida Neurosurgery LLC, North Florida Outpatient Imaging Center Ltd., North Florida Physician Services Inc., North Florida Physicians LLC, North Florida Radiation Oncology LLC, North Florida Regional Company Care LLC, North Florida Regional Freestanding Surgery Center L.P., North Florida Regional Investments Inc., North Florida Regional Medical Center Inc., North Florida Regional Psychiatry LLC, North Florida Regional Trauma LLC, North Florida Rehab Investments LLC, North Florida Surgical Associates LLC, North Georgia Primary Care Group LLC, North Hills Cardiac Catheterization Center L.P., North Hills Catheterization Lab LLC, North Hills Orthopaedic Surgeons PLLC, North Hills Surgicare L.P., North Houston - TRMC LLC, North Miami Beach Surgery Center Limited Partnership, North Miami Beach Surgical Center LLC, North Palm Beach County Surgery Center LLC, North River Physician Network LLC, North Shore Specialists of Texas PLLC, North Suburban Spine Center L.P., North Tampa Imaging LLC, North Texas - MCA LLC, North Texas Cardiology PLLC, North Texas Craniofacial Fellowship Program PLLC, North Texas Division Inc., North Texas General L.P., North Texas Geriatrics PLLC, North Texas Heart Surgery Center PLLC, North Texas Internal Medicine Specialists PLLC, North Texas Medical Center Inc., North Texas Neuro Stroke OP PLLC, North Texas Pulmonary Critical Care PLLC, North Texas Sports and Orthopedics Center PLLC, North Texas Stroke Center PLLC, North Texas of Hope PLLC, North Transfer Center LLC, Northeast Florida Cancer Services LLC, Northeast Methodist Surgicare Ltd., Northeast PHO Inc., Northern Utah Healthcare Corporation, Northern Utah Healthcare Imaging Holdco LLC, Northern Utah Imaging LLC, Northern Virginia CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Northern Virginia Community Hospital LLC, Northern Virginia Hospital Corporation, Northern Virginia Surgicenter LLC, Northlake Medical Center LLC, Northlake Physician Practice Network Inc., Northlake Surgical Center L.P., Northlake Surgicare Inc., Northside MRI Inc., Northwest Fla. Home Health Agency Inc., Northwest Florida Healthcare Systems Inc., Northwest Florida Multispecialty Physicians LLC, Northwest Florida Primary Care LLC, Northwest Medical Center Inc., Notami (Opelousas) Inc., Notami Hospitals LLC, Notami Hospitals of Florida Inc., Notami Hospitals of Louisiana Inc., Notami Hospitals of Missouri Inc., Notami LLC, Notco LLC, Nuclear Diagnosis Inc., OB Hospitalists of Womans Hospital PLLC, OB/GYN of Brownsville PLLC, OB/Gyn Associates of Denton PLLC, OBS Diagnostic and Treatment Centre LLP, ODP Holdings LLC, ODP Manager LLC, ODP Properties LLC, OHH Imaging Services LLC, OPRMC-HBP LLC, Oak Hill Acquisition Inc., Oak Hill Family Care LLC, Oak Hill Hospitalists LLC, Oakwood Surgery Center Ltd. LLP, Ocala Health Company Care LLC, Ocala Health Imaging Services LLC, Ocala Health Primary Care LLC, Ocala Health Surgical Group LLC, Ocala Health Trauma LLC, Ocala Regional Outpatient Services Inc., Ocala Stereotactic Radiosurgery LLC, Ocala Stereotactic Radiosurgery Partner LLC, Occupational Health Services of PRH LLC, Occupational and Family Medicine of South Texas, Ogden Imaging LLC, Ogden Internal Medicine & Urology LLC, Ogden Regional Health Plan Inc., Ogden Regional Medical Center Professional Billing LLC, Ogden Senior Center LLC, Ogden Tomotherapy LLC, Ogden Tomotherapy Manager LLC, Okaloosa Hospital Inc., Okeechobee Hospital Inc., Oklahoma Holding Company LLC, Oklahoma Outpatient Surgery Limited Partnership, Oklahoma Physicians - Medical Specialties LLC, Oklahoma Physicians - Obstetrics and Gynecology LLC, Oklahoma Physicians - Primary Care LLC, Oklahoma Physicians - Surgical Specialties LLC, Oklahoma Surgicare Inc., Old Fort Village LLC, On-Site Primary Care PLLC, Oncology Services of Corpus Christi LLC, Oncology Services of Corpus Christi Manager LLC, OneSourceMed Inc., Online Pathology Services Limited, Orange County Healthcare LLC, Orange Park Hospitalists LLC, Orange Park Medical Center Inc., Orlando CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Orlando Outpatient Surgical Center Inc., Orlando Outpatient Surgical Center Ltd., Orlando Surgicare Ltd., Orthopaedic Specialty Associates L.P., Orthopaedic Sports Specialty Associates Inc., Orthopedic Hospital Ltd., Orthopedics Specialists LLC, Osceola Neurological Associates LLC, Osceola Physician Network LLC, Osceola Regional Hospital Inc., Osceola Regional Hospitalists LLC, Osceola Surgical Associates LLC, Outpatient Cardiovascular Center of Central Florida LLC, Outpatient GP LLC, Outpatient Services - LAD LLC, Outpatient Services Holdings Inc., Outpatient Surgical Services Ltd., Outpatient Womens and Childrens Surgery Center Ltd., Overland Park Cardiovascular Inc., Overland Park Medical Specialists LLC, Overland Park Orthopedics LLC, Overland Park Surgical Specialties LLC, Oviedo Medical Center LLC, Ozarks Medical Services Inc., P&L Associates, P/SL Hyperbaric Partnership, PET CT LLP, PMM Inc., POH Holdings LLC, PSG Delegated Services LLC, PTS Solutions LLC, Pacific Partners Management Services Inc., Palm Beach EFL Imaging Center LLC, Palm Beach General Surgery LLC, Palm Beach Healthcare System Inc., Palm Beach Hospitalists Program LLC, Palmer Medical Center LLC, Palms West Gastroenterology LLC, Palms West Hospital Limited Partnership, Palms West Surgery Center Ltd., Paragon Physicians Hospital Organization of South Texas Inc., Paragon SDS Inc., Paragon Surgery Centers of Texas Inc., Paragon WSC Inc., Paragon of Texas Health Properties Inc., Parallon Business Solutions LLC, Parallon Enterprises LLC, Parallon Health Information Solutions LLC, Parallon Holdings LLC, Parallon Payroll Solutions LLC, Parallon Physician Services LLC, Parallon Revenue Cycle Services Inc., Park Central Surgical Center Ltd., Park Ridge Surgery Center LLC, Park South Imaging Center Ltd., Park View Insurance Company, Parkersburg SJ Holdings Inc., Parkland Hospitalists Program LLC, Parkland Oncology LLC, Parkland Physician Services Inc., Parkridge East Specialty Associates LLC, Parkridge Hospitalists Inc., Parkridge Medical Associates LLC, Parkridge Medical Center Inc., Parkridge Professionals Inc., Parkside Surgery Center Inc., Parkway Cardiac Center Ltd., Parkway Hospital Inc., Parkway Surgery Services Ltd., Parthenon Insurance Company Limited, Pasadena Bayshore Hospital Inc., PatientKeeper, PatientKeeper Inc., Patients First Neurology LLC, Pavilion 2 Condominium Property LLC, Pavilion 2 Medical Office Building Condominium Association Inc., Pavilion Surgicenter LLC, Peach State Anesthesia Partners LLC, Pearland Institute for Womens Health PLLC, Pearland Partner LLC, Pediatric Anesthesia Consultants of San Antonio PLLC, Pediatric Cardiac Intensivists of North Texas PLLC, Pediatric Critical Care of Clear Lake PLLC, Pediatric Hospitalists of Conroe PLLC, Pediatric Intensivist Group LLC, Pediatric Intensivists of El Paso PLLC, Pediatric Intensivists of North Texas PLLC, Pediatric Specialists of Clear Lake PLLC, Pediatric Specialty Clinic LLC, Pediatric Surgicare Inc., Pediatrics of Greater Houston PLLC, Pensacola Primary Care Inc., Physician Associates of Corporate Woods LLC, Physicians Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Physicians West Surgicenter LLC, Pinellas Medical LLC, Pinnacle Physician Network LLC, Pioneer Medical LLC, Plains Healthcare System Inc., Plano Ambulatory Surgery Associates L.P., Plano Heart Institute L.P., Plano Heart Management LLC, Plano Surgery Center - GP LLC, Plano Surgery Center Real Estate LLC, Plano Surgicenter Real Estate Manager LLC, Plano Urology PLLC, Plantation General Hospital L.P., Plaza Medical Specialists PLLC, Plaza Primary Care PLLC, Plaza Transplant Center PLLC, Podiatry of Clear Lake PLLC, Poinciana Medical Center Inc., Port St. Lucie Surgery Center Ltd., Portland Primary Care LLC, Portsmouth Regional Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Portsmouth Surgicenter LLC, Preferred Hospitals Inc., Preferred Works WC LLC, Premier ASC LLC, Premier Medical Management Ltd., Primary Care Medical Associates Inc., Primary Care Plano PLLC, Primary Care Services of Orlando LLC, Primary Care South PLLC, Primary Care West PLLC, Primary Care of West End LLC, Primary Health Asset Holdings Ltd., Primary Health Group Inc., Primary Health Inc., Primary Health Network of South Texas, Primary Health Physicians PLLC, Primary Medical Management Inc., Proaxis Therapy HealthOne LLC, Provident Professional Building Condominium Association Inc., Psychiatry Services of Osceola LLC, Pulaski Community Hospital Inc., Pulaski Urology LLC, Pulmonary Renal Intensivist Group LLC, Putnam Community Medical Center of North Florida LLC, Putnam Hospital Inc., Putnam Radiation Oncology LLC, Putnam Radiation Oncology Manager LLC, Putnam Surgical Group LLC, Quantum/Bellaire Imaging Ltd., Quick Care Centers LLC, Quivira Internal Medicine Inc., RCH LLC, RMC - Pulmonary LLC, RMC Transplant Physicians LLC, RMCA Professionals Mgmt LLC, ROi CPS LLC, Radford Family Medicine LLC, Radiation Oncology Center of Thornton LLC, Radiation Oncology Manager LLC, Raleigh Community Medical Office Building Ltd., Rapides After Hours Clinic L.L.C., Rapides Healthcare System L.L.C., Rapides Regional Physician Group LLC, Rapides Regional Physician Group Primary Care LLC, Rapides Regional Physician Group Specialty Care LLC, Rapides Surgery Center LLC, Raulerson GYN LLC, Raulerson Gastroenterology LLC, Raulerson Primary Care LLC, Raymore Medical Group LLC, Red Rock Holdco LLC, Red Rock at Smoke Ranch LLC, Red Rocks Surgery Center LLC, Redmond Anesthesia Services LLC, Redmond Hospital Services LLC, Redmond Neurosurgery LLC, Redmond Park Health Services Inc., Redmond Park Hospital LLC, Redmond Physician Practice Company, Redmond Specialty Services LLC, Regional Hospital Healthcare Partners LLC, Research Cardiology Associates LLC, Research Family Physicians LLC, Research Internal Medicine LLC, Research Neurology Associates LLC, Research Neuroscience Institute LLC, Resource Optimization & Innovation L.L.C., Reston Hospital Center LLC, Reston Hospitalists LLC, Reston Surgery Center L.P., Retreat Cardiology LLC, Retreat Hospital LLC, Retreat Internal Medicine LLC, Retreat Surgical Associates LLC, Rhodes Limited-Liability Company, Richmond Imaging Employer Corp., Richmond Multi-Specialty LLC, Richmond Pediatric Surgeons LLC, Ridgeline Surgicenter LLC, Rim Building Partners L.P., Rio Grande Healthcare MSO Inc., Rio Grande NP Inc., Rio Grande Regional Hospital Inc., Rio Grande Valley Cardiology PLLC, Rio Grande Valley CareNow Urgent Care PLLC, Rio Grande Valley Urology PLLC, Riverside CyberKnife Manager LLC, Riverside Healthcare System L.P., Riverside Holdings Inc., Riverside Hospital Inc., Riverside Imaging LLC, Riverwalk ASC LLC, Roanoke Imaging LLC, Roanoke Neurosurgery LLC, Roanoke Surgery Center L.P., Roanoke Valley Gynecology LLC, Robotic Radiosurgery LLP, Rocky Mountain Pediatric Hematology Oncology LLC, Rocky Mountain Surgery Center LLC, Rome Imaging Center Limited Partnership, Roodlane Medical Limited, Rose Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Rose Health Partners LLC, Rose Medical Plaza Ltd., Rose POB Inc., Rosewood Medical Center Inc., Rosewood Professional Building Ltd., Round Rock Hospital Inc., Round Rock Trauma Surgeons PLLC, Royal Oaks Surgery Center L.P., S.A. Medical Center Inc., SAPN LLC, SCRI Global Services Limited, SCRI Holdings LLC, SCRI Scientifics LLC, SJMC LLC, SSHR Holdco LLC, SSJ St. Petersburg Holdings Inc., STPN Manager LLC, SWMC Inc., Sahara Outpatient Surgery Center Ltd., Salem Hospitalists LLC, Salem Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Salt Lake City Surgicare Inc., Samaritan LLC, San Antonio Division Inc., San Antonio Regional Hospital Inc., San Antonio Surgicenter LLC, San Bernardino Imaging LLC, San Joaquin Surgical Center Inc., San Jose Healthcare System LP, San Jose Hospital L.P., San Jose LLC, San Jose Medical Center LLC, San Jose Pathology Outreach LLC, San Marcos ASC LLC, San Marcos Surgicenter LLC, Sante Fe Family Practitioners PLLC, Sarah Cannon Development Innovations LLC, Sarah Cannon Research Institute LLC, Sarah Cannon Research Institute UK Limited, Sarasota Doctors Hospital Inc., Savannah Behavioral Health Associates LLC, Savannah Health Network LLC, Savannah Health Services LLC, Savannah Inpatient Services LLC, Savannah Multispecialty Associates LLC, Savannah Pediatric Care LLC, Savannah Primary Care Associates LLC, Sebring Health Services LLC, Selma Medical Center Hospital Inc., Senior Health Associates LLC, Short Pump Imaging LLC, Silicon Valley Health Holdings LLC, Silicon Valley Surgery Center L.P., Silicon Valley Surgicenter LLC, Sky Ridge Spine Manager LLC, Sky Ridge Surgery Center L.P., Skyline Medical Group LLC, Skyline Neuroscience Associates LLC, Skyline Rehab Associates LLC, Skyline Specialty Associates LLC, Smith Laboratories Inc., Solis Mammography at Bayshore Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Clear Lake Regional Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Conroe Regional Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Denton Regional Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at HCA Houston Tomball LLC, Solis Mammography at Kingwood Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Las Colinas Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Medical Center Alliance LLC, Solis Mammography at Medical Center Arlington LLC, Solis Mammography at Medical Center of Lewisville LLC, Solis Mammography at Medical Center of McKinney LLC, Solis Mammography at Medical Center of Plano LLC, Solis Mammography at Medical City Dallas LLC, Solis Mammography at Pearland Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Rose Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Skyline Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at StoneCrest Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at West Houston Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Womans Hospital of Texas LLC, Solis Mammography of Cedar Hill LLC, Solis Mammography of CyFair LLC, Solis Mammography of Dallas LLC, Solis Mammography of Flower Mound LLC, Solis Mammography of Frisco LLC, Solis Mammography of Garland LLC, Solis Mammography of Grand Prairie LLC, Solis Mammography of Houston NW LLC, Solis Mammography of Katy LLC, Solis Mammography of Louetta/249 LLC, Solis Mammography of Mainland LLC, Solis Mammography of Mansfield LLC, Solis Mammography of Mesquite LLC, Solis Mammography of Montgomery LLC, Solis Mammography of North Cypress LLC, Solis Mammography of North Loop LLC, Solis Mammography of Sugar Land LLC, Solis Mammography of West Plano LLC, Solis Mammography of Womans Place LLC, South Atlantic Division Inc., South Austin Surgery Center Ltd., South Austin Surgical Management LLC, South Austin Surgicenter LLC, South Brandon Imaging LLC, South Florida Division Practice Inc., South Texas Surgicare Inc., South Transfer Center LLC, South Valley Hospital L.P., Southeast Georgia Health Services LLC, Southern Hills Medical Center LLC, Southern Hills Neurology Consultants LLC, Southern Kentucky Medicine Associates LLC, Southern Kentucky Surgicenter LLC, Southern Texas Physicians Network, Southpoint LLC, Southtown Womens Clinic LLC, Southwest Florida Health System Inc., Southwest Florida Regional Medical Center Inc., Southwest Medical Center Family Practice LLC, Southwest Medical Center Multi-Specialty Group LLC, Southwest Medical Center Surgical Group LLC, Southwest Medpro Ltd., Southwest Surgical Clinic Inc., Southwest Virginia Orthopedics and Spine LLC, Spalding Rehabilitation L.L.C., Specialists in Obstetrics and Gynecology PLLC, Specialty Associates of West Houston PLLC, Specialty Physicians of Northern Virginia LLC, Specialty Surgicare of Las Vegas LP, Spotsylvania Condominium Property LLC, Spotsylvania Medical Center Inc., Spotsylvania Multi-Specialty Group LLC, Spotsylvania Regional Surgery Center LLC, Spring Branch Family Practitioners PLLC, Spring Branch Medical Center Inc., Spring Hill Hospital Inc., Spring Hill Imaging LLC, Spring Hill Physicians LLC, Springview KY LLC, Spruce Pine Healthcare LLC, St. Davids Austin Area ASC LLC, St. Davids Cardiology PLLC, St. Davids CareNow Urgent Care PLLC, St. Davids Healthcare Partnership L.P. LLP, St. Davids Heart & Vascular PLLC, St. Davids Neurology PLLC, St. Davids OB Hospitalist PLLC, St. Davids Ortho Neuro and Rehab PLLC, St. Davids Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation PLLC, St. Davids Quality Alliance LLC, St. Davids Specialized Womens Services PLLC, St. Davids Trauma Surgeons PLLC, St. Lucie Hospitalists LLC, St. Lucie Medical Center Hyperbarics LLC, St. Lucie Medical Center Walk-In Clinic LLC, St. Lucie Medical Specialists LLC, St. Lucie West Primary Care LLC, St. Marks Ambulatory Surgery Associates L.P., St. Marks Gynecology Oncology Care LLC, St. Marks Investments Inc., St. Marks Physician Billing LLC, St. Marks Professional Services LLC, St. Marks South Jordan Family Practice LLC, St. Martins Healthcare Limited, St. Martins Ltd., St. Martins Medical Services Limited, St. Petersburg General Surgery LLC, Stafford Imaging LLC, Statland Medical Group LLC, Steamboat Springs Surgicenter LLC, Sterling Primary Care Associates LLC, Stiles Road Imaging LLC, StoneCrest Surgery Center LLC, StoneSprings Medical Office Building Property LLC, StoneSprings Surgicenter LLC, Stonecrest Medical Group - Family Practice of Murfreesboro LLC, Stonecrest Medical Group - SC Murfreesboro Family Practice LLC, Stones River Hospital LLC, Suburban Medical Center at Hoffman Estates Inc., Sugar Land Surgery Center Anesthesia LLC, Sugar Land Surgery Center Ltd., Sullins Surgical Center Inc., Summit Convenient Care at Lebanon LLC, Summit General Partner Inc., Summit Heart LLC, Summit Outpatient Diagnostic Center LLC, Summit Research Solutions LLC, Summit Surgery Center L.P., Summit Surgical Associates LLC, Summit Walk-in Clinic LLC, Sun Bay Medical Office Building Inc., Sun City Hospital Inc., Sun City Imaging LLC, Sun Towers/Vista Hills Holding Co., Sun-Med LLC, Sunrise Flamingo Holdings LLC, Sunrise Flamingo Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center LLC, Sunrise Mountainview Hospital Inc., Sunrise Mountainview Multi-Specialty Clinics LLC, Sunrise Outpatient Services Inc., Sunrise Physician Services LLC, Sunrise Trauma Services LLC, Surgery Associates of NTX PLLC, Surgery Center of Atlantis LLC, Surgery Center of Aventura Ltd., Surgery Center of Bay Area Houston LLC, Surgery Center of Greenview L.P., Surgery Center of Independence L.P., Surgery Center of Overland Park L.P., Surgery Center of Port Charlotte Ltd., Surgery Center of Rome L.P., Surgery Center of the Rockies LLC, Surgical Associates of Southwest Virginia LLC, Surgical Care Medical Group LLC, Surgical Center of Irving Inc., Surgical Facility of West Houston L.P., Surgical Park Center Ltd., Surgical Specialists of Clear Lake PLLC, Surgical Specialists of Conroe PLLC, Surgical Specialists of Corpus Christi PLLC, Surgicare America - Winter Park Inc., Surgicare Merger Company of Louisiana, Surgicare Outpatient Center of Baton Rouge Inc., Surgicare Outpatient Center of Jackson Inc., Surgicare of ADC LLC, Surgicare of AGI LLC, Surgicare of Alpine LLC, Surgicare of Altamonte Springs Inc., Surgicare of Anchorage LLC, Surgicare of Arapahoe LLC, Surgicare of Arlington LLC, Surgicare of Ashburn LLC, Surgicare of Augusta Inc., Surgicare of Aurora Endoscopy LLC, Surgicare of Aventura LLC, Surgicare of Bay Area Endoscopy LLC, Surgicare of Bay Area LLC, Surgicare of Bayonet Point Inc., Surgicare of Bayside LLC, Surgicare of Bountiful LLC, Surgicare of Brandon Inc., Surgicare of Brentwood LLC, Surgicare of Brighton LLC, Surgicare of Brooksville LLC, Surgicare of Brownsville LLC, Surgicare of Buckhead LLC, Surgicare of CAREOS LLC, Surgicare of Central Florida Inc., Surgicare of Central Park Surgery Center LLC, Surgicare of Central San Antonio Inc., Surgicare of Chattanooga LLC, Surgicare of Chippenham LLC, Surgicare of Citrus LLC, Surgicare of Clarksville LLC, Surgicare of Corpus Christi LLC, Surgicare of Countryside Inc., Surgicare of Dallas Specialty LLC, Surgicare of Denton Inc., Surgicare of Denver Clinic LLC, Surgicare of Denver LLC, Surgicare of Denver Mid-Town Inc., Surgicare of Dickson LLC, Surgicare of Eastside LLC, Surgicare of Evans Inc., Surgicare of Fairfax Inc., Surgicare of Florida Inc., Surgicare of Flower Mound Inc., Surgicare of Focus Hand LLC, Surgicare of Fort Worth Co-GP LLC, Surgicare of Fort Worth Inc., Surgicare of Ft. Pierce Inc., Surgicare of Good Samaritan LLC, Surgicare of Gramercy Inc., Surgicare of Greenview Inc., Surgicare of Hanover Inc., Surgicare of Houston Kingwood LLC, Surgicare of Houston LLC, Surgicare of Houston Womens Inc., Surgicare of Indianapolis Inc., Surgicare of Kansas City LLC, Surgicare of Kingwood LLC, Surgicare of Kissimmee Inc., Surgicare of Lakeview Inc., Surgicare of Las Vegas Inc., Surgicare of Laurel Grove LLC, Surgicare of Lorain County Inc., Surgicare of Los Gatos Inc., Surgicare of Los Robles LLC, Surgicare of Loveland LLC, Surgicare of Madison Inc., Surgicare of Manatee Inc., Surgicare of McKinney Inc., Surgicare of Medical City Dallas LLC, Surgicare of Memorial Endoscopy LLC, Surgicare of Merritt Island Inc., Surgicare of Miami Lakes LLC, Surgicare of Mountain West LLC, Surgicare of Mt. Ogden LLC, Surgicare of Nashville LLC, Surgicare of Natchez LLC, Surgicare of Newport Richey Inc., Surgicare of North Austin LLC, Surgicare of North San Antonio Inc., Surgicare of Northeast San Antonio Inc., Surgicare of Orange Park II LLC, Surgicare of Orange Park Inc., Surgicare of Orange Park Ltd., Surgicare of Orlando Inc., Surgicare of Overland Park LLC, Surgicare of Palms West LLC, Surgicare of Park Ridge LLC, Surgicare of Pasadena Inc., Surgicare of Pavilion LLC, Surgicare of Physicians West El Paso LLC, Surgicare of Pinellas Inc., Surgicare of Plano Inc., Surgicare of Plantation Inc., Surgicare of Port Charlotte LLC, Surgicare of Port St. Lucie Inc., Surgicare of Portsmouth LLC, Surgicare of Premier Orthopaedic LLC, Surgicare of Reston Inc., Surgicare of Ridgeline LLC, Surgicare of Riverside LLC, Surgicare of Riverwalk LLC, Surgicare of Roanoke LLC, Surgicare of Rome Inc., Surgicare of Rose LLC, Surgicare of Round Rock Inc., Surgicare of Royal Oaks LLC, Surgicare of Silicon Valley LLC, Surgicare of Sky Ridge LLC, Surgicare of Sky Ridge Womens Center LLC, Surgicare of South Austin Inc., Surgicare of Southeast Denver Inc., Surgicare of Southern Hills Inc., Surgicare of Southern Kentucky LLC, Surgicare of Southwest Houston LLC, Surgicare of Spotsylvania LLC, Surgicare of St. Andrews Inc., Surgicare of St. Andrews Ltd., Surgicare of St. Davids Austin LLC, Surgicare of Steamboat Springs LLC, Surgicare of StoneCrest LLC, Surgicare of StoneSprings LLC, Surgicare of Stuart Inc., Surgicare of Sugar Land Inc., Surgicare of Swedish LLC, Surgicare of Tallahassee Inc., Surgicare of Terre Haute LLC, Surgicare of Thornton LLC, Surgicare of Travis Center Inc., Surgicare of Tulsa Inc., Surgicare of Utah LLC, Surgicare of Wasatch Front LLC, Surgicare of West Hills Inc., Surgicare of Westlake Inc., Surgicare of Wichita Inc., Surgicare of Wichita LLC, Surgicare of Willis LLC, Surgicare of Wilson County LLC, Surgicare of Winchester LLC, Surgicenter of East Jefferson Inc., Surgicenter of Johnson County Ltd. a Kansas limited partnership, Surgicenter of Kansas City L.L.C., Surgico LLC, Swedish MOB Acquisition Inc., Swedish MOB I Ltd., Swedish MOB II Inc., Swedish MOB III Inc., Swedish MOB IV Inc., Swedish MOB LLC, Swedish Medpro Inc., TBHI Outpatient Services LLC, TCMC Madison-Portland Inc., THN Physicians Association Inc., TUHC Anesthesiology Group LLC, TUHC Hospitalist Group LLC, TUHC Physician Group LLC, TUHC Primary Care and Pediatrics Group LLC, TUHC Radiology Group LLC, Tallahassee Community Network Inc., Tallahassee Medical Center Inc., Tallahassee Orthopaedic Surgery Partners Ltd., Tampa Bay Health System Inc., Tampa Surgi-Centre Inc., Tarrant County Surgery Center L.P., Tchefuncte Cardiology Associates - Lakeview LLC, Teays Valley Health Services LLC, Telehealth Physician Services LLC, Tennessee Healthcare Management Inc., Tennessee Valley Outpatient Diagnostic Center LLC, Terre Haute Hospital GP Inc., Terre Haute Hospital Holdings Inc., Terre Haute MOB L.P., Terre Haute Obstetrics and Gynecology LLC, Terre Haute Regional Hospital L.P., Texas CareNow Physician Associates, Texas HSS LLC, Texas Institute of Medicine and Surgery, Texas Psychiatric Company Inc., The Austin Diagnostic Clinic PLLC, The Cancer Care Center of North Florida LLC, The Cardiovascular Partnership for Quality LLC, The Charter Cypress Behavioral Health System L.L.C., The Christie Clinic LLP, The Glynne Medical Practice Limited, The Harley Street Cancer Clinic Limited, The London Breast Institute UK Ltd, The Medical Group of Kansas City LLC, The Neurohealth Sciences Center LLC, The Physicians Clinic Limited, The Prostate Centre Limited, The Rankin Foundation, The Regional Health System of Acadiana LLC, The Wasatch Endoscopy Center Ltd., The West Texas Division of Columbia Inc., Timpanogos Pain Specialists LLC, Timpanogos Regional Medical Services Inc., Total Imaging - Hudson LLC, Total Imaging - North St. Petersburg LLC, Total Imaging - Parsons LLC, Town Plaza Family Practice LLC, Travel Medicine and Infections LLC, Travis Surgery Center L.P., Tri Cities Health Services Corp., Tri-City Multi-Specialty LLC, Tri-County Community Hospital Inc., Tri-County Surgical Specialists LLC, TriStar Bone Marrow Transplant LLC, TriStar Cardiovascular Surgery LLC, TriStar Family Care LLC, TriStar Gynecology Oncology LLC, TriStar Health System Inc., TriStar Joint Replacement Institute LLC, TriStar Maury Behavioral Healthcare LLC, TriStar Medical Group - Centennial Primary Care LLC, TriStar Medical Group - Legacy Health LLC, TriStar Medical Network LLC, TriStar OB/GYN LLC, TriStar Orthopedics LLC, TriStar Physicians LLC, TriStar Radiation Oncology LLC, Trident Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Trident Behavioral Health Services LLC, Trident Eye Surgery Center L.P., Trident Medical Center LLC, Trident Medical Services Inc., Trident Neonatology Services LLC, Tulane Clinic LLC, Tulane Professionals Management L.L.C., Tuscan Imaging Center at Las Colinas LLC, U.S. Collections Inc., Ultra Imaging Management Services LLC, Ultra Imaging of Tampa LLC, University Healthcare Specialists LLC, University Healthcare System L.C., University Hospital Ltd., Uptown Primary Care Associates LLC, Urgent Care Enterprise LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Ann & Simmons LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Cactus & Southern Highlands LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Charleston & Decatur LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Charleston/Sloan LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Craig & Clayton LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Craig & Decatur LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Durango & Cheyenne LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Durango & Flamingo LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Eastern & Horizon Ridge LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Rainbow/Mardon LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Warm Springs & Green Valley LLC, Urgent Care Extra Silverado & Maryland LLC, Urgent Care Extra-Tropicana & Jones LLC, Urgent Care Nevada LLC, Urological Specialists of Arlington PLLC, Urology Associates (London) Limited, Urology Center of North Georgia LLC, Urology Services of El Paso PLLC, Urology Specialists Devonshire LLP, Urology Specialists London LLP, Urology Specialists of Kingwood PLLC, Urology Specialists of Richmond LLC, Urology Surgery Center of Colorado LLC, Utah CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Utah Imaging GP LLC, Utah Medco LLC, Utah Surgery Center L.P., VH Holdco Inc., VH Holdings Inc., VHSC Plantation LLC, VIP Inc., Valify, Valify Inc., Value Health Holdings Inc., Value Health Management Inc., Vascular and Endovascular Specialists LLC, Venture Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Venture Medical Management LLC, Village Oaks Medical Center Inc., Virginia Care Partners ACO LLC, Virginia Gynecologic Oncology LLC, Virginia Hematology & Oncology Associates Inc., Virginia Hospitalists Inc., Virginia Psychiatric Company Inc., Virginia Quality Care Partners LLC, Vision Consulting Group LLC, Vision Holdings LLC, W & C Hospital Inc., WCP Properties LLC, WHG Medical LLC, WHMC Inc., WJHC LLC, Walterboro Community Hospital Inc., Warren County Ambulance Service LLC, Wasatch Front Surgery Center LLC, Washington Holdco LLC, Waterway Primary Care LLC, Weatherford Health Services LLC, Weatherford Mammography JV LLC, Weatherford Regional Medical Center, Welbeck Street Diagnostic Centre LLP, Wellington Diagnostic Services LLP, Wesley Cath Lab LLC, Wesley Manager LLC, Wesley Medical Center LLC, Wesley Physician Services LLC, Wesley Physicians - Anesthesiologist LLC, Wesley Physicians - Cardiovascular LLC, Wesley Physicians - Medical Specialties LLC, Wesley Physicians - Obstetrics and Gynecology LLC, Wesley Physicians - Primary Care LLC, Wesley Select Network LLC, Wesley Urgent Care LLC, West Boynton Beach Open Imaging Center LLC, West Creek Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, West Creek Medical Center Inc., West Florida - MHT LLC, West Florida - PPH LLC, West Florida Behavioral Health Inc., West Florida Cardiology Network LLC, West Florida Cardiology Physicians LLC, West Florida CareNow Urgent Care LLC, West Florida Division Inc., West Florida Gulf Coast Primary Care LLC, West Florida HealthWorks LLC, West Florida Imaging Services LLC, West Florida Internal Medicine LLC, West Florida PET Services LLC, West Florida Physician Network LLC, West Florida Professional Billing LLC, West Florida Regional Medical Center Inc., West Florida Specialty Physicians LLC, West Florida Trauma Network LLC, West Florida Urgent Care Network LLC, West Hills Hospital, West Hills Surgical Center Ltd., West Houston ASC Inc., West Houston Healthcare Group Ltd., West Houston Internal Specialists PLLC, West Houston LLC, West Houston Medical PLLC, West Houston Outpatient Medical Facility Inc., West Houston Surgicare Inc., West Jacksonville Medical Center Inc., West Jordan Hospital Corporation, West LPN Fort Worth Oncology PLLC, West LPN Inc., West Los Angeles Physicians Hospital Inc., West McKinney Imaging Services LLC, West Paces Services Inc., West Park Surgery Center L.P., West Valley Imaging LLC, West Valley Medical Center Inc., West Valley Medical Group LLC, West Valley Medical Group Specialty Services LLC, West Valley Therapy Services LLC, Westbury Hospital Inc., Western Plains Capital Inc., Westlake Surgicare L.P., Westminster Community Hospital, Westside Surgery Center Ltd., Wichita CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Wildwood Medical Center Inc., Willis Surgicenter LLC, Wilson County Outpatient Surgery Center L.P., Womans Health Group PLLC, Womans Hospital Merger LLC, Womans Hospital of Texas Incorporated, Women Practitioners of Houston PLLC, Women Specialists of Bayshore PLLC, Women Specialists of Clear Lake PLLC, Women Specialists of Mainland PLLC, Womens & Childrens Center LLC, Womens & Childrens Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Center LLC, Womens & Childrens Pulmonology Clinic LLC, Womens Center at Brookside LLC, Womens Health Center of Central Florida LLC, Womens Health Center of SWVA LLC, Womens Hospital Indianapolis GP Inc., Womens Hospital Indianapolis L.P., Womens Link Specialty Obstetrical Referral Clinic PLLC, Womens Multi-Specialty Group LLC, Womens Surgical Specialists of Texas PLLC, Womens and Childrens Professional Management L.L.C., Womens and Childrens Specialists LLC, hInsight-Airstrip Holdings LLC, hInsight-BMA Holdings LLC, hInsight-Customer Care Holdings LLC, hInsight-Digital Reasoning Holdings LLC, hInsight-Healthbox Holdings LLC, hInsight-I2 Holdings LLC, hInsight-InVivoLink Holdings LLC, hInsight-LS Holdings LLC, hInsight-Loyale Healthcare Holdings LLC, hInsight-Mobile Heartbeat Holdings LLC, hInsight-NX LLC, hInsight-PWS I Holdings LLC, hInsight-Procured Holdings LLC, and hInsight-VAI Holdings LLC.
Deutsche BArse AG operates as an exchange organization in Europe, the United States, and the Asia-Pacific. The company operates through seven segments: Eurex (Financial Derivatives), EEX (Commodities), 360T (Foreign Exchange), Xetra (Cash Equities), Clearstream (Post-Trading), IFS (Investment Fund Services), and Qontigo (index and analytics business). The company engages in the electronic trading of derivatives, electricity and gas products, emission rights, and foreign exchange; operating of Eurex Repo over the counter (OTC) trading platform and electronic clearing architecture; and operating as a central counterparty for on-and-off exchange derivatives, repo transactions, and OTC and exchange-traded derivatives. It also operates in the cash market through Xetra, BArse Frankfurt, and Tradegate trading venues; operates as a central counterparty for equities and bonds; and provides listing services. In addition, the company offers custody and settlement services for securities; investment fund services; global securities financing services; and global securities finance and collateral management, as well as secured money, market transaction, and repos and securities lending transaction services. Further, it develops and markets indices, as well as portfolio management and risk analysis software; markets licenses for trading and market signals; provides technology and reporting solutions for external customers; and offers link-up of trading participants. Deutsche BArse AG was founded in 1585 and is headquartered in Eschborn, Germany.

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KION GROUP AG provides industrial trucks, warehouse technology, supply chain solutions, and related services worldwide. The company operates through Industrial Trucks and Services, Supply Chain Solutions, and Corporate Services segments. It develops, manufactures, and sells forklifts and warehouse trucks, such as counterbalance trucks with electric drive and internal combustion engine, ride-on and hand-operated industrial trucks, and towing vehicles under the Linde, Fenwick, STILL, Baoli, and OM Voltas brand names. The company also manufactures and sells spare parts; leases industrial trucks and related items; offers maintenance and repair, and fleet management services, as well as provides finance solutions. In addition, it provides integrated technology and software solutions, including conveyors, sorters, storage and retrieval systems, picking equipment, palletizers, and robotic solutions under the Dematic brand. The company was formerly known as KION Holding 1 GmbH. KION GROUP AG was founded in 2006 and is based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

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Photo: The Canadian Press Police bundle WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, center right, from the Ecuadorian embassy into a police van in London after he was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police and taken into custody Thursday April 11, 2019.

More than 70 British lawmakers have urged the government to make sure that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces Swedish justice if prosecutors there reopen a rape allegation against him.

The lawmakers signed a letter late Friday urging Home Secretary Sajid Javid to "do everything you can to champion action that will ensure Julian Assange can be extradited to Sweden in the event Sweden makes an extradition request."

Sweden suspended its investigation into possible serious sexual misconduct against Assange two years ago because he was beyond their reach while he was living in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London with political asylum status.

He was arrested Thursday after Ecuador withdrew his asylum. Assange is now in Belmarsh Prison in southeast London, waiting to be sentenced for jumping bail in Britain and facing an extradition request from the United States on charges of conspiring to break into a Pentagon computer.

WikiLeaks says he will fight the U.S. extradition request and has been meeting with his legal team to plan his defence.

If Britain receives competing extradition requests, lawyers say the Home Secretary would have some leeway in deciding which takes priority. Considerations usually include which request came first and which alleged crime is more serious.

Most of the lawmakers who signed the letter are from the opposition Labour Party, whose leader, Jeremy Corbyn, wants Britain to refuse to send Assange to the U.S. After Assange's arrest, Corbyn praised him for exposing U.S. atrocities committed in Iraq and Afghanistan when WikiLeaks released tens of thousands of confidential U.S. documents in 2010.

Some Conservative Party members are also backing the move. Prominent lawmaker Alistair Burt, a former Foreign Office minister, said the "minimizing of the issues in relation to sexual assault are really quite disturbing."

He said the testimony of the women who have been involved makes it "essential" that Assange face justice, to either be cleared or convicted.

British politicians are free to lobby the government for a certain course of action, but it's up to the courts to decide whether the U.S. request for Assange's extradition  and a possible future request from Sweden  should be honoured.

The Home Secretary, a senior Cabinet official, has some leeway to block extradition under certain specific circumstances, including cases where a person facing extradition might face capital punishment or torture in that country.

Assange, 47, has denied the sexual misconduct allegations, which he claims are politically motivated. He has not had a chance to enter a plea in response to the U.S. charge, but he has claimed that all of his WikiLeaks actions are those of a legitimate journalist.

When he took up residence inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in 2012, it was to avoid answering the sexual allegations against him in Sweden, which had sought his extradition for questioning. He also sought refuge because of fears that Sweden would ultimately extradite him to the U.S.

Swedish prosecutors opened an investigation into Assange after two women accused him of sexual offences during a 2010 visit to Sweden.

Some of the sexual misconduct accusations are no longer viable because their time ran out. But Swedish prosecutors have said a rape case could be reactivated before the statute of limitations for that ends in August 2020.

After Assange's arrest, Swedish prosecutor Eva-Marie Persson was tapped to look into a request from a lawyer for one of the accusers, to find out whether the case can be pursued.

Elisabeth Massi Fritz, the lawyer for the woman who reported being raped by Assange, told The Associated Press that she would "do everything" to have the Swedish case reopened so Assange can be extradited to Sweden and prosecuted.

The extradition process is not swift, and Assange could appeal several times if decisions go against him. It's expected that it would take a year or longer for him to be sent to the United States or possibly to Sweden even if he ultimately loses in court.
Melrose Industries PLC engages in the aerospace, automotive, powder metallurgy, air management, and other industrial businesses in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, North America, and internationally. Its Aerospace segment provides airframe and engine structures, and electrical interconnection systems for the aerospace industry in civil airframe and defense platforms. The company's Automotive segment designs, develops, manufactures, and integrates driveline technologies; and epowertrains and intelligent all-wheel drive systems. Its Powder Metallurgy segment offers precision automotive components and components for industrial and consumer applications; metal powder for powder metallurgy; and additive manufacturing parts for prototypes. The company's Nortek Air Management segment manufactures and sells ventilation products for the professional remodeling and replacement, residential new construction, and consumer DIY markets. This segment also manufactures and sells split-system and packaged air conditioners, heat pumps, furnaces, air handlers, and parts for the residential replacement and new construction markets; and custom designed and engineered products and systems for non-residential applications. Its Other Industrial segment provides turbo generators, transformers, and switchgears; develops and manufactures security, home automation, and access control technologies for the residential and commercial markets; and designs, manufactures, and distributes ergonomic products for use in a various working, learning, and healthcare environments. The company was formerly known as New Melrose Industries PLC and changed its name to Melrose Industries PLC in November 2015. Melrose Industries PLC was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Waste Management: 635952 Ontario Inc., 8242348 Canada Inc., Acaverde S.A. de C.V., Access Computer Products, Advanced Environmental Technical Services L.L.C., Akron Regional Landfill Inc., Alliance Sanitary Landfill Inc., Alpharetta Transfer Station LLC, American Landfill Inc., American Oil Recovery LLC, Ameriwaste LLC, Anderson Landfill Inc., Anderson Rubbish Disposal, Antelope Valley Recycling and Disposal Facility Inc., Arden Landfill Inc., Atlantic Waste Disposal Inc., Automated Salvage Transport Co. L.L.C., Avalon South LLC, Azusa Land Reclamation Inc., B&B Landfill Inc., Big Dipper Enterprises Inc., Bluegrass Containment L.L.C., Burnsville Sanitary Landfill Inc., CA Newco L.L.C., CR Group LLC, CWM Chemical Services L.L.C., Cal Sierra Disposal, California Asbestos Monofill Inc., Canadian Waste Services Holdings Inc., Capels Landfill LLC, Capital Sanitation Company, Capitol Disposal Inc., Carolina Grading Inc., Cedar Ridge Landfill Inc., Central Disposal Systems Inc., Chadwick Road Landfill Inc., Chambers Clearview Environmental Landfill Inc., Chambers Development Company Inc., Chambers Development of Ohio Inc., Chambers of Georgia Inc., Chambers of Mississippi Inc., Chemical Waste Management Inc., Chemical Waste Management of Indiana L.L.C., Chemical Waste Management of the Northwest Inc., Chesser Island Road Landfill Inc., City Environmental Services Inc. of Waters, Cleburne Landfill Company Corp., Coast Waste Management Inc., Coastal Recyclers Landfill LLC, Connecticut Valley Sanitary Waste Disposal Inc., Conservation Services Inc., Coshocton Landfill Inc., Cougar Landfill Inc., Countryside Landfill Inc., Curtis Creek Recovery Systems Inc., Cuyahoga Landfill Inc., DHC Land LLC, Dafter Sanitary Landfill Inc., Dauphin Meadows Inc., Deep Valley Landfill Inc., Deer Track Park Landfill Inc., Deffenbaugh Disposal Inc., Deffenbaugh Group Holdings Inc., Deffenbaugh Industries Inc., Deffenbaugh Recycling Company L.L.C., Deffenbaugh of Arkansas LLC, Del Almo Landfill L.L.C., Delaware Recyclable Products Inc., Dickinson Landfill Inc., Disposal Service Incorporated, Dolphin Services & Chemicals LLC, Dolphin-One LLC, ELDA Landfill Inc., Earthmovers Landfill L.L.C., East Liverpool Landfill Inc., Eastern One Land Corporation, Eco-Vista LLC, Elk River Landfill Inc., Energy Injection Services of Mississippi LLC, EnviroSolutions Dulles LLC, EnviroSolutions Holdings Inc., EnviroSolutions Real Property Holdings Inc., Envirofil of Illinois Inc., Evergreen Landfill Inc., Evergreen Recycling and Disposal Facility Inc., Finch Waste Co LLC, Firetower Landfill LLC, Fred J. Eckert Sanitary Service Inc., Furnace Associates Inc., G.I. Industries, GA Landfills Inc., Gallia Landfill Inc., Garnet of Maryland Inc., Gateway Transfer Station LLC, Georgia Waste Systems Inc., Giordano Recycling L.L.C., Glades Landfill LLC, Glen's Sanitary Landfill Inc., Grand Central Sanitary Landfill Inc., Greenbow LLC, Greenleaf Compaction Inc., Greenstar Allentown LLC, Greenstar Georgia LLC, Greenstar LLC, Greenstar Managed Services - Connecticut LLC, Greenstar Managed Services - RLWM LLC, Greenstar Mid-America LLC, Greenstar New Jersey LLC, Greenstar Ohio LLC, Greenstar Paterson LLC, Greenstar Pittsburgh LLC, Greenstar Recycled Holdings LLC, Greenstar Recycling LLC, Guadalupe Mines Mutual Water Company, Guadalupe Rubbish Disposal Co. Inc., Ham Lake Haulers Inc., Harris Sanitation Inc., Harwood Landfill Inc., Hedco Landfill Limited, High Mountain Fuels LLC, Hillsboro Landfill Inc., Holyoke Sanitary Landfill Inc., IN Landfills L.L.C., Illini Disposal, International Environmental Management Inc., Jahner Sanitation Inc., Jay County Landfill L.L.C., K and W Landfill Inc., Keene Road Landfill Inc., Kelly Run Sanitation Inc., King George Landfill Inc., King George Landfill Properties LLC, Kirby Canyon Holdings LLC, L&K Group Holdings LLC, LCS Services Inc., Lakeville Recycling L.P., Land South Holdings LLC, Landfill Services of Charleston Inc., Laurel Highlands Landfill Inc., Liberty Landfill L.L.C., Liquid Logistics, Liquid Waste Management Inc., Longleaf C&D Disposal Facility Inc., Looney Bins Inc., Mac Land Disposal Inc. II, Mahoning Landfill Inc., Mass Gravel Inc., Mc Ginnes Industrial Maintenance Corporation, McDaniel Landfill Inc., McGill Landfill Inc., Meadowfill Landfill Inc., Michigan Environs Inc., Midwest One Land Corporation, Modesto Garbage Co. Inc., Moor Refuse Inc., Mordell, Mountain Indemnity Insurance Company, Mountainview Landfill Inc., Nassau Landfill L.L.C., National Guaranty Insurance Company of Vermont, New England CR L.L.C., New Milford Landfill L.L.C., New Orleans Landfill L.L.C., North Manatee Recycling and Disposal Facility L.L.C., Northwestern Landfill Inc., Nu-Way Live Oak Reclamation Inc., OAKLEAF Waste Management LLC, OGH Acquisition Corporation, Oak Grove Disposal Co. Inc., Oakleaf Global Holdings Inc., Oakleaf Waste Management Inc., Oakridge Landfill Inc., Oakwood Landfill Inc., Okeechobee Landfill Inc., Ozark Ridge Landfill Inc., P & R Environmental Industries L.L.C., Pacific Waste Management L.L.C., Pappy Inc., Peltz H.C. LLC, Pen-Rob Inc., People's Landfill Inc., Peterson Demolition Inc., Phoenix Resources Inc., Pine Grove Landfill Inc., Pine Tree Acres Inc., Prime Westport LLC, Quail Hollow Landfill Inc., Questquill Limited, R & B Landfill Inc., RAA Colorado L.L.C., RAA Trucking LLC, RCI Hudson Inc., RTS Landfill Inc., Recycle America Co. L.L.C., Recycle America Holdings Inc., Redwood Landfill Inc., Refuse Inc., Refuse Services Inc., Reliable Environmental Transport, Reliable Landfill L.L.C., Remote Landfill Services Inc., Reno Disposal Co., Resco Holdings L.L.C., Resource Control Composting Inc., Resource Control Inc., Richland County Landfill Inc., Riverbend Landfill Co., Rust Engineering & Construction Inc., Rust International Inc., S & J Landfill Limited Partnership, S & S Grading Inc., S&T Materials LLC, SC Holdings Inc., SF Land Acquisition LLC, Sanifill de Mexico (US) Inc., Sanifill de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Shade Landfill Inc., Shawnee Rock Company, Sierra Estrella Landfill Inc., Southern Alleghenies Landfill Inc., Southern One Land Corporation, Southern Waste Services L.L.C., Spruce Ridge Inc., Stony Hollow Landfill Inc., Suburban Landfill Inc., Summit Energy Services Inc, Swire Waste Management Limited, TN'T Sands Inc., TX Newco L.L.C., Texarkana Landfill L.L.C., Texas Pack Rat - Austin #1 LLC, Texas Pack Rat - Dallas #1 LLC, Texas Pack Rat - Houston #1 LLC, Texas Pack Rat - Houston #2 LLC, Texas Pack Rat - Houston #3 LLC, Texas Pack Rat - San Antonio #1 LLC, Texas Pack Rat Service Company LLC, The Peltz Group LLC, The Waste Management Charitable Foundation, The Woodlands of Van Buren Inc., Thermal Remediation Solutions L.L.C., Trail Ridge Landfill Inc., TransAmerican Waste Industries, Transamerican Waste Central Landfill Inc., Trash Hunters Inc., Twin Bridges Golf Club L.P., USA South Hills Landfill Inc., USA Valley Facility Inc., USA Waste Geneva Landfill Inc., USA Waste Landfill Operations and Transfer Inc., USA Waste Services of NYC Inc., USA Waste of California Inc., USA Waste of Texas Landfills Inc., USA Waste of Virginia Landfills Inc., USA Waste-Management Resources LLC, USA-Crinc L.L.C., USB LIHTC Fund 2010-1 LLC, UWS Barre Inc., United Waste Systems Leasing Inc., Valley Garbage and Rubbish Company Inc., Vern's Refuse Service Inc., Vickery Environmental Inc., Vista Landfill LLC, Voyageur Disposal Processing Inc., WM Avon Inc., WM Bagco LLC, WM Billerica Inc., WM Biloxi Hauling LLC, WM Biloxi Transfer Station LLC, WM Boston CORE Inc., WM CCP Solutions LLC, WM Conversion Fund LLC, WM Corporate Services Inc., WM Curbside LLC, WM DC 1 LLC, WM Emergency Employee Support Fund Inc., WM Energy Resources Inc., WM Energy Services Holdings LLC, WM Energy Services of Ohio LLC, WM Energy Solutions Inc., WM GTL Inc., WM GTL JV Holdings LLC, WM GTL LLC, WM Green Squad LLC, WM GreenOps LLC, WM Healthcare Solutions Inc., WM Illinois Renewable Energy L.L.C., WM Intellectual Property Holdings L.L.C., WM International Holdings Inc., WM KS Energy Resources LLC, WM LNG Inc., WM LampTracker Inc., WM Landfills of Ohio Inc., WM Landfills of Tennessee Inc., WM Leasing Services of Texas LLC, WM Leasing of Arizona L.L.C., WM Leasing of Texas L.P., WM Logistics India Private Limited, WM Logistics LLC, WM Mercury Waste Inc., WM Middle Tennessee Environmental Center L.L.C., WM Mobile Bay Environmental Center Inc., WM ND Energy Resources II LLC, WM ND Energy Resources LLC, WM Nevada Renewable Energy L.L.C., WM North Broward Inc., WM Organic Growth Inc., WM PA Holdings LLC, WM PRG L.L.C., WM Pack-Rat LLC, WM Pack-Rat of California LLC, WM Pack-Rat of Illinois LLC, WM Pack-Rat of Kentucky LLC, WM Pack-Rat of Maryland LLC, WM Pack-Rat of Massachusetts LLC, WM Pack-Rat of Michigan LLC, WM Pack-Rat of Nevada LLC, WM Pack-Rat of Ohio LLC, WM Pack-Rat of Rhode Island LLC, WM Partnership Holdings Inc., WM Phoenix Energy Resources LLC, WM Propane LLC, WM Quebec Inc., WM RA Canada Inc., WM Recycle America L.L.C., WM Recycle Europe L.L.C., WM Recycling Latin America LLC, WM Refined Coal LLC, WM Renewable Energy L.L.C., WM Resource Recovery & Recycling Center Inc., WM Resources Inc., WM Safety Services L.L.C., WM Security Services Inc., WM Storage II Inc., WM Storage Inc., WM TX Energy Resources II LLC, WM TX Energy Resources LLC, WM Texas Pack Rat LLC, WM Trash Monitor Plus L.L.C., WM WY Energy Resources II LLC, WM WY Energy Resources III LLC, WM WY Energy Resources LLC, WM of North Dakota Energy Disposal Solutions LLC, WMI Mexico Holdings Inc., WMNA Container Recycling L.L.C., WMRE of Kentucky LLC, WMRE of Michigan LLC, WMRE of Ohio LLC, WMRE of Ohio-American LLC, WMSALSA Inc., WTI Air Pollution Control Inc., WTI Rust Holdings Inc., Warner Company, Waste Away Group Inc., Waste Management Arizona Landfills Inc., Waste Management Buckeye L.L.C., Waste Management China Holdings Limited, Waste Management Collection and Recycling Inc., Waste Management Disposal Services of Colorado Inc., Waste Management Disposal Services of Maine Inc., Waste Management Disposal Services of Maryland Inc., Waste Management Disposal Services of Massachusetts Inc., Waste Management Disposal Services of Oregon Inc., Waste Management Disposal Services of Pennsylvania Inc., Waste Management Disposal Services of Virginia Inc., Waste Management Energy Services of Texas LLC, Waste Management Holdings Inc., Waste Management Inc. of Florida, Waste Management Inc. of Tennessee, Waste Management Indycoke L.L.C., Waste Management International Inc., Waste Management National Services Inc., Waste Management National Transportation Services Inc., Waste Management Partners Inc., Waste Management Recycling and Disposal Services of California Inc., Waste Management Recycling of New Jersey L.L.C., Waste Management Service Center Inc., Waste Management of Alameda County Inc., Waste Management of Alaska Inc., Waste Management of Arizona Inc., Waste Management of Arkansas Inc., Waste Management of California Inc., Waste Management of Canada Corporation, Waste Management of Carolinas Inc., Waste Management of Colorado Inc., Waste Management of Connecticut Inc., Waste Management of Delaware Inc., Waste Management of Fairless L.L.C., Waste Management of Five Oaks Recycling and Disposal Facility Inc., Waste Management of Georgia Inc., Waste Management of Hawaii Inc., Waste Management of Idaho Inc., Waste Management of Illinois Inc., Waste Management of Indiana Holdings One Inc., Waste Management of Indiana Holdings Two Inc., Waste Management of Indiana L.L.C., Waste Management of Iowa Inc., Waste Management of Kansas Inc., Waste Management of Kentucky Holdings Inc., Waste Management of Kentucky L.L.C., Waste Management of Leon County Inc., Waste Management of Londonderry Inc., Waste Management of Louisiana Holdings One Inc., Waste Management of Louisiana L.L.C., Waste Management of Maine Inc., Waste Management of Maryland Inc., Waste Management of Massachusetts Inc., Waste Management of Metro Atlanta Inc., Waste Management of Michigan Inc., Waste Management of Minnesota Inc., Waste Management of Mississippi Inc., Waste Management of Missouri Inc., Waste Management of Montana Inc., Waste Management of Nebraska Inc., Waste Management of Nevada Inc., Waste Management of New Hampshire Inc., Waste Management of New Jersey Inc., Waste Management of New Mexico Inc., Waste Management of New York L.L.C., Waste Management of North Dakota Inc., Waste Management of Ohio Inc., Waste Management of Oklahoma Inc., Waste Management of Oregon Inc., Waste Management of Pennsylvania Gas Recovery L.L.C., Waste Management of Pennsylvania Inc., Waste Management of Rhode Island Inc., Waste Management of South Carolina Inc., Waste Management of South Dakota Inc., Waste Management of Texas Holdings Inc., Waste Management of Texas Inc., Waste Management of Tunica Landfill Inc., Waste Management of Utah Inc., Waste Management of Virginia Inc., Waste Management of Washington, Waste Management of West Virginia Inc., Waste Management of Wisconsin Inc., Waste Management of Wyoming Inc., Western One Land Corporation, Western Waste Industries, Western Waste of Texas L.L.C., Westminster Land Acquisition LLC, Wheelabrator Technologies, Wheelabrator Technologies International Inc., White Lake Landfill Inc., Willow Oak Landfill LLC, and eCycling Services L.L.C..
The following companies are subsidiares of MetLife: 1001 PROPERTIES LLC, 10700 WILSHIRE LLC, 1201 TAB MANAGER LLC, 150 NORTH RIVERSIDE PE MEMBER LLC, 1925 WJC OWNER LLC, 23RD STREET INVESTMENTS INC., 500 GRANT STREET ASSOCIATES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, 500 GRANT STREET GP LLC, 60 11TH STREET LLC, 6104 HOLLYWOOD LLC, AFP GENESIS ADMINISTRADORA DE FONDOS Y FIDECOMISOS S.A., AFP PROVIDA S.A., AGENVITA S.R.L., ALICO EUROPEAN HOLDINGS LIMITED, ALICO HELLAS SINGLE MEMBER LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, ALICO OPERATIONS LLC, ALICO PROPERTIES INC., AMMETLIFE INSURANCE BERHAD, AMMETLIFE TAKAFUL BERHAD, American Life Insurance Company, BEST MARKET S.A., BIDV METLIFE LIFE INSURANCE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, BLOCK VISION HOLDINGS CORPORATION, BLOCK VISION OF TEXAS INC., BORDERLAND INVESTMENTS LIMITED, BOULEVARD RESIDENTIAL LLC, BUFORD LOGISTICS CENTER LLC, CC HOLDCO MANAGER LLC, CHESTNUT FLATS WIND LLC, CLOSED JOINT-STOCK COMPANY MASTER D, COMPANIA INVERSORA METLIFE S.A., CORPORATE REAL ESTATE HOLDINGS LLC, COVA LIFE MANAGEMENT COMPANY, DAVIS VISION INC., DAVISVISION IPA INC., DELAWARE AMERICAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, DES MOINES CREEK BUSINESS PARK PHASE II LLC, ECONOMY FIRE & CASUALTY COMPANY, ECONOMY PREFERRED INSURANCE COMPANY, ECONOMY PREMIER ASSURANCE COMPANY, EURO CL INVESTMENTS LLC, EXCELENCIA OPERATIVA Y TECNOLOGICA S.A de C.V., FEDERAL FLOOD CERTIFICATION LLC, FORTISSIMO CO. LTD, FUNDACION METLIFE MEXICO A.C., GLOBAL PROPERTIES INC., General American Life Insurance Company, Grand Bank N.A., HASKELL EAST VILLAGE LLC, HIGH STREET SEVENTH AND OSBORN APARTMENTS LLC, HOUSING FUND MANAGER LLC, INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL AND ADVISORY SERVICES LIMITED, INVERSIONES METLIFE HOLDCO DOS LIMITADA, INVERSIONES METLIFE HOLDCO TRES LIMITADA, JOINT-STOCK COMPANY METLIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, LHC HOLDINGS, LHCW HOLDINGS, LHCW HOTEL HOLDING, LHCW HOTEL HOLDING LLC, LHCW HOTEL OPERATING COMPANY, LONG ISLAND SOLAR FARM LLC, LUMENLAB MALAYSIA SDN. BHD., Logan Circle Partners, MARKETPLACE RESIDENCES LLC, MAXIS GBN S.A.S., MC PORTFOLIO JV MEMBER LLC, MCJV LLC, MCMIF HOLDCO I LLC, MCMIF HOLDCO II LLC, MCP - WELLINGTON LLC, MCP 100 CONGRESS MEMBER LLC, MCP 1500 MICHAEL LLC, MCP 1900 MCKINNEY LLC, MCP 2 AMES LLC, MCP 2 AMES ONE LLC, MCP 2 AMES OWNER LLC, MCP 2 AMES TWO LLC, MCP 220 YORK LLC, MCP 22745 & 22755 RELOCATION DRIVE LLC, MCP 249 INDUSTRIAL BUSINESS PARK MEMBER LLC, MCP 3040 POST OAK LLC, MCP 350 ROHLWING LLC, MCP 4600 SOUTH SYRACUSE LLC, MCP 550 WEST WASHINGTON LLC, MCP 60 11TH STREET MEMBER LLC, MCP 7 RIVERWAY LLC, MCP 9020 MURPHY ROAD LLC, MCP 93 RED RIVER MEMBER LLC, MCP ALLEY 24 EAST LLC, MCP ASHTON SOUTH END LLC, MCP BLOCK 23 MEMBER LLC, MCP BRADFORD LLC, MCP BUFORD LOGISTICS CENTER 2 MEMBER LLC, MCP BUFORD LOGISTICS CENTER BLDG B LLC, MCP BURNSIDE MEMBER LLC, MCP CENTER AVENUE INDUSTRIAL MEMBER LLC, MCP CLAWITER INNOVATION MEMBER LLC, MCP COMMON DESK TRS LLC, MCP DENVER PAVILIONS MEMBER LLC, MCP DILLON LLC, MCP DILLON RESIDENTIAL LLC, MCP ENV CHICAGO LLC, MCP FIFE ENTERPRISE CENTER LLC, MCP FRISCO OFFICE LLC, MCP GRAPEVINE LLC, MCP HIGHLAND PARK LENDER LLC, MCP HUB I LLC, MCP HUB I PROPERTY LLC, MCP LODGE AT LAKECREST LLC, MCP MA PROPERTY REIT LLC, MCP MAGNOLIA PARK MEMBER LLC, MCP MAIN STREET VILLAGE LLC, MCP MOUNTAIN TECHNOLOGY CENTER MEMBER TRS LLC, MCP NORTHYARDS HOLDCO LLC, MCP NORTHYARDS MASTER LESSEE LLC, MCP NORTHYARDS OWNER LLC, MCP ONE WESTSIDE LLC, MCP ONYX LLC, MCP PARAGON POINT LLC, MCP PLAZA AT LEGACY LLC, MCP PROPERTY MANAGEMENT LLC, MCP SEATTLE GATEWAY INDUSTRIAL I LLC, MCP SEATTLE GATEWAY INDUSTRIAL II LLC, MCP SEVENTH AND OSBORNE MF MEMBER LLC, MCP SEVENTH AND OSBORNE RETAIL MEMBER LLC, MCP SHAKOPEE LLC, MCP SLEEPY HOLLOW MEMBER LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL  ANAHEIM LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL  BERNARDO LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL  CANYON LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL  CONCOURSE LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL  FULLERTON LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL  KELLWO00OD LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL  LAX LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL  LOKER LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL  REDONDO LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL  SPRINGDALE LLC, MCP STATELINE LLC, MCP THE PALMS AT DORAL LLC, MCP TRIMBLE CAMPUS LLC, MCP UNION ROW LLC, MCP VALLEY FORGE LLC, MCP VALLEY FORGE ONE LLC, MCP VALLEY FORGE OWNER LLC, MCP VALLEY FORGE TWO LLC, MCP VANCE JACKSON LLC, MCP VINEYARD AVENUE MEMBER LLC, MCP VOA HOLDINGS LLC, MCP VOA I & III LLC, MCP VOA II LLC, MCP WATERFORD ATRIUM LLC, MCP WEST BROAD MARKETPLACE LLC, MCP  ENGLISH VILLAGE LLC, MCPF ACQUISITION LLC, MCPF FOXBOROUGH LLC, MCPF  NEEDHAM LLC, MCPP OWNERS LLC, MCRE BLOCK 40 LP, MEC HEALTH CARE INC., MET 1065 HOTEL LLC, MET CANADA SOLAR ULC, METLIFE 1007 STEWART LLC, METLIFE 1201 TAB MEMBER LLC, METLIFE 425 MKT MANAGER LLC, METLIFE 425 MKT MEMBER LLC, METLIFE 555 12TH MEMBER LLC, METLIFE 8280 MEMBER LLC, METLIFE ACOMA OWNER LLC, METLIFE ADMINISTRADORA DE FUNDOS MULTIPATROCINADOS LTDA., METLIFE ALTERNATIVES GP LLC, METLIFE ASHTON AUSTIN OWNER LLC, METLIFE ASIA HOLDING COMPANY PTE. LTD., METLIFE ASIA LIMITED, METLIFE ASIA SERVICES SDN. BHD, METLIFE ASSET MANAGEMENT CORP., METLIFE ASSIGNMENT COMPANY INC., METLIFE AUTO & HOME INSURANCE AGENCY INC., METLIFE BL FEEDER, METLIFE BL FEEDER LP, METLIFE BORO STATION MEMBER LLC, METLIFE CABO HILTON MEMBER LLC, METLIFE CAMINO RAMON MEMBER LLC, METLIFE CAPITAL CREDIT L.P., METLIFE CAPITAL LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, METLIFE CAPITAL TRUST IV, METLIFE CB W/A LLC, METLIFE CC MEMBER LLC, METLIFE CHILE ADMINISTRADORA DE MUTUOS HIPOTECARIOS S.A., METLIFE CHILE INVERSIONES LIMITADA, METLIFE CHILE SEGUROS DE VIDA S.A., METLIFE CHILE SEGUROS GENERALES S.A., METLIFE CHINO MEMBER LLC, METLIFE COLOMBIA SEGUROS de VIDA S.A., METLIFE COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE INCOME FUND GP LLC, METLIFE COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE INCOME FUND LP, METLIFE COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE ORIGINATOR LLC, METLIFE COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE REIT LLC, METLIFE CONSQUARE MEMBER LLC, METLIFE CONSUMER SERVICES INC., METLIFE CORE PROPERTY FUND GP LLC, METLIFE CORE PROPERTY FUND LP, METLIFE CORE PROPERTY HOLDINGS LLC, METLIFE CORE PROPERTY REIT LLC, METLIFE CORE PROPERTY TRS. LLC, METLIFE CREDIT CORP., METLIFE DIGITAL VENTURES INC., METLIFE EMEKLILIK VE HAYAT A.S., METLIFE EMERGING MARKET DEBT BLEND FUND, METLIFE EU HOLDING COMPANY LIMITED, METLIFE EUROPE INSURANCE d.a.c., METLIFE EUROPE SERVICES LIMITED, METLIFE EUROPE d.a.c., METLIFE EUROPEAN HOLDINGS LLC., METLIFE FINANCIAL SERVICES CO. LTD, METLIFE FM HOTEL MEMBER LLC, METLIFE FUNDING INC., METLIFE GENERAL INSURANCE LIMITED, METLIFE GLOBAL BENEFITS LTD., METLIFE GLOBAL HOLDING COMPANY I GMBH, METLIFE GLOBAL HOLDING COMPANY II GMBH, METLIFE GLOBAL HOLDINGS CORPORATION S.A. De C.V., METLIFE GLOBAL INC., METLIFE GLOBAL OPERATIONS SUPPORT CENTER PRIVATE LIMITED, METLIFE GROUP INC., METLIFE HCMJV 1 GP LLC, METLIFE HCMJV 1 LP LLC, METLIFE HEALTH PLANS INC., METLIFE HOLDINGS INC., METLIFE HOME LOANS LLC, METLIFE INNOVATION CENTRE LIMITED, METLIFE INNOVATION CENTRE PTE. LTD., METLIFE INSURANCE AND INVESTMENT TRUST, METLIFE INSURANCE BROKERAGE INC., METLIFE INSURANCE K.K., METLIFE INSURANCE LIMITED, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL HF PARTNERS LP, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LLC, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL LIMITED LLC, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL PE FUND I LP, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL PE FUND II LP, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL PE FUND III LP, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL PE FUND IV LP, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL PE FUND V LP, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL PE FUND VI LP, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL PE FUND VII LP, METLIFE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT HOLDINGS, METLIFE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT HOLDINGS LLC, METLIFE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, METLIFE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LLC, METLIFE INVESTMENTS ASIA LIMITED, METLIFE INVESTMENTS LIMITED, METLIFE INVESTMENTS PTY LIMITED, METLIFE INVESTMENTS SECURITIES LLC, METLIFE INVESTORS DISTRIBUTION COMPANY, METLIFE INVESTORS GROUP LLC, METLIFE IRELAND TREASURY D.A.C., METLIFE JAPAN US EQUITY FUND GP LLC, METLIFE JAPAN US EQUITY FUND LP, METLIFE JAPAN US EQUITY OWNERS, METLIFE JAPAN US EQUITY OWNERS LLC, METLIFE LATIN AMERICA ASESORIAS E INVERSIONES LIMITADA, METLIFE LEGAL PLANS INC., METLIFE LEGAL PLANS OF FLORIDA INC., METLIFE LHH MEMBER LLC, METLIFE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, METLIFE LIFE INSURANCE S.A., METLIFE LOAN ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC, METLIFE MAS S.A. DE C.V., METLIFE MEMBER SOLAIRE LLC, METLIFE MEXICO HOLDINGS S. DE R.L. DE C.V., METLIFE MEXICO S.A., METLIFE MEXICO SERVICIOS S.A. DE C.V., METLIFE MIDDLE MARKET PRIVATE DEBT FUND LP, METLIFE MIDDLE MARKET PRIVATE DEBT GP LLC, METLIFE MIDDLE MARKET PRIVATE DEBT PARALLEL FUND LP, METLIFE MIDDLE MARKET PRIVATE DEBT PARALLEL GP LLC, METLIFE MULTI-FAMILY PARTNERS III LLC, METLIFE MUTUAL FUND COMPANY, METLIFE OBS MEMBER LLC, METLIFE OFC MEMBER LLC, METLIFE ONTARIO STREET MEMBR LLC, METLIFE PARK TOWER MEMBER LLC, METLIFE PENSION TRUSTEES LIMITED, METLIFE PENSIONES MEXICO S.A., METLIFE PET INSURANCE SOLUTIONS LLC, METLIFE PLANOS ODONTOLOGICOS LTDA., METLIFE POWSZECHNE TOWARTZYSTWO EMERYTALNE S.A., METLIFE PRIVATE EQUITY HOLDINGS LLC, METLIFE PROPERTIES VENTURES LLC, METLIFE RC SF MEMBER LLC, METLIFE REAL ESTATE LENDING LLC, METLIFE REINSURANCE COMPANY OF BERMUDA LTD., METLIFE REINSURANCE COMPANY OF CHARLESTON, METLIFE REINSURANCE COMPANY OF VERMONT, METLIFE RETIREMENT SERVICES LLC, METLIFE SAENGMYOUNG INSURANCE COMPANY LTD., METLIFE SECURITIZATION DEPOSITOR LLC, METLIFE SEGUROS S.A., METLIFE SENIOR DIRECT LENDING FINCO LLC, METLIFE SENIOR DIRECT LENDING FUND LP, METLIFE SENIOR DIRECT LENDING GP LLC, METLIFE SENIOR DIRECT LENDING HOLDINGS LP, METLIFE SERVICES AND SOLUTIONS LLC, METLIFE SERVICES CYPRUS LIMITED, METLIFE SERVICES EAST PRIVATE LIMITED, METLIFE SERVICES EEIG, METLIFE SERVICES EOOD, METLIFE SERVICES SOCIEDAD LIMITADA, METLIFE SERVICES SP Z.O.O, METLIFE SERVICIOS S.A., METLIFE SLOVAKIA S.R.O. V LIKVIDACII, METLIFE SOLUTIONS PTE. LTD., METLIFE SOLUTIONS S.A.S., METLIFE SP HOLDINGS LLC, METLIFE SYNDICATED BANK LOAN FUND SCSP, METLIFE SYNDICATED BANK LOAN LUX GP S.A.R.L., METLIFE THR INVESTOR LLC, METLIFE TOWARZYSTWO FUNDUSZY INWESTYCYJNYCH S.A., METLIFE TOWARZYSTWO UBEZPIECZEN NA ZYCIE I REASEKURACJI S.A., METLIFE TOWER RESOURCES GROUP INC., METLIFE TREAT TOWERS MEMBER LLC, METLIFE WORLDWIDE HOLDINGS LLC, METROPOLITAN CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, METROPOLITAN DIRECT PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, METROPOLITAN GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, METROPOLITAN GLOBAL MANAGEMENT LLC., METROPOLITAN GROUP PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, METROPOLITAN LIFE SEGUROS E PREVIDENCIA PRIVADA S.A., METROPOLITAN LIFE SOCIETATE de ADMINISTRARE a UNUI FOND de PENSII ADMINISTRAT PRIVAT S.A., METROPOLITAN LLOYDS INC., METROPOLITAN LLOYDS INSURANCE COMPANY OF TEXAS, METROPOLITAN PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, METROPOLITAN TOWER LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, METROPOLITAN TOWER REALTY COMPANY INC., MEX DF PROPERTIES LLC, MFA FINANCING VEHICLE CTR1 LLC, MIDTOWN HEIGHTS LLC, MIM CLAL GENERAL PARTNER LLC, MIM EMD GP LLC, MIM I LLC, MIM METWEST INTERNATIONAL MANAGER LLC, MIM ML-AI VENTURE 5 MANAGER LLC, MIM PROPERTY MANAGEMENT LLC, MIM PROPERTY MANAGEMENT OF GEORGIA 1 LLC, MIM THIRD ARMY INDUSTRIAL MANAGER LLC, MISSOURI REINSURANCE INC., ML - URS PORT CHESTER SC MANAGER LLC, ML 300 THIRD MEMBER LLC, ML ARMATURE MEMBER LLC, ML BELLEVUE MANAGER LLC, ML BELLEVUE MEMBER LLC, ML BRIDGESIDE APARTMENTS LLC, ML CAPACITACION COMERCIAL S.A. DE C.V., ML CERRITOS TC MEMBER LLC, ML CLAL MEMBER LLC, ML DOLPHIN GP LLC, ML DOLPHIN MEZZ LLC, ML MATSON MILLS MEMBER LLC, ML MILILANI MEMBER LLC, ML ONE BEDMINSTER LLC, ML PORT CHESTER SC MEMBER LLC, ML SENTINEL SQUARE MEMBER LLC, ML SLOANS LAKE MEMEBR LLC, ML SOUTHLANDS MEMBER LLC, ML SOUTHMORE LLC, ML SWAN GP LLC, ML SWAN MEZZ LLC, ML TERRACES LLC, ML THIRD ARMY INDUSTRIAL MEMBER LLC, ML VENTURE 1 MANAGER S. DE R. L. DE C.V., ML VENTURE 1 SERVICER LLC, ML-AI METLIFE MEMBER 1 LLC, ML-AI METLIFE MEMBER 2 LLC, ML-AI METLIFE MEMBER 3 LLC, ML-AI METLIFE MEMBER 4 LLC, ML-AI METLIFE MEMBER 5 LLC, MLIA MANAGER I LLC, MLIA PARK TOWER MANAGER LLC, MLIA SBAF COLONY MANAGER LLC, MLIA SBAF MANAGER LLC, MLIC ASSET HOLDINGS II LLC, MLIC ASSET HOLDINGS LLC, MLIC CB HOLDINGS LLC, MLJ US FEEDER LLC, MM GLOBAL OPERATIONS SUPPORT CENTER S.A. DE C.V., MMP CEDAR STREET OWNER LLC, MMP CEDAR STREET REIT LLC, MMP HOLDINGS III LLC, MMP OLIVIAN OWNER LLC, MMP OLIVIAN REIT LLC, MMP OWNERS III LLC, MMP OWNERS LLC, MMP SOUTH PARK OWNER LLC, MMP SOUTH PARK REIT LLC, MREF 425 MKT LLC, MSV IRVINE PROPERTY LLC, MTC FUND I LLC, MTC FUND II LLC, MTC FUND III LLC, MTL LEASING LLC, MTU HOTEL OWNER LLC, NATILOPORTEM HOLDINGS LLC, NEWBURY INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, OCONEE GOLF COMPANY LLC, OCONEE HOTEL COMPANY LLC, OCONEE LAND COMPANY LLC, OCONEE LAND DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LLC, OCONEE MARINA COMPANY LLC, OMI MLIC INVESTMENTS LIMITED, PACIFIC LOGISTICS INDUSTRIAL SOUTH LLC, PARK TOWER JV MEMBER LLC, PARK TOWER REIT INC., PJSC METLIFE, PLAZA DRIVE PROPERTIES LLC, PNB METLIFE INDIA INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, PREFCO FOURTEEN LLC, PREFCO XIV HOLDINGS LLC, PROVIDA INTERNACIONAL S.A., SAFEGUARD HEALTH ENTERPRISES INC., SAFEGUARD HEALTH PLANS INC., SAFEHEALTH LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, SEVENTH AND OSBORN MF VENTURE LLC, SINO-US UNITED METLIFE INSURANCE CO. LTD., SOUTHCREEK INDUSTRIAL HOLDINGS LLC, ST. JAMES FLEET INVESTMENTS TWO LIMITED, SUPERIOR PROCUREMENT INC, SUPERIOR VISION BENEFIT MANAGEMENT INC., SUPERIOR VISION HOLDINGS INC., SUPERIOR VISION INSURANCE INC., SUPERIOR VISION INSURANCE PLAN OF WISCONSIN INC., SUPERIOR VISION OF NEW JERSEY INC., SUPERIOR VISION SERVICES INC., Safeguard Health Enterprises, Security First Group Inc., THE BUILDING AT 575 FIFTH AVENUE MEZZANINE LLC, THE BUILDING AT 575 FIFTH RETAIL HOLDING LLC, THE BUILDING AT 575 FIFTH RETAIL OWNER, THE DIRECT CALL CENTRE PTY LIMITED, TRANSMOUNTAIN LAND & LIVESTOCK COMPANY, UVC INDEPENDENT PRACTICE ASSOCIATION INC., VERSANT HEALTH CONSOLIDATIONS CORP., VERSANT HEALTH HOLDCO INC., VERSANT HEALTH LAB LLC, VIRIDIAN MIRACLE MILE LLC, VISION 21 MANAGED EYE CARE OF TAMPA BAY, VISION 21 PHYSICIAN PRACTICE MANAGEMENT COMPANY, VISION TWENTY-ONE MANAGED EYE CARE IPA INC., Versant Health, WDV ACQUISITION CORP., WFP 1000 HOLDING COMPANY GP LLC, WHITE OAK ROYALTY COMPANY, and WHITE TRACT II LLC.
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.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Illinois Tool Works: A V Co 1 Limited, A V Co 2 Limited, A V Co 3 Limited, ACCU-LUBE Manufacturing GmbH - Schmiermittel und -gerate -, AIP/BI Holdings Inc., Accessories Marketing Holding Corp., Advanced Molding Company Inc., Allen Coding GmbH, Allen France SAS, Alpine Automation Limited, Alpine Engineered Products, Alpine Holdings Inc., Alpine Systems Corporation, Anaerobicos S.r.l., AppliChem GmbH, Arylux Hungary Elektromechanikus Alkatreszgyarto Kft, Avery Berkel France, Avery India Limited, Avery Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avery Weigh Tronix, Avery Weigh-Tronix (Suzhou) Weighing Technology Co. Ltd., Avery Weigh-Tronix Finance Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Holdings Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix International Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix LLC, Avery Weigh-Tronix Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Properties Limited, Azon Limited, B.C. Immo, Beijing Miller Electric Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Berkel (Ireland) Limited, Berrington UK, Brapenta Eletronica Ltda., Brooks Instrument (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Brooks Instrument B.V., Brooks Instrument GmbH, Brooks Instrument KFT, Brooks Instrument Korea Ltd., Brooks Instrument LLC, Buell Industries Inc., CAPMAX Logistica S.A. de C.V., CCI Realty Company, CFC Europe GmbH, CS (Australia) Pty Limited, CS (Finance) Europe S.a.r.l., CS Mexico Holding Company S DE RL DE CV, CSMTS LLC, Calvia Spolka z Ograniczona Odpowiedzialnosci, Capital Ventures (Australasia) S.a r.l, Capmax Logistica S.A. de C.V., Celeste Industries Corporation, Coeur, Coeur (Shanghai) Medical Appliance Trading Co. Ltd, Coeur Asia Limited, Coeur Holding Company, Coeur Inc., Compagnie Hobart, Compagnie de Materiel et d'Equipements Techniques-Comet, Constructions Isothermiques Bontami C.I.B., Crane Carrier Company, Despatch Industries, Diagraph Corporation Sdn. Bhd, Diagraph ITW Mexico S. de R.L. De C.V., Diagraph Mexico S.A. DE C.V., Dongguan Ark-Les Electric Components Co. Ltd., Dongguan CK Branding Co. Ltd., Dorbyl U.K. (Holdings) Limited, Duo Fast de Espana S.A.U., Duo-Fast Korea Co. Ltd., Duo-Fast LLC, E.C.S. d.o.o., ECS Cable Protection Sp. Zoo, ELRO (Holding) AG, ELRO Grosskuchen GmbH, ELRO-WERKE AG, Elga Skandinavian AS, Elro Group, Eltex-Elektrostatik-Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Envases Multipac S.A. de C.V., Eurotec Srl, FEG Investments L.L.C., Fasver, Filtertek, Filtertek De Mexico Holding Inc., Filtertek De Mexico S.A. de C.V., GC Financement SA, Gamko B.V., Gun Hwa Platech (Taicang) Co. Ltd., HOBART Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Hartness International, Hobart (Japan) K.K., Hobart Andina S.A.S., Hobart Brothers International Chile Limitada, Hobart Brothers LLC, Hobart Dayton Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Hobart Food Equipment Co. Ltd., Hobart Foster Belgium, Hobart International (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Hobart Korea LLC, Hobart LLC, Hobart Nederland B.V., Hobart Sales & Service Inc., Hobart Scandinavia ApS, Hobart Techniek B.V., Horis, ILC Investments Holdings Inc., ITW (China) Investment Company Limited, ITW (Deutschland) GmbH, ITW (EU) Holdings Ltd., ITW (European) Finance Co. Ltd., ITW (European) Finance II Co. Ltd., ITW (European) Finance III Co. Ltd., ITW (Ningbo) Components & Fastenings Systems Co. Ltd., ITW AEP LLC, ITW AOC LLC, ITW Aircraft Investments Inc., ITW Alpha Sarl, ITW Ampang Industries Philippines Inc., ITW Appliance Components EOOD, ITW Appliance Components S.A. de C.V., ITW Appliance Components S.r.l.a, ITW Appliance Components d.o.o., ITW Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, ITW Australia Property Holdings Pty Ltd., ITW Australia Pty Ltd, ITW Automotive Components (Chongqing) Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Components (Langfang) Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Japan K.K., ITW Automotive Korea LLC, ITW Automotive Parts (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, ITW Automotive Products GmbH, ITW Automotive Products Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Bailly Comte, ITW Befestigungssysteme GmbH, ITW Belgium, ITW Brazilian Nominee L.L.C., ITW Building Components Group Inc., ITW CER, ITW CP Distribution Center Holland BV, ITW CS (UK) Ltd., ITW Canada Inc., ITW Celeste Inc., ITW Chemical Products Ltda, ITW Chemical Products Scandinavia ApS, ITW Colombia S.A.S., ITW Construction Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Construction Products (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., ITW Construction Products AB, ITW Construction Products AS, ITW Construction Products ApS, ITW Construction Products CZ s.r.o., ITW Construction Products Italy Srl, ITW Construction Products OU, ITW Construction Products OY, ITW Contamination Control (Wujiang) Co. Ltd., ITW Contamination Control B.V., ITW Covid Security Group Inc., ITW DS Investments Inc., ITW DelFast do Brasil Ltda., ITW Delta Sarl, ITW Denmark ApS, ITW Dynatec, ITW Dynatec Adhesive Equipment (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Dynatec GmbH, ITW Dynatec Kabushiki Kaisha, ITW EAE B.V., ITW EAE Mexico S de RL de CV, ITW EF&C France SAS, ITW EF&C Selb GmbH, ITW Electronic Business Asia Co. Limited, ITW Electronic Components/Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Electronics (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Epsilon Sarl, ITW Espana S.A., ITW FEG Hong Kong Limited, ITW FEG do Brasil Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW Fastener Products GmbH, ITW Finance Designated Activity Company, ITW Finance Europe S.A., ITW Fluids and Hygiene Solutions Ltda., ITW Food Equipment Group LLC, ITW France Finance Alpha S.A.S., ITW GH LLC, ITW GSE ApS, ITW GSE Inc., ITW Gamma Sarl, ITW German Management LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings Y Compania Sociedad en Comandita por Acciones, ITW Global Investments II Inc., ITW Global Investments Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Europe GmbH, ITW Global Tire Repair Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Japan K.K., ITW Graphics (Thailand) Ltd., ITW Graphics Asia Limited, ITW Graphics Italy S.R.L. in liquidazione, ITW Great Britain Investment & Licensing Holding Company, ITW Group France (Luxembourg) S.ar.l., ITW HLP Thailand Co. Ltd., ITW Holding Quimica B.C. S.L. Sole Shareholder Company, ITW Holdings Australia L.P., ITW Holdings I Limited, ITW Holdings II Limited, ITW Holdings III Limited, ITW Holdings IV Limited, ITW Holdings IX Limited, ITW Holdings Inc., ITW Holdings UK, ITW Holdings V Limited, ITW Holdings VI Limited, ITW Holdings VII Limited, ITW Holdings VIII Limited, ITW Holdings X Limited, ITW Holdings XI Limited, ITW Hungary Finance Beta Kft, ITW ILC Holdings I Inc., ITW IPG Investments LLC, ITW Imaden Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW India Private Limited, ITW International Holdings LLC, ITW Invest Holding GmbH, ITW Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, ITW Ireland Unlimited Company, ITW Italy Finance Srl, ITW Italy Holding Srl, ITW Japan Ltd., ITW Korea LLC, ITW LLC & Co. KG, ITW Limited, ITW Lombard Holdings Inc., ITW Lys Fusion S.r.l., ITW M FILMS II LLC, ITW MH LLC, ITW Meritex Sdn. Bhd., ITW Metal Fasteners S.L., ITW Mexico Holding Company S. De R.L. de C.V., ITW Mexico Holdings LLC, ITW Morlock GmbH, ITW Mortgage Investments II Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments III Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments IV Inc., ITW Netherlands Administration BV, ITW Netherlands Beta B.V., ITW Netherlands Finance Alpha BV, ITW New Universal LLC, ITW New Zealand, ITW Novadan Sp. Z.o.o., ITW PPF Brasil Adesivos Ltda., ITW Packaging Technology (China) Co. Ltd., ITW Participations S.a r.l., ITW Pension Funds Trustee Company, ITW Performance Plastic (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Japan Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Korea Limited, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids OOO, ITW Performance Polymers (Wujiang) Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers ApS, ITW Performance Polymers and Fluids Group FZE, ITW Peru S.A.C., ITW Philippines Holdings LLC, ITW Poly Mex S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Polymers Sealants North America Inc., ITW Pronovia s.r.o., ITW Pte. Ltd., ITW Qufu Automotive Cooling Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Real Estate Germany GmbH, ITW Residuals III L.L.C., ITW Residuals IV L.L.C., ITW Rivex, ITW SMPI, ITW SPG Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Simco-Ion (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., ITW Slovakia s.r.o., ITW Spain Holdings S.L., ITW Specialty Film LLC, ITW Specialty Films France, ITW Specialty Materials (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Spraytec, ITW Sverige AB, ITW Sweden Holding AB, ITW Test & Measurement Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, ITW Test & Measurement GmbH, ITW Test and Measurement Italia Srl, ITW Test and Measurement Services Industry and Trade Ltd., ITW Texwipe Philippines Inc., ITW Thermal Films (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW UK, ITW UK Finance Beta Limited, ITW UK Finance Delta Limited, ITW UK Finance Gamma Limited, ITW UK Finance Limited, ITW UK Finance Zeta Ltd., ITW UK II Limited, ITW Universal II LLC, ITW Welding, ITW Welding AB, ITW Welding GmbH, ITW Welding Products B.V., ITW Welding Products Group FZE, ITW Welding Products Group S. DE R.L. De C.V., ITW Welding Products Italy Srl, ITW Welding Products Limited Liability Company, ITW Welding Produtos Para Solgdagem Ltda., ITW Welding Servicios Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Welding Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW de France, ITW do Brasil Industrial e Comercial Ltda., Ideal Molding Technologies LLC, Illinois Tool Works (Chile) Limitada, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) Nederland B.V., Illinois Tool Works Norway AS, Impar Comercio E Representacoes Ltda., Industrie Plastic Elsasser GmbH, Inmobiliaria Cit. S.A. de C.F., Innova Temperlite Servicios S.A. de C.V., Innovacion y Transformacion Automotriz S.A. de C.V., Instron (Shanghai) Ltd., Instron (Thailand) Limited, Instron Brasil Equipamentos Cientificos Ltda., Instron Foreign Sales Corp. Limited, Instron France S.A.S., Instron GmbH, Instron Holdings Limited, Instron International Limited, Instron Japan Company Ltd., Instron Korea LLC, International Leasing Company LLC, International Truss Systems Proprietary Limited, Isolenge - ITW Sistemas de Isolamento Termico Ltda., KCPL Mauritius Holdings, Kester, Kester Components (M) Sdn. Bhd., Kleinmann GmbH, Krafft S.L., Loma Systems, Loma Systems (Canada) Inc., Loma Systems BV, Loma Systems sro, Lombard Pressings Limited, Lumex Inc., Lys Fusion Poland Sp. z.o.o., M&C Specialties (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., M&C Specialties Co., MAGNAFLUX GmbH, MEHB Holdings Limited, MGHG Property LLC, MOA Enterprises Inc, Manufacturing Avancee S.A., Meritex Technology (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Meurer Verpackungssysteme GmbH, Miller Electric Mfg. LLC, Miller Insurance Ltd., NDT Holding LLC, NOVADAN APS, Norden Olje AB, North Star Imaging Europe, North Star Imaging Inc., Nova Chimica S.r.l., Orbitalum Tools GmbH, PENTA-91 OOO, PR. A. I. Srl, PT ITW Construction Products Indonesia, Pacific Concept Industries Limited (Enping), Panreac Quimica S.L., Paslode Fasteners (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Peerless Machinery Corp., Penta Dnepr LLC, Penta Sever OOO, Penta Volga OOO, Polyrey, Premark FEG L.L.C., Premark HII Holdings LLC, Premark International, Premark International LLC, Prolex Sociedad Anonima, QSA Global Inc., Quimica Industrial Mediterranea S.L., Ramset Fasteners (Hong Kong) Ltd., Rapid Cook LLC, Refrigeration France, S.E.E. Sistemas Industria E Comercio Ltda., ST Mexico Holdings LLC, Sealant Systems International Inc., Sentinel Asia Yuhan Hoesa, Shanghai ITW Plastic & Metal Co. Ltd, Simco (Nederland) B.V., Simco Japan Inc., Societe de Prospection et dInventions Techniques  SPIT, Speedline Holdings I Inc., Speedline Holdings I LLC, Speedline Technologies GmbH, Speedline Technologies Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Speedline Technologies Mexico Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Stokvis Celix Portugal Unipessoal LDA, Stokvis Danmark ApS, Stokvis Holdings S.A.R.L., Stokvis Promi s.r.o, Stokvis Prostick Tapes Private Limited, Stokvis Tapes (Hong Kong) Co. Limited, Stokvis Tapes (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Taiwan) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes BVBA, Stokvis Tapes Benelux B.V., Stokvis Tapes Deutschland GmbH, Stokvis Tapes France, Stokvis Tapes Italia s.r.l., Stokvis Tapes Limited, Stokvis Tapes Limited Liability Company, Stokvis Tapes Norge AS, Stokvis Tapes Oy, Stokvis Tapes Polska Sp Z.O.O., Stokvis Tapes Sverige AB, Stolvis Holdings II S.A.R.L., Technopack Industria Comercio Consultoria e Representacoes Ltda., Teknek (China) Limited, Teknek (Japan) Limited, Teksaleco Ltd., The Miller Group Ltd, Thirode Grandes Cuisines Poligny, Tien Tai Electrode (Kunshan) Co. Ltd., Tien Tai Electrode Co. Ltd., Unichemicals Industria e Comercio Ltda., VR-Leasing Sarita GmbH & Co. Immobilien KG, VS European Holdco BV, Valeron Strength Films B.V.B.A., Veneta Decalcogomme S.r.l., Versachem Chile S.A., Vesta, Vesta (Guangzhou) Catering Equipment Co. Ltd, Vesta Global Limited, Viltronics Soltec, Vitronics Soltec B.V., Wachs Canada Ltd., Wachs Subsea LLC, Weigh-Tronix Canada ULC, Weigh-Tronix UK Limited, Wilsonart International Holdings LLC, Wynn Oil (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd., Wynn's Automotive France, Wynn's Belgium BVBA, Wynn's Italia Srl, Wynn's Mekuba India Pvt Ltd, ZF TRW (Engineered Fasteners and Components), and Zip-Pak International B.V..
Photo: The Canadian Press

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will visit one of the largest Sikh temples in Canada this morning, just hours after his government agreed to remove a reference to Sikh extremism from a report on terrorism.

Trudeau and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan will speak at the Ross Street Gurdwara in Vancouver, then partake in the city's Vaisakhi Parade to mark the Sikh holy day.

The visit comes a day after the Liberals agreed to make a change to the 2018 Public Report on the Terrorism Threat to Canada, which drew the ire of the Sikh community when it was released in December.

For the first time, the report listed Sikh extremism as one of the top five extremist threats in Canada.

But late Friday, the language was changed to remove any mention of religion, instead discussing the threat posed by "extremists who support violent means to establish an independent state within India."

There are roughly half a million Canadians who identify as Sikh, most of them in the Greater Toronto Area and suburban Vancouver.
Rentokil Initial plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides route-based services in North America, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Asia, the Pacific, and internationally. It offers a range of pest control services from rodents to flying and crawling insects, as well as to other forms of wildlife management for commercial and residential customers. The company also provides hygiene services, including the provision and maintenance of products, such as air fresheners, sanitizers, feminine hygiene units, hand dryers, paper and linen towel dispensers, soap and hand sanitizer dispensers, toilet paper dispensers, and floor protection mats. In addition, it engages in the supply and laundering of workwear, uniforms, cleanroom uniforms, and protective equipment. Further, the company installs and services interior and exterior plant displays, flowers, replica foliage, Christmas decorations, and ambient scenting for commercial businesses; offers property care services consisting of damp proofing, property conservation, and woodworm and wood rot treatment; and provides a range of specialist cleaning services, such as deep cleaning of kitchens and washrooms, trauma cleaning, and flood or fire damage cleaning, as well as graffiti removal, specialist deep cleaning, and disinfection services, including the professional and discreet disinfection of areas that have been exposed to bio-hazardous situations, such as crime and trauma scenes, prison cells, void properties, emergency vehicles, and healthcare establishments. Additionally, it offers a range of healthcare waste management services comprising the collection, disposal, and recycling of hazardous and offensive waste produced by businesses and organizations associated with the provision of healthcare; and color-coded sharps disposal bins to deal with various types of waste. Rentokil Initial plc was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Camberley, the United Kingdom.

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Xcel Energy, Inc. operates as a holding company, which engages in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity. It operates through the following three segments: Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility and All Others. The Regulated Electric Utility segment generates, transmits and distributes electricity primarily in portions of generates, transmits and distributes electricity in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Texas and New Mexico. In addition, this segment includes sales for resale and provides wholesale transmission service to various entities in the United States. It also includes commodity trading operations. The Regulated Natural Gas Utility segment transports, stores, and distributes natural gas primarily in portions of Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Michigan and Colorado. The All Others segment engages in steam, appliance repair services, nonutility real estate activities, processing solid waste into refuse-derived fuel and investments in rental housing projects that qualify for low-income housing tax credits. The company was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN.

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Photo: CTV News A shot from 2017's 4/20 event in Vancouver.

The Vancouver Park Board is facing calls to cancel the upcoming pro-marijuana 4/20 rally, following criticism from other event organizers.

The Sun Run, another annual event, pays its own way, while the 4/20 has historically left behind a huge cost to taxpayers for policing and cleanup.

"We should all be on the same level playing field, Sun Run race director Tim Hopkins told CTV News Vancouver. There shouldn't be deals given to different organizations."

The Sun Run pays for use of Stanley Park as well as police services, but the city says 4/20 organizers don't do the same.

2017's rally cost taxpayers $245,000, and 2018 was around the same, with organizers paying back around $63,000, CTV reports.

As taxpayers, we already pay for the policing in this city, said 4/20 organizer and pro-cannabis advocated Jodie Emery. No event should have to pay twice for the policing work.

Traditionally called "protest," the 4/20 rally at Sunset Beach is facing further questions now that recreational marijuana use is legal. The event is planned at Sunset Beach this year with a Cypress Hill concert expected to draw in even bigger crowds.

Mayor Kennedy Stewart wants it to evolve with the times.

"What Im really hoping is the 4/20  what was originally deemed a protest  will eventually turn into a trade show, he said.

On Monday, the Vancouver Park Board is planning to introduce a motion with a plan to push the organizers to cancel the rally. They say they know protesters might show up anyway, but they want to set an example to city council in order to get the rally permanently out of that park.

Emery said the event is still a protest until they are given an event license, which they have not been.

Vancouver Police said that "public safety will remain our top priority" at the event.

-With files from CTV Vancouver.
Airbus SE engages in the design, manufacture, delivery and provision of aerospace products, space and related services. It operates through the following segments: Airbus Commercial Aircraft, Airbus Helicopters and Airbus Defence and Space. The Airbus Commercial Aircraft segment develops, manufactures, markets and sells commercial jet aircrafts and offers aircraft conversion and related services. The Airbus Helicopters segment deals with the development, manufacture, marketing and sale of civil and military helicopters. The Airbus Defence and Space segment covers systems and services in the field of defence and space for governments, institutions, and commercial customers. The company was founded on December 29, 1998 and is headquartered in Leiden, the Netherlands.

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Varian Medical Systems, Inc. designs, manufactures, sells, and services medical devices and software products for treating cancer and other medical conditions worldwide. It operates through Oncology Systems and Proton Solutions segments. The Oncology Systems segment offers hardware and software products for treating cancer with radiotherapy, fixed field intensity-modulated radiation therapy, image-guided radiation therapy, volumetric modulated arc therapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, stereotactic body radiotherapy, artificial intelligence based adaptive radiotherapy, and brachytherapy, as well as quality assurance equipment. Its products include linear accelerators, brachytherapy afterloaders, treatment accessories, and quality assurance software; and information management, treatment planning, image processing, clinical knowledge exchange, patient care management, decision-making support, and practice management software. This segment serves university research and community hospitals, private and governmental institutions, healthcare agencies, physicians' offices, medical oncology practices, radiotherapy centers, and cancer care clinics. The Proton Solutions segment designs, develops, manufactures, sells, and services products and systems for delivering proton therapy for the treatment of cancer. The company has a strategic agreement with McKesson Corp. to supply treatment delivery systems and planning, services, and radiotherapy information system solutions to its U.S. Oncology Network and Vantage Oncology affiliated sites of care; and a strategic partnership with Siemens AG to represent Siemens diagnostic imaging products to radiation oncology clinics in the United States and other select markets. Varian Medical Systems, Inc. was formerly known as Varian Associates, Inc. and changed its name to Varian Medical Systems, Inc. in April 1999. The company was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Vodafone Group: 360 Connect S.A., [email protected] Telecom, A-ccelerator B.V., A-ccelerator Holding B.V, AAA (Euro) Limited, AAA (MCR) Limited, AAA (UK) Limited, Acorn Communications Limited, Africonnect (Zambia) Limited, Ag Mercantile Company Private Limited, Al-Amin Investments Limited, Amsterdamse Beheer- en Consultingmaatschappij B.V., Apollo Submarine Cable System Limited, Array Holdings Limited, Asian Telecommunication Investments (Mauritius) Limited, Aspective Limited, Astec Communications Limited, Autoconnex Limited, Aztec Limited, BelCompany BV, Bluefish Apac Communications Pte. Ltd, Bluefish Communications, Bluefish Communications Limited, Business Serve Limited, C&W Worldwide Nigeria Limited, C.S.P. Solutions Limited, CCII (Mauritius) Inc., CGP India Investments Ltd., CGP Investments (Holdings) Limited, COOP Mobil s.r.o, CT Networks Limited, CWGNL S.A., CWW Operations Limited, Cable & Wireless Access Limited, Cable & Wireless Americas Systems Inc., Cable & Wireless Aspac Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless CIS Services Limited, Cable & Wireless CIS Svyaz LLC, Cable & Wireless Capital Limited , Cable & Wireless Communications Data Network Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Communications Starclass Limited, Cable & Wireless Communications Technical Service (Shanghai) Co. Ltd (Beijing Branch), Cable & Wireless Europe Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless GN Limited, Cable & Wireless Global (India) Private Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Business Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Holding Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Telecommunication Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Holdco Limited, Cable & Wireless Networks India Private Limited, Cable & Wireless Trade Mark Management Limited, Cable & Wireless UK Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless UK Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Waterside Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Pension Trustee Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Voice Messaging Limited, Cable & Wireless a-Services Inc, Cable & Wireless a-Services Limited, Cable and Wireless (India) Limited, Cable and Wireless (India) Limited Indian Branch Office, Cable and Wireless Nominee Limited, Cable and Wireless Worldwide South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cavalry Holdings Ltd, Celfocus  Solucoes Informaticas Para Telecomunicacoes S.A, Cellops Limited, Cellular Operations Limited, Central Communications Group Limited, Central Telecom (Northern) Limited, Centurion GSM Limited, Chelys Limited, City Cable (Holdings) Limited, Cobra do Brasil Servicos de Telematica ltda., Commnet Cellular Inc., Complete Network Technology, Connect (India) Mobile Technologies Private Limited, Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Limited, Dataroam Limited , Device Insight, Digital Island (UK) Ltd, Digital Mobile Spectrum Limited, East Africa Investment (Mauritius) Limited, Emtel Europe Limited, Energis (Ireland) Limited, Energis Communications Limited, Energis Holdings Limited, Energis Local Access Limited, Energis Management Limited, Energis Squared Limited, Erudite Systems Limited, Esprit Telecom B.V., Eudokia Limited, Euro Pacific Securities Ltd., Eurocall Holdings Limited, Europolitan Holdings AB (now Europolitan Vodafone AB), FB Holdings Limited, FM Associates (UK) Limited, FinCo Partner 1 B.V., FireFly Networks Limited, Flexphone Limited, GS Telecom (Pty) Limited, Gateway Communications Africa (UK) Limited, Gateway Communications Tanzania Limited, General Mobile Corporation, Generation Telecom Limited, Ghana Telecommunications, Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited, Global Cellular Rental Limited, Globe Limited, GrandCentrix GmbH, Grupo Corporativo ONO S.A.U., H3ga Properties (No 3) Pty Limited, HBO Nederland Cooperatief U.A., HBO Netherlands Channels sro, HBO Netherlands Distribution B.V., Hellas Online, How2 Telecom Limited, Hutchison Essar Ltd, Indus Towers Limited, Intercell Communications Limited, Internet Network Services Limited, Invitation Digital Limited, Ipergy Communications NV, Isis Telecommunications Management Limited, Jaguar Communications Limited, Jaykay Finholding (India) Private Limited, Jupicol (Proprietary) Limited, KABELCOM Braunschweig Gesellschaft Fur BreitbandkabelKommunikation Mit Beschrankter Haftung, KABELCOM Wolfsburg Gesellschaft Fur BreitbandkabelKommunikation Mit Beschrankter Haftung, Kabel Deutschland, Kabel Deutschland Holding, Kabel Deutschland Holding Erste Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Holding Zweite Beteilgungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Neunte Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Siebte Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabelfernsehen Munchen Servicenter GmbH & Co. KG, LG Financing Partnership, LGE HoldCo V B.V., LGE HoldCo VI B.V., LGE HoldCo VIII B.V., LGE Holdco VII B.V., LLC Vodafone Enterprise Ukraine, Le Bunt Holdings Limited, Legend Communications Limited, Liberty Global, Liberty Global Content Netherlands B.V., London Hydraulic Power Company, M-PESA Foundation, M-PESA Holding Co. Limited, ML Integration Group Limited, ML Integration Limited, ML Integration Services Limited, MV Healthcare Services Private Limited, Mannesmann AG, MetroHoldings Limited, Mezzanine Ware Proprietary Limited (RF), Mirambo Limited, Misrfone Trading Company LLC, MobiFon S.A., Mobile Commerce Solutions Limited, Mobile Phone Centre Limited, Mobile Wallet VM1, Mobile Wallet VM2, Mobile by Sainsburys Limited, Mobiles 4 Business.com Limited, Mobileworld Communications Pty Limited, Mobileworld Operating Pty Ltd, Mobilvest, Motifpros 1 (Proprietary) Limited, Multi Risk Indemnity Company Limited, Multi Risk Limited, ND Callus Info Services Private Limited, Nadal Trading Company Private Limited, Nat Comm Air Limited, National Communications Backbone Company Limited, Navtrak Ltd, Netforce Group Limited, Netgrid Telecom SRL, Number Portability Company (Proprietary) Limited, ONO, Omega Telecom Holdings Private Limited, Oni Way  Infocomunicacoes S.A, Oskar Mobil S.R.O., Oxygen Solutions Limited, P.C.P. (North West) Limited, PPL Pty Limited, PT Network Services Limited, PTI Telecom Limited, Peoples Phone Limited, Pinnacle Cellular Group Limited, Pinnacle Cellular Limited, Plex Limited, Plustech Mercantile Company Private Limited, Prime Metals Ltd., Project Telecom Holdings Limited, Quickcomm Software Solutions, Radio Opt GmbH, Rian Mobile Limited, SBC SMART CITY 1517 B.V., SMMS Investments Pvt Limited, Safaricom Limited, Safenet N.P A., Sarmady Communications, Scarlet Ibis Investments 23 (Pty) Limited, Scorpios Beverages Pvt. Ltd, Silver Stream Investments Limited, Singlepoint (4U) Limited, Singlepoint (4U) Ltd., Singlepoint Payment Services Limited, Siro Limited, Spar Aerospace (Nigeria) Limited, Sport TV Portugal S.A, Starnet, Stentor Communications Limited, Stentor Limited, Storage Technology Services (Pty) Limited, T.W. Telecom Limited, T3 Telecommunications Limited, TKS Telepost Kabel-Service Kaiserslautern Beteiligungs GmbH, TKS Telepost Kabel-Service Kaiserslautern GmbH & Co. KG, TNAS Limited, TSM NZ Limited, Talkland Airtime Services Limited, Talkland Australia Pty Limited, Talkland Communications Limited, Talkland International Limited, Talkland Midlands Limited, Talkmobile Limited, Tele2 Italia SPA, Tele2 Spain, Telecom Investments India Private Limited, Telecommunications Europe Limited, Ternhill Communications Limited, The Cobra Group, The Eastern Leasing Company Limited, The Old Telecom Sales Co. Limited, Thus Group Holdings Limited, Thus Group Limited, Thus Limited, Thus Profit Sharing Trustees Limited, TnT Expense Management LLC, Tomorrow Street GP S.a r.l., Tomorrow Street SCA, Torenspits II B.V., Townley Communications Limited, Trans Crystal Ltd., UMT Investments Limited, UPC Nederland Holding I B.V., UPC Nederland Holding II B.V., UPC Nederland Holding III B.V., Unified Communications, Uniqueair Limited, Urbana Teleunion Rostock GmbH & Co.KG, Usha Martin Telematics Limited, VAPL No. 2 Pty Limited, VBA (Mauritius) Limited, VBA Holdings Limited, VBA International (SL) Limited, VBA International Limited, VEI S.r.l., VM SA, VND S.p.A, VSSB Vodafone Shared Services Budapest Private Limited Company, Verwaltung Urbana Teleunion Rostock GmbH, Victus Networks S.A., Vizzavi Finance Limited, Vizzavi Limited, Voda Limited, Vodacall Limited, Vodacash s.p.r.l., Vodacom (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Business (Angola) Limitada, Vodacom Business (Ghana) Limited, Vodacom Business (Kenya) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa (Nigeria) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa Group (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa Group Services Limited, Vodacom Business Cameroon SA, Vodacom Business Cote Divoire S.A.R.L., Vodacom Congo (RDC) SA, Vodacom Financial Services (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Group Limited, Vodacom Insurance Administration Company (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Insurance Company (RF) Limited, Vodacom International Holdings (Pty) Limited, Vodacom International Limited, Vodacom Lesotho (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Life Assurance Company (RF) Limited, Vodacom Payment Services (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Properties No 1 (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Properties No.2 (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Tanzania Limited Zanzibar, Vodacom Tanzania Public Limited Company, Vodacom UK Limited, Vodafone (NI) Limited, Vodafone (New Zealand) Hedging Limited, Vodafone (Scotland) Limited, Vodafone 2, Vodafone 4 UK, Vodafone 5 Limited, Vodafone 5 UK, Vodafone 6 UK, Vodafone Albania Sh.A, Vodafone Alternatif Telekom Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Americas 4, Vodafone Americas Virginia Inc., Vodafone And Qatar Foundation L.L.C, Vodafone Asset Management Services S.a r.l., Vodafone Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Automotive Deutschland GmbH, Vodafone Automotive Electronic Systems S.r.L, Vodafone Automotive France S.A.S, Vodafone Automotive Iberia S.L, Vodafone Automotive Italia S.p.A, Vodafone Automotive Japan K.K, Vodafone Automotive Korea Limited, Vodafone Automotive SpA, Vodafone Automotive Technologies (Beijing) Co Ltd, Vodafone Automotive Telematics Development S.A.S, Vodafone Automotive Telematics S.A, Vodafone Automotive UK Limited, Vodafone Belgium SA/NV, Vodafone Benelux Limited, Vodafone Bilgi Ve Iletisim Hizmetleri AS, Vodafone Business Services Limited, Vodafone Business Solutions Limited, Vodafone Canada Inc, Vodafone Cellular Limited, Vodafone Central Services Limited, Vodafone China Limited (China), Vodafone China Limited (Hong Kong), Vodafone Connect 2 Limited, Vodafone Connect Limited, Vodafone Consolidated Holdings Limited, Vodafone Corporate Limited, Vodafone Corporate Secretaries Limited, Vodafone Czech Republic A.S., Vodafone DC Pension Trustee Company Limited, Vodafone Dagitim Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Data, Vodafone Distribution Holdings Limited, Vodafone Egypt Telecommunications S.A.E., Vodafone Elektronik Para Ve Odeme Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Empresa Brasil Telecomunicacoes Ltda, Vodafone Empresa Mexico S.de R.L. de C.V., Vodafone Enabler Espana S.L., Vodafone Enterprise Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Austria GmbH, Vodafone Enterprise Bahrain W.L.L., Vodafone Enterprise Bulgaria EOOD, Vodafone Enterprise Chile SA, Vodafone Enterprise Communications Technical Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Corporate Secretaries Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Denmark A/S, Vodafone Enterprise Equipment Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited  Czech Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited  DubaiI Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Finland OY, Vodafone Enterprise France SAS, Vodafone Enterprise Germany GmbH, Vodafone Enterprise Global Businesses S.a r.l., Vodafone Enterprise Global Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Global Network HK Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Global Network Pte. Ltd., Vodafone Enterprise Hong Kong Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Italy S.r.L, Vodafone Enterprise Korea Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Luxembourg S.A., Vodafone Enterprise Netherlands BV, Vodafone Enterprise Norway AS, Vodafone Enterprise Regional Business Singapore Pte.Ltd., Vodafone Enterprise Singapore Pte.Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Spain S.L.U.  Portugal Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Spain SLU, Vodafone Enterprise Sweden AB, Vodafone Enterprise Switzerland AG, Vodafone Erste Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Vodafone Espana S.A.U., Vodafone Euro Hedging Limited, Vodafone Euro Hedging Two, Vodafone Europe B.V., Vodafone Europe UK, Vodafone European Investments, Vodafone European Portal Limited, Vodafone Finance Limited, Vodafone Finance Luxembourg Limited, Vodafone Finance Sweden, Vodafone Finance UK Limited, Vodafone Financial Operations, Vodafone Financial Services B.V., Vodafone Fixed Ltd, Vodafone Foundation, Vodafone Foundation Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Gestioni S.p.A, Vodafone Ghana Mobile Financial Services Limited, Vodafone Global Content Services Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise (Hong Kong) Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise (Italy) S.R.L., Vodafone Global Enterprise (Japan) K.K., Vodafone Global Enterprise (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Vodafone Global Enterprise Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise Russia LLC, Vodafone Global Enterprise Taiwan Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise Telecommunications (Hellas) A.E., Vodafone Global Network Limited, Vodafone Global Network Limited  Slovakia Branch, Vodafone Global Services Private Limited, Vodafone GmbH, Vodafone Group (Directors) Trustee Limited, Vodafone Group Pension Trustee Limited, Vodafone Group Services GmbH, Vodafone Group Services Ireland Limited, Vodafone Group Services Limited, Vodafone Group Services No.2 Limited, Vodafone Group Share Trustee Limited, Vodafone Hire Limited, Vodafone Holding A.S., Vodafone Holdings (Jersey) Limited, Vodafone Holdings (SA) Proprietary Limited, Vodafone Holdings Europe S.L.U., Vodafone Holdings Luxembourg Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Finance Pty Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Receivables Pty Limited, Vodafone IP Licensing Limited, Vodafone India Digital Limited, Vodafone India Limited, Vodafone India Services Private Limited, Vodafone India Ventures Limited, Vodafone Institut fur Gesellschaft und Kommunikation GmbH, Vodafone Intermediate Enterprises Limited, Vodafone International 1 S.a.r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone International 1 S.a r.l., Vodafone International 2 Limited, Vodafone International Holdings B.V., Vodafone International Holdings Limited, Vodafone International M S.a r.l., Vodafone International Operations Limited, Vodafone International Services LLC, Vodafone Investment UK, Vodafone Investments (SA) Proprietary Limited, Vodafone Investments Australia Limited, Vodafone Investments Limited, Vodafone Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l., Vodafone Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone Ireland Distribution Limited, Vodafone Ireland Ltd., Vodafone Ireland Marketing Limited, Vodafone Ireland Property Holdings Limited, Vodafone Ireland Retail Limited, Vodafone Italia S.p.A., Vodafone Jersey Dollar Holdings Limited, Vodafone Jersey Finance, Vodafone Jersey Yen Holdings Unlimited, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland Field Services GmbH, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland GmbH, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland Kundenbetreuung GmbH, Vodafone Kenya Limited, Vodafone Leasing Limited, Vodafone Libertel B.V., Vodafone Limited, Vodafone Luxembourg 5 S.a r.l., Vodafone Luxembourg 5 S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone Luxembourg S.a r.l., Vodafone Luxembourg S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone M-PESA SH.P.K., Vodafone M-Pesa S.A, Vodafone M.C. Mobile Services Limited , Vodafone Magyarorszag Mobile Tavkozlesi Zartkoruen Mukodo Reszvenytarsasag, Vodafone Malta Limited, Vodafone Marketing UK , Vodafone Maroc SARL, Vodafone Mauritius Ltd., Vodafone Mobile Commerce Limited, Vodafone Mobile Communications Limited, Vodafone Mobile Enterprises Limited, Vodafone Mobile NZ Limited, Vodafone Mobile Network Limited, Vodafone Mobile Operations Limited, Vodafone Mobile Services Limited, Vodafone Multimedia Limited, Vodafone Nederland Holding I B.V., Vodafone Nederland Holding II B.V., Vodafone Nederland Holding III B.V., Vodafone Net Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Network Pty Limited, Vodafone New Zealand Foundation Limited, Vodafone New Zealand Limited, Vodafone Next Generation Services Limited, Vodafone Nominees Limited1, Vodafone ONO S.A.U., Vodafone Oceania Limited, Vodafone Old Show Ground Site Management Limited, Vodafone Overseas Finance Limited, Vodafone Overseas Holdings Limited, Vodafone Panafon International Holdings B.V., Vodafone Panafon UK, Vodafone Partner Services Limited, Vodafone Payment Solutions S.a r.l., Vodafone Portugal  Comunicacoes Pessoais S.A., Vodafone Procurement Company S.a r.l., Vodafone Property Investments Limited, Vodafone Pty Limited, Vodafone Qatar Q.S.C., Vodafone Retail (Holdings) Limited , Vodafone Retail Limited, Vodafone Roaming Services S.a r.l., Vodafone Romania S.A, Vodafone Romania M - Payments SRL, Vodafone Romania Technologies SRL, Vodafone Sales & Services Limited, Vodafone Satellite Services Limited, Vodafone Servicios SL.U, Vodafone Servizi E Tecnologie S.R.L, Vodafone Servicos Empresariais Brasil Ltda., Vodafone Shared Services Romania SRL, Vodafone Specialist Communications Limited, Vodafone Stiftung Deutschland Gemeinnutzige GmbH, Vodafone Technology Solutions Limited, Vodafone Teknoloji Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Tele-Services (India) Holdings Limited, Vodafone Telecel-Comunicates Pessoais S.A., Vodafone Telecommunications (India) Limited, Vodafone Telekomunikasyon A.S, Vodafone Towers Limited, Vodafone UK Content Services Limited, Vodafone UK Investments Limited , Vodafone UK Limited1 , Vodafone US Inc, Vodafone Ventures Limited1 , Vodafone Vierte Verwaltungs AG, Vodafone Worldwide Holdings Limited, Vodafone Yen Finance Limited , Vodafone m-pesa Limited, Vodafone-Central Limited Vodaphone Limited, Vodafone-Panafon Hellenic Telecommunications Company S.A., VodafoneZiggo Group Holding B.V, Vodata Limited , Vouchercloud SA (Pty) Ltd, Wataneya Telecommunications S.A.E, Waterberg Lodge (Proprietary) Limited, Wayfinder, Wheatfields Investments 276 (Proprietary) Limited, Wireless Interactions & NFC Accelerator 2013 B.V., Woodend Cellular Limited, Woodend Communications Limited, Woodend Group Limited, Woodend Holdings Limited, XB Facilities B.V, XLink Communications (Proprietary) Limited, Your Communications Group Limited, ZUM B.V., ZYB, Zelitron S.A., Zesko B.V., Ziggo B.V., Ziggo Bond Company B.V., Ziggo Deelnemingen B.V., Ziggo Finance 2 B.V., Ziggo Financing Partnership, Ziggo Holding B.V., Ziggo Netwerk B.V., Ziggo Netwerk II B.V., Ziggo Services B.V., Ziggo Services Employment B.V., Ziggo Services Netwerk 2 B.V., Ziggo Zakelijk Services B.V., and Zoranet Connectivity Services B.V..
InterXion Holding N.V. provides carrier and cloud-neutral colocation data center services in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. The company enables its customers to connect to a range of telecommunications carriers, cloud platforms, Internet service providers, and other customers. Its data centers acts as content, cloud, and connectivity hubs that facilitate the processing, storage, sharing, and distribution of data between its customers. The company offers colocation services, including space and power to deploy IT infrastructure in its data centers; a range of output voltages and currents; connectivity services that enable its customers to connect their IT infrastructure to exchange traffic and access cloud platforms; and systems monitoring, systems management, engineering support, and data backup and storage services, as well as installs and manages physical connections running from its customers' equipment to the equipment of its telecommunications carriers, Internet service providers, Internet exchange customers, and other customers. It provides its services to telecom operators, Internet service providers, and content delivery networks; content and cloud providers; and enterprises through direct sales forces, as well as through tradeshows, networking events, and industry seminars. As of December 31, 2018, it operated 51 carrier and cloud neutral colocation data centers in 13 metropolitan areas in 11 countries. The company is also involved in real estate management/holding businesses. InterXion Holding N.V. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands.

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Photo: The Canadian Press Migrants on a rubber dinghy are approached by Sea-Watch rescue ship's staffers in the waters off Libya Wednesday, April 3, 2019.

Ending a standoff over immigration, Malta on Saturday announced a deal to distribute 64 migrants rescued at sea off Libya 10 days ago among four European Union nations.

Malta's government said the migrants, who will be distributed among Germany, France, Portugal and Luxembourg, were being transferred to Maltese army boats at sea and would be brought to port later Saturday.

However, Malta said the German-flagged aid ship carrying them, the Alan Kurdi, will still not be allowed to enter its ports and none of the migrants will remain in Malta.

"Once again, the smallest member of the European Union was put under unnecessary pressure being asked to resolve a case which was neither its responsibility nor its remit," the government said. "A solution was found in order not to let the situation deteriorate further while making it clear Malta cannot keep shouldering this burden."

Malta has argued it cannot open its ports to humanitarian rescue ships because their activities off the coast of lawless Libya have encouraged human traffickers.

The German aid group Sea-Eye, which had rescued the 64 migrants, had complained for days about worsening conditions on the Alan Kurdi, which was not designed to handle so many people. Two migrants were evacuated due to health issues.

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who has repeatedly rejected calls to let the ship enter Italian ports, hailed the deal.

"Excellent news!" he tweeted after the deal was announced. He praised Malta for "doing the right thing by denouncing the dangerous and undue pressures exerted by the NGOs."

Salvini, leader of Italy's far-right League party, is sticking to a hard-line approach to migration, insisting that Italian ports should be closed to migrants rescued by aid groups in the Mediterranean Sea in a bid to force other EU states to take them in.

The 64 migrants were originally rescued off the Libyan coast, so Italy and Malta claimed Libya should have taken them in. However, parts of Libya have seen escalating fighting in the last week amid one group's military campaign to take the capital.

A total of 356 people have died or gone missing while crossing the Mediterranean this year, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Photo: The Canadian Press FILE - In this Dec. 16, 2010, file photo, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is seen outside the High Court in central London. The arrest of Assange reignites a debate with no easy answer: Is the former computer hacker and founder of WikiLeaks a journalist or not?

An ace Swedish programmer who was an early, ardent supporter of WikiLeaks has been arrested in Ecuador in an alleged plot to blackmail the country's president over his abandonment of Julian Assange.

But friends of Ola Bini say the soft-spoken encryption expert is being unfairly targeted for his activism on behalf of digital privacy.

On Saturday, prosecutors said they intend to charge Bini for hacking-related crimes and had him ordered detained for up to 90 days while they compile evidence.

The 36-year-old was arrested Thursday at the airport in the Ecuadorian capital of Quito as he prepared to board a flight to Japan. The arrest came just hours after Assange was evicted from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Bini was carrying at least 30 electronic storage devices.

His lawyers said they have not been notified whether he's been charged. Authorities said the plot hatched with two unidentified Russian hackers living in Ecuador involved threatening to release compromising documents about President Lenin Moreno as he toughened his stance against the WikiLeaks founder.

"It's up to the justice system to determine if he committed a crime," Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo said Friday. "But we can't allow Ecuador to become a centre for piracy and spying. That period in our history is over."

Romo said Bini had travelled at least 12 times to meet with Assange at the London embassy. She said he was also in Venezuela earlier this year around the same time as a close aide to Moreno's ex-mentor turned arch enemy, Rafael Correa. The former president granted Assange asylum in 2012 and has been leading a campaign cheered on by WikiLeaks to expose alleged corruption by Moreno that has included the release of damaging personal documents and photos, including several that showed him eating lobster in bed.

While the extent of Bini's relationship with Assange is unclear, the Swede has defended the WikiLeaks founder's free speech rights in an online blog he's kept over the years.

"Any official who has called for Assange to be treated as a terrorist or enemy combatant should be seriously considering stepping down from office," he wrote in December 2010.

In the same blog, Bini condemned Amazon for knocking WikiLeaks off its hosting services and credit card companies and PayPal for refusing to process payments to the secret-spilling site. He also described working on a January 2011 panel about WikiLeaks put on by his then-employer, global software firm Thoughtworks, and including Daniel Ellsberg of Pentagon Papers fame.

An expert on secure communications, Bini arrived in Quito in 2013 after being transferred from Chicago to the Ecuador office of Thoughtworks, which has guiding principles that stress social activism. Around the same time, he started to rethink his online habits and at one point gave up his Gmail account in favour of self-hosted email.

"I am not a huge fan of having all my electronic life hosted under the auspices of U.S. legislation, especially not in light of recent events," he wrote in a 2013 post.

Friends and loved ones describe Bini as a computer geek who felt most at ease solving complex programming problem for days at a time. At the time of his arrest, he was travelling to Japan, his former wife Malin Sandell told The Associated Press, for two weeks of jujitsu training  one of the few hobbies he indulged in outside of his all-consuming work as a code developer.

His Ecuadorian girlfriend said that she did not recall Bini ever expressing strong support for Assange despite the fact that the WikiLeaks founder has deep ties in Sweden and would have been an obvious topic of conversation in the small Ecuadorian programming circles.

"Ola is not a hacker, if by that you mean a criminal, but he is someone trying to understand how computers work and protect people's privacy," Sofia Ramos said in an interview from Brussels.

Ramos worked with Bini on a project at the Center for Digital Autonomy for creating a more secure instant-messaging encryption protocol. In its statement Friday, the centre said Computerworld had ranked him in 2010 as Sweden's No. 6 developer.

The centre is a small non-profit incorporated in Ecuador and Spain dedicated to private, secure and anonymous communication. Its website says it has contributed to well-known projects including Enigmail and the Tor privacy browser.

In the hours before he went to the airport Thursday, Bini sent a tweet warning of a "witch hunt" by Ecuadorian authorities mopping up after Assange's forced departure from the embassy. Now his friends say that prophecy appears to have been true.

"I didn't realize that knowing somebody is a crime," said Vijay Prashad, who runs a Marxist publishing house in India and last saw Bini a few months ago in Sao Paulo, Brazil. "He's the last person who would ever be involved in an attempt to overthrow a government."
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says he's open to having a third summit with President Donald Trump if the United States could offer mutually acceptable terms for an agreement by the end of the year.

Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency on Saturday said Kim's speech came during a session of the North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament. Kim during the speech blamed the collapse of his summit with Trump in February on what he described as unilateral demands by the United States.

But he said his personal relationship with the American president remains good. Kim repeated earlier claims that North Korea's crippled economy would persevere through heavy international sanctions imposed over its nuclear weapons programme and that he wouldn't "obsess over summitry with the United States out of thirst for sanctions relief."

The United States has said the summit broke down because of the North's excessive demands for sanctions relief in return for limited disarmament measures.

"We of course place importance on resolving problems through dialogue and negotiations. But US-style dialogue of unilaterally pushing its demands doesn't fit us, and we have no interest in it," Kim said during the speech.

"We will wait with patience until the end of the year for the United States to come up with a courageous decision. But it will clearly be difficult for a good opportunity like last time to come up."

On Friday, the KCNA reported that Kim was re-elected as chairman of the State Affairs Commission, the nation's most important decision-making body, during a session of the Supreme People's Assembly that praised his "outstanding ideological and theoretical wisdom and experienced and seasoned leadership." The parliament also made a slew of personnel changes on Thursday that bolstered Kim's diplomatic lineup.

Experts say the new appointments may be a sign of Kim's desire to keep recent months of up-and-down nuclear diplomacy alive rather than returning to the threats and weapons tests that characterised 2017, when many feared war on the Korean Peninsula.

-PTI
 Celtics draft pick status after todays ping-pong tie-breakers:



 SAC: 14th (2.3% jumps to 2 or 3; 95.2% stays at 14)



 MEM: 8th (42.6% conveys at 9+)



 LAC: 20th



 BOS: 22nd  Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) April 12, 2019

Well that didn't exactly work out as planned.In the 3 way tie breaker with the Kings pick, the Celtics got the worst outcome. In the two way tie with the Spurs with the Clippers pick again the C's lost. And with the two way tie with Oklahoma City and our own pick, once again we lost.The pick that is most confusing is the Grizzlies pick that we own. In that 3 way tie New Orleans gets #7, the Grizzlies get #8 and the Hawks get #9. The Hawks pick would remain with the Mavs if it moves up into the top 4. And the Grizzlies pick would remain with Memphis if it moves up into the top 4 or stays at 8. If it falls to 9, 10, or 11 it becomes ours. Pretty decent chance it falls to #9.The Celtics say they don't want the pick to convey this season, but if you're counting on the Grizzlies pick to be gold in two years, realize that things can change for the worse. Just like the Kings improved quite a bit this year, you add a top pick this year to Jaren Jackson Jr and then another top pick next season, and I could see the 2020-2021 Grizzlies being pretty good and thus the pick ending up worse than #9.The Celtics though likely view the potential for lottery gold down the road as a more attractive trade piece than #9 in this draft. At least that's the rumor.Related: Eye on the Draft: Virginia defeats Texas Tech in thrilling NCAA finale (highlights)
While the T-Roc is about the same size as the Hyundai Creta, it is likely to be significantly more expensive

The Volkswagen T-Roc will be imported to India.

Only petrol-automatic powertrain might be on offer.

Might rival Jeep Compass, Hyundai Tucson price-wise.

Will get front, side and curtain airbags, two-zone auto AC.

Volkswagen is planning to launch the T-Roc SUV in India in the second half of 2019. The T-Roc will be the second VW SUV in India after the Tiguan. It is smaller than the Tiguan and will be positioned under it. The Tiguan is priced from Rs 28.07 lakh (ex-showroom).

Positioning: Creta rival size-wise, but could be as expensive as Tucson

The T-Roc will allow Volkswagen to compete in the compact and mid-size SUV segments, where the carmaker doesnt have any presence right now. Compact SUVs in India comprise of cars like the Hyundai Creta and Renault Duster while the mid-size SUV segment includes cars like the Jeep Compass, Tata Harrier, Mahindra XUV500 and the Hyundai Tucson. While the compact SUVs are priced from around Rs 9 lakh, the most expensive version of the mid-size Tucson SUV goes up to around Rs 27 lakh!

Dimensions Volkswagen T-Cross (UK-spec) Volkswagen T-Roc (UK spec) Hyundai Creta (India spec) Jeep Compass (India spec) Hyundai Tucson (India spec) Length 4108mm 4234mm 4270mm 4395mm 4475mm Width Up to 1780mm 1819mm 1780mm 1818mm 1850mm Height 1584mm 1573mm 1665mm 1640mm 1660mm Wheelbase 2551mm 2590mm 2590mm 2636mm 2670mm

Despite being a Creta-rival in terms of size, the T-Roc will most likely be priced to take on the likes of the Jeep Compass and Hyundai Tucson. The reason for the T-Roc being so expensive is because it will be imported to India from Europe.

Powertrain & Features: More power, more features to justify the price

In order to make a buying case for the T-Roc in the mid-size segment, Volkswagen might ship in a more feature-rich and powerful version of the SUV. Amongst the variety of powertrains that it gets in the UK, Volkswagen could opt for the 1.5-litre TSI EVO engine paired with a 7-speed automatic DSG transmission for the T-Roc in India. In the UK-spec T-Roc, this engine produces 150PS of maximum power. In comparison, the India-spec Hyundai Tucson gets a 2.0-litre petrol engine that makes 155PS of maximum power. The Jeep Compass, on the other hand, is powered by a 1.4-litre Multiair petrol engine that makes 163PS of maximum power.

Besides the 1.5-litre TSI EVO engine, VW has a 2.0-litre TSI engine in its UK-spec T-Roc portfolio. This engine is only available with a 7-speed DSG automatic transmission coupled with 4WD. This is the flagship petrol engine of the UK-spec T-Roc and makes 190PS of maximum power. It remains to be seen which powertrain VW plans to offer in India. The T-Roc is also available with the 2.0-litre, 150PS TDI diesel engine in the UK with both 6-speed manual and 7-speed DSG automatic transmission options. Since this engine is significantly less powerful than the Tucsons 2.0-litre, 185PS unit and the Compass 2.0-litre, 173PS engine, VW might opt to not offer it on the T-Roc in India.

In terms of features, the T-Roc is available in five variants in the UK: S, SE, Design, Sel and R-Line. The base S variant in the UK gets features like alloy wheels, electrically heated and adjustable door mirrors, halogen headlamps with LED DRLs, tilt and telescopic steering wheel, front, side and curtain airbags, electronic stability control and a two-zone automatic climate control. Interestingly, this variant doesnt come with either the 1.5-litre or 2.0-litre petrol engines that are likely to come to India.

The most affordable variant to get the 1.5-litre petrol engine is the SE, which, over the S variant, gets an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, 17-inch alloy wheels, leather-wrapped steering wheel, electrically-foldable ORVMs, adaptive cruise control and front and rear parking sensors.

The T-Roc SE powered by the 1.5-litre petrol-DSG powertrain is priced at 20,000 (~Rs 18 lakh). If VW plans to bring this variant to India, expect it to be priced in excess of Rs 20 lakh. For reference, the Tucson petrol-auto range starts from Rs 21.84 lakh and goes up to Rs 23.7 lakh (both prices ex-showroom Delhi).

Whats the future?

SUVs is the segment to be in, and Volkswagen will introduce another SUV in India after the T-Roc. While the T-Roc will come to India in 2019 (and it might come in limited numbers only), the T-Cross SUV will debut in 2020 and will be manufactured locally. The T-Cross is similar in size as the T-Roc, but it will be a lot more affordable, less equipped and less powerful too. It will rival the likes of the Creta and Duster in India, both in terms of price as well as size.

Disclaimer: This article has not been edited by Deccan Chronicle and is taken from a syndicated feed. Photos: CarDekho.
Porbandar is known for being Mahatma Gandhis birthplace.

Chennai: The UDAN scheme intended to make regional connectivity easy has opened up a few less explored tourist destinations.

The scheme has stimulated air connectivity between destinations in a distance of up to 800 km. Among them, Hyderabad-Nanded is the most travelled route, as per a study by Paytm Travel. Mumbai - Nanded also is one of the top routes opened up by UDAN scheme. Nanded in Maharashtra used to be a lesser known tourist destination earlier.

Similarly, Vidyanagar in Karnataka too has become known among tourists. Hyderabad to Vidyanagar is the fifth most travelled UDAN route and Bangalore- Vidyanagar is the sixth most travelled route.

Porbandar is known for being Mahatma Gandhis birthplace. Its tourism value has gone up in recent times. Mumbai-Porbandar is the fourth most travelled UDAN route.

Further, Hyderabad- Nanded is also one of the top 10 routes that can be travelled by flight for less than Rs 2,000.

Chennai-Cuddapah is the top sub-Rs 2,000 route, followed by Lucknow-Allahabad and Bikaner-Jaipur.

Paytm Travel 2018 also found that flight travelers book their tickets 13 days in advance to avoid last-minute surge in prices. Train travelers usually book their tickets one month in advance.

However, there are travelers who opt for last-minute booking with tatkal facility. This takes the average train booking period five days prior to journey.
Imports from the four Asian countries also climbed as they diverted supply into India, the source said.

New Delhi: India was a net importer of steel during the 2018/19 fiscal year, the first time in three years, as the country lost market share among its traditional steel buyers and imports jumped on demand for higher-quality steel domestically.

The country's finished steel exports fell by 34 per cent in the fiscal year that ended in March to 6.36 million tonnes, according to preliminary government data given to Reuters on Friday. During the same period, finished steel imports rose 4.7 per cent to 7.84 million tonnes.

India's exports during the fiscal year declined after rival steelmakers in China, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia, blocked from markets in the United States and Europe by tariffs and other protectionist measures, ate away at the country's markets in the Middle East and Africa, according to an Indian government official with close knowledge of the matter.

Imports from the four Asian countries also climbed as they diverted supply into India, the source said.

Imports of value-added steel, primarily for the auto sector and high-end electrical steel were the biggest source of imports, the source said.

"The imports for producing value-added steel for the auto sector is mainly by foreign steelmakers like POSCO," the source said, declining to be identified as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

India's Ministry of Steel has urged local automakers to cut Japanese and South Korean imports to support domestic producers but the automakers say they cannot get the quality of steel they need locally.

Indian steel companies have also sought imposition of higher duties on imports.

The steel ministry did not immediately reply to an emailed request for a comment on the import and export data.

While the government data did not specify stainless steel import levels, industry participants have noted overseas supply has climbed.

"There is a surge in imports of stainless steel flat products from Indonesia, which used to be less than 1,000 tonnes a month until last year, has now surged to a level of 10,000 to 11,000 tonnes a month during April to March," said K.K. Pahuja, President of the Indian Stainless Steel Development Association, a not for profit body.

Stainless steel producers in India contend that China is shipping product through Indonesia to circumvent an additional import tax that India levied in 2017.

"The trend shows decline in imports from China but increased imports from ASEAN countries, indicating the circumvention phenomena in the existing countervailing duty," said Abhyuday Jindal, Managing Director of Jindal Stainless, India's largest stainless steel producer.
Actress Priyanka Chopra is collaborating with top American writer Mindy Kaling alias Vera Mindy Chokalingam for a Hollywood-Bollywood wedding film project that also puts PeeCee on the producers chair.

Reports filtering in from Hollywood state that the film is a funny take on a multicultural wedding and is set in India and the United States. Sources now say that though Mindy is well aware of the different Indian cultures, PeeCee is giving her inputs from her personal experience of organising such a wedding last year.

Billed as a Crazy Rich Asians meets My Big Fat Greek Wedding project, the film is being written by Mindy along with Dan Goor, the co-creator of Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Priyanka shared the news on Instagram as well. Two women with a passion for telling good stories, just got the green light to THEIR story THEIR way. So proud of this incredible partnership with @mindykaling and #dangoor! We are about to show you what it means to be modern, global, and Indian. See you at the cinema! (sic)

PeeCee will be giving her inputs but its not an inspiration from her personal wedding story. Its just that PeeCee was apt choice for the role after her wedding with Nick Jonas which co-incidentally can be compared to the storyline of the film, says source.

Incidentally, while PeeCee has become one of the hosts for the Met Gala at New York this year, Mindys last appearance as an actor was in Oceans Eight last year.

 Sanskriti Media
After being handheld through the film production process by Vinod Chopra and his production house, Rajkumar Hirani is all set to go solo as a producer. The director-editor has co-produced films like PK and Sanju under the banner of Rajkumar Hirani Films (RHF).

Hirani was in the eye of the storm when the #MeToo controversy spilt over and his name was unceremoniously yanked off from the credits of Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga.

But the good news for the Munnabhai creator is that actors who have worked with him have stood by him and Hirani is on the verge of making a film announcement at the earliest. His script has been ready for a while and this time he will be going solo as a producer and not in cahoots with Vinod Chopra. He has spoken to some actors from the industry to be a part of this film and they are keen to work with him, informs a trade source.

Incidentally, Vivek Oberoi was offered Hiranis debut film Munnabhai MBBS after Company. And then, the role went to Shah Rukh Khan, who withdrew from the project later only to be replaced by Sanjay Dutt.

Sanskriti Media
Emma Stone stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Thursday and spoke about a lot of things, including the time when she modelled for textbook series Horizons, by McGraw Hill. On the cover photo, a brace-faced Emma can be seen smiling and is surrounded by a spread of textbook covers: math, spelling and vocabulary, French, and others, reports WMagazine.

Where Im from, in Arizona, they had a little thing where you could be a model for educational textbooks, Stone explained to Fallon, adding, Like the kids you see on textbooks who are like, I love these textbooks. She did it precisely once, for one day, and thought it was the coolest thing in the world.

On the cover photo, a brace-faced Emma can be seen smiling and is surrounded by a spread of textbook covers: math, spelling and vocabulary, French, and others

Emma also gushed about getting to host Saturday Night Live this weekend with BTS as the musical guest. I just saw their sound check today, the Oscar-winning expressed, adding, And I involuntarily screamed. Im actually not kidding. It came out of my body. Theres like a chemical reaction that happens.
Well maybe it is that way because for you sex has been a one sided affair all this time. (Photo: Representational/Pexels)

Mumbai: How do I know that porn deprives and corrupts? It deprives and corrupts me. Apparently, this is the best I could find under Google search for famous old quotes on porn. I was hoping some classic would appear something from the court of Louis XVI or from below the table of Dostoevsky who never seized preaching the glories of carnal sins or at least something from Oscar Wilde. But hardly! Hardly from the sort of escape value that could easily be as old as humanitys relationship with alcohol.

When it comes to India, one is a lucrative source of revenue for the government and the other is a mortal sin. In 2015 the government of India declared ban of porn complete blockage from assessing some of the popular darlings. The move was noteworthy of all the scorn backlash and ridicule that followed.

Here at IMBesharam, we love playing with numbers and data. Our giggles knew no limits observing how porn related keyword searches spiked in India in the months to come after the ban. Some of the toys became unusually popular during the same period. The move by the government was a blessing in disguise. The demand for sex toys increased and cleared up the shelves of dildos, masturbators, vibrators and handjob gels. Thank you, India!

What is it about porn and furthermore what is it about porn in India that has forced the government to come prematurely dealing with it? Answers are not easy to find and dont expect guidance from Hollywood either they are not exactly known for social commentary.

Yet one movie dares to argue the topic in a satirical manner. Jon Martello the main protagonist in the movie Don Jon is a mega-successful male able to score at whim whenever he wants it. Yet to him no pleasure with women is measurable with the sheer joy of watching porn. Plenty of it.

Porn is the cause for breaking his current relationship or so it seems. The moment of epiphany comes later when he is asked  what is it about porn that you find it better than actual sex?

I lose myself, he said. With porn I forget about myself, after which comes the reply  Well maybe it is that way because for you sex has been a one sided affair all this time. Why is this a striking moment?

Because for once porn is not the chief reason for all of humanitys perils, instead it is a mirror of our state of affairs, the deeper problems we leave unaddressed. And yes eventually understand that porn was not the only reason his girlfriend broke up with him but she being a control freak.

Perhaps we should give porn a proper chance or at least a fair neutral spot in public debate, away from the subjectivity of morals. At the very least we know that banning is the stupidest way to address the concerns. It is like choosing an elephant in a china room.

Porn ban in India did nothing to prevent Indians watching porn, because unlike China, India doesnt have the underlying infrastructure, a robust censorship system in place, heck we cant even make our Aadhar system work. But it surely made for headlines all over the country and introduced porn to those who might have never heard of it.

Are there such a man in the first place? The self-righteous mantra of Jon Martello rings in my mind straight away  there is no man who doesnt watch porn  everyday. Also heard in circles of IMbesharam offices, two pornstars are coming to India to find a suitable husband. Well if this is not the height of irony or irony of heights, then what else it could be. Nevertheless, I have to run to welcome these stars and give them a taste of Indian hospitality.

*Disclaimer: The article has been contributed by Blaze Arizanov, Director of Marketing, Imbesharam.com. The opinions expressed in the article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Deccan Chronicle and Deccan Chronicle does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
Finland's stark but beautiful landscape might have something to do with the country's top score in the happiness index. (Photo: AFP)

When the United Nations crowned Finland the world's happiest nation last month for the second year running, there were still quite a few eyebrows raised. How could this Nordic country, better known for its harsh weather and high suicide rate, be the world's happiest?

Although international comparisons are imperfect due to holes in the data, in 1990 official statistics did indeed indicate that Finland's suicide rate was the second highest in the world, behind Hungary. But Professor Timo Partonen at Finland's National Institute for Health and Welfare, warns against the temptation to blame the problem on Finland's dark, cold climate, or its bleak, concrete, post-war towns.

"If you are depressed in any place in the world, you bear a similar risk of suicide," Partonen told AFP. "I think that the social connections and how willing you are to seek help and receive help are the most important things here."

Suicides in Finland have now fallen to less than half of 1990 levels. That is thanks largely to a decade-long public health drive to improve treatment and support for those at risk, as well as to make media reporting of the issue more responsible. These days it is also much more socially acceptable for Finns, especially men, to open up about their feelings, says Partonen.

"Now it's easier to talk about it if you are depressed for example, and it's easier to get treated and have adequate treatment as well." According to the World Health Organization, Finland's suicide rate is now 22nd highest in the world, lower than the US and one spot higher than Australia. Even today however, many Finns still describe themselves as taciturn and prone to melancholy and admit to eyeing public displays of joyfulness with suspicion.

Finland's residents enjoy a high quality of life, security and public services, with rates of inequality and poverty among the lowest of all OECD countries. But as the country votes in this weekend's general election, the issue of how to continue funding Finland's cherished welfare state in future appears to be on many voters' minds.

In an EU survey last year, 86 per cent of Finns said they were satisfied with their work-life balance, against an EU average of 78 per cent. That leaves more time for a favourite pursuit of many Finns, going outdoors to enjoy the country's vast forests and thousands of lakes.

"You forget all your daily things that maybe are going on inside your head and you can just breathe deeply and listen to nature," said Petri Honkala, a physiotherapist of his daily walks and runs in the forest by his house. Since Finland's success in the UN's world happiness rankings, which compared various social and economic measures in 156 countries, Honkala and seven other Finns have been employed by the country's tourist board as "happiness guides" for foreign visitors.

Later this year he will host guests at his home to share the secrets to Nordic well-being and a trip to his favourite nearby forest spots will be top of the agenda. "I have been in my own little business all the time, I haven't been employed, so I haven't had any vacation for example, I don't go to the Canary Islands," Honkala said, as he barbecued sausages over a bonfire in a small forest clearing. "But that's not the important thing to me, I'd rather come over here."
It said by April 2015, the total amount owed by Reliance to the French authorities in taxes was at least 151 million euros. (Image: File)

New Delhi: France waived taxes worth 143.7 million euros to a French-registered telecom subsidiary of Anil Ambani's Reliance Communications in 2015, months after India's announcement of buying 36 Rafale jets, French newspaper Le Monde reported today.

Reliance Communications rejected any wrongdoing and said the tax dispute was settled under a legal framework that is available to all companies operating in France.

The French newspaper said the French tax authorities accepted 7.3 million euros from Reliance Flag Atlantic France as a settlement against an original demand of 151 million euros. Reliance Flag owns a terrestrial cable network and other telecom infrastructure in France.

Reacting to the report, the Defence Ministry said any connections drawn between the tax issue and the Rafale matter is totally inaccurate, tendentious and is a mischievous attempt to disinform.

"We have seen reports drawing conjectural connection between tax exemption to a private company and procurement of Rafale fighter jets by government of India. Neither the period of the tax concession nor the subject matter of the concession relate even remotely to the Rafale procurement concluded during the tenure of the present government," the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced India would buy a batch of 36 Rafale jets after talks with the then French President Francois Hollande on April 10, 2015 in Paris. The final deal was sealed on September 23, 2016.

The Congress has been alleging massive irregularities in the deal, saying the government was procuring each aircraft at a cost of over Rs. 1,670 crore as against Rs. 526 crore finalised by the UPA government when it was negotiating the deal.

The Congress has also been targeting the government over selection of Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Defence as an offset partner for Dassault Aviation, the manufacturer of Rafale. The government has rejected the allegations.

The French newspaper said the company was investigated by French tax authorities and found liable to pay 60 million euros in taxes for the period 2007 to 2010.

However, Reliance offered to pay 7.6 million euros only as a settlement, but the French tax authorities refused to accept the amount. The authorities conducted another probe for the period 2010 to 2012 and told the company to pay an additional 91 million euros in taxes, the report said.

It said by April 2015, the total amount owed by Reliance to the French authorities in taxes was at least 151 million euros.

In October, six months after PM Modi announced the Rafale deal in Paris, the French authorities accepted 7.3 million euros from Reliance as a settlement as against the original demand of 151 million euros.

A spokesperson of Reliance Communications said the tax demands were "completely unsustainable and illegal" and that the company denied any favouritism or gain from the settlement.

"During the period under consideration by the French tax authorities - 2008-2012 i.e. nearly 10 years ago, Flag France had an operating loss of Rs. 20 crore (Euro 2.7 million). French tax authorities had raised a tax demand of over Rs. 1,100 crore for the same period," the official said.

"As per the French tax settlement process as per law, a mutual settlement agreement was signed to pay Rs. 56 crore as a final settlement," he said.
The Dalai Lama told his followers on Friday to 'feel at ease' as he was discharged from a New Delhi hospital three days after being admitted with a chest infection. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: The Dalai Lama told his followers on Friday to "feel at ease" as he was discharged from a New Delhi hospital three days after being admitted with a chest infection.

"I received the necessary medical treatments and now feel kind of normal," the 83-year-old told reporters in a video posted on his official Twitter account as he left the medical facility on Friday morning.

HHDL speaks to members of the Tibetan press on his release from the hospital in New Delhi, India on April 12, 2019. (Video courtesy VOA Tibetan Service) pic.twitter.com/DqFKCgEY1n  Dalai Lama (@DalaiLama) April 12, 2019

"I have recovered very well. So, everyone, please feel at ease! I wish to thank everyone for your sincere concern and prayers for me," he said in the video shot by Voice of America's Tibetan language service, according to accompanying subtitles of his remarks in the clip.

The Tibetan spiritual leader said the cause of his illness had been a "kind of flu... which persisted for a while. After a thorough check-up -- X-rays and other diagnosis -- it was found that there was some lung (infection)."

The Buddhist monk, global celebrity and thorn in China's side was admitted to the Max hospital in Delhi on Tuesday.

His personal spokesman Tenzin Taklha told AFP that the Dalai Lama would now spend "several days of rest" in Delhi before returning to Dharamsala, the northern Indian hill station where he has lived in exile for six decades.

In 1959, at the age of 23, he fled the Tibetan capital Lhasa and across the frozen Himalayan border, disguised as a soldier, as Chinese troops poured into the region to crush an uprising.

In India, he set up a government-in-exile and launched a campaign to reclaim Tibet that gradually evolved into an appeal for greater autonomy -- the so-called "middle way" approach.

Simple monk

The self-described "simple Buddhist monk" has spent decades crisscrossing the globe mixing with monarchs, politicians and Hollywood actors pressing his case.

His status as a global symbol of peace whose message transcends faith has earned comparisons to visionaries like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King.

But he has also drawn the fury of an increasingly assertive China, branding him a "wolf in a monk's robe" and accusing him of trying to split the nation.

Although still a hugely popular speaker, he has cut back on his global engagements and has not met a world leader since 2016 -- while governments have been wary of extending invitations to him for fear of angering Beijing.

His admission to the hospital this week, which attracted widespread media interest and a flood of wishes of goodwill on social media, also served as a reminder that the question of his succession is far from clear.

The Dalai Lama has sought to pre-empt any attempt by Beijing -- which has effectively wiped out organised opposition to its rule in Tibet -- to name his reincarnated successor, even announcing in 2011 that he may be the last in the lineage.

The Tibetan spiritual leader enjoys wide support across the partisan divide in Washington, where a senator raised the issue of his succession at a hearing Tuesday.

Senator Cory Gardner, the Republican who heads the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on Asia, said the United States should follow the Dalai Lama's lead on how to choose his successor.

"Let me be very clear -- the United States Congress will never recognise a Dalai Lama that is selected by the Chinese," Gardner said.
New Delhi: The Rafale jet deal was back in the eye of a political storm on Saturday as a French newspaper gave fresh anti-government ammunition to Opposition parties by hinting that Anil Ambanis French firm got a tax waiver of over Rs 1,000 crore within six months of Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing a government to government deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets in Paris.

As Opposition parties renewed their attack on the BJP-led NDA government over the Rafale deal controversy, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was acting as a middleman for his crony businessman friend, Mr Ambanis firm denied any wrongdoing.

Both the Indian and French governments claimed that there was no political interference or link between the firms tax waiver and the fighter jet deal.

Le Monde reported that French tax authorities waived taxes worth 143.7 million euros (Rs 1,044 crore) to a French-registered telecom subsidiary of Mr Ambanis Reliance Communications, Reliance Flag Atlantic France, in 2015.

The newspaper said the French tax authorities accepted 7.3 million euros (Rs 56 crore) from Reliance Flag, which owns telecom infrastructure in France, as a settlement against an original demand of 151 million euros (Rs 1,100 crore).

Reacting to the report, the defence ministry on Saturday said any connections drawn between the tax issue and the Rafale matter is totally inaccurate, tendentious and is a mischievous attempt to disinform.
New Delhi: Yesteryears Dream girl and BJPs Mathura MP Hema Malini on Saturday reacted strongly to party colleague and Union minister Maneka Gandhis alleged threat to the Muslims voters during a campaign rally. Ms Malini, who has been renominated by the party from Mathura, said that said even if the people in the minority community do not support the BJP, the party leaders still have to help everybody.

The Election Commission has already issued a showcause notice to Ms Gandhi.

Senior BJP leader Maneka Gandhi had created a controversy on Friday after a video clipping showed her warning the Muslim community that if they do not vote for her, she will not help them in future. The video clip that went viral on the social media, showed the minister telling voters that it is all about give and take.

This is important. I am winning. I am winning because of the love and support of people. But if my victory is without Muslims, I wont feel that good. Dil khatta ho jayega (Things will become sour), Ms Gandhi, the BJP lawmaker from Pilbhit, said. Then when a Muslim comes to me for work, I think let it be, how does it matter. Its all give and take, isnt it? she added. The BJP minister was served a show-cause notice by the District Magistrate of Sultanpur over her remarks on Friday.

After the video clip created a political storm, Ms Gandhi later clarified that her words had been twisted. I love Muslims and I had myself called a meeting of the BJPs minority cell. I only meant to say that I am winning the elections and their participation would be like daal pe chaunk (garnishing for a dish), said the WCD minister.

Hema Malini on Saturday responded to Ms Gandhis speech and said, On triple talaq issue, many minority community women support us but even if they do not, you have to help everybody. It doesnot matter who voted for us and who did not, Ms Malini was quoted as saying by a news agency.

Hema Malini, seeking a re-election from Mathura, added that she was confident of a win in the national elections. I am very confident of a win because I have done good work. My government has done good work, so I am sure people will support us. Things are changing and people want development, caste politics now doesnt work, she said.
The dumped statue of Dr B.R. Ambedkar at the Jawaharnagar dumping yard by the GHMC authorities.

Hyderabad: A day ahead of the birth anniversary celebrations of Dr B.R. Ambedkar, GHMC workers removed a statue of the leader that was put up at Punjagutta without permission and allegedly dumped it at the Jawaharnagar dump yard using a lorry that transports trash. The statue broke along the way.

Incidentally, the statue was to be installed adjacent to that of late Chief Minister Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, which also does not have permission.

It all started a month ago, according to sources in the corporation. Dalit organisations had applied for permission to instal the Dr Ambedkar statue near Panjagutta circle, opposite the traffic police station and a popular mall in the city. It was to be unveiled on Ambedkar Jayanti on Sunday.

The organisation started installing the statue at about 2 am on Saturday. About at 4 am, the police intervened and informed GHMC officials that a statue was being installed by Dalit organisations without obtaining permission from the city level committee.

The corporation staff came to the spot, took away the statue and shifted it to Bhaskar Reddy Stadium in Yousufguda. Since the stadium was designated to store EVMs, the staff shifted the statue to a nearby garbage transfer station.

At about 6.30 am. the sanitation staff placed the statue along with garbage in a tipper to carry it to the Jawaharnagar dumpyard, sources said.

Statue broke while unloading

At about 7.15 am, when the tipper was on its way to the dump yard, a group of 40 persons stopped the vehicle at Kesara and demanded that the staff unload the statue.

While unloading, the workers dropped the statue which broke into several pieces. The pieces of the statue was carried in a different vehicle and dumped at the dump yard.

Asked about the incident, civic body officials came with a different version. A senior corporation official on condition of anonymity said that after removing the statue from the Punjagutta circle, the staff wrapped it with white cloth and kept it at the Bhaskar Reddy Stadium in Yousufguda to safeguard it.

However, visuals of the statue at the stadium do not show any cloth cover.

He acknowledged that the statue was removed in a garbage-carrying vehicle which was monitored till 6.30 am. He said the broken statue was washed with water and milk at Keesara before being wrapped in white cloth. He said that broken statue was handed over to the Jawaharnagar police.

Asked why the Rajasekhar Reddy statue was not removed though it also did not have permission, the official said it would be removed and the corporation would also identify and remove statues that do not have permission.

GHMC commissioner M. Dana Kishore called it an unfortunate incident and said an internal probe would be conducted by an IAS officer and action initiated against those found guilty. Mr Kishore said he would also seek the help of police to conduct the inquiry.
Madurai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday sought to corner the Congress on its showpiece poll promise of Nyay (justice) and sought to know who would deliver justice for the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots, violence against Dalits and the Bhopal gas tragedy that happened during its regime.

At an election rally in Andipatti, PM Modi asserted that as India's Chowkidar, he would remain committed to the security and progress of the country, whereas the Congress-led alliance is an opportunistic team comprising enemies turned allies.

Some days back, the DMK supremo projected the naamdar (Gandhi-dynast) as the next Prime Minister but none in their mahagathbandhan was willing to back his choice and that's because everyone is in the queue for the post, everyone dreams of becoming the PM, said Modi.

Pointing to the Congress war-cry that their government would render justice to the people, he said, Now they are saying Ab Hoga Nyay (justice will be done now). Congress and dishonesty are best friends, but sometimes they utter truth even by mistake. Now they say justice must be done for the people and thereby admit that for 60 years (that Congress ruled) they had delivered injustice to the people. 

I want to ask the Congress party who will do nyay to the victims of the 1984 Sikh riots? Who will do nyay to all the victims of anti Dalit (violence), who will do nyay to the government of great MG Ramachandran ji, which was dismissed by the Congress just because one family did not like those leaders, who will do nyay to the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy that remains as one of the worst environmental disasters in India? asked PM Modi.

If Rahul Gandhi during his TN poll tour a day earlier invoked Tamil pride and Dravidian legacy to target BJPs Hindutva line, Modi now countered it by pointing to the states spiritualism while remembering fondly the late AIADMK leaders M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa and promising to protect the welfare of Sri Lankan Tamils. "I pay homage to the great MGR and Jayalalithaa ji. India is proud of these two iconic leaders who lived and worked for the poor. Their social welfare schemes ensured lakhs of people are free from poverty."



BJP stood with people on the Lord Ayyappa issue, he said and hailed the states spiritual ethos by citing the famous hill shrine of Lord Shiva (Sundaramahalinga Swamy Temple) on Sathuragiri hills in the region.

"Remember that for making a prosperous Tamil Nadu, this game of the DMK and Congress must end. We must continue working for the prosperity of our Sri Lankan Tamil brothers and we must end the dynasty rule of corrupt families," he told the crowd. The AIADMK has been accusing the DMK-Congress combine for not taking steps to halt the killings of Tamil civilians during the Sri Lankan civil war in 2009 while seeking to champion their cause and Modis remarks resonated it. Without naming anyone, the Prime Minister said the nation was witness to "father becomes Finance Minister and son loots the country," (during the UPA and seen as a reference to a senior leader from Tamil Nadu).

"Whenever they are in government they always loot, the Madhya Pradesh government has become their ATM, they are diverting money meant for poor and children for use in their election, this has become known as the Tughlaq Road scam. I am sure you all know which big Congress leader stays on Tughlaq Road in New Delhi", the PM said. But he, as nations Chowkidar, would ensure all-round progress and secure living for the people. "None can separate the Chowkidar from the people he has come to serve", he said.
As per ECI guidelines, unused EVMs will be transported and stored, under armed guard, at the AMC godown located in Kandlakoya, Medchal mandal, Medchal-Malkajgiri district, which has been classified as a State Central Warehouse.

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Electoral Officer Rajat Kumar on Saturday stated that the electronic voting machines (EVMs) across the state will be classified into four categories and stored in strongrooms at designated locations in every parliamentary constituency until May 23, the counting day.

Explaining the classification being made to provide round-the-clock security based on the nature of the EVMs, Mr Kumar said, Strongrooms will have a double-locking system. One key will be with the district election officer (DEO) and the second with the returning officer. An electronic management software will be used to monitor and record the transport of EVMs and VVPATs.

He said waterproof containerised trucks or trucks having doors with locking systems that can be sealed will be used to transport the EVMs and VVPATs. All these trucks will be equipped with GPS tracking systems.

Mr Kumar said political parties will be informed in advance about the opening, stocking, and sealing of warehouses while shifting the EVMs and VVPATs. He said the DEO will record videos of the process of transfer and receipt of the equipment.

Route maps will be shared with the DEO, superintendent of police and commissioner of police. Sufficient police escort will be provided to the trucks en route. An adequate number of trucks will be engaged to ensure the dispatch of the entire allocation of machinery on the day the request is filed, he said.

The State Election Commission has classified the EVMs into four categories  A, B, C, and D. Category A includes EVMs which contain the votes polled at polling stations. These will be stored in the strongroom after following the due procedure. Category B has EVMs which might have become defective after recording a certain number of votes. They will be stored separately, but in the same strongroom as the Category-A EVMs.

Category C include unpolled EVMs  the ones that became defective before the commencement of voting and were consequently replaced. They will be kept in a separate room and returned to the manufacturer as per protocol. Category D includes unused EVMs which will be kept in the sectoral, zonal, and area-magistrate reserves, and will be stored in a separate room.

As per ECI guidelines, unused EVMs will be transported and stored, under armed guard, at the AMC godown located in Kandlakoya, Medchal mandal, Medchal-Malkajgiri district, which has been classified as a State Central Warehouse. The transport and storage of EVMs will be conducted after intimation to political parties. Tehsildars and deputy tehsildars will be responsible for their safe transport. Joint collectors or revenue divisional officers will be responsible for the receipt of EVMs from other districts.

The State Central Warehouse will be managed by district election officers sending the unused EVMs and the DEO of Medchal-Malkajgiri district.For the remaining three categories, strongrooms containing the EVMs will be guarded round the clock by a three-tier perimeter comprising the state armed police and Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel. The first tier, which is the innermost perimeter, will be manned round the clock by a section of the CAPF. The second tier will be manned by a section of the state armed police force. The third tier, the outermost perimeter, will be guarded by a section of the district executive force.

Strongrooms will have a double-lock system. One key will be kept with the DEO and the second key will be kept with the returning officer concerned. The minimum strength of security at each strongroom containing the polled EVMs will be one platoon.

Two cordons of security will be maintained round the clock at the strongrooms containing polled EVMs with the inner cordon manned by the CAPF and the outer cordon manned by the state armed police force. All strongrooms will be guarded by the CAPF round the clock. No person will be allowed to enter the inner perimeter of security at strongrooms without adhering to the protocol.

Entry in the log book will be maintained by the CAPF recording the date, time, duration, purpose, name, and designation of the person, such as the observer, DEO, SP, and candidates from political parties and their agents, who have crossed the second security perimeter.

No vehicle, including that of officials or ministers or any other political functionary, will be allowed inside the secured campus where the EVMs are stored. District Collec-tors and Superinten-dents of Police will be responsible for the security at strongrooms within the districts and the meticulous implementation of the protocol.
Mumbai: The Jamaica Supreme Court has followed Justice D.Y. Chandrachuds dissenting opinion in Aadhaar case to declare that its National Identification and Registration Act is unconstitutional and of no legal effect.

The government of Jamaica had developed a National Identification System (NIDS) to provide a comprehensive and secure structure to enable the capture and storage of personal identity information for citizens and persons ordinarily resident in Jamaica.

National Identification and Registration Act was enacted in 2017, though not yet brought in force.

Julian Jay Robinson, a Member of Parliament and General Secretary of the Peoples National Party which forms the Opposition in the Jamaican Parliament had approached the Supreme Court challenging the Act.

The court held the Act unconstitutional, thereby striking down NIDS.

From reading the judgments in this case Dr Chandrachud, in my respectful view, demonstrated a greater sensitivity to the issues of privacy and freedom that is not as evident in the judgments of the majority or the other judges who delivered concurring judgments. His lordship had a clear-eyed view of the dangers of a state or anyone having control over ones personal information and generally I preferred his approach to the issue over that of the other judges, said Jamaica Chief Justice Sykes.
According to the survey, 44 per cent of respondents said that agricultural subsidy for seeds and fertilisers mattered most. Higher price for agricultural products was also an issue for rural voters where they believe that the governments work is not satisfactory in these areas.

Ahmedabad: Better employment opportunity, drinking water and better healthcare services top the list of voters priorities in Gujarat, a survey done by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) shows.

ADR conducted a survey across 543 Lok Sabha constituencies in the country and polled 2,73,487 for their opinions. The report pertaining to Gujarat covered approximately 13,000 respondents across the 26 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state.

In response to a question on which issue mattered most, 42.68 per cent said better employment. Another 37.12 per cent gave priority to drinking water and 30.23 per cent to better healthcare. Urban and rural voters have different priorities. In rural Gujarat, 46 per cent voters said that availability of water for agriculture is their top priority and 45 per cent said that they need agricultural loans.

According to the survey, 44 per cent of respondents said that agricultural subsidy for seeds and fertilisers mattered most. Higher price for agricultural products was also an issue for rural voters where they believe that the governments work is not satisfactory in these areas.

While for urban voters, the top most priorities were traffic congestion (49%), noise pollution (47%) and better employment opportunities (45%). Urban voters feel that the government has performed poorly in healthcare and drinking water services.

The survey also analysed voting behaviour patterns to identify the factors that influence voting. According to the report, 42 per cent voters said that the prime ministerial candidate was the most significant factor for them while the candidates party and the candidate come after that in second and third place.

Interestingly, for 20 per cent voters, distribution of cash and, in a dry state, liquor, was an important factor. Caste and religion were also a factor in voting for 36 per cent voters. In spite of various awareness campaigns, only 42 per cent voters were aware that they could get a candidates criminal record information now.

However, while 98 per cent voters felt that candidates with criminal record shouldnt be in the parliament or assembly, 38 per cent felt that people wont mind voting for such candidates because otherwise they do good work!

The main observation from this survey is: why are political leaders and parties not giving importance to these issues? asked Pankti Jog who is associated with ADR and National Election Watch in Gujarat.
The defence ministry, however, termed as mischievous and inaccurate any attempt to draw a connection between the tax issue and the Rafale deal.

New Delhi: The Opposition parties on Saturday renewed their attack on the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre over the Rafale deal controversy, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was acting as a middleman for his crony businessman and that layers of corruption were being unravelled in the case.

The Congress-led Opposition got fresh ammunition on the controversial issue when a French daily claimed that Anil Ambanis company benefited from a French tax waiver in 2015 when India was negotiating the Rafale deal.

The Congress alleged that the tax concession for Mr Ambani was due to Modi kripa (blessings) while the Left parties said the Prime Ministers Office must own up to this.

The defence ministry, however, termed as mischievous and inaccurate any attempt to draw a connection between the tax issue and the Rafale deal.

The French daily said the French tax authorities accepted 7.3 million euros from Reliance Flag Atlantic France as a settlement as against original demand of 151 million euros. Reliance Flag owns a terrestrial cable network and other telecom infrastructure in France.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that the report exposed layers of crony capitalism and corruption. PM Modi is acting as middleman for Anil Ambani. How many other companies in France have got a tax benefit? Is this not a quid pro quo for the purchase of aircraft? It is clear only one watchman is the thief. Those that have Modis blessings can get anything. If Modiji is there, then it is possible.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury alleged that the Modi government misused public funds to pay an exorbitant price for Rafale fighter jets to benefit crony businessman Anil Ambani through offset deal and French tax benefit.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar claimed former defence minister Manohar Parrikar relinquished his post at the Centre and returned to Goa because he did not agree with the Rafale fighter jet deal.

CPI leader D. Raja accused Modi of aiding his corporate friends while leaving farmers and students high and dry.
Hyderabad: With AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu repeatedly referring to him as a co-accused with Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the states top bureaucrat, Mr L.V. Subrahmanyam, is mulling filing a defamation case against him to stop him from further maligning his image.

He is considering it, an official said.

Mr Naidu, who was in New Delhi on Saturday, submitted a petition to the Election Commission in which he once again made the remarks. In his petition, Mr Naidu said: In a deeply disturbing development, the Chief Secretary of the state (A.C. Punetha) was not only unceremoniously removed, but his replacement was done without even consulting the state government. The Election Commission has posted an officer, who is a co-accused in one of the criminal cases against the YSR Congress party president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy

Yesterday at the press conference the Chief Minister made the remark (of Mr Subrahmanyam being the co-accused) for the first time. Today, he has given it in writing to the Election Commission. Now, we have proof, an IAS officer said, adding that politicians should keep bureaucrats away from their political fights.

Targeting Subrahmanyam, who has an impeccable track record, is unwarranted, unnecessary and uncalled for, the bureaucrat said adding that many in their fraternity in Telangana had the same advice for him.

Another official said though Mr Naidu was fully aware that no evidence of any wrongdoing was found against Mr Subrahmanyam, who he said always plays with a straight bat'', the Chief Minister was still levelling the allegations to target Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy and the EC.

Politicians may not be aware but the ECI does a lot of home work before appointing officers to key posts during elections, fumed another IAS official.
Vijayawada: After days of criticising the poll panel, TD supremo and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu met Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora in Delhi on Saturday and expressed his deep dissatisfaction over the manner in which the elections were conducted in Andhra Pradesh and submitted an 18-page letter highlighting his concerns especially over EVMs, violence and the transfer of officials. He alleged systemic failures and partisan attitude of the Election Commission of India in Andhra Pradesh elections in the letter.

He alleged that a large number of EVMs malfunctioned during polling and inadequate security led to violent incidents. He accused the Election Commission of bias and claimed that police and administration officers were removed arbitrarily, creating policy paralysis in the administration.

He demanded that the EC return to the ballot paper system to preserve the sanctity of the electoral process as there was a possibility of tampering with EVMs.

Mr Naidu was of the opinion that the EVMs were too complicated even for educated voters. Further, voting through EVMs does not provide foolproof evidence to the voter that his vote has gone to the candidate of his choice.

Naidu says 1.75 per cent of EVMs replaced

I am writing this letter with great anguish. The manner in which the Election Commission of India, a constitutional body mandated to superintend, direct, and control the process of elections, miserably failed to live up to the spirit of the constitutional duty, is not only disturbing but also dangerous to the future of democracy in the country, the Chief Minister wrote.

This technical limitation, coupled with the failure of hundreds of EVMs during the course of polling and their frequent replacement by different technicians, fills the minds of contesting candidates and voters with suspicion and the possibility of foul play," he added.

"The contesting candidate is not sure whether the votes cast in his favour are getting recorded as per the true intention and choice of the voter or not. Unless and until this confidence is infused in the voters and the contesting candidates, democracy has no meaning, Mr Naidu said. We demand the Election Commission of India revert to the paper ballot system immediately in order to preserve the sanctity of the electoral process and protect the spirit of democracy," he said.

Mr Naidu raised 14 broad questions involving the elections and the unilateral decision making of the EC.

Mr Naidu claimed that the transfer of the DG (Intelligence), who looks after the security of the Chief Minister, compromised his safety. He alleged that the EC acted according to the whims and fancies of the YSR Congress Partys candidates while complaints by his TD were ignored. He claimed the SP of Prakasam district was transferred soon after the Oppositions nominee made a threatening statement against the police officer.

The Chief Secretary was not only unceremoniously removed, but his replacement was done without even consulting the state government, which goes against established conventions and procedures of democratic governance, the memorandum quoted Mr Naidu as saying.

On the EVMs malfunctioning, Mr Naidu was told by the EC that ground data showed that 1.75 per cent of EVMs were replaced. He was also told that the voter turnout was impressive.

The TD requested the poll body to countermand polls at 618 polling stations where voting could not start even many hours after the scheduled commencement time. Inadequate security arrangement at polling booths emboldened criminal elements that resulted in many law and order incidents, costing one man his life. Many polling stations were manned by just a home guard or a volunteer, Mr Naidu claimed.
New Delhi: Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the biggest victim of political intolerance. The remarks came amid statements issued by certain groups of people, including artistes, appealing to the voters to oust the BJP from power in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. The ruling party has also rallied artistes and intellectuals in its support.

Recalling that about five years ago also some so-called intellectuals had written to the US and the European Union against Mr Modi, the BJP leader said that some Congress leaders had gone to Pakistan and sought help from neighbouring country to remove Mr Modi.

Mr Naqvi said even after Modi led the BJP to power, some activists had written to the president, saying the Constitution was in danger and claiming that there was an atmosphere of intolerance in the country under the Modi government.

Despite these conspiracies, peoples faith in Modi has increased day by day. Despite this negative propaganda, Modi has carried forward the countrys progress and prosperity through his hard work and performance, he added.

The party also slammed SP's Azam Khan for his controversial Bajrang Ali remark. BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said, With his Bajrang Ali comment, he has insulted both Hinduism and Islam. The only suggestion I have for him is zuban sambhal ke (mind your language). Both Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam have been taught lessons for his comments in the past.
Thiruvananthapuram: Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed the LDF government for creating an atmosphere where people cannot speak of Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa.

He said so while addressing election rallies at Ramanathapuram in Theni in Tamil Nadu and later at Mangaluru and also in Bengaluru in Karnataka.

Modi alleged that people are being put behind bars if they utter the name of Ayyappa. He said that one of the BJP candidates were put behind bars for that and asked if such behaviour is acceptable in a democracy or not.

While addressing the Theni rally, he said the communists and the Muslim League are playing a dangerous game on Sabarimala, and they are initiating brute force to strike at the root of faith and aspiration.

As long as there is BJP, none can destroy our faith and culture, he said.

Punish Congress, Modi tells voters in Bluru

Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the Congress was dreaming about coming to power at the Centre and asked voters to punish it and its allies in such a way they would not be able to save even their deposits.

At a massive rally here, Modi hit out at the Congress on the Jammu and Kashmir and national security issues, taking it on its election promise to withdraw the Armed Forces Special Powers Act."...punish Congress and its allies in such a way so that they will not be able to even save their deposits," he said. Modi said while his government had promoted "ease of doing business" in 60 months of its rule, the Congress had encouraged ease of loot in its 60 years of administration.

The PM also took exception to the political row created by the ruling Congress-JDS alliance over the recent Income Tax raids on several JDS men across the state.

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The complaint is based on the information provided by the SIT led by inspector-general of police Stephen Raveendra to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

Hyderabad: The UIDAI on Saturday filed a police complaint against IT Grids (India) Private Limited, accusing it of the theft of Aadhaar details of 7,82,21,397 (7.8 crore) card holders in Telangana state and Andhra Pradesh for the purpose of the Seva Mitra app belonging to the Telugu Desam.

The company faces complaints with regard to the theft of voter data in Andhra Pradesh. The state government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the complaints.

The complaint is based on the information provided by the SIT led by inspector-general of police Stephen Raveendra to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

Sources said the examination conducted by TS Forensic Science Laboratories (TSFSL) on the data recovered by TS police from the offices of IT Grids showed the extent of misuse of personal information.

What surprised the scientists at the TSFSL was that the structure of the database maintained by IT Grids was an exact copy of the one maintained by the UIDAI. This raised suspicion in the SIT which informed the UIDAI which led to Saturdays police complainant.

Citing one instance, it was stated that the database was structured as follows:

Muddanalaligari Jayamohan Reddy XXXX XXXX3340),

Akkala Maddileti Reddy xxxx xxxx8414,

Akula Ravi Kumar xxxx xxxx7063,

Abdas Venkata Pratap xxxx xxxx 8041.

These records were found in the hard disk that was in the possession of IT Grids, When the TSFSL examined the records, it was found that the company had the name, gender, age, date of birth, district, state, pin code, and HID_NUM (Aadhaar numbers) of 7 crore card holders. The possession of these details raised a strong suspicion that the data could have been illegally obtained either from the Central Identities Data Repository (CIDR) or one of the State Repository Data Hubs aligned to CIDR, said UIDAI deputy director T. Bhavani.

The UIDAI in its complaint told the Madhapur police that the SIT officials informed it that Lokeshwara Reddy, director of IT Grids, illegally accessed and fraudulently acquired sensitive identity information such as Aadhaar number, voter identity details, beneficiary details of various government schemes and data related to schemes of the AP government. This data was misused by IT Grids through the Seva Mitra app, UIDAI said. Following this the Madhapur Police registered a case under Sections 37, 38 (a), 38 (b), 38 (g) , 40, 42 , 44 of Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies Benefits and Services) Act 2016. The case has been transferred to the SIT.

Both Telangana, AP had formed separate SITs

The first case was registered on March 2, following a complaint filed by data analyst T. Lokeswara Reddy in Hyderabad, and IT Grids was raided. The next day, the AP police tried to arrest Lokeswara Reddy from his house in the city and he called the TS police.

Both the TS police and the AP police formed separate Special Investigation Teams.

The TS SIT was to probe the alleged theft of voter data. Coincidentally, the Telugu Desam website was taken down on March 7 and was back a few days later.

Investigations by the TS SIT revealed that the Seva Mitra app was suspected to be using stolen voter information along Aadhaar data of cardholders of TS and AP for voter profiling.

The app was using data unauthorisedly targeted at the deletion of voters, it was alleged.

During the course of the investigation, searches were carried out at the IT Grids office in Hyderabad from where the SIT seized hard disks and other digital evidence which were sent to TS Forensic Science Laboratory for examination.

The TSFSL in its primary report categorically stated that seized hard disk contained a database of a number of records pertaining to Aadhaar numbers in a particular structural database.

It was this report that led to the SIT to conclude that the company was in possession of Aadhaar details of seven crore voters in Telangana state and Andhra Pradesh.
Thiruvananthapuram: The husband of the murdered Latvian woman has alleged loopholes in the investigation as the Thiruvananthapuram district court-I postponed the hearing of the case from Thursday to June 11.

It may be recalled that Latvian tourist Liga Skromane, 33, who went missing from an ayurveda resort at Kovalam on March 14 last year, was found dead in an isolated mangroves forest on the banks of Karamana river on April 20.

The police arrested two men, Umesh and Udayan, who had approached the woman pretending to be tourist guides and taken her to the mangrove forest. They offered her drugs and then raped her before strangling her to death. The duo fled the scene after hanging her from a tree to make it look like a suicide.

Liga who lived in Ireland with her partner Andrew Jordan had come to Kerala with her sister to get ayurvedic treatment for depression.

Jordan has raised nine questions about the whole incident and the consequent police investigations. While the witnesses claimed that they had seen the woman in the company of four persons before she went missing, only two accused had been included in the list.

Jordan told this paper that the Ireland embassy did not extend much help. "I approached the embassy as I am an Irish citizen. They did not want to get involved as my wife was not an Irish national. The Latvian embassy also kept off it as Latvia did not want to get into diplomatic trouble, he said.

The Kerala police and the tourism department wanted to avoid publicity for the incident to protect the tourism revenue. The police were reluctant to give him details of the case.

He felt that the initial prime suspect was dropped from the list due to political interests.

It was mysterious that Liga's body did not show signs of advanced decomposition though it was said that she was murdered at Panathura on March 14 and her body had remained in the mangrove forest for over 40 days. In fact, the corpse was relatively intact with the presence of maggots on the organs and flesh. The damage on the gnawed-off foot was quite fresh, said Jordan

When the body was discovered, she was wearing a sweatshirt which didn't belong to her. Where did it come from? Why would she need it if she had indeed been killed in the early evening of March 14 when the temperature didn't drop below 39 degrees Celsius, he said.

It was said that one of the accused had brought it from his house where he reportedly had a large collection of garments belonging to various female tourists. This is a strangely courteous gesture to someone he had just raped, he said.

"Why were the ten teeth missing from her jaw bone not recovered from the scene of the crime? The preliminary autopsy report states that they 'fell out' during post-mortem. We have still not been furnished with the final post-mortem report," Jordan said.

The highly dubious 'confession' states that she was lured into the forest to smoke cannabis. But she never had used any drugs, especially psychoactive drugs, Jordan said.

The confession also says she spent several hours with the accused which is difficult to believe. She did not want to keep her friends and family in suspense about her whereabouts even at the height of her mental distress, he said.

"Why was the body cremated in a hurry, only days after the post-mortem was carried out? How is it that the accused were released on bail? They both have long histories of sexual assault on minors and should have been locked up a long time ago," he said.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Friday accused BJP chief Amit Shah of shaking the country's foundations with his recent controversial statements, and asked him to apologise to the people. (Photo: File)

Srinagar: PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Friday accused BJP chief Amit Shah of shaking the country's foundations with his recent controversial statements, and asked him to apologise to the people.

She was reportedly referring to Shah's speech at Raiganj in West Bengal on Thursday. Calling illegal migrants from Bangladesh "termites", the BJP president had said that his party would throw them out after coming to power at the Centre for a second consecutive term.

"It is our commitment to bring in NRC across the country to chuck out each and every infiltrator. For us national security is supreme. We would ensure that each and every Hindu and Buddhist refugee gets citizenship of this country," Shah said.

Talking to reporters at Kangan in central Kashmir's Ganderbal district, Mehbooba said, "It is not only for Hindus, Sikhs or Muslims, the country is for everyone. I think by such statements, they are trying to shake the foundations of the country. They have become a danger for the country. Such statements are an attack on the country's secularism," she said.

The former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir said Shah should apologise as the foundation of the country has been laid on secularism. "The language used by Amit Shah and his colleagues for garnering votes is wrong. J-K had decided to join India keeping in mind its secular culture. I think Amit Shah should apologise to people of this country because the foundation of this country has been laid on secularism," she said.

The PDP leader also termed as "wrong" the reported stopping of nomad population from transporting their cattle till elections were over. I have spoken to J-K Governor (S P Malik) and I hope he will take action and they will be allowed," she said.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin in October, defying US warnings of sanctions on countries buying Russian military equipment. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: India is hopeful it will avoid US sanctions over its purchase of Russia's S-400 missile system, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was quoted by news agency AFP.

New Delhi has been "heard and understood" by the US administration over its accord to buy the S-400 missile defence system for USD 5.2 billion, the minister said in an interview to news agency AFP this week.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin in October, defying US warnings of sanctions on countries buying Russian military equipment. The sanctions were part of measures to punish Moscow for its actions in Ukraine in 2014.

President Donald Trump's administration imposed sanctions on China's military last year over Beijing's purchase of the S-400 and other military hardware.

It has also warned NATO member Turkey of sanctions for buying the S-400, and has suspended Turkey's participation in a US jet programme.

Sitharaman said that Washington has taken on board that India, bordering both Pakistan and China, needed arms from Russia, and others, to remain a "strong partner".

Negotiations with Moscow, a longstanding supplier to India's military, on the S-400 began before the US sanctions were introduced, she said.

"In the case of S-400 we have explained ourselves well... That has been heard and understood," Ms Sitharaman said. "They have appreciated the point of view put forward."

Asked if she was confident that India would avoid sanctions, Sitharaman said: "Yes I hope so."

Cold water

Before the deal was signed, Washington poured cold water on India's efforts to obtain a waiver from the US Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

Upgrades in arms systems "including the S-400 air and missile defence system" would be a particular focus for CAATSA, a US State Department spokesperson was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

But Randall Schriver, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, told a hearing in March that Washington wanted to "work through" the problem, calling India "an important emerging strategic partner."

He added however that India's contract with Russia has not been completed and that the US was "very keen to see (India) make an alternative choice (to the S-400) and we are working with them to provide potential alternatives."

China

Washington is in a tricky position with India. It wants to bolster ties with India to counter China's assertiveness, a trend which has also rattled New Delhi.

In 2017, India and China had a military standoff over a Himalayan plateau claimed by both Beijing and Bhutan, a close ally of India.

Since then China and India have sought to patch up relations, including at a meeting between PM Modi and President Xi Jinping at Wuhan, China in April 2018.

"Sometimes there are differences and you have a face-off," Sitharaman said. "But our attempt, particularly after the prime minister's Wuhan meet with the Chinese president, our attempt has been that these differences... cannot be allowed to become disputes."

But China has also made inroads in Sri Lanka and the Maldives  countries that India considers to be in its sphere of influence  through its One Belt, One Road Initiative (OBOR), also known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

India has particular concerns about a series of projects passing through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

China has also blocked efforts to put on a UN sanctions blacklist Masood Azhar, the leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed that claimed a suicide bombing in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir on February 14 that killed 40 paramilitary troops.

New Delhi has reportedly declined a Chinese invitation to take part in an OBOR forum in China later this month.

"Areas which are ours legally, which are under illegal occupation of Pakistan, are the ones which are becoming part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor," Sitharaman said.

"So having made that position very clear, we have not participated in anything to do with OBOR, and we stick to that position," she said.
Mumbai: Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan has attacked the Narendra Modi government, calling it the "most corrupt" in the history of India, and said its performance has been "abysmal and deplorable". He also accused the BJP-led dispensation of misusing the sedition law, and said the Congress wants to differentiate between the anti-national acts and opposition to the government.

Mr Chavan claimed there was fear among people now that if PM Modi, who has "dictatorial tendencies", continued to be in power, the Indian democracy would be in trouble.

The former Maharashtra chief minister said in 2014, PM Modi had promised a corruption-free government.

"In 2014, PM Modi emerged as the winner even before the campaign started. There were several corruption allegations against UPA-II, which people believed. Many of the allegations were fabricated. We could not effectively defend ourself. The Anna Hazare movement also created an atmosphere against us. Modi's corruption-free government promise was very important as many people voted him to power for that," Mr Chavan said.

"But, if you analyse his (track) record, it is abysmal and deplorable. Modi''s government is the most corrupt in the history of India," he alleged.

The former Union minister charged that Modi launched a surgical strike on Indian economy through demonetisation.

Mr Chavan said he expected the Congress-NCP to do better in this election as compared to the 2014 tally of two (Congress) and four (NCP) seats in the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra. "The mood of the nation has changed. The wave is against PM Modi. The opposition has sensed that the Modi government can be defeated. There is a genuine fear that if a man like Modi, with dictatorial tendencies, returns to power, there will be a question mark on the future of Indian

democracy," he added.

"We are happy with the ''tukde tukde'' label. Let''s not forget that it is the Congress party, which made ''tukde tukde'' of Pakistan," he said, responding to BJP charge that the party manifesto is written by the "tukde tukde gang".

The BJP has been using "tukde tukde" gang to refer to students accused of raising anti-India slogans in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in 2016 and has generalised the phrase to attack those it accuses of sympathising with Maoists and separatists.

Congress party''s record very clear, he said, adding that wars fought under the political leadership of the Congress have seen India decisively defeat Pakistan.

When asked about the promise of review of sedition law in the Congress manifesto, Chavan said the party makes it clear that it wants to differentiate between the act against the nation and opposing the government.

"There is a difference between anti-national acts of stealing defence secrets and selling it to Pakistan and saying demonetisation has been the most stupid decision of the Modi government," Mr Chavan said.

Mr Chavan said the Congress-led opposition has deliberately avoided a national alliance against the BJP since it would have to be under some leader. "This is what Modi wanted- to convert the election into a US presidential style campaign," he added.

When asked about alliances, he said the Congress has 23 parties on board in the state-level alliances.

"There are conflict of interests in some states. But, in a large country this is bound to happen. By and large, alliances are in place," he said.

Targeting the BJP, he said on the issues of development, national welfare, the ruling party is no match to Congress. "All their promises have fallen flat. Hence, it is effectively using methods of coercion and inducement. Their motto is anything goes in politics...," he said.

Referring to the I-T raids in Madhya Pradesh, Chavan said it was "tax terrorism". "To threaten and create an atmosphere of terror," he

said.

When asked about Shiv Sena joining hands with BJP, Mr Chavan alleged, "It is clear agencies like ED, CBI have been utilised."

Mr Chavan said the Rafale deal was a complicated case of huge corruption. "It is the largest defence corruption scandal where laws and decisions have been twisted around. (Former Defence minister Manohar) Parrikar refused to toe the line to increase the price in the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC). The matter was not resolved at the DAC and hence it was taken up by the Cabinet Committee on Security, where the prime minister approved the price hike," he claimed.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the Congress was dreaming about coming to power at the Centre and asked voters to punish it and its allies in such a way they would not be able to save even their deposits. (Photo: ANI/ Twitter)

Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the Congress was dreaming about coming to power at the Centre and asked voters to punish it and its allies in such a way they would not be able to save even their deposits.

At a massive rally here, Modi hit out at the Congress on the Jammu and Kashmir and national security issues, taking it on its election promise to withdraw the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

"...punish Congress and its allies in such a way so that they will not be able to even save their deposits," he said.

Modi said while his government had promoted "ease of doing business" in 60 months of its rule, the Congress had encouraged "ease of loot" in its 60 years of administration.

The Prime Minister also took exception to the political row created by the ruling Congress-JD(S) alliance over the recent Income Tax raids on several JDS men across the state.

Modi asked the crowd, "should the law be followed or not whether it is PM or CM or ministers? Why get scared if you have not committed anything wrong?" he asked.

On March 28, the Income Tax department carried out raids at multiple locations in Bengaluru, Mysuru,Mandya, Ramanagara, Shivamogga and Hassan, triggering a strong reaction from Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Congress leaders, who accused the Centre of promoting the politics of vendetta.

Kumaraswamy had even called the I-T officers as agents of BJP and led a protest by the ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition in front of the IT department office here.

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Hyderabad: The post-poll scenario in Andhra Pradesh is rather peculiar. Usually, after any election, it is the opposition parties that raise a hue and cry against the ruling party and the state government over some issue regarding the election. But in AP right now, exactly the opposite is happening: the main opposition party is silent and its the ruling Telugu Desam (TD) and its chief, N Chandrababu Naidu, who are cribbing.

After polling in the state two days ago, Mr Naidu said at a media conference that the TD will win 130 assembly seats out of the total 175. Despite this confident assertion, he is making electronic voting machines (EVMs) and the Election Commission an issue.

If the CM is confident of winning 130 assembly seats, why is he making this an issue, and what does it indicate?

Perhaps Mr Naidu has information that the TDs prospects are not so bright. In the 2014 Assembly elections, too, voting was done using EVMs, but as an opposition leader at that time, Mr Naidu had raised no objections, and won.

True, that the Central government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party has done much to create problems for Mr Naidu and his party. But with the states administration and governance completely in his hands, Mr Naidu could surely manage that easily enough. And even if the BJP and others create problems, its the lakhs of voters who decide the fate of political parties.

Different brands of Naidu

Mr Naidu is a different leader when he is in power and when he is in the Opposition. As Chief Minister, he will not accept what the Opposition does though he may have done the same thing when he was in the Opposition.

He faults the Election Commission (ECI) for transferring the Chief Secretary and IPS officers, including the DG (Intelligence), B. Venkateswara Rao, though the YSR Congress party had made a complaint to the Election Commission about these officers and backed it with evidence.

Moreover, during the 2009 Assembly elections, when the late Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy was chief minister of combined AP, and Mr Naidu was in the Opposition, his party and other opposition parties had complained about the then DGP, S.S.P. Yadav, for violating the code of conduct and demanded he be transferred. DGP Yadav had praised the then Chief Minister during a visit to Kurnool.

Based on these complaints, the ECI did transfer the officer. Mr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy did not object. He retained power and after taking oath as chief minister for the second time, appointed SSP Yadav again as DGP. In effect, Mr Naidu is blaming the ECI for doing what he had himself requested it to do when he was in the Opposition.

Why AP CS was transferred

In the case of the Chief Secretary, the ECI transferred him for not implementing its order.

At election time, the entire administration goes under the control of the ECI. If the government wants to transfer an officer, it must take permission from the ECI.

In the present case, the state government had transferred DG Venkateswara Rao on the directions of the ECI, but within hours of doing so, the state government issued two orders  one saying that the DG Intelligence would not come under the ECIs purview since he has no election related duty, and the other order, following from the first, cancelled the transfer of Mr Venkateswar Rao and appointed him as DG Intelligence.

Before making the appointment, the Chief Secretary has to seek the permission of the EC, which he did not do. The ECI thus felt that the Chief Secretary had not implemented its order, and transferred him.

CS cannot meet DGP, but CM can go to CEO

Another interesting thing is that Mr Naidu found fault with the new Chief Secretary L.V. Subramanyam for visiting the headquarters of the DGP.

As head of the state administration, the Chief Secretary has a right to visit any government office and check on the working of the administration. Mr Naidu himself took the unprecedented step of going to the states Chief Electoral Office to make a complaint about income-tax raids on TD leaders and transfer of officers in the state.

No Chief Minister has visited the CEOs office directly to make a complaint. It is generally party leaders or sometimes ministers who make the complaint. If anything, to make a complaint a Chief Minister would meet the Election Commission of India and not the Chief Electoral Officer. Mr Naidu also staged a dharna before the CEOs office for a while.

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While many women feel violated by rape jokes, most debates around online free speech bracket that feeling as mere collateral damage in the pursuit of freedom of expression. (Photo: Pixabay)

Womens experiences of educational institutes are often marked by anxiety, fear and negotiation. For some, the simple act of self-expression on campus can be a harrowing experience.

One student at a public university in Abbottabad said that she realised she was unwelcome when, upon returning from a long day of classes, she found a sexual slur scrawled across her car.

Female students at Iqra University were left questioning their place on campus after the jarring experience of seeing their fellow male students holding placards that mocked Aurat March on Facebook.

Recently, women at Lums felt their sense of safety snatched away when they uncovered a 600-member-strong closed Facebook group, run by male students, hosting violent misogynistic jokes.

These students, for whom online spaces are second nature, see a continuum between this online speech and sexual harassment on campus. As one student put it, rape culture leads to rape.

When the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act was enacted in 2010, many wondered whether students could be complainants. For many female students, the act gave language to their experiences with teachers and fellow students. The first complaint from a student against a teacher emerged in 2011 at Quaid-i-Azam University, opening the door for similar cases under the act. Now, many students feel that the act should cover misogyny in online spaces as well.

The resistance to extending the ambit of the act indicates how online hate speech against women is trivialised.

Research regarding racist and sexist groups online draws a clear line between online speech and physical violence.

Memes and jokes are routinely weaponised by alt-right and anti-feminist groups to normalise hatred towards women and marginalised groups, thus validating violence against them.

If women in universities are able to draw an intuitive link between their experience on campus and these manifestations online, why cant administrations?

Globally, regulation of online space often leads to thorny debates on freedom of expression.

Sexist discourse, both online and offline, has often been framed as an issue of free speech as opposed to womens safety  the framing considerably changes the dynamics of the debate.

Casual sexist remarks in class and demeaning comments directed at female students aggregate to a culture in which women feel excluded and unsafe. As far back as 1994, a University of Michigan student was arrested for posting a detailed fictionalised rape fantasy about a female classmate on an online Usenet group.

In the case, United States v. Alkhabaz, the charges were dismissed on free speech grounds. In free-speech jurisprudence, gender is rarely defined as a category for hate speech.

While many women feel violated by rape jokes, most debates around online free speech bracket that feeling as mere collateral damage in the pursuit of freedom of expression. But what good is unbridled free expression when it adds to the oppression of an already marginalised group?

The argument is not to over-regulate universities, or censor speech within academic spaces, but to challenge the logic and nature of campus regulation  currently directed disproportionately at female students.

Many Pakistani universities have dress codes imposing their notions of modesty on female students. One went as far as to mark February 14 as Sisters Day by gifting scarves to female students. Discriminatory hostel timings are imposed in the name of paternalistic safety.

A former Nust student recalls that, while there was virtually no curfew for male students, the slightest transgression by female students led to drastic action against them, including warnings issued to their parents.

Lack of collective action on campus is the legacy of the Zia-era ban on student unions, and organising on issues of gender is rare.

Privatisation has led to further dehumanisation of students and faculty, as neoliberal logics determine questions of safety and campus culture.

Women organising in university spaces are subject to scrutiny not just by administrations, but by peers as well. A former student of a university in Lahore said she was subject to intense on- and offline harassment after starting a campaign around menstruation.

Nevertheless, women are resisting on campuses across Pakistan  in quiet individual fights in front of harassment committees, and in collective action based on shared experiences of being sexualised, objectified and violated.

They have also vocalised the gendered impact of many student issues. One organiser in Lahore contends that rising tuition fees is both a general and gender issue; fee hikes make it difficult for women to negotiate going to a college with families already reluctant to send them.

With womens voices becoming louder, the hope is for university experiences no longer marred by fear, and instead entailing solidarity, support and safety.

By arrangement with Dawn
The Brexit process offers a lesson  that the price of hyper-nationalism can be high. In 2016, a British referendum decided by a very narrow vote to cut its 46-year old ties with the European Union. The usual balderdash was trotted out by the Leave side  British pride, and Britain managing its own economy and institutions, and not allowing decisions made in Europe. But the economic price of leaving looked ultra-high- European markets blocked, Britons earning in Europe having to return, and others.

All of this led to very messy politics. There came to be deep divisions within the two main political parties over Brexit. The House of Commons has repeatedly rejected the deal negotiated with the EU by Prime Minister Theresa May late last year on the terms of departure. The British Parliament has also rejected a no-deal Brexit, meaning it wants that Britain should institutionally continue to do business with the Europeans, but avoid political ties  such as common laws relating to human rights, or the environment.

Many on the Leave side are apparently having a change of heart after understanding the full consequences of a no-deal Brexit. The Parliament has shown PM May her place, by rejecting her formula. But it has not offered an alternative. Ms Mays desperate pleadings with the EU leaders earlier this week have won the UK reprieve until October 31. In the time until then, Britain can come up with a new formula for departure, or cancel the idea of Brexit itself. But that might call for a fresh referendum to reverse the 2016 expression of popular sovereignty. Letting each citizen vote on grand policy evidently has its pitfalls.
The brouhaha over Smriti Iranis educational qualifications or lack thereof, is not quite humour, not quite farce. But it is in keeping with the vitriol that has marked the 2019 electoral campaign thus far.

A true child of todays politics, Smriti Irani is the television-friendly apparatchik who knows how to deliver the perfect soundbite. The household name from yesteryear television serial Saas bhi kabhi bahu thi, she must know, however, that no stinging one-liner, no clever putdown can take away from the fact that she fudged her educational qualifications when she filed her nominations back in 2004. The nomination papers for Amethi in 2014, and again in 2019, now state shes no graduate and did not complete her Bachelor of Commerce degree.

Controversy broke three years ago over whether it was appropriate for someone without a degree to head the HRD ministry after Ms Iranis claims of a degree from Yale University proved to be hot air. Moved out, with nary an explanation, the fresh storm after Congress Priyanka Chaturvedis not unexpected, if unmusical, mockery underlines one thing  Ms Irani is a threat. She won one lakh votes in Rahul Gandhis backyard, Amethi, in the last polls and has sniped incessantly at the Congress party president for running away to safe seat Wayanad. Mr Gandhis own claims to a college degree from the US and his MPhil from Trinity College, Cambridge, are, curiously, no longer an issue!

Either way, its not a matter of degree. Or, education. Our elected representatives reflect the diversity that is India. But they must remember that when they stand for office, they are open to public scrutiny. And, of course, in the current climate of hate, to ridicule and scorn!
Baisakhi is an ancient seasonal festival celebrated across India in various forms and with various names but a feeling of gaiety and happiness is the common strand. Baisakhi, a traditional harvest day of celebration, is also treated as the New Years Day.

The day of Baisakhi marks a new beginning and falls on 13th April as per the Gregorian calendar. The harvest festival, celebrated as Vishu in Kerala and Bihu in Assam, symbolises wealth, prosperity and abundance. Known as Vaisakhi or Baisakhi, it is celebrated by all communities but it has acquired a special significance for the Punjabis and the Sikhs.

Baisakhi, a grand secular festival, holds a sacred meaning and religious importance as well. The Sikh community celebrates Baisakhi as the day of the formation of the Khalsa. The Baisakhi day, 13th April, is the day when Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa Brotherhood at Anandpur in AD 1699. Hence, Baisakhi is the celebration of the birth anniversary of the Khalsa. Baisakhi is also remembered for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre when hundreds of people sacrificed their lives to register their protest against British rule.

On Baisakhi day, Guru Gobind Singh not only founded the Khalsa but also eliminated all kinds of social distinctions and differences of high and low. The Khalsa, imbued with bravery and a sense of sacrifice, is the embodiment of saint and soldier. The Khalsa, the pure, is fearless and always ready to help the poor and helpless and strongly believes in the right cause and right conduct.

The Khalsa is the true image of the Guru. In fact the Guru is the Khalsa and Khalsa is the Guru. There is no duality as says the Guru, The Khalsa is my complete image. I dwell in the KhalsaKhalsa is my body, with Khalsa I am ever presentKhalsa, is the army of God, the Akal Purakh, Khalsa is the joy of the Supreme Being.

The Khalsa, with its five Kakkars, is Akal ki Fauj, created to fulfil the divinely ordained mission of the Gurus  to uphold dharma, protect the saintly and uproot the wicked. The Khalsa is enjoined upon to adopt the attributes of the Almighty who is fearless, ever-calm, without enmity, the defender of the truth and above all believes in the One Supreme Truth, Ek-Onkar. Hail the Khalsa who belongs to the Lord. Hail the Lord to whom belongs the victory  Waheguru Ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh.

To mark the celebration of the formation of the Khalsa, the Sikhs visit gurdwaras on Baisakhi day. Though it is celebrated in all the gurdwaras, the main celebration takes place at Talwandi Sabo, Anandpur Sahib and at the Darbar Sahib in Amritsar. The day is devoted to shabad-kirtan and religious discourses. Baisakhi is the time to contemplate the teachings of the Guru and to embrace the true philosophy of the Khalsa.

Baisakhi is also the time to relish the traditional Punjabi dishes, to visit the fairs and to indulge in bhangra. The steps of bhangra follow tilling the soil to harvesting which is in fact a story of the agricultural process.

Baisakhi, being New Years Day, is not only the birth anniversary of the Khalsa but it also symbolises a new beginning, full of hope, happiness and fulfilment.
After security at the boarding gates there are more hurdles. Before the airline officials tear your boarding card, two persons look at your passport and demand your boarding card.

Compassion: The woman

With dog collars draped

From wrist to elbow

Tying them round the necks

Of stray dogs. A pretence

That they are owned and not

To be shot

In the cull.

From Pashta Ka Nashta by Bachchoo

When I first left for Britain from Bombay (not yet rechristened) airport in the mid-1960s, my first trip abroad, a throng of family and friends gathered to see me off. They came right up to the departure gates after I had checked in my single suitcase, carried to the check-in desk by friends who wanted to make a gesture of friendship. There were no security checks at the time as the terror of maniacs blowing up planes hadnt set in, so the dozen or so of the farewell party waved me through the gate behind which my passport was checked and I went my trepid way to the gate.

That was then. The airport was not a great architectural treasure as are the airports of Mumbai and Bengaluru today, both of which I have arrived and left at in the last few weeks. Grand and imposing though they are, the procedures within are a bit of a puzzle.

Two people in khaki uniforms demand to see your ticket or boarding pass and check it to see whether the name on these is the same as that on some document of self-identity. I proffer my passport and after a few seconds of checking, as with other passengers, pass through onto the airport concourse.

This makes sense. If the entourage that accompanied me on my first departure were allowed today, even the contemporary spacious concourses would be overcrowded and would certainly add to the strain of travel.

In this past month, after the Pakistani terror attack in Kashmir and the Indian Air Forces retaliation, I was warned that the security check would be more thorough and could possibly take twice the time that it would normally take. It did. One was asked to remove belts, the watch and shoes. The queues were three times as long as in normal times. How a terror attack on an Army camp in Kashmir translated into extra alerts on passengers travelling by plane remains a mystery.

Its universally accepted that these security checks deter people with bombs passing through them. At the other end, after explaining to the examining officer that ones left knee has metal in it from a patella-tightening operation, ones boarding card is stamped. Fair enough, but then another bod in uniform checks the stamp. Why? If I was a potential terrorist and had found some devious way of avoiding the security checks, I would make sure I had one of these stamps on my boarding card as well.

And then the major test on leaving the country: the immigration check. On the way into India, this is fair enough. The state wants to be sure that you have a legitimate visa  that you are not a person who is in some way undesirable or a danger to the country. The immigration officer performs some mysterious manoeuvres with ones passport on the counter beneath eye-level. His camera checks the identity to compare it to features of known terrorists or wanted criminals on a national computer. Again, fair enough.

The mystery is why this procedure is repeated by immigration officials on leaving the country. What are they checking for? Absconding criminals or wanted persons? I suppose thats sensible enough. If these checks were not in place Lalit Modi, Vijay Mallya and even Nirav Modi might have left the country.

In the UK, whose airports I use to escape, there are no such checks. Its probably the British states policy of good riddance to undesirable rubbish. Even if they are criminals on the run, letting them leave saves the exchequer the cost of prosecuting them and keeping them in a jail at Her Majestys expense. Perhaps India has a stricter sense of earthly karma. Or perhaps it has to find ways of keeping large numbers of immigration officers passing their working days looking out for the likes of Vijay Mallya and Lalit and Nirav Modi.

Apart from the frustration of useless procedures, there is a linguistic quirk which Indian security has adopted. Above the conveyor belt taking your goods through the purdah of the security X-rays is a notice which says Keep Your Laptop, etc in a Tray. It should say Put instead of Keep. Okay, thats no big deal  one understands. But it gets me thinking that the Hindi verb rakhna can translate as keep or as put. So put the phone down is translated in scripts that I read as keep the phone down and put your plate in the sink becomes keep your plate in the sink. Oh well.

After security at the boarding gates there are more hurdles. Before the airline officials tear your boarding card, two persons look at your passport and demand your boarding card. Why? More useless jobs for the boys and girls? Can the department which deploys these checkers tell me what they are doing and whether they have ever detected one person doing what they ought not to be doing?

Then you queue up to get onto the plane.

As the queue goes tediously through there are two more bods in some sort of soldierly uniform asking for your boarding pass just before you get to where the air hostess tells you which aisle to go down to take your seat. What are these bods doing? Ensuring for the eleventh time that you are boarding the right aircraft?

One knows that the security checks at the malls, hotels and railway stations of India are never in any sense thorough or remotely functional. A person passes a baton cursorily along your body and even when your left knee causes a squeak, they let you through.

They may as well perform a Punch and Judy show for entrants. Employment is all.
China is the land of dichotomies, not to say contradictions. On March 31, 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet crossed the Indo-Tibet border in the Kameng Frontier Division, north of Tawang; he met a detachment of the Assam Rifles waiting to welcome him. He had had no choice but to flee his native land, as severe repression had taken place in Lhasa.

Three days before the Tibetan leader reached the Indian border, the Communist regime declared that the feudal lord had left his native land; that this would allow the serfs to be emancipated. Though thousands had died in Lhasa in the process of emancipation, Beijing still celebrates the massacre as the Serfs Emancipation Day.

On March 26, the 24-year-old Tibetan leader had sent a message to Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India: Ever since Tibet went under the control of Red China and the Tibetan government lost its powers in 1951...

The Dalai Lama had decided to take refuge in India  a free nation.

On March 11, 2019, the Global Times affirmed: Sixty years since the epoch-making democratic reform in Tibet, people in the plateau region have enjoyed unprecedented human rights in history.

The tabloid of the Communist Party added: The democratic reform in Tibet in 1959, led by the Communist Party of China, ended the cruel serfdom system and emancipated one million Tibetan serfs, or more than 90 per cent of the regions then population.

The article compares the massacre of the Tibetans in Lhasa in March 1959 by the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) to the Abolition Movement led by former US President Abraham Lincoln, viewed as an immortal achievement for civilisation and human rights, the end of Tibets feudal serfdom.

But it is not the last of the contradictions.

While proclaiming that the Tibetan people enjoy unprecedented human rights in history, the region has not only been closed to foreign tourists, but according to Human Rights Watch, on March 7, the Chinese authorities staged mass rallies in Lhasa and other provincial cities. A parade of armoured vehicles and military hardware was seen on the streets of Lhasa. Thousands of armed police and other security forces from across the region gathered to pledge loyalty to the party and its political objective of comprehensive, long term stability.

Though Beijings propaganda said human rights in Tibet have never been so good, it was announced that 24-hour patrols of some 100 police service stations in Lhasa had greatly improved the citys peace and stability. Not a single criminal case was reported in the palace area in the past eight years, mainly because of the police service station since 2011, which can respond to emergency calls in three minutes.

Wang Yongpu, a police station chief working in Tibet for seven years, explained to the Global Times, through the surveillance system, 24-hour patrols, security checks and cooperation with traffic departments, police in the service station can prevent crimes.

The Epoch Times reported: Having perfected facial recognition and Artificial Intelligence-enhanced surveillance systems, the Chinese regime is now applying the technology to taxis in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.

The US-based publication quoted a report which appeared in Tibet News on March 6: a Chinese state-run online news site, 200 new taxis were put into operation in Lhasa in February  equipped with real-time video surveillance  before they were assigned to taxi drivers. The GPS (Global Positioning System) has been upgraded from running on 2G mobile networks to 4G to optimise real-time monitoring.

This technology was intended to prevent drivers from violating safety regulations such as smoking and making phones calls while driving.

So much for human rights!

The Chinese propaganda has a tragicomic side.

The reason given for banning foreign visitors visiting Tibet was given by Wu Yingjie, Tibets Communist Partys secretary during the National Peoples Congress (NPC)  he said that the restrictions were necessary because some visitors suffered from altitude sickness.

Where it become more grotesque is when it comes to the Dalai Lama, Chinas bete noire.

Again, according to the Global Times, during an open-door discussion with the Tibetan delegation to the 13th NPC, Wu Yingjie came down heavily on the Tibetan leader: The Tibetan people have more affection for the government.

The Dalai Lama has not done a single good thing for Tibet since he left (in 1959). Wu added that the people of Tibet were extremely grateful for the prosperity that the Communist Party has brought them. Tashi Gyaltsen, a young Tibetan grassroots delegate from Lhoka, affirmed that there is no such thing as adoration for the Dalai Lama among Tibetans.

This should be easy to test  let Beijing allow the Tibetan leader to visit Tibet for one week  the adulation of the Tibetans for their spiritual guru and protector will be seen by all. Go Khok, deputy party chief and mayor of Lhasa, however, asserted that maintaining stability would be a key task for the city government this year.

A worse contradiction is about the position of the atheist regime on the Dalai Lamas rebirth.

The Tibetan leader jokingly told Reuters: China considers Dalai Lamas reincarnation as something very important. They have more concern about the next Dalai Lama than me, before adding: In future, in case you see two Dalai Lamas, one from here (India), a free country, (and) one chosen by the Chinese, then nobody will trust, nobody will respect (the one chosen by China). So thats an additional problem for the Chinese! Its possible, it can happen.

A couple of years ago, a Chinese expert quoted by the Global Times, affirmed that it is so ridiculous to talk about reincarnation when the 14th Dalai Lama is still alive.

It is ridiculous, but Beijing has been working hard since years to put everything in place for when the day comes.

Already in 2007, the stage was set for the tragicomedy when China decided to implement the Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism.

Beijing had started preparing for the Lamas succession: the Chinese government had decided to use the Manchu-favourite type of selection, the Golden Urn lottery, which can easily be manipulated.

Today, China is actively preparing for the post-Dalai Lama period.

On March 7, 2019, a panel discussion took place during the Peoples Political Consultative Conference in Beijing; the Chinese-selected Panchen Lama Gyaltsen Norbu presided. Apart from the young lama considered as fake by the Tibetans, a few lamas, mostly unknown to the Tibetans, met to discuss the future of Buddhism; it included, Dupkang Thupten Kedup, vice-chairman of the Buddhist Association of China, Tsemonling, a former regent of Tibet in his previous reincarnation, Gomangtsang Rinpoche, Rinchen Namgyal Rinpoche, from Qinghai province and Lodro Gyatso Rinpoche from Sakya Monastery. China would like these lamas to lead the process to find the next incarnation of the Dalai Lama.

Is it not a contradiction when an atheist regime works hard on soul reincarnation? It does not seem to disturb the apparatchiks in Beijing.
Beresheet travelled through space for seven weeks in a series of expanding orbits around Earth before crossing into the moons gravity last week. (Photo: SpaceIL)

Israeli spacecraft Beresheet crashed onto the moon on April 11, after a series of technical failures during its final descent, shattering hopes of a historic controlled landing on the lunar surface.

The unmanned robotic lander suffered periodic engine and communications failures during the landing sequence, which lasted around 21 minutes, the support team said.

Beresheet, whose name is Hebrew for the biblical phrase In the beginning, had travelled through space for seven weeks in a series of expanding orbits around Earth before crossing into the moons gravity last week.

The final manoeuvre on April 10, brought it into a tight elliptical orbit around the moon, around 15 km (9 miles) from the surface at its closest. From there it was a short, nail-biting and ultimately disappointing conclusion.

It seems that a failure in our inertial measurements unit caused a chain of events in the spacecraft avionics which cut off the engines and caused us to lose the mission, said Opher Doron, general manager of the space division at Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

So far, only three nations have succeeded in carrying out a soft, or controlled, landing on the lunar surface: the United States, the Soviet Union and China.

Beresheet would have been the first craft to land on the moon that was not the product of a government programme. It was built by state-owned IAI and Israeli non-profit space venture SpaceIL with USD 100 million funded almost entirely by private donors.

Still, the spacecraft achieved some milestones.

It is by far the smallest, the cheapest spacecraft ever to get to the moon, said Doron. Its been an amazing journey, I hope we get a chance for another one.

Shaped like a round table with four carbon-fibre legs, Beresheet stood about 1.5 metres (4.9 feet) tall. It blasted off from Floridas Cape Canaveral on Feb. 21 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and entered Earths orbit about 34 minutes after launch.

Its circuitous flight path was around 4 million miles (6.5 million km). A direct route from the Earth to the moon covers roughly 240,000 miles (386,000 km).

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The 23-story-tall Heavy blasted off from Floridas Kennedy Space Centre carrying its first customer payload. (Photo: AP)

The most powerful operational rocket in the world, SpaceXs Falcon Heavy, launched its first commercial mission on April 11, from Florida in a key demonstration for billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musks space company in the race to grasp lucrative military launch contracts.

The 23-story-tall Heavy, which previously launched Musks cherry red Tesla roadster to space in a 2018 debut test flight, blasted off from Floridas Kennedy Space Centre carrying its first customer payload.

T plus 33 seconds into flight, under the power of 5.1 million pounds of thrust, Falcon Heavy is headed to space, SpaceX launch commentator John Insprucker said on a live stream.

Roughly three minutes after clearing the pad, Heavys two side boosters separated from the core rocket for a synchronised landing at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, sparking boisterous cheers from SpaceX engineers in the companys Hawthorne, California headquarters.

The middle booster, after pushing the payload into space, returned nearly 10 minutes later for a successful landing on SpaceXs seafaring drone ship 400 miles (645 km) off the Florida coast. In the 2018 test mission, Heavys core booster missed the vessel and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.

The Falcons have landed, Musk wrote on Twitter, inaugurating the first successful recovery of all three rocket boosters, which will be refurbished and re-fly in another Falcon Heavy mission this summer to carry a swarm of military and science satellites for the Air Force.

Liftoff with Heavys new military-certified Falcon 9 engines was crucial in the race with Boeing-Lockheed venture United Launch Alliance and Jeff Bezos Blue Origin as Musks SpaceX, working to flight-prove its rocket fleet one mission at a time, aims to clinch a third of all US National Security Space missions - coveted military contracts worth billions.

The US Air Force tapped SpaceX in 2018 to launch for USD 130 million a classified military satellite and in February added three more missions in a USD 297 million contract.

SpaceX and Boeing Co are vying to send humans to space from US soil for the first time in nearly a decade under NASAs Commercial Crew Program. SpaceXs Crew Dragon capsule, atop a Falcon 9 rocket, cleared its first unmanned test flight in March ahead of its crewed mission planned for July, while the first unmanned test for Boeings Starliner capsule is slated for August on ULAs Atlas 5 rocket.

Falcon Heavy carried a communications satellite for Saudi-based telecom firm Arabsat, which will beam internet and television services over Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

Privately owned SpaceX, also known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp, was founded in 2002 by Musk, who is also a co-founder of electric car maker Tesla Inc.

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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday questioned the growing synergy between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan and accused the former of milking the retaliatory Balakot air strikes for electoral gain.

"Some days back, Imran Khan said that Modi should be PM again. He said it just after the simmering tension on the border and amid fears that both countries would go to war. What is cooking between Imran Khan and Modi? There is something suspicious," Kejriwal told a poll campaign late on Saturday evening, in Margao town in South Goa district where the state Aam Aadmi Party convenor Elvis Gomes is contesting the South Goa Lok Sabha seat.

The AAP leader, who is on a short visit to Goa to campaign for his party's candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly bypolls on April 23, also said, that since the Prime Minister had failed on key issues like health, education, economy he was trying to milk the Indian Air Force strike at Balakot.

"People are now asking questions about how Pulwama happened on February 14, when 40 of our brave soldiers died, two months before elections. Why did Imran Khan attack Pulwama just before elections and the only thing Modi saying now, is that we entered their country and killed them?" Kejriwal said.

Pointing out to the irony, Kejriwal said, that the head of the country in which India carried out the air strike was now rooting for Modi ahead of elections.

"There is a dangerous game being played out. When you vote, think about it," the Delhi Chief Minister said.
The Rafale deal on Saturday sunk into more controversy following reports that France waived tax worth Rs 143.7 million Euro for Anil Ambani's French-based company, six months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the 36 jet deal with Dassault.

The sensational report in Le Monde immediately gave ammunition to the Opposition in the midst of Lok Sabha elections, which targeted Modi and BJP claiming that it has once again exposed corruption in the deal. The Opposition, especially Congress president Rahul Gandhi, had been claiming that the selection of Ambani as an offset partner in the deal was part of a quid pro quo in place of government-owned Hindustan Aeronautical Ltd (HAL).

While Ministry of Defence insisted that linking tax benefits given to the company with the deal was "totally inaccurate, tendentious and is a mischievous attempt to disinform", Anil Ambani's Reliance group denied "any favouritism or gain from settlement".

Describing the waiver as Modi 'kripa' (blessings)", Congress accused the Prime Minister of acting as middleman for Anil Ambani while CPI(M) said the "whole nexus is now coming out into the open" and that it was the "Modi formula of helping his rich friends".

According to the report, the French authorities had raised a demand of 150 million euros from Ambani's 'Reliance FLAG Atlantic France SAS' but later accepted just 7.3 million euros as a settlement six months after Modi announced that India would buy 36 jets from Dassault in a government-to-government deal.

"During the period under consideration by the French Tax Authorities -- 2008-2012 ie nearly 10 years ago, Flag France had an operating loss of Rs 20 crore (ie Euro 2.7 million). French tax authorities had raised a tax demand of over Rs 1,100 crore for the same period. As per the French tax settlement process as per law, a mutual settlement agreement was signed to pay Rs 56 crore as a final settlement," Reliance statement claimed.

One of the journalists Julien Bouissou, who reported the story along with Anne Michel tweeted, "So between February and October 2015, while the French were negotiating the Rafale contract with India, Anil Ambani enjoyed a tax waiver of 143.7 million euros from the French state. Quite a cozy deal, right?"



Breaking : French authorities waived taxes worth 143,7 million euros for Anil Ambani's French-based company just a few months after PM Modi announced his plans to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from Dassault. Our story with @annemichel_LMhttps://t.co/Tpw50cJg0c  julien bouissou (@jubouissou) April 13, 2019

The report said the telecom company registered in France was investigated by French tax authorities and found liable to pay 60 million euros in taxes between 2007 to 2010.

Reliance offered to pay 7.6 million euros as a settlement but the French refused and a further investigation for the period 2010 to 2012 showed further issues and asked for an additional 91 million euros in taxes.

"In April 2015, PM Modi announced plans to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from Dassault. By then, the total amount owed by Reliance to the French state in taxes was at least 151 million euros," Bouissou tweeted. Six months later, French authorities accepted 7.3 million euros as a settlement.

Reliance Communications which owns the Reliance FLAG Atlantic France SAS, said it settled tax disputes as per legal framework in France available to all companies operating in France while insisting that tax demands were "completely unsustainable and illegal". Reliance FLAG owns a terrestrial cable network and other telecom infrastructure in France.

Ministry of Defence said it has seen reports drawing "conjectural connection" between tax exemption to a private company and procurement of Rafale jets by the government.

"Neither the period of tax concession nor subject matter of concession relate to Rafale procurement, concluded in present government's tenure. Any connections drawn between the tax issue and the Rafale matter is totally inaccurate, tendentious and is a mischievous attempt to disinform."

Reacting to the report, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said the "whole nexus is now coming out into the open" and the Prime Minister's Office was "directly involved" in Rafale scam bypassing Air Force, and National Security Advisor was "illegally negotiating" in Paris.



The whole nexus is now coming out into the open. PMO was directly involved in Rafale scam bypassing our Air Force, and NSA was illegally negotiating in Paris. As former French President said, Modi asked for Anil Ambani as a partner for the deal. And now this - French tax waivers pic.twitter.com/djgZxkLzax  Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) April 13, 2019

"As former French President said, Modi asked for Anil Ambani as a partner for the deal. And now this - French tax waivers. Modi goes to France, compromises national security by signing on fewer aircraft, gives deal to crony Ambani, HAL is kept out. So the public pays 41% higher amount for fewer aircraft and crony also gets massive tax breaks. Modi formula of helping his rich friends," he said in a series of tweets.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told reporters, "this is called zero sum choices, startling tax concession and Modi 'kripa' (blessings)," he said adding,"Prime Minister Modi is acting as middleman for Anil Ambani. How many other companies in France have got a tax benefit? Is this not a quid pro quo for the purchase of aircraft? It is clear only one watchman is the thief," Surjewala said.

Is the Corruption & Money trail in the #RafaleScam finally out? Is PM Modi-Anil Ambani connection finally out? Sensational & Explosive! Pl wait for a Spl. AICC PC at 1.30 PM today.  Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) April 13, 2019

"Those that have Modi's blessings can get anything. If Modiji is there, then it is possibile. (Modi ji ki kripa jispar ho jaye uska kuch bhi ho sakta hai, Modi hai to mumkin hai)," he said taunting the BJP with its poll slogan.
The on-going crisis in Jet Airways appeared to have worsened, with the cash-starved airline on Friday urging bankers for an immediate fund infusion and its employees filing a police complaint over non-payment of salaries for about three months.

The Prime Ministers Office summoned Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Kharola to seek an update on the situation after the airliner suspended international operations till Monday.

Jet Airways has cancelled its international operations from 12th to 15th April, a Jet Airways statement said.

Kharola said the airline has been asked to ensure that passenger issues were taken into consideration while it deals with the situation.

Jet Airways has funds to stay afloat till Monday, the civil aviation secretary said.

Meanwhile, the All India Jet Airways Officers & Staff Association  which represents ground handlers, ground crew among others at Mumbai airport  also filed a police complaint against the airlines Naresh Goyal, CEO Vinay Dube and representatives of SBI.
From a curse, if one doesn't vote for a "sanyasi" to a dare to Muslims if they approach for work without voting in favour to asking whether picturesque Wayanad is in Pakistan, the election rhetoric has reached a feverish pitch.

If one goes by the trend, it may get worse in the coming days with more voters stepping out of their homes to exercise their franchise in the next six phases of the Lok Sabha elections ending May 19.

The Election Commission is flooded with complaints about controversial comments made by senior leaders from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to BJP chief Amit Shah to BSP supremo Mayawati and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath among others.

The latest among the controversial statements were by Union Minister Maneka Gandhi and BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj, who are under the EC scanner following complaints.

Gandhi, who is contesting from UP's Sultanpur and made the controversial statement which was circulated on social media, said, "I am winning with the help of people. If my victory comes without the support of Muslims, I will not feel good. Why? I can only say that it will leave a bitter taste. Then when a Muslim comes for any work, I will then think let it be."

Maharaj had said during campaigning, "a sanyasi has come to your door. And when a sanyasi comes to your door, asks for an explanation and makes a request. If you dont listen to him, then the sanyasi takes the good deeds of the family and gives his sins to you."

If this is the latest, Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in controversy earlier when in Latur he said, "I want to ask first-time voters: Can your first vote be dedicated to the courageous jawans who did the Balakot air strike? Can your first vote be in the name of the courageous martyrs who lost their lives in Pulwama."

This was read by Opposition as going against the direction of Election Commission, which had asked parties not to use the military in campaigns. Another remark by Modi was on Rahul Gandhi's Wayanad foray when he said the Congress president ran away from Hindu Samaj to a place where the majority is a minority.

BJP chief Amit Shah also had controversial remarks during his campaigns. On Congress president Rahul Gandhi's Wayanad foray, Shah asked whether Wayanad was in Pakistan while referring to the green party flags of Indian Union Muslim League. His comments on expanding the National Register of Citizens exercise across India also attracted criticism.

Gandhi, on his part, is in the eye of a storm for his comments suggesting that the Supreme Court has said 'Chowkidar (Modi) Chor Hai' (Watchman is a Thief) in reference to its order on Rafale deal which said that it would consider certain secret government documents. A contempt petition is now filed against him.

Adityanath is also in trouble for his remarks during campaigning. he had said, "Congress would feed 'biryani' to terrorists, while Modi's army (Modi-ji ki Sena) gives them bullets and bombs." Referring to Mayawati's speech that Muslims should vote for the Grand Alliance and not Congress, he had said, "they have Ali, we have Bajrang Bali' comments.

AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also had his share of controversial statements on Election Commission and Modi.

"Pakistan and Imran Khan are openly supporting Modi-ji. It is clear now that Modi ji has some secret pact with them. Everyone is asking - did Pakistan kill 40 of our brave soldiers in Pulwama on 14 Feb just before elections to help Modi-ji?" Kejriwal said on Twitter," he had tweeted.

In a series of tweets, he said, "Anti-BJP votes deleted all across India...Reports coming from all across India that votes have been deleted on an unprecedented scale...Why are all faulty EVM machines seen to be voting always for BJP? Why do most deleted voters turn out to be anti-BJP voters?"
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has dubbed the Lok Sabha elections as a fight between nationalism and dynasty.

The election is between nation first or family first. In Karnataka Congress and JD(S) are signs of Parivarwad. Both parties that have lost touch with the people are that much connected to their families...Their only mission is commission, Modi said.

The prime minister was addressing a BJP convention in Gangavathi of Koppal district, seeking votes for Bellary, Koppal and Raichur Lok Sabha constituencies.

Calling upon people to teach a befitting lesson to Opposition parties which have exploited the citizens of the country for their self-serving motives, Modi said Congress feels uncomfortable when not in power.

When there was Congress government, there was Mr 10 per cent. Do you remember Mr 10 per cent? Now they have joined together 10 per cent is theirs and other 10 per cent of others. Now Karnataka is going on with 20 per cent, he said. In his campaign during the May 2018 Assembly polls, Modi had attacked the then Siddaramaiah dispensation as a 10 per cent commission government.

He lashed out at the Deve Gowda family, targeting the JDS supremos son Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy over his reported remark that only those who cannot get two square meals a day seek jobs in the services, terming it an insult to the Armed Forces.

What kind of thinking is thisKumaraswamy ji? You cannot escape by saying that your statement has been wrongly interpreted. You have said what is in your heart, Modi said. ...is it not an insult to our brave soldiers and Armed Forces...will you seek vote on this? Those who serve the country and ready to sacrifice for it facing all odds...Such words for them, such thinking. Doob maro doob maro (die drowning), those who insult the countrys army, he said.

Modi also hit out at Gowdas other son and minister H D Revanna, without naming him, for his remark that he would retire from politics if Modi was voted back to power.

Do you believe them? Will these people speak the truth any time? He reminded the crowd that in the 2014 elections, Deve Gowda had himself said that if Modi won and became the prime minister, he would take sanyas. Did he take sanyas? Did father (Deve Gowda) take sanyas? Will son take sanyas? Leave sanyas, they aregiving tickets to those remaining in the family.

He said that state government had money for Sultans (Tipu Sultan) Utsav but was short of funds for remembering the pride of Hampi.

Modi stopped his speech four or five times as the crowds continued to swell and surged forward chanting Modi, Modi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Lok Sabha poll 2019 is about choosing a new India for the 21st century. It is not about choosing the Prime Minister or Minister or forming the government but how New India should be in the 21st century.

Addressing Vijaya Sankalpa Rally at Nehru Maidan here on Saturday, he said the voters had given an opportunity for the Congress in the 20th century. However, the party handed over the governance to one family.

Coming down heavily on the Congress-JDS government in Karnataka, he said the coalition government takes inspiration from Pariwarvad (dynasty) but BJP gets inspiration from Rashtrawd (nationalism).

Terming coalition government as the enemy of farmers, he said the coalition government has failed to provide a list of beneficiaries for the Central governments PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana. As a result, when farmers in the rest of the country had availed the first instalment of Rs 2,000 under the scheme, the farmers in Karnataka are still waiting for the instalment benefit.

He also said that the "Mahamilavat" (adulterated) culture of Congress has destroyed not only traditions but also weakened the Defence and the economy and banking sector of the country. Modi also added that Bjp in its manifesto has promised to work towards assisting the maximum number of fishermen by ensuring availability of storage and infrastructure under Matsya Sampada Yojana

Promising to have a separate fisheries minister when the BJP government is formed after the election, he said financial help will be given for the upgradation of deep sea trawlers and fishermen are Naval Messaging Receiver (NMR) device to get alert messages.

Modi also added that Bjp in its manifesto has promised to work towards assisting the maximum number of fishermen by ensuring availability of storage and infrastructure under Matsya Sampada Yojana.

Police deny reports on water bottles thrown at Modi

There was a media report saying water bottles were thrown at Modi during a rally in Mangaluru. But later it was confirmed as a rumour.

In a response to the report, Mangaluru Commissioner of Police Sandeep Patil denied any incident of the crowd being pelted with plastic water bottles at the end of Prime Minister Narendra Modis speech at Nehru Maidan on Friday evening. Patil told DH that as part of security measures the public was not allowed to carry water bottles into the venue. Perhaps at the end of the rally, the crowd at the further end of maidan would have resorted to dumping their plastic water bottles, he said.


CHESTER  Five- to six-hundred lawn signs and a United States Air Force veteran asked Widener University students to Live Your Courage Thursday. Student organizers and volunteers for the universitys third annual Courage Day blanketed the campus with signs, asked students fill out prompts on personal courage, and welcomed former United States Air Force Maj. Heather Lucky Penney, the universitys Oskin Leadership Institute Beideman Visiting Scholar, for an address.

Penney was one of two fight pilots deployed during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to find and take down United Flight 93. Without time to arm their jets, it amounted to a suicide mission by having to ram the plane. Her address and the Courage Day materials around campus prompted students and faculty to find courage in their daily lives and form a habit of making courageous decisions.

Theres a lot that we do every day that you dont realize is courage but it is, said Michaela Mertz, principal student organizer for the event. Today is all about motivating people to choose that harder right, and to make a difference in their own lives, as small as may be.

The passengers on Flight 93 were the true heroes, Penney said after recounting her mission with Col. Marc Sass Sasseville to take down the plane. The mission came after a recent return from Exercise Red Flag training at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., with expectations for a day of catching up on paperwork and returning to normal routine. In the time since  Ive come to realize that heroism isnt something unique or possessed only by a chosen few.

Penney described heroism as being three primary qualities  bravery, service and belonging. Theyre not nouns to me  theyre verbs  which means we can choose to be brave, to serve, to belong, she said, encouraging the audience to make the actions daily habits. I believe heroism is like a muscle  we all have the potential for the strength, but unless we practice it, cultivate it, exercise it, all it will ever be is potential.

Speaking with the Times following her address, Penney referenced the Greatest Generations actions during World War II as exemplary of the courage of everyday people.

They answered the call to save the free world  and they were plumbers, and school teachers, and local businessmen, she said.

On in those moments on (Sept. 11) as we were waiting for authorization to launch, I thought about George Welch, one of two pilots to get airborne during the attack on Pearl Harbor. I thought this is my Pearl Harbor moment, I thought if they could do it, I could do it,' she said.

The event showcasing everyday courage was the culmination of planning since the start of the fall semester by its main sponsors, the Apogee Scholars of Wideners Oskin Leadership Institute. The group is made up of recipients of the institutes High School Leadership Award presented to students around the Delaware Valley who then elect to attend Widener.

Mertz said she and fellow organizers implemented several changes to this years event based on student feedback during the planning process. Formerly held on a surprise date, the 2019 Courage Day was promoted in advance to the campus with a Courage Rocks kickoff three weeks ago. Students painted rocks and pictures with encouraging messages to give to others or leave throughout campus. A group of students signed a courage pledge, with those completing it honored by Penney following her address.

While the event is no longer a surprise, a portion of the events 50 student volunteers were still active at 5:30 a.m. blanketing the campus with signs asking Do you have to the courage to followed by questions including to forgive?, to get out of your comfort zone? The community behind me  I love it, its really great, said Mertz of fellow organizers and volunteers. I always (anticipate) the worst, but today has gone so well. Im very proud of everyone.

Its great to see how  how people are still inspired to show courage, said Theresa Kash, a third-year organizer for the event and courage pledge honoree. You would think (students) who have lived through multiple Courage Days would say oh, its happening again I dont feel like doing it. You still see people consistently wanting to show courage.

Freshman volunteer Eliza Meals, joining Kash at a student prompt table, said it was inspiring to see the event be well-established on the campus in its third year. People are looking forward to it, she said.

I remember last year as a freshman stepping out of my dorm and there were just signs everywhere, said Leon Mopecha, a courage pledge honoree and organizer. Seeing the enthusiasm (participating) students had just put me on a course for a better week. I was looking forward to it this year and was determined to help out.

Penney spoke highly of the Generation Z students now in universities and what she sees as their willingness to make a difference in the world. I think the Oskin Leadership Institute and Courage Day are particularly relevant to these young people, she said following her address. In some ways I feel as I look at my generation, we have a lot to live up to in order to be able to provide the shoes for the Gen-Zs and Millennials to fill.
This week's top stories include the first picture of a black hole, the measles outbreak in New York and more.

A groundbreaking image of a black hole was published Wednesday.

This is the first picture of the mysterious space phenomenon, and the first visual evidence that they exist.

A black hole is a region of space where the gravitational pull becomes so dense that nothing can escape it.

More than 200 researchers worked for over a decade to make the photograph happen.

Congress is struggling to find solutions to the border crisis after Kirstjen Nielsen's resignation.

President Trump has been at the center of debate for his comments about the border crisis, saying that the country is "full" and can't take any more immigrants.

Democrats are asking for a release of Trump's tax returns, although it doesn't appear that anyone knows why or what it would reveal.

New York City declared a public health emergency Tuesday due to the recent measles outbreak in the area.

Also in the news this week, the candidate pool for the 2020 Democratic nomination continues to grow and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested in London after claiming asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy for seven years.
SALT LAKE CITY  The number of migrants apprehended at the border in March totaled more than 103,000  the highest number in more than a decade.

Now the Trump administration is floating new plans to stop the flow of migrants, including a revised version of the controversial zero-tolerance policy that resulted in separating migrant families at the border earlier this year.

Called the binary choice proposal, it would give migrant parents a choice: have their children separated from them and later released to live with a relative or sponsor in the United States, or the family could stay together in detention until their day in immigration court.

The White House is looking at other options as well, including ramped-up deportations of illegal immigrants already living in the United States, and implementing a stricter screening process for asylum seekers.

But are Trumps new plans a realistic answer to Americas border crisis, or are they merely more fodder for controversy and court battles?

To find out, the Deseret News talked to immigration experts, policymakers and academics to get their takes on the primary problems fueling the border crisis, and their recommendations for realistic solutions.

Problem 1: Loopholes in U.S. asylum law create a "strong incentive for people to come"

The current border crisis can be blamed on "loopholes in our asylum system ... that create a strong incentive for people to come," says Matt Sussis, assistant director of communications at the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that favors low immigration numbers.

In order to claim asylum, migrants must be able to prove a legitimate fear of persecution in their home country. Sussis says that standard is not strict enough.

While there are some people who really do deserve asylum ... its very easy to make a claim just because you want to get into the country, says Sussis.

Other experts disagree, such as Layla Razavi, policy director for the California Immigrant Policy Center, who emphasizes that migrants have a legal right under federal and international law to enter the country and seek asylum.

"This is a founding principle not just of American jurisprudence, but also our social fabric," she said. "Its really baked into our idea of who we are as a people."

The issue may not be the law itself, but its failed implementation, according to Rachel Schmidtke, program associate at the Mexico Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

A lack of immigration judges to hear asylum cases at the border has created a backlog that often means migrants who have claimed asylum dont see a courtroom for two years after they were first apprehended at the border.

I think people see (claiming asylum at the border) as a viable option to enter the United States, and so theyre doing so," said Schmidtke. "That's increasing the number of people waiting, and its turning into a very dire humanitarian situation at the border.

Solution: Hire more immigration judges to process claims quicker

Congress should amend the loopholes in the asylum law, according to Sussis, to make it more difficult to claim asylum in the first place. But given the divided nature of Congress, a legislative amendment may not be the way to go, he says.

A better option, he says, would be to focus on appointing more immigration judges to process asylum claims at the border to end the backlog.

In this scenario, the system would still protect people with legitimate claims, of whom there are many, while people with illegitimate claims could be turned away. You could still keep families together and both kids and their parents would be processed much more quickly, he said.

Problem 2: Violence is pushing migrants out of Central America

The primary problem fueling the border crisis can be found not in U.S. law or policy, but in Central America, where the "dire" conditions of poverty and violence are driving migrants to flee, says Angela S. Garcia, assistant professor in the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration.

Its foolhardy thinking that people are being drawn to the United States because of a robust social safety net, or because of potential for U.S immigration reform, she says. Its about crime and violence driving people out.

According to Schmidtke, this explains the higher rates of women and children coming to the border fleeing violence. In November, more than 25,000 families turned themselves in, a historic high.

Garcia says an interesting case study is to look at Nicaragua, which is the second poorest country in the region. She says that despite widespread poverty, migrants are leaving Nicaragua in far fewer numbers because the homicide rate is lower there.

"What you can see clearly is that there's much higher rates of violence in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, and that's clearly linked to greater number of people fleeing," she explained. "(These migrants are not) leaving home because of fun or adventure."

Solution: Give U.S. aid to Central America focusing on improving quality of life

Garcia says the answer is to change the way the United States focuses on giving aid to Central American countries.

Trump has threatened in recent weeks to do away with aid to Central America, which Garcia says would only exacerbate the problems at hand.

But she says even the current way the United States gives aid often focuses on the wrong issues, primarily providing money earmarked for security or policing, rather than for food, education or health care.

Given a limited amount of money and political will, she says U.S. aid would be best spent by investing in improvements to the quality of life of everyday people in Central America.

Problem 3: Asylum-seekers are treated "like prisoners"  at a high cost to the taxpayer

The key issue fueling the border crisis is a lack of solid infrastructure to process and integrate asylum-seekers, says Razavi with the California Immigrant Policy Center.

She says the United States has a sophisticated infrastructure for admitting and integrating refugees through the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program, which provides refugees language education, job training and help with housing.

She says there is no real distinction between a migrant and an asylum-seeker, in that both groups are usually fleeing due to political instability and/or fear of persecution.

On the refugee side, we have an entire system and framework in place to ensure their successful integration," she said. "But on the asylum side, we lock these people up in prisons and treat them like they are criminals. I think thats problematic morally  but it costs a lot of money to the taxpayer too.

According to ICEs fiscal year 2018 budget, on average it costs $133.99 a day to maintain one adult detention bed, but immigration groups have put that number closer to $200 a day.

The cost of a family bed, which keeps mothers and children together, is around $319 a day, according to DHS.

Beds for children separated from their parents cost $775 per person per night, HHS told NBC News.

Solution: Treat migrants as refugees

Razavi says a solution to this problem would be to expand the U.S. Refugee Resettlement program to provide services to asylum-seekers as well as refugees.

A similar idea was put forth by Jodi Ziesemer, supervising attorney for the Unaccompanied Minors Program at Catholic Charities Community Services, in The Guardian in August 2018.

"Refugee resettlement agencies are well-equipped to provide support to traumatized families," wrote Ziesemer. "Studies have shown that within a short period of time, refugees are not only able to support themselves but also more than reimburse the money they receive in support during their first few years in the U.S. through taxes and generation of income and jobs."

Razavi says in the current political climate, such a policy shift would be a challenging endeavour, as the Trump administrations decision to reduce the number of refugees admitted to the United States has created serious funding cuts to agencies across the country.

Razavi says even so, states could play a powerful role in supporting local resettlement agencies to give them the capacity to offer such services to refugees and asylum-seekers alike.

This is both from a humanitarian perspective and for the benefit of American taxpayers," said Razavi. "Were pouring a lot of money into locking up migrants when we could actually be spending a lot less to make sure theyre getting off on the right foot to be successful here."
SALT LAKE CITY  U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman Jr. says the Russian government needs to stop "playing games" with a former U.S. Marine being held in Moscow on espionage charges.

"If the Russians had evidence, they should bring it forward. We have seen nothing. We have heard words about espionage, but I don't think there's a case there," Huntsman told RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty in an interview Friday.

Russia's domestic intelligence agency detained Paul Whelan, a corporate security executive, in late December and accused him of spying. A Moscow court has refused to release him on bail.

Huntsman, the top American official in Russia, has visited Whelan in prison.

"I think about his family every day. I think about him every day," he said.

Huntsman said he hopes Whelan, who also has citizenship in Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom, is released as soon as possible.

"If there is no evidence and the Russians have not shown there is any evidence so far, then let's move on," he said "Let's move on and quit playing these games."

Huntsman said there are several cases of Americans imprisoned in Russia.

One involving prominent businessman Michael Calvey took a step in the right direction Thursday, he said. A court in Moscow released him from pretrial detention.

Calvey, the chief executive of the Russian investment firm Baring Vostok, was arrested in February for allegedly defrauding Russian businessman Artem Avetisyan, who is an associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We hope, as I know his family does, that this is resolved as quickly as possible," Huntsman said.

Huntsman made news earlier this week when sources revealed that he has not ruled out another run for governor in Utah. He won election in 2004 and was re-elected in 2008 before resigning to become U.S. ambassador to China. He will mark two years in Moscow this fall.

On possibly running for governor, Huntsman said there is "nothing to consider until our current commitment is done."
SALT LAKE CITY  Federal authorities filed a civil complaint Friday against a Murray doctor they say prescribes painkillers without a legitimate medical purpose that end up being sold on the street.

The complaint in U.S. District court also alleges Nicholas Carl Greenwood prescribes opioids outside the usual course of professional practice. His business, Greenwood Addiction Physicians, offers treatment for opioid, alcohol and tobacco addiction.

The U.S. Attorney's Office wants a judge to stop Greenwood from prescribing drugs.

Greenwood knew, or should have known, that the prescriptions he issued, essentially on a cash-and-carry basis, were not medically necessary and were being sold or traded on the street, according to the complaint.

DEA agents launched an investigation into Greenwood following a tip from the Tooele County Sheriff's Office last April about an inmate organizing and paying people to get prescriptions from the doctor for his use in jail.

Three undercover agents visited Greenwood's office 20 times over an eight-month period and received 19 prescriptions for Buprenorphine, totaling 889 pills, according to the complaint. Buprenorphine can be used to treat pain and help people reduce or quit the use of heroin or other opiates.

Agents paid a $350 cash fee on the first visit and $200 cash for each subsequent visit, court documents say.

Greenwood never performed a medical examination, asked questions about the undercover agents health or symptoms or reviewed prior medical records, but prescribed the drug without any evidence of medical need, according to the complaint.

The doctor issued most of the prescriptions without actually meeting with the undercover agents, court documents say.

Investigators say what they have found so far is "likely just the tip of the iceberg."

"Based on Dr. Greenwoods comfort and fluency with the street price of Buprenorphine and drug deals, and knowledge that his patients are illegally diverting prescriptions, he likely has previously engaged in  and will continue to engage in  similar illegal conduct," according to court documents.

A call to Greenwood's office found it closed Fridays.
SALT LAKE CITY  Swiss rail giant Stadler Rail entered the public stock market in its home country Friday with a $3.8 billion valuation and an opening share price of $38.

The company has a growing Utah presence, under its affiliate Stadler U.S., with plans in place to build a new manufacturing facility on Salt Lake City's west side located within the state's new inland port development.

While a $9.6 million tax incentive from Salt Lake City was in limbo amid a running squabble between city leaders and state legislators about the inland port effort, the issue was settled under legislation passed in the recent session, via HB433, that grandfathered the deal in.

The new manufacturing complex is projected to occupy 250,000 square feet by the end of 2019 and more than 900,000 square feet by the end of 2029, as well as grow from employing about 150 to about 1,000 over the next 10 years. Stadler operates an existing Salt Lake plant, which is expected to be retired and employees shifted to the new facility when completed.

Reuters reported Stadler Chairman Peter Spuhler, who has run the company for over 30 years and turned Stadler "into a global player from a relatively small family-owned business," sold 35 million shares in his control worth 1.3 billion francs at the offer price.

In 2015, Stadler earned a $10.1 million, post-performance tax incentive package from the Governor's Office of Economic Development. The potential rebates, payable over 15 years, were based on the company's estimates that it would pay out some $576 million in wages over the life of the agreement while remitting $40.3 million in corporate, payroll and state sales tax over the same period.
SALT LAKE CITY  As Orem police continue to investigate the case of a woman who was shot multiple times outside her town house last month, new court documents reveal that the woman may have had a "hit" placed on her life before.

On March 7, the 38-year-old woman was trying to enter her west Orem home about 7:20 p.m. when she was shot multiple times by a gunman wearing a motorcycle helmet before she was able to get inside and shut the door. She survived the attack.

Investigators have served numerous search warrants since then, trying to collect evidence that they hope will help solve the case.

The woman was shot at eight times and hit five times  "three times in the right leg, once in the back, which exited and broke her ribs, and three graze wounds from various rounds," according to the warrants.

When she was out of surgery and able to be interviewed by police, Diana Lisseth Welch told investigators that "she was approached by an unknown subject in a black motorcycle helmet.  The victim disclosed that she asked the unknown subject what they wanted. The victim disclosed they didn't respond, so she moved to get to her front door quickly in order to get in the home. The victim disclosed it was at this point when she got to the front door, the unknown subject brandished a firearm and began to fire rounds at her," the warrant states.

Police previously said they did not believe the attack was random and that Welch currently had a protective order out against an undisclosed man. Police said that man was one of several people whom they wanted to question.

Court records indicate that Welch filed for a protective order against her estranged husband in July, about the same time she filed for divorce.

At the hospital, Welch told police that she and her estranged husband "are in a property and assets dispute. The victim disclosed when asked if anyone was out to harm her, she advised that (he) has attempted to pay someone in the past to kill her," a search warrant affidavit filed in 4th District Court states.

Welch reported the alleged murder-for-hire plot in December, according to police. In that case, another man told her the he was approached by the estranged husband who "asked him to kill his wife. (He) advised the victim that he referred to this as a 'job' for him and (the husband) made motions of his hands indicating a gun, pre-loading of a gun, (and) by pulling the slide to the rear and loading a gun," the affidavit states.

When that man was questioned by police, however, investigators noted he "was visibly scared and would not comply when asked about the allegations."

The estranged husband was also questioned by Orem police.

"Orem officers stated (he) denied the allegations and nothing further came of the report. This marked the first potential conspiracy to commit murder for monetary gain for (him)," the warrant states.

The estranged husband was also questioned about the March 7 shooting on that day.

"(He) was compliant and provided several details as to his whereabouts prior to the shooting that took place," according to a affidavit.

While being interviewed by police, the husband also allowed detectives to extract data from his cellphone. In one string of messages, police say the husband asks a second man about returning his trailer, but the man tells him he doesn't know when he can return it.

The estranged husband then tells the man "he is 'out of games,' to stop hiding, return the trailer or he is reporting (the man) to the police," the warrant states.

The man responds by saying he doesn't understand why the estranged husband is getting so upset.

"'I did a lot of work on that trailer trying to help you out just never heard much from you and that last conversation we had, I'll be honest that sort of scared me. I have a family and a wife at home. I don't know about you but when somebody asks you to kill somebody and it scares you, you usually run or hide or stay the (expletive) away from it," investigators noted in the affidavit. "This marked the second time it was reported that (the husband) had potentially asked someone to kill someone."

When interviewed in person by police, the man said he arranged to meet with the estranged husband to purchase the trailer. But he was told not bring his cellphone or any other electronic devices.

He stated that the husband "searched him when he got to the location and proceeded to ask him  to kill someone for a million dollars and the trailer he was inquiring about. (The man) stated he turned down (the) offer and moved forward with the trailer purchase," according to the warrant.

On March 8, Welch's family contacted police that they had received information from an informant who claimed he was "propositioned  to kill (the husband's ex-wife) in Belgium for $50,000," according to the warrant.

"This marked the third potential conspiracy to commit murder for monetary gain for (the estranged husband)," police wrote in the affidavit.

As of Friday, no arrests have been made and no criminal charges have been filed. A call placed to the estranged husband's attorney was not immediately returned. The search warrants were to collect data from cellphones and other electronic devices.

Orem Police Lt. Craig Martinez on Thursday declined to comment about the case, saying only that it is still an "active investigation."

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call Orem police at 801-229-7070.
PROVO  Fear kept Franchesca Lopez from calling police after she was sexually assaulted.

But it was another fear  that if she didn't speak out nothing would change  that compelled the sophomore BYU student to stand on a plastic table in BYUs quad in front of hundreds of strangers on Friday and share the excruciating reality that stories about the school's honor code enforcement kept her silent after the assault a few months ago.

Im a first-generation college student, and a second-generation immigrant, she said. Ive literally dreamed about coming here since I was a child. Going anywhere else isnt an option for me.

For Lopez, who didnt plan to speak at the Restore Honor Rally Friday afternoon, BYU was the best place for her spiritually, culturally and financially.

The gathering expressed deep affection for BYU but disdain for the Honor Code Office, and came after an Instagram account (@HonorCodeStories) went viral, attracting more than 33,000 followers and prompting more than a thousand people to submit stories to the pages creator, Sidney Draughon. Another group, Restore Honor BYU, created social media accounts and began lobbying administrators for changes.

The group of several hundred students, alumni and friends spent about two hours talking, chanting, singing hymns and sharing stories. At 1 p.m., they sat silently for five minutes to honor those who were silenced by what they say have been punitive policies.

University administrators didn't attend the rally, but they issued a statement Friday morning.

"BYU cares deeply about the welfare of our students," the statement said. "We want every one of them to have a positive experience at BYU. Weve seen the conversations about the Honor Code Office on social media and have engaged in discussions with our students. The director of our Honor Code Office has been meeting with students since last Thursday.

"These conversations have been very constructive, as students have shared with us their concern for certain processes within the Honor Code Office," the statement continues. "In some cases, these concerns do not reflect current practices; even so, we recognize that it is our job to help students understand what processes are in place. This is one reason why we shared on Wednesday a Q and A with Kevin Utt, director of our Honor Code Office. Our goal has been and will continue to be to help our students succeed at BYU. The students we have met with are committed to the Honor Code and ongoing dialogue, which we believe will lead to a better understanding of how the Honor Code Office can best serve our students."

Lopez said she knows what happened to her is not her fault, but news coverage of rape victims who were reported to the Honor Code Office by the BYU police department only added to the horror stories circulating among victims, many of whom said they were reported to or investigated by the office.

I think Ill have that fear as long as Im a student, she said of worrying that speaking at the rally will lead to disciplinary action against her. Unless something changes with the way the office is set up or the way the policies are enforced.

She said she came forward because "I saw this big thing missing. No one was talking about sexual assault. And I saw a lack of diversity as well, so I thought it was my responsibility to tell my story, to make sure people know, its not OK that survivors dont feel safe to report."

A number of people held signs declaring them gay Latter-day Saints, while others held signs of support for the LGBTQ community on campus.

One young man, who asked to be identified only by his first name, said the fear among faithful gay church members is so great, they hesitate to hug friends or be seen being friendly with other LGBTQ students.

This is really, really heartening, said Calvin, who came to BYU from out of state for the rally.

While many students talked about being turned in to the office or reported for alleged violations, another student, Brayden Smith, said he turned himself in and it nearly cost him everything.

Imagine having your entire future, your career, your education, your social life, your housing, so much of your life dangled over your head like a sword, Smith said, acknowledging he committed serious" honor code violations. I knew I had sinned, and I felt the honorable thing to do was make it right by turning myself in. So I subjected myself to this process because I believed in the integrity of the honor code. ... I could never have prepared myself for what happened to me.

While the students were there to protest current practices and rally for changes, there was an overwhelming message of hope and support that many in attendance said they were grateful for, regardless of what happens next.

Draughon said it is still overwhelming to see the momentum the movement has gained in less that two weeks.

"I havent slept in 10 days," she said. "It gives me a lot of comfort knowing that I wasnt alone, and a lot of comfort knowing that a lot of people have my back. But to be honest, I wish no one could relate. I wish no one had this experience and that we had zero followers because no one has gone through something like this.
SALT LAKE CITY  Five months ago, what Bruce Bugbee is doing now was illegal. But today, it is considered groundbreaking research changing the landscape of Utah agriculture with a stigmatized plant that has a controversial history.

Bugbee, director of Utah State University's crop physiology laboratory, is growing hemp in a controlled environment on campus to research the plant with hopes to improve the yield and quality of the crop, as is done with every other Utah crop the lab researches.

In December, Congress passed the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, commonly known as the Farm Bill of 2018, which legalized the industrial production of hemp and made hemp producers eligible for the federal crop insurance program.

"It's definitely a rapid transition," Bugbee said. "This is a brand new agricultural crop, I mean in some ways it's not new because it's been around for thousands of years, but in essence it's new."

The university has implemented a lot of security measures to protect the crop, Bugbee said.

"The crop looks just like marijuana, that's why there's so much security," he said. "You can't tell by looking whether it's marijuana or it's botanical medicines' hemp."

A common mistake people make is with the terminology of the plant, he explained. The hemp strain of the cannabis plant does not produce the intoxication that the marijuana strain produces.

The strain Bugbee and his team are working with has federally approved low tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, levels. In other words, this strain won't get anyone high.

The research has garnered massive interest, and Bugbee's spoken at and been invited to speak at several different conferences about the work.

In parallel with the yield and quality improvements, the researchers are also looking to improve the genetics of the plant, he said.

As for a timeline on the research, Bugbee said it's ongoing but he hopes to publish scientific articles in a peer-reviewed research journal within the next few months.

Bill Doucette, an environmental chemist in Utah State's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Bugbee have previously worked with federal and state agencies and private companies to study "the use of plants to remove organic compounds from contaminated soils," according to a news release.

The hemp research builds on their past collaborative studies.

A potential partnership with the University of Utah's Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology is also being explored.

Karen Wilcox, chairwoman of the U. department, said a possible partnership is exciting.

"We try to find new therapies for both epilepsy and pain," she said. Chronic pain is a very severe problem in the United States and its treatment of pain is, as we now understand, is probably not best to do with opioids, and so we're hopeful that by looking at different kinds of combinations of extracts, you know these natural products might actually be useful in the treatment of pain.

Growing and studying hemp is important because it will "help society lead better lives," Bugbee said.

"I mean, why do we have medicine? Pain management is one. But there's not many people in society that don't take any pharmaceuticals," he said. He noted that many commonly used medicines today, like aspirin, are originally derived from plants.

"We are one of the few universities that's doing these more advanced studies, but Canadian universities are doing this research," he said. "So it's not like we're the first in the world but we're like the first in the United States."

The research is funded by farmers and growers of the plant from Utah, Colorado and Kentucky.

"I can see a time where we're going to offer courses in the botany of cannabis for students and it will be a much more major Utah crop," Bugbee said.

Beyond medicinal benefits, the hemp plant could provide a huge boost to Utah's economy. Bugbee projects that once the nation gets past the stigma surrounding the plant, it could become a major export with several uses.

For example, a big crop out of Texas is cotton, but the state is running out of water, he pointed out.

"Hemp can tolerate drought better than cotton and in the future I can see growing this crop, it could replace cotton in a lot of places," Bugbee predicted.

He said hemp fiber in general has a lot of properties that are better than cotton.

And he said cotton isn't the only thing hemp could replace. Hemp could replace opioids as well, according to Bugbee.

"Those are terrible, we got huge problems with opioids and these botanical medicines, they're just safer than the synthetic meth medicines. I see the day when that'll happen."
SALT LAKE CITY  An unknown assailant attempted to sexually assault a woman early Saturday morning just south of the Rice Eccles Stadium on the University of Utah campus, according to U. police.

Police said the woman, who is not a U. student or affiliated with the school, was walking westbound on 500 South when the incident occurred around 12:50 a.m. Saturday. U. police Sgt. Mark Veatupu said the investigation was ongoing and was not able to offer details about the woman's condition, but did say she was being evaluated at a local hospital Saturday afternoon and was accompanied by a victim's advocate.

He also offered a description of the suspected attacker in the case.

"The suspect is a possible white male with short dark hair, last seen driving a dark pickup, possibly a blue Toyota Tacoma," Veatupu said.

The incident is the second reported on the U. campus in the last three weeks.

On March 25, U. police reported a sexual assault occurred around 10:30 p.m. just west of the Marriott Library on campus. Hours later, the university sent out a campuswide alert instructing students and staff to pay attention to their surroundings and to report anything suspicious but did not specify whether there was a larger threat at the time. No additional details about the incident have since been released.

Veatupu said it is not yet known if the two incidents are connected and noted the previous case is also an ongoing investigation.

Veatupu encouraged anyone who may have information about either incident to contact campus police at 801-585-2677.

Contributing: Alex Cabrero
Boeings CEO has said that the software upgrade intended to fix the automatic triggering of the 737 MAXs Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System or MCAS is working. The airplane still remains grounded worldwide and the update is yet to be reviewe

On March 10, a devastating crash of Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX aircraft killed all 157 passengers and crew aboard the flight. This was the second such crash of a Boeing 737 MAX and it resulted in a worldwide ban on the aircraft. Both airlines and regulators grounded the plane and Boeing cut production significantly. Initial investigations into the crash pointed out a problem with the aircrafts Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System or MCAS, an anti-stalling mechanism that kicks in automatically when a sensor detects that the aircraft is about to stall. You can read more about MCAS and what went wrong with the Boeing 737 MAX here.

In case of the Ethiopian airline flight, the MCAS was triggered falsely and this is widely considered to be one of the things in a chain of events that resulted in the crash. Following the incident, the worlds biggest planemaker promised a software upgrade to fix the faulty MCAS triggering issue. The software fix is intended to stop the MCAS from triggering based on wrong readings from the airflow sensor and give pilots more control to take over the plane.

Now, as per Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg, the software update is working as intended. Reuters reports that the CEO joined one of 96 flight tests being performed with the upgrade implemented on the 737 MAX. The software was tested in different flight scenarios over 159 hours of flight time.

The software update functioned as designed, said Muilenberg. The CEO, however, did not indicate when the company would be rolling out the update for regulators to review.

Meanwhile, the aircraft remains grounded worldwide and is not expected to fly until aviation regulators and airlines in different countries are convinced that it is safe to fly again. Boeing has made no new deliveries of the 737 MAX since the Ethiopian Airlines crash.
Along with the Samsung Galaxy A80, the company also announced the Galaxy A70 simultaneously across three cities in the world. I happened to be at the launch event held in Bangkok and managed to spend a little time with the Galaxy A70 a day before launch.

The Galaxy A70 is no Galaxy A80. By that, I mean the phone is not as radically different from the A-series flagship, and compared to that, it can be easily mistaken for another Galaxy A-series phone. But that doesnt mean the Galaxy A70 shouldnt have what it takes to be a reliable device. Heres our first impressions of the phone:

Design and display

The Samsung Galaxy A70( 28990 at amazon) is not as bold a statement as the Galaxy A80. It follows the lines of other new A-series devices like the Galaxy A30 and the A50 if not for the triple camera system and new colour options. There's an Infinity-U display with a U-shaped notch on top of the display. The notch houses the front camera with the earpiece on top of it. The display on the Galaxy A70 is just as massive as the one on the Galaxy A80 and this one too is a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display with 1080x2400p resolution and 20:9 aspect ratio with similar bright and vivid colours as the Galaxy A80.

While the phone's design is more aligned towards the lower-priced A-series devices, features like the display, in-screen ultrasonic fingerprint sensor and the light-scattering colour treatment bring the Galaxy A70 a lot closer to the top-of-the-line Galaxy A80.

Despite being made of glass, the phone did feel a little plasticky to hold, but the edges on the back are rounded to offer a better grip. Thanks to the large display, it's quite unweildy and cannot be used single-handedly. Thankfully, there's no dedicated Bixby button.

Cameras

Like every A-series Samsung annoucned this year, the Galaxy A70 is also centered around the camera. It may be as radically different from the one on the Galaxy A80 but the 32-megapixel sensor with f/1.7 aperture sounds almost as formidable as the 48MP camera sensor.

The 32MP camera on the back takes 8MP photos by default, while the high-resolution mode can be turned on from the options in the camera UI. This is paired with another 8MP ultra-wide camera with a 123-degree field of view with an f/2.2 aperture and on top of that, there's a 5MP depth sensor for portraits.

On the software side there's Samsung Scene Optimizer with in-built night mode that kicks in automatically as well as flaw detection where the camera will prompt you to take another shot if there's shake or blinking.

On the front, there's another 32MP sensor with an f/2.0 aperture which should please users who want to live stream as the 32MP sensor on both the front and the back are essentially the same.

Curiously missing were features like portrait video and the ability to add different depth effects to the portrait photos. Samsung would also have done well to include a telephoto sensor instead of just a depth sensor.

Performance and UI

Under the hood, the Samsung Galaxy A70 runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 675, the same chipset that powers the Xioami Redmi Note 7 Pro in India. It's Qualcomm gaming-centric SoC in the 6-series, and based on the benchmark results we have noted in our labs, this should have no problem delivering a smooth experience. The chipset is paired with options of either 6GB or 8GB RAM and 64GB or 128GB storage. That's plenty of storage but it can also be expanded by upto 512GB with an SD card.

Inside, the Galaxy A70 works on Samsung's OneUI, which is increasingly becoming one of my favourite interfaces to use, based on Android 9. The UI offers smooth transitions, gesture navigation and more. There's also Samsung Knox for security. There's also a massive 4,500mAh battery that keeps the light on and can be fast-charged with the adapter inside the box.

In my little time of usage, there wasn't any noticeable hiccups. The phone felt smooth to use, but my eye remained on the Galaxy A80 simply for how cool the swiveling camera mechanism looks.

First Impressions

The Samsung Galaxy A70 sits between the Galaxy A80 and the rest of the A-series phones. The phone, in a way, offers a good middle ground to those who prefer the traditional form factor with fixed parts but with a high-resolution camera on both sides. The Galaxy A70, I was told, will be available in India sooner than the Galaxy A80.

Disclaimer: Samsung paid for the author's travel and stay in Bangkok.
HDFC customers can avail further discounts on the slashed prices on all three variants of the Apple iPhone XR.

Highlights:

Apple announces promotional price cut for iPhone XR.

The offer starts from April 5; the MRP on the website is the same as the launch price.

HDFC customers can also avail 10% cashback on debit and credit cards.



Apple has announced a temporary price cut on all the three variants of the iPhone XR (Review) under a promotional offer. The company said that the offer will start from April 5 and will run till the stocks last. For HDFC Bank customers, the phone will be available for further lower prices as compared to the non-HDFC customers. Moreover, Apple has also bundled some offers like cashback and No Cost EMI.

All the iPhone XR variants have got a price cut of approximately 18-22 percent. The iPhone XR 64GB, which is priced at Rs 76,900, will be available for Rs 59,900 to non-HDFC customers. For HDFC customers, the variant will be available for Rs 53,900. Similarly, the iPhone XR 128GB priced at Rs 81,900 will be available for Rs 64,900 (for non-HDFC customers) and Rs 58,400 (for HDFC customers). The iPhone XR 256GB is priced at Rs 91,900, but for non HDFC customers, it will be available for Rs 74,900 and HDFC customers can get it for Rs 67,400.

The promotional offers include 10 percent cashback on HDFC Bank debit and credit cards and the offer accepts zero payment. Further, the cashback is available for customers making a full swipe on credit or debit cards. Those who are interested in buying the phone can also avail a No Cost EMI loans from Bajaj Finance Ltd. and HDFC Bank Consumer Loans.

The move can be seen as Apples strategy to boost sales and address growing price competitiveness in the segment. Samsung has already launched a watered-down version of its Galaxy S10 flagship in the form of the Galaxy S10e and reports have suggested that the rumoured Google Pixel 3a will also be cheaper than the iPhone XR. Apart from being mired in legal controversies, Apple is also facing the brunt of US-China trade tensions.

On the top of that, the high cost of iPhones and intense competition from Chinese smartphone makers has been the main reason for Apples worst performance since 2014 in India. Last year, company CEO Tim Cook said that Apple's India business grew from $100-200 million a few years ago to over $2 billion in 2016 and flattened out after that. Apple considers India an important market but still doesnt want to sell cheaper iPhones in India.

Related Read:

Samsung Galaxy S10e vs Apple iPhone XR: Comparing the cheaper premium flagship phones

Apple iPhone 7 is now being assembled by Wistron in India
OnePlus CEO Pete Lau said that the company's TV project has come the furthest till date. He called it a smart display and highlighted that the remote is outdated.

OnePlus is looking to expand beyond smartphones. Last we heard from the company about a new product line was back in September 2018 when the OnePlus TV was first teased. This was quickly followed by a contest where the company asked fans to name the OnePlus TV in return for some prizes. However, since then, there has been little news of the OnePlus TV or any other non-smartphone product that the company might be working on. Fast forward to now and speaking to students of the European Institute of Design (IED) at Milan, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau has revealed a number of interesting future plans and a general direction that the company is hoping to grow in.

At the event, Lau spoke about foldable smartphones and that OnePlus does not see them as viable products right now. According to him, foldable phones provide no new functionality over existing smartphones and that even though foldable screens have potential, they are not suited to the smartphone space. Lau explained that the screen curvature on these phones is too wide and they are too thick. For the time being, OnePlus wants to steer clear of foldable phones and Lau said that the company would get there eventually, but not just yet.

Lau then went on to detail OnePlus' TV plans. The CEO said that the TV space has not seen any innovation in the past 20 years and that he prefers calling the OnePlus TV a "smart display". According to Lau, remote controls are dated and that he imagines a screen that is always ready and anticipates a user's needs. Here, Lau injected the cocept of Artificial Intelligence, saying that the same would make things more intiutive. OnePlus is working towards bringing AI to its televisions but Lau said it is too early to reveal any concrete information.

On OnePlus' automotive plans, Lau said that the company would not want to build cars, but instead, it is interested in the in-car technology space. Lau specifically said that the company could look at possibilities around a super virtual assistant keeping 5G connectivity in mind.

In terms of office gadgets, Lau did not really reveal much, but he said that OnePlus is looking to enter that space and that PCs are a fundamental piece in a cloud connected era.

Source
The USA is the only advanced economy that does not guarantee any paid vacation.

Cambodia, Iran and Vietnam have the most public holidays each year - with 27 days in total.

Bahrain offers the most annual paid leave and public holidays, with 49 paid days off in total.

Latvian mothers can take 658 days of paid maternity leave - more than any other country.

Poland offers the most parental leave, with 1,792 days (728 paid days and 1,064 unpaid days).

Men in Kazakhstan can have the most unpaid time off, with 1,116 days.

Mongolia provides the most paid time off for women, at 3,061 days.

Which Countries Have The Most Public Holidays?

Which Countries Have The Most Sick Leave?

Which Countries Offer The Most Maternity Leave?

Which Countries Offer The Most Paternity Leave?

Which Countries Offer The Most Time Off For Men/Women?

Having to go to work to earn money is a fact of life for most of us, no matter where we live in the world. Being able to take time off work is just as crucial for helping us spend time with our friends and families, go on vacation and recover from illnesses or childbirth. However, our ability to actually take this time varies wildly across the globe, with some countries offering a lot of freedom and other countries offering a lot less.If youve ever wondered where youd need to move to in order to maximize your potential for sick leave or maternity leave, the good news is that the numbers - from the World Policy Analysis Center, the International Labor Organization and Globalization Partners - have been crunched and turned into maps showing the contrasts. So lets see which countries really give the most time off and - perhaps more importantly - which dont:Public holidays are great, arent they? A day where - in theory - everybody gets to take time off work at the same time, so families can get together and celebrate a religious holiday or a memorial of a historic event. It can be a time for BBQs, fireworks, presents, decorations, or, if you work in retail or the service industries, just another day of work. Leading the way here is Cambodia, which offers 27 days of paid public holidays.Workers there can enjoy paid time off for Victory Over Genocide Day, Childrens Day and International Womens Day, as well as several days for events like the Kings Birthday and the Water Festival. Other countries with 27 public holidays include Iran and Vietnam, but with the major caveat that theyre not all paid. In Iran they celebrate holidays as diverse as Nature Day, Oil Nationalization Day and the Khordad National Uprising of 1963, but none are actually paid holidays.Another crucial element of any job is the ability to take time off when youre too ill to perform your tasks. Even more important is that you should be paid for this time so you arent losing money by being unwell. Individual companies often determine in employment contracts, but most countries have set limits for receiving statutory sick pay. Not all, however, with no federal law in the USA concerning this, although some states do require it to be offered by law.Russia and China are amongst those countries that offer the most in terms of time off with paid sick leave, both allowing it for the duration of any illness. Neither country offer time off unpaid under law, though very few countries do, with the notable exception of Canada, where its available for up to 476 days.Maternity Leave is the time new mothers can take off for childbirth and looking after their newborn babies before returning to work. The ability to do this without suffering a painful drop in income is particularly important at such a chaotic time of life, but there are some countries that dont offer any paid maternity leave at all, including Australia, Suriname and Tonga. The USA offers no statutory paid maternity either , but does legislate for 84 days unpaid, while in the UK theres the more generous 273 days paid and 91 unpaid, but new mums in Angola can rely on an incredible 588 days with some kind of income from the state while paid parental leave of up to 658 is available in Latvia.The idea that men might take time off after the birth of their child is still relatively all around the globe and that is reflected in the lack of legislation to make this possible. Many countries make no allowances, paid or unpaid for paternity leave (including the likes of Germany and China), while most of those that do only have very short paid allowances of around 14 days or, in many cases, just one or two days. Iceland and Finland both offer generous paid paternity options, while France and Spain give new fathers over 1,000 days of combined paid/unpaid leave.So, when you add up all of the available time off that each country allocates for its citizens, where is the best place to head if you fancy a break from work? Well, of course theres plenty more factors to consider than just the statutory allowances for sick pay, maternity leave, etc, but for both men and women, the country that offers the most time off work is Russia. For women it adds up to 3,093 days, with men only slightly worse off with 2,953 days. The worst places for both are Western Sahara and Puerto Rico, which offer no days of leave for either men or women.Countries where theres a big difference between whats available for men and women include the UK, where a woman could receive 689 days in total, while a man would get less than half, with just 339 days. In some countries, the balance skews the other way, like in Iceland, where a woman could get just 268 days while a man could get 339.There are many factors at play when it comes to how we get given that much-needed time off work. As in the USA, where states fill in the gaps left by federal legislation or where companies themselves are under pressure to give their staff a better work-life balance and vacation time, sick leave and maternity leave can be part of a competitive package to attract the right staff.This means theres no simple answer for where the best country to work is if youre looking for a good allowance of time off, but all of the data collected in these maps will give a good indication of your legal rights if youre working in any country in the world.Read next: How to switch off your work brain after hours (infographic)
The first Blue Deal partnership was signed in Colombia with five regional water authorities to improve the water security along the Magdalena river. (Photo: Regional Water Authority De Dommel)

Water secure environment

The Blue Deal programme was launched last year by the Dutch regional water authorities and the Dutch Government as a joint contribution to achieve sustainable development goals 6.3 to 6.6 by 2030.

The overall goal is to help 20 million people in 40 catchment areas around the world to gain access to clean, sufficient and safe water.

Building on the expertise of the Dutch regional water authorities the programme focuses on long term partnerships with local water authorities in Africa and Latin America to create a water secure environment.

Local water management

We have a long history of addressing local water issues involving stakeholders such as citizens, farmers and businesses and we want to share our experiences with water authorities in developing and fragile states, said Hein Pieper on the occasion of the announcement.

Pieper is vice-president of the Dutch regional water authorities and one of leaders of the Blue Deal programme.

Vice-president Hein Pieper of the Dutch regional water authorities explained the important role of the partnerhsips.

However, in the Netherlands we have our own culture and own way dealing with water issues. In order to create a water secure environment in other parts of the world, it is essential to include the local culture and local governances. Therefore we chose to set up long term partnerships.

Making plans happen

The eleven partnerships involve 35 local parties and address a variety of water issues, such as enforcement, data collection, improving waste water treatment, increasing water retention capacity.

In many river catchments around the world, national and regional authorities have developed water management plans but face the difficulty to implement the measures that are needed to address the issues of too much, too little and too polluted water.

According to Pieper the Blue Deal programme is about getting plans into action and making water management operational. Often water infrastructure fails to deliver, such as waste water treatment plants (on top photo in Mali) or dams. 'By listening to our partners and sharing our experiences, we can gradually improve the siuation', said Pieper.

Read also on this website

 Stockholm World Water Week 2018: Blue deal seeks wisdom on water management from both sides, 6 September 2018

 World Water Forum 8: Launch of Dutch Blue Deal programme in support of SDG6 on water, 23 March 2018

 Amsterdam International Water Week 2017: Ambitious coalitions want to realize new breakthroughs in the world, 3 November 2017

 Expertise: Water for all

More information

Dutch Water Authorities

The Hague, the Netherlands

+31 70 351 97 51

www.dutchwaterauthorities.com/blue-deal

Blue Deal: The Movie. About the different Blue Deal partnerships in Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Colombia, Argentina and Ethiopia.
By Robynne Boyd

Winter is waning at High Hog Farms, which sits on five acres about 40 miles northeast of Atlanta. The farm's 21 raised beds have been prepped and await the growing season. Hens are laying eggs, chicks are hatching and a new angora bunny named Langston has joined the farm as its future buck. Along with the resident sheep, his offspring will be sheared for wool. Soon enough, all that fluff will be on sale at a local farmers' market alongside High Hog's herbs, fruits, vegetables, poultry and pork. This is how Keisha Cameron nourishes her family and neighbors.

With the help of her husband, Warren and teenage sons, Cameron has turned a large plot in the small town of Grayson into a flourishing farm. She raises her livestock without growth hormones, cultivates her crops without pesticides or chemical fertilizers and sells the produce locally, right off the farm or at farmers' markets. Throughout the year, Cameron throws open High Hog's gates to volunteers and offers cooking classes like a"Cultured Kitchen Workshop." This is Cameron's way of cultivating community among black farmers in the region.

"For me, part of farming is about reimagining and reenvisioning what it means to be a black person on the land in the South, and learning to be self-reliant," said Cameron, who came to farming five years ago after a career in marketing. "And my idea of self-reliance absolutely requires other people."

Founders and owners of High Hog Farm, Keisha and Warren Cameron and their sons, Zach (far left) and Abraham (far right). Caleb Jones / Food Well Alliance African American farmers have been helping produce the country's food for centuries, but their role and time-tested knowledge base have largely gone unsupported and unappreciated. A 2012 USDA Census on Agriculture found that out of the approximately two million farms in the United States, only 33,000 were black owned  fewer than 2 percent. Part of the reason, said Tamara Jones, executive director of the Southeastern African American Farmers' Organic Network (SAFFON), a nonprofit that supports black farming, culture and history, is that the U.S. agriculture system favors vast, industrialized farmsteads that grow commodity crops over small-scale farmers, especially those who are black. Indeed, discrimination has played no small role. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides financial and technical support to America's farmers, but it has a long history of prejudicial treatment against African American ones, something the agency's own Commission on Small Farms acknowledges. Such systemic racism made headlines in 1999 when a federal judge in the Pigford v. Glickman case  reportedly the largest civil rights settlement in history  awarded almost $1 billion in restitution to black farmers and their families who were unfairly denied USDA farm loans and assistance between 1981 and 1996.

The fallout of such inequity has been a colossal loss of land over time for black farmsteads. In our current agricultural system, to kick off the growing season, farmers need cash  typically loans spent on seeds, fertilizer and pesticides that are paid back after the harvest. But when yields are poor and the farmer can't get a loan, a cycle of debt ensues that can eventually lead to the loss of the farm. According to the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, black farmers in the U.S. owned about 15 million acres of land in 1920. By 1997 the acreage had dropped 87 percent to around 2 million. But a movement to preserve the cultural heritage and growing practices of black farmers and to support more diverse agriculture has been sprouting in the Southeast. There's always been a group of black farmers who have worked outside the dominant, chemical-heavy food system, said Jones, often because they couldn't afford all the extra inputs. Many have been farming the same parcel "organically" for generations, even before that term entered the vernacular. Siblings Althea and Matthew Raiford of Gilliard Farms in Brunswick, Georgia, for instance, are growing organic vegetables and raising livestock on a 25-acre plot that's been in their family since 1874. Matthew said when he told his "nana" about the organic farming techniques he learned at the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems at the University of California at Santa Cruz, she replied, "Well, baby, you could have come here first and I would have told you everything you needed to know."

Althea and Matthew Raiford of Gilliard Farm in Brunswick, Georgia. Matthew Raiford Then there's Jennifer Taylor, an associate professor and coordinator of small farm programs at Florida A&M University, whose 35-acre organic farm was once sharecropped by her grandmother. Taylor, who works with her husband, Ronald Gilmore, leaped into organic farming for its health benefits and market advantage that enables her to sell to health food stores and restaurants. Many small-scale farmers, however, find the USDA National Organic Program certification out of reach. In fact, that same 2012 census found that America's black farmers owned just 116 of its 17,750 USDA-certified organic farms. "Why I find African Americans aren't certified organic is largely the expense," said Jillian Hishaw, an agricultural lawyer and founder of Family Agriculture Resource Management Services, an organization that helps southeastern farmers of color retain their land. "A lot of them have already been farming sustainably, but with all the regulations, they just don't go through the certification process."

Jillian Hishaw, founder of Family Agricultural Resource Management Services, with Letanya Williams, a farmer and Hishaw's client, on her farm in Chester, South Carolina. Megan Haywood Work-arounds to certification have sprung up in lieu of the official USDA label. Some farmers, like Cameron, sell directly to consumers or farmers' markets. Another cost-effective option is to become "certified naturally grown" (CNG), after inspection by other CNG farmers, ensuring organic standards equal to or above the USDA's. The Truly Living Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture, a nonprofit that "grows food, people and community" within Atlanta's city limits, is using its CNG certification as a transitional step to organic certification. Getting all of this produce into low-income communities of color, which often lack adequate access to fresh food, is another priority of the movement. Organizations like Truly Living Well and the Georgia Farmers Market Association (GFMA) are helping do just that. For instance, GFMA's "Just Food Market" sells shares in its community supported agriculture (CSA) program on a sliding scale ranging from $6 to $40. The price structure enables people on food assistance to buy local produce, farmers to receive a living wage, and those with higher incomes to support food justice. "We see that when black farmers are thriving, we are more likely to get that food to the people who need it most in our communities," said Leah Penniman, cofounder of Soul Fire Farm near Albany, New York, and author of Farming While Black. "If you're growing using Afro-indigenous practices, which is what we prefer saying to 'organic,' then again you will have that healthy outcome."
(Photo: REUTERS / Jerry Lampen)Pope Benedict XVI (C) bids farewell to the crowd and Archbishop Jeremiasz (R), president of the Polish Ecumenical Council following an ecumenical service at the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Warsaw May 25, 2006

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has in a rare essay on the sex abuse crisis in the Catholic Church claimed that it was caused in part by the sexual revolution of the 1960s and the liberalization of the church's moral teaching.

The emeritus pope's 11-page essay was published simultaneously in German at Klerusblatt, in Italian at Corriere della Sera, and in English at Catholic News Agency and the National Catholic Register.

The former Pope also reveals some of the behind-the-scenes struggles between the Vatican and American bishops in handling the crisis and admits that the Vatican was initially overwhelmed in dealing with it, CNN reported.

Benedict broke years of silence on major church affairs, attributing the crisis of clerical sexual abuse to a breakdown of church and societal moral teaching and says he felt compelled to assist "in this difficult hour," The Washington Post reported.

"The extent and gravity of the reported incidents has deeply distressed priests as well as laity and has caused more than a few to call into question the very Faith of the Church.

"It was necessary to send out a strong message, and seek out a new beginning, so to make the Church again truly credible as a light among peoples and as a force in service against the powers of destruction," wrote Benedict.

"Since I myself had served in a position of responsibility as shepherd of the Church at the time of the public outbreak of the crisis, and during the run-up to it, I had to ask myself -- even though, as emeritus, I am no longer directly responsible -- what I could contribute to a new beginning," Benedict wrote, in explaining why he is speaking out.

He turns 92 next week and appears to be frail but is in relatively good health.

CNN reported that his comments on the sex abuse crisis seem certain to inflame tensions between conservative Catholics, who largely blame homosexuality and lax sexual ethics for the scandal, and liberals, who say there is no known connection between homosexuality and pedophilia.

In his essay, Benedict asserts that the changes in traditional moral standards on sexuality both in society and within the Catholic Church laid the groundwork for the sex abuse crisis.

"Part of the physiognomy of the Revolution of '68," he writes, "was that pedophilia was then also diagnosed as allowed and appropriate."

Benedict says that this mentality also affected bishops and Catholic seminaries and caused, "the extensive collapse of the next generation of priests."

"There were -- not only in the United States of America -- individual bishops who rejected the Catholic tradition as a whole and sought to bring about a kind of new, modern Catholicity," he writes.

"In various seminaries homosexual cliques were established," he writes, "which acted more or less openly and significantly changed the climate in the seminaries."

Benedict cites one bishop who showed seminarians pornographic films, "allegedly with the intention of thus making them resistant to behavior contrary to the faith."

.As word of Benedict's essay spread, conservative Catholics hailed it, while others called it "embarrassing" according to CNN.

A top Vatican official confirmed the essay's authenticity to CNN.

Since his made history by stepping down in 2013, Benedict has rarely left his monastery high on a hill in Vatican City.

In his farewell address as pope, Benedict promised to stay "hidden" from the world, though he has spoken out occasionally on church matters.
Ramsey Cottage Hospital receives state-of-the-art equipment



MTTV / Paul Moulton

Ramsey Cottage Hospital has become the first in the British Isles to new sensor technology to monitor patients.

The sensor technology uses pads which are placed under the mattress of the patient.

The patient's heart rate, respiratory rate and their body movement is monitored by the pads.

Speaking to MTTV, Peter van Veen from Vannin Healthcare explains how the new system works.

<AUDIO>

The equipment was supplied through a donation by League of Friends of Ramsey Cottage Hospital.

Media

Sensor Clip


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Man sets himself on fire outside White House

US Secret Service arrested a man who set his jacket on fire outside the White House on Friday afternoon.

A man in a wheelchair-type electric scooter lit his jacket on fire outside the White House fence on Friday and was hospitalized with what appeared to be non-life threatening injuries, the US Secret Service said.

SECRET SERVICE DRAGGED HIM TO A STATUE

Secret Service officers responded to the incident on the north side of the executive mansion, extinguished the fire and provided first aid, the agency said on Twitter.

Man sets himself on fire outside White House WATCH

Daniel Kingery, a 57-year-old voter rights activist, said the man was holding up his burning jacket and recording the incident, which appeared to be a demonstration.

He wasnt obeying their order to put it down, so it was definitely some sort of a protest, Kingery said. The Secret Service put out the fire, knocked him out of the scooter, and dragged him to a statue in nearby Lafayette Square where other officials were waiting, he added.

The Secret Service closed Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House to pedestrian traffic, and a nearby block of 17th Street was closed as well. At least portions of the White House complex were locked down.

News video showed emergency medical personnel arriving to tend to a person who police had surrounded on the ground.

A CNN reporter on Twitter cited a Secret Service spokeswoman as saying there was no threat to U.S. President Donald Trump. The incident occurred shortly after Trump spoke at the White House about the nations 5G network.
More than 1400 military personnel dismissed under FETO probe

Since last summer, the Turkish Armed Forces have dismissed over 1,400 personnel amid efforts to root out terrorist FETO infiltration.

Since the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, Turkish institutions including the military have been working to find and expel elements of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the coup.

1,412 MILITARY PERSONNEL DISMISSED

A two-year state of emergency following the coup was lifted on July 20, 2018, and since then the Turkish Armed Forces have dismissed 1,412 personnel, the analysis found.

Under National Defense Ministry direction, 795 personnel from the Turkish Land Forces have been dismissed, along with 242 personnel from the Turkish Naval Forces and 375 from the Turkish Air Forces. In addition, 106 soldiers were reduced in rank.

The government declared the state of emergency following the July 15, 2016 defeated coup orchestrated by FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
Success has valid reason on its side while failure requires emotions as its justification.

Political parties contesting general elections in India seek to mobilise voters support by focusing on the failures of the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The opposition parties critique of the BJP does have moral significance inasmuch as it has substance that is validated by the failures of the incumbent party. The opposition parties, in their appeal to the voters, do not require the support of emotions because valid reason seems to be on their side. Interestingly, the BJP and its allies have to depend heavily on emotions as their appeal to the voters lacks reason, which they would have brandished had they been successful in fulfilling the promises that they had made in 2014. In order to avoid this moral embarrassment resulting from their failure, the BJP seems to have chosen to excessively use emotions in order to deflect the attention of the voters from reason, which demands valid justification from the party. The BJP election campaign is heavily filled with emotional issues such as devotion to combative nationalism. The increasing internal realisation that the BJP does not have valid reason other than overt confidence boosted by pre-election surveys, makes the desperate incumbent party focus more on emotional issues without caring for the election code of conduct. The BJP has been trying to mobilise voters in favour of its electoral success by capturing and controlling electronic and social media, while also ensuring a disproportionate degree of publicity in the print media.

However, the wider a partys sweep in capturing the major sources of propaganda and the louder its leaders election speeches, the more certain is its realisation that the ears of millions of voters refuse to be receptive to its shrillness. This is so because we can expect voters who are capable of being rational to deploy their decisive cognitive powers to distinguish between what is virtuous or sincere and vicious or superficial in such election speeches. As has been proved in the recent past, voters have been rational enough to realise that such speeches are filled with passion and emotive motives rather than reason. The hate component of the speeches will definitely colour the democratic character of the government, if such parties are given another chance to rule. The incumbent party seeks to denounce the opposition by inflicting on them moral injury of hate and contempt. Of course, such emotional onslaught is backed by crooked, and not sound, reason. As we have seen earlier too, parties with a combative instinct become more intense as the campaigns near the polling phase. In the context of growing emotionalisation of electoral politics, one needs to ask the question: What is the BJPs perception of the voters? And what should be the self-perception of the voters? Should a party decide the issues for the voters and, more importantly, why should voters accept such a state of affairs?
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 13, 2019 -- Researchers hoping to better interpret data from the detection of gravitational waves generated by the collision of binary black holes are turning to the public for help.

West Virginia University assistant professor Zachariah Etienne is leading what will soon become a global volunteer computing effort. The public will be invited to lend their own computers to help the scientific community unlock the secrets contained in gravitational waves observed when black holes smash together.

LIGO's first detection of gravitational waves from colliding black holes in 2015 opened a new window on the universe, enabling scientists to observe cosmic events spanning billions of years and to better understand the makeup of the Universe. For many scientists, the discovery also fueled expansion of efforts to more thoroughly test the theories that help explain how the universe works -- with a particular focus on inferring as much information as possible about the black holes prior to their collision.

First predicted by Albert Einstein in 1916, gravitational waves are ripples or disturbances in space-time that encode important information about changing gravitational fields.

Since the 2015 discovery, LIGO and Virgo have detected gravitational waves from eight additional black hole collisions. This month, LIGO and Virgo began new observing runs at unprecedented sensitivities.

"As our gravitational wave detectors become more sensitive, we're going to need to greatly expand our efforts to understand all of the information encoded in gravitational waves from colliding binary black holes," Etienne said. "We are turning to the general public to help with these efforts, which involve generating unprecedented numbers of self-consistent simulations of these extremely energetic collisions. This will truly be an inclusive effort, and we especially hope to inspire the next generation of scientists in this growing field of gravitational wave astrophysics."

His team -- and the scientific community in general -- needs computing capacity to run the simulations required to cover all possibilities related to the properties and other information contained in gravitational waves.

"Each desktop computer will be able to perform a single simulation of colliding black holes," said Etienne. By seeking public involvement through use of vast numbers of personal desktop computers, Etienne and others hope to dramatically increase the throughput of the theoretical gravitational wave predictions needed to extract information from observations of the collisions.

Black holes are known to contain two physical quantities: spin and mass. Spin, for example, can then be broken down further into direction and speed. Etienne's colleagues, therefore, are examining a total of eight parameters when LIGO or Virgo detect waves from a collision of two black holes.

"The simulations we need to perform, with the public's help, are designed to fill large gaps in our knowledge about gravitational waves from these collisions by covering as many possibilities as we can for these eight parameters. Current black hole simulation catalogs are far too small to properly cover this wide space of possibilities," Etienne said.

"This work aims to provide a critical service to the scientific community: an unprecedented large catalog of self-consistent theoretical predictions for what gravitational waves may be observed from black hole collisions. These predictions assume that Einstein's theory of gravity, general relativity, is correct, and therefore will provide deeper insights into this beautiful and complex theory. Just to give you an idea of its importance -- if the effects of Einstein's relativity theory weren't accounted for, GPS systems would be off by kilometers per day, just to name one example."

Etienne and his team are building a website with downloadable software based on the same Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing, or BOINC, system used for the SETI@Home project and other scientific applications. The free middleware system is designed to help harness the processing power of thousands of personal computers across the globe. The West Virginia team has named their project BlackHoles@Home and expects to have it up and running later this year.

They have already established a website where the public can begin learning more about the effort: https://math.wvu.edu/~zetienne/SENR/.

###

The presentation, "The BlackHoles@Home Project: Black Hole Binaries on the Desktop Computer," will take place at 1:42 p.m. MT, Saturday, April 13, in room Governor's Square 17 of the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel. ABSTRACT: http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/APR19/Session/C11.2

MORE MEETING INFORMATION

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Main Press Page: https://www.aps.org/meetings/april/press.cfm

Main Meeting Page: https://www.aps.org/meetings/april/

Hotel Information: https://www.aps.org/meetings/april/hotel-travel.cfm

PRESS REGISTRATION

APS will provide free registration to all staff journalists representing media organizations, professional freelance journalists on assignment, and student journalists who are attending the meeting for the express purpose of gathering and reporting news and information. Press registration grants full access to all scientific sessions, to the press room, and to the press conferences. We will also provide complimentary press registration to university press officers, PIOs and other professional media relations staff.

Press registration grants full access to all scientific sessions, to the press room, and to the press conferences. Press credentials are approved at the sole discretion of APS. For press related questions about the APS April Meeting, email <media@aps.org>.

PRESS CONFERENCES

A series of press conferences will be held during the meeting at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel. The press conferences will be live webcast, and members of the media who are unable to attend the meeting in person may register to view the live webcasts at https://www.apswebcasting.com.

ABOUT APS

The American Physical Society is a nonprofit membership organization working to advance and diffuse the knowledge of physics through its outstanding research journals, scientific meetings, and education, outreach, advocacy, and international activities. APS represents over 55,000 members, including physicists in academia, national laboratories, and industry in the United States and throughout the world. Society offices are located in College Park, Maryland (Headquarters), Ridge, New York, and Washington, D.C. https://www.aps.org/
There is only a short window of opportunity to seek medical help before rabies becomes almost invariably fatal, but people wait an average of 10 days before seeking medical advice following exposure to potentially rabid animals overseas, according to new research being presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Amsterdam, Netherlands (13-16 April). The average delay in seeking treatment following bat exposures in the UK was almost three days.

"The findings highlight the importance of raising public awareness around the risks of rabies, both for travellers visiting rabies-infected countries and from bat exposures in the UK", says co-author Dr Kevin Brown, Head of Rabies and Immunoglobulin Service for Public Health England.

Symptoms typically take 2 to 3 months to appear, but can develop in as little as a week (following severe bites to the head) or up to several years after exposure. "Preventive treatments are 100% effective if given promptly after exposure", says Dr Brown. "That's why seeking prompt care is so important, even if the wound or incident seems very trivial. If you are bitten, scratched, or licked by an animal you must wash the wound or site of exposure with plenty of soap and water and seek medical advice without delay. Travellers should not delay waiting for treatment until they return to the UK."

Rabies is a zoonotic infection (a disease that spreads from animals to humans) that can cause a rare but life-threatening infection of the brain and nervous system in humans. It usually results from a bite, scratch, or lick from an infected animal. The virus is estimated to kill around 59,000 people every year worldwide, most often as a result of a bite from a rabid dog in parts of Africa and Asia.

Rabies does not circulate in wild or domestic animals in the UK, although some species of bats can carry rabies-like viruses (European Bat Lyssavirus type 1 and type 2). Every year around 150 people in England are treated after being bitten by a bat.

People who believe they may have been exposed to rabies are advised to immediately seek treatment which involves a series of rabies vaccinations with or without immunoglobulin, an antibody treatment that gives immediate short-term protection while the vaccines start to work.

In England, national rabies advice, guidance and treatment is provided through the Rabies and Immunoglobulin Service within Public Health England, with ten issuing centres around the country.

In this study, medical staff from one of the issuing centres in Manchester, North West England conducted a review of all requests for rabies post-exposure treatment at their lab between June 2015 and June 2018.

In total, 200 patients (aged 0-77 years old) received post-exposure treatment through the virology laboratory. Over a third (69/200 patients) were aged 20-29 years old. The vast majority of patients (92%; 183/200) had not received any rabies vaccination in the past.

Results showed that over three-quarters (79% (157/200) of post-exposure treatment was given to travellers returning to the UK from 43 different countries.

However, 1 in 5 individuals (22%; 42/200) reported an exposure to a bat in the UK. "While the risk of catching rabies in the UK is extremely low, it is important that all potential bat bites are risk-assessed and treated as necessary. Bat bites in the UK often do not leave a mark, and are felt rather than seen", says Dr Brown.

In the UK, although prompt treatment is recommended, given the prolonged incubation time it is never considered too late to receive post-exposure treatment for an exposure.

In separate research, Public Health England doctors found a 7.5-fold increase in the number of risk assessments performed for rabies post-exposure in England since 2001--increasing from 390 in 2001 to 2949 in 2018--the majority as a result of dog bites in South and South East Asia, whilst around 1 in 10 were for bat bites in England.

Of the previously unimmunised individuals exposed to animals overseas, 40% did not seek rabies post-exposure treatment overseas, but waited until return to the UK. Similar to the results from Manchester, more than 60% of bat bites sought treatment within 2 days.

Nationally, in addition to the advice and guidance, Public Health England provides rabies vaccine and rabies immunoglobulin for all potential rabies exposures in England. In mid-2018, the guidance on post-exposure treatment for rabies was updated. The routine vaccine schedule for unimmunised individuals was reduced from 5 doses of vaccine to 4 doses. Additionally, a composite rabies risk (red, amber, or green) was calculated for each exposure, taking into account the country and animal risk; and the category of exposure. Rabies immunoglobulin was only recommended in cases with a 'Red' composite rabies risk, ie a category 3 exposure (bite or laceration) in a 'high risk' country/animal risk combination. Rabies immunoglobulin is also no longer given for bat bites in the UK, although still advised for non-UK bat bites.

Further analysis showed that in the first 6 months following the introduction of the new guidelines, there was a significant increase in the number of calls about possible cases of rabies compared to the same period in 2017 (1727 vs 1157). Nevertheless, there was a decrease in both the number of vaccines (2.4 vs 3) and vials of immunoglobulin (256 vs 575) issued as treatment.

"Those completing the risk assessment found the process easier to follow, and there was less risk of inappropriate treatment given", says Dr Brown. "The new guidance has led to a significant reduction in the costs of running the program, whilst still ensuring appropriate treatment for those at potential risk of rabies."

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Hospitals have put a lot of effort into encouraging good hand hygiene among their staff, but new findings suggest a new frontier for preventing transmission

For decades, hospitals have worked to get doctors, nurses and others to wash their hands and prevent the spread of germs.

But a new study suggests they may want to expand those efforts to their patients, too.

Fourteen percent of 399 hospital patients tested in the study had "superbug" antibiotic-resistant bacteria on their hands or nostrils very early in their hospital stay, the research finds. And nearly a third of tests for such bacteria on objects that patients commonly touch in their rooms, such as the nurse call button, came back positive.

Another six percent of the patients who didn't have multi-drug resistant organisms, or MDROs, on their hands at the start of their hospitalization tested positive for them on their hands later in their stay. One-fifth of the objects tested in their rooms had similar superbugs on them too.

The research team cautions that the presence of MDROs on patients or objects in their rooms does not necessarily mean that patients will get sick with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. And they note that healthcare workers' hands are still the primary mode of microbe transmission to patients.

"Hand hygiene narrative has largely focused on physicians, nurses and other frontline staff, and all the policies and performance measurements have centered on them, and rightfully so," says Lona Mody, M.D., M.Sc., the University of Michigan geriatrician, epidemiologist and patient safety researcher who led the research team. "But our findings make an argument for addressing transmission of MDROs in a way that involves patients, too."

Studying the spread

Mody and her colleagues report in the new paper in Clinical Infectious Diseases that of the six patients in their study who developed an infection with a superbug called MRSA while in the hospital, all had positive tests for MRSA on their hands and hospital room surfaces.

In addition to MRSA, short for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, the study looked for superbugs called VRE (vancomycin-resistant enterococcus) and a group called RGNB, for resistant Gram-negative bacteria. Because of overuse of antibiotics, these bacteria have evolved the ability to withstand attempts to treat infections with drugs that once killed them.

Mody notes that the study suggests that many of the MDROs seen on patients are also seen in their rooms early in their stay, suggesting that transmission to room surfaces is rapid. She heads the Infection Prevention in Aging research group at the U-M Medical School and VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System.

Additionally, since many patients arrive at the hospital through the emergency room, and may get tests in other areas before reaching their hospital room, it will be important to study the ecology of MDROs in those areas too, she says.

"This study highlights the importance of handwashing and environmental cleaning, especially within a healthcare setting where patients' immune systems are compromised," says infectious disease physician Katherine Reyes, M.D., lead author for Henry Ford Health System researchers involved in the study. "This step is crucial not only for healthcare providers, but also for patients and their families. Germs are on our hands; you do not need to see to believe it. And they travel. When these germs are not washed off, they pass easily from person to person and objects to person and make people sick."

More about the study

The team made more than 700 visits to the rooms of general medicine inpatients at two hospitals, working to enroll them in the study and take samples from their bodies and often-touched surfaces as early as possible in their stay. They were not able to test rooms before the patients arrived, and did not test patients who had had surgery, or were in intensive care or other types of units.

Using genetic fingerprinting techniques, they looked to see if the strains of MRSA bacteria on the patients' hands were the same as the ones in their rooms. They found the two matched in nearly all cases - suggesting that transfer to and from the patient was happening. The technique is not able to distinguish the direction of transfer, whether it's from patient to objects in the room, or from those objects to patients.

Cleaning procedures for hospital rooms between patients, especially when a patient has been diagnosed with an MDRO infection, have improved over the years, says Mody, and research has shown them to be effective when used consistently. So lingering contamination from past patients may not have been a major factor.

But the question of exactly where patients picked up the MDROs that were found on their bodies, and were transmitted to the surfaces in their rooms, is not addressed by the current study and would be an important next step based on these results.

Why MDROs matter

Also important, says Mody, is the fact that hospital patients don't just stay in their rooms - current practice encourages them to get up and walk in the halls as part of their recovery from many illnesses, and they may be transported to other areas of the hospital for tests and procedures.

As they travel, they may pick up MDROs from other patients and staff, and leave them on the surfaces they touch.

So even if a relatively healthy person has an MDRO on their skin, and their immune system can fight it off if it gets into their body, a more vulnerable person in the same hospital can catch it and get sick. The researchers are exploring studying MDROs on patients in other types of hospital units who may be more susceptible to infections.

Patients and staff may also get colonized with MDROs in outpatient care settings that have become the site of so much of American health care, including urgent care centers, freestanding imaging and surgery centers, and others.

Mody and colleagues are presenting new data about MDROs in skilled nursing facilities at an infectious disease conference in Europe in coming days. They showed that privacy curtains - often used to separate patients staying in the same room, or to shield patients from view when dressing or being examined - are also often colonized with superbugs.

"Infection prevention is everybody's business," says Mody, a professor of internal medicine at the U-M Medical School. "We are all in this together. No matter where you are, in a healthcare environment or not, this study is a good reminder to clean your hands often, using good techniques--especially before and after preparing food, before eating food, after using a toilet, and before and after caring for someone who is sick-- to protect yourself and others."

###

In addition to Mody and Reyes, the study team includes senior author and HFHS infectious disease physician Marcus Zervos, M.D., U-M and VAAAHS physicians Sanjay Saint and Vineet Chopra, U-M infectious disease physicians Laraine Washer and Keith Kaye, U-M geriatrics research team members Kristen Gibson, Marco Cassone and Julia Mantey; U-M bioinformatics student Jie Cao, HFHS team members Sarah Altamimi and Mary Perri, and Hugo Sax, head of infection control and hospital epidemiology at University Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland. Mody, Kaye, Saint and Chopra are members of the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, and the U-M/VA Patient Safety Enhancement Program.

The study was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, BAA 200-2016-91954

Reference: Clinical Infectious Diseases, DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciz092
Tokyo, Japan - Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have found that crystals of a recently discovered superconducting material, a layered bismuth chalcogenide with a four-fold symmetric structure, shows only two-fold symmetry in its superconductivity. The origin of superconductivity in these structures is not yet well understood; this finding suggests a connection with an enigmatic class of materials known as nematic superconductors and the extraordinary mechanisms by which superconductivity can emerge at easier-to-reach temperatures.

Superconductors are materials with extremely low electrical resistance. They have already seen numerous applications to powerful electromagnets, particularly in medical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) units, where they are used to generate the strong magnetic fields required for high resolution non-invasive imaging. However, significant barriers exist which prevent more widespread usage e.g. for power transmission over long distances. The most notable is that conventional superconductivity only arises at extremely low temperatures. The first "high-temperature" superconductors were only found in the latter half of the 1980s, and the mechanisms behind how they work are still hotly debated.

In 2012, Prof Yoshikazu Mizuguchi of Tokyo Metropolitan University succeeded in engineering layered bismuth chalcogenide materials with alternating insulating and superconducting layers for the first time. (Chalcogenides are materials containing elements from group 16 of the periodic table.) Now, the same team have taken measurements on single crystals of the material and found that the rotational symmetry characteristics of the crystalline structure are not replicated in how the superconductivity changes with orientation.

The material the group studied consisted of superconducting layers made of bismuth, sulfur and selenium, and insulating layers made of lanthanum, fluorine and oxygen. Importantly, the chalcogenide layers had four-fold rotational (or tetragonal) symmetry i.e. the same when rotated by 90 degrees. However, when the team measured the magnetoresistance of the material at different orientations, they only found two-fold symmetry i.e. the same when rotated by 180 degrees. Further analyses at different temperatures did not suggest any changes to the structure; they concluded that this breakage of symmetry must arise from the arrangement of the electrons in the layer.

The concept of nematic phases comes from liquid crystals, where disordered, amorphous arrays of rod-like particles can point in the same direction, breaking rotational symmetry while remaining randomly distributed over space. Very recently, it has been hypothesized that something similar in the electronic structure of materials, electronic nematicity, may be behind the emergence of superconductivity in high temperature superconductors. This finding clearly links this highly customizable system to high temperature superconductors like copper and iron-based materials. The team hope that further investigation will reveal critical insights into how otherwise widely different materials give rise to similar behavior, and how they work.

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This work was partly supported by Collaborative Research with IMR, Tohoku Univ. (proposal number: 17H0074) and Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Nos. 15H05886, 16H04493, 17K19058).
Most San Antonians cant imagine Fiesta without A Night in Old San Antonio  NIOSAs official name.

Today, its one of the celebrations signature events. Yet Fiesta, which began in 1891, had to struggle along without it until 1948, when the San Antonio Conservation Society settled on a season, a place and a name for its fundraiser.

From its first appearance in 1936 as a fall festival to raise money for the societys historic preservation projects, the proto-NIOSA took shape slowly. It started as an Indian Harvest Festival at Mission San Jose, with live animals brought by the societys members for atmosphere, but moved in 1940 as the River Jubilee to the banks of the San Antonio River to promote the newly developed River Bend with a little parade and a turkey dinner.

As the renamed River Festival, the event was successful enough that the society was invited to move it to the spring and become an official Fiesta Week event. In 1947, NIOSA moved into La Villita and changed to its present name the next year.

The historic district in the city center, with roots in the 18th century, river access and a New Deal-era renovation that created plazas and walkways, was the perfect fit for the event, then as now an evening of food, games and music that require strolling room.

The South Side mission, though suitably historic, was not easily accessible, said Lewis F. Fisher, who wrote extensively about NIOSAs beginnings in Saving San Antonio: The Precarious Preservation of a Heritage. The river wasnt right either, with narrow banks that meant that booths were strung out in a less-than-comfortable walking distance.

The society had advocated for the 1930s development of La Villita, which Fisher said offered a compact, easily controlled area instantly identified with old San Antonio and accessible to large numbers of people.

Over the years, La Villita grew as the city purchased more land, while NIOSA became a full-out celebration of the many cultures that contributed to San Antonios heritage, developing theme areas adjacent to the historic structures, in the Villita Assembly Building that opened in 1959 and in the Arneson River Theater.

The mix of cultural specialties, both edible and musical, in a relaxed environment now attracts more than 85,000 visitors each year. Proceeds from the volunteer-run event add up to an average of $1.6 million annually to finance the societys preservation and educational efforts.

Some of that money comes back to its longtime host venue. In 2000, the society and the city created La Villita Fund, which ensures that about $200,000 annually is invested in ongoing restoration of La Villita structures and landscaping. A society spokeswoman said about $2.5 million since the funds creation has financed projects such as new brick pavers, electrical service, tree planting, festive lighting and other improvements to La Villitas Maverick Plaza, keeping it in shape to host many other events.

The 71st presentation of NIOSA will be held from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. April 23 to 26. Tickets are sold at the gate or with an advance discount at www.niosa.org or at H-E-B stores, the Fiesta Store, military bases and USAA. For details, call 210-226-5188.

Waffle On Waffles: If you go to NIOSA, youll be faced with so many choices  starting with 15 different theme areas and more than 200 food and drink booths, each with its own attractions and aromas from cultural specialties. If the fragrance of warm sugar halts you at the Belgian waffle booth run by the Belgian-American Club of Texas (covered here March 9), youll have one more choice to make: Brussels or Liege?

Those are the two types of Belgian waffles, said Robert Bob Braubach, chairman of the Belgian booth, which serves both. The difference, he explained, is in the batter. Named after the capital of Belgium, the rectangular Brussels waffle utilizes a lighter batter to create a lighter, fluffier waffle with deeper holes and smoother edges.

Named after a city on the border between Belgium and Germany, the Liege waffle is made from thicker, stickier batter that typically has pearl sugar (a specialty baking sugar), which will caramelize during cooking, said Braubach, a local attorney who is also honorary Belgian consul here. The finished waffle tends to be less uniform, with shallow holes and a chewier texture. This one is more rounded, with uneven edges, and can support more toppings, although many Belgians like the Liege waffle plain, Braubach said.

The Belgian-American Club of Texas, which is the largest such organization in the U.S. and hosted a reception for Belgian Ambassador Dirk Wouters during a March 12 visit to San Antonio, recommends that you try some of each until youve decided which one you like better. Then order at least one more of your favorite and consider exploring more of their national cuisine. Belgian cuisine is similar to French, Braubach said, but a little lighter and probably the best in Europe.

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The monthslong legal tug of war over Charlie Thrash, 81, a wealthy San Antonio man who is mentally incapacitated, took a decisive turn Friday that left his girlfriend Laura Martinez on the outs.

After a three-day hearing, Probate Court Judge Oscar Kazen issued a temporary injunction against Martinez and her family that forbids any of them from coming within 500 feet of Thrash, the longtime owner of a specialty car repair shop on West Avenue.

RELATED: Adult adoptions by mentally incompetent millionaire nullified

Kazan also ordered Martinez and her adult children to vacate Thrashs spacious home in Shavano Park by April 28 and to relinquish any of his assets they may still possess. Still at issue is a $100,000 Corvette, believed to be hidden in Junction.

In their closing arguments Friday afternoon, lawyers for court-appointed guardians Mary Werner and Tonya Barina reminded the judge of the extensive evidence of exploitation presented during the hearing.

Laura was trying to scare Mr. Thrash that the guardians were out to get his money. The truth is, the only people out to get his money were the Martinez family, said Laura Cavaretta, attorney for Barina, the guardian of Thrashs estate.

READ THE COURT ORDER HERE

We believe that if our requests are not granted, Mr. Thrash will continue to be intimidated and his assets drained, she added.

Philip Ross, the lawyer for Martinez, 54, and her adult children, told the judge they were the only ones who truly cared about him.

They were doing everything they possibly could for Charlie without asking for payment in return, he said.

Earlier, while testifying, Laura Martinez became emotional on the witness stand.

Charlie is the most important thing to my whole being, she said Thursday through tears. The reason Im here is to defend Charlie and fight for him. Charlie has capacity and should have his civil rights respected.

The two guardians, who were appointed by the probate court to protect Thrash and his estate, had frequent conflicts with the Martinez family.

Throughout the litigation, the Martinez family and Ross had sought to end the guardianships, claiming that Thrash, who was found to be mentally incapacitated in 2017, has somehow recovered his mental competence.

His estate is worth about $3 million. According to Laura Martinez, who began dating him in 2012, she is the sole beneficiary of his will.

An investigation by Texas Adult Protective Services concluded that Martinez was exploiting Thrash financially and isolating him from his family and longtime friends.

SUBSCRIBER CONTENT: S.A. millionaire marriage annulled after abuse, exploitation and 'abduction' claims

Dr. Raymond Faber, a psychiatrist, had found Thrash in 2017 to be totally without capacity to care for himself or handle his business and financial affairs.

Thrash did not attend the hearing and has not been in contact with the Martinez family since March 6, when he was removed from the home in Shavano Park that he shared with Martinez and two of her adult children.

Werner, his personal guardian, said she took the dramatic action because she had become concerned about his physical safety.

Since then, he has been staying with a relative somewhere in Bexar County.

Hes happy, telling funny stories. He thinks hes the biggest comedian, said Barina, guardian of his estate.

Martinez was briefly married to Thrash last month, despite a court order forbidding him from making such important decisions.

The marriage was soon annulled by Judge Kazen. A March 5 adoption by Thrash of two of her adult children was also voided by another judge on the same grounds.

Kazens decision on Friday replaces a March 14 temporary restraining order.

The motion by the guardians for the restraining order claimed that threats had been made against them by the Martinez family; that the guardians attempts to take control of Thrashs assets had been stonewalled; and that assets of his estate had been converted to the Martinezs benefit.

All five Martinez family members are living rent-free in the Wards property, some are or were driving the Wards vehicles, and made extensive retail purchases using the Wards funds, read the motion.

The simmering conflict flared several times during this weeks proceeding, prompting Kazen and his bailiff to scold Martinez family members about improper courtroom conduct or alleged aggression directed at court officials.

Your client and Mr. Martinez circled the parking lot, yelling profanities at my staff, Kazen said on Thursday to Ross, after court investigator Elaine Damian complained about an incident involving Michelle Martinez and her father Mario Martinez.

That ends today. You will not touch my staff, said the judge, who threatened to bring a contempt action.

Much of the evidence and testimony during the hearing had to do with financial records, a Go Fund Me account opened in January purportedly by Thrash to raise money for an attorney, how Thrashs business was operated and the whereabouts of various business records and Thrashs property.

Among the more dubious transactions was a business lease signed in October 2018 in which Brittany Martinez, then 25, would rent Thrashs repair shop on West Avenue for $700 a month over 20 years. The lease specified that the rent would not increase.

In her testimony, Laura Martinez acknowledged that fair market value for the shop dictated a monthly rent of between $3,500 and $5,000 a month, but said that the lease terms reflected Thrashs wishes.

The slow pace of the proceeding, originally set for one day but stretching to more than 20 hours, eventually provoked judicial comment.

Someone described this as a slow burro ride up a mountainside. Its more like a three-legged burro ride up a mountain, Kazen groaned Friday morning, his eyes on the clock.

And despite the fact that the Martinez family had on March 14 been ordered to turn over all of Thrashs property, various items were still unaccounted for when the hearing began Wednesday.

By Thursday, however, missing items began to reappear, including a valuable watch, an $8,000 check from an insurance company and boxes of business records.

The capper came Thursday afternoon when Brittany Martinez, 26, revealed to the judge that she had three of Thrashs missing guns in her car, and that some were loaded.

We went from a Rolex to a check to guns to one bag of jewelry, marveled Kazen, who called in a sheriff deputy to assist with the transfer of the weapons.

The mystery of how Thrashs 2016 Z06 Corvette ended up in Junction in a storage area owned by Ross was also finally clarified.

Laura Martinez said she and Thrash drove it there to keep it out of the hands of the guardian of the estate.

He was scared. He wanted to take it away and hide it. He said for the millionth time, I do not want Tonya around my cars, Martinez said.

Near the close of the hearing, Kazen issued a stern order to Ross to bring the car back to San Antonio at his own expense.

Mr. Ross, you have until 5 p.m., Tuesday. That fiasco ends, said the judge.

jmaccormack@express-news.net
COTULLA  Nine decades after he taught poor Mexican-American children here during a year off from college, Lyndon Baines Johnson returned to take his rightful place at the Welhausen School.

As schoolchildren sang, How do you do, Mr. Johnson, how are you? just as they had way back then at the start of each school day, an oversized bronze statue of LBJ as a young man was unveiled at the entrance.

With more than 500 people looking on, Luci Baines Johnson, the ex-presidents daughter, sculptor Armando Hinojosa and others yanked on the ropes and removed the red cloth cover.

We are very proud. I started crying. I know he was here with us, said Maria Herrera, 73, of Brownsville, speaking about her father, Hilario Perez, who was one of Johnsons students in 1928-29.

While none of those taught by LBJ are known to be living, dozens of their descendants from near and far attended the Saturday morning ceremony, as did a full roster of VIPs including Chief U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia from San Antonio.

Likely coming the farthest, from the nations capital, was Frank Brogan, an assistant secretary of education, who brought a congratulatory letter from Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

Also participating were a color guard from the naval air station in Kingsville and the Texas State University Bobcat Marching Band.

Welcome to my barrio, said Leodoro Martinez, the master of ceremonies, to kick things off, prompting laughter from the crowd.

Warming things up was the high school band, Mariachi Cotulleno, which knocked out a rousing version of Yellow Rose of Texas, followed by Zacatecas and other tunes.

In his remarks, Mayor Javier Garcia said, A man walked among us and all he wanted to do was help. His way was through education to defeat poverty, segregation and any roadblock you would meet in life.

It was clear that a great friendship lives between the Johnson family and Cotulla. The adoring crowd applauded Luci Baines Johnson at almost every turn, and she returned the affection.

On behalf of generations of Johnsons, I come to thank you for the inspiration you gave my father, she said.

It would please him so much to see that the Cotulla he loved and never forgot has chosen to remember him. It touches me to tears, she added.

In her prepared remarks, she drew a straight line between her fathers year in Cotulla, where he learned about bigotry and want, and the monumental civil rights legislation passed under his leadership 40 years later.

Somehow you never forget what poverty can do when you see it in the scars on the hopeful face of a young child, she said, quoting her fathers address to a joint session of Congress in 1965.

I never thought in 1928 that I would be standing her in 1965. It never occurred to me in my fondest dreams that I might have the chance to help the sons and daughters of those students, and to help people like them all over this country. But now I do have the chance, and Ill let you in on a little secret. I mean to use it, LBJ had said.

Of the recognition given Saturday to LBJs fateful year in her city, Cotulla, City Councilwoman Mary Koraleski said, Its been a long time coming.

When he came here, we were so poor, she added. Its a totally different town now, and we plan to grow and prosper for all of our citizens.
Mayor Ron Nirenberg told area business leaders in his second annual State of the City address Friday that San Antonio is stronger than ever under his tenure, citing accomplishments he has often trumpeted on the campaign trail, including near-full employment and a master plan for mass transit.

In a 27-minute speech, Nirenberg argued his team has made progress to build on in the future.

Over the last two years, we have bolstered our fundamentals: public safety, community health, infrastructure, transportation, housing and workforce development, he said Niren. These investments are the foundation of a strong economy and fuel our future.

But absent from the speech was any kind of new, grand policy initiative. In his first address a year ago, the mayor announced the launch of ConnectSA, the nonprofit now crafting the citys transit plan, and pledged to create 70,000 jobs in two years.

On ExpressNews.com: In first State of City address, Nirenberg unveils creation of ConnectSA

The mayor attributed that absence to the long-term, comprehensive nature of his past policy announcements, like ConnectSA and the citys affordable housing plan.

We have to be thoughtful. We have to do things wisely, Nirenberg said after the speech. Politics tends to go toward the instant gratification, the short-term solutions that end up being long-term mistakes, and we dont want to do that. We want to put our city in a position for long-term, sustained success.

That strategy could prove futile if Nirenberg loses election next month to his most prominent challenger, Councilman Greg Brockhouse, who has criticized many of those master plans and long-term policies.

There was no direct mention or allusion to the campaign in Nirenbergs speech, but the mayor discussed its importance afterward.

We have a vision for the future, we have to stay on course, Nirenberg said. The momentum weve been able to regain in this city is real, and we dont want to lose that. Thats why Im running for re-election.

The mayor recounted achievements along those lines: reductions in San Antonios crime rate, investments in street maintenance and affordable housing, and planning for mass transit.

In introducing the mayor, former Texas House Speaker Joe Straus touted Nirenbergs advocacy for small businesses and jobs.

We are fortunate here in San Antonio to have a mayor who not only excels in leading city government, but is also an effective, results-driven salesman for our great city, Straus said.

After the introduction, Nirenberg told the business leaders assembled in the ballroom that their partnership and collaboration has led to the citys success.

We work as one community, one team, Nirenberg said, comparing what he called Team SA to the San Antonio Spurs. Were not flashy or loud, but quietly focused on results.

He said the citys single mission is to create high-paying jobs and the strongest, most equitable economy in the country.

Nirenberg also touched on the citys climate change plan, SA Climate Ready, which sets a goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. The mayor sought to frame the venture, which has met criticism from the business community and Brockhouse, as another economic opportunity.

Nirenberg announced last month he would delay a vote for the second time, pushing it to the fall of 2019. He said Friday the city would do a full cost-benefit analysis of every strategy as it moves from the planning phase to implementation.

Done prudently, done pragmatically, this will prepare us for climate change and there will be an economic boon to our city, the mayor said.

Dylan McGuinness covers City Hall and local politics in San Antonio. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | dylan.mcguinness@express-news.net | Twitter: @DylMcGuinness
As nervous as the respondents were in front of Immigration Judge Daniel J. Santander Thursday morning, he assured them he would do everything he could to help them with their asylum cases. Everything within the law.

He commended one migrant for her carefully prepared documents, despite not having an attorney. He remembered her daughters and consoled them. One, a U.S.-born teen, seemed especially scared.

Their exchange contradicted news reports of some immigration judges acting far differently, accused of undermining the judicial process and creating a culture of hostility toward immigrants seeking asylum.

Were doing the best we can, Santander said, acknowledging a court system widely seen as overwhelmed and backlogged.

Legal experts have long agreed with that assessment. Theyve said more judges and support staff are needed, as are court reforms.

The American Bar Association and the American Immigration Lawyers Association have argued that immigration courts should be remade into an independent judiciary, as are other U.S. courts, so that decisions can be made fairly without undue influence.

They are operating now under conflicts of interest that endanger due process, and its pretty blatant.

The prosecutors in such courtrooms are employees of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the Department of Homeland Security. The judges are themselves employees of the U.S. Justice Department, headed by Attorney General William Barr and before him, Jeff Sessions. Both Barr and Sessions have been openly hostile to asylum seekers and immigrants in general.

Migrants, some of whom cant afford to hire attorneys, thus face overwhelming odds. Both legal organizations say an independent judiciary is vital, especially since judges now face a case-completion quota tied to their performance reviews.

A yearlong 2017 study of immigration courts also found they struggle with inefficient practices and case processing due to understaffing, issues relating to workforce culture and careers, (and) deficient or ineffective processes.

Today, there are about 400 immigration judges working in 63 courts across the country. More than 850,000 cases are pending before them, according to the latest data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, or TRAC, a research program at Syracuse University.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, has attacked immigration judges for not denying more asylum cases. The national approval rate is about 35 percent.

Sara Ramey, an immigration attorney and executive director of the Migrant Center for Human Rights in San Antonio, was in Washington, D.C., this week with the immigration attorneys association to press members of Congress for change.

Ramey says the group is most concerned about the executive branch pressuring judges to follow political directives. In a 2018 commentary, she said the administration seeks specific outcomes in immigration cases, with little regard to the merits of asylum claims.

She was there to seek the reversal of Sessions directive eliminating administrative closure. While judges can still technically close a case, the governments prosecutors have been instructed not to agree, and judges no longer have the power to override them. Sessions directive also reopened thousands of cases, exacerbating the backlog.

Of the 855,807 cases pending nationwide, California (153,443) and Texas (124,277) are dealing with the highest number of cases. In Texas, only Houston (56,113) is handling more asylum cases than San Antonio (27,143). According to TRAC, the average wait time for a case to be completed in San Antonio is 1,194 days, or about 3.3 years. In Texas, the average wait is 879 days, or 2.4 years.

Border agents have been known to say that migrants know theyll get the equivalent of a four-year visa as they wait for their court dates. Other experts have suggested creating more immigration courts near the border to help deliver speedier trials.

Meanwhile, in El Paso, an immigration judge reportedly referred to his court as a bye-bye court, operating as if in the Wild West and granting only 4 percent of asylum applications.

In Judge Santanders court, each asylum case on his Thursday morning docket got some attention. He described every phase the case would undergo before final judgment.

An anxious father, a year away from U.S. citizenship, went up to the judge, shook his hand and thanked him. As his wife gathered up their documents, their 5-year-old extended her little hand to the officer standing guard.

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
Confused about Brexit? Then let me tell you about my father. He was born when the British Empire was still in bloom and being British was to inherit a divine state of grace. It was an exceptionalism. You carried the long and varied history of Britain with you. It was your honor and your obligation.

My father was born in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and only visited Britain briefly. But he was quintessentially British and, more than that, English.

He was neither well-lettered nor well-travelled; he earned his living with his hands as a mechanic. But his commitment to King and Country was absolute. He believed in Britain as the source of all good things, from justice to innovation.

Thats why when war broke out in 1939, he volunteered immediately for the Rhodesian regiment that was forming. He was rejected because he couldnt fully straighten his left arm, which he had broken as a child.

No matter. He sold all the familys possessions and with my mother, my 3-year-old brother and me, just months old, we took a six-day train journey with very little money to the South African port of Durban. He figured that The Royal South African Navy would be less interested in medical status than the infantry. He was right and he went to sea. Hugely important to him: he could serve.

In London in 1962, I worked for Lord Beaverbrook, the Canadian press lord who had been a big part of the war effort, a close friend of Churchill, and a man violently opposed to Britain joining the precursor to the European Union, the Common Market. My job was to help the effort to keep Britain out with the help of the influential Beaverbrook press  think Rupert Murdoch media  and to mobilize support against anything to do with the nascent European project.

The men and women I met were socially and intellectually far more accomplished than my father, but they had the same flame, the same basic belief in British exceptionalism. They believed in honor, duty, justice, but also that Britain, especially England, had an exceptional role in history: It was chosen. Its a belief so deep that its primal, coming from a far place in the psyche.

The overt arguments we assembled were economic: Beaverbrook said, and I believed, the British farmer would be hurt, British trade would suffer and the precious empire  now in its new non-imperial guise as the Commonwealth  would be imperiled. Beaverbrook was wrong and, of course, I was wrong, and so were the Britain-first people we spoke for and sometimes recruited.

When Britain finally joined Europe in 1973, the farmers, and the economy in general, were to bloom. Britain became Europes financial hub as well as the point of entry into Europe for global companies. Its own exports to Europe boomed: At one time, and perhaps still, half the pizza shells in Italy were made in Britain.

Now that economic order is to be disrupted, damaged or destroyed. Britain is going back to a glorious place that only existed in myth: the pre-European days when, without glory, it was still recovering from loss of empire and World War II.

When I try to imagine why this is happening, I find the arguments about sovereignty, freedom and faceless bureaucrats in Brussels even more empty than Beaverbrooks fictions that I once peddled. I hear instead the brave music of a distant drum, the echoes of past victories, inventions and achievements, Rule Britannia in a minor key.

Winston Churchill said of the Seven Years War, mankind was not to be spared the rigors of the human pilgrimage. Neither, alas, it seems, is Britain.

As to my father, he lived many years in the independent African country Botswana teaching his trade and harboring in his home newborn African babies, who were fatherless and whose mothers had to work. He, unlike his sentimental compatriots, realized that times had changed, and that the Britishness of yesteryear was, well, of a time gone by and best left to BBC costume dramas like Downton Abbey.

Llewellyn King is executive producer and host of White House Chronicle on PBS. His email is llewellynking1@gmail.com. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.
When Mr. Cui approached me about the rejected pole sign permit, I worked with him to find an alternative solution within what was allowed and would satisfy the needs of his tenants, Arena said in a statement. Apparently that didnt satisfy him, and he solicited Ald. Burke. At no point have I had any communication with Ald. Burke concerning the sign permit or legal work for his law firm.
During a recent naturalization ceremony, former President George W. Bush, a former Texas governor as well, described immigration as a blessing and a strength.

Given the recent policies and practices surrounding immigration that have become increasingly familiar in recent years  family separations, a Muslim travel ban, limits on refugee admissions, deportation of nonviolent immigrants  its understandable if one might feel otherwise.

However, Islamic Relief USA, which recently participated with our close friends from the Jewish refugee organization HIAS in a discussion about immigration, concurs with the former presidents sentiments.

What often gets lost or overshadowed in the discussion about this perennially emotional subject are the economic blessings and strengths immigrants provide to so many communities, industries and service sectors in the United States.

A report called Immigration and American Jobs, which was produced by the conservative American Enterprise Institute and the business coalition group Partnership for a New American Economy, concluded that immigrants pay more in taxes than their families receive in federal benefits from welfare, Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP(, Medicaid or unemployment.

One area where immigrants taxes are particularly crucial is in Social Security. With some analyses projecting that it will pay out more money in benefits than it takes in through revenues, its essential to have more workers on documented payrolls. Immigration would be that blessing/solution. In 2012, undocumented workers paid $12 billion more in payroll taxes than they received in benefits.

In San Antonio, the citys 290,000-plus immigrants had a combined income of more than $6 billion in 2016, according to a study by the New American Society. The citys immigrants paid some $1.5 billion in taxes that year, of which $500 million went toward state and local taxes and $1 billion to the federal government. Collectively, they possessed more than $5 billion in spending power.

Perhaps the biggest gripe directed against immigrants is that they siphon jobs from U.S.-born workers. Again, the studies counter that belief with a finding thats much more palatable and worthy of replication. Instead of competing with U.S.-born workers for certain jobs, immigrants tend to complement their colleagues occupations. As the joint report stated, the foreign-born can have different skills and education than U.S. natives and therefore tend to work in different jobs. And, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, concluded in a myth-fact sheet that immigration does not negatively impact American workers without college degrees.

The cultural differences can help foster creativity in the form of job creation. The Hamilton Project research project found that immigrants are 30 percent more likely to form new businesses than U.S.-born residents. Also, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine found that the average immigrant-owned business hires 11 employees. If the number of potential undocumented immigrant entrepreneurs, estimated to be 470,000, were able to operate their businesses in the formal economy, they could potentially create as many as 5.2 million new jobs.

Despite the positive benefits, recent events and statements paint a disheartening picture.

We learned recently that the Department of Health and Human Services plans to expand bed capacity at its temporary shelter for unaccompanied alien children in Homestead, Fla., later this month. As the issue concerning the possible closing of the Southern border continues, we encourage policymakers to take these facts into consideration.

Instead of adding more beds to holding facilities, we need to come up with real solutions.

Anwar Khan is the president of Islamic Relief USA, a nonprofit humanitarian and advocacy organization that works on alleviating poverty in more than 40 countries. The organization has offices in Texas.
A not-so-uncommon story:

The sexual assault victim  a girl of 16. Shes now 37 years old, happily married to the love of her life, and the mother of three children.

The attacker  a man who was unaware his victim was just shy of the age of consent and had consensual sex with her. As a result, he had to register with the Texas Public Sex Offender Registry. Hes now married to his teenage sweetheart and is the father of the victims children.

Thats right  the victim and her attacker got married soon after the girls mother, learning of the couples romance, reported the assault to prosecutors.

Although he has a masters degree, the attacker couldnt find a teaching job because he was listed in the sex offender registry for life. His wife had to work multiple jobs to help support the family.

Finally, an attorney working pro bono succeeded in setting aside the judgment, thus allowing his removal from the registry.

Before that removal, their three children were ostracized at school after their fathers photo was found in the registry by students. The family moved many times after neighbors discovered his registry entry.

This story isnt a figment of my imagination; its true, as are many similar stories that occur as a result of the overreaching registry.

Generally in Texas, those convicted of a sex crime must register as a sex offender, usually for life. The offenses may involve minor crimes, consensual sex or no sexual contact at all. These individuals and their families suffer negative consequences  they may have trouble finding employment, face restrictions on where they live, and experience social ostracization, threats and harassment.

Ill-advised lawmakers, seeking popularity by pursuing legislation they believed was favored by their constituents, enacted the registry laws with good intentions. But these laws do more harm than good simply because they require an unnecessarily large number of offenders to register without assessing their risk of reoffending. Thats overkill.

The Legislature placed emphasis on the good the laws would do  protecting society and especially children  and forgot to ask an important question: What bad would the laws do?

Realizing the error of their ways, legislators in 2011 amended the laws, allowing a path to removal from the registry for a limited number of offenders if they demonstrated they werent a continuing threat to society. But these provisions are fraught with problems and require fine-tuning.

Good laws, especially those involving regulating behavior to protect us, fulfill an important need. But before deciding how best to do that, its important to research not only the problem but solutions. We must study empirical evidence to assure that the proposed laws are on solid ground.

Even well-intentioned laws, when imprudently applied, can create unintended but dire consequences that prove to be worse than the problems theyre supposed to solve. The Texas registry is flawed in that respect.

In the United States, most states have offense-based registries. They do not make clear the risk level of the offender and the severity of the offense.

Virtually no studies exist finding U.S. registries effective, prompting some professionals to call them pointless. Many even call them counterproductive, arguing that they increase the rate of reoffense. Studies show that risk-assessment programs continually outperform those based on the sexual offenses committed.

Weighing the good and the bad of laws brings to mind a profound statement  justice in a society is measured not by how it treats its best citizen but by how it treats its worst.

As Ive noted, a sizable number of those listed in the registry shouldnt be there because they arent likely to reoffend  theyre not a risk to anyone. They shouldnt be grouped with our worst. They respect the law and would work hard to prove their worth to society.

Registries are a modern-day scarlet letter. The stigma and punishment never ends  its there for life.

All the while, we continue to destroy the lives of decent human beings who once went astray. This takes place little by little, each time a registrant applies for a new job or moves into a new neighborhood. Moving out of state isnt an option, as each states laws apply to them as well.

Admittedly, this far-reaching unfairness affects only a small segment of the public. Yet the unfairness is real and unacceptable, because most of the public is, first, ignorant of the kind of people affected by the all-inclusive registry laws and, second, doesnt comprehend the significance of studies involving registries and recidivism.

The public wrongly views those required to register as simply paying the price for breaking the law. People see all registrants as sexual perverts, predators and pedophiles from whom we need protection.

This is wrong. Its true that the registry includes deviants who may be prone to recidivism. The registry was created to monitor such predators. But a larger number of offenders are required to register because the laws are offense-based rather than risk-based.

Besides, registration isnt intended to be punitive but to ensure public safety. Registrants have already paid for their crime, and many are law-abiding individuals who probably will never repeat their past behavior. The do the crime, do the time mindset has no application in this context.

A statewide, nonprofit organization, Texas Voices for Reason and Justice, advocates support for people required to register and their families.

Texas Voices promotes laws and policies based on common sense and research through education and legislation, and strives to educate and raise awareness about the ineffectiveness of the registry. Its members believe that it ostracizes and stigmatizes entire families without keeping the community safer.

I offer a challenge to the Texas Legislature  revisit the states registry laws and perform the tasks Ive noted are essential to assure their requirements are a product of a good law, not a bad one. As an incentive, I remind legislators that the state already has risk-assessment criteria in place elsewhere.

An offense-based criterion without risk assessment flies in the face of the concepts previously developed in the penal system, such as rehabilitation, reform and deterrence, and those based on our reliance on the premise that we live in a society that believes in allowing second chances before scarring individuals for life.

For years weve applied those concepts when deciding on sentencing, probation, parole and deferred adjudication. We also assess the offenders remorse, recidivism generally and the likelihood that an offender will reoffend. Why not use these tools in deciding which offenders are required to register?

This would allow law enforcement to focus on the offenders who really do threaten our safety. Thats a good thing, isnt it?

Rudy Apodaca, a former chief judge of the New Mexico Court of Appeals, is an Austin attorney and writer. He may be reached at www.rudyapodaca.com.
This is an important question from a concerned, involved taxpayer: As someone who has friends and family working for the district, and as someone who volunteers with students through various programs, does San Antonio Independent School District Superintendent Pedro Martinez really think he can spin his way out of what he and the school board did at their recent meeting?

The school board approved management agreements to bring in nonprofits to run 18 SAISD schools. If you have a management agreement, youre managing something, in this case schools. The word management is a dead giveaway.

Now that 25% of the schools in the district are being managed by someone other than the superintendent and his highly paid central office administrators, isnt it time to cut 25% of those administrative positions?

While were at it, how about cutting 25%of the superintendents salary seeing how he is pawning off the job to other entities? What guarantees do we have that he will do his part in monitoring these schools? At what point does SAISD cease to exist?

Rosa M. Garcia

Their first 1,000 days

I fully agree with Joe Straus (Pre-K critical part of school finance reform, Another View, March 25), John M. Bird (Consider the future, Your Turn, April 2) and Kay Mijangos (Time is now for pre-K, Your Turn, April 2) on the value of high-quality prekindergarten programs.

However, they have completely missed the most important factor in ultimate success in education and life  the first thousand days of life, from the moment a child is conceived to his or her third birthday.

What the mother eats or drinks during pregnancy, whether she breastfeeds, whether there are two parents interacting with their baby as the baby starts to explore his/her environment, whether the parents start introducing books at age 1 instead of turning on the TV (or other mobile devices) and letting these devices baby-sit their child. Its important whether they foster an environment that produces a child who is ready to make maximum use of pre-K education and be on the path to academic success and a productive life in general.

Until society understands and accepts the importance of the first 1,000 days, most of the efforts of well-meaning members of society will be wasted.

Yes, some children who have had early adverse childhood events will be salvaged by a prekindergarten education, but tragically a significant number of them will not.

Therefore, we must still look at the childs life before pre-K enrollment and ask what can we, as a society, do to help them and their parents during those 1,000 days.

John A. Menchaca

Dont want fair

Re: Stand up against gerrymandering, Another View, April 1:

Gerrymandering is an advantage to the party in power first, then to their candidates and definitely not to the voters. Usually the party not in power has to go to court to sue to get a better redistricting of the state for supposedly better distribution of representation.

The question is, how much of a change in the demographics occurs between each census that would change the party representation in that district?

Other factors can change any district within the 10-year span of a census. If a candidate is good enough, he or she can flip a district, depending on what they have to say to the voters, especially at the state level.

In Texas, neither party will ever want an independent redistricting commission because that would be the fair thing to do and we cant have fairness in government.

Robert M. Louie, Houston

He let them down

When Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel to investigate collusion between Donald Trump and Russia, the Democrats and the left-wing media couldnt say enough good things about him. He was intelligent, trustworthy, highly respected and had impeccable credentials.

After 22 months, $25 million, 1.2 million documents, 2,800 subpoenas, 500 interviews, 500 search warrants, 40 FBI agents and 19 lawyers, he reports that he could find no evidence of collusion with the Russians by Trump, anyone in his campaign or any of his associates. Its not surprising he found nothing because there never was any collusion. The whole thing was a scam to excuse Hillary Clintons loss and to hide the crimes carried out by Barack Obamas Department of Justice and the FBI.

Muellers report didnt sit well with Democrats, who now refuse to accept his findings. For two years they and the left-wing media told us Trump colluded with Russia, he was a Russian agent taking orders from Vladimir Putin, he was a traitor, there was tons of evidence against him and his family, and he would be impeached.

This was all lies and fake news, the ultimate Big Lie, and theyre still reporting it like Muellers report never happened. Its truly sad to see what has become of the once great Democratic Party.

Liam Harvie

Everything political

Politics is the business of governing, and nobody can escape being governed  for better or worse.

Politics is everything from clean drinking water through the preservation of forests and whales, to nuclear weapons and the disposal thereof.

If we mean to keep any control over our world and lives, we must be interested in politics.

Ron Lowe, Harlingen
Fans of Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendaks most famous book, might know every page by heart.

But few know the winding path it took from idea to published book  a gestation process that involved experimentation, playfulness and persistence.

As professors of childrens literature and illustration, we are thrilled to witness the arrival of The Maurice Sendak Collection at the University of Connecticuts Archives and Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Center. The collection  which contains Sendaks original sketches, book dummies, artwork and final drafts of his work, amounting to nearly 10,000 items  allows us to begin to trace the trajectory of Sendaks creative process.

It contains evidence of Sendaks prodigious imagination and lifelong intellectual curiosity and offers insight into how Sendak developed his ideas over time. Sendak, who died in 2012, worked out of his studio in Ridgefield for many years.

The making of Where the Wild Things Are was a journey, and the vivid materials in Sendaks archive illuminate the level of investment that was required to complete it.

A years-long process

One of the items in the collection is a small, horizontal book dummy dated Nov. 17, 1955, titled Where the Wild Horses Are. As one of the earliest forms of what would become Where the Wild Things Are, the book dummy contains many of the elements that would appear in the final version, including a boy who takes a journey, gets chased by monsters and sails a boat to an island.

But whats with the horses?

This earliest version includes images of the child pulling the animals tails. In response, they kick him into the air - and out of his clothes.

In interviews, Sendak claimed that, when revising the story, he gave up on horses because he couldnt draw them. But Sendak spent his life immersing himself in a variety of art styles, from romantic painters William Blake and Domenico Tiepolo to American cartoonist Winsor McCay. Sendak possessed immense skill.

So if he wanted to illustrate horses, he probably would have. In fact, in 1955 he handily illustrated Charlotte and The White Horse, a childrens book authored by Ruth Krauss, with whom he had a longstanding collaborative relationship.

But Sendak must have decided horses werent right for this story, and he took time to let his ideas percolate.

The wild things do appear in his other surviving book dummy, which is entirely recognizable as an early stage of the finished book we now know. Appearing eight years after the first dummy, this one, square and slightly larger than the first, shows the evolution of the books characters and visual rhythm. The changing borders - think of the page in which the trees take over Maxs bedroom  compel the reader to turn the pages.

I had never seen fantasy depicted in American childrens books in illustrations that were so powerfully in motion, critic Nat Hentoff wrote in the New Yorker in 1966, a few years after the books publication.

Curiosity and creation

But what happened during the preceding eight years?

Much of the time was spent focusing on other projects. Sendak illustrated other picture books for his publisher, Harper and Row, and collaborated with Else Holmelund Minarik on her Little Bear series and with Ruth Krauss on books like I Want to Paint my Bathroom Blue.

He also published his own picture books during this period, from Kennys Window in 1956 to The Sign on Rosies Door in 1960.

Yet most picture book authors and illustrators work diligently and juggle multiple projects. How was Sendak different?

Unlike illustrators who use a singular style that appears throughout their work, Sendak developed a unique visual approach for each project. He was always seeking out inspiration from other artists whom he admired.

Wild Things, for example, owes a great deal to the influence of French post-impressionist painter Henri Rousseau. You can see the influence of Swiss painter Henry Fuseli on Outside Over There and the influences of British caricaturist Thomas Rowlandson and Czech painter Josef Lada on the recently published Presto and Zesto in Limboland, which Sendak created with friend and collaborator Arthur Yorinks.

He also read widely  he especially loved Herman Melville, Emily Dickinson and John Keats  and as he worked he played music in the background, choosing songs and albums that reflected his creative moods.

Sketching to music is a marvelous stimulant to my imagination, he said during his Caldecott award speech in 1964.

And he was always trying to become a better artist; he was, as Yorinks explained in an interview, constantly teaching himself. In the long gestation period between the dummy and the publication of Where the Wild Things Are, Sendak was able to learn a range of new styles, including the crosshatching technique that would appear in Wild Things.

As Jonathan Weinberg, curator and director of research at The Maurice Sendak Foundation, told us, I can think of no other artist  illustrator or otherwise  who has employed so many different forms of expression, not only over time but often on projects that were in production simultaneously.

The wild things emerge

During the period in which Wild Horses became Wild Things, Sendak enlarged the interpretive possibilities of his subject.

Just as Sendak fertilized his imagination with a range of artists and sensory experiences, from Mozart to Melville, the wild things themselves are hybrid creatures that possess qualities that are both human-like and animal-like. They roar but speak English, walk upright but have horns sprouting from their heads.

By drawing and redrawing the creatures, Sendak could play with their expressions and postures, toying with the ways they might move and engage the reader.

The Sendak Collection contains multiple versions of what would become the books jacket. Many of them focused on a particular wild thing wearing a striped sweater. In one version, he looks to the side as he waves to the reader.

In another, he creeps out from the underbrush, hands and foot raised in motion.

In a third, he seems to dance, arms locked with another creature, a smile on his face.

Even though these drafts dont appear in the final version, they offer a window into Sendaks imagination. Yes, attempting multiple drafts is a form of diligence. But its also creative play  a fusion of discipline with dynamism.

According to Lynn Caponera, president of The Maurice Sendak Foundation, the artist couldnt have known that this book would eventually become his most significant work. But she can see why kids are so drawn to the books characters. The wild things, she noted - with their large heads, stumbling gait and round bodies  have the proportions of toddlers, of King Kong, of Mickey Mouse.

Perhaps that is why the wild things seem so fully to capture the humanity of the young - their longings and rage, their imagination and joy.

Picture books, Yorinks explained, are a medium that the world doesnt take seriously. Yet Sendak decided to make them because theyre the simplest form to express the most complicated thoughts and feelings.

The materials at the University of Connecticut show how the work of writing and illustrating a book is a kind of journey, not unlike Maxs, into the deepest recesses of the imagination.

Katharine Capshaw, an English professor at the University of Connecticut, is president of the Children's Literature Association. Cora Lynn Deibler, also a UConn professor, is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, the Society of Illustrators, and the Low Illustration Committee at the New Britain Museum of American Art. The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.
File / Hearst Connecticut Media

The next tournament on the bridge calendar will be a special one-day affair, limited strictly to players with less than 200 master points. The event will be held May 4 at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Stamford, and provides an opportunity for players to earn silver master points while competing against players at their own level.

The schedule consists of two single-session games at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The card fee for each session is $13, with a reduced charge of $10 for students, and no charge for players with less than 5 master points. Also featured will be prizes, educational handouts, and a bridge forum between sessions while enjoying a free lunch.
When it comes to a mass strike like the one at Stop & Shop involving 31,000 workers in New England, elected officials cant do much more than anyone else. That means moral support for the most part, and were seeing it from quite a few Democrats.

We have no sightings of Republicans on picket lines or even issuing statements in support of the striking workers. Thats a bit of a surprise since, unlike public employee labor issues, the grocery strike isnt strongly partisan. Call me naive.

Just a sampling here:

Sen. Will Haskell walked the picket line Friday morning in Wilton, part of his district.

Income equality is not just a national problem - its a local problem here in Fairfield County. If you work in our community, I will stand by your side in the fight for affordable health care and wages, he said in a written release.

Also Friday, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz headed out to Hamden to join strikers, and in New Haven, Mayor Toni Harp, seeking re-election, hit the picketing pavement.

Bysiewicz posted an Instagram photo of herself with strikers and Sen. Richard Blumenthal on the scene.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren made a show of her support on the line in her home state of Massachusetts on Friday.

Attorney General William Tong was on the line in Southington on the way home Thursday. Not to be outdone by his ubiquitous father, Rep. Matt Blumenthal posted a picture of himself on the line in Stamford. And Sen. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor, joined workers in East Hartford. Anwar also said Friday he'll join nursing home workers on Monday at the state Capitol, ahead of a strike  which lawmakers can affect with a bill mandating staffing.

The Stop & Shop Tweetstorm is full-blown.

Sen. Matt Lesser, D-Middletown, Tweeted, if you see a picket line #StopDontShop @StopandShop.

And Sen. Bob Duff, the Senate majority leader from Norwalk, Tweeted, I stand in solidarity with @UFCW workers.We support you, your families and will be shopping elsewhere until there is an agreement.

From Washington, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney Tweeted, To my brothers & sisters w/ @UFCW.know that you have lots of support from folks like me in Congress. By folks, he means Democrats, or else the House would raise the federal minimum wage  which has been at the sub-poverty level of $7.25 an hour for a decade now.
STAMFORD  The Board of Finance has set the city on the long, expensive road toward water-tight school buildings so no more mold will grow in them.

With fiscal 2018-19 waning, board members have created a capital-project account for six schools where mold cleanup is nearly complete. The account will allow work to begin on replacing walls, roofs, windows, gutters, air ducts and other structures. To pay for the work, the board authorized $50 million for the account.

The undertaking is so extensive that last fall city officials took it from the Board of Education and placed it with a newly created Mold Task Force that now is handling the myriad projects needed to seal up school buildings.

We set up the vehicle, board member David Kooris said of the account he and his colleagues voted to create last week. But we havent given (the task force) the keys or put in the gas. We still have to approve the construction contracts, and we still have to bond the money.

Director of Administration Michael Handler, who heads the Mold Task Force, requested $5 million each for four elementary schools - Davenport, Hart, Toquam and Stark - and Westhill High School. Handler requested $25 million for Westover Magnet Elementary School, which requires the most extensive reconstruction.

Handler said his office will issue the bonds after the start of the new fiscal year on July 1, and the account will be ready to draw from so work can be done over the summer.

More for you FAQ: What we know about the mold problem in Stamford schools

Handler told the board that six schools are done enough to go from surface cleaning to construction work, and the idea behind the account is to get projects up and running as quickly as possible.

It may be that a couple more schools will be ready for reconstruction soon, Handler said.

Creating the account is about cash flow, Kooris said.

The $5 million appropriated each to Davenport, Hart, Toquam, Stark and Westhill is an estimate, he said.

At one school the project could cost $7 million. At another school it could be $3 million. Well have to adjust accordingly, Kooris said. But this is a prudent way to get things started.

The city doubled its debt limit to $50 million for fiscal 2019-20 and expects to do the same the following fiscal year to cover the cost of repairing school buildings.

According to information from the task force, nearly $6.5 million has been spent so far to clean up mold and make associated fixes. Most of the money, $3.6 million, was spent reconfiguring an office building at 1 Elmcroft Road and leasing it for Westover students after their school on Stillwater Avenue had to be closed because water that was entering through the foundation, roof and other areas created massive mold growth.

The next-largest amount, $600,000, was spent on the Westover building, followed by $425,000 at Stark elementary, $361,000 at Westhill, $265,000 at K.T. Murphy elementary, and $223,000 at Roxbury elementary.

The Mold Task Force will hold a public meeting at 7 p.m. April 24 in the auditorium at Westhill High School to provide updates on the work underway in school buildings.

acarella@stamfordadvocate.com; 203-964-2296.
STAMFORD  Schools Superintendent Earl Kim, with two years remaining on his contract, is stepping down, according to an email sent to district employees by Board of Education President Andy George.

In order to ensure that the rumors, which have been circulating regarding Mr. Kims role as superintendent are not a distraction to the district, Mr. Kim has disclosed this morning to his senior leadership team, including building principals, that it is his intention to step down prior to the end of his current contract, the Friday afternoon email said. The Board, along with SPS executive leadership team including Mr. Kim, are working together on a transition plan with the best interest of the school district in mind. When the transition plans are finalized, a formal announcement will be made.

Mayor David Martin praised Kim, who has been superintendent for almost three years, in a brief emailed comment later Friday afternoon.

Earl Kim has been a professional and committed superintendent to our school district, he wrote. His work in Stamford Public Schools has been guided by consideration and respect for our students. I trust he will provide the same guidance during this transition as he has throughout his tenure as the leader of our phenomenal school district.

Sharon Beadle, public affairs officer for Stamford Public Schools, said Kim would not release a statement Friday.

It was unclear this week why Kim is leaving, or if the decision was all his own.

The board has generally praised Kims performance during his tenure in Stamford, but there has been friction including over communication and his handling of school buildings.

Kims contract was extended for three years in August, when board members gave him a 1 percent raise on his $225,000 annual salary.

With one of the nine board members absent, the vote to extend the contract was 7-1. George, who was not board president at the time, voted against it but would not say why.

A month after the vote, The Stamford Advocate obtained a copy of the boards one-page evaluation of Kim, the first since he became superintendent in July 2016. Board members were critical of Kims request for a $509,000 budget transfer to reorganize Central Office, saying they wanted him to be more transparent about finances. They also, however, praised Kim for his design to improve efficiency in Central Office without increasing the staff or budget. Furthermore, they commended his strategic plan and new mission statement for the district.

In January, the board once again evaluated the superintendent. In an email to Kim leading up to his evaluation, George brought up the boards concerns over ABM Industries, the facilities management firm for Stamford Public Schools.

The Board is generally displeased with facilities management, especially during the past several months, George wrote. ABM appears to be derelict in their oversight of personnel, their response to the mold conditions experienced since August and the lack of management reporting to the Board.

Mold was discovered in a number of schools late last summer. The problem was so bad at Westover Magnet Elementary School on Stillwater Avenue that it had to be closed. Students and staff were moved to an office building at 1 Elmcroft Road that the city renovated and has leased through June 2020.

The mold infestation revealed that years of poor maintenance in multiple school buildings has resulted in water infiltration that will require tens of millions of dollars of repairs district-wide. To date, nearly $6.5 million has been spent on cleanup and reconstruction.

Staff writers Angela Carella, Ignacio Laguarda and Barry Lytton contributed to this report, which includes prior reporting by Erin Kayata.
Rich Saltzman and Pat OHara, both of Stamford, joined other anglers on opening day of the Trout fishing season, fishing the Mianus River on Saturday in Stamford.

The pair joined other fishermen in braving the cold, wet morning to cast their fly fishing lines, hoping to catch some of the brown, brook and rainbow trout that is common in the river.
Police described one of the suspects as black, between the age of 20 to 30, with a light-brown complexion. He was last seen wearing a hoodie and navy-blue pants. The second man is between 50 to 60 years of age with a light complexion, police said.
Contributed photo

Back in 1948, Westport muralist Robert Lambdin (1886-1981) was commissioned by the Black Rock Bank & Trust Co. to paint a mural for the community to enjoy. He spent two months researching Black Rocks history at the Fairfield Historical Society (now the Fairfield Museum & History Center) and then three months working on the piece. He created a 20-foot long mural entitled Old Black Rock Harbor, c. 1810 which depicts the harbor as he envisioned it in the 1800s. It features a ship unloading its cargo onto the docks and shows the Black Rock lighthouse in the background. The eight-foot tall mural hung in the bank building at the corner of Fairfield Avenue and Brewster Street for nearly 70 years. When the building underwent a complete renovation last year, the heavily damaged mural was rescued from destruction. The Fairfield Museum is now in the midst of restoring this Black Rock landmark.

During the 1930s and 40s, Lambdin was one of Connecticuts most sought-after muralists, winning several commissions through the Works Progress Administration to depict American life in public buildings such as libraries, schools and post offices. A few remaining examples of Lambdins art have been preserved in Westport and are highly valued today.
Femina speaks to six women to find out the issues and concerns theyd like the next union government to address.

Shriya Pilgaonkar, actor

#futurefocus: Sustainable development

Development has to go hand in hand with sustainability, especially when it comes to preserving the ecosystem of our cities. It has become incredibly convenient to chop off trees and build metros, but people need to be held accountable for illegally encroaching forest land or cutting trees. We want to build smart cities, but how about building green cities as well? A recent news article quoted a study which found that Mumbaikars lung function is 35 per cent lower than residents of similar cities in western countries. No prizes for guessing, the main culprit is environmental pollution. Why then dont we see any focus on building a sustainable development policy? What is the point of development if we cannot so much as expect clean air and green spaces? We need a strict policy from the central government that cannot be modified as per the convenience of state governments and municipal corporations. It all comes down to awareness and accountability. We need to act fast.





If there is one lesson to be learnt from disasters like last years Kerala floods is that we cannot take nature for granted. Governments have set up various committees to suggest measures to arrest widespread ecological devastation of already sensitive areas. But are the suggestions of these committees ever implemented and, if yes, to what extent? As citizens, like we have the right to life, we deserve a right to open spaces and clean air as well.





It breaks my heart when I hear of people hurting a wild animal when they think the animal is encroaching their space, but we forget that we have ruined their habitat. Development is not just constructionits preserving a balance of the ecosystem.





Ritabhari Chakraborty actor

#futurefocus: Education for all

I would like the next government to focus on strengthening our education system. The government must especially make an effort to make education accessible to underprivileged women. Lack of education is the root of all evil and can hinder major empowerment projects, which is something I have seen first-hand, as my mother and I have adopted a village called Bastala in West Bengals Jhargram district.





Its fine to have a campaign like Sarva Siksha Abhiyan on ground. But is that all? What steps are being taken for proper implementation? Are there enough teachers in villages participating in such initiatives? The answer is anybodys guess. And by education, we do not mean mere literacy. Moral education, basic health awareness, and even sex education should be part of our education system. We need to undertake a holistic approach to education at the grassroots level. The government should also think of incentives, if those are precisely what is needed, to motivate parents in rural areas to send their children to school. Midday meals are a great concept, but the government needs to ensure that such schemes are scam-free, and reach all children. Its not that our country doesnt have substantive schemes for education for all. But the point is, implementation of such schemes must be monitored at all levels. The government should also encourage more public participation in education initiatives and focus on utilising the appropriate resources to make education accessible to all.





I sincerely hope the next government gives its undivided attention to education for all.





Sukriti Chaturvedi, independent content creator

#futurefocus: Tackle intolerance

I often use humour in my videos to send across socially relevant messages to my viewers. However, there have been times when my fellow content creators and I have had to face flak, and at times, even threats, when our videos have ruffled feathers of certain sections of society.





Weve reached a point where weve started taking jokes very seriously. Weve forgotten that jokes are meant to be laughed off. Instead, we tend to look for underlying meanings and take offence at the drop of a hat. For instance, a friend wanted to make a short film on the cultures of our neighbouring countries. Before he could even start filming, he had people telling him that promoting the culture of a particular neighbouring country was unpatriotic! The whole vibe in the country has become intolerant. And it is this intolerance that

I want the next government to tackle. It needs to implement rules and regulations that will protect content creators from rigid elements. Our freedom of expression has diluted, which is a content creators worst nightmare. This whole intolerant vibe in the country, where you get labelled as anti-national just because you want to do something, is disturbing.





I am particularly concerned about the spate of cases filed against media persons and content creators, often out of vendetta. While some of the cases may be justified, most of us are responsible people who are well aware of the impact our work has on society. But you shouldnt be targeted just because your political views, eating habits, or religion are different from somebody elses. So, I would like the government to tackle this intolerance so that people like me are allowed to create the kind of content we want.

Aparna Nagesh, professional dancer and choreographer

#futurefocus: Gender equality

Id like the new government to focus on gender equality. Id like a committee to research and define the female population of the country according to economic strata, minority status, community, geographical demographics, age, employment, and include members of the LGBTQ community that are femme- identifying. Using this data, the government should be able to come up with a step-by-step growth programme for their emergence as an equal contributing lot in the countrys development.





The growth programme needs to categorise the various factors in which evolution is necessaryeducation, health and hygiene, career and employment, laws and rights, safety and security, and wealth.





The country needs a large-scale awareness programme targeted towards men, and stringent laws to deal with gender discrimination, including rehabilitation and sensitisation, starting at the kindergarten stage. Beyond this, the contribution of rural women needs to be included, assessing and putting a number to the work they do. There should also be more direct social benefits to rural women. Identifying and looking at things such as paternal leave, redefining gender roles as parental or adult roles, better menstrual and pregnancy health for women all over India, agency over their bodiesthese are micro-level problems that will help make macro-level changes. When women are given agency, it contributes to large-scale growth. When they are given the choice to decide, when they are not treated as property or inferior human beings, but as equal members of society, there is a definite possibility of sustained growth and well-being.

Anamika Haridas, stand-up comic

#futurefocus: Animal safety

India is a country with detailed laws on animal rights. The problem is that often, they are not regulated. While the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act has made things significantly better in terms of curbing mass killings of stray dogs to get rid of them, many local municipalities continue with this inhuman practice with little to no consequences.





The government has put laws in place that allow officials to pick up and vaccinate strays, and then take them back to the same location they were found. The reason for this is that migrating dogs to different localities could lead to territorial fights between them and humans could also be caught in the crossfire. But, as recently as February 2019, it has been reported that stray dogs in major cities in South India are disappearing overnight. Animal rights activists argue that this is a result of local authorities sub-contracting the task of vaccination of these dogs. This makes it easier for officials to be less accountable and encourages contractors to take bribes from residents to move the dogs to other areas. These dogs have no one to turn to except their caregivers. But they shouldnt have to rely on them for their basic safety and right to live where theyre accustomed. Local authorities need to be held accountable in order to efficiently regulate laws.





Another concern is the large percentage of pharmaceutical companies flouting safety laws around animal experimentation in India. Many of these companies do not employ veterinarians and caretakers, and force the animals to live in unhygienic and unliveable conditions. These labs need to be regulated and shutdown in the event of such malpractices. The government needs to take more initiative to regularise current practices, ensure animal and human safety and also implement new laws to move to a more compassionate world.

Pallavi Mohan, designer

#futurefocus: Ease of doing business

I would want the government to reform and make Make in India a reality. Im not an expert on the matter, but I feel that if the government were to sign a free-trade treaty like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have with Western countries, then it would be an incentive for them to buy more products from us. Right now, garment exports are seeing a decline instead of growth. In fact, in the last four to five years, weve seen a massive decline in the exports of textiles. This is terrible because the textile industry is actually one of the largest foreign exchange earners for the country. Weve seen many factories shut shop in the past few years, which is not good for the labour force. If we shut down factories, there is going to be unemployment. The government has to look into labour reforms as well.





Were just increasing the salaries, which increases our costs. And sudden increases dont help because we cant justify why Vietnam would be cheaper than India, or Bangladesh is cheaper than India. Why would any western country come here and buy our product? We need to attract them, not chase them away.





The government should also incentivise green organisations and those that provide workers with a better environment. Exports should also be made tax-free. This would help us become more competitive in our costing, and increase our exports. enabling us to get more foreign exchange into our country.
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In an unfortunate development, actor-politician JK Rithesh passed away on Saturday (April 13, 2019) after suffering a cardiac arrest and this left his well-wishers in a state of shock. He is survived by his son and wife. As per initial reports, he complained of chest pain while campaigning in Ramanathapuram following which he was rushed to the nearest hospital. Despite their best efforts, those treating him failed to save his life.

Born in Sri Lanka in 1973, JK Rithesh moved to India at the age of 3 and settled down in Rameshwaram where he spent his formative years. He began his acting career with the 2007 release Kaanal Neer, directed by Chinni Jayanth. Thereafter, he acted in Naayagan and Pen Singam and tried consolidating his position in Kollywood.

Shortly thereafter, he ventured into politics and took a break from films. After a fairly eventful stint in politics, he returned to films with LKG which hit screens on February 22, 2019 and marked his first release in 10 years.

His death is a big loss for the film world as well as the political fraternity. We offer our condolences to his family members and hope that they stay strong in this difficult time.
One was a silver car with a Buddy Bear T-shirt or sweatshirt in the front window. The other was a blue car with its doors open next to the vacuum station. Vacuums attached to hoses were still inside the car, resting on seats, as if someone was in the middle of vacuuming when it was left.
Hit By Piracy

AL Vijay-GV Prakash team's Watchman, much like the recent Tamil movies of this time, too has joined the league of films, which have been fallen prey to piracy upon their release in the theatres.

Full Movie Leaked Online In Tamilrockers

Shockingly, Watchman full movie has been leaked online for free download by the website Tamilrcokers. What is even more shocking is that, this has happened on the very first day of release in the theatres.

The Impending Problem

Piracy has been a long lasting problem for the Tamil industry as even big films have not been anle to escape from the same. Even past week's release Kuppathu Raja was hit by piracy on the first weekend of release.

Can Watchman Overcome The Hurdle?

Watchman has given the signs of being an experimental movie which should be promoted by watching from the theatres. Let us hope that Watchman would overcome the hurdles of piracy and win the race much like many of the superhit movies of the recent times went on to do.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 12, 2019) - Next Green Wave Holdings Inc. (CSE: NGW) (OTCQB: NXGWF) ("Next Green Wave", "NGW" or the "Company") announces the issuance of common shares in lieu of cash, in the capital of Next Green Wave (the "Shares" and each, a "Share") as a final payment to the general contractor for mutually agreed upon completion milestones pertaining to the construction of NGW's production facility.

Debt Settlement

The Company entered into a debt settlement agreement dated April 11, 2019 (the "Debt Settlement Agreement") with an arm's length California-based construction company (the "Contractor") that was contracted by the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Next Green Wave, LLC ("NGW LLC"), to build the Facility (the "Project"). Pursuant to the Debt Settlement Agreement, the Contractor agreed to accept Shares for past services provided to NGW LLC totaling US$773,800, by the issuance of a total of 1,884,317 Shares at a deemed price of CAD$0.55 per Share (the "Payment Shares"). Management of Next Green Wave determined it was best to satisfy this outstanding indebtedness by the issuance of Shares to preserve its cash for operations.

The Payment Shares are subject to a hold period of four (4) months and a day from the date of issuance.

The Payment Shares are subject to a contractual escrow and are to be released and transferred to the Contractor in accordance with, among other things, the following release schedule:

942,158 Payment Shares on the date the parties conduct a preliminary inspection of the Facility to identify any material deficiencies in the Facility (the "Deficiencies"); and 942,159 Payment Shares on a date that is no more than 91 days following the date the Contractor corrects all Deficiencies and subject to the Company issuing a final written acceptance to the Contractor acknowledging the Contractor's satisfactory completion of the Project.

The Company is relying on exemptions from the prospectus requirements found in section 2.14 of National Instrument 45-106 - Prospectus Exemptions and applicable securities laws to issue the Payment Shares to the Contractor. The Payment Shares are subject to Canadian regulatory resale restrictions and have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws. In addition, the Payment Shares are "restricted securities" as defined under Rule 144(a)(3) of the U.S. Securities Act and will contain the appropriate restrictive legend as required under Rule 904 of Regulation S of the U.S. Securities Act or such other applicable exemption thereunder, and under other applicable state securities laws.

ABOUT NEXT GREEN WAVE HOLDINGS INC.

Next Green Wave is a vertically integrated seed-to-consumer premium medicinal and recreational cannabis company operating in California, one of the world's largest cannabis markets. The Company's central operations are in the city of Coalinga which is located between two major markets of San Francisco and Los Angeles and has been awarded licenses for nursery, cultivation, extraction, and distribution. Next Green Wave is led by an experienced management team with a focus on international brand development. The Company currently owns over 15 acres of cannabis-zoned development land.

On behalf of the Board,

Leigh Hughes

Executive Chairman

For information relating to Next Green Wave or the contents of this News Release please contact Caroline Klukowski (VP Corporate Development) at 778.589.2848 or IR@nextgreenwave.com, or refer to the Company's documents that are filed electronically from time to time on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This News Release includes certain information and statements about management's view of future events, expectations, plans and prospects that constitute forward looking statements, including, without limitation, statements relating to: (i) completion of the Project in accordance with the Debt Settlement Agreement and pursuant to the standards of the Company; (ii) quality and functionality of the Facility; (iii) Company's growth and corporate strategy; (iv) general market and industry conditions; (v) government regulation; (vi) unanticipated operating events; and (vii) the future plans or prospects of the Company. These statements are based upon assumptions that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Because of these risks and uncertainties and as a result of a variety of factors, the actual results, expectations, achievements or performance may differ materially from those anticipated and indicated by these forward looking statements. Any number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements as well as future results. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in forward looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurances that the expectations of any forward looking statements will prove to be correct.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE") nor its Regulation Services Providers (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/44063
By Jennifer Hiller HOUSTON (Reuters) - Chevron Corp's proposed $33-billion deal for Anadarko Petroleum Corp vaults the company into top ranks of the world's biggest oil companies and cements its chief executive, Mike Wirth, as a dealmaker.

By Jennifer Hiller

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Chevron Corp's proposed $33-billion deal for Anadarko Petroleum Corp vaults the company into top ranks of the world's biggest oil companies and cements its chief executive, Mike Wirth, as a dealmaker.

The merger, the sixth largest energy acquisition by value, propels Chevron two spots to the second-largest major by oil output, behind Exxon Mobil Corp, according to research firms Drillinginfo and Wood Mackenzie.

The deal announced on Friday comes less than three months after Wirth bought Pasadena Refining System Inc, the (PRSI) operator of a Texas oil refinery.

"My aspirations are for the company to be a strong performer," Wirth said in an interview on Friday. "We have always said and will still say that anything we do would have to make us even stronger."

Wirth, 58, took over as chief executive 14 months ago, with a reputation for keen attention to costs earned from running Chevron's pipeline and trading units, and nearly a decade in charge of its refining business.

The Anadarko deal was negotiated over the last few weeks, though Chevron has been thinking about the deal for some time, Wirth, a chemical engineer by training, said.

Chevron regularly evaluates potential deals and has a number of companies "that were watching," said Wirth. But completing the latest purchase is now his priority. "Executing it well is important, so that will be our focus," said Wirth.

The Chevron executive is detailed-oriented and a relentless worker, said Mike Sommers, president of industry group American Petroleum Institute, where Wirth is a member of the executive committee. After a recent dinner concluded at 10 p.m., Wirth headed off to make calls to staff overseas, Sommers said.

"He is not someone who enters into every conversation but when he engages on an issue, he has a way of bringing the room together," said Sommers.

His agreement with Anadarko marks the company's biggest expansion since its acquisition of Texaco in 2000. The purchase makes Chevron the top producer in the Permian Basin, the largest U.S. shale field. It also expands its oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico and in liquefied natural gas.

"It wasn't that long ago you wouldn't have heard the word 'Permian' in anything from Chevron," said Rob Thummel, portfolio manager at energy investment firm Tortoise Capital.

Chevron's $350 million deal for PRSI, a Gulf Coast refinery business owned by Brazil's Petrobras, fits its Permian expansion. The unit will turn West Texas crude into gasoline and fuels for its retailing network.

(Reporting by Jennifer Hiller; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Marguerita Choy)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - European Central Bank President Mario Draghi expressed concern on Saturday about the U.S. Federal Reserve's independence, warning that a loss of its autonomy could undermine the credibility of policy. U.S.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - European Central Bank President Mario Draghi expressed concern on Saturday about the U.S. Federal Reserve's independence, warning that a loss of its autonomy could undermine the credibility of policy.

U.S. President Donald Trump's nomination of two controversial candidates to the Fed's board and persistent calls for rate cuts has raised the spectre of government interference, challenging a fundamental tenet of modern central banking.

"Im certainly worried about central bank independence in other countries, especially... in the most important jurisdiction in the world," Draghi said about the United States.

"If the central bank is not independent, then people may well think that monetary policy decisions follow political advice rather than objective assessment of the economic outlook," he told a news conference.

Governments from Turkey to India and the United States have put increasing pressure on their central banks in recent months, igniting a debate about the value of independence.

But some argue that unconventional policy, used widely now, redistributes wealth, so monetary policy makes increasingly political decisions and thus requires increased political scrutiny.

Within (their) mandate, however, central banks ought to be left free to choose whats the best way to comply with the mandate," Draghi said. "Because if you dont let them be free, then theyre not accountable. Thats the central banking framework since the 80s everywhere."

Still, Draghi argued that he saw no similar threat to the ECB's independence given the legal safeguards and he also did not think that cases of interference elsewhere were undermining global confidence.

(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Paul Simao and Andrea Ricci)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration met for three hours on Friday with representatives from the three major U.S. airlines that fly now grounded Boeing 737 MAX airplanes and their pilots' unions to discuss two fatal crashes and the path forward. More than 300 Boeing 737 MAX jets have been grounded worldwide after 346 people died in two crashes, one in Indonesia in October and one in Ethiopia last month.

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration met for three hours on Friday with representatives from the three major U.S. airlines that fly now grounded Boeing 737 MAX airplanes and their pilots' unions to discuss two fatal crashes and the path forward.

More than 300 Boeing 737 MAX jets have been grounded worldwide after 346 people died in two crashes, one in Indonesia in October and one in Ethiopia last month.

Acting FAA Administrator Dan Elwell told participants "he wanted to know what operators and pilots of the 737 MAX think as the agency evaluates what needs to be done before the FAA makes a decision to return the aircraft to service," the agency said in a statement.

At the meeting with American Airlines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines Co, the FAA discussed the preliminary reports from both crashes and Boeing's proposals for a software upgrade and new pilot training, said Dennis Tajer, spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association which represents American's pilots.

American Airlines said in a statement it was "confident in the direction the FAA is heading. Well continue to work collaboratively with the FAA, Boeing and the Allied Pilots Association in this process."

Tajer said pilots were pleased with the "very good briefing" and said pilots need to be satisfied in the training and software upgrade. He said the FAA sought pilots' input.

"We have to unground the confidence in this airplane," Tajer told reporters outside FAA headquarters.

American and United have cancelled flights through early June, while Southwest said Thursday it would remove its 34 737 MAX jets from its flying schedule through Aug. 5, leading to around 160 daily flight cancellations during the revised summer schedule.

Tajer said everyone is focused on getting the plane back in service safely. "We take off out watches and put the calendars in the drawer," he said.

Boeing said it has reprogrammed software on the 737 MAX to prevent erroneous data from triggering an anti-stall system that is under mounting scrutiny following the two deadly nose-down crashes. On April 1, Boeing said it delayed submitting the proposed revisions to the FAA for approval.

The FAA said the meeting covered a review of the publicly available preliminary findings of the investigations into the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines accidents; an overview of anticipated software enhancements to an anti-stall system and, an overview of pilot training. Elwell said the meeting participants' "operational perspective is critical input as the agency welcomes scrutiny on how it can do better."

The agency is also convening a joint review with aviation regulators from China, Europe, Canada, Brazil, Indonesia, Ethiopia and other countries.

Federal prosecutors, the Transportation Department inspector generals office and a blue-ribbon panel are also reviewing the planes certification.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Additional reporting by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Alistair Bell)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Allahabad Bank admitted that it had not carried out determination of beneficial ownership regarding top 50 accounts in the name of trusts and societies opened during the previous financial year.

New Delhi: The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has pulled up Allahabad Bank for incorrect reporting of transactions involving non-profit organizations, Cross Border Wire Transfer Reports (CBWTR) and failing to adhere to anti-money laundering norms. The public sector bank claimed to have 461 Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) accounts, however, the bank filed transactions related to only 18 such accounts.

FCRA license is provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs for NGOs operating in India to receive foreign funding. FIU also claimed that Allahabad Bank incorrectly reported Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs), Cash Transaction Reports (CTRs) and red flag indicators in the banking system pertaining to demonetisation, Trade Based Money Laundering (TBML), Afghan Drug Control and terror financing had not been factored by the bank into its alert generation module.

Reporting entities (banks) are required to furnish monthly reports of all cross border wire transfers of more than Rs 5 lakh or its equivalent in foreign currency where either the origin or destination of fund is in India. The banks are also required to file monthly report regarding transactions related to the NGOs.

During the last five financial years, the 45 Red Flag Indicators (RFIs) implemented in the Bank's system had resulted in 50, 64,166 alerts which ultimately materialised into merely 492 STRs.

This implied a conversion percentage of around 0.01 percent which is abysmally low. The manner in which alerts were being dealt with by the bank implied that it lacked mechanism for review of the closed alerts. As per the reply of Bank, the screening committee only decides on filing STRs in cases of alerts which have not already been closed by anti-money laundering officer. Also, the composition of the said screening committee is not known, FIU said in an order.

Allahabad Bank admitted that it had not carried out determination of beneficial ownership regarding top 50 accounts in the name of trusts and societies opened during the previous financial year. The Bank has admitted that top 50 accounts opened during the previous financial year in the name of companies were also not examined to determine beneficial ownership.

The Bank further submitted that determination of beneficial ownership with regard to the account referred in the aforesaid points had not been carried out by the Bank as all these accounts were opened prior to implementation of the beneficial owner capturing procedure in the central banking system, FIU order said.

The FIU has slapped Rs 3 lakh fine for violations-Rs 1 lakh each for not having effective internal mechanism for detecting all suspicious transactions, failure of the Bank to identify and verify ultimate beneficial owner for NGOs and failure of the bank to fully implement a client due diligence programme approved by the board of the Bank specifically with the regard to screening names of prospective customers in the latest UN security council sanction list.

In 2014-15, Allahabad Bank uploaded 7474 reports to cross border wire transactions, which were not validated and rejected by FIU asking the Bank to refile the reports. Subsequently, 9 files containing 7474 reports were refiled on 30 October 2018. In 2016-17, Allahabad Bank had filed 39,798 and FIU had asked for 28,237 reports to be refiled again by the bank. A show cause notice was served to Allahabad Bank for the alleged failure.

FIU said although in the recent past, the Bank has taken necessary steps for implementation of the red flagged indicators pertaining to trade based money laundering, demonetisation and terror financing within its anti-money laundering application but the same could not be implemented due to software issues. The Bank has claimed red flagged indicators pertaining to Afghan drug control and instructions issued on 21 June 2018 were not received by it. This claim was rejected by the FIU.

It would be worthwhile to state that Allahabad Bank is one of the oldest public sector banks and as such it must act as a torchbearer of the anti-money laundering compliance in the country...However, considering that the non-compliance, as enumerated above, were continuing till pointed out during the review by FIU despite statutory obligations, FIU Director Pankaj Kumar Mishra said imposing penalty against the Bank.

FIU historic crackdown In 2017-18

The FIU in 2017-18 received over 13.3 million cash transaction reports, 14.36 lakh suspicious transaction reports, more than 8 lakh transactions related to NGOs and around 94 lakh cross border wire transfer reports from various banks.

The Intelligence unit responsible for safeguarding the country's financial system analysed and collaborated with other domestic agencies launch a crackdown against abuses like money laundering and it resulted in unearthing more than Rs 19,000 crore during 2017-18.

On the basis of suspicious transaction reports, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) too seized assets worth Rs 984 crores. The agency also analyses counterfeit currency incidents at banks and in 2017-18 more than 3.5 lakh reports were received. Around 71,000 reports were forwarded to law enforcement agencies and 800 reports were sent to Intelligence agencies for further action. However, in an interesting observation, FIU revealed that private banks contributed a majority of reports and the compliance level of the state-owned banks continued to be low despite the matter having been taken up with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Last month, Goyal and his wife Anita Goyal stepped down from the board of the airline, which has more than Rs 8,000 crore debt.

Mumbai: Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal has put in bid for buying stake in the ailing airline, sources said.

Etihad Airways too has joined the list of those who have submitted Expression of Interest (EoI) to buy a stake in the cash-strapped airline, said a report in The Times of India.

Goyal quit as chairman of the carrier last month under a debt resolution plan that saw lenders taking control of the airline.

Airline sources told PTI Goyal has put in bid for Jet Airways.

It couldn't be immediately ascertained whether he has partnered with any entity or airline for the bid.

Friday was the last date for initial bids set by SBI Capital Markets.

SBI Caps has the mandate for Jet Airways' sale on behalf of the SBI-led consortium of the domestic lenders to the debt-ridden private carrier.

The bidding norms allow Goyal to participate in the sale process.

"It could be financial investor, it could be airline...including Naresh Goyal himself or Etihad. Nobody is barred from bidding or taking over the airline as per the rule," SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar said last month.

Last month, Goyal and his wife Anita Goyal stepped down from the board of the airline, which has more than Rs 8,000 crore debt.

Passengers stranded

Meanwhile, the crisis in Jet Airways has deepened as the airline could operate only 11 aircraft on Friday, leaving passengers stranded at various domestic and international airports and prompting the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to hold an urgent meeting to discuss the situation.

According to sources, the meeting was called after Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu asked secretary of the department Pradeep Singh Kharola to review issues concerning Jet Airways.

International operations suspended till Monday

On Thursday, the crisis-ridden airline extended suspension of its international operations till next Monday due to severe liquidity issues.

It also suspended operations to the entire Eastern and Northeastern markets as it was forced to ground 10 more aircraft following default of lease rentals.

This has left Jet with no large aircraft while it had just 14 planes for domestic operations as of late Thursday.

"Jet has decided to extend suspension of its international operations till Monday, due to severe cash crunch," airline sources told PTI.

Jet was the largest domestic carrier operating in the international sector with a hub in Amsterdam, where a cargo agent had taken possession of an aircraft on Tuesday demanding bill payment. This led to the cancellation of the Amsterdam-Mumbai flight that day.

--With PTI inputs
BJP president Amit Shah on Friday described the recent Naxal attack in Dantewada, wherein a Chhattisgarh BJP MLA was killed, as a 'political conspiracy' and sought a CBI probe into it.

Rajnandgaon: BJP president Amit Shah on Friday described the recent Naxal attack in Dantewada, wherein a Chhattisgarh BJP MLA was killed, as a "political conspiracy" and sought a CBI probe into it.

Addressing an election rally in Dongargaon town in Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha constituency, he also sought to know whether Congress chief Rahul Gandhi supported National Conference leader Omar Abdullah's demand for having a separate prime minister for Jammu and Kashmir.

"Our MLA Bhima Mandavi was killed in the Naxal attack. I pay my tribute to him and pray that the departed soul rests in peace. It was not a normal incident and it seems to be a political conspiracy," Shah said.

"Mandavi's wife has demanded a CBI probe into the attack. If the chief minister (Bhupesh Baghel) does not want to hide anything, then he should get the incident probed by the central agency. A neutral probe should be carried out into the attack," he said.

On 9 April, Mandavi, an MLA from Dantewada, and four police personnel were killed when Naxals blew up their vehicle with an IED near Shyamgiri village in the district. Shah also targeted Baghel for banning the CBI from investigating any fresh cases in the state without seeking the state government's consent.

"Why is Bhupesh Baghel so afraid of the CBI? The Raman Singh government had never banned the CBI," he said. The BJP chief also alleged that Naxals are rising after the Congress government was formed in the state and said Congress government has decided to practice politics along with Naxals in future.

Slamming Omar Abdullah over his demand for a separate prime minister for Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP chief said Kashmir cannot be separated from India till the last BJP worker was alive. "Omar Abdullah has advocated for a prime minister in Kashmir. Do you think it is possible that a country can have two prime ministers? They wanted to separate Kashmir from India.

"Rahul Gandhi is silent over it. He should clarify whether he supports or opposes Abdullah's statement," Shah said, adding, "Kashmir cannot be separated from India till the last BJP worker is alive."

Taking a dig at the Congress, the BJP leader claimed that sadness gripped the grand old party and Pakistan following the air strikes over terror camps in Balakot in retaliation to the Pulwama terror attack.

During the 10 years of UPA rule, when terror attacks happened, no reply was given. But when Pulwama terror attack took place, the Indian Air Force carried out air strike and demolished the terror camps inside Pakistan," he said. "At a time when the entire country celebrated the air strike, there was grief in Pakistan and in the office of Congress," Shah claimed.

"Guru of Rahul Gandhi, Sam Pitroda, says talks should be held with them (Pakistan)...But reply of bullets will be given with shells. Votebank cannot be bigger than the nation's security," he said.

Highlighting Modi government's various welfare schemes, Shah said, "What the Modi government has done in 55 months, was not done even in the 55 years of the Congress rule. The 10-year-rule of the UPA was dipped in corruption and scams to tune of 12 lakh crore was committed during that time.

"Now, Congress is claiming that it will carry out the development of the country. Although their (Gandhi family's) four generations ruled the country, no development took place. In five years, the Modi government worked to uplift poor," he said.

Growth does not take place by raising development slogans, but when there is compassion for poor in the heart, he said. The BJP had won 10 seats of the 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Shah said, and exuded confidence that the party would emerge victorious in all the 11 seats this time.

In the last three Lok Sabha polls  in 2004, 2009 and 2014  after the formation of Chhattisgarh, the BJP had fared well by winning 10 out of 11 seats all the three times. BJP denied tickets to all its all 10 sitting MPs in the state this time after suffering a massive defeat in last assembly polls.

The saffron party has fielded its state general secretary Santosh Pandey in Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha constituency which will go to polls in the second phase on 18 April.
The case of assault on a Muslim shopkeeper in Assam allegedly for serving beef, progressed on Friday after police arrested the suspected conspirator of the mob violence incident.

Four days after a Muslim shopkeeper in Assam was assaulted allegedly for serving beef, police on Saturday arrested the suspected conspirator of the mob violence. On 9 April, 68-year-old Shaukat Ali was beaten up and forced to eat pork by a group of people in a market in the Biswanath district. The mob was reportedly angry with him for selling beef.

The manager of the market, who was absconding after the incident, was arrested on Friday evening. Reports said that so far eight people have been arrested in connection with the case and Section 144 has been imposed in the district after the incident. The Biswanath district magistrate has also ordered a magistrate-level probe into the matter, sources said.

A video of the incident that went viral showed a dazed Ali  who is now undergoing medical treatment at the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital  surrounded by some people who angrily demanded to know where he came from, and whether his name figured in the contentious National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Superintendent of Police Rakesh Raushan was quoted by PTI as saying that the locals who assaulted Ali were not aligned to any fundamentalist organisation.

Ali, who owns a food stall, claimed he was force-fed pork by the assailants but police did not confirm it. "We have also heard about that. It is a matter of investigation. It is only after that has been done that I will be able to tell," the SP said.

Ali claimed he had been selling beef at the market for over three decades and never faced such a situation. The group also beat up 42-year-old Kamal Thapa, the contractor of the market, for allowing Ali to sell beef dishes.

Attention @sarbanandsonwal This old man was beaten up in Bishwanath Charialifor selling beef. Beef is not banned in Assam and the northeast. Many communities apart from Muslims consume beef. But interestingly self appointed gaurakshaks find only poor Muslim traders to harass. pic.twitter.com/I7lg1YMKu0  Berojgar BeingMuzakki (@Muzakki82091009) April 8, 2019

A case was registered with the Biswanath Chariali police station on the complaint of the victim's brother Sahabuddin Ali on Monday evening. The police superintendent said raids are on to apprehend others involved in the incident.

Cow slaughter and consumption of beef is not banned in the state but the Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 1950, permits the slaughter of only cattle above 14 years of age after due certification by a veterinary officer.

On Friday, Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal asked the Director General of Police to take stern action against the perpetrators. The AIUDF and Jamiat Ulema's Assam unit also condemned the incident and claimed it was a conspiracy to disturb peace in the state ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

"Before the Lok Sabha elections, an attempt has been made to polarise voters", AIUDF chief Moulana Badruddin Ajmal said, appealing to people to maintain peace and harmony in the state.

The AIUDF and the Jamiat Ulema issued separate press releases condemning the incident. "The incident proves that the BJP-led government in Assam has failed to maintain law and order. A powerful minister of the government is involved in the incident," Jamiat Ulema state president, Maulana Fazlul Karim Kasimi alleged, without elaborating.

Jamiat Ulema Biswanath Chariali leaders also submitted a memorandum to the deputy commissioner on Tuesday demanding that such incidents do not recur, their release said. Some rights groups also held a protest in Guwahati on Tuesday.

A man was beaten to death and three others were critically injured when villagers assaulted them on suspicion of being cattle thieves in Biswanath district in August last year. Sunday's incident came to light when a video shot by one among the group of assailants went viral on social media.

Biswanath district is part of the Tezpur Lok Sabha constituency that went to polls in the first phase of general elections on 11 April.

With inputs from agencies and 101 Reporters
Today, the farmers of Giral village, 40 kilometres north of Barmer, are landless and jobless.

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

***

Barmer: Their land was acquired during 1995-2001 for lignite mining and to build a power plant that, the then chief minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat had assured, would provide them jobs and bring development to the area. Today, the farmers of Giral village, 40 kilometres north of Barmer, are landless and jobless. Ever since the power plant was shut down in 2015, landowners like Kamal Singh  who runs a tea stall outside the concrete structure that once was humming with activity  barely eke out a living earning Rs 200-300 a day.

Kya karu sahab, sochta hoon to dar lagta hai, said Kamal. Isliye sab bhagwan ke bharose chod diya hai. Jo mujh se ho sakta hai mein kam kar raha..baki jo usko manzoor hoga, wahi hoga (What can I do? It frightens me to think about it so I have left it all to the almighty. I am doing whatever work I can so, the rest is His wish)."

Kamal had given his 270 bighas of land in two installments  146 bighas in 1995 at Rs 600 per bigha and 124 bighas in 2001 at Rs 2,600 per bigha. All that Kamal has to show for the compensation he got is a three-room home and his tea stall. The rest was spent in taking care of his family. When their land was acquired, "we were assured employment, education, health and other facilities, recalled Kamal. We are still waiting for the tall promises made to be fulfilled."

Now, as another election looms, Girals villagers feel let down by both BJP and Congress. Villagers said they had approached leaders of both BJP and Congress many times but nobody helped them. Local villager Laxman Singh said that he had met leaders of both BJP and Congress but nobody took a serious note on their issue. He alleged that even local media has not been paying attention to their pathetic conditions. They expect little to change after these Lok Sabha polls.

Because the harsh truth is while the Centre is making tall claims of employment and Opposition is busy countering it, on the ground, nobody is taking note of thousands of farmers who have been rendered jobless and landless by the state. As usual, the campaign comes down to caste equations.

The state revenue minister Harish Choudhary, who represents Baytoo assembly seat in Barmer, had raised the issue soon after the then BJP government's decision of disinvestment and ahead of state Assembly election. Choudhary, who was the Congress national secretary at that time, said that their government would explore the possibilities to resume the plant's operation. But the newly elected Congress government has so far taken no initiative in this matter. The BJP government decided on disinvestment of Giral plant to appease private players, said Choudhary, when contacted. Our focus would be to resume operations at the plant at the earliest. Easier said than done, given that the plant has been rusting away for four years in the desert heat.

A short-lived dream

The Rajasthan Rajya Vidhyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RRVUNP) had planned two lignite-based thermal power units of 125 MW each in Giral village in 2000. Fuel (lignite) for the plant came from mines owned by Rajasthan State Mines & Minerals Limited (RSMML) located near the plant.

For lignite mining, RSMML acquired 8,523 bighas land in three phases at a total cost of approximately Rs 77.30 crore. The acquisition cost had gone up from Rs 600 per bigha in 1995 to Rs 2.7 lakh per bigha in 2011. After getting all required clearances, the foundation stone for the two power units was laid on 19 July, 2003.

The power plant started functioning in 2008, employing 800 to 1,000 labourers directly in the plant with a similar number employed indirectly. The plant, while it was operational, also generated employment for others engaged in ancillary activities.

The former farmers thus dared to dream that their lives were getting better. That was until the plant started running into one technical snag after another which finally led to its closure four years ago. As long as the plant was functioning, Kamals tea stall provided him with sufficient income. Not any more.

Laxman Singh also sold his 309 bighas, believing in the big dreams they were shown. It seemed to have come true when Laxman got a job with the mechanical team in the plant in 2002. But all dreams were shattered with the plants closure. Laxman, and the thousands of others who were dependent on the plant for their livelihood, were suddenly on the street, landless and with no alternate means of income. Laxman is now supporting his wife and two young kids by working on NREGA projects and other daily wage jobs.

Giral village has a primary school but no health centre and villagers have to go to Barmer for medical treatment. And students who complete their primary education have to go to Akalli village, six kilometres away to continue their studies. "All the promises of good healthcare and education were a big bluff," he said, adding the plant closure has affected over 1,000 families.

Designed to fail?

This was the countrys first power plant which used a lime and lignite mixture as fuel to keep the levels of sulphur oxide, a highly corrosive emission from lignite, within prescribed limits. The first power unit was commissioned on 28 February, 2007 and the second on 26 December, 2008 at a total cost of Rs 1,514 crore.

Commercial operations in the two units started in 2011. Initially, power generation was high: 666.17 million units (MUs) in 2009-2010. But then, output started steadily declining. When it came down to 254.03 MUs in 2015-16, the plant was shut down.

BHEL, the manufacturer of the power plants, had designed the units to run on lignite having sulphur limit up to 1 percent. But the lignite provided to the project from the mines located near Giral village had a sulphur content of up to 7.5 percent.

According to plant officials, huge quantities of lime were required to dilute the sulphur content  as much as 30 percent of the lignite used. The boilers, they said, were not designed to handle such huge quantities of lime, leading to frequent breakdowns. Corrosion due to high sulphur content also damaged machinery like the lignite chain feeder.

Running at barely 25 percent of its rated capacity, the plant inevitably incurred huge operational losses  Rs 985.91 crore in 2015-16 and Rs 786.71 crore in 2014-15. Unable to write off the losses, the government suspended its operations in 2015 and in 2016 decided to sell it off, appointing consultancy firm M/s Energo to prepare a valuation report, which estimated the project cost at Rs 1,964 crore.

In September 2016, SBI Market Ltd was chosen as the adviser for the disinvestment process. And global tenders were floated In November 2016, inviting bids for the plant. The government had then claimed it would complete the sale by December 2016 and the new owner would run the plant from January 2017. But the plant is still awaiting a buyer.

Villagers like Laxman Singh alleged that the closure of the plant was due to vested interests in the government who wanted to privatise it. They point to the profitable JSW power plant, also using lignite as fuel and located just 10 kilometres from the Giral plant, to support their allegation.

A senior official in RSMML, who refused to go on record, however, said that JSW was getting coal from Jalipa and Kapuradi mines which have a very low sulphur content of 0.5 percent. These two coal blocks were allocated to JSW for their own operations and they cannot sell or supply it to other users, the official added. HS Charan, deputy chief engineer at the Giral plant, said that they had asked the government to arrange for coal with low sulphur content, but got no response.

As these arguments go on, villagers like Kamal and Laxman continue to suffer. Manoj Gujar, a local businessman working with mining industry said the plant had a boon for the area as it generated jobs. But it was for a very short period, said Manoj. The government should explore other options to run the plant as it can be a big boost to the desert regions economy.

(The author is a Barmer-based freelance writer and a member of 101Reporters)
A total of 700 Chinese sturgeons were released on Saturday into the country's longest river, the Yangtze River, to save the species from extinction.

The 700 captive-bred sturgeons, nicknamed "aquatic pandas," were released in the city of Yichang, central China's Hubei Province, by the Chinese Sturgeon Research Institute (CSRI) of the China Three Gorges Corporation.

Photo taken on April 13, 2019 shows the release of the Chinese sturgeon at Yichang section of the Yangtze River in central China's Hubei Province. [Photo: Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu]

The sturgeons released into the river will help boost the endangered species' survival rate in the wild and enhance their generic diversity, said Li Zhiyuan, deputy director of CSRI.

Li said the sturgeons sent back to the wild include both junior and adult fishes with relatively larger sizes to enrich the species' population of different age groups.

Photo taken on April 13, 2019 shows the release of the Chinese sturgeon at Yichang section of the Yangtze River in central China's Hubei Province. [Photo: Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu]

Scientists will also study the data collected on the Chinese surgeon's migration and reproduction activities in means of sonar and other advanced methods.

Chinese experts have started reintroduction events to increase the population of sturgeons, a rare fish that dates back to the dinosaurs, since 1984.
"For far too long we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen and, frankly, I'm tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it," she said in the March 23 speech, according to video posted online. "CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties."
Today's top stories: Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi will be addressing rallies in Karnataka, Amit Shah demands CBI probe into BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi's death in Dantewada, and more

Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi on campaign trail in south India

With the first phase of the Lok Sabha election concluded, the ruling BJP and Opposition parties have taken to the campaign trail again in preparation for the remaining six phases of the General Election. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing four rallies in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu on Saturday while Congress president Rahul Gandhi will also be holding public meetings in three districts of Karnataka.

Modi will visit Tamil Nadu's Theni and Ramanathapuram and Karnataka's Mangalore and Bengaluru cities. Rahul will address rallies in Kolar, Chitradurga, and Mysore districts in Karnataka. The state will see polling for the first time as part of the Lok Sabha polls' second phase on 18 April. Polling will also be held on 23 April.

In Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party-Rashtriya Lok Dal alliance will be holding its second joint rally in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday. Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav, and Ajit Singh will be addressing the public in Badaun. The alliance is scheduled to hold 10 rallies across Uttar Pradesh over the next few weeks, reports said.

Amit Shah calls attack on BJP MLA 'political conspiracy'

BJP president Amit Shah on Friday described the recent Naxal attack in Dantewada, wherein a Chhattisgarh BJP MLA was killed, as a "political conspiracy" and sought a CBI probe into it. "Our MLA Bheema Mandavi was killed in the Naxal attack. I pay my tribute to him and pray that the departed soul rests in peace. It was not a normal incident and it seems to be a political conspiracy," Shah said.

"Mandavi's wife has demanded a CBI probe into the attack. If the chief minister (Bhupesh Baghel) does not want to hide anything, then he should get the incident probed by the central agency. A neutral probe should be carried out into the attack," he said.

On 9 April, Mandavi, an MLA from Dantewada, and four police personnel were killed when Naxals blew up their vehicle with an IED near Shyamgiri village in the district. Shah also targeted Baghel for banning the CBI from investigating any fresh cases in the state without seeking the state government's consent. "Why is Bhupesh Baghel so afraid of the CBI? The Raman Singh government had never banned the CBI," he said.

Addressing an election rally in Dongargaon town in Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha constituency, Shah also sought to know whether Congress chief Rahul Gandhi supported National Conference leader Omar Abdullah's demand for having a separate prime minister for Jammu and Kashmir.

Maneka Gandhi says remark on Muslim votes 'read out of context'

Union minister Maneka Gandhi claimed that her remark in Sultanpur on Muslim votes was being "read out of context", reports said. Maneka, in an election rally on Thursday, told Muslims to vote for her as they will "need" her once the Lok Sabha elections are over. District poll authoirities on Friday issued a showcause notice to the minister. The Delhi Election Comission is also examining the transcript of the minister's speech, which was condemned by Congress, PTI reported.

We are not Mahatma Gandhi's children that we keep giving and not get anything in return, she said in Sultanpur's Muslim-dominated Turabkhani area. Maneka, the BJP candidate from Sultanpur Lok Sabha constituency, claimed she is all set to win and told the Muslim audience that you might need me tomorrow.

I am winning. I am winning because of the help and love of the people, Maneka said at the meeting in the constituency earlier held by her son Varun Gandhi. But if my victory is without the Muslims, I will not feel very good, she said, adding she will be left with a bitter feeling.

If Muslims come for some work after this, I will think why bother, what difference will it make. Suggesting that it was matter of give and take, she added, We are not Mahatma Gandhi's children to keep giving without getting anything in return.

IPL: Struggling RR, RCB hope to snap losing run against MI, KXIP

An upbeat Mumbai Indians host Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium in an afternoon clash on Saturday. Mumbai Indians now have four wins out of six games, and find themselves at the third spot.

Rajasthan, on the other hand, suffered yet another narrow loss in a four-wicket defeat to Chennai Super Kings at Jaipur. In the second game of the double-header, Kings XI Punjab host Royal Challengers Bangalore, who are yet to collect a win in the six games that they have played so far, and are languishing at the last spot in the points table.

Naresh Goyal puts in bid for Jet Airways

Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal has put in bid for buying stake in the ailing airline, sources said, a PTI report said. Goyal quit as Chairman of the carrier last month under a debt resolution plan that saw lenders taking control of the airline.

Airline sources told PTI that Goyal has put in bid for Jet. It couldn't be immediately ascertained whether he has partnered with any entity or airline for the bid, the report said.

Skype now lets you share your Android or iOS phone screen on video calls

Microsoft is bringing a new feature to its Skype app on Android and iOS to enable screen sharing. This will let you share anything on your phone displays to friends, family, or coworkers. To get access to this feature you will need to be part of Skype Insider which is Skype's beta-testing program.

There might be a Leaving Neverland sequel in the pipeline

Leaving Neverland director Dan Reed has claimed that there may be a sequel to his two-part controversial documentary on child sexual abuse allegations against Michael Jackson. He said a sequel would reveal more about late pop icon, according to IANS.

Leaving Neverland, a four-hour long, two-part documentary is built around the testimony of Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who have alleged that they were abused as children by Jackson. Reed confirmed via Twitter that the documentary is now second only to HBO's Scientology expose as the most viewed of the past decade, reports mirror.co.uk.

The filmmaker is now hoping to persuade more alleged victims of Jackson to come forward, with plans that the documentary will focus on Jordan Chandler and Gavin Arvizo, whose allegations sparked Jackson's trial in 2005.
Imran Khans views have been consistent since 2011, when he called for putting Kashmir on the backburner till bilateral relations are improved

Asked if he had a solution to Kashmir if he ever became prime minister, Imran Khan said in 2011 that whatever the issues between India and Pakistan it should not be enforced through militancy. India, he said, could withdraw its army from Kashmir if it has confidence that there is no militancy coming from Pakistan.

Six months after he became the prime minister of Pakistan in August 2018, Imran found himself at the centre of a storm. A suicide bombing carried out by a 19-year-old Kashmiri jihadist once again brought the two nuclear powered South Asian neighbours  that have fought three wars since 1947 for control of the Jammu and Kashmir  to the brink of war and a renewed international pressure on Pakistan to act against jihadist organisations operating freely on its soil.

As tensions rose and both countries carried out airstrikes, Imran once again denounced what India says is Pakistans war by proxy. It is not in the interest of Pakistan for its soil to be used for terrorism anywhere in the world, he said in a televised address on 27 February, the day Pakistan attempted to carry out airstrikes on Indian territory. Imran said Pakistan was ready to have a dialogue on terrorism.

Imrans views have been consistent since 2011, when he called for putting Kashmir on the backburner till bilateral relations are improved. Since his victory, Imran has been on a mission to reform the image of a country struggling to revive its economy, besides improving relations with India. As both countries came together to open the Kartarpur Corridor, Pakistan announced that Kashmir was a core issue, no longer on the backburner.

Even as the general elections got underway in India, Imran expressed optimism in a meeting with foreign journalists on 9 April at the prospect of dialogue should the Bharatiya Janata Party return to power in New Delhi.

Reuters quoted Imran as saying: Perhaps if the BJP  a right-wing party  wins, some kind of settlement in Kashmir could be reached and reportedly assured that Pakistan-based militias, including those focussed on Kashmir, would be dismantled. Reuters reported Imran as saying his government had full support from Pakistans powerful army for the programme.

The last time the two countries engaged in dialogue was during the 2000s when Pakistan was under the military rule of General Pervez Musharraf while the BJPs Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance was in power in New Delhi. A four-point formula was discussed that, among other things, sought greater autonomy and free trade on both sides of the Line of Control.

That formula stands as a possible solution even today as India refuses to redraw boundaries and Pakistan will not cede control of territory it seized in 1947. Pakistans clampdown on jihadist organisations would go a long way in bringing India to the dialogue table.

By Imran's own admission, this was the first time Kashmir focussed jihadist groups faced a crackdown. Previously, the Musharraf administrations clampdown in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks in the United States affected groups operating from the countrys western border, neighbouring Afghanistan. Similarly, jihadist groups had been restrained, but not disbanded as the two countries engaged in dialogue over the future of Kashmir in the 2000s.

Still, as the Jaish chief Masood Azhar continues to operate on Pakistani soil, Imran was quoted by ABC News as saying that more important than him is the set-up of his whole organisation, so that is being dismantled.

Imran is, however, faced with an uphill task and stands on a sticky wicket.

If the past is any indication, any call for cessation of hostilities on the ground in Kashmir would be met with resistance from within the separatist camp as traditional jihadist outfits are struggling to rein-in recruits from swaying from loyalty to Pakistan to pan-Islamist ideas rejecting all nationalism.

However, jihadist leaders in Pakistan had already begun expressing their resentment over the crackdown on jihadist outfits in the aftermath of the aerial strikes, that was eventually reflected in Imran's statement endorsing BJP for a possible Kashmir resolution.

Masood Azhar, through his regular column under the pen name Saadi in the outfits weekly paper Al Qalam, not only dismissed Indias hardening of stance in the aftermath of the airstrikes on its madrassa in Balakot, but also criticised the Pakistani establishment in its 3 April issue.

Azhar took a dig at Pakistan disowning jihadists and its concern for the perception of the jihad in Kashmir in the international community and its use in local politics. What is comforting is that there is no news of any Indian soldier dying, Azhar wrote. So that the freedom movement of Kashmir remains protected from the label of terrorism, so that we would not have to face the condemnation and complaints of the International community... so that we would not be embarrassed in front of white journalists.

Syed Salahuddin, chief of the Hizbul Mujahideen and United Jihad Council, the jihadist group based in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, also implored Pakistan to turn around its apologetic and defensive plan of action to supporting Kashmiris internationally with an aggressive stance in his 1 April statement.

God forbid if Pakistan fails to uphold its duty to the Kashmiri movement and comprises on the sacrifices of Kashmiris under international pressure, it will be a historical blunder and compromise Pakistans own national interests, Salahuddin said.

While presenting the February suicide attack as a locally planned and executed operation, Salahuddin, designated a global terrorist by the United States in July 2018, warned that there can not be a crackdown, in the name of terrorism, on the supporters of Kashmiri cause for secession from India that is an internationally accepted legitimate movement.

The dialogue process in the the early 2000s caused a split within the Hizbul Mujahideen, still the largest jihadist group in Kashmir, and eventually led to the killing of most of its Kashmir-based leadership involved in the dialogue process.

However, while Pakistan may be able to reign in the Jaish and United Jihad Council that are expressly pro-Pakistan, the emergence of jihadists espousing a pan-Islamism such as the supposedly Al-Qaeda affiliated Ansar Ghazwatul Hind, led by the reclusive Hizb rebel Zakir Musa, may be a hindrance in the future. Musas long silence after his initial scathing criticism of Pakistan and the Hurriyat led many in the Valley to believe rumours of his reconciliation with Pakistan-based jihadist outfits.

However, on 7 April, Musa broke his silence at a time when Imran is pushing for dialogue without defining its contours. While the two main jihadist leaders made vague references to reasons behind the crackdown, Musa was also the only to explicitly mention a crackdown on jihadist outfits and preempted Pakistan's hopes of dialogue with India and a resolution for Kashmir as admitted by Khan to the foreign press just two days later.

Criticising the 2003 ceasefire and dialogue process, Musa said that when you stepped back from the jihad in Kashmir in 2003, you set this jihad back by 30 years.

We are at a stage where many conspiracies are being hatched against the jihad in Kashmir. There are attempts to end this jihad and put the mujahideen in cold storage, he said in the 15-minute video released on 7 April that also featured Imrans statement on dialogue on terrorism.

Under the tutelage of America, both India and Pakistan are conspiring together to not only weaken, but end the jihad entirely, so beware, he said.

The Pakistani Army and government, Musa said, were the primary enemies of jihad even as they claim to be the brains behind jihadi victories. Musa drew confidence from the jihadist movement in Afghanistan, calling the Afghan jihad as torchbearers for us to follow. Though the Ansar has largely remained dormant and lost most of its known recruits since its formation, any splits in the ranks of the traditional jihadists could potentially lead to defections from these outfits to the Ansar, or other groups.

Previously, prominent Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Abu Dujana was among the first to defect to Ansar.

After his death was acknowledged by Musa as one among the groups founding members, no Lashkar commander reached such a level of prominence. In his final statement, Dujana also said Pakistan facilitated the killing of jihadists in Kashmir.

Logic states that an independent jihadi movement should have ended long back, but trust me every day new help arrives and new saathi join us, Musa said. Inshallah we are waiting for that day when we start our operations and leave no hiding space for the hypocrites and cowards of India.
Indians across the country paid tribute to those who lost their lives in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on 13 April 1919, as a 100 years lapsed since the incident.

Indians across the country paid tribute to those who lost their lives in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on 13 April, 1919.

President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday paid tribute and said that the "stain on civilisation" would "never be forgotten" by India. "A 100 years ago today, our beloved freedom fighters were martyred at Jallianwala Bagh. A horrific massacre, a stain on civilisation, that day of sacrifice can never be forgotten by India. At this solemn moment, we pay our tribute to the immortals of Jallianwala." Kovind tweeted.

"Today, when we observe 100 years of the horrific Jallianwala Bagh massacre, India pays tributes to all those martyred on that fateful day. Their valour and sacrifice will never be forgotten. Their memory inspires us to work even harder to build an India they would be proud of," Modi wrote on Twitter.

The massacre occurred on 13 April, 1919, when troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer fired machine guns into a crowd of unarmed protesters and pilgrims who had gathered in Jallianwala Bagh in Punjab's Amritsar on the occasion of Baisakhi. The crowd had assembled peacefully at the venue to condemn the events that had taken place when they were fired upon indiscriminately by General Dyer and his men.

According to British government records, 379 people including men, women, and children were killed while 1,200 wounded. Other sources place the number of dead at well over 1,000.

A hundred years on, the United Kingdom is yet to proffer a formal apology for the gruesome attack on unarmed protesters. However, British prime minister Theresa May recently said the United Kingdom "deeply regrets" the massacre and called it a "shameful scar" on British-Indian history.

"The tragedy of Jallianwalla Bagh in 1919 is a shameful scar on the British-Indian history. As her Majesty, the Queen said before visiting Jallianwala Bagh 1997, it is a distressing example of our past history with India. We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused," May said at British Parliament earlier this week.
Rahul Gandhi, who was accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, state minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and some other Congress leaders, paid floral tributes at the memorial inside the Jallianwala Bagh in the morning.

Amritsar: Congress president Rahul Gandhi paid floral tributes at the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial on Saturday to mark the centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and said the cost of freedom must never be forgotten.

Rahul, who was accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, state minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and some other Congress leaders, paid floral tributes at the memorial inside the Jallianwala Bagh in the morning.

They also observed a two-minute silence to remember those who were massacred in the tragic incident on 13 April, 1919.

"The cost of freedom must never ever be forgotten. We salute the people of India who gave everything they had for it," the Congress chief wrote in the visitors' book.

British High Commissioner to India Dominic Asquith also visited the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial separately on Saturday.

In the visitors' book, Asquith wrote, "The events of Jallianwala Bagh 100 years ago today reflect a shameful act in British Indian history. We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused."

He also wrote, "I am pleased today that the UK and India have and remain committed to developing further a thriving 21st century partnership."

Rahul arrived at Amritsar late on Friday night. Upon his arrival, the Congress chief, accompanied by Singh, went straight to the Golden Temple and paid obeisance at the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs.

The massacre took place at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar during the Baisakhi festival in April 1919 when troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer opened fire at a crowd of people holding a pro-Independence demonstration, leaving several dead and scores injured.

Notably, British prime minister Theresa May on Wednesday described the Jallianwala Bagh massacre as a "shameful scar" on British Indian history but stopped short of offering a formal apology.
Lok Sabha Election 2019 LIVE updates: Speaking at his second rally in Uttar Pradesh, Amit Shah, notwithstanding the controversy surrounding the invocation of Armymen in campaign speeches, brough up the Pulwama massacre and said, the Air Force, upon Narendra Modi's direction, went to Pakistan to conduct 'surgical strikes' as revenge.

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Like Friday, Narendra Modi will keep to the south on the campaign trail, on a crucial weekend before Phase 2 of the Lok Sabha elections take place next Thursday. The BJP, through its Twitter handle, has advertised that the speech will be broadcast on NaMo TV.

BJP president Amit Shah will address public meetings at Badaun. Shah, who will also address a rally at Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, on Friday described the recent Maoist attack in Dantewada, where a Chhattisgarh BJP MLA was killed, as "political conspiracy" and sought a CBI probe into it.

In Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party-Rashtriya Lok Dal alliance will be holding its second joint rally on Saturday. The parties' respective leaders Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav, and Ajit Singh will be addressing the public in Badaun. The alliance is scheduled to hold 10 rallies across Uttar Pradesh over the next few weeks, reports said.

Yadavs comment comes after Kishor took it to Twitter to deny what Rabri Devi a day ago had said, about Nitish sending Kishor to meet Lalu Prasad five times in attempts to reunite JDU and RJD.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said on Saturday, Why is Nitish Kumar silent? He should come out and speak. Prashant Kishor has been meeting us, and this is written in Lalu Prasad's book also. It is evident that Prashant Kishor should first take permission from Nitish Kumar and then tweet.

Greeting people on the occasion of Ram Navami, BSP chief Mayawati issued a warning against ostensibly Yogi Adityanath, who had recently said that while Mayawati and BSP thought of 'Ali', the BJP instead thought of 'Bajrangbali'.

"What have we been witness to? Father becomes the Finance Minister and son loots the country. Whenever they are in government, they always loot," he said, on the Congress leader.

"I pay homage to great MGR and Jayalalithaa ji. India is proud of these two iconic leaders who lived and worked for the poor," he said.

Speaking at Tamil Nadu's Theni, in Saturday's searing heat, prime minister Narendra Modi hailed the likes of Jayalalithaa and MGR and slammed Congress leader P Chidambaram and his son Karti.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham has announced candidates for byelections to four Legislative Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu on May 19. The party has fielded N Pazhanisamy from Sulur, Senthil Balaji from Aravakurichi, MC Shanmugaiya from Ottapidaram and P Saravanan from Thiruparankundram.

"On the triple talaq issue too, many women of the minority communities supported us. Even if they had not, we would have helped them. You have to help everybody, it doesn't matter who voted for us and who did not," she said.

BJP's candidate for Mathura, Hema Malini, said on Saturday that it did not matter who voted for BJP and who did not when it came to helping people. Hema was reacting to Maneka Gandhi's line to Sultanpur's Muslim voters a day ago, in which she asked them to vote for her if they wanted jobs.

The Election Commission has shared photographs of polling personnel at an altitude of 13,583 feet in Luguthang of Arunachal Pradesh. The booths will fall under the Mukto Assembly constituency.

He also asked why the Congress has never erected statues for former presidents but only for members of "one family." "If you go to Delhi, prime real estate has been used for the memorials of members of one family as if no other person contributed to India except one family," he said.

"We brought a bill in the Parliament to abolish practice of triple talaq but Congress, DMK and Muslim League opposed it," he said.

Speaking at Tamil Nadu's Ramanathapuram, in his second rally on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi blamed the Congress for stopping many of his government's efforts and made renewed promises for a water ministry.

PM strikes at Congress again, asks why there are only statues of members of one family in Delhi

"They are using brute force to strike at the root of faith and express. Sadly for them, till BJP is there no one will be able to destroy our faith and culture," Modi said.

At his Ramanathapuram rally, the prime minister turned the lens on neighbouring Kerala, where he said, the "Congress, communists and the Muslim League" were playing a dangerous "game" with the Sabarimala temple.

In a new press conference, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala spoke on a report on the French newspaper Le Monde in which a report said that the French government had forgiven Anil Ambani taxes worth several million euros only after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited France and held talks with then president Francois Hollande.

He also added, "We have also made it clear in our manifesto that no farmer will go to jail for defaulting their loans. The keys of the banks that Narendra Modi gave to Anil Ambani and Mehul Choksi will be taken from them and given to the youth of Karnataka. Prime minister doesnt speak of jobs or corruption anymore because he has not delivered.

Speaking in Karnataka's Kolar, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said, We have made it clear in our manifesto that we will protect our farmers. We will make a special budget for our farmers when we come to powerthis will be a separate budget besides the financial budget...we will tell our farmers what they will get from us at the beginning of the year itself. We will wipe out fear from our farmer's hearts."

Speaking at Uttar Pradesh's Badaun, in his first rally of the day, BJP chief Amit Shah said on Saturday, that because the mahagathbandhan had no policy or a leader, they would not be able to respond as a responsible government should in case of terror strikes. He added that the BJP and the Narendra Modi government have been able to make many significant changes to Badaun, and listed several of them at the rally.

Addressing a rally in Siliguri, West Bengal chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, "I would request all not to vote for CPM and also please do not waste your vote by giving it to Congress. I was in Congress then quit and formed Trinamool, following which you are witnessing development."

Her remark two days ago had elicited a reply from Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who said that while BSP is concerned with 'Ali', BJP thinks of 'Bajrangbali'. Adityanath, too, was given a notice by the EC.

BSP chief Mayawati said on Saturday that she has neither apologised to the Election Commission over her remarks asking Muslim voters in Deoband not to vote for a particular party, and nor was she going to. She has, however replied to the EC's showcause notice in this regard.

Slamming Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath's remark on Ali and Bajrangbali, Mayawati said on Saturday that the BSP has "Ali and Bajrangbali" both. "We also need Bajrangbali because he is associated with my Dalit roots. His caste roots were not investigated by me but by the Uttar Pradesh chief minister," she said.

He highlighted Modi's visit to the Kumbh Mela, and notwithstanding the controversy surrounding the invocation of Armymen in campaign speeches, brough up the Pulwama massacre and said, the Air Force, upon Narendra Modi's direction, went to Pakistan to conduct "surgical strikes" as revenge.

Speaking at his second rally in Uttar Pradesh, Amit Shah said, "For 55 years, Rahul baba and company ruled the country but did not do good to the poor. These people did nothing except cause corruption."

He also brought up the Triple Talaq Bill, and said Opposition has come in the way of it. Shah also promised complete electrification of villages, jobs for everyone and a toilet in every home by 2022. "Let Rahul baba, Mayawati and Akhilesh ji cry," he said.

"The Narendra Modi government has done a lot of work for the flourishing and upliftment of the Dalit society," the BJP chief said at Shahjahanpur on Saturday. "When the election comes, Behen ji remembers Ambedkar. But on winning elections, she only erects her own statues," he said.

In a new press conference, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala spoke on a report on the French newspaper Le Monde in which a report said that the French government had forgiven Anil Ambani taxes worth several million euros only after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited France and held talks with then president Francois Hollande.

He also added, "We have also made it clear in our manifesto that no farmer will go to jail for defaulting their loans. The keys of the banks that Narendra Modi gave to Anil Ambani and Mehul Choksi will be taken from them and given to the youth of Karnataka. Prime minister doesnt speak of jobs or corruption anymore because he has not delivered.

Speaking in Karnataka's Kolar, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said, We have made it clear in our manifesto that we will protect our farmers. We will make a special budget for our farmers when we come to powerthis will be a separate budget besides the financial budget...we will tell our farmers what they will get from us at the beginning of the year itself. We will wipe out fear from our farmer's hearts."

Speaking at Uttar Pradesh's Badaun, in his first rally of the day, BJP chief Amit Shah said on Saturday, that because the mahagathbandhan had no policy or a leader, they would not be able to respond as a responsible government should in case of terror strikes. He added that the BJP and the Narendra Modi government have been able to make many significant changes to Badaun, and listed several of them at the rally.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee in Siliguri: I would request all not to vote for CPM and also please do not waste your vote by giving it to Congress. I was in Congress then quit and formed Trinamool, following which you are witnessing development pic.twitter.com/8SmVofkuGS

Addressing a rally in Siliguri, West Bengal chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, "I would request all not to vote for CPM and also please do not waste your vote by giving it to Congress. I was in Congress then quit and formed Trinamool, following which you are witnessing development."

Her remark two days ago had elicited a reply from Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who said that while BSP is concerned with 'Ali', BJP thinks of 'Bajrangbali'. Adityanath, too, was given a notice by the EC.

BSP chief Mayawati said on Saturday that she has neither apologised to the Election Commission over her remarks asking Muslim voters in Deoband not to vote for a particular party, and nor was she going to. She has, however replied to the EC's showcause notice in this regard.

Slamming Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath's remark on Ali and Bajrangbali, Mayawati said on Saturday that the BSP has "Ali and Bajrangbali" both. "We also need Bajrangbali because he is associated with my Dalit roots. His caste roots were not investigated by me but by the Uttar Pradesh chief minister," she said.

He highlighted Modi's visit to the Kumbh Mela, and notwithstanding the controversy surrounding the invocation of Armymen in campaign speeches, brough up the Pulwama massacre and said, the Air Force, upon Narendra Modi's direction, went to Pakistan to conduct "surgical strikes" as revenge.

Speaking at his second rally in Uttar Pradesh, Amit Shah said, "For 55 years, Rahul baba and company ruled the country but did not do good to the poor. These people did nothing except cause corruption."

He also brought up the Triple Talaq Bill, and said Opposition has come in the way of it. Shah also promised complete electrification of villages, jobs for everyone and a toilet in every home by 2022. "Let Rahul baba, Mayawati and Akhilesh ji cry," he said.

"The Narendra Modi government has done a lot of work for the flourishing and upliftment of the Dalit society," the BJP chief said at Shahjahanpur on Saturday. "When the election comes, Behen ji remembers Ambedkar. But on winning elections, she only erects her own statues," he said.

Slamming the Congress-JDS government in Karnataka, Modi said the inspiration for the two ruling coalition partners was "Pariwarvad" (dynasty), but for the BJP it was "Rashtrawad" (nationalism).

He also hit out at the Congress, saying that the country gave it an opportunity in the 20th century, but the party lost it by handing it over to one family.

The prime minister said the Lok Sabha polls were not about choosing the prime minister or a government, but on how "New India" should be in the 21st century.

Slamming the Congress-JDS government in Karnataka, Modi said the inspiration for the two ruling coalition partners was "Pariwarvad" (dynasty), but for the BJP it was "Rashtrawad" (nationalism).

He also hit out at the Congress, saying that the country gave it an opportunity in the 20th century, but the party lost it by handing it over to one family.

The prime minister said the Lok Sabha polls were not about choosing the prime minister or a government, but on how "New India" should be in the 21st century.



Lok Sabha Election 2019 LATEST updates: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Karnataka made a mistake in the state Assembly polls. He urged people to 'correct' that 'mistake' in the Lok Sabha polls.

Speaking at his second rally in Uttar Pradesh, Amit Shah, notwithstanding the controversy surrounding the invocation of Armymen in campaign speeches, brough up the Pulwama massacre and said, the Air Force, upon Narendra Modi's direction, went to Pakistan to conduct "surgical strikes" as revenge.

BSP chief Mayawati said on Saturday that she has neither apologised to the Election Commission over her remarks asking Muslim voters in Deoband not to vote for a particular party, and nor was she going to. She has, however replied to the EC's showcause notice in this regard.

Speaking in Karnataka's Kolar, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said that if voted to power, Congress will make sure that no farmer will go to jail for defaulting their loans. "The keys of the banks that Narendra Modi gave to Anil Ambani and Mehul Choksi will be taken from them and given to the youth of Karnataka. Prime minister doesnt speak of jobs or corruption anymore because he has not delivered," he said.

At his Ramanathapuram rally, the prime minister turned the lens on neighbouring Kerala, where he said, the "Congress, communists and the Muslim League" were playing a dangerous "game" with the Sabarimala temple. "They are using brute force to strike at the root of faith and express. Sadly for them, till BJP is there no one will be able to destroy our faith and culture," Modi said.

Speaking at Tamil Nadu's Ramanathapuram, in his second rally on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi blamed the Congress for stopping many of his government's efforts and made renewed promises for a water ministry. He made the pitch for a second NDA government, asking voters to note that voting the Congress-DMK alliance into power will mean giving a free hand to terrorists.

Speaking at Tamil Nadu's Theni, in Saturday's searing heat, prime minister Narendra Modi hailed the likes of Jayalalithaa and MGR and slammed Congress leader P Chidambaram and his son Karti.

"What have we been witness to? Father becomes the Finance Minister and son loots the country. Whenever they are in government, they always loot," he said, on the Congress leader.

For the second day running, two of the most visible campaigners for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress will be addressing multiple rallies across south India on Saturday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing four rallies in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu on Saturday, while Congress president Rahul Gandhi will also be holding public meetings in three districts of Karnataka.

Modi will visit Tamil Nadu's Theni and Ramanathapuram and Karnataka's Mangaluru and Bengaluru cities. Rahul will address rallies in Kolar, Chitradurga, and Mysore districts in Karnataka. The state will see polling for the first time as part of the Lok Sabha polls' second phase on 18 April. Polling will also be held on 23 April.

Rahul will be making the trip to Kolar from Amritsar, where he paid tribute at the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial on the centenary of the massacre.

Badaun, incidentally, is also where BJP president Amit Shah will address public meetings as well. Shah, who will also address a rally at Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, on Friday described the recent Maoist attack in Dantewada, where a Chhattisgarh BJP MLA was killed, as "political conspiracy" and sought a CBI probe into it.

"Our MLA Bheema Mandavi was killed in the Naxal attack. I pay my tribute to him and pray that the departed soul rests in peace. It was not a normal incident and it seems to be a political conspiracy," Shah had said.

Union minister Maneka Gandhi, meanwhile, has been given a notice by the Election Commission, after she told Muslims to vote for her as they will "need" her once the Lok Sabha elections are over, at an election rally in Sultanpur on Thursday.

We are not Mahatma Gandhi's children that we keep giving and not get anything in return, she had said in Sultanpur's Muslim-dominated Turabkhani area. Maneka, the BJP candidate from Sultanpur Lok Sabha constituency, claimed she is all set to win and told the Muslim audience that you might need me tomorrow.
Congress on Saturday accused Anil Ambani's Reliance for getting special benefit from the French government.

New Delhi: Stepping up its attack on the BJP-led government, the Congress on Saturday accused Anil Ambani's Reliance for getting special benefit from the French government in the form of the tax settlement days after the deal for the Rafale fighter jets was signed.

Ministry of Defence and Reliance group were quick to issue rebuttals on the allegations, saying connections drawn between the tax issue and the Rafale matter is "inaccurate, tendentious and a mischievous attempt to disinform."

Responding to the Congress allegation, the defence ministry said: "We have seen reports drawing conjectural connection between tax exemption to a private company and procurement of Rafale fighter jets by Government of India. Neither the period of the tax concession nor the subject matter of the concession relate even remotely to the Rafale procurement concluded during the tenure of the present Government. Any connections drawn between the tax issue and the Rafale matter is totally inaccurate, tendentious and is a mischievous attempt to disinform."

Quoting French newspaper Le Monde, at a media conference in New Delhi, senior party leader and party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said: "Between February and October 2015, while the French were negotiating the Rafale contract with India, Anil Ambani enjoyed a tax waiver of 143.7 million euros from the French state."

"The French tax authorities who had earlier demanded close to 150 million euros from the Reliance-owned company, Reliance Atlantic Flag France, agreed to settle the matter with just 7.5 million euros, the rest of the demand was simply waved, and this is Le Monde's claim, not mine," said Surjewala.

"Layers of connivance, crony capitalism and corruption are now getting unveiled. As soon as Modiji came to power he scrapped the deal signed by United Progressive Alliance (UPA) for 126 Rafale jets at Rs 526 crore per unit with a transfer of technology clause. Then he went to France and announced that Made in France Rafales will now be purchased at Rs 1600 crore per unit," he said. He also stated that former French President Francois Hollande had claimed that excluding Rafale and bringing in Reliance Group was done as per the wishes of the Indian government.

"As soon as the deal was signed the Modi government transferred 70 per cent of the deal amount (Rs 50,000 crores approximately) to Dassault Aviation as advance payment, this same amount was invested by Dassault in AA's (Anil Ambani) company by Dassault. This is how Modi kripa works," said Surjewala.

Responding to the allegations, Reliance Communications released a statement denying any favouritism or gain from French authorities. The tax demands were completely unsustainable and illegal the statement said, and claimed that tax disputes were settled as per legal framework in France available to all companies operating in France.

Reliance Communications said that between 2008 and 2012, Flag France had an operating loss of Rs 20 crore (2.7 million) while the French tax authorities had raised a tax demand of over Rs 1,100 crore for the same period.

"A mutual settlement agreement was signed to pay Rs 56 crore as a final settlement, it said.
From large-scale Hindu-Muslim riots and pogroms that were the hallmark of earlier phases of Hindutva politics, the violence has now tapered down into small-scale and localised incidents of attacks on individuals - mostly carried out in mobs against Muslims and Dalits, largely over beef consumption, transportation or storage.

Four days before the first polling date for Lok Sabha election 2019, a Muslim man  Shaukat Ali  was harrassed and thrashed by a mob in Assams Biswanath district on suspicions of selling beef. As if that wasnt enough, he was also forced to consume pork. Three days later, just a day before polling began, a man named Prakash Lakra was reportedly lynched to death by a mob in Jharkhands Gumla district after the latter accused him of cutting flesh of a dead bull.

These recent incidents are not the first of their kind in the NDA governments New India. In fact, they fit squarely in a specific pattern of street-style, majoritarian communal violence that the BJP-led regime has fostered in the past five years. Even the immediate response of the local police, for instance in Biswanath where the district police chief quickly dismissed any communal angle to the incident, was textbook.

The UN human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, gave a succinct lowdown on this during her annual briefing to the Human Rights Council in Geneva last month when she said that her office was receiving reports that indicate increasing harassment and targeting of minorities  in particular Muslims and people from historically disadvantaged and marginalised groups, such as Dalits and Adivasis.

The broad view is that Modis tenure has witnessed a dramatic rise in incidents of communal violence across the country. This is true. At the same time, it is important to note the peculiarity of this new wave of religiously-motivated assaults. From large-scale Hindu-Muslim riots and pogroms that were the hallmark of earlier phases of Hindutva politics, the violence has now tapered down into small-scale and localised incidents of attacks on individuals - mostly carried out in mobs against Muslims and Dalits, largely over beef consumption, transportation or storage.

While it is difficult to ascertain which of these two forms has a greater chilling effect on the minority psyche, it should suffice to say that the high frequency and uniform geographical spread of these cow-related attacks indicate a systematic pattern. The data, in this regard, is more than telling.

According to a February 2019 report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), "at least, 44 people  36 of them Muslims  were killed across 12 Indian states in beef-related violence. In that period, around 280 people were injured in over 100 different incidents across 20 states in similar incidents. As for the victims, they are largely Muslim or from Dalit (formerly known as untouchables) and Adivasi (indigenous) communities.

According to IndiaSpends lynch fact-checker, one of the most comprehensive data sets on this so far, a total of 125 cow-related attacks have taken place since 2012. Of these, 74 incidents - or 59% - have happened under BJP rule. Further, a total of 46 deaths were reported in this period - all during the BJP years (2014-19). In fact, only 3 incidents were reported during the Congress years of the study period (2012-2013), followed by a sharp jump from 3 to 13 in just the first year of the Modi government (2014-15). Needless to say, Muslims constitute the largest identifiable chunk of the target groups (57%), followed by Dalits (10%).

Further, India remained high up in Pew Research Centres 10-point Social Hostilities Index (with respect to religion) through 2015-16, sitting firm on the Very High cluster alongside countries like Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Nigeria and Bangladesh. There was even an increase in the score from 2015 to 2016.

Additionally, the 2016 report gives a score of 0.40 (10-200 cases, as on 2016) to India in the sub-index that measures use of government force toward religious groups that resulted in individuals being killed, physically abused, imprisoned, detained or displaced from their homes, or having their personal or religious properties damaged or destroyed.

In this regard, the Pew report says that the cow protection groups in India have existed since before, but have increased their activities in 2016. It also says that Sikhs were often harassed by Hindu nationalists for traditional beliefs and practices in India.

The subtext of these numerical figures speaks of a menacing new sociopolitical culture that is being institutionalised and normalised in more ways than one, often by everyday practice.

To borrow from noted legal scholar Upendra Baxis notes on the 2002 Gujarat pogrom, the cow lynchings in the last five years mark the proliferation of state-free political time and space for sustained violence. Perpetrators from the majority community may be well assured that the state wont come in the way of their violent acts against minorities, especially Muslims. The singular purpose of this destructive non-interference is the production of minority communities as permanently endangered ones.

This state inertia has also seeped into the law enforcement machinery, as shown by multiple instances of lax or even anti-victim police action. While this is not unique to the post-2014 brand of communalism, it is still worrying and shows the institutionalisation of an anti-democratic status quo.

So, instead of prompt action against the perpetrators of violence based on appropriate provisions in the Indian Penal Code, we see four distinct patterns of police behaviour in the aftermath of a communal hate crime against a minority community: quick dismissal of the communal angle; deliberate sluggishness in protecting the victim(s); deliberate procedural lapses to protect the perpetrators (also see third para under Police Failure to Investigate and Prosecute' in HRW report); and filing criminal charges against the victim(s) instead of the perpetrator(s).

A fifth template, which is perhaps more outrageous than the other three, is law enforcement indulging in vigilantism, in direct contravention of the law. Take the example of 23-year-old Taleem, who was killed by the Haryana police in an encounter in December 2017 on charges of cow smuggling. According to the state law on cow protection, the police is only authorised to search and seize the suspect vehicle and the smuggled cows. But, clearly, the men in uniform here too enjoy the benefits of state-free political time and space for sustained violence.

According to former police officer, S R Darapuri, as quoted in a recent article by Christophe Jaffrelot and Syed H A Rizvi, the BJP is using the police as its power arm to overawe the Dalits and minorities. An attendant part of this is to misuse the law and in turn, establish impunity for law enforcement authorities.

The wilful non-intervention of the state is further perpetuated, ironically, by the constitutional framework on federalism that gives state governments, and not the central government, remit over law and order. This makes it easy for the government in New Delhi, constituted by BJPs star figures who ought to remain sanctified, to wash its hands off the overtly communal violence. No wonder the Union Home Ministry kept passing the buck to state governments despite the urgency of the problem.

The other distinct feature of communal violence in Modis India is its dependency on the internet and social media - something that was wholly missing in the Babri and Godhra phases. A lot has been said and discussed about how WhatsApp groups have actively fueled violence on the streets through the proliferation of fake news and videos.

But, not enough has been talked about how the production of raw imagery of violence through smartphones (remember Shambu Lal Regar's brutal broadcast?) has empowered the majority psyche and delivered terror to the minorities. Images, both still and moving, can deeply affect the communal hive mind by normalising abnormal violence and even legitimising it.

The outcome is the steady transformation of anti-minority street violence into casual pop culture, and in turn, total desensitisation amongst the lay public. This is precisely what the Supreme Court termed as bystander apathy in its July 2018 judgment on mob lynching. Nothing can be more dangerous to a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic democracy than the normalisation of majoritarian violence.

All of these operate under the overhang of regime support. Unlike in the post-Godhra period when mainstream BJP figures often couched their communal or justificatory speeches in moderating wordplay, Modis ministers have been less subtle. They have openly backed cow vigilantes (even garlanded them), smooth-talked about the need for protecting the holy mother animal, and framed the whole business of cow protection as an integral cultural obligation of Hindus.

In this context, what American civil rights activist, James Baldwin, wrote in The Price of the Ticket becomes glaringly relevant: "A mob is not autonomous: it executes the real will of the people who rule the State.

Sure, India has never been a non-violent entity. Our history is steeped in communalism. But, what were witnessing today is far more organised, proliferative, and institutionalised. The response, therefore, needs to be commensurate. While it makes much sense to explore relevant judicial and executive options, like a possible mass crimes law or enforcement of the apex court judgment, what we really need today is a courageous and principled politics of secularism and inter-community harmony.

Angshuman Choudhury is Senior Researcher and Coordinator, South East Asia Research Programme, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies

Prannv Dhawan is a student of National Law School of India University, Bengaluru and the Founding Editor of Law School Policy Review
Two militants were killed in an encounter between militants and security forces in an orchard in the Gahand area of Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district, early on Saturday.

Two militants were killed in an encounter between militants and security forces in an orchard in the Gahand area of Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district, early on Saturday.

Jammu and Kashmir: Encounter underway between security forces and terrorists in Shopian district. More details awaited. (Visuals deferred by unspecified time) pic.twitter.com/xioVUQFXLH  ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2019

The encounter is ongoing and a few more militants are reported to have been trapped by the forces in the exchange of fire.

A special cordon and search operation was started on Saturday morning after the Indian Army's 34RR and Shopian Special Operations Group received specific information about the presence of terrorists in the area, reported NewsNation.

News18 has reported that the Central Reserve Police Forces were also a part of the operation.
Army veteran Major General Sudhir Vombatkere also responded to the controversy with a letter of his own, in which he noted having meticulously recorded the email responses that all the veterans including those who have denied endorsing the letter, had sent.

On Thursday, over 150 armed forces veterans  including three former army chiefs, four former navy chiefs and a former air force chief  purportedly wrote a letter to President Ram Nath Kovind to complain about the manner in which political parties have been repeatedly using armed forces for political gains ahead of the Lok Sabha election.

On Friday, Air Chief Marshal NC Suri and former Indian Army chief General SF Rodrigues, denied having endorsed the letter. However, on Saturday, Major Priyadarshi Chowdhury, a retired infantryman of the Sikh Regiment and the officer who sent the letter, countered these statements. Meanwhile, veteran Major General Sudhir Vombatkere also responded to the controversy with a letter of his own, in which he noted having "meticulously recorded the email responses" the veterans sent.

Here is the full text of the letter:

Veterans' concerns for a secular military Neither news nor fake!

By

Maj Gen SG Vombatkere**

A group of over 150 Indian military Veterans wrote a letter to the President of India in his capacity as Supreme Commander of India Armed Forces, expressing their serious concern at the recent rather blatant use by politicians of different parties, of the military, military uniforms or symbols, and actions by military formations or personnel, in the election campaigns.

The Veterans' concern was that such misuse may affect the secular character of the armed forces which, as is well known, is Government of India's instrument of last resort for both internal and external security. India's armed forces have been effective in the service of the nation largely because of its a-political character and its control under the civil authority. Thus, politicization of the armed forces could reflect adversely on national security.

However, two former service chiefs and a former vice-chief of army staff, informed the media that they had not endorsed the letter and their permission to add their names as signatories had not been taken. The letter to the President was also termed "fake news" by a senior minister of the central government.

The writer had meticulously recorded the email responses of Veterans who had endorsed the letter to the President, in the time-sequence of their receipt, and the responses of all three senior Veterans who had denied having endorsed the letter are on record. Some of these are already in the public domain.

As regards the regrettable comment of this letter being "fake news", it is necessary to state that the letter is neither news nor is it fake. The letter is an appeal to the President of India to uphold the a-political character of the Armed Forces, of which he is the supreme commander.

Those who have denied having endorsed it possibly had second thoughts after having endorsed it like any good soldier would have done. Speaking of good soldiers and politics, it is apt to quote the advice of Field Marshal Philip Chetwode to the first batch of Indian cadets, when he inaugurated the Indian Military Academy at Dehra Dun in 1932. He spoke thus: "The young Indian man of education seems very attracted by politics. May I urge you to remember that politics do and cannot find any place in army life. An army can have no place in politics. It is the paid servant of the people and is at the disposal of the Government of the day, whatever may be the political complexion of that Government. Once there is any suspicion that an Army, or any part of it, is biased politically, from that moment that Army has lost the confidence of the nation that pays for it. It is no longer impartial, and that way lies chaos and civil war."

Nothwithstanding the controversy created by three very senior Veterans denying that they endorsed the letter to the President, the fact is that the content of the letter remains the view of the veterans who endorsed it. Indeed, there are other Veterans who have called in asking why they were not given opportunity to endorse the letter. This writer invites them to send in their endorsements to the letter and its contents, since opinion on such a matter is not time-bound.

The statement, which is circulating on social media, has been reproduced in its entirety and has not been edited by Firstpost for clarity or style.
Narendra Modi would be well advised to keep a close eye on developments. It is not a question of appeasing those who wore (and wear the uniform). It is a question of keeping them out of politics

If Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adiyanath picked up a stick and joined the witches of Macbeth in stirring the pot, he would not have created a more sinister and poisonous brew than what he has by calling the armed forces Modiji ki sena.

This personalised salutation, the first of its kind since 1947, was registered in the ranks of the forces with dismay and there was a certain faith and expectancy that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would censure his minister. When that didn't happen, the ire intensified and the use of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthamans photograph in election posters further upset the men in uniform. As for taking civilian credit for a military strike, even in the worst of the Gandhi days, Indira sounded best when she remained silent (as she did in military matters).

These issues led directly to a rather unfortunate situation: The purported petition  now the subject of thorough back and forth  to President Ram Nath Kovind over these issues and the 'politicisation' of the armed forces which was signed by various ex-chiefs and officers (so many of whom have stars it could create its own galaxy) did not happen in a vacuum.

Also to be noted: There is a difference between endorsing a train of thought and turning that agreeability into the equivalent of a signature on a petition to the President of India. In short, that's not fair.

Even though a handful of senior officers claimed their names were falsely placed on the list, others have maintained they signed the document willingly after reading the documents. Those that signed the document were obviously convinced by its contents. Further, the rank and file of the armed forces and retired personnel are miffed by the Adityanath comment and do not take kindly to the misuse of the photographs of the IAF wing commander or the political haste to take undue credit for the surgical strikes or the post-Pulwama initiatives.

Also, while the officers who claimed their names were falsely listed are well within their rights to protest, senior officers as a whole are far from as apolitical as they'd undoubtedly like to present themselves. In recent years, not only have retired servicemen entered politics, but also turned up at rallies, protests and political events. The times have changed and ex-servicemen cannot pretend they are simply fading away, like soldiers are meant to do in retirement.

It is possible that Modi's attitude of seeming indifference to the way the armed forces feel they are being treated on various accounts  by what is now known in the ex-servicemen echelons as the unholy trinity of Modi-Jaitley-Sitharaman  is not important vis-a-vis the elections. That they are too few in number to matter. But the government ignores the restlessness and believes it is only former officers making a ruckus at its own peril.

Modi would be well advised to keep a close eye on developments. It is not a question of appeasing those who wore (and still wear the uniform). It is a question of keeping them out of politics.
In a controversial remark, Union minister Maneka Gandhi has told Muslims to vote for her as they will need her once the Lok Sabha elections are over.

Sultanpur: In a controversial remark, Union minister Maneka Gandhi has told Muslims to vote for her as they will need her once the Lok Sabha elections are over. We are not Mahatma Gandhi's children that we keep giving and not get anything in return, she said in Sultanpur's Muslim-dominated Turabkhani area on Thursday.

District poll authorities issued her with a show cause notice. The Election Commission in Delhi is also examining the transcript of the minister's speech, which was condemned by the Congress. Maneka, the BJP candidate from Sultanpur Lok Sabha constituency, claimed she is all set to win and told the Muslim audience that you might need me tomorrow.

I am winning. I am winning because of the help and love of the people, Maneka said at the meeting in the constituency earlier held by her son Varun Gandhi. But if my victory is without the Muslims, I will not feel very good, she said, adding she will be left with a bitter feeling.

If Muslims come for some work after this, I will think why bother, what difference will it make. Suggesting that it was matter of give and take, she added, We are not Mahatma Gandhi's children to keep giving without getting anything in return.

The minister asked them to check with the people in Pilibhit, her earlier constituency. If there is even one person who says there had been something wrong on my part, don't vote for me, she said. Maneka said she had come with an open mind and they may feel that they might need me tomorrow.

This election I have already won, and you will need me and want to lay the foundation for this," she said. She also asked people to pass on this message to others. The Congress reacted strongly with its spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala saying the Bharatiya Janata Party leader is trying to divide people on the basis of caste and community.

The party approached the Election Commission in Delhi and handed over a memoranda on a host of issues, including Maneka's remarks. Sources in the Uttar Pradesh election office said she will have to respond to the notice sent by the district poll authorities within three days.

They cited paragraph 1 the model code of conduct that forbids parties and candidates from indulging in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic".

Maneka's remarks follow other controversial references to the Muslim electorate during the Uttar Pradesh campaign. At her recent election meeting in Saharanpur's Deoband, Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati asked Muslims to support her alliance with the Samajwadi Party, instead of splitting their vote by opting for the Congress.

In a rejoinder to this remark, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath brought up the controversial Ali-Bajrang Bali reference at an election rally. "If the Congress, the SP and the BSP have faith in Ali, we have faith in Bajrang Bali," Aditynath said.

Lord Hanuman is called Bajrang Bali while Ali is a revered figure in Islam. The Election Commission sent Adityanath and Mayawati notices on what could be violations of the model code of conduct. The poll code came into force on 10 March when the Lok Sabha polls were announced.
Several political experts presently argue that there is no 'Modi wave' in the ongoing election.

Several political experts presently argue that there is no 'Modi wave' in the ongoing election. The irony is that these experts had missed the Modi wave in 2014 too. It was only after the results that they accepted that such a wave existed.

However, if a wave election wave is defined as a vote being cast in the name of Modi as the prime ministerial candidate, it appears that a wave has started to form.

To understand this, one has to listen to the voices of voters, rather than the cacophony of campaigning. Some political analysts argue that this is not a national election, but a sum of state-level contests. This myopia emerges from focusing only on the narratives of political parties. Analogically, if a consumer wants to buy a car will you determine which car he buys based on car advertising or on understanding his decision matrix?

The fact is that either the BJP or its allies have a presence in almost every state. A large number of Opposition leaders are speaking about fighting against Modi  be it Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav, Chandrababu Naidu or Ajit Singh. The Congress president also punctuates his speeches with attacks on Modi. While voters keep hearing Modi's name in the Opposition's campaign, they do not get an answer to the question  if not Modi, then who? The car analogy again; one campaign says buy the car branded PM but the other only asks that you don't without offering another brand of car. The alternative is missing.

For instance, Mayawati has exhorted voters to vote for the BSP so that Modi does not become the prime minister. However, she has not stated as to who from the BSP will become the prime minister. Thus, voters have to choose between a prime ministerial candidate and a nebulous notional alliance.

The Congress' inability to reach a seat-sharing arrangement with the SP-BSP combine is confusing even voters likely to vote on caste and community lines. For instance, in Saharanpur, the Congress has put up Imran Masood against Haji Fazlur Rehman of the BSP, and the two candidates are likely to eat into each other's vote share.

In several states which went to polls in the first phase, voter turnout was lower than that in 2014. This may mean that winning margins will shrink, and they will shrink more in seats where there is a triangular fight.

Therefore, every single vote will count. A strong Congress candidate in Uttar Pradesh will eat into the SP or BSP's votes, and this may give the edge to the BJP. The 'mahagathbandhan' may not be able to consolidate votes in crucial states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. On the other hand, the NDA has stitched a strong alliance, and arrived at a seat-sharing arrangement. In Bihar, it even gave five of its seats to its alliance partner, as it feels that the latter party has a better chance.

These three factors in the Opposition camp  the lack of a clear prime ministerial candidate, the lack of consolidation of votes, and the view of Modi as a common enemy  may contribute to a wave which will enable Modi. All waves start in small ripples and remain undetected initially, till they rise to their crescendo. Good political leaders intuitively understand this; they are able to read the crowd's mind, and influence it.

Congress' proposed NYAY scheme will have an impact only if the poor believe that they will actually get this money. Voters will need trust the Congress on delivering such a huge give away. And trust is something which the UPA has lost; it's unlikely to recover this in the next 45 days. NYAY will also drive away middle-class urban voters, as the scheme, which will cost Rs 3,60,000, will mean additional taxes for them.

The wave in favour of the NDA will be further strengthened if Nirav Modi or Vijay Mallya is brought back during the election phase.
The walls of huts are painted with pink lotuses and the graffiti reads vote for BJP. Saffron flags are ubiquitous, dangling from branches of trees, peeping out of windows and sticking out of doors.

Political rivals have not stopped sniggering since BJP West Bengal chief Dilip Ghosh declared that his party would win 23 out of 42 seats from West Bengal in the Lok Sabha polls. I will be surprised if BJP gets three seats, said Rezzak Mollah, a cabinet minister in the ruling Trinamool Congress.

BJP has only two MPs in West Bengal compared to the Trinamools 33. And one of these, the Darjeeling seat has traditionally been held by the BJP which got the support of the local Nepali-speaking Gorkhas who have been at loggerheads with successive state governments on the issue of a separate Gorkhaland.

Yet, the Opposition derision  which questions BJPs ambitions of achieving a gain of 21 seats  notwithstanding, several factors lend credibility to Ghoshs claims. Most significant of these is the glaring shift in loyalties taking place at the constituency-level in several erstwhile Trinamool strongholds.

It is a sunny day in the jungle villages of Jhargram in West Bengals West Midnapore district. Part of Jungle Mahal, as the vast area has come to be known for the vast stretches of dense forests which cover it, Jhargram is one of the three parliamentary constituencies housed here, the other two being Purulia and Bankura.

Since chief minister Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress came to power with an overwhelming majority in 2011, the party has won every subsequent election from these remote regions, once the haunt of Maoists, whether central, state or rural. So much so that even in the midst of the Narendra Modi-wave which swept the country during the 2014 general elections, TMCs Dr Uma Saren defeated BJP candidate Bikash Mudi (as well as his CPIM and Congress counterparts) by a margin of over 3,50,756 votes.

One of Banerjees self-proclaimed success stories in fact, Jungle Mahal was flushed out of Maoists (her police killed the militant groups leader Koteshwar Rao in an encounter) and the tribal villages benefitted from public distribution schemes (like the one offering subsidised rice at Rs 2 per kilo).

But five years on, the only party visible in some of Jhargrams villages is the BJP. The walls of the hamlet huts are painted with pink lotuses and the graffiti reads vote for BJP. Saffron flags are ubiquitous, dangling from branches of trees, peeping out of windows and sticking out of doors.

We were for Trinamool once, but now we are backing BJP, admitted 49-year-old Kali Shankar Dey of Gopiballavpur village. Indeed, his admission is backed by the fact that in last years panchayat elections Gopiballavpur replaced the Trinamool rural government with that of BJP. By way of reason he offers a host of grievances against the ruling party," Didi (as Mamata is popularly known) may have given money for the poor people, but it was pocketed by the local party people and their relatives.

Sheikh Osman, 43, of Jhargrams Naya Basan Muslim Basti village snapped, Who told you Didi is giving you the rice? Dont you know these are central schemes? Osman, who was initiated into the BJP as an active worker during last year's rural polls, is eager to project the fact that he supports BJP despite being from a minority community. I have been telling my people that BJP is not anti-Muslim. In fact, we Muslims have been kept poor by previous governments. Now it is time for us to be a part of development.

Other reasons cited by former Trinamool supporters or even workers are factional feuds. Khub kechaal hochhey, (too much in-fighting is going on) said Bunty Sarkar, a Trinamool worker from Nadia district, using the Bengali slang for squabbling. And Hoogly districts Abdul Hussain, a construction worker, said he was forced by local construction-material-supply companies, run by musclemen allegedly belonging to the ruling party (the practice has gained notoriety in Bengal as syndicate raj) to work for them.

In Birbhum district, a Trinamool ground worker said on condition of anonymity, Not everyone is talking about it, but secretly many of us are thinking of making the shift or have already switched sides. He doesnt think of it as a betrayal. I dont have qualms admitting that we go with the flow. We have to think of our survival. If today openly I tell you I am BJP and then tomorrow the party does not do well, then they will take revenge on me. We are waiting and watching. Interestingly, the party office has been repainted from green to orange.

The other common complaint emanating from the villages in Jungle Mahal was intimidation by political thugs allegedly of the ruling party during elections, especially the rural polls. When the locals of Jungle Mahal shifted loyalties from the communists in 2011 to the Trinamool after 34 years, these same reasons were given.

Biswanath Chakraborty, political scientist and professor, explained, Leaders of the Left Front government lost touch with the people on the ground in constituencies. Local goons were controlling everything from the public distribution funds to the elections in the name of the party. When the alternative  that is, Trinamool  came along, they simply switched sides. The Trinamool government is repeating the mistakes of the Left and this is bound to cause erosion in the vote banks because BJP is offering an alternative.

But factors other than just capitalising on anti-incumbency are contributing to BJP gradually gaining ground in West Bengal. The party is pro-actively building organisational strength at the grassroots, which was a strong point of the Trinamool (which means "grassroots"). Before Trinamool captured power in Bengal it effectively drained the Left out of its ground forces. When it was clear that Trinamool was the alternative that the people would go for, cadres abandoned the Left like a sinking ship and jumped into the Didi bandwagon in droves.

To that effect, BJP has been wooing some of Trinamools top leaders known for their organisational skills. In this category, the most high-profile induction has been Mukul Roy, one of Trinamools founding members and once Mamata's right-hand man. Explaining the controversial switch-over Roy said, The Trinamool had a purpose, which was to oust the CPIM government. I was with the party then. But beyond that it has lost its reason to stay on in power because it is not offering governance. The BJP government has proved that development is its main focus and the people of Bengal want a chance at that.

Roy, who commands a huge support base among the cadre, is said to have engineered the defections of others, including former Trinamool strongmen and state ministers. Murshidabads Humayun Kabir walked out of Trinamool with a virtual army of 10,000 cadre and marched into BJP. Close to 3,000 workers followed North Dinajpurs Abdul Karim Choudhury. Among other recent defectors to BJP is Nishit Pramanik, once considered one of Trinamools strongest ground managers, who contested on a BJP ticket from Cooch Behar in northern Bengal (which went to the polls during the first phase on 11 April).

In Barrackpore parliamentary constituency, in southern Bengals North 24 Paragana district, too the BJP has pitted a former Trinamool heavyweight Arjun Singh against his former colleague Dinesh Trivedi. It is expected to be a tough contest for Singh, as Trivedi, who has held the seat for the last two consecutive terms, is a hugely popular candidate. He drops by to check on us regularly, beamed Biswanath Biswas, 55, a teashop owner in Barrackpores Naihati.

For polling dates, constituencies and election news on West Bengal, click here

Yet, a saffron flag protrudes out of the terrace of his shop. Biswas said, Look, I am a supporter of our current MP because he is doing good work, but there is no denying that the BJP is coming up in a big way in these parts. Barrackpores BJP district president Phalguni Patra said, This is not a question about one partys MP versus another. Trinamool as a party has failed the people of Bengal and BJP is the alternative. Patra insisted that this Trinamool stronghold is one of the 23 seats Ghosh is talking about.

Trinamool dismisses the claims and charges as preposterous. Trivedi, reacting to Ghosh's prediction called it a "jumla." But Ghosh claimed his figure was carefully calculated. In each constituency we have fielded strong candidates, he said. We have also been sending the message of BJPs development programmes to the people. On 23 May, there will be 23 BJP MPs in Bengal.

As evening descends on the jungle villages of Jhargram, a storm begins to brew over the horizon. The political colour in these parts can change as rapidly as the weather. Driving past the wildly swaying forests and with the voices of villagers fading in the distance, clusters of Trinamools grassroots green flags appear every now and then. But they make way for clumps of flaming saffron just as quickly. Only time will tell whether the flower that blooms for Bengal will be the jora-phool (the Trinamool symbol of twin-daisies) or the lotus.
Mamata Banerjee frequently claims that she is fighting to save democracy. However, the situation in the state run by her tells a different story.

There is something very serious going on in the state of West Bengal. I am not saying it. These are the Supreme Courts words. What is even more serious is the conspiracy of silence over it. The liberals and progressives  the nations self-proclaimed narrative-builders and conscience-keepers  remain blissfully unaware, political parties stay silent and the media (at least the local variety of it) adopts the role of Gandhis three wise monkeys.

Mamata Banerjee frequently claims that she is fighting to save democracy. It is her pet theme in campaign rallies. It is doubtless a noble motive. The West Bengal chief minister brings all Opposition leaders on a stage in Kolkata to save India, save democracy. She flies to different parts of the country to save democracy  though it is not clear from whom and how democracy needs to be saved, because we are bang in the middle of yet another celebration of Indian democracy stretching over 43 days to decide the fate of the Union and some state governments.

Nevertheless, the Trinamool Congress chiefs efforts to save Indian democracy must be noted and given due credit.

Where we run into slight trouble is when we are forced to confront the realities of the state run by Mamata, the self-anointed "saviour of democracy". Her actions reek not only of intolerance and blatant abuse of power, but also run contrary to every democratic norm that she claims to be the champion of. One may only marvel at the hypocrisy of our letter-happy liberals whose passionate loathing of Narendra Modi blinds them to every other reality. Imagine a state forcing theatres to pull out a movie because it is critical of the government. Have you heard even a squeak of token protest from free-speech warriors?

It has taken the Supreme Court to take note of the farce that is going on in the state, not once but on two recent occasions. On Thursday, the apex court criticised the West Bengal Police and fined the Mamata Banerjee government Rs 20 lakh as compensation to producers of the Bengali film Bhobishyoter Bhoot a satirical take on the goings-on in the state. The movie was pulled out of theatres just a day after release ostensibly on instruction of higher authorities, forcing its producers to knock on the doors of Supreme Court.

A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Hemant Gupta, while delivering the verdict, said, We have no manner of doubt that this was a clear abuse of public power. The police are entrusted with enforcing law. In the present case, the West Bengal police have overreached their statutory powers and have become instruments in a concerted attempt to silence speech, suborn views critical of prevailing cultures and threaten law-abiding citizens into submission. The judgment also added that such attempts are insidious and pose a grave danger to personal liberty and to free speech and expression.

Kudos to the Supreme Court for keeping its eye on the ball, but how many columns have been written or studio discussions held on this issue? Has Mamata been pressurised by the media? Why did this "story" slip through the cracks?

What has been the reaction of Mamata on this issue? NDTV reports that when the West Bengal chief minister was asked about the films disappearance, she snapped, Dont ask me such questions.

Perhaps democracys rules can be suitably bent to suit political needs, and the TMC government is eager to explore the limits of subversion. The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the Mamata Banerjee government over alleged harassment of customs officials at the Kolkata airport  another development that the captive local media has refused to highlight.

The incident occurred on the intervening night of 15-16 March, when customs officials were allegedly obstructed from carrying out their duty of checking the luggage of Rujira Naroola, the wife of Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, who, along with her female companion, had arrived at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata via a Thai Airways flight.

According to reports, West Bengal Police allegedly intervened after customs officials held Naroola for carrying excess gold without a declaration and intimidated, harassed and threatened the customs officials. According to a letter written by Assistant Commissioner of Customs to Inspector-in-Charge of Airport Police Station on 22 March seeking the lodging of an FIR, police officers who entered the airport in different batches threatened to arrest the customs officials and demanded a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) where VIPs were not checked and their safe passage is assured without any interception by customs.

A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi termed the alleged incident very very serious and added, "We do not know whose claims are bona fide. The apex court refused to consider the submission of senior advocate AM Singhvi that no notice was required to be issued on the petition.

When Singhvi raised objections against the petitioners right to file a plea, the apex court observed, We cannot ignore what is going on in West Bengal. If required, we can ourselves take suo motu cognizance of the events and get to the bottom of the issue.

But the Mamata government does more. Apart from browbeating filmmakers into submission and trying to allegedly install VIP culture and implement institutional loopholes for the politically well-connected and well-heeled, the ruling TMC doesnt mind getting its hands dirty in the rough and tumble of electoral politics. As India underwent the first phase of polling on Thursday, in a by and large peaceful first day Bengals Cooch Behar remained a sorry exception.

As Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta wrote on Twitter, There is a clear pattern emerging from the two constituencies in West Bengal. Peaceful polling in booths where paramilitary forces have been deployed and tension and intimidation where state police is the only force. In the latter, non-TMC agents have been driven out and so have voters."

Opposition parties, including the Left, Congress and BJP, sent a delegation to the Election Commission when voting ended on 11 April, demanding repolling in several booths where the state police were in charge. The EC, which decides on the deployment of forces, could station the CRPF only on 700 critical booths, leaving around 1,300 in the hands of the state administration in Cooch Behar district, where the prime minister had recently held a rally and the BJP has mounted a strong challenge. There were also reports of West Bengal police patrolling booths in army uniforms.

BJP candidate from Cooch Behar Nishit Pramanik demanded repolling in 500 booths where state police were deployed. It could be argued, however, that Opposition parties have a habit of making exaggerated claims, and one can subject Pramaniks demand to skepticism. Interestingly, in the run-up to the elections, polling officials from different districts of the state, including Cooch Behar, had demanded liberal deployment of central forces by the Election Commission and had threatened otherwise to boycott the electoral process.

What were they fearing? The violence, bloodshed and rampant rigging during the panchayat elections where the ruling party won uncontested in a number of seats, is still fresh in everyones mind.

Organising protests in Cooch Behar, Howrah and South Kolkata, a group of polling officials in Cooch Behar said: If we do not get the assurance of central force deployment, we will not go to the polling booths. We are not protesting on behalf of any party, but for our lives. They recalled the death of Rajkumar Ray, a poll official whose body was found on a train track near north Bengals Raiganj station during last years panchayat polls. A video of a poll officer expressing his fears about lack of security on the ground has gone viral.

What kind of violence and intimidation are we talking about? A report in DNA cites a purported audio clip of a TMC block-level leader warning voters in Cooch Behar not to vote for any other party except the TMC, and asking party cadres to ensure 100 percent votes. In the clip, the leader is heard saying that if someone tries to vote for any other party, they will be identified. This is the partys direction. He is also heard telling cadres that central troopers will be present in only 40 out of 100 booths and from police to BDO, all are under our control.

Incidentally, just two days before the commencement of elections in first phase, the EC had replaced Cooch Behar SP Abhishek Gupta and installed Amit Kumar Singh, SS, IB, in his place. This move by the EC did not go down well with the TMC which shot off a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner.

Mamata herself was extremely unhappy with the ECs move to transfer four IPS officers, including the police commissioners of Kolkata and Bidhan Nagar, before the polls and in a letter to the EC called the decision unfortunate, highly arbitrary, motivated and biased and ostensibly taken at the behest of BJP. Mamatas letter, according to a PTI report, also carried a veiled threat. Should there be any deterioration in the law order situation of the state, would the Commission take responsibility?

The writers, filmmakers, theatre personalities and others who write open letters to the electorate urging them to oust the BJP government to save democracy either suffer a malfunction of their moral compass or send their conscience-keeping to hibernation in select cases. The issue, however, is not the hypocrisy of these elites, but the way democratic norms are under threat in Bengal, where the courts have to repeatedly step in to uphold and safeguard constitutional rights.
BJD president and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not deserve a second term.

Bhubaneswar: BJD president and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not deserve a second term, as he is not successful.

"I do not realy think so. No," Patnaik told a news channel when asked whether Modi deserves another chance as prime minister.

"Modi has not been successful. During the last five years, there has been no improvement in unemployment, irrigation and railways," he said.

The chief minister, however, described Atal Bihari Vajpayee as one of the best prime ministers the country had.

Patnaik, who has been claimning that no national party will get majority to form government on their own at the Centre, said the BJD has kept its options open to suppport any party for government formation.

"We will support any side that supports just demands of Odisha... who will support the legitimate demands of Odisha," he said, making it clear that it may be the BJP or the Congress.

On Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Patnaik said, "He still has to mature."
Narendra Modi on Saturday mocked Congress' 'dream' of forming a government at the Centre.

Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday mocked Congress' "dream" of forming a government at the Centre and castigated it on national security and Jammu and Kashmir issues, asking people to punish it in such a way that the party would not be able to save its deposits in the Lok Sabha polls.

Addressing a massive rally in Bengaluru, he said the Congress has promised to remove the army from Jammu and Kashmir, saying "exactly what Pakistan says word to word in Pakistan's language."

Devoting most parts of his speech to national security, Modi said the Congress had spoken about coming to power in its manifesto and added, "who can stop one from dreaming?"

"But let them dream about forming the government. I can understand it because a chaiwala has robbed the opportunity of four generations of sultanate," he said.

Modi said what was worrying was that the Congress has said in its manifesto that if they form the government in Delhi, they would "remove" AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act) that gives special powers to the soldiers.

"Which way are they going? Didn't you feel the pain and anger hearing this? The Jammu Kashmir for which thousands of soldiers were martyred, you want to make soldiers unarmed, helpless?" he asked the crowd.

Modi said Congress had also said in Pakistan's language that they would remove the army from Jammu and Kashmir.

"Is this okay with you? will you be able to forgive Congress?"

"Pandit Nehru sowed the seed of fire in Kashmir and still, the country is bearing it, now they say they will remove army from there, what is the meaning of it?"

Modi also referred to the talk about having two prime ministers  one in India and the other in Jammu and Kashmir (by National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah).

"Their talk of removing the law (AFSPA), removing the military and their Milavati friends talk about second prime minister."

"If you see all these together, does Congress want to save Kashmir? Will you allow Kashmir to go away? The land on which our soldiers have shed their blood," Modi asked.

The Congress manifesto said the party proposed to reduce the presence of the Indian Army and central armed police forces (CAPFs) in the Kashmir valley.

It said the AFSPA and the Disturbed Areas Act in Jammu and Kashmir would be reviewed.

Referring to the air strike and surgical strike on terror camps in Pakistan and launch of ASAT (Anti Satellite) by India, Modi said the whole world was with India.

"Earlier whenever such things or statements were made, Russia used to be with us and the entire world with Pakistan. Now what has happened is China alone is with Pakistan while the entire world was with us."

"Isn't it India's strength?" he asked.

"You might have felt Congress processor is slow, but their software is corrupt."

"Their process is fast only when something has to be done against the country's security and demoralise our brave soldiers," Modi said.

The prime minister also hit out at the Congress for its promise to review the sedition law, saying it wants to remove law to punish those who indulge in treason.

"Will you accept such Congress and their allies?"

"Making such promises, can we forgive the Congress that has such a mindset?" he asked, telling voters that "in this election, punish Congress in such a way and also their allies that they should not be able to save their deposits."

The prime minister also took exception to the political row created by the ruling Congress-JDS alliance over the recent Income Tax raids on several JDS men across Karnataka.

Modi asked the crowd, "Should the law be followed or not whether it is PM or CM or minister? Why get scared if you have not committed anything wrong?" he asked.

On 28 March, the Income Tax department carried out raids at multiple locations in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mandya, Ramanagara, Shivamogga and Hassan, triggering a strong reaction from Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and Congress leaders, who accused the Centre of promoting the politics of vendetta.

Kumaraswamy had even called the I-T officers as BJP agents and led a protest by the ruling Congress-JDS coalition in front of the IT department office in Bengaluru.

In his rally at Mangaluru, Modi said the ruling Congress-JDS coalition in Karnataka and parties alike were inspired by "pariwarvad (dynasty)" and believed in giving power to even the last member of the family.

Addressing a massive rally, Modi said unlike the Congress, JDS and others, BJP's inspiration came from "rashtrawad (nationalism)".

He said the Lok Sabha polls was not about who became an MP or prime minister or minister, but about how the "New India" should be and what should be its inspiration.

"Inspiration of Congress-JD(S) and parties like them is pariwarwad (dynasty) and our inspiration is rashtrawad (nationalism)."

"They look for ways to give power to even the last member of their family, while we are striving to bring those people ahead who are in the last line of society."

"Their darshan is vamshoday, while ours is antyodaya (uplifting the weaker sections of society)."

"Because of their vamshoday there will be corruption and injustice and because our antyodaya the glory of transparency and honesty will increase", Modi said.

Continuing to target the dynasty politics of Congress on the second consecutive day of his campaign in Karnataka, Modi said "this vamshoday will ignore their own party senior leaders, while our antyodaya will make a tea seller the Prime Minister."
BJP stood with the people on the Lord Ayyappa issue, Narendra Modi said and hailed Tamil Nadu's spiritual ethos.

Theni (Tamil Nadu): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday sought to corner the Congress on its showpiece poll promise of "Nyay," and sought to know who would do justice for the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots, violence against Dalits, and the Bhopal gas tragedy under its regime.

The Prime Minister addressing a poll rally, a day after the campaign by Congress president Rahul Gandhi, alleged the Congress and dishonesty were best friends but sometimes "by mistake," they end up speaking the truth.

"Now they are saying 'Ab Hoga Nyay' (justice will be done now). Even if they did not intend, they have admitted that all they have done is "Anyay" or injustice for 60 long years," (during the Congress rule), he said.

"I want to ask the Congress party who will do Nyay to the victims of 1984 Sikh riots?...who will do Nyay to all the victims of anti Dalit (violence), who will do Nyay to the government of the great MG Ramachandran ji, which was dismissed by the Congress just because one family did not like those leaders? Who will do Nyay to the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy, among the worst environmental disaster in India?"

The prime minister pointed out that such infamous incidents occurred during the Congress rule.

If Rahul Gandhi invoked Tamil pride and Dravidian legacy to target BJP's Hindutva line, Modi on Saturday countered it by pointing to Tamil Nadu's spiritualism, late AIADMK leaders MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa and the welfare of Srilankan Tamils.

Modi said: "I pay homage to the great MGR and Jayalalithaa ji. India is proud of these two iconic leaders who lived and worked for the poor. Their social welfare schemes ensured lakhs of people are free from poverty."

BJP stood with the people on the Lord Ayyappa issue, he said and hailed the state's spiritual ethos by citing the famous hill shrine of Lord Shiva (Sundaramahalinga Swamy Temple) on Sathuragiri hills in the region.

"Remember that for making a prosperous Tamil Nadu, this game of the DMK and Congress must end. We must continue working for the prosperity of our Sri Lankan Tamil brothers and we must end the dynasty rule of corrupt families," he told the crowd.

The AIADMK has been accusing the DMK-Congress combine for not taking steps to halt the killings of Tamil civilians during the Sri Lankan civil war in 2009 while seeking to champion their cause.

Without naming anyone, the prime minister said the nation was witness to "father becomes Finance Minister and son loots the country," (during the UPA and seen as a reference to a senior leader from Tamil Nadu).

"Whenever they are in government they always loot, the Madhya Pradesh government has become their ATM, they are diverting money meant for poor and children for use in their election, this has become known as the "Tughlaq Road scam," I am sure you all know which big Congress leader stays on Tughlaq Road in New Delhi."

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami lashed out at the DMK, asking it to clarify whom it would support in neighbouring Kerala, whether the Congress or the CPM.

In Tamil Nadu, DMK is leading the Secular Progressive Alliance, whose constituents include the Congress and the Left parties.

Modi launched a broadside against the Opposition saying the DMK, Congress and their 'mahamilavati' friends cannot accept strides India has made and therefore were "unhappy" with him.

The DMK and Congress though "sworn enemies" have joined hands, despite the national party having "humiliated" its southern ally in the past.

"Today India is rapidly making a mark in the world. The Congress, DMK and their mahamilavati friends cannot accept this. That is why they are unhappy with me," he said at an election rally here.

The Prime Minister has been describing the opposition 'mahagatbandhan' (mega alliance) as 'mahamilavati,' meaning adulterated.

Taking pot shots at DMK President MK Stalin's proposal naming Congress chief Rahul Gandhi as Prime Ministerial candidate, Modi said there were no takers for this among the opposition "because they are in line to be PM and dream of the post."

"Some days ago, DMK supremo (Stalin) projected the Naamdar (dynast--Gandhi) as PM (candidate) but no one was ready to accept it, not even their mahamilavati friends, because they are in line to be PM and dream of the post," he said, without naming anyone.

Despite past "bitterness," the Congress and DMK have joined hands, he said and recalled that the national party had "humiliated" the southern ally earlier, apparently referring to the dismissal of the DMK government in the past.

Even during the 2G spectrum allocation scam, centered around then Telecom Minster A Raja of DMK, the Dravidian party's leaders were criticising the national party, which was leading the ruling UPA, he pointed out.

"In an attempt to mislead the people, all the corrupt have ganged up in an attempt to defeat Modi," he added.

He said the DMK has to "resort to gimmicks" just to draw people to its rallies.

The Congress, the DMK and their other mahamilawati friends can never work for India's development, he said.

"This land of Theni is known for brave people who served the nation, it is now up to you to decide how you will you deal with those who questioned the surgical and air strikes done by our brake armed forces," he said.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) had carried out airstrikes on terror camps in Pakistan in February last.

"When it comes to national security there can be no compromise. I assure my fellow Indians that we leave no stone unturned in protecting India and destroying forces of terror."

Referring to the capture of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman by Pakistan army, he said, "When a brave Indian fighter pilot was captured in Pakistan, it was ensured that he is back home in record time and even then Congress was playing politics over national security and insulting our forces."
Reuters

EU countries are set to agree an overhaul of the bloc's two-decade old copyright rules next week, requiring Google to pay publishers for news snippets and Facebook to filter out protected content, despite increasing opposition from some governments.

EU lawmakers at the European Parliament gave the European Commission's proposal a thumbs up last month, wanting to protect Europe's creative industry which is worth 915 billion euros ($1 trillion) annually and employs 11.65 million people.

The revamp has been marked by intense lobbying from tech companies worried about the administrative burden and the hit to their revenues and by artists, publishers and performers seeking fair compensation.

The new rules would force Google and other online platforms to sign licensing agreements with musicians, performers, authors, news publishers and journalists to use their work online.

Google's YouTube, Facebook's Instagram and other sharing platforms will also have to install filters to prevent users from uploading copyrighted materials. Critics say this could hit cash-strapped small companies rather than the tech giants.

Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden have said they will vote against the reforms on Monday, a move unlikely to derail the proposal unless a major EU country weighs in to form a blocking minority.

"We regret that the directive does not strike the right balance between the protection of rights holders and the interests of EU citizens and companies," the countries, with the exception of Sweden, said in a statement.

Belgium and Slovenia will abstain while Estonia said it was not able to have a view because its government had only just come to power.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
tech2 News Staff

Despite being in the spotlight for its content, which is often deemed 'inappropriate', social media app TikTok has reportedly gained 88.6 million new users in India alone in the first quarter of 2019.

According to the report by Sensor Tower, a mobile app intelligence firm, this gain is 8.2 times more compared to the increase in subscriber seen in Q1 2018 in India. On the other hand, overall, TikTok gained 110 million new users who downloaded and installed the app.

Interestingly, the report also points out that Android was the dominant platform for TikTok with 99 percent of TikTok downloads coming from Google Play Store.

This report comes days after the Madras High Court directed central government earlier this month to place a ban on the download of the TikTok app. The court also prohibited the media from telecasting videos made from the mobile app.

Why has Madras High Court ordered a ban on download of @TikTokIndia app? Is it fair? What is #TikTok doing about it? @Nandiniwhy has all these answers. @tiktok_us pic.twitter.com/DXsivMTKjx  Tech2 (@tech2eets) April 4, 2019

This order followed a petition in the court that sought a ban on the mobile app owing to the alleged 'inappropriate content' including pornography, that it carries, which is available for access to children. The petitioner said children who used the app would become vulnerable and exposed to sexual predators.

Some call it annoying, some consider it their favourite app, but the Madras HC thinks its harmful and has decided to ban it. We're talking about TikTok , which the HC believes is "spoiling the mindset" of children and exposing them to sexual predators. pic.twitter.com/IrqLcy4V2t  Tech2 (@tech2eets) April 4, 2019

Bytedance (@tiktok_us's parent company) has filed a request to the Supreme Court of India against the app's ban, arguing that the flagged inappropriate content was only a tiny proportion of its content and it could not be held liable for its user-content.https://t.co/z2Ii1LHoy2  Tech2 (@tech2eets) April 11, 2019

To this TikTok, however, responded saying, "At TikTok, we are committed to abiding by local laws and regulations. We fully comply with the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011. We are currently awaiting the official order by the Honourable High Court of Madras and once received, we will review and take appropriate action regarding this matter. Maintaining a safe and positive in-app environment at TikTok is our priority. We have robust measures to protect users against misuse, protect their privacy and digital wellbeing. This includes easy reporting mechanisms that enable users and law enforcement to report content that violates our terms of use and comprehensive Community Guidelines. In order to better coordinate with law enforcement agencies, we have appointed a Chief Nodal Officer based out of India."

The matter will next be heard on 16 April.
He was an unusual political leader in that he was both highly principled and ethical on the one hand, and very pragmatic and street-smart on the other, said Chicago lawyer Joseph Morris, a friend and colleague. I have never seen anyone put together a grassroots organization more successfully than did he, nor have I ever seen anyone who was driven in his political goals by as much attention to philosophy and principle as was Don.
Eight of the dead belong to the Hazara community, Quetta city police chief Abdul Razzaq Cheema said, adding that one paramilitary official from a squad deployed to guard the community at the market was also killed.

Quetta: A suicide bomb ripped through an outdoor Pakistani market on Friday, killing at least 18 people, half of them ethnic Hazaras, officials said, in an attack apparently aimed at minority Shiite Muslims.

Some 48 people were wounded in the blast in the southwestern city of Quetta, capital of resource-rich Baluchistan province, officials said.

Baluchistan is the focus of the $57-billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor, a transport and energy link planned between western China and Pakistans southern deepwater port of Gwadar.

The attack came after a lull of at least a year in violence against the mainly Shiite Hazara minority in the province, though there have been isolated shootings.

The blast took place at Hazar Ganji, a fruit and vegetable market on the outskirts of Quetta.

Eight of the dead belong to the Hazara community, Quetta city police chief Abdul Razzaq Cheema said, adding that one paramilitary official from a squad deployed to guard the community at the market was also killed.

He initially said that the explosive device was hidden between sacks of potatoes, but, later, he and the provincial home minister, Zia Langove, told a news conference that a suicide bomber exploded his device among the people in the market.

The bomber seemed to be disguised as one of the laborers when he exploded his device, another police official, Bahram Mandokhel, told Reuters. We have found his head and other body parts.

No group immediately claimed responsibility.

Hazaras have been frequently targeted by Taliban and Islamic State militants and other Sunni Muslim militant groups in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. They have been heavily targeted in Afghanistan in attacks claimed by an affiliate of Islamic State.

Fridays bloodshed came two days after authorities freed Ramzan Mengal, a top leader of a banned sectarian group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), Cheema said.

Mengal had been detained for three months under maintenance of public order regulations, he said.

The LeJ has worked both with Al Qaeda and Islamic State in Pakistan and has claimed several coordinated attacks in Baluchistan against what it terms Shiite heretics.

Ethnic Baluch separatists are also battling what they call unfair exploitation of the provinces gas and other resources.

In 2013, three bombings killed more than 200 people in Hazara neighborhoods, prompting security forces to escort Hazara buses to the market. The same practice was followed on Friday, but the blast took place in the market.

Targeted for their religion by sectarian armed groups, (Hazaras) have suffered many such tragedies over several years. Each time there are promises that more will be done to protect them, and each time those promises have failed to materialize, Omar Waraich, an official of rights group Amnesty International, said in a statement.

Deeply saddened & have strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Hazarganji market area of Quetta targeting our innocent people. I have asked for an immediate inquiry & increased security for the ppl. Prayers go to the families of the victims & for early recovery of the injured.  Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) April 12, 2019

Prime Minister Imran Khans government has made important commitments to protect all religious groups. Those commitments must translate now into policies to effectively protect the Hazaras of Quetta, ending more than a decade of bloodshed.

Khan himself strongly condemned the attack.
Salih Ghosh had overseen a sweeping crackdown led by NISS agents against protesters taking part in four months of mass demonstations that led up to the toppling of veteran president Omar al-Bashir by the army on Thursday.

Khartoum: The head of Sudan's feared National Intelligence and Security Service, Salih Ghosh, has resigned from his post, the country's new military rulers said on Saturday. "The chief of the transitional military council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has accepted the resignation of... the chief of NISS," the transitional military council said. Ghosh had overseen a sweeping crackdown led by NISS agents against protesters taking part in four months of mass demonstrations that led up to the toppling of veteran president Omar al-Bashir by the army on Thursday.

Thousands of protesters, opposition activists and journalists were arrested in the crackdown that left dozens killed and hundreds wounded. Before Bashir's ouster, NISS agents made several bids to disperse tens of thousands of protesters who have camped outside the army headquarters in the capital since April 6 demanding Bashir's ouster. Their efforts proved abortive as troops intervened but police said on Friday that 16 protesters had been killed at the sit-in over the previous two days.

Bashir had appointed Salih as NISS chief in February 2018, which was the regime insider's second stint at the post. His previous stint ended in August 2009. Salih, had worked on and off for NISS ever since the 1989 coup that brought Bashir to power, according to Sudanese media. He was credited with building NISS into one of the most important pillars of Bashir's regime before his dismissal in 2009.

He was later jailed on accusations of plotting a coup but no evidence was found against him and Bashir pardoned him. Over the years NISS has overseen repeated crackdowns on government opponents and the media. Its agents frequently confiscated the entire print-runs of newspapers that criticised government policy or reported on anti-government protests.
By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Friday he was considering sending illegal immigrants in the country to so-called sanctuary cities, prompting U.S. mayors to accept such an offer as the battle over border security raged. Frustrated by rising numbers of undocumented immigrants arriving at the southern border and a failure to get Congress to fully fund a U.S.-Mexico border wall, Trump taunted Democrats by dangling the possibility of an influx of illegal immigrants into their communities

By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Friday he was considering sending illegal immigrants in the country to so-called sanctuary cities, prompting U.S. mayors to accept such an offer as the battle over border security raged.

Frustrated by rising numbers of undocumented immigrants arriving at the southern border and a failure to get Congress to fully fund a U.S.-Mexico border wall, Trump taunted Democrats by dangling the possibility of an influx of illegal immigrants into their communities.

"Due to the fact that Democrats are unwilling to change our very dangerous immigration laws, we are indeed, as reported, giving strong considerations to placing Illegal Immigrants in Sanctuary Cities only," Trump wrote on Twitter.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney responded in a statement: "While the Trump administration's proposal shows their disdain to basic human dignity, the City (Philadelphia) would be prepared to welcome these immigrants just as we have embraced our immigrant communities for decades."

In February, a federal appeals court said the Trump administration could not terminate federal grants to Philadelphia for its refusal to cooperate with immigration agents seeking to deport immigrants.

In Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement "We would welcome these migrants with open arms, just as we welcomed Syrian refugees, just as we welcomed Puerto Ricans displaced by Hurricane Maria and just as we welcome Rohingya refugees fleeing genocide in Myanmar."

Sanctuary cities are local jurisdictions that generally give undocumented immigrants safe harbour by refusing to use their resources to help enforce federal immigration laws that could lead to deportations.

Those localities argue that it is not their responsibility to get involved in federal enforcement and that doing so could hinder policing efforts within communities.

The Washington Post first reported on Thursday that the White House has been considering a plan for transporting immigrants in detention and releasing them into sanctuary cities that are Democratic strongholds.

The newspaper reported there was resistance from some high-level Department of Homeland Security officials concerned about several aspects of such a plan, including the potential costs.

Nevertheless, Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House on Friday, said of sanctuary cities, "We can give them an unlimited supply" of immigrants.

White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said these would be "illegal aliens that are already set for release," which likely would include families with children.

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's hometown of San Francisco is another sanctuary city.

In remarks to reporters on Friday, Pelosi, a Democrat, said she was not aware of the newspaper report. But she added, "it's just another notion that is unworthy of the presidency of the United States and disrespectful of the challenges that we face, as a country, as a people, to address who we are, a nation of immigrants."

Pelosi was in Leesburg, Virginia, where House Democrats were wrapping up a three-day retreat.

One immigration expert, who asked not to be identified, noted that undocumented immigrants in federal custody could be at one of several stages of the adjudication process and that Trump likely has the power to have them sent to different jurisdictions from where they are being held.

But the source added, "This is a stunt. It doesn't enhance the efficiency of the process."

Trump's challenge to Democrats came one day after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican like Trump, told reporters that he wanted to launch bipartisan negotiations to seek solutions to the nation's immigration woes.

In March alone, 103,492 undocumented immigrants have been taken into custody along the southern border or turned away. Many of them are from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala and are seeking asylum in the United States away from high levels of violent crime and illegal drugs at home.

(Reporting by Mohammad Zargham and Richard Cowan in Washington and Susan Cornwell in Leesburg, Virginia; editing by Richard Chang and James Dalgleish)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Lovely verite documentaryis about eight-year-old Sasha, who was born into a boys body but is definitely a girl. This is an inspiring portrait of someone asking for so little: to be accepted for who she is. Read the review
Who says they were crime fighters? We dont know how Drury has been making his living in the last two years. He had six $100 bills in his pocket when he was shot, Boyle told the Tribune. Bas was on the other side of the fence. He was always getting writs of habeas corpus for persons we arrested. And he had represented a lot of honky tonks as well as hoodlums.
Textron (NYSE:TXT) is set to release first-quarter 2019 results on Wednesday, April 17, 2019 before the market opens. With shares of the industrial conglomerate up around 12% year to date as of this writing -- helped by a modest 5% pop following its solid fourth-quarter 2018 report in late January -- it's the perfect time to take a closer look at what investors should expect this time around.

On Textron's headline numbers

In January, Textron told investors that 2019 earnings per share (from continuing operations) should be in the range of $3.55 to $3.75, up from $3.34 per share in 2018. On the top line, 2019 revenue should remain roughly flat from last year, at approximately $14 billion.

That said, the market doesn't need growth to materialize in the first quarter. While Textron does not provide specific quarterly financial guidance -- and though we don't typically pay close attention to Wall Street's demands -- analysts' consensus estimates predict Q1 revenue will fall 3.7% year over year to $3.17 billion, translating to a 5.6% decline in earnings to $0.68 per share.

Breaking it down

Some of that near-term weakness will stem from Textron's restructuring of its specialized-vehicle business as it works to correct execution missteps with the Arctic Cat brand, the underperformance of which has negatively impacted growth at its Industrial segment in recent quarters. Textron will also face a difficult comparison on the Industrial side absent contributions from the Tools and Test business, which it agreed to sell to Emerson Electric for more than $800 million around this time last year.

Meanwhile, Textron should see solid growth this year -- guidance calls for a roughly 10.6% increase in sales, to $5.5 billion -- from its core Aviation segment, which notably houses the Cessna brand, helped by continued volume increases from its commercial turboprop lines.

At Bell, however -- and with the caveat that such big-ticket items can mean lumpy sales on a quarterly basis -- Textron anticipates flat revenue (at roughly $3.2 billion) in 2019, as higher commercial-helicopter shipments should offset a decline in government business. The latter includes lower expected production for the V-22 Osprey program.

Finally, management called 2019 "an important transition year" for the Textron Systems business, where revenue is expected to decline modestly, to $1.4 billion, particularly as Systems' Marine and Land subsidiary moves its U.S. Navy Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC) program from development to production. During last quarter's earnings conference call, Textron noted the first two SSC craft were already in testing and that the program should be poised to make its first deliveries later this year.

Flying ahead

In short, investors shouldn't expect Textron to deliver eye-popping growth -- or any growth at all, for that matter -- on a consolidated basis as it kicks off the year. Rather, putting aside the relative strength of the Aviation segment and commercial side of Bell, look for steps in the right direction with effective operational execution, new contract wins, and progress delivering on the promises of its existing programs.

Will Textron offer as much when its report hits the wires next week? Whatever the company reports, I suspect its stock price will respond accordingly.
Galveston, TX (77553)

Today

Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 77F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. Low near 70F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph.
Apple dragged to court over patent infringement again News oi-Vishal Kawadkar Apple in trouble again over patent infringement.

It seems Apple's stint with violated patents isn't over yet. The Cupertino-based company has now been dragged in front of the jury for allegedly violating the Wi-Fi patents owned by a firm called Red Rock Analytics.

The company claims that Apple used its patents covering transceiver technology for Wi-Fi chips without any concent. The technology is allegedly being used by many Apple products such as the iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, Apple TV, and the Apple Watch. Red Rock also claims that the new iPhone Xs and XR also infringe the patent.

The company is now seeking a trial and wants Apple to pay damages for leveraging its technology without authorization. Apple is yet to respond on the allegations, and there's a possibility that the company might never speak about it in public.

Red Rock has previously sued Samsung over the same claims as well, but there's no concrete information on the settlement of the matter. However, Samsung filed a countersuit, so it remains to be seen how Apple responds.

Besides, Apple recently lost a lawsuit to the chipmaker Qualcomm. The company was asked to pay $31 million over patent infringement. The lawsuit was filed back in 2017 and is just one of the many legal battles Qualcomm has against the Cupertino-based firm. Both Apple and Qualcomm are heading towards one of the biggest trials, starting next month.

Apple has already lost lawsuits in Germany and China, where it was accused of violating patents by the chipmaker. Apple continues to be the prime target of patent holders across the globe, so this isn't something new, but could affect the company's business.

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NASA releases results of its twin astronaut experiment, and there are worrying News oi-Vishal Kawadkar The space travel could affect astronauts mentally for a long time.

When NASA astronaut Scott Kelly went to the International Space Station (ISS), he also had a side objective to complete. The astronaut was supposed to spend a year on the ISS, and the space agency would compare his development to his twin brother on Earth.

Scott and Mark are the first twin astronauts to work for the US space agency. As identical twins, they have a similar genome. After running both of them through a series of tests, NASA was able to tell how prolonged stays in space could affect a human body. This data would come in handy when the astronauts will visit Mars and other planets for long periods.

After processing the data for a long time, NASA has finally released the results in the journal Science. They found that there were physical changes to Scott's body but only temporarily. The changes vanished after staying some time on Earth.

However, the changes in the DNA and mental abilities might not vanish so soon, which is a matter of concern for the space agency. Scott stayed for 340 days on the ISS, which is the longest stay for any American astronaut. He described that he had to deal with radiation, weightlessness, and a disturbed sleep cycle.

NASA has been doing several experiments that will help them understand the consequences of space travel for longer periods. NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have come together to conduct an experiment on napping in artificial gravity. This marks as the first time scientists are looking into artificial gravity to allow astronauts to stay put in space.

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NASA wants SpaceX to work alongside for asteroid deflecting mission News oi-Vishal Kawadkar Elon Musk thanked NASA with a heartwarming message.

NASA has chosen SpaceX to work on its first-ever attempt to deflect a space rock that's hurtling at high speed in space. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) will take flight placed on a Falcon 9 rocket in June 2021 from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The mission of DART is to smash a satellite into the Didymos asteroid's small moon in order to deflect it off its orbit. While this sounds exciting, if the mission fails, it would result in derailment of NASA's "kinetic impactor technique," however, success will provide crucial data that will inform its deployment against an actual asteroid that's approaching our planet.

The space agency plans to intercept Didymos when it's within 11 million kilometers to the Earth. According to the DART website, the probe won't reach the target until October 2022. It will smash into the space rock at a speed of around 13,500 mph.

The space agency will be spending around $69 million including the launch service for this mission. It will be managed by NASA's Launch Services Program at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SpaceX's collaboration with NASA can be the first step towards a new relationship with NASA evolving beyond the resupply missions to the ISS. Elon Musk also tweeted to express his views on the collaboration: "Thanks on behalf of the SpaceX team. We  NASA!"

SpaceX Falcon Heavy also launched a Saudi satellite operated by Arabsat. After 34 minutes of the launch, the satellite was successfully deployed. The mission was to place the six-ton Arabsat-6A satellite into geostationary orbit that is located 22,500km above the Earth. The satellite is meant to provide internet, television, telephone, and secure communications to users in the Middle East.

Speaking of the DART mission, NASA will be working closely with the European Space Agency (ESA) as well. ESA is also working on a spacecraft that is capable of navigating itself will be a huge leap for technology. The spacecraft will also be able to avoid space debris which will make it less stressful for space agencies.

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Trix the T. rex arrives in Glasgow

After a road and ferry journey which took her across Europe, Trix the T. rex has arrived in Scotland.

For 15 weeks from Thursday 18 April, Glasgows Kelvin Hall will host the worlds only real touring Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton.

It takes five days for experts to painstakingly unpack and assemble the massive dinosaur skeleton, which weighs a colossal 5,000 kg, the same as four Mini Cooper cars. And organisers gave access to the dinosaur build on Friday 12 April 2019 for an exciting preview of the T. rex skeleton.

With her ferocious teeth and short arms, the Tyrannosaurus rex is probably the most well-known dinosaur in the world.

The 39ft long skeleton is an incredibly rare and important fossil. At Kelvin Hall it forms the centrepiece of T. rex in Town, a major interactive exhibition that will engage and educate visitors on the history of this iconic and ferocious dinosaur species.

The public can also marvel at a painted reconstruction of what the 66 to 67-million-year-old T. rex looked like. Visitors might be surprised to see that the most scientifically accurate depiction of the ancient animal shows it had feathers.

Trixs arrival at Kelvin Hall positions the west end of Glasgow as the dinosaur capital of Scotland! T. rex in Town overlaps with the final weeks of Dippy on Tour from the Natural History Museum at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, just across the road from Kelvin Hall.

Steph Scholten, Director of The Hunterian, said: "We are delighted to welcome Trix the T. rex to Scotland. She has travelled across Europe by road, sailed across the English Channel by ferry and has cleared border control, despite Brexit, to arrive safely with us in Glasgow.

"Bringing this major touring exhibition to the city will allow thousands of Scots, and visitors to Scotland, to see one of the worlds most iconic dinosaur species.

"Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons are very rare finds and Trix is the only real touring T. rex fossil in the world. This is a major coup for Glasgow which is the only UK stop on her European tour.

"T. rex in Town offers a once in a lifetime experience for visitors to come face to face with a real T. rex and learn about her life through this superb interactive exhibition. We hope everyone who comes to see this incredible dinosaur specimen will be as excited to see her as we are.

Chair of Glasgow Life, Councillor David McDonald, said: "Trix has arrived. The anticipation is growing. Like thousands of other visitors, I am really excited to see this impressive, if slightly scary, creature take shape before my eyes. Its incredible to watch the skilled team from Naturalis in the Netherlands bring this extremely rare real dinosaur skeleton to life in Glasgow.

"We look forward to welcoming many dinosaur fans to Kelvin Hall over the coming months, where Glaswegians and visitors to the city can enjoy this unique opportunity to stare into the eyes of one of the most terrifying predators ever to have stalked the earth. Trix will be safely housed in a new, bespoke, climate-controlled, 600m2 pavilion within the massive vaults of Kelvin Hall.

"Glasgow is delighted to partner with The Hunterian and Naturalis and take on the proud mantle of dinosaur capital of Scotland. Until 6 May visitors can also marvel at Dippy, the Natural History Museums famous Diplodocus, at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. We trust these spectacular exhibitions will inspire curiosity about the natural world around us."

The T.rex in Town exhibition has been touring European cities while she waits for a new museum building to be completed at Naturalis Biodiversity Center in her home city of Leiden, in the Netherlands. Once her visit to Glasgow is finished it is unlikely she will go on tour again.

Edwin van Huis, Director of Naturalis Biodiversity Center, said: "We are thrilled that Trix is in Glasgow and we are very excited to show her off to Scottish and UK audiences. This marks the final stop of Trix on her European tour before she returns to the Netherlands.

"Trix is one of three of the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons in the world, with nearly 80% of her bones intact. She is mounted in such a way that she is bent over with her neck low to the ground, her massive jaws stretched wide in her 1.5-metre skull, staring straight into the visitors face. It is a magnificent sight.

"The skeleton is the central part of an interactive and educational exhibition which also includes reconstructed examples of Trix's favourite prey along with the habitat and how she was discovered in Montana, USA.

"Trix is loved by the Dutch people and is an ambassador for us as a museum, which aims to inspire children and adults about the natural world. She has already been seen by over 1 million visitors. It is fantastic the people of Scotland can also admire our queen of dinosaurs and be astonished by nature. We are sure she will have a hugely powerful impact in Glasgow."

T.rex in Town

Trix is a unique find. With almost 80 percent of bone volume found, she ranks in the top three T. rex skeletons in the world. Trix is a five-tonne, 39ft (12 metres) long female T. rex whose extremely well-preserved skeleton was discovered in Montana, USA in 2013.

She will be on display at Kelvin Hall from Thursday 18 April to 31 July 2019. The T. rex in Town exhibition is organised by The Hunterian at the University of Glasgow and Glasgow Museums and has been supplied by Naturalis.

Tickets for the major dinosaur attraction and interactive exhibition are available now https://kelvinhall.org.uk/trex/, Tickets 14\ 8, family ticket 39.50. Concessions are also available.
Trump distances himself from WikiLeaks after Assange arrest

Iran Press TV

Fri Apr 12, 2019 06:34PM

US President Donald Trump, who praised WikiLeaks during his 2016 presidential campaign, has distanced himself from the whistleblower organization after its founder, Julian Assange, was arrested in Britain.

"I know nothing about WikiLeaks. It's not my thing," Trump told journalists in the Oval Office on Thursday when asked if he still loves the transparency site.

The US president also said he has "been seeing what's happened with Assange" but added that what happens next is up to Attorney General William Barr.

After leaking information about US atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan, Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and stayed there for seven years until he was arrested by UK police on the embassy's premises on Thursday and forcefully dragged out of the building.

The US wants the 47-year-old to be extradited and tried for allegedly conspiring with American whistleblower Chelsea Manning in her leak of classified government documents a decade ago.

Trump repeatedly expressed his affinity for WikiLeaks during the 2016 campaign, when the whistleblower site played a major role in the run-up to the US presidential election after it published a number of documents leaked from the campaign of then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

"I love WikiLeaks," Trump said at an October 2016 rally in Pennsylvania.

"Getting off the plane, they were just announcing new WikiLeaks, and I wanted to stay there, but I didn't want to keep you waiting," he said four days before Election Day that year. "Boy, I love reading those WikiLeaks."

Trump mentioned WikiLeaks 145 times in the final month of his campaign alone, according to NBC News.

Clinton rejoices at the arrest

Speaking at an event in New York City on Thursday, Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed Assange's arrest and said the WikiLeaks founder "has to answer for what he has done."

"The bottom line is that he has to answer for what he has done, at least as it has been charged," Clinton said of Assange.

"It's not about punishing journalism, it is about assisting the hacking of a military computer to steal information from the United States government, and look, I'll wait and see what happens with the charges and how it proceeds," she added.

Clinton also seized an opportunity to take a swipe at the Trump administration, commenting on the Australian whistleblower's arrest.

"I do think it's a little ironic that he may be the only foreigner that this administration would welcome to the United States", she said.

London has issued a written reassurance to Ecuador that it will not extradite Assange to the US, where he may face the death penalty.

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Former Estonian Security Agent Suspected Of 'Cooperating' With Russian Intelligence

April 12, 2019

A former Estonian security agent who was once awarded a medal for his service to the small Baltic nation has been detained on suspicion of cooperating with Russian intelligence, the director of Estonia's Internal Security Service (KAPO) said on April 12.

Vladimir Kulikov was detained on March 26, Arnold Sinisalu, KAPO's director general said, adding that the investigation was still in its early stages.

"An investigation is under way, so it is not possible to say exactly what charges he may face. Elements of high treason may be uncovered during the investigation," Sinisalu said.

Kulikov was once recognized as KAPO's best officer, receiving the Baltic nation's Medal of the Eagle Cross in 1998.

According to Sinisalu, Kulikov is suspected of cooperating with Russian intelligence after retiring in 2012.

In recent years, spying scandals have marred Estonian-Russian relations.

Occupied by the Soviet Union during World War II, Estonia regained its independence in the Soviet collapse of 1991 and is now a member of NATO and the European Union.

Based on reporting by Delfi and EER

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/former-estonian -security-agent-suspected-of-cooperating-with-russian -intelligence/29877317.html

Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Trump: 'I Know Nothing About WikiLeaks'; US Seeks Assange Extradition

By Henry Ridgwell April 12, 2019

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he has no knowledge of the website WikiLeaks, after the whistleblowing site's founder, Julian Assange, was arrested in Britain.

The 47-year-old Australian national had been living in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since 2012, but was ejected Thursday and taken into custody by British police.

Ecuador said Assange had broken asylum conventions by continuing to interfere in other countries' affairs through the publishing of confidential information.

Trump was questioned by reporters on the arrest Thursday.

"I know nothing about WikiLeaks. It's not my thing," Trump said. "I know there is something to do with Julian Assange, and I've been seeing what's happened to Assange. And that would be a determination, I would imagine, mostly by the attorney general, who's doing an excellent job. So, he'll be making a determination."

On the campaign trail in 2016, Trump repeatedly referred to WikiLeaks after it published hacked emails from the Democrat National Committee. He once declared, "WikiLeaks! I love WikiLeaks," at a rally in Pennsylvania.

In 2010, WikiLeaks published a cache of more than 700,000 documents, videos, diplomatic cables and battlefield accounts from Iraq and Afghanistan, obtained by former U.S. Army soldier Chelsea Manning, then known as Bradley Manning. They detailed civilian casualties, along with details of suspected terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Manning was prosecuted under the Espionage Act and jailed in 2010. She was released in 2017, but was jailed again in March 2019 for refusing to testify before a grand jury about WikiLeaks.

Asylum in embassy

Assange sought asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy after facing rape charges in Sweden, which have since been dropped. He predicted then that he would face extradition to the United States.

"As WikiLeaks stands under threat, so does the freedom of expression and the health of all our societies," Assange told a crowd of supporters from the balcony of the embassy.

The United States accuses Assange of conspiring with Manning to access classified information on Department of Defense computers and has requested his extradition from Britain.

Freedom of the Press

Freedom of the press is protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, so the precise charges against Assange will be key, said legal analyst Caroline Mala Corbin of the University of Miami School of Law.

"If you break the law while you gather information, that is not protected by the free speech clause. If, however, you publish information  even if someone else has illegally obtained it  the free speech clause does come into play," she told VOA.

Assange supporter and prominent human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said Assange must be afforded the rights of other journalists.

"It smacks of double standards, and it has the whiff of a vendetta against WikiLeaks and against Julian Assange," he said.

British judges will now decide whether to fulfill the U.S. extradition request.

Geoffrey Robertson, an attorney who has represented Assange in the past, said Assange could face up to 40 years in prison if he is extradited to the United States.

"I have faith in the British justice system, and I think he will argue that this is a breach of his right of freedom of speech," Robertson said.

Assange will first face sentencing for failing to surrender to authorities on sexual assault charges in 2012.

Meanwhile, one of the Swedish women who accused Assange of rape has requested the case be reopened, further complicating the legal case against him.

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Abdelfattah Burhan

Sudans Defence Minister, Lt Gen Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf, who was sworn-in as interim president of Sudan and head of the military transitional council, announced that he had steppped down after little more than a day in office. The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), which spearheaded the months-long demonstrations that triggered al-Bashir's overthrow, praised Ibn Auf's departure as a "triumph of the will of the masses". The group also calls on people to continue a sit-in outside the army headquarters in the capital and take to the streets outside the military's "various garrisons" elsewhere throughout the country.

His successor, Lt Gen Abdelfattah Burhan, Inspector-General of the Armed Forces, was sworn-in as new interim president on the evening of Friday 12 April 2019. The head of Sudan's rapid support forces, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemeti, was appointed deputy of the transitional military council.

The retiring President of the Council also announced the exemption of Kamal Abdel-Maarouf from his post as Vice-President of the Council, without mentioning a replacement. A number of figures of the ruling National Congress party were arrested by a Sudanese army force and taken from their homes to an unknown location.

The head of Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Service, Salih Ghosh, resigned from his post, the country's new military rulers said. "The chief of the transitional military council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has accepted the resignation of... the chief of NISS," the transitional military council said. Ghosh had overseen a sweeping crackdown led by NISS agents against protesters taking part in four months of mass demonstations that led up to the toppling of veteran president Omar al-Bashir by the army.

The party of ousted leader al-Bashircondemned the coup as unconstitutional and urged the military leaders to release its acting president and other key members. "We consider the military council's power grab a violation of constitutional law," the National Congress Party said in a statement. "The NCP rejects the detention of its leaders, among them its acting president and a large number of prominent members, and calls for their immediate release."

The decision to appoint Burhan was welcomed among the demonstrators. He was one of the senior officers who contributed to the protection of the protesters in the vicinity of the General Command of the Sudanese armed forces. On several occasions, he went to the sit-in area, spoke directly with the protesters, and made contact with activists in the revolutionary movement. On Friday morning, prior to the announcement by Ibn Auf that he would step down, Burhan was seen speaking to one of the leaders of the opposition Sudanese Congress Party, Ibrahim El Sheikh, at the sit-in in front of the General Command of the Sudanese Armed Forces.

The name of Abdul Fattah al-Burhan became a shining name in the world of politics and media after Awad bin Auf stepped down from office two days after Sudan's coup. Lt Gen Abdelfattah Burhan, as Inspector-General of the Armed Forces, was not as close to Al Bashir, and the Military Transitional Council hoped that Burhan will be more acceptable to the people, who are adamant that the interim government should include civilians, and not replace one military junta for another. Burhan is said not to be affiliated with any political body or organization. Sources with close ties to the new head claim he is the only one among Sudans senior military figures without a case at the International Criminal Court.

This was the second time that the name of Abdelfattah al-Barhan had appeared publicly in less than two months. His name was mentioned in the presidential decisions issued by President Omar al-Bashir, on 26 February 2019, as part of a general shakeup of the military command. It included appointments and amendments to the chief of staff and the Sudanese army. At that time, al-Bashir upgraded Abdul-Fattah al-Burhan from the rank of Lieutenant-General to the rank of full General, and appointed him Inspector General of the Armed Forces.

Sudan had been the scene of large demonstrations since 19 December 2018, which killed dozens of dead and left thousands wounded. The most prominent event on Thursday 11 April 2019 was the announcement of the removal of President Omar al-Bashir and the formation of a Transitional Council to run the country for two years.

His name recently jumped to the forefront of events in Sudan, before he held the highest political and security post in a rapidly changing country under pressure from months of popular protests. Little is known about the Sudanese military commander. Abdul Fattah al-Burhan was one of the advocates of ousting President Omar al-Bashir, and supervised the arrest after the army's decision to isolate him, thus taking over the responsibility of managing a sensitive phase in the history of the county.

Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Burhan, 60, served in Sudans border guard and was later appointed to China as a military attache. He worked as a trainer at a military college in eastern Sudan, and served as a commander in wars in the countrys south before South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011. He later became commander of the border guard, eventually advancing in his career as a commander of the Land Forces. Burhan reportedly made frequent visits to the United Arab Emirates while he was a coordinator for Sudans military forces in Yemen. Al-Burhan supervised the Sudanese forces in Yemen in coordination with Mohamed Hamdan Daklou, commander of Sudan's rapid support forces.

Burhan was born in the village of Kandto in the state of the River Nile, Sudan, in 1960, which is about 172 kilometers from Khartoum, it is close to the historic city of Shendi. He came from a religious family that owed allegiance to the Khatami way, one of the Sufi methods in Sudan, and is the religious arm of the Democratic Unionist Party led by Mohammed Osman al-Mirghani. Abd al-Fattah al-Burhan, the third son among seven boys and two daughters, was born to Abdul Rahman al-Burhan and his wife Safia al-Siddiq, whose roots are attributed to Sheikh Ali al-Hafian. As is the case of many tombs in Sudan. Abdul Rahman al-Burhan also built a dome on his grave after his burial in the city of Eidj in the east of the island of central Sudan.

He studied elementary and middle school in the schools of his village, the majority of whose population is the Chaikya tribe, one of the most famous Sudanese tribes. He then moved to Shendi where he completed secondary school before joining the Sudanese military academy. After graduating from the War College, he worked in Khartoum and traveled between the units of the Sudanese army. He also participated in combat fronts in southern Sudan, Darfur and other areas and has been assigned training courses in Egypt and Jordan.

The brother of the head of the new military council, Abdul Qader Burhan, was quoted as saying that his brother had known courage, honesty and integrity since his youth. The family was deeply concerned after their son was declared president of the transitional military council. Is due to the great stalemate the country has had over the past months.

Abdul-Qader al-Burhan confirmed that his brother did not belong to any political party throughout his life and did not have any ideological orientation. "One day, when they were sitting with children, they remembered their father, Burhan Abdel Rahman, who then went to talk to their brother Abdel Fattah to tell him that he would become a great leader, and that would be the test of proof or exile at a difficult stage in the history of the country."

A 10-member delegation representing groups behind the months-long anti-government demonstrations held talks with Sudan's military council at the army headquarters in Khartoum on 13 April 2019. The meeting came as the new head of the council calls for dialogue and vows that a transitional period will last a maximum of two years.

The new head of the military council said those involved in the killing of protesters will face justice and ordered the release of protesters jailed by special emergency courts. "I announce the restructuring of state institutions according to the law and pledge to fight corruption and uproot the regime and its symbols," al-Burhan adds in a televised address to the nation.

In his televised address to the nation, al-Burhan says: "I invite all the people of Sudan, including political parties and civil society groups, to engage in dialogue." The council's new head adds: "A military council will be formed to represent the state until an interim government is formed. The interim military council commits to the following: A two-year transitional period during which, or at the end of which, power will be handed over to a civilian government formed by the people."

The new leader of Sudan's military transitional council has announced the lifting of the curfew. Addressing the protesters, al-Burhan says: "In order to provide an atmosphere for your design to establish a state, we declare that the curfew is lifted, all detained or sentenced under martial law will be immediately released."







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Israeli moon-landing mission fails while being broadcast live

Iran Press TV

Fri Apr 12, 2019 10:03AM

Israel's Beresheet spacecraft has crash-landed on the moon as the widely publicized event was being broadcast live.

The spacecraft lost communication with ground control as it entered its final descent towards the moon on Thursday. The mission was declared a failure shortly after.

"We definitely crashed on the surface of the moon," said Opher Doron of Israel Aerospace Industries following the incident.

Doron added that the spacecraft's engine turned off shortly before the landing do to an unknown reason, leading to Beresheet being shattered to pieces across the landing site.

The incident happened as a packed audience, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had gathered to observe the landing.

Israel's television had planned to broadcast the successful landing as it happened.

Beresheet was supposed to take a selfie to prove the landing. The spacecraft was not expected to return to earth and carried a symbolic time capsule of what were described as "national symbols".

The failure comes as Israel's space ambitions have been heavily military oriented. Israel has in the past developed a wide range of espionage and communication satellites, such as the Ofek spy satellites.

Israel's space program has also benefited from technical and financial backing provided by the United States for the Tel Aviv regime's military programs, such as the so-called Iron Dome.

SpaceIL, Beresheet's developer, was supported by both the Israeli Space Agency and NASA in carrying out the project.

The spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida on February 21 aboard the American SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Beresheet was, however, reported to have been privately funded by major Zionist business tycoons.

South African-Israeli billionaire Morris Kahn, Canadian-Israeli real estate mogul Sylvan Adams and US billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson topped the list.

Adelson, who is known for his strongly anti-Iran lobbying in Washington, is one of the US Republican Party and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's (AIPAC) top donors.

During a speech at Yeshiva University in New York City in October 2013, Adelson said that the US should drop a nuclear bomb on Iran before beginning negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear program.

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North Korea appoints man under US sanctions as new head of state

Iran Press TV

Fri Apr 12, 2019 09:44AM

North Korea has named a new head of state, replacing a senior leader charged with representing Pyongyang in international engagements.

Choe Ryong Hae was named President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea during the first session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly held Thursday, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

Choe, 69, has deep ties with the ruling Kim family and was recently sanctioned by the United States.

The person holding the position is technically considered North Korea's head of state and usually represents the country at diplomatic events.

The real power, however, is believed to remain concentrated in leader Kim Jong-un's hands.

Choe replaced Kim Yong Nam, who held the position for almost 20 years.

Kim, 91, appeared in a number of international engagements last year, including summitsheld separately between leader Kim Kong-un and US President Donald Trump; Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Kim Jong-un granted new title

During the Thursday session, leader Kim Jong-un was also granted the title of "supreme representative of all the Korean people."

Kim was also re-elected as chairman of the country's State Affairs Commission (SAC).

The session was held just hours before President Trump met with his South Korean counterpart Moon in Washington to discuss denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

The South's president has told Trump that he plans to push for another summit with Kim to keep the dialogue going, according to his office.

Moon, who has long favored engagement with the North, formerly said that it was Seoul's "utmost priority" to prevent nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang from derailing.

North Korea is under a series of harsh sanctions, mainly imposed by the United States but also by the United Nations Security Council over its nuclear and missile programs.

During the meeting with Moon, Trump said he does not want to lift sanctions on Pyongyang. Trump also said that he was considering a third session with Kim.

Last year, Trump met the North's leader in their first ever summit in Singapore, during which the two sides agreed to work toward denuclearization.

Subsequent diplomacy between the two sides, however, made little progress, mainly due to US refusal to lift its harsh sanctions.

Pyongyang has taken several steps toward the goal by suspending missile and nuclear testing, demolishing at least one nuclear test site, and agreeing to allow international inspectors into a missile engine test facility.

Washington, however, insisted that sanctions on the North must remain in place until it completely and irreversibly dismantles its nuclear program.

Kim held another summit with Trump in February from which the US president walked away, claiming that Kim had insisted on the removal of all sanctions. Pyongyang rejected that account, stressing that it had only wanted a partial lifting of the penalties.

In mid-march, North Korea warned that it was considering suspending talks with Washington and resuming its nuclear and missile tests, which it has voluntarily suspended.

Pyongyang has said its nuclear and missile program is part of its deterrence policy against US threats.

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Friday proposed a series of measures to promote cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs).

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (front) attends the eighth leaders' meeting of China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) in Dubrovnik, Croatia, April 12, 2019. [Photo: Xinhua/Shen Hong]

Li made the proposal when addressing the eighth China-CEEC leaders' meeting in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik.

Li noted that Chinese President Xi Jinping recently made successful visits to three European countries, injecting new impetus into deepening development of the China-European Union (EU) comprehensive strategic partnership.

As part of the China-EU relations, the China-CEEC cooperation mechanism has been conducive to promoting European integration process and advancing the China-EU ties, the premier said.

Members of the mechanism stick to the principles of mutual respect and equal treatment, uphold the spirit of openness and inclusiveness, follow international rules and EU laws and regulations, and respect the responsibilities and obligations that EU members among the 16 CEECs need to fulfill, Li said.

The cooperation mechanism attaches equal importance to trade and investment, and combines economic cooperation with people-to-people exchanges, having not only promoted common development but also facilitated Europe's balanced development, said Li.

The mechanism has become a major pillar for China-EU comprehensive cooperation, he added.

Noting that the leaders' meeting takes "Building new bridges through openness, innovation and partnership" as its theme, Li called for making the bridge of openness broader, the bridge of innovation clearer, and the bridge of partnership more solid.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (9th L) attends the eighth leaders' meeting of China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) in Dubrovnik, Croatia, April 12, 2019. [Photo: Xinhua/Shen Hong]

On future development of the China-CEEC cooperation, Li called for jointly defending multilateral trade system, upholding such basic principle as openness, transparency, inclusiveness and non-discrimination, and sticking to the direction of trade liberalization.

On expanding trade volume, Li said China is willing to import more high-quality agricultural products from the CEECs and make it easier for such products to be exported to China.

Calling for joint efforts to build the Belt and Road, the premier said China is willing to enhance the alignment between its development strategies and those of the CEECs, stick to the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and better draw on complementary advantages, so as to achieve win-win results and common prosperity.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang attends the eighth leaders' meeting of China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) in Dubrovnik, Croatia, April 12, 2019. [Photo: Xinhua/Shen Hong]

Urging greater efforts to boost innovation cooperation, Li said China is willing to work with the 16 countries to conduct joint research, expand scientific and technological exchanges, and cultivate growth points through innovation cooperation.

The premier also stressed the importance of jointly safeguarding a fair, just and non-discriminatory market environment.

Li also called for continued efforts to promote cooperation in the fields of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and industrial park building, adding that China and the CEECs have held cross-border matching events of SMEs, and launched a website for the SMEs coordination mechanism.

Calling for stepped-up efforts to conduct people-to-people exchanges, Li said China and the CEECs should take the Year of Education and Youth Exchange as an opportunity to enhance exchanges and cooperation among universities and colleges and promote mutual understanding and friendship between young people.

Announcing that China will host the ninth China-CEEC leaders' meeting in 2020, Li said he expects CEEC leaders to attend the meeting and jointly sketch out a new blueprint for the China-CEEC cooperation.

On their part, CEEC leaders said, after the launch of the cooperation mechanism, the CEECs and China have seen their pragmatic cooperation bearing remarkable fruits, political mutual trust continuously strengthened, trade and investment rapidly growing, and cooperation in fields including education, tourism and culture continuously deepened.

The cooperation mechanism has continuously shown new vigor and vitality and become an important cross-region cooperation platform featuring openness, inclusiveness, mutual benefits and win-win results, they said.

The mechanism has not only boosted economic growth of each country and enhanced the wellbeing of their people, but also effectively promoted the overall EU-China relations, they said.

All sides are ready to take this meeting as an opportunity to fully support the implementation of CEEC-China cooperation projects, further promote connectivity and infrastructure building, actively participate in the joint building of the Belt and Road, continuously expand trade volume, jointly safeguard multilateralism and free trade, increase personnel exchanges, and expand exchanges and cooperation at local levels and in fields including tourism, health, sports, and think tanks, the CEEC leaders said.

After the meeting, China and the CEECs jointly published The Dubrovnik Guidelines for Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries, and the leaders witnessed the signing of more than 10 cooperation agreements.

Greece was accepted as a full member of the China-CEEC cooperation mechanism, according to a decision made by the meeting.

Later on Friday, Li and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic met the press after the leaders' meeting.

Both leaders spoke highly of the new progress made in the China-CEEC cooperation and called the meeting efficient, pragmatic, fruitful and successful.

Speaking to reporters, Li said, faced with the current complicated international situations, all sides should work to safeguard multilateralism and free trade.

As a cross-regional cooperation platform, the China-CEEC cooperation mechanism now serves as an important part of and a beneficial supplement to the China-EU cooperation, Li said.
Kim Says He's Open to 3rd Summit with Trump

By William Gallo April 12, 2019

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says he will give the U.S. until the end of the year to make a "courageous decision" on stalled nuclear talks, warning of "very bleak and very dangerous" consequences if Washington does not change its approach.

Speaking to a session of North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament, Kim also said he is open to meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump "one more time," but only if the U.S. changes its attitude, according to North Korean state media.

Trump this week said he is considering another meeting with Kim, but insisted the U.S. will not relax sanctions until North Korea gives up its nuclear arsenal.

The talks have been stalled since a February Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi ended in no deal. North Korean officials have since threatened to pull out of the talks and restart nuclear and missile tests.

Kim said his relationship with Trump remains "excellent." But he said the failure of the Hanoi summit raised doubts about talks with the U.S. and whether the Washington is really interested in improving relations.

The U.S. "was not ready to sit face to face and solve problems," Kim said, adding that he does not "desire to see another Hanoi summit."

Positive message?

"It seems like a positive message from the standpoint of possibly resuming the talks," said Dong-Yub Kim, a North Korea specialist at Seoul's Institute for Far Eastern Studies. "But it is difficult to get a good opportunity like in Hanoi."

Kim's statement doesn't necessarily move the talks forward, but it does suggest he remains invested in the diplomatic process, says Mintaro Oba, a former State Department diplomat who focuses on Korea.

"He recognizes the benefits of continuing diplomatic action, especially for potential sanctions relief, but wants to put the burden of the action on the United States," Oba says.

South Korea's government cautiously welcomed Kim's statement.

"Our government will do what we can in order to maintain the current momentum for dialogue and help negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea resume at an early date," said an official at Seoul's presidential Blue House.

A small deal?

Speaking alongside South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Trump on Thursday expressed openness to "smaller deals" with the North. But Trump said he is still looking for a wide-ranging agreement under which North Korea commits to completely dismantling its nuclear weapons.

At their first summit last year in Singapore, Trump and Kim signed a vague statement to work toward the "denuclearization of the Korean peninsula." However, U.S. officials have since conceded the two sides do not agree on what that phrase means.

North Korean officials have traditionally insisted that denuclearization means the U.S. reducing or eliminating its security commitment to South Korea, including removing nuclear-capable assets from the region.

The U.S. insists North Korea must unilaterally give up its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, which violate United Nations resolutions.

North Korea has spent decades building up its nuclear program, which it views as a deterrent against the U.S.

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North Korea Might Abandon Moon as Mediator With US

By Christy Lee April 12, 2019

North Korea might begin turning away from South Korean President Moon Jae-in after he failed to secure sanctions relief from U.S. President Donald Trump during his visit to the White House, experts said Thursday.

"We want sanctions to remain in place," said Trump while in the Oval Office with Moon. "Frankly, I had the option of significantly increasing them. I didn't want to do that because of my relationship with [North Korean leader] Kim Jong Un."

Moon, who has made improving ties with North Korea and resuming inter-Korean projects central elements of his presidency, met with Trump in an attempt to reinvigorate denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang, which have been deadlocked since the breakdown of the Hanoi summit held between Trump and Kim in February. On Thursday, Trump said he wanted his dialogue with Kim to continue, and that a third summit "could happen."

"The important task that I face right now," Moon said, "is to maintain the momentum of dialogue and also express the positive outlook, regarding the third U.S.-North Korea summit."

Ken Gause, director of the International Affairs Group at the Center for Naval Analyses, said failing to move the U.S. position on sanctions could cost Moon his credibility with Kim.

"[The North Koreans] now probably are going to lose faith that President Moon can have any sort of influence inside Washington," Gause said. "And if that's the case, then North Korea will begin to turn its back on South Korea."

'Caught in between'

Douglas Paal, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said, "Obviously Trump does not want to surrender leverage over the North by offering sanctions relief." He continued, "Moon is left caught in between."

In Hanoi, Washington and Pyongyang failed to reach a deal on denuclearization. Kim asked Trump to lift sanctions imposed on North Korea in exchange for its offer to dismantle the Yongbyon nuclear facility, but Trump refused Kim's demand and, in turn, asked him for complete denuclearization if he wanted all the sanctions removed.

Moon has been under pressure from North Korea to play a mediator's role in brokering the talks between Washington and Pyongyang, which looked to him to influence Trump to relax sanctions.

"If South Korea is truly interested in North-South cooperation, it should tell the U.S. what it should be told," said North Korea's website Uriminzokkiri on Tuesday, according to Yonhap, the South Korean news agency.

Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Thursday that Kim urged his officials from the ruling Workers' Party of Korea during a plenary session Wednesday to double their efforts at self-reliance to stand against "the hostile forces who go with bloodshot eyes miscalculating that sanctions can bring [North Korea] to its knees."

Moon, who has been South Korea's president since 2017, has been pushing for the resumption of inter-Korean economic projects, which include tourism to the fabled Mount Kumgang and manufacturing at the Kaesong Industrial Complex, since his first summit with Kim in April of last year. South Korean business owners who operated factories in the Kaesong complex from its opening in 2004 until it shut down in 2016 have been anticipating the opening of the industrial park.

"I think keeping sanctions in place sets real limits on the trajectory of North-South reconciliation, leaving reopening Kaesong Industrial Zone and Mount Kumgang tourist project off the table for now," said Robert Manning, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.

"With his popularity sinking and the clock ticking on his presidential term, I think [Moon's] hope for a grand legacy is up in the air," he added.

Economic engagement

Before the Hanoi summit, Moon told Trump that he is willing to begin economic engagement with North Korea as a "concession" if it would help in negotiating a denuclearization deal with Kim.

Trump said at his summit with Moon on Thursday that "this isn't the right time" to support South Korea's engagement and concessions to North Korea.

"At the right time, I would have great support," he said.

"When the right deal is made, and when the nuclear weapons are gone, I just think that North Korea has potential as great as anything I've ever seen in terms of potential," Trump continued.

Trump reaffirmed the U.S. position on pursuing "the big deal," which calls for full denuclearization of North Korea before the sanctions are lifted, although he said smaller deals could be discussed. Moon is a proponent of a "good enough deal" that would agree to a small step in the denuclearization process, such as North Korea dismantling Yongbyon in exchange for the U.S. declaring the end of the Korean War or opening a liaison office in Pyongyang.

"There are various smaller deals that maybe could happen," Trump added. "You can work out, step-by-step pieces. But at this moment, we're talking about the big deal. The big deal is we have to get rid of the nuclear weapons."

But the Atlantic Council's Manning wonders.

"I see no sign that they have done anything to break the diplomatic impasse," he said. "There is no evidence that anything has changed" since the Hanoi summit.

Trump did not rule out having another summit with Kim and said that South Korea is "absolutely on the same page when it comes to the end state of the complete denuclearization of North Korea."

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Iran to retaliate any US move against IRGC in Persian Gulf: Envoy

Iran Press TV

Fri Apr 12, 2019 12:02AM

Iran's envoy to the United Kingdom has warned the United States that Tehran will "forcefully retaliate" any moves by the US military against the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), which was designated as a terrorist organization by US President Donald Trump earlier this week.

Hamid Baeidinejad told CNN's Christian Amanpour on Thursday that American military forces in the Persian Gulf region were in a volatile situation and it wouldn't be wise if they decided to take action against the Iranian elite force.

"The reality is the US forces are now in the region, so logically now there are concerns even within the US establishment for naming the IRGC as a terrorist organization because now it can have a very immediate impact over the situation the US forces have in the region," he said.

Following Trump's declaration on Monday, Iran reciprocated by designating the US Central Command (CENTCOM), the portion of the US military responsible for protecting American security interests in the Middle East and the Horn of Africa, as a terrorist organization.

Baeidinejad said the announcement by Trump was only rhetorical and that he did not believe Washington would ever instruct US forces to really confront the IRGC and treat it as a terrorist force.

"If they dare to implement those instructions that the IRGC is a terrorist organization if they move to counter the IRGC, they would see how forcefully they would be retaliated on the ground," the Iranian envoy asserted. "So I imagine that these are just rhetorics."

The US Navy has announced that it will not change its rules of engagement in the wake of Trump's decision.

Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson told the US Naval Institute (USNI) News that while a change of rules of engagement was not likely, he was worried about possible encounters in future following Iran's reciprocal move.

"Now add the new designations to the context... Both sides will be seen by the other as terrorist organizations outside the bounds of international laws and norms," the admiral argued.

Aircraft carriers, guided-missile destroyers and amphibious assault ships assigned to the 5th Fleet of the US Navy have been frequenting Persian Gulf waters over the past years.

The IRGC Navy has on several occasions intercepted some of those vessels, warning them to stay away from Iranian territorial waters. The IRGC has also detained several US Marines for crossing the maritime borders.

'IRGC should be rewarded not sanctioned'

Elsewhere, Baeidinejad told Amanpour that the IRGC needed to be rewarded for its efforts in eradicating Daesh and other terrorist groups in the Middle East region.

"The IRGC has been very effectively fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria," he said, using another acronym of the terror group. "They have been very effective in helping those two countries in fighting ISIS."

The Iranian envoy said Trump's move was a "pre-election gift" to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and American officials never really thought about the possible consequences.

Zarif: US responsible for adventurism against IRGC

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned the United Nations that Washington and its "puppet regimes" bear full responsibility for Trump's "dangerous" decision.

In a letter, drafted to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the UN Security Council, Zarif said the move violated all sorts of international boundaries.

"This provocative move takes tensions to a confrontational and uncontrollable level, and increases the risk of incidents in a region that was already facing endless challenges," he wrote.

"It goes without saying that the US regime along with those who are openly involved in this move and have accepted its effectiveness, as well as the two or three puppet regimes that have supported it, will be fully responsible for the perilous consequences of this adventurist move," Zarif added.

Saudi Arabia has openly lauded Trump's decision. The United Arab Emirates, a close ally of both the US and Saudi Arabia, has been known to take hostile actions against the IRGC in the past. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also thanked Trump for his move against the IRGC.

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Soleimani: Mastermind of Iran's Mideast Expansion

By Mehdi Jedinia, Sirwan Kajjo April 12, 2019

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this week described a powerful Iranian military commander as a "terrorist," while discussing options the U.S. government could have to further punish Iran for its destabilizing activities in the Middle East.

"Qassem Soleimani has the blood of Americans on his hands  as does the force that he leads," Pompeo said during an interview with Fox News. "America is determined each time we find an organization, institution or an individual that has taken the lives of Americans, it is our responsibility."

His comments came one day after President Donald Trump designated Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a foreign terrorist organization.

Pompeo said that the IRGC has killed more than 600 American soldiers.

Quds Force commander

The IRGC uses its elite Quds Force led by Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani and proxy Shiite militias to extend its influence across the Middle East and beyond.

As the commander of Quds Force, Soleimani has been a major figure behind Iran's strategic military planning in the region. He has been responsible for forming and organizing Shiite militias like Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and various militias in Iraq and Syria.

Soleimani, born in 1957 in the province of Kerman in south-central Iran, rose to prominence during the Syrian civil war, which has been ongoing since 2011, for leading Iranian forces fighting alongside Syrian regime troops.

But Soleimani's military career began during the Iran-Iraq war in 1980s, where he gained extensive battlefield experience.

The rise of Islamic State (IS) terror group in 2014 offered a new opportunity to the Iranian commander to prove his military effectiveness against IS militants in Iraq and Syria.

While Soleimani has largely kept a low profile, he has been photographed on frontlines, directing major battles against IS militants and Syrian rebels.

'Living martyr'

Military successes abroad have gained Soleimani a growing popularity at home, some analysts say.

He "has certainly benefited from increased media popularity," said Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a Washington-based think tank.

Ben Taleblu added that Soleimani has benefited from personal relationships he has forged with powerful figures in the clerical establishment in Iran.

"In the Iranian political system, personal relationships and informal networks matter more than traditional stem charts," he said.

"How he will wield this in coming years, particularly with flashpoints such as the death of the Supreme Leader remain to be seen," he added.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called him "living martyr of the revolution" during a ceremony last month, where Soleimani received the Order Zulfiqar, the highest military medal in the Islamic Republic, making him the first Iranian commander to receive the Order after the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Appearance with Assad

Some experts say that Soleimani has already been reaping the fruit of his labor by expanding his political profile domestically and regionally.

"Soleimani does carry a lot of weight in the Iranian government," said Joshua Landis, director of Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma.

"When Bashar [al-Assad of Syria] traveled to Iran earlier this year, Soleimani met with him rather than the foreign minister. It was a photo op, meant to boost moral inside Iran at a time of economic stress and sanctions. But it underlined the accomplishment of Soleimani in helping to win the war in Syria," he added.

Backed by Iranian and Russian forces, Syrian government troops have removed rebel groups from most areas they controlled at the peak of the civil war, including major provinces like Aleppo, Homs and Daraa.

But analyst Landis said that "now that Syria needs to rebuild in order to stabilize Assad's government, Soleimani will play a lesser role. Indeed, Syria will try to limit the influence of the Iranian military."

And with the U.S. designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization, experts believe that from now on Soleimani could face further challenges in his quest for more power in the Middle East and beyond.

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At Least 56 Killed, Hundreds Injured As Fighting Near Tripoli Continues

April 12, 2019

The troops of Libya's internationally recognized government continued to battle a militia commander's forces for control of the capital as the United Nations chief warned that the country faced a "very dangerous situation."

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on April 11 that at least 56 people have died and 266 others have been wounded in six days of fighting near the capital, Tripoli, with thousands of people fleeing the area.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed for a halt to hostilities, saying, "It's still time to stop."

"It's still time for a cease-fire to take place, for a cessation of hostilities to take place, and to avoid the worst, which would be a dramatic, bloody battle for Tripoli," he said.

A Reuters journalist on April 11 reported the sounds of occasional heavy gunfire and explosions near the capital and a disused former international airport as the forces of Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) battled with troops loyal to the government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj's government.

The militia commander's self-styled Libyan National Army in early April launched an offensive against Tripoli, which is controlled by militias that support Libya's UN-recognized government.

Haftar has since defied international calls to halt the advance that has killed dozens of people.

Russia has been a key supporter of the militia commander, along with Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

The North African country has been torn by violence, political instability, and power struggles since longtime ruler Muammar Qaddafi was overthrown and killed in 2011.

Based on reporting by AFP, Reuters, and dpa

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/libya-tripoli- fighting-56-killed-/29876279.html

Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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UN: 1,500 People Trapped by Libyan Conflict

By VOA News April 12, 2019

The U.N. refugee agency said 1,500 people are trapped in detention centers because of the Libyan conflict.

"The risks to their lives are growing by the hour. They must be urgently brought to safety. Simply put, this is a matter of life or death," U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in a statement Friday.

The agency said the migrants are "believed to be trapped in detention centers where hostilities are raging."

Since the conflict escalated last week, "more than 9,500 people have been forced to flee their homes," the U.N. refugee agency statement said.

Fighting continued Friday in the streets of Libya's capital, Tripoli.

The Reuters news agency reported that more than 1,000 people had gathered in central Tripoli to demand that Khalifa Haftar stop the advance of his Libyan National Army on the city.

Witnesses also reported an airstrike in Zuwara, west of Tripoli toward the Tunisian border.

Haftar launched his campaign a week ago, trying to take the capital from the internationally recognized administration of Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj.

The United Nations is calling for a humanitarian truce to let emergency aid in and to give civilians a chance to get out. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says there can be no military solution and that the parties must return to the political process.

The United States and European Union have called on Haftar's army to halt its offensive against the capital.

The fighting for control of Tripoli has left dozens of people dead, while al-Serraj's government says it has taken 200 prisoners.

Libya has been in political and economic chaos since longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi was toppled and killed in 2011.

Margaret Besheer contributed to this report.

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16 killed, 30 injured in Quetta terrorist attack

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, April 12, IRNA -- At least sixteen people were killed and thirty others were injured in a blast in Pakistan's southwestern city of Quetta on Friday, police say.

Deputy Inspector General of Quetta police Abdul Razzaq Cheema said the blast, which ripped through the Hazarganji area of the city was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) that had been hidden in the fruit market.

He said eight of those killed were members of the Hazara Shia community.

Security forces cordoned off the area and injured have been shifted to Bolan Medical Complex. Police fear the death toll may rise.

Buildings located nearby were also damaged in the blast, police said earlier.

Emergency has been imposed in all hospitals of Quetta. The police have stated that the nature of the blast is being ascertained.

The Hazara community has been disproportionately targeted by sectarian violence as they are easily identifiable due to their distinctive physical appearance.

A report released by the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) last year stated that 509 members of Hazara community were killed and 627 injured in various incidents of terrorism in Quetta from January 2012 to Dec 2017.

272**2050

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Terrorist bombing hits Hazara market in Pakistan's Quetta

Iran Press TV

Fri Apr 12, 2019 07:15AM

At least 20 people have been killed in an attack targeting the minority Hazara Shia Muslim community in Pakistan's southwestern city of Quetta.

An additional 48 people were wounded in the Friday blast which occurred in the capital of the country's restive Baluchistan province.

The bomb was hidden among bags of potatoes at a vegetable market on the outskirts of the city.

The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi terrorist group, which has targeted the Hazara community in the past, claimed responsibility for the attack.

"We claim responsibility for the attack in Quetta," said a spokesman for the group named Qari Saifullah, speaking to CNN.

"We targeted the Hazara community," he stressed.

The bombing came after a lull of at least a year in terrorist attacks, though there have been isolated shootings targeting the Hazaras.

Balochistan's chief minister Jam Kamal responded to the incident saying that the country "will not bow before terrorists" in a statement.

The statement was later echoed by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.

"I have asked for an immediate inquiry & increased security for the [people]. Prayers go to the families of the victims & for early recovery of the injured," he tweeted.

The attack was also condemned by Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi who expressed solidarity with the victims' families.

"The security and stability of our neighbors, especially Pakistan, is of great importance for the Islamic Republic of Iran and I hope the government and nation of Pakistan can diffuse the plot set out by adversaries and enemies of the region by preserving their unity and vigilance," he said.

Many Hazaras originally fled from Afghanistan during decades of conflict in the country.

Nearly half a million now live in and around Quetta.

The community has been frequently targeted by Taliban and Daesh militants and other Takfiri terrorist groups in both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In 2013, three separate bombings killed more than 200 people in different Hazara neighborhoods.

After a series of attacks in Quetta, security forces started escorting Hazara buses to the market. The same procedure was carried out on Friday, but the blast took place inside the market.

Baluchistan is the focus of numerous projects in the $57 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a transport and energy transit route planned to link western China to Pakistan's southern deepwater port of Gwadar.

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At Least 20 Killed In Pakistan Market Bombing

By RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal April 12, 2019

At least 18 people were killed and 48 injured in a bombing claimed by an affiliate of the Pakistani Taliban in Quetta, southwest Pakistan on April 12, police said.

Police chief Abdur Razzaq Cheema told RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal that explosives were packed in a car parked at a busy vegetable market.

Two children were among the dead and seven were rushed to hospital with injuries, he said.

The bombing appeared to target members of the Shi'ite ethnic Hazara community, Cheema added.

Provincial police chief Mohsin Butt said eight Hazara were among the victims.

Hazara make up about 500,000 of Quetta's 2.3 million people.

Amnesty International said the blast was a "painful reminder" of the many attacks suffered by the Hazara community in Quetta over the years.

"Each time, there are promises that more will be done to protect them, and each time those promises have failed to materialize," Omar Waraich, Amnesty's deputy director for South Asia, said in a statement.

The Qari Hussain Force, an affiliate of the Pakistani Taliban, also known as the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), later claimed responsibility for the attack.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Arif Alvi issued statements condemning the attack and adding that it would not weaken "the resolve of the nation in the fight against terrorism."

Jam Kamal Khan, the chief minister of Balochistan Province, condemned the attack, saying "the enemy of humanity is behind this act of terrorism."

Quetta is the capital of Balochistan, where separatist groups have waged a low-level insurgency.

Pakistani Taliban militants have been waging a campaign of bombings and other attacks on Pakistani security forces.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/pakistan-quetta-market- bombing-16-killed/29876209.html

Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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At Least 18 Killed in Attack on Pakistani Shi'ites

By Ayesha Tanzeem April 12, 2019

A mere three weeks before a Pakistani minority was planning to celebrate a year of peaceful existence, an explosion ripped through a vegetable market, killing at least 18 people.

Police officials said the blast targeted members of the Hazara community, a Shi'ite minority primarily living in large clusters in Quetta in Pakistan's Balochistan province, although eight of the dead were not Hazaras.

The explosives were hidden in a sack of potatoes, according to the Deputy Inspector General of police Abdul Razzaq Cheema. The explosion shattered nearby windows.

The attack happened despite a police and paramilitary security detail escorting the Hazara community members. No group has claimed responsibility yet but Sunni extremists have claimed such attacks in the past.

The Hazaras in Quetta have been targets of Sunni militants for years. Hundreds have died in either bomb blasts or targeted killings. One massive blast in 2013 killed more than 90 people.

After several big attacks in 2013, the government installed check posts and assigned a paramilitary force called the Frontier Corps to guard the entrances of Hazara areas. However, the community complained that their social and economic life was stifled since they were only safe inside their areas.

Many students complained of having to give up their dreams of going to a university due to security concerns. Other said they had to sell their businesses. Still, targeted killings of Hazaras in various parts of Quetta continued.

Last year, a young lawyer and activist, Jalila Haider, led a hunger strike demanding protection for the community. After five days of going without food and water, she ended the strike only when the country's army chief personally came to see her and promised protection to the community. After that the attacks ceased, until the current one.

"People from my community had started moving around easily, going on picnics, we participated in elections, celebrated Eid and Muharram processions," Haider told VOA. Her community, she added, was planning a big celebration for the 1st of May, the anniversary of her meeting with the army chief.

"After this attack though, we are planning another protest," she said.

The violence over the last several years has led thousands of Hazaras to migrate from Pakistan, sometimes illegally.

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The Week In Russia: Hunger Games: Putin's Big Appetite For A Seat At The Table

By Steve Gutterman April 12, 2019

Tasty Morsels

Vladimir Putin is sometimes portrayed as ravenous: a hungry wolf on the ragged edge of Europe, about to descend diagonally down the map and devour what's in his path.

But throughout his years in power, and particularly over the last few, some of Russia's actions abroad suggest that despite a prodigious appetite, he's a picky eater. Or at least a wary one, usually trying not to bite off more than he can chew -- though not always succeeding.

He can also be something of a scavenger, nosing around for what he might call a "tasty morsel" -- words he used when he basically blamed the West for the Beslan school attack in 2004 -- and jumping when he sees an opening but backing off, if only to circle and wait for another chance when he senses that the price may be too high.

Parts of that approach can be seen in Syria, where Russia backed President Bashar al-Assad from the beginning of his war against rebels in 2011 and then stepped up its support in 2015, launching air strikes and deploying ground forces in a move that may have saved Assad from defeat and bolstered Moscow's clout in the Middle East.

In Ukraine, Putin sent in troops, staged a referendum, and snaffled up Crimea when opportunity and motive aligned after the downfall of a Moscow-friendly president in Kyiv.

But after fomenting separatism and backing forces that seized control of parts of two provinces on the other side of its border, Moscow and the militants stopped short of seeking to push westward and establish control over or take a huge swath of Ukrainian territory that Putin briefly referred to as Novorossia, or "New Russia."

Too Far Gone?

Even so, he may have taken too big a bite out of Ukraine. Russia's economy has been harmed by Western sanctions imposed as a result of Russia's actions there, and the Kremlin has pushed the prospects of a return to good relations with what Putin has called a "brotherly" nation into the future by years if not decades or more.

Meanwhile, polls show that the popularity surge he secured by taking Crimea has subsided and more Russians are questioning whether the move was a good thing for their country.

Further abroad, Putin has brought his appetite for greater global influence to bear in countries including, but not limited to, crisis-hit Venezuela, Libya, and Sudan.

In some cases, one chief goal is to ensure Russia gets a seat at the table, or retains one, and that the United States doesn't monopolize the conversation.

Venezuela, where its dispatch of military personnel has led to U.S. demands that it "get out" of the Latin American country, is "ill-suited" to even limited military operations in support of Russia's interests, Moscow-based commentator Vladimir Frolov wrote in an opinion article in The Moscow Times.

Instead, he wrote, "Moscow isengaged in great power resolve signaling  making it clear to Washington that it no longer has freedom to take military action in any part of the world against Russian objections."

'Art Of The Possible'

In other words, it seems, Moscow is trying to use a small force as a part of an effort to do as much as it thinks it can -- but no more -- in the showdown in Venezuela, where the United States has recognized Juan Guiado, leader of the opposition to Russian-backed leader Nicolas Maduro as the legitimate president.

On the world stage these days, Bloomberg Opinion columnist Leonid Bershidsky wrote in an April 8 article that Russia's foreign policy is "an exercise in the art of the possible: Take a gamble on those who are themselves willing to take a gamble on Moscow's aggressiveness and the murky economic benefits it can offer."

The results are mixed.

In Venezuela, Maduro has held on so far. Not so in Sudan, where autocratic leader Omar al-Bashir was overthrown by the military on April 11 and the future remained uncertain as demonstrators -- at first jubilant -- called for the establishment of a civilian government.

In power in Sudan since before the Soviet Union collapsed, Bashir voiced high praise for "the role that [Russia] plays in preparing Sudanese military personnel" and thanked Putin for "the experience Russia shares with our country" in the areas of arms trade and military cooperation when they met in Russia in July for the second time in eight months.

Adaptable You

Russia made it clear that it will seek to retain its influence in Sudan -- where "members of Russian private security companies are working," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in January -- as part of what observers say is a continuing effort by Moscow to stamp a larger footprint in Africa.

As events unfolded in Sudan and broadcasts showed a nightmare scenario for Putin -- tens of thousands of protesters in the streets of the capital -- his spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the Kremlin was "monitoring this situation very carefully" and hoping that "whatever the outcome, Russian-Sudanese relations" will be a priority for Khartoum.

We'll see.

In Libya, meanwhile, Russia has been seeking to gain or regain influence and economic opportunities eight years after the ouster and death of Muammar Qaddafi, which followed NATO-nation air strikes made possible by a UN resolution that Putin -- with Russia's decision to abstain, credited to Dmitry Medvedev, the "tandem" partner he had steered into the presidency as a placeholder -- likened to "medieval calls for crusades."

Hedging Bets

Russia's practical interest in Libya may be accompanied by hunger for revenge of sorts. Whatever the motives, Moscow has given substantial support to Khalifa Haftar, an eastern-based commander whose forces control much of the massive country and this month launched a campaign to seize the capital, Tripoli, where the UN-backed government is based.

The "strong pushback" against Haftar's attempt to take Tripoli "endangers one of...Putin's risky bets," Bershidsky wrote.

But Russia has hedged its bets, maintaining "connections with all sides of the political spectrum" and "engaging with different elements of the Libyan system," Tim Eaton, a research fellow with Chatham House's Middle East and North Africa program, told RFE/RL on April 10.

As a result, Eaton said, it looks like Russia "will be able to adapt" to developments "on the ground."

In putting out multiple tendrils in Libya and declining to augment its backing for Haftar with public declarations of support, Russia may be hoping to avoid accusations of hypocrisy -- like those it often levels against Washington and the West -- given that its more customary role is champion of the longstanding government, regardless of that government's image or actions.

On a more practical level, helping one side while huddling with others could increase the probability that Russia will -- going forward -- have a meaningful say in shaping the situation in Libya even as it declares, as it always does, that the future must be decided by Libyans alone.

Russia has "sought to capitalize on opportunities where it's found them" rather than "committing serious resources," Eaton told RFE/RL. "And I think sometimes Libya is viewed as a place where Russia can have some leverage, but without having to commit too much in order to exert that leverage."

Investment Climate Change?

As for the Kremlin's actions at home, "art" seems like the wrong word for the suppression of dissent, say, or politically-charged criminal cases. But Putin seems sometimes to be guided by a sense of the possible within Russia's borders.

Few Russia-watchers, whether they are watching from inside or out, would be likely not to see the Kremlin's hand in the release of theater director Kirill Serebrennikov from house arrest or the transfer of American investor Michael Calvey from jail to house arrest.

When things like that happen in such quick succession, it's tempting to think of a thaw.

The advice from Abbas Gallyamov, a former Kremlin speechwriter who is now an analyst: don't.

"Putin sees politics in two dimensions; 'strength' and "weakness,' and a thaw for him is a synonym for 'weakness,'" Gallyamov told CBS News.

So instead, it's more like an adjustment, a concession based on political and economic calculations.

Turn of the Screws

"The authorities want to balance it out," Gallyamov said. "The Kremlin understands that it can't tighten the screws all the time. It's not powerful enough to completely ignore the society's demand for democratization and dialogue."

He added: "There will be two more screws tightened for each one loosened."

And, of course, for a screw to be loosened, it must first be turned tight.

While it was obviously "a positive thing that he's been released, the charges have not been dropped," Noah Sneider, Moscow correspondent for The Economist, tweeted after the ruling freeing the director from house arrest. "That this small step back by the state is seen nowadays as a minor miracle speaks volumes."

Or as analyst Alex Nice put it wryly in a tweet after the court ruling the form of custody for Calvey: "Invest in Russia -- you'll only get house arrest."

Like Serebrennikov, Calvey is still charged, and he and his colleagues at private-equity firm Baring Vostok face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of large-scale financial fraud -- a charge they deny.

Four of them remain behind bars. Frenchman Philippe Delpal had the term of his pretrial detention -- jail, that is -- extended to July 14, Bastille Day in his home country, by a court earlier in the week.

In a separate case, Calvey's countryman, Paul Whelan, is also still confined to Moscow's Lefortovo prison -- more than three months after he was arrested and accused of espionage. Russian authorities claim he was "caught red-handed," but U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman told RFE/RL that they have provided no evidence so far -- urging them to "quit playing these games" and release him.

And for some the release of Serebrennikov is a reminder of the plight of another director, Ukrainian Oleh Sentsov. He is serving a 20-year prison sentence in Russia after being convicted of terrorism, a charge he and supporters say was trumped up as punishment for his opposition to Moscow's takeover of Crimea.

Sentsov survived a 145-day hunger strike last year.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/the-week- in-russia-hunger-games-putin-s-big-appetite-for- a-seat-at-the-table/29877736.html

Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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US-Turkish Tensions Escalate Over Russian Missile Purchase

By Dorian Jones April 12, 2019

With Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reaffirming his commitment to buy Russian missiles in the face of renewed warnings from NATO ally the United States about sanctions, Ankara and Washington remain on a collision course. Analysts warn that with a July date looming for Ankara to take delivery of the missiles, time is running out to avert a rupture in bilateral ties.

"Turkey must choose  does it want to remain a critical partner in the most successful military alliance in history?" said David Satterfield, the U.S. nominee to be the ambassador to Turkey, speaking at a confirmation hearing Thursday before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "Or does it want to risk the security of that partnership by making such reckless decisions that undermine our alliance?"

"We tell them [journalists], 'This is a job done, all is ready,' " said Erdogan. He confirmed the purchase of the S-400 missiles as he spoke to Turkish reporters Monday, while returning from Moscow after his third meeting this year with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"It's like a slow-motion car crash. It's even difficult now to call Turkey and the U.S. allies, so I am not very optimistic about the relationship," said former senior Turkish diplomat Aydin Selcen, who served in Washington.

Washington claims the S-400 missiles will compromise U.S.-made military defense systems used by Turkey, in particular the F-35 fighter jet. The Pentagon has warned that delivery of the F-35 planes to Turkey, which is a co-producer of the aircraft, is in jeopardy with any deployment of the Russian missiles.

The U.S. Congress is also warning that Ankara's procurement of Russian weapons would open the door to financial sanctions, under CAATSA  the Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. Under the 2017 legislation, Turkish institutions and individuals can be targeted by hefty fines.

Any U.S. fine could rock Turkey's economy, which is in recession after last year's collapse of the lira, triggered by the Trump administration's decision to impose sanctions on Turkey over the detention in Turkey of American pastor Andrew Brunson, who has since been released.

"I don't think market participants have a very good handle on how high the stakes are," said analyst Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Partners, "in the bad-case scenario of Turkey-U.S. brinkmanship in the S-400 drama."

On Friday, the lira fell sharply amid growing investor concerns about U.S.-Turkish tensions and reports of a steep fall in Turkey's foreign currency reserves. "I fear Erdogan has not been told by his advisers how little foreign reserves Turkey has left," said an analyst for a foreign bank, speaking anonymously. "Turkey has very little room and time to maneuver now."

Some analysts suggest Turkey is too important for the U.S. to crack down on. "I was speaking to American diplomats. I told them, 'It's America's choice  do they want to hit Turkey with sanctions that will make an unstable Turkey, that will destabilize the rest of the region?' " asked international relations professor Huseyin Bagci, of Ankara's Middle East Technical University.

Bagci says a lack of clarity by Washington about its intentions exacerbates the current tensions.

"The Americans are confused. What we hear from the American Pentagon, the State Department, is it [the S-400 sale] will create troubles and reduce trust and cause sanctions. But the American president has said nothing," said Bagci.

"If [U.S. President Donald] Trump says don't buy [the S-400 missiles]," he added, "it will carry much more political weight. However, as long as there is no statement from the American president, there will probably be no return from this deal."

The Turkish president's advisers routinely maintain that the only voice that counts in Washington is that of Trump. They allege dark forces are operating around the U.S. president, seeking to sour ties with Ankara.

Analysts warn that any strategy by Ankara of relying on Erdogan's relationship with Trump is risky. "There is a danger for Ankara in miscalculating U.S. intentions," said Selcen. "But the [U.S.] intentions are there, clearly stated, it is also true, Trump did not come out publicly on these issues."

Berat Albayrak, Turkey's economy czar and Erdogan's son-in-law, is due in Washington in the coming days for a series of meetings and conferences. According to Turkish media reports, Albayrak is expected to meet high-level U.S. officials including Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser. The two men reportedly have developed a close working relationship.

"It remains to be seen whether those parties at the Pentagon [and] White House will use this visit by Mr. Albayrak as a last measure to convey once again America's message on these issues concerning Turkey's national security," said Selcen. "But time is ticking, and we're in the middle of April, and the S-400 is due to be delivered to Turkey in July. So there is not much time."

Some analysts warn that Washington has already run out of time. "The S-400s will be delivered; the question is not delivery," said Bagci. "But the question is: Is it going to be used? It could be deployed to Turkish Cyprus, so it's not in Turkey. In Turkey, every home has a guest room. So the S-400 could be like a vase in the guest room, not unused."

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People in Crimea see Russia's S-400 defensive units for 1st time

Iran Press TV

Fri Apr 12, 2019 08:35PM

People in the Russian peninsular region of Crimea have got a chance for the first time to see and touch the S-400 missile defense systems, two days after Russia held defensive military drills in the region.

The advanced defensive systems were displayed in the main square of Sevastopol, Crimea's largest city and a major Black Sea port, whose residents, from all ages, came to see and touch the units along with Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile systems and other military equipment on Friday.

"Today in this square we present military equipment of the air defense troops, including Pantsir-S1, launcher station of S-400 missile system, loader, attachments, small arms and security equipment," said launcher platoon leader Lieutenant Ilya Afanasyev.

He added that the S-400 units were on defensive duty in the city.

The S-400 system, whose full name is the Triumph Mobile Multiple Anti-Aircraft Missile System (AAMS), is an advanced Russian missile system designed to detect, track, and destroy planes, drones, or missiles as far as 402 kilometers away.

Moscow deployed one division of the S-400 surface-to-air missile system in the vicinity of Crimea's Feodosia port back in 2017. Earlier this year, another system was stationed in Sevastopol.

On Wednesday, Crimea's S-400 and Pantsir-S1 missile system combat units, as part of Russia's Southern Military District, participated in military drills in the region, during which they successfully fended off a missile attack, simulated by the tactical Sukhoi Su-24 bombers.

Crimea declared independence from Ukraine on March 17, 2014 and formally applied to become part of Russia following a referendum, in which 96.8 percent of participants voted in favor of the move.



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Kyiv Says One Ukrainian Soldier Killed, Eight Wounded In Conflict In East

By RFE/RL April 12, 2019

Ukraine says one of its soldiers has been killed and eight others wounded in clashes with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said on April 12 that separatist fighters fired machine guns, anti-tank missiles, and grenade launchers, violating a cease-fire 20 times in a 24-hour period.

Heavy weapons, including anti-tank missiles, are banned under the Minsk peace agreements.

The ministry also said that Ukrainian armed forces killed nine separatists and wounded eight others.

Meanwhile, the separatists in the Luhansk region accused Ukrainian government forces of violating the cease-fire seven times in the same period.

Since April 2014, some 13,000 people have been killed in fighting between Kyiv's forces and 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.

A new cease-fire agreement was reached on March 8, but both sides have accused each other of repeated violations since then.

With reporting by TASS

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/kyiv-says-one -ukrainian-soldier-killed-eight-wounded-in- conflict-in-east/29876749.html

Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Hung Up: In TV Spectacle, Ukraine Presidential Rivals Keep It Simple

By Christopher Miller April 12, 2019

KYIV -- After dramatic video challenges and livestreamed drug tests, Petro Poroshenko and Volodymyr Zelenskiy took their electoral sideshow to prime-time TV on April 11 with a linkup that ended with the challenger hanging up abruptly on the incumbent president.

It followed news that Poroshenko, head of state since a snap election followed a Russian invasion and the outbreak of military conflict in eastern Ukraine in early 2014, badly trails the comedian-turned-candidate Zelenskiy in national polling ahead of their presidential runoff on April 21.

A weeklong dispute over the timing and location of a possible debate resumed shortly after Poroshenko stepped onto the stage of the Right To Power TV program and Zelenskiy was patched through by telephone.

Poroshenko invited Zelenskiy down to the 1+1 studio for a debate on the spot, only to be told that the 41-year-old political novice was in France ahead of a scheduled April 12 meeting with President Emmanuel Macron -- with whom Poroshenko is also scheduled to meet after his visit earlier in the day to Germany to see Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The two men returned to a spirited if mostly petty back-and-forth that seemed to highlight the lack of high-politics discussions coming from the candidates since they beat out 37 other contenders in the first round on March 31.

Here's how the TV kerfuffle went down in the broadcast by the same 1+1 channel that airs many of Zelenskiy's comedy shows and is owned by self-exiled oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskiy, who publicly reviles Poroshenko.

"Petro Oleksiyovych is perfectly aware that I am visiting Paris, France, considering that the fine cars of the Ukrainian Security Service escorted me to the airport," Zelenskiy tells the show's host, using the president's patronymic.

Standing on center stage, Poroshenko quips back that he has no interest in Zelenskiy's movements before the two begin speaking over one another.

Fragments can be heard relating to their stadium debate challenge and recent name-calling and attack ads before Poroshenko asks, "Are you finished?"

Zelenskiy snaps back that "I'll finish in five years, and you'll finish on April 22," the day after the runoff, although the inauguration date for the next five-year presidential term is set for June 3.

After the 53-year-old Poroshenko urges his 41-year-old rival one more time to agree to an April 14 debate and Zelenskiy counters with April 19, Zelenskiy adds, "That's all, goodbye," and ends the call.

(View the full exchange on the Right to Power program at 23:17)

The exchange didn't sit well with some Ukrainians who voiced their frustration with both candidates on social media.

They included third-place presidential finisher and ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who responded with a video of her own.

In the argument between the candidates, she said, "I saw the destruction of the status of the president, I saw the humiliation of the Ukrainian state."

"I think, like me, millions of Ukrainians did not want to see this," she added.

Adding to the drama, 1+1 director Oleksandr Tkachenko on April 12 accused Poroshenko of having turned up uninvited to the show, where he "shamelessly burst onto the air...using his status as head of state."

Tkachenko added that the channel was considering a defamation lawsuit against the president, who threatened to sue 1+1 last month for "lies" and "defamation."

1+1 raised some eyebrows when it broadcast several Zelenskiy productions during the so-called "quiet" period on the eve of the first round of voting last month.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/hung-up-in -tv-spectacle-ukraine-presidential-rivals- keep-it-simple-/29877456.html

Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Ukrainian Presidential Rivals Meet With French, German Leaders

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service April 12, 2019

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko traveled on April 12 to Berlin and Paris to seek international support ahead of the April 21 runoff.

His challenger Volodymyr Zelenskiy traveled only to Paris where he met French President Emmanuel Macron, who separately met with Poroshenko as well.

In Berlin, Poroshenko met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel who praised the "very close relations" her country has built with Ukraine in recent years.

At a joint news conference, Merkel deflected a question about the impression that she favors Poroshenko in the election. She said that she is in "permanent contact" with the incumbent.

Her spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said a meeting with Zelenskiy "is not planned at present."

"We have built very close relations in the last few years," Merkel said. She added that "implementing democratic change is a complicated process.... Ukraine has made progress here, but certainly is not at the end of the road."

Germany, France, and Ukraine are part of the so-called Normandy Format of countries seeking a resolution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-backed separatists are fighting against Kyiv government forces.

Russia is the fourth country in the format, which has not held talks in two years.

"We must continue on this path, because it is the only one I can see on which we can really make progress," Merkel said, adding that she favors continuing four-way talks between Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and France.

"There have been successes in some areas, but a great deal of work remains to be done on many things, so Germany will continue  independently of the outcome of the election  to support the positive and good development of Ukraine," Merkel said.

Poroshenko said he would be prepared to hold a summit "immediately after the election."

He later met Macron in Paris.

After his meeting, Poroshenko released pictures on social media of himself and a smiling Macron looking comfortable and close together on the steps of the Elysee Palace.

"Happy to meet with Ukraine's sincere friend," he wrote on Twitter.

Macron first hosted comic actor Zelenskiy who told journalists that his meeting with the French president was held in a "very nice, warm atmosphere."

"The meeting was very constructive. I met a leader of a united Europe. I liked it. The meeting was constructive. We discussed the most important issues for Ukrainian society and for Ukraine," he said.

His campaign chief, Ivan Bakanov, told AFP that the two discussed the conflict in eastern Ukraine, corruption, economic reforms and, "of course, the second-round runoff."

According to preelection surveys Zelenskiy -- a comedian and political newcomer -- is the favorite to win the presidential runoff.

Zelenskiy won the first round by a wide margin over Poroshenko, but he did not receive enough support to avoid the runoff.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, dpa, and AP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/merkel-meets-with -ukrainian-leader/29877864.html

Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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NEW ORLEANS, April 12, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC (KSF) and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors of pending deadlines in the following securities class action lawsuits:



Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc. (DPLO)

Class Period: 2/26/2018 - 2/21/2019

Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: April 25, 2019

SECURITIES FRAUD

To learn more, visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-dplo/ .

Inogen, Inc. (INGN)

Class Period: 11/8/2017 - 2/26/2019

Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: May 6, 2019

SECURITIES FRAUD

To learn more, visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nasdaqgs-ingn/ .

CVS Health Corporation (CVS)

Class Period: 5/21/2015 - 2/20/2019

Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: April 26, 2019

SECURITIES FRAUD

To learn more, visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-cvs/

Weight Watchers International, Inc. (WTW)

Class Period: 5/4/2018 - 2/26/2019

Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: May 3, 2019

SECURITIES FRAUD

To learn more, visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nasdaqgs-wtw/ .

If you purchased shares of the above companies and would like to discuss your legal rights 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, via email (Lewis.Kahn@KSFcounsel.com), or via the case links above.

If you wish to serve as a Lead Plaintiff in the class action, you must petition the Court on or before the Lead Plaintiff Motion deadline.

About

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC, 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
Residents can also attend the groups meetings, which will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Fire Station 1, 200 East Side Drive; and May 1, 15 and 30 at the Public Works Department, 1800 South St.
TORONTO, April 12, 2019 - Avidian Gold Corp. (Avidian or the Company) (TSX-V:AVG) announces an amendment to the terms of common share purchase warrants issued in connection the previously announced private placement of convertible debenture units of the Company on February 26, 2019 (the February Private Placement). The February Private Placement consisted of the sale of 708 debenture units of the Company (Units). It was previously announced that, each Unit shall consist of a C$1,000 principal amount three (3) year unsecured interest-bearing convertible debenture (a Debenture) and five thousand (5,000) common share purchase warrants of the Company (each a Warrant) with each Warrant entitling the holder thereof to acquire one common share of the Company (a Common Share) at a price of C$0.76 per Common Share for a period of 36 months, subject to the Companys option (the Acceleration Option) to accelerate the term of the Warrants in the event that the trading price of Common Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange (the TSXV) equals or exceeds C$1.00 for twenty consecutive trading days by providing a 30 days notice to Warrant holders.



In order to better reflect current market conditions and to align the terms of the Warrants with the applicable policies of the TSXV, the Company, in consultation with the TSXV, decided to amend the composition of the Units so that each Unit consists of one Debenture and two thousand five hundred (2,500) amended Warrants, with each amended Warrant exercisable into Common Shares at an exercise price of C$0.40 for 36 months, subject to the Acceleration Option. The terms of the Debentures are not amended.

The amendment to the Warrants and composition of the Units, as described above (the Amendment), has received the consent of the subscribers for the Units and is approved by the TSXV.

Early Warning Report

As result of the Amendment, the holdings of securities by David Anderson, who immediately prior to the February Private Placement had beneficial ownership and control over 5,577,251 Common Shares (or approximately 9.76% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares on a partially diluted basis) have changed. Pursuant to the terms of the Amendment and in connection with the February Private Placement, Mr. Anderson has acquired beneficial ownership and control over 1,000,000 Common Shares, assuming conversion of the Debentures and exercise of the amended Warrants. As a result, following the completion of the February Private Placement, Mr. Anderson has beneficial ownership and control over 6,577,251 Common Shares (or approximately 11.24% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares on a partially diluted basis). The Units were acquired by Mr. Anderson for investment purposes. Depending on market and other conditions, Mr. Anderson may from time to time in the future increase or decrease his ownership, control or direction over the Common Shares as circumstances warrant. For the purposes of this notice, Mr. Andersons address is 18 King Street East, Suite 902, Toronto, ON M5C 1C4. Prior to the Amendment, it was reported that Mr. Andersons holdings following the February Private Placement were 7,077,251 Common Shares (or approximately 12% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares on a partially diluted basis). In satisfaction of the requirements of the National Instrument 62-104 - Take-Over Bids And Issuer Bids and National Instrument 62-103 - The Early Warning System and Related Take-Over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues, an updated Early Warning Report in respect of the acquisition of Units by David Anderson in connection with the February Private Placement will be filed under the Companys SEDAR Profile at www.sedar.com.



About Avidian Gold Corp.



Avidian brings a disciplined and veteran team of project managers together with a regional scale advanced stage gold-copper exploration portfolio in Alaska. Avidians Golden Zone project also hosts a NI 43-101 Indicated gold resource of 267,400 ounces (4,187,000 tonnes at 1.99 g/t Au) plus an Inferred gold resource of 35,900 ounces (1,353,000 tonnes at 0.83 g/t Au). Additional projects include Amanita which is adjacent to Kinross Golds Fort Knox gold mine in Alaska and Jungo and Dome Hill in Nevada. The Strickland and Black Raven properties, both located in Newfoundland, are held within Hide Tide Resources Corp, a private subsidiary company of Avidian.



Avidian is focused on and committed to the development of advanced stage mineral projects throughout first world mining friendly jurisdictions using industry best practices combined with a strong social license from local communities. Avidian has 57,021,683 shares issued and outstanding. Further details on the Corporation and the individual projects, including the NI 43-101 Technical report on the Golden Zone property, can be found on the Corporations website at www.avidiangold.com.



For further information, please contact:

David Anderson, Chairman and CEO

Mobile: 403 688 8863

Email: danderson@avidiangold.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Forward-looking information

This News Release includes certain "forward-looking statements". These statements are based on information currently available to the Company and the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results relating to, among other things, results of exploration, project development, reclamation and capital costs of the Company's mineral properties, and the Company's financial condition and prospects, could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements for many reasons such as: changes in general economic conditions and conditions in the financial markets; changes in demand and prices for minerals; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; technological and operational difficulties encountered in connection with the activities of the Company; and other matters discussed in this news release. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking statements. These and other factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by the Company or on its behalf, except in accordance with applicable securities laws

This news release does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The securities being offered have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and such securities may not be offered or sold within the United States absent U.S. registration or an applicable exemption from U.S. registration requirements.
At a Knight Foundation smart cities forum in Philadelphia in September, the opening session was billed as a conversation about technology between the foundations president and Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney. What transpired had little to do with technology.A significant part of what won the crowd over was the honest and authentic way Kenney talked about immigration, about how wrong he thought President Trump was on the issue and why he was willing to engage in a protracted fight with the federal government over Philadelphias sanctuary city status. Diversity, he said is our strength. Kenney reminded the crowd that some of the previous waves of immigrants, among them the Irish, Italians and European Jews, were not initially welcomed, any more than people coming here from Latin America today or African-Americans who began migrating to Northern cities a century ago.Dealing with urban poverty, linked as it is to those latter-day migrations, is key for every big-city mayor, but the challenges are particularly acute for Philadelphia. The countrys fifth-largest city, it has the highest poverty rate among big cities. More than a quarter of its residents have incomes below the federal poverty level, and more than half of those struggle to get by on less than 50 percent of that.A lot of experts will tell you that lifting folks out of poverty is a job for the federal government and that theres little a city can do to move the needle. Kenney is giving that assertion a serious test. The mayor is confronting poverty in a way that doesnt single out the poor as a separate class or marginalize them as just one more interest group clamoring for special favors. Instead, to broaden the base of support from taxpayers, Kenney maintains a focus on the idea of, as in public schools, public spaces and public transit. This acknowledges the reality of what poor people need.The three main pillars of Kenneys approach are the citys soda tax, its schools and a program focused on rebuilding public spaces. The soda tax, 1.5 cents per ounce, raises about $90 million a year, which is used to fund pre-K education as well as parks, libraries and other public spaces. Kenney was able to wrest control of the schools away from the state, which had run them for years. And the city recently unveiled a new transit plan. While the plan features upgrades across all modes of public transportation, the biggest push is to improve the affordability and connectivity of the bus system. Almost half of Philadelphians in poverty ride the bus.None of these things can happen without getting the politics right. Kenney, who grew up enmeshed in South Philly politics and went on to serve for 23 years on the city council, clearly knows how the machinery works. One of the people I talked to about him mentioned that the mayor never gets too far out in front of the 17-member council -- that he wont do much without being within hailing distance of nine votes.On the other hand, Kenney has surrounded himself with very competent young activists and technocrats impatient to make big changes. The result is that while he isnt Americas flashiest progressive mayor, he might be one of the most effective at dealing with things that matter to progressives. And thats just what Philadelphia needs at this moment.
Students at the Technical University of Munich developed a new iteration of their Game of Thrones death predictor for the return of the popular shows eighth and final season. The first version, created in 2016 before the release of the sixth season, was correct on three out of its five picks for the characters most likely to die.The artificial intelligence behind the predictions was designed to analyze data sets from Game of Thrones Wiki and The Wiki of Fire and Ice, the shows two Wikipedia sites. The algorithm considers factors such as a characters gender, house, marriage history, character significance and more. It then compares these factors from characters who are alive to those who are dead, using the commonalities and differences that it finds to predict their likelihood of survival.According to the AI, fans of Daenerys Targaryen, Tyrion Lannister and Varys have the least to worry about, while those hoping for Bronn or Gregor Clegane, a.k.a. The Mountain, to survive should be worried (or not, if you dont like them).
People know these are limited and they come early to get their best shot, Warrenfeltz said. These are highly collectible pieces and for the artists its an opportunity to get their name out there and for the more obscure artists that have fallen by the wayside to release stuff in the vaults that has nothing to do with the labels regular catalogue.
(TNS)  The FBI is continuing to investigate the February cyberattack on Aurora City Schools, according to FBI Special Agent Vicki Anderson."Yes, we do have an ongoing investigation," she said Thursday. She declined to comment further.School officials previously referred questions to law enforcement. Aurora police referred questions on the investigation to the FBI.Aurora school officials said in February that an undisclosed amount of money had been recovered, while an undisclosed amount of many had been compromised due to a cybersecurity attack."This cyberattack was sophisticated and was launched by experienced perpetrators," a press release from the school district stated. "At this time, there is no evidence that any personal data was compromised in the breach.""The district has received notice that the vast majority of our financial assets have been recovered due to the expertise of our many partners," the release continued. "It is our expectation that we will be able to secure all of the funds that were compromised due to this attack."School and law enforcement officials would not say how much was money taken or how the schools discovered the attack.The release did say school officials became aware of the attack on Feb. 26. The district then notified local police and the FBI, along with IT, financial and legal partners to mitigate any potential future threats, according to the release.
The cloud is a powerful tool for driving digital transformation, but risks abound at every step of the journey. Public-sector IT leaders must assess where they stand in the cloud adoption curve and plan how to optimize their infrastructure costs.
521 Roslyn Road, Kenilworth: $5,750,000 | Listed: Nov. 12, 2021



This eight-bedroom home has five full bathrooms, three half-baths, carved marble fireplaces and a three-season porch. The kitchen is equipped with a double oven, hardwood floors and granite counters and is located next to the butlers pantry and breakfast room. The dining and living rooms have coffered ceilings, hardwood floors and leaded windows, and the office offers views of the private yard. The primary bedroom suite has a separate dressing room, a walk-in closet and a bathroom. The remaining bedrooms have custom moldings and millwork. A mudroom and a two-bedroom, two-bathroom coach house with a four-car garage complete this home.



Agent: Amy Rowe, Engel & Volkers, 847-372-6389



*Some listing photos are virtually staged, meaning they have been digitally altered to represent different furnishing or decorating options.



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.



Join our Chicago Dream Homes Facebook group for more luxury listings and real estate news.
Hyundai Motor Company signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with local energy firms Korea East-West Power (EWP) and Deokyang to generate electricity from hydrogen.

The pilot project conducted under the MOU will deliver a 1 megawatt (MW) hydrogen fuel cell power facility, with Hyundai Motor building the fuel cell system, EWP managing the facility and sale of electricity, and Deokyang supplying the hydrogen.

The use of Hyundais proprietary fuel cell technology in the pilot project marks the first time local technology is being used in a fuel cell power facility in Korea in lieu of the foreign technology upon which the market has been dependent.

The 1 MW power facility, scheduled to break ground later this year in Ulsan, will consist of two container-type 500 kW generator modules, each loaded with multiple power modules from Hyundais flagship fuel cell vehicle NEXO.

The facility can generate an annual supply of 8,000 MWh, enough electricity to power approximately 2,200 households at 300 kWh per month, while emitting zero greenhouse gases or pollution.

The hydrogen used in the facility will be byproduct hydrogen brought from a nearby petrochemical complex through a pipe network, reducing costs and making use of local energy sources.

The pilot project presents an opportunity for Hyundai Motor to take its fuel cell technology beyond the automotive industry to achieve economy of scale, which will subsequently lead to cost competitiveness, job creation, and growth of other related industries.

EWP will be able to secure an increased share of renewables in its energy mix, while Deokyang will be a step closer to bringing down the price of hydrogen through increased trade volume and stable management of supply and demand.

Hyundai Motor will collaborate closely with EWP and Deokyang to expand the scope of the project down the line.

Hyundai hopes to foster the fuel cell industry and other related sectors in the future, and will continue its commitment to leverage its fuel cell technology to build a Hydrogen Society in accordance with the FCEV Vision 2030 announced earlier this year.
The village in its application noted that Ford Heights is frequently cited as one of the most impoverished communities in Illinois, but that the village has been able to secure grant funding for a capital improvement plan and is advancing several large-scale economic development opportunities. The village also said it is working with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District to address issues of flooding along Deer Creek, where storms have resulted in neighborhoods being inundated with water.
On Friday, the United States FCC has announced that it will take a couple of measures to expedite the development of 5G in the US. The race to lead the 5G race is one that President Trump fully intends to win, especially with the economic boosts and jobs that come with bringing high-speed internet to customers in rural parts of the US.

Its a race our great companies are now involved in. According to some estimates, the wireless industry plans to invest $275 billion in 5G networks, creating 3 million American jobs quickly, and adding $500 billion to our economy.  Donald Trump

The measures havent yet been put into place, but todays announcement proposes the bidding procedures for the biggest auction of spectrum in US History. The bands to be auctioned later this year include the Upper 37GHz, 39GHz, and 47GHz spectrum bands.

Carlos Barria | Reuters

According to the FCC, this auction will promote the development of 5G, the Internet of Things, and over advanced spectrum-based services. The FCC plans to begin auctioning available spectrum starting on December 10.

To accelerate and incentivize these investments, my administration is freeing up as much wireless spectrum as needed [...] removing regularity barriers to the buildout of networks. The FCC is taking very bold action, bolder than theyve ever taken before, to make wireless spectrum available.  Donald Trump

The proposed new regulations would allow Fixed Satellite Service operators to provide faster, more advanced services to their customers by employing a 50 GHz band. The current rules impair the ability of users to deploy small, next-generation networking devices on their own property, The proposed changes would allow private property owners to install hub and relay antennas to expand the reach of 5G.

Pertaining to the use of Huawei equipment in the US, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai addressed security concerns, but tiptoed around actually mentioning Huawei, the Chinese telcom company. Heres what he told CNBC.

We believe that the security and reliability of 5G is absolutely important, not just as a matter of national competitiveness, but also as a matter of national security, [...] I have been very encouraged by my conversations with European allies [...] about the importance of security and 5G networks.  Ajit Pai

Verizon has already launched the first US 5G network in Motorolas home market of Chicago, IL last month. The only smartphone to currently support the network is the Moto Z3 with the bulky 5G Moto Mod.

Source | Via
OnePlus may be working on as many as three phones to launch this year, but a foldable phone is not among them. CEO Pete Lau went to Milan to speak with students at the European Institute of Design where he shared his thoughts on the future.

Foldable phones are not ready for prime time and not just because of the price. Lau says that they dont do anything fundamentally different from current phones. Folding screens do have potential, but not in phones, not yet.

Instead the company wants to expand to other fields  OnePlus is working on building a TV or a smart display as Lau calls it. He sees remote controls as outdated, instead saying that AI can learn your habits and have relevant information ready for you. Sounds like Google Now for TVs.

Pete Lau in Italy

OnePlus also wants to go into the automotive business, working on electronics (building a whole car is too complex). Lau hinted at the possibilities enabled by 5G, for example enhancing a virtual assistant.

Similarly, the company will build products for the office, something for the cloud-connected era, again combined with advancements in 5G and AI.

The TV project is the one furthest ahead in development, but its still too early to tell when it will launch. The in-car and office gadgets will be developed over the next several years.

Source (in Italian)
The shooting occurred about 1:55 a.m. in the northbound lanes near Cicero Avenue. Police said the vehicle with the three gunshot victims was found in the right ditch.




Haiti - Security : The US Coast Guard repatriates 33 Haitians and destroys their boat





Friday the US Coast Guard repatriated 33 Haitians (27 men and 6 women) who had been intercepted aboard a motorboat overloaded earlier this week, about 35 miles northeast of Turtle Island and heading south to Florida.



Spencer, a Coast Guard cutter, launched a patrol boat to intercept the Haitian boat. Before reaching it, they fished 6 packets of marijuana that floated on the water about 100 meters from their target.



According to the Coast Guard release, Spencer members found three more packages of marijuana and a pack of amphetamines aboard the Haitian boat.



The Haitians were embarked aboard the Spencer and the coastguard destroyed the boat considered according to the statement as "a danger for navigation..."



SL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Politic : Results of the work of the General Sectoral States of the Nation





The Technical Secretariat of Organization of the General Sectoral States of the Nation (EGSN) published the results of the work carried out within the framework of its mission, concerning the data collected from the representatives and leaders of more than 600 organized groups of the Nation.



Barriers to political, economic and socio-cultural governance were discussed in sectoral meetings, five departmental forums (North, North-West, North-East, South-East, Nippes), a national preparatory forum for Arcahaie and 1 diaspora forum (Europe/Africa). This preparatory work brought together a total of several thousand participants.



The main obstacles : incompatibility between certain outdated rules and those in force defined by the Constitution, the treaties and conventions of which Haiti is part which govern the relations in the political, economic and socio-cultural sectors.



Recall the mandate of the General Sectoral States of the Nation (launched on January 1, 2018 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23153-haiti-politic-jovenel-moise-launches-the-sectoral-general-states-of-the-nation.html ) whose members of the Committee and the Technical Secretariat were installed by President Jovenel Moise on March 28, 2018 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23948-haiti-flash-sectoral-general-states-of-the-nation-installation-of-the-members-of-the-steering-committee.html was abruptly interrupted by the Head of State, without the Technical Secretariat and the Committee have had time to complete their work and submit even richer proposals on the direction to be given to the Haitian society to the complete outcome of the assizes https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-27115-haiti-news-zapping.html



Pending the organization of a session of public restitution, the Technical Secretariat published its report "Political, economic and socio-cultural governance diagnosis and prospects for reforms"



Download the report (300 pages, PDF in French) : https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/EGSN-RAPPORT-15-Avril-19-Gouvernance-politique-economique-socioculturelle.pdf



as well as an accompanying sheet (4 pages) to facilitate the reading of key points entitled "Political, Economic and Sociocultural Governance Three central concerns"



Download the PDF support sheet in French) : https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/EGSN-RAPPORT-10-Avril-19-Gouvernance-Fiche-de-lecture-N100419.pdf



A synthesis version in Creole should be available soon, informs the Technical Secretariat of EGSN.



Watch the 131 videos posted online by the EGSN (interventions by citizens and organizations and reports) : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwGdEFcmWie3-GfWKWEeVLg/videos



HL/ HaitiLibre




















Why aren't municipalities stopping people from panhandling? . . . Sometimes they in the preserves, other times they get picked up. It's easy tax free money and more, and more people are out there. I'm not trying to be judgmental but there are agencies that help people in need in all areas.
by Lisa Spellman

At the American College of Cardiology meeting in March Tom Porter, M.D., presented conclusive findings that show diagnostic ultrasound-induced cavitation of microbubbles reduce the size of a heart attack significantly and restores the pumping function of the heart muscle in patients suffering from acute myocardial infarction.

The findings are the culmination of more than 10 years of research that started with a simple desire.

We wanted to find a way to help patients that would be less costly, less invasive and be more readily available to people world-wide suffering from a heart attack, Dr. Porter said.

Dr. Porter is the Theodore F. Hubbard Chair of Cardiology and a professor in the UNMC College of Medicine.

The solution Dr. Porter proposed was to use microbubbles that would be injected intravenously into the patient. These are routinely used during an ultrasound examination to improve the image of the heart. However, when exposed to a high intensity ultrasound, the microbubbles undergo a process called cavitation, which destroys the blood clot, Dr. Porter said.

When applied to the chest wall over the region of the heart in a patient having a heart attack, the cavitation process destroys any blood clots in both the large and very small blood vessels of the heart.

This process restores blood flow to the large blood vessel and the very tiny capillaries that supply nutrients to the heart, he said.

The best part is this cavitation process can open up these smaller blood vessels that also might be clogged and clear those as well, preventing further damage to the heart muscle, Dr. Porter said.

The findings came from a study of 100 patients that began in 2014 in San Paolo, Brazil in which half of the patients were treated with microbubbles and half were not.

In those who received the microbubble intervention, all of them had a smaller heart attack as measured 72 hours after the event with an MRI. This improved the pumping function of the heart at follow-up examination, so that the number of patients that needed to be treated with a defibrillator six months later was reduced from 16 percent to four percent.

We have been waiting a long time to find a safe treatment that would reduce microvascular obstruction which can occur even with a successful stent procedure, Dr. Porter said.

The next step of the research is deployment of the technique in an ambulance setting, which begins this month in Amsterdam. It would be done using a portable ultrasound device and commercially available microbubble infused into the patient experiencing the heart attack intravenously while the person is being transported to the hospital via ambulance.

We chose Amsterdam because it has centralized all of the heart attack patients to go to one hospital using a network of ambulances, one or two of which we will designate to use a portable ultrasound machine, Dr. Porter said.

We are very hopeful that this process can be used in other areas of organ injury and help to restore blood flow quickly to reduce damage, like we know it does in acute myocarditis, he said.

University of Nebraska Medical Center
Macmillan Cancer Support and the University of Birmingham urge researchers to use newly developed international guidelines so that all key data is published and patients are fully informed about how cancer drugs affect quality of life.

Important feedback about quality of life from up to 49,000 cancer patients who took part in UK-led clinical trials from 2000-2014 remains unpublished, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Birmingham and funded by Macmillan Cancer Support.

The findings, published today in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, analysed clinical trials which collected Patient-Reported Outcome (PRO) data: feedback from patients about how the trial treatment affected their overall health and quality of life. This trial data provides a crucial insight into what a patients life may be like if they opt to take the treatment.

The study found that while most trials consistently published data around survival or cancer progression, more than one in three (38%) failed to publish the PRO data they had collected, meaning that this important information was not available for other patients to help them make decisions about treatment.

New cancer treatments can help prolong peoples lives or even offer the chance of a cure, but they can also have serious side-effects and long-term impacts on peoples health. Macmillan Cancer Support and the University of Birmingham call upon researchers to use new international guidelines, called SPIRIT-PRO2, developed by a team led by the University, to help ensure vital patient-reported data is available from all trials to assist life-changing treatment discussions between cancer patients and their clinicians.

Dr Rosie Loftus, Chief Medical Officer at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: Embarking on a new cancer treatment can be a daunting leap into the unknown, and patients must be given all available information about possible side effects to help them make an informed decision.

Cancer treatment can have a massive impact on someones quality of life, and it is really important that people are able to consider this alongside the likelihood of increased survival thanks to a particular drug.

Cancer researchers must adopt a more consistently transparent approach to publishing quality of life data, otherwise some people with cancer will continue to make decisions about their treatment without the full picture.

The National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI), a UK-wide partnership of cancer research funders, has agreed that more consistency is needed and is leading the way on sharing best practice.

Joint-Chief Investigator for the study Dr Derek Kyte, of the University of Birminghams Institute of Applied Health Research and the NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre, said: Whilst the majority of trials routinely publish survival and progression data, our research has shown that researchers need to work far harder to make sure important quality of life data are made available to patients and their clinicians.

We recognise trialists need help to do this, which is why Macmillan, the NCRI and the University of Birmingham are working together to share best-practise international guidelines known as SPIRIT-PRO and to provide bespoke training.

We are also calling for Journals, funders and policy-makers to help make it easier for researchers to make patient-reported trial data available in the public domain, but to hold those to account where information is collected from patients, but not shared.

Mr Richard Stephens, Chair of the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Consumer Forum, and a cancer patient who has participated in clinical trials and contributed PRO data, said: I welcome this timely piece of research. In 2015, the Cancer Strategy for England called for Patient Experience to become as important a priority as clinical outcomes.

That must apply to research for the future as much as to the current care delivered in our NHS.

This study looks at cancer research studies up to 2015, and so it establishes a useful benchmark from which we can move forwards. I hope we see not only more research making better use of Patient Reported Outcomes and Experiences, but more research designed and delivered with the active involvement of patients and of carers too.

Dr Iain Frame, National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) CEO, said: Clinical research is a vital step in putting new ideas to the test and finding better ways to treat cancer and improve lives.

High-quality data on a patients quality of life and responses to new treatments are an important part of clinical research because without them we dont get the bigger picture around how a new treatment or approach can affect a patient.

The NCRI works with many researchers and patient advocates to improve the quality of cancer research. Through our Clinical Study Groups, we will continue to share expertise and best practice to help ensure that patient feedback is collected routinely and is done so to the highest standards so it can be used to drive improvements in cancer treatment.

The next phase of the study will involve interviewing researchers who the study team found were effectively collecting and reporting patient reported outcome data, so that best practice can be shared among the wider research community.

University of Birmingham
Dead Funny | Corn Exchange, Wallingford | Thursday, April 11

ERICA Harleys excellent, bittersweet production of Terry Johnsons Dead Funny shows the weary Eleanor (Rebecca Lee) trying to maintain her lamentable marriage to the unfathomably hostile Richard (Johnny Cornelius).

Heres a play that very cleverly manipulates the conventions of comedy. We have verbal sparring, witticisms, jokes, slapstick, farce  and even custard pies. But these comedic techniques form an ironic counterpoint to what is a very moving tale of disappointment and betrayal.

Richard and Eleanor dont see eye to eye, so the mood is far from jolly as they prepare for a memorial party for the recently deceased comedian Benny Hill.

Richard, despite his wifes evident unhappiness, is a dedicated chairman of the Dead Funny Society, a group of comedy enthusiasts in a world of their own, endlessly repeating impersonations of comedians long gone.

While Eleanor feels excluded from this group, she is the true comic. Her humour is her own, not learned by heart from comedy scripts of the past.

Rebecca Lee is strong and brilliant as the wisecracking but brittle Ellie and commanding as she takes control within her disintegrating marriage.

The party turns out to be a damp squib, followed by a fierce showdown exposing the deep marital disharmony of the two central couples.

Socially awkward Brian, played superbly by Kevin Goodfellow, offers his own revelations about his private life.

Nikki Godding is splendid as the little bit psychic Lisa, who claims to commune with dead comedians and is rumoured to be the secret daughter of Sid James.

Johnny Cornelius is very convincing as the irascible Richard, the obstetrician in denial about his wifes yearning for a baby.

Joel Webster as Nick is tremendously funny, but also a vulnerable victim of secrets and lies.

As the title suggests, Dead Funny tackles two human preoccupations  humour and death. But it is also very much about sex, on several levels.

Theres the comic representation of sex through nudge, nudge, wink, wink innuendo and farcical states of undress. But sex is also explored more seriously as experienced in the married lives of the two couples and the solitary Brian.

The play IS a comedy, but its also ABOUT comedy  with the recognition that we dont all laugh at the same things and that what is considered funny changes over time.

Dead Funny, though tinged with sadness, stands as a genuine tribute to the British comedy tradition.

The text is woven through with allusions to classic comic acts, so there are plenty of hilarious moments for the audience to enjoy.

If director Erica Harley approached this production with some trepidation, concerned about the suitability of such a raunchy text, the audience reaction will have allayed any fears  they loved it.

So, a funny adult play about funny comedians, but at its heart is the story of a disillusioned woman, a story so ineffably sad I could have cried.

Until Saturday.

Susan Creed
He said visitors at the picnic areas should be able to see further into the woods with the removal of the buckthorn and will probably see more native wildlife in the area.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 12)  An Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) official resigned over the controversial invite of a daughter of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos to the university's art event.

In a statement, University President Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin said the executive director of AdMU's art hub resigned after the backlash caused by her personal invite to Irene Marcos-Araneta.

"In the spirit of transparency, Ms Yael Buencamino has voluntarily offered to resign as Executive Director of Arete. I have accepted her resignation as Executive Director, even as I acknowledge with gratitude her exemplary performance in shepherding Arete during this nascent stage of its development," Villarin said.

Marcos' appearance to the opening of Arete's Outdoor Art Installation program was faced with backlash from university students.

In a statement, the AdMU student body condemned the presence of Marcos, and claimed that the move was a grave insult to the survivors of the martial law regime.

"It is a grave insult and vehement mockery to Martial Law survivors and martyrs that Marcos was present in the same space that staged Dekada '70, a polemical discourse against the fascist-authoritarian regime of Martial Law; and Desaparecidos, a play that showcased the struggles and abuses endured by Filipinos during Martial Law and the trauma it left upon the people," the student body said.

Villarin said that it was not the case, and that the backlash was an unintended consequence.

"The unintended consequences of this incident do not mean that the University has turned a blind eye to the atrocities committed during the Martial Law regime. If anything, they have strengthened the University's unfailing commitment to help seek justice for the victims of the regime, to counter historical revisionism and to educate the Ateneo community regarding the regime's pernicious effects on Philippine society," he said.
A Dublin businessman and his wife, who owe more than 1m in mortgage arrears on their family home, have lost the 2m property in Foxrock, Co Dublin.

A judge in the Circuit Civil Court handed back the property to the Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland.

Barrister Tomas Keys told Judge Jacqueline Linnane that Adrian Blanc, of Brighton Avenue, Foxrock, Co Dublin, and his wife Lucille owed 1,128,000 in arrears alone on a 2008 mortgage they had taken out over 15 years with ICS Building Society.

Mr Keys, counsel for Bank of Ireland, said the Blancs had borrowed 1.7m from the society when their home was valued at 2.5m and used it to pay off an existing loan.

Payments

ICS loans had been transferred to the bank in 2014 under the Central Bank Act.

Mr Keys told the court that monthly repayments on the mortgage were 12,561 but nothing had been paid off the loan for three years up until November last year.

For the past six months, the Blancs had been making monthly payments of only 1,000 and arrears were mounting at the rate of 11,560 a month.

He said there was now an outstanding total debt of 1,764,000 and the Blancs had refused to sell or allow their home to be sold to pay off all or part of the debt and had, at every stage, attempted to inhibit the bank.

When applying for costs after Judge Linnane had made an order for possession in favour of the bank, Mr Keys said "not one inch has been given" by the Blancs.

Mr Keys said that when the Blancs had asked the bank for an alternative repayment arrangement, the bank had discovered that one or both of them were in arrears of 932,000 on a portfolio of several properties which had already been repossessed by financial institutions.

Judge Linnane said the bank's possession proceedings were issued in September 2016 and since then there had been 12 appearances before either the County Registrar or the Circuit Court.

It was quite clear that when the loan was taken out the Blancs had a very prominent firm of solicitors advising them, as well as a mortgage broker and their accountants.

She said she thoroughly agreed with a contention by the Blancs' solicitor James Maher that the court's focus should be on the default of repayments and not on any particular monetary claim not associated with the proceedings.

"It is acknowledged that there has been no payment whatsoever since November 4, 2015," the judge said.

"Nothing but nothing has been paid off this loan until the recent 1,000 a month payments."

It was quite clear, he said, there was undisputed extensive default in the case and quite clear that no alternative repayment agreement could have been entered into.

The bank's papers were in order and it was entitled to an order for possession with costs.

Judge Linnane, in the absence of a plea for a stay to allow the Blancs to find alternative accommodation, agreed with Mr Keys that it would in the normal run of events be some time before the sheriff would be acting on the court order.
An 85-year-old Dublin priest has been arrested and is likely to be charged with 40 different sexual abuse offences against four boys.

His arrest came as part of a major historical abuse inquiry by specialist detectives based at Pearse Street Garda Station.

The cleric, who is now based in the South Dublin area, was a teacher for decades in a south inner city school in the capital.

Investigated

He is alleged to have attacked four boys at the school between 1972 and 1974 and has been probed in relation to the allegations for a number of years.

He was recently arrested in relation to the probe but was said to be unco-operative in relation to the investigation.

Sources say that he has been investigated by gardai for a number of years in relation to the case.

He has been investigated for the indecent assault of four juvenile Dublin boys who are now middle-aged men.

Sources say that gardai believe they have enough evidence to charge him for dozens of counts of indecent assault and he is likely to face a court date in the coming weeks.

If convicted of the offences, the octogenarian - who has no previous criminal convictions - is likely to face a jail sentence.

Earlier this month, the Archbishop of Dublin told of his shock at finding serial paedophile priests unable to confirm newly reported cases of abuse they were involved in because they had so many victims.

Dr Diarmuid Martin made the disturbing revelation in an RTE documentary detailing how the Vatican came to exert control over almost every aspect of Irish life.

In the RTE programme, Rome V Republic, Dr Martin spoke frankly about the scale of abuse.

He expressed his deep concern that paedophile priests can often be unsure if they abused a victim when a new case comes to light.

"Any organisation has to ask how is it that at a particular time there was a large number of serial paedophiles," he said.

Hundreds

"I'm talking serious paedophiles; we're talking about hundreds.

"There are cases coming forward.

"My people will ask, for example, a priest, if a new case comes up from one of these historical cases, does this name mean anything to you? Sometimes they say, 'Yes, I abused that person'.

"Sometimes, and this is the more worrying one, they [say], 'The name means nothing, but I can't say, it could have happened'.

"They don't even, they didn't even know how many people they abused."
A serial rapist who had a string of convictions for sex attacks on women - including one on a Dart train - has died.

Paul Moore's crimes, which continued despite lengthy prison sentences, marked him out as an evil sex fiend who was a danger to the public. It is understood that Moore died from cancer in the past few days.

The Herald exposed his sick crimes on numerous occasions, and photographed him mingling with unsuspecting members of the public. Some of the photographs showed him travelling on the Luas while he was on bail for sexually assaulting a Dart passenger.

Last year, we revealed that Moore's presence in a Dublin apartment block caused fear among his neighbours following his release from prison.

In 1995, Moore raped a woman and was sentenced to seven years in prison. In 2001, he raped a woman musician and was jailed for 10 years. In 2014, he engaged a woman in conversation on a Dart train before sexually assaulting her.

He had sat next to her and tried to start a conversation, before touching her breasts and pulling at her trousers.

Gardai examined CCTV footage of the incident, but it was another two years before the sex beast was recognised.

Moore was eventually sentenced to three years in prison, with the last 18 months suspended. In 2015, he was back on the streets, and engaged a woman in conversation on Gardiner Street near his home before sexually assaulting her.

In the same year, he engaged another woman in conversation in St Mary's Place North, just 500 metres from his home, before sexually assaulting her.

He received a 15-month sentence for the Gardiner Street and St Mary's Place North attacks. Judge Martin Nolan said Moore had "a predisposition to violence towards women" which "manifests as rape and sexual assault". In 2017, Moore was jailed for another sex attack.

Remorse

A report from the Probation Service said that Moore expressed no remorse, had proved resistant to all efforts to rehabilitate him and posed an indefinite danger to adult females.

At sentencing for the Dart incident, Judge Melanie Greally said Moore's inability to desist from offending, no matter what punishment was imposed, was a matter of great concern to the court.

She said the legal system did not allow for preventative detention regardless of how compelling the argument might be.
Convicted rapist Keith Hearne will have to wait until next month to find out if an appeal against the severity of his 12-year sentence has been successful.

In 2017, Hearne (30), of Allenton Drive, Tallaght, Dublin, pleaded guilty to two counts of rape, one count of oral rape and one count of falsely imprisoning Dominique Meehan during a convention in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Blanchardstown on July 4, 2015.

During his sentencing hearing, the court heard how he locked the door of a conference room in the hotel where he had cornered Ms Meehan, bound her hands with his tie and raped her.

When she screamed, he told her he had a knife in his bag and would use it if she was not quiet.

Horror

His bag, containing a "rape kit" of a prop knife, handcuffs, condoms, a mask and "sadomasochistic" items, was later found at the scene, the Central Criminal Court heard.

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Ms Meehan (26) was only saved when another person forced their way into the room when they heard the disturbance inside.

She waived her right to anonymity after Hearne was convicted so that he could be named in public.

Hearne, now known as Prisoner 107512, is serving his time in Midlands Prison. He was sentenced to 12 years by Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy in 2017.

At the time, the judge said it was difficult to express the horror and seriousness of the offence.

He said Hearne carried out "a series of extremely violent sexual offences in circumstances which consisted of her false imprisonment over a period of time".

The judge said Hearne's only mitigating factor was his plea of guilty.

Hearne lodged an appeal against the severity of the sentence, and yesterday his lawyer argued that his mental state and the fact that he had no previous convictions should also have been taken into consideration.

Barrister Roderick O'Hanlon said a report on Hearne's mental health had been submitted to the trial.

"At age seven he had come to the attention of a senior clinical psychologist, an occupational therapist in 1998, an educational psychology report in 2002, a letter from a consultant child and adolescents' psychiatrist in 2004, and he was in St Patrick's Hospital in 2004 for approximately a week," he said.

Mr O'Hanlon said the sentencing judge had disregarded Hearne's psychiatric history.

"I accept that the judge was correct in holding that he was criminally responsible for the offending on the day in question but the assessment concluded he was suffering from a mental illness," he added.

"He [Hearne] is criminally responsible but the judge still had to consider him as someone with a mental illness, a personal disorder and no previous convictions."

However, counsel for the DPP, which is opposing Hearne's appeal, argued that the severity of the crime warranted the headline 15-year sentence open to the judge, and that the reduction of the sentence to 12 years was a sufficient reflection of the guilty plea.

Barrister Anne-Marie Lawlor said the gravity of the false imprisonment and rape was "heinous and horrific" and "the depths of depravity", causing the victim extreme pain.

Ms Lawlor also said that the doctor who submitted the report into Hearne's mental health into evidence had said there was "no causative link" between Hearne's mental health and the offence.

She also argued that there are cases where people committing their first offence receive long sentences, and that Hearne's sentence was appropriate.

The three-judge Appeal Court reserved judgment until May 13.
Gardai have arrested a third member of the gang opposed to the Owen Maguire faction as part of a major operation into drug-fuelled intimidation in Drogheda.

The key gang member, aged in his mid-20s, was being held at Drogheda Garda Station as part of the massive investigation into the bloody feud in the town.

A 21-year-old close associate of his has been locked up this week after his bail was revoked at a court hearing in relation to the same garda probe.

Gardai announced details of the third arrest in their investigation yesterday.

"Gardai have arrested a third man, sought in connection with an ongoing investigation by An Garda Siochana in the Louth Division in response to the issue of drug-related intimidation behaviour in the Drogheda and mid-Louth areas," a garda spokesman said.

Two men, both aged 21, who are considered to be key players in the Drogheda gang feud were arrested during four searches by armed gardai in the troubled town on Wednesday morning.

Paralysed

The raids happened as it was revealed that rival mob boss Maguire is finally due to be discharged from Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital after suitable accommodation has been found for the paralysed gangster in the Co Louth town.

Maguire has been receiving hospital treatment ever since he survived a feud-related shooting outside his home last July.

However, he had still not left the hospital last night.

All three who have been arrested are on bail for serious charges.

The attempted murder of Maguire inflamed the deadly Drogheda feud, which has seen dozens of violent incidents since then.

These include shootings, pipe bomb and petrol bomb attacks, assaults, intimidation, death threats and major seizures of drugs, cash and weapons by gardai.

Maguire was shot in the stomach and shoulder - and also suffered injuries to both legs and wrists - in the botched hit attempt shortly after midnight on July 5, which left a bullet lodged in his spine.
There was plenty of school spirit Saturday for an All-Class Reunion commemorating the anniversary. Tours of the former EHS and the current high school at 1200 Maroon Drive, a formal program featuring music, speakers and memories and the unveiling of a new monument were all part of the celebration.
The amendment regulates such things as the size of the work and the amount of text it can have, Director of Community Development Marc Mylott said. Murals are prohibited on residential buildings and property owners cannot be compensated for the mural or the right to use a building for a mural, officials said.
Stephanie Kirby said Ezekiel, who spoke few words as he held on tight to his sparkly golden egg, was enjoying the day. And thats not only because it is his first Easter egg hunt, but because he loves police officers so much so that his recent birthday party was police themed.
At 7:45 a.m. March 25, police said, an employee unlocked the front door, disarmed the alarm to the business and noticed the doors to the ATM and the storage rooms were open. Police said the employee walked back to the ATM and observed that it had been broken into and all the cash drawers were missing, then went into the storage room and saw that burglars had broken a large hole  about 3 feet by 16 inches  through the drywall in the south wall entering from Peking Chinese Food, situated next door.
As COVID hospitalizations rise, Hogan preps state for surge

The governor of Maryland on Wednesday announced additional steps to coordinate hospitals across the state as COVID-19 cases surge again.
Traveling from Lancaster, Pa., in 1846, Wolf walked, rode barges on the Erie Canal, a boat in the Great Lakes and then an ox cart to Will County, Wolf Chivas told the board. Part of the land he and his relatives farmed is where the new park is located, she said.
Benjamin Bibi Netanyahu is a whisker away from becoming prime minister for the fifth time, a record no Israeli politician has ever achieved. It was not a cakewalk and his opponent, Benny Gantz, a former army chief and the leader of the Blue and White Alliance, and a former army chief, put up a creditable challenge winning almost an equal number of seats in the 120-member Knesset, the Israeli Parliament. What will tilt the balance in favour of Netanyahus right-wing Likud Party are the other right-wing and ultra-orthodox Jewish parties that are allied with the Likud. These allies are likely to give the Likud coalition the majority in the Knesset with 65 seats. In Israel, no one party has ever got a majority in the Knesset and all governments since Israels independence in 1948 have been coalitions.

Leading the charge on Twitter in congratulating Netanyahu were Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump. My dear friend Bibi, Congratulations! You are a great friend of India, and I look forward to continuing to work with you to take our bilateral partnership to new heights, Modi said. Netanyahu also tweeted that President Trump had telephoned to convey his congratulations. Echoing Modis Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Netanyahu claimed in his victory speech that he will be the prime minister for all citizens regardless of their political affiliation or their religion.

Netanyahu fought the election on his time-tested platform of security and being the flag-bearer of protecting Israel from internal and external threats. On the campaign trail he accused his opponent of allying with Israeli Arab parties and preparing to create an independent Palestinian State. With a helping hand from President Trump, Netanyahu also flaunted his foreign policy success. Trump permitted the shifting of the United States embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a move criticised by the international community as against United Nations Security Council resolutions. Just before the election, Trump also stated that the US would recognise Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, giving Netanyahu another boost. This again led to international criticism but both the Trump administration and Israel brushed it off.

Durable peace in the region has been set back by the Netanyahu government but blame must also be shared by the Palestinian leadership, divided between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)/Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and the Hamas-ruled Gaza. Between Trump and Netanyahu, we may well see a proposal for a new peace plan, backed by important Arab states, which have slowly drifted towards Israel in their anxiety to get the upper hand in their regional struggle for supremacy with Iran. Not too many details of this plan are available but speculation has it that it will fall short of the two-state solution with pre-war 1967 borders for Israel and Palestine, as per the UN resolutions.

Netanyahu has already declared that he plans to annex the Jewish settlements in the West Bank, a move which will also directly challenge international opinion and UN resolutions. There is little hope that Israel will respect international opinion as long as the US backs the country. Saeb Erakat, secretary-general of the PLO has commented bitterly that Israeli voters have elected Netanyahu to continue the endless occupation of the Palestinian people.

It may not be all smooth sailing for Netanyahu. In February this year, the Israeli attorney general decided to indict him on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three cases. Netanyahu is accused of accepting expensive gifts from businessmen and handing out favours to media in return for favourable publicity. These cases will now become active after the election. Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing. If he is charged in court, the Israeli supreme court may direct him to resign. This Damocles sword could be a potential game changer.

For India, Modis tweet indicates continuity in bilateral ties which have been strengthened under the National Democratic Alliance government. India has successfully navigated its relationships with all countries in West Asia, insulating ties with individual countries and de-hyphenating Israel from Palestine. Israel will continue to remain a strong defence and technology partner for India. Given the history of India-Israel ties, not much will change regardless of which government is in power in New Delhi.

Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty served as deputy chief of mission at the Indian embassy in Israel, and is currently a visiting fellow at the Observer Research Foundation

The views expressed are personal
Karan Johars ambitious period drama Kalank will hit the screens on April 17. The makers have teased audiences with its gorgeous sets (one of them is a recreated version of Hira Mandi of Lahore) and given us a peek into lives of strong characters in an era before the Partition.

With stars like Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Sonakshi Sinha and Aditya Roy Kapoor, the film is loaded with stars. Everything about the film plays out on an epic scale - the clothes, the jewellery, the songs, the dances. This is a tale high on emotions and set against turbulent times. However, this is not the first time such an attempt has been made. Before Kalanks release, heres a look at five iconic films that have gone down this path.

Pakeezah

Meena Kumari plays Sahibjaan.

Set at the turn of last century (1890s-1900s) in the city of Lucknow, Pakeezah tells the story of a tawaaif (courtesan) who wants love and a family of her own. A simple desire, but given her situation in life, it is an uphill task as she has to fight prejudice, rejection and exploitation in the process.

Pakeezah is replete with songs and dances.

Sahibjaan (Meena Kumari), a beautiful courtesan falls in love with a forest ranger Salim Ahmed Khan (Raaj Kumar), reading his letter, when their paths crossed in a train. Later, they meet and fall in love for good. The only glitch being he is high born and she a courtesan. Salims family objects to a dancing girl as a daughter-in-law while she is trying hard to vend off aggressive advances of a patron, Nawab Zafar Ali Khan. Matters turn from bad to worse and Sahibjaan finds herself performing mujra (dance) at the wedding of Salim. As events unfold, it comes to light that Sahibjaan is the illegitimate daughter of Salims uncle Shahabuddin (Ashok Kumar). The film ends with a dying Shahabuddin asking Salim to marry his daughter. The film ends with Salims baraat (grooms party) reaching a tawaaifs kothi (quarters), symbolic of changing times and mores.

The pathos of Sahibjaan.

The films spectacular sets, its canvass, the family drama, conflicting emotions, the songs and dances were so magical, the film continues to enthral viewers more than 40 years of its release. Meena Kumari in a double role of Nargis and Sahibjaan was painfully perfect in the role, which was to be her swansong as well. The star cast too was stellar  Ashok Kumar, Raaj Kumar, Sapru, Kamal Kapoor apart from Meena Kumari gave the film its heft.

Umrao Jaan

Farooq Shaikh and Rekha in Umrao Jaan.

Often regarded as a classic, Muzaffar Alis Umrao Jaan as an achingly beautiful story of courtesan set during the turbulent years of 1857 in Lucknow. Starring Rekha in a career-defining role of a doomed courtesan, the story is based on a novel a 1905 Urdu novel Umrao Jaan Ada. A girl called Amiran from Faizabad (in Uttar Pradesh) gets kidnapped and sold to a madam at brothel, who teaches courtesans the art of captivating the rich and wealthy. As she blossoms into a young woman, now renamed as Umrao, she becomes skilful in dance and music and is the toast of Lucknow high society. Whats more, Umrao is also a gifted poetess. One such a person is is Nawab Sultan who trips for her charms and so does she. However, their budding romance is nipped in the bud when Sultan declares that he has to marry a woman of his familys choice.

Rekha as Umrao Jaan.

As turbulence breaks out and Lucknow is caught in the middle of a revolt, Umrao gets infatuated with bandit chieftain Faiz Ali, with whom she elopes. Matters turn bad as he gets killed by the British forces and she finds herself at her childhood residence in Faizabad. Her mother is glad to see her though all others cant recognise her and ask her to perform. Wanting to unite with her family, Umrao is forced to leave as her brother doesnt want her around. She returns to Lucknow, only to find the brothel in shambles.

The film was iconic on many scales  it is perhaps the first realistic drama, despite being cast in a commercial film format. Rekhas performance is superlative as she dives into the pathos, the loss, the confusion, the beauty, the aesthetics and the sophistication of Umrao Jaan. The films scale is massive; the Lucknow high society of 1840s and the ravages of revolt give the film its timelessness. Headlined by Rekha, the films also features late Farooq Shaikh, Naseeruddin Shah, Raj Babbar, Dina Pathak, Satish Shah, Shaukat Kaifi, Prema Narayan and late Bharat Bhushan.

Waqt

The vintage drama, starring Balraj Sahni, Sunil Dutt, Raaj Kumar, Shashi Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore, Sadhana and Achala Sachdev in prominent roles, is an epic family drama set against catastrophic times. Lala Kedarnath is a wealthy merchant who leads a happy and prosperous life with wife Laxmi (Achala) and three young sons  Raju, Ravi and Vijay. He is warned by an astrologer to be wary of fate and not be proud of his achievements, but Kedarnath couldnt care less.

As fate would have it, on the night of his sons birthday celebrations, disaster strikes and the town is hit by a deadly earthquake. In hours his life is shattered -- his two elder sons get lost and his wife, youngest son and he are left paupers. He is jailed for a crime, his eldest son becomes a thief, the second son is adopted by a wealthy family and his wife and youngest son are forced to live a life of penury. How the different strands of the story criss-cross, identities revealed and how romances culminate into marriages form the rest of the story.

Devdas

Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai in Devdas.

Bengali novelists epic family drama, set in the British era, has captivated cine goers and movie makers from time immemorial. No wonder the story has been made thrice in Hindi alone and 19 times in various Indian languages. A role, made famous by Dilip Kumar, the story revolves around a scion of an aristocratic Bengali family named Devdas who falls in love with a girl called Paro, of a lower strata than his. He loves her too but doesnt have the guts to stand up to his familys objection to Paro as a daughter-in-law, despite the fact that she has grown up in the household (the families are neighbours).

Madhuri Dixit in Devdas.

A bold Paro steps out of her house to meet him and asks him to marry her, something unheard of in those times, only to find a spineless lover in him. She accuses him of being a coward and decides to marry a much older but wealthy widower arranged by her family. A confused Devdas goes away to Calcutta, only to realise his mistake. He rushes back to confess his love but it is too late. Her marriage preparation is in full swing and cant be reversed. Dejected, he returns to Calcutta and into the arms of a large-hearted courtesan Chandramukhi, who falls of him knowing fully well that he doesnt love her. The film ends with the death of Devdas on the doorsteps of Paros new home.

The story is a staggering narration of its times -- 19th century India, complete with its prejudices and weaknesses and helplessness of its principle characters.

While the Bimal Ray version starring Dilip, Suchitra Sen and Vyjayanthimala was modest in its presentation, Sanjay Leela Bhansalis 2002 classic was a lavish drama with a huge canvass, massive set pieces and high drama. The films star cast too was star heavy with Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Aishwarya Rai, Kirron Kher among others leading the charge.

Sholay

Sholay was written by Salim Javed and directed by Ramesh Sippy.

No mention of films with epic scale is complete without mentioning 1975 classic Sholay. With an ensemble star including Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini, Jaya Bhaduri and Ajmad Khan, Sholay was expected to be big deal even by the 1970s standard. A story of an ex-cop and landlord (Thakur) avenging the death of his family members including a child at the hands of an infamous dacoit (Gabbar Singh), this was a classic good-versus-bad tale. But the manner in which it was mounted, its dialogues and its action, Sholay walked straight into the Hindi film industrys hall of fame.

Amjad Khan (Gabbar Singh) in the Kalia scene.

Thakur hires two local thugs (Jay and Veeru), sharp with guns and guile, to kill an infamous dacoit Gabbar Singh, whose men have kept villagers on tenterhooks, looting and plundering at will. He asks them to catch Gabbar for the payment of a princely amount of 50,000 (with the lure of giving them an extra 30,000 if he is caught alive). The two agree; have skirmishes with the dacoits and let them know of their intent. The two clearly start liking village life, Veeru tripping for the vivacious but talkative Basanti while Jay develops feelings for Thakurs young and widowed daughter-in-law Radha.

The day of reckoning arrives and Jay and Veeru take on the might of Gabbar. In the ensuing action, Jay loses his life but Thakur gets Gabbar alive, only to kill him with his spiked shoes and have his revenge. The films scale with its train action sequences, horse chases, fist and gun fights and its classic message of the victory of good over evil has a special place in the hearts and minds of Indians.

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Three years after Salman Khan launched Suniel Shettys daughter Athiya Shetty with Hero, Sunielson Ahan is all set for his Bollywood debut with Milan Luhrias next, which will also have a Salman connection. Producer Sajid Nadiadwala has roped in stunt director Stefan Richter, who worked with Salman on the 2014 hit Kick, to design the stunts the upcoming film. The film will be a Hindi remake of Telugu hit RX 100.

Also read: Madhuri Dixit opens up on Kalank co-stars Sanjay Dutt, Varun and Alia

Confirming the development, Milan said in a press statement, I love having different kinds of action in my movies, be it Kachche Dhaage (1999), Deewaar (2004) or Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai (2010). Its important I work with professionals who understand that the stunts in my films are story and character-driven. Stefan has a terrific body of work behind him and understands my kind of action. Preliminary meetings with him and Ahan have been exciting and hes the perfect choice for the stuff we are attempting to showcase with him.

Asked about launching star kids, Salman had earlier said, I will continue to back more kids for as long as I can. Why? Because I was also launched at some point and I think the industry can do with some more fresh talent.

A thrilled Stefan added, It feels like coming back to your family after a long time. Kick with Sajid sir was one of my best experiences ever. Working with him and Salman along with the crew was just amazing. I have worked on Dishoom as well. Whenever I come to Mumbai, I make sure I visit Sajid sir and we spend time chatting about films. I look forward to working with Milan. We have met a couple of times and have had an interesting exchange of ideas about this movie. Richters IMDb credits also includes the Hitmans Bodyguard, starring Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L Jackson.

According to reports, Ahan has been training for his debut for a few years now and he even went to London to learn martial arts. Interestingly, Sajid Nadiadwala also launched Ahans dad Suniel with Waqt Hamara Hai in 1993.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
Its only to be expected in a democracy that a country will be divided between those who passionately support the ruling party and others who are firmly loyal to the opposition. However, a recent survey by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) suggests two further divisions in India that are deeply disturbing.

First, a few details about this survey. It was conducted in the last week of March and covered 10,000 people in 101 constituencies located in 19 states. It is, therefore, a pretty comprehensive assessment of the state of the country. Second, CSDS is a reputable organisation with unimpeachable credentials.

One of the questions the survey asked was do you believe the country is heading in the right direction or in the wrong direction? An astonishing 45% of the respondents from south India said it was heading in the wrong direction. The percentage of those who voted similarly in the east, west/central and north was just 21, 23 and 22 respectively. So, in percentage terms, more than double the number of people in the south, compared to the rest of the country, believe we are heading in the wrong direction.

To my mind, that suggests a sharp divide between the southern states and all the others. No doubt this reflects the way they view the Narendra Modi government and its impact on the country and, without doubt, this reveals their political preference. But such a sharp divide between the states to the north and south of the Narmada is more revealing. It suggests we have become two countries.

A second question asked by the CSDS survey unmasks an even more disturbing picture. Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Sikhs were asked whether the Modi government should be given another chance or denied one. Fifty-one per cent of Hindus were in favour of a second chance. However, 56% of Muslims, 62% of Christians and 68% of Sikhs were against it. This time, it seems, the Modi governments supporters and opponents are divided along religious lines. Even if its only by a minimal majority, Indias Hindus are Modi supporters. Indias minorities are not. Once again, this suggests we have become two countries.

Theres one other aspect of the CSDS survey that struck my attention. Its not disturbing but it is, nonetheless, revealing. It seems that in the last one year, from May 2018 till the end of March 2019, the greatest gain in support for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has come from the young voters, that is, voters aged between 18 and 25. A CSDS survey in May suggested that 33% would vote for the BJP. By the end of March that had jumped to 40%. No other age group has shown such a sizeable increase although in every age group theres been some enhancement of support. So, clearly, the young are attracted to the BJP and, I suspect, in particular, to Modi.

Will that continue as they grow older? Do we have in this result the foundation of a support base that will, with time, enlarge? And could this enhance or exaggerate the regional and religious divisions weve already discussed? Those are interesting questions. As yet we can only guess at the answers.

However, if we bear these concerns in mind as the election campaign unfolds and gathers momentum over the next six weeks, it might help understand whats happening to our country and what sort of nation were becoming.

Karan Thapar is the author of Devils Advocate: The Untold Story

The views expressed are personal
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress take great pride in pointing out to the electorate how they are like chalk and cheese, with totally different views on just about every issue. But clearly, the Womens Reservation Bill is an exception. Both have vigorously talked about how they will implement the bill almost on the spot when elected to office in a short while. As far as bills hanging fire go, this one surely takes the cake, the plate and the trimmings. It has been in the works for over 20 years and is no closer to implementation, with only the Rajya Sabha assenting to it so far.

The decent thing to do for all political parties is to give up the pretence and just ask women to compete on their own steam. The draft bill held out the promise of 33% reservation in state assemblies and the Lok Sabha with the reserved seat being rotated. It was meant to be in force for a period of 15 years by which time it was believed women would have got the leg up that they needed.

Time and again, the Bill was introduced only to fall by the wayside and there is nothing to suggest that, whoever comes to power in May will get it through this time. The arguments against it are ingenious. Some politicians, male of course, argue that this will only benefit the female relatives of powerful male Members of Parliament. Fair enough, it probably would and, even without any reservation, relatives get a foot in the door much easier and faster. Yet another smart deflecting ploy is to say that this bill is not enough, the quota must be for 50% to reflect the percentage of women who need affirmative action. The main parties have also always argued that coalition compulsions prevented them so far from pushing the bill through.

The truth is that there is no great momentum for this bill from politicians of either gender. And honestly, in a society governed by merit, there should not be. The 30% reservation at the panchayat level should be enough to create that trickle up effect, pushing meritorious women who have earned their spurs in public life to the next level. That it has not is a reflection on both political indifference to this issue and the fact that women are not organised enough to speak up and push for greater political representation.

It is not a priority, and will not be so. This is evident from the fact that apart from expressing support, powerful women in political parties have never really thrown their weight behind this bill. Mayawati, Mamata Banerjee and the late J Jayalalithaa could easily have implemented this reservation when giving out party tickets, but they did not, demonstrating again that this sort of affirmative action based on gender has few takers.

Rather than perpetuating the myth that the bill will soon be passed and a gender equitable political order will come about, it is better to aim much lower and push for political parties to at least chose some worthy candidates from the panchayati raj system and get them elected to state assemblies. It may not be an unqualified success but with the backing of the party, some of the women candidates are bound to win. From there it could move to the next level, the Lok Sabha. It would be a gradual process, but the results would be far more lasting and meritorious than just handing out seats. As things stand, there are far too many extraneous considerations in giving out tickets ranging from caste to dynastic considerations. Why add gender to the mix?

When the new Lok Sabha comes in, nothing will have changed on the bill. It will be taken out and aired once in a while and put away. But the illusion that there is great political will to promote womens rights will be perpetuated. I think women who are now coming into their own in many professions could do without this tokenism at best and condescension at worst. The difficult and more painful route to empowerment is far better, more enduring and more equitable. The bill will continue to be a conversation piece and that is what it should remain as.

lalita.panicker@hindustantimes.com
The Delhi Police has arrested three men and seized a truck from which more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana were recovered. According to them, the value of the seized contraband is Rs 2 crore. The drug was concealed in special cavities in the truck.

The police said the marijuana was being transported to Delhi for sale from remote areas of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

The police have identified the three men as Manoj Kumar (42), Sayyad Alam (38) and Narender Shah (40), all residents of Bihar. The deputy commissioner of police (crime) G Ram Gopal Naik said they had received information that a gang involved in supplying marijuana would arrive in Delhi early Thursday.

We had information that the suspects would move from Badarpur border to Ashram Chowk. The input was that the marijuana would be delivered in parts of Delhi-NCR and in Punjab. Based on this information, our team laid a trap and the identified vehicle was intercepted near Aali village on Mathura Road and the three occupants were arrested, the DCP said.

Naik said that upon searching, they found that the container of the truck had been modified and special cavities made in which marijuana was concealed. A total of 34 bags containing about 1,020 kilograms of marijuana were recovered. The seized drug is worth Rs 2 crore. During questioning, the trio said that the special cavities had been made to transport marijuana illegally. They said the recovered marijuana was sourced from the wooded areas of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha border, the officer said.

The police said Kumar had gone to Andhra Pradesh and Odisha in the truck upon the directions of Sayyad Alam and Narender Shah, to procure marijuana.
A Nigerian drug peddler was arrested from Dada Badi area, said the Delhi Police on Saturday.

Police have seized five grams of fine quality cocaine from him along with his scooter.

The drug peddler, identified as Chukwuma Christian, 21, is a resident of Ontshe in Nigeria. He was operating from Mehrauli, police said.

On Friday evening, we got information that some Nigerian nationals are indulging into drug peddling in South Delhi area, said a police officer.

We mounted our sensitising secret informers and surveillance in the prospective area where those foreigners were roaming, said police.

The drug peddler was apprehended by the team of Narcotics consisting of Sub-Inspector Varun Gulia, Assistant Sub-Inspector Ram Pratap, Head Constables Rajender and Vinay, Constables Satish and Sonu, they added.

Police have registered a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act) at Mehrauli police station.

Further investigation in the matter is underway, the police said.
The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) has constituted a committee to recommend measures for effective implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act in private schools across the city.

The move comes after the commission received numerous complaints from parents of children from economically weaker sections (EWS) and are enrolled in private schools under the RTE Act. In their complaints, the parents alleged that the schools were not providing free books and uniform that they are entitled to get under provisions of the Act.

According to the notification issued by the DCPCR Friday, the six-member committee will examine the criteria and amount reimbursed to private schools by the government for EWS students enrolled with them under the RTE Act. The committee will also analyse whether the reimbursements are adequate and timely, the DCPCR stated in the notification.

The notification further stated that the committee will look into the potential reasons for the lack of supply of free books, stationery items and uniform by the schools. We need to find out the reason for the delay and the hurdles the schools are facing. The committee will also examine the policy of reimbursement as well, Anurag Kundu, a DCPCR member, who is also a part of the committee, said.

The committee will submit its report with the government within 8 weeks from the date of its first meeting scheduled for next week.
Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar Universitys (BBABU) MJK college witnessed a high drama during a university examination when examinees were forced to write their papers using their mobile phones lights here on Friday morning.

The alleged negligence came to fore barely half-an-hour after the examinations for the Modern Indian Language (MLA) commenced at the prestigious college located within the periphery of Bettiah, the headquarters of West Champaran, about 220 km north of state capital Patna.

Eyewitnesses said there was a power trip at around 9.30 am, plunging the examination hall into complete darkness. As the power could not be made available immediately, a howl of protest rang out in hall. In the meantime, some examinees resorted to use mobile phones light to write their papers.

In the first place there was huge crowd at centre with the MIL paper being a common paper for all the examinees. The examination hall was dark and not fit for students for writing the papers from any stretch of a imagination, said one of the examinees, refusing to be identified.

The examination room was quite suffocating. Hence, many examinees had to shift to other rooms and some in laboratories to write their examinations, said another student.

Staff attached with MJK College privately admitted utter negligence and mismanagement. They, however, attributed it to the space crunches arising out of the occupation space for Lok Sabha election purposes.

We had a heavy crowd of the examinees for todays examinations. Anticipating a space crunch, we wanted to shift the examinees of a Bagaha-based college to different centre. But this centre refused to entertain our request and hence we had to hold the examinations in a room whose windows and ventilators were completely covered for election purposes, said a staff.

When contacted, Dr. HN Thakur, principal of MJK college admitted power trip in the middle of the examinations. But this was immediately restored and examination was conducted normally, said Dr.Thakur.

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Commemorative coin of Rs 100 released by Vice-President on 100 years of Jallianwala Bagh massacre

Amritsar, Punjab: Commemorative coin of Rs 100 that has been released by Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu at Jallianwala Bagh memorial on commemoration of 100 years of the massacre, reports news agency ANI.

Amritsar, Punjab: Commemorative coin of Rs 100 that has been released by Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu at #JallianwalaBagh memorial on commemoration of 100 years of the massacre. #JallianwalaBaghCentenary pic.twitter.com/VAZMezbAIu  ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2019

Commemorative Postage stamp released by Vice President

Amritsar, Punjab: Commemorative Postage Stamp that has been released by Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu at Jallianwala Bagh memorial on commemoration of 100 years of the massacre, reports news agency ANI.

Amritsar, Punjab: Commemorative Postage Stamp that has been released by Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu at #JallianwalaBagh memorial on commemoration of 100 years of the massacre. #JallianwalaBaghCentenary pic.twitter.com/eZisIFsvir  ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2019

Vice-President Venkaiah Naidus at Jallianwala Bagh

Amritsar, Punjab: Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidus message in the visitors book at Jallianwala Bagh memorial, reports news agency ANI.

Celebs pay homage to Jallianwala Bagh martyrs

As India commemorates the 100th anniversary of the massacre of hundreds of innocent Indians by British forces at the Jallianwala Bagh, members of the film industry, including Amitabh Bachchan, Sunny Deol, Bhumi Pednekar and Madhur Bhandarkar, paid tributes to the martyrs.

A reminder of how we won our independence: Ashok Gehlot

My humble tributes to the martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre . Those martyrs, who made supreme sacrifice were non violent protestors. Such incidents of brutality are unparalleled in history. The incident is a reminder how with utmost difficulties, we have won our independence, tweeted Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot.

Rajnath Singh pays tribute to victims of Jallianwala Bagh massacre

India today observes the centenary of ghastly Jallianwala Bagh massacre at Amritsar. My heartfelt tributes and homage to everyone who sacrificed their lives at Jallianwala Bagh. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten. The nation will remain indebted to Jallianwala Bagh martyrs, tweeted home minister Rajnath Singh.

Nation will not forget sacrifices: Naveen Patnaik

Remembering the martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre on the centenary of the most gruesome incident in the Indian history. The nation will not forget the sacrifices of those who perished in 1919 massacre, tweeted Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik.

We bow our heads in remembrance: Shashi Tharoor

On the centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, we bow our heads in remembrance, tweeted Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.

Nation remains indebted to them: Punjab CM pays tribute to Jallianwala Bagh massacre victims

Remembering the martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre on the centenary of the most gruesome incident in Indian history. The sacrifice and valour of the martyrs of this tragedy will never be forgotten by. The nation remains indebted to them, tweeted Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh.

Mamata Banerjee pays tribute to victims of Jallianwala Bagh massacre

Today is the 100th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. My solemn tribute to the victims of that horrific day.

On this occasion, I also offer my deepest respect to Rabindranath Tagore, who gave up his knighthood to protest against this massacre, tweeted West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

A stain on civilisation: President Kovind

A 100 years ago today, our beloved freedom fighters were martyred at Jallianwala Bagh. A horrific massacre, a stain on civilisation, that day of sacrifice can never be forgotten by India. At this solemn moment, we pay our tribute to the immortals of Jallianwala, tweeted President of India Ram Nath Kovind.

Venkaiah Naidu reaches Amritsar

Vice president of India, Venkaiah Naidu has reached Amritsar. He was welcomed by Punjab minister OP Soni at Amritsar airport. He will preside over the event being organized at Jallianwala Bagh on centenary of function this afternoon.

PM Modi pays tributes to martyrs

Today, when we observe 100 years of the horrific Jallianwala Bagh massacre, India pays tributes to all those martyred on that fateful day. Their valour and sacrifice will never be forgotten. Their memory inspires us to work even harder to build an India they would be proud of, tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A shameful act: British High Commissioner to India

British High Commissioner to India Dominic Asquith also visited the memorial to pay homage to those killed in Jallianwala Bagh massacre. He was accompanied by his deputy Andrew Ayre. Asquith termed the firing on a peaceful gathering by the British force a shameful act.

Rahul Gandhi reaches Jallianwala Bagh

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday reached Jallianwala Bagh to pay floral tribute to martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919.
While all the youngsters rolled a ball of dough flat and then punctured it with a spiker or fork to before it was placed in the over for baking, Max Goldenberg was selected to help the baker mix the two ingredients to turn them into dough so all the youngsters could get to work.
It took place 100 years ago to the day. On April 13, 1919, soldiers of the British Indian Army, under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer, fired bullets into a crowd of civilians who gathered peacefully in Jallianwalla Bagh, near the Golden Temple in Amritsar, to celebrate the harvest festival of Baisakhi and protest against the arrest and deportation of two national leaders, Satya Pal and Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew.

A hundred years later, the massacre still remains a searing memory for families of the victims who heard about it from survivors and relayed the narrative to subsequent generations.

Satpal Sharma, an 82-year-old retired head teacher, says his fathers brother Lal Chand, who was a survivor, narrated to him the story.

My grandfather, Amin Chand Sharma, a hakim by profession, was getting ready for taking part in the Jallianwala Bagh protest. In the meantime, my uncle Lal Chand, who was only 12 years old then, started imploring my grandfather to take him along, said Satpal .

His grandfather and uncle both left for the venue and joined the crowd, which was listening to the speeches of protest leaders when Dyer arrived at the scene accompanied by soldiers. They took up positions and opened fire on the gathering without any warning. During the firing, among others, my grandfather was killed. My uncle somehow survived; he was taken out a day later from beneath a heap of bodies, Sharma recalled.

It was a brutal killing of innocent people and we cant forget this. Even today, whenever I go to the Jallianwala Bagh, tears roll out of my eyes, said Sharma, whose grandfather was recognized as a freedom fighter in 2010.

Mahesh Behal, 73, president of the Jallianwala Bagh Shaheed Parivar Samiti, heard the story of his own grandfather, lawyer Hari Ram Behal, from survivors. He was in Jallianwalla Bagh to address the crowd, but he was gunned down by Dyers troops before it was his turn to speak . Behal calls Dyer a butcher. Before going to Jallianwala Bagh, my grandfather had told my grandmother, Rattan Kaur, to prepare kheer (rice pudding). My grandmother kept waiting with a bowl of kheer in her hand. Since then, we have not been cooking kheer in April, Behal said.

The death toll in the massacre is still disputed. The colonial government put the number of deaths at 376, far fewer than the Indian National Congresss claim that more than 1,000 perished.

Mahesh Behal says the families of some of the victims are in Pakistan. We have contacts of only half-a-dozen families. No contacts of other families have been traced by the government even after the passage of 100 years, he said.

Member of Parliament, Shwait Malik, who is one of the members of the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust, said, The list of identification of the victims is being finalised by Amritsar administration. Till now, the administration has prepared a list of 501 victims. As soon as the list is completed, I will ask the Centre to announce the status of martyrs to those killed during the massacre.

Ratan Devi, widow of Chhaju Bhagat, spent the night of Baisakhi in 1919 in Jallianwala Bagh by her husbands body.

After passing through that heap (of bodies), I found the body of my husband. The way towards it was full of blood and bodiesBy this time, it was 8 oclock and no one could stir out of her house because of a curfew order. I stood waiting. I could not go anywhere leaving the body of my husband... Amid hundreds of corpses, I passed my night...A number of them were poor, innocent children... What I experienced is known only to me and to God, read her account preserved in the records of Jallianwala Bagh.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday once again reached out to the Congress for an alliance in Delhi, Haryana and Chandigarh in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls, but the latter insisted that any tie-up be limited to the national capital, prolonging the suspense over their on again-off again efforts to forge a united front against the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP).

In his first remarks on the issue, Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said the Congress should consider joining hands with the AAP in at least 18 parliamentary seats, if not 33 as had been initially proposed by his party. Sisodias comments came a day after the Congress said it had been compelled to go it alone in Delhi because of AAPs insistence on extending an alliance to other states..

In the last one week, meetings were held between the AAP and the Congress and we proposed alliance on 33 seats in Delhi, Goa, Chandigarh, Haryana and Punjab. We understood when they (Congress) said joining hands in Punjab was not possible because AAP is in-principle opposition there. Goa, it is too late now, as the last date of withdrawal of nomination is also gone, he said.

But, there is still time to defeat the Modi-Shah duo on 18 seats  seven in Delhi, 10 in Haryana and one in Chandigarh, Sisodia said, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah. The Congress should realize there is no point of an alliance in Delhi alone, he said.

The Congress-AAP efforts for a tie-up in Delhi have been driven by a desire not to divide the anti-BJP vote in the national capital to improve their chances in the polls this time around. In 2014, the two parties together had a 48.3% share of the vote compared to 46.6% for the BJP, which won all seven seats.

We respect Manishji and we respect his sentiments. But whatever the Congress had to say about this alliance it had already stated its position, Congress partys chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala told reporters.

Congress in-charge for Delhi PC Chacko said the AAP should instead understand that the political dynamics of every state was different and that the same formula cannot be applied everywhere.

We have not received any new official communication from the AAP on an alliance. We are ready to join hands in Delhi about which even the seat sharing pact was sealed with the party. But, now if they are retracting their stand, what can we do, he said when asked for a response on Sisodias comment.

The Congress leader said he had sent a text message to Kejriwal seeking a discussion on the matter. But he was busy in election work and had deputed AAPs Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh to do the talks. Congress had two rounds of meetings with Singh until last week. In the meetings, he never spoke of Haryana or Chandigarh. It is only after the Delhi pact was sorted that they started demanding more, Chacko said.

Going ahead with its plan, the Congress on Saturday evening released the list of its candidates for six of the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana.

The seats included three constituencies that AAP had been keen to contest - Gurugram, Faridabad and Ambala. AAP had been insistent on an alliance in Haryana with the Congress and the rookie Jannayak Janata Party (JJP). Senior AAP leaders said the party wanted to contest five seats along with JJP, including Karnal and Sonipat apart from Gurugram, Faridabad and Ambala. After the Congress refused to agree, AAP and JJP said they would contest all 10 seats together.

Chacko met Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief and three-time chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Saturday afternoon. The meeting was on our election strategy. We are waiting for Congress president Rahul Gandhi to review and approve the final list of our candidates in Delhi. Until then, the AAP is welcome if it wants to come together in Delhi, Chacko said.

Delhi goes to poll on May 12 and AAP has announced its candidates for all seven parliamentary seats in the national capital. The Congress, so far, has finalised senior leader Kapil Sibal for the Chandni Chowk seat, Ajay Maken for New Delhi, JP Agarwal for Northeast Delhi and Raj Kumar Chauhan for Northwest Delhi.

Dikshit is being persuaded by the partys senior leadership to contest the East Delhi seat. The BJP is yet to make its slate public.

To forge an alliance in Delhi, the two parties had previously agreed that the Congress would contest three seats ( (Chandni Chowk, New Delhi and West Delhi) and AAP the remaining four, based on their vote share in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress has already announced its candidate for the single seat in Chandigarh.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said she can contest from any part of the country but chose not to do so as does not want division of votes, adding that stronghold of regional parties in states is a must.

I could have fought from several places. People asked me why Im not contesting as our TMC has got national party recognition. I can contest from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar. If Im winning I can contest from anywhere but I do not want division of votes, she said while addressing a public gathering at Siliguri in West Bengal.

I want regional parties to go ahead. Lalu Yadav in Bihar, Mayawati and Akhilesh in Uttar Pradesh and AAP in Delhi. I have helped everyone and brought everyone together, she stressed.

Underlying the need for the Opposition to defeat the BJP government, Mamata said: We contest on 9 seats in Assam, 1 in Andaman, 2 to 4 in Odisha. We will contest from Jharkhand on three to four sets but Bengal is our main focus and loyalty. We will not leave any stone unturned to come into power in the state. Everyone vote is very important to bring development in Bengal.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo said wherever regional parties are strong they should not lose their votes from their area. BJP is at no place, CPM is something in Kerala but nothing across the country. Even Congress can do nothing. Whatever little they have in other states let them fight from there...we have no issue with it. But where I am strong why would you vote for the Congress. Where Chandrababu Naidu is strong why would you vote for some other party, she said.

Continuing her tirade against the BJP and Prime Minister Modi for ruling in an authoritative manner, Mamata said: BJP looted traders, framers, industrialist, young generation and maa-behen (mother-daughter). Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are facing atrocities. We will not allow this. We will follow the footsteps of Dr BR Ambedkar. No political party has the right to torture the minority.

Air India no more serves non-vegetarian food. It is like what he (PM Modi) wants to eat everyone has to eat that. We will eat what we want. It is my choice whether I want to eat veg or non-veg. Who is Modi to tell us? she said.

She added it is dangerous for us that there is a party called RSS who carries danda (stick) and roam around with goondas (goons).

Asserting that Prime Minister Modi is spreading rumours about two most prominent religious festivals -- Saraswati pooja and Durga Pooja, the TMC chief said: Is it so? Are not we celebration Durga pooja and Saraswati pooja. Who is he to tell us about our people, state and culture. Can he chant a single mantra? For his whimsical thoughts, he has started behaving like Hitler.

The Lok Sabha polls for 42 parliamentary seats in West Bengal began on April 11 and it is staggered in all seven phases till May 19. The results will be declared on May 23. (ANI)

But I assure you that I will not allow it in my state, she added.

Banerjee also took a jibe at the saffron party and said she has fielded a bhumiputra (son of the soil) from the Darjeeling seat, unlike the BJP, which has nominated a candidate who hails from Manipur.

Its sad that the BJP could not find a candidate in Darjeeling and had to bring someone from Manipur to fight the election, she added.

Asserting that BJP will not return to power at the Centre, she claimed that it will not WIN seats in many states.

West Bengal has a total of 42 Lok Sabha seats, third highest after Uttar Pradeshs 80 and Maharashtras 48
The Amritsar massacre, 100 years ago this Saturday in which British troops opened fire on thousands of unarmed protestors, remains one of the darkest hours of British colonial rule in India.

Known in India as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, it is still an emotive subject with many demanding a British apology -- which so far has been unforthcoming.

The number of casualties on April 13, 1919 is unclear, with colonial-era records showing about 400 deaths while Indian figures put the number at closer to 1,000.

Also Read | Dyer or Dwyer: Who is to be held responsible for the 1919 shooting?

The prelude

In March 1919, the British colonial government passed the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, or the Rowlatt Act, extending repressive measures in force during World War I (1914-18).

These included incarceration without trial, and caused widespread anger, particularly in the northern Punjab region, with Mahatma Gandhi calling for a nationwide general strike.

In Amritsar news that prominent Indian leaders had been arrested and banished from that city sparked violent protests on April 10.

These saw soldiers fire upon civilians, buildings looted and burned, while angry mobs killed several foreign nationals and attacked a Christian missionary.

High walls

Brigadier General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer was tasked with ensuring order, and imposed measures including a ban on public gatherings.

On the afternoon on April 13 some 10,000 people gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh, an area in Amritsar surrounded by high walls with only one exit.

People were angry in particular about the arrests of two local leaders. April 13 was also Baisakhi, a harvest festival in northern India.

The crowd included men, women, children and pilgrims who were visiting the nearby Golden Temple, one of the holiest sites in Sikhism. Some estimates put the crowd at 20,000.

Also Read | Cost of freedom must not be forgotten: Rahul Gandhi pays homage to martyrs at Jallianwala Bagh

Enter Dyer

Dyer, later dubbed The Butcher of Amritsar, reached the spot with dozens of soldiers and sealed off the exit.

Without warning, he ordered the soldiers to fire on the unarmed crowd. Many tried to escape by scaling the walls but failed. Some jumped into an open well at the site.

Reportedly the troops fired until they ran out of ammunition, letting off hundreds of rounds into the crowd before withdrawing.

The Indian Express earlier this week shared eyewitness accounts compiled by two historians. They included Mani Ram, whose 13-year-old son Madan Mohan used to play in the square with his friends.

On the 13th April, 1919 he went there as usual and met his tragic end, having been shot in the head which fractured his skull, he bled and died instantaneously, he told the newspaper.

I, with eight or nine others, had to search for about half an hour till I could pick up his corpse as it was mixed up with hundreds of dead bodies lying in heaps there.

Dyer said later that the firing was not to disperse the meeting but to punish the Indians for disobedience.

The aftermath

The event marked a nadir in Britains occupation of India, and served to boost Indian nationalism and harden support for independence.

Reaction in Britain varied, with Dyer receiving support in the House of Lords and not least from Rudyard Kipling, who is said to have called him the man who saved India.

Winston Churchill, then secretary of state for war, called the massacre monstrous. Prime Minister Herbert Asquith called it one of the worst outrages in the whole of our history.

The crowd was unarmed, except with bludgeons. It was not attacking anybody or anything... (P)inned up in a narrow place considerably smaller than Trafalgar Square, said Churchill.

Dyer was removed from command into enforced retirement. He died in 1927.

No apology

Demands by several past Indian leaders and politicians for Britain to apologise for the massacre have fallen on deaf ears.

In 1997 the Queen laid a wreath at a site during a tour of India. But her gaffe-prone husband Prince Philip stole the headlines by reportedly saying that the Indian estimates for the death count were vastly exaggerated.

In 2013 David Cameron became the first serving British prime minister to visit Jallianwala Bagh. He described the episode as deeply shameful but stopped short of a public apology.

We must never forget what happened here. And in remembering we must ensure that the United Kingdom stands up for the right of peaceful protest around the world, Cameron wrote in the visitors book.

He later defended his decision not to say sorry, explaining that the massacre happened 40 years before he was born and saying: I dont think the right thing is to reach back into history and to seek out things you can apologise for.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday told parliament that Britain deeply regretted what happened and the suffering caused. But she too didnt say sorry.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)
The Canadian government has bowed to domestic political compulsions and completely scrubbed all references to Sikh and Khalistani extremism in its 2018 report on terrorist threats, much to the chagrin of India.

Indian officials are aghast at the perceived capitulation to pressure from some community groups in Canada, and described the updated version of the 2018 Public Report on the Terrorist Threat to Canada as a full retreat by Ottawa. The updated version was released on Friday, about 24 hours before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was scheduled to attend a Vasakhi parade, organised in Vancouver by the Khalsa Diwan Society, with national defence minister Harjit Sajjan.

The erasure of eight references to Sikh extremism and organisations and six references to Khalistan, the so-called homeland sought by some radical groups, came against the backdrop of reports that pressure groups in the Sikh community had threatened Canadas ruling Liberal Party with dire consequences in an election year.

Officials from both countries familiar with developments acknowledged the new version of the report is the outcome of domestic political compulsions in Canada, especially efforts by political parties to woo the influential Indian and Sikh communities. The officials, who declined to be named as they werent authorised to speak to the media, acknowledged counter-terror and security cooperation at the level of officials is robust, but there is a gap as far as the higher level of Canadas political leadership is concerned.

They traced the problem to several Indian-origin ministers in Canada.

This is why we are seeing this dichotomy, of having cooperation at the level of officials that is not seen at the higher levels, said an Indian official.

Sikh and Khalistani extremism figured in a meeting of the bilateral joint working group on counter-terrorism in Ottawa during March 26-27. A joint statement issued after the meeting said the two sides discussed the reference for the first time to the threat from Khalistani extremism in Public Safety Canadas 2018 annual report.

Sikh and Khalistani extremism had figured for the first time in the report issued by Public Safety Canada in December 2018. The original report said Canada continues to face threats from individuals inspired to commit violence based on other forms of extremism, including from...Sikh (Khalistani) extremists. It added attacks by Khalistanis in Canada were extremely limited, but some Canadians continue to support these extremist groups, including through financing.

The updated report has a note which states that while outlining a threat, it must be clearly linked to an ideology rather than a community. It adds: The Government will carefully select terminology that focuses on the intent or ideology. For example, as a first step, the Government will use the term: Extremists who support violent means to establish an independent state within India; rather than terminology that unintentionally impugns an entire religion.

However, references to other religious groups remain in the amended report, including to Sunni and Shia extremism. The changes are restricted to the section originally titled Sikh/Khalistani extremism, now called Extremists who Support Violent Means to Establish an Independent State Within India.

Those who campaigned for deleting references to Sikh and Khalistani extremism reacted with satisfaction.

Sukhminder Singh Hansra, who is openly pro-Khalistan and heads a chapter of Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), said he thanked the Canadian Sikh community for raising its collective voice against the derogatory words in the report. As a result, the government of Canada realised their mistake and eliminated the words Sikh (Khalistani). Though I express satisfaction over the change, concern remains under what circumstances did the Trudeau government include these defamatory, derogatory and hurtful words in the report...as they do not reflect Canadian values, he said.

The officials cited above said matters hadnt been helped by the lack of high-level visits between the two sides, especially after Trudeaus controversial trip to India in February 2018. Despite the impact of that visit, New Delhi has been determined to push forward the bilateral relationship, Indian officials said.

Canadas leadership appears to be treading a fine line as, on one hand, it wants to maintain ties with a growing economy such as India but, on the other hand, some sections continue wooing Khalistanis, who make up a minor segment of the overall Sikh community, Indian officials said. India has also pointed to the presence of Canadian leaders at pro-Khalistan events but the other side has not been forthcoming on this issue, the officials added
RJD chief Lalu Prasads wife and former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi on Friday made an emotional appeal to her elder son Tej Pratap Yadav to return home.

A day after voting for the first of the seven-phased Lok Sabha polls in Bihar, Rabri Devi, who is pained by Tej Prataps decision to stay separately in the state capital, instead of living with the family, said in Hindi: Bahut hua, laut aao beta (Enough son, please return home).

Tej Pratap Yadav has not returned home since he visited his father Lalu Prasad in Ranchi last year, after filing a petition in court seeking divorce from his newly-wedded wife, family sources said. Tej Pratap Yadav got married in May last year to Aishwariya Rai, the daughter of a senior RJD leader.

Rabri Devi told media in Patna that there is no truth in the reports of differences between her two sons Tej Pratap Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav.

It is all a creation of vested interests, she said.

She said there have been attempts made to divide her family.

Some people have been trying to instigate and mislead my son. It is possible that our rivals, BJP and JD-U, people may be behind it, Rabri said in a reference to Tej Pratap Yadav.

She also revealed that she telephoned her son daily to talk to him.

Tej Pratap has, however, repeatedly expressed his displeasure over younger brother Tejashwis refusal to field a candidate of his choice from the Sheohar Lok Sabha constituency.

Rabri also expressed her serious concern about the absence of her husband, who has been undergoing treatment at a Ranchi hospital after being convicted in the fodder scam case.

I miss Laluji...his absence is really painful. Without him everything is useless. Hope,he will come back soon, she said.
A common quip in Salem, once famous for its steel plant and mangoes, is that the city should now be renamed Palam (bridge in Tamil). There is a new flyover everywhere, freshly coated in parrot green paint  a nod to the two leaves election symbol of the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).

Several more are under construction. A new two-tier flyover, apparently the first in south India, is the citys new pride. The relentless road building in Salem, a city of about 900,000 in west Tamil Nadu, would make many of Indias big cities turn green with envy. Salem is also the home town of chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS).

Western Tamil Nadu  known as Kongu Nadu  has seen frenetic road construction in the past few years. The region is not only important for the AIADMK to strengthen its tenuous grip on office, but also for EPS to retain his position in AIADMK after J Jayalalithaas death in 2016.

The Kongu region was a veritable AIADMK fortress. In the 2016 assembly polls; the party won 41 out of the 47 seats in the regions Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Salem, Erode, Karur and Namakkal districts. The Gounders, an intermediary caste of landowners and now entrepreneurs, classified as backward, comprise up to 40% of the population in these districts, and form the foundation of AIADMKs loyal vote bank. Its the caste group EPS belongs to, and is in large measure why EPS, dubbed accidental CM by the opposition, pulled off an unlikely power grab in 2017.

The CMs undivided attention to the region and his almost weekly visits here is nothing but political bribery, alleges the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the main Opposition party in Tamil Nadu.

Even when the Cauvery delta region was devastated by Gaja [a tropical cyclone that hit Tamil Nadus coast in November 2018], he was more interested in inaugurating a flyover in Salem, says Mohanraj, a DMK worker in the city.

Given AIADMKs strengths in the Kongu region, the DMK has farmed most seats out to its allies, contesting only Salem and Pollachi.

Building a vote-bank

In this election, the first since the death of both AIADMK and DMK stalwarts Jayalalithaa and M Karunanidhi (who died last year), both parties are considerably weaker, but neither knows the true extent of the opponents decline. Its like two drunk boxers in the ring with each hoping the other may have had one more than himself, says a Coimbatore-based industrialist.

The AIADMKs weakness is more apparent. TTV Dhinakaran, the nephew of VK Sasikala, an associate of Jayalalithaa, formed the breakaway Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) in 2017, after the Sasikala faction lost control of the AIADMK and the state government, in a battle in which EPS and his deputy O Panneerselvam  called OPS  prevailed.

When Dhinakaran wrested Jayalalithaas RK Nagar seat in the subsequent bypoll, the AMMK claimed it was the real inheritor of Jayalalithaas political legacy. Indeed, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and National Democratic Alliance fronts are fighting for not just 39 Lok Sabha seats, but also the crucial assembly seats facing simultaneous by-elections, which will decide the fate of the EPS-OPS-led AIADMK state government.

Of these seats, 16 were vacated when the Speaker disqualified 18 MLAs who supported the Dhinakaran faction and are now in the AMMK. The AIADMK needs to win at least eight to 10 seats to retain its majority in the state assembly. The better the AMMK performs, the brighter the DMK-led UPAs chances in both the Lok Sabha polls and the assembly bypolls, though the two do not have an alliance. Ergo, EPS is not leaving anything to chance in his backyard.

The small municipality town of Edappadi, around which are EPS family farmlands, lies 40 km to the west of Salem. One breezeless and baking hot evening here, the towns AIADMK head C Raman and a dozen workers wait for pedestal fans to arrive at the newly opened party campaign office. EPS is our regions unexpected jackpot, he beams.

Its not hard to see why. Even by the generally high standards of Tamil Nadus roads and its public services institutions, Edappadi and other towns in the Kongu region look remarkably well kept. Edappadis citizens cant hide their surprise at the new projects sanctioned for the region.

Besides roads, the towns government hospital and bus stand are spruced up; a big veterinary hospital has come up; theres an industrial zone in the works; and drinking water woes have disappeared. EPS clearly seems to be inspired by Maharashtra strongman Sharad Pawar, who assiduously nurtured his constituency.

Cashing in on caste

Despite speculations about Dhinakarans vast wealth, can he play poll-time Santa in 22 assembly seats and 39 Lok Sabha seats statewide, especially in Kongu Nadu, where the Thevar community from which he draws his political capital is numerically insignificant? In any case, both the AIADMK and DMK-led alliances have the ability to outspend him.

In Coimbatore, the Kongu regions biggest city, the NDAs organisational might and money power is most visible. BJP considers its prospects the best in Coimbatore. Its election hub in Coimbatores upmarket Avinashi Road is as slick as a corporate workplace. Key office administrators can watch their candidate CP Radhakrishnans roadshows streamed live on phone screens.

Party flags of NDA partners seem to outnumber the BJPs at a roadshow where AIADMK bigwigs, OPS and Gounder strongman SP Velumani, one of the most powerful ministers in the state cabinet, are campaigning. In the bigger event later that evening, BJP president Amit Shah is the big attraction.

The BJPs sophisticated, digitally enabled campaign management in its high-stakes seat of Coimbatore is trumped by ally AIADMKs analog, but far more robust organisation in EPS country.

Each AIADMK worker is assigned to target and deliver whatever necessary to 20 people on the voting list, claim party workers. Instead of apps, the AIADMK workers are armed with booklets with profiles of voters to be targeted.

Combined with what we are delivering, if the Gounders and the young vote for AIADMK and BJP, we will win Kongu easily. If only there wasnt the problem of Goods and Services Tax (GST), we could have won with record margins, says Kaliswaran, a 30-year-old AIADMK Dalit leader from Kurumbapalayam in Coimbatore who sells prepaid mobile cards for a living. The convulsions experienced during the transition to GST by small and medium firms in the heavily industrialised regions of Kongu Nadu, including the textile export hub of Tiruppur, have reportedly cost more than 50,000 jobs.

Pitted against BJPs CP Radhakrishnan is the Communist Party of India (Marxist)s PR Natarajan, a former MP form Coimbatore. The CPI(M)s election office, loaned temporarily from ally Vaikos Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, smells of the chicken biryani that is being served to visitors.

Elections are not about money alone. AIADMK says it has built flyovers and roads. When GST has killed industry in the western region, the flyovers are nothing but suicide spots for unemployed workers. The bungled GST alone will ensure EPS defeat, says Natarajan.

If Natarajans prediction for Kongu Nadu comes true, Edappadi Palaniswami might end up not as Jayalalithaas legatee, but a mere signboard on the highway of Tamil politics.
The defence ministry on Saturday denied any link between tax relief granted to Anil Ambanis Reliance Flag Atlantic by France and the Rafale jet fighter deal after the French newspaper Le Monde reported that the tax relief was offered in 2015 soon after India agreed to purchase 36 of the warplanes built by Dassault Aviation in a 59,000 crore transaction.

The Congress termed the tax waiver of 143.7 million euros a quid pro quo for Indias decision to buy the planes following the report, which came in the middle of general polls in which a controversy over the Rafale deal is one of the campaign issues.

Neither the period of the tax concession nor the subject matter of the concession relate even remotely to the Rafale procurement concluded during the tenure of the present government, the defence ministry said in a statement. Any connections drawn between the tax issue and the Rafale matter is totally inaccurate, tendentious and is a mischievous attempt to disinform.

On Saturday, Le Monde reported that French tax authorities settled for 7.3 million euros from Reliance Flag Atlantic, a telecom company, against an original tax demand of 151 million euros months after Prime Minister Narendra Modis announcement that India would buy 36 Rafale fighters from France. The report added that French law enforcement agencies probed the company twice between 2007 and 2012 for suspected tax violations.

A global settlement was reached between the French tax authorities and Reliance Flag,... in a dispute pertaining to the period 2008-2012, French ambassador Alexander Ziegler tweeted. He added that the settlement was in adherence with he legislative and regulatory framework for tax issues and not subject to any political interference.

Reliance Flag Atlantic SAS, a subsidiary of Reliance Communications, in a statement said the tax issue was 10 years old and the tax demands that had been made on it were completely unsustainable and illegal. It also denied having received any favouritism from the settlement.

The Congress alleged that the reported tax waiver was due to the blessings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had acted as a middleman for the businessman. This is called zero-sum choices, startling tax concession and Modi Kripa (blessings), said Congresss chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala.

He claimed the layers of crony capitalism involving Modi and Ambani were now being unveiled. PM Modi is acting as a middleman for Anil Ambani. How many other companies in France have got a tax benefit? Is this not a quid pro quo for the purchase of aircraft? It is clear only one watchman is the thief, Surjewala said.

The NDA governments decision to enter the government-to-government deal with France to buy 36 Rafale warplanes made by Dassault was announced in April 2015, with an agreement signed a little over a year later. This replaced the previous UPA regimes decision to buy 126 Rafale jets, 108 of which were to be made in India by the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.

The deal has become controversial with the Opposition, led by the Congress, claiming that the price at which India is buying Rafale aircraft now is 1,670 crore for each, three times the 526 crore, the initial bid by the company when the UPA was trying to buy the aircraft. It has also claimed the previous deal included a technology transfer agreement with HAL.

The NDA has not disclosed details of the price, but the UPA deal, struck in 2012, was not a viable one, former defence minister Manohar Parrikar has previously said, implying that it would have never been closed and that, therefore, any comparison is moot. Indeed, the UPA was not able to close the deal until 2014, largely over discussions related to pricing of items not included in the initial bid.

The deal has also become controversial on account of the fact that one of the offset deals signed by Dassault is with Reliance Group of Anil Ambani. The Congress claims the earlier deal was scrapped and a new one signed just to provide Ambani this opportunity for an offset deal. Both the government and Reliance have repeatedly denied this.

The Supreme Court said in December it saw no need to order a court-monitored probe into the deal and that due process was followed in it. The Comptoller and Auditor General said earlier this year in a report that the price of the basic aircraft under the new deal was marginally lower than that under the old deal.

On Wednesday, The Supreme Court dismissed the governments objections over the admissibility of leaked documents cited.
India is hopeful it will avoid US sanctions over its purchase of Russias S-400 missile system, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman told AFP.

New Delhi has been heard and understood by the US administration over its accord to buy the S-400 missile defence system for $5.2 billion, the minister said in an interview this week.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin in October, defying US warnings of sanctions on countries buying Russian military equipment. The sanctions were part of measures to punish Moscow for its actions in Ukraine in 2014.

US President Donald Trumps administration imposed sanctions on Chinas military last year over Beijings purchase of the S-400 and other military hardware.

It has also warned NATO member Turkey of sanctions for buying the S-400, and has suspended Turkeys participation in a US jet programme.

Sitharaman told AFP that Washington has taken on board that India, bordering both Pakistan and China, needed arms from Russia, and others, to remain a strong partner.

Negotiations with Moscow, a longstanding supplier to Indias military, on the S-400 began before the US sanctions were introduced, she said.

In the case of S-400 we have explained ourselves well... That has been heard and understood, Sitharaman said. They have appreciated the point of view put forward.

Asked if she was confident that India would avoid sanctions, Sitharaman said: Yes I hope so.

Cold water

Before the deal was inked, Washington poured cold water on Indias efforts to obtain a waiver from the US Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

Upgrades in arms systems including the S-400 air and missile defense system would be a particular focus for CAATSA, a US State Department spokesperson was quoted as saying by Indias PTI news agency.

But Randall Schriver, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, told a hearing in March that Washington wanted to work through the problem, calling India an important emerging strategic partner.

He added however that Indias contract with Russia has not been completed and that the US was very keen to see (India) make an alternative choice (to the S-400) and we are working with them to provide potential alternatives.

China

Washington is in a tricky position with India. It wants to bolster ties with the Asian giant to counter Chinas assertiveness, a trend which has also rattled New Delhi.

In 2017 India and China had a military standoff over a Himalayan plateau claimed by both Beijing and Bhutan, a close ally of India.

Since then China and India have sought to patch up relations, including at a meeting between Modi and President Xi Jinping at Wuhan, China in April 2018.

Sometimes there are differences and you have a face-off, Sitharaman said. But our attempt, particularly after the prime ministers Wuhan meet with the Chinese president, our attempt has been that these differences... cannot be allowed to become disputes.

But China has also made inroads in Sri Lanka and the Maldives -- countries that India considers to be in its sphere of influence -- through its One Belt, One Road Initiative (OBOR), also known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

India has particular concerns about a series of projects passing through Pakistan-administered Kashmir, a disputed territory which was the fuse for a new military flare-up between Pakistan and India in February.

China has also blocked efforts to put on a UN sanctions blacklist the leader of a Pakistan-based militant group that claimed a suicide bombing in India-administered Kashmir on February 14 that killed 40 Indian paramilitary troops.

New Delhi has reportedly declined a Chinese invitation to take part in an OBOR forum in China later this month.

Areas which are ours legally, which are under illegal occupation of Pakistan, are the ones which are becoming part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Sitharaman said.

So having made that position very clear, we have not participated in anything to do with OBOR, and we stick to that position, she said.
British High Commissioner to India Dominic Asquith on Saturday visited the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial in Amritsar and paid tribute to those killed in the indiscriminate firing by the colonial forces 100 years ago in this Amritsar ground.

The events of Jallianwala Bagh 100 years ago today reflect a shameful act in British-Indian history. We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused. I am pleased today that the UK and India have and remain committed to developing further a thriving 21st century partnership, Asquith noted in the visitors book at the memorial.

Watch: Shameful act in British-Indian history: UK envoy on Jallianwala Bagh massacre

This follows British Prime Minister Theresa May expressing regret over the incident amid growing demand for an apology for the massacre. But May stopped short of tendering an apology. She called it a shameful scar on British Indian history instead.

On Wednesday, in a brief statement during Prime Ministers Questions (PMQs) in the House of Commons, May said, The tragedy of Jallianwala Bagh in 1919 is a shameful scar on British Indian history. As her majesty the Queen said before visiting Jallianwala Bagh in 1997, it is a distressing example of our past history with India.

She continued saying, We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused. I am pleased that today the UK-India relationship is one of collaboration, partnership, prosperity and security.

Speaking to mediapersons at the memorial, Asquith, however, did not respond to a question over why the UK government has not tendered an apology for what they have termed a shameful act by the forces of the colonial government.

During his visit to the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial, Asquith was accompanied by his deputy Andrew Ayre.
The employee, a Chicago resident, was behind the counter when the group entered the store, police said. One of the men, who was wearing a red-and-black, hooded jacket with white sleeves and the number 8 on the sleeves and the back, went behind the counter and struck the employee with a piece of aluminum from a grill, police said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian National Congress president Rahul Gandhi traded words around the NYAY (Nyuntam Aay Yojana) scheme, INCs poll promise that guarantees Rs 72,000 annually to 20 per cent of Indias poorest, in their respective election rallies in the southern states on Saturday.

The tagline of the Congress poll campaign is Ab Hoga Nyay, or now there will be justice.

Speaking at a rally in Theni in Tamil Nadu on Saturday, Modi said, Even if they did not intend to, they have admitted that all they have done so far is an-nyay [injustice]. It means they agree that they did injustice to the nation for 60 long years.

In turn, campaigning in Karnataka, Gandhi said that the 2019 Lok Sabha election is a fight between industrialist Anil Ambani and the ordinary people and between thieves and honest people. He said that money for the NYAY scheme will come from [PM Modis] friend, Anil Ambani.

The prime minister was in Tamil Nadu to campaign for the upcoming elections on April 18, when polling for 39 Lok Sabha seats and 22 assembly seats (bypoll) is scheduled.

Congress and dishonesty are best friends but sometimes, by mistake, they end up speaking the truth, Modi said, who was campaigning for the AIADMK-led National Democratic Alliance in Tamil Nadu.

Gandhi, who visited the Jallianwala Bagh memorial in Amritsar on Saturday, held rallies in Karnataka later in the day.

Congress is in alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular) for the upcoming polls. This is also the ruling coalition, which won the assembly elections held last May.

This election is between Anil Ambani and the common citizens, five years of Anyay (injustice) and NYAY, thieves and honest people and false promises and truth, Gandhi said in Chitradurga.

Also read | Demonetisation destroyed economy, NYAY will jumpstart it, says Rahul Gandhi

When we announced NYAY (Nyuntam Aay Yojana), the face of the chowkidar (a reference to PM Modi) changed. It shrank. He asked where will money come from to implement NYAY. I am telling you Modiji, the money for NYAY will come from your friend Anil Ambani, said Gandhi addressing an election rally in Kolar.

Speaking to ANI in New Delhi, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala on Saturday hit back at Modis comments on the NYAY scheme, saying it reflected the latters anti-poor mindset.

The Prime Minister is opposing NYAY scheme because he is anti-poor. Why the Prime Minister, who promised Rs 15 lakh and delivered none, is opposing the scheme which gives Rs 72,000 per year to the poorest families of India? This shows his anti-poor mindset, he said.

In Kolar, Gandhi kept up his attack on the Prime Ministers chowkidar campaign in which the several Bharatiya Janata Party supporters are encouraged to add this prefix to their names and said the chowkidar [guard] was a 100 per cent chor [thief].

You stole Rs 30,000 crore and gifted to your thief friend. You 100 per cent steal money. Chowkidar is a thief, Gandhi said, referring to the alleged kickback in the Rafale fighter jet deal between French aviation company Dassault Aviation and the Indian government.

The Congress has alleged malfeasance in the 2016 deal in which Ambanis firm, Reliance Defence is an offset partner of Dassault Aviation.

Continuing the play on the word Nyay, Modi said, I want to ask the Congress party that who will do the nyay with the victims of 1984 riots? Who will do nyay with the governments of the great MGR (MG Ramachandran) ji which were dismissed by Congress just because of one family did not like those leaders? Who will do nyay with the victims of Bhopal gas tragedy, the first environmental disaster in India? That too happened under the Congress rule.

Later in a rally in Mangaluru in Karnataka, Modi also raised the issue of Indias air strike in Balakot, Pakistan, on February 26.

When surgical strike is carried out, they ask for proof. When India targets terrorists in their own backyard, these mahamilawati people (reference he uses to address the Congress and its allies), they raise doubts over our armed forces, Modi said.

This comes a day after over 150 military veterans wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind, expressing outrage over what they called use of the armed forces for political purposes.

Karnataka will go to poll for 28 Lok Sabha seats in the second and third phases, that is to say, on April 18 and April 23.

Also read | In Karnataka, PM Modi cites surgical strike, Sabarimala to target Congress-led Oppn
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday oaid floral tribute to martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919. Gandhi was accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.

Hundreds of people were massacred by British forces on April 13, 1919. Gandhi visited the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial in Amritsar to pay homage to the martyrs.

The cost of freedom must never ever be forgotten. We salute the people of India who gave everything they had for it. Jai Hind, Gandhi wrote in the visitors book at the memorial.

Watch: Rahul Gandhi, Punjab CM pay tribute to martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh massacre

Gandhi reached Amritsar on Friday night. He paid a visit to Golden Temple complex where he offered prayers at the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikh religion.

British High Commissioner to India Dominic Asquith also visited the memorial to pay homage to those killed in Jallianwala Bagh massacre. He was accompanied by his deputy Andrew Ayre. Asquith termed the firing on a peaceful gathering by the British force a shameful act.

Also Read | Dyer or Dwyer: who is to be held responsible for the 1919 shooting?

The events of Jallianwala Bagh 100 years ago today reflect a shameful act in British-Indian history. We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused. I am pleased today that the UK and India have and remain committed to developing further a thriving 21st century partnership, Asquith noted in the visitors book at the memorial.

Captain Singh on Friday reiterated the demand for an unequivocal official apology from Britain for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. He said it was a heart-wrenching moment in Indias history while asserting that the people of India wanted an unequivocal apology from Britain for the atrocity.

Punjab cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, Congress in-charge of Punjab Asha Kumari and Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar were among those who accompanied Gandhi during his visit to the Jallianwahal Bagh National Memorial.

April 13 marks the 100th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, in which British forces commanded by Brigadier General Reginald Dyer opened fire on hundreds of peaceful protesters who had gathered there to voice their opposition to the oppressive Rowlatt Act of the colonial government.

The Jallianwala massacre is one of the darkest chapters of Indias freedom struggle against the British occupation. British Prime Minister Theresa May earlier this week expressed regret over the killing of innocent people 100 years ago. However, she stopped short of tendering an apology, a long-pending demand from the civil rights activists.
Sukumar Mukherjee, the third generation caretaker of the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial, says it deserves much more respect than what it gets from visitors. At the entrance of the memorial that was inaugurated in 1961, there is a gallery, full of words and photos on the massacre. The lines, Its a tragedy of national importance that cannot be allowed to be forgotten, are a stark reminder of how India freed itself from colonial brutality.

For Mukherjee, secretary of the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust, this is both home and office  his residence is a short flight upstairs.

The 64-year-old with green eyes was born here, like his father Uttam Charan. The Mukherjees from the Hooghly district of West Bengal have been the caretakers of the Jallianwala memorial since its inception. Mukherjees grandfather Sashti Charan Mukherjee, a homeopath practising in Allahabad, was deputed by Congress leader Madan Mohan Malaviya to arrange a session in Amritsar in 1910. He never went back. Present at the bagh on the day of the 1919 massacre, Sashti Charan escaped death by hiding under the dais, and later moved a resolution for acquiring the site at the Congress session in Amritsar. This was followed by a nationwide appeal for fundraising by Mahatma Gandhi and a trust was set up with Malaviya as president and Sashti Charan as secretary. The British, it is said, wanted to obliterate the signs of the massacre by setting up a cloth market here but the Indians managed to acquire the land in 1920. Miffed, the authorities arrested Sashti Charan, who had the land deed, but he remained resolute.

Ever since, the Mukherjees have been the caretakers of the memorial. Sukumar, the youngest of three brothers, quit his bank job to take on the mantle from his father Uttam Charan when he died in 1988. I was appointed by then PM Rajiv Gandhi, says Mukherjee. Most visitors treat it as a picnic spot, sometimes they dont even care to read its history, he rues.

Although the Trust is headed by the Prime Minister, managing the memorial is no cakewalk, says Mukherjee. In 2011, he had goons following him when the Punjab and Haryana high court ordered eviction of an illegal occupant from one of the Trust buildings.

During militancy in Punjab in the 1980s, a group of youngsters with swords apparently threatened to kill his father, saying they had seen people smoking in the bagh. Papaji was very gutsy, he said, kill me and they left, Mukherjee recalls.

Living with a piece of history has its challenges. Kakoli, Sukumars wife who came here as a young bride in the 1980s when militancy had gripped the state, remembers the siege during Operation Bluestar. We couldnt step out for over a week, thankfully papaji (Uttam Charan) had a habit of storing ration. It was due to the barter of onions and tomatoes that she came close to her neighbours during that period, Mukherjee says. My daughters worry about my health and tell me Papa, youve done enough sewa, come stay with us, but I want to see the memorial through its 100th anniversary. Then, I will see, Mukherjee says.
A letter purported to have been written by 165 veterans, including eight former services chiefs, to President and Commander-in-Chief Ram Nath Kovind, complaining about political parties using the armed forces to seek votes, gave rise to some confusion on Friday in the middle of a heated general election.

The Presidents office said it had not received the missive and two of the eight former chiefs initially denied that they were signatories to the letter, but later admitted that they endorsed its content.

The letter was released late on the night of April 11, hours after the first phase of elections to 91 parliamentary constituencies in 18 states and two union territories ended.

The authors said they were against the unusual and completely unacceptable practice of political leaders taking credit for military operations like cross-border strikes, and even going so far as to claim the armed forces to be Modi ji ki sena.

They added that this is in addition to media pictures of election platforms and campaigns in which party workers are seen wearing military uniforms; and posters and images with pictures of soldiers and especially of Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman displayed.

On Friday, the office of the President of India denied having received the letter. There is a format of sending such letters, a senior official in the Presidents office said.

The veterans said they deliberately released the letter late in the night of Thursday to ensure that polling in the first phase of elections was not influenced.

The letter was emailed to the official address of the President, Major Priyadarshi Chowdhury (retd) said, releasing the email to counter the claim by the Presidents office.

The BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have put national security at the vanguard of their election campaign following the February 14 Pulwama terrorist attack in which at least 40 paramilitary troops were killed. The attack was followed 12 days later by an Indian Air Force strike on a terror camp run in Pakistans Balakot by the Jaish-e-Mohammed, which claimed responsibility for the attack.

On February 27, after a dogfight over the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, Wing Commander Varthaman was captured by Pakistani armed forces. Varthaman, who became a social media phenomenon for the confidence with which he handled Pakistani interrogators in videos made public by Pakistan, was released on March 1.

In March, the Election Commission directed political parties not to display photographs of defence personnel in advertisements or otherwise as part of their election campaign. The directive came after the ministry of defence complained that photographs of defence personnel were being used by political parties, their leaders and candidates in election advertising.

Last week, addressing an election rally in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath referred to the Indian Army as Modi ji ki sena.

Congress used to feed biryani to terrorists but Modi ji ki sena (Prime Minister Narendra Modis army) gives them only golis and golas (bullets and bombs). This is the difference, the chief minister said. He was subsequently cautioned by the Election Commission.

Then, news agency ANI reported that two senior veterans  former Air Chief Marshal N C Suri and former Chief of Army Staff Sunith Francis Rodrigues  had denied endorsing the letter.

Consent for all those named in the letter was taken on email, they may have developed cold feet subsequently Vice Marshal (retd) Kapil Kak said. The letter was shared amongst us and we were asked to give an endorsement or expressly disassociate, he added.

The emails from Suri and Rodrigues, endorsing the letter to the President, were subsequently shared with the media.

The two veterans then clarified that they had indeed endorsed the contents of the letter. Rodrigues said that while he was not aware that the concerns would be aired in the form of a letter and sent to the President, he was deeply concerned about the politicisation of the armed forces and wanted it to be communicated to the President.

In addition, he said, both the air chief and I have gone public and we have said that, yes, we should approach the President and that we should not politicise the armed forces.

Suri ,when contacted, said: I am of the firm view that the armed forces must continue to be apolitical and oriented to serve the country through the democratically elected government. This would be in the larger interest of the country. It is in this context that I endorse the appeal to the Supreme Commander.

The government did not offer any comment on the controversy.

The Congress on Friday approached the Election Commission against Prime Minister Modi and BJP president Amit Shah for allegedly dragging the armed forces into politics. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi told journalists afterwards that the PM, the president of the ruling party and other leaders were shamelessly using the armed forces to engage in cheap politics.

Earlier, defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, after the initial denial by Suri and Rodrigues, that the letter was fake. It is very worrying if people are writing fake letters and allegations are being levelled by vested groups. It is highly condemnable. It is happening at the time of elections, IANS quoted Sitharaman as saying.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will be in Silchar in southern Assam on Sunday in her first campaign trip outside Uttar Pradesh.

Priyanka will hold a roadshow in Silchar, the constituency of Mahila Congress president Sushmita Dev who is battling both anti-incumbency and likely fallout of Congress opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) as she seeks another Lok Sabha term. Silchar in Barak Valley will vote in the second phase on April 18.

Dev said Priyanka will hold a two-hour road show on Sunday, a day before the Bengali speaking Barak Valley celebrates Bengali New Year.

Priyanka Gandhi coming and campaigning in Silchar will make our win easier, said Abhijit Pal, general secretary, Congress, Cachar district committee.

Last week, Congress President Rahul Gandhi sought a second term for Sushmita Dev as he addressed a rally in neighbouring Karimganj constituency. He did not bring up the CAB.

While the CAB had wide support in Cachar and Karimganj districts, it had sparked strong opposition in the rest of the northeast. The bill lapsed in February after failing to make it to the Rajya Sabha,

The BJP is upbeat on the Silchar constituency because of the Congress opposition to the CAB. We are gaining here because the Congress is opposing the CAB, the biggest issue here. They are not talking about the interests of the Bengali refugee population, said Kabindra Purkayastha, former Union Minister and veteran BJP leader whom Dev defeated in the 2104 Lok Sabha elections.

Despite opposition in other parts of Northeast, BJP has promised to bring in CAB with consultation and consensus. Winning Silchar constituency is high on BJPs list of priorities with even Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding two rallies here since January.

In his last rally on April 11, PM Modi again attacked the Congress and said how Congress made Gurudwaras and temples goers in Pakistan and Bangladesh, stateless when they came to India, their country of origin. Modi promised to bring in the bill after talking to everyone in the society and securing the identity of Assamese brothers and sisters.

Dev insists this caveat of talking to everyone is Modis u-turn on the issue. It has become crystal clear, she said as she campaigned in the streets of Silchar.

She said the BJPs alliance with Asom Gana Parishad has also exposed the party. What is AGP and what happened in the Assam agitation an average Bengali person knows, she said. People are not fools, the BJP can keep saying what they want to, Dev said. What Bengalis think of AGP you ask anyone on the streets, she said.

Dev, also reiterated her stand on the CAB. People on the 2014 voters list are citizens as far as I am concerned, she said.

Meanwhile, Purkayastha said Priyankas visit will not have any impact. She is a newcomer in the Congress, he said.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of wrecking the countrys economy with demonetisation and said his partys NYAY will jumpstart it.

Gandhi accused Modi of using demonetisation as a ruse.

Note ban destroyed the economy. Factories closed, unemployment rose. NYAY will give money in your hands. You will start buying once you get money and the economy will revive and unemployed youth will get employment and the economy will jumpstart. Lakhs of youth will get employment, he said at an election rally in Mysuru.

Also read: Money for NYAY will come from Modis friend: Rahul Gandhi targets PM in Karnataka

He also promised that 22 lakh vacancies in government jobs will be filled up.

We will fill them up in one year and ten lakhs youth will be employed in panchayats.

He insisted that the Congress NYAY cash transfer proposal for the countrys poorest 20% population is an achievable target.

I spoke to economists and the Congress think tank and asked how much money could be put in accounts of poor. Modi had lied. How much money can the govt put in the bank account of the 20% poor without damaging the economy? I told the think tank I want a number, not theories. I got the answer a few days back. The govt can put Rs 72000 in each account per year. The truth is 3.60 lakh rupees in five years in each account and not Rs 15 lakh.

This is the Congress surgical strike on poverty. If Modi can give money to the countrys richest, the Congress and JD(S) can give money to the countrys poorest.

He also said the Congress party will change the goods and services tax (GST) after winning the election.

We will change GST after winning the elections. There will be only one tax not different slabs, he said at an election rally in Mysuru.

He lashed out at Modi for describing himself as a chowkidar.

There is no chowkidar in front of the houses of the poor, farmers, and the unemployed. Chowkidars are there only in front of house of someone like Anil Ambani. Modi has brought disrepute to all chowkidars in the country.

The Congress chief accused Modi of lying about every promise in 2014 and said the current elections are a fight between truth and lies.

Its a fight between their lies, false promises, divisiveness and hatred and our truth, brotherhood and compassion.

Modi makes false promises in every election. He promised to put Rs 15 lakh in every Indians account. He promised right prices to farmers and two crore jobs for the youth. Did anyone get the money? Were farmers problems addressed? Unemployment has been the highest in 45 years.

Gandhi said the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in Karnataka waived RS 11000 cr of farm loans which helped crores of farmers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modis remarks asking first-time voters to dedicate their vote to those who carried out the Balakot air strike continue to be under the examination of the Election Commission to ascertain whether they violate its directive to political parties against using the armed forces in their campaign, sources said Friday.

The Commission is understood to have sought certain details from poll authorities in Maharashtra in this regard.

Local poll authorities are learnt to have told the EC here that Modis remarks are prima facie violative of its orders on armed forces.

Addressing a rally in Ausa in Maharashtras Latur on April 9, Modi said, Can your first vote be dedicated to those who carried out the air strike. I want to tell the first-time voters: can your first vote be dedicated to the veer jawans (valiant soldiers) who carried out the air strike in Pakistan. Can your first vote be dedicated to the veer shaheed (brave martyrs) of Pulwama (terror attack), Modi said.

The EC had sought the report in the context of an advisory issued last month asking parties to desist from indulging in political propaganda involving actions of the armed forces.

...parties/candidates are advised that their campaigners/candidates should desist, as part of their election campaigning, from indulging in any political propaganda involving activities of defence forces, the Commission had said on March 19.
How many seats will the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) get in 2019? Electoral predictions are always hazardous, and more so in a first-past-the-post (FPTP) system. The final seat tally for any party is an outcome of two factors. Change in vote share and consolidation (or lack of it) of opposition votes. Diversity in Indias political geography also means that such factors vary significantly at the state level.

An HT analysis shows that the BJPs 2019 tally will depend a lot on what happens in 353 Lok Sabha seats across 13 states, 74% of which went to the NDA in 2014. The BJPs political challenge on these seats can be classified into three broad categories.

CATEGORY I: DIRECT NDA VERSUS UPA CONTESTS IN 162 LOK SABHA SEATS

The first category comprises eight states, where the BJP and the Congress, with or without allies, are in a direct contest. They are Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Jharkhand.

In 2014, the NDA won 151 out of the 162 seats in these states. Here the BJPs main challenge is to ensure that its 2014 voters, or a significant part of them, do not defect to the Congress and its allies.

Except in Maharashtra, the BJP fought on its own in these states in 2014. The Congress had alliances in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Jharkhand. The NDA had a huge lead vis-a-vis the UPA in terms of vote share in these states in 2014.

Will a section of the 2014 NDA voters shift to the UPA in 2019? Looking at parliamentary constituency (PC) wise extrapolated results from assembly elections held after the 2014 Lok Sabha can give some idea about this question.

To be sure, voters might choose differently in state and national elections.

Also, in two (Maharashtra and Jharkhand) out of the eight states listed above, the 2014 alliances did not continue till the subsequent assembly elections.

The BJP emerged the single largest party in both these states and formed governments with post-poll alliances.

An analysis of six out of these eight states (excluding Maharashtra and Jharkhand) shows that the NDAs lead in terms of both seat share and vote share has dropped significantly after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. While the BJP won 96 out of the 100 Lok Sabha seats in 2014, its extrapolated tally came down to 58 in the assembly elections held after 2014.

Even the seats which the BJP won, its lead in terms of vote share came down significantly compared to 2014.

CATEGORY II: BETTER OPPOSITION UNITY THAN 2014 IN 148 SEATS

The second category has three states where the BJP is likely to face a more united opposition. These are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Karnataka. The NDA won 121 out of the 148 seats in these states in 2014.

Both in the 2014 Lok Sabha and 2017 assembly elections the combined vote share of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was almost equal to that of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh.

If the vote shares of the two parties were to be added together, the NDAs 2014 tally would come down to 37 from 73 in Uttar Pradesh.

In Bihar, the Janata Dal (United) contested outside the NDA and UPA in the 2014 elections. While it could win just two seats, it played a spoiler in 22 seats, out of which 17 went to the NDA. With the JD (U) now back in the NDA fold, it remains to be seen whether it manages to transfer most of its 16% vote share 2014 to the NDA, or a large part of goes to the UPA.

The latter cannot be ruled out ex-ante as Nitish Kumar contested the 2014 elections from an anti-Modi plank after having walked out of the NDA over Narendra Modi being the BJPs prime ministerial candidate in 2013.

While the opposition might be expecting major gains due to a better index of opposition unity in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Karnataka might be a different story.

An HT analysis by Abhishek Jha shows that even if the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) had contested the elections together in 2014, the BJPs tally of 17 would only have come down by two seats.

Extrapolating the 2018 assembly election results however gives 21 out of the 28 seats in the state to the Congress-JD(S) alliance.

CATEGORY III: BJP AS THE ANTI-INCUMBENCY CHAMPION IN 63 SEATS

The third category comprises the two states where the BJP hopes to make major gains in 2019. They are West Bengal and Odisha, which gave only 3 out of the 63 seats to the BJP in 2014.

While the BJPs political rhetoric in these states is against the dominant regional parties, the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) in West Bengal and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha, it could make major gains by eating into the support base of the existing opposition, the Left in West Bengal, and the Congress in Odisha.

A simple set of calculations using 2014 vote shares can explain the importance of this point.

If there were to be a complete transfer of Left votes to the BJP in West Bengal in 2014, it would have won 32 out of the 42 seats in the state.

If half of the Left votes were to be transferred to the BJP in West Bengal, the latter will win 11 seats in the state. If 25% of the Left votes were to be transferred to the BJP and another 25% to the AITC, the BJPs tally would be just 4, not very different from what it was in 2014.

While the first example is an extreme case, the 2019 outcome could lie somewhere between the second and third scenarios, with a section of Muslim voters deserting the Left for the AITC and Hindu voters shifting to the BJP.

Similarly, if the BJP were to usurp the entire Congress vote in 2014 in Odisha, it would have got 13 out of the 21 seats in the state. If half of the Congress voters were to move towards the BJP, it would have got five seats in the state.

To be sure, these calculations could be drastically different if the BJP is able to make a large dent in the voter base of the AITC or the BJD as well.

The local body elections held in West Bengal and Odisha can give some idea about this.

The BJP was able to inflict a significant loss to both the BJD and the Congress in Odisha in the 2017 local body polls compared to 2012.

The seat tally of the BJP, Congress and the BJP changed from 654, 128 and 36 in 2012 to 473, 60 and 297 in 2017.

However, the AITC has retained its dominance in the local body polls held in West Bengal in 2018. The West Bengal panchayat elections have added credibility to the BJPs claims of being the dominant opposition party in the state.

There are others states/union territories in the country such as Delhi, Haryana and Assam where the BJP performed really well in 2014. It won 21 out of the 31 seats in these three states. Nothing as changed in terms of arithmetic to boost the oppositions prospects in these areas.

However, it will not be an exaggeration to say that it is the 353 seats across these three categories which will matter the most for the BJPs prospects in 2019.
The Congress on Friday accused Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar of planning to defeat their candidates in the state to help the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It also slammed Union minister Ramdas Athawale for his alliance with the BJP.

Ambedkar has fielded candidates from all 48 Lok Sabha seats and except him, no one can get elected. Their only aim is to ensure the defeat of the Congress-NCP or a split in their votes. We have seen Ramdas Athawale begging for a Rajya Sabha seat and ministership, alleged Congress Rajya Sabha MP and former Mumbai University vice-chancellor Bhalchandra Mungekar. Both of them should realise there is a huge section of Dalits who are angry with the BJP and will vote for the Congress-NCP combine, as they see it as an alternative to communal forces.

The Congress tried to stitch up an alliance with Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) and both the parties held multiple rounds of talks. Ambedkar initially demanded 12 seats, but the Congress-NCP was willing to give six. In addition, Ambedkars partnership with the AIMIM was also opposed by the Congress as they described it as a communal outfit. The Congress asked Ambedkar to snap ties with the AIMIM, which Ambedkar refused. Ambedkar then scaled the demand to 22, after which the Congress-NCP alleged he was not serious about joining the Oppositions coalition. Ambedkar, on his part, said he had waited long enough, but there was no initiative from the Congress. Ambedkars behaviour was suspicious, said Mungekar.

In case of Athawale, the BJP did not even consider him while talking to the Sena about the alliance and his claim to the Mumbai South Central seat was swept aside. JV Pawar, a close aide of Prakash Ambedkar, refuted the allegations: We have given an excellent alternative to both the Congress-NCP and the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance and Dalits along with other sections of the people will vote overwhelmingly for us. The current fight is the BJP-Sena versus the VBA.
Two days after Andhra Pradesh voted to elect its new assembly, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday met the Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora with a letter complaining that the poll body miserably failed to live up to the spirit of the constitutional duty in the state.

He demanded that the Election Commission should revert to the system of recording votes through ballot papers and stop the use of electronic voting machines in polls. He said there are doubts regarding reliability of the EVMs.

We demand the Election Commission of India for reverting to paper ballot system immediately to preserve the sanctity and protect the spirit of electoral process and democracy respectively, said Naidu emerging from the poll bodys office in New Delhi.

Naidu cited poll violence leading to the death of a Telugu Desam Party worker in Andhra Pradesh in clashes with the supporters of the YSR Congress headed by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. During the election campaign, the YSR Congress emerged as a strong contender to power in Andhra Pradesh, where Naidus TDP has been in power since 2014.

Andhra Pradesh voted for all 175 assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats on April 11 in the first phase of the parliamentary elections. The polls were marred by the malfunctioning of EVMs at various places in Andhra Pradesh prompting Naidu to lash out at the Election Commission for turning the elections into a big farce.

In his letter to the CEC, Naidu said, the inept handling of the Election Commission forced the voters to return home, depriving them of the right to exercise their franchisethe Election Commission, instead of focusing on its prime duty of election conduction process, tried to be hyperactive in transferring the administrative officers on the frivolous complaints of the YSR Congress Party and paralyzed the machinery.

Naidu questioned the credibility of the poll body saying, The Election Commission is an autonomous body. At the same time, it is working on instructions of PM Modi and the government of India...The Election Commission is not cooperating with us.

In his letter, the TDP chief has alleged that the poll body favoured the YSR Congress by appointing an officer, who was co-accused in one of the criminal cases filed against YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy. He claimed that the poll body acted unilaterally on the complaints by the YSR Congress while did not pay attention to the complaints lodged by the TDP.
He has pleaded not guilty and remains in Porter County Jail without bond. Dillard appeared in court Friday in an orange jail uniform, handcuffs and rubber sandals; three of his supporters sat behind him in the courtroom. About 10 members of the Gland family and their supporters sat on the other side of the courtroom.
Voices within the Congress urging Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, party general secretary for east Uttar Pradesh, to contest the ongoing Lok Sabha elections from the state have grown louder.

While the final decision rests with Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi herself, party leaders and workers from Uttar Pradesh argue the move will enhance the Congresss poll prospects across the country.

It is important for all Congress persons that Priyankaji comes into electoral politics. She should contest the Lok Sabha elections from any seat in the state, said Pradeep Mathur, former UP Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader. It will boost the morale of Congress workers and leaders and also the public who see her as the next Indira Gandhi due to her striking resemblance with the late Prime Minister, he added.

Senior UP Congress leader and former Lok Sabha member from Varanasi, Rajesh Mishra, echoed his views. Congress requires her services in every nook and corner of UP. If she contests, the party will benefit a lot and it will have significant impact across UP.

A Congress functionary said on condition of anonymity that Priyanka Gandhi may contest from Varanasi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi or from Allahabad. Both are constituencies steeped in religion. If she decides to contest from either of the two seats, it will have a huge and positive impact on the partys prospects in the ongoing elections, he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has already fielded UP minister and former Congress leader, Rita Bahuguna Joshi, from Allahabad. The functionary said the only hurdle was whether the Congress high command would agree to three members of the Gandhi family contesting the elections.

Mishra said even if Priyanka Gandhi decided not to contest, her campaigning for party candidates across the country would give a substantive push to the Congress bid to oust the BJP from power at the Centre.

Priyanka Gandhi will be campaigning extensively across the country. She will be holding a road show in Silchar Lok Sabha constituency from where All India Mahila Congress chief Sushmita Dev is seeking re-election. On April 17, Priyanka Gandhi is expected to address a rally at Banaskantha in Gujarat.

Asked at a news conference about the possibility of Priyanka Gandhi contesting from Varanasi, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said he would not like to comment on hypothetical questions.

There is no such decision yet. Whenever any such decision will be taken, we will inform you accordingly, he told reporters.
Congresss Delhi in-charge PC Chacko on Friday said the party was ready for an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) if it agreed to restrict the partnership only to Delhi.

Chacko said that in the present circumstances, the party would fight the elections on its own in Delhi as AAP is adamant on its impractical demands on the seat sharing.

We are compelled to contest the elections in Delhi on our own. The AAP wanted to extend the alliance to other states and that was not practical. Every state is different. If they are ready for an alliance in Delhi, we were and we are still ready, Chacko said.

The Congress leader said that despite initial reservations on the alliance among the leadership, the state unit of the party was persuaded and everything had fallen in line; but AAP on

Wednesday made a public statement that they had called off the talks.

AAPs Delhi convener Gopal Rail, in response to the Congress, and said a tie-up only in Delhi would not save the country from the BJP.

Congress should have thought of cooperating in 33 seats across four states (Goa, Punjab, Delhi and Haryana), instead of getting stuck on their demand for three seats in Delhi, Rai said.

Chacko said the Congress would go ahead with fighting elections in Delhi on its own if AAP does not want the alliance and the candidate list would be released in a day or two.

In a meeting of the chief election committee (CEC) of the Congress on Thursday evening, the names of candidates from four constituencies were finalised.

Former MPs Ajay Maken from New Delhi, JP Agarwal from Northeast Delhi, and Kapil Sibal from Chandni Chowk were the partys choice. Raj Kumar Chauhan, former five-time legislator from Mangolpuri, will be the Congresss face from the reserved constituency of Northwest Delhi, party leaders said. A formal announcement of the candidate list is awaited.

Senior Congress leaders said the final decision is still pending for the remaining three constituenciesWest, South and East Delhi.
In his first visit to Patna after joining Congress, Patna Sahib MP Shatrughan Sinha on Friday said that he would have perhaps joined the Congress long back, had Mrs (Indira) Gandhi been alive.

Talking to the media during his visit to Sadaquat Ashram, headquarters of the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC), Sihna said he had never spoken against the Congress, even though he remained in the BJP.

There has been a considerable rise in popularity of Rahul Gandhi. I seem the present and future of India in him. Success of the Congress party in three state polls within a year of Rahul Gandhis accession to the chief of the party was no mean achievement, said Sinha after his grandiose welcome at his new home by the party workers.

Sinha, also known as Bihari Babu, said that he stayed back in the BJP, as he did not wish to leave a party where he had grown up and earned respect. But things have changed drastically in the last two-three years. Arrogance has taken over the party after the departure of Atal Bihari Vajpyee. It has now become a one-man show and two-man army in the party, said Sinha, who will be contesting from the Patna Sahib Lok Sabha seat to wrest it for the Congress.

The country would retrieve its lost glory under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, who is not just a dynamic leader, but also understands the aspirations of youth, farmers and the poor Indians well. Unlike the BJP leaders, he (Rahul Gandhi) does not take recourse to doling out hallow rhetoric.

Earlier at the Patna airport, Sinha wished BJP candidate and union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who is in the fray from Patna Sahib, and exuded confidence that he would set a new record for victory margins. Prasad is a friend of mine. I have no personal enmity with him. It is a fight for ideology, which cares about the interest of farmers, unemployed youth, national interest and communal harmony, said the actor turned politician.

Dubbing local BJP leaders as exhausted cartridges, Sinha said that he opted to join the Congress to take forward the peoples fight for self-respect and realise their dreams of a prosperous India, where there was respect for one another. I came here to honour my words. I had said earlier that the situation could be different, but the location would be same, said Sinha, adding that he made up his mind after BJP announced Prasads candidature for Patna Sahib.

To a query about the contest in Bihar, Sinha said the Grand Alliance (GA) was like a magic wand and would sweep the poll. He also praised RJD chief Lalu Prasad for his understanding of Bihar and said he joined the Congress on his advice and suggestions of other senior leaders of the opposition parties like Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, Mayavati and Arvind Kejriwal.

BPCC president Madan Mohan Jha said that Sinha would wrest the Patna Sahib seat for Congress and infuse a fresh lease of life into the party workers. Congress MLC and AICC media panelist Prem Chandra Mishra lambasted the BJP for its bid to paint the Congress in bad light on the issue of military strikes across the border and said the party always honoured the armed forces. The Congress needs no lesson on nationalism, as two of its senior most leaders, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, laid down their lives for national interests, said Mishra.
We have defended border and made new friends across the globe: Sushma Swaraj

BJP government has been successful in defending the countrys border along with bring up the foreign allies all over the world.

We had been giving appropriate answer to the neighbour whenever it was needed, and the entire world supported our actions: Foreign affairs minister Sushma Swaraj

Sushma Swaraj interacts with Indians living across the globe

External Affair Minister Sushma Swaraj interacts with Indians living across the globe.

Congress failed to construct a war memorial in 70 year: PM Modi

In 70 years, Congress constructed several of structures for their family but no war memorial was constructed for our Army. But BJP government constructed a War memorial in Delhi within five years: PM Modi in Bengaluru

India's stance against Terror changed in these five years: PM Modi

Just five years ago, India would live in fear of terrorist attacks. Terrorist would attack the country every second year, but after our government people now know that terrorist cannot even think of seeing towards India: PM Narendra Modi in Bengaluru

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses poll rally in Bengaluru

Prime Minister Narendra Modi address election rally in Karnatakas Bengaluru.

PM Modi addresses public meeting in Bengaluru South. Dial 9345014501 to listen LIVE. #ModiAgainSaysIndia https://t.co/N2HD45lHxx  BJP (@BJP4India) April 13, 2019

Demonetisation brought Indian economy to a halt: Rahul Gandhi

Demonetisation was solely put to action to take money out from your pockets and deposit it in the pockets of billionaires of India, we will make sure you get your money back. The economy which was shattered after you lost your buying power, will return to boom once we deposit money back into your pockets: Congress President Rahul Gandhi

Congress president questions Farm insurance scheme

Farm insurance was given to private companies. You pay premium and it doesnt come to you but goes to Anil Ambani. We promised farm loan waiver and the government has already written off 11,000 crore worth of loans: Congress President Rahul Gandhi

NYAY would help poor without damaging economy: Rahul Gandhi

NYAY is a well planned scheme, our task force worked day and night to make sure, we provide financial help to poor without negatively affecting the economy: Congress President Rahul Gandhi in Karnatakas Mysore

Congress President Rahul Gandhi addresses poll rally in Karnataka

Congress President Rahul Gandhi addresses poll rally in Karnatakas Mysore.

The number of loans offered in 2006-2014 is double to what was offered since independence, we will investigate the matter: PM Modi

The amount of loans that banks had given from independence to 2006, they gave twice as many loans between then and 2014. We will know the commissions they received only when we investigate. Chowkidaar has put a stop to this so they are angry. They are running away but where will they go. Yeh Modi hai, duniya mein kahin par bhi chhipe par yeh chowkidaar unko laakar rahega : Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Karnatakas Mangaluru

Proclaiming ones rights has become a crime in Congress ruled Southern states: PM Modi

Politics, judiciary everything has its place but even proclaiming ones rights has become a crime. In Kerala the communists have created such a situation that no person cannot take the name of Aiyappa. If you say Sabarimala then your jailed. Is this democracy? Cant you say Aiyappa? This maha milawati Congress culture has not only affected us but also weakened the armed forces and destroyed the economy: PM Modi in Karnatakas Mangaluru

Congress wasted opportunities in 20th century: PM Modi

20th century gave Congress a chance, but it used entire opportunities for the upliftment of one family. They failed to develop the country. But our government has worked for entire nation, we did not ignore works of Dr. Abdul Kalam or Dr. Radha Krishnan, Congress did: PM Modi in Karnatakas Mangaluru

PM Modi compares Congresss nepotism to BJPs nationalism

Congress and JDS and many such parties are only about family but we are for nationalism. They only think of giving every family member the benefit of power, we are working hard to bring forward the hardest working people. Their belief is Vanshodaya (Nepotism) ours is Antyodaya

This election will decide fate of new India: PM Modi

This election is not about who will be the MP or Prime Minister and not only about selecting a government. This is about deciding what 21st century India, new India will be: PM Modi in Karnataka

Will fill government job vacancies within a year: Rahul Gandhi

Unemployment is at the highest in the past 45 years but 20 lakh government jobs are vacant. The Congress party will fill these vacancies within a year. 10 lakh youths can be employed in panchayats and Congress will do this: Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Karnataka Chitradurga

Will bring separate budget for farmers: Congress President Rahul Gandhi in Karnataka

In our manifesto weve said a very good thing, we want to eliminate your fears. Ive seen in parliament during budget that the rich know what the government will do for them. This is why as soon as Congress wins we will prepare a separate budget for farmers. The farmers will know what the government will do for them. How much the MSP will be increased, how much loans will be waived, what technology will be introduced, where irrigation will be introduced, how much loans will be granted, what amount of relief will be given during distress: Congress President Rahul Gandhi in Karnataka

We delivered promises made in Karnataka and other states: Congress president Rahul Gandhi

I told you in Karnataka that well waive loans and we have done this. Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Punjab everywhere we came to power we have waived farm loans: Congress chief Rahul Gandhi in Karnataka

We have verified NYAY scheme from economists, it wont weaken countrys economy

I didnt like it that our poor dreamt of money being deposited in their account. So I asked the economists if the Indian government can put money in the poorest households and how much. I told them it shouldnt be so much money that Indian economy is bankrupted. After five months they gave me a number, 72,000 a year and 3.6 lakh in 5 years. Modi lied about 15 lakh but as per our calculation 20% of the poorest households can be given 3.6 lakh

Everybody seems very happy with this, but let me tell you that the money will go into womens accounts: Congress President Rahul Gandhi in Karnataka

I am not chowkidar, will never be: Congress president Rahul Gandhi

Everyone has seen photos of Narendra Modi hugging Ambani, did you ever see me hugging Ambani.

Modi works for only these 10-15 people, I work for every common man: Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi

Congress President Rahul Gandhi addresses poll rally in Karnatakas Chitradurga

Congress President Rahul Gandhi addresses public meeting in Chitradurga, Karnataka.

Criminals are now begging policemen to put them in jail: BJP president Amit Shah

In Uttar Pradesh before Yogi government people were leaving state because of the criminals. The governments before Yogi had given free hand to the criminals, but now the criminals are begging policemen to not kill them in encounter. Those people who were making common man leave the state, are now leaving the state:

They kept saying Garibi hatao for 60 years, but it was PM Modi who actually removed it : BJP President Amit Shah

Within these five years Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taught everyone how to remove poverty in India. They kept raising slogans of Garibi Hatao for over 60 years: BJP President Amit Shah

BJP President Amit Shah addresses poll rally in Uttar Pradesh

BJP President Amit Shah address poll rally in Uttar Pradeshs Shahjahanpur

The poor must not fall prey to Congresss NYAY promise: Mayawati

The way BJP didnt fulfill the promise of providing 15 lakh to the poor, the Congresss promise of providing  72,000 annually to the poor is also of the same nature. You must not fall prey to either of their false promises, said BSP supremo Mayawati while addressing a rally in Budaun.

BSP chief Mayawati addresses public meeting in Budaun

BSP chief Mayawati is addressing a public meeting in Budaun.

Will give 33% reservation women: Rahul Gandhi

if voted to power, we will give 33% reservation to women in women in all elected posts and also in government jobs, said Rahul Gandhi.

22 lakh vacant govt jobs will be filled in one years time: Rahul Gandhi

22 lakh positions in government jobs are lying vacant. When we come to power, we will make sure all these vacacnies are filled in one years time, said rahul Gandhi.

At the panchayat level, 10 lakh people can be employed and we will ensure this is done. Karnataka is an entrepreneurship hub. Through demonetisation and Gabbar Singh Tax Modi destroyed these businesses. Youth who want to start companies have to seek permissions from many departments. We have said in the manifesto that no such permissions will be required till you employ many people and three years later you will need permissions, said Rahul Gandhi.

Farmer will no to go to jail for non-repayment of loans: Rahul Gandhi

We have decide when we come to power, no farmer will ever go to jail for non-repayment of loans, said Rahul Gandhi.

Will introduce separate budget for farmers: Rahul Gandhi

Karnataka government gave 1000s of crores to the people. Weve written in the manifesto that well help farmers. As soon as we win, we will make a special budget for farmers. Along with national budget there will be a separate budget for farmers. In the beginning of the year the farmer will know what his government will do for him, said Rahul Gandhi in Karnataka.

We do Kaam ki baat: Rahul Gandhi

He [Prime Minister narendra Modi] does Man ki baat and we do Kaam ki baat. The unemployment rate is the highest in 45 years. Every day he promises something new. But he must tell the nation what hedid for employment generation in the country, said Rahul Gandhi in Karnataka.

PM asked where would the money come from: Rahul Gandhi in Karnataka

As soon as we took this decision (NYAY proposal) chowkidaars face changed, became sad. He asked where the money would come from, said Rahul Gandhi in Karnataka rally.

BJP manifesto says nothing about employment: Rahul Gandhi

BJP promised 15 lakh, which turned out to be a lie. Their manifesto, too, doesnt talk about employment. Five months ago I thought the 15 lakh promise by BJP might be false why cant we do something to deliver on a promise like that, said Rahul Gandhi in Karnataka while explaining Congress NYAY proposal, that promises a minimum annual income of 72,000 to the poor of the country.

Its an elections between two idealogies: Rahul Gandhi in Karnataka

The election is between two ideologies. On the one hand Congress talks about development for all and unity and on the other the BJP, Modi, which believes in dividing people, said Rahul Gandhi while addressing a public meeting in Karnataka.

In TN, PM invokes Jayalalithaa, MGR to seek vote for AIADMK nominee

This is the land of MGR and Jayalalithaa, the Congress was not able to locate a candidate that belongs to this region. The AIADMK leader and his family stood by you through all thick and thin. Looks like the DMK that is advising the Congress has sensed the mood in this region which is why they havent decided on candidates form most of this region, said PM Modi.

Congresss NYAY an admission they did injustice for 60 years: PM Modi

Congress speaks about NYAY. It means they agree that they did injustice to the nation for 60 long years. So, it is ANYAY, said PM Modi.

Brave pilot from Tamil Nadu was attacked by Pak: PM Modi

DMK and Congress are against our nation and are questioning our armed forces.

We are not compromising on nations security. A brave pilot from Tamil Nadu was attacked by Pak aircraft. Our government safeguarded the pilot. But, the Congress is questioning our soldiers, said PM Modi.

Alliance partners unhappy with DMKs pitch for Rahul as PM candidate: PM

DMK leader has proposed Rahul Gandhi as PM candidate. It has made unhappy the other partners in their alliance since everyone wants to PM in Mahaghatbandan, said PM Modi in Tamil Nadu.

Sworn enemies have come together: PM Modi on Mahagathbandhan

India is progressing towards development but this is why the Congress, DMK and their mahamilavat dont want me. Sworn enemies have come together in an attempt to defeat Modi, said PM Modi in Tamil Nadu.

Here to expose Mahamilavat: PM Modi

In 2014, I assured you people that I will bring development. Today, Im here to give you the account of the work done and also to expose the Mahamilavat said PM Modi in Tamil Nadus Theni.

PM pays respect to the victims of Jallianwala Bhag Massacre

This is the 100th year anniversary of Jallianwala Bhag Massacre. Also, I recall and respect Perungamanallur martyrs here in Madurai.

Temperature is high and so is the enthusiasm: PM Modi in Tamil Nadu

The temperature is high and so is the enthusiasm, said PM Modi in Tamil Nadus Theni while he thanked the people for gathering in such large numbers.

PM Modi arrives in Tamil Nadus Theni

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today arrived in Tamil Nadus Theni to address a poll rally.

PM Modi to address public meeting in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will today address rallies in Karnataka, ahead of polling for 14 constituencies on April 18, when the southern part of the state will vote in the Lok Sabha elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday fired a salvo at the Congress and DMK in Tamil Nadu and said that their alliance had no vision of mission for the future of the country.

Their only glue is hatred for Modi. Day and nigh they say only one thing: remove Modi, remove Modi, remove Modi, he said.

Saying that the NDA had only three priorities - development, all round development and development and all inclusive development - he said that while the BJP was focussing on the countrys development, the opposition is trying to take India backwards with a destructive mindset.

Also Read | Money for NYAY will come from Modis friend: Rahul Gandhi targets PM in Karnataka

Hinting at the recent Pulwama attack and the subsequent strike at a Jaish-e-Mohammed camp at Balakot in Pakistan, the PM said, When the Congress and its allies were in power, the terrorists used to attack the nation regularly, city after city witnessed blasts, but the Congress remained helpless and silent. But times have changed now. India will not spare a single terrorist or jehadi. If they target us, well find them wherever they are and ruin their happiness.

He also invoked the issue of the Sabarimala temple and accused the Congress, DMK and Muslim League of playing a dangerous game regarding the Sabarimala temple.

They are using brute force to strike at the root of faith and expression. Sadly for them, till BJP is there, no one will be able to destroy our faith and culture, he said.

Also Read | Congresss NYAY an admission they did injustice for 60 years: PM Modi

He urged the voters to vote for the BJP and said that a Vote for Congress, DMK and Muslim League is a vote for higher taxes and lower development. A vote for them is a vote that will give a free hand to terrorists, a vote for them is a vote for rise of criminal elements in politics.
Delhi Congress chief and three-time chief minister Sheila Dikshit is being persuaded by the partys senior leadership to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from East Delhi constituency, party leaders said.

Senior leaders said that Congress president Rahul Gandhi, while discussing the candidate list on Thursday, expressed his desire that Dikshit be the partys face from East Delhi.

When Sheilaji was telling Rahulji who she thinks will be the strong contenders from East Delhi, he told her that she was the strongest face that the party had in Delhi and that she should contest the elections from the seat, a party functionary said.

The leader said that Gandhi even offered to personally campaign for Dikshit if she agreed to contest the elections.

Despite the leadership being keen on her candidature, Dikshit on Friday refused to give any clarity whether or not she would consider the offer. Once the candidates are finalised it will be announced. Everyone will know who all are contesting, she said.

Leaders close to the 81-year-old former chief minister, however, said that her age and health were important issues to be considered.

She is undoubtedly the tallest and most dynamic leader in Delhi Congress but with her age it will be difficult to campaign as strongly as she would have liked. There are talks that her son Sandeep Dikshit, who has been a former MP from the constituency and has a lot of work to his credit, will be pitched, said a Delhi Congress leader.

Party leaders said that Dikshit has been pressing the candidature of her son Sandeep Dikshit, who has been a two-time MP from East Delhi before Maheish Girri defeated him in 2014. In Thursdays meeting of the CEC too, Dikshit fielded his candidature.

Before entering Delhi politics, the former chief minister represented the Kannauj parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh between 1984 and 1989. In the 1998 Lok Sabha elections, Dikshit was defeated by BJPs Lal Bihari Tiwari from East Delhi. In the same year, she went on to become Delhi chief minister, serving for 15 years till 2013.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi will today address rallies in Karnataka, ahead of polling for 14 constituencies on April 18, when the southern part of the state will vote in the Lok Sabha elections.

Voting in Karnataka was split between two phases, the second and third, and the two leaders will be addressing constituencies in the southern region over the course of the day.

The Bharatiya Janata Party is contesting against the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) alliance across the 28 seats in the state.

While Prime Minister Modi will address rallies in Mangaluru and Bengaluru, Gandhi will address public meetings in Kolar, Chitradurga and Mysuru.

The BJP has won a majority of seats in the state over the past three Lok Sabha polls, a trend that the coalition is attempting to reverse. While Gandhi has taken aim at the central government in his speeches, Modi has acccused the coalition of being inept and has claimed repeatedly that a vote for the coalition will ensure a Mahamilawat Sarkar at the Centre, similar to the one in the state.
Congress president Rahul Gandhis helicopter was denied permission to land in West Bengals Siliguri police ground, where he is scheduled to address a public meeting on Sunday. The rally was to be held at the Dagapur ground, located on the outskirts of Siliguri, which is part of Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency.

The police cited lack of space as the reason for denying permission. We cant give the permission for the helicopter to land at the Siliguri Police commissionerate ground since a lot of vehicles are parked there, said BL Meena, Siliguri Police commissioner.

Accusing the state government of sabotaging the Congress presidents rally, partys candidate from Darjeeling Shankar Malakar said, The police should have conveyed its decision much earlier so that we could have scouted for an alternative site for the helicopter to land. We need at least 48 hours to arrange these things. Rahul Gandhis rally cant certainly be held on April 14.

On whether the rally will take place, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Pradip Bhattacharya in Kolkata said, Everything has become uncertain.

Darjeeling will go to polls in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections on April 18.

We had written to the Siliguri Police commissioner on April 7 seeking permission for Rahul Gandhis helicopter to land at the police commissionerate ground in Siliguri. But today the police commissioners office informed us over telephone that they cannot give us permission, added Malakar.

Meena, however, denied receiving the letter seeking permission for the helicopter to land on April 7.

Senior TMC leader and state tourism minister Gautam Deb refused to comment.

In February, BJP leaders alleged that the state government denied permission for helicopters of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath to land in Purulia forcing him to travel by car from Jharkhand.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday sharpened his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that he extended undue favours to his industrialist friends, who looted the country.

When we announced NYAY (Nyuntam Aay Yojana), the face of the chowkidar (a reference to PM Modi) changed. It shrank. He asked where will money come from to implement NYAY. I am telling you Modiji, the money for NYAY will come from your friend Anil Ambani, said Gandhi addressing an election rally at Kolar in Karnataka.

Gandhi said once the Congress forms government after the Lok Sabha elections, it will deposit 72,000 in a year in the bank accounts of the poor families of the country.

Narendra Modi spoke about giving 15 lakh to the poor. It was a lie. We dug out the truth. The Congress will deposit 3.60 lakh rupees in the bank accounts of the poor in five years. The money will go into the bank accounts of women of the beneficiary families, Gandhi said.

The Congress president accused PM Modi of diverting money meant for the Indian Air Force to favour businessman Anil Ambani, whose firm, Reliance Defence is an offset partner of the Dassault Aviation, the French company which has got the contract for supply of 36 Rafale fighter jets.

India and France signed an agreement for the purchase of Rafale fighter jets in 2016. The Congress has alleged malfeasance in the Rafale deal. At his Kolar rally, Gandhi said, You (PM Modi) talk about corruption but you have given money to Anil Ambani by stealing 30,000 of the Indian Air Force.

Karnataka will vote in two of the seven phases of the Lok Sabha polls  April 18 and April 23 - 14 Lok Sabha seats in each phase. Kolar Lok Sabha constituency, where the Congress president was addressing his election rally, goes to the polls on April 18 in the second phase of the parliamentary elections.

The Congress has kept a firm hold over the Kolar Lok Sabha seat. The party has lost the seat only once since 1977. Former Union minister KH Muniyappa is the sitting MP from Kolar seat and has won it seven times in a row.

The Congress veteran is in the fray again and fighting against the Bharatiya Janata Partys S Muniswamy, a greenhorn, in the seat reserved for members of Scheduled Castes.

This is a fight between the ideologies of hate and unity. The victory will be of Congress and JDS, said Gandhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched fresh attack on the Congress and other Opposition parties citing surgical strike and Balakot strike amid objection by veterans of the armed forces over reference to the Army and the Indian Air Force in electoral discourse.

PM Modi, who was addressing an election rally in Mangaluru in Karnataka, said, When surgical strike is carried out, they ask for proof. When India targets terrorists in their own backyard, these mahamilawati people (reference he uses to address the Congress and its allies), they raise doubts over our armed forces. They have stooped so low that they call the army chief a street goonda (ruffian).

When surgical strike happens they ask for evidence. When India kills terrorists in their homes, then that whole gang, mahamilawati log (highly adulterated people) come to question the armed forces. Do you trust our forces or not? Do you need evidence? They have stooped so low that they call army chief a goonda.

This came a day after over 150 military veterans wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind, expressing outrage over what they called use of the armed forces for political purposes. The letter, dated April 11, carries the names of eight former service chiefs.

However, two of them - former Army chief General (retd) SF Rodrigues and Air Chief Marshal (retd) N C Suri - have denied having written such a letter. But they maintained that the armed forces are apolitical and they should not be politicised.

At Mangaluru rally in Karnataka, PM Modi hit out at the Congress and its alliance partner in the state Janata Dal-Secular saying that these parties work for dynasty politics.

The Congress and JDS are inspired by dynasty and we are inspired by nationalism. They find ways to benefit their family but we work hard to bring the marginalised to the mainstream. Their philosophy is Vanshodaya (the rise of dynasty) and ours is Antyodya (the rise of the last person), said PM Modi in Mangaluru, which is part of the Dakshin Kannada Lok Sabha seat that goes to the polls on April 18.

Karnataka votes for its 28 Lok Sabha seats in two phases, ending on April 23, when polling for the third round of parliamentary elections will be held. Both phases will see 14 Lok Sabha seats each going to the polls in the state, which is currently ruled by an alliance of the Congress and the JDS.

PM Modi also raised the issue of Sabarimala in his speech questioning the Opposition over the emotive issue that has seen a huge row over the past one year.

The prime minister said, Politics, judiciary everything has its place but even proclaiming ones belief is now considered a crime. I was in Kerala, where there is a communist government, which is part of this mahamilawati (grand adulteration, a term he uses to describe the Opposition unity)the condition there is such that no citizen can take the name of Lord Ayyappa. People are booked and jailed for supporting the rights of Sabarimala. Is this democracy? Cant you say Aiyappa?

On September 28 last year, a five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court lifted the ban on the entry of women of menstrual age into the Sabarimala temple. Lord Ayyappa is the presiding deity of the shrine.

The devotees have been protesting the lifting of ban on the entry of women of menstrual age on the ground of violation of the right to freedom of religion. The BJP has supported the protesters and favoured a review of the Supreme Court judgment.
What angers me about Donald Trump is that he said in so many words he would stand up for the working class of this country and he would take on the establishment, he said. Well, he ended up appointing more billionaires to his cabinet than any president in American history.
The list of coloured salts found in nature is a fairly long one. There is, of course, the pink salt from the Himalayas, theres another pink found only in and named after the marshes of Camargue in France, a blue salt in Iran, a black lava salt and a grey variety from Brittany.

When it comes to man-made varieties, theres no end to the colours and flavours you can try. Some types have been popular in the West for decades  garlic, bacon, ginger-lemon. In India, you dont have to pick at random. We actually have an ancient tradition of flavoured salts.

Theyre called pisyu loon (ground salt, in Garhwali and Kumaoni), and are typically made in flavours of mint, mustard, ginger, coriander, garlic, cumin and three types of chilli (yellow, red and green). In the Pahadi cuisine of Uttarakhand, making these salts is a vital skill. Because in winters, when the mountain villages get snowed in, its sometimes the only thing left to be eaten with roti or paratha.

TRY IT AT HOME: Garlic peppercorn salt Ingredients: 7 to 8 cloves garlic; 2 to 3 red chillies; 2 tsp of rock salt or sea salt; 3 tsp asafoetida (hing); 3 to 4 tsp cumin seeds; 10 whole peppercorns; half a nub of ginger. Method: Roast peppercorns. Put all ingredients except salt into the blender and grind. Add rock salt and mix. (Add more salt to taste, if necessary). This coarse salt can be used to marinate meat or temper dal and starchy vegetables like potato

Now, this flavoured salt is finding takers in the cities too. Over the past two years, women from Dehradun, Nainital, Haldwani and Khakhrighat in Uttarakhand have begun selling the salts online, via platforms such as Instagram and e-stores like EjaaFoods and PahariViraasat.

Typically, the women work within self-help groups or with NGOs. Some are using direct channels to keep prices down. Rekha Kothari and the NGO Mahila Navjagran Samiti, for instance, sell flavoured salts via direct message on her Instagram handle, @namakwaali.

Its used as an exotic seasoning on salads, fruits or dishes like dal and aaloo sabzi. Some salts are also used to liven up raitas, chutneys and lassi, or in the marinades for meat, says Birendra Matiyali, founder of Ejaa Foods. Yellow chilli, pepper and garlic salt are our bestsellers. The yellow chilli is native to Uttarakhand and has a uniquely pungent flavour.

Most demand comes from Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Amritsar, Pune, Chandigarh and Jammu.

Root flavours

Delhi ad executive Pankaj Singh, 43, says he likes the salts most in dals. They change the entire flavour. I use black pepper-garlic salt most. I also sprinkle the salts on boiled eggs and use them in mashed potato, he says.

Delhi ad executive Pankaj Singh sprinkles pisyu loon on salads and boiled eggs to enhance their taste. His favourite flavour is the black pepper-garlic salt. (Sanjeev Verma / HT Photo)

POPULAR SALT FLAVOURS AROUND THE WORLD Rosemary and lavender / lemon: Used in pasta, soups, salad dressings, as marinades for steaks and pork. Espresso: Used in chocolate-based desserts, cakes and cognac reduction sauces. Chilli lime: Can be sprinkled on fries, tacos, nachos, roasted vegetables. Can also be mixed in chipotle mayo. Bacon: Ideal for popcorn, mashed potato, eggs. Vanilla: Can be served with strawberries or sprinkled on chocolate-covered desserts.

Shubhangi Parmar, 28, an HR executive from Pune, who has been using the salts for three months, says they could be less salty. I absolutely love the citrusy flavour of yellow chill salts on my chopped fruit. I keep trying new recipes and I have begun to include pisyu loon in my sabzis, she says. But I wish they werent quite so salty. We tried four varieties and found her criticism to be well-founded.

The use of rock salt is the reason for the strong salty flavour, says Deepa Khanayak of Himalayan Flavoured Salts, which retails via Ejaa. Himalayan pink salt is not as salty as the sea salt. But it is much more expensive.

Puneet Dewli, 30, an advertising executive from Mumbai, says he uses a jeera-chilli-mustard salt on his raitas and salads. For me, it is a way to stay connected to my roots, because Im originally from Rudraprayag in Uttarakhand. Ive lived my whole life in Mumbai, but you hear of this tradition in the family, even today, he says.

This is thing that distinguishes the salts from the various food fads that come and go, says culinary anthropologist Kurush Dalal. Its not a gimmick or an experiment. Its a rediscovery of something that has deep roots in our culture.

Changing menus

Meanwhile in Khakrighat village of Uttarakhand, Khanayak and about a dozen other women are making and packing 18 varieties. Their most popular is the hing-jeera-pepper mix. Marketing and logistics are challenges that are holding back expansion, Khanayak says. Some ingredients, like Timur [Sichuan peppercorn], are seasonal. We cant provide it in summer, and so we lose orders, Khanayak says.

Customers in the cities arent used to seasonal varieties, and dont like not knowing whats on a changing menu. To remedy this, and reach out to more potential customers, Ejaa, for instance, is posting targeted ads on Google, Facebook and Instagram.

Then, depending on how that works, we will have to rope in more women to make the salt, says Matiyali.

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On Friday, when debt-ridden Jet Airways operated just nine domestic flights and cancelled all international flights till Monday, around 500 ground staff working at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) marched from the terminal to the airlines office in Andheri seeking clarity on the companys future. The employees claimed they were yet to receive salaries for March.

The protest march was led by Kiran Pawaskar, the chief of All India Jet Airways Officers and Staff Association. Pawaskar, who could not meet airline CEO Vinay Dube, as he was not in the office, said the meeting with other senior executives was not fruitful.

The management assured that all the employees will get their money after the airline gets funds from SBI Caps. Also, I submitted a letter at the Sahar police station, seeking action against Naresh Goyal [former Jet Airways chairperson] and SBI Caps, he said.

One of the senior ground staffers said the managements last e-mail in the first week of April mentioned salaries would not be credited. After the airline shut operations at various airports across India, several ground staffers were transferred to the operational stations, including Mumbai. One of the staffers, who was shifted from Thiruvananthapuram to Mumbai, said, The landlord has asked me to vacate the house if I cant pay the rent on time. I dont have any money because my salary for March is yet to come. The woman is living in the city with her year-old child.

The ground staff alleged they were learning about the developments through media as the management did not bother to keep the employees in the loop.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporations (BMC) public health department does not have a record of the number of pathology laboratories in the city, its response to a Right to Information (RTI) application has revealed.

City-based pathologist Dr Prasad Kulkarni filed the query in February, seeking a list of pathology laboratories, its owners, staff pathologists and contact details in the city. Responding to the plea, officials said since the laboratories are not registered under BMC, the information is not maintained by them.

The civic bodys failure to collect this information is in contravention to a 2018 directive by the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), which asked all civic bodies in the state to submit a detailed report of pathology laboratories in order to keep a check on illegal clinics.

After the initial DMER order, repeated reminders were sent to municipal corporations which failed to follow the norms. The latest reminder was sent in August 2018. However, officials lack the will to step up against the nexus of illegal laboratories in the city, said Kulkarni.

Dr Padmaja Keskar, BMCs executive health officer, said registration or functioning of pathological laboratories is not under the civic bodys domain. The norms related to illegal pathological laboratories will only be clear once the proposed Maharashtra Clinical Establishment Act comes into existence, Keskar said.

The Maharashtra Association of Practising Pathologists and Microbiologists (MAPPM), the largest body of certified pathologists in the state, has alleged city officials are protecting illegal clinics and allowing technicians to sign reports for blood, urine, tissue, body fluids and other histopathology tests.

Dr Sandeep Yadav, president of MAPPM, said, We have estimated that the industry of illegal laboratories is worth 500 crore. Even in Mumbai, almost one-third of the labs are illegal and no official has been taken against them.
Actor Ram Kapoor is back as superstar Karan Khanna in the third season of the web series, Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat. The actor has paired with Sakshi Tanwar yet again on the show, which rides on the popularity of their romantic chemistry. In an exclusive interview with Hindustan Times, the actor spoke about Sakshi, the one trait he shares with his onscreen character and the #MeToo movement. Excerpts:

You and Sakshi make one of the most successful onscreen pairings on the small screen. What makes it work?

We are very lucky that people liked us. We have known each other for a very long time and have tremendous respect for each other from the time she used to shoot for Kahani Ghar Ghar Kii and I used to do Kasamh Se. So when we started working together, we had that comfort level.

You play a superstar in the series. Do you share a trait with your onscreen character?

I am a very confident guy in any situation, just like Karan Khanna is a very confident person. Thats the only trait I share with him. But other than that, Karan is a very complex fellow, which I am not. I am a very easygoing, happy-go-lucky kind of person, which Karan is not. Karan has a lot of issues.

Is your character Karan Khanna inspired from a Bollywood star?

Ekta Kapoor would be able to answer this because she developed the character but not to my knowledge.

The show talks about a #MeToo case which goes wrong and turns into a murder mystery. What is your take on the movement?

#MeToo is a very powerful weapon that women have today. You cant really blame them for using that because a lot of men in the industry have abused their power. Its a double-edged sword, its so risky and dangerous to be a part of the #MeToo movement. You really dont know which side is right and which is wrong. There are enough men who have actually abused their power and women have suffered badly. There are also a number of women who are taking advantage of the movement and misusing it.

I have been part of the show business since 20 years. I think its always best to be absolutely clean in all your dealings so that nobody is able to point fingers in any way. At the end of the day, your reputation is all that you have and if that goes away, you dont have a career.

Also read: Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat season 3: Ram Kapoor, Sakshi Tanwars love story takes a hit, MeToo connect adds drama

Apart from Sakshi, is there an actor you would like to work with in Bollywood?

I am the kind of person, I really dont think about the future or the kind of roles I would like to do or a person I would like to work with. I like to concentrating on the work I have in hand. I immerse myself in that completely and try making it as good as I possibly can. I dont waste my time thinking too much about the future. I like staying in the present rather than focussing about the past or the present.

Have you signed a new film?

Yes, there is a digital film but I cant talk about it right now. There are a lot of interesting digital films happening these days. So I am doing one of those with a very interesting cast.

You are an avid biker. Will we ever see you doing action on screen?

As an actor I really cant chose, I do what I get. But if I do get it, I would love to do an action role.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
The 2019 edition of the British Sikh Report (BSR) reveals that 78 per cent of the community surveyed want a formal apology from the British state for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and 85 per cent seek its inclusion in Britains school curriculum.

A commemoration event is scheduled on Saturday evening in the parliament complex in Westminster, when leading Indian-origin members of the House of Lords such as Raj Loomba and Meghnad Desai, will speak on the issue and the apology demand, besides members of the Jallianwala Bagh Centenary Commemoration Committee such as Vikramjit Singh Sahney and Manjit Singh GK, who have travelled from India.

The Theresa May government has reiterated the expression of deep regret over the massacre, but not an apology as demanded by the opposition Labour and others. The expression was repeated by the British high commissioner Dominic Asquith in Amritsar on Saturday.

Jagdev Singh Virdee, editor of the BSR, said: There are several major anniversaries this year, and the BSR team thought it was a good time to ask British Sikhs for their views on issues related to these key events.

It is interesting to see that more Sikhs want the Jallianwala Bagh massacre to be taught in schools than would want a formal apology from the government, he added.

Jallianwala Bagh is also the subject of a major exhibition in the Manchester Museum from April 11 to October 2. A collaboration between the University of Manchester and the Partition Museum, the exhibition it titled Jallianwala Bagh 1919: Punjab under seige.

Based on two years of research and curation by the Partition Museum (supported by the Jallianwala Bagh Centenary Commemoration Committee), the exhibition includes archival and audio-visual material which tells the narrative of the massacre through eyewitness accounts, photographs and official documents.

It also includes collections from the Manchester Museums Galleries Partnership, including Punjabi textiles from the Whitworth.

The exhibition includes artwork of the internationally renowned, contemporary, artists, The Singh Twins.

The artwork comprises three panels; the left provides historical context highlighting the oppression of India under the British Empire and Raj, the centre focuses on the massacre itself and how it divided opinion in India and Britain; and the right panel explores the impact and legacies of Jallianwala, referencing Indias freedom struggle.
Two senior US senators, who head the bipartisan India caucus in the upper chamber of congress, joined Friday a growing demand for the US trade representative (USTR) to delay a presidential proclamation terminating duty-free benefits for some imports from India by at least 30 days.

The proclamation is due in a fortnight on May 4, at the end of a 60-day notice period that started March 4 when the White House notified US congress of the Trump administrations intention to terminate Indias eligibility for the duty-free programme called the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).

Senators John Cornyn, Republican, and Mark Warner, Democrat, urged the USTR, Robert Lighthizer, in a joint letter to delay the presidential proclamation for at least 30 days in order to move the negotiations beyond Indias elections.

They added; We believe that the election season may serve as a hindrance for our Indian counterparts in negotiating and concluding a deal on difficult political issues.If another round of negotiations during the election season does not address the outstanding issues, we would ask you to consider delaying the issuance of the presidential proclamation.

Representative George Holding, the Republican co-chair of the India Caucus in the House of Representatives, made a similar appeal to the USTR in an earlier letter for delaying the proclamation till after the elections. It is important that we have a non-political conversation about our differences and how we can best move forward, and I am concerned that this is not the right time to address Indias GSP eligibility, he wrote.

Other US lawmakers have weighed in as well. My hope is that we can delay, the termination of these GSP preferences until after the elections in India so that we can have a non-political conversation that is very focused on how we collectively can move forward together, said Representative Tulsi Gabbard, former India caucus co-chair who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, at a recent event on Capitol Hill.

To be clear, the lawmakers, who are from both parties, have only sought more time for negotiations, but not a mitigation of the Trump administrations demands and efforts to address market access issues, which, Cornyn and Warner wrote, we fully appreciate and support.

In the notification to congress, the White House had cited only one reason for terminating the GSP benefits  India had not assured the United States that it will provide equitable and reasonable access to its markets for, not naming them, American dairy product and medical devices.

India is the largest beneficiary of the GSP and exported $5.6 billion worth of goods under the duty-free programme in 2017. It will have to pay an estimated $190 million in tariff on these exports, according to the government of India, if its eligibility for the benefits was ended, as intended by the administration.

Additionally, there are fears that India might also lose American buyers of thee goods because of the higher duty, which will make them costlier. American buyers can simply switch to other suppliers to keep their costs down and that will be terrible for the Indian supplies who are mostly small and medium enterprises, said a person close to the negotiations.

The two senators made a similar point in their letter to Lighthizer, arguing American consumers may be hit. The withdrawal of the concessions, they said, will make Indian exports of eligible products to the United States costlier because of the routine duties that will applied to them and some of these costs will likely be passed on to American consumers.

The USTR began a review f Indias GSP eligibility in 2018 citing lack of market access for American dairy products and medical devices and announced the administrations intention to remove India from the GSP list of around 190 beneficiaries citing failure to extract a positive assurance.

Though the termination decision was in the air, India was disappointed when it was announced because there was hope that it could be delayed till after the elections to allow negotiators more time to resolve issues that have dogged bilateral ties for a long time, from before President Donald Trump took office.

There was also a sense of being let down at the implicit lack of understanding Indias earnest efforts to address outstanding trade issues  drastically cutting duty on imported Harley-Davidson motorcycles, a pet issue for the president, and scaling up imports (oil and gas specifically, for instance) from the United States to drastically reduce its trade surplus, another of President Trumps trade goals.

Talks have continued. Commerce minister Suresh Prabhu told Hindustan Times recently India has given a package to [the] US, which will actually address many of the issues in proper manner.

There has been no word from the USTR or the administration if the proclamation, due in a fortnight now, will be delayed. But the United States appears in no mood to relent on the market access issues, and there is an understanding that its up to India to prevent the delisting, by conceding US demands.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 13)  The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is keeping a close watch on overseas absentee voting, saying they are expecting a voter turnout of from 20 to 30 percent.

Speaking to CNN Philippines Saturday, Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez said, "We're hoping for a high turnout, but of course we're tempering our expectations kasi midterm elections ito. And pangkaraniwan, pag midterm, talagang medyo mababa ang turnout natin."

[Translation: We're hoping for a high turnout, but of course we're tempering our expectations because these are midterm elections. And usually, during midterm elections, turnouts are low.]

The first day of overseas voting was uneventful, Jimenez said, although the Comelec is keeping a close eye on things.

There are 1,822,739 registered Filipino voters overseas, with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia having the most at 326,551.

Overseas voters will choose 12 senators and one party list.

Registered Filipino voters have until May 13 to cast their ballot, which they can do either at Philippine embassies in their area or by mail.

However, Jimenez told CNN Philippines most overseas votes are still sent by mail.

"We have very few consulates and embassies. And the reason why we use voting by mail is to spare our voters from having to travel long distances. So marami pa ring (There's still a lot) by mail. It's not so much na gusto nilang by mail, kung hindi (that they want to go by mail, if not), in many cases it's a necessity for them," he said.

There are however, areas where there will be no elections.

The Philippine Embassy in Damascus, Syria will have no elections due to the ongoing civil war in the country.

In a message to CNN Philippines Friday, Jimenez confirmed elections in Iraq and Libya were suspended until further notice.
The crowd was silent as a special video message was played during the award presentation that was sent from Logan Castleton, of Valparaiso, who is a friend of Mengels. Logan is a 14 year old boy who was 10 days old when he had his first open heart surgery, and has had over a dozen surgeries since then.
Even as we learn to grow our local populations in productive and mutually life-enhancing ways, we must also work together as quickly as possible to adapt to the new realities of a world with more water and less ice around us than at any time in the past 100,000 years. It becomes more apparent every day that we cant stop the melting and the volatile weather that accompanies it any easier than we can halt the migrations of earths creatures, ourselves included. We must find new ways, not merely adjustments to old ones, to do agriculture and manage animal husbandry. We must rethink the materials and designs of the structures in which we live and work, the distances between the two, and the ways we get from one to the other.
At trial, the government established that Snyders conduct consisted of a complicated, multi-year scheme in which he submitted numerous false documents, under oath, in an attempt to convince the IRS that he could not pay his business or personal income taxes, and, when that failed, that the IRS should forgo collection efforts and allow him to make low-installment payments toward the amount he owed, Koster said.
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As if last week's sleight of hand wasn't enough. 50 Cent's lift the courtesy he'd bestowed upon Wendy in the direct aftermath of her much-publicized meltdown. Unfortunately, the goodwill (convalescence) would only last as the shelf life of an unpasteurized dairy product. Within 24 hours 50 was back on the offensive with a "wounded" Wendy Williams as his target.

And yet, she wasn't the only target on Fiddy's mock-up this past week. Some were too brave for their own good - devoted opponents like Teairra Mari even went as far as to suggest they'd "ended his career." She doesn't lose anything by making such an audacious claim. In turn, her posturing does in itself bring about a far more interesting question about 50 Cent's daily life.

Why is it so difficult to define how 50 Cent keeps busy or earns his keep, besides entrepreneurial posturing he does on social media. These are questions we are evidently not in any position to answer. This week's mixture of rodeo clownery and copyright circumvention made it all the more difficult to get a read on the corruptible man.

Shareif Ziyadat/WireImage/Getty Images

SNEAKY, SNEAKY GETS THE GREASE.

The first order of business, or the last if you're keeping count in linear order, was 50's successful takeover of Teairra Mari's brand sets. Stopping her bag came to be quite easy. All he had to do was trademark the "I Ain't Got It" catchphrase she'd been milking for about a week now, ever since the release of a diss record bearing the same words in its title. To make matters even worse, Mari had just finished printing several batches of tee-shirts bearing the "I Ain't Got It" catchphrase. So, in essence, unless 50 Cent's copyright claim gets overturned, she can't turn on the tees, or the record itself. Ouch!

Image via Instagram

It all hearkens back to the paltry $30,000 in damages awarded to 50 Cent in Mari's revenge porn suit. In the 3 months that passed since the judge ushered a final verdict, no armistice was ever tabled, not even a payment plan, just pure unbridled pettiness. Say what you will, but two things ring true of her diss record debut "I Ain't Got It." For starters, she's from Detroit and she wears it proud - that gets covered ad nauseam within the body of the song. Secondly, you get a real sense she won't ponying the $30k sum the US Marshals come kicking down the door.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1116483550872842242



WHO'S GOT THE HAPS ON THE CRACK ROCK?

Everyone has their own way of dealing with hardship. For Wendy Williams, a fallacious conclusion by commenters like 50 Cent led people to believe that she was partying with her husband's mistress in a purgation of her emotions. That simply was never the case. Nope, the images we all saw of Wendy partying with her former massage therapist were doctored, but not on the photogenic level - only in translation. Turns out the photo 50 Cent used to mock Wendy Williams was taken in 2007, well before she saw ever learned of Sharina Hudson's marriage-killing ways.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwJ0kFJHLtj



"Bet this aint gonna be on hot topics Wendy, 50 wrote in an Instagram post making light of the situation. "Had you at the crib licking booty hun you know the Vibes." Days before making he made the above posting, a report was sent to the press by an anonymous source indicating that he had zero intentions of EVER squashing their beef, which leads me to my next talking point: 50 Cent's obsession with Wendy's rehabilitative efforts.

Back in March, Wendy Williams entered a "sober house" as advised by her inner-circle. Unsurprisingly, 50 Cent found a way to center himself in that discussion as well, by insinuating that Wendy was dealing with a crippling crack addiction. "What the fuck kinda Crack make you look like this," 50 Cent wrote on Instagram, a post depicting Williams in a frazzled state, by no means attributable to any such crack paraphernalia.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwJ3QAunFjf


Since late 2018, Suge Knight has been incarcerated at the RJ Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego. Knight was once a monumental figure in the hip hop community as co-founder and CEO of the legendary Death Row Records, but following a slew of personal, professional, and legal issues, Knight's found himself falling from grace.

In 2015, Knight ran over two men with his vehicleTerry Carter, co-founder of Heavyweight Records and a friend of Knight, and filmmaker Cle Sloanbefore fleeing the scene. Carter died from his injuries, and while witnesses claimed that the incident seemed intentional, Knight said it was self-defense. Knight later pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter, however, a judge sentenced him to 28 years in prison.



Paul Buck - Pool/Getty Images

Even though the 53-year-old is locked up, he always has his ear to the streets. TMZ recently spoke with Knight about the murder of Nipsey Hussle, and the former CEO told them that he believes that the slain rapper's quest for success and love for his neighborhood is what got him killed. "A lot of artists like Nipsey have the same problem that I had," Knight said. "We are too loyal to our neighborhood." He went on to say that many artists have the money and resources to move but they end up staying where they came from because "when you go around Hollywood it's all watered down."

Knight admitted that he would often visit his old stomping grounds to "get chili cheese fries and strawberries and talk to my lil' homies." Yet, he says, when one decides to go back to those neighborhoods to visit, those "lil' homies" are the ones you need to "help you survive." TMZ suggested that Knight was insinuating that the people around Nipsey could have done more to protect him.

Knight compared Nipsey to Tupac by saying, "I feel that Nipsey was trying to follow the same Tupac manual to the community. He came together with YG like Snoop did with Tupac." He hopes that Nipsey's legacy can unify Los Angeles in the years to come. "What's good is that all the hoods getting together now...we can be stronger considering what happens when we come together."
Young Thug's feud with YFN Lucci won't be coming to an end anytime soon. The two have been going at it for a minute now, and their feud was reignited earlier this year after Thug made some comments on Instagram Live. While things have been quiet for a few weeks between them, Thugger took to Instagram to poke at Lucci for being a "poor bitch."

A dancer at V-Live in Atlanta took to Instagram to throw some jabs at YFN Lucci for allegedly not coughing up enough loot at the strip club. She took to her Instagram Story and shared a video of a small pile of money on the stage with the caption, "Lucci came. Idk why."

"When everybody get fifteen dollars a piece," she said. "This how Lucci pull up."

Young Thug caught wind of the video and took to Instagram to add his own commentary to it. "Poor bitch," he said before he begins laughing.

Last month, Thug said that he'd "slap" YFN Lucci which prompted a back and forth between the two. Lucci said that Thug won't slap anybody before posting another video on his Instagram, tagging Thug's girlfriend, Jerrika Karlae, and writing, "Ya husband ain't nun."

YFN Lucci has yet to respond to Young Thug or the dancer's video but we'll keep you posted if he does.
The circumstances were perfect: I was meeting up with one of my best friends from college for our first visit to Portland, Ore., and held the eager anticipation of what kind of antics we would get into during the exciting weekend ahead. Yet, preparing for this short vacation led me to Google something I've never searched for before:

Is it legal to bring marijuana on a plane from one state to another if it's considered legal in both states?

Most websites' answers were a resounding, seemingly obvious "no." Go ahead, laugh at my naivety all you want. But after spending most of my life in the Midwest where recreational marijuana legalization seemed to be a far-off pipe dream, I honestly didn't have a clue. Nor did I think it was a question I would ever have the opportunity to ask.

Sure, I knew I could just buy whatever I wanted when I arrived in Portland, but after spending money on plane tickets, a few nights' stay in a hostel, and knowing I had other pending expenses ahead, I didn't want to drop even more cash on something I already had  legally.

SAVE MONEY: How to sprout your own marijuana seeds

I even took to Reddit to ask people on r/trees (a go-to subreddit for everything related to cannabis with over 1.3 million subscribers). Most of the responses there ranged from caring  "I wouldn't risk it, your weed will be waiting for you when you get back home :)"  to curt  "good luck getting caught and going to jail LOL."

So, I went the safe route and left my edible gummies I was planning on bringing at my apartment and begrudgingly purchased more when I got to Portland. Still, I knew I wasn't the only one questioning this legality. Whether you're traveling to Portland like I was, or other big cities where recreational marijuana is legal  say, Seattle, Denver, Las Vegas, or Boston  it seems contradictory to have to leave your cannabis products at home when the law is giving you the green light in both your own city and destination.

That's not to mention medical patients who need certain strains in order to combat chronic pain or alleviate symptoms of an illness. It was simple for me to just leave my weed at home, but what about patients for whom stopping usage can be detrimental to their health and well-being?

EXPLAINED: Here's the science behind cannabis therapies for pain, inflammation

Long after I returned from the trip, I had the answer to my question, but still wanted the details. Are CBD products okay at airports? Is a TSA dog really going to sniff me out? Jenny L. Burke from the Transportation Security Administration provided me with some answers that might help you on your next journey.

The short answer:

As soon as you head into that airport, marijuana is considered a controlled substance and is therefore illegal from a federal perspective.

So, carrying a joint through the TSA checkpoint at a California airport is illegal?

Yes  but that doesn't mean you'll necessarily get in trouble if you get caught. TSA says that officers are required to report "any suspected violations of law, including possession of marijuana and cannabis infused products." That being said, your weed likely isn't their priority  the safety of everyone else is. TSA's screening procedures are security-focused and designed to look for "potential threats" to aviation and passengers.

What about my CBD oil that I use for pain relief?

Yup, still illegal according to TSA guidelines. Again, they're not looking for it though.

What if I just kept my marijuana or CBD-infused products in my checked luggage?

This is also illegal in the eyes of the (federal) law which governs airports, and you don't want to mess with the random searches that TSA conducts. Still, the searches there prioritize heavy metal objects and bottles full of liquid  frequent suspicious objects that call for further inspection, again, for security reasons.

Do TSA dogs sniff for weed?

No. While some people think airport sniffer dogs will seek out illegal drugs, they're predominantly trained to sniff for explosives, and to sniff for things that could introduce an invasive species into a foreign ecosystem. There's more to it, though. Some dogs are trained to sniff for many drugs, but recent state court rulings on marijuana mean their keen noses for pot are no longer needed. They would return false positives on their work sniffing for other (illegal) drugs. They can't always be counted on to smell the right thing, and some are actually being eased out of the labor force because of this.

The bottom line:

TSA officers are required to report any suspected violations of law, including possession of marijuana and cannabis infused products. While they don't search for marijuana or other illegal drugs, in the event they find an illegal substance, they will refer the matter to a police officer to enforce state law. So, if you're in a state where cannabis is legal, local officers are not likely to do anything, even as federal possession laws apply  as long as you don't have eight pounds of weed chocolate.

It's up to you to decide whether to play it safe or be a little daring, but you're likely under less scrutiny than you might have previously perceived. Safe travels!

This story was originally published on GreenState.
President Donald Trump lacks the capacity to offer a creditable response to the crisis on our nations southern border.

His ham-handed attack on so-called sanctuary cities this week illustrates the problem.

Due to the fact that Democrats are unwilling to change our very dangerous immigration laws, we are indeed, as reported, giving strong considerations to placing Illegal Immigrants in Sanctuary Cities only, Trump tweeted on Friday morning.

The Radical Left always seems to have an Open Borders, Open Arms policy  so this should make them very happy! he continued.

This is a terrible idea, for a number of reasonsand Trumps allies think so, too.

In addition to being malicious, its illogical. Most of the immigrants who have been apprehended along our southern border, over the past year, have been detained in Texas cities such as El Paso and McAllen. And most of the leaders of south Texas are Democrats, who have already made it clear that they disapprove of Trumps draconian approach to the immigration enforcement.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Trump says the countrys full. Houston shows hes wrong.

Poncho Nevarez, a Democratic state representative from Eagle Pass, scoffed at the presidents threat to release migrants in his community.

Well take them. Our cities will be safer and theyll fuel our economy. Thanks pendejo, Nevarez tweeted Friday, in response to the news.

Also worth highlighting, though, is that Trump had apparently never even heard of this proposal prior to a few days ago, even though it emanated from the White House.

The sanctuary city proposal reported this week is therefore evidence that Trumps views on immigration and border security are subject to misrepresentation by his own supportersincluding White House staffers, such as senior policy advisor Stephen Miller.

On Wednesday, preparing to embark on a daylong trip to Texas, the president had disputed the notion that Miller has any particular influence over his administrations immigration policy.

He described his aide as wonderful and brilliant, before saying that theres only one person in charge of his administrations approach to immigration and border security.

You know who that is? Its me, Trump said, pointing to himself.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Policy advisor Stephen Millers influence with Donald Trump is bad news for Texans

Then, after arriving in Texas, Trump confidently asserted that the Central Americans seeking asylum in the United States are hoping to steal your car.

Suppose like I said, Lets have an open border, the president said, as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, perched at his left elbow, silently looked on.

Theyll flood your houses, Trump continued, Theyll shoot you. Theyll take over your house. Theyll take your car and theyll probably stay there.

He did not explain why a migrant who murdered you and stole your house would choose to live in your car.

These comments also spurred me to wonder whether the president, who is from the Queens borough of New York City and has lived most of his adult life in Manhattan, is actually licensed to drive; many New Yorkers arent.

My research into that question was interrupted by reports, on Thursday, that the White House has been mulling the idea of releasing migrants detained along our southern border into cities, led by Democrats, with sanctuary policies. Sanctuary cities limit cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration officials by limiting access to jails or not complying with detainer requests. Many of Texas major cities including Houston had adopted such policies, only to see them preempted in 2017 by the passage of a sweeping statewide sanctuary cities ban.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Border security debates should be grounded in reality

The idea has been raised by one to two principals that, if we are unable to build sufficient temporary housing, that caravan members be bused to small- and mid-sized sanctuary cities, wrote May Davis, the deputy White House policy coordinator, in a Nov. 16 email to officials at the Department of Homeland Security.

The subject line of the email, which was reviewed by the New York Times and the Washington Post, was Sanctuary City Proposal. And Davis seemed to understand that the suggestion would beto put it mildlycontroversial.

There is NOT a White House decision on this, she wrote.

The officials who received the email responded by highlighting some of the obvious problems with the suggestion.

For example Michael Albence, who is acting deputy director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, explained that busing migrants inland would create an unnecessary operational burden on the agency, as well as expose it to liability, should an accident occur.

The White House nonetheless revived the idea in February, after Trump forced the longest federal government shutdown in the nations history when congressional leaders refused to provide funding for his long-sought border wall.

And that time, according to DHS whistleblowers, the White House officials floating the proposal made it clear that their motive was political. Their reasoning was that such a scheme would pressure Democrats such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco.

Trumps allies were quick to disavow the scheme once its existence was reported.

The president himself, however, clearly didnt get the memo. His tweets on Friday came in response to news reports about the Sanctuary City Proposal that the deputy White House policy coordinator floated last year.

The proposal isnt a good one, and the fact that it was news to the president is ominous too. Most Americans disagree with Trumps approach to immigration and border security. None of us can have confidence in his ability to handle the issue.

erica.grieder@chron.com
Cardinal Daniel DiNardo continues his recovery from a stroke he suffered in March, the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston said Friday.

DiNardo completed his rehabilitation program at TIRR Memorial Hermann and was released from the hospital on April 5.

Five days later, DiNardo was well enough to attend a dinner for priests serving in the archdiocese that was hosted at St. Mary's Seminary.

The archdiocese said DiNardo will continue outpatient therapy in the coming weeks as he gradually returns to his duties.

WITNESS: Cardinal DiNardo complained of leg problems during parish ceremony

DiNardo, who leads the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, has been under mounting pressure to address the church's handling of child sex abuse allegations involving priests since the release last year of an extensive report by a Pennsylvania grand jury. He has also faced questions about his own response to allegations against former Conroe priest Manuel La Rosa-Lopez, who has been charged with four counts of indecency with a child.

HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Amid abuse crisis, DiNardo carries hope for church reform

DiNardi moved from the Sioux City, Iowa, diocese to Houston in 2004, was elevated to archbishop in 2006 and was named cardinal in 2007.

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.
AUSTIN  Lawmakers are again trying to undermine Agriculture Commissioner Sid Millers consumer protection efforts, this time by taking away his power to oversee gasoline quality.

Despite Millers objections, the Texas Senate passed a bill 27-4 on Thursday that would shift regulation of motor fuel quality and metering to the state Department of Licensing and Regulation. A similar bill won committee approval in the House earlier this month and is expected to be brought to the floor in the coming weeks.

The move comes amid frustration from the Texas Food and Fuel Association that Millers agency is ratcheting up enforcement measures and inspection fees for vendors despite a low percentage of valid fuel complaints. Of 1 billion fuel transactions in Texas last fiscal year, there are just 187 transactions in which a problem was found, such as water in the gas, said Paul Hardin, president of the association representing gas stations and convenience stores.

The cost of the inspections varies depending on location, according to Hardin, ranging from $250 in urban areas to more than $500 in rural Texas.

Hardin has said his organization has found Miller to be vindictive. The group endorsed his opponent in the 2018 Republican primary election.

Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

The industry is regulated by an elected position and a lot of times the industry is used  as political hay during the re-election process, said Hardin, who added that elected officials can be seen on television talking about quality of fuel at gas stations, but theyre not talking about the eggs they found cracks in at the grocery stores.

Miller counters that the association is not to be trusted and shifting responsibility for overseeing gas quality to a new agency will screw consumers.

As Ive always said, here at TDA there are three things we do not tolerate: liars, cheats and horse thieves, Miller wrote in a letter. I can add TFFA to this list.

For subscribers: Heres why Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is missing three key endorsements in his re-election bid

Lawmakers last tried to water down Millers oversight of gas stations in 2017, requiring a third party to investigate gas stations for the Department of Agriculture after three complaints about a vendor are filed in a year. Miller opposed that law, complaining it allowed gas stations to cheat at least three people before the state can step in. He then required gas stations to pay for the inspections since they are no longer performed directly by the department.

That same year, Miller caught heat for how he enforced laws overseeing barbecue restaurant scales. He began enforcing a long-ignored law requiring pitmasters to weigh food on a scale where customers can read the weight for themselves. Barbecue restaurant owners complained, saying they would have to undergo costly renovations to meet those standards. They convinced lawmakers to rewrite the law in 2017 to exempt scales weighing food that people are buying to eat immediately. When Miller was tasked with enforcing the law, he determined that the exemption would only apply to establishments where food to-go is not sold  meaning it would not apply to the vast majority of barbecue restaurants.

For subscribers: Texas Ag commissioner, BBQ pitmasters battle over a weighty issue

The agriculture commissioners job is largely to promote local products such as cattle and cotton, although the job also requires the commissioner act as a consumer watchdog to ensure people get their moneys worth when buying Texas products. The Department of Agriculture regulates scales for some 17,7000 retailers, including grocery stores, coffee shops and jewelers. The agency also inspects meters at airports used to fuel planes, gas station pumps and liquefied petroleum gas meters for filling small tanks for backyard gas grills.

Miller has positioned himself as a staunch defender of consumer protections since he was elected to lead the Department of Agriculture in 2014.

This is isn't about personalities or politics. This is about big money lobbyists pushing bad bills that protect their industry at the cost of every Texan that fills up at the pump, Miller said in a written statement to the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News.
A motion to re-open the case of 11-year-old Laura Maradiaga to prevent her deportation has been drafted and will be submitted to immigration court early next week, the girls lawyer said Friday.

Laura entered the country in October with her mother and older sister. They sought asylum from the gang violence that took the lives of relatives and friends in their rural home in El Salvador.

After identifying themselves to U.S. government officials at the southern border, they were released to pursue their asylum case, and since then have complied with court orders and appearance dates.

IN EL PASO: System at breaking point with surge of migrant families and no quick fix

The family had a March 12 court appearance. Thats when a translator told Dora Alvarado that her 11-year-old was not on the court docket that day. A judge then issued a deportation order because the girl failed to appear in court.

Where any miscommunication happened in the familys immigration proceedings is unclear.

I believe the Office of Principal Legal Advisor [within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] will not oppose the motion and I am hoping for a good outcome on this case, Silvia Mintz, the girls lawyer said in a statement.

The possibility of Lauras deportation without her family drew public outrage and concern Friday as her story made local, national and international headlines.

AT ISSUE: Eleven-year-old ordered deported without her family

FIEL, a local immigration advocacy group that helped connect Lauras family to Mintz, has received numerous calls, texts and emails from individuals and families from across the U.S. and even abroad asking about how they could help, a group spokesman said.

In response, FIEL will set up a GoFundMe fundraiser to help cover a years worth of basic cost of living expenses for Lauras family including rent and food.

We will continue to support this family during this very difficult process, Cesar Espinosa, FIELs executive director, said in a statement. We understand that this is only the beginning of a long journey for them and we hope that we may be able to be with them every step of the way.

Espinosa added that he hopes families in similar situations reach out to FIEL and other organizations to assist them through the complicated immigration system in the United States.
A suspect who allegedly pointed a gun at a Houston police officer was shot in the leg Saturday and transported to the hospital in fair condition, officials said.

HPD commanders responded at about 10:15 a.m. to reports of the shooting on Alabama Street near Texas Southern University. A sergeant shot a 17-year-old suspect after he aimed a weapon at the officer, HPD executive assistant chief Troy Finner said.
A proposed settlement in the landmark Harris County bail lawsuit would significantly change how the county treats poor defendants in misdemeanor cases by providing free social and transportation services and relaxing penalties for missed court dates.

The draft deal includes a number of reforms aimed at ensuring poor defendants arrive for court hearings and are not unfairly pressured into guilty pleas. They would, among other changes: require Harris County to provide free child care at courthouses, develop a two-way communication system between courts and defendants, give cell phones to poor defendants and pay for public transit or ride share services for defendants without access to transportation to court.

Im not aware of any county, or city the size of Houston doing those type of innovative things, said Mary McCord, a former federal prosecutor who filed an amicus brief in the case on behalf of the poor defendants. Ultimately, the county is going to save so much money by not keeping these people in jail.

The proffered agreement would require the county to operate at least one night or weekend docket to provide a more convenient opportunity for defendants with family, work and education commitments. Courts would be barred from charging any fees to poor defendants, defined as those earning less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level, which is about $25,000 for someone with no dependents.

The proposal also would reduce penalties for missed court dates. A defendant could not be deemed to have failed to appear if he arrived in court on the day assigned, even if he was hours late. Defendants would be allowed to reschedule court appearances for any reason at least two times without negative consequences. Judges only could issue bench warrants 30 days after a missed a court appearance, so long as the court already has attempted to contact the defendant with a rescheduled hearing date.

In addition, judges would be required to permit defendants to skip hearings where their presence is unnecessary, such as routine meetings between prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges that do not involve testimony or fact-finding.

At the heart of the 23-page proposed settlement, a copy of which was obtained by the Houston Chronicle, is the codification of a new bail schedule unveiled by the slate of newly elected of criminal judges in January, under which about 85 percent of people arrested on misdemeanors automatically qualify for release on no-cash bonds.

Our current goal now is to become the model misdemeanor court system in America, said Harris County Criminal Court at Law Judge Darrell Jordan, a bail reform advocate and the only Democrat on the misdemeanor bench when the case began. I think the proposals in the settlement, as far as the wraparound services for misdemeanor defendants, is a great step in that direction.

Among the more unusual provisions of the proposed settlement is the creation of a bail education program to protect against renewed efforts to mislead or misinform the public about the history of constitutional violations, the harms of pretrial detention, empirical evidence concerning secured money bail and the functioning of the misdemeanor bail system in Harris County.

The county would be required to develop a curriculum for use in public schools and install exhibits on bail reform in the lobby of the criminal courthouse, in the office of County Court at Law Judges and the Harris County Jail.

The proposal also would require courts to schedule hearings at least three days after misdemeanor defendants are released from jail, to ensure they have an opportunity to address the disruption in their lives caused by the arrest, according to the draft.

Officials envision paying for those programs, in part, with the money the county saves by diverting defendants from the Harris County Jail, which currently has a daily cost of $80 per inmate.

Investing that money into such pretrial services would lead to better outcomes, said Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis, who has sided with the plaintiffs since his election.

Advancing meaningful change to our broken bail system to ensure all people are treated equally and fairly under the law requires holistic reform, Ellis said. That means ensuring due process and equal protection in our courtrooms, as well as the breaking down the barriers that prevent access to justice in our communities.

Any proposed settlement would need to be approved by Harris County Commissioners Court, the plaintiffs attorneys and U.S. District Court Judge Lee H. Rosenthal, who is overseeing the lawsuit. Rosenthal ruled in April 2017 that the countys cash bail system was unconstitutional because it kept some indigent defendants in jail solely because they were unable to afford bail. A group of poor misdemeanor defendants brought the class action in 2016.

A Chronicle review of more than 100 Harris County misdemeanor cases last year revealed a pretrial system that provides little support or supervision for poor defendants, who are most at risk of failing to appear in court.

To date, Harris County has spent $9.2 million defending the case, First Assistant County Attorney Robert Soard said. Since the 15 Republican misdemeanor judges named as defendants in the case were swept out of office last November, attorneys for the county, the hearing officers and poor defendants have worked together on the settlement.

Commissioners Court met briefly in executive session to discuss the settlement at its regular meeting Tuesday, but took no action. Soard declined to discuss the negotiations, but said the county hopes to settle as quickly as possible. Allan Van Fleet, an attorney representing the misdemeanor judges, predicted the parties would settle within 30 days.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo issued a statement late Friday stressing that the proposal is preliminary, and could change.

Were working well with the plaintiffs to reach an agreement that will provide a model for bail reform around the country while also being feasible for the county to implement, she said.

Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia said he is eager to negotiate a settlement that balances the needs of defendants against those of victims and county taxpayers. He declined to speak to specific provisions in the proposed settlement, but said he has concerns that some may be too expensive or unrealistic.

Ill just say theres a number of things that immediately hit me like, Im not sure how were going to do that, Garcia said.

Precinct 3 Commissioner Steve Radack and Precinct 4s Jack Cagle panned the proposal, which they said is too broad. The pair of Republicans said it should instead focus on implementing bail rules that ignore a defendants ability to pay.

If my learned colleagues are going to strive for free Uber rides for the accused, Id strongly advocate we provide the same to victims, Cagle said.

The draft agreement does not detail the cost of the proposed pretrial programs, though it includes a section dedicated to how savings from holding fewer defendants in jail would be shifted to them. The county would be required to create a comprehensive system for calculating the savings generated from bail reform, and invest at least 50 percent of that sum into pretrial programs.

Since misdemeanor judges began using the new bail rules on Feb. 16, the population at the Harris County Jail has decreased 218 inmates, to 7,971. That drop saves the county about $17,500 per day. Sheriff Ed Gonzalez credited bail reform, in part, for helping the county stop outsourcing the housing of inmates to Louisiana last year.

The settlement proposal seeks to make court appearances less onerous for defendants.

Kelvin Banks, director of the countys pretrial services division, said the child care, cell phone and transportation programs would remove barriers that regularly cause defendants to miss court dates. He acknowledged Harris County residents may be wary to see tax dollars spent on people accused of crimes, though he said a pilot program last year that provided free public transit to defendants saved the county money.

It costs the county less in bus tickets than to investigate a failure to appear, with all the resources it takes, Banks said.

The deal also would set a case limit for public defenders and add attorneys to meet the offices workload. Chief Public Defender Alex Bunin said since the county roughly doubled his budget in February, he has the necessary resources.

The settlement will not raise costs for our office at this point, Bunin said.

Rosenthal and the parties are due back in federal court for a status conference on Tuesday.

zach.despart@chron.com

www.twitter.com/zachdespart
Shortly after moving to northern Brazoria County, Evan Moskowitz noticed there was something odd about Texas 288.

I mean, its huge, Moskowitz said, noting the four-lane highways enormous grass median and wide shoulders. You could fit two freeways there.

Pretty soon, there will be, a nod to explosive growth in southern Harris and northern Brazoria counties and the constant need for faster trips into key workforce centers, including the Texas Medical Center.

Crews are in the home stretch of construction of two toll lanes in each direction from Interstate 69 to the Brazoria County line  more than 10 miles of tollway along with major rebuilds of key interchanges at Loop 610 and the Sam Houston Tollway.

Yet, as the tollway being built down the center of Texas 288 races to completion, there are elements that are less certain.

Conceived at a time when tolling was leaned on by lawmakers as a way to expand roads without increasing taxes, charging drivers lately has fallen from political favor, even as thousands are willing to pay.

ALVIN FREEWAY: Long-sought link could start with Spur 5 extension

Meanwhile the work lies between two eras of Houstons recent flooding history: It was designed before heavy rains in 2015, 2016 and 2017 prompted local residents and officials to rethink flood control and storm water. It will open without any of the changes those discussions created.

That has led to worry that replacing that wide median of trees and grass with a long ribbon of concrete will worsen already well-known flooding problems along Texas 288 and many Houston neighborhoods.

The project includes massive new overpasses at key interchanges, along with new lanes. With those lanes will come new detention ponds and stormwater plans  though many question whether those will have a positive effect.

With the geographical changes that this project has done, I dont see any way possible it will get better, sad Tomaro Bell, president of the MacGregor Park Super Neighborhoood Association.

First, however, crews have to finish it, something officials say remains on pace for later this year despite months of wet weather.

Were working along the entire 10.3 miles, so everything is coming together quickly, said Raynese Edwards, spokesman for the Drive 288 project.

Private Project

Though the new tollway is entirely within the states right of way, the development agreement is structured so the private joint venture that designed and built the road receives the toll revenue to pay off the nearly $900 million building cost and future costs to maintain the toll road and highway until 2066. Blueridge Transportation Group won the job, estimated at $2.3 billion over the next half-century.

Blueridge is a consortium of worldwide construction, finance and development companies. It has six partners, but is led by the Spanish construction giant Grupo ACS, global investment firm InfraRed Capital Partners and the Israeli building and real estate company Shikun & Binui Ltd.

Such development agreements remain controversial amid fears that private companies exert too much control. Critics say the projects allow companies to reap profits, but leave the state to deal with any losses.

This legislative session in Austin, lawmakers filed a dozen bills related to reigning in or expanding comprehensive development agreements, for specific projects such as Interstate 35 in Austin, or numerous projects such as the planned managed lanes along Interstate 45 in Houston and smaller projects in the Rio Grande Valley. None has been debated in either chambers transportation committees.

The 288 project is the first comprehensive development agreement poised to open in the Houston region, and faced less opposition than others during development, in part because of the demand for more lanes along Texas 288.

I dont have a problem with tolls, you can pay them or not, as long as (officials) are doing something about the traffic, said Brazoria County resident Paul Chen, who commutes daily into the Texas Medical Center.

OUT OF CONTROL: Houstons roads, drivers are countrys most deadly

Addressing it, however, has been a major task, with at times nearly 1,000 workers spread across the project. Opinions about how well the work is proceeding, however, can be as varied as the drivers dodging every curve and bump through the work zones.

Every week there is something different, said Chen, 36, noting that leads to confusion for drivers who often are going too fast or not expecting a quick lane change.

Work is concentrated and most noticeable at the interchanges with the Sam Houston Tollway and Loop 610 South, as well as through south Houston neighborhoods Inside the Loop.

Ramps rise in various stages of progress, with one more summer rush to go. At Loop 610, as new ramps open, crews close the freeway to demolish the old ones. The complicated interchange also requires a complete rebuild of the freeway lanes along Texas 288, which will thread through the new confluence by curving away from the toll road, then back adjacent to it.

Loop 610 also is receiving a rebuild through the heart of the interchange. In a few weeks, that work will shift to the new portion of the freeway, opening the loop back to three lanes in each direction through the area, said Gabby Ben-Abraham, project manager for Almeda Genoa Contractors, the company created to build the project.

Traffic is less chaotic but no less bustling at the Sam Houston Tollway, where workers are building ramps to the new toll road. Soaring concrete pillars stand in the scraped earth as workers pour concrete and prepare for the next section of steel girders that will carry the road through the interchange. To accommodate nearby entrance and exit ramps, some of the sweeping overpasses travel more than a mile, curving over the Sam Houston Tollway before turning sharply for a descent to the new southbound toll road.

LIGHT RAIL: Metro scaling back future transit plans to one line to Hobby airport

Between the interchanges, where crews can confine their labors to the wide median, the effects are felt less by commuters, but significant work remains. Southern Harris County is criss-crossed by several creeks and bayous, not to mention many local streets.

Every place there is a bridge along (Texas) 288, we have to build a bridge in the middle, Ben-Abraham said.

That includes across Brays Bayou, which requires coordination with local and federal officials for flood control.

Provided weather does not delay efforts substantially, Edwards said the toll lanes remain on track to open later this year or in early 2020. Work starts in a few weeks on the building near Texas 288 and Holcombe that the company will use as a corporate office for the project.

Meanwhile TxDOT and company officials are sorting out whether to add sound barriers along part of the project. Neighborhood groups and local organizers, including Bell, have urged the company to add walls because they believe the wider freeway  specifically the loss of the trees in the median  has made noise filter further into nearby neighborhoods.

Its an issue. Maybe when they studied it they said it wasnt an issue, but it is, Bell said. You have people blocks away that can now hear it that couldnt before.

Worried About Water

Then there are the worries about flooding. Beneath the behemoth new ramps at Loop 610 is a huge expanse of largely unseen land upon which much of the projects public benefit is reliant. It is here, builders hope, that the flooding that has been common along the freeway finds its way, draining into what, essentially, are man-made lakes tucked into two of the four corners of the interchange. Connected by a massive pipe below the freeway, the basins are not intended to solve the flooding issues, but give nature time to work out the drainage. Box culverts connect the pipes from the freeway to Brays Bayou, on which the entire areas drainage relies.

The basins are designed to give stormwater someplace to go when Brays is inundated. Right now, the freeways flow directly is tied to the bayou. In each of the past four years, at least one heavy rain has led to severe flooding at the freeway.

Edwards said officials are optimistic the work will improve matters, but are not claiming they have solved widespread, often community-wide flaws in flooding management and policy.

Weve just updated that which needed some updating, which should help, Edwards said, noting the project meets Texas requirement for drainage based on 100-year storms, and designs do not account for what development around the new freeway will do to the watershed. Nothing will help on those occasions when Mother Nature dumps five or six inches of rain in an hour, he added.

Residents remain less optimistic. Some have a hard time believing big ditches can accommodate for miles of lost grass and dirt, or that builders have considered the rainfall consequences for the entire area.

What we didnt want was the removal of all that permeable ground, Bell said.

Now, flooding on the freeway is just one concern, she added. In past rains, residents grew to appreciate that the freeway flooding meant that water was not coming into their neighborhood. Now they wonder where it will go with the tollway in place.

(Texas) 288 is our detention pond, Bell said. I dont want someone to change that because someone gave them $1.50.

dug.begley@chron.com

twitter.com/DugBegley
The power of music to bring people together and transcend boundaries has motivated the famed cellist and global humanitarian Yo-Yo Ma since he began performing nearly six decades ago.

Beyond the lyrical notes he plays on his cello, he strives to use culture and art to make a better world.

His most recent foray in this endeavor is the Bach Project, begun last year. Over two years, Ma is performing Johann Sebastian Bachs six suites for solo cello in 36 locations on six continents. Hes already visited places as disparate as Montreal and Mumbai.

In addition to the concerts, the project features Days of Action that seek to harness music and culture to bridge divides and heal in a divisive time.

The goal is to find commonalities in the issues we all face, from border crossings of one sort or another to changing populations, he said in an interview Friday. And Bach is my calling card, the best I have to offer.

Ma is scheduled to play a sold-out concert Friday night at Trinity Universitys Laurie Auditorium, and on Saturday will bring the project to Laredo and Nuevo Laredo, for cross-border performances and community conversations. The concerts are presented by ARTS San Antonio.

About the performances The 8 p.m. Laurie Auditorium concert will be simulcast at both the Mission Marquee Plaza, 3100 Roosevelt Avenue, and at Texas A&M International University in Laredo. The Mission Marquee show will kick off an hour before Ma is slated to take the stage at Trinity. Urban-15's Carnaval de Santo will perform, as will the winners of the music portion of KPAC's annual Sounds Like KPAC teen talent competition: violinist Nicholas Garcia-Hettinger, who is a student at Brandeis High School; and the Saxalorian Quartet, a saxophone ensemble based at Churchill High School that includes Ian Weidman on soprano sax, Craig Jaffe on alto sax, Ricky Dixon on tenor sax and Abbi Stewart on baritone sax. The Day of Action in Laredo will end with a free pachanga at Tres Laredos Park, from 2 to 7 p.m., that will include a performance at 4 p.m. by Ma, the Laredo Philharmonic and mariachis of "Rapsodia," a piece by Laredo composer Colin Campbell about the power of music to bring people together. See More Collapse

Ma, 63, the son of Chinese immigrants who emigrated from Paris to New York when he was a child, said the events in los dos Laredos get to the very heart of the Bach Project.

This is about bringing understanding, what we do when we want to find out what the truth is, said Ma, who during the interview was warm, funny and humble. That is at the basis of culture and the trust that exists between people.

As he talked of borders and the struggles associated with them, Ma kept the discourse elevated and hopeful, never once descending into partisan attack or even mentioning the name Trump, arguably the fount of so much discord around the issue.

On Saturday, Ma will give a short performance at 9 a.m. at Tres Laredos Park on the banks of the Rio Grande near the Gateway to the Americas International Bridge, which connects Laredo to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. He will give a repeat performance at Plaza Juarez in Nuevo Laredo at 11 a.m.

Both are free and open to the public.

On ExpressNews.com: Yo-Yo Ma brings Bach project to San Antonio

The cellist had been scheduled to play on the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge, which connects the two cities, but the concert was moved to the park to avoid disruption and delays at the U.S.-Mexico border.

As it has in other locales, the Day of Action will feature meetings with artists, students, civic leaders and others, conversations that aim to celebrate the cultural life of the area and explore ways culture can be used to build a better future, Ma said.

The heated rhetoric around immigration made the stops in San Antonio and at the border  the only Texas destinations in the Bach Project  a natural choice, Ma said.

From the beginning of this project, I wanted to go to places that are difficult, he said. I wanted to experiment with myself and learn what happens when you just see and talk to people.

Ma said people too often get caught up in fear about places that is not based in reality  something he personally experienced before when he hesitated about performing in countries or cities with dangerous reputations. But once on the ground, surrounded by members of the community, those fears dissipated in the light of connection, he said.

He hopes the conversations in Laredo and Nuevo Laredo will forge collaborative, creative solutions envisioned by those living on the area.

Ill be talking and listening very specifically, and will report back to whoever wants to hear about what we found, he said.

Previous Bach Project performances and actions days have taken place at Washingtons National Cathedral, Montreals Maison Symphonique, Mumbais National Center for the Performing Arts and Mexico Citys Plaza de la Republica.

Ma has been involved in activism and various efforts to use music and art to transform communities for decades, long before the current project. For example, in 1998, he founded Silkroad, a global collective of artists who create music, perform together and work with museums and universities to develop training programs for teachers, students and musicians.

Silkroad has commissioned more than 100 new works from various composers and arrangers and released seven albums, most recently a collection of music recorded for The Vietnam War, the documentary by Ken Burns.

On ExpressNews.com: Yo-Yo Ma delights San Antonio audience

Ma, who has recorded more than 100 albums and won 19 Grammy Awards, said performing all six suites for solo cello is akin to climbing Mount Everest.

He performed them 25 years ago at Carnegie Hall and likened the experience to a spiritual journey, for himself and the audience.

Why did he choose Bach for his world-spanning project? The composer, like Shakespeare, is timeless, he said.

What we love about Shakespeare is that he includes all of what we humans do, he said. Every kind of human foible, what we go through again and again. Frivolity, hubris. Comedy and tragedy. What Shakespeare and Bach do is they examine all sides of human nature without saying, I know everything. Bach tells the story empathetically but he doesnt make himself important.

Ma spoke of seeing the Berlin Wall years ago, and how there were bouquets of flowers placed every 50 feet along the wall, marking where someone was shot and killed trying to climb over it.

I thought at that time that every U.S. citizen, every young person, should go to the Berlin Wall and actually experience what people are willing to die for in order to go someplace else, he said.

Im in no way putting those two walls,  the Berlin Wall and that along the U.S.-Mexico border  side by side. What I want to say is we should be extra careful about how we treat one another across borders. Not just the invisible lines between socioeconomic or ethnic divides, but those lines you create. We will pay the consequences for that long after.

Melissa Fletcher Stoeltje is a general assignment reporter covering breaking news, cultural trends and interesting people and goings-on around San Antonio and Bexar County, as well as all across South Texas. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | mstoeltje@express-news.net | Twitter: @mstoeltje
The plan to get humans to the moon four years earlier than expected is taking shape in NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine's mind, and he's pretty sure it's doable.

First, the agency will launch two Orion spacecrafts -- one with human and one without -- around the moon on the back of the government's heavy-lift rocket by 2023. Then, the agency plans to enlist the help of a commercial company to rocket pieces of a space station into the moon's orbit by 2024. Finally, officials will shuffle the government's rocket manifest to use its last flight in 2024 to send humans to that moon station instead of a probe to Europa, Jupiter's moon.

And while all this is being done, NASA will be developing a human lunar lander to take astronauts from the moon station, called the Lunar Orbital-Platform Gateway, to the surface.

That's a lot to do in five years. But more than anything, the problem is money.

"We've had strong bipartisan support and we've had strong budget requests in the past," Bridenstine said in an interview with the Houston Chronicle on Saturday. "But this is another level of support, so we'll find out."

Bridenstine was at Rice University speaking at the Owls in Space Symposium on Saturday.

Under President Donald Trump's leadership, NASA's plan was to put humans back on the moon by 2028. But then last month, Vice President Mike Pence directed the agency to accelerate that timeline to 2024 using "any means necessary."

This announcement was met with cynicism, especially since the president's most recent budget request called for a $500 million cut to the agency in the coming year. And that, of course, would not be enough.

So, NASA is working up a budget that would allow for faster operations without sacrificing safety. Bridenstine said he will deliver that budget to Congress in late April or early May.

He's not sure how much more money will be needed, but hopes that the request will ask Congress for multi-year funding for the moon programs so that political whims and changing support do not jeopardize the 2024 plan by eliminating money needed.

"Year-by-year funding is risky," he said. 'This would reduce the risk."

Also at risk of jeopardizing the moon 2024 plan is the government's problem-plagued, heavy lift rocket. The Space Launch System rocket, being built by Boeing, was supposed to launch Orion in 2017.

It has continued to fall behind schedule, however, and Boeing most recently told NASA it couldn't make the June 2020 launch date, which was supposed to send Orion without a crew around the moon.

This wouldn't do, especially after Pence's directive. The agency examined whether it would be better to use a commercial rocket to launch Orion instead -- and it found a viable option -- but NASA decided that it still wouldn't meet the launch deadline.

Bridenstine said agency officials have found a way to speed up the first SLS launch so that it is only six months behind schedule. But the agency is developing a commercial backup plan just in case SLS continues to experience problems.

The agency needs another SLS -- or an equally powered machine -- to send the first crewed Orion around the moon by 2023 and a third to the Gateway by 2024. The Europa Clipper, which was supposed to hitch a ride to Jupiter's moon on the third SLS, would then be launched via a commercial rocket.

"This is something we're thinking about for a second or third effort should [the Space Launch System rocket] continue to be challenged," Bridenstine told the Houston Chronicle on Saturday. "When we think about 2023/2024, we have another option that we can start putting together the pieces of right now if we want to and we're going through that process."

Bridenstine said the agency already is working on a lunar lander to take humans to the surface. It still will need to find a commercial company to launch the elements of the Gateway into the moon's orbit by 2024.

Alex Stuckey writes about NASA and science for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach her at alex.stuckey@chron.com or Twitter.com/alexdstuckey.
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iciHaiti - Diplomacy : 3 new accredited ambassadors





Thursday at the National Palace, President Jovenel Moses, received the credentials of three new ambassadors accredited to Haiti. These are their Excellencies Jehanne Roccas (Kingdom of Belgium), Annemieke Verrijp (Kingdom of the Netherlands) and Francisco Javier Torres Gonzales (Republic of Panama).



These new ambassadors renewed their commitments to maintain close ties of friendship and strengthen bilateral cooperation between Haiti and their respective countries.



President Moise also reassured these ambassadors of his willingness to work together for the harmonious development of relations between Haiti and these three friendly countries.



IH/ iciHaiti


















This year,  is celebrating its 70th anniversary. This military alliance, which was formed under completely different circumstances in 1949, is currently advocating for its post-Cold War existential necessity. This has become more complicated since Donald Trump came to power more than two years ago. Trump does not publicly value NATO. On the one hand, he is hoping for a rapprochement between the U.S. and Russia, and on the other, he demands that U.S.'s European partners spend more on defense, generating new rifts in transatlantic relations. Trump mystified American allies  once again  a few weeks ago when he said he was strongly considering NATO membership for Brazil while welcoming his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro to the White House.



But Trump's rhetoric is not NATO's most important problem these days. By contrast, it is the ongoing misunderstanding between the U.S. and Turkey that significantly overshadows developments within the Western military alliance. This rift became evident during the "NATO Engages" Washington Summit at the beginning of the month. Amid the celebrations, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence warned Turkey against purchasing S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems from Russia and urged the country to choose if it wanted to remain a critical NATO partner or undermine the organization. Turkey's decision and response was cutting. Vice President Fuat Oktay wrote on Twitter that it was the U.S. who had to choose and either remain Turkey's ally or jeopardize their bilateral friendship by joining forces with terrorists.

For approximately six years the U.S. and Turkey have been at odds about the future of Syria. Washington considers the Kurdish military forces (YPG) an important ally. Ankara, for its part, believes they are a terrorist organization and is determined to eliminate them in the name of the global war against the Islamic State. So far, two Turkish military operations have taken place in Syria, the Euphrates Shield, from August 2016 to March 2017, and Operation Olive Branch, from January to March 2018. The risk of a military clash between American and Turkish troops stationed in Syria was high last year and could re-emerge in the future.

Subsequently, Turkey's decision to buy the S-400 missile system seems contradictory. Washington is worried that Russia will exploit the opportunity to gain access to NATO's sensitive technology. Ankara, by contrast, responds that it needs the S-400 for defensive purposes and does not consider its military deal with Russia as a violation NATO rules. However, this has failed to persuade Washington, which is now starting to take some measures against Turkey. The Pentagon, for example, has announced its decision to halt the delivery of equipment related to the stealth F-35 fighter aircraft to Turkey.



The U.S. is closely monitoring Turkish foreign policy and is concerned about additional flashpoints in their bilateral partnership, such as Ankara's decision to defy sanctions imposed on Iran. Currently, Washington does not fully trust Erdogan. At present, the scenario where Turkey leaves NATO seems unrealistic, however, this possibility is already being discussed among some American elite circles and think tanks. Currently, there is no provision to expel Turkey from the Western military alliance and Turkey itself has no intention to exit. Rather, a grand bargain is taking place where one side is endeavoring to impose some of its terms on the other. The consequences of the backroom deal-making are, at present, unknown.

It's clear that the U.S. does not want to lose Turkey, a key country for the implementation of its Mediterranean and Middle East strategy. However, the re-evalution phase that U.S.-Turkish relations are undergoing now, leaves many questions unanswered. Even if Turkey remains a member of NATO, the seemingly unresolvable differences between it and the U.S. will seriously impact the alliance's capacity and prestige.

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, please contact us at opinion@china.org.cn.
 Flash

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Friday called for broader and deeper economic and trade cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC).

Li made the appeal when attending, together with 16 CEEC leaders, an opening ceremony of the 9th Business Forum of CEEC and China.

Li said China-CEEC cooperation has maintained exuberant vigor and vitality, which is supported by the constant development of economic and trade cooperation.

Amid the backdrop of a slowdown in the world economy last year, trade volume between China and the 16 countries increased 21 percent, hitting a record high in history, and displaying a broad prospect for cooperation, Li said.

The Chinese premier also noted new progress in third-party market cooperation, joint efforts in Belt and Road construction, infrastructure connectivity, subnational cooperation, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

The premier said that China is willing to better align the Belt and Road Initiative with the development strategies of other countries, uphold the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and insist on promoting peace, cooperation, openness, inclusiveness and mutual learning, so as to push for a broader and deeper China-CEEC economic and trade cooperation.

To improve trade facilitation, the Chinese premier called for further opening up their respective markets and simplifying customs procedures.

China will provide a green channel for CEEC exports to China and strengthen cooperation in facilitating the China-Europe land-sea express line to accelerate cross-border logistics, Li said.

On nurturing new trade growth points, the Chinese premier called on China and the CEECs to further tap into trade potentials, optimize trade structure, boost trade of agricultural products, machinery and electrical products, including cars and household appliances, enhance innovation cooperation and facilitate cooperation in new industries and models.

On investment and industrial capacity cooperation, Li said the Chinese government supports enterprises in their commercialized operations, and hopes that relevant countries will uphold the principles of fairness, justice and non-discrimination and protect Chinese companies' legitimate rights.

To further enhance small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) cooperation, this year's leaders' meeting is going to launch the Global Partnership Center of CEECs and China and a website on the China-CEEC SMEs coordination mechanism in a bid to provide more convenient services for businesses to expand investment cooperation.

On boosting connectivity, Li said China encourages its enterprises to participate in infrastructure construction in the CEECs.

He also called for better financial conditions, diverse funding patterns and an active exploration of such construction modes as third-party market cooperation, joint bidding and public-private partnership.

The premier briefed the forum on China's economic situation, saying that the Chinese economy has been generally stable, and the country is confident in achieving this year's main development targets, including a 6-6.5 percent of GDP (gross domestic product) growth.

China will work to energize the vitality of market entities, optimize business environment, pursue innovation-driven development, boost new development drivers, promote an all-round opening up, develop a high-level open economy, and create conditions for a steady Chinese economy, Li said.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic noted that the theme of the forum is "Building New Bridges through Openness, Innovation and Partnership," saying that he hoped all parties concerned can take this opportunity to further deepen economic and trade cooperation.

He also hailed last year's China International Import Expo in Shanghai, saying that the fair has presented new opportunities for all countries.

In the past few years, exports from the CEECs to China have increased by nearly five fold and China-CEEC cooperation has grown much closer, which is conducive to narrowing their gaps with developed countries, he said.

The Peljesac Bridge project is a model of EU-China cooperation, which will further enhance connectivity and EU-China trade, said the Croatian prime minister.

Li and Plenkovic jointly launched the China-CEEC SMEs coordination mechanism website. Together with other CEEC leaders, they also visited an exhibition on China-CEEC education cooperation, and attended a matchmaking meeting for SMEs from China and the CEECs.

More than 1,000 delegates from the governments, as well as business and industrial communities of China and the CEECs attended the opening ceremony.
Imperial Valley News Center

Beginning farmer and rancher program accepting applications for education grants for 2019 and 2020

Sacramento, California - The USDAs Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) provides grants to organizations for education, mentoring, and technical assistance initiatives for beginning farmers or ranchers. Ensuring there will be a new generation of beginning farmers and ranchers  regardless of age or production choice  is especially important to the continuation of agricultural production in the United States.

Applications are now being accepted for 2019 and 2020. Learn more here:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=314549currently

Eligibility: Applications may only be submitted by a collaborative state, tribal, local, or regionally-based network or partnership of qualified public and/or private entities. These collaborations may include the following entities: State Cooperative Extension Services; Federal, State, municipal or tribal agencies: community based organizations (CBOS); non-governmental organizations (NGOS); junior and four-year colleges and universities or foundations maintained by a college or university; and private for-profit organizations.

Match: There is a 25 percent match under this program. The match can be waived with adequate justification for applicants serving underserved areas or populations.
Imperial Valley News Center

Protestants softening stance on homosexuality, despite recent United Methodist vote on LBGTQ clergy same-sex marriage

West Lafayette, Indiana - Members of the United Methodist Church General Conference met in a special session in February and voted narrowly in favor of the traditional plan, which reinforces the churchs ban on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage. The denominations Judicial Council is expected to meet in April to decide whether the plan is constitutional based on the churchs Book of Discipline.

Dan Olson, a sociologist of religion at Purdue University, specializes in American religion, particularly Protestantism stated, Many of the representatives attending the special session came from the southern hemisphere  in some of those are countries, homosexuality is a crime. In the United States, however, the majority of Methodist laypeople support same-sex marriage. According to a recent Pew survey, about 60 percent of Methodists in the U.S. said that they favored same-sex marriage. If you look at survey data, this is true not only for churchgoers, but also for the U.S. as a whole: The rate of shift in attitudes on homosexuality has been extremely rapid.
Imperial Valley News Center

Governor Newsom Declares State of Emergency in Eight Counties Due to Winter Storms

Sacramento, California - Governor Gavin Newsom today issued an emergency proclamation for the counties of Butte, Colusa, Del Norte, Mariposa, Napa, Santa Cruz, Solano and Tuolumne to help communities recover from severe February storms that caused widespread flooding, mudslides and damage to critical infrastructure.

The Governor previously declared an emergency for 26 counties across the state due to the February storms. The emergency proclamations direct Caltrans to formally request immediate assistance through the Federal Highway Administrations Emergency Relief Program and the Office of Emergency Services to provide assistance to local governments.

PROCLAMATION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCY

WHEREAS on February 21, 2019, and February 28, 2019, I proclaimed states of emergency to exist in Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Los Angeles, Marin, Mendocino, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Shasta, Sonoma, Tehama, Trinity, Ventura, and Yolo counties due to atmospheric river storm systems, which caused widespread damage and flooding; and

WHEREAS these winter storm systems caused additional impacts to roads, highways, and other critical infrastructure throughout Butte, Colusa, Del Norte, Mariposa, Napa, Santa Cruz, Solano, and Tuolumne counties; and

WHEREAS under the provisions of Government Code section 8558(b), I find that conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property exist due to the winter storms in Butte, Colusa, Del Norte, Mariposa, Napa, Santa Cruz, Solano, and Tuolumne counties; and

WHEREAS under the provisions of Government Code section 8558(b), I find that the conditions caused by these storms, by reason of their magnitude, are or are likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of any single local government and require the combined forces of a mutual aid region or regions to appropriately respond; and

WHEREAS under the provisions of Government Code section 8625(c), I find that local authority is inadequate to cope with the magnitude of the damage caused by the storm systems; and

WHEREAS under the provisions of Government Code section 8571, I find that strict compliance with various statutes and regulations specified in this order would prevent, hinder, or delay the mitigation of the effects of these storms, including those referenced in the two aforementioned State of Emergency Proclamations.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GAVIN NEWSOM, Governor of the State of California, in accordance with the authority vested in me by the State Constitution and statutes, including the California Emergency Services Act, and in particular, Government Code section 8625, HEREBY PROCLAIM A STATE OF EMERGENCY to exist in Butte, Colusa, Del Norte, Mariposa, Napa, Santa Cruz, Solano, and Tuolumne counties.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:

The provisions and orders contained in my State of Emergency Proclamations dated February 21, 2019, and February 28, 2019, also apply to Butte, Colusa, Del Norte, Mariposa, Napa, Santa Cruz, Solano, and Tuolumne counties. The provisions of Unemployment Insurance Code section 1253 imposing a one-week waiting period for unemployment insurance applicants are suspended as to all applicants who are unemployed as

a direct result of the storms who applied for unemployment insurance benefits during the time period beginning January 5, 2019, and ending on the close of business on August 31, 2019, and who are otherwise eligible for unemployment insurance benefits. This provision also applies to all counties identified in my State of Emergency Proclamations dated February 21, 2019, and February 28, 2019.

Vehicle Code sections 9265(a), 9867, 14901, 14902, and 15255.2, requiring the imposition of fees, are suspended with regard to any request for replacement of a drivers identification card, vehicle registration certificate, or certificate of title, by any individual who lost such records as a result of the storms. Such records shall be replaced without charge. This provision also applies to all counties identified in my State of Emergency Proclamations dated February 21, 2019, and February 28, 2019. The provisions of Vehicle Code sections 4602 and 5902, requiring the timely registration or transfer of title are suspended with regard to any registration or transfer of title by any resident of an impacted county who is unable to comply with those requirements as a result of the storms. The time covered by this suspension shall not be included in calculating any late penalty pursuant to Vehicle Code section 9554. This provision also applies to all counties identified in my State of Emergency Proclamations dated February 21, 2019, and February 28, 2019. Health and Safety Code sections 103525.5 and 103625, and Penal Code section 14251, requiring the imposition of fees are hereby suspended with regard to any request for copies of certificates of birth, death, marriage, and dissolution of marriage records, by any individual who lost such records as a result of the storms. Such copies shall be provided without charge. This provision also applies to all counties identified in my State of Emergency Proclamations dated February 21, 2019, and February 28, 2019.

I FURTHER DIRECT that as soon as hereafter possible, this proclamation be filed in the Office of the Secretary of State and that widespread publicity and notice be given of this proclamation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 12th day of April 2019.

GAVIN NEWSOM

Governor of California

ATTEST:

ALEX PADILLA

Secretary of State
Imperial Valley News Center

Ministerial for the "U.S.-Caribbean Resilience Partnership"

Miami, Florida - Friday, Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan led an interagency team of United States senior officials and experts to U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) headquarters in Miami, Florida, where he hosted ministers and disaster management officials from 18 Caribbean countries, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, and the Regional Security System to launch the new U.S.-Caribbean Resilience Partnership.

The U.S.-Caribbean Resilience Partnership will strengthen the U.S.-Caribbean relationship and advance our shared interests in achieving greater resilience to natural disasters. The Partnership involves the following initiatives:

Understanding Risk and Enabling Action

Weather Information-Sharing and Storm Surge Mapping: The United States, through funding provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), will roll out storm surge mapping to additional countries in the Caribbean, enabling governments to assess and mitigate flooding risks from tropical cyclones and tsunamis. The United States, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will continue to offer weather information sharing capabilities with Caribbean countries.

Space Technologies for Risk Reduction and Resilience: The United States, through the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), will make geospatial information openly accessible, understandable, and readily useable with Caribbean partners to ensure the regions decision-makers and stakeholders have the tools necessary to implement sustainable resilience policies. S. and Caribbean officials will continue high-level policy dialogues and collaboration on the use of Earth observation tools to build resilience and reduce risk during the Understanding Risk: Caribbean Conference in Barbados, May 27, and a NASA-led workshop on vulnerability and exposure of infrastructure in Puerto Rico, August 6-8. The United States will be an active partner when Jamaica hosts the first United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) Americas and Caribbean Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction meeting in 2020.

Monitoring Terrestrial Hazards: The United States, through USAID and in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), will offer technical assistance to the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Center for Dominica and other Caribbean nations to build technical skills in monitoring volcanoes via the Volcano Disaster Assistance Program. This assistance will help Caribbean countries continue improving their ability to provide early warning. The United States supports resilience to terrestrial hazards through the installation of seismic stations for the Caribbean Tsunami Early Warning System, as well as technical consultations and capacity building on coastal inundation and erosion hazards.

Building Resilient Communities

Empowering Local Community Resilience: The United States, through the Inter-American Foundation (IAF), plans to provide $650,000 in grants to eastern Caribbean community organizations to improve disaster mitigation and resilience.

Planning Smarter, Responding Better: The United States, through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), committed to sharing best practices and lessons learned from its recovery efforts in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and other parts of the United States recently impacted by hurricanes. Information sharing will include the use of industry standards and building codes to build back and improve the resilience of disaster-impacted facilities and infrastructure.

Network Resilience: The United States, through the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), committed to share with its Caribbean regulatory counterparts best practices in emergency communications and disaster preparedness.

Resilient Energy Systems: Under the Caribbean Energy Security Initiative (CESI), the Departmentof State is working toward resilient, cost-effective, and secure energy re-development efforts in support of disaster recovery in Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica. Building on this effort, U.S. and Caribbean officials announced the Advancing Caribbean Energy Resilience (ACER) Workshop to be organized by the Department of Energy in partnership with the Department of State and theOrganization of American States (OAS) in Puerto Rico, May 2-3. The ACER workshop will further advance energy resilience in the Caribbean and bring together technical experts and regional policymakers to learn about tools for powering critical infrastructure and microgrids.

Improving Disaster Response
Convening of Parliament in Yemen

Washington, DC - The United States congratulates Yemeni parliamentarians who convened today for the first time since 2014. This is an important step taken by the Yemeni government to reinvigorate legitimate government institutions, resume progress on implementing the National Dialogue Conference outcomes, and complete the peaceful transition of power envisioned by the GCC Initiative. A reinvigorated Yemeni parliament will play an important role in advancing political and national reconciliation so the Republic of Yemen government, and all political parties, can better focus on meeting the needs of the Yemeni people.

We fully support the parliamentarians and encourage them to honor the principles of honesty, integrity, transparency, accountability, and rule of law as they undertake their important responsibilities.
President Trump has rejected a plan once backed by prominent Republicans to use the federal government's power to build out next generation 5G wireless broadband networks nationwide, including in rural areas where service can be slow, spotty or nearly nonexistent.

The controversial plan was supported by the likes of Karl Rove, Newt Gingrich and even Trump's own 2020 campaign manager. The idea would be for the 5G network to basically be nationalized and then leased to private carriers by the federal government.

While the details could be messy, the notion here is that Trump could use the federal government's power to throw his rural base supporters a bone.

But at a press event meant to promote new rural broadband funding and an upcoming spectrum auction, the President also made it clear that the only bone he would be presenting would be going to private wireless carriers.

America is well-positioned to lead the world in #5G technologies. A pleasure to be at the @WhiteHouse with @POTUS to discuss the progress we've made so far and the steps we'll be taking to maintain American leadership and benefit all consumers! #5GFAST https://t.co/NxFiFhE6xw pic.twitter.com/gBdizf754z -- Ajit Pai (@AjitPaiFCC) April 12, 2019

"In the United States, our approach is private sector driven. The government doesn't have to spend lots of money," President Trump said during the press conference Friday. "We had another alternative of doing it that would be through government investment and we don't want to do that because it won't be nearly as good."

So instead of taking a new, bold approach to building out a true nationwide high-speed network, Trump is opting for business as usual, which is downright dreary for many rural Americans.

The rural broadband funding that the President announced today is merely a continuation of an Obama administration program.

FCC chairman Ajit Pai told Ars Technica that the new version of the program will "provide up to gigabit-speed broadband in the parts of the country most in need of connectivity."

This is certainly better than nothing, but the selectivity of the program will likely serve to only deepen the digital divide.

What's worse: actually translating federal broadband deployment funds into actual high-speed data flowing in and out of rural households can be a downright disgraceful process.

Here in rural New Mexico, telecommunications companies have sometimes spent nearly as much fighting their obligations to build better infrastrtucture for rural customers in court as the cost of simply fulfilling those obligations.
The trailer for Star Wars IX was unveiled on Friday, leaving fans in various states of excitement and emotion.

The clip for The Rise of Skywalker played for the first time during the Star Wars Celebration convention, revealing the films title.

Plenty of people were shocked to hear Palpatines laugh at the end of the clip, marking the characters surprise return.

Others were moved to see Carrie Fisher, who died in December 2016, in the trailer. Deleted scenes from The Force Awakens were used to further Leias story without resorting to CGI, according to director JJ Abrams.

I got goosebumps during the #StarWars teaser trailer when they showed a scene with Carrie Fisher and the voiceover said: Well always be with you. No one is ever really gone, one person wrote.

Star Wars films  ranked worst to best Show all 11 1 /11 Star Wars films  ranked worst to best Star Wars films  ranked worst to best 11. Star Wars: Episode II  Attack of the Clones (2002) The prequel trilogy has lived on in infamy, but the true low point of this low point in the Star Wars franchise must be Attack of the Clones, the dry, crusted middle of the cinematic sandwich. While Revenge of the Sith has some sense of completion and The Phantom Menace has some sense of wonder, all Attack of the Clones has is a CGI Yoda bopping about the screen like an unswattable fly while battling Christopher Lees Count Dooku. Its a film driven by unnecessary desires: from the space politics, to Boba Fetts backstory, to Padme and Anakins romance. The latter is the most insufferable, since George Lucas never had much of an ear for dialogue, as notoriously pointed out by Harrison Ford when he declared on set: George, you can type this s***, but you sure as hell cant say it. Which leads us to one of the worst line readings in cinematic history, when Hayden Christensens Anakin laments: I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating  and it gets everywhere. Rex Features Star Wars films  ranked worst to best 10. Star Wars: Episode III  Revenge of the Sith (2005) Hollywood has increasingly made the assumption that darker means better when it comes to cinema  it explains why the Harry Potter films look like they were made while someone gradually turned down the dimmer switch on the studio lights. Of course, audiences know that darker sometimes means that your protagonist-turned-villain becomes a youngling-murdering, amateur street magician-looking sourpuss. Anakins arc here comes to a whimper of an ending, underlined by the much-derided decision to have Darth Vaders first moments onscreen involve him howling Noooooo! up to the sky like a mournful hound. That said, Ewan McGregor confirms here that he managed to escape the franchise largely unscathed, as this instalment sees him have the most fun with the clunky dialogue (see: Hello there! and I have the high ground!). Rex Features Star Wars films  ranked worst to best 9. Star Wars: Episode I  The Phantom Menace (1999) The Phantom Menace escapes slightly ahead of the rest of the prequel trilogy, if only for the fact it remembers these films are meant to be fun once in a while. The pod race  its a good scene! Darth Maul is all looks, zero follow through  its embarrassing to act like youve won, only to be cut in half and sent hurtling down an exhaust pipe  but his inclusion in the film did introduce one of the best musical themes in Star Wars history, John Williamss Duel of the Fates. However, the space politics are a particular drag here, with all the talk of trade disputes, and, of course, it's obligatory to mention the terror that is Jar Jar Binks. Rex Star Wars films  ranked worst to best 8. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) Although its the weakest of the new generation of Star Wars films, Solo still holds up as a fun romp worthy of Han Solos rascal reputation. Alden Ehrenreich picks up on enough of Harrison Fords mannerisms to sell the character without sliding into imitation, while Donald Glover is a scene stealer from the very moment he walks on screen as Lando Calrissian. Its a lost opportunity, then, that the film is otherwise slowed down by an impulse to offer backstory to as many aspects of Hans character as possible. Did we really need to know how we got the name Solo? Really? Rex Features Star Wars films  ranked worst to best 7. Star Wars: Episode IX  The Rise of Skywalker Director JJ Abrams, like the hero of an ancient prophecy, was destined to make both enemies and allies with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. There will be arguments. And there will be arguments about the arguments. There will be obsessive deconstructions and over-interpretations of each frame and intake of breath. But, at the end of the day, this is still a Star Wars film in its very bones, muscle, and sinew. Whatever controversy Abrams might have brewed up with his artistic choices, he still captures magnificently the soul of this series: that unwavering hope that the powerless can win, despite the odds. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Star Wars films  ranked worst to best 6. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) Theres a lot to wrap up in the concluding chapter of the original trilogy. The result is a few odd turns for the sake of plot convenience. What does one do with a character as enigmatic as Boba Fett? Why, have him topple into the Sarlacc pit within the first 20 minutes! How does one put to rest the love triangle hinted at in A New Hope? Why, insert a revelation that Luke and Leia are, in fact, brother and sister! Even the second Death Star oddly feels sillier than The Force Awakens and its third attempt at a giant ball in space, since The First Order at least had the excuse that their obsessive admiration of the Empire may have clouded their judgement. That said, theres still plenty of charm to be found here and the Ewoks arent all that bad. Before you dismiss them as irritating merchandise opportunities, its worth remembering that they have absolutely no qualms about killing and eating people. Rex Features Star Wars films  ranked worst to best 5. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) If Rogue One is any indication of Disneys plans for the franchise and its future, then theres no cause for concern. The first of the A Star Wars Story spin-offs, it shifts into gear with ease, soothing audiences by not straying too far from the familiar timeline while introducing a full set of new characters and a grittier tone. Stylistically, it feels more like a Vietnam War movie and is proof of how far a gifted director like Gareth Edwards can stray from the franchises usual formula and still feel grounded in the same world. Plus, you have to admire the guts it takes to deliver an ending like that Rex Features Star Wars films  ranked worst to best 4. Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) Disney made a very smart move with The Force Awakens. As the first Star Wars film of a new generation, it not only had to make its own mark, but feel familiar enough that it welcomed fans back with open arms. The balance is hit perfectly here. Thats largely due to the films new trio of central heroes, who radiate the same kind of warmth, bravery, and spirit that carved a special place in peoples hearts when they were first introduced to the franchises original stars. Daisy Ridleys Rey, John Boyegas Finn, and Oscar Isaacs Poe honour Star Wars's past while striding into its unknown future. It also helps that the film has landed on a villain like Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), whose drive and complexity may see him surpass even Darth Vader by the end of his story in Episode IX. Rex Features Star Wars films  ranked worst to best 3. Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017) Any divisiveness the film attracted certainly proved one thing: heres a Star Wars film that actually took a creative risk. And what a bold, ambitious, and ultimately beautiful risk that was. Director Rian Johnson took the cinematic legacy presented before him and added a new richness to its textures. He allowed heroism to go beyond the clean divide between good and evil; through Luke and Rey, we were taught not to be ashamed of our doubts but to grow stronger because of them. We were taught not to use destiny as a crutch, but to know when to forge our own paths. The Last Jedi is a soulful film told through some of the most striking cinematography of the entire franchise. Rex Features Star Wars films  ranked worst to best 2. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) Its the place where it all began. The Star Wars franchise has only become the success it is today because of how purely revolutionary the first instalment was as a piece of Hollywood filmmaking. It is, to this day, one of the most successful examples of the modern epic, endlessly imitated but so rarely with the same heart or ambition. George Lucas tapped into one of the most timeless qualities of storytelling: its ability to let us see and understand our own world through the eyes of another. Star Wars has become so iconic because, even on such a grand scale, we know and relate to the emotions at hand  fear, love, or a desire to do whats right. Rex Features Star Wars films  ranked worst to best 1. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) The Empire Strikes Back is remarkable in its ability to pursue real emotional stakes. Its closing moments, the final note to its symphony of sacrifice and tragedy, leaves us with the single, delicate emotion that is hope, blooming in the darkness as our heroes set out to save Han and restore the Rebel Alliance. What A New Hope built up by making us fall in love with these characters, The Empire Strikes Back recouped in sharing with us their pain and their fears. Darth Vaders reveal that hes Lukes father has, of course, found its place in history, but theres an equal sense of emotional resonance in the moment Leia and Han depart, moments before hes trapped in carbonite. When Leias I love you is returned by Hans I know  a line written by Harrison Ford himself  were reminded of how magical Star Warss sense of storytelling can be, condensing everything that these two characters feel for each other into five simple words. Rex Features

I dont usually get emotional over trailers, let alone teasers, but being in that arena and seeing a story that has existed my entire life coming to an end. And of course, Carrie Fisher. Im just... ooph, someone else tweeted.

Some expressed how much theyre looking forward to the release of the film on 20 December, and one person said the trailer had made all [their] love for the series come rushing back at once.

Many used memes to express their surprise after hearing Palpatines cackling laugh at the end of the teaser.

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 Flash

Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), said he is willing to meet the U.S. president again on certain conditions, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Saturday.

Kim made the remarks in his policy speech marking the First Session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) on Friday, a day before he was re-elected as chairman of the DPRK's State Affairs Commission (SAC).

"If the United States adopts a correct posture and comes to the third DPRK-U.S. summit with a certain methodology that can be shared with us, we can think of holding one more (round of) talks," Kim said. "It is necessary for both sides not to table their unilateral demands but find out a constructive solution to meet each other's interests."

The top leader said he will "wait for a bold decision" from Trump "with patience till the end of this year."

In his speech, Kim blamed the United States for only considering its own interests during the second DPRK-U.S. Summit in Vietnam's Hanoi this February. This has led the DPRK to question Trump's willingness to improve relations with the DPRK.

Kim, while stressing the importance of solving problems through dialogue and negotiations, also underlined that he does not accept "the American style of dialogue" which imposes the United States' unilateral demands upon its dialogue partner.

Kim said the United States is hinting at holding a third DPRK-U.S. Summit, but what happened in Hanoi "is not inviting" to the DPRK.

However, Kim also mentioned his good relations with Trump. "As President Trump keeps saying, the personal ties between me and him are not hostile like the relations between the two countries and we still maintain good relations."

At the end of the speech, Kim said he hoped that the United States would decide wisely and that the confrontation between the two countries will be brought to a complete stop.
The first trailer for Star Wars: Episode IX has been released, giving fans a taste of what's to come when the film (which has been billed as the saga's final instalment) hits cinemas later this year.

Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega and Adam Driver are all reprising their respective roles as Rey, Poe, Finn and Kylo Ren. The late Carrie Fisher also makes an appearance as Leia gives Rey an emotional hug.

The film's title was unveiled at the same time as the trailer on Friday at the Star Wars Celebration convention in Chicago.

Fans have been left equally impatient, shocked and emotional by the two-minute teaser  and have especially expressed their bewilderment after hearing Palpatine's cackling laugh at the end of the clip.

Click through the gallery below to find out what we learnt from the first trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer shot-by-shot breakdown Show all 13 1 /13 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer shot-by-shot breakdown Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer shot-by-shot breakdown Who are you, Rey? It seems extremely likely (some might even say crystal clear) that The Rise of Skywalker will shed light on Rey's origins  namely her possible Skywalker heritage. It is unknown exactly how this will play out, though. Is Rey a Skywalker by blood, or by spirit? YouTube / Star Wars Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer shot-by-shot breakdown The return of the lightsaber Rey still has the blue lightsaber she inherited from Luke! And it works! YouTube / Star Wars Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer shot-by-shot breakdown This fighter means trouble It definitely looks like the fighter Rey is about to jump over (and presumably damage with her lightsaber) is Kylo Ren's. YouTube / Star Wars Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer shot-by-shot breakdown Dark warrior Speaking of Kylo Ren, what is he up to? Well, he's definitely up to no good. And he's accompanied by a Stromtrooper, which rarely means good news. YouTube / Star Wars Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer shot-by-shot breakdown On the mend Kylo Ren's helmet is shown getting re-forged. YouTube / Star Wars Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer shot-by-shot breakdown Duo In case any one had doubt: Poe and Finn are back. YouTube / Star Wars Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer shot-by-shot breakdown A new friend Looks like BB-8 has a new droid buddy! Very cute. YouTube / Star Wars Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer shot-by-shot breakdown Co-pilot Look at Chewbacca flying the Millenium Falcon with Lando Calrissian! YouTube / Star Wars Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer shot-by-shot breakdown Big reveal Speaking of Lando, the trailer marks the return of Billy Dee Williams, who last played the character in Return of the Jedi 36 years ago. YouTube / Star Wars Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer shot-by-shot breakdown Wait a minute Eagle-eyed viewers have pointed out on Twitter that this medal is extremely similar to the ones Luke and Han Solo receive from Leia during a ceremony at the end of A New Hope. YouTube / Star Wars Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer shot-by-shot breakdown Leia's return Carrie Fisher's Leia can be seen in the trailer giving Rey a heartfelt hug. Deleted scenes from The Force Awakens were used in order to feature Fisher, who died in December 2016, without resorting to CGI. YouTube / Star Wars Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer shot-by-shot breakdown Wreckage It looks like Rey is staring at the Death Star II here, possibly on Endor. YouTube / Star Wars Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer shot-by-shot breakdown Listen Yes, this is a dark screen. At the end of the trailer, the screen goes black, and Palpatine's cackling laugh can distinctly be heard  a surprise that few saw coming. YouTube / Star Wars

Episode IX reaches cinemas on 20 December.

Click here to follow our live updates of the 2019 Star Wars Celebration.
A decade after the Macuxi people won a bloody legal battle to expel rice planters from their reservation in a remote part of Brazil, their hold over ancestral lands has come under threat again from new right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro.

The sprawling 1.7 million hectares (6,600 square miles) of savannah on the border with Venezuela  a reservation called Raposa Serra do Sol  is home to 25,000 native people whose main livelihood is raising cattle.

But the land remains coveted by commercial farmers and mining prospectors, who believe the area is rich in minerals such as gold, diamonds, copper, molybdenum, bauxite and even niobium, a metal used to strengthen steel that Bolsonaro considers strategic.

In the fight for our land rights, 21 of us died, says Chief Aldenir Lima, the leader of the 70 communities on the reservation. Since then we recovered what we had lost and today, the white farmers rice plantations have been replaced by our cattle herds.

That could change if Bolsonaro follows through on his promise to review the borders of the reservation  part of his push to repeal a ban on commercial farming and mining on indigenous lands.
Fisherman Samwu Ndaye is a volunteer who every morning combs the beach of Ngor, a 400-year-old village on Africas westernmost tip in the Senegalese capital Dakar, to clean up the waste plastic that builds up there. Single-use plastic products of every kind litter the villages along Senegals coastline along with other waste that gets washed up at different spots throughout the year, depending on the prevailing winds and ocean currents.

If we dont clean it, no one will, says Ndaye, who is one of a growing number of volunteers who dedicate their time to cleaning up what has rapidly become a modern scourge.

The waters around Dakar are heavily polluted with plastic and more arrives each day. according to the fisherman. As the worlds population grows, so too does the amount of waste that is generated, leading to a vast environmental problem on a global scale which waste management is just beginning to have an impact on.

Recommended Akon to build new city in Senegal with own cryptocurrency called AKoin

However, in low- and middle-income countries like Senegal, this process is all too often underfunded or simply neglected. One-third of Senegals population of 16 million people lives below the national poverty line. The rapid growth of the west African countrys population, especially in larger cities like Dakar, has led to a hike in the production of household waste.

Fishing and tourism are the main industrial activities in Senegal, but the fishing industry is experiencing a decline due to over-fishing and water pollution. Fishermen like Modu Samba, who 25 years ago used to be able to go out in pirogues, a locally handmade dugout boat, a few hundred meters off the shore, now have to venture tens of kilometres offshore to catch fish.

Over-fishing by European and Asian industrial fishing fleets is a contributing factor, but water pollution has driven fish stocks further offshore. Systematic municipal waste collection and disposal is lacking in many areas, so residents deal with garbage in their own way, by burning or dumping it along the shorelines.

A lack of education on what the impact of such practices might be has led to it becoming prevalent along Senegals long coastline. The discarding of plastic is seen as acceptable and the concept of littering is not widely understood. All this plastic landing on the ground eventually ends up in storm water drains and rivers and finally enters the ocean.

After storms, big waves chew up the beaches to reveal layer upon layer of plastic and other waste that has been dumped over the years. Single-use plastics are commonplace in Senegalese society. Shops and supermarkets offer single-use carrier bags for free and these are usually accepted by shoppers without a second thought.

Water, eggs, peanuts and a multitude of other items are sold in single-use containers by traders everywhere. The problem needs to be tackled from the top down and the bottom up, Ndaye says as he stoops down to grab a handful of plastic bags from a wave washing ashore. We can do something to help clean this beach and teach the children but we also need the government to do better with our waste and ban these plastics.

AFP
A theatre historian claims to have located the London home in which William Shakespeare lived while writing Romeo and Juliet.

Although it was previously known that the playwright lived in east London in the late 1590s, near to what is now Liverpool Street station, Geoffrey Marsh has reportedly pinpointed the exact building.

The evidence suggests that Shakespeare lived at what is now 35 Great St Helens. The site is currently occupied by an office block and sits next to St Helens Church.

Marsh discovered that Shakespeare was a tenant of the Company of Leathersellers, who were the authority on the sale of leather in London at the time.

The place where Shakespeare lived in London gives us a more profound understanding of the inspirations for his work and life, Marsh, also the director of the Victoria and Albert Museums department of theatre and performance, said.

The best theatre of 2018 Show all 10 1 /10 The best theatre of 2018 The best theatre of 2018 10. Girls & Boys, Royal Court One of those plays that had you staggering slightly as you left the stalls. This one-woman show was performed with amusing self-possession and fierce grace by Carey Mulligan, as a woman recounting how she met her husband, and how they navigated her more successful career and having a family. Dennis Kellys play began deceptively light and funny, but its snark turned to harrowing tragedy via a twist that left you winded  and delivered a howl against the conditioned violence of men. Designer Es Devlins painterly approach to light and colour was perfect and also paid painful dividends. Marc Brenner The best theatre of 2018 9. Fun Home, Young Vic This American musical was keenly awaited  and didnt disappoint. An adaptation of Alison Bechdels graphic novel about her in-the-closet father who ran a funeral home, and her own journey towards coming out, it felt important to see such a story onstage  and was so very beautifully told, with book and lyrics by Lisa Kron and music Jeanine Tesori (who also scored the terrific musical Caroline, or Change, which stormed London in 2018 too after opening in Chichester last year). Although the show doesnt totally burn in the memory, Zubin Varla was magnificent as the father, and Eleanor Kanes song of sexual discovery and first love  Changing My Major (to Joan)  was one of my favourite moments of the year. Marc Brenner The best theatre of 2018 8. Dance Nation, The Almeida By American writer Clare Barron (pictured), this play followed a group of teenage dancers, with their earnest dreams, petty rivalries, and general angst. Sounds like a bad TV series but it was so, so much more. Barron had these girls discovering their power. Power theyre thrilled by; power theyre afraid of. A slippery beast, the play flirted with the supernatural and the mythical in its depiction of the transformation of puberty. Among a strong cast of adults making no attempt to disguise their adulthood, Ria Zmitrowicz was especially memorable as Zuzu. Almeida The best theatre of 2018 7. Company, Gielgud Theatre I spend more reviews than Id like moaning about old-fashioned musical revivals that fail to tackle #problematic material. Stephen Sondheims musical about Bobby, whose friends harp on at him to get married, could have been one  but Marianne Elliott unlocked it with a smart, coherent approach to gender-swapped casting. Bobbie as a woman in her mid-thirties made a lot of sense, as did the switcheroos in several other couples, which gave a fresh fillip to the shows meandering investigation of relationships. The score sounded divine, Rosalie Craig was a glinting Bobbie, and Getting Married Today had me actually breathless with laughter. Brinkhoff Mogenburg The best theatre of 2018 6. Sweat, Donmar Warehouse A late addition: Sweat has just opened, although after rave reviews tickets are in short supply  catch it if you can before 26 January. Lynn Nottages play  about factory workers in Pennsylvania whose friendships and families fracture when job losses loom  was always likely to be good; it won a Pulitzer, after all. But Lynette Lintons production was ferociously good. Plumbing the emotional depths of Nottages heart-breaking story, it had fine, firmly controlled performances and a terrific set by Frankie Bradshaw. And while this incredibly empathetic play has plenty to tell us about blue-collar America, it couldnt have struck harder in Brexit Britain either. Johan Persson The best theatre of 2018 5. Misty, The Bush/Trafalgar Studies A game-changer, this show built up a thrilling momentum, galvanising audiences and transferring to the West End, allowing us to kick once and for all the bone-headed notion that there isnt an audience for black plays into the long grass. And how: Arinze Kenes piece of gig-theatre explored and exploded exactly the notion of a black play, with the mesmerising Kene playing himself as a writer struggling to work out if hes pandering to what producers expect of him by writing urban safari jungle s**t. This was art about art that felt pressingly topical, and while there were rough edges to it, there was also vital vim and intent. Helen Murray The best theatre of 2018 4. John, National Theatre American playwright Annie Bakers much-hyped The Flick left me a bit underwhelmed; this swept me up completely. A synopsis  a fighting couple stay in a strange, kitschy B&B filled with uncanny china dolls  doesnt do it justice. Here was the finest dissection of a floundering relationship and look at how gender politics infects us all. Here, too, was a kind of metaphysical mysteriousness that was truly stirring  John wasnt quite a ghost story, but rather, it eerily tilted towards the darker depths of the human soul. It was long, it was slow, and I loved every minute. Stephen Cummiskey The best theatre of 2018 3. The Writer, The Almeida Yes, another from the north London theatre  but what a year they had. And this was a play that really grappled with the specifics of its own setting: Ella Hicksons meta-theatrical masterwork began with a scene set at a theatre, where a young female writer castigated a sleazy older male director. But Blanche McIntyres production perpetually snatched the rug from under your feet, and was frighteningly smart and formally thrilling as it did so, asking potent questions about gender, power, capitalism and art. As theatre-about-theatre, it could also be maddening, and had a wildly ambiguous final scene that drove everyone nuts. Quite possibly the most written-about, talked-about, argued-about play of the year. Manuel Harlan The best theatre of 2018 2. Ear for Eye, Royal Court The year saw a genuine increase in the diversity of stories getting told in British theatre, and Debbie Tucker Greens incendiary play was a pinnacle of that: brilliantly tough, absolutely necessary. A large black cast moved through elliptical scenes exposing racial prejudice and police brutality  some beautifully poetic, some just vibrating with fury. And a long final filmed section demanded that audiences face the hard truth about British and American slave laws. It was a play that stayed with me long after it finished. Stephen Cummiskey The best theatre of 2018 1. Summer and Smoke, The Almeida If youd told me in January that top of my list would be this lesser-known Tennessee Williams play, surely the least enticing show on the Almeidas absolutely stellar programme, I might have scoffed. But Rebecca Frecknalls direction of this tale of thwarted love was as delicate and distinctive as it was wonderfully heart-squeezing. Matthew Needham was a burningly intense leading man, but it was Patsy Ferrans incredibly detailed, funny performance that rocketed this to number one. The best news? It transferred to the West End, where you can catch it until 19 January. Marc Brenner

Within a few years of migrating to London from Stratford, he was living in one of the wealthiest parishes in the city, alongside powerful public figures, wealthy international merchants, society doctors and expert musicians.

The site is currently occupied by an office block and sits next to St Helens Church (Google)

The merchants had connections across Europe and the doctors were linked to the latest progressive thinking in universities in Italy and Germany.

Living in what was one of the power locales of London would have also enhanced Shakespeares status as he developed his career, sought a family coat of arms and planned to buy an impressive and expensive house in Stratford.
The final series of Game of Thrones is right around the corner. For many, its the culmination of years of viewing parties, intense debates, and furious tweets about character deaths (justice for Oberyn!). For others, its a moment to sit back and think: Huh, did I miss out on deciding never to watch this show?

Well, its too late now! Game of Thrones already has seven seasons and 67 episodes under its belt so, unless youre dedicated to turning your back on all employment, social engagements, and basic hygiene, its unlikely youll be able to catch up before the start of season eight.

Thats no problem, however, as youll be surprised to discover how easy it is simply to fake your way into seeming like a Game of Thrones fan. So, fool your friends, co-workers, and family into thinking youre also an active participant in popular culture with these handy tips.

1. Make your choice for who will win the Iron Throne. You can literally choose any character because, at this point, the series seems ready and willing to throw a wrench into the works and let Samwell Tarly rule the Seven Kingdoms. You dont even need to have much justification for your pick because, if anyone questions you, all you need to do is nod wisely and say: Ah, but the prophecy 

 Game of Thrones full season 8 trailer

2. Another safe bet is to pick another random character and insist that theyll die in episode three. Not episode one or two, because the death needs to arrive once fans have had the opportunity to get nice and cosy. They need to have fooled themselves into thinking that, just maybe, everything will turn out OK. The key to Game of Thrones, after all, is maximum devastation. So, in that light, its best to also pick one of the few shining beacons of light on the show i.e. pick Arya. Youll sound very smart if you say Arya will die.

3. Every time you go outside and theres a light chill in the air, remember to say Winters coming. That ones obvious.

4. Have a pre-prepared speech about how, actually, Game of Thrones is very feminist. Maybe the most feminist show of all? Be very firm about this, because being a fan of the show does demand actively suppressing the fact that, really, it took them about six seasons to finally make an effort. It also involves ignoring all that excessive female nudity. But, hey, it all turned out OK, because the women are on top now!

5. Tyrion is your favourite character. Say that hes witty, because everyone likes Tyrion and youll avoid any further argument.

6. Be unnaturally comfortable with incest, but only in specific cases. You have to be repulsed by the affair between twins Jaime and Cersei, but supportive of Daenerys and Jon Snows union, despite the fact that shes his aunt. These are the strange moral lines you have to draw to be a fan of Game of Thrones, because its imperative that this woman and her brothers son get married and live happily ever after on the Iron Throne.

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7. Do not ever, ever confess that you sometimes get characters mixed up. Even though it does sometimes feel like youre just watching the same man swap between a variety of different beards.

Game of Thrones characters - ranked Show all 70 1 /70 Game of Thrones characters - ranked Game of Thrones characters - ranked 70. Rickon Stark Played by: Art Parkinson : Art Parkinson Easily the most annoying Stark child  an impressive feat next to Bran  Rickon was at least handed one hell of a death scene: taken out by an arrow courtesy of Ramsay Bolton. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 69. Robin Arryn Played by: Lino Facioli : Lino Facioli Robin Arryn is remembered by most Thrones fans as being the 10-year-old breastfed by his mother (still weird). That's about it. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 68. Renly Baratheon Played by: Gethin Anthony : Gethin Anthony The Rickon of the Baratheon brothers. His claim to the Iron Throne was tenuous, considering his older brother, Stannis, was still alive. When Stannis's shadow monster came to kill him, it was only good news for the show. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 67. Leaf Played by: Kae Alexander : Kae Alexander A lot of mystery may surround Leaf, one of the show's mythical Children of the Forest, but her noble sacrifice to save Bran, Meera and Hodor from a horde of wights robbed her of any worth. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 66. Tommen Baratheon Played by: Dean-Charles Chapman : Dean-Charles Chapman Another boring younger brother. Whereas Joffrey was pure evil, Tommen was innocent and, inevitably, very boring. His cat, Ser Pounce, was an asset to the show. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 65. Lysa Arryn Played by: Kate Dickie : Kate Dickie Lysa, the creepy sister to Catelyn Stark, was first seen with Robin Arryn, her 10-year-old son, latched to her breast. Her death  being pushed through the Moon Door  couldn't have come sooner. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 64. Benjen Stark Played by: Joseph Mawle/Matteo Elezi : Joseph Mawle/Matteo Elezi Having gone missing in season one, Benjen returned during season six to save his nephew, Bran. The moment was a surprise to TV watchers  book readers, however, had long speculated that Coldhands was an undead version of the Stark. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 63. Syrio Forel Played by: Miltos Yerolemou : Miltos Yerolemou The ill-fated Syrio's appearance way back in season one was a formative experience for one Arya Stark (Maisie Williams); he's the one who helped her on her way to becoming the vengeful assassin fans know and love today. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 62. Jeor Mormont Played by: James Cosmo : James Cosmo Father of Jorah Mormont, Jeor was an honourable leader of the Night's Watch  perhaps to a fault. After giving Jon Snow the sword Longclaw, Mormont inadvertently showed the Stark bastard that Valerian steel can cut through White Walkers. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 61. Roose Bolton Played by: Michael McElhatton : Michael McElhatton Let's be honest: it's hard to really like as scheming a character as Roose Bolton, the man who orchestrated the violent Red Wedding  the most infamous scene in the show's six-year history that saw the death of Robb, Catelyn and Talisa. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 60. Ellaria Sand Played by: Indira Varma : Indira Varma Ellaria Sand may have been a more enticing creation on the page, but in the series, her screen time regrettably amounts to reacting to loved ones being killed off in increasingly awful ways. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 59. Grand Maester Pycell Played by: Julian Glover : Julian Glover The secretly sprightly Pycell had seen a lot of things in his time, but there's an element of "unfulfilled potential" surrounding Glover's character whose late betrayal of Cersei Lannister saw a grisly end to his life of luxury at King's Landing. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 58. Three-Eyed Raven Played by: Max von Sydow : Max von Sydow Perhaps it was the casting of Max von Sydow that heightened anticipation for the Three-Eyed Raven in the series, but the half-hearted story arc left a lot to be desired. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 57. Gilly Played by: Hannah Murray : Hannah Murray Gilly's long journey from Craster's Keep to Winterfell sounds exciting on paper. But, unfortunately, she has been merely a passenger on Sam's journey for far too long. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 56. Daario Naharis Played by: Michael Huisman : Michael Huisman The man who won the heart of Daenerys Targaryen, only to be left behind in Essos. Ed Skrein originally played the character, but was soon replaced after the actor landed a role in Deadpool. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 55. Shae Played by: Sibel Kekilli : Sibel Kekilli Oh Shea. Her ill-fated betrayal  sleeping with Tywin (Charles Dance)  was a slap in the face not just for lover Tyrion, but the viewer also. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 54. Grey Worm Played by: Jacob Anderson : Jacob Anderson Leader of the Usullied, Grey Worm remains unmoved at all times  unless around Missandei. While their romance can be heartwarming, it's hard to invest in two characters who are so wooden. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 53. Talisa Maegyr Played by: Oona Chaplin : Oona Chaplin To be fair to Robb Stark's wife Talisa, should she have avoided being murdered in arguably the most horrific way during the Red Wedding, she would most likely have been higher on this list. Alas. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 52. Shireen Baratheon Played by: Kerry Ingram : Kerry Ingram All the Greyscale-suffering Shireen ever wanted to do was read stories in her chamber, but due to her impressionable power-hungry father, Stannis, she was tragically reduced to ashes after being sacrificed to the Lord of Light. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 51. Viserys Targaryen Played by: Harry Lloyd : Harry Lloyd Viserys wanted the Iron Throne at any cost, giving away his own sister in exchange for an army. Dany, though, had other plans. Her new husband, Khal Drogo, covering Viserys in molten gold made for one of the show's most memorable death scenes. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 50. Maester Luwin Played by: Donald Sumpter : Donald Sumpter The kindly Maester Luwin was one of the nicest characters in the first few seasons, becoming a stand-in father for Bran and Rickon while the Starks endured horrors elsewhere. He was eventually killed when Ramsay Bolton took over Winterfell. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 49. Thoros of Myr Played by: Paul Kaye : Paul Kaye Thoros spent the majority of his time on the show resurrecting Beric and was most recently seen wielding his flaming sword alongside Jon Snow beyond the wall. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 48. Mance Rayder Played by: Ciaran Hinds : Ciaran Hinds Ciaran Hinds brought an intensity to Mance Rayder, a character who would otherwise have got lost in the crowd. As a result, his death at the hands of Melisandre was unexpectedly affecting. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 47. Podrick Payne Played by: Daniel Portman : Daniel Portman Ever loyal, Podrick Payne has become a fan favourite for being surprisingly brave in the face of adversity. He and Brienne of Tarth make an excellent duo. HBO/Helen Sloan Game of Thrones characters - ranked 46. Euron Greyjoy Played by: Pilou Asbk : Pilou Asbk While Euron Greyjoy may have only joined the show in season six, his presence was immediately felt. A wildcard character, Greyjoy's cut-throat, power-hungry nature has proven exciting to watch. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 45. Jaqen H'ghar Played by: Tom Wlaschiha : Tom Wlaschiha Jaqen H'ghar  one of the Faceless Men of Braavos  had such promise, but ultimately ended up being the one responsible for sapping Arya's story of the energy she'd had seasons before, alongside The Hound (Rory McCann). HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 44. Missandei Played by: Nathalie Emmanuel : Nathalie Emmanuel Missandei has somehow managed to come up trumps within the new world order, being an advisor to Dany. However, her stilted nature can make for some awkward encounters  but at least she and Grey Worm are happy together. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 43. Ygritte Played by: Rose Leslie : Rose Leslie Ygritte  the Wildling lover of Jon Snow  will go down in Thrones lore for providing the series the with oft-quoted famous line: "You know nothing, Jon Snow." Spoken with a northern accent, obviously. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 42. Hot Pie Played by: Ben Hawkey : Ben Hawkey Has an actor ever been more suited to a role? Ben Hawkey, after all, has gone on to run a bakery of his own, even selling Thrones-themed goods. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 41. Walder Frey Played by: David Bradley : David Bradley One of the orchestrators of the Red Wedding, Walder Frey was a lurching, terrifying villain. When Arya unmasks herself and kills the old man, it's a sweet, sweet moment of revenge. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 40. Gendry Baratheon Played by: Joe Dempsie : Joe Dempsie The true heir to the Iron Throne. Gendry may have spent a few seasons rowing out at sea, but his return hints at big things to come for the Baratheon bastard. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 39. Robert Baratheon Played by: Mark Addy : Mark Addy Mark Addy brought a certain gravitas to Robert Baratheon, making him a believably world-weary king. Despite only having a few scenes, his character's presence is still felt on the show thanks to Gendry. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 38. Barristan Selmy Played by: Ian McElhinney : Ian McElhinney After being fired by the Lannisters, Selmy pledged allegiance to Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), bridging the gap between two of the show's key characters. He was also a bloody good warrior. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 37. Yara Greyjoy Played by: Gemma Whelan : Gemma Whelan Lily Allen was initially wanted for the role of Theon's sister. However, she declined: 'I felt uncomfortable because I would have had to go on a horse and he would have touched me up and s***.' Seeing as Allen's brother, Alfie, had already been cast as Theon, it was probably for the best. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 36. Margaery Tyrell Played by: Natalie Dormer : Natalie Dormer Margaery Tyrell was one of Game of Thrones's biggest players, wheedling her way into the Lannister family politics and actually becoming Queen for a spell. Her number was up the moment she made an enemy of Cersei, and her fiery death, while underwhelming, was a huge moment. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 35. Samwell Tarly Played by: John Bradley : John Bradley There's a theory going around that Samwell Tarly, who trains as a maester, is actually the author of the Song of Ice and Fire  AKA the book series. In other words, Sam is George RR Martin. Go figure. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 34. Osha Played by: Natalia Tena : Natalia Tena The underused Osha was our very first wildling, an unpredictable knife-wielding danger to the characters we loved. Her subsequent evolution into Stark servant was interestingly played, which made the fact she was sidelined for multiple seasons, before being brought back just to be unceremoniously offed, a travesty. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 33. Ramsay Bolton Played by: Iwan Rheon : Iwan Rheon Ramsey cut off Theon's penis and sent it to the Greyjoy's father. He imprisoned and raped Sansa Stark. He killed Rickon Stark in front of his brother. And Ramsay eventually died by being fed to his own dogs. A terrifying death for a terrible human. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 32. Night King Played by: Richard Brake, Vladimir Furdik : Richard Brake, Vladimir Furdik The embodiment of evil. Why, exactly, the Night King marches South to destroy mankind remains somewhat a mystery. But, whatever the reason, he's a terrifying foe. Winter has, as the Starks say, finally come. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 31. Beric Dondarrion Played by: Richard Dormer : Richard Dormer Beric danced on the outskirts of the series until its third season when he surfaced as the leader of the Brotherhood Without Banners. His introduction paved the way for the Lord of Light's ability to resurrect the dead, a mystical sub-plot that would become very important for Jon Snow. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 30. Bran Stark Played by: Isaac Hempstead Wright : Isaac Hempstead Wright It says a lot that Bran Stark has become marginally more interesting since he sacrificed his personality in favour of becoming the spiritualistic heart of the series. His role in the final season looks set to be a huge one what with the long-standing theory that he could become the fearsome Night King. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 29. Theon Greyjoy Played by: Alfie Allen : Alfie Allen While Theon starts as a cocky kid, after being neutered by Ramsay he becomes the annoyingly weak Reek. Thankfully, Theon comes back around again in the later seasons, but not without us still hating his guts for not saving Sansa sooner. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 28. The High Sparrow Played by: Jonathan Pryce : Jonathan Pryce While at first a seemingly wise old man, the High Sparrow quickly becomes a tactical villain, using his newfound powers under King Tommen to turn King's Landing into his own domain. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 27. The Mountain Played by: Hafor Julius Bjornsson : Hafor Julius Bjornsson The hulking Clegane brother known as The Mountain  now a zombie-esque servant to Cersei  may not have come face-to-face with lots of characters in the series, but his presence is known by all in Westeros. His biggest moment? Battering poor Oberyn's head into mush. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 26. Khal Drogo Played by: Jason Momoa : Jason Momoa To the world he's now Aquaman, but for a brief time, Jason Momoa was Khal Drogo, the beloved Dothraki husband of his Khaleesi, Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke). HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 25. Jon Snow Played by: Kit Harington : Kit Harington Every show needs a hero, and they do not come more obvious than Jon Snow. Rising from discarded bastard to King of the North, his climb has been one of the show's best storylines. A shame, then, that Snow can be such a bland person, doing only what is right and seemingly having no faults. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 24. Stannis Baratheon Played by: Stephen Dillane : Stephen Dillane With his propensity to make tough decisions for the greater good, Stannis could have been a heroic warrior. However, the Baratheon brother's continual fall from grace  including sacrificing his own daughter and murdering his own brother  were horrendous decisions that eventually doomed him. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 23. Hodor Played by: Kristian Nairn : Kristian Nairn Once you get over the fact that Kristian Nairn was essentially getting paid to repeat the word "Hodor" over and over, it's hard to deny that Bran Stark's protector was a heartwarming addition to the show. His death  the breathtaking "Hold the Door" sequence  will go down as one of the show's most memorable moments. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 22. Tywin Lannister Played by: Charles Dance : Charles Dance Stannis was a horrible father. His two favourite children became incestuous lovers, and he blamed his youngest for the death of his wife. Without Tywin, though, the Lannister family would not be nearly as riveting as they are to watch. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 21. Tormund Giantsbane Played by: Kristofer Hivju : Kristofer Hivju Tormund has some of the best lines in the series, particularly when expressing his admiration for Brienne. Here's one of the least explicit: "I want to make babies with her. Think of it. Great big monsters. They'll conquer the world!" HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 20. Daenerys Targaryen Played by: Emilia Clarke : Emilia Clarke "Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen, First of Her Name, the Unburnt, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Chains, and Mother of Dragons." Every time Dany meets someone new, she forces Missandei to read out her entire CV. I guess everyone would if theirs was as impressive. Dany really has had a great journey to the top  a shame she could not have come to Westeros slightly earlier. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 19. Olenna Tyrell Played by: Dianna Rigg : Dianna Rigg Olenna's scenes were always ones to cherish. The Queen of Thorns was as cunning as the best of them and seemed like she could worm her way out of any situation, all from the comfort of her own chair. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 18. Jorah Mormont Played by: Iain Glen : Iain Glen Poor Ser Jorah. Dany may be 25 years younger than him, but that never stopped the disgraced warrior from loving her. He even fought off Grey Scale to fight by her side. If that's not true love, then what is? HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 17. Davos Seaworth Played by: Liam Cunningham : Liam Cunningham Liam Cunningham's performance as the curt Davos Seaworth has quietly been one of the best things about the series since his introduction. As Jon Snow's kingly advisor, he's recently seen himself thrust into the heart of the series and, simply put, Game of Thrones would be a less enjoyable show without him. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 16. Melisandre Played by: Carice van Houten : Carice van Houten Lest we forget that Melisandre is actually a shrivelled old witch who has been manipulating men for hundreds of years. Her faith in the Lord of Light, though, could very well be misplaced. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 15. Oberyn Played by: Pedro Pascal : Pedro Pascal Few shows can bring in characters midway through their run that have such an impact as Oberyn. The Viper quickly became a fan favourite, and his death remains one of the show's most squirm-inducing moments. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 14. Eddard "Ned" Stark Played by: Sean Bean : Sean Bean Killing off a main character during a show's first season was practically unheard of before Game of Thrones. Yet, as dictated by George RR Martin's books, they cut off Sean Bean's head without a second thought, setting the tone for everything to come. No death has impacted the Thrones quite as much since. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 13. Varys Played by: Conleth Hill : Conleth Hill Early on in the series, it was hard to pin down Varys, a slippery eel of a character who has "little birds" fluttering around Westeros, feeding back crucial information. Going into the final season, his true intentions are clear: he's all for Daenerys taking the Iron Throne, even if he doesn't live to see the day (I have to die in this strange country, just like you," Melisandre prophesied last season). HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 12. Bronn Played by: Jerome Flynn : Jerome Flynn Perhaps the show's best wise-cracking side-kick, Bronn only has one loyalty: money. Paired with either of the Lannister lads, Tyrion or Jaime, Bronn makes for excellent company. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 11. Robb Stark Played by: Richard Madden : Richard Madden Before Bodyguard, Richard Madden was the extremely temporary king of Westeros. Robb was a man of honour, trying to bring light to the Thrones universe. He was a likeable presence who ruled with his heart, an act that ultimately saw him die during the infamous Red Wedding in season three. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 10. Brienne of Tarth Played by: Gwendoline Christie : Gwendoline Christie Brienne is a reassuring force of good in a world filled with scheming layabouts. She's also one of the most deadly. Her time on the series has been spent protecting the likes of Renly Baratheon, Catelyn Stark and Jaime Lannister, the latter of which made for an interesting turn as it put her at odds with her loyalty. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 9. Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish Played by: Aidan Gillen : Aidan Gillen There would be no Game of Thrones without Littlefinger. The silver-tongued manipulator had Jon Arryn killed, setting off a snowball that turned into an avalanche. As smart as he may have been, Littlefinger was finally outplayed by his own pupil, Sansa Stark. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 8. Sansa Stark Played by: Sophie Turner : Sophie Turner Sansa has perhaps had the most interesting story arc of any character on Thrones. Beginning as a cliched annoying teenager, she gradually became a stone-cold killer, capable of holding Winterfell and outsmarting even Littlefinger. With any luck, she could sit upon the Iron Throne when the war is over. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 7. Arya Stark Played by: Maisie Williams : Maisie Williams Arya Stark, arguably the greatest character of the first few seasons, was one of the biggest victims of the series overtaking George RR Martin's source material. Her limited screen time, due to being away from the central action, robbed us of classic moments that we're grateful she's been a part of in an otherwise lacklustre season eight. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 6. Sandor "The Hound" Clegane Played by: Rory McCann : Rory McCann From his regular delivery of the phrase"F** the king" to that chicken scene, The Hound is a reckless creation whose high ranking on this list can be attributed to the searing performance from Rory McCann. Most effective when paired with Arya Stark. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 5. Joffrey Baratheon Played by: Jack Gleeson : Jack Gleeson No character has been as hated by the fandom as Joffrey. His wicked ways and disgusting behaviour haunted the show's first four seasons. You never knew what was going to come next: whether he was about to behead your favourite character or start crying to his mother. It made for thrilling television. But, as The Hound says, "F**k the King". HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 4. Catelyn Stark Played by: Michelle Fairley : Michelle Fairley The lady of Winterfell, Catelyn Stark, became the show's honorary lead after the untimely beheading of her husband, Ned (Sean Bean) at the end of season one. As she tried to take control of spiralling events in the second and third run, Thrones was handed its most resilient character. Michelle Fairley's guttural cry of anguish before meeting her tragic end during the Red Wedding will always be the show's most horrific moment. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 3. Jaime Lannister Played by: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau : Nikolaj Coster-Waldau If the characters above Jaime in this list are the show's greatest characters, Jaime is the show's most disarming. The Lannister brother  the Kingslayer  started the series as a long-haired bad guy of the tallest order, but his humbling over the past few seasons have seen him inch his way into the hearts of viewers. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 2. Tyrion Lannister Played by: Peter Dinklage : Peter Dinklage Blamed for the death of his mother and hated for being a dwarf, Tyrion turned to drink and prostitutes to numb the pain. However, Tyrion has a fierce intellect, capable of outsmarting the toughest enemies (and offering cutting lines that George RR Martin says often take weeks to write). More importantly, despite being betrayed and cast away time and time again, Tyrion selflessly only wants the best for the people of Westeros. A true hero. HBO Game of Thrones characters - ranked 1. Cersei Lannister Played by: Lena Headey : Lena Headey The Mad Queen, alone on the Iron Throne. Cersei has, over the course of seven seasons, seen her three children die, driven her lover/brother away, blown up a church with a half dozen major characters inside, arranged the death of her husband (King Robert) and attempted to have her other brother (Tyrion) killed multiple times. Yet, thanks to Lena Headey's empathetic performance, you still feel sorry for the terrifying Queen of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. As one of the most complicated character to have ever reached television screens, there's no denying her place as the best Thrones character to date. HBO

Level Up: If youre feeling confident, you can also pretend that youve read the books. All you need to do here is interrupt every conversation with: But when is George RR Martin finally going to release The Winds of Winter?

Game of Thrones reaches TV screens 14 April. The show will be available on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK. Read everything you need to know about the forthcoming season here.
Speaking at an event in Westminster, the international development secretary Penny Mordaunt said on Tuesday that some things "drive my campaign team mad".

In the same week, on live television, a junior minister said they would back Sajid Javid to "represent modern Britain" in a party leadership contest. In normal times, paid-up members of the government would usually avoid such questions, saying there is no vacancy in Downing Street.

And on Friday, chancellor Philip Hammond offered a frank assessment of the situation: "Let's be honest, we have already got people jockeying for position to succeed her, but that's just one of those things."
Dani Dyer might be best-known for winning Love Island in 2018, or for having Eastenders star Danny Dyer as a father, but the 23-year-old may soon eclipse both claims to fame for lyrical genius thanks to her latest project: What Would Dani Do? My guide to living your best life.

Quotes from the fledgling reality TV stars memoir have been splashed across social media as people revel in her whimsical soundbites on everything from first kisses (he tongued me like a lizard) to Nandos (I was just the fried halloumi when all I wanted to be was the full chicken).

Dyer, who recently split from boyfriend and Love Island co-star Jack Fincham, has described the book as a guide to young people.

Speaking on Channel 4s Sunday Brunch, she explained that it includes childhood memories and describes what her life was like prior to Love Island.

Dyer added that since appearing on the ITV2 programme, she has been inundated with messages from young girls asking for advice, which she hopes the book offers.

The best lines from Dani Dyer's new memoir Show all 20 1 /20 The best lines from Dani Dyer's new memoir The best lines from Dani Dyer's new memoir On teenage crushes "Falling in love with Justin Bieber was like tasting my first duck roll". Getty Images The best lines from Dani Dyer's new memoir On having the same name as her father "You'd probably say it couldn't get more Danny Dyer if it tried. The weird thing is, it was actually my mum Jo's idea. She says she did it, 'For psycho reasons,' just in case he ever got together with another woman and had a kid. She wanted to make sure she was the one to bag Dad's name first." Getty Images The best lines from Dani Dyer's new memoir On languages "I used to be really good at Spanish and could hold proper conversations with people. But now all I can remember is caca, which means 's***'." Getty Images The best lines from Dani Dyer's new memoir On her parents' wedding "Everyone was given a cupcake with 'Loved up to f***' written in icing round the edge." Rex Features The best lines from Dani Dyer's new memoir On the success of Love Island "It must be a good show because everyone was buying those water bottles last year!" Rex Features The best lines from Dani Dyer's new memoir On being mistreated by an ex "It was like I was always the side dish in Nando's. I was just the fried halloumi when all I wanted to be was the full chicken." Getty Images The best lines from Dani Dyer's new memoir On her dad's political aspirations "My dad would make a great prime minister. It would be a very free world if he ran the country!" Rex Features The best lines from Dani Dyer's new memoir On relationship advice "Don't let your boyfriend talk you into buying a dog." PA The best lines from Dani Dyer's new memoir On Ariana Grande "I love that girl. I dont know why but I just want her to be happy. I always think, I hope shes OK." PA The best lines from Dani Dyer's new memoir On food "My dad fell asleep with a chicken once. A whole roast chicken that he took to bed with him because he was hungry but instead of having a plate, he dipped the chicken in salad cream and then he zonked out mid-mouthful with a leg in his hand." Getty Images The best lines from Dani Dyer's new memoir On her biggest fear "Im so scared of lorries  they freak me out. I think theyre too big for the road." Getty Images The best lines from Dani Dyer's new memoir On when Jack asked her to be his girlfriend "I honestly felt more special than Meghan and Harry at that moment. I was so ready to be his girlfriend, even if my hair was s***." Rex Features The best lines from Dani Dyer's new memoir On sleeping with Jack for the first time "I hadn't even seen his willy so I was going in blind!" Rex Features The best lines from Dani Dyer's new memoir On her parents' relationship "There was a frog in the living room once and my mum rang [dad] up and made him come home from the pub. She was so scared of it and had never seen a frog before". Getty Images The best lines from Dani Dyer's new memoir On pre-Love Island nerves "Oh, why did I choose the white bikini? What if a bit of poo comes out? No one will pick me if Ive got skids in my swimwear!" Getty Images The best lines from Dani Dyer's new memoir On her first kiss aged 12 "He gave me a sip of his Capri Sun and then took the straw out of my mouth and tongued me like a lizard." Getty Images The best lines from Dani Dyer's new memoir On heartache "Heartache is like chickenpox  if you have it when youre young its just itchy but when youre older its horrendous pain!" Getty Images The best lines from Dani Dyer's new memoir On makeup "I thought highlighter was just a pen you got in WH Smith". Getty Images The best lines from Dani Dyer's new memoir On Christmas traditions "I absolutely love Christmas, we just eat and eat and eat all day and dont change out of our pyjamas. I dont think I even brush my teeth." Getty Images The best lines from Dani Dyer's new memoir On her dream job "Something that involved cuddling and cleaning!" Getty Images

"It's quite a rollercoaster," she said of the book, "I wanted people to laugh."

And laugh they will. See some of our favourite lines from What Would Dani Do? by scrolling through the gallery above.

What Would Dani Do? My guide to living your best life is out now.
A social media influencer who filmed a tearful video of herself after her Instagram was deleted reportedly called the police over the incident - because it felt like a murder.

Jessy Taylor, a 21-year-old from Tampa, Florida, uploaded the now-viral video titled Stop reporting my Instagram account to YouTube after her Instagram account with more than 100,000 followers was mysteriously deleted.

According to Taylor, in addition to posting the emotional plea, in which she said she is nothing without her following and doesnt have the skills for a normal job, she also attempted to involve the police.

Speaking to Insider, Taylor said: I felt like it was a homicide. Like somebody murdered me and then went online to say: I murdered this girl.

I called the police actually and told them about this, and they said you cant compare a murder to this, and I was like, no, thats exactly what it felt like.

11 useful Instagram features you didn't know existed Show all 11 1 /11 11 useful Instagram features you didn't know existed 11 useful Instagram features you didn't know existed Hide and reorder filters Filters are a core part of Instagram, but there are so many available it can be easy to get lost. You can change the order in which they appear, and even hide the ones you never use, to speed up your photo-sharing process. On the filters page, scroll to the end, tap Manage, then drag and drop the ones you want to reorder, and un-check the ones you want to hide. 11 useful Instagram features you didn't know existed Never miss a post Instagram controversially ditched its reverse-chronological order feed for a new order determined by an algorithm, making it easy to completely miss some posts. To make sure you never miss a certain somebodys updates, you can set up notification for them by visiting their profile, tapping the three dots in the top right-hand corner and selecting Turn On Post Notifications. 11 useful Instagram features you didn't know existed Eat less data If youre worried about how much of your mobile data Instagram saps, you can limit it by sacrificing the speed at which the photos and videos in your feed load. Go to your profile, tap the three dots in the top right corner, open Cellular Data Use and choose Use Less Data. 11 useful Instagram features you didn't know existed See your Likes Its easy to lose track of your friends old posts on Instagram, but if you know you Liked it, youll be able to track it down easily. Just go to your profile, hit the three dots at the top and select Posts Youve Liked. You can also save posts in a folder only you can see by tapping the bookmark icon underneath it. Take a look at everything youve bookmarked by tapping the same icon that sits near the top of your profile. 11 useful Instagram features you didn't know existed Find relevant hashtags Everyone knows you can expand the reach of your posts by using a number of relevant hashtags, but what those are arent always glaringly obvious. You can easily find the right ones for you by typing a keyword into Instagrams search bar, selecting a hashtag from the list and swiping along the Related row that appears at the top of the screen. 11 useful Instagram features you didn't know existed Clear your search history Whatever your reasons are, you can clear your recent searches by going to your profile, hitting the three dots in the top right and selecting Clear Search History. To go a step further and hide your Suggested searches too, go to the search page, tap and hold the account you want to hide, and choose Hide from the pop-up window. 11 useful Instagram features you didn't know existed Hide photos youre tagged in Tagged photos on Instagram arent as prominent as they are on Facebook, but anyone can still browse through other peoples pictures of you by visiting your profile and tapping the photo of you icon. If youre tagged in a picture you dont want other people to see, go to your profile, hit the photos of you icon, tap the three dots at the top of the screen and choose Hide Photos. 11 useful Instagram features you didn't know existed Secure your account Make your Instagram account much harder to hack by enabling two-factor authentication, a security feature that protects you even if your login details are stolen. Go to your profile, tap the three dots, open Two-Factor Authentication and toggle it on. 11 useful Instagram features you didn't know existed Share lots at once If you want to upload a bunch of related pictures and videos without flooding everyone elses feed, you can shared them all as one post. Hit the + icon, select Gallery, choose Select Multiple, pick out up to 10 of the pictures and clips you want, tap Next and reorder them by dragging and dropping. 11 useful Instagram features you didn't know existed Record hands-free Instagram Stories has been a massive hit since it came out last year, but you might not know that you can record Stories clips without having to hold one of your digits on the record key. On the Stores screen, just swipe through the options at the bottom until you get to Hands-Free. 11 useful Instagram features you didn't know existed Edit posts after publishing Most people know you can delete any of the images youve already posted, but not everyone is aware that you can also edit them. Instagram unfortunately doesnt let you tinker with filters and effects, but you can change your original caption, tag people and update the location.

The influencer reportedly made $500,000 from her account before it was deleted, money she said does not last.

You go to to the Gucci store a few times, you pay a couple of months of rent Im not rich like I used to be, she said.

Despite her initial desperation, Taylor previously told The Independent her life is changing and that she might be getting a Netflix show following the attention from her video.

The Independent has contacted Netflix for comment.

Taylors original Instagram account has since been reinstated, after Instagram acknowledged the account had been removed in error.

According to Taylor, who made another account where she has since gained more than 15,000 followers, the incident was a blessing in disguise.

Since regaining access to her account, Taylor has received numerous comments from people reporting her - which she said in the video she believes was the initial reason her account was removed.

Lets all report her again, one person wrote on a selfie of Taylor.

Others have criticised the influencer for refusing to get a job.

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Get a real job, another person commented.
I love smoking a spliff while my boyfriend goes down on me. It makes the experience, you know...tingly. Thirty-year-old Helen* and I have been friends for more than ten years. Shes a wildly successful sales exec working for one of the UKs biggest tech companies. Shes also a stoner (and proud, she laughs). Though weve been friends for a long time, this conversation is uncharted territory. We smoke most days, but sometimes make a point of doing it for sex purposes, she tells me matter-of-factly. It definitely lowers inhibitions, you really relax into it. And I think it makes me feel more connected to my boyfriend  partly because it makes me more sensitive.

Last week a new report from academics at University College London alongside researchers at the Global Drug Survey sent ripples through the media with the announcement that we Brits are more likely than our counterparts in Europe and the US to combine drugs with sex. More than 22,000 people globally took part in the survey, which found that more than 60 per cent of British respondents had drunk alcohol before sex in the past year.

Admittedly, this isnt groundbreaking news  many of us would consider a large glass of red an excellent aphrodisiac (hell, some of us would even consider a large glass of vodbull an aphrodisiac), But, as Professor Adam Winstock, consultant addiction psychiatrist and founder of the Global Drug Survey, explains, Part of the point of this report is to bust some unhelpful stereotypes which exist around the intersection between sex and chems [meaning all drugs, including alcohol]. Everyone seems obsessed by the idea that the only people who have chemsex are gay men. Its unhelpful because almost everyone at some point has probably had sex on drugs  as researchers we need understand how and why people do it, so that we can offer the best harm reduction advice.

It definitely lowers inhibitions, you really relax into it

And as my chat with Helen illustrates  even if alcohol is the most common chem, its certainly not the only one. Alongside cannabis (36 per cent of British respondents had combined it with sex), around 13 per cent of Brits surveyed had combined sex with cocaine and 20 per cent had combined sex with MDMA. My friend Rachel*, 28 and working in PR, is an advocate of the latter, arguing that it allows for a more transcendental experience, she tells me. Ive had some great sex on MD, its like this whole other, deeply emotional vibe but Ive only done it with a partner  Ive never just hooked up with someone while on MDMA, she explains. I dont understand that at all; it makes you really empathetic, which I think adds to the sexual experience, but I wouldnt want to be baring my soul to someone I picked up in a club. In fact, according to one study of 35 recreational users, consuming MDMA led to an increase in desire for and satisfaction with a sexual encounter, but not in likelihood of orgasm. I dont think orgasm is the point, says Rachel. Its more about the journey. I know it sounds really hippy-dippy but if you do just a little with the right person, it can be great.

A recent report found that Brits are more likely than our counterparts in Europe and the US to combine drugs with sex (iStock)

My own experiences have varied wildly. Recent research shows that about a third of women in the US have, like Helen, used marijuana before sex and those who did were twice as likely to say they had satisfactory orgasms. But personally, I couldnt think of anything worse than smoking cannabis while having sex. Through trial and error  emphasis on the error  Ive found that cannabis makes me heart-palpitatingly anxious. I once took two tokes on a joint while on a beach in California and became so worried that I was getting sunburnt that I put my entire body (head, arms, legs, everything) inside my then-boyfriends t-shirt. He came out of the sea to find me huddled like ET while everyone around me sunbathed happily and decided it was best to take me home.

As Winstock points out, Its a really bad idea to try having sex on any drug youve never taken before, or on one which has led you to have a bad reaction. Youre already in an emotionally charged situation without adding to that. MDMA too isnt one I can imagine taking in the pursuit of a transcendental shag. I dont like being pawed at at the best of times, let alone while high, something which Winstock points out is more common than people might think: Some people become super sensitive, so touch can be intensified...I guess that comes down to whos touching you and in what circumstances, but it can be unpleasant, he says.

Taking a line or two with my then boyfriend, we had this wild, urgent, uninhibited sex

Then theres cocaine, which I stopped taking a while ago (when I became more cognisant of the hypocrisy of doing a line and then despairing over climate change and human trafficking), but is probably responsible for my only good chemsex experience. Taking a line or two with my then boyfriend, we had this wild, urgent, uninhibited sex. As with most drugs  including alcohol  one of its main functions is as a disinhibitor, it makes you feel more invincibile, which might be great in the moment, but it can lead to some poor decision-making. Luckily I was with a partner I trusted but Ive had many friends wake up with deep regrets after a combination of wine and cocaine meant they did things theyd usually never dream of. (Notably one friend tried anal sex for the first time while on cocaine, and in the heat of the moment didnt realise that shed sustained, erm, tearing. As well as stitches, she had to sit on a donut cushion for a week, which made for some awkward conversations at work.)

Modern lovers: The 'sexual body warriors' and pioneers transforming 21st-century relationships Show all 5 1 /5 Modern lovers: The 'sexual body warriors' and pioneers transforming 21st-century relationships Modern lovers: The 'sexual body warriors' and pioneers transforming 21st-century relationships new.jpg KATE PETERS/INSTITUTE Modern lovers: The 'sexual body warriors' and pioneers transforming 21st-century relationships 5337882.jpg KATE PETERS/INSTITUTE Modern lovers: The 'sexual body warriors' and pioneers transforming 21st-century relationships 5337883.jpg KATE PETERS/INSTITUTE Modern lovers: The 'sexual body warriors' and pioneers transforming 21st-century relationships 5338169_1.jpg KATE PETERS/INSTITUTE Modern lovers: The 'sexual body warriors' and pioneers transforming 21st-century relationships 5337881.jpg KATE PETERS/INSTITUTE

As for me, well, what goes up must comedown and the next day I woke up hungover and feeling emotionally bankrupt  which somewhat coloured the sexual experience. Was it worth it? In hindsight, with a blinding headache and a numb nose, probably not. Cocaine is also, often, a tricky one for men who want to engage in sexual activity. When men choose which chems to use ahead of sex, its all about their dicks, says Winstock. Viagra, crystal meth...drugs that allow them to keep an erection for longer. In comparison, for women, the drugs that were rated most highly were those that promoted sexual intimacy, emotionality and sensuality. Thats why they tended to favour drugs like cannabis and MDMA.

I started sweating, and my heart was hammering in my chest. I had to stop everything

Cocaine, however, is a notorious boner killer  as 24-year-old Josh* explains. I met a girl on Tinder, and we came up with this plan to hang out, do cocaine and have sex. It seemed really dangerous, but kind of hot. I knew, though, that I couldnt keep an erection if I took it, so I decided to get some Viagra. In the year since Viagra was made available in the UK without prescription, more and more reports have surfaced of young men using it as a kind of sexual insurance policy against drink or drug-induced erectile dysfunction. We got on the coke, chatted, were kissing and then I took the Viagra. After about an hour it still wasnt working, so I took another. And then all of a sudden, he pauses, Boom. I had this...raging erection  to the point that it was painful. I started sweating, and my heart was hammering in my chest. I had to stop everything, and we opened the windows but I couldnt get cool. I was really panicking  asking for her to call an ambulance. I really thought I was going to have a heart attack.

Josh eventually had to get under a cold shower to cool his body down. I was naked and whimpering in front of this girl Id just met  it was the worst sexual experience of my life. Though he says hes unlikely to try cocaine again (that was the fourth or fifth time Id ever taken it, and the last,) hell still keep a Viagra in his pocket just in case.

It makes you feel more invincibile, but it can lead to some poor decision-making (iStock)

Interestingly, none of the friends I speak to would consider what they do as chemsex. I just imagine chemsex happening in a sex party environment, says Helen. Rachel adds: Theres something clinical about the term that I dont feel fits with what Im doing, although, I guess it is what Im doing Perhaps to this overstimulated generation (with our busted our dopamine feedback loops) the intersection of sex and chems offers another way to feel the kind of buzz the previous generations would have gotten from some simpler pastime. I think for me, says Josh, It felt like I could get to know this person in double time. Wed only met once before but then when the coke hit we were saying all sorts that wed feel too embarrassed to be open about otherwise. Helen agrees: This is the first time Ive been with someone who likes to smoke weed, and I feel like its made our relationship stronger and deeper in a much shorter amount of time. Its not for everyone, but thats the effect its had on us.

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So perhaps it comes down to the fact that were too time poor (or impatient) to slow-grow our intimacy. But these shortcuts have a price. The chances of having a bad experience are certainly high  for every great chemsex encounter I hear of, there are three more like Joshs where someone panics, someone loses their erection or worse. I certainly dont plan on partaking again, but no judgement on anyone who likes it. As Winstock says, though, Tread carefully.

*All names have been changed.
The Duchess of Sussexs due date is fast approaching and bets are flying in as people make speculations over every last detail, from whether it will have a royal title to what its surname will be.

As for its sex, the bookies are currently suggesting that Meghan Markle will give birth to a girl, with odds of 4-7 according to online bookmaker BetVictor.

The odds on the royal baby being a boy are currently 5-4.

Of course, the royal babys sex isnt the only thing people are placing bets on.

Many have gambled their money away by betting on the name.

According to recent odds from BetVictor, taking the top spot at the moment is Diana at 6-1, which would be in tribute to Prince Harrys late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.

Meghan Markle's best pregnancy looks Show all 11 1 /11 Meghan Markle's best pregnancy looks Meghan Markle's best pregnancy looks 14 January 2019 In an unusual style choice for the Duchess, who traditionally favours neutral hues, this ensemble offers a vibrant twist on the colour-blocking trend with a red Sentaler coat, matching heels and a bright purple Aritzia dress. It was a playful choice for the royal couple's visit to Birkenhead Town Hall. Getty Images Meghan Markle's best pregnancy looks 30 January 2019 The Duchess wore head-to-toe blush for her visit to the National Theatre, where she is now a patron. The ensemble is by US designer Brandon Maxwell but the suede shoes are Aquazurra. Getty Images Meghan Markle's best pregnancy looks 1 February 2019 Oscar de la Renta can do no wrong when it comes to flirty patterned dresses. This theatrical bird and rose-covered number was an apt choice for the Duchess; visit to Bristol Old Vic. AFP/Getty Images Meghan Markle's best pregnancy looks 7 February 2019 This Givenchy skirt offers some pizzazz thanks to its knee-high slit and its flattering waistline. Markle paired the look Aquazzura mules and a white collared shirt. Getty Images Meghan Markle's best pregnancy looks 12 February 2019 Who said you couldn't wear all-white everything? Markle paired her turtleneck Calvin Klein dress with an Amanda Wakeley coat for a gala performance at the Natural History Museum. Getty Images Meghan Markle's best pregnancy looks 23 February 2019 The Duchess was a lady in red for her visit to Casablanca, Morocco in this bespoke Valentino midi-dress, which she paired with nude court heels and a matching clutch. Getty Images Meghan Markle's best pregnancy looks 24 February 2019 Markle arrived at a reception hosted by the British Ambassador to Morocco in this full-coverage caped gown by Dior, which came in an opulent shade of champagne. Getty Images Meghan Markle's best pregnancy looks 25 February 2019 This billowing Carolina Herrera dress was the perfect choice for the Duchess' outing to brace the balmy climes of Rabat, Morocco, where she'd been visiting King Mohammed VI of Morocco with Prince Harry. This hypnotic sea blue gown was a custom-made number, obviously. Getty Images Meghan Markle's best pregnancy looks 8 March 2019 Proving that maternity hemlines needn't be restricted to one's ankles, Markle stepped out in this 1960s-inspired shift dress by high street label, Reiss. Paired with a black blazer and a pair of matching Manolo Blahnik pumps, it was a classic but delightfully retro look. AFP/Getty Images Meghan Markle's best pregnancy looks 11 March 2019 The Duchess has a penchant for rich emerald green hues, and this ensemble exemplifies just how suited the shade is to her complexion. The outfit was designed by Erdem, which was a symbolic choice given she wore the Canadian designer's pieces to a Commonwealth Day Youth Event at Canada House in London. Getty Images Meghan Markle's best pregnancy looks 11 March 2019 For the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey, the Duchess wore a cream chain-print dress by Victoria Beckham, which made its runway debut just a few weeks ago at London Fashion Week. The look was topped off with a matching pillbox hat, emerald green stilettos and a satin clutch. Getty Images

This is followed by Philip in second place at 10-1 and Alice, Arthur, James and Victoria tied for third at 12-1.

Other bets being taken by BetVictor include the babys weight, with 8lbs-8lbs 15oz as the most favoured at 7-4.

Recommended Experts discuss why Meghan and Harry are keeping birth of baby private

Meanwhile, the day of the week for the birth currently stands at 11-2, while both AM and PM deliveries are at 10-11 with odds of 22-1 available for each of the 24 hours of the day.

BetVictors figures come just days after London-based bookmaker William Hill revealed that its odds on the royal babys gender are also closing in with odds of 4-6 for a girl and 11-10 for a boy.

William Hills bets on the royal baby being a boy are currently 11-10, while BetVictors stand at 5-4.

Speaking to The Independent, William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams explained that the average bet for a royal baby name would normally be 1.50.

However, Adams revealed that a few weeks ago someone bet 500 on the royal baby being a girl, and the bets have been rushing in at similarly high prices ever since.

Today, William Hill has even reduced its price for bets placed on the royal baby being a girl due to a flood of new bets overnight.

Amazingly 88 per cent of the cash on this market has been for a girl, Adams adds. In the past gamble such as these are rarely wrong.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 13)  The governor of Palawan on Saturday shot down criticisms the province's impending split may favor China amid the long-standing dispute in the West Philippine Sea.

"Anong akala mo - hindi kami gustong mamatay para sa sariling bayan natin? Bibigay lang namin sa China? Napakababaw naman noon," Palawan Governor Jose Alvarez told CNN Philippines in an interview.

[Translation: "What are you thinking - that we are not willing to die for our country? That we'll just give in to China? That is just too shallow."]

He was asked about previous statements of Senator Risa Hontiveros, who said dividing Palawan into three provinces would give China an opportunity "to infiltrate and influence smaller local government units."

In November 2018, only Hontiveros voted against passing the Senate bill splitting Palawan into Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental and Palawan del Sur. Presidential Rodrigo Duterte signed it into law on April 5, according to the document released by Malacanang on Saturday.

Alvarez, who has been pushing for the split to better manage Palawan, dismissed Hontiveros' and other critics' arguments as unrealistic, saying there is no basis for fears China can take advantage of local officials to advance its claims on the South China Sea.

Palawan is the province closest to the contested waters. Pag-asa Island, one of the biggest islands in the disputed Spratlys, is the seat of the Kalayaan municipal government under the province of Palawan. This, along with almost the entire South China Sea, is being claimed by China despite a July 2016 arbitration ruling that recognized the Philippines' sovereign rights in its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone, which the government calls West Philippine Sea.

Philippine and Chinese officials recently exchanged arguments and maintained claims after over 200 Chinese vessels were spotted swarming around Pag-asa Island. Local officials have a role to play in the dispute, as evidenced by another recent incident wherein Mayor Gaudioso Manalo of Lobo, Batangas prevented a Chinese-manned ship from dredging Philippine waters.

'Palawenos want it'

Under the recently signed Republic Act 11259, or the "Charter of the Provinces of Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental, and Palawan del Sur," the new provinces will be created once approved by affected residents in a plebiscite in May 2020.

"We are happy the President signed the bill we helped pass in the Senate since this has long been an issue for Palawenos dating back to the 1960s and earlier and they will have the final say in a plebiscite," Senate Local Government Committee Chair Sonny Angara said in a statement sent to CNN Philippines.

Alvarez claims all Palawan residents want the split.

"Gustong gusto nila kasi mapalapit yung kapitolyo sa kanila. May consensus na ito province-wide," he said.

[Translation: "They really want it because the capitol will be near to them. This has reached a consensus province-wide."]

"The law is good for Palawan.  It will make the delivery of goods and service faster," Alvarez said. He added that once implemented, local government officials will not have to travel distances to reach constituents living in 1,728 islands in the province.

But while some Palawan residents support the law, others have also opposed it. The group Save Palawan Movement accused the Senate of shrugging off their concerns, which include being used by politicians to perpetuate in power through more local elective posts. An online petition to "stop dividing Palawan into three" now has over 46,000 signatures.
The Parliamentary Conservative Party notoriously has two default settings: complacency or panic.

The pressure of the Brexit process has moved the dial significantly towards the latter, although one should never underestimate the capacity of Jeremy Corbyns leadership skills to encourage Conservatives into the former.

For anyone who thinks long-term, though, the departure of colleagues with stinging remarks about destroying the Conservative Party should be worrying. Almost the worst thing about the early days of the Independent Group was that the Labour defectors were clearly distraught about leaving their political home, while the Tory defectors looked exultant.
A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to murder police officers after a car was allegedly driven straight at them outside the Ukrainian embassy.

Armed officers were responding to reports the Mercedes had repeatedly rammed into the Ukraine ambassadors official vehicle in Holland Park.

Officers opened fire on the car after it was driven at them, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

No one was hurt during the incident on Saturday morning.

A statement posted online by the Ukraine embassy said its vehicle  used for official duties by ambassador Natalia Galibarenko  was deliberately rammed as it sat parked.

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The police were called immediately and the suspects vehicle was blocked up. Nevertheless, despite the police actions the attacker hit the ambassadors car again.

In response the police were forced to open fire on the perpetrators vehicle. The culprit was apprehended and taken to a police station.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed armed officers had been deployed to the incident at 9.50am in accordance with security arrangements for embassies in London and said shots had been fired.

It said the suspect - a man in his 40s - had been detained and was being questioned. No details were given of his identity or nationality, although the incident is not being treated as terrorist related.

Chief Superintendent Andy Walker, from the Mets specialist firearms command, added: As is standard procedure, an investigation is now ongoing into the discharge of a police firearm during this incident.

While this takes place, I would like to pay tribute to the officers involved this morning who responded swiftly to this incident and put themselves in harms way, as they do every day, to keep the people of London safe.

Onlookers described seeing officers armed with sub-machine guns and a suspect being "wrestled" to the ground.

Forensic officers at scene near the Ukrainian Embassy in Holland Park, west London after police fired shots after the ambassador's car was "deliberately rammed" (Jonathan Brady/PA Wire)

The silver Mercedes outside the embassy was the subject of a forensic investigation by Saturday afternoon with police sniffer dogs brought into search the area.

Witness Darcy Mercier described the really strange event to the BBC, saying the car was blasting Ukrainian music in some kind of protest against the embassy after arriving at about 7am.

He said: I was out on my terrace when he started ramming the car and then the police arrested him.

I asked him to turn down the music and he said that he was playing Ukrainian music for the Ukrainian Embassy and was a little bit belligerent.

Emma Slatter, who is Visa's general counsel, watched the scene unfold with her banker partner David Hinsley.

She said: "I think I heard about half a dozen shots. I could see police had got the guy out of the car and they had him on the ground.

"The police seemed in charge. There were probably about eight to 10 guys in full body armour, some with sub-machine guns.

"He [the suspect] was stumbling but he wasn't resisting. We thought he might've been shot but there wasn't any evidence of any blood. They frogmarched him into the back of the police van."

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Another neighbour said she heard what sounded like firecrackers before police swooped.

Heather Feiner, originally from Texas in the US, said: "I heard the gunshots and that prompted me to look out of the window.

"It was like a pop-pop. It sounded like firecrackers. I thought, 'What the heck, it's not Guy Fawkes'.

"My kids were hanging out in the living room. They said, 'Mum, is that firecrackers?'

"I saw all this police activity. I thought, 'Oh my gosh, what's going on?"'

The mother-of-two added that there were about four marked police cars outside by the time she reached her window in the ground floor flat.

She said: "From the time I heard the shots until I got to the window, which took about 15 seconds, all these police cars were already there."

The incident comes just eight days before the second and final round of Ukraines presidential elections.

Additional reporting by PA
The face of a dog discovered in a tomb in Orkney has been revealed for the first time in more than 4,000 years.

Forensic artist Amy Thornton used a 3D print from a CT scan of the creature's skull to create a model of its head, building up muscle, skin and hair.

Radiocarbon dating of the dog bones unearthed at Cuween has shown canines were placed in the chamber more than 500 years after the passage tomb was built, suggesting they were ritually buried.

Neolithic dog's face revealed for first time in over 4,000 years after

The project was commissioned by Historic Environment Scotland (HES).

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Steve Farrar, interpretation manager at HES, said: "Just as they're treasured pets today, dogs clearly had an important place in Neolithic Orkney, as they were kept and trained as pets and guards and perhaps used by farmers to help tend sheep.

"But the remains discovered at Cuween Hill suggest that dogs had a particularly special significance for the farmers who lived around and used the tomb about 4,500 years ago.

"Maybe dogs were their symbol or totem, perhaps they thought of themselves as the 'dog people'.

"While reconstructions have previously been made of people from the Neolithic era, we do not know of any previous attempt to forensically reconstruct an animal from this time.

"Looking at this dog helps us better relate to the people who cared for and venerated these animals, people whose ingenuity and sophistication made Orkney such an important place in the Neolithic and who have left us with such a rich legacy of monuments today."

 Archaeologist describes wooden bowl found during dig on Orkney

The Cuween Dog was about the size of a large collie and had features similar to those of a European grey wolf.

Historians believe it can reveal information about ceremonial practices and the symbolic significance of canines in Late Neolithic Orkney as well as the appearance of domestic dogs in the third millennium BC.

Last year, HES published 3D digital models of the chambered cairns to better reveal the sophisticated structure of the monuments to the public.

This process involves taking hundreds of overlapping images which are then combined to create a 3D model, enabling users from anywhere in the world to explore the sites in detail online.

The canine reconstruction is part of this wider project to use cutting-edge technology to share the stories of Orkney's Neolithic chambered tombs with visitors.

The latest work was originally created in clay using traditional methods, with a 3D print of the Cuween Hill skull as the base to build the anatomy on to.

It was then cast in silicone and finished with the fur coat resembling a European grey wolf, as advised by experts.

HES said the work will go on display in Orkney this year.

Ms Thornton, who trained in facial reconstruction methods at the University of Dundee, said: "This reconstruction has been a particularly interesting project to be involved in, as it marks the first time I've employed forensic methods that would usually be used for a human facial reconstruction and applied these to an animal skull.

Recommended The earth mother of all neolithic discoveries

"This brought its own set of challenges, as there is much less existing data relating to average tissue depths in canine skulls compared to humans."

Cuween Hill chambered cairn - built between 3000 and 2400 BC - is an example of a Neolithic chamber tomb.

It has four cells opening off a central chamber, which is accessed down a passage.

The structure suggests there was a belief in an afterlife 5,000 years ago, with evidence of complex burial rites.

In all, 24 dog bones and skulls were discovered when the Neolithic site was excavated in 1901, as well as the remains of eight humans.

Press Association Scotland
Free sanitary products are to be given to girls in primary and secondary schools in Wales in a bid to tackle period poverty.

The move follows reports some pupils have been using socks and toilet paper or even staying off school when having their period because they cannot afford tampons or towels.

The Welsh government announced it would fund the 2.3m scheme with immediate effect.

The announcement follows the Scottish governments funding of free sanitary products in all schools, colleges and universities last year. A similar scheme is expected to be introduced for English secondary schools from September.

The new Welsh government grant will provide more than 141,000 female students with a range of sanitary products free of charge.

Period euphemisms around the World Show all 8 1 /8 Period euphemisms around the World Period euphemisms around the World Germany 'Erdbeerwoche': translates as 'strawberry week' iStock Period euphemisms around the World France 'Les Anglais out debarque' or 'The English have arrived' referring to past wars with England and possibly the British army's red coats Getty Images Period euphemisms around the World Brazil 'Eustou Com Chico' or "I'm with Chico' in reference to socialist Chico Mendes and possibly his gruesome assassination in the late 80's Getty Images Period euphemisms around the World Finland The Finnish affectionately refer to periods and pms as 'Hullum Lechman Tauti' or 'mad cow disease' Getty Images Period euphemisms around the World The United States Though there are many varied terms, a popular americans commonly refer to periods as 'Aunt Flo' iStock Period euphemisms around the World China In China you may hear 'its little sister to come in' iStock Period euphemisms around the World Denmark 'Der Er Kommunister i Lysthuset' or 'There are communists in the funhouse' Getty Images Period euphemisms around the World South Africa A famed colloquialism for a period in South Africa is 'Grannys stuck in traffic' iStock

First minister of Wales Mark Drakeford said: We are committed to supporting period dignity and maintaining our investment in schools to help bring period poverty to an end.

In March, we declared free sanitary products would be available to all women in Waless hospitals  it is only just that the same happens across our schools.

It is essential ample sanitary products, as well as good facilities, are available to all female learners so they can manage their periods with confidence and remove what is an unnecessary barrier to their education.

Welsh education minister Kirsty Williams said: Its unthinkable that young women could be forced to miss days of their education simply because they cant access or afford period products.

Were committed to tackling this inequality in Wales and this funding will help make period products available to learners in all schools, free of charge and in the most dignified way possible.

The grant money will be made available through local authorities, with schools encouraged to support reusable, environmentally sustainable products.

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Research from humanitarian organisation Plan International shows 15 per cent of girls in the UK struggle to afford sanitary products, 14 per cent have had to borrow from their friends and almost 20 per cent have had to use a less suitable product due to cost.

Chancellor Philip Hammond announced in Marchs spring statement that the government would fund a scheme to provide free sanitary products in secondary schools in England from September this year.

This follows an NHS pledge to make tampons and sanitary towels available to patients on request from summer this year.

Press Association
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said that Julian Assange should answer questions over longstanding rape and sexual assault allegations made in Sweden.

If there are allegations which Julian Assange needs to answer of sexual issues, sexual attacks that may or may not have taken place in Sweden, then its a matter for the courts to decide, he said in an interview with Sky News.

But, I do think he should answer those questions.

The politician said he continued to oppose the WikiLeaks founders extradition to the US.

My objection was to his extradition to the United States because I do believe that WikiLeaks told us the truth about what was actually happening in Afghanistan and in Iraq, he said.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 9 December 2021 Camels are lead around Salisbury Cathedral during a rehearsal for the Christmas Eve Service PA UK news in pictures 8 December 2021 Margaret Keenan and Nurse May Parsons, a year after Margaret was the first person in the UK to receive the Pfizer vaccine PA UK news in pictures 7 December 2021 Snowfall in Leadhills, South Lanarkshire as Storm Barra hits the UK with disruptive winds, heavy rain and snow PA UK news in pictures 6 December 2021 A person tries to avoid sea spray on New Brighton promenade in Wallasey as the UK readies for the arrival of Storm Barra Getty UK news in pictures 5 December 2021 People release balloons during a tribute to six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes outside Emma Tustin's former address in Solihull, West Midlands, where he was murdered by his stepmother PA UK news in pictures 4 December 2021 People walk through a Christmas market in Trafalgar Square Reuters UK news in pictures 3 December 2021 A pedestrian carries a dog as they dodge shoppers on Oxford Street in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 2 December 2021 Duchess of Cambridge inspects a Faberge egg at the Victoria and Albert Museum Getty UK news in pictures 1 December 2021 Meerkats at London Zoo with an advent calendar PA UK news in pictures 30 November 2021 Workers put the finishing touches to the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree ahead of the lighting ceremony later in the week PA UK news in pictures 29 November 2021 Home Secretary Priti Patel is greeted by a police dog at a special memorial service for Met Police Sergeant Matiu Ratana Getty UK news in pictures 28 November 2021 Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City battles for possession with Aaron Cresswell of West Ham United during a match at the Etihad during snow Manchester City/Getty UK news in pictures 27 November 2021 Residents clear branches from a fallen tree in Birkenhead, north west England as Storm Arwen triggered a rare red weather warning AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 December 2021 An aerial picture shows a worker using a quad bike and trailer to transport freshly harvested trees at Pimms Christmas Tree farm in Matfield, southeast England AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 26 November 2021 A shopper browses Christmas trees for sale at Pines and Needles in Dulwich, London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 November 2021 A murmuration of hundreds of thousands of starlings fly over a field at dusk in Cumbria, close to the Scottish border PA UK news in pictures 3 December 2021 A pedestrian carries a dog as they dodge shoppers on Oxford Street in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 November 2021 Migrants are helped ashore from a RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) lifeboat at a beach in Dungeness, on the south-east coast of England, on November 24, 2021, after being rescued while crossing the English Channel. AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 23 November 2021 The coffin of Sir David Amess is carried past politicians, including former Prime Ministers Sir John Major, David Cameron and Theresa May, Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Home Secretary Priti Patel and Prime Minister Boris Johnson during the requiem mass for the MP at Westminster Cathedral, central London PA UK news in pictures 22 November 2021 The scene in Dragon Rise, Norton Fitzwarren, Somerset where police have launched a murder probe after two people were found dead Tom Wren/SWNS UK news in pictures 21 November 2021 London-based midwife Sarah Muggleton, 27, takes part in a 'March with Midwives' in central London to highlight the crisis in maternity services PA UK news in pictures 20 November 2021 Police officers monitor as climate change activists sit down and block traffic during a protest action in solidarity with activists from the Insulate Britain group who received prison terms for blocking roads, on Lambeth Bridge in central London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 19 November 2021 A giant installation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson made from recycled clothing goes on display at Manchester Central, as part of Manchester Art Fair, in a 'wake-up call for the Prime Minister to tackle textile waste' PA UK news in pictures 18 November 2021 The scene at a recycling centre in Stert, near Devizes in Wiltshire after a large blaze was brought under control. The fire broke out on Wednesday night the fire service has said and local residents were advised to keep windows and doors shut due to large amounts of smoke PA UK news in pictures 17 November 2021 The sun rises over South Shields Lighthouse, on the North East coast of England PA UK news in pictures 16 November 2021 ancer Maithili Vijayakumar at the launch of 2021 Diwali celebrations at St Andrew Square in Edinburgh PA UK news in pictures 15 November 2021 Forensic officers work outside Liverpool Women's Hospital, following a car blast, in Liverpool Reuters UK news in pictures 14 November 2021 Wreaths by the Cenotaph after the Remembrance Sunday service in Whitehall, London PA UK news in pictures 13 November 2021 Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of detainee Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, is ending his hunger strike in central London after almost three weeks. Ratcliffe has spent 21 days camped outside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London without food. He began his demonstration on 24 October after his wife lost her latest appeal in Iran, saying his family was caught in a dispute between two states PA UK news in pictures 12 November 2021 Peter Green protesting outside the Cop26 gates during the official final day of the Cop26 summit in Glasgow. PA UK news in pictures 11 November 2021 Seagulls fly around the statue entitled 'Tommy', a first World War soldier by artist Ray Lonsdale at dawn in Seaham, Britain Reuters UK news in pictures 10 November 2021 Climate activists dressed as characters inspired by the Netflix series Squid Game protest as they ask Samsung to go 100% renewable energy, outside the venue for COP26 in Glasgow Reuters UK news in pictures 9 November 2021 A deer statue silhouetted at Loch Faskally in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 8 November 2021 Sunrise over St Mary's Lighthouse at Whitley Bay on the North East coast of England PA UK news in pictures 7 November 2021 Activists from Friends of the Earth during a demonstration calling for an end to all new oil and gas projects in the North Sea outside the UK Government's Cop26 hub during the Cop26 summit in Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 November 2021 Protesters take part in a rally organised by the Cop26 Coalition in Glasgow demanding global climate justice PA UK news in pictures 5 November 2021 Final touches are made to a life sized Sir David Attenborough cake surrounded by animals as part of a display created by a group of cake artists during Cake International at NEC Birmingham PA UK news in pictures 4 November 2021 A spectacular display of the Northern Lights seen over Derwentwater, near Keswick in the Lake District PA UK news in pictures 3 November 2021 Police and demonstrators at a Extinction Rebellion protest on Buchanan Street, during the Cop26 summit in Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 2 November 2021 A person walks along the Basingstoke canal near to Dogmersfield in Hampshire PA UK news in pictures 1 November 2021 Sir David Attenborough delivers a speech during Cop26 in Glasgow Reuters UK news in pictures 31 October 2021 Extinction Rebellion activists protest in Edinburgh as the Cop26 conference begins in Glasgow Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2021 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon with Mapuche leader and Minga Indigena Lead Coordinator Claflin Lafkenche (right) alongside indigenous delegates at a ceremonial gathering at the Tramway in Glasgow in a symbolic gesture to mark a unified demand for climate justice PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2021 Ocean Rebellion put on a display of puking oil heads ahead of climate change conference COP26 in Glasgow EPA UK news in pictures 28 October 2021 A man dressed as Santa Claus outside Selfridges in London as the department store unveils its Christmas windows on Oxford Street PA UK news in pictures 27 October 2021 Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak during a visit to Fourpure Brewery in Bermondsey, London, after the chancellor announced a cut to beer taxes in his budget PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2021 Activist Steve Bray demonstrates with a toilet outside the gates of Downing Street, after MPs voted in Parliament against the Environment Bill, allowing companies to pump raw sewage into UK rivers and seas, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 October 2021 Second World War veteran James White, 96, at the opening of the Edinburgh Garden of Remembrance, marking the start of the remembrance period PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2021 Richard Ratcliffe holds up a photo of his wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe as he protests outside the Foreign Office while on hunger strike, part of an effort to lobby the UK foreign secretary to bring his wife home from detention in Iran Getty UK news in pictures 23 October 2021 Partner of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Stella Morris and Editor in Chief of WikiLeaks Kristinn Hrafnsson attend a protest ahead of the appeal hearing over Assange's extradition, in London Reuters

The Labour leaders comments come after more than 70 parliamentarians signed a letter to home secretary Sajid Javid and Labour counterpart Diane Abbott urging them to ensure the 47-year-old WikiLeaks founder faces Swedish authorities if an extradition request is made.

On Friday evening Labours shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry joined the group and called for the WikiLeaks founder to be extradited to Sweden.

I think that what should happen is that he should be extradited to Sweden. And then the Americans can make a further application to have him extradited from Sweden, she said on BBC Radio 4.

And if he is to be extradited from Sweden then he will be able to apply to the Swedish courts, and indeed to the British courts, he will be able to apply to the European Court of Human Rights, and he will be able to make his case.

Referring to the allegations, she went on: Whenever I see pictures of Julian Assange or hear about him I think of two women in Sweden.

Ms Thornberry later added on Twitter: Why werent Swedish authorities told in advance of Assanges ejection from Ecuadorian embassy, and the US clearly was?

Our priority should be the two alleged victims of sexual violence in Sweden and not a ruse to get him extradited to the US as a whistleblower.

Diane Abbott, the partys shadow home secretary, has also told MPs that she thinks the British government should grant such a request if the Swedish authorities seek Assanges extradition.

In a reply to the colleagues who wrote to her, the shadow home secretary said: To echo your own words I do not presume guilt but believe due justice should be followed, and that any complainant should see justice done.

It remains important that any potential rape allegations in Sweden be completely disentangled from whistleblowing in relation to evidence of US wrongdoing abroad.

Key moments for Julian Assange Show all 9 1 /9 Key moments for Julian Assange Key moments for Julian Assange The situation today Assange was arrested after Metropolitan Police officers were invited into the Ecuadorian embassy on April 11 2019. How did it come to this? Ruptly TV Key moments for Julian Assange The break Assange shows the front page of the Guardian on July 26 2010, the day that they broke the story of the thousands of military files leaked by WikiLeaks AFP/Getty Key moments for Julian Assange Wanted A warrant for Assange's arrest was issued in August 2010 for counts of rape and molestation in Sweden AFP/Getty Key moments for Julian Assange Ruling The UK's Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that Assange should be extradited to Sweden to face trial Getty Key moments for Julian Assange Sanctuary Following the ruling, Assange was given asylum by the Ecuadorian governement over fears that his human rights would be violated if he were extradited, he has since remained in the embassy in London Getty Key moments for Julian Assange A friend in Pam Friend Pamela Anderson delivers lunch to Assange at the embassy in October 2016. She has since spoken against his arrest Getty Key moments for Julian Assange Arbitrarily detained A UN panel found in 2016 that Assange had been arbitrarily detained and that he had not been able to claim his full right to asylum. It urged Sweden to withdraw the charges against him Getty Key moments for Julian Assange The cat ultimatum Last year, the Ecuadorian embassy threatened to revoke Assange's internet access unless he stopped making political statements online and started taking better care of James, his pet cat. Assange accused Ecuador of violating his rights Reuters Key moments for Julian Assange Arrest Assange was arrested on April 11 2019. Ecuador revoked his asylum status and invited the Metropolitan Police in to the embassy to arrest him. Reuters

Labour MP Stella Creasy, one of the main organisers behind the letter, thanked Ms Abbott for her powerful and speedy response on the need to support victims of sexual violence.

Ms Abbott and Jeremy Corbyn had both outlined their strong opposition to Assanges extradition to the US, following his forcible removal from the Ecuadorian embassy in London earlier this week.

The shadow home secretary had said that Assanges extradition to the US could be prevented on human rights grounds and cited the case of British hacker Gary McKinnon, whose deportation was blocked by Theresa May while she was home secretary in 2012.

In a BBC Radio 4 interview on Friday, Ms Abbott was asked repeatedly about allegations of rape made against Assange in Sweden, replying: Those charges were never brought.

Prosecutors in Stockholm dropped the rape investigation in 2017 because they could not advance while Assange remained in the embassy, but are now considering reopening it.

Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott (PA)

Tory former Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt also told the BBC on Saturday: The minimising of the issues in relation to sexual assault are really quite disturbing.You read the testimony and concerns of the women who have been involved, I have no view on the matter because it must come before a court, but it seems essential to me that he should face justice for what he has been accused of.



Either to acquit him, or to see him appropriately convicted."

Assange spent almost seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he sought political asylum in 2012 after failing in his legal battle against extradition to Sweden, where he was wanted over two separate allegations.



In May 2017, Swedens top prosecutor dropped the long-running inquiry into a rape claim against Assange, which he has always denied.

But his arrest prompted the lawyer for a Swedish woman who alleged she was raped by Assange during a visit to Stockholm in 2010 to say they wanted the case reopened.

Prosecutors in Sweden have since confirmed that, while the investigation has not been resumed, they are looking into the case.
Former Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston has told The Independent she is too afraid to advertise meetings in public because of death threats and abuse  and said some of her former Tory colleagues are to blame for encouraging a culture of violent hostility towards politicians.

Ms Wollaston, who now sits as a member of the Independent Group, said she has had to change the way I operate and fears that people will be put off going into politics by the tide of vitriol those in the public eye now have to deal with.

When you get an email from someone threatening to kill you, you dont know if thats a keyboard warrior, somebody who lives with his mum in Luton or if its someone down the road from you, she said.

Whats angered me is that I have had to change the way I operate as an MP. I can no longer advertise on social media my public meetings, for example. I used to hold surgeries in public places and tell people Id be there, I cant do that any more. And so I think there is something leading to a diminution of our very open access. Its a shame, and I think its a loss.

She said comments made by members of the Brexit-backing European Research Group about Theresa May had encouraged a culture of hostility from right-wing extremists.

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

I think MPs routinely come under the most extreme sort of threats from the far right, Ms Wollaston said. What we have seen is a normalisation of threats of violence that was never there when I first went into politics.

Im afraid its not helped by language of MPs themselves, when we hear the language used by some members of the ERG towards their own PM  bring your own noose, talking about stabbing her with hot knives, and one of my former colleagues referring to some MPs as traitors.

Thats the kind of thing where you think there is a responsibility on MPs as well to be careful about the language they use and the effect that can have outside parliament.

Andrew Bridgen, a Conservative Party MP and member of the ERG, denied that the violent language used towards Ms May was made by a fellow ERG member, despite newspaper claims to the contrary.

Ive never used that language, Mr Bridgen told The Independent. I had no idea who made that comment about hot knives. I dont remember it being someone from the ERG who said it. It certainly wasnt me and I have no idea whos said it and I wouldnt support that statement. I dont know a colleague who would say that. It seems a bizarre thing to say. I dont know anyone in the ERG who would say that.

Ms Wollaston pointed to a huge contrast between the abuse hurled during the Leave means Leave rally and the Peoples Vote march a week before.

It was a lovely atmosphere at the Peoples Vote march, very positive, no incidences for the police to have to deal with, Ms Wollaston said.

Contrast that with the rally where you have a far-right activist, Tommy Robinson, speaking from a stage near the centre, and the scale of the abuse and unpleasantness people were subjected to as they left the gates.

The Brexit referendum campaign, vote and subsequent political impasse has deepened divisions in political and public life, most starkly illustrated by the murder of MP Jo Cox by a white supremacist during the campaign and rising hate crime.

Ms Wollastons colleague Anna Soubry, who also left the Conservative Party for the Independent Group, is involved in an ongoing investigation in which she has accused pro-Brexit activist James Goddard of abuse outside parliament. Mr Goddard has denied the claims.

Ms Wollaston believes the abuse she has experienced adds weight to the argument for a Final Say referendum on Britains EU membership, something for which The Independent has been campaigning.

We shouldnt cave in to that kind of abuse  you dont tackle the far right by appeasing them, she said.

 Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

You tackle them head on by saying Were not going to allow our democratic processes to be undermined because it might upset the far right. Its all the more reason to have a Peoples Vote.

Mr Bridgen said he believed the media had played a role in encouraging the abuse directed at MPs online and in person.

It doesnt help when newspapers like the Daily Mail say that MPs who didnt vote for the prime ministers deal are traitors and print our email addresses, he said. I have been getting emails from people and its a template letter from the Daily Mail.

As for the abuse aimed at Ms Wollaston, he said her decision to change parties may have been an aggravating factor.

Theres no doubt the polarisation over Brexit has intensified. The fact Sarah has moved party, that wont have improved that situation, he said.

Im not saying its her fault, but thats an exacerbating matter for her. In an ideal world no MP should be subject to abuse but thats the world we are in.
Chancellor Philip Hammond has hinted Theresa May could remain in office until October  the new deadline for negotiations over Brexit to conclude.

Despite dozens of the prime ministers own colleagues calling for her resignation in recent weeks, Mr Hammond said Ms May did not have any intention of leaving before the first stage of the Brexit process is over.

The Tory leader has previously told MPs that she was not prepared to delay Brexit any further than 30 June, and that she would leave Downing Street after a withdrawal agreement had been secured in parliament.

But at an emergency summit this week in Brussels, EU leaders extended the Article 50 negotiating period until 31 October, with the option of the UK leaving the bloc if a deal is agreed beforehand.

Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Nigel Farage speaks at the launch of his new Brexit Party's campaign for the European elections Reuters Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Brexit Party candidate Annunziata Rees-Mogg, sister of Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, speaks at the launch AFP/Getty Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures A supporter waits for Farage to speak AFP/Getty Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Supporters wait for Farage to speak AFP/Getty Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Farage's socks Reuters Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Farage and prospective candidate Annunziata Rees-Mogg wait at the launch AFP/Getty Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Supporters listen as Farage speaks AFP/Getty Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Free T-shirts for all attendees AFP/Getty Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Posters on the seats for supporters of the Brexit Party AFP/Getty Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures A safety sign is pictured AFP/Getty

Speaking to Bloomberg, Mr Hammond hinted Ms May could stay on until October: The prime minister has said that she will leave once she has done the deal and taken us out of the European Union.

The chancellor said that as far as he was aware she doesnt have any intention of leaving until that deal is done, adding: So, she is a person with a strong sense of duty. She feels that she has got a duty, and an obligation to the British people to deliver Brexit and she will certainly want to make good on that obligation.

Pressure will also be immense on Ms May to outline her departure timeline ahead of the Conservative Partys annual conference in Manchester this autumn, with many of those hoping to succeed her wanting to use this opportunity for a change in direction.

Asked about the implications of a leadership contest, the chancellor said: Lets be honest, we have already got people jockeying for position to succeed her, but thats just one of those things.

If Ms May fails to gain MPs support for a Brexit deal in the coming weeks, the UK will be forced to participate in the European elections on 23 May, which Mr Hammond also described as a pointless exercise.

The only way we can avoid that is by getting a deal agreed and done quickly, and if we can do that by 22 May then of course we can avoid fighting European parliamentary elections, he said.But in any case we want to ensure any British MEPs that are elected never have to take their seats.

Mr Hammonds remarks came as a poll by YouGov for The Times showed the Conservatives losing significant support, and indicated the party could be in for a challenging time at the European elections next month if the UK participates.

According to the poll, the Tories are on 28 per cent if there were a general election tomorrow, four points down since the start of April. Labour is on 31 per cent, with the Liberal Democrats on 11 per cent and the newly formed Brexit Party on 6 per cent.
Protesters in Sudan are demanding a civilian government after the countrys defence minister resigned just 24 hours after he was sworn as interim leader following a military coup.

General Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf, who led the movement to overthrow former president Omar al-Bashir after months of bloody protests against his repressive 30-year rule, stepped down on Friday to preserve unity within the armed forces.

In a speech broadcast on state television, he named Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan as his successor, whose experience, skills and eligibility he said made him the right person to steer this ship that has sailed to safety.

Jubilant anti-regime protesters raised flags and peace signs outside the army headquarters in Khartoum and chanted the second has fallen after news broke of Mr Ibn Aufs departure.

However, the move did little to appease protesters who have continued to demonstrate outside government buildings in Khartoum as they call for democratic reform following President Bashirs ousting.

Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Show all 20 1 /20 Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Protesters rally outside the military headquarters in Khartoum to demand that President Omar al-Bashir step down Reuters Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Alaa Salah leads the protest against President Omar al-Bashir Lana Haroun/Twitter Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Protesters run from tear gas deployed by security forces as they take part in a demonstration to demand the departure of the Sudanese government EPA Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Sudanese protesters rally outside the military headquarters in Khartoum on April 8 Sudan Congress Party Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Sudanese protesters rally outside the military headquarters in Khartoum on April 10 Reuters Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Alaa Salah, a Sudanese woman propelled to internet fame earlier this week after clips went viral of her leading powerful protest chants against President Omar al-Bashir, addresses protesters outside of the military headquarters in Khartoum AFP/Getty Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Sudanese protesters march on the military headquarters in Khartoum on April 8 AFP/Getty Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Reuters Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Sudanese protesters pray as they rally outside the military headquarters in Khartoum AFP/Getty Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Sudanese protesters chant slogans as they march in protest against President Omar al-Bashir Reuters Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Sudanese protesters rally outside the military headquarters in Khartoum on April 8 AFP/Getty Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Sudanese protesters rally outside the military headquarters in Khartoum on April 8 AFP/Getty Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Sudanese protesters climb onto a military vehicle beside soldiers during protests in Khartoum AFP/Getty Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Security forces deploy tear gas to disperse protesters against the Sudanese government Reuters Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Sudanese protesters rally outside the military headquarters in Khartoum on April 8 AFP/Getty Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan A wounded protester rests during a demonstration in front of the military headquarters in Khartoum AFP/Getty Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan A Sudanese protester shows bullet cartridges as protesters gather in Khartoum AFP/Getty Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Protesters march on the military headquarters in Khartoum Sudan Congress Party Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Sudanese protesters march on the defence ministry in Khartoum to demand that President Omar al-Bashir step down Reuters Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan A Sudanese protester picks up waste during a demonstration in front of the military headquarters in Khartoum AFP/Getty

On Saturday demonstrators pushing for faster political change vowed to remain on the streets despite at least 16 people being shot dead at demonstrations on Thursday and Friday.

We call on the armed forces to ensure the immediate transfer of power to a transitional civilian government, said the Sudan Professionals Association (SPA), which has been spearheading the demonstrations.

It added in a statement: Today, we continue the march to finish the victory for our victorious revolution.

We assert that our revolution is continuing and will not retreat or deviate from its path until we achieve ... our peoples legitimate demands of handing over power to a civilian government.

Protest leaders rejected the new authoritys plan for a two-year transitional period over concerns that the armed forces were attempting what has become known in the Arab world as the Egyptian scenario, in which the military ousts an unpopular president only to replace them with another from their own ranks.

Demonstrators have called for the abolition of arbitrary decisions by leaders that do not represent the people and the detention of all symbols of the former regime who were involved in crimes against the people.

Mr Ibn Auf was a particularly controversial pick for the Sudans presidency. He has been on the US sanctions list since 2007 for links to war crimes during the countrys Darfur war. In 2007, his assets were blocked by the US treasury and he was indicted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide following conflict in which 200,000 people were killed.

SPA spokesperson Rashid Saeed said Mr Ibn Aufs decision to make way was a step in the right direction and a bow to the will of the masses. He added: We have become closer to victory.

Sudans deputy UN ambassador, Yasir Abdalla Abdelsalam Ahmed, called for patience over the democratic process in his country and urged the international community to support a peaceful transition.

No party will be excluded from the political process, including armed groups, he told the UN Security Council during a meeting in Abyei on Friday.
Sudans new military chief has promised protesters that a civilian government will be formed, after the countrys president was overthrown in a coup.

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Abdelrahman, the head of the ruling military council, made the comments during a televised address on Saturday.

In the speech he promised the armed forces would consult opposition groups about civilian leadership and lift a curfew imposed by his predecessor.

He has freed all prisoners jailed by Omar al-Bashir, the countrys ousted president, under a state of emergency which was declared in February.

The lieutenant general also said that a military-led transitional period would last for two years at most.

Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Show all 20 1 /20 Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Protesters rally outside the military headquarters in Khartoum to demand that President Omar al-Bashir step down Reuters Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Alaa Salah leads the protest against President Omar al-Bashir Lana Haroun/Twitter Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Protesters run from tear gas deployed by security forces as they take part in a demonstration to demand the departure of the Sudanese government EPA Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Sudanese protesters rally outside the military headquarters in Khartoum on April 8 Sudan Congress Party Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Sudanese protesters rally outside the military headquarters in Khartoum on April 10 Reuters Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Alaa Salah, a Sudanese woman propelled to internet fame earlier this week after clips went viral of her leading powerful protest chants against President Omar al-Bashir, addresses protesters outside of the military headquarters in Khartoum AFP/Getty Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Sudanese protesters march on the military headquarters in Khartoum on April 8 AFP/Getty Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Reuters Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Sudanese protesters pray as they rally outside the military headquarters in Khartoum AFP/Getty Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Sudanese protesters chant slogans as they march in protest against President Omar al-Bashir Reuters Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Sudanese protesters rally outside the military headquarters in Khartoum on April 8 AFP/Getty Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Sudanese protesters rally outside the military headquarters in Khartoum on April 8 AFP/Getty Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Sudanese protesters climb onto a military vehicle beside soldiers during protests in Khartoum AFP/Getty Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Security forces deploy tear gas to disperse protesters against the Sudanese government Reuters Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Sudanese protesters rally outside the military headquarters in Khartoum on April 8 AFP/Getty Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan A wounded protester rests during a demonstration in front of the military headquarters in Khartoum AFP/Getty Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan A Sudanese protester shows bullet cartridges as protesters gather in Khartoum AFP/Getty Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Protesters march on the military headquarters in Khartoum Sudan Congress Party Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan Sudanese protesters march on the defence ministry in Khartoum to demand that President Omar al-Bashir step down Reuters Military HQ occupied by anti-government protesters in Sudan A Sudanese protester picks up waste during a demonstration in front of the military headquarters in Khartoum AFP/Getty

At least 16 civilians have been killed during the protests but opposition groups have vowed to continue the demonstrations.

The protesters were killed on Thursday and Friday, while a further 20 were shot and left injured, a police spokesperson said.

The coalition of opposition groups leading the demonstrations agreed to meet with the armed forces on Saturday, to discuss a future civilian government.

Sudan Professionals Association (SPA), the group which is leading the demonstrations, had earlier urged protesters to keep marching to demand civilian rule.

The demonstrators have consistently called for rapid political change in Sudan.

We assert that our revolution is continuing and will not retreat or deviate from its path until we achieve ... Our peoples legitimate demands of handing over power to a civilian government, the SPA said in a statement.

Protest leaders have already rejected the two-year transition period mentioned by Mr Burhan.

Some are concerned that the military is planning what is known as an Egyptian scenario, where an unpopular president is replaced by an equally disliked one from army ranks.

The weeks of protest were initially triggered by a mix of rising unemployment, food costs and government repression.

Mr Bashir was ousted on Thursday and arrested by the military after three decades in power.

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General Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf, the defence minister, resigned as head of the transitional military council on Friday after just one day in the post.

He claimed he did so to preserve unity in the armed forces and named Mr Burhan as his successor in a televised speech.

Salah Abdallah Mohamed Saleh, Sudans intelligence chief, has also resigned, state media reported on Saturday.

Demonstrators had held him responsible for the brutal crackdown on protesters and for the civilian deaths.

Gen Ibn Aufs resignation prompted jubilation in the streets of Khartoum on Friday.

Thousands of people waved flags and mobile phones and drivers hooted horns through the night.

Islamists have now lost control and they are in shock. Their ability to project influence in an organised way inside the state appears weak, Khalid al-Tijani. a Sudanese analyst, said.

The reason for the changes in Sudan is the pressure from protesters and pressures within the army, and the fear among military commanders of a split in the armed forces.

Additional reporting by agencies
In the last few weeks, Dr Jay Begun says he and his colleagues have been in something akin to crisis mode at their small pediatrics office in Brooklyn.

As an accelerating outbreak of measles has raised alarms both inside and outside of the secluded Jewish community there, staff have been forced to take some patients on the pavement or in their cars, hoping to avoid spreading the virus that has made the Williamsburg neighbourhood the latest epicentre of a national debate on vaccines.

Where possible, nasal swabs and blood samples are taken from children  thought to have been exposed to the virus at yeshivas or during play dates in a culture that encourages big and burgeoning families  outside, just as the weather has shown signs of relenting from the lingering cold of winter.

Over the last few weeks there has been a significant increase in the number of cases. Im seeing many more cases. Im getting many more calls about it, said Dr Begun, the founder of Kindercare Pediatrics and an instructor in the Department of Pediatrics at Mount Sinai Medical Centre.

For some reason, all of a sudden, the transmission became accelerated. Its really gained a momentum, he said of the outbreak of the virus, said to have been brought back from Israel in October by Orthodox Jews returning from Sukkot, the Jewish harvest festival.

School buses with Yiddish writing on the sides in Williamsburg (The Independent/Clark Mindock)

New York City has seen at least 229 cases of measles just this year, accounting for nearly half of the 465 cases seen across the country, in an outbreak of a disease that American health officials declared eradicated 20 years ago. Since October, the citys total outbreak has been 285.

That concerning situation is illustrative of a broader surge in anti-vaccine thinking in communities across the US in recent years, touching on communities of all stripes. In Texas, conservative populations have rejected vaccines, while liberals in Washington state have done the same.

Vaccines funding could 'save 4m children' Show all 9 1 /9 Vaccines funding could 'save 4m children' Vaccines funding could 'save 4m children' 613712.bin Photo credit: Luca Kleve-Rudd Vaccines funding could 'save 4m children' 613713.bin Photo credit: Anna Kari Vaccines funding could 'save 4m children' 613714.bin Photo credit: Caroline Trutmann/Save the Children Vaccines funding could 'save 4m children' 613717.bin Photo credit: Anna Kari Vaccines funding could 'save 4m children' 613715.bin Photo credit: Leah Tepper Byrne Vaccines funding could 'save 4m children' 613716.bin Photo credit: Rachel Palmer/Save the Children Vaccines funding could 'save 4m children' 613718.bin Photo credit: Rachel Palmer/Save the Children Vaccines funding could 'save 4m children' 613720.bin Photo credit: Peter Caton Vaccines funding could 'save 4m children' 613719.bin Photo credit: Rachel Palmer/Save the Children

In those areas, as in Brooklyn, misinformation has spread and instilled fear, with campaigns warning of sin, or autism, or any number of side effects from the modern medicine that has saved lives. At least 17 studies have shown no link between autism and the MMR vaccine, a theory originally proposed by disgraced British doctor Andrew Wakefield.

As the recent cases in Brooklyn piled up  fuelled by pamphlets warning that vaccines are made with the cells of aborted foetuses and will cause autism  in the close-knit community of Orthodox Jews in southern Williamsburg and Borough Park, the situation drew the attention of New York mayor Bill de Blasio this week, who took action by declaring a health emergency and instructing his health department to focus on making sure that the dangerous and highly contagious disease is stopped.

To tackle the problem, the city says that 20 health inspectors have been deployed to the area wearing uniform blue jackets, conducting vaccine audits of yeshivas, and working closely with physicians to make sure that residents have access to information and vaccines that could be life saving.

Those inspectors have assisted with interviews of individuals who may have been exposed to the virus, and are bringing blood samples to a lab in Queens for further analysis, a spokesperson for the mayors office said.

The health department is doubling down on this outbreak and continuing its targeted, methodical work in the affected areas to ensure they are reaching members of the community who may have potentially been exposed and sharing the importance of vaccinations, the spokesperson said in an email.

 Health officials urge vaccines as US faces measles outbreak

But the situation in Williamsburg, from the ground, appears anything but desperate.

Men and women walk along the pavements and streets as normal, and kosher markets remain open and selling products such as Idaho potatoes. Bright yellow school buses emblazoned in Yiddish still run their routes. Fathers wearing broad brimmed black hats and bekishes still wait on street corners for their toddler daughters to arrive on those same buses.

David Oberlander, the principal at the Yeshiva Kehilath Yakov where some cases had been found earlier in the outbreak, pointed out a letter he had received from the citys health department indicating that his schools had been 97.3 per cent compliant with vaccination requirements in mid-February, but had since then raised that to 100 per cent.

Mr Oberlander said that he thinks the spike in cases is the result of big families in a tight urban environment, not necessarily indicative of a widespread disbelief and fear of vaccines. The fact that they are children, he said, shows that it is likely that parents had been putting off the vaccines until later in the childrens lives, which incidentally reduced herd immunity.

Its a close-knit community. Small apartments. You can have 50-60 children in a building, he said.

Mr Oberlander said that his schools will not admit students if they have not been vaccinated, and that he suspects most cases are very young children. He suggested that it is not just his community that has seen these outbreaks, noting that they have been reported all over the country.

It sounded like there was an ultra-Orthodox cult, he said of the recent media coverage of the situation in Brooklyn.

Rabbi David Niederman likewise said that he does not think the individuals in his community  which numbers in the hundreds of thousands  are rejecting vaccines at a rate unseen in other areas of the country. His community cares about the health of its members and children, he said.

Instead, he said that the virus can spread faster in his community, which has built itself around religious institutions in a New York City neighbourhood that is barely more than two square miles in total.

In a city known for having residents that literally live on top of one another, the residents of south Williamsburg are particularly connected.

Its the nature of New York City, Rabbi Niederman said. But, we also have to live around our religious infrastructure.
Kim Jong-un has warned of dark and very dangerous prospects unless the US changes its policy by the end of the year, according to state media.

The North Korean leader issued the deadline as he accused Donald Trumps administration of open hostile moves during a speech in Pyongyang on Friday.

He said he would only agree to further talks at a third summit if the US has the right attitude.

The US is further escalating the hostility to us with each passing day despite its suggestion for settling the issue through dialogue, said Mr Kim.

It is as foolish and dangerous an act as trying to put out fire with oil. To this end, it is essential for the US to quit its current calculation method and approach us with new one.

North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits Show all 16 1 /16 North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea, portraits of former supreme leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il are required by law to be hung in the home, the classroom, the factory and all manner of other private and public places Reuters North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In the classroom AFP/Getty North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In the living room AFP/Getty North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In the maternity ward of the hospital Alamy North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits On board the ship Reuters North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits At the ballot box Mannen av bord North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In the office AFP/Getty North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits On the bridegroom Reuters North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits On the Pyongyang subway Reuters North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits On a government building Reuters North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In the teacher training facility AFP/Getty North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In Kim Il Sung square in Pyongyang Reuters North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In the home AFP/Getty North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits At the military parade Reuters North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In the hall Reuters North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits At the Chinese border AFP/Getty

He added: We will wait for a bold decision from the US with patience till the end of this year but I think it will definitely be difficult to get such a good opportunity as the previous summit.

What is clear is that if the US persists in its present political calculation method, the prospect of solving the issues will be dark and very dangerous.

Mr Kim gave two examples of open hostile US policy  a recent test simulating the interception of an intercontinental ballistic missile from North Korea and the resumption of military exercises in the area.

These seriously rattle us, he added, according to the KCNA agency. As wind is bound to bring waves, the US open hostile policy towards the DPRK [the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea] will naturally bring our corresponding acts.

Recommended Trump says North Korea sanctions will remain

During the speech, titled On Socialist Construction and the Internal and External Policies of the Government of the Republic at the Present Stage, Mr Kim insisted his relations with President Donald Trump were still good.

The two leaders have met twice, in Singapore in June 2018 and in Hanoi in February, but failed to agree on a deal to lift sanctions in exchange for North Korea abandoning its nuclear and missile problems.

Mr Trump has indicated he is open to a third summit but said on Thursday he wanted sanctions to remain in place.

The North Korean leader responded in his speech: The United States is talking a lot about holding a third US-DPRK summit meeting, but we are neither pleased nor willing to see a summit like the Hanoi summit reenacted.

But as President Trump continues to mention, the personal relations between me and President Trump are not as hostile as the relations between the two countries, and we still have a good relationship, and if we want, we can send and receive letters asking for each others regards any time.

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The North Korean leader added that if the US were to ask for a third summit, it would be with the condition that the US has the right attitude and finds a methodology that can be shared with us, we would be willing to try one more time.

Mr Trump responded to the speech with two tweets saying that a third summit would be good.

He wrote: I agree with Kim Jong-un of North Korea that our personal relationship remains very good, perhaps the term excellent would be even more accurate, and that a third Summit would be good in that we fully understand where we each stand.

North Korea has tremendous potential for extraordinary growth, economic success and riches under the leadership of Chairman Kim. I look forward to the day, which could be soon, when Nuclear Weapons and Sanctions can be removed, and then watching North Korea become one of the most successful nations of the World!

Since the breakdown of talks in Hanoi, Mr Trump has blamed the failure on his former lawyer Michael Cohens congressional testimony while North Korea has been accused of rebuilding a missile site it promised would be scrapped.
Babies born out of wedlock are abandoned on the streets in Saudi Arabia as women fear retribution and punishment for having a child outside of marriage, campaigners have warned.

Abortion is illegal in the Middle Eastern country unless a womans health is at risk and sexual relations outside of marriage are criminalised  with unmarried women faced with prosecution and even jail if they are found to be pregnant.

Under the kingdoms restrictive guardianship system, women are legal minors and cannot marry, divorce, travel, get a job, be released from prison or have elective surgery without permission from their male guardians. Women are also forbidden from mixing freely with members of the opposite sex.

Dana Almayouf, a Saudi woman living in New York, said: Babies are abandoned on the streets. It is not safe on the streets. Mostly our newspapers in Saudi Arabia do not shed light on the subject because it is a taboo.

Even with premarital sex, they get rid of the baby by putting them on the street, she claimed.

No matter how open minded your family is, you cant keep the baby if you are not married.

Sometimes they kill the girl if she has been raped  if your family is crazy conservative they will kill their own relatives. On the other hand, the men can have as much sex as they want as long as they do not speak about it.

Women in Saudi Arabia, according to Amnestys latest human rights report, face systematic discrimination in law and practice and were inadequately protected against sexual and other violence.

Tunisians protest against Saudi Crown Prince's visit Show all 10 1 /10 Tunisians protest against Saudi Crown Prince's visit Tunisians protest against Saudi Crown Prince's visit Street protests greeted Mohammed Bin Salman during his visit to Tunisia AFP/Getty Tunisians protest against Saudi Crown Prince's visit A mural depicting Mohammed Bin Salman washing his hands of blood Simon Speakman Cordall Tunisians protest against Saudi Crown Prince's visit A protester holds a banner accusing Mohammed Bin Salman of being a war criminal AP Tunisians protest against Saudi Crown Prince's visit Protesters pass down Habib Bourguiba avenue in Tunis Simon Speakman Cordall Tunisians protest against Saudi Crown Prince's visit A Tunisian man holds up a cartoon that depicts Donald Trump assisting Mohammed Bin Salman in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi AP Tunisians protest against Saudi Crown Prince's visit A poster depicting a war ravaged Yemeni child Simon Speakman Cordall Tunisians protest against Saudi Crown Prince's visit Protesters hold up saws in reference to the reportedly gruesome manner in which Jamal Khashoggi was disposed of AFP/Getty Tunisians protest against Saudi Crown Prince's visit Protesters pass down Habib Bourguiba avenue in Tunis Simon Speakman Cordall Tunisians protest against Saudi Crown Prince's visit Protesters chant slogans as they move down Habib Bourguiba avenue in Tunis Reuters Tunisians protest against Saudi Crown Prince's visit Protesters pass down Habib Bourguiba avenue in Tunis Simon Speakman Cordall

Families often blame the girl if her father or brother raped her, said Ms Almayouf. It would be her own fault. The woman gets the blame most of the time. If you are raped they look for the reason you got raped. But it is taboo to talk about rape.

Ms Almayouf, who left Saudi Arabia in 2012, said she was too scared to return. She has renounced Islam which is punishable by death under the Saudi system of Islamic law.

She said sometimes people place infants outside of mosques, orphanages or hospitals due to not being able to hand them in themselves due to fear of other people asking about where the baby came from. But she said that in some cases nobody takes the baby.

Ms Almayouf, who is a photographer, said occasionally Saudi women find furtive ways to illegally have abortions but this is generally only accessible to those who are rich or well-connected.

Some of the families who abandon the baby kill the girl and tell everyone she killed herself, she added. Or they will lock her in the house because they are never going to trust her anymore. She is basically in prison in the home. It is rare cases when they would not be killed or locked inside.

Ms Almayouf, who has recently been granted a work permit by the US government but is applying for US citizenship, said that women who get pregnant outside of marriage will likely be forced to give birth inside the house because it is illegal to go to hospital to give birth to a baby who is being born outside of wedlock.

Campaigners argue Saudi Arabia profoundly discriminates against women  with womens marital rights being effectively non-existent and marital rape not explicitly defined as a crime.

The guardianship system makes it almost impossible for victims of domestic violence or sexual abuse to seek justice or protection because the police often insist that women and girls obtain their guardians authorisation to file complaints even if the complaint concerns the guardian.

Saudi Arabia imposes a very strict interpretation of Islam known as Wahhabism.

Rothna Begum, senior womens rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, said: It is a widely known issue that babies are left on the street. It is a crime to have children outside of wedlock. If you have managed to escape the authorities noticing you are pregnant, women may choose to abandon babies to avoid crime and punishment, and the stigma and shame of being excluded from their families.

The sad thing is the babies would not have been abandoned if it had not been a crime. Having these laws is allowing for people to abandon babies. You have got a situation where they prosecute them for having the babies and then vilify them for abandoning them.

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Ms Begum, who specialises in the Middle East and North Africa and has extensive research on Saudi Arabia in particular, noted some babies are not abandoned and will end up in orphanages, adding that there are some charities who look after abandoned children.

The campaigner noted that even though sexual relations outside of marriage are criminalised for men and women, the crime disproportionately applies to women because they are the ones who become pregnant so display visible evidence of the crime. She also argued moral standards of behaviour are more readily applied to women than men and that women are more likely to be deemed to be transgressing them.

Women in the country find themselves in prison for having sex outside of marriage, she added.

If you are pregnant you could end up in prison regardless of whether it was rape, she said. You can be sentenced while pregnant and detained in prison during your pregnancy but you will only be subject to lashes after you have your baby.

You can say I was raped by a person driving that car and they can say Why were you in that car and why did you voluntarily enter a place with a man who is not related to you or is your husband?

Saudi women and migrant domestic workers who report abuse, including rape, sometimes face counter-accusations, leaving them open to criminal prosecution, according to a Human Rights Watch report.

Women may be charged with moral crimes, like khilwa (which means mixing with unrelated members of the opposite sex) or with fleeing from their homes.

Ms Begum said it is possible to get an abortion in the country if you have the right connections  noting that backstreet abortions happen like in any country where abortion is criminalised.

The male guardianship system is another factor which prevents women from being able to travel abroad for an abortion as their male guardian may not allow them to go.

A spokesperson for UK abortion provider Marie Stopes said: We had a woman come over from Saudi Arabia who was pregnant out of wedlock. She was 20 and she said her family would kill her if they found out she was pregnant. She managed to get on a plane to visit friends here. We booked her an appointment that suited her travel plans.

Saudi Arabia has faced extensive scrutiny and criticism over its human rights record in the wake of its detainment of womens rights activists. It has also been criticised for its role in the war in Yemen and over the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdoms Istanbul consulate in October.

A representative for the Saudi government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shamima Begum was a member of the Isis morality police, a feared group which enforced the terror organisations strict interpretation of Islamic law, according to reports.

The 19-year-old British citizen, who fled her home in Bethnal Green four years ago with two other schoolgirls, has claimed that she was only a housewife during her time living with the group in Syria.

But according to a report in The Sunday Telegraph she played a much more active role in the organisations reign of terror as a member of the hisba  which metes out punishment to those found flouting Isis laws on how to dress and behave.

One activist quoted by the newspaper said Begum had been seen holding an automatic weapon and shouting at Syrian women in the city of Raqqa for wearing brightly coloured shoes.

Members of our group from Raqqa knew her well, said Aghiad al-Kheder, an activist from Deir ez-Zor who founded an anti-Isis collective that published information about Isis crimes from sources on the ground.

Timeline of the Isis caliphate Show all 19 1 /19 Timeline of the Isis caliphate Timeline of the Isis caliphate ISIS began as a group by the merging of extremist organisations ISI and al-Nusra in 2013. Following clashes, Syrian rebels captured the ISIS headquarters in Aleppo in January 2014 (pictured) AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi declared the creation of a caliphate in Mosul on 27 June 2014 Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis conquered the Kurdish towns of Sinjar and Zumar in August 2014, forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes. Pictured are a group of Yazidi Kurds who have fled Rex Timeline of the Isis caliphate On September 2 2014 Isis released a video depicting the beheading of US journalist Steven Sotloff. On September 13 they released another video showing the execution of British aid worker David Haines Timeline of the Isis caliphate The US launched its first airstrikes against Isis in Syria on 23 September 2014. Here Lt Gen William C Mayville Jnr speaks about the bombing campaign in the wake of the first strikes Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis militants sit atop a hill planted with their flag in the Syrian town of Kobani on 6 October 2014. They had been advancing on Kobani since mid-September and by now was in control of the citys entrance and exit points AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Residents of the border village of Alizar keep guard day and night as they wait in fear of mortar fire from Isis who have occupied the nearby city of Kobani Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Smoke rises following a US airstrike on Kobani, 28 October 2014 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate YPG fighters raise a flag as they reclaim Kobani on 26 January 2015 VOA Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis seized the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on 20 May 2015. This image show the city from above days after its capture by Isis Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Kurdish forces are stationed on a hill above the town of Sinjar as smoke rises following US airstrikes on 12 November 2015 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Kurdish forces enter Sinjar after seizing it from Isis control on 13 November 2015 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Iraqi government forces make the victory sign as they retake the city of Fallujah from ISIS on 26 June 2016 Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Iraqi forces battle with Isis for the city of Mosul on 30 June 2017 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Members of the Iraqi federal police raise flags in Mosul on 8 July 2017. On the following day, Iraqi prime minister Haider Al Abadi declares victory over Isis in Mosul Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Members of Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Female fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim Square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Trucks full of women and children arrive from the last Isis-held areas in Deir ez-Zor, Syria in January 2019 They were among the last civilians to be living in the ISIS caliphate, by this time reduced to just two small villages in Syrias Deir ez-Zor Richard Hall/The Independent Timeline of the Isis caliphate Zikia Ibrahim, 28, with her two-year-old son and 8-month-old daughter, after fleeing the Isis caliphate, on Saturday 26 January 2019 Richard Hall/The Independent

There were lots of young European women in the hisba. Some of them were very harsh and the local population became very scared.

There were separate allegations that Begum stitched suicide bombers into explosive vests, so they could not be removed without detonating.

The Mail on Sunday reported that the prime minister and home secretary had been briefed on intelligence received by the CIA and Dutch military intelligence.

The allegations were made by other westerners who joined Isis, but have not been verified.

They emerged after a warning by the United Nations that jihadi bride stereotypes were causing female Isis recruits to be dangerously underestimated by global security services.

Men and women emerging from the terrorist groups former territories have largely denied any wrongdoing or claimed coercion, and their true activities are hard to verify.

Isis gave women roles as recruiters, radicalisers and enablers of jihad, and officially permitted them to fight in defence of the caliphate.

Begum has been stuck in a displacement camp for months after being detained while leaving Isis territory.

 Isis fighter Yago Riedijk talks about meeting Shamima Begum

The teenager arrived heavily pregnant at al-Hol camp in February, and gave birth shortly after. But her newborn son, named Jarrah, died from a lung infection last month. It was her third child to have died during her time living in the caliphate.

The home secretary, Sajid Javid, stripped Begum of her citizenship and pledged to block British citizens suspected of joining Isis from returning to the UK where possible.

Ms Begums family lawyer, Tasnime Akunjee, visited al-Hol camp in March in an attempt to gain her signature for a legal challenge against the removal of her British nationality.

He claimed the move had made her effectively stateless and Bangladesh denied she was a dual national, but Mr Javid has denied breaking international law.

Mr Akunjee was not permitted to visit Begum by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who are guarding thousands of Isis fighters, female recruits and their children after driving the group out of its former territories.

The signature was needed for an appeal to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, which has found previous government attempts to strip extremists British citizenship unlawful.

The family is proceeding with a separate judicial review of Mr Javids decision.

Mr Akunjee told The Independent that the death of Begums baby may form part of the case against the government.

Shamima Begum left the country with friends Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase (Metropolitan Police)

The death of the child goes to the proportionality of the original decision and whether that was a real risk, which we believe it was, and then it happened, he added.

Mr Akunjee has not yet responded to the reports of Begums alleged activities in Syria.

The attention on her case has sparked a debate over how the UK should deal with British citizens who went to join Isis.

Only one in 10 of around 400 jihadis who returned from Syria and Iraq have been prosecuted, and the government has increasingly resorted to citizenship deprivation as a means to prevent their return.

Begum and the two friends she travelled to Syria with had been interviewed by the police after a fourth friend from Bethnal Green Academy fled to join Isis months before.

Terri Nicholson, a former Metropolitan Police counterterrorism officer, said officers spent tremendous effort on trying to stop people travelling to Syria in the first place.

Ms Nicholson acknowledged there were a lot of unknowns to balance when removing extremists citizenship, following warnings that the practice can effectively set terrorists free in warzones without any monitoring.
Today we learned that 22 -year-old Anna Florence Reed died on holiday with her boyfriend. She is the twenty-second UK woman to die in a so-called sex game gone wrong in the past 10 years.

The details of this case are for the jury at the trial, not for us to speculate on. But the inescapable fact is that BDSM is an increasingly normalised part of sex.

A YouGov poll found that 46 per cent of people under the age of 40 either have tried, or would like to try BDSM, compared to just 18 per cent of over 40s.

In 2012 a study found that 62 per cent of young women reported having had at least one fantasy about a forced sexual act.

I am the last person who would suggest BDSM is a bad thing. I spent my late teens and early twenties cavorting around fetish clubs, a fully paid up member of the London kink scene, but I know that anyone who is having kinky or violent sex needs to be educated about how to offset any potential risks.

Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Show all 20 1 /20 Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Workers assemble sex dolls at the WMDOLL factory in China Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Various doll heads covered with dust bags on shelves at the WMDOLL factory Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory A worker stands in an elevator with sex dolls Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Sex dolls hang from racks in the warehouse Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Parts of sex dolls on operating platforms waiting to be checked Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory A worker holds a doll's head to cool it down in front of a fan Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Employees work at the WMDOLL factory in Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, China Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Workers check the circuits of a sex doll called Lucy Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory A worker attaches a nail to a sex doll's finger Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Workers hang a sex doll in the warehouse Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory A worker assembles a sex doll Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Different moulds for making dolls in a workshop Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory A worker takes a photo of a sex doll Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory A male sex doll hangs in the warehouse Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Three sex dolls, all called Lucy, have their moving parts controlled by remote control Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory A worker prepares a sex doll for a photo shoot Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Metal skeletons for sex dolls Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Sex doll heads Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Sex dolls with different shapes and skin colours hang in a warehouse Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory A worker assembles a sex doll Reuters

So much misinformation about sex survives into adulthood, and much of what we need to know to experiment with safe BDSM isn't appropriate for a PSHE lesson. But given the potentially fatal consequences of ignorance, it's time for a fully fact-checked sex education database for adults, like the NHS health website. A resource where adults can learn how to take risks in the safest way possible could actually save lives.

I only hung up my whip when work and a long-term relationship started to preclude me from staying up until 4am in the dungeon.

When I first tried to explain my sexual predilections to my friends, they were horrified and judgemental. How could you enjoy recreational pain?

As a teenager I remember wishing that BDSM were a more widely accepted and understood orientation. It seems that over the past 10 years, since Fifty Shades went mainstream and leather collars went on sale at Topshop, I got my wish.

My wish turned out to be a Pandora's box.

When BDSM was underground and secretive it was stigmatised, but it was also self-regulated. If you wanted to meet likeminded people then you had to be plugged into a community. And if you wanted to be part of that community you needed to play by the rules.

Fetish clubs have always had dungeon masters and mistresses who supervise play and step in if anything unsafe is taking place. But it wasn't just that kink came with supervision, it also came with genuine desire to learn.

A lot of kinky socialising came with workshops. It was a truth universally acknowledged, to butcher Jane Austen, that if you wanted to experiment with breath play (choking), bondage or corporal punishment (spanking), you needed to learn how to do it properly and safely.

Sex game gone wrong can be a hastily pieced together excuse when a woman has been murdered. But it is also a real risk.

One woman I spoke to said she asked her boyfriend to choke her because shed seen it in porn, and read that it makes your orgasm feel stronger. They copied what theyd seen in the film and she ended up bursting a blood vessel in her cheek and hurting her windpipe.

The BDSM community was founded on the principles of education and consent, but the truth remains: when you bring consensual violence into the bedroom, you blur the lines.

In a vanilla relationship the rules are simple. No one hits anyone. But when kinky sex means a slap across the bum, or even the face, those rules change.

Another woman I spoke to said she asked her boyfriend to slap her once during sex, then a few weeks later he did it again, without permission. This is not uncommon, but it is wrong.

 Britons most likely to combine sex and drugs, study shows

There is nothing wrong with experimentation. Sexual exploration can bring you closer to your partner and reinvigorate your sex life. But we need to be realistic about the level of risk involved.

Kinky people place a high value on using safe words and setting hard and soft limits for what happens in the bedroom. These are the parts of kinky sex that porn doesnt show.

Negotiation might not be sexy, but its an essential part of responsible kinky sex.

Without wanting to sound like Im the Responsible Sex Monitor, bondage can cause nerve damage. Hard spanking in the wrong area can hurt your kidneys. Breath play (erotic asphyxiation) can result in death.

BDSM has gone mainstream and will never return to the underground clubs and dark corners of bars.

For as long as choking is a regular activity in porn and Fifty Shades is one of the most borrowed library books, people will experiment at home. And if they dont have proper education about how to do that safely, they will do it dangerously.

People are dying. It is time to take the risk of sex games seriously.
In India its known as the dance of democracy.

After many months of bitter and acrimonious campaigning and in spite of some missed beats on the day, the general election here finally got into full swing on Thursday, with an estimated 93 million people casting their votes across 20 states and union territories.

Thats more people than the entire population of the UK, plus a third. And this was only phase one - in the coming six weeks, up to 760 million more Indian voters will have their say in what has been billed as one of the most important elections in decades.

It is very early days yet, but already both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Narendra Modi and the main opposition Congress party of Rahul Gandhi are claiming to be off to a winning start. Modi took a leaf out of the Trump playbook by boasting about his crowd sizes in southern Assam, while Gandhi took a dig at the prime minister for thinking hes bigger than the people of India.

If this first day of voting can tell us one thing about the way this election is going to go, it is that Indias increasingly toxic political landscape, both in the form of social media bickering and real-world violence, is not going to stop people going to the polls.

Holi 2019 in pictures: Hindus celebrate Indian Festival of Colours Show all 20 1 /20 Holi 2019 in pictures: Hindus celebrate Indian Festival of Colours Holi 2019 in pictures: Hindus celebrate Indian Festival of Colours Hindu devotees raise their hands in prayer as they are sprayed with colour by a priest during Holi celebrations in Ahmedabad, India Reuters Holi 2019 in pictures: Hindus celebrate Indian Festival of Colours A girl smears her friend in colour during Holi festival celebrations at Durgiana Temple in Armristar, India EPA Holi 2019 in pictures: Hindus celebrate Indian Festival of Colours Hindu devotees celebrate Holi inside a temple in Uttar Pradesh, India Reuters Holi 2019 in pictures: Hindus celebrate Indian Festival of Colours Hindu devotees are sprayed with colour by a priest during Holi celebrations in Ahmedabad, India AP Holi 2019 in pictures: Hindus celebrate Indian Festival of Colours College girls pose during Holi festival celebrations in Bhopal, India EPA Holi 2019 in pictures: Hindus celebrate Indian Festival of Colours A college girl takes part in the Holi festival celebrations in Bhopal, India EPA Holi 2019 in pictures: Hindus celebrate Indian Festival of Colours A young girl smeared with colour during Holi festival celebrations at Durgiana Temple in Armristar, India EPA Holi 2019 in pictures: Hindus celebrate Indian Festival of Colours Colour fills the air during Holi celebrations in Ahmedabad, India Reuters Holi 2019 in pictures: Hindus celebrate Indian Festival of Colours An Indian man is splattered with colour during Holi celebrations in Allahabad, India AP Holi 2019 in pictures: Hindus celebrate Indian Festival of Colours Hindu devotees celebrate Holi inside a temple in Uttar Pradesh, India Reuters Holi 2019 in pictures: Hindus celebrate Indian Festival of Colours A vendor sells coloured powder known as gulal prior to Holi celebrations in Siliguru, India AFP/Getty Holi 2019 in pictures: Hindus celebrate Indian Festival of Colours An Indian man is splattered with colour during Holi celebrations in Allahabad, India AP Holi 2019 in pictures: Hindus celebrate Indian Festival of Colours A hindu priest is smeared with colour during Holi festival celebrations at Durgiana Temple in Armristar, India EPA Holi 2019 in pictures: Hindus celebrate Indian Festival of Colours A student is covered in colour on a campus in Chandigarh, India Reuters Holi 2019 in pictures: Hindus celebrate Indian Festival of Colours Colour is sprayed from a temple during Holi celebrations in Ahmedabad, India Reuters Holi 2019 in pictures: Hindus celebrate Indian Festival of Colours Students smeared in colour dance during Holi celebrations in Chandigarh, India Reuters Holi 2019 in pictures: Hindus celebrate Indian Festival of Colours Hindu devotees are sprayed with colour by a priest during Holi celebrations in Ahmedabad, India Reuters Holi 2019 in pictures: Hindus celebrate Indian Festival of Colours Hindu devotees are sprayed with colour by a priest during Holi celebrations in Ahmedabad, India Reuters Holi 2019 in pictures: Hindus celebrate Indian Festival of Colours A young man is smeared in colour by his friend during Holi festival celebrations at Durgiana Temple in Armristar, India EPA Holi 2019 in pictures: Hindus celebrate Indian Festival of Colours Women play with powdered colours Holi festival celebrations at Durgiana Temple in Armristar, India EPA

Turnout was estimated to be around 66 per cent  roughly the same as the average for the 2014 vote, which Modis BJP won by a stunning landslide, and about on par for most elections in recent years.

Within that national figure there were huge discrepancies. In the fiercely contested West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, turnouts were reported at 81 per cent and 73 per cent respectively. While in Baramulla in the Kashmir valley, where militants and separatists called for a boycott, it was just 32.29 per cent.

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Thats actually still not terrible for a region that remains so turbulent it was decided unsafe to hold local assembly elections there: a system of governors rule is to be maintained instead. Pictures showed queues at Kashmiri polling booths, with voters telling reporters they wanted to make their voices heard.

They turned out in spite of a real threat of violence. A 15-year-old boy was killed by pellet guns fired by the security forces during a protest after voting concluded in Handwara, in the northern part of the valley, hospital officials said.

Despite this, the atmosphere was described as largely peaceful, an improvement for sure on 2014, and in Jammu  the only other seat in the state polling in phase 1  turnout was up at 72 per cent.

The biggest disturbances actually came in southern Andhra Pradesh, where the two big national parties hardly get a look-in and control of the state is fiercely contested between the regional Telugu Desam Party and its main opposition YSR Congress.

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Two political activists, one for each party, were killed in clashes outside a polling booth in the village of Veerapuram, and at least two others were injured.

It was also from this state that the most complaints were received regarding the malfunctioning of electronic voting machines (EVMs). The states chief minister, N Chandrababu Naidu, went as far as to accuse the Election Commission of atrocities and said he would march on the Supreme Court, demanding a return to the use of paper ballots.

The Commission admitted there were some faults with EVMs but said it affected less than 0.5 per cent of machines. And in spite of the disparate reports of violence, it heralded what it called a relatively smooth start to proceedings.

Indian elections - victory for Narendra Modi Show all 12 1 /12 Indian elections - victory for Narendra Modi Indian elections - victory for Narendra Modi Indian elections 2014 Supporters of Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi Reuters Indian elections - victory for Narendra Modi Indian elections 2014 Indian Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters wait for the arrival of Narendra Modi Getty Images Indian elections - victory for Narendra Modi Indian elections 2014 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters write congratulatory messages for their leader Narendra Modi AP Indian elections - victory for Narendra Modi Indian elections 2014 Indias new Prime Minister Narendra Modi (centre), with his supporters yesterday at the BJPs Gujarat headquarters in Gandhinagar, is the first Indian leader to have been born after independence in 1947 EPA Indian elections - victory for Narendra Modi Indian elections 2014 BJP supporters look on near a Rangoli decoration showing a portrait of Narendra Modi Getty Images Indian elections - victory for Narendra Modi Indian elections 2014 The Indian Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lotus party symbol is pictured outside the BJP headquarters in New Delhi Getty Images Indian elections - victory for Narendra Modi Indian elections 2014 Supporters of the India's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) celebrate after learning of the poll results outside the party headquarters in New Delhi Reuters Indian elections - victory for Narendra Modi Indian elections 2014 Bharatiya Janata Party supporters enjoy a celebratory dance show after learning of initial polling results at the BJPs headquarters in New Delhi yesterday Reuters Indian elections - victory for Narendra Modi Indian elections 2014 An Indian Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporter hold an cutout of Narinder Modi with the lotus party symbol outside the BJP headquarters in New Delhi Getty Images Indian elections - victory for Narendra Modi Indian elections 2014 BJP leader Narendra Modi gestures while speaking to supporters after his landslide victory in the elections Getty Images Indian elections - victory for Narendra Modi Indian elections 2014 Bharatiya Janata Party supporters wave flags during a public rally by BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi after his victory Getty Images Indian elections - victory for Narendra Modi Indian elections 2014 An illumination in the shape of a lotus, party symbol of the Bharatiya Janata Party, is formed by the River Ganges AP

We thank the voters for coming out to vote in significant numbers. We would also like to thank the state machinery, security forces and nodal officers in various states for their support to ensure smooth polling, said deputy election commissioner Umesh Sinha.

During these elections, as is so often the case with India, it is important to bear in mind the sheer scale of the operation. For while there was clearly some disruption, we havent (as yet at least) seen anything to match the serious communal violence that marred 2014s vote.

In Congresss manifesto, Gandhi accused the BJP of using its five years in power to create an overall climate of fear, intimidation and hatred, and to undermine the independence of national institutions.

It has been reassuring, therefore, that the vast majority of the images of the election so far are of cheerful voters lining up, or smiling after casting their ballot with their fingers smudged by indelible ink.

In Uttar Pradesh, the state offering the most seats in parliament and arguably the greatest bellwether for the nation, young men and women described their excitement at voting for the first time and displayed their faith in the power of democracy.

Voting is our right, 20-year-old Sanjay Kumar told the Hindustan Times, to change governments who dont work for us and vote out oppression. If someone new comes into power, they will have to introduce something new for the people.

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With phase one of this dance of democracy over, officials have just a few days to prepare before the next song plays on 18 April, when the fates of several key southern states will be decided. Though there are no exit polls allowed, psephologists will start to look for patterns in turnout and the major parties will hone their efforts on the swings seats still to come.

For election observers there can be no more inspiring exercise than this in the world  and the drama has only just begun.
Oh yeah, look at those dead bastards, and ha, ha, I hit them say the pilots of a US Apache helicopter in jubilant conversation as they machine-gun Iraqi civilians on the ground in Baghdad on 12 July 2007.

A wounded man, believed to be the Reuters photographer, 22-year-old Namir Noor-Eldeen, crawls towards a van. Come on buddy, all you have to do is pick up a weapon, says one of the helicopter crew, eager to resume the attack. A hellfire missile is fired and a pilot says: Look at that bitch go! The photographer and his driver are killed.

Later the helicopter crew are told over the radio that they have killed 11 Iraqis and a small child has been injured. Well, its their fault for bringing their kids into battle, comments somebody about the carnage below.

Except there was no battle and all those who died were civilians, though the Pentagon claimed they were gunmen. The trigger-happy pilots had apparently mistaken a camera for a rocket propelled grenade launcher. Journalists in Baghdad, including myself, were from the start sceptical about the official US story because insurgents with weapons in their hands were unlikely to be standing chatting to each other in the street with an American helicopter overhead. As on many similar occasions in Iraq, our doubts were strong but we could not prove that the civilians had not been carrying weapons in the face of categorical denials from the US Department of Defence.

It was known that a video of the killings taken from the helicopter existed, but the Pentagon refused to release it under the Freedom of Information Act. Plenty of people were being killed all over Iraq at the time and the incident would soon have been forgotten, except by the families of the dead, if a US soldier called Chelsea Manning had not handed over a copy of the official video to WikiLeaks which published it in 2010.

Key moments for Julian Assange Show all 9 1 /9 Key moments for Julian Assange Key moments for Julian Assange The situation today Assange was arrested after Metropolitan Police officers were invited into the Ecuadorian embassy on April 11 2019. How did it come to this? Ruptly TV Key moments for Julian Assange The break Assange shows the front page of the Guardian on July 26 2010, the day that they broke the story of the thousands of military files leaked by WikiLeaks AFP/Getty Key moments for Julian Assange Wanted A warrant for Assange's arrest was issued in August 2010 for counts of rape and molestation in Sweden AFP/Getty Key moments for Julian Assange Ruling The UK's Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that Assange should be extradited to Sweden to face trial Getty Key moments for Julian Assange Sanctuary Following the ruling, Assange was given asylum by the Ecuadorian governement over fears that his human rights would be violated if he were extradited, he has since remained in the embassy in London Getty Key moments for Julian Assange A friend in Pam Friend Pamela Anderson delivers lunch to Assange at the embassy in October 2016. She has since spoken against his arrest Getty Key moments for Julian Assange Arbitrarily detained A UN panel found in 2016 that Assange had been arbitrarily detained and that he had not been able to claim his full right to asylum. It urged Sweden to withdraw the charges against him Getty Key moments for Julian Assange The cat ultimatum Last year, the Ecuadorian embassy threatened to revoke Assange's internet access unless he stopped making political statements online and started taking better care of James, his pet cat. Assange accused Ecuador of violating his rights Reuters Key moments for Julian Assange Arrest Assange was arrested on April 11 2019. Ecuador revoked his asylum status and invited the Metropolitan Police in to the embassy to arrest him. Reuters

The exposure of the Baghdad helicopter killings was the first of many revelations which explain why Julian Assange has been pursued for so long by the US and British governments. The claim by Theresa May echoed by other ministers that in the United Kingdom, no one is above the law is clearly an evasion of the real reasons why such efforts have been made to detain him on both sides of the Atlantic.

Jeremy Corbyn is correct to say that the affair is all about the extradition of Julian Assange to the US for exposing evidence of atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan. But, within hours of Assanges detention, it was clear that nobody much cared about innocent people dying in the streets of Baghdad or in the villages of Afghanistan and Assange has already become a political weapon in the poisonous political confrontation over Brexit with Corbyns support for Assange enabling Conservatives to claim that he is a security risk.

Lost in this dog-fight is what Assange and WikiLeaks really achieved and why it was of great importance in establishing the truth about wars being fought on our behalf in which hundreds of thousands of people have been killed.

This is what Daniel Ellsberg did when he released the Pentagon Papers about the US political and military involvement in Vietnam between 1945 and 1967. Like Assange, he exposed official lies and was accused of putting American lives in danger though his accusers were typically elusive about how this was done.

But unless the truth is told about the real nature of these wars then people outside the war zones will never understand why they go on so long and are never won. Governments routinely lie in wartime and it is essential to expose what they are really doing. I remember looking at pictures of craters as big as houses in an Afghan village where 147 people had died in 2009 and which the US defence secretary claimed had been caused by the Taliban throwing grenades. In one small area called Qayara outside Mosul in in 2016-17, the US air force admitted to killing one civilian but a meticulous examination of the facts by The New York Times showed that the real figure was 43 dead civilians including 19 men, eight women and 16 children aged 14 or under.

These are the sort of facts that the US and UK governments try to conceal and which Assange and WikiLeaks have repeatedly revealed. Readers should keep this in mind when they are told that Assange has a narcissistic personality or was not treating his cat properly. If his personal vices were a hundred times more serious than alleged, would they really counterbalance  and perhaps even discredit  the monstrosities he sought to unmask?

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The US government documents published by WikiLeaks are about the real workings of power. Take the Hillary Clinton emails published in 2016: much of the media attention has plugged into conspiracy theories about Russian involvement or, until the recent publication of the Mueller Report, the possible complicity of the Trump election campaign with the Russians. Many Democrats and anti-Trump journalists managed to persuade themselves that Assange had helped lose Hillary Clinton the election, though a glance at a history of the campaign showed that she was quite capable of doing this all by herself by not campaigning in toss-up states.

But look at what the emails tell us what the way the world really works. There is, for instance, a US State Department memo dated 17 August 2014  just over a week after Isis had launched its offensive against the Kurds and Yazidis in Iraq that led to the butchery, rape and enslavement of so many.

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It was a time when the US was adamantly denying that Saudi Arabia and Qatar had any connection with Isis and similar jihadi movements like al-Qaeda. But the leaked memo, which is drawn from western intelligence, US intelligence and sources in the region tells us that they really knew different. It says: We need to use our diplomatic and more traditional intelligence assets to bring pressure on the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which are providing clandestine financial and logistic support to Isis and other radical groups in the region.

This is important information about the level of priority the US gave to keeping in with its Saudi and Qatari allies while it was supposedly fighting the war on terror. This had been true since 9/11 and remains true today. But in much of the British media such issues are barely considered and the debate is focused firmly on the reasons why rape charges were not brought against Assange by Swedish courts and his culpability in taking refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Anybody who highlights the importance of the work which Assange and WikiLeaks has done is likely to be accused of being light-heartedly dismissive of the accusations of rape.

Assange is likely to pay a higher price than Ellsberg for his exposure of government secrets. The Pentagon Papers were published when the media was becoming freer across the world while now it is on the retreat as authoritarian governments replace democratic ones and democratic governments become more authoritarian.

The fate of Assange will be a good guide as to how far we are going down this road and the degree to which freedom of expression is threatened in Britain at a time of deepening political crisis.
David Mills suggested this list, of ministers who never occupied a great office of state, which I defined as prime minister, deputy prime minister, first secretary, chancellor, foreign secretary and home secretary.

1. Andrew Adonis, education minister, 2005-08. For the academy schools programme. One of my two nominations from the Blair government, he also started the HS2 rail project as transport secretary under Gordon Brown. Also nominated by Daniel Forman.

2. Max Beaverbrook, minister for aircraft production, 1940-41. Appointed when the need for fighters was paramount, he has to share credit for the fact that Britain outproduced Germany in fighters during the critical months of the Battle of Britain, said Paul T Horgan. A new biography of Max Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook, is out later this month. Also nominated by Alan Allport, David Twizell, Eric Sheng and David Landon Cole.

3. Aneurin Bevan, health minister, 1945-51. The NHS was a collective effort and even, despite Labour propaganda, the product of a cross-party wartime consensus. But it was Bevan who did it. Thanks to Paul T Horgan and 33 others.

4. Joseph Chamberlain, president of the Board of Trade, 1880-85, colonial secretary, 1895-1903. Split two parties, kick-started radicalism, reformed imperialism, said Jack Tindale. Supporting nominations from, among others, Andrew Adonis, Nick Anstead, Adam Behr, Lewis Goodall, Henry Hill, Ted Morris and Peter Riddell.

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5. Michael Gove, education secretary, 2010-14, justice secretary, 2015-16, environment secretary since 2017. For schools changes, as well as for making a start on prisons reform and some imaginative greenery, he must be near top of the list, said David Mills. A nomination from Owen Bennett, who has a biography of him out shortly, was disallowed, but Gove was also nominated by Dan Frank, David Paxton, Marcus Roberts and Robert Shrimsley.

6. Patricia Hewitt, health secretary, 2005-07. For banning smoking in pubs and workplaces. Easily one of the biggest day-to-day impacts on my life, said PD Anderson. Also nominated by Stephen Bush and Cathy Doll.

7. Alan Milburn, health secretary, 1999-2003. For rescuing Bevans creation; the second of my nominations from the Blair years. Also nominated by Tim.

8. Alf Morris, social security minister, 1974-79. Brought in first disability rights law as a private members bill and then served as the first minister for the disabled. David Landon Cole and Robert Shrimsley.

9. Norman Tebbit, employment secretary, 1981-83. Drove through changes in employment law that cut trade union power. Suggested by Michael Crick, Peter Riddell and 10 others.

10. John Wheatley, minister of health in the first Labour government, 1924. The Housing Act 1924 created council housing, which grew to accommodate 42 per cent of British people by 1979, said John McTernan. In parts of Glasgow, the first houses with back and front doors, built as a result of the 1924 Act, were called Wheatley Houses and still are by some older folk, added Anne McGuire.

My recency bias excluded, possibly unfairly: George Anson (first lord of the Admiralty, 1751-56 and 1757-62: thanks to Alex Massie); Arthur Greenwood (Labour deputy leader and minister without portfolio who backed Churchill in 1940: John OShea, Ryan Flack and Nick Dean); Tom Johnston (Scottish secretary, 1941-45, modernised the Scottish economy; created Scotlands hydro-electricity network: Richard Olszewski); and Ernest Marples (transport minister, 1959-64, for motorways, parking controls, postcodes, MOT test, Beeching cuts: Lewis Baston, Nigel Fletcher and Paul Linford).

A number of nominations were for ministers famous for one thing: Ellen Wilkinson, education minister, who raised the school leaving age from 14 to 15 (nominated by Pete Moorey); Denis Howell, minister for drought in 1976, which was the driest year for 200 years  he did a rain dance on behalf of the nation; invited reporters to his house revealing to them that he and his wife shared a bath to save water; and a few days later the heavens opened, causing floods in some areas (Robert Boston); Joel Barnett, chief secretary to the Treasury, for devising the Barnett formula in 1978 (Jonathan Reynolds); Ian McCartney, industry minister, 1997-99, for the national minimum wage (Blair McDougall and Nita Clarke); and Tessa Jowell, culture, media and sport secretary, 2001-07, for the 2012 Olympics (Gareth Flynn, Katie Martin and eight others).

Barbara Castle was a popular nominee, but she was first secretary of state, 1968-70.

In the theres always one category, Matt Chorley nominated Chris Grayling. It is true that I said consequential; I did not say successful. In the sometimes there are two category, Rory Stewart nominated Cornelius Fudge, although I felt bound to entertain an appeal from Daniel on grounds that minister for magic counts as a great office of state.

Next week: Hits that blindsided experts and gatekeepers, such as Maggie May, by Rod Stewart, originally the B side of Reason to Believe.

Coming soon: Pompous phrases, such as I am minded to

Your suggestions please, and ideas for future Top 10s, to me on Twitter, or by email to top10@independent.co.uk
As far back as I can remember, men and boys have made lewd comments about my body  grabbed at it as if it were a piece of dough that would prove if kneaded and pinched, shouted at me through car windows, muttered grubby things as I walked past. I was stalked for weeks as a schoolgirl. And I am absolutely not alone.

Women are weaned on sexual harassment and assault. It is as much a part of our stories as the threads running through our clothes: woven so tightly into our being that to separate it out feels nigh on impossible sometimes. Ive seen friends continue conversations while shaking off unwanted touching as if they were picking a stray hair off a jumper  so commonplace, it isnt even always worthy of sentence-ending.

Today upskirting  the act of shoving a camera between someones legs without their knowledge or consent to snap a picture of their underwear or genitals for ones own fleeting sexual gratification  finally becomes illegal in the UK, entering the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and punishable by up to two years custodial sentence, putting perpetrators on the sexual offenders register. Its a landmark moment for women, who are the primary victims of such violations, and a remarkable achievement by activist Gina Martin, whose own upskirting experience at a festival in 2017 led her to lobby and campaign for the vile act to be criminalised. Despite the inexplicable initial objection of Tory MP Christopher Chope, parliament has finally vindicated our right to bodily autonomy.

Ms Martins campaigning has shed a light on something women have been enduring for decades. Paparazzi have long lain in gutters and crouched by the doors of limousines, going to extreme lengths to capture a splash-worthy snap of a celebrity crotch. Ive seen the gussets of most of the celebrities of my youth  not by searching for them on grotty websites but at the corner shop while reaching for the latest issue of J17.

Recalling reaching the age of 18, Emma Watson once said that from the moment the clocks stuck midnight on her birthday, creeps would be crawling all over pavements trying to capture a snap between her barely-legal legs.

Such images became so normalised they were commonplace on newsstands, out for the world to see. Some sections of the media have a lot to answer for when it comes to objectifying female bodies and normalising their exploitation. Despite years of campaigning against it, national newspapers continue to publish photos of topless women for the express purpose of titillation. Today, the Daily Star has announced it will trial (presumably to see if sales drop) no longer featuring naked women  but instead having them pose in underwear instead. And this is being hailed as progress.

New data released this week reveals that recorded allegations of upskirting were up by as much as 20 per cent in 2018, compared with the preceding two years. Whether this means people are getting sneakier with their depraved camera angles or if we can thank Ms Martins campaign for allowing women to come forward with the confidence they will be taken seriously after such incidents is not yet clear. The new law will ensure victims of upskirting are afforded the anonymity of sexual assault survivors: vital for so many reasons, not least that they will be liberated from the onslaught of trolling to which victims, like Ms Martin, are often subject.

But more shocking even than the 94 cases of upskirting recorded by police last year (not including the Metropolitan and West Midlands forces which failed to provide their figures) is the age range of the complainants: women and girls from the age of seven to 70 were among them. Women have been saying this for years: we are the subject of sexual objectification and harassment from the womb to the tomb.

So why do misogynists still feel able to peddle the line that the reason for such attacks are the dolled-up, svelte twenty-somethings in miniskirts spreadeagled on the Tube making it impossible for perverts to resist slipping an iPhone between their pins?

Todays news finally protects victims of such attacks. May it be the broken dam that enables further change protecting women to flow through, namely classing revenge porn under the Sexual Offences Act, classing misogyny as a hate crime, along with racism, homophobia and ageism, and punishing online trolls. Because if we dont, if we continue to allow things like slut-shaming, catcalling and trolling to be quotidian  as we did, for so long, with upskirting  we vindicate perpetrators. Women are subject to this sort of humiliating objectification and denigration for their entire lives. Thank goodness the law is finally catching up with the digital age  hopefully society will soon follow.
A Farmer puts out silage for the Hereford and Aberdeen Angus cattle in a shed on his farm. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

A deep crisis continues to grip the beef sector in Ireland with the Irish Farmers Association calling on the Government and EU Commission to compensate beef farmers for Brexit losses which they say run to over 100m.

Despite the UK's exit from the EU set to be pushed back to October, Brexit stockpiles of beef in the UK are said to be weighing on prices on both sides of the Irish sea.

In the Dail, this week Independent TD Carol Nolan said that in her constituency of Laois and Offaly, there were farmers struggling to pay household bills and in great hardship.

"Beef farmers the length and breadth of this State are experiencing serious financial losses and the 5c/kg drop for beef last week has impacted further on an already bad situation," she said

IFA has written to both Minister Creed and Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan outlining the details on the 101m losses.

Beef farmers have gone through a horrendous period of financial losses, mainly as a result of Brexit imposed market uncertainty, changes to the sterling exchange rate and price cuts.

"Some beef farmers are facing financial ruin.

"They cannot afford to carry this magnitude of loss and it is essential that the Government and EU Commission provide a direct support aid package for the farmers concerned.

Joe Healy said this is the real test for the Government and the EU Commission on their promises to support farmers through this most difficult period.

Farmers expect that they will honour the commitments they have made over the last number of months. They must now convert these commitments into real delivery and cover the Brexit losses farmers have already incurred to date.

Following the EU's decision to extend the Brexit date Tanaiste and former Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney moved to reassure farm families. "There are 130,000 farm families in Ireland, nearly 100,000 of whom get some farm income from beef and 70,000 of whom get all of their farming income from beef.

"I want to reassure them that if Ireland faces a no-deal Brexit - which looks less likely today than it did last week - we will be ready to support Irish farm families and the food industry through what will be a very difficult period of change and disruption,"

He said the Government is working with the European Commission and Commissioner Hogan has been very strong on this also.

"There will be a significant support package to help farmers through the disruption of a no-deal Brexit, which would be considerable for Irish agriculture," he said.
With a rooftop view of Croke Park and the O'Connell Street spire, it is an unlikely location for a thriving farm.

Belvedere College is the setting for one of Dublin's busiest urban farms. Encouraged by the lead farmer Simon O'Donnell, students at the well-known Jesuit school grow vegetables and produce fish in a tank, and sell the produce to parents at the school.

Later this year, Belvedere will become the first school in the country to include Urban Agriculture as a subject with a short course in the junior cycle curriculum. Students will have the option of studying the subject for two classes every week.

As well as growing a wide variety of vegetables including lettuce, pak choi and tomatoes, students also farm fish using an aquaponic system. Waste from the fish is used as fertiliser for the plants.

The farm has also grown 180 different varieties of potato and has its own beehives. Electricity for the grow lab is supplied through a solar panel.

"Urban farming is very good for growing crops such as herbs and salad greens, but it will not be used to grow staple crops such as barley and wheat," says O'Donnell.

"Urban farming should be an integral part of future urban planning - having that connection with growing can only be good for the health of the city."

O'Donnell says the farm, which started in 2014, has huge educational value from a number of different points of view.

"The farm is popular with a wide variety of students. Some students love just getting hands-on experience of planting seeds and caring for fish.

"Others are passionate about sustainability and climate change, while some students are into the technology. Others are interested in the business side of selling produce."

There are now plans to replicate the farm project at three other schools in Dublin's inner city.

Urban farming has become mainstream in many foreign cities, with growers supplying vegetables to supermarkets.

In the Growing Underground farm in London, a variety of microgreens are grown 100ft below ground in an old World War II air-raid shelter.

The underground farm grows herb and salad mixes - pea shoots, garlic chives, coriander, rocket, red mustard, basil and parsley - for Marks & Spencer and Waitrose.

In Rotterdam in the Netherlands, a developer is building the world's first floating dairy farm near the mouth of the Nieuwe Maas river.

The farm is being built on a 1,200-square-metre platform, spread over three levels.
The two parcels of land in Garristown are being guided at 14,000 an acre

Land sales in North Dublin are a rarity, says Frank Flynn of Robert B Daly auctioneers.

Singing the praises of the quality of the land in the area, and specifically around Garristown, he quotes a beef farmer who rented a lot of ground in the vicinity.

"The man claimed 40ac of the ground around here could produce more than what 60ac in another area would produce," he said.

Mr Flynn is handling the auction of a 35ac farm located 80 metres from the village of Garristown. The private treaty sale is being guided at 14,000/ac.

Laid out in two lots of permanent pasture, the holding will be sold at auction this Friday.

The first lot is a 14ac piece of ground with 250 metres of frontage on to the Church Hill Road, while the second is a 21ac parcel with 1,300ft of frontage on to the Pucky Lane.

The latter piece has outbuildings in the form of stabling, which Mr Flynn believes could clear the way for a planning application for a residence or further equestrian development.

"North Dublin is known for its horticulture, but it is also renowned for its equestrian farms and I expect this farm will draw attention from that sector," said Mr Flynn.

The property will be sold under the hammer at the Pillo Hotel, Ashbourne, at 3pm this Friday.
Sale delay: A sign with the words Ongoing Dispute Stay Out on the ground at the disputed farmland at Willsbrook, Co Longford. Photo: Steve Humphreys

Last July a contract was agreed for the sale of 34 acres of agricultural land in the midlands.

The owner, car dealer John Alex Kane, was in substantial difficulties with the Revenue Commissioners over unpaid taxes and a receiver, Myles Kirby, was appointed to sell the land and other properties to satisfy a court judgment for almost 5m.

Two local men quickly put in a joint bid for the land at Willsbrook, near Granard, Co Longford, and it was accepted.

The only real condition was that the prospective new owners wanted vacant possession.

This meant any livestock would have to be removed before the sale could close.

On the face of things, it looked like a straightforward transaction. However, it has proved to be anything but.

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If anything, events since then could provide ample inspiration for a modern day retelling of John B Keane's classic play 'The Field'.

The sale has been delayed for the past nine months due to an extraordinary campaign of intimidation, allegedly waged at the direction of Mr Kane.

Over the past few months the High Court has heard about a series of incidents targeting the work of the receiver and the prospective buyers. This has included a petrol bomb attack, break-ins, criminal damage, threatening behaviour and the repeated placement of livestock on the land.

Mr Kirby alleged Mr Kane phoned one of the men planning to buy the Willsbrook land last October and told him there would be "very serious consequences" if he did not withdraw his offer. Mr Kane is alleged to have told the man he would "torture him for the rest of his life to the grave".

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The High Court has also heard claims the other buyer received a call from Mr Kane's brother Seamus, in which he is alleged to have threatened that any animals put on the land would be shot and the buyer's home burnt down.

Seamus Kane has already been jailed for contempt of court for his role in the alleged campaign. On Wednesday, the President of the High Court, Mr Justice Peter Kelly, warned John Alex Kane he too faces being sent to Mountjoy amid claims he defied a court order by personally moving cattle onto the land last month.

The judge said Mr Kane had done everything in his power to frustrate the receiver.

Mr Kane denies moving the cattle and the judge will decide his fate in June. If he is jailed, it would be his third stint behind bars for contempt.

The businessman is well known in Co Longford.

For years, his family ran the Kanes of Granard motor sales business. But in 2009 the Revenue got a judgment for 4.97m against him over unpaid taxes. Since then it has been trying to recover at least part of the money owed.

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Under a settlement agreement, Mr Kane and his wife, Lucy Pinfold, will be able to keep their substantial family home at Cartron, near Granard, provided he makes a series of payments in instalments totalling 450,000.

However, other properties he owns must be sold. Last November, Mr Kane produced 58,000 in cash in court to pay one of the house instalments. A further instalment of 75,000 was made in February via a UK company.

The receiver has been asking questions about the source of the cash, alleging the latest payment came from a sham company set up at Mr Kane's behest to conceal assets.

Mr Kirby also alleges that since his appointment in January 2017 there has been a "wide-ranging campaign of intimidation and interference" in an effort to "frustrate and hinder" the sale of properties.

He has cited a petrol bomb attack and a break-in at the Kanes of Granard premises in July 2017 and the setting alight of a vehicle outside the premises the following October.

In May 2018, an auctioneer was allegedly threatened and signs were erected warning off potential buyers.

The High Court has heard Mr Kane was arrested, but released without charge. Files are to be sent to the DPP.

Mr Kane has denied involvement in the acts of interference and intimidation and last July offered to give a renewed undertaking of ongoing assistance to the receiver.

But the following month the auctioneer's sign at Willsbrook was taken down and cattle were put onto the land.

Mr Kirby said he received information this was done by Seamus Kane.

Meanwhile, efforts by the receiver to sell another parcel of land at Tullygullion, Co Cavan, were thwarted when a prospective buyer withdrew his interest after being visited at his home and threatened with severe consequences.

He would not say who threatened him for fear of reprisals.

The same month, Mr Justice Kelly made an order giving Seamus Kane and another brother, Jerome, 72 hours to remove vehicles, machinery and livestock from the lands.

It also restrained them from contacting prospective purchasers and auctioneers and from erecting any signage.

However, within days Seamus Kane sent copies of the order, with the word "void" written across it, by registered post to Mr Justice Kelly. Signs also appeared at Willsbrook, saying the land was subject to a dispute. Seamus Kane's actions led to him being jailed for contempt in November.

John Alex Kane was back in court on Wednesday, where he denied being responsible for moving 15 cattle onto the Willsbrook lands last month.

At the hearing, concerns were also raised about the manner in which he was complying with an undertaking to file outstanding tax returns and his continued association with Dr Michael Grimes, a Cork businessman convicted of tax offences last year.

Mr Kane said he would have to get an accountant, but it was hard to get people to do work for him. Mr Justice Kelly said he had no one to blame but himself as his behaviour was characterised by chancing his arm and chicanery.

"All of the professional advisers who have tried to assist you over the years have departed the scene in circumstances where they can't believe a word out of your mouth. How am I expected to believe a word out of your mouth?" the judge said, adding Mr Kane would have had "this misery" behind him if he had complied with undertakings.

"You would have your house. You would be turning over a fresh page in your dealings with the Revenue. The relevant lands would be sold. You would have parted company with Dr Grimes. And that, on the state of the evidence before me, has not happened," Mr Justice Kelly said.

"I have to tell you that if on the next occasion you do not satisfy me, then you are in very deep and substantial risk of returning to Mountjoy Prison."
Residents of a Gaeltacht region in Connemara are to stage a protest to highlight the deplorable conditions of their roads.

Manus O Conaire of the N59 Action Campaign Group in Carna, Co Galway said residents feel "forgotten", as they've contacted Minister Ross numerous times over what they say are dangerous road conditions.

"They've split the boundary of the area of the Gaeltacht that we live in which means we've no local representative here and feel we are being ignored.

"Galway County Council say they do not have enough funding and Minister Ross has neglected us.

"Remains of wing mirrors line the sides of the road because the hedges need to be badly cut back. It's very frustrating because I'm a very proud Connemara man."

He maintained that road conditions will lead to accidents during the summer as tourists will not be aware of where the bad potholes are. Residents will stage a protest to highlight the poor road conditions on April 14 beginning at 3pm in Maam Cross.

Minister Ross stated to the Farming Independent that he was "pleased to be able to allocate significantly increased grant funding to local authorities for regional and local roads over the last two years. In this context grant allocations to County Galway in 2019 are up over 47pc compared to the 2017 allocation, from 19.5m in 2017 to 28.8m in 2019."
Rabobank has agreed to sell its remaining stock of Irish loans to distressed debt investors Goldman Sachs, CarVal and Cabot for 800m.

The sale of the ACC Loan Management debt will draw a line under the nine-decades-old ACC brand, originally set up in 1927 to provide credit to Irish farmers.

The loans are a mix of residential mortgages, farm loans, business and property debt, and have been sold at a steep discount.

The bank declined to say what the face value of the loans sold is but their valuation had been written down below 800m by the bank itself. The most recent accounts filed by ACC Loan Management for 2016 show it had 3.2bn of loans on its books at the end of that year, which had been written down to a valuation of 1.32bn.

Calculated by face value, there was 2.4bn of commercial debt and 783m of residential lending.

The accounts said 25pc of the debt was linked to farming and fisheries and 25pc to real estate and construction.

A significant minority of the residential mortgages at that point were classed as performing, along with a small minority of the commercial debt. Many performing borrowers are likely to have refinanced with alternative lenders over the past two years.

Day-to-day management of the loans was outsourced to Capita in 2016.

Rabobank bought the former State-owned Agricultural Credit Corporation (ACC) Bank in 2002.

It largely pulled out of the Irish market after the crash but retains a corporate banking operation here focused on the food industry.

The Dutch bank said yesterday it had agreed to sell its portfolio of secured Irish loans in ACC Loan Management (ACC) to a consortium of Goldman Sachs and CarVal. An unsecured loan portfolio is being sold to debt collector Cabot.

Affected customers will be notified by letter of the sale and provided details of the buyer of their loans.

Meanwhile, KBC Bank Ireland has sold a roughly 260m portfolio of performing commercial loans to Bank of Ireland.

The sale of good loans will have a negligible impact on KBC's balance sheet.

KBC pulled out of commercial lending here after the crash to focus on its retail and micro, small and medium segments. Bank of Ireland has been keen to grow its loan book and remains focused on the sector.

KBC said it will contact borrowers involved to inform them that their loans are being transferred, and to confirm that their legal and regulatory protections remain in place.

Bank of Ireland shares were up over 5pc in Dublin yesterday afternoon.
LK Bennett, the UK's "affordable luxury" fashion brand whose fans famously include Kate Middleton, has been bought out of administration by its Chinese franchise partner.

Administrators from EY said they had completed the sale of most of its stores in the UK and Ireland to Byland UK.

Its two stores in the Republic - in Dundrum Town Centre and Kildare Village - along with six concessions here were bought as part of the deal. Two stores in Northern Ireland were not included and will close, as will 13 outlets in Britain.

The Byland sale includes the company's headquarters, 21 stores, all of its concessions, and 325 employees. The business went into administration on March 7.

The company's arms in the US and mainland Europe were not included in the sale and remain on the market.
Sore points: Mortgage matters worry the middle class here, but they are faring better than their counterparts in most other nations

The good news if you're wondering how you are going to pay for childcare or get on the housing ladder is that things are worse, and in many cases a lot worse, for middle-income earners across the world.

At least those are the findings of a report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, an institution that tracks changes in the world's rich industrial economies.

According to the report which was issued this week, Ireland's middle class is not as "squeezed" as most others in the 36 countries it tracks.

Here, the middle class has at least managed to grow in size in the years between the mid-1980s to the mid-2010s.

In most of the developed world the middle class is shrinking as a share of population as people sink back into relative poverty.

Our growth numbers may look pretty academic to a family that cannot get onto the housing ladder, but median incomes were up 0.7pc and the middle class expanded by 3.9pc.

The last of those was the best performance of any country in the study.

Pity for example the poor Greeks who saw incomes decline 5.7pc, while the OECD average grew just 0.3pc, or Spain where the proportion of people defined as middle class fell by 3.7pc, almost all of whom fell into the lower income bracket.

The middle classes are of course beloved of pundits and politicians, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar among them as he famously based his 2017 Fine Gael leadership run on an appeal to the "people who get up early in the morning".

To be fair to Leo, it would be foolish for any politician to ignore a group that accounts for 60.4pc of the population and pays the bulk of taxes.

And there is political capital in identifying them as those who "aspire to something better for themselves and their families".

These people, the Taoiseach said, are those who "feel they pay for everything, but qualify for nothing".

Yes, they do pay 62.3pc of all taxes according to the OECD, but the report also shows that those who give also receive the biggest chunk of state transfers at 54.1pc.

In fact it is the State's relatively progressive taxation and transfer system that props up the broad middle-class base here, transforming Ireland from one of the least equal countries into one of the most as the rich pay a higher chunk of income tax than in most other countries, while low-earners get most of the tax credits.

Many of those who are classified as "middle class" here are on incomes that attract transfers.

The OECD study places those with incomes of between three-quarters of the median and double into the middle.

Many people here would perhaps struggle to reconcile the bottom end of the range as middle class.

That range, in 2016, is from $18,704 (16,554) to $49,878 (44,146) a year, and for the purposes of comparing across countries and time it is measured in 2010 dollars at purchasing power parity, a measure that eliminates exchange rate variables in the cost of living.

To be sure, you can dispute the numbers and sniff that a salary like that wouldn't even get you in the door if you wanted to aspire to the middle class dream of owning a house, but they tally across countries.

Approximately 54pc of people here self-identify as middle class, roughly matching the data.

Why does the middle class matter to both economists and to politicians like the Taoiseach?

Well, in the words of the OECD they are the "bedrock" of economic growth and societies which have large middle classes have lower crime rates, higher levels of trust and life satisfaction as well as greater political stability and good governance. You only have to look across the Irish Sea to Brexit land to see the costs of political and economic polarisation to confirm those sentiments.

Keep in mind that the aspirations of the middle classes are generally shared by rich and poor too.

Who would not like access to secure housing at a reasonable price, good schooling for their children and a chance for them to move up as well as decent, affordable healthcare?

The chances you will fall into poverty next year if you are in the "low income" segment here are 7.3pc, according to the OECD study. If you are middle class, the odds are considerably lower at 1.9pc.

As for the rich, well they have their own problems.

The 'Financial Times' suffered widespread ridicule when it highlighted the lives of Sophie and Jules, from southeast England's London commuter belt.

They had an income comfortably into six figures and lived in a house with a swimming pool and outbuildings.

"Even on what looks like a very large salary, it is difficult to put three children through private school and have them board," Sophie told the newspaper.

Other people's problems, who would have them.
Question: I have a contract problem with my mobile operator. I can't get any mobile coverage where I live but my operator (Vodafone) won't let me out of my contract. I don't have a subsidised phone from them so I don't understand what the problem is. It's complicated by the fact that my family and I have just moved home. The new house, which we built ourselves, is in a black spot in West Cork with no mobile coverage from Vodafone outside the house. There is a decent mobile signal from a rival operator. Am I really stuck? What can I do?

Answer

Based on the facts as you put them, you're not stuck. You will eventually be able to exit the contract.

I asked Vodafone for clarification on this and they agree: if there is no signal in the area where your new home is, they won't tie you down for the remaining months you have. They call this their 'Network Guarantee' scheme.

"We understand customers' circumstances can change and they may relocate to an area which may unfortunately not be served by our network," a spokeswoman told me when I raised your specific issue.

"Our agents are trained to deal with those queries and are empowered to cancel an existing contract for those genuine cases. The conditions around this tend to be specific to the customer involved and we will attempt to resolve issues and provide service where possible. Ultimately, if we are unable to provide a service, there may be a settlement required to cover any device or hardware and the customer will be free to find a more suitable arrangement. If the plan included a new phone, we will take it back and refund what the customer paid for it."

The spokeswoman said that the matter should be dealt with if you call 1740.

As to why the customer service person you have been dealing with didn't relate this to you is a bit of a mystery.

However, I do suspect that it might not be as straightforward if you were seeking to cancel the contract because you couldn't, say, get service once a month at a holiday cottage or within a favoured restaurant you eat in several times a week.

But you have a clear case when it relates to the area in the vicinity of your actual home residence.

Unfortunately, you are somewhat relying on common sense and courtesy. There appear to be no hard and fast regulations you can rely on to invoke cancellation of a contract with a mobile operator because you move home. Nevertheless, it's a fair bet that the three big operators (Vodafone, Three, Eir) will be reasonable in such circumstances. It's their own network, after all: it's a little embarrassing for them if they're taking your money for no service whatsoever.

Does this mean you can demand cancellation of a contract in all situations where you have a weak or absent signal in your home? Not necessarily. Unfortunately, it's normal to get a much weaker signal - or maybe none at all - inside your home compared to what you can get right outside it. This is as true in cities as it is in rural areas and it is especially the case in the situation of a new-build house like yours, with its modern construction and insulation standards. Generally speaking, the very materials that are great for keeping heat in and lowering your utility bills also do a heightened job at weakening mobile and Wi-Fi signals, from room to room and from outside to inside. This is a fairly accepted fact with mobile reception. If you do find yourself in that situation, you can get a signal booster from the operator that usually solves the problem. The booster uses some of the decent reception outside (using a roof antenna, for example) and mirrors it inside the house via a cable and a router.

The other potentially complicating factor is if your mobile contract is part of a bundle with other services, such as landline, broadband and television. You indicate that yours isn't, which makes it a lot more clear cut. But if it was, it might be harder to separate out.

I must admit to being a little curious on one point - why are you committing yourself to a contract in the first place if you have no subsidised phone? The market has changed a lot in recent years: you'll get almost unlimited calls and texts and a decent whack of data for a rolling monthly tariff of between 30 and 40 on almost any network now. (In Vodafone's case, the only real advantage to going for a 12-month contract over pay-as-you-go is more data - 20GB versus 8GB.)

Plus, if you ever have a problem like this one again, you can just change network instantly while keeping your mobile phone number.

So if I were you, I'd reconsider any contract.

In summary, I'd be optimistic that you'll get this sorted. But you'll have to persist with making the case on it, which means trying again and, if you're denied as before, escalate it.

Recommendation: Call 1740 and ask to cancel the contract under Vodafone's 'Network Guarantee' scheme

Email your questions to  caomahony@independent.ie

Tech Two

Panasonic G90

1,069 from Conns Cameras

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Panasonic's new interchangeable-lens Lumix G90 is being pitched as something for people equally interested in video as photos. To this end, it has unlimited video recording (a normal camera stops at 30 minutes), excellent stabilisation (so you can film with no apparent handshake) and VLogL, to 'grade' footage better.

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S

419 from Three.ie

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Xiaomi's Mi Mix 2S is one of the better value upper-mid range smartphones currently on the Irish market. The six-inch Android handset has a near all-screen display with a good engine and a respectable 64GB of internal storage memory. The two rear cameras are very decent, while its metal finish feels premium.
'Do you live in London?" Neil Jordan asks me affably as we settle down for a chat in the Soho Hotel. He seems bemused by the fact that as I reside in Dublin and so does he, we should end up meeting in Project Brexit's embattled capital. Such are the vicissitudes of movie press junkets, and this one revolves around Greta, Jordan's pleasantly nightmarish chiller charting the relationship between a naive New York waitress and a mysterious older woman.

Chloe Grace Moretz is Frankie, who's on her way home from work one night when she finds an expensive-looking handbag on a subway seat. She finds an address inside and sets out for Brooklyn to return it to its owner, Greta (Isabelle Huppert), a French piano teacher who seems like a sweetheart but isn't. Despite the chilling overtones (Greta turns out to be quite the maniac), there's a knowingly melodramatic and almost playful mood to the film, as though Jordan was having fun tinkering with a well-worn genre.

"I was having fun," he tells me, "a lot of fun actually, hopefully not too much. It's a terribly simple story, simpler than I'd normally like, but that's what attracted me to it, I thought 'okay, the handbag is a really interesting little weird hook. I mean she really should have handed it in to lost property, and then everything would have been okay - but she didn't'."

Jordan's (by my count) 20th feature film started out as a script sent to him on spec by Ray Wright. "It was really intriguing, and it struck me that it could become this wonderfully blighted kind of fairytale in an urban setting, like Hansel and Gretel, or Bluebeard."

There's something witchy about Huppert's portrayal and Frankie quickly suspects that something is amiss. Greta says she has a grown-up daughter, but we never see or hear from her. Meanwhile, her interest in Frankie grows more and more obsessive, and Frankie realises she's been lured into a trap when she discovers a dozen identical handbags hidden in Greta's house.

"I'm not a woman, I don't have a handbag, but for a woman, a handbag is a very important thing isn't it, a very personal thing, I mean the entire internet is a handbag.

"And there were just some simple ironies in the fact that Frankie promised a friendship to this woman, and she said 'don't worry, I'll stick around, I'll be your friend', and then - just because she finds these 17 handbags - she decides she's not. So, of course, the woman is heartbroken and furious and has every reason to demand she keep that promise, and it just takes off from there.

"I suppose on the one hand it's the kind of role that Nicolas Cage could have played, or Anthony Perkins, but it being a woman made it more believable and terrifying. And also the fact that there wasn't any sexual dimension to the obsession, I thought that was really refreshing."

In one scene, Greta turns up at the fancy restaurant where Frankie works, books a table and then engages in a dramatic outburst. Jordan did most of his shooting in Ardmore and Dublin, and looked long and hard before finding the right setting for his restaurant.

"Do you remember La Stampa? We built our restaurant in there, and it was just perfect really, there was a wonderful old cooking section with strip lighting, this huge interior that we were able to fill with soft lights and make it elegant, so it looked like the kind of restaurant you'd be embarrassed to put a foot wrong in. It was a matter of setting up that huge environment with enough space where Isabelle could go bananas basically. It's the moment when you realise that she just doesn't give a shit. I just love restaurant scenes, and I thought 'okay, we can make a great one here'. And there's a logic to what she's saying, you know, you need a mother who can console you and all that. In a way, what she says is psychologically plausible, up to a point"

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Greta may have been lovely to make, but getting it made was a struggle.

"It's getting harder to make independent films," Jordan admits. "There's the money juggling and all that of course, but now it's more that actors don't even want to be in them.

"If you send them a script that's going to be made independently without a studio behind it, they know (a) they're not going to get paid much, (b) they'll probably end up shooting in Romania or Hungary or somewhere. So it's just getting tough, but maybe Netflix and the others will help with that."

Jordan does not seem as threatened by a rapidly changing industry as some of his peers.

"I just wonder what it would be like to make a movie like this and rather than you know releasing it in America, releasing it here, releasing in France, and Japan, but for it to come out on Friday night all over the world on a streaming service. I think it would be a really interesting experience at this stage, I wouldn't be adverse to it at all.

"I do love the cinema, I love watching things in the cinema, I go. But I mean I can't think of a film with more visual ambition than Roma, and that was on Netflix, and only in cinemas for a very short time. It's just complicated at the moment, and I don't think there's any point in people like me being pejorative about what should or shouldn't happen."

Perhaps one shouldn't be surprised by this flexibility, because over 20 feature films and almost 40 years in the business, Jordan has happily ploughed his own distinctive furrow, jumping between genres, between lighter and more serious projects, all the while pursuing recurring themes - that twisted fairy tale element, stories about outcasts, the sexually uncertain, those driven towards violence by circumstance. He's an Oscar-winner, a genuine auteur, easily the most successful Irish film-maker ever.

It could all have been so different. Jordan is also an award-winning prose writer, and when he released his first short-story collection, Night in Tunisia, in 1976, a career in literature beckoned.

"It was odd actually, because you know Sean O Faolain, he praised me to the skies inordinately, Brian Friel, Seamus Heaney. I mean, in Ireland it's a literary culture, isn't it really? When I began making movies, I think some of these same figures thought it was a cheapening, or kind of a rejection of a vocation, in that Catholic way.

"And maybe they were right, you know, but when I first began writing scripts, something changed, and I felt liberated, perhaps because the entire culture was so literary. And I was born in Sligo, grew up in Dublin, so the world of Yeats and the world of Joyce were overwhelming in your mind, and you think 'how can you escape this?' and by moving into another medium entirely, it was a total escape."

Cinema's gain, he suggests modestly, was not literature's loss. "I really don't think I would have written loads of fiction if I hadn't started making films, and I mean I don't think I should either!"

When Jordan started out, getting a film made was practically impossible in Ireland, and reviewers here regularly awarded domestic features an extra star just for existing. Happily, things have changed.

"It's really interesting what's going on in Ireland now with film, but I think the problem is that so few of them get distribution. And that's heartbreaking because there's some really good stuff. I love that actress Seana Kerslake," he adds, "she's extraordinary. I'd like to work with her - maybe I'll write something for her."

For Jordan, it all starts with the writing, and he's always got something in the works. He's adapted his own novel, The Drowned Detective, for film, and describes the result as intriguing.

"I've also written a huge television series that I might make for Lionsgate, it's called Jerusalem. It's set 70 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, it's got Herod the Great, it's got Antony and Cleopatra, Jesus Christ's grandmother.

"It would be incredibly expensive, maybe too expensive, but I'd love to make it."

'Greta' is in cinemas from Thursday
Neil Jordan speaks to presenter Ryan Tubridy about how he was homeless for a time. Photo: RTE

Oscar-winning film director Neil Jordan has described how he suddenly became invisible when he was homeless.

The writer and director told RTE's Late Late Show that he had to sleep in Phoenix Park when his money ran out when he was younger.

I went over there in the summer and I was meant to get an apartment for a bunch of friends. They were all going to move over to get jobs. They didnt turn up, so I used to wait at Heuston station for them to come, and for some reason something happened in their lives and they didnt come so the money ran out.

He explained: I ended up sleeping in the park opposite Heuston station and gradually I just found myself on the streets. It was extraordinary, you know, because I had nowhere to go.

It was a really interesting experience because you suddenly become invisible, you know, people dont actually look at you.

Jordan said that he was too ashamed to ask his family for help.

You obviously get filthy, you dont look right, you dont smell right probably, and you end up in environments that are so shocking that you do not want to ask for help.

The last people I would have told about the situation that I was in would be my family, you know, because theres a sense of shame about where youve gotten to.

He added: I found it a really interesting experience, I mean Im glad I went through it, it was quite terrifying and quite dangerous but I dont think people fully understand homelessness and I think the most pertinent fact for me at the time was shame... the shame of falling through the cracks.
Una Healy will have a show on the UKs first national country music radio station.

The Saturdays star will have a weekend programme on Country Hits Radio.

The station is being launched in April and will play pop country music and the artists that are crossing over into the charts, with acts such as Keith Urban, Kacey Musgraves, Thomas Rhett, Maren Morris, Florida Georgia Line, Dan + Shay and Carrie Underwood among those whose music will be played.

Healy said she has become a big fan of country.

When you look at the success of artists such as The Shires and Ward Thomas as well as huge events like Country 2 Country (music festival), its clear theres a real audience for country music in the UK, she said.

Its a genre Ive fallen in love with and its thrilling that it now has a home in Country Hits RadioUna Healy

Its a genre Ive fallen in love with and its thrilling that it now has a home in Country Hits Radio.

I cant wait to get started!

Country music radio host Baylen Leonard (BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 4) will join the station for a daily weekday show. Nashvilles Ty Bentli will also join the weekday line-up, sharing music and news from the US country scene.

During launch week next month, the station will host guest appearances from country music stars including Case Rice, Carly Pearce, Ashley McBryde, Brett Eldredge and Jimmy Allen.

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Country Hits Radio is the third new station launch from Bauer Media this year, following Greatest Hits Radio and Scala Radio.

It launches on April 5 and will be on DAB Digital Radio, online, via smart speakers and mobile apps. For more information visit www.countryhitsradio.co.uk.
It pays to be seen on the big screen. Game of Thrones, returning for its final season this Sunday, has made Northern Ireland a must-visit for fans from around the world - and it's not the only example.

As explained on The Pat Kenny Show's (Newstalk, Mon-Fri 9am) travel slot with Irish Independent travel editor Pol O Conghaile, movie and TV sets are a "big driver" of visitors: according to Tourism Ireland, up to 35pc of them. This isn't always a good thing, he noted - for obvious conservation reasons you can't have too many people on Skellig Michael, regardless of how badly Star Wars fans might want to see it.

But it's mostly good. Game of Thrones is worth millions to the North annually. A new attraction next year - a tour of Linen Mill Studios - "could rival" the UK's Harry Potter tour.

As for Star Wars, Pol added: "We're seeing more and more of Ireland as the series develops: Dingle Peninsula, Loop Head, Malin Head". There's now a May the Fourth Festival every year, across these locations.

Their chat touched on Father Ted (Plassey shipwreck, Burren, Aillwee Cave), the Cliffs of Moher (seen in Harry Potter), Line of Duty (filmed in Belfast) and Derry Girls. Finally Pat mentioned, "in a nod to Ivan Yates", Saving Private Ryan's Curracloe Beach in Co Wexford.

The Grand National used to be a big thing back in the day; many of us will remember excitedly placing a few pence on the race each April, and some of us will even remember winning.

The race doesn't seem to matter so much to the general public anymore, but this year's caused a kerfuffle: Tiger Roll became the first to win back-to-back Nationals since the legendary Red Rum in 1974. And of course, there were many Irish connections: the horse is Irish, as are winning jockey Davy Russell, trainer Gordon Elliott and owner Michael O'Leary.

On Sunday with Miriam (Radio 1, 10am), Russell spoke of his feeling that he was "riding for the whole country". Interestingly, he also pointed out - we heard something similar on Off the Ball (Newstalk, Mon-Fri 7pm), too - that English people were hugely supportive of Tiger Roll, almost feeling his victory was theirs too. Who says Brexit has irreparably damaged Anglo-Irish relations?

The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry (BBC Radio 4, Wed 9.30am) is one of those excellent pop-science shows Radio 4 does so well. They "investigate everyday mysteries" suggested by listeners: this week we had the Periodic Table, last week hypnotism. Previous subjects ranged from DNA testing, deja vu and why bad food tastes so good, to an infinite universe and other dimensions.

Both presenters are proper scientists, so you know that they know what they're talking about. If you have any curiosity about that "infinite universe", this is a great place to start exploring.
Anger: Jim Ryan of Stop The Move  Save Our Square action group and John Butler, president of Thurles Chamber of Commerce. Picture: Don Moloney

An Post is accused of a "policy" of moving main street post offices into shopping centres, "destroying the heart of towns".

Campaigners from Thurles, Co Tipperary, are attempting to keep their town's post office open on Liberty Square.

An Post says that it has no such "policy", but acknowledged: "We are looking to move to places where people do their shopping."

The Thurles premises is set to be relocated to a nearby shopping centre. The 'Stop the Move, Save Our Square' campaign group has held protests and a series of meetings.

Chairman of the campaign Councillor Jim Ryan said: "Our post office has been in Liberty Square in Thurles for 160 years. We have an older community. OAPs, people with disabilities here rely on being able to get to the post office, where it is in the square. It would be nearly a kilometre for an older person to walk from the current post office location."

He said the group raised its concerns to the CEO of An Post, David McRedmond, and warned him it could "destroy the heart of every town centre" if replicated nationwide.

A spokesman for An Post denied Mr McRedmond had said there was a national policy to relocate post offices into shopping centres.

The spokesman added: "He (Mr McRedmond) was explaining the reason why we are moving in Thurles. We have a premises on Liberty Square, it's an old building.

"We need to develop and the cost is prohibitive but we have a chance to move a short distance away where we can open the best modern post office in the country outside of Dublin.

"The policy has always been to have the post office where the footfall is, and often that's the main street or in a shopping centre..."
Threat to kill: Barry ODonoghue was described as a dangerous individual by a Garda source

It has to stop: Kerrie Gamble wanted images of her injuries to be made public to campaign against abuse. Photo: Medical Photography Ireland

A brave victim of domestic abuse said the assault will live with her long after her ex-partner is released from jail.

Barry O'Donoghue (38) was yesterday sentenced to five years' imprisonment after being found guilty of assaulting and threatening to kill Kerrie Gamble.

Ms Gamble was kicked in the head, punched and stamped on during a prolonged assault, during which O'Donoghue said: "Tonight is your execution."

Today, the Irish Independent reveals the pictures which show the extent of the injuries suffered by Ms Gamble.

She suffered serious facial wounds during the attack on October 20, 2016, at her Drimnagh home, which included a broken eye socket and nerve damage to her face.

Ms Gamble said she wanted images of her injuries published in a bid to stand up against domestic abuse and urge other victims to come forward.

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"I have made the difficult decision to release photographs of some of the injuries I sustained on the night I was attacked by Barry O'Donoghue.

"This was not an easy decision for me but I firmly believe that standing up to domestic violence is more important," Ms Gamble said.

"Although I know now that what happened to me is not my fault, I also know my fear and my silence allowed my abuse to carry on for several years.

"I may never be able to rid myself of the fear I suffer every day, but I can take back my silence by releasing these photos, and telling everyone this is what happened to me and this is still happening to others, and it has to stop."

The 36-year-old Dublin woman also said the attack would stay with her long after O'Donoghue is released from prison.

"While I take comfort in how seriously the judge addressed this matter, I cannot help but feel somewhat disappointed in the sentencing," she said.

"This will haunt me for a lot longer then the prison sentence he received."

O'Donoghue, of Mourne Road, Drimnagh, but originally from Co Carlow, was sentenced to a total of five years for assault causing harm and making a threat to kill.

Judge Elma Sheahan sentenced him to three years for the assault. She also sentenced O'Donoghue to five-and-a-half years' imprisonment for threatening to kill Ms Gamble, which was suspended for six months and will run concurrently with the assault sentence.

A senior source last night praised investigating gardai for their work in getting a successful prosecution.

"Gardai went to great lengths in their investigation to secure a conviction against O'Donoghue. He is a dangerous individual and the injuries sustained on the victim that night are testament to that," the source said.

During the trial, Gda Keith O'Brien, of Sundrive Road garda station, gave evidence of how O'Donoghue beat Ms Gamble and kicked her, before telling her: "Tonight is your execution."

Ms Gamble said she did not know how she made it out of that night alive.

She had a recurring nightmare in which she saw her gravestone with the date October 20. It disappears and she hears O'Donoghue's voice telling her he would bury her where no one would find her.
A man who stabbed a family acquaintance with a metal object during the school run has been jailed until Christmas week when a judge will sentence him.

Anvar Ghambari (39) attacked the victim in the school yard when both men were dropping their sons off in the morning. He wanted to confront the victim about comments he had allegedly made about his wife to mutual friends.

He stabbed his victim four times around the head and also punched and kicked him. The court heard that school children who witnessed the attack were frightened and crying.

Ghambari of Cushlawn Way, Tallaght, Dublin pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to Majid Suhrabi at St Maelruain's school, Tallaght on March 1, 2016.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Ghambari did not come armed to the incident but he pulled a metal stabiliser from a children's bicycle during the attack. The metal bar had a serrated edge.

Ghambari was shouting I'm going to kill you, I swear to god, I'm going to kill you while he stabbed the back of the victim's head. Afterwards he walked out of the school yard.

The victim still suffers from memory loss and forgets little things, the court heard. Both he and Ghambari were asked not to bring their sons to school in case of a repeat incident and Mr Suhrabi said that he missed this accompanying his son.

Judge Martin Nolan said he accepted that this was a one off fall from grace for Ghambari, who has no previous convictions.

He noted that a report by the Probation Services was positive but said he would remand Ghambari into custody until the last day of term when he will finalise the case.

Kitty Perle BL, defending, said both men were Kurdish Iranian and knew one another. there has been no incidents since this assault.

She said the attack arose from insults being traded on an earlier date. Her client had owed Mr Suhrabi a debt of 5,000 and that he intended to pay this back, Ms Perle said.
Circumstantial evidence is "not a shortcut to a conviction", the barrister for Patrick Quirke told the jury in the Tipperary murder trial.

He described Mary Lowry as "a very dangerous witness" because she seeks to "solve the case".

Bernard Condon SC, for the defence, warned: "There is not enough to do a person for murder on what is presented here. We are in the realms of speculation."

And he said the case against his client, Patrick Quirke, was based on a theory rather than hard evidence.

Mr 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 Condon said the jury must approach its function as would scientists, in a cold and dispassionate way, and with scepticism, which was "the greatest skill available to them".

He began his closing speech after lunch, telling the panel of six men and six women that Michael Bowman of the prosecution "seeks to do your job for you" and to do it without directing them to the "serious dangers" in some of the things presented to them.

He said "a vast number" of the items had their source in the evidence of Mary Lowry.

Other points were "conveniently airbrushed" out of the prosecution's narrative because it "doesn't suit", claimed Mr Condon.

"Make no mistake, this is a case based on theory," he said.

"A case, to use the words of the State pathologist, for which there is no hard evidence."

He said much was being made of circumstantial evidence, warning that "circumstantial evidence is not a shortcut to convict".

"It is not a shortcut to adopt a theory, to ignore alternatives in each and every one of the presentations Mr Bowman has identified," he added.

He described Ms Lowry as "a very dangerous witness", because she was engaged in a process in which she "should not be engaged in".

"Nobody is here to solve the case," said Mr Condon.

"You're here to see if the evidence supports the conviction of Mr Quirke.

"You're not here to solve the case and neither is Mary Lowry. Her evidence is highly, highly questionable because it's been given through the prism of what will solve the case.

"She said she'd bared her soul to get justice for Bobby. Ms Lowry has determined that justice for Bobby means to advance this prosecution."

He described Ms Lowry as a witness who was engaged in "quite striking revisionism".

Asked about the relationship between her late husband, Martin Lowry, and Mr Quirke, she seemed to suggest "they weren't really that close", said Mr Condon.

He claimed that was against all the other evidence in the case.

"Right from the outset she takes the opportunity to deliver evidence with a spin," he said.

He also claimed gardai had taken up Ms Lowry's position that she had been vulnerable and that Mr Quirke had exerted control over her, and he warned the jury: "You must not allow yourselves to be dictated to by the police."

He compared the jury's task to deliberate on the evidence as taking a journey in the "forensic equivalent to a train".

"You are being invited by the prosecution to go to the last station on the line, it will be uphill and will twist and curve," he explained.

The prosecution should be able to bring them to the very last station on the journey with evidence as the fuel, he told them.

"If it isn't the sort of evidence that you yourself would be happy to be convicted on, if it is not grade-A fuel, you will not get to the station at the top marked guilty," he said.

Mr Condon said Mr Quirke was "parked in the train station marked innocence" and it was up to the prosecution to move him out of it and they had to do that with evidence - but Mr Condon said there was a problem here because "the evidence is thin".

"You will have to pass through several stops, you may go past suspicion station, likelihood station and even probability station, but if you get out there you are in the wrong place for conviction," he said.

He said it was not enough to do a person for murder on what was presented here, which was "in the realm of speculation".

At the heart of much of what went on between Ms Lowry and Mr Quirke, he said, was a broken relationship.

He added: "Attached to that can be bitterness and anger and unhappiness and they get mushed up together and people who loved each other deeply can find themselves in the family law courts roaring abuse at each other.

"People take positions, it becomes fraught, people's reactions can be extreme and unreliable.

"People can convince themselves they're the most wronged person in the world - a friend might need to take them aside."

Mr Condon said the jury was being asked to accept Ms Lowry's "unreliable evidence" beyond a reasonable doubt. He said there was a "pettiness" to the arguments between her and the accused, including rows over her moving a ladder and him leaving muck in her driveway.

He reminded them that his client had contacted a defamation solicitor when Ms Lowry accused him of stealing her passport.

He claimed Ms Lowry "either lost her passport or had it stolen" but wants to put it at the door of Mr Quirke, who told her he had "sold it". Mr Quirke said this was sarcasm. "Doesn't that have a ring of truth to it - otherwise what a stupid thing to say," Mr Condon said.

The trial continues.
Multi-millionaire bachelor farmer John Joseph McCabe has beaten an assault charge over a tug of war concerning a heritage table.

At Ennis District Court, Judge Patrick Durcan dismissed the charge against the 82-year-old farmer of assaulting businessman John Colleran (55) at Abbey View in Clarecastle on May 12 last.

After hearing evidence from Mr Colleran and his brother Joe over the tug of war with Mr McCabe over the heritage piece, Inspector David Finnerty said the State would be offering no further evidence.

Judge Durcan said: "I am glad you did that, inspector, because this case is so riddled with contradictions that to go any further would be a complete waste of time."

During the Celtic Tiger era, Mr McCabe of Carnelly House, Clarecastle, Co Clare, scooped the largest amount from any land deal in Clare when he sold 48 acres for 18.8m to a Galway developer in 2005.

In evidence in the tug-of-war case, John Colleran said that he was with his brother Joe and sister Veronica at his late father's workshop on Saturday morning, May 12.

He said they there to abide by his father's wishes, to identify for sale all the material in the workshop and give the proceeds to his father's grandchildren.

Mr Colleran said his father had died just two weeks previously, and the last piece he repaired was the pod or 'leg' of a heritage table.

Mr Colleran said Mr McCabe arrived at the workshop and he alleged Mr McCabe said: "That is my f***ing table. I am taking it and no one is stopping me."

Mr Colleran said he told Mr McCabe: "As far as I am concerned, it is not your table, it is belonging to a man in Co Limerick."

He said: "I told him that if he could prove the table was his, he could have it."

Mr Colleran claimed that Mr McCabe grabbed the table and a struggle ensued.

He said Mr McCabe had the table in his hands and forced his way out of the garage with the table.

He said he tried to prevent Mr McCabe leaving, and was driven against a trailer by Mr McCabe carrying the table, and sustained a cut to his arm. Mr Colleran called the gardai and made a statement the following day.

Mr Colleran said that Mr McCabe "grabbed the table like a rugby ball and was going for a try".

However, after Joe Colleran admitted that he also had his hands on the table with Mr McCabe when the table made contact with his brother John, as he collided with the trailer, Insp Finnerty withdrew the case.

John Colleran told the court Mr McCabe left the property without the table.

He alleged Mr McCabe said: "I have the money, I have the power and I will take you to court to blacken the Colleran name."

On behalf of Mr McCabe, Elaine Houlihan BL said it was simply implausible that an assault took place.

She said Mr McCabe rightfully asserted that the table was his and picked up the table.

Ms Houlihan said the man of 82 was exhausted with the tug of war with the two younger, fitter men and he left the table down and then left the property.
Victims of former INLA man Dessie 'The Border Fox' O'Hare will find it "hard to swallow" that he won't spend longer in prison for "technical reasons", Fianna Fail TD Jack Chambers has said.

O'Hare was jailed for seven years for his part in the assault of one man and false imprisonment of another during the eviction of a family from their Dublin home.

He is likely to serve less than five years of that sentence when remission is taken into account and if he is of good behaviour.

It also emerged a previous 40-year sentence O'Hare was serving for the 1987 kidnapping of Dublin dentist John O'Grady cannot be reactivated despite his latest conviction.

O'Hare was released early from that sentence under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement in 2008.

It cannot be reactivated because he would have been entitled to one-quarter remission for the sentence.

The sentence is deemed to have been completed because the 30-year period he would have served for the brutal kidnapping has elapsed.

O'Hare cut off parts of Mr O'Grady's fingers during the 23-day ordeal and was convicted and sentenced for the kidnapping offence in April 1988. Mr O'Grady died from cancer in 2016.

Mr Chambers, a member of the Oireachtas Justice Committee, said his thoughts are with O'Hare's victims and their families.

He added: "I'm sure they will find it hard to swallow that, for very technical reasons, this violent individual will not face a more extensive period in prison."

Mr Chambers also said that "of course the same rules should apply to everybody, but it instinctively feels wrong".

Sentencing O'Hare for his latest crime, Mr Justice Tony Hunt said he had been a "front man" in the attack and an "enthusiastic participant" in a "vicious assault".

He said the "violent side" of O'Hare's personality was "not in remission" and the threat to society posed by his "disposition to violence" had not completely abated. Mr Justice Hunt said aggravating factors included O'Hare's "serious previous criminal record".

O'Hare (62), of Slate Rock Road, Newtownhamilton, Co Armagh, pleaded guilty to assaulting John Roche, causing him harm, at The Towers, Garter Lane, Saggart, Co Dublin, on June 9, 2015. He also admitted falsely imprisoning Martin Byrne at Rathcoole and Saggart.

At the non-jury Special Criminal Court, O'Hare was given a 10-year sentence for false imprisonment, with three years suspended, and another concurrent three-year sentence for the assault. O'Hare had previous convictions for possession of a firearm in 1977 and assaulting a garda in 1979.
The much-championed 'Vienna model' for affordable housing would take 10 years to have an impact in Ireland, according to Michaele Bankel, vice president of the Austrian capital's housing authority.

In Vienna, where 45pc of housing is classified as social or affordable, people can earn as much as 53,000 a year and qualify for city-owned and subsidised apartments.

Earlier this year Dublin City Council said it is willing adopt a new way of delivering affordable homes, based on this model.

However, it says the lack of supply and land scarcity will make this new approach extremely challenging.

At a 'Home for Life' conference, held at Davy Stockbrokers yesterday, former head of the Housing Agency Conor Skehan said the Vienna Model had to be put into context, as policy and politics is "cultural".

Paul Cunningham, chief executive of Home for Life, which operates the mortgage-to-rent scheme in Ireland, said a lack of consistent policy was an issue.

"There is no consistent approach between where the private sits and where the public sits in relation to housing and it does cause a difficulty," Mr Cunningham said.

"We have to pay for this, but who pays? We don't like direct taxes, like for water. In Vienna the tenant pays a higher percentage than they do in Ireland for social housing.

"We also need to deliver solutions for people who are in severe mortgage arrears," he added.

The Vienna model is internationally regarded for supplying sustainable, high-quality residential development.

The scheme provides homes for around one in four people in the Austrian capital.

Wiener Wohnen, the authority which manages more than 220,000 homes in the Vienna, receives almost 500m annually from the city in subsidies, 212m of which it spends on building apartments.

The scheme is funded by a property tax and the authority builds on average 7,000 apartments each year.

In contrast, there were just 4,251 social houses built in Ireland last year, comprising of 2,022 local authority builds and 1,338 delivered by approved housing bodies.

Ireland is in the midst of a housing crisis, with increasingly high rents making it more difficult for first-time buyers to meet Central Bank lending requirements.

Those who can afford to buy are frequently being pushed out of the market by big corporations or "cuckoo funds".

Mr Skehan said Irish people need to decide who pays for affordable housing.

"The Vienna model will have a cost and we have to decide if this is something we are willing to bear," he said.
Childbirth agony: Nuala Hoey was one of hundreds of women who revealed their experiences on Liveline. Photo: Tony Gavin

A woman who said she heard her body "tear open" during childbirth is calling on the HSE to investigate complaints about maternity care and address a "patriarchal" health system.

Nuala Hoey (37), from Castletown, Co Meath, said she suffered a life-altering fourth-degree tear during childbirth at Our Lady of Lourdes hospital in Drogheda, Co Louth.

She is one of hundreds of women who revealed their stories on RTE's 'Liveline' show to Joe Duffy. Ms Hoey is the first of these women to step forward into the public eye. She had been expecting a straightforward birth after a "blissful pregnancy".

She believes the nurse incorrectly encouraged her to push too "aggressively" to bring the birth. This, she believes, led to the fourth-degree tear, which left her doubly incontinent for a lengthy period while she also suffered PTSD. She also claims she was misdiagnosed with a third-degree tear.

"I heard my body rip open. It was so loud. It sounded like the ripping of a... bag of potatoes," she recalled. "This immense pain engulfed me, swallowed me up. I went into shock .... The pain was so bad, I thought I'd vomit, I got light headed."

After the surgery, Ms Hoey claimed she was only offered a paracetamol.

She added she wanted an overhaul of maternity services in Ireland.

"Often the most invalidating thing a woman with birth experience can hear are phrases like 'Be glad your baby is well' or 'All that matters is a healthy baby'.

"While mothers are indeed very glad their babies are fine, it's of the utmost importance to be aware mothers matter too."

Joe Duffy said close to 1,000 women had been in contact with the programme. He told the Irish Independent: "The response to women's stories and experiences in the last two weeks on 'Liveline' is one of the biggest the programme has ever received.

"These brave women have been the voices for so many others over the last nine days on the programme."

A HSE spokeswoman said that listening is at the core of the National Maternity Strategy. "The HSE apologises to those women where our service has failed to meet their expectations," she added.

"We also apologise that women have felt compelled to ring RTE to have their concerns heard. This should not happen.

"When someone is dissatisfied with their clinical care, or the manner in which they were treated, they can make their views known directly to the hospital or through the Your Service Your Say service.

"The HSE will always endeavour to address these concerns in a compassionate and professional manner."

If you have a story to share with us, email us at contact@independent.ie
The scene of the fatal shooting at City West Shopping Centre, Fortunestown Lane this morning PIC COLIN O'RIORDAN

The scene of the fatal shooting at City West Shopping Centre, Fortunestown Lane this morning PIC COLIN O'RIORDAN

The scene of the fatal shooting at City West Shopping Centre, Fortunestown Lane this morning. Fortunestown Lane closed by Gardai. PIC COLIN O'RIORDAN

The scene of the fatal shooting at City West Shopping Centre, Fortunestown Lane PIC COLIN O'RIORDAN

A young man arrested in relation to the fatal shooting of John Gibson (29) in September 2017 has been released without charge.

Fitness instructor John Gibson was gunned down in a car park in Fortunestown Lane, Tallaght, at around 9.20pm on September 18.

A man in his late 20s was arrested this morning and has now been released without charge. A file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Gibson was close pals with Darragh Nugent (36), who was shot dead in west Dublin the week before his death.

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Both men were associated with jailed hitman James Nellie Walsh.

An inquest later found that Gibson died died due to multiple gunshot wounds.

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Gardai in Tallaght arrested a man in his late twenties in connection with their investigation this morning. He is currently detained at Tallaght Garda Station under the provisions of Section 30  Offences Against the State Act 1939.

This brings the total number of arrests to date for this incident to four. A spokesperson said their investigation is continuing.

Shooting

It is understood that Gibson was blasted several times as he sat in his car outside Eddie Rockets outlet.

A gunman, who was driven to the scene in a van, opened fire on Gibson, who tried to get out of his car and flee.

The van was later recovered burnt out on nearby Verschoyle Green. A magazine clip was also recovered from the front seat.

Gibson was not considered a major gangland criminal, and had only a number of minor convictions including one for simple possession of drugs when he was caught with three ecstasy tablets in Swords in 2016.

However, he had close links to Walsh, who is currently serving a lengthy sentence over firearms.

Walsh, backed up by Nugent, became a player in the west Dublin crime scene around seven years ago and ended up getting involved in a bitter dispute with a Clondalkin gang with close links to the cartel.
The sensational claim in the Special Criminal Court that the notorious terrorist Dessie O'Hare told gardai he was hired by businessman Jim Mansfield Jnr to evict an employee from his home has made for uncomfortable reading for the one-time Celtic Tiger playboy.

The court heard the 62-year-old former INLA killer, dubbed 'The Border Fox', made the allegation when he turned himself in.

O'Hare then admitted savagely assaulting one man and falsely imprisoning a second man and his family at Rathcoole and Saggart in west Dublin on June 9, 2015.

He is back behind bars after pleading guilty to a savage assault on John Roche and also falsely imprisoning Martin Byrne, his wife and son. Another notorious INLA member, Declan "Whacker" Duffy, was last year sentenced to six years for the offences.

The claims by O'Hare that he was hired by Mansfield junior to evict Mr Byrne, who worked for 20 years as a security provider for his father, has placed the businessman firmly back in the spotlight.

Mr Mansfield Jnr issued a statement denying the link, saying it was "untrue and without any foundation whatsoever".

He has also threatened legal action against RTE over what he says were defamatory remarks linking him to the former INLA man on the 'Prime Time' programme. RTE denies that it defamed Mr Mansfield Jnr.

The businessman, like his father before him, has been no stranger to controversy down the years.

The billionaire's son first came to prominence as a Celtic Tiger playboy who was a regular on Dublin's upmarket social scene, especially following a relationship with tragic celebrity model Katy French.

After his father's death in January 2014, Jim Mansfield took over control of the scrappy remnants of his father's collapsed property empire. It was to bring him no end of trouble.

In May 2014 a wedding at the Finnstown Hotel in Lucan where Mr Mansfield worked as a manager was evacuated after gardai discovered a large bomb in a car parked in the grounds.

Gardai suspected the lethal device was linked to Republican dissidents and was being stored on the grounds without the knowledge of the hotel staff or management.

Then in October Mr Mansfield denied a report that his life had been threatened by criminals associated with Traveller gang boss 'Fat Andy' Connors. He told the 'Sunday World': "Is my life in danger? I'd pay no heed. I haven't done anything on anybody."

He also denied he had any connections to organised crime. "We are not involved in organised crime. We are not drug dealers," he said.

In January 2015, the Finnstown Hotel and apartments at Citywest were raided as part of a major money laundering investigation spearheaded by the CAB.

Then a month later he lost an appeal against summary judgment orders for 6.32m against him and others over unpaid loans to buy development lands in Co Meath.

He had argued unsuccessfully that he was dyslexic and could not read properly and thus had signed loan agreements that he did not understand.

But there was more bad news in store for Mr Mansfield Jnr.

As a result of the garda raids in January 2015 both he and his brother PJ were both charged in connection with the seizure of ammunition.

The trial of PJ collapsed at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Judge Cormac Quinn told the jury the prosecution had not proved how many rounds of ammunition Patrick James Mansfield was entitled to possess.

He directed the jury to return a not guilty verdict on day three of the trial.

During the trial, the jury heard evidence that PJ Mansfield was an authorised member of a gun club and a person "of good character".

And the charges against Jim Jnr were dropped by the DPP before the trial proceeded, with Mr Mansfield telling a reporter he intended suing the Garda and DPP for malicious prosecution.

And that episode was followed by the arrest of Dessie O'Hare and other dissident Republicans which culminated with the hearing in the Special Criminal Court this week.

It is all a far cry from the days when Jim Mansfield Snr presided over a massive business empire purchasing hotels, stately homes and an airport.

The seed capital came from his judicious investment in buying scrapped military hardware left after the Falklands War in 1982.

The jewel in the crown of his empire was the Citywest Hotel and apartment complex at Saggart, Co Dublin, and Weston aerodrome in the same area.

Mansfield was one of the first of the country's business elite to buy a private jet.

However, the empire crumbled with the collapse of the economy in 2008 and Nama took possession of the hotel complex which was later sold for 30m.

In the latter years of his life, Mansfield Snr rebuffed allegations that he was a major player in organised crime and drugs after his private jet was at the centre of a major heroin seizure by police in Belgium in 2006.

A spokesman at the time said the businessman was shocked by the development.

And James Mansfield Snr later told the 'Sunday Independent' that there were categorically no drugs in his business.

"I've heard the rumours, but they don't bother me in the slightest.

"It's a load of absolute nonsense. A lot of it is down to jealousy," he said.
Fianna Fail is preparing to keep Leo Varadkar in power until early 2020. The likelihood of a general election this year has evaporated on foot of the new Brexit deadline of October 31.

Many Fianna Fail TDs held expectations the party would pull the plug on Fine Gael after the Dail's summer break, but senior sources say Micheal Martin will resist any pressure to collapse the Government before the new Brexit date.

On the Fine Gael side, ministerial sources say they expect to "get back to normal work" now that Brexit is temporarily being pushed into the background.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has ruled out the prospect of a reshuffle, meaning embattled Housing and Health Ministers Eoghan Murphy and Simon Harris will stay in position for another year.

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe will provide the Cabinet with an economic update on Tuesday. He is already working towards the publication of a summer economic statement which will set the broad boundaries for budget negotiations with Fianna Fail.

The prospect of negotiating another budget is not one that either party is relishing.

"One will have to be agreed now because of all the dates on which Varadkar could go to the park, the first two weeks of October just can't happen," said one Fianna Fail source.

Big battles over how to increase carbon tax and the reform of property tax are already on the horizon.

The Confidence and Supply Agreement between the two parties was renewed last December, but there was a widespread expectation in Leinster House that it would be ended once Brexit was resolved.

Dail numbers are likely to be complicated further as a result of TDs from both parties seeking election to the European Parliament. Fine Gael is likely to lose Frances Fitzgerald to Brussels, while Fianna Fail could be down Billy Kelleher.

Under law, by-elections for their seats will have to be held by November 24.

But a senior Fianna Fail figure told the Irish Independent: "The uncertainty over Brexit will remain until October and beyond even if there is a general election in the UK.

"If Leo wants an election he can go to the Aras any day as we all know, but he would find it hard to defend going over the next few months."

A Fine Gael minister noted Mr Varadkar has always publicly maintained that he doesn't want an election until summer 2020.

"Spring next year seems more likely, but we're definitely going nowhere this year unless Theresa May passes the deal in the next few weeks," they said.

Meanwhile, Mr Varadkar issued a blunt warning to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and right-wing Conservative MPs.

He said the European Commission is not "some kind of honest broker", but rather a body devoted to protecting the best interests of the European Union and its member states.

The DUP has been accused by some elements of the UK media of undermining Prime Minister Theresa May, who depends on the Northern Ireland party to support her minority government.

DUP members have fought for over a year for compromises on the backstop guarantee over no Border infrastructure between the Republic and the North.

The Taoiseach, speaking at the Irish Distillers complex in Midleton, Co Cork, urged both the DUP and Brexit-supporting Tory MPs to appreciate the actual role of the EC.

"I think our role as Ireland and the EU is to understand the fact the UK has got itself into a very difficult position," he said. "They don't want to leave without a deal, but they also don't want to vote for the deal. It seems now that half or even more than half of the public don't want to leave at all. So they have got themselves in a difficult situation.

"For a lot of us it was predictable, but they are there now."
Farah Mokhtareizadeh from Anti Racism Network pictured as she read a statement at the launch of the Identity Ireland, a Pro Sovereignty party in Buswells Hotel. In the background is Gary Allen and Peter O Loughlin, both founder members of Identity Ireland. Photo: Frank McGrath

THE launch of a right-wing party descended into chaos this afternoon after an anti-racism group staged a protest.

Identity Ireland - which is seeking to bring an end to mass immigration and multiculturalism  held a press conference in Buswells Hotel in Dublin to announce it had officially become a political party.

However, after the groups leaders introduced themselves, members of an anti-racism group accused the party of knowingly holding the launch on the fourth anniversary on the massacre of 77 people by far-right terrorist Anders Behring Breivik.

Identity Ireland denied they held the event to coincide with the anniversary of the tragedy.

During the demonstration, a protester laid a wreath for the victims of the mass murder beside members of the party.

Identity Ireland members clashed with the protesters calling them thugs and accusing them of harassing their fledgling political movement.

Expand Close Ronit Lentin [right] from the Anti Racism Network and Kate O Connell debate with Paul O Marcacahain at the launch of the Identity Ireland. Photo: Frank Mc Grath / Facebook

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Whatsapp Ronit Lentin [right] from the Anti Racism Network and Kate O Connell debate with Paul O Marcacahain at the launch of the Identity Ireland. Photo: Frank Mc Grath

A member of the political party then called hotel staff and asked them to remove the protesters from the press conference.

Speaking to the media after the demonstration, a member of Identity Ireland insisted there was a difference between people who are ethnically Irish and Irish citizens.

Party Leader Peter OLoughlin, who is an unemployed primary school teacher, said 90pc of immigrants seeking asylum in Ireland are bogus and are instead economic immigrants.

He said mass immigration - which Ireland engaged in with in gusto - is putting huge strain on our health and social welfare system.

The group is opposed to the European Union in its current form and Mr OLoughlin said the euro was a political tool used to rob us of our sovereignty.

He said the group will run a handful of candidates in the next election but admitted it was hard to get people to engage with the party because they feared being branded racists.

He said the party did not take a position on social issues such as abortion or the marriage equality referendum.
An 85-year-old Dublin priest has been arrested and is likely to be charged with 40 different sexual abuse offences of four different boys.

His arrest came as part of a major historical abuse inquiry by specialist detectives based at Pearse Street garda station.

The cleric, who is now based in south Dublin, was a teacher for decades in a south inner city school in the capital.

He is alleged to have attacked four boys at the school between 1972 and 1974 and has been probed in relation to the allegations for a number of years. He was recently arrested in relation to the investigation but was said to be uncooperative in relation to the investigation.

Sources say that he has been investigated by gardai for a number of years in relation to the case. He has been investigated for the indecent assault of four juvenile Dublin boys who are now middle-aged men.

Sources also said that gardai believe they have enough evidence to charge him for dozens of counts of indecent assault and he is likely to face a court date in the coming weeks.

If convicted of the offences, the octogenarian, who has no previous criminal convictions, is likely to face a possible jail sentence.

Earlier this month, the Archbishop of Dublin told of his shock at finding serial paedophile priests are unable to conclusively confirm newly reported cases of abuse they were involved in because they had so many victims.

Dr Diarmuid Martin made the disturbing revelation in an RTE documentary detailing how the Vatican came to exert control over almost every aspect of Irish life since the foundation of the State.

In the 'Rome v Republic' programme, Dr Martin talks frankly about the scale of abuse, expressing his deep concern paedophile priests can often be unsure if they abused a victim or not when a new case comes to light.

He said: "Any organisation has to ask how is it that at a particular time, there was a large number of serial paedophiles. I'm talking serious paedophiles, we're talking about hundreds."
An internal inquiry was under way yesterday evening into claims a senior garda was engaged in part-time work as a security consultant for a well-known company.

It has been claimed the garda - an inspector - had engaged in consultancy work on security matters for the firm.

The work was done in his spare time.

Under the Garda code, members of An Garda Siochana are forbidden from taking other employment in a wide range of jobs, including security.

The inspector is a member of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI).

Its annual members' conference is due to start on Monday.

It is understood the National Bureau of Crime Investigation is involved in the probe, and that it received the allegations about the garda's alleged work with a private company earlier this year.

A spokesperson for the Garda press office said there would be no comment on the matter.

It is understood, however, that the inquiry is in its early stages.

The annual AGSI conference in Ballyconnell is due to last three days and Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan will address the gathering on Monday.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris is also expected to attend the second day of the conference.
How do you like your eggs in the morning? We went in search of the best brunches in Ireland, seeking out the cafes and restaurants that put extra thought into the sourcing of their key ingredients and have come up with imaginative ways of serving eggs that delight their customers.

Here - in no particular order - are 30 of the very best.

1 GATHER, TUAM, GALWAY

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Rosti, crisp bacon, organic greens and hollandaise that's how the brunch rolls at Gather in Tuam, where the Flaherty sisters, Aoife and Siobhan, demonstrate commitment to local and artisan producers, in dishes such as free-range eggs baked with kale and Wooded Pig chorizo, and a full Irish starring Castlemine free-range, rare-breed bacon and sausage.

2 THE GREEN SHEEP, THURLES

thegreensheep.ie

The incredible-sounding breakfast sandwich at The Green Sheep in Thurles comprises (are you ready?): "Three thick rashers from John Lacey next door, salad without sprays grown by Sarah at Comfrey Cottage 10 minutes' down the road, pickled cucumber from Ayle Farm, pasture-reared eggs from Kylie at Magner's Farm [Magner's eggs got a lot of love when we asked readers to tell us about their favourite eggs] and gorse petal shrub dressing from Wild Irish Foragers & Preservers." One of The Green Sheep's best customers is Peter Ryan, a visually-impaired Para-Olympic cyclist and motivational speaker, who must know a thing or two about good nutrition.

3 HATCH & SONS, DUBLIN

hatchandsons.com

When the first branch of Hatch & Sons opened on St Stephen's Green (there's a second in the Hugh Lane on Parnell Square) it made a virtue out of necessity by serving a baked rather than fried breakfast, as fire regulations prohibited stove-top cooking. Hatch & Sons is all about serving the very best of Irish produce - lovely free-range eggs, dry-cured bacon from O'Neill's, Waterford blaas from Walsh's Bakehouse and butter from Glenilen - in a space that feels as if it could be the kitchen in someone's rather lovely old house.

4 SEASALT, COBH

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Jacquie O'Dea is the Ballymaloe-trained chef at this new-ish cafe in Cobh, located a short walk from the train station. Eggs Royale is one of the dishes that has the locals salivating, with two poached organic eggs on sourdough toast served with Frank Hederman's organic smoked salmon (from nearby Belvelly Smokehouse) and hollandaise sauce. Other egg options include Gubbeen chorizo hash, mushrooms on toast, avocado crush and a Full Rosscarbery Irish.

5 WOOLLEN MILLS, DUBLIN

thewoollenmills.com

The brunch game is strong at The Woollen Mills beside the Ha'penny Bridge in Dublin city centre. One current favourite is butternut squash bhaji with poached eggs and mango marmalade, and we very much like the sound of the fried egg and bacon waffle sandwich with hollandaise. Sister restaurant, The Washerwoman in Glasnevin, is holding its own with dill pancakes served with gravadlax, poached eggs and smoked cream cheese, and asparagus, pea and buttermilk fritters served with poached eggs and wild garlic aioli.

6 JACK FENN COURTHOUSE CAFE AT BELLEEK CASTLE, MAYO

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How does ham knuckle from the wonderful Andarl Farm (home of sublime 'velvet pork'), boxty, Ballyhoura mushrooms, spicy homemade beans and fried free-range eggs grab you? Yes, thought so. No wonder Jack Fenn's was named Cafe of the Year 2019 by Georgina Campbell's prestigious Ireland Guide.

7 TARTARE, GALWAY

tartaregalway.ie

Tartare is Michelin-starred chef JP McMahon's casual cafe/wine-bar, located opposite Aniar on Dominick Street. The brunch options include poached (Corrib free-range) eggs with mushrooms and seaweed hollandaise and beef cheek with black pudding, fried eggs and sourdough, which sounds like a dish that could banish the most truculent of hangovers, perhaps with a Connemara whiskey, apple and seaweed sour by way of hair of the dog.

8 LEGHOWNEY COUNTRY MARKET, DONEGAL

leghowney.com

Everything in the Five Mile Fry - eggs, bacon, sausages, potato bread, wheaten bread - served at Leghowney Country Market just outside Donegal Town (which takes place every second Saturday morning) comes from within five miles of the community centre where the market takes place. Quite often, says one regular, the 'delicious' eggs from local free-range supplier, David Morrow are double-yolkers.

9 NOOK, SLIGO

nookcollooney.com

Ethna Reynolds' list of suppliers is a roll call of great provenance - the egg supplier is Ballysadare Free-range and the pork comes from Andarl Farm; they combine beautifully in a dish of poached eggs on sourdough with pork belly served with Markree Farm greens, sriracha and hollandaise with pickled chillies. One fan loved a recent brunch dish of Indian flatbread served with Bombay potatoes, chilli fried eggs and chutney, and we like the sound of bacon and cabbage hash with hollandaise, topped with a couple of fried eggs. Non-meat-eaters can opt for the vegetarian breakfast featuring vegetarian sausage, fried potatoes and house-made beans.

10 PUDDING ROW, SLIGO

puddingrow.ie

Pudding Row in Easkey prides itself on creating simple food using the best ingredients available locally, many of them organic and free-range, sourced from local suppliers. Bread and pastries are baked on the premises each morning, and brunch options from chef Dervla James include simple, creamy scrambled eggs with chives on white toast and slow-roast tomatoes and homemade beans on toast, topped with avocado, egg, seeds and leaves. The eggs at Pudding Row come from Woodville Farm.

11 THE FUMBALLY, DUBLIN

thefumbally.ie

Fumbally Eggs is a legendary dish, with good cause, and it's one that you'll find an homage to (that's a nice way of saying 'copy of') on just about every brunch menu up and down the country. At the mothership, they scramble the eggs with olive oil, Gubbeen cheese and garlic, and serve them with sauteed kale, toasted sunflower seeds and house-made hot sauce on organic multi-grain sourdough from Tartine Bakery. Delicious - and worth the queues on Saturday morning, which have become even longer since the opening of the Fumbally Stables market next door.

12 OVERENDS AT AIRFIELD, DUBLIN

airfield.ie

Most of the ingredients used at Overends come from the farm at Airfield, supplemented only by vegetables from Dennis Healy in Co Wicklow and Spring Cottage Organic Farm in Co Westmeath, and products from name-checked producers. Options include everything from purple sprouting broccoli with poached egg and bagna cauda, to a full Irish featuring sausages from the very wonderful Higgins butchers in Sutton. The family brunch costs 20 per adult and 10 per child and features pastries, juices and coffee, plus options such as buttermilk fried chicken with waffles, Macroom buffalo ricotta and house kimchi. Yum.

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13 KAI, GALWAY

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Jess (pictured above) and David Murphy's Kai is a Galway destination, deservedly so, a bastion of good food, where the menus are underpinned by a sourcing policy that goes above and beyond when it comes to supporting local farmers and small producers. The Sunday brunch is legendary - you will need to book - and currently the most popular dish is duck eggs with Inch House black pudding. Ever since the restaurant opened in 2011, Kai's eggs have come from Galway Free-range Eggs.

14 URBANITY, DUBLIN

urbanity.ie

You can't book at Urbanity, located on Coke Lane in Smithfield, but regulars are happy to wait patiently for a brunch offering that caters to everyone from vegans and vegetarians to committed omnivores. Make ours a Scandinavian scrambled (organic) eggs from Rod's Eggs in Co Louth with spiced tomato, scallion, roast radish yoghurt on organic sourdough - and throw in some merguez sausages while you're at it. And maybe a side of O'Neill's bacon too. Or perhaps we'll have them poached on top of halloumi with house aiolis and dukkahs?

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15 GOURMET FOOD PARLOUR, DUBLIN

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If the prospect of slow-cooked rib of beef benedict on sourdough with fried eggs and kimchi hollandaise on the side couldn't raise the dead on a Sunday morning, then we don't know what could. The Gourmet Food Parlour has several branches across Dublin and uses free-range eggs from Annalitten Farm in Co Monaghan in its popular huevos rancheros and all other egg dishes.

16 GERTRUDE, DUBLIN

gertrude.ie

Buttermilk chicken with fermented hot sauce, orchard syrup and honey butter is a firm brunch favourite at Gertrude, says chef Holly Dalton, as are dishes made with free-range eggs from Tolka Valley in Glasnevin. Soft scrambled eggs with crab, hot sauce and kale, with sourdough from Bread Nation, is another winner.

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17 ALI'S KITCHEN, CORK

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Chef Ali Honour sources locally and cooks simply - the results have made her cafe on Rory Gallagher Place one of the most popular in the city. Brunch favourites include mushrooms Florentine, Eggs Benny made with Tom Durkan's slow-cooked ham and hash made with Hanley's black pudding.

18 BIBI'S, DUBLIN

bibis.ie

The queues outside Bibi's in Portobello on weekend mornings are a testament to the quality of the brunch in this friendly neighbourhood cafe. The dishes that really get pulses racing are the Turkish eggs - poached and served with yoghurt, Turkish butter and Tartine sourdough - and the squash eggs with roast squash, garlic yoghurt and chilli butter.

19 MY BOY BLUE, DINGLE, KERRY

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Dingle has upped its cafe game in recent times - another great new addition is Pantri Dingle - and My Boy Blue is already firmly established with locals and visitors alike. Brunch might be avocado toast topped with fried eggs and pimped with chilli peanut rayu from White Mausu, pickles and sesame on Bacus sourdough, or smoked salmon bruschetta with beetroot and walnut salsa, whipped lemon and thyme goat's cheese and pickled cucumber.

20 MEET ME IN THE MORNING, DUBLIN

mmim.ie

How do you like the sound of Gubbeen sobrasada - a soft, spreadable chorizo, on top of smoked Gubbeen cheese bechamel with fried cabbage, poached egg, Jerusalem artichoke chips and pickled radish on house-made challah bread? Thought so. Meet Me in the Morning in Portobello has always been a go-to place for brunch, with impeccable sourcing (all the veg come from McNally Family Farm), but recently the egg dishes have moved into another league.

21 MOLOUGHNEY'S, DUBLIN

moloughneys.ie

Moloughney's is where Clontarf folk like to gather and chew the fat over dishes such as baked free-range eggs with chorizo, baby potatoes, red onions, peppers, chilli and creme fraiche. The full Irish comes in large and small versions and features Clonanny Farm free-range sausages and Tournafulla puddings and salt beef hash is a guaranteed hangover-buster.

22 BROTHER HUBBARD, DUBLIN

brotherhubbard.ie

When it comes to brunch, Brother Hubbard has been leading the way ever since it first opened on Capel Street. Now there are two branches - one northside and one southside - and brunch is as popular as ever. The Middle Eastern breakfast plate features a boiled free-range egg, a pot of hummus with sumac and extra virgin olive oil, feta with za'atar, cucumber, tomato, olives and toasted bread. But if that sounds too tame, eggs menemen - a classc Turkish dish of soft scrambled eggs with whipped feta yoghurt, mixed roast peppers and topped with herbs and chilli might be just the ticket. The croque madame is also delicious.

23 TWO BOYS BREW, DUBLIN

twoboysbrew.ie

Two Boys Brew is a Phibsboro institution, and if you're not put off by the queues for brunch (you can book if you're a group of six or more, which is good to know) then you can expect delights such as Miso Mushroom Toast with cavolo nero, confit garlic, whipped ricotta, fresh chives and crispy onions topped with a free-range poached egg with a family connection supplied by co-owner Kevin's brother John of Rochedale Eggs in Ballymakenny, perhaps with a side of halloumi fries. Be still my beating heart.

24 JAMESTOWN SOCIAL, DUBLIN

jamestownsocial.ie

Jamestown Social is a relatively new arrival to Finglas but already a firm favourite with locals who rate Philip Dunne's smart cafe as the place for good coffee and plenty more besides. The brunch burger comes on a brioche bun with a burger, fried egg, piri piri onions and 'secret' sauce, and the Jamestown Toast features slow-cooked beef, avocado, garlic aioli and sriracha on sourdough, topped with a couple of soft-poached eggs.

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25 LORETTA'S, DUBLIN

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At Loretta's in Phibsboro, the brunch menu has an American twist. Amongst the dishes responsible for its enormous popularity - book ahead to avoid disappointment! - are the green chilli pork butt with 'hash browns, sunny egg and cilantro onions' and the breakfast tacos with soft scrambled eggs, mozzarella and green salsa with chorizo an optional extra.

26 KLAW SEAFOOD CAFE, DUBLIN

klaw.ie

At Niall Sabongi's Seafood Cafe, they serve an Omelette Arnold Bennett - a super-rich dish containing eggs, cream, smoked haddock, cheese and more - which is reason enough in and of itself to beat a path there for brunch right now. If that doesn't appeal, there are plenty of other fishy delights. The free-range eggs come from Nest in Monaghan.

27 CLANBRASSIL HOUSE, DUBLIN

clanbrassilhouse.com

At Clanbrassill House, a sibling to Bastible around the corner, the hot smoked trout Benedict is a thing of beauty, but if that doesn't get your tastebuds going then you can opt for a chargrilled sirloin steak topped with a fried egg and burnt greens. The soft polenta with poached eggs and sobrasada on brioche also sounds pretty damn good. The free-range eggs come from egg man Michael Crosbie.

28 ONE SOCIETY, DUBLIN

onesociety.ie

Using free-range eggs from the Nestbox in Castlebayney, One Society on Gardiner Street comes up with a weekly special brunch dish - last week it was the Not So Eggs Benedict, with slow-cooked wholegrain mustard ham hock, crispy potato skins with apple chutney, saute spinach, poached eggs and hollandaise and chive sauce. After that everyone had a nice lie-down.

29 LEGIT COFFEE, DUBLIN

legitcoffeeco.com

The pulled pork Benedict on brioche is the dish that gets the most thumbs up from Legit Coffee's customers on Meath Street: "It's the little slivers of caramelised green apple - a clever touch" says one. The croque madame is a beauty too, with no stinting on the bechamel front, but there's a super green omelette to keep the healthy folk happy.

30 DOOKS FINE FOODS, TIPPERARY

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Richard Gleeson's smart cafe/restaurant in Fethard is a gem, with care taken over the sourcing of ingredients and a calibre of food that reflects the chef's stints with Ottolenghi and Skye Gyngell. Emly Free-range Eggs in Oola, Co Limerick supply the eggs used to good effect in dishes such as Butcher's Daughter black and white pudding with poached egg, roast potato chunks and parsley mayonnaise, and rosemary, orange and fennel sausages with roasted tomatoes, fried eggs and toasted white yeast bread made in-house.
You don't have to spend much time with Adrian Martin to realise just how much he loves being a chef - his passion for his chosen profession, and for food in general, is plain to see. But his new recipe book might never have been written if his experience working in one kitchen had happened at an earlier stage in his career.

"I was fast asleep in bed at 3am when the head chef rang me and roared down the phone at me. I can't even remember now what he was on about, but I do remember it was something stupid that could have been corrected the next morning. It was totally unnecessary. I read it as a sign of weakness. He was just a bully," he tells me.

"I was lucky; I'd had good experiences in my first few professional kitchens, and that's what made me want to choose this business. But if you end up in a bad situation starting off, it will completely put you off."

The glorification of bad behaviour by celebrity chefs has done the profession no favours, Martin says. "There are head chefs out there who think it's fine to shout at people, to bully them, to throw knives and saucepans at them, to curse them out of it and make them feel like they're the smallest individual in the world," he says.

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That kind of behaviour is virtually non-existent in the very best kitchens, according to Martin, who at 27 is best known for his stints on TV3 and as a cookbook author. His latest book, Create Beautiful Food at Home, is a gorgeous guide to cooking fine dining dishes in your own kitchen, and represents a change in direction for him.

"My last book was about how to make healthy fast food at home. It was fun to do, but I missed having more creative control over things. I missed the artistic side of it, because I was handing my food over to a food stylist to make it look good," he says. "But that's the most fun part of cooking and I actually trained to do that myself in fine dining. This new book has stripped it all back. No food stylists were involved - it's all me. These are all the ideas I had growing in my head about how I'd like to do things."

The first part of the book focuses on how to do the basic kitchen tasks typically performed in a high-end kitchen - things like how to shuck an oyster, how to break down a chicken, and how to fillet a fish.

The second part is broken down into courses: breads, starters, palate cleansers, mains, desserts and petit fours. Dishes include lobster thermidor, crab ravioli, blood orange and thyme sorbet, braised beef, venison and barley risotto, and pear tart tatin.

Martin concedes the book isn't aimed at complete beginners. It took him two years to produce and he describes it as a book for people who like cooking and love nothing more than getting stuck into a good recipe at home. "It's for people who want to be able to produce restaurant - quality food in a domestic kitchen. There are lots of basic recipes in it, particularly for things like breads and stuff like that, but there are also tips on how to take those basics further," he says.

"If you're hosting a special meal, maybe a Sunday lunch or a dinner party, this is the book for you. You can flick through it and find thought-provoking ideas for the whole thing. There are simple recipes in there, but they all pack a serious punch. It's about letting the ingredients speak for themselves."

Martin tested the recipes laboriously at home, and his long-suffering partner Fiona Coyne soon got fed up of fine dining for dinner every night. For two weeks solid the couple ate nothing but rice pudding as Martin repeatedly tested a recipe for a rice pudding souffle. "Poor Fiona. Eventually she just broke down and pleaded for beans on toast for tea. She couldn't take any more," Martin says.

The couple have been seeing each other for six years, having met when Martin was attending catering college in Killybegs in Co Donegal. A trip to Dublin to compete at a competition at the industry showcase event Catex resulted in a win for Martin, and on a night out to celebrate he met the Sligo woman. "I was living in Cavan at the time, so I spent a lot of time driving to Enniscrone in Sligo where Fiona lived. I grew up surfing and skateboarding so I was in my element. She is fantastic, and Enniscrone has some of the best surfing in Ireland. I was there every weekend," Martin says.

Martin is from Bawnboy in Cavan, where his parents Anne and John run an event company called Martin Event Management which specialises in cookery demo kitchen hire for food festivals and cookery demonstrations.

He has two brothers and one sister. Cathal (28) works in the family business and lives in Ballyconnell, while Sean (24) trades currency for Western Union and lives in Vancouver. Sister Sarah (26) lives in Dublin and works for Pfizer.

Adrian knew from an early age that his future lay in cooking, despite being teased for his interest in it while he was at school. "I've always had a massive interest in food; I was always watching cooking shows and reading cookbooks. But in the school I went to, no guy had ever done home economics. So to avoid being bullied, I did woodwork and metalwork instead," he says.

At the age of 14, while he was in second year in school, he asked Neven Maguire for a summer job at his restaurant, MacNean House in Blacklion in Co Cavan. "I adored it, and Neven was incredibly kind. I'd spend my summers with him working full-time, and during term time I'd go in after school and on weekends as well. I just wanted to work. He gave me that opportunity, and I just grabbed it. But I kept it a secret from anybody at school. I never told any of my mates because it just wasn't seen as a cool thing to do. We lived in a rural area and the first time that anyone from school found out I was into food or was working as a chef was when I ended up on TV years later."

Martin is an outlier - obviously not everyone with an interest in food can be expected to show such early dedication - but he feels strongly that more should be done to encourage people into the food industry.

"School wasn't a great experience for me. I was more comfortable using my hands, but in school, everything focused on using your mind. And while I could do that, I didn't love it. It's only really as an adult that I've discovered that I have a different type of intelligence.

"There are so many different types of intelligence but school only works with one of them. I'm a creative and artistic person who loves working with their hands and being able to see the results of what I'm doing in front of me. There are a lot of people like me out there, but our school system isn't really tailored for them."

When Martin blagged his way into the kitchen at MacNean House, he felt he'd found his tribe. He was learning practical skills and every day brought a new challenge. "When I first walked into that kitchen, I didn't even know how to crack an egg. I started from scratch at the bottom, peeling 50kg bags of potatoes. That's the best way of learning, just by doing it over and over and over again.

"I asked a lot of questions and went round to the other chefs hassling them. If I saw someone filleting a fish, I'd be like 'what are you doing?', 'what's that?', 'show me how you did that' and 'can I taste it?'."

Martin thinks cooking is a basic skill that should be taught as widely as possible.

"I'd go further - I think home economics should be compulsory in schools. After all, everyone eats every day and everyone needs to know how to cook. At the end of my secondary school, 80pc of my year went to college away from home and had to learn to fend for ourselves. A lot of my friends didn't have a clue," he says.

After school, Martin continued working in his spare time and went to DIT to study baking and pastry arts management. Two days a week were spent in class while the rest of the week was spent working in kitchens.

"I spent time in kitchens that had Michelin stars; some were great experiences and some were harder. The place that had the most impact on me was L'Ecrivain with Derry Clarke. He's a really nice guy and is as close to a mentor as I have today," he says.

"At the moment Derry is putting a lot of time into me. It's incredibly helpful that I can pick up the phone to him and just chat through ideas for dishes and get his feedback. There aren't many chefs you can do that with."

Martin is continuing to work on improving and developing as a chef, and in January he did a 'stage' - the industry term for an internship - at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London. "The head chef there is Matt Abe and he's quite tough and firm, but I was surprised at how calm the place was. I thought he'd be a lot more shouty but no, he was grand. We ate there on the Friday night and it was truly great.

"It's incredible food and in the kitchen it's fascinating to see the flow and how everything works. It's great experience and it's got three Michelin stars, so it's a world-class restaurant. I was recently in San Francisco and was able to get in touch with Thomas Keller about doing a stint at The French Laundry in Yountville. He was really nice and very encouraging, so I'm hoping to get that set up soon. To be honest, he's a bit of a god in the food world so I was just thrilled he got back to me."

With a pressing shortage of chefs in the industry in Ireland, Martin thinks that there has never been a better time for people to get involved. Too many people, in his opinion, are being thoughtlessly steered towards academia and third level qualifications without even considering the merits of a more vocational career.

"There are literally thousands of jobs available in the industry at the moment, and most good kitchens I know of will bite your hand off if you're any good. For anyone with an aptitude, I'd seriously encourage them to look at catering school rather than an arts degree that they might not have any real interest in, just because they got the points.

"It really helps if you get some experience in a good kitchen too - a good experience can set you up for life. Apprenticeships have become unfashionable in Ireland and that's a real shame. Cooking is a skill that can take you around the world if you're good at it."

The obvious question for Martin is when is he going to put his money where his mouth is and open his own restaurant?

"It's coming. I can't say when exactly but plans are underway," he says.

"I have a lot of ideas and a lot of energy I want to put into it. I know what I want on the plate and I know what I want the place to look like. Will it be as good as I hope? Time will tell."

'Create Beautiful Food at Home' by Adrian Martin, with photography by Rob Kerkvliet, is published by Mercier Press at 24.99
The east side of Amsterdam has three vibrant neighbourhoods - Amsterdam Oost (east), De Plantage (the plantation) and Oostelijke Eilanden (the eastern islands).

9am

Start your perfect day in the heart of the Oost neighbourhood itself at De Tropen cafe and restaurant beside Oosterpark, where different cultures are celebrated through food - you might find chicken satay, jalapeno peppers and apple pie on the same menu.

See: amsterdamdetropen.nl

11am

Our next stop is the Tropenmuseum (Tropical Museum, adults 16, children aged 4-18; 8) where not only is the building itself pretty impressive, but exhibitions give fascinating insights into different cultures. For example, there's a collection of historic objects from New Guinea and a section focusing on the Dutch history in Indonesia through stories of different characters. The Cool Japan exhibit (until September 1) celebrates everything fun, from cute fashion and Hello Kitty to anime, manga and cosplay.

See: tropenmuseum.nl/en

1pm

Amsterdam regulars know restaurant space can be at a premium, but Da Kas defies this with a magnificently grand park setting in huge 1920s greenhouses, with high ceilings and views over Park Frankendael. It's the ideal bright space for lunch (or eat on the patio in warm weather), herbs, vegetables and edible flowers are grown on site and the daily menu (a three-course lunch costs 35.50) uses what is freshest that day.

See: restaurantdekas.nl

4pm

Set in a historic city park and dating back to 1838, Artis Zoo (adults 23, kids 3-9 19.50) focuses on bringing people and nature together in an educational way. Allow a few hours and bring a picnic in warm weather. Don't miss Micropia next door (15/13; combination zoo ticket 29.50/25.50) which explores the fascinating world of microbes. It's amazing to see how important they are to our world and there are some fun interactive exhibits including body scanners.

See: artis.nl/en; micropia.nl/en

8pm

The shiny modern buildings of the Eastern Docklands are a contrast to the wide, 19th-century streets elsewhere in eastern Amsterdam, but among these, Scheepskameel restaurant makes the most of its setting in a former naval building. The chefs work in a fully open kitchen and the menu is divided into sections - raw, vegetables, fish/meat, cheese and dessert - the idea is to share a dish from each, with mains like plaice with manzanilla and oyster mushroom sauce or pork belly and octopus with quince (both 16.50).

See: scheepskameel.nl

10pm

Tuck into casual bites at Louie Louie in the early evening (tacos are a speciality, reservations are advised) or visit later on when it turns into a thriving bar where you can share a pitcher of G&T or Bloody Mary with pals. The local team behind Louie Louie have so many successful bars in the area, they are known as 'the three wise men from the East' - check out sister bar, Bar Bukowski (open from 8am) for breakfast, lunch or cocktails.

See: louielouie.nl, barbukowski.nl

Sleep

Cosy four-star The Manor Amsterdam is set in a historic red-brick building which started out as a hospital in 1889 and explains the grand lobby and high ceilings on some floors. Thankfully, the funky rooms (from 115 per night) feel nothing like hospital rooms and it's right at the centre of the action. Trams pass the door and the hotel can also arrange bike hire.

See: themanorhotelamsterdam.com/en/

Three to try

The market

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Dappermarkt (dappermarkt.nl) is east Amsterdam's buzzing neighbourhood market, with more than 200 stalls lining the streets, selling everything from fruit and flowers to textiles and home furnishings - check out the shops around the market for bargains too, or drop into wine bar Alex and Pinard (alexpinard.nl) for post-shopping refreshments.

The nightlife

For live music or dance, east Amsterdam has lots going on. Check out Plein Theater (plein-theater.nl) for theatre and dance, the Badhuistheatre (badhuistheater.nl) for community theatre or Q-Factory (q-factory-amsterdam.nl) for all types of gigs from rock and pop to funk, jazz and garage. The student-run Studio/K (studio-k.nu) has a cinema, cafe and restaurant.

The alternative

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Another up-and-coming area worth exploring in the city is Amsterdam Noord - a short hop by free ferry across the River IJ from Central Station, with funky street art, bars and restaurants both around the NDSM shipyards area (NDSM ferry) or around Eye Museum (eyefilm.nl) and A'DAM Tower (above; adamtoren.nl; for both take the Buiksloterweg ferry).

Don't miss

In good weather, take to Oosterpark for walks around the paths and ponds, picnics or just chilling out. The area is home to a diverse population and there's lots going on - check local listings for festivals and other events.

Get there

Yvonne travelled as a guest of KLM (klm.com), which flies daily from Dublin to Amsterdam, and amsterdam&partners.

Find more to see and do in the city at iamsterdam.com.
Whatever your reasons for visiting New York, you should make the most of the incredible opportunities for eating dishes from its diverse range of cuisines.

And while the Big Apple is home to some of the finest of fine dining restaurants, it's also possible to eat very well for surprisingly little money. Of course, you'll probably want to have at least one burger, but don't waste the chance to explore some of the city's other culinary delights...

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XIAN FAMOUS FOODS, 68 KENMARE STREET

Jason Wang's no-frills hand-pulled noodle shops are the places to head for when you're in need of flavour and carbs to set you straight after a hard day (or night). There are several branches across the city but the menu's the same in each. We loved the spicy cumin lamb noodles and dumplings. Lamb is not a big feature of US menus - apparently half of Americans have never even tasted it. A bargain.

Details: xianfoods.com; several branches across the city.

2. Best for Sharing Plates

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WILDAIR, 142 ORCHARD STREET

Co-owned with another trendy spot, Contra, Wildair takes a few reservations but is mainly for walk-ins. It couldn't be described as comfortable - all the seating is on high stools, much of it along counters on the walls and at communal tables - but the people-watching makes up for it, as does the food. Don't miss breakfast radishes with seaweed butter, nor the confit bacon toast with pickled pineapple and nduja butter. The wine list is natural, biodynamic, and pricey.

Details: wildairnyc.com

3. Best for Pizza

RUBIROSA, 235 MULBERRY STREET

Even on a mid-week afternoon, after a tour at the Tenement Museum (Under One Roof was our pick and I'd recommend it; not all of the tours are as good) there's a waiting list for tables at Rubirosa. The pizzas are thin and crisp, and a large one topped with sweet Italian sausage and broccoli rabe between two ($30) is - as we discovered - way too big. Located on a quiet street populated with interesting shops (including one, McNally Jackson: Goods for the Study, that will appeal to stationery obsessives), you'd have no idea that behind the low-key exterior lies one of the buzziest restaurants in the area. The tables are tiny and close together, so it's not a place for sharing secrets.

Details: rubirosanyc.com

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4. Best for a Grown-up Dinner

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KING, 18 KING STREET

Jess Shadbolt and Clare de Boer (above) are Ballymaloe graduates, which is always a good start. And the bottles of new season Capezzana olive oil lined up to dress dishes - liberally - as they come off the pass augur well. The pair worked at the River Cafe in London, before moving to New York to open King and that influence is apparent. Carta di musica - rosemary-scented Sicilian flatbreads - and light, ethereal truncheons of panisse (chickpea fritters with more than a hint of sage) are gorgeous, as are the puntarella e finocchio alla Romana, charred mackerel (this kitchen is very good at fish) and quail panzanella with winter leaves, pagnotta (Italian bread), rosemary and anchovy. Booking essential... and it's not cheap.

Details: kingrestaurant.nyc

5. Best for Dumplings

THE BAO, 13 ST MARK'S PLACE

On a Sunday morning, if you want brunch but not eggs benedict, head to St Mark's Place in the East Village, once the beating heart of New York's punk and underground scene, and now a rather sad imitation of its former self. There, up a few steps, you'll find The Bao, where the dumplings are the business, and you'll fill up without spending a lot of money. The clientele is mainly Asian, and the soup dumplings - where the soup is actually inside the dumpling (how do they do that?) - are a specialty. Watch a YouTube video before you visit so you know how to eat them, but there are also instructions on the back of the menu.

Details: thebaonewyorkcity.com

6. Best for Fish

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CERVO'S, 43 CANAL STREET

Down in Chinatown, this tiny, cramped, noisy little Portuguese restaurant serves some of the best fish in town, alongside good cocktails. This is gutsy, full-flavoured food with a menu populated by uncompromising dishes of shrimp heads, anchodinas, and Boston mackerel. The fries should not be missed. Prices are mid-range and wines surprisingly reasonable for New York.

Details: cervosnyc.com

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7. Best close to the Met

FLORA BAR, 945 MADISON AVE

After a morning at the Met, taking in some culture, eschew the pedestrian food offering in the museum itself in favour of a stroll south down Madison Avenue to the Met Breuer (which used to be the Whitney). On the lower level of the building, overlooking the planting to the front, is Flora Bar. There's a coffee shop, but the restaurant is properly grown-up. Raw seafood is a specialty; the seafood platter (with optional Imperial caviar supplement) will set you back $195. We shared tuna tartare with hazelnuts and basil, burrata with Meyer lemon and fennel, endive salad, and lamb ribs with yoghurt and mojo verde... and an utterly delicious semi-freddo the size of a baby's head. Not a cheap eat, but not ludicrous either.

Details: florabarnyc.com

WATCH: Walk across Brooklyn Bridge - best free thing to do in New York!

8. Best for Modern Mexican

CLARO, 284 3RD AVENUE, BROOKLYN

This is a brunch and dinner spot in the Gowanus neighbourhood, a nice area to stroll around while you work up an appetite. The food influence is Oaxaca - the culinary capital of Mexico - from where the corn for Claro's menu is sourced, and the restaurant makes its masa, cheese, chorizo and moles by hand. Claro is gluten-free, and largely organic; the food is ideal for sharing. Mezcal is, as one might expect, a big deal. There's an outdoor patio which is lovely when the weather is good, and from where customers can see the tortillas being pressed and tostadas cooking on the wood-fired comal. There's a good bar next door. Mid-range in terms of price.

Details: clarobk.com

9. Best for Persian Food

SOFREH BROOKLYN, 75 SAINT MARK'S AVENUE

Owned by Nasim Alikhani - who left Iran for New York in her 20s, three decades ago - this contemporary Persian restaurant on the first floor of a brownstone opened last autumn and immediately received the imprimatur of the New York Times' critic, Pete Wells. This is not the everyday food of Iran, but rather the sophisticated fare of special occasions and celebrations, made with some ingredients not found in Alikhani's homeland, such as scallops and pork. We loved the beef tongue sandwich, smoked eggplant, herbed rice and pomegranate steak. Wines are reasonably priced.

Details: sofrehnyc.com

10. Best near the High Line and Whitney

MIZNON, 75 9TH AVENUE

The Chelsea Farmers' Market can feel like a tourist trap, but it's the obvious place to head in search of food if you are walking the Highline or visiting the Whitney (where the 2019 Biennial runs from May 17 to September 22). Tucked away in the middle is the unmissable Miznon, serving Mediterranean street food from Israeli chef Eyal Shani. One of the standout food experiences of a recent trip - a falafel burger and pita with roast beef - for less than $15 per head. Big flavours, great for vegetarians.

Details: Miznonyc.com

Top Tip

For anyone on a budget, be warned that wine prices in the city are hefty - many restaurants we visited on a recent trip had nothing on offer below the $60 mark - and that you should factor in a tip of 20pc.

Get there

Katy travelled as a guest of Aer Lingus (aerlingus.com), which flies direct from Dublin to JFK and Newark, and from Shannon to JFK. See more tips on what to see, do and eat in the city and its boroughs at nycgo.com.
You can't help but throw your head back and laugh. This was the week chocolate was racist.

Whatever next? Coffee? What about white things like Milkybars, polar bears, snow? It doesn't snow in Africa - also racist. Everything is racist.

If it wasn't so catastrophically bad for society, it would be hilarious, but "liberal" racism has become a performance art - and for some reason it's getting airtime.

In an ode to Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale, a dark chocolate duck in a trio of Waitrose ducks was called "ugly", the white one "fluffy" and the milk chocolate one "crispy". It was offensive to around two people and was swiftly removed and relabelled. Waitrose apologised.

Had the white duckling been called ugly, would that be offensive? You wonder why companies pander to a very small number of shrill people (women) when tens of thousands would just eat the thing.

Katy Perry recently apologised and removed "offensive" black shoes from her range, which included eight other colours.

Stevie Wonder "never thought of being blind and black as a disadvantage", yet predominantly white female graduates see black people and other minorities as pet victims they need to protect.

Such thinking is judgemental, stupid and, according to a new book, 'The Coddling of the American Mind', it is also bad for your mental health. Authors Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt state that three great "truths" woven into American childhood and education - what doesn't kill you makes you weaker; always trust your feelings; and life is a battle between good and evil people - contradict basic psychological principles about well-being.

They argue: "Embracing these untruths - and the resulting culture of safety-ism - interferes with young people's social, emotional and intellectual development. It makes it harder for them to become autonomous adults who are able to navigate the bumpy road of life."

Offended parties can't differentiate between impact and intention, assuming everything is good versus evil and don't allow for human "error" like Joe Biden "invading" Lucy Flores's personal space back in 2014 by kissing her on the head.

Even children learn from a young age if they didn't mean to do something, it's not that bad. Finger-wagging is infantilising.

Also, cognitive behavioural therapy informs that what other people do is none of your business. Hair-trigger responses without due consideration get in the way of any real discussion about prejudice, causing further division and isolation.

The harm comes from the fact it dilutes and distracts from the energy that must go into confronting real racism.

Rather than call this out, online fanatics see racism in ducks and clothes.

I predict the left will cannibalise itself due to rampant offence culture.

Watch this space: the 2020 US elections will be marred by allegations against Democrat white men. Bernie Sanders is next. He's had the effrontery of becoming a millionaire after writing a book and working his ass off. The Democrats will hand the presidency to Donald Trump.

Conservative US black commentator Candace Owens called out the Democrats' "relatable" style, which saw Hillary Clinton offer a black audience hot sauce, and New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez put on a southern drawl: "It's insulting. Do they think we're so stupid that we only understand broken English? It's disgusting, elitist feminism. Blacks, Hispanics and all minorities should reject their implicit bigotry."

There is a simple solution to reverse racism. Public figures and companies should stop apologising - 87pc of people thought the duck thing plain stupid, listen to them.

Children grow up in mixed cultures and accept everyone yet suddenly, when they get older, they are told to walk on eggshells, causing insecurity and low esteem. Mental health problems among young people are higher than ever, even in Ireland. This offence craze must be ignored, so people can focus on calling out real racism, while eating chocolate.
THE recent decision by the management of An Post to close the post office which has stood at Liberty Square, Thurles, Co Tipperary, for 160 years in favour of a new location in a Dunnes Stores-anchored shopping precinct away from the town centre has rightly provoked emotion and anger, with thousands of local people attending public rallies and taking to the streets in protest.

This might look superficially like a little local issue: a small-town-resists-change story.

But rural towns all over Ireland, especially those which have post offices at their geographic heart, should be alarmed by what the Thurles decision represents.

It raises profound questions: about the Government's commitment to reversing the decline of small towns and the socio-economic blight it brings; about An Post's conduct as a semi-state company accountable to the taxpayer; and about local democracy in Ireland.

The new location An Post has chosen for Thurles (without any public consultation) is almost 1km from the town's square and bus drop-off points used by pensioners and people who have no other means of travelling into town from rural areas.

There is no parking on ground level outside the centre, so anyone using their own transport will have no choice but to use the busy, adjoining multi-storey car-park.

Many older people, for whom the post office plays a vital role as pension collection point, find such car parks difficult to negotiate.

Users with mobility issues are forced to contend with the escalators and automated walkways they often avoid for fear of falling.

As one older person dismayed by the Thurles move said during last week's public protest: "I live alone and rely on the bus to get into town on Fridays for the pension and my shopping.

"I'm not going to manage the walk to the shopping centre if the post office moves."

Defending the closure, An Post's public affairs manager Angus Laverty wrote in an email reply to a concerned local business owner: "We need to be where our customers are both now and in the future."

Which begs the question: are the older people or those living with disability or mobility issues who currently rely on services at town centre post offices not the type of customer An Post wants now?

Nobody is saying An Post should not develop new products, services and post office layouts to allow it to compete, but it should be possible to do this while still fulfilling its duty to serve existing customers from a town centre location.

With the recent launch of its new logo and the accompanying storyline about a fictional twentysomething customer named Ciara, one could well believe An Post has already decided that anyone over the age of 40 is no longer worthy of its attention.

The irony is surely that the young customer An Post is so anxious to facilitate hardly ever goes to a physical post office anyway, but conducts their business online.

This high-handed Thurles decision (public consultation is only legally required in the case of a post office closure) suggests An Post is in fact pursuing an aggressively profit-led corporate strategy.

Financial services and e-commerce are prioritised ahead of the company's remit to serve the needs of local communities.

Mr Laverty has explained the decision in the context of an "ambitious transformation programme offering a new-look retail offering for customers including a move away from old-style post office counter layout. This is driven by An Post's move to offer a host of new services and products to customers, including financial services and integrating its growing e-commerce business."

These new layouts of post offices, he added, "will include dedicated customers' areas, parcel lockers and self-service options."

An Post is clearly signalling the end of stand-alone post offices in our towns, opting instead to emulate banks with open plan public areas, minimal numbers of staff, and more automated machines.

An Post chief executive David McRedmond has even suggested recently that he wants more post offices to "co-locate" within supermarkets.

Unlike Dublin and the other Irish cities which have rebounded from the effects of the financial crash, many of Ireland's rural towns - Thurles included - are still struggling for survival. Official Government strategy, as highlighted in the Ireland 2040 Plan, acknowledges the threat, emphasising as a priority the protection of small town centres against further decline.

National Policy Objective 15 aims to "target the reversal of rural decline in the core of small towns and villages through sustainable targeted measures that address vacancy and deliver sustainable reuse and regeneration outcomes".

An Post's decision to close a viable town-centre post office surely flies in the face of this strategic objective of national interest.

IT can only exacerbate the hollowing out of the heart of Thurles, where the remaining independent local shops are struggling to compete with out-of-town global supermarket giants and hobbled by restrictive local parking policies.

An Post's move seems to make little economic sense even on its own terms.

It is relocating from a large premises which it owns outright (located a few yards from the historic Hayes Hotel where the GAA was founded) and could be sympathetically modernised or extended in keeping with its listed status, to a leased, yet-to-be developed unit in a privately owned shopping plaza in a mainly residential area.

An Post has so far refused to provide any transparency about the cost to taxpayers of this relocation.

We have all seen the serious consequences recently in Britain and France (with Brexit and the 'gilets jaunes' unrest, respectively) of the perception in economically struggling regions that they have been bypassed by investment and then kicked in the teeth by policies which deny them any hope of economic recovery.

The Irish Government too may yet find it has a brewing grassroots revolt on its hands if it allows state or semi-state agencies like An Post to ride roughshod over the needs of the communities it is supposed to serve.

John Butler is the president of Thurles Chamber of Commerce
In a cafe in Brussels on Thursday afternoon, an avuncular waiter asked how, as an Irishman, I was coping with leaving the EU.

No, he did not think I was English because we established nationality in talk about where to get a good pint of Guinness in that city of many delights. He just vaguely thought Ireland was also leaving the EU, reminding us that, a mere 10-minute walk from the 'Eurobubble', Brexit is not something fixating ordinary people.

Back in the heart of the EU bubble, when you stand back from the week's chaotic events, more than anything else, you get a sense of the impatience on the part of all EU governments whose leaders just want to move on from Brexit sooner rather than later.

At the close of yet another emergency summit, the old fox himself Jean-Claude Juncker chided the world's media saying there were many other things happening in the EU.

Most of the thousand journalists gathered in Brussels for Wednesday's big Brexit summit were focused on details around the three choices confronting the leaders: extend long; extend short; or show the UK the door. Few of us noticed a new report for the policy-guiding EU Commission, which was doing something the politicians are so often accused of failing to do.

The 50-page document entitled 'Global Trends to 2030 - Challenges and Choices for the European Union' identifies the likely big challenges facing the next two five-year terms for the EU Commission and European Parliament. We will elect a new European Parliament at the end of next month and a new EU Commission is due to be selected this summer and take office on November 1 next.

The document is food for thought, and it does put Brexit into some kind of immediate and local space. We who love our politics can become fixated with Brexit. But when you look at the other issues you see how it might be small enough beer when viewed through the prism of another decade.

Take for example the challenge of climate change. We are set to have an increase in temperature of 1.5C compared to pre-industrial times and that means potential economic and environmental damage.

"If we do not keep temperature increases below 1.5C, we risk heading towards extinction later this century," the report warns bluntly.

Brexit will probably dent profits, cost jobs, and even make it hard to get our favourite biscuits. But it would be a stretch to see it wiping out all of humanity.

On demographic issues, it notes that Europe is facing an aging population problem. Just across the Mediterranean Sea, in Africa, governments will need to manage a significant "youth bulge". We already know that many of these youths want to come north.

That issue is not all bad news, especially for those of us getting a bit long in the tooth, even if it is grist to the mill for Brexiteers like Nigel Farage. The report notes that in the EU "if we age better we can mitigate declining birth rates".

The flight to Europe's cities will continue. By 2030, two-thirds of people will live in small-to-medium-sized cities. If this is not managed properly, it will lead to crime, pollution and violence. We already have many indicators of this trend which will be amplified.

By 2030, China will be the number one global economy. Europe will be ranked second - but purchasing power per head will be almost four times higher in the EU than in China. We will continue to greedily consume energy with a 1.7pc yearly increase in consumption - and continuing high carbon emissions.

The high-tech revolution is only in its infancy. In the next decade, the number of devices connected to the internet will increased five-fold to 125 billion, and the number of air passengers will nearly double.

This timely publication is yet another reminder that the EU has already moved on to a post-Brexit world. The crisis will be sorted soon - and Ireland must start preparations for an EU after Brexit.
Local elections are usually an excuse to give the Government a good kicking - but next month's outing will have a different narrative.

It will be more of a dress rehearsal for the real thing rather than a mid-term assessment of the pitch.

All parties will use the opportunity to test policies, slogans and indeed candidates for a bigger match.

At one stage there was talk in Leinster House that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar might call a snap general election for the same day.

Thankfully, the idea of asking people to vote in local and European elections, a divorce referendum and a Dail election proved a ballot paper too far.

The next theory regularly discussed by TDs was that there would be an irreconcilable bust-up between the parties ahead of the Budget in October.

The new Brexit date of October 31 has now seen that timeline thrown out the window.

But Mr Varadkar or Micheal Martin could still be tempted to call an election over the summer if the locals go well.

Five years ago, Fine Gael and its then coalition partners in the Labour Party got an almighty drubbing in the local elections while Fianna Fail reclaimed the largest number of councillors.

Both of the main parties are already canvassing with an air of confidence for next month.

Fianna Fail would see holding something close to the 267 seats won last time as "progress". "It would mean we're bedding in," a source said.

Party officials will be putting a huge effort into Dublin, where polls suggest Fianna Fail is struggling. There will be "intensive promotion" around council candidates like Paul McAuliffe, Cormac Devlin and Olivia Buckley, who will need to make a 'breakthrough' in the general election if Mr Martin is to become the next Taoiseach.

On the Fine Gael side, it's less clear what success would look like. There is a realisation that overtaking Fianna Fail in terms of local authority numbers might be overly ambitious - but it would like to close the gap.

A good bounce for either party on May 24 will immediately lead to internal questions about whether they should take a second hop of the ball.

There are dozens of reasons why either side could cause a snap election.

Fianna Fail TDs have bitten their lips over a host of Government failings in recent months.

But Mr Varadkar could argue legislation is being stymied and therefore he needs a fresh mandate to govern. His Justice Minister is trapped in purgatory (the Seanad) trying to get the Judicial Appointments Bill for 100 hours.

And then there are the unknown 'events'.

Rightly, the consensus is there won't be a general election this year, but stranger things have happened.
Damage: Boys dig in the rubble of a bombed street in London during World War II.

It must surely be a great relief for Fianna Fail that the Brexit debacle will carry on until at least October.

The relief I refer to has nothing to do with the Border or any economic damage it may do to the country, but more to do with members' own political careers.

With the current homeless, housing and health crises and Fianna Fail being the tail that is wagging the dog in the Dail, the last thing it wants is to go to the people until there is an improvement in those social issues.

Until that happens, Fianna Fail can continue this farcical Confidence and Supply Agreement with Fine Gael and claim it is in the best interests of the country.

For the same reasons, this will also suit Fine Gael, which will be quite worried about the same social issues affecting their re-election prospects and the relative closeness to Fianna Fail in the polls.

Those poll statistics, combined with the social issues mentioned, would suggest Confidence and Supply Agreements will continue between these two parties with either Fianna Fail or Fine Gael as the lead party for several years to come.

Anthony McGeough

Kingswood Heights, Dublin 24

Only a general election can now fix the UK's mess

This week MPs voted on whether to support Theresa May getting an extension from the EU so her government could deliver Brexit. Some 420 were in favour and 110 were against.

The breakdown tells us the UK Labour Party is disciplined - only three Labour MPs voted against the motion - whereas the Conservative Party looks utterly out of control: 99 of them voted against their own prime minister trying to deliver Brexit, while 80 Conservatives abstained from taking a position.

How can any politician elected to represent a constituency of citizens argue abstention is an option? Politicians are not paid to sit on the fence.

A general election is now essential to get the UK out of this mess. Every candidate should be allowed to campaign as an independent with a manifesto stating their preference from three options: No deal and a people's vote; deal and a people's vote; or revoke Article 50 and hold a citizens' assembly on the EU.

They could also state their formal party affiliation if they still had one.

The resulting independent MPs elected would reflect exactly what the electorate wants in terms of the UK's approach to Brexit and the EU.

A major benefit would be the end of the two-party system. Three distinct strands of the UK's future relationship with the EU would emerge. A coalition of independent MPs would form a government based around Britain's inextricable link to the EU which, for the foreseeable future, remains the geopolitical reality of the island of Ireland.

Alison Hackett

Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin

Keep calm and solve the Border problem

Simple-minded people who can only think in a straight line cannot understand the UK's manoeuvring, play-acting and whiling away the time on Brexit.

It is my belief the UK wants to crash out of the EU without a deal so it can put its Border across Ireland - but it can't do that unilaterally. It is waiting for the EU to do something so it can blame it for the Border.

Let's make no mistake, this is a big game of chicken. If Ireland and the EU keep cool, calm and collected, the UK will never get out of the EU.

We must not forget there are only two solutions to the Irish Border problem. Either the British stay in the EU or they relinquish their foothold in Ireland.

Isaac Connolly

Gorey, Co Wexford

I can save poor Marty from over-exposure

I would like to send an open letter to RTE and ask if it is possible to help it out with its shortage of staff.

I have noticed that recently the same people keep turning up in every programme broadcast on RTE.

For example, I would particularly like to help them out with replacing poor Marty Morrissey, who must be run ragged over the last few years, running from GAA matches to 'Dancing with the Stars', to modelling in New York, to hopelessly emulating Bear Grylls in the wild, to meeting expats in Adelaide and Perth in far-flung Australia.

Not to mention the numerous times he hosts a farming programme or two on the radio or turns up as a guest on a TV or radio show talking about his time either dancing or modelling or running around the countryside while working for RTE.

The poor man must be absolutely exhausted.

Please consider my offer to replace him before he expires from over-exposure.

Ger Corcoran

Address with editor

Our public health service is really gone to the dogs

I am sure you have heard many "man bites dog" stories in your time, but this one takes the dog biscuit.

Recently I saw a sign outside my local GP's surgery in Carrick-on-Shannon which stated that the waiting time for blood tests is one month.

Today I noticed a sign outside a vet's office in Carrick-on-Shannon that read "blood tests in two hours". Public health medicine has some way to go.

Leslie O'Hora

Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim

Time for rural house owners to form a union

The teachers, the nurses, the bus drivers, the rail workers and many other groups have unions to protect them against any unfair conditions being foisted on them by the government of the day.

It is now time that a new union be formed by the house owners of rural Ireland to fight against the proposed imposition of the property tax increase. This property tax increase will be applied after the general election in the late autumn.

House owners in the rural areas where they have no public transport, no post offices, no banks, no Garda barracks and live miles from the nearest shop will be most affected.

The Government finds the house owners a soft target and has no hesitation in increasing the property tax.

Now is the time for people to form the house owners of rural Ireland union - to fight for the rights and interests of all the rural house owners across the country.

Desmond Nolan

Annaghdown, Co Galway

THE demolition of cities up until the end of World War II was a historical disaster.

In Italy, thousands of houses and apartments were reduced to ruins. In Britain, 202,000 houses were destroyed and the V weapons rendered a further 255,000 uninhabitable. France had suffered even more, 460,000 buildings gone and a further 1.9 million damaged.

Germany, meanwhile, lost 3.6 million apartments - or a fifth of all dwellings. In the Soviet Union not only were many of the major cities laid waste, but also 1,700 smaller towns and 70,000 villages.

So it went on in Poland and the rest of Europe through which the war passed - sometimes twice in the case of most of Europe, by the Germans 'on the way out' and the Russians 'on the way back'.

In Asia the position was just as bad. There were nine million homeless in Japan and the estimate for China was 100 million.

The years after 1945 saw the most radical rebuilding in the history of the world's cities, but before this new world began to rise from the ashes, there was a great deal of debate.

The one thing almost everyone agreed on was it should not be left to the "free market".

Private landlords and developers had no incentive to create spacious, healthy environments for their tenants in the case of social housing, or affordable houses for purchasers. Quite the opposite, in fact, their only interest was to maximise their profits.

According to architects like Le Corbusier, one of the most influential planners of the era, governments which allowed the free market to act unchecked were effectively failing the people who had elected them.

We continue to disregard history at our cost - and so we place our recovery in the hands of "vulture funds", landlords and the "benevolent" private sector.

Hugh Duffy

Cleggan, Co Galway
The world of cinema and contemporary music come together when a brand new work by Canadian Nicole Lizee will be presented for the first time in Ireland at St Peter's Church of Ireland, Drogheda, on Saturday May 4 at 8 p.m.

The centrepiece of the programme will be a brand new work referring to films by Steven Spielberg, commissioned by the Louth Contemporary Music Society with funds from the Arts Council. Performing at the piano will be Megumi Masaki, another Canadian who has been working closely with the composer throughout the last decade. She will also perform two earlier compositions with which she has been associated from the beginning: Hitchcock Etudes and Kubrick Etudes.

Scenes from the films will shown on a screen during the performance making it a multi-media event.

Tickets 15 from from www.droghedaartsfestival.ie
On Saturday night I headed for the Clermont Arms where a rather special 30th birthday party was taking place for Sinead Connolly from Bay Estate and there to make sure she had a fantastic night was her mum Carmel, sisters Michelle, Catherine, Sarah and Emma, nanny and grandaunt Eileen Donnelly and Rose McCann both from Ardee Terrace and boyfriend Danny Farrell from Greengates and a huge collection of family and friends.

Sinead is a freelance beautician working from home and also in Deja Vu hair and beauty and when I caught up with her, she wanted to thank everyone for coming along and making it such a special night.

I was only in the door when I met up with Sinead's main squeeze Daniel Farrell who was there with his brothers TJ and Peter and their friend Ciaran Traynor from Blackrock who wanted to wish the birthday girl a very happy 30th.

Not too far away I got talking to some of her friends from Deja Vu

and they included Eileen Conway and Nicole Gallagher both from Ath Lethan, Carolann Connor, Roisin Hughes from Avondale Park, Sinead O'Neill from Channonrock, Deborah Wynne from Point Road and Laura Flanagan from Drogheda who were delighted to be there with their colleague and were looking forward to a mad night too.

Not too far away I got talking to Sinead's sister Sarah who was with Mark Duffy from Mourne Vale and they were having a laugh with Victoria O'Hare and Gemma Stewart from both from Kingswood who eventually admitted they were gatecrashers and were really only there for the chicken goujons and cocktail sausages!

Meanwhile over at another table I met up with John Sheelan from Carlingford who was with his sister Sandy and Sinead's sister Michelle, he told me the party was getting going and was really good.

At an adjacent table I caught up with Hannah and Katelyn Donnelly from Bay Estate who wanted to wish their cousin a very happy 30th birthday and they were definitely up for making the best of the party.

Seated at another table I got talking to Anne Duffy from Glenwood and Louth Rose Annmarie Woods also from Glenwood who told me she is an Irish dancing friends for many years and wouldn't have missed her party for anything.

Beside them I met up with Eddie and Marie Maguire from Greengates who were with daughter Janice who are all family friends of the Connolly's.

After this I got a word with Paddy Reilly, Paddy Murphy and Claude Harmon Jnr. All from Blackrock who wanted to wish Sinead a very happy birthday.

Not too far away I met up with cousin Ciaran Finan from Manydown Close who as with Fiona Kirk from Avondale and they were all set to party the night away with Sinead and the rest of the family.

Finally, before I departed, I got talking to Danny's twin Donna Farrell from Greengates who was with Gillian O'Reilly from Manydown Close and they were there to make a totally insane night of Sinead's 30th and wanted to wish her all the best on her big night.
The scenic mid Louth village Annagassan has long been linked to its Viking heritage, but a unique new project is set to bring it into the 21st century through a virtual reality experience!

The small rural community once housed a Viking winter base, one of only two in Ireland.

A major archaelogical find just a few years ago confirmed that the Linn Duchaill site, beside the river Glyde and south of Dundalk Bay, was the location for the Vikings to bring their long ships or longphorts to be repaired.

Although eventually abandoned as a port due to poor tides and a shallow Dundalk bay, Linn Duachaill was also a large trading town .

Now, a local initiative is set to finally bring the once mythical viking folklore to life.

The Glyde Inn Annagassan is currently putting together the world's first 'Viking Virtual Reality Experience' in a restaurant.

Owner Conor O'Neill explained that as part of the extensive research into the project he visited the Norwegian ambassador to Ireland in Dublin, Else Berit Eikeland and subsequently invited her to Annagassan to view the Viking site and see firsthand a working protype of the exciting new virtual reality experience.

The ambassador took him up on the offer and on Tuesday last, she was part of a delegation visiting Annagassan along with the whole Norwegian Conciliate.

'On arrival she was met by Dr. Ned Kelly, former Director of Antiquities at The National Museum of Ireland, local historian Micheal Mc Keown,and Director of DKIT Dr. Michael Mulvey,

Representatives from Louth County Council included Cllr. Pearse Mc Geough and Councillor Colm Markey.

Micheal Mc Keown then presented a replica Viking sword to the ambassador before leading the group to the Viking site of Linn Duachaill.

'On the site Dr. Ned Kelly explained that the area is the most significant in Ireland and the largest Viking settlement in the world,' said Conor

'Following the familiarisation trip to the Viking site the group moved to The Glyde Inn for a working lunch with Louth County Council CEO Joan Martin, where the protype of the Virtual Reality was viewed and Viking possibilities were discussed,' added Conor.
Dundalk space explorer and science communicator Niamh Shaw PhD is set to blaze a trail for Irish Girl Guides (IGG) over the next year.

Dr Shaw, who is originally from Dundalk is an aspiring astronaut, but also an artist and performer. She is also a former Girl Guide, and was named Honorary Ambassador at IGG's annual Council meeting last week.

Dr Shaw said she was delighted to be selected as IGG Ambassador: 'It's a huge honour, and I'm really looking forward to the year ahead.'

'What I'm particularly interested in is empowering Girl Guides to pursue in life what they are most passionate about. STEM will naturally play its part in that exploration.'

'STEM subjects can belong in a creative environment as much as a technical one. If I can achieve success in delivering that message to Girl Guides in the next year, then I will feel that I have made a worthy contribution to Irish Girl Guides. And, since my passion is space, I would also like to explore the creation of a space badge too, if possible.'
The benefits of getting out in the fresh air in the countryside are well known and now an innovative programme which gives people the opportunity to work on a farm is reaping benefits.

Well-known Cooley farmer Matthew McGreehan is welcoming participants of the Social Farming programme onto his farm at Creagh Ard, Glenmore.

Social farming has been proven to be effective for participants across a range of services including intellectual disability, mental health, long term unemployed and at risk youths as well as those using addiction services.

Having originally taken part in a pilot scheme or the programme back in 2013, Matthew is delighted that he has been able to offer participants the opportunity to increase their self esteem and improve their health and well-being by taking part in day to day farm activities on a family farm.

'We invite up to three participants to come to our farm one day per week over a period of 10 to 15 weeks and all our participants, who come from a wide range of services, have found the whole experience of benefit to them.'

He explains that they get a chance to learn about sheep farming life and take part in activities that give them a sense of achievement and job satisfaction.

'We share our knowledge of the heritage and cultural traditions on our farm and in our area.'

Matthew also encourages participants to really look at the stunning views from the mountains to the sea. 'I think that our farm and the animals we work with are a great way to give our participants a real sense of nature and I think that this all contributes to the whole experience and enhances their lives'

People taking part in the Social Farming programme also get the opportunity to get involved with the local farming community, and Matthew says it has been found that Social Farming is proving to be a great way to integrate refugees into Irish society, many of whom may have suffered trauma in their own country.

The three most recent Social Farming participants on Matthew's farm came through came through Turas, a community addiction support service based in Dundalk.

Nicki Jordan, Turas Manager, reports: 'All three of them were glowing and beaming after their experience with Matthew. They thrived from their connection with the heritage and traditions on his farm and the beautiful natural surrounds. It was a fantastic opportunity for people living in an urban setting who normally wouldn't have the opportunity to work outdoors and be in nature.'
Donal Hall launched his new book on Louth and The Irish Revolution 1912-23 last week

Oscar Wilde famously said 'The problem is the English can't remember history, while the Irish can't forget it'.

And while we mightn't forget it, parts of our history have been shrouded in silence - a silence born out of the painful period leading up to foundation of the State.

Now, local historian and author Donal Hall has pushed open the curtains to reveal what happened in our county in the early years of the 20th century.

Donal grew up listening to stories about Irish history. Both his parents were interested in history and spoke of events which happened when they were children.

'I was very aware of what had happened and listening to then talking, it was like it happened yesterday,' he says. His father was from St Patrick's Terrace, also known as Happy Valley, while his mother was from around the corner in Seatown.

'My father's family were Republicans and were involved in the War of Independence while my mother's family had been in the British army and were out fighting in France at the time of the Rebellion,' he recalls.

This gave him a personal insight into the complexity of Irish history and it evident in his latest book 'Louth: The Irish Revolution 1912-23,' which has just been published by Four Court Press.

A proud Louth man, Donal was conscious that the county's story hadn't been told when it came to that defining period of Irish history.

Most accounts of the period concentrate on what happened in Dublin, Cork, Kerry, Limerick and other places whose names are remembered in story and song. Louth, if it gets a mention, is just a footnote.

Donal's passion for local history spurred him to return to education when in 1995 his wife Tricia spotted an advertisement for a part time humanities degree which included a history specialisation. This led to him eventually attaining his doctorate in history and to writing a number of highly regarded books.

'Professor Terry Dooley was my supervisor when I was doing my Masters at NUI Maynooth. He's from Kilanney, Co Monaghan so he is familiar with this area.' He also worked with Martin Maguire of DkIT when he was doing his Ph.D.

Having initially researched the period of the First World War and particularly the fate of the Louth soldiers who lost their lives in battle, he explains that it was a sense of curiosity which propelled him to carry on researching those years which shaped Irish history.

He wanted to tell the story from all sides, from those who believed in Home Rule and enlisted in the British Army in the First World War to those who joined the Rising and later fought in the War of Independence, to the bitter Civil War which divided families, communities and former comrades in arms.

'I was always very interested in both sides of the story and never felt any bias one way or the other,' he says.

Nothing has ever been written about that period in Louth, he says. 'In the general history books, Louth didn't get a look in.'

'All I ever heard were stories. The object of my research was to find out what happened.'

For over twenty years, Donal has dedicated his life to that task, and since his retirement, he was able to devote more time to visiting archives, pouring over old newspaper reports and contacting families whose ancestors were involved in the events of that era. He has been rigorous in his research as illustrated by the long list of sources listed in the book.

Thus, he was well positioned to accept a commission from series editors Mary Ann Lyons and Daithi O Corrain to write the Louth volume for the Four Courts Press series of books for the Decade of Centenaries.

'I started work on this book three years ago but I had most of the research done,' he says. 'Mostly the last three years were spent writing and editing and editing and editing. The biggest problem was I only had 80,000 words to tells the story,'

The story he tells is a fascinating one which sets the headline acts of the 1916 Revolution, War of Independence and Civil War into the context of the period.

He explains that when he began researching a book on the war dead of Co Louth, he was struck by the fact that local newspapers were reporting on both the Great War and the case for Home Rule, or,after 1916, the rise of militant republicanism.

'It occurred to me that I couldn't understand the motivations of those who enlisted in WW1, without an appreciation of the political background at home, neither could I understand the revolution without understanding the context of the World War.'

The book examines the social and economic conditions which were influential in determining the course of history. It is also full of human stories, and Donal doesn't hesitate in detailing the sacrifices made by many during that brutal and bitter time.

Arguing that we must not allow ourselves to become 'hostages of history', Donal is conscious that the commemorations for the War of Independence and subsequent Civil War are going to be difficult as they have the potential to re-open old wounds.

'Over the next four years we in this county and in this country are going to examine painful events that occurred a century ago. The commemoration must be compassionate but it must also be all-encompassing,' he commented at the launch of the book in An Tain Arts Centre last week.

An adoring grandfather, he had dedicated the book to his grandchildren. 'Seeing the world through their young adult eyes over the years has at times imbued me with a feeling of sadness that a century ago, so many fine young people died needlessly because old men, mostly, could not agree, and are still dying today all around the world for the same reason,' he said.

'Louth: The Irish Revolution 1912-23' in available in Roe River Books, Park Street.
The family of Dundalk man Seamus Ludlow, who was murdered in 1976 launched a campaign for 'justice and truth' in An Tain Theatre.

The surviving members of the Ludlow family, including nephews and nieces led a press conference on Friday last, where they called for support for a public inquiry into their uncle's death.

They also launched an information leaflet, highlighting the background to the case, which they intend to hand out to the public in Louth, and in South Armagh.

Seamus Ludlow was just 47 years old when he was killed after thumbing a lift home from a night out in a pub in Dundalk on May 2nd 1976.

He was shot a number of times and his body was dumped in a ditch near his home. No one has ever been prosecuted for his death.

But the callous murder has emerged as one of the key 'legacy' cases in the aftermath of the Troubles, given the reported involvement of members of the British Army/ UDR and Red Hand Commandos

Speaking on behalf of the family, Michael Donegan said; 'We the family of Seamus Ludlow are appealing for support for a public inquiry into the death of our brother and uncle. Seamus was a north Louth man who lived with his elderly mother Annie He was a quiet, unassuming, decent and loving family man.'

Micheal said that despite the passing of 43 years, the brutal killing still resonates deeply with the family, who have been left with 'no answers' as to why Seamus was killed, and why no one has ever been brought to justice for his murder.

'From day one we knew there was something wrong with this case, the contempt shown to the family by gardai, the attempts to impune Seamus' character, to say he was an informer, or that his family were involved, all of which were untrue.'

He added: 'It has been clear from the first day that there was a whole lot going on with the murder of Seamus Ludlow. And 43 years later, the family are still being kept in the dark.'

'Poor Seamus did not deserve this death, and afterwards the impuning of his character. We, his family have to stand up for him now.'

Nephew Jimmy Fox added 'We hope through this leaflet a lot more people will come to know the truth. We will be handing it out to the public here in Louth, and also in South Armagh.'

He said the family were also calling for a full public inquiry into the handling of the investigation into Seamus Ludlow's murder.

The family's solicitor Gavin Booth outlined the legal routes they had taken over the last few years to get 'truth and justice' for their brother and uncle.

He explained how in 1999 a decision was taken by prosecutors in the north not to bring a number of suspects to court, two of whom had admitted being in the area where Seamus Ludlow had died that night.

They had even driven maps of the rural part of north Louth where the 47 year old forestry worker had been killed.

Among the four men were two serving members of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR).

Mr. Booth said the gardai never requested an extradition to interview the men who were identified by the RUC as likely to have been involved.

He explained that they are now demanding a full public inquiry into his death after they won permission from the High Court in Belfast to challenge the decision not to prosecute members of the British Armed Forces and loyalist paramilitaries identified as suspects.

He described how during the hearing, it was claimed that files had been lost in relation to the 1999 decision not to prosecute the suspects.

The family are also seeking a meeting with the new Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris.

They have requested a meeting with the Police Ombudsman in Northern Ireland, and are seeking a meeting and a report by the Ombudsman into Seamus Ludlow's murder.

They also outlined how they felt the Irish government had 'frustrated' efforts to advance the case, with the recommendations of the Barron Commission not having been implemented.

Speaking at the launch, Jimmy Fox added: 'We need your support in demanding the establishment of a full public inquiry. This is the only way that we the family can get the truth of what happened to Seamus, and hold those responsible to account for their actions.'

Michael Donegan highlighted the large group of family members who attended the event, saying that a new generation of Seamus Ludlow's relatives were 'just as determined and passionate' as the older generation who had led the campaign for justice.'
A special family open day is set to take place on the afternoon of Sunday May 15 to mark the opening of the new of St Gerard's Hall.

The state of the art community hall, which includes a number of meeting rooms as well as kitchen facilities, replaces the old St Gerard's Hall which was demolished as part of the extensive works programme at St Joseph's Redemptorist Church and Monastery over the past three years.

With plans in progress for the Family Open Day, the organising committee have decide to feature a 'Down memory Lane' exhibition and are calling on as many people as possible who may have a special photo or memorabilia - with a story behind it - to donate the item for the day.

Organising Committee Chairperson, Catherine Shaw explained:'The Family Open Day will feature the work of the current ministries and will incorporate all age groups from children to senior citizens. But these are not new ministries. St Joseph's has always played a huge role in the community here and the Redemptorist has been the backdrop for many occasions.

'We would love if people have photographs or items that evoke special memories that the share them with us for the day,.' she continued. ' Perhaps a couple met at the Novena and later married in the Church.

'Or perhaps a family were involved in a number of ministries and have photos of their families on various occasions. Maybe someone received a Papal Medal at a special ceremony in the Church. The possibilities, we are finding out, are endless.'

The hall has also been at the centre of community for many years and was used by various local community, voluntary, social and sporting groups.

Indeed, a number of these organisations have already resumed activities in the new building and they will have exhibition stands on the open day, highlighting the work they do in the community.

'We want to feature a selection of these images etc in an exhibition on May 19th where Nicky McCourt will be on hand to talk through the various photos, exhibits etc for everyone in attendance,' explained Catherine.

'It's a way to bring past and present together and look forward to a bright future in St Joseph's for everyone.'

If anyone would like to donate items please bring them to the Church Reception. All originals will be returned.

The new hall is just part of extensive works undertaken by the Redemptorist community in Dundalk, which included the refurbishment of the monastery, an archive, central library and communications office.

The works were funded by the Redemptorist Community in Ireland.

Members of the local community moved back into the Monastery in December, said Fr Brendan Callinan.

He said that the bulk of the work which got underway in 2016 has been completed and he looked forward to welcoming people to the open day in May.
Regarded by many as Ireland's finest home-grown movie since the turn of the century, Adam & Paul is getting a special 15th anniversary screening in Greystones on Wednesday, April 17 at 8 p.m., and its writer and co-star, Mark O'Halloran, will be in attendance.

Organised by the Greystones Film Club, this darkly comic film manages to be an intoxicating combination of Midnight Cowboy and Waiting For Godot. Set on the mean streets of Dublin over just one day, we join the eponymous pair of down-and-just-about-out buddies as they go in search of a little tender, loving fix. Running to stand still, along the way, they meet some wary old friends and some sinister old enemies, the lives they could have led occasionally flashing before their bleary eyes.

The award-winning Irish short, Rue, by Sean Treacy, will play in support of the main feature.

O'Halloran will take part in a 20-minute post-screening interview. Go to whaletheatre.ie for tickets.
Thinking of You, a work in ink by Biddy Scott

Greystones artists exhibited their work at Charlesland Golf Club last week.

This was the group's 54th annual exhibition, which opened on Thursday evening and continued until Sunday.

The opening evening included the launch of a raffle in aid of the Gavin Glynn Foundation. On Saturday afternoon, renowned oil artist and instructor Joyce Odlum gave a live demonstration, and donated her painting to the art group.

The works of art spanned generations, mediums, and disciplines.

Established in 1965, Greystones Art Group is one of Ireland's longest running art groups. It has a diverse set of members and provides a fun & inspirational way to practice in a creative space.
National Tree Week was marked in Shankill with a tree planting at Stonebridge Park, attended by Minister Mary Mitchell O'Connor.

The tree planting ceremony took place last Thursday afternoon and was organised by Shankill Tidy Towns, Crann, and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Council.

Pupils from St Anne's National School, Scoil Mhuire, and Rathmichael National School attended, as well as representatives of Shankill GAA, the local churches, and elected representatives.

Despite grim, wet weather, everyone enjoyed the ceremony, which was addressed by Shankill Tidy Towns chairman Eoin McBennett.

The trees were donated by Crann 'Trees For Ireland', which is a membership based organisation set up to raise awareness of the environmental importance of trees, hedgerows and woodland.

The planting of trees is not an uncommon sight in Shankill, where Tidy Towns spearheaded the 'Trees for All' initiative some years ago, planting one for each person in the area.

That was a target of 13,242, which they exceeded, again in partnership with Crann and DLR council.

The trees will help to offset carbon emissions and contribute positively to Ireland's greenhouse gas abatement strategy.

The trees will also help contribute to the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity in Shankill.
There are not too many people living in Drogheda who can say that they were part of history - and saw Adolf Hitler triumphantly enter their home city.

And ultimately Carole Fraser, who has been part of Gala Cleaners on Peter Street since it opened in 1965 - had to flee her Austrian homeland the day before World War II was declared to prevent her and her family being forced into a concentration camp.

On the night she celebrated her 90th birthday in the Westcourt Hotel on Saturday last, she revealed the dramatic moment she saw Adolf Hitler, something that lives with her to this day.

'Anschluss' - or the annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938 - was a defining moment in history.

Nazi forces entered the country and Hitler's cavalcade arrrived in Vienna on March 15.

'We were living across the road from the Danube and I saw him drive past with the SS and the SA beside him,' she stated. It is stated that around 200,000 cheering German Austrians gathered around the Heldenplatz (Square of Heroes) to welcome him.

In the months after that, Vienna became a hostile place for many, Carole often telling of seeing Jews being targeted by Nazi soldiers. They were driven through the streets of Vienna, their homes and shops were plundered. Jewish men and women were forced to wash away pro-independence slogans painted on the streets.

Her father was involved in politics and he felt that the time had come to leave. It was September 1939 and the world was hours from war.

'We went to London,' she stated.

In the years that followed, Carole began working as a dress maker in a college just behind Oxford Street and spent days on end learning her trade.

Then fate would play its part again.

As a young woman, she went on a cruise and met an Irishman called Robin Fraser. 'I didn't even know Ireland existed,' she admitted.

They hit it off immediately and on the second night, he asked her to marry him.

Six weeks later they married and they were together for 60 years, Robin passing away just a few years ago.

The Drogheda Independent reported on the wedding at the time, in 1954, of Robin Fraser, of Mill House, Slane, son Mr. and Mrs. John Fraser, Lisglennon, Killala, Co. Mayo, and Miss Carole Gertrude Hayek, daughter of Mrs. Emma Hayek and Alfred Hayek, 6. Chesney Court, Maida Vale, London.

Robin worked for the Slane Manufacturing Company where he was a very popular boss, but when the company was taken over, he lost his job. It was a tough and worrying time but then life came up trumps again. Robin would encounter Gerry Monahan and so began another chapter in Carole's life.

They began a dry cleaning service in 1965 and it still operates to this day on Peter Street.

Carole says its success is down to a dedicated staff who have served faithfully for decades.

'They are all just brilliant,' she declared. 'We had to adapt down the years and that has been a key to it. Everyone knows the customers.'

Last Saturday, her business partner, Leo Monahan and wife Ashling, and the staff met up with Carole in the Westcourt to mark her 90th birthday.

She admitted it was a special moment.

She does pop in to Gala from time to time, she admits, but these days its to see her team carry on a wonderful tradition.

'If I can give any advice from my 90 years it is simple - go for it when an opportunity comes up,' she proudly declared.
A 19-year-old man accused of murdering Dunleer teenager Cameron Reilly (pictured) has been returned for trial to the present sittings of the Central Criminal Court.

Aaron Connolly, Willistown, Drumcar, is charged with the murder of Mr Reilly (18), who was a first-year student at DkIT, at Shamrock Hill, Dunleer, on 26 May, 2018.

A book of evidence was served on the defendant last Wednesday morning, and a short time later Judge John Coughlan heard at Dundalk Court that the DPP consents to a return for trial.

Legal aid was granted to Aaron Connolly for a solicitor, barrister and senior counsel, and he was remanded on existing High Court bail.

The judge also made a Section 56 order, which relates to a copy of any recording of the questioning of the defendant by gardai while detained at the garda station, or elsewhere, in connection with the investigating of an offence, being given to the accused or his legal representative.
In July 2018, Sister Agnes Hinder celebrated fifty years as a Medical Missionary of Mary. The only member from Switzerland, she had wide training and experience before joining.

Born in the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland in 1927, Agnes trained and worked in domestic science for five years before qualifying as a children's nurse. She worked as a private children's nurse for four years and then completed studies in general nursing and anaesthetics.

In 1962, at the invitation of Bishop Jobidon in Malawi, Agnes and another woman, Maria Raber, prepared to go to the Diocese of Mzuzu, under the auspices of a Swiss lay missionary group. Beforehand both women were sent to Drogheda to learn English and to study the ethos of MMM. They lived with a local family, working in the International Missionary Training Hospital (now Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital) in the morning and learning English in the afternoon.

When the two women arrived in Mzuzu, the Swiss group had built a house for them - always referred to as 'the Swiss house'. Agnes was well qualified for the development of Saint John's Hospital, the first MMM foundation in Malawi. She spent four years there as a lay missionary and then decided to join MMM. She completed her postulancy in Malawi in 1966 before proceeding to Drogheda for her novitiate training.

After first profession Agnes qualified as a midwife and was assigned back to Mzuzu. She served there for four more years, doing general and paediatric nursing as well as anaesthetics. At that time the demands continued to grow in providing extended health services from Saint John's Hospital.

In 1974, she was assigned to a new rural mission in the diocese, in Nkhata Bay. There she developed a mother and child welfare clinic and an outreach programme.

In 1976 Sister Agnes returned to Switzerland for a refresher course in anaesthetics, after which she was back in Mzuzu. For the next twenty-three years she was involved in general and children's nursing. She also worked in the nutrition unit and in anaesthetics in the operating theatre.

Agnes was a competent, experienced and compassionate nurse who also became a mentor for the many lay volunteers who spent time in Saint John's.

MMM later handed over Saint John's Hospital and moved out of Mzuzu Diocese. In 2001, after a sabbatical, Agnes was assigned to Chipini, a new mission in the south of the country. Here she encountered a different people with their own language and traditions. For six more years she cared for the children she loved.

At the age of seventy-nine Agnes returned to Drogheda. There she served in the infirmary and clinic in the Motherhouse. She has accompanied many of the Sisters who were her friends in Malawi on their journey home to God. Willing to assist in any place she was needed, she also helped in the stamp department.

In May 2018 she went to Aras Mhuire for nursing care. She died there peacefully on 28 March 2019.
A Cystic Fibrosis Nationwide 6.5K Remembrance Walk takes place on April 13 at 2pm in Drogheda, as part of the national campaign.

This is the first year of the walks all around the country, same time, same day.

The local "Ramparts Walk" starts and finishes at Ballsgrove Church and walkers make their way along the Ramparts and back to Ballsgrove Church for chat and refreshments.

'We hope all the local community will get behind the walks and show their support for Cystic Fibrosis Ireland. Please wear Purple on the day,' a spokesperson stated.
The Government is facing crises on many fronts but few of them are as morally complex as how the State should deal with the Irish ISIS bride Lisa Smith.

Ms Smith - a former member of the Irish defence forces - is currently living in a Syrian refugee camp with her two-year-old daughter following the collapse of Islamic State's murderous caliphate.

The Louth woman is pleading to be brought home to Ireland but it is something of an understatement to say that there is little public sympathy for her in her native land.

Though there are plenty of people who want to see Ms Smith brought home - to face justice in the Irish courts - there are many who say, publicly, that she should be left to her fate.

To be quite clear, legally that cannot happen and - unlike British teen runaway and ISIS bride Shamina Begum - she will not be stripped of her citizenship.

Citizenship can only be stripped if an individual has a second one, as a person cannot be made stateless. In Ms Begum's case it is thought that she also has Bangladeshi citizenship - though this is not certain - and, as such, UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid believed he had legal authority to revoke her passport.

Whatever uncertainty there is in the Begum case does not arise in the case of Ms Smith and her daughter who are Irish citizens and must be helped home.

What is still up for debate is just how that legally required help will manifest itself and what will happen when she is finally brought back to the Republic.

The general consensus appears to be that when Ms Smith arrives back in Ireland, she should be rigorously investigated and brought before the courts.

We will likely never know precisely what she did during her time with ISIS and the chances of finding witnesses who might be able to cast a light on her actions is extremely remote.

What we do know, thanks to Lisa Smith's own admissions, is that she willingly travelled to Syria to join ISIS, a group that at the time had been officially designated as a terrorist organisation by every EU member state, including Ireland.

Ms Smith, a trained soldier has claimed that she essentially ran with the crowd in the ISIS caliphate; that she never fought for ISIS and that she never owned or used a gun while in Syria.

It's unlikely we'll ever learn the truth but if Ms Smith wants to avoid jail she will have to provide a very convincing explanation as to why she doesn't pose a threat to the country.

There are also questions that need to be answered about her time working on the Irish Government jet and what she told ISIS about it.

It has been argued that Ms Smith was an air hostess and that she had no access to official secrets.

That is essentially true, but what she would have had is inside knowledge about the security arrangements for diplomatic passengers at several major international airports.

Security services across the world will want to be sure that such key information isn't now the hands of ISIS' murderous fanatics.
Broadcaster Cecil Riddall celebrated his retirement from nearly 28 years as a presenter on South East Radio, at Gorey Methodist church, with a live broadcast from the church in Gorey. Cecil is well known both on the airwaves in Wexford and in the locality, and has been a longstanding member of the congregation at Gorey Methodist Church.

He is a lay preacher in Gorey, but is known more widely for his 'Sounds for Sunday' programme with Christian Media Trust, that airs early on Sunday mornings on South East Radio. Minister Katherine Kehoe said she was delighted to contacted about the broadcast, and she hoped that the listeners got to know Cecil a bit more through it, as he was interviewed about his life story, his family, his faith and his interest in radio and religion. Cecil said that his mother had a huge influence on his faith and his calling, and that he grew up as one of four boys living in Dublin. Minister Kehoe explained that Cecil has always been there for people through joy and sorrow and has become a friend to so many people throughout his years in radio. Minister Kehoe explained that a very large congregation attended and that they gathered afterwards for refreshments in the Church Hall to celebrate Cecil.

Later that evening, the church members held a Ministry of Healing Service, which Cecil also attended. Minister Nigel Sheerwood presented the service, while Lin Ryan administered the laying on of hands. Minister Kehoe said that she was 'Overwhelmed by the sense of God's presence in the church'.
A new book will be launched in Enniscorthy library this week that will be of interest to anyone fascinated by Wexford and Irish history.

A spokesperson for the library said the book, 'Brothers Divided', which details the life of a leading 1798 figure, Edward Hay, is likely to become a classic biography.

It will be launched in the library at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 11.

Edward Hay, along with his brother Philip - a member of the British army whose story is also dealt with in the book - were from a prominent long established family who held extensive property and lands at Ballinkeele.

Another brother, John Hay, was a prominent rebel leader who was executed on Wexford Bridge.

The author of the book, William Sweetman, whose last Co Wexford book, 'Trials of 1798', spent many years trawling through archives and as the library spokesperson said: 'He is in complete command of his sources and the vast historiography.'

Mr Sweetman's last book received much critical acclaim and the new work is expected to receive an equally positive reaction.

As part of his research Mr Sweetman obtained access to previously unpublished family material and his book is a definitive biography of a significant historical family who, up to now, have been largely neglected - in particular Edward Hay, whose entire public career from 1792 to 1822 was one of service to the Irish nation.

As the library spokesperson commented of his life; 'It was a life filled with so much political triumph and family tragedy.'
First three home in the 10 mile, Myles Gibbons (SBR), 2nd; Joe Lillis (US), 1st and John McGrath (US) 3rd

The organisers of this year's Hope and Dream 10 fundraiser in Enniscorthy have confirmed that last weekend the overall amount of money raised through the event over the last eight years surpassed 1m.

While the exact figure from this year's event will be revealed in a couple of weeks time the organisers said that at 3 p.m. on Friday the amount of money taken in had exceeded 1m.

This year saw the largest ever number of participants with 2,440 people heading off from the starting point on the Promenade.

One of the organisers, Michael Jordan, said it took around 15 minutes for the participants to all pass the starting point.

'It was perfect in every way,' said Mr Jordan.

'We couldn't have hoped for better weather and the number of people who took part was just incredible,' he added.

There was a great buzz around the event this year and Mr Jordan said that the excitement it creates is one of the reasons why many people participate in it repeatedly.

One of the great things about the event is the high regard in which the organisers are held and participants know that all the money raised will go towards the Hope Cancer Support centre and Wexford Hospice.

Mr Jordan said both organisations are very worthy recipients.

'They do incredible work and don't get any state funding so the money they get from the event is very important but it's put to extremely good use,' he said.

He thanked everyone involved making the event a success including the committee and organisations like the Gardai, Slaney Search and Rescue, the Red Cross and volunteers marshals and stewards.

The first three people home in the 10-mile run were: Joe Lillis, Myles Gibson and John McGrath.
Twenty seven years after first reaching number one in the UK with 'Living Doll', Cliff Richard was back at the top of the chart with the same song.

But while the first was a version of the original from the soundtrack of movie drama 'Serious Charge' (in which Cliff made his screen acting debut), the second was a re-recording with the cast of alternative sitcom 'The Young Ones', in aid of Comic Relief.

'Living Doll' songwriter Lionel Bart (who famously created the hit musical 'Oliver!') said he wrote the classic track in just ten minutes, taking his inspiration from an advert in a newspaper for a doll that could 'kneel, walk, sit and sing'. Sixty years on, the lyrics objectifying women are inappropriate to say the least, but back in 1959 it wasn't the words but the way in which the song was first recorded for the movie that bothered Cliff Richard.

Then 18 years old and a fan of the American rock 'n' roll sound drifting across the Atlantic at the time, he hated the light 'pseudo-rock' movie version of 'Living Doll' and did not want it released as a single. However, he was contractually obliged to do so.

On the suggestion of guitarist Bruce Welch, Richard and his band, the Drifters, re-recorded the song country-style, with a slower tempo, and the resulting single went down a storm with the buying public.

The first of 14 UK chart-topping singles for Cliff Richard, 'Living Doll' became the biggest selling single of 1959 and it has gone on to sell 1.86 million. Meanwhile, the 1986 version has sold an additional 1.5 million copies worldwide.

1 Living Doll Cliff Richard and the Young Ones

2 A Different Corner George Michael

3 Wonderful World Sam Cooke

4 Touch Me (I Want Your Body) Samantha Fox

5 Rock Me Amadeus Falco

6 You To Me Are Everything (The Decade Remix 76/86) Real Thing

7 A Kind Of Magic Queen

8 Peter Gunn Art Of Noise feat Duane Eddy

9 Train Of Thought A-Ha

10 Secret Lovers Atlantic Starr

Jim Hayes
The name and the face have turned up on a number of occasions. I think the first time I heard her name mentioned was by President Donald Trump. He was jeering her and questioning how a teenager could have such strong opinions.

Then I heard her name mentioned in the context of Irish school children staging a strike to protect our environment.

Dermot A Lane is a priest of the Dublin archdiocese. He has been involved in academia most of his life, was parish priest in Balally in Dublin. These days he is placing much emphasis on ecology and the importance of caring for all of God's creation.

At the end of March, I went along to a talk he gave on the environment and the need for dialogue between science and theology.

And whose name pops up yet again? Greta Thunberg. Whereas Donald Trump dismissed her as a silly young girl, Dermot Lane sang her praises.

Greta Thunberg is the 16-year-old Swedish schoolgirl, who has hit the world stage speaking clearly and convincingly about the climate crisis. It is Greta who started the first school strike pleading with adults and political leaders to address the crisis. She has addressed the United Nations Climate Change Conference and at the World Economic Forum at Davos in January she told world leaders that she did not want their hope, 'I want you to panic. I want you to act as if the house was on fire because it is.'

Dermot Lane is a big fan of Greta. In the talk that I attended he pointed out that there is a 98 per cent agreement among scientists that climate change is manmade and that we have 10 years to change it.

He was most critical of the Irish Government reneging on the commitment it gave when signing up to the Paris Climate Agreement. It is generally accepted that we are the laggards of Europe when it comes to protecting our climate

Dermot Lane referred to President Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement but was heartened to see how mayors in many US cities have decided to keep to the agreement.

'There is a silver lining in President Trump's decision as it has strengthened the resolve of many authorities in the US to abide by the resolutions decided at the Paris Climate Conference,' Dermot explained.

Climate change affects everyone but hurts the poor most of all. Cyclone Idai, which hit Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe last month severely affected the lives of two million people. And these are the poorest of the poor on our planet, who have contributed least to causing climate change in the first place.

Having spent 10 years working with Concern Worldwide I've seen first-hand how climate change is causing such hardship to the weakest and the most fragile on earth.

Pope Francis in his encyclical letter 'Laudato Si'/ 'Praised Be' writes: 'Many things have to change course, but it is we human beings above all who need to change.

'A great cultural, spiritual and educational challenge stands before us, and it will demand that we set out on the long path of renewal.'

Pope Francis reminds us how the Book of Genesis suggests that human life is grounded in three closely intertwined relationships: with God, our neighbour and with the earth itself.

Mary Robinson is correct when she calls Greta Thunberg a 'superstar' and insists the time for action is now. Political leaders, industry, you and I are duty-bound to save our planet.
The families of students at Ardgillan Community College in Balbriggan turned out in force recently to support a fundraising effort by the schools Parents' Association.

The fundraiser took the form of a table quiz and proved a winner on the night with a good turnout raising lots of useful funds for this great local school.

The quiz combine with a giant raffle and lots of great prizes drew the crowds in and there was plenty of support in evidence for the community college from this tight-knit and supportive school community.

Ardgillan College is a post-primary school serving the growing community of Balbriggan and the surrounding townlands.

The college is named after Ardgillan Castle and Demesne which is located close by.

The college crest, designed by the students, contains a lighthouse representing Balbriggan, a castle with light beaming from its windows, representing Ardgillan Castle and the light of knowledge

Well done to all who came out to support the parents' association and the school.
Fingal Mayor Anthony Lavin (left), Philip Clapperton, Regional Sales Manager, Magnet, and Paul Reid, Chief Executive, Fingal County Council, at the launch of Our Balbriggan Free Wi-Fi, powered by Magnet Networks

Balbriggan has become the first location on the east coast to launch free high-speed public Wi-Fi.

Powered by Magnet Networks, Our Balbriggan Free Town Centre Wi-Fi is the latest step in the transformation programme which is set to change the face of Ireland's youngest town.

Balbriggan's town centre will become a free public Wi-Fi zone thanks to a unique initiative that provides locals and visitors with unlimited access to speeds of up to 100mps and could position the town at the forefront of smart technology in Ireland.

The ground-breaking scheme was officially launched this week at the Bracken Court Hotel by Mayor of Fingal, Councillor Anthony Lavin.

Local businesses along the route have allowed Magnet Networks to install access points on their premises, providing seamless connectivity within the town centre.

Each of the seven Our Balbriggan Free Town Wi-Fi access points can handle 250 simultaneous connections, providing a quality service to pedestrians and businesses within the town centre from Supervalu to the Balbriggan Primary Care Centre.

There are no limits as to time or data usage and the service also has web filtering for secure access.

'The beauty of Magnet Networks' free Wi-Fi is that you only need to register once, so business visitors and tourists will automatically enjoy free connectivity for their entire stay,' said Magnet Networks Managing Director Ireland, Stephen Brewer.

'As the project is financed by giving local businesses the opportunity to sponsor the Wi-Fi and send promotional offers, local users and visitors can be directed to attractions or places to eat and drink.

'For example, if a local restaurant sponsors the Wi-Fi, they are able to send out a coupon at a set time to everyone who has logged on that day giving them 10% off.'

The launch of Balbriggan's Town Centre Wi-Fi forms part of the council's wider Public Wi-Fi Plan which sees the rollout of free public Wi-Fi hotspots to town and village centres across the County.

The plan also sees the roll-out of the Smart Bench pilot - supported by The Department of Rural and Community Development.

A number of solar powered, Wi-Fi enabled benches with wireless charging facilities and environmental sensors will be deployed in a number of locations across the county, the first of which have been deployed in Balbriggan.

The installation of town centre Wi-Fi is the first step in transforming the retail and cultural heart of Balbriggan, according to Prof Brian MacCraith, Chair of the Balbriggan Leadership Group.

'As Ireland's youngest town, we have the highest percentage of digital natives in the country,' said Prof MacCraith.

'The free Our Balbriggan Wi-Fi provided by Magnet Networks will be critical to attracting people and businesses to a reimagined town centre and helping us meet future challenges,' he added.

Mayor of Fingal, Councillor Anthony Lavin highlighted the fact that over 4,000 Balbriggan residents aged over 11 recently took part in the Our Balbriggan survey to prioritise a list of suggested improvements for a 20m-plus transformation of the town.

'Transforming the Main Street and connecting it to a reimagined Harbour area topped the board across all age groups in the survey, and our implementation plan will be published at the start of May,' said Cllr Lavin.

Magnet Networks free town centre Wi-Fi has been a huge success in Galway where it has provided businesses with a direct line of communication to their customers and given people a reason to spend more time in the city centre. It is hoped the same can be achieved in Balbriggan, helping to revitalise the town centre.

'There will be no one big thing that will change Balbriggan - the town will be transformed by many actions such as Our Balbriggan Free Town Wi-Fi, completed by Fingal County Council, public agencies and private businesses, community groups and citizens of the town over a period of years,' said Fingal County Council Chief Executive Paul Reid.
Educate Together has slated letters sent out by a number of schools to parents in Malahide, Portmarnock and Kinsealy on the divestment process as being 'grossly misleading and categorically untrue.'

The statement issued by Educate Together read: 'Recent media reports that characterise multi-denominational / equality-based schools as schools that do not mark Christmas, St Patrick's Day and other events are, from Educate Together's perspective, both incorrect and misleading.

'At the core of Educate Together's equality-based ethos is that pupils in our schools are exposed to different beliefs and perspectives in a respectful way that encourages critical thinking.'

The statement added: 'Our aim is to create a balanced educational choice in communities, so that the rights of all families are equally respected.' It states with regard to the divestment process, the organisation was 'not interested' in 'taking over' any schools and imposing an ethos 'against the will of any local school communities'.
The local authority is to write to the Minister of Education requesting that changes in patronage structures of national schools in Portmarnock not take place 'without the support of parents and the school community.'

The letter follows instruction to the Archdiocese from the Department of Education and Skills to select one school from the Malahide/Portmarnock/Kinsealy areas for divestment.

Cllr Brian McDonagh (LAB), speaking at a recent meeting of the Howth/Malahide Area Committee, said that when he put forward the motion, he 'did not realise' the matter would be the focus of such media attention.

The councillor said that changes to patronage in schools in Portmarnock should not be 'forced' without the support of parents and the local school community.

Cllr McDonagh said, however, that there was 'some acknowledgement' from the Catholic Church that it had 'too many' schools under its patronage, and that there was a requirement for parents to have 'other options.'

Some of the media coverage, he said, seemed to have been prompted by 'perhaps fears that have been sensationalised', and that some of the communications from schools had not been 'as well thought out' as it would have been hoped.

Cllr McDonagh said that, while some people had 'strong' views on the matter and others were 'not particularly concerned, reassurances were needed for teachers and parents, as well as adequate information and notice.

Cllr Jimmy Guerin (NP) said he believed a lot of the 'controversy' had been created in the media, adding that the 'reality' was that the wishes of parents would be met, a fact he said was acknowledged by the Department and the Archbishop's House.

A lot of comments made at meetings and by boards of management weren't 'helpful', he said, and were creating situations which 'don't even exist.'

Cllr Eoghan O'Brien (FF) raised concerns over the instructions from the Department, saying he was not sure if 'clarity' had been given as to what would transpire if all eight schools voted to remain under their current patronage.

Choice of schooling for children was 'crucial', he said, but there was 'a lot of concern' amongst parents who were voting to remain that a decision 'would be made anyway.'

Following the passing of the motion, a letter will now be sent to the Minister of Education, with the Area Committee to be informed of the Department's response.
My late husband Bill and me had enjoyed 5 long long cruises to far flung areas of the world. While surfing the internet and much reading, we first chose the Alaskan Coast towards the Aleutian Islands in the Bering Sea which seemed tempting, resulting in an avalanche of ideas.

Even the famous explorer Roald Amundsen took three years to explore these snowy islands. My poor blighted mind could only grasp at words such as 'permafrost' and 'aurora borealis' and the thought of midnight sun was hard to grasp in reality. Would we meet Inuits? Would us trespassers begin to haunt them in the future? Indeed, anxious to meet these natives and having the fortune to speak with one who told me intruders are not tolerated after October of each year. Inuit greetings are only by touching nose to nose.

In 1867 the Russians sold Alaska to the USA for $7,200.000, very soon afterwards it literally became a gold mine. We retraced the steps of the Klondike gold stampeders and much, much more.

Other six week long cruises we took included New Zealand and Australia. India and tours there including in Mumbai,followed by a month cruising on the Indian Ocean often stepping off at some of its 1,200 islands. Then reaching Egypt and sailing down along the East African coast to Durban. Walking around Zulu Land followed by a dream come through - a Safari and all that it entails.

Continuing to the the Cape of Port Elizabeth followed by a week in superb South Africa.

We spent a further week sailing along the West coast of Africa, en route visiting Nabibia country, Cape Verde Island and into Morocco and home via Lisbon

Our shortest sea voyage was Athens and around the Greek Islands.

Back up north once more via the Norweigen Fjords, Lapland ,Tallin and Northern Russia, we spent two weeks cruising through the Arctic Ice in a specially designed ship with an arrowed front to cut the ice 50-plus feet deep.

The crew and us tourists enjoyed crossing the Arctic Circle at midnight in complete day light followed by a jolly party of dancing and joviality.

Disembarking on small islands one of which we saw some polar bears, wee were protected by some armed ships crew who joined us.

Bill and I took a flight in a very small plane over the north Pole to view the awesome scenery below. This trip alone would require writing an entire book on the experiences we had there. Not content with visiting one of the poles, we set our sights on Antarctica.

Setting out to reach Antarctica we travelled via Dublin, London,Madrid and on to Buenos Aires, the largest cosmopolitan capital city in Latin America.

Its main centre 'Plaza de Mayo' is lined with stately century-old homes, and there is the Malba Museum displaying Latin America's Art which is a fascinating mixture due to immigration of Art Deco, Neo-Gothic and French Bourbon styles to the area.

The Grand Opera House with 2.500 seats is also located in this unique square. The spoken language is Spanish and the city is the birth place of our present Pope Francis.

The Iguazu Falls which are one of the world's 'Wonder's Of Nature' are among the largest on earth lying north of Buenos Aires in Argentina.

We also visited the tomb of Evita wife of a former President and of 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina' fame. Once more we boarded a plane on a four hour flight bound for Uschuaia a city existing on the end of the world at the southern most tip of Argentina.

The large region on the lower end of Argentina and Chile is Patagonia divided by the Andes with coasts on three oceans and divided by the Andes.

We boarded the ship 'The Marco Polo' at Ushuaia, Cape Horn to follow in the footsteps of Charles Darwin to cross The Drake Passage, the most treacherous crossing on earth where two seas meet - the South Pacific and Atlantic. It is always under the influence of Polar depressions.

We had already done our home work through a friend of the Shackleton family who had advised us how to cope.

We sailed past the Falklands towards South Georgia and down towards the Weddell Sea (named after an explorer). We spent some hours lying in bed during the worst of the choppy seas with waves up to 0 and 80 feet and returned to deck feeling as seasoned sailors. Those who choose to go to Antarctica fall into two groups - scientists or tourists.

Who owns Anarctica? No one. Many tried to claim it. In 1959 twelve countries had signed a Treaty to control this coldest,driest, inhospitable land on earth. Scientific Research Stations in various areas were arranged using Biologists,Oceanographers, Physists Astronomers and others. When we reached Deception Island we bathed in one of the '10 Best Natural Springs In the World' which is unimaginable in the world's coldest continent.

Who are the native sons of Antarctica? There are none. Antarctica was there long before gumans circa 35.million years ago. It was only around 1820 when navigation became sophisticated to allow anyone set foot on Antarctica and even today, eight months annually it is completely uninhabited.

We joined twelve others to move off our ship on to zodiac, a small rubber inflatable boat. We landed on Elephant Island having waded in wellingtons through ice cod water up to our knee.

Our guide told us about a tourist who was followed by an elephant seal which followed this person who had to hide in a hut on land until the seal went away. These seals are up to 20 tonnes plus in weight, using flippers to go on land and we were close to thousands of them hovering .

Peter Hillary, is the son of the famous Mount Everest Hillary who conquered the great mountain and the former lectured us on 'Ttwo Generations of Adventure'. Peter had climbed the highest mountain in Antarctica called Mount Erebus. He was invited to the famous Ed. Sullivan show in New York and Sullivan asked: ' I understand you discovered a new passage to the North Pole? Peter replied: 'That is correct.' Ed responded wittily: 'But what was wrong with the old one?'

Penguins are my special fascination, I have a toy one presented to me while on our cruise ship by dear Bill. During our time with them they were hatching, we were informed that they eat krill,and other fish.

They use their flippers to jump abot 12 to 15 feet from the water up on to the snow. They huddle together in large numbers, the birds on the inside move to the outside and visa versa at intervals.

Apparently some populations have dwindled and others increased. One Scientific expert who spends time in Antarctica annually knows the exact number of penguins there and puts it at 50.000 plus Ernest Shackleton one hundred years ago went to Antarctica sailing from Buenos Aires and hoping to conquer this cold continent but trekking in the opposite direction to Roald Amundsen who had already conquered it.

Shackelton sailed to The Antarctic Circle, got shipwrecked when the ice crushed his ship, 'The Endurance' named after Shackletons family crest .

The ice surrounded the ship in menacing floes which then came together exerting pressure on the ship which was crushed.Later Shackleton and a few of his men set sail for Elephant Is. and eventually arrived to South Geogia and saved some of his crew.

We returned back to Uschuaia and at one stage our ship had to be re versed as the captain tried to pilot through two huge blocks of ice. The sun sometimes came out colouring the mountains of snow a magnificent shade of crystal mauve/blue/green. The sky was a brilliant shade of blue day and night.
The name and the face have turned up on a number of occasions. I think the first time I heard her name mentioned was by President Donald Trump. He was jeering her and questioning how a teenager could have such strong opinions.

Then I heard her name mentioned in the context of Irish school children staging a strike to protect our environment.

Dermot A Lane is a priest of the Dublin archdiocese. He has been involved in academia most of his life, was parish priest in Balally in Dublin. These days he is placing much emphasis on ecology and the importance of caring for all of God's creation.

At the end of March, I went along to a talk he gave on the environment and the need for dialogue between science and theology.

And whose name pops up yet again? Greta Thunberg. Whereas Donald Trump dismissed her as a silly young girl, Dermot Lane sang her praises.

Greta Thunberg is the 16-year-old Swedish schoolgirl, who has hit the world stage speaking clearly and convincingly about the climate crisis. It is Greta who started the first school strike pleading with adults and political leaders to address the crisis. She has addressed the United Nations Climate Change Conference and at the World Economic Forum at Davos in January she told world leaders that she did not want their hope, 'I want you to panic. I want you to act as if the house was on fire because it is.'

Dermot Lane is a big fan of Greta. In the talk that I attended he pointed out that there is a 98 per cent agreement among scientists that climate change is man-made and that we have 10 years to change it.

He was most critical of the Irish Government reneging on the commitment it gave when signing up to the Paris Climate Agreement. It is generally accepted that we are the laggards of Europe when it comes to protecting our climate

Dermot Lane referred to President Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement but was heartened to see how mayors in many US cities have decided to keep to the agreement.

'There is a silver lining in President Trump's decision as it has strengthened the resolve of many authorities in the US to abide by the resolutions decided at the Paris Climate Conference,' Dermot explained.

Climate change affects everyone but hurts the poor most of all. Cyclone Idai, which hit Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe last month severely affected the lives of two million people. And these are the poorest of the poor on our planet, who have contributed least to causing climate change in the first place.

Having spent 10 years working with Concern Worldwide I've seen first-hand how climate change is causing such hardship to the weakest and the most fragile on earth.

Pope Francis in his encyclical letter 'Laudato Si'/ 'Praised Be' writes: 'Many things have to change course, but it is we human beings above all who need to change. A great cultural, spiritual and educational challenge stands before us, and it will demand that we set out on the long path of renewal.'

Pope Francis reminds us how the Book of Genesis suggests that human life is grounded in three closely intertwined relationships: with God, our neighbour and with the earth itself.

Mary Robinson is correct when she calls Greta Thunberg a 'superstar' and insists the time for action is now. Political leaders, industry, you and I are duty-bound to save our planet.
Canvassing with Europe MEP hopeful, Cllr Malcolm Byrne, Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin TD alongside Cllr Joe Sullivan and first time local election candidate, Donal Kenny took to the Main Street of Gorey to hear local peoples' concerns about the political and business climate for Gorey and the South East.

Although it was not Micheal Martin's first time to visit the town of Gorey with Cllr Byrne, he said that he had had a 'very good reception'. He explained that 'The big issues that came up in Gorey today were the revaluation of the commercial rate, which has impacted very significantly on a number of traders and shops on the street here, and has been particularly acute in Gorey'.

Following discussions on the street and in shops, Micheal Martin said that 'There have been various calls for reform on the commercial rates system, and in no situation should anyone have their rates go up three times or double, that's too much of an immediate hit on any business'.

Cllr Byrne said that he was appreciative to get the opportunity to listen to people, and that the purpose of the visit was more so to 'Listen to businesses and people on the street about issues and concerns that they have, in particular on the cost of doing business here'. Micheal Martin went on to say that more broadly, on the issue of poor industrial development in Wexford in recent years, 'There is a need for the government and the IDA to say to businesses to come beyond Dublin, and start thinking of areas like Gorey, that are on the motorway and have access to a good population of a labouring market, which offer skills for companies'.

Speaking of Ireland's relationship with the EU, he said that having a voice in the European Parliament was important when it comes to the issuing of EU regulation and EU laws. 'The South East has lacked a voice and needs stronger voices in Europe. Malcolm would be the first MEP from the South East since Avril Doyle, and given issues like third level education, health and agriculture, it's clear that in Malcolm we have a strong community champion. He would have a command of the issues in Europe'.

After visiting Gorey, Micheal Martin travelled further south, down the coast to for a similar trip to Wexford town and on to Rosslare harbour, and attended the launch of Cllr Lisa McDonald's local election campaign. Speaking about Rosslare Port, Michael Martin said 'Really there hasn't been enough development and action from the government. The status in Rosslare needs to be reviewed, it's a second tier status and it should be higher than that'.

He continued, calling the lack of investment into Rosslare 'A crying shame,' adding that 'The government need to invest more strongly in the town of Rosslare as well as the port. Brexit is a wake up call for the country, in terms of infrastructural development. Strategically an island nation needs connectivity, and there can always be shocks, Brexit is going to be one of those shocks. With the underdevelopment of Rosslare, we need to rapidly catch up now and invest in the port'.

Speaking about agriculture and Brexit, Micheal Martin said without Britain, there will be a 'big hole' in the Common Agricultural budget. 'The government has to fight that,' he said adding that the suckler farmers are in 'right trouble' as the beef sector in deep crisis, which he added was the case 'Even before Brexit'.
Lorna Fitzpatrick (25) has been elected as the President of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) for the coming academic year of 2019/2020. Lorna said that her passion for student representation began while a secondary school student at Colaiste Bhride in Carnew, where she took part in the student council.

Having grown up in the village of Craanford, daughter to John Fitzpatrick of Craanford and Caroline Kelly of Ballycanew, Lorna attended Craanford National School, and has always seen herself as a strong voice to stand up for the smaller local groups and communities on the ground. She has been doing this for the past seven years through the students' union movement.

Lorna studied hard for her Leaving Certificate and got her first choice in college to study Business and Human Resource Management at IT Carlow. She said that she chose this campus for its small size and that she understood the 'sense of community there'. Lorna got involved in student politics from the start, and was elected as class representative in her first year. In her final year she was appointed as Equality Officer, and then went on to serve two terms as the Student Union President at Institute of Technology Carlow, after a year as Deputy President for Welfare and Education in the students union.

After seven years away from home, she has returned to Gorey and is currently Vice President of the USI for the Southern Region, where she was engages with eight students' unions across different campuses, including IT Carlow, Wexford Campus. Over the last couple of years she has been very involved with campaigns around the two recent referenda, on marriage equality and repeal of the eighth amendment. Lorna believes that the student movement plays a vital role in our society, and is a key part of lobbying politicians both locally and nationally. After winning her most recent election with just 121 votes, Lorna had tough competition from USI deputy President, Oisin Hassan, but she will now begin her new role on July 1. She is 'Over the moon' to be going forward as President to represent 374,000 students across the island of Ireland.

Lorna said she was thrilled and ecstatic about becoming USI president and she will represent students as best as possible. She said that she was 'Absolutely delighted that the students have put their trust in me to lead this movement. We are facing issues such as accommodation, access to higher education, higher education funding, ending direct provision, climate change, social justice issues in Northern Ireland alongside Irish language rights. I am looking forward to leading our movement through that'.
Creagh College has announced that all sixth class pupils on their waiting list as of April 2 will be offered a place for September.

The news will come as a huge relief to parents and pupils who were on the waiting list in what was an anxious and uncertain situation. Over 20 students were offered places, with acceptances already coming back within the last week. Any late applications will go onto a new waiting list, Creagh College confirmed. The school made the offer after assurances were given about necessary additional resources being made available this September to meet demand.

Elaine Clarke, who is spearheading a campaign highlighting the need for a third second level school in North Wexford, welcomed the news explaining that it will 'Give everyone this year a place' as well as hope for those parents of children in forth and fifth class.

In February, Elaine collected over 1,000 signatures as part of the campaign and presented it to the Minister of Education, Joe McHugh. She added that she feels like the demands of the campaign have been listened to and that this announcement from Creagh College is a win, but she added 'We're getting there, we haven't quite got there yet'. The mother of five, who began working on the campaign in January, said that the campaign will continue to highlight the need for an additional second level school in North Wexford, whether this be in Gorey, or closer to the areas of Riverchapel and Courtown to meet the growing population there.

The Chair of the Board at Creagh College, Cllr Malcolm Byrne described the need to address growing demand for school places as a crisis that has 'Hit sooner than expected'. He continued that this news was positive for those children and their families who have been waiting on places but warned that 'We cannot continue with sticking plaster solutions on school place shortages. The government has known of the North Wexford school challenge for a number of years. We need planning for a third school in the area to commence now'.

Going forward, Elaine Clarke and other parents would like to see more collaboration on the issues of secondary school places between both Creagh College and Gorey Community School, and a meeting about this will take place between the two schools on Tuesday, April 9, at 7 p.m. in the Amber Springs Hotel, Gorey. Elaine, who lives in Riverchapel, said that this is not just a Riverchapel issue, that it 'Affects everyone in Gorey'. She said that she will continue to be vocal about the issue to prevent the problem from happening again. 'This is going to be ongoing,' said Elaine adding that a focus needs to be put on a third school being the actual solution.
Rosslare Europort may have taken a major step closer to obtaining tier one port status after being approved by the European Commission as a border control post for the importation of any agri-food, fish or live animal products. This will make Rosslare only the second sea port in the country to have these facilities.

Up until now, there hasn't been a major call for an increase in border controls. Only products arriving from a 'third country' (i.e. outside of the EU) require checks and there is no need for inspection if they've already passed through an EU country. However, with the clock ticking on Brexit, Britain could now be assigned 'third country' status, meaning all food products and animals arriving from the UK would have to be inspected.

With Dublin Port already operating at capacity, this represents a major opportunity for the growth of Rosslare Europort. As previously reported in this newspaper, the OPW have already obtained a 16 acre site in Rosslare where Department of Agriculture and Revenue officials will temporarily carry out checks, until facilities are constructed in the Europort itself.

'This can facilitate major growth for Rosslare,' said Fianna Fail TD James Browne who raised the issue Dail. 'This was one of the reasons why Rosslare wasn't given tier one status. If an access road was built, I would say not a whole lot else is needed to elevate Rosslare to tier one. This is hugely important for the port. Previously all agri food and live animals coming in had to go to Dublin. Rosslare can now be a better option. Dublin is already at maximum capacity anyway. They are already turning away cruise ships because they don't have the space for them which is ridiculous.'

In relation to the temporary site to be used for customs checks, at the site of the old Renault car distribution centre, a number of questions have been raised with it being situated some two kilometres from the port.

'In relation to how it will work, I don't know,' Deputy Browne said. 'Any traffic coming off the ferries would pass at least four exit roads before they get there.

'I don't know how they'll manage to maintain the integrity of the searches. I've questioned the Department and Minister Paschal Donohoe on it though and they're confident they can do it. It will remain to be seen.'

Equally, with Britain set to leave the EU this Friday following the recent extension, concerns have been expressed as to how quickly border control checks can be up and running.

'Minister (Michael) Creed has assured me that it will be ready to go,' said Deputy Browne. 'It seems to be an empty site at the moment, but the Minister maintains it will be ready. I know this will be a temporary site, so I'd imagine it will be mostly a matter of lifting in porta-cabins, but we'll have to wait and see what happens.'

With Rosslare set to become such an integral point of entry for post-Brexit Ireland, Deputy Browne has also once again called for further investment in facilities there.

'Iarnroid Eireann have pledged to invest 15million over five years there,' he said. 'While it's positive that they are investing, this is nowhere near enough. 147million is due to be invested in Dublin Port this year alone.

'I think the management of the port needs to be taken off of Ianroid Eireann and it needs to be set up as its own separate entity. How much business is being lost to this country each year over the fact that Rosslare is not being developed?'
Two young businesspeople that are based in Gorey, have been shortlisted in the Wexford County finals of the Ireland's Best Young Entrepreneur competition, and next they will take part in entrepreneur bootcamp, to help them to develop their business ideas. The businesspeople are Stephan A. Martinez in the Best Business Idea category and Lauren Malone in the Best Start-Up category.

With 50,000 worth of investment to be won across the three categories, following entrepreneur bootcamp, the young businesspeople will then submit their final business plan, and make a pitch to the judges.

Stephan A. Martinez operates the physical therapy clinic Recovering Mobility, and has worked there as a physical therapist in Gorey for the last three years. During this time he has felt very welcomed to the area, and he sees Gorey as a 'Big little town'. Stephan's idea came from a place of personal motivation during a stressful time, as he was preparing for his driving test.

During 2018's storm Emma, Stephan's location for his driving test was changed suddenly on account of the snowy conditions, and he had to prepare to do his test elsewhere in the county. After searching the RSA website, he came to realise that the driving test routes were not listed online. From there, he attended a start-up business meeting at Gorey Library, and decided to go about creating an application, that will seek to link in with Google Maps or other GPS systems, to easily display the driving test routes for test centres in County Wexford. He believes that the initiative will improve pass rates for Wexford and help learner drivers prepare better.

Although just a prototype at the moment, he also hopes that with investment like this, it could be something that spreads from Wexford on to a national scale. 'It would be fantastic to go forward and represent Wexford in the final, as Wexford has never been to the final stages before,' Stephan explained.

Make-up artist and teacher Lauren Malone of the Lauren Malone Academy, set up her beauty school just six months ago in Gorey. She supplies ITEC level 5 certificate and diploma courses in make-up, as well as shorter courses in areas like tanning and under 18s hair and make-up. Lauren explained that she had previously worked as a beauty therapy teacher in Dublin city centre and she noticed a gap in market, that a lot of students from Gorey and Arklow would travel in order to complete the courses. 'With Gorey being such a booming boutique town, I thought it needed something like this,' said Lauren adding that both the people and local businesses have been a great support to her. Lauren explained that she plans to expand the academy, create more courses as well as take on more staff, and that winning the competition would be a great help in doing this. She is looking forward to taking part in the bootcamp stages of the competition, to learn more about doing business locally.

Another Gorey business person, personal trainer Anna Syne of The Stables Fitness and Wellbeing centre, had been shortlisted for the competition in the Best Established Business category, but unfortunately had to withdraw due to work commitments.

The Best Young Entrepreneur competition is open to young businesspeople aged between 18 and 35, and it is supported by 31 the local enterprise offices.
The Presentation Centre in Enniscorthy will provide the venue for the launch of a new single from one of the south east's most promising new bands.

Collides will visit the centre on Friday, April 19, to launch their new track, 'S.U.I.T.'.

With an ever increasing fanbase this is a gig that all local discerning music fans in Wexford should take note of.

The band will be joined by a stellar line-up of special guests on the night including Gorey four-piece, Tuesday At Six, who enjoy an enviable reputation on the contemporary Irish music scene having released their self-titled debut EP in July last year.

Another band on the bill will be Red Sun Alert who have been making a great name for themselves on the Cork music scene.

Local music fans will also have plenty to cheer about as Enniscorthy based Death Can Wait will also be appearing at the launch.

The gig is being promoted by Bandstand and the fun kicks off at 6.30 p.m.

Tickets, priced 10, are now available from the venue.
The Rosslare-based photographer John Holden has presented his award-winning photograph of a dolphin to the children of Kilrane national school.

John is a keen photographer of Irish wildlife. and regularly posts pictures on his 'Wild About Ireland' Facebook page, hoping to raise awareness of the beautiful wildlife that exists all around us.

In June 2018, he won the Irish Environmental Network Biodiversity Photographer of the Year Award for the second year running with the photograph of a short-beaked Common Dolphin breaking the surface of the water in the sea off West Cork. In 2017, his photograph of a flying Gannet on the Great Saltee Island, took the overall prize.

Earlier this year, John offered people the chance to win the iconic dolphin picture which appeared on the cover of the Irish Times.

He was seeking a new home for the photograph that, in his own words, 'has served me well'. Anna Stack, a teacher in Kilrane National School, successful outlined why she felt the photograph should go to Kilrane school. 'We were delighted with John's decision to present the winning photograph to the school that his own children once attended', said Anna. The photograph will soon be proudly exhibited in the entrance to the purpose-built support classrooms.
The name and the face have turned up on a number of occasions. I think the first time I heard her name mentioned was by President Donald Trump. He was jeering her and questioning how a teenager could have such strong opinions.

Then I heard her name mentioned in the context of Irish school children staging a strike to protect our environment.

Dermot A Lane is a priest of the Dublin archdiocese. He has been involved in academia most of his life, was parish priest in Balally in Dublin. These days he is placing much emphasis on ecology and the importance of caring for all of God's creation.

At the end of March, I went along to a talk he gave on the environment and the need for dialogue between science and theology.

And whose name pops up yet again? Greta Thunberg. Whereas Donald Trump dismissed her as a silly young girl, Dermot Lane sang her praises.

Greta Thunberg is the 16-year-old Swedish schoolgirl, who has hit the world stage speaking clearly and convincingly about the climate crisis. It is Greta who started the first school strike pleading with adults and political leaders to address the crisis. She has addressed the United Nations Climate Change Conference and at the World Economic Forum at Davos in January she told world leaders that she did not want their hope, 'I want you to panic. I want you to act as if the house was on fire because it is.'

Dermot Lane is a big fan of Greta. In the talk that I attended he pointed out that there is a 98 per cent agreement among scientists that climate change is manmade and that we have 10 years to change it.

He was most critical of the Irish Government reneging on the commitment it gave when signing up to the Paris Climate Agreement. It is generally accepted that we are the laggards of Europe when it comes to protecting our climate

Dermot Lane referred to President Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement but was heartened to see how mayors in many US cities have decided to keep to the agreement.

'There is a silver lining in President Trump's decision as it has strengthened the resolve of many authorities in the US to abide by the resolutions decided at the Paris Climate Conference,' Dermot explained.

Climate change affects everyone but hurts the poor most of all. Cyclone Idai, which hit Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe last month severely affected the lives of two million people. And these are the poorest of the poor on our planet, who have contributed least to causing climate change in the first place.

Having spent 10 years working with Concern Worldwide I've seen first-hand how climate change is causing such hardship to the weakest and the most fragile on earth.

Pope Francis in his encyclical letter 'Laudato Si'/ 'Praised Be' writes: 'Many things have to change course, but it is we human beings above all who need to change. A great cultural, spiritual and educational challenge stands before us, and it will demand that we set out on the long path of renewal.'

Pope Francis reminds us how the Book of Genesis suggests that human life is grounded in three closely intertwined relationships: with God, our neighbour and with the earth itself.

Mary Robinson is correct when she calls Greta Thunberg a 'superstar' and insists the time for action is now. Political leaders, industry, you and I are duty-bound to save our planet.
Ahead of the launch of the tickets for this Summer's Sligo Camino next weekend, this week Sligo Walks has the first 2 tickets for the eagerly awaited Camino to give away. In addition, we have a 1 night stay for the 2 lucky winners at the luxury Castle Dargan Hotel, the ideal place to stay the night before the event, whether you are local or visitor.

To enter this competition, you just have to visit the Sligo Walks page on Facebook and answer a simple question relating to this year's event. The Camino sold out in just 4 days last year, so don't leave it until it's too late! The Sligo Camino is now in its sixth year and takes place next July 6th, bringing the walkers on a 36km route along beautiful tracts of Counties Sligo and Leitrim. Walkers meet at Coolaney early in the morning where buses bring the participants to Dromahair from where they start the walk, which will finish back in Coolaney some hours later. The route takes in much of The Sligo Way, including the scenic boardwalks at Union Wood and Slish Wood, and stretches take the walkers along the shores of Lough Gill. Once the walkers reach Coolaney, no doubt leg weary but content with their achievement, the after-walk festivities can begin and a dinner is served to all participants - this is included in the 40 event ticket.

The genesis of the Sligo Camino was in 2010 when Damien McGuinn of Coolaney led a group of 7 walkers on an expedition along the entire Sligo Way from Dromahair in Leitrim to the Mayo border near Lough Talt. The organizing committee were amazed to discover this beautiful trail right though our county and which was largely unused. Four years later in 2014 Coolaney Development Company launched the first Sligo Camino along the 36km from Dromahair to Coolaney as a fundraising walk.

The 2014 Camino had 100 walkers. Since then, the event has grown in popularity to the point that last year, tickets for the event had completely sold out just four days after being launched. This year will cater for greater numbers of walkers than ever before, member of the Sligo Camino organizing team Joe Fogarty explains.

"This year will be the 6th Sligo Camino and the largest one yet with 1,200 walkers participating. We look forward to welcoming back those who have trekked the Camino is previous years and new walkers from all over Ireland and abroad. The feedback we have received from walkers is that they love meeting and interacting with the local people along the way so the community involvement is a crucial part of the Sligo Camino experience." Walkers who register for the event will get the opportunity to walk in one of three separate waves. The first of these will set out from Coolaney for Dromahair at 7am on Saturday 6th July, followed by the second group leaving at 8:30am, and the final walkers will leave at 10am. All participants will receive an information pack in advance of the event and will be guided by a team of experienced volunteers along the entire route. Note that all walkers have to take the bus from Coolaney, no-one is allowed to turn up at Dromahair, as all participants have to set out together. The Sligo Camino is entirely organised by volunteers. It takes over 100 people and months of careful planning to manage the event. Members of the community volunteer to assist with traffic management, walker registration, leading the walk, marshaling road junctions, providing food and drink stops and of course feeding the walkers on their return to Coolaney.

Joe Fogarty adds that this community-led initiative helps raise valuable funds for local initiatives. "All proceeds from the Sligo Camino go towards community projects in the Coolaney area. These include the Community Centre, Community Park and playground and latterly towards Cafe Fia, our community cafe scheduled to be built in 2019."

Lorna Curry, a Sligo Camino team member, underlines the importance of the involvement and support of local agencies.

"We have partnered with hotels, restaurants, B&B's, etc. who benefit from the tourist spend generated by the Sligo Camino. The event operates under license from Coillte, over whose land it travels and with support of the Gardai who assist at main road crossings. Since its inception, the Sligo Camino has been assisted by Sligo Walks whose walks officer has been of great help in ensuring a successful event." She also believes in the potential for the Sligo Camino to become a significant draw to develop tourism in the area.

"We aim that the Sligo Camino will become an internationally recognised walking route based around the Sligo Way route with Coolaney as the trail-head. We plan to draw on the allure and popularity of the Camino de Santiago in Spain and blend this with the rugged beauty of the Wild Atlantic Way to create unforgettable walking experiences in the West of Ireland," she says.

Over the years the Sligo Camino has been completed by people aged from 18 to 78. It is a fantastic day out for people who want to take time for themselves out in the countryside. Groups of friends and family tend to sign up together knowing that they're guaranteed a few enjoyable hours together and will share the adventure. At 36km walkers need to be medically well and possess a good level of stamina to ensure they complete the course. The feeling upon reaching Coolaney at the end of 7 or 8 hours walking is a combination of exhaustion and elation. It's definitely a day people remember in looking back on their summer. Registration opens at 9am on Saturday on www.sligocamino.ie

People registering should check that they are available on Sat 6th July and decide whether to leave in the 7am, 8.30am or 10am wave of walkers. If you can't wait until registration opens next Saturday April 13th, then head over to the Sligo Walks Facebook page now to enter the competition for those first 2 golden tickets!
As May 11th comes closer, Darkness Into Light committees around the county are getting ready for this year's event.

The launch of the Ballymote Darkness Into Light walk took place on Monday, March 25th.

It was a thoughtful and reflective evening spent with local area representatives, Pieta staff and community members who have come together to organise this year's walk, with the venue changed to Corran College.

There will be a slight change in the route due to the relocation of the walk. All such details can be checked out on the Facebook page, 'Ballymote Darkness into Light' with funds raised going to Pieta House.

Anne Lynch, a Suicide Bereavement Liason officer, spoke at the launch. She is now working in the Northside Centre helping families and people who need it.

This is concrete evidence that funds gathered are helping those most in need.

According to statistics from the National Suicide Research Foundation, an average of 500 people die by suicide in Ireland every year. The figures are especially worrying in certain age groups.

The suicide rate among teenage girls is higher in Ireland than it is in any other E.U. state. And suicide among young Irish males is more than twice the national average, and the second highest rate in Europe (Lithuania has the highest incidence of male suicides).
AbbVie, the global biopharmaceutical company which has two manufacturing facilities in Sligo, has been presented with the Ibec KeepWell Mark.

The award is an evidence-based accreditation given for Irish employers who significantly investing in workplace health and well-being.

AbbVie, which employs more than 700 people across five commercial and manufacturing sites in Ireland, is one of first biopharmaceutical/pharmaceutical companies to receive the workplace health and well-being accolade.

Ibec states that the aim of the award is to help businesses benchmark workplace well-being activity through a series of systematic and methodical steps.

This focus on industry leading employee wellbeing also contributed to AbbVie being named as the No.2 Best Large Workplace in Ireland at the recent 2019 Great Place to Work awards.

The company co-ordinates its approach to employee health and wellbeing through a programme titled 'AbbVie Vitality'.

This initiative includes resources and tools which encourage a holistic approach to health and its success has been based on the company providing organisational support for employee proactivity on managing their personal well-being.

Using this cross-site Vitality programme, AbbVie has made a strong commitment to improving its workplace wellbeing practices since its formation in 2013.

Activities have included a wide range of initiatives focusing on enhancing employees' physical health and the prevention of illness, as well as seeking to improve mental and psychosocial well-being.

Commenting on the receipt of the KeepWell Mark, Miriam Cunningham, Occupational Nurse with AbbVie and Vitality Lead, said the company continuously looked for ways to help its people balance their work and personal lives.

"We have improved and coordinated a number of wellness projects over the past number of years to so that we can create a safe, secure and pleasant working environment for all of our people.

"The Ibec KeepWell Mark provides us with a fantastic evidence-based framework, enabling us not only to benchmark our wellness initiatives against our peers but also helping us to progress in areas that provide the most impact for our people and business," she added.

The KeepWell Mark framework includes a self-assessment and an onsite assessment from an Ibec approved external assessor.

The accreditation takes a holistic approach focusing on eight key areas of potential improvement that can affect business performance -leadership; absence management; smoke free; physical activity; health & safety; mental health; healthy eating. Each assessment culminates with a report that outlines areas for improvement. Founded in 2013, AbbVie is a global, research-driven biopharmaceutical company committed to developing innovative advanced therapies for some of the world's most complex and critical conditions. It employs more than 700 people at five manufacturing and commercial sites across Ireland.
Sligo Airport may not be able to continue to provide a base to Rescue 118, the search and rescue helicopter according to Fianna Fail general election candidate for Sligo-Leitrim, Shane Ellis

Following meetings with airport officials he stated: "I am in frequent dialogue with Albert Higgins, Chairperson of Sligo Airport Board, who has concerns as the airport is struggling to meet the costs required for a 24-hour tower which is critical to operations of Rescue 118.

"I understand the cost of the tower is approximately 50k per year yet since the public service obligation funding ceased for the airport there is little to no income at the airport. Compared with Waterford Airport, who are of a similar level yet receive much funding yearly, we in the west are being left behind. Along the western sea board, we know all too well the dedication and commitment of our search and rescue teams. It is imperative they have a base in Sligo and that funding is guaranteed for the tower to facilitate operations out of Sligo."
A man who was in the middle of a severe psychotic episode was allegedly turned away from St. Columba's when he arrived at the out-of-hours service recently.

Sinn Fein's Martin Kenny TD has claimed a constituent of his has been using the mental health services in the North West for some time and who, due to a trauma in his youth, can experience severe episodes.

Kenny told the Dail that the man's family were told that the mental health service would put a team around him to help him, 'a social worker would be put in place, which did happen, and that the primary care unit near his town would come into play and help look after him'.

The social worker retired and was not replaced. The primary care unit that was supposed to provide mental health services is 'very ad hoc and on numerous occasions when the man phoned, nobody answered and he did not get a call back'.

Deputy Kenny said: "When a severe episode occurs, this person is inclined to self-harm, wrecks his whole house and lashes out at everybody around him. He is a danger to himself and others.

"The service providers told him that if ever he sees an episode coming on, he should go to them, that the door would be opened and they would take him in and look after him. He did so less than a week ago, but when he arrived at St. Columba's out-of-hours there was nobody there.

"He sat for two and a half hours before he saw a junior consultant, who spoke to him for approximately half an hour and then told him he was okay to go home."

Deputy Kenny added that the men felt extremely let down and left feeling just as distressed as he did when he arrived.

He added: ""A couple of days later, he phoned gardai and asked them to come and take him away or he would do something terrible. The gardai had to bring him back into the services.

"This is one case but there are numerous others, sometimes involving young adolescents and children. They find there are huge holes in the service."

Deputy Kenny raised the lack of out-of-hours psychiatric services in Sligo with Minister of State Jim Daly during a topical issues debate in the Dail last week.

"While there may be a junior consultant on call, that same person is also on call in Sligo University Hospital up the road and may be dealing with people there and not able to leave.

"I want the Minister of State to find out about this. When this happens there is supposed to be a back-up junior registrar on call.

"How often has that person been called in? I have been told that person has never been called in."

Minister of State Daly acknowledged Martin Kenny's bona fides on this issue and added:

"The HSE is currently rolling out several pilot schemes around the country in the area of delivering mental healthcare online, including psychology and psychiatry.

"That is how we will address the gaps in the system. Rather than psychiatrists spending three hours travelling to see a patient, they will be able to spend that time online treating multiple patients."

The HSE was contacted for comment.
New CASA programme to benefit 565,000 smallholders in Uganda, Malawi and Nepal

A new five-year 30 million UK Department for International Development (DFID) funded programme is aiming to improve the livelihoods of 565,000 smallholder farmers and their families in Uganda, Malawi and Nepal by stimulating investment in emerging agri-markets.

The Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness (CASA) programme, a key part of which is led by NIRAS in partnership with CABI and Swisscontact, will see at least 4 million of additional investment mobilised into six agricultural market systems and the growth of SME agribusinesses resulting in at least 3,000 jobs in the three countries - Uganda, Malawi and Nepal.

At least half of those to benefit from the programme will be women farmers and at least 30 percent of whom are living on under $2 a day. It is expected that those participating will see their incomes increased by up to 80 a year as well as positive changes in nutrition, climate resilience, with women being empowered at business, and household level.

CASA will focus on supporting sesame and beans in Uganda, poultry and aquaculture in Malawi and dairy and vegetables in Nepal.

Ultimately, CASA aims to improve the livelihoods of farmers by facilitating their equitable engagement in expanding commercial markets while enhancing the sustainability and climate resilience of farming systems and supporting the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems.

NIRAS will assume the overall responsibility for programme management of the programme's work in these three countries and also its global learning and influencing activities. The consortium will draw upon extensive experience in gender mainstreaming. For example, NIRAS have implemented multiple 'gender help desks' as part of a previous collaboration with the EU, EBRD and SIDA.

Kristina Mastroianni, NIRAS' Technical Director for Agriculture and also CASA's Programme Director, said, "The programme is a unique opportunity to achieve real systemic change through researching concrete practices of value chain development and showing investors what a great business case smallholder farming systems can be."

CABI's expertise in communications and engagement activities will also help place knowledge into the hands of investors in agribusiness by reaching at least 1,000 government, donor or business stakeholders face-to-face through three Smallholder Investor Summit events in East and Southern Africa and Nepal.

Dr Dennis Rangi, CABI's Director General - Development, said, "By working together to foster the importance of agriculture as a business, we can make a difference in empowering smallholder farmers, both male and female, to increase their yields and improve their livelihoods and ultimately strengthen local, national and global food chains and food security for all."

Swisscontact will draw on years of global inclusive markets systems experience, including women's economic empowerment and through their active engagement in the regions will ensure a cost effective and fast approach to building the design and implementation capacity as well as confidence of the country teams.

Ailsa Buckley, Swisscontact's Senior IM mentor for Central, East and Southern Africa believes, "CASA is the perfect opportunity for us to partner with system actors to demonstrate sustainable and scale-able business models that promote smallholder aggregation and agri-investment."

In addition, some of the innovations and achievements of the programme will be covered by SciDev.Net - the world's leading source of reliable and authoritative news, views and analysis about science and technology for global development.

###

Additional information

NIRAS

NIRAS' history is rooted in the agriculture sector for 45 years, originally owned by the Swedish and Danish farmers' association. NIRAS has successfully delivered over 300 million worth of TA to climate smart, gender mainstreamed and nutrition sensitive agriculture and agribusiness programmes in more than 180 countries.

http://www. niras. com

CABI

CABI leads the delivery of research and communications drawing on their status as a world leader in agriculture with a strong scientific reputation and vast track record. It is also the parent organization of SciDev.Net, an independent news network focusing on science in the global South.

http://www. cabi. org

Swisscontact

Swisscontact's Inclusive Markets approach ensures efficient, effective and trust-based engagement with female and male smallholder farmers and their organisations, SMEs, advocacy and regulatory partners in each market system.

http://www. swisscontact. org

About NIRAS

Owned by a foundation and a percentage of its employees, NIRAS is an international multi-disciplinary consultancy firm with Nordic roots and values creating sustainable development solutions for a better, more equal, and stable world. We work across a broad spectrum of areas including construction, energy, water, environment, and infrastructure to rural development, the process industry, economic development, geodata, as well as urban planning. Our mission is to deliver tailored, innovative, value-creating, and results-driven solutions to enable our clients and partners, achieve their goals. We achieve this by providing transformative support for positive change, addressing root causes, and magnifying impact through flexibility in implementation, capturing SDG-linked results, and celebrating successes.

We collaborate with international development organisations, donors, governments, institutional investors, and the private sector to design, manage, and evaluate projects and services that create opportunities for people to improve their lives and live in safe, equal, well-governed, and climate-resilient societies. We do this in partnership with our country offices and our extensive network of experts to ensure a comprehensive, results-driven approach that is both contextually sensitive and produces innovative outcomes for maximum value. NIRAS applies the highest ethical standards wherever we operate, be it in fragile, post-conflict, least developed, emerging, or middle-income economies.

About CABI

CABI is an international not-for-profit organization that improves people's lives by providing information and applying scientific expertise to solve problems in agriculture and the environment.

Through knowledge sharing and science, CABI helps address issues of global concern such as improving global food security and safeguarding the environment. We do this by helping farmers grow more and lose less of what they produce, combating threats to agriculture and the environment from pests and diseases, protecting biodiversity from invasive species, and improving access to agricultural and environmental scientific knowledge. Our 49 member countries guide and influence our core areas of work, which include development and research projects, scientific publishing and microbial services.

We gratefully acknowledge the core financial support from our member countries (and lead agencies) including the United Kingdom (Department for International Development), China (Chinese Ministry of Agriculture), Australia (Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research), Canada (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada), Netherlands (Directorate-General for International Cooperation, and Switzerland (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation). Other sources of funding include the fees paid by our member countries and profits from our publishing activities which enable CABI to support rural development and scientific research around the world.

About Swisscontact

Swisscontact promotes economic, social and ecological development by giving people the opportunity to improve their living conditions on their own. In its project work, Swisscontact facilitates access to vocational training, promotes local entrepreneurship, creates access to local financial services and supports the efficient use of resources with the aim of effectively promoting income and employment.

Swisscontact was founded in 1959 as an independent foundation of personalities from the Swiss economy and science. It is exclusively active in international cooperation and has been carrying out its own and mandated projects since 1961. Since its foundation, Swisscontact has been close to the private sector. In 2018, Swisscontact was active in 36 countries with around 1,200 employees. The Foundation's registered office is in Zurich.

About SciDev.Net

SciDev.Net is the world's leading source of reliable and authoritative news, views and analysis about science and technology for global development.

Our Mission is to use independent journalism to help individuals and organisations apply science to decision-making in order to drive equitable, sustainable development and poverty reduction. SciDev.Net is part of CAB International (CABI) - a not-for-profit organisation that improves people's lives worldwide by providing information and applying scientific expertise to solve problems in agriculture and the environment.

SciDev.Net operates editorially independently from CABI with its content overseen by an independent Editorial Advisory Committee whose role is to ensure our editorial independence protocol is adhered to. The protocol is available on request.

Media enquiries

Wayne Coles, Communications Manager, CABI, email: w.coles@cabi.org Tel: +44 (0)1491 829395

This story has been published on: 2019-04-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 13)  The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) on Saturday raised the second highest alert for the Luzon grid which had experienced rotational brownouts on Friday.

The yellow alert is up for 12 hours  from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday. This means low power reserves but power interruptions are not expected.

The NGCP said the available capacity now is 10,326 megawatts while the peak demand is at 9,933 megawatts. This yields reserves of only 393 megawatts, way below the required 647 megawatts contingency in Luzon.

Luzon on Friday experienced a red alert - the highest alert - which resulted in rotational brownouts in Metro Manila and some provinces in the island region. It was the first time this happened this year, following consecutive days of being under yellow alert.

Still, the Department of Energy assured there is no ongoing power crisis.

"'Yung iba nagsasabi crisis, this is not a crisis. Ibig sabihin po kasi ng krisis, parang hindi natin kontrolado. Kontrolado natin siya in a way na alam natin kung kailan babagsak 'yung mga planta at alam din natin 'yung lahat ng demand na mangyayari sa susunod na araw," Energy Undersecretary Wimpy Fuentebella told CNN Philippines on Friday.

[Translation: Others are saying that this is crisis, this not a crisis. Crisis means we cannot control it. We control it in a way that we know when the plant will shutdown, and we know the demand in the coming days.]
Long time colleague of Cllr Gormley on Sligo County Council, Declan Bree delivered the graveside oration at her request, a task which he said left him humbled and honoured.

"On Friday last when I learned of the unexpected death of my friend Margaret Gormley, I was stunned, heartbroken and felt a huge sense of loss. Over the past number of days I have learned that many, many, others share that same sense of shock, heartache and grief.

"So today, we gather here in the heart of Margaret's beloved South Sligo, to pay our final tribute to a unique and wonderful Sligo woman.

"I have to say that I feel humbled and honoured to address this gathering of her family, her friends and supporters, for I know that I am incapable of even attempting to convey the many facets of the lifetime work of Margaret Gormley

"I do feel deeply privileged that Margaret asked that I speak at her funeral ceremony (should she predecease me)

"So as we assemble here with Margaret's heartbroken brothers Brendan and Liam, her sisters in law, nephews and nieces and extended family, we celebrate the life of a unique and exceptional woman, of a public representative, who for almost 40 years, has represented the people of this area and this county with honour and distinction

"Today Margaret Gormley's imprint can be seen in the wide number of projects she advocated and delivered during her time in public life.

"She was very proud of her family traditions, of her parents and grandparents. It is very clear that she retained the wonderful and rich values they passed on to her. She was kind, caring, generous, forthright, courageous and principled.

"She gave unselfishly of her time serving the people of her community She was scrupulously honest and her word was her bond and like her late father she was always guided by a desire to act in the common good.

"It certainly can be said that her sense of decency and fair-play stood her well over the years.

"I first met Margaret Gormley shortly after I was elected to Sligo Council back in 1974. Margaret's late father Cllr Willie Gormley was a veteran of the Council at that time and she occasionally accompanied him when he came to town to do business in the Council offices in the Courthouse.

"I also had the pleasure in those early days of visiting the Gormley household at Carrowlouglin and meeting Margaret's late mother Delia. And what really struck me back then was Delia's extensive knowledge of the local political scene.

"Following the unexpected death of Margaret's father in 1980 I have a vivid recollection of Margaret and her mother, both still in mourning, calling to my home in High Street, requesting that I consider supporting Margaret for co-option to the seat which had been held by her late father.

"I assured them of my support and I was extremely pleased for the Gormley family when Margaret was formally co-opted to serve as an independent member of Sligo County Council on the 6th of October 1980.

"And, so began a lifetime of friendship as we worked together as members of Sligo County Council. Over those years I found Margaret a tower of strength and I have to say that on those occasions when I may have felt under attack or was under criticism for my political activities, I very much welcomed Margaret's consistent encouragement and support.

"And while we shared similar views on most issues there were odd occasions when we differed. However we always had huge respect for each other and for each other's opinion.

"Forever championing the cause of rural Ireland and forever prepared to take on political opponents and officialdom, if necessary. to right an injustice or to protect the interests of ordinary people,

"Margaret Gormley was an inspiration for any person interested in becoming involved in politics. She certainly never minced her words and was passionate about protecting and enhancing the lives of all those living in rural Sligo.

"Given my political background, living in a town, representing a largely urban area, while Margaret lived on a farm representing a largely rural area of the county, some commentators may have expected that we would have significant differences.

"However, we both recognised that we had very much in common as we fought to protect and advance the interests of the ordinary people of this county both urban and rural.

"The highlight of Margaret's career in politics was in 2004, when, after a wait of twenty four years, she was unanimously elected Cathaoirleach of Sligo County Council.

"I shared in that honor when I was elected Mayor of Sligo that same year. During that period we had the privilege and pleasure of working closely together and I certainly have very fond memories of the many wonderful events and receptions she hosted during her term of office.

"One memorable occasion particularly comes to mind when Margaret decided to dispense with protocol.

"It is custom and practice that only one chain of office would be worn at events in the respective Councils Chambers.

"However, when Margaret was making plans in advance of her Civic Reception in County Hall for the late Peter Horan, aware of my admiration of Peter's music and of my association with Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann, and also aware of my respect for protocol, she gave me strict instructions that I was to ignore protocol and wear the Mayoral Chain to the event - and I certainly wasn't going to cross Margaret. So we both wore our chains on that memorable occasion.

"Margaret Gormley packed in a tremendous amount of work during her year as Cathaoirleach - opening up County Hall to the community and making everyone feel welcome in the home of local government.

"The receptions she hosted are too numerous to mention but I do recollect how extremely proud and delighted she was to have the opportunity of hosting the reception for the Ladies GAA team in October of 2004. Margaret Gormley's name is synonymous with Ladies GAA in Sligo. Today we all bid farewell to their number one supporter.

"Almost 80 years have passed since Willie Gormley was first elected to represent the people of South Sligo, almost 40 years have passed since the mantle was passed on to his daughter Margaret.

"I know today that the members of the extended Gormley family, though devastated by Margaret's unexpected death, are immensely proud of Margaret and Willie and of the role their family has played in the development of local government in this county over the decades.

"No other family in Sligo has made such a significant contribution - and on behalf of my colleagues, the elected members of Sligo County Council, and on behalf of the people of Sligo I wish to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Gormley family for their service to this county over the years.

"I know that Margaret was making preparations to contest the forthcoming local elections in May. Indeed we discussed the elections when we last met.

"It may not be the time or place for me to say this but I sincerely believe that it would be Margaret's wish to see the Gormley family continue to serve the people of Sligo at local government level.

Margaret Gormley was a woman of great integrity and principle. All of her colleagues on Sligo County Council and all of her friends and supporters will certainly miss her deeply.

"We will miss her intelligence, her sharp wit, her compassion, her no nonsense approach to life and her deep appreciation and respect for those she represented.

"Margaret Gormley was small in stature but she had the heart of a lion. Unfortunately, in the early hours of last Friday morning that heart ceased to beat. Ni bheidh a leitheid ann aris. May she rest in peace.
A show jumper who was found guilty of making a gain or causing loss by deception will return to live in Florida before being sentenced on November 12th next.

Michael Kearins with an address at Knockbeg, Collooney was found guilty of the offence by a jury which heard evidence that Sean and Terri Ewing with an address in Majorca had paid Kearins 12,458 for two ponies, however, on delivery, one of the ponies was not the one they had agreed to purchase.

The bail hearing heard gardai were satisfied the international show jumper resided at an address in Florida.

Kearins told the court he lived at the address and provided the court with his American phone number.

Independent surety of 25,000 was provided by Kieran Kearins which was deemed suitable by the court.

On the basis of the above details, Judge Francis Comerford granted bail without travel restrictions and put the matter back to November 12th next.

Defence barrister Pat O'Sullivan, instructed by Mr Tom MacSharry, solicitor indicated that the matter of compensation would be addressed on that date. It was also heard that a Victim Impact Statement from the Ewings would be made available on that date.
It could be a number of weeks before the cause of death of a beached female sperm whale which washed ashore at Streedagh beech on Wednesday morning last is known.

The whale was buried by staff from the County Council on Thursday after samples were taken away for analysis by the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group. The whale was 10.4 metres in length and is the third sperm whale to have been washed up along the west coast in the recent past which has raised concerns.

The IWDG has ruled out plastic ingestion as a cause of death and also naval war manoeuvres off Scotland. The IWDG has taken tissue samples from the carcass for analysis.

The whale was one of three which have been washed up on the western coastline in the last week from Galway to Donegal.

A team from the IWDG consisting of Sean OCallaghan, Mags Daly and Dr Simon Berrow travelled to Streedagh on Thursday to investigate the stranding and collect samples.

The county council was able to provide diggers on site to assist in examining the whale carcass.

There were no obvious signs of ship collision, entanglement nor was the whale emaciated.

Examination of the main stomach found no plastic debris, indeed there were no food remains either, apart from a small number of squid eye lenses and no evidence of recent feeding with intestines clean. Some minor parasite burden was noted.

Samples were taken for genetics and toxicology. Moira Slingerman from the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) assisted in the examination and took blubber and liver samples to explore legacy and emergent persistent pollutants that may have accumulated in the whale.

The IWDG said that as is so often the case with strandings, they know more about what didnt kill the whale, than what did.

We will continue to explore issues around acoustic trauma and bacterial infection. we are in contact with colleagues in Scotland to see if they are also experiencing higher than usual sperm whale strandings as they examined a female stranded on Uist in quite an advanced state of decomposition on Thursday.

NATOs annual Joint Warrior exercise is currently underway from 30 March to 11 April, west of the Hebrides. A total 35 warships, 5 submarines and 59 aircraft and helicopters from 13 countries are scheduled to take part in this years edition of the exercise.

However these whales have been dead for 1-2 weeks so this cant explain these strandings unless some active equipment was tested offshore prior to the start of this exercise, said the spokesperson.

The IWDG thanked the council for its assistance in accessing and examining of the carcass.
Greystones artists exhibited their work at Charlesland Golf Club last week.

This was the group's 54th annual exhibition, which opened on Thursday evening and continued until Sunday.

The opening evening included the launch of a raffle in aid of the Gavin Glynn Foundation. On Saturday afternoon, renowned oil artist and instructor Joyce Odlum gave a live demonstration, and donated her painting to the art group.

The works of art spanned generations, mediums, and disciplines.

Established in 1965, Greystones Art Group is one of Ireland's longest running art groups. It has a diverse set of members and provides a fun & inspirational way to practice in a creative space.
This summer, Wicklow Historic Gaol will launch a new virtual reality experience called 'The Gates of Hell'.

The fully immersive experience will transport visitors back in time to the Wicklow Gaol of the 1700s. The new experience has been made possible thanks to a 200,000 grant from Failte Ireland through the new Storytelling Interpretation Grants Scheme, which aims to improve the quality of animation and storytelling at existing attractions in Ireland's Ancient East.

Emagine are the virtual reality specialists developing 'The Gates of Hell' experience and, according to its Creative Director Brian Hickey, it will be 'like being an active witness'.

'Imagine if you could leap into a cinema scene,' he said. 'We're going to put users in a very different Wicklow Gaol, as it might have looked in the 1700s. This is one of the most exciting projects we have worked on and we have an entire team of animators and 3D artists dedicated to bringing the amazing historic world of Wicklow Gaol to life by taking storytelling to a ground-breaking new immersive level. Wicklow Historic Gaol is the jewel in the crown of the Ancient East and soon visitors from across the world will have the wonderful opportunity to leap into some of its fascinating stories.'

The family-friendly experience launches in June and will invite visitors to journey through over 200 years of life in Wicklow Gaol and experience the 1798 Rebellion, the famine era and the War of Independence through the eyes of gaol inmates. Guests will also meet many an imposing character along the way.

Paranormal activity taking place in the gaol will also play a part in the virtual reality experience.

Wicklow Enterprise Park, which operates Wicklow Historic Gaol, expects the new experience to drive even more visitors and revenue into the county.

Blaise Treacy, Chairman of the board at the enterprise park, said: 'Wicklow County Council and Wicklow Historic Gaol management team are delighted to receive this grant support from Failte Ireland. Wicklow Gaol is a key attraction in County Wicklow in Ireland's Ancient East and pivotal to the economy of Wicklow town both in terms of customer spend and job creation.

'Tourism growth is a key driver in the strategic plan for County Wicklow. Continually enhancing and developing our products to meet customer expectations is critical for future growth. This grant will allow that journey continue,' he said.
Over 50 people attended the launch night of an exhibition at the Cruthu Gallery in Russborough House which featured the work of West Wicklow Youth Project members.

Three groups of young people from Baltinglass, Dunlavin and Blessington started working on the project late last year. The creative process involved an introduction to art theory and practice, a trip to the National Gallery of Ireland, community mapping, interviews, photo shoots and the production of three large scale collaborative art pieces plus some smaller individual works.

The Baltinglass piece on display as part of the 'SnapChats: Conversations and Connections Captured on Canvas' exhibition represented the abbey, the ancient hilltop burial grounds, Jenny Wise Power, Michael Dwyer, the Dice Man, Rosie and Margaret community volunteers, the choir, badminton players and GAA champions to the local Turkish barber

Blessington's water colour drawing includes the tidy towns, taekwondo, blacksmiths, butchers, bird of prey enthusiasts to young musicians, skater boys and the lifeboat rescue team alongside trams, churches and monuments.

Dunlavin's painting expresses representations of the people who make their village what it from the green grocer and the local Garda to the librarian, scout master and coder dojo volunteers to the Dunlavin Dairy.

Three young people involved in the project - Kelly Ann Foster, Eoin Grattan and Cara Swaine - spoke at the launch, while Hannah Molloy and Yvonne Dempsey both sang. Ribbon cutting duties were carried out by Niamh Dowling, Shannon Jones and Callum Farrell.
Catherine Wright looks well for someone who has spent more than a decade in an attic. While colleagues at county council headquarters work away under her feet, she has her own refuge up in the roof. This is her domain among the rafters, with its unplastered grey block walls, where the county archivist presides over an empire of paperwork.

The treasure trove of documents goes back as far as the 17th century when the proceedings of Wicklow Borough were minuted and put on the leather-bound record. The stock of official papers covers close to four hundred years, embracing everything from ancient ducking stools used to test alleged witches to modern vehicle registrations. Catherine is delighted to confirm that much of the material of which she is the guardian is being made available over the internet.

The latest online development is a slick web-site allowing worldwide access to records of the old Coolattin estate, with it hundreds of tenants and employees. This development is good news for anyone in the Wicklow diaspora with local connections, whether living in Sidney, Shanghai or San Francisco. Yet the soul of the archive remains the attic at the local authority HQ in Whitegates where the originals, the hard copy, dusty manuscripts are on tap.

Catherine Wright, originally from Dublin and a graduate from Maynooth College in history, took over as archivist for Wicklow in 2010 when she succeeded Cecile Chemin in the post. Before then, she worked as a genealogist across Wicklow, Kildare and Meath, putting families in touch with their past, and she continues to run Wicklow's genealogical service to this day, fostering 'roots tourism'.

Encouraging people with Irish connections living abroad to come and see where their forebears come from is good for the economy. The internet increasingly allows them research beforehand so that they arrive knowing already which town or townland they should visit. The process of making the research easier has taken up much of Catherine's time since her appointment.

She realised from the start that there were genealogical, sociological and historical riches in amongst the papers which surrounded her in the attic. The challenge was to harness the power of OCR to make this hoard of material web-friendly. OCR? The initials stand for Optical Character Recognition, the ingenious software which allows documents to be 'read' by scanners.

The process does not (at least not yet) work its magic on most handwritten material but it is wizard at picking up typeset records.

The first significant stash of papers given the OCR treatment was the Wicklow Grand Jury archive covering 1818 to 1899. The Grand Jury system brought together local big wigs to decide on matters of local importance before elected councils took over the running of the counties of Ireland.

They considered the record of their proceedings important enough to have them properly printed up by a Dublin printing firm. The result is a wealth of detail which may be mined by anyone with a computer and a connection to the web anywhere in the world. Suppose, to take a random example, a typeset page from the year 1818 contains reference to the town land of Kilmurry in Baltinglass.

The OCR technology not only scans the page and posts it on the web archive but then allows a researcher to key in the word Kilmurry in order to search for all references to the townland. At a stroke, it has become unnecessary to turn the pages of the original document in search of the quarry, while it is also unnecessary to climb the stairs up to Catherine's attic.

The exploration of 19th century west Wicklow may be done instead at home. So it is that we may learn that three gentlemen - Thomas Dennis, Pat Flint and Pat Lennon - were commissioned to repair a section of the road 159 perches long, from the Carlow border through Killaleash and Kilmurry. This hard-working trio were paid to lay gravel at the rate of half a crown per perch.

Skip ahead to 1897 and another Kilmurry, this one near Arklow where Wicklow meets Wexford. The Grand Jury, led by 'foreman' Colonel CG Tottenham, decided to in that year to allocate the impressive sum of 22 for maintenance of footpaths in and around this second Kilmurry.

As the era of the Big House crumbled around them, Colonel Tottenham was joined at the assizes of 1897 by 22 other gentlemen of similar pedigree. The list included knight of the realm Sir Robert A Hodson, a host of Justices of the Peace, one more Colonel, three Lieutenant-Colonels, and a Major. Such pillars of the Unionist establishment were soon to be blown out of office, never to return, by the local government reforms which bought in the county councils.

The first few years of the new regime produced handwritten records but by 1906, the deliberations of the county council were properly typed up and open to inquisitive 21st century minds through the wonder of OCR.

The record discloses a special meeting of the County Council convened at the courthouse in Wicklow with Cllr EP O'Kelly in the chair, later making way for Cllr Michael Byrne - no hint of any commissioned officers or of any baronets in the line-up. Members gathered to co-opt JJ O'Reilly of Kilmullenas, a replacement for Cllr Simon T Doyle, deceased.

Incidentally, a quick computer search through the same minute book reveals yet another Kilmurry, this one in the Rathdrum district as one Peter Kelly, Kilmurry, Kilbride, was listed as guarantor on a road maintenance contract.

The record for 1906-1909 discloses a weird and wonderful basket of responsibilities which fell within the remit of these councillors, with references to the appointment of a veterinary inspector, to the analysis of butter samples and to sewerage in Bray - to mention only a few.

The process of putting more and more material online has continued with local records being added to the menu available to everyone and anyone with a browser, from the serious academics to the most casual of web surfers. The minutes of Arklow Town Urban District Council are on the list with the equivalent material from Bray and Wicklow town set to follow before the end of this year.

Also 'digitised' are the records detailing the admissions and discharges from the workhouses at Rathdrum and Shillelagh. They illustrate the reality of poverty from shortly before the Great Famine through to the time of the Great War.

As they are handwritten, they are not susceptible to the magic of Optical Character Recognition to assist those who wish to pick out individual names. However, Victorian bureaucrats had their own system of cross-referencing which provides a very useable means of sifting through the mass of names on the workhouse rolls.

The latest venture involving the county archivist and her local authority employers is the digitisation of the tenant records for the Earl of Fitzwilliam's estates in County Wicklow between 1841 and 1868. The project is presented to the world as the 'Coolattin Lives' website featuring thousands of tenant records from the hungry years when the Fitzwilliams encouraged many of the tenants on their vast Irish estate to move to Canada.

The original material is handwritten and held in the National Library but the initiative, inspired by TCD professor of history Ciaran Brady, has made it globally accessible.

Coolattin Lives started at the Courthouse Arts Centre, where Professor Brady is a member of the board, who called in the support of the county council archive, Wicklow Tourism and commercial sponsors. The hard work was put in by the professor's colleague Ciaran Wallace who transcribed the tenant rolls into OCR friendly text, a process that stretched over years charting the land holdings and movements of 15,000 individuals. The new website then links into the existing Grand Jury and workhouse sites, making Wicklow one of the most productive areas for genealogical research in Ireland.

'Thousands of tenant records have been transcribed, digitised and mapped allowing descendants of these tenants - in Ireland, Canada and around the world - to trace their ancestors, find the district where they lived, and make their way back to the family home place,' summarises Catherine. 'This is all gold to the descendants and we are very proud of it.'

The door to her attic is always open to the steady stream of PhD students and family historians who find their way in person to the county council complex. However, new ways of releasing the material stored to the wider audience at home and abroad are constantly being explored.

Health board records, motor tax records, prison records, correspondence, minutes and drawings - the local authority is obliged to hold on to the lot.

'I strongly feel these records should be out in the world,' says the archivist. 'They should be enjoyed.'

Some day soon, they will be.
Minister Simon Harris paid a visit to Marino School in Bray last Friday, to join a group of students in music therapy.

'Marino School is fortunate to benefit from the music therapy expertise of Katerina Cussen and her amazing music therapy workshops for this school term,' said principal Oonagh Kenny. 'Katerina is completing her MA in music therapy and she has chosen Marino School in which to complete her final placement and to develop skills in independent work as a music therapist.'

To show their support, minister Simon Harris, together with Cllr John Ryan donated 500 to help fund additional instruments. Ann Nolan, the director of Music Generation Wicklow also kindly supported the programme by lending several instruments.

Katerina said the whole experience at Marino School has been fantastic.

'The reception from Oonagh and the all the staff has been incredible, from showing an open mind to music therapy, finding a room in the school, to putting up with the initial disruptions to the school routine and coating everything in a "can do" attitude,' she said.

'Everything that the teachers and the special needs assistants in Marino do is so focused on the child and so full of kindness. They work as a team and are fully committed to each child and his or her individual potential. It has been a privilege to be part of the team. I would also like to thank to all the parents for supporting the service. Finally, thanks to all the children who brought their own pure self into the music and who utterly enjoyed the process.'

The programme facilitated individual sessions as well as small groups. While children make music they are making friendships, and experiencing enjoyment. Working in small groups, the therapist can support children in learning and practicing social skills, turn taking, listening to others and initiating conversation.

The teachers have commented on children being more focused when they return to class after a therapy session, improvement in children's mood, and children being relaxed and calm. Music offers an alternative way to communicate, especially in a non-verbal context, and was a huge motivator for some children to participate in school activities.

Music and song can have many benefits. Music can motivate and when used intentionally it can empower a person to take action and participate. Singing can serve as a scaffolding to learn new words, free improvised playing can facilitate a connection with others, rhythm can help organise one's movement and improve motor skills, and musically adapted social stories can support positive behaviour. Children get to make lots of choices and exercise control over their environment by playing instruments, using their movement and voice. All these techniques are supported by strong evidence.

Feedback from parents and staff was overwhelmingly positive and many expressed a wish that music therapy be a round the year service, to continue to support children in the school environment.

'Katerina planned and led music therapy sessions with students, supported by staff in Marino School, over the course of the last ten weeks,' said Oonagh. 'She made remarkable progress with students and has even established a "Marino Band"! We fully support Katerina in identifying and promoting the role of music therapy in working with students with additional needs and also the statutory registration of creative arts therapies in Ireland. I would like to thank Katerina for all her great work with students in Marino School to date. We are certainly going to miss her.'
Over 30 candidates for May's Election to Wicklow County Council came together to publicly sign an anti-racism election protocol.

Speaking following the united meeting of candidates at Wicklow County Council prior to last Monday's monthly council meeting, Shane O'Curry of European Network Against Racism Ireland said: 'We were delighted that over 30 candidates came together from Arklow, Baltinglass, Bray, Greystones and Wicklow town and from Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Sinn Fein, Labour, Green Party, People Before Profit, Social Democrats, Aontu and independents. There were also another ten who sent apologies.

'By signing the anti-racism protocol, these 40 candidates are really sending a positive message to all in County Wicklow that Wicklow is a welcoming place to all and that they will not engage in harmful rhetoric against migrants, refugees and ethnic minorities,' said Mr O'Curry.

'With direct provision coming to Wicklow town and with County Wicklow recently announcing that 38 Syrian families will be allocated to County Wicklow under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP), it would be easy for local election candidates to exploit current trends and to villify migrants, refugees and ethnic minorities.

'We in ENAR Ireland strongly commend these 40 Wicklow local election candidates for coming together in a non partisan manner and for promoting a positive welcoming message to their constituents,' added Mr O'Curry.
Arklow RNLI assisted a vessel in distress which was drifting perilously close to the Arklow sandbanks last week.

The volunteer crew sprung into action when the Irish Coast Guard sent a launch request at 3.20 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2. Within minutes, they were aboard RNLB Ger Tigchlearr and heading to the reported position approximately nine miles south east of Arklow and close to the notorious offshore sandbanks.

The casualty vessel had reported engine failure and that she was adrift and unable to anchor.

While the lifeboat was en route, another crew of Arklow RNLI coxswains and crew members, who were at work aboard a wind turbine transfer and maintenance vessel, heard the request for assistance on the VHF radio. The work vessel was closer to the stricken vessel, which was by now approximately half a mile from the sandbanks and in real danger of being wrecked on the bank in the prevailing westerly wind and moderate sea conditions.

Following a consultation with the lifeboat coxswain, the workboat crew were able to get a line safely aboard the stricken vessel and rendered assistance by towing the casualty vessel away from the sandbanks for a time.As this was in progress the lifeboat arrived on scene. The crew then set up a tow line and were able to bring the casualty vessel back home to Arklow and the three aboard safely ashore in Arklow Harbour.

Following the incident, Mark Corcoran, Community Safety Officer at Arklow RNLI, said: 'Thanks to the quick thinking and actions of our volunteers who were at work on the wind turbine vessel, Arklow Lifeboat was in the happy postion to tow this fishing vessel and her crew of three persons to safety. Had they not been at sea today, this incident may well not have had such a positive outcome.

'We would like to once again remind people to respect the water and always wear a lifejacket and carry a means of calling for help when going out on the water.'
Irish Water has defended itself against claims that local residents and business owners were not adequately informed of the Boil Water Notice issued for Avoca and Ballinclash on March 25.

When contacted a spokesperson for Irish Water said, 'On Monday, 25th March, following consultation with the Health Service Executive (HSE), Irish Water and Wicklow County Council issued a Boil Water Notice for the area supplied by the Avoca Ballinaclash Public Water Supply to protect approximately 1,343 people. This was communicated to the public through a number of channels. The Supply and Service section of the Irish Water website was updated to reflect the Boil Water Notice, and updates provided through Irish Water's social media channels.

'A press release was issued to the Wicklow People, the Wicklow Times, Wicklow Voice and East Coast FM, which was reported on wicklownews.net that evening, and covered in the Wednesday, 27th March editions of the Wicklow People. It was also reported on East Coast FM on Monday, 25th March, Tuesday 26th March, and Wednesday 27th March.

'Irish Water's Regional Operations Manager, John O'Donoghue, appeared on the East Coast FM Morning Show with Declan Meehan on Tuesday, 26th March to discuss the Boil Water Notice.

'Updates on the Boil Water Notice also appeared in the 2nd of April edition of the Wicklow Times and 3rd of April edition of the Wicklow People.

'All elected representatives in County Wicklow were notified of the Boil Water Notice via email through Irish Water's Local Representative Support Desk on Monday, 25th March.

'All vulnerable customers registered with Irish Water on the Avoca Ballinaclash Public Water Supply were also notified of the Boil Water Notice by Irish Water.

'The Boil Water Notice for the Avoca Ballinaclash Public Water Supply remains in place until further notice. Irish Water are working in partnership with Wicklow County Council to resolve this issue as soon as possible. Additional information and advice is available at Boil Water Notices or by calling Irish Water's 24-hour customer care line at 1850 278 278. Updates are available at Water Supply Updates.'

Commenting on the end date, the spokesperson said: 'There's no date for the notice to be lifted, as of yet.'
A home cook from Wicklow town has been crowned Ireland's best cook and can now look forward to a 3,000 trip to Paris.

Maureen Griffin was among the eleven finalists shortlisted for the Le Crunch French Apples National Final held at Cooks Academy in Dublin, following a lengthy process involving hundreds of recipes submitted to the competition using Le Crunch French Apples as a main ingredient.

The final yielded some imaginative dishes from savoury quiches and curries to tasty deserts, but Maureen's toffee apple crunch cake selected as the overall winner by chef Adrian Martin and his fellow judges.

The eleven finalists from around the country worked hard over ninety minutes to provide an original dish to wow the judges.

'I am just so delighted I won. It was an amazing experience and one I can tick off my bucket list,' said Maureen. 'I can't wait to tick another thing off my bucket list with the amazing trip to Paris, a huge thanks to Le Crunch French Apples for this opportunity.'
Police officers use a water cannon to disperse people protesting after parliament appointed upper house chairman Abdelkader Bensalah as interim president. Photo: Reuters/Ramzi Boudina

Tens of thousands of protesters rallied in Algiers for an eighth successive Friday to demand the departure of the ruling elite as Algeria prepares for a presidential election in July.

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika stepped down from 20 years in power 10 days ago, bowing to pressure from the army and weeks of demonstrations, mainly by young people seeking change in the North African country.

Protests have continued as many want the removal of an elite that has governed Algeria since independence from France in 1962 and the prosecution of what they see as corrupt figures.

Mr Bouteflika has been replaced by Abdelkader Bensalah, head of the upper house of parliament, as interim president for 90 days until a presidential election on July 4.

"No to Bensalah," the protesters chanted, marching peacefully in the centre of Algiers where mass protests broke out on February 22.

Banners held up by protesters read "We want the prosecution of all corrupt people" and "no to the gang". (Reuters)
Crowd: Protesters outside army headquarters in Khartoum demand an immediate transitional civilian government. Photo: Getty Images

SUDAN'S new military rulers said they were ready for dialogue with demonstrators after hundreds of thousands of people defied a curfew to occupy central Khartoum for a sixth night.

But the generals warned they would not tolerate "chaos" and ruled out extraditing Omar Bashir, the dictator they deposed in a coup, to face charges of war crimes.

"We are not against the demands of the people, we are for the demands of the people, and we have to achieve them," said Zein Abedeen, the general tasked with leading talks with the protesters.

"We have to adhere to civilised methods and today we will start a dialogue with the political groups, who are invited to hear from us what we have in mind and what they have in mind."

The Sudanese Professionals Association, which has led months of huge anti-government protests, said the "coup makers are not eligible" to oversee change and demanded an immediate hand-over to a civilian government.

Their comments followed Sudan's defence minister announcing he was stepping down as transitional leader.

In a TV address, General Awad Ibn Ouf also announced his successor, General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, general inspector of the armed forces, as head of the transitional council.

General Ibn Ouf said he took the decision to preserve the unity of the armed forces.

Mr Bashir, who ruled Sudan for 30 years, was deposed on Thursday by his own military after clashes between security services and troops sympathetic to the protests.

But leaders of the protest movement immediately rejected the announcement that a military transitional council would assume control of the country and impose a three-month state of emergency.

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators spent a sixth night on the streets outside army headquarters in Khartoum on Thursday and yesterday, in deliberate defiance of a 10pm curfew imposed by the military when they announced their coup.

Protesters said there were no attempts by authorities to enforce the curfew.

Several soldiers joined the protest, reinforcing claims by demonstrators that the junior and middle ranks of the army are reluctant to follow the orders of a top brass widely considered to be closely allied to Mr Bashir.

In the morning, protests continued, with festive demonstrators shouting "down with military rule" and parading an enormous Sudanese flag.
The scene near the Ukrainian Embassy in Holland Park, west London (Jonathan Brady/PA)

A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a car was driven at police officers outside the Ukrainian embassy in London.

Police fired shots at the scene in Holland Park in the west of the capital after the Ukrainian ambassadors car was deliberately rammed twice on Saturday morning.

Scotland Yard said a vehicle was driven at officers when they arrived at the scene and a man in his 40s was arrested on suspicion of the attempted murder of police officers and criminal damage.

Police firearms and Taser were discharged in the incident, and the man, who was not injured, was taken to hospital as a precaution and is now in custody at a central London police station.

Police said armed officers were deployed to the incident as part of the protective security arrangements for London.

A man has been arrested after an incident in #HollandPark this morning - police firearms and Taser were discharged. The arrested man was not injured. https://t.co/QYoUqeL24p pic.twitter.com/L05XKjaSeY  Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) April 13, 2019

The Met said officers were called at approximately 9.50am to reports of anti-social behaviour involving a car in Holland Park.

On arrival, the car was driven and was in collision with a number of parked vehicles near the Ukrainian embassy.

The incident is not being treated as terrorist-related.

Neighbours described hearing gunfire outside the Ukrainian Embassy before a suspect was arrested. It sounded like firecrackers. I thought, What the heck, its not Guy Fawkes, said Heather from Texas pic.twitter.com/ryWceQOxRr  Sam Blewett (@BlewettSam) April 13, 2019

A statement from the Ukrainian embassy said: Around 10am on Saturday April 13, the official vehicle of the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom was deliberately rammed as it sat parked in front of the Embassy of Ukraines building.

The police were called immediately, and the suspects vehicle was blocked up.

Nevertheless, despite the police actions, the attacker hit the Ambassadors car again.

In response, the police were forced to open fire on the perpetrators vehicle.

The embassy said no staff were injured.

The Met declined to confirm whether or not ambassador Natalia Galibarenko was in her car at the time.

Onlookers described seeing officers armed with sub-machine guns and a suspect being wrestled to the ground.

A silver Mercedes outside the embassy was the subject of a forensic investigation on Saturday afternoon.

The vehicle appeared to have been backed into a black car which was heavily scuffed on its right-hand side.

A window of the Mercedes was smashed and police brought in a sniffer dog to search the area.

A neighbour who witnessed the arrest believes the suspect reversed into the ambassadors car while backing away from an oncoming police car.

Emma Slatter, who is Visas general counsel, watched the scene unfold with her partner David Hinsley, a banker who is also in his 50s.

We could see two police cars at this end of the road and one about half way down looking the other way, she said.

It seems like he was moving erratically or wanting to move away from being boxed in, maybe not realising there were police behind him as well.

That was when he collided backwards.

Then came gunfire.

I think I heard about half a dozen shots, she said.

The couple fled from the window in case of a stray bullet until the firing was over.

I could see police had got the guy out of the car and they had him on the ground, Ms Slatter continued.

The police seemed in charge. There were probably about eight to 10 guys in full body armour, some with sub-machine guns.

He (the suspect) was stumbling but he wasnt resisting. We thought he mightve been shot but there wasnt any evidence of any blood.

They frogmarched him into the back of the police van, she said, before the suspect was transferred into an ambulance.

Another nearby resident, Heather Feiner, originally from Texas in the US, said: My kids were hanging out in the living room. They said, Mum, is that firecrackers?

I saw all this police activity. I thought, Oh my gosh, whats going on?'

The mother-of-two said there were about four marked police cars outside by the time she reached her window in the ground floor flat.

From the time I heard the shots until I got to the window, which took about 15 seconds, all these police cars were already there, she said.
More than 70 Parliamentarians have signed a letter urging the Government to ensure Julian Assange faces Swedish authorities if they request his extradition.

Labour and Co-op MP Stella Creasy shared a copy of the note on social media which has been sent to Home Secretary Sajid Javid.

WikiLeaks founder Assange, 47, is facing rape and sexual assault allegations in Sweden.

The message, shared on Twitter, reads: "We are writing to request that you do everything you can to champion action that will ensure Julian Assange can be extradited to Sweden in the event Sweden make an extradition request.

"This would be so the formal investigation into an allegation of rape can be concluded and, if appropriate, a charge can be made and any trial can take place.

"We do not presume guilt, of course, but we believe due process should be followed and the complainant should see justice be done.

Expand Close Digging out the truth: Julian Assange was given asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Photo: Lauren Hurley/PA Wire / Facebook

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Whatsapp Digging out the truth: Julian Assange was given asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Photo: Lauren Hurley/PA Wire

"We urge you to stand with the victims of sexual violence and seek to ensure the case against Mr Assange can now be properly investigated."

The rape allegation has a limitation period which expires in August 2020, it adds.

Assange spent almost seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he sought political asylum in 2012 after failing in his legal battle against extradition to Sweden, where he was wanted over two separate allegations, one of rape and one of molestation.

In May 2017, Sweden's top prosecutor dropped the long-running inquiry into a rape claim against Assange, which he has always denied.

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But his arrest prompted the lawyer for a Swedish woman who alleged she was raped by Assange during a visit to Stockholm in 2010 to say they wanted the case reopened.

Prosecutors in Sweden have since confirmed that, while the investigation has not been resumed, they are looking into the case.

Former Home Secretary Lord Blunkett said people giving Assange "unqualified support" were being "extremely unwise".

Writing in The Times, the former Labour MP said: "It is indeed important that any extradition hearing should be fair and take into account the mitigation of genuine revelations of wrongdoing made in 2010.

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"However, supporting a fair hearing is not the same as a political demand that he should be treated as some kind of hero; he remained in the Ecuadorean embassy to avoid previous extradition hearings concerning claims of rape and abuse in Sweden.

"A kneejerk response that presumes that hacking is acceptable if the perpetrators can claim that their motives were journalistic is particularly dangerous when it emanates from those aspiring to become prime minister or home secretary, such as Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott."

His predecessor as home secretary Jack Straw also wrote in the paper, saying: "There is no higher duty on any government than to protect a nation's security, including its critical IT.

"If Corbyn were prime minister, would hackers who compromised the UK's security be allowed a free pass?"
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he is open to a third summit with US president Donald Trump.

But Mr Kim set a deadline of the end of 2019 for Washington to offer mutually acceptable terms for an agreement to salvage the high-stakes nuclear diplomacy, the countrys state-run media said Saturday.

He made the comments during a speech on Friday at a session of the North Koreas parliament, which made a slew of personnel changes that bolstered his diplomatic lineup amid stalemated negotiations with the United States.

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His speech came hours after Mr Trump and visiting South Korean president Moon Jae-in met in Washington and agreed on the importance of nuclear talks with North Korea.

We of course place importance on resolving problems through dialogue and negotiations. But US-style dialogue of unilaterally pushing its demands doesnt fit us, and we have no interest in it, Mr Kim said during the speech.

According to the Korean Central News Agency, he blamed the collapse of his summit with Mr Trump in February on what he described as unilateral demands by the United States, which he said raised questions over whether Washington has genuine willingness to improve relations.

We will wait with patience until the end of the year for the United States to come up with a courageous decision

But he said his personal relationship with the American president remains good and that they could exchange letters at any time.

Mr Kim repeated earlier claims that North Koreas crippled economy would persevere through heavy international sanctions imposed over its nuclear weapons program and that he wouldnt obsess over summitry with the United States out of thirst for sanctions relief.

The United States has said the summit in Vietnam broke down because of the Norths excessive demands for sanctions relief in return for limited disarmament measures.

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In their first summit last June in Singapore, Mr Trump and Mr Kim issued a vague statement calling for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula without describing when and how it would occur.

Mr Kim said the United States has been refusing to withdraw what the North perceives as hostile policies while sticking to mistaken judgment that we would succumb to maximum pressure.

He said the North would not compromise on the fundamental interests of our country and people, even by a speck, and blamed the United States for arriving in Hanoi with completely unrealisable plans.

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If the United States approaches us with the right manner and offers to hold a third North Korea-US leaders summit on the condition of finding solutions we could mutually accept, then we do have a willingness to give it one more try, he added.

We will wait with patience until the end of the year for the United States to come up with a courageous decision. But it will clearly be difficult for a good opportunity like last time to come up.

When asked about Mr Kims comments, South Koreas presidential office said Seoul is committed toward keeping the atmosphere of dialogue alive and helping negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang resume at an early date.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said it feared outbreaks of infectious diseases due to dirty water and people fleeing fighting nearing Tripoli, where it has about two weeks of emergency supplies for hospitals and health facilities.

After a week of fighting, 75 people have been killed and 323 wounded, including seven civilians killed and 10 wounded, said Dr Syed Jaffar Hussain, WHO representative in Libya.

The WHO has delivered trauma kits and medicines to hospitals, he said, adding: "These supplies will last for two weeks, the acute phase."

So far 6,000 have fled the fighting but WHO has contingency plans in case "thousands if not hundreds of thousands" are displaced.

Yesterday, gunfire and blasts echoed through Libya's capital as eastern forces fought troops of the internationally recognised government in southern Tripoli suburbs, forcing thousands of civilians to flee.

The Libyan National Army (LNA) of Khalifa Haftar advanced on the coastal city a week ago in the latest conflict of a cycle of anarchy since the 2011 overthrow of dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

But armed groups loyal to Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj have so far kept them at bay, with fierce fighting round a disused former airport about 11km from the centre.

As the sound of fighting echoed round their city, residents sought to maintain some normality yesterday. Some families were having breakfast in cafes next to the fish market where people were stocking up for the weekend.

"We have got used to wars. I fear only in God," said Yamim Ahmed (20), who works in a fast food restaurant.

As well as the humanitarian cost, the conflict threatens to disrupt oil supplies, increase migration across the Mediterranean to Europe, scupper a UN peace plan and allow Islamist militants to exploit the chaos.

Mr Haftar (75), a former general in Gaddafi's army who later joined the revolt against him, moved his troops out of their eastern stronghold to take the oil-rich, desert south earlier this year, before sweeping up to Tripoli this month.

Mr Serraj's government has managed to halt the advance, helped by armed groups with machine-guns on pick-ups and steel containers across the road into Tripoli.

The UN, which had hoped to organise a national conference this month bringing the rival eastern and western administrations together to organise an election, has called for a ceasefire. The United States, G7 bloc and European Union have also urged the LNA to halt its offensive.

"We had hoped there would be a national conference, not fighting," said Sulaiman, a businessman enjoying coffee with friends. "Unfortunately, after 40 years of dictatorship we don't have the right political way to express ourselves, we don't want military rule or militia rule."

The UN health agency said it fears outbreaks of tuberculosis, measles and diarrhoea due to poor sanitation, especially among those displaced.

"We are keeping a very strong eye on outbreaks because of displacement into places, and the water sanitation system is compromised. So there is a huge likelihood of outbreaks," said Dr Hussain.

Five ambulances have been hit trying to extract wounded people from the conflict zone, he added.

Mr Haftar casts himself as a bulwark against Islamist militancy who wants to restore order to Libya. He has so far resisted UN pressure to accept a power-sharing settlement, using his leverage as an ally of the West in attempts to stem jihadists in North Africa.

Thousands of migrants, mainly Syrians and other Africans, are trapped in squalid detention centres in Tripoli as the fighting approaches.

Libya is a major transit point for migrants pouring into Europe in recent years, mostly trafficked by smuggling gangs.

"Refugees and migrants trapped in detention centres in Libya are completely dependent on authorities and the humanitarian actors for basic services," tweeted aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres.

"There are reports that some in detention centres have not eaten in days." (Reuters)
Happier times: Johnny Depp and Amber Heard at the European premiere of their film The Rum Diary in London in 2011. Photo: AP/Joel Ryan, File

JOHNNY DEPP was a monster who repeatedly beat Amber Heard in a series of drug-fuelled attacks before and during their marriage, new court documents claim.

The US actress alleges Depp (55) left her fearing for her life after he choked her and ripped out chunks of her hair in more than a dozen violent altercations. The details emerged yesterday as Heard (32) asked a judge to dismiss a 46m defamation lawsuit filed by Depp over an article she wrote in 'The Washington Post' in December claiming to be a victim of domestic violence.

In the motion filed in a court in Virginia, Heard describes in extraordinary detail how Depp repeatedly slapped and abused her before and during their two-year marriage. Photographs showing Heard with facial bruises and scars on her arms and newly released screenshots of text messages describing the incidents were produced as exhibits.

The couple married in February 2015 and divorced in January 2017.

Depp has denied any abuse.

Heard said he began abusing drugs and alcohol a year into their relationship after they began dating in 2012. It led to him becoming a "totally different person".

"We called that version of Johnny 'the monster'," the documents state. In 2014, she claimed a drunken Depp kicked her in the back and threw his boot at her on a private jet as they flew from Boston to Los Angeles after he became upset over a romantic scene she had filmed with actor James Franco. He screamed obscenities at her until he passed out, she said.

A month into their marriage, Heard alleged Depp abused her as he embarked on a three-day ecstasy binge in Australia.

Heard said during an argument over his drug-taking, Depp slapped her and shoved her to the ground. The next day, she claimed she found Depp still drinking and taking ecstasy pills.

Heard claimed her ex-husband choked her, spat in her face, threw unopened glass bottles at her and pushed her into a table. He tore off her nightgown leaving her "naked, barefoot, covered in alcohol and glass".

Heard said she filed for a restraining order after he allegedly attacked her again in 2016, grabbing her phone. "He threw the phone in my face as hard as he could," she states in the document. She said their neighbour heard her screams and threw herself in between them, begging Depp to stop.

Heard said she punched Depp for "the only time" when she feared he would push her younger sister Whitney down the stairs.

Eric George, Heard's lawyer, said: "Since their divorce, he has continued to publicly harass Ms Heard and attempted to gaslight the world by denying his abuse. It is long past time for Mr Depp's despicable conduct to end."

Adam Waldman, Depp's lawyer, said the documents were being reviewed.

The lawsuit alleges Depp suffered financial losses, including losing his starring role in the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' film franchise, because of the newspaper article.
'OH YEAH, look at those dead bastards," and "ha, ha, I hit them" say the pilots of a US Apache helicopter in jubilant conversation as they machine-gun Iraqi civilians on the ground in Baghdad on 12 July 2007.

A wounded man, believed to be the Reuters photographer, 22-year-old Namir Noor-Eldeen, crawls towards a van. "Come on buddy, all you have to do is pick up a weapon," says one of the helicopter crew, eager to resume the attack. A hellfire missile is fired and a pilot says: "Look at that bitch go!" The photographer and his driver are killed.

Later the helicopter crew are told over the radio that they have killed 11 Iraqis and a small child has been injured. "Well, it's their fault for bringing their kids into battle," comments somebody about the carnage below.

Except there was no "battle" and all those who died were civilians, though the Pentagon claimed they were gunmen. The trigger-happy pilots had apparently mistaken a camera for a rocket propelled grenade launcher. Journalists in Baghdad, including myself, were from the start sceptical about the official US story because insurgents with weapons in their hands were unlikely to be standing chatting to each other in the street with an American helicopter overhead.

As on many similar occasions in Iraq, our doubts were strong but we could not prove that the civilians had not been carrying weapons in the face of categorical denials from the US Department of Defence.

It was known a video of the killings taken from the helicopter existed, but the Pentagon refused to release it under the Freedom of Information Act. Plenty of people were being killed all over Iraq at the time and the incident would soon have been forgotten, except by the families of the dead, if a US soldier called Chelsea Manning had not handed over a copy of the official video to WikiLeaks which published it in 2010.

The exposure of the Baghdad helicopter killings was the first of many revelations which explain why Julian Assange has been pursued for so long by the US and British governments. The claim by Theresa May echoed by other ministers that "in the United Kingdom, no one is above the law" is clearly an evasion of the real reasons why such efforts have been made to detain him on both sides of the Atlantic.

Jeremy Corbyn is correct to say the affair is all about "the extradition of Julian Assange to the US for exposing evidence of atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan". But, within hours of Assange's detention, it was clear nobody much cared about innocent people dying in the streets of Baghdad or in the villages of Afghanistan and Assange has already become a political weapon in the poisonous political confrontation over Brexit with Corbyn's support for Assange enabling Conservatives to claim he is a security risk.

Lost in this dog-fight is what Assange and WikiLeaks really achieved and why it was of great importance in establishing the truth about wars being fought on our behalf in which hundreds of thousands of people have been killed.

This is what Daniel Ellsberg did when he released the Pentagon Papers about the US political and military involvement in Vietnam between 1945 and 1967. Like Assange, he exposed official lies and was accused of putting American lives in danger though his accusers were typically elusive about how this was done.

But unless the truth is told, people outside the war zones will never understand why they go on so long and are never won.

Governments routinely lie in wartime and it is essential to expose what they are really doing. I remember looking at pictures of craters as big as houses in an Afghan village where 147 people had died in 2009 and which the US defence secretary claimed had been caused by the Taliban throwing grenades. In one small area called Qayara outside Mosul in 2016-17, the US air force admitted to killing one civilian but a meticulous examination of the facts by 'The New York Times' showed the real figure was 43 dead civilians including 19 men, eight women and 16 children aged 14 or under.

These are the sort of facts the US and UK governments try to conceal and which Assange and WikiLeaks have repeatedly revealed. Readers should keep this in mind when they are told Assange has narcissistic personality or was not treating his cat properly. If his personal vices were a hundred times more serious than alleged, would they really counterbalance - and perhaps even discredit - the monstrosities he sought to unmask?

The US government documents published by WikiLeaks are about the real workings of power. Take the Hillary Clinton emails published in 2016: much of the media attention has plugged into conspiracy theories about Russian involvement or the possible complicity of the Trump election campaign with the Russians.

Many Democrats and anti-Trump journalists managed to persuade themselves that Assange had helped lose Hillary Clinton the election, though a glance at a history of the campaign showed she was quite capable of doing this all by herself by not campaigning in toss-up states.

But look at what the emails tell us about the way the world really works. There is, for instance, a US State Department memo dated 17 August 2014 - just over a week after Isil had launched its offensive against the Kurds and Yazidis in Iraq that led to the butchery, rape and enslavement of so many.

It was a time when the US was adamantly denying Saudi Arabia and Qatar had any connection with Isil. But the leaked memo, drawn from "western intelligence, US intelligence and sources in the region" tells us they really knew different. It says: "We need to use our diplomatic and more traditional intelligence assets to bring pressure on the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which are providing clandestine financial and logistic support to Isis and other radical groups in the region".

This is important information about the level of priority the US gave to keeping in with its Saudi and Qatari allies. This had been true since 9/11 and remains true today.

Anybody who highlights the importance of the work which Assange and WikiLeaks has done is likely to be accused of being light-heartedly dismissive of the accusations of rape.

Assange is likely to pay a higher price than Ellsberg. The Pentagon Papers were published when the media was becoming freer across the world while now it is on the retreat as authoritarian governments replace democratic ones and democratic governments become more authoritarian.

The fate of Assange will be a good guide as to how far we are going down this road and the degree to which freedom of expression is threatened in Britain. ( The Independent, London)
Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda, charged with attempted homicide of a 5-year-old boy thrown or pushed from a third-floor balcony at Minnesota's Mall of America Courtesy City of Bloomington Police Department/Handout via REUTERS

A 5-year-old boy suffered life-threatening injuries on Friday after being thrown or pushed by an apparent stranger from a third-floor balcony at Minnesota's Mall of America, and a man who fled the scene has been charged with attempted homicide, police said.

The child was rushed to a hospital after officers and passersby provided aid at the scene, Bloomington Police Chief Jeff Potts said. His condition was not immediately known.

Shortly after the incident, police arrested a 24-year-old man inside the mall, one of the state's leading tourist attractions, after he had fled the scene, Potts said.

The suspect, Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda, who is from the area, was charged with attempted homicide, police said in a statement.

Expand Close Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda, charged with attempted homicide of a 5-year-old boy Courtesy City of Bloomington Police Department/Handout via REUTERS / Facebook

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"At this time we do not believe there is a relationship between the suspect and the child or the family of the child, and we are actively investigating as to why this incident occurred," Potts said at a briefing just outside the mall.

Police received an initial report at 10:17 a.m. saying a child had fallen from the third level of the mall, but witnesses reported the child was pushed or thrown by a man, Potts said.

"We dont believe that there is a threat to the public at this point as the suspect has been located," he said, adding that the incident appeared to be isolated.

The Mall of America, home to 330 stores, is located in the city of Bloomington, just south of Minneapolis. According to the mall's website, it is visited by 40 million people from around the world each year.
(Donald Trump with his children Eric, left, Ivanka and Donald Jr, right. Photo: Getty Images

President Trump said he considered nominating his daughter Ivanka Trump to be president of the World Bank because shes very good with numbers, according to a new interview.

In an interview with The Atlantic published Friday, the president discussed his eldest daughter, and the various roles she would have been well-suited for in the Trump administration.

According to the president, who acknowledged that all his children have been very, very good, Ivanka, whom he reportedly refers to as Baby in meetings, is unique.

I even thought of Ivanka for the World Bank She wouldve been great at that because shes very good with numbers, Mr Trump said.

Expand Close Jared Kushner, wife Ivanka Trump and children arrive at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland following the weekend at US President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. (Photo by Nicholas Kamm / AFP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Jared Kushner, wife Ivanka Trump and children arrive at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland following the weekend at US President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. (Photo by Nicholas Kamm / AFP)

Referencing her admirable qualities, which include her great calmness and tremendous presence, the president also noted that his 37-year-old daughter would have been great at the United Nations - but that he did not nominate her to replace Nikki Haley as US ambassador to the UN because people would claim it was nepotism.

If I did, theyd say nepotism, wen it wouldve had nothing to do with nepotism, the president said. But she wouldve been incredible.

The president instead nominated undersecretary of the Treasury for International Affairs David Malpass for the position of president of the World Bank, who was confirmed last month.

Ivanka, who currently plays an active role in the White House as senior advisor to her father, is unpaid for her work and, despite her fathers opinions, has previously said she tries to stay out of politics.

Expand Close US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and grandson arrive at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland following the weekend with her father's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. (Photo by Nicholas Kamm / AFP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and grandson arrive at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland following the weekend with her father's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. (Photo by Nicholas Kamm / AFP)

I try to stay out of politics. [The presidents] political instincts are phenomenal, she told Fox & Friends in June 2017.

If she were to run for president herself, however, her father thinks she would likely win.

I think shed be very, very hard to beat, Mr Trump told The Atlantic.
US president Donald Trump has weighed in on the most recent controversy involving Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar, retweeting a video edited to suggest she was dismissive of the significance of the September 11 attacks.

The video shows a snippet of Ms Omars speech last month to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in which she described the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre as some people did something, spliced with news footage of the hijacked planes hitting the twin towers.

Mr Trump tweeted: WE WILL NEVER FORGET!

Ms Omars remark has drawn criticism from political opponents and conservatives who say the congresswoman, one of the first Muslim women to serve in congress, offered a flippant description of the assailants and the attacks in New York City that killed nearly 3,000 people and placed the US on the path to war.

Neither Mr Trumps tweet nor the video includes her full quote or the context of the Minnesota representatives comments.

The people  and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon! President George W. Bush



Was Bush downplaying the terrorist attack?



What if he was a Muslim  https://t.co/XMazssoD49  Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) April 12, 2019

Ms Omar told CAIR in Los Angeles that many Muslims saw their civil liberties being eroded after the attacks, and she advocated for activism.

She said in the speech delivered on March 23: For far too long we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen and, frankly, Im tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it.

CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognised that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties.

CAIR was founded in 1994, according to its website, but its membership increased dramatically after the 2001 attacks.

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Many Republicans and conservative outlets expressed outrage at Ms Omars remarks.

Texas representative Dan Crenshaw, a retired Navy SEAL who lost his right eye in 2012 in an explosion in Afghanistan, tweeted: First Member of Congress to ever describe terrorists who killed thousands of Americans on 9/11 as some people who did something.'

Heres your something, the New York Post blared on its cover, beneath a photograph of the flaming towers.

US house speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she wants to hear from Ms Omar about the comment, but the Minnesota Democrat does not seem to be backing down.

Ms Omar tweeted a quote from former president George W Bush shortly after the attacks, when he said: The people  and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!

Ms Omar tweeted: Was Bush downplaying the terrorist attack? What if he was a Muslim.

Ilhan Omar is a leader with strength and courage. She won't back down to Trump's racism and hate, and neither will we. The disgusting and dangerous attacks against her must end.  Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) April 13, 2019

Two 2020 Democratic presidential candidates waded into the debate to condemn Mr Trumps tweet and to stand with Ms Omar.

Senator Bernie Sanders tweeted of his party colleague: She wont back down to Trumps racism and hate, and neither will we.

Elizabeth Warren also tweeted: The president is inciting violence against a sitting congresswoman  and an entire group of Americans based on their religion.

The President is inciting violence against a sitting Congresswomanand an entire group of Americans based on their religion. It's disgusting. It's shameful. And any elected leader who refuses to condemn it shares responsibility for it.  Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) April 13, 2019

Ms Omar has repeatedly pushed fellow Democrats into uncomfortable territory over Israel and the power of the Jewish states influence in Washington.

She apologised for suggesting members of congress support Israel for pay and said she is not criticising Jews. But she refused to take back a tweet in which she suggested that American supporters of Israel pledge allegiance to a foreign country.

Her comments sparked an ugly episode among House Democrats when they responded with a resolution condemning anti-Semitism which became a broader declaration against all forms of bigotry.
British High Commissioner to India Dominic Asquith, pays tribute to victims of the massacre (AP)

The UK envoy to India has said his country regrets a massacre of hundreds of Indians by British colonial forces in the north-west city of Amritsar 100 years ago, and will continue to do so.

Saturday marks the centenary of the attack at Jallianwala Bagh by British colonial troops on unarmed Indians attending a peaceful rally calling for independence.

More than 300 Indians were killed and 1,200 injured during the massacre, which galvanised the national independence movement.

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British High Commissioner Dominic Asquith said the revulsion that we felt at the time is still strong today, as he paid tributes at the Jallianwala Bagh memorial in Amritsar.

He added: I would just ask you to respect what I came here to do, which was to commemorate those who died 100 years ago, to express the sorrow of the British Government and of the British people.

But I would repeat what I said: both governments are committed to building a very strong relationship.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Theresa May called the killings a shameful scar in British-Indian history, but stopped short of formally apologising.
A federal judge has granted a motion to dismiss all charges in connection with a homicide at Ohkay Owingeh in northern New Mexico.

Phillip Glock , a 53-year-old tribal citizen, was shot and killed on January 5 in what federal prosecutors called a road rage incident. But they have since concluded that they would be unable to convict defendant Dennis Velasquez, Jr. "beyond a reasonable doubt," a motion filed on February 22 stated.

That same day, Magistrate Judge Laura Fashing granted the motion to dismiss charges of murder, discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence and a violation of the General Crimes Act. The charges were dismissed "without prejudice," meaning Velasquez could still face charges in connection with the crime at a future date.

The U.S. Attorneys Office declined to comment about the case when asked by The Santa Fe New Mexican, which was the first to report on the dismissal of the charges.

In an affidavit, FBI Agent Michelle A. Cobb describes how she used evidence from a cell phone, along with information provided by a witness, to track down Dennis Velasquez, Jr., who was accused of murder at Ohkay Owingeh in northern New Mexico.

The incident occurred on a busy highway that runs through the reservation. According to documents filed in federal court, it originated in a dispute between Glock and Velasquez while both were in the parking lot at the Ohkay Travel Center, which is owned by the tribe.

According to an affidavit submitted FBI Agent Michelle A. Cobb , Glock was driving his pickup truck along with two of his other children -- ages 12 and 10 -- at the time of the incident. He was shot after he exited his truck to confront another vehicle, one in which Velasquez was a passenger.

The second vehicle was being driven by Velasquez's father, according to the affidavit. His mother was also a passenger.

When interviewed by the FBI agent, Velasquez's father said his son "didn't shoot to kill the man, but wanted to scare him."

Though both of Velasquez's parents acknowledged being in the car and witnessing the shooting, they admitted they drove away from the scene, according to the affidavit. His father said it was because he didn't have a phone to call 911, adding that he "didn't trust Indian cops."

The family instead drove back to their home in Gallina, which is a remote community about 57 miles north of the Ohkay Travel Center. That's where Velasquez, who is non-Indian, was arrested, according to news reports from the time.

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The Opioid Epidemic Hits Hard in Indian Country

Democracy Now!

Drug overdoses killed 700,000 people in the United States between 1999 and 2017, and more than two-thirds of those deaths were the result of opioids.

Last month, the state of Oklahoma won a landmark $270 million settlement against one of the worlds largest manufacturers of prescription opioids, Purdue Pharma, owned by the Sackler family. While the Sackler name doesnt appear on Purdues pill bottles, it does adorn many prestigious museums and academic buildings around the world. Aggressive marketing of Purdues products, including its signature addictive drug, OxyContin, made billions of dollars for the Sacklers, some of which they gave to places like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Guggenheim Museum in New York, and the Tate museums in London.

Now, the tide is turning, thanks in part to legal action like the one in Oklahoma  the lawsuits against Purdue and the Sacklers now number close to 2,000  and creative protest campaigns at some of the museums that the Sacklers have funded.

Meanwhile, the opioid epidemic has continued to grow, expanding from prescription opioids like OxyContin to include heroin and now fentanyl. The epidemic knows no boundaries, affecting people across class and race lines.

Democracy NOW! on SoundCloud: Amy Goodman: The Opioid Epidemic Hits Hard in Indian Country

But, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes, two of the leading risk factors for becoming addicted to opioids, and potentially dying of an overdose, are living in a rural area and being poor. Native American reservations in the United States meet both criteria. It is no surprise that the opioid epidemic has hit indigenous populations especially hard.

The number one disease that our people suffer from is anonymity or invisibility, Stacy Bohlen, citizen of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and CEO of the National Indian Health Board, said on the Democracy Now! news hour . Youre looking at very vulnerable populations of people, very vulnerable health care systems, that are funded below 50 percent of need.

According to the CDC, drug overdoses among rural Native Americans and Native Alaskans, between 1999 and 2015, increased by 519 percent, more than twice the national average. That number itself is likely too low, as native people are often miscategorized ethnically or racially.

The Oglala Lakota Sioux Tribe in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, has filed a federal lawsuit against Purdue Pharma and several other opioid manufacturers. The devious and corrupt business practices detailed in the complaint are staggering, and reminiscent of the tactics used by the tobacco industry in order to deceive the public about the harms posed by cigarettes.

Thank you for participating in National #TakeBackDay!



Properly disposing unwanted, unused, & expired pills, particularly Opioids, protects households against the misuse of prescription drugs. Check w/ local authorities for your areas next scheduled Take Back Day.#OpioidCrisis pic.twitter.com/iobruYEPK3  Indian Affairs (@USIndianAffairs) May 1, 2018

The suit alleges Purdue and the other companies intentionally flooded the market with opioids and pocketed billions of dollars in the process, repeatedly making false statements designed to persuade both doctors and patients that prescription opioids posed a low risk of addiction.

This threat to tribal communities across the United States, not just in South Dakota, is really an existential one  were talking about some of the most strained economies in the country, where youll see unemployment rates of 80 percent, attorney Brendan Johnson, representing the Oglala Sioux, said on Democracy Now!

What is different here, he added, is that tribes do have a seat at the table, have been very aggressive in their claims, because oftentimes [with] the state and the state attorney generals, the tribal communities are forgotten. Here, that wont be the case.

As this case and close to 2,000 others make their way through the courts, people are taking action against Purdue Pharma. Artists and activists in New York City lined The Guggenheim Museums famous climbing spiral walkway, hurling into the vast atrium thousands of fake prescription pad pages bearing messages critical of the Sacklers. The action was inspired by a statement from the 1990s by Purdue co-owner Richard Sackler, that the launch of OxyContin would be followed by a blizzard of prescriptions that would bury the competition.

Artist Nan Goldin, one of the organizers of the protests, who herself had been addicted to OxyContin, tweeted, after details of the Oklahoma legal settlement were announced: The Sackler family paid $75 million in the Oklahoma settlement today which admits their culpability. By the way, thats only 0.2 percent of the $35 billion in profits they made from OxyContin.

To date, the Guggenheim and the Tate museums, as well as Britains National Portrait Gallery, have stopped accepting Sackler family funds, and other institutions are considering doing the same.

As the Sackler family name is stripped from elite art institutions, appearing more frequently in court proceedings, they must now answer for the ravages of the opioid epidemic from which they so handsomely profited.

The anonymity they enjoyed, hiding behind Purdue Pharma, must end. But the anonymity of their victims must end as well: those who have died, and those who, addicted to opioids, still struggle to survive.

Amy Goodman is the host and executive producer of Democracy Now!, a daily international TV/radio news hour airing on more than 1,300 stations. Time Magazine named Democracy Now! its Pick of the Podcasts, along with NBCs Meet the Press.

Denis Moynihan has worked in the independent, non-commercial media sector for over 15 years. He is currently the Special Projects Coordinator for Democracy Now!, a daily, grassroots global TV/radio/internet news hour airing on over 1,300 stations globally. He is the co-author, with journalist Amy Goodman, of the New York Times bestseller, The Silenced Majority: Stories of Uprisings, Occupations, Resistance and Hope.

Note: This column originally appeared on Democracy Now! on March 28, 2019. The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

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At the border, Pence calls on Democrats to fix our broken asylum system

Cronkite News

NOGALES  Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday inspected the border fence that separates this border city from its Mexican neighbor and blamed Democrats for inaction on what the Trump administration calls a security and humanitarian crisis.

Standing with Gov. Doug Ducey near the razor-wire-strewn steel fence that divides the cities, Pence called on Democrats in Congress to fix what he called the magnet of our broken asylum system.

Youre doing your job, the presidents doing his job, its time for the Democrats to do their jobs, he told a group of Border Patrol agents.

Although the administration is not considering restarting its controversial policy of family separation, Pence said, he called for an end catch and release policies and to amend court decisions related to the detention of minors and their family members. Pence was referring to the 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement, which establishes limits on the length of time and conditions in which immigration authorities can detain minors who crossed into the U.S.

Cronkite News Video by Austin Westfall: Pence tours Nogales

Legal advocacy groups have come out against such changes championed by the Trump administration.

These regulations would eliminate long-standing, court-mandated protections for minors, resulting in more families, including young children, being detained for longer periods of time, Anastasia Tonello, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said in a 2018 news release

Pence also emphasized the administrations commitment to funding a border wall, despite congressional resistance.

Walls work. You all know that better than anyone, he told the agents, adding that the administration also was looking at ways to fill staffing shortages within Customs and Border Protection and Border Patrol and modernize ports of entry.

In briefings today by the Tucson Sector of @CBP, I learned they apprehended 2 Iranian nationals trying to avert border patrol. Thousands of migrants are apprehended every day. This is a national emergency & Congress needs to support our brave men & women serving on the border! pic.twitter.com/De9B1h1f3Z  Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) April 12, 2019

Pences visit came several days after Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen stepped down amid President Donald Trumps reported frustration over what he called alarming numbers of Central American migrants crossing the southern border, most of them seeking asylum.

Customs and Border Protection recently reported that apprehensions at the southern border for the first half of fiscal 2019 were nearly as high as all of 2018

Nogales Mayor Arturo Garino was among opponents who reject the administrations characterization of the southern border as dangerous or in crisis.

Garino and the Nogales City Council have asked the Trump administration to remove the concertina wire it placed along the downtown border fence earlier this year. Garino has said the wire represents a safety hazard and sends the wrong message to people in Sonora, Mexico.

In downtown Nogales, Evan Kory, whose family owns the retail stores Korys and La Cinderella, said he hoped Pence would discuss the problems faced by people crossing the border legally to shop in Nogales, especially with long border wait times.

The crisis does not exist thats being portrayed, he said.

Pences visit to Nogales comes less than a week after Trump visited the border in Calexico, California. Last Thursday, Nielsen also visited the border in Yuma before joining Trump in California.

Both visits came after Trump threatened to close the U.S.-Mexico border entirely. He later walked back that threat, saying he would give Mexico a one-year warning to stop the flow of migrants crossing the southern border.

Vice President Mike Pence, left, and Gov. Doug Ducey talk with Border Patrol agents after inspecting a section of border fence in Nogales. Photo by Austin Westfall / Cronkite News

Civil liberties and immigration advocacy groups, including Amnesty International, have argued against the administrations immigration policies, especially as they relate to asylum seekers, who have the right under international law to present themselves in the U.S. and have their cases processed for protection.

Pence last visited Arizona in March, when he expressed his support of Trumps declaration of an emergency, allowing him to use federal emergency funds to build his long-promised border wall without congressional approval. That declaration is now before the courts.

In a statement, Arizona Chamber of Commerce CEO and President Glenn Hamer emphasized the economic importance of cross-border trade.

The White House should also stop its threats to close the border completely. Not only would a closure be an economic catastrophe, but it is doubtful that it would have any effect on the migration patterns from Central America, Hamer said.

Garino said 65 to 70 percent of the sales tax Nogales collects comes from Mexicans who cross the border legally to buy products in Nogales and throughout Arizona.

It was an honor to meet the extraordinary men and women of @CBP in Nogales this afternoon. @POTUS and I are grateful for the work that you do every day. Thank you for your service! pic.twitter.com/ynyLPpdTwo  Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) April 12, 2019

Environmental groups also have spoken out against the concertina wire and the administrations border policy.

Pence should be ashamed to show his face in Nogales or any other borderland community, Laiken Jordahl, borderlands campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity in Tucson, said in an email.

Unless Pence is here to take down the vile razor wire his administration strung through this safe community, he should pack up and go home. Its disgusting that Pence and Trump keep demonizing these border cities and then using them as props. It needs to stop.

Hamer said the long-term solution to border security involves comprehensive immigration reform that enhances border security, boosts staffing at the ports to process trade and travel while also interdicting contraband, overhauls our outdated visa laws, and once and for all addresses those undocumented individuals already here, including the estimated 800,000 individuals in an undocumented status who were brought to the U.S. as children."

This story originally appeared on Cronkite News and is published via a Creative Commons license . Cronkite News is produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University

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The following is the text of a letter sent February 10, 2019, to 16 Democratic presidential candidates, including Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Julian Castro, John Delaney, Tulsi Gabbard, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, John Hickenlooper, Jay Inslee, Amy Klobuchar, Beto ORourke, Tim Ryan, Bernie Sanders, Eric Swalwell, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang. It was written by O.J. Semans , a U.S. Navy veteran from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe.

As part of our ongoing work to promote the dignity and equality of Native Americans, we are, along with the previous countless demands from the descendants of the Wounded Knee dead and survivors over the decades, campaigning to rescind the Medals of Honor granted to 20 soldiers who perpetrated the Wounded Knee Massacre on December 29, 1890. As a candidate for the Presidency, you can help us correct this historic injustice by calling for these Medals to be rescinded.

We have previously written to President Trump (on February 4, 2019 ) and separately to the leadership of the Senate and House Armed Services Committee (on February 8, 2019 ). These letters are attached for your reference.

U.S. soldiers can be seen in the background as Chief Spotted Elk, also known as Big Foot, lies frozen to death at the site of the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre in South Dakota. Image: Department of Defense. Department of the Army. Office of the Chief Signal Officer

It doesnt take modern sensibilities to recognize that the Seventh Cavalry committed atrocities at Wounded Knee. Just three weeks after the massacre, General Nelson A. Miles, on whose orders the Seventh Cavalry pursued the ailing Chief Big Foot and his people across the frozen Plains and Badlands, called his soldiers actions at Wounded Knee, The most abominable criminal military blunder and a horrible massacre of women and children [ DeMontravel , 1998, pp. 211 212]. Miles acknowledged, Every day we hear of poor women, little girls and boys and children found dead and frozen to the ground, or crawling over the prairie, for a distance of one hundred miles north and south [p. 206]. Testifying before the Commission on Indian Affairs in 1920, Miles said he regarded the whole affair as most unjustifiable and worthy of the severest condemnation [ National Park Service ].

Less than a year after the Massacre, General Miles wrote in a confidential letter dated November 20, 1891: Wholesale massacre occurred and I have never heard of a more brutal, cold-blooded massacre than that at Wounded Knee. About two hundred women and children were killed and wounded with little children on their backs, and small children powder-burned by the men who killed them being so near as to burn the flesh and clothing with the powder of their guns and nursing babes with five bullet holes through them ... [Letter to Baird].

Despite their generals own clear-eyed condemnation, twenty of the cold-blooded killers of Wounded Knee still bear the Medal of Honor. These medals contradict the judgment of General Miles, insult Native Americans, and hinder Native-White reconciliation.

To recognize the historical fact of the atrocities committed at Wounded Knee, to approach all Native Americans with an open hand and an honest heart, and to restore Honor to the Medal of Honor itself, we ask that you use your public platform to call for these medals to be stricken from the historical record. We ask that you promise, if elected President, to use your Executive authority to correct the injustice of honoring the Seventh Cavalrys atrocities and rescind those Medals of Honor.

Weve worked for 16 years to help Native Americans register to vote and exercise their Constitutional rights. We look forward to working with you to see that honor is restored for all the worthy recipients of the Medal of Honor and that justice is done for those defenseless, innocent women and children killed and wounded on that infamous day in December, 1890 by stripping from the historical record the Medals wrongfully awarded to the killers of Wounded Knee.

O.J. Semans, United States Navy VeteranCo-Executive Director, Four Directions

References

Peter R. DeMontravel, A Hero to His Fighting Men: Nelson A. Miles, 18391925 , Kent State University Press, 1998.

National Park Service, Wounded Knee and the Ghost Dance, retrieved 2019.04.01 from nps.gov/badl/planyourvisit/upload/wounded-knee-bulletin.pdf

Letter to Baird. Nelson A. Miles to George W. Baird, Nov 20, 1891 . Baird Collection. WA-S901, M596 Western Americana Collection , The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, Conn. [ Excerpt

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Kangana Ranaut has had issues with Alia Bhatt and it isn't new to any of us. Not sure how and when the animosity brew but Kangana has been targeting Bhatt since a long time now. A few months ago, she had alleged that the Raazi star didnt reciprocate her gesture and help promote Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi.

She went on to calling Alia a puppet of producer Karan Johar and urged her to to grow a spine.

And just few days ago, in an interview to Bollywood Life, Kangana had said that she finds comparisons between herself and Alia embarrassing because she found Alias critically acclaimed performance in Gully Boy mediocre. To quote her exact words, she had said,

I am embarrassed...What is there to beat in Gully Boy performance ....same snappy muh phat girl... Bollywoods idea of a fiery girl, woman empowerment and good acting, spare me this embarrassment, please. Media have taken filmy kids love too far. Stop pampering mediocre work or else bar will never be raised.

But what wins us over every time is how Alia is always calm and dignified with her response. In a rather graceful response to Kangana's attack, Alia spoke to Bollywood life and said,

Agencies

I respect Kanganas work a lot and I respect her opinion. If she feels a particular way she must have reason to feel that way. I would rather remember how much she had praised me after watching Raazi. And Id just like to focus on my work. Maybe she will appreciate me again if I work hard enough.

No matter what Kangana says about Alia, her response proves that she will never stoop low and maintain poise and grace. No wonder Bhatt has such a fan following!
Security forces gunned down two terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district after a brief shooting encounter between them. "Following a brief shoot out in the orchard area of Gahand village the two militants were killed. Their exact identities and affiliations are being ascertained," an officer said.

AFP/Representational Image

The gunfight broke out when militants fired on the security forces was they were conducting a cordon and search operation.

Jammu and Kashmir: Encounter underway between security forces and terrorists in Shopian district. More details awaited. (Visuals deferred by unspecified time) pic.twitter.com/xioVUQFXLH  ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2019

Last week, two terrorists were killed in a brief gunbattle with security forces in the same district, police said. The terrorists opened fire on a patrolling party of the Army from an orchard in Shopian, following which the soldiers retaliated, a police official said.

He said two ultras were killed in the exchange of fire. The identity and the affiliation of the slain terrorists were being ascertained, the official added.

(With inputs from agencies)
Naxalism, power-shortage, poor connectivity, infrastructure, farmers distress and man-animal conflict are the various issues that have been plaguing Chhattisgarh. In Balrampur district which is located in northern Chhattisgarh acute shortage of water is another major problem.

With a population of around 7,30,491, the district has 636 villages. Out of these 636, the Charchari village is located on the banks of west Rapti river and accommodates around 150 people. People living in this village are mostly labourers or daily wage workers.

The women have to walk miles to fetch water but in the recent past the situation has aggravated. The locals claim that they are forced to drink water from a pond that is a source for animals in the region and thereby, prone to contamination, news agency ANI reported.

Photo: ANI

The villagers have complained that no leader or minister has paid a visit to the region. A woman residing in the area told ANI They visit the village only during the time of elections. Everybody drinks from this pond. Be it human or animal. Our children are falling sick.

"The Sarpanch of the village had told us that he has verbally informed the Public Health Engineering Department about the water problem in our village. No investigation has been carried out so far in the matter by any authority. This kind of response from Sarpanch clearly shows that he is not doing his duty properly," said another villager from Balrampur.

Photo: ANI

The villagers said that they had recently notified the public administration of their problems but nobody paid attention. Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Ajay Kishor Lakra upon being questioned by the media said that tomorrow he will visit the village and make requisite arrangements.

The Balrampur district will go to polls on April 23. Chhattisgarhs electoral process is spread over three phases. While the first phase took place on April 11, the next two are bound to take place on April 18 and 23.

The Ramanujganj constituency of Chhattisgarh located in Balrampur district was won by the Indian National Congress in the Assembly elections last year. This seat is reserved for ST candidates. Indian National Congress candidate Brihaspat Singh had defeated BJPs Ramkishun Singh by 32,916 votes.
It's been more than a month since the dastardly attacks on the CRPF jawans shook citizens and triggered a chain of events between the neighbouring countries, India and Pakistan.

The tensions escalated to such an intensity that it disrupted the normal lives of many especially for those with plans to travel and marry around the first week of March. Mahendra Singh from Rajasthan was one of the few who has affected the conflict between India and Pakistan. He had no choice but to push his wedding scheduled in March to a later date.

Now, Singh is all smiles and set to leave for his wedding in Pakistan.

ANI

Speaking to ANI, the jubilant groom to be said, "My marriage was fixed for March 8 but because of tensions between the two nations post Pulwama attack it was postponed. Now that there is peace again I'm going there and I'm happy."

Rajasthan: A wedding procession leaves for Umarkot, Pakistan from Barmer. M Singh, groom (pic3) says, "My marriage was fixed for 8th March but because of tensions b/w two nations post Pulwama attack it was postponed. Now that there is peace again I'm going there, I'm happy"(12.4) pic.twitter.com/qaRxX35DzR  ANI (@ANI) 12 April 2019

Mahendra Singh is transcending borders and set to marry a Pakistani girl. But he is not the only one after the attacks to marry a Pakistani girl.

Kiran Sarjeet Kaur (27) married Parvinder Singh (33) of Tepla village in Ambala district of Haryana on March 9.

Kaur's plan to reach Patiala on February 23 got delayed due to heightened tension. She reached Patiala on a 45-day visa by Samjhauta Express. As the Indian Embassy in Pakistan gave her visa only for Patiala, she came here and stayed with her relatives at Samana.
Young Indian supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party wait to listen to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech during one of his political campaigns ahead of India's general election, in Gohpur, some 299 kms from Guwahati, the capital city of Assam, on March 30, 2019. Modi embarked on a campaign blitz March 28 with three huge rallies where he declared voters would reward his decision to test new weapons and bomb Pakistan with a thumping election victory. (Biju Boro/AFP/Getty Images)
The Tashkent Files is a film that deserves far larger exposure. This much-delayed movie is a timely reminder that politics can be a completely murky game if you choose to play dirty. (photo provided)
Priyanka Chopra (left) in conversation with Tina Brown at the Women in World Summit 2019 in New York. Chopra said everybody has probably faced sexual harassment because it had become a norm with women. (Priyanka Chopra/Twitter photo).
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Responding to an incident earlier this year, in which several hundred Indian students enrolled at the sham University of Farmington in Farmington Hill, Michigan, were arrested and deported, the Indian Embassy in Washington, DC has compiled an advisory and watchlist for prospective students. (representational photo/Sam Panthaky/Getty Images)
VOAs Learning English program is bringing its decades long expertise of teaching foreign audiences the English language to refugee camps in Bangladesh. Learning English is VOAs multimedia source of news and information for millions of English learners worldwide.

At the end of March, a VOA Learning English team travelled to the Rohingya refugee camps in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, to train 100 English teachers using a range of multimedia materials. The training program includes follow-up virtual classroom sessions, as well as VOA Learning English content accessible at the camps learning centers and though mobile devices.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees invited VOA to provide six days of intensive training on teaching techniques and methods for selected teachers. The teachers, in turn, will use the acquired knowledge to train another 5,000 of their colleagues in order to provide English lessons for refugees in the camp. The refugees requested this training during a visit by VOA Director Amanda Bennett at the Coxs Bazar camps last year.

Rahma Rashid Toki, one of the selected teachers, told the VOA Learning English team she was ready to quit on the first day of training. By the end of the course, Toki commented: When I came to the first day of training, I felt nervous. I decided I will not continue. Already I had applied to leave. But my P.O. (personnel officer) would not accept my application to leave. He said to me that this training is important and necessary. Now that the training is finished, I realize its really important for me and my students!

Francis Nath a UN Education Associate at Coxs Bazar who assisted with the training, said you can see the [teachers] level of English competency improve dramatically by the second day.

VOAs Learning English service uses clear and simple vocabulary to teach American English on radio, television, Internet, and mobile.

Learning English began as Special English, which VOA launched in 1959. Special English newscasts and features were a primary fixture of VOAs international shortwave broadcasts for more than half a century. In 2014, the line of products was expanded to include more English teaching materials, and the service became known as Learning English.
Denmark has reported the local operations of Ernst & Young and KPMG to the police amid a widening crackdown on money laundering in the country.

EY is being investigated for failing to alert the authorities to red flags linked to the Danske Bank Estonian laundering case.

KPMG was the auditor of Kobenhavns Andelskasse, a small local lender that was shut down last year amid concerns it was systematically used for money laundering.

Rasmus Jarlov, the business minister, said it was good that the authorities  the Business Authority, the police, and the Financial Supervisory Authority  are 100% on top of this case which needs to be investigated all the way.

The Danish Business Authority started its investigation into EY last year as the full scale of the Danske scandal became known.

Denmarks biggest bank is at the centre of a 200bn Estonian laundering saga that spans 2007 to 2015.

Ernst & Young is on the hook for its work auditing Danskes accounts for 2014.

KPMG has been reported to police for its audit of the 2017 annual report of Kobenhavns Andelskasse.

Danish politicians agreed last month to include the freedom to ban accounting firms from doing business if they dont do their jobs properly.

The dirty-money scandal thats swept through the Nordic and Baltic regions has more recently also engulfed Swedbank, Swedens oldest bank and biggest mortgage lender.

According to Ernst & Young, its Danish unit has fully co-operated.

KPMG said it reacted and drew attention to, among other things, procedural failures in connection with the area of money laundering, both to the management and the board. The Financial Supervisory Authority also received our reporting.

Bloomberg
Apple, Facebook, and Google are facing calls to help pay for wind farms needed to power their planned data centres in Denmark.

The companies have chosen the Nordic country partly because of its abundant supply of green electricity.

A new report suggests the data centres will consume so much power that local authorities may have to resort to more fossil fuels to cover demand.

The Red Green Alliance, a left-wing opposition party with 14 seats in parliament, wants a ban on new data centres until a law is in place that can ensure no business mooches on Denmarks efforts to achieve carbon-neutrality, according to a statement published by the party.

The Alliance may end up providing parliamentary support to a new left-wing coalition government after elections due by June 17.

The data centres are expected to consume about 7 terawatt-hours annually, the equivalent of 17% of Denmarks electricity consumption in 2030, according to a report published earlier this week by the Danish Council on Climate Change.

Even when considering energy taxes and fees paid by the data centres, they will still cost Denmark some 400 million kroner (54m) a year because of the costs involved in expanding offshore wind capacity.

The three US technology giants have all said they want their data centres to run on green energy and have also published plans for wind parks. But the council said those plans still lack detail and a firm commitment.

Its also not clear if the new parks would draw on state subsidies.

Large global companies shouldnt mooch on the green transition and even burden Danish power consumers with the bill, said Soren Egge Rasmussen, the Red Green Alliances energy spokesman.

Apple is building a 887m data centre in Denmarks western city of Viborg, which will be one of the worlds biggest, once completed.

Facebook has plans for a data centre near the central city of Odense, while Google has bought land for a site in nearby Fredericia.

All three companies have bought or reserved land elsewhere for additional data centres, although Facebook said last month it would drop plans for a second one for the time being.

In Ireland, Apple cancelled plans for a data centre in Athenry following objections and long delays in the planning system.

Bloomberg. Additional reporting Irish Examiner
The head of the National Stroke Programme has called for the rerunning of a hard-hitting advertising campaign that led to a major increase in the number of stroke victims who got to hospital in time for potentially lifesaving treatment.

Dr Ronan Collins said it needs to get FAST back on as soon as possible, because the progress made during the 2010/2011 TV and radio campaign had been lost.

Since the ad disappeared, all that progress was lost and less than 50% are presenting within 3.5 hours. Ideally they should be presenting within that timeframe or sooner, said Dr Collins.

The campaign, sponsored by the Irish Heart Found-ation, was designed to develop public awareness of the key symptoms of stroke: Has the face fallen to one side (F); can the person raise their arms (A); is speech slurred (S); and time to call 999 (T).

A study of the efficacy of the ad by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland found 59% more stroke victims got to hospital in time to receive thrombolysis treatment.

Dr Collins said Health Minister Simon Harris promised last year to find resources to rerun the FAST campaign.

In a statement, the Department of Health said:

This matter is currently being reviewed between the Department and the HSE.

Dr Collins said it also needs to invest in mid-life management of blood pressure and cholesterol, as there is a worrying little trend that age of stroke in men in particular is dropping.

If we got those two things right, we would probably halve the incidence of stroke, he said.

Dr Collins said he is concerned about the immigrant population, especially Asian and African males, as he had seen evidence of blood pressure-related diseases such as heart failure in young men.

This was something he had not seen since he was an intern 25 years ago, he said.
A man has been arrested in connection with a fatal shooting in Citywest two years ago.

He's being held for questioning at Tallaght Garda Station.
Update: Elisha Carroll has been found safe and well.

Earlier: Gardai are seeking the public's help tracing a 14-year-old girl missing from Co Wicklow.

Elisha Carroll is missing from her home in Blessington, Co Wicklow.

She was last seen on April 10.

Elisha is described as 5'5", of medium build with short brown hair.

When last seen she was wearing jeans, a red and black shirt and a navy jacket.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Blessington Garda Station on 045 857620.
Government ministers are highly annoyed at having to sacrifice money from their departments to fund the cost escalation at the National Childrens Hospital, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has confirmed.

Behind-the-scenes criticisms of Health Minister Simon Harris and of the handling of the cost overruns have emerged among ministers.

In an interview with the Irish Examiner, Mr Donohoe confirmed that ministerial colleagues have made it known to him how unhappy they are with the situation, caused by the sharp rise in the budget for the hospital.

I know this has been a source of [frustration]. I know lots of colleagues have strong views, Mr Donohoe said.

When asked if the annoyance has been articulated to him, Mr Donohoe said: Yes, it has been articulated to me and I have had lots of engagement with colleagues in relation to it, but if we are going to stand by our budget figures, and what I am not going to do is to pretend to the Oireachtas that there is money to be found some- where else or money to be printed to pay for overruns on projects in 2019.

Mr Donohoe said that ministers who allow big projects to overrun must play their part in plugging the hole.

We set a budget for 2019; we set it on the basis of figures available to me then. And if projects, and particularly big projects, overspend, well then Government ministers who are managing those projects have to play their part in how we deal with the issue.

I know this has been a source of... I know lots of colleagues have strong views on it but I am not going to be unravelling Budget 2019 in February 2019, Mr Donohoe said.

Meanwhile, Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin has accused Mr Harris of not being on top of the Health brief.

Mr Martin said the recent scandals over the new National Childrens Hospital and CervicalCheck show that Mr Harris is not up to the job and said the Government took its eye off the ball when it came to the massive overruns on the project.

Mr Donohoe also played down the prospects of a general election this year, notwithstanding the delay to Brexit.

I believe this Dail will continue throughout this year and Ill be presenting a fourth budget. I believe the timeline set out by the Taoiseach and he and Micheal Martin have talked about, about the Dail continuing on until next year, I believe that is what will happen, he said.

I know lots of people will have differing views in relation to it, but the extension period that has been granted to the UK, they are going to need to try and reach an orderly resolution and I think this Dail is going to continue, he said.
A section of the M7 in Co Kildare remains closed today and into the early hours of tomorrow.

As part of upgrade works, a new bridge is being installed and the motorway is closed in both directions between Naas North and Naas South.
The Taoiseach has defended the States 7m legal bill in the 14bn Apple tax case insisting Ireland must defend its international reputation from suggestions its a tax haven.

Leo Varadkar was speaking after his first visit to Apples vast European headquarters in Cork yesterday. It is the citys largest private employer.

He was reacting to Sinn Feins finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty who criticised the soaring legal costs associated with the States element of the Apple tax case.

He said it was time for a serious conversation about how the 14bn tax pile, which is sitting in an escrow account, could be put to use here if Apple loses the case.

Mr Varadkar said the view of Margrethe Vestager, the European Commissioner for Competition, who in 2016 ruled that Ireland had a special tax deal with Apple, could cause reputational damage.

We have a duty to avoid that, he said.

The damage to our international reputation could be significant. Whatever people may say about us, nobody seriously classifies us as a tax haven.

No international body legitimately says Ireland was ever involved in cutting special deals for certain companies.

He also said the assumption that Ireland is in line for a windfall if Apple loses the case is incorrect.

Its quite likely to be divided up among a lot of different counties and may even end up going to American revenue.

"So this idea that this is money definitely coming to Ireland if only for the Apple case is just incorrect.

He said he didnt discuss the tax case during his visit to the Apple campus but did raise the companys data centre plans in Ireland following the Supreme Courts dismissal on Thursday of an appeal by two local residents of the 2016 An Bord Pleanala approval of the first phase of Apples 850m data centre project in Athenry, Co Galway  a project the firm has since abandoned.

The people of Athenry and East Galway really wanted that investment, said Mr Varadkar.

500m investment in Dublin or Cork is huge but for East Galway it would have been the biggest investment ever.

Now that the legal issues are gone I wanted to talk to them to see if either theyd still use it or that theyd talk to the IDA about maybe finding somebody else that would use it. We had a good, positive engagement on that.

Leo Varadkar speaking to guests of Midleton Chamber of Commerce at Irish Distillers in Midleton, Co Cork. Picture: Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision

Apples vice president of European Operations, Cathy Kearney, accompanied the Taoiseach during his tour of the recently extended Hollyhill campus where an estimated 220m has been invested since 2012.

A new building was opened recently with capacity for 1,400 employees.

Mr Varadkars visit coincided with a visit by almost 100 transition year students from Colaiste an Spioraid Naoimh and St Vincents who have been involved with some of the education initiatives supported by the Apple team in Cork.

More than 40 Apple staff have volunteered at Terence MacSwiney College since 2016, teaching students to develop and communicate ideas through drawing, music, video, and photography.

College principal Phil OFlynn said many of their students have the odds stacked against them.

But the Apple volunteering programme has helped nurture them, and weve discovered talents that we never knew they had, she said.

You have to create hope, no matter what context you work in. Sometimes you need a bit of help with that, and thats what this programme does  it lifts the school.

For students, the fact that somebody believes in you is priceless.
A teenager who was charged under Operation Joyrider, targeting alleged car thefts in Cork City, had his bail revoked for 18 breaches yesterday and was remanded in custody.

Jake OSullivan, aged 18, of 22 Fairfield Rd, Farranree, has been on bail since October on charges of driving 11 stolen vehicles between March and November 2017.

Garda Marie Geraghty testified yesterday that since March 6, the defendant had failed to sign on at Gurranabraher Garda Station 11 times and had failed to keep his curfew to be home by 11pm each night on seven occasions.

Garda Geraghty gave evidence of gardai calling to his house after 11pm seven times since March 20 and the accused not being home.

Judge Olann Kelleher reminded the teenager that his bail had been relaxed to allow him go on a one-week holiday since he was charged last October.

The judge said he now had 18 breaches of bail.

Judge Kelleher said he had to remand the accused in custody.

Shane Collins Daly, defending, asked the judge not to do so, stating that the accused had never been in jail.

Mr OSullivan also pleaded with the judge and said he would never breach his bail again.

The judge remanded him in custody until April 16.

Sgt John Kelleher put it to the accused that he thought he could stay out all night and not bother with his bail.

Mr OSullivan said: I was being lazy and being stupid.

When the judge remanded him in custody the teenager said: Please, judge, I can guarantee there wont be one single breach of bail.

Mr OSullivans bail conditions had required him to keep an 11pm to 6am curfew, not contact co-defendants, not drive, abstain from alcohol, and sign three days a week at the Garda station.
Work on a vital flood-prevention scheme has been delayed again and construction on it may not start for another year.

The Office of Public Works (OPW) has finally submitted plans for the 8.5m Glanmire project to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe, but it could take up to six months for him to approve it.

If Mr Donohoe doesnt fast-track the decision, it could be the autumn before he signs off on it and, after that, a procurement process will start for tendering the contract for its construction, which could take several more months.

Cork County Council engineers, who have helped draw up the project, had hoped construction would be underway by now.

The OPW had to undertake a second Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) on the scheme, which had already delayed it.

The new EIA has now been submitted, along with the full plans to Mr Donohoe, for his approval.

Millions of euro worth of damage was caused to more than 80 houses, businesses, and infrastructure in the area, when the River Glashaboy burst its banks in the early hours of June 28, 2012.

Glanmire Chamber of Commerce chairwoman, Gail Dowling, said it is obviously disappointing that the scheme is taking so long to get to construction.

She said that a number of local businesses and householders can no longer get flood-insurance cover and every time there is heavy rain, they are naturally worried.

She said she hopes that Mr Donohoe signs off on the project as quickly as possible.

Senator Colm Burke said he has been in constant contact with OPW Minister, Kevin Boxer Moran, and, more recently, with Mr Donohoes office.

Mr Burke said it is unacceptable that there should be further delays: Paschal Donohoe knows that Im concerned about this and I wont back off until this is done. Its taken far too long as it is.

Mr Moran said that rumours that money set aside for flood-prevention schemes could be used to offset the overspend at the planned National Childrens Hospital are untrue and the money for flood-relief projects remains ringfenced.

However, his office admitted that the Department of Public Expenditure and Reforms approval process can take up to six months.

Mr Burke said he had originally hoped that construction would get underway by September of this year.

But he acknowledges that this is now unlikely.
Shes a prickly one, is Wild Rose (15A). Released from prison as the story opens, Rose- Lynn (Jessie Buckley, from Killarney) has big plans: shes shaking off the dust of Glasgow and heading for Nashville to become the next big Country music star. There are, of course, a couple of snags, one of which is the ankle monitor Rose must wear for the duration of her parole, and two of which are her young children, Wynona and Lyle.

Forced to take a cleaning job to support her kids, Rose is overheard singing by her new boss, Susannah (Sophie Okonedo), who decides to make Roses dream come true.

Written by Nicole Taylor and directed by Tom Harper, Wild Rose offers a storyline as well-worn as the Country songs Rose adores, but does so with verve and compassion.

Buckley is a force of nature, fully inhabiting the role of a free spirit who might be faulted for neglecting her kids  and frequently is, by her mother Marion (Julie Walters)  but who can be forgiven once she starts singing and pouring out her soul.

Brash, feckless and yearning, Rose is the personification of the tunes she sings  she favours neo-Country; the soundtrack features tracks written by Chris Stapleton, Wynonna Judd, John Prine and Emmylou Harris, among others  but while the story aspires to the classic rags-to-riches tale, Nicole Taylors script ensures that Roses journey is more complex than most fairytales, particularly in terms of her troubled relationship with her mother and her children.

Sophie Okonedo and Julie Walters put in fine performances in the supporting roles, but Wild Rose is very much Jessie Buckleys film, and she delivers a star-is-born performance, its her breakthrough.

Wonder Park (PG)

Wonder Park opens with young June (voiced by Sofia Mali) inventing Wonderland, a fabulous theme park of the imagination, with her Mom (Jennifer Garner).

When her mom falls seriously ill, however, the despairing June puts away her childish things  only to discover, when she accidentally stumbles into the real Wonderland, that her neglect has caused the abandoned park to be besieged by a horde of chimpanzombies that threatens to destroy the lives of its mascots, Boomer the Bear (Ken Hudson Campbell), Greta the Warthog (Mila Kunis) and Peanut the Monkey (Norbert Leo Butz).

Can June find inside her the creative light that will allow Wonderland come back to life? Written by Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec  the film, unusually, has no credited director  Wonder Park is an animated film which deals with the symptoms of depression and anxiety.

June is possessed of a manic energy which evaporates into a prolonged funk when her mother falls ill, during which June refuses

to entertain the idea of having fun or using her imagination until she is obliged to do so on behalf of Peanuts, Boomer and Greta. Its a surprisingly mature exploration that calls to mind the themes that underpinned Toy Story 3 and Inside Out, and reminds us that childhood is a far more complicated emotional experience than adults tend to assume.

The film is by no means seamlessly told  how June manages to find herself inhabiting a work of her imagination is never fully explained  but her journey back to the light is exhilarating tale, vividly imagined,

and as appropriately full of ups-and downs as any rollercoaster ride.

Out of Innocence (15A)

Set in 1984, and based on the events of the Kerry Babies investigation, Out of Innocence (15A) stars Fionnuala Flaherty as Sarah Flynn, a young woman who is accused of killing her infant child when the body of a baby washes up on a Kerry beach.

Convinced that Sarah is guilty of murder, Detective Callaghan (Alun Armstrong) coerces Sarah and her family into making a confession, and persists in his line of investigation even when a second dead baby appears.

When the story hits the headlines, and a tribunal is announced to establish the facts of the matter, Sarah becomes a cause celebre for Irish women who rally to her cause

Written and directed by Danny Hiller, Out of Innocence is a timely interpretation of an especially black period in recent Irish history, not least because the young Sarah Flynn discovers herself arraigned before the full majesty of a malevolently misogynistic coalition of state, church and police.

Fionnuala Flaherty is superb in the main role, offering a brilliantly believable portrait of a young woman so relentlessly browbeaten as to be persuaded of her nonexistent guilt, and she gets very strong support from Fiona Shaw, playing Sarahs mother Catherine, and Ruth McCabe as Sarahs aunt Patsy. The storytelling errs on the side of cliche at times  too many of the minor characters are one-dimensional, and theres too much exposition masquerading as dialogue  but Out of Innocence is a harrowing account of heartbreaking tragedy.
Eve Kelliher looks at whats happening in the worlds of art and interiors.

SUPERMODEL and photographer Helena Christensen was among a galaxy of starry art lovers in the frame for a major showcase of Irish paintings in New York during the week as Morgan ODriscoll Fine Art became the first Irish auction house to stage an Irish art auction viewing in the Big Apple.

Ahead of its art auction on April 29, at the RDS Dublin, the company brought a large selection of paintings by renowned Irish artists to New York for auction viewing, including work by Paul Henry, Jack B. Yeats, Louis le Brocquy and John Shinnors among others.

The Fine Art Auction House hosted several celebrity guests, US and Irish business people and art lovers in Manhattan, including hotelier John Fitzpatrick of Fitzpatrick Hotels, fashion designer Louise Kennedy, Ireland General Consul to New York Ciaran Madden and NYs legendary River Cafe owner Buzzy OKeeffe.

Bringing Irish art to New York is a response to our growing US client base. The viewing of Irish art was enormously well received, and serves to heighten awareness of the quality and provenance of Irish art, said Morgan ODriscoll, managing director, Morgan ODriscoll Fine Art Auctions.

Magical makeovers

Imagine stepping inside your home to find its been transformed beyond your wildest dreams  without you even having to prise open a single can of paint. Angela Scanlon presents a brand-new property makeover series where cutting-edge virtual reality and visual effects enable people to see what their future home could look like, before building it in reality.

According to the makers of BBC Twos Your Home Made Perfect: People can instantly explore a stunning transformation of their bedroom, walk around an incredible double-height kitchen, or see how adding a gigantic picture window will turn a dingy lounge into a showstopping sitting room. In each episode, a family will be presented with two radically different designs by two extraordinary architects. Which ambitious renovation idea will they choose for their perfect home? Tune into BBC Two on Tuesday, April 16, from 8pm to 9pm.

Your help needed

One of Irelands best-known architects, Dermot Bannon launched the Open Door campaign on Monday. This fundraiser sees architects registered with the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) join forces with the Simon Community to support its work in tackling homelessness.

In return for a 95 donation, homeowners can receive an hour-long consultation with an RIAI-registered architect to discuss building, rebuilding or renovating their residences. All funds raised go directly to the Simon Community.

This year RIAI Simon Open Door runs from Saturday, May 11, until Sunday, May 19. Due to demand in previous years, the initiative has been extended to run for nine days including two weekends, giving you the opportunity to find a consultation time that suits.

Book a slot with an RIAI-registered architect in your area by visiting www.simonopendoor.ie

Architectural show

Check out a major showcase of Irish architecural talent which opened in The Glucksman Gallery, University College Cork, last Saturday. Close Encounter: Meetings with Remarkable Buildings will run in Cork until June 20 before exhibiting in VISUAL Carlow from September 20 to January 19, 2020.

In 2018, Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara became the first Irish architects to curate La Biennale di Venezia in its 123-year history.

As part of this major event, 16 Irish architect teams were invited to reimagine iconic works by international architects from the 20th century.

Need inspiration?

Up to 30,000 homeowners are expected to descend en masse on the Ideal Home Show at the RDS over the course of this weekend. The permanent tsb Ideal Home Show Spring 2019 opened yesterday and runs until tomorrow, Sunday, April 14. The Dyson Wellbeing Showhouse is set to be the talking point of the weekend.
Recently, an online article featured on Jezebel, entitled, Jagged Little Pill is actually very bad??? Before I had seen the piece, my inbox began to ping with messages asking, Have you seen this?!! It was a literal hold my bag moment for fans everywhere, compounded by the topic trending on Twitter for an entire day.

The title was in reference to the album of the same name, Jagged Little Pill, by Alanis Morrisette.

I read cautiously, given the writers use of not one, but three question marks in the opening line; maybe she had questioned such initial thoughts and would spend the next few paragraphs outlining why?

Because surely, if she had felt so strongly about her dislike of such a seminal album, she would substantiate such a statement with reasoned debate?

Surely, she would not begin by offering a weak apology thus invalidating any opinion which followed, as the author dragged and slagged and compared the entire album to Baby Shark - for mid-nineties, angsty teenage girls?

I still remember purchasing the album. I was 13 and returning from a school tour with my class. We had stopped at a shopping centre to stretch our legs and tucked away in the corner was one of those haphazard record shops, most likely called Hot Trax or something of a similar ilk.

You know the ones? With the Irish Country Music section proudly displayed at the front of the shop alongside the range of tin whistles? Luckily for me, that Aladdins cave of music also included the current Top 20.

There it sat in cassette form, its cover artwork a mix of crisp white and moody hues of blues, greens and reds. Getting back on the bus my geography teacher noticed my purchase and asked if I wanted to listen to it.

I had to sit up the front, on the step by the bus driver, as some of the girls were trying to sleep down the back which meant the volume had to be kept low. As the strains of All I Really Want, kicked into gear, I turned to see my teacher nodding his head in approval.

He let me listen to the album in its entirety and by the time he handed back the cassette and I returned to my seat, my teenage mind was suitably running amuck with notions of picking up an electric guitar and screaming relentlessly into the void, without caring one jot what people thought of same.

Unfortunately, we live in the era of drag and slag. One in which everyone has an opinion and a platform to voice same, myself included. But drawing a comparison between such a pivotal album as this was and the offering of Baby Shark strikes me as odd.

The album was released just a beat before the onslaught of the teen pop era which gave us the likes of Britney Spears et al (no shade Brit Brit, I still have mad love for you!).

I often wonder how the landscape of my teenage years would have looked if the situation had been reversed? Alanis and her work gave confidence and reassurance to so many questioning teenagers. She told us that it was ok to just be; whatever that version of ourselves was.

Therefore, I am willing to give the author the benefit of the doubt purely for the following reason. She acknowledges that Morrissettes work channelled all of my simmering rage, as a teenager. Thus, was her willingness to introduce her toddler to the album, Iwas becoming the cliche parent imposing youthful cultural artefacts upon her offspring. There it was she is a parent, to a toddler.

If you have run the gauntlet of the toddler years, then you will know the level of exhaustion I speak of. Baby Shark et al are veritable ear worms played on repeat therefore skewing your perception of the real world. Ive been there; albeit the ear worm which I had to contend with was the theme tune to Thomas the Tank Engine.

Hearing anything outside of the spectrum of cartoons feels alien and inevitably leads you to question why in the name of Sir Topham Hatt you liked it in the first place. As the writer herself states, she is,  in a different era and life phase.

In years to come, she will, like us all, enter another phase. When the kids go to school and have demanding schedules of after school activities, parties, doctors appointments etc. I hope she will revisit the album and know the sheer joy and release it brings to blast Ironic from your car as you drop your children at the school gate and you have some precious time alone. Alanis taught me to scream and for that I am grateful.

@thegirlinthepaper
Music is believed to provide children with Down syndrome lots of benefits. Now UCC researchers are putting that theory to the test, writes Ailin Quinlan.

Alison Nolans son, Conor, adores the sound of music. Even in babyhood, her youngest sons face would light up when he heard music being played.

Now aged 10 and with a mild to moderate intellectual disability, Conor would not necessarily be able to learn the words to a poem, his mother says  but the words to a song come easily to him:

Alison, a mother-of-three and a board member of the charity Down Syndrome Cork says parents of children with Down syndrome know from experience that music really appeals to the children.

They naturally gravitate towards music, theres something about music that they just adore. Conor loves music  his interest in music was obvious very early on, she says.

As a baby, she recalls, hed play with baby musical instruments at the family home in Farran:

We noticed that his face lit up when music was played around him.

Today Conor enjoys playing musical videos and singing along to the songs.

If he has a choice of things to do he will gravitate towards something that involves music.

It comes as no surprise then, that for the past 18 months or so Conor and other young members of Down Syndrome Cork, have been participating in a hugely successful programme, Music4 Children, which is run by Dr Eva McMullan, a part-time lecturer at UCCs School of Music.

The programme takes place once a week, on a Saturday for 45 minutes and it involves musical theory, playing instruments and the development of listening skills,says Alison.

As part of the course Conor is exposed to different instruments and can identify instruments by listening to the sound they make. He understands the basics of rhythm and also musical theory in terms of musical notation.

"The course exposes him to everything from classical music to paying in an orchestra.

When we started music with Eva and the puppets, I dont think any of us as parents at Down Syndrome Cork ever imagined the amazing impact it would have on our kids.

The benefits these sessions have had on auditory processing, language skills, speech, shared experience with parents, attention building, turn taking, literacy skills and most of all fun, is astounding, says Alison.

But thats not all  after Easter, and along with other children with Down syndrome, Conor will also participate in a very unusual, carefully designed, eight-week research project which is being run by three UCC departments  music, applied psychology and anatomy and neuroscience.

The children will take part in a daily intervention music programme run both in their homes and at UCC.

Before and after each musical programme a series of neuropsychology tests checking for various mental skills in a fun setting will be conducted.

Brain activity will be measured by electroencephalography (EEG) at UCCs Department of Music and Department of Applied Psychology. Meanwhile, the biological correlates of the childrens wellbeing will be assessed by researchers at the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience.

Music4Children was born when McMullan, a mother of five children between the ages of four months and 14 years got together with a colleague, Padraig Wallace, to design a programme of teaching the fundamentals of music to children. I wanted my children to engage with music, McMullan recalls.

After receiving a call from Down Syndrome Cork to say the organisation was looking for a music therapist at the time, she suggested they instead try the Music4Children programme. It was so successful that 18 months down the road, its still running. It was this programme which led to the research project.

Since 2017 Padraig Wallace, Esther-Anna Bennett and I have been teaching the Music4Children programme to children with Down syndrome, says Dr McMullan. In our classes we used a lot of instruments, so they took turn playing and the classes were very interactive. Parents started to report on positive impacts in terms of language development, turn taking and social interaction. While there are many other music programmes for children available, what makes Music4Children unique is that it is very specific in terms of celebrating childrens musical ability.

The move to researching the reported benefits came about after Eva talked to a colleague in UCCs Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience about the reports from parents. The duo discussed the possibility of proving that once children with Down syndrome engaged with music they experienced benefits in other areas of their lives. That conversation, she recalls, led to the design of a research programme funded by the College of Health.

An interdisciplinary research team of experts was formed to carry out research into the promising early anecdotal evidence.

We expect to increase the once-weekly music session to daily interventions in the form of music lessons videos created by Music4Children programme.

Parents will be given a resource pack to take home and to go through with their child every day  we teach the fundamentals of music to the children through the videos with the support of the resource pack.

As the programme proceeds, she says, researchers will test the childrens brain and cognitive development to see how they have improved. We know that music is good for everybodys brain, but it is important to consolidate the parents report of huge benefits with solid scientific research, which can help us understanding exactly which improvements we can expect, said Dr Annalisa Setti, lecturer in the School of Applied Psychology at UCC.

Adds Dr McMullan: Once we can prove our findings, wed hope that the Music4Children programme would be rolled out in terms of a national framework for musical education.

Right Note

A study published in 2010 showed that music has a beneficial impact on the development of children and young people.

The research, carried out by Susan Hallam of the Institute of Education, University of London, and published in the International Journal of Music Education found that active engagement with music seemed to bring benefits for the development of perceptual skills affecting language learning  which subsequently impact on literacy.

The opportunities provided by music to learn to co-ordinate rhythmically also seemed important for the acquisition of literacy skills, said Hallam, who observed that fine motor co-ordination was also improved through learning to play an instrument.

Music also seemed to improve spatial reasoning, one aspect of general intelligence which is related to some of the skills required in mathematics, the study author said.

Engagement with music in a positive learning experience it found, could enhance self-perception.
The Menu is delighted to bring further detail to an item alluded to in last weekends column, news of what promises to be one of the highlights of this years culinary calendar, a fundraising dinner (April 29) in aid of two Leeside charities, Cork Penny Dinners, recent recipients of the prestigious Irish Food Writers Guild social responsibility award, and Cork Simon.

This event sees four Cork Michelin starred chefs assembling for the first time to create a special dinner menu with long-time holder of a star, Ross Lewis, chef-proprietor of Dublins Chapter One, and originally from Cork, joining forces with the three new Cork arrivals to the Michelin gang Rob Krawczyk (Restaurant Chestnut, Ballydehob), Ahmet Dede (Mews, Baltimore) and Takashi Miyazaki (Ichigoe Ichie, Cork City)  all receiving their first star last autumn.

The fundraiser was conceived of by Lewis along with two old friends, Tom ORiordan and Pat OHara, proprietors of The Raven Bar and each of the four chefs will deliver one amuse bouche and one full course, with each course paired with a matching wine, and while tickets at 225pp may be a little hefty at first glance, be minded that all proceeds go to the charities and, whats more, it is actually a relatively inexpensive way of sampling the combined efforts of this fabulous four. (Tickets: info@theravenbar.com)

BEER BREWING COURSE

Mescan Brewery offer a new series of hands-on brew courses, beginning with Learn How to Brew a Belgian Beer (April 20) in their brewery near Westport covering all aspects of brewing from ingredient selection to packaging the finished beer.

With lunch and dinner included, The Menu is saddling up Neidin at this very moment readying his fine steed for a prolonged hike up the west coast. (Booking essential: www.mescanbrewery.com).

And while were on the subject, Irelands longest running craft beer festival, The Franciscan Well Brewery Easter Beer Festival (April 19-21) celebrates its 20th annual outing by hosting a combined total of 20 Irish breweries and 60 rotational taps. (Admission, free, further info: www.facebook.com/FranciscanWellBrewPub/)

EASTER DINING

West Cork-based Ummera smokehouse are now taking orders for Easter dining treats (including chicken, duck and bacon) with The Menu being a great fan of their smoked beef (www.ummera.com).

For the traditionalists, Bewleys Cafe in Grafton St offers an Easter Eggs-perience (April 13-26) activity package for the children along with specially created Easter Egg Hot chocolate and Orange Chocolate Espresso. Ardmores Cliff House Hotel go further still with their own CLIFF10 chocolate, and a chocolate-inspired tasting menu in their Michelin starred House restaurant, covering both savoury and sweet! (April 18-21). www.cliffhousehotel.ie

TODAYS SPECIAL

Dittys Irish Smoked Oatcakes have been around long enough to cause The Menu to question his own tardiness in alerting readers to this fine product. How fine?

Fine enough to merit mention because The Menu more often than not prefers to eat his cheese on its own, most especially when it is a superb Irish farmhouse cheese, of sufficiently complex flavour to stand on its own two legs.

The Ditty offering is a biscuit of soft yet nutty texture made with rolled oats from Co Armagh, in turn smoked by the great Frank Hederman, at his Belvelly Smoke House, in East Cork, resulting in the sweet smoky notes that harmonised beautifully with some creamy Gubbeen and equally well with a wedge of Ballinrostig mature Gouda. (www.dittysbakery.com)

Beer of the Week

Galway Bay Althea Session Ale, 4.8% ABV, 500ml - 3.49

Stockists: Ardkeen, Martins, SuperValu, McCambridges, widely available

Galway Bay Brewery now have 12 bars in Galway, Dublin and Limerick and at a time when it feels like Diageo and Heineken are doing everything in their power to kill the still nascent craft beer industry, they are a breath of fresh air.

Althea pours a light gold colour with aromas of peach and tangerine and a background of citrus  more citrus on the palate and with a decent kick of bitterness from Citra, Amarillo and Simcoe hops.

A good session ale should ideally be crisp, refreshing, and slip down easily  this is just about perfect.
Sean OSullivan and his wife Tish Durcan left Ireland in July 2015 bound for their native USA.

They had, for the previous nine years, made their home in Kinsale, Co Cork.

Mr OSullivan was a fixture on the RTE programme Dragons Den.

They left these shores because they could get better treatment for their son who is on the autism spectrum. The couple are very comfortably wealthy.

They could afford the best care in the world for their son. But they couldnt get even basic care in this country.

Sean OSullivan told Marian Finucane in April 2016 that his son has autism and they were trying for several years in Ireland to get the care he required.

We decided that he really needed to go to a place that was truly expert.

Even getting a diagnosis in Ireland was a major issue.

In the Irish system that can take more than a year.

Twelve months for a child with autism could be the difference between flailing around in a dark cave of the mind or walking out into some form of light.

Mr OSullivan and his family had their priorities spot on.

Ireland is a lovely place and all that, but not if you have an urgent need to acquire treatment or a proper education for a child with autism.

Others who are not as fortunate as Mr OSullivans family have also moved home out of desperation.

I know of at least two families who left Dublin and moved to the midlands and the north east respectively because statistically their sons had a better chance of being educated in a proper setting.

These families forewent the economic necessity of living in a major conurbation in order to access that to which every citizen is nominally entitled.

Financially, they are most likely worse off. In terms of any personal fulfilment from employment, they are likely to be worse off.

But at least their child has a better  perhaps even marginally better  chance of making the most of what fate has thrust on them.

This week the autism organisation As I Am published research into the difficulties of acquiring a school place for children with autism.

Appropriately, the report is entitled Invisible Children. It details how hundreds of children with autism are being excluded from school and dont even show up on official statistics.

The struggle of families to get basic treatment and education for children on the autistic spectrum is one of the genuine scandals in modern Ireland.

The Invisible Children report documents how doors are continually closed on the faces of these parents.

There are a number of testimonies in the report, but one of the most illustrative quotes comes from a mother who related that prior to the birth of her son she was a quiet person.

I wouldnt have said boo to anyone but now Im a fighter. Once you get a diagnosis, its like going to war.

Another parent states that her son has been rejected by 37 schools. This is not unusual.

Earlier this year, the Irish Examiner published the story of Dylan Diamond, whose father Ian unsuccessfully applied to 26 different schools for a place for his son.

Ian and Josie Diamond, from Walkinstown, in Dublin, with their son, Dylan, 5, who has autism and is receiving no formal education. Picture: Moya Nolan

The piece on their story began: Ian Diamond gets up to fight every morning.

And thats daily life for parents attempting to access services in a Republic.

They learn to fight, to hassle, to plead, cajole, repeat, demand, all the way to exhaustion.

A visitor to this country, observing how liberal and inclusive we purport to be, would have a different impression.

On the face of it, the legal protections for children with disabilities are first class.

For instance, the 2005 Disability Act is a fine piece of law. It has provisions that a child presenting with possible special needs must be assessed within 90 days.

A report on the assessment must be furnished within another 90 days.

These time provisions are unusual in legislation, but signal the importance of early diagnosis for conditions like autism.

So much for the law. The reality is far removed. Routinely, assessments take much longer and dozens of court actions have been initiated as a result.

Actually getting a diagnosis is a major struggle for parents.

Another inclusive law, the Education Act, came into force this year.

Section 8 of the act confers powers on the minister of the day to direct a school to make provision for a special class for children with a disability.

Typically, such a class would be an autism spectrum disorder class which might have between four and six pupils.

One of the reasons for this new law is there has been a reluctance by some in education  including patron bodies and boards of management  to provide a dedicated class for special education.

As a result there are large areas in the States cities in particular where the demand for special education is not being met.

So far, so inclusive. However, section 8 of the act has 20 subsections, nearly all of which represent a hoop through which the minister must jump before he invokes the new power.

In reality, these subsections combine to neutralise the intention of the law in the first place.

But when any government is challenged on the failure to provide education for children with disabilities, it can point to the law which shows its commitment.

The failure of the State to live up to its responsibilities to all citizens largely comes down to political power or the lack thereof.

There is a long tradition in this country of ignoring the plight of those without a voice.

When women were invisible behind closed doors of domestic dwellings in a Church-dominated state, their rights were abused.

When children were behind the high walls of industrial schools, their rights were abused, often in the most grievous manner.

When carers were too busy with loved ones to make a political case for what they were saving the Sate, their rights to commensurate pay and conditions were abused.

Now we have another invisible constituency whose rights are being abused simply because they are not represented by a co-ordinated, powerful political force.

One of the main reasons for this is that parents are completely preoccupied with their most immediate need for their child  acquiring some form of suitable education.

The rights of these children, their vulnerabilities, are relegated in the list of political priorities simply because they present no threat to government, nor offer anything that could be utilised at the ballot box.

That is a shocking indictment on an alleged enlightened Republic.

One day it may well be acknowledged, but that will be far too late for todays generation of invisible children.
Titans Unlock Opportunities During All In For Wesleyan

April 12, 2019

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.  Illinois Wesleyans seventh annual day of giving saw 2,205 donors make 2,578 gifts to collectively raise $518,316, plus $258,000 from pacesetter challenge donors, for a grand total of $776,316.

Supporters helped to unlock opportunities for current and future Titans  while exceeding the $400,000 goal  during All In For Wesleyan on Thursday, April 11. Alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff, and friends of the University across the country and the world participated in making this a day for Titans to come together and show their pride through giving.

All In for Wesleyan is a 24-hour campaign dedicated to unlocking opportunities by generating financial support for student scholarships, research, experiential learning, updated technology and much more. It also serves as a spirit day for current students. This years student activities included a kickoff pep rally, free T-shirts and food, a karaoke night and more.

Donors who may have missed out on this years All In for Wesleyan can still show their support by visiting www.IWU.edu/giving.

By John Twork
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines)  It can come as a knock on the door at night. Answering it, one would be greeted by a white envelope containing a crisp 500 bill.

"Just take it," they will say. "Take this, and if the other camp gives you some, just take that too."

Two nights before one election day, Charlotte*, 39, answered to the knocking on the door back at her home province in Bohol. She said she felt guilty taking it, but also felt she had no other choice but to do so  unless she wants to offend the camp of the candidate offering her money.

"Wala na kaming kasalanan doon, pinapatanggap sa amin eh," she told CNN Philippines, speaking in her shanty in Paranaque City. "Bahala kayo. 'Di namin 'yan hiningi. Basta sa amin, kung sino talaga ang gusto naming iboto, 'yun lang."

[Translation: We're no longer in the wrong, in that case, because they were making us take it  It's up to them. We don't ask for that. For us, we would vote whoever we want.]

She took the cash, but never voted for the candidate whose camp gave it to her.

"'Yung nagpunta sa amin hindi ko talaga type 'yun," Charlotte said. "Hindi ko talaga gusto 'yun para kapitan."

[Translation: I really don't like the person who came to us  I don't want that person to become a barangay captain.]

In Bohol, Charlotte said it is called "gapangan." But residents in Paranaque, Manila and Las Pinas also told CNN Philippines of the same scheme by politicians seeking to secure seats for themselves.

READ: Why Filipinos sell their votes, and for how much

"Sa local? Hindi nawawala 'yan. Taga mo sa bato, kapag sabihin na walang nangyayaring vote buying, saan ka makakakita ng eleksyon na walang vote buying?" said Miguel*, a former coordinator for a mayoralty candidate.

[Translation: In the local race? That won't disappear. Set it in stone, they'll say that there is no vote buying, what kind of election doesn't have vote buying?]

Miguel was a coordinator for a mayoralty candidate in Metro Manila who admits that he once participated in vote buying operations.

As a coordinator, Miguel was in the frontlines of the campaign, mainly tasked to recruit volunteers. But as the election drew nearer and nearer, he was also asked to hand out cash ranging from 250 to 500  to voters in the slums in exchange for guarantees that they will vote for his mayor.

Miguel knows this is wrong, now stressing the need to think of who to vote for, but felt no guilt in having been a vote buying operative  an offense that carries a punishment of one to six years of imprisonment.

"Pagdating sa trabaho, hindi mo na maiisip 'yung konsensiya eh. Wala na sa panahon namin nung araw na 'yun na nakokonsensiya. Kapag kailangan mo, gipit ka, wala nang konsensiya," he said.

[Translation: When it comes to work, you wouldn't think of your conscience. No one back in the day felt a pang in their conscience. If you need it, if you're desperate, the conscience no longer exists.]

Keeping silent

Vote buying is an age-old practice in the elections that endures to this day. In a 2018 study, all 400 respondents from poor communities in Metro Manila said they have been offered to sell their vote and know others who have sold their vote. Of them, 90.8 percent said they took the offer.

"Since the survey was focused on a sample of low-income voters in Metro Manila, this result suggests that a vast majority of this group may have been targeted for vote buying by campaign operatives," said Tristan Canare, Ronald Mendoza and Mario Antonio Lopez in the study.

But the reports on the ground hardly translate to complaints. Data from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Law Department obtained by CNN Philippines show that in the 2013 and 2016 elections, only a total of 171 vote-buying complaints were filed with the poll body. Of those, only six have made it to the court.

"People normally would not report having been approached," Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez told CNN Philippines. "Reporting this sort of thing, it can get complicated for the person. So it really takes a lot of guts."

Canare, Mendoza and Lopez said in their research that there is still a stigma attached to vote buying using money. Only 28.5 percent of their respondents admitted to being offered money in exchange for votes, while the rest said they were offered other items like food and clothing.

The poorer people are, the more likely they are to ask for smaller things in exchange for their votes, the researchers said. This is true for the neighbors of 52-year-old Nora Cruz in a temporary resettlement area for fire victims in Paranaque.

When local candidates go around to campaign, she said, some of her neighbors would egg on them to give them money for a snack and a drink. Most of the time, the candidates obliged.

Nora Cruz, 52, sits in her shanty in a temporary resettlement area in Paranaque City for fire victims. She says her neighbors often ask local candidates for money to buy snacks and drinks when they campaign.

Cruz knows this is wrong. She said she would never ask for anything in exchange for her vote, except in jest from her friends who are campaigning for candidates.

But she would still not rat out her neighbors.

"Hindi ako magre-report. Baka ako pa 'yung awayin. Bahala sila sa buhay nila kung manghingi pa sila," Cruz said.

[Translation: I won't report. They might fight me. It's up to them if they would still ask for money.]

Fear also keeps Billy* from reporting vote buying incidents that happen within his neighborhood, which is just a few minutes' walk away from the Comelec office in Intramuros, Manila. During elections, he said, campaigners for local candidates go house-to-house to invite people to a meeting, where they would be given an envelope containing 250.

"Kung mag-report ka, baka mapag-initan ka ng mga kandidato," he said.

[Translation: Candidates might come after you if you report.]

"Wala kang panalo laban sa kanila," said Isidra Figaro, a 63-year-old woman who lives in the same neighborhood. "Malakas sila. Kaya tahimik na lang. Ipagdasal ko na lang sa Diyos 'yung mga taong ganyan."

[Translation:You can't win against them.  They're powerful. So it's better to stay silent. I'll just pray for them to God.]

Isidra Figaro, 63, says she knows of vote buying operations in their neighborhood, but would not dare report them.

Comelec's Jimenez said politicians know that the people they are targeting will not turn them in  and no one can do anything about it.

Out of the box solution?

The poll body has not been remiss in reminding citizens each and every election to resist and report attempts at vote buying, but Jimenez admitted that relying on this strategy to curb the illegal practice is a "sterile" solution.

Adding to the problem of the Comelec in hunting down vote buyers is the need for the operation to be documented, like on video or on a ledger containing names of those who have received cash. But documenting this is not always possible, especially in door-to-door transactions.

In fact, one of the latest vote buying busts happened not because of a report directly to the poll body, but because of a police operation that uncovered envelopes in four boxes containing a total of 800,000 in a homeowners' association office. Police said the money would be used in a vote buying operation of Norzagaray, Bulacan Mayor Alfredo Germar and a candidate for councilor.

The Comelec Special First Division disqualified Germar and Rogelio Santos, Jr. in October 2013. The two appealed their case to the en banc, which initially dismissed their bid, but later on allowed them to sit in office because the en banc failed to muster the required majority of four votes.

The case was elevated to the Supreme Court which ruled in April 2016 that the en banc should not have applied the four-vote rule to Germar and Santos' appeal and should have disqualified them.

However, by this time, the two had been able to serve for most of the duration of their terms, and were already mounting their reelection bids. They won fresh three-year terms in 2016.

Now, Germar and Santos are running again, for mayor and vice mayor, respectively.

With the failure of the usual appeal to end vote buying, the Comelec has tried to turn to an alternative solution to the age-old problem.

The poll body tried to ban the withdrawal of more than 100,000 a day and the possession and transportation of cash exceeding 500,000 from May 8 to 13, 2013. It also attempted to prohibit the encashment of checks exceeding 500,000.

"That money ban represents an out of the box solution," Jimenez said. "It denies oxygen to the whole operation. Kasi kung wala kang [Because if you don't have] cash, paano ka magvo-vote buying [how would you buy votes?] You don't have to rely on the good behavior of the people."

But the ban was intensely frowned upon by banks and even by then-President Benigno Aquino III.

The Supreme Court eventually halted the implementation of the money ban, and the poll body has never attempted to revive it since then.

Jimenez said they are back to the drawing board on how to improve on the money ban, with the hopes of deploying it again in future elections.

But for now, all that they can do is to remind voters not to sell their votes and to report incidents of vote buying  their perennial reminder which seems to have routinely fallen on deaf ears.

*Names changed to protect their identities.
Sudanese protestors vowed Friday to chase out the countrys new military rulers, as the army offered talks on forming a civilian government after it ousted president Omar al-Bashir.

But the military council warned it would tolerate no breaches of security, after protesters defied a night-time curfew following Bashirs Thursday fall, keeping up their sit-outside the army headquarters.

Thousands of men and women, dressed in white, also braved the searing Sudanese heat on Friday to offer prayers outside the sprawling complex, witnesses said.

The imam leading the prayers was draped in the Sudanese flag.

Hussein Mohamed, an elderly man from Omdurman, said he was attending the protest for the first time in response to a call to hold Friday prayers there.

It is too, too hot but Im impressed by what our young men and women are doing here, he said. Ill surely come again.

Many Coptic Christians were also there, serving food and drinks to Muslims as they got ready for prayers.

Some also brought mats for the worshippers.

The head of the military councils political committee, Lieutenant General Omar Zain al-Abdin, confirmed that a day after he was deposed, Bashir remained in custody.

The army takeover brought to an end 30 years of rule by Bashir, one of Africas longest serving leaders.

 Transition may be shorter-

But Abdin said the council would never extradite him or any other Sudanese citizen.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has a longstanding arrest warrant against Bashir for suspected genocide and war crimes.

The military council had announced a two-year transition period, but Sudans UN envoy told the Security Council in New York that this could be shortened depending on developments on the ground and agreements between stakeholders.

Protesters have held mass demonstrations for four months demanding Bashirs overthrow, defying repeated deadly attempts by riot police and the feared intelligence services to crush them.

But when his overthrow was finally announced on Thursday in an address to the nation, by Defence Minister Awad Ibnouf, it was met not with joy but anger.

Protest leaders have dismissed the transitional military council as the same old faces from the regime which led the country into multiple conflicts along with worsening poverty and social inequality.

Thursdays announcement meant we have not achieved anything, said one protester who gave his name only as Adel.

We will not stop our revolution. We are calling for the regime to step down, not only Bashir.

Analysts said Bashirs overthrow in a palace coup made the transition to democracy in Sudan a more distant prospect.

Ironically, the prospects for democratic transition may be more remote than when Bashir was in power, as theres no centre of power with which to negotiate, said Alex de Waal, a Sudan specialist at Tufts University.

The power struggle within the security cabal that took power yesterday is just beginning, de Waal said. Bashir had kept their rivalries and ambitions in check; his removal brings in its wake an unregulated uncertainty.

 Calls for restraint 

Protesters at the sit-in said their quarrel was with the commanders who had led the coup, not the rank and file.

This is now our square. We have taken it and wont leave until victory is achieved, said one protester who gave his name as Abu Obeida.

We broke the curfew. We will continue doing it until we have a civilian transitional government.

Multiple world powers have made calls for a peaceful transition.

Washington urged the military council to exercise restraint and to allow space for civilian participation within the government.

The European Union urged the army to carry out a swift handover to civilian rule.

The African Union decried Bashirs military overthrow, saying it was not the appropriate response to the challenges facing Sudan and the aspirations of its people.

Most shops and offices were closed on Friday, a day of prayer and rest in Sudan.

But crowds again began thronging the streets of Khartoum after the main weekly Islamic prayers, raising fears of a confrontation between protesters and the security forces.

The ousted president stands accused of unleashing Arab militias in a scorched earth campaign against minority villages, killing tens of thousands of civilians and forcing hundreds of thousands more into camps.
Sudans new military leader resigned on Friday just a day after being sworn in, as the countrys army rulers insisted they would pave the way for a civilian government.

The head of Sudans new ruling military council, General Awad Ibn Ouf, announced his departure after being sworn in late Thursday following the ouster of long-time president Omar al-Bashir.

His move came shortly after the councils political chief Lieutenant General Omar Zain al-Abdin told Arab and African diplomats at a meeting broadcast on state television: This is not a military coup, but taking the side of the people.

Oufs departure was an apparent sign of confusion among the northest African countrys new leaders after Thursdays ousting of iron-fisted Bashir.

But there was jubilation at the news on the streets of Khartoum.

Tens of thousands of protestors had kept up a vigil at the army headquarters in the Sudanese capital Friday angrily demanding that the military make way for a civilian government.

I hereby announce my resignation as head of the Transitional Military Council, Ibn Ouf said in an address to the nation, announcing he had chosen General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Abdulrahman to replace him.

He said he trusted in Abdulrahmans experience and suitability I trust to bring this ship to a safe shore.

The Sudanese Professionals Association which has spearheaded the nationwide protest campaign hailed Ibn Oufs departure as a victory of the peoples will.

The demonstrations against Bashirs 30-year rule first erupted in December, triggered by a tripling of the bread prices in one of the worlds most impoverished countries.

But vast crowds have been thronging outside the army headquarters since Saturday in unprecedented scenes.

Many were preparing to defy a night-time curfew for the second time, denouncing Ibn Oufs leadership as a military coup.

 Call for aid 

That was denied by Abdin who said the transitional military council, due to stay in power for two years, would open dialogue with political parties.

There will be a civilian government and we will not intervene in its composition, he vowed.

He also appealed to foreign diplomats for your donations, as we have some economic issues, alluding to fuel and food shortages.

The role of the military council is to protect the security and stability of the country, Abdin added.

Thousands of men and women, dressed in white, again braved the searing Sudanese heat on Friday to offer prayers outside the sprawling army complex which has become a focus point of the protests since Saturday.

The imam leading the prayers was draped in the Sudanese flag.

The police said 16 people had been killed in live fire in Khartoum in the past two days, without elaborating.

Hussein Mohamed, an elderly man from Omdurman, said he was attending the protest for the first time in response to a call to hold Friday prayers there.

It is too, too hot but Im impressed by what our young men and women are doing here, he said. Ill surely come again.

 Transition may be shorter-

Bashir, who took charge in the northeast African country in a 1989 military coup, remained in custody Friday, but Abdin said the council would never extradite him or any other Sudanese citizen.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued two arrest warrants against Bashir for suspected genocide and war crimes.

The military council had announced a two-year transition period, but Sudans UN envoy told the Security Council in New York that this could be shortened depending on developments on the ground and agreements between stakeholders.

Protesters have defied repeated deadly attempts by riot police and the feared intelligence services to crush their movement.

But when Bashirs overthrow was finally announced on Thursday in an address to the nation by Ibn Ouf, it was met not with joy but anger.

Protest leaders dismissed the transitional military council as the same old faces from a regime which led the country into multiple conflicts, worsening poverty and ever-widening social inequality.

Thursdays announcement meant we have not achieved anything, said one protester, who gave his name only as Adel.

We will not stop our revolution. We are calling for the regime to step down, not only Bashir.

Analysts said Bashirs overthrow in a palace coup made the transition to democracy in Sudan a more distant prospect.

The power struggle within the security cabal that took power yesterday is just beginning, said Alex de Waal, a Sudan specialist at Tufts University.

Bashir had kept their rivalries and ambitions in check; his removal brings in its wake an unregulated uncertainty.

 Calls for restraint 

Multiple world powers have made calls for a peaceful transition.

Washington urged the military council to exercise restraint and to allow space for civilian participation within the government.

The European Union urged the army to carry out a swift handover to civilian rule.

Britains Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said that a two-year transition overseen by the military is not the answer.

We need to see a swift move to an inclusive, representative, civilian leadership, Hunt said.
Sudans new military leader resigned on Friday just a day after being sworn in, as the countrys army rulers insisted they would pave the way for a civilian government.

The head of Sudans new ruling military council, General Awad Ibn Ouf, announced his departure after being sworn in late Thursday following the ouster of long-time president Omar al-Bashir.

His move came shortly after the councils political chief Lieutenant General Omar Zain al-Abdin told Arab and African diplomats at a meeting broadcast on state television: This is not a military coup, but taking the side of the people.

Oufs departure was an apparent sign of confusion among the northeast African countrys new leaders after Thursdays ousting of iron-fisted Bashir.

But there was jubilation at the news on the streets of Khartoum.

Tens of thousands of protestors had kept up a vigil at the army headquarters in the Sudanese capital Friday angrily demanding that the military make way for a civilian government.

I hereby announce my resignation as head of the Transitional Military Council, Ibn Ouf said in an address to the nation, announcing he had chosen General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Abdulrahman to replace him.

He said he trusted in Abdulrahmans experience and suitability I trust to bring this ship to a safe shore.

The Sudanese Professionals Association which has spearheaded the nationwide protest campaign hailed Ibn Oufs departure as a victory of the peoples will.

The umbrella group organising the protests called on newly sworn-in ruler Burhan to transfer the powers of the military council to a transitional civilian government.

If this does not happen we will continue with our sit-in in front of the army headquarters and other towns, it said in a statement.

The demonstrations against Bashirs 30-year rule first erupted in December, triggered by a tripling of the bread prices in one of the worlds most impoverished countries.

But vast crowds have been thronging outside the army headquarters since Saturday in unprecedented scenes.

Sudans police said on Friday that 16 people were killed and another 20 wounded by live ammunition in Khartoum during protests over the past two days.

 Call for aid 

After denying charges of a military coup, Abdin said the transitional military council, due to stay in power for two years, would open dialogue with political parties.

There will be a civilian government and we will not intervene in its composition, he vowed.

He also appealed to foreign diplomats for your donations, as we have some economic issues, alluding to fuel and food shortages.

The role of the military council is to protect the security and stability of the country, Abdin added.

Thousands of men and women, dressed in white, again braved the searing Sudanese heat on Friday to offer prayers outside the sprawling army complex which has become a focus point of the protests since Saturday.

The imam leading the prayers was draped in the Sudanese flag.

Hussein Mohamed, an elderly man from Omdurman, said he was attending the protest for the first time in response to a call to hold Friday prayers there.

It is too, too hot but Im impressed by what our young men and women are doing here, he said. Ill surely come again.

 Transition may be shorter-

Bashir, who took charge in a 1989 military coup, remained in custody Friday, but Abdin said the council would never extradite him or any other Sudanese citizen.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued two arrest warrants against Bashir for suspected genocide and war crimes.

The military council had announced a two-year transition period, but Sudans UN envoy told the Security Council in New York that this could be shortened depending on developments on the ground and agreements between stakeholders.

Protesters have defied repeated deadly attempts by riot police and the feared intelligence services to crush their movement.

But when Bashirs overthrow was finally announced on Thursday in an address to the nation by Ibn Ouf, it was met not with joy but anger.

Protest leaders dismissed the transitional military council as the same old faces from a regime which led the country into multiple conflicts, worsening poverty and ever-widening social inequality.

Thursdays announcement meant we have not achieved anything, said one protester, who gave his name only as Adel.

We will not stop our revolution. We are calling for the regime to step down, not only Bashir.

Analysts said Bashirs overthrow in a palace coup made the transition to democracy in Sudan a more distant prospect.

The power struggle within the security cabal that took power yesterday is just beginning, said Alex de Waal, a Sudan specialist at Tufts University.

Bashir had kept their rivalries and ambitions in check; his removal brings in its wake an unregulated uncertainty.

 Calls for restraint 

Multiple world powers have made calls for a peaceful transition.

Washington urged the military council to exercise restraint and to allow space for civilian participation within the government.

The European Union urged the army to carry out a swift handover to civilian rule.

Britains Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said that a two-year transition overseen by the military is not the answer.

We need to see a swift move to an inclusive, representative, civilian leadership, Hunt said.
Sudans new military ruler vowed on Saturday to uproot the regime of Omar al-Bashir, ousted this week after four months of protests.

His successor, military council chief General Awad Ibn Ouf, then resigned a day later.

Here is a timeline of the upheaval in the country.

 Bread protests 

Hundreds take to the streets in various cities on December 19, 2018 to protest the governments tripling of bread prices, some chanting, No to hunger.

The demonstrations spread and broaden into calls for Bashirs iron-fisted regime to quit.

Offices of his ruling National Congress Party (NCP) are torched in several towns.

The protests reach Khartoum on December 20, demonstrators chanting freedom, peace, justice.

Clashes break out as police try to disperse the crowds and eight demonstrators are killed in two cities.

 Bashir resists 

Bashir breaks his silence after six days of demonstrations, vowing real reforms on December 24.

On January 1 this year, 22 political groups call for a new regime.

On January 9, thousands chant support for Bashir in Khartoum. But in the capitals twin city of Omdurman, there are more deaths in anti-government protests.

On January 13, protests spread to the war-torn western region of Darfur.

 Emergency rule 

On February 21, security agents arrest several opposition activists as protesters try to march on the presidential palace.

Bashir declares a nationwide state of emergency on February 22, also dissolving the federal and provincial governments.

Two days later, he swears in a new prime minister as riot police confront hundreds calling for him to resign.

On March 1, Bashir hands his powers as chief of the ruling NCP to his deputy.

 Sit-in at army HQ 

On April 6, thousands gather for the first time outside the military headquarters in Khartoum and chant One Army, One People in a call for support from the armed forces.

They set up camp at the complex, which also houses the presidents residence, defying attempts by police to dislodge them with tear gas and gunshots into the air.

On April 9, police follow the militarys policy of non-intervention and order their forces not to take action against demonstrators.

State media report that 11 people including six members of the security forces have been killed in one day, raising the official death toll in the weeks of demonstrations to 49.

 Bashir ousted 

On April 11, the sixth day of the sit-in, Defence Minister Awad Ibn Ouf announces on state television that Bashir has been removed from power and detained.

He says a transitional military council will replace Bashir for two years.

The countrys borders and airspace are shut and Ibn Ouf announces a night-time curfew.

Later that evening, he is sworn in as chief of the military council now in charge.

 Regime coup 

A furious opposition accuses the regime of keeping in place the same old faces and demand civilian rule, a call backed by the United Nations, African Union and Western nations.

Thousands defy the curfew overnight into Friday, remaining camped outside the army headquarters, some chanting peace! justice! freedom!

Addressing the media on Friday, the new military leaders pledge talks with all political entities on forming a civilian government.

They also warn they would not allow any breach of security anywhere and rule out Bashirs extradition on an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court to face genocide and war crimes charges.

In the evening, Ibn Ouf announces on state television he is stepping down and names General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Abdulrahman to succeed him.

Crowds of Sudanese celebrate in the capital.

 New military ruler makes promises 

On Saturday, the head of Sudans feared National Intelligence and Security Service, Salih Ghosh, resigns.

Sudans new military ruler vows in a televised address to the nation to uproot the Bashir regime and its symbols.

Burhan says those involved in the killing of protesters will be put on trial, a night-time curfew will be lifted and jailed protesters released.
Sudans second new military leader in as many days vowed Saturday to uproot deposed president Omar al-Bashirs regime and release protesters, in a bid to placate demonstrators demanding civilian rule.

I announce the restructuring of state institutions according to the law and pledge to fight corruption and uproot the regime and its symbols, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said, a day after he was sworn in to head Sudans new ruling military council.

He also ordered the release of all prisoners jailed by special emergency courts and the immediate lifting of a night-time curfew imposed by the council earlier this week.

Career soldier Burhan took the helm of Sudans transitional military council on Friday when his predecessor General Awad Ibn Ouf  a close aide of ousted veteran president Bashir  quit after little more than 24 hours in power.

Burhan also pledged Saturday that individuals involved in the killing of protesters would face justice.

His initial announcements indicated he wanted to show the tens of thousands of protesters on the streets that he is not part of the regimes old guard and was genuinely committed to reform.

The new leader also on Saturday accepted the resignation of the head of the feared National Intelligence and Security Service, Salah Abdallah Mohammed Salih  widely known as Salih Ghosh  the military council announced.

Salih Ghosh had overseen a sweeping crackdown led by NISS agents against protesters taking part in four months of mass demonstrations that led to the toppling of Bashir in a palace coup by the army on Thursday.

 Demand for civilian rule 

Dozens of protesters were killed and thousands of activists, opposition leaders and journalists arrested.

The police said Friday that 16 people had been killed in live fire in Khartoum alone over the previous two days as NISS agents led a desperate last stand for Bashir before the army intervened.

A photograph published by state news agency SUNA had shown Burhan talking with protesters outside army headquarters on Friday, before his elevation to the top job.

Khartoum erupted with joy when Ibn Ouf tendered his resignation on Friday night barely 24 hours after taking the oath of office.

Car horns sounded as jubilant crowds streamed out of their homes chanting: It fell again, it fell again.

But the organisers of the mass protests called on demonstrators to keep up their week-old vigil outside army headquarters.

Ibn Ouf had served as Bashirs defence minister right up to the presidents downfall, after three decades of iron-fisted rule.

A former military intelligence chief, Ibn Ouf remains under US sanctions for his role in the regimes brutal response to an ethnic minority rebellion which erupted in the western region of Darfur in 2003.

Bashir himself came to power in a 1989 Islamist military coup, which toppled an elected government led by Sadiq al-Mahdi.

Burhan is a career soldier who comes with less baggage from Bashirs deeply unpopular rule than Ibn Ouf.

The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), whose grass-roots membership of doctors, teachers and engineers have spearheaded the nationwide protests, hailed Ibn Oufs departure as a victory of the peoples will.

But it demanded that Burhan swiftly transfer the powers of the military council to a transitional civilian government.

If this does not happen we will continue with our sit-in in front of the army headquarters and other towns, the SPA said in a statement.

 Violating the constitution 

Bashir remained in custody and his National Congress Party on Saturday called on the military council to release arrested personnel.

We consider (the) taking of power by the military council as violating the constitutions legitimacy, the NCP said in a statement.

The NCP rejects the detention of its leaders, among them its acting president Ahmed Harun, it added, calling for their immediate release.

Outside the Middle East, the formation of a military government to replace Bashir has met with widespread criticism.

The African Union said Bashirs overthrow by the military was not the appropriate response to the challenges facing Sudan and the aspirations of its people.

The European Union urged the army to carry out a swift handover to civilian rule.

Former colonial ruler Britain said that the two-year transition announced by the military is not the answer.

We need to see a swift move to an inclusive, representative, civilian leadership, said Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Members of the military council have sought to reassure foreign diplomats about its intentions.

This is not a military coup, but taking the side of the people, the councils political chief Lieutenant General Omar Zain al-Abdin told Arab and African diplomats at a meeting broadcast on state television on Friday.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has long standing arrest warrants against Bashir for suspected genocide and war crimes during the regimes brutal campaign of repression in Darfur.

But the military council has said it would never extradite him or any other Sudanese citizen.
The International Criminal Court turned down Friday a request to open a war crimes probe in Afghanistan, with the United States hailing a victory for its strong-armed tactic of revoking the chief prosecutors visa.

Rights groups denounced the judges decision as a blow for thousands of victims in the long-running Afghan conflict and warned it could embolden perpetrators around the world to act with impunity.

The judges decided that an investigation into the situation in Afghanistan at this stage would not serve the interests of justice, the Hague-based court said in a statement.

With its limited budget, the court needs to prioritise resources on activities that would have a better chance to succeed, the judges said.

ICC prosecutors in 2006 opened a preliminary investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Afghanistan since 2003.

In 2017, chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda asked judges to allow a full-blown probe not only into the Taliban and Afghan soldiers, but also international forces, particularly US troops and members of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Angered, President Donald Trumps administration said it would deny visas to any ICC members involved in probing US troops and, last week, it revoked the visa of the Gambian-born Bensouda.

This is a major international victory, not only for these patriots, but for the rule of law, Trump said in a statement.

He vowed not to relent on the pressure, saying: Any attempt to target American, Israeli or allied personnel for prosecution will be met with a swift and vigorous response.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo highlighted that the decision came after his announcement of the visa restrictions and said: I am glad the court reconsidered its actions.

Bensouda, who says that the United States and Afghanistan have taken no steps to properly investigate alleged crimes, offered a measured response, with her office saying it would analyse the decision and its implications, and consider all available legal remedies.

Intense US pressure

The United States has never joined the ICC and does not recognise its authority over American citizens, saying it poses a threat to national sovereignty and that it has its own robust procedures in place.

While former president Barack Obama cooperated in a limited way with the court, notably supporting efforts for accountability in African conflicts, the Trump administration has been unremittingly hostile and has also threatened to seize funds and prosecute in US courts any judges and prosecutors who target Americans or their allies.

In the Afghanistan case, judges said Friday that a large number of victims had come forward: some 699 applicants in total made representations on behalf of several millions of victims.

Notwithstanding the fact that all the relevant requirements are met as regards both jurisdiction and admissibility, they said, the current circumstances in Afghanistan make the prospect of a successful investigation and prosecution extremely limited.

The judges pointed to the time that had elapsed since the opening of the preliminary probe more than a decade ago, Afghanistans changing political scene and the lack of political cooperation with Bensouda, which was likely to worsen should an investigation proceed.

In the foreseeable absence of additional resources for the coming years in the courts budget, authorising the investigation would result in the prosecution having to reallocate financial and human resources, the judges said.

This would be to the detriment of other scenarios which appear to have more realistic prospects to lead to trials and thus effectively foster the interests of justice.

Blow for victims

Human rights groups warned that the decision would have repercussions well beyond Afghanistan.

It is a devastating blow for victims who have suffered grave crimes without redress, said Param-Preet Singh, the international justice associate director of Human Rights Watch.

This sends a dangerous message to perpetrators that they can put themselves beyond the reach of the law just by being uncooperative.

The American Civil Liberties Union said that the Trump administration had played a dangerous game.

It is outrageous that victims of war crimes are far less likely to get justice for well-documented atrocities because of the Trump administrations authoritarian efforts to sabotage an investigation before it even started, said Jamil Dakwar, director of the groups human rights program.

No one except the worlds most brutal regimes win when we weaken and sabotage international institutions established to fight impunity and hold human rights abusers accountable.
SALEM, Ore.  On Friday afternoon, Governor Kate Brown revealed her proposal to stabilize and begin paying down Oregon's $26 billion debt to the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS), one of the greatest financial burdens that the state continues to face.

"In exchange for dedicating their lives to public service, Oregon has made a promise to provide them a secure retirement after decades of teaching our kids, fixing our roads, keeping our neighborhoods safe, fighting fires, or helping our children in foster care," said Governor Brown.

Oregon Business & Industry doesnt like the governors plan, either, for totally different reasons:

"We will strongly oppose this effort to raid SAIF to bail out PERS. The PERS solution should stand on its own."  Mike Rogoway (@rogoway) April 12, 2019 Oregon teachers make 22% less than their private sector counterparts. Stable PERS benefits currently help bridge some of the gap. Unfair cuts to PERS would make teaching unaffordable for some of Oregons highest quality educators. #NoCutstoPERS #ORpol #ORleg pic.twitter.com/EfjVld6ndG  Keep Oregons Promise (@oregonspromise) April 12, 2019

Brown's office said that PERS is currently funded at 80 percent, and rates only continue to increase. The state projects that those rates will remain high until 2035.

"We must keep our promise to every PERS member, active and retired, to protect retirement security and the defined benefit plan in Oregon. And every Oregonian must step up to help us keep that promise. Employees should not carry this burden alone. Anything less would simply be kicking the can down the road."

Even a favorable economic environment would still cause teacher layoffs at Oregon schools due to the exorbitant rate increases, Brown's office said. But, "when another economic crisis inevitably sweeps the country," those cuts and layoffs will become too much for Oregon to bear.

Brown said that she hopes to raise $3.3 billion over the next 16 years by redirecting money from other streams of revenue. The problem? That money has to come from somewhere  and no matter where it comes from, people are going to be unhappy.

Under the proposal, teachers would also be contributing part of their pay to the state's pension fund  between 1.5 percent and 3 percent of their salary, depending when they were hired.

According to the Associated Press, the state's largest teachers union called the plan a veritable salary cut for educators. Teachers continue to plan a walkout for May 8 to protest a lack of school funding.

Other measures in the proposal include taking money from the "kicker" tax rebate, the state's nonprofit worker's comp insurance company (SAIF), and a number of other sources. Republican lawmakers and parts of the Oregon business community have already blasted these suggestions  saying that they would harm taxpayers and small business owners.

Governor Brown's PERS proposal

Major aspects of the plan released Friday include:

Creation of a School PERS Offset Account to pay for the increase above 2019 - 2021 PERS rates for schools until PERS is fully funded or for 14 years, whichever comes first.

Beginning PERS stability contribution pension accounts for employees to secure the defined benefit portion of PERS. The contribution will equal 3% of payroll for Tier 1 and Tier 2 members and 1.5% of payroll for OPSRP members, after the first $20,000 of annual salary. With the exemption, the average contribution would be 2.1% for Tier 1 and 2 and 1% for OPSRP. Members will not see a reduction in their current take-home pay as a result of these contributions.

After PERS stability contributions end, if PERS drops below 90% funded in the future, employees will pay a temporary stability contribution of 3% (after $20,000 exemption), until PERS funded status recovers.

In order to pay for the above School PERS Offset Account, Brown has suggested the using the following measures:

A one-time retention of the income tax kicker, after returning the first $100 to each Oregon family, which would raise $400 million to 500 million.

Using excess surplus from SAIF  Oregon's not-for-profit, public workers' compensation insurance company  above the Boards target levels, which would bring in $486 million; or an alternative that includes SAIF covering workers' compensation costs for school districts and a smaller one-time transfer

Repatriation funds already dedicated under 2018 Senate Bill 1566 (and Senate Bill 1529) for a total of $83.3 million

Windfall revenue from variable sources, including direct, above-trend revenues from capital gains and estate taxes to the account

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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I remember Grandpa Larrys visits remarkably vividly. He would lumber into the house hunched over, grunting loudly and reeking of cigarettes. He was unshaven and haggard, with wild grey-black hair streaking out horizontally from the sides of his head. He would rock and turn uncomfortably until he could find a chair, then once seated would begin rhythmically swaying back and forth. He spoke in a flat, rough voice. He had considerable difficulty getting words out.

Grandpa Larry rarely made eye contact, which was a good thing. If he did, you would want to look away. His expression verged between hollow detachment and frenzied searching, as if he was trying to escape from something he couldnt see.

Once the spectacle of his arrival had passed, it was time for his injection. My parents would drag him into the bathroom and give him a depot injection of thiothixine, a powerful antipsychotic.

The strangest thing of all? Underneath the madness, he was incredibly sweet.

He would drawl out my name and the names of my siblings as wed bashfully enter the room. He didnt quite look at us, but hed raise his head and look to the side. We would tell him about how school was going, our favorite movies, favorite colors. He would grunt and nod and shake around, utterly respectful of my little fourth-grade self. I usually couldnt quite make out exactly what he was saying, but it didnt matter. I knew what he was trying to say.

Over the years, I had a lot of questions about Grandpa Larry. Who was this wild creature, my moms dad, the man in whose body resided roughly 25 percent of my DNA? I knew that he had something called schizophrenia, something that no one else I knew had. I knew we didnt see him very often. And I heard a lot of stories about him.

Stories about the old Grandpa Larry, before his break, abounded. They told of a handsome, brilliant athlete who graduated Columbia University in three years and Columbia Law School in two. A man with an eidetic memory who would play bridge with his law professors because he didnt need to study. Legend had it that people had wanted to run him for mayor of New York.

Then there were other stories, the ones describing his swan dive off the cliff of sanity. How he was abused by my great-grandfather. How he was forced to marry my grandmother after it was discovered that they had been sleeping together out of wedlock. How the birth of my mother led to him losing control of his thoughts, his mind, his life. He started to suspect aloud, to his colleagues at the posh law firm that he had just been hired at, that the FBI was tracking him and trying to poison him. He was fired.

My grandmother, with a new baby and a delusional and psychiatrically unstable husband, was forced to institutionalize him to protect my mother. My mom met her dad when she was twenty-five.

I thought about him a lot as a kid. Sometimes I would talk to myself  did I have schizophrenia? Could I ever turn into him? If I did, would I even be able to recognize it? Was schizophrenia hereditary? Were there triggers that could be avoided? Was there some age at which I was safe? Or would the specter of mental disease always be there for me, lurking, waiting for me.

I never got to know my grandpa that well. As I grew up, his body began to deteriorate. He died when I was in high school.

It was a sparsely attended funeral, mostly just family. But a few friends came, including a man named Sidney Zimmer. He was the owner of the Hotel Belleclaire, on the upper west side of Manhattan, where my grandpa had been allowed to live (at a reduced rent) for many years.

My parents thanked him profusely for his kindness over the years, for allowing a tenant like him to stay. He smiled and nodded. That he had driven out to Long Island for the funeral of his longstanding psychiatric tenant was fairly astounding to me.

Before he left, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a pen, and handed it to me. It was from Hotel Belleclaire, with a richly stylized HB in red and black on the outside of the pen. Think of your grandpa when you use this pen, he said.

His funeral was thirteen years ago. I never took the pen out of my jacket pocket. Its still there, zipped safely away, always within reach.

The pen is a sort of totem for me. Its comforting to hold it, out of everyones view, and be reminded of my grandpa. I think about his legacy of struggle and hardship and foiled aspirations. About how kind he was to me. And about how lucky I am to be sane.

But it also reminds me of Sidney Zimmer, a man with a remarkable capacity for good. It reminds me that people with compassion are out there, trying to help people like my grandpa. Holding that pen, I like to think that I could be one of those people too.

Ben Gold is a cardiology fellow who blogs at his self-titled site, Ben Gold, M.D.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
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This article is sponsored by Careers by KevinMD.com.

When considering a career in the medical field, many people only think of physicians and nurses who work in clinics, give shots, and diagnose patients. However, theres a wealth of other career opportunities in fields related to health care which are classified as non-clinical positions. A new physician or one looking to make a career change may want to consider one of these five options outside the clinic.

1. Hospital administrator

One of the most common, and often highest paid ($50,000 to $170,000), non-clinical physician jobs is that of a hospital administrator. This job requires education in health care and business administration, often preferring advanced degrees in both. Physicians who have not studied business administration should consider earning an additional degree in order to excel as a hospital administrator.

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There are numerous non-profits, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other organizations that could use the knowledge and expertise of a physician. Serving as the director of a health care organization can be a great opportunity for someone seeking a non-clinical MD job ($91,509 to $116,240). These jobs can be international or domestic in their scope. Particularly when considering a job with non-profit organizations, it is important to consider the effects of a major shift in salary. There are other, more altruistic, rewards that come with this work, but they may not support the current lifestyle of someone used to a physicians salary.

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Medical journals, textbook publishers, and even news outlets are always in need of writers with intimate knowledge of the health care industry and the medical profession. This makes work as a medical writer a great non-clinical physician job opportunity ($77,000 to $90,000). Although physicians will have a strong understanding of the health-related aspects of medical writing, it is important to learn some writing skills to advance in this career. Most physicians do well with only a few writing seminars and some practice. However, a degree in English, in addition to a medical degree, wouldnt be a bad idea for a future physician still working their way through school and considering this career field.

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Working as a consultant in the pharmaceutical industry can be a challenging non-clinical career for physicians ($80,000 to $150,000). Pharmaceutical companies employ physicians to assist with the development of clinical trials, to collaborate on product development and marketing and to navigate the complex regulatory system of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Typically, physicians who take jobs in the pharmaceutical industry will find themselves working within the bureaucracy of state and federal regulatory agencies or spending countless hours in a laboratory. It is important to consider which type of career is preferred before selecting a path within the pharmaceutical industry.

5. Health educator

Another common non-clinical job for physicians is that of a health educator ($54,000 to $70,000). This can be a professorial position with a major university or a teaching position in the health sciences department in the local school system. Most physicians already have all the credentials they would need to begin work as a university professor. Although, a few teaching seminars couldnt hurt. However, teaching in the local school system will often require a physician to earn a teaching certificate for their region.

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EUGENE, Ore. -- All evacuation notifications for Lane County residents have been canceled.

County officials said water levels are expected to remain high in many areas of Lane County. They're asking residents along rivers including, but not limited to, the Row River, Coast Fork, Middle Fork, Willamette, Mohawk and McKenzie to be especially vigilant.

Lane County Emergency Management will continue to monitor water levels throughout the weekend.

The County released the following list of general safety tips and precautions:

 After the flood, start cleaning and drying out flood-affected buildings right away.

 Never turn power on or off while standing in water. If electrical circuits and electrical equipment have gotten wet or are in or near water, turn off the power at the main breaker or fuse on the service panel. If you must enter standing water to access the main power switch, then call an electrician to turn the power off.

 When attempting clean-up, wear proper equipment, including safety glasses and heavy work gloves, to protect yourself from injury.

 Dry out flooded areas of your home. Use fans and dehumidifiers to remove excess moisture as soon as possible. Weather permitting, open the windows and doors to ventilate the room.

 Once the house has dried out, remove mold from hard surfaces by washing with soap and water, and letting all washed surfaces dry completely. Bleach can be used following all label instructions, paying special attention to the precautionary statements and dilution rate.

 Check crawl spaces and basements for wet insulation, compromised mechanical and electrical systems, as flood damage may not be readily apparent.

 High winds may cause trees to fall or break. As you cut down branches and limbs, wear safety glasses and heavy work gloves. Remember to always cut at waist level or below. With an electric chain saw, use extreme caution to avoid electrical shock. Avoid contact with power lines.

 Save receipts and insurance claim information associated with clean-up and repair activities in case assistance becomes available.
ALBANY, Ore. -- A pedestrian died in a crash on Interstate 5 near Albany just after midnight Friday.

Oregon State Police said a 72-year-old man was driving southbound near milepost 235 at about 12:40 a.m. when he hit a man who was in the center of the lane. The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene.

I-5 southbound was closed for 90 minutes after the crash.

The Albany Police Department, Albany Fire and the Oregon Department of Transportation assisted OSP.
(CNN)  The International Criminal Court's pre-trial judges on Friday unanimously rejected a request by the court's chief prosecutor to investigate alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Afghanistan  a move applauded by the Trump administration.

Chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda sought authorization in November 2017 to open an investigation into crimes connected to the conflict in Afghanistan. According to a statement from the time, Bensouda's office "determined that there is a reasonable basis to believe" that members of the US armed forces and the CIA committed "war crimes," particularly in 2003-2004.

According to a media release about the decision, the three judge panel "concluded that an investigation into the situation in Afghanistan at this stage would not serve the interests of justice." The judges considered the time since the 2006 preliminary examination "and the political changing scene in Afghanistan since then" as well as "the lack of cooperation that the Prosecutor has received," which they said was "likely to go scarcer should an investigation be authorized."

However, the judges found Bensouda's request "establishes a reasonable basis to consider that crimes within the ICC jurisdiction have been committed in Afghanistan," according to the release. Bensouda's office noted this in its statement about the decision and said it would "further analyse the decision and its implications, and consider all available legal remedies."

Amnesty International pilloried the decision, calling it "a shocking abandonment of the victims" that "ultimately will be seen as a craven capitulation to Washington's bullying and threats."

"The court has a moral and legal duty to reach out to the victims of crimes in Afghanistan and explain this decision," Biraj Patnaik, South Asia Director at Amnesty International, said in a statement.

The Trump administration welcomed the move, which came after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced in mid-March that the U.S. would deny or revoke visas for ICC staff in response to the potential investigation.

"This decision is a victory for the rule of law and the integrity of the ICC as an institution, given the United States is not subject to the ICC's jurisdiction," Pompeo said in a statement Friday.

In an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper on "The Lead," Pompeo reiterated that the ICC "has no jurisdiction" over the U.S.

"This would have been a very political effort to try to take on people acting on behalf of the United States in ways that were completely consistent with our laws and try to hold them accountable in ways that were completely inappropriate," he said. "I am very pleased the ICC made this decision today. It's the right one."

"Know that if Americans are found things to have done things that are unlawful or against the laws of war, the US system will always hold them accountable, but the ICC is not the right place to do it," Pompeo said.

President Donald Trump said that it was "a major international victory, not only for these patriots, but for the rule of law."

"We welcome this decision and reiterate our position that the United States holds American citizens to the highest legal and ethical standards," he said in a statement, warning that "any attempt to target American, Israeli, or allied personnel for prosecution will be met with a swift and vigorous response."

National security adviser John Bolton hailed the move as "a vindication of our position."

"We are a democratic society, we are accountable for what we do and we hold our own citizens responsible for their actions. No international court under those circumstances can be constitutionally legitimate," Bolton said during a briefing with reporters Friday.

In early April, Bensouda's office and the State Department confirmed that her entry visa to the U.S. had been revoked.

"The Office of the Prosecutor has an independent and impartial mandate under the Rome Statute of the ICC. The Prosecutor and her Office will continue to undertake that statutory duty with utmost commitment and professionalism, without fear or favor," her office said in a statement.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "International Criminal Court rejects call to investigate war crimes in Afghanistan."
Angola, IN (46703)

Today

Windy with rain showers in the morning then partly cloudy in the afternoon. Morning high of 58F with temps falling to near 45. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..

Tonight

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Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Windy with rain showers in the morning then partly cloudy in the afternoon. Morning high of 59F with temps falling to near 40. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..

Tonight

Clear skies. Low 28F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.
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An entranced audience hunched forward in their seats at USCs Bovard Auditorium to hear authors Roxane Gay and Laurie Halse Anderson discuss their latest on rape culture. And despite the conversations sensitive nature, they laughed. A lot.

All the time we tell women to forgive  [forget] forgiveness, quipped Gay, using a different F-word. I have no interest in [forgiveness]. Its boring. Its too easy.

During a 10:30 a.m. panel at Saturdays portion of the L.A. Times Festival of Books, Times columnist Robin Abcarian moderated a discussion with Gay and Halse Anderson about their latest books that deal with the repercussions of rape culture.

Gay edited the 2018 anthology Not That Bad: Dispatches From Rape Culture, a collection of contributors essays exploring the spectrum of survival; Andersons 2019 memoir, Shout, tells the story of her own assault as a 13-year-old through free-verse poetry.

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Gays been crowned a cultural critic for her New York Times bestsellers Bad Feminist and Hunger, but her latest, she told The Times, isnt about her at all.

[The anthology] has nothing to do with me, and has everything to do with the 29 women and men who contributed their work and had really interesting, nuanced things to say about what it means to live in a world where rape culture is a thing, she said.

L.A. Times Festival of Books is this weekend. Heres everything you need to know before you go 

Contributors of Not That Bad include actress Gabrielle Union, who writes about the stain her own sexual assault left; Zoe Medeiros, who examines learning to carry the burden of her assault; and a writer called xTx, who penned the essay The Ways We Are Taught to Be a Girl  which, Gay told the panel, is one of her favorites in the collection.

Halse Anderson explained why she chose to write Shout, her response to the #MeToo movement, in free verse as opposed to giving a clear-cut storyline: Poetry is writing from the bone marrow, she said. Its just like, Heres the truth, and its either going to punch you in the gut or offer some comfort.

The packed auditorium was filled with Gays loyal band of followers, who erupted in a roar at the mere sight of her. Even Halse Anderson was in on it.

The whole point of me being here, you should know, is so I get to sit next to Roxane onstage, the YA author said.

RELATED: Full Festival of Books coverage 

Gays name on the schedule was the sole reason Edward Farmer, 36, and Kai Love, 35, came to the Festival of Books, which continues through Sunday on the USC campus.

I dont even know the names of the other people speaking, Love said.

When Abcarian asked why it took both authors so long to disclose their rape, they explained that silence is fueled by the deep-seated shame that rape culture instills in survivors.

I was just ashamed, Gay said. Then I wasnt, thank goodness, and then I wrote a book.

When it comes to rectifying rape culture, work needs to be done beyond using empowerment slogans on our clothing and bumper stickers, both authors said. Its about action.

If youre going to spend your money that way, then make sure you spend an equal amount of money, and/or time, letting your legislature know that women need to [be heard], said Halse Anderson, who was wearing a Got consent? T-shirt.
Sometimes a house needs years of nurturing to feel personal, but when Necar Zadegan first set foot onto the bedroom balcony of her soon-to-be home, it already felt like her own.

Best known for her roles on Foxs 24 and Bravos Girlfriends Guide to Divorce, Zadegan immediately fell in love with the balcony and its cozy daybed, which inspired her to purchase the 1923 Hollywood Hills home three years ago from actress Michelle Monaghan.

The first time I came out here, I knew I lived here, said Zadegan, 36. It was as though it had been waiting for me, and immediately felt familiar.

The expansive balcony features panoramic views of downtown L.A. and the ocean on sunny days, and disco balls that create beautiful light against the white wall when the sun hits them, she said.

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Zadegan turns to the space as a special meditative sanctuary, away from the pressures of work.

She stars alongside Owen Wilson and Michael Keaton in Season 3 of IFCs Documentary Now, and travels often to be on location as a new cast member on CBS NCIS: New Orleans.

Theres a lot of managing chaos, which comes second nature to me, but now I take time for myself, Zadegan said. I really appreciate that the balcony and these views lend themselves to that.

Colorful glass lanterns and chimes from Hawaii hang from the daybed, itself decorated with red and blue paisley cushions. A traditional Moroccan tea set with cardamom-infused Persian sweet tea sits on the coffee table, surrounded by lush plants and trees.

1 / 6 Actress Necar Zadegan on the balcony of her Hollywood Hills home. (Jesse Goddard / For The Times) 2 / 6 A traditional Moroccan tea set with cardamom-infused Persian sweet tea sits on the coffee table. (Jesse Goddard / For The Times) 3 / 6 The expansive balcony features panoramic views of downtown L.A. and the ocean on sunny days, and disco balls that create beautiful light against the white wall when the sun hits them, Necar Zadegan says.



(Jesse Goddard / For The Times) 4 / 6 The chimes were first a gift that I bought for a friend, and I later took them back. They just work so well up here and I love the way they sound, says Zadegan. An artist hand-made those in Hawaii when I was there one year. (Jesse Goddard / For The Times) 5 / 6 Downtown L.A. looms in the distance. (Jesse Goddard / For The Times) 6 / 6 The daybed is decorated with red and blue paisley cushions. (Jesse Goddard / For The Times)

Why is your balcony so special to you?

Its so peaceful, spacious and right off the bedroom. The views are so open and I really love living in town  Ive always been a city girl in that way. Ive spent a lot of time living in the middle of the city, but moving to the hills brought me more peace because the landscape is wilder and there are views everywhere. It felt more like home to live among the trees. Being above the traffic doesnt hurt either.

How would you describe your design style?

Earthy and relaxed. I always want things to feel comfortable and look pretty. I noticed that I really enjoy color, and I didnt really know that until I started decorating.

Does this ever become a social space?

Not that much; less than I thought. This is kind of a private space for myself and those close to me. I have a niece now, and sometimes Ill come up here with the baby and she just loves it. And I have a couple of dogs, a bulldog and a Norwich terrier, and they love to lay out here in the sun.

I love your hanging chimes.

The chimes were first a gift that I bought for a friend, and I later took them back. They just work so well up here and I love the way they sound. An artist hand-made those in Hawaii when I was there one year. The sound they make is one that pierces through your sleep, so I often take them down at night. But I would like to have more chimes up here, maybe different-sounding ones.

What attracted you to a Spanish-style home?

I was just open when I was looking and walked into this place, and I knew I loved it, and I was hoping it would become mine. The house just keeps going and going with wonderful outdoor spaces. Ive lived in California for many years, but I never really think about how much I enjoy indoor-outdoor living. Its just become part of my life.

hotproperty@latimes.com
Through Veeps seven seasons, the universally despised Jonah Ryan has been called the Pointless Giant, Jimpanzee, the 60-Foot Virgin, Jono Ono and the Cloud Botherer among many, many other things, most of which we cant print here.

But as the HBO comedy winds down in its final season, might we be adding one more Jonah title to the list: Mr. President?

Jonah, duly bounced from Congress after serving just one term, is making an improbable run for the presidency in Veeps last run of episodes. And while you would think that voters might not gravitate toward a graceless, vain and creepy candidate (newly married to his stepsister, no less), Timothy Simons cautions that recent history points toward his characters success.

Now we live in a world where you have to convince yourself that hes not the front-runner for being such a dummy, Simons said in a recent video interview at The Times office. Like, he doesnt have the best chance of winning because hes the dumbest person there.

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 Veep star Timothy Simons shares the emotional experience of his last table read.

WATCH: 2019 Emmy Contenders video chats 

Several Veep cast members, including Simons, have teased that the series final episode (airing next month), goes big, hinting that, yes, we could possibly see Jonad in the Oval Office. Because whos bigger than the Guyscraper? But even if the show doesnt take the darkest possible road, Simons says viewers can expect an ending that stays true to the series signature skepticism.

One thing that I love about the way it wraps up is  in a reflection of how the last couple of years the United States  and the world has gone  the show does get a lot more cynical, if thats possible, and it does get a lot darker, if thats possible, Simons says. The characters stay true to themselves through to the end. One thing about it, it really does hammer home: These arent particularly great people, and they never have been. We just tricked you into liking them for a while.

Simons also reflected on his own feelings about the shows farewell and what Veep has meant to his career, which now moves on to an assisted-suicide comedy hes developing for HBO. (I do think its funny, he says. I hope other people do too.)

You can watch the full interview below.

 Veep Star Timothy Simons talks about his experience working on the shows last season and Jonahs #NotMe moment.

glenn.whipp@latimes.com

Twitter: @glennwhipp


At weddings, Super Bowl parties, late-night backyard hangs  Max Minghella was always off in the corner with his camera.

I cant tell if he used it as a crutch, like, I dont want to interact with people, or if he found it more interesting to view social events through a lens, says actor Jamie Bell, who calls Minghella his closest friend. But a few days later, youd get a link, and hed turn what seemed to be an arbitrary hangout with the usual suspects into something quite staggering.

It was something Minghella, now 33, acknowledges he did pretty fanatically in his 20s  making musically-driven home videos that he describes as both sentimental and voyeuristic. He was making his living as an actor, but creating his weird little videos somehow felt more natural to him. With acting, it was like, I cant believe Im getting away with doing this, and with directing, I felt, Oh, I should be doing this. Im in the right place. Which doesnt mean Im good at it.

Audiences can judge that for themselves with Minghellas directorial debut, Teen Spirit, now playing in limited release and poised to expand throughout the month. The film, which Minghella also wrote, stars Elle Fanning as a withdrawn teenager who sees a path to escape her life on the remote Isle of Wight when she scores a coveted spot on a television singing competition. Fanning performs her own vocals in the movie, which was acquired at last years Toronto International Film Festival upon its debut in September.

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Max Minghella of Hulus The Handmaids Tale, photographed during Paleyfest in 2018. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

With the release of Teen Spirit, Minghella will no doubt face the eye rolls of those who view him as just another actor who thinks he can cut it behind the camera. But hell also face inevitable comparisons to his father, the late Oscar-winning director Anthony Minghella.

Max says he isnt conscious of feeling the weight of his dads shadow, Though that doesnt mean its not there. Ive never done therapy. I should do therapy. I think I need to.

Hes like genuinely one of my favorite filmmakers, and I dont know if theres a bias thing or not. I just really connect to a lot of his material. I also dont know how to replicate that. I think we inherently have very different voices and sensibilities. I dont think anybody is going to watch [Teen Spirit] and say this feels like this was made by the guy who made The English Patient.  

Minghella is sitting in his office at Automatik, the production company co-run by Fred Berger, who produced Teen Spirit. He lives in Silver Lake but was spending so much time at the company that Berger encouraged him to take his own private space, which is small, enclosed by glass and cement and still without any art on the walls. Theres a Kosher bakery downstairs, and he apologizes for the scent of pastries wafting in through the vents.

He speaks with a British accent, having lived in London through his teenage years. As a boy, Minghella never dreamed of being an actor, exactly. His mother, Carolyn Choa, worked for the British Board of Film Classification, the organization responsible for assigning ratings to movies. Each night, after a day of watching films, shed transform the plot of one of the titles into a bedtime story for her son.

It built this big relationship to movies, because I was constructing them in my brain from like 3 years old, Minghella recalls. My mother and I really bonded over movies. Shes Chinese, so she introduced me to Wong Kar-wai, which was a huge thing for me  understanding what filmmaking was and how exciting it could be.

Then his father, who had primarily made his living as a playwright, began transitioning into the film industry. When Max was 10, his dad wrote and directed The English Patient, for which he won the Oscar for best picture and director in 1997. The filmmaker would go on to become one of the most acclaimed talents in Hollywood, directing The Talented Mr. Ripley and Cold Mountain before his death from complications following cancer surgery in 2008.

(Those films were produced by Miramax and disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein, who wrote an essay in The Times about his close friendship with the elder Minghella following the directors death. While he acknowledged hes known Weinstein his whole life, the younger Minghella says its been two or three years since hes seen the alleged criminal and his feelings watching the downfall were complicated.)

Minghella is hoping to make a name for himself as a director with the release of Teen Spirit. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Even though both his parents careers were in the arts, Minghella says they were frustrated that he didnt know or care about anything other than movies. So he decided to go to college, enrolling at Columbia University to try to prove to them that he could be academic. Two years in, he was doing so poorly in class  truly, it was really bad  that he felt the only way to get out of that situation somewhat cleanly was to book a job as an actor.

Hed landed an agent in high school solely based on the strength of an impression he did at a party. So when, in his 20s, he earnestly tried his hand at the profession, he was surprised that it worked out: His first big role was in David Finchers The Social Network, where he played Mark Zuckerbergs college nemesis Divya Narendra. Since, hes appeared in George Clooneys The Ides of March, The Mindy Project and now Hulus Emmy-winning sensation The Handmaids Tale, co-starring opposite Elisabeth Moss as her brooding love interest.

But even as an actor, Minghella says hes always been very picky and pretentious about the directors hes worked with. Ive never once been, like, I want to play this guy. Im not sure about the script and the filmmaker, but I need to play X. Whereas most actors I know  I think smartly  are much more interested in the character than the project. I dont care if Im the waiter or the lead. I think its a shallow thing  like a vanity thing.

Offred (Elisabeth Moss) and Nick (Max Minghella) in a scene from The Handmaids Tale. (George Kraychyk / Hulu)

His favorite experience was with Fincher, who Minghella says grants his actors lots of autonomy, urging the cast to get out of their body by rolling through dozens of takes. He tried to borrow some of that during Teen Spirit, but says the thing he needs the most work on is actually working with actors. Im not trying to be facetious, he insists. I think my producer would say the same thing.

In fact, at least one of his producers would not. Bell  who helped Minghella retool his script before production began  said the novice director was alarmingly relaxed on set. And Dylan OBrien, another actor whom Minghella counts as one of his best friends, says he felt giddy watching his buddy be so in his element and in control when he dropped in on the London set.

He was having so much fun  being decisive and leading the set, says OBrien, who met Minghella on 2013s The Internship where they  no joke  bonded over their love of the band One Direction. Everything you want from a director, I was watching my friend be. I want to direct too one day, so I look up to him in so many regards.

Like Bell, OBrien had watched Minghella toy with his camera from afar at parties. But he only really came to appreciate his friends vision in 2016, after he suffered a life-threatening injury during a stunt on the set of one of The Maze Runner films. OBrien was flown to a hospital in L.A., and Minghella immediately came to visit.

Max took a picture of me in the hospital bed from his corner that he was sitting in that still makes me sob, he said, his voice breaking. My face is all messed up, and the photo is so grotesque. But its a very special photo. I still have it saved on my phone. He has this ability to capture special moments, and its a gift that he gives you that you can have forever.

Actors Zlatko Buric, Elle Fanning, Clara Regard and director-writer Max Minghella at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2018. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

A publicist for Fanning, the star of Minghellas film, said she was unavailable to comment for this story. Since Teen Spirit wrapped, numerous gossip outlets have posted cozy photos of the actress, 21, and the director, insinuating they are a couple.

People speculate about all sorts of things, Minghella says, trying to brush off the rumors. Ive been asked about crazy [stuff]. Apparently I was having an affair with Gwyneth Paltrow for two years. Theres been all sorts of crazy things Ive read in the press that has nothing to do with anything. So my general approach to things is just not to respond to any of it.

As Teen Spirit hits theaters, Minghella is bouncing between L.A. and Toronto, where hell wrap the third season of The Handmaids Tale in May. He says working on the series has been the happiest professional experience of his life  he likes the routine, and says theres no bad egg on set.

But he hopes hes able to keep making movies  films hed like to see bridge the gap between commercial blockbusters and tiny indies.

I get very excited to go and see big movies like Transformers, and then I dont love them, he says. Im excited about the gloss and the popcorn and I just actually kind of like something different  like The Favourite or Shoplifters. Im hoping to make movies that dont look like theyre going to be total spinach or work to get through, but are made with some pathos.

amy.kaufman@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter @AmyKinLA
Friday morning at Star Wars Celebration in Chicago, Disney dropped a highly anticipated first teaser for Episode IX and simultaneously revealed the official title for the ninth film in the Star Wars saga: The Rise of Skywalker.

The Rise of Skywalker, online fans cooed. A title snappily reminiscent of Return of the Jedi, and one featuring the iconic family name that has come to define the space opera-turned-mega franchise that George Lucas built a long time ago, in the year 1977.

Thousands of fans in attendance at Celebration cheered, many shed Force-sensitive tears, and the entire arena roared as the lights came up on the teasers world premiere, eight months ahead of its Dec. 19 premiere.

The films title, however, still has fans scratching their heads trying to figure out exactly who the titular rising Skywalker is.

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After the events of the Rian Johnson-directed The Last Jedi, Leia Organa (played by the late Carrie Fisher) and her son, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), are the only known Skywalkers still with us  although as the trailer hints, No ones ever really gone.

Rey (Daisy Ridley) in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. (Lucasfilm Ltd.)

Online debates continue to rage. Some theorize The Rise of Skywalker indicates Kylo will switch sides from the dark to the light side as the Skywalker saga draws to a close.

Others believe Jedi-in-training Rey, protege of the dearly departed Luke (Mark Hamill), is the Skywalker in question  and wonder if that means Episode IX, directed by J.J. Abrams from a script by Abrams and Chris Terrio, will retcon the parental reveal of Reys lineage that was made in The Last Jedi.

But it could mean something else, like a clan designation a la Game of Thrones, or FXs Pose: The Rise of the House of Skywalker, perhaps?

It might even be referring to the royal Skywalker, suggesting a movement of Skywalker-esque heroes, not just a singular woman or man.

The mystery is tearing some Star Wars fans apart. What does The Rise of Skywalker mean, anyway?

The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi star John Boyega was wondering the very same thing after getting an early peek at the teaser Thursday night. Like everything Star Wars  and just about any project Abrams touches  the films title was kept a secret from even its stars until this week.

I was actually debating this! he said backstage following the Star Wars Celebration panel, after reuniting onstage with Abrams and co-stars including Oscar Isaac, Daisy Ridley and Kelly Marie Tran. Because, in all honesty, I only found out about the title last night when they gave a cast screening of the trailer that we were going to show.

Boyega: Hes just like us. Hooked on the mystery. When I saw The Rise of Skywalker, I was confused, he said. I was like, wait  is one person a Skywalker? Or does it mean the rise of the Skywalker... in all of us? I dont know!

He glanced across the room at Abrams in mock disappointment. I asked J.J., but he wouldnt tell me nothing.

Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. (Lucasfilm Ltd.)

A few moments later, the director breezed down the press line and skirted a question about whether or not Episode IX will rewrite canonical history.

The challenge of this movie was obviously taking eight movies and telling a satisfying conclusion, he said in response to a question of whether his film will scrap or build off what is learned of Reys birth parents in The Last Jedi. So it was not just Episode VIII, but Episodes I through VIII that we had to really consider and embrace.

Oddly, the challenge that we had is exactly the challenge of the characters in the movie, continued the master of the mystery box, directing the query back to his talking point. Which is that you take what theyve inherited, whats come before, and ask yourselves: Are you up to the challenge of facing what this challenge is?

In the film, its obviously a much more frightening thing than for us making the movie, he laughed. However, not that much.

Anthony Daniels, the cast member who has appeared in all eight previous Star Wars films and returns for the final installment as gilded droid C-3PO, had a different cheeky non-answer.

What does The Rise of Skywalker mean? It means the end of my job, quipped Daniels, who announced on the Celebration stage that hell soon be releasing his own written memoirs. It means Im out of work! So please buy my book.

What does Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker mean? (Lucasfilm)

jen.yamato@latimes.com

@jenyamato
For much of the 1980s and 90s, before music playlisting and influencer culture democratized the term best, the name Gary Stewart carried with it a trademark of quality.

Stewart, whose death was confirmed Friday morning, served as the head of A&R for Los Angeles-based Rhino Records across that timespan, helping turn it from a taste-making retail store in Westwood to an essential reissue and archival recordings label. After leaving Rhino, he was hired by Apples Steve Jobs to transform the companys fledgling iTunes music service, and eventually helped curate playlists in much the same way he crafted album releases.



For the record: Gary Stewart died Thursday April 11, not Friday April 12.

Stewarts death was confirmed by his longtime friend and colleague, Harold Bronson, Rhinos co-founder. Stewart died Friday morning, according to the Santa Monica Police Department. His death is being investigated as a potential suicide.

As a music enthusiast, Stewart advocated for lesser known, unjustly dismissed or overlooked music by artists including the Monkees, Love, Dionne Warwick, the Neville Brothers and hundreds of others, and in doing so helped reframe cultural conversations by bringing into the present recordings considered to be long past their expiration date.

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Said Rhino Records co-founder Richard Foos of Stewarts work for the company across two decades: I give him almost all the credit for overseeing everything. Approving every album, which were hundreds a year.

Added Foos: He was probably the greatest, most moral, giving, loving person Ive ever met.

A longtime advocate for charitable causes, his life was celebrated by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti in a Twitter post, who called him one of the funniest, most humble people we knew. A true champion of justice. A model of modesty, and most of all, our dear friend. L.A. is better off for everything he did. We miss you, Gary.

Among many other community-centered endeavors, Stewart served on the boards of the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy and the Social Venture Network. He was also active with the Community Coalition and the Liberty Hill Foundation. While at Rhino, he initiated a requirement that all employees devote a few days annually to community service.

Like many executives of a certain age, Stewart entered the music business first as a customer looking for records and desperate for information.

We all knew Gary as a nerdy 17-year-old, Bronson said of the budding music fans arrival at the record store.

He came into our store one day and never left, Foos recalled. He crossed over from customer to employee just by virtue of he was there all the time.

Stewart was eventually promoted to store manager and moved to the label in the early 1980s, where he worked as a salesman before easing into A&R. One of his first signings was the country rock band the Beat Farmers.

He was hungry to soak it all up and to learn, Bronson said of Stewart. As the Rhino imprint evolved into a reissue label, Stewart harnessed his obsessions in service of important releases by the Bobby Fuller Four, the Byrds, the Kinks, Roy Orbison and more. It was the peak of the compact disc boom, and customers were eagerly updating their old vinyl with new plastic.

Among the many series he pushed were the labels popular Have a Nice Day collections of 1970s pop; a celebratory series called The Disco Years; an R&B installment called Soul Hits of the 70s; and a D.I.Y. run of collections that explored independent rock, punk and power pop in the 1970s.

A native Angeleno, Stewarts collection Were Desperate: the L.A. Scene (1976-79) successfully argued for the superiority of Southern California punk.

Garys name is on a lot of records as a producer, music producer Andy Zax, one of many who were mentored by Stewart, wrote in a Facebook post, but I think his true passion was for compiling, separating out the things he thought were important, the things that really mattered  the greatest songs, the greatest ideas, the greatest people  from the inessential stuff that he could safely leave behind.

Despite the volume of releases he ferried into existence during his tenure  the Discogs database lists over 700  Stewart was adamant that the work he oversaw be as complete as possible. Foos recalled that Stewarts first love was punk rock, and he spent years working on the definitive punk collection.

We delayed it for seven or eight years because we couldnt get one track, Foos said. We couldnt get the Sex Pistols God Save the Queen. Thats how adamant he was.

Said Foos, He knew that no one else was going to do a definitive punk box set, or a disco [box] or any genre you could think of. He knew it was probably never going to be done again, so he was determined that it was going to be definitive. It was going to be the best.

That determination, Foos stressed, was born of a fervor in the sanctity of music. After Rhino Records was absorbed into Warner Music Group, Stewart shifted to digital media at Apple.

Ever the ambassador, Stewart was known during the box set years to carry physical copies of whatever project he was currently obsessed with. Friends on Facebook recalled the bounty inside Stewarts trunk, which hed inevitably pop open to dole out discs and records you just had to hear.

Writer, producer and longtime record executive Bill Bentley wrote: Gary was really in a party of one in the record business, someone who cared more about the music and others than his own stature. I never met anyone like him, and I dont expect to again.

Added producer Andrew Sandoval: Your record collections would not be the same without him and many people in Los Angeles wouldnt have had a dollar in their pocket or a roof over their heads if it wasnt for him.

For tips, records, snapshots and stories on Los Angeles music culture, follow Randall Roberts on Twitter and Instagram: @liledit. Email: randall.roberts@latimes.com.

UPDATES:

10:16 a.m. This article was updated with a confirmation of Stewarts age, 62, after incorrect information was provided by the familys spokesperson.
From onstage at Thursdays Los Angeles Ballet Gala, honoree Sofia Carson held back tears as she spoke about how her mom took her hand at age 3 and walked her to her first ballet class.

I dont remember a moment in my life when I wasnt madly in love with dance, said the Disney Descendants actress. So when I was 3 years old and stepped into my very first ballet slippers, in that moment my life changed forever. And as I grew up, my love for dance became deeper and stage became my safe place. It became my happiness, my haven.

So I promised myself that if ever I was lucky enough to do what I love every day of my life, I would do everything that I could to give that chance to dance to other little girls who didnt have that beginning.

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Sofia Carson at the Los Angeles Ballet Gala in Beverly Hills. (Ryan Miller / Capture Imaging)

The event

The Los Angeles Ballet honored Carson, a participant in the companys A Chance to Dance free dance classes for children, along with Johnese Spisso, president of UCLA Health and chief executive officer of the UCLA Hospital System, at the evening of cocktails, dining and a dance performance at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

The crowd

Los Angeles Ballet artistic directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary shared the stage with host Adam Shankman (So You Think You Can Dance); Mark L. Walberg (Antiques Roadshow); actress Camilla Belle (The Ballad of Jack and Rose); producer-choreographer Nigel Lythgoe (So You Think You Can Dance); director-choreographer Kenny Ortega (Descendants); and others.

Leslie Kavanaugh and Kirsten Sarkisian served as gala chairs alongside committee members, who included Ghada Irani, Catherine Kanner, Debbie Lustig, Jennifer Bellah Maguire, Lori Milken and executive director Julie Whittaker.

Mark L. Walberg speaks during the Los Angeles Ballet Gala. (Ryan Miller / Capture Imaging)

The program

Following a stirring performance of George Balanchines Serenade by the Los Angeles Ballet dancers, Shankman greeted the crowd and spoke of the importance of having a local dance company. And to those who may think of ballet as old school, he described the classic ballet Giselle in contemporary Times Up terms.

Most people see Giselle as the story of a vulnerable woman who dies of a broken heart, when some D-bag named Albrecht does her dirty, he said. But what about Giselles posse, who gather around her and decide to wipe that misogynist  Albrecht off the rapidly dying planet?

His conclusion? The dancers in Giselle are the original #MeToo movement, he said.

In his turn onstage, Walberg said, These dancers  and what you saw them do up here  they have trained as many hours as professional athletes. They train as hard and as long with as much injury and as much work and as much preparation and as much sacrifice as high-paid athletes.  So were going to help keep these dancers dancing.

The quote

In a private conversation during the cocktail hour, Dita Von Teese joked about herself as a failed ballerina, and yet credited ballet for her burlesque career.

I started dancing at age 5 and I had an obsession with dance as a teenager, but I was never very good, she said. Then I parlayed that into a striptease career and now I do a lot of my acts on pointe.

Dita Von Teese at the Los Angeles Ballet Gala. (Ryan Miller / Capture Imaging)

The numbers

The 270 guests paid from $500 each with tables ranging to $100,000. Combined with additional contributions, proceeds came to nearly $1 million to support the Los Angeles Ballets performances throughout Los Angeles County and the companys educational outreach programs that serve L.A.s children, seniors, veterans and their families.

image@latimes.com

For fashion news, follow us at @latimesimage on Twitter.
A third high-ranking officer in the California Air National Guard has been removed from his position because of complaints he made whistleblowers feel threatened at the 144th Fighter Wing in Fresno.

Col. Victor Sikora was relieved of command after engaging in conduct unbecoming of an officer by addressing a gathering of Guard members in a manner some found intimidating and humiliating, according to a report released Friday.

An internal inquiry also determined that Sikora improperly excoriated a retired pilot for speaking to The Times, the report said.

Sikora did not respond to requests for comment Friday.

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Last week, Maj. Gen. Clay L. Garrison and Col. Dan Kelly were removed in the wake of a Times investigation that detailed the whistleblower complaints and allegations that officers covered up an incident in which someone urinated in a female Guard members boots.

Garrison was the top commander of the air guard, and Kelly headed the 144th wing.

Fridays report said that Sikoras conduct also had a chilling effect on Guard members by discouraging them from exercising their rights to seek redress through the organizations inspector general, their representatives in Congress or the news media. It said Sikora used insulting and defamatory language in remarks to subordinates.

The report was prepared by Brig. Gen. Tim Rieger, who was tasked by Maj. Gen. David Baldwin, head of the California Military Department, with investigating Sikoras actions.

Sikora was suspended as the wings Operations Group leader in December. Three days later, the report said, he called a mandatory meeting of his subordinates to discuss his suspension.

Someone urinated in a female sergeants boots. Now the California Air National Guard faces coverup allegations 

At least one person recorded the briefing, where Sikora said anyone filing complaints was causing problems for the wing, according to the report.

The vast majority of you are good people who are killing it in a high ops tempo year, youre very honorable, red-blooded Americans, Sikora said at the meeting, according to the report. The vast majority means all of you, except for a couple of you, and they know who they are so we dont need to call them out. But everybody else.

Several Guard members took Sikoras remarks as a criticism of people who had filed complaints with the inspector general.

Sikoras briefing came after The Times began asking questions about alleged retaliation against whistleblowers and the incident in which Staff Sgt. Jennifer Pineda found that someone at the Fresno base had urinated in the boots she had left in a bathroom overnight.

At least five Guard members, including a pilot who was killed in October in a crash during a training mission in Ukraine, from the 144th wing filed formal complaints. Two of those were related to the urine incident, including one filed by Pineda.

She said in her complaint she feared shed be forced out of the military because some had speculated that she urinated in her own boots for attention.

A 144th pilot, Lt. Col. Rob Swertfager, also filed a complaint alleging that commanders punished him  including by withholding his pay on occasion  for speaking up for Pineda.

Both of them, along with others, felt targeted by Sikoras remarks, the report said.

This clearly means that anyone exercising their right to speak with the IG or the press is not honorable, not a good person, and implies they are not a red-blooded American, the report quotes Swertfager as saying. ... The speech was clearly directed at me and a few other people that have pursued justice through the IG.

Swertfager could not be reached for comment. Pineda declined to comment.

Rieger recommended in his report that Sikora receive a memorandum of reprimand and be relieved of command due to the loss of faith in him as a 144th leader.

He also recommended close monitoring of any unfavorable personnel actions against complainants or witnesses in the 144th as possible reprisal.

Garrison was removed because the California Military Department, which oversees the air and army branches of the Guard, had lost faith, trust and confidence in his ability to lead, a spokesman said.

In a report released after the ousters of Garrison and Kelly, the Military Department inspector general cited findings of the Times investigation two months ago.

Based on this article, and in addition to other evidence collected, it would appear that there is a culture of reprisal, or at a minimum the perception of reprisal, that has a long stemmed history within the 144th, the inspector general report states.
One moment, Alfonso Morillo III was asleep in the back seat of his friends Nissan on the way back from Disneyland. Two weeks later, he awoke from a coma in a hospital.

Morillo, now 23, and six others were injured Feb. 27, 2016, when a man who was street racing lost control of his Dodge Challenger and slammed into a UPS truck. The truck flipped, hitting the center divider of the 5 Freeway in Commerce and landing on the Nissan that Morillo and three of his friends were in, shearing off the roof.

The multi-vehicle crash killed the UPS driver, Scott Treadway, 52. Two of Morillos friends  Michelle Littlefield, 19, and Brian Lewandowski, 18, were also killed. Four others  including Morillo  were seriously injured.

On Friday, the driver, Dealio Lockhart, 38, was sentenced to 22 years and four months in prison as part of a plea deal. During the sentencing, victims spoke of the immeasurable tragedy of the crash and how their lives will never be the same.

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I kept asking myself why  why did this happen to us? Morillo told a judge in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom. After Morillo woke, he found out that two of his best friends had been killed that night.

Morillo suffered a fractured neck, a ruptured spleen and a broken arm. He had to wear a neck brace for months.

Another friend, the driver of the Nissan, remains in a coma.

Investigators learned that the street race originated on the 101 Freeway in Hollywood. Lockhart was racing the driver of a Dodge Charger at speeds over 120 mph.

The driver of the Charger has never been identified, but the case is still open, Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Blake said. Lockhart was originally charged with three counts of second-degree murder, but he pleaded guilty last month to three counts of vehicular manslaughter, four counts of engaging in a speed contest and 11 counts of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury.

After the crash, the Los Angeles Police Department and the California Highway Patrol formed a task force to tackle the problem of illicit racing.

Last year, The Times found that from 2000 to 2017, at least 179 people were killed in L.A. County in accidents in which street racing was suspected. Since 2009, authorities have made arrests in more than half the cases in which street racing was suspected in a fatal crash. But those rarely have led to significant jail time, according to a Times analysis of 45 accidents that led to 20 prosecutions.

In 15 of those, the defendants were sentenced to less than five years in jail. In one case, a driver involved in a crash that killed a teacher was sentenced to probation. Only three prosecutions saw sentences of more than 10 years.

Those findings underscore the difficulty of investigating and prosecuting accidents involving street racing, law enforcement authorities said. It is hard to prove the intent required for a murder charge, and many defendants have no previous criminal history.

Lockhart had no previous criminal record, which contributed to talks of a deal, Blake said.

After the Commerce crash, Rose Chadwick founded a group that tries to discourage street racing and has spoken to victims and more than a hundred people about the dangers. She told the judge that stiffer laws are needed.

The mentality on the streets is, So what? she said.

Littlefield and Lewandowski were college students. Littlefields parents brought to the sentencing posters of their only child as a baby and as a smiling teenager.

Her father, Willy Littlefield, addressed Lockhart: Thats my baby, he said. Shes dead.

Littlefield denounced street racing and detailed the aftermath of that night.

We are left to suffer for the rest of our lives, he said.

The family of Lewandowski, the son of a former L.A. County sheriffs homicide lieutenant, prepared a statement read by Blake.

There isnt a minute that goes by where we havent thought of Brian. To try and put into words what the loss of Brian means to our family would bankrupt the languages of the world. The pain, at times, is unbearable, Blake read.

Toward the end of the hearing, Lockhart addressed the victims. He stood from the corner of the courtroom, wearing a white jail shirt and blue pants.

Lockhart apologized for his selfish actions, saying the only reason he raced that night was because he wanted to win. He told the court that his recklessness changed lives and that he accepted full responsibility.

I never thought something like this would happen to me, he said. I never thought I would be the source of your nightmare.

nicole.santacruz@latimes.com

For more crime news, follow @nicolesantacruz on Twitter.
Beverly Hills businessman Clark Parker has resigned from Southern Californias air quality board following a Los Angeles Times investigation into charter schools he founded with his wife.

The Times report last month found that the couple made millions off charter schools that offered little to their mostly low-income students.

After publication of the story, Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins wrote Parker on April 2 requesting his immediate resignation from the South Coast Air Quality Management District board. Parker replied a week later with his resignation, effective April 30.

As the founders of Todays Fresh Start charter school network, Parker and his wife, Jeanette, cast themselves as philanthropists, but the Times found the schools paid the Parkers about $800,000 in annual rent. They also contracted out services to the Parkers nonprofits and companies and hired Clark Parker for $575,000 to manage a school construction project.

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Current and former teachers at the schools, which served mostly low-income children of color, described working out of aging, cockroach-infested classrooms where students often didnt have access to basic supplies or enough textbooks.

The Parkers did not respond to requests for comment from The Times, including an email Friday regarding his resignation from the air board.

In a letter sent to the Senate Rules Committee on Tuesday, Clark Parker wrote that the reason for my resignation is during the next two to three years I have a business opportunity regarding developing a large piece of real estate that I have recently received approval from the local approval agencies to proceed.

In past statements to county and state officials, the Parkers have denied wrongdoing and said they are being unfairly targeted by charter school opponents.

The state Department of Education is suing Clark Parker to recover more than $19 million in public funds it says he misspent while running a collection of day-care centers in South L.A.

Parker was appointed to the 13-member South Coast air board in 2012 and has most recently served as vice chairman. The powerful agency is responsible for reducing some of the nations worst air pollution. It is made up of three state appointees picked by the governor, Assembly speaker and Senate leaders, and 10 local elected officials from Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

Parkers resignation creates a second vacancy on the panel. Gov. Gavin Newsom last month did not reappoint Joseph Lyou, who heads the Coalition for Clean Air and was first named to the board in 2007 by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Newsom has not named a replacement.

tony.barboza@latimes.com

@tonybarboza
Seventeen parents who had been separated from their children by immigration authorities were released from a detention center near Calexico this week, more than a month after they returned to the Mexico border to claim asylum in the United States.

The parents had all previously entered the U.S. and been detained with their children before being separated. The parents were then deported while their children have remained in the U.S. in shelters, in foster homes or with relatives.

Last month, lawyers with the nonprofit Al Otro Lado (On the Other Side) helped 29 Central American parents travel to the Mexicali border and demand entry to pursue their asylum claims and reunite with their children. According to Al Otro Lado, all the parents fled persecution or violence in Guatemala, El Salvador or Honduras.

The group arrived March 2. Twelve parents who came with minor children and other family members were processed and released within a week. But the 17 others who arrived alone remained in the Imperial Regional Detention Facility without explanation.

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Four of the parents were released Monday and Tuesday on humanitarian parole, meaning they were not required to pay bond. The remaining 13 parents were released Friday night after lawyers paid a combined $22,000 in bond, which was required for 11 of them.

ALL BONDS PAID. All the separated parents will be RELEASED tonight! Also, another dad just reunified with his son a few minutes ago after ten months of separation. More reunifications to come in the coming days....  Erika, Esq. (@eeerox) April 12, 2019

The Trump administration unveiled its family separation policy a year ago this month. After two months of public outcry, Trump signed an order to end the separations, though advocates say the administration has continued to quietly separate hundreds of families.

More than 400 parents were deported without their children under the official policy. In June, a U.S. District Court judge in San Diego blocked the policy and ordered the Trump administration to reunite all separated families.

Homeland Security Department memos, inspector general reports, government data and court documents have shown that administration officials began separating families months before then-Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions announcement last April of zero tolerance for people crossing the border without authorization. That could result in potentially thousands more separations than previously known.

Late last week, administration officials said it could take up to two years to determine how many children were separated from their parents since July 2017.

This is far from over, said attorney Erika Pinheiro with Al Otro Lado.

Her group received close to $1 million in financial assistance from Together Rising, which established fundraising campaigns during the height of the separation crisis. After lawyers found the parents, they secured legal permission for them to enter Mexico and then the parents presented themselves to officials at the U.S. border.

Before being released from detention, they all passed credible fear interviews  the first step toward establishing claims for asylum.

By Friday, two of the parents released this week had been reunited with their children. It was the beginning of a likely years-long asylum process. Next, the parents will travel to the homes of their sponsors  volunteers who have agreed to care for them  then show up for appointments with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and prepare for their first court hearings.

andrea.castillo@latimes.com | Twitter: @andreamcastillo
The Los Angeles Police Department has scrapped a second data policing program it once hailed as a way to target violent offenders in neighborhood hot spots, following concerns that the programs unfairly target black and Latino communities.

Chief Michel Moore and other department leaders decided Wednesday to end Operation LASER, a program begun in 2011 to pinpoint locations connected to gun and gang violence.

The move came after a meeting Tuesday at which members of the departments civilian oversight panel questioned the effectiveness of data-driven strategies that rely on algorithms and other computer technology to identify violent offenders and map out areas most prone to criminal activity.

We discontinued LASER because we want to reassess the data, Josh Rubenstein, the LAPDs chief spokesman, said Friday. It was inconsistent. Were pulling back.

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The action was another acknowledgment that the once highly touted predictive policing programs that were adopted early on by the LAPD and other agencies across the nation have proved thornier to implement. Privacy and civil rights groups have long asserted that the programs, which use data gathered by officers, are intrusive and racially biased.

At Tuesdays Police Commission meeting, Moore argued that the programs have led to the lowest crime rates in years. The algorithms, he stressed, do not use race or gender as identifiers.

However, police leaders recognized the concerns raised by commissioners and the public, Rubenstein said. The department still plans to use data tools to fight crime and are evaluating options on how to move forward, he said.

LASER, or Los Angeles Strategic Extraction and Restoration, zones, used data mapping to increase police presence in hot spots and identify specific anchor points such as liquor stores, parking lots and residences connected to certain crimes in an area. Analysts, not computers, identified where many crimes occurred and where to send more officers.

An inspector general audit released last month described LASER like this:

The basic premise is to target with laser-like precision the violent repeat offenders and gang members who commit crimes in the specific target area. The program is analogous to laser surgery, where a trained medical doctor uses modern technology to remove tumors or improve eyesight.

But the audit found that the data programs lacked oversight and that officers used inconsistent criteria to label people who were likely to commit violent crimes. It also said the department lacked insufficient data to measure the programs success.

Commissioner Shane Murphy Goldsmith applauded the LAPD for ending LASER, saying it was a recognition that the programs have eroded public trust.

The department absolutely made the right decision, she said. I absolutely appreciate the members of the community who have raised concerns for a long time.

The Stop LAPD Spying Coalition hailed the decision Friday. The group sued the city to get more records on the how the zones affected residents and homeowners. A trial is scheduled for August.

Its a great thing that LASER zones have ended, said Jamie Garcia. It was a complete failure to not investigate this program. The fight is not over.

Proponents contend that much of the violent crime occurs in poor communities of color.

Hamid Khan, another coalition coordinator, said, though, that the program led to excessive policing and increased surveillance in poor neighborhoods, adding, we need to know the impact.

The department also recently spiked a more controversial segment of LASER that identified and monitored so-called chronic offenders who were most likely to commit violent crimes. Once identified, they were included on lists of the worst offenders in a given area.

Amid outcry, the department in August stopped issuing the lists and using an offender database. The public did not learn about the decision until last month.

The department defended the data tools last summer, and Moore supported auditing them for possible problems.

Last week, the chief told commissioners that the department will not use programs that fail to produce results and will strive to identify new or emerging ideas that hold promise.

Crime reduction strategies are never static, Moore wrote in a memo to the Police Commission. We will continue to learn and evolve in our work.

mark.puente@latimes.com
The Trump administration and lawyers for refugee advocates reached a settlement Friday that could allow 2,714 Central American children to be reunited with their families in the United States.

Under the settlement, which needs to be approved by a judge, the government has to present a plan to finish processing the childrens applications by April 18.

The move comes more than a year after the Trump administration in January 2017 suddenly ended the Obama-era Central American Minors program, which was designed to help thousands of unaccompanied children fleeing violence in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to join family already in the United States.

The program had allowed immigrants who were lawfully present in the U.S. to apply for refugee status or humanitarian parole on behalf of their children younger than 21, as well as their own spouses and grandchildren living in the three countries of Central Americas so-called Northern Triangle.

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When the program ended, more than 2,700 young people had their conditional approvals to relocate to the U.S. rescinded. Advocates filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of six families over the termination of the program.

Some had already paid for flights and were days away from reuniting when, lawyers say, the Trump administration secretly shut down the program.

Last December, U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler found that the federal governments mass revocation of conditional approvals was unlawful. Beeler ruled in March that the governments action was causing irreparable harm to the plaintiffs by preventing the children from escaping life-threatening danger, and ordered the Trump administration to resume processing the applications.

Linda Evarts, an attorney with the International Refugee Assistance Project who represents the plaintiffs, said her clients followed the governments rules and tried to legally reunite with their parents.

We hope that these children will soon escape the deadly dangers they face in Central America and reunite with their parents in safety, she said. We are hopeful that families will start to be reunited as early as this summer.

One of the plaintiffs is a woman known as S.A., whose youngest daughter and grandson were set to arrive in February 2017 after she paid nearly $5,000 for their flights, DNA tests and other program requirements before the administration blocked their travel.

S.A., 53, has maintained lawful status in the U.S. since 2001 under a program designed to help citizens of countries experiencing armed conflict or other conditions that prevent them from returning safely.

In a statement, S.A. said she was was happy that a settlement had been reached.

My heart jumps and cries for joy because there are so many who need to escape danger, she said. I have faith that I will be together with my daughter and grandson soon.

javier.panzar@latimes.com

@jpanzar
A decision to repaint Laguna Beach police cars with an image of the American flag running through lettering on the doors will return to the City Council Tuesday after some residents deemed it unfit for the artists community.

Though most of the comments made by residents in recent months were about the squad cars new aesthetics, online reaction in recent days characterized the debate as pitting flag supporters against flag opponents. City officials say the matter is far more nuanced.

Mayor Pro Tem Steve Dicterow said Monday the council is simply facing a very narrow decision about the brightness of the colors, but that the issue has devolved into a broader national conversation about patriotism.

He said he has received hundreds of emails from people around the country, mostly in support of keeping the flag designs on the car.

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Clearly, the way it looks on the car is not what anyone expected it to look like, Dicterow said. I think its reasonable that were going to look at it again so that whatever we [approve] is exactly what we put on the car.

He said he received about a dozen emails of concern from residents after the council approved the design and before it decided to rehear the issue.

Some of the words people used was that they felt it was threatening, intimidating, harassing and a symbol of racism, Dicterow said.

At a recent council meeting, local artist Carrie Woodburn said the design scheme on the squad cars looked aggressive.

On Monday morning, Woodburn said she had received more than 150 messages via phone calls, texts, voicemails and emails from people who disagreed with her assessment.

Woodburn, whose parents served in the military, said she wasnt objecting to the appearance of the flag, and perceived some of the missives as threats.

I dont really care too much about the design, other than what I said  its bad art, Woodburn said. Im being attacked for that because the narrative feeds a fire of division, which is what our culture has become.

The Laguna Beach City Council approved proposed redesigns for the police car  which included American flag lettering in light colors  with a unanimous vote in February. But the actual graphic appeared brighter on the police cars. (Courtesy of city of Laguna Beach)

The new lettering also has plenty of fans.

Attorney Jennifer Welsh Zeiter said at the last council meeting that she found the police cars exceptional and questioned the loyalty of anyone who objected to the American flag display.

They are so filled with hatred toward this ... office of the president of the United States and the current occupant of that office, she said, that they cannot see through their current biases to realize that a police vehicle with the American flag is the ultimate American expression.

A small group of demonstrators gathered near the beach Monday afternoon to show support for the new-look squad cars.

The matter dates to February, when the council initially agreed to repaint its 11 mostly white squad cars, which are Ford Explorers, in black and white with the image of Old Glory running through the word police on the doors.

The proposed graphic that the council unanimously approved then was a more muted version  what City Manager John Pietig called a cloud-like look of the design that now appears on the cars, according to a city staff report.

On Tuesday, the council will decide whether to continue with the logo or choose an alternative out of an abundance of caution to address questions that have been raised about the process, Pietig said two weeks ago.

Nevertheless, the questions about process turned into an online debate about intent.

People are screaming that the American flag on a police car is somehow or another ... hurting peoples feelings who might be immigrants or visitors, said Councilman Peter Blake. People are actually ridiculous enough to bring up comments about our cop cars having American flags on them.

Emil Monda, president of the Laguna Beach Republicans, said he thought the conversation surrounding the car designs was bizarre.

Its the flag of the United States of America, Monda said. Its not a Republican flag, its not a Democrat flag. Its our flag, and we cant lose that.

Those driving the vehicles havent heard complaints.

Every time I came to a stop sign, every time I came to a red light, somebody is telling me the car looks great, Laguna Beach Police Cpl. Ryan Hotchkiss said at the March meeting. Every one of our members that drives the car loves it, and we look forward to keeping them the way they are.

Faith E. Pinho writes for Times Community News.
(CNN)  Pope Francis has broken with papal protocol by kneeling to kiss the feet of South Sudan leaders at the Vatican.

A video released by the Vatican shows an aide on Thursday assisting the 82-year-old Francis, who was breathing heavily, so he could kiss the feet of President Salva Kiir Mayardit. He then moved on to Vice Presidents-designate Riek Machar and Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior.

Kiir and Machar were once rivals, with Kiir accusing Machar -- his former deputy -- of staging a 2013 coup. Years of civil war followed. In 2018, they signed a peace agreement in Ethiopia, and they are now attempting to form a stable government together.

"To you three, who have signed a peace agreement," the Pope said, "I ask you as a brother, remain in peace."

The South Sudanese politicians were staying at the Pope's Vatican residence for an unprecedented two-day spiritual retreat, the idea of Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the head of the Anglican Church.

Vatican News, the official media outlet of the Holy See, called the Pope's gesture "surprising and moving," one that "cannot be understood except in the climate of reciprocal forgiveness that characterized the two days of retreat."

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Pope Francis kisses feet of once-rival South Sudan leaders."
Los Angeles police are asking for the publics help in tracking down a suspect wanted in a double fatal hit-and-run crash Friday night in the San Fernando Valley that may have resulted from street racing.

The driver of a dark-colored Dodge Charger that was speeding and driving recklessly along with a white 2015 Dodge Charger east on San Fernando Road in Sun Valley about 7:10 p.m. before colliding with a blue 1998 Toyota Corolla, which was turning left onto Lankershim Boulevard, police said.

The driver of the Toyota and a passenger were pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. KTLA Channel 5 reported the victims were 59-year-old Olivia Enriquez West, a Sun Valley resident, and her husband of 25 years, Leland West.

The driver of the white Dodge, a 25-year-old resident of Pacoima, and her two passengers were taken to hospitals, police said. The driver and a female passenger remained hospitalized, while the male passenger was released after being treated for minor injuries.

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The driver of the white Dodge displayed a willful disregard for human life, police said in a statement. She remains at a local hospital due to the extent of her injuries, and will subsequently be arrested and booked for murder.

The male driver of the dark Dodge failed to render aid and fled the scene, police said. Speed kills, and reckless driving will not be tolerated, they said.

Officer Mike Lopez, an LAPD spokesman, initially told The Times that the driver who fled the scene in Sun Valley was arrested and booked into Los Angeles County Jail on Saturday. But the man he identified  Jared Walter Anderson, 26  was actually arrested Sunday in a separate fatal hit-and-run crash that occurred early Saturday in Hollywood.

The suspect in the Sun Valley crash remains at large.

From talking with witnesses, speed will have played a factor in this, and it possibly involves street racing, Los Angeles Police Lt. Meghan Aguilar told KTLA.

adam.elmahrek@latimes.com

Twitter: @adamelmahrek
A top House Democrat on Saturday ratcheted up his demand for access to President Trumps tax returns, telling the IRS that the law clearly gives Congress a right to them. The governments failure to respond by an April 23 deadline could send the dispute to federal court.

The move by Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), the House Ways and Means Committee chairman, comes after the Trump administration asked for more time to consider his initial requested last week. Neal has demanded six years of Trumps personal and business tax returns.

Neal argues that a 1920-era law saying the IRS shall furnish any tax return requested by Congress is unambiguous and raises no complicated legal issues and that the Treasury Departments objections lack merit.

The letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig is the latest heave in a tug of war over Trumps returns, which would give lawmakers far greater insight into the presidents business dealings and potential conflicts of interest as it exercises its oversight role.

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Trump declined to provide his tax information as a candidate in 2016 and as president, something major party nominees have traditionally done in the name of the transparency. By withholding his tax returns, Trump defied the standard followed by presidents since Richard Nixon started the practice in 1969.

During the campaign, Trump said he wanted to release his tax returns but couldnt because they were being audited. But theres no legal barrier to a person under audit releasing their returns. And after the November midterm elections, Trump claimed at a news conference that the filings were too complex for people to understand.

RELATED: Trump wont publicly release his tax returns. Politicians shouldnt have to (Column) 

Asked repeatedly at a House hearing Tuesday whether any regulation prohibited a taxpayer from disclosing returns when under audit, Rettig responded, No.

The issue appears sure to end up in federal court. With an eye to a legal challenge, Neal told Rettig that he has two weeks to respond  by 5 p.m. on April 23. If Rettig fails to do so, Neal said he will interpret that as denying the request, which could pave the way for a court battle. Neal also could seek the returns through a subpoena.

Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin, who oversees the IRS, told Neal this past week that he needs more time to consider the unprecedented demand for Trumps returns and needs to consult with the Justice Department about it.

Mnuchin accused lawmakers of seeking Trumps returns for political reasons. But he also acknowledged his statutory responsibilities and that he respects congressional oversight. Some Treasury watchers observe that Mnuchins decision to consult with the Justice Department could suggest that Treasury lawyers believe Neal has a legal right to Trumps returns.

Neal said Saturday that the administration has no right to question or second guess his motivations.

Trumps acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, has said Democrats will never see the returns, nor should they, and they know it. Mulvaney has tried to frame the issue of the presidents taxes as old news, saying it was already litigated during the election and the American people elected him anyway.

William Consovoy, whose firm was retained by Trump to represent him on the matter, has written the Treasury Departments general counsel and said the congressional request would set a dangerous precedent if granted and that the IRS cannot legally divulge the information.
President Trumps longtime confidant Roger Stone asked a federal judge Friday to compel the Justice Department to turn over a full copy of special counsel Robert Muellers report on the Russia investigation as part of discovery in his criminal case.

Stone has pleaded not guilty to charges he lied to Congress, engaged in witness tampering, and obstructed a congressional investigation into possible coordination between Russia and Donald Trumps 2016 presidential campaign. In a court filing late Friday night, his lawyers said Stone is entitled to see the confidential report  which was submitted to the attorney general late last month  because it would help prove their allegation that there are constitutional issues with the investigation.

In a separate action, a former aide to Stone who was subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury asked a federal appeals court to determine whether he still needs to testify now that the Russia probe has concluded.

Stones team also filed motions Friday night arguing he was selectively prosecuted, challenging the constitutionality of Muellers appointment and that the special counsel didnt have the ability to prosecute him for lying to Congress. They allege that Congress did not formally make a referral to the Justice Department about Stones testimony and because of that, Muellers investigation was a violation of the separation of powers.

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In court documents, the lawyers argue they are entitled to a private disclosure of the nearly 400-page report that Mueller submitted to Atty. Gen. William Barr late last month and said they must be allowed to review the Report in its entirety because it contains the governments evidence and conclusions on matters essential to Stones defense.

To be clear, Stone is not requesting the Report be disclosed to the world  only to his counsel so that it may aid in preparing his defense, the lawyers wrote.

Stone, who is set to go on trial in November, has maintained his innocence and blasted the special counsels investigation as politically motivated. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which stem from conversations he had during the campaign about WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy group that released material stolen from Democratic groups, including Hillary Clintons campaign.

In a four-page letter to Congress that detailed Muellers principal conclusions, Barr said the special counsel did not find a criminal conspiracy between Russia and Trump associates during the campaign, but did not reach a definitive conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice. Instead, Mueller presented evidence on both sides of the obstruction question, but Barr said he did not believe the evidence was sufficient to prove that Trump had obstructed justice.

Barr has said he expects to release a redacted version of Muellers report next week that will be sent to Congress and made public.

In the separate case, Andrew Miller, a former Stone aide, filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia over the subpoena he was issued in Muellers investigation.

Last year, Muellers team sought Millers testimony regarding Stone, WikiLeaks and the Russian government-controlled online persona Guccifer 2.0, which was used to release hacked material during the 2016 election. But Miller challenged his grand jury subpoena, arguing that Muellers appointment was unconstitutional.

Earlier this year, a three-judge panel of the court upheld the special counsels appointment and a contempt order intended to force Miller to testify.

In the new petition, Millers attorney, Paul Kamenar, argued that the matter now appears to be moot because Stone has been indicted and like Cinderellas carriage that turned into a pumpkin at midnight, special counsel Muellers authority expired.

Kamenar is now asking the court to have the government formally say whether it will still pursue Millers testimony. If thats the case, Kamenar is asking for a rehearing of the case. He said in a statement that he will take the fight to the Supreme Court if necessary.
In 2005, as the College of Cardinals was preparing to elect a successor to the recently deceased Pope John Paul II, I wrote a column titled Should the Papacy be Downsized?

It was inspired by an intriguing book written by John R. Quinn, a retired archbishop of San Francisco. In The Reform of the Papacy, Quinn had proposed a lower-profile papal office and a more collegial relationship between the pope and bishops around the world.

I wrote in the column that a re-imagined papacy also would not have to be a lifetime office, sparing John Pauls successors the anguish he experienced in recent years, which, however edifying, is not an ordeal imposed on other aged bishops.

The pope elected in 2005, Benedict XVI, did in fact resign in 2013, the first pope do so in almost 600 years. But Benedict, now called the pope emeritus, hasnt abided by any vow of silence in his retirement.

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That was clear this week when Benedict published an eyebrow-raising essay about the churchs sexual abuse crisis, the subject of a recent meeting of bishops and other church leaders convened by Pope Francis. NPR reported accurately that Benedicts analysis of the crisis differs significantly from that of his successor.

While Francis has suggested that the sexual abuse crisis is linked to the plague of clericalism, Benedict blames a decline of traditional sexual morality in  you guessed it  the 1960s. He also denounces homosexual cliques in seminaries, an obsession for some conservative Catholics.

Benedicts article, titled The Church and the Scandal of Sexual Abuse is turgid and not terribly surprising. It struck me as another volley in the by now tedious debate between liberal and conservative Catholics about the origins of the sexual-abuse crisis. Each faction has used the crisis to score points against the other.

Still, the fact that Benedict would write such a piece is notable. It already has led to headlines about Pope vs. Pope and indignation about how the document is being weaponized by opponents of Francis.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute 

Some critics have pointed to a Vatican decree saying that a Bishop Emeritus will be careful not to interfere in any way, directly or indirectly, in the governance of the diocese. He will want to avoid every attitude and relationship that could even hint at some kind of parallel authority to that of the diocesan bishop. The suggestion is that the same rule should apply to a retired Bishop of Rome.

The natural assumption is that Francis is irked or offended by Benedicts intervention, despite the fact that the article closes with an expression of gratitude to the current pope for everything he does to show us, again and again, the light of God, which has not disappeared, even today.

But consider another possibility: that Francis may not be all that bothered by decorous dissent from a living predecessor, precisely because it serves to demystify and, yes, downsize the papacy.

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To the editor: Saree Makdisi should realize that the moribund two-state solution for the Israelis and Palestinians has been dealt several final blows. (Benjamin Netanyahus reelection underlines Israels apartheid reality, Opinion, April 10)

Going back to 1967, every one of Israels offers to make peace and relinquish territory have been rejected by the Palestinian leadership. Even after unilaterally withdrawing from the Gaza Strip in 2005, Hamas rockets have rained down on Israel.

The two-state solution is not dead because of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It is dead because there is no Palestinian leadership with which to negotiate. The various leaders of the Palestinian people refuse to make peace with each other. In fact, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas refuses to pay for electricity in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, making his fellow Palestinians lives even more miserable.

And since when did an apartheid state allow all its citizens to vote, as Israel does for the 20% of its people who are Arab? How does a Jewish apartheid state have affirmative action programs for Arabs and give equal access to healthcare, education, legal assistance and social services? What apartheid state would have Arab jurists appointed to its Supreme Court or have elected Arab legislators in its parliament?

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Pauline Regev, Santa Monica

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To the editor: This article illustrates why I boycotted the Israeli election.

As an Arab Palestinian citizen of Israel, I have no reason to be optimistic about my future in the country. If by simply exercising my basic democratic right to vote, I am posing a threat to Israels political order, as Netanyahu has hinted, then I can only imagine where my struggle for equal rights stands right now.

For Palestinians, it matters little who won the election. None of the leading candidates has a program for peace. None seeks to end the occupation, let alone the blockade of Gaza. All have committed to maintaining the illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. All have vowed not to sit in a government coalition with an Arab party.

The election has revealed the grim reality for Palestinians today. From the disenfranchisement of Palestinian citizens inside the country to the constant displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, from the oppression of those living behind its apartheid wall to the routine humiliation of those living under its apartheid laws, Israel continues to brazenly deny us our basic rights.

Seraj Assi, Washington

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To the editor: As a progressive American Jew, I sympathize with the frustrations felt by progressive Jewish and non-Jewish Israelis.

However, no one should be left with the impression that only Jewish citizens of Israel are allowed to vote. Although some Palestinian and other citizens in Israel are not allowed to vote, as some U.S. citizens are not allowed to vote, many Palestinians in Israel are registered voters.

Palestinians who choose to boycott Israeli elections have no one to blame but themselves for not exercising their rights.

Susan Wolfson, Glendale

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To the editor: George Skelton, who opposes efforts to make President Trump release his tax returns, is not wrong to say that even a president has some right of privacy, but he is out of touch with whats happening in the country.

Pressed to release his tax returns, even President Nixon said: The confidentiality of my private finances is far less important to me than the confidence of the American people in the integrity of the president.

Trumps integrity is under a dark cloud of suspicion. We wonder if Trumps financial dealings influenced his easing of sanctions against Russia. The Donald J. Trump Foundation agreed to shut down amid allegation of illegal conduct. The possible nexus between Trumps finances and his decision-making is deeply troubling.

It is essential that as with every presidential candidate since Nixon, we the people see Trumps tax returns.

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Alan Rachins, Los Angeles

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To the editor: Seeing Trumps returns is necessary to ensure conformity with the Constitutions emoluments clause. Its a way for us to know that the president is not enriching himself at the expense of Americans.

Trump should have nothing to fear if he has nothing to hide. But with this character, should anyone really trust him to be on the up-and-up? Literally the integrity of our nation has been put to the test with this guy, and the thumbing of his nose at us is unpresidential.

If you want a leader who doesnt comport to shared values and ethics, move to Russia.

Mike Aguilar, Costa Mesa

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To the editor: Skelton misses an important point about Trump releasing his tax returns: He said he would.The president should be a man of his word.

Marty Motia, La Canada Flintridge

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook.
To the editor: After a few appearances before Congress, there should be little doubt that U.S. Atty. Gen. William Barr is now officially part of Team Trump. (William Barr gives aid and comfort to Trumps conspiracy theories, editorial, April 11)

Barr displayed his allegiance long before his appointment when he submitted an unsolicited memorandum in June 2018 to the Justice Department criticizing the Mueller investigation. Barrs memo not only questioned special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs mandate, it said Mueller should be prevented from even questioning the president about obstructing justice.

Barrs bias is palpable. Upon receipt of Muellers final report, Barr provided a four-page summary to Congress, which Mueller declined to sanction, that concluded the evidence developed during the Special Counsels investigation is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense. Translation: Trump gets a pass from his political appointee.

Despite his promise of transparency, Barrs actions are murky at best, allowing him to do the bidding of the president and not the people.

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Jim Paladino, Tampa, Fla.

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To the editor: Heres hoping that the Los Angeles Times editorial board, which endorsed Barrs confirmation in February, has learned its lesson about leaps of faith when it comes to Trump nominees. We cant take them at their word any more than we can take Trump at his word.

Or, as President George W. Bush said, Fool me once, shame on  shame on you. Fool me  you cant get fooled again.

Barry Davis, Agoura Hills

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To the editor: Trump again threw around the word treason regarding those who investigated him.

Treason is the only crime defined by the Constitution: Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. Investigating the president doesnt quite meet that definition.

Trumps chances of convicting someone of treason are equal to my chances of winning Wimbledon.

Bruce Janger, Santa Monica

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President Trump weighed in Friday on the most recent controversy involving Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, retweeting video edited to suggest that the Minnesota congresswoman was dismissive of the significance of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The video pulls a snippet of Omars speech last month to the Council on American-Islamic Relations in which she described the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center as some people did something, as well as news footage of the hijacked planes hitting the twin towers. Trump tweeted, WE WILL NEVER FORGET!

Omars remark has drawn criticism largely from political opponents and conservatives who say the congresswoman, one of the first Muslim women to serve in Congress, offered a flippant description of the assailants and the attacks on American soil that killed nearly 3,000 people and pointed the U.S. toward war.

Neither Trumps tweet nor the video includes her full quote or the context of her comments.

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WE WILL NEVER FORGET! pic.twitter.com/VxrGFRFeJM  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 12, 2019

Omar told CAIR in Los Angeles that many Muslims saw their civil liberties eroded after the attacks, and she advocated for activism.

For far too long we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen and, frankly, Im tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it, she said in the March 23 speech, according to video posted online. CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties.

CAIR was founded in 1994, according to its website, but its membership increased dramatically after the attacks.

Many Republicans and conservative outlets expressed outrage at Omars remarks.

First Member of Congress to ever describe terrorists who killed thousands of Americans on 9/11 as some people who did something, tweeted Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), a retired Navy SEAL who lost his right eye in 2012 in an explosion in Afghanistan.

Heres your something, the New York Post blared on its cover beneath a photograph of the flaming towers.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she wants to hear from Omar about the comment, but the Minnesota Democrat doesnt seem to be backing down.

Omar tweeted a quote from former President George W. Bush shortly after the attacks, when he said: The people  and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!

Was Bush downplaying the terrorist attack? Omar tweeted. What if he was a Muslim.

A pair of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates waded into the debate to condemn Trumps tweet and to stand with Omar.

She wont back down to Trumps racism and hate, and neither will we, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders tweeted.

The president is inciting violence against a sitting congresswoman  and an entire group of Americans based on their religion, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts wrote, also on Twitter.

Omar has repeatedly pushed fellow Democrats into uncomfortable territory over Israel and the power of the Jewish states influence in Washington. She apologized for suggesting that lawmakers support Israel for pay and said she isnt criticizing Jews. But she refused to take back a tweet in which she suggested that American supporters of Israel pledge allegiance to a foreign country.

Her comments sparked an ugly episode among House Democrats when they responded with a resolution condemning anti-Semitism, which became a broader declaration against all forms of bigotry.
About a dozen protesters stood outside the district office of Assemblywoman Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) in Burbank on Wednesday voicing their disapproval of a bill she introduced they say could make it more difficult to get information about animal research conducted by colleges and universities.

Although strong wind gusts made it difficult for them to hold their signs, the group of animal-rights activists  who also pointed out they are taxpayers  braved the strong wind conditions to let the public know about AB 700.

Cory Mac, a member of a grassroots group called Progress for Science, said Friedmans bill, if passed, would make it more difficult for people to access public records that involve research about animals at post-secondary educational institutions.

This bill would put heavy restrictions on what we can ask for, Mac said. This bill would restrict disclosure of researchers names, researchers addresses, etc.

Additionally, Mac said, as a taxpayer, she and others should know if their money is being used for animal-research projects.

When you use taxpayer money on animal research, youre taking money away from clinical studies, Mac said. Theres a lot of [animal] research that gets through that should never happen, and one of the safeguards against that is using public-record requests.

The Assembly bill was introduced by Friedman in February and aims to protect researchers at public universities and colleges in the state from having their work interrupted by corporate interests, Friedman said in a statement on Friday.

It was never intended to obscure animal research, and I am currently working with animal welfare advocates on amendments to make that clear, Friedman said, adding that she was in Sacramento on Wednesday. At the end of the day, were on the same side. We all want to preserve transparency, and we also want reasonable standards that protect our public universities from attacks by well-funded corporate interests seeking to undermine research that benefits the environment, public health and the economy.

John Hays was also one of the protesters in front of Friedmans office on Wednesday. His said he thinks the Assemblywomans bill is the latest in a series of similar measures that suppress anyone whos trying to speak on behalf of abuse and exploited animals.

Hays said bills like this get in the way of people who are trying to learn the truth about something. In this case, its about knowing what is being done to animals in research labs.

Whenever these things are being hidden by any entity  government, commercial interests or whomever  theres usually something there that they are worried about, scared about or maybe secretly ashamed of, Hays said. Its up for us to expose it and put it out into the open.

anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com

Twitter: @acocarpio
Reserve citizen airmen from the 452nd Air Mobility Wing at March Air Reserve Base are participating in military exercises through Monday at the Hollywood Burbank Airport.

During the exercise, participants will be in military uniforms loading and unloading military aircraft with engines running. While the activities may appear realistic, the public should be notified that it is not an active emergency, but only an exercise, according to military officials.

All commercial and general aviation flights and airport operations will continue as scheduled during the exercise, officials added.

Hollywood Burbank Airport is part of the National Incident Management System and would be utilized in the event of a natural disaster in the greater Los Angeles area to bring in emergency supplies and first responders, and evacuate critical patients to hospitals outside of the local area, according to military officials

mark.kellam@latimes.com

Twitter: @LAMarkKellam
A decision to affix an American flag graphic to the side of freshly painted Laguna Beach police cars is dividing residents who are alternately praising the image as patriotic or panning it as too aggressive.

After hearing criticism from residents at recent council meetings, and acknowledging that the image they approved for the cars didnt quite match the final results, officials agreed to reconsider their February decision to paint the Laguna Beach Police Departments fleet of 11 squad cars. The City Council will take the issue up again at its Tuesday meeting.

People are screaming that the American flag on a police car is somehow or another ... hurting peoples feelings who might be immigrants or visitors, said Councilman Peter Blake. People are actually ridiculous enough to bring up comments about our cop cars having American flags on them.

Artist Carrie Woodburn went to the podium at the March 19 council meeting and said it was shocking to see the boldness of the design when the newly painted Ford Explorers rolled out.

I never took issue with the use of the American flag on police cars, only the way the proposed graphic turned out 

We have such an amazing community of artists here, and I thought the aesthetic didnt really represent our community, Woodburn said. It feels very aggressive.

Woodburn said in a followup email to the Daily Pilot that her issues before the council were only with the design aesthetic, adding that she would also have liked it if local artists were asked to contribute design ideas to the project.

My purpose for standing before the council was the fact that a design was put before council and council approved the design, she wrote. Then the police cars showed up with a different design that was not approved. My `shock was in seeing a design that was not the approved design. Not shock at the American flag. As the original design Included the American flag.

Attorney Jennifer Welsh Zeiter said at the last council meeting that she found the police cars exceptional and questioned the loyalty of anyone who objected to the American flag display.

They are so filled with hatred toward this ... office of the president of the United States and the current occupant of that office, that they cannot see through their current biases to realize that a police vehicle with the American flag is the ultimate American expression, she said.

The council agreed in February to repaint its all-white squad cars in black and white with the image of Old Glory running through the word police on the doors.

But the graphic element of the paint job didnt scream Laguna Beach to everyone. Local designer Chris Prelitz was dining with his wife at the Montage when he spotted several parents and small children scattering.

There was like a little panic going on, and I was like, Whats happening?  Prelitz said, spotting a cluster of police cars. When one of thems there, it works. But all of a sudden, I saw, wow, when there are three, maybe four of them together, folks thought it was a SWAT team, federal agents. So it had a very striking, strong impact, so much so that I think there might be some unintended consequences.

LBPD Cpl. Ryan Hotchkiss, president of the Laguna Beach Police Employees Assn., said he had received only positive feedback.

Every time I came to a stop sign, every time I came to a red light, somebody is telling me the car looks great, Hotchkiss said at the March meeting. Every one of our members that drives the car loves it, and we look forward to keeping them the way they are.

On Tuesday the council will decide whether to continue with the logo or choose an alternative. The cars, however, will remain black and white, City Manager John Pietig said.

The proposed graphic that the council unanimously approved in February was a more muted version of the actual graphic that now appears on the cars, according to a city staff report. In February, Pietig called the proposed designs a cloud-like look.

He said two weeks ago that the council would reconsider the logo out of an abundance of caution to address questions that have been raised about the process.

Out of the Police Departments 11 vehicles, only four await the design update, police Sgt. Jim Cota said in a text message.

Police Chief Laura Farinella said at the Feb. 19 meeting that black and white is more visible and differentiates police squad cars from other security vehicles. The older, mostly white models the LBPD used were difficult to tell apart from beach patrol cars, Farinella said.

This is about safety. I want anybody to see it, period, Mayor Pro Tem Steve Dicterow said at the February meeting.

The last time Laguna Beachs police cars featured black paint was in the 1970s, according to the department Twitters page.

The issue returns to the council on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at 505 Forest Ave.
A bill that would allow Glendale officials to repurpose $27 million in bonds originally intended for redevelopment projects to build affordable housing cleared its first state Senate committee this week.

On Wednesday, the Government and Finance Committee voted 5-2 to advance Senate Bill 532, sponsored by the city of Glendale and authored by state Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Canada Flintridge). It will now head to the Housing Committee for a hearing on April 22.

In February 2012, when the state was financially troubled, former Gov. Jerry Brown closed more than 100 redevelopment agencies in cities across California. The agencies were supposed to use a portion of their property tax funds to partner with developers to revamp blighted areas, but critics questioned the public benefit of some of the resulting projects.

Glendale had sold bonds to the tune of $50 million the year before the agencies were shuttered, but the state prohibited the city from touching the funds, according to Philip Lanzafame, the citys director of community development. Lanzafame flew to Sacramento to speak on behalf of the bill during the committees hearing, along with several other city officials.

In 2015, state officials allowed Glendale to spend 30% of its redevelopment funds, in addition to any funds related to housing, Lanzafame said.

A $27-million balance remained, which has sort of been in limbo these last few years, said Glendale Mayor Ara Najarian, who also spoke during the committee hearing. Weve been trying to figure out ways to shake that money loose.

The state of California no longer has a financial crisis. We do have a housing crisis. There is just not enough affordable housing for everyone in California, Lanzafame said. We thought that this was a good use of those dollars, rather than have them stranded.

In July, the citys Housing Authority voted to go forward with legislation that would allow them to keep the remaining balance if it was used exclusively for affordable housing. Portantino took up the bill at the citys request.

Glendale is a special city that had used the redevelopment tool well until it was taken away, Portantino said in a statement. Glendale has also been working on several affordable housing options within the city. It would be terrific if we could free up and leverage $27 million dollars for new affordable housing units.

According to Lanzafame, the money represents anywhere between 250 and 300 affordable units the city could bring online by building new housing or acquiring and rehabbing existing properties.

The money would also be leveraged with the private sector, which could bring in $60 million in additional funds to create housing, Najarian said.

This isnt just money that were going to squander, Najarian said, describing what he told the senate committee. Weve got a well-oiled staff and department that is committed to creating housing.

Both Najarian and Lanzafame said Glendales situation is somewhat unique relative to most other cities due to timing  the city sold the bonds just before the redevelopment agencies were shuttered.

Santa Cruz, another city in a similar situation, spearheaded Assembly Bill 411, which is much like Glendales bill, earlier this year.

That bill has cleared two committees in the Assembly and will now head to the Appropriations Committee.

lila.seidman@latimes.com

Twitter: @lila_seidman
Glenn Darrell Taylor (95) passed away on January 8, 2015 after a short illness. He and his wife Vera celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary in November, 2014. They were married in Burbank Foursquare (Media City) Church on Providencia Ave. in Burbank in 1939, and it is still their church home. They have been shining examples of love, kindness, faithful service, and warm hospitality and their home was always open to friends, family, and their church.

Glenn is the son of Arthur Thomas and Mary Magdalene (Sheets) Taylor. His 11 older brothers and sisters nicknamed him Grinner. All have predeceased Glenn. He was raised in North Hollywood, and served in the US Navy in WWII. Glenn and Vera moved to Burbank with their four children in 1958, and have lived in their home on University Ave. ever since. Over the years, their family continued to grow and gatherings in their home with just the immediate family now number 48!

Glenn was active in the community, serving the YMCA as a volunteer, board member, and board chair. He was honored to receive their Service to Youth Award, and last year he was recognized for service to the Y that spans 3 generations and more than half a century. Glenn was a charter member and had a leadership role in The Masters Men, a weekly Burbank Bible study that originated the Mayors Prayer Breakfast. Glenn was also a long-standing member of Burbank Noon Rotary and a past-president, a position later held by his son and a grandson. He was involved in his church, leading youth, teaching classes, singing, and volunteering wherever and whenever needed. Only two places in the church were ever named in honor of a church member, and the first was Friedas Kitchen named for Glenns sister for the countless years she voluntarily oversaw its running. The second is Taylor Hall honoring Glenn and Vera for their years of service and dedication.

Glenn worked many jobs following his time in the Navy, from traveling salesman selling radio parts in Southern and Central California, to his least favorite and short-lived job  diaper service. He eventually settled in the insurance industry working for Mutual of New York (MONY) where he rose from sales, to top producer, to assistant manager, and eventually manager of the Los Angeles MONY agency. In 1970 he changed careers and became an independent insurance agent, opening Taylor Insurance in Burbank, where he worked until retiring.

Above all else, family was the most important part of Glenns life, where with his love, kindness, and generosity he was a living example of the forgiving love of his Heavenly Father. Glenn is survived by his loving wife Vera, his four grateful children, and 13 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren that miss and love their Grandad. The ANDERSONS: Marti (Taylor) and her husband Ralph, Kevin & Mark, Bill & Shelley, Dylan, Trent, & Jordyn. The HIGGINS: Christine (Taylor) and her husband Morgan, Jon & Linda, Randy, Erik, Chase, Jill & Gary, Noel, & Rory. The CAPPOCCHIS: Joan (Taylor) and her husband Ray, Aaron, Anna, Jared, Julia & David, Samuel, Brennan, & Luella, and The TAYLORS: Darrell Taylor and his wife Patricia, Jonathan & Jennie & Dale, Joel & Kim, Penny & Emmett, Brooke & Rogelio, Jacob, Andrew, & Marlee, McCauley and Hayley. Glenn is also survived by many, many nieces and nephews and their families, and countless friends.

Glenn Taylor was a wonderful Christian man, family man, businessman, gentleman, and friend to many, who lived his Christian faith in all he said and did, and was beloved by all who ever knew him.

Glenn was interred at Valhalla Memorial Park in a private family burial, and a memorial service to honor his life will be held at his church at on Sunday afternoon, January 25 at 2:30 p.m. Donations may be made in Glenns honor to Media City Church Youth Ministries, 269 E. Providencia Ave. Burbank, CA 91502.
Ive written before about the ever-present challenge of getting timely information and help to the people who need it.

Information changes; programs lose funding; people in the know move away. Whether were talking about parents not knowing where to turn when their children struggle in school or individuals on the brink of a slide into homelessness, theres a lot of unmet need.

Schools can chronicle decades of programs and services  some more successful than others  to help individuals navigate their challenges.

I recall one of the first PTA convention workshops I attended in 1990 where presenters urged us to focus more on the needs of parents than those of the organization, and more on providing valuable information than racking up attendance or raising funds.

They said the attendees like us  mostly parents who could afford time away from families or work to attend a two-day conference out of town  that many parents didnt enjoy such luxury.

They cautioned us to understand that absence from a school meeting didnt necessarily equate to a lack of parental interest in a childs education or welfare.

Panel members told us about PTAs that were translating their newsletters for non-English-speaking parents  a novel idea at a time when PTAs didnt have regular access to the district translation services that would become available later. Our PTAs first newsletter after that convention was translated and handwritten by a parent volunteer.

A decade or so later, a local PTA parent initiated a different approach to parent education.

As a parent of a child whod struggled with learning differences, Lynn Gambino understood the challenges parents face when their children have trouble learning at the speed of their peers.

With the support of the PTA, she worked with the district to create and place informational materials on learning differences and resources in school offices to be given to any parent who expressed a need.

Gambino and the PTA Learning Differences Committee made sure administrators and school clerks knew about the materials, and committee members ensured the offices were kept supplied with the information. But eventually her son graduated, school clerks took new assignments, materials disappeared and the Learning Differences project fizzled out.

Now, with the help of the internet and social media, schools and organizations have a much easier time sharing and updating important information, and some do a great job.

But theyre finding that information alone is not enough. Big gaps remain between services offered and public awareness of them. Many individuals and families face challenges without knowledge of the benefits available in the community, often without connection to people who can share the information.

California State PTA is again trying to bridge the information gap with School Smarts, a parent engagement program designed to help you better understand the big picture of how the education system works and to feel empowered to help your child and school succeed, according to the state PTA website, capta.org.

Initiated in 2010 in four districts, School Smarts has expanded to 130 schools in 29 districts, with pilots currently underway in four Glendale elementary schools.

Monna Johnson, president of Glendale Councils PTA, who helped spearhead Glendale Unifieds participation, expressed her excitement about the programs prospects for parent engagement in an email.

Research shows that students that have parents or guardians who are engaged do better at school, she wrote.

A former participant in the program put it another way, as quoted on the PTAs website: Parents appreciated meeting school leaders and their school principalThey felt more secure in their relationships with school personnel, and gained confidence in asking questions.

Lynn Miyamoto, former Glendale PTA Council president and current California State PTA vice president for parent engagement, also shared her delight that Glendale will be part of the School Smarts network.

She has seen benefits beyond family engagement in districts participating in School Smarts.

It was not only a program that enhanced family engagement, but it allowed for personal development and growth among both parents and school employees, she wrote in an email.

I look forward to watching what happens as School Smarts works to create an environment in which people feel engaged and comfortable asking for help.

JOYLENE WAGNER is a past member of the Glendale Unified school board, from 2005 to 2013, and currently serves on the boards of Glendale Educational Foundation and other nonprofit organizations. Email her at jkate4400@aol.com.
When you think about a Santa Anita-based trainer in the hall of fame who has one of the top horses for the Kentucky Derby theres only one place your mind can go: Bob Baffert.

But this year, that description has company as Richard Mandella will find out how good Omaha Beach is when he runs Saturday in the $1 million Arkansas Derby. Hes won his last two races, including a nose win over the Baffert-trained Eclipse Award recipient Game Winner, who qualified for the Kentucky Derby with a second in the Santa Anita Derby.

Omaha Beach is the second favorite at 2-1, while Improbable, another Baffert horse, is 8-5.

Omaha Beach came to the Derby trail a little late as Mandella thought he was a grass horse because of his breeding.

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When he was getting ready for his first start, he was a good workhorse but not a show off, Mandella said. And we were just [figuring] War Front had been so good on the turf, I just thought it might be a good way to start. And he ran well. So, I tried it again and he ran well. So, I tried it again. If you beat me in the head enough times, I finally get it.

Omaha Beach ran third, second, second before Mandella moved him to the dirt.

Well, he finally said to me after his last grass race, Boss, you ought to run on the grass, not me, Mandella said.

Mandella has nine Breeders Cup wins but never a win in the Triple Crown series. The last time he ran in the Kentucky Derby was 15 years ago with Action This Day (sixth) and Minister Eric (16th).

Well the 15 years is significant, Mandella said. Thats the time they gave me when they told me the last time I came dont come back again for 15 years. So, the times up and Im back.

Omaha Beachs win in the split-division Rebel Stakes was Game Winners first career loss. Omaha Beach went to the lead and held on as Game Winner started making up ground at the end.

I was fully confident were going to win that race, Mandella said. I am just kidding. It scared me to death at the eighth pole when it looked like Game Winner was the dominant horse. And then my horse just looked at him and dug back and beat him, so I couldnt have been more proud.

This is the last weekend that horses can qualify for the 20-horse Kentucky Derby. Usually, you can make the race with points in the mid-30s but this year will be a record high of at least 40. Omaha Beach has 37.5 points and Improbable has 25. The winner of the Arkansas Derby gets 100 points, followed by 40, 20 and 10.

There is also a lesser points race at Keeneland, the $200,000 Lexington Stakes, worth 20-8-4-2. Sueno, for trainer Keith Desormeaux, has 28 points and needs a win to make the Derby. Golden Gate Fields-based Anothertwistafate has 30 points after winning El Camino Real Derby and is trying to pick up some qualifying points in the Lexington.

Where are all the horses?

Santa Anita has two of the thinnest cards in recent memory on Saturday and Sunday after more than 100 horses have been shipped out for a variety of reasons. The horse population that feeds Santa Anita, including San Luis Rey Downs and Los Alamitos, is usually around 2,500. No verified figures were available.

Saturdays card has 59 starters over nine races, but seven of the races have only six starters, making for an average 6.5 starters a race. On Sunday, there are 49 starters over eight races, with five races with only five starters (6.1 average). Comparing that to last year, in the week following the Santa Anita Derby, the declines are stark.

In 2018, on Saturday there were 11 races with 84 starters (7.6 average). And on Sunday, nine races with 70 starters (7.8 average).

Given all the mitigating factors, perhaps a more telling statistic is the number of horses that have had timed workouts at Santa Anita. In 2018, 770 horses worked over the main dirt track and training track in the week following Santa Anita Derby. This year, only 589 horses worked, a decline of 23.5%.

However, for March the number of workers was essentially flat, 5,514 to 5,548, according to Equibase. This would indicate Keeneland, which started in April, is a factor.

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I think there are a variety of factors for the decline, said Alan Balch, executive director of the California Thoroughbred Trainers. Keeneland [and Oaklawn have] become more of a destination for our horses increasingly over recent years because of their high purse structure. And the interruption we had in March, created uncertainty and no doubt made it a bigger factor.

Santa Anita was only scheduled to run three days this and next week. The track also closed the downhill turf course to sprinters after the death of Arms Runner on that course on March 31. The condition book listed three races at 6 furlongs down the hill on both Saturday and Sunday.

Suspension of the hillside races is a major factor because those races always filled really well, Balch said. The condition book is also a factor. There was no way they could have anticipated all of this.

Balch doesnt believe the new medication rules played a role in horses leaving, although he couldnt be certain.

The new medication rules in most respects are very similar to what we had in place before, Balch said.

One positive for Santa Anita is that the number of 2-year-olds that have started to work at the track in March is up from 101 to 139, according to Equibase.

Track officials will be closely watching the entry box as well as every other aspect of their business. If field sizes remain small and races become difficult to fill, the track may have no other option than to look at a three-day race week.

Neither Tim Ritvo, chief operating officer of The Stronach Group, nor Greg Avioli, president and chief executive of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, returned messages seeking comment.

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On my morning hikes at Griffith Park, I cant help but take in the lovely scenery and fantastic people-watching. One Monday, a hipster couple passed by doing their morning exercise in skinny jeans and leather boots. A group of tourists searched frantically for any glimpse of the Hollywood sign. And a struggling dog walker was being pulled by a pack of ferocious chihuahuas and poodles.

And as I carried along, my professional people-watching skills couldnt help but notice an attractive man, seemingly in his late 20s, walking my way.

I scanned him from head to toe in a microsecond. He was ringless and handsome and gave off an artist vibe.

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Maybe a musician, like me? I thought.

And as I began to fantasize about our wedding day, the unexpected happened. We made eye contact and smiled at each other. I felt a champagne cork pop off in my stomach. And as we passed each other, we both looked back and smiled again.

The eye contact lingered a little longer than it needed to, both of us hoping the other would say something, as we carried on in opposite directions.

Now in the L.A. world that I live in, this was a very rare instance. It felt like two woodland creatures out of hibernation. We actually acknowledged each other, rather then burying ourselves in the vast universe of our cellphones.

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Just two weeks prior I had sworn off all dating apps. I had had countless awful experiences. I actually had a guy take a foot bath in front of me on a date. Yes, a foot bath. (Wed met on an app. Hed invited me over to his house for drinks and tried to lead me into the bedroom. When I declined, he proceeded to fill a large bowl with soapy water and take a foot bath. I quickly got out of there.)

Whats your nightmare first date story? We want to hear it 

So after deleting the apps, I vowed I would meet guys only in the real world, face-to-face.

I spent the rest of the hike beating myself up for not saying hi to the Kurt Cobain look-alike. But as I reached the bottom of the hill, there he was, sitting on a park bench, smiling at me.

Hey, I couldnt help but notice you on the trail earlier, and I had to say hi, he said.

I could feel my gut filling with bubbly.

We got to talking and he told me he was a musician (my people-watching skills are on point!) and that he was new to Los Angeles. The conversation was flowing smoothly, and he asked me for my phone number. I dont usually give my number to complete strangers, but I was so thrilled to be actually meeting a guy in person that I nearly threw my cellphone at him.

After a couple of days of casual texting, we decided to meet for drinks in Hollywood on a Friday night.

When I arrived at the bar, he was already there.

Hey, its nice to see you out of your workout clothes, I said.

Same to you, he laughed. What are you having?

He ordered a beer for himself and a rose for me. We talked about the music projects we were working on and the ups and downs of being a musician in the colossal city of L.A.

Things seemed to be going relatively well, but as the second round of drinks came, I couldnt help but notice his leg shaking compulsively as he sat on the bar stool. His demeanor began to shift. He became erratic. He kept looking over my shoulder, like he was looking for the nearest exit, and began talking in a whisper, as if he was trying to be incognito in the crowded bar. Although the red flags were waving, I gave him the benefit of the doubt, figuring he was just being nervous on a first date.

I mean, he was the guy I met in real life, the one who was going to save me from the insanity of online dating, right?

After two rounds, we decided wed move bars to a place where we could shoot a game of pool and have one last drink of the night.

Then, he said: Lets go. Theres an open door in the back.

I laughed  Good one  and turned to ask the bartender for the bill.

He grabbed my thigh and squeezed it tightly and looked at me with rage in his eyes.

Why did you do that? he hissed. Im not paying for these drinks!

I was still hoping this was some kind of joke, waiting for the punchline that didnt come. After reality hit that this guy was fully serious, I pulled away. Im not going anywhere with you, I said.

When he realized I wasnt in on his drink-and-dash scam, he had to point the finger at someone and justify his insane actions.

He stood up. Youre a liar, you know? He said something about musicians and artists and not having money. How dare you judge me, he added. He chugged his last sip of beer and stormed out the back door.

I was frozen, terrified.

And now I was stuck with the check.

I paid the $52 bill and asked the couple beside me  they seemed nice  if they could walk me to my Uber. I was afraid my date might be lurking around, waiting to let me know what a pretentious, fake, law-abiding citizen I was.

He made the foot bath guy look like Prince Charming.

So at this point, I dont know whats worse, online dating or meeting someone in real life.

But for now, I think Ill just stick to being a single musician who can afford to pay her own tab.

The author is a writer and musician with the L.A. band Rivers and Suns. You can follow her on Instagram @riversandsuns

Straight, gay, bisexual, transgender or non-binary: L.A. Affairs chronicles the search for love in and around Los Angeles  and we want to hear your story. You must allow your name to be published and the story you tell has to be true. We pay $300 for each essay we publish. Email us at LAAffairs@latimes.com.

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Im black. Hes white. Heres what happened

I went on a bunch of blind dates with total losers

I was sleeping alone in a strangers bed  and falling for him

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As rental prices across Berlin soar, a grass-roots movement that aims to pressure the city government to take back ownership of apartment buildings it had sold off to private housing companies in the years after the fall of the Berlin Wall is gaining momentum.

Within five days of the launch of a petition drive last weekend, more than 20,000 city residents signed in support of the expropriation of some 200,000 apartments, aiming to stabilize prices on units that have been vacated and thus are not covered by the citys otherwise strict rent control provisions. While organizers were initially seen as a fringe group seeking to bring back the days of communism, they have begun to win support from mainstream politicians who say it is indeed feasible to take the properties in a similar fashion to private land being cleared for highways through eminent domain.

The movement has begun to strike a nerve in the city of 3.7 million, who have long been blessed with cheap rents, even for cavernous apartments, a factor that has helped lure myriad newcomers and start-up businesses from around the world.

The publics skepticism towards free markets has been growing for years, said Thomas Jaeger, a political scientist at Cologne University. The talk of expropriating apartment buildings is taking that to an entirely new level.

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As a result of the petition, the City Council is now obligated to consider seizing the private properties, or the movement could force a referendum by collecting 170,000 signatures  representing 7% of voters who took part in the last council election. A similar referendum was held a decade ago on keeping open the citys historic Tempelhof Airport, but it failed.

There are 500,000 people in Berlin who would sleep better at night if they knew they wouldnt have to worry about one day having to pay higher rents, said Rouzbeh Taheri, the leader of the initiative, at a public debate Tuesday, referring to the approximate number of people who live in the 200,000 apartments at issue. Apartments arent any ordinary tradeable goods like pork bellies. You bought up these apartments to drive the prices higher.

Michael Zahn, chief executive officer of Deutsche Wohnen, the citys largest private landlord, countered, We are not going to let anyone expropriate our property. This isnt a banana republic.

Zahn, whose company owns 115,000 apartments in Berlin, said that the average monthly rent for a two-bedroom unit is currently $650.

Opponents of the measure argue that the $40 billion it might cost the city to buy back 200,000 apartments, in neighborhoods on both sides of where the Berlin Wall once stood, would be better spent building new public housing. Years of legal battles and delays in finding a resolution would also exacerbate a housing shortage, they say.

Expropriating property would be really bad for Germanys reputation and wouldnt solve the housing shortage problem at all, said Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING DiBa bank in Frankfurt, contending that the measures backers harbor romantic notions that state-owned apartment prices will stay lastingly low while ignoring the plight of newcomers to Berlin. It would scare away investors in Germany and abroad, and it wouldnt lead to a single new apartment being built.

The Berlin activists have been riding a rising tide of frustration among the 3.1 million people living in rental units, roughly 85% of the citys population. Even with long-standing rent control strictures for those who do not move, prices have nearly doubled on vacant units in the last decade due in part to the heightened housing shortage, particularly in the central city. According to one housing price data website estimate, a three-bedroom apartment that rented for $700 a month in 2011 would now cost $1,350 to rent.

At a rally last weekend, more than 35,000 people took to the streets of Berlin to attack political leaders for failing to solve the worsening problem.

The leader of Germanys Greens party, Robert Habeck, is among those calling for state and local governments to use an expropriation clause in the constitution, known as Enteignung, even though it has never been used for apartments in the past. Its absurd to use that only to take away property to build highways but not to help alleviate the housing shortage, he said in an newspaper interview Sunday.

An opinion poll by the Forsa institute found that 44% of Berlins residents believe it makes sense to nationalize apartments owned by large landlords, while 39% are opposed. In formerly communist east Berlin, support for the measure weighed in at 50%.

The term expropriation is certainly exaggerated because in reality the city would only be buying back apartments, said Thorsten Faas, a political scientist at Berlins Free University. But it shows how polarizing and mobilizing the question of affordable living is becoming. Whether you view it as expropriation or not, it is the issue on the minds urban dwellers these days.

Kirschbaum is a special correspondent.

Germanys conservative party shifts away from Chancellor Merkels open-borders policy 

On Germanys autobahns, Geschwindigkeitsbeschraenkung is a four-letter word to many 
A new government for the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority was sworn in Saturday, led by a veteran peace negotiator and harsh critic of Gazas Hamas rulers.

President Mahmoud Abbas picked Mohammed Ishtayeh as prime minister, a move that deepens the internal Palestinian divide at a time when prospects for a peace deal with Israel are possibly at their lowest point ever.

A longtime advisor to Abbas and a senior member of his Fatah party, Ishtayeh and his 24-member cabinet took the oath of office at Abbas headquarters in Ramallah.

Ishtayeh faces tremendous challenges, with the PA in a deep financial crisis following U.S. sanctions and Israels withholding of $138 million in key tax revenues it collects on behalf of the Palestinians. Israel says the slashed sums were designated for families of Palestinians who carried out attacks against Israel.

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The new cabinet replaces a technocratic government formed by Rami Hamdallah in 2014 after an agreement between Fatah and Hamas, the Islamic militant group that has run the Gaza Strip after ousting Fatah and evicting the PA in 2007. Despite enormous Egyptian efforts, the attempted unity government failed to reconcile the two groups.

Abbas firing of Hamdallah and assigning Ishtayeh, a British-educated economist, to lead the next government reflects his frustration over the narrowing chances of an inter-Palestinian unity accord.

As peace talks with Israel ran aground years ago and the Trump administration will likely put forward a peace plan that the Palestinians say favors Israel, Abbas badly needed to garner power at home and extend his control back to Gaza, which Hamas governs separately.

But Hamas accused Abbas of acting unilaterally, saying in a statement Saturday that swearing in a separatist government boosts the division between Gaza and the West Bank as a practical step to implement the deal of the century,  the name the Palestinians use to refer to the undisclosed U.S. peace plan.

Last year, the Trump administration recognized Jerusalem as Israels capital, triggering the Palestinian Authority to sever its ties with the U.S.

The Palestinian leadership fears that Israel would retain major Jewish settlements in the West Bank and the seat of the future Palestinian state would be in Gaza instead.

Ishtayehs government, which controls those parts of the West Bank on which the PA has autonomy, doesnt feature significant changes from its predecessor. Five members, including those of foreign affairs, finance and the two premier deputies, retained their posts. Ishtayeh holds the interior and religious portfolios.

The Palestinian government runs day-to-day affairs while Abbas and the PLOs Central Committee, which he also heads, manage the political decision-making.

Nickolay Mladenov, the U.N. Middle East envoy, said he hoped the new government would receive support to overcome internal divisions.

Ishtayeh, 61, holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Sussex and had been a minister in previous governments. He was also a member of the Palestinian negotiating team.
A U.S. serviceman fatally stabbed a Japanese woman and then killed himself in Okinawa on Saturday, Japans Foreign Ministry said, as local resentment over the presence of American troops in the southwestern Japanese region swelled.

U.S. Forces Japan said the Navy Criminal Investigative Service was working with local police to look into the deaths of a U.S. sailor assigned to a Marine unit living in Okinawa. This is an absolute tragedy and we are fully committed to supporting the investigation, it said in a statement, adding that more information would be released later.

Japans Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeo Akiba telephoned U.S. Ambassador William Hagerty, asking for cooperation with the investigation and efforts to prevent a recurrence, and expressed extreme regrets, the Foreign Ministry said.

Although Okinawa makes up less than 1% of Japans land space, it hosts about half of the 54,000 American troops stationed in Japan, and accounts for 64% of the land used by U.S. bases in the country under a bilateral security treaty.

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Its inhabitants have long complained about crime, noise and the effects on the environment from the U.S. presence.

A plan to relocate a Marine Corps air station called Futenma to a less populated part of Okinawa has also been contentious. Denny Tamaki, who was elected Okinawas governor in October, is pushing to have the base moved off the island.
Kim Jong Un is willing to wait with patience until years end for a breakthrough in talks with the U.S., the North Korean leader said in a speech before a party congress, state media reported Saturday.

In his most extensive public remarks on the stalled talks since a February summit in Hanoi ended in failure, Kim accused the U.S. of provocations for resuming military exercises with South Korea but said he is open to a third meeting with President Trump. He reiterated North Koreas long-standing position that economic sanctions would do little to break its will.

If the U.S. continues its current political calculus, any hope for a solution is grim and very dangerous, Kim said before the countrys Supreme Peoples Assembly on Friday, the Korean Central News Agency reported. With that kind of consideration, sitting down with us a hundred times or a thousand times will not make us budge, and they will not get what they are seeking.

With talks between the U.S. and North Korea having ground to a halt since the Hanoi summit, the second meeting between Trump and Kim, observers have been watching to see whether North Korea will return to missile or nuclear tests, parsing satellite images for activity at launch sites.

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Kims comments came as Trump signaled he would take nuclear diplomacy with North Korea step by step as he met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Washington on Thursday.

At the same time, Trump told reporters that what the U.S. was seeking from North Korea was the big deal  North Korea giving up all of its nuclear capabilities in one fell swoop rather than in smaller increments in exchange for incentives.

Trumps second meeting with Kim ended without results, with the U.S. demanding North Korea relinquish most of its nuclear arsenal, and Kim offering to shutter only its main nuclear complex in exchange for sanctions relief.

The no-deal summit was a disappointment after many observers had anticipated the two leaders would put specifics to the vague pledges that came out of Trump and Kims first historic summit in Singapore last June  they agreed at the time to work toward denuclearization on the Korean peninsula.

In his speech on Friday, Kim accused the U.S. of provocations for resuming military exercises with South Korea. After Trump abruptly announced the end of joint military exercises between the allies after the Singapore summit, the U.S. and South Korea this spring conducted reduced-scale training under the name Dong Maeng  alliance in Korean.

North Korea, mixing pleas and provocation, asks for food aid while hinting at rocket launch 

As blowing winds create waves, the more explicit the U.S.s hostile policies toward North Korea become, we will act accordingly, Kim said.

Even so, Kim made a point of touting his relationship with Trump, saying the two men maintain an excellent relationship and can exchange letters whenever we wish.

He also said South Korea should not act as a mediator or catalyst in the talks but a participant defending the interests of the people.
- 3,066 police personnel have been deployed to strategic areas for supplementary election in some parts of River's state

- INEC will be conducting supplementary elections in Abua/Odua, Ahoada west, Gokana and Opobo/Nkoro local government areas of the state

- According to the commands spokesman, DSP Nmandi Omoni, the police and sister security agencies are ready to provide adequate security to ensure hitch-free polls

Rivers police command has deployed over 3,066 personnel to strategic areas for supplementary election in some parts of the state on Saturday, April 13.

The commands spokesman, DSP Nmandi Omoni, made this known in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Friday, April 12.

READ ALSO: Let south east lead National Assembly - APC PROs endorse zone

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had on March 21, announced plans to conduct supplementary elections in Abua/Odua, Ahoada West, Gokana and Opobo/Nkoro local government areas of the state.

According to Omoni, the police and sister security agencies are ready to provide adequate security to ensure hitch-free polls.

The command has deployed a total of 3,066 personnel to be complemented by other sister security agencies to provide security and maintenance of law and order in the affected LGAs.

This was done to realise the full objectives of the supplementary election as well as engender a seamless exercise, he said.

Omoni said that restriction of movement in the affected local government areas would begin 11:59 a.m. on Friday and end 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Politicians are barred from going to the polling units with security details. This will not be tolerated.

The police and other security agencies will be on patrol to ensure strict compliance to this order and possibly make arrest of election violators, he warned.

READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda

The police spokesperson warned that any individual or group seen undermining the electoral process would be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the Electoral Act.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday, April 11, said it was 80 per cent ready to conduct supplementary election in four state Assembly constituencies in Rivers on Saturday, April 13.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng Same great journalism, upgraded for better service!

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New Jerseys eight-year-old law requiring public employees to live in the state is a failed experiment and it needs to be eliminated, according to the top Republican in the state Senate.

Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr., R-Union, said he is pushing to lift all restrictions on where state employees  from public school teachers to state agency workers to local municipal employees -- can live.

I dont think the state should be building walls to keep people in, Kean said Friday.

The state law, called the New Jersey First Act," was signed in 2011 by Gov. Chris Christie. It requires that nearly all state, county, local and school district employees hired after 2011 live in New Jersey or move here within a year of being hired.

At the time, the law had broad support in the state Legislature. If you are being paid by New Jersey taxpayers, you should pay state and local taxes and be a state resident, Christie and other supporters said.

This will help to support our workforce, while at the same time keeping our tax dollars in the state. This is not only sound public policy, but it makes good economic sense, then-state Sen. Donald Norcross (D-Camden), one of the bills sponsors, said at the time.

However, an NJ Advance Media analysis of state records published Thursday found at least 2,310 public employees have bypassed the law and gotten a pass to live out of state because they successfully applied for exemptions.

The state Employee Residency Review Committee, a small board that meets in Trenton, has approved exemptions for the majority of public employees who have come before them asking to move out of New Jersey for health or financial reasons or because the worker had a letter from a boss saying they were critical in their workplace.

In most cases, the public workers asked to live in Pennsylvania or New York.

In 2012, the first full year the law was in effect, the committee voted to grant about 71 percent of applicants requests for exemptions, NJ Advance Medias analysis found. So far this year, the committee has voted to approve 90 percent of requests.

Kean said the review committees hearings, where public workers often burst into tears revealing the details of their personal lives to ask to move out of state, are a sign its time to take the law off the books.

Requiring people to publicly explain the complex details of their divorces, financial difficulties, family problems and health diagnoses in a public meeting before a bureaucratic committee in order to plead for permission to move across a river is an antiquated, almost barbaric way to treat modern workers, Kean said.

He said he is also worried the law is keeping good candidates for applying for teaching positions, state agency jobs and other public employee positions because the state would dictate where they must live.

A lot of people just dont apply, Kean said.

Keans bill (S508) calling for the elimination of the residency law was introduced last year, but has not moved forward in the state Senate. A companion bill, A3580, is also pending in the assembly.

Similar proposals to kill the New Jersey First Act have failed in the past.

Keans proposed legislation says the requirement for public employees to live in New Jersey should only apply to the governor, state lawmakers, the heads of state agencies and judges. Every other public employee would be free to live where they want.

There have been other successful challenges to the New Jersey First law. Last year, the residency rule was blamed as part of the reason NJ Transit had trouble hiring enough engineers to keep its trains running.

In September, the state Employee Residency Review Committee voted with the support of lawmakers to approve a blanket exemption for all NJ Transit employees in mission essential jobs, including train engineers, bus drivers, conductors and rail maintenance workers.

The law has also been cited in a lawsuit against Rutgers University challenging whether four appointed members of the Rutgers Board of Governors should lose their unpaid positions because they live outside of New Jersey. The case, which is still pending, has raised questions about whether the residency law should apply to volunteers, including those appointed to state boards, in addition to paid public employees.

Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KellyHeyboer. Find her at KellyHeyboerReporter on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 12)  Election in the Philippines is known to be a very expensive endeavor.

A veteran politician, who refused to be named, told CNN Philippines that in 2016, at least three senatorial bets had to spend at least 500 million each to mount a senatorial campaign.

Only one of them landed a seat at the Senate.

With limited resources and an above average-paying job, where do politicians get the money to spend hundreds of millions of pesos during elections?

The same politician said that if a candidate is faring well in pre-election surveys, millions of pesos in donations from businessmen are expected to pour.

For Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III, some lobby groups give donations come election time to politicians who pushed their legislative agenda.

"Pagdating ng election, 'yung lobby groups na' yun, 'pag pinagbigyan mo sila, sigurado susuportahan ka nun. They campaign for you. Some give donations... You must reflect in your Comelec report and contributions. Otherwise, you will be disqualified," Sotto said.

Sotto also hinted that some politicians are not disclosing all donations given to them for their campaign.

Meanwhile, a businessman who refused to be identified, said many lawmakers earn money by accepting bribe to support or push for controversial bills and even franchises.

Sometimes, the businessman said lawmakers will just sit on a franchise or a bill unless someone gives them "pampadulas" or bribe to move the measure.

But for experts, one of the main sources of campaign funds is still government funds, which are pork barrel for legislators.

Political Science Professor Julio Teehankee said the tremendous amount needed to mount a political campaign in this country is the source of corruption in the country.

"And that is the reason why our politicians are susceptible not only to corporate interest, lobbying money, but also the underground economy, illicit activities either syndicates, drug money, or even kidnapping monies used," Teehankee explained.

Speaking to CNN Philippines, a veteran politician said some of the worst and most expensive vote buying incidents happen in the poorest provinces in the country.

To be able to buy votes, the veteran politician said some politicos demand about 20 percent kickback from contractors hired to build infrastructure in their districts.

For Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson, the negative image of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), known as pork barrel, is the reason why he refused to accept his allocation  and why he continues to fight it.

Before the Supreme Court declared PDAF unconstitutional, Lacson said many contractors already complained to him about how legislators would demand 20 to 60 percent kickback on infrastructure projects.

The senator said this is why many government projects are substandard.

"Babawiin nila yan sa substandard na materials. Wala silang mapagkukunan eh. So babawasan nila yung rebars, babawasan nila semento, babawasan nila buhangin, papalitan ng lupa. That's the reason why bihira tayo makakita ng kalsada, mamasyal ka na sa buong pilipinas, na maayos ang pagkakagawa. Para bang ilang buwan lang kita mo sira na because kulang yung pundasyon, kulang sa bakal, kulang sa semento," Lacson lamented.

Lacson said many lawmakers continue getting kickbacks, which is unconstitutional, from government projects until now.

"I've talked to several conractors and sinasabi nila meron pa rin. Bumaba nga lang, naging 10 percent sa legislator, 5 percent sa implementing agency pero komisyon pa rin," Lacson revealed.

Like Teehankee, Ateneo School of Government Dean Ronald Mendoza said many politicos rationalize that they need to raise funds while in office in preparation for the elections.

"We heard in a particular province for instance that the war chest of one person who is a fat dynasty, running for the governorship, for 300,000 voters is 1,000 per voter. That's about 300 million," Mendoza said.

He added politicians also rationalize stealing money from public funds with the expectations of Filipinos that politicos need to provide them financial help.

"The way it has been justified is because you are de facto the patron, tumatakbo sa'yo ang mga kababayan natin, humihingi ng tulong, pampalibing, 'pag may nagkasakit na kamag-anak (They ask you for contributions for funeral, when their relatives got sick).

"These enables some of our leaders to rationalize na (that) they need to raise funds for these activities. It is a corruption of our democracy," Mendoza said.

Several sources confirmed vote buying costs a candidate about 1,000 per person in Metro Manila.

If a voter would divide 1,000 to the three years or 1,095 days a congressman, mayor or governor stays in office, a person's vote is only worth less than a peso everyday.

A peso is compared to millions politicos steal while in office, Mendoza pointed out.

"Binigay mo na nga sa napakaliit na halaga pero mas malaki ang ninakaw at nanakawin ng taong yun. Kitang kita naman na in some poorest governed areas, naglalakihan ang kanilang mga mansion, naglalakihan ang kanilang ari-arian, pero ang mahihirap, dumadami pa pero di nagbabago buhay nila," Mendoza lamented.

[Translation: You have given them the smallest amount, that person gets the bigger share. It's apparent in the governed areas, his or her properties grow, while the poor remains poor without any changes in their lives.]

Mendoza also said after winning, many politicians do give back to people through projects.

He, however, also pointed out many of those projects are corruption-laden, substandard, and are not really meant to improve the lives of their poor constituents.

The dean said some politicos intentionally keep many of their voters poor so they would remain dependent on them.

"I've already heard that quite sadly, some of the politicians admit that while there are poor people, they will continue to remain I power. It is a sad reality that we cannot go past this trap," Mendoza said.

"Nilo-lock niya yung pinagbentahan ng boto sa kahirapan dahil kailangan nya kumuha ng kumuha ng pera para sa kanyang boto in the future," Mendoza added.

[Translation: The candidates locked up in poverty the people whose votes they bought because they need to accumulate more money for their future votes.]

It has become a vicious cycle.

Politicos buy votes to win. The wrong person is put in position. Once in power, promises get broken. Politicos steal money  so they can buy votes again to win another election.

Unfortunately, it doesn't stop there. Children see this  and perpetuate the actions of their parents.

Experts, however, believe voters can still put an end to the vicious cycle.

During elections, all Filipino voters stand on equal footing. Everyone gets one vote each.

One ballot may seem too little to affect change, but experts said, if majority of Filipinos resist the politics of money and power, we may just make a difference and together, move the country forward.
Moving the start of deer hunting from the Monday to the Saturday after Thanksgiving wasnt the only thing the Pennsylvania Game Commission changed this week.

The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners on Tuesday also approved a measure that simplified rules for hunters wearing blaze orange. The change eliminates the requirements while archery hunting for deer, bear or elk, and while hunting turkey in the fall.

Hunters wearing fluorescent orange is a universal concept in Pennsylvania today, but the idea faced a long and challenging road when it was first proposed in the 1960s.

The same year that Pennsylvania began requiring first-time hunters under age 16 to take a 4-hour hunter safety course, 1968, a bill to require big game hunters to wear at least 250 square inches of fluorescent orange was defeated in the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

At the time, most hunters in the winter hunting seasons wore the black-on-red plaid, wool hunting coats and matching pants known as the Pennsylvania Tuxedo that had been produced by Pennsylvania-based Woolrich since 1925.

They were far from ready for such a drastic change, regardless of claims that fluorescent orange would make hunters more visible and reduce hunting accidents in which hunters were shot in mistake for game or struck when they were mistakenly in the line of fire.

Finally, in 1980, after several more failed attempts, the General Assembly passed a bill requiring hunters to wear at least 100 square inches of fluorescent orange while hunting deer, bear and groundhog.

In 1992, after attempts at educating hunters to greater safety while turkey hunting failed to reduce accidents, the Pennsylvania Game Commission mandated 250 square inches on the head, chest and back during most fall hunting seasons and 100 square inches while moving through the woods during the spring gobbler season.

The ensuing flood of criticism included legislation that challenged the commissions authority to establish such regulations. But the impact of the orange regulations on hunting accidents was undeniable. From a high of 53 turkey hunters shot  3 fatally  in 1991 the number dropped to 14  none fatal  in 1992 and then to 11  none fatal  in 1993.

The requirement for spring gobbler season was removed in 2008.

After various other small tweaks over the past decade and before changes made earlier this week, hunters were required to wear at least 250 square inches of fluorescent orange during small game seasons; deer, bear and elk firearms seasons; and fall turkey season, while moving; and a hat or cap of fluorescent orange while hunting groundhog.

Here is a link to all of this weeks Game Commission decisions, plus the 2019-20 hunting seasons and bag limits.

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Authorities said a fight between two groups at a western Pennsylvania mall led to a shooting outside the building and an evacuation.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Monroeville police said the brawl Friday between two groups of four to five males began about 8 p.m. for some unknown reason. The fight spilled outside the mall through a Macys department store entrance.

Police said one of the males pulled out a gun and began shooting.

There were no reports of injuries and no arrests have been made.

A reporter for the Tribune-Review in Pittsburgh posted video to Twitter with the police chief outside the mall, saying at least 10 rounds were fired into the Macys entrance.

Monroeville police chief just confirmed someone fired at least 10 rounds into the Macys entrance.



No one has reported any injuries.



Started with an altercation between two groups of men in middle of mall and ended with 1 firing into Macys.



No one apprehended yet @TribLIVE pic.twitter.com/EiaqZveM5d  Natasha Lindstrom (@NewsNatasha) April 13, 2019

The mall was placed on lockdown and was later evacuated.

The mall is about 17 miles (27.36 kilometers) east of Pittsburgh. The lockdown was lifted about 9 p.m.

Authorities found bullet holes in the glass doors of a Macys entrance and evidence markers were placed in a roped-off area outside the department store.

Monroeville Mall officials tweeted that they were aware of the incident and police cleared the mall out of an abundance of caution.

The incident came the same day a gunman was sentenced to between two and 10 years in prison in a similar incident last June 1 at the Lehigh Valley Mall in Whitehall Township. Miles Harper, 20, fired four to six rounds in the parking lot outside Macys after an altercation inside the mall turned into what police called a melee.

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Chemicals linked to cancer and other toxicants have been found at unsafe levels in a massive, seven-story tall dirt pile in Sussex County, according to state test results.

Samples taken from the pile by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection were found to contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs,) polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and the pesticide chemical chlordane all at levels above the states standard for residential soil.

PAHs are classified as probable human carcinogens, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. PCBs are also linked cancer, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as well as pregnancy complications and other health effects. Exposure to chlordane, according to the CDC, can have a variety of effects on the human nervous system.

The pile is in a quiet residential neighborhood in rural Vernon Township. For years it has been a concern for neighbors, who rely on private wells for their drinking water.

The high level of dangerous material in the pile means it should be classified a solid waste facility, but Joseph Wallace, the owner of the property, does not have a permit.

The test results were included as part of a letter to the court sent by the New Jersey Attorney Generals office on April 8, as part of the states ongoing case against Wallace.

Neither the Attorney Generals office nor the NJDEP had any further comment on the letter. Messages left for Wallace and his attorney, were not immediately returned.

The NJDEP first determined Wallaces actions to be unlawful in February, shortly after NJ Advance Media published an in-depth report on the Vernon pile. That February determination was based on samples taken in January from material that the state claims sloughed off of Wallaces pile and on to a neighboring property.

At a hearing on March 1, Wallaces attorney argued that the state could not conclusively prove that material had actually originated on Wallaces side of the property line. That hearing resulted in Wallace and the NJDEP entering into a consent order, which allowed the state to come on to Wallaces property and test the pile itself.

That testing took place on March 14, when NJDEP inspectors took eight different samples from various points in the pile.

The March 14 samples confirmed the earlier findings, according to the state.

These findings alleviate any concern that there is a missing nexus between the source of the contaminated material and the Wallace property clearly and convincingly, Deputy Attorney General Matthew Knoblauch wrote to Judge Maritza Berdote Byrne.

The next hearing is scheduled for May 30, but the state has requested an earlier date based on these new findings.

NJDEP continues to seek to prevent and prohibit any additional material of any kind from being brought onto the Wallace property, Knoblauch wrote.

There are other issues. Mapping of the pile done by the state on the same day the samples were taken determined the mountain of dirt and debris covers 2.44 acres. Therefore, Wallace is required to get a stormwater permit from the NJDEP, which he never attained. The state issued a notice of violation on March 21.

Under state law, Wallace is subject to fines of up to $50,000 per day, per offense for the stormwater violation.

Finally, the state also claims that Wallace has failed to provide any documentation about what material is in the pile, or where it came from, despite agreeing to do so as part of the March 1 consent order.

Vernon Mayor Harry Shortway said the findings did not surprise him. He said that he and many residents in the township are concerned any public health risks caused by the pile, and are worried about the uncertainty of clean up.

Were all worried about the results. What does this really mean? Shortway said. What happens if he walks away from this? Who is going to pick up the tab?

Shortway called on state lawmakers to take action to strengthen New Jerseys solid waste laws. In February, three Sussex County Republicans threw their support behind S1683, a bill sponsored by Sen. Bob Smith (D-Middlesex.) The bill would expand background checks for people who work in New Jerseys solid waste industry, and would hold people working with soil and fill to the same strict standards applied to those working in the solid waste sector.

Its time our state legislators declare war on environmental terrorism, starting with criminalizing such actions as we saw at [the Wallace property], Shortway said.

U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-5th Dist., released a statement Saturday calling for action.

These tests confirm what weve been concerned about all along. It is beyond unacceptable that families have been living with this waste mountain in their backyards for so long, putting the health of our community at risk, he said.

"The DEP and the state must take immediate action to protect the children and families of Vernon and hold Joe Wallace accountable. No more foot dragging. No more delays. No more excuses.

Read the full letter sent by the Attorney Generals office to the court below:

Michael Sol Warren may be reached at mwarren@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MSolDub. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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In the first of a two-part piece, former Solidarity councillor Cian Prendiville winds the clock back 100 years to a real-life Game of Thrones

TANKS on the streets of Limerick. Workers on strike. A soviet is declared. The workers control prices and production. The Limerick Leader carries a notice that it was Published by permission of the Limerick Strike Committee. The workers even have their own police force and currency.

It sounds like some fantasy. But this is actually our history. A history hidden from us by those who would prefer we forget that workers ran Limerick without the bosses, the clergy or the politicians telling them what to do.

This battle was part of a momentous Game of Thrones to decide who would rule Ireland: British Imperialism, Irish capitalism or the Working Class.

There are no dragons in this captivating saga, but there are heroes and villains, tragedy and betrayal.

The Workers Rising

In July 1917 Limerick got its first ever branch of the ITGWU, the radical trade union set up by Jim Larkin and James Connolly. The union grew rapidly to 3,000 members in the city, organising workers other unions had ignored: the lower paid, unskilled, precarious and women workers.

There was a growing wave of revolutions right across Europe, from Russia to Germany, Italy to Scotland. In Limericks Markets Field, a 10,000 strong crowd passed a motion of solidarity with the Russian revolution on May Day 1918.

Soon after Sean Dowling, a close friend and ally of Connolly, came to the Mid-West as an ITGWU organiser. Dowling was a Marxist, and was the organiser of the workers in the Cleeves factory, who were the first to call a strike in April 1919. The trigger for this was the decision of the British Military to impose martial law in Limerick following a massive funeral for IRA member Bobby Byrne.

On April 13, Dowling attended a meeting of all the trade unions in Limerick where they agreed to follow the example of the Cleeves workers, and call a general strike.

A new Boss in Town

The general strike saw the whole city come to a standstill. Factories, pubs and shops were closed. The only things open on the first day was the printers making posters for the strike, and the trade union headquarters where the trade union leaders, now termed the Limerick Soviet met.

An indefinite general strike does more than just terrify the bosses and the state, it poses the question of power - who runs society? Clearly the bosses and the British military werent able to run things, they couldnt even get a shop willing to sell them food.

Instead, the workers began to run things themselves, through the Soviet and special sub-committees they set up. A food sub-committee ordered grain in the docks to be unloaded, and the bakeries to make bread. Shops were reopened with prices and opening times set by the Soviet.

The story of the #LimerickSoviet via #Simpsons memes. It's 20 panels long, so click into the thread, sit back, relax and keep scrolling...



[1 of 20]



Find out more: https://t.co/z0NAuCMJ5l



And subscribe to my 5-part podcast documentary on the soviet https://t.co/brHOxMa9FU pic.twitter.com/Q8DrfT4SZd  Cian Prendiville (@cianplk) April 10, 2019

This demonstrated a truth which we should remember today: Workers dont need the bosses. They need us. In fact, workers can run society more efficiently and more humanely. In the Bruree Soviet a few years later, when the workers took over the factory and declared We make bread, not profits, they managed to cut prices, increase wages and increase production.

Revolution betrayed

A week into the strike, the Limerick workers had fought the British state and the Irish bosses to a stalemate. The army and the RIC didnt dare leave their barracks. But they also refused to lift martial law.

From day one, the hope had been that the trade unions nationally would organise solidarity action with Limerick to pile extra pressure on. The rail workers had indicated that they would come out on strike too, as had others. But that decision rested with the national leaders of the unions and the Labour Party.

Far from being revolutionaries like Dowling, these leaders had a very different vision for the role of trade unions. They were people like William OBrien who had been building a close relationship with the leaders of Sinn Fein, hoping to help them come to power and win a seat at the table with them in a new republic.

When they talked to the Sinn Fein leaders, they were quickly told to wrap up the Soviet. Sinn Fein didnt like the British army, but they feared the working class in control even more.

So, the national union leaders said they wouldnt support escalating the dispute outside Limerick, taking the wind out of the sails of the Soviet. The Sinn Fein Mayor, Bishop and the Chamber of Commerce saw their opportunity and proposed a compromise. Workers were to go back to work immediately, and if they behaved themselves martial law would be withdrawn a week later.

Part two in next weeks Limerick Leader

Cian Prendiville is a member of the Socialist Party and the Limerick Soviet Centenary Committee. He has just released a 5-part documentary podcast Bottom Dog - The Story of the Limerick Soviet, which is available on www.limericksoviet.ie and in all podcast apps. The podcast tells the story of the Limerick Soviet through interviews, re-enactments and dramatisation.
TWO MEN went toe to toe in GVMs auction rooms for 42 acres of prime land in Rower Beg, Adare.

Interest was so keen that people were in 20 minutes before the auction was due to commence.

As land goes tis a lovely bit of land, one was overheard to say. One attendee asked another, Where are you from yourself? Killaloe was the reply.

Youve lovely views but youve come to Limerick for the good land! he said.

As the clock struck 3pm, GVMs Tom Crosse and John OConnell accompanied by Valerie Noonan, solicitor, strode in. Over 50 were waiting. The gentleman sitting alone in the front row looked like he meant business.

Mr Crosse was like a ring announcer telling the boxers he wanted a good clean fight.

It is a really top class holding on the Main Road, 1.5kms from Adare. It is a fantastic piece of rolling parkland - very well laid out in four smashing fields. There is a two storey residence that was occupied until a few years ago.

It is in close proximity to the fantastic picturesque village of Adare. It is like buying a good share, when you buy in the right location not often does it lose its value. A property like this only comes to the market once in a lifetime, said Mr Crosse.

No bell was rung but it was time to do battle.

Round one. It opened at 400,000 - already 10,000 an acre which is the going rate for good agricultural land.

There were four bidders - two farmers, a businessman/farmer and a solicitor representing a client. He was the man in the front row.

It went up quickly in nods, winks and raised fingers indicating 25k a time. At 575,000 they dropped to increments of 5,000 but they were coming fast.

Bidding stopped at 710,000 and a recess was called.

Seconds out, round two. When they returned, Mr Crosse said they hadnt reached their reserve. Battle recommenced.

At around 750,000 the two farmers were knocked out. It was down to the solicitor in the front and the farmer/businessman at the back of the room. The tension and excitement in the room increased as the price went higher and higher. The two men traded blows up to 930,000.

A second recess was called. Afterwards, Mr Crosse announced: Were on the market to sell.

This is one of the finest pieces of land Ive had the pleasure of offering for sale for many a long day. Weve spoken about the excellent quality of land, the importance of the house, location, location, location - this property ticks all the boxes, said Mr Crosse.

Round three. The two werent getting punch drunk. At 950,000, the solicitor had his opponent on the ropes.

An encouraging Mr Crosse said: Dont leave it after you. You will be admiring it for the rest of your life. You cant buy gold too dear. Its a peach.

The auctioneer nearly had this reporter, who hasnt a brass farthing to his name, putting his hand up!

The farmer/businessman fought on. He went 955k. The lawyer responded as casually as if he was ordering a coffee from a waiter after a sumptuous meal - 960k. 965k from the man at the back.

The solicitor delivered the final blow with a bid of 970,000. Mr Crosse ended the fight with a loud thud of his gavel.

It works out at 23,000 an acre. A round of applause went up. Before the auction Mr Crosse had been guiding at 15,500 per acre or 651,000.

In other property-related news  Limerick site selling for 200k per acre

Thank you all on behalf of the vendors - Anne And Patricia Sparling - to all the bidders, the purchaser and thank you all for attending.

Hopefully it is a great indication for land prices in County Limerick for the year ahead, said Mr Crosse.

The rumour after the auction was that the buyer is an Adare-based businessman.

Mr Crosse remained tight-lipped but would say it was a record price for agricultural land in County Limerick. He did sell 27 acres in Adare over Christmas for 38,000 an acre but that price was skewed by some of it being zoned development land.

GVM have another similar sized holding in Adare coming to the market in the coming weeks.

Could there be a rematch?
AS part of the Taosieachs busy itinerary in the Midwest, Leo Varadkar made a number of stops in west Limerick.

Included in this were a visit at Aughinish and the Great Southern Greenway.

Alongside him at both of these stops was Minister of State Patrick ODonovan.

Minister ODonovans goal was to outline the potential The Great Southern Greenway has to be Irelands first cross country greenway linking Lough Derg to the Kerry coast.

The Minister of State at the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform believes that the route along the old railway line not only provides a fantastic facility for local people and visitors, but also proves to be a growth for tourism in rural Limerick.

There is huge potential for the Great Southern Greenway to become one of the leading greenways in Ireland and one of the greatest contributors to tourism and the economy in county Limerick, Minister ODonovan said.

We have seen the success of the Great Western Greenway in Mayo and the Waterford Greenway, with the latter opening up the towns and villages along its route to new customers and visitors every week. It has also made a huge difference to the town of Dungarven and city of Waterford, he added.

Minister ODonovan believes that the Great Southern Greenway can match and perhaps even surpass the popularity of these Greenways with time. He also explained why the Taosieach made the decision to visit the Aughinish alumina plant.

The Taosieach really lead the government's response to the potential job losses at Aughinish. So he wanted to go down there and meet the management and staff face to face. He wanted to see the plant first hand, Minister ODonovan said.

Both the management and staff were very receptive to his visit, he added.




Defence Minister, Awad Ibn Auf has announced his decision on state TV to step down, naming Lt-Gen Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan as his successor.

The army has said it will stay in power for two years, followed by elections, but protest leaders said they will not leave the streets until the military hands over to a civilian government.

Former President Bashir's downfall followed months of unrest that began in December over rising prices. Mr. Ibn Auf was head of military intelligence during the Darfur conflict in the 2000s. The US imposed sanctions on him in 2007.

The new man in charge is also a top military figure, but the Associated Press news agency reported that his record is cleaner than other Sudanese generals. He is also said to have met with protesters to hear their views.

President Bashir has been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the Darfur conflict. However, the military council has said it will not extradite Mr. Bashir, who denies the charges, although he may be put on trial in Sudan.




President Buhari has reminded the parents of the school girls of Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State that he has still not forgotten their daughters who were kidnapped from their dormitory five years ago (April 14, 2014).

He promised the parents when he met them, at the beginning of his first term as president, that he would bring their daughters home. He is aware that this promise he made is the main reason the people of Chibok voted overwhelmingly for him in the February elections, and although his government has so far succeeded in bringing back 107 of the girls, the President will not rest until the remaining are reunited with their families.

President Buhari assures the parents that his administration is still on the matter. Diverse efforts are being intensified to secure the release of the Chibok Girls, along with all hostages in Boko Haram captivity, including Leah Sharibu who was kidnapped from her school, Science Secondary School, Dapchi, Yobe State, on February 19, 2018.

On Leah Sharibu's abduction, the interlocutors have reported encouraging progress so far. The report reaching us says her return to her family has unfortunately been hindered by the fear of the militants. They worry that heavy military presence in areas where they previously moved about freely could affect their safety after they return her to the government.

At the same time, the military cannot jeopardise the security of the entire north-eastern region by halting their operations to accommodate Boko Haram's fears. Leah Sharibu will be reunited with her family as soon as any conclusions are reached on a number of options being considered for her safe transportation. The success of the Nigerian military in subduing Boko Haram is evidenced by the large numbers of militants who have surrendered recently, especially in neighbouring Cameroon and Niger.

A similar mass surrender of militants is expected to happen soon in Nigeria. While Nigerian military operations are ongoing, the government is also engaging with the militants but the talks have been affected by the factionalisation of Boko Haram  with one group adopting a hard line attitude and intensifying attacks on Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad, and another group engaging with the government for peaceful resolution.

President Buhari also uses this opportunity of the commemoration of the Chibok tragedy to commend the girls, now women, who have triumphed over it all. He sends special greetings to the 106 girls sponsored by the Nigerian government to continue their studies at the American University of Nigeria, Yola.

He encourages them to stay focused on becoming women who will inspire girls in Nigeria and around the world to triumph over the daily battles they face in a world that is often unfair to the girl-child.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 13)  The Interior Department questioned the inclusion of the Philippines in a safety risk list published by the U.S. State Department.

The U.S. government agency released on Thursday a list of 35 countries with the risk of kidnapping and hostage taking, which included the Philippines.

READ: U.S. State Dept. warns Americans of kidnapping risk in 35 nations

In its travel advisory issued April 9, the State Department placed the Philippines at a Level 2 risk, and warned against traveling to Mindanao due to "crime, terrorism, civil unrest, and kidnapping."

"Terrorist and armed groups continue plotting possible kidnappings, bombings, and other attacks in the Philippines. Terrorist and armed groups may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, markets/shopping malls, and local government facilities," the advisory read.

Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Ano said that the U.S. had no basis to include the Philippines in the list.

""We do not know yet how they came up with the list but with the strong stance of President Rodrigo Duterte against criminality in general, we see no basis for including us in this list. We will request from the U.S. Embassy what were the parameters used since even Malaysia and Russia were included," Ano said in a statement issued Saturday.

He added that there has been a decrease in kidnapping cases in the country, and that foreigners in the Philippines "have no reason to be alarmed."

"A list is just a list. What we have are factual data pointing to the decreasing number of kidnapping cases in the Philippines," he said.

According to the DILG statement, citing data from the Philippine National Police, there were 68 cases of kidnapping in the Philippines in 2018, majority of which were in Mindanao. This is lower than the 79 cases reported in 2017.

The DILG added that there have been 10 cases of kidnapping reported in 2019 to date.
Netflix released a documentary series called "Our Planet" on April 5 that sits in the pantheon of great wildlife docs alongside BBC's "Planet Earth" and "Blue Planet." The new series stands out, though, because it explicitly shows how every ecosystem it highlights is being changed and threatened by climate change. And it includes one especially unsettling scene: Russian walruses tumble brutally down cliff sides to their deaths, one after another.

David Attenborough, the series' narrator, blames the incident on changes to the Arctic ecosystem that walruses inhabit. With sea ice receding year after year, he says, the walruses are forced to rest on crowded, tiny beaches. Those beaches are so overcrowded, he says, that some of the walruses scale cliffs for a bit of peace. But when the lumbering animals, unaccustomed to climbing or to heights, decide to return to the water, they wander right off the edge of the cliffs to their horrible deaths.

It's a shocking scene and a compelling story. [In Photos: A Conveyor Belt for Arctic Sea Ice]

So, did climate change really drive the walruses up the cliffs and to their deaths?

Here's what Live Science found out:

This incident isn't the first time people have documented the mass-falling deaths of walruses. Back in 1996, Alaskan wildlife officials reported a then-nearly unprecedented incident in which nearly 60 male walruses fell to their deaths off a 200-foot (60 meters) cliff side in the state. At the time, when sea ice was still more extensive and climate impacts less well-understood, researchers didn't blame the deaths on climate change. Rather, they were perplexed, without an answer to explain the behavior, The New York Times reported at the time. The years since have seen further reports of these sorts of walrus events.

But more-recent research has indicated that climate change could be driving deadly "disturbances" at walrus "haul-outs" in exactly the way the documentary indicates. Walruses typically spend most of their time on sea ice, with some intermittent time spent on land in large groups called haul-outs.

A May 2017 report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) found that the retreat of sea ice from the Arctic does indeed lead walruses to engage in mass haul-outs onto crowded beaches more often. And at those crowded haul-outs, the walruses are indeed easily spooked, with an increase in deadly "disturbance" events  though tramplings, especially of young calves, are much more common than cliff falls, according to that report.

Subject matter experts suggested to Live Science that falling events typically don't involve the walruses scaling cliffs as the documentary indicated. Rather, the events happen as walruses go up shallow slopes on the cliffs' far sides. Once up top, the creatures can sometimes stampede off these cliff sides if a passing plane, polar bear, boat or other unfamiliar freaky thing scares them.

Climate change does seem to have made these sorts of events more common. However, in Alaska these mass fallings appear to local observers to have declined in recent years thanks to human efforts to manage the environments of the haul-outs. Reductions in overhead planes and other human disturbances appear to have prevented at least some of the deaths. Coastal management efforts, led by local native groups, have also been effective to some degree.

Over 100,000 walrus hauled out along a small stretch of coast in Northern Russia. In the absence of sea ice, walruses have no choice but to come to land in order to rest between feeding trips to the ocean floor in search of clams. (Image credit: Hector Skevington-Postles/Jamie McPherson/Silverback/Netflix)

The USFWS report found that even as their populations have struggled with calf deaths, reduced sea ice and poorer foraging opportunities, walruses are a comparatively resilient species. At least at the level sea ice has reduced to so far, the animals seem able to weather the many human encroachments on their territory, the report said.

Originally published on Live Science.
The battle over a homeless navigation center being built in San Francisco's Embarcadero reached another level on Friday when opposing GoFundMe campaigns for and against the center surpassed their fundraising goals.

Over $250,000 were raised through the dueling campaigns, which had San Francisco residents and members of the city's business community on opposite sides of a proposal by Mayor London Breed to build the city's largest navigation center in Embarcadero.

"Happy Friday y'all! We did it. This city is so goddamn rich, no one should be sleeping on the streets," said William Fitzgerald, who started the GoFundMe in favor of the construction of the navigation center. "Thanks to everyone who donated and supported. Let's keep supporting @TheCoalitionSF and looking for ways to house everyone."

Fitzgerald started the campaign "SAFER Embarcadero for ALL" at the end of March as a parody of the campaign "Safe Embarcadero for All," which was started by a South Beach resident to hire San Francisco-based real estate lawyer Andrew Zacks to oppose the creation of the navigation center. The anti-navigation center campaign surpassed its fundraising goal about eight hours before Fitzgerald's pro-navigation center one.

But as of Saturday, Fitzgerald's campaign raised more funds than the campaign to hire Zacks, and in less time. The campaign opposing the navigation center raised $100,930 in 23 days, and the campaign in support of the navigation center raised $175,000 in 15 days. If it's any indication which push is more popular  at least on the Internet  Fitzgerald's campaign received over 1,500 more likes on the GoFundMe platform and there were over 1,500 more donors to his campaign, too.

The pro-navigation center campaign was backed by a pair of tech CEOs  Marc Benioff of Salesforce and Jeff Lawson of Twilio  both of whom donated $10,000 to the campaign. Those and the rest of the funds raised by Fitzgerald will go to benefit the Coalition On Homelessness, a SF-based nonprofit.

The fight over the proposed navigation center is as contentious in the streets as it is on the web. SF residents shouted at Mayor Breed at a community meeting on Wednesday at the Delancey Street Foundation where the proposed navigation was being discussed. "I'm sorry this issue has divided this community. My role is to hear all of you today," Breed told the crowd.

But people at the meeting interrupted her remarks, shouting "Take it somewhere else!" and "Build it at City Hall!"
A man was arrested Thursday for sexually assaulting two children in 2002, according to Laredo police.

Fernando Aguillon, 50, was served with arrest warrants charging him with two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child.
WASHINGTON - House Democrats are giving the Trump administration a hard deadline of April 23 to turn over President Donald Trump's tax returns, pushing back against Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's skepticism over their request for the private records.

Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, on Saturday sent a two-page letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig rebuffing Mnuchin's statement last week that Treasury would miss House Democrats' initial April 10 deadline for the returns.

Mnuchin's concerns "lack merit," Neal wrote.

Neal's latest letter sets the stage for further escalation in the conflict between Congress and the White House, as legal experts have suggested that an outright denial of their request by Mnuchin could be followed by subpoenas or a lawsuit in federal court. Mnuchin so far has only postponed responding to Democrats' request and said he would confer with the Justice Department, but he has not yet rejected it.

"Please know that, if you fail to comply, your failure will be interpreted as a denial of my request," Neal's letter states.

Mnuchin told reporters Saturday that he was trying to move carefully in overseeing a request that raises "very, very complicated" legal questions, emphasizing that his decision could have long-lasting repercussions for future requests by Congress to the IRS. He said that Treasury's legal office has begun meeting with lawyers in the Department of Justice but that he has not personally spoken with the attorney general about Trump's taxes.

"I think it's more important to the American taxpayers that we get this right than [that] we hit an arbitrary deadline," Mnuchin said, according to a transcript of his remarks. "I'm not going to make a commitment prematurely as to whether we'll be able to conclude our legal review within [Neal's] deadline or not."

Earlier this month, Neal wrote to the IRS, asking for six years of the president's personal and business tax returns. Trump refused to release his tax returns during the presidential campaign, breaking decades of precedent where candidates for the White House voluntarily released their tax returns. Trump claimed it wouldn't make sense to release his tax returns while, he said, they are under audit.

In his letter, Neal argues that the IRS has an "unambiguous legal obligation" to turn over the returns under section 6103 of the tax code, which states that the treasury secretary "shall furnish" a request from the congressional committees with tax oversight.

Congressional Republicans and Trump's personal attorney, William S. Consovoy, have argued Democrats' request risks weaponizing the IRS for partisan political gain, with Consovoy calling it a "gross abuse of power." Mnuchin's letter this past week said Neal's request "raises serious issues concerning the constitutional scope of congressional investigative authority."

Mnuchin revealed in congressional testimony that White House lawyers consulted with Treasury on Trump's tax returns.

"It is not the proper function of the IRS, Treasury, or Justice to question or second guess the motivations of the committee," Neal writes in his letter. "Judicial precedent commands that none of the concerns raised can legitimately be used to deny the committee's request."

Mnuchin pushed back against that assertion Saturday, saying, "I have responsibility for overseeing the IRS. . . . I feel it is my obligation as secretary of Treasury to supervise this." (The IRS is part of the Treasury Department.)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 13)  Despite declaring a permanent end to peace negotiations with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) last month, President Rodrigo Duterte talked about the idea of creating a new peace panel.

In a speech delivered at a PDP-Laban campaign sortie in Bukidnon Saturday, Duterte talked about looking for members for a new peace panel. Most of them would come from the military.

"Mangita ko ug bag-o. Bag-ong paagi, bag-ong tao makig-istorya. Basig usa, duha, tulo ana militar. Unya ang... mga lima. Duha ka civilian, tulo ka militar," the President said.

[Translation: I'll look for a new one. New methods, new people to talk to. Maybe one, two, three of them are from the military. Maybe around five. Two civilian members, three from the military.]

He reiterated that he had dissolved the previous peace panel because it took them too long to negotiate with the Reds.

"Dugay na e. Three years walay nahimo," he said.

[Translation: It took too long. Nothing happened in three years.]

On March 21, Duterte announced that he had permanently ended peace negotiations between the government and the CPP.

Last month he said that the CPP might have to wait for a new President before the peace talks can resume.

READ: Duterte permanently ends talks with CPP
NAIROBI, Kenya - Four months of street protests in Sudan gave way to a burst of political upheavals this week that - on the surface at least - appears to have upended the status quo after 30 years of strongman rule by Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

Yet the heart of the old regime is far from gone. Sudan now seems tossed into power battles between different factions of the military, which turned against Bashir on Thursday in a stunning end for a leader who had managed to ruthlessly quash dissent for decades in one of Africa's largest nations.

Since Bashir's arrest by his once-loyal military, top figures from his regime seem to be in retreat mode as commanders apparently maneuver behind the scenes, analysts say.

"This isn't an unfamiliar situation when a strongman falls," said Zach Vertin, a fellow at the Brookings Institution and a former senior adviser to President Barack Obama's special envoy to Sudan. "The linchpin is removed and you get the remnants of the regime jockeying for survival."

Awad Ibn Auf, the former vice president and defense minister who announced Bashir's ouster, lasted just more than a day as the head of a transitional military government. Then Salah Gosh, Bashir's feared head of intelligence, resigned from his position Saturday.

Another win for the protesters came Saturday afternoon when a curfew imposed by the military council - which many saw as a tactic to disperse the demonstrators - was canceled by its new leader, Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

Burhan struck a conciliatory tone and paid his respects to what he called "the revolution." He also promised to prosecute security forces that had killed protesters, and fired all state governors appointed by Bashir with immediate effect.

Many protesters remain jubilant. Most Sudanese people have only known Bashir's autocratic rule, and the rapid changes are thrilling, if confusing.

Still, their main demand, for a civilian government, has not been met. The possible timetable for the military to step aside has become a main point of friction.

Burhan, who took charge of the government late Friday, did not help ease the worries. He said Saturday the transition to civilian rule could still take up two years. That brought immediate outcry from the demonstrators as simply too long.

"We assert that our revolution is continuing and will not retreat or deviate from its path until we achieve . . . our people's legitimate demands of handing over power to a civilian government," said a statement from the Sudanese Professionals Association, which has been leading the protests.

Burhan is a little-known lifelong army commander who until recently led its infantry division and helped recruit many of its members to fight on behalf of Saudi Arabia-aligned factions in Yemen's civil war.

His appointment was seen as an appeasement to the protests, but it did little to answer major looming questions. Among them: What is the status of Bashir?

No evidence has been made public to prove that Bashir was in custody - or even still in Sudan for that matter.

Also unclear is what role, if any, was played by regional power-brokers - such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates - that vied for influence in Sudan.

The United States, which repeatedly punished Bashir's regime for alleged human rights violations, has been largely silent. Sudan remains on Washington's list of state sponsors of terror; many of the former regime's leaders are on sanctions lists and there is no American ambassador in Khartoum.

The turmoil has distracted many Sudanese from a festering economic crisis. Since Bashir's arrest, Sudan's borders and airspace have been closed, exacerbating an already debilitating shortage of goods, all of which are becoming more expensive by the day. Fuel and wheat, in particular, have become flash points.

With Sudan facing various crises, the resolution of a way forward politically has become more urgent. The military council effectively in control of the country has stressed that it will only negotiate with protest leaders if their followers conduct themselves "without chaos."

That raised questions about how long the military will keep its patience and allow the demonstrations to continue.

Protest leaders, on the other hand, have accused many members of the military council of being untrustworthy criminals because they are implicated in the military's brutal crackdowns through Bashir's years that earned some of its leaders, including Bashir, indictments for war crimes in the International Criminal Court for atrocities in Sudan's Darfur region.

"I think the best-case scenario, however unpopular it might sound, is a hybrid civil-military government," Vertin said. "Each one on its own would be too weak, and potentially susceptible to undermining by holdovers from the Bashir era."
As part of its regional vitalization efforts, the government plans to launch a new system this autumn to encourage mid-level employees in and around their 40s who work in major cities to take jobs in regional areas.

The program will feature a six-month trial period in which participants study at regional universities while working at area companies. This period is aimed at easing any anxieties people may have about taking jobs in regional areas.

The new system will be run mainly through Japan Human Resources, a government-affiliated job referral company.

Amid concerns about an overconcentration of human resources in major cities, regional companies have a strong need for experienced mid-level employees with immediately applicable skills and executive potential. The program is intended to encourage such employees to change jobs.

JHR already runs a government-associated employment website for mid-level employees who work in major cities to take jobs in regional areas. However, people who are interested sometimes do not follow through. The trial period was designed with these people in mind.

The program is expected to launch in fiscal 2019 at universities in two prefectures, including Shinshu University in Nagano Prefecture, as well as several companies located relatively near to the universities.

The program has yet to decide on a set employment quota. Going forward, the government intends to expand the municipalities involved and the number of positions available.

This autumn, JHR and regional companies plan to recruit interested candidates for interviews and other screening. Successful candidates will start studying at regional universities and working at nearby companies within the fiscal year.

During the trial period, they will spend one or two days per week systematically learning about management support, local vitalization and other topics. The remaining three or four days will be spent as a subcontractor at a local company working on solving management issues, generating new sales channels and other tasks.

The company will pay a monthly stipend of 300,000 yen during the six months, as well as any tuition and other fees for universities. The employee does not have to quit their original job, but instead can take on a leave of absence.

Once the participant decides whether they truly want to work in the area, they will officially change jobs. The government also will consider asking qualified employees to teach subjects such as corporate practices at regional universities.

In fiscal 2018, JHR and Shinshu University conducted a feasibility test of the program. Nine people worked on a trial basis at eight companies in Nagano Prefecture while studying at Shinshu University.

Of this number, eight have continued working as subcontractors or have since become regular employees.

- - -

Japan Human Resources

A corporation established by the government in August 2015 to assist in regional vitalization. It seeks to supply regional companies with human resources by introducing or dispatching qualified employees. It is 100 percent funded by the Regional Economy Vitalization Corporation of Japan, a public-private fund involved in helping regional companies rebuild their businesses.
SANTIAGO, Chile - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took direct aim at China and Russia on the first leg of a four-country trip to South America on Friday, saying the two countries' military and economic influence in the region was abetting authoritarian leaders and spreading corruption.

"China's bankrolling of [Venezuela's] regime helped precipitate and prolong the crisis in that country," Pompeo said in an address at a convention center in Santiago, Chile's capital. "Russia, as everyone knows, also has long-standing ties to authoritarian leaders in Cuba and Nicaragua."

Pompeo lashed out at the two longtime adversaries as the Trump administration seeks to topple President Nicolas Maduro and grow a coalition of countries supporting opposition leader Juan Guaido.

Maduro has maintained his grip on power with the support of Russia and China despite hopes from some officials in the Trump administration that he could be ousted quickly through crippling economic sanctions and massive opposition protests.

As the stalemate drags on, Venezuela has been beset with chronic electricity outages, exacerbating the shortages of food, water and medicine.

Chile, a longtime U.S. ally and pointed critic of the Maduro regime, has stood strongly with U.S. efforts against Venezuela. But analysts have warned that as the humanitarian crisis worsens, millions more Venezuelan refugees could flood into neighboring countries and sow divisions among U.S. and Latin American allies.

The United States opposes any dialogue with the Maduro regime to find a way out of the crisis and has tried to enforce that line among members of the Lima Group regional bloc addressing the situation. Chilean Foreign Minister Roberto Ampuero has hinted that as the crisis deepens, he could be more open to alternative outreach efforts but maintained the importance of consistency within the Lima Group.

"This group was created in order to seek a solution to this profound crisis," Ampuero said at a news conference with Pompeo. "At the same time, we as a country need to play a role of diplomatic bridge and thus explore all the spaces of convergence with other players."

Analysts said it could become more difficult for the United States to maintain unity among South American countries.

"The Chileans are in a tough place," said a former U.S. administration official familiar with the process, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations with U.S. and foreign officials. They are committed to the Lima Group approach, and do not want any light to open between countries in that group . . . However, they are beginning to feel the heat at home as the Venezuelan crisis drags on and as fears rise that we might turn to intervention and military action - something which would ignite the left."

During an interview on his plane Thursday, Pompeo doubted that Ampuero or any other key allies would seek dialogue with Maduro.

"Look, everybody's looking for the thing that will ultimately deliver democracy for the Venezuelan people. I am. So is he," said Pompeo, referring to Ampuero. "No one thinks that having a conversation about Maduro participating in an election makes any sense at all."

Mexico, a key member of the Lima Group, however, has taken a different tack and has moved against efforts to recognize Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate leader.

Pompeo's address was meant to send a message of hope that as democratic backsliding continues around the world, South America is a bright spot.

As the continent takes a rightward shift politically, Pompeo applauded anti-corruption efforts and economic reform in Argentina, Peru, Colombia and Brazil.

Pompeo specifically cited the populist victory of Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, known as the "Trump of the Tropics."

"Brazil's citizens said 'enough is enough' to the corrupt ruling class," Pompeo said. "They had seen, through scandal, how rotten their government had become."
Should President Trump follow through on a proposal to release migrants in U.S. "sanctuary cities," it would be a major departure from the way federal agencies are handling detainees. It could also be prohibitively costly and make it more difficult to deport migrants once they reach those cities.

The plan - which Trump tweeted Friday is under "strong consideration" - would have the Department of Homeland Security moving migrants from immigration jails to cities scattered across the country in vans, buses and airplanes. It would require a massive investment in transportation infrastructure, something that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials told the White House would be "an unnecessary operational burden."

It also would mean placing those detainees in cities that limit their cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, meaning it could be very difficult to arrest them again.

During the recent surge of Central American families crossing into the United States, most were apprehended at or near the southern border with Mexico. With a deficit of detention beds, the U.S. government mainly releases the families to shelters or bus depots. Detainees are sometimes released directly to the streets of border towns, allowing immigration authorities to focus staffing and funding on deportations and criminal operations.

Trump's proposal, which government officials said is aimed at punishing Democratic strongholds for their positions on immigration policy, calls for sending the detainees to sanctuary cities, where they can live without fear of local authorities reporting them to federal immigration officials. There are hundreds of sanctuary jurisdictions nationwide, ranging from tiny rural counties to New York City and the entire state of California.

The idea, DHS officials said, seemed predicated on the belief that an influx of migrants would be a burden to sanctuary cities. Trump has long maintained that killers, rapists and drug dealers are streaming across the border and that releasing migrants into U.S. society is a security risk. In fact, studies show immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born citizens.

Mayors of such cities condemned the White House plan on Friday, with most dismissing it as an unrealistic political stunt. Some already have waged successful legal battles against the Trump administration's threat two years ago to slash federal funding to sanctuary cities.

Libby Schaaf, the mayor of Oakland, California, called the plan "an outrageous abuse of power - using human beings to settle political scores." San Francisco Mayor London Breed said it "is just another in a long line of scare tactics and half-baked ideas."

Mayor Joseph Curtatone of Somerville, Massachusetts,which has a population of 81,000, said he would welcome any immigrants the government wants to send his way.

"Fine by me," he said on Twitter, firing back at Trump. "But does he realize that the moment after people get 'placed' they'll start moving to wherever they want to go? Every city has an open border."

Homeland Security prefers to jail immigrants until they are eligible for deportation, but officials are releasing tens of thousands every year because of mass migration from Central America, rising numbers of families, limited detention space and legal restrictions on how long the government can detain children.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection apprehended 103,000 migrants last month - double the number in March 2018 - including nearly 60,000 family members.

CBP typically transfers migrants to ICE for detention, though this year holding cells grew so crowded that border agents started releasing some families at the border. ICE can also release migrants on bond or ankle-monitoring devices after verifying their future address and handing them a notice to appear in immigration court. Unaccompanied migrants are sent to Health and Human Services shelters, where case workers find a parent or guardian for them to live with in the United States.

Congress has allocated billions of dollars for this system, and none of it involves transporting immigrants to sanctuary cities - which some say makes the president's plan illegal.

"It makes no sense," said John Sandweg, an acting ICE director in 2013 and 2014 in the Obama administration, adding that it would violate federal law by diverting money "for political purposes."

"At a time like this, when ICE is just overwhelmed by the number of Central Americans arriving, having to divert further resources to send a political message is outrageous," he said.

Sandweg said the government "would pay big money" for the White House's plan to deliver migrants to sanctuary cities. In addition to transportation costs, officials would have to assign immigration agents to escort them to their destinations. Currently, migrants usually buy their own bus or airline tickets.

"It's ludicrous," Sandweg said. "It's meddling in operations at an extreme level."

Matthew Albence, ICE's acting deputy director, questioned the proposal in an email to the White House in November after it was first raised as a possibility, saying that arranging for transportation would strain the department and weaken its enforcement efforts.

"As a result of the influx at the border and the record number of aliens in detention, we have already had to decrease our interior operational footprint to manage these cases, resulting in less officers out on the streets making arrests of criminal aliens, public safety threats, fugitives, and other immigration violators," Albence wrote in an email reviewed by The Washington Post. "Not sure how paying to transport aliens to another location to release them - when they can be released on the spot - is a justified expenditure."

After heeding Albence's advice not to pursue the idea, the White House went back to DHS in February to try again. Legal advisers rejected it.

Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors less immigration, said the plan would give migrants a free ride to their destinations. Because sanctuary cities often refuse to turn over migrants arrested for crimes to ICE, sending them there could make it more difficult to apprehend for deportation later, she said.

Vaughan said White House officials who are new to immigration policy have likely overstepped in this case.

"There are a lot of immigration policy amateurs in senior positions at the White House, and some of them should stay in their lane - which is not immigration," she said.

On the campaign trail in 2016, Trump said blocking funding for sanctuary cities would be a top priority, saying at the time: "Cities that refuse to cooperate with federal authorities will not receive taxpayer dollars, and we will work with Congress to pass legislation to protect those jurisdictions that do assist federal authorities."

But Congress has not passed any such legislation, and Trump's other efforts to stem migration have faced legal challenges. At least seven federal courts have blocked the Trump administration from broadly cutting off funds to sanctuary jurisdictions.

Vaughan said the Trump administration has conditioned some Justice Department crime-fighting grants on local cooperation with immigration enforcement. But generally that is limited to a provision in federal law that says local governments cannot prohibit communication between police and federal immigration agents.

The law does not require localities to detain immigrants after police have arrested them for an unrelated crime, but ICE can pick them up when a judge releases them from their criminal cases.

After Trump took office, sanctuary jurisdictions were initially fearful that he would restrict their federal funding for school lunches, fuel aid and other essential programs. But those fears faded as they prevailed in court.

Hundreds of localities have since strengthened their sanctuary policies, according to the San Francisco-based Immigrant Legal Resource Center. California passed a slate of new laws and the highest court in Massachusetts said local law enforcement cannot detain someone based solely on an immigration detainer.

Curtatone, Somerville's mayor, said the city is "always going to be a sanctuary and welcoming city for all" and that an influx of immigrants wouldn't change much for cities such as his.

"Somerville has experienced a continuous wave of immigration now for well over a century of Europeans and those from the Caribbean and Central and South America," he said in a telephone interview. "We speak more than 52 languages in our neighborhoods and our schools. We embrace it."

- - -

The Washington Post's Fred Barbash contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump on Friday tweeted a video attacking Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., for the way she phrased a reference to 9/11, adding fuel to a controversy that has swelled in Republican political circles this week.

The video showed snippets of comments Omar made last month at a banquet for a Muslim civil rights organization interspersed with footage of the twin towers burning.

"WE WILL NEVER FORGET!" Trump tweeted, along with the video.

On Thursday, the New York Post had helped set the tone by publishing a front page that showed her comment, "Some people did something," over a similar image.

The remarks in question came in March, as Omar, one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, spoke about Islamophobia at an event held by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil-liberties group. The white-supremacist shooting that left 50 Muslim worshipers dead at two mosques in New Zealand had occurred the week before.

"For far too long we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen and, frankly, I'm tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it," she said, in the middle of a roughly 20-minute speech. "CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties. So you can't just say that today someone is looking at me strange and that I am trying to make myself look pleasant. You have to say that this person is looking at me strange, I am not comfortable with it, and I am going to talk to them and ask them why. Because that is the right you have."

The speech had drawn a protest outside at the time and even news coverage from conservative-leaning outlets such as the Washington Times, which noted that she told fellow Muslims to "raise hell," and "make people uncomfortable," as they sought to defend their rights.

But this week conservatives began to fixate on a different portion of the speech, after CAIR posted a video on Tuesday: the four words she used to refer to 9/11, as "some people did something."

The comments were the focus of harsh broadsides from people such as Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronda McDaniel, Donald Trump Jr., and "Fox & Friends" host Brian Kilmeade, who questioned whether Omar, a Somali refuge, was "an American first."

And after the New York Post put it on such an incendiary cover, some liberals began to speak up against it, saying they felt it was an incitement to violence against Omar, who has been the target of threats and overt Islamophobia.

"Such an ungenerous interpretation of her remarks is only possible if one is inclined to believe that Omar sympathizes more with terrorists than her murdered countrymen," Zak Cheney-Rice at New York magazine wrote. "That she spoke them in the course of decrying Islamophobia makes it especially disconcerting that her political opponents would decontextualize them to fan the flames - she receives regular death threats on the basis of her faith, including from one New York man who threatened recently to 'put a bullet in her . . . skull.'"

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., called for more Democrats to speak out to defend her this week.

"Members of Congress have a duty to respond to the President's explicit attack today," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. "@IlhanMN's life is in danger."

Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders tweeted that Omar is "a leader with strength and courage."

"She won't back down to Trump's racism and hate, and neither will we," he wrote. "The disgusting and dangerous attacks against her must end."

Trump has long wielded 9/11 as a political weapon. In the early part of his presidential campaign, he spread a falsehood that "thousands," of people in New Jersey - where there is a "heavy Arab population," he said - he celebrated as the twin towers came crashing down.

During a primary debate in 2016, he went after such rivals as Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., over George W. Bush's failure to prevent 9/11.

"The World Trade Center came down during your brother's reign. Remember that," Trump told Bush.

In 2010, Trump made a highly publicized offer to purchase a contentious site that an Egyptian business planned to build an Islamic community center on near Ground Zero.
NAIROBI, Kenya - After 30 years with one president, Sudan has had two new heads of state in just two days.

On Thursday, following four months of the biggest street protests in a generation, the country's defense minister and vice president, Awad Ibn Auf, took to state radio to announce the arrest of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and his own supremacy over a two-year military-led transitional government.

Just a day later, he stepped down, giving way to Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, another high-ranking military officer, demonstrating the tumult underlying Bashir's ouster.

Both Ibn Auf and Burhan were members of Bashir's inner circle, though Ibn Auf was more directly associated with the military campaign in Sudan's Darfur region that led to allegations of war crimes and genocide against Bashir.

Burhan is also a career military man. Until recently, he served as the head of the military's ground forces and was instrumental in sending Sudanese troops to Yemen's civil war to fight on the side of the Saudi-backed government.

Ibn Auf was not a man of the people like Bashir once was, no matter how despised he became. The 65-year-old was a career military man in a country where the military is mostly known for repression and atrocities.

"I, the defense minister, chairman of the High Security Committee, announce the uprooting of the regime and placing its head under custody in a safe location after arresting" Bashir, he said Thursday, without a quiver in his voice as he announced a two-year transitional military government.

His handover to Burhan was equally direct. "I am confident he will steer the ship to safe shores," Ibn Auf said of Burhan, according to the Associated Press, adding that he was stepping aside to "preserve unity" of the armed forces.

Some protesters celebrated the handover, according to witnesses in the capital, Khartoum, but others vowed to continue their sit-in until a civilian-led government was put in place.

In a tweet, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for Africa, Tibor Nagy, urged authorities to respect the Sudanese people's call for "an inclusive and representative civilian-led government now."

On Friday, Ibn Auf announced Bashir would not be handed over to the International Criminal Court, where he is charged with committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Sudan's western region of Darfur more than a decade ago. Instead, he said, Bashir might be tried within Sudan. Most analysts say the military establishment's ties to the atrocities in Darfur mean a fair prosecution of Bashir in Sudan is improbable.

Ibn Auf rose to a high rank just as Bashir's government was gearing up for its campaign against a raggedy band of rebels in Darfur, which borders Chad.

There, Ibn Auf, by then chief of military intelligence and security, liaised with the Janjaweed - a collection of ethnic Arab militias that brutally raped, pillaged and killed their way through the region, burning much of it to the ground and forcing millions of people to flee.

In 2006, he was sanctioned by the U.S. government for his role in Darfur, and he remains on the sanctions list today. He is one of just a handful of world leaders on this list, which includes North Korea's Kim Jong Un, Syria's Bashar Assad and Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro.

The ICC did not indict Ibn Auf. Pending further investigation, however, he still could be prosecuted by an international court.

"Because he could still face prosecution for war crimes, he would not have been taken off the [sanctions] list, so that he could not use assets or financial resources to aid in avoiding said prosecution," said Neil Bhatiya, a sanctions expert at the Center for a New American Security.

Bashir appointed Ibn Auf as vice president in February, as protests rocked Sudan.

As the protests morphed into a vast sit-in in Khartoum this week, Ibn Auf told a group of military chiefs that "Sudan's armed forces understand the reasons for the demonstrations and are not against the demands and aspirations of the citizens, but will not allow the country to fall into chaos," according to local media.

In his speech Thursday upon assuming power, Ibn Auf declared a curfew, which many protesters saw as an attempt to shut down the round-the-clock sit-in.

Thursday night, however, the military did not enforce the curfew. And on Friday morning, Ibn Auf's political chief, Omar Zenalabdin, said in a televised address that the military council was "the protector of the demands of the people" and that the two-year transition could be shortened if matters are handled "without chaos."

He added that the military council plans to hold a dialogue with protesters.

"They need to come to the middle, of course, otherwise these protests won't go away," said Magdi el-Gizouli, a Sudanese analyst at the Rift Valley Institute. "But we can be sure they will at least try to remain sovereign as a guarantee of their own ultimate power."
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 13)  A fishermen who earlier turned over 34 blocks of cocaine to the Surigao del Sur police is now facing charges for keeping six bricks of the illegal substance.

In a press release Friday, the Caraga regional police identified the "Good Samaritan"-turned-suspect as Ronie Arpilleda Navales, 48. Police said Navales violated Section 11 of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 for illegal possession of drugs, an act that is punishable with life imprisonment.

On February 23, Navales, along with another fishermen turned over to authorities cocaine bricks weighing 43.62 kilograms, which police said can be worth around 231 million. The fishermen said they found the blocks in waters off Purok Santan, Barangay Bungtod in Tandag City.

Police said Navales "intentionally kept" the six bricks to sell them. He was put under surveillance after the police received reports that cocaine was being sold in the province.

Navales later turned himself in, surrendering four cocaine bricks. He said the other two were "flushed in the toilet bowl," police said.

In February, police found nearly 165 kilograms of cocaine in a number of coastal villages with an estimated value of over 871 million. The Philippine National Police said blocks with the same packaging as the cocaine bricks found in the country's eastern seaboard were discovered in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands last year.

Caraga police chief Gilberto Cruz urged the public to "not be blinded by the greed of money for it will only bring trouble to you and your family."

Street value of cocaine in the Philippines ranges from 4,500 to 5,300 per gram - over a thousand pesos cheaper than the prevalent shabu.
Six-year-old Lilliana Bernal has always felt nervous performing in front of crowds.

But this time was different: Even as the audience grew beyond the childrens stage at Oyster Bake, one of San Antonios largest Fiesta events, the little girl didnt feel the usual showtime jitters over her impending dance routine.

This is her first time doing Fiesta and her performance, said her mother, Andrea Bernal as she applied shimmery eyeshadow on Lilliana, who was performing a hip-hop routine with the Danzavida de San Antonio Dance Company.

Youre going to do great, the mother reassured her daughter, giving her a hug.

With a grin, Lilliana confidently replied, Well, I have rhythm.

Dressed in a rainbow-colored sequined dance outfit and a hot pink tutu, Bernal was ready to wow the crowd at Oyster Bake, the Fiesta mainstay held each year at St. Marys University on San Antonios West Side.

Now in its 103rd year, the event is a fundraiser for St. Marys students. Over the years it has evolved into a celebration of music and food that attracts about 70,000 people over its two-day run, according to its website.

The festivities will continue from noon to 11 p.m. Saturday.

The event traditionally takes place on the first weekend of Fiesta, but with Easter falling on April 21, this years Oyster Bake is happening the weekend before the official start of the citywide festival on April 18.

The event typically features a lineup of rock, country, R&B, rap and Tejano stars, old and new, spread across multiple stages. This year, Warren G, the rapper best known for the 1994 hit Regulate, headlined the event, joined by other artists including Seether, Wade Bowen and Montgomery Gentry.

On Friday, the festivals opening night, a cover of Selenas Bidi Bidi Bom Bom echoed across the crowds as Ernie Alcala watched over heaps of oysters piled onto a smoking grill. As the man who volunteered to take charge of the mollusks, Alcala arrived at St. Marys at 10 a.m. to clean the grill, where some of the roughly 100,000 oysters consumed at the festival would be prepared, he said.

We grew up in the community and I remember coming to this event as a kid and into my teens, said Alcala, who now owns an automotive repair shop nearby. So when we were approached to help, it was a no brainer.

Aided by a group of his employees, Alcala expected to tend the oyster station until midnight Friday.

But those who flocked to Oyster Bake Friday could sample far more than seafood. Booths selling carnival favorites such as funnel cakes, fried cheesecake, chicken-on-a-stick, tacos and frozen lemonade lined the campus, which swarmed with San Antonio residents decked out in flower crowns and sashes that clinked with Fiesta medals.

Elizabeth and Bobby Guerra were among those camped out by the rock stage. They watched as families wheeled their toddlers in wagons and groups of teens stopped to take selfies. For the recently-retired couple, attending Oyster Bake has become a much-loved tradition, one they started almost 20 years ago.

I love, love coming here every year because its a party, Bobby Guerra said.

Its Friday, added his wife, Elizabeth. You can let the week roll off you.

marina.riker@express-news.net
World-famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma brought his Bach Project to San Antonio on Friday night, holding a sold-out audience rapt for about 135 minutes with the genius of J.S. Bach in what undoubtedly will be one of the states classical music highlights this year.

More than 2,700 people packed Trinity Universitys Laurie Auditorium to hear Ma perform Bachs six unaccompanied cello suites, presented by Arts San Antonio. Many more people viewed the live concert via a simulcast at Mission Marquee Plaza in San Antonio and at Texas A&M International University in Laredo.

Mas concert started a two-day event that is part of the second year of the 2018-19 worldwide tour called the Bach Project. The project is 36 concerts presenting the Bach cello suites coupled with a day of action, or a community event using music to spark dialogues.

After Fridays concert, Ma was flown to Laredo to perform Saturday at one of the border citys bridges and at venues in both Laredo and Nuevo Laredo.

The San Antonio Bach Project concert Friday night was the only one scheduled in Texas, although it was Mas third appearance in San Antonio this decade after the 2011 Silk Road Ensemble concert at the Majestic Theatre and a performance of the Dvorak Cello Concerto in 2015 with the San Antonio Symphony in the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts.

Mas magnetic stage presence is stronger than ever. He just has to walk on stage, and the audience is his.

I just want to say how great San Antonio is, Ma said after the third suite. You are amazing people. I feel the family you give one another. It goes beyond borders.

Bachs six cello suites each unfold in six movements, equaling 36 movements that can be heard as a prism into human inner life, its emotions and thoughts, at a timeless, profound level.

Ma, 63, has recorded the suites commercially three times, reflecting his evolving powers of interpretation at different life stages. It is music he has intimately known virtually his entire life. Playing them straight through is a feat of mental and physical stamina, especially when it is all from memory.

What the Laurie Auditorium audience heard Friday night is probably the most advanced interpretation in skill and expression since the suites were composed around 1720. Dignity, sadness, joy and celebration flowed from the set of suites made complicated by the meter switches, the implied multiple melodic lines, the arpeggios and shifting key changes.

As much concentration as the suites required of Ma, the same is necessary by the audience, which included Mayor Ron Nirenberg. Friday nights audience was prepared, falling into the musics hypnotic spell, starting from the first suites prelude, which is one of several movements of the 36 that have been popularized over the past century.

Oh, what sweet touches he gave certain passages, like the minuet in the first suite, the bourree in the second one and the swaying sarabande in the fourth. It was a performance of ripeness and maturity. The final gigue in the sixth suite just soared.

The concerts encore also may qualify as one of the biggest stage surprises of the year. San Antonios legendary conjunto accordian star Flaco Jimenez, 80, joined Ma for a performance of the hit Las Golondrinas. The audience was both amazed and pleased at the crossover combination of talent.

hendrickd53@yahoo.com
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

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A Longford solicitors attempts to avoid answering as to whether his client had a fondness for drink sparked comical scenes in court last week when the issue was described as being an ecumenical matter.

Frank Gearty made the admission at last Tuesdays sitting of Longford District Court while defending Polish father of two Stanislew Wszolek (49), 15 The Laurels, Ballinalee Road, Longford.

The meat factory worker had been in attendance to face charges relating to dangerous and drink driving offences at Drumlish on January 8, 2019.

Mr Gearty said his client would be willing to plead guilty to both charges in view of a second dangerous driving charge at Cahanagh, Drumlish being withdrawn by the State.

Sgt Paddy McGirl said the incident before the court took place at around 7pm when the accused crossed a continuous white line and into the path of an oncoming car which was travelling past local cement firm Mulleadys.

The incident, he said, caused the motorist to pull in and slow down as Mr Wszolek continued towards Longford.

A short time later, Sgt McGirl said the defendants car was spotted attempting to go round a bend at Church Street on the incorrect side of the road seconds before gardai managed to stop the vehicle on Main Street.

As he begun his defence, Mr Gearty said Mr Wszolek was holding his hands up over being intoxicated on the evening and was remorseful over what had happened.

He is not in any way proud as to what he did, said Mr Gearty, saying the incident and its fallout was likely to have an awful inconvenience for him.

As Mr Gearty described how Mr Wszolek was a foreman in a local meat factory for the past eight years, Judge Hughes asked the Polish native if Brexit was a concern for him.

No, was the reply given by Mr Wszoleck.

Mr Gearty, interjecting for a second time, said his client had two adult daughters living in Krakow who he continued to support.

Taking note of that and the insistence by Mr Gearty that the episode was very much out of character, Judge Hughes asked Mr Wszolek if he had a penchant for alcohol.

With no response appearing forthcoming, Mr Gearty jokingly leaned forward and said: As Fr Jack would say, that would be an ecumenical matter.

It was statement which left many inside the court struggling to hide their amusement.

Mr Wszoleck, himself, replied: No soon after to further probings from Judge Hughes as to whether he had an attachment to alcohol.

Like a lot of people off the road (banned), you dont like drink, Judge Hughes responded.

In finalising the case, Judge Hughes disqualified Mr Wszoleck for three years on the Section 4 drink driving charge alongside a 250 fine.

A concurrent two year ban for dangerous driving and a further 105 fine was likewise issued with the remaining charges being struck out.
The Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) has advised all Longford motorists who are expecting to drive in Northern Ireland or the rest of the UK in the days immediately after Brexit, that they still have time to get their Green Cards.



Policyholders from Longford who may be impacted and have not already received a Green Card are encouraged to contact their insurance providers this week to ensure they receive their documentation before the updated Brexit date April 12.

The MIBI is also advising motorists around the country who will not need to drive in Northern Ireland or other parts of the UK instantly after Brexit to contact their insurance provider one month in advance of their journey.

Green Cards are internationally recognised insurance documents which provide proof of insurance cover to law enforcement agencies. It is a hard copy document which is printed on green paper or with a green background.

If there is a no deal Brexit, then any motorist who plans on driving their Irish registered vehicle in Northern Ireland or the UK is advised to ensure they have a Green Card or they could possibly be subjected to the penalties for driving uninsured after that date.

Longford motor insurance policyholders who have not received any communication from their insurance provider on this matter and expect to need a Green Card immediately after Brexit, should contact their provider as soon as possible.

We would encourage any motorist from Longford who needs one to contact their insurance provider this week, said David Fitzgerald, Chief Executive of the MIBI.
The hu-ha over the handing over of some Catholic schools in Dublin to multi-denominational status may just be the best thing ever to have happened.

It resonated the Brexit catastrophe where leaving seemed a great idea but the alternative had not even been considered.

At least, in this case, there is time to construct a strategy for the hand over that will suit the present generation of parents and their children.

The letter from some schools in north Co Dublin to the parents, may have been a bit extreme in outlining the elimination of all religious celebrations, but what exactly was envisaged?

I have often been puzzled, particularly in recent years, as to why non-believers celebrate Christmas and Easter?

I suppose it's a matter of universal agreement on these occasions?

Having secular patronage in schools may be a good thing, and may return the moral and spiritual guidance to the home and the family.

A healthy knowledge of other people, irrespective of religious persuasion is good, & the younger it can be experienced the better it can be because I believe that no child is born biased. That is something they learn from the adults! In the house, and surroundings, growing up.

We have seen the positive results in Northern Ireland when the Catholic & Protestant children went to school together.

After years of partition within their communities, they finally learned that we are all just the same.
Ballymahon Vocational School will host the first Ballymahon Darkness into Light Walk on Saturday, May 11 at 4.15am.

Darkness Into Light (DIL) is the flagship annual fundraising and awareness event for Pieta House.

It started with approximately 400 people walking the 5km course in Dublins Phoenix Park in 2009.

This May, hundreds of thousands of people in over 200 locations around the world will get together to walk from the darkness of night into the light of morning to help us in the global fight against suicide and self-harm.

Symbolically the walk represents the therapeutic counselling journey.

It sparks conversation about the importance of mental health and wellbeing in all our lives.

The entry fees raised around the world allows Pieta House and their international charity partners to continue to deliver vital services.

By signing up to walk you are generating awareness and hope.

By participating you are helping to highlight the effect of suicide and self-harm you are raising awareness and helping to end the stigma.

With the communities support, Pieta House hope to drive home a simple but powerful message  that we are all in this together.

One tribe, unified in a movement thats working to break the stigma of self-harm and suicide.

Pieta House want people to live in a world where self-care replaces self-harm, where reasons for living replace reasons for dying.

An official launch of the Ballymahon DIL walk will take place this evening Wednesday, April 10 at Ballymahon Vocational School, with a guest speaker.

Walkers of every age and ability are invited to attend and they also encouraged to register online at www.darknessintolight.ie.

Join us on May 11 and lets walk together for a brighter future.
Killoe Yew Tree Players have been doing extremely well for themselves of late. Their most recent production, Wake in the West, completely sold out on all three nights last month, prompting the group to bring it back for one night only due to popular demand.

And that particular night turned out to be even more special as one member of the audience turned out to be the playwright himself, Michael J Ginnelly.

Chairperson of the Killow Yew Tree Players Micheal Dunne welcomed Mr Ginnelly and said how truly honoured the group was to have him join them on the night.

A Mayo man, from Mulranny, Mr Ginnelly travelled the two and a half hour journey to see the Killoe group take to the stage with his hit play, which was expertly directed by Micky Kenny.

After the performance Michael J Ginnelly was invited backstage to meet the director, the cast and crew.

He told the story of how the play was written 20 years ago and he did nothing with it at the time.

It was never published; the local group in Mulranny staged it but it was thrown back in a drawer at home, he explained.

It was when the Westport Drama Group asked to use it that the success of this play began and it has since been performed by theatre groups all over the country - and even as far afield as America and Australia.

Speaking of the performance by the Killoe group, Michael J Ginnelly was full of praise, remarking: I couldnt find a weakness in any of you.

He congratulated Mickey and the cast, saying he knew in the first five minutes it was going to be good .

Delivery was perfect; you can tell you are seasoned actors and actresses, he said.

Having a playwright come to see a local group perform his play is certainly something very special.

After his visit to Killoe Michael returned to Co Mayo wearing his new Killoe Jersey gifted to him by the group.

Read also: Hit play Wake in the West back in Longford by popular demand
Im sure you have been following recent developments in the Brexit negotiations very closely, so I wanted to give you a quick update about what all of this means for British people living here in Spain.



The European Council has agreed what is being called a flexible extension to the process of our departure from the European Union, until 31 October.



Flexible, because if the Withdrawal Agreement is approved by both the UK and the European Parliaments before then, we will leave on the first day of the month after that approval.



So for example, if we pass a deal in the first three weeks of May, the UK will leave the European Union on the first of June.



That would also mean we wont take part in elections to the European Parliament.

If, however, a deal is not passed by that point, European Parliamentary elections will take place in the UK.



And if you are registered to vote in European elections here in Spain, then you should be able to do so.



I understand all of this is unsettling and frustrating for many of you.



You want to know on what terms we are going to leave the European Union and what that may mean for you as a UK national living in Spain.



During this extension period, the UK remains a full member of the EU and consequently your existing rights will not change. So, for example, your rights to healthcare, to residency and to travel throughout the EU, remain exactly as they are today. Nonetheless, during this extension period, as we prepare to leave the European Union, it remains really important to ensure that you are correctly registered.



I understand, however, that many of you are finding it difficult to get appointments.

Let me assure you that we are talking with the Spanish authorities about this.



Meanwhile, the Spanish Government has advised that if you cant get an appointment now, you should make sure that youve got proof that you were living here before we leave the European Union, whether that be a padron certificate or utility bills.



The Spanish Government also advises on their Moncloa website on Brexit contingency measures, to keep checking for new appointments to become available.



Should we leave the EU with a deal, as we very much hope, you will have until the end of the Implementation Period, currently set at 31 December 2020, to register, if you have not done so already.



Should we, however, leave without a deal, as could still happen, the Spanish Government has said you will have a 21-month grace period from the date of our departure to register.

You can also prepare by signing up for email alerts for our Living in Spain guide on gov.uk or by joining our Brits in Spain Facebook community, where you can also find some videos on what you need to do to prepare for Brexit on issues such as registration, driving licences, healthcare and travel.

I wish you and your families a very happy Easter.
A Massachusetts State Police trooper working a detail assignment Saturday morning crashed into a woman who was crossing the street in East Boston, officials said.

The trooper was driving through the intersection of Bennington Street and Vienna Street around 5:30 a.m. when he struck the woman, state police said in a statement.

The 58-year-old woman was crossing the road, heading to work, according to state police.

The woman was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital for treatment of injuries that are not considered life-threatening, state police said.

The trooper was also taken to the hospital for treatment of emotional distress, the statement said.

State police did not identify the woman or trooper.

At the time of the crash it was rainy and dark, state police said.

No further information was released. The crash is under investigation.
Sgt. Sean Gannons K-9 partner Nero laid in a veterinary hospital room after suffering from a gunshot wound a year ago. Plastic tubes delivered him oxygen. IVs replenished his fluids. Peter McClelland offered him companionship.

There was never a minute that there wasnt somebody with that dog besides the staff, McClelland said. Twenty-four hours a day there was at least one K-9 guy out in the lobby. They had a room for us.

A 6 a.m. K-9 Police escort cleared the way for Nero from a hospital in Dennis to Bourne the morning after he was shot.

For a week, until Nero was released, McClelland spent 23 hours a day by the dogs side. The hour away for the former Yarmouth K-9 officer was spent at home for a shower and a change of clothes. Veterinarians and their assistants at Cape Cod Veterinary Specialists in Bourne scattered blankets next to Nero. McClelland used them as a bed to sleep by Gannons partner.

Still, he couldnt sleep. He didnt eat. He began to lose weight.

My wife was down visiting and she got the ear of one of the pet techs and said I wasnt eating like I should. All of a sudden I had 10 new wives or 10 mothers coming up asking, Do you have anything today? Do you need something? McClelland said. So the way they treated us and the way they treated him was beyond belief.

A year later, Nero is retired but healthy. However, Neros partner, died that day, but mans best friend hasnt stopped honoring Gannon.

Yarmouths Police Department sells miniature Nero stuffed animals with the proceeds funding the Yarmouth Police Foundation. Some of the funds will go to construct a K-9 training facility - a dream of Gannons - behind Yarmouth Police Department.

Sean Gannon trained as much as anybody if not more than most people both on and off duty. Physically fit, a real example to professional policing, Yarmouth Police Chief Frank Frederickson said. Prior to last April 12, he was instrumental in starting to build a K-9 facility out back, improving it.

McClelland first introduced Nero to Gannon in the fall of 2016. He was offered the puppy from a breeder in Plymouth. When Yarmouths K-9 unit showed a need for a dog, Nero appeared to be a perfect fit since McClelland had been training him.

At the start of the fall, Nero spent half the time with Gannon and half with McClelland. By the end of the fall, Nero and Gannon were partners.

It was a nice thing. Nero just loved being with him. They had a very close relationship, McClelland said. In the way it should be. I think the No. 1 characteristic to making a good handler is the handler really having a connection with his dog and wanting to be with his dog.

Nero is a Malinois otherwise known as a Belgian Shepherd. The breed of is known to be independent. Nero bucked that characteristic.

The high end ones are sometimes very independent, McClelland said. But Nero had more of a softer side to him. He just loved being with people. Whoever was in his life, the dog became very attached to that person.

Dara Gannon, Seans wife, visited Nero while he was recovering. Sedated with tubes linked to his body, Nero still noticed Dara and began to wag his tail.

He knew her right away, McClelland said. You could tell by his tail. He was very, very happy to see her.

In retirement, Nero now lives with Dara. McClelland visits often. He shows no signs of the injured he sustained a year ago.

When he comes to see me after hes been at their house, hell be real excited with me, McClelland said. And then when its time to go back to Dara, hes excited there. Hes got the best of both worlds.
Authorities have identified the man killed in single-car crash on I-91 in Holyoke Thursday as 25-year-old Nathan Guevara of Westfield.

The Massachusetts State Police said in a release that Guevara was killed when the car he was driving southbound on I-91 near the Scenic Rest Area drove off the side of the roadway and rolled over.

Guevara was pronounced dead at the scene of the 11:30 p.m. crash, while a 23-year-old woman and a 4-year-old boy riding in the car were transported to the Baystate Medical Center with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

The State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section and Crime Scene Services are continuing to investigate why the 2008 Nissan Sentra ran off the right side of the highway that evening.

The Northampton Fire Department firefighters and ambulance responded to the crash as did MassDOT personnel who aided in closing the highway.
Vermont State Police said they believe they have found the body of a man wanted for a New Hampshire double murder.

In a press release, police said troopers searching property in Vernon, Vermont owned by the family of Derrick Shippee found the body of a male they say is the suspect in a double shooting in Hinsdale, New Hampshire, just across the Connecticut River from Vernon.

New Hampshire police found the bodies of Neal Bolster, 29, and 19-year-old Aaliyah Jacobs in a Plain Road home Thursday afternoon. Both had been shot to death. Soon after authorities began requesting public help in locating Shippee, saying he is the suspect in the deaths.

Late Friday afternoon, Tactical Service troopers of the Vermont State Police searching in the area of 138 Sak Road in Vernon discovered the body of a male they initially identified as Shippee. The body has been sent to the Chief Medical Examiners Office for an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death. However, police said the death is not suspicious.
The New England Patriots and safety Patrick Chung agreed to a one-year contract extension Friday that will keep Chung with the team through 2021, according to a report from ESPNs Field Yates.

Chungs deal has reset to a three-year agreement worth up to $12.9 million that includes a $4 million signing bonus, per ESPNs Mike Reiss. The 31-year-old safety has started for the Patriots every season since his return to the franchise in 2014 following a one-year hiatus in Philadelphia. Chung was named a team captain for the first time last season.

Patrick Chung: 3 yrs, $12.9m



Signing bonus: $4m



2019

Base: 1.1m

Roster: 750k

Workout: 100k



2020

Base: 2.9m

Roster: 375k

Incentives: 600k

W/O: 100k



2021

Base: 1.9m

Roster: 375k

Incentives: 600k

W/O: 100k



Chungs role has expanded well beyond his prior salary. Rewarded w/ bump  Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) April 13, 2019

His versatility helped New Englands defense evolve into an elite unit during the late stages of its Super Bowl run. Chung took snaps at both safety and linebacker, occasionally lining up as the only linebacker on the field. He totaled 84 tackles, two QB hits, an interception and a half-sack over the regular season.

Chung broke his arm during the Patriots 13-3 triumph over the Rams in Super Bowl LIII. He is expected to be ready for training camp this summer.
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by Wayne Friedman , April 12, 2019

Video streaming TV platforms took a hit in the wake of Walt Disneys big announcement of Disney+, its new ad-free streaming service.

Netflix witnessed its stock close down 4.5% on Friday to $351.15, while Roku lost 3.7% to $56.50.

Netflixs streaming on-demand service -- with some 140 million global subscribers and 60 million U.S. subscribers -- looks to be a main competitor for Disney+.

Disney estimates Disney+ could hit 60 million to 90 million subscribers in five years, with 20 million to 30 million subscribers in the U.S. The company is pricing Disney+ at $6.99 a month -- much lower than the $12.99 that Netflix charges for its most popular service.

Roku is the dominant connected TV set-top box/software platform, with some 27.1 million subscribers. Roku consumers can access thousands of networks and apps.

While Thursdays Disney announcement focused largely on the new Disney+ platform set for a November 12 launch, company executives also played up the idea of packaging three of its digital platforms -- Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ -- in a discounted package.

Analysts believe this will have some effect in competing with new virtual OTT services that carry a wide variety of TV networks/platforms, including on-demand programming.
Marvel's 'Avengers: Endgame' may not be the only blockbuster this year that is turning heads, as we finally got to know more about the latest Star Wars movie. The movie was first teased a few months ago and now we finally have the first teaser trailer and title of the movie. The movie's title is 'The Rise of The Skywalker' and we will try to decipher what it means.

In 'The Last Jedi', Rey, Finn, Poe and Rose were left outnumbered and outmatched by the Empire trying to survive. 'The Rise of The Skywalker' will be the last movie that will be the end of the Skywalker saga, however, we still need to figure out what the hell is happening. Being a devout 'Star Wars' fan for the past 20 years, here's my take on the teaser trailer:

Lando Is Back!

(c) Lucasfilm

Lando Calrissian, played by Billy Dee Williams, had a major role in the original trilogy and we finally get to see him for the third trilogy instalment. During the panel discussion, he was wearing his familiar yellow and black outfit and is back in the seat of the Millennium Falcon. Sure, Han Solo is the only pilot we want to associate Falcon with, but the only the person acceptable to pilot the falcon was Lando and we are glad to see him back.

Leia Is Back Too!

(c) Lucasfilm

Sadly, we lost Carrie Fisher before she could start shooting for Episode IX, however, we saw her in the teaser trailer hugging Rey. These are shots that didn't make it to 'The Last Jedi' and are now being used for the final film of the trilogy. The scene is apparently taking place in the resistance base on the planet D'Qar and we will know more about this scene once the movie is out.

The Medal Of Bravery

(c) Lucasfilm

One of the most iconic scenes from 'The New Hope' were when Han and Luke got shiny medals for their bravery shown at the battle of Yavin IV. We finally got to see those medals again in the new teaser trailer.

The Death Star Wreck

(c) Lucasfilm

We haven't seen any reference to the Death Star in the new trilogy, however, it seems like we got a glimpse of the wreck site. The wreck is very similar to the wreck of a Star Destroyer we got to see in 'The Force Awakens' and it may just be the Death Star. The curves in the wreckage are a huge hint at something circular which we generally associate with the Death Star.

Kylo's Helmet Is Repaired

(c) Lucasfilm

Even though I feel that Kylo Ren was trying too hard to be Darth Vader in the first movie of the new trilogy, it is kind of satisfying to see his helmet make a return. It was destroyed by Rey in The Last Jedi and is probably the most iconic scene in the entire trilogy. In the teaser, we see that helmet being repaired and reformed, with a strong emphasis on the cracks

The Big Reveal

(c) Lucasfilm

Overall, the teaser trailer was good but not mind-blowing until the very end. The teaser trailer ends with a very familiar cackle every 'Star Wars' fan can recognise. The cackling laughter belongs to the Emperor. Even though we were confused at first, it was later confirmed when Ian MacDiarmid who has been playing the character since 1983, came on stage and reaffirmed our suspicion.

From the last time we remember, Palpatine was thrown down a pit by Darth Vader in the Death Star 2.0 and later exploded in the vacuum of space. We aren't entirely sure how Disney plans to bring him back. He may just come back as a force ghost, a hologram recording or even back from the dead. We will have to wait for more information.

'Star Wars: The Rise of The Skywalker' hits theatres on Dec. 20, 2019.
Donald Trump hasn't been the most popular President the United States has ever seen. Rather he became (in)famous for all the fallacious, absurd and often unacceptable things he says and does.

2018 stood witness to one such cruel undertaking by the Trump Government which led to a worldwide public outcry - that is, the Trump administration family separation policy. His zero tolerance policy for illegal immigrants caught crossing the US borders led to this savagery.

Central American immigrants seeking asylum in the US walk along the new Bollard-style border fence before being taken into custody by US Border Patrol agents in El Paso, Texas. #immigration #border #gettyimages #gettyimagesnews pic.twitter.com/3TX4qXnUda  John Moore (@jbmoorephoto) February 5, 2019

Last year saw thousands of Central Americans crossing over to the American land through the US-Mexico border in order to escape conflict, generalized violence and targeted persecution in their home states. These forced migrations led to the separation of thousands of young children from their parents and put into detention centres upon their arrival in the US under Trump's orders.

Central American families wait at a border fence after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico to El Paso, Texas. They said they had arrived the evening before, waiting by the fence overnight to request asylum from US Border Patrol agents. #Immigration #gettyimages #gettyimagesnews pic.twitter.com/Lsj6P1gW8i  John Moore (@jbmoorephoto) February 4, 2019

Veteran Getty photographer John Moore was clicking photos of US Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley on June 12, 2018, when he encountered a caravan of migrants who were trying to cross the US border. During this time, Moore had taken a picture of a Honduran mother Sandra Sanchez and her daughter Yanela illegally crossing the US-Mexico border.

(c) Twitter

(c) Getty Images

The picture showed the haunting image of a 2-year-old girl crying under panic as the pair was taken into custody by US border officials. The picture was circulated worldwide and led to a public outcry over the controversial policy to separate thousands of migrants and their children.

Central American immigrants wade across the Rio Grande, which forms the US-Mexico border and walk along the border fence, located about 100 yards inland from the river, to request political asylum in the U.S. #Immigration #undocumented #Border #gettyimages @GettyImagesNews pic.twitter.com/GaqWh1VaqG  John Moore (@jbmoorephoto) February 4, 2019

Now, Moore's photograph has won the prestigious World Press Photo Award, and the judges said that the pictured showed "a different kind of violence that is psychological". Moreover, the public furore from around the world "resulted in President Donald Trump reversing the policy in June last year," the judges said.
The state of torrents, and the sites from where you download them have drastically changed over the last few years. A lot of popular websites serving torrents started to disappear. We did compile a list of working torrent websites to download movies and games, but sadly not all of them are readily accessible today.

But don't worry. We did the hard work of figuring out how to access the blocked torrent sites in the country, and here are some easy ways with which you can too:

1. Use A Web-Based Proxy

 HideMyAss

One of the easiest ways to access blocked torrent sites in India today is by using a web-based proxy. They're simply perfect for browsers and you can access pretty any torrent site, as long as it is active, of course. You can also use a dedicated proxy software like UltraSurf, but web-based proxies are the easiest ones to use. Simply access the proxy site, type the URL you want to enter and get going.

'HideMyAss' is a popular web-based proxy you can use. Of course, there are a ton of other web-based proxies out there, but not all of them are reliable. It is, however, worth pointing out that the proxy itself might be blocked by your ISP. Well, there's not a lot you can do in that case.

2. Use VPN

 VPNHub

A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is a way of bypassing pretty much all forms of censoring. A VPN will essentially route all of your traffic through their network, so one will know of the sites you're visiting. VPN can also be used to access content that's normally blocked in your geographical region. Just use a server of some other region, and you'll be good to go.

As for the VPN options, there are a ton of them that are readily available on the market. Tunnelbear, for instance, is a fairly popular and reliable option that you can use. You can down extensions for, say, Chrome browser and access the sites. Hola, DotVPN, are a few tried-and-tested options.

3. Tor

 Tor

If you are someone who likes to browse the internet with total anonymity, then we're sure you must have heard of Tor. Tor browser uses the Tor network to let you access the sites. The Tor network, in case you are wondering, works by constantly changing the IPs you are connected to, so it's almost impossible for anyone to trace back.

Tor has been one of the most popular ways to access torrent sites ever since they were blocked in the country. However, Tor can be super slow and painful to use for the most part.

4. Look For Magnet Links

 Unsplash

Even the most popular sites like The Pirate Bay now hosts only magnet links instead of torrent files. A magnet link, for those of you who don't know, is essentially a hyperlink containing the hash code for the torrent, which your torrent client can use to start finding those files.

Once you find the magnet link for the torrent that you are trying to download, you can simply click on it, and your browser will automatically open up your default BitTorrent client and start downloading. But where can you find these magnet links? Well, you'd find these magnet links easily on forums and some other third-party sites that host files.

Honestly, if you know what to download, then you probably already know where to look for these links.
It's been 4 years since I cut the cord and if you're looking to switch from traditional TV to streaming content, you will probably need a streaming device for your TV. Yes, you can watch content on your smartphone but nothing really beats the big screen. I personally own almost every possible streaming device that you can buy in India, in every room. If you are looking for a streaming device for your room, look no further than this list:

1. Apple TV

 BCCL

It's probably our go-to streaming box that supports every App out there. As a part of the Apple ecosystem, you get access to thousands of applications on Apple's App Store. Apart from applications, Apple TV can also support casual gaming and with Apple Arcade on its way, you will be able to play console-level games on this device. The Apple TV plays host to every essential app such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube and Hotstar. Apple is also launching its own video streaming service which you can read more about here. You can even get the 4K version if you own a 4K television.

2. Google Chromecast/Ultra

 BCCL

Chromecast is by far our favourite casting device that can take care of every streaming need. You can even mirror your Google Chrome tabs if you want to stream content from third-party sources. In fact, some of the video players on websites have direct native support for Chromecast. Applications such as Netflix, YouTube, and Hotstar can also stream content directly to Chromecast via your smart device or the Chrome browser. It even supports Google Assistant which is a nifty feature to have if you want to stream content effortlessly. Even though Google doesn't sell Chromecast Ultra officially in India, you can still get your hands on one through unofficial channels. It supports 4K streaming across all applications.

3. Amazon Fire TV

 Amazon

It's probably our least favourite streaming device on our list as we find the operating system clunky and slow. It does not have native support for YouTube, which is a big negative point for us. The original FireStick TV's remote is also notorious for draining out batteries extremely quickly. Make sure you always have spare batteries or rechargeable batteries handy. In terms of content, FireStick TV does have native support for Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and Hotstar. You can even use Kodi to manage your own library if you know what you're doing. There's also a 4K version available to buy which takes the viewing experience up by a notch.

4. Nvidia Shield TV

 Nvidia

Nvidia Shield is a device that is focused on streaming video but also appeals to gamers who own an Nvidia GPU. Nvidia Shield TV supports 4K resolution and HDR streaming based on the Android TV platform. You can play games from Android's app store or stream your PC games over WiFi. For 4K streaming, it supports all the major OTT services besides Hotstar.
Within the framework of regular bilateral consultations, a meeting was held today in Athens between delegations the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Greece and Turkey, headed by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Dimitris Paraskevopoulos, and by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Ambassador Sedat Onal.



The two delegations discussed issues concerning broader bilateral relations, as well as the promotion of a positive agenda for bilateral cooperation. Furthermore, the delegations assessed the current situation in the Aegean Sea and also discussed the international aspects of the Cyprus problem.
Members of the British comedy scene are mourning the passing of Ian Cognito, a comedian who died midway through his set on Thursday night near Oxford.

Cognito, whose real name is Paul Barbieri, was 60 years old and a veteran comic who had performed stand-up since the mid-1980s.

On the night he died, he was booked at the Lone Wolf Comedy Club in Bicester, not far away from Oxford. He had reportedly not been feeling well earlier in the evening, but resolved to perform anyway, the night's host, Andrew Bird, told the BBC.

RELATED: Notable Bay Area locals who died in 2018

Then, just 10 minutes after Cognito had joked about having a stroke onstage, the comedian sat down and was breathing heavily. According to the venue owner, Ryan Mold, Cognito "sat down, put his head and arms back" while "his shoulders were twitching." The audience, believing this was part of the set, continued laughing.

"Everyone in the crowd, me included, thought he was joking," Bird said. "Even when I walked on stage and touched his arm I was expecting him to say 'boo.'"

It soon became apparent, however, that something was seriously wrong. Two off-duty nurses and a police officer in the audience jumped up to begin chest compressions while an ambulance was called. He was pronounced dead at the scene, though the cause of death is not yet clear.

RELATED: Comedy legends of San Francisco: When they were young

The event left the audience shaken up. One in the room told the BBC that "we came out feeling really sick; we just sat there for five minutes watching him, laughing at him."

His peers in the British comedy scene are now posting their tributes to his life. Jack Whitehall, who CNN points out recently hosted the Brit Awards, wrote he "always had so much fun," calling Cognito a "true maverick." Comedian Mark Steel called him "a difficult awkward hilarious troubled brilliant sort; a proper comic." Another comedian, Jimmy Carr, said he'd "never forget his kindness when I started out."

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.


Sleeper Public Library: A comforting staple of Ubly The Sleeper Public Library in Ubly is an interesting piece in the Thumb's history.

Grace VanHoutteghem signs with Cornerstone University for... Laker senior Grace VanHoutteghem has signed her national letter of intent to play softball with...
To the editor:

Why isnt every American who stands for law and order screaming for justice? Where is the outrage and where is the press and your investigative reporters?

We all know now there are two sets of laws in this country: One for the Washington D.C. elites and another for us worker bees.

The Democrats want you to believe my president colluded with the Russians to steal his election. What a sham, when in fact the top floor of the FBI, DOJ and CIA tried to bring down the newly-elected president of this country with a behind the scene soft coup, unbelievable here in the USA. In most countries, those responsible would have been arrested, in others theyd just disappear, but not here in the deep state known as the Washington swamp.

Tell me why hasnt Obama, Hillary, Comey, McCabe, Rosenstein, Strozok, Page, Brennan, Clapper and both Ohrs been charged with a crime, any crime? Granted some were fired, but not one has been charged with anything while others have managed to write books and walk around like nothing happened. I am sure Lady Justice must have dropped her scales.

We know the DHC used a dirty dossier paid for by Hillary and prepared by Chris Steele, an ex-British spy, that Sen. John McCain sent an aide to London to retrieve. McCain then ran it immediately to the FBI, who after signing it was factual before a Federal District FISA court used it to obtain a warrant to spy and wiretap Trump before the election. Once elected, President Trumps AG Jeff sessions recused himself and Assistant AG Rosenstein appointed ex FBI Director Mueller, special council to go on his witch hunt for two years. He found no collusion and only minor indictments on President Trumps associates.

Now lets put the blame where it belongs. The Republicans controlled all three branches of the government, and they didnt get it done. They choked, not only dealing with these treasonist criminals, but on the wall and Obamacare. Thanks mainly to the likes of Speaker Ryan and Majority Leader McConnel, both rhinos and a band of never Trumpers in their camp. These buffoons were never on the presidents agenda from the start. What a scam and to top it off, it took a federal judge to declare Obamacare unconstitutional.

My president cannot do it alone. These weak-kneed rhinos he has to work with leave me speechless.

We see what hes accomplished, but one can only imagine what our president could only do for this country and its people if everyone got behind him, including you people in the media and those snowflakes at CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC and NBC.

President Trump puts America first. Thats more than I can say for you people.

Thomas Peters

Bad Axe
HARTFORD  Gov. Ned Lamonts proposal to reinstall tolls on four Connecticut highways will force the working class to spend more money to get to work, according to those who attended an anti-toll rally Saturday.

Thats why organizers of the rally were scratching their head wondering why there werent thousands of people at the rally to protest the reintroduction of tolls in Connecticut.

About 125 people, according to Capitol Police, gathered on the north steps to call upon Lamont and legislators to use the money they already have in order to pay for improvements to Connecticuts roads, bridges, and rails.

Lamont, who only favored truck tolls on the campaign trail before changing his mind and proposing tolls on all vehicles shortly after taking office, argues that the state needs a new revenue stream to pay for all of its infrastructure needs. His proposal seeks to raise $800 million annually and hes expressed confidence that the Democratic majority can get it done.

Lee Elci, a radio host with 94.9 FM in Ledyard, encouraged everyone to fight tolls, but admitted Lamont was likely going to win this one.

Were so outnumbered now, Elci said. We want to take the hill but we may not have the manpower to do it.

Elci said he wishes he was more optimistic and he cant explain why anyone would support another tax.

Can you imagine another $1,500 bucks for tolls every single year? Elci said.

Lamonts administration released preliminary details of the tolling amounts earlier this week and depending on how many miles someone drives on those four tolled highways they would likely have to pay somewhere between $600 to $1,000 more per year to the state. A 39-mile trip from Hartford to New Haven would be $1.36 at off-peak hours and $1.72 during peak hours. That would mean about $825 per year for the 39-mile commute. Lamont also wants to offer a discount for Connecticut residents, but its all still subject to negotiations between state lawmakers and then between the state and federal government.

I dont know how anybody is going to survive it and I dont know why there arent 50,000 people here today to protest the insanity of what is going on, WTIC radio host Todd Feinberg said.

Feinberg said Democrats must feel affirmed by the election results which saw them expand their majority and they want to reward the unions.

The tolls arent even for construction projects because they have all the money they need for construction project, Feinberg told the crowd. The whole thing is a lie.

Mark Bibbins of Windsor attended the rally Saturday and said Connecticut already has plenty of money to pay for its transportation infrastructure.

I do believe Connecticut has enough money to cover the expense if it stops squandering the Special Transportation Fund  and cuts spending, Bibbins said.

The rally was sponsored by the Libertarian Party of Connecticut. The No Tolls CT group, another anti-toll group was holding rallies Saturday in Windsor, Milford, and Old Saybrook. The No Tolls CT group headed by Patrick Sasser is holding its state Capitol rally on May 18. Its unclear why the two groups were unable to work together.

Almost everyone who attended Saturdays Capitol rally said they didnt trust legislators to spend the money they might collect from tolls wisely.

Frank Farricker, a Democrat from Greenwich who chaired his towns party, said he doesnt believe taxing people on the way to work every day is a Democratic value.

Democrats are not supposed to make things harder for the little guy, Farricker said. Were supposed to make things better.

He said there are problems with Connecticuts infrastructure but those problems need to be fixed with the consent of the governed.

He said a toll isnt a user fee and it might not even be a tax, but its just a convenient way to raise revenue. Farricker said that if Lamont had a 30-year plan to improve Connecticuts roads and bridges, then he would be the first one to support him.

Farricker, who likely disagreed with those at the rally on a number of other issues, said he doesnt want his party to lose the majority theyve held for more than 40 years and he fears voting for tolls just might cause that to happen. He was more cautious than Elci about believing tolls was a done deal.

You have way more fans on the Democratic side than you know, Farricker told the crowd.

Steve Noxon, a radio host with WATR, said this isnt just about buying the votes of the public sector unions. This is about giving a huge windfall to his rich friends.

If Lamont gets his way the state will borrow against the revenue it anticipates collecting from tolls to get the gantries up and running within three years.

Theyre going to go to Wall Street to sell this never-ending stream of revenue to Wall Street and theyre going to get filthy rich, Noxon said.

He said it has nothing to do with transportation or infrastructure, he said, this is about enriching his friends and paying back the unions.

Republican lawmakers have been pitching their proposal to reprioritize bonding as a solution to Connecticuts infrastructure problems without tolls. Only two Republican lawmakers attended Saturdays rally.

A statewide poll by Sacred Heart University in Fairfield in March showed 59 percent against tolls and 34.7 percent in favor.

Lamont has said he will continue to expend his political capital on the issue.

The people who attended todays rally arent saying no to tolls, Rob Blanchard, a spokesman for Lamont said Saturday.

Theyre saying yes to taking out a $30 billion loan, as proposed by the Republicans, recklessly adding to the states deficit and requiring Connecticut taxpayers to foot 100 percent of the bill-plus interest. In contrast, the governors plan ensures 40 percent of the bill will be paid by out-of-state drivers. Thats why the Governors proposal is supported by a broad coalition of local, business, labor and legislative leaders and provides a reliable, sustainable path forward for Connecticut.
A car accident was the last thing on my mind.

We were mere months from our overseas PCS when an impaired driver rear-ended me. One second I was sitting at a stoplight, one mile away from my home. The next, I was facing months of pain and coping.

An accident isn't something for which you can plan. Even more unexpected was that because we PCSed overseas a few months after my accident, my need for justice and fair retribution would be dismissed.

And while my pain is ongoing, you can learn from my situation.

At the time of my accident, we were four months out from overseas PCS, and my spouse was deployed, leaving me at home with our two children. My injuries brought preparations to a halt. The accident had sprained my hip and strained the muscles in my back. Though doctors told me to stay on bedrest for a week to heal my hip, my spouse was denied emergency leave. So I purchased crutches at the nearest drug store, borrowed a friend's car, and did my best to keep things normal for my kids.

Car accidents are traumatic events, and mine triggered a resurgence of my service-connected PTSD. I was often in a state of dissociation, focusing only on being okay for my daughters. Mommy was okay because Mommy had to be okay. Needing someone to guide me through the legal side and fight for me, I retained a lawyer.

The next two years overseas saw me in and out of physical therapy, and I still have pain in my hip that is likely arthritis. My certification as a personal trainer became worthless. I couldn't work because of my injuries and had to find alternative employment. That's not unusual for a military spouse, but it was especially devastating because it was the result of an accident that wasn't my fault.

The accident also forced us into a short sale because I wasn't able to properly prepare our home for sale. And when we tried to sell our vehicle, it turned out the body shop had "missed" the frame damage, so we couldn't sell it. As a result, we struggled financially even after the PCS because we were still paying stateside bills.

I hoped for a positive outcome. After all, I had watched the other driver fail a field sobriety test. The police had mentioned smelling alcohol on him. Surely, justice would prevail.

But just when I thought we were headed to trial, my video deposition was canceled. A week later, my lawyer recommended I accept the settlement he had previously stated was not enough. After everyone takes their piece and bills are paid, I'll be left with $2,000 in my pocket.

My lawyer explained that even though my case is worth more than the settlement, it is not worth enough to justify the cost and disruption of flights and time spent stateside for a trial. If I weren't a military spouse living overseas under military orders, it would have been worthwhile.

I was confused and furious. My losses total well over $2,000. The driver was impaired. Where was the disconnect? I requested a copy of the crash report and began digging into court records for answers and found that, instead of a drunk driving charge and despite the field sobriety test I witnessed, police charged him with reckless driving. The reason? Fatigue, the side effect of a drug he was taking to treat alcoholism.

I suffered physical, mental, and financial losses. The driver was able to walk away after paying a $200 fine and $91 in court costs. He has since had an actual Driving While Impaired (DWI) charge after driving with a blood alcohol of between .15 and .2%.

Some justice.

I don't know if there is still a chance for justice and fair retribution for me. On days when my hip hurts so much walking is difficult, considering a $2,000 settlement feels like salt in the wound. I worry the driver will seriously hurt or kill someone in the future. I am disappointed with the authorities.

And I wonder if I could've avoided this situation entirely by making better decisions for myself in the immediate aftermath of the crash. Here's what I wish I had known, and what you should do if you ever find yourself in a similar accident situation.

If you get into a car accident or another incident, call a trusted person to be a clear-headed advocate for you. Have them photograph, record and note everything. License plates, badge numbers, names, even things that seem insignificant. You never know when you will be dealing with a system that will fail you.

Say yes to the ambulance. Always have professionals assess you immediately, and follow up with your doctor. I don't know why they took my word that I didn't need an ambulance - the advocate mentioned above would have helped.

When seeking legal representation, look for a lawyer who is experienced in representing military families. I think a lot of the struggle I and my lawyer experienced was due to a lack of their understanding of the military.

My situation doesn't have to be the norm for another military family. Hopefully, when no one else is able to back us, we can back each other.
The Marine Corps' Aging Amphibious Vehicle Fleet Will Be Kept Out of the Water

Eight Marines and a Navy corpsman died when an AAV sank hundreds of feet into the ocean during exercises on July 30, 2020.
Six seconds. Not enough time to do much of anything, but Cpl. Jonathan Yale and Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter made their last six seconds on Earth count in a way that has passed into Marine Corps legend.

Their astonishing heroism in stopping a truck bomb attack that threatened the lives of scores of Marines and Iraqis is now the subject of a short film that will have its first screening next month.

Joshua DeFour, the student director of the movie, said his main challenge was avoiding caricatures in portraying the two young riflemen.

"I felt this sense of responsibility" to depict the 21-year-old Yale and 19-year-old Haerter as the complicated human beings they were on the fateful morning of April 22, 2008, said DeFour, a former Marine sergeant and combat correspondent who served in Afghanistan.

His 23-minute film "The 11th Order" will get its first screening May 19 at the Hogg Memorial Auditorium at the University of Texas in Austin as part of his graduate thesis, but he said it wouldn't have happened without the approval of the mothers of the two Marines -- Rebecca Yale and JoAnn Lyles.

DeFour said he spoke with Rebecca Yale for two hours to get her permission to proceed with the project.

"The gist was that it was still a very painful thing to bring up," he said.

Yale and Haerter gave their own lives to stop an attack that likely would have killed the 50 Marines and 100 partnered Iraqis behind the gate they were guarding as sentries in the flashpoint town of Ramadi.

Lyles agreed to the project after speaking with DeFour and meeting the actor who would play her son.

Reached last week at Camp Pendleton, California, where she was joining other Gold Star parents in climbing an iconic hill in tribute to fallen Marines, Lyles said the biggest thing for her was that more people would know the names of Haerter and Yale after seeing the movie.

"And Joshua has taken such good care of the story," she said. "It's not for profit. It's his thesis, so that felt good. And it honors the Corps."

That, she said, was a main factor in her giving approval.

Recreating Ramadi on 'American Sniper' Set

Two years ago, DeFour was dabbling with another project for his thesis when his roommate at the University of Texas, also a former Marine, came to him with a video of a speech given by then-Lt. Gen. John Kelly in 2010 about Yale and Haerter's heroism.

"This is your next film," DeFour's roommate told him.

Kelly was in charge of Marines in Iraq when the Marines' selfless actions stopped the truck bomb. Kelly would later say that he was not satisfied with initial accounts he received of the incident and went to Ramadi to investigate himself.

What he learned resulted in Yale and Haerter being posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, the nation's second-highest award for valor.

The title of the movie came from the Marine Corps' 11th general order for sentries, which guided Yale and Haerter's actions: "To be especially watchful at night and during the time for challenging. To challenge all persons on or near my post and to allow no one to pass without proper authority."

The focal point of the film is the first speech Kelly gave on the incident on Nov. 13, 2010, to the Semper Fi Society of St. Louis. He gave the remarks four days after the death of his son, Marine 1st Lt. Robert Kelly, who was killed in Afghanistan.

Yale and Haerter were from different units: Yale from 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, which was preparing to return to the U.S., and Haerter from 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, which had just arrived in Iraq.

Someone, Kelly said, decided that the two would stand guard that morning. Yale, as the corporal, would be in charge. Haerter would follow his lead.

Kelly surmised how the assignment may have happened: A sergeant said, "'OK, you two clowns, stand this post and let no unauthorized person or vehicles pass. You clear on that?'"

"And I'm sure Yale and Haerter then rolled their eyes and said in unison something like, 'Yeah, sergeant, we got it. We know what we're doing -- screw you,'" Kelly said. "Again, I'm prior enlisted, so I know how they think."

The two Marines were from different backgrounds, but "they were cut from the same bolt of cloth and they had the same steel in their backs," he said.

Kelly said he learned from a security camera that survived the explosion that it had taken exactly six seconds from when the bomb-laden truck entered the alley to when it detonated.

"I suppose it took about a second for the two Marines to separately come to the same conclusion about what was going on once the truck came into their view at the far end of the alley. No time to talk it over," he said. "It took maybe another two seconds for them to present their weapons, take aim, and open up.

"For about two seconds more, the recording shows the Marines firing their weapons non-stop. The truck's windshield explodes into shards of glass as their rounds take it apart," Kelly said.

"Yale and Haerter never hesitated. By all reports and by the recording, they never stepped back. They never even shifted their weight. With their feet spread shoulder-width apart, they leaned into the danger, firing as fast as they could.

"They had only one second left to live, and I think they knew. The truck explodes. The camera goes blank. Two young men go to their God," he said. "Six seconds. Not enough time to think about their families, their country, their flag, or about their lives or their deaths, but more than enough time for two very brave young men to do their duty."

The story leading to the "six seconds" at the gate is told in flashbacks bouncing from Kelly's speech to the streets of Ramadi, DeFour said.

For the part of Kelly, he recruited actor Colin Hoffmeister, who appeared in the "Sons of Anarchy" series. Michael Grant, who has credits from "The Secret Life of the American Teenager," has the role of Haerter. And Noah Gray-Cabey, from "Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists," was cast as Yale.

To recreate Kelly's speech, DeFour received permission from Camp Pendleton to use an auditorium on the base, with Marines playing the audience.

"That was really important to me," he said.

"The 11th Order," a short film chronicling the selfless heroism of two Marines in Iraq, gets its first screening in May. (Matt Valenzuela, Illume Multimedia)

The Blue Cloud Movie Ranch in California, which was the set for Iraq in "American Sniper," was used for the Ramadi scenes in "The 11th Order."

"It was a long journey to where we are now," said DeFour, whose film was backed with a grant from the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation and also from members of 1st Battalion, 9th Marines.

"The goal of the film was not to do, 'Hurrah America,' he said he repeatedly told the actors. "It was more to show that they weren't superheroes, that they were just average young men who were put in an extraordinary situation."

That was also, he said, something that was important to JoAnn Lyles -- not to make the Marines seem otherworldly, but to depict them as young men faithfully doing their duty.

"At their core, they were Marines,' DeFour said. "And that was what they were supposed to do."

He said viewers should come away with a question: "What would you have done? Six seconds is enough time to run."

They Were Not 'Sane' by Civilian Standards

In carrying out the order that day, the Marines' actions were not "sane," and not "normal," by most people's definition of the terms, one of the Iraqi police officers whose life was saved told Kelly.

The statement was made in utter admiration for Yale and Haerter. In remarks to Gold Star families in 2014, Kelly quoted the Iraqi officer as saying: "Sir, in the name of Allah, no sane man would have stood there and done what they did. They saved all of us."

Yale, with his M249 squad automatic weapon, and Haerter, with his M16 rifle, stopped the blue truck weaving its way past Jersey barriers before it could get through the alleyway and past the gate, or Entry Control Point, to a makeshift barracks where the Marines and Iraqis rested.

The two Marines blew out the windshield, likely killing the driver and stopping the truck just feet in front of them. But a "deadman's switch" set off the vehicle-borne improvised explosive device that investigative personnel later estimated had the force of 2,000 pounds of high explosives.

Yale and Haerter had never met before that morning, but worked together in the six-second mission that stopped the truck.

"They didn't know how to run from danger," Kelly said. "Two Marines were on watch, and they would die before they ran,"

Kelly would later achieve four-star rank and go on to become director of the Department of Homeland Security and then President Donald Trump's chief of staff.

In an address at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, in 2009, then-President Barack Obama said of Yale and Haerter, "These two Marines stood their ground. These two Marines opened fire. And these two Marines stopped that truck.

"When the thousands of pounds of explosives detonated, they had saved 50 Marines and Iraqi police who would have been in the truck's path."

Ten years after the attack, one of the survivors, Staff Sgt. Kenneth Grooms, said in a Pentagon video: "I'm not sure if I could even put into right words what it took for those two Marines to stare death in the face and say, 'You're not taking my brothers, you're not passing.'"

The promotional material for the film says that it is intended to "offer multiple perspectives surrounding this true event of sacrifice, heroism, and humanity in the face of uncertain violence."

"Less about glorifying war or the event itself, this film will provide context to the unimaginable: To show these young men as everyday people put in extraordinary circumstances, and explain why there was never doubt in their actions and decisive sacrifice," the material states.

Yale was from Burkeville, Virginia. Rebecca Yale told The Associated Press that her son was a free spirit, a skateboarder and a paintballer, who "also didn't mind sitting home with his Mama to watch a chick flick with a box of Kleenex between us. He was the best boy you could ask for."

Haerter was from Sag Harbor, New York, at the east end of Long Island, an old whaling town and now something of an artists' and writers' colony, where Jimmy Buffett and Steven Spielberg park their yachts.

When Haerter was in 10th grade, "I was thinking he's on the college path," Lyles said. But then, she said, he said he was done with school for a while and wanted to join the Marines.

"We were shocked," his mother said. "He already had a plan. He was going to do the Marines, then he wanted to go to school and then he wanted to be a police officer in Sag Harbor. He had a goal."

DeFour said neither of the young men were stereotypical Marines.

For Haerter, "there wasn't really anything on paper that would have said, 'Oh yeah, he's going to become a Marine,'" he said. "And the same thing with Jonathan. He was cheerleader, did extreme sports."

"They came from two different worlds; they had different personalities," DeFour added. "One of the Marines was leaving the country, and one was coming there. Yale was the corporal teaching the lance corporal the steps before he left. That was something I think that was at the heart of the film."

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
As a teen, Army veteran Julie Bradley learned firsthand about financial insecurity. Her father, a WWII veteran, was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor and both her parents filed for bankruptcy.

That's not the kind of background that sets you up for a life of financial success. Yet while most Americans are saddled with debt, Bradley did the seemingly impossible, teaching herself to be a financial wizard and building a lifestyle that allowed her to retire at 40, sail the world and spend her time volunteering internationally on humanitarian missions with the American Red Cross.

Bradleys first book, Escape from the Ordinary, an Amazon best-seller, chronicles her epic adventures achieving her dream of sailing around the world. A sequel, Crossing Pirate Waters, is due in the summer of 2019. She spoke to Military.com about how she managed to realize such an exciting future after the military.

"I was a broken teenager when I walked into the recruiter's office, took the [Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery] and enlisted as an E1, 98G, Russian Voice Interceptor," Bradley said.

Bradley spent the next several years transcribing Russian at the field station in Augsburg, Germany, where she realized she wanted to do more with her career than just sit at a desk.

So she came up with a new plan: stay in the Army in a different career field, then retire after 20 years and live off her military pension and the interest from her savings nest egg.

She applied to officer candidates school and was accepted. She then spent the rest of her 20-year career on a "seesaw between civilian-clothes assignments" using her Russian language skills, she said. She also did a tour as a company commander of a training company at Fort Huachuca, Arizona and Brigade S2 in the 2nd Infantry Division. In her last three years of her career, she distinguished herself when she was given a joint assignment as a Nuclear Weapons Inspector with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency in Russia.

Related: Search for Veteran Jobs

"At 30, I married Glen, a former Army officer who got out after Vietnam to work as a government civilian engineer," Bradley said. "He understood my commitment to the Army and brought an even bigger idea to our relationship: retire early and sail around the world."

But plenty of people stay in the military for 20 years without living a civilian life of leisure and adventure after retirement. So how did she buck the norm and turn a fairly normal military career into a chance to live her dreams? Here's her advice.

Begin with the End in Mind

Bradley said that the first step toward financial independence is the same as the first step in conducting a military operation: visualize your end goal and work backwards.

They made a plan leaning on the same procedure used to conduct any military operation - plan, prepare, execute, assess. They lived off of Glen's income and directed all of her salary to their savings, which grew and grew in a diversified portfolio thanks to the magic of compound interest.

The Secret Sauce: Visualize the Life You Want After Retirement

Military couples know the difficulty of being separated for great periods of time by deployments, but Bradley and Glen weathered challenges with the same powerful tool that they used for their retirement plans: visualization.

"No matter where I was stationed or deployed -- the DMZ in Korea, Bosnia, conducting nuclear weapons inspections in Russia in subzero temperatures -- every night I visualized what I called 'a perfect day on the boat,'" Bradley said. "I fell asleep imagining myself on the deck of a sailboat anchored in clear turquoise water or flying under sail with dolphins off the bow."

Bradley said that focusing on the end goal -- what it felt like and what it looked like -- kept her on course and inspired her to live frugally.

"When I joined the Army as a teenager, I never could have imagined how wonderful my life would turn out," Bradley said. "I owe the Army so much for all it has given me and for giving me the stamina I needed along the way."

Bradley retired from the military, and, true to her vision, spent the next 8 years with Glen sailing the world with dolphins off the bow while dodging pirates and the occasional breakdown.

While sailing might not be the post-retirement vision for most veterans, Bradley said a vision is still required to achieve your financial goals and allow you to live the lifestyle you dream.

"Whatever your own post-retirement dreams, try out the visualization and let it empower your actions," Bradley said. "Not only will you realize your plans faster, you get to live it in your mind, starting today. Enjoy your journey!"

The Next Step: Get Veteran Jobs Tips

Looking for transition and veteran jobs tips? Military.com has you covered. Sign up for a free Military.com membership to have military news, updates and job resources delivered directly to your inbox.

-- Sean Mclain Brown can be reached at sean.brown@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at @seanmclainbrown.
DETROIT -- Former President Bill Clinton is a big fan of Detroit-based watch company Shinola. So much so that he says he may be their best customer.

I have bought and given away more Shinola watches than anyone, Bill said during an event at the Fox Theatre alongside his wife and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Shinola was one of a handful of companies and people given a nod by the Clintons Friday night for their work and efforts.

Hillary Clinton specifically pointed the work of Flint Mayor Karen Weaver and Congresswoman Haley Stevens. In particular, Clinton said Weavers efforts to help deal with the Flint Water Crisis and constantly trying to make things better in the city is admirable.

"I know because I got to spend time with her that she gets up everyday and she tries to think about how shes going to make a difference, Hillary said.

The crowd at the theater gave a huge ovation when Hillary mentioned the work of Stevens, saying the freshman Congresswoman from Michigans 11th district is a great example of someone who paid close attention to the issues that are important to her district and is fighting for those issues. She also praised Stevens for not just campaigning on negativity and focusing on the issues.

Bill Clinton also briefly pointed out Gene Sperling, an economist who was born in Ann Arbor and worked on the National Economic Council during Clintons first term as president.
The calendar might say spring, but it looks like Mother Nature has a winter blast in store for much of the Lower Peninsula to end the weekend. Many areas may see an inch or two of snow on Sunday, but some areas could see up to 8 inches of accumulation, enough to prompt the National Weather Service to issue a caution about potentially dangerous travel conditions for motorists.

Well take a look at each area of the state and what people there can expect:

Upper Peninsula: This is your turn to sit back and watch other areas of the state get dumped on. This storm system right now looks like it will stay largely south and east of the U.P., the weather service said. Sunday should be partly sunny with high temperatures reaching into the 40s. There is a possibility for slight accumulation in the southeast U.P. quadrant, but the current forecast map shows less than an inch of snow is possible by Sunday night.

A warming trend is on the way later this weekend into early next week, but first we have to get through occasional rain... Posted by US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan on Saturday, April 13, 2019

West Michigan: A Winter Weather Advisory will be in effect from 7 a.m. Sunday to early Monday morning, stretching from Ludington south to Allegan County, and stretching east to Mt. Pleasant.

Total snow accumulation of 2-4 inches is expected over this area, with the bullseye stretching from Grand Rapids north to Big Rapids, then east to Alma.

The snow will start by 7 a.m. over western sections, then spread north and east to the rest of the advisory area by late morning, the NWS said. This snow will be wet and may fall at a rate of up to one inch an hour at times. ... Plan on slippery road conditions.

Wind gusts up to 25 mph could mix with snow to reduce visibility for motorists at times.

Northern Lower Michigan: This is the area with the heaviest snow forecast.

Most of the top half of the Lower Peninsula is under a Winter Weather Advisory starting around 9 a.m. Sunday. The heaviest snow is expected to fall around Mio, and from Oscoda north to Alpena, an area which could see 6 to 8 inches.

On the west side, Manistee and Traverse City could see 2 to 3 inches of snow, with 4 to 6 inches possible in Cadillac and up into Gaylord.

Travel could be very difficult, NWS said.

Snow will overspread northern Michigan Sunday morning...creating slick and hazardous travel at times through Monday morning. Posted by US National Weather Service Gaylord Michigan on Saturday, April 13, 2019

Southeast Michigan: While Saginaw could see 5 inches of snow on Sunday, accumulations are expected to decrease as you go south on the map. Flint could pick up an inch or two, while Detroit and Ann Arbor are likely to see less than an inch of snow.

A wintry mix of snow and rain are possible instead of just snow.

Flooding is also a concern along Lake Huron and Lake Erie. Strong north/northeast winds are expected Sunday, with peak wind gusts hitting 36 mph near the Thumb and Saginaw Bay.

Coastal Flood Watches have been issued for lakeshore areas on the Southeast Side of the state.

The NWS said: There is particularly elevated concern for Bay County, where accumulating snow and advisory or near-advisory-level wind gusts will be secondary to the shoreline flooding threat. On the one-year anniversary of last years April 14 flooding in Bay County, Sundays event is forecast to occur with similar or slightly weaker wind, and similar but slightly higher (about 8 inches) lake levels. A similar outcome is therefore reasonably within the range of possibilities.
ANN ARBOR, MI - Ann Arbors Kerrytown BookFest is not happening this year due to rising costs and a lack of volunteer commitment.

And its long-term future may be in jeopardy.

The event, dubbed as the largest one-day book festival in Michigan, took place for 16 consecutive years in the Kerrytown Farmers Market. This years event had been scheduled for Sept. 15.

Rising costs across the board, including permits, printing and travel and lodging expenses for speakers, were a key contributor to cancelling this years event, Kerrytown BookFest Board President Lynn Pellerito Riehl said.

The board will make a final decision on whether the event will continue beyond 2019 in the coming months, she said.

Although we have both long-term and new generous sponsors, the numbers do not align and individual giving has not filled the gap, Riehl said. The same story is true with volunteers. This event demands multiple on-the-day and year-round volunteers and this level of community support was absent.

Event organizers hope for 80-plus volunteers the day of the event, to help do setup and tear down, along with working in tents and information booths, escorting authors, photographers and social media, Riehl said.

Beyond the day of the event, Riehl said there needs to be more consistent volunteer sport in planning the event.

Needless to say, we did not have that for years past, Riehl said. Volunteer levels come and go, but consistency is the key.

While support for books and reading remain high in Ann Arbor, Riehl acknowledged its difficult to compete for the time of volunteers who are busy throughout the year.

Beyond offering hundreds of new and used books for sale, Kerrytown BookFest earned a reputation for hosting community and guest author panels, in addition to writing and literature workshops geared toward readers of all ages.

While Riehl was quick to point out that BookFest is a beloved institution, she believes there will always be room for events like it in one form or another.

Those interested in supporting the future of the Kerrytown BookFest are encouraged to email Riehl at ktbookfest@gmail.com.
FLINT, MI -- Police Chief Tim Johnson has been dismissed from a federal lawsuit filed by the mother of a Flint child who police handcuffed and left restrained for roughly an hour while they waited on a key in order to release him.

The lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Cameron McCadden and his mother, Chrystal McCadden, against the city and Johnson alleges excessive force was used by a Flint police officer who handcuffed the child in 2015 -- when he was 7 years old -- during an after-school program administered by the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce.

Cameron McCadden was a second-grade student at Brownell K-2 STEM Academy and attending the YouthQuest program on Oct. 12, 2015, when Chrystal McCadden received a phone call stating her son was running around on a set of bleachers after kicking a supply cart, according to the lawsuit.

A video provided by Chrystal McCadden and shown at a news conference when the lawsuit was filed last year shows the boy, who the lawsuit claims was approximately 4-feet-tall and weighed 55 pounds, calmly sitting on a bench with his hands cuffed behind his back.

U.S. District Judge Denise Page Hood also dismissed some but not all claims against the city in an opinion issued Friday, April 12.

The lawsuits claims against Johnson were duplicative of claims against the city, Hoods ruling says, and the claims against the chief are simply for executing his duties as the city official in charge of the police department" rather than having committed any specific act that impacted or harmed the child.

The ruling allows the case against the city to continue based on the lawsuits claim that Flint failed to properly train police officers and for violation of McCaddens rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act but not on a claim that the city had an unconstitutional policy for restraining juveniles.

The judges opinion says McCadden suffered from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder at the time he was handcuffed by school resource officer Terrance Walker, who was also named in the lawsuit.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  Grand Rapids Public Schools Superintendent Teresa Weatherall Neal told parents and staff in a letter Friday, April 12, to plan on summer vacation starting later due to winter snow storms.

Neal is extending the school year two days because of snow days: Monday, June 3, and Tuesday, June 4.

The last day of school was scheduled for Friday, May 31, for GRPS more than 16,000 students. But a brutal winter caused school systems across Michigan to run out of their state allotted snow days early this year.

Under state law, districts get six days forgiven for emergencies, and school leaders can get a waiver for three additional days if approved by the state superintendent. Grand Rapids had 11 snow days.

There is legislation being debated that would eliminate the need to extend the school year. But Neal said they cant depend on that relief and need to plan to make up their two days.

While GRPS and other school districts across Michigan are appealing for legislative action to forgive the canceled days that were associated with declared states of emergency, we are not confident that this legislation will be passed and signed by the governor in time, said Neal, in her letter.

The legislation recently passed out of the state House committee and is awaiting action on the House floor. However, it would still need approval by the state Senate and the governor.

The legislation introduced in February would exclude days that are canceled during state-declared emergencies from counting as snow days. If passed, the five-day period from Jan. 28 through Feb. 1  when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency due to an arctic deep freeze  would be forgiven statewide.

The House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday amended legislation to provide three additional snow days for schools due to the severe weather this year. For this year only, districts with more than 14 days could also add time to the school day to make up for snow days, rather than add full days.

The bill is now headed to the House floor for consideration.

Neal said the final three days, May 31, June 3, and June 4, will continue to be half days. She said changing half days to full days is not an option as half days are considered full days based on pupil accounting.

Wednesday, May 29, and Thursday, May 30, are no longer half days, but full days.

We will continue to monitor the legislation and will share additional communication based on what happens in Lansing, Neal wrote.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A man accused of fatally stabbing another man with a screwdriver during an altercation in a Southwest Grand Rapids gas station has been ordered to stand trial.

Tahari Lamont-Greg Brags, 23, was in a Grand Rapids courtroom Friday, April 12 for the continuation of a preliminary hearing started on March 18.

Grand Rapids District Court Judge David Buter listened to testimony from a medical examiner and others before deciding that Brags should stand trial for the death of 34-year-old Frederick Lardale Jewell.

Jewell was fighting with friends of Brags inside the BP gas station, 1 Hall St. SW, moments before Brags entered the station. Surveillance video shows Jewell had a handgun but it was taken from him during the fight.

The medical examiner testified that Jewell was stabbed twice in the head and one of the wounds was fatal.

Brags attorney, Craig Haehnel, argued Friday the stabbing was self-defense and that Brags was simply trying to make sure his friends did not get hurt.

But Kent County Prosecutor Alex Grimes said Brags was intoxicated at the time and took excessive actions.

The defendant got incredibly drunk and viciously stabbed a man who was on the ground, he said.

Brags has been held in the Kent County Jail without bond since his arrest. The judge agreed Friday to set a new bond at $500,000.
JACKSON, MI  A Jackson County judge ruled Friday police did not violate attorney-client privilege when they obtained an email between the arson suspect Nikki Joly and the Abood Law Firm.

Circuit Judge John McBain issued the ruling Friday, April 12, stating the email between Joly and his attorneys was not privileged information, granting police and prosecutors the right to use what was found in the email.

For a communication to be privileged, it must be made to an attorney or agent of the attorney for the purpose of obtaining legal advice, trial strategy or legal theories and without disclosing it to a third party, McBain wrote in the ruling.

The email police recovered did not contain any of the privileged elements, McBain ruled.

Joly, 53, is accused of intentionally starting the Aug. 10, 2017 fire that destroyed his home in the 1800 block of Pringle Avenue and killed his two German shepherd dogs and three cats.

A Michigan State Police fire investigator determined the fire was started intentionally after traces of gasoline were detected in five places in the home.

He was bound over for trial Dec. 11, 2018 on one felony count of first-degree arson and two counts of killing or torturing an animal.

During his preliminary examination, it was discovered that investigators executing a search warrant on Jolys computer had obtained an email between Joly and his attorneys discussing the case.

In the email, Joly mentions the location of his lawn mower and a gas can that Joly asked two neighbors to hold onto for him.

Police obtained a search warrant for the two items and collected them as evidence.

Jolys attorneys argued police violated Jolys Sixth Amendment rights by using information in the email to build a case against Joly when investigators lacked physical evidence, he said.

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Steve Idema said he has no intention of introducing the email at trial, and that the evidence Jolys attorneys wanted to suppress included items police were searching for long before the email was obtained unintentionally.

Jolys next court hearing is scheduled for April 23. Jolys defense attorneys have previously indicated they would file an appeal if McBain ruled the email wasnt privileged.

Joly is free on a $25,000 bond. First-degree arson is punishable by up to life in prison and a fine of $20,000, or three times the value of the property destroyed.

Killing or torturing an animal is punishable by up to four years in prison.
WARREN, MI -- Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders believes winning Michigan is essential to defeating President Donald Trump.

At a rally in Madison, Wisc. Friday, the day before the Vermont senator planned two stops in Michigan, Sanders highlighted a sobering statistic for Democrats: Despite losing the popular vote, Trumps wins in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania gave him enough electoral votes to secure the presidency. Sanders said it wont happen again in 2020, because hes targeting Midwest states in his presidential campaign.

Sanders visited Michigan Saturday, meeting with skilled trades workers in Coopersville and hosting a rally at Macomb Community College, during a weekend tour of Midwest battleground states. A memo shared with MLive by the Sanders campaign before the rally states Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania are vital in the next election.

Trump ultimately took Michigan by 10,704 votes, a narrow margin that leaves Democrats hopeful the state can be flipped back in 2020. Michigan voters also elected Democrats to all statewide offices up for grabs in the 2018 midterms.

Presidential candidates flooded Michigan with March campaign stops, and more are scheduled in the following months.

Sanders, the 2016 Michigan presidential primary winner, attracted 1,400 people to the rally in Macomb County, campaign aides said. Trump won the blue-collar county by 11 percentage points in the general election.

Sanders argues he is the best candidate among a growing list of Democratic contenders to address concerns of working families in Michigan and other Midwest states.

During his Wisconsin visit, Sanders criticized General Motors for outsourcing auto jobs while paying next to nothing in federal taxes. At several points througout the 2016 election, Sanders highlighted his opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement and Trans-Pacific Partnership as evidence of his commitment to protecting American jobs.

Trump criticized NAFTA as one of the worst trade deals in the history of the world at a March 28 rally in Grand Rapids. The president is working to convince Congress to approve a revised trade agreement with Canada and Mexico.

Your empty factories are still all over the place, Trump said in Grand Rapids. They still havent recovered from NAFTA. Well, NAFTAs gonna be a thing of the past.

Michigan Republican Party Chair Laura Cox said it doesnt matter" who wins the Democratic primary; shes confident Trump will win Michigan again in 2020. Cox said the presidents focus is on jobs, jobs, jobs in Michigan, echoing the message of banners hung behind Trump at his Grand Rapids rally.

Early polls of registered voters show Sanders may put up a tougher fight than expected.

Emerson College polls of registered voters show strong support among voters in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Sanders won hypothetical head-to-head matchups against Trump in each state.

Early polls of Democratic voters rank Sanders either second among Democratic candidates or tied with former Vice President Joe Biden. Though Biden has yet to formally announce a campaign, he has strong name recognition and favorability scores among voters surveyed.

A March Emerson College poll of voters across the country showed Sanders eliminated the gap with Biden since February. A poll of Michigan voters showed Sanders holds a strong advantage among 18 to 29-year-olds and beat Trump by 5 percentage points in a head-to-head matchup.

Sanders gathered strong early fundraising figures in each of the three states. According to the campaign, Sanders received contributions from 8,000 voters in Wisconsin, 14,000 in Michigan and 18,000 in Pennsylvania.

Sanders raised more than $18 million in the six weeks since launching his second bid for the White House, his campaign announced earlier this week.

The Michigan visits were part of a tour of Midwest battleground states, including Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Campaign aides said more than 2,500 people attended the Friday event in Madison, Wisc.
WARREN, MI -- Michigan voters helped kick off a political revolution that started with Bernie Sanders first presidential campaign in 2016 and since launched aspirational ideas into the mainstream, he said at a Warren rally.

During campaign rally at Macomb Community College, the 2016 Michigan Democratic primary winner said reforms that were once considered radical will spur economic and social justice. After meeting with West Michigan union workers earlier in the day, Sanders said he would ban right to work laws, increase access to unions for skilled trades workers and penalize companies that move jobs overseas.

Democratic candidates from school board to president are supporting ideas like raising the minimum wage to $15, funding debt-free college, removing dark money from elections and creating a single-payer health care system, Sanders said.

Sanders, I-Vt., painted Trump as a pathological liar who didnt deliver on big promises to make health care insurance available to everyone, reduce trade deficits and fight income inequality.

Sanders said the trade deficit increased $120 billion and 185,000 American jobs were shipped overseas since Trump took office. He called on the president to pull back a replacement to the North American Free Trade Agreement, which has yet to be ratified by the United States, Mexico or Canada.

For once in your life, keep your campaign promises. Sanders said. Go back to the drawing board on NAFTA.

The new trade deal should have strong and swift enforcement measures, he said, to raise the wages of workers and prevent jobs from being outsourced to Mexico. He said companies should not receive federal contracts after outsourcing jobs.

Skilled trade workers should have greater access to unions, Sanders said. Earlier that day, he met with a West Michigan union representing skilled trades workers in Coopersville.

When large corporations get federal contracts, we have got to know they are employed who have a conscience, Sanders said.

Sanders visited Michigan while on a weekend tour of Midwest battleground states, including Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Campaign staff said Sanders attracted 1,400 people to the Warren rally.

Medicare for All

Sanders championed his ambitious Medicare for All plan, introduced earlier this week. The plan would transition the United States to a single-payer health care system, eliminating private insurance corporations.

Sanders said the new system would reduce costs for Americans, including the price of prescription drugs, while expanding coverage to home and community-based long-term care services.

Medicare for All as a concept has been supported by presidential hopefuls U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, and Kamala Harris, D-Calif. Sanders introduced his bill alongside Booker, Gillibrand, Harris and Warren.

Estimates of previous bills introduced by Sanders were estimated to cost $32 trillion over 10 years.

In a statement released after Sanders visit to Coopersville, U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland called the plan socialist rhetoric. Huizenga said the plan would kick 5.5 million Michigan residents off their private health insurance and limit health care choices for patients.

This is precisely the wrong approach, Huizenga said in a statement.

The health care plan also painted a target on the back of U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, who is up for re-election in 2020.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee began running digital ads Saturday targeting Peters for not taking a position on Sanders Medicare for All proposal. NRSC spokesperson Nathan Brand said the ads were launched on Twitter and Facebook hours before the rally began in Warren.

Sanders aims to win in Michigan

Sanders reflected on his 2016 Democratic primary win in Michigan, at the time considered a long shot. He said winning Michigan will be essential to defeating Trump in 2020.

Abdul El-Sayed, Democratic gubernatorial competitor in 2018, introduced Sanders at the event. The two exchanged a warm hug when Sanders took the stage.

Sanders endorsed El-Sayed in the Democratic primary, but was defeated by now-Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Democratic strategists are looking to Whitmers campaign, instead of Sanders-backed candidates, as a blueprint for 2020 presidential hopefuls seeking to flip Michigan.

Trump ultimately took Michigan by 10,704 votes in 2016, a narrow margin that leaves Democrats hopeful the state can be flipped back in 2020. Michigan voters also elected Democrats to all statewide offices up for grabs in the 2018 midterms.

Presidential candidates flooded Michigan with March campaign stops, and more are scheduled in the following months.

Early polls of Democratic voters either rank Sanders second among prospective Democratic nominees or tied with former Vice President Joe Biden. Though Biden has yet to formally announce a campaign, he has strong name recognition and favorability scores among voters surveyed.

A March Emerson College poll of voters across the country showed Sanders eliminated the gap with Biden since February. A poll of Michigan voters showed Sanders holds a strong advantage among 18 to 29-year-olds and beat Trump by 5 percentage points in a head to head matchup.

Sanders raised more than $18 million in the six weeks since launching his second bid for the White House, his campaign announced earlier this week. According to the campaign, Sanders received contributions from 8,000 voters in Wisconsin, 14,000 in Michigan and 18,000 in Pennsylvania.

Though Sanders serves in the Senate as an independent, he signed a loyalty pledge to run and govern as a Democrat if he wins the presidency in 2020. The pledge is required of Democratic candidates after Sanders caused concern that he might run as a third-party candidate after losing the 2016 nomination to Hillary Clinton.

Sanders said he would not pledge his loyalty to big money campaign donors.

You ready for a radical idea?" Sanders said. "This looks like a radical group of people. Well here it is: To me, democracy means one person, one vote. Not billionaires buying elections.

Brian Murphy, 57, said its time for Sanders to sit in the Oval Office. Wearing a hindsight 2020 shirt, the Troy resident said Sanders could have beaten Trump if they faced off in the general election.

Murphy said Sanders is the only candidate talking seriously about reducing income inequality.

Ive been saying for 20 years that the revolution is overdue, Murphy said.
2 bombs and Kalashnikov rifles found at home of slain ISIS members in Russia

2 bombs and Kalashnikov rifles found at home of slain ISIS members in Russia

Law enforcement said they have found evidence that two men, who were killed during an overnight firefight in the city of Tyumen, were preparing a terrorist attack. There were two improvised explosive devices and parts for making IEDs, two Kalashnikov assault rifles and religious literature at their home, according to the regional Investigative Committee. The pair, who are suspected of having links with the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) were killed on Friday night in a firefight with FSB operatives, who came to arrest them.Source : RT - Daily news
In a tale that gets more bizarre as more details are revealed, three teenage women who were spotted sunbathing nude are in custody in Florida after assaulting a police officer and leading cops on a high speed pursuit.

It all began when a member of the public reported the women after seeing them sunning themselves, completely naked, at a rest stop off interstate 74.

Theyre on the northbound side of the building. All three of them are standing in the nude, putting on suntan lotion, the caller said, according to Fox 13.

Florida Highway Patrol revealed in a statement that when a state trooper confronted the teens, they claimed they had recently showered and were air drying.

As the trooper questioned the teens, they hopped in a vehicle and sped off north on the interstate. The trooper began chasing the teens but quickly stopped because the incident did not fit the highway patrols criteria.

READ MORE: April Fools gag goes awry as YouTuber arrested for impersonating officer (VIDEO)

That wasnt the end of things though. The teens reckless driving as they fled the scene prompted another citizen to report them to Florida Highway Patrol. Another trooper then spotted their car driving on the wrong side of the road.

The officer shot a GPS dart at the car, which allowed them to follow it from a distance. When the women stopped at a convenience store, a cop tried to take one of the women into custody only for another one of the trio to drive directly at them, forcing them to jump out of the way to avoid being hit. The passenger then hopped out of the car with a metal bat and tried to assault the trooper.

The teens then sped off down the road with the troopers in hot pursuit. Officers from Dade City police assisted the operation by deploying stop sticks, which burst one of the tires of the teens car.

READ MORE: Cop dodges bullet and kills suspect in DRAMATIC gunfight (GRAPHIC VIDEO)

That spelled the end of the rampage as the troopers rammed the car, sending it spinning out of control before shuddering to a halt.

However, the teens still werent ready to accept their fate. They refused to exit the car and interlocked their arms together to impede the cops from slapping them in handcuffs. All three were tasered and then taken into custody.

The driver was later identified as 18-year-old Oasis McLeod. The passengers were 19-year-olds Jeniyah McLeod and Cecilia Young. They were arrested on several charges, including aggravated assault and lewd behavior.

Florida Highway Patrol said several troopers had minor injuries, but didnt offer any further details.

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Syria has shot down several missiles launched by Israel and targeting the city of Masyaf in northwestern Syria, Syrian state media reported. Three people have been wounded and several buildings destroyed in the attack.

Also on rt.com Civilian airport hit as Israel strikes area around Aleppo  reports (VIDEOS)

The rockets were launched by Israeli warplanes from Lebanese airspace at about 2.30am on Saturday, SANA reported. In response, Syria activated its air defenses and intercepted several missiles, the agency said. The alleged Israeli raid hit a military post in the city and destroyed several buildings. Three people have been reported wounded.

Lebanese Al-Masdar News reported, citing a military source on the ground, that Israeli rockets damaged a number of sites near the Masyaf National Hospital.

While Israel has not commented on the reported attack, it is presumed that Tel Aviv has made another incursion into Syrian territory to take on alleged Iranian elements there.

Israeli media reported in February that three of the four S-300 surface-to-air defense systems delivered by Moscow to Syria in October last year and stationed in Masyaf were photographed in an "erect" position, prompting speculation that they might be soon deployed into combat.

According to the Al-Masdar source, the Russian-made systems had no role in fending off Saturday's attack.

Israel routinely rains down missiles on Syrian territory under the pretext of engaging Iranian targets there. In late March, the Syrian missile defense forces responded to an attack by Israel that reportedly targeted a civilian airport and caused a blackout in Aleppo.

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After extensive political wrangling, the Maltese government revealed on Saturday that more than 60 migrants who were stranded on a German rescue ship for over a week will be taken in by four EU countries.

The Maltese government reached a deal with the European Commission which will see Germany, France, Portugal, and Luxembourg taking in the migrants who were rescued from the Mediterranean by the Alan Kurdi rescue vessel on April 3.

Rescuers initially pulled 64 migrants from the water but two women were taken to Malta for medical treatment. The ship, which is operated by the German NGO Sea-Eye, was denied permission to land in Malta and Italy.

None of the migrants will remain in Malta, the government said in a statement. It said that the smallest member of the European Union could not keep shouldering the burden of taking in migrants.

The Alan Kurdi will not be allowed to enter Maltas ports to release the migrants. Instead, they will be brought to Malta on Maltese vessels before being transferred to the other countries.

In refusing to allow migrant rescue ships to dock in its ports, Malta has argued that the rescue operations in the Mediterranean encourage human traffickers operating in Middle Eastern and African countries.

Sea-Eye said that one crew member was also transferred to Malta suffering from symptoms of exhaustion.

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The Russian scare seems to have reached the shores of Ecuador, with lawyers for Ola Bini, a Swedish software developer arrested in Quito over his links to WikiLeaks, saying police erroneously believed he was a Russian citizen.

Bini was apprehended on Thursday afternoon as he was about to board a flight from the Mariscal Sucre International Airport to Japan. Ecuadorian Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo confirmed the identity of the detainee on Friday, stating that the software developer was being held for investigative purposes.

"This person is linked to WikiLeaks, he has visited the Embassy of Ecuador in London on 12 separate occasions of which we have a record," Romo told a local radio station on Friday. She also said that Bini is believed to be an associate of former foreign minister Ricardo Patino, who was the top diplomat in Rafael Correa's government.

Also on rt.com 'Swedish software developer' linked to WikiLeaks arrested in Ecuador in flight attempt  reports

Previously, Romo said that a foreign national and two "Russian hackers" are being investigated for interfering with private communications and an attempt to disrupt the government.

However, as the story developed, a number of lapses and violations by the Ecuadorian authorities emerged. On Friday, Bini's defense attorneys issued an extensive communique on his arrest, accusing police of sidestepping basic procedures in a rush to detain a suspect.

The lawyers revealed that Bini was arrested following a tip-off received by police on April 11 via a crime hotline from a citizen named "Marco." He told police that the suspect was Russian, a fact that the Ecuadorian police apparently neglected to double check before taking Bini into custody. They say that when police approached Bini, they showed him a warrant issued for a Russian citizen and, after realizing he was not, asked for his passport to issue a new warrant.

The detention of Bini until an order was reissued was a violation of his rights, the lawyers argue, since police had no valid document justifying his arrest. The lawyers say that Bini was not provided with an interpreter, though he does not speak Spanish, nor was he read his rights immediately. Lawyers could not access Bini until 8am the next day. Before that time, Bini did not receive any legal help and was interrogated while still at the airport.

Also on rt.com There's no evidence to justify Assange's eviction, Snowden's lawyer says

Their statement calls on Ecuador's ombudsman office and civil organization to oversee Bini's case taking into account the irregularities that have already happened. Lawyers say that Bini had no intention of 'fleeing' Ecuador and the trip to Japan had been planned a month ago.

In addition to the apparent procedural lapses, Patino, Bini's supposed co-conspirator, claims he has never heard of Bini.

"The interior minister said that a Swede who was arrested yesterday works with me. I have never seen or met him in my life, I have not traveled with him, nor do I know Russian hackers," he tweeted, adding that the only Russians he knows are President Vladimir Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and the Russian ambassador.

Bini is known as an open-source advocate who worked for a company specializing in privacy, cryptography and security. His arrest sparked protest on Twitter, with fellow members of the open-source software community calling for his immediate release.

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Former Venezuelan spy chief who backed Guaido jailed in Spain, faces extradition to US

Former Venezuelan spy chief who backed Guaido jailed in Spain, faces extradition to US

Hugo Carvajal, a former Venezuelan military intelligence and counterintelligence chief, who declared his allegiance to the self-proclaimed president, Juan Guaido, has been imprisoned by the Spanish High Court. He was arrested on Friday following an extradition request from the US, where he stands accused of allegedly helping to smuggle tons of cocaine from Venezuela to Mexico. Washington believes that the former close ally of Venezuelas late leader, Hugo Chavez, might have useful information on the Latin American nations current president, Nicolas Maduro, Reuters reports.Source : RT - Daily news
Neither torched shops, nor tear gas on the Champs Elysees during the months of Yellow Vest protests could deprive France of remaining the worlds most visited country by tourists, breaking another record in 2018.

According to Frances national statistics institute (INSEE), the number of nights spent in the countrys hotels, campsites and youth hostels reached 438.2 million, marking an increase of nine million visitors against the previous year. The report excludes numbers for home-sharing platforms such as Airbnb.

The impressive growth was seen in a year marked by large-scale nationwide social movements on two occasions, including two months of rolling rail strikes between April to June, and the Yellow Vest demonstrations that started in late November against fuel prices, the high cost of living and tax reforms.

Despite political upheaval in the final months, last year delivered a promising outlook for the countrys tourism industry. In December, the Yellow Vests crisis put a dent in tourism with the number of travelers visiting France falling by 1.1 percent. In Paris alone, the protests dragged down the number of visitors by 5.3 percent.

Among the most visited sights are the Paris-based Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Louvre Museum, as well as the Palace of Versailles.

The rise is largely thanks to non-EU tourists. Visits from the US rose by 16 percent, while arrivals from Japan saw an 18 percent increase.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section
The US attempt to prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is a spiteful assault on civil freedoms conducted by an ailing superpower that is struggling to preserve its dominance, UK-based journalist John Pilger told RT.

One should not mistake what is happening to Assange for anything but the persecution of a man, who embarrassed the US by exposing to the public Washingtons brutality in the Middle East, award-winning British journalist John Pilger told RTs Going Underground program. The United States has aroused the ire because what we are in the midst of is the worlds greatest superpower struggling to maintain its dominance. Its information dominance, its technological dominance, its cultural dominance. And WikiLeaks has presented an extreme hurdle to this, he argued. If we lose the Assanges  and there arent many of them, a handful maybe and certainly no one like him  if we lose the WikiLeaks, then we lose a whole stratum of freedom. We stop questioning. Assange was arrested by the British authorities on Thursday after Ecuador revoked his political asylum and allowed the police to drag him out of the embassy in London. The US accuses the publisher of conspiring with WikiLeaks source Chelsea Manning in her leaking of classified materials related to US military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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WikiLeaks publications based on the Manning leak, especially the so-called collateral murder video, dealt a massive blow to US attempts to cover up the homicidal nature of its colonial wars, Pilger said.

Anybody watching that video really has to read very little else of the WikiLeaks revelations about the nature of the American wars, because there it is. There is some kind of consensual belief  Im trying to figure for a polite term for brainwashing, frankly  that we dont do these kinds of things, we perpetually benign, he explained.

On our side, these things simply do not happen They are only done by totalitarian states, the rogue states. In fact clearly the biggest rogue state of all is the United States.

Pilger says the attack on WikiLeaks is emblematic for the current state or journalism in the West, which has betrayed its mandate to be the publics watchdog for the actions of their governments.

Weve handed a whole world of abandonment of basic democracy, which is based on dissent, on challenging, on holding power to account, on revelation, on the embarrassment of power. Not trivial embarrassment, the embarrassment of odd celebrity, but real embarrassment. And WikiLeaks provided that public service of journalism, he said.

Also on rt.com WATCH: British Gitmo jail where Julian Assange is being held

The journalist said Assange was arrested on a political whim and his likely prosecution and imprisonment in the US opens up a whole chapter of diminishing the very principles that came out of the Second World War, upon which the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is base. It shows how fragile they are.

Watch the entire interview.

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If we lose WikiLeaks, we lose a whole stratum of freedom  Pilger

If we lose WikiLeaks, we lose a whole stratum of freedom  Pilger

Source : RT - Daily news
The failed face-to-face talks with President Donald Trump raise doubt whether the US is really committed to improving relations with North Korea, its leader Kim Jong-un said, while promising to beef up the nations defense.

Pyongyang will give the US till the end of the year to drop its current calculation method with regards to bilateral talks and come up with a correct posture instead, Kim said, the state-run KCNA news agency reported on Saturday. In that case, North Korea will consider holding a third summit with President Trump sometime in the future, he explained.

Addressing the nations parliament, Kim said that his talks with US President Donald Trump in February raised a strong question whether the country was right in making concessions. The meeting, which was cut short by the White House and ended without an agreement, also cast doubt on the true willingness of Washington to improve relations with North Korea.

According to Kim, the problem lied in the American-style way of dialogue which amounted to making unilateral demands without being ready to sit face-to-face with us and settle the problem.

As Pyongyang waits for the US to change its stance, it will keep increasing the defense capabilities, the North Korean leader stressed. He didnt specify what branches of the military will be strengthened and how.

Donald Trump, meanwhile, wrote on Twitter that another meeting with Kim would be good in that we fully understand where we each stand. The relationship between the leaders remains very good, perhaps the term excellent would be even more accurate, he added.

The presidents tone was in contrast with the stricter stance of US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, who earlier said that he wanted to leave a little space for easing the sanctions on Pyongyang but affirmed that the restrictions will largely remain in place as long as the US deems North Korea a nuclear threat.

Trump and Kim met for the first time in Singapore last year. They agreed to pursue peace, and North Korea pledged to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. In the months leading up to the talks, Pyongyang froze its nuclear and ballistic missile tests and demolished the only known nuclear test site.

Also on rt.com RT's first-hand account of N.Korean nuke test site demolition

The next round of talks, held in Hanoi, Vietnam, quickly fell apart. The US flatly rejected the proposal to partially lift the sanctions on North Korea in exchange to additional assurances that Pyongyang will not restart nuclear and ballistic missile tests. Trumps National Security Advisor, John Bolton, later clarified that the White House found Kim Jong-uns idea of a step-by-step denuclearization unacceptable as well.

North Korean officials have since expressed a readiness to resume the nuclear and ballistic missile program if the US continues its aggressive policy toward the nation.

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Venezuela will strongly retaliate against Brazil, the nations leader Nicolas Maduro has said, calling on the Brazilian Army to resist President Jair Bolsonaros attempts to intervene in its neighbors affairs.

The people of Venezuela stand united against the threats of war and military intervention voiced by the Brazilian right-wing leader, Nicolas Maduro said on Saturday. He blasted Bolsonaro as a fascist rookie and a Hitler imitator, and warned that Caracas will find ways to retaliate against any attacks coming from its neighbors.

Maduro also called on the Brazilian Army to stop the madness and thwart the attempts to create a conflict in the region.

A former army captain, Bolsonaro has never hidden his deep animosity towards the socialist government of Venezuela. Under his tenure, Brazil was among the first nations to openly back the opposition leader Juan Guaido as the interim president during his standoff with Maduro.

Also on rt.com Bolsonaro says Brazil & US focus on creating rift within Venezuelan army to oust Maduro

In a radio interview earlier this week, the Brazilian leader said that he was working with US President Donald Trump to sow dissent within Venezuelas armed forces in the hopes of ousting Maduro. He also said that he will consider helping Washington should the US launch a military invasion into Caracas.

His remarks were a departure from the ones previously made by Brazils vice president, who explicitly ruled out military intervention in Venezuela.

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US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said he doesnt think Benjamin Netanyahu's election vow to annex the West Bank will have a negative impact on a two-state peace plan, despite the removal of a large part of one state.

Asked whether he thought Netanyahus promise to officially annex the West Bank  already riddled with settlements constructed by Israel on occupied Palestinian land in violation of international law  would hurt the peace process, Pompeo said, I dont.

I think that the vision well lay out is going to represent a significant change from the model that's been used, he told CNN.

Also on rt.com Deal of the Century, minus one: Is Trump's peace plan for the Middle East the deletion of Palestine?

President Donald Trumps vision for the Middle East has already diverged significantly from the model thats been used.

The vision has included a unilateral declaration recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which the United Nations has repeatedly declared illegitimate since Israel officially annexed the Syrian territory in 1981.

It has also seen the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, defying international law that holds the eastern part of the city to be occupied Palestinian territory. Its hard to see how this vision could do anything other than hurt the peace process.

Pompeo has been noticeably cagey since Netanyahus re-election regarding the two-state solution that until very recently represented the official goal of US policy toward Israel and Palestine.

During a Senate hearing on Wednesday, he refused to answer when Democrats asked him to affirm his support for a Palestinian state, instead responding: Ultimately the Israelis and Palestinians will decide how to resolve this, and promising that Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner and his aide Jason Greenblatt would soon unveil a proposal to resolve a problem thats been going on for decades and decades that previous administrations couldnt solve.

We're hopeful that we have some ideas that are different, unique, which will allow the Israelis and the Palestinian people to come to a resolution of the conflict, Pompeo added.

Trump has been touting Kushners peace plan for years, though he has yet to reveal its contents and even threatened to withhold it entirely if Netanyahu didnt win a fifth term. Now that the PMs future is secure, Trump has said he will unveil the plan in June. Its unclear how much more of the surrounding area Netanyahu plans to annex before then.

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The demented stories about Julian Assanges spying cat and embassy antics are being spun by the top Ecuadorian officials to divert attention from his disgraceful expulsion from asylum, WikiLeaks editor Kristinn Hrafnsson said.

An exclusive story, revealing spurr-ious details about Assanges stay at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London was spun by Daily Mail on Friday. The piece has since raised quite a few eyebrows with its bold but unfounded claims, including some quite outlandish statements by the Ecuadorian ambassador.

READ MORE: There's no evidence to justify Assange's eviction, Snowden's lawyer says

Among other things, Ecuadors UK Ambassador Jaime Marchan brought up the pawsibility Assanges famous Embassy Cat might have been up to something dodgy, claiming the whole diplomatic mission was wary of the critter.

It could go in every room  we were suspicious it may carry a device ... to spy on us, the diplomat said.

Many of those not feline good about such an assumption accused Ecuador of waging a vicious smear campaign against Assange and his pet. The WikiLeaks editor-in-chief, Kristinn Hrafnsson, alleged the rumor spreading is aimed at diverting attention from the disgraceful expulsion of the whistleblowing websites founder from the diplomatic mission.

The radiclaw remark caused a storm of online mockery, with some going as far as suggesting the Ecuadorian officials should seek mental help  and keep off the pop culture.

Some said Ecuador have finally found a resolve to blame the cat for counterpurrveillance in the wake of the 2016 embassy intruder incident. After all, the cats Twitter account bragged about testing a dimeownitive infra-red camera back then.

READ MORE: #Counterpurrveillance: WikiLeaks Julian Assange reveals tiny kitten companion in embassy (PHOTO)

Others took the allegations a bit more seriously, recalling unsuccessful experiments  held by CIA  to turn cats into living surveillance devices. Unfurtunately for the spooks, felines turned out to be way too independent and unpredictable to be bothered with boring government work.

Other claims produced by Ecuador included allegedly poor hygiene on Assanges behalf, his reluctance to wash dishes, loud music and skateboarding within the embassy hall at night  overall, if the staff is to be believed, the WikiLeaks co-founder had been behaving like a rowdy teenager.

Also on rt.com Assange arrest final step in character assassination campaign  Slavoj Zizek

As for Embassy Cat, which Assange sent away in November, its exact whereabouts have remained unknown, sparking numerous concerns and theories. But in a pawsitive update on Saturday, WikiLeaks revealed that the whiskerblower was safe and sound. To confirm, they uploaded a clip of the cat watching Ruptlys footage of its owner being dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy and shouting UK must resist.

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A US sailor stationed in Okinawa was found dead next to a local woman after an apparent murder-suicide, Japanese officials reported. The small southern island hosts roughly half of all American troops in Japan.

The US man, who was not immediately identified, was attached to III Marine Division, Stars and Stripes reported citing a military spokesman. The body of the 31-year-old was discovered on Saturday next to that of a woman in her 40s. The two were reportedly in a relationship, which ended with the sailor stabbing the woman to death before taking his own life.

The Japanese police reportedly found the dead pair in a six-story apartment building in the Kuwae district of Chatan, a town on the western coast of Okinawa. The police said the womans child witnessed the incident when it happened in the early morning and called a relative, who in turn notified law enforcement.

We are aware of an incident resulting in the death of an apparent US Navy sailor with III Marine Division and a resident of Okinawa, the spokesman, First Lt. David Mancilla said. This is an absolute tragedy and we are fully committed to supporting the investigation into the incident.

The incident was discussed by Japans Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeo Akiba and US Ambassador William Hagerty during a phone call, the Japanese foreign ministry said as cited by Associated Press.

Also on rt.com Okinawa sweepingly rejects US base relocation but who cares about referendums & democracy?

Okinawa, the southernmost of Japans bigger islands, hosts about half of the 54,000 US troops stationed in Japan while amounting to only 1 percent of the countrys territory. For decades the military presence has been a major point of contention for local residents, who complain about things like environmental pollution, noise from aircraft operated by American bases and the danger posed by their flyovers.

US service members have also been involved in a number of high-profile crimes against locals, fueling anti-American sentiment. Tokyo shuns local authorities when they attempt to oppose the presence of American troops in Okinawa, saying it is necessary for national security.

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New footage from the Defense Ministry shows Russian corvettes flexing their muscles as they roll out big guns and practice hitting aerial targets during a naval drill in the Baltic Sea.

Bursts of flames can be seen in close-up shots of different guns rotating and providing rapid fire. A total of six guided-missile corvettes from Russias Baltic Sea Fleet participated in the naval drill. Its main task was to practice repelling aerial attacks.

Moscow had earlier conducted a drill in the Black Sea where a pair of corvettes successfully launched the supersonic anti-ship missile, the P-270 Moskit (Mosquito), capable of destroying an enemy some 55km away. Russian naval maneuvers coincided with the NATO Sea Shield 2019 exercise, which concluded on Friday. The Russian vessels were closely tracking the ships of the US-led bloc at all times, defense officials said.
Sporadic clashes with police marred Yellow Vests protests in Toulouse, the city chosen as the capital of this weeks anti-government marches in France. Act 22 is the first since a controversial anti-rioting law took effect.

Several thousand protesters took part in the demonstration in Toulouse on Saturday, marking the 22nd consecutive week of the gilets jaunes movement. Smaller rallies involving hundreds of people happened in capital Paris, and other French cities.

Unlike some earlier protest gatherings, no major rioting has occurred so far this weekend. The police in Toulouse was filmed deploying tear gas and some clashes were reported.

But otherwise, the protest seems peaceful

and more jovial than full of rage

Some participants used the occasion to show support to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who was arrested on Thursday in London.

This week a new controversial anti-rioting law came into force in France after the countrys Constitutional Council partially censured it. Some of its provisions, including one that bans covering ones face during a mass gathering, was criticized by human rights organizations. Some of the protesters on Saturday apparently ignored it by wearing gas masks and other gear.

The protest movement is meant to keep pressure on the French government despite it officially declaring on Monday an end to a three-month period of public debate on its economic policies. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the government needs to digest some two million online contributions and 10,000 hours of town hall meetings before formulating a path forward.

The continued protests were ignited by a hike in fuel taxes last November, which prompted the protesters to adopt the now-iconic motorist visibility vest as their symbol. It soon escalated into a massive movement against President Emmanuel Macrons business-friendly austerity policies.

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Indian technology duo Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and smaller rival Infosys expect continued strong growth in the new financial year, they said on April 12 after posting strong fourth-quarter numbers.

IT companies, now facing a margin squeeze in traditional outsourcing, are helping global clients to transform legacy businesses using digital services, automation and artificial intelligence.

Analysts have previously said that digital services will be a driver for almost all top technology companies in India and could translate into a strong deal pipeline in coming quarters.

TCS, India's biggest software exporter, said the company has achieved healthy order flows across multiple segments and from all major markets including Europe, the United Kingdom, India and the Middle East.

"That's one of the big things that give us the confidence about the momentum we see," TCS Chief Executive Rajesh Gopinathan told a Mumbai news conference.

The company reported record quarterly profit for the three months to March 31 at 81.26 billion rupees ($1.17 billion), up from 69.04 billion rupees last year.

Analysts on average had expected profit of 80.11 billion rupees, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

The Tata group's most profitable company posted a more than 18 percent revenue jump in the quarter - its strongest revenue in the past 15 quarters. TCS also ended the period with a fuller order book than in the past three quarters, the company said.

Gopinathan said the company's most important market - the banking, financial services and insurance segment (BFSI) - has a "fairly strong" outlook.

Mumbai-based TCS and Bengaluru-headquartered Infosys gained prominence by giving Western clients low-cost solutions to problems such as the Y2K bug and then gradually helped to shape changes in international business as outsourcing expanded.

Infosys reported net profit of 40.74 billion rupees for the quarter, against 36.9 billion rupees a year earlier. That compared with an average estimate of 39.56 billion rupees by 33 analysts, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

Infosys CEO Salil Parekh said that India's second-biggest software exporter expects its digital business to maintain high double-digit growth in the future.

"We are at a much more stable place (from where) we were 12 months ago," he said. "We had given ourselves a three-year period to become fully functioning in terms of stability, momentum and acceleration."

Infosys expects full-year revenue to rise by 7.5-9.5 percent on a constant currency basis, with an operating margin of 21-23 percent, the company said on April 12.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) on April 13 has objected to the decision for Sterling Biotech to come out from the insolvency bankruptcy code (IBC).

The Western Regional Director of the MCA, Manmohan Juneja, moved an application in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to stop this application as its promoters are absconding.

Juneja filed a detailed affidavit where he mentioned the wrong doings of Sterling Biotech. The MCA's argument in court, as stated by its legal director Sanjay Shourie, is that the company's promoters are facing a probe from multiple agencies and that its promoters are out of the net of investigation agencies.

Sterling Biotech took loans of over Rs 5,000 crore from a consortium led by Andhra Bank which had turned into non-performing assets.

The company's absconding promoters, Nitin Sandesara and Chetankumar Sandesara, are offering to return all the money to the banks.

As per the FIR, the total pending dues of the group of companies were Rs 5,383 crore as on December 31, 2016. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken the FIR into cognisance.

The ED has arrested few people in this case including Delhi-based businessman Gagan Dhawan, former Andhra Bank director Anup Garg and Sterling Biotech Ltd director Rajbhhushan Dixit. It had also attached assets worth over Rs 4,700 crore of the pharmaceutical firm in June this year.

Multiple prosecution complaints or chargesheets have also been filed by it before a special court here.
Answer: Comet nomenclature: P indicates a periodic comet (defined for these purposes as any comet with an orbital period of less than 200 years or confirmed observations at more than one perihelion passage).[5] C indicates a non-periodic comet (defined as any comet that is not periodic according to the preceding definition). X indicates a comet for which no reliable orbit could be calculated (generally, historical comets). D indicates a periodic comet that has disappeared, broken up, or been lost. A indicates an object that was mistakenly identified as a comet, but is actually a minor planet. (Representative Image: Reuters)

Contrarians face two major dilemmas. One, there could be a lack of opportunity for a very long period of time. Second, the investment may take a long time to realise gains. The Canadian investment firm Brookfield Asset Management, known for its unique contrarian philosophy, seems to have perfected the art.

In India, it simply waited for almost a decade to find meaningful deals. It has only very recently become active with deals such as Reliance Pipeline, Hotel Leela, Embassy Office REIT, Essar Group's real estate and IL&FS road projects.

What is common among these assets is most of them have been stressed assets. For instance, Hotel Leela, currently trading at Rs 11.15 a share, has eroded almost 90 percent of investors' wealth as a result of excessive debt. The company has been struggling to attract investors. For Brookfield, which recently entered into an agreement to purchase four of its hotel properties for a consideration of Rs 3,950 crore, this is an ideal situation to hunt for bargains.

Here are some of the strategies that Brookfield uses:

Betting against the crowd

Brookfield's investment philosophy has a value investing angle similar to what Benjamin Graham taught and Warren Buffett follows even today. It always tries to walk away from the crowd.

Bruce Flatt, CEO of Brookfield says, "One should always look for opportunity away from the crowd. And do not go with the crowd. Superior returns often require contrarian thinking."

Around 2016, the world's largest graphite company, GrafTech, was struggling for survival, hit by the downcycle in the steel industry. No one was interested in buying steel or companies operating in that value chain. They were called boring businesses. Brookfield bought GrafTech at $1.3 billion and later in 2018 got it listed at a valuation of about $4.5 billion. That was a great money-spinner for Brookfield in a very short span of time.

Since it consciously stays away from the herd, the firm doesnt participate in many 'hot' sectors or assets.

Waiting for the opportunity

Brookfield would simply wait on the sidelines for buying a great asset which has a great business and cash flows but is being ignored by the market as a result of short term issues. The private equity firm, which is ready to own assets for 15-20 years or even forever, is ready to sacrifice short-term profits for long-term gains. It has not only demonstrated immense patience in buying assets but has also shown similar patience while selling.

During a period of stress around 1996, Brookfield bought a multi-storey office building in New York City, paying close to $432 million. It saw many downcycles including the 9/11 terrorist attack as well as the financial crisis of 2008. The firm did not make any money in the first 10 years. But it recently sold the property for $2.2 billion, or five times its original purchase.

When does value emerge?

The greatest mistake is supposed to be the greatest opportunity. Many companies make poor choices on financing their businesses, which are otherwise sound and would have never got into trouble. Most of Brookfield's investments ideas have come from such stressed assets or companies going under bankruptcy proceedings. In 2017, Brookfield acquired the global solar and wind energy assets, including assets in India, of SunEdison, who filed for bankruptcy as the solar market crashed.

Brookfield is constantly looking for desperate sellers who need money to survive. They also look for periods when capital is scarce in the market, like in the case of India, where sellers are finding it difficult to divest assets.

The firm will field its managers and resources in places where the crowd is not interested, capital is scarce, the asset is illiquid, the size of the asset is huge and often perceived to be risky.

The craft of hunting

The most important thing about Brookfield is that it only acts in areas where they have an edge.

Like the way Warren Buffett operates in his circle of competence, Brookfield has identified areas of competitive edge, which is very important for a contrarian because in the end the acquirer of the asset is betting against the market or betting against the consensus.

One has to be sure of what they are doing and that only comes with core knowledge of the business. Brookfield has developed its know-how around real estate, infrastructure projects, gas pipelines, alternative investing, solar energy and a few other assets classes, primarily hard and tangible assets.

Buying assets below their replacement value

The maximum value emerges during times of crisis. In 2009, immediately after the financial crisis, Brookfield bought a coal handling facility, shipping around 85 million tonne of meteorological coal, based out in Australia. It carved out a great deal at 0.75 times the replacement value of these assets. Two years before it acquired them, these assets were bought by someone at 1.5 times the replacement value.

While price and valuation are a very important part of Brookfield's acquisition strategy, it has also paid a premium for some of its investments, in case they are really great assets to own.

Generally, it will wait for the perfect storm, which is when even the most promising assets are available below their replacement value. Buying assets below replacement value is one of the biggest sources of its overall gains.

However, it would back assets very carefully looking for some really hard and tangible assets such as real estate, coal handling facilities, solar energy assets, which have produced good cash flows but are going through a difficult period. Sometimes it is not the asset which is under stress, it may be the owners of the assets who are under stress and that could be a good opportunity. Buying assets below their replacement value and selling them later at their earnings-based multiple when the crisis is over leads to multi-fold returns.

Never become too positive or too negative

Last but not least, Bruce Flatt suggests that one should not be too positive and too negative. Often assets are acquired by people when they are too positive and sold when they are too negative. Sometimes, the environment in which investment decisions are made becomes too noisy, led by excessive pessimism or excessive optimism fuelled by news headlines. One needs to distill the news and environment around it to differentiate what is real and what is noise, in order to think ahead of the crowd.

Note: This article was originally published on 5th April 2019 for our premium subscribers. After this, the stock prices have changed and thus the valuation data mentioned in the article are only for the information purpose and needs to be adjusted in the current context

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The BJP leadership demanded repoll at several booths in Cooch Behar Lok Sabha seat, alleging that the ruling Trinamool Congress indulged in malpractices during polling on April 11. The saffron party also claimed that the TMC rigged those booths where state police personnel were on guard and the Election Commission failed to provide adequate security to the voters.

Polling was held in Cooch Behar and Alipurduar seats in north Bengal in the first phase on April 11 and around 81 percent of 34.52 lakh voters exercised their franchise.

Senior BJP leader Mukul Roy visited the office of the Chief Electoral Officer in Kolkata and demanded repoll on April 12. He along with state BJP leaders staged a sit in demonstration inside CEO chamber in order to press for their demand of repoll. Later, the EC officials pursued him to lift the demonstration.

"There should be repoll in Cooch Behar Lok Sabha seat. Several booths were rigged by the TMC as the security in these booths were provided by the state police. We wanted central forces to provide security cover," BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said.

The BJP candidate of Cooch Behar seat Nishit Pramanik Thursday night held a protest in front of the district magistrate's office, demanding re-poll in all booths where central force were not deployed.

He claimed that at least 350 polling stations were rigged by the TMC.

The TMC leadership mocked Roys dharna as a drama out of fear of losing in Coochbehar Lok Sabha seat.

Echoing the views of Ghosh, BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya claimed that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee does not respect democratic norms and should stop talking about democracy in the country.

Vijayvargiya said, "If she is so confident of victory, why isn't she not allowing free and fair polls? Why is the TMC trying to rig the elections?"

Ghosh had a word of caution for police officers who are allegedly working at the behest of the ruling party.

If they do not stop acting in an unbiased manner, they would have to face the music, he said.

"We would complain to the Election Commission and ensure that these officers are removed," Ghosh said.

The BJP and the TMC had accused each other of using state police and central forces to "manipulate" the voting in Cooch Behar Lok Sabha seat on the day of the first phase.

"We want repoll in all the polling stations which were guarded by the state police and not by the central force personnel," Pramanik had said.

On the other hand, TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee said. "We have reports of central forces threatening voters. This is unprecedented. We condemn it and want the EC to look into it."
(Image: Twitter/@@INCIndia)

Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh paid floral tributes at the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial here on April 13 to mark the centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Gandhi, Singh, Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, accompanied by some other Congress leaders, paid floral tributes at the memorial inside the Jallianwala Bagh in the morning. They also observed a two-minute silence to remember those who were massacred in the tragic incident on April 13, 1919.

Gandhi arrived at Amritsar late night on April 12. Upon his arrival, the Congress chief, accompanied by Singh, went straight to the Golden Temple here and paid obeisance.

Singh and Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore had also taken part in a candlelight march on the eve of the centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on Friday evening as part of the various events organised by the Punjab government to mark the historic occasion.

Singh had termed the tragic event as a heart-wrenching moment in India's history.

The massacre took place at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar during the Baisakhi festival in April 1919 when troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Dyer opened fire at a crowd of people holding a pro-independence demonstration, leaving several dead and scores injured.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti accused BJP chief Amit Shah of shaking the country's foundations with his recent controversial statements, and asked him to apologise to the people. She was reportedly referring to Shah's speech at Raiganj in West Bengal on April 11.

Calling illegal migrants from Bangladesh "termites", the BJP president had said that his party would throw them out after coming to power at the Centre for a second consecutive term.

"It is our commitment to bring in NRC across the country to chuck out each and every infiltrator. For us national security is supreme. We would ensure that each and every Hindu and Buddhist refugee gets citizenship of this country," Shah said.

Talking to reporters at Kangan in central Kashmir's Ganderbal district, Mehbooba said, "It is not only for Hindus, Sikhs or Muslims, the country is for everyone. I think by such statements, they are trying to shake the foundations of the country.

"They have become a danger for the country. Such statements are an attack on the country's secularism," she said.

The former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir said Shah should apologise as the foundation of the country has been laid on secularism.

"The language used by Amit Shah and his colleagues for garnering votes is wrong. Jammu and Kashmir had decided to join India keeping in mind its secular culture. I think Amit Shah should apologise to people of this country because the foundation of this country has been laid on secularism," she said.

The PDP leader also termed as "wrong" the reported stopping of nomad population from transporting their cattle till elections were over.

I have spoken to J-K Governor (S P Malik) and I hope he will take action and they will be allowed," she said.
North-bound from Mumbai, the train took me through Kalyan in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). This was followed by Igatpuri, Nashik, Manmad and Bhusaval in Maharashtra.

Vidya, a young IT professional from Mumbai, was travelling to the Northeast for a vacation with her family.

When asked if the Modi-led BJP government should get another five-year term, she promptly replied: Yes, yes. Modi should definitely come back. He has done a lot of good work. But, a lot more has to be done.

His work has not been seen by people, she said, adding that, We have seen what the Congress did in 10 years.

This sentiment resonated with a group of youngsters, boys and girls, who were also travelling from Mumbai to the Northeast for a vacation. All of them, engineers by profession and less than 30 years of age, were now working with private companies.

In what seemed like herd mentality, all of the eight said they were satisfied with what the BJP government had done so far. They credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Indian Air Force (IAF)s air strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM)s terror camp in Balakot, Pakistan in February and said it represented a New India.

However, they said the government had failed to create employment opportunities for the youth. They also had high expectation from the government regarding quality of education and womens safety.

They felt the education curriculum was outdated and lacked practical teaching. We graduated and got jobs. But, then we realised we did not have enough practical experience. This should not happen, said one of the girls.

A common concern for all of those hailing from Mumbai was the state of infrastructure. They were upset with the local administration over the stampede at Elphinstone Road Railway station in 2017 and the foot-over-bridge (FOB) collapse in early March. They try to fix the problems after things go wrong. Things like these cannot happen in the first place.

By then, I had reached closer to Nashik  a town in northwest Maharashtra known for its grapes and now famous for its vineyard.

Naveen Kaushal, a Mumbai-based garments dealer, said he was impacted by demonetisation and implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The market is suffering because of demonetisation and GST. There is a liquidity crunch in the market," he said.

It does not matter to us if BJP or Congress wins. They are all the same, just power hungry," Kaushal added. The middle class will suffer the most."

Asked about his opinion about a possible coalition government emerging at the Centre following the election, Kaushal said, The way the government will function will definitely be different. Modi ji will have to listen to coalition partners. His free hand will end. But this is good for us.

An old chikki vendor, possibly in his 70s, was listening to our conversation. He promptly interjected: It doesnt matter who wins the election. Tell me how we are going to benefit. We dont get anything.

Kaushals colleague, who hails from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh acknowledged that some of the governments policies had impacted their business. But he quickly said his hometown had undergone a transformation in the last two years under the BJP government.
The Congress and the SAD engaged in a bitter war of words on Saturday over Rahul Gandhi's visit to the Golden Temple, with the latter demanding an apology from the ruling party's president for Operation Blue Star and the former accusing Akalis of indulging in "shallow" politics.

Gandhi, accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, visited the Golden Temple on late on April 12 night, soon after his arrival in Amritsar to mark the centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

"Rahul's visit is just to gain political mileage. He should have tendered an apology for Operation Blue Star of 1984," Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said in Bathinda.

The Indian Army had carried out Operation Blue Star in June 1984 to flush out militants hiding in the Golden Temple complex.

Badal held the Congress responsible for the "attack" on the Sikh shrine, also known as Harmandir Sahib.

"Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh should have asked Rahul to tender an apology for the attack on Harmandir Sahib in 1984," she said.

Earlier, she said in a tweet, "Pb CM @capt_amarinder took @RahulGandhi to Sri Akal Takht Sahib but lacked courage to ask him admit the @INCIndia's sin of demolishing Sikhs' highest religio-temporal seat with tanks & mortars. What a contrast with demand for British apology for #JallianwalaBaghMassacre!"

The Union minister's comments drew sharp reactions from the Congress.

"Did you, your husband @officeofssbadal or his father, Parkash Singh Badal, ever apologise for your great grandfather, Sardar Sunder Singh Majithia's lavish dinner to Gen Dyer on the day of Jallianwala Bagh massacre? He was later knighted in 1926 for his loyalty and his deeds," Singh tweeted.

Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar also attacked the Akalis.

He alleged that the SAD had a "small thinking" and was indulging in "shallow" politics.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi paid floral tributes at the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial and said the cost of freedom must never ever be forgotten.

The massacre took place in Jallianwala Bagh during the Baisakhi festival in April 1919. The British Indian Army, under the command of Colonel Dyer, fired machine guns at a crowd holding a pro-independence demonstration, leaving hundreds dead.
BJP president Amit Shah on April 13 accused the Congress of doing 'Ilu Ilu' with terrorists, in an apparent reference to a popular Bollywood love song from the nineties. In the song, 'Ilu Ilu' is an acronym for I love you.

"Rahul baba's guru Sam Pitorda said do not bomb (Pakistan) but negotiate... Rahul baba if your party wants to do 'Ilu Ilu' with terrorists you can do that. But our intention is clear, if a shot is fired, we will reply with a bomb," Shah said here, addressing an election meeting in support of BJP's Badaun candidate Sanghmitra Maurya.

Shah claimed that during the Congress's 10-year tenure, no action was taken even when terrorists took away heads of Indian soldiers.

"This time it was the Narendra Modi government and not 'mauni baba' Manmohan Singh... within 13 days of the attack, the Indian Air Force went into Pakistan, bombed the terror camps and returned," the BJP president said, referring to the Pulwama attack.

He added that BJP workers in Kashmir will ensure that it remains part of India and intruders are thrown out of the country.

Training his guns at the opposition's 'mahagathbandhan', Shah said the country would have a new prime minister everyday of the week if the grand alliance comes to power.

"On one side is the BJP led by Narendra Modi which is working for the country. On the other side is the 'mahagatbandhan' of Rahul Baba, 'behan' (sister) Mayawati, 'bhatija' (nephew) Akhilesh, Congress and others... I ask who is your (opposition's) leader... it is clear that Modi is our leader and will be the PM, but who is your leader... no one is telling but I will tell," he said.

"On Monday it will be Mamata Banerjee, on Tuesday it will be Mayawati, on Wednesday it will be Chandrababu Naidu, on Thursday it will be Deve Gowda, on Friday... on Saturday it will be Mulayam Singh Yadav," he added.

"Can any government be run like this? Who will look after the security of the country? Can this 'gathbandhan' look after the security of the country?" the BJP president asked.

Shah claimed people across India were chanting Modi's name and they had decided to make him the prime minister once again.

He exhorted the electorate of Badaun, from where the Samajwadi Party's Dharmendra Yadav had won in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, to join the development journey by voting for Maurya.
On the question of actor Sushant Singh Rajputs death, the former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief said that his party never wanted to make a political issue out of it.

The Congress, which had in the past fielded popular figures like former CEC T N Seshan and actor Rajesh Khanna from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat, has this time given ticket to its two-time MLA, C J Chavda, for whom taking on BJP chief Amit Shah seems to be an uphill task.

There is a talk in political circles that although the seat has been a BJP bastion from 1990s, a strong opponent could have given a tough fight to Shah.

Shah has replaced veteran BJP leader L K Advani had won the Gandhinagar seat six times.

In the past, the Congress had fielded T N Seshan, Rajesh Khanna and former state DGP P K Dutta from this high profile seat against BJP stalwarts like L K Advani and A B Vajpayee.

The constituency has the highest number of 19.21 lakh voters among all the 26 constituencies in Gujarat. It comprises seven assembly segments- Gandhinagar North,Kalol, Sanand, Ghatlodiya, Vejalpur, Naranpura and Sabarmati.

In the 2017 Assembly elections, the five urban seats - Ghatlodiya, Vejalpur, Naranpura, Sabarmati and Sanand - went to the BJP, while the two semi-rural constituencies of Gandhinagar North and Kalol were won by the Congress.

Chavda, an MLA from Gandhinagar North seat, belongs to the Thakor community which has been a strong supporter of the Congress.

Chavda, a veterinary doctor, who went on to become a deputy collector before joining politics, believes that the fight is between the Congress and the BJP and not Amit Shah and him.

"Do not call it a fight between Amit Shah and C J Chavda. This is a contest between the Congress and the BJP. If he is the national president of the BJP, then why did he choose the so-called safe seat in Gujarat. He could have contested from a challenging seat," Chavda said.

"Our leaders had come to Gandhinagar recently (on March 12) and held a mega rally in Gandhinagar, which was attended by lakhs of people. The rally has shown that everything is not right for the BJP in Gujarat. We will give a tough fight to the BJP," he added.

Shah has earlier said that fighting election from the Gandhinagar seat, where Vajpayee and Advani, had contested and won, was a matter of pride. He also belongs to the same region, unlike the other two leaders.

In the past, Shah had won the Gujarat Assembly elections four times from Sarkhej constituency (before delimitation), and once from Naranpura seat (after delimitation), both of which are part of Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat.

In the past, he had acted as in-charge of Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat for Advani, when the national leader was busy campaigning for the BJP in other parts of country in 2009.

When Shah was asked about the chances of his victory during his road-show held last Saturday, he had said, "Look at the crowd in the road-show, which itself will tell you who is going to win the seat."

In the 1999 general election, the Congress had fielded T N Seshan, former Chief Election Commissioner, credited for transforming the Election Commission (EC) in the 1990s, against Advani from Gandhinagar. Seshan managed to give a credible fight to Advani.

Before that, in the 1998 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress had given ticket to former Gujarat DGP P K Dutta.

Advani had won this seat for six times from 1991 to 2014, barring the 1996 polls when Vajpayee had contested from Gandhinagar as well as Lucknow.

After getting elected from both the seats, Vajpayee had retained Lucknow, which had necessitated a bypoll here, in which Congress had given ticket to popular film actor Rajesh Khanna against BJP candidate Vijay Patel. However, Khanna had lost the election.

A section of Congress supporters believe that had the party given ticket to a strong candidate, who is popular with urban voters, then the fight would have been interesting.

After the announcement of Shah's name, the Congress had tried a search for a strong candidate here and even thought of fielding Patidar quota agitation leader Hardik Patel. However, as the court did not stay his conviction in a case, it was not possible, party sources said.

"Our local MLA (Chavda) is a strong candidate for us to take on Shah. Though high profile BJP leaders are representing this seat since 1990, basic issues here are clean drinking water, affordable education, health care and jobs, which has been affecting the people of the constituency," Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said.

He also expressed confidence that the Congress will dent the BJP's prospects in Gandhinagar.

For Shah, his trusted aide Harshad Patel is in-charge of his constituency. Party workers, including the youth wing, have been working hard everyday to canvas for Shah.

The BJP chief has conducted two road-shows in his constituency, the first being on the day of filing of nomination form and the second one a week later- on April 6.

He is scheduled to hold more road-shows and address public meeting.

In the Gandhinagar constituency, maximum number of voters are Patidars, followed by Thakors.

The Congress expects that Patidars may support the party after the quota agitation. However, it is unlikely to happen, which was visible in the 2017 state elections, in which the community supported the BJP.

"Caste won't be a factor here as this is the stronghold of the BJP. People know that the party can provide development and security. We have shown our development works to the people," BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya said.

"Congress had lost the polls on this seat even before they put a candidate. Whoever they would have put BJP was sure to win here," he said.
Latching onto a statement attributed to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal on April 13 said Pakistan cannot get a better Indian PM than Narendra Modi who had allowed the ISI to visit the Pathankot air base, and is "implementing" Pakistan's agenda.

Kejriwal also questionned the timing of the February 14 Pulwama terror attack, which he said was executed "ahead of the elections".

Referring to Khan's statement that he sees a better chance of peace talks with India if the BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi wins the Lok Sabha elections, the Delhi chief minister went on to question the timing of the Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed.

"Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan says that Narendra Modi should become the PM of India once again. His statement came against the backdrop of a war like situation that existed between both the countries a few days back. And (despite that) Imran Khan wants Modi to be the PM of India again," Kejriwal said while addressing the AAP workers in South Goa.

Kejriwal said he didn't understand that is happening between Khan and Modi.

"Four weeks back, a war-like situation prevailed between both the countries but now Imran Khan wants Modi to be the PM. Why is he saying so? Why does Pakistan want Modi to be PM again? Now people have started asking about the Pulwama attack," he said.

"Why did he (Imran Khan) get the terrorist attack at Pulwama executed just two months before the (Lok Sabha) elections?" he asked.

"Modi is now going around the country and telling that we went into the house of the enemy (ghar me ghuskar) and killed them," he said.

Kejriwal added, "Pakistan cannot get better prime minister than Modi. After the Pathankot strike, he (Modi) invited the ISI (Pakistani spy agency) to investigate it (in 2016). The ISI is less of an intelligence agency and more of terrorists. The BJP calls Modi a strong leader, but no government did what Modi did (by allowing the ISI enter the Pathankot air base)..Can Pakistan get better Indian PM than Modi?" he questioned.

Kejriwal further said that because of Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, the unfulfilled agenda of Pakistan to divide India on the religious lines seems to be working.

"Pakistan failed to divide India on the religious lines in the last 70 years. But it is being made possible in the last five years because of Modi and Shah duo who have filled poison in the minds of the people. Pakistan cannot get better Indian prime minister than this. They (Shah and Modi) have implemented Pakistan's agenda," he said.

He further said Modi's return to power does not augur well for democracy in India.

"If Modi returns to power, this would be the last election in the country till he is alive. I have come to appeal to you to save the country. The country is in danger. If Modi and Amit Shah come back again, and if Modi becomes PM again, then the country will not survive, Indian constitution will not survive and secular structure will not survive," he alleged.

AAP has fielded Elvis Gomes from South Goa constituency against Congress' Francisco Sardinha and BJP's sitting MP Narendra Sawaikar. Goa, which has two Parliamentary seats, votes on April 23.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 13 sought to corner the Congress on its showpiece poll promise of "Nyay," and sought to know who would do justice for the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots, violence against Dalits, and the Bhopal gas tragedy under its regime.

The Prime Minister addressing a poll rally, a day after the campaign by Congress president Rahul Gandhi here, alleged the Congress and dishonesty were best friends but sometimes "by mistake," they end up speaking the truth.

"Now they are saying "Ab Hoga Nyay" (justice will be done now) even if they did not intend, they have admitted that all they have done is "Anyay" or injustice for 60 long years," (during the Congress rule), he said. "I want to ask the Congress party who will do Nyay to the victims of 1984 Sikh riots ? ...who will do Nyay to all the victims of anti Dalit (violence), who will do Nyay to the government of great M G Ramachandran ji, which was dismissed by the Congress just because one family did not like those leaders." ...who will do Nyay to the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy, among the worst environmental disaster in India."

The Prime Minister pointed out that such infamous incidents occurred during the Congress rule. If Rahul Gandhi invoked Tamil pride and Dravidian legacy to target BJP's Hindutva line, Modi today countered it by pointing to Tamil Nadu's spiritualism, late AIADMK leaders M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa and the welfare of Srilankan Tamils. Modi said: "I pay homage to the great MGR and Jayalalithaa ji. India is proud of these two iconic leaders who lived and worked for the poor. their social welfare schemes ensured lakhs of people are free from poverty."

BJP stood with people on the Lord Ayyappa issue, he said and hailed the state's spiritual ethos by citing the famous hill shrine of Lord Shiva (Sundaramahalinga Swamy Temple) on Sathuragiri hills in the region. "Remember that for making a prosperous Tamil Nadu, this game of the DMK and Congress must end. We must continue working for the prosperity of our Srilankan Tamil brothers and we must end the dynasty rule of corrupt families," he told the crowd.

The AIADMK has been accusing the DMK-Congress combine for not taking steps to halt the killings of Tamil civilians during the Srilankan civil war in 2009 while seeking to champion their cause and Modi's remarks resonate it. Without naming anyone, the Prime Minister said the nation was witness to "father becomes Finance Minister and son loots the country," (during the UPA and seen as a reference to a senior leader from Tamil Nadu). "Whenever they are in government they always loot, the Madhya Pradesh government has become their ATM, they are diverting money meant for poor and children for use in their election, this has become known as the "Tughlaq Road scam," I am sure you all know which big Congress leader stays on Tughlaq Road in New Delhi."

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami lashed out at the DMK, asking it to clarify whom it would support in neighbouring Kerala, whether the Congress or the CPI(M). In Tamil Nadu, DMK is leading the Secular Progressive Alliance, whose constituents include the Congress and the Left parties. Modi launched a broadside against the Opposition saying the DMK, Congress and their 'mahamilavati' friends cannot accept strides India has made and therefore were "unhappy" with him.

The DMK and Congress though "sworn enemies" have joined hands, despite the national party having "humiliated" its southern ally in the past. "Today India is rapidly making a mark in the world. The Congress, DMK and their mahamilavati friends cannot accept this. That is why they are unhappy with me," he said at an election rally here. The Prime Minister has been describing the opposition 'mahagatbandhan' (mega alliance) as 'mahamilavati,' meaning adulterated.

Taking pot shots at DMK President MK Stalin's proposal naming Congress chief Rahul Gandhi as Prime Ministerial candidate, Modi said there were no takers for this among the opposition "because they are in line to be PM and dream of the post." "Some days ago, DMK supremo (Stalin) projected the Naamdar (dynast--Gandhi) as PM (candidate) but no one was ready to accept it, not even their mahamilavati friends, because they are in line to be PM and dream of the post," he said, without naming anyone.

Despite past "bitterness," the Congress and DMK have joined hands, he said and recalled that the national party had "humiliated" the southern ally earlier, apparently referring to the dismissal of the DMK government in the past. Even during the 2G spectrum allocation scam, centered around then Telecom Minster A Raja of DMK, the Dravidian party's leaders were criticising the national party, which was leading the ruling UPA, he pointed out. "In an attempt to mislead the people, all the corrupt have ganged up in an attempt to defeat Modi," he added.

He said the DMK has to "resort to gimmicks" just to draw people to its rallies. The Congress, the DMK and their other mahamilawati friends can never work for India's development, he said. "This land of Theni is known for brave people who served the nation, it is now up to you to decide how you will you deal with those who questioned the surgical and air strikes done by our brake armed forces," he said.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) had carried out airstrikes on terror camps in Pakistan in February last. "When it comes to national security there can be no compromise. I assure my fellow Indians that we leave no stone unturned in protecting India and destroying forces of terror." Referring to the capture of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman by Pakistan army, he said, "When a brave Indian fighter pilot was captured in Pakistan, it was ensured that he is back home in record time and even then Congress was playing politics over national security and insulting our forces."
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It is the age of collaboration at the world stage, and India should not be an exception. Extremely competitive market scenarios, challenging regulations, changing buying habits of consumers are leading to a surge in partnerships even from the unlikeliest of pairs. Peugeot Group and Fiat are looking for partners even as arch rivals Mercedes and BMW have joined hands.

Closer home a new chapter could be opening for two long-time partners that had got separated from each other only to reunite again. Today's wrap is based on this partnership but here's a rundown of all the major developments in the auto space this week.

Porsche launches 911 Carrera S

A few days after revealing its plans to launch the new 911, Porsche officially put the supercar on sale in India. Although it retains its iconic aesthetics, it has undergone serious mechanical upgrades.

The 911 Carrera S features an extensively re-engineered platform which has been grafted with aluminium in its rear for improved weight distribution. It also carries a heavily revised 3-litre, flat-six, turbocharged petrol engine which makes 444BHP of maximum power. That is a 30BHP increase over the previous generation.

SIAM urges govt to reduce GST on automobiles

Auto industry has approached the government to cut GST on passenger vehicles and two-wheelers from 28 percent to 18 percent to compensate the sector, which is expected to see a price hike in range of 10-15 percent with the coming of new emission and safety regulations.

The industry fears that with the increase in prices, the demand for their products would be impacted. Currently, automobiles attract peak GST rate of 28 percent with additional cess ranging from 1 percent to 15 percent, depending on the length, engine size and type.

Passenger vehicle sales grow only 2.7 percent in FY19

Passenger vehicle sales in India rose just 2.7 percent in 2018-19 as weak customer sentiment led by liquidity crunch, high vehicle prices and uncertainty revolving forthcoming elections put brakes on the sales growth in the segment.

According to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) Monday, domestic passenger vehicles (PV) sales were at 33,77,436 units in 2018-19 beating the previous record of 32,88,581 units in 2017-18.

BMW launches new Z4 at Rs 64.9 lakh

BMW has launched the Z4 Roadster in India and is offering it in two variants here - the sDrive20i priced at Rs 64.90 lakh and the M40i priced at Rs 78.90 lakh. The sDrive20i gets a 2-litre inline four turbo engine that produces 200 PS of power and 320 Nm of torque with a top speed of 240 km/h hitting 100 km from a standstill in 6.6 seconds.

The top spec M40i, on the other hand, gets an inline-six twin turbo motor capable of churning out 345 PS and 500 Nm. BMW claims a top speed of 250 km/h with a 0-100 km/h time of 4.5 seconds. Both engines are mated to an 8-speed Steptronic Sport Transmission.

FAME-II overlooks critical issues: Rajiv Bajaj

Voices of disagreement over government's incentive plan for electric vehicles have started to surface from the automotive industry.

Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director, Bajaj Auto, said FAME-II (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles) scheme overlooks the issue of lack of demand for such green vehicles.

Can Ford shut India ops?

The news about Ford and Mahindra (M&M) deepening their alliance in India became the highlight of the week in the automotive space. Where the two companies have been jointly involved in several new projects with regards to vehicle, engine and technology, a Reuters story claimed that Ford might as well shut down its independent operations to shift focus to a new joint venture company with M&M.

The 115-year-old company which was the flag bearer of American engineering for several decades is slowly but surely falling into the oblivion in several markets including India.

In February, Ford Motors Company announced that it will pull down the shutters on a Brazilian plant. Last month, news emerged that two of its plants in Russia could also follow suit.

Its money-losing operations in Europe are forced to undergo a restructuring which may involve production cuts and job losses.

Ford's China joint venture saw its sales fall to the lowest level since 2012 after recording a massive 54 percent decline in sales during 2018.

Several months ago it halted development activities of a new family of cars destined for India following lack of any substantial guarantee of its success.

The Ecosport, a compact SUV, remains the flag bearer for Ford in India, despite being into its seventh year. None of its other models such the Figo, Aspire and Freestyle do not feature in the top three in its respective segments.

The only bright spot for the struggling company which entered India in the mid-1990s has been the switch to profits during 2017-18. This was the first time that Ford recorded profits in India. However, the turnaround was largely due to export operations that dwarfed India sales.

Ford perhaps now has understood the risk of not taking India too seriously even when all manufacturers were pumping in investments in China, the world's biggest car market. Presently, Ford has to arrest erosion in market share in the US and Europe, whether the Chinese slowdown as well as play as an aggressor in India where the odds are stacked up heavily against it.

M&M with its multi-year understanding of the Indian market could be the right partner for Ford. Both companies can work on common platforms, reduce development costs and enjoy economies of scale. The two are working on a mid-size utility vehicle as the Ecosport is set to get an M&M-made engine.

Work on future mobility areas such as electric cars and shared mobility are also on the table. Collaboration in each of these areas will reduce costs significantly and boost margin probability higher for both companies.

M&M can make the most of Ford's next-gen mobility solutions like electric and hybrid tech, and also shared mobility. Plus Mahindra can tap into Ford's global retail reach (dealerships).
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A Pakistani Senate panel Saturday sought a report from the interior ministry on the action taken against terrorists and banned outfits involved in the killing of Hazaras, a day after a suicide blast targeting the minority Shia community killed 21 people in restive Balochistan province. A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior took serious notice of the two deadly terror attacks in Balochistan on Friday.

In the first attack, a suicide bomber blew himself in the Hazarganj fruits and vegetable market in provincial capital Quetta killing around 21 people and injuring 60 others, mostly Hazaras.

Those killed included 10 members of the Hazara Shia community, two children and security personnel.

In the second attack in the evening in Chaman city, two civilians were killed and 10 others injured when militants planted an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) on a motorcycle parked on Mall Road. The blast occurred when a Frontier Corps (FC) vehicle carrying troops was passing through.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan later claimed responsibility for the Hazarganj blast. It said the blast was carried out in collaboration with the banned Lashkar-e-Jhagvi outfit but there was no confirmation from the latter.

The LeJ is a Sunni militant group, which has claimed responsibility for several deadly attacks against the Shia community in Pakistan, including the 2013 blasts in Quetta that killed over 200 Hazara Shias.

The Senate panel also sought a report about the release of activists of the banned outfits in the near past in Balochistan.

Senator Rehman Malik, who heads the committee, said the involvement of the "hostile neighbour and other external forces" could not be ruled out as such blasts appeared to be a conspiracy to incite sectarian clashes and destabilise Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the Hazara community members are continuing a sit-on the main Western Bypass road in Quetta to protest against what they term as the persistent failure of law enforcement agencies to provide them security.

The sit-in started soon after the suicide blast ripped through the Hazarganj market early Friday morning. Women and children are among those who have been staging the sit-in.

The protesters demand that the government implements an effective security plan and ensure protection of the Hazara community.

Hazaras make up a significant minority group in Pakistan and most of them live in Quetta.

Qadir Nayil, a Hazara leader, asked the government to ensure better protection.

"Once again our people were the target and once again we will have to bury our dear ones," he said.

There have been similar terror attacks in the Hazarganj area of Quetta in the past. The market serves as a wholesale market for fruits and vegetables.

Nearly half-a-million Hazaras have settled in Balochistan, many of them after fleeing war-torn Afghanistan.

The National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) last year stated that 509 members of the Hazara community were killed and 627 injured in various incidents of terrorism in Quetta from January 2012 to December 2017.

According to the NCHR, targeted killings, suicide attacks and bomb blasts have inflicted harm to daily life, education, and business activities of ethnic Hazara community members in Balochistan's largest city Quetta.

Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, is Pakistan's largest and poorest province, rife with ethnic, sectarian and separatist insurgencies.
Annoyed over non-payment of their salaries, the employees association of Jet Airways on Friday asked the Mumbai Police to register a case against its founder and former Chairman Naresh Goyal, CEO Vinay Dube and SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar.

The All India Jet Airways Officers & Staff Association in its letter said: "We call upon you to register offence under cheating, criminal breach of trust, misappropriation and other offences against the Chairman, the CEO, the representative of the State Bank of India (Bankers) as per specific provisions of Section 405 and 409 and other related Sections including 420 of IPC."

The Association urged the Mumbai Police to investigate the matter on an urgent basis and said that the Jet Airways staff will be forced to express its solidarity through constitutional means including "calling for a strike under the provisions of Industrial Disputes Act".

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.
April 13, 2019 CIA's Vault 7 Files Launched New Case Against Assange - Attack Intends To Prevent Further Leaks After the arrest of Julian Assange by British police and the unsealing of the U.S. indictment against him, the question is why is the U.S. doing this and why now? The indictment alleges that Assange 'conspired' with Chelsea Manning by giving support to her attempt to find a password to an account that would have allowed her to conceal her pilfering of U.S. documents. Glenn Greenwald argues that the case is quite thin and clearly an attack on press freedom. That a reporter or editor has to help a source to conceal its identity is part of the job description. The Obama administration, not known for reluctance to go after whistleblowers, had already weighed the 'conspired' case and decided against prosecuting it. It is thus likely that the case, as unsealed now, is only a pretext to extradite Assange from Britain. The real case will only get unsealed if and when Assange is in U.S. custody. National security reporter William Arkin, who left NBC News over its warmongering, is likely right when he writes that the issue behind this is Wikileaks' publishing of the CIA's hacking tools known as Vault 7. While the publishing of the Vault 7 files received little coverage in the media, it seriously damaged the CIA's capabilities. Arkin wrote on April 11 about the Vault 7 connection. The Guardian and the Daily Beast were offered the piece but declined to publish it: The American case, which shifted completely in March 2017, is based up WikiLeaks publications of the so-called Vault 7 documents, an extensive set of cyber espionage secrets of the Central Intelligence Agency. Vault 7 was little noticed in the emerging Russian collusion scandal of the new Trump administration, but the nearly 10,000 CIA documents that WikiLeaks started publishing that March constituted an unprecedented breach, far more potentially damaging than anything the anti-secrecy website had ever done, according to numerous U.S. officials. There have been serious compromises  Manning and Snowden included  but until 2017, no one had laid a glove on the Agency in decades, says a senior intelligence official who has been directly involved in the damage assessments. Then came Vault 7, almost the entire archive of the CIAs own hacking group, the official says. The CIA went ballistic at the breach. The official is referring to a little known CIA organization called the Center for Cyber Intelligence, a then unknown counterpart to the National Security Agency, and one that conducts and oversees the covert hacking efforts of the U.S. government. Wikileaks acquired the Vault 7 files in late 2016 or early 2017. In January 2017 a lawyer for Julian Assange tried to make a deal with the U.S. government. Assange would refrain from publishing some critical content of the Vault 7 files in exchange for limited immunity and safe passage to talk with U.S. officials. One issue to be talked about was the sourcing of the DNC files which Wikileaks published. U.S. officials in the anti-Trump camp claimed that Russia had hacked the DNC servers. Assange consistently said that Russia was not the source of the published files. He offered technical evidence to prove that. On March 23 2017 Wikileaks published some Vault 7 files of minor interest. The Justice Department wanted a deal and made on offer to Assange. But intervention from then FBI director Comey sabotaged it: Multiple sources tell me the FBIs counterintelligence team was aware and engaged in the Justice Departments strategy but could not explain what motivated Comey to send a different message around the negotiations ... With the deal seemingly in jeopardy Wikileaks published the CIA's Vault 7 files of "Marble Framework" and "Grasshopper". These CIA tools systematically changed its sniffing tools to make them look "Russian" or "Iranian" by inserting foreign language strings into their source code. The publication proved that the attribution of the DNC pilfering and other "hacks" to Russia was nonsense. The publishing of these files ended all negotiations: On April 7, 2017, Assange released documents with the specifics of some of the CIA malware used for cyber attacks. It had immediate impact: A furious U.S. government backed out of the negotiations, and then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo slammed WikiLeaks as a hostile intelligence service. The alleged leaker of the Vault 7 files, one Joshua Schulte, is in U.S. custody but still has not had his day in court. It is likely that the U.S. wants to offer him a deal should he agree to testify against Assange. In another piece Arkin expands on his first take by setting the case into a wider context: [C]oming on the heels of massive leaks by Edward Snowden and a group called the Shadow Brokers just months earlier, and given the notoriety WikiLeaks had earned, Vault 7 was the straw that broke the governmental back. Not only was it an unprecedented penetration of the CIA, an organization that had evaded any breach of this type since the 1970s, but it showed that all of the efforts of the U.S. government after Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden had failed to either deter or catch millennial leakers. The targeting of Assange is not only for revenge, though revenge is surely part of the motive. The wider aim is to shut down on leaking: The thinking of government officials  current and former  that Ive talked to is that shutting down WikiLeaks once and for all  or at least separating it from the mainstream media to make it less attractive as a recipient of U.S. government secrets, will at least be one step towards greater internal security. Assange will first be sentenced in Britain for jumping bail. He will be convicted to some six months of jail. Only after that time will the legal fight about the extradition to the States begin. It may take up to three years. Assange's greatest hope to escape an extradition is a change of government in Britain: Jeremy Corbyn @jeremycorbyn - 19:34 utc - 11 Apr 2019 The extradition of Julian Assange to the US for exposing evidence of atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan should be opposed by the British government. The time it will take for the extradition case to move through British and EU courts is likely long enough for Labour to win a general election. With Jeremy Corbyn in charge Assange would likely be safe. It is one more reason for the transatlantic establishment to prevent a Corbyn win by all means available to it. Posted by b on April 13, 2019 at 18:19 UTC | Permalink Comments next page  next page 
For at least two reasons, its not a bad idea for the city of Lorain to adopt a policy prohibiting smoking tobacco products in municipal parks.

A policy could help smokers to stop smoking for better health.

Secondly, the policy could cut down on smokers disposing cigarette butts on the ground.

City Councils Parks and Recreation Committee met April 8 to discuss the latest version of rules against smoking in green spaces and possibly all city-owned places.

But city officials also have hinted at a closer look at supporting an outright ban enforceable by law.

For now, instead of a new city law, Council members who attended the meeting generally voiced support for a policy against smoking and signage designating the parks as smoke-free zones.

The committee took no formal action, but Chairman Mitch Fallis asked for fellow Council members to submit suggestions and revisions to Clerk of Council Nancy Greers Office for future consideration.

Fallis said he believes children ages 18 or younger usually get their first cigarettes from peers who likely are ages 18 or older.

Changing that law, he said, needs to come from state or federal regulators.

Fallis said he supports a healthy city and one way to do that is not to have children exposed to cigarettes, particularly in public places and parks.

In essence, he endorses a policy to protect children from smoking tobacco products.

But its also a good message and model to others that Lorain is a healthy city.

Safety-Service Director Dan Given addressed the committee and said he has read reports from other states on the topic of smoking.

Given said the main thing is to draft a policy to ensure tobacco non-use and enforcement in an area.

He cited figures of park directors observing fewer people smoking and cleaner parks, just from having policies in place.

Given said Lorain can denormalize the look of smoking in the community; having fewer acceptable places for smoking makes people think smoking no longer is the norm.

Another good point from Given is that people should not have to choose between enjoying places that are outside and breathing clean air.

But he suggested a slow start with an internal policy and reaching out to Lorain County Metro Parks and the Lorain Port Authority to let them know the citys approach.

Given also noted, and hes not alone, that smoking is a litter control issue because adults use public spaces as personal ashtrays discarding their cigarette butts.

The citys sign shop in the Public Property Department created rough drafts of signs emphasizing smokers avoid lighting up, thus avoiding negative health effects on children playing in Lorains green spaces.

Ward 6 Councilman Angel Arroyo Jr. asked a valid question during the meeting as to how the city would enforce a ban.

Given responded Lorain police, already understaffed, could not enforce a ban.

There would be people calling to report smokers in parks and that would take time away from dispatchers answering calls about emergency situations.

However, with a smoking policy in place, park workers could ask smokers to leave.

If they did not leave, staff could call police to get involved.

Arroyo and Ward 1 Councilwoman Beth Henley, Ward 3 Councilwoman Pamela Carter and Ward 4 Councilman Greg Argenti voiced support for a policy.

Residents Nancy Lee and Denver Casto, who attended the meeting, said they support a policy.

But residents Abbey Gleason and William Madanski called for even stricter city action.

Madanski said smokers leave butts at Lakeview Park and Black River Landing and light up at gas pumps with little regard for others.

Gleason questioned Council action for letting the topic sit without action since last year.

Council first began considering the topic in October 2018.

Gleason said if Council wants to support the city and attract new businesses and families, Lorain should follow the lead of other cities and send Lorain on a path of progress.

She said Avon Lakes smoking ban in parks and city property has led to voluntary compliance and little police action, citing conversation with that citys police chief.

Gleason said a smoking ban could afford citizens who do not smoke, especially youth, the opportunity to engage in physical activity outdoors without compromising their health.

Katherine Bray, health education specialist for Lorain County Public Health, also spoke about the health consequences of tobacco.

Bray said tobacco use causes health issues, citing links to chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure and others.

She said traditional cigarettes and e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is harmful to developing brains in young people.

Bray also said limiting where people can smoke could lead to a reduction in use.

Council really should adopt a policy prohibiting smoking tobacco products in city parks.

But a permanent smoking ban needs more study.
Just last month, Chevron joined ExxonMobil in announcing plans to leverage their Permian Basin assets into almost 2 million barrels of new oil output in the next five years.

Friday, Chevron took a major step in its goal of reaching 900,000 barrels of production per day from its Permian unconventional assets by agreeing to acquire Anadarko Petroleum for $33 billion. Anadarko referred requests for comment to Chevron.

Anadarkos high-quality assets, particularly here in the Permian, are a natural fit for Chevron. The announcement underscores both our commitment to the future of the Permian region and our confidence that we can leverage the best of both companies to deliver industry leading results, Jeff Gustavson, vice president of Chevron Mid-Continent Business Unit, told the Reporter-Telegram by email.

RELATED: Chevron to buy Anadarko in $33B mega deal

He noted that the acquisition will create a 75-mile-wide corridor across the most attractive acreage in the Delaware Basin, extending Chevrons leading position as a producer in the Permian.

While Chevrons 800 employees in its Midland campus and the several hundred Anadarko employees awaiting the completion of Anadarkos new campus just across Deauville Boulevard from Chevron wonder how the acquisition will affect them, Chevron officials are trying to downplay concerns about layoffs, especially among Anadarkos 4,700 employees companywide.

Chevron Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth told the Houston Chronicle that one of the great opportunities when you combine two really good companies with great people is to create an even better workforce than ever before.

Gustavson told the Reporter-Telegram, At this time, we are focused on completing the transaction in the second half of 2019, subject to Anadarko shareholder approval, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. An integration team will be formed by members of both companies with the goal of forming an integrated organization ready to safely and effectively manage the world-class assets and opportunities of the combined company.

RELATED: Chevron's Anadarko deal seen putting Permian drillers into play

Energy Economist Karr Ingham told the Reporter-Telegram that the news speaks to the Permian Basins global importance as an energy producer.

Weve witnessed these cycles where majors and large independents have a presence, then leave, and then are drawn back again. Now the majors are being drawn back again because this is a region of global importance.

He continued, Its not like Chevron hadnt put down roots in the Permian Basin. Its evident by their footprint that theyre playing the long game.
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The Illinois House has passed a bill offering state-funded student financial aid to two groups who dont qualify for federal aid  undocumented immigrants and transgender people who have not registered for the draft.

This bill creates equity, said Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez, a Cicero Democrat and lead sponsor of the bill. The state has already invested in these students through their education. They are residents of Illinois. Universities across the state and community colleges are supportive of this bill. This is a solution that is in the best interests of the state of Illinois and the communities we all represent.

Federal student financial aid is available only to United States citizens. Male students who are 18 or older must have complied with federal requirements to register for military selective service, something that many transgender women do not do.

Hernandez said passage of the bill, House Bill 2691, would provide access to the states Monetary Award Program, or MAP grants, to an estimated 3,000 to 3,500 potential students who dont currently qualify for student financial aid.

The bill also would remove all caps on how many credit hours a student can fund using MAP grants. Currently, students are limited to 135 credit hours, but Hernandez said that disproportionately affects students of color who come from underfunded school districts and who often need to take remedial courses before they take standard freshman-level classes, and therefore need more time to complete a degree program.

Illinois is one of 16 states that offer in-state tuition rates to undocumented immigrants, if they meet all other residency and admission requirements, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

NCSL also notes that at least nine states  California, Connecticut, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas and Washington  offer student financial aid to certain undocumented immigrants while others, such as Utah, allow public institutions to offer them financial aid using private funding sources.

In some states, those laws have been the subject of bitter controversy amid the fierce national debate over U.S. immigration policy. But in the Illinois House, opponents of the bill did not talk about immigration issues and instead focused their arguments on the potential cost.

Rep. Allen Skillicorn, a Republican from East Dundee, pointed to a fiscal note for the bill that said if all of the students who become eligible under the bill were to use those benefits, it could add about $9 million to the cost of the MAP grants. That means lawmakers would either have to appropriate more money for the program or administrators of the program would have to shift grant funds away from other recipients.

Hernandez, though, said the bill is intended only to expand eligibility to the state financial aid program to more needy students and that the bill itself carries no additional costs for the state.

The bill passed, by a vote of 66-47.
Covid-19: This is not the right ...
Fiesta enthusiasts and college kids flocked to the 78209 to celebrate the 33rd annual Alamo Heights Night on Friday at the University of Incarnate Word.

From funnel cakes to turkey legs, the San Antonio central suburb was packed with revelers who started the first, unofficial, weekend of Fiesta with a bang.
The clothing and accessories store Dapper Darlings at Kings Harbor celebrated its first anniversary from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, April 13. After Hurricane Harvey, the business, which is located at 1660 W Lake Houston Pkwy, Ste. 507 in Kingwood, returned with new products and events.

The event also doubled as an announcement for Dapper Darlings new summer and swimsuit collections. There were also cookies from Bayou Hill Bakery and face-painting services from the neighboring Wine & Design.

For additional information, visit the business official website (www.dapperdarlingsboutique.com), its Facebook page (dapperdarlingsboutique) or call 346-775-0972.

Open house at First Financial Bank

The Kingwood branch of the Texas bank hosted an open-house event between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 9. Its address is 24080 Hwy 59 N., Ste. 100.

There was a raffle drawing with prizes such as the Google Home, its Mini version and an Amazon Echo Show. Complementary refreshments were also available.

The bank began in 1890 in Abilene, under the name Farmers and Merchants National Bank. It then took on its current name in 2005 and has 72 locations within the state.

The branchs phone is 281-318-4600. Its hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays to Fridays. Additional information about the bank is at its official website (www.ffin.com).

Vessel Pilates

A boutique pilates and wellness studio held an open house between 9 a.m. and noon on Saturday, April 6. Its address is 21 N Main St. in Kingwood in the Town Center Park area.

Per its full class schedule, Vessel hosted two soft-open full studio circuit sessions from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Thursday, April 11 and Friday, April 12. All classes will require booking.

Our studio is a sacred space intended to help you slow down, get present and feel better in your body. We believe in the power of self-care and set out to help you achieve physical, mental and emotional balance through movement, while creating an inclusive and supportive community of women that you can trust, read the studios information page. Vessel Pilates also has a kids club during major class times.

For more information about Vessel Pilates call 281-380-3779, email hello@vesselpilates.com, or visit vesselpilates.com.

nguyen.le@chron.com
A series of fierce storms that ripped through Texas early Saturday producing large hail, damaging winds and lighting also resulted in a tornado that struck a small East Texas community.

Robertson County Texas Sheriff Gerald Yezak told The Associated Press that a suspected tornado hit Franklin on Saturday, overturning mobile homes, destroying buildings and damaging other residences. Franklin is a small city just north of College Station and Bryan.
Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino

The FBI has arrested an Eagle Pass man on charges of embezzling more than $1,000 from the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas.

Eduardo Riojas Villarreal, 48 of Eagle Pass, was indicted Wednesday in Del Rio on charges of embezzlement and theft, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney John F. Bash and Christopher Combs, special agent in charge of the FBIs San Antonio Division, which covers Eagle Pass and Del Rio.
San Antonio police say a man found unresponsive in a Northeast Side apartment Friday evening after being shot later died from his wounds.

Police responded to the Villas at Ventana Apartments at 2167 N.E. Loop 410 about 9 p.m. where they say they found a man lying just inside an apartment unit with multiple gunshot wounds.
UPDATE: 10 a.m.

The National Weather Service reports a tornado warning for Northwest Bexar County has expired. Though thunderstorms remain that are capable of producing large hail and damaging winds.

A severe thunderstorm warning remains in effect until 3 p.m. for San Antonio, Boerne, New Braunfels, Pleasanton, San Marcos and Seguin, according to the NWS.

UPDATE: 9:30 a.m.

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for a part of Bexar County that includes the Northwest portion of San Antonio.

"Tornadic thunderstorm is tracking into far northwest Bexar County," the NWS reported over Twitter Saturday morning. "Along with the threat of an isolated tornado, damaging hail, straight line winds, and heavy rain are also possible."

A severe thunderstorm warning remains in effect until 10:30 a.m. for Northwest Bexar and Comal counties.

Get National Weather Service updates:

ORIGINAL STORY CONTINUES:

An upper-level disturbance moving into Central Texas overnight may produce very large hail, damaging straight-line winds and an isolated tornado or two over parts of the Hill Country, according to the National Weather Service.

FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox

"Some of these storms could become severe overnight ... producing very large hail, damaging straight-line winds and an isolated tornado or two," meteorologists wrote in the forecast.

Severe storms are possible overnight across the northwest Hill Country and Rio Grande, where there is a threat of "an isolated tornado or two." Winds may reach up to 60 mph.

Strong to severe storms are possible in Central Texas Saturday morning through midday.

Isolated pockets in the area may get about an inch of rain, according to the forecast.

WARMING UP: April heat breaks 50-year temp record in South Texas

Although there's a chance of severe thunderstorms in San Antonio Saturday morning, they're not expected to make a significant impact, and a gradual clearing will occur later in the day, according to the forecast.

Conditions are expected to improve on Saturday, though storms may develop again late Saturday afternoon in the Hill Country, according to the forecast.

Staff writer Chris Quinn contributed to this report.

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
The president has declared war on the Affordable Care Act. Failing to accomplish a repeal in Congress, he is now trying to have it declared unconstitutional in its entirety.

Failing on repeal in Congress, the administration had mounted a piecemeal approach to undo the act, which has increased the number of people with health insurance coverage. Now, the president is mounting a frontal assault in the courts. The U.S. Department of Justices recent decision not to defend the Affordable Care Act in court must be reevaluated.

Moving to completely dismantle the countrys health care system could result in the loss of health care benefits for an estimated 25 million people and place their health at risk. Going back to pre-2009 federal health policy would only increase the number of uninsured Americans who turn to high-priced, tax-supported emergency rooms to meet their health care needs.

The taxpaying American public will be the losers in this political maneuvering in the courts.

The lawsuit to overturn the ACA was filed in February 2018 by a coalition of 20 Republican state attorneys general, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The lawsuit alleges that repeal of a mandate that people have health insurance or pay a fine makes the entire law unconstitutional. That requirement was eliminated as part of a tax law signed by President Donald Trump in late 2017.

In December, U.S. District Judge Justice Reed OConnor of the Northern District of Texas declared the entire ACA invalid, and the case proceeded to the 5th Circuit of Appeals.

In a highly unusual move late last month, the Justice Department filed a brief in support of nullification of the law, urging the 5th Circuit to affirm OConnors decision.

The Affordable Care Act is not perfect, but it needs fine-tuning, not nullification. The Trump administrations action in the case caught many off guard and has even prompted the secretary of health and human services and attorney general to ask Trump to reconsider his position on this one. This reckless course of action threatens to undermine the Trump administrations own efforts to contain the opioid epidemic, reduce prescription drug costs and eliminate HIV in the U.S.

A rollback of services, especially in Medicaid, could have a devastating impact on people living with HIV, 40 percent of whom are covered by Medicaid, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Medicaid also covers about 1.2 million people receiving mental health and addiction treatment.

With no ACA in place, drugmakers will no longer be required to provide senior citizens discounts in the coverage gap of Medicare Part D and states would no longer be entitled to the discounts to Medicaid programs. The lack of mandate requiring all health plans to provide prescription drug coverage would result in many people having to pay the entire costs of prescriptions out of pocket.

It will also leave people with preexisting medical conditions with few options. Under ACA rules, a persons medical history or health status cannot be used to deny insurance coverage or factor into the cost of insurance. More than half of nonelderly Americans and 84 percent of those ages 55 to 64 have at least one preexisting condition. They include high blood pressure, behavioral health disorder, high cholesterol, asthma/chronic lung disease, heart conditions, diabetes or cancer.

Lawmakers on both side of the aisle agree there is little chance a replacement health care plan can be approved before the 2020 elections, though administration officials recently said such a plan was in the offing. After first promising a replacement, the president backtracked, saying no such replacement will be written until after the election, only to be contradicted by others in his administration last weekend.

But even if a plan comes out of the administration, its not likely to increase the Republican Senates appetite for tackling such legislation in an election year. The partys moves on health care are widely credited for Democratic gains in the 2018 midterm elections.

So, what were left with is the president, to fulfill a political campaign promise to undo one of the previous administrations major domestic policies, having little regard for the long-term effects.

Its not good public policy. And taking away the essential benefits of the ACA while a replacement is debated is disastrous health care policy.
District 7 Councilwoman Ana Sandoval, with much expertise on the issue given previous jobs, has used her first term to bring more awareness of climate change to the city. And the city now has a climate action plan on the table.

We see in this a pattern  a good one.

Sandoval is a strong advocate for her district but is also a big-picture council member. And this works out in micro fashion for her district and for the city as a whole because one of the big pictures for San Antonio is how entrenched and endemic poverty is. In pockets, it is a problem for her district as well. She has worked to bring infrastructure improvements to the district and has been a valuable voice on the council for the need for affordable housing  also a citywide issue.

We recommend Sandoval for a second term because she is generally a voice for compassion and attention to some of the negative currents that affect the city.

The complaints from her challengers center on lack of transparency and responsiveness in the city. But, to her credit, Sandoval acknowledges that at least the perception of this is what drove city voters to approve two of the three charter amendments in an election last year.

The problem is that though these amendments can be reasonably attributed to this perception, they were antithetical to good city governance generally. We view votes on these as something of a litmus test because their consequences for the city will be so negative.

Sandoval was on the right side of that issue. The challenger conventionally viewed as her toughest contender  public relations executive and Marine Corps veteran Trevor Whitney was not on two of the three.

Sandoval voted no on all three. Whitney voted for two of the three  capping the city managers pay and tenure though it didnt affect the target, Sheryl Sculley, and allowing the fire union to unilaterally take contract negotiations into arbitration.

The charter amendment didnt even affect City Manager Sculleys salary at the time, which was not, despite the criticism, out of line for a city this size and what the job entailed. Erik Walsh is the new city manager. What if he is a doing a great job at the end of eight years? Should he be forced out anyway?

And allowing the firefighters union to force arbitration turns the collective bargaining process on its head and invests too much power with a public-employee union. This might have dire budget consequences that will actually mean fewer resources for firefighters.

We differ strenuously with Sandoval on her vote to not allow Chick-fil-A into the citys airport. But she seems to be open to giving the restaurant another chance in any upcoming request for proposals and notes that the restaurants name was thrown into the hat with little notice to the council and also the city staffs role in the process.

Despite this vote, we see her first-term tenure as generally successful and view her as preferable to her challengers.

Her other challengers  Will McLeod, who has run for office unsuccessfully previously, and Kimberly Grant, a relative newcomer to the city  also echo the citys lack of transparency and responsiveness. Whitney, who also serves as regional director for one of the scooter companies in the city, additionally proposes a focus on homeless veterans. We find that goal admirable.

But in Sandoval, with degrees from MIT, Stanford and Harvard, we see someone who has a successful first term under her belt and is deserving of a second. She is good for her district  and for the city.
Former president Robert Mugabe could make a sensational return to Zanu-PF one and a half years after the frail nonagenarian was swept from power by a military coup  if the partys overtures to him yield positive results.

Zanu-PF is on a drive to embrace defectors and members that were expelled from the party by the previous party administration led by former President Mugabe.

Zanu-PF secretary for administration Dr Obert Mpofu, said the party was making changes and accepting its lost sheep.

Former Zanu-PF secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa and former Mashonaland East provincial minister Ambrose Mutinhiri have already retraced their steps back to the ruling party  but leader of the Peoples Rainbow Coalition and former vice president of Zimbabwe Joice Mujuru says she will never go back.

Dr Mpofu who welcomed the pair said the readmission was a directive from President Mnangagwa who was keen on uniting and strengthening party.

President Mnangagwa, Mpofu said, wanted to unite the people with a view to collectively build the nation.

We welcome you comrades. President Mnangagwa has directed us to readmit former members, willing to re-join the party.

The President has even gone further to invite members of the opposition saying let us build our country together.

He believes that we should not derail our development through unnecessary politicking. We are all Zimbabweans we must work together to develop the nation.

You will be seeing the new dispensation arrangement where we have fulltime members of the party, you will see a different Zanu-PF in terms of operations and effectiveness because we are not closing anyone out, we have agreed that all members who were expelled from the party or who left the party should come back, he said.

Mpofu said the party needed senior members like the pair for guidance.

Dr Mpofu said the restructuring that was going on within the party had seen members that have been expelled tracking back as they were still interested in working for the party.

This restructuring exercise has actually given the members that sympathise with us some hope of participating in the party they love. The previous system was so restrictive that members were not allowed to exercise their democratic right to participate in the party. So this is one of the benefits and results in the last few weeks following the dissolution of Bulawayo Province for one, he said.

Meanwhile, after making stunning revelations that he was going to meet former president Robert Mugabe at his Blue Roof mansion, MDC leader Nelson Chamisa said Zanu-PF has increased security at the former presidents house in a bid to block the meeting.

Addressing the partys provincial structures in Masvingo recently, Chamisa claimed that Mugabe promised to give him damning files on all the Zanu-PF top brass hence the reason why they went into panic mode over the proposed meeting.

I wanted to cause panic within Zanu-PF and said I wanted to meet Mugabe. Everyone in Zanu-PF went into panic mode and they were sweating all over.

I heard Mugabe has damaging files on all Zanu-PF chefs and he told me to come get them so they want to prevent me from seeing him. This has become a contentious issue within Zanu-PF and we hear they are increasing security at the Blue Roof mansion to make sure that I do not get in. Every day they add soldiers, said Chamisa.

The youthful opposition leader said he is yet to meet Mugabe and is still playing politics but he will eventually visit him.

I havent met Mugabe since he was removed from power to ask him how retirement is going. Mugabe thought that the country would come to a standstill when he is not in power but that is not the case. I am still playing politics but will eventually have a meeting with Mugabe, said Chamisa.

No comment could be obtained from Zanu-PF national spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo as his mobile went straight to voice mail.

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Mashonaland East province has dealt another blow to the opposition MDC party secretary general Douglas Mwonzora ahead of May elective congress with his bid to secure top post in the labour backed movement hitting a snag at nomination level.

Incumbent Nelson Chamisa, who took over party reins post soon after founding father Morgan Tsvangirais death continues to enjoy unchallenged contest making it five out of five provinces so far with United States MDC chapter giving him the sixth nomination to retain party presidency.

Vice President Elias Mudzuri has also not picked a single nomination so far.

It remains to be seen how Mwonzora and Mudzuri will mastermind a come back with insiders already saying the twos political fate has already been sealed.

Kuwadzana East legislator and Chamisas close ally, Charlton Hwende received a green light to contest for Mwonzoras post.

Tracy Mutinhiri also emerged as a surprise figure to challenge the oppositions muscular presidium as Mashonaland East province thumbed up her contest as vice president at the forthcoming congress.

Mutinhiri will battle it with renowned lawyer and Harare East legislator Tendai Biti and vice president Morgen Komichi, who also received nominations to stand for the deputy post.

Party organising secretary Amos Chibaya and party spokesperson Jacob Mafume continue on the unchallenged trend.

The Youth Assembly has seen Lovemore Chinoputsa banging a comeback after failing to secure nominations from the other three provinces.

Youth secretary general post continues to be dominated by former University of Zimbabwe Student President and Generational Consensus ambassador Gift Ostalos Siziba while Chipinge born and jail bird Denford Ngadziore is lined up for the organising secretary post.

The duos political endurance remains undisputed with their unmatched hybrid model of mobilisation leaving both high and low ranking opposition officials with no doubt that a new crop of a youth assembly is born post congress.

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Jerri-Lynn here. In this Real News network interview, Daniel Ellsberg discusses the significance of the arrest of Julian Assange: This is the first indictment of a journalist and editor or publisherAnd if its successful it will not be the last.

SHARMINI PERIES Its The Real News Network. Im Sharmini Peries, coming to you from Baltimore.

Whistleblower associated with WikiLeaks Julian Assange appeared to be making a statement as he was shuffled out in handcuffs from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. He was carrying a book, a book published by The Real News Network with Gore Vidal on the history of the national security state. We gather Assange may have been trying to send the world a message, as did the Washington Post. And you can find an interview that Paul Jay, the senior editor here at The Real News Network, had done with The Washington Post in the link below.

On to talk about Assange and the reasons for his arrest is a man that is, perhaps, the most famous whistleblower in history that has experienced this type of arrests and state threats, is Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the famous Pentagon Papers. Daniels new book, The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner. You will find an interview series related to Daniels book here on The Real News Network, and well put a link to that, as well. Daniel, good to have you here.

DANIEL ELLSBERG Glad to be back with you. Thank you.

SHARMINI PERIES Daniel, your reaction to what has just happened to Julian Assange in London?

DANIEL ELLSBERG Its a very serious assault on the First Amendment. A clear attempt to rescind the freedom of the press, essentially. Up till now weve had a dozen or so indictments of sources, of which my prosecution is the very first prosecution of an American for disclosing information to the American public. And that was ended a couple of years later by governmental misconduct. There were two others before President Obama, and nine or so under President Obama, of sources, none of these having been tested in the Supreme Court yet as to their relation to the First Amendment. Hasnt gone to them.

This is the first indictment of a journalist and editor or publisher, Julian Assange. And if its successful it will not be the last. This is clearly is a part of President Trumps war on the press, what he calls the enemy of the state. And if he succeeds in putting Julian Assange in prison, where I think hell be for life, if he goes there at all, probably the first charge against him is only a few years. But thats probably just the first of many.

In my own case, my first indictment was for three counts, felony counts. That was later expanded to 12 felony counts by the end of the year, for a possible 115-year sentence. So I think this is a warning shot across the bow of every editor and publisher in the country.

If they make the connection of the Real News Network book that he was carrying with him into prison, which I think Gore Vidal would be very pleased to see, him associated with this incident in terms of defending Julian Assanges rights, but they may connect you. You may be in the next conspiracy trial with Julian Assange. It may not take much more than that. I see on the indictment, which Ive just read, that one of the charges is that he encouraged Chelsea Manning and Bradley Manning to give him documents, more documents, after she had already given him hundreds of thousands of files. Well, if thats a crime, then journalism is a crime, because just on countless occasions I have been harassed by journalists for documents, or for more documents than I had yet given them. So theynone of them have been put on trial up till now. But in this case, if thats all it takes, then no journalist is safe. The freedom of the press is not safe. Its over. And I think our republic is in its last days, because unauthorized disclosures of this kind are the lifeblood of a republic.

SHARMINI PERIES Daniel, thank you for connecting that Chelsea Manning is currently sitting in prison, and after 28 days in solitary confinement for not cooperating and answering the questions related to the Julian Assange case, and the grand jury investigation that is underway. Now, it is very interesting that President Moreno of Ecuador withdrew the asylum that was protecting Julian Assange until today in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, which led to all of this. And Jen Robinson, who is Julian Assangesone of his lawyers, tweeted as he was being arrested that she wanted to confirm that Assange had been arrested not just for breach of bail conditions, but also in relation to the U.S. extradition request. Now, in your assessment of having undergone this kind of allegations and arrests, and being under this kind of scrutiny by the state, what do you think the real intentions here is of the United States in forcing this revocation of his asylum from the Ecuadorian Embassy, as well as this request for extradition?

DANIEL ELLSBERG You know, I think the word forcing may be misleading here, because it underrates the degree of choice here that Ecuador and the British had in both these cases. And for that matter, the Department of Justice. But they couldnt really force Ecuador to break the norm of international asylum here by handing him over. They couldnt force Britain. Obviously both of those were induced by various incentives. My guess would be in the case of Moreno that hes involved in debt relief. And the U.S., the great creditor nation herealthough its actually a debtor nation altogether. But theyre able to bring the kind of pressure on Ecuador that caused essentially a lawless action here which threatens everyone in asylum. Everyone in the world. The people in this country who have been granted political asylum, people in Britain, and certainly in Ecuador.

So thatsthats very ominous. The British have had a long history here of servility, basically, with respect to their ally the United States, and again, are not too concerned, I think, about law. There was an earlier indication that Ecuador might find an assurance from Britain that Assange was not facing a death penalty as sufficient excuse for revoking his asylum on the grounds that they had really only given asylum because of fear of the death penalty. I think thats absurd. I think there was no mention of that seven years ago when he got the asylum. And of course you dont have to be facing a death penalty to be seeking and being granted political asylum. So why exactly this moment is chosen for Ecuador and Britain to truckle to the United States, Im not sure I notice that the indictment was signed a year ago in March 2018. Maybe theyve, the price has been haggling between Ecuador and Britain as to what the price would be for handing him over.

As I say, though, its a threat not only to journalists, but to people in political status and political asylum everywhere. But the immediate threat, you say the significance of is for Trump, I have no doubt that he wants to define criminally in a courtroom the press as a an enemy of the people. When I say that Assange seeking documentssomething that Ive been asked countless times by a journalist to do, to give them documentsif thats all it takes, then the First Amendment means very little. And without freedom of the press you have noyou have very little freedom in the country. Im afraid thats the direction were going.

So journalists in general, I think, should rally around this case, whatever they think of Julian himself. Theres a lot of people who dont like Julian personally. I am not one of those. I do like him. Theres a lot of people who are very critical of his actions in the election of 2016, on various grounds. Im not happy with the result to the extent that it in any way aided President Trump to become president. And Trump did, of course, state his love for Julian at one point. He said I love WikiLeaks when it seemed to be helping him. But of course a promise of love from Donald Trump is not terribly reliable. We knew that already. So hes willing to make him the sacrificial goat here, I think, for journalists in general.

SHARMINI PERIES Now, Daniel, you said something very interesting, which is that all those who were interested in press freedom, and of course, defending our right to freedom of expression, and access to information, and knowledge that is critical for democracy, you in this situation was also assisted by various people on the outside. What are some of the pivotal things that happened in your case that might be a lesson for us today?

DANIEL ELLSBERG Well, something that was striking to me was that a dozen or so people helped my wife and I, Patricia and I, who was myTricias my unindicted coconspirator here, nowand a number of people helped us find lodging while we were eluding the FBI, putting out 17 different parts of the Pentagon Papers to different newspapers to keep the story going after the Times and the Post had both been enjoined, for the first time in our history. And none of those people was ever questioned by the FBI, because we stayed off the phone, basically, which at that time kind of paralyzed them, in the days before computers. In those days payphones were relatively safe. I dont think thats true anymore, if there are still payphones, as a matter of fact.

But what struck me was that when I finally wrote an account of that many years later, in the firstabout 2002, 30 years laterI had hoped to tell the story of all these other people 30 years later as part of the story that had never gotten into the news. It would be interesting to people. How they had helped us; carrying the papers to different newspapers, and communicating with them, and finding us places to stay. In those days it was quite easy to find people. They just had to be young, basically, with long hair, men or women, and said theres something you could do here that might help shorten this war. But it might have a lot of legal risk. No one refused. However, 30 years later, not one was willing to let their name be used, because that was a time when John Ashcroft, our previous Confederate Attorney General, before Sessions was the attorney general. And they were afraid, in one case, of deportation; in other cases of indictment, even as late as that.

Now, just a couple of years ago one ofa key person in that process, Gar Alperovitz, did, after consulting his lawyers, decide to let me use his name. And thatthere was a New Yorker story about that recently. But others, still cautious. And what it appears now is I think they were right to be cautious about that. I would have thought with all his time having elapsed that could beand with it having been clear that the publication theyd aided in had served the American interest in helping end the Vietnam War and exposing a lot of lying, I would have thought that they would be not only proud of that, which I think they are, but are willing to take credit for that. Nope. Thats a credit they didnt want, because it may come at the cost of an indictment. And I hope Gar is not caught up in that at this point.

But the conspiracy charge, I dont know if theres a conspiracy charge in this case yet. Its Chelsea Manning who gave Julian the material has served seven and a half years in prison, and is in prison again right now, apparently because they want her to go beyond what she said, either falsely, which they would be happy with, to incriminate Julian Assange. After all, torture is mainly used for false confessions, to get them. And its usually successful at that. But not successful with Chelsea Manning. She was in solitary confinement for ten and a half months, until public pressure got her released into the general prison population years ago. And clearly shes not a person who can be tortured into a false confession. Or they would want her to give new details of her dealings with Assange that would help them in their prosecution of Assange. And she is not cooperating with the grand jury on that. She objects to the grand jury as an undemocraticunconstitutional, reallybut an undemocratic process and its secrecy, its lack of legal defense, legal support in that process. And many people over the years have resisted that.

As a matter of fact, my codefendant, Tony Russo, refused to testify to the grand jury beforeafter I was indicted, but before the new indictment. And he spent about a month in jail before he himself was indicted and added to the indictment. So thats the precedent for what Chelsea Manning is doing now. He didnt want to be testifying against me in secret to a grand jury, no transcript of the proceedings, no publicity as to what he may have said. In fact, he offered to testify if he was given a transcript that he could publish of his testimony, and they refused to do that, and indicted him itself. I say again, that was Anthony Russo, who is no longer alive.

But Chelsea is doing that right now. Shes acting very courageouslyagain, I would say, which is not something I would ever demand of anyone. But Im not at all surprised that she is doing that.

SHARMINI PERIES And Daniel, finally, while the U.S. has requested an extradition here, it is very possible that Julian Assanges lawyers will resist this request. What are the chances of that succeeding? And if it doesnt succeed, what awaits him at this end in the U.S. if hes extradited?

DANIEL ELLSBERG I am doubtful thatbut what do I know? My judgment is not worth much here, and its a fairly unprecedented case; in fact, totally unprecedented when were talking about extraditing him for committing journalism. They do charge him with aiding, or trying to aid Chelsea to conceal her identity on the leaks here. Thats something that the Freedom of the Press Foundation in a different wayand Im on the board of that, along with Ed Snowden and Laura Poitras, and others. Weve given out software to many journalist associations to enable people to give them information secretly, and cipher, to encipher it. Thats a little different from what hes charged with here, but to the same effect, of concealing the source.

Incidentally, Chelsea told me that she intended to reveal herself eventually here to prevent other people from being wrongly accused. That was true of me, and true of Ed Snowden, as well, that we didnt want other people to be accused of doing what we alone had done here.

So I do think that having induced the British to arrest him forcibly, as just happened, indicates that they will go the extra mile in violating, as I say, international norms by violating his immunity, and his asylum, and then shipping off to the U.S. In my day, his case would have been almost sure to be upheld by thisthat is, the case dismissed by the Supreme Court on grounds of violating the First Amendment. But that was a different Supreme Court, 40 years ago. And this court I dont think at all he could count on to defend the Supreme Court, or much else, in the Bill of Rights. I think a great deal is at risk nowadays, especially with the last couple of appointments that Trump has made. But before that, as well.

So its a very ominous situation, not only for Julian Assange, whos been in one room for almost seven years now, something I suspect, by the way, has affected his judgment in some respects. I dont endorse every choice hes made in the last couple of years, in particular. I dont know what kind of judgment Id be showing after six years in one room. I think he has ahead of him, for having taken on the worlds mightiest empire and exposed its criminal secrets, in many cases, having to do with torture and assassination, hes not going to get any breaks from them. I think hell be in one room, possibly in solitary confinement, on the excuse that he has further secrets that he might reveal; just as Ed Snowden would face that, I think, possibly for the rest of his life. And that will certainly be far, far more onerous than the room hes had in the Ecuadorian Embassy, which already amounted to inhumane treatment and wrongful imprisonment. Well, the solitary hes heading for now is much more serious.

I did notice, by the way, that he was being dragged down the steps. Ive been arrested many times, and I have a bad back myself. I always walk when I get arrested to spare the backs of the police arresting me. But I think if I were being arrested under these circumstances, with the Constitution at stake here, being absolutely wrongfully arrested, I wouldnt worry about their backs. I would do what Julian was apparently doing. And that was youre going to have to drag me into prison.

SHARMINI PERIES: All right, Daniel. Any last thoughts you have on this case? And particularly, if Julian Assange gets charged with espionage on top of all of this?

DANIEL ELLSBERG: Its a day for journalists in general, especially, and everybody who values a free press, and not only in this country, to join ranks here now to expose and resist the wrongfuland in this country unconstitutionalabuse of our laws to silence journalists. I wouldnt be at all surprised if he is further indicted under the Espionage Act, as I was, the first person to do that. I suspect that will be added to his charges. And again, thats a great danger to journalists in general. They have to inform themselves on it and begin to demand that the Espionage Act not be used against the free press as it has been under the last two presidents. Thank you.

SHARMINI PERIES: Daniel Ellsberg, I thank you so much for joining us on this very significant day that exposes the hand of the state that threatens our freedom of expression. Thank you so much.

DANIEL ELLSBERG: Thank you.

SHARMINI PERIES: And thank you for joining us here on The Real News Network.
(Natural News) Too many Americans forget this, but in Communist China where most of our consumer products are manufactured these days, its illegal to be a Christian. And the Communist Chinese government is now offering cash rewards to anyone who snitches on Chinese Christians who lead so-called house churches, which operate under the radar of the oppressive Communist Chinese regime.

According to reports, the Guangzhou Department of Ethnic and Religious Affairs has announced that it will pay the yen equivalent of $1,500 U.S.  an amount thats roughly equal to an average two-month income in China  to anyone who successfully leads authorities to Christian house churches, which the Chinese government sees as a constant threat.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, whos repeatedly met with President Donald Trump to discuss issues related mostly to trade, is said to be going after both Christian and Muslims with great zeal, as he sees the views of these two religions as conflicting with the goals of Chinas communist government.

President Jinping apparently sees the spread of both Christianity and Islam in his country as an infiltration that threatens to undermine his own power  which indeed it does, seeing as how Big Government functions as a religion in and of itself.

He is wrong about foreign powers but right in that religion does, in fact, undermine government power, because it allows people to turn to spiritual leaders and to each other for guidance and help, reports correctly point out.

Totalitarian governments cannot allow that to happen.

For more related news, be sure to check out Tyranny.news.

Communist Chinas persecution of Christians has greatly intensified in recent months

Back in January, The Guardian (U.K.) reported that persecution of Christians especially is intensifying throughout China at the same time that Christianity is reportedly spreading like wildfire.

Members of underground Christian churches in China say that theyre increasingly being targeted by Chinese police, who arrested more than 100 members of a congregation known as Early Rain Covenant Church, located in the city of Chengdu, back in December.

Other members of this congregation who werent arrested have since gone in to hiding, while others are under official government surveillance as perceived threats for inciting subversion, a crime that can land a Chinese person in prison for up to 15 years.

The situation is getting so bad for Christians in China that civil rights activists have declared this latest crackdown to be the worst since the infamous Chinese leader Mao Zedong declared his Cultural Revolution, which promised to completely eradicate all religion from within Chinas borders.

President Jinpings approach is a bit different, though, as the communist leader is instead trying to absorb Christianity as opposed to just eradicating it  which would effectively turn it into a religion of the state, making it no longer Christianity.

The government has orchestrated a campaign to sinicise Christianity, to turn Christianity into a fully domesticated religion that would do the bidding of the party, says Lian Xi, a professor at Duke University in North Carolina who specializes in Christianity and its existence in modern-day China.

Following the shutdown of hundreds of Christian churches throughout China over the past several months, President Jinping is basically offering former congregants an ultimatum: either rebrand yourself as approved Communist Chinese Christians, or else face the ire of the authoritarian state  which, by the way, is starting to creep its way into the United States.

The goal of the crackdown is not to eradicate religions, adds Ying Fuk Tsang, Director of the Christian Study Centre on Chinese Religion and Culture at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, as quoted by The Guardian.

President Xi Jinping is trying to establish a new order on religion, suppressing its blistering development. [The government] aims to regulate the religious market as a whole.

Sources for this article include:

NeedToKnow.news

TheGuardian.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Unhinged leftists interrupted a speech by columnist Michael Knowles entitled men are not women, with the resulting fracas leading to one protester being tased and arrested after a noxious substance was thrown at Knowles.

(Article by Paul Joseph Watson republished from InfoWars.com)

The event took place last night at the University of Missouri and was hosted by Young Americans For Freedom.

Hecklers constantly interrupted Knowles speech before he responded;  I know, youre so oppressed, my dears. I know, life is so hard for you. You have to live in the richest, most equitable, most just country in the history of the world. You have to get a college education; you have to voluntarily go to lectures; its so awful. I cant imagine.

Some of the protesters began to leave the venue, prompting Knowles to tell them; People who are in war-torn nations; they must truly pity you. Goodbye. Goodbye.

BREAKING VIDEO: One person injured following protest at event hosted by conservative group Young Americans for Freedom. According to guest speaker Michael Knowles, a student threw bleach at him and was arrested. pic.twitter.com/nBC2B25dXz  UMKC University News (@University0News) April 12, 2019

A masked leftist then tried to attack Knowles with a substance that he said was designed to smell like bleach.

The leftist was tackled and then tased by police after he began resisting arrest.

Wow Republican @michaeljknowles was attacked by a masked leftist that shot an unknown substance at him during his event in Missouri. Police took down the attacker and other leftists had the audacity to scream "hands up dont shoot" at officers. Lunatics! pic.twitter.com/AGNoNg2fJS  Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) April 12, 2019

I know. I seem so hateful. You guys seem lovely and sweet. You guys seem so compassionate and lovely, Knowles told the other protesters.

Watch the full video from the event below.

Read more at: InfoWars.com
(Natural News) At the turn of the century, the internet became one of humanitys greatest gifts, a source of personal freedom and power. The internet unleashed endless opportunities for communication, commerce, and information sharing. Not only did the internet decentralize news, but it offered a platform for anyone to create and speak freely.

Two decades later, the internet has become a contentious place, with Tech giants, corporations, political activists, and governments all clamoring to control the flow of information, to stifle free speech, and to use personal data to exploit consumers purchasing habits and voting preferences.

Facebook has already implemented a plan to weed out information that is critical of pharmaceutical companies and their vaccine policies. For example, groups on Facebook may share information on measles, but they cannot share information on vaccine adverse events because this might cause vaccine hesitancy.

Hate speech policies are now used to censor dangerous ideas  ideas that certain people just dont agree with. Information that criticizes the Democrat party is now deemed disinfo from Russia, and can be censored out of social media using filters and algorithms. The Russia collusion hoax has led Twitter to shadow ban conservative ideas, as they claim to protect American democracy from foreign interference.

Did you speak out about drugs and human trafficking along the Mexican border? You could be deemed racist and have your social media accounts taken down. Did you criticize shariah law online? The Southern Poverty Law Center may work to have you arrested. (Related: Citizen journalist Tommy Robinson jailed under secret order from U.K. government; total media blackout issued to protect Muslim pedophiles.)

U.K. to assist Big Tech in censorship ploys, under the guise of public safety

In Great Britain, online speech is about to become extremely more regulated. Its like history is repeating itself. The British government hopes to appoint an internet safety czar to monitor Facebook, Twitter, and Google to ensure public safety. The motivation behind the plan is to ensure public safety, not to protect the right of the citizens to speak freely. Soon, you wont be able to express yourself or voice concerns if someone in authority deems that your speech is abusive, insulting, distressing, indecent, racist, seditious, obscene, defamatory, incites religious hatred, may cause a breach of the peace, or is scandalous to a court.

According to Britains new plan, a government czar will ensure that social media companies do the following:

Stop cyber bullying on their platforms

Stop the incitement of violence and spread of violent content

Block childrens access to inappropriate material

Block content that encourages self harm or suicide

Stop child exploitation and abuse content

Stop the spread of disinformation and fake news

This brings up obvious questions:

Who decides what violent content is? Are historical depictions of war to be erased from the internet? What about medical experimentation of prisoners and children? What about gruesome abortion procedures and testimonies about medical error and vaccine damage?

Who decides what is disinformation and fake news? Does this include information that the people in charge dont agree with or arent educated about? By banning fake news, the government becomes a propaganda ministry.

Who decides what constitutes cyber bullying? Does this include bans on information that someone or some group might find offensive? The easily offended will be validated and any unsettling truths will be taken offline.

Instead of working to ensure that freedom of speech is not trampled by Tech giants, the British government is essentially working with them to destroy dissent, to squelch historical perspective, to alienate certain political ideas, to cover up the harms of vaccines and other medical experiments. Government czars and the engineers of Big Tech are colluding to stifle free speech, not protect individual rights. Their coordinated efforts will be abused to stop the flow of information on vaccine dangers, among other topics that cannot be discussed such as natural cancer cures. All this is being done in the name of public safety but so often throughout history, promises of safety are used to take away personal liberties. This situation will be no different.

Sources include:

InfoWars.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com

NewsTarget.com
(Natural News) A Spanish pharmacologist purchased ninety samples of hash off the streets of Madrid, Spain and put them under the microscope. Fellow researchers from Complutense University learned that 88.3 percent of the samples were not suitable for human consumption because they contained exorbitant levels of E. coli bacteria derived from the anuses and intestinal tracts of drug traffickers.

Lead researcher Manuel Perez Moreno says that drug traffickers are wrapping the hash in some plastic and swallowing it to get it past authorities. After the hash is concealed in their intestines, the traffickers use a laxative to get the hash out of their body so it can be retrieved and sold illegally on the streets.

Most street hash in Spain is heavily contaminated with human poop, making people sick

Those looking for medical marijuana on the streets of Spain are actually getting their hands on regurgitated weed that is heavily contaminated with E. coli and other human waste particles. The amount of E. coli in the hash samples was 500 times greater than the maximum amount allowed by U.S. regulations for microbial contamination in regulated cannabis products. Approximately 66.4 percent of the samples contained foreign particles that arent naturally found in hash. Additionally, about ten percent of the hash samples also contained a mold species called Aspergillus, which can cause serious health issues and potentially death. Aspergillus is common in cannabis samples that are damp, that were not dried properly.

The dealers sell the hash in two sizes. The larger units are called ingots and the smaller units are called acorns. About 29.4 percent of the ingots were contaminated with high levels of E. coli bacteria. Precisely 93 percent of the acorns tested positive for the potentially infectious bacteria. Due to their small size, almost every acorn on the street is smuggled in through the digestive tract of drug traffickers. The researchers could actually detect fecal odor coming off of the acorn samples. (Related: Legal weed dangers: After dealing with multiple contaminants, California has found that, like all crops, marijuana needs to be inspected and tested.)

An E. coli infection can cause severe abdominal cramps, bouts of diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration, and even hemorrhaging. Patients undergoing chemotherapy struggle with a depleted immune system. If chemo patients smoke Spanish street weed to help ease the nausea that comes from the treatments, they could easily come down with a debilitating E. coli infection. The infection is more likely to occur in people with a weakened immune system and more likely to be fatal.

According to Spains Ministry of Health, about 31 percent of Spains population between the ages of 15 and 64 admit that they have used cannabis at least once. Because hash is often rolled up with tobacco and smoked using a hollow filter in a spliff, users are routinely sucking in smoke and taking in fecal particles at the same time. Illegal street hash is now a public health issue in Spain.

Another problem with cannabis is that heavy metals such as cadmium concentrate in the leaves of the plant. Over time, exposure to cadmium causes hypertension and kidney degeneration. Pesticides may be used in the growing process as well, contributing to cannabis toxicity. Instead of inhaling smoke, cadmium, pesticides, and potentially high levels of fecal matter, many people are turning to CBD oil. This is a safer concentrate of the cannabis plant, with no THC and also free from fecal matter.

For more on this topic, visit CBDs.News.

Sources include:

Breitbart.com

ScienceDirect.com

HighTimes.com

CBDs.News

DrSircus.com
When heavy rain falls over the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia and the eastern Pacific Ocean, it is a good indicator that temperatures in central California will reach 100F in four to 16 days, according to a collaborative research team from the University of California, Davis, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Climate Center in Busan, South Korea.

The results were published in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences on April 12.

FROM PREDICTION TO PROTECTION

Heat waves are common in the Central California Valley, a 50-mile-wide oval of land that runs 450 miles from just north of Los Angeles up to Redding. The valley is home to half of the nation's tree fruit and nut crops, as well as extensive dairy production, and heat waves can wreak havoc on agricultural production. The dairy industry had a heat wave-induced economic loss of about $1 billion in 2006, for instance. The ability to predict heat waves and understand what causes them could inform protective measures against damage.

"We want to know more about how extreme events are created," said Richard Grotjahn, corresponding author on the paper and professor in the UC Davis Department of Land, Air and Water Resources. "We know that such patterns in winter are sometimes linked with areas of the tropics where thunderstorms are enhanced. We wondered if there might be similar links during summer for those heat waves."

The scientists analyzed the heat wave data from June through September from 1979 to 2010. The data were collected by 15 National Climatic Data Centers stations located throughout the Valley. From these data, the researchers identified 24 heat waves. They compared these instances to the phases of a large, traveling atmospheric circulation pattern called the Madden-Julian Oscillation, or MJO.

The MJO manifests as heavy rain that migrates across the tropical Indian and then Pacific Oceans, and researchers have shown that it influences winter weather patterns.

TROPICAL RAINFALL AND CALIFORNIA

"It's well known that tropical rainfall, such as the MJO, has effects beyond the tropics," said Yun-Young Lee of the APEC Climate Center in Busan, South Korea, the paper's first author. "So a question comes to mind: Is hot weather in the Central California Valley partly attributable to tropical rainfall?"

Lee and Grotjahn found that, yes, enhanced rainfall in the tropics preceded each heat wave in specific and relatively predictable patterns. They also found that hot weather in the valley is most common after more intense MJO activity in the eastern Pacific Ocean, and next most common after strong MJO activity in the Indian Ocean.

"The more we know about such associations to large-scale weather patterns and remote links, the better we can assess climate model simulations and therefore better assess simulations of future climate scenarios," Grotjahn said.
NEW YORK - An international study published today in the journal Science argues that the current international target for the protected area estate, accepted by over 190 nations, is failing. They propose a new measurable target based on the best scientific evidence that they say will galvanize greater and more effective conservation efforts.

The study identifies four major problems with the United Nation's Aichi Target 11 - which calls for protection of at least 17 percent of terrestrial and inland water areas and 10 percent of coastal and marine areas. The authors say the target has led to perverse outcomes and has not fostered effective conservation efforts. The use of simple percentage targets for protected areas means that there is an incentive to create large protected areas of little conservation value. Other problems with Aichi Target 11 design and implementation include the lack of incentives in the target and resources dedicated to adequately manage or fund protected areas, inadequate representation of natural communities and species within protected area borders, and the impossibility to define national responsibilities towards the global target in a meaningful way.

Lead author Dr. Piero Visconti of the International Institute for Applied Synthesis Analysis, said: "While there has been a significant increase in the overall extent of the global protected area estate over the past 10 years, many of the new protected areas are being placed in sites that are not as important for biodiversity. Other, more important sites are left unprotected and are vanishing before our eyes. There is also clear evidence that the vast majority of protected areas are not being funded and managed in ways that stop damaging human activities."

The study's authors argue that outcome-based targets for protected areas are needed to achieve biodiversity goals. They propose the following new target: "The value of all sites of global significance for biodiversity including key biodiversity areas is documented, retained and restored through protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures."

The proposed target puts the emphasis on measuring and achieving the end-goal of conservation: reaching and maintaining long-term positive biodiversity status and trends. This is a critical step forward from all previous protected area commitments, which measured progress based on the amount of area protected, not the biodiversity outcomes resulting from it.

Despite the calls for a new protected area target, a co-author in the study Dr. James Watson of University of Queensland and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), emphasized the critical importance of existing protected areas for safeguarding imperiled biodiversity.

Said Watson: "We know protected areas work--when well-funded, well-managed and well placed, they are extremely effective in halting the threats that cause biodiversity loss and ensure species return from the brink of extinction. There are also many protected areas that are still in good condition and are now the last strongholds for endangered species worldwide. The challenge is to improve the management of those protected areas that are most valuable for nature conservation to ensure they safeguard it."

Added Watson: "We need all nations to be honest when accounting for how much land and water they have set aside for biodiversity conservation. As we approach the 2020 deadline for the Convention for Biological Diversity's current targets, it is time for the global conservation community to stand up and hold governments to account so that they take the conservation of their protected areas seriously. This means setting a target that will achieve the outcome that is best for biodiversity."
Police in Northern California say a Sacramento State student died after being shot with a pellet gun at an off-campus gathering.

The Sacramento Police Department says in a statement officers responded Friday to a medical aid call and found the wounded student. It says fire personnel took the student to a hospital where he died.

In a statement to students and faculty, university president Robert Nelsen identified the student as Will Molina.

Nelsen says Molina was a business major and was set to graduate from Sacramento State in May.

He says grief counselors will be available for those who need support and that school officials and Molina's family are working on arrangements "to honor his memory."
Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson is hosting the "Alameda County Emergency Preparedness Day" on Saturday to help community members be ready for disasters such as fires and earthquakes.

Carson said on Friday that preparation is important because the East Bay has experienced several significant earthquakes and fires over the last 100 years.

The event will be held at Chabot Elementary School at 6686 Chabot Road in Oakland from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and will begin with remarks by Carson and keynote speaker Lars Eric Holm, the disaster preparedness coordinator at Eden I&R Inc.

Workshops will be presented on topics such as insurance, personal planning, basic life-saving techniques and community planning.

Presenters will include the American Red Cross, University of California at San Francisco Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, the California Department of Insurance, the Center for Independent Living and the Bay Area Youth EMT Program.

There also will be a resource fair with more than 25 organizations and agencies.

Organizers said they expect more than 500 Alameda County residents to attend the event and the first 300 families to arrive will receive free emergency kits.

Carson, whose Fifth District seat includes Albany, Berkeley, Piedmont, Emeryville and parts of Oakland, said earthquakes and fires have had a devastating impact and damaged thousands of structures and endangered countless lives in the East Bay over the years.

He said although there have been ongoing efforts to inform and educate residents, the recent wildfires in other Bay Area communities are a reminder that leaders need to ensure that all citizens are informed and prepared for disasters, which he said are inevitable.

Carson said the emergency preparedness day is held every four years and this is the third time he has hosted it.
When San Franciscos Arts Commission removed a controversial statue from Civic Center that depicted a fallen American Indian beneath a looming missionary and a vaquero in a pose of yielding a whip, it left an empty platform on the Pioneer Monument.

But over two days last week, the platform between the Main Library and Asian Art Museum came to life as more than a hundred Native Americans climbed onto the pedestal to have their picture taken in the statues place.

Its powerful to be able to see our community up there instead of that statue, said Vincent Medina, a member of the Mowek Ohlone tribe.

The two-day photo project was organized by the San Francisco Arts Commission as a way to re-activate the space in a way that gave the community a hand in its message. Organizers expected some 150 people of American Indian heritage to participate, ranging in age from two to ninety-two.

This is a way to celebrate the community, said Barbara Mumby, an Arts Commission staff member who is descended from Powhatan and KonKow Maidu tribes, to provide them a platform for them to actually reimagine how theyre actually portrayed in the Civic Center.

Over last Friday and Saturday, American Indians  many dressed in traditional and ceremonial garb  climbed the steps onto the platform via wooden stairs installed specifically for the photo shoot. Photographer Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie of the Bear Clan of the Taskigi Nation stood on a scaffolding taking the photos, as an assistant gave instructions over a bullhorn.

Ninety-year old Julia Parker of the Kashia Pomo and Coast Miwok tribes made the journey from Yosemite Valley where shes lived the last seventy years. She posed for a family photo dressed in a pink blouse with a crown of white feathers woven into her silver hair.

I think its about time that people begin to recognize and respect each other and how they feel, Parker said watching people pose on the pedestal.

Across the plaza, photographer Britt Bradley used an antique box camera to capture black and white images of the subjects, using antique glass plates which yielded ghostly, dramatic images which she printed in a tent.

I think the symbol of that is so incredibly powerful, said Dr. Andrew Jolivette, a San Francisco State Professor who is descended from Opelusa Atakapa-Ishak indians,  to see living people in place of something that was not living, that was not produced or created by the people it was supposed to represent.

The removed statue, entitled Early Days, was dedicated as part of the Pioneer Monument in 1894. But over the last two decades it had generated controversy as Native Americans objected to the depiction as a painful reminder of the abuse suffered by their ancestors.

The San Francisco Arts Commission removed the statue in pre-dawn darkness last September. A Petaluma attorney has since filed a lawsuit to try and force the city to reinstate the statue to serve as a lesson of the horrors of the past. Arts Commission staff did not comment on the pending litigation.

But during the event, a gentle drizzle didnt damper what turned into a celebration as people scaled the monuments pedestal to pose for photos. Ursula Jones wore a headdress of brown feathers and numerous bead necklaces, standing in front of the monument with her children and grandparents.

My sons here and came to get photos as well, Jones said, and so hes going to look back and show his children  look what we did with my great grandparents and my parents.

The images captured during the event will appear in a series of exhibitions beginning this summer as the city rolls out a new American Indian initiative. The events are intended to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the American Indian occupation of Alcatraz.

A way for the broader community of the city to know that native people still exist here, Mumby said, and theyre still alive and vital and contributors to the fabric of the city.

San Francisco Supervisor Vallie Brown who is of Native American heritage stepped onto the pedestal with a group and raised a fist, the dome of city hall flanking the pose.

I think this is really going to really show people who Native American people are around here and San Francisco, Brown said.

Jones gathered her family on the pedestal, their clothing a pop of color against the gray San Francisco morning as the smell of burning sage wafted across the plaza. The photographers shutter clicked, triggering a bolt of flash as Jones lifted a fist in the air.

I just think its important for people to realize were still here, she said.
A Washington political consultant initially entangled in the Russia investigation was sentenced Friday to three years of probation for illegal lobbying and skirting the ban on foreign donations to President Donald Trump's inaugural committee.

W. Samuel Patten, 47, and prosecutors had asked for leniency, citing his cooperation in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation and other ongoing probes. The sentencing comes as federal prosecutors in New York continue to investigate foreign donations to the Presidential Inaugural Committee and as the Justice Department has been cracking down on foreign lobbying violations.

Separately, prosecutors filed charges Thursday against former Obama White House counsel Greg Craig, accusing him of lying to the government to conceal his own work on behalf of the government of Ukraine. Craig denies wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty Friday.

In Patten's case, he pleaded guilty to violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act for lobbying on behalf of the Opposition Bloc, a Ukrainian political party. He also admitted to orchestrating a $50,000 straw-donor scheme to purchase tickets from the inaugural committee on behalf of a wealthy Ukrainian client. Federal law bars such committees from accepting foreign donations, a fact Patten has admitted he knew when he violated the law.

Later, Patten also misled the Senate intelligence committee about his conduct when asked to provide documents and testimony as part of the panel's investigation of Russian election interference.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said she was most troubled by Patten's lies to the committee and likely would have given him a short prison sentence under other circumstances.

But she credited him for cooperating with the government and for taking responsibility for his actions, something the judge said "doesn't happen every day in this courtroom."

Jackson said Patten's conduct was also "markedly different" from that of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who carried out a years-long conspiracy to launder money, evade U.S. tax authorities and covertly influence American policy makers on behalf of Ukrainian interests. Jackson imposed a sentence earlier this year that led to Manafort facing about seven years in prison.

"There are reasons why your sentence is not going to be like his sentence," she told Patten, as she also imposed a $5,000 fine and 500 hours of community service.

Prosecutors didn't fully detail Patten's cooperation or say whether he has helped as part of the inaugural committee investigation. In court papers, Patten's attorney, Stuart Sears, said his client wasn't part of a larger scheme to funnel foreign money to the inaugural committee and isn't a Trump supporter.

Patten helped with the Manafort investigation and was slated to testify in his case before the Manafort pleaded guilty last year. The two men shared an associate, Konstantin Kilimnik, who was Patten's business partner and a Manafort co-defendant.

The FBI said Kilimnik has ties to Russian intelligence, an allegation he denies. Kilimnik, who lives in Russia, was indicted alongside Manafort on charges of witness tampering but has not appeared in a U.S. court.

Craig's case also relates to the Manafort investigation.

Manafort was involved in the financing of a report Craig and his law firm authored for the Ukrainian government. The document sought to legitimize the prosecution of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

Craig, 74, is accused of misleading the Justice Department about his interactions with reporters and his involvement with a public relations firm in securing news media coverage about the report.

Craig, who served as President Barack Obama's first White House counsel and previously defended President Bill Clinton during his Senate trial, denies those allegations. Craig has called the prosecution against him "unprecedented and unjustified."

In a tweet Friday, President Donald Trump complained that Craig's case wasn't covered on the front page of The New York Times.
What to Know The risk of being kidnapped or taken hostage has been added to the travel advisories issued by the U.S. State Department.

The new indicator, "K," denotes the risk of being kidnapped or held hostage -- it was assigned this week to 35 countries across the globe

It came days after the release of a California woman who had been held for a week after being kidnapped by gunmen in a Uganda national park

Criminals or terrorists in nearly three dozen countries have threatened to kidnap or hold people hostage -- or actually done so -- over some kind of ransom demand, and for the first time, the U.S. State Department is noting that risk.



Up until now, U.S. travel advisories have weighed the state of such crises as crime, civil unrest, health or the potential for terrorism to devise level-based threat levels -- the highest of which is Level 4, Do Not Travel -- for other countries. It added a new indicator, "K," to denote the risk of being kidnapped or held hostage -- and assigned it this week to 35 countries across the globe.



These are the 35 countries making the initial list:

Afghanistan

Mexico

Phillippines

Colombia

Lebanon

Mali

Burkina Faso

Libya

Haiti

Central African Republic

Iraq

Iran

Nigeria

Niger

Pakistan (Balochistan province and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, including the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)

Turkey (areas near the Syria and Iraq borders)

South Sudan

Democratic Republic of the Congo (North Kivu and Ituri provinces)

Sudan

Syria

Cameroon (North, Far North, Northwest and Southwest regions, and parts of East and Adamawa regions)

Somalia

Venezuela

Papua New Guinea

Kenya

Ukraine (eastern parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts)

Uganda

Ethiopia (Somali Regional State)

Trinidad and Tobago

Bangladesh (Southeast Bangladesh, including the Chittagong Hill Tracts)

Russia (the north Caucasus, including Chechnya and Mount Elbrus)

Yemen

Algeria (areas near the eastern and southern borders and areas in the Sahara Desert)

Malaysia (eastern area of Sabah State)

Angola (urban areas)

Check out an interactive map here.

The state department says the new category was added as part of an effort to give Americans comprehensive information about travel safety. It came days after the release of a California woman who had been held for a week after being kidnapped by gunmen in a national park in Uganda.
Legislation proposing the separation of Chicago from Illinois is intended to spark discussion about the overarching influence of the city in state politics, not actually lead to the creation of the 51st state, according to a central Illinois lawmaker who sponsored the measure.

GOP state Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, the bill 's sponsor, said the proposal would urge U.S. Congress to make the nation's third-largest city its own state, the State Journal-Register reported.

"It's more of a frustration of the policies than the true belief that Chicago and Illinois would be better off as separate states," Davidsmeyer said. "I don't believe that Chicago and the state of Illinois should be separated. Our relationship is mutually beneficial."

Chicago needs to recognize how its policies impact rural Illinois, Davidsmeyer added.

"The reality is, the city of Chicago is competing with New York City and L.A. and San Francisco, and (downstate is) competing against rural Indiana and rural Missouri," he said. "The policies that come down from Chicago are actually pushing our economic opportunity away."

GOP state Rep. Brad Halbrook introduced the proposed measure in February. He co-sponsored a similar proposal last year that failed, and this year's attempt has even less of a chance of succeeding in the Democratic-controlled Legislature. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the leaders of the state House and Senate are all Democrats from Chicago.

Halbrook said the city of 2.7 million people differs ideologically from the rural population downstate on matters such as abortion and gun rights.

"Our traditional family values seem to be under attack at every angle," Halbrook said. "We are trying to drive the discussion to get people at the table to say these are not our values down here."

Forming a new state from a portion of a current state requires endorsement from Congress and the state legislature, according to the U.S. Constitution.

"When you have a large population center that seems to control the agenda for the rest of the state, it just kind of creates some issues," Halbrook said. "The Constitution gives us a pathway, so we'll see what happens."

Tension between urban and rural areas aren't exclusive to Illinois. The same has occurred in New York and California , according to a paper published last year by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University.

John Jackson, a visiting professor at the institute and co-author of the paper, said it's odd that the bitterness has persisted for so long in Illinois.

"We ought to have leaders who get together and coalesce for the good of the state," Jackson said. "The idea of this being a total zero-sum kind of game, that mentality 'you win, I've got to lose,' seems to be the mentality many have. That's just not the case. The state needs to prosper together."
An Indianapolis-based company has issued a recall for melon products sold in 16 states after being linked to a salmonella outbreak.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday that the recall includes cut watermelon, honeydew and cantaloupe produced by Caito Foods LLC. The fruit has been sold under various brands or labels at Kroger, Walmart, Trader Joe's, Target and Whole Foods.

The affected states are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Eight @ 8 on April 13, 2019: Week In Review

"In Illinois, five cases have been reported in the north-eastern and eastern part of the state," released the Illinois Department of Public Health in a statement. "Cases in Illinois have reported eating melon and becoming ill from mid- to late-March. IDPH is working with local health departments to identify additional cases and to perform laboratory testing."

Health officials advise consumers to check packaging to determine if the melon was distributed by Caito Foods, and, if so, not to eat it. They advise stores to pull the products from shelves.

Authorities say 93 people have been sickened, 23 of whom were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

Salmonella Carrau is described as rare. Symptoms include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps.

Health experts advise residents to check their refrigerator and freezer for recalled products and throw them away or return them to the place of purchase for a refund. Other tips include:

 Do not eat recalled pre-cut melon products. Even if you do not develop symptoms after eating the recalled melon, you should still throw it away.

 If you cannot determine if pre-cut melon you purchased was produced by Caito Foods, LLC, do not eat it and throw it away.

 Retailers and restaurants should not sell or serve recalled pre-cut melon products supplied by Caito Foods, LLC.

Click here for more information and updates.
A man died and two other individuals were injured after a shooting on I-55 early Saturday, police said, which caused traffic to be diverted for some hours.

The incident took place around 1:55 a.m. on I-55 northbound at Cicero Avenue, officials said.

Authorities said three people were found inside of the victim vehicle at the time of the shooting. The 27-year-old driver was found dead with apparent gunshot wounds, Illinois State Police said. A 16-year-old male suffered a non-life threatening injury and a 19-year-old female remained in critical condition as both were transported to Mount Sinai, police said.

All northbound traffic was diverted off the interstate at Harlem Avenue as officials investigated the incident but lanes later reopened as of 7:30 a.m.

The investigation is ongoing.

Eight @ 8 on April 13, 2019: Week In Review
To help make sure you stay informed on the most shared and talked about stories, each Saturday and Sunday we'll revisit 5 stories from the previous week, including the most recent updates.

Assange Arrested

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested and taken into custody at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London Thursday, setting up a potential court battle over attempts to extradite him to the U.S. to face charges related to the publication of tens of thousands of secret government documents. The move came after Ecuador decided to revoke the political asylum that had given Assange sanctuary for almost seven years. See more on his arrest and the battle to extradite him here.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested and carried out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on April 11, 2019.

Teens Charged in Shakespeare Theatre Fire

Police arrested three teens this week and charged them in connection with the January arson that destroyed the Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford. Two of the suspects face arson charges while the third faces a conspiracy to commit arson charge. All three also face burglary and criminal mischief charges. For more on the arrests, click here.

Police have arrested two juveniles and charged them with arson in connection with the fire that destroyed the historic Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford in January. Police said the teens have also been charged in burglaries in town.

Commute Costs

For the first time, lawmakers and the governor have released what they say drivers would be paying on average for their commutes under a proposal to add tolls to Connecticut's highways. Republican legislators say the numbers aren't real and are most likely too low. To see some sample toll costs, click here.

For the first time, Gov. Lamont has released numbers on just what a drive on Connecticut highways may cost commuters.

College Admissions Indictments

Federal prosecutors added money laundering to the list of accusations against actress Lori Loughlin, her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, and 14 other prominent parents Tuesday in the college admissions bribery case, increasing the pressure on them to plead guilty as other parents have agreed to do. Earlier in the week, actress Felicity Huffman and 13 other parents agreed to plead guilty to charges in the scheme. Click here to see more on the trouble for Loughlin.

Black Hole Sun

Scientists unveiled humanity's first-ever photo of a black hole on Wednesday. "It feels like looking at the gates of hell, the end of space and time," said EHT scientist Heino Falcke. The black hole is 53.5 million light-years away from the Earth and is 6.5 billion times the size of the Sun. See more incredible details about the historic photo here.

A man who the Secret Service says scaled a White House fence and dashed into the executive mansion before being caught inside carrying a folding knife is expected to take a plea deal.
The Connecticut Department of Public Health has confirmed a third case of measles in New Haven County, and said the case is linked to the outbreak in New York City.

Health officials said the patient is an adult and that the case is linked to the outbreak in New York City, not the other two cases in Connecticut. They believe the patient was exposed in the last week of March, during a visit to Brooklyn, New York.

There have been two other cases of measles in Connecticut, which were reported in January.

Measles is highly contagious and can spread quickly if you are not vaccinated.

Vaccination is required to attend schools and colleges in Connecticut, but medical and religious exemptions are available. Health officials said the measles vaccine is very effective and two doses, which is the standard recommendation, are about 97 percent effective.

In 2018, there were three confirmed cases of measles in Connecticut.

The good thing here in Connecticut, we have such high vaccination rates, its unlikely that well have a large outbreak or see widespread spread of measles," explained Dr. Jack Ross.

Ross, the medical director of infectious disease and infection control for Hartford Healthcare, says the confirmation of this latest case is an opportunity for folks who have chosen not to vaccinate their kids to rethink that decision.

This vaccine is amazingly effective, as long as you have a normal immune system," Ross said.

Earlier this week, New York officials started requiring residents in parts of Brooklyn to get vaccinated to stop the spread of the virus, mostly among members of the Orthodox Jewish community.

So far this year, more than 460 cases of measles have been confirmed in 19 states. The second largest number of cases in the US since measles was eliminated in 2000.

Symptoms of measles generally start showing a week to 21 days after exposure. Typical symptoms begin with mild to moderate fever, runny nose, red eyes and a sore throat. Three to five days after that, a red or reddish-brown rash appears, usually starting on the face and spreading down.

The rash typically lasts a few days. Someone with measles may be contagious up to four days before the rash appears and for four days after the rash appears.

If you think you might have measles, you should avoid public and contact your doctor before going into the office to avoid exposing others.

People who received two doses of MMR vaccine as children according to the U.S. vaccination schedule are considered protected for life, reports the Centers for Disease, Control and Prevention, adding that the MMR vaccination is very safe and effective.

For more information, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
What to Know Police in the Dominican Republic say alcohol, high speed and dark roads may have been factors in the deaths of a couple in the Caribbean

A body found on the side of a highway in the Dominican Republic was identified as Portia Ravenelle earlier this week

A body thought to be Orlando Moore's was found in the Caribbean Sea on March 31, but has not been positively identified yet

Police in the Dominican Republic say alcohol, high speed and dark roads may have been factors in the deaths of a couple from Mount Vernon, N.Y. who apparently crashed their rental car on their way to the airport after a romantic getaway in the Caribbean.

Orlando Moore, 41, and Portia Ravenelle, 52, flew out of Newark Liberty International Airport on March 23 for a getaway in the Dominican Republic. They were supposed to return home to Mount Vernon on March 27.

Police on Friday said they believe the Moore and Ravenelle were on their way to the airport when Moore, who was driving, lost control of their rental car and crashed into the Caribbean Sea.

Dominican Republic National Police Col. Frank Felix Duran Mejia told News 4 Moore  who had been seen drinking before the two left for the airport  was last seen on surveillance video at tolls minutes from the airport.

The two were running late and may have been speeding on a dark road when they lost control of the car, he said.

Police believe the two had made a wrong turn and had reversed course when the crash happened.

Investigators believe Ravenelle was able to get out just as the car careened into the sea. Dominican police do not believe foul play was involved.

New video on Friday showed the couples rental car being pulled from the Caribbean Sea.

A body found on the side of a highway in the Dominican Republic was identified as Ravenelle's earlier this week.

A body thought to be Moore's was found in the Caribbean Sea on March 31 inside of the vehicle Dominican officials believe was the car they had rented. That body has yet to be identified because of its condition, officials have said.

Photos of tattoos were sent to Moore's brother in the U.S. in hopes of expediting an identification.

Two U.S. representatives from New York have called for an FBI investigation into the couple's deaths.
British police stationed armed officers outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on Friday after tweets from WikiLeaks quoted what it said were high-level sources saying that Julian Assange could be kicked out of the building within "hours to days."

The red-brick embassy building with white window frames and balconies was quiet. No embassy official or any British authorities commented on the WikiLeaks founder's status.

Asked about the presence of armed officers outside the Ecuadorian Embassy, London's Metropolitan Police force said there had been no change in police procedure.

Police said in a statement there is an active warrant for Assange's arrest and that the police are "obliged to execute that warrant should he leave the Embassy."

Police withdrew the round-the-clock guard outside the embassy in October 2015 after more than three years in favor of what the service called a "covert" approach.

Assange hasn't left the embassy since August 2012, fearing if he steps off Ecuador's diplomatic soil he will be arrested and extradited to the U.S. for publishing thousands of classified military and diplomatic cables through WikiLeaks.

Ecuador's foreign ministry issued a statement late Thursday saying it wouldn't comment on what it called "rumors, theories or conjectures."

Later, a senior official told The Associated Press that no decision had been taken to expel Assange from the embassy.

WikiLeaks argued in a statement Friday that forcing Assange out of the embassy would be illegal and a violation of international law on refugees.

A small group of protesters and supporters of WikiLeaks' founder gathered Thursday outside the London embassy. On Friday morning, a van appeared outside the building showing a placard that said "Free Speech" and featured images of Assange and convicted classified document leaker Chelsea Manning. Police moved it on.

WikiLeaks on Thursday tweeted: "BREAKING: A high level source within the Ecuadorian state has told @WikiLeaks that Julian Assange will be expelled within "hours to days" using the #INAPapers offshore scandal as a pretext--and that it already has an agreement with the UK for his arrest."

Another tweet said it had received a secondary confirmation from another high-level source.

But a top official said while Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno was angered by the apparent hacking of his personal communications, he denied WikiLeaks' claim and said no decision had been taken to expel Assange from the Embassy. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the matter.

On Tuesday, Moreno blamed WikiLeaks for recent allegations of offshore corruption that in appeared in local media outlets and the publication of family photos to social media.

Moreno accused WikiLeaks of intercepting phone calls and private conversations as well as "photos of my bedroom, what I eat, and how my wife and daughters and friends dance."

Moreno provided no evidence, but the speech reflected ongoing tension between Assange and his hosts at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

WikiLeaks in a statement called Moreno's charges "completely bogus," saying it reported on the accusations of corruption against the president only after Ecuador's legislature investigated the issue.

Assange's defense team suggested on Twitter that Moreno was trying to use the scandal to pressure the WikiLeaks founder.

___

Gonzalo Solano reported from Quito, Ecuador and Joshua Goodman reported from Bogota, Colombia. Barry Hatton contributed from Lisbon, Portugal.
From his eyes to his immune system, astronaut Scott Kelly's body sometimes reacted strangely to nearly a year in orbit, at least compared to his Earth-bound identical twin  but newly published research shows nothing that would cancel even longer space treks, like to Mars.

The good news: Kelly largely bounced back after returning home, say scientists who released final results from NASA's "twins study," a never-before opportunity to track the biological consequences of spaceflight in genetic doubles.

It marks "the dawn of human genomics in space," said Dr. Andrew Feinberg of Johns Hopkins University. He led one of 10 teams of researchers that scrutinized the twins' health down to the molecular level before, during and after Kelly's 340-day stay at the International Space Station.

More importantly, the study "represents more than one small step for mankind" by pointing out potential risks of longer-duration spaceflight that need study in more astronauts, said Markus Lobrich of Germany's Darmstadt University and Penny Jeggo of the University of Sussex, who weren't involved in the work.

The findings were published in Friday's edition of the journal Science, on some notable space anniversaries  when Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space in 1961, and the first launch of the space shuttle in 1981.

KEY FINDINGS

NASA already knew some of the toll of space travel, such as bone loss that requires exercise to counter. This time, NASA-funded scientists looked for a gamut of physiologic and genomic changes that Scott Kelly experienced in space, comparing them to his DNA double on the ground, former astronaut Mark Kelly. Some results had been reported in February.

Possibly the weirdest finding had to do with something called telomeres, the protective ends of chromosomes. Those tips gradually shorten as we get older, and are thought to be linked to age-related diseases including some cancers.

But in space, Scott Kelly's telomeres got longer. "We were surprised," said Colorado State University telomere expert Susan Bailey. She can't explain it although it doesn't mean Kelly got younger. Back on Earth, his telomeres mostly returned to preflight average although he did have more short telomeres than before.

Next, Kelly's DNA wasn't mutated in space but the activity of many of his genes  how they switch on and off  did change, especially in the last half of the voyage, which ended in March 2016.

Immune system genes especially were affected, putting it "almost on high alert as a way to try and understand this new environment," said study co-author Christopher Mason, a Weill Cornell Medicine geneticist in New York.

Again, most gene expression returned to normal back home, but some of the immune-related genes were hyperactive six months later.

Other findings:

Some changes in the structure of Kelly's eye and thickening of his retina suggested that, like about 40% of astronauts, he experienced symptoms of "spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome." It may be caused by fluids shifting in the absence of gravity.

He experienced some chromosomal instability that might reflect radiation exposure in space.

A flu shot given in space worked as well as one on Earth.

Kelly aced cognitive tests in space but slowed down after his return, maybe as more things competed for his attention.

ULTRA LONG-DISTANCE TESTING

Researchers needed months' worth of blood, urine and fecal samples, along with cognitive and physical tests and ultrasound scans. That meant getting creative: Some blood samples required analysis so rapidly that Kelly would time collection so the blood could travel on Russian Soyuz capsules carrying other astronauts back to Earth.

That wouldn't be an option on a three-year trip to Mars. One of the study's technological advances: Portable DNA-sequencing equipment that will let astronauts run some of their own genomic analyses on future missions, said Weill Cornell's Mason.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Studying one pair of twins can't prove risks of spaceflight, researchers cautioned. And longer missions, to the moon or Mars, will mean greater stress and radiation exposure.

Colorado State's Bailey plans to study 10 additional astronauts on year-long missions, using the twin findings as a road map.

"We need to get outside of low-Earth orbit and we need for the astronauts to spend longer periods of time to really evaluate some of these health effects," she said.
For the last eight years, Becky Welch has been a single mom to her two boys. It's a reality she knew was possible, though hoped would never happen when her husband Rob deployed to Afghanistan in January 2011.

"He from an early age wanted to serve," said Welch.

Welch said Rob, her childhood sweetheart, first served in the Texas National Guard after graduating from Wylie High School. He then went active duty Army after graduating from UTA in 2008. Their boys were just one and three-years-old when he left for Afghanistan as a First Lieutenant.

Then one day in April, just a day after talking with him, Welch got the knock she'd hoped would never come.

"When I went to the door there were two uniformed military officers and they informed me that Rob had been killed earlier that day. And you know, your whole world stops. It stops for a minute. You don't ever dream that that knock's going to be on your door," said Welch.

All of a sudden, she and her boys were thrown into a new reality. But she said they had support of their military family, both emotionally and monetarily.

"When a soldier dies, the military helps pick up that slack so that they can help pick up the income you would've had if your soldier was here," said Welch.

Every month for the last eight years, Welch and her boys have each received benefits.

"When we started claiming those benefits, I actually found out that my minor children, because of the way they get their benefits, actually have to file as individuals through the IRS," said Welch.

Usually, Welch says they owed about $200 each. But under this year's new tax code, the family was surprised to see the total due at nearly $1,100 for each of her boys.

"This is just crazy that this is happening. That children, I mean mine are 9 and 11, but children even younger than that are being taxed this exorbitant amount money. And I mean these are families that are not making billions in money each year. They're making what they need to survive," said Welch.

Her CPA explained it was due to changes with the Kiddie Tax. Until now the taxable portion of her boys' benefits was taxed at the same rate she was, which as a single stay at home mom fell in the lowest threshold.

But under the new tax code, their benefits are treated the same as a trust fund or estate tax. For her boys, that means a rate of 35 percent.

"To me it almost feels like a punishment. Like we honor the sacrifice your dad made, but now you owe us all this money. It just really seems confusing to me," said Welch.

Before April 15, she'll write two checks for $1,094 to send to the IRS. But she's hopeful if enough families like her's speak up, a change will be made to accommodate families who've already paid the ultimate sacrifice.
Computer scientist Chris Schmandt doesn't visit Nevada for the casinos, but he does appreciate the state's nightlife.

Schmandt of Boston prefers to go beyond the glowing reach of lights in Las Vegas and Reno to relax in the most remote corners of the state.

"I'm one of those people who thinks about what the world was like before electricity," said Schmandt, who noticed Nevada's dark night skies while poring over satellite images depicting the spread of light pollution across North America.

"I was looking for places to go and NASA has a nice composition image of the Earth at night from space," Schmandt said. "I figured the dark places were places where there weren't a lot of people. And there is a lot of dark in Nevada."

Soon, people won't have to search satellite photos to learn about Nevada's position among the best places for night sky enthusiasts to escape light pollution.

That's because a remote area in the northwest corner of the state is poised to become just the seventh spot on the planet to be designated a Dark Sky Sanctuary.

The designation for the Massacre Rim area about 150 miles (240 kilometers) north of Reno will be just the fourth sanctuary of its kind in the United States and the first in Nevada.

"I figured the dark places were places where there weren't a lot of people. And there is a lot of dark in Nevada"

Other U.S. dark sky sanctuaries include Cosmic Campground in New Mexico, Rainbow Bridge National Monument in Utah and Devils River-State Natural Area Del Norte in Texas. There are also sanctuaries outside the U.S. in New Zealand and Chile.

"This designation literally puts Washoe County on the Dark Sky map," said Shaaron Netherton, executive director of Friends of Nevada Wilderness, a group that led the charge for the designation. "We are just thrilled that this special place has been recognized for its natural values."

Friends of Nevada Wilderness announced the designation last weekend.

The designation shows the International Dark Sky Association, founded in 1988 in Tucson, Ariz., considers the area to have "exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights and a nocturnal environment" and should remain protected for scientific, ecological and cultural benefit.

Research shows artificial light can disrupt wildlife which depend on natural cycles of light and darkness for everything from hunting to sleeping to migration.

Skies unpolluted by artificial light, which are rare throughout much of the world, also provide a glimpse at the way the sky and landscape would have looked to people throughout the majority of humans' time on the planet.

"The sky ruled more of your life than it does now," Schmandt said.

It won't change any access rules or regulations for Massacre Rim, a designated wilderness study area of 101,000 acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management about 160 miles (257 kilometers) east of Redding, California near the Nevada and Oregon state lines.

But it will elevate its profile as a destination for people who want to experience solitude and starlight the way humans would have experienced it before electricity and industrialization.

"The sanctuary designation is for places that have extremely dark skies," said Adam Dalton, the association's Dark Sky Places program manager. "Sanctuaries not only are dark but are really remote."

BLM spokesman Jeff Fontana said the agency wrote a letter of support for the designation in 2016.

To achieve the designation, workers from Friends of Nevada Wilderness had to document the darkness of the sky using objective measurements.

The group, which advocates on behalf of wilderness designations in the state, sent workers into the field on several nights in April and July of 2018.

They drove around the fringe of the area and hiked into the interior and used light-measuring instruments to capture readings to show how the look of the sky rated on the Bortle Scale, a nine-point system that measures the visibility of stars and other natural light in the night sky.

"It is something magical to drive around the WSA at night," said Kurt Kuznicki, associate director of Friends who helped take readings. "You start drinking coffee at 10 o'clock at night and drive around listening to the radio."

They documented qualities such as the ability to see distinct features of the Milky Way, entities such as the M33 galaxy and natural starlight bright enough to cause objects to cast shadows.

Their findings showed the area ranked at the top of the Bortle Scale and worthy of the Dark Sky Sanctuary designation.

Kuznicki said visiting Massacre Rim at night reminded him of hiking into the Golden Trout Wilderness in the Eastern Sierra with his dad in the early 1970s.

It was on those trips from Long Beach, where Kuznicki was raised, that he gained an appreciation for escaping light pollution that prevents people in urbanized areas from the primeval experience of a pure night sky.

"I would like to see folks appreciate the resource they have in northern Washoe," Kuznicki said. "Right in our backyard we have these special places and we have the opportunity to protect it right now."
President Donald Trump told acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan last week to close the U.S. southern border and that he would pardon him if he faced any legal challenges, according to The New York Times.

The paper, citing three people briefed about the conversation, reported that they spoke when Trump visited the border town of Calexico, Calif., last week shortly before he named McAleenan acting homeland security secretary, NBC News reports.

One of the officials briefed on the conversation said they did not know whether the president was joking. But Trump's remarks alarmed officials at the agency who were briefed on it, The Times said.

NBC News has not independently confirmed the report.

Tyler Houlton, a spokesman for DHS, denied Trump had asked McAleenan to do anything illegal. "At no time has the president indicated, asked, directed or pressured the acting secretary to do anything illegal," Houlton said. "Nor would the acting secretary take actions that are not in accordance with our responsibility to enforce the law."
What to Know Former West Covina Mayor Mike Spence was found unconscious in a hotel room in Costa Mesa on May 4, 2018

A woman placed a call to 911 suggesting he had overdosed on heroin.

Spence was not arrested, but police filed a case with prosecutors who found no evidence of a crime

Mike Spence, a former Southern California mayor and longtime conservative activist who openly struggled with substance abuse, was found dead in a Southern California motel room. He was 52.

An autopsy is pending. Police said an initial investigation is looking into the possibility of an overdose, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported Friday.

Spence was a former mayor of West Covina, a former president of the conservative California Republican Assembly and a familiar figure in state GOP circles.

Authorities were summoned to the Ontario, California, hotel after staff reported finding an unresponsive man in a room. Spence was pronounced dead at the scene.

Last May, police found Spence unconscious in a Costa Mesa, California, hotel with what were described as controlled-substance items. He was later stripped of the title of mayor. He pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of methamphetamine after driving his car into a utility pole in 2016.

His substance abuse problems belied his reputation as a devout, conservative politician known to rail against runaway government spending, liberal values and taxes.

He accused Republican moderates of "castrating conservative ideas" in 2011 when they proposed a rewrite of the California Republican Party platform that retreated from opposition to same-sex adoption and avoided any mention of overturning the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion.

Steve Frank, a conservative activist and blogger who had known Spence for decades, said friends had tried to steer Spence into rehabilitation programs to deal with his "demons."

"How could you say that someone who is a devout Mormon and as solid a conservative as you would want to know ... is a drug addict?" he asked.
What to Know Police in the Dominican Republic say alcohol, high speed and dark roads may have been factors in the deaths of a couple in the Caribbean

A body found on the side of a highway in the Dominican Republic was identified as Portia Ravenelle earlier this week

A body thought to be Orlando Moore's was found in the Caribbean Sea on March 31, but has not been positively identified yet

Police in the Dominican Republic say alcohol, high speed and dark roads may have been factors in the deaths of a couple from Mount Vernon who apparently crashed their rental car on their way to the airport after a romantic getaway in the Caribbean.

Orlando Moore, 41, and Portia Ravenelle, 52, flew out of Newark Liberty International Airport on March 23 for a getaway in the Dominican Republic. They were supposed to return home to Mount Vernon on March 27.

Police on Friday said they believe the Moore and Ravenelle were on their way to the airport when Moore, who was driving, lost control of their rental car and crashed into the Caribbean Sea.

Dominican Republic National Police Col. Frank Felix Duran Mejia told News 4 Moore  who had been seen drinking before the two left for the airport  was last seen on surveillance video at tolls minutes from the airport.

The two were running late and may have been speeding on a dark road when they lost control of the car, he said.

Police believe the two had made a wrong turn and had reversed course when the crash happened.

Investigators believe Ravenelle was able to get out just as the car careened into the sea. Dominican police do not believe foul play was involved.

New video on Friday showed the couples rental car being pulled from the Caribbean Sea.

A body found on the side of a highway in the Dominican Republic was identified as Ravenelle's earlier this week.

A body thought to be Moore's was found in the Caribbean Sea on March 31 inside of the vehicle Dominican officials believe was the car they had rented. That body has yet to be identified because of its condition, officials have said.

Photos of tattoos were sent to Moore's brother in the U.S. in hopes of expediting an identification.

Two U.S. representatives from New York have called for an FBI investigation into the couple's deaths.
U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard kicked off her presidential campaign with a rally in her home state of Hawaii on Saturday.

"We must stand against powerful politicians from both parties who sit in ivory towers thinking up new wars to wage and new places for people to die," she told a small gathering of supporters. "Wasting trillions of dollars, hundreds of thousands of lives, undermining our economy and security, and destroying our middle class."

The Democratic congresswoman's first rally came a month after she formally launched her effort with an online video and declaration on CNN.

Her nascent campaign swiftly ran into trouble as critics pounced on her efforts to block the legalization of same-sex marriage in Hawaii and a meeting she held with Syrian President Bashar Assad. She released a video apologizing for advocating against gay rights.

State Sen. Kai Kahele, a Democrat, then announced he would run for Gabbard's congressional seat in 2020. Gabbard hasn't said whether she plans to run for re-election as a congresswoman while simultaneously seeking the presidency.

Politico reported this week Gabbard campaign manager Rania Batrice was leaving.

The rally will be held on a lawn at a sprawling Hilton hotel complex in Waikiki.

Gabbard, 37, has said she's running for president because U.S. military action in Iraq, Libya and Syria has destabilized the Middle East, made the U.S. less safe and cost thousands of American lives. She says terrorist groups like Al Qaeda and the Islamic State group are stronger than before the Sept.11 terrorist attacks.

She was a fierce opponent of same-sex marriage when she served in the state Legislature in her 20s. But she has since disavowed those views and professes her support for LGBTQ rights.

Gabbard has represented Honolulu's suburbs and rural Hawaii in the U.S. House since 2013. She is a combat veteran who served in Iraq and Kuwait with the Hawaii National Guard.
What to Know A toll booth 200 miles away near Boynton Beach recorded the plate early Saturday morning - with Cherizard later posting a Facebook message.

Florida police are searching for the suspect in a shooting that killed two women and left a 6-year-old girl brain dead.

Haines City police said Saturday 38-year-old Ernst Cherizard shot the three Friday night at an apartment in the city located between Lakeland and Orlando.

Chief James Elensky said Cherizard fatally shot 48-year-old Nicole Guillume at an apartment complex and fled. When officers arrived, they found the girl, Isabella Frenel, shot three times and the body of her mother, 23-year-old Eli Normil.

Elensky said Isabella is on life support but is brain dead. Cherizard and Normil had been in a relationship and had two children, but Isabella was not one of his children.

NBC station WFLA-TV in Tampa reported that Guillume was Normil's aunt and that Cherizard fled in a burgundy 2011 Nissan Altima, license plate GZN C82.

A toll booth 200 miles away near Boynton Beach recorded the plate early Saturday morning - with Cherizard later posting a message on Facebook where he apologized to his children, writing I can't believe this happened" according to the station.

Cherizard is considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information is asked to call Haines City Police or Heartland CrimeStoppers at 1-800-226-8477.
Mired in the 2020 pack, Democratic presidential candidate Cory Booker returned on Saturday to the city where he earned his political chops, hoping for a surge as he undertakes a two-week tour around the country and expressing confidence to supporters that he, like the country he wants to lead, "will rise."

The New Jersey senator joined the race more than two months ago, capped by an appearance before reporters outside his Newark home and with a call for the country to unite in a time of sharp division. He emphasized that theme in Saturday's rally, billed as a campaign kickoff, with the goal of gaining political momentum and distinguishing himself from among his dozen-plus rivals.

"Critics will tell us that a campaign powered by grace and love and a deep faith in each other" cannot prevail, Booker said. "But I say it's the only way we win. The president wants a race to the gutter and to fight us in the gutter. To win, we have to fight from higher ground in order to bring this country to higher ground."

Booker has made early voting states a priority during his 10 weeks in the race, yet he remains bunched among the contenders, with poll numbers in the single digits. Nonetheless, his campaign is projecting confidence that he doesn't have to lead early to succeed with a strategy built more on grassroots enthusiasm than national buzz.

"We're trying to win the election  we're not trying to win a news cycle," campaign manager Addisu Demissie told reporters this past week, describing the approach as "organize and get hot at the end."

And to win, Booker said he would work to "make justice real for all."

The former Newark mayor and his team know that building a higher profile requires some bigger swings for attention that spotlight his oratory skills. Saturday's rally before a friendly crowd was intended to give the campaign a chance "to keep Cory front and center with the voters, which is how you break out here," as Demissie put it. "You need to be visible."

The first stops on Booker's national tour are in Iowa, Georgia and Nevada. The themes he pressed at the rally included ending "mass incarcerations" and "the school to prison pipeline," passing gun control measures such as universal background checks and an assault weapons ban and advancing "Medicare for All." He wants to enact "comprehensive immigration reform" that also provides a path to citizenship for young immigrants who are in the country illegally and end "the sabotage" of the Obama-era health care law. He pledged to appoint Supreme Court justices who will defend the landmark ruling that legalized abortion.

"Together, we will fulfill our pledge to be a nation of liberty and justice for all. Together, we will win. And together, America, we will rise," Booker said.

His campaign announcement in February emphasized the importance of "common purpose" in politics, a message he's since expanded on to trumpet his successful work on bipartisan measures, such as the criminal justice reform bill that President Donald Trump signed last year.

"There are some folks that want to criticize you for getting into the sausage-making, for making compromises and horse-trading, but when I walk around my neighborhood now, folk come out and tell me, 'Thank you for doing that bill,'" Booker told New York-based radio show "Ebro in the Morning" on Friday.

Booker, 49, raised more than $5 million in the first quarter of the year, his campaign said, which is less than higher-polling candidates Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke reported raising in their first 24 hours in the race. That sum ranks Booker behind at least six contenders, including South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who raked in $7 million.

Associated Press writer Hunter Woodall contributed to this report.
The U.S. government will hold a massive auction later this year to bolster 5G service, the next generation of mobile networks. President Donald Trump showcased the announcement Friday, declaring that the race to stand up these faster, more powerful networks is a competition "America must win."

"We cannot allow any other country to outcompete the United States in this powerful industry of the future," Trump said at the White House. "We are leading by so much in so many different industries of that type, and we just can't let that happen."

Trump also announced a $20 billion plan to expand broadband access to rural areas currently without it, a decadelong extension of an existing program.

5G will mean faster wireless speeds and has implications for technologies like self-driving cars and augmented reality. Trump said it will transform the way people work, learn, communicate and travel, making farms more productive, manufacturers more competitive and health care better and more accessible. But experts say it's hard to know now how much life will actually change because of the much-hyped network upgrade.

It will take years to roll out, and the highest data speeds and capacities may not reach rural areas at all.

The rollout started last week in the U.S. and South Korea but will take years.

The Federal Communications Commission said Friday that it would hold the largest auction in U.S. history to boost wireless companies' networks. The auction is set for Dec. 10, and will be the agency's third for 5G, said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who joined Trump for the announcement.

"We want Americans to be the first to benefit from this new digital revolution," Pai said.

The U.S. is jockeying for position with China over 5G. It has effectively banned Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei from most U.S. networks due to concerns that it might enable Chinese government spying, which Huawei denies. The U.S. has pushed its allies to do the same, with mixed results . Huawei is the world's largest maker of such equipment.

FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, criticized the agency's approach to 5G Friday. She said the U.S. has not auctioned off "midband" spectrum that is better suited to serve rural areas because of how far it can carry signals, and that the Trump administration's actions on 5G have "set us back." She cited tariffs on telecom equipment that have raised costs and said the administration has been "alienating allies" on the 5G security issue.

The FCC also said Friday that it will be renewing an existing $2 billion broadband subsidy program, for 10 years. It will provide about $20.4 billion over a decade to providers, with the goal of connecting up to 4 million rural homes and small businesses to high-speed internet.

The agency spent $34.5 billion on rural-broadband network subsidy programs from 2010 to 2017, according to the Government Accountability Office.

It's more expensive for telecom companies to serve spread-out rural areas than cities and suburbs, so the government provides grants to encourage them to build internet networks in rural parts of the country. Some 24 million Americans lacked access to high-speed internet as of the end of 2016, by the FCC's count.

Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.
An Indianapolis-based company has issued a recall for melon products sold in 16 states after being linked to a salmonella outbreak.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday that the recall includes cut watermelon, honeydew and cantaloupe produced by Caito Foods LLC. The fruit has been sold under various brands or labels at Kroger, Walmart, Trader Joe's, Target and Whole Foods.

The affected states are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Click here for a full list of products included in this recall.

Health officials advise consumers to check packaging to determine if the melon was distributed by Caito Foods, and, if so, not to eat it. They advise stores to pull the products from shelves.

Authorities say 93 people have been sickened, 23 of whom were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

Salmonella Carrau is described as rare. Symptoms include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps.
The City of San Diego is once again looking to pass a law banning people from sleeping in their vehicles on city streets.

In an April 11 staff report, Mayor Kevin Faulconers Office outlined the need for city council to pass a new law prohibiting people from sleeping in their vehicles in residential areas, near schools, or in areas where overnight parking is not allowed.

The proposal comes just over a month after city council voted to repeal its 1983 ordinance banning habitation in cars or vehicles on city streets as a result of a federal court ruling which called the ordinance vague and overreaching.

Residents near the beaches and bay, however, soon complained that repealing the ordinance opened the doors for more and more car and van dwellers in their neighborhoods. The April 11 report cites their concerns as a reason for the new law.

Recently, residents and business owners concerned about the issue of vehicle habitation, and media reports generated on this topic, detail that there may be an influx and increase in van lifers that live in vehicles outfitted for habitation, reads the memo. This movement appears to appeal to young adults who choose a lifestyle free of the financial and legal commitments associated with typical property leases.

The report from Faulconers office states that vehicle habitation invites excessive noise and trash and negatively impacts the quality of life in San Diego neighborhoods.

However, not all agree.

Ann Menasche is an attorney for Disability Rights California, the group that filed the lawsuit in federal court that resulted in the repeal of the former ordinance.

Menasche says the new law is essentially the same as the old law.

San Diegans who shelter in their vehicles are not monsters or criminals as the Mayor portrays them, said Menasche in a statement to NBC 7. They are our fellow San Diego residents who are people with disabilities or senior citizens on fixed incomes; or they are families with children, students, or other low income workers that have been priced out of the housing market in San Diego through no fault of their own.

Adds Menasche, Treating people like criminals simply for being poor or disabled and depriving them of the ability to use the only viable shelter available to them will only force more people onto the cold cement and will risk more Hep A type epidemics..We need Housing, not handcuffs.

A city council committee will discuss the proposed ordinance on Wednesday, April 17.
San Diego County recently paid more than half of a million dollars to the family of a North County man who died by suicide in a Vista jail, according to documents obtained by NBC 7.

Rochelle Nishimoto said she told sheriffs deputies that her 44-year-old son, Jason Nishimoto, was diagnosed with schizophrenia and had a history of suicide attempts. Rochelle Nishimoto also said her family told dispatchers that Jason Nishimoto had swallowed a bottle of tranquilizers before they arrested him in September 2015.

According to the family, deputies disregarded those warnings and placed Jason Nishimoto in solitary confinement, where he used a bed sheet to hang himself.

The Nishimotos sued, and the county paid $595,000 to the family to settle the lawsuit, according to documents.

The familys attorney, Danielle Pena, said county records showed there were 17 suicides in local jails from 2014 to 2016. Pena told NBC 7 that most of the suicides involved mentally ill inmates.

Pena said the familys lawsuit generated significant media attention that, in turn, prompted investigations by the San Diego County Grand Jury and Disability Rights California, an independent watchdog group.

Both recommended modifications to the jails suicide prevention programs and deputy and staff training, Pena said. And the county did that. And in 2017, they reported zero jail suicides. So I like to think this case made a difference.

A county spokesman declined to comment on the settlement, but the San Diego County Sheriffs Department confirmed it has taken several significant steps to reduce in-custody deaths, including the establishment of a Suicide Prevention and Focused Response Team.

Department spokesman Lt. Justin White said jail supervisors have also strengthened the intake screening process to more effectively identify inmates who pose a greater risk of suicide or self-harm.

Other improvements include the recent approval of funding for the hiring of 15 additional mental health clinicians for the jail system.

If you are in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or reach out to the Crisis Text Line by texting 'Home' to 741741.
Fed up neighbors in Imperial Beach are taking action over the pollution problem. The coastline in South County has been plagued by sewage spills coming from Mexico for years.

On Saturday morning, dozens of volunteers spent the day cleaning the beach.

"Today we are helping to make the world a better, cleaner place," Imperial Beach Resident, Nabile Gutierrez, told NBC 7.

Gutierrez brought her 4-year-old son, Franky, to the beach cleanup, to set a good example.

"It is concerning. This is where my son comes to visit the ocean to play around on the beach and it is pretty concerning," said Gutierrez, referring to the ongoing pollution troubles in the area.

After spending the morning cleaning the sand, neighbors took to the streets to demand clean water.

Holding signs, and repeating protest chants, demonstrators marched on the Imperial Beach Pier and then held a rally.

The event was organized by The Surfrider Foundation. Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina addressed the crowd.

Children and adults are marching for Clean Water at #ImperialBeach.  People are tired of having to stay out of the water due to sewage overflow from #Tijuana into #SanDiego beaches. @SurfriderSD @nbcsandiego @Telemundo20 #cleanwater #Beach pic.twitter.com/gjXG8H3PIA  Ana Cristina Sanchez (@ACristinaTLMD20) April 13, 2019

"We will continue to fight for clean water and beaches," exclaimed Dedina over a megaphone.

Since a huge spill 2017, millions of gallons of sewage have poured into the Pacific Ocean from Tijuana. The problem goes back many years before that.

"We dont know what pollution is in that sand," said Christine Vella, a longtime Imperial Beach resident.

Vella believes a lot of her familys health issues have been caused by pollution in the water. She had a strong message for politicians on both sides of the border.

"If this was next to their town, this wouldnt be happening. These politicians just dont get it. Maybe they should come down there and live with us for a few months and what we breathe on a daily basis," said Vella.

With the help of environmental groups, like the Surfrider Foundation, neighbors in Imperial Beach are organizing.

Former Border Patrol Agent Chris Harris, who also spoke during Saturdays march, explained the potential health risks agents face because of the pollution coming from Tijuana. Harris called on California officials to take action.

Lawsuits have been filed against the U.S. government to come up with a solution. Local leaders have had several meetings with Mexican government officials, but no solid agreements have been made to deal with the sewage flows.
A 37-year-old inmate from Los Angeles County serving 112 years to life for a killing in 2013 was being investigated Friday for allegedly trying to kill a corrections officer who suffered cuts to his head and face during an attack at Calipatria State Prison in Imperial County.

The inmate was identified as Douglas Compton, who was sentenced in June 2013 after being convicted of second-degree murder, according to Lt. Ernesto Bustamante of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

The attack on the corrections officer occurred about 10:35 a.m. Thursday, Bustamante said.

Three corrections officers approached Douglas, who had refused to leave an out-of-bounds area of a maximum-security general population yard, according to Bustamante.

"Compton attacked one of the officers, stabbing him in his head and face," Bustamante said. "Responding officers used batons, pepper spray and other use-of-force options to stop the incident."

Compton allegedly punched two other officers and refused to halt his attack before an officer in a guard tower fired a lethal round from a state-issued Mini-14 rifle. The shot halted the attack, though no one was struck, Bustamante said.

"Five officers and one sergeant were injured and taken to an outside hospital," according to Bustamante. "The first officer who was attacked suffered cuts on his face and head. The others were treated for cuts, slashes and sprains. All were treated and released and are recovering."

Compton received cuts to his forehead, a cut above his left eye and was exposed to pepper spray. He was treated and then taken to another prison, Bustamante said.

"Two inmate-made weapons were recovered," Bustamante said.

Compton had been convicted of second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter with the use of a firearm and possession of a firearm by an ex-felon with the use of an altered ID, according to Bustamante.

"Compton had prior convictions for vandalism, possession of a firearm, robbery, assault with a firearm on a person, corporal injury and making criminal threats," Bustamante said.
A vigil was held Friday in memory of Muna Salad Kuri, a Somalian woman who was found dead in her City Heights Home back in early March. The vigil was organized to help educate the community about domestic violence.

More than 60 people attended the vigil. Domestic violence is considered a taboo topic within this community so organizers hoped to open up the dialog and speak out.

Said Osman Abiyow, community leader for the Somali Bantu Association of America, said that he hopes men and women can learn from Kuris death by educating each other.

He spoke to a crowd of men, woman, and children about the importance to say something if you see something and said, often times signs just get ignored.

"We hope to educate men and woman about domestic violence, to learn how to avoid it and learn how to respect and love each other." Said Abiyow.

Community leaders along with members of SBAOA presented Kuris family with a plaque to remember and honor Kuri for all that she did in the community.

Every woman needs to learn how to speak up, to learn how to stop hiding, and learn how to stop defending their husbands." Said Amiina Salad, Kuri's sister. "If they're getting abused or mistreated, they need to speak out.

Salad found her sister dead just before 9 a.m. on March 4 at Kuris City Heights apartment on Van Dyke Avenue. Salad said she visited her sister because she grew concerned when she didnt show up to the daycare center where she worked.

"I just found my sister in a house, blood everywhere on the bed... no pulse, no nothing, just laying there cold," Amiina Salad said in March. "I didnt believe it. It feels like a dream."

Kuri had traumatic injuries to her head and was pronounced dead at the scene, officers said.

Abdiaziz Kerow, Kuris Husband, was charged with first-degree murder in connection with her death.

Kuri, a Somali, came to the United States from Kenya in 2000 and married Kerow in 2014.

If you or anyone you know is going through domestic violence, call The National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
A road rage incident in South Florida ended with a brother and sister behind bars and their father in the hospital after he accidentally shot himself in the foot, police said.

Anailyn Rivera Neyra, 29, brother Jonh Lazaro Neyra, 18, and father Juan Camero Neyra, 52, are all facing charges in the Wednesday evening incident, according to police reports.

According to the reports, Anailyn Neyra was involved in a road rage incident with the victim on Okeechobee Road in Hialeah. The victim left the scene in his Nissan Altima and was followed by Neyra and her brother in a white Range Rover, the reports said.

The brother and sister followed the victim to the area of West 11th Court and West 27th Street. Once there, they reached into the victim's vehicle and struck the victim, causing a laceration to the victim's mouth and several scratches to the victim's chest, the reports said.

Juan Neyra also followed the Altima and when he arrived at the scene, he got out of his car carrying a firearm, the reports said. The gun accidentally went off, shooting hitting Juan Neyra in the right foot, the reports said.

Anailyn Neyra told officers the victim struck her with the Altima during the road rage incident, and said she called 911 while following the victim, the reports said. Jonh Neyra told officers the victim struck his mother with the Altima, the reports said.

Juan Neyra was taken to Palmetto Hospital for treatment for his gunshot wound. Court records showed he's facing an aggravated assault with a firearm charge.

Anailyn and Jonh Neyra were both charged with burglary with assault or battery. Attorney information wasn't available.
Opposition is growing after an initial study into the possibility of expanding Interstate 270 and the Beltway in Maryland suggested adding toll lanes through eminent domain.

That study suggests that the state of Maryland seize up to 34 homes in Silver Spring through eminent domain, the legal process by which the state government could take private property and redevelop it for a public purpose.

Maryland is evaluating seven plans to reduce traffic on Interstate 495 and I-270, and nearly all suggest adding toll lanes. The state says all plans would reduce the amount of time that commuters spend in traffic by at least 20%, with some options cutting traffic time by nearly 35%.

But residents near the Beltway say the suggestion is unfair. And some point out that following this suggestion would require Gov. Larry Hogan break a promise he made not to use eminent domain.

"This is my home," said Osvaldo Montero, a resident who could face eminent domain and be relocated. "It wouldnt make any sense to rush us to go somewhere else for a road."

The Maryland Department of Transportation will be hosting a series of public hearings to receive input from community members. That schedule can be found here.
A North Bethesda man has been arrested and charged in at least two sex offenses that occurred in October 2017 and January 2019, police said.

Austin Blaine Vann, 29, is charged with multiple counts of attempted rape and one charge of rape after he was linked to one attempted rape in 2017 and one rape in 2019 in Montgomery County, Maryland, the county's Department of Police said Friday.

The two victims each said Vann deceived them and assaulted them in the area of the 11500 block of Old Georgetown Road in North Bethesda.

The first victim said that she met Vann at a party in July 2017, when she left some belongings in Vann's car. She said she contacted Vann to pick those items up and said Vann met her at her home, telling her she needed to go to his apartment with him to pick up her belongings.

The victim then walked to the door of the apartment and waited there while Vann entered to get the items, when she said he pulled her into the apartment, assaulted her and attempted to rape her, according to police.

Police said Vann left the area after the assault and was later arrested in California on March 1, 2018 and extradited to Maryland.

Vann was then charged with attempted first degree rape, attempted second degree rape, first degree assault, second degree assault and a fourth degree sex offense. He was released on bond.

But police said Vann was the suspect behind another sex offense that occurred in January, while he was awaiting trial for his first offense.

A second victim said she met a man named "Austin" at a restaurant in North Bethesda on Jan. 8 when Vann sexually assaulted her.

According to that victim, she had communicated with Vann on social media and through text messages before meeting him at the restaurant bar. There, she left her drink unattended several times when going to the restroom and later found herself in a bathroom in an apartment building where Vann was raping her, police said.

According to police, the victim did not remember leaving the bar and did not know where she was when she found Vann raping her.

Police said they identified Vann as the man the victim met at the bar and he was arrested and charged with second degree rape on March 25.

Police said Vann is currently committed at the Montgomery County Detention Center while awaiting trial, and investigators say they are concerned that Vann may have other victims.

Police ask anyone with information to call 240-773-5400.
Global finance officials are pledging closer cooperation in efforts to lift the world economy out its current slowdown, but tensions persist between the United States and other nations over trade and other issues.

Officials wrapped up the spring meetings of the 189-nation International Monetary Fund and the World Bank on Saturday, expressing hope the slowdown that began last year will be followed by stronger growth in the second half of this year and into 2020.

The IMF's steering committee said all members, in order to protect the current economic expansion, would "act promptly to shore up growth for the benefit of all."

At a closing news conference, the committee chairman, Lesetja Kganyago, head of the central bank of South Africa, said every country needs to be ready to address issues involving financial stability "with all available tools."

Many nations were jolted last year when stock markets went into a nosedive, reversed only when major central banks, including the Federal Reserve, halted efforts to tighten credit policies.

Separately, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters that both the United States and China were moving closer to an agreement on trade. The trade war between the world's two biggest economies and the punitive tariffs each nation has imposed on the other raised widespread concerns during the talks.

But Chen Yulu, deputy governor of People's Bank of China, struck a less positive stance in his remarks to the IMF policy committee, contending that rising trade protectionism in the form of punitive tariffs had already begun to disrupt global supply changes.

"The protectionism of some countries has harmed mutual trust among countries, limited the scope for multilateral cooperation and impeded the willingness to achieve it," he said.

The U.S. and China have imposed tariffs on $350 billion worth of each other's goods. They are battling over U.S. allegations that China deploys predatory tactics  including cybertheft and forcing foreign firms to hand over trade secrets  in a sharp-elbowed effort to challenge American technological dominance.

In his meeting with reporters, Mnuchin said he had told the other finance officials that the US-China negotiations were making progress but he would not disclose a timeframe for when they might be wrapped up. He said both sides had conducted phone discussions over the past week, but he wasn't certain whether more face-to-face meetings would be needed.

"If we are able to conclude this, it will be the most significant change in 20 years" in the economic relations between the two nations, Mnuchin said.

He said that the proposed agreement the two sides are working on has seven chapters and includes language that will allow both countries to set up enforcement offices to make sure the deal is followed.

In remarks to the World Bank's steering committee on Saturday, Mnuchin said the U.S. was encouraged that the bank's private sector lending operation wanted to step up support for nations "affected by fragility, conflict and violence." But he said World Bank officials must ensure such support is aimed at boosting effective private investments in poor countries.

David Malpass, a longtime World Bank critic, took over as president of the bank on Tuesday with the backing of the administration. Reviewing the meetings this week, Malpass said that the challenges facing the World Bank were more urgent than ever with over 700 million people around the globe still living in extreme poverty.

"It is critically important that we work tirelessly to foster broad-based growth, raise median incomes, create jobs and fully incorporate women and young people in economies," Malpass said in a statement.

President Donald Trump said in a newly published interview that he had considered his daughter Ivanka, a White House adviser, for the job of World Bank president.

"She would have been great at that because she's very good with numbers. She's got a great calmness. ... I've seen her under tremendous stress and pressure," he was quoted as telling The Atlantic.

When Jim Yong Kim resigned suddenly as bank president earlier this year, reports said that Ivanka Trump along with Malpass were being considered for the job, which has always gone to an American.

Before the meetings of the policy-setting panels of the IMF and World Bank, finance ministers and central bank presidents of the Group of 20 major economies held discussions Thursday and Friday.

G-20 officials agreed with a downgraded IMF forecast released this week. It predicted global growth would be 3.3% this year, the slowest since the Great Recession ended in 2009, but would regain momentum and advance to growth of 3.6% in 2020.
Climate activists delivered a court summons Friday to oil company Shell in a court case aimed at forcing it to do more to rein in carbon emissions.

Friends of the Earth Netherlands, one of the groups involved, said it wants a court in The Hague to order Shell to reduce its carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 compared to 2010 levels and to zero by 2050, in line with the Paris Climate Accord.

"Shell's directors still do not want to say goodbye to oil and gas," said the group's director, Donald Pols. "They would pull the world into the abyss. The judge can prevent this from happening."

The summons, more than 250 pages long and backed up by boxes of supporting documents, was wheeled into the headquarters on a trolley as a couple of hundred activists looked on.

The move comes a year after the Dutch branch of Friends of the Earth sent a letter to Shell's CEO Ben van Beurden accusing the company of "breaching its legal duty of care" by causing climate damage across the globe.

In a statement, Shell outlined renewable energy projects it is involved in in the Netherlands and said that it agrees climate change action is necessary and that the company is "committed to playing our part."

"We welcome constructive efforts to work together to find solutions to the challenge of climate change, but we do not believe the courtroom is the right venue to address the global climate challenge," the company said.

The Shell case, which has more than 17,000 claimants, follows a groundbreaking ruling by a Hague court in 2015 that ordered the Dutch government to cut the country's greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25% by 2020 from benchmark 1990 levels.

The new case is not seeking compensation; it focuses instead on pushing Shell to take more action to rein in emissions.

Roger Cox, a lawyer who initially represented environmental group Urgenda and is now leading the civil action against Shell, said the two cases are similar because they are based in part on a duty of care enshrined in Dutch law.

"And more specifically the duty to not create dangerous situations for others if these dangerous situations can reasonably be prevented," he said. "So what we in fact are stating is that Shell is contributing to dangerous climate change because its emissions are not in line with what is needed."
A Massachusetts state trooper on the way to a detail struck and injured a female pedestrian in East Boston early Saturday morning.

Police said the 58-year-old pedestrian was crossing the street while heading to work. The trooper was driving the vehicle through the intersection at the time.

The woman was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital for treatment of what police described as non-life threatening injuries. The trooper was also taken to the hospital after the accident for treatment of emotional stress.

Police said additional details remain under investigation.
A man has been arrested after police say he robbed the same convenience store twice in 12 days.

According to police in Randolph, Massachusetts, Mark Stokes, 51, of Roxbury, has been arrested and charged with two counts of armed robbery.

The Barros family drives from Natick to Randolph each weekend to get some gas and Marylous.

"It's our traditional little trip," Tim Barros said.

It's a family experience the parents and kids enjoy.

"It makes our day because everyone in here is so nice and it's just really scary that someone would do that," the Barros' child said.

The two armed robberies have left the Barros family reeling.

"It's obviously frightening. You don't want any place to get robbed, ever, especially a place I take my family to," Tim said.

Police responded to a reported robbery at Seasons Market on North Main Street at 9:44 p.m. on April 1. When officers arrived they learned that a man wearing black and white sneakers and a heavy two-tone jacket entered the store, pointed a gun at the clerk and demanded money and cigarettes, police said.

The market was robbed again just before 2:30 a.m. on Friday, police said. This time, a similar looking suspect entered the store while the clerk was outside. The suspect attempted to open the cash register but inadvertently turned off the gas pumps.

When the clerk entered the store, the suspect pointed a gun at him and demanded the clerk open the register.

According to police, the suspect fled both robberies with cash and Newport cigarettes.

The suspect left his fingerprint on the button to shut off the pumps, police said.

Police learned that Stokes was himself the victim of an assault and battery in Boston less than two hours after the robbery. Police say his car was shot at multiple times.

Police investigated the scene and found a black pellet gun in Stokes's car. They say the bore of the gun was widened to make it appear more realistic.

Detectives then obtained a search warrant for Stokes's Boston residence. Police say they found clothing allegedly used in both robberies. They also matched his vehicle to the one seen leaving the vicinity of the second robbery.

The investigation also found surveillance footage of a man, allegedly Stokes, entering the lobby of a nearby hotel shortly after the robbery. A Randolph Police K-9 also traced the suspect's scent from the market to the hotel, police said.

Stokes is being held on $15,000 cash bail at the Randolph Police Department. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Quincy District Court next week.

Stokes is known to police, they said.

It is unclear if Stokes has an attorney.
Event is a family's latest fundraisier for Daisy's Dream

A DETERMINED family from Wash Water have increased their fundraising total for a Berkshire-based charity after organising a skydive, which raised 12,600.

The Wilson family organised the event on Sunday, March 24, at Old Fareham Park in Salisbury for Daisys Dream, in honour of Paul Wilson.

The charity supports children and their families who have been affected by the life-threatening illness or bereavement of someone close to them.

Mr Wilson died, aged 41, in May 2017, after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a form of blood cancer, leaving his wife, Sarah, and four girls  Poppy, then aged 10, Annabelle, nine, Holly, six, and Georgie, two.

Following Mr Wilsons death, Daisys Dream provided invaluable support to the four girls, who all received in-school help from the charity and benefitted from one-to-one sessions with charity director Gill Stevens.

The group of skydivers ranged from all ages  including Mr Wilsons father, Martin, who took the jump a day before turning 71, while 17-year-old Harry Kempster was the youngest.

Inspired by her late husbands verve for life, Mr Wilsons widow Sarah also decided to take the plunge  which involved jumping out of a plane at 15,000ft and freefalling for 60 seconds.

Mrs Wilson said: I just thought, You only live once.

Paul grabbed life with both hands and thats one thing his death has taught me.

It was a great day with a real sense of community spirit, which shows that Pauls memory is still living.

After the event, the skydivers were greeted with prosecco and cupcakes made by Mrs Wilson and her sister-in-law Lynne Stafford, as well as friends Katie Cameron and Leanne Essex.

The latest sky-diving fundraiser means the Wilson family have raised more than 60,000 for Daisys Dream in less than two years.

Annabelle raised 4,000 by taking part in a triathlon last May, before the family staged a Ball for Paul at Donnington Valley Hotel a month later, which raised around 40,000 for the charity.

Although the girls have had no input from the charity for a year, Mrs Wilson vowed to continue raising vital funds for the Berkshire-based service, which relies heavily on charitable donations, as it receives no government funding.

Mrs Wilson said: Daisys Dream are always there at the end of the phone.

If it was not for the charity, we would not be not be in such a great place without them.

My three-year-old is going to school in September and shell soon be aware that other children have daddies.

The event was such a success that the family have already planned to take part in another sky dive on May 10 next year.

The Wilson family are also organising another Ball for Paul on June 15, on what would have been Mr Wilsons 44th birthday.
Its become something of an American tradition: When a community needs a problem solved, question answered or issue explored, the people in charge often create a committee to work on this particular endeavor.

Sometimes these committees do exemplary work, while in other instances their efforts are mediocre or worthless.

If we had to rate the North Perry Village Economic Development Committee on its performance since being launched 10 months ago, wed say that the group has proven to be productive, energetic and insightful.

The committee displayed some of the fruits its labor, in the form of ideas and proposals, during a presentation at a recent North Perry Village Council meeting.

Four of the committees five members were on hand for the meeting: Mayor Ed Klco, Councilmen Roy Blalock and Mike Cutler, and resident Dave Seese. Tara Schubert, another resident who serves on the panel, did not attend.

Topics at the meeting ranged from the possibility of launching an industrial park to selling a separate 6-acre parcel on Route 20 already owned by the village. Results of a community survey taken by the committee also were mentioned.

Based on the variety of subjects, its clear that the committee has been doing its homework on future economic development opportunities in the village.

However, the topic that generated the most discussion dealt with acquiring dilapidated homes and buildings along Route 20, tearing them down and then making the land available for business development.

Wed like to move forward, with councils permission, to go ahead and make a bid toward those properties, to raze them and make them more productive to our community, Blalock said.

Committee members did a good job of explaining how this strategy not only would eliminate blight, but also create more space for new commercial enterprises.

Klco said the ideal situation would involve purchasing properties that are adjacent to one another to offer larger spaces for commercial enterprises.

We need to start buying some parcels and put them together to have a nice piece of property to try to get a business in there, Klco said, adding that he knows of several properties in North Perrys section of Route 20 that fit into this profile.

However, Klco said he was advised by the Lake County Prosecutors Office to wait for the properties to go to a sheriffs sale, rather than directly negotiate a price with owners of the properties.

But Klco said he cant proceed any further without Village Councils permission.

My hands are tied, he said. I cant go up to the sheriffs sale and bid (on the properties) if I dont have authorization from council.

We also were impressed to see that the committee had explored how the village could pay for the acquisition of these properties. Cutler said the village has an economic development fund that has roughly a little over $200,000 sitting in it. He noted that most of the money in that account is not from the general fund, but was obtained from the Perry Joint Economic Development District Board or property that the village has sold.

Village Solicitor Joe Gurley also offered some helpful advice during the discussion by suggesting that the committee contact the Lake County Land Bank for advice and assistance regarding acquiring and demolishing dilapidated buildings. Last year, the Land Bank assisted Madison Township, one of North Perrys neighboring communities, by demolishing two structures that were major eyesores  an abandoned gas station at 1991 Hubbard Road and an abandoned apartment complex at 1843 Green Road.

Although North Perry Village Council didnt take immediate action on any suggested measures from the Economic Development Committee, Klco urged council to keep these issues on the front burner.

You know what the committee is leaning toward, and we can discuss this at a work session in more detail, he said.

The Economic Development Committee was established to further facilitate Village Councils desire to increase economic development in the village, according to the ordinance passed by council.

Based on our observations, the Economic Development Committee has taken its mission seriously and worked hard to conduct research and develop ideas. The panel certainly has given Village Council plenty to think about. Lets hope that the combined efforts of these two groups will bolster economic development in North Perry.
File photo of Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi.



Attacking Congress in Bengaluru, Prime Minister Narendra Modi blamed former PM Jawahar Lal Nehru for "fire in Kashmir". "After the fire, Congress now talks about taking army out of the region. People of this country will never forgive them," he said.



Speaking about the "BJP-Shiv Sena wave" in Maharashtra, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the alliance has forced Congress's Ashok Chavan to rent people for rallies. "We pay for chairs and stage, but had to get leaders on rent," the CM said, adding that among them are Maharashtra Navnirman Sena workers. "They're bringing leaders from MNS also. MNS was earlier Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. Then MNS became 'Matdar Nasleli Sena' (Matdata Nahi Sena) and now it's UNS, 'Ummidwar Nasleli Sena' (Ummidwar Nahi Sena)," he said.



Addressing a rally in Karnataka's Mangaluru, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that while he was on his way, he faced a "human wall" and wondered "if so many people are here, will there be any at the ground?" "But same number of people are here as well," he said.



BSP chief Mayawati has virtually ruled out an apology for seeking votes from Muslims at a rally in Saharanpur. She instead raked up Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanaths Lord Hanuman was a Dalit remark and accused the BJP of dividing the society along communal lines.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi, meanwhile, has accused the Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) of playing a dangerous game in Sabarimala, adding that the BJP wont let them destroy our culture. Addressing rallies in Tamil Nadu, Modi said, When you vote for Congress-DMK and Muslim League, you vote for lower development. A vote for them will mean free hand for terrorists. A vote for them would mean a vote for criminals in politics.



Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu, meanwhile, has approached the Election Commission to complain about the widespread EVM glitches and violence during the first phase of Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the state on April 11.



Claiming that there is a "silent wave" in the state in his favour, Naidu has accused the Election Commission of making the election process a "big farce." "This is a very big farce. Disaster for the nation. I can say it is a big confusion, big mess, big farce," Naidu had said. He claimed that as per "official information" 4,583 EVMs got stuck in the state and noted that it was a "major crisis."



He found fault with the Deputy Election Commissioner's clarification that there was no problem with the EVMs in AP. "I have never seen such an insensitive, unrealistic, irresponsible and useless Election Commission. Do you make a mockery of democracy? EC turned into BJP branch office," the TDP chief said.



"As senior leader I have to warn them (EC). Country should know. They should not commit any more these type of mistakes," Naidu added.



The TDP chief also said he would file a review petition in the Supreme Court over its order on counting of VVPAT slips. "I am going to Delhi tomorrow (to meet the ECI officials). EC should answer why it did all this. After this we will go logically on EVMs," he said and reiterated the demand that the country revert to the old ballot paper system.



To a question, he replied more rigging was happening now, that too in an easier way with the use of EVMs.



The Chief Minister also fired at the ECI over the appointment of the state Chief Secretary, alleging that the latter was a "co-accused with Jagan" in the disproportionate assets case.



"How do you post the CS without consulting us? Do we have to get work done through him? You will run governments? Will you look after my security," Naidu asked, finding fault with the EC over the transfer of Intelligence DG and three other IPS officers.



The TDP president also cried that the general elections in Andhra Pradesh were scheduled in the first phase in one go only to "leave me no time."



"Last time (2014) elections were held in the last phase, this time in the first phase.



What is the rationality? Did you speak to political parties or have you taken lottery or did jumbling? What it indicates?" he asked.



Naidu, however, wound up his press conference announcing that he would take oath (as Chief Minister again) on a "good day" after May 23.



"There is a silent wave, beyond anyone's imagination. We are winning," he added.
With the next wave of wireless telecommunications technology in progress, the Solana Beach City Council took action recently to comply with recent federal mandates responding to the phenomenon.

The technology, commonly called 5G for fifth generation, enables highly complex wireless operations, such as driverless vehicles, that the last generation of cellular telecommunications equipment cannot enable.

The Federal Communications Commission describes the equipment needed for 5G functions as small wireless facilities. The antennas and accessory equipment dont take up as much as space as the last generation of wireless technology.

Nor do the antennas need to be located as high, but since they have shorter wavelengths, they have to be placed more closely together.

To comply with the FCCs April 15 deadline for local governments to have rules in place on siting wireless facilities in the public right of way, the council voted 5-0 on Wednesday, April 10, to authorize the city manager to establish the policy.

The FCC constrains the ability of cities and counties to limit telecommunications infrastructure so that local agencies cannot in effect prohibit them.

Solana Beachs proposed policy for the city manager to enact includes a variety of provisions. Applicants must submit a description of the project, construction drawings, a site survey and radio frequency report, pole license agreement and fees, among other requirements.

The community development director would review the applications, notify property owners within 300 feet of the site, and act on the application. Those opposed to the project could appeal the decision to the city manager.

The proposed policy sets forth preferences for locations and support structures.
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(Newser)  Welcome to Hollywood chaos. The Writers Guild of America notified its 15,000 members Friday to fire their agents after talks crumbled between the two sides, Variety reports. "We know that, together, we are about to enter uncharted waters," say WGA leaders. "...But it has become clear that a big change is necessary." At issue are two practices by major agencies that rankle writers: One is the old habit of packaging several writers from an agency's roster for a particular project, per the New York Times. Agencies then forego the usual 10% writer's commission and accept big fees from studios. But writers say this lets top agencies like William Morris, United Talent, and Creative Artists take money that rightfully belongs to them.

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The other is agencies founding affiliated companies that create their own content; writers say this puts agents across the table from executives, making them colleagues and creating a conflict of interest. Agents responded by offering to share some back-end profits with writers and be more open in showing the WGA how their affiliate programs are "benefiting writers." But union bosses rejected the proposal. Agencies responded by accusing the WGA of nixing "a pathway for compromise" and preferring a strategy "that will hurt all artists, delivering an especially painful blow to mid-level and emerging writers," per the Hollywood Reporter. The WGA suggests writers use managers or lawyers to make future deals, which prompted agencies to say they might sue the guild. (Read more Hollywood stories.)
(Newser)  Democrats responded Saturday to President Trump's tweet of a 9/11 video that included an attack on Rep. Ilhan Omar, the Washington Post reports. The video shows New York's twin towers burning and includes bits of Omar's comments that have drawn criticism, especially "some people did something" on 9/11. "WE WILL NEVER FORGET!" Trump tweeted Friday. Washington's partisan divide quickly cracked open a little further: GOP Rep. Dan Crenshaw called Omar's words "unbelievable," per CBS News, while Nancy Pelosi said "the memory of 9/11" was "sacred ground," and criticized Trump for using "the painful images of 9/11 for a political attack." Bernie Sanders praised Omar, one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, tweeting that "she wont back down to Trumps racism and hate, and neither will we."

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Omar made the 9/11 remark in a speech about Islamophobia at the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a week after 50 Muslims were killed in attacks on two New Zealand mosques. "For far too long we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen and, frankly, Im tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it," Omar said. "CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties. So you can't just say that today someone is looking at me strange and that I am trying to make myself look pleasant. You have to say that this person is looking at me strange, I am not comfortable with it, and I am going to talk to them and ask them why. Because that is the right you have." (Read more Ilhan Omar stories.)
(Newser)  The Sudanese military on Friday swiftly replaced the country's transitional leader linked to genocide after street rallies against him, giving the country its third different leader in three days. The military also said it wouldn't hand over ousted President Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Courtwhere he faces charges of crimes against humanity. Thousands celebrated in the streets after Defense Minister Gen. Awad ibn Ouf, who was named de facto leader after overthrowing al-Bashir on Thursday, announced he was stepping down as transitional leader. He named a reputable army general as his successor, the AP reports. Ibn Ouf said he would be replaced by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, general inspector of the armed forces, as head of the transitional council, which will rule for two years until elections.

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"I am confident he will steer the ship to safe shores," he said of Burhan, who was one of the generals who reached out to protesters at the week-long encampment near the military headquarters, meeting with them and listening to their views. The protesters rejected ibn Ouf's leadership because he was head of military intelligence during the brutal campaign to suppress a Darfur insurgency in the 2000s. The US has imposed sanctions on him since 2007, saying he armed and directed pro-government militias known as the Janjaweed, accused of widespread atrocities against civilians and rapes during the conflict. Earlier Friday, another top general said the 75-year-old al-Bashir would not be extradited to the International Criminal Court, based in The Hague, Netherlands, but would instead by tried in Sudan on as-yet unspecified charges.

(Read more Sudan stories.)
Increased pedestrian traffic on school days at a busy Solana Beach intersection led the city to help pay for two crossing guards there through the rest of the academic year.

The Solana Beach City Council voted 5-0 without discussion on Wednesday, April 10, to amend its agreement with the Solana Beach School District for sharing the cost of supplying crossing guards.

As a result of the change, the city will hire two guards to help ensure the safety of children and others walking across the street at Lomas Santa Fe Drive and Stevens Avenue.

Earl Warren Middle School and the Solana Beach Library are situated at the southwest corner, while Skyline Elementary School is northeast of the junction.

Under the agreement, the city pays 35 percent of the cost for crossing guards, while the district reimburses it for the remaining 65 percent. The citys cost for the two new guards is $2,534 of the $7,241 total.

The new hires will increase the crossing guard staff to eight at a total cost this year of $96,103, of which $33,636 will be paid by the city.

Other crossing guards are located on Lomas Santa Fe at the southbound Interstate 5 offramp, northbound I-5 onramp, and Santa Helena Drive, as well as at Santa Helena and Santa Victoria Drive near Solana Vista Elementary.
(Newser)  Tragedy struck Okinawa on Saturday morning when a US Navy sailor apparently used a knife to kill a woman and then take his own life, CNN reports. The bodies were found in a bloody bedroom on the Japanese island. "This is an absolute tragedy and we are fully committed to supporting the investigation into the incident," says the III Marine Expeditionary Force. The sailor, who remains unidentified, was attached to the III Marine Division, per Stars and Stripes. He was seemingly in a relationship with the woman, who was in her 40s and is also unidentified.

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The killing comes at a time of rising resentment over US troops stationed in Japan's southwestern region, the AP reports. Okinawa takes up less than 1% of Japan but hosts roughly half of America's 54,000 troops stationed in the country. Okinawa's governor has been trying to get the Marine Corps air station taken off the island entirely. Japan's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeo Akiba phoned America's ambassador to Japan, William Hagerty, seeking cooperation in the probe and expressing his "extreme regrets," per Japan's Foreign Ministry. (A former corporate raider and his wife were just found dead in their bed.)
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New Delhi:

Officials conducting a sealing drive in Delhi's Mayapuri area on Saturday sustained injuries when local scrap dealers allegedly pelted stones at them even as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal claimed that it was the Delhi Police that beat up locals in the area and called it an "extremely shameful" action.

Terming the incident as "horrific", the AAP hit out at the Centre by drawing a comparison with the Jallianwallah Bagh massacre, whose centenary is being observed on Saturday. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place in Amritsar during the Baisakhi festival on April 13, 1919, when troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer opened fire at a crowd of people holding a pro-independence demonstration, leaving several dead and scores injured.

"Horrifying!!! General Dyer Modi's police brutally pelting stones on the citizens in Mayapuri, Delhi," the AAP tweeted Saturday and shared a video clip purportedly showing the incident.

AAP MLA Jarnail Singh and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also tweeted about the incident, with the Tilak Nagar lawmaker seeking the intervention of higher authorities.

Police, however, said 14 officials -- the SDM, an ACP-rank officer, three DPCC employees and nine police personnel -- sustained injuries in the incident and had to be taken to a hospital.

"A sealing drive was started today by SDM Delhi Cantonment along with the staff of SDMC and DPCC in Mayapuri scrap market in pursuance of the NGT orders. Some of the local scrap dealers started protesting against the sealing and then got violent and resorted to stone pelting," a senior police official said.

He added that security officials took retaliatory action to bring the situation under control but no stone was hurled at the locals. The team consisted of members of the SDMC and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and police and paramilitary personnel, senior SDMC officials said.

Kejriwal also took to Twitter to share a video purportedly showing police officials pelting stones at people and beating them up.

"It is extremely shameful that the citizens are being treated in this manner by the Centre. The trader community has always supported the BJP with money as well as with votes," he tweeted.

"But in return, the Centre-led police brutally beat up the traders sending a clear message that they do not want the community's support in the upcoming polls," he chief minister added.

Police said a case has been registered in connection with the incident and an investigation initiated. The National Green Tribunal had slammed the Delhi government for not taking action against illegal scrap industries in Mayapuri that cause pollution.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel had directed the chief secretary and the chairman and member secretary of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee to respond why they should not be jailed and prosecuted if illegal activities are not stopped and people keep suffering on account of illegal activities.

The green panel had also ordered the officials to appear before it on May 3 with a compliance report.
New Delhi:

A 30-year-old man was arrested for allegedly raping and brutally killing a seven-year-old girl when she was her way to a temple in Uttar Pradeshas Kannauj on April 8, the police said on Saturday.

The police said the man first raped the girl and then brutally killed her, with the postmortem report confirming that 12 of her bones were found broken.A A

Kannauj: 7-yr-old girl allegedly raped & murdered by a 30-year-old man (in white shirt in picture); 12 of her bones were found broken in postmortem. Accused arrested. She was going to a temple around 7:30 pm on April 8 when the man raped her & subsequently killed her. pic.twitter.com/RWNc9aAdeZ a ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) April 13, 2019

Uttar Pradesh is one of the most unsafe states for women in the country, Cases of crime against children witnessed an 889 per cent increase from 10,814 in 2001 to 106,958 in 2016. During these 16 years, a total of 595,089 cases of crime against children have been registered. With 95,324 cases, Madhya Pradesh (16 per cent) seems to be the most unsafe city for children.

Uttar Pradesh comes close second, contributing 15 per cent of the total cases. Maharashtra and Delhi are in third and fourth position respectively, according to a report by DownToEarth.

For all the Latest Crime News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

The candidates who are preparing for GUJCET 2019, we have some important news for you. The Gujarat Secondary and Higher Education Board (GSEB) has released a press release where it has confirmed that the board will release the GUJCET 2019 Admit Card on April 16, 2019 around 12 pm. The candidates who had submitted their GUJCET 2019 Application forms before February 08, 2019 will be able to download their admit cards for the exam on either of its official website, gseb.org or gsebht.in.

The candidates must note that the admit card will be issued to all the applicants over the login. Therefore, in order to view/ download the hall ticket, a candidate needs to keep their user ID and date of birth or application number. The candidates can visit the official website and look for the GUJCET 2019 Admit Card link, on the main page itself. Fill in the GUJCET 2019 login details and save a copy of the GUJCET admit card to carry it, on the day of exam, along with a valid photo ID proof.

The admit card contains these details: candidates name, date of birth, exam roll number, subject, contact number, exam date, exam time, the address of exam centre and photograph (appearing or not).

GUJCET 2019 exam is scheduled to be conducted on April 26, 2019, in offline mode across its 34 test centres in the State of Gujarat. Initially, GSEB had decided to conduct this state-level BE/BTech and pharmacy (degree/diploma) course admission test on two days, i.e on March 28, 2019, and April 04, 2019. But, it was rescheduled to be held on April 23, 2019, due to GUJCET exam date clashing with CBSE Board Exam 2019 dates. Again, GSEB had to shift the exam date from April 23 to April 26, 2019, because of general elections being scheduled, on the very same day.

GSEB had released the test schedule on its official website. On April 26, 2019, candidates firstly need to appear for Physics/ Chemistry test from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm (120 minutes), then appear for Biology test from 01:00 pm to 02:00 pm (60 minutes) and finally, appear for Mathematics test from 03:00 pm to 04:00 pm (60 minutes).
Kolkata:

Hundreds of Ram Navami rallies, including some armed rallies, were taken out by the BJP and VHP in various parts of West Bengal on Saturday, drawing sharp criticism from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The saffron outfits were seen waving swords and maces in some of the armed rallies.

Police said they were looking into the matter as no permission was granted for armed rallies. Apart from the BJP, right-wing Hindu outfits such as the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal, Hindu Jagaran Manch also organised hundreds of rallies as they celebrated Ram Navami on a massive scale across the state.

The rallies were taken out in West Midnapore, Purulia, Jhargram, Bankura, Howrah, Kolkata and in North and South 24 Parganas districts among others, officials said. At Kharagpur in West Midnapore, BJP state president Dilip Ghosh took out Ram Navami rallies and was seen displaying swords and maces.

"Ram Navami rallies are a part of our tradition. We are carrying arms to protect ourselves. It has nothing to do with elections. If the TMC has a problem with armed rallies, they should change their thought process," Ghosh said when asked why he took out rallies with swords and maces.

If carrying weapons means breaking the code, weapons of jawans and Goddess Kali should also be taken away. People who are not men enough speak of all these things, he claimed.

BJP's Jadavpur candidate Anupam Hazra, who had recently switched over from Trinomool Congress, also participated in a procession in his constituency.

BJP's Kolkata North constituency candidate and BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha too took out Ram Navami rally in his constituency. Banerjee while addressing a rally at Siliguri criticised the BJP for taking out armed rallies and said they were trying to "sell religion" for political advantage.

The Kolkata Police said no political, apolitical and religious organisations are allowed to carry out bike rallies in the city. The BJP was denied permission to take out bike rallies across Kolkata on the occasion of Ram Navami. However, normal rallies by the party and VHP were allowed.

The West Bengal Police too denied permission for carrying arms by the participants in the Ram Navami rallies. In some places, there was scuffle between police officials and BJP workers after they were stopped from taking out bike rallies.

The VHP, which planned as many as 700 rallies in the state on the occasion of Ram Navami, took out several rallies in South Bengal. "We have received permission for rallies. We will abide by the direction of the police and no one will carry arms during Ram Navami rallies conducted by us," VHP organisational general secretary (eastern region) Sachindranath Sinha said.

The VHP said it has plans to conduct Ram Navami rallies in various other parts of the state on Sunday too. The Trinamool Congress also took out unarmed Ram Navami rallies in various parts of the state.

TMC Lok Sabha candidates-- Diptendu Adhikari from Tamluk Lok Sabha seat and Mumtaz Sanghamitra from Bardhaman-Durgapur Lok Sabha seat-- also participated in Ram Navami rallies in their respective constituencies.

TMC MLA Smita Bakshi is scheduled to take out such a rally in North Kolkata on Sunday.

The Trinamool Congress alleged that the BJP violated the model code of conduct by taking out Ram Navami rallies.

"Model code of conduct is under effect. Taking out armed Ram Navami rallies is a violation of the model code of conduct. Why is EC silent now? Had someone else taken out such rally, the EC would have issued show cause notices. Actually Dilip Ghosh is a zero and is trying to be a hero," TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee said.

Later while replying to a query, Vivek Dubey, special police observer appointed by the Election Commission for Bengal, said it was the duty of the state administration to look into the permission for Ram Navami rallies.

The state election commission has nothing to do with it. The district administration will look into it, he said.
New Delhi:

In a mother of all battles, Congress general secretary (UP-East) Priyanka Gandhi is likely to contest from Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to media reports. Modi is the sitting MP from Varanasi. He had won from the seat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. According to reports, Priyanka Gandhi is ready to take on PM Modi from Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi. However, she has left the final call on Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi said the party will wait for her to file nomination. "Let the Congress field her. The BJP is ready," she said at a press conference on Saturday.

Interestingly, recently, posters urging Priyanka Gandhi to contest the coming general elections from Varanasi came up in the holy city. The local unit of the Congress too demanded that Priyanka, who has formally entered politics in January, and was appointed the general secretary for Uttar Pradesh East, be pitted directly against Modi to galvanise voters of UP and neighbouring states.



Priyanka Gandhi also dropped a hint about her contesting the elections. Recently, she suggested taking the poll battle to PM Modi's constituency. When party workers in Raebareli requested Priyanka Gandhi to stand for elections, she responded by asking if she should contest from Varanasi. Priyanka Gandhi's visit to Amethi and Raebareli has been timed to ensure that booth level workers remain energised from the start as she would be paying less attention to the high profile constituencies eventually.

In the past, she has camped for weeks in advance to ensure emphatic wins for Rahul and Sonia.

However, on April 7, senior Congress leader Rajeev Shukla has said no decision was taken yet about Priyanka Gandhi contesting the election against Modi. Shukla claimed that under the leadership of Vadra, who is the party's incharge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, the Congress would do well in the Lok Sabha election and sweep the 2022 assembly election.

Shukla said Vadra was getting a very good response from the public wherever she is going for campaigning. "In the past 20 years, the Congress has become very weak in Uttar Pradesh. The party has to be strengthened under her leadership for 2022."

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi:

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu met Election Commission officials to take his protests over allegation that 30 to 40 per cent of voting machines in his state did not work properly on the first day of polling in the Lok Sabha election. He has threatened of a sit-in if there is no positive response from the election watchdog. Naidu, who demanded a re-poll in nearly 150 polling stations due to non-functioning of electronic voting machines (EVMs), accused the election body of working on the instructions of the government.

The Election Commission is an autonomous body. At the same time, they are working on instructions of (PM) Modi and the government of India, he told reporters after the meeting. Election Commission is not cooperating with us, he said as quoted by NDTV.

Naidu was accompanied by lawmakers and senior leaders of his Telugu Desam Party (TDP). Naidu also said he would file a review petition in the Supreme Court over its order on counting of VVPAT slips.

As many as 25 parliamentary seats and 175 assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh voted in the first phase of the national election. A relatively low turnout of 66 per cent was recorded compared to last times high of 78.8 per cent.
New Delhi:

A day after All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Delhi PC Chacko announced that the Congress will go solo in the national capital, the grand old party is likely to announce the names of its candidates for all seven Lok Sabha seats today. Some reports suggest that the party may field Delhi unit president and former chief minister Sheila Dikshit from East Delhi.

Veteran Congress leader Sheila Dikshit's name is under "serious consideration" as the candidate from East Delhi, said a senior party leader, adding she may be fielded if her son Sandip Dikshit declines to contest.

According to sources privy to the development, the central election committee (CEC) of the Congress had finalised the names of its candidates for four seats on Thursday itself.

The party has also short-listed the names of former Delhi minister Yogandnand Shastri and Olympic medal winner Sushil Kumar for the South Delhi parliamentary seat.

"In view of significance of Purvanchali voters in the national capital, the party can field former MP Mahabal Mishra from West Delhi that has a sizeable population of the community belonging to Eastern UP and Bihar," sources said.

The party is likely to field former Delhi minister Rajkumar Chouhan from North West seat, former Union minister Kapil Sibal from Chandni Chowk, former state unit chief Ajay Maken from New Delhi and former MP J P Agarwal from North East Delhi constituency, the sources said.

Meanwhile, sources claim that both the parties (Congress and Aam Aadmi Party) are still looking into the possibility of alliance despite their leaders publicly talking tough.

As a last-ditch attempt to salvage possibility of the tie-up, the two sides may come on the table for talks, the sources said referring to Chacko's remarks at a press conference that "we are still ready (for alliance) if the AAP is willing to have an alliance in Delhi alone. We want to fight the BJP together."

Uncertainty over the alliance between the AAP and the Congress has been continuing for weeks now with the former demanding an alliance on 33 seats of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Goa, and Chandigarh. However, the grand old party has categorically stated that it will form an alliance in Delhi alone.

"We are not able to form an alliance as they have taken a difficult and impractical proposition. Congress is going to fight the election in Delhi on its own," Chacko had said.
New Delhi:

Amid ongoing controversy around NaMo TV, the Delhi poll body has directed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) not to air any content on the platform without its certification and appointed two officials to watch NaMo TV and monitor its content. "As a precautionary measure, two officials have been deployed to watch NaMo TV and monitor its content," officials said.

The development comes a day after the Election Commission directed that all recorded programmes displayed on NaMo TV be pre-certified.

The poll body had on Thursday said since NaMo TV was sponsored by the BJP, all recorded programmes displayed on the platform should be pre-certified by media certification and monitoring committee of Delhi and all political publicity contents displayed without pre-certification be removed immediately.

An official said political parties usually submit audio-visual content for pre-certification, without specifying on which platform it will be aired. The content may be aired during a rally or on the party's website, he said.

After the Congress filed a complaint with the poll panel about the channel disturbing the level playing field, the EC had asked the Delhi CEO to file a report on the issue.

The Delhi CEO approved the logo of NaMo TV, which the BJP said was part of the NaMo App that it owns, but did not "certify" the content as it contained old speeches of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Earlier, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting told the poll panel that it was an advertising platform that did not require a license from the ministry.

The Delhi CEO approved the logo of NaMo TV, which the BJP said is part of the NaMo App that it owns, but did not "certify" the content as it contained the old speeches of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

With PTI Inputs
New Delhi:

The Congress on Friday has condemned the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for resorting to cheap and unconstitutional methods against the Opposition when the Darjeeling district administration denied permission for the landing of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's helicopter in Siliguri, who was scheduled to address a public meeting Sunday.

Such disdain shown by the local administration towards our party president as well as star campaigner Rahul Gandhi clearly shows that the Trinamool and its Supremo is scared and resorting to such cheap and unconstitutional methods against her opponents, said senior Congress leader and party`s Darjeeling Lok Sabha candidate Shankar Malakar.

Due permission was sought via the official app, for a program of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, but permission was denied for his helicopter to land on the April 14, even when the permission for the actual venue of the meet was already given on April 7," he told news agency ANI. It is not easy to reschedule visit of a SPG protected leader, Malakar said.

Siliguri Police Commissioner BL Meena said that the Congress had sought permission for landing a helicopter at police ground which was denied. We had denied permission for that specific ground. There are some rules due to which it was not allowed. But they didn't come up with any alternative venue," Meena said.

While Malakar claimed that papers for Rahul's chopper landing were submitted on time, sources in the party indicated that not all members of state's party unit were aware of Rahul's rally in Siliguri.

I can't say whether or not a rally is going to be held. Please don't ask me this question, said state Congress president Somen Mitra. As of now, no new dates had been obtained for Rahul Gandhi`s rally in Darjeeling, where the polling is set to take place on April 18.

The state government allowed Rahul Gandhi to take road routes to Siliguri but they were not allowed a direct landing in the area.

The seven-phased Lok Sabha election will end on May 19. The result will be announced on May 23.
New Delhi:

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday urged people not to waste their votes either on CPM or Congress in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections 2019. Addressing a public rally in Siliguri, Banerjee further stated earlier she was with Congress but later quit the party to form the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), following which the state has witnessed development.

The Trinamool Congress chief said, "Both the parties are hand-in-glove and the Congress is taking help of the RSS to fight Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal". The tension between TMC and Congress reached a new level after Congress president Rahul Gandhi was denied permission to land his chopper at police ground for his proposed public meeting in Siliguri.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee in Siliguri: I would request all not to vote for CPM and also please do not waste your vote by giving it to Congress. I was in Congress then quit and formed Trinamool, following which you are witnessing development pic.twitter.com/8SmVofkuGS a ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2019

Gandhi was also quick to counter Mamata's argument of taking help from the RSS, saying it was the Congress which raised the Rafale issue along with the slogan 'Chowkidar Chor Hai'. The Congress chief further claimed that his party has never compromised with the BJP anywhere in the country and asked if Banerjee had ever compromised with the party in any state.

Moving on to the BJP, Banerjee further accused the ruling party of trying to gain political advantage by using religion as a tool to mislead people. She hit out at armed Ram Navami rallies taken out at BJP at various part of the state and accused BJP of trying to disturb the peaceful atmosphere of Bengal.

"The BJP is misleading the people in the name of religion. Ahead of elections they are using it as a tool to divide the masses in Bengal. The culture of Bengal never supports the politics of violence. They are taking out rallies with swords and mace," Banerjee said in Darjeeling in support of TMC candidate Amar Singh Rai.

"Whose throat do you want to slit with swords? Whose head do you want to smash with the mace? Banerjee questioned while addressing a rally in favour of party's Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat candidate Amar Singh Rai.

The chief minister reiterated that she will not allow NRC in West Bengal. "They (BJP) say that they will conduct NRC in Bengal.A But I assure you that I will not allow it in my state," she added.

Banerjee also took a jibe at the saffron party and said she has fielded a 'bhumiputra' (son of the soil) from the Darjeeling seat, unlike the BJP, which has nominated a candidate who hails from Manipur. "Itas sad that the BJP could not find a candidate in Darjeeling and had to bring someone from Manipur to fight the election," she added.

Asserting that BJP will not return to power at the Centre, she claimed that it will not WIN seats in many states.

West Bengal has a total of 42 Lok Sabha seats, third highest after Uttar Pradeshas 80 and Maharashtraas 48. The state is scheduled to go to polls in all seven phases between April 11 and May 19. The counting of votes for all phases will be taken up on May 23.
New Delhi:

Referring to a statement by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that the neighbouring country cannot get a better Indian prime minister than Narendra Modi who had allowed the ISI to visit the Pathankot air base, and is implementing Pakistans agenda.

Kejriwal also questionned the timing of the February 14 Pulwama terror attack, which he said was executed "ahead of the elections".

Referring to Khan's statement that he sees a better chance of peace talks with India if the BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi wins the Lok Sabha elections, the Delhi chief minister went on to question the timing of the Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed.

"Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan says that Narendra Modi should become the PM of India once again. His statement came against the backdrop of a war like situation that existed between both the countries a few days back. And (despite that) Imran Khan wants Modi to be the PM of India again," Kejriwal said while addressing the AAP workers in South Goa.

Kejriwal said he didn't understand that is happening between Khan and Modi.

"Four weeks back, a war-like situation prevailed between both the countries but now Imran Khan wants Modi to be the PM. Why is he saying so? Why does Pakistan want Modi to be PM again? Now people have started asking about the Pulwama attack," he said.

"Why did he (Imran Khan) get the terrorist attack at Pulwama executed just two months before the (Lok Sabha) elections?" he asked.

"Modi is now going around the country and telling that we went into the house of the enemy (ghar me ghuskar) and killed them," he said.

Kejriwal added, "Pakistan cannot get better prime minister than Modi. After the Pathankot strike, he (Modi) invited the ISI (Pakistani spy agency) to investigate it (in 2016). The ISI is less of an intelligence agency and more of terrorists. The BJP calls Modi a strong leader, but no government did what Modi did (by allowing the ISI enter the Pathankot air base)..Can Pakistan get better Indian PM than Modi?" he questioned.

Kejriwal further said that because of Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, the unfulfilled agenda of Pakistan to divide India on the religious lines seems to be working.

"Pakistan failed to divide India on the religious lines in the last 70 years. But it is being made possible in the last five years because of Modi and Shah duo who have filled poison in the minds of the people. Pakistan cannot get better Indian prime minister than this. They (Shah and Modi) have implemented Pakistan's agenda," he said.

He further said Modi's return to power does not augur well for democracy in India.

"If Modi returns to power, this would be the last election in the country till he is alive. I have come to appeal to you to save the country. The country is in danger. If Modi and Amit Shah come back again, and if Modi becomes PM again, then the country will not survive, Indian constitution will not survive and secular structure will not survive," he alleged.

AAP has fielded Elvis Gomes from South Goa constituency against Congress' Francisco Sardinha and BJP's sitting MP Narendra Sawaikar. Goa, which has two Parliamentary seats, votes on April 23.

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi:

In a sharp attack on the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the not only the partys processor was slow but also its software was corrupt, adding that it was dreaming about coming to power at the Centre.

Addressing a rally in Bengaluru South, PM Modi also asked voters to punish it and its allies in such a way they would not be able to save even their deposits.

The prime minister also hit out at the Congress on the Jammu and Kashmir and national security issues, taking it on its election promise to withdraw the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

You may feel that the processor of Congress is slow but their software is corrupt. Their processor slows down when they had to take action in the interest of the country, he said.

In their manifesto, Congress states that AFSPA will be diluted, should they come to power. They intend to make our soldiers helpless through this action. They also plan to withdraw our forces from J&K, PM Modi added.

Invoking Mission Shakti to attack the Congress, PM Modi said that the erstwhile governments approach of keeping secrets forced India lag behind in technology. Today, Modi showed this courage and the world acknowledge India calibre, he said.

Modi said while his government had promoted "ease of doing business" in 60 months of its rule, the Congress had encouraged "ease of loot" in its 60 years of administration.

The prime minister also took exception to the political row created by the ruling Congress-JDS alliance over the recent Income Tax raids on several JDS men across the state.

Modi asked the crowd, "should the law be followed or not whether it is PM or CM or ministers? Why get scared if you have not committed anything wrong?," he asked.

On March 28, the Income Tax department carried out raids at multiple locations in Bengaluru, Mysuru,Mandya, Ramanagara, Shivamogga and Hassan, triggering a strong reaction from Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Congress leaders, who accused the Centre of promoting the politics of vendetta.

Congress-JDS and parties alike, believe in "pariwarwad"

Earlier in the day, addressing a rally in Karnatakas Mangaluru, PM Modi said the ruling Congress-JDS coalition in Karnataka and parties alike were inspired by "Pariwarvad" (dynasty) and believed in giving power to even the last member of the family.

He said unlike the Congress, JDS and others, inspiration for the BJP came from "Rashtrawad" (nationalism).

PM Modi said the Lok Sabha polls was not about who became an MP or prime minister or minister, but about how the "New India" should be and what should be its inspiration.

"Inspiration of Congress-JD(S) and parties like them is pariwarwad (dynasty) and our inspiration is rashtrawad (nationalism). They look for ways to give power to even the last member of their family while we are striving to bring those people ahead who are in the last line of society."

"Their darshan is vamshoday, while ours is antyodaya (uplifting the weaker sections of society). Because of their vamshoday there will be corruption and injustice and because our antyodaya the glory of transparency and honesty will increase", PM Modi said.

PM Modi corners Congress on "Nyay," seeks justice for "Anyay"

Addressing a rally in Tamil Nadus Ramanathapuram, PM Modi sought to corner the Congress on its showpiece poll promise of "Nyay," demanding justice for the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots, the Bhopal gas tragedy and violence against Dalits.

While terror attacks shook the nation during Congress regime, the NDA's policy halted it, he said.

A vote for DMK, Congress, and Muslim League combine would lead to higher taxes and less development and give a free hand to terrorists and rise of criminal elements in politics, he alleged.

"Those who cannot protect India can never develop the nation. When Congress and their allies were in power, terrorists were attacking the nation regularly.

City after city, there were blasts but congress remained helpless and silent."

Time has however changed now. "India will not spare a single terrorist or Jihadi. If they dare to attack us, we will find them wherever they are and ruin their happiness," he said.

He alleged the Congress and dishonesty were best friends but sometimes "by mistake," they end up speaking the truth.

"Now they are saying "Ab Hoga Nyay" (justice will be done now) even if they did not intend, they have admitted that all they have done is "Anyay" or injustice for 60 long years," (during the Congress rule), he said.

"I want to ask the Congress party who will do Nyay to the victims of 1984 Sikh riots ?

...Who will do Nyay to all the victims of anti Dalit (violence), who will do Nyay to the government of great M G Ramachandran ji, which was dismissed by the Congress just because one family did not like those leaders."

...Who will do Nyay to the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy, among the worst environmental disaster in India."

Congress, which talks about 'Nyay' has done most injustice to regional aspirations by "shamelessly," imposing Art 356 to dismiss State governments of M G Ramachandran, M Karunanidhi, Communists and showing disrespect to the federal structure, the PM said.
New Delhi:

Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Janata Dal (Secular) chief HD Deve Gowda will on Saturday hold a joint rally in KR Nagar, which is in Mysuru district but falls under the Mandya Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka. The Mandya Lok Sabha seat has been the bone of contention between the Congress and JD(S) with Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy accusing coalition partner Congress and others of hatching a 'chakravyuha', a deadly formation in epic Mahabharata, to defeat his son and JD(S) nominee Nikhil. He lashed out at Congress and others for 'colluding' with Independent candidate and multi-lingual film actress Sumalatha, wife of late Congress leader and actor Ambareesh, in Mandya, instead of working for Nikhil.

"KR Nagar has been chosen as it abuts the other two crucial constituencies  Hassan and Mysuru  where party cadre are not whole-heatedly supporting the coalition candidates," a Congress source said as reported by The Hindu.

This is the second joint rally that Gandhi and Gowda will hold, following the Parivartan rally that both parties organised on March 31. In his speech then, Rahul Gandhi had twice asked both Congress leaders and workers to work for JD(S) candidates.

The JD(S) leadership always considered Mandya as its citadel given the huge population of dominant Vokkaliga community, which Deve Gowda belongs to, in the constituency, represented by Ambareesh for three terms. However, upsetting the equations, Sumalatha decided to contest the election from Mandya as an independent after failing to get ticket from the Congress.

The BJP is backing Sumalatha instead of fielding its candidate. There is widespread resentment within the local Congress over JDS being alloted the seat under an electoral arrangement between the coalition partners.

Disgruntled JD(S) leaders are also reportedly working against the third generation of themighty Deve Gowda clan. Deve Gowda's another grandson Prajwal Revanna, son of minister H D Revanna, is contesting from Hassan, where also a similar situation prevails with the Congress at the grassroot level openly expressing opposition to the JD(S).
Patna:

Former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi has made an emotional appeal to her elder son and RJD leader Tej Pratap, who is reportedly not on good terms with his family. "Bahut hua, laut aao beta (Enough son, please return home), Rabri - who is pained by Tej Pratap's decision to stay separately in the state capital - said while talking to reporters.

Rabri, however, said that she telephoned her son daily to talk to him.

When asked about differences between her two sons Tej Pratap Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav, Rabri said that such reports have nothing substantial and are being spread by opposition parties to divide her family.

"It is all a creation of vested interests," she said.

"Some people have been trying to instigate and mislead my son. It is possible that our rivals', BJP and JD-U, people may be behind it," Rabri said in a reference to Tej Pratap Yadav.

Tej Pratap Yadav, who recently urged his mother to contest from Saran Lok Sabha seat in place of the father of his estranged wife and threatened to contest as an Independent if his request was not heeded, has not returned home since he visited his father Lalu Prasad in Ranchi last year, after filing a petition in court seeking divorce from his newly-wedded wife, family sources said.

Tej Pratap Yadav got married in May last year to Aishwariya Rai, the daughter of a senior RJD leader Chandrika Rai.

Chandrika Rai, the party's MLA from Parsa seat falling under Saran, was announced as the party candidate from the Lok Sabha seat last week. BJP has named sitting MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy as its nominee on the politically important seat.

Rai's daughter Aishwarya had tied the knot with Yadav in May last year though the latter moved a divorce petition within less than six months of the marriage.
New Delhi:

Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday slammed Congress president Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders for raising Rafale deal to tarnish Prime Minister Narendra Modis image saying that you need some real issued to oust a popular government.

To oust a popular Government, an extremely popular Prime Minister, you need some real issues, not fictional issues. The Opposition wasted the past two years in a run-up to the polls manufacturing issues which didnt exist. The false campaign on Rafale didnt carry much weight, Jaitley said.

In a hard-hitting blog post titled 'Indias Opposition is on a Rent a Cause Campaign', Jaitley said the opposition is in a disarray in many States as alliances have not worked out.

Multi-cornered contest obviously favours the BJP. Verbal battles between the Left, Trinamool and the Congress and now AAP and the Congress are increasingly visible. On the leadership issue, the situation looks gloomier than what I had thought. The BSP leader Mayawati, the Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee leave no stone unturned in running down the Congress President, he wrote in the blog.

Jaitley also slammed opposition leaders for questioning everything just for the sake of opposing the BJP. "There is no leader, no Gathbandhan, no Common Minimum Programme, and no real issue. Not surprisingly there are not many takers for a failed campaign. It is Rent a Cause Campaign," he said in the blog, which is divided into sub-heads.

He also took on the grand old party over a purported letter by the Army veterans to President Ram Nath Kovind against the use of military operations by political parties during the polls.

Jaitley also took swipe at Gandhi by saying that the 'Congress chief attained an M.Phil without a Masters degree."

"One day the focus would be on the BJP candidates educational qualification, fully forgetting that a public audit of Rahul Gandhis academic credentials may leave a lot to be answered. After all, he got an M.Phil without a Masters degree! There is no running thread in the campaign which connects which is being said today or what has been said over the last several months," Jaitley said.

His remarks come a day after Congress accused Smriti Irani of falsifying her education records.
Badaun:

Launching a fresh offensive against the Congress, BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday accused the party of doing Ilu Ilu with terrorists, in an apparent reference to a popular Bollywood love song from the nineties. In the song, 'Ilu Ilu' is an acronym for I love you.

"Rahul baba's guru Sam Pitorda said do not bomb (Pakistan) but negotiate... Rahul baba if your party wants to do 'Ilu Ilu' with terrorists you can do that. But our intention is clear, if a shot is fired, we will reply with a bomb," Shah said here, addressing an election meeting in support of BJP's Badaun candidate Sanghmitra Maurya.

Shah claimed that during the Congress's 10-year tenure, no action was taken even when terrorists took away heads of Indian soldiers.

"This time it was the Narendra Modi government and not 'mauni baba' Manmohan Singh... Within 13 days of the attack, the Indian Air Force went into Pakistan, bombed the terror camps and returned," the BJP president said, referring to the Pulwama attack.

He added that BJP workers in Kashmir will ensure that it remains part of India and intruders are thrown out of the country.

Training his guns at the opposition's 'mahagathbandhan', Shah said the country would have a new prime minister everyday of the week if the grand alliance comes to power.

"On one side is the BJP led by Narendra Modi which is working for the country. On the other side is the 'mahagatbandhan' of Rahul Baba, 'behan' (sister) Mayawati, 'bhatija' (nephew) Akhilesh, Congress and others... I ask who is your (opposition's) leader... It is clear that Modi is our leader and will be the PM, but who is your leader... No one is telling but I will tell," he said.

"On Monday it will be Mamata Banerjee, on Tuesday it will be Mayawati, on Wednesday it will be Chandrababu Naidu, on Thursday it will be Deve Gowda, on Friday... On Saturday it will be Mulayam Singh Yadav," he added.

"Can any government be run like this? Who will look after the security of the country? Can this 'gathbandhan' look after the security of the country?" the BJP president asked.

Shah claimed people across India were chanting Modi's name and they had decided to make him the prime minister once again.

He exhorted the electorate of Badaun, from where the Samajwadi Party's Dharmendra Yadav had won in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, to join the development journey by voting for Maurya.

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi:

Hundreds of people, including students, local residents, and even visitors, held a candlelight march in Amritsar on Friday evening on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre by British Indian forces. The massacre that happened on April 13, 1919, barely after World War I ended in Europe. The massacre is one of the darkest chapters of India's freedom struggle to free the country from British occupation. Earlier, British Prime Minister Theresa May expressed "deep regret" over the massacre. "We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused," May said in the British Parliament and termed the tragedy as a "shameful scar on British Indian history".

On the afternoon of April 13, a crowd of at least 10,000 men, women, and children gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh. Protesters who were defying the ban on public meetings. A force of several dozen troops commanded by Brig. Gen. Reginald Edward Harry Dyer arrived and started firing indiscriminately until they ran out of ammunition.



According to one official report, 379 people were killed, and about 1,200 more were injured. Indian nationalist, Swami Shraddhanand wrote to Gandhi of 1500 deaths in the incident. The British Government tried to suppress information of the massacre, but news spread in India and widespread outrage ensued; details of the massacre did not become known in Britain until December 1919.





Two days later, on 15 April, demonstrations occurred in Gujranwala protesting the killings at Amritsar. Police and aircraft were used against the demonstrators, resulting in 12 deaths and 27 injuries.



Following the massacre, Bengali poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore renounced the knighthood that he had received in 1915. In 1920, Dyer was ordered to resign from the military. The Jallianwala Bagh site in Amritsar is now a national monument.





In February 2013 David Cameron became the first serving British Prime Minister to visit the site, laid a wreath at the memorial, and described the Amritsar massacre as "a deeply shameful event in British history.

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New Delhi:

Two terrorists were killed on Saturday morning in a shootout with security forces in Gahand area of south Kashmirs Shopian district. Indian Armys 34 RR and SOG Shopian had launched a cordon and search operation after specific information about the presence of terrorists in the area. As the cordon was tightened, the terrorists fired at the forces, triggering a fierce gunfight in which four ultras were neutralised, a police official said. The identity of the terrorists is yet to be ascertained.

Last week, security forces gunned down two terrorists in an exchange of fire in Imam Sahib area of Shopian district.



On April 1, four terrorists were gunned down by security forces in restive south Kashmir. The terrorists belonged to the Lashkar-e-Taiba terror outfit. Lassipora, the site of the encounter, is near the national Highway 1 A, where the February 14 blast took place.



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.

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New Delhi:

Amidst ongoing controversy around the Rafale deal, French national newspaper Le Monde has reported that the French authorities waived off taxes worth USD 162 million or 143.7 million euros in favour of Anil Ambanias France-based telecom company - Reliance Atlantic Flag France. The tax debt of the Indian businessman was cleared just a few months after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government sealed the Rafale deal with France in 2015.

The report claimed that the tax dispute was settled by October 2015. Interestingly, a few months earlier, PM Modi was on official visit to France and had announced that India would acquire 36 fully built Rafale fighter jets from the French company Dassault.

Six months after Modi's Rafale announcement, the French tax authorities accepted 7.3 million euros from Reliance as a settlement, instead of the much bigger sum of 151 million euros. a julien bouissou (@jubouissou) April 13, 2019

The media report claimed that authorities investigated Anil Ambani's Reliance Atlantic Flag France and found liable to pay 60 million euros for the period 2007 to 2010.

Ambanias offered to pay 7.6 million euros as taxes debt, but it was not accepted by the French authorities. Another round of investigation was conducted for the period 2010 to 2012 after which the authorities asked for an additional 91 million euros in taxes.

Reliance offered to pay 7.6 million euros as a settlement. The French tax authorities refused. They conducted another investigation for the period 2010 to 2012 and asked for an additional 91 million euros in taxes. a julien bouissou (@jubouissou) April 13, 2019

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear review petitions on the Rafale deal on the basis of secret documents leaked to the media.

The top court also dismissed the government's preliminary objection to treat the sensitive documents as evidence by claiming privilege over them.

The Centre had submitted that the three privilege documents which were unauthorisedly removed from the Defence Ministry were used by the petitioners to support their review petitions.

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New Delhi:

The Ministry of Defence on Saturday rejected as "totally inaccurate and tendentious" a media report claiming that France waived off taxes worth 143.7 million Euros to a telecom subsidiary of Anil Ambani's company in 2015, months after India's announcement of buying 36 Rafale jets

"We have seen reports drawing conjectural connection between tax exemption to a private company and procurement of Rafale jets by Government of India. Neither the period of tax concession nor subject matter of concession relate to Rafale procurement, concluded in present Government's tenure," the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

"Any connections drawn between the tax issue and the Rafale matter is totally inaccurate, tendentious and is a mischievous attempt to disinform," the statement added.

Earlier today, Le Monde, a leading French newspaper, said the French tax authorities accepted 7.3 million euros from Reliance Flag Atlantic France as a settlement as against original demand of 151 million euros. Reliance Flag owns a terrestrial cable network and other telecom infrastructure in France.

In its reaction, Reliance Communications rejected any wrongdoing and said the tax dispute was settled under legal framework which is available for all companies operating in France.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the procurement of a batch of 36 Rafale jets after talks with the then French President Francois Hollande on April 10, 2015 in Paris. The final deal was sealed on September 23, 2016.

The Congress has been alleging massive irregularities in the deal, saying the government was procuring each aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalised by the UPA government when it was negotiating the deal.

The Congress has also been targeting the government over selection of Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Defence as an offset partner for Dassault Aviation, the manufacturer of Rafale. The government has rejected the allegations.

The French newspaper said the company was investigated by French tax authorities and found liable to pay 60 million euros in taxes for the period 2007 to 2010.

However, Reliance offered to pay 7.6 million euros only as a settlement but it was French tax authorities refused to accept the amount. The authorities conducted another probe for the period 2010 to 2012 and asked the company to pay an additional 91 million euros in taxes, the report said.

It said by April 2015, the total amount owed by Reliance to the French authorities in taxes was at least 151 million euros.

In October, six months after Modi announced in Paris about the Rafale deal, the French authorities accepted 7.3 million euros from Reliance as a settlement as against the original demand of 151 million euros.

A spokesperson of Reliance Communications said the tax demands were "completely unsustainable and illegal" and that the company denied any favouritism or gain from the settlement.

"During the period under consideration by the French Tax Authorities - 2008-2012 i.E. Nearly 10 years ago, Flag France had an operating loss of Rs 20 crore (Euro 2.7 million). French tax authorities had raised a tax demand of over Rs 1100 crore for the same period," the official said.

"As per the French tax settlement process as per law, a mutual settlement agreement was signed to pay Rs 56 crore as a final settlement," he said.

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New Delhi:

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday visited the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial in Amritsar to pay homage to the martyrs on the commemoration of 100 years of the massacre. Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and state minister Navjot Singh Sidhu were also present at the occasion. Rahul had arrived in Punjab late on Friday night.



The cost of freedom must never ever be forgotten. We salute the people of India who gave everything they had for it. Jai Hind, Gandhi wrote in the visitors book at the memorial.



British High Commissioner to India Dominic Asquith also visited the memorial to pay homage. The events of Jallianwala Bagh 100 years ago today reflect a shameful act in British-Indian history. We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused. I am pleased today that the UK and India have and remain committed to developing further a thriving 21st-century partnership, Asquith noted in the visitors book at the memorial.



Earlier, British Prime Minister Theresa May expressed "deep regret" over the massacre. "We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused," May said in the British Parliament and termed the tragedy as a "shameful scar on British Indian history".



On the afternoon of April 13, a crowd of at least 10,000 men, women, and children gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh. Protesters who were defying the ban on public meetings. A force of several dozen troops commanded by Brig. Gen. Reginald Edward Harry Dyer arrived and started firing indiscriminately until they ran out of ammunition.



According to one official report, 379 people were killed, and about 1,200 more were injured.



Two days later, on 15 April, demonstrations occurred in Gujranwala protesting the killings at Amritsar. Police and aircraft were used against the demonstrators, resulting in 12 deaths and 27 injuries.



In February 2013 David Cameron became the first serving British Prime Minister to visit the site, laid a wreath at the memorial, and described the Amritsar massacre as "a deeply shameful event in British history.

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New Delhi:

India is busy celebrating Chaitra Navratri 2019 and will finally bid good bye to the much-sought after Hindu spring festival with the observance of Ram Navami. The festival marks the birth anniversary of Lord Rama, who is known to be the seventh avatar of Shri Vishnu. Lord Rama was born in the kingdom of Ayodhya to Queen Kausalya and King Dasharatha in 'Treta Yuga', the second age of mankind in the religion of Hinduism. Lord Rama, who is the central character of the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana, is also mentioned in texts of Jain and Buddhist scriptures. Every year, Ram Navami is being celebrated on the ninth day of the Shukhla Paksha (bright half) in the Hindu calendar month of Chaitra (typically in the month of March or April). This year it falls on Saturday, April 13.

Here are 10 lesser known facts about Lord Rama:

Lord Rama is said to be the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu who was born on the ninth day in Shukla Paksha, in the month of Chaitra.

He was born in the Treta Yug, the second age of mankind in the religion of Hinduism.

Lord Ramas name was given by Vashisht Maharishi, the guru of Raghukul. Rama comprises two words --- 'Ra' meaning Agni Beej and 'Ma' meaning Amrit Beej. Agni Beej served to vitilise his body, while Amrit Beej to relieve him from all fatigue.

Lord Ram had an elder sister, Shanta, the daughter Dashrath and Kaushalya.

Ayodhya, the birthplace of Rama lights up on Ram Navami  devotees take a dip in the river Sarayu and visit the Ram temple.

It is said that Rama, who was a God in human form gave up his mortal body when voluntarily walked into the Sarayu River.

He was known as a king of Righteousness, virtue and love and is said to have restored Dharma in the world.

He is said to have ruled Ayodhya for 11,000 years --- the golden period was called Ram Rajya.

He defeated the mighty Ravana, the king of Lanka, to rescue his wife Sita who was held captive in the latters kingdom.

When Ravana was dying, Lord Rama sent his brother to Lakshman to learn everything that Ravana had to offer. Ravana rendered a discourde in politics and dharma.

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New Delhi:

We all know making a marriage work involves a lot of 'work' from both the parties but did you also know that it also involves taking shower, shaving off the facial hair every now and then? Well, this particular husband clearly did not get the memo! A 23-year-old woman from Madhya Pradesh has filed for divorce, claiming that her husband avoids taking bath and shaving that stretches almost to a week.

Bhopal family court have directed the couple, who married last year to stay separately for six months, after which they will behave granted divorce decree, a counsellor said.

"Bhopal family court judge RN Chand has directed the couple to stay separately for six months," court counselor Shail Awasthi told PTI Friday.

The woman and her 25-year-old husband has not have had a child yet filed a mutual consent plea for divorce, Awasthi said.

"Women nowadays are separating from their husband over petty issues. This woman, who hails from Barigarh near Bhopal, complained that her husband stinks and when she asks him to bathe, he wears perfume to beat the odour," Awasthi said.

The man is reported to belong from Sindhi community and runs a shop and the woman is a Brahmin, Awasthi said. The woman's family members requested her not to walk out of the marital bond but she did not agree, the counselor said.

It was an arranged marriage and the man's family opted for the inter-community wedding as they did not find a suitable bride in their community, Awasthi said.

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New Delhi:

A group of around 350 Central American migrants broke violently into Mexico on Friday. The countrys immigration authorities said, as a new caravan of around 2,500 people arrived from Guatemala. Today at 3:30 am (0830 GMT) a group of approximately 350 people broke violently across the Mexican border from Guatemala, the National Migration Institute said in a statement.

Mexicos National Migration Institute said some members of the caravan had attacked local police in the southern town of Metapa de Domingueznews sure to draw the attention of President Donald Trump as he continues his crackdown on undocumented migrants heading toward the US.

With an aggressive attitude, (the migrants) broke the padlock on the border gate and entered the country. The caravan set out Wednesday from the city of San Pedro Sula in Honduras and has picked up Guatemalans and some Nicaraguans along the way.

The migrants are mostly fleeing poverty and brutal violence in their home countries.

We cant live (in Honduras) anymore. Were heading for the border, for the United States, said Jorge, a young Honduran migrant who declined to give his last name.

Earlier, said that the United States is full and the country has no room left to take the illegal immigrants. At a meeting with border patrol agents and other officials in Calexico, he said its overwhelming our immigration system and we cant let that happen. Then in a message to those heading for the United States, he said: The system is full and we cant take you anymore.... Our country is full. So turn around, thats the way it is, he said.

Around 200 protesters, accompanied by a giant inflatable balloon depicting Trump as a baby, were waiting for the president in Mexicali, the town on the Mexican side of the frontier.

Waving US and Mexican flags, the protesters carried signs with messages such as Stop separating families and If you build the wall, my generation will tear it down.

On the US side, dozens of people lined the road that Trumps motorcade took from the airport, demonstrating support for his policies. Build the wall, said one placard.

Trump is determined to pursue a hard line.

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Vatican City:

Pope Francis knelt and kissed the feet of South Sudans rival leaders, in an unprecedented act of humbleness to encourage them to strengthen the African countrys faltering peace process. At the close a two-day retreat in the Vatican for the African leaders, the pope asked South Sudans president and opposition leader to proceed with the peace agreement despite growing difficulties. Then he got down on his knees and kissed the leaders feet one by one on Thursday.

The pope usually holds a ritual washing of the feet with prisoners on Holy Thursday, but has never performed such a show of deference to political leaders.

I express my heartfelt hope that hostilities will finally cease, that the armistice will be respected, that political and ethnic divisions will be surmounted, and that there will be a lasting peace for the common good of all those citizens who dream of beginning to build the nation, the pope said of South Sudan in his closing statement.

The spiritual retreat brought together President Salva Kiir and opposition head Riek Machar. Also present were Kiirs three vice presidents. The pope kissed the feet of all of them.

South Sudanese Vice President Rebecca Nyandeng Garang said Francis actions moved her profoundly.

I had never seen anything like that. Tears were flowing from my eyes, she said.

South Sudan, gained independence from Sudan in 2011 and in 2013, the country plunged into a bloody civil war, which left at least 400,000 people dead.

The two-day Vatican meeting was held a month before the end of the shaky peace deals pre-transitional period. On May 12th, opposition leader Machar is expected to return to South Sudan and once again serve as Kiirs deputy.

However, the agreement, which was signed in September in Khartoum, the capital of neighbouring Sudan, has been met with delays, missed deadlines and continued fighting with key aspects still not implemented.

A military coup in Sudan on Thursday fueled worries in South Sudan that the toppling of longtime President Omar al-Bashir could derail the already fragile peace deal.

Sudan has helped us with the peace deal. We hope that the new system will also focus on the agreement, ensuring that it will be implemented, said opposition leader Machar, who attended an evening prayer vigil for peace, held at Romes church of Santa Maria in Trastevere.

Vice president Rebecca Nyandeng Garang said she was very touched by Francis show of respect for her country.

I had never seen anything like that. Tears were flowing from my eyes, she said.

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A desert snake has been caught from one of the neighbourhoods in Riffa and was handed over to the Bahrain Welfare Society, it was announced. According to a statement quoting the society president Mahmood Faraj, the snake was from the species the Eryx jayakari, commonly known as the Arabian sand snake and it was later released in an area nearby Al Areen Wildlife. A Bahraini man found the snake and we appreciate his gesture of catching it without causing any harm. People generally prefer to kill snakes whenever they see them, Mr Faraj said in the statement.

The society contacted the Supreme Council for Environment as soon as they received it and they were consulted before setting it free in an area nearby Al Areen Wildlife. Its very much uncommon to see this snake roaming in the neighbourhoods because it prefers to bury itself under sand in the morning and leaves at night to hunt its preys such as lizards and mouses, he added. The Arabian sand snake is a small snake growing to a total length (including tail) of about 38 cm (15 in).

The eyes are very small and are located on the top of the head, which has a blunt snout and is wedge-shaped. This snakes colour is yellowish-grey or sandy-brown speckled with white flecks and transversely banded with dark marks.
As part of his official visit to the US, Interior Minister, General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, met US Acting Deputy Executive Assistant Commissioner of the Department of the Homeland Security, Lan Saunders. The meeting was attended by the accompanying delegation of the Interior Minister and Commander of the US Coast Guard. The US official welcomed the Interior Minister, highlighting the importance of enhancing ties between the two countries.

Security challenges in the Gulf region and Iranian interference and Irans role in backing terrorism were reviewed. In this context, the Interior Minister hailed the strategic relations that link Bahrain and the United States, highlighting the importance of working towards reinforcing international counterterrorism cooperation to enhance competency, especially with the use of modern technology in terrorism. Both sides agreed to promote joint work and exchange of expertise in training and cybersecurity, in addition to holding joint exercises between the coastguard of both countries and activation of memorandums of understanding in customs affairs.

The meeting also reviewed topics of common interest. The minister also met the US Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Christopher Wray, who welcomed him and the delegation. The US side expressed willingness to reinforce security cooperation and coordination with Bahrain and exchanging expertise in training to meet the current and future developments and enhancing the effectiveness of security authorities in dealing with security challenges.

During the meeting, the Interior Minister and the FBI Director signed a memorandum of understanding related to law enforcement and information exchange cooperation to contribute to enhancing best practices in fighting crimes and training.

The Interior Minister and the accompanying delegation visited the National Law Enforcement Museum that highlights the history phases of the US police. The museum depends on showcasing exhibits on technology and interactively presenting information. During the visit, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding by the Director-General of Media and Security Culture, Brigadier Mohammed bin Daina and the Interim CEO of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Lori Sharpe Day.

The MoU includes building a partnership between the US museum and the Police Museum of the Interior Ministry that will be formed in the future, in which the US organisation will provide its expertise and consultancies. The meetings were attended by Bahrain Ambassador to Washington, Shaikh Abdulla bin Rashid Al Khalifa, President of Customs, Shaikh Ahmed bin Hamad Al Khalifa and the accompanying delegation.
The first Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Health Council was held under the patronage of Kuwaiti Health Minister Dr Shaikh Basel Al Sabah. National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA) Chief Executive Officer Dr Mariam Adhbi Al Jalahma attended the two day event, under the theme GCC Sustainable Healthcare: Challenges an Future Trends.

Addressing the conference, she stressed the importance for GCC private health facilities to comply with the good governance requirements to ensure quality and sustainable health services. She underlined the results of the National Health Accreditation Programme, which was endorsed in the Kingdom, stressing the importance of the scheme in promoting good governance of medical teams performance.

The conference aims to build an informative and enriching information base by attracting specialists, scientists, researchers and institutions concerned with health care. It also seeks to highlight the importance of comprehensive health coverage in line with the development responsibilities of health bodies to move forward in achieving the global goals and objectives of sustainable development.
Tens of millions of Indians joined nationwide queues yesterday to give their verdict on nationalist prime minister Narendra Modi as the worlds biggest election started. Election officials reported a heavy turnout across the 20 states taking part in the first day of the massive exercise which involves 900 million eligible voters and will take nearly six weeks to complete. While the 68-year-old Modi remains popular because of his tough stance on national security, he is under pressure over unemployment and controversial economic reforms.

Insults and fake news have surged on social media in the run-up to the poll as Modis right wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress party stake rival claims. On the ground, security forces were on high alert and three members of rival regional parties were killed in clashes outside polling stations in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. After five people including a local lawmaker were killed by a roadside bomb planted by suspected Maoist rebels on Tuesday, insurgents were blamed for two voting day blasts in Maharashtra state, where two police were injured, and one in Chhattisgarh state.

Thousands of candidates from more than 2,000 parties are running for office in the seven separate days of voting in 543 constituencies up to May 19. Final results will be released on May 23. Some 1.1 million electronic voting machines are being taken around the country, with some transported through jungles and carried up mountains, including to a hamlet near the Chinese border with just one voter.

About 142 million people were eligible for the first day of voting. In the northeastern state of Assam, queues started forming well before voting opened, including many of the 84 million first-time voters who could play a decisive role in the outcome. Its a great feeling to cast the vote, which makes me a part of the democratic system and makes me responsible for electing a good leader, Anurag Baruah, 23, said.

Supreme Leader

Modi swept to power in 2014 with the biggest landslide in 30 years. The BJP has put Modi left, right and centre of its campaign to secure a second five year term. Each (BJP) candidate contesting across India represents a miniature version of Modi. We are fighting not with our name. We are fighting with the name of our Supreme Leader, Narendra Modi, national party spokesman Sambit Patra said ahead of voting.

I want a government that thinks about women and brings down the high prices of rice and lentils, said Suman Sharma, 50, a housewife in Ghaziabad near Delhi. Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition Congress party and latest member of his family dynasty hoping to become prime minister, accused Modi of causing a national disaster. No JOBS. DEMONETISATION. Farmers in Pain... Lies. Lies. Lies. Distrust. Violence. HATE. Fear, Gandhi tweeted on Thursday.

You vote today for the soul of India. For her future. Vote wisely. His party won three key state elections in December but Indias showdown with Pakistan in February gave Modis standing a new boost.

Empty suit

Gandhi, great-grandson, grandson and son of three past premiers, has grown in stature since being derided in leaked US diplomatic cables in 2007 as an empty suit. But Modi and the BJPs campaign juggernaut -- he has been addressing three rallies a day in the run-up to voting -- will be no pushover, promising a $1.4-trillion infrastructure blitz if he wins. Playing to its Hindu base, the BJP has committed to building a grand temple in place of a Muslim mosque demolished by Hindu mobs in the northern city of Ayodhya in 1992.

Indias latest military altercation with arch-rival Pakistan in February has allowed Modi to portray himself as the nations chowkidar (watchman). The few opinion polls have given him the advantage but they are notoriously unreliable in India and much will depend on the BJPs performance in key states such as Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state, where it won most of the 80 seats in 2014.
Cincinnati, OH (45221)

Today

Showers early becoming a steady rain later in the day. High 62F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

A few clouds from time to time. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 31F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
When the trout fishing season started Saturday, Danbury area anglers had a new option.

Rogers Park Pond in Danbury is the newest addition to the Community Fishing Waters, a state program that encourages fishing in urban areas.

With its inclusion, the program now includes 15 bodies of water in the state, although the new site is the only one in this area. The locations are stocked with fish by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Were always looking to add water bodies in heavily populated areas, said Brian Eltz, a DEEP fisheries biologist.

More than 315,000 brown, brook and rainbow trout have been stocked in nearly 100 lakes and ponds and 130 rivers and streams so far, including the 150 trout added to Rogers Park Pond. DEEP will stock again around the state through May, bringing the total to about 507,000 trout.

The department is starting to stock more after first pulling back in 2017 because of a drought, budgetary constraints and the burden on the hatcheries. At the time, 67 locations were dropped, and the amount stocked was pulled back at 150 locations.

Nearly half of those were in western Connecticut.

Eltz said the primary reason for the reduction was because the state hatcheries, where the salmon and trout are bred and raised, were being pushed too far in terms of demand.

He said DEEP made some upgrades and have since ticked production back up, though he said he doesnt expect the numbers to be what they were. A few of the removed sites were also added back this year and last.

The state is also looking to increase the number of anglers, in part through the Community Fishing Waters program. It was created in 2005 with six locations.

Eltz said they recognized that they needed to do this by going into the urban areas, while still recognizing the traditional fishing sites.

We get more bang for our buck, he said.

There are about 185,000 licensed anglers in Connecticut, Eltz said. There were about 277,000 Connecticut anglers in 2011, according to a fishing and hunting report.

They know the program sites are now getting more anglers, but it hasnt translated to an increase in sales, Eltz said.

The overall number of licensed anglers is down in the state, largely because a fishing license is free for anglers 65 and older.

This isnt Danburys first time in the Community Fishing Waters program. Another Danbury site was in there years ago but was removed because it wasnt performing well. Eltz has hopes for this one though because it was recommended for the program.

Ansonia joined the list of sites last year with Colony Pond. There are also sites in Bridgeport, Derby, Hamden, Middletown and New Haven.

DEEP officials encouraged families to come on opening day by stocking trout then. There are also 12 designated trout parks.

Trout parks are easily accessible, have picnic areas and other amenities nearby, and are stocked frequently so that there are plenty of trout for children, families, and novice anglers to catch, said Rick Jacobson, Chief of DEEPs Bureau of Natural Resources. We have found that these stocking events are a real highlight for many families.

Stocking by the numbers DEEP stocked the following fish on opening day: 46,100 brook trout 173,100 brown trout 98,300 rainbow trout 1,150 surplus broodstock See More Collapse

Fishing licenses and the $5 Trout & Salmon Stamps can be purchased at DEEPs website. Theyre also available at DEEPs offices, most town halls, tackle retailers and DEEP offices. For a complete list of fishing license vendors, visit the DEEP website at, www.ct.gov/deep/fishing, or call DEEP Licensing and Revenue at 860-424-3105.

kkoerting@newstimes.com; 203-731-3345
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New Milford will host its first Patriots Day event at noon on April 20 on the Green.

The free event will include the 6th Connecticut Regiment doing drills, bagpipe performances, a flag ceremony, a regiment salute and an honorary patriot of the year award presentation. Representatives from the Daughters, Sons, and Children of the American Revolution organizations will also be there and refreshments will be served.
As Stop & Shop workers continued to picket Friday, support for their cries grew as many would-be shoppers turned away at the doors to buy groceries elsewhere when they came upon union members on strike.

Its the right thing to do, said one would-be customer in North Haven who turned away after he met the picketing employees at the door encouraging him to buy from Big Y down the road instead.

Without them the place doesnt run, he said of workers.

United Food and Commercial Workers from Local 371, which is headquartered in Westport, and Local 919 walked out of stores Thursday afternoon to strike as contract negotiations with the grocery store giant have reached an impasse.

Many people who came upon the picket lines declared they wouldnt buy groceries from any Stop & Shop until a fair contract was settled for the sake of the employees who give such great customer service.

The union spirit resonated with several people, who were either in unions or had spouses who were members of other unions. A UPS driver came by the North Haven location declaring he wouldnt deliver to the store in support of the strikers.

People have shown their support by doing more than just not shopping in stores; in Hamden, Westport and North Haven people brought coffee, doughnuts and bagels in the morning for the workers standing outside in the bleak weather.

One Hamden resident said she wouldnt shop until the strike ended because the employees deserve better.

We dont have small general stores anymore, but the workers here know you, she said, adding that she thinks robots in the stores are an insult.

The parking lot outside the Danbury Stop & Shop on Newtown Road was practically empty Friday afternoon as workers protested outside.

Linda Riccio, self-checkout manager at the store and a Stop & Shop employee for 10 years, said she saw about 15 shoppers turn around after seeing the workers outside the store.

A regular of mine pulled up and didnt know what was going on. When I told him, he said he supports us and was going to go to Big Y instead today, said Riccio. Our customers have been tremendously supportive.

Those backing the workers included Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who visited the Hamden store on Dixwell Avenue declaring their support for the unions.

You were with us thick and thin and now its our turn to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you when you need us, Bysiewicz said.

Without an end to the strike in sight, Blumenthal and Bysiewicz pledged they wouldnt cross any picket line

As long as you are striking, were going to find somewhere else to go, Bysiewicz said to employees.

She said she spoke Friday with Mark McGowan, president of New England Division and executive vice president of operations for Stop & Shop, asking him to get involved with negotiations, and said Gov. Ned Lamont has reached out to the companys leaders on the issue.

If they know whats good for them, theyll do right by you, Blumenthal said to workers. Our entire delegation stands with you.

Unions are fighting against eliminating Sunday premium pay for new hires, automation, increases to workers health care and pension contributions and excluding spouses from insurance policies.

A woman walking the picket line in Hamden wore a sign across her body listing the many reasons employees maintain they were striking, including a proposal to replace pensions with 401(k) plans, eliminate some holidays and personal days and give bonuses instead of raises.

At the Stop & Shop on Bridgeports Fairfield Avenue, Chris Mauro, the produce manager and shop steward for UFCW Local 919, and Luke Bloomberg, the meat manager and union representative for Local 371, which represents deli, seafood and meat workers, were trying to keep the 14 fellow workers spirits up.

The store was closed except for the pharmacy and Peoples United Bank branch.

Mauro, a single father who lives in East Haven but works in Bridgeport, said he has worked for the company for 32 years and always been faithful, but I cant afford all the give backs.

The company on Friday said the proposed increases in health care premiums are $2 to $4 a week each year, which it said is nowhere close to doubling premiums. It said pension benefits would continue, with an increase in contributions, and no change in health care deductibles.

Its hard to be out here  wed rather be working, believe me, said Union 371 Litchfield shop steward Mike Main, who stood with a group of workers at the stores driveway on Route 202.

Main has worked for Stop & Shop for 39 years, starting as a student at Litchfield High School.

Were looking for wage increases, health care and our pensions, Main said. Theyre taking away things weve earned over the years. We only want whats fair.

State Rep. Michael DAgostino, D-Hamden stopped by his local store with Blumenthal and Bysiewicz to encourage and support employees.

The only check left on corporate power is organized labor, he said to the picketers. Thats why you have to hold firm because you are a check for all of us, not just for ourselves.

The unions said the company had more than $2 billion in profits last year and received a U.S. tax cut of $225 million in 2017.

Several Connecticut stores closed Thursday and remain closed, including the Whalley Avenue store in New Haven, but where people could shop, many chose not to or only went inside for the pharmacy, which has a settled contract, and the independent Peoples United Bank branches.

New Haven Mayor Toni N. Harp was another elected official who showed up at her local store to stand with the unions, promising the city wouldnt be shopping from any Stop & Shop stores until the strike ended.

These are our friends and neighbors and its important they understand they have support, she said.

The North Haven Stop & Shop is Trina Moccios main grocery store but she said she refuses to shop at any of their locations until the contract is resolved.

It would be disrespectful to the employees, Moccio said. Im a big advocate for workers and I stand up for staff.

Moccio, who once worked for a union, said she would stay away from Stop & Shop for as long as it takes for the company and workers to settle the contract.

I totally understand where theyre coming from, she said. I believe in what theyre fighting for.

Many people who entered the store in North Haven and Hamden, did so only to pick up prescriptions from the pharmacy, such as Andy Bonito, who has been with a union for 50 years.

Ive worked in places where they could just point at you and tell you to go home, he said, so the fight of union workers resonates with him deeply.

Picketing workers in Hamden pleaded with approaching shoppers to go elsewhere since ShopRite, Aldi and Walmart are in adjacent plazas across the street and many people did because they thought the workers on strike deserve better treatment from the grocery giant.

At the Westport Stop and Shop on the Post Road, Jason Ference, the 43-year old dairy manager from Bridgeport ,was doing his best to talk prospective shoppers out of crossing the picket line.

His words convinced Flip Andrade and Amy Stabinsky of Shelton not to go inside. He told them about the health care changes, about the pension change and the $2 billion in profits Stop & Shop is pocketing. And even though the couple grabbed a carriage and was prepared to go in, they turned around and left.

Well stay away until the strike is over, added Stabinsky.

Ference said the Westport store is among Stop and Shops top three producers in Connecticut pulling in over $1.4 million a week, while another highly profitable store is Hamdens.

In a statement, the company said it was disappointed that the UFCW chose to order a work stoppage in an attempt to disrupt service at our stores and the company has contingency plans in place to minimize disruption.

Stop & Shops contract proposal includes across-the-board pay increases for all associates; continued Gold Level health care benefits for eligible associates; and increased company contributions to the UFCWs defined benefit pension fund for current full- and vested part-time associates, according a statement by the company, which made several suggestions to the federal mediators to encourage further bargaining. The company said the locals didnt give any counter offers.

The statement goes on to say the union demands would increase the companys costs and make them less competitive in the mostly non-union New England food retail marketplace.

But across Connecticut, with no employees in stores to stock groceries, cut meats or manage produce, fresh food will start to go bad and the shelves with non-perishables wont be refilled.

At the Westport store, Joe Marotto, the assistant deli manager who lives in Stratford, said the deli and cheese he and his workers sliced yesterday will have to be thrown out in two days and produce and milk products will be going bad in a week or so.

Pretty soon they are going to have to start throwing things out and I dont know whos going to do it, said Marotto.

In Bridgeport, Juliette Sabo, a Stop & Shop employee for 38 years, was one of about 70 people gathered at the Stop & Shop on Main Street Friday night. She was supported by her family, daughters Emily Sabo and Mary-Elizabeth Sabo, son Louis Sabo III and Mary-Elizabeths husband Tim Delaney.

Im not fighting for me. Im good. Im fighting for everybody underneath me, she said.

She said employees should be able to work full-time for a fair wage and benefits.

Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim, Bridgeport City Council members, Bysiewicz, state Rep. Chris Rosario and Blumenthal stood in solidarity with the strikers and offered them support and encouragement.

No matter how long it takes, Ill be on the picket line with you, said City Councilman Ernie Newton.

Bysiewicz, who said she shops at her local Stop & Shop store in Middletown weekly, said she was there on behalf of herself and Lamont.

We want you to know we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you in this fight, she said. I will not be shopping (at the Middletown Stop & Shop) this weekend.

Blumenthal commended strikers, adding that they are on the (picket) line for working families across America. Ganim told employees that the city would stand with them on the picket line whatever it takes.

Throughout the speeches, there were various chants, including no robots, dont stop, dont shop and they wont win.

Reporters Mike Mayko, Emily Olson, Tara ONeill and Kendra Baker contributed to this story. mdignan@hearstmediact.com
DENVER - The corridors of the gold-domed state capitol here are lined with busts and portraits showing what political power used to look like in Colorado. Nearly without exception, the figures depicted in that artwork are male.

But step onto the floor of the Colorado House, and you'll see something entirely different. In the current legislative session, more than half of the state representatives - 34 out of 65 - are women. Seven of the 11 House committees are chaired by women.

Only once before and only briefly has any legislature in the country experienced a female majority in even one of its chambers. It happened in New Hampshire, where women held 13 out of 24 seats in the state Senate during the 2009-2010 session.

A decade later, there are two: Colorado and Nevada, where women not only constitute a majority in the Assembly, but also hold most of the seats in the legislature as a whole.

This is not just the aftereffect of the 2018 election, which saw record numbers of women running for office. Colorado's groundswell for more female representation has been building for years, fueled by organizations such as the state chapter of Emerge America, which operates a sort of boot camp for women interested in running at the state and local level.

Kathleen Collins "KC" Becker, who got her start on the Boulder City Council, is the third woman in a row to serve as House speaker. "We very diligently recruit women, and train women to run, and hire women as campaign managers," she said in an interview in her offices just off the chamber. "And so, all of this is intentional. It didn't just happen that way."

This year has also seen a record number of women in Colorado's state Senate, 13 out of a membership of 35. Well over half the agency heads appointed by its new governor, Jared Polis (D), are female.

As in the U.S. Congress, all of this is almost exclusively a Democratic phenomenon. Where the number of Democratic women in the Colorado legislature has grown by nearly half since its last session, the number of female Republicans has remained the same.

So what difference does it make when women gain power? On the day I visited the Colorado capitol, a Senate committee passed legislation to create an insurance fund that would offer 12 weeks of paid leave to care for a newborn or deal with family emergencies - the latest version of a measure that has failed at least four times in the past.

That same afternoon, the House Education Committee, chaired by former teacher Barbara McLachlan,unanimously approved legislation requiring the state to fund full-day kindergarten. A Republican legislator on the panel, retired school superintendent James D. Wilson, has been trying without success since 2014 to pass such a bill, and this session, he thinks it will succeed.

Women are not just flexing their new muscle on family issues. All four of the prime sponsors of aggressive climate-change legislation, which passed a House committee earlier this month, are women.

Just a coincidence? Maybe. But polling has shown women in the United States are significantly more likely than men to say that climate change is a serious problem, that it will affect them personally and that major lifestyle changes are needed to combat it.

Some of the shift has been in the culture of the place. Nursing mothers used to have to retreat to a bathroom in the capitol basement; now there is a room set aside for them. When I ran into freshman state Sen. Jessie Danielson visiting her former House colleagues on the floor, she had her toddler, Isabelle, on her hip.

All of this follows a political earthquake last year. For the first time in more than a century, the legislature expelled one of its own. Democratic Rep. Steve Lebsock was ousted on a 52-to-9 vote after five women, led by fellow legislator Faith Winter, lodged complaints of sexual harassment against him. Winter was subsequently elected to the Senate, helping to flip it to Democratic control.

Then again, not everything has changed.

Becker says that when she and Majority Leader Alec Garnett enter a room, people who do not know them still sometimes assume that Garnett - who stands about 6-foot-4, while she is barely 5 feet tall - is the one in charge.

And a male legislator, thinking he was being helpful, suggested several times that she let him do the negotiating with the oil industry over recent legislation giving local governments more say over where drilling takes place, and prioritizing health and safety concerns.

"Being a white guy," she recalls him telling her, "it may just be easier for them to work with me, because we have that in common and so we might just relate better."

"No," the speaker responded, "I'm doing just fine."

She did it her way, pushing through a bill that outraged the state's most powerful industry, but easily cleared the House on a 36-to-28 vote. Because power looks different these days in Colorado, even if not everyone has figured that out.
WASHINGTON - The honeymoon, if ever there was one, is over for Rep. Jahana Hayes. No more pinching herself, cant believe Im here, Connecticut neighbors and well-wishers crowding her office in celebration.

As a member of the House Education & Labor Committee, Hayes on Wednesday had her first chance to question the Trump administrations notoriously slippery Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.

The former history teacher at Waterburys John F. Kennedy High School brought her best disciplinary tone to bear on the evasive DeVos, taking aim at President Donald Trumps oft-stated endorsement of arming teachers as the answer to mass shootings at schools.

(And it will be remembered that after the horrific mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, NRA chief Wayne LaPierre famously proposed arming teachers and volunteers as the ultimate solution. "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," he declared.)

DeVos danced around whether she has the authority to block federal funds to help train and arm teachers. And she also said she had never taken a position for or against such funding.

But Hayes wasnt letting it go at that.

Citing an internal memo that appeared to give DeVos discretion on funding, Hayes thundered: "Your silence is a decision!"

DeVos deflected but Hayes was there for the rebound.

"You have the authority to say that we cannot use funds to arm teachers," she said. "Make a decision on this! You have the authority to do this. Will you prohibit teacher federal funding to arm teachers, yes or no, madam secretary?"

After DeVos insisted that Congress has the authority, Hayes held the memo aloft and said: "You have the authority, if you so choose. Read the memo!"

Wow! Glad I never was a student in her class who showed up without a homework assignment to turn in.

====================

Rep. Jim Himes wasnt close to being born yet when The Twilight Zone aired one of its spookiest episodes of all, "To Serve Man," in 1962.

OK, stay with me here, Ill circle back to Himes . . .promise!

"To Serve Man" is the title of a book in an indecipherable language that a spaceship of benevolent aliens, the Kanamit, bring to Earth. They offer humanity a path out of early-60s misery and apprehension.

Suddenly, the Cold War ends, the threat of nuclear war evaporates, deserts are abloom with crops, energy becomes cheap and abundant. A team of code-breakers at the UN, Michael and Patty, figures out the title of the book, "To Serve Man."

But as the world heads toward unheard-of Nirvana, Michael forgets about translating while Patty keeps at it. (Spoiler alert . . . stop reading if you want to see this on YouTube, or one of the classic-TV channels.)

Eventually, the Kanamit offer to take waves of humans in spaceships to visit their planet. Michael is walking up the steps for one such trip when Patty breaks through the crowd, only to be stopped by a Kanamit guard.

"Don't get on that ship!" Patty cries out. "The rest of the book To Serve Man," it's... it's a cookbook!" So somehow, Himes, age 52, had this on his mind when he tweeted a still from the Twilight Zone episode showing the original book cover in Kanamit script and "To Serve Man" handwritten on a piece of paper. Himes Twitter caption? "The Trump-McConnell healthcare plan."




By AP News, April 11, 2019





DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)  Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris says she owns a gun and called it a false choice that the only two gun control options are complete, unrestricted access or a desire to seize everyones guns.





The senator from California told reporters after a campaign event in Iowa that she is a gun owner. She says, I own a gun for probably the reason that a lot of people do: for personal safety.
Connecticut is moving closer to legal recreational marijuana, and that has employers worried about how it will affect their workplace.

What were concerned with is the fact that we have members that have workplace safety issues, said Louise DiCocco, counsel with the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, in response to lawmakers approving legislation that would create the framework for the legal sale of recreational marijuana in the state.

Connecticut already allows medical marijuana.

Many of the concerns, DiCocco pointed out in a CBIA article, focused on the effect legalization would have on companies in the defense, manufacturing and construction industries.

The bill still has a way to go before it is finalized, and legislators are considering it a work in progress, but employers  particularly federal government contractors  are hoping that they will be able to maintain their zero-tolerance and drug screening policies.

State initiatives legalizing marijuana for medical purposes do not alter Lockheed Martins obligation as a federal contractor to maintain a drug-free workplace, reads a statement from Stratford-based Sikorsky, which is among companies that must adhere to federal laws, including the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988.

Marijuana is still considered a Schedule I drug on the federal level regardless of state laws allowing medical or recreational use. The federal statute, some employers feel, will expose them to civil liability if an employer has a good-faith belief that an employee possesses or appears impaired by cannabis.

Obviously, you cant have people utilizing marijuana under federal drug law, DiCocco said.

State lawmakers say they are considering the business communitys concerns in drafting the final bill.

What I want to make clear in the legislation is just because state law may have changed to allow the recreational purchase of cannabis, it does not change the workplace environment where an employer needs to make workplace accommodations for that, said state Rep. Steve Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, who also serves as co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, which voted to advance several marijuana-based bills.

Among the legislation the committee moved along this past week was a bill Stafstrom sponsored stating that employers would not have to make accommodations for or allow employees to use or possess cannabis in the workplace.

While that is a start, business owners are looking for more, according to DiCocco

The goal is to have there be distinct language that will allow any employer to set policies that they want, especially those that have federal contracts, she said.

Marijuana and employment laws in California and Oregon were among the examples that the CBIA want lawmakers to heed in drafting Connecticuts recreational legalization bill.

Both states still allow employers to decline employment or fire workers for using marijuana, on or off the job, if they test positive for marijuana in the workplace.

A new standard

Some industry observers think employers that dont deal with federal contracts may have a harder time in the face of legalization.

I think companies are going to have to rethink if they are doing drug testing and what it is they are going to be testing for, said David Lewis, president of OperationsInc, a human services outsourcer in Norwalk. I think companies are then going to have to figure out how to effectively address those individuals who they suspect of being under the influence.

In states where marijuana is still illegal, Lewis said, its very easy to have a zero-tolerance policy and eliminate people as candidates if they fail a drug test.

But if businesses began refusing candidates based on their legal recreational use of marijuana in states where it is legal, they could end up hurting their businesses  facing a lack of manpower or legal troubles.

Those factors now have to weigh on businesses, Lewis said, adding that he expects many businesses may stop testing for pot in their drug screening altogether if cannabis is legalized.

Employers in California have begun adapting to the times, and even in New York City, where recreational pot is still illegal, city council members passed legislation prohibiting private and public employers from drug screening job applicants for marijuana use.

A big danger for employers would be making sure that policies are enforced across the board to avoid civil liability lawsuits.

Steve Lattanzio, an attorney for the state Department of Labor, said employers are already in a tricky situation with legalized medical marijuana. He expects an increase in civil suits amid disciplinary actions if the state moves forward with legalization of recreational marijuana.

Youve got to be careful, Lattanzio said. Thats why the employers are reluctant to weigh in on this because they dont want to invade the persons privacy and find out in court that they didnt have the legal basis to do the test.

Drug testing in the workforce is traditionally for pre-employment and random screenings if it is part of the employment policy. An employer can also order a drug screening if they have reasonable suspicion, which stands to create more problems for businesses because it leaves employers to prove that the worker was under the influence on the job.

Considering a person can test positive for THC, the chemical in marijuana that can cause users to experience a high, even weeks after they used it, Lattanzio said, it creates a conundrum for businesses.

The whole problem with this is, unlike alcohol, you can only test positive or negative for a drug, he said. A blood alcohol test gives a threshold to see if a person is under the influence at the time of the test.

Normally in drug tests, if the reading is positive, Lattanzio said, the doctor at the lab must contact the employee or the persons physician to find out if there is a legitimate reason for the positive reading.

If the reason checks out, he said, the doctor would tell the employer that the person is clear.

The real problem, according to Lattanzio, is when non-federal contracting employers conflict with a state law. That was the case with a Niantic-based nursing home that rescinded its employment offer to a Connecticut woman who was a medical marijuana user because she tested positive in a pre-employment screening.

The courts ultimately ruled in favor of the applicant because medical users are protected by the states Palliative Use of Marijuana Act, or PUMA.
Editors note: This is the fourth in a series of the New Haven Registers Top 50 stories.

The year was 1942. The country was in the middle of World War II and two Yale pharmacologists were hired by the Department of Defense to study the effects of nitrogen gas as a therapeutic agent.

The project was top secret, and pharmacologists Alfred Gilman, Ph.D., a faculty member at the Department of Pharmacology, and Dr. Louis S. Goodman, a faculty member at the Yale School of Medicine, were studying whether mustard agents could be used to stop the growth of rapidly dividing cells such as cancer cells.

While Gilman and Goodman were able to utilize nitrogen gas in a positive way, when it was unleashed on the battlefield in World War I, it was one of the deadliest chemical weapons available.

Nitrogen mustard had a couple of uses, said Dr. Roy Herbst, chief of Medical Oncology at Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital. Not only for positive use, as we use it in cancer - its not used so much anymore - but it was used in wartime, as chemical warfare.

It was this latter usage that necessitated the original scientists, Gilman and Goodman, to conduct their studies secretively. The results were not published until 1946.

Goodman and Gilman, long before their time, in the 40s, they understood nitrogen mustard and they synthesized it, said Herbst. They were chemists and they synthesized these compounds that would kill dividing cells.

The Birth of Chemotherapy at Yale-New Haven Hospital is the headline on a prominent exhibit at the hospital located in the octagon in the West Pavilion. A copy of the original medical notes, along with an explanation of Gilmans and Goodmans work and photos of the pharmacologists and the hospital, are on display.

This is whats technically referred to, in the West Pavilion or Yale New Haven Childrens Hospital, as The Octagon, said Mark DAntonio, hospital media relations coordinator, while standing at the location of this prized, wall-mounted exhibit.

This was probably put here as one of the more prominent, Were proud of this accomplishment, moments in cancer care here at Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center, so its probably one of those... things that you look back on and say with pride, This was the birth of chemotherapy, he said.

The entry in the Progress Notes notebook No. C12629 pinpoints the exact time the initial injection was done on the patient. 8/27 10 am Intrav injectn 0.1 mgm/kg (8mgm in 50 cc physio saline) of synthetic lymphocidal chemical. L. Goodman, was entered by Goodman in cursive writing with a fountain pen.

The explanation in the exhibit reads, On August 25, 1942, a patient known only as J.D., was admitted to the then New Haven Hospital, dying of lymphosarcoma. His physician, Gustaf E. Lindskog, MD, believed that J.D. might benefit from the new tumor-reducing therapy his colleagues has developed and with the patients permission, administered 10 daily of substance X, the wartime code name for nitrogen mustard.

While the nitrogen mustard killed the dividing cells, it also killed healthy cells, as they discovered with J.D. While his cancer appeared to be getting better with the treatment, the nitrogen mustard also affected the good cells and he died two months after getting the first injection.

They treated him with these drugs and his tumor shrank, explained Herbst. Now, he didnt survive long because his tumor shrank but his normal cells were affected, too, so he developed infection and low blood counts and anemia, but it was the first demonstration that you could use something to kill some cells and attack cancer.

So it really is a (beginning of a) modern day era of treating cancer in ways other than just surgery, he added.

Marie Curie had done (studies), so we already had radiation, but cancer is a disease of cells that spread throughout the body, so it was the first demonstration of using drugs to systemically kill tumor cells in the body, Herbst said.

Curie, with her husband, was awarded half of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903, for their study into the spontaneous radiation discovered by Becquerel, who was awarded the other half of the Prize, according to the site nobelprize.org. In 1911 she received a second Nobel Prize, this time in Chemistry, in recognition of her work in radioactivity. She also received, jointly with her husband, the Davy Medal of the Royal Society in 1903 and, in 1921, President Harding of the United States, on behalf of the women of America, presented her with one gram of radium in recognition of her service to science.

Herbst said he is thankful for the work of Gilman and Goodman. He knows his career is directly related to the work these pharmacologists did more than 77 years ago. It really is a historic event and it all happened at Yale, he said.

Kathryn Southworth Gilman of Texas said her father-in-law was not one to boast about this accomplishment.

He was a very modest and quiet man, she said. I dont think I knew about it. I certainly never knew it through him. Through my husband, I guess, is probably the only reason that I knew about it.

He was very soft spoken and a lovely man, but not one to discuss things like that, at least not with me, she said. He had quite a career in addition to that and thats the only thing I remember very much about.

Gilmans career included work at Columbias College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

He had a Yale connection at the end of his career, too, she added. He came back to live in New Haven and he had an office at the medical school and would go over there at least for a few years. He just kept his finger in it even though he was retired.

Goodman went on to teach at the University of Vermont and the University of Utah.

They also left a lasting legacy with their authorship of The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics in 1941.

Yet, it was their work on the future of chemotherapy at Yale that shaped the future of Herbsts career.

It opened up the whole field. There would be no field, Herbst said. There would have be no oncology department. There would have been no American Society of Clinical Oncology. There would be have been no development of chemotherapy.




By NBC News, April 12, 2019





A man sitting on an "electronic wheelchair-type scooter" set his jacket on fire in front of the White House Friday afternoon, the U.S. Secret Service said.





The U.S. Secret Service and D.C. Fire and EMS went to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW about 3:15 p.m.
A man convicted of killing his estranged wife and her infant child was sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison on Friday, the Cumberland County Prosecutors Office announced.

A jury found Ricardo Carrillo Santiago, 37 of Millville, guilty in February for the 2015 deaths of Neidy Ramirez, 34, and three-month old Genesis.

Santiago strangled Ramirez in her Vineland apartment, suffocated Genesis and dumped their bodies in a nature preserve in Fairfield Township, Cumberland County. Ramirez was buried in a shallow grave under a pile of leaves and her daughter was found a hundred yards away in a trash bag.

The child died of chest compression asphyxiation, which would have resulted from a squeezing of the childs chest for a significant period of time, prosecutors stated during his trial.

Santiagos defense attorney said he killed the pair in a fit of rage after Ramirez supposedly insulted his manhood and expressed her preference for another man.

Ramirez and Genesis were reported missing Dec. 1, 2015, after she didnt show up for work. Her SUV was found abandoned on Route 55.

Prosecutors alleged Santiago left the vehicle on the side of the highway to divert suspicion that he had anything to do with their disappearance.

He was interviewed by police and, after changing his story several times, admitted to the killings.

Santiago was not Genesis father, but is the father of one of Ramirezs other two children.

Ramirez had obtained a temporary no-contact order against him following an incident months before her death in which Santiago allegedly threatened her, according to reports at the time. The restraining order expired a week before the killings.

The defense argued that Santiago was trying to reconcile with Ramirez the day he killed her, but that he was consumed by a red fog of humiliation, shame and rage over her comments.

Neidy Ramirez and her infant daughter, Genesis, were killed in 2015. (Submitted photos)

Prosecutors challenged that Santiago was well aware of his actions, as demonstrated by his efforts to hide evidence of what he had done.

He was convicted on two charges of first-degree murder with aggravating circumstances and a charge of unlawful disposal of human remains.

Superior Court Judge Robert G. Malestein sentenced Santiago to two consecutive life terms with no possibility of parole on the murder charges and a 10-year concurrent sentence for the unlawful disposal charge.

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us: nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters.
Jo Ann Smith needed to do some work on her Monroe home.

She wanted to replace an old sliding door with French doors, alter a wall and add new sheet rock.

In October 2018, she hired the owner of JPM Home Solutions of Jamesburg, to do the work.

The contract, for $1,696, was for labor only. Smith would purchase the materials herself, the contract shows, and Moran would do the installation.

Smith gave John Moran a deposit of $593.60 on Oct. 11, 2018, documents show.

Moran said the work would start in about two weeks, but the work never happened, Smith said.

He never started the job and did no work whatsoever, Smith said. He just kept stalling and giving me excuse after excuse.

Things went downhill pretty quickly, Smith said.

What went down

Smith lives in a 55-and-older community, and the homeowners association requires contractors to provide a copy of their insurance certificate before work can begin.

Smith waited patiently for the proof of insurance, but despite multiple requests over the next month, Moran didnt provide one, she said.

Another two weeks go by with no proof of insurance, Smith said.I called and asked him what the problem was. He sent back a text saying he didn't know why I hadn't received [the insurance certificate], but he offered to look into it with his insurance company.

That didnt really make sense. Contractors should have on file their own proof of insurance so they can present it to customers - something required by state law.

By Nov. 29, Smith had enough. She sent Moran a text terminating the contract.

He then sent me a text message saying he would return my deposit, Smith said.

Moran specifically said he would mail a check, text messages provided by Smith show.

No check arrived, Smith said, so she texted the contractor again to ask where the check was. He responded by saying he sent a money order and not a check, messages show.

I asked for the tracking number on the receipt and of course he said he lost it., Smith said. He also said he would then send a check, which he never did, she said. And then he promised he would come in person and give me cash. Of course he never showed up, she added.

Smith next sent a demand letter on Dec. 13, certified mail, return receipt requested.

Records show the letter was signed for, but in subsequent text messages, Moran said he didnt know anything about a certified letter.

Once again, he promised to mail a check, and once again, no check arrived.

On Dec. 29, Smith filed a complaint with Consumer Affairs.

She waited for something to happen, but no progress was made.

On April 4, not sure what else to do, Smith filed a police report.

As a senior citizen living on a fixed income, I really can't afford to hire an attorney to help, Smith said. Im so sorry that I did not do more research before I hired him. I really can't afford to lose this money and I don't feel he has the right to keep it.

Then she asked Bamboozled for help.

The no-show continues

We reached out to Moran, and while we waited for a call back, we took a closer look at his business.

Moran does have a current Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) registration with New Jersey.

Consumer Affairs has one complaint against the company - we think its Smiths complaint.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has two complaints against Moran in the last 12 months, and neither was answered by the company. BBB gives the company an F rating.

We also took a closer look at the contract. The law requires that contracts include start and end dates for a project. There were no dates on the contract Moran gave to Smith.

We left multiple voicemails and sent several texts and Facebook messages to Moran - he had conversations with Smith over Facebook, records show - but over the course of a week, he didnt respond.

Smith, who hired another contractor to do the work, is left with no choice but to go to small claims court, but she knows theres no guarantee of payment even if she wins.

She just wants her deposit back.

Sad that a business would think it is acceptable to have such poor work ethic, and take advantage of people in this manner, Smith said.

Dear readers, we know spring is prime time for home improvements. Before you hire anyone to work on your home, read this story about how to choose a reputable contractor.

Have you been Bamboozled? Reach Karin Price Mueller at Bamboozled@NJAdvanceMedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KPMueller. Find Bamboozled on Facebook. Mueller is also the founder of NJMoneyHelp.com. Stay informed and sign up for NJMoneyHelp.coms weekly e-newsletter.
Cory Booker wants to talk about love.

Not the feel-good kind, but the courageous kind. The kind that is born from cities in despair, cities long forgotten and told too long to wait their turn.

Our sense of urgency, our impatience, comes from the most demanding of values, it comes from love, Booker said Saturday, as he formally kicked off his national presidential tour in Newark and pitched a message he hopes will carry him across the country  and help him stand out in an already-crowded field of Democratic contenders.

Were here today to seek justice. Were here today because we are impatient for that justice," said Booker, who led Newark for nearly two mayoral terms before he was elected a U.S. senator from New Jersey. In the face of injustice, there is no wait, there must be work."

That work was apparent all around him  a strategically chosen six-acre park indicative of a city in change. Standing before a diverse crowd of supporters in Military Park, Booker was dwarfed by a recently completed luxury 22-story residential tower and Prudentials newest 22-story glassy tower. There was the Whole Foods across the street and a spattering of adjacent eateries.

After 60 years of decline, Newark is growing again, Booker said. There are so many places like that across America. Not just cities like this one  farm communities and factory towns that, like us here in Newark, have been given up on and talked down to, counted out and underestimated."

"Today, so many of us are hurting, so many of us are understandably angry and afraid, he said.

Newark still grapples with generational poverty, high crime rates and homelessness, but Booker is propelling the city to the center of his campaign and using it as an example of what he can  and wants  to do.

If you can make it in Newark, New Jersey, you can make it anywhere, current Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said as the sun bore down on the crowd. If you make your bones here, theres no place that can stop you in this country.

Those who came arrived from across the state  or even as far as Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Farah, who just turned 7, from @CityofNewarkNJ says she wants Booker to see the jacket she made for him pic.twitter.com/KJOJUwzU2K  Karen Yi (@karen_yi) April 13, 2019

We all have love in common, said Alejandro Vasquez, 17, who took a train from Connecticut and will vote for the first time in the Democratic primary. If hes able to communicate to the entire party and people who feel disenfranchised, its a better way to go about it than blame the people who voted for Trump.

The message resonated throughout the entire 4-hour event. (Booker spoke for about 30 minutes.)

Children painted peace totems with color pencils. Monica Davis, a Newark business owner, decorated young girls hair with unicorn headbands and braids. The funk and soul music  Booker walked on stage to Bill Withers Lovely Day  hit a feel-good note.

It brings life ... this is real music that makes you want and do, said Newark resident Debra Salters as Keep Marchin'" from Raphael Saadiq blasted through the speakers. She said she didnt support Booker yet but warned that hed have to recreate his message for the people in Iowa or other states.

The message that he uses for us, it works, Salters said, referring to diversity and inclusion. Hes got to be able to be on the pulse of people there, too.

The difficulty of achieving a message for all was apparent halfway through Bookers speech when a few individuals began chanting justice for Palestine amid competing chants of Cory. The protests came amid renewed debate over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. One attendee, holding a Palestinian flag in the bleachers that provided Bookers backdrop was quickly moved.

Booker is a strong supporter of Israel. The pro-Israel community is among his largest source of campaign donations and he is the only Democratic presidential candidate to sign onto a resolution opposing the boycott, divestiture and sanctions movement, better known as BDS, which does not support Israels right to exist.

So far, Booker has been behind in the polls, and has raised $5 million through the end of March, not quite the $18 million raised by Bernie Sanders or the $12 million by Kamala Harris, who are also vying for the partys nomination.

The states influential Democratic leaders, including Gov. Phil Murphy, First Lady Tammy Murphy, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez and Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr., rallied to Bookers cause, each speaking at the event.

Booker rattled off a laundry list of priorities including his baby bonds bill to give every child a $1,000 savings account to use for education or housing purposes when they turn 18 as a way to eliminate the racial wealth gap.

You cant make progress dividing people, stoking fear, or setting us one against another," Booker said. I learned that the only way to overcome the tough challenges is by extending grace, finding common ground, and working together.

NJ Advance Media staff writer Jonathan D. Salant contributed to this report.

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.
Its the city that kicked off his political career and its the city where U.S. Sen. Cory Booker will officially begin the first national tour of his presidential campaign.

On Saturday, Booker will launch in Newark his two-week cross-country tour as he seeks the Democratic nomination for president. His hometown kickoff," a giant rally at Military Park, begins at 9 a.m.

Booker, who was first elected as Newarks Central Ward councilman in 1998 before winning two terms as mayor, has thrust his time in the city to the forefront on his campaign and is running on a message of justice for all. Hes also opened his campaign headquarters in Newark, where he still has a home.

During his time in the Senate, hes continued to echo that message through his efforts to overhaul the criminal justice system.

Next week, Booker will swing through Iowa, Georgia and Nevada, as the first stops on his tour, focusing on communities that have been left out, according to his campaign.

Booker has raised $5 million through March 31. Bernie Sanders had more than three times that amount, $18 million. Kamala Harris more than doubled Bookers total with $12 million.

Military Park is located at 51 Park Place. The 6-acre park in the heart of the city is across the street from the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

Jonathan Salant contributed to this report.

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.
Five trash trucks and three other vehicles were destroyed early Saturday when a fire tore through a South Jersey towns public works lot.

While the Mantua Township blaze isnt considered suspicious, the exact cause remains under investigation, fire officials said.

A township police officer walked out of department headquarters at around 4 a.m. to see several trucks on fire.

He actually heard one of the trucks explode, explained Mantua Fire Chief Brian Hauss. The public works area is located right behind the police station on the 400 block on Main Street in this Gloucester County community.

Residents in the area also reported hearing blasts, which Hauss said came from fuel and hydraulic fluid tanks on the trucks exploding, as well as bursting tires.

The fire began in one of the trucks parked in a row of vehicles.

High winds helped push flames through the line of vehicles, Hauss said, but firefighters were able to keep the fire away from two 500-gallon fuel tanks holding diesel and gasoline nearby.

Firefighters clean up after a blaze destroyed five trash trucks and three other vehicles early Saturday in Mantua Township. (Brian Hauss)

In addition to extinguishing the trash trucks themselves, firefighters had to cut locks on the vehicles to douse the burning garbage still inside the trucks.

About 50 firefighters in all responded to support the operation. Units from Wenonah, Woodbury, Woodbury Heights, Pitman and Washington Township assisted Mantua Fire Department.

The blaze was placed under control within an hour, Hauss reported, and no injuries were reported.

In addition to the five trash trucks  the township has a total of nine in its fleet  three smaller utility vehicles were also consumed.

The Gloucester County Fire Marshal is investigating the blaze.

Please keep in mind that this unfortunate event may possibly delay your trash removal services. As of now, please place... Posted by Township of Mantua on Sunday, April 14, 2019

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Three more arrests have been made in connection with a highly organized shoplifting ring that stole millions in merchandise, police said.

Shaquetta Saintange, 29, Shakira Watson, 39, and Ronald Staggers, 57, were arrested on April 10 and 11 as part of Operation Bag and Boost, a 14-month investigation by the Jersey City Police Departments Special Investigations Unit, city spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione said.

The three arrests bring the total number taken into custody to 14. Warrants have been issued for nine others police say participated in the ring that victimized chain-store pharmacies and a beauty supplies chain in seven New Jersey counties as well as Queens, Nassau County and Suffolk County in New York, and Connecticut.

All three were charged with conspiracy, shoplifting and fencing, Wallace-Scalcione said. Saintange and Watson, who were arrested Wednesday, were additionally charged with theft. Staggers, who was arrested Thursday, was additionally charged with receiving stolen property.

Police recovered $3 million in stolen goods that were stored in a Jersey City home. Police also froze $4.5 million from two bank accounts, Deputy Police Chief Mark Miller said on March 28 when police announced 11 arrests.

Miller said the stolen items were placed on the popular auction online auction website eBay and shipped to unwitting purchasers.

The investigation was initiated after Bayonne police noticed a pattern of arrests in which the suspect told them they were given a catalog and paid to steal certain items.

On March 21 police executed three search warrants in Jersey City and another in West Babylon, New York. and made the 11 arrests.
Public housing agencies across Hudson County were awarded $19.3 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Sens. Bob Menendez and Cory Booker announced Thursday.

"This important funding will help ensure New Jersey families have a safe and stable place to call home and raise their children, said Menendez, the ranking member of the Senate Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development. This money will allow our housing agencies to make much needed repairs and upgrades to help thousands of families across the state access safe, quality, reliable and affordable housing that all Americans deserve.

Overall, public housing agencies throughout New Jersey were awarded more than $84 million. Newark received $24 million, more than three times any other housing agency.

The Jersey City Housing Authority was second with slightly more than $7 million, while the housing authorities in seven other Hudson County communities received funding.

Public housing funding changes lives, said Booker, who lived in a public housing complex in Newark from 1998 to 2006. New Jerseyans deserve the peace of mind that comes from knowing they have a roof over their head that is safe and affordable. This federal investment will have long-lasting reverberations in these communities for years to come.

Here are the awards to the housing authorities in Hudson County:

Jersey City: $7,077,879

Hoboken: $3,602,055

Bayonne: $3,142,857

North Bergen: $2,091,830

Union City: $1,078,850

West New York: $926,068

Harrison: $845,438

Guttenberg: $547,289
A bar owner alleges in a lawsuit that Morristowns mayor has made his personal goal" to limit any chances of the business has at success after the mayor was rebuffed from investing in the venture.

According to the suit, filed by bar owner James Cavanaugh in U.S. District Court in New Jersey earlier this month, Morristown Mayor Timothy Dougherty has used his power to block roadways leading to the bar, the Iron Bar, restrict liquor licenses and serving times, as well as the powers of the the towns council and police department - all to discourage customers from patronizing Cavanaughs bars.

Cavanaugh, a former Essex County freeholder, also owns The Revolution Social Brew House, in town. He says he attempted to expand further and open a bar named Gran Cantina, but claims he did not due to illegitimate reasons from town officials.

The mayors arbitrary and capricious campaign" against the establishments stem from the bar owner refusing to let the mayor invest in Gran Cantina, the suit says.

Dougherty allegedly demanded that his investment into the proposed bar be made under the name of his son, Ryan Dougherty.

"I think the facts and allegations in the complaint speak for themselves. We are prepared to move ahead and prove those allegations, Cavanaughs attorney, Ryder T. Ulon, said this week.

A spokesperson for Morristowns mayor referred comment for the complaint to the towns attorney who did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Unwarranted flashing lights from the police cars, uniformed officers and roadblocks put on the bars surrounding streets give the impression that a catastrophic event happened near them, scaring away tavern-goers, Cavanaugh alleges in the complaint.

The town also denied liquor licenses for Cavanaughs establishments and required them to close early, the suit alleges. When Cavanaugh appealed the decision to close early, in April 2017, a two-day hearing was held where the town clerk noted no other establishments in the town operated with such restricted hours.

The complaint further alleges that Dougherty used wife, who is on the towns planning board and a member of Morris County School of Technologys board, to ensure that his personal wishes are carried out by government actors regardless of their illegitimacy.

On one occasion, when Cavanaugh said he stopped to say hello to Dougherty while driving home from Morristown, Dougherty angrily responded, You f----- with the wrong people."

Another reason for the towns dispute with Cavanaugh is due to his ongoing suit against the Morristown Parking Authority.

A town councilwoman referenced the suit when Cavanaugh applied for his liquor license, saying, Why should we give you anything? Youre suing the town.

Taylor Tiamoyo Harris may be reached at tharris@njadvancemedia.com. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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An Egg Harbor City couple, who are parents of six children, are suing after a group of officers allegedly raided their home with their guns drawn before soon realizing they were at the wrong address.

Shortly before 6:30 a.m. March 30, 2017, as Carla Weldon was walking out of her second-floor bedroom, officers dressed in all black, wearing puffy vests entered her Cincinnati Avenue apartment, yelling: Police, police. Put your hands up! according to the lawsuit.

About six officers rushed up the stairs to where Weldon and her partner, Troy Sessoms, were standing. Two of the officers allegedly had their guns drawn.

A few of the children were on the couch waiting for the school bus to come at the time, the suit says. Weldon saw guns pointed in the direction of her children when she came down the stairs with her hands up, according to the lawsuit.

According to a story in the Press of Atlantic City shortly after the incident, at least 10 officers entered the home.

Weldon and Sessoms are biological parents to two of the children, while the other four are foster children. Their ages ranged from 1 to 15 years old at the time.

During the chaos and confusion of the police raid, one of the officers, according to the lawsuit, became upset and cursed at Weldon, asking her why one of the second-floor doors was locked. The door had been locked by accident, according to the lawsuit, and one of the officers allegedly broke down and damaged the door.

In the living room, all the children except the 1-year-old were crying hysterically. The officers soon began mentioning a name that no one in the home knew.

Quickly thereafter, according to the lawsuit, officers came to the realization that they had raided the wrong residence.

One of the officers then offered to walk a few of the children to the bus stop, according to the lawsuit.

I was so scared. I was asking them, Whats going on? Weldon told the Press of Atlantic City at the time.

According to the lawsuit, the officers did not have a search warrant for the residence, and Weldon and Sessoms did not consent to them coming in the home, but the officers told them they did because the door was open.

The officers then allegedly tried to gain entry into a neighbors apartment, but were denied by the resident because they did not have a search warrant, according to the lawsuit.

In the days after the plaintiffs said their home was raided illegally, Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon Tyner announced the arrests of multiple suspects on narcotics and firearms violations as a result of raids and arrests performed on March 30 after a joint investigation among law enforcement agencies across the state.

The alleged leader of the drug trafficking network, Kenneth Burrell, lived a short distance from Weldon and Sessoms, according to the lawsuit. He was sentenced in May 2018 to 24 years in prison on firearms and narcotics charges.

Because Tyners office made the announcement, implying they led the investigation, the lawsuit named him and the Atlantic County Prosecutors Office.

However, because the officers never identified themselves, Weldon and Sessoms are suing a host of law enforcement agencies in the region that were involved in the joint investigation as stated by Tyners office in a news release at the time of Burrells arrest. That includes: Atlantic County Sheriffs office, Ocean County Sheriffs office, New Jersey state troopers, police officers of the Pleasantville, Galloway, Atlantic City, Egg Harbor City, Egg Harbor Township and Mullica police departments, and other law enforcement agencies.

The seven-count lawsuit that includes allegations of trespassing, assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress was filed in Atlantic County Superior Court on March 25.

Louis Shapiro, the attorney for the couple, declined to comment on the lawsuit. Tyner also declined to comment.

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Derrick Nelson will be honored across New Jersey next week as Gov. Phil Murphy has ordered all U.S. and state flags to be flown at half-staff for the Westfield High School principal who died Sunday after donating bone marrow.

The flags will be flown at half-staff on April 15, the same day as the first viewing for Nelson, whose death caught the attention of the nation this week after he lapsed into a coma and later died after surgery to donate bone marrow to a 14-year-old boy in France.

Dr. Derrick Nelson represented the best of our state and our country, Murphy said in a release. He spent over 20 years in the United States Army, including time in the Middle East. He did all of this while serving the children of Plainfield, Orange, and Westfield, as a teacher, an assistant principal, and eventually as a principal. Tragically, Dr. Nelson died donating bone marrow to someone in need. We are better for having known him, even for the short amount of time he was with us. Tammy and I send our condolences to the Nelson family and his loved ones during this difficult time.

The April 15 viewing will be from 5 to 9 p.m. at St. John Baptist Church, 2387 Morse Ave. in Scotch Plains. A second viewing will be at the church at 10 a.m. Tuesday followed by a funeral service from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., according to the Plinton Curry Funeral Home, which is handling the services.

A vigil attended by thousands of mourners was held Wednesday at the high school for Nelson and a petition was created to change the name of the school to Derrick Nelson High School.

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A man was hit by an NJ Transit train in Westwood on Friday night, officials said.

The adult male trespasser was hit at 8:40 p.m. by a train from Hoboken that was headed to Spring Valley, NJ Transit Spokeswoman Kate Thompson said.

The man suffered unspecified serious injuries and was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, Thompson said.

The mans name was not released Friday night and Thompson said she was unsure exactly where the man was struck.

The incident was under investigation by the NJ Transit Police and the Westwood Police who remained on the scene as of 9:30 p.m., she said.

Service on the Pascack Valley Line was suspended in both directions between Spring Valley and Emerson until about 7:20 p.m.

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A vote by a state panel that would have derailed a natural gas pipeline proposed for the New Jersey Pinelands was tabled on Friday, after lawyers for the company proposing the pipeline threatened legal action.

Environmentalists and other opponents of the project had eagerly anticipated Fridays vote by the New Jersey Pinelands Commission, which would have rescinded the commissions 2017 approval of the so-called Cape Atlantic Reliability Project, a proposed 22-mile pipeline to carry natural gas across Cumberland and Cape May counties.

The commission, a panel that regulates development within the environmentally sensitive 1.1-million-acre Pinelands region, was poised to act Friday after plans fell through to convert the B.L. England Generating Station in Upper Township from coal to natural gas, eliminating a key reason for constructing the pipeline.

The plants owner, RC Cape May Holdings, indicated in February that it would cease operating the plant altogether.

But apart from the now-defunct plans to fuel the converted power plant, South Jersey Gas has insisted that a second function of the pipeline would be to enhance reliability of the gas supply to 400,000 of its South Jersey residential and commercial customers by providing a backup delivery system to the region.

And in a letter that succeeded in at least temporarily halting the commissions vote on Friday morning, lawyers for South Jersey Gas argued that rescinding the approval would be both improper and illegal: for one thing, a lawsuit over the pipeline is still pending before the Appellate Division of New Jersey Superior Court and should be allowed to play out; and the commission had failed to provide proper notice and hold a public hearing required for its action.

Reconsideration is not proper at this time, stated a letter from lawyer Peter Fontaine of the firm Cozen OConnor in Philadelphia. Moreover, reconsideration without notice and a hearing is statutorily improper.

The commission issued a brief statement when making the letter public Friday afternoon.

Commission members decided to delay action on the resolution to provide the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General with sufficient time to analyze information contained, in the letter, the statement read.

The letters citation of the lawsuit as legal grounds to halt Fridays scheduled vote was not without irony. The suit was filed by environmental groups seeking to overturn the commissions initial approval the pipeline two years ago, an approval granted under then-Gov. Chris Christie.

The case is similar to a separate lawsuit filed by the same two groups, the New Jersey Sierra Club and the Pinelands Preservation Alliance, seeking to block a different pipeline project, this one proposed by New Jersey Natural Gas in Monmouth, Ocean and Burlington counties, which is also now pending.

Sierra Club Executive Director Jeff Tittel said in an interview Friday that the commission, now under a new chairman named by Christies successor, Gov. Phil Murphy, was entitled to undo what it had done two years earlier regardless of the status of the law suit. If the commission has to schedule a hearing at a special meeting after giving ore notice, so be it, Tittel said.

South Jersey gas has been playing games all along on this," he said. "And now theyre becoming contortionists in trying to keep this failed and dangerous project alive.

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.
By Tammy Murphy

The uncomfortable truth: New Jersey is ranked 45th out of 50th in the nation for maternal deaths. Babies of color are three times more likely than white babies to die in their first year of life. Women of color are five times more likely than white women to die from complications related to childbirth. This is the abhorrent reality of New Jersey in 2019. Concurrently, we have the safest hospitals in the country. We are a state known for world-renowned health care. We are a state of innovation. The pieces dont fit together, and the time to fix this is now.

Outside of New Jersey, several notable women of color have bravely shared their pregnancy and delivery stories. You may have read the accounts of Beyonce and Serena Williams who each had traumatic pregnancies and deliveries. We learned that despite Serenas substantial means her voice was repeatedly ignored by her doctors. She adamantly persisted and ultimately was given a lifesaving CT scan. If the voices of powerful women are going unheard, how can we amplify the voice of someone who has no public platform? How can we amplify a mothers voice before, during, and after delivery? One answer is a community doula.

While the name sounds mysterious, the work is tireless, and the hours are long. Doula care includes non-clinical emotional, physical and informational support before, during and after delivery. Community doulas have the inherent local knowledge and understanding that enables them to provide culturally responsive care. Studies have shown that doula care can reduce the likelihood of cesarean birth and epidural pain relief, while shortening labor, increasing spontaneous vaginal births, heightening Apgar scores, and ultimately leading to healthier babies and mothers.

In New Jersey, community doulas are increasingly accessible under Nurture NJ, the statewide awareness campaign I recently launched together with state health officials and leading health care professionals and advocates. Nurture NJ is committed to reducing infant and maternal mortality and morbidity, and ensuring equitable care among women and children of all races and ethnicities. Our mindset is that we must meet families where they are to ensure that we can nurture the lives of every mother, every baby, and every family across New Jersey.

Under Nurture NJ, the State Department of Health established a Doula Pilot Program making grant funds available to community partners. To date, this program has trained and hired 40 community doulas across Atlantic City, Camden, Newark and Trenton, who have already worked with 54 mothers and helped deliver 20 healthy babies. The program involves training, certification, and evaluation. It is scalable and can be replicated.

Building on this momentum and recognizing the importance of increasing access to doulas, the administrations proposed 2020 budget includes $1 million to provide doula care services to expectant mothers on Medicaid. We look forward to working with Senator Loretta Weinberg and Assemblywoman Eliana Pintor Marin who have been advocates for this initiative in the legislature. These steps are not only right but smart, as investments in maternal and infant health lead to fewer complications and greater savings down the road.

Improving health outcomes for mothers and infants of color requires a holistic approach, and broadening access to doula care is just one component in eliminating the unacceptable racial disparity. We have a long way to go in our fight for a stronger, fairer, and healthier New Jersey, and this is just the beginning. In the words of a doula I met just days ago in Camden, birth justice, reproductive justice and equity are the spirit of a doula. We can do this, New Jersey!

Tammy Murphy is New Jerseys first lady.

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To get to and from Cape Liberty in Bayonne, cruise ship passengers and those bidding them a bon voyage have to travel a two-mile stretch of road thats potholed, desolate and just plain ugly.

The good news is there is hope that someday the Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor strip  the old Military Ocean Terminal pier jutting into Upper New York Bay  will be a glistening, bustling redevelopment with waterfront parks and more.

But, for now, its an embarrassment.

According to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns much of the land on the peninsula, business is booming at the cruise port, from which Royal Caribbean sails some of its biggest ships. In 2018, the P.A. said, more than 715,000 passengers set sail from Bayonne.

What must they think of us?

Today, piles of dirt and rubble from construction of new apartment buildings and the waterfront walkway greet visitors to the peninsula when they first get off Route 440.

One long lone road then brings them out to the tip of the peninsula, where theyll find the cruise port, the 9/11 Teardrop Memorial and park, and the Bayonne Dry Dock, usually with a giant ship under repair.

The road itself is potholed. One side of it is lined with dreary, long-empty buildings. The other is a section of the waterfront walkway behind a chain-link fence.

City engineer Andrew Raichle told The Jersey Journal that heavy construction traffic is a double whammy when it comes to the potholes. First, its simply hard on the streets. Second, it prevents the city from installing the standard wearing course of asphalt pavement because it wouldnt hold up to the construction traffic.

Additional wearing courses will be installed over the next year and phased in as construction activities diminish, he said in an email.

As for the waterfront walkway, its destined to include brick paver walking paths, bike paths, benches and more, but, again, nearby housing construction is an impediment, he said. The portion closest to Route 440, he said, though, should be complete before summer.

The frightful buildings, meanwhile, are the Port Authoritys property and dont appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.

Later this year, we plan to release our Port Master Plan, which will provide a roadmap not only for the continued development of MOTBY and Port Jersey, but all of the port property we control in New York and New Jersey, P.A. spokesman Steve Coleman said in an email. The plan takes a look at the ports needs over the next 30 years and makes recommendations on what needs to be done at each of the facilities we operate to handle the record cargo volumes we continue to experience. This plan would outline what should be done with any buildings we own on MOTBY, including ones that no longer serve any maritime use.

Thats all well and good  and no doubt will be the subject of much debate. But, in the meantime, visitors to the peninsula shouldnt have to be affronted by what they see.

Bayonne has taken some simple steps to beautify Broadway, its main street, by adding banners, flower pots and even a series of small statues.

Both the city and the Port Authority must take a hard look at the Peninsula -- not with planners eyes, but with the view we in the public have  and come up with ways to make it a pleasant and welcoming place.

Submit letters to the editor and guest columns to jjletters@jjournal.com.
By Jonathan Bernstein

One of this age's great crank ideas, that the U.S. is a "republic" and not a "democracy," is gaining so much ground that people in Michigan are trying to rewrite textbooks to get rid of the term "democracy." And the discussion is such a mess that a New York Times article about the fight manages to get it wrong.

The truth is actually simple: For all practical purposes, and in most contexts, "republic" and "democracy" are synonyms. The big difference is that the first comes from Latin and the latter from Greek. To say that the U.S. is a republic, not a democracy, is like claiming to eat beef and pork but not cows and pigs.

The debate may seem like hair-splitting, but it is important in the same way all assaults on knowledge are important - it's part of the never-ending fight against attempted partisan intervention into education, whether it's denying evolution or pretending the Civil War wasn't about slavery. But it's most important because opposing the idea of democracy can be a step toward opposing the reality of democracy, at a time when voting and other structures of formal equality are at risk.

In the Michigan case, the eradication of the word "democracy" is being pushed by conservatives, who want the K-12 social studies curriculum to "be based on a close, originalist reading of the United States' founding documents," according to The Times. Why they care isn't really clear. Perhaps it's in service to ultimate policy goals, but it may just be yet another form of identity politics, setting off True Conservatives from everyone else. At one point, conservatives were equally obsessed with being for "liberty" and not "freedom." Now it's this one.

The fight over language long predates the U.S. itself. Heres how the confusion started: For centuries, European (and eventually American) proponents of popular government looked to the ancient Roman republic for inspiration. Its not that they actually wanted to create a new Rome, but they viewed that era as a symbol of long-lasting nonautocratic government. So the American revolutionaries called what they were creating a republic, even though it really had nothing to do with the actual institutions of Rome. There was no equivalent of Roman consuls or tribunes or a Roman-style Senate. The Founding Fathers did, however, take the names of famous Romans as pen names, and they called the upper chamber of Congress a Senate, and theres a Tiber Creek in Washington.

Since Rome was popular, they used Latin words. So James Madison in Federalist 10 described the good version of popular rule, which employs a "scheme of representation," as a republic, whereas bad government - "democracy" - doesn't have the same feature. In fact, the classical world never really had the concept of representation. Madison's vocabulary, which he shared with other 18th century proponents of popular rule, was just a mild form of propaganda. That's all that "a close, originalist reading" will discover. None of this had to do with specific institutions or forms of government. Just word choice.

In the 19th century, Athens became popular, and so politicians such as Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln started calling popular rule "democracy." As with Rome, they weren't actually imitating Athens; they just were associating their goals with a popular civilization.

Democracy v Republic

What Americans in the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st centuries all have in common is that at no time has anything other than some form of democracy/republic gained even a small amount of adherents. Not only has there never been a serious effort to install a monarchy, - theres been no interest in any kind of formal aristocracy, or any national established church that would have political authority. Even supposedly undemocratic portions of the Constitution, such as the original Senate (chosen by state legislatures), or the courts, or the Electoral College, are just forms of popular rule, not an alternative to it.

A constant throughout that history are struggles over exactly who would count as "the people." And that's where the words we use for U.S. constitutional government start to matter.

When Madison said the U.S. was a republic and not a democracy, he meant (in today's vocabulary) that it was a representative democracy, not a direct democracy. Given that all modern democracies employ a "scheme of representation," that's an unimportant distinction today. But questions about what counts as a democracy - what it means to have popular government - are highly important, and contested, right now.

The biggest of those concern who counts as citizens, and ensuring that those who are included as part of the people have full citizenship. Thats obviously been a long debate, with the franchise sometimes getting expanded (in several constitutional amendments, in the Voting Rights Act and in other ways) and sometimes contracted (after Reconstruction and during the Progressive era in particular, and at many other times). And advocates for making it easier for everyone to vote and for ensuring political equality argue that democracy requires those measures.

So to say that the U.S. is not a democracy is to at least imply a position on the actual questions about democracy that people debate today. And not just a mild position, such as an argument that democracy does not require, say, early voting or strict one-person, one-vote rules. Instead, to say that the U.S. is not a democracy is to declare the entire debate irrelevant and wrong-headed, even though all but a small fringe in the U.S. believe that it's a democracy.

I don't really know whether the "republic-not-a-democracy" folks are sincerely just misguided pedants or if they are actively trying to use a confusion in the language to place restrictions on voting rights. Either way, they're just plain wrong. In 21st century America, democracy and republic should be used interchangeably.

The one modern context in which "republic" has a separate meaning is in the question of monarchy; we talk about a democracy with a symbolic monarchy as an alternative to a democratic republic that has no monarchy. But that's irrelevant to the U.S. case.

While the two words are best thought of and employed as synonyms today, as the late theorist Robert Dahl argued, they do have slight differences in grammar and usage that reflect their histories. Republic was the more popular word in the earlier period, when the key question was whether to have a democracy or a monarchy; democracy was the more popular word when republics were better established and debates broke out about what kind of republic to have. Thus for various varieties of republic we generally use democracy - we say direct democracy rather than direct republic, and representative democracy rather than representative republic, and we usually say something makes a nation more or less democratic, not more or less republican. But none of that seems to point to different core meaning, at least apart from an Athenian or Roman context.

There is an argument that supporters of a strong civil service are opponents of democracy, since the whole point of civil service protections is to make the bureaucracy safe from the voters. Generally, I'd agree that appeals to neutral expertise are the biggest alternative to believe in democracy in the United States, and those appeals are often very popular. But there's almost zero support for any of the prerevoluationary alternatives to popular government.

Sometimes the "republic, not a democracy" folks use that claim to distinguish between a strict majority-rules system and the more complex Madisonian system set up by the Constitution. Madison, however, did not use the words that way; his discussion of small republics assumes that there is such a thing as a majoritarian republic.

Bernstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics and policy. He taught political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio and DePauw University and wrote A Plain Blog About Politics.

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WASHINGTON  How pervasive are robocalls?

Even U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez wasnt free from those annoying and illegal phone calls when he held a press conference on, well .... robocalls!

In the midst of railing against those calls plaguing Americans day and night, Menendezs phone began ringing. He interrupted himself to answer the call.

This is a friendly reminder, the voice on the other end in response to Menendezs Hello. Your vehicle factory warranty may have expired. Weve been trying to reach you through the mail and have been unsuccessful.

I assure you I could not plan it," Menendez, D-N.J., said after hanging up. Sometimes God is good.

The Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act, or Traced Act, would require phone companies to adopt technology to detect and block calls where a fake phone number is displayed, give law enforcement authorities three years to investigate and prosecute violations, and fine those convicted of breaking the law as much as $10,000 per call.

The problem of the automated sales calls is so pervasive that even in hopelessly divided Washington, the legislation has garnered a majority of the Senate as sponsors, almost evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats.

Its clear that todays laws just arent cutting it, Menendez said in Newark. We need to catch, prosecute and punish robocallers who make a living ripping off consumers. Americans shouldnt have to feel a sense of dread every time they hear their phone ring.

The federal Do Not Call Registry has proven to be ineffective. There were 5.2 billion illegal calls in March alone, including more than 134 million in New Jersey, an average of 13 per person, according to YouMails Robocall Index.

Menendez has a kindred spirit in Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-6th Dist., who has introduced his own bill to give the Federal Communications Commission new tools to address such unauthorized calls. That bill has attracted 36 co-sponsors.

Pallone said such scams cost 22 million Americans some $9.5 billion in 2016.

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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NEW YORK  Yankees reliever Dellin Betances started his Saturday morning by getting a painful cortisone shot with a long needle.

It hurt, the four-time All-Star righty said. I didnt look.

This shot was administered to once-and-for-all flush out of shoulder inflammation that shut down Betances in March and now probably will delay his season debut at least until June.

Whats really interesting about Betances ordeal this week  his setback in Tampa, return to New York and second MRI  is Friday nights revealing that hes been pitching with a bone spur in his throwing shoulder since high school that never has affected his pitching.

More interesting, GM Brian Cashman said on Friday night that the Yankees have known about the bone spur since Betances had an MRI before signing his first pro contract as a teen in 2006  and Betances saying Saturday morning that he first heard of it on Friday night.

I guess from the previous MRIs Ive always had it, Betances said Saturday. I didnt know about it until now. But, yeah, Ive always had it. I always come into spring and I feel, I guess .. a little stiff, But for me it usually gets better and this time it wasnt. Thats pretty much what happened. 

Why did the Yankees never tell Betances about his bone spur?

He hasnt had the inflammation before, Cashman said. On the various testing weve done since we signed him  (After) drafting (Betances) I gave him a $1 million to sign rather than go on to college, and you do a physical and theres an MRI, and right away that was (a bone spur that was) an incidental incident, meaning its not affecting him.

"There is something there. Its inconsequential, non-symptomatic. He hasnt had to deal with this. Its had no affect on his game or pitching in anyway shape or form. The various times we imaged him, if it was for insurance or whatever reason, its always been there, but its never been something thats caused a problem.

Until now, as the inflammation is where the bone spur is. Doctors still think Betances doesnt need to be concerned about his bone spur.

Heading into Fridays MRI, Betances was worried that his issue was worse.

It wasnt. He still only has inflammation, and the cortisone shot supposedly will be the cure all.

Obviously theres relief just because theres nothing structurally wrong and I know with this shot that in three weeks, with rest  I know everything will be right, Betances said.

Heading into Fridays MRI, Betances was worried his issue was worse.

It wasnt. He still only has inflammation, and the cortisone shot supposedly will be the cure all.

Obviously theres relief just because theres nothing structurally wrong and I know with this shot that in three weeks, with rest  I know everything will be right, Betances said.

Betances will be shut down for three weeks, then resume a throwing program that should lead to him being off the injured list in another five weeks .. sometime in early-to-mid-June.

Im excited to help the team out and finish this season, Betances said.

Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
A magistrate commissioner Friday (April 12) set a $750,000 bond for an 18-year-old man accused of shooting a New Orleans police officer at a Mid-City gas station.

Update: NOPD said on April 26 that the charge of attempted murder of a police officer would be dropped against Baker after investigators reviewed enhanced video that showed Baker was not touching his gun when it discharged and struck the officer.

Michael Baker Jr. is charged with attempted first-degree murder of a police officer. Police said the officer was shot in the leg while attempting to pat down Baker, who was identified as a suspicious person inside the store.

Defense attorney Brian Woods said at Bakers first appearance hearing that attempted first-degree murder requires specific intent to kill. The arrest warrant doesnt say Baker pulled the trigger, Woods said.

He noted the officer was shot in the calf area.

According to a probable cause affidavit for Bakers arrest signed by NOPD Sgt. Travis Ward, the officer reached toward Bakers front waistband, and Baker moved his hands toward where the officer was reaching.

The officer was then shot in his leg by a gun that was concealed, Ward wrote.

Screaming, and then a shot: Cashier describes Mid-City shooting that injured police officer

Magistrate Commissioner Albert Thibodeaux said Woods made an excellent observation and argument." He said there is probable cause for Bakers arrest based on the warrant.

At the start of the hearing, Thibodeaux said Baker has a 2017 misdemeanor simple battery conviction in Orleans Parish and is charged with two counts of simple burglary in Jefferson Parish. Baker has an April 24 court date on those charges, Thibodeaux said.

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Police have not named the officer who was shot Thursday, but said Friday morning he was released from the hospital and was recovering at home.

Mahmoud Ayesh, who was working at the gas station store when the shooting happened, said he heard screaming, and then a shot. He said the parking lot outside the store was filled with blue lights and police cruisers within seconds.

Prior to the shooting, Ayesh said he had been trying get the man who was involved in the struggle with the officer to leave the store.

He said he didnt recognize the man, who was slowly walking the aisles of the store. Ayesh said he asked the man to leave because he thought he was trying to steal something.

The man entered at least two other times and was asked to leave, before he entered again and went toward the bathroom at the back of the store. Ayesh said he didnt call police, and doesnt know who did.

Wards arrest warrant affidavit corroborated Ayeshs account.

Woods objected to the bond Thibodeaux set Friday, which Thibodaux said he noted. Baker, who was standing during the hearing, quickly sat down and slumped in his chair when Thibodeaux said the amount aloud.

Thibodeaux said if Baker posts bond, he will be required to wear an ankle monitor.

Jennifer Larino contributed to this report.
A man was robbed at gunpoint while barhopping with two women he met in the French Quarter, New Orleans police said Saturday (April 13). It was one of four noteworthy crimes reported across the city in eight hours.

The 35-year-old man was walking along Bourbon Street to Canal Street when two women asked him to join them on Friday at about 11:20 a.m. They went to bar, then a gasoline station then another bar, none of which the Police Department identified in its preliminary report. As the victim was leaving the second bar, an armed man approached, demanded his property and fled with his phone, watch and wallet.

Elsewhere, police said:
Workers at a company tasked with cleaning up pollution on the campus of a now-closed Florida reform school found 27 possible graves, according to a report by the Tampa Bay Times.

The discovery has the potential to add to the tally of previously unknown burials at Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, 60 miles outside of Tallahassee. In 2009, Florida authorities counted 31 burials at the cemetery on school grounds, the newspaper reported. But University of South Florida anthropologists uncovered 24 more graves as well as the remains of 51 people, the vast majority were boys who died in state custody, the newspaper reported.

Once Floridas oldest reform school, Dozier School for Boys was closed by the state in 2011 amid reports of abuse and neglect, according to the report.

Read the full story here.
There are two distinct but interrelated meanings of the word sanctuary. It is a holy place, one set aside for worship and praise and the place in a Christian church where one will find the altar. A sanctuary is also a place where we expect people  and living things more generally  to be safe from people who might want to capture or harm them.

So, when a person burns down a church, he is simultaneously attacking a place that its members consider sacred and a place that its members feel safe and protected. When the members of a targeted congregation are black, even black people who arent members are likely to be put on edge. Historically, the opponents of civil rights and black peoples forward progress have struck back by attacking black churches, more often than not with fire.

When St. Mary Missionary Baptist Church, Greater Union Baptist Church and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, three black churches in St. Landry Parish, burned in a nine-day period starting March 26, the safe bet was always that a) there was an arsonist on the loose and that b) that arsonist was singling out black churches for harm. Thursday morning, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced the arrest of 21-year-old Holden Matthews of Opelousas.

Authorities say multiple clues helped them zero in on Matthews. They include a piece of a charred gasoline can, surveillance video of a truck owned by the suspects parents, records of where his debit card was swiped and mobile phone records that indicated the places hed been. Eric Rommal, the agent in charge of the New Orleans FBI office, said federal investigators are working to determine if the arsons were bias motivated.

What other explanation is there? On April 4, the day the last church burned a state fire official told the Daily Advertiser that each church was remotely located and not close to the other two. These buildings are kind of off the beaten path, kind of out of town. St. Mary Missionary Baptist Church is seven miles away from Greater Union Baptist Church and, depending on ones route, at least 18 miles from Mount Pleasant Baptist Church.

Before an arrest had been made St. Landry Sheriff Bobby Guidroz told the Daily Advertiser that his deputies were trying to be vigilant, but he added, We have a lot of churches in this parish, lots of churches. Indeed, most communities do. Thats why we should dismiss out of hand a comment a friend of Matthews made to The Associated Press in the suspects defense. If hes making a statement its against religion and establishment only, not against race, Nygyl Bryyn said. He later added, I dont think he did it, but if he did it, it would not be because the churches are black.

In a parish thats 57 percent white and predominantly Catholic, theres no way that a person who wanted to strike out against established religion just randomly hit three small, black Baptist congregations. That makes no sense, but nobody sounds sensible trying to explain racist acts without calling them racist.

A statement the NAACP issued Thursday quickly gets at the heart of the matter: The arrest of Holden Matthews for the horrific burnings of Black churches in Louisiana is just another example of the hate-fueled times that we live in  This is the same domestic terrorism that has been the hammer and chisel used to chip away at the humanity of Black Americans and the suppression of our political power. The statement goes on to decry a spike in white supremacy and hate crimes during Donald Trumps presidency.

In a statement Thursday, Gov. Edwards said, Hatred of any kind should not and will not be tolerated. No one should be judged because of the color of their skin or religious beliefs. At the press conference announcing the arrest of Matthews, the governor said, These were evil acts.

Indeed they were, but in what may count as 2019s pettiest response, state Sen. Conrad Appel, R-Metairie, tweeted, Any act of violence is an evil act. Where is the governor on the plague of mostly young men murdered every week in our state? Too hot an issue for him I suppose.

In response to this columnist, who suggested that maybe it would have been better to just agree that they were evil acts, Appel wrote, Burning churches is an evil symbol, but churches are truly the congregation, the building can be replaced. A life cut short cannot be replaced. Where is this level of passion from the media & the governor for the hundreds of young people whose lives are snuffed out every year?

One might wonder where Appels passion is on that issue, but the main point here isnt that Appels blocked or tried to block just about every social-justice initiative New Orleans authorities have proposed. The bigger issue is Appels refusal to admit that terroristic acts always provoke passionate responses, and we dont need to justify our passionate responses to them.

As uncomfortable as the suspects friend is acknowledging that black churches were singled out, Appel seems equally uncomfortable acknowledging that violently racist acts are worth our full-throated outrage. He seems to think that he gets to decide what people should be most upset about.

Three congregations had their sanctuary destroyed. Appel says theyre just buildings.

Jarvis DeBerry is a columnist on the Latitude team at NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Latitude is a place to share opinions about the challenges facing Louisiana. Follow @LatitudeNOLA on Facebook and Twitter. Write Jarvis at jdeberry@nola.com or @jarvisdeberry.
Today

Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 78F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight

A few clouds from time to time. Areas of patchy fog. Low 66F. Winds light and variable.

Tomorrow

Considerable cloudiness. Occasional rain showers in the afternoon. Near record high temperatures. High 77F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
The TV writers and agents had been operating under a franchise agreement that took effect in 1976. That agreement was set to expire at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, when the Writers Guild of America would technically break ties with every agency that had not signed the new code of conduct.

The four major agencies  William Morris Endeavor, Creative Artists Agency, United Talent Agency and ICM Partners  had been steadfast in shunning the writers attempt to make serious changes to the structure that has long been in place.

The fight made for an unusual labor battle. The writers unions, which went on strike in 2007 and nearly did so again two years ago, have traditionally had disputes with their bosses at the big studios. This time, they have directed their fury with the people who have served as their advocates and friends.

During a programming boom often referred to as Peak TV  495 shows were available in the United States last year, thanks in part to the rise of streaming  television writers have claimed that their pay is stagnant or going down. The writers blame what they perceive as insufficient compensation on the agencies, accusing them of corrupt business practices.

Two specific practices have gnawed at television writers. One is the agents decades-old habit of packaging a roster of talent from their pool of clients for a given project. In return, the agencies waive the usual 10 percent commission fee paid to them by individual clients and collect large sums, called packaging fees, from the studios. The writers claim that these deals allow the agents to effectively pocket money that should be theirs.

The writers second complaint concerns how three of the major agencies  William Morris Endeavor, Creative Artists and the United Talent  have ventured into the production business with the creation of affiliated companies that produce and own content. This development, the writers say, can mean that agents sit across the table from executives who are essentially their colleagues in what the unions call a conflict of interest.

The agencies have called the writers claims preposterous, arguing that their services are needed more than ever in a changing media environment in which Netflix, Amazon and Apple are on the rise.
We conducted a series of experiments and surveys with more than 6,000 people during the 2016 and 2018 national elections. Like other recent polls and surveys, ours asked people whether they would be happy or unhappy if they had a child who married someone from the opposing party, Republican or Democratic.

Opinion Debate Will the Democrats face a midterm wipeout? Mark Penn and Andrew Stein write that "only a broader course correction to the center will give Democrats a fighting chance in 2022" and beyond.

write that "only a broader course correction to the center will give Democrats a fighting chance in 2022" and beyond. Tory Gavito and Adam Jentleson write that the Virgina loss should "shock Democrats into confronting the powerful role that racially coded attacks play in American politics."

write that the Virgina loss should "shock Democrats into confronting the powerful role that racially coded attacks play in American politics." Ezra Klein speaks to David Shor, who discusses his fear that Democrats face electoral catastrophe unless they shift their messaging.

speaks to David Shor, who discusses his fear that Democrats face electoral catastrophe unless they shift their messaging. Ross Douthat writes that the outcome of the Virginia gubernatorial race shows Democrats need a new way to talk about progressive ideology and education.

But we added a new piece of information to this question, which said how often that new in-law would talk about politics. When people learned that their future in-law would rarely discuss politics, fewer than 30 percent said that they would be unhappy with an in-law from the opposing party. On the other hand, when we specified that the hypothetical in-law would never shut up about politics  he or she would interrupt social gatherings and holidays with the latest Trump dirt from MSNBC or Hannity tirade from Fox  more than 40 percent of people would be unhappy with the marriage.

This is especially true for those who do not strongly identify with a party, which includes nearly two-thirds of Americans. In this group, fewer than 20 percent said they would be unhappy with an in-law from the opposing party who rarely discussed politics. When, instead, their childs chosen partner was a talkative member of the opposing party, this number doubled to 40 percent.

Polarization, however, is not just about disliking the other side. True polarization is when you dislike the other party and really like your own party. Most people do not care enough about politics to say they are happy simply because their child is marrying someone from their political party. So when people in our studies were asked to consider a future in-law who rarely discussed politics, only 15 percent could be considered truly polarized. While this number grew to 25 percent among people who have strong connections to their party, it shrank to 10 percent of weak partisans.

Polarization is also low among weak partisans when they are told that the in-law will frequently talk about politics. Weak partisans arent happy with an in-law from the opposing party discussing politics, but many are just as unhappy with an in-law from their own party who insists on political conversation.
A federal court settlement announced on Friday would allow almost 2,700 children living in Central America to safely reunite with their parents, who are living in the United States under protected status.

The settlement between the families and the Trump administration affects children who had been conditionally approved by the government to join their parents before the White House canceled the Central American Minors program in August 2017.

The program began under the Obama administration in 2014. It allowed the children of parents who are lawfully in the United States to apply for permanent residency as refugees. Many of those parents hold temporary protected status, which allows migrants from countries that have experienced natural disasters, longstanding unrest or conflict to remain in the United States.

Without the program, children from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras would have had to travel through dangerous conditions to reach the United States border and apply for refugee status.
WASHINGTON  The Justice Department told a lawmaker this week that it had stopped defending a federal prohibition on female genital mutilation because of flaws in the law, two weeks after it also began fighting the Affordable Care Act in court rather than defend it.

The department reluctantly determined that it could not appeal a federal judges decision to throw out a female circumcision case because the statute outlawing the practice needed to be rewritten, the solicitor general, Noel J. Francisco, wrote in a letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The decision by law enforcement officials to step back from advocating two statutes is highly unusual. Defending laws on the books is a principal function of the Justice Department, and only about once a decade since World War II has it declined to support a law enacted by Congress, according to Walter E. Dellinger III, who served as the solicitor general during the Clinton administration.

While there are important differences between the two cases  Republicans have attacked the Affordable Care Act in the courts for years, while legal experts are debating whether the circumcision law is defensible  critics were troubled by what they fear is an emerging view inside the Justice Department that it is up to the Trump administration, not members of Congress, to decide whether a law has merit and should be enforced.
Even without the ban, the Trump administration has taken a hard line with allies, telling them that allowing Huawei to build and maintain 5G systems, even if they are operated by Western companies, could give Beijing an undetectable backdoor into wireless networks.

The fear is that the Chinese government will be able to suck up and copy data flowing over wireless networks, potentially compromising that information and, theoretically, putting trade secrets and military intelligence at risk. While much of that data is encrypted, giving Chinese firms control over the flow of data is considered a major risk by the Pentagon and intelligence agencies.

But to Mr. Trump, 5G is an election issue as much as a security issue. Speaking at the White House, surrounded by wireless company workers wearing cowboy hats and hard hats, Mr. Trump said the United States could not allow itself to be outcompeted in 5G networks.

The race to 5G is a race America must win, Mr. Trump said. And it is a race frankly that our great companies are now involved in. We have given them the incentive they need. It is a race we will win.

The Trump administration had considered a plan that would have created national 5G networks using federal money. Mr. Trump said on Friday that that approach had been rejected and that private industry would build out the American 5G networks.

Mr. Trump made no mention of China or any Chinese companies like Huawei, though he did say 5G networks must be guarded from the enemy  and we do have enemies out there.

Mr. Trump also repeatedly said he would extend broadband access to rural America. No matter where you are you will have access very quickly to 5G, and it will be a different life, Mr. Trump said.
A federal appeals court said Friday that the Trump administration could temporarily continue to force migrants seeking asylum in the United States to wait in Mexico while their cases are decided.

A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a stay of a lower-court ruling four days earlier that blocked the administrations protocol. The appeals court will consider next week whether to extend that stay  and allow the Trump administration policy to remain in effect for longer.

The administration in December announced its new policy, called the migration protection protocols, arguing that it would help stop people from using the asylum process to enter the country and remain there illegally. President Trump has long been angered by so-called catch and release policies, under which asylum seekers are temporarily allowed in the United States while they wait for their court hearings.

On Monday, Judge Richard Seeborg of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California issued an injunction against Mr. Trumps new protocols, saying that the president did not have the power to enforce them and that they violated immigration laws.
MIAMI  A businesswoman from China who was arrested last month at President Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida when she showed up with a bag full of questionable electronics gear was indicted on Friday after a federal grand jury found there was sufficient evidence to hold her for trial.

Yujing Zhang, 33, told the authorities she had come to the South Florida resort at the invitation of a Chinese group that was advertising opportunities to attend social events and rub elbows with political celebrities  a business campaign that has raised questions about security at the exclusive private resort where Mr. Trump and his family are often in residence.

The trove of curious electronics Ms. Zhang was caught with  including a thumb drive infected with malware, four cellphones and, back at her hotel, a signal detector used to find hidden secret cameras  prompted suspicions, the authorities said.

The grand jury indictment handed down on Friday did not add any espionage charges, but instead contained one count of lying to a federal agent, which carries a maximum five-year prison sentence, and one of accessing a restricted area, punishable by a year in prison.
A week after an aspiring strongman launched a surprise attack on the Libyan capital, an assortment of criminal gangs and extremists are rushing into the fight against him, raising new questions for the United States and other Western powers that have condemned his attack.

A coalition of militias from around the region has stymied the assault by Gen. Khalifa Hifter, frustrating his predictions of an easy march into the capital, Tripoli, and forcing him to rely on long and circuitous supply lines through the desert to the south.

By Friday his opponents were claiming that his tanks and armored vehicles were running out of fuel.

But an increasingly unsavory cast has joined the coalition against him, including a group closely tied to a militia sanctioned as a terrorist organization by the United States and the United Nations; an extremist warlord sanctioned for undermining Libyas stability; and other militia leaders sanctioned for migrant trafficking. That mix so alarms Western powers that some may deem General Hifter the lesser evil.

His portrayal of his fight as a battle against extremists and criminals becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, argued Frederic Wehrey, a scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Julian Assange, the controversial WikiLeaks founder. There has been a lot of misquoting of me and WikiLeaks publications. Called a villain by some. That villain Julian Assange. He should be extradited to face justice here. Im pleased to see him arrested. And a hero by others. [Chanting] Free the truth! Free Assange! Dont shoot the messenger! Some on the left have embraced Assange for years, seeing him as a free-speech martyr. As WikiLeaks stands under threats, so does the freedom of expression and the health of all our societies. And Republicans, they have long considered Assange a Putin stooge who spilled Americas biggest secrets. As for President Trump, he now claims to know nothing. I know nothing about WikiLeaks. Its not my thing. But he used to gush over Assanges organization WikiLeaks, I love WikiLeaks! Heres how such a divisive figure has become a vessel for people across the political spectrum. Ive always wanted to say, We are all individuals! We are all individuals! One of Assanges fiercest supporters is former Baywatch star and animal rights activist Pamela Anderson. She visited Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where he lived for seven years. Hes so funny and hes very kind and hes very smart. Hes brilliant, and we talk about everything. Im there for four hours at a time. And I see him all the time. Anderson is a rumored lover of Assanges and even wrote him poetry. Another fan? Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, who has brought her support for Assange to the runway. We sell these T-shirts, and I was able to give him 3,000 recently for some of the T-shirts we sold to help toward WikiLeaks. And then there is Lady Gaga. Its pretty heavy Its pretty heavy stuff. She stopped by the embassy in 2012 and interviewed Assange. You may be an enemy of the state, but you are not an enemy of humanity. But this icon of left-leaning celebrities has also been embraced by white supremacist David Duke, who thanked him for a dump of Clinton campaign emails that may have helped Donald Trump. He tweeted: God bless WikiLeaks. Julian Assange is a hero. And the same leak made Assange a pariah to certain Democrats. He has to answer for what he has done. In a sign of how far Assanges image has swung, theres Fox commentator Sean Hannity. Hannity used to be a hater. Assange is apparently not done waging his war against the U.S. And now? You look at WikiLeakss record, theyve never printed a single thing proven untrue in like 12 years. Not one! Friend at times, foe at others. Assange has inspired head-spinning adoration from both the left and the right. Yet his anti-establishment agenda has made Assange elusive, allowing him to be everything to everyone.
Crazy Rich Asians makes its television debut on HBO. And BTS bring K-pop to Saturday Night Live.



Whats on TV

CRAZY RICH ASIANS (2018) 8 p.m. on HBO; Stream on HBO platforms. This ultraglamorous romantic comedy barely needs an introduction. Based on the novel of the same name by Kevin Kwan, the movie made waves last year for being the first Hollywood production with a majority Asian cast since 1993s The Joy Luck Club. (In an interview with The New York Times, the director Jon M. Chu said he wanted the film to be the Avengers of Asian actors.) Constance Wu stars as Rachel, a middle-class economics professor at New York University who joins her boyfriend, Nick (Henry Golding), on a trip to Singapore, whereupon she learns that his family is among the richest in the country. The differences between her upbringing and his become hard to ignore  Nicks judgmental mother (Michelle Yeoh) flat-out tells Rachel she isnt right for her son  but our heroine refuses to go down without a fight. For those craving more crazy, rich fun, a sequel based on Kwans second book in the series is already in the works.
Meera Hemant Patel and Trevor Logan Burbank were married April 12 at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park in Nashville. Bob Mendes, an at-large member of Nashvilles Metro Council, officiated.

The bride, 31, is an illustrator and writer based in Nashville. She is the author of My Friend Fear: Finding Magic in the Unknown (Penguin Random House, 2018). She graduated from Rutgers.

She is a daughter of Bindu Hemant Patel and Hemant Manubhai Patel of Sayreville, N.J.

The groom, 29, is the city pricing manager for Opendoor, a real estate technology start-up company in Nashville. He is also the board chairman for Nashville's affordable housing nonprofit New Level CDC. He graduated from Vanderbilt.

He is the son of Diana De Alejandro Burbank and Richard D. Burbank of Dallas.

Ms. Patel and Mr. Burbank met on Coffee Meets Bagel in Nashville in May 2017. Ms. Patel, still reeling from the breakup of a one-year terrible relationship, as she called it, was in the midst of an eight-month solo trip around the country in search of herself.
Christina Lynn Boser and Michael James Toblar Choate were married April 13 on Santa Cruz Island, Calif. Brittany Bauhaus, a friend of the couple who became a Universal Life minister, officiated.

Ms. Boser, 37, is an island ecologist for the Nature Conservancy, a nonprofit environmental organization based in Arlington, Va. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and received a masters degree in coyote behavioral ecology from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse.

She is the daughter of Sheryl L. Boser of Madison and the late William R. Boser.

Mr. Choate, 30, is a subsea business industry specialist for the Department of Defense in Ventura, Calif. He graduated from the Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Me.

He is the son of Deborah T. Choate and Rick J. Choate of Valencia, Calif.

Ms. Boser and Mr. Choate met in April 2016 at Harbor Cove Beach in Ventura when the old work truck Ms. Boser was driving got stuck. She had driven to the beach to collect sand for a restoration project on Santa Cruz Island, where invasive Argentine ants were swarming baby birds in their nests, interfering with native plant pollination and crowding out native ants. To rid the island of these pests without harming other species, she designed specialized bait, and wanted to do a trial run of the distribution equipment, using sand as a stand-in for the bait.
But the overall approach is lighter and poppier, appropriate to the tropical setting. Glovers co-star, Rihanna, narrates the opening sequence, an animated history of the island framed as a folk legend and bedtime story, with a dash of fairy tale: she explains how young Deni (Glover) would come to her window every night to sing to her, as if she were some kind of Caribbean Rapunzel.

Now a struggling musician, Deni dreams of writing a song that will unite his people, though they seem a fairly close-knit community already  its the kind of place where everyone bids him a cheerful good morning as he hustles to the first of his many jobs, singing jingles on the radio. But its not all a fairy tale; the ruthless Red Cargo (Nonso Anozie, from Game of Thrones) rules the island with an iron fist, and machine gun-slinging men patrol his factory floors.

The plot of Guava Island is as thin as the Judy Garland-Mickey Rooney musicals of its distant heritage: Deni has planned a secret all-night music festival (not unlike, say, a secret musical film), but its attendees would consequently not work on Sunday, which is deeply unacceptable to Red Cargo. He offers Deni $10,000 to cancel the event, explaining, Im in charge of the people of this island. I have to do whats best for everyone. No prizes for guessing whether the show goes on, though the consequences of that decision carry more weight than usual.

Thus, its one of those stories where the musical numbers are realistic (kinda, sorta) because the protagonist is a musician, and Murai takes thankful pains to work the songs into the fabric of the narrative. Yet theres not as much music as one might expect, considering the pedigrees of its stars. Aside from Denis radio songs, there are only a handful of musical numbers, most of them reworking existing Gambino tracks. (Rihanna, even more surprisingly, doesnt sing at all.)

But theres real juice to those sequences, which include a lovely, beachside rendering of Summertime Magic and a concert performance of Saturday that manages to stage the kind of joy thats spontaneously captured in the best concert documentaries, like Wattstax and Dave Chappelles Block Party. Onstage, Deni frames his event as a celebration of life  I want everyone here to feel as free as you possibly can tonight, and above all else, Guava Island is a paean to the pleasures of taking it easy. We live in paradise, Deni fumes, but none of us have time or means to actually live here!
A year and a half after finding herself homeless, Ms. Nunez, 28, is starting to feel as though she can make it on her own. Her business, Quing Canine, is thriving. She spends all day working for a Connecticut-based training company before working with her private clients well into the night.

She still lives in a city homeless shelter, but her schedule is so packed with clients that shes barely there. Its only at night, when Ms. Nunez begins to close her eyes after a long day, that it all sinks in, she said.

Its almost unreal, she said. I have people confirming it. Im just so in it. At night, when everything stops, thats when it creeps into my mind.

Ms. Nunez picked up nearly a dozen clients after being featured in a Neediest Cases article. She received money from the fund to enroll in a business-planning course and to file for a limited liability corporation. Since then, she has created a website and an Instagram account for her company, and saved enough money to buy a nice camera to post photographs of her dogs.

Its a little terrifying, owning your own business, she said. But I feel like I can do it.

Her family, from whom she had become estranged, is also beginning to offer support.

It came full circle, Ms. Nunez said. It feels really good, the whole idea of never giving up.

Its an idea that extends to her work, as well. Im never going to give up on dogs or owners that need help, she said.

Tyree Scott
Credit where credit is due, Mr. Nemazee said.

Mr. Trump said recently at the White House that unfair sentencing rules were contributing to the cycle of poverty and crime, and since the First Step Acts passage, more than 500 people with unfair sentences have been released from prison and are free to begin a new life.

But Mr. Nemazee left prison under a less publicized part of the bill that allows certain offenders who are over 60 and not considered a threat to others to be released into home confinement if they have completed two-thirds of their sentence.

In home confinement, Mr. Nemazee does not wear an ankle bracelet, but officials may call him on a landline late at night or early in the morning to verify he is at home. He may be summoned for a urine test at any time and must submit his weekly schedule for approval, he said.

Still, it feels a lot like freedom. He may leave his apartment to go to work, the gym, religious services or appointments with his doctors and lawyers. He may also go out to lunch, which is always a treat, given where I have been the last eight and a half years.

Home confinement is a huge improvement over prison in every respect, Mr. Nemazee said.

The Bureau of Prisons has said that since the bills passage, 10 prisoners  of 23 thus far deemed eligible  have been released into home confinement. The bureau would not identify the prisoners or comment on their cases.
On city buses, which carry more than two million people each day, Mr. Byford suggested sending police officers onboard to enforce the rules.

The big thing were missing is we need cops on buses, Mr. Byford said at a recent transit board meeting.

But his comments drew an immediate backlash from critics, who said the move would exacerbate the over-policing of communities of color. Fare evasion arrests have disproportionally targeted black and Hispanic men.

Mr. Byford later clarified that he did not want to see more arrests, but that the presence of officers would discourage riders from breaking the rules. Id love it if no one actually got caught, Mr. Byford said.

The authoritys new chairman, Patrick J. Foye, said he also did not want to focus on arrests and wanted to find other solutions. He said the rollout of a new fare payment system using smartphones, which starts in May, would make it easier to check if someone paid the fare.

I do not believe in criminalizing fare evasion, Mr. Foye said at a recent State Senate hearing.

Riders who fail to pay the fare can receive a civil summons with a $100 fine. They can also be arrested on a theft of services charge, a misdemeanor carrying up to a year in jail, if they have a history of similar arrests or lack valid identification.

Transit advocates say the prevalence of fare evasion reflects how many New Yorkers struggle to pay for the basics, like subway and bus fares. After intense lobbying by advocates, Mayor Bill de Blasio introduced a discount program this year that provides half-price MetroCards for poor New Yorkers. But it included far fewer people than expected.
In our age of digital connection and constantly online life, you might say that two political regimes are evolving, one Chinese and one Western, which offer two kinds of relationships between the privacy of ordinary citizens and the newfound power of central authorities to track, to supervise, to expose and to surveil.

The first regime is one in which your every transaction can be fed into a system of ratings and rankings, in which what seem like merely personal mistakes can cost you your livelihood and reputation, even your ability to hail a car or book a reservation. Its one in which notionally private companies cooperate with the government to track dissidents and radicals and censor speech; one in which your fellow citizens act as enforcers of the ideological consensus, making an example of you for comments you intended only for your friends; one in which even the wealth and power of your overlords can't buy privacy.

The second regime is the one theyre building in the Peoples Republic of China.

This is a dark joke; it isnt meant to minimize the horrors of Chinas march into information-age totalitarianism. Beginning with its successful taming of the internet, Beijing has treated the darkest episodes of Black Mirror as a how-to guide for social control and subjugation  with social credit scores and official public shamings for people whose daily conduct disappoints, official Communist Party apps that youd better use if you know whats good for you, surveillance technologies and facial recognition software as boots on the back of nonapproved religions, and compulsory internet as part of the brutal, tech-enabled replay of the Cultural Revolution imposed in Chinas Muslim west.
Another benefit would be identifying patterns of illegal discrimination against women or minorities. Lilly Ledbetter, for whom the 2009 fair pay law is named, would have learned a lot sooner that she was making less than her male colleagues at a Goodyear plant in Alabama if she could have looked up their annual incomes on a government website.

Transparency could even help to increase economic growth. People who know how much their co-workers are paid  and how much people are paid at other companies, and in other industries  can make better career decisions.

Tax data also is a rich source of information about American life. The I.R.S. tightly limits access, but one of the few researchers allowed to work with that data, the Harvard economist Raj Chetty, has produced a series of important studies illuminating the mechanics of economic inequality. He and his collaborators have shown that Americans have a dwindling chance of making more money than their parents, and that living in a good neighborhood as a child has a lifelong impact on earnings. One can only imagine what others might learn from the data.

Calling for more disclosure may seem discordant at a time of growing concern about privacy. But income taxation is an act of government, not an aspect of private life. Property tax records provide a reasonable model . Local governments disclose the name of the property owner, the value of the property and the amount of taxes owed and paid. The same information should be available for income taxes  nothing more is necessary.

Another reasonable rule: In Norway, it is a matter of public record when someone looks at tax records. Everyone can see who is nosing around. Wisconsin, which makes income and tax information available on request, imposes the same requirement.

Income taxation in the United States began in public view. When Congress imposed the first income tax in 1861, during the Civil War, it required the disclosure of names, incomes and tax payments. Over the following decade, before Congress ended the tax, this data was posted in public and printed in newspapers.

That practice was briefly revived in 1924. Its time for another revival. The question is whether Americans are willing to endure a little sunlight in the interest of fairness and equality.
Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.

Theres one photograph from The New York Times archives that stands out to Misty Copeland . Its a black-and-white image of a group of young ballerinas, boys and girls, their dark skin accented by bright tights and tutus.

They look so uncomfortable, Ms. Copeland said in a recent interview. In ballet, weve never been told there was a place for us to fit in. You can see that within this image.

The tension and awkwardness that Ms. Copeland said she saw in the photo is familiar to her. She was the American Ballet Theaters first black female principal dancer. Last month, when she visited The Times to serve as a guest editor of a special print section featuring dance images from our archives, she saw those threads throughout dance history.
SAN FRANCISCO  Nasty legal battles are nothing new in the tech industry. But Apples conflict with the wireless chip maker Qualcomm, headed for a crucial court showdown this coming week, has a special intensity.

The two companies, once partners of a sort, now disagree about nearly everything  including which one deserves the most credit for shaping the evolution of smartphones.

Their formidable legal teams are at war on three continents, in a struggle that could affect the division of billions of dollars of smartphone profits and, perhaps, even how much consumers pay for their phones.

Now, the action moves to a federal courtroom in San Diego, where jury selection is set to begin on Monday for a trial on an Apple lawsuit and Qualcomms counterclaims. The chief executives of both companies are likely to take the stand.
Google says it uses the data to target ads and measure how effective they are  checking, for instance, when people go into an advertisers store. The company also uses the information in an aggregated, anonymized form to figure out when stores are busy and to provide traffic estimates. And those who enable Location History can see a timeline of their activities and get recommendations based on where they have been. Google says it does not sell or share the data with advertisers or other companies.

Does Google collect other forms of location data?

Yes. Google can also gather location information when you conduct searches or use Google apps that have location enabled. If you are signed in, this data is associated with your account.

The Associated Press reported last year that this data, called Web & App Activity, is collected even if you do not have Location History turned on. It is kept in a different database from Sensorvault, Google says.
Ever since the Italian entrepreneur Oscar Farinetti opened the first Eataly in Torino 12 years ago, hes dreamed of bringing his Italian marketplace to Paris. But he would have to perfect the concept in 37 other locations, from Tokyo to Las Vegas, before this dream would become a reality.

The French consumer is mature and fanatical about food, said Mr. Farinetti, 64, last month at Eataly Paris Marais, which is to open to the public in mid-April . They understand artisanal products, they know wine, and theyre incredibly curious. You cant make any mistakes.

With seven restaurants and cafes, a produce market and a cellar with more than 1,200 bottles of Italian wines, one of the most robust selections in France, Eataly Paris will take on the characteristics of its successful predecessors  a behemoth of a food hall dedicated to artisanal Italian products, ingredients and dining. Partnering with the Galeries Lafayette retail group, Mr. Farinetti is convinced he and his three sons, who run the business with him, have the right offerings to appeal to local tastes.

What can visitors expect from the Paris shop?

I like to say that Eataly is like one big family with 39 children: same father, different character. In this case, we honor Frances spirit of fraternity, its bistro culture and its close ties to Italy. Were cousins! Half of our staff will be Italian, half will be French (in other destinations, 90 percent of the staff is local, not Italian). And well have great Italian wines but 10 percent of the cellar will be devoted to French wines too  thats very important.
Jenny Teeson was in the middle of a divorce when she found a video of her husband sexually assaulting her in her sleep. The discovery turned her into a leading advocate for overturning archaic laws that can make it nearly impossible to prosecute men for marital rape.

The footage appeared to have been shot two years earlier, on Jan. 1, 2015, hours after the couple had hosted a New Years party at their Minnesota home. It showed her husband forcibly penetrating her with an object as she slept in their bed, their 4-year-old son asleep beside her, according to a criminal complaint. She was motionless as he attacked her. She believes she had been drugged.

Ms. Teeson, now 39 , told the police about the video when she found it. But under a state law known as the voluntary relationship defense, some of the most serious sex crimes charges cannot be brought against an accusers spouse or domestic partner. Her husband ended up being charged with a misdemeanor, not a felony.

While marital rape has been a crime in all 50 states since 1993  a milestone achieved after years of dogged campaigning by womens rights activists  the overwhelming majority of states still have loopholes on the books that can make it difficult, or even impossible, to prosecute such cases, according to data compiled by AEquitas, a nonprofit in Washington that assists prosecutors in gender-based violence cases.
But Bonnie Falbo of Charlottesville, Va., a caregiver for her 70-year-old husband, who has multiple myeloma, said: This treatment is one that could save his life one day. Immunotherapy is the future of cancer care. Approving payment for this therapy right now will save the lives of patients who have run out of other options.

Advocates for patients and physician groups said the coverage policy proposed by the Trump administration was too limited and could delay lifesaving treatment for cancer patients who were very ill.

We have a new therapy, a result of years of research, and it has been approved by the F.D.A., said Kirsten A. Sloan, a vice president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. Lets make sure people have access to it. Let the doctor decide which patients should be eligible. A patients health care provider is in the best position to determine when and whether a patient will benefit from CAR T cell therapy and should not be limited by a narrow coverage policy.

Ted Okon, the executive director of the Community Oncology Alliance, an advocacy group for cancer doctors and patients, said the coverage criteria proposed by the Trump administration were much more restrictive than the uses of CAR-T therapy permitted in the F.D.A.-approved label.

Moreover, Mr. Okon said, coverage should not be limited to patients treated at a hospital, as the government proposed. CAR-T treatment has been slowly moving to the outpatient setting, he said. Many community oncology practices have the experience and capabilities to administer CAR-T treatment, saving money for patients and Medicare.

Hospitals providing CAR-T therapy said they were trying to figure out how to pay for it.

Charles N. Kahn III, the president and chief executive of the Federation of American Hospitals, which represents investor-owned hospitals, said they faced large financial losses in providing the treatment to Medicare patients.

This is a brave new world, Mr. Kahn said. No one anticipated such an extraordinary expense when Medicares hospital payment formulas were adopted.
If complaints are real, we may have to use tariffs to deal with them, and were asking the Chinese not to retaliate, Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council, told the Fox Business Network in March when discussing enforcement of a deal.

People who have been closely tracking the talks cautioned that enforcement continued to be an obstacle that remained unsettled because China and the United States had not agreed on the specifics of penalties.

The problem with the so-called enforcement issue has to do with finding a mechanism that allows punishment for violations of the agreement, said Michael Pillsbury, a China scholar at the Hudson Institute who advises the Trump administration. That hasnt been done yet.

On Saturday, Mr. Mnuchin would not clarify whether the United States and China had agreed on an enforcement mechanism that would allow only Washington to respond with tariffs as punishment for violating the deal.

I want to be careful in answering that because I dont want to get into the details of the negotiations and specifically on tariffs, he said.

But Mr. Mnuchin said that he expected enforcement of the trade pact to be reciprocal.

There are certain commitments that the United States is making in this agreement and there are certain commitments that China is making, and I would expect that the enforcement agreement works in both directions, he said. We expect to honor our commitments and if we dont, there should be certain repercussions, and the same way in the other direction.

Mr. Mnuchin would not specify what commitments the United States was making. Mr. Trump has been pushing China to open its economy and end practices that he says have put American companies at a disadvantage.
President Trump on Friday targeted Representative Ilhan Omar for remarks she made during a speech on civil rights and Muslims in America with a graphic video featuring the burning World Trade Center towers and other images from Sept. 11, 2001, that he tweeted to millions of his followers.

The Twitter post from the president stoked and amplified a controversy that has been a focus of conservative news outlets, which have sought to elevate Ms. Omar  a Minnesota Democrat and one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress  as a political target, as Mr. Trumps re-election campaign begins in earnest.

At issue were remarks that Ms. Omar made last month at an event hosted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations. There, she gave a speech in which she addressed lingering fear directed at Muslims, and the rights Muslims have to speak out about being viewed with suspicion.

During the speech, she said that Muslims had lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen and, frankly, Im tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it. She added that the council was created after the Sept. 11 attacks because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties. (The Council on American-Islamic Relations was actually founded in 1994.)
A Democratic House chairman on Saturday castigated the Treasury Department for failing to meet his deadline to furnish President Trumps tax returns, arguing that the administrations apparent concerns over his use of powers outlined in the Internal Revenue Services tax code lack merit.

The chairman, Representative Richard E. Neal, Democrat of Massachusetts, set a new deadline for compliance, April 23, and warned that if the Trump administration did not reply by then, its failure will be interpreted as a denial of my request.

The tone of Mr. Neals letter suggested Democrats are prepared to take their request  made through a little-known provision in the federal tax code  to court if necessary, initiating what could be a protracted legal fight over Congresss oversight powers. In it, he cited legal precedent that he argued clearly showed the law is on the committees side, and said that the executive branch had no right to second guess its motivations.

[Read the letter here.]

I am aware that concerns have been raised regarding my request and the authority of the committee, Mr. Neal wrote. Those concerns lack merit. Moreover, judicial precedent commands that none of the concerns raised can legitimately be used to deny the committees request.
The United Nations-backed government of Libya sought on Saturday to reassure its Western supporters by distancing itself from terrorists and extremists.

Some fighters with extremist ties or who have been targeted by United Nations sanctions have said this week that they were joining the Libyan governments fight against an attack by a militia leader.

The militia leader, Gen. Khalifa Hifter, 75, has long portrayed himself as commanding a fight against terrorism as he has tried to establish himself as a new military ruler of Libya. He has promised an end to the mayhem of warring factions and fiefdoms that has followed the ouster of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi during the Arab Spring uprising of 2011.

But his critics say his often indiscriminate attacks have only ended up driving more mainstream opponents into alliances of desperation with militants and extremists.
Sudans powerful intelligence chief stepped down on Saturday, two days after the president was ousted, as huge crowds of demonstrators remained encamped outside the countrys military headquarters.

Those demonstrators, who in the past week have numbered in the hundreds of thousands, have proved the most potent force for democratic change to sweep through Sudan in more than three decades. In response to their demands over the past week, Sudans armed forces deposed President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, the autocrat who had ruled the country since 1989.

That was midday Thursday. But the junta that took power and announced that it intended to rule for the next two years quickly discovered that the demonstrators werent going home.

By Friday night, the general who appeared to be in charge of the junta announced that he was stepping down. The move was seen as intended to assuage the demonstrators, who viewed him as not very different from the ousted president  a point their protest chant made clear: We do not replace a thief with a thief.
Fredi Onan Vicen Pena, the coffee farmer whose brothers, sister and teenage son have already given up and joined the exodus north, reached over and tore a leaf off one of his plants.

It was a mottled yellow and brown: signs of coffee rust, a disease whose spread has been influenced by climate variability. As much as 70 percent of his crop, planted across five acres in a pine forest, had been affected, he estimated, and there was little chance he could salvage it.

Climate change is destroying some farms, said Mr. Vicen, 41.

Beyond that, some of his healthier plants had begun to blossom nearly two months ahead of schedule because of a heavy unseasonable downpour, throwing the entire growing cycle into doubt.

This is not something we predicted, Mr. Vicen said.

Average temperatures have risen by about two degrees Fahrenheit in Central America over the past several decades, making the cultivation of coffee difficult, if not untenable, at lower altitudes that were once suitable.

That has forced some farmers to search for land at higher altitudes, switch to other crops, change professions  or migrate.

Some very fine families that have been producing quality coffee for a long time are now facing the decision of whether to stay in coffee, said Catherine M. Tucker, a professor of anthropology at the University of Florida who has done research in Honduras for more than two decades.
ROME  The Italian language does not want for colorful insults. There are curses upon a persons dead relatives, ample anatomical exclamations and countless ways to call someone a moron.

But these days, it seems, one of the biggest put-downs of all is to call someone a do-gooder.

And on the lips of Matteo Salvini, the leader of the anti-immigrant League Party and Italys most powerful politician, the word buonista, or do-gooder, is a dangerous weapon.

The European dream is being buried by the bureaucrats, the do-gooders and the bankers who are governing Europe for too much time, Mr. Salvini said this past week at the introduction of a new alliance of far-right and populist parties before European parliamentary elections in May.

Or early this year, when he spoke scornfully of the hotshot do-gooders, those he equates with hypocritical limousine liberals or Pollyannish bleeding hearts, who condemned to death thousands by urging migrants to come, come, come.
Malta said Saturday that four European Union nations would accept 64 migrants rescued at sea off Libya 10 days ago.

In a statement, Maltas government said that the migrants will be sent to Germany, France, Portugal and Luxembourg. The migrants are being transferred to Maltese vessels and brought to port after days of uncertainty.

However, Malta said the German-flagged aid ship, named Alan Kurdi after a young Syrian boy who drowned during the crossing from Turkey to Greece in 2015, will not be allowed to enter its ports, and none of the migrants will remain in Malta.

Once again, the smallest member of the European Union was put under unnecessary pressure, being asked to resolve a case which was neither its responsibility nor its remit, the government said. A solution was found in order not to let the situation deteriorate further while making it clear Malta cannot keep shouldering this burden.
President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil drew Israels ire on Saturday for saying the crimes of the Holocaust are forgivable.

Mr. Bolsonaro made the comments Thursday night at a meeting with evangelical pastors in Rio de Janeiro. He was talking about his visit to the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem earlier this month.

We can forgive. But we cannot forget, he said of the Holocaust, adding that action was needed to ensure its horrors were not repeated. Those who forget the past are condemned to not have a future, he added.

President Reuven Rivlin of Israel and Israels Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial criticized the right-wing Brazilian leader, who has come under fire before for his controversial statements on other subjects.
Some reforms are already underway. The government is currently building a new visitor center at the pyramids, scheduled to open this summer, that is said to include a separate area for horse and camel rides.

According to some local news reports, the area will include facilities to feed, water and give medical treatment to horses and camels.

Tourism in Egypt, which was devastated after the turmoil of the 2011 Arab Spring protests, has enjoyed a strong bounce in the past few years. But the resurgence is fragile. Militant violence is the biggest worry, but bad publicity from animal cruelty could dent the trade too.

Back home in Hungary after her trip to Egypt, Ms. Haszon started an online petition calling on Egypts government to prevent cruelty to working animals at tourist sites. As of Sunday, nearly 50,000 people had signed it.

This area is hell on earth for carriage horses and camels, she wrote. This horror must be stopped now.

Amina Abaza, a local activist, said that she regularly received many similar reports from outraged tourists through the Facebook page of her nonprofit, the Society for the Protection of Animal Rights in Egypt. Im not highlighting the abuse to criticize my country, she said. But I want to make it better.

A few years ago, one Swiss tourist was so appalled at the sight of a suffering donkey that she paid 800 euros, or about $900, to have the animal treated and transported to Switzerland. Ms. Abaza intervened, and persuaded the Swiss woman to leave the donkey at her sanctuary south of Cairo.
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A new date has been confirmed for Offaly-based priest Fr Sean Hyland to tell his incredible story to Ryan Tubridy on The Late Late Show.

Originall due to appear on the show in early March, Fr Sean will now be on The Late Late Show this Friday, April 19 which is Good Friday. He will chat with host Ryan Tubridy about his book 'Whisperings of my Soul'.

The well-known Portarlington native has had people travel from all over the country to see him since he released his book.

Fr Sean lives in his hometown of Portarlington and is a curate in the communities of Clonbullogue and Rhode.

His book 'Whisperings of my Soul' was self-published last December and thanks to promoting the book himself to local and national media he was able to secure a nationwide distributor and attention from people all over Ireland.

Sean recounts the early years of his marriage to Liz and his two childrens lives in depth in the emotional chapters from when he first met Liz to now visiting his familys grave every week in Portarlington.

He explains that after he lost all three members of his family he received comfort through many consolations of faith which let him know that his wife and children are close by and watching over him in heaven.

In thanksgiving, he entered a seminary in Rome and has devoted the remainder of his life to God as a Catholic priest.

Fr Sean helps others experiencing grief by sharing the comforting messages he has received from his family in heaven.

Fr Hyland said he is chuffed with the feedback from the book and he is now celebrating getting his book into mainstream distribution across the country.

People visit me from all over the country with tragedies. I have had people come from Kerry and Tipperary.

Water finds its own level and people who are in a tragedy will find you and they will travel to you.

They know I am not going to solve it but I will share the reality of the closeness to heaven and to know that my family is safe and well, he said.

He is happy that the book is having this impact on people and he is in a position to comfort people who have been hit with terrible grief in their lives. In writing the book, he set out to comfort people by sharing the consolations of faith he has experienced.

Fr Hyland has been asked on to The Late Late Show as a guest to talk about his book and the message behind it.
The American Red Cross of Central New York is thankful for the continued support it receives from the citizens in Madison County. From Mayor Matzke raising the Red Cross flag outside of Oneida City Hall, to celebrate March is Red Cross month; to the blood donor who gave for the 20th time; and to the donor who gave a financial contribution out of each pay check through the United Way of Greater Oneidas workplace campaign  I would like to say thank you.

Your support allows us to provide relief to residents affected by disasters and empowers individuals in our community to prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. By helping people in Madison County learn how to take care of their families and neighbors, the Red Cross strengthens the community and readies it for all types of disasters including home fires, floods, power outages and health emergencies.

More than 70 American Red Cross volunteers in Madison County help ensure that we fulfill our mission. We aspire to turn compassion into action so that all people affected by disasters receive care, comfort and hope; our communities are ready and prepared for disasters; everyone has access to safe, life-saving blood products; members of our armed forces and their families find support and comfort whenever needed; and, in an emergency, there are trained individuals nearby to use their Red Cross skills to save lives.

I would like to thank all those who have donated their time, talents and treasures to support and advance the mission of the American Red Cross. I would also like to thank the local residents and businesses for supporting the United Way of Greater Oneida Campaign. Through their contributions, the United Way invests in local partner agencies and programs, including the American Red Cross of Central New York.
TMC delegation to meet Election Commission in Delhi today; To request for early bypolls in Bengal

On the model code of conduct is the ECI a toothless tiger

Debates

oi-Deepika S

The BJP has approached the Election Commission seeking action against Congress President Rahul Gandhi for repeatedly calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi "a thief" and also attributing to the Supreme Court things it did not say in the Rafale jet case. The delegation led by Nirmala Sitharaman alleged that the poll body had ignored their earlier complaints against Gandhi on the issue.

In another instance, the Congress questioned the Election Commission's letting off of Yogi Adityanath with a light rap for his "Modiji ki sena" remark, saying that the Uttar Pradesh chief minister "insults" the Indian Army and the poll body writes a "love letter" to him.

The opposition party also came down hard on the EC communication to NITI Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar, saying he criticised the party's proposed minimum income scheme NYAY and the poll body told him "don't do it in future".

"Has the MCC now become 'Modi Code of Conduct'. Adityanath insults the Indian Army -- EC writes a love letter to him," Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala mocked the poll panel.

After opposition parties raised questions against the EC, the panel has issued notice to Adityanath on the matter on Wednesday.

But could the Election Commission have done something more than a mere slap on the wrist? Perhaps, it's about time the watchdog assure people it is not a toothless tiger. What's your say?

Please express your opinion below:

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Saturday, April 13, 2019, 9:46 [IST]
'Vehicle was signalled to stop but it tried to flee': Amit Shah explains how the Nagaland firing unfolded

Amit Shah accuses oppn of treating illegal immigrants as vote banks

India

pti-PTI

Badaun/Shahjahanpur (UP), Apr 13: BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday accused the Opposition of treating illegal immigrants as a vote bank and doing 'Ilu Ilu' with terrorists, an apparent reference to a popular Bollywood love song from the nineties.

He made the remarks while addressing 'Vijay Sankalp' (victory pledge) rallies in Badaun and Shahjahanpur districts of Uttar Pradesh.

"The BJP wants to take the intruders out (of the country) but the BSP-SP and the Congress do not want this as they consider them their vote bank," Shah said.

He also accused the Congress of being soft on terrorists. "Rahul baba's guru Sam Pitorda said do not bomb (Pakistan) but negotiate... Rahul baba if your party wants to do 'Ilu Ilu' with terrorists you can do that. But our intention is clear, if a shot is fired, we will reply with a bomb," the BJP president said.

In the song, 'Ilu Ilu' is an acronym for I love you. Shah alleged that during the Congress's 10-year tenure, no action was taken even when terrorists took away heads of Indian soldiers.

"This time it was the Narendra Modi government and not 'mauni baba' Manmohan Singh... within 13 days of the attack, the Indian Air Force went into Pakistan, bombed the terror camps and returned," he said, referring to the Pulwama attack.

[Naxal attack political conspiracy, CBI should probe it: Amit Shah]

He added that BJP workers in Kashmir will ensure that it remains part of India and "intruders" are thrown out of the country. Training his guns at the opposition's 'mahagathbandhan', Shah said the country would have a new prime minister everyday of the week if the grand alliance comes to power. "On one side is the BJP led by Narendra Modi which is working for the country.

On the other side is the 'mahagatbandhan' of Rahul Baba, 'behan' (sister) Mayawati, 'bhatija' (nephew) Akhilesh, Congress and others... I ask who is your (opposition's) leader... it is clear that Modi is our leader and he will be the PM, but who is your leader... no one is telling but I will tell," he said.

"On Monday it will be Mamata Banerjee, on Tuesday it will be Mayawati, on Wednesday it will be Chandrababu Naidu, on Thursday it will be Deve Gowda, on Friday... on Saturday it will be Mulayam Singh Yadav," he added.

The BJP president claimed that the alliance of the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal did not have a policy and could not be trusted with the country's security.

"Can any government be run like this? Who will look after the security of the country? Can this 'gathbandhan' look after the security of the country?" Shah asked. Only a government led by Modi can give a befitting reply to terrorism and Naxalism and not the SP-BSP alliance or the Congress, he said.

Shah also accused the opposition parties of not doing anything for the poor.

"Mayawati says that they will work for the poor but the BSP has given tickets to all the rich people and they will never do good for the poor," he said.

He added that Mayawati had gained power in the name of Dalits but she has never washed their feet like Modi did during the Kumbh Mela. Shah said lawlessness prevailed in Uttar Pradesh under the erstwhile BSP and SP governments and the situation changed only after the BJP came to power.

He claimed people across India were chanting Modi's name and they had decided to make him the prime minister once again. The BJP president exhorted the electorate of Badaun, from where the SP's Dharmendra Yadav had won in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, to join the development journey by voting for Maurya.

PTI
30 years on, martyred IAF officials to get justice as trial against Yasin Malik is set to begin

Name of IAF officer who was killed by Yasin Malik to be added to War Memorial

First Yasin Malik, now Javed Mir: Our martyred IAF heroes are getting justice at last

Beginning of the end: How an iron fist policy put Yasin Malik on the mat

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Apr 13: It comes as both a surprise and shock, when former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti condemned the arrest of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief, Yasin Malik. Incidentally he is the same man who has been accused of abducting her sister.

Malik was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with a terror funding case. Malik has without a doubt been one of the most dreaded persons in the Valley and his crimes range from killing of Indian Air Force (IAF) officials, the genocide of Kashmiri pandits, just to name a few.

Yasin Malik's crimes since 1995 set to be probed by NIA

The action against Malik was a much awaited one and the man is set to face justice after being given a reprieve by successive governments, both in J&K as well as the Centre. Malik was at the centre of terror related activities for a long time in the Valley.

He saw another opportunity in the genocide of Kashmiri pandits and led several movements on the issue. Malik got away with nearly everything. The government was silent when terrorists had issued threats against the Pandits in newspapers. The government remained silent when rapes and murders of Pandits took place.

Amidst this, he also continued to receive huge chunks of money from various sources in Pakistan through hawala. Cases dating back to the 1990s were not probed properly. Malik also played his cards well and one day declared that he was shunning violence and would follow the Gandhian path to carry forward his movement. Even as he made this statement, he continued to support stone pelters and instigate the youth against the Armed Forces.

The beginning of the end:

A 30 year old case continued to lie in the cold storage. The case related to the killing of Rubaiya Saeed, the sister of Mehbooba Mufti. The other case related to the killing of four IAF personnel in Kashmir.

Yasin Malik and ten others were chargesheeted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under the Terrorist and Disruptive Act. The CBI named Yasin Malik as the main accused in both these cases.

The CBI moved the Jammu and Kashmir high court seeking vacation of the stay and also shifting of the proceedings to Jammu. In 2009, the Srinagar bench had granted an interim stay of the trial before the special anti-terror court.

The HC held that the Srinagar bench had no jurisdiction to decide a case that is being tried in a Jammu special court. Justice Gita Mittal further held that the petitions filed by Malik and others at the Srinagar wing could not have been taken up for consideration. The hearing has to be sent to the Jammu wing for consideration, the court further held. The court also noted that only the Jammu wing of the HC was authorised to hear and decide a plea against the TADA court.

Crimes of 1995 come back to haunt Malik:

Last week, the NIA arrested Malik in connection with the terror funding case. Malik has been investigated several times in the past for his role in channelising funds to create unrest and aid terror related activities in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

NIA sources say that the funding has gone both to terrorist groups and separatists as well. Money has been pumped into the Hurriyat Conference, Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, Islamic Students Front, Hizbul Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Jamiat ul-Mujahideen.

In the case of Syed Ali Shah Geelani an FIR had been registered in the year 1997 in which it was alleged that he had got funding to the tune of Rs 190 million from Saudi Arabia and also another donation of Rs 100 million from the Kashmir American Council.

Investigations had revealed that all these funds were routed through a Delhi based Hawala operative. It was also found that Yasin Malik had received funding of 1 lakh US dollars and the money was being carried by a lady called Shazia. The NIA says that it is probing into all these angles. We are looking at each case since the 1995 onwards and this will help us get a better picture of the entire racket, the officer further added.

The ban:

In March, the Union Government banned the Malik led JKLF. The outfit banned for alleged promotion of secessionist activities in J&K.

The organisation was banned under various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Didnt think twice before getting into bed with Shiv Sena: Captain hits out at Congress

Better sense should prevail, its impossible to accommodate all ticket aspirants: Amarinder

India

pti-PTI

Jalandhar, Apr 13: Brushing aside resentment among party leaders over denial of tickets, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday said with only 13 Lok Sabha seats in the state, it was impossible to accommodate all 177 aspirants.

He said the decision to allot tickets was taken by the Congress high command based on candidates' winnability. "Tickets were allotted to balance youth with experience," Singh told mediapersons after welcoming former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Chandan Garewal into the Congress.

Asked about reports of some disgruntled Congress leaders preparing to form a separate Congress Taksali, the chief minister said it was not possible to accommodate all ticket aspirants. He said he hoped better sense would prevail among these leaders and they would work for the success of the Congress.

[No talks with AAP for alliance in Haryana, Punjab: Congress]

Responding to a question about denial of ticket to senior Congress leader and sitting Jalandhar MP Mohinder Singh Kaypee, Singh pointed out that he had unsuccessfully contested on party tickets thrice in the past and even his wife had been given a chance, but she too had lost.

The idea of Congress Taksali was floated by Kaypee at a meeting of party leaders and workers in Chandigarh on Sunday. Besides him, Shamsher Singh Dullo and Santosh Choudhary are two other Congress veterans who have been sulking over denial of ticket for the May 19 elections.

PTI
Be present in Lok Sabha, RS says BJP in 3 line whip to its MPs

Election expenditure: How much did BJP, Congress, DMK, CPI, TMC, AIADMK receive funds and spent during polls?

BJP dominated electoral bonds, garnered 95 per cent of total value

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Apr 13: The Supreme Court on Friday directed all parties to submit in a sealed cover to the Election Commission (EC) of India details of the amount received through electoral bonds.

The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) petitioned the Supreme Court challenging the validity of electoral bonds, which allows donors of amounts before Rs 20,000 to remain anonymous.

In the 2017 Union Budget, the government announced an electoral bond scheme that allowed large scale anonymous donations. As a result, more than half of all the income of national parties in India is derived from unknown sources, Association for Democratic Reforms said.

For the six national parties, barring the Communist Party of India (Marxist), 53 per cent of funding was from unknown sources. The amount is approximately Rs 689.44 crore in 2017-18.

Known donors contributed Rs 467.13 crore or 36% of party income. The rest 11% came from other known sources such as sale of assets or membership fees.

Political parties should give details of donations through electoral bonds to EC: SC

The Rs 20,000 or below donor:

A analysis of the donations above Rs 20,000 for national parties suggests that the BJP garnered an incredible 93% share or Rs 437.04 crore in 2017-'18. The Congress came a distant second with Rs 26.66 crore or 5.67% of the total known donations to national parties. While 51% of all unknowns funds were donations below Rs 20,000 (which can be anonymous as per law), as much as 31% were made using the new instrument of electoral bonds.

The BJP dominates electoral bonds, garnering 95% of the total value of bonds purchased in 2017-'18.

What is an electoral bond?

An electoral bond is a promissory note similar to a bank note. It can be purchased from State Bank of India branches in multiples of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 1 lakh, Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 crore.

Unusually for an instrument that permits such large amounts, electoral bonds can be anonymous. Individuals and companies can make donations to a party without having their identities disclosed to the Indian voter.

That electoral bonds allow large-scale anonymous donations to parties is seen to be a significant step back in setting up a transparent system of political funding. Former Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla pointed out that the electoral bond scheme has actually emerged as a "greater method of camouflage" when it came to the use of black money in politics.

Electoral bonds have been available since January 2018. Their impact was immediate, pushing up the share of income of national parties for 2017-'18 (even though the bonds had been available for only three months of that financial year).
Can Shatrughan Sinha retain Patna Sahib seat

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

Patna, Apr 13: Actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha arrived here on his first tour of his Lok Sabha constituency after quitting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and joining the Congress and expressed confidence that he will retain the seat for a third time with a record margin.

Sinha, who is a second-term MP from Patna Sahib, landed at the airport here in the evening and told the posse of waiting journalists I had won the 2014 Lok Sabha polls with the highest margin for any seat in Bihar. This time, a new record will be established.

Sinha popularly known as "Bihari Babu" had trounced famous Bhojpuri actor Kunal, fielded by Congress from the seat, in the last Parliamentary election. Before that in 2009, being a BJP candidate he had defeated fellow Bollywood colleague Sekhar Suman, fighting on Congress ticket.

I have come here to fulfil the promise I had been making all through that the location will be the same even though the situation may be different. I am back to the same location. You all know under what circumstances I had to leave the BJP, Sinha who joined the Congress last week said.

Didn't decide to leave BJP overnight, party had turned autocratic: Shatrughan Sinha

Replying to a query, he said that my daughter Sonakshi did not campaign for me in the past nor would she do so this time. She is apolitical. Moreover, I am not dependent on star campaigners from outside to win an election in the city where I grew up.

In my past two elections I had not requested my friends in the BJP like Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj and Yashwant Sinha to campaign for me, because everybody here knows me, Sinha, who had been associated with the BJP since the 1990s but turned critical of its leadership in the past few years, said.

The flamboyant MP, who has also served two terms in the Rajya Sabha previously and been a member of the Union council of ministers headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be taking on law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad who has been fielded by the BJP.

You all know how Prasad was given the ticket while I still was in the BJP. Nobody even showed the courtesy to have a word with me on the matter. I truly believe that the Congress for me would mean a new direction and a better condition (nai disha behtar dasha), the former Bollywood star, who is known for his one-liners, said.

About a reported comment by Prasad wherein he had dismissed the sitting MP as a gali ka ladka (street kid), Sinha said I do not wish to speak ill of him. He has been a personal friend and belongs to a reputed family. I wear his label as a badge of honour. Yes, indeed, I am known in every street of the city.
Chandrababu Naidu meets EC over EVM failures, threatens protest

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Apr 13: Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu has met the Election Commission (EC) to lodge a complaint about EVM malfunctioning across Andhra Pradesh during the first phase of the Lok Sabha Election 2019. He has threatened of a sit-in if there is no positive response from the election watchdog.

"The Election Commission is an autonomous body. At the same time, they are working on instructions of (PM) Modi and the government of India," he told reporters after the meeting. "Election Commission is not cooperating with us," he said.

Naidu was accompanied by lawmakers and senior leaders of his Telugu Desam Party (TDP).

On Apr 11, after polling in a few districts of Andhra Pradesh was disrupted briefly due to malfunctioning of electronic voting machines Naidu had requested the EC for an extension of polling time in the state to compensate for the time lost due to technical glitches in EVMs.

Claiming that there was a "silent wave" in the state in his favour, Naidu on Friday accused the EC of India of making the election process a "big farce."

"This is a very big farce. Disaster for the nation. I can say it is a big confusion, big mess, big farce," Naidu said in a restless tone. He claimed that as per "official information" 4,583 EVMs got stuck in the state and noted that it was a "major crisis."

Valued at Rs 6,68,57,50,975, Chandrababu Naidu is Andhra's third richest candidate

"As senior leader I have to warn them (EC). Country should know. They should not commit any more these type of mistakes," Naidu added. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief also said he would file a review petition in the Supreme Court over its order on counting of VVPAT slips.

"I am going to Delhi tomorrow (to meet the ECI officials). EC should answer why it did all this. After this we will go logically on EVMs," he said and reiterated the demand that the country revert to the old ballot paper system.

Voting took place for all the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh and for its 175 Assembly seats. The results will be out on May 23.
Election expenditure: How much did BJP, Congress, DMK, CPI, TMC, AIADMK receive funds and spent during polls?

Opposition front not possible without Congress: Shiv Sena leader Raut after meeting with Rahul Gandhi

Mamata Banerjee's TMC gives yet another jolt to Congress in Meghalaya; 11 members switch sides

Congress targets Modi over French newspaper report on Rafael

India

oi-Hardeep Singh Bedi

New Delhi, April 13: The Congress on Saturday targetted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Rafael deal.

Earlier, media persons were tipped that the party would come up with fresh proof over Rafael but when Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala started addressing press conference then it was revealed that his proofs were based on French newspaper Le Monde report.

The report says that Anil Ambani's French-registered telecom company was given tax waivers worth 143.7 million by local authorities, shortly after the Rafael deal was inked.

Addressing a press conference here, Surjewala said, "French newspaper Le Monde has reported a sensational news today how Anil Ambani 's French company was given tax waiver after the Rafael deal was signed. With this, murky layers of corruption and money trail in the Rafale Scam Saga are out. "

In a first, Congress fighting LS elections on its Chief Ministers' faces

He said Anil Ambani's telecom company Reliance Atlantic Flag France was asked to pay 60mn between 2007-2010, Later between 2010-12, 51mn additional tax was levied on the company, but after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets then the French government suddenly turned benevolent and canceled a tax recovery of 143.7 million euros of Reliance Atlantic Flag France and settled for 7.6 Million Euros.

"PM Modi is acting as middle man for Anil Ambani. How many other companies in France have got a tax benefit? Is this not a quid pro quo for the purchase of aircraft? It is clear ek hi chowkidar chor hai (Only one watchman is the thief)," Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.

However, Reliance Communications, which owns the Reliance FLAG Atlantic France SAS, denied "any favouritism or gain from settlement".

According to the statement, Reliance FLAG Atlantic France SAS is a subsidiary of Reliance Communications, India and owns a terrestrial cable network and other telecom infrastructure in France. The tax demands were completely "unsustainable and illegal" the statement said, and claimed that tax disputes were settled "as per legal framework in France available to all companies operating in France."

Alleging money trail in the Rafale deal, Surjewala said, "In 2017-18, Dassault Aviation invested money in Anil Ambani 's Reliance Airport Developers Limited (RADL) thereby making it richer by Rs 284 Crore, although total turnover of the company is a mere Rs 5 lakh and it has actual losses. "

Anil Ambani's Reliance Group is the "key partner" for Dassault Aviation for the discharge of offsets. The total value of offsets from the deal is estimated to be around Rs 30,000 crore.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Saturday, April 13, 2019, 17:00 [IST]
Three more Rafale jets to land in India from France in non-stop flight

6 Rafale fighters to be flagged off by IAF chief from France

Congress to present fresh proof on Rafale today

India

oi-Hardeep Singh Bedi

New Delhi, April 13: The Congress is expected to present new proof over the Rafale deal in the afternoon. Congress Spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala will be addressing a press conference at 2 PM.

"He will be presenting proof how Prime Minister Narendra Modi helped his friend Anil Ambani in the deal," a Congresss source tells OneIndia.

The Narendra Modi government faced a setback when the Supreme Court rejected its plea to ignore documents that have come to light while reexamining its order on the Rafale jet fighter deal.

The Centre had argued that the documents had been "unauthorisedly removed" from the defence ministry and therefore shouldn't be considered as evidence.

English daily The Hindu has published a couple of reports on the basis of those documents.

Documents being used to present 'selective, incomplete' picture: Govt on Rafale

Now, the court's last year's refusal to order an investigation into accusations of corruption in the $8.7-billion purchase of 36 Rafale jets is now under review.

The party feels that the Rafale issue, which had went into hibernation after the Pulwama attack, has got a new life after the Supreme Court's latest observation.

It's notable that Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been openly criticising Prime Minister Modi over Rafale deal and raising slogans "Chowkidar Chor Hai" (The watchman is a thief) and alleging Prime Minister Modi committed corruption in the deal to benefit businessman Anil Ambani.

In the reply, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) started a campaign "Mai Bhi Chowkidar" (I am also a watchman) on social media to lend support to the prime minister who calls himself a chowkidar to safeguard country's interests.

However, the Modi government has categorically denied any wrongdoing in the deal.
Rahul Gandhi in centre of Cong posters for Jaipur rally; call for him to become party chief again

MPs were not suspended by RS chairman or PM, but by power that wants to steal farmers income: Rahul

'He failed in one subject, got MPhil without Masters Degree': BJP jabs Rahul

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Apr 13: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has come out in support of his collegaue Smriti Irani and said the academic credentials of Congress president Rahul Gandhi, too, were the subject of debate.

Arun Jaitley took swipe at the Congress president and recommended a "public audit" on his educational qualification and that would solve many unsolved questions and puzzle.

"One day the focus would be on the BJP candidate's educational qualification, fully forgetting that a public audit of Rahul Gandhi's academic credentials may leave a lot to be answered. After all, he got an M.Phil without a Masters degree," said Arun Jaitley.

One day the focus would be on the BJP candidates educational qualification, fully forgetting that a public audit of Rahul Gandhis academic credentials may leave a lot to be answered. Afterall, he got an M.Phil without a Masters degree.  Chowkidar Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) April 13, 2019

In 2009, amid a row over Gandhi's foreign degrees, the University of Cambridge had said the Congress leader was a student of Trinity College and was awarded an M.Phil in Development Studies in 1995.

Buddhus Cambridge Certificate says his name is Raul Vinci and he read MPhil and failed in National Economic Planning & Policy pic.twitter.com/22kBHSRbcR  Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) April 12, 2019

'Rent a cause campaign': Arun Jaitley takes a jibe at Opposition

The controversy over Irani's qualifications reignited on Friday after the minister, in her election nomination paper, said that she did not complete her graduation. However, in her affidavit for 2014 polls, Irani had reportedly said that she had graduated from Delhi University's School of Open Learning with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1994.

In the category of Highest Educational Qualification, the affidavit said "Bachelor of Commerce Part-1" from the School of Open Learning (Correspondence) University of Delhi. "Three year degree course not completed," is written in brackets.

Irani made the same declaration in her 2017 affidavit to the Rajya Sabha, where she is a member.
Election expenditure: How much did BJP, Congress, DMK, CPI, TMC, AIADMK receive funds and spent during polls?

Opposition front not possible without Congress: Shiv Sena leader Raut after meeting with Rahul Gandhi

Mamata Banerjee's TMC gives yet another jolt to Congress in Meghalaya; 11 members switch sides

In a first, Congress fighting LS elections on its Chief Ministers' faces

India

oi-Hardeep Singh Bedi

New Delhi, April 13: Probably for the first time, the Congress has agreed to fight Lok Sabha elections in the name of its chief ministers rather than the central leadership.

In order to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress president Rahul Gandhi has given a free hand to the party's chief ministers to formulate winning strategies in their respective states.

Here is how Kejriwal's plans derailed in Delhi

Congress ruled Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan have 78 Lok Sabha seats. Currently, the Congress has three MPs each in Punjab and Madhya Pradesh, and one in Chhattisgarh. The Congress couldn't win even a single seat in Rajasthan in 2014.

Despite having governments in these states, the party's internal surveys indicated that the BJP was still having an upper hand.

Concerned Congress high command changed its strategy and asked the chief ministers of these states to win more seats than the BJP at any cost.

Enthused chief ministers have also assured the party that they will win more seats than the target.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has promised to win more than seven seats out of 11, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh more than nine seats out of 13, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot more than 14 seats out of 25, and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath more than 15 seats out of 29.

As per the new strategy, all Congress-ruled states have prepared campaigning material, like videos, songs, and slogans which highlight the state government's achievements.

The chief ministers have also been given freedom to lure opposition leaders into the Congress. The chief ministers' opinion is also being given preference in selecting candidates from their states.

The new strategy, however, has curtailed powers of Congress general secretary in-Charges of the states. Earlier, general secretary in-charges had immense powers but now they have been tasked to tackle the factionalism in the states.

"Captain Amarinder Singh was the first state leader who had taken command during Punjab Assembly elections and won the state for the party on his own. Right from arranging funds and formulating strategies, he was responsible for everything," says a Congress watcher.

Irani hits back after Cong accuses her of "falsifying" degree, says will work for Amethi

With the success in Punjab, the Congress high command gave full freedom to prominent state leaders during the recently held Assembly elections and snatched Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan from the BJP.

"In Chhattisgarh, T.S. Singh Deo was tasked to arrange funding for the elections and Bhupesh Baghel was given free hand to unite the party. In Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia; and in Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot were given A to Z responsibility to win elections. After the success of the experiment during assembly elections, the Congress high command has realised the importance of decentralising the powers. Therefore, the chief ministers are being given driver seats in the Lok Sabha elections," the watcher adds.

It will be interesting to see whether this new strategy will be successful or not in the Lok Sabha elections.
Jallianwala Bagh centenary: India pays homage to the Martyrs of Amritsar massacre

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delh, Apr 13: Leaders across the country are paying homage to the victims of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre today to commemorate 100 years of the incident.

"Today, when we observe 100 years of the horrific Jallianwala Bagh massacre, India pays tributes to all those martyred on that fateful day. Their valour and sacrifice will never be forgotten. Their memory inspires us to work even harder to build an India they would be proud of," PM Modi tweeted.

Rahul Gandhi offered prayers at the Golden Temple. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh accompanied him. Rahul paid floral tributes at the memorial inside the Jallianwala Bagh in the morning. They also observed a two-minute silence to remember those who were massacred in the tragic incident on April 13, 1919.

"The cost of freedom must never ever be forgotten. We salute the people of India who gave everything they had for it," the Congress chief wrote in the visitors' book.

Vice President Naidu will release a commemorative coin and a commemorative postage stamp at today's homage ceremony.

Theresa May had on Wednesday described the Jallianwala Bagh massacre as a "shameful scar" on British Indian history, but stopped short of a formal apology. Britain's opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn demanded that those who lost their lives in the massacre deserve a "full, clear and unequivocal apology for what took place".

Former British prime minister David Cameron had described the episode as "deeply shameful" in a visit to Amritsar in 2013. But he too didn't say sorry.

The massacre took place in Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar on Baisakhi in April 1919 when troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Dyer opened fire on a crowd of people holding a pro-independence meeting, leaving hundreds of people dead and scores injured.
Jallianwala Bagh massacre a shameful act: UK envoy

India

oi-Deepika S

Amritsar, Apr 13: British High Commission to India Dominic Asquith on Saturday paid tribute to those killed in the indiscriminate firing by the colonial forces 100 years ago in this Amritsar ground.

"The events of Jallianwala Bagh 100 years ago today reflect a shameful act in British-Indian history. We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused. I am pleased today that the UK and India have and remain committed to developing further a thriving 21st century partnership," Asquith noted in the visitors' book at the memorial.

100 years of Jallianwala Bagh: How the massacre unfolded

Theresa May had on Wednesday described the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar as a "shameful scar" on British Indian history as she marked the 100th anniversary of the tragic incident, but she stopped short of a formal apology.

The massacre took place in Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar on Baisakhi in April 1919 when troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Dyer opened fire on a crowd of people holding a pro-independence meeting, leaving hundreds of people dead and scores injured.
House panel would have estimated quantum of black money had there been more time: Veerappa Moily

'Not part of it': Veerappa Moily distances himself from 'G-23' Jammu meet

Moily levels serious allegation, says BJP has a tactical understanding with Pakistan

India

oi-Vikas SV

New Delhi, Apr 13: Former Karnakata chief Minister and senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily has levelled a serious allegation on the BJP and said Imran Khan's open supported to Narendra Modi shows that there is a "tactical understanding between the BJP and the Pakistan Prime Minister".

Khan had earlier said that Islamabad and New Delhi have a better chance of peace talks and settling the Kashmir issue if Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party BJP wins the general elections.

"Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has openly supported Narendra Modi as a pre-condition for talks on bilateral resolution of the Kashmir dispute which clearly shows that there is a tactical understanding between the BJP and the Pakistan Prime Minister," the Moily told PTI.

[Imran Khan's Modi 'endorsement' leaves Kashmir leaders fuming]

"Everytime the BJP comes to power, there is an escalation of hostility between India and Pakistan, it may be Kargil or attack on Indian Parliament under the Vajpayee government or Balakot and Pulwama under the current regime," he added.

A Pakistani daily had reported that Senators in Pakistan, during a session of the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs on Thursday, criticised Prime Minister Khan's statement, saying PM Modi is a "danger to Pakistan".

[Imran Khan warns against escalation, says ready for dialogue]

Moily, in his interview to PTI, also charged Modi with adopting a "Hitler-kind of attitude", stoking an "atmosphere of hatred in the country and thereby destroying all institutions".

Khan's support and also the suggestion that Modi would bring in better ties between the two nations indicate a secret understanding, perhaps compromising the interest of India on Kashmir, he said.

Khan's statements were latched on to by the opposition in India to target PM Modi with the Congress party on Wednesday saying Pakistan has now "officially allied" with him and a vote for him would mean a vote for the neighbouring country.

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Story first published: Saturday, April 13, 2019, 17:46 [IST]
Chhattisgarh, Punjab govts announce Rs 50 lakh to families of farmers run over in UP

Chhattisgarh's horrific accident: Nobody will be spared, justice will be done: CM Baghel

Naxals own up to Dantewada attack, forces say frustration the prime motive

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Raipur, Apr 13: The banned CPI (Maoist) has claimed responsibility for the attack at Dantewada, Chattisgarh, in which a BJP MLA and four police personnel had been killed.

The banned outfit also accused the Central government of looting the natural resources of Bastar to benefit corporate houses and selling it to them at throwaway prices.

Naxals had frighteningly specific details on BJP MLAs convoy

"Our PLGA (Peoples' Liberation Guerilla Army) had executed the attack (on April 9) and killed Bheema Mandavi and his four security guards. We have also recovered four weapons," said a purported statement issued by Maoists and being circulated on the social media on Friday.

Police had earlier said that three weapons, including two rifles, of the security personnel were missing after the attack.

The two-page statement was issued in the name of Sainath, secretary of Darbha division committee of Dandakaranya Special Zone of Maoists, which had been instrumental in executing several deadly attacks in south Bastar, including the deadly Jhiram valley attack in Bastar district on May 25, 2013, in which top congress leaders were killed.

In the statement, the Maoists also alleged that the government and the police had been forcibly carrying out road construction and installing mobile towers in the region, despite opposition from local villagers.

Police said the authenticity of the statement was being verified.

"The authenticity of the Naxal statement is being verified. It is nothing but just a propaganda by Maoists. The banned outfit has no right to justify its act," said the state Deputy.

Inspector General (anti-Naxal operations) Sundarraj P told PTI.

Naxals have now weakened and losing their support, which is why they are committing such acts in frustration, he said, adding, "Security forces will give a befitting reply to them."

Naxal attack on BJP convoy reminiscent of 2013 incident

Despite the Dantewada attack, people came out in large numbers to vote in Bastar Lok Sabha constituency on Thursday which is a victory for democracy, the DIG said.

On April 9, Mandavi, an MLA from Dantewada, and four police personnel were killed when Naxals blew up their vehicle with an IED near Shyamgiri village in the district.

Despite the attack and boycott from Maoists, 57 per cent voting was recorded in Bastar constituency.
Nothing wrong in media reporting AgustaWestland chargesheet: ED

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Apr 13: The Enforcement Directorate has told a Delhi court that there was nothing wrong in the media publishing the supplementary chargesheet it had filed in connection with the AgustaWestland case.

The chargesheet is a public document and there was no harm in the media publishing it, the ED said in response to an application filed by the counsel of James Christian Michel, an alleged middleman in the case. Michel's counsel had alleged that the chargesheet had been deliberately leaked to the media.

The ED said that the application was not maintainable as cognisance was taken on December 20 2014, when the first chargesheet was filed. As such no illegality or prejudice has been caused in the instant case, contrary to the averments made in the application, the ED also said.

AgustaWestland: Michel's business associate gets court summons

Michel's counsel Vishnu Shankar said that they would file a rejoined in the court. During the time of the filing of the supplementary chargesheet, out client was not given a copy and later it was leaked to the media, he said.

The ED however maintained that the chargesheet was a public document and the application of the accused should be rejected. The matter will now be heard on April 20.

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Story first published: Saturday, April 13, 2019, 10:09 [IST]
Opposition 'unhappy' with me over India's rapid global strides: PM Modi

India

oi-PTI

Chennai, Apr 13: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a broadside against the Opposition on Saturday, saying the DMK, Congress and their 'mahamilavati' friends cannot accept strides India has made and therefore were "unhappy" with him.

Taking a swipe at the DMK-Congress combine, he said those who were "sworn enemies" have joined hands, despite the national party having "humiliated" its southern ally in the past. "Today India is rapidly making a mark in the world. The Congress, DMK and their mahamilavati friends cannot accept this. That is why they are unhappy with me," he said at an election rally here.

The Prime Minister has been describing the opposition 'mahagatbandhan' (mega alliance) as 'mahamilavati,' meaning adulterated. Taking pot shots at DMK President MK Stalin's proposal naming Congress chief Rahul Gandhi as prime ministerial candidate, Modi said there were no takers for this among the opposition "because they are in line to be PM and dream of the post." "Some days ago, DMK supremo (Stalin) projected the Naamdar (dynast--Gandhi) as PM (candidate) but no one was ready to accept it, not even their mahamilavati friends, because they are in line to be PM and dream of the post," he said, without naming anyone.

'100% chowkidar is a thief': Rahul renews attack on PM Modi" title=" '100% chowkidar is a thief': Rahul renews attack on PM Modi" /> '100% chowkidar is a thief': Rahul renews attack on PM Modi

Despite past "bitterness," the Congress and DMK have joined hands, he said and recalled that the national party had "humiliated" the southern ally earlier, apparently referring to the dismissal of the DMK government in the past.

Even during the 2G spectrum allocation scam, centered around then Telecom Minster A Raja of DMK, the Dravidian party's leaders were criticising the national party, which was leading the ruling UPA, he pointed out. "In an attempt to mislead the people, all the corrupt have ganged up in an attempt to defeat Modi," he added.

PTI
Sena targets NCB: Officers trying to extort money by framing youngsters must be arrested

Opposition front not possible without Congress: Shiv Sena leader Raut after meeting with Rahul Gandhi

Sanjay Raut on chopper tragedy: We claim to have modernised armed forces, how could this happen?

Speak less on Rafale, Shiv Sena advises BJP

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

Mumbai, Apr 13: The Shiv Sena on advised its ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to "speak less" on the Rafale deal, in which the Congress has alleged corruption, cautioning that unwanted statements may increase troubles for the national party.

The Sena also said the ban on NaMo TV could have been avoided had the BJP been satisfied with the coverage being given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign rallies on electronic channels.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party sought to corner its senior ally over the recent clash between BJP workers in the presence of Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan at a public rally in Jalgaon, where the party has changed its Lok Sabha candidate.

"The shocking video (of the clash) was seen across the country. The BJP inducted goons in the party and turned them into Valmikis. However here, the experienced Valmikis turned into goons and indulged in violence.

Shiv Sena welcomes BJP manifesto, NCP calls it gimmick

"This is not only a blot on the campaigning of mahayuti (the BJP-Sena alliance), but the time has come for the BJP to clarify its stand," the Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana.

The Sena said the BJP, which calls itself a party with a difference, cannot justify this violence and dismiss the incident as one reflecting diverse opinions.

"At least on the Rafale issue, one needs to shed arrogance and talk with patience. Right from the defence minister to other leaders, people (in the BJP) are speaking whatever they like.

"This may increase troubles for the party and therefore we advise that the lesser spoken the better," the Sena said.

The Marathi daily noted the Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the government's contention that sensitive documents accessed by the media on the Rafale deal can't be treated as evidence and said it will examine the papers while reviewing its December 14 order giving a clean chit to the contract.

The Congress has alleged a massive corruption in the Rs. 58,000-crore Rafale deal and its president Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly targeted the Prime Minister over the issue.

The Sena said along with the ban on release of a biopic on PM Modi, the Election Commission has also disallowed airing of political content on NaMo TV.

It is the BJP's internal matter if it needs a separate television for the prime minister's publicity, it said.

"Except one or two channels, every channel has become NaMo TV. Modi's speeches are being given prominence and the ban on NaMo TV could have been avoided.

"The BJP has influence over electronic channels and the party is reaping its benefits," the Sena said.

Citing the its own example, the editorial said the biopic on late Sena patriarch Bal Thackeray was released in January because the party did not want the Election Commission to conclude that the film was made keeping elections in mind.
This day that year: One of the greatest US president's Abraham Lincoln was shot dead in 1865

India

oi-Vikas SV

New Delhi, Apr 14: On this day (April 14) in 1865, Abraham Lincoln, considered as one of the greatest presidents in U.S. history, was assassinated. He strongly opposed slavery and is regarded as one of America's greatest heroes.

Lincoln's distinctively human and humane personality and incredible impact on the nation have endowed him with an enduring legacy. He was the 16th president of the United States and is regarded as one of America's greatest heroes due to his role as savior of the Union and emancipator of slaves.

As President, he built the Republican Party into a strong national organization. Further, he rallied most of the northern Democrats to the Union cause. On January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy.

Born in Kentucky, Lincoln grew up on the frontier in a poor family. Lincoln made extraordinary efforts to attain knowledge while working on a farm, splitting rails for fences, and keeping store at New Salem, Illinois. His Emancipation Proclamation paved the way for slavery's abolition, while his Gettysburg Address stands as one of the most famous pieces of oratory in American history.

[Why 4th Thursday of November is observed as Thanksgiving Day]

In April 1865, with the Union on the brink of victory, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln was suddenly and tragically assassinated at a time when his country needed him to complete the great task remaining before the nation. On April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln and his wife, Mary, attended a performance at Washington, D.C.'s Ford's Theatre. But shortly after 10 p.m., his assassin, John Wilkes Booth, fired a single bullet, fatally wounding Lincoln. Booth crept up from behind and at about 10:13 pm, fired at the back of Lincoln's head, mortally wounding him.

Lincoln's guest Major Henry Rathbone momentarily grappled with Booth, but Booth stabbed him and escaped. Lincoln was taken across the street to Petersen House. After remaining in a coma for nine hours, Lincoln died at 7:22 am on April 15.

Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, while attending a play at Ford's Theatre. After attending an April 11, 1865, speech in which Lincoln promoted voting rights for blacks, Booth decided to assassinate the President. Learning of Lincoln's intent to attend the play with Grant, Booth and his co-conspirators planned to assassinate Lincoln and Grant at the theater and to kill Vice President Johnson and Secretary of State Seward at their respective homes.

(Source: Wikipedia/www.History.com)
CTET December 2021 admit cards to be out shortly: How to download

Trader body seeks BJP ticket for its leader from Delhi

India

oi-Hardeep Singh Bedi

New Delhi, April 13: The apex body for traders in the country - Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) - has sought Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket for its Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal from Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency in Delhi.

The basis of demand is that Chandni Chowk is primarily a traders dominated seat where a large number of traders and their employees are voters.

"If Mr. Khandelwal is made a BJP nominee from Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency then the traders of Delhi will rally behind him and they can lend support to BJP on other seats of Delhi as well. Likewise, the candidature of Mr. Khandelwal will give a strong positive feeling to trading community across the country for supporting BJP which will be a shot in the arm for the party," says CAIT Delhi State President Vipin Ahuja.

The CAIT claims of having the support of about 2500 Trade Associations of Delhi and about 19 lakh traders across the city.

Delhi CEO directs BJP to not air content on NaMo TV without certification

Of late, the CAIT has been trying to form a vote bank of the traders in the country.

It organised a National Convention on April 03-04 at Pondicherry to decide the role and strategy of trading community in forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Khandelwal had told OneIndia that the party or parties which will recognise the 'Traders' National Charter' will get outright support of around 30 crore voters who are indirectly associated with more than 7 crore traders across the country.

The traders' body has been sending even veiled warnings to the political parties, especially the BJP, that by launching a whisper campaign, the traders can influence the mindset of voters.

The CAIT claims of having the power to influence election results in 195 Lok Sabha Constituencies in 19 States.

According to the CAIT, these 195 seats include 33 seats in UP, 21 seats in Maharashtra, 16 seats each in West Bengal and Tamilnadu,15 seats in Bihar, 14 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 13 seats in Gujarat, 11 seats in Rajasthan, 10 seats in Karnataka, 07 seats each in North East region and Odisha, 06 seats in Jharkhand, 05 seats in Kerala, 04 seats each in Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, 04 seats in Haryana, 03 seats each in Telangana, Punjab and Delhi.

Interestingly, the AAM Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday released a report card of Union Minister Harsh Vardhan, the BJP MP from Chandni Chowk. The AAP has alleged Harsh Vardhan failed on issues like full statehood, sealing drive, and pollution.

The AAP is coming out with such 'report cards' which are a compilation on the hits and misses of all seven BJP MPs from the national capital. Prior to this, the ruling party in Delhi had brought out the report card of BJP state unit chief and North East Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari on Wednesday.
Appeasement vs national security: Forests of South India are breeding grounds for terrorists, naxalites

Cleaning up the inside rot: The importance of gunning down Kashmirs white collared terrorists

Two terrorists killed in Shopian encounter

India

oi-Deepika S

Srinagar, Apr 13: Two terrorist were killed in a brief shootout at Shopian in South Kashmir in an encounter with security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Based on specific information about the presence of terrorists in Gahand area of Shopian in south Kashmir, security forces launched a cordon and search operation there this morning, a police official said.

J&K: Encounter underway between terrorists, security forces in Tral area

He said as the forces were conducting searches, the terrorists fired upon them.

The forces retaliated, ensuing an encounter, the official said, adding the exchange of firing was going on and the identity of killed terrorists couldn't be ascertained at this stage.
Understanding the low voter turn out in Telangana

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Hyderabad, Apr 13: The polling percentage in Telangana was 10 per cent lesser compared to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The state which polled in the first phase recorded 60.57 per cent which is 10 per cent when compared to the previous elections.

The polling percentage was also 13 per cent lesser when compared to the 2018 assembly elections held in the state.

Was the polling lesser as the voters were less enthused this time. An official with the Election Commission explains to OneIndia that the low percentage was more to do with the fact that there are holidays.

Why the Nizamabad polls will make it to the Guinness Book of World Records

Many from Rangareddy and Hyderabad had left for their home towns in Andhra to spend time with their family. This is one of the main reasons why the percentage had come down. In the Assembly elections, there was a record turnout at 73.20 per cent. In that election, those from Andhra living in Hyderabad had voted in large numbers.

The case in Andhra Pradesh was different. The polling percentage stood at a record 76.7 per cent. It appears that several persons living in Telangana, but have their names registered in Andhra had gone to their home state and voted in large numbers.

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Story first published: Saturday, April 13, 2019, 11:09 [IST]
Sena MLA slams Anna for trying to dictate terms to Legislature

Every hero of politics should tread with caution: Sena

Pay Rs 5 lakh fine if you arrive late for an Air India flight

Why the battle at Shirur, Maharashtra is a must watch

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

Mumbai, Apr 13: The Shirur Lok Sabha constituency in Pune district is set for an interesting battle between a three-time MP of the Shiv Sena and an actor-turned-politician who is popular among people for his on-screen exploits.

Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil, a three-term Lok Sabha MP of the Shiv Sena from Shirur, is taking on Amol Kolhe, a Marathi actor-turned-politician fielded by the NCP.

Not approaching politics as a star, says Urmila Matondkar

According to political experts, fielding Kolhe in the Sena bastion was a "smart" move by NCP chief Sharad Pawar as the actor has become a household name in Maharashtra through his roles of Chhatrapati Sambhaji in historical biopic serial 'Swarajyarakshak Sambhaji' and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in 'Raja Shiv Chhatrapati.

Shirur is considered a stronghold of Patil, who has won the seat three times since 2004 with huge margins, with the NCP, which has a strong base in the region, failing to halt his victory march.

This time too, Patil is confident of winning the seat with even bigger margin, citing his "strong connect" with the people of Shirur and development work he has done in the industry-dominated constituency.

The constituency houses several MIDCs in Chakan, Khed, Ranjangaon and Sanaswadi areas where big manufacturing companies, including automobile firms, have their plants.

Kolhe, who joined the NCP in February after quitting the Shiv Sena, however, said Patil has "failed" to bring development to Shirur.

"On the development front, he has failed as an MP.

Look at the Pune-Nashik Highway.

High polling despite naxal attacks in Maharashtra

"Had there been a trauma centre on the highway, it would have been a boon for people. However, there is an attempt to divert the issue from development to caste-based politics," said Kolhe.

He said an international airport which was supposed to come near Khed in the constituency went to Purandar, also in Pune district, which shows Patil's lack of vision.

The other important issue in the constituency is the ban on bullock cart races, which used to be popular among people in rural areas.

The Shiv Sena MP is spearheading a campaign demanding lifting of the ban on races.

The Bombay High Court has banned bullock cart races in Maharashtra on the ground of cruelty.

"Bullock cart races could be used to give a fillip to the rural economy. I have never seen him meeting Maneka Gandhi (Union minister) over the issue.

"He never tried to explain how the races could help the rural economy in a true sense," the NCP candidate said.

Kolhe said the constituency lacks basic infrastructure and maintained youths here want development and jobs.

"Since there are several historical sites in the constituency such as the birthplace of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (Shivneri), Tulapur where Chhatrapati Sambhaji sacrificed his life for Swarajya and Ashtavinayak (eight Ganeshas), we will plan a 'Bhakti Shakti corridor' to give encouragement to tourism and employment," he added.

Patil, while speaking to PTI, said there was no anti- incumbency against him and asserted he will seek votes in the name of development.

"I am connected to the people of Shirur and working for development of the constituency.

"Of course, he (Kolhe) is an actor and quite popular because of his serials. However, being popular on the silver screen does not mean that popularity will convert into votes," said the Sena MP.

Talking about allegations on the airport issue, he said it was the Airports Authority of India's (AAI) decision.

"The AAI carried out six feasibility surveys at the proposed site near Khed between 2006-2013 and gave a report to the then Congress-NCP government that due to geographical constraints, the airport was not possible (at Khed)," Patil said.

About the bullock cart race issue, Patil said he has raised the matter on different forums and even tabled a private bill in Parliament.

The Shirur Lok Sabha constituency comprises six assembly segments - Junnar, Ambegaon, Khed Alandi, Shirur, Bhosari and Hadapsar.

The constituency, which will vote on April 29, has more than 20 lakh voters.

Camil Parkhe, a senior journalist and political analyst, said it was a "smartt" move by Pawar to field Kolhe, who is very popular among people due to his on-screen roles.

"For the last three terms, NCP had been struggling to field a strong candidate in the constituency. However, this time they got a strong contender in Kolhe," Parkhe said.

However, it would be a daunting task for the NCP to win the seat as Patil has a strong connection with the people in the constituency and enjoys a clean image, he said.

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Story first published: Saturday, April 13, 2019, 7:51 [IST]
With caste playing a key factor, keen contest on in Karnataka

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Bengaluru, Apr 13: Speak elections in Karnataka and the conversation is incomplete until the caste factor is discussed. Caste plays a major factor in the Karnataka elections and the support of the Lingayats, Vokkaligas, OBCs, SC and STs becomes extremely crucial.

The primary vote bank for the Congress has been the SCs, Muslims and Christians. In the case of the JD(S), the party relies heavily on the Vokkaliga votes.

Looking back at the 2014 elections, the BJP had won 17 seats, while the Congress and JD(S) bagged 9 and 2 respectively. The BJP drew a large number of votes from the Lingayats and upper caste Hindus.

In 2014, the BJP got 58 per cent of the Lingayat votes, 32 per cent from the Vokkaligas, 60 per cent of the upper caste Hindu votes and 42 per cent each from the ST and OBCs.

The Congress on the other hand, got 65 per cent of the Muslim votes, 24 per cent from the Lingayats, 24 per cent from Vokkaligas, 49 per cent of the SC votes and 64 per cent of the Christian votes. The JD(S) on the other hand got 38 per cent of its votes from the Vokkaligas, 12 per cent each from the SC, OBC and Lingayat votes.

Karnataka: Housing Minister Nagaraj performs "Nagin dance" to woo voters

This time around the JD(S) and Congress are contesting together. The two parties would hope that there is no division in votes. They would also pin their hopes in the unification of the Vokkaliga, Lingayat, Muslim, Christian, OBC and ST/ST votes.

Karnataka would be polling on April 18. There are 28 seats up for grabs of which seven are reserved. Five are reserved for the SCs and two for the STs.

The BJP would focus most of its resources in the Mumbai-Karnataka and coastal regions, where it is very strong. The JD(S) is mainly restricted to the southern districts of the state, where the percentage of Vokkaliga population is very high. Congress is the only party to have a pan-Karnataka presence.

The state's most dominant population is the Lingayats and they have traditionally backed the BJP. The BJP would continue to capitalise on the anger the Lingayats have against Siddaramaiah, who had proposed a separate religious status for them ahead of the Karnataka elections.

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Story first published: Saturday, April 13, 2019, 14:16 [IST]
Thousands of terrorists might have been airlifted out of Kabul: Trump slams Biden

Never in history has withdrawal from war been handled so badly: Trump

Open to a third summit with President Donald Trump, says Kim

International

oi-Deepika S

Pyongyang, Apr 13: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is ready for a third summit with President Donald Trump, but set the year's end as a deadline for Washington to offer mutually acceptable terms for an agreement to salvage the high-stakes nuclear diplomacy, the state-run media said on Saturday.

"If the US proposes holding a third North Korea-US summit with a right attitude and a right method, we have a wilingness to do it one more time," Kim was quoted by Yonhap News Agency, as saying.

Kim made the comments during a speech on Friday at a session of the North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament, which made a slew of personnel changes that bolstered his diplomatic lineup amid stalemated negotiations with the United States.

Mike Pompeo agrees that Kim Jong Un is a 'tyrant'

The statement comes days after South Korean President Moon Jae-in's state visit to the US to hold talks with Trump for discussing stalled diplomatic talks between Washington and Pyongyang.

During the meeting with Moon, Trump had asserted that he wanted to retain the sanctions imposed on North Korea while he worked towards getting the denuclearisation talks back on track with Kim.

Moon is expected to participate in the proposed third US-North Korea summit, in order to keep the denuclearisation talks on track and to chalk out a peace deal to end the over six-decades-long Korean War.
Photographic Chemicals Market 2019 | Global Industry Overview 2025 | Top Companies  Fujifilm, Huntsman, Sichuan Linchen, BASF, Etc.

Photographic Chemicals Market 2019

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Secondary research techniques are implemented for better understanding and clarity for data analysis.The report for Photographic Chemicals Market analysis & forecast 2019 - 2025 is segmented into Product Segment, Application Segment & Major players.Region- wise Analysis covers: North America Europe China Japan India Southeast Asia Other regions (Central & South America, Middle East & Africa)The Major players reported in the market include: Fujifilm Huntsman Sichuan Linchen BASF Ace Chemicals ACROS Bostick & Sullivan CJ ChemicalProduct Segment Analysis: Acetic Acid Cadmium Bromide Silver Bromide Sodium Sulphide Selenium Dioxide OthersApplication Segment Analysis: Consumer BusinessMajor Topics Covered in this Report: Chapter 1 Study Coverage Chapter 2 Executive Summary Chapter 3 Market Size by Manufacturers Chapter 4 Production by Regions Chapter 5 Consumption by Regions Chapter 6 Market Size by Type Chapter 7 Market Size by Application Chapter 8 Manufacturers Profiles Chapter 9 Production Forecasts Chapter 10 Consumption Forecast Chapter 11 Upstream, Industry Chain and Downstream Customers Analysis Chapter 12 Opportunities & Challenges, Threat and Affecting Factors Chapter 13 Key Findings Chapter 14 AppendixGet Exclusive FREE Sample Copy Of this Report @Photographic Chemicals Market Analysis and Forecast 2019 - 2025 report helps the clients to take business decisions and to understand strategies of major players in the industry. The report also calls for market- driven results deriving feasibility studies for client needs. UpMarketResearch ensures qualified and verifiable aspects of market data operating in the real- time scenario. The analytical studies are conducted ensuring client needs with a thorough understanding of market capacities in the real- time scenario.Global Photographic Chemicals Market: Key Stakeholders: Manufacturers Distributors/Traders/Wholesalers Subcomponent Manufacturers Industry Association Downstream VendorsIn this study, the years considered to estimate the market size are as follows: History Year: 2013-2018 Base Year: 2018 Estimated Year: 2019 Forecast Year 2019 to 2025Key Reasons to Purchase: To gain insightful analyses of the market and have a comprehensive understanding of the Global Photographic Chemicals Market Analysis and Forecast 2019 - 2025 and its commercial landscape. Learn about the market strategies that are being adopted by your competitors and leading organizations. 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Our mission is singular and well- defined  we want to help our clients envisage their business environment so that they are able to make informed, strategic and therefore successful decisions for themselves.Contact Info:Name: Alex MathewsEmail: Alex@upmarketresearch.comOrganization: UpMarketResearchAddress: 500 East E Street, Ontario, CA 91764, United States.
Depression Drugs Market 2019 | Global Forecast 2025 | Top Key Players  Intellipharmaceutics, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Astrazeneca, Etc.

Depression Drugs Market 2019

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Our mission is singular and well- defined  we want to help our clients envisage their business environment so that they are able to make informed, strategic and therefore successful decisions for themselves.Contact Info:Name: Alex MathewsEmail: Alex@upmarketresearch.comOrganization: UpMarketResearchAddress: 500 East E Street, Ontario, CA 91764, United States.
Nasogastric Tubes Market 2019 | Global Industry Overview 2025 | Top Companies  Andersen Products, Bard Medical, Bicakcilar, Degania Silicone, Etc.

Nasogastric Tubes Market 2019

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Aneurysm Clips Market Growth 2026 By Leading Companies: B. Braun, Boston Scientific, Codman & Shurtleff, Integra LifeSciences, InoMed, KLS Martin Group, Medtronic Plc., Mizuho America, St. Jude Medical, Stryker Corporation

Aneurysm Clips

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Increasing worldwide incidences of aneurysms is the major factor driving the aneurysm clips market growth. According to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation 2018 data, around 500,000 deaths occur worldwide annually due to brain aneurysms. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), aortic aneurysms contribute to more than 25,000 deaths in the U.S. annually.Aneurysms can cause due to various factors. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, factors such as alcohol and tobacco consumption and drug abuse are expected to increase the risks of aneurysms development. According to the Tobacco Atlas, the number of tobacco smokers is set to increase by 24 million in Indonesia and by 7 million in Nigeria from 2015 to 2025. This rise in tobacco consumption is expected to grow aneurysm cases eventually driving the aneurysm clips market growth. However, being an invasive surgery, clipping procedure can increase the duration of recovery period and patient hospital stay eventually increasing the overall treatment cost.Get a Request Sample of Research Report @Europe aneurysm clips market is anticipated to grow at significant rate, owing to presence of industry players focusing on development of innovative products in the field of aneurysm. For instance, in 2016, Neos Surgery developed plastic clips, which allows post-surgical checkups via Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computed Tomography (CT) scans, which is not possible with a metal clip. The technology was developed through the European Unions Eureka Eurostars program, which funded R&D with US$ 1.23 million.Although brain aneurysms affect individuals of all age, it is most prevalent in people age between 35 and 60. According to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation 2018 data, brain aneurysms cause nearly 500,000 deaths worldwide annually with half the victims younger than 50 years. Various factors contributing to the formation of brain aneurysms include smoking, drug use such as cocaine, hypertension or high blood pressure, congenital resulting from inborn abnormality in artery wall, tumors, traumatic head injury, family history of brain aneurysms and other disorders such as Polycystic Kidney Disease, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Marfan Syndrome, and Fibromuscular Dysplasia (FMD).Request for Customization of Research Report:According to the Center for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2013, around 75 million American adults were suffering from high blood pressure and it was a primary cause of death for more than 410,000 Americans in 2014. High blood pressure enlarges or weaken the blood vessels causing aneurysms in many cases.In September 2018, the OpenMind project, which involves nine European partners across six different countries, developed the first production process using Fibre-Reinforced Plastics (FBR), which is able to produce customized minimally invasive medical devices used during MRI guided surgeries. Some of the devices produced using the new production facility include aneurysm clips, catheters, and puncture needles.In 2016, Neos Surgery (Barcelona, Spain), in partnership with Advanced Engineering & Technologies GmbH and Institut fur Verbundwerkstoffe GmbH, developed a plastic clip, over metal clips to treat aneurysms. The plastic clip allows post-surgical checkups through Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans, which is not possible with metal clips.Send Enquiry on this report @Key players operating in the global aneurysm clips market include B. Braun, Boston Scientific, Codman & Shurtleff, Integra LifeSciences, InoMed, KLS Martin Group, Medtronic Plc., Mizuho America, St. Jude Medical, Stryker Corporation, and RauMedic.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.1001 4th Ave,, #3200, Seattle, WA 98154
Marine Fuel Injector Global Industry Report - History, Present and Future 2025

Marine Fuel Injector Global Industry Report 2025

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The global market size of Marine Fuel Injector is $XX million in 2017 with XX CAGR from 2013 to 2017, and it is expected to reach $XX million by the end of 2023 with a CAGR of XX% from 2018 to 2023.There are 3 key segments covered in this report: geography segment, end use/application segment and competitor segment.For geography segment, regional supply, application-wise and type-wise demand, major players, price is presented from 2013 to 2023. This report coverss following regions:*North America*South America*Asia & Pacific*Europe*MEA (Middle East and Africa)Access more details about this report at:The key countries in each region are taken into consideration as well, such as United States, China, Japan, India, Korea, ASEAN, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Spain, CIS, and Brazil etc.For end use/application segment, this report focuses on the status and outlook for key applications. End users also can be listed.For competitor segment, the report includes global key players of Marine Fuel Injector as well as some small players. The compnaies include:Liebherr International AG, Rolls-Royce Holding PLC, Cummins Inc, Woodward, Caterpillar, Yanmar, Delphi Automotive Plc, MAN SE, Denso Corporation, Robert Bosch GmbH et al.Purchase a copy of this premium research report at:The information for each competitor includes:*Company Profile*Main Business Information*SWOT Analysis*Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin*Market ShareInquire 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
Protester Margaret Peggy Zebroski said a jurys finding Friday that an officer who broke her nose didnt commit battery against her will do nothing to encourage what she sees as needed change in how Portland police interact with demonstrators.

Were living at a time of attacks on freedom from all sides, Zebroski said after the verdict, her voice at times wavering with emotion. Are we -- those who protest these attacks -- terrorists who should be violently crushed by faceless giants in riot gear? Portland Police Bureau has a history of treating peaceful protests as terrorism.

The ACLU of Oregon said the decision was a loss for the publics right to peacefully protest without police interference.

Portland police must end its disproportionate response to protests, commit to using safe and effective de-escalation tactics and respect the basic human rights of all people, said Mat dos Santos, legal director of ACLU of Oregon. We demand better from our police. We demand better from our city.

Police declined comment, but one of the bureaus assistant chiefs testified during the trial that officers have a deliberate strategy to try to keep the peace at protests and have learned from past experience to quell disorderly scenes quickly. Police Chief Danielle Outlaw and Mayor Ted Wheeler didnt respond with comment to a request by The Oregonian/OregonLive, and their staffs deferred comment to the city attorney.

Zebroskis lawsuit was the first of seven protest lawsuits filed in 2017 and 2018 to go to trial, according to the ACLU, which is backing the suits. Among plaintiffs in the suits are protesters who claim police used excessive force by striking one with a baton or blasting another with pepper spray. A federal class-action lawsuit, claiming police improperly used a technique called kettling to herd and detain protesters, also is working its way through the court system.

City Attorney Tracy Reeve said in an email that city officials sincerely regret the unintended injury to Zebroski.

We regularly evaluate our policies and training with input from the community, including the ACLU, to see where we can make improvements and we will continue to do so, Reeve wrote.

Reeve also thanked jurors. We are grateful that the jury carefully considered the evidence and found in favor of the City, Reeve wrote.

The jury found 9-3 that Officer Adi Ramic and other officers hadnt intentionally harmed or caused offensive contact with Zebroski when she suffered a broken nose during an arrest Feb. 20, 2017. Ramic pulled the 117-pound, 5-foot-1 woman from a sidewalk and onto the street facedown. He knelt on her shoulder and face, as seen in video played for jurors.

The city said Ramic had probable cause to arrest Zebroski, who a moment earlier had been blocking traffic in the street and had, he thought, tried to pull away another protester from police. Zebroski said she hadnt tried to impede police. The officer had described it as a chaotic scene.

Zebroski was among a group of 40 or more demonstrators protesting the shooting death of African American teenager Quanice Hayes by Portland police 11 days earlier.

In explaining the bureaus decisions during protests, Ryan Lee, the assistant police chief of operations, testified that more than 60 officers and support staff were called to the Feb. 20 Quanice Hayes and Not My Presidents Day protest because demonstrators didnt have a permit and police didnt know the groups intentions or its ultimate size.

Zebroskis attorneys criticized police in riot gear for suddenly pulling up on an SUV with running boards and then charging into the crowd of protesters, which by then had almost entirely heeded repeated orders by officers to step onto the sidewalk from the street. Zebroskis attorneys and trial witnesses said protesters were peaceful and hadnt resorted to any violence when police began yanking several back out to the street and handcuffing them.

Lee said police will arrest defiant protesters who disperse into a larger crowd because that might not be the end to their unruly conduct.

11 Zebroski vs. City of Portland

The Police Bureau used to take a different approach than it does today, Lee said, but that changed based on its experiences with thousands of protesters in the nights after Donald Trump was elected president in November 2016. Lee said instead of protesters calming over time, some grew violent.

There was a tone of unlawful conduct that continued to cascade until eventually we saw large scale obstruction occurring in certain areas of the city of Portland, violence toward the officers ... violence ... toward others, Lee said.

He said police now are more likely to consider acting swiftly.

By setting a tone of conduct and expectation to adhere to the law ... were helping to curtail things from getting worse, Lee said. Were also helping to curtail the continuation of that activity.

Zebroski was asking for $200,000 in damages: $1,224 for medical bills and the rest for her pain and suffering. Her attorneys, from the law firm Tonkon Torp, took on the case pro bono, according to the ACLU.

Zebroski said shed planned to donate any jury award to Dont Shoot Portland, a group that began in August 2014 after a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, fatally shot an unarmed African American teenager named Michael Brown.

The Portland police have many faces, Zebroski said. If youre well-to-do, you see them as protectors. If youre poor, houseless, in a mental health crisis or a person of color, theyre a constant threat. If you challenge authority by action in the street -- even with non-violent protest -- they respond with masked and armed violence. A dazzling array of less-than-lethal weaponry designed to engender fear and cause pain.

Earlier, after the judge had announced the jurys verdict and the courtroom had mostly cleared, Zebroski and Ramic briefly spoke and gave each other a hug.

Zebroski later recounted the conversation, saying Ramic apologized to her directly and she told him her concerns were mainly with police command staff. She said the two agreed to go out for coffee.

-- Aimee Green

agreen@oregonian.com

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By Brookes Brown

Brown is Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Director of the Law, Liberty, & Justice Program, Clemson University

Its tax season. Americans will pay an average of US $10,489 in personal taxes  about 14 percent of the average households total income.

Most will do so because they think it is their civic duty. Many believe they are morally obliged to obey the law and pay their share. But as tax day approaches, many Americans will bemoan their tax bill and complain that it is unfair.

So, how are we to know if paying taxes is the right thing to do? Perhaps philosophy has some clues?

Reasons to obey the law

Many philosophers agree that we should obey the law. In his book, The Crito, Plato, for example, describes Socrates choice after the Athenian jury sentenced him to death for impiety. Crito, a wealthy friend of Socrates, arranges for him to escape from the prison a night before his execution. Socrates refuses saying he ought to obey the law.

In explaining his decision, Socrates hinted at roughly three reasons why it would be wrong for him to break the law: First, he had chosen to stay in the city for many years despite being at liberty to leave if he did not like the laws. Second, he might hurt other people  by damaging the state if he disobeyed. Finally, he had benefited from the laws in the past.

More recent scholars endorse many of these claims. Eighteenth-century philosophers like John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau argued that citizens agreed to the law of the state by continuing to live in the place. Locke, for example, held that if a man owns or enjoys some part of the land under a given government, while that enjoyment lasts he gives his tacit consent to the laws of that government and is obliged to obey them.

Twentieth-century British philosopher R.M. Hare suggests that citizens should obey the lawto promote good social outcomes.

Another British philosopher of the same era, H.L.A. Hart argued that citizens should comply out of fairness to others who obey. He held that it is unfair, and therefore wrong to benefit from their actions, without doing the same for them in turn.

Is there a moral duty to pay taxes?

Yet it is hard to see why these arguments would give the average citizen a moral responsibility to pay their taxes.

Most of us never consented to the law. We were simply born here. Leaving would be costly, and even the chance to emigrate is dependent on another countrys willingness to accept us.

Given the amount of government waste and its total budget individual citizens could think that their tax bill is unlikely to make a difference to the services the government can provide. Even if they agree with how the government spends money, they might therefore conclude they have no reason to contribute. After all, one persons ten thousand dollars is not going to determine whether the military can secure national borders.

The most commonly defended argument from scholars for why one should pay taxes is a duty of fair play. Fair play is the notion of reciprocity, the idea that you should not take advantage of others.

As philosophers like George Klosko argue, people benefit from their fellow citizens paying their taxes.

They enjoy the roads that everyone helps pay for, the fire departments they fund. They ought to pay back fellow citizens who benefited them, just like you ought to do something for a friend who gives you a ride to the airport.

The case against paying taxes

As a philosopher who studies civic ethics, I have argued in a recent paper that this kind of responsibility still does not explain why one should pay taxes.

The idea that we have to pay your taxes because other people have benefited by paying theirs rests, from my perspective, on a wrongly narrow view of what it means to satisfy ones duties of reciprocity. All that reciprocity requires is that one should compensate people for the work they have done that benefits us.

Just like we can repay a friend who gives us a ride to the airport by doing something else that benefits them  say, making them dinner or helping them move  so too can we repay our fellow citizens by doing something other than paying our taxes.

Lots of actions benefit your fellow citizens that you might pay for  taking a pay cut to do legally discretionary work to help the environment, volunteering to do policy research, choosing a career in public service over a more financially rewarding line of work, and more.

If you do enough such acts, it could be argued, you would have no duty of reciprocity to pay your taxes. You would already have done enough to compensate your fellow citizens.

Why pay taxes

Given this, the best argument for paying our taxes, as I argue in my paper, is intellectual humility. And here is what it means.

Satisfying these duties of reciprocity requires successfully compensating our fellow citizens for all the burdens they took on our behalf. As one can imagine, it is a hard calculation to make.

It is difficult to know if we have done enough. If we choose not to pay taxes because we think we have already repaid our fellow citizens in other ways, we run a strong risk of getting it wrong.

Paying the tax bill is one way of avoiding that risk and making sure we treat our fellow citizens fairly.

Editors note: This piece is part of our series on ethical questions arising from everyday life. We would welcome your suggestions. Please email us at ethical.questions@theconversation.com.
Oregon lawmakers are zeroing in on a plan to raise $1 billion a year in business taxes to spend on K-12 education, with their first run at a bill scheduled for discussion on Tuesday.

For people closely following the process, there are few surprises.

The plan, made public Thursday evening, is a hybrid gross receipts tax modeled on a system used in Texas, which Oregon lawmakers are pursuing in hopes of avoiding strident opposition from the states largest business group. Unlike a straight gross receipts tax, this one would allow Oregon businesses to deduct 25 percent of their cost of labor or purchases from other businesses, whichever is larger.

And in an effort to offset costs that businesses would likely pass on to consumers, the proposal includes tax cuts for low to middle-income wage earners: It would lower by 0.25 percent the state income tax rates currently set at 5 percent to 9 percent for every tax bracket up to $125,000 for individuals or $250,000 for couples filing jointly.

The business tax would not apply to groceries, thus avoiding a key point of controversy that undermined public employee unions ultimately unsuccessful effort to get voters to say yes to a much larger gross receipts tax in 2016.

Its still not in cement yet, Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton, said on Friday. Were still going back and forth on a few things.

Yet members of the Joint Committee on Student Success are under pressure from Democratic leaders to get the plan out of committee, with House Speaker Tina Kotek noting this week that she and Senate President Peter Courtney want to hold floor votes on the bill by the end of this month. I think were on track to do that, Kotek said.

Gross receipts taxes are calculated based on businesses sales and under the hybrid model lawmakers are pursuing, businesses would be able to subtract 25 percent of either their labor or capital costs from their total sales. Only businesses with at least $1 million in sales would have to pay the tax, which would be equal to 0.49 percent of their sales plus $250.

Hass said the $1 million sales threshold means the tax would likely be paid only by roughly 40,000 businesses out of 460,000 total businesses in Oregon, including sole proprietorships.

Gas would be exempt from the tax, since under the Oregon Constitution taxes on gas can only be spent on transportation. Agricultural businesses would not have to pay the tax on sales to wholesalers and agricultural cooperatives, if the buyers certified the products were going to be exported. That provision responds to concerns that Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, has raised repeatedly about the potential impact to the agricultural industry.

For most industries, the plan would ensure they are not taxed again on the taxes and fees they already pay. They would still owe taxes on their underlying business activity. For example, the legislation instructs alcohol and marijuana producers not to count taxes and fees in their taxable business activity.

The exceptions are hospitals and nursing homes, which would not pay any gross receipts tax under this plan. Both are subject to temporary state taxes that Oregon uses to help pay for Medicaid, the health insurance plan for people with low to no income. State leaders have argued those taxes benefit the health care businesses, since both hospitals and nursing homes care have clients on Medicaid.

Hass said the hospitals negotiated an exemption as part of agreeing to an extension of their taxes through 2026, which lawmakers passed earlier this year. Those hospital taxes total roughly $1.2 billion per biennium.

The long-term care industry has also played a central role in negotiations around raising Oregons business tax, as part of a group called the Coalition for the Common Good. Other members of the group include public employee unions and Nike.

In the current budget, long-term care facilities are expected to pay $122 million in per-bed taxes, which the state expected to use to qualify for a $211 million federal match for its Medicaid program, according to a legislative document. Last year, lawmakers extended the nursing home tax through 2026. According to a legislative analysis, the tax benefits the long-term care facilities because it allow them to recoup a higher Medicaid reimbursement rate.

 Hillary Borrud | hborrud@oregonian.com | 503-294-4034 | @hborrud

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The fences on Vista Bridge may not be pretty, but the 9-foot suicide-prevention barriers have been effective at stopping suicides on Portlands Suicide Bridge. Since the fences went up in 2013, no one has died jumping from the historic bridge spanning a canyon in Southwest Portland.

Prior to the fences, in the years 2008-12, an average of two people a year jumped to their deaths from the bridge, which got its unfortunate nickname soon after it was built in 1926.

I feel very good about the fact no one has jumped from the bridge in over five years, said Steve Novick, who as the city commissioner in charge of the Portland Bureau of Transportation in 2013, the year five people jumped to their deaths from the Vista Bridge, found the money for the barriers. I wish we could have done something more aesthetically pleasing, but I absolutely think it was the right decision.

David Westbrook of Lines for Life, a regional, nonprofit crisis line for substance abuse and suicide, agrees with Novick. Theyre a lifesaving intervention, he said. There should be a permanent barrier in place. The fence was quick and relatively inexpensive, but there are other barriers that could work, like a net.

The temporary fences, which cost $236,000, were intended to stay for five years. The transportation bureau is currently applying to the Oregon Department of Transportation for $7 million to build permanent barriers, said John Brady, a spokesman for the bureau. A decision is expected this month.

Effectiveness hasnt made the fences on Vista Bridge popular with some neighbors.

I hate them, said Bill Failing, an activist and past president of the Oregon Historical Society who has lived near the bridge for 30 years. Youve got an iconic landmark in Portland, a spot where more photos are taken of the city and Mount Hood, and its completely ruined. This takes the vista out of Vista Avenue.

Failing belongs to Friends of Vista Bridge, a group that hopes to sway Portland city commissioners to put up nets instead of fences, he said. A member of the group, Denise Archer, contacted Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, who oversees the Portland Bureau of Transportation, without response, Failing said. Eudaly also did not respond to a request to comment for this story.

A spokesperson for Portland police had no comment about the fences on the bridge.

On a recent sunny day, William Greenebaum walked across the bridge with his son-in-law, Nick Schwartz.

I think theyre effective, but theyre not aesthetically pleasing, Greenebaum said of the fences.

Schwartz hates to see used needles and broken glass caught behind the fences, along with dead leaves, garbage and bits of plastic, he said.

Its too bad, Greenebaum said. I think they put up the fences too quickly.

Bud Clark, former mayor of Portland, likes having the fences. Clark, 87, whose father and grandfather both died by suicide, had a view of the bridge from his previous residence. He said hed like to see a permanent, decorative fence appropriate to the bridges style.

However, do not take down the (current) fence until a replacement has been designed, approved and funded, he said.

Portland, OR - January 28, 2013 - Former Portland Mayor Bud Clark lives in an apartment with a direct view of the Vista Bridge, and has witnessed suicides there. Most people who kill themselves choose ordinary places: garages, bedrooms, bathrooms. The Vista Bridge soars over MAX tracks and a busy street. The ripple effect of a suicide there can affect hundreds of people. Should the city put up barriers? Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian LC-LC-

Vista Bridge is on the National Register of Historic Places, so the city must notify the State Historic Preservation Office of any alteration to the bridges appearance. But the preservation office cant prevent the city from pursuing whatever option they choose to be in the best interest of the public, said Ian Johnson, associate deputy state historic preservation officer.

They can do what they like, Johnson said. We dont have to say its a great design. Its their bridge, their responsibility.

No work between the city and the preservation office has occurred regarding the Vista Bridge since the temporary fences went up, Johnson said.

Brady, of the citys transportation bureau, said a replacement hasnt been finalized. If we were to get funding, we would then start a public process to get feedback about the design, he said.

Portlands 11 Willamette River bridges also draw suicides. But the Vista Bridge, with its sweeping views of the city and Mount Hood, was the leader for people jumping from any Portland land bridge, a police spokesman said before the fences went up.

Back then, Bonnie Kahn and her husband, Kenneth E. Kahn II, used to work below Vista Bridge, and they saw several suicides from their office windows. They felt called on to address the problem, so they organized volunteers to walk the bridge and talk to anyone who looked distressed. They also helped raise money for the fences on Vista Bridge.

Bonnie Kahn, who also helped arrange for a fence on the Fremont Bridge in 2016, would like to see suicide prevention barriers on any new bridge or rehabilitation of an existing bridge, she said. And on parking garages downtown.

Were great enough as a society to realize this is a major problem and needs to be addressed in the design, she said.

Research shows that fences or nets are the most effective impediment to bridge suicides. The Empire State Building, Eiffel Tower and Sydney Harbor Bridge were suicide magnets before barriers went up. Afterwards, the number of jumpers declined to a handful or even to zero.

In 2018, workers began installing stainless steel mesh nets along both sides of San Franciscos Golden Gate Bridge, the second most popular suicide spot in the world. The $200 million project is expected to be completed in 2021. Bridge officials hope the mere existence of nets will act as a deterrent.

Research also shows that if people are prevented from killing themselves at one location, they rarely attempt suicide somewhere else.

Said Westbrook of Lines for Life, It has been shown over and over that, if we can prevent someone from making an attempt at a critical moment in their life when things seem too painful, too bleak to go on, we can prevent them from ever dying by suicide.

How to get help

Portland is home to Lines for Life, a nonprofit devoted to suicide prevention throughout the Pacific Northwest. It operates a suicide prevention line that is answered 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It can be reached at 800-273-8255 or by texting 273TALK to 839863.

More help

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255

Multnomah County: 503-988-4888 or 1-800-716-9769

Clackamas County: 503-655-8585

Washington County: 503-291-9111

This month, newsrooms across Oregon are highlighting the public health crisis of death by suicide. The goal of the collaborative project, Breaking the Silence, is to not only put a journalistic spotlight on a problem that claimed the lives of more than 800 Oregonians last year, but also examine research into how prevention can and does work. We hope to offer our readers, listeners and viewers resources to help if theyor those they knoware in crisis. Most of our work will be published and broadcast April 7-14. The participating media outlets are using a common set of data and have loosely coordinated their coverage in an effort to avoid duplication and better amplify all of our work. The work will be added to breakingthesilenceor.com as it is published.
A man suspected of killing and burning the body of another person in the trunk of a car in Portland last year was arrested earlier this week as he tried to retrieve a car being held by the Gresham Police Department.

Samuel R. Herrera was arrested Wednesday at Gresham polices Rockwood public safety facility. He remained held Friday in the Multnomah County Inverness Jail on accusations of murder, first-degree abuse of a corpse, second-degree arson, unlawful use of a weapon and tampering with physical evidence, jail records show.

Andrew P. Hathaway, 28, of Milwaukie was killed and put into the trunk of a 2003 white Chevrolet Impala that was set ablaze around 1 a.m. on Sept. 5 in the 6200 block of North Marine Drive, according to Portland police. The agency hasnt released any more information about the case since last fall.

The charges against Herrera, 28, were filed by the county district attorneys office Thursday, court records show. Hathaway isnt named in the documents, but Herrera is accused in the papers of using a knife to kill another person on Sept. 5, causing a fire that damaged a vehicle, mutilating a corpse and trying to destroy evidence by burning a deceased human body.

Herrera went to the Gresham police Rockwood station on Wednesday to retrieve a car in police custody, said Officer Ben Costigan, a Gresham police spokesman. While looking up Herreras name, a police records staff member discovered he had an active arrest warrant on suspicion of murder, Costigan said. The staff member then alerted officers, who later arrived and arrested Herrera.

Costigan said he didnt know the circumstances of the murder arrest warrant or any information about the car Herrera was trying to retrieve.

Herrera also had an arrest warrant related to a separate case in Multnomah County that occurred two weeks after the Portland killing, court records show. In that case, he is accused of being a felon in possession of a restricted weapon and interfering with a peace officer.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, a Portland police officer reported pulling Herrera over on Sept. 19 after seeing him driving a car without a front license plate. Herrera ran from the car after the officer told him to stay inside. Police found him crouched behind a nearby parked car and he was arrested.

The affidavit said police found a dagger that a witness saw Herrera taking out of his sock and put on the ground. Herrera was later released from jail in the case.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 |@EvertonBailey

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It wasn't until three years ago that Michigan began requiring continuing medical education (CME) for veterinarians, which requires doctors to stay up-to-date on the latest medical practices.

But the Midland Animal Clinic has required CME for more than 50 years.

In addition, Midland Animal Clinic is the only veterinary clinic in Midland to be certified by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), which means that the clinic operates by what the association considers the highest standards of care.

According to AAHA, only 12 to 15 percent of clinics in the United States and Canada are certified, and those clinics are required to re-certify every three years.

Kelly Glashauer, office manager for Midland Animal Clinic, said there are about 1,000 standards the clinic staff must operate by, from procedural protocol to ensuring sterile equipment.

For Dr. Katie Manley, one of the seven veterinarians at the clinic, the No. 1 operating principal is putting the client first.

"I put the clients first because that's who is the most important, of course," Manley said. "In our profession, the client being the pet owners because they're the ones that we have to communicate with."

Manley, a Saginaw native, practiced veterinary medicine for 11 years in Florida, before returning to the Mitten in 2014, when she began working at Midland Animal Clinic, which is located 1500 E. Patrick Road.

While each day brings a new set of challenges, Manley is responsible for wellness check-ups, sick pet consultations, performing ultrasounds and surgical procedures, such as spaying, neutering and tumor removals.

In addition, she must maintain thorough medical records, research different treatment options for complicated cases and interpret blood work and other diagnostics.

"She's a very kind person," Glashauer said about Manley. "She takes her care for the animals very seriously."

For Manley, helping clients to recognize their pets' pain, and helping to alleviate that pain, is the most rewarding aspect of being a veterinarian.

"We're not a specialist facility, but we offer services that not everybody can do," she said.

From ultrasounds and X-rays to being able to consult specialists who are hours away, Midland Animal Clinic offers animal care seven days a week.

While she isn't a certified specialist in animal dentistry, that is Manley's main area of interest and what most of her CME is focused on.

Using dental X-rays, Manley can catch an array of health concerns that would otherwise be overlooked.

"I am floored on a daily basis by what we find with those X-rays," she said.

From gingivitis and puss-filled gums to teeth that are falling out, Manley has been able to help pets with an array of dental problems.

Clients come back and say that their 14-year-old dog was acting like a puppy again after receiving dental care, she said.

Glashauer, who has worked at the clinic since 2006, said the staff is one of the best parts of her job. Over the years, she has watched as they have grown and developed in new roles.

"Our doctors are very dedicated," she said. "They work long hours during the day and they're here typically in the evenings doing their notes after closing hours. So, they're very dedicated to what they do."

However, despite their best efforts, not all pets can be saved and euthanasia is a routine part of the practice. Manley said she has accepted it as part of her everyday job.

"Euthanasia is the kindest thing we can do in a lot of situations," she said.

Manley admitted the hardest part of her job is time management and keeping up with expectations throughout the day.

"I hate having people waiting - I feel badly," Manley said about patients. "And it is very stressful for me as an individual to know that all those people are waiting and that the pets are waiting too."

She said she doesn't want anyone to ever feel like she is wasting their time.

"I want clients to know that if they're sitting in a room, it's not because I am having a party in the back," Manley said. "It is because somebody's pet is maybe being put to sleep and they needed 10 more minutes to say goodbye. Or somebody came in off the street with a cat that was hit by a car and we can't find the owner -- there's usually something really crazy and really stressful going on behind closed doors."

To cope with the inevitable stress associated with the job, Manley said communication is key. Communicating with her co-workers and waiting clients is the best way to be efficient and keep everyone happy.

"We want to help as many pets and people as possible and we try not to say 'no' to anyone," she said.
As one of the worlds leading technology companies, Google has made many attempts to join the ranks of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and even SnapChat with its native social media platforms. However, just about every attempt, including Orkut, has been a massive fail for Team Google.

Heres the breakdown:

Orkut

Orkut, Googles initial attempt at social networking, came into existence in January 2004. It was shut down a little over ten years later in September 2014. Named after the founder (and then Google employee) Orkut Buyukkokten, Orkut quickly gained popularity across the globe. Most significantly, Orkut became the most frequently-visited website of the year in both Brazil and India by 2008. Much like Facebook, the basic idea was to connect with old friends while making new ones online.

Zero Privacy  Everyone can see each others profiles.

Peeping Tom  Orkut informs the profile owner of each and every visitor.

No Business Mode- Unlike Facebook, Orkut did not accommodate the creation of business pages.

Snail Speed- Super slow loading time, especially when compared to Facebook.

Dismal User Experience.

Lack of Interesting Features.

Google Buzz

Part micro-blogging tool and part messaging platform, Google Buzz allowed its users to share photos, links, updates, videos, and even comments with a select group of friends or the public. Each of these shares would be categorized as conversations within the account users inbox.

Buzz was rolled out back in February 2010 and a mere 8 months later, Google called it quits. The chief reason behind Buzzs failure was Googles shortsightedness on the privacy side of things. A major flaw that became apparent early on was the public disclosure of the users most frequent contacts. Another serious privacy flaw was the publication of the users exact geographical location while posting through Buzzs mobile-version.

Several design & delivery issues that compromised the users privacy.

The team was unable to build authentic communities around Buzz.

A Sloppy User Experience.

Google Wave

Part- Slack and Part- Google Chat, Google Wave was designed as a real-time collaboration tool for working professionals and students. Among the promised advantages was the ability to co-edit documents with multiple team members at the same time. The basic layout stayed close to familiar territory for Google; it essentially looked like the inbox of any generic email app. It was promoted as the ultimate group brainstorming tool, especially for teams that work remotely and across multiple timezones. There were some great ideas behind the creation of the tool but Google dropped the ball during the execution. Google announced Waves shutdown in August 2010 and the service waved for the very last time in April 2012.

Invite-only Membership.

Confusing interface that jammed multiple windows within a single browser window.

Difficult to spot the latest message in a wave as it was often buried at the bottom. A user would have to manually scroll down to locate the newest message.

The live typing feature, giving other users a preview of whats being typed, could not be turned off.

Inadequate or Misdirected Marketing Attempts.

Google Hangouts

As a messaging platform, Hangouts was meant to be Googles answer to competing services from rivals like WhatsApp Messenger, iMessage, and Facebook Messenger. It offered instant messaging, VOIP and video conferencing facilities to its users. Not only that, Hangouts combined aspects of pre-existing products such as Google+ Messenger, Google Talk, and the Hangouts feature within Google+. The messenger service was also supposed to support the companys very own telephone service called, not surprisingly, Google Voice. Despite the unimaginative branding, Hangouts achieved substantial success with its target consumer base. Need proof? One billion installs were recorded on Android devices. Google Hangouts was formally launched in May 2013. In 2017, the company revealed plans to provide Hangouts Meet (for video conferencing) and Hangouts Chat (for instant messaging) for businesses. The shutdown of the original,consumer-only version of Google Hangouts began back in October 2019 and will end in 2020.

Trying to do too much at the same time.

Unclear branding and overlapping features.

Hangouts flooded multiple devices with alerts and notifications.

Needed a separate plugin to run video calls for some browser combinations.

Focused on migrating users towards the paid, enterprise version of Hangouts bundled within GSuite.

Google Plus

Unlike the other social media tools and platforms previously mentioned here, Google Plus was designated as a social media network from the very start. The shutdown of Orkut, Google Buzz, and Google Wave led up to the creation and launch of Google Plus in 2011. Some industry experts believe that Google was more interested in learning its users interests and preferences rather than running a full-scale social network.

Low Consumer Adoption and Engagement Numbers.

Significant Software Design Issues.
Two years have passed. Much more to go as callous and insensitive it may sound the truth cannot be concealed. Yes, many more years will pass by, just like these two years. Mashal Khans lynching will continue being one of the darkest incidents of Pakistans history. Well, I know the competition is tough and darkness is just a residue in this black hole.

Shall we mourn Mashal Khans mob lynching or shed some tears over Shama and Shahzad burnt alive by a mob over blasphemy accusations? Shall we bury our heads in the sand for Aasia Bibi who is unable to be set free despite being proven innocent by the court or raise our hands for Salman Taseer whose only crime was raising his voice for an innocent woman? Do we have the heart to say a word for Professor Khalid Hameed murdered by his own student?

Too many unanswered queries for a day

I know I am not lucky enough to be a pigeon who at least has the luxury of closing her eyes upon the sight of eminent misery. Despite trying my level best to sway away and keep myself occupied with my assignments and roasting chicken in a far off hemisphere, I can not keep myself away from Mashal Khans probing face appearing on my minds screen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u1mDh9jGDg

I will never be able to forget his mothers words

When I held Mashals hand to kiss him, his fingers were crushed.

What was his real sin? Exposing the real side of Abdul Wali Khan Universitys administration?

They say that an innocents blood doesnt get wasted. They need to revise their notions maybe.

LYes, today Mashal Khan is much bigger than what he was during his life. But did he ask to be killed in cold blood? Did he seek this greatness thrust upon him by a mob of human looking beasts?

Today we hold rallies and protests remembering Mashal Khan. We will not let his name die even if we could not protect his body. This year rallies were conducted through the length and breadth of Pakistan to commemorate the day when Mashal was stripped, beaten to death and then thrown off the second storey of the hostel building. Even after he died his family was constantly threatened for life. Mashal Khans brave father Iqbal Lala has vowed not to rest till his last breath and stands strong like an iron wall. Ever tried looking into his eyes? I dare not. You will melt into a puddle of mud and blood in repentance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRtJ8c0bdqY

But the question still lies if we will ever be able to prevent more Mashal Khans being prey to this brutality? Are we the common people still left with the power to change the use of religion for anyones personal malicious designs?

This is a cycle, ladies and gentlemen. This is a cycle: a vicious cycle. It goes round and round and round.
Paducah, KY (42003)

Today

Rain. Thunder possible. High 64F. SSW winds shifting to NNW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Considerable cloudiness. Occasional rain showers later at night. Low 43F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.
Algiers, Algeria (PANA) - Clashes were recorded Friday evening in parts of Algeria between demonstrators and police forces who used tear gas to disperse them
Abuja, Nigeria (PANA)  Ahead of the Sundays fifth year anniversary of the abduction of the school girls of Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, Northeast Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari says the parents should note that he has still not forgotten their daughters who were kidnapped from their dormitory five years ago (April 14, 2014)
Bamako, Mali (PANA)  France has given Mali one billion CFAF (about 2 million dollars) to make food available to more than 65,000 vulnerable people in the regions of Mopti (center) and Timbuktu (north), following two conventions signed on Friday in Bamako between France, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Children fund (UNICEF) on the one hand, and France and the NGO International Solidarity on the other hand
Kampala, Uganda (PANA) - South Korea is re-establishing its foothold in Uganda and has stepped in to support a number of projects, the latest being a fruit making factory launched on Saturday
South Africa: Technology boost for Eastern Cape schools

An innovative initiative by government to supply modern technology equipment to disadvantaged schools in rural areas is set to change the lives of learners at these schools.

Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams and her deputy Pinky Kekana on Friday launched the two Cyber Labs at the Nolitha Special School situated in Mount Ayliff and at Zinyosini Senior Secondary School situated in Ntabankulu.

Speaking at Nolitha Special School, Minister Ndabeni-Abrahams told learners about the importance of the internet and how it was going to improve their lives.

As citizens of this country, we should not lack behind, internet is there to improve our lives and ensure that we are connected and able to communicate with the rest of the world, Ndabeni-Abrahams said.

The Minister told the learners that the computer lab and the internet will ensure that they are able to do research for their studies and that since they are connected to the internet, they will be able to communicate with the outside world.

Freedom is not complete when rural learners are not connected or able to communicate with the outside world. As government we want to make sure that learners in the rural schools are connected and are able to communicate with the outside world, Ndabeni-Abrahams said.

She appealed to the learners and community members to report criminals who steal the computers.

Ndabeni-Abrahams told the learners that they do not have to go to Gauteng for a better life.

With the internet connection here, you can live a better life here without having to go to Gauteng. You can start your own business here and be able to sell your products throughout the country by using a computer and the internet, the Minister said.

She cautioned the learners to strictly use the computers for their studies and not to open sites that do not have anything to do with their studies.

Dont use the computers to look or search for blessers. Those people will destroy your future, focus on your studies, the Minister said.

For the next two years, both schools will be connected to the internet free of charge and thereafter they will pay for it.

In all the schools, the learners were excited to use the computers for their research during their studies.

Chairperson of the School Governing Body at Nolitha Special School, Gcina Mketo, thanked government for providing the learners with the computer lab, saying this was going to improve the lives of the learners.

Mketo appealed to the government to also consider disabled learners for job opportunities as some of them have relevant qualifications for the job market.

Our learners do have the relevant qualifications just like anybody else, they must be considered for job opportunities, he said.

A learner at Nolitha Special School, Lesley Alfeto, who is in the Senior Group, told SAnews that the computers are going to improve their lives and make their studies much easier.

Lesley told SAnews that he wants to be a graphic designer and with the computer lab at the school, this was going to make learning design much easier.

I thank our government for providing us with the computers, this is going to make us to enjoy our studies, he said.

At Zinyosini Secondary School, Grade 8 learner, Mvuseleni Gxindi, told SAnews that with the computers at their school, learning was going to be exciting.

Mvuseleni, who wants to be an engineer, said he will use the computers to learn more about engineering.

I am excited that government has brought us the computers to help us in our studies. We are now going to get internet and be able to do research, he said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2019-04-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
By Devdutt Pattanaik The Economic Times

Published on 22nd March, 2019, in Economic Times.

Sea travel is mentioned in the Buddhist Jataka tales but not in the great epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, perhaps because the former was patronised by mercantile communities (vaishyas) and the latter by landed gentry (kshatriyas).

Sailors from India travelled along the monsoon winds to Southeast Asia and to Arab countries to trade on fabrics and spices in exchange for gold. We do know that Indian sea trade was widespread even during the Harappan Era. The sea was used to trade with the Arab coast. India was then known as Meluha.

2000-year old Tamil literature refers to merchants who travelled far and wide and brought back great riches including Roman coins, Roman wine and even Roman women. In Southeast Asia, sea merchants travelled to countries like Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam. They carried with them not just trading goods, but stories, which is why in these regions we find the retelling of the great epics, Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

Along the sea coasts of India and SouthEast Asia, one finds shadow-puppetry, telling the stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata. These were supposed to have been invented on ships, sailing to Southeast Asia, with the light of the flames, casting shadows on the sails of the ships.

Hero stones found in Goa dating between 10th and 11th centuries do show seafaring boats. But in the grand temples of the South, boats are conspicuous by their absence, even though the Chola kings had a great navy. One does see images of kings and gods taking boat rides in the terracotta temples of Bishnupur in Bengal dating 17th century; but most of these boats are usually on ponds and rivers and lagoons, not the kind of great boats that travel across the sea.

In Gujarat, near Khambat, we hear of Vahanvati Sikotar Mata also known as Harsiddhi Mata, a goddess who protects sailors from shipwrecks. In Odisha, there is the famous folktale of Topoi whose seven brothers sailed to Bali for business. Baliyatra in Odisha involves floating toy boats in temple ponds, to remind people of the great seafaring merchants of Odisha.

Thus, we do see a coastal maritime tradition both in the eastern and western regions of India. However, the traditions changed about a thousand years ago. The sailing, which was done by Indian merchants, was outsourced to the Arabs.

Later, the Arabs were defeated by the Portuguese who took over the sea trade. Then the Portuguese were defeated by the Dutch and the British and we see the great conquest of the world, through the maritime tradition of Europe. And Indias maritime tradition is all but forgotten.

There were many reasons attributed to why Indias maritime trade declined. One reason was the tension between the Brahmins and the Buddhists. The sea traders patronised Buddhism and the Brahmins patronised the feudal land owners, the Kshatriyas who controlled the kshetra or land. In every culture there has been tension between the landowning rich and the trading rich.

Over time a belief spread that when you cross the sea, you lose caste. Once the idea became popular, people avoided travelling over water, which, in turn, led to the decline of Indians travelling over the sea; they restricted their trading activities to the ports; communities in Kerala and Gujarat that insisted on travelling converted to Islam and forged marital relations with Arabs.

This also led to the decline of Hinduism spreading in South East Asia. Buddhists who had already migrated to Cambodia and Vietnam, created monasteries and taught local people Buddhism. Therefore, Buddhism thrived, in those countries.

Hinduism failed to flourish as Hindu priesthood was based on bloodline and castes, and since people could not travel across the sea or take their brides, across the sea, the Hindu tradition gradually waned.

This idea of people, travelling across the sea, becoming polluted and the taking away of caste came to be known as Kalapani. We know that even during World War I, soldiers who were sent by the British to fight in other parts of the world and returned home thereafter, faced great discrimination in their villages.

The one community that continued with shipping was the Chettiar community of Tamil Nadu. The Chettiars did travel, right from the time of Chola kings, establishing temples as far as China. The Chettiar community, it is said, worshipped Murugan, in his celibate form. Young sailor boys were told to maintain celibacy, when they travelled across the sea and only marry women of the community, otherwise they risked excommunication.

That the Chettiar community knew how to manage culture in the pursuit of economics is perhaps the reason of their business success.
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This afternoon President Trump and the FCC announced several initiatives to spur 5G network growth in the U.S. "The race to 5G is on and America must win," President Trump said, noting that 92 5G markets will be ready by the end of the year, outpacing South Korea, which is on pace to have 48 markets live by the end of 2019.

President Trump later added: "It's a race our great companies are now involved in. According to some estimates, the wireless industry plans to invest $275 billion in 5G networks, creating 3 million American jobs quickly, and adding $500 billion to our economy. To accelerate and incentivize these investments, my administration is freeing up as much wireless spectrum as needed. "We're removing regulatory barriers to the buildout of networks. The FCC is taking very bold action, bolder than they've ever taken before, to make wireless spectrum available.

The FCC Chairman Ajit Pai quickly announced that starting on Dec. 10th, it will offer "the largest spectrum auction in our nation's history," allow carriers to bid on 3,400MHz of new spectrum in the Upper 37GHz, 39GHz and 47GHz spectrum bands. The additional spectrum would "promote the development of 5G, the Internet of Things and other advanced spectrum-based services."

In addition, the FCC has proposed new rules that would allow "Fixed Satellite Service operators to provide faster, more advanced services to their customers" using 50GHz spectrum. It also said that current rules "impair the ability of users to deploy small, next-generation networking devices on their own property," particularly in rural areas, and proposed changes that would allow people to install "hub and relay antennas" on their property to help spur 5G networks.

FCC chairman Ajit Pai added that "The FCC aims to create a $20.4 billion Rural Digital Opportunity fund extend high-speed broadband to up to 4 million homes and high-speed businesses in rural America." For more on this, read the full CNBC's report here.

Reuters noted in their report this afternoon that Pai had said that President Trumps comments about opposing nationalization of 5G networks was an "important signal" to the private sector that is investing tens of billions of dollars in the 5G networks.

CTIA, an industry trade group, said Friday that Trumps statement "puts an end - once and for all - to any misguided notions of nationalizing spectrum resources or government-mandated wholesale 5G markets."

Patently Apple: If the President wants the U.S. to win the 5G Race, then they should provide Apple and Intel with incentives to launch a 5G version of the iPhone in early 2020 as opposed to late 2020.

About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Those using abusive language or negative behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus.
The Maryland Wineries Association (MWA), already one of the East Coasts most innovative when it comes to wine events, has something new planned for May.

On Sunday, May 5, the MWA in conjunction with Baltimore Magazine will launch the first-ever Weird Wine, an event celebrating local wineries most peculiar blends.

The event will feature 35 wines from more than 20 wineries with exotic ingredients such as habanero peppers, mango, chocolate, coffee, and lavender, according to a press release. Held in an unfinished space in Hampdens Union Collective, MWA will transform the blank slate into a whimsical wine experience with lights, bubbles, and more.

Hampden is a trendy Baltimore neighborhood, termed the epicenter of hipster Baltimore kitsch, according to its web site. It centers on 36th Street, known to locals as The Avenue.

Union Collective, per its web site, is a curated assembly of independently owned, Baltimore-based businesses set under one roof and anchored by UNION Craft Brewing. Housed in a 155,000 sq. ft. former Sears warehouse, the Union Collective has revitalized an industrial area into a vibrant manufacturing, retail, and community gathering space in Baltimore City.

Per the release, Weird Wine invites those well-versed in wine and the wine-curious of all appropriate ages to indulge in this peculiar wine fantasy, but is gearing the event towards Baltimores millennial population. With its fresh take on a traditionally mature beverage, Weird Wine hopes to usher a new generation of wine drinkers into the diverse and expansive world of Maryland grapes.

In a fun and laid-back atmosphere, guests will experience music, a custom popcorn bar, bubbles, exciting vendors, curated cheese and charcuterie from Well Crafted Kitchen, and a photo booth all under one roof, the release said.

MWA already organizes Winter Wine at the B&O Museum, a formal event thats held every January, and Decanter Reimagined, a pairing of wine and horse racing that took place at Laurel Park last Saturday, along with a number of festivals, including Wine in the Woods, DrinkMaryland: North Beach and the Maryland Wine Festival.

Weird Wine aims to bring together winemakers and wine-lovers of all ages to partake in the curious world of Maryland grapes. All wines from participating wineries will be available for purchase. Guests may purchase tickets from Eventbrite and the Maryland Wineries Association website, marylandwine.com.

Heres a list of the participating producers and what a few of them will be serving:

Big Cork Vineyards, Washington County

Black Ankle Vineyards, Frederick County

Blue Mountain Wine Crafters, Washington County

Boordy Vineyards, Baltimore County

Albarino: A Spanish varietal well-suited to Marylands climate. Pale yellow green, with appealing aromas of peaches and flowers, and bright acidity on the finish. In 2012 we planted Albarino on a southeast facing hillside at our South Mountain Vineyard in Frederick County. The vines are thriving, producing small, compact golden clusters that ripen in mid-September. We cool ferment the wine in stainless steel tanks and bottled early to capture its freshness.

ODD FACTOR: One of the first of this variety produced in Maryland; winner of the Governors Cup.

Broken Spoke Winery, Cecil County

Charis Winery, Allegany County

Charm City Meadworks, Baltimore City

Crow Vineyard & Winery, Kent County

Distillery Lane Ciderworks, Frederick County

Far Eastern Shore Winery, Talbot County

Great Shoals Winery, Montgomery County

Hidden Hills Farm & Vineyard, Frederick County

Laytons Chance Vineyard & Winery, Dorchester County

Loew Vineyards, Frederick County

Old Westminster Winery, Carroll County

2018 Pet-Nat Piquette: Our goal is to create a wine thats juicy and refreshing. Spritzy and lower in alcohol equals thirst quenching and sessionable. So we looked to our friends and to history for inspiration. The results are even more delicious than we could have imagined. So, what is this magical nectar? Well, its an all-but-forgotten beverage called PIQUETTE!

ODD FACTOR: Beyond the fact that its downright delicious, pet-nat doesnt have any additives, theres no blending, and the all-natural process is a direct reflection of the vineyard and the vintage. Once the still-fermenting juice is bottled, you dont taste it again until its in your glass. This makes it a little unpredictable, and that spontaneity is one reason why its so popular.

Orchid Cellar Meadery, Frederick County

Fish Hunter: A collaboration with Woodberry Kitchen of Baltimore: Every ingredient is sourced from within 50 miles of the restaurant. Maryland fish peppers give this libation a bright spice that creeps up the back of your throat. Local verjuice plays the essential role of brightening up the spice so that it is painfully good. This spicy mead is aged for 18 months.

ODD FACTOR: Spicy aged mead, made with local fish peppers.

Red Heifer Winery, Washington County

Romano Winery, Prince Georges County

Royal Rabbit Vineyards, Baltimore County

Springfield Manor Winery & Distillery, Frederick County

Locust Bloom: Handcrafted from the locust tree blossoms on our farm, this wine has a fragrant floral aroma as pure as the blossoms themselves.

ODD FACTOR: The blooms of the black locust tree are only available for a very short while (2 weeks or so), in late spring. Black locust flowers taste surprisingly like the sweetest sweet spring pees, but with a floral element as well.

Solomons Island Winery, Calvert County

The Urban Winery

Myrtilos: Dark and mysterious in its opacity the deep color reflects its complex layers. Leading with vanilla caramel and toasted oak on the nose, the palate is bursting with a symphony orchestra of black current, blueberry, blackberry and smooth tightly wound tannin. The bourbon resonates with a titillating lingering finish delivering you to the special place you are seeking.

ODD FACTOR: Bourbon barrel-aged blueberries

Turkey Point Vineyard, Cecil County

Xella Winery and Vineyard, St. Marys County

--

Other PennLive stories on Maryland wines and wineries:

Innovative year for Old Westminster Winery is just the latest in a series of them

Landmark Series feeding growth of Boordy Vineyards wine club

Top Maryland producers gather to taste their best in dry wines

Hidden Hills Farm and Vineyard galloping toward its first birthday

Wine tour 2017: Two wineries in one northern Md. day trip

Pretty cool start: New winery wins Governors Cup for Marylands best wine
The Mall of America had been open only 17 minutes Friday morning when the screaming started.

On the first floor, laying face up between an escalator and the Michael Kors store, was a 5-year-old boy. He had been thrown from three stories above - by a stranger, police say. There was blood; the boy was not moving.

The child's mother asked everyone to pray, witnesses said, and security guards, patrons and police began performing CPR. The boy was rushed to a local hospital with "significant injuries" from the 40-foot fall, authorities said, and was still being treated 24 hours later.

"That's a pretty high fall," Bloomington Police Chief Jeffrey Potts said at a news conference Saturday in Minnesota, describing the scene and his reaction to it. "Immediately, my thoughts were: how can something like this happen?"

Potts called the situation "horrific" and said the department was keeping the boy and his family in their "thoughts and prayers." Because the family has asked for privacy, authorities are not yet releasing the name of the boy. Potts did not offer details about his condition.

"The child is still alive and receiving care," he said.

The suspect, 24-year-old Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda, initially fled on foot, authorities said. A witness tried to stop him, and officers soon after apprehended and arrested the Minneapolis man in the mall's transit station. Aranda faces a preliminary charge of attempted homicide and is being held at the Hennepin County Jail.

"I just hope that little guy turns out OK," witness Michael Baumann told local TV station ABC 5. "I just, you wonder . . . how could anybody do that?"

Records show that Aranda has a history of assault and bad behavior at the Mall of America, a sprawling complex in the Twin Cities suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota, that hosts hundreds of retail stores, restaurants, an amusement park and aquarium and draws 40 million visitors a year.

Aranda has been banished from the mall in past years, though authorities said the trespassing holds had expired by Friday's incident.

This undated photo provided by the Bloomington, Minn., Police Department, shows Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda, who was arrested in connection with an incident at the Mall of America where a 5-year-old boy plummeted three floors Friday, April 12, 2019, after being pushed or thrown from a balcony. (Bloomington Police Department via AP) APAP

In July 2015, he was arrested at the Mall of America on three misdemeanor charges - property damage, disorderly conduct and interfering with a peace officer - after police say Aranda threw items from the upper level of the mall to the lower level. He had also swept his hand across a display table at the beauty store Bare Minerals, breaking lip gloss containers and shot glasses, police said.

Aranda was banned from the mall for one year.

A month later, in August 2015, Aranda told authorities he has "anger issues" when he was arrested on a felony property damage charge at the public library. Aranda had smashed five computers and keyboards "beyond repair" after he read something on Facebook that infuriated him, the man told authorities.

Then in October 2015, Aranda returned to the Mall of America again - in violation of his no-trespass order - and harassed and assaulted a woman inside a restaurant there, records show.

Aranda asked the woman to buy him something while they sat outside the restaurant, waiting for it to open. The woman laughed off the request, records show, and sat down inside. Aranda followed her inside, sat at the table beside her and continued his campaign. When management intervened, Aranda grew enraged. He tossed a glass of water in the woman's face, then threw a glass of tea at her leg, shattering the cup.

He was arrested on six misdemeanor charges.

At the news conference Saturday, Potts said his police department had an additional encounter with Aranda, in which he refused to pay his bill at a restaurant.

Potts said some of Aranda's past cases were handled through a mental health court, but would not comment further on the man's mental health status at the time of Friday's incident.

At least one parent was with the young victim Friday morning when Aranda allegedly threw him from the third-floor balcony. Both parents were at his bedside in the hospital, Potts said. The family is also from the Twin cities area.

Brian Johnson had just entered the mall when he saw the crowds of people gathered near the escalator and the boy on the ground. His mother, Johnson told ABC 5, pleaded with the onlookers: "Everyone please pray. Please pray for my son. Everyone here right now, please pray."

How in the heck can this happen with all of the craziness going on in the world, Johnson said. Why would you single out a kid and ruin a familys life like this?
The U.S. Food & Drug administration has issued a warning about contaminated precut fruit that has been linked to salmonella illness in 93 people, requiring 23 of them to seek hospitalization.

A recall also has been issued for the fruit.

The precut fruit  cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon  was processed at a Caito Foods LLC facility in Indianapolis, Ind., according to the FDA.

NEW SALMONELLA OUTBREAK: 93 people in 9 states linked to pre-cut melon sold at many stores. Dont eat, serve, or sell recalled melon. Learn more: https://t.co/VfuD4PwmaS pic.twitter.com/z6tYdIRXSA  CDC (@CDCgov) April 13, 2019

That facility distributes its fruits to 16 states, including Pennsylvania.

Caito Foods LLC has recalled products that contain pre-cut melons to prevent further distribution of potentially contaminated products. However, consumers may still have these products in their homes, FDA officials said in a news release.

Caito Foods fruit is sold in stores owned by Kroger, Target, Trader Joes, Walmart and Amazon/Whole Foods, officials said.

The fruit typically is packaged in clear, plastic clamshell containers, officials said, adding that the containers are branded with a variety of labels.

So consumers are advised to look at the packaging to determine if the melon is distributed by Caito Foods LLC, officials said.

If Caito Foods is listed as the distributor, the products should not be eaten, according to the FDA.

#OUTBREAK ALERT: @US_FDA and @CDCgov are investigating a multi-state outbreak of Salmonella Carrau infections likely linked to pre-cut melons. Caito Foods is recalling affected products, and consumers are advised to not eat. Throw away them away. https://t.co/PF5zfNO9Rk pic.twitter.com/XehmQ0kFKX  U.S. FDA (@US_FDA) April 13, 2019

As of Friday evening, officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 93 people had become ill with salmonella after consuming Caito Foods products since March 4. Of those who became ill, 23 people had to be hospitalized, officials said.

No illnesses linked to the fruit had been reported in Pennsylvania at that time.

Officials at the CDC also shared some information about salmonella. That information is printed below:

Most people infected with salmonella develop diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps within 12 to 72 hours of being exposed to the bacteria.

The illness typically lasts 4 to 7 days.

Most people recover without treatment.

However, some people may become so ill that they need to be hospitalized.

People younger than 5 and older than 65 and people with weakened immune systems are most susceptible to the illness.

We are continuing to aggressively investigate the source of the product in order to determine where the melons were sourced from and how they became contaminated, Frank Yiannas, the FDAs deputy commissioner, said in a statement. As our investigation unfolds, were advising consumers to take action now by discarding any implicated pre-cut melon product that may still be in their fridge or freezer.
WILLIAMSPORT -- Two of the four charges against a former Montgomery officer related to an alleged sexual encounter with a woman while on duty have been dismissed due to a lack of evidence.

Lycoming County District Judge Christian Frey Friday dismissed a charge of attempted rape against Laurence Chester Wilcox, 69.

He had dismissed a charge of aggravated indecent assault Tuesday at the conclusion of the preliminary hearing.

As the result of those rulings, Wilcox will head to trial only on charges of attempted sexual assault, a felony, and indecent assault, a misdemeanor.

State police had accused Wilcox of attempting to rape a 39-year-old woman he had taken home in a cruiser from the American Legion in Montgomery last July 5.

During the preliminary hearing the woman testified that she had fought to keep from being raped and claimed Wilcox touched her genital area. She admitted she had been drinking.

The arrest affidavit states Wilcox told an investigator he had given the woman rides home in the past but denied any sexual contact. He later admitted they have had such contact, the document alleges.

Wilcox, who is free on $75,000 bail, resigned in August from the Montgomery force where he once was chief and he no longer is working part time in Muncy and DuBoistown.
Warning that Islamic extremists want to impose fundamentalist religious rule in American communities, right-wing lawmakers in dozens of U.S. states have tried banning Sharia, an Arabic term often understood to mean Islamic law.

These political debates  which cite terrorism and political violence in the Middle East to argue that Islam is incompatible with modern society  reinforce stereotypes that the Muslim world is uncivilized.

They also reflect ignorance of Sharia, which is not a strict legal code. Sharia means path or way: It is a broad set of values and ethical principles drawn from the Quran  Islams holy book  and the life of the Prophet Muhammad. As such, different people and governments may interpret Sharia differently.

Still, this is not the first time that the world has tried to figure out where Sharia fits into the global order.

In the 1950s and 1960s, when Great Britain, France and other European powers relinquished their colonies in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, leaders of newly sovereign Muslim-majority countries faced a decision of enormous consequence: Should they build their governments on Islamic religious values or embrace the European laws inherited from colonial rule?

The big debate

Invariably, my historical research shows, political leaders of these young countries chose to keep their colonial justice systems rather than impose religious law.

Newly independent Sudan, Nigeria, Pakistan and Somalia, among other places, all confined the application of Sharia to marital and inheritance disputes within Muslim families, just as their colonial administrators had done. The remainder of their legal systems would continue to be based on European law.

To understand why they chose this course, I researched the decision-making process in Sudan, the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence from the British, in 1956.

In the national archives and libraries of the Sudanese capital Khartoum, and in interviews with Sudanese lawyers and officials, I discovered that leading judges, politicians and intellectuals actually pushed for Sudan to become a democratic Islamic state.

They envisioned a progressive legal system consistent with Islamic faith principles, one where all citizens  irrespective of religion, race or ethnicity  could practice their religious beliefs freely and openly.

The People are equal like the teeth of a comb, wrote Sudans soon-to-be Supreme Court Justice Hassan Muddathir in 1956, quoting the Prophet Muhammad, in an official memorandum I found archived in Khartoums Sudan Library. An Arab is no better than a Persian, and the White is no better than the Black.

Sudans post-colonial leadership, however, rejected those calls. They chose to keep the English common law tradition as the law of the land.

Why keep the laws of the oppressor?

My research identifies three reasons why early Sudan sidelined Sharia: politics, pragmatism and demography.

Rivalries between political parties in post-colonial Sudan led to parliamentary stalemate, which made it difficult to pass meaningful legislation. So Sudan simply maintained the colonial laws already on the books.

There were practical reasons for maintaining English common law, too.

Sudanese judges had been trained by British colonial officials. So they continued to apply English common law principles to the disputes they heard in their courtrooms.

Sudans founding fathers faced urgent challenges, such as creating the economy, establishing foreign trade and ending civil war. They felt it was simply not sensible to overhaul the rather smooth-running governance system in Khartoum.

The continued use of colonial law after independence also reflected Sudans ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity.

Then, as now, Sudanese citizens spoke many languages and belonged to dozens of ethnic groups. At the time of Sudans independence, people practicing Sunni and Sufi traditions of Islam lived largely in northern Sudan. Christianity was an important faith in southern Sudan.

Sudans diversity of faith communities meant that maintaining a foreign legal system  English common law  was less controversial than choosing whose version of Sharia to adopt.

Why extremists triumphed

My research uncovers how todays instability across the Middle East and North Africa is, in part, a consequence of these post-colonial decisions to reject Sharia.

In maintaining colonial legal systems, Sudan and other Muslim-majority countries that followed a similar path appeased Western world powers, which were pushing their former colonies toward secularism.

But they avoided resolving tough questions about religious identity and the law. That created a disconnect between the people and their governments.

In the long run, that disconnect helped fuel unrest among some citizens of deep faith, leading to sectarian calls to unite religion and the state once and for all. In Iran, Saudi Arabia and parts of Somalia and Nigeria, these interpretations triumphed, imposing extremist versions of Sharia over millions of people.

In other words, Muslim-majority countries stunted the democratic potential of Sharia by rejecting it as a mainstream legal concept in the 1950s and 1960s, leaving Sharia in the hands of extremists.

But there is no inherent tension between Sharia, human rights and the rule of law. Like any use of religion in politics, Sharias application depends on who is using it  and why.

Leaders of places like Saudi Arabia and Brunei have chosen to restrict womens freedom and minority rights. But many scholars of Islam and grassroots organizations interpret Sharia as a flexible, rights-oriented and equality-minded ethical order.

Religion and the law worldwide

Religion is woven into the legal fabric of many post-colonial nations, with varying consequences for democracy and stability.

After its 1948 founding, Israel debated the role of Jewish law in Israeli society. Ultimately, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and his allies opted for a mixed legal system that combined Jewish law with English common law.

In Latin America, the Catholicism imposed by Spanish conquistadors underpins laws restricting abortion, divorce and gay rights.

And throughout the 19th century, judges in the U.S. regularly invoked the legal maxim that Christianity is part of the common law. Legislators still routinely invoke their Christian faith when supporting or opposing a given law.

Political extremism and human rights abuses that occur in those places are rarely understood as inherent flaws of these religions.

When it comes to Muslim-majority countries, however, Sharia takes the blame for regressive laws  not the people who pass those policies in the name of religion.

Fundamentalism and violence, in other words, are a post-colonial problem  not a religious inevitability.

For the Muslim world, finding a system of government that reflects Islamic values while promoting democracy will not be easy after more than 50 years of failed secular rule. But building peace may demand it.

Mark Fathi Massoud, Associate Professor, University of California, Santa Cruz

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Bloomfield Borough Council has lost two more council members. Michael Smith and Kevin Weller resigned on April 2.

The latest resignations reduce the council to five members not long before the May 21 primary. This year, Bloomfield has four council seats up for election, but just one sitting member, Eric Berger, has filed paperwork to run. John Patterson III, Malinda Anderson and Karl Cless previously said they will not run for re-election.

Weller, a self-employed carpenter, had intimated that his days on council were numbered because he was moving. Last week, after the council meeting, he said he is moving to Kentucky and that April was his last meeting. Weller was appointed to council in 2017, then elected that fall on write-in votes.

Michael Smith, the principal at Newport Elementary School, was appointed in 2018. He is still a borough resident but did not attend the last meeting. In an email, he said his intention when appointed was to fill a term that will end in December.

Im involved in numerous other organizations and have assumed leadership positions in those organizations, he said. Obviously, that has led to greater time commitments there.

Michael Smith, the principal at Newport Elementary School, resigned from Bloomfield Borough Council on April 2.

Council President Malinda Anderson said officials will have to revisit the idea of reducing council from seven to five members. The issue may be left for whomever is elected in this years races. Council voted in 2017 to pursue the idea because older council members wanted to retire, and others were unwilling to be appointed or to run for office.

About 30 signatures from registered voters are needed to move the reduction forward to the Court of Common Pleas, Anderson said. There, a judge could hear both the boroughs case as well as consider opposition to a reduction in councils size.

In 2017, common pleas Judge Kenneth Mummah heard Newports case for a council reduction but denied the boroughs petition, citing an abundance that year of people willing to run for office and to serve in other capacities. He said he would reconsider if proponents could demonstrate a majority of voters supported the reduction through a non-binding ballot initiative.

Paving bid

The borough has awarded a $41,000 contract to pave Church Street from Main to McClure street to RKL Paving and Services of Carlisle. Other bidders were Mid-State Paving of Snyder County and McNaughton Services of Shermans Dale.

Pump station

Council approved a 90-day deadline to accept the pump station property in the former Lakeside Development on Barnett Street. Council will require an inspection before accepting the property from private owners to ensure its not on the verge of failing.

Ownership of the remaining properties in the development is being determined by the Cumberland County courts. That includes the property housing a sewer system pump station. The borough wants to acquire it to ensure homeowners in that section of town have a reliable system.

Solicitor Richard Wagner said he expected a hearing this week, but finalization of the ownership between three parties has been delayed in the past.

SALDO update

Bloomfield will consider updating some parts of its Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance in coming months, according to council members. A key change would be to push back the filing deadlines on preliminary plans to 21 days to give borough personnel more time to review future plans before the next meeting.

According to the boroughs SALDO ordinance online, preliminary plans have to be submitted just 9 days before a planning commission meeting, but that doesnt allow much time for engineering reviews.

Final plans are required to be submitted to the council 30 days prior to the meeting in which a developer wants them to be considered, according to the ordinance. It was first written in 1975 and amended occasionally throughout the years.

Jim T. Ryan can be reached via e-mail at jtryan@perrycountytimes.com
Cory Booker speaking outside his house in Newark, New Jersey on Friday, February 1, 2019. Read more

WASHINGTON  Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.) this weekend launches a policy tour as he tries to jump start his presidential campaign, with one major proposal already at the center: baby bonds.

The plan would give every U.S. newborn a government-funded savings account, with more money going to those from the poorest families. When they turn 18, recipients could use the money for college tuition, a home, retirement savings, or other approved use.

The idea is to narrow the vast wealth gap between white families and black and Hispanic families.

Weve got to confront the systemic  inequalities in our country, and Im proposing a bold solution to do just that by investing in every child from the day they are born, Booker wrote in an email to supporters ahead of Saturdays event.

Here is an explanation of how his plan would work, what it would cost, who it would help, and what criticisms it faces.

Whats the goal?

Statistics show that the wealth gap Booker decried is real, and growing.

In 2016 the average white family had $919,000 in wealth, compared to $140,000 for black families and $192,000 for Hispanic families, according to data analyzed by the Urban Institute, a think tank. Black and Hispanic families were left with fewer retirement savings, more student loan debt, and lower rates of home ownership.

The plan to address those differences by giving newborns a nest egg was first developed by professors William A. Darity, of Duke University, and Darrick Hamilton, of the New School.

Its real intent is to provide every young person with an asset that could enable them to actually build or accumulate wealth over the course of their adult lifetime, Darity said in an interview. It would not bring about the equalization of wealth but it certainly would improve [on] the degree of inequality that were experiencing now.

How would it work?

Bookers proposal calls for giving every newborn child a $1,000 American Opportunity Account funded by taxpayers. Additional deposits would follow every year, on a sliding scale based on income. The maximum amount, $2,000 a year, would go to children in a family of four making less than $25,100, for example. In a four-person family with income of $81,575, the children would receive $250 that year. There would be no annual deposits for a family of four with income of $125,751 or more.

This would be a universal program, but the amounts would not be uniform, said Darity, who consulted with Bookers staff on the senators bill.

The money would sit in an account managed by the federal government, with Bookers office assuming a 3-percent average annual return on low-risk investments.

By the time children from the lowest income families turned 18, they would have $46,215 in their government savings accounts. Children from high-income families would have $1,681, according to estimates from Bookers office.

The money could be used for education, retirement savings, home-buying, or other expenses approved by a panel of experts.

What would it cost?

The plan would cost an estimated $60 billion per year, according to Bookers office.

Thats around 1.3 percent of the federal budget. For comparisons sake, the State Department budget for fiscal year 2019 is $52.5 billion.

Booker says his bill would be fully paid for by raising taxes on the wealthiest estates and heirs. He would return to the 2009 standard of exempting estates worth $3.5 million or less from the estate tax. Currently, estates worth up to $11.2 million are exempt. The plan also would add surcharges on estates worth $10 million and $50 million and change a law that allows people to sharply reduce their capital gains taxes on inherited stocks or property.

Would it accomplish its goal?

In emails and speeches, Booker has cited a Columbia University study to argue that his plan would virtually close the racial wealth gap." The study, though, wasnt on Bookers bill, it was on the version pushed by Darity and Hamilton.

The professors plan, while similar in methods, framing, and intent, would cost more, and offer more generous amounts to the poorest children. Their proposed accounts would have been worth up to around $65,000 by the time children could access them, nearly $20,000 more than Bookers projected maximum..

The professors plan would cost about $80 billion per year, estimated Naomi Zewde, a researcher at Columbias School of Social Work. Thats 33 percent more than Bookers. And their proposal would give out the savings accounts based on family wealth (assets vs. liabilities), rather than annual income.

Still, the overall idea  providing savings to newborns, with more for people who are poorer  is the same.

Zewde, analyzing what would have happened to todays young adults if the professors plan had been in place in the late 1980s and early 1990s, found a drastic shift. Instead of young white adults having 16 times more wealth than their black peers, it would be 1.4 times as much.

Giving a newborn $50,000 is kind of a life-changing sum, Zewde said.

She assumed a 2-percent rate of return, and that the savings would sit untouched for about 20 years after birth.

Bookers plan, Zewde said, would move the wealth gap in the same direction, and cut the disparities, but most likely not by as much.

What are the criticisms?

Ryan Bourne, an economist at the libertarian Cato Institute, has criticized Bookers plan as wealth redistribution dressed up as a savings mechanism.

The program wouldnt encourage personal saving, since it doesnt involve families investing their own money, he said. And he argued that the government already has programs to help with the cost of college and housing, and offers Social Security as a retirement safety net.

Saving is about deferring your consumption, self sacrificing your consumption today for greater returns tomorrow, Bourne said. By making this a purely public scheme I dont see how that encourages people to save for their children."
Pictured is a flag in a vehicle outside the reserve unit in Harrisburg, Pa., Friday April 12, 2019. One of the soldiers will be presented this flag to the family of the fallen soldier killed this week in Afghanistan. For the Inquirer/Kalim A. Bhatti Read more

LOWER WINDSOR, Pa.  On Monday night, two men drove up a twisting road in York County, past sun-bleached barns and flats of pansies, and parked by a small, dark farmhouse with American flags pegged into the mulch.

They walked past last years tomato plants, climbed the steps in unison, and knocked hard on the old wooden door. When Fletcher Slutman turned on the lights, he saw them standing straight as timber on his front porch and knew they were Marines. A blue star banner hung in the window.

Dont make me get my wife, Slutman pleaded.

Slutmans son, Staff Sgt. Christopher K. A. Slutman, 43, of Newark, Del., and Sgt. Benjamin S. Hines, 31, who grew up in York and attended Dallastown Area High School, were killed in Afghanistan earlier that day when a bomb struck their vehicle near Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul. A third Marine, Cpl. Robert A. Hendriks, 25, of Locust Valley, N.Y., also was killed.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

Slutman and Hines were set to return home by the end of the month.

Their deaths brought the number of U.S. service member fatalities in Afghanistan to seven in 2019, and a total of 68 since January 2015, according to government and NATO reports. The conflict has stretched on for 17 years, the longest war in U.S. history.

While it takes up less space on the nightly news in 2019, or in the collective consciousness of America, for some war remains one knock away.

We have never forgotten were at war, Mary Slutman, Christophers mother, said Friday afternoon in the Lower Windsor Township farmhouse.

The family had just returned home from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where they watched their sons casket, draped in a U.S. flag, be taken off a military plane. A bouquet of white roses sat by the kitchen counter.

Slutman, a decorated New York City firefighter, was a married father of three young girls. Hines proposed to his fiancee the day before he deployed last year. Both were assigned to Echo Company, Second Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, Fourth Marine Division, Marines Forces Reserve in Harrisburg.

The units headquarters resembles an elementary school, one with sand-colored Humvees in the parking lot. It sits among stately brick homes on a bucolic street by the Susquehanna River.

Few people went in and out of the building Friday morning, and a woman who answered an intercom at the door said no one was available to talk about the Marines. Across the street, a sleek black SUV sat parked against the curb, with a crisply folded flag on the dashboard.

The flag was for Hines family, and he would have loved it. In Facebook pictures, he stands with his fiancee in a blue dress coat with white stars. Hines, who joined ROTC at Dallastown and played defensive back for the Wildcats, worked in cyber security in Northern Virginia. On May 31, he proposed at Bluemont Winery. He was activated the following day.

Words cant describe the pain Im feeling right now, his fiancee wrote on Facebook Thursday. My heart is broken. We were supposed to start a family together. We were supposed to build a home together. We were supposed to grow old & grey together.

Hines family could not be reached for comment.

In the neighborhood around the building in Harrisburg, many people declined to comment on the attack, or how they viewed the men and women who report there one weekend each month.

What can you say? one man said with a shrug.

Just after noon, a man pulled up to the building in a Veterans of Foreign Wars van and delivered care packages to the front door. Thomas Hanzes, the VFW state commander, said the packages are often toiletries or food to send overseas.

Around the corner, a large American flag hung above the door of Vivian Firsts stone Colonial. First said her son likes to watch the Marines standing guard on weekends, though she prefers to see the family gatherings they often have in the big lots beside her house.

She hadnt heard that Marines from Echo Company died.

Whenever we see them, its a reminder that theres some people who contribute more, First, a federal employee, said. Im so sorry to hear that. Its wonderful to have them here.

Earlier in the week, the slain Marines were honored nearby at the Pennsylvania Statehouse. State Rep. Frank Ryan, a Lebanon County Republican and retired Marine Reserve colonel, said he traveled the same road Slutman and Hines did in Afghanistan when he was deployed there in 2002.

From my perspective, we are always at war until the last person comes home, Ryan said. My heart just breaks for the family.

At the Slutman home, Fletcher and Mary said they were just settling into the heartbreak after several hectic days of travel and a bevy of phone calls. Fletcher talked glowingly of his son, a firefighter like his dad. In July 2013, Christopher Slutman was given an award for dragging a woman from a burning home in the South Bronx.

Everybody loved him, he said. Everybody has reached out to say they loved him. I knew he was good to his core because Im his father, but its good to hear. Everything he did, he worked hard at and he did it right."

Slutman and his family lived briefly in Newtown Square before moving to Upper Marlboro, Md. Christopher split his time at work in New York and Newark, where his wife and three children live.

Fletcher Slutman said his son could be interred at Arlington National Cemetery. Hines arrangements have not been confirmed.

Mary Slutman sat at the kitchen table Friday, folding a place mat in her hands over and over. Soon, shell replace the blue star in her window with a gold star, to signify her sons death. But not too soon.

Ill get around to it, I guess. she said. I just dont think I can take it down."
Voorhees Township Zoning Board approved a use variance for Dr. Chakrabarti's ashram during a meeting on April 11 in Voorhees, NJ. Read more

Paritosh Chakrabarti arrived in the United States decades ago from India fresh out of college, with $8 in his pocket and an outsize ambition.

Now a millionaire, the Moorestown resident wants to construct an ashram in Voorhees whose members would be devoted to researching religious conflict and its origins. The site would host 20 scholars and scientists from around the world for a free, five-year residency to study how to achieve world peace.

Chakrabarti passed the first hurdle for making this dream come true late Thursday at a Voorhees Township Zoning Board meeting. After four hours of presentations and clashes between attorneys, the board voted by 5-2 in favor of a use variance for the property Chakrabarti wants to use.

The proposed ashram would sit on seven acres of undeveloped land on Centennial Boulevard next to Centennial Mill, a 55-and-older community, some of whose residents have expressed opposition to the plan. More than 100 residents of Centennial Mill attended Thursday nights meeting to voice their concerns.

Those against the proposed ashram said they are concerned about noise and traffic the project would generate. Others said Chakrabartis plans have caused friction rather than peace.

A goal of world peace is indeed a lofty goal, an admirable one; however, I have come to believe that this man who has behaved in these ways is not really a person who wants to work for world peace, Marlene Kaplan, a Centennial Mill resident and clinical social worker, told the board Thursday. For all of these reasons I oppose this project.

Charles Frost, another Centennial Mill resident, said he was disappointed how the planning process has divided the Voorhees community.

My concern, and probably some others too, is, will the architecture of this ashram be consistent with the community behind it? Frost said in an interview Friday. If the purpose of this ashram is world peace, then how come at this moment were involved in this controversy?

Chakrabarti, owner of the global chemical company PMC Group in Mount Laurel, said in an interview that he understands the apprehension Centennial Mill residents would have about a religious institution so near their homes.

His ashram will not be a religious institution, he said. It will be more of a think tank on religious conflict and how to bring about world peace through the study of science, philosophy, and religion.

Its a place for scholarly work on a task that has a spiritual component in it, Chakrabarti said. I dont want it to be religious. However, it will bring a synthesis among religions. Thats why I chose the term ashram.

Now that Chakrabarti has received zoning approval, he will formally purchase the lot and then submit a site plan and apply for construction permits. He envisions a structure with living quarters for 20 scholars, a library, and a small event space with parking. The project, he said, would cost about $7 million to build.

The boards decision can be appealed, and some Centennial Mill homeowners left Thursday nights meeting saying litigation was a possibility.

When I started the project, I had no illusion that it would be without any objections," Chakrabarti said. "I knew that any other noble project, like the ideas of the Gandhis, Martin Luther Kings, and the Lincolns of the world, also faced similar resistance.

But we know now that these are good ideas and represent the truth about humanity," he added.
A coalition of partners in the Judge Accountability Table (JAT) seeking to push judges toward criminal Justice reform hold a "Judge the Judges: Candidates Forum" at the Friends Center April 8, 2019. The judicial candidates hold up signs - "Yes or No" - indicating their agreement on various questions pertaining to justice reform. Read more

The upcoming May 21 primary promises to be ground-breaking for a number of reasons. The sheer number of candidates for City Council  more than 50 -- is notable, as are the number of candidates running for less well known offices. To help voters better understand the functions of some of these offices as well as what is at stake, this special Primary School  editorial series will introduce you to the key issues, offices, and players.

Previously in Primary School: Why do we need a Sheriffs Office? | Office of Register of Wills should be eliminated

This week: Judicial races.

On the ballot: Voters will fill a total of nine vacancies in three courts. Each voter will choose: two judges for the Superior Court (an appellate court) from three Democrats and three Republicans; six judges for the court of Common Pleas (a trial court that includes a division that contains family court) from 25 Democrats and one Republican; and one Municipal Court judge (handling criminal and civil cases of limited scope, including traffic) from two Democrats running. Superior and Common Pleas judges are elected for 10-year terms, while municipal court judges are elected for six-year terms.

Overview: Traditionally, judges elections are low information races that are ultimately decided primarily by ballot position and the support of the Democratic Party -- for which candidates pay as much as $35,000. The lack of information is compounded by the fact that judges must show restraint in campaigning on their views and positions. A coalition of organizations that helped elect progressive district attorney Larry Krasner hosted a judge the judges candidate forum recently. Phillyjudges.com is a website intended to provide information. The Philadelphia Bar Association surveys candidates on their ethical and professional backgrounds and publishes a three-tier rating. Even though the Bars rating is perhaps the only authoritative source of information, it doesnt endorse individual candidates; rather, it gives them ratings of highly recommended, recommended, and not recommended.

The stakes: Judges have tremendous discretion in both criminal and civil matters. The First Judicial District, the organizing body of courts in Philadelphia administered by judges, can influence policy. For example, in the fall, the FJD rescinded its policy of withholding bail fees from defendants that showed up in court or even had the charges against them dropped. Similarly, over the summer Mayor Jim Kenney was under pressure to end the arrest data sharing agreement between the city and Immigration and Customs Enforcement -- an agreement the court was party to but didnt communicate their own position. Also notable: Family court judges are assigned from the Common Pleas Court. Those judges are the ones who remand children to centers like the recently closed Glen Mills.

The upshot: Judges at all levels have the power to directly impact many lives. The fact that they get their jobs via elections that run on partisan politics and money is deeply disturbing.

The million-dollar question: Given the constraints of judicial elections, why arent judges appointed on merit instead? Pennsylvania for modern courts has been leading the charge on this for many years, and are optimistic that lawmakers are finally giving this serious consideration. Too late, alas, for May 21.
Krakus Market, one of the last bastions of Polish cooking and culture in Port Richmond, closed Aug. 8 after three decades, the owners announced on Facebook.

The post said the Gardyasz family was retiring. "The decision to retire was not made lightly and we will miss each and every one of you who shopped under our roof, recommended our products to friends and family, and visited us regularly including holidays," it said. "This has always been a family-run business and we are so grateful to have expanded that family to all of our wonderful customers and employees over the years."

Reaction was swift and passionate. "Thank you for making my Polish roots deeper," wrote one customer. "You will be missed dearly," wrote another. "It was great to have a Polish market that was full of traditions not to mention that outstanding kielbasa and Polish food. Proud of my Polish heritage and proud to be a customer of Krakus for many years. Wish you all the best. With love from the Polish hills of Manayunk."

A representative of the family has not yet replied to my messages seeking elaboration.

The business began in the mid-1960s as a small butcher shop in Wissinoming owned by recent immigrants Franciszek Gardyasz and his son, Zenon.

They moved to a double storefront on Richmond Street near Allegheny Avenue  in the heart of the city's Polish enclave  in the mid-1980s, expanding it into a supermarket and deli with a restaurant in the front that served such specialties as golabki, hunter's stew, soups, and pierogi. Its line of kielbasa was unsurpassed.

In recent years, since Zenon Gardyasz's death, his daughter Sylvia had run the business.

>>Read more: Columnist Mike Newall visits Krakus just before Easter 2016

"When our Grandfather and Father started this business over 30 years ago, they had no idea that Krakus would turn out to be so much more than an ethnic food deli," the post said. "It became part of their legacy, a place for reunions and new relationships to form, as well as countless memories to share.

"Most importantly, Krakus Market provided tradition. You brought us home to your family's dinner table to keep Polish traditions alive and for that we are so grateful! Beginnings can be scary and endings are usually sad, but it's what's in the middle that counts. Thank you ALL for making it count!"
FILE - In this March 6, 2019, file photo, 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. President Donald Trump is weighing in on the most recent controversy involving Omar, retweeting video edited to suggest that the Minnesota congresswoman was dismissive of the significance of the Sept. 11 attacks. Read more

WASHINGTON (AP)  Top Democrats on Saturday rushed to defend Rep. Ilhan Omar after President Donald Trump retweeted video that was edited to suggest she was being dismissive of the significance of the worst terrorist assault on U.S. soil.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi scolded Trump for using the "painful images of 9/11 for a political attack" against the first-term Minnesota Democrat.

And presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren, campaigning in New Hampshire, accused Trump of "trying to incite violence and to divide us, and every political leader should speak out against that."

The video Trump retweeted Friday pulls a snippet of Omar's recent speech to the Council on American-Islamic Relations in which she described the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center as "some people did something," and includes news footage of the hijacked planes hitting the Twin Towers. Trump also tweeted, "WE WILL NEVER FORGET!"

Omar's remark has drawn criticism largely from political opponents and conservatives who say the lawmaker, one of the first Muslim women to serve in Congress, offered a flippant description of the assailants and the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

Neither Trump's tweet nor the video included her full quote or the context of her comments.

Omar told CAIR in Los Angeles that many Muslims saw their civil liberties eroded after the attacks, and she advocated for activism.

"For far too long we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen and, frankly, I'm tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it," she said in the March 23 speech, according to video posted online. "CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties."

CAIR was founded in 1994, according to its website, but its membership skyrocketed after the attacks.

Many Republicans and conservative outlets expressed outrage at Omar's remarks. Fellow Democrats, including some who have disagreed with Omar in the past, defended her.

"First Member of Congress to ever describe terrorists who killed thousands of Americans on 9/11 as 'some people who did something,'" tweeted Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas. The retired Navy SEAL lost his right eye in 2012 in an explosion in Afghanistan.

"Here's your something," the New York Post blared on its cover beneath a photograph of the flaming towers.

Pelosi, who was in Germany visiting U.S. troops Saturday, said in a statement that "the memory of 9/11 is sacred ground" and should always be discussed "with reverence." The California Democrat said it is wrong for Trump to "fan the flames to make anyone less safe."

Omar didn't appear to be backing down.

She tweeted a quote from President George W. Bush, who said days after the attacks: "The people  and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!"

"Was Bush downplaying the terrorist attack?" Omar tweeted. "What if he was a Muslim."

Several of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates condemned Trump's tweet.

Former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke, said the Republican president's tweet was an "incitement to violence" against Omar, who is Muslim-American, and others like her. O'Rourke, campaigning in South Carolina, likened the tweet to Trump's rhetoric about Mexicans, described in the past by Trump as murderers and rapists. O'Rourke said "there is a cost and there is a consequence" to Trump's comments.

Warren, a Massachusetts senator, said Republican leaders in Congress "cannot take a pass on this, cannot look the other way and pretend it isn't happening. It is happening. And those who don't speak out in the Republican leadership are complicit in what he is doing. It's wrong."

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar noted that a New York man recently was charged with threatening Omar's life.

"The video the president chose to send out today will only incite more hate," Klobuchar said. "You can disagree with her words  as I have done before  but this video is wrong. Enough."

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont said Omar "won't back down to Trump's racism and hate, and neither will we."

Omar repeatedly has pushed fellow Democrats into uncomfortable territory over Israel and the strength of the Jewish state's influence in Washington. She apologized for suggesting that lawmakers support Israel for pay and said she isn't criticizing Jews. But she refused to take back a tweet in which she suggested American supporters of Israel "pledge allegiance" to a foreign country.

Her comments sparked an ugly episode among House Democrats after they responded with a resolution condemning anti-Semitism and the measure became a broader declaration against all forms of bigotry.
A girl from the Mexican state of Guerrero passes rows of tents as her family waits at a shelter of mostly Mexican and Central American migrants to begin the process of applying for asylum Friday, April 12, 2019, in Tijuana, Mexico. Read more

SAN DIEGO (AP)  A federal appeals court put a judge's order on hold Friday shortly before it would have stopped the Trump administration from forcing asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases move through U.S. courts.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit temporarily blocked the lower court ruling from taking effect. The three-judge panel set a Tuesday deadline for civil liberties groups to submit arguments on why the asylum policy should be on hold and a Wednesday deadline for the government to argue why it should remain in place.

Judge Richard Seeborg in San Francisco ruled Monday to halt the unprecedented change to the U.S. asylum system while the groups' lawsuit moves forward. He said the policy violates U.S. law by failing to evaluate dangers migrants face in Mexico.

The government called the ruling erroneous and said it endangers the public during a humanitarian crisis at the southern border. It wants the Ninth Circuit to keep the policy in place while the lawsuit is litigated, which is expected to take months and possibly years.

Immigration attorneys argued that the policy was putting the lives of asylum seekers at risk by forcing them to wait in violence-plagued Mexico and said Seeborg's ruling was already having an effect.

Since the judge issued his order, immigration officials stopped returning asylum seekers south of the border after they attended their hearings in the United States, lawyers said.

"I haven't heard of anyone who's been sent back since the judge's order on Monday," American Civil Liberties Union attorney Judy Rabinovitz said.

She added later that she was hopeful Seeborg's ruling will go into effect in the end.

Seeborgs order marked another defeat to President Donald Trumps intent to radically alter U.S. immigration policies. Families seeking asylum typically have been released in the U.S. with notices to appear in court.

The new policy started in January at the nation's busiest border crossing in San Diego and the government was starting to expand it.

At a Wednesday hearing in El Paso, Texas, Nicolas Palazzo, an attorney for Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, told a judge that his Salvadoran client feared returning to Mexico. The man was allowed to remain in the United States, signaling a change in the practice.

The Mexican government says more than 1,300 people were returned to Mexico under the program.

A lawsuit by 11 Central Americans and legal advocacy groups argues that the policy puts the lives of asylum seekers at risk by forcing them to stay in Mexico, where crime and drug violence are prevalent.

The Trump administration says the policy responds to a crisis at the southern border that has overwhelmed the ability of immigration officials to detain migrants. Growing numbers of families are fleeing poverty and gang violence in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.

Associated Press writer Elliot Spagat contributed to this article.
This 2007 file photo shows the house where Prohibition-era gangster Al Capone lived for several years with his family on the Southside of Chicago. After being on the market for several years, listing agent Ryan Smith says, the 2,820-square-foot building in the city's Park Manor neighborhood sold for more than twice the $109,900 asking price. Read more

The red brick two-flat in Chicagos South Side Park Manor neighborhood that legendary mobster Al Capone once lived in sold April 5 for $226,000.

The 2,820-square-foot two-flat at 7244 S. Prairie Ave., with an apartment on each floor, sold for more than double its $109,900 asking price.

We had like 80 offers on it, listing agent Ryan Smith of RE/MAX Properties said. We had a lot of press on it, so I think that helped it out.

Capone moved into the two-flat with his mother and sister in 1923 after moving to Chicago from New York. Although Capones name was never actually on the purchase deed, his mothers and wifes names were on it, and the family owned the two-flat until the 1950s, when his mother died. After Capone got out of prison in 1939, he lived in Florida until his death in 1947.

Built about 1909, the two-flat, which sits on an extra-wide lot, has had several owners since the Capones, and in 1989, the Commission on Chicago Landmarks and the Illinois Historic Sites Advisory Council both rejected bids to make the house an official landmark.

A previous owner listed it in 2009 for $450,000 and later for $300,000, $250,000, $225,000 and $179,900 before taking it off the market in 2016. In November, it sold out of foreclosure to a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs called MTGLQ Investors LP. Public records do not yet identify the buyers.

I have no idea what the buyers want to do with it, Smith said.

The seller first listed the two-flat in February. It has six bedrooms, hardwood floors, wood trim and molding, and large, octagonal living rooms in each unit.

It needs to be modernized to todays standards, Smith said.
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Trumps threat to dump detained migrants in sanctuary cities completely backfired as the mayors of several of these cities said that the migrants would be welcomed.

Trumps immigrant dumping threat did not go as he expected

Trump tweeted:

.The Radical Left always seems to have an Open Borders, Open Arms policy  so this should make them very happy!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 12, 2019

Trump will show them. He will send the immigrants to sanctuary cities. There will be non-white people everywhere. Democrats will learn to give Trump what he wants or else.

The sanctuary cities did not respond like Donald Trump thought they would

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said, President Trump has yet again proven that the only constant in his immigration policy is cruelty. He uses people like pawns. New York City will always be the ultimate city of immigrants  the Presidents empty threats wont change that.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said, The city would be prepared to welcome these immigrants just as we have embraced our immigrant communities for decades.

Jesse Arreguin, the mayor of Berkeley, California, said, I am shocked but not surprised that once again this president is playing a cynical game with peoples lives in order to score political points. Rather than supporting a real pathway to citizenship for the millions of immigrants in this country, he is fanning the flames of division.

Trump thought that he could scare Democrats into giving him his way, but instead, the Democratic response has made Trump look like the small-minded bigot that he is. The big migrant dumping threat has backfired on this president.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

Follow Jason Easley on Facebook
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By Timothy Gardner and Valerie Volcovici

(Reuters)  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will unveil a proposal to speed state-level permitting decisions for energy infrastructure projects soon, the agencys chief told Reuters on Thursday, blasting states that have blocked coal terminals and gas pipelines on environmental grounds.

President Donald Trump is seeking to boost domestic fossil fuels production over the objections of Democrats and environmentalists concerned about pollution and climate change. On Wednesday he issued a pair of executive orders targeting the power of states to delay energy projects.

We started working on it in advance, so we hope to have something out soon, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in an interview. He was unable to provide a precise timeline.

Based on Trumps orders, Wheelers EPA has been tasked with clarifying a section of the U.S. Clean Water Act that has allowed states like New York and Washington to delay projects in recent years.

New York has used the section to delay pipelines that would bring natural gas to New England, for example, and Washington state has stopped coal export terminals that would open the Asian market for struggling coal companies in Wyoming and other landlocked western states.

They are trying to make international environmental policy, Wheeler said of Washington state, whose governor, Democrat Jay Inslee, is running for president on a climate change-focused platform. Theyre trying to dictate to the world how much coal is used.

Wheeler said New York, which amid strong public pressure denied a clean water act permit for construction of a natural gas pipeline to New England, is forcing that region to use Russian-produced natural gas.

We are importing Russian natural gas which is not produced in an environmentally conscious manner. If the states that are blocking the pipelines were truly concerned about the environment, they would look to where the natural gas would be coming from I think its very short-sighted, he said.

Wheeler said the EPA would not prevent a state from vetoing a project, but would clarify the parameters they should be able to consider, and the length of time they have to do so.

He also said that California is playing politics in its fight with the EPA to preserve its more stringent vehicle emission standards as the national standard.

CLIMATE: NOT A PRIORITY

Wheeler said he believes climate change is a problem, but that it had been overblown by former President Barack Obamas administration  at the expense of other bigger issues like water quality.

Yes, climate is an issue and we are working to address it, but I think water is a bigger issue, he said.

Wheeler dismissed the findings of a report released earlier this week by EPA scientists in the journal Nature Climate Change that detailed the scale and urgency of climate change.

He said while he encouraged EPA scientists to carry out and publish research, he stressed the recent paper did not reflect EPA policy.

Environmental groups say the EPAs replacement of an Obama-era rule limiting carbon emissions from power plants would likely lead to increased emissions by allowing older, more polluting coal plants to operate longer.

Asked whether the replacement  the Affordable Clean Energy rule, which gives states responsibility for regulating emissions  is stringent enough, Wheeler said it adheres to the parameters of federal law.

I think what is effective regulation is one that follows the law and one that will be held up in court, he said.

Several Democrats challenging Trump in the 2020 election have made climate change a top-tier issue, embracing aggressive policy platforms like the Green New Deal calling for an end of fossil fuels use.

Asked whether he was concerned that the EPA may be out of synch with polls showing an overwhelming number of young people believe climate change should be a priority issue, Wheeler was dismissive.

I do fear that because so many people only talked about climate change. Youre right, there could very well be a new generation coming up saying thats the only environmental issue  and its not, he said.

(Additional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and David Shepardson; Editing by Dan Grebler)
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Bill Maher used one of Fox Newss favorite slurs against immigrants to turn the tables on the gaffe infested network.

Bill Maher turns around Fox News racism and bigotry

Maher said, The mean attitude on Fox and Friends. They called Central America Mexican countries. Mexican countries? By the way, a couple of weeks ago, they once called a selfie a selife. They even misspelled spelling bee. Thats true. You know what? If you guys are going to live in the United States, learn the f**king language.

Video:

Fox News reinforces ignorance

One of the rights favorite demonizations of immigrants is that they dont talk American, or learn the language. It is as if the right doesnt understand that the English language was not invented in the United States. The actual American language would be the languages that Native Americans use.

It is symptomatic of the ignorance of the Trump cult that they deem themselves superior because they speak English, although many of them dont speak it well, while their favorite television network cant get basic words and phrases correct on the air.

Fox News is the televised embodiment of the rights belief that facts dont matter. Feelings are the only thing that counts. When the rights war on fact and knowledge is taken to its logical extreme, the result is a television network that not only puts out propaganda but through their sloppiness constantly sends the message that facts and accuracy dont matter.

Everyone makes mistakes, but not everyone pushes an agenda of bigotry and division while stressing to their viewers that they are superior, because by watching Fox News, they are getting the real truth.

Before Fox News can criticize others, they first have to prove they know how to talk American.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

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On Tuesday, April 9, Russias Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Alexander Yakovenko, spoke with Sky News about Russias relationship with the U.K. following the March 2018 Novichok poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in Salisbury, England.

Yakovenko was asked about the outstanding facts of the incident, including the presence of Russian military intelligence (GRU) agents in Salisbury at the time of the attack and Russias development of the chemical weapon Novichok.

Regarding Novichok, Yakovenko said there was no proof the chemical agent used in the Salisbury attack had been developed in Russian labs. He added that the so-called Novichok could be produced anywhere in Europe.

This contradicts the testimony of one the scientist-developers of Novichok  Vil Mirzoyanov, outlined in his 2009 book, State Secrets: An Insider's Chronicle Of The Russian Chemical Weapons Program.

When pushed on the presence of GRU agents sightseeing in Salisbury on the day of the poisoning, Yakovenko replied that this was the story of the British press and also the government, but unfortunately its not supported by the facts.

Yakovenko cited the interview the suspects conducted with RTs Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan, in which the men officially said they are not part of the GRU, as proof the British version of events is not correct.

He added that the British side could have the opportunity to question them but Russia was never asked for that.

On April 6, Yakovenko also met with Charlie Rowley, who along with his partner Dawn Sturgess, was poisoned after using a perfume bottle suspected to have been designed to conceal the Novichok employed in the Skripal attack.

Rowley noted the bottle he presented to Sturgess as a gift had been unopened, leading to speculation that another perfume bottle, and possibly another assassination team, were involved in the operation against Skripal.

While Rowley would survive with a number of persisting health complications, Sturgess died.

When asked about that meeting, Rowley said the revelatory meeting was short on answers, adding the Russian ambassador fed him Russian propaganda.

A Russian state media report on that meeting characterized Rowley and other victims as being kept in the dark about what really happened to them.

Another victim of the attack, Detective Sgt Bailey, who came into contact with the nerve agent after being sent to the Skripals' home, told the BBC "he had lost everything" because of Novichok.

In September 2018, The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirmed that the same chemical nerve agent that poisoned Sturgess and Rowley was employed in the attack on the Skripals.

In April of that year, the OPCW backed the UK governments findings that that agent was the military-grade nerve agent Novichok. But the OPCW was not able to determine the origin of the Novichok. The identity of the poisoning suspects, however, is another matter.

The suspects, operating under the aliases Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, claimed during their interview with RT to be just friends, civilians, tourists who went to Salisbury to visit the famous cathedral.

According to Ambassador Karen Pierce, UK Permanent Representative to the UN, the trail of evidence is quite clear.

CCTV and other evidence records their travel to and from Salisbury and crucially, there are images which clearly places them in the vicinity of the Skripals house at 11:58 A.M. on Sunday, 4 March. This was moments before the attack took place, which involved placing the substance on the Skripals front door handle, she said.

The police timeline had the suspects returning to Moscow on the same day the Skripals were poisoned.

In November 2018, British authorities released CCTV footage showing the suspects, whom Bellingcat identified as GRU agents Colonel Anatoliy Chepiga (Boshirov) and Dr. Alexander Mishkin (Petrov), walking past a gas station on Wilton Road near the Skripals home -- despite the fact that the cathedral, whose spire is visible from the train station, is in the opposite direction of the Skripals home.

Traces of Novichok were later found in the London hotel where the two men stayed.

Bellingcat determined that Chepiga grew up in a small village near Russias border with China. That fact was later confirmed by local residents.

One woman told the Russian daily Kommersant that Chepiga served in the secret service in various hot spots after graduating from a military academy. Another told the BBC: "I know where his parents used to live, that he was a military man. An officer. He fought in war zones, then he was in Moscow.

She added: "It's him in the photos, of course."

Former neighbors also confirmed that Petrov was in fact Mishkin.

Yevgeny Sergeyevich, who grew up in Miskhins home village of Loyga, told the Telegraph: He [Mishkin] became a Hero of Russia three or four years ago. I heard about it from acquaintances in Loyga who are still in touch with him.

At the Far Eastern Military Academy where Chepiga was enrolled, Radio Liberty also found his portrait among those who had received the Hero of the Russian Federation award.

Bellingcat would also discover that a third GRU agent, Denis Vyacheslavovich Sergeyev, was in the UK at the time of the poisoning.

As for the UK declining to question them, the UK has charged Chepiga and Mishkin in absentia for conspiracy to murder, attempted murder and use of the nerve agent Novichok.

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesperson further told Sky News:

"As the Russian ambassador is aware, the Russian constitution forbids the extradition of Russian citizens to face criminal charges overseas. However if either of the two individuals charged in this case travel outside of Russia, we will make every effort to ensure that they are brought to the UK to face justice in a British court. The UK has repeatedly asked Russia to account for what happened in Salisbury in March last year, and they have replied with obfuscation and lies."

Based on the available evidence, Polygraph.info finds Yakovenkos claim that Russias involvement in the poisoning is not supported by the facts to be false.
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The city of Charleston has expanded its ban on people loitering, sitting and lying downtown, but police rarely write tickets.

Only seven people received a total of 12 citations since last May, Charleston Police Chief Luther Reynolds said in a memo to City Council.

In total, officers have had only 35 interactions with people regarding the loitering ordinance, a police spokesman said Friday.

The earlier ban, approved last April, prohibited people from sitting or lying down on sidewalks along King Street, between Line and Broad streets, and on Market Street, between King and East Bay, between 8 a.m. and 2 a.m.

Charleston bans sitting, lying down along King and Market streets amid panhandling complaints The ordinance bans sitting or lying down on sidewalks along King Street from Line to Broad, and on Market from King to East Bay between 8 a.m. and 2 a.m.

The new ordinance, approved Tuesday by the City Council, extends the ban one block in either direction on roads that cross King and Market streets.

"Being in the heart of the peninsula, these corridors offer an array of services to support residents living nearby and those coming into the peninsula to enjoy the urban core of the city, to include shopping, dining and art venues," the new ban says.

Before police began enforcing the law last year, officers spent 30 days passing out cards outlining the new rules and flyers with available services to people sitting or lying on the sidewalks, Reynolds said.

Both the new and old ordinances say no one will be cited unless they violate the ban again after being warned by police.

"Enforcement of the ordinance, which includes education and outreach, has been effective in promoting safety by essentially eliminating people sitting or lying down on the sidewalks of King and North and South Market Streets," Reynolds' memo said.

The city can't directly go after panhandling because the city's ban was lifted in 2014, after the American Civil Liberties Union and the Homeless Justice Project successfully challenged it as an unconstitutional violation of free speech.

In 2015, the city passed an ordinance restricting panhandling along roads, citing safety concerns. Since then, the activity has migrated to more pedestrian districts, such as King Street.

It doesnt appear that the city is enforcing the ordinance frequently, which makes us wonder if the ordinance is actually needed," said Susan Dunn, legal director for the ACLU of South Carolina. "Is it useful to criminalize an activity that can more often than not be remedied through counseling or referrals to services?

Marie Elana Roland, who runs a "navigation center," that provides shower, laundry, medical, mental health, clothing and employment services at 529 Meeting St., said she's noticed an increase in people coming in to seek help since the ordinance went into effect.

Theres never a slow day here, she said. Its nice to see that people are actually trying.

The same safety concerns that led to last year's ban are why it's being expanded, Reynolds' memo said.

People sitting or lying on the sidewalks of the King and Market street corridors during heavy use "poses a threat to safe pedestrian passage," the new ordinance reads.

If convicted, a person is fined no more than $25. A fine of $50 or less is allowed after subsequent violations.

Joe, who declined to provide his last name, sat on King Street Friday afternoon under the American Theater marquee. He held a sign that read: "Homeless and Hungry. Anything Helps!"

He said he has been in the area for about six months but hasn't heard anything about the ordinance.

No officers had come by, he said, telling him to move.
Gregory Yee covers the city of Charleston. He's a native Angeleno and previously covered crime and courts for the Press-Telegram in Long Beach, CA. He studied journalism and Spanish literature at the University of California, Irvine.
Attorney General William Barr appears before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee to make his Justice Department budget request, Wednesday, April 10, 2019, in Washington. Barr said Wednesday that he was reviewing the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation. He said he believed the president's campaign had been spied on and he was concerned about possible abuses of government power. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Syndicated and guest columns represent the personal views of the writers, not necessarily those of the editorial staff. The editorial department operates entirely independently of the news department and is not involved in newsroom operations.
FILE - In this May 19, 2017, file photo, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange greets supporters from a balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy in London. The Justice Department inadvertently named Assange in a court filing in an unrelated case that raised immediate questions about whether the WikiLeaks founder had been charged under seal. His name appears twice in an August 2018 filing from a prosecutor in Virginia in a separate case involving a man accused of coercing a minor. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)
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.
Older adults and their families often wonder: Wheres the best place to recover after a hip or knee replacement  at home or in a rehabilitation facility?

Increasingly, the answer appears to be home if the procedure is elective, friends and family are available to help and someone doesnt have serious conditions that could lead to complications.

This trend is likely to accelerate as evidence mounts that recuperating at home is a safe alternative and as hospitals alter medical practices in response to changing Medicare policies.

The newest data comes from a March study in JAMA Internal Medicine of 17 million Medicare hospitalizations of people from 2010 to 2016. All the patients were older adults and went home or to a skilled nursing facility after a medical procedure or a serious illness. Knee and hip replacements were the most common reason for these hospitalizations.

People who were sent home with home health care services demonstrated the same level of functional improvement as those who went to a skilled nursing facility (assessments examined their ability to walk and get up and down stairs, among other activities), the study found. And they were no more likely to die 30 days after surgery (a very small percentage in each group). Overall, costs were significantly lower for patients who went home, while hospital readmissions were slightly higher  a possible signal that home health care services needed strengthening or that family caregivers needed better education and training.

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"What this study tells us is its certainly safe to send people home under many circumstances," said Dr. Vincent Mor, a professor of health services, policy and practice at Brown Universitys School of Public Health who wrote an editorial accompanying the study.

No difference

The new report expands on previous research that came to a similar conclusion. In 2017, experts from New York Citys Hospital for Special Surgery published a study that examined 2,400 patients who underwent total knee replacements and were discharged home or to a skilled nursing facility for rehabilitation between May 2007 and February 2011. There were no differences in complication rates at six months or in functional recovery and patient-reported outcomes at two years.

"As a result of these findings, we are encouraging all of our patients to consider home discharge after TKA (total knee arthroplasty)," the authors wrote.

The year before, researchers at New York University reported in JAMA Internal Medicine that from 2009 to 2012 and 2013-14, discharges to rehabilitation facilities fell from 68 to 34 percent for patients undergoing hip and knee replacements, from 71 to 22 percent for patients with cardiac valve replacement surgeries, and from 40 to 30 percent for patients whod had spinal fusion surgery. Instead, more people were sent home to recover. During this period, NYU Langone Medical Center assumed financial responsibility for "episodes of care" for joint replacements that include the post-hospital recovery period  a policy that Medicare is now promoting.

Diane Rubin, 67, who lives on Long Island, had a hip replacement at the NYU medical center in January. Before the surgery, she got a list of things shed need to do to prepare for her recovery; afterward, a nurse and physical therapist visited her at home regularly for about three weeks. "I was more comfortable recuperating at home and Ive had absolutely no complications," she said.

How do physicians decide where to send patients? "In general, we tend to send patients to skilled nursing facilities who are older, sicker, more deconditioned after surgery, and who have no spouse or caregiver, fewer resources and little social support," said Dr. Leora Horwitz, a co-author of that study and associate professor of population health and medicine at New York University School of Medicine.

Nurse navigators

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Though its widely believed that people who live alone might not do well going home, last year researchers at The Rothman Orthopaedic Institute at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia published research showing that isnt necessarily the case. At their institution, patients are assigned a nurse navigator who provides assistance before and after hip or knee replacements. Patients who lived alone stayed in the hospital longer and received more home health care services than those who lived with others.

When they recuperated at home, the Rothman Orthopaedics patients didnt have higher rates of medical complications, returns to the hospital or emergency room visits than those who went to rehabilitation facilities. Nearly 90 percent of people who lived alone said theyd again choose a home discharge.

Dr. William Hozack, a co-author of the study and professor of orthopedic surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Medical School, acknowledged that patients who go to rehabilitation are probably sicker and more debilitated than those who go home, potentially biasing research results. Still, practices have changed considerably. Today, he and his colleagues send 95 percent of patients who get hip and knee replacements home to recover, instead of directing them to institutions.

People shouldnt underestimate how much help they may require at home, especially in the first few weeks after surgery, said Carol Levine, director of the United Hospital Funds families and health care project, who has had two hip replacements. The potential downsides to going home include a greater burden on caregivers and the possibility that complications wont be identified as quickly, needs will go unmet if friends and family cant pitch in, and people wont follow through on recommended rehabilitation regimens. And outcomes may not be as favorable if services that support people at home arent readily available.

Utahs Intermountain Healthcare, a health system that operates 23 hospitals and nearly 170 medical clinics, is bringing an array of services  palliative care, dialysis, primary care and hospital care  into the home through its new Intermountain at Home program. Recovering at home after a hospital procedure is also a focus, and Intermountain has created standardized procedures for hip and knee replacements over the past few years, according to Rajesh Shrestha, the systems chief operating officer of community-based care.

Individual plans

Every joint-replacement patient going home after surgery now gets a thorough assessment to determine the resources that are needed. A care plan is created and a case manager, usually a registered nurse, makes sure that physical therapy, durable medical equipment and home health care are supplied. The case manager also coordinates postoperative care with orthopedic surgeons and makes sure that patients reconnect post-surgery with their primary care physicians. And a team of providers is available 24/7.

During the past few years, discharges to rehabilitation facilities have declined by half at most of Intermountains Utah facilities, with no notable increase in complications or hospital readmissions, Shrestha said. During 2018, 85 percent of knee replacement patients and 88 percent of hip replacement patients went home after surgery, respectively.

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At Kaiser Permanente, a health plan with more than 12 million members, a substantial number of patients who get elective hip and knee replacements are skipping a hospital stay altogether and going home the same day. In Kaisers Southern California region, same-day joint replacement home discharges now total about 50 percent, according to Dr. Nithin Reddy, who oversees joint replacements for the region. (Kaiser Health News is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.)

Kaiser Permanente has made this possible by changing how procedures are done (an anterior approach for hip replacements, for example), introducing new protocols for pain management (opioids are used less frequently), altering anesthesia protocols (less general anesthesia and more regional anesthesia), reducing blood transfusions and hiring "total joint coordinators" (typically nurses) to help with the transition from the hospital to home. All patients go home with home health care, receive two outreach calls the week after surgery and get comprehensive handbooks with checklists of what to do before and after surgery and common concerns to look out for.

"We have very robust discharge criteria: Patients have to have well-managed pain and be able to get in and out of bed by themselves and in and out of the restroom by themselves. And they need to be able to walk 50 to 75 feet unassisted, using a walker," Reddy said. "If they cant do those things, they arent safe for a home discharge and (rehabilitation at) a skilled nursing facility would come into play."

Magdalena Ritayik, 66, one of the doctors patients, had a knee replacement last September after cortisone shots stopped working and pain became a constant companion. Six years before, her husband had both knees replaced, separately, and stayed in the hospital three days each time. By contrast, Ritayik went home the afternoon after her surgery, only to find a nurse and physical therapist waiting there for her.

"The nurse went over all the medications, when to take them and how much. The physical therapist showed me how to do bending and stretching with a chair in the living room and to raise (my leg) while I was lying on the bed," Ritayik said. "The first week you have to stay home. After the second week, I was walking almost like regular. A month after the surgery, I was at full extension and full bending."
How did Jesus' mother experience his crucifixion?

See Jesus' passion through the eyes of his mother, in a learning session that starts at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Assisi Heights in Rochester.

As we enter into Holy Week, come and experience the passion of two mothers. Based on a poem by Velma West Skyene, it is a dialogue between two mothers, who experience a shared sorrow and question the mystery around their sons' death.

By entering into the dialogue between them, we begin to know the ache of their human hearts. Let us join our hearts to theirs, lift up the conditions and passions of our world, our church, our community and our families. There will be a time of prayer and reflection based on the interactive dialogue of these two mothers. Both men and women are invited to participate in this program.

Admission free; donations are appreciated.

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Learn more and register online, tinyurl.com/y5m6r2ul , or call 507-280-2195.

Assisi Heights is at 1001 14th St. NW.

Assisi hosts Holy Week services, retreat

Attend a Holy Week silent retreat, April 18-21 at Assisi Heights in Rochester.

Every Lent, the Spirit of God that drove Jesus into the desert, drives us into the wilderness within us where God dwells. It is in the quiet that we clear our heads and realize the path we should take if we are to become people of justice and righteousness. This is a time to find new hope and renewed vision as we move to the Easter promise.

The Easter Triduum is the summit of the liturgical year. It begins with Holy Thursday evening and concludes on Easter Sunday. Though it is chronologically three days, they are one unfolding day of Christ's Paschal Mystery.

Join us for the Triduum Services, and in the succeeding days, rest, and enjoy your own quiet time. Services are scheduled as follows:

 6:30 p.m. Holy Thursday, April 18

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 3 p.m. Good Friday, April 19

 6:30 p.m. Holy Saturday, April 20

 11 a.m. Easter Sunday, April 21

The spiritual experience will be guided by Sisters JoAnn Haney, Linda Wieser and Monique Schwirtz.

Meals ($20 per day) and overnight accommodations ($40 per night) available. Pre-registration required. A variety of days and evenings are possible, so please contact Sister Marlys at 507-529-3524 to make your reservations.

 For Option 1, Holy Thursday, go to: tinyurl.com/y69xmbfz .

 For Option 2, Good Friday, go to: tinyurl.com/y55z9s6a .

 For Option 3, Holy Saturday, go to: tinyurl.com/y2rnes6d .

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 For Option 4, Easter Sunday, go to: tinyurl.com/y6yeeugw .

Or call 507-280-2195 for more information.

Supermarket Saturday is April 20

Oasis Church will hold Supermarket Saturday, in partnership with Channel One Food Shelf, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. April 20.

You must present a photo ID with birthdate to pick up food at Oasis Church. You can visit only one Channel One food site per month. If you have any questions, call 289-8596.

Oasis Church is at 1815 38th St. NW in Rochester.

Calling all pilgrims!

Jewish philosopher Martin Buber wrote, "All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware."

On April 22, join pilgrims who have walked the Camino de Santiago, or made pilgrimages to Rome, Mecca, Assisi, Tibet or any other destination. Through this learning session at Assisi Heights, you'll discover that initial motivations and preparations vary; struggles may have surfaced along the way. The effort is to carry on the spirit of the pilgrimage after reaching the final destination.

Often, along the journey, pilgrims discover within themselves the desire to create new and better ways to navigate life. Many realize that the new places they arrived at through pilgrimage have become an enduring part of the landscape of their lives going forward.

The cost to attend is free; donations are appreciated. The session starts at 6:30 p.m.

Learn more and register online, tinyurl.com/y3zzg84e , or call 507-280-2195.

Assisi Heights is at 1001 14th St. NW.

Chatfield church hosts father-son banquet

Chatfield United Methodist Church hosts its 94th annual father-son banquet, 6:30 p.m. April 24 at the church.

The banquet features a full roast beef dinner and presentation by the award-winning Rube Goldberg team, the Physics Pharm, from Chatfield schools.

Tickets are $12 for adults, $6 for youth, and available at Roy's Barbershop and the church office.

The church is at 124 Winona St. SE. Call 507-867-3529 for more information.

Come to Easter Evensong

Join the Franciscan community for an evening prayer sung on Wednesdays during the Easter Season. All are welcome!

The next prayer is at 4:30 p.m. April 24. Admission is free.

Learn more: Go to tinyurl.com/y3kmm8nf or call 507-280-2195.

Assisi Heights is at 1001 14th St. NW.
Alaska cruises have long been a popular item, but indications are they will show a huge increase in 2019.

Cruise-ship tourism to Alaska this year is expected to increase by about 16 percent over the numbers reported for 2018, according to projections issued by Cruise Line International Association, the cruise lines marketing agency.

In raw numbers, notes the Alaska Journal of Commerce, that translates to about 1.3 million tourists arriving by cruise ship to destinations including Juneau, Sitka, Skagway, Seward and Valdez, which are Alaskas major ports.

The 16 percent boost in passenger totals would increase the 2018 total by 175,000 more people.

The cruise industry is adding more port calls and more passengers per port call. Not only are there more ships coming to Alaska, but they are getting larger, notes the Journal of Commerce article.

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Three new ships  the Norwegian Joy, Royal Princess and Ovation of the Seas, all of which carry more than 3,000 passengers each  join the Norwegian Bliss, which carries 4,000 passengers, in Alaskan waters, according to CLIA.

With one exception, the ships are new to the trade or larger than the ships they replace, notes CLIA.

Although scheduled cruises can take passengers everywhere from Nome to Ketchikan, the vast majority of cruise ships will dock in Southeast Alaska.

Juneau is expecting nearly 1.3 million passengers, with at least one cruise ship docked there every day from the end of April through the beginning of October.

Juneau has been building out its dock infrastructure for cruise ships for the past several years. The trend is toward larger ships in the cruise industry and Juneau is trying to accommodate that need, reports the Journal of Commerce.

Over the past decade, cruise-ship tourism has increased by about 50 percent in Juneau. On a heavy ship day, the city can host some 15,000 visitors in a town of about 32,000. As ships become larger, that figure may increase to 20,000 on a heavy day, officials predict. When passengers disembark, they frequently head out of the city on excursions.

Cruise ship passengers who arrive in Alaskan ports often eat at local restaurants, buy souvenirs and go on local tours, thereby contributing heavily to the local economy. Tourism businesses to serve them have multiplied in Juneau and elsewhere in the past two decades.

Weve cruised to Alaska a half-dozen times and can recommend it as a prime summer vacation. Best time to travel there, we have found, is from mid-July to mid-August. Temperatures are very mild then and rainfall is usually not a big problem.
EYOTA  The Eyota City Council took steps Thursday night to check another item off its list.

The council  Mayor Tony Nelson was unable to make the meeting  voted unanimously to award two grants totaling $15,000 to help Mark Westphal start a chiropractic business at 123 Lafayette Ave. SW in Eyota.

"Its another great amenity," Council Member John Chesney said.

Council Member and Mayor Pro-tem Bryan Cornell said bringing a health care business to town was a good addition to the city. "There was a gap not having a chiropractor in town," he said. "Its like not having a dentist or potentially not having a grocery store."

While not specifically listed as a need for the city in the Eyota Market Area Profile produced by the University of Minnesota Extension in 2017, Cornell said the business fit into the need of a health care practitioner, which was part of the report that showed what businesses should be added to Eyota.

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Now, the closest chiropractic businesses to Eyota are either in St. Charles, about nine miles away, or Chatfield, about 11 miles away.

"The EDA believes its a very good thing to have a chiropractor in town," Cornell said. By adding another service business, the city becomes more attractive to people looking at small towns outside Rochester as places to live.

The money approved by the city council includes a $10,000 grant to improve the buildings facade and entrances, including making the back entrance handicap accessible.

The second grant, which would come from the half-cent sales tax fund from Rochester, would give the chiropractic business $5,000 forgivable over five years to make interior improvements, including handicap accessible bathrooms and wider doorways.

Westphal, who currently works in Wisconsin, said he began looking for towns near Chatfield to open his own business because his wife has family in the area. Eventually, he made a connection with Cathy Enerson, the economic development director for Eyota, who worked to help him find a location and work with him to get funding.

"Were in the early stages," Westphal said, adding he will continue working in Wisconsin until his new business is ready. "We just got the building and started tearing down inside."

Westphal said he hoped to open his new practice sometime this summer.

Like the UMN Extension, he said he sees a town of decent size with a need.

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"They need that type of health care in town so they dont have to drive 10 to 15 minutes for an appointment," Westphal said.

In other business, the council approved a motion to allow Burts Meats to connect two buildings with a walkway as part of the business plans to turn the former Jems Confections into additional freezer space for the meat processing and butcher shop.
For Brian Lind, the attraction of foreign movies is rather elemental: "I just love good films," he said.

Lind, who has been a volunteer with the Rochester International Film Group since 2003, not only works on and attends the Rochester International Film Festival each year, he also has a region-free DVD player so that he can watch foreign film DVDs he orders online from Europe.

"They bring you to places that you cant always visit," he said of foreign films. "A lot of different perspectives, different voices, different characters."

Ask 10 foreign-film fans what they like about the movies, and youll likely get 10 different answers. The films are often beautifully made, dont always have easy answers to the questions they pose, show people like us in unfamiliar settings, challenge us to step outside of our comfort zones, tend to be more understated than Hollywood hits, and open a window on cultures around the world.

"I just think a spirit of adventure is fulfilled when you go to an international film festival," said Jan Behrens, a volunteer with the film group. "Its part of being a human being to see what the rest of the world is doing."

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Some people though, are reluctant to try a foreign film for any number of reasons, subtitles being one of them.

Of course, not all foreign films have subtitles. Movies from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and the United Kingdom, for example, would normally be in English.

As for those movies with subtitles, its surprising how quickly they disappear from a viewers consciousness. "Once you get into the movies about five or 10 minutes, you dont even realize youre reading," Lind said.

In other cases, subject matter might be unfamiliar enough to be difficult to grasp.

If thats your particular worry, Lind said, look for a film from, for example, France, Germany or Poland. "A lot of European films tend to be period pieces," he said. Their familiar historical settings might ease your way into a different culture.

Or, Lind said, "Come to one of the comedies, or family dramas."

So, if you try the film festival, and like what you see, where can you find more international movies?

 The Rochester Public Library has a large collection of international films on DVD available for checkout. The collection includes hundreds of films from France, Israel, Iran, Germany, Sweden, Japan, Cuba, Argentina, Romania, Russia, Mexico  from literally every film-producing country in the world. The collection is on the first floor of the library and is open for browsing.

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 In addition, the library hosts a monthly iFilm series at 6 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month. Its usually a double-feature, with a short film followed by a full-length movie. Again, these films come from around the world. An added bonus: free popcorn.

 Alliance Francais , which promotes French language and culture in Rochester, hosts French film screenings every other month at the library, usually at 6:30 p.m. on the third Wednesday. The upcoming schedule is at: afmsp.org/rochester/rochester-events/ .

 The Grey Duck micro-cinema in Northwest Rochester is scheduled to open in May. Tentatively, the lineup will include classic, independent and international films, according to early reports.
Lenny Feuling said hes taking a break.

The 83-year-old retired Kenyon farmer has been a Mayo Clinic volunteer for nearly 10 years, working three shifts a week.

When a change in parking privileges was revealed, he planned to not return to his work in a cafeteria and at the elevator banks.

"I took a leave of absence to see what will wash out of this," he said, noting the added shuttle bus ride would add to the inconvenience of an already 70-mile round trip.

After calls from volunteer coordinators, he said he may consider volunteering once a week in the future.

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Volunteers throughout Mayo Clinics Rochester campuses were notified March 22 that they would not have access to downtown parking before 1:30 p.m. on weekdays starting April 1.

Instead they could use outlying clinic parking lots with Mayo Clinic shuttles or use city buses.

It was a change nine-year volunteer Julie Troutman said she understands is needed, but how it was implemented is frustrating.

"The announcement was callous and without foresight," she said of the emails that arrived on a Friday.

While volunteers with handicap parking access arent affected by the changes, Troutman said people with mobility issues  who may not be considered disabled  dont seem to be taken into account.

"It isnt right," she said. "They should have thought about that."

Stephanie Hurt, secretary for Mayo Clinics Parking and Campus Transportation Committee, said the group struggled while discussing options and regrets the lack of time given volunteers, but the change was needed.

"The change was a difficult decision and was implemented quickly due to the urgency of current patient parking constraints," she said.

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OTHERS FEEL PINCH

Mayo Clinic isnt the only agency feeling parking pressure related to its volunteers.

Earlier this year, the Friends of the Rochester Public Library received notice that the cost of its parking spaces in the Civic Center parking ramp would be increasing, bringing the organizations annual cost to approximately $4,000.

Board Member John Hunziker said paying the added cost seemed the only option since many of the volunteers rely on the spaces.

"We just bit the bullet and did it," he said, noting it will have a small financial impact on what the organization can provide the library.

Another organization that has been feeling the effects of downtown parking changes is Elder Network.

"Not only do volunteers serving seniors downtown have difficulty finding parking and have to pay for it themselves, it requires an additional level of coordination for our volunteers," Associate Executive Director Kristin Mannix said. "This can be a deterrent for volunteers and companions to accept downtown clients."

However, she said parking is also having a less-expected impact.

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"We are doing more medical rides because people dont want to drive and park downtown," Mannix said, noting limited parking, increased rates and construction detours are creating new stresses for clients who once drove themselves to downtown medical appointments.

She said the agency is happy to provide door-to-door drop-off to reduce stress, but the increased need has spurred calls for more volunteers.

"We try to keep replenishing that pool of volunteers," Mannix said, noting the organization wants to eventually offer rides beyond medical appointments.

IMPACT UNKNOWN

Kim Van Rooy, director of Mayo Clinic Volunteer Programs, said its too early to say how many of the 1,500 volunteers  200 to 300 of which could be working on a given day  on Mayo Clinic campuses will become frustrated by the new parking arrangements.

"We understand the new parking arrangements may not be suitable for every volunteer," she said. "Acknowledging this, we are working individually with volunteers to identify solutions as they navigate the changes. This includes reviewing transportation options, adjusting volunteer schedules and exploring alternate service areas."

Martha Reeder, a volunteer who calls weekly morning bingo games for children in the Saint Marys Hospital pediatric floor, said she hopes adjustments are made.

"I understand they have a parking issue, but it was just like being fired," she said. "Thats the way I felt."

Reeder took a shuttle bus the first week after the change, but discovered the return trip required her to either leave early or stand at the bus stop for an extra 20 to 30 minutes since employee shuttles are less frequent midday.

"Im really weighing everything out and giving it a little bit of time to change but from what I see, its taking more time and I wasnt able to do what I needed. That doesnt make you feel good, when you come in and do your job half way," she said, noting the bingo games are time to fill space between doctors rounds and lunch, offering limited flexibility.

Troutman, who offers comfort care for patients receiving chemotherapy, said her volunteer work also comes with limits.

"You give it your all for two hours and youre done," she said, indicating that working a four-hour shift to make more efficient use of her time would be draining.

She also said shifting to an afternoon shift to take advantage of downtown Mayo Clinic parking thats available after 1:30 p.m. isnt an option shed consider.

"I love my morning shift," she said. "I want to get it done in the morning,"

CONCERNS HEARD

Van Rooy said such concerns are being taken into account as the new parking measures are studied.

"We are encouraged and appreciate that many volunteers have tried the various options and provide beneficial feedback," she said. "We value our volunteers and their dedication to our patients and will continue to assess any concerns."

With National Volunteer Appreciation Week wrapping up, Troutman said shes not feeling especially appreciated and shes already heard of 30 volunteers who have taken their free time elsewhere.

"Its nice to have an appreciation dinner or luncheon, but I prefer parking," she said.
BURNSVILLE  A Rochester business owner will be hosting a high-profile visitor from Washington, D.C., at his Burnsville facility on Tax Day.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Nuss Truck and Equipment in Burnsville on Monday. The company is owned by Bob Nuss.

Nuss and his company, which has eight Minnesota locations, are based in Rochester.

With a nod to the date that tax filings are due, the president is expected "to tout the success of the American economy under his pro-growth policies, including the implementation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act," according to information released from the White House.

Nuss said on Friday that he was unable to comment on President Trumps visit.

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The president is familiar with the area. He hosted a rally in Rochester in October.

Nuss is known for being interested in politics. This wont be the first time he has hosted a high-profile visitor to Burnsville facility.

Then-Speaker of House of Representatives Paul Ryan toured Nuss Trucking in July 2018 with U.S. Rep. Jason Lewis of Minnesota.

Nuss has a long history in Rochester. He moved here from Rockford, Ill., in 1973. He managed the family business and then purchased the Mack dealership here in 1979.

Despite the fact the Rochester truck stop in front of his dealership burned down twice, he and his sons, Greg and Brad Nuss, expanded throughout the region by acquiring other dealerships.

In 2018, Nuss Trucking had 325 employees with 35 to 40 in Rochester.
Theres a market for foreign films  and maybe Rochester is it.

Still, even in Rochester, arguably one of the most international communities in Minnesota, the annual Rochester International Film Festival has a modest goal of drawing 3,000 filmgoers to its nine-day festival.

Despite that, the festival, which opened Friday and runs through April 20, manages to come back every spring, largely on the energy of volunteers.

"Its kind of amazing to think this has been going for 24 years," said Alan Hoffman, who has been involved with the festival since it began in 1996. "The fact that weve been around for 24 years means weve been successful."

Indeed, survival in the business of presenting foreign films in Rochester does qualify as a success. Over the years, the local commercial cinemas have occasionally shown an international film, and then abandoned the practice for lack of interest.

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The Rochester Public Library s iFilm series screens a new foreign film every month, and rarely draws more than two dozen people to a showing.

In other words, the dedicated volunteers and filmgoers who revel in the annual Rochester International Film Festival might sometimes feel like theyre adrift in a market full of commercial blockbusters that play on multiple screens.

"The three theaters all have the same films," said Cathy Ashton, a longtime volunteer with the Rochester International Film Group, which organizes the film festival.

By contrast, the film festival offers, for nine days, an opportunity to see what is not normally available in Rochester. "Call it a binge," Ashton said.

"Its something youre not going to get anywhere else in Rochester  to watch a foreign film on a big screen with a group of people," said Brian Lind, another RIFG volunteer.

"Thats a big part of the festival," said volunteer Jan Behrens. "People like to sit in a theater, you feel the audience reactions. Afterwards, people are chatting about it. People are interested in knowing What did the others think of it?"

The festival began almost by accident, Hoffman said. In 1996, Al Milgrom, who was then head of the University of Minnesota film society, offered to bring some international films to Rochester. A local group of film enthusiasts quickly organized a festival at the movie theaters that were on the top floor of the downtown Centerplace Galleria (where the University of Minnesota Rochester is now located).

"Our first film sold out," Hoffman said. "We had to turn people away."

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After that, "We said, Well do it again."

It was one of those first years that Ashton attended the festival. "I went to my first festival and I said, Wow, I want to do this," she said.

After moving around for a few years, the festival eventually settled in at what was then the Wehrenberg  now Marcus  cinema on Maine Avenue Southeast. Some members of the film group hope that a more regular lineup of foreign films can eventually be shown at a renovated Chateau Theatre downtown, or at the Grey Duck micro-cinema now under development.

For now, though, the festival will likely stay where it is. This week, Marcus will see a steady stream of foreign-film fans, many of whom would be unlikely to show up for the latest sci-fi blockbuster, come through its doors.

Theyll be arriving to see some of the 29 films scheduled to be shown. Films this week come from Denmark, Japan, Germany, India, France, Belarus, Egypt, Hungary, Spain and other nations. In an interesting bit of symmetry, a Minnesota-made documentary by Al Milgrom, "Singing in the Grain," is part of this years festival.

Hoffman, meanwhile, will be keeping an eye on the sky.

"If its the first nice weekend of the spring, which by my unofficial count it has been for 21 of the 23 years, that affects us," he said. In other words, this weeks storm could help boost attendance.

Those years of bad luck with good weather, though, have not dampened the enthusiasm of the volunteers.

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"The festival starts and we say, Wow, we pulled it off again." said Ashton.
The 24th Rochester International Film Festival opened Friday and continues through April 20 at the Marcus Cinema, 4340 Maine Ave. SE.

The schedule for the remainder of the festival:

Today

12:30 p.m."Abe" (USA/Brazil). A 12-year-old prepares a meal to try to unite his Israeli and Palestinian family.

2:15 p.m."The Interpreter" (Slovakia/Czech Republic). An odd couple journey to meet surviving Holocaust witnesses.

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4:30 p.m."Capernaum" (Lebanon). The plight of a boy living on the streets of Beirut. Oscar nominee, Cannes Jury Prize.

7 p.m."The Cake General" (Sweden). Hans wants to set a record for the worlds largest sandwich cake.

9 p.m."Crystal Swan" (Belarus). A young woman tries to use a forged visa application to leave for the U.S.

Sunday

12:30 p.m."Chuskit" (India). Himalayan village girl hopes to go to school in a wheelchair but grandpa disagrees.

2:20 p.m."The Tobacconist" (Germany/Austria). Freud befriends a young man in Vienna.

4:30 p.m."Shoplifters" (Japan). A look at a "family" living on the margins. Oscar nominee.

7 p.m."Hugh Hefners After Dark: Speaking Out in America" (Canada). A look at the cultural impact of Hefners TV talk show.

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9:15 p.m. "Ruben Brandt, Collector" (Hungary). Animation, rated R. Graphically inventive film about psychotherapy and paintings.

Monday

3:45 p.m."Jirga" (Australia/Afghanistan). A former soldier seeks redemption in the aftermath of a civilian casualty.

5:30 p.m."The Guilty" (Denmark). A disciplined police officer is drawn into solving a kidnapping.

7:30 p.m."Never Look Away" (Germany). Intergenerational saga of German artists and truth. Oscar nominee.

Tuesday

1:30 p.m."Capernaum" (Lebanon). The plight of a boy living on the streets of Beirut. Oscar nominee, Cannes Jury Prize.

4 p.m."Put Grandma in the Freezer" (Italy). Claudia tries to avoid bankruptcy and the law when grandma dies.

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6 p.m."Bulbul Can Sing" (India). A narrative of rural village adolescence.

8 p.m."Dukla 61" (Czech Republic). A 1961 mining disaster is the backdrop for a father-son drama.

Wednesday

1 p.m."Never Look Away" (Germany). Intergenerational saga of German artists and truth. Oscar nominee.

4:45 p.m."At War" (France). Workers battle against a corporate decision to close their factory.

7 p.m."Fig Tree" (Ethiopia/Israel). Star-crossed teen romance in the Ethiopian civil war.

9 p.m."The Last Suit" (Argentina/Spain). Road movie about a tailor looking for his friend.

Thursday

12:15 p.m."Singin in the Grain: A Minnesota Czech Story" (USA). A documentary about Czech heritage in Minnesota.

2:30 p.m."Ruben Brandt, Collector" (Hungary). Animation, rated R. Graphically inventive film about psychotherapy and paintings.

4:30 p.m."The Reports on Sarah and Saleem" (Palestine/Netherlands). A forbidden affair leads to political espionage.

7 p.m."Photograph" (India). A Mumbai street photographer asks a stranger to pose as his fiance.

9:15 p.m."Shoplifters" (Japan). A look at a "family" living on the margins. Oscar nominee.

Friday

2:30 p.m."Capernaum" (Lebanon). The plight of a boy living on the streets of Beirut. Oscar nominee, Cannes Jury Prize.

5 p.m."Botero" (Canada/USA). A documentary about Colombian artist Fernando Botero.

7 p.m."Stalag Luft III: One Mans Story" (USA). A documentary about a Minnesota veterans experience in a World War II POW camp.

9:30 p.m."The Guilty" (Denmark). A disciplined police officer is drawn into solving a kidnapping.

April 20

12:30 p.m."The Little Comrade" (Estonia). A sensitive childs perspective on life after her mothers Stalin-era deportation.

2:30 p.m."Breakthrough" (USA). Documentary about Nobel Prize-winner Jim Allison.

4:45 p.m."Eating Up Easter" (Chile/USA). Documentary about the impact of tourism on the Rapanui community.

7 p.m."Yomeddine" (Egypt). Two outcasts journey across Egypt seeking family.

9 p.m."The Realm" (Spain/France). Tale of corrupt politicians, organized crime and revenge.
AUSTIN  As approximately 1,700 households and businesses remained without electricity in Mower and Freeborn counties Saturday morning, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said many in the state are likely unaware of the devastation caused by this weeks storm.

"If you have power at your house, the snow is going to be melted probably by tomorrow or whatever, so it appears like nothing really happened, but this was pretty catastrophic," he said, noting power outages had wide-ranging impacts from personal medical needs to large-scale farming operations.

Walz, who toured the two counties by helicopter, was in Austin Saturday morning to meet with Minnesota National Guard members and sheriffs from Mower and Freeborn counties, as well as those tasked with returning power to the businesses and homes throughout the area.

Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services CEO Jim Krueger said 500 broken or damaged utility poles left 8,200 customers without power at one point. The co-op covers most of the two counties, with the exception of Austin and a handful of other areas.

As of Saturday morning, only two towns remained completely cutoff from power  Elkton, with 145 residents, and Lyle, with 550 residents. Krueger said crews were working to make repairs with the hope that both towns would have power by the end of the day.

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"Then, what remains is the tougher rural areas," he said, noting the co-ops 25 linemen are being augmented by 125 others on loan from utility providers in four states.

In addition to linemen, Mower and Freeborn counties are still relying on help from the National Guards 224th Transportation Company, with teams providing coverage at 22 traffic-control points aimed at keeping residents away from downed power lines and other hazards.

"Were still committed to the mission," said Maj. Gen. Jon Jensen, the state Guards senior leader.

Capt. Robert Moccia, commander of the Austin-based 224th, said the work started less than five hours after the request was made Thursday, with 134 guardsmen responding by that evening.

Mower County Sheriff Steve Sandvik said the added manpower is likely responsible for helping ensure no lives were lost amid the downed poles. While barricades were erected, he said many blew into nearby fields, and the county lacked the numbers needed to warn drivers of potential hazards.

"We do not have a plethora of bodies to draw from," he said.

Freeborn County Sheriff Kurt Freitag echoed the appreciation. "We had just about all our fire departments out," he said, noting it still wasnt enough to provide around-the-clock coverage and keep people safe.

Walz said the decision to deploy the National Guard wasnt difficult, which is why the response was so swift.

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"If its coming from you, and you are telling us you need it, were right there," he told the sheriffs and other county officials gathered at the Austin Armory.

With the deployment came a state emergency declaration, which will trigger support for covering costs related to the storm.

"This will be very expensive," Krueger said. "We havent even begun to estimate it."

Walz said a past storm points to a cost of roughly, $10,000 per downed utility pole. With 500 poles affected, that would put the price at $5 million.

However, what that would cover is unclear.

Krueger said it could be "in the ballpark" of the entire cost related to the storm, but Joe Kelly, the states emergency management director, said the cost could be higher once responders overtime is factored in, along with costs related to the Guard deployment.

He said the impact is compounded by earlier flooding and other weather events, which he said hell include in a report to the Federal Emergency Management Agency when seeking additional support for covering costs.

Walz said he also hopes to pitch the need for a national declaration to President Trump when he visits Minnesota on Monday.

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Kelly said funds will be found to support the local effort.

"There will be help, whether FEMA gets involved or not," he said, noting his agency will work to determine the final cost once all the work is completed and power is restored throughout the two counties.

Walz said the help that has already arrived and the financial assistance that is expected is typical for the state, where neighbors help neighbors.

"Its not misplaced pride," he said. "Minnesota does this very well."
RED WING  A Goodhue man was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison Friday after he admitted to sexually assaulting a teenager multiple times in a "sex room" above his homes garage.

Michael Lowell Germain, 45, was sentenced in Goodhue County District Court by Judge Douglas C. Bayley to 165 months in state prison with conditional release possible after 10 years, according to court records.

Germain pleaded guilty on Jan. 24 to a charge of criminal sexual conduct in the first degree-significant relationship-complaint under 16. Twelve other felony charges and a gross misdemeanor were dismissed as part of the plea, according to court records. The conviction also requires a predatory offender registration.

Germains wife, Heather Laverne Germain, 50, was also sentenced Friday. Judge Bayley sentenced Heather Germain to concurrent probation terms of five and three years. She pleaded guilty on Jan. 24 to felony child endangerment and fifth-degree drug possession, a gross misdemeanor. Seven additional felony charges were dismissed.

Germain was given a stay of adjudication on the felony and gross misdemeanor charges, according to court records.

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With a stay of adjudication, a defendant pleads guilty, but the court doesnt "accept" the plea. When probation and its conditions are successfully completed, the charges are dismissed and the defendants criminal record doesnt reflect a conviction. The arrest record remains.

According to court documents, they were arrested April 21, 2017, on a warrant after a teenager told authorities they had sexually assaulted her multiple times, often in a described "sex room" above their garage. The sexual assaults occurred for nearly two years.
AUSTIN  Gov. Tim Walz will travel to Austin today to assess the storm damage there following Thursdays storm that damaged infrastructure and left thousands without power, the governors office announced Friday.

Walz is expected to meet with the National Guard, local law enforcement, local elected officials and others to assess how the recent storm has impacted the community. He will also discuss the repair process with officials.

He will meet with officials at 9:15 a.m. at the Austin ArmoryMinnesota National Guard, 800 21st St. NE, Rochester.
If there is $2.8 million in the Recycling Revolving Fund, why are there still aluminum cans on the roadside and in the trash cans? Read more
ACTIVISTS UNITE: A group of Amazon employees who have submitted a shareholder proposal urging the company to disclose its climate change plans stand in front of the Amazon spheres. Their proposal is one of 15 submitted by activist investors, including members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility. Rebeka Welch/The Seattle Times/Tribune News Service
Pennsylvanias Legislature is once again looking to do right by victims of childhood sexual abuse.

Thats a good thing.

The stain of horror of the sexual abuse of children was made abundantly clear by no less than three Pennsylvania grand jury investigations in the last decade, each seemingly more heinous than the other.

What also has been clear is the Legislatures clear reluctance to do the right thing, standing up to some powerful institutions that have placed themselves between the victims and justice.

Crucial in this moral  and financial  dilemma have been efforts to open a two-year window for the victims of decades-old sexual abuse to have their day in court against their abusers and the institutions that enabled and protected them.

Under current Pennsylvania law, victims have only until they reach age 30 to file a civil action. Not surprisingly, the push to open that window has sparked intense opposition from the Catholic church and the insurance industry.

Last fall a measure passed the House before withering in the Senate, failing to get to the floor for a vote.

Several leading Senate Republicans  the GOP controls both chambers in Harrisburg  opposed the measure, instead backing a push by the church to set up a victims compensation fund to be administered by an independent third party. At one point Senate leaders toyed with the idea of allowing victims to sue their abusers, but not the organizations behind them.

Now, two state representatives, one from each side of the aisle, are raising the issue again, but with a crucial difference.

There are actually two bills: one once again would eliminate the statute of limitations on filing criminal charges in cases of child sexual abuse; the other would expand the time a victim has to file civil action.

But theres been a key change when it comes to the notion of justice for those who have waited for years for their day in court against their abusers. Instead of opening the window, the language in the measure more likely once again will slam it shut in the face of victims.

Actually what the new proposal does is tie the question of a two-year window to a constitutional amendment. Good luck with that. In order to get to that point, legislation must be passed by both the House and Senate in consecutive sessions, and that only gets it on the ballot for a statewide vote.

Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-Berks, himself a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of his parish priest as a child and the Legislatures leading advocate of change on this deeply troubling issue, sees it simply as a way to get something done.

When the Senate walked away last fall without taking action, it not only slammed shut the two-year window, it also abandoned those two crucial changes in state law, eliminating the criminal statute of limitations, and expanding the window for civil actions.

Yes, they would only apply to future cases, but that does not make them any less necessary.

Its amazing how quickly memories in Harrisburg fade. It was just last summer that the state was horrified at the report of an investigative grand jury that detailed decades of sexual abuse of more than 1,000 children by more than 300 predators priests in six dioceses. It came just a few years after similar grand jury findings in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

In releasing the lurid details, Attorney General Josh Shapiro called for enactment of the two-year window to deliver justice for victims. Experts in the field agree that it often takes victims well into adulthood to come forward on allegations of abuse.

But the window has not budged in the state Capitol.

So now Rozzi and Rep. Jim Gregory, R-Blair, are trying a new tack.

Im hoping that this is one we can not only get through the House, but get through the Senate, said Rozzi in a clear reaction to last falls setback.

So far the bills have made it through the House Judiciary Committee and were overwhelmingly approved by the full House and then sent to the Senate, where fate is much less assured.

At the same time, similar legislation was introduced in the Senate that would eliminate criminal and civil limitations and also change state law to create the two-year window. The two-year window has consistently been opposed by Republican leaders in the Senate, who have said they fear it is unconstitutional.

Dont look for that to change.

If nothing else, the Senate should move quickly to approve the changes in state law as it pertains to future cases. They are needed and long overdue.

As for the chance of justice for the victims of decades-old abuse?

That very likely remains the same: Not a prayer.
The prosecution in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor continued yesterday with the cross-examination of officer Jesse Lopez as well as the testimony of officer Joseph Grout, Lieutenant Dan May, and Sergeant Robert Lewis, all of the Minneapolis police department. Performing the task of spinning yesterdays testimony into a narrative are Chao Xiong and Libor Jany in their Star Tribune story as well as Jon Collins and Riham Feshir in their MPR account. Their pieces give me the freedom to add stray comments or expand on items of interest or pick out whatever I think needs emphasis. Thats what I think Im doing in this series.

I find the headlines of the daily stories of interest. In this case, the Star Tribune and MPR have gone in different directions. I think the Star Tribune gets it right today (more below). I am not sure Ive ever said that before, but there it is.

In Thursdays proceedings, both the Star Tribune and MPR headlines focused on the advice given to Noor by an officer at the scene (Noors so-called escort officer) to keep quiet. I thought the most notable moment of Thursdays testimony was Lieutenant Rick Zimmermans WTF testimony. Words of truth from the departments senior homicide officer.

Let me repeat myself on one point. For background on the case I recommend the courts Noor trial page. For more on the blow by blow doings I recommend the #Noortrial hashtag Twitter feed under the Latest tab.

Almost all the witnesses in this case will be called by the prosecution. The prosecution has listed more than ninety possible witnesses. It wont call all of them; listing them preserves its rights to do so. Noor will make out his defense mostly from the prosecutions witnesses. Thats just the way it goes in criminal cases.

Noors counsel has listed three possible witnesses; Noor is not on the list. As Judge Quaintance observed during a hearing on a contested point of evidence, its not clear how Noor will prove the Noor life story that Peter Wold advertised during his opening statement with these three witnesses. If he fails, Judge Quaintance will admonish the jury to ignore that component of the defenses opening statement.

Yesterday the testimony of Lieutenant Dan May seemed to consume the lions share of the day. He has been on the force for 30 years. He makes a good appearance. He transferred to the Fifth Precinct in 2015 (where Noor killed Justine). In July 2017, at the time of Justines killing, he supervised the middle watch patrol shift. He responded to the shots fired call that went out that night from the scene. He testified to what he saw and identified the other officers on the scene.

From the first moment Peter Wold set out to cross-examine May he built him up (or accredited him, in the parlance of trial lawyers). The stripes on the dress uniform he was wearing in court reflect 30 years of service on the force. He was the commanding officer on the scene.

May testified to his pairing of Harrity and Noor as patrol officers. They were two of the younger precinct officers at the time of the incident. Younger officers, he testified are more productive than older officers. He thought highly of the two officers. Indeed, they were entrusted with high-powered patrol rifles acquired by the department after the 1997 incident in North Hollywood officers were outgunned by the bad guys. Only one or two other officers from the middle watch received the high-powered rifles.

May had to trust Noor and Harritys judgment to make this move. They had to be active officers for high-stress situations. That was Mays view of them.

This was all before the lunch break. After lunch Wold continued with the cross-examination, shifting his focus to the crime scene.

May observed Noor. He was shaken up, almost in shock. May explained the post-shooting critical incident protocol to him.

At this point Wold elicited testimony from May regarding his precinct briefings on the ambush of police officers. He discussed the incidents that raised his concerns about the ambush of police officers, both nationally and in Minneapolis. The relevance of the Minneapolis incidents was stretched on this point. The Star Tribune story provides some of this ambush testimony in detail.

The tension between the prosecution of this case by the Hennepin County Attorney and the Minneapolis Police Department was almost palpable in the courtroom on the redirect of May by Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Patrick Lofton on an issue of fact that assumes the veracity of a point the prosecution disputes.

According to the defense, Justine banged on the officers squad car before Noor shot her. The prosecution suggests that the bang or slap was more or less invented by Sergeant Shannon Barnette, the senior officer first on the scene and therefore the critical incident officer managing it. Lofton asked whether ambushers usually warned the officer with a slap to their squad car. May hesitated before answering in the negative.
In the world of collecting, our occasional correspondent Dave Begley might just be what they call a completist. Governor Jay Inslee (whodat???) brought his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination to Iowa last night (thumbnail photo courtesy of Dave). We had Dave on hand to cover the festivities, such as they were. Dave is a Nebraska attorney practicing elder law and estate planning in Omaha. Dave has filed this report on Inslee in Iowa. This time around Dave again risked life and limb to ask a satirical question from the crowd:

About 50 climate change true believers and Trump haters showed up for Washington Governor Jay Inslees appearance at a Council Bluffs bar on Friday evening. Inslees campaign  such as it is  is focused almost entirely on climate change. I say Trump haters because whenever Inslee took a shot at the President, he was greeted with nods and applause.

My question might have puzzled Governor Inslee. Was I a true believer or a climate skeptic? Who else would show up at a bar on a Friday night in Council Bluffs? My question:

I see that your number one issue is climate change. [Inslee agrees.] Some people say that our very existence on this planet is dependent upon resolving this. Id like to know  if elected President of the United States  would you order the Air Force to bomb coal-fired plants in China and India? [laughs, chuckles, Wow!]

Governor Inslee responded:

I appreciate the general sentiment, but the answer is no. I think there is a better way to go about this issue. And the first thing to do is to re-establish our leadership internationally. Look, it is interesting to me Trump always complains about China, India, Germany, England and every other country in the world and he argues that those other folks arent doing enough on this issue and we want them to do more. But it doesnt really help to encourage somebody to do more when we are doing less. Donald Trump is trying to repeal everything that Barack Obama had done to try to build a clean energy economy.Tried to accelerate extracting fossil fuel from our public lands. Every chance hes got, hes tried to do less. That hardly is successful to get other people to do more. If you want your neighbor to mow his lawn, it doesnt help to say that youre not going to mow your own. I believe when we establish American leadership on this, when we say to the world that we are getting into the Paris Agreement, when we get to do the things weve got to do. And Ill mention two of them. Weve got to stop giving the oil and gas industry $27 billion dollars of our taxpayer money. Weve got to put that money into clean energy jobs right here in Iowa. [Applause][W]e can move to clean energy. Weve got to move to 100% clean energy.

He then went on to describe a Washington bill that passed that would eliminate any coal-sourced power from that states electrical grid.

Inslee repeatedly asserted that clean energy jobs are a growth industry and more people would be employed in it than in our current economy. This is akin to the old Keynesian notion that it is good if the government hires a bunch of people to dig ditches and then fill them back up. The rational thing to do is to keep energy as cheap as possible. While the governor complained about the alleged tax subsidies of the oil and gas industry, the entire solar, wind and electric car industries are premised on federal tax subsidies.

Inslees postulate about US leadership sounds good, but the facts are that the United States will bear all the costs while China and India ride on until some future date. That was a major flaw of the Paris Agreement. He also informed the crowd that we are still technically in the Paris Agreement until 2020. On top of that, 23 states have joined together to subvert federal supremacy in foreign affairs. Getting out of the bad Paris Agreement is another good reason to re-elect Donald Trump!

Inslee bragged about defeating the Trump Administration 18 times in court. As we have repeatedly seen, some federal judges have decided that they are in charge of our foreign policy. In fact, he openly advocated for a federal judge to strike down funding for the border wall.

While complaining about the Presidents use of his constitutional authority, Inslee bragged about his executive order that put a cap on carbon pollution.

The canard about climate deniers dont believe in science was pronounced by a climate extremist in the crowd. The governor was of the same mind. He avowed, the planet will cook if we burn coal and oil. For Inslee, defeating climate change is job one.

The costs of a clean energy economy were not discussed. Or how it has failed miserably in Europe. Inslee was preaching to the choir and the religion of climate change is never put to any rigorous examination. It is all cliches and bromides.

My question was deliberately provocative. If, in fact, the planet is under a direct threat we should use any means necessary to save life on earth. From the conservative prospective, that has been the beauty of AOCs Green New Deal. It shows what extreme steps would have to be taken to solve a non-existent problem.
As you probably know, Ilhan Omar is back in the news. She has taken a lot of criticism for her some people did something speech to a CAIR group in California. The problem with Omars speech is that she portrayed the September 11 terrorist attacks in anodyne fashion, while suggesting that their real significance lay in the horrific infringements of civil liberties that followed. (Only, of course, they didnt.) Liberals have generally fallen in line to support Omar, while President Trump tweeted this just a few hours ago:

WE WILL NEVER FORGET! pic.twitter.com/VxrGFRFeJM  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 12, 2019

But Omar made the news today because of this tweet, which is puzzling to say the least:

The people  and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon! President George W. Bush Was Bush downplaying the terrorist attack? What if he was a Muslim  https://t.co/XMazssoD49  Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) April 12, 2019

What is striking about Omars tweet is that there is no angle from which it makes sense. She implies that President Bush said something comparable to her some people did something riff, but the implied analogy is nonexistent. Bush vowed to destroy the terrorists who attacked the U.S. Omar suggested that the terrorist attacks were of little consequence except insofar as they prompted an alleged backlash against Muslimsby President Bush, presumably. The two statements could hardly be more different.

In fact, the only thing they have in common is that they include the word people. Can Congresswoman Omar be so dimwitted that she thought others would see this as a clever parallel?

Yes, I think she may be. There have been a number of occasions when Omar has said and done things that led me to wonder whether she is a person of unusually limited intelligence. Todays tweet is very much in that category.

This afternoon, I happened to talk with someone who worked in the Minnesota House of Representatives during the brief time when Omar represented a district there. He said that she was widely regarded as an idiotthat was the term he usedwho was unable to understand proposed legislation or to participate coherently in committee proceedings. Then as now, her only shtick consisted of complaining about imagined discrimination against Muslims.

Last month, I wrote about Nancy Pelosis half-hearted defense of Omar in a post titled Ilhan Omar: World-historical Figure or Inarticulate Child? Pelosi defended Omars multiple anti-Semitic comments and other gaffes on the ground that she has a different experience in the use of words. But I think Omars problem lies deeper than her (very good) command of English.
The Democratic Party has come out against the rule of law and in favor of illegal immigration. Opposing open borders, Democrats say, is immoral. OK, finewhere are the tens of millions of people who would like to move here from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and so on going to go? Liberals imagine them inhabiting places where they dont live. Flyoverland.

I have a good friend and frequent email correspondent who has been on this issue for quite a while. This comes from one missive written several years ago, but there have been others to the same effect. These numbers frame the issue:

Without the immigration increase from 1965 to the present, total population today [2015] would be what it was in 1990: 250 million, rather than 320 million. [The Pew Foundations] projection, based on current trends, is for a population of 441 million in 50 years. This has to be extremely conservative: it is a compound growth rate of only 5/8 of 1%. The actual population growth rate over the past 25 years has been 1%, overwhelmingly, as the Report shows, from immigration. If the growth rate over the next 50 years is midway between these two rates, about 7/8 of 1%, then the population impact is that much greater, to a total of 500 million! If the growth rate simply matches the immigration driven growth rate of the recent past, population in 2065 would be 535 million. And this assumes no Gang of Eight immigration reform which would essentially double current levels of immigration. Add another 50 million, more or less. At a minimum, over my childrens lifetime, the immigration celebrationists are planning on adding a minimum of 120 million in increased population  the entire population of the United States in 1920! More likely, the increase is in the vicinity of 180 million, the entire population of the United States just before the disastrous 1965 Act!!

So where will all these many millions of people go? My friend had a suggestion:

Where do they suppose we are going to put the equivalent of the entire population of the U.S. as of 1960 between now and 2065? Next to where they live? In the Hamptons, perhaps? Or Marin County, California? Maybe the pristine little New England towns in the suburbs of Boston? Montgomery County, MD? Westchester County, anyone? How about Marthas Vineyard or Hyannisport? Plenty of room! Actually, Madeline Albright smugly pointed out that from her airplane window, flying coast to coast, she could see that there was lots of room  in the Midwest! Plenty of space for another 150 million or so, right there! Hey!isnt that where you live?!!!

Indeed. Today, President Trump echoed my friends suggestion that illegal immigrants should be located where the liberals who want millions of them live:

.The Radical Left always seems to have an Open Borders, Open Arms policy  so this should make them very happy!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 12, 2019



Heh. Did that make the Democrats happy? Of course not! They reacted with fury to the idea that the many millions of illegal immigrantsillegal voters, one might saywhom they want to import into the U.S. might actually live near them. But isnt that precisely what a sanctuary city is for?

Democrats were, naturally, outraged. This is, as people used to say, a teachable moment.
The Nigerian government now has a market-based mechanism to eliminate gas flaring in the Niger Delta.

Gas flaring by oil companies in the region has for years devastated the environment and livelihoods of local populations.

The new initiative  National Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme  was launched in 2016 as a major step towards Nigerias goal of ending gas flaring by 2020.

The global flare-out deadline is 2030 following the zero-flaring initiative promoted by the World Bank, however, Nigeria has a national target that seeks to eliminate gas flaring 10 years earlier.

What is gas flaring?

Gas flaring is the burning off of associated gas that comes together with oil during production.

Oil companies have been using the option of burning the associated gas for decades.

They have preferred flaring and paying meagre penalties to the government, than developing a structure to capture the gas and make it useful. Setting up such infrastructure would be more expensive, they have argued.

Oil companies in Nigeria produce over 4 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day. But according to the authorities, nearly 80 per cent of the associated gas produced is utilised or redirected into the earth crust.

The remaining  approximately 700 million standard cubic feet of gas  is burnt in the open daily at 178 sites, causing tons of carbon to be emitted into the atmosphere. Carbon is a key contributor to climate change.

An investigative report published in 2018 suggested an increase in Nigerias gas flare ahead of the 2020 deadline and highlighted the devastating impacts of the waste on the local populations and the environment.

But if the wasted gas were captured, it could be used in boosting electricity generation and even used as cooking gas.

Deadlines to stop flarit have repeatedly shifted since 1960s.

The commercialisation programme

In 2016, relying on Nigerias petroleum law empowering the minister of petroleum resources to take flared gas and commercialise it, the minister of state, Ibe Kackikwu, launched the National Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme to involve third-party investors or off-takers.

On Thursday, three years after, Mr Kachikwu said that 226 companies had submitted bids to participate in the commercialisation programme.

Successful companies, called off-takers, are to emerge from the ongoing process that requires the submission of proposals for financially and technically sustainable utilisation projects.

According to the process documents, the firms must demonstrate technical capacity for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of gas utilisation.

In addition, each applicant is expected to show demonstrable project development experience; demonstrable previous experience in either owning or operating gas to power, gas to liquids, gas processing and/or transportation, or similar projects, and proven technology in commercial application.

For financial capacity, an applicant must show a net worth of $5 million. Besides, any applicant must not be on the debarred lists of the countrys anti-graft agencies, the World Bank or the US Treasury Office Control list.

Based on applicable laws, instead of wasting gases and damaging the environment, oil companies will be required to surrender gas flare to the utilisation projects of the successful off-takers.

This policy if successfully implemented may turn out to be the governments most proactive gas flare reduction policy initiative to date, said Pep Guobadia, an energy lawyer.

Questions

Questions remain, though.

One, how does the government intend to manage the cases of companies that have existing gas supply obligations to their own private off-takers? In other words, does it mean oil companies will no longer have the right to commercialise associated gas produced from their own infrastructure?

Two, how will the government ensure bankable investment for the off-takers given the place of the oil companies assets in the production of the gas planned for commercialisation?

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Mr Goubadia explains:

(The) success (of the commercialisation programme) may rest largely on the governments flexibility around electing in appropriate instances, to share or give up the offtake tariff received from flare gas licensees to petroleum companies in order to adequately guarantee gas supply to the flare down projects and make them bankable.

Paul Osuh, the spokesperson for the Department of Petroleum Resources, which controls the programme, did not reply a text message requesting comment for this report. He also did not answer calls.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday clarified its categorisation of Nigeria as one of the countries with the worst use of the Sovereign Wealth Fund.

In a report, Fiscal Monitor, released on Wednesday in Washington DC as part of the ongoing World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings, the IMF ranked Nigeria second lowest among 33 countries using the sovereign wealth fund from their natural resources.

Nigeria was ranked only better than Qatar in the report.

Following the report, some Nigerians criticised the categorisation as unfair and flawed, as it appeared that countries that used their sovereign wealth funds for investments abroad were ranked better than those who used similar resources for investments in their domestic economies.

The managing director of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Uche Orji, said the report was fundamentally flawed, as it appeared to have focused more attention on the sovereign investment agency than its use of the fund for the benefit of the people.

Mr Orji said the NSIA has performed creditably with its use of the countrys small sovereign wealth fund in investments in its three strategic funds, namely Stabilisation Fund, Future Generation Fund and Nigeria Infrastructure Fund.

He said with the initial provision of $1 billion from the previous administration, and an additional $500 million from the present administration, the NSIA has been able to grow the fund to the current $2.53 billion.

Mr Orji said his agency was able to achieve that through its deployment of the funds into strategic investments in roads, healthcare, power and agricultural services that impact directly on the lives of Nigerians.

The IMFs Senior Resident Representative and Mission Chief for Nigeria, Amine Mati, has provided more explanation on the report.

In view of recent local media reports, I would like to clarify that the reference to the Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF) included in Figure 2.16 of the IMFs Fiscal Monitor showing a low ranking for Nigeria does not refer to the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Mr Mati said in a statement sent to the media on Friday.

The NSIA is a Sovereign Wealth Fund that has worked extensively with development partners to ensure it is applying transparency practices that are aligned with the Santiago Principles of transparency, good governance, accountability and prudent investment practices, he added.

He said the figure in the IMFs Fiscal Monitor reports a score prepared by the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), which assesses the corporate governance and transparency of SWFs around the world using a methodology outlined in the referenced NRGI publication.

For Nigeria, he said IMFs reference to sovereign wealth fund focuses on the excess crude account, which requires greater transparency on the rules governing deposits, withdrawals, and investment.

The excess crude account (ECA) is a special account kept by the Nigerian government where revenues realised from the sale of crude oil above established crude oil benchmark price, set annually in the federal budget, are saved.

Ideally, accruals in the account domiciled at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are supposed to be transferred to the Sovereign Wealth Fund to be managed by the NSIA which is mandated to deploy such funds in commercially-viable investments at home and abroad for the benefit of all Nigerians.

However, over the years, until the coming of the present administration, such accruals are routinely shared every month during the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting attended by the three tiers of government.

The current administration has also been accused of illegally using part of the funds in the ECA without the approval of the National Assembly.

Critics say over the years the management of the ECA has not followed the basic principles of transparency and accountability as the rules governing deposits, withdrawals and use of the savings have not always been followed.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has assured investors and the international community that the country has gone through a successful election and was ready for investments.

The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, on Friday night in Washington DC, held an informal meeting with potential investors where he enticed them with the Nigerian success stories, especially in agriculture.

Mr Emefiele said that the Anchor Borrowers Programme, which targets local farmers, was one of the major achievements of the bank under its development interventions.

As at December 2018, a total sum of N178.48 billion had been disbursed through 19 participating financial institutions to 902,518 farmers.

During the period, over 2.8 million and 8.4 million direct and indirect jobs were created under the Anchor Borrowers Programme, he said.

On the countrys foreign exchange policy, Mr Emefiele said that the focus had always been to ensure price stability.

He highlighted some of the foreign exchange reforms undertaken by the bank, which included the ban of the 41 items, the establishment of the investors and exports window and the SME Window of the foreign exchange market.

According to him, this resulted in a stable exchange rate, foreign exchange liquidity, vibrancy in the capital market, improved supply of foreign exchange with a positive impact on GDP growth.

Mr Emefiele said also that Nigeria, through its financial inclusion strategy, had recorded a lot of progress in giving its adult population access to a broad range of formal financial services at an affordable cost.

According to him, statistics shows that in Nigeria today, the number of adult with access to financial services has grown from 58.4 per cent in 2016 to 63.2 per cent in 2018.

A lot of work has been done and indeed a lot of work needs to be done but in the midst of this, we are saying that Nigeria is open for business and foreign investors.

As the monetary and fiscal authority continue to work tirelessly to boost our economy, it is important to portray some of Nigerias enduring strength which offers (a) significant reward for current and prospective foreign investors.

I want you to know that irrespective of the impact of the recession, Nigerias economy remains the largest in Africa by the size of its GDP with diversified opportunities across different sectors.

These sectors include ICT, manufacturing, solid minerals, trade and agriculture, he said.

Mr Emefiele assured potential investors of the safety of their investments should they choose to take a leap of faith and make a mutually beneficial investment in the country. (NAN)
A Nollywood actor, Mofe Duncan, has confirmed that his marriage of three years to Jessica Kakkad has crashed.

The couple wedded in August 2015 at an elaborate ceremony in Lagos.

The 36-year-old actor confirmed the news on Instagram on Friday. He said the union crashed a year ago.

He wrote, My marriage has been over for a year now, but I have remained cordial with both families. My family is doing well, and Im doing well as Ive moved on with my life and my career.

I appreciate all the support shown. My family and I were waiting for the right time to put out a statement, but I guess social media has a way of doing things.

Jessica had earlier confirmed the split during a question and answer session on Instagram on Friday.

The couple had managed to keep their union away from social media until a suggestive chat between the actor and a certain Zainab leaked online in 2016.
Joan, a lady in her late 20s, makes a living by having sex with people she barely knows; some she has never met before.

Joan lives with some of her friends in Kubwa, a suburb town in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

She said she had no choice than to start life as a sex worker after she lost her parents at age 18.

In the last six years, Joan says she has had sex with over 100 men in different locations within the country.

She said she travels most times to meet some clients based on their request.

As a sex worker, Joan does not know what Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) is, and the only prevention method she knows about is the use of a condom.

She, however, said the condom is not reliable as she still gets to treat some major STIs (sexually transmitted infections) sometimes.

I use condoms always but the truth is, condoms have a mind of their own so they burst when they want to and that I cannot control.

I sleep with different men every day so I know Im at risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections each time I have sex, she said.

Illegal, but thriving

Though the sex trade is illegal in Nigeria, there is no doubt the trade is still thriving.

Just like Joan, many sex workers PREMIUM TIMES spoke with have not heard of PrEP or know the importance of the drugs.

Gloria, a 26-year-old sex worker, insists she is not a full-time sex worker as she also works as a secretary in a private firm.

She lives with her siblings in an unpainted one bedroom apartment in the Jabi area of Abuja.

I have multiple sexual partners, but I dont take any drugs before sex or after to prevent infections.

I use condoms when needed but not always because I have some partners I trust so much. So I dont use condoms with those; they prefer it without condoms, she said.

PrEP

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is the use of a pill called Truvada to prevent the acquisition of HIV infection by uninfected persons.

Truvada is the combination of two antiretroviral medications (Tenofovir + Emtricitabine) to prevent the virus from spreading through the body.

Studies have shown that Truvada can prevent HIV infection in up to 90 per cent of cases if the pill is taken daily at more or less the same time.

In 2014, the World Health Organisation (WHO) first recommended offering PrEP to only men who have sex with men.

However, based on further evidence of the effectiveness and acceptability of PrEP, in September 2015, WHO recommended people at substantial risk of HIV infection should be offered PrEP as an additional prevention choice, as part of comprehensive prevention.

These people include sex workers, people in a mixed-status relationship (a relationship where one partner is infected by HIV and the other is not) and men who have sex with men.

Global Statistics

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is one of the worlds most serious public health challenges.

According to UNAIDS, about 36.9 million people worldwide were living with HIV/AIDS in 2017, of which 1.8 million were children.

The Nigerian HIV/AIDs Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS) indicates that about 1.9 million Nigerians are currently living with the disease, according to the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA).

Globally, in 2017 about 21.7 million people living with HIV (59 per cent) were accessing antiretroviral therapy, an increase of 2.3 million since 2016 and up from 8 million in 2010.

AIDS-related deaths are also said to have reduced by more than 51 per cent since its peak in 2004.

In 2017, 940 000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses worldwide, compared to 1.4 million in 2010 and 1.9 million in 2004.

PrEP use globally

In 2015, South Africa became the first Africa country to approve the use of Truvada as a form of PRep, followed by Kenya.

According to PrEP watch (https://www.prepwatch.org/), an estimated 16,000 people are currently taking PrEP in South Africa. In Uganda, an estimated 12,000 people are on PrEP, and about 8,700 people are on it in Zimbabwe.

In Tanzania, an estimated 7,800 people are currently taking PrEP and in Kenya, an estimated 53,000 people are on PrEP.

However, In Nigeria, where about 1.9 million people are living with HIV, only an estimated 400 people, at high risk of the infection are currently using PrEP.

This places Nigeria at the bottom of Africa countries that recommend PrEP in its national HIV guidelines.

PrEP: Unavailable in hospitals

When this PREMIUM TIMES reporter visited some government-owned hospitals in Abuja, it dawned on her that the drugs may be expensive as none of the hospitals had PrEP.

A nurse who spoke on condition of anonymity at the Kubwa General hospital said You can hardly get PrEP in this country. Its very rare and if you eventually get it in private hospitals, it will be expensive.

We have Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) (used to prevent infection after exposure) in this hospital, and its free of charge, but we do not have PrEP, she said.

A visit to some private hospitals in the Nigerian capital also showed the product is scarce.

None of the private hospitals had PrEP as at the time PREMIUM TIMES visited.

A matron at one of the hospitals said: I advise you check clinics specifically meant for HIV patients. You can get it there, but it will be at a cost, she said.

NACAs reaction

In an interview with the Director General of the National Agency for the Control of Aids (NACA), Sani Aliyu, he said the federal government cannot fund PrEP due to the cost involved.

Outgoing -General of the National Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, NACA, Sani Aliyu

The drug costs about $1,300 (N468,000) per month in the U.S.

Pre Exposure Prophylaxis refers to people going on HIV drugs, for those who are repeatedly exposed to HIV, Mr Aliyu said.

Particularly, men who have sex with men and female sex workers who do not use condoms.

If they are on HIV drugs for a prolonged period, even though they are repeatedly exposed to the virus, its unlikely they will catch the virus.

Ideally, it should be used together with condoms because HIV drugs can only prevent HIV, they will not stop you from catching other STI, he said.

Mr Aliyu added: because of the cost involved, the government cannot fund PrEP but some of our partners are funding this, he said. He did not elaborate further.

PrEP unrealistic in Nigeria  Expert

Steve Aborisade, the advocacy and marketing manager, AIDs HealthCare Foundation (AHF) an NGO, said the distribution of PrEP in Nigeria is unrealistic and may not be possible anytime soon.

He said the drug is too expensive and will be an extra burden for a country like Nigeria still trying to put people on anti-retroviral.

The main challenge with PrEP is that it is expensive; in a country like Nigeria and other Africa countries trying to treat people living with HIV free of charge, it is like an extra burden.

Nigeria is still trying to breach the huge gap in the treatment of people living with HIV. Making PrEP available now will seem like we are not focused. The priority should be to get everyone who needs Anti Retroviral (ARV)on ARVs.

Government cannot fund the procurement of PrEP alongside the ARVs.

To be realistic, the resources to put people on it is not available, he said.
A former president of the Court of Appeal and the District Head of Malumfashi in Katsina State, Mamman Nasir, a retired judge, is dead.

The information Officer, Katsina Emirate Council, Ibrahim Bindawa, made the announcement on Saturday in Katsina.

He said the late Galadima-Kastina died in the afternoon at the Federal Medical Centre, Katsina, after a protracted illness.

He said a funeral prayer would be conducted in Malumfashi at 4:00 pm.

Mr Nasir was born in 1929 and attended Kaduna College where he obtained the West Africa School Certificate in 1947 and later attended the University of Ibadan where he obtained a certificate in Latin.

He proceeded to the Council of Legal Education in London for his bachelors degree in Law in 1956, and was called to the bar  Lincon Inn  in the same year.

He returned to Nigeria in 1956 and was appointed a Crown Counsel, and in 1961, appointed as Minister of Justice, Northern Nigeria, a position he held for five years before he became the Director of Public Prosecution, Northern Region in 1967, the same year he was appointed Solicitor General, North Central State, now Kaduna State.

Late Mr Nasir held this position for seven years before he was appointed to the bench of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1975.

In 1978, he was appointed President of the Court of Appeal, a position he held until he retired in 1992 to ascend the throne of Galadima of Katsina and was turbaned on May 9, 1992.

(NAN)
Awad Ibn Auf, the head of Sudans supreme military council, on Friday stepped down from office.

Mr Ibn Auf resigned in a nationwide broadcast late Friday after protesters rejected him as the head of a transitional government following the ouster of Omar Al-Bashir.

Mr Al-Bashir, who had led Sudan since 1989, was removed from office in a military coup Thursday morning.

Mr Ibn Auf, a general who served as Mr Al-Bashirs defence minister, immediately named Abdel Fattah Burhan, a lieutenant-general, as the new head of the council.

This is for the benefit of our nation, without having to look at special interests, big or small, that may impede its progress, Mr Ibn Auf said. I would like to recommend that you work together and reach a solution very speedily.

He said he was stepping down to preserve unity of the armed forces, expressing confidence that Mr Burhan will steer the ship to safe shores.

Protesters continued to demand a civilian-led transition, one which they said must not include actors of Mr Al-Bashirs 30-year authoritarian regime.

The broadcast was received with wide jubilation by protesters, who congratulated themselves for being able to end Mr Al-Bashirs government and the military council that succeeded it within 48 hours.

Mr Burhan was one of the generals who met with protesters that camped outside the military headquarters as part of the week-long sit-ins across Sudan last week. He might make his initial announcement to the nation on Saturday, local media reported.
Many were feared killed on Saturday in a fresh crisis between Jukun and Tiv tribes in Wukari, south of Taraba State.

Fleeing residents said many houses were razed and several people injured in the clashes.

The conflict has affected some villages belonging to both tribes along Wukari Kwatan Sule, Chonku and border communities of Jootar and Vaase.

Trading blames

A Jukun community leader, Bako Benjamin, said despite the peace accord reached last week between the two warring communities, Tiv ethnic militias have continued to launch pockets of attacks on our communities.

Just this morning in the wee hours, they struck at Chonku firing sporadically and razed down houses. They attacked four of our communities in the last three days and as I am talking to you, corpses of 15 people killed by Tiv militias have been deposited in Wukari and we have compiled their names.

However, Orbee Uchiv, a Tiv spokesman, denied this.

Our people are being attacked by Jukun ethnic militias in recent times. A peace meeting at Jootar, a border town between Benue and Taraba States convened by one Rev Father Dankaro and other priests to sue for peace was truncated.

Thursday morning, Vaase, a border town was attacked by Jukuns. More than 12 people were killed. Probably on reprisal this morning, Chonku, a border Jukun settlement, was attacked.

As I am talking to you now, looting, arson and killing within and around villages of Tiv people is going on and hundreds of Tivs have fled to Benue state, he said.

It was gathered that the misunderstanding was due to a long standing dispute between the two ethnic groups and it centered on cultural heritage.

The chairman of Wukari local government area, Daniel Adi, confirmed the outbreak of crisis in the area.

He also said many were feared killed and houses burnt in the last five days of fighting.

I have since reached out to the Chairman of Ukum local government in neighbouring Benue and the Security Adviser to the Benue Governor and we are making efforts to stop the escalation of the crisis, he said.

Reports also indicate that commercial activities have come to a halt at the popular Wukari Yam Market as shops were looted.

Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, David Misal, said security operatives were on the top of the situation.

Security operatives have been deployed in the affected areas, though I am yet to confirm casualty figures in the latest attacks, he told PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday.
President Muhammadu Buhari has arrived NDjamena to participate in the Extraordinary Session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the presidential aircraft conveying the President and members of his entourage, including some of his personal aides and three state governors, landed at the Hassan Djamous International Airport NDjamena at about 9.40 a.m.

Those at the airport to welcome the President included Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Geoffrey Onyaema and Abdulrahman Dambazau.

Others were Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan Ali; National Security Adviser to the President, Babagana Monguno and the Nigerian Charge dAffaire, Nasiru Waje.

Mr Buhari and other regional leaders would join their host and current Chairperson of CEN-SAD Conference, President Idriss Deby Itno, to deliberate on political and security issues, among others.

A statement by presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, on Friday, said the leaders would deliberate on state of peace and ways to address multifaceted threats in CEN-SAD area, especially Boko Haram and refugees.

The leaders would make a declaration on the entry into force of CEN-SAD revised Treaty intended to fast track the realisation of the objectives of the body.

During the opening Session of the Conference, special Awards will be given to heads of state and military contingents in Mali, Sudan, Somalia, Central African Republic and in the Lake Chad Basin, Mr Shehu further explained.

Created by the Treaty of Tripoli on Feb. 4, 1998, with six founding members, Nigeria joined the current 29-member regional economic community in 2001.

The group seeks mainly to create a free trade area in Africa as well as to strengthen peace, security and stability, and achieve global economic and social development of its members.

Delegations from 22 member-countries are expected at the extraordinary meeting of CEN-SAD holding at the Radisson Blu Hotel, NDjamena.

Sudan, which is a member of CEN-SAD, may not be represented at the meeting following socio-political uncertainties in the country caused by the removal of President Omar Al-Bashir from office by the Sudanese military on Thursday.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) learnt that Mr Al-Bashir, had earlier indicated interest to attend the CEN-SAD meeting holding from Friday to Saturday. \(NAN)
President Muhammadu Buhari has told parents of the schoolgirls of Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State who were abducted five years ago that there is hope for their return.

Mr Buhari said he has not forgotten their daughters, who were kidnapped from their dormitory five years ago (April 14, 2014).

Mr Buhari promised the parents this when he met them (parents), at the beginning of his first term as president, that he would bring their daughters home. He is yet to fulfill his promise.

His spokesperson, Garba Shehu, in a statement Saturday said the president is aware that the promise he made is the main reason the people of Chibok voted overwhelmingly for him in the February elections.

He said although his government has so far succeeded in bringing back 107 of the girls, he will not rest until the remaining are reunited with their families.

Still on the matter, five years on

Mr Buhari assured the parents that his administration is still on the matter..

Diverse efforts are being intensified to secure the release of the Chibok Girls, along with all hostages in Boko Haram captivity, including Leah Sharibu who was kidnapped from her school, Science Secondary School, Dapchi, Yobe State, on February 19, 2018, the statement said.

On Leah Sharibus abduction, the statement said, the interlocutors have reported encouraging progress so far.

The report reaching us says her return to her family has unfortunately been hindered by the fear of the militants.

They worry that heavy military presence in areas where they previously moved about freely could affect their safety after they return her to the government.

At the same time, the military cannot jeopardise the security of the entire north-eastern region by halting their operations to accommodate Boko Harams fears.

Leah Sharibu will be reunited with her family as soon as any conclusions are reached on a number of options being considered for her safe transportation, the statement said.

It said the success of the Nigerian military in subduing Boko Haram is evidenced by the large numbers of militants who have surrendered recently, especially in neighbouring Cameroon and Niger.

It said a similar mass surrender of militants is expected to happen soon in Nigeria.

While Nigerian military operations are ongoing, the government is also engaging with the militants but the talks have been affected by the factionalisation of Boko Haram  with one group adopting a hard-line attitude and intensifying attacks on Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad, and another group engaging with the government for peaceful resolution.

President Buhari also uses this opportunity of the commemoration of the Chibok tragedy to commend the girls, now women, who have triumphed over it all.

He sends special greetings to the 106 girls sponsored by the Nigerian government to continue their studies at the American University of Nigeria, Yola.

He encourages them to stay focused on becoming women, who will inspire girls in Nigeria and around the world to triumph over the daily battles they face in a world that is often unfair to the girl-child, the statement said.
In a bid to put an end to polio in Nigeria, Rotary International has donated $ 5.7 million (about N 2.1 billion) to the Nigerian government to support its fight against the disease.

According to a press statement made available to PREMIUM TIMES on Friday, the donation was handed over to the UNICEF Country Representative Nigeria, Pernille Ironside.

Speaking during the occasion which took place in Abuja on April 11, the Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, commended Rotary International for the donation.

Mr Adewole said, Nigeria is on its last lap to end polio. In the next couple of months, Nigeria would be certified polio-free.

The minister, however, said the most important thing is that all children that were previously inaccessible in the North-east must access vaccinations before the certification.

He commended National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) for its routine immunisation scheme.

Rotary International is one of the development partners who have been working on the eradication of the disease in Nigeria.

Speaking about the donation, the Chairman Polio Plus Committee, Rotary international, Tunji Funsho, said that polio eradication is an expensive venture that requires everybody to be on board..

This donation would inspire other partners to come on board and support the Nigeria government. We, in polio plus committee are reaching more and more children, more and more areas that are hitherto not accessible particularly with the support of the military.

Mrs Ironside said the donation was to complement the governments effort on polio eradication in Nigeria.

She said UNICEF hopes Nigeria will be certified as polio free country soon.

Being the most populous country in Africa, if Nigeria succeeds, others would succeed, she said.

Polio eradication in Nigeria

Nigeria is one of only three countries in the world endemic to wild polio virus, alongside Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Efforts at successfully eradicating the disease in Nigeria suffered a set back in 2016, when cases of wild polio virus were reported in two children.

According to World Health Organisation (WHO), the two children were paralysed in July 2016 by polio.

Wild polio virus was detected in one of them, living in the Gwoza district of Borno State.

Before the incident, Nigeria had been on the verge of being certified polio free.

The set back led the government and international health partners go back to the field in a rigourous search for polio cases and also to improve polio vaccination across the country.
The Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) on Friday held an in-house training for staff of PREMIUM TIMES in Abuja.

The training tagged, House to House Media Chat on Gender Policy and Practice, was organised to show the importance of having stronger gender policies and practice in newsrooms.

During the session, the Editorial Management Consultant, Nigerian Info, Rotimi Sankore, explained the need to incorporate more of the female gender in the decision-making process of the media industry.

He, while speaking on gender inequality that is pervasive across the nation, also spoke on the main reason for the security crises rocking the nation which he attributed to forced marriages imposed on young girls in parts of the country.

The main catalyst is the violation of girls and women because soldiers that have been gifted to Boko Haram were created out of gender inequality. The violation of womens rights and obligations include serious sexual violations.

It is important that we underline this because the media is the mirror of the society, the media amplifies, it educates. If the media misses it, everyone misses it, he said.

Mr Sankore said forced marriage is the main peak of all gender issues and thus there is the need for it to be tackled.

Forced child marriage is the ultimate canceller, it cancels all human rights, your right to assembly, to association, to freedom of expression, to political participation, everything goes. Gender is connected to everything, that is why it is really important to all those issues, he said.

So please after this, I am sure there are many things to consider in terms of gender training, many to consider from the Human Resources point of view. How do we make it easier for our women colleagues (media) to show that they are competent as our male colleagues?

We are in PREMIUM TIMES and I know that it is going to happen (change in gender policy). Unlike in some places, it is like pushing a car without fuel.

The Senior Programme Officer of WSCIJ, Adeolu Adekola, said WSCIJ as a Non-Governmental Organisation started in 2005 but was registered in 2009 as WSCIJ.

Mr Adekola said WSCIJ has trained over 600 journalists.

He added that The Report Women is a project of the WSCIJ, which was launched in 2014 in collaboration with the Royal Netherlands Embassy, with the goal of increasing women reportage.

In her vote of thanks, the coordinator of WSCIJ, Motunrayo Alaka, expressed appreciation to the journalists for attending the training. She also said she expected to see an appreciable change in gender policies from the organisation going forward.

Bisi Abidoye,, Assistant Managing Editor, PREMIUM TIMES, in his remark thanked the organisers for the training and promised that the training would be integrated into the newsroom operations and aspects of it communicated to the management.

The WSCIJ media visit which began on April 4, is scheduled to hold in eight media houses.
President Muhammadu Buhari has described the death of the former president of the Court of Appeal, Justice Mamman Nasir, as not only a loss to the judiciary, but also the country at large, because of his remarkable commitment to public service.

Reacting to the death of the Galadiman Katsina in a statement by Garba Shehu, senior special assistant to the president (media and publicity)on Saturday, Mr Buhari recalled that the late Nasir belonged to a generation of Judges and Justices who perceived public office as an opportunity to offer selfless service to the country and its people.

According to Mr Buhari, Nasir and Judges of their golden age were more interested in leaving untainted record of integrity than accumulation of wealth overnight.

The president said when you look at Nasirs modest lifestyle and his incredibly humble possessions, you would be disarmed at once by his honesty and patriotism.

While some Nigerians perceive public office as an opportunity to line their pockets, men of Nasirs character put a higher premium on honest labour than on greedy accumulation of questionable wealth overnight, Mr Buhari added.

The president explained that gentlemen like Mamman Nasir succeeded in protecting their reputation because greed was far removed from their minds, and that contentment is the secret to a happy life of service to the people.

According to him, lack of contentment is the devil behind greedy accumulation of wealth at the expense of others, but selfless public servants like Nasir were never motivated by the desire to live above their means.

Nasirs family should be proud of their father because he built a solid and impeccable record of integrity, which is the greatest asset any individual should leave behind.

The president directed that a government delegation be sent to condole the family, the government and people of Katsina State for the loss of this illustrious member of the Katsina Emirate Council.

The late Galadima-Kastina died in the afternoon at the Federal Medical Centre, Katsina, after a protracted illness.
A man described as a professional examination mercenary, who allegedly specialises in writing JAMB tests for multiple candidates, has been arrested in Sokoto State.

Officials of the Joint Examination Matriculation Board (JAMB) told PREMIUM TIMES Umar Sani was arrested at about 8: 00am Saturday as he made to access a centre at the Umaru Ali Shinkafi Polytechnic to sit the examination for another of his clients.

Mr Sani was identified and arrested by a JAMB monitoring team, led by Registrar Ishaq Oloyede, which has been visiting centres across the country to oversee the conduct of the ongoing 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

The suspect was immediately handed over to a police team from the Federal Intelligence and Investigation Bureau, officials said.

Before he was caught Saturday morning, Mr Sani had in the past days sat for the examination for candidates Umar Abdullahi, Danladi Lawal, and Danlami Suleiman Abdullahi.

JAMB uses biometric to check candidates into its Computer-Based Test Centres but Mr Sani found a way to circumvent the arrangement, officials said.

When his clients registered for the examination, he donated some of his fingers to them when their biometric was taken, Ahmad Mohammed, a JAMB official, who witnessed the arrest, said. He then used those fingers to beat our biometric system.

JAMB Registrar, Mr Oloyede, confirmed Mr Sanis arrest, saying his agency remained committed to eradicating malpractices from the matriculation examination.

He (Mr Sani) will surely be prosecuted, Mr Oloyede said. That I can assure you.

The Sokoto arrest came two days after man who claimed to be a professor, Jide Jisus, was caught for alleged examination malpractice as the UTME began across Nigeria.

According to a statement by the spokesperson of JAMB, Fabian Benjamin, Mr Jisus was apprehended by the monitoring team of the registrar of JAMB in an examination hall at Brix Academy, Jabi, Abuja.

Umar Sani suspected mercenary writing JAMB for others

His identity was shrouded in dubious tales. He claimed during interrogation that he was one of the professors selected by the Board to oversee the conduct of the 2019 UTME, Mr Benjamin said in the statement.

He also claimed that he was awarded a professorial position by Christian University, Isolo, Lagos and that he had two professorial awards from Becket University England and Freedom University.

He similarly claimed to be a staff of Anchor Polytechnic, Kubwa, Abuja, an institution that does not exist. According to him, he said he is the president of the United Nigeria Chaplin Institute of Peace Academy.

However, it was discovered that he had a daughter who was taking the 2019 UTME in the same centre where he was caught.

The Boards operational guideline does not allow unauthorised persons into the examination hall.

The Professor was, therefore, not one of those selected by the Board to monitor the conduct of the 2019 UTME, the statement said.

The 2019 UTME began on Thursday, April 11 and will end on April 17.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has accused PDPs presidential candidate in the 2019 election, Atiku Abubakar, of manufacturing results of the last presidential election to prove his case at the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal.

The electoral umpire filed its response on Thursday at the tribunal in Abuja. It distanced itself from an electronic sheet that purportedly contained the genuine results of the presidential election.

Mr Abubakars legal team submitted the sheet at the tribunal last month, contending it was obtained from an internal compilation of results on INECs Internet server.

The team, amongst other submissions, said Mr Abubakar won by more than six million votes, but his victory was allegedly suppressed by the commission in favour of incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari.

Mr Abubakar was derided by supporters of the ruling All Progressives Congress after the claim became public. Mr Buharis campaign also wrote to the police and the State Security Service to launch a criminal investigation against Mr Abubakar. It accused him of maliciously accessing INECs files.

INECs response

The umpire said it, does not share information with such an unclassified entity and any information purportedly derived therefrom which does not accord with the result as declared by INEC is not authentic but rather was invented for the purpose of the tribunal, according to excerpts of the filings seen by PREMIUM TIMES.

In the 291-page response, INEC said it did not transmit results via electronic channels, but used manual collation as stipulated by law. It, however, did not say whether it collated results from across the country and compiled them on an Internet-enabled computer.

INEC specifically denies the existence of electronic transmission of results and it is unknown to the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), it said.

Mr Buhari was declared winner of the polls with about 3.9 million votes. He will be sworn in for a second term on May 29.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it was satisfied by the academic documents submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari while running for office.

Mr Buharis early school certificate was one of the major grounds of a petition filed against his victory by Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.

Mr Abubakars legal team said Mr Buhari claimed, in INEC filings, to have attended a school that could not be traced. He also said Mr Buhari claimed to bear a certificate that was not in existence at the time he claimed to have obtained it.

But in its response to Mr Abubakars grounds at the Presidential Elections Petitions Tribunal in Abuja, INEC said it had no objections about Mr Buharis academic documents.

The commission said it was satisfied with the educational qualification presented by Mr Buhari to contest for office, according to excerpts of its submission seen by PREMIUM TIMES.

It argued that Mr Abubakars petition was incompetent, lacking in merit and frivolous. It also prayed the court to dismiss it.
A suspect, described as a professional examination mercenary, who allegedly specialises in writing Joint Examination Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination for candidates has been arrested in Sokoto State.

Ibrahim Umar, a graduate of Biology at Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto was caught in the act Saturday morning at Blue Crescent CBT centre in Sokoto.

Officials of JAMB told PREMIUM TIMES that candidates pay Mr Umar N20,000 for each examination.

Mr Umar was arrested by a JAMB monitoring team, led by Registrar Ishaq Oloyede, which has been visiting centres across the country to oversee the conduct of the ongoing 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

The suspect was immediately handed over to a police team from the Federal Intelligence and Investigation Bureau, officials said.

Mr Oloyede confirmed Mr Umars arrest, saying his agency remained committed to eradicating malpractices from the matriculation examination.

He (Mr Umar) will surely be prosecuted, Mr Oloyede said. That I can assure you.

Trend

This arrest came few hours after another suspect, Umar Sani was also arrested in Sokoto State for the same offence.

Officials of JAMB told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Sani was arrested at about 8 am Saturday as he entered the Umaru Ali Shinkafi Polytechnic to illegally sit for the examination for his client.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported how a man who claimed to be a professor, Jide Jisus, was caught for alleged examination malpractice.

According to a statement by the spokesperson of JAMB, Fabian Benjamin, Mr Jisus was apprehended by a monitoring team in an examination hall at Brix Academy, Jabi, Abuja.

He claimed during interrogation that he was one of the professors selected by the board to oversee the conduct of the 2019 UTME, Mr Benjamin said in the statement.

The 2019 UTME began on Thursday, April 11 and will end on April 17.
Suspected armed bandits are currently walking freely with arms in some communities in Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara State after military began airstrikes, residents in the areas have said.

The residents say since the armed bandits fled the ongoing military airstrikes in several of their hideouts in the bush, they have been forced to accommodate them in their communities out of fear.

As I am speaking to you now, in Jaja, Rukudawa, and Tsanu communities all in Zurmi Local Government Area, armed bandits are being sighted with guns walking around unchecked because they are no longer safe in the bush, a source said.

They probably return to the bush at night or sleep in the town, out of fear, residents said.

The bandits are patronising local shops, clutching sophisticated weapons, buying maltina, peak milk and meat. They move freely. Nobody has the courage to look at them twice. They have informants in the town. They stay with them or move to close-by communities and pass the night, said a resident who requested not to be named.

The resident said the military airstrikes in Dumburum community in Zurmi hit the armed bandits and forced them to flee.

According to him, airstrikes alone cannot help because in Zurmi local government area, there is a dearth of ground soldiers which makes it easy for the armed bandits to infiltrate civilians unchallenged.

Another resident said it is imperative for the government to engage traditional rulers in the affected areas because there is mutual understanding between the armed bandits and some emirs in the area.

According to him, sometime in 2016 when the Emir of Zurmi, Atiku Abubakar, gave out his four daughters in marriage, virtually all the famous armed bandits attended the weeding and they allegedly donated huge number of livestock that were slaughtered during the wedding ceremony.

During the wedding, a popular musician for the criminals, Sani Danyaya, was invited from Niger Republic. He spent two days entertaining the suspected bandits with their prostitutes in Zurmi town, the headquarters of Zurmi Local Government Area, the source said to PREMIUM TIMES.

He said although Zurmi LGA suffered more bandits attack, the current ongoing military operation would make impact only when more security personnel are deployed in Zurmi, because some people are willing to give out relevant information on the bandits movement.

PREMIUM TIMES reported on Tuesday how the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan Ali, in a statement, said intelligence had exposed the complicity of some high-placed traditional rulers in the ongoing killings of Nigerians across some northern part of the country.

Zamfara States Council of Chiefs however, expressed dismay over the statement credited to the minister, which accused traditional rulers of aiding bandits in the ongoing killings of innocent villagers in the affected areas.

In a press statement issued to journalists after an emergency meeting of the council of chiefs on Thursday in Gusau, the state capital, the spokesperson of the chiefs and Emir of Anka, Attahiru Ahmad, said the council challenges the Minister of Defence, Mr Dan Ali, to name any traditional ruler involved in aiding the bandits.

When contacted, the Zamfara police spokesperson, Mohammed Shehu, said the operation to flush out the bandits is ongoing.

The criminals dont have a hiding place, its only a matter of time, we will crush them, what we need from the members of the affected communities is relevant information that will help the security agencies in the ongoing operation.
The Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, has appealed for an end to divisive politics in the state.

The oil-rich state, located in Nigerias South-south region, has for long been plagued by violence. This has led to several deaths because of the power struggle between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Mr Wike and the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) led by the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.

Mr Wike recently won a hard-fought re-election as the governor of Rivers.

The APC on Thursday lost all its election-related appeals at the Supreme Court.

I appeal to the APC and the Minister of Transportation to join hands with us to move our dear state forward.

We cannot as leaders continue to remain divided and expect government to deliver on its responsibilities to our people. Let us from henceforth seek the common ground instead of allowing our differences to be exploited to retard our march to progress, Governor Wike said on Friday in a state-wide broadcast to mark the Supreme Court ruling on the APC lawsuit.

Peace moves

The governor indicated his intention to withdraw pending criminal cases filed against his arch-rival, Mr Amaechi, and other political actors in the state to give room for reconciliation.

I hereby direct the Honourable Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice to review all pending criminal proceedings filed against any person by the State and directly related to political activities prior to the 2019 general elections and make appropriate recommendations to me for necessary action to promote reconciliation among us, the governor said.

Mr Amaechi, for instance, has been indicted by a judicial commission of inquiry set up by Mr Wikes administration to probe the alleged sales of gas turbine power stations and other assets belonging to the Rivers government.

The Commissioner for Information in the state, Emma Okah, had said last year that Mr Amaechi, while he was governor of Rivers, sold off the power stations to Sahara Energy, owned by a billionaire businessman from the state, Tonye Cole. Mr Cole later became the ill-fated APC governorship candidate in the just concluded governorship election in Rivers.

Mr Okah said the then administration allegedly used the proceeds  N112 billion  to fund the political activities of the APC in the state.

Governor Wike in his broadcast said with the Supreme Court ruling on the APCs lawsuit, the victory of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidates in the 2019 National Assembly, Governorship and State House of Assembly elections is legally safe, secured and protected.

The governor also said, We salute the opposition for their courage to fight within the confines of the law to the end.

Now that the legal battle is over, the task of building the State must take precedence over all other considerations.

I appeal to our people to eschew all acts of acrimony, criminality, unrest, and violence throughout the State. I wish to recommit myself to continue to do all that is humanly possible to ensure the unity and peaceful co-existence of all our people irrespective of political.
A man, Goddey Jatto, has been arraigned before a magistrate in Benin City, Edo State, for allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl.

Mr Jatto, 34, is a community leader in Oregbeni Quarters, Benin City, according to a statement from the Government House, Benin City.

The defendant forced the little girl into a bush and raped her in January this year, the court was told.

The victim narrated inside the courtroom what happened.

While I was waiting for my mother at the shop, I decided to go to a neighbour to help me call my mother on phone.

Before I could get to the neighbours house, I changed my mind and turned back because I did not want to upset my mother. As I was returning to the shop, Jatto called me to help him take a book to his wife and I refused because I did not want my mother to get to the shop and not meet me there.

He insisted and as I walked close to him, he held my hand, closed my mouth with his other hand and dragged me to the back of his house by the fish-pond.

He removed my pant, brought out his baby (penis) and forced it inside my baby (private part).

It was so painful. When he finished, he gave me N200 and turned my back, tried to do the same thing. I picked my pant from the floor and ran, she said.

The victim said she reported the incident to her mother immediately.

My mother cried, fell down, and couldnt move. She informed the Police, and they took us to the police station the next day, she told the court.

The victims mother told the court that after the defendant was initially released at the police station, the police officer investigating the case began putting pressure on her to agree on a peaceful settlement of the matter with the defendant, but she refused.

She was later contacted by officials of the state Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development who assured that justice would prevail on the matter.

The state government was keen on protecting children, the ministrys official had told the victims mother.

The defendants bail application was opposed by the prosecution who argued that his release could distract and scuttle the case.

The case has been adjourned to May 2 for hearing.
The Oyo State police command and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in the state have given conflicting reports on an accident which involved an FRSC Hilux Van and a Micra taxi at Moniya area of Ibadan, the state capital, on Friday.

The FRSC vehicle collided with the taxi when the FRSC officials were chasing the driver alleged to have violated a traffic rule.

It was gathered that many people escaped death when FRSC officials engaged the Micra driver in a hot chase, resulting in the death of one person, with others sustaining injuries.

In the accident, the FRSC van marked 1139 (3) and the Micra car with number plate Lagos 831 DH were badly damaged as they both plunged into a deep ditch.

The officials were said to have pursed the driver, identified as Akeem Ibrahim, who failed to stop when flagged down by the officials.

A witness said, We saw how the FRSC officials were pursuing the unpainted commercial car. The officials were trying to overtake the car and in the process both of them plunged into this wide hole by the roadside.

We were told that the FRSC were chasing the car because it was not painted the normal commercial colour. The passengers in the car were shouting and pleading with the officials not to risk their lives, but they did not heed their pleas.

Like a movie, we just saw and heard a deafening noise after they crashed. The Micra car somersaulted before it crashed into the ditch, followed by the FRSC van.

The driver of the Micra car had stopped breathing by the time they carried him. Other four passengers in the car were critically injured when they pulled them out. Blood covered them all over.

The police and the FRSC gave Conflicting accounts of what happened.

While the police command on Friday evening confirmed the death of one person, the state sector command of FRSC said on Saturday that nobody died in the accident.

The police spokesperson, Olugbenga Fadeyi had on Friday told journalists that, The incident happened in Akinyele local government. We gathered they had collision and both plunged into a ditch.

One person, as at the time when the matter was reported, was confirmed dead.

The hoodlums later attempted to seize the opportunity to foment trouble but the timely intervention of the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations, nipped the matter in the bud.

But the State Command of the FRSC insisted that no life was lost in the incident.

The FRSC Corps Education Officer, Seun Onijala, said the accident involved six persons.

He maintained that three persons were injured, while the remaining three persons were unhurt.

Mr Onijala said, Nobody died in the accident and I am telling you the true picture of what happened.

The officials asked the Micra car to stop and the driver refused to do so and decided to turn the wheel of the car to the officials at the right and left side of the road with the aim of knocking them down.

The FRSC officials were able to move away to the other side of road and the driver of the Micra car moved on and the patrol team van gave the Micra car a chase.

In the process of the chase, a trailer was coming on the one way of the road and the option for the Micra car and the FRSC Van was either to both have a head-on-collision with the trailer or fall into the wide hole by the road side.
The Newport Princess, a 77-year-old, 61.5-foot-long Mississippi-style paddleboat that toured Newport Harbor, has sunk about a mile off of the coast of Long Beach.
VANCOUVER, April 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG, TSX: G) ("Goldcorp" or the "Company") today announced that Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE: NEM) ("Newmont") has received Investment Canada Act approval in connection with the previously-announced plan of arrangement (the "Arrangement"), whereby Newmont will acquire all outstanding common shares of Goldcorp. The arrangement has previously received shareholder approval and clearance under the Competition Act (Canada). No further regulatory or shareholder approvals are required in connection with the Arrangement.

Newmont and Goldcorp expect the transaction to close on April 18, 2019, subject the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

Immediately upon the closing of this transaction, the combined entity will be called Newmont Goldcorp, and is expected to:

Target 6-7 million ounces of steady-state gold production over a decades-long time horizon; i





Begin delivering a combined $365 million in expected annual pre-tax synergies, supply chain efficiencies and Full Potential improvements representing $4.4 billion in Net Present Value (pre-tax); ii





in expected annual pre-tax synergies, supply chain efficiencies and Full Potential improvements representing in Net Present Value (pre-tax); Have the largest gold Reserves and Resources in the gold sector, including on a per share basis;





Be located in favorable mining jurisdictions and prolific gold districts on four continents;





Deliver the highest dividend among senior gold producers; iii





Offer financial flexibility and an investment-grade balance sheet to advance the most promising projects at an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of at least 15 percent; iv





Feature a deep bench of accomplished business leaders, technical teams and other talent with extensive mining industry experience; and





Maintain industry leadership in environmental, social and governance performance.

About Goldcorp

Goldcorp is a senior gold producer focused on responsible mining practices with safe, low-cost production from a high-quality portfolio of mines.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the United States Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, or in releases made by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, all as may be amended from time to time, and "forward-looking information" under the provisions of applicable Canadian securities legislation, concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of Goldcorp. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the expected timing and closing of the proposed transaction, including receipt of required approvals and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions; estimates of future production; expectations regarding accretion; estimates of future cost reductions, efficiencies and synergies; expectations regarding advancement of Newmont's and Goldcorp's operations, including, without limitation, expected average IRR, expectations of future dividends and returns to stockholders; and expectations of future plans and benefits. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" , "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" , "believes", or variations or comparable language of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "should", "might" or "will", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof.

Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of factors and assumptions that, if untrue, could cause the actual results, performances or achievements of Goldcorp to be materially different from future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which Goldcorp will operate in the future, including the price of gold, anticipated costs and ability to achieve goals. Certain important factors that could cause actual results, performances or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, among others, delays or failure to obtain the required approvals; competitive responses to the announcement of the transaction; litigation or challenges to the proposed transaction; changes to the current scientific and technical information; permitting, development, operations and expansion of Newmont's and Goldcorp's operations and projects being consistent with current expectations and mine plans, including without limitation receipt of export approvals; planning and integration assumptions; gold price volatility, discrepancies between actual and estimated production, mineral reserves and mineral resources and metallurgical recoveries, mining operational and development risks, litigation risks, regulatory restrictions (including environmental regulatory restrictions and liability), changes in national and local government legislation, taxation, controls or regulations and/or change in the administration of laws, policies and practices, expropriation or nationalization of property and political or economic developments in Canada, the United States and other jurisdictions in which the Company does or may carry on business in the future, delays, suspension and technical challenges associated with capital projects, higher prices for fuel, steel, power, labour and other consumables, currency fluctuations, the speculative nature of gold exploration, the global economic climate, dilution, share price volatility, competition, loss of key employees, additional funding requirements and defective title to mineral claims or property. Although Goldcorp believes its expectations are based upon reasonable assumptions and has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended.

Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Goldcorp to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: the inherent uncertainty associated with financial or other projections; the prompt and effective integration of Newmont's and Goldcorp's businesses; the ability to achieve the anticipated synergies and value-creation contemplated by the proposed transaction; the risk associated with timing of the closing of the proposed transaction, including the risk that the conditions to the transaction are not satisfied on a timely basis or at all and the failure of the transaction to close for any other reason; the risk that a consent or authorization that may be required for the proposed transaction is not obtained or is obtained subject to conditions that are not anticipated; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against the parties and others related to the arrangement agreement; unanticipated difficulties or expenditures relating to the transaction, the response of business partners and retention as a result of the announcement and pendency of the transaction; risks relating to the value of the Newmont's common stock to be issued in connection with the transaction; the anticipated size of the markets and continued demand for Newmont's and Goldcorp's resources and the impact of competitive responses to the announcement of the transaction; and the diversion of management time on transaction-related issues as well as those factors discussed in the section entitled "Description of the Business  Risk Factors" in Goldcorp's most recent annual information form available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov. Although Goldcorp has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Except as otherwise indicated by Goldcorp, these statements do not reflect the potential impact of any non-recurring or other special items or of any disposition, monetization, merger, acquisition, other business combination or other transaction that may be announced or that may occur after the date hereof. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans and allowing investors and others to get a better understanding of Goldcorp's operating environment. Goldcorp does not intend or undertake to publicly update any forward-looking statements that are included in this document, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

i Caution Regarding Projections: Projections used in this release are considered "forward-looking statements." See cautionary statement above regarding forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information representing post-closing expectations is inherently uncertain. Estimates such as expected accretion, NAV, Net Present Value creation, synergies, expected future production, IRR, financial flexibility and balance sheet strength are preliminary in nature. There can be no assurance that the proposed transaction will close or that the forward-looking information will prove to be accurate.

ii Net Present Value (NPV) creation as used in this release is a management estimate provided for illustrative purposes, and should not be considered a GAAP or non-GAAP financial measure. NPV creation represents management's combined estimate of pre-tax synergies, supply chain efficiencies and Full Potential improvements, as a result of the proposed transaction that have been monetized and projected over a twenty year period for purposes of the estimation, applying a discount rate of 5 percent. Such estimates are necessarily imprecise and are based on numerous judgments and assumptions. Expected NPV creation is a "forward-looking statement" subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual value creation to differ from expected value creation.

iii 2019 dividends beyond Q1 2019 have not yet been approved or declared by the Board of Directors. Management's expectations with respect to future dividends or annualized dividends are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbor created by such sections and other applicable laws. Investors are cautioned that such statements with respect to future dividends are non-binding. The declaration and payment of future dividends remain at the discretion of the Board of Directors and will be determined based on Newmont's financial results, balance sheet strength, cash and liquidity requirements, future prospects, gold and commodity prices, and other factors deemed relevant by the Board. The Board of Directors reserves all powers related to the declaration and payment of dividends. Consequently, in determining the dividend to be declared and paid on the common stock of the Company, the Board of Directors may revise or terminate the payment level at any time without prior notice. As a result, investors should not place undue reliance on such statements.

iv IRR targets on projects are calculated using an assumed $1,200 gold price.

For further information please contact:

INVESTOR CONTACT MEDIA CONTACT Shawn Campbell Christine Marks Director, Investor Relations Director, Corporate Communications Telephone: (800) 567-6223 Telephone: (604) 696-3050 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Goldcorp Inc.

Related Links

http://www.goldcorp.com


In January 2019, OBSBOT Tail was introduced to crowd-funding community of Kickstarter and during the campaign raised 800%. OBSBOT Tail is mostly taken by artists and video creators because of its ability to track the subject and record in 4K without having someone to hold, tilt, zoom.

"We are very excited to showcase OBSBOT Tail at Hong Kong Electronic Fair, after smashing success at CES in Las Vegas," said Bo Liu, CEO and Founder of REMO TECH. "And we hope to introduce the groundbreaking capabilities that AI imaging technology can offer video creators under our brand OBSBOT."

The Fair takes place between April 13-16, 2019 in Hong Kong, where OBSBOT Tails will be located at Product Section / Thematic Zone : A.I. & Voice Recognition Booth Number : 5F-G20

To learn more about OBSBOT Tail, visit http://remo-ai.com/.

About OBSBOT

OBSBOT, an artificial intelligence camera brand by REMO TECH, is dedicated to connecting people and the imaging industry to the future, by pushing the boundaries of technology and inspiring more groundbreaking innovations in the field of photography.

With the first flagship product 'OBSBOT Tail' the brand offers a radical new way to easily capture footage with an all-in-one AI camera, capable of tracking, auto-zoom and gesture control, empowering you to be your own actor and director. OBSBOT Tail, first unveiled at CES 2019, where it was acclaimed as an "Innovation That Stole the Show" by Variety Magazine, while Slashgear hailed it as the "Best Content Creation Equipment" at CES. The OBSBOT Tail was also pegged as one of the "Coolest Tech" by USA Today.

With the wave of change gripping the imaging industry, sparked by the introduction of artificial intelligence technology, OBSBOT strives to break technological barriers and inspire the way people record their lives.

The media kit can be accessed here.

SOURCE OBSBOT

Related Links

http://remo-ai.com


UTRECHT, Netherlands and DURHAM, N.C., April 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S.-based Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group (ARLG), part of the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) and the University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht, the managing entity of the COMBACTE (Combatting Bacterial Resistance in Europe) consortium, will work together to solidify a comprehensive global community to combat the threat of antibiotic resistance around the world.

This collaboration is expected to take several forms, including joint design and implementation of clinical research, working meetings at scientific conferences like the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID), and IDWeek, cross-entity working groups with diverse functional group participation, clinical trial innovations, data and protocol exchanges, and, contractual, regulatory, and systems harmonization.

"We at the ARLG have long admired the work being done by COMBACTE to increase the efficacy of antimicrobial drug development," said Vance Fowler, MD, an investigator at the DCRI and co-principal investigator of the ARLG. "Combining our efforts will allow us to maximize the work we both do to stop the advancement of antibacterial resistance."

Both organizations have been working toward the same mission since each launched in 2013, and now, the two groups will share their work to increase synergy and avoid duplicative efforts in clinical research.

"We have already made efforts to expand our reach across Europe, where an increasing number of people suffer from infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria," said Marc Bonten, MD, coordinator of COMBACTE and a professor at UMC Utrecht. "But by collaborating and sharing our progress with the ARLG, we can make a truly global impact beyond this population  an important consideration in a globally connected era in which epidemics travel across oceans quickly."

As part of the agreement, the ARLG will have the opportunity to lead and coordinate U.S.-based studies for all clinical research initiated by COMBACTE, while COMBACTE will have the opportunity to lead and coordinate ARLG-initiated projects in Europe.

Earlier this year the European Clinical Research Alliance on Infectious Diseases (ECRAID) was formed, merging COMBACTE's more than 850 clinical trial sites and 650 laboratories with the network of primary care sites coordinated by The Platform for European Preparedness Against (Re-)Emerging Epidemics (PREPARE) to form a European-wide sustainable clinical research organization for infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance. The ARLG, with established collaborations in 19 countries, will help to expand these efforts outside of Europe. The alliance will enable innovative, flexible, and adaptive collaboration between the DCRI and UMC Utrecht.

"This is an exciting year for PREPARE to expand its work in reducing a serious public health threat," said Herman Goossens, MD, coordinator of PREPARE and professor at University of Antwerp and UMC Utrecht. "First, we joined forces with COMBACTE by forming ECRAID, and now, we welcome a partnership with the ARLG, which will help all three organizations leverage a wider set of resources and a deeper pool of expertise."

The ARLG is supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, under Award Number UM1AI104681. COMBACTE-NET, COMBACTE-CARE, and COMBACTE-MAGNET receive support from the Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking under grant agreement n 115523 | 115620 | 115737 resources of which are composed of financial contribution from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) and EFPIA companies in kind contribution. COMBACTE-CDI receives support from the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking under grant agreement n 777362 resources of which are composed of financial contribution from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, and EFPIA. PREPARE is funded by the European Union's FP7 Programme n 602525. ECRAID is funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Programme n 825715.

About the Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group (ARLG)

The Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group (ARLG) consists of more than 50 leading experts working together to combat the antibacterial resistance crisis and improve patient care. It accomplishes this goal through a scientific agenda that prioritizes areas of unmet needs, innovates clinical trial design, and informs practice-changing guidelines. Created in 2013, the ARLG receives its funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health. It is facilitated by the Duke Clinical Research Institute and works under the thought leadership of an executive committee and two principal investigators: Vance Fowler, MD, of Duke University, and Henry "Chip" Chambers, MD, of University of California, San Francisco.

About COMBACTE

In November 2011, the European Commission, as part of its action plan to combat the increasing threat of antimicrobial resistance, called for "unprecedented collaborative research and development effort to bring new antibiotics to patients," including the launch of the sixth, the eight and the eleventh IMI Calls for Proposals in May 2012, December 2012 and December 2013 respectively, as part of the program entitled "New Drugs 4 Bad Bugs (ND4BB)." Within the ND4BB program are the COMBACTE-NET, COMBACTE-MAGNET, COMBACTE-CARE, and COMBACTE-CDI consortia, which were formed in January 2013 January, March 2015, and November 2017, respectively. The COMBACTE program management office is based in the University Medical Center Utrecht, one of the largest public health institutions in the Netherlands.

Media contact

Eric Trinthamer, UMC Utrecht

Phone: +31 6 21 55 66 58

Email: [email protected]

Mark Slagle, ARLG

Phone: +1 919-668-8031

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE COMBACTE
SEATTLE, April 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- With last year's active wildfire season and severe weather events in the Northwest, local Allstate agents are giving away over 10,000 disaster preparedness kits starting Monday, April 15 across Washington, Oregon and Idaho to better prepare families and communities for disasters of all kinds. There are over 200 participating agencies in 100 cities across Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.

Together with The Allstate Foundation, participating agents are also donating $200,000 to American Red Cross chapters across the Northwest to support relief efforts.

"Even though it might be the last thing on your mind, a natural disaster can strike anywhere at any time," said Allstate spokesperson, Frank Clouser. "Most people85 percentaren't prepared for a disaster, so local Allstate agents are here to help our neighbors be more prepared in the event of a sudden disaster."

This is especially relevant for Northwest communities, as wildfire season starts to heat up. Washington, Oregon, and Idaho all make the list of top 10 "Most Wildfire Prone States," according to the Insurance Information Institute, and the three states collectively have 474,000 households at high or extreme risk from wildfires.

"With wildfire season on the horizon and never knowing when a disaster might strike, building a kit is a great place to start on the path to preparedness. A next step would be creating a household evacuation plan that includes a list of emergency contacts and a designated meeting location in the event of a disaster," Clouser said.

Northwest residents can stop by any participating Allstate agency to get a free disaster kit, while supplies last, that includes a hand-crank flashlight, first-aid kit and a whistle to signal for help.

To help local residents prepare for a disaster, The Allstate Foundation recommends three important safety tips to help communities be aware of the risks in their lives and to protect themselves and their loved ones.

Step One: Build a basic disaster preparedness kit. Your disaster preparedness kit should contain these basic supplies:



Water (one gallon per person, per day) Ready-to-eat, nonperishable food (for family members and pets) Battery-powered or hand-crank radio Flashlight First-aid kit Whistle (to signal for help) Dust mask, plastic sheeting and duct tape Antiseptic and plastic garbage bags with ties (for sanitation) Wrench or pliers Local maps (to locate emergency services and shelters) Extra batteries Prescription medication(s)

Step Two: Create a household emergency evacuation plan. A household emergency plan should include the following information:



Emergency contact names and numbers  mobile and landline. As an extra precaution, everyone in your family should program "In Case of Emergency," or ICE, contacts in their mobile phones so emergency personnel can contact them if needed. Family meeting place in your neighborhood and an alternative meeting place in the region Personal details for each family member (date of birth, important medical information, recent photos) Addresses and phone numbers of the places family members frequent on a regular basis (work, school) Contact information for medical providers (doctors, pharmacist, veterinarian)

Important medical and insurance information, including photocopies of your medical insurance card(s) For a fill-in-the-blank household emergency plan and cards to download, print and keep close at hand, visit www.ready.gov/make-a-plan.

Step 3: Help your community get ready for a disaster. The strength of a community comes from each person who lives in it. By raising your hand to help your community prepare for a potential disaster, by taking training, joining a preparedness group or helping to educate your neighborhood, you can help people respond to and recover from an emergency situation.

For more information on how you and your community can get prepared for a disaster, contact your local American Red Cross chapter.

SOURCE The Allstate Foundation
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., April 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Vectrus, Inc. announced that on April 12, 2019, the U.S. Army Contracting Command-Rock Island (ACC-RI) awarded four (4) Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity, Multiple Award Task Order Contracts (MATOC), for the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) V support services in support of the U.S. Military worldwide. The services are to support the Geographical Combatant Commands (GCCs) and Army Service Component Commands (ASCCs) throughout the full range of military operations. Each basic IDIQ contract Ordering Period will be an initial five-year ordering period and options for five additional one-year ordering periods. The ceiling price for the entire LOGCAP V MATOC is $82,000,000,000 and is a cumulative ceiling for all contracts awarded from Request for Proposal.

Vectrus Systems Corporation is one of the award recipients of the basic IDIQ contract and the following task orders: PACOM Setting the Theater Task Order and associated Performance Task Order; CENTCOM Setting the Theater Task Order and associated Performance Task Order. Each task order has its own period of performance.

The full LOGCAP V contract award announcement to Vectrus is available on FBO.gov at https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&id=90e226fd66a85099863b51b842bf350d&_cview=0.

The company reaffirms its full-year 2019 guidance that was originally provided on February 26, 2019.

About Vectrus

Vectrus is a leading global government services company with a history in the services market that dates back more than 70 years. The company provides facility and base operations; supply chain and logistics services; information technology mission support; engineering and digital technology services, and strategic programs support to U.S. government customers around the world. Vectrus is differentiated by operational excellence, superior program performance, a history of long-term customer relationships and a strong commitment to their customers' mission success. Vectrus is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., and includes about 6,700 employees spanning 129 locations in 22 countries. In 2018, Vectrus generated sales of $1.3 billion. To learn about career opportunities at Vectrus, visit www.vectrus.com/careers. For more information, visit the company's website at www.vectrus.com or connect with Vectrus on Facebook , Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Safe Harbor Statement

Certain material presented herein includes forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about our five-year plan, Company growth, including growth in revenue, cash flow and margins, backlog, business strategy, acquisition of SENTEL Corporation, contract opportunities, bids, awards and business pipeline, outlook, objectives, plans, intentions or goals, and any discussion of future operating or financial performance. These statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of our management based on information currently available to management. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results contemplated by the forward-looking statements, our historical experience and our present expectations or projections. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in Part I, Item 1A, "Risk Factors," and elsewhere in our 2018 Annual Report on Form 10-K. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

Contact:

Mike Smith, CFA

(719) 637-5773

[email protected]

SOURCE Vectrus, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.vectrus.com


New Delhi, April 13 : The Congress on Friday moved the Election Commission against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah for allegedly "dragging" the armed forces in politics repeatedly.

Congress leaders Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Randeep Singh Surjewala also raised the issues of Union Minister Smriti Irani submitting "contradictory affidavits" to the Election Commission on her educational qualifications and also about a web series on Modi.

Talking to the media after meeting the EC, Singhvi said PM, the President of the ruling party and its other leaders are "shamelessly dragging the armed forces for cheap politics."

"Never in the history has this happened," he said, adding the web series on Modi is also a violation of the Model Code of Conduct as it is biographical in nature and it should be banned immediately.

"If the person makes another violation, he/she should be barred from two days of campaigning, similarly three and four days for the third and fourth violation," he said.

Speaking about Irani's qualification, Surjewala said the Congress is not commenting on her qualification, saying they believe that even the illiterate can also hold high positions.

"But the question is the people have been cheated and the Minister has lied to them about her qualifications."

The Congress has submitted a memorandum to the EC over Irani "repeatedly lying" about her qualifications.

"There is no information about the degree of the PM and also his favourite minister Irani. There are no classmates of the PM and Irani who are coming out. This is a very serious issue as the people have been cheated repeatedly."

Surjewala demanded that the EC should disqualify Irani for changing her qualifications multiple times.

He also said that there should be a strict action and Union Minister Maneka Gandhi should be sacked for her remarks and for "dividing people".

Addressing an election rally, she had said that she would like to win without support of Muslims and would not want to give jobs to them if they did not vote for her.

The party also urged the Election Commission to issue directions to all Chief Electoral Officers, booth level officers and other election officials to ensure proper functioning of EVMs during the Lok Sabha elections. It also sought immediate investigation into the malfunctioning of the EVMs and other issues reported from various parts of the country during the first phase of polls on April 11.

It said posters of Gen VK Singh were posted right outside a polling station. The party also alleged that BJP candidate from Tehri Garhwal parliamentary constituency "printed voter slips on her election pamphlet".

The party said it was making fifth request for "urgent and necessary" intervention against Modi's "continued and brazen violation" of the Model Code of Conduct and in particular the "hateful and divisive comments by him", Shah and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in election rallies at Nanded, Nagpur and Meerut.

In its representation against Irani, Congress called for immediate action for filing "false affidavit", saying it attracts "up to six months imprisonment and/or fine".
Washington, April 13 : US President Donald Trump has threatened to release detained undocumented immigrants into so-called sanctuary cities, while blaming the country's immigration laws on Democrats.

"Due to the fact that Democrats are unwilling to change our very dangerous immigration laws, we are indeed, as reported, giving strong considerations to placing Illegal Immigrants in Sanctuary Cities only," Trump wrote in a tweet.

The US President went on accusing the "radical left" of supporting open borders, claiming that his proposal "should make them very happy!"

Sanctuary cities in the US are known as local jurisdictions that refrain from cooperating with federal authorities and detain undocumented immigrants for possible deportation.

Tump's threat came a day after The Washington Post reported that administration officials had proposed months ago transporting undocumented immigrants to cities that shield them from deportation.

The proposal has drawn sharp criticism from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat.

"The extent of this administration's cynicism and cruelty cannot be overstated," a spokeswoman for Pelosi said in a statement to The Post.

The White House and the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday denied that the proposal was still under consideration.

Trump has been reshuffling the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration and border security, in push for a tougher direction in immigration enforcement.
Amritsar, April 13 : Congress President Rahul Gandhi will visit the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial here on Saturday morning to pay homage to hundreds of people, who were massacred by British forces on April 13, 1919.

Rahul arrived here in the holy city late on Friday night.

After arriving here, Rahul, accompanied by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, paid a visit to Golden Temple complex where he offered prayers at the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikh religion.

The sanctum sanctorum of 'Harmandir Sahib' was closed for the night when the Congress chief arrived.

April 13 (Saturday) marks the 100th anniversary of the massacre, in which British forces led by Brigadier General Reginald Dyer opened fire on hundreds of unarmed, innocent Indians, including women and children, who were protesting peacefully against the oppressive Rowlatt Act of the British government.

The massacre, on April 13, 1919, is one of the darkest chapters of India's freedom struggle against the British occupation.

Hundreds of people, including students, local residents and visitors, held a candlelight march in Amritsar on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on Friday evening.

The British government, even after 100 years, has only regretted the massacre but stopped short of apologising for the killing of so many innocent people.

Rejecting the regret expressed by British Prime Minister Theresa May as "inadequate", Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday demanded "an unequivocal official apology from Britain" for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

Terming the tragic event "a heart-wrenching moment in India's history", Amarinder said that the people of India wanted an unequivocal apology from Britain for the atrocity.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu will arrive here on Saturday afternoon for the main function to commemorate the 100 years of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
United Nations, April 13 : UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that hatred speech has been spreading like wildfire through the Internet, saying attention should be given to "physical aggressions" as the recent attacks against the Jewish, Christian or Muslim centres.

"This situation requires a huge investment, an investment in social cohesion and investment in diversity to make people feel that even if they are different from others ... the societies should accept them, integrate them and respect them," Xinhua quoted Guterres as saying to the inaugural United Nations Model UN Summit on Friday.

Citing the recent attacks against several religious sites in New Zealand and Pittsburgh of the US, the UN chief called on the international community to guard against both "extreme thinking and extreme political action."

Noting that diversity "makes our society more vibrant and more interesting," the UN chief urged the international community to address the root causes behind the rise of both hatred speeches and actions.

"We need to really go deep, look into the root causes of why things are wrong," he noted.

The UN chief stressed that young generation has "a fundamental role to play" in this regard.

The UN Secretary-General reiterated the importance of multilateralism in addressing global problems, noting that "no country alone can solve these problems."

"Whether people like the UN or not, whether people think that UN must be reforming this or that aspect, we still need UN as a fundamental tool for a better world," the secretary-general concluded.

Model United Nations (MUN) simulations are popular exercises for those interested in learning more about the UN.

It is estimated that more than 400,000 students worldwide participate every year in MUN at all educational levels -- from primary school to university. Many of today's leaders in law, government, business and the arts fields have participated in MUN as students.

The UN Department of Global Communications wants to see Model United Nations become an actual agent of positive change in communities across the globe. As a first step, it held the Inaugural United Nations Model UN Summit on Friday.
Taxi drivers concerned : Uber starts operating in the greater Cologne area

BONN/REGION On Thursday, the taxi competitor Uber began operating in the greater Cologne area. The company has confirmed that trips from Bonn and communities in the Rhein-Sieg district are also possible.

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A large number of taxi drivers in NRW and other German states vented their anger on Wednesday with big demonstrations in cities including Dusseldorf and Cologne. Many taxi drivers from Bonn also took part. Their protest was mainly directed at the plans of Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) to open up the transportation service industry to new providers - including Uber.

Worry on the part of Bonn taxi drivers is due to Uber already being used in several major German cities such as Berlin, Munich, Dusseldorf and Frankfurt/Main, and the fact that it has now started its service in the Cologne area since Thursday. According to Oliver Klug, spokesman for Uber Germany, customers in Bonn and the Rhein-Sieg district can also use the Uber app to request trips, but they must expect limited availability of drivers and longer waiting times than in Cologne itself.

However, Klug was unable to say exactly how far the service extends beyond the Cologne area. "In the coming weeks it will become clear which trips the drivers will accept." The Uber spokesperson also expressed a similar opinion about the exact number of active drivers. "The number of drivers will vary greatly at the beginning, but will then settle on a concrete pool of providers," said Klug.
Khartoum, April 13 : The head of Sudan's military council Awad Ibn Auf has stood down a day after leading a coup that toppled long-time leader Omar al-Bashir amid a wave of protests.

Despite Bashir's removal on Thursday, demonstrators had refused to disperse, camping out outside the army headquarters here, defying curfew declared by the military.

On Friday, a military spokesman said the army was not seeking power and Sudan's future would be decided by the protesters.

After Ibn Auf stepped down, the protesters celebrated his departure, with people chanting phrases like "it fell again".

Defence Minister Awad Ibn Auf announced his decision on state TV. He named as his successor Lt Gen Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan, the BBC reported.

The military council has also imposed a three-month state of emergency, with the constitution suspended.

Police said at least 16 people were killed by stray bullets at protests on Thursday and Friday.

This comes after protesters refused to leave the streets, saying the coup leaders were too close to Bashir. The army had said it will stay in power for two years, followed by elections.

Bashir's downfall followed months of unrest that began in December over rising prices.

Ibn Auf was head of military intelligence during the Darfur conflict in the 2000s. The US imposed sanctions on him in 2007.

The Sudan Professionals Association, which has been spearheading the protests, said Ibn Auf's decision to step down was a "victory" for demonstrators.

They were demanding a transition to civilian rule before they return home.

Bashir has been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the Darfur conflict. The military council had said it would not extradite Bashir to face the ICC charges, which he denies.
Stockholm, April 13 : Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange can face a renewed probe into an allegation of rape in Sweden, following his arrest in London from the Ecuadorian embassy just days ago.

Swedish prosecutors said they were examining the case at the request of the alleged victim's lawyer. Lawyer Elizabeth Massi Fritz said she would do "everything we possibly can" to get the probe reopened in Sweden, the BBC reported.

"No rape victim should have to wait nine years to see justice be served," she added.

Assange was accused of rape and other sexual offences, against two women, following a Wikileaks conference in Stockholm in 2010. He has always denied the allegations, saying the sex was consensual.

Prosecutors will now re-examine the rape case to decide whether to resume it before the statute of limitations runs out in August 2020, the BBC said.

Swedish prosecutors dropped the investigation in 2017 as they were unable to proceed while he remained in asylum inside the Ecuadorean embassy.

The Ecuador's London embassy had granted asylum to the 47-year-old for seven years, before his arrest on Thursday.

The US also wants to extradite the Australian-born from the UK over his alleged role in one of the largest ever leaks of government secrets in 2010 that could result in a prison term of up to five years.

Assange sought refuge in the Knightsbridge embassy in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden over allegations of sexual assault. But Ecuador abruptly withdrew its asylum and invited the police to arrest him on April 11.

After his dramatic arrest, he was taken to Westminster Magistrates' Court and found guilty of a British charge of breaching bail. He spent Thursday night in custody and is facing up to 12 months in prison for that conviction.

The UN has called for his right to a fair trial to be respected during any extradition process.

Assange also faced investigation for molestation and unlawful coercion, but these cases were dropped in 2015 because time had run out.
United Nations, April 13 : Under pressure from Washington, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has dropped the investigation of alleged war crimes committed in Afghanistan, a probe directed mainly against US military and intelligence services.

"This is a major international victory, not only for these patriots, but for the rule of law," US President Donald Trump said in a statement in Washington on Friday after the judges' ruling was announced in the Hague.

A three-member panel of judges "decided that an investigation into the situation in Afghanistan at this stage would not serve the interests of justice," a press release from the court said.

The judges had originally approved the 2017 request from the court's Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to investigate the "alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity" in Afghanistan since May 2003 and similar crimes relating to the Afghanistan conflict in other countries that have signed the Rome Statute on the ICC, according to the release.

Reversing their position, they said in their 32-page decision that the political changes in Afghanistan and the lack of cooperation with the prosecutor would have hampered the investigation and prosecution, according to the release.

They, however, said that the prosecutor's "request establishes a reasonable basis to consider that crimes within the ICC jurisdiction have been committed in Afghanistan".

Washington has opposed the investigation saying that the court threatened US sovereignty and has not signed the Rome Statute. (Neither has India.)

The US has said that it would not cooperate with the ICC and revoked Bensouda's visa to enter the country.

Trump, however, said he reiterated "our position that the US holds American citizens to the highest legal and ethical standards".

The US court-martialed several military personal for their excesses in Afghanistan. For example, 11 soldiers were prosecuted in 2011 for the murder of civilians and received sentences ranging from three to 24 years.

In December, Maj Matthew Golsteyn was charged with the murder of an alleged Taliban bomb-maker during a 2010 deployment, but Trump tweeted he would review the case.

The ICC has so far has charged or tried only people from the developing countries although the Afghanistan investigation was meant to show that it could also act against western countries.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis)
Islamabad, April 12 : At least 20 people were killed, almost half of them belonging to the Shia Hazara minority, and 48 injured when a bomb hidden in a sack of potatoes exploded in a crowded market in Pakistan's Quetta city on Friday.

According to Deputy Inspector General Abdul Razzaq Cheema, nine Hazara, one Frontier Corps (FC) soldier and two children were among the dead, Dawn online reported.

"The attack took place in a (green grocer's) shop (in Hazarganji area). An improvised explosive device (IED) was planted in a gunny sack filled with potatoes. We are yet to ascertain if it was timed or remote-controlled. An investigation is on," Cheema said.

No one has claimed responsibility for the blast.

While Cheema said the blast targeted the Hazara ethnic community, Balochistan Home Minister Ziaullah Langove called it a suicide bombing and that it didn't target "a specific community".

"Our guess is that no specific community was targeted. Marri Baloch and FC personnel were among those killed as well. The numbers of the Hazara community were just greater," Langove said. He described the blast as a suicide attack.

Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted: "Deeply saddened and have strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Hazarg19/04/12/6a3ca569466b935d9e0e4631ffa4d877.jpg' hspace='10' align='left' width='171' height='100' data-title='QUETTA, April 12, 2019 (Xinhua) -- Rescuers inspect the blast site in southwest Pakistan's Quetta on April 12, 2019. At least 16 people, including one security personnel and two children, were killed and 30 others injured when a bomb ripped through an open-air market in Pakistan's southwest city of Quetta on Friday morning, officials and local reports said. (Xinhua/IANS)' />

Islamabad, April 12 (IANS) At least 20 people were killed, almost half of them belonging to the Shia Hazara minority, and 48 injured when a bomb hidden in a sack of potatoes exploded in a crowded market in Pakistan's Quetta city on Friday.

According to Deputy Inspector General Abdul Razzaq Cheema, nine Hazara, one Frontier Corps (FC) soldier and two children were among the dead, Dawn online reported.

"The attack took place in a (green grocer's) shop (in Hazarganji area). An improvised explosive device (IED) was planted in a gunny sack filled with potatoes. We are yet to ascertain if it was timed or remote-controlled. An investigation is on," Cheema said.

No one has claimed responsibility for the blast.

While Cheema said the blast targeted the Hazara ethnic community, Balochistan Home Minister Ziaullah Langove called it a suicide bombing and that it didn't target "a specific community".

"Our guess is that no specific community was targeted. Marri Baloch and FC personnel were among those killed as well. The numbers of the Hazara community were just greater," Langove said. He described the blast as a suicide attack.

Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted: "Deeply saddened and have strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Hazarganji market area of Quetta targeting our innocent people. I have asked for an immediate inquiry and increased security for the people.

"Prayers go to the families of the victims and for early recovery of the injured."

President Arif Alvi and several politicians also condemned the bombing.

Initial police findings indicate the bomb had been planted before Hazara shoppers reached the market on Friday.

Nearly half a million Hazaras have settled in Quetta since fleeing Afghanistan to escape violence in their homeland during the past four decades. The city's Hazarganji area has been witness to similar attacks in the past.

Hazara shopkeepers are known to stock vegetables and fruits from the Hazarganji bazaar to sell at their own shops. They are provided security escorts to and from Hazarganji since they are constantly under threat of attack.

Cheema told Dawn that "people from the Hazara community come here daily in a convoy from Hazara town to buy vegetables. They are escorted by police and FC, and then they return there. It was the same today".

Following the blast, Qadir Nayil, a Hazara community leader, asked the Pakistan government to ensure better protection for them.

"Once again our people were the target... We demand more security from the government and all those involved in today's act of terrorism should be found and punished," he said.
Chennai, April 13 : The battle for Thoothukudi is what many are looking forward to in current Lok Sabha polls where Tamil Nadu BJP President Tamilisai Soundararajan is crossing swords with DMK leader and Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi.

Interestingly the fight is tough between the two women who are daughters of two political leaders.

Kanimozhi is the daughter of late DMK President M. Karunanidhi and the sister of current party President M.K.Stalin.

On the other hand, Soundararajan, is the daughter of Congress leader Kumari Ananthan.

Interestingly, it is Kumari Ananthan's younger brother H. Vasanthakumar is the Congress candidate from the Kanniyakumari Lok Sabha seat who is crossing swords with Union Minister and BJP's Pon Radhakrishnan.

There are also other parties in the fray like the Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) floated by actor-politician Kamal Haasan, T.T.V. Dhinakaran's AMMK and Naam Tamilar Katchi.

A total of 37 candidates will be vying for about 14.25 lakh voter's support.

"Every segment in the constituency have unsorted issues. In the case of the fishermen, there are no roads to their place of dwellings and lack of safety gear for safe fishing," T.P.S. Ponkumaran, the MNM candidate, told IANS.

"In the case of small traders, exporters and importers complying with Goods and Services Tax (GST) provisions and getting refund is a major issue. They say refunds are not happening," Ponkumaran added.

Social activist M. Pushparayan told IANS: "In the Thoothukudi town the major issue is the Sterlite Copper, the copper smelter plant of Vedanta Ltd."

Last May, 13 anti-Sterlite Copper protestors were killed in a police firing and this issue is boiling in favour of Kanimozhi.

"The constituency has good number of Christian population and they are against BJP," Pushparayan, who had contested and lost from Thoothukudi in 2014 elections on behalf of Aam Aadmi Party told IANS.

Citing the sizeable Nadar community population in the constituency Pushparayan said, they seem to back Tamilisai.

Similarly, the Nadar Christians are also it seems in favour of Tamilisai, he added.

According to Pushparayan, the small scale industries are upset at the central government of not fulfilling their demands.

"There should be a bureaucratic/administrative reforms to make lives easy for people of different walks of life," Ponkumaran said.

Speaking about his poll strategy Ponkumaran said: "I don't look at the strategies of BJP or DMK. My focus is on the small traders, business community, farmers, first time voters and others."

Ponkumaran said in Kovilpatti, farmers have sowed imported corn seeds and the yield has turned to be poor.

"It seems the seed quality itself was poor. But none is taking up their issue. I am taking up their issue," Ponkumaran said.

The Thoothukudi Lok Sabha constituency consists of six assembly segments--Tiruchendur, Srivaikuntam, Thoothukudi, Ottapidaram, Kovilpatti and Vilathikulam.

The seat is currently held by AIADMK's J. Jeyasingh Thiyaraj Natterjee.

Deciding to contest from Thoothukudi well before the elections, Kanimozhi had been spending her time looking at the constituency.

The central government's decision to reserve 10 per cent jobs for economically weaker section also gives the BJP an edge in Thoothukudi.

At the start, the general feeling was Kanimozhi will have an easy victory. However, the fight seems to have turned tough for her with Tamilisai gaining ground.

Though the Sterlite Copper issue is confined to Thoothukudi town, Kanimozhi is rising across the constituency. Apart from the ill effects of demonetisaiton, GST, NEET against BJP, she also talks about the non-performance of the AIADMK government.

On her part, Tamilisai campaigns on the development plank.

Interestingly the Sterlite Copper issue may fetch votes for BJP as well, as there are people who have lost their jobs, business because of the smelter plant's closure.

According to a truck driver, he lost his job after the plant was closed.

In Thoothukudi town, people are angry at the AIADMK government for not properly handling the anti-Sterlite protest.

The BJP is expected to get good number votes from Srivaikuntam, Tiruchendur and Vilathikulam as these areas have sizeable population of Hindu Nadars.

According to an auto rickshaw driver in Tiruchendur, the Modi government has done well for the country and his vote is for BJP.

On the other hand, in Thoothukudi, a tea shop employee said he would vote for DMK this time around as nothing has happened in the constituency for the benefit of the people.

Kumar a taxi driver in Thoothukudi told IANS: "Kanimozhi has an edge as the Christian votes will go for her. The closure of Sterlite Copper smelter plant has reduced the pungent smell that one experiences while nearing the plant."

Apart from the minority votes, the DMK is also betting on the splitting of AIADMK votes by Dhinakaran's AMMK.
New Delhi/Amritsar, April 13 : As the nation commemorates the 100th anniversary of the massacre of hundreds of innocent Indians by British forces at the Jallianwala Bagh, President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday paid tributes to the martyrs.

"A 100 years ago today, our beloved freedom fighters were martyred at Jallianwala Bagh. A horrific massacre, a stain on civilisation, that day of sacrifice can never be forgotten by India," Kovind tweeted.

"India pays tributes to all those martyred on that fateful day. Their valour and sacrifice will never be forgotten. Their memory inspires us to work even harder to build an India they would be proud of," Modi said.

Gandhi along with Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and his cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu were joined by people in large numbers who gathered at the national memorial in Amritsar to pay homage to hundreds of men and woman who were gunned down by British troops on April 13, 1919.

On Friday, hundreds of people, including students, residents and visitors held a candlelight vigil in Amritsar.

Saturday marked the 100th anniversary of the bloodbath, when British forces led by Brigadier General Reginald Dyer opened fire on unarmed, innocent Indians, including children, who were present at a gathering protesting peacefully against the oppressive Rowlatt Act of the British government.

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre is one of the darkest chapters of India's freedom struggle against the British occupation. The official death toll by the British government was put at 379.

The British government, even after 100 years, has only regretted the massacre but stopped short of apologising for the killing of so many innocent people.

Rejecting the regret expressed by British Prime Minister Theresa May as "inadequate", Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday demanded "an unequivocal official apology from Britain".

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu will arrive here later for the main function commemorating the massacre.

Gandhi arrived here late on Friday and visited the Golden Temple and offered prayers at the Akal Takht.

The sanctum sanctorum of 'Harmandir Sahib' was closed for the night when the Congress chief arrived.
New Delhi, April 13 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP President N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday visited the EC office here to complain the malfunctioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) during polling in the state on Thursday.

A day after polling for all the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh, which was marred by the malfunctioning of some EVMs, Naidu on Friday blasted the Election Commission (EC) for what he called "turning the elections into a big farce".
Washington, April 13 : The US has announced sanctions against four oil companies and nine of their vessels to step up pressure on Venezuela and Cuba.

The US Department of the Treasury on Friday "designated four companies that operate in the oil sector of the Venezuelan economy" and "identified nine vessels, some of which transported oil from Venezuela to Cuba, as blocked property owned by the four companies".

As a result of the sanctions, all property and interests of these targeted entities that are in the US would be blocked. Also, American people are generally prohibited from all dealings that involve any property of these entities, Xinhua news agency reported.

The US has been pursuing a policy of economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation against the Venezuelan government in support of the opposition leader Juan Guaido.

The Donald Trump administration recognized Guaido as Venezuela's "interim President" on January 23, days after incumbent President Nicholas Maduro was inaugurated for a second term.

In response, Maduro severed "diplomatic and political" ties with the US and accused Washington of trying to orchestrate a coup in Venezuela in order to install a puppet regime and claim its resources.
Solapur : , April 13 (IANS) An impromptu meeting between Congress candidate Sushilkumar Shinde and VBA-AIMIM leader Prakash Ambedkar at a hotel here on Saturday morning sparked a hot political speculation.

Both of them -- staunch rivals in the campaign field -- were seen exchanging pleasantries, eating breakfast and sipping tea for a short while, at Hotel Sarovar.

Ambedkar was accompanied by local leaders Anand Chandanshive and Bala Waghmare, while Shinde had gone to the hotel to meet former Speaker Shivraj Patil.

Upon seeing Ambedkar and others, Shinde warmly greeted them and wished Ambedkar the best in the elections, which was reciprocated in equal measure.

A picture of this chance encounter went viral on the social media prompting the VBA leaders and the Congress leaders resort to dousing the flames of speculation in political circles and social media.

"It happened on the spur of the moment... Nothing was planned and the two leaders exchanged courtesies normal among political rivals," a Congress leader told IANS.

"They are not political enemies, merely opponents, so what's wrong if they sat and enjoy a cup of tea... It's our old Indian tradition and there was nothing more to the meeting. Our political fight against the BJP is very serious," VBA-AIMIM alliance Vice-President Vijay More told IANS.

Later, the VBA-AIMIM also sent out official messages on the social media saying "the meeting between Ambedkar-Shinde was sudden, Bhim Sainiks should not get wrong ideas about it."

In what will be the first major experiment of Dalit-Muslim unity in the state, Ambedkar is contesting in Akola and from Solapur, where he is locking horns in a triangular fight against Shinde and BJP's Mahaswami Jaisiddheshwar Shivacharya.
Mumbai, April 13 : As India commemorates the 100th anniversary of the massacre of hundreds of innocent Indians by British forces at the Jallianwala Bagh, members of the film industry, including Amitabh Bachchan, Sunny Deol, Bhumi Pednekar and Madhur Bhandarkar, paid tributes to the martyrs.

A century ago, British forces led by Brigadier General Reginald Dyer opened fire on hundreds of unarmed, innocent Indians, including women and children, who were protesting peacefully against the oppressive Rowlatt Act of the British government on April 13, 1919 at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar.

Remembering the horrific incident, Big B tweeted: "Jallianwala Bagh centenary. In remembrance of the merciless killings by the British and the resolve to rid India of British Colonial rule."

"Tribute to martyrs," Sunny wrote along with a photograph of the Jallianwala Bagh.

"Toilet: Ek Prem Katha" star Bhumi urged people to "always remember the courage and sacrifice of our freedom fighters" and to get inspired by their "valour and contribution into making our country stronger".

Actress-turned-politician Kirron Kher said: "Remembering the innocent souls who were martyred, mercilessly, for taking a stand for our country's independence this day, 100 years ago."

According to Kirron, "Jallianwala Bagh centenary is a reminder that even the worst of massacres couldn't dampen the spirit of our countrymen."

Bhandarkar posted: "Let us pay tribute to those who sacrificed their lives for independence movement in Amritsar."

Actress Preity G Zinta shared: "My heartfelt tribute to the brave hearts and martyrs who lost their lives in the horrific Jallianwala Bagh massacre a century ago. I salute them and their families for their valour. Hope the people of this country remember what it took to get here and always stay united."
The origin of giant apatite-iron oxide ores of the so-called Kiruna-type has been the topic of a long standing debate that has lasted for over 100 years. In a new article, published in Nature Communications, a team of scientists presents new and unambiguous data in favour of a magmatic origin for these important iron ores. The study was led by researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden.

Despite globally increasing demand for rare metals, iron is the overall most important metal for modern industry. Over 90 % of Europes total iron production comes from apatite-iron oxide ores, also referred to as Kiruna-type ores, named after the extremely large and iconic Kiruna iron ore deposit in northern Sweden. Today the Swedish deposits at Kiruna and Malmberget are the largest and most important iron producers in Europe, and Kiruna-type deposits represent an iron source of global importance. These deposits also have a large future potential for production of sought-after and critical rare earth elements (REE) as well as phosphorus, another element deemed critical for Europes future development.

The origin and actual process of formation of Kiruna-type ores has remained highly controversial for over 100 years, with suggestions ranging from a purely low-temperature hydrothermal origin to sea floor precipitation to a high-temperature volcanic origin from magma or high-temperature magmatic fluids. To remedy this problem, a team of scientists from Uppsala University, the Geological Survey of Sweden, the Geological Survey of Iran, the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay, and the Universities of Cardiff and Cape Town, led by Uppsala researcher Prof. Valentin Troll, employed Fe and O isotopes, the main elements in magnetite (Fe3O4), from Sweden, Chile and Iran to chemically fingerprint the processes that led to formation of these ores.

By comparing their data from Kiruna-type iron ores with an extensive set of magnetite samples from volcanic rocks as well as from known low-temperature hydrothermal iron ore deposits, the researchers were able to show that more than 80 % of their magnetite samples from Kiruna-type apatite-iron oxide ores were formed by high-temperature magmatic processes in what must represent volcanic to shallow sub-volcanic settings. The new results constitute an important advance in our understanding of Kiruna-type ores and will be of help for the interpretation of, and future exploration for, apatite-iron oxide deposits worldwide.

Reference:

Valentin R. Troll, Franz A. Weis, Erik Jonsson, Ulf B. Andersson, Seyed Afshin Majidi, Karin Hogdahl, Chris Harris, Marc-Alban Millet, Sakthi Saravanan Chinnasamy, Ellen Kooijman, Katarina P. Nilsson. Global FeO isotope correlation reveals magmatic origin of Kiruna-type apatite-iron-oxide ores. Nature Communications, 2019; 10 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09244-4

Note: The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Uppsala University.
New Delhi, April 13 : Days after dismissal of his petition by the Supreme Court, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) on Friday arrested IL&FS CEO Ramesh Bawa in a case related to massive loan defaults.

The former top executive has been held under Section 447 of the Companies Act that enables SFIO to arrest a person for committing fraud.

The apex court had earlier this week dismissed Bawa's petition, which sought to stop the SFIO's criminal proceedings against him.

The SFIO, the investigating arm of Ministry of Corporate Affairs, has been probing a series of defaults by the infrastructure financing major, which is saddled with a debt of around Rs 91,000 crore.

On April 1, the SFIO had arrested Hari Sankaran, former IL&FS chairman, following which Bawa filed an anticipatory bail plea.

The agency accused Sankaran of granting loans to entities that were not credit-worthy or had declared Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) causing massive losses to the company and its creditors.
New Delhi: Member of Parliament Sakshi Maharaj at Parliament House on the inaugural day of the winter session of Parliament in New Delhi on Dec. 15, 2017. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Lucknow, April 13 : With 34 criminal cases registered against him, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sakshi Maharaj claims that he is a saint and curse will befall all those who do not vote for him.

"A saint has come to your door. When a saint comes to beg and is not given what he asks for, he takes away all the happiness of the family and in turn curseS the family.

"This I am not saying, but I am quoting from sacred scriptures. I am not asking for money or land. Those who do not vote for me will face divine displeasure," he said on Friday while addressing an election meeting in Unnao in Uttar Pradesh.

A look at the affidavit filed with his nomination papers, gave detailed account of criminal cases registered against him. The list makes him look less of a saint and more of a criminal.

According to his own admission, Sakshi Maharaj has cases ranging from promoting enmity, four cases related to criminal intimidation, robbery, dacoity, murder, forgery, cheating and criminal breach of trust.

Though he has not been convicted, there are eight cases where cognizance has been taken. These cases are registered in Uttar Pradesh's Faizabad, Etah and in Delhi.

Swami Sachidanand Hari, better known as Sakshi Maharaj, has a large following in Etah, where he hails from. He also runs a large network of ashrams and schools across the state, and is extremely popular among his disciples.

He began his political career in the 1990s with the BJP, and was elected to the Lok Sabha twice from Farukkhabad. He switched over to the Samajwadi Party and then joined former Chief Minister Kalyan Singh's Rashtriya Kranti Party before finally moved back to the BJP.

In 2000, a college principal in Etah filed a police complaint against him, accusing the BJP MP and two of his nephews of gang raping her. The woman and her male associate were allegedly assaulted by the self proclaimed godman when they were driving to Agra from Etah.

Sakshi Maharaj had to spend a month in Tihar Jail on rape charges, but was eventually let off.

Ten years ago, however, another rape complaint was filed against him in Farukkhabad, by a disciple of his ashram. The woman is from Mainpuri and still maintains that Sakshi Maharaj had taken advantage of her and raped her in the ashram.

When the case reached the court, however, the police filed a report saying there was no rape.

Sakshi Maharaj said on Saturday that his rivals were trying to defame him and his statement on Friday had been quoted out of context.

He claimed that the cases filed against him were a result of political rivalry and would not stand the legal battle.

In the past, he has made controversial statements saying that "madrasas were training ground for terrorism" and "Nathuram Godse was a patriot". He also asked Hindus to increase their population by producing four children each.

Sakshi Maharaj has been fielded against the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance candidate Arun Shankar Shukla, alias Anna Maharaj, and Congress candidate Annu Tandon.

Unnao will go to polls on April 29 in the fourth phase.
Kabul, April 13 : Sharafuddin Taqi, shadow governor of Taliban for Afghanistan's Helmand province, has died of injuries, sustained in an airstrike earlier this month, the media reported on Saturday.

The provincial government said in a statement, cited by the Khaama Press, that Taqi was wounded in the airstrike close to the Musa Qala market on April 1.

As many as five militants, including the media in charge of the group Hafiz Rashid, were killed in the airstrike, according to the statement.

Taliban shadow governor for Kandahar, Mohammadzai, was currently leading the activities of the militant group for Helmand, it added.
Lucknow, April 13 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh now have an unusual candidate pitted against them: Abhinandan Pathak, a lookalike of Modi, who is contesting form Lucknow and Varanasi as an independent candidate.

Pathak, 51, had campaigned for Modi in Varanasi and became a celebrity overnight with his strong resemblance to the Prime Minister.

"When Modi became Prime Minister, I gained recognition and respect. My resemblance with him was my biggest asset and the common people would offer me tea and request for a photograph with me. After demonetization, things began to change and as disillusionment set in, I became a victim of the people's anger. There have been incidents where I have been beaten up only because I resemble Modi," he said.

Pathak switched his loyalty to the Congress and campaigned for the party in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

"I am upset with the Congress because the party did not give me a ticket in these elections. However, I still support Rahul Gandhi and his policies," he said.

Abhinandan Pathak has been living in Lucknow for five year and works as a priest to earn a living.

He said he was contesting elections to develop his own identity. "I am fed up of living in someone else's shadow. The main issues of my campaign will be the need for 'roti, kapda aur makaan'", he said.

Pathak is a native of Saharanpur and has collected the security money for nomination through crowd funding. "I am asking for one rupee and one vote from the people and the response has been encouraging," he said.

In his affidavit filed with his nomination, Abhinandan Pathak says he has no immovable assets and only Rs 50,000 in his bank account. He has done his master's from Allahabad University.

All the ten proposers in his nomination papers are Muslims who are also his closet friends.

Pathak has contested four elections so far - twice for corporator in Saharanpur municipal elections, the 1999 polls and assembly elections from Saharanpur Nagar in 2012. He had also filed nomination in 2017 assembly elections in Varanasi, but his candidature was rejected. He has challenged the decision in court.

He is separated from his family that includes his wife and six children.
Amritsar, April 13 : On the 100th anniversary of the massacre of hundreds of innocent Indians by the British forces at the Jallianwala Bagh, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu offered tributes to the fallen, here on Saturday.

Accompanied by Punjab Governor V.P. Singh Badnore, Naidu stood in silence at the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial as contingents of the Punjab Police and the Border Security Force (BSF) reversed their arms to pay homage to those killed on April 13, 1919. Naidu also released a coin and a postal stamp to commemorate the event.

Saturday marked the centenary of the bloodbath in Jallianwala Bagh when British forces led by Brigadier General Reginald Dyer opened fire on unarmed, innocent Indians, including women and children, who had gathered there to hold a peaceful protest against the oppressive Rowlatt Act of the British government.

Earlier in the day, Congress President Rahul Gandhi and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh paid their homage to the martyrs at the National Memorial.

Punjab cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu also accompanied them, as the leaders were joined by a large number of people to commemorate the tragic incident that took place on the day of 'Baisakhi' 100 years ago.

With the model code of conduct in place in view of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, the functions remained low key affairs with the leaders refraining from making political speeches.

British High Commissioner Dominic Asquith on Saturday expressed deep regret and sorrow over the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, but remained non-committal on any apology coming from the British government on the brutal killings.

"We deeply regret what happened," Asquith wrote in the remarks section of the visitor's book at the memorial, where he paid floral ributes.

On the chances of an apology coming from his government, Asquith evaded a direct response and said: "I know this is a really important question. I would just ask you to respect what I came here to do, which was to commemorate those who died here a 100 years ago -- to express the sorrow of the British government and the British people."

Eeven after 100 years of the incident, the British government has only regretted the massacre but stopped short of apologising for the killing of so many innocent people.

Rejecting the regret expressed recently by British Prime Minister Theresa May as "inadequate", Amarinder Singh on Friday demanded "an unequivocal official apology from Britain".

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre is one of the darkest chapters in the history of India's freedom struggle. The British government had put the official death toll at 379.
Thiruvananthapuram, April 13 : A war of words has broken out between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress in Kerala over the Sabarimala temple, following the 28 September 2018 Supreme Court verdict.

Ever since the apex court said the Sabarimala temple should be open to women of all age groups, the three rival political fronts are caught in verbal duels.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech at the Vijay Sanklap rally on Friday in Kozhikode seems to have boosted the BJP's Kerala unit. The Keral BJP unit chief P.S. Sreedharan Pillai said their stand on the Sabarimala had been upheld by the party. The party's stance also reflected in the manifesto, released in Delhi, he added.

At the rally, Modi said if need be, the BJP would move the court and could bring a law to protect the tradition and culture of the Sabarimala temple. Modi also slammed the CPI-M-led government in Kerala for "unleashing police attack on people who stood up to protect the tradition and culture of the temple".

"We have stated that we would not seek votes in the name of religion and it has not been done," Pillai said here on Saturday.

Chief Electoral Officer Tikka Ram Meena had warned the political parties not to use Sabarimala issue to seek vote.

"What we plan to do with the Sabarimala issue is mentioned in our national manifesto. Had it been against the model code of conduct, the Election Commission would have indicated it. However, nothing has been said," Pillai said.

"How can the election officials here can override it. We will use the issue in our campaign," he said.

Slamming the BJP, former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said no other party than the Congress was serious on protecting the Sabarimala temple tradition and culture.

"As Chief Minister, we had submitted to the apex court the only way out of this, is to come out with a law. The BJP, instead of trying to act, was using it to create trouble, and that's not acceptable," said Chandy.

State Congress president Mullapally Ramachandran said Modi's Friday statement on Sabarimala was nothing but a bluff. "If they were serious in protecting the traditions and culture of the temple, they had lots of time but they never did anything, but used it to create friction," said Ramachandran.

The Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government has made it clear it would implement the top court's directive.

The BJP is using the issue to its advantage. A few opinion polls have predicted its victory in at least one seat. The surveys indicate in Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad and Pathananamthitta, the BJP would give its traditional rivals a tough fight.
Srinagar, April 13 : Two Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) militants, who had killed a woman special police officer (SPO) last month, were shot dead in a gunfight with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district on Saturday, police said.

A police statement said top JeM commander Shah Jahan Mir, who was also involved in the killing of four state police personnel last year, was one of the two militants killed after a brief gunfight in the orchards of Gahand village in Shopian.

The other slain militant has been identified as Abid Wagay.

"Both slain militants were locals. They had killed SPO Khushboo Jan in Vehil village of Shopian district on March 16 this year.

"As per our records, Shah Jahan was also involved in snatching of weapons and killing of four police personnel at Arhama Shopian near the petrol pump last year," the police said.

The gunfight broke out when the hiding militants fired on the security forces as they were conducting a cordon and search operation in the area.
Kolkata, April 13 : Slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party for taking out armed rallies on the occasion of Ram Navmi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said the BJP was using religion to seek vote and incite violence.

"They have introduced a new fake religion, which is not related to Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and others. This new religion is not in line with culture of India and Bengal. They are fascists. We don't do politics of religion and don't need this either," Banerjee said addressing a rally in Siliguri.

Based on this newly introduced religion, they try to "create violence", she added.

"I do not visit any temple, church or mosque wearing the party badge to obey the model code of conduct. We are for all. Some political leaders are seeking votes carrying mace and sword. Whom are you planning to attack? It will not work in Bengal," she said.

West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh on Saturday, donning a saffron headgear, participated in a Ram Navmi celebration in Kharagpur, West Medinipur district, and flaunted traditional weapons.

He had warned the state administration not to obstruct the Ram Navmi rallies and said the ruling Trinamool Congress would face the consequence in elections, if any such attempts were made.

Banerjee said religion is "not about violence, fight and killing people, but about humanity. Some political parties are recklessly trying to tarnish our society in the name of religion. They are misleading people."

Taking on BJP national leaders, including its President Amit Shah, she said: "The BJP leaders have been telling lies like Mamata is not allowing them to organise Durga puja. Don't you celebrate Durga puja here? They are saying Laxmi and Saraswati pujas are not allowed here. Can they chant Laxmi and Saraswati mantras?"

She also accused the Narendra Modi government of interfering with the choice of food of common people and imposing their wish on them. "Air India used to serve varieties of food, including non-veg, but now non-veg food are not served in the economy class. They tried to impose what they eat. Why is this?"

Banerjee also said she was proud of the country's armed forces but will never seek votes in the name of the army like Modi.

She said the BJP would not get even 10 seats in the first phase of elections and "would fail to retain seats" even in Gujarat and UP. "They will be lucky, if they cross 100 mark."

Attacking the Congress and the Left Front, Banerjee urged people "not to vote the Left parties as they would not even secure a single Lok Sabha seat in West Bengal" while the Congress "should stop their got-up match".

"If you vote for the Left parties, it will strengthen the BJP. Also, you should not waste your votes by supporting Congress candidate," she said and added the Congress and the Left parties were in a tieup with the BJP.
Mumbai, April 13 : Actress Soni Razdan faced criticism on Saturday from netizens after she tweeted about Junaid Khan who was stabbed to death on a train near Ballabhgarh in Haryana in June 2017. Social media users alleged that she was "creating fake news".

She posted an image of deceased with a caption: "I am Junaid Khan, Muslim boy, age 15. I was killed by a mob on a train for being a Muslim. Remember me when you vote."

Netizens reacted sharply to her post, with several of them posting messages about Hindus killed in violence in various parts of the country.

One social media user responded to Soni's post saying she was "creating a fake news" and pointed out that "the Punjab and Haryana High court while granting bail to one of the accused in the case said the fight was over seat and nothing related to selectively targeting Junaid on basis of his religion".

Another person posted: "She is trying to create communal tension in the country".

"No, Junaid was killed in a quarrel over seat (in train), not for his religion. Courts found so, too. People had voted against these pathetic lies, propaganda and selective targeting of Hindus in 2014, and you are ensuring a repeat in 2019," posted another social media user.

On June 22, 16-year-old Junaid was allegedly beaten and stabbed to death on a train at Ballabhgarh in Haryana by a group of people.
New Delhi, April 13 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday said the Election Commission (EC) has lost its credibility as "it functions on the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his office".

Raising questions on the poll panel's independence and impartiality, Naidu told reporter outside the EC headquarters here that the level playing field -- an essential attribute of democracy -- "now stands disturbed".

The Chief Minister was speaking after his meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief said officials in Andhra Pradesh are being transferred in an arbitrary manner and the Chief Secretary (Anil Chandra Punetha) has been replaced by a person (L.V. Subrahmanyam), who was accused along with YSR Congress Party chief Jagan Mohan Reddy in a case. He described the ousted Chief Secretary as an honest officer.

Dubbing the acts of the poll panel as "unfair", Naidu said the Election Commission has lost credibility among the people of the country and its image has been dented in their eyes.

He also alleged that the poll panel observer in the state has links with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Recalling that all opposition parties had demanded for 50 per cent matching of EVMs with VVPATs, Naidu said that increasing that number from one to five by the Supreme Court is "insufficient".

Accusing the Commission of "misleading" the top court by saying that matching of EVM votes with VVPATs at 50 per cent polling booths would delay the counting of votes by six days, Naidu said the counting of votes when ballot papers were prevalent used to take not more than 24 hours.

The Chief Minister stated that the government of India is interfering in the affairs of the poll panel, thereby destroying democracy, electoral process and the level playing field.
Scientists from the University of East Anglia have discovered a unique oil eating bacteria in the deepest part of the Earths oceans  the Mariana Trench.

Together with researchers from the China and Russia, they undertook the most comprehensive analysis of microbial populations in the trench.

The Mariana Trench is located in the Western Pacific Ocean and reaches a depth of approximately 11,000 metres. By comparison, Mount Everest is 8,848 metres high.

We know more about Mars than the deepest part of the ocean, said Prof Xiao-Hua Zhang of the Ocean University in China, who led the study.

To date, only a few expeditions have investigated the organisms inhabiting this ecosystem.

One of these expeditions was organized and led by noted marine explorer and Academy Award-winning film director James Cameron, who built a specialised submersible to collect samples in the trench.

Dr Jonathan Todd, from UEAs School of Biological Sciences, said: Our research team went down to collect samples of the microbial population at the deepest part of the Mariana Trench  some 11,000 metres down. We studied the samples that were brought back and identified a new group of hydrocarbon degrading bacteria.

Hydrocarbons are organic compounds that are made of only hydrogen and carbon atoms, and they are found in many places, including crude oil and natural gas.

So these types of microorganisms essentially eat compounds similar to those in oil and then use it for fuel. Similar microorganisms play a role in degrading oil spills in natural disasters such as BPs 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

We also found that this bacteria is really abundant at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

In fact, the team found that the proportion of hydrocarbon degrading bacteria in the Trench is the highest on Earth.

The scientists isolated some of these microbes and demonstrated that they consume hydrocarbons in the laboratory under environmental conditions that simulate those in the Mariana Trench.

In order to understand the source of the hydrocarbons feeding this bacteria, the team analysed samples of sea water taken at the surface, and all the way down a column of water to the sediment at the bottom of the trench.

Dr Nikolai Pedentchouk, from UEAs School of Environmental Sciences, said: We found that hydrocarbons exist as deep as 6,000 meters below the surface of the ocean and probably even deeper. A significant proportion of them probably derived from ocean surface pollution.

To our surprise, we also identified biologically produced hydrocarbons in the ocean sediment at the bottom of the trench. This suggests that a unique microbial population is producing hydrocarbons in this environment.

These hydrocarbons, similar to the compounds that constitute diesel fuel, have been found in algae at the ocean surface but never in microbes at these depths.

Dr David Lea-Smith, from UEAs School of Biological Sciences, said: These hydrocarbons may help microbes survive the crushing pressure at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, which is equal to 1,091 kilograms pressed against a fingernail.

They may also be acting as a food source for other microbes, which may also consume any pollutant hydrocarbons that happen to sink to the ocean floor. But more research is needed to fully understand this unique environment.

Identifying the microbes that produce these hydrocarbons is one of our top priorities, as is understanding the quantity of hydrocarbons released by human activity into this isolated environment, added Prof Xiao-Hua Zhang.

Reference:

Jiwen Liu, Yanfen Zheng, Heyu Lin, Xuchen Wang, Meng Li, Yang Liu, Meng Yu, Meixun Zhao, Nikolai Pedentchouk, David J. Lea-Smith, Jonathan D. Todd, Clayton R. Magill, Wei-Jia Zhang, Shun Zhou, Delei Song, Haohui Zhong, Yu Xin, Min Yu, Jiwei Tian, Xiao-Hua Zhang. Proliferation of hydrocarbon-degrading microbes at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Microbiome, 2019; 7 (1) DOI: 10.1186/s40168-019-0652-3

Note: The above post is reprinted from materials provided by University of East Anglia.
Wellington, April 13 : A teenager in Northern Ireland has been charged with making a social media death threat to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern after the Christchurch terror attack in which 50 people were killed.

Matthew Burns is alleged to have posted an image of gun fitted with a silencer to Ardern, along with the caption "you're next" on March 20, five days after the carnage at two mosques, the New Zealand Herald reported on Saturday.

Burns, a resident of Newtownhamilton, 75 km south of Belfast, was also charged with "sending a message of menacing character" to London Mayor Sadiq Khan in December. Newry Magistrates Court heard a threat to Khan was made from the same account.

The teenager was arrested and charged on Thursday after the Police Service of Northern Ireland's Cyber Crime Unit traced the online threats (to Ardern) to his IP address, the report said.

The investigating officer said further posts of racist, xenophobic, sectarian and homophobic nature were also found to have been sent from the same IP address.

Burns confessed to posting the threats, according to the officer. He told detectives his political view was far right and that he was against minority groups, including immigrants and members of the LGBT community.

The defendant was later released on 500 pound bail with a 1,000 pound cash surety on the condition that he will not have an Internet connection and will adhere to a 7 p.m.-7 a.m. curfew.

The case was adjourned to May 8.
Mumbai, April 13 : National award-winning actress Shweta Basu Prasad, portraying a journalist in the film "The Tashkent Files", says searching for truth can, at time, cost life as the powerful tend to suppress voices.

"The Tashkent Files", released on Friday, revolves around the mysterious death of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1966, soon after signing the Tashkent Agreement between India and Pakistan to end the 1965 war.

"Ragini (Shweta's character) starts the investigation into the Shastri's mysterious death because she was looking for a scoop and wanted to prove herself to the organisation. But deeper she delved into it, she felt determined to know the truth behind the death. But eventually she realised truth-seeking is highly costly in India," Shweta told IANS.

According to her, the practice of "honest journalism has been suppressed by the powerful. If some gets fearless, he/she disappears and could eventually get killed".

The 28-year-old actress admitted that she did not know much about Shastri's life before getting on board for the film. "In school we really do not get to read much about him and that's why we do not know much. It's good that our generation is raising questions. Unless we question the narrative will not change."

"Why even after 53 years, no one knows how Shastriji died?" the actress wondered.

Directed by Vivek Agnihotri, the film also features Naseeruddin Shah, Mithun Chakraborty, Pallavi Joshi and Pankaj Tripathi.

On working with the veteran actors, Shweta said, "I worked with Naseer uncle in 'Iqbal'. Later I did a short film with him. I did a film titled 'Ek Nadir Galpo: Tale of a River' with Mithunda. Working with them again was great."

"These people are icons. One can learn so much just by observing them on set. I am really lucky", said the actress who started her Bollywood journey with Shabana Azmi- starrer "Makdee".
Panaji, April 13 : If BJP President Amit Shah ever becomes the Union Home Minister, lynchings will be commonplace in India, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday.

Slamming Shah's comments at Thursday's campaign meeting in Darjeeling, where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President reportedly said that if the party is voted to power, all infiltrators in the country, barring Sikhs, Buddhists and Hindus, would be weeded out of India, Kejriwal asked how Shah would propose to dispose off Goa's Christian and Muslim minorities, which account for more than one third of the state's population of 1.5 million.

"Last time around, Amit Shah did not contest the Lok Sabha elections. He is now... and if Shah becomes the Union Home Minister, then there will be be mob lynchings throughout India," Kejriwal said while addressing a poll rally in South Goa constituency's Lohia maidan.

"If there are just three mob lynchings in Goa, tourists will stop coming to this state and Goa's economy, business and jobs will be affected," the Delhi Chief Minister said.

Criticising Shah's comments at the West Bengal rally on Thursday, Kejriwal said that in Shah's political lexicon, members of minority communities like Christians, Muslims, Parsis and Jains were "infiltrators".

"He (Shah) is saying it openly in poll rallies that barring three religions, all others will be removed from the country. This is a very dangerous statement," he said.

"Let us take the example of Goa. Goa has a population of 15 lakh of which 28 per cent are Catholics and 11 per cent Muslims. How will Amit Shah do it in Goa? Will he throw six lakh people in the sea, kill them, snatch their jobs and start riots," Kejriwal asked.
New Delhi, April 13 : Thousands of factory owners, scrap dealers and employees of these establishments in Mayapuri Industrial area in west Delhi turned violent on Saturday during the sealing drive by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).

As the sealing drive begun at 12.10 p.m., they started pelting stones at the sealing team, escorted by the security personnel. As the clashes continued, the police resorted to baton-charge to quell the protest.

The sealing team was accompanied by the Delhi Police, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel.

As they continued to protest and pelt stones, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Monika Bhardwaj, "we initiated baton charge to bring the situation under control. Fourteen security personnel were injured in the stone pelting."

"As we had apprehensions that the situation would turn violent, we set up team of 300 police personnel, para-military battalion to execute the orders of the NGT in Mayapuri," said Ritesh Juneja, SDM of Delhi Cantt.

Juneja, the duty magistrate and head of the sealing team, was also injured in the incident.

The sealing drive was being carried out on the directions of National Green Tribunal (NGT).

Mayapuri is a known automobiles scrap market in the national capital with an annual turnover of over Rs 8,000 crore. There are around 850 factories in the area that generate chemical, oil and toxic gas.

A petition was filed in 2014 in the green court to stop polluting units that is affecting people of the area.
Bengaluru, April 13 : In a strident attack on the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday termed its poll manifesto "anti-India" and playing with the future of the country.

"The Congress, if elected, has promised to change the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in Kashmir, which will weaken our fight against terrorism," said Modi at a massive BJP rally here ahead of the Lok Sabha elections's first phase in Karnataka on April 18.

Terming the Congress itself "anti-national", he alleged that the party that ruled the country for over 50 years was talking in favour of Pakistan by assuring in its manifesto of withdrawing troops from Jammu and Kashmir.

"The Congress wants to send our troops to the gallows by diluting the AFSPA and make the country's border porous by withdrawing the army from J&K.

"The Congress wants to keep the fire Pandit Nehru stoked in Kashmir for which the country is still paying heavy price. It has kept quiet when its ally National Conference said there should be a separate Prime Minister for Kashmir. How can India have two Prime Ministers?" he asked.

Exhorting the electorate, especially the first-time voters and millennials to reject the Congress, Modi urged them to vote for the BJP's lotus symbol to have once again a "mazboot" government than a "majboor" government of "unworthy parties".

Claiming credit for granting One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme to ex-servicemen, who waited four decades for it, Modi said his BJP-led NDA government cared as much for the armed forces as for farmers, rural and urban people, women and youth across the country.

"When we came to power with majority by your blessings, we ordered 2.8 lakh bullet-proof jackets to protect jawans at the borders from enemy fire, fulfilling a long-pending demand on which the Congress-led UPA government did not act though it was in power for 10 years," he alleged.

Listing achievements of his government during the last five years, Modi said the country progressed faster than it had over the decades due to its "clear vision, commitment, hard work and correct policies".

"I am not boasting but the results are there for all to see. Take any area or sector and compare its growth or development at a pace that was unheard of in the past. Be it infrastructure, power, roads, highways, railways, airways, ports, broadband, telecom, internet penetration and ease of doing business," he said.

Seeking votes for another term, Modi said he was committed to work towards ease of living from ease of doing business so as to improve the quality of life and raise the profile of the people and build a new India.

Earlier, addressing a massive party rally at Mangaluru on the west coast, about 330 km from here, Modi said the BJP manifesto had promised to ensure storage and infrastructure for fishermen under the Matsya Sampada Yojana.

"There will be a dedicated minister for fisheries when we form the government again after the general elections. Financial aid will be given for upgrading deep sea trawlers and fishermen will be equipped with Naval Messaging Receiver device to get alerts," he added.
Los Angeles, April 14 : The world's largest airplane, developed by aerospace venture Stratolaunch, flew into the air for its first flight test on Saturday.

The gigantic, six-engined twin-fuselage megajet took off from Mojave Air and Space Port in California for the flight expected to last for a couple of hours, Xinhua reported, citing media reports.

Stratolaunch was founded by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2011 to develop the large carrier airplane as a flying launch pad for orbital-class rockets.

The aircraft has a world-record wingspan of 385 feet, and is 238 feet long. It is wider than any airplane on the planet. It weighs half a million pounds, according to a CNN report.

"A historic milestone for the #Stratolaunch team with this record setting aircraft taking flight! This is about going to the edge of space and beyond!" tweeted Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Administrator for NASA Science Mission Directorate.

"I only wish the late @PaulGAllen could see this - his memory and impact lives on," he added.

Dozens of photographers, industry bloggers and aerospace enthusiasts gathered this week to catch a glimpse of the unique twin-fuselage plane.
New Delhi, April 14 : The Congress on Saturday accused Modi government of writing off Rs 5.5 lakh crore in loans of its "blue-eyed boys" and asked it to reveal the names of those corporate companies in respect of whom the loans were written off.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi accused the government of crony capitalism.

"This is nothing but one-sided favouritism of your blue-eyed boys, the blue-eyed corporate," he said.

Referring to a news report, he said the total write off was Rs 7 lakh crore in the last 10 years and Rs 5.5 lakh crore in the last five years.

"So, on an average each year this government has merrily been writing off Rs 1 lakh crores of loans and what are they going to do about recapitalisation, about taking your tax payers money and trying to re-capitalise the banks," Singhvi said.

"The right hand will write off loans, left hand will recapitalise. It is a joke, it is a fraud, it is the worst kind of hypocrisy and I think the time is not far when this government and its double-faced, double-voiced approach will be punished severely," he added.

Singhvi said there is no chance of the names being revealed because that will reveal the "true extent of the Modi government's crony capitalism".
Lifes most persistent and urgent question is, What are you doing for others?' Martin Luther King

This live-to-screen concert, which teams with leading female Hollywood film composers, will journey through the lives of international feminists and human rights champions fighting for social justice, gender equality and the equal rights of all people. Trailer here: https://vimeo.com/321550264/491817e1d2

Women Warriors: The Voices of Change, to premiere at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, NYC on September 20, 2019 is much more than a groundbreaking, feminist event - it is a call to action.

Amy and her team and are hosting Cottage Meetings from coast to coast to raise awareness and funds for this paradigm-changing event. The first cottage meeting is proudly hosted by Larendee Roos in conjunction with:

Lululemon SOHO

520 Broadway, New York, NY

Thursday, April 18th @ 7-9 pm

Register Here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/women-warriors-the-voices-of-change-new-york-city-cottage-event-tickets-59737195560

The struggle for womens equality is a challenge that is still fought every single day. While some people are busy keeping up with Spring trends or choosing the coffee of the month, others, in Iran and Saudi Arabia, are still being beaten and tortured on a daily basis.

A recent article by Nickolas Kristoff, NY Times, described the stories of two women:

Nasrin Sotoudeh, 55 year old writer/human rights lawyer in Iran, just sentenced to another 33 years in prison (on top of a five-year sentence she is now serving in solitary confinement), plus 148 lashes, for her work defending the rights of women and children in Iran.

Loujain al-Hathloul, 29 year old leader of the Saudi womens rights movement/political prisoner, best known for her defiance of the female driving ban. She appeared on trial in March 2019 after months of imprisonment, torture, floggings, sexual harassment, waterboarding and electric shocks. She is now nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/13/opinion/hathloul-sotoudeh-iran-saudi-arabia.html

And lets not forget about one of the most pressing issues facing the world, as we know it - Global Warming and its direct impact on climate change. Everyone from individual consumers to established world leaders, have been reluctant to acknowledge this looming catastrophe. Even major players in the fashion industry are well aware of the need for change in the world. In a recent interview in CNN Style, fashion icon, Anna Wintour, stated that:

"Everybody is concerned about the climate crisis and what should be done to help. And obviously we're very aware, as other industries are, that we have been at fault and what can we do in the relatively short amount of time we have to course correct."

**CNN Style. Read more here: https://www.cnn.com/style/article/anna-wintour-interview/index.html

Women Warriors: The Voices of Change is a call to call to action that gives hope and inspiration to women and children around the world!

If you are unable to attend this first event, contact me at holly@larendeeroos.com to be added to our mailing list for future Meet and Greets with the composer, Amy Andersson, hosted by Larendee!

Tickets on sale at Lincoln Center June 22, 2019:, http://www.lincolncenter.org/.

________________________

Amy Andersson: https://amyanderssonconductor.com/

Orchestra Moderne: https://orchestramoderne-nyc.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/amymaestra

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009410843531

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amymaestra/

#climatechange #blacklivesmatter #earthday2019 #metoo #feminist #activism #lincolncenternyc #orchestramoderneNYC #WhiteWednesdays #MyStealthyFreedom #PlannedParenthood

#Suffragettes #ArabSpring #Parkland #EnoughisEnough #SchoolStrikeforClimateChange

#ClimateChange #BLM #BlackLivesMatter #FGM #LGBTQ #MarriageEquality #Feminism

#IndigenousWomen #IndigenousRights #RBG #METOO #NeverAgain #StopSexTrafficking

#WomenEmpowerment #WomeninHistory #WomeninMusic #BelieveWomen #YesAllWomen #FGM #Womanhoodn #TimesUp
The largest family driven book festival on the West Coast  The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books  will take place at the University of Southern California this weekend (April 13-14). Taiwans versatile nature, rich history, and local spe-cialty foods are the catalysts of Taiwans 368 charming small towns. Taiwan Tour-ism Bureau selected seven incredible small towns, including Beitou in Taipei, Sa-nyi in Miaoli, Lukang in Changhua, Meinong in Kaohsiung, Wutai in Pingtung, Jhihben in Taitung, Ruisui in Hualien, and Dongshan in Yilan, to promote through a fun and educational engaging booth game. It will be an amazing fami-ly-fun weekend for everyone to enjoy.

Taiwan is an island well known for its high mountains and complex geologic sceneries. Along with desirable weather and cultural influences, Taiwan produces bounty of vegetables, fruits, and a variety of seafood, all of which are enticing options for food lovers. Every small town in Taiwan is blessed with different ap-peals. For example, Dadaocheng embodies a combination of Hokkien, Western, and Baroque style vintage street houses perfect for architecture enthusiasts to im-merse themselves in. Internationally recognized Slow City  Sanyi in Miaoli  is a must-visit area for nature and woodcraft lovers. Not only is the DIY wooden duck a great painting activity for adults and kids alike, but also a memorable souvenir to take home. For hot spring lovers, make sure to visit Jhihben Hot Springs and explore the indigenous villages and Luye Highland Tea Farm, shared Brad Shih, Director of Taiwan Tourism Bureaus Los Angeles Office.

Taiwan Tourism Bureaus Charming Small Town booth will have everyones fa-vorite Oh!Bear Mascot there to play the newest version of the buzzer game with event goers. Challenge winners will receive chopsticks with beautiful Hakka pat-tern, limited edition Taiwan Lantern Festival piggy lanterns, and have a taste of Viva Poprices Taiwanese style popcorn. Travel specialists will share infor-mation on traveling to Taiwan, and top quality travel packages by All State Travel, America Asia Travel, SITA World Tour, Sonic Travel & Tours Super Value Tours and XO Tours will be available as well. We welcome you to join us at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books with free admission, and enjoy learning about the unique appeal of Taiwans small towns!

Follow Taiwan Tourism Bureaus official fan page at http://www.facebook.com/TourTaiwan for the most updated travel information!
SeedFunders is launching the Catalyst Fund, a $5 million fund for early stage companies, with an exclusive kickoff event. Wednesday, April 17th, from 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM at ONE St. Petersburg, SeedFunders invites accredited investors only to learn about the hands-on approach that makes the Catalyst Fund special from its leading group of visionaries.

The Catalyst Fund will facilitate 30-50 investments of $100-500K each in early stage technology companies. The Catalyst Fund was designed to minimize risk associated with early stage investing, using a thorough five-step vetting process before backing a company. SeedFunders shares the risk, investing alongside the Catalyst Fund with 40/60 funding model.

Further, to increase the likelihood of success, SeedFunders partners take an active role in growing each company as hands-on board members bringing their expertise and network to the mix. Our Partners have years of experience growing and running successful companies, said Irv Cohen, partner at SeedFunders. We amplify the startups unique strengths while actively plugging any holes with senior level talent. Cohen, along with Founder Dave Chitester built the successful Florida Funders together before turning their attention to earlier stage companies with SeedFunders.

The Catalyst Fund will aggressively seek out the best prospects. A key differentiator in funds is getting to those great companies first, said Joe Hamilton, Catalyst Fund Director. Theres a lot of competition for top prospects and more investment dollars than excellent opportunities. Leveraging the capabilities of our communications network and marketing acumen, well work tirelessly to find and engage great startups early.

There are many advantages when it comes to investing in early-stage companies as part of a diversified portfolio, Chitester noted. A recent SharesPost whitepaper concluded that allocating 5 percent to private growth companies could increase the returns of a traditional portfolio by 12 percent.

Links:

Press: Seedfunders new Catalyst Fund aims to strengthen local tech ecosystem

Catalyst Fund Kick-off Event Registration (accredited investors only)

If you would like more information about this event, please contact Joe Hamilton at (727) 490-8490 or email joe@stpete.co.
Sharon Kleyne, Founder of Bio Logic Aqua Research

At this very moment, says Sharon Kleyne, a joint US-German mission is underway to weigh earths water. Two ships, the Grace satellites, have launched into orbit to replace a pair of defunct spacecraft that stopped working last year. The Grace satellites, Kleyne explains, will sense minuscule variations in the pull of gravity as they orbit earth. These variations are the result of movements in mass, says Kleyne.

Kleyne, founder and research director of Bio-Logic Aqua Research/Water Life Science, says that these variations could signal the swelling of the land after extensive rains. Or they could mean that ice is draining from earths poles as it melts in a fast-warming climate. The Grace satellites were successfully launched on May 22nd aboard a SpaceX rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force base in California.

Grace, Kleyne explains, is an acronym for Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment. The original program ran from 2002 to 2017 and has been called a transformative information-gathering program. Maintaining this program, Kleyne says, is a top priority for NASA. This new mission once again relies to a great extent on European expertise, especially from the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). The satellites were assembled by Europes largest space company, Airbus, at its factory in Friedrichshafen.

Kleyne, host of the nationally syndicated radio program, The Sharon Kleyne Hour Power of Water, Natures Pharma/Water Life Science & Your Health sponsored by Natures Tears EyeMist on VoiceAmerica and World Talk Radio, explains how the Grace satellites actually perform. The first satellite lurches and drags through earths uneven gravity field while the second follows 220km behind. As it does so, the second satellite measures changes in their separation to the nearest micron (a thousandth of a millimeter). Professor Frank Flechtner, the Grace-FO project manager at GFC, says that is about a tenth of the width of a human hair over the distance between Los Angeles and San Diego.

Kleyne adds that the Grace satellites are especially brilliant at sensing huge changes in earths hydrological cycle. As ice mass at the poles continues to melt at an alarming pace, GRACE can and does monitor the global rise of sea levels, which of course threatens many communities and businesses. For instance, Antarctica is losing 120 billion tons of ice a year; Greenland is losing 280 billion tons of ice a year. This massive ice loss will have severe global consequences, says Kleyne.

Kleyne shares that the current GRACE mission should be able to gather data for five years at a cost of 520 million dollars. It is hoped that the next stage of this project will involve more EU states as U.S. participation becomes increasingly uncertain. Still, Kleyne believes that the research data collected by GRACE reinforces the need to adopt Natures Pharma/Water Life Science, the new lifestyle that teaches a more profound awareness of the water issues that face humanity and encourages a more individual, proactive involvement in health care.
Jared Diamond is well known for linking the success or failure of societies to their ecological foundations and practices in such bestselling books as Guns, Germs, and Steel (1997) and Collapse (2004). So its a surprise to see that Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis, coming from Little, Brown in May, deals primarily with political crises, from the humiliation by the West that led to the Meiji Restoration in 19th-century Japan to present-day problems facing the United States and the world. Although Diamonds list of todays crises includes environmental dangers, he argues that they are exacerbated by political issues.

The shift in focus was prompted by the causes of the problems that I was studying, Diamond explains, speaking from his office in Los Angeles. (He is a professor of geography at UCLA.) It seems to me clear that in the long-term pattern of history over tens of thousands of years, environmental factors play a major role and political factors are local. But in the changes Ive observed over the past 50 years, the major factors have been political rather than environmental.

Its also a surprise, given that Upheaval is about crises, that the contemporary chapters make no reference to Donald Trumps turbulent presidency or to Great Britains messy exit-in-progress from the European Union. Two reasons, says Diamond, who has the well-organized speaking habits of an academic accustomed to classroom lectures. One: Its so fast moving, anything I could have written in the first version of the manuscript I turned in in August 2017 about Trump would have been superseded in three weeks. This is not a magazine article that will be read for a few weeks and go out of date. Two: I want my book to be read by people on all sides, so Im not going to criticize politicians, particularly on one side of the spectrum, because Id like his supporters to read my book. My books do get read across the spectrum. Bill Clinton and Tony Blair said they were influenced by my books, but, somewhat to my surprise, so did Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida.

Another reason for surprise is the framework Diamond has chosen for Upheaval. He takes the checklist of factors therapists have identified as crucial for individuals seeking to successfully resolve a personal crisisknown as outcome predictorsand adapts it to evaluate nations in crisis. Hes well aware that this may get him in trouble with critics.

There are going to be reviewers, Diamond says, who pick up the book, read the first couple of pages, then say, For heavens sake, nations are different from individuals, I dont have to read any further, and then theyll write a review saying, Jared Diamond says that nations are the same as individuals, and thats wrong. Well, of course there are differences. Its not that I set out with any preconceptions; I simply found this framework useful. In the first years of our marriage, my wife, Marie, a clinical psychologist, was doing a year of special training in crisis therapy. Every week, Marie and her fellow therapists would get together to discuss what was happening with a client, especially to anticipate the risk of suicide. As Marie talked about the outcome predictors, it dawned on me that some of these fairly directly applied to national crises, such as getting help from other countries, as opposed to getting help from individuals. In other cases, they certainly dont apply; for example, countries dont have ego strength. But they were useful metaphors suggesting factors that applied to national crises.

The essential first two steps for an individual in crisis, according to the checklist, are acknowledging that one is in crisis and accepting personal responsibility for it. I suggest to Diamond that accepting responsibility for a crisis is a much more difficult task for nations, especially those as polarized as the U.S., where both sides tend to ascribe all the responsibility to political opponents. Indeed, Upheaval identifies Americas biggest and most ominous problem as our accelerating deterioration of political compromise.

There are several reasons why dealing with national crises is more difficult than dealing with personal crises, Diamond replies. Things in a country move more slowly, and accepting responsibility is one of them. An individual can wake up one morning and say, My God, that was my mess! Countries are less likely to wake up overnight.

Nonetheless, after examining the daunting problems confronting the world todaynuclear weapons, climate change, natural resource depletion, global inequalityDiamond says that he is, if not exactly optimistic, at least less pessimistic. When I first wrote the last chapter, I have to say that my conclusion was pessimistic. It appeared to me that the world doesnt have a track record in dealing with world problems, or the institutions to deal with them; the UN is not as powerful as we would hope. At that last stage, I owe a debt of gratitude to Scott Barrett [professor of natural resources economics at Columbia], who went over with me several cases of bilateral, regional, and world agreements dealing with major problems. Once he had sensitized me, I began finding other such examples.

Diamond cites the exclusive economic zones of the ocean created by the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which gave nations an economic incentive to mine the ocean floor according to regulations established by the International Seabed Authority. Getting 216 countries to agree about their economic zones was really difficult, and it was a success, so that gave me optimism.

Upheaval closes with a reminder that crises have often challenged nations in the past, and with Diamonds hope that familiarity with changes that did or didnt work in the past can serve us as a guide.

Diamond wrote his first book for a general audience, 1992s The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal, back when he was a professor of physiology at UCLAs medical school and a leading authority on gallbladders, out of a desire to help people understand the past so that they can grapple with the present and future. He repeats a story hes often told about realizing, after the birth of his twin sons in 1987, that their future was not going to depend on gallbladders but on whether there was going to be a world worth living in in 2050. But there was another reason he turned to writing.

In 1985 I received a MacArthur Foundation five-year fellowship, Diamond says. Initially I was, of course, delightedits no strings attached, do whateverbut then to my surprise I became deeply depressed for the first and only time in my life. I realized that the award meant: Jared, people expect big things of you, and what have you been doing? Yes, youre a famous physiologist, but youve been spending your time on gallbladders. The MacArthur Foundation thinks you can do important things that you havent been doing: start doing them! 

Next on the to-do list is a book about leadership, Diamond says. People often ask me if leaders make a difference in a nations response to change; I discuss this in the epilogue to Upheaval, but its just an initial discussion. This will take a much more detailed look at the question and be much more specific.
Netflix has been on a book acquisition spree over the past year, developing screen adaptations of dozens of novels, series, short story collections, and graphic novels. About 50 of these literary properties are being turned into series projects, while the screening service has announced plans to adapt only a handful into featuresa list that includes Button Man by John Wagner, Im Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid, Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani, and The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry.

Netflix has 139 million subscribers, and these properties will provide the streaming giant with features, series, and animated shows for the coming years. Theres just no other substitute for the amount of work and creativity that goes into a book, said Matt Thunell, v-p of original series at Netflix.

Adaptation has long played a role in Netflixs development efforts, with Piper Kermans Orange Is the New Black (2013), Jay Ashers 13 Reasons Why (2017), and Lemony Snickets A Series of Unfortunate Events (2017) all turned into ongoing series. We have development teams who are reading all night and every weekend, said Kelly Luegenbiehl, v-p of creative for international originals at Netflix.

Many of Netflixs deals begin with Maria Campbell Literary Associates. In 2017, Netflix exclusively retained that agency for its book-scouting efforts to find English- and foreign-language titles to adapt from around the world, including from the U.S. Im on the phone with them every week, talking about whats going on in New York, whats new, and about library properties as well, Thunell said. In addition, Netflix executives now attend such international literary rights events as the London Book Fair and the Frankfurt Book Fair.

Campbells agency has also helped the company forge deeper relationships with publishers. For example, Netflix is adapting Frank Miller and Tom Wheelers illustrated novel Cursed as a series and coordinating release schedules with Simon & Schuster. That is the kind of partnership that were really craving, Thunell said. To get in early with publishers and do something that is really mutually beneficial.

Netflix is starting to explore new relationships with authors as well. Last summer, the company inked an exclusive multiyear deal with American thriller novelist Harlan Coben, developing 14 of his projects into series and features for Netflixs global subscriber base. The streaming company is sharing Cobens material with global producers to get new perspectives on his work, exploring adaptations that could be made around the world. If producers overseas end up adapting one of these works, Netflix will share that foreign-language version with all of its subscribers rather than making a separate adaptation for English-speaking markets. Its fun to see how local producers would take that source material and get inspired to adapt it for their local market, Luegenbiehl said.

Luegenbiehl noted Netflixs interest in acquiring other libraries of content from certain authors but wouldnt go into specifics. In November, the company announced plans for a slate of premium animated event series and specials based on a long list of Roald Dahl books. That series of adaptations was the result of a joint agreement with the Roald Dahl Story Company.

One Netflix project spawned its own literary offering during development. Henry Selick, director of Coraline, inked a deal with the company for an original stop-motion animation feature titled Wendell and Wild. Writer-director Jordan Peele and author Clay McLeod Chapman are working with Selick on the script, but Selick and Chapman are also writing a book based on the story for S&S. The Gotham Group represents Selick and S&S, and Eddie Gamarracohead of Gotham Groups book department and a literary managerwill executive produce the project. Were very deep in the Netflix space, Gamarra said. Theyve been a great home for our projects.

When Netflixs creative executives discussed adapting Polish novelist Andrzej Sapkowskis Witcher series, Luegenbiehls team dissuaded the producers from making a standalone film. Luegenbiehl recalled asking them, How can you take eight novels and just turn it into a film? Theres so much material here. Theres so much that you can do. She added, Through a number of conversations, the producers got really excited about the idea of using the source material for a longer-running series.

Netflix executives can discuss the books in-depth, said New Leaf Literary founder Joanna Volpe. Thats why we are seeing such great adaptations: because they are reading it and getting to the heart of the books. Volpe represents author Leigh Bardugo, and Netflix recently acquired the rights to adapt all the books in her Shadow and Bone trilogy and Six of Crows duology into a single series.

New Leaf film and television head Pouya Shahbazian first introduced Thunell to the series in 2012. A few years into his tenure at Netflix, he turned to Netflixs treasure trove of data to reconsider the project.

Netflix divides its global viewers into taste clusters or taste communities. A New York magazine article counted nearly 2,000 of these taste communities that compose the streaming services global audience. Netflix has kept its viewership statistics and taste community designations mostly secret but revealed a few select audience figures in a letter to investors in January. The company estimated its adaptation of Josh Malermans Bird Box novel was enjoyed by over 80 million member households during its first four weeks on the service.

There is one taste community that Ill loosely describe as the intersection of romance and the supernatural, Thunell said, citing fans of Twilight and the Vampire Diaries as examples. We didnt have an original series that catered to this audience and this taste community. That frankly gave me the confidence, after years of waiting to get into the deal, to actually do it.

In January, Netflix greenlit eight episodes of the Shadow and Bone series, bringing together the creatives behind two popular Netflix projects: Eric Heisserer, the Academy Awardnominated screenwriter who adapted Bird Box, and Shawn Levy, who executive produced Stranger Things. At Netflix, our entire philosophy is we want to make everything that we buy, Thunell said. Im buying Shadow and Bone because I intend to make it.

Buzzy series such as Shadow and Bone are attractive, but Netflix is not just looking for bestsellers. It is a factor if people love the story, Luegenbiehl said. Thats something that we want to know about, but its definitely not the single determining factor in why we would adapt something. She cited the development of The Protector, a superhero fantasy series loosely based on a Turkish novel by N. Ipek Gokdel, as an example of a successful adaptation without a global fan base. It wasnt even translated into English, but our producers really saw something in the inspiration of a Turkish superhero.

Netflix shared the show (its first Turkish original) with its global subscriber base and has since renewed the series for a second season. According to Netflixs January letter to shareholders, the show was enjoyed by over 10 million member households during the first month of global release on the service.

Netflix recently secured adaptation rights to Gabriel Garcia Marquezs One Hundred Years of Solitudea deal that included the companys promise to shoot the series in Spanish and film in Marquezs native Colombia. In the past, the prevailing wisdom would have been to have everyone speak English in order to make it a more global show, Luegenbiehl said. But the executive found through her time at Netflix that authentic foreign-language properties can resonate with universal audiencesa realization that inspired her development teams to seek literary talent in other languages and other cultures. Well continue to look to books to find new voices, especially as were expanding into the African continent, she added. Theres a lot of great literature there. Were really actively looking to tap into some stories there that perhaps didnt have the right platform to be told on a global scale before.

Both executives see literary material as an irreplaceable resource. The reason I love booksespecially a book-to-series translationis that they often provide this incredible landscape, mythology, and opportunity for worldbuilding thats really hard to come by in the everyday pitches Im hearing, Thunell said.
The Independent Book Publishers Association certainly lived up to its motto of helping each other achieve and succeed during this years IBPA University, the organizations annual conference of author-publishers and indie publishers. IBPA University was held in Chicago, April 56.

With 325 attendeesranging from 100 aspiring and new publishers attending their first conference to a few seasoned veterans who have been attending every year since back when it was known as the Publishers Marketing Association (19832008)the emphasis was on the sharing of information and ideas. There were 28 breakout sessions throughout the weekend, on subjects ranging from selling to schools and launching podcasts to copyright laws, with several panels, such as one on distribution channels that drew a standing-room-only audience.

Keynotes featured speakers relating stories of successes and failures: Brooke Warner of She Writes Press disclosed how an epic financial error she made two years after starting her company almost sank it; Lee Wind, IBPAs director of marketing and programming, told of self-publishing his LGBTQ-themed YA novel after its scheduled publication by a Big Five house fell through; and Sourcebooks publisher Dominique Raccah told of her 30-year journey from being an author-publisher to becoming the 10th-largest indie publisher in the U.S.

Several regular IBPA University attendees said that this years gathering, with its emphasis on the nuts and bolts of publishing and presenting myriad opportunities to network, was one of the best in years. This is the real dealthis is not a BS sales conference, noted Peter Goodman of Stonebridge Press, a former IBPA board member who has attended many universities since their launch in 1992.

First-timer Marianne Maili of Chez Soi Press expressed astonishment at the amazing people shed met over the weekend. Im so impressed with how people are really trying to help each other, she said. People are being real. Nobody is putting on airs.
The deal includes two seasons of Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby, which will be available on Ovations AVOD service Journy, and will also air on Ovations linear channel and on-demand service, Ovation NOW. The deal also includes two seasons of scripted drama series Maigret, starring Rowan Atkinson (pictured).In Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby, writer Giles Coren and chef Monica Galetti travel the world, working alongside staff in the world's most spectacular hotels. They explore the hidden gems that everyday people never get to see and are thrown into the hustle and bustle of everyday life of the hotel staff. As well as working with the staff, they also spend some time with them to find out what their lives are like outside of the hotel. The show travels to Singapore and Ecuador and across the world.The crime drama Maigret meanwhile stars Atkinson as world-renowned fictional French detective Jules Maigret, who was featured in 75 books written by Georges Simenon. Other leading cast members include Fiona Shaw, Lucy Cohu, Shaun Dingwall and Rufus Wright. The first episode is based on the story 'Maigret Sets a Trap', in which the detective investigates the murder of four women found dead in the Montmartre region of Paris, during the summer of 1955.Amazing Hotels is the perfect title to add to our ever-expanding Journy library, said Scott Woodward, EVP, Programming and Production, Ovation . This is a professional travelers inside look at some of the worlds most unique hotels. Were also pleased to welcome Rowan Atkinsons Detective Maigret to the network, carrying on our tradition of providing our audience with premium mystery programming like Murdoch Mysteries, Frankie Drake Mysteries and Midsomer Murders.
Egypt has pulled out of the U.S. effort to forge an Arab NATO with key Arab allies, according to four sources familiar with the decision, in a blow to the Trump administration's strategy to contain Iranian power.

Egypt conveyed its decision to the United States and other participants in the proposed Middle East Security Alliance, or MESA, ahead of a meeting held Sunday in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, one source said.
There is quite literally an army of pirates overseas that is plundering the intellectual property of American and European citizens and businesses. Last week, President Trump issued an executive memorandum about combating pirated goods that calls for a detailed study of counterfeit trafficking and how the United States can better defend its intellectual property. The White House order is one of many initiatives by the United States and European Union to secure our democracies and free markets from the onslaught of authoritarian corruption, kleptomania, and crime.

Who are the victims of this systematic thievery? A recent report by the Organisation for Cooperation and Economic Development showed that innovators in the United States bear the brunt of the costs, as almost 25 percent of all seized goods have American intellectual property rights. France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and Japan are under assault as well. Their total losses represent more than 50 percent of the total seizures of counterfeit goods. In many cases, foreign trade zones are key facilitators. The tidal wave of counterfeit and pirated goods, accounting for more than 3 percent of global trade in 2018 according to the report, comes from, you guessed it, China. In fact, China accounts for over half of total fake goods in the world and more than 75 percent if you include Hong Kong.
Americas nuclear weapons could not prevent the 9/11 terrorist attacks or restrain insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some say this shows that nuclear deterrence does not work, or at the very least is irrelevant to contemporary security challenges. This is dubious logic since of course the fact that nuclear weapons do not serve every national security purpose does not mean they are not critically important for the roles they do play, like helping to prevent nuclear attacks and discourage large-scale wars. Nevertheless, such arguments may have contributed to decades of modernization postponements and general neglect that, as both the Trump and Obama Administrations have warned, leave the United States with nuclear forces that will age into obsolescence unless they are replaced within the next generation.

With the federal budget season underway, it is a good time to remember that nuclear weapons cannot solve all of Americas problems. Just as they are not well suited to preventing terrorist attacks, nuclear weapons cannot solve major DoD or national budget challenges. This is because even drastic cuts to U.S. nuclear deterrence capabilities, which might have significant negative repercussions for American security, would likely reduce long-term defense spending by less than 1%.

In recent years, many who oppose nuclear weapons on various grounds have taken to arguing that modernization programs are unaffordable in light of overall defense spending and national debt and that America cannot afford to pay for both nuclear and conventional military modernization. They point to a 2017 report by the Congressional Budget Office, or CBO, and similar analyses suggesting that over the next 30 years it will cost the United States about a trillion dollars to maintain its nuclear deterrent and replace Cold War-era systems as they reach the end of their service lives.

Proponents of the current U.S. nuclear modernization planwhich the Obama Administration put in place and the Trump Administration has left largely unchangedpoint out that total spending on nuclear weapons is projected to rise from only about 3% of overall DoD spending today to about 6% in the late 2020s, and then remain at that level for about a decade. They argue, as does Trumps Nuclear Posture Review that this is not an unreasonable price to pay to defend against nuclear attackthe only clear existential threat to the United States. They also emphasize that the projected peak spending level is much lower than during the only two nuclear modernization cycles in U.S. history.

Highlighting the small fraction nuclear weapons occupy in overall defense budgets makes sense, but there is another way of considering the problem that is sometimes mentioned but deserves greater attention. Namely, how much might the United States spend on defense over the next 30 years, and to what extent can cuts to nuclear spending offset this total? When looking to address overall affordability, the fraction of defense spending that might be reduced by scaling back nuclear modernization plans is more relevant than the total fraction of defense spending that goes to nuclear weapons.

The simple fact is that Americans spend a whole lot of money on defense. The national defense budget for this year alone is $0.716 trillion, including $0.2367 trillion for DoD weapon system acquisition. If future defense spending remains at this level, over the next 30 years, the United States will spend about $21.5 trillion on defense, including $7.1 trillion in weapons acquisition. Coincidentally, this 30-year total is approximately equal to the current $22 trillion national debt.

Can America afford to spend $21.5 trillion on defense over the next 30 years? I do not know the answer to that question, but it is not difficult to at least consider what impact cuts to nuclear weapons spending might make. The low hanging fruit of nuclear cost reductions might be to cancel the Trump Administrations plans to lower the explosive power of a small number of submarine-carried ballistic missiles and to reverse the unilateral U.S. elimination of nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missiles (SLCMs). That SLCM elimination was one that U.S. leaders hoped Russia would follow, but Russia instead chose to retain what then became one of its many unmatched nuclear capabilities. The total cost of the ballistic missile modification is expected to be less than $100 million. Its too early for a real cost estimate for the SLCM, but a ballpark figure of $10 billion would mean that dropping both of these programs has the potential to prevent 30-year defense costs from growing to $21.49 trillion from $21.48 trillion. Clearly, these programs can have no real impact on long-term defense affordability.

More thorough cost analyses, including the CBO report, find that the only way to trim U.S. nuclear spending by more than a few percent is to eliminate one or more legs of the strategic nuclear triad of land-based ICBMs, ballistic missile submarines, and bomber aircraft. This is not a change to be made lightly, given that the triad has been a bedrock of U.S. deterrence strategy and strategic stability for more than half a century.

Setting aside for a moment those security and arms control issues, how might proposals for slashing U.S. nuclear deterrence programs impact overall defense spending? Some have advocated, in addition to forgoing new capabilities, that the United States save money by; eliminating the ICBM leg of the triad; reducing the number of ballistic missile submarines in the U.S. fleet; allowing its only nuclear-armed cruise missilea bomber-carried variantto age out of the arsenal without replacement; and cutting the overall size of the force by one third, despite Russias lack of interest in following suite.

Representative Adam Smith, the new Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, cited some of these approaches in recent arguments that the government should scale back U.S. nuclear modernization plans to make conventional modernization affordable. He has expressed openness to eliminating a leg of the triad and has directly argued for eliminating the U.S. cruise missile and building fewer replacement weapons as existing ones age out.

The CBO report includes the necessary detail to consider how these combined cuts might impact overall defense spending. Implementing all of them together might save $167 billion over 30 years. That includes $139 billion for eliminating ICBMs, building a smaller submarine fleet, and reducing the size of the arsenal, and $28 billion for the cruise missile elimination. Of the total savings, $129 billion is in development and acquisition, and $38 billion is from reduced sustainment and operation costs. This is a lot of money, but the savings are spread over an entire generation and amount to a very small part of what a generation of Americans spends on its defense. The bottom line is that this dramatic change to U.S. nuclear force structure and posture might reduce 30-year defense spending from $21.5 trillion to $21.3 trillion. The long-term acquisition portion of DoD spending might fall from $7.1 trillion down to $7.0 trillion.

It is also informative to consider these numbers on a per capita basis. This year alone, each American paid (or borrowed) almost $2,200 for defense. The nuclear cuts outlined above would save each American about 17 defense dollars per year, reducing the amount each spends on defense from $2,183 down to $2,166. These cuts would reduce the amount each American pays for nuclear deterrence from $102 per year down to $85. This level of savings is more than five times lower than the average year-to-year fluctuation in the DoD spending, which based on historical data is about $108 per capita. In that sense, the potential savings from these nuclear cuts truly are a drop in the bucket of overall defense spending. And of course, even these modest savings would only be realized if decreasing Americas nuclear deterrent capability does not result in higher costs elsewherefrom the likes of greater instability, loss of allied confidence, or armed conflict.

In relative terms, these dramatic changes to U.S. deterrence capabilities would reduce overall defense spending by less than 0.8%, and reduce acquisition costs by less than 2%. This assumes that future defense spending remains at this years record-high level, but the savings would still amount to less than 1% if future annual spending instead returns to the lowest level America saw in the past decade. There is no way that this fraction of one percent will determine whether the United States can modernize its conventional forces, let alone make the difference between affordability and unaffordability of the nations defense,

There are two reasons why even steep nuclear cuts have such a small impact on overall U.S. defense spending. First, as noted above nuclear deterrence will remain a small fraction of total defense spending throughout the impending modernization cycle. Based on the CBO report and assuming current year defense spending levels and nuclear modernization plans, nuclear spending will total 5% of overall defense spending over 30 years, and nuclear acquisition will total 4% of overall DoD acquisition. This alone means that nuclear cuts cannot possibly provide a significant lever for moving the national defense budget, but it gives a picture that is still incomplete.

The second reason why even steep nuclear cuts have only a marginal impact on overall defense spending is that the bulk of projected nuclear spending is the fixed cost of maintaining deterrence, rather than the cost of modernizing or replacing aging weapons. More than two-thirds of the total goes to maintaining deployed weapons, infrastructure, early warning systems, and the command and control systems necessary for a deterrence force to remain viable.

Specifically, CBO found that developing and buying replacement weapons accounts for $0.399 trillion out of its estimated $1.242 trillion 30-year total. CBOs numbers are somewhat inflated because they include the entire cost of the Air Forces next-generation stealth bomber, even though adding nuclear capability only accounts for a few percent of the bomber cost. Furthermore, as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Robert Soofer explained, the planned size of the bomber force is determined entirely by its conventional mission, so eliminating the nuclear role would not mean buying fewer aircraft. Including a notional 5% of the bomber cost (though an even lower fraction of 3% might be more realistic) would change CBOs numbers to $0.989 trillion, and modernization costs to $0.307 trillion. This agrees with the $230-290 billion range that Soofer provided for projected DoD nuclear modernization spending over the years 2018-2040, after accounting for differences between what the two projections include. Namely, the DoD estimate includes the cost of modernizing nuclear command, control, and communications systems but excludes the Department of Energys warhead life extension programs, and the replacement submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) falls mostly outside the DoDs 23-year window (for these latter two elements, CBO included $63 billion and $45 billion, respectively).

In other words, it costs money for America to remain one of the worlds nuclear weapon states. And since many of these baseline capabilities, like the weapons themselves, have aged to the point that they must either be replaced or lost, even dramatically scaling back nuclear force structure only really touches a fraction of that one-third of nuclear spending that is allotted to upgrades and replacements. Most of the options CBO analyzed for changing the modernization plan could only reduce nuclear spending by a few percent. Even the most dramatic cuts only reduced long-term nuclear spending by about 10%, and these required eliminating a leg of the triad.

Unfortunately, though the CBO report is clear that the bulk of its trillion-dollar estimate is the cost of simply maintaining a U.S. nuclear deterrent, this critical detail is very often misunderstood or ignored. The trillion dollar figure is repeatedly mischaracterized as the cost of building new or replacement systems. See, for example, here, and here, and here. Even a former Secretary of Defense and a former Commander of U.S. Strategic Command made this mistake. These mischaracterizations create misconceptions about the extent to which adjusting modernization plans can save money.

There is a vigorous and worthwhile debate underway about whether changes to U.S. nuclear posture would weaken or strengthen U.S. security. CBO concluded that the cuts outlined above would increase Americas vulnerability to a disarming first strike by reducing the number of locations an adversary would have to target by more than two thirds, and by reducing the number of U.S. weapons available for a counterattack. CBO also found that these changes would substantially reduce U.S. capabilities for responding rapidly to an attack and capabilities for responding in kind to more limited nuclear attacks.

The CBO report understates some deleterious effects of proposed cuts to Americas nuclear deterrent and omits other likely effects from consideration. In particular, unilateral reductions of this type would sacrifice leverage for future negotiations aimed at reducing or constraining Russias strategic arsenal. This is precisely what happened when unilateral U.S. reductions of nonstrategic nuclear weapons left America unable to convince Russia to reduce its nonstrategic nuclear arsenal, which according to the latest Nuclear Posture Review numbers in the thousands and is growing. These changes would leave the U.S. deterrent falling even further behind Russias in both numbers and diversity, moving America closer instead to nuclear parity with China.

Overall defense affordability is a poor surrogate for substantive policy and strategy debates, even if a convenient one. Its distracting at best, and disingenuous at worst. Instead of rushing to the conclusion that America must cut nuclear modernization to address problems of overall defense spending, those concerned should first suggest how much the country can afford to spend on defense over the long term. For anyone who believes the United States cannot afford to spend anywhere near $21 trillion over 30 years on defense, it makes no sense to focus on something like nuclear deterrence spending, which in that case cannot address the real issue in any meaningful way. If defense spending is too high, or the national debt is on track to become unmanageable, then Americans must face the reality that nuclear deterrence spending is not the problem and cutting it cannot provide the solution.

Dr. Aaron Miles is a Fellow at the Center for Global Security Research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He served previously as a Senior Policy Advisor on Nuclear Deterrence in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. His policy interests include nuclear strategy, strategic stability, arms control, and disarmament.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is operated by Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.
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expert Dr. Jessica Griffin reportedly won't be returning for Season 9 of the Lifetime reality series.Jessica, a clinical and forensic psychologist with expertise in trauma, relationships, and high conflict divorce, will not be part of the next season of after participating in three editions of the show, People reported Jessica served as a matchmaking expert and couples' counselor alongside Dr. Pepper Schwartz and Pastor Calvin Roberson on . She also guided participants on the reality franchise's : Honeymoon Island spinoff, which aired on Lifetime in 2018.It's unclear why exactly Jessica has chosen to leave the reality series, but a source told People she wants to focus on her family and love life.Jessica met her current boyfriend Jonathan Francetic , who both live in greater Boston area, while filming 's sixth season in Fall 2017.Jessica and Jonathan only began dating after the financial associate divorced his wife, Molly Duff , who complained all season long she wasn't attracted to Jonathan.Jessica and Jonathan then went public with their relationship in Summer 2018."Jessica and Jon are very happy together. She wants to focus on her family and their relationship," a friend of the couple told the magazine.Jessica and Jonathan faced a bit of backlash when they first got together considering some fans thought their romance was "scandalous" or "inappropriate" given Jessica counseled Jonathan's marriage on the Lifetime show, but the pair have defended their love Critics also haven't stopped them from being mushy-gushy and open about their strong feelings for one another on social media.In late March, Jessica shared a photo of Jonathan and her son at a school dance."My #mcm goes out to this guy @jon_francetic who cancelled his entire day today, dropping everything to go pick up my sick kid after the school called that he had gotten sick in his class... (I couldn't get there in time) and he spent day sending me pictures and updates and reassuring me until I could get home to my little guy," Jessica wrote."I know you never planned on signing up for the glamorous life of Lysol and five year old tears -- yet you always have my back and make my heart expand in ways I never thought possible. (Throwback photo from my son's special someone dance -- Jon was his 'special someone' -- kid's got good taste.)"And in the fall of last year, Jonathan shared a picture of himself kissing Jessica on the lips."I am my most happy and content self when surrounded by the ocean. So you must understand, it's not the blue of ocean I see in your eyes. It's love, pure love," Jonathan gushed at the time.Earlier today, Jessica also posted an Instagram Stories selfie photo showing the couple leaving Boston's Logan International Airport on a plane bound for Arizona.In addition to her former role on , Jessica also starred on three seasons of Seven Year Switch from 2015 to 2018. Both shows are produced by the same production company, Kinetic Content.'s upcoming ninth season is scheduled to premiere in June on Lifetime and feature four new couples. The show will be moving to Wednesday nights and follow couples in the Charlotte, NC area Interested in more news? Join our Married at First Sight Facebook Group
Porterville, CA (93257)

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A single mom of two, a book editor, a psychologist and an advocate for diversity, the talent management for faculty at Franklin College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Georgia does it all.

Senior Associate Dean of Franklin College Kecia Thomas manages faculty affairs and works with graduate students. She supports departments in selecting the best faculty available while sharing opportunities with them for recognition and promotion.
While the University of Georgia owns campuses across the world, none of them compare to Planet UGA-1785. Thanks in part to Roger Hunter, UGA is the first university with a planetary system nicknamed after it from its discovery during the Kepler Mission.

Hunter, program manager for NASAs Small Spacecraft Technology Program, spoke about his work with NASA as well as the great potential of students in the UGA Small Satellite Research Laboratory at the Charter Lecture on March 20.
'Dr Rajan is often preachy with commandments aimed at nobody in particular,' complains M S Sriram.

Raghuram G Rajan when he was the governor of the Reserve Bank of India was often accused of delivering speeches that were beyond the remit of his office of managing the country's financial and monetary system.

It was, however, a pleasure to read those speeches because he raised interesting questions.

This put Dr Rajan more in the realm of a public intellectual rather than an economist.

Each of those were standalone speeches, thoughtful and specific to an occasion and context.

They were collected in his previous book I Do what I Do. The present book -- The Third Pillar -- continues on similar lines.

This book is an attempt by Dr Rajan to pick up one theme and elaborate on it.

He moves beyond markets and the State and focusses on the community, its role and its centrality.

We are currently looking at the excesses of markets; the redefinition of the role of the State; and increasing polarisation of wealth.

In this context it is crucial that someone of Dr Rajan's stature (that he is from Chicago is not lost on us) reiterates that the raison detre of both the State and the Markets -- is actually people -- the larger community.

This thought is welcome. Dr Rajan has been a voice of reason amidst irrational exuberance.

Therefore, it is not surprising that he is talking about the community and community-based systems.

While acknowledging that the context is appropriate and the author is the right person to talk about the issues, however, the book is a let-down.

It is well-narrated and has most of the arguments. Unfortunately, it is neither specific nor does it have a strong framework.

Dr Rajan is often preachy with commandments aimed at nobody in particular.

This is very disappointing. That Dr Rajan chose to set the tone of the book in explaining and talking down to the reader rather than analyse and engage with the reader is intriguing.

The book also has an unnecessarily large historic canvas where Dr Rajan explains the evolution of the modern state and the modern market system.

That was unnecessary for the arguments he was making about the communities.

His basic thesis is that there was a historical trajectory on how the State and markets have evolved and now they seem to be working as an end in themselves and this needs to be rebalanced.

He neither contests the State nor the markets through a counter-narrative that restricts their overreach.

Instead, he broadly advocates self-restraint for State and Markets; and advocates that the community take charge before it is trampled by these behemoths.

Self-restraint is an oxymoron. And there needs to be a framework for taking charge.

It would have been brilliant if Dr Rajan had used the frameworks of a. decentralised governance structures and b. active civic society engagement as an enduring argument to frame his thesis.

He uses those structures episodically, brings in anecdotal evidence to make a point but does not frame it tightly.

As I was reading the book I wondered if Dr Rajan was moving towards a Gandhian argument of localisation of production and governance systems.

He tends to take the argument in that direction, but is suddenly reminded that industrialisation has grown so big that it could be an infeasible case.

He needs to defend capital and the state and make a strong case for community and thus ends up with this broad thesis: 'Society suffers when any of the pillars weakens or strengthens overly relative to the others. Too weak the markets and society becomes unproductive, too weak a community and society tends toward crony capitalism, too weak the State and society turns fearful and apathetic. Conversely too much market and society becomes inequitable, too much of community and society becomes static and too much State and society becomes authoritarian. A balance is essential!'

How much is too much and how weak is too weak is a question we need to engage with.

However, Dr Rajan has too many of these preachy bits: 'We need to be creative about such programmes, making it easier for all to learn when warranted by the job market or intrinsically desired by the individual for personal interest or development, but not cross the line into forcing everyone to continue re-enlisting in unnecessary higher education. We should not overvalue the credentials produced by education, and should not prioritise work with the mind over work with hands or with people. After all, who knows where technological progress will take us?'

Who is the 'we' in the above statement? The problem with the book is that all the arguments are laid out in the same tone -- neither here nor there.

If only Dr Rajan had used Gandhi's Hind Swaraj as a base document and engaged with its arguments in the current context, it would have given a brilliant framework, since Gandhi had the community at the core.

He could have glossed over some of the arguments that may not be relevant to current times, but that framework would have best suited for Dr Rajan to make a more cogent argument.

Alas, this is a book of good intention, great thoughts, lost in a preachy style.

M S Sriram is a faculty member at the Centre for Public Policy, Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore.
According to official sources, various states are contemplating bans on TikTok, Kwai, LIKE and other such apps over the next few months, on the worry that these platforms encourage child pornography, nudity and the spread of fake news, report Karan Choudhury and Neha Alawadhi.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

Popular Chinese video apps such as TikTok, Kwai, LIKE and a host of others might be on borrowed time in India.

The Madras high courts direction on Thursday, April 4, to the central government for a ban on TikTok is the first indication in this regard of what seems likely over the coming months.

Highly popular in tier-III cities and towns, with an estimated 300-plus million users, these apps are now on the radar of the home and information technology ministries, after a slew of complaints.

According to official sources, various states are contemplating bans over the next few months, on the worry that these platforms encourage child pornography, nudity and the spread of fake news.

We have received a lot of complaints from southern states, including Tamil Nadu, as well as West Bengal and Assam in the east. We are monitoring the situation and if the need be, we will ban some of these apps. Also with elections around, we do not want to take any chances, said a senior home ministry official.

The Madras high court said TikTok was encouraging pornography. The order also directs the media from telecasting videos made by using the app.

According to IT ministry officials, misuse of these portals has been immense, given their popularity in the smaller cities and towns. With many there only recently acquainted with technology, their susceptibility to organised online porn networks or fake news is thought to be more.

While they claim they have moderators, a lot which can be described only as porn and bawdy content is allowed on these portals. Children as young as 10 are posting videos and there is no one to moderate them, said an IT ministry official.

Sector experts say, though, that banning such apps is not a long-term solution.

Banning a particular app might reduce circulation of content to some extent. (However) Most of these applications are hosted out of servers in China or outside India, although section 75 of the IT Act provides extra- territorial jurisdiction, said Salman Waris, managing partner at TechLegis Advocates & Solicitors.

Some within the industry were of the view that the ban was appropriate given the content hosted on TikTok.

It is encouraging to see the Madras high court taking on Chinese platforms like TikTok that are known hubs for inappropriate content and which use gullible Indian children as test cases for their AI tools. The court has in essence done what the government has failed to do in recent months to ensure safety on the Internet, said an official at a social media platform.

Experts would like more checks and balances at these platforms.

The technology now exists to let individuals securely prove their age online. Using digital identity technology, individuals can share specific details -- just their verified age, date of birth or even an over 18 attribute. This ensures only those of the appropriate age can access the platform and its content, whilst protecting their privacy and personal information, says Shantanram Jonnalagadda, country head in India for Yoti, a London-based digital identity service entity.

After the high court order, the company which issued TikTok had said: 'We fully comply with the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011. We are currently awaiting the official order and once received, we will review and take appropriate action. Maintaining a safe and positive in-app environment at TikTok is our priority. We have robust measures to protect users against misuse, to protect their privacy and digital well being.'

Helena Lersch, global public policy director of the short-video sharing platform, had earlier said they had a strong content moderation mechanism.

We have robust measures in place. We have reporting mechanisms, community guidelines; we only allow content that follows community guidelines. We forbid hate speech, violent content, pornographic content, minors. So, the moment we are made aware of this content, we are taking it down with a team that works on that 24x7. We have a large content moderation team in place, she had said.
Ubers draft prospectus for the biggest IPO in the world since Alibabas in 2014 has projected a major cash burn for Uber in trying to get a significant market share in India, reports Karan Choudhury.

American cab-hailing firm Uber Technologies Inc has mentioned its India business, the largest after the US market, prominently in its initial public offering (IPO) filing.

The draft prospectus for the biggest IPO in the world since Alibabas in 2014 has projected a major cash burn for Uber in trying to get a significant market share in India.

Apart from Ubers India business, the filing with the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) refers to local rivals including Ola, Swiggy and Zomato while citing the risk factors.

Our business is substantially dependent on operations outside the United States, including those in markets in which we have limited experience and if we are unable to manage the risks presented by our business model internationally, our financial results and future prospects will be adversely impacted, Uber said in its filing on Friday.

Striking a note of caution, the cab aggregator has said it has been making significant investments in incentives and promotions to help drive growth in India, where competitors such as Ola, Swiggy, and Zomato, are well capitalised and have local operating expertise.

In addition, in March 2019, we announced our agreement to acquire Careem and the expansion of our Uber Freight offering into Europe. Such investments may not be successful and may negatively affect our operating results, Uber said.

The IPO was estimated to sell around $10 billion worth of stock at a valuation between $90 billion and $100 billion, according to reports. But the filing did not specify the size of the IPO.

The food biz

Besides the rides business, UberEats too would require significant investments, as local players such as Swiggy and Zomato have an edge in the food discovery and ordering business, it has noted.

In India, for example, our Uber Eats offering competes with Swiggy and Zomato, each of which has substantial market-specific knowledge and established relationships with local restaurants, affording them significant product advantages. As a result, such competitors may be able to respond more quickly and effectively than us in such markets to new or changing opportunities, technologies, consumer preferences, regulations, or standards, which may render our products or offerings less attractive.

According to the filing of the firm, co-founded by Travis Kalanick 10 years ago, future competitors may share in the effective benefit of any regulatory or governmental approvals and litigation victories we may achieve, without having to incur the costs we have incurred to obtain such benefits.

Impact of competition laws

The firm has referred to a growing number of competition laws across the EU, the US, Brazil and India as an area of concern. It has made specific mention of issues like predatory pricing and abuse of market power in this context.

Complaints have been filed in several jurisdictions, including in the US and India, alleging that our prices are too high (surge pricing) or too low (discounts or predatory pricing) or both. If one jurisdiction imposes or proposes to impose new requirements or restrictions on our business, other jurisdictions may follow. Our revenue is dependent on the pricing model we use to calculate consumer fares and driver earnings, said the company.

Uber has also raised the issue about the need to change the pricing model in certain markets.

In 2016, following the filing of a petition in the Delhi high court relating to surge pricing, we agreed to not calculate consumer fares in excess of the maximum government-mandated fares in New Delhi, India. Additional regulation of our pricing model could increase our operating costs and adversely affect our business. As a result, we may be forced to change our pricing model in certain jurisdictions, which could harm our revenue or result in a sub-optimal tax structure, it said.

Cash-heavy market

The company has pointed at risks linked to use of cash too.

In certain jurisdictions, including India, Brazil, and Mexico, as well as certain other countries in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, we allow consumers to use cash to pay drivers the entire fare of rides and cost of meal deliveries (including our service fee from such rides and meal deliveries). In 2018, cash-paid trips accounted for nearly 13 per cent of our global gross bookings.

It has argued that many jurisdictions have specific regulations regarding the use of cash for ridesharing, and failure to comply with the regulations could result in the imposition of significant fines and penalties and could result in a regulator requiring them to suspend operations.

Also, in certain jurisdictions, serious safety incidents resulting in robberies and violent, fatal attacks on drivers while using our platform have been reported.

Driver issues

The company has listed driver dissatisfaction as a likely reason for decline in the number of platform users. That would reduce our network liquidity, and which in turn may cause a further decline in platform usage.

Uber fears that drivers engaging criminal activities would have a serious impact on their business. It has mentioned the New Delhi rape case involving an Uber driver a few years ago. In December 2014, a driver in New Delhi, India kidnapped and raped a female consumer, and was convicted in October 2015.
Ambassador T P Sreenivasan remembers Daniel Babu Paul, a most unusual civil servant who passed into the ages on Friday.

Kerala is reeling under the shock of the unexpected and sudden demise of Dr Babu Paul. It is a huge personal loss for me.

Babu Paul strode the bureaucratic scholarly, literary and cultural and moral scene of Kerala like a colossus and there was no one to equal or excel him.

He was the last word not only on the Bible, but also on all the holy books of all religions. God was his guide in all matters including life and death.

He once told me that he felt safe during his travels as he trusted that the drivers and pilots were the agents of God.

As for death, he said that according to his belief, the world after death would be more attractive.

Even if death meant the end of everything, he would not complain either. He prepared himself for death several years ago by keeping a coffin ready for him and detailing what should happen at his funeral such as the people who should chant the scriptures. He is reported to have also recorded a message to be played at the funeral.

In Kerala administration, there was nothing he did not touch and nothing he did not embellish. His dedication to Kerala was absolute and he did not discriminate between political parties and politicians when he criticised their actions or praised them.

He had become the conscience of Kerala and the arbiter of Kerala's interests.

As an orator, very few like Sukumar Azhikode could match Babu Paul. While Azhikode played around with words and ideas, Babu Paul was erudite, deep and humorous.

As a political and social commentator, he was matchless. He criticised political leaders of all hues, but he had no enemies in any party.

Most recently, he extended support to Kummanom Rajasekharan because of his conviction that India needed Narendra Damodardas Modi's leadership for five more years.

When Babu Paul took such a position, other political parties did not attack him. Such was his credibility.

Babu Paul was a prolific and excellent writer mostly in Malayalam, but also proficient in English. He was never dogmatic about religion and politics and so his views were always respected. His speeches, writings and conversations are a gold mine of quotable quotes on any occasion.

Babu Paul recently expressed satisfaction over his autobiography having had 8 reprints so far. The popularity of the book springs from its objectivity and accuracy of details of the various issues he dealt with in his long career beginning as a junior engineer and ending as the ombudsman.

It remains the height of irony that this bureaucrat of bureaucrats did not become the chief secretary of the state or did not occupy high positions at the Centre. This did not detract from the major contribution he has made as a master administrator.

Babu Paul will be remembered differently by different people. His biggest contribution may well be his monumental work on the Bible for which he spent a decade of his life. He undertook this and other tasks as ordained by God.

He accepted success and defeat as God's will and so remained unaffected by bouquets and brickbats. He was also indebted to his father for the guidance he received.

Kerala without Babu Paul is poorer as it will not have the benefit of his advice, warnings and guidance. Civil service aspirants will miss a great mentor and well wisher.

Kerala is orphaned by his demise.
Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency, on the latest changes among Pakistan's top generals.

IMAGE: Pakistan's army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. Photograph: Faisal Mahmood/Reuters

As anticipated, Major General Sahir Shamshad Mirza made the cut easily on the basis of his impeccable record. He is from the Sind Regiment.

Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa appears to have unabashedly plumped for three others -- Major General Nauman Mahmood, Major General Azhar Abbas and Major General Faiz Hamid, all from his Baloch regiment.

Their new assignments are yet to be known. Two of the newly promoted generals could be slotted to the Karachi and Bahawalpur corps commands.

With these promotions, the present strength of Pakistan's lieutenant generals goes up to 27.

Of these, 7 are from the armoured corps, 2 from the corps of engineers, 1 from air defence, 3 from artillery and 14 from infantry regiments (4 frontier force, 3 Punjab, 3 Baloch, 2 Sind, 1 each from the Azad Kashmir regiment and mujahid force).

The next set of retirement and promotions of Pakistan's lieutenant generals, the last which General Bajwa will handle if his tenure as army chief is not extended, will fall due on September 23, 2019.
A museum in the United Kingdom has launched an exhibition on Jallianwala Bagh in collaboration with the Partition Museum in Amritsar to mark the centenary of the British colonial era massacre.

Photograph: Kind courtesy @sahaye/Twitter

'Jallianwala Bagh 1919: Punjab Under Siege' opened at Manchester Museum in time for Saturday's 100th anniversary of the tragedy that affected thousands.

The exhibition is conceived as a 'lived experience' creation, based on work with descendants and communities to collect stories related to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on April 13, 1919.

'Revisiting the event, its causes and aftermath, the nuanced exhibition explores what we remember, how we remember it, and what we have forgotten, in India and the UK,' Manchester Museum said in a statement.

Photograph: Kind courtesy @cladle/Twitter

'Protestors had gathered to challenge British rule before they were set upon by Colonel Reginald Dyer and his troops. Confined within an enclosed barren ground called Jallianwala Bagh in the Indian city of Amritsar, hundreds of Indians were killed and thousands injured. This was a defining moment in the fight for Indian independence and led to the eventual demise of the British Empire in South Asia,' it adds.

The exhibition, supported by the Jallianwala Bagh Centenary Commemoration Committee (JBCCC), comprising prominent Indians and non-resident Indians (NRIs), is aimed at raising awareness around the peaceful protest to mark Baisakhi, the divergent British and Indian inquiry findings, and the ongoing social, political, and cultural response.

"It is an apt moment for the British government to offer an apology to India," Manjit Singh GK, Patron-in-Chief of the JBCCC, said.

Photograph: Kind courtesy @numanazmi/Twitter

"Both Secretary of State for War Sir Winston Churchill and former Prime Minister H H Asquith openly condemned the attack at the time, referring to it as monstrous and one of the worst outrages in the whole of our history," added Vikramjit S Sahney, Patron of JBCC.

There have been widespread calls for a formal apology to mark the 100th anniversary of the massacre this week, with the UK government earlier indicating that it was 'reflecting' on the demand.

British Prime Minister Theresa May made a statement in the House of Commons earlier this week to say the UK deeply regrets the tragedy, which she described as a 'shameful scar' on British Indian history.

Photograph: Kind courtesy @SukhbirJSingh/Twitter

The statement faced criticism for not going far enough, with the Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn demanding a 'full, clear and unequivocal apology'.

"The wounds of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre still haunt millions and should be laid to rest at this the centenary of the horrendous act," Veteran Indian-origin Labour MP Virendra Sharma, Chair of the Indo-British All Party Parliamentary Group, said in the Commons.

"I appreciate the Prime Minister's comments, and thank her for her earnest words, but they are only the beginning of an apology not the full and frank formal apology that the communities affected need.

"I would also like to offer my fullest thanks to Jeremy Corbyn for his words of support, and his commitment to a full apology when he becomes Prime Minister," he said.

Photograph: Kind courtesy @sahaye/Twitter

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre has found prominence in the UK parliamentary agenda in recent months as both the House of Lords and Commons held debates to mark the centenary.

In their capacity as JBCCC members, Indian-origin peers Lord Meghnad Desai and Lord Raj Loomba had written to the British PM calling for an apology and will be marking the 100th anniversary with a special event in the House of Lords on Saturday night.

*****

Deeply regret what happened, says British envoy to India

British High Commissioner to India Dominic Asquith, who laid a wreath at the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial in Amritsar on Saturday to mark the centenary of the massacre, said Britain deeply regretted the incident.

IMAGE: British High Commissioner to India Dominic Asquith lays a wreath at the Jallianwala Bagh memorial on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, in Amritsar, on Saturday. Photograph: PTI Photo

"The events of Jallianwala Bagh 100 years ago today reflect a shameful act in British-Indian history. We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused," Asquith wrote in the visitors' book at the memorial.

"I am pleased today that the UK and India have and remain committed to developing further a thriving 21st century partnership," he added.

In his brief interaction with reporters later, Asquith said British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday described the Jallianwala Bagh massacre as a "shameful scar" on British Indian history.

May, however, stopped short of offering a formal apology.

Asked why an apology was not tendered by the British government, Asquith said, "I know this is a really important question. I would just ask you to respect what I came here to do, which is to commemorate those who died a hundred years ago and to express the sorrow of the British government and of the British people.

"But I would repeat what I said earlier that both governments are committed to building a very strong relationship...we have an extraordinarily flourishing relationship today."

He pointed out that former British prime minister David Cameron, during his visit to India earlier, had expressed regret and termed the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy a 'deeply shameful scar'.

Asquith also added that the Queen (Elizabeth II) had spoken of the incident as a distressing example of Britain's past history with India.

The British envoy said his great-grandfather H H Asquith, who was the prime minister of Britain between 1908 and 1916, had referred to the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy as one of the worst outrages.

"My own great grandfather, who was the prime minister for almost a decade, had referred to this as one of the worst outrages in our whole history," he said.
India on Saturday remembered Jallianwala Bagh massacre victims with Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi paying tribute to those killed in the Amritsar tragedy 100 years ago.

IMAGE: Vice President Venkaiah Naidu with Governor of Punjab V P Singh Badnore and others during the launch of a commemorative postage stamp on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, in Amritsar, on Saturday. Photograph: PTI Photo

The massacre took place at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar during the Baisakhi festival on April 13, 1919, when troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer opened fire at a crowd of people holding a pro-independence demonstration, leaving several dead and scores injured.

Naidu on Saturday paid his respect by placing a wreath on the memorial and listened hymns being sung by Sikh priests at Jallianwala Bagh.

He also released a commemorative coin and a postage stamp to mark the centenary.

The vice-president later tweeted that Jallianwala Bagh massacre was a reminder to each one of us as to how hard-won and precious our freedom is.

"History is not a mere chronicle of events. It shows us the depths to which depraved minds can plunge and cautions us to learn from the past. It also tells us that the power of evil is transient," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the memory of those killed in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre serves as an inspiration to work for an India they would be proud of.

'Today, when we observe 100 years of the horrific Jallianwala Bagh massacre, India pays tributes to all those martyred ... Their valour and sacrifice will never be forgotten. Their memory inspires us to work even harder to build an India they would be proud of,' he tweeted.

IMAGE: Naidu during commemoration of the 100th anniversary in Amritsar. Photograph: PTI Photo

Congress president Rahul Gandhi paid floral tributes at the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial and said the cost of freedom must never be forgotten.

He was accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, state minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and some other Congress leaders.

They also observed a two-minute silence to remember those who were massacred in the tragic incident on April 13, 1919.

'The cost of freedom must never ever be forgotten. We salute the people of India who gave everything they had for it,' the Congress chief wrote in the visitors' book.

British High Commissioner to India Dominic Asquith also visited the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial separately and laid a wreath there.

In the visitors' book, Asquith wrote, 'The events of Jallianwala Bagh 100 years ago today reflect a shameful act in British Indian history. We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused.'

He also wrote, 'I am pleased today that the UK and India have and remain committed to developing further a thriving 21st century partnership.'

IMAGE: Congress party president Rahul Gandhi with Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amrinder Singh, Congress leaders Sunil Jakhar and Navjot Singh Sidhu after paying tribute at the Jallianwala Bagh memorial on Saturday. Photograph: PTI Photo

'The events of Jallianwala Bagh 100 years ago today reflect a shameful act in British-Indian history. We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused,' Asquith wrote in the visitors' book at the memorial.

'I am pleased today that the UK and India have and remain committed to developing further a thriving 21st century partnership,' he added.

In his brief interaction with reporters later, Asquith said British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday described the Jallianwala Bagh massacre as a 'shameful scar' on British Indian history.

May, however, stopped short of offering a formal apology.

Asked why an apology was not tendered by the British government, Asquith said, "I know this is a really important question. I would just ask you to respect what I came here to do, which is to commemorate those who died a hundred years ago and to express the sorrow of the British government and of the British people.

"But I would repeat what I said earlier that both governments are committed to building a very strong relationship... we have an extraordinarily flourishing relationship today."

IMAGE: Gandhi writes message in the visitors book as the Punjab CM, Jakhar, Sidhu and others look on. Photograph: PTI Photo

Asquith also added that the Queen had spoken of the incident as a distressing example of Britain's past history with India.

The British envoy said his great-grandfather H H Asquith, who was the prime minister of Britain between 1908 and 1916, had referred to the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy as one of the worst outrages.

"My own great grandfather, who was the prime minister for almost a decade, had referred to this as one of the worst outrages in our whole history," he said.

Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati, in a tweet, paid homage to those killed in the Jallianwala massacre 100 years back and sought an apology from the British.

'On the centenary of the Jallianwala tragedy, our homage to martyrs & sympathy to the family members who sacrificed their lives for the country.

'It would have been most gratifying had the Indian govt. succeeded in extracting an apology from the British for this gruesome massacre,' she wrote on Twitter.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said the 'Modi factor' was writ large across the country during the first phase of elections and multi-cornered contests in several states favoured the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

Polling was held in 91 Lok Sabha constituencies spread across 18 states and two Union Territories on Thursday, marking the beginning of the seven-phased general elections.

Observing that verbal battles between the Left, Trinamool Congress and the Congress are becoming visible increasingly, Jaitley said, "On the leadership issue, the situation looks gloomier than what I had thought.

'The BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) leader Mayawati, the Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee leave no stone unturned in running down the Congress President."

'There is no leader, no Gathbandhan, no Common Minimum Programme and no real issue. Not surprisingly there are not many takers for a 'failed campaign'. It is 'Rent a Cause' Campaign,' Jaitley said in a Facebook post.

The Opposition is in disarray in many states, with alliances having not worked out, he said, adding that multi-cornered contests obviously favour the Bharatiya Janata Party.

'To oust a popular Government, an extremely popular Prime Minister, you need some real issues, not fictional issues. The Opposition wasted the past two years in a run-up to the polls 'manufacturing issues' which didn't exist,' Jaitley said in the post titled 'India's Opposition is on a 'Rent a Cause' Campaign'.

Stating that the Opposition comes up with a new cause on a daily basis, Jaitley said one day the Pulwama terror attack was questioned as self-engineered, while the next day Balakot strike was questioned as a non-existent operation.

'One day BJP is accused of whipping up war hysteria, the other day it is dubbed as pro Pakistan.

'One day the focus would be on the BJP candidate's educational qualification, fully forgetting that a public audit of Rahul Gandhi's academic credentials may leave a lot to be answered. After all, he got an M.Phil without a Masters degree!' Jaitley said.

The minister said there is no running thread in the Opposition's campaign which connects what is being said today or what has been said over the last several months.

The minister said the Opposition's false campaign on Rafale did not carry much weight.

Loan waiver to industrialists was a lie, the EVM as an instrument of rigging was a bigger lie, he asserted.

'The First Phase of voting is over. The 'Modi' factor was writ large across the country. (BJP President) Amit Shah's challenge to the BJP workers to prepare for a 50 per cent voting target in the BJP stronghold states even where there are opposition alliances seems coming through,' Jaitley said.
Aam Aadmi Party leader and Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia on Saturday said his party is still ready to form an alliance with the Congress in Delhi, Haryana and Chandigarh but it would not agree for a tie-up just in the national capital.

He said the priority of the Aam Aadmi Party is to stop the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo which, he said, is proving to become very 'dangerous' for the country.

"We wanted to form a united opposition against the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) and were ready to ignore our differences because right now the priority is to stop the dangerous Modi-Shah duo," he said.

"In last one week, meetings were held between the AAP and the Congress and we proposed alliance on 33 seats in Delhi, Goa, Chandigarh, Haryana and Punjab seats, out of them 23 seats is with NDA (National Democratic Alliance)," he said.

He said a tie-up between the two parties could have caused a 'damage' to the BJP-led NDA on the 23 seats.

"But the Congress purposely wasted time to take a decision on alliance and now it says it can tie up with the AAP only in Delhi. Forming an alliance in Delhi alone would not solve the problem," he said.

"We still saying that an alliance can be formed (with Congress) in Haryana, Delhi and Chandigarh if they are ready then we are ready too but alliance cannot be done alone in Delhi," he added.

The uncertainty over alliance between the AAP and the Congress has been continuing for weeks now.

The talks between the two sides derailed after they failed to reach an agreement over seat-sharing in Delhi and Haryana.

Congress' in-charge for Delhi P C Chacko on Friday said Congress will go alone in Delhi since the AAP has taken an 'impractical stand'.

He, however said, "We are still ready (for alliance) if AAP is willing to have an alliance in Delhi alone. We want to fight the BJP together."

"We are compelled to go on our own as the AAP is going back on its stand," Chacko told reporters.

AAP's Rajya Sabha leader Sanjay Singh, who was holding alliance talks with the Congress, said, "Our sincerity to stop the BJP in Haryana is reflected by the fact that we became a junior partner to a four-month-old party (JJP) and agreed to contest only less than half of the seats in the state."

Singh said the AAP was eager for an alliance with the Congress in Haryana so that the BJP could be defeated on all the 10 seats.

"That's why we were prepared to give Congress three seats in Delhi. But they refused an alliance," he said.

Singh exuded confidence that the AAP will win all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi on its own.

However, sources said the AAP in a last-ditch attempt may offer a 5-2 seat sharing formula to the Congress in Delhi.

Earlier, the AAP was ready to give three seats to the Congress in Delhi but now it might consider giving it just two seats, the sources added.
A Ganesh Nadar meets M Radha, the first transgender candidate in the fray for the Lok Sabha elections from Tamil Nadu.

Chennai South is the only constituency in the Tamil Nadu capital that will see a direct contest between arch-rivals, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Opposition DMK.

The other two constituencies -- Chennai North and Chennai Central -- will see the DMK clashing with the ruling AIADMK's alliance partners in the state.

Also in the fray from Chennai South is an Independent candidate, M Radha, who hopes to make history as the first transgender to be elected to Parliament.

However, her chances are slim, given that elections in the state are traditionally fought between the AIADMK and DMK.

A post-graduate in literature and a social worker, Radha works at an NGO that works in the area of HIV awareness and prevention.

For a living she works as a cook, as she says nobody is ready to employ her in spite of her master's degree.

She walks around the constituency to canvass votes and plans to meet 12,000 people in the days running up to the April 18 election.

"Newspapers have interviewed me, the rest of the constituency will read about me and vote," she says.

On top of her agenda is solving Chennai's water problem.

When Rediff.com spoke to her she only had a lawyer friend by her side. The rest of her supporters, she says, were away at the Cooum festival, but will join her on her campaign and on election day, April 18.

Video: A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com
IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses an election campaign rally for the Lok Sabha elections, in Andipatti, on Saturday. Photograph: PTI Photo

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday sought to corner the Congress on its showpiece poll promise of 'Nyay', and sought to know who would do justice for the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots, violence against Dalits, and the Bhopal gas tragedy under its regime.

The prime minister addressing a poll rally, a day after the campaign by Congress president Rahul Gandhi here, alleged the Congress and dishonesty were best friends but sometimes 'by mistake', they end up speaking the truth.

"Now they are saying 'Ab Hoga Nyay' (justice will be done now) even if they did not intend, they have admitted that all they have done is 'Anyay' or injustice for 60 long years," (during the Congress rule), he said.

"I want to ask the Congress party who will do Nyay to the victims of 1984 Sikh riots ? ...who will do Nyay to all the victims of anti Dalit (violence), who will do Nyay to the government of great M G Ramachandran ji, which was dismissed by the Congress just because one family did not like those leaders.

"...who will do Nyay to the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy, among the worst environmental disaster in India."

The prime minister pointed out that such infamous incidents occurred during the Congress rule.

If Rahul Gandhi invoked Tamil pride and Dravidian legacy to target BJP's Hindutva line, Modi today countered it by pointing to Tamil Nadu's spiritualism, late All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leaders M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa and the welfare of Srilankan Tamils.

Modi said: "I pay homage to the great MGR and Jayalalithaa ji. India is proud of these two iconic leaders who lived and worked for the poor. their social welfare schemes ensured lakhs of people are free from poverty."

BJP stood with people on the Lord Ayyappa issue, he said and hailed the state's spiritual ethos by citing the famous hill shrine of Lord Shiva (Sundaramahalinga Swamy Temple) on Sathuragiri hills in the region.

"Remember that for making a prosperous Tamil Nadu, this game of the DMK and Congress must end. We must continue working for the prosperity of our Srilankan Tamil brothers and we must end the dynasty rule of corrupt families," he told the crowd.

The AIADMK has been accusing the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-Congress combine for not taking steps to halt the killings of Tamil civilians during the Srilankan civil war in 2009 while seeking to champion their cause and Modi's remarks resonate it.

Without naming anyone, the prime minister said the nation was witness to 'father becomes finance minister and son loots the country', (during the United Progressive Alliance and seen as a reference to a senior leader from Tamil Nadu).

"Whenever they are in government they always loot, the Madhya Pradesh government has become their ATM, they are diverting money meant for poor and children for use in their election, this has become known as the 'Tughlaq Road scam', I am sure you all know which big Congress leader stays on Tughlaq Road in New Delhi."

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami lashed out at the DMK, asking it to clarify whom it would support in neighbouring Kerala, whether the Congress or the Communist Party of India-Marxist.

In Tamil Nadu, DMK is leading the Secular Progressive Alliance, whose constituents include the Congress and the Left parties.

Modi launched a broadside against the Opposition saying the DMK, Congress and their 'mahamilavati' friends cannot accept strides India has made and therefore were 'unhappy' with him.

The DMK and Congress though 'sworn enemies' have joined hands, despite the national party having 'humiliated' its southern ally in the past.

"Today India is rapidly making a mark in the world. The Congress, DMK and their mahamilavati friends cannot accept this. That is why they are unhappy with me," he said at an election rally in Theni.

The prime minister has been describing the opposition 'mahagatbandhan' (mega alliance) as 'mahamilavati,' meaning adulterated.

Taking pot shots at DMK president MK Stalin's proposal naming Congress chief Rahul Gandhi as Prime Ministerial candidate, Modi said there were no takers for this among the opposition 'because they are in line to be PM and dream of the post'.

"Some days ago, DMK supremo (Stalin) projected the naamdar (dynast--Gandhi) as PM (candidate) but no one was ready to accept it, not even their mahamilavati friends, because they are in line to be PM and dream of the post," he said, without naming anyone.

Despite past 'bitterness', the Congress and DMK have joined hands, he said and recalled that the national party had 'humiliated' the southern ally earlier, apparently referring to the dismissal of the DMK government in the past.

Even during the 2G spectrum allocation scam, centered around then Telecom Minster A Raja of DMK, the Dravidian party's leaders were criticising the national party, which was leading the ruling UPA, he pointed out.

"In an attempt to mislead the people, all the corrupt have ganged up in an attempt to defeat Modi," he added.

He said the DMK has to 'resort to gimmicks' just to draw people to its rallies.

The Congress, the DMK and their other mahamilawati friends can never work for India's development, he said.

"This land of Theni is known for brave people who served the nation, it is now up to you to decide how you will you deal with those who questioned the surgical and air strikes done by our brake armed forces," he said.

The Indian Air Force had carried out airstrikes on terror camps in Pakistan in February last.

"When it comes to national security there can be no compromise. I assure my fellow Indians that we leave no stone unturned in protecting India and destroying forces of terror."

Referring to the capture of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman by Pakistan army, he said, "When a brave Indian fighter pilot was captured in Pakistan, it was ensured that he is back home in record time and even then Congress was playing politics over national security and insulting our forces."
'A loss of seats for the Trinamool in this election will weaken its hold in Bengal, which will not augur well before the assembly election in 2021.'

Ishita Ayan Dutt reports from Kolkata.

The petite frame of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee belies the warrior within as she paces up and down the makeshift platform at campaign rallies likening her challenger Narendra Damodardas Modi to Adolf Hitler and labelling him a seasonal bird.

Hours after the prime minister addressed an election meeting in Cooch Behar, Banerjee referred to him as a 'seasonal bird' for visiting north Bengal only ahead of elections at a rally in the same Lok Sabha constituency.

'You had not come to Darjeeling during the days of unrest. Where were the BJP leaders when there were disturbances in the hills,' she asked?

The pitch only got sharper with the approach of elections.

At a Raiganj rally, hours before the first phase, Banerjee called Modi 'the king of fascists'. 'He is the king of fascists. Had Adolf Hitler been alive, he would have committed suicide seeing Modi's activities,' she said.

Banerjee has made the BJP, particularly Modi, her prime target in the current Lok Sabha election. If her pitch for 2014 elections was 'Durniti Hatao, Desh Bachao', this time around, it is 'BJP Hatao, Desh Bachao', used interchangeably with 'Modi Hatao, Desh Bachao.'

At the heart of her campaign is a conscious effort to project an alternative to the current government.

Political commentator Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury says, the anti-BJP, particularly the anti-Modi campaign, has gotten a leg-up in the current election. 'The rhetoric, diatribe and the manifesto are all targeted at the BJP.'

The TMC campaign is focused on highlighting how the parameters on which the Modi government has faltered while projecting the achievements of the Bengal government.

In sync with the larger theme, the TMC has launched a Web series Pradhan Mantri Hisab Do that seeks to highlight the ease and the lack of it between state and central schemes.

And there is also a 'Jumla Meter' on the Web site, which according to the Trinamool Congress, provides facts as soon as a claim is made by Modi or Amit Anilchandra Shah in their speeches.

Not just in the run-up to the election, Banerjee has kept national issues simmering since demonetisation.

She led a rainbow delegation of Opposition leaders to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, held rallies in Delhi with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in tow, created a photo opportunity in Uttar Pradesh with then chief minister Akhilesh Yadav receiving Banerjee at the airport in her campaign against demonetisation, and quickly became the face of the anti-demonetisation campaign.

Political observers and bureaucrats say, it is also a way to protect her own turf, which is now polarised.

The BJP is gaining ground in West Bengal, its vote share having increased from 6% in 2009 to 17% in the 2014 election.

In the panchayat elections of 2018, the BJP, now seen as the only anti-TMC front, finished second.

"A loss of seats for the Trinamool in this election will weaken its hold in Bengal, which will not augur well before the assembly election in 2021, even though it's some time away. Also, it will diminish its chances of playing kingmaker at the Centre in the event of an opportunity," observers pointed out.

An attack on the BJP would therefore inevitably revolve around the central government.

Banerjee found her ammunition in the CBI fiasco that erupted or when the RBI-government tussle made headlines.

Her speeches are often peppered with references on institutions such as the CBI and the RBI being muzzled. 'From RBI to CBI, everyone is saying bye-bye,' is one of her favourite one-liners.

At one of the rallies she also said, 'He (Modi) used to be a chaiwala. After five years, he has turned chowkidar. The real chowkidars, who guard the ATMs, are not getting salaries. Why are BSNL employees not getting salaries?'

Whether she has an eye on the top job is not clear, but Banerjee believes that she will have a decisive say in the formation of the next government.

And if she does, the road map ahead is chalked out in the manifesto: Jobs, education, women empowerment, political, economic, judicial reforms, et al.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 12, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Berkley Renewables Inc. (CSE: BKS) (Frankfurt/Berlin: WKN 871666) (the Company or Berkley) announces that, due to increasing external commitments, Mr. David Wolfin has resigned from the Board of Directors of the Company, effective immediately.



The Company sincerely thanks Mr. Wolfin for his contributions and years of service as a Director and wishes him every success in his future endeavours.

About Berkley Renewables

Berkley Renewables Inc. is a growth-oriented oil and gas issuer also pursuing renewable energy opportunities, primarily in the solar energy sector. For more information, please contact Matt Wayrynen: 604.682.3701 or info@berkleyrenewables.com . Other information available at www.berkleyrenewables.com .

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Matt Wayrynen

_________________________________

Matt Wayrynen

President and Chief Executive Officer

The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release. This release may contain statements that are considered as forward-looking statements and are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed under the heading Risk Factors and elsewhere in the Companys periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. Such information contained herein represents managements best judgment as of the date hereof based on information currently available. The Company does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement.
TORRINGTON  Torrington Savings Bank has announced the appointment of Steven Temkin to its Board of Trustees.

Temkin is the CEO of T & M Building Co., Inc., a homebuilding company headquartered in Torrington, Connecticut, which was co-founded by his late father Abraham Temkin.

He is also a member of Torrington Downtown Partners, LLC, an entity that owns, renovates and leases spaces in downtown Torrington. Temkin serves as the treasurer and a trustee of the Torrington Library, a member of the Board of Directors of the Torrington Historical Society and the Legislative Chairman of the Home Builders Association of Northwest Connecticut.

Edwin G. Booth, Jr., Chairman of the Board of Trustees, said, Stevens strong business background and dedication to the community make him a wonderful addition to our Board. Our Trustees and Management team look forward to working with Steven to help achieve the Banks financial and community goals.

I am excited to play a role at an institution that has been a part of Torrington for over 150 years. I look forward to seeing the Bank evolve as it serves the interests of todays community, Temkin said.

Theater board welcomes new member

THOMASTON  Landmark Community Theatres Board of Directors recently welcomed its newest member, Christina Molliconi.

She has an extensive history of giving back to the community: as a volunteer at the Thomaston Opera House since 2004, and with Landmark Community Theatre since its inception.

Molliconi volunteers her time as an usher for every performance of every show at Landmark, frequently acting as house manager. She has been a longtime supporter of both the Thomaston Public Library and the Thomaston Fire Department and now serves as a scholarship essay reviewer for the Connecticut Community Foundation.

Molliconi has also volunteered at the Thomaston Pantry for more than 10 years and played an integral role in obtaining the pantrys 501(c) 3 designation as a charitable organization. She presently serves as the director of the Thomaston Community Pantry.

As a member of Landmark Community Theatres board of directors, she will serve on the volunteer task force and scholarship committee.

Workforce board receives funding

TORRINGTON  The Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board (NRWIB) recently received a $1,250,000 award from the Apprenticeship Connecticut Initiative to address the shortage of skilled workers in the manufacturing sector, according to a statement.

This regional partnership comprises the following entities: Manufacturing Alliance Service Corporation, Northwestern CT Community College, Naugatuck Valley Community College, CT Technical High Schools, Torrington H.S., Danbury H.S., New Milford, H.S. and Waterbury high schools along with 16 employers throughout the northwest workforce region, which includes Waterbury, Torrington and Danbury, and several business associations and chambers of commerce.

Manufacturing accounts for nearly 12 percent of the regions economy, contributing over $3.4 billion a year to the regions gross regional product (GRP) and a little over 10 percent of total employment.

This partnership will serve the employment needs of individuals residing in all 41 towns within the Northwest region, and will focus on those areas with the most concentrated employment needs, according to the statement.

The project will provide separate training programs by creating pipelines of: (I) in the 11th or 12th grade and (2) 18 years of age or older who are not enrolled in 11th or 12th grade. Individuals seeking training in the manufacturing field are urged to visit our website www.nrwib.org for program updates and enrollment information. Employers interested in learning more about the partnership are encouraged to contact Cathy Awwad at catherine.awwad@nrwib.org.

Real estate professional honored

WASHINGTON  Klemm Real Estate agent Roger Saucy is a recipient of Broker Agent Advisor Award for Certification of Excellence in Real Estate for the third consecutive year. Now in his 32nd year in the real estate business, Saucy has spent 23 of those years with Klemm Real Estate.

Broker Agent Advisor is a real estate trade publication, which provides information, tools, and resources to assist the modern real estate professional in achieving greater success. Each year the publication celebrates the success and accomplishment of the industrys finest real estate professionals. Through proprietary criteria, formulas, and other valuable considerations, Saucy has been distinguished by Broker Agent Advisor.

Roger exemplifies the type of professional we designed this award for, said Chad Golladay, Executive Publisher of Broker Agent Advisor. A true credit to his company, profession and community both inside and outside of his real estate practice; one with whom the honor is truly ours in being able to share this award.

There is no cost or fee required for this award, and all applicants credentials are verified, which makes this honor one of the most genuine in the industry towards identifying those truly worthy of special recognition and distinction.

Klemm Real Estate has offices located in Washington Depot, Woodbury, Litchfield, Roxbury, Lakeville/Salisbury and Sharon, and is staffed by 40 associates serving Litchfield County for almost 35 years. For information, call Roger Saucy at 203-788-7032, email roger@klemmrealestate.com; or visit www.klemmrealestate.com.

Food bank receives funding

TORRINGTON  Friendly Hands Food Bank recently thanked the Miriam Mason Cable Trust Fund, a fund of the Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation, Inc. for providing the organization with a grant,which will be used to provide food and other services to its clients.

Child development center maintains accreditation

THOMASTON  Play And Learn Child Development Center LLC (P.A.L.) has once again earned accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the worlds largest organization working on behalf of young children, according to a statement.

NAEYC Accreditation is a rigorous and transformative quality-improvement system that uses a set of 10 researched-based standards to collaborate with early learning environments.

Our dedicated teachers and entire staff are proud to have earned the mark of quality and education from NAEYC, and to be recognized for our commitment to reaching the highest professional standards, said Katie Bike, P.A.L. programs director.

This is the third time that P.A.L. has achieved this accreditation ranking the preschool in the top ten percent in the nation for education and early childhood development and care. It also offers before and after school enrichment programs for children ages 5-12.

To earn NAEYC Accreditation , P.A.L. went through an extensive self-study and quality improvement process, followed by an on-site visit by NAEYC Assessors to verify and ensure that the program met each of the ten program standards, as well as hundreds of corresponding individual criteria. The highly trained and well educated staff members receive additional training, emergency certification and continued education in all aspects of early childhood development. NAEYC-accredited programs are always prepared for unannounced quality-assurance visits during their accreditation term, which lasts for five years.

NAEYC-Accredited programs bring our definition of excellence for early childhood education to life each day, said Kristin Johnson, senior director of Early Learning Program Accreditation at NAEYC. Earning NAEYC Accreditation makes Play And Learn Child Development Center an exemplar of good practice for families and the entire community.
NEW ORLEANS, April 12, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until May 31, 2019 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T), if they purchased the Companys 1) securities between October 22, 2016 and October 24, 2018, inclusive (the Class Period) and/or 2) shares issued in connection with its June 2018 acquisition of Time Warner. This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.



Get Help

AT&T investors should visit us at https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-atampt-inc-securities-litigation or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options.

About the Lawsuit

AT&T and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On October 24, 2018, following AT&Ts June 2018 acquisition of Time Warner, the Company disclosed its 3Q2018 results for the first full quarter post-Acquisition that included significant decreases in traditional DirecTV and DirecTV Now subscribers, despite its prior statements touting the expected subscriber growth potential.

On this news, the price of AT&Ts shares fell nearly 12%.

The case is Gross v. AT&T Inc. et al, 19-cv-2892.

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.
Taliban fighters attacked the outskirts of a northern Afghan city and bomb blasts were reported in the capital, Kabul, a day after the Taliban launched their annual spring offensive.



The violence on April 13 comes as the United States continues to push for a peace settlement with the Taliban, with a new round of talks scheduled later this month in Qatar.



In the city of Kunduz, Naeem Mangal, head of the regional hospital, told the AFP news agency that at least eight people were killed and 62 wounded in fighting on the citys limits.



In Kabul, meanwhile, a central police station came under attack when two hand grenades were thrown at a military vehicle -- the first major incident of its kind in weeks.



Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said at least one person was killed and six others wounded. No one immediately claimed responsibility.



In the western province of Ghor, at least seven members of Afghan security forces were killed in a Taliban ambush, the provincial governor's spokesman, Abdul Hai Khatibi, said.



And a truck bomb attack was reported in eastern Nangarhar province late on April 12. A spokesman for the provincial governor, Ataullah Khogyani, said two Afghan troops had been killed, along with 27 Taliban fighters.



The spring offensive traditionally marks the start of the so-called fighting season, though fighting nowadays continues unabated throughout the year.



In a statement released in five languages on April 12, the Taliban said the fighting would continue while foreign forces remain in Afghanistan.



Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special envoy who is spearheading Washingtons push for a peace settlement, called the Taliban announcement "reckless.



The Taliban have long refused to speak officially with Kabul, calling the government a "puppet" of the West.

Based on reporting by AFP
A former Kyrgyz presidential candidate who fled the country amid a criminal probe has canceled plans to return to the country.

Omurbek Babanov said April 13 he had nixed the trip amid concerns "third forces" could exploit his return to Bishkek to stir up unrest. He also called on supporters to cancel rallies in his support.



"I ask that today's meeting be canceled. I am immensely grateful to you, dear people of Kyrgyzstan. God willing, I will return at some point in the future," he said in an interview shown on his YouTube channel. "It's better that I sacrifice my name than create conditions for third forces that will pose threats to your life."



He gave no further details as to what he meant by "third forces" or the unspecified threats.

Earlier, Babanov had posted on Facebook that he had a plane ticket from Moscow to Bishkek and planned to arrive in the Kyrgyz capital early on April 13.

A businessman who finished second in the October 2017 presidential election, Babanov left the country after authorities launched an investigation into charges that he incited ethnic hatred during the campaign.

Officials said Babanov was suspected of plotting riots and the seizure of power in the Central Asian country.

In his statement on Facebook, and a TV interview broadcast on April 10, Babanov said he was returning to the country voluntarily.

I am returning on my own free will. Why would they arrest me? he told the TV station NTS. Im not running away from anything. I have nothing to hide.

In the 2017 vote, President Sooronbai Jeenbekov, the ruling party candidate, won the election with backing from outgoing leader Almazbek Atambaev and took office in November.

Babanov had alleged that the vote was marred by violations.

International observers praised the vote as competitive and transparent, but said that "numerous and significant problems were noted" during the count and that the "misuse of public resources, pressure on voters, and vote buying remain a concern."
About a year ago, Iran blocked the highly popular messaging app Telegram, an encrypted tool that half the country's 81 million people used for sharing news and information, debating in private, and conducting business.



Authorities had reportedly boasted that "the blocking of the Telegram app should prevent users from accessing it via VPN" -- the virtual private networks that create hidden point-to-point connections on existing infrastructure -- "or any other software."



But polling cited by official media and an embarrassing gaffe on state TV suggest that the clerically dominated leadership's policies on social media and other digital platforms might be missing their mark.



That includes their ballyhooed efforts to convert Iranians to homegrown apps and possibly even a "national internet."

Recent figures from the Tehran-based Iranian Student Polling Agency (ISPA) and quoted by local media including government news agency IRNA suggest that Telegram is again the country's most popular app, with a tool that authorities have threatened to ban, Instagram, in second.



RFE/RL journalists cannot access the ISPA's proprietary research.



But Iranian media have cited ISPA research from February to March showing the portion of Telegram users in the country was back up to 56 percent, after having fallen from 60 percent to around 47 percent after the ban was announced in May 2018.



"Filtering could not prevent people from [using] Telegram," IRNA wrote alongside an April 7 graphic of the ISPA's findings.

'Information Haves And Have-Nots'



Iran routinely filters tens of thousands of websites, including news sites and social-media networks, but Iranians frequently access banned sites through VPNs and other anti-filtering tools.



Such policies remain a target of Tehran critics -- including U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook in an opinion piece this week in The New York Times -- who accuse it of bifurcating Iranian society into information haves and have-nots, with bans enforced against average citizens but ignored when the offenders are political or religious elites.



A video clip that has been viral for months appears to underscore that perception.



In it, Friday Prayers leader in northwestern Iran Hojotoleslam Ashghar Jodayi casually acknowledges using Telegram and Instagram on state TV.



"Excuse me, sir, but Telegram has been filtered," the moderator responds as he bursts into laughter.

Seemingly recognizing his verbal slip, the cleric quickly says he was of course referring to "that time" and jokes that his Telegram was not filtered.



"If we're concerned about the damage from Telegram, blocking it is not the solution," he then says, adding that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has encouraged cyberactivities to confront "the enemy."

Mobile messaging apps are used around the world to text and share news and information, photos, and videos with friends and others with smartphones. Encrypted apps seek to ensure varying levels of privacy to their users, including protection from government prying.



Iranians use Telegram to access and share uncensored news and information and content deemed sensitive by Iran's postrevolutionary regime. But they also use it to stay in touch with friends and relatives at home and abroad, engage in debates and conduct advertising and business.



Some activists were said to have used Telegram to organize protests in December 2017 over economic grievances and to share footage of the demonstrations. Authorities temporarily banned Telegram and Instagram, citing security concerns.

Indefinite Filtering



The indefinite filtering of Telegram on the grounds that it endangered national security was ordered by Iran's hard-line Judiciary in May 2018 amid a state push for Iranians to use homegrown messaging apps.



President Hassan Rohani and his communications minister opposed the ban, and many Iranians have appeared to be reluctant to entrust their privacy to the state.

Even Khamenei, a hard-line cleric who has the last word on political and religious affairs in Iran, only quit Telegram last year when he announced he was joining the domestic alternatives, including Soroush and iGap.



But the economic daily Donya-e Eghtesad reported recently that 2 percent of Iran's social-media users have joined Soroush.



Iran's official media outlets also stopped posting on their Telegram channels while joining homegrown apps.



But even some hard-line media like state-controlled television have reactivated their news channels on Telegram.



The official website of Iran's government also has a Telegram channel.



Khamenei's Telegram channel remains inactive.



But like Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and many other officials, Khamenei is active on Twitter, which is also banned inside the country.
Kosovo said it would punish the denial of war crimes committed by Serb forces, an effort likely to further inflame tensions between Belgrade and Pristina.

The effort, announced by Deputy Prime Minister Enver Hoxhaj on April 12, was intended to "punish such declarations by Kosovo Serbs."

It's unclear how quickly the proposed legislation will move through Kosovo's legislature, or what form it will take.

But it comes two days after Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic asserted that the conclusions of an international probe into the killing of 45 Kosovar civilians in January 1999 were "fabricated".

Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj responded angrily, saying it was an example of "the dangerous reality of Serbian nationalism.

"There can be no reconciliation without accepting the truth of the past," he said in a post to Twitter.

Serb officials maintain that the fighting in January 1999, southwest of Pristina, involved guerilla fighters from the Kosovo Liberation Army.

The killings were a factor that led to NATO airstrikes and the withdrawal of Serb forces.

More than 13,000 people died during the Kosovo conflict.

Based on reporting by AFP, Reuters
In Republika Srpska, Bosnia's Serb entity, it's perfectly legal to film police officers on the job. For now, at least.



Lawmakers there are set to vote on April 16 on a series of public-order laws that, among other things, would ban people from taking or distributing videos and photos of public servants, including police and security officials, while they are performing their duties.



The government says the legislation is aimed at "bringing back dignity to, and protecting police officers" and not at impeding the country's thriving media sector.



But rights groups and Western diplomats are questioning Bosnia's commitment to democratic norms and bluntly calling it a move by the Bosnian Serb member of the country's tripartite presidency, Milorad Dodik, to exert further pressure on a profession already under fire.



"The whole package is aimed at introducing new tools and provides more [discretionary] authority for the police to bring in for questioning, sanction, and/or arrest those who are protesting, while at the same time it strips people of the possibility of taking any evidence of potential wrongdoing by the police," Ivana Korajlic, acting executive director of Transparency International Bosnia and Herzegovina, told RFE/RL.



"It is clear that the aim is to legalize repression mechanisms," she added.

String Of Angry Protests



While the government hasn't said why it's pushing the legislation now, critics say it was likely prompted by a string of angry protests over the suspicious death of a student, David Dragicevic, in Banja Luka in Republika Srpska a year ago.



Dragicevic, a technology student, was found dead in a local creek a week after going missing in March 2018.



Police say Dragicevic had been caught up in a fight at a cafe and that they found alcohol and drugs in his system.

The case was called a drowning and originally ruled a suicide. But his family says their son was abducted, tortured, and murdered. They accuse police of involvement.



The death remains disputed and police have banned "Justice For David" demonstrations, which security officials were accused of using excessive force to break up over the past year.



"Throughout the past several months we have witnessed illicit use of force against journalists, activists, and citizens of Banja Luka by the [Republika Srpska] police -- the adoption of the mentioned [legal] changes would open legal space for even stronger repression and the complete derogation of human rights and freedoms in this entity," according to the Journalists Association of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Dangerous Profession



Being a journalist in Bosnia has become a more dangerous profession in recent times.



The association says it has recorded 44 physical attacks against journalists over the past six years, along with 48 cases of serious harassment or verbal intimidation and 21 death threats.



In an "already challenging environment for media professionals," if approved the laws will just make things worse, according to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).



"Journalists must be able to cover events of public interest without fear," said Bruce Berton, the head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina.



"In addition, under international human rights standards, every person should enjoy the right to attend, observe, and record a public peaceful assembly, which includes the right to record actions of law-enforcement officers," Berton said in a statement on April 5.

Republika Srpska is not so different from the rest of Bosnia.



Politics since the 1995 agreement has been dominated by nationalist rhetoric instead of moving toward rebuilding a country ravaged by three years of war in the 1990s that left some 100,000 dead following the bloody breakup of Yugoslavia.



While media in the Bosniak-Croat federation that is Bosnia's other constituent part have tried to keep an arm's length from politicians, the connections in Republika Srpska are considered by many analysts to be much tighter.



Dodik is well-known for his hostility toward some media members, refusing questions he suggests aren't in line with his thinking or openly questioning reporters' patriotism.



Dusko Kopic, a doctor of legal sciences from Banja Luka, says the draft law is written so vaguely that it gives a lot of leeway to police and other officials to follow in Dodik's footsteps.



"If the law is not defined precisely, for example in stating what exactly interference is, it can lead to a broad interpretation of that law and abuse of the law itself," he told RFE/RL.



"Simply put, media is a window into the world and every form of attack on the media is a limitation of democracy," he added.
Russias Investigative Committee says two suspected members of the extremist Islamic State group have been liquidated in a security operation in central Russia.

Two explosive devices and other bomb-making material were among items seized in the raid in Tyumen, the Investigative Committee said in a statement on April 13 cited by the Interfax news agency.

Late on April 12, Interfax and TASS reported that an antiterrorist operation was under way in the city, with streets cordoned off near the apartment block where the suspected IS militants were reportedly holed up. People in the vicinity were also evacuated.

Photos of the massive security presence late on April 12  including armored carriers -- circulated on Twitter. 

Recordings of what were described as gunfire in the area late on April 12 also circulated on Twitter.

The Investigative Committee said the two suspects had been "plotting terror attacks in the region."

With reporting by Interfax and TASS
The U.S. ambassador to Russia said Washington was committed to defending Ukraine's territorial integrity, saying the issue of Moscows annexation of Crimea and the conflict in eastern Ukraine was "a core part of our estrangement with Russia."

In an interview with RFE/RLs Russian Service published on April 13, Jon Huntsman also called on Russia to "engage in a helpful process that will allow the people of Ukraine to see their nation restored."

"We do care deeply about the territorial integrity of Ukraine, which has been badly violated," Huntsman said. "[Moscow's 2014] annexation of Crimea and the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine  it has not been resolved. Nothing has been done in terms of positive steps toward recreating the contours of a whole and free Ukraine."

"It is time to get to the negotiating table and find some solutions, which has not been the case for the last many years," he added.

Huntsmans comments come just over five years after Russia seized the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and then annexed it, a move that has been rejected by the overwhelming majority of United Nations members.

In April 2014, the month after the Crimea annexation, armed men began seizing key buildings in parts of Ukraines eastern Donbas region, and a full-blown war broke out shortly thereafter.

Diplomats and journalists have documented Russias backing for the fighters, who have battled Ukrainian government-backed forces. More than 13,000 people have died.

The United States, the European Union, and others imposed economic sanctions against Russia following the annexation and the outbreak of fighting, sanctions that remain in place despite indications from U.S. President Donald Trump that he might consider easing them.

Sanctions Consensus

Huntsman said that maintaining sanctions against Russia is one of the few matters on which both major U.S. political parties agree.

"This issue, in the United States Senate, has united almost 100 percent of Republicans and Democrats," he said.

The International Criminal Court ruled in November 2016 that the war in eastern Ukraine was "an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation."

In addition to Crimea and the Donbas conflict, Huntsman cited the conclusions of the U.S. intelligence community that Russia sought to meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

And he cited the case of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, whose 2009 death in a Russian prison led to the passage of a U.S. law that has infuriated the Kremlin.

"People uniformly in Congress feel very strongly about these issues and how we should respond, he said.

Support For NATO

Huntsman also affirmed U.S. support for NATO, saying that it protects "the freedom and liberties of almost a billion people who share common values."

"NATO will continue to build and to shift and to figure out how best it can maintain its role and its posture maintaining stability in the region," he said. "It is a very important deterrent force."

Trump has been critical of NATO, complaining that the United States is bearing too much of the alliances financial burden. Hes also questioned NATOs most important element: that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all 29 members.

"I only see successes when I look at NATO," Huntsman said. "It is there for a reason, and I think a billion people are very grateful and appreciative that the peace and freedoms of so many people have been protected as a result of this most-successful collective security organization."

Huntsman also addressed the case of two Americans facing criminal charges in Russia.

He called on Moscow to present its evidence in the case of former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who was arrested in Moscow in December 2018 on suspicion of espionage. He denies the accusations.

The ambassador lauded a Moscow court's April 11 decision to move U.S. investment banker Michael Calvey, who faces embezzlement charges, to house arrest.

A renowned investor, Calvey has built his private equity firm, Baring Vostok, into a billion-dollar management company with stakes in dozens of businesses, including Russias largest online search engine, Yandex.

"We hope, as I know his family does, that this is resolved as quickly as possible," Huntsman said.

Written by Robert Coalson based on interview conducted by Irina Lagunina.
BELGRADE-- Thousands of Serbian protesters have jammed a central Belgrade square in what organizers hoped would be the biggest outpouring of opposition to President Aleksandar Vucic in months.



Riot police faced off with the demonstrators who gathered on April 13 outside parliament as part of the protest organized by a loose coalition of 30 opposition groups, political parties, and activists.



Crowds chanted "Vucic, go away!" as speakers took to a stage to criticize the Serbian leadership.



"Mr. President, in order for Serbia to return to its constitution, you have to do what the citizens are asking for. Resign!" said Zoran Ivosevic, a former Supreme Court judge.

The Interior Ministry estimated that around 7,300 people had participated in the Belgrade rally. There was no immediate word on protests in other cities.

Members of Vucic's conservative party, meanwhile, barricaded themselves inside the parliament building, saying they were trying to thwart a forceful takeover by "fascists and thugs."



Since December, Serbs have been taking to the streets of Belgrade and elsewhere weekly to protest what they say is Vucic's autocratic rule, growing press restrictions, and other problems in the country.



The demonstrations began in December after leftist opposition leader Borko Stefanovic was brutally beaten up by masked attackers.



Vucic later mocked the demonstrations, saying he wouldnt fulfill the demands "even if five million of you come out."



Since then, government opponents have rallied every Saturday under the slogan "1 out of 5 million."



Protesters have also vented anger at state broadcasters RTS and RTV. Last month, a group of demonstrators broke into the RTS headquarters, trying to get their demands read out on air. But police eventually cleared the building after scuffles.



Long a nationalist, Vucic has attempted to remake himself as a pro-European Union reformer while seeking to maintain good relations with traditional ally Russia.

Vucic reportedly plans to rally his supporters in Belgrade on April 19 in an effort to counter the rising opposition protests.

With reporting by Balkan Insight and AP
NEW ORLEANS, April 12, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC (KSF) and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until June 10, 2019 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Orion Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ORN), if they purchased the Companys securities between securities between March 13, 2018 and March 26, 2019, inclusive (the Class Period). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.



What You May Do

If you purchased securities of Orion and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email (lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-orn/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court by June 10, 2019 .

About the Lawsuit

Orion and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On March 26, 2019, the Company disclosed a 4Q 2018 net loss of $94.4 million due to certain non-cash charges, including a goodwill impairment charge of $69.5 million. On this news, the price of Orions shares fell, injuring investors.

The case is Heck v. Orion Group Holdings, Inc., 4:19-cv-01337.

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

lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com

1-877-515-1850

1100 Poydras St., Suite 3200

New Orleans, LA 70163
A suspected Israeli air strike on a military site in central Syria early on April 13 wounded six soldiers and destroyed several buildings, Syrias state news agency SANA reported.



A military official told SANA that Israeli targeted a military academy near the town of Masyaf in Hama Province.



The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Israeli air trikes hit three targets, wounding 17 Syrian soldiers. It said there were also deaths, but it was not immediately clear how many were killed and whether they were Iranians or Iran-sponsored fighters.



The Israeli military declined to comment.

Israel does not usually comment on reports concerning its air strikes in neighboring Syria, though it has recently acknowledged striking Iranian targets there.



Iran is a close ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and has sent military advisers, as well as thousands of fighters from across the region, to help his forces in the eight-year conflict.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP
Wyoming Ocean State Job Lot store manager Eric Cole and his rescue dog Brady, a Labrador retriever mix, presented a $600 check to Richmond Animal Control Officer Anne Fisher outside the store on Tuesday. The money will be used to help the towns Stray and Homeless Pets program.
During the North Kingstown Chamber of Commerce 90th anniversary local businesses and town officials were on hand to celebrate the milestone. Pictured above: Town councilor Mary Brimer, town clerk Jeannette Alyward, chamber board of directors chairperson James Halley and town councilor Richard Welch.
NEW YORK, April 13, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Indivior PLC (Indivior or the Company) (OTCMKTS: INVVY). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 9980.



The investigation concerns whether Indivior and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.

[Click here to join a class action]

On April 9, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that a federal grand jury had indicted Indivior for engaging in an illicit nationwide scheme to increase prescriptions of Suboxone Film, an opioid drug used in the treatment of opioid addiction. The DOJ stated that [a]ccording to the indictment, Indivior obtained billions of dollars in revenue from Suboxone Film prescriptions by deceiving health care providers and health care benefit programs into believing that Suboxone Film was safer, less divertible, and less abusable than other opioid-addiction treatment drugs. Following news of Indiviors indictment, the Companys American depositary receipt price fell $4.48 per share, or 66.08%, to close at $2.30 per share on April 10, 2019.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com

CONTACT:

Robert S. Willoughby

Pomerantz LLP

rswilloughby@pomlaw.com
Lewis Hamilton has welcomed F1's speculated return to Zandvoort for 2020, but notes that the former grand prix circuit is hard to overtake on.

With official confirmation still lacking, it is believed race organisers have inked a five-year contract with Liberty Media for a Dutch grand prix starting in 2020.

Speaking in Shanghai, Hamilton recalls racing at the circuit in his junior category days.

"It was a great circuit when I last drove there," said the Mercedes driver, who beat Sebastian Vettel to victory at Zandvoort during the 2005 F3 Euro series.

"It was just hard to overtake on," said Hamilton. "I don't know if that's changed now or whether something will change.

"Maybe it will be better with DRS, but I think it (returning to the Netherlands) is really cool.

"People always talk about Paris, but I love Amsterdam much more," Hamilton is quoted by De Telegraaf. "It is a young, fresh city."

(GMM)
CDMX Metrobus crashes into tree injuring 12

Mexico City, Mexico  The driver of a Line 1 Mexico City Metrobus lost control of his unit Friday, crashing into a tree and injuring 12.

Elements with the Secretaria de Seguridad Ciudadana of the Ciudad de Mexico arrived to help those involved. The bus driver lost control near Insurgentes Sur and Camino Santa Teresa in Colonia Parque del Pedregal where the public transport bus landed against a tree.

Photo: Twitter @ impactomx

During the collision, a young man on a motorcycle was forced to skid through the intersection to avoid being hit by the bus. He was one of the 12 injured. Also hurt in the accident were 10 bus passengers, two of which were minors, along with the driver.

Paramedics arrived from the Emergency Medical Rescue Squad who attended to the injured on site. Only the bus driver was transferred to hospital after paramedics diagnosed him with spinal trauma.
F1 legend Sir Jackie Stewart is not sure Lewis Hamilton is any more talented than the other top drivers on the grid.

The triple world champion says Hamilton was a "lucky boy" to have made the move to Mercedes just before the German giant started to dominate.

"Lewis is a very lucky boy to be in a position to have such enormous support behind him," Stewart told the Mirror newspaper.

"What Lewis did was move at the right time to Mercedes. Of course he's a very good driver. But is he better than Sebastian Vettel? Or Fernando Alonso, Alain Prost, Jim Clark, Ayrton Senna, Schumacher or Jackie Stewart?"

And the 79-year-old says it is possible Hamilton will become a six-time world champion in 2019.

"I think he again has a very good chance of winning because the other teams just don't have the performance or the reliability that Mercedes have," said Stewart.

"That's why there have been so many multiple grands prix victories and world champions now because the car has to be fast, but it's also got to be reliable."

(GMM)
Another 22 charges were taken in consideration. Two weeks after they met in a train,when she was with her grandparents, he began sending her photographs of his genitalia and asked her to reciprocate. He also pestered her to have sex and she agreed to it at least five times. The offences, which took place between February and April 2017, came to light after the girls mother chanced upon her behaving suspiciously during a video call with a man and went through her text messages.

Her parents confiscated the girls phone and found sexually explicit text exchanges she had with the accused. Deputy Public Prosecutor Winston Man argued that the accused had deliberately and consciously cultivated the victim for sexual purposes. So there were aggravating factors as they indicated premeditation. Sex offences against minor persons are strongly punished in Malaysia.
Choose between honest chowkidar and corrupt naamdar

Ahmednagar, Apr 13: Seeking to make the Lok Sabha polls a contest between him and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked voters to choose between "imaandar (honest) chowkidar' and 'bhrashtachari (corrupt) naamdar". Gandhi has been hurling the "chowkidar chor hai" jibe at Modi to claim irregularities in Rafale deal, while the PM has been calling the Congress chief as 'naamdar' (dynast).

"You have to choose between imaandar chowkidar and bhrashtachari naamdar. You also have to choose between heroes of India and supporters of Pakistan," Modi said. At a rally here to campaign for BJP-Shiv Sena alliance candidates of Ahmednagar and Shirdi Lok Sabha constituencies, Modi said, "You have to decide the country's future and which direction will it take in this election." Modi said in the last five years, people have seen that his government is a strong regime which takes decisions.

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"You have seen Chowkidar's government which is strong and takes decisions. Scams and decision-making delays were the order of the day during the remote-controlled government (UPA) earlier," Modi said. "During the UPA rule, bomb blasts were frequent in which farmers, middle class people and traders were killed. Blasts happened in trains, buses and stations. But under the Chowkidar's rule, where are the bomb blasts," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

"This is because the Chowkidar has instilled fear in minds of the terror perpetrators that even a single mistake would prove costly for them. The Chowkidar will find them from hell and punish them," Modi said. Modi asked if people agree with his policy of killing terrorists by going into their territory and killing them. He said the earlier government looked weak "in front of Pakistan and rest of the world".

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"Our army wanted to take revenge but the (then) government kept quiet. This Chowkidar gave permission (to army) to kill terrorists by going inside their territory. Are you happy with this strong government," he said. On the National Conference demanding Prime Minister's post for Jammu and Kashmir, Modi said, "the Congress and NCP are supporting those who demand that Jammu and Kashmir have a Prime Minister."

"I have no expectation from the Congress since it has stopped thinking about people long ago," he said. "This sin is the creation of that party," he added. Modi said NCP chief Sharad Pawar had quit the Congress in the name of the country. "Sharad rao, how can you be silent on the two PM demand. Why are you silent? Is this acceptable to you? "Your party's name is Rashtravadi but you see the country through a foreign lens after allying with the Congress again.

Rahul Gandhi

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Is the name Rashtravadi in your party to fool people," Modi said. Reaching out to first-time voters, Modi said,"those born in the 21st century will be voting for the first time. Do you agree with the weak approach of previous governments and their compromising national security? Is this acceptable to you?" Modi said he has been able to work on various development projects, including farmers welfare, because of people's support.

He expressed confidence that the "Modi sarkar" will be re-elected on May 23 when results of the ongoing Lok Sabha polls are declared. Modi said after being re-elected to power, his government would have a separate ministry for water management. He accused the Congress-NCP combine of being enemies of farmers. Modi said the Congress needs to be decisively defeated to ensure poverty eradication, modern infrastructure and development of all sections of society.

Continuing his tirade against Rahul Gandhi, Modi linked the IT raids on aides of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, claiming this was "Tughlak Road chunavi ghotala" (election scam). Tughlak Road is the residence of a "naamdar neta" in Delhi where funds are being sent, Modi said. "Child nutrition funds given to Madhya Pradesh government are being used for elections. Habits of the Congress won't go. The Chowkidar is alert and that is why he could arrest the thieves," he said.

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2019 Lok Sabha polls

Notably, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath's residence as an MP is at 1, Tughlaq Road in New Delhi, while Congress president Rahul Gandhi's official residence as an MP is 12, Tughlak Lane in the national capital. The Income Tax Department recently conducted raids on close aides of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and Congress leader Kamal Nath and others in four states on Sunday.

The CBDT, that frames policy for the I-T department, had said the department has also detected a trail of Rs 20 crore suspect cash allegedly being moved to the "headquarters of a major political party in Delhi" from the house of an important person who lives on Tughlaq Road, home to many VIPs. There was speculation that Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, whose son Sujay is BJP candidate from Ahmednagar, may attend the rally but the Congress leader stayed away from the venue.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi

Krishnagiri (TN), Apr 13: Congress President Rahul Gandhi Friday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging he ran his government for 15 of his friends and he wondered why no big-ticket defaulters of bank loans like Vijay Mallya were not in jail. The Congress chief said the ones like Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya, after taking bank loans, failed to return it and ran away from the country. "Not even a single one is in jail," he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

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Gandhi said when his party is voted to power, no farmer "is going to be put in jail for not paying back his bank loan, it is not fair that the richest people do not go to jail but farmers go to jail for the same offence." He alleged the Prime Minister gave Rs 35,0000 crore to Nirav Modi, Rs 35,000 crore to Mehul Choksi and Rs 10,000 crore to Vijay Mallya. During the last five years, Modi ran a government for 15 people and you know the names, he said.

Vijay Mallya

"These are Anil Ambani, Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi and they are Modi's friends," he said addressing a poll rally here. Focusing on his party's Minimum Income Support Scheme 'Nyay,' he said it would give purchasing power to the people and that in turn would propel factories in Tamil Nadu and the overall economy. Textile and silk hubs of Tamil Nadu, Tirupur and Kancheepuram "will become live," again and provide employment opportunities to youngsters, he said. Gandhi said his party and its allies will never allow Tamil Nadu people to be ruled by Nagpur (the RSS) and expressed confidence that DMK chief M K Stalin will soon be the Chief Minister of the State.
Worlds largest electoral body is abuzz

Chandigarh 13th April'19: Worlds largest electoral body is abuzz with activity, but it is not giving out any good signals. No right precedence is being set. The political leaders have gotten into this habit of displaying their arrogance and muscle power. The loss of two lives on the first day of this long polling season is scary in terms of what would be the cost our country would have to pay for this election. The uncertainty of the result is an addition to the worry.

The most daunting news of the first day when India went to polls was that the foremost visible evidence of having voted, the election ink on each eligible voter who has exercised the right to vote, is removable easily. The ink, which is supposed to be permanent and goes off only when the dead skin cells come off and new ones grow. EVMs were already under a cloud of suspicion, and now this. The doubt on democracy grows.

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EVMs were already under a cloud of suspicion

The nervousness being seen in a particular section of politicians is peculiar. A Shiv Sens leader has written in the party mouthpiece Saamna that BJP should do anything possible, to defeat Kanhayiya Kumar, even if it has to rig the EVMs. Such open declaration is really shocking. Kanhayiya Kumar, a JNU student, who stood like a rock for his opposition of mentality of discrimination against the lower castes, and demanding freedom from it, could not be bent down by the government.

A boy whose spirit could not be broken by the full force of the whole government machinery, is now a target of such malicious thoughts! Kanhaiyia Kumar is taking a leap in politics by contesting against BJPs Giriraj Singh. Kanhayiya is neither a product of any dynasty, nor is he a price. A party like BJP, who calls itself a crusader against dynastic politics, who gave the opportunity of rising to the stature of a Prime Minister, to a tea vendor, should have felt proud of a self-made person like Kanhayiya.

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Kanhaiya Kumar and Narendra Modi

It is evident, that the concept of so-called equality has vanished from the ruling partys mind, and has been replaced by nervousness. In the last few days, three poster leaders of BJP have given statements which flout the Election Commission directions blatantly, but also show the fear which has embedded deep down in their minds, about losing the mandate. BJP is not talking about the problems of unemployment and development, the issues it cried hoarse about in 2014.

The campaign in 2014 had no mention of hatred, but only had development as the theme. The election campaign today resembles the hate mongering which happened in 2015 Assembly election in Bihar in 2015. The competition was between BJP and Mahagathjod, with BJP losing. Like 2015, this time too BJP is spewing venom.

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Amit Shah calls for revenge, Yogi Adityanath asks voters to chose between Ali and Bajrangbali, playing the communal card, but the most devastating attack on the democratic structure of our country has been made by the very person who claims to guard the sanctity of the country, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Amit shah and Yogi Adityanath

He has now repeatedly asked the voters to vote in his favour for the sake of Pulwama Martyrs and the Balakot Air Strike. These people break every rule of democracy, violate every decorum and rule. Police employees get food packets with NaMo written on them, it being done with the money of the public of India, and termed as free food from the PM. NaMo TV runs despite Election Commissions objections, and so does the web series on Eros Now, named MODI.

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Does all this show BJPs bewildered state, that ity is bent upon winning, even if it means breaking all laws of the land? Will the next Prime Minister of India lead the nation by bending the rules in an undemocratic manner? The EC needs to act immediately today. Would a government which comes to power after hate speeches, broken rules, election ink scandal, would be a democratic government at all? Would the people of India be able to understand this and would they be able to give a befitting reply is the burning question today.

-Nimrat Kaur

(Translated by Ravijot Kaur)
Max Verstappen has joined his father in slamming suggestions he regularly talks on the phone to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.

The rumours, triggered by Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko, sparked suggestions the 21-year-old Dutchman might try to exercise a break clause in his contract and switch to Mercedes for 2020.

Verstappen's father Jos denied that Max even has Wolff's phone number.

Max, speaking in Shanghai, agrees with his father that there is nothing to the speculation.

"I was really surprised to read about it," he said.

"I have never called Toto Wolff and he has never called me. He doesn't have my number so it's pretty funny.

"Toto and my father sometimes talk, but it's more about babies and karting," Verstappen smiled.

He also refused to talk about the supposed performance-related exit clause in his contract. The rumours suggest if Red Bull drops out of the top three, he is free to leave.

"I cannot and will not talk about my contract," said Verstappen. "I think that's normal."

More important to the Dutchman is his 2019 car, which according to Marko has an "aerodynamic problem".

"I feel better in the car than last year," Max said in China. "But right now we are not fast enough."

He said changes have been made since Bahrain, helped by the post-GP test.

"We know now what we did wrong with the setup," said Verstappen. "We'll see how the car behaves with the changes," he added, indicating they are related to the car's mechanical setup.

"It is not a big problem so it should be quickly resolved. If we find the right balance, we can be closer to Mercedes and Ferrari."

Speaking to Kronen Zeitung newspaper, Marko agrees: "We see light at the end of the tunnel.

"The tests in Bahrain clarified the direction to go."

He denied that the "aerodynamic problems", uncharacteristic for an Adrian Newey car, reveal a fundamental issue with the 2019 machine.

"It's aerodynamic problems, so I don't think we have to question the overall concept of the car," said Marko.

"Then we have a good engine, although not quite at the level of Ferrari and Mercedes."

(GMM)
Max Verstappen says he has not been surprised by the early success of Charles Leclerc's move to Ferrari.

The pair were wheel-to-wheel back in their karting days, with Leclerc now joining Verstappen in challenging the likes of top F1 drivers Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.

But Verstappen said of Leclerc: "I knew how fast he is.

"So I knew that with a good Ferrari Charles would be very strong. And I thought to myself that if Ricciardo could beat Vettel before, then so can Leclerc.

"Vettel is a very good driver, I mean he has won four world titles," Verstappen told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "But he is not a magician or anything in my eyes."

The 21-year-old also confirmed his boss Dr Helmut Marko's news that Red Bull will bring new parts to Barcelona next month to address an aerodynamic problem.

"Bringing new parts between Bahrain and China is not easy, also because of customs issues here," said Verstappen.

"But with the start of the grands prix in Europe, we want to bring many developments and move closer to the top."

(GMM)
California officials say six prison guards were hurt in an attack Thursday by an inmate at a maximum-security lockup.

The inmate, Douglas Compton, refused orders to leave an out-of-bounds area of a yard at Calipatria State Prison in Imperial County, prison officials said.

When three guards approached him, authorities say, Compton stabbed one in the head and face with a homemade weapon. He also allegedly punched two other officers.

Guards used batons, pepper spray and fired a rifle shot to stop the attack.

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Compton was treated for facial cuts and moved to another prison. Five correctional officers and a sergeant were treated for cuts, slashes and sprains and released.

Compton is serving 112 years to life in prison for second-degree murder. He could now face a charge of attempted homicide.
A Los Angeles Unified School District police officer was involved in a shooting Friday following a carjacking and vehicle collision in Westlake, officials said.

The incident, which did not happen on school grounds, took place shortly before 3 p.m. near the intersection of Alvarado and West 3rd streets, said Sgt. Julie Spry, a public information officer for LAUSD police.

A suspect has been taken into custody, Spry said.

Det. Meghan Aguilar, an LAPD spokeswoman, said the suspect was involved in a carjacking that led to a car crash in the vicinity of Alvarado and West 3rd shortly before the shooting occurred.

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The school police officer was not the victim of the carjacking or involved in the crash, according to Aguilar, who said both the suspect and the officer were hospitalized with injuries.

School police officials plan to hold a news conference near the shooting scene later Friday.

james.queally@latimes.com

Follow @JamesQueallyLAT for crime and police news in California.
Some of the most provocative topics in American political discourse  from the opioid crisis to racial identity to the countrys southern border  were at the heart of the books celebrated Friday night during the 39th annual Los Angeles Times Book Prizes.

Held inside USCs Bovard Auditorium, the ceremony kicked off The Times weekend-long Festival of Books by honoring 12 authors, including Corona native Terry Tempest Williams, who received the Robert Kirsch award for lifetime achievement. The festival, which is now in its 25th year, will bring together more than 500 writers, musicians and artists as tens of thousands of attendees descend on USCs campus.

Former U.S. Border Patrol agent Francisco Cantu received the current events prize for The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches From the Border. He said Friday that writing the book was the only way to make sense of what he had experienced while conducting immigration enforcement operations.

We have to hear more voices of those who are affected by immigration enforcement, he said. Listen to these voices that are coming from the border. Listen to them, review them, extend your platforms to them.

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Former Roanoke Times reporter Beth Macy earned top honors in the Science and Technology category for Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America, which chronicles the origins of the nations crippling dependency on painkillers and the Purdue pharmaceutical companys role in the crisis.

Macy spoke about the painful process of researching her work. She dedicated her win to Tess Henry, a woman central to her book who suffered from addiction and was later murdered.

In my writing, there were people I spoke to who died before I was able to get home and type up my interview notes. There were times when I really, really wanted to just quit, she said.

In fiction, Rebecca Makkais novel The Great Believers, a tale of friendship that moves from Chicago to Paris, won the top prize. Oyinkan Braithwaites darkly comedic debut, My Sister, the Serial Killer, took home the Mystery/Thriller prize, and Eisner Award winner Tillie Waldens On a Sunbeam was honored as the best graphic novel or comic book. Walden could not attend Friday nights ceremony, but she sent in an acceptance video in the style of her graphic novel.

Nafissa Thompson-Spires spoke about the importance of diverse characters in literature as she claimed the Art Seidenbaum prize for best fiction debut for her collection of short stories, Heads of the Colored People.

I wrote this book because I felt like as a kid, and even as a grad student, I didnt see books that reflected the kind of black person I was. I wanted to write about weird black people, she said.

When Elizabeth Acevedo started writing The Poet X, which took home the Young Adult Literature prize on Friday, she said she was trying to pull together an array of disparate story strands while working her way through graduate school.

It was 368 pieces of verse, I had no idea what they were doing, Acevedo said. They were hinges I was trying to connect into doorways.

Julia Boyd won the History prize for chronicling the Nazi partys ascent to power in Travelers in the Third Reich: The Rise of Fascism 1919-1945, a project that relied heavily on nearly century-old pieces of paper.

For anyone out there who has a box of letters in their attic and is thinking of throwing it out, dont. Please, Boyd said. I urge you, take them to your library or archives. Theyre history.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he is open to a third summit with President Donald Trump, but set the years end as a deadline for Washington to offer mutually acceptable terms for an agreement to salvage the high-stakes nuclear diplomacy, the Norths state-run media said Saturday.

Kim made the comments during a speech Friday at a session of North Koreas rubber stamp parliament, which made a slew of personnel changes that bolstered his diplomatic lineup amid stalemated negotiations with the United States. His speech came hours after Trump and visiting South Korean President Moon Jae-in met in Washington and agreed on the importance of nuclear talks with North Korea.

We of course place importance on resolving problems through dialogue and negotiations. But U.S.-style dialogue of unilaterally pushing its demands doesnt fit us, and we have no interest in it, Kim said during the speech.

According to the Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, Kim blamed the collapse of his summit with Trump in February on what he described as unilateral demands by the United States, which he said raised questions over whether Washington has genuine willingness to improve relations. But Kim said his personal relationship with Trump remains good and that they could exchange letters at any time.

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Trump responded to the remarks by saying he agreed with Kim about their relationship, and also expressed a desire for another summit.

I agree with Kim Jong Un of North Korea that our personal relationship remains very good, perhaps the term excellent would be even more accurate, and that a third Summit would be good in that we fully understand where we each stand, Trump wrote on Twitter.

North Korea has tremendous potential for ... extraordinary growth, economic success and riches under the leadership of Chairman Kim. I look forward to the day, which could be soon, when Nuclear Weapons and Sanctions can be removed, and then watching North Korea become one of the most successful nations of the World! he tweeted.

In his speech, Kim repeated earlier claims that North Koreas crippled economy would persevere through heavy international sanctions imposed over its nuclear weapons program and that he wouldnt obsess over summitry with the United States out of thirst for sanctions relief.

The United States has said the summit in Vietnam broke down because of the Norths excessive demands for sanctions relief in return for limited disarmament measures. In their first summit last June in Singapore, Trump and Kim issued a vague statement calling for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula without describing when or how it would occur.

Kim said the United States has been refusing to withdraw what the North perceives as hostile policies while sticking to mistaken judgment that we would succumb to maximum pressure. He said the North would not compromise on the fundamental interests of our country and people, even by a speck, and blamed the United States for arriving in Hanoi with completely unrealizable plans.

If the United States approaches us with the right manner and offers to hold a third North Korea-U.S. leaders summit on the condition of finding solutions we could mutually accept, then we do have a willingness to give it one more try, Kim added. We will wait with patience until the end of the year for the United States to come up with a courageous decision. But it will clearly be difficult for a good opportunity like last time to come up.

Kim also during the speech made a nationalistic call for South Korea to support the Norths positions more strongly and criticized Seoul for acting like an overstepping mediator between Washington and Pyongyang. Kim held three summits last year with Moon, who lobbied hard to revive the nuclear talks between the United States and North Korea. Following the collapse of the Trump-Kim summit, the North had been urging the South to break away from Washington and proceed with inter-Korean economic projects that are currently held back by U.S.-led sanctions against the North.

The South should not act as an overstepping mediator or a facilitator and should rather get its mind straight as a member of the (Korean) nation and boldly speak up for the interest of the nation, Kim said.

When asked about Kims comments, South Koreas presidential office said Seoul is committed toward keeping the atmosphere of dialogue alive and helping negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang resume at an early date.

On Friday, KCNA reported that Kim was reelected as chairman of the State Affairs Commission, the nations most important decision-making body, during a session of the Supreme Peoples Assembly that praised his outstanding ideological and theoretical wisdom and experienced and seasoned leadership.

Experts say the new appointments may be a sign of Kims desire to keep recent months of up-and-down nuclear diplomacy alive rather than returning to the threats and weapons tests that characterized 2017, when many feared war on the Korean Peninsula.

But the lack of substantial disarmament commitments from the North and the deepening impasse in nuclear negotiations have fueled doubts over whether Kim would ever voluntarily relinquish an arsenal he may see as his strongest guarantee of survival.

Some experts say its becoming clear the North intends to turn the talks with the United States into a bilateral arms reduction negotiation between two nuclear states, rather than a unilateral process of surrendering its arsenal.

Kim has signed vague statements calling for the complete denuclearization of the peninsula in his meetings with Trump and Moon. But North Korea for decades has been pushing a concept of denuclearization that bears no resemblance to the American definition, with Pyongyang vowing to pursue nuclear development until the United States removes its troops and the nuclear umbrella defending South Korea and Japan.

___

Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
In a story April 13 about Quebecs religious symbols ban, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the ban on religious symbols extends to nurses and bus drivers. It does not.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Quebec proposes ban on religious clothing for public workers

A proposal to ban many public employees from wearing religious clothing is creating a fiery debate in the Canadian province of Quebec, where people are fighting to freely practice their religion  or to be free of it

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By TRACEY LINDEMAN

Associated Press

A proposal to ban many public employees from wearing religious clothing is creating a fiery debate in the Canadian province of Quebec, where people are fighting to freely practice their religion  or to be free of it.

The measure introduced late last month would prohibit civil servants in positions of authority such as teachers, police officers, prosecutors and others like prison guards from wearing symbols of religion while at work. Meanwhile, other kinds of public workers, such as bus drivers and nurses would be allowed to wear religious symbols so long as their faces are uncovered.

The law would apply to Sikh turbans, Christian jewelry and Jewish yarmulkes, but the focus of the controversy has been over hijabs worn by many Muslim women in Quebec.

The proposed legislation will affect Muslims more than other groups as they are the fastest growing religious group, said Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto. Muslims represent about 3% of Quebecs 8.3 million people.

Thousands of demonstrators attended a recent march in Montreal to protest the measure, with some holding signs saying, No one tells women what they can wear and Its whats in my head, not on my head, that matters.

Even Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is from Montreal, has spoken ill of Bill 21: Its unthinkable to me that in a free society we would legitimize discrimination against citizens based on their religion, he said.

Christian, Jewish, Muslim and even secular groups across the province have denounced the measure, as have school boards, political parties and some municipal leaders.

However, on Friday Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante said that while she personally opposes the bill, Montreal would not disobey it if it is passed.

That said, next week city councilors will vote on a bipartisan declaration that argues Quebec is already secular and doesnt require additional legislation.

Earlier this month, Quebec Premier Francois Legault told reporters that the bill would reinforce gender equality in the province. The new measure would also help him make good on an electoral promise.

I think at this point in Quebec in 2019, people who are in an authority position, which includes teachers (shouldnt wear religious symbols), I think its reasonable. Its fair, he said. We have to think about whats best for our children.

The history behind the measure is rooted in Quebecs Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, a movement that weaned the province away from political and cultural domination by the Catholic Church. But critics also say its motivated by more recent growing anti-Muslim sentiment.

The debate also pits two ideas of secularism against one another: A stricter European interpretation and a North American version that embraces the idea of religious freedom.

Quebec is torn because it shares a long history and language with France  which along with Denmark, Belgium and Austria has banned face-covering garments  but its also heavily influenced by North American culture, said Bertrand Lavoie, a researcher at the University of Sherbrooke who in 2018 published a book on the relationship between Islam, religious freedom and public institutions in Quebec.

Whats unique to Quebec is that these two concepts of secularism are facing off in the public sphere, among politicians, academics, lawyers and even judges, Lavoie told The Associated Press.

Many who support Bill 21 say that even if women choose to wear the hijab, the garment is rooted in the idea of womens inferiority. Prohibiting it, they say, would help promote gender equality.

The hijab is a symbol of oppression. Its an invention by Islamists to control women, said Ameni Ben Ammar, an accountant in Montreal who immigrated from Tunisia, a majority-Muslim country, in 2013.

They convinced women it would protect them from sexual assault. For me, its an insult to both men and women, she said, referring to the hijabs resurgence in the 1970s.

The debate has tangled issues of gender, race and religion, with Muslim women caught in the crosshairs, said Saaz Taher, a doctoral candidate at the University of Montreal who is studying ethnicity and citizenship.

Racialized womens bodies are constantly a topic of public discourse. We feel (authorized) to judge the best way for women to be free and emancipated, said Taher, who added that Muslim women should be allowed to wear the hijab by choice.

Lavoie said anti-minority sentiment in the province has grown since 2001, when a Sikh boy brought a kirpan  a ceremonial dagger  to school. The incident caused a debate over how far the province should go to accommodate religion.

In 2007, a provincial commission studied the issue and suggested that only people yielding coercive power, such as judges, police officers and prison guards, should abstain from wearing religious symbols.

Bill 21 is Quebecs fourth legislative attempt since 2011 to regulate the wearing of religious symbols for people working in the public sphere, and for the first time it invokes a constitutional clause allowing local governments to override some constitutional rights.

Lavoie said thats a clear sign backers know the measure is discriminatory.

The publics perception is that theres a problem (with Islam), and if theres a problem, we have to fix it, Lavoie said.

The province was stunned in 2017 when a gunman opened fire in a Quebec City mosque, killing six and wounding 19, and racist groups appear to still be growing.

Ive never seen it like this, said Salam Elmenyawi, president of the Montreal Council of Muslims, who immigrated to Quebec from Egypt in 1972 and believes Bill 21 is an outcropping of anti-Muslim sentiment.

This hate was manufactured. This hate did not come by accident, he said.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday a tyrant who has caused the ruin of the South American country and its people.

Pompeo made the comment during a four-day Latin American tour that brought him to the Paraguayan capital of Asuncion, where he talked with President Mario Abdo Benitez about the economic and political crisis in Venezuela, strengthening democracy in the region and combating transnational crime.

Look no further than the current crisis in Venezuela to see our teamwork in action. Together, we are working to restore stability and democracy from the chaos caused by Maduro, he said.

As a member of the Lima Group, Paraguay stands among the leaders in our hemisphere in defense of democracy, in calling out Maduro for what he truly is  a power-hungry tyrant who has brought ruin to his country and to his people.

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Pompeo also said that Paraguay was a partner in U.S. efforts to oust socialist Maduro and replace him with opposition leader Juan Guaido, whose claim to be interim president has been backed by dozens of countries.

Hyperinflation, shortages of food and medicine and other hardships have forced more than 3 million Venezuelans  about one-tenth of the population  to flee the South American country in the last few years. Paraguay broke diplomatic relations with Caracas in 2018, and the Venezuelan crisis has been the central theme of Pompeos four-country Latin American tour.

On Friday, he met with Chiles President Sebastian Pinera in the Chilean capital of Santiago, where he said Chinas financing of the Venezuelan government of Maduro was prolonging the countrys crisis.

He is traveling to Peru before making a final stop in the Colombian border town of Cucuta on Sunday to meet with representatives of Venezuelan refugees.

On Saturday, Pompeo also said that it was imperative to take down criminal organizations which have been active in the tri-border area where Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay converge, and he noted the U.S. arrest and extradition of individuals linked to Lebanons militant Hezbollah movement.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
An ace Swedish programmer who was an early, ardent supporter of WikiLeaks has been arrested in Ecuador in an alleged plot to blackmail the countrys president over his abandonment of Julian Assange.

But friends of Ola Bini say the soft-spoken encryption expert is being unfairly targeted for his activism on behalf of digital privacy.

On Saturday, prosecutors said they intend to charge Bini for hacking-related crimes and had him ordered detained for up to 90 days while they compile evidence.

The 36-year-old was arrested Thursday at the airport in the Ecuadorian capital of Quito as he prepared to board a flight to Japan. The arrest came just hours after Assange was evicted from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Bini was carrying at least 30 electronic storage devices.

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His lawyers said they have not been notified whether hes been charged. Authorities said the plot hatched with two unidentified Russian hackers living in Ecuador involved threatening to release compromising documents about President Lenin Moreno as he toughened his stance against the WikiLeaks founder.

Its up to the justice system to determine if he committed a crime, Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo said Friday. But we cant allow Ecuador to become a center for piracy and spying. That period in our history is over.

Romo said Bini had traveled at least 12 times to meet with Assange at the London embassy. She said he was also in Venezuela earlier this year around the same time as a close aide to Morenos ex-mentor turned arch enemy, Rafael Correa. The former president granted Assange asylum in 2012 and has been leading a campaign cheered on by WikiLeaks to expose alleged corruption by Moreno that has included the release of damaging personal documents and photos, including several that showed him eating lobster in bed.

While the extent of Binis relationship with Assange is unclear, the Swede has defended the WikiLeaks founders free speech rights in an online blog hes kept over the years.

Any official who has called for Assange to be treated as a terrorist or enemy combatant should be seriously considering stepping down from office, he wrote in December 2010.

In the same blog, Bini condemned Amazon for knocking WikiLeaks off its hosting services and credit card companies and PayPal for refusing to process payments to the secret-spilling site. He also described working on a January 2011 panel about WikiLeaks put on by his then-employer, global software firm Thoughtworks, and including Daniel Ellsberg of Pentagon Papers fame.

An expert on secure communications, Bini arrived in Quito in 2013 after being transferred from Chicago to the Ecuador office of Thoughtworks, which has guiding principles that stress social activism. Around the same time, he started to rethink his online habits and at one point gave up his Gmail account in favor of self-hosted email.

I am not a huge fan of having all my electronic life hosted under the auspices of U.S. legislation, especially not in light of recent events, he wrote in a 2013 post.

Friends and loved ones describe Bini as a computer geek who felt most at ease solving complex programming problem for days at a time. At the time of his arrest, he was traveling to Japan, his former wife Malin Sandell told The Associated Press, for two weeks of jujitsu training  one of the few hobbies he indulged in outside of his all-consuming work as a code developer.

His Ecuadorian girlfriend said that she did not recall Bini ever expressing strong support for Assange despite the fact that the WikiLeaks founder has deep ties in Sweden and would have been an obvious topic of conversation in the small Ecuadorian programming circles.

Ola is not a hacker, if by that you mean a criminal, but he is someone trying to understand how computers work and protect peoples privacy, Sofia Ramos said in an interview from Brussels.

Ramos worked with Bini on a project at the Center for Digital Autonomy for creating a more secure instant-messaging encryption protocol. In its statement Friday, the center said Computerworld had ranked him in 2010 as Swedens No. 6 developer.

The center is a small nonprofit incorporated in Ecuador and Spain dedicated to private, secure and anonymous communication. Its website says it has contributed to well-known projects including Enigmail and the Tor privacy browser.

In the hours before he went to the airport Thursday, Bini sent a tweet warning of a witch hunt by Ecuadorian authorities mopping up after Assanges forced departure from the embassy. Now his friends say that prophecy appears to have been true.

I didnt realize that knowing somebody is a crime, said Vijay Prashad, who runs a Marxist publishing house in India and last saw Bini a few months ago in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Hes the last person who would ever be involved in an attempt to overthrow a government.

___

Associated Press writers Raphael Satter in London and Gonzalo Solano in Quito, Ecuador, contributed to this report.

___

Follow Goodman on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APjoshgoodman . Follow Bajak at https://twitter.com/fbajak

___

Follow APs coverage of the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange here: https://www.apnews.com/WikiLeaks

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Its Arab Spring, season II, and hes one of the few holdovers. The last man standing among a crop of Arab autocrats, after a new wave of protests forced the removal of the Algerian and Sudanese leaders from the posts they held for decades.

Syrias President Bashar Assad has survived an uprising, a years-long ruinous war and an Islamic caliphate established over parts of his broken country. As the Syrian conflict enters its ninth year, the 53-year-old leader appears more secure and confident than at any time since the revolt against his rule began in 2011.

But the war for Syria is not over yet, and the path ahead is strewn with difficulties.

The back-to-back ouster of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika after two decades of rule and Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir after three, has been dubbed a second Arab Spring, after the 2011 wave of protests that shook the Middle East and deposed longtime dictators in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen.

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Social media has been filled with pictures of leaders at past Arab summits, noting almost all of them were now deposed except for Assad. Some pointed out ironically that al-Bashirs last trip outside of Sudan in December was to Damascus, where he met with the Syrian leader.

In most countries of the Arab Spring, the faces of the old order were removed, but either the ruling elite that had been behind them stayed in place or chaos ensued.

In Syria, Assad and his inner circle have kept their lock on power and managed to survive eight bloody years of chaos. That resilience may keep him in power for years to come even with a multitude of challenges, including a rapidly degenerating economy and a persisting insurgency in the northwest.

___

WHAT IS ASSADS STAYING POWER?

Assad has survived through a mix of factors unique to him. His is a minority rule, and he has benefited from a strong support base and the unwavering loyalty of his Alawite sect, which fears for its future should he be deposed.

That support stretched beyond his base to other minority sects in Syria and some middle- and upper-class Sunnis who regard his family rule as a bulwark of stability in the face of Islamic radicals. Despite significant defections early in the conflict, the security services and military have not shown significant cracks. Loyal militias grew and became a power of their own.

Even as vast parts of his country fell from his control or turned into killing fields, Assad kept his core regime in place.

Perhaps Assads largest asset is Syrias position as a geographic linchpin on the Mediterranean and in the heart of the Arab world. That attracted foreign intervention, particularly from Russia and Iran, whose crucial political and military assistance propped up Assad and turned the tide of the war in his favor.

The unwavering backing from powerful friends is in sharp contrast to the muddled response by the U.S. administration, and something none of the other Arab leaders benefited from in their own struggle against their opponents.

Is he completely out of the woods?

For now, Assad appears to be secure. With the help of Russia and Iran, he has restored control over key parts of the country, and the world appears to have accepted his continued rule, at least until presidential elections scheduled for 2021.

Gulf countries reopened embassies after years of boycott. Delegations from Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan have visited in recent months, discussing restarting trade, resuming commercial agreements and releasing prisoners. Although the Arab League said it was not yet time to restore Syrias membership to the 22-member organization, the issue was discussed at their annual summit for the first time since the country was deprived of its seat eight years ago.

Much of what happens next depends on Assads ability to keep a lid on rising discontent as living standards deteriorate, and whether he is able to preserve Russia and Irans support.

___

AN ECONOMY IN SHAMBLES

After years of war and ever-tightening U.S. sanctions, Syrias economic pinch is becoming more painful. The governments coffers are reeling from lack of resources, and the U.N. estimates that eight out 10 people live below poverty line.

Gas and fuel shortages were rampant in Damascus, Latakia and Aleppo this winter. Social media groups held competitions over which city had the longest lines at gas stations, forcing the issue to be debated in parliament.

This week, the government imposed gas rationing, limiting motorists to 20 liters every 48 hours. The crisis was worsened when reports spread about an impending price hike, prompting lines of hundreds of cars to stretch for miles outside gas stations. Oil Minister Ali Ghanem denied plans for a hike, warning of a war of rumors that is more severe than the political war.

The governments inability to cope with rising needs has fueled criticism and anger even among its support base. Still, its unlikely the discontent will set off another wave of protests. Most Syrians by now will put up with anything to avoid another slide back to violence.

Still, the United Nations describes the level of need in the country as staggering, with 11.7 million Syrians requiring assistance, nearly 65 percent of the estimated 18 million people who remain in the country, millions of whom are displaced from their homes. Another more than 5 million fled abroad during the war.

___

GOING FULL CIRCLE?

Demonstrations reminiscent of the early years of the conflict have resurfaced.

In Daraa, where the revolt started, hundreds took to the streets recently, offended by the governments plan to erect a statue of the presidents father, the late Hafez Assad. Further protests took place in some former opposition areas recaptured by the government after authorities moved to enforce military conscription there despite promises to hold off.

Arrests and detentions continue to be reported in recaptured areas, fueling fear that so-called reconciliation deals between authorities and residents of former opposition areas are only facades for continued repression and exclusion.

In eastern Ghouta, which the government recaptured last year after a siege, the government has been arresting former protest leaders and anti-government groups despite reconciliation deals, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Militarily, the defeat of the Islamic State groups caliphate last month closed one brutal chapter of the war but opens the door to an array of potential other conflicts. The militant groups defeat sets the stage for President Donald Trump to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from northern Syria, a drawdown thats expected to set off a race to fill the vacuum.

The focus also pivots to Idlib, the last remaining rebel bastion in Syria where an estimated 3 million people live, under control of al-Qaida-linked militants.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A large, flightless bird native to Australia and New Guinea attacked and killed its owner when the man fell on his farm in Florida, authorities said Saturday.

The Alachua County Fire Rescue Department told the Gainesville Sun that a cassowary killed the man Friday on the property near Gainesville, likely using its long claws. The victim was apparently breeding the birds, state wildlife officials said.

My understanding is that the gentleman was in the vicinity of the bird and at some point fell. When he fell, he was attacked, Deputy Chief Jeff Taylor told the newspaper. He said first responders got a call at 10 a.m. Friday and rushed the man to a hospital for trauma care but he died.

The county sheriffs office identified the victim as Marvin Hajos, 75, and said a death investigation has been opened.

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Initial information indicates that this was a tragic accident for Mr. Hajos, said Lt. Brett Rhodenizer, a sheriffs office spokesman, in an email to the paper. The cassowary involved remains secured on private property at this time.

Cassowaries are similar to emus and stand up to 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall and weigh up to 130 pounds (60 kilograms), with black body feathers and distinctive, bright blue heads and necks.

The San Diego Zoos website calls the cassowary the worlds most dangerous bird with a four-inch (10-centimeter), dagger-like claw on each foot. The cassowary can slice open any predator or potential threat with a single swift kick. Powerful legs help the cassowary run up to 31 miles per hour (50 kph) through the dense forest underbrush, the website says.

Cassowaries are eaten in parts of New Guinea. The birds are not raised for food in the U.S., but are sought after by collectors of exotic birds, according to authorities.

To obtain a mandatory permit, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission requires cassowary owners to have substantial experience and meet specific cage requirements, spokeswoman Karen Parker told the newspaper. She said the commission lists the cassowary as a type of wildlife that can pose a danger to people.

Wildlife officials did not answer phone calls late Saturday from The Associated Press and it wasnt immediately known what would happen with the bird.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Authorities say a pedestrian was struck and killed by a Florida passenger train.

The Sun Sentinel reports that the Virgin Trains USA passenger train hit the pedestrian Friday afternoon in Pompano Beach, Florida.

No additional information was immediately available.

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The passenger train is part of the Virgin Trains USA fleet, which was recently rebranded by British billionaire Richard Branson from its previous incarnation as Brightline.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Crisis in horse racing

I write this letter as a life-long Saratogian (87+years), a former New York State Racing Commissioner (33 years), and a thoroughbred racing enthusiast.

This is a time of crisis for horse racing in America. The deaths of over two dozen horses in three months at Santa Anita Racetrack in California caused the owners of the track to shut it down for several weeks, and to impose new medication and training rules. Even so, another horse died within three days of re-opening. Horsemens groups around the nation are now advocating reform in race day medication and veterinary practices; but it is questionable they will address what the

Jockey Club calls a fundamentally flawed system that falls far short of international horse racing standards and the regulation of the use of performance enhancing drugs and drugs that can mask injuries.

Animal rights activists including PETA have taken note of the Santa Anita tragedies and could start proceedings to shut down the sport. Greyhound racing has been banned in many states including neighboring Massachusetts (and Florida in 2020).

According to Paul Newberry of the Associated Press If horse racing cannot halt the epidemic of death on its tracks, it, will disappear.

We have all seen what a highly funded and well-organized group like the National Rifle Association can accomplish in influencing legislators.

Imagine Saratoga without its racetrack! Our civic, political and business leaders must urge NYRA and our elected and appointed representatives in Albany to see that the international horse racing standards recommended by the Jockey Club be followed.

Harry Snyder

***



Saratoga Springs Board of Education

On March 27, Saratoga Board of Education candidate Connie Woytowich rescinded her acceptance of the endorsement of SPFSS, the single-issue activist group advocating for and funding candidates who support the arming of school personnel who are not active duty police officers. She cited the tone of some of SPFSSs communications and their focus on attacking one board member personally as her reasons for withdrawing from the group, saying, I will not allow my name to be attached to such behavior.

The ugliness of SPFSSs discourse, their unwillingness to entertain compromise, and their personal focus on an individual board member have turned people off. One SS BOE member who actually voted on their side of the grounds monitor issue recently called them out on their Facebook page for focusing on individual board members rather than the issues in general. Also, their continued and unapologetic implications that anyone who disagrees with them is not interested in the safety of their children have made it difficult to take them seriously. An SPFSS leader actually asked me recently in a Facebook post if I was comfortable with my child dying in a school that doesnt have armed grounds monitors. The implication of this completely absurd question, as it so often has been in their discourse, was that anyone disagreeing with the notion of arming non-police personnel in the schools is essentially condemning their kid to death, and is OK with that.

Ed Cubanski, Dean Kolligian, and now Shaun Wiggins, are still endorsed by and taking money from SPFSS, but to my knowledge have yet to publicly make any comments on the tenor and tactics of the group. In agreeing to pool funds and approve all expenditures, these folks are not merely endorsed by SPFSS, they have sacrificed some of their independence to the group. As a voter and a parent of children in the SS schools, Id like to hear what they have to say following the departure of one of their former slate members.

I have close friends whose opinions on the arming of non-police officers in the schools differ from mine. Unlike SPFSS though, they are able to have calm back-and-forth discussions with me and never imply or assert that my views on the subject mean I dont value the safety of my three children above everything else in this world.

Tony Krackeler

Saratoga Springs

***

Data driven decision making

A question that seems to keep surfacing in the current school board election in Saratoga Springs relates to the use of the word data, and what that means. Is data the learned experience of someone who has spent decades working in a particular profession? Is data publications or grants that someone has written or collaborated on with experts in school safety? Is data looking at the safety practices of other school districts as a comparison? Is data talking to a wide range of members of the school and community to learn more about their perspectives? I would argue that data is all of the above, and these are the sources I used when considering my vote last fall on whether to allow grounds monitors to carry concealed weapons on school grounds. As an educator with 25 years of experience in schools working with teachers and students, I draw on my experience, knowledge, and input from all stakeholders and board colleagues (especially those whose ideas differ from mine) before I make decisions.

I took this decision seriously, as I do every decision, and made it based on a variety of sources as outlined above. One thing that I searched for was definitive research that showed that more armed security lowers casualties or prevents school shootings. School shootings are thankfully such rare events that it makes it difficult for researchers to determine any one factor that prevents or lowers the likelihood of casualties in these horrific tragedies. National experts in school safety like Ron Astor, Dewey Cornell, Dorothy Espelage, and many others recommend that schools focus their resources and staffing on preventing kids from killing themselves and their classmates. These experts endorse preventative measures such as comprehensive threat assessments, developing positive school climates, and addressing bullying. These programs and strategies have decades of research involving tens of thousands of students, teachers, and other stakeholders that shows long term effectiveness in preventing school violence. Schools are complex social environments and decisions are not simple or easy. As a result, no decision should be made based on one data source, one event, or the loudest voices.

Heather Reynolds, Ph.D.

Current Board of Education Trustee, running for re-election

http://reynoldsforboardofeducation.com

***

Thoughts on Daphne Jordans immigration stance

State Senator Daphne Jordan, R-Halfmoon is quite uninformed when she says that if immigrants to the U.S. want to stay here, then they should become citizens. (4/9/19 Saratogian front page article on immigration.)

Aside from obtaining Permanent Resident Status (a/k/a Green Card), a quick search on the federal Social Security website shows 22 categories of temporary U.S. visas that can allow non-citizens limited permissions to work legally here. This includes the H-type visas, most often used for farm laborers. Citizenship is not a federal requirement for temporary or longterm residence in the U.S.

What is poorly understood though by many Americans are the difficulties in successfully filing for such visas, even with solid sponsorship, and the multilayered system of quotas that can bar even the most ideal immigrant from being granted a visa.

Our national strength and progress has always been built on the ingenuity, skills and motivations of our common immigrant heritage, and we will always benefit from such residents. The country is not full.

Karen Villesvik

Saratoga Springs
Balik Scientist Rodrigo Jamisola Jr is leading two state universities and colleges (SUCs) design and build autonomous underwater (AUVs) aimed for monitoring rivers and deep open seas.

His research and development proposal involves the engineering faculty of Rizal Technological University (RTU) to design and build an "AUV AUV that can conduct ocean surveys on the Philippine Rise and in Pasig River, while Batangas State University (BATSU) "will develop an AUV that can be deployed to conduct surveys in Verde Island Passage and explore the rich marine biodiversity," according to the Philippine Star.

"It can be done," Jamisola told The STAR. "We will develop it from scratch."



He emphasized that the feat requires hard work and lots of research. The faculty of the two SUCs have gained the confidence and trust of Jamisola in conducting the research.

Jamisola is a professor from Botswana International University of Science and Technology and led in developing military drones for the Botswana Defense Force.



When he was still a De La Salle University-Manila professor a number of years ago, he made a research and development proposal to create military drones to the Department of National Defense and Armed Forces of the Philippines. However, no one agreed to the plan.

While he was finishing his post-doctoral studies at the Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa, he applied as a professor in Botswana and has been teaching there for four years.
EUROPE -- Scientists in Europe have found a way to minimize the presence of methane in the air that we breathe. Although it may not be the most abundant type of dangerous gas in the Earth's atmosphere, it tends to be the most potent one when it comes to keeping heat within the atmosphere. While the amount of methane present in the atmosphere may be lower compared to that of carbon dioxide (CO2), scientists put considerable amount to understanding how we can get rid of methane in the atmosphere altogether.

The scientists have found bacteria in the air that seems to have a ravenous type of appetite for this particular gas. Methane has what scientists would describe as super radiation-trapping abilities. In fact, it is found to be at least 30 times more potent than a CO2 as a type of greenhouse gas. The spread of its presence in the atmosphere from many of its known sources continues to expand.

Methane is mainly produced from the gas leaking from various facilities and the burning of biomass. Recently, scientists have also discovered that the world's reservoirs are producing such type of gas and are emitting at least 25% of the methane into the atmosphere. This was something not known until recently.

Apart from working on reducing the amount of methane present in the atmosphere, the more important concern is how to lessen its amount from further expansion. Scientists have long known that there is a type of bacteria that grow in the soil that thrives in the consumption of methane. It plays a significant role in balancing out the greenhouse effect of these gases when they reach the atmosphere.

"The bacterium is called Methylocapsa gorgona. This discovery is rather surprising. Not only does it gain energy from the consumption of methane in the air, but it also helps fix nitrogen in the air," explained by Michael Wagner, a researcher from the University of Vienna. The research was conducted through the help of the NanoSIMS technology of the university. The bacterium's metabolism also includes hydrogen and carbon monoxide.

What's even better than the discovery is that scientists have learned how they could cultivate it in the lab. They are confident that they could help in the reproduction of such microbes to help with the struggle to combat the effects of climate change.

While the leap between the discovery and the cultivation of such bacterium may be huge, it is something that scientists would want to work on. They want to pursue this new process to help discover new ways to save the environment. They also write that in the near future, they would like to develop methane sinks to allow people to better preserve its natural way of using its ability to trap dangerous gas. The research study was fully published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Genetic engineering, being a direct manipulation of a living organism's genes, have advanced as it has faced many ethical issues.

Just recently, a group of Chinese scientists has implanted human brain genes into 11 rhesus monkeys. The study, as the team explains, is intended to provide a different perspective on the evolution of human intelligence.

Human versions of the MCPH1 gene was used in the study. The said gene is supposedly in control when it comes to human brain development.

In their study, the rhesus monkeys were found to have taken a longer period in brain development, much like humans. The subject monkeys were also said to have performed in tests better than the unmodified subjects. The tests, focusing on short-term memory and reaction time, have resulted in five monkeys doing well and getting a passing mark. The memory test entails remembering colors and shapes on a screen. Later, the subject monkeys were given MRI scans.

This test done by China has yet again fueled debates on ethics as with their previous biomedical experiment. The ethical concerns have risen because of comparisons with "Planet of the Apes," a dystopian sci-fi film.

The research was conducted by a team at the Kunming Institute of Zoology and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. They are working in collaboration with a team of US researchers from the University of North Carolina.

Jacqueline Glover, a University of Colorado bioethicist, was among those who questioned the ethics of the experiment even if the research authors have pointed out that rhesus monkeys are distant enough to alleviate any ethical concerns. It still stands that the subject monkeys are closer to human than they are to rodents. To which, Glover pointed out that humanizing the subject monkeys will cause them harm, especially regarding their habitation and traits.

One of the researchers for Genomic Sciences at Hong Kong University, Larry Baum, explained that the differences between the genome of rhesus monkeys from that of humans are by a few percents only, which is actually millions of DNA bases that differ between humans and monkeys. This means that only one if 20,000 genes would have been modified.

Baum pointed out that through the study, they now have evidence that supports the concept that slower maturity of brain cells could be one of the factors that can be used in improving intelligence during the process of human evolution.

Early this year, another team of Chinese scientists has cloned a single macaque to create five more.
When the surgeon surgically removes a melanoma, some patients are said to be 'cancer-free' and they do not get additional treatment. However, should the fluid obtained in the drainage implanted after surgery be tested using the liquid biopsy technique rather than be disposed of as medical waste, the test might predict the high or low risk of cancer recurrence. Patients with a high risk of late recurrence would get post-surgery treatment. This is a recent finding by scientists at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), who have discovered that there are biomarkers in the fluid collected from surgically treated patients that reveal the presence of specific mutations and help determine the risk of the cancer coming back after some period of time. This is very important in melanoma, since it is an aggressive tumour type that metastasizes in a large number of patients. Researchers will now try to confirm whether the liquid biopsy technique may be even easier to perform directly on blood samples and whether it can be used in other types of tumours as well. The research work was published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

Detecting the risk of recurrence

The more scientists find about metastasis, the more they know that it is 'consciously' initiated by primary tumours, sending 'anticipatory signals' to other organs and promoting in them a suitable growth environment. These 'anticipatory signals' are primary tumour-derived extracellular vesicles that reach other organs and get them ready to host cancer cells. This is one of the main research interests of Hector Peinado, Head of the Microenvironment and Metastasis Group at CNIO.

"Our study has confirmed that, in melanoma patients, we can identify populations with higher risk of recurrence using a sensitive, accurate test of the exudative seroma," Peinado explains. The exudative seroma is a fluid that is collected from the drainage tube inserted after surgery and normally disposed of. "Liquid biopsy applied to this seroma has revealed extracellular vesicles and circulating DNA with BRAF gene mutations associated with lower survival rates for melanoma patients." About 40-60% of melanoma cases involve BRAF gene mutations, most frequently the BRAFV600E mutant, studied by the researchers in this manuscript.

The new technique might change the way melanoma patients are followed up. This type of skin cancer has a recurrence rate of up to 50% after lymph node surgery and can be highly invasive. Until now, there was no way to identify the patients with an increased risk of recurrence.

Diagnosis from a drop of blood

Liquid biopsy, used to detect tumour cells in fluids, is a novel technique that complements traditional biopsy. Two important advantages of liquid biopsy are that it is a non-invasive approach (in traditional biopsy, a sample of tissue is taken from the tumour itself) and that it provides information in real time on the progression of the disease. Liquid biopsy has been increasingly used for the past five years, and a growing number of clinical studies have shown its effectiveness over the past three years.

The Head of the CNIO Microenvironment and Metastasis Group has conducted the study along with Piotr Rutkowski, researcher at the Maria Sklodowska-Curie Institute of Oncology, Poland, and Jose Luis Rodriguez Peralto and Pablo Ortiz, from the 12 de Octubre Hospital in Madrid. They used exudative seroma from melanoma patients to identify those with a higher risk of recurrence. Peinado assessed the technique's potential by analysing simultaneously extracellular vesicles and circulating DNA (tumour-derived cell-free DNA that circulates in body fluids), since "our main goal was not to identify the specific fractions carrying melanoma signals but to increase test sensitivity instead."

With the results of the study, hospitals might implement the technique as from today. "The method is performed in cooperation with clinical laboratories and could easily be applied in clinical practice. It only requires collecting seroma fluids and establishing the relevant protocol for collection, storage and analysis," Peinado remarks.

Liquid biopsy can be used for other types of cancer too, like breast or other tumours whose treatment involves lymphadenectomy - or lymph node dissection followed by drainage. The lymph nodes removed are then evaluated for the presence of cancer. Moreover, although Peinado's study focuses on the BRAF gene, it might be adopted for other tests of gene mutations involved in the development of other tumour types.

However, as the latest trends in cancer treatment show, treatments other than surgery are increasingly being used, which means that the protocol for analysing exudative seroma could be implemented less frequently in the future. Therefore, our researchers are studying the possibility of using the liquid biopsy procedure directly on blood plasma from a blood sample. "Everything seems to indicate that the possibility exists," Peinado says, "but further research is needed."
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A 4-year-old boy who shot himself in the head last month in Oakland opened his eyes for the first time last weekend and no longer needs life support, family members said Friday.

The shooting occurred March 27 when Navaun Jackson found a loaded gun under a pillow at an East Oakland home on the 2400 block of Ritchie Street, according to the Oakland Police Department.

He is moving his arms and his legs. Hes yawning. Hes watching TV, said Jamilia Land, Navauns aunt, on Friday. Hes alive, which we feel like is a miracle. Hes had all the odds against him. He shot himself right in the middle of his forehead between his eyes.

Land said the family was overjoyed that he was awake and moving. Doctors had said Navaun was probably brain-dead and would be unable to walk, she said.

Police say Navaun found the gun under the pillow of Terrence Wilson, 37. Records show that Wilson is the owner of the house where the shooting occurred.

Navaun was watching television in the bedroom by himself when his mother, Brijjanna Price, and Wilson heard a gunshot, according to court documents. Wilson told police that when he woke up late to take his children to school, he had forgotten that the firearm was under his pillow. He was playing video games in the living room when he heard the gunfire, according to court records.

Authorities said that Wilson claimed to have bought the firearm two weeks ago off the street in San Francisco. Though Wilson said he was familiar with trigger locks, he didnt use them on this gun because he had lost the keys to the device, court records say. A record check on the gun determined that the firearm was stolen, police said.

Wilson was booked at the Santa Rita Jail and faces charges of criminal storage of a firearm, felony child endangerment, receiving stolen property and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Wilson was prohibited from owning firearms due to two previous felony convictions in 2003 for second-degree robbery in Stanislaus County and grand theft and conspiracy convictions in Stockton, according to court records.

Wilson has pleaded not guilty to the charges. His pretrial hearing begins on April 30. Neither he nor an attorney representing him could be reached Friday.

Navaun will have permanent irreversible brain damage, but Land said the family doesnt know what the extent of it will be.

Navauns family made pleas to Gov. Gavin Newsom to grant Navauns father, Nathan Jackson, prison furlough during his transfer from Salinas Valley State Prison to Folsom Prison. Land said that Jackson was not granted the plea.

Jackson, 28, is serving a nine-year sentence for assault with a firearm. It is his second strike, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Since he was admitted to Folsom State Prison, Land said, she hasnt been able to get in touch with him.

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I have no way of telling him, Your son is awake, hes alive, hes going to make it, Land said.

A long road is ahead for Navaun and his mother.

Navaun is currently going to physical therapy five times a week and wears a special helmet to keep his head protected.

Price is grateful like we all are that hes alive, Land said. She knows that its not going to be a normal life, whatever normal is supposed to be. My main concern right now is the quality of life that he is going to have and her.

A GoFundMe was set up to raise funds to support the family.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
A new Berkeley ordinance that would ban overnight street parking of recreational vehicles has Oakland officials concerned that hundreds of RV dwellers could move to their city and others nearby.

Leaders of the two cities are discussing the ban, which Berkeley agreed to delay while it considers whether to permit some camper dwellers to stay. Oakland, meanwhile, is taking a different approach, with plans to next month open the first of a handful of parking lots, with basic services, for recreational vehicles.

Tensions between the cities flared before they began to talk.

On the day of the vote in late March, Oaklands City Council president sent a letter urging the Berkeley City Council to consider more compassionate alternatives, and spoke with the mayor. Berkeley passed the ban but backed away from enforcing it immediately.

Oakland officials have said they were surprised they werent consulted on the ban, while Berkeley leaders said theyve tried without success to work with their neighbors on the issue.

The episode highlights the complexity of addressing homeless issues, including the growing problem of RV dwellers, officials said, and the need for regional leaders to work together. A recent report by the Bay Area Council found that more regional cooperation is needed to address homelessness.

Collaboration is important because we have to implement the best practices immediately and we have to recognize that our residents dont exist just within (one) jurisdiction, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said. Although, we were a little surprised when Berkeley came forward with legislation before talking with us about the impacts on neighbors, they have since that time agreed to slow down implementation and have further discussions with us.

Conversations have occurred between Alameda County cities on homelessness, but the topic of RVs and providing safe spaces for the vehicles to park hasnt come up until now.

We are just getting our feet wet on this, said Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley. I think we are beginning to see the magnitude of the problem and the necessity of looking at this as a comprehensive regional problem instead of just looking at this in our jurisdictional silos. If jurisdictions ban them or chase them away, theyre only going to pop up somewhere else.

Currently, Berkeley has about 200 RVs on its streets, said Matthai Chakko, a spokesman for the city. In the latest homeless count in January 2017, the city identified 972 homeless people  a 17% increase since 2015 and a 43% increase since 2009.

Oakland estimated that it has 2,761 homeless people  a 26% increase since 2015, according to city data. That number includes RV dwellers, but there is no specific count of those vehicles s in Oakland, said Joe DeVries, an assistant to the city administrator.

Berkeleys ordinance, approved on March 26, was originally set to impose the ban immediately. Oakland Council President Rebecca Kaplan sent a letter to Berkeleys City Council asking it to pause and instead identify adequate alternative locations for RVs.

Kaplan told The Chronicle that implementing the ban in Berkeley without a permit system in place would be devastating both for the people who will be displaced, who dont have homes to go to, and for surrounding heavily impacted communities.

Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin said on the day of the vote that past calls to neighboring cities to help find a space for RVs were largely ignored.

We have reached out to Oakland in the past, there was no interest in pursuing a joint initiative, he said. Their perspective was, We are trying to manage our RV population. Admittedly, its been frustrating to get regional coordination and collaboration.

After a phone call between the Berkeley mayor and Kaplan on the day of the vote, the council agreed to delay implementation of the ban until a permit process is in place. Immediate action will be taken against people for safety reasons and if there is an excessive amount of waste or trash in the street, said Berkeley Councilwoman Kate Harrison.

Berkeley is considering two types of RV dwelling permits: a two-week permit for visitors, and another for those who have community ties  children attending a local school, or past Berkeley residence in permanent housing. Additionally those with special needs will have access to a permit, Harrison said.

Harrison noted that it could take time for the permit process to be developed and implemented.

I appreciated his willingness to slow down implementation of their RV enforcement policies so that we can all be best prepared to accommodate any changes that that might cause, Schaaf said.

Since the vote, Arreguin and Kaplan have met in person and are exploring options for RV sites that would be funded and assigned on a countywide basis as part of a regional collaboration, Kaplan said.

Many existing homeless services are already assigned and funded on a county basis rather than only for one specific city, Kaplan said. So it wouldnt be so unusual to have an RV site that was funded and assigned countywide rather than by one city.

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Arreguin has asked the Berkeley school district to allow RV parking in school lots for families who have children enrolled in the district  an idea that the school district is considering, said Jacquelyn McCormick, Arreguins chief of staff. McCormick said she has been working with EveryOne Home, a care provider with Alameda County, to identify land parcels outside of Berkeley for safe RV parking.

But RV dwellers expressed skepticism about how much progress city officials will make before they are forced to move, leaving their futures even more uncertain than usual.

The City Council has been talking about options like this since they kicked us out of the Marina last July and we havent seen any kind of progress, said Paul Kastner, who lives in an RV on Eighth and Harrison streets in Berkeley. I dont have a lot of confidence that they are going to do anything unless they are really pushed to.

Kastner, 33, was forced to move into an RV nearly 10 months ago after losing his job and his home within the span of two weeks. He spent his last remaining savings on a $4,500 1992 Ford Silver Eagle.

Ticketing RV dwellers for parking overnight on Berkeley streets isnt going to solve the problem, he said.

Maybe Berkeley would be able to push people to the neighboring cities or maybe people would just find more out of the way spots where they dont get ticketed, Kastner said. Some (RV dwellers) might stay and fight it through protesting, direct action and through contesting tickets.

Oakland is taking a different approach to its growing RV population by identifying locations for a safe parking program for RVs. The first location  at 711 San Leandro Blvd. near the Coliseum  will open next month and will have sanitation services, water and electricity, DeVries said. The site will be accessible 24 hours a day to people who are currently living in that area. It has spaces for 30 RVs.

Two locations also have been identified in West Oakland. DeVries said the city, still working on it, may open a site for 17 RVs in June. Similar to the site near the Coliseum, it will be for people already living in the area. The second site is still in the planning stages.

Its better to have people sleeping in their cars and in RVs than have them sleeping outside, said Miley, the Alameda County supervisor. We should work to provide them a place to park their cars and their RVs that doesnt impede public safety and public health. I think thats the bottom line. I think we need to figure out what the best practices are because there arent any best practices at the moment.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
The man who fell to his death earlier this month at the Grand Canyon was identified Friday by National Park Service officials as a Santa Rosa resident.

Michael Obritsch, 67, was visiting the park on April 3 when he fell over the canyon rim east of Yavapai Geology Museum in Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim, authorities said. His body was recovered from 400 feet below the rim.

John Quinley, a park spokesman, said Obritschs death was the third in eight days at the Grand Canyon, but he was the first over the edge fatality in the park this year. Investigators have concluded his death was accidental, Quinley said. A park visitor reported seeing Obritsch falling but there were apparently no witnesses or indications of what caused the plunge.

The first of the string of recent deaths occurred on March 26 near the South Rim and remains under investigation, Quinley said. In the other fatality, a tourist accidentally fell near the Grand Canyon Skywalk, a horseshoe-shaped, glass-floor observation deck outside the park on the canyons western end.

Park officials advise visitors to have a safe visit by staying on designated trails and walkways, always keeping a safe distance from the edge of the rim and staying behind railings and fences at overlooks.

An obituary placed on the Legacy.com website said Obritsch was a retired computer analyst for Pacific Bell in San Ramon who grew up in Santa Rosa but later moved back. After his retirement, he worked part-time for a pool service. He was a graduate of Piner High School in Santa Rosa, and had a degree in mathematics from UC Davis.

His warm, friendly personality, intelligence, dedication, kindness, and his sense of fun will be greatly missed, the obituary said.

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He is survived by a sister, Nicolette Hinch. A memorial service is planned later this month, according to the obituary, and memorial donations can be made to the Sonoma County Humane Society.

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan
It was one of those glorious April days  blue skies, no wind, almost warm. A perfect day for an afternoon walk in a great city for walking. San Francisco itself is art, above all literary art, William Saroyan said once. Every block is a short story, every hill a novel.

Thats part of the myth of this small city. I figured I could walk through the myth in an afternoon. I started in Washington Square, the heart of North Beach.

The usual mix was on hand: a few old Chinese ladies, doing tai chi exercises, young men soaking up the sun on the grass, some idlers arguing on a park bench. Even though its spring, this is nearly the end of the Washington Square season. It will be torn up for a major overhaul in May.

I headed up Union Street, stopped on Upper Grant for a slice of pizza, headed up the long hill, past those narrow Telegraph Hill alleys that look like movie sets. Or like something you might see in Europe.

Montgomery Street is at the top of the hill, and suddenly there is the bay, a tugboat pulling out of a dock, a tiny water taxi heading north, a view of the Bay Bridge. If I had a zillion dollars and could live anywhere, it would be on Telegraph Hill, with the city spread out at my doorstep. But thats only a dream, or maybe a novel.

Telegraph Hill is a stairway kind of place, all ups and downs. I headed down Montgomery, past concrete stairs, past Green and Vallejo streets, where people live in apartments and flats and can walk to work in the Financial District.

They have been making a pilot on Telegraph Hill of a TV musical called Zoeys Extraordinary Playlist about a charming Type A whip-smart coder who can read minds.

I didnt meet Zoey, but at Broadway I did encounter Jon Golinger, a lawyer and civic advocate. He read my mind about the city and its myths.

Right here, he said, is a slice of San Franciscos poetic heart, its nightlife and its tech district.

Golinger pointed out the next block on Montgomery, which is full of San Francisco stories. Ralph Stackpole, the sculptor, lived on that block. So did Maynard Dixon, the painter. Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo stayed there on their celebrated visit to San Francisco in the 1930s.

And here, he said at 710 Montgomery, is the original Black Cat. Saryoyan and John Steinbeck hung out there when they were struggling writers. Later, it became a famous and pioneering hangout, the best gay bar in America, Allen Ginsberg called it.

Spud Hilton / The Chronicle

Jose Sarria, a drag queen, sang there. The city fathers didnt approve of the Black Cat scene, arrested Sarria many times, and put the place out business. When Sarria died in 2013, his funeral was at Grace Cathedral. A plaque in the street tells the story.

The stories dont end there. At Montgomery and Clay streets is a bronze marker on the spot where U.S. sailors and Marines landed in 1846, marched a block west and raised the American flag, turning the sleepy little port called Yerba Buena into an American town.

Across from that, a marker notes the site of the arrival of the first Pony Express rider, April 14, 1860, 159 years ago Sunday.

The Pony Express brought the news of Lincolns election west in only eight or nine days. When Lincoln was assassinated five years later, the news came by telegraph within minutes.

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Nicole Boliaux / The Chronicle 2017

A walk down Montgomery Street, past the Russ Building and all the proud monuments of what used to be called the Wall Street of the West, is a story in itself.

I crossed Market Street where Montgomery ends, headed up New Montgomery Street past the venerable Palace Hotel, turned left on Mission Street, heading east along a new row of high-rise buildings.

In 1976, T.H. Watkins and R.R. Olmsted wrote a history of San Francisco called Mirror of the Dream. Now the tall glass high-rise at 535 Mission reflects the building across the way and a construction crane, a mirror of another dream.

I stopped for the day at the thousand-foot-tall Salesforce Tower and rewarded myself with a happy-hour drink among the techies at the Trailblazers Tavern across the street.

When the city was flattened by fire and earthquake another April, in 1906, an earlier generation promised it would build a new San Francisco. A new generation has built that city again. You can walk through it from Washington Square to Salesforce Tower, 2 miles in less than two hours.

Carl Noltes column appears Sundays. Email: cnolte@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @carlnoltesf
San Francisco officials, who rejected electric scooters after an unruly, unlicensed rollout a year ago, are now cottoning to the two-wheel devices under a yearlong trial that limits their numbers. Midway through that trial, the city is poised to consider next week whether to double the number of street-rented scooters it allows.

The free-for-all when three companies suddenly unleashed the rental devices last spring led to thousands of residents hopping aboard, and also triggered thousands of complaints. Scooter riders zoomed down sidewalks and bike lanes and weaved in and out of crowds. Abandoned devices sprawled across rights of way or were tossed into trash cans and in front of Google buses. The city temporarily banned scooters while it considered what to do.

The clampdown was partially lifted under the pilot that started Oct. 15. Two San Francisco startups, Scoot and Skip, have permission to rent 625 devices apiece, although most days Scoot offered far fewer. Usage of both companies vehicles plunged during the rainy winter months, making scooter sightings sporadic.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which oversees the pilot, next week will decide whether to increase the scooter allotment to 2,500 for the next six months. Tom Maguire, the agencys director of sustainable streets, declined to say if staff will recommend that. However, he said, even if it allows more scooters, the agency is likely to stick with a directive issued in August limiting the pilot to two companies.

Were encouraged by how its going, Maguire said. Weve seen the positives of moving from a Wild West scenario to some appropriate local regulations  a decrease in sidewalk riding and illegal parking on sidewalks.

Several spurned operators, including Spin, Lime and Ubers Jump, had appealed their rejections, while Lyft wrote letters asking for reconsideration. All had hopes of being tapped for the programs second half.

From riders perspective, fewer scooters makes the rentals less useful, according to people who attended a public workshop held by the agency this month.

I used to use them and loved them  then they disappeared, said Soni Mehra. Its harder and harder to find them now, so I cant rely on them to get to work.

Both Scoot and Skip said theyd be happy to increase their fleets, especially now that theyve ironed out some kinks  notably preventing theft and deterring some vandalism by adding built-in locks to all scooters as of early February.

Locks also ensure that parked scooters arent tipped over and dont block sidewalks, curb cuts or crosswalks as they have to be affixed to bike racks or posts.

The locking is key, Maguire said. Were the first city in the country that has all our scooters lockable.

Complaints about improper parking have plunged since the locks were implemented, he said.

Scoot had only a fraction of its allotment on streets for the programs initial months because theft was so rampant, but now is bringing its numbers up.

We had a rough start with all the theft and vandalism and then a terribly rainy few months, said Michael Keating, Scoot CEO. We want to show that this can be done safely, respectfully and sustainably.

Skip CEO Sanjay Dastoor has the same goals. Both executives said its clear that demand currently exceeds supply. So how many scooters could San Francisco accommodate without returning to last years chaos?

Thats a key question  how to expand the program without it being overwhelming, Dastoor said. Even doubling the number wont create the level of reliability that residents and visitors expect to be able to depend on this as a mode of transportation.

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Keating said, We think the city should continue to increase the number allowed until its clear theyre not being ridden that much. I dont think anyone knows what the maximum number should be.

Both companies and the MTA say theyre encouraged that scooter riders say they often turn to the devices to replace car trips.

People are using this in a way we think improves the city, Dastoor said.

Of some 1,700 riders polled earlier this year, 36% said otherwise they would have taken Uber or Lyft, while 5% said theyd have driven alone. Of the rest, 31% would have walked, 11% would have used public transit, 9% would have biked and 8% were other.

On their most-recent trip, 34% of respondents used scooters to get to or from public transportation, the transportation agency noted. Its conclusion: Scooters induce transit trips at roughly four times the rate that they replace transit trips, indicating that they could complement transit by serving as a valuable last-mile connection.

The MTA still wants more outreach to low-income riders. Fewer than 1% of scooter users take advantage of an equity access program to subsidize rides for low-income residents, even though about 9% would qualify. Regular rentals cost $1 to unlock plus 15 cents a minute; subsidized rides are half price.

The survey did reinforce some stereotypes about who rides scooters. Respondents were overwhelming male (82%), white (63%) and affluent (68% had household incomes above $100,000).

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid
Ubers blockbuster public filing revealed more than $1 billion in planned real estate spending in San Francisco, where it is the third-largest private tenant.

In the past decade, the ride-hailing company grew to own and lease 1.7 million square feet across four neighborhoods: Mid-Market, Mission Bay, the Financial District and Pier 70 in the Dogpatch. Only Salesforce and Wells Fargo have more real estate.

About 1 million square feet of that space is unoccupied and under construction in four adjacent buildings in Mission Bay, which will become the companys headquarters when it opens next year.

The bulk of Ubers office spending is tied to two of the Mission Bay office buildings, which total 580,000 square feet and are part of the Warriors arena complex. Uber said it will pay $1 billion to lease the buildings over 20 years, or $86 per square foot annually.

In an unusual arrangement, Uber is also part-owner of the buildings. The company paid $136 million for a 45% ownership stake in the buildings, according to the filing. The Warriors own 45% and Alexandria Real Estate Equities, a major office and biotech lab developer, owns the remaining 10%.

Rent at Ubers current headquarters, a former Bank of America data center at 1455 Market St., is more than 40 percent cheaper than its future home.

Uber pays $16 million per year to lease 325,020 square feet in the building, or $49 per square foot, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings by property owner Hudson Pacific Properties.

Uber owns its other two Mission Bay headquarters buildings at 1455 Third St. and 1515 Third St., which total 423,000 square feet.

But it still has rent obligations there: In 2016, Uber dissolved a joint venture partnership with Alexandria, which had planned to build the offices as co-owners. As part of the deal, Uber gained ownership of the buildings, but Alexandria owns the land underneath them. As a result, Uber will pay Alexandria a total of $175 million in rent for the land until February 2032. Then the annual rent will rise according to the consumer price index.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

Ubers filing also referenced a third major real estate deal. In October 2017, Uber said it sold U.S. real estate resulting in net sales proceeds of $175 million, inclusive of a loss on sale of $79 million.

That appears to be a reference to Ubers sale of Uptown Station in Oakland to developer CIM Group. Uber once planned a large office there, but dropped the project after it expanded further in Mission Bay. The source of the loss isnt clear. The company didnt respond to a request for more details.

Uber grew from 159 employees at the end of 2012 to 22,263 worldwide employees at the end of last year, with 11,488 outside the U.S. The company had 5,000 San Francisco employees last year, according to the San Francisco Business Times.

The companys office and data center rent costs rose sharply from $110 million at the end of 2016 to $194 million at the end of 2017. They rose more modestly to $221 million at the end of last year.

Roland Li is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf
PG&Es bankruptcy filing presents a problem brought on by the rise of Big Business in the past two centuries. Before Big Business, if a company repeatedly killed people or stole from them, it would go out of business. Today, some Big Businesses would claim they are too big to fail, despite the death and destruction they cause. The effect on the financial system would be too big  and too many people would suffer further.

So, to preserve its immense power, a Big Business often resorts to filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, forcing its victims to fight with its other creditors over their share of a fixed pool of money. Why is it fixed? Because Big Business claims that it can only spare so much and survive the bankruptcy as a viable company. So instead of the victims getting what they deserve, they get what the Big Business says it can spare.

For many, this just feels plain wrong and begs the question: How do we stop a badly behaving Big Business from harming innocent people?

We have corporate police, whose job it is to keep Big Business from behaving badly. These regulators, such as the California Public Utilities Commission and the Federal Aviation Administration, are failing to perform the job adequately. Why?

Regulatory agencies are generally under-skilled and technologically under-equipped compared with the Big Businesses they regulate. And regulatory employees are not compensated at the same level as their corporate counterparts, making it difficult to keep good employees who are not interested in fostering a good relationship with the Big Businesses (a.k.a. future employers) they are regulating.

For example, the federal budget for regulatory agencies in 2000 was $25 billion (1.42% of spending). In 2010, President Barack Obama raised the regulatory budget to $53 billion (1.5%), and now President Trump has proposed a budget of $71.0 billion in 2019 (1.5%).

This is peanuts compared to spending on state and local police. According to data collected by the Urban Institute, in 2016 state and local governments spent $187 billion (6% of spending) on policing and corrections.

It makes no common sense to put more resources into fighting Goliath than fighting David. If we do not enable our corporate police to fight Goliath, people can and will die, and their wealth and livelihoods can and will be destroyed. Look at PG&E and the Town of Hinkley (San Bernardino County), or Paradise (Butte County), or San Bruno or Santa Rosa. Look at the Federal Aviation Administration and the recent tragic plane crashes of the Boeing 737 MAX, killing 346 people.

Big Business needs big policing. Just like the mafia, drug lords or organized gangs.

One possible solution is using private resources, which has been successful under the Federal Claims Act, a law that imposes substantial damages if you steal money from the government. It offers protection to corporate insiders who inform on company fraud by allowing them to participate in the governments financial recovery from the bad company. It also makes it economically feasible for private law firms to assist the government in investigation and prosecution by allowing the law firm to recover their reasonable legal fees and costs from the bad corporation that commits fraud.

A prolific number of informants have come forward since Congress amended the FCA, uncovering numerous enormous frauds on the government and the publics money. Between 2009 and 2016, the Department of Justice collected $31 billion in revenue from such FCA private lawsuits. In addition, fear of insider informants will arguably lead big corporations to act better.

As we already have seen after the Boeing 737 MAX crashes, whistle-blowers have surfaced. But we need a mechanism to encourage people to inform on bad corporations before lives are lost and livelihoods destroyed.

Big Businesses behaving badly are not acceptable and need to be stopped because lives are more important than profits. These are truths we all know.
A Republican congressman from the Central Valley has filed a $150 million defamation lawsuit against his local newspaper for allegedly tarnishing his reputation. A Georgia state legislator is proposing to develop canons of ethics for journalists in his state. The U.S. government is seeking the extradition of a founder of WikiLeaks accused of conspiring to reveal military secrets.

Each of those cases calls for a refresher course on the state of media law and a serious look at the implications if each were to succeed.

Easy call: Nunes lawsuit

Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Tulare, either has some clueless lawyers or he filed the lawsuit against the Fresno Bee and its parent McClatchy Co. merely to inflict some legal expenses on his perceived nemesis.

The Bees story last year reported on a 2016 lawsuit against a Napa Valley winery in which Nunes was an investor and limited partner. The complaint from a winery employee alleged that she was assigned to staff a charity cruise on San Francisco Bay in which cocaine use and prostitution were prevalent, putting her in an untenable position that violated her civil rights and constituted sexual harassment. That lawsuit was settled. The story stated that Nunes was not on the boat, and it did not otherwise accuse him of any crime or impropriety.

Here is why every tenet of libel law would suggest he has no case:

Truth as an absolute defense: Even as he complained about the story, Nunes never requested a correction.

Qualified privilege: The law gives wide latitude to potentially defamatory statements made during judicial proceedings, government filings and legislative hearings. So even if the winery employees account were untrue, its presence in court documents would protect it from libel exposure.

Absence of malice: The Supreme Courts landmark 1964 Times vs. Sullivan decision set a higher threshold for defamation of public officials. For a lawsuit to prevail, the high court declared that a public official must show that a statement was made with actual malice, defined as with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not. The fact that the Bee made a concerted effort to seek Nunes comment  and he declined  undermines the congressmans claim.

Nunes, who lost his perch as Intelligence Committee water boy/goaltender for President Trump when the Democrats took command in January, now appears intent on exhausting any remaining credibility through frivolous lawsuits. He recently filed an equally absurd lawsuit against Twitter for, in part, allowing parody such as @DevinCow accounts to mock him.

Not surprisingly, the Twitter lawsuit caused the followership of @DevinCow to multiply exponentially. One of his demands of the Bee-McClatchy lawsuit is that it delete the online version of the sex-cruise story. As sure as curiosity follows publicity, Nunes has drawn extra attention  and clicks  to a story that was fading fast. He called the story character assassination.

Its self-inflicted character assassination. It just goes to show: You dont have to be a stable genius to be elected to the U.S. Congress.

Easy call: Georgia bill

Republican state Rep. Andy Welch did not like the questions he was being asked by a TV reporter. So he had the bright idea of creating an independent board at the University of Georgia to create canons of ethics for journalists. The notion of a state-sanctioned board presuming to arbitrate journalism standards in itself should be sufficient to be nullified under the First Amendment. His House Bill 734 went even further into the theater of the absurd: mandating that anyone interviewed by the news media would have a right to receive  free of charge  copies of photographs, plus audio and video recordings taken by reporters and photographers. A news organization that refused would be subject to legal action and fines.

The president of Georgias First Amendment Foundation was quoted in the Atlanta Journal Constitution as saying he initially thought the proposal was an April Fools joke.

Heres where the hypocrisy really comes in: Georgias General Assembly has long exempted itself from an open records act that applies to state agencies. And by the way: Those state agencies routinely charge for copies of any documents they must provide.

It also must be noted that the Society of Professional Journalists and most reputable news organizations, including this one, have codes of ethics covering everything from rules on anonymous sources to avoiding real and perceived conflicts of interest.

Welch has five GOP co-sponsors, but he is leaving office and will leave the fate of his bill to his colleagues in the next session. The First Amendment should serve as the ultimate firewall if Georgia lawmakers fail to come to their senses. But the very fact that such a Big Brother thumb on journalism would arise is a disturbing sign of the times.

Tough call: Assange case

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is a despicable human being, as evident from the credible sexual assault charge against him in Sweden to his alleged collaboration with Russians to meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. His schemes are not journalism; he is not a journalist.

No journalist worthy of the name would partner with an authoritarian regime to disrupt a democracy or pour classified material into the public domain without trying to verify its accuracy or seek comment from the subjects of the disclosures or conspire to break into a computer system (the subject of the U.S. indictment against him, accusing him of working with U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning).

So dont look here for any sympathy about his arrest in London after being booted out of the Ecuadoran Embassy after six years in exile.

It would be easy for journalists to dissociate themselves from Assange as he is brought to justice. The indictment as it now stands is fairly narrow: accusing him of helping Manning try to crack a classified Defense Department password, which would be out of bounds in legitimate news gathering.

Where it gets dicey would be if the government tries to claim that some of Assanges actions that would be within the bounds of standard journalistic practices  cajoling sources to provide information, protecting the identity of a whistle-blower  are fair game for criminal prosecution.

Americans who care about the right to scrutinize their government should be keeping an eye on this case.

John Diaz is The San Francisco Chronicles editorial page editor. Email: jdiaz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JohnDiazChron
Ambitious East Bay politicians whose blood pressure spiked when Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Dublin, announced his candidacy for president  and that we would not run simultaneously for a fifth term  should not quit their day jobs quite yet.

Swalwell may still run for re-election in Congress if his presidential bid flames out by December.

The assumption that Swalwell was headed for 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. or bust, fueled by some of his own comments, has been making its way into assorted news stories about his candidacy after he announced on Stephen Colberts show last Monday.

No one was more puzzled than me. After all, Swalwell was quite clear in spelling out his intentions in a January interview with me. If he were to run, he said then, he would not run for both offices at the same time even though it was legally possible. Heres the caveat: the filing deadline for each is Dec. 6. So if he were to drop out of the presidential race by then, he could still run for Congress.

I spoke with Swalwell on the phone on Thursday to make sure that was still the case.

It is.

What I have said and maybe this is where the confusion is  that if Im still a viable presidential candidate when that day (Dec. 6) comes, Im staying in the presidential lane, he said. If Im viable, Im not running for both.

The first threshold will be the upcoming Democratic debates. Swalwell said he fully expected to meet the requirements (at least 1 percent in the polls and 65,000 individual donors) to reach what is certain to be a crowded stage.

As long as I keep hitting way points and our vision is connecting, Im running for president, he said Thursday.

In truth, Swalwell is hardly blameless in the confusion. Some of his more quotes have left the unmistakable impression that it was White House or go home. A swashbuckling Swalwell told my colleague Joe Garofoli in a February Its All Political podcast that he was taking the burn the boats philosophy that conquistador Hernan Cortez embraced when he invaded the Aztec Empire in 1519.

They stormed the land, Swalwell said. And he had them burn the ships behind them so there was no looking back. I would want people to know that Im putting my all into this and I dont have a life insurance policy.

He added: If youre seeking such a big job that would affect so many people, I think you have to assure the people youre asking to vote for you that youre not hedging. And that you dont have a lifeboat waiting for you.

Swalwell insists he is all-in for the presidential race, even if he is hedging with a political insurance policy through the fall. He plans a campaign kickoff rally at Dublin High School at 2 p.m. Sunday.

As for the Democrats looking to move up to Congress, see you in December. Maybe.

In the meantime, the boats remain anchored offshore.

John Diaz is The Chronicles editorial page editor. Email: jdiaz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JohnDiazChron
An unlikely hero of sorts emerges from reports of the Trump White Houses proposal to dump detained immigrants in San Francisco and other so-called sanctuary cities: ICE.

Ranking officials at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a bogeyman for many on the left, repeatedly and rightly rejected the idea as irrational, inappropriate and illegal, according to the Washington Post, and two Department of Homeland Security officials were alarmed enough to report the discussions to Congress.

Even the White House was initially at pains to downplay the proposal, describing it as just a suggestion that was floated and rejected. Hours later, however, President Trump himself declared on Twitter that the administration was still giving strong considerations to placing Illegal Immigrants in Sanctuary Cities  the hundreds of jurisdictions that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

While Trumps claim that the plan remains under consideration could well be another empty threat meant to galvanize his supporters, the White House appears to have pursued it in earnest on at least two occasions. The presidents aides reportedly presented the idea to Homeland Security officials in November and again in February as a means of punishing House Speaker Nancy Pelosis San Francisco district and other areas represented by Democrats in Congress. Trump confirmed as much Friday by describing its targets as Democrats and the Radical Left.

The proposal bears Trumps unmistakable signature in that its simultaneously clownish and monstrous. The contemplated use of a federal law enforcement agency and the humans at its mercy to wreak revenge on political opponents not only would constitute a gross abuse of power but also would lack any legitimate rationale. Its not as if busing asylum seekers across California and releasing them on Market Street would serve any conceivable national security or law enforcement aim.

Beyond being contrary to reason and law, Trumps proposal epitomizes his efforts to portray and treat immigrants as a pestilence rather than as people. Its no wonder his attempts at immigration policy keep running afoul of reality, the law and the perceptions of most Americans, especially in immigrant-rich places like San Francisco. Noting that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans, San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon said, The fact that such a proposal is being peddled by the leader of the free world is an all-time low for American discourse, and its the clearest sign yet that the president fully intends to chart a path to re-election on the back of racist rhetoric and policies intended to divide us.

The proposal casts Trumps continuing purge of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, in a new light. The departments general counsel, John Mitnick, reportedly advised the president that his plan would not pass muster without a mission-related rationale  that is, some legitimate government purpose  and might violate the constitutional due-process rights of detainees. Mitnick is reportedly on his way out of the administration, which recently ousted the acting ICE director and the Homeland Security secretary.

If there is any cause for comfort from this story, its that agencies focused on immigration enforcement and led by the presidents handpicked nominees nevertheless resisted some of his worst anti-immigrant impulses.

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.
Regarding Preserve the history (Editorial, April 10): Today, I briefly explained the situation concerning the mural at George Washington High School. A fourth-grader responded We should keep it up so people will never forget what was done to us. A fifth-grader said, People should know what happened. Everyone needs to learn the truth.

Then I challenged them to think about taking down or painting over the mural. They looked dismayed and answered, Then the students wont know the real truth. Yes, it might make some of them sad when they walk past the painting, but they have to know the truth.

The Chronicle editorial on April 10 stated that the artwork is historic, inspiring and provocative. It is. I hope that teachers will hold learning sessions in front of the mural so that each class will learn that sometimes our country has engaged in shameful deeds, but we can and will do better. Then challenge the students by asking each of them, What will you do?

One teacher might volunteer to do a learning session at the mural for the school board. If the board chooses to remove the mural, they will be denying a real part of our history. Learn, dont deny.

Roberta McLaughlin, San Francisco

Triggered by images

By the time Victor Arnautoff set out to portray the life of our first president, George Washington had become a hallowed figure, and Im sure that the frank, even subversive nature of Arnautoffs images were quite controversial when they were first unveiled. It should be remembered that not only is the racist, patriarchal world that Washington ruled important history to remember, but so are the Works Progress Administration programs that made these murals possible, along with the rest of the New Deal efforts to fight the Great Depression. These disturbing murals are pulsing with history. Even our own moment in history will likely prove notable.

At a time when a minority students justifiable outrage at seeing images of the brutal treatment of her ancestors has been transformed into being triggered, its something to be avoided at all costs.

Perhaps the solution is to fashion curtains to cover the offending scenes until this moment has passed.

Greg Tolman, Berkeley

Ridiculous ban

Regarding Dark day for S.F. housing (Editorial, April 12): Id have to agree that the decision by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to ban a South of Market housing construction project because it would temporarily cast a shadow over less than 20 percent of Victoria Manalo Draves Park in midsummer is ridiculous.

It would be like asking the parks namesake, an American competition diver who won gold medals in both platform and springboard diving in the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, to not jump into a pool because there were a few windblown leaves in it.

Priscilla Massey, San Francisco

NRAs influence

Concerning Mad call to arms (Editorial, April 12): In New Zealand, a horrid massacre of 50 Muslim worshipers results in a swift ban on most semiautomatic weapons.

In the United States, the typical response to a mass shooting is hollow thoughts and prayers from politicians controlled by National Rifle Association lobbyists or beholden to constituents who place gun rights ahead of human lives.

Richard Fairchild, Walnut Creek

American mayhem

Regarding Judge lifts ban gun fans rush in (Page 1, April 11): Americans pride themselves on do-it-yourself know-how.

So it is of no surprise that hundreds of thousands of high-capacity ammunition magazines were recently sold in California. Who needs ISIS when we can create our own mayhem?

Vaughn Hovanessian, Oakland

Seek common ground

Regarding The partisan divide (Letters, April 8): The author is thankful she can find no commonality with people who have a different point of view from her own.

While I, myself, am struggling to understand the direction we are going in, not as a country but as a people, seeking a common ground does not require accepting or embracing the views of someone with whom we disagree. It asks that we look to a starting point of commonality, our common ground.

I doubt Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. embraced the ideology of many in his time.

He also never embraced disdain for those whom with he disagreed. To quote him, Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that.

Alice Lawrie, San Francisco

Homeless solutions

Regional strategy urged for homeless (April 10) is a needed Band-Aid approach for homelessness. But it is a temporary solution.

We should not lose track of the main solutions: more regional housing, much more, and secondly, our large tech companies should take their expansion to other areas of the country.

Donald Dinelli, Oakland

Useless statement

If I ever again hear thoughts and prayers from an official responding to an atrocious event that should have been prevented, I am likely to go postal. Thoughts and prayers are useless. Action is required.

James Showalter, San Francisco
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon took aim at socialism in his annual letter to shareholders, distributed this month, warning that it would be a disaster for our country, because it produces stagnation, corruption and often worse.

Dimon should know. He was at the helm when JPMorgan received a $25 billion socialist-like bailout in 2008, after it and other Wall Street banks almost tanked because of their fraudulent loans.

Dimon subsequently agreed to pay the government $13 billion to settle charges that JPMorgan overstated the quality of the mortgages it was selling to investors in the lead-up to the crisis. According to the U.S. Justice Department, JPMorgan acknowledged it had regularly and knowingly sold mortgages that should have never been sold. (Presumably this is where the stagnation, corruption and often worse comes in.)

The $13 billion penalty was chicken feed to the biggest bank on Wall Street, whose profits last year alone amounted to $32.5 billion. Besides, JPMorgan was able to deduct around $11 billion of the settlement costs from its taxable income.

To state it another way, Dimon and other Wall Street CEOs helped trigger the 2008 financial crisis when the fraudulent loans their banks were peddling  on which they made big money  finally went bust. But instead of letting the market punish the banks (which is what capitalism is supposed to do), the government bailed them out and eventually levied paltry fines that the banks treated as the cost of doing business.

If this isnt socialism, what is it?

Yet its a particular form of socialism. Millions of homeowners who owed more on their homes than the homes were worth didnt get bailed out. Millions of workers who lost their jobs or their savings, or both, didnt get bailed out. No major banker went to jail.

Call it socialism for rich bankers.

Its a gift that keeps giving. Dimon took advantage of the financial crisis to acquire Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual, vastly enlarging JPMorgan. Americas five biggest banks, including Dimons, now control about 40 percent of all deposits.

And because theyre so big, JPMorgan and other big Wall Street banks are now considered too big to fail. This translates into a hidden subsidy of some $83 billion a year, because creditors who face less risk accept lower interest on deposits and loans.

More socialism for rich bankers.

After the financial crisis and bailout, Congress enacted a milquetoast version of the Glass-Steagall Act, a banking law from the Great Depression that bankers killed off in the 1990s. The eventual replacement was the Dodd-Frank Act, which was enacted in 2010.

Ever since, Dimon has pushed to weaken Dodd-Frank.

When Barack Obamas regulators wanted to extend Dodd-Frank to the foreign branches and subsidiaries of Wall Street banks, Dimon warned it would harm Wall Streets competitiveness.

This was the same Jamie Dimon who chose London as the place to make highly risky derivatives trades that lost the firm some $6 billion in 2012  proof that unless the overseas operations of Wall Street banks are covered by U.S. regulations, giant banks like Dimons will move more of their betting abroad, hiding their wildly risky bets overseas so U.S. regulators cant see them.

More recently, Donald Trumps bank regulators have heeded Dimon and rolled back Dodd-Frank.

Dimon was also instrumental in getting the big Trump tax cuts through Congress. They saved JPMorgan and the other big banks $21 billion last year alone.

Dimon was paid $31 million last year. He is estimated by Forbes to be worth $1.3 billion.

Ironically, a few weeks ago Dimon warned that income inequality is dividing America.

A big chunk of [Americans] have been left behind, he said, unveiling a new $350 million program to train workers for the jobs of the future. Forty percent of Americans make less than $15 an hour.

True, but $350 million over five years isnt even a drop in the ocean of Americans left behind.

Wall Street bonuses totaled $27.5 billion last year, more than three times the combined annual earnings of all American workers employed full-time at the federal minimum wage. Thats more than 600,000 low-wage workers.

If Dimon were serious about the problem of widening inequality, then hed use his lobbying prowess to help raise the federal minimum wage. Hed also try to make it easier for workers to unionize, and hed endorse higher taxes for the super-wealthy like himself.

But, of course, Dimon isnt really concerned about widening inequality. Hes not really concerned about socialism, either.

Dimons real concern is that America may end the kind of socialism he and other denizens of the Street depend on  bailouts, regulatory loopholes and tax breaks.

These have made the banks a fortune, but theyve brought the rest of America stagnation, corruption and often worse.

 2019 By Robert Reich
The man who fell to his death earlier this month at the Grand Canyon was identified Friday by National Park Service officials as a Santa Rosa resident.

Michael Obritsch, 67, was visiting the park on April 3 when he fell over the canyon rim east of Yavapai Geology Museum in Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim, authorities said. His body was recovered from 400 feet below the rim.

John Quinley, a park spokesman, said Obritschs death was the third in eight days at the Grand Canyon, but he was the first over the edge fatality in the park this year. Investigators have concluded his death was accidental, Quinley said. A park visitor reported seeing Obritsch falling but there were apparently no witnesses or indications of what caused the plunge.

The first of the string of recent deaths occurred on March 26 near the South Rim and remains under investigation, Quinley said. In the other fatality, a tourist accidentally fell near the Grand Canyon Skywalk, a horseshoe-shaped, glass-floor observation deck outside the park on the canyons western end.

Park officials advise visitors to have a safe visit by staying on designated trails and walkways, always keeping a safe distance from the edge of the rim and staying behind railings and fences at overlooks.

An obituary placed on the Legacy.com website said Obritsch was a retired computer analyst for Pacific Bell in San Ramon who grew up in Santa Rosa but later moved back. After his retirement, he worked part-time for a pool service. He was a graduate of Piner High School in Santa Rosa, and had a degree in mathematics from UC Davis.

His warm, friendly personality, intelligence, dedication, kindness, and his sense of fun will be greatly missed, the obituary said.

He is survived by a sister, Nicolette Hinch. A memorial service is planned later this month, according to the obituary, and memorial donations can be made to the Sonoma County Humane Society.

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan
In Wikipedias 18 years of existence, it has become a fixture in our lives: It ascends to the top of Googles search results and provides answers to the questions we ask Alexa and Siri.

For the San Francisco organizations editing community, the website is even more. It is a kind of social network where users debate the minutiae of history and modern life, climb the editorial hierarchy and even meet friends and romantic partners.

It is also a place where editors can experience relentless harassment. In 2016, Pax Ahimsa Gethen, a trans male Wikipedian, was persistently hit with personal attacks over several months. Gethen, 49, who uses the pronouns they and them, said the anonymous harasser posted that they were insufferable and unloved, that they belonged in an internment camp and that they should kill themself.

Gethen said the user also publicly posted their deadname, the name they used before transitioning.

It was devastating to me because of the personal nature of it, Gethen said.

Unlike at social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, the people who handle reports of harassment on Wikipedia are largely unpaid.

In response to complaints about pervasive harassment, the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that operates Wikipedia and supports its community of volunteers, has promised strategies to curb abuse. In recent months, the foundation has rolled out a more sophisticated blocking tool that it hopes can better control the harassment plaguing some users.

Sydney Poore, a community health strategist with the foundation, said that when the free encyclopedia was established in 2001, it initially attracted lots of editors who were tech-oriented men. That led to a culture that was not always accepting of outside opinions, said Poore, who has edited Wikipedia for 13 years.

Were making strong efforts to reverse that, she said, but it doesnt happen overnight.

A few informed clicks on any Wikipedia article can reveal the lengthy discussions that shape a published narrative. According to interviews with Wikipedians around the world, those digital backrooms are where harassment often begins. A spirited debate over a detail in an article can spiral into one user spewing personal attacks against another.

If you out yourself as a feminist or LGBT, you will tend to be more targeted, said Natacha Rault, a Wikipedia editor who lives in Geneva and founded a project that aims to reduce the gender gap on the website.

On French-language Wikipedia, where Rault does much of her editing, discussions about gender can often spark vitriol. Rault said there were six months of heated debate about whether to label the article on Britains leader, Theresa May, with the feminine version of prime minister (premiere ministre), rather than the masculine one (premier ministre).

Another controversy has been simmering over the article femme, the French word for woman, Rault said. At issue is whether the first paragraph should refer to gender in addition to biological sex and whether transgender women should be included in the definition of woman. This debate devolved into an edit war, a heated back-and-forth in which Wikipedians continuously edit an article to overwrite the other sides changes and reflect the language they want.

Sometimes it can be so aggressive that you give up and run away from the article, she said.

The Wikimedia Foundation says it is seriously concerned by the idea that cisgender women and transgender editors could be repelled from Wikipedia by online abuse.

On its website, the foundation lists pervasive harassment as a barrier to gender equity. Sometimes, the harassment is explicitly sexual: According to anonymous interviews described by the foundation, users have had pornography posted on their personal Wikipedia userpage and emailed to them. Camelia Boban, an editor on Italian-language Wikipedia, said another user once publicly used language to suggest she was a prostitute.

Studies on Wikipedias contributor base from several years ago estimated that fewer than 20 percent of editors were women. This research backed up an existing awareness in the Wikipedia community that female editors were seriously underrepresented, galvanizing activists who set out to recruit more women to write and edit articles.

Groups like Art+Feminism were established to increase the representation of women and nonbinary individuals on Wikipedia. Its organizers held sessions in which experienced editors taught aspiring ones the ways of Wikipedia, explaining how to navigate a website where editors sometimes appear to be communicating in code.

Wikipedians also began to discuss the content gender gap, which includes an imbalance in the gender distribution of biographies on the site. The latest analysis, released this month, said about 18 percent of 1.6 million biographies on the English-language Wikipedia were of women. That is up from about 15 percent in 2014, partially because of activists trying to move the needle.

Claudia Lo, a foundation researcher on a team that is building anti-harassment tools, said there was a pattern of harassment on Wikipedia stemming from debates over LGBT issues. When a celebrity comes out as transgender  notably, Chelsea Manning in 2013 and Caitlyn Jenner in 2015  Wikipedians have extensively debated whether the individuals self-declared pronouns should be used.

Articles about transgender or nonbinary individuals are often subject to vandals who revert their pronouns back to their gender assigned at birth. But Wikipedias guidelines make clear that editors should use the gender that the subject of the article most recently stated in a dependable source.

In countries where it is more dangerous for LGBT individuals to be open about their identities, harassment on Wikipedia can be particularly virulent. Once, an administrator on a Wikipedia page blocked an editor simply because the user name suggested that the editor could be gay, said Rachel Wexelbaum, a Wikipedian who works to improve LGBT content on the website. Eventually, she said, Wikimedias Trust and Safety Team got involved, and the administrator was blocked for those actions.

In some spaces, the environment for LGBT users has improved. Amir Sarabadani, a 25-year-old Iranian software developer with Wikimedia Foundations chapter in Germany, said that in his 12 years of editing Persian-language Wikipedia, users were often hostile while editing articles related to homosexuality.

About six years ago, Sarabadani started talking openly about being gay in conversations with other Wikipedians. He said other editors often accused him of having a homosexual agenda, and anonymous users posted lewd images of male genitals on his user page.

But Sarabadani, who left Tehran for Berlin two years ago, said he thought his work as an administrator on Persian-language Wikipedia had made the community of editors there less tolerant of abuse.

It was easy to say things and get away with that, he said. Now if someone says something homophobic, theyll get blocked for several months.

On English-language Wikipedia, one of roughly 300 languages with its own site, users are asked to report conflicts with one another on online notice boards, where they are expected to post links to abuse so an administrator can decide whether to take action.

That method problematically forces complaints into the public sphere, said Lo, the foundation researcher.

If youre being harassed, Lo said, the last thing you want to do is tell your harasser that youre about to tell on them.

In some cases, situations are dealt with by Wikimedia Foundation staff members or via private emails with volunteer administrators, she said.

If a volunteer administrator finds the allegations of abuse credible, the user can be barred from editing anywhere on the site. Administrators for some Wikipedias, such as the English-language site, can also declare a topic ban, a socially enforced tool in which other editors are responsible for making sure the guilty user is not involved in editing articles that mention prohibited subjects. Violating a topic ban can result in a site-wide ban.

The new tool, which the foundation calls partial blocks, allows administrators to restrict users from editing particular pages on which they have proved to be a problem. Those developing the tool hope it will be used more liberally to block editors from specific topics without entirely barring users who are productive in other areas of the site.

The idea is to provide volunteer administrators with a more targeted, more nuanced ability to respond to conflicts, Lo said.

Partial blocks are active on five Wikipedias, including those in Italian and Arabic, and foundation staff members expect it to be introduced to English-language Wikipedia this year. The foundation is also in the early stages of a private reporting system where users could report harassment, Lo said.

But there are limits to how effective institutional change can be in curbing harassment on Wikipedia. In the case of Gethen, their harasser kept posting from different IP addresses, making it difficult for a blocking tool to be effective.

Although the abuser no longer haunts their internet presence, Gethen said the sometimes hostile culture on Wikipedia had reduced their editing on the site.

Im not getting paid for this, they said. Why should I volunteer my time to be abused?

Julia Jacobs is a New York Times writer.
ARIES. (March 20 - April 19): Are you being led astray? It's hard to tell, but you'll have a lot of fun finding out between now and the 23rd.

TAURUS. (April 20 - May 20): An opponent's command of the facts isn't as secure as she led everyone to believe. Give fair warning before you yank the rug from under her argument.

GEMINI. (May 21 - June 20): An opportunity to travel or visit couldn't have come at a better time. A change of scene is exactly what's needed to clear both head and heart.

CANCER. (June 21 - July 21): Yes, the obstacle course is getting a bit old, but don't stop now. You're a stone's throw away from the winner's circle.

LEO. (July 22 - Aug. 22): You hold the winning hand, so why play all your cards at once? Introduce them gradually and you'll keep everyone in suspense.

VIRGO. (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22): The issue isn't whether you're owed money. The question is do you have the time and energy to collect it? Only you can decide if it's worth the effort.

LIBRA. (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22): You've wracked your brains trying to figure out why a friend did what she did. Keep going because the truth will emerge soon.

SCORPIO. (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21): You can see the drawbacks to the prize dangled in front of you. But if anyone can wade through hell and high water to get what he wants: it's you!

SAGITTARIUS. (Nov. 22 - Dec. 20): Ruling Planet Jupiter increases your need for attention. Warning signs are: inappropriate laughter, talking too loud, and clapping when a plate crashes at a restaurant.

CAPRICORN. (Dec. 21 - Jan. 19): You may not have the experience necessary to make the most informed choices. Meet with an advisor or consultant.

AQUARIUS. (Jan. 20 - Feb. 17): You've been willing to cut co-workers some slack, but are they returning the favor? Look after your own interests, because they're clearly looking after their own.

PISCES. (Feb. 18 - March 19): Sometimes what you want to see happen diverts energy from what you can make happen. Today you recognize the difference.
WASHINGTON  Top Democrats rushed to defend Rep. Ilhan Omar on Saturday after President Trump retweeted video that was edited to suggest she was being dismissive of the significance of the worst terrorist assault on U.S. soil.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi scolded Trump for using the painful images of 9/11 for a political attack against the first-term Minnesota Democrat.

Former Texas Rep. Beto ORourke, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination to challenge Trump in 2020, said the Republican presidents tweet was an incitement to violence against Omar, who is Muslim American, and others like her.

The video Trump retweeted Friday pulls a snippet of Omars recent speech to the Council on American-Islamic Relations in which she described the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center as some people did something, and includes news footage of the hijacked planes hitting the Twin Towers. Trump also tweeted, WE WILL NEVER FORGET!

Omars remark has drawn criticism largely from political opponents and conservatives who say the lawmaker, one of the first Muslim women to serve in Congress, offered a flippant description of the assailants and the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

Neither Trumps tweet nor the video included her full quote or the context of her comments. Omar told the council in Los Angeles that many Muslims saw their civil liberties eroded after the attacks, and she advocated for activism.

For far too long we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen, and frankly, Im tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it, she said in the March 23 speech, according to video posted online. CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations was founded in 1994, according to its website, but its membership skyrocketed after the attacks.

Many Republicans and conservative outlets expressed outrage at Omars remarks. Fellow Democrats, including some who have disagreed with Omar in the past, defended her.

Pelosi, who was in Germany visiting U.S. troops Saturday, said in a statement that the memory of 9/11 is sacred ground and should always be discussed with reverence. The San Francisco Democrat said it is wrong for Trump to fan the flames to make anyone less safe.

Several of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates condemned Trumps tweet.

ORourke, who campaigned in South Carolina on Saturday, likened Trumps tweet to his rhetoric about Mexicans, described in the past by Trump as murderers and rapists. ORourke said there is a cost and there is a consequence to Trumps comments.

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont said Omar wont back down to Trumps racism and hate, and neither will we.
'The Next Great Paulie Fink' officially will be released on April 16, and on Thursday, April 18, Benjamin will host a book-signing at 7 p.m. at the Williams Bookstore.

Williamstown Author Pens Second Middle-Grade Novel

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  When Williamstown author Ali Benjamin started thinking about a follow-up to her 2015 middle-grade novel "The Thing About Jellyfish," she struggled to find the right topic and the right tone.

"Jellyfish," while a beautiful story about a young girl's journey of self-discovery, is, after all, a story about the death of a child. Benjamin had planned her next book around the issue of gun violence, but in the years following the release of "Jellyfish," real life seemed too dark in many ways to pick another tough topic.

"I finally said to my editor, 'I don't think I can do the book we have been talking about,' " said Benjamin, who said she struggled with what message of hope she could send kids about gun violence. "It was such a bleak world view and I couldn't give it to kids."

With the support of her editor, Benjamin changed gears, and her new middle-grade novel was born: "The Next Great Paulie Fink." The book officially will be released on April 16, and on Thursday, April 18, Benjamin will host a book-signing at 7 p.m. at the Williams Bookstore. "Paulie Fink" will be available for sale, of course, but Benjamin is also encouraging guests to purchase a picture book for a donation drive she has undertaken for the Louison House, the shelter in North Adams for people experiencing homelessness.

"Paulie Fink" tells the story of a seventh-grade girl named Caitlyn who unwillingly moves to a new home and new school in a small town in Vermont. With her arrival also comes a mystery in her small class: the disappearance of classmate Paulie Fink, who has oddly not returned to school this year. As Caitlyn's new classmates share stories about Paulie, building his legend, they decide they need to "replace" him. Thus they tap the objective newcomer Caitlyn to oversee a series of realty television-style contests to see who will be the one to be the "new Paulie." Of course, it turns out to be about much more than that as Caitlyn learns more and more about Paulie.

"She's trying to get to know Paulie," Benjamin said. "Who she's really getting to know is her classmates and herself."

Benjamin said her process of writing "Paulie Fink" somewhat mirrors Caitlyn's journey. With "Jellyfish," she had more freedom to write the story she wanted and then try to sell it to publishers. This time around, the publisher was expecting a second book, and she had an editor and an agent checking in with her throughout the process. But she still wanted to find the creative space to be herself  a process similar to the one Caitlyn undergoes as well.

"I'm not going to care what people think," Benjamin said she would tell herself  a lesson that is often difficult, if beneficial, for middle-schoolers like Caitlyn. "She has to let herself get a little looser, be a little silly, and set down 'OK, what will people think of me.'

"That's not a bad thing to have to do," she said. "There's something really freeing going into that space."

The space that Benjamin herself is going with the release of this book is the chance to follow up a very popular debut - a book she said she is "surprised and confused" was so popular.

"It's not something I expected I would have resonated with a lot of people," she said.

It did  and it became the basis of many conversations with teachers and parents, as well as students themselves  as she toured for "Jellyfish" and talked to people all over the country about the book's themes of bullying, mental health and death. That's something she said she enjoyed with "Jellyfish" and hopes to do again with "Paulie Fink."

"It's really fun to go to all these different schools," she said, recalling how she visited a diverse list of schools, from small and poor rural schools to much wealthier urban schools like those in Silicon Valley. One thing was the same everywhere, she said.

"Kids are having so many different experiences in this country, but they are all excited to ask questions," she said. "Kids are kind of awesome."

And that attitude is how Benjamin appears to so easily tap into the joys and heartaches of today's middle-schoolers in her first two middle-grade books, despite being a mother of two daughters  one of whom is Caitlyn's age herself.

"I'm just perpetually 12," she said.
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)



Officers arrested a 45-year-old man in San Francisco Wednesday, suspected of igniting a homemade rocket in the city's Tenderloin neighborhood earlier this month.



On April 4, officers learned an explosion had occurred in the 500 block of Leavenworth Street, and once at the scene, they found debris consistent with a homemade rocket.



Witnesses gave investigators a description of a man who was seen placing the device on the ground and then walking away. Moments later, according to witnesses, the device exploded and the man fled on a bicycle, heading west on Geary Street.



The Police Department's bomb squad responded to the scene and determined that there were no more devices in the area.



Investigators were able to obtain video surveillance confirming the witnesses' account, police said.



After conducting an investigation and learning of the suspect's possible whereabouts, on Wednesday officers located the suspect near Bush and Webster streets.



Police have identified him as Scott Campbell of San Francisco.



Investigators then obtained a warrant to search Campbell's home and there they found rocket-building supplies and other hazardous material, police said.



Officers arrested Campbell on suspicion of possessing explosives, possessing a destructive device and on an outstanding warrant for driving while under the influence, according to police.





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Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson is hosting the "Alameda County Emergency Preparedness Day" on Saturday to help community members be ready for disasters such as fires and earthquakes.



Carson said on Friday that preparation is important because the East Bay has experienced several significant earthquakes and fires over the last 100 years.



The event will be held at Chabot Elementary School at 6686 Chabot Road in Oakland from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and will begin with remarks by Carson and keynote speaker Lars Eric Holm, the disaster preparedness coordinator at Eden I&R Inc.



Workshops will be presented on topics such as insurance, personal planning, basic life-saving techniques and community planning.



Presenters will include the American Red Cross, University of California at San Francisco Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, the California Department of Insurance, the Center for Independent Living and the Bay Area Youth EMT Program.







Four Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority drivers have been confirmed to have scabies, a skin rash caused by a tiny burrowing parasite.



The first driver reported the rash on Saturday and VTA has since confirmed three other reports, according to spokeswoman Brandi Childress. The transit agency has removed 12 buses from operation for cleaning.



Scabies spreads quickly in crowded conditions, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Direct, prolonged skin-to-skin contact can spread the bug.



VTA said no riders have reported scabies, and their current priority is cleaning the affected buses. All four operators said they contracted scabies after being in the driver's seat, not the passenger area.



"This skin irritation is unlikely to be transmitted by merely sitting on a bus or being near a person with it," VTA officials said in a statement.







Hundreds of San Francisco toddlers and preschoolers joined their teachers and parents Friday morning for a "Walk Around the Block" event outside of the city's California State Building, calling on state leaders to increase funding for early care and education.



Joined by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, and city Supervisor Norman Yee, the group is asking for Gov. Gavin Newsom to address a number of issues within the early care and education system.



Although Newsom has already included $2 billion for ECE in a proposal for the 2019-2020 budget, the teachers and their parents say the budget fails to address pay raises for teachers and accessibility gaps for kids and their parents.



Speaking to the crowd, Ting said, "We all know that all your staff doesn't get paid nearly enough, especially not in San Francisco. For too long we have really taken for granted all of your hard work and not really given you all of the tools in terms of training and development."



According to the advocacy organization Early Care Educators of San Francisco, low wages for teaching positions result in more vacant positions, contributing to a drop in the quality of care as well as reducing slots available to children.







Five people were rescued Friday afternoon from Tomales Bay off the Marin County coast, officials with the U.S. Coast Guard said.



Two of the survivors were in the water when they called for help from their cellphones at 1:30 p.m. and were transferred to the Coast Guard. One of the survivors told the Coast Guard that he last saw his companion clinging to a yellow buoy.



A lifeboat and two helicopters were dispatched and the man last seen clinging to the buoy was rescued. The man told Marin County firefighters, who were at command post at Miller Boat Launch, that four others were in the water.



The five had apparently taken two collapsible boats out on the bay and waves overwhelmed one boat, sending two men in the water. The second boat picked up one of the men and the weight of all four overwhelmed that boat.



According to the Coast Guard, all five were wearing life jackets. Marin County fire officials said the life jackets were bright-colored, allowing the helicopter crews to spot the victims.







A 4-year-old boy is out of intensive care and is undergoing physical therapy following a shooting last month in Oakland, his grandfather said in a post on GoFundMe.



Na'vaun Lamarii Price Jackson got a hold of a gun on the afternoon of March 27 and shot himself in the head, according to police.



The shooting was reported at about 2 p.m. in the 2400 block of Ritchie Street.



Na'vaun's grandfather Ramon Price said of his grandson, "God is so good."



Price said on April 8 that the boy was in stable condition and was "no longer in ICU but in recovery undergoing physical therapy."



Price said, "He still has a long road ahead. Thank you for all your love and support. Please continue to pray."



A 37-year-old man was arrested in the shooting. Terrence Wilson was arrested March 27 on suspicion of child abuse, have a gun as a felon and criminal storage of a gun, Alameda County prosecutors said.





















































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.
OAKLAND (BCN)



Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson is hosting the "Alameda County Emergency Preparedness Day" on Saturday to help community members be ready for disasters such as fires and earthquakes.



Carson said on Friday that preparation is important because the East Bay has experienced several significant earthquakes and fires over the last 100 years.



The event will be held at Chabot Elementary School at 6686 Chabot Road in Oakland from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and will begin with remarks by Carson and keynote speaker Lars Eric Holm, the disaster preparedness coordinator at Eden I&R Inc.



Workshops will be presented on topics such as insurance, personal planning, basic life-saving techniques and community planning.



Presenters will include the American Red Cross, University of California at San Francisco Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, the California Department of Insurance, the Center for Independent Living and the Bay Area Youth EMT Program.



There also will be a resource fair with more than 25 organizations and agencies.



Organizers said they expect more than 500 Alameda County residents to attend the event and the first 300 families to arrive will receive free emergency kits.



Carson, whose Fifth District seat includes Albany, Berkeley, Piedmont, Emeryville and parts of Oakland, said earthquakes and fires have had a devastating impact and damaged thousands of structures and endangered countless lives in the East Bay over the years.



He said although there have been ongoing efforts to inform and educate residents, the recent wildfires in other Bay Area communities are a reminder that leaders need to ensure that all citizens are informed and prepared for disasters, which he said are inevitable.



Carson said the emergency preparedness day is held every four years and this is the third time he has hosted it.





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)



Hundreds of San Francisco toddlers and preschoolers joined their teachers and parents Friday morning for a "Walk Around the Block" event outside of the city's California State Building, calling on state leaders to increase funding for early care and education.



Joined by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, and city Supervisor Norman Yee, the group is asking for Gov. Gavin Newsom to address a number of issues within the early care and education system.



Although Newsom has already included $2 billion for ECE in a proposal for the 2019-2020 budget, the teachers and their parents say the budget fails to address pay raises for teachers and accessibility gaps for kids and their parents.



Speaking to the crowd, Ting said, "We all know that all your staff doesn't get paid nearly enough, especially not in San Francisco. For too long we have really taken for granted all of your hard work and not really given you all of the tools in terms of training and development."



According to the advocacy organization Early Care Educators of San Francisco, low wages for teaching positions result in more vacant positions, contributing to a drop in the quality of care as well as reducing slots available to children.



"Education doesn't start when you're five and going into kindergarten, it starts from the minute you are born," Wiener said. "We need to make sure that we have the infrastructure in place and the atmosphere in place so that all of our children can be educated, affirmed, fostered and healthy from the moment they are born and that's what this is about."



Additionally, he said, "We want workers to be able to afford to live and raise their own families here in San Francisco and in the Bay Area.



"We need to pay our early childhood educators what you deserve and what it takes to live and survive and thrive in this community," he said.



Yee said, referring to a windfall in the city's Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund that was recently approved to support early childhood education, "We were able to fight for some funding this year to give to teachers, $10 million worth -- actually $30 million over three years -- but we all know that's not sustainable. We need the state to kick in because this $30 million, compared to what the state can do, it's pennies."



In addition to asking for higher wages for educators, the group is also asking state leaders to increase subsidies for early childcare, making it more affordable for parents with kids up to 3 years old.



"We know that the most important thing for early child education is, one, access; making sure that children have a seat for themselves and their families in a quality learning environment," said Monica Walters, CEO of Wu Yee Children's Services. "Secondly: how do you learn? You learn from your teachers. Teachers are the backbone of quality early education and we need to pay our teachers for their invaluable, dedicated work."





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.
In route news this week, Southwest kicks off new service at San Jose; JetBlue growth stalls at Long Beach; Southwest and American struggle to cope with 737 MAX woes; Contour Airlines comes to Sacramento; United expands to Florida; a Delta code-share partner suddenly stopped international flights; a Lufthansa affiliate is coming to Las Vegas; and Icelandair scraps a U.S. gateway.

Southwest Airlines this week added its newest California Corridor route from Mineta San Jose, beginning service to Long Beach. The route was already being served by JetBlue with two flights a day, but Southwest will operate four daily roundtrips in the market, with SJC departures at 9:55 a.m., 1:50 p.m., 5:40 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. And on April 14, Southwest is due to resume service from San Jose to New Orleans, with weekly Sunday-only flights.

Speaking of Long Beach, city officials there have been pressuring JetBlue to use all of its departure/arrival slots or lose them  so it lost some of them. The airline agreed to give back 10 of its 34 slots at the airport, in the face of a new regulation this year at LGB aimed at stopping what it calls "slot squatting" by airlines. Other carriers are on a waiting list for Long Beach access, led by Hawaiian and Delta. JetBlue is still the biggest operator at Long Beach, but its passenger share has been dropping while Southwest's has been growing.

When Boeing's new 737 MAX aircraft were grounded by the FAA last month after two crashes, officials at the manufacturer seemed confident they would have a fix for the problem within a few weeks. But now it looks like it will take longer, and airlines that were operating the plane are once again trying to figure out how to reshuffle their schedules to do without the MAXs.

Southwest  the largest U.S. operator of 737 MAXs with 34 MAX 8s in its fleet  said this week it has now been forced to modify its schedule at least through August 5, well into the peak summer season, in order to "add further stability" for customers' travel planning. It had previously hoped for a return of the planes by June 7. "The timing for the return to service of the MAX remains unclear," Southwest President Tom Nealon admitted in a website posting, adding that the company is notifying and rebooking the "limited number of customers" affected by the extended schedule realignment. It did not identify specific flights or routes impacted by the changes. The airline had previously scheduled up to 160 MAX flights a day this summer.

Southwest had been planning to phase in 737 MAXs on its new Hawaii service, so we asked a spokesman if the continued grounding would impact those plans. "We've not shared our timeline for 'wave 2' of Hawaii flying so there is no impact or delay to declare or share," he said.

American Airlines, with 23 737 MAXs in its fleet, announced a similar extension of schedule adjustments last week. The airline had been hoping for a return of the planes by May, but now it has extended MAX-related cancellations through June 5 in order to "provide more certainty and avoid last minute flight disruptions," American said. It is also notifying and rebooking affected customers. American noted that fights previously due to operate with a 737 MAX aren't the only ones affected: "A flight that was not scheduled as a MAX flight might be canceled to enable our team to cover a MAX route with a different aircraft. Our goal is to minimize the impact to the smallest number of customers," American said.

Contour Airlines, which bills itself as "Santa Barbara's hometown airline," plans to stick another pin into its limited route map on April 16 when it begins flying from Santa Barbara to Sacramento. Contour will offer daily flights on the route with 30-seat ERJ-135 regional jets. The airline provides 36 inches of legroom, free snacks and drinks, and one free checked bag per passenger. Contour started flying from Santa Barbara to Oakland and Las Vegas last fall, and plans to increase schedules on those routes to twice-daily in mid-May.

United Airlines said it will add more Florida routes from its Washington Dulles hub this fall, inaugurating twice-daily service to both Fort Myers and Sarasota beginning October 29. With that addition, United said, its winter schedule will total 140 daily flights to 12 Florida cities from its various hubs.

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On the international side, India's financially troubled Jet Airways has reportedly halted most international flights  at least temporarily  as it tries to secure additional capital from lenders. That includes its flights between India and London, Paris and Amsterdam. Why does that matter to U.S. travelers? Because Jet Airways code-shares with Delta and its transatlantic partners Virgin Atlantic, Air France and KLM. According to the BBC, Jet Airways this week had to ground 10 of its planes after falling behind in payments to the companies it leases them from. The suspension of international flights could last only a few days to a week, but in some cases could be longer. Here's a roundup from Routesonline.com of the most recent information on the airline's international route availability.

In other international news, Lufthansa affiliate Eurowings has plans to start flying from Las Vegas to Frankfurt this fall. The carrier will use an A330-200 to operate three flights a week on the route starting October 27. And Icelandair has canceled its plans to fly from Cleveland to Reykjavik this summer. It had been scheduled to operate four flights a week beginning May 17. The aircraft? A Boeing 737 MAX 8.

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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.
When the Golden State Warriors leave Oakland for San Francisco at the end of this season, Oracle Arena's lights won't go off forever.

Although the Warriors will be gone, Oracle will continue to host concerts, events and other sporting events, like high school and college games. That's the short-term plan. Long term, there are more questions.

The stadium is tied up with the Oakland Coliseum, home (for now) of the Oakland A's. The 135-acre Coliseum site has had a number of proposals over the past few years as the A's planned and re-planned their exit from the area. In most of the proposals, the Coliseum is torn down and the area is redeveloped for residential and commercial use.

ALSO: Ayesha Curry says San Francisco home prices have given her and Steph 'sticker shock'

"The arena sits on 135 acres  that is one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in the Bay Area," Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf said in 2017. "We can't have a piecemeal decision  and it has to be done with the community by our side every step of the way."

The plans have Oracle Arena staying in place as a concert and event venue.

ALSO: Steph Curry is an 'avid customer' at this surprising Bay Area food spot

But that's all contingent on the A's actually getting a new stadium. They've got a plan to move to Howard Terminal, but financial negotiations with the port are still ongoing. The team hopes to begin construction in time to open their new stadium for the 2023 season.

The Warriors will kick off the 2019-20 season at Chase Center in San Francisco's Mission Bay. The 18,000-seat arena hosts its first event on Sept. 6, when Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony perform.
LONDON  More than 70 British lawmakers have urged the government to make sure that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces Swedish justice if prosecutors there reopen a rape allegation against him.

The lawmakers signed a letter late Friday urging Home Secretary Sajid Javid to do everything you can to champion action that will ensure Julian Assange can be extradited to Sweden in the event Sweden makes an extradition request.

Sweden suspended its investigation into possible serious sexual misconduct against Assange two years ago because he was beyond their reach while he was living in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London with political asylum status.

He was arrested Thursday after Ecuador withdrew his asylum. Assange is now in Belmarsh Prison in London, waiting to be sentenced for jumping bail in Britain and facing an extradition request from the United States on charges of conspiring to break into a Pentagon computer.

WikiLeaks says he will fight the U.S. extradition request and has been meeting with his legal team to plan his defense.

If Britain receives competing extradition requests, lawyers say the Home Secretary would have some leeway in deciding which takes priority. Considerations usually include which request came first and which alleged crime is more serious.

Most of the lawmakers who signed the letter are from the opposition Labor Party, whose leader, Jeremy Corbyn, wants Britain to refuse to send Assange to the U.S. After Assanges arrest, Corbyn praised him for exposing U.S. atrocities committed in Iraq and Afghanistan when WikiLeaks released tens of thousands of confidential U.S. documents in 2010.

Some Conservative Party members are also backing the move. Prominent lawmaker Alistair Burt said the minimizing of the issues in relation to sexual assault are really quite disturbing.

Its up to the courts to decide whether the U.S. request for Assanges extradition  and a possible future request from Sweden  should be honored.

Assange, 47, has denied the sexual misconduct allegations, which he says are politically motivated. He has not had a chance to enter a plea in response to the U.S. charge, but he has said that all of his WikiLeaks actions are those of a legitimate journalist.

Gregory Katz is an Associated Press writer.
KRT

PYONGYANG, North Korea  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he is open to a third summit with President Trump, but set the years end as a deadline for Washington to offer mutually acceptable terms for an agreement to salvage the high-stakes nuclear diplomacy, the Norths state-run media reported Saturday.

Kim made the comments during a speech Friday at a session of North Koreas rubber stamp parliament, which made numerous personnel changes that bolstered his diplomatic lineup amid stalemated negotiations with the United States. His speech came after Trump and visiting South Korean President Moon Jae-in met in Washington last week and agreed on the importance of nuclear talks with North Korea.
Get up close with these elephants as they soak crowds with their trunks during a mass water fight to bring in Thailand's Songkran new year.



The massive jumbos decorated with body paint were brought out to spray water on visitors to the ancient capital, Ayutthaya, 50 miles north of Bangkok.



Tourists and locals used water guns and buckets to splash the elephants, which appeared to be enjoying the chance to cool off in the 38C heat.



Visitor Danupol said: ''I brought my daughter because she loves elephants. It's a lot of fun being so close to them. They interact with humans so well.''



The elephants, which are used in Royal processions and are among the most well-bred in the world, doused the crowds with water sprayed from their massive trunks.



With the scorching sun reflecting from their glimmering ivory tusks, they came within inches of spectators. But with each elephant having been expertly trained for many years, they stayed calm during the festival. Some even balanced on their back legs and waves their feet.



Thailand celebrates Songkran, its traditional new year, from April 13 until businesses open again on April 17, during which time locals and revellers from around world visit to splash water on each other.



It began hundreds of years ago with natives sprinkling their respected elders other with water for good luck as they welcomed in the coming rainy season.



But in recent years it has developed into a major tourist attraction where mass water fights in the country's major cities attract many holidaymakers and backpackers.
Revellers splashing water on each other for Thailand's new year celebrations fled in panic last night (Fri) when a transformer exploded causing a huge fire.



Thousands of tourists had gathered on the busy nightlife street on the island of Phuket to take part in the annual Songkran celebrations, where people in the streets and buildings are soaked in water.



But during the water fights, at around 7:40pm an electrical transformer exploded causing flames to spread along power lines on the Thaweewong Road near Patong Beach.



A shop was set alight and suffered the equivalent of 1.5million GBP of damage after fire crews battled for three hours to control the blaze.



About 10 clothing and souvenirs shops were damaged or destroyed in the blaze.



Officers are now investigating what caused the explosion and subsequent fire. Patong police chief Anothai Jindamanee said: ''At this stage we believed that the fire has started from an electric transformer. However the forensic police are continuing their investigation.''



Onlookers said they heard a loud explosion followed by sparks fall from power lines onto the shop below. Nobody was injured in the fire.
Tourists are seen buying floral shirts and water guns ahead of Thailand's Songkran new year celebrations which begin today.



Thailand celebrates Songkran, its traditional new year, from April 13 to 15, during which locals and revellers from around world visit to splash water on each other under the scorching sun.



The traditional custom is for millions of residents to wear brightly coloured floral shirts.



Tourists and holidaymakers were seen buying the garments on the popular Silom Road area of the city. There were also plenty of Super Soaker style water pistols on sale.



The annual sees the country closed until businesses re-open on April 17 and attracts tourists from around the world who take part in mass water fights. It began hundreds of years ago with natives sprinkling their respected elders other with water for good luck as they welcomed in the coming rainy season.



But in recent years it has developed into a major tourist attraction where mass water fights in the country's major cities attract many holidaymakers and backpackers.
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New employer-friendly overtime rules and limitations on unions in the construction industry are now law in Ontario, Canada. On April 3, Bill 66Restoring Ontario's Competitiveness Act, 2018received Royal Assent (sovereign approval), bringing into force new laws affecting such issues as employment and labor relations. The bill is designed to reduce regulatory and financial burdens on business operators in the province.

Bill 66 brings changes to 18 acts across 11 Ontario ministries. Below are some of the employment-related changes that have been enacted.

Changes to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA)

The requirement that employers obtain approval from the Ontario Ministry of Labour's director of employment standards to allow employees to work more than 48 hours per week has been eliminated. Now employers and employees may make their own arrangements, documented in a written agreement.

The requirement that employers obtain approval from the director of employment standards for overtime-averaging agreements has also been eliminated. Employers and employees are now free to make these arrangements on their own. These types of agreements allow an employer to determine an employee's entitlement to overtime pay by using an average of his or her work hours over a specific period. An employee's hours may be averaged over separate, nonoverlapping, contiguous periods of two or more consecutive weeks if there is a written agreement and the period does not exceed four weeks.

Employers are no longer required to post an ESA poster in the workplace. But they remain obligated to provide each employee with a copy of the most recent poster.

[SHRM members-only toolkit: Introduction to the Global Human Resources Discipline]

Changes to the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (LRA)

Bill 66 amends the LRA to expand the definition of "nonconstruction employees" to include municipalities and a number of specific other entities. Going forward, these entities will be exempt from the provisions of the LRA pertaining to the construction industry.

The following entities will be deemed nonconstruction employers:

Municipalities.

Certain local boards.

Certain local housing corporations.

Corporations established under the Municipal Act, 2001 or the City of Toronto Act, 2006.

District social services administration boards.

School boards.

Hospitals.

Colleges.

Universities that receive regular, direct operating funding from the government and the university's affiliates and federates.

Certain public bodies.

The expanded definition will be implemented on a date to be named by the lieutenant governor. When it takes effect, trade unions will no longer represent employees working for those nonconstruction employers. Any collective agreement binding the employer and the trade union will at that point no longer apply insofar as the agreement applies to the construction industry. The effect of this provision will be to void the bargaining rights that currently bind certain public and quasi-public-sector entities.

But the legislature also enacted a procedure through which employers can opt out of the nonconstruction-employer classification and the application of the new rules. An election to opt out must be filed with the Minister of Labour by July 3, and such election will be irrevocable.

This change is noteworthy, as the collective bargaining regime for the construction industry is distinct from nonconstruction labor-relations law and generally more onerous for employers.

Key Takeaways

The amendments introduced with Bill 66 are intended to help decrease business costs, eliminate redundancies and institute regulatory requirements to help Ontario make the province more competitive and business-friendly. The changes aim to encourage businesses to relocate to and expand in Ontario.

Emily Cohen-Gallant is an attorney with Ogletree Deakins in Toronto.
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A recent decision by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (U.K.) will make applying for jobs without disclosing prior multiple convictions easier for people with criminal records.

Before the ruling, applicants with criminal histories had to tell potential employers about prior multiple convictions and minor violations they incurred even as children.

"This is an important ruling that stands to affect many thousands of people with old and minor criminal records who have been unnecessarily anchored to their past," said Christopher Stacey, co-director of Unlock in Maidstone, Kent, England.

The 'Spent' Rule

In some instances, applicants with criminal histories do not have to report their criminal record to potential employers. The "spent" rule provides exceptions to the general rule that applicants must report their past convictions. In the U.K., a person convicted of a crime has a prescribed rehabilitation period, which depends on the seriousness of the offense. If he or she successfully completes that rehabilitation period, the conviction becomes "spent." This means that the individual doesn't have to disclose the conviction to a current or prospective employer. The spent rule's purpose is to give second chances and prevent old convictions from permanently impacting a person's reputation and career prospects.

The spent rule has exceptions. One involves serious offenses, such as violent or sexual crimes. Another applies to specified occupations, such as those involving care of children or vulnerable adults.

Multiple-Convictions Rule Was Disproportionate



A third exception, the multiple-convictions rule, applies to people with two or more convictions. In such circumstances, an applicant can be required by a prospective employer to disclose his or her criminal convictions.

But on Jan. 30, the U.K.'s Supreme Court stated that the multiple-convictions rule "cannot be regarded as a necessary or proportionate way of disclosing to potential employers criminal records indicating a propensity to offend."

The statement was in response to a case involving an applicant known as "P." In 1999, when she was 28 years old and homeless and had schizophrenia that had not yet been diagnosed, P stole a sandwich from a shop. She received a criminal caution. Three months later, she was convicted of stealing a book worth about $1.50 and subsequently failing to attend a court hearing relating to the theft.

Many years later, with no further offenses and her schizophrenia under control, P became qualified to be a teacher's assistant. But she could not find work, she believed, because she had to disclose her convictions on each job application. Since she had multiple convictions, she could not benefit from the spent rule.

The U.K. Supreme Court held that the multiple-convictions rule is "disproportionate" and "wrong in principle" and that the government should not apply the rule. The court added that requiring applicants to disclose to employers juvenile offenses is "an error of principle," though it stated it was not necessary to decide that issue on this appeal.

Simon McMenemy, an attorney with Ogletree Deakins in London, described the impact of this decision "as a significant change to the way criminal convictions are treated in the recruitment process."

The Supreme Court's decision "holds the promise of a fresh start for thousands of people who deserve a second chance," said Corey Stoughton, advocacy director of Liberty in London. "The government must finally reform this arbitrary scheme."

[SHRM members-only toolkit: Introduction to the Global Human Resources Discipline]

More Changes to Come?

McMenemy anticipates further developments in the law. "The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, which governs which convictions are disclosable, will certainly need amending." He added that amending the act may become part of a wider-ranging review of the criminal records disclosure regime, which has already been recommended by both the Parliamentary Justice Committee and the U.K.'s independent Law Commission.

McMenemy recommended that employers "keep abreast of changes in this area and take care when asking candidates about criminal convictions." He suggested that employers seek guidance from organizations such as the nonprofit National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders regarding whether employees or applicants must disclose spent convictions.


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The New York City Council passed legislation April 9 that bans pre-employment testing for marijuana by a veto-proof margin of 40-4. Regardless, Mayor Bill de Blasio was expected to sign it, according to Patrick Collins, an attorney with Ogletree Deakins in New York City.

The bill, which will take effect a year from enactment, includes many exceptions. In addition, employers in the Big Apple still may test current employees for marijuana.

But the legislation will present employers with some decisions to make, such as determining who performs work that may pose a health or safety risk to themselves or the public, even if only occasionally, noted Nancy Delogu, an attorney with Littler in Washington, D.C.

"Prospective employers don't test for alcohol, so marijuana should be no different. But in no way does this bill justify individuals going to work under the influence," said Jumaane Williams, New York City's public advocate and the legislation's sponsor. He added, "We need to be creating more access points for employment, not less, and, as we push for legalization on a state level, it makes absolutely no sense that we're keeping people from finding jobs or advancing their careers because of marijuana use."

Exceptions

Collins noted the legislation's numerous exceptions. He said marijuana testing still will be permitted for those applying for jobs as:

Construction workers.

Police officers.

Commercial drivers.

Teachers, teachers' aides or day care center employees.

Any job that requires the supervision or care of patients in a medical, nursing home or group care facility.

Any job that has the potential to significantly impact the health or safety of employees or members of the public.

The legislation also permits marijuana testing if an applicant seeks a job for which pre-employment drug testing is required by federal law, which includes interstate truckers, drivers of large vehicles, gas pipeline employees and gas utility workers, such as those who read gas meters.

Marijuana testing still will be allowed for any employer hiring under a federal contract or grant that requires pre-employment drug testing. This represents many employers, Collins said. But the exceptions under earlier versions of the legislation were broader and included emergency responders more generally, lifeguards, operators of heavy machinery or operators of any motor vehicle. These exceptions were removed because these categories were considered too broad, he stated.

Keith Gutstein, an attorney with Kaufman Dolowich Voluck in Long Island, N.Y., criticized the exceptions as too vague. Moreover, he said that the legislation seems premature because recreational marijuana is not legal in New York state. Medical marijuana, however, is lawful in the state.

Collins expects that regulations from the New York City Commission on Human Rights will flesh out some details of the legislation in the coming year.

Employee Testing Allowed

The legislation permits employers to drug-test current employees, Collins pointed out.

That could even be in the first week of employment, Delogu noted.

Employers will need to reach out to vendors and see if they can provide testing for drugs other than marijuana at the pre-employment stage if they want to continue pre-employment testing for other drugs. Employers typically don't test just for marijuana but for a range of drugs, Collins noted, such as opiates, cocaine, amphetamines and marijuana.

[SHRM members-only HR Q&A: What laws should companies be aware of when implementing a drug-testing program?]

Companies are struggling to comply with a patchwork of requirements on drug testing at the state and now the local level, said James Reidy, an attorney with Sheehan Phinney in Manchester, N.H.

Many employers are already dropping pre-employment drug testing because unemployment is at 3.8 percent, he said. These employers are not drug trusting, so they don't have to eliminate candidates for jobs that are hard to fill.

Those that want to keep their pre-employment marijuana tests should consider that they may start to see more legislation like New York City's, said Kathryn Russo, an attorney with Jackson Lewis in its Long Island, N.Y., office.

The mayor's office did not respond to a request for comment.


STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Police are asking for the publics help in identifying two men wanted for questioning in connection to a robbery in Mariners Harbor.

The robbery occurred in front of the Mariners Harbor Houses on Brabant Street at 2:55 p.m. on Thursday, according to a written statement from the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

Police said two men approached the male victim, who is 20, and one put an unknown object to the back of his head while the other allegedly showed a knife. Both demanded the victim not to move and empty his pockets, according to the statement.

The two men were able to remove about $1,843 cash from the man and fled the scene, police said.

Police describe the suspect who allegedly displayed the knife as a black male between the ages of 18 and 20, about 5 feet, 7 inches tall, medium build and with short black hair. He was last seen wearing a blue hooded jacket, according to the statement.

The other man is described as a black male between the age of 19 and 22, about 6 feet, 3 inches tall, slim build and with short cut hair. He was last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and brown colored boots, according to police.

The NYPD released pictures of two men wanted for questioning in connection to the robbery; the images were captured at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal prior to the incident, according to police.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM, or on Twitter @NYPDTips.

All calls are strictly confidential.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Days after an incident with an autistic teen prompted an emergency response on an MTA bus on Bay Street, the NYPD is promoting the use of an identification card designed to help first responders better interact with people with developmental disabilities.

The cards, which were previously issued, read: I have a developmental disability. I may have difficulty understanding and following your directions or may become unable to respond. I may become physically agitated if you prompt me verbally or touch me or move too close to me. A developmental disability is not an excuse for illegal behavior. I am not intentionally refusing to cooperate. I may need your assistance.

The back of the card shows the card bearers name and other relevant information, including emergency contact numbers, according to an NYPD press release.

A Facebook video posted this week depicts NYPD officers removing an autistic child from an MTA bus on Bay Street.

The over-two-minute clip shows officers removing a limp 16-year-old boy after police say he refused to move his bag for a passenger.

According to an NYPD spokeswoman, the MTA bus driver flagged down police officers after he asked the child to move his bag to accommodate another passenger.

The child, who was identified as autistic by a police source, refused to move his bag, the NYPD spokeswoman said.

When officers arrived, they asked the child to remove his bag, but he continued to refuse, police say. The MTA bus driver then requested to have the child removed because the bus was crowded, according to the NYPD spokeswoman.

NYPD persisted in attempting to convince the 16-year-old boy to leave the bus voluntarily, but he stopped interacting with officers, according to an NYPD spokeswoman.

Officers then attempted to remove him, but the child went limp, forcing EMS to respond to the scene.

As seen in the video, the boy, who a NYPD spokeswoman said is approximately 250 pounds, was then carried out of the bus and placed onto a stretcher.

He was transported to Richmond University Medical Center to undergo an evaluation, the NYPD spokeswoman said. At the hospital, his mother was contacted and she spoke with officers on Monday, police said.

During the video, onlookers are shouting at the officers to be careful, and that hes scared." The individual who appears to be recording the incident asks officers to tell him theres nothing going on, referring to the child being detained.

The MTA deferred comment to NYPD.

Following the incident, NYPD tweeted about the New York State Developmental Disabilities Identification Card.

The cards can be applied for via https://opwdd.ny.gov/iddidcards.
A friend shared with me recently that I had hurt them by making fun of something they had worked very hard on, and worse, I had done it in public. I was shocked. Im usually not that aggressively selfish. How could I have thought that was funny? What kind of crazy, messed up mood was I in?

Then, they said How would you feel if I had done the same thing to you? And, I realized that, if I had thought it through, I probably would have kept my big yap shut to begin with.

We live in a very self-indulgent era. We take selfies, we talk on our iPhones, we share pictures of ourselves, our babies, our meals, our dogs and cats. Toby Keith had a hit with the song I Wanna Talk About Me. And, in that kind of environment, it becomes very easy to become self-centered, boorish and self-obsessed. It also becomes almost impossible to forgive others, or yourself, for stupid stuff that youve done. I sometimes think its why were in the state were in, politically, with everybody screaming to be heard, but very few people listening.

The proverb about forgiving yourself before you can forgive others is very true. The old joke about Irish Alzheimers is you forget everything but the grudges. Another saying goes Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. My good friend Dominica once sent me a photo that reads Anger is sads bodyguard. I know this for a fact because being hurt or shamed immediately turns into anger for me.

I know a lot about anger because I have anger issues. Ive tamped them down quite a bit over the last two decades out of respect for the people and pets that I live with, but every once in awhile, I want to rip the head off a chicken and eat it. (Not really, just metaphorically. I am, still, a vegetarian!)

John Lydon (Johnny Rotten) repeats over and over again, at the end of his excellent tune Rise, Anger is an energy! and I totally get that because, for me, it always has been. What makes me angry, many times, is what galvanizes me into action.

I remember very clearly the day this started. I was a large nerd (physically and mentally) before I hit high school. For some reason, when I hit my teenage years, I grew very thin and straight backed and immediately lost most of my hair. That G-d -- shes such a kidder! One day, I was walking home from St. Lukes, my local elementary school and, for some reason that I dont remember, two jocks started following me home and taunting me. I hissed for them to stop. They didnt. In a rage, I spun around. I had a couple of options here. The one I chose was to grab the nearest jock and tear open his jacket from the bottom up, destroying the zipper and ripping the jacket. Im sure I had a pithy comeback line that I would have screamed like LEAVE ME ALONE! or something to that effect, but I didnt get to use it because those two guys were dust and I dont recall ever seeing them in my neighborhood after that. Ever!

Thats why my favorite part of the first Avengers movie is when Steve Rodgers (Chris Evans) says to Bruce Banner (the wonderful Mark Ruffalo), Dont you think this would be a good time to get angry or something? and Banner replies, THATS MY SECRET, CAP. IM ALWAYS ANGRY! He immediately turns green and destroys the space alien two feet away from him. Whoa!

Anger is a very destructive force when used unwisely but it can also be used for great good. Dr. Carol Tavris wrote a book called Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion, in which she details myths about anger (such as its always good to let it out and hormonal excuses for bad temperament), ways to deal with repeating anger and when anger is justified, such as violations of social justice.

Im sure Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcom X both felt strongly about the grave injustices visited upon the African-American community, and they learned to voice their concerns in much different (but, by the end, not so different) ways. Somewhere, I know, there is a middle ground between Mother Theresa kissing babies in Calcutta and Clint Eastwood hissing Get off my lawn! in LA. Im still looking for that middle ground and, apparently, Im not the only one. Incidents involving people being mowed down by lunatics in cars and gunned down by lunatics with guns have increased. People feel powerless, hopeless, defeated, and if you think you have nothing to lose, you will risk everything to feel right or even righteous.

Faith and love are the answers. I know I keep saying that. I know it sounds simplistic, but, thats because truth usually is simple. There are facts and there are opinions. Facts can be voiced as opinions, but opinions cannot be facts. Without faith and love, life is pretty meaningless and empty. With it, you can do practically anything.

One of my favorite Bible stories concerns The Wedding Feast At Cana, a modern interpretation of which goes like this:

Mary: Jesusthey have no wine.

Jesus: Ixnay, Mom. Not my time yet.

Mary: But they have no wine.

Jesus: Mom! Go away!

(Mary walks over to the servants at the wine barrels)

Mary: (Pointing at Jesus) Do whatever he tells you to do.

Jesus: (Totally exasperated) MOM! OY!

P.S.: He does it. And its really good wine. Because he loved his mother and she loved him. They had faith in each other. And thats how simple and how complex it ever really gets.

Hold those grey heads up!
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Although the sun may not cooperate this weekend, it is still time to kick off the summer season at several amusement piers on the Jersey Shore.

A total of six amusement piers will open between Saturday and Sunday, our sister site NJ.com reported.

These are the piers that will open:

Atlantic City  Steel Pier. It will open on Saturday.

Keansburg  Keansburg Amusement Park will be open on the weekends starting on Saturday.

Point Pleasant  Jenkinsons Boardwalk will open on Saturday.

Wildwood  Moreys Pier will open on Saturday.

Ocean City  Gillians Wonderland will open on Sunday and it will allow indoor rides.

Seaside Heights  Casino Pier will be open on weekends starting on Saturday.

The Jersey Shore offers other boardwalk options, which include Asbury Park, Belmar, Long Branch and Ventnor.

If youre considering making the trip, the Accuweather forecast for New Jersey puts temperatures mostly in the 60s this weekend, with occasional rain showers.

Oh, and do watch which beach youre heading to when the sun does make its appearance. NJ.com also reports that Belmars L Street beach could be closed indefinitely due to leaking human waste.
Chaman city, Apr 13 (IBNS): A blast in Pakistan's Chaman city on Friday evening left at least two people killed, media reports said.

The incident left 10 others injured.

Unidentified militants had planted an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) on a motorcycle parked in the main bazar on Mall Road. The blast occurred when a Frontier Corps (FC) vehicle carrying troops was passing through, Dawn News reported.

The injured people were rushed to hospital for treatment.

The area was cordoned off.

This was the second blast which hit the province on the day.

Earlier in the day, a blast rocked Quetta's Hazarganji market and left 20 people killed.


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Denise Richards weighs in on college admission scandal



The former Mrs Charlie Sheen, Denise Richards, hosted an intimate soiree of cocktails and canapes at The Ivy penthouse on Wednesday to promote the ninth season of Real Housewives, which is shown by both Foxtel and Hayu. She may seem like a teenager's dream mum but it turns out Denise is anything but when it comes to raising her daughters. The actress, 48, and her husband Aaron Phypers installed security cameras outside their Malibu home  an idea Richards said she came up with to prevent her daughter Sami from sneaking out to meet boys. Richards has two daughters  Sami and Lola  with ex-husband Sheen and a third named Eloise whom she adopted. I am definitely the stricter parent for sure, she told Emerald City of her co-parenting with Sheen.

Denise and ex-husband Charlie Sheen. Credit:Paul Skipper

No stranger to controversy, Richards was sympathetic when asked about the college admissions scandal that's making headlines in the US and has embroiled actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman. Honestly, I think good people can make bad choices and it's extremely unfortunate, Richards said. When someone is going through something so personal and there are snippets in the press nobody knows all the details of what goes on behind closed doors."

With film credits including Bond Girl, Dr. Christmas Jones, opposite Pierce Brosnan in The World Is Not Enough Richards says she jumped at the opportunity to join the Housewives after being a fan of the show. However, her teenagers have been embarrassed by their mum's on-air antics. Unfortunately I found out my girls watched a few episodes of the show at their friend's house and I was mortified because there are a few things I say on the show that I had to explain, she laughed. Ive embarrassed my kids!

White shirts that save lives

Witchery and the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation (OCRF) hosted a brunch by

Guillaume Brahimi at the Private Crown Residences Suite One Barangaroo to celebrate thelaunch of the 2019 White Shirt Campaign on Wednesday. White Shirt Ambassadors Julie Bishop, Anna Heinrich, Steph Claire Smith and Laura Henshaw were present as well as Witchery boss Simon Schofield.
By John Pilger

April 13, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - The glimpse of Julian Assange being dragged from the Ecuadorean embassy in London is an emblem of the times. Might against right. Muscle against the law. Indecency against courage. Six policemen manhandled a sick journalist, his eyes wincing against his first natural light in almost seven years.

That this outrage happened in the heart of London, in the land of Magna Carta, ought to shame and anger all who fear for "democratic" societies. Assange is a political refugee protected by international law, the recipient of asylum under a strict covenant to which Britain is a signatory. The United Nations made this clear in the legal ruling of its Working Party on Arbitrary Detention.

But to hell with that. Let the thugs go in. Directed by the quasi fascists in Trump's Washington, in league with Ecuador's Lenin Moreno, a Latin American Judas and liar seeking to disguise his rancid regime, the British elite abandoned its last imperial myth: that of fairness and justice.

Imagine Tony Blair dragged from his multi-million pound Georgian home in Connaught Square, London, in handcuffs, for onward dispatch to the dock in The Hague. By the standard of Nuremberg, Blair's "paramount crime" is the deaths of a million Iraqis. Assange's crime is journalism: holding the rapacious to account, exposing their lies and empowering people all over the world with truth.

The shocking arrest of Assange carries a warning for all who, as Oscar Wilde wrote, "sew the seeds of discontent [without which] there would be no advance towards civilisation". The warning is explicit towards journalists. What happened to the founder and editor of WikiLeaks can happen to you on a newspaper, you in a TV studio, you on radio, you running a podcast.

Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get our FREE Daily Newsletter

Assange's principal media tormentor, the Guardian, a collaborator with the secret state, displayed its nervousness this week with an editorial that scaled new weasel heights. The Guardian has exploited the work of Assange and WikiLeaks in what its previous editor called "the greatest scoop of the last 30 years". The paper creamed off WikiLeaks' revelations and claimed the accolades and riches that came with them.

With not a penny going to Julian Assange or to WikiLeaks, a hyped Guardian book led to a lucrative Hollywood movie. The book's authors, Luke Harding and David Leigh, turned on their source, abused him and disclosed the secret password Assange had given the paper in confidence, which was designed to protect a digital file containing leaked US embassy cables.

With Assange now trapped in the Ecuadorean embassy, Harding joined the police outside and gloated on his blog that "Scotland Yard may get the last laugh". The Guardian has since published a series of falsehoods about Assange, not least a discredited claim that a group of Russians and Trump's man, Paul Manafort, had visited Assange in the embassy. The meetings never happened; it was fake.

But the tone has now changed. "The Assange case is a morally tangled web," the paper opined. "He (Assange) believes in publishing things that should not be published.... But he has always shone a light on things that should never have been hidden."

These "things" are the truth about the homicidal way America conducts its colonial wars, the lies of the British Foreign Office in its denial of rights to vulnerable people, such as the Chagos Islanders, the expose of Hillary Clinton as a backer and beneficiary of jihadism in the Middle East, the detailed description of American ambassadors of how the governments in Syria and Venezuela might be overthrown, and much more. It all available on the WikiLeaks site.

The Guardian is understandably nervous. Secret policemen have already visited the newspaper and demanded and got the ritual destruction of a hard drive. On this, the paper has form. In 1983, a Foreign Office clerk, Sarah Tisdall, leaked British Government documents showing when American cruise nuclear weapons would arrive in Europe. The Guardian was showered with praise.

When a court order demanded to know the source, instead of the editor going to prison on a fundamental principle of protecting a source, Tisdall was betrayed, prosecuted and served six months.

If Assange is extradited to America for publishing what the Guardian calls truthful "things", what is to stop the current editor, Katherine Viner, following him, or the previous editor, Alan Rusbridger, or the prolific propagandist Luke Harding?

What is to stop the editors of the New York Times and the Washington Post, who also published morsels of the truth that originated with WikiLeaks, and the editor of El Pais in Spain, and Der Spiegel in Germany and the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia. The list is long.

David McCraw, lead lawyer of the New York Times, wrote: "I think the prosecution [of Assange] would be a very, very bad precedent for publishers... from everything I know, he's sort of in a classic publisher's position and the law would have a very hard time distinguishing between the New York Times and WilLeaks."

Even if journalists who published WikiLeaks' leaks are not summoned by an American grand jury, the intimidation of Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning will be enough. Real journalism is being criminalised by thugs in plain sight. Dissent has become an indulgence.

In Australia, the current America-besotted government is prosecuting two whistle-blowers who revealed that Canberra's spooks bugged the cabinet meetings of the new government of East Timor for the express purpose of cheating the tiny, impoverished nation out of its proper share of the oil and gas resources in the Timor Sea. Their trial will be held in secret. The Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, is infamous for his part in setting up concentration camps for refugees on the Pacific islands of Nauru and Manus, where children self harm and suicide. In 2014, Morrison proposed mass detention camps for 30,000 people.

Real journalism is the enemy of these disgraces. A decade ago, the Ministry of Defence in London produced a secret document which described the "principal threats" to public order as threefold: terrorists, Russian spies and investigative journalists. The latter was designated the major threat.

The document was duly leaked to WikiLeaks, which published it. "We had no choice," Assange told me. "It's very simple. People have a right to know and a right to question and challenge power. That's true democracy."

What if Assange and Manning and others in their wake - if there are others - are silenced and "the right to know and question and challenge" is taken away?

In the 1970s, I met Leni Reifenstahl, close friend of Adolf Hitler, whose films helped cast the Nazi spell over Germany.

She told me that the message in her films, the propaganda, was dependent not on "orders from above" but on what she called the "submissive void" of the public.

"Did this submissive void include the liberal, educated bourgeoisie?" I asked her.

"Of course," she said, "especially the intelligentsia.... When people no longer ask serious questions, they are submissive and malleable. Anything can happen."

And did.

The rest, she might have added, is history.

Follow John Pilger on twitter @johnpilger

Do you agree or disagree? Post your comment here

They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45 : "Once the war began," my colleague continued, "resistance, protest, criticism, complaint, all carried with them a multiplied likelihood of the greatest punishment.

John Pilger- Julian Assanges Arrest an ASSAULT ON JOURNALISM!
Liberal MP and staunch Malcolm Turnbull ally Craig Laundy has dismissed speculation the former prime minister is secretly assisting the campaigns of independent candidates taking on sitting Liberals, calling the suggestion "a crock of crap".

Conservative Liberal MPs are convinced Mr Turnbull is involved in his son Alex's efforts to organise and solicit donations for the campaigns of independents such as Julia Banks, who defected from the Liberals and is running against Health Minister Greg Hunt.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Reid MP Craig Laundy campaign at Strathfield Square, Sydney Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

Mr Laundy - who is quitting politics at the election and remains a close friend of the senior Turnbull - flatly rejected that suspicion as he helped Mr Morrison campaign in the marginal Sydney seat of Reid on Saturday.

"Absolutely not true," he said. "I speak to Malcolm very regularly and I can tell you that he is watching on from a far distance as to what's going on. In terms of his involvement, that's an absolute crock of crap."
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has accused Labor of peddling racist sentiments over the Indian-owned Adani coal mine as the election campaign descends further into negative territory on its third day.

Mr Morrison accused deputy opposition leader Tanya Plibersek of racism - though without actually using the word - after she said Australians could not rely on an Indian mining company to bring jobs to central and North Queensland.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaking at a Headspace Centre in Ashfield on Saturday. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

At a press conference in the multicultural Sydney suburb of Ashfield, the Prime Minister linked the issue to former NSW Labor leader Michael Daleys infamous remarks that Asian migrants were taking young peoples jobs.

I think theres form here from the Labor Party, particularly here in NSW, Mr Morrison said.
Senior government frontbencher Peter Dutton has apologised for suggesting his Labor rival, whose leg was amputated after a car accident, was using her disability as an excuse for not moving into the Brisbane electorate they are contesting.

Mr Duttons belated apology comes despite him doubling down on his comments on Friday, and after Labor blasted Prime Minister Scott Morrison for refusing to denounce the remarks.

Ali France and Peter Dutton are facing off in the seat of Dickson.

Mr Dutton this week accused his Labor opponent Ali France of "using her disability as an excuse" for not living in the marginal seat of Dickson, for which they are both vying.

The Home Affairs Minister said he was relaying concerns constituents had expressed to him.
It was the briefest of moments but it went to the heart of why Bill Shorten has hand-picked Kristina Keneally - former premier, one-time TV host and now federal senator - to play a key role in his campaign to become prime minister.

Mr Shorten was conducting a press conference in the Sydney suburb of Ryde on Friday, having earlier talked with people battling pancreatic cancer or those who had lost a loved one to the disease that kills nine in every 10 sufferers within five years.

Senator Kristina Keneally boards Bill Shorten's campaign bus on the second day of the race to The Lodge. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

One of those in a real fight for her life was Susan Sumner. As Shorten paid tribute to her resilience, a wave of sadness swept across Sumner's face.

A gentle rub was extended to her right shoulder. It was from the hand of Keneally. In an election campaign that will be dominated by highly staged media events, it was the most human of moments. And one shared only between two people.
Police are shutting down an increasing number of clandestine drug laboratories and cannabis "grow houses" in the ACT, but these remain relatively rare in the national capital.

Statistics released to the Sunday Canberra Times show ACT Policing has shut down just two clandestine drug laboratories since the start of 2016, but both have been uncovered in the last six months.

Since 2016 they have also busted 11 sites used to cultivate cannabis, with eight of those found since the start of last year.

An ACT Policing spokesman said the recent spike was "an indication of intelligence-led policing, combined with strong community support".
A British national assaulted a man at Bondi Beach in Sydney's eastern suburbs less than 24 hours after arriving in Australia, police say.

The man, 35, is alleged to have choked and threatened the 59-year-old man as he walked along Campbell Parade near the corner of Curlewis Street about 1.30am on Saturday.

The older man was walking along Campbell Parade, near the corner of Curlewis Street, at Bondi Beach when he was attacked, police say. Credit:AFR

The older man tried to flee before the tourist allegedly kept assaulting him and stole his mobile phone.

An onlooker alerted police. Paramedics treated the alleged victim at the scene before taking him to St Vincent's Hospital in a serious but stable condition.
A small group of protesters shouting "shame Sultan, shame" has rallied in front of the Royal on the Park Hotel in Brisbane.

A small group of protesters shouting "shame Sultan, shame" has rallied in front of the Royal on the Park Hotel. Credit:AAP

The crowd of about 70 people demonstrated on Saturday against the sultanate's new sharia penal code, which punishes homosexuality, adultery and blasphemy with the death penalty.

They say the hotel is owned by the tiny but oil-rich nation, located to the north of Australia.

Labor senator for Queensland Claire Moore told protesters they should call the Brunei High Commission in Canberra and express their disapproval to the laws.
Vile death threats and social media messages directed at an animal rights activist have revealed the dark side of the public and media backlash against increasing vegan activism across Victoria.

Cara Garrett, 24, says she falls asleep watching live security camera vision and is actively looking for new accommodation since her address and photos of her house were circulated online.

Vegan activist Cara Garrett.

Further, she says, police have dismissed her calls for help.

The Age has seen the messages and many are so graphic in their descriptions of violence  and the violence the trolls ask her to bring upon herself  they cannot be printed in detail.
Police have seized methamphetamine, cannabis, MDMA and cash as part of an ongoing investigation into WA bikie gangs.

On Friday, Gang Crime Squad detectives executed a search warrant at a house in Coolgardie Street, West Perth.

Police seized various drugs and cash. Credit:WA Police

Two men aged 28 and 31 were arrested and are now facing a string of drug-related charges.

Police will allege as part of the operation they seized about 511 grams of methamphetamine, approximately 20 grams of the industrial solvent 1,4-Butanediol, cannabis, MDMA pills and $12,330 cash.
Australians living abroad are ditching their Queensland investment properties after being stung by a tax targeted at foreigners and "absent" land owners raking in more than $12 million.

In the 2017-18 budget, the state government introduced a 1.5 per cent land tax surcharge on absentee land taxpayers if the value of their taxable land was $350,000 or higher.

Queensland property owners living or holidaying abroad are considering selling after being hit with an absentee land owners tax. Credit:Arsineh Houspian

Brisbane man Craig Smith, who moved to Fiji to work as an IT consultant in 2010, has put one of his two properties on the market after being slugged more than $10,000 via the absentee land tax, and was considering investing elsewhere in Australia or overseas.

Mr Smith said he was not told about the surcharge before it came into effect, meaning he did not have a chance to avoid it by selling early, describing it as a "tax grab" on soft targets.
Jakarta: For more than a year now, politics has dominated the real and virtual conversations of Indonesian journalists.

In our after-work conversations, in the dozens of WhatsApp groups, on Twitter, Facebook and on the other social media platforms we belong to the chatter has grown, drowning out other topics.

President Suharto in 1971. Credit:The Age/SMH

Finally, in a few days time, those conversations will come to a head when Indonesians vote in both presidential and parliamentary elections on April 17.

The average journalist would belong to at least 20 work-related WhatsApp groups, which ping-ping-ping with information at all hours of the day and night.
British police opened fired outside the Ukrainian embassy in London after the ambassador's car was "deliberately rammed".

The official car of the ambassador of Ukraine to the UK Natalia Galibarenko was rammed on Saturday morning about 10am outside the embassy in Holland Park in west London.

The scene near the Ukrainian Embassy after police fired shots. Credit:PA

A vehicle rammed the ambassador's car and when police arrived and blocked the vehicle, the driver rammed the ambassadorial car again, at which point police opened fire, the embassy said.

"The police were called immediately, and the suspect's vehicle was blocked up," it added.
Washington: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has portrayed himself as a champion of a free press, but the US Department of Justice's decision to charge him with conspiring to hack government computers limits his ability to mount a vigorous free speech defense, some legal experts said.

Julian Assange gestures as he arrives at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London. Credit:PA

The charge unsealed in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia on Thursday said that in 2010 Assange agreed to help Chelsea Manning, a former US Army intelligence analyst then known as Bradley Manning, crack a password to a US government network.

At the time, Manning had already given WikiLeaks classified information about US war activities in both Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as Guantanamo Bay detainees, prosecutors said. The scheme would have allowed Manning to log in to the network anonymously and avoid detection, the indictment said.

Robert Chesney, a professor of national security law at the University of Texas, said that the case did not implicate free speech rights because it turned on the idea that Assange tried to hack a password.
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An international network of radio telescopes has produced the first-ever close-up image of a black hole's shadow, which scientists revealed this morning (April 10). The collaboration, called the Event Horizon Telescope, confirmed decades of predictions of how light would behave around these dark objects, and set the stage for a new era of black hole astronomy.

"From a scale of zero to amazing, it was amazing," said Erin Bonning, an astrophysicist and black hole researcher at Emory University who was not involved in the imaging effort.

"That said, it was what I expected," she told Live Science.

The announcement, teased for about a week and a half in advance, managed to be both incredibly exciting and almost completely devoid of surprising details or new physics. Physics didn't break down. No unexpected features of black holes were revealed. The image itself was almost a perfect match for illustrations of black holes we're used to seeing in science and pop culture. The big difference is that it's a whole lot blurrier. [9 Weird Facts About Black Holes]

There were several important questions related to black holes that remained unresolved, however, Bonning said.

How do black holes produce their enormous jets of hot, fast matter?

On the left, an image taken using the CHANDRA X-Ray Telescope at the same time as the Event Horizons Telescope made its picture shows a relatavistic jet crossing the Virga A galaxy. On the right is the image of the black hole shadow from the Event Horizons Telescope. (Image credit: Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Villanova University/J. Neilsen; Radio: Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration)

All supermassive black holes have the ability to chew up nearby matter, absorb most of it past their event horizons, and spit the remainder out into space at near light speed in blazing towers astrophysicists call "relativistic jets."

And the black hole at the center of Virgo A (also called Messier 87) is notorious for its impressive jets, spewing matter and radiation all over space. Its relativistic jets are so huge that they can fully escape the surrounding galaxy.

A 1998 Hubble image shows the relatavistic jet escaping Virgo A. (Image credit: J. A. Biretta et al., Hubble Heritage Team (STScI /AURA), NASA)

And physicists know the broad strokes of how this happens: The material accelerates to extreme speeds as it falls into the black hole's gravity well, then some of it escapes while retaining that inertia. But scientists disagree about the details of how this happens. This image and the associated papers don't yet offer any details.

Figuring that out, Bonning said, will be a matter of linking up Event Horizons Telescope observations  which cover a fairly small amount of space  with the much bigger images of relativistic jets.

While physicists don't yet have answers, she said, there's a good chance that they'll come soon  especially once the collaboration produces images of its second target: the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* at the center of our own galaxy, which doesn't produce jets like Virgo A's. Comparing the two images, she said, might offer some clarity.

How do general relativity and quantum mechanics fit together?

Whenever physicists get together to talk about a really exciting new discovery, you can expect to hear someone suggest that it might help explain "quantum gravity."

That's because quantum gravity is the great unknown in physics. For about a century, physicists have worked using two different sets of rules: General relativity, which covers very big things like gravity, and quantum mechanics, which covers very small things. The problem is, those two rulebooks directly contradict one another. Quantum mechanics can't explain gravity, and relativity can't explain quantum behavior.

Someday, physicists hope to link the two together in a grand unified theory, likely involving some sort of quantum gravity.

And before the announcement today, there was speculation that it might include some breakthrough on the subject. (If general relativity's predictions hadn't been borne out in the image, that would have moved the ball forward.) During a news briefing from the National Science Foundation, Avery Broderick, a physicist at the University of Waterloo in Canada, and a collaborator on the project, suggested those sorts of answers might be coming.

But Bonning was skeptical of that claim. This image was entirely unsurprising from a general relativity perspective, so it offered no new physics that might close the gap between the two fields, Bonning said.

Still, it's not crazy that people hope for answers from this sort of observation, she said, because the edge of a black hole's shadow brings relativistic forces into tiny, quantum-size spaces.

"We would expect to see quantum gravity very, very close to the event horizon or very, very early in the early universe [when everything was packed into a tiny space]," she said.

But at the still-blurry resolution of Event Horizons Telescope, she said, we aren't likely to find those sorts of effects, even with planned upgrades incoming.

Were Stephen Hawking's theories as correct as Einstein's?

The physicist Stephen Hawking's greatest early-career contribution to physics was the idea of "Hawking radiation"  that black holes aren't actually black, but emit small amounts of radiation over time. The result was hugely important, because it showed that once a black hole stops growing, it will start to very slowly shrink from the energy loss.

But the Event Horizons Telescope didn't confirm or deny this theory, Bonning said, not that anyone expected it to.

Giant black holes like the one in Virgo A, she said, emit only minimal amounts of Hawking radiation compared to their overall size. While our most advanced instruments can now detect the bright lights of their event horizons, there's little chance that they will ever tease out the ultra-dim glow of a supermassive black hole's surface.

Those results, she said, will likely come from the tiniest black holes  theoretical, short-lived objects so small that you might enclose their whole event horizon in your hand. With the opportunity for up-close observations, and much more radiation available compared to their overall size, humans might eventually figure out how to produce or find one and detect its radiation.

So what did we actually learn from this image?

First, physicists learned that Einstein was right, once again. The edge of the shadow, as far as the Event Horizons Telescope can see, is a perfect circle, just as physicists in the 20th century working with Einstein's equations of general relativity predicted.

"I don't think anyone should be surprised when yet another test of general relativity passes," Bonning said. "If they had walked on stage and said that general relativity had broken, I would have fallen off my chair."

The result with more immediate, practical implications, she said, was that the image enabled scientists to precisely measure the mass of this supermassive black hole, which sits 55 million light-years away at the heart of the Virgo A galaxy. It's 6.5 billion times more massive than our sun.

That's a big deal, Bonning said, because it could change the way physicists weigh the supermassive black holes at the hearts of other, more distant or smaller galaxies.

Right now, physicists have a pretty precise measurement of the mass of the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way, Bonning said, because they can watch how its gravity moves individual stars in its neighborhood.

Good morning. Here are a bunch of stars orbiting the Milky Way's central black hole over a period of about 20 years. The star near the center passes within 20 billion km of the bh and reaches speeds of ~3% of the speed of lightImage: ESO/MPE (doi: 10.1038/d41586-018-05825-3) pic.twitter.com/bA7WWu6TeNMarch 28, 2019 See more

But in other galaxies, our telescopes can't see the movements of individual stars, she said. So physicists are stuck with rougher measurements: How the black hole's mass influences light coming from different layers of stars in the galaxy, or how its mass influences light coming from different layers of free-floating gas in the galaxy.

But those calculations are imperfect, she said.

"You have to model a very complex system," she said.

And the two methods end up producing somewhat different results in every galaxy physicists observe. But at least for the black hole in Virgo A, we now know that one method is correct.

"Our determination of 6.5 billion solar masses ends up landing right on top of the heavier mass determination from [the light coming from stars]," Sera Markoff, an astrophysicist from the University of Amsterdam and a collaborator on the project said in the news briefing.

That doesn't mean that physicists will just move wholesale to that approach for measuring black hole masses, Bonning said. But it does offer an important data point for refining future calculations.

Originally published on Live Science.
The sun's corona constantly breathes wispy strings of hot, charged particles into space  a phenomenon we call the solar wind. Every now and then, however, those breaths become full-blown burps.

Perhaps as often as once every hour or two, according to a study in the February issue of the journal JGR: Space Physics, the plasma underlying the solar wind grows significantly hotter, becomes noticeably denser, and it pops out of the sun in rapid-fire orbs of goo capable of engulfing entire planets for minutes or hours at a time. Officially, these solar burps are called periodic density structures, but astronomers have nicknamed them "the blobs." Take a look at images of them streaming off of the sun's atmosphere, and you'll see why. [The 12 Strangest Objects in the Universe]

"They look like the blobs in a lava lamp," Nicholeen Viall, a research astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland and co-author of the recent study, told Live Science. "Only they are hundreds of times larger than the Earth."

While astronomers have known about the blobs for nearly two decades, the origin and impact of these regular solar weather events remain largely mysterious. Until recently, the only observations of the blobs have come from Earth-bound satellites, which can detect when a train of blobs bears down on Earth's magnetic field; however, these satellites can't account for the myriad ways the blobs have changed during their 4-day, 93-million-mile (150 million kilometers) journey from the sun.

Now, for the first time, Viall and her colleagues have observed the blobs as they appear in their own neighborhood. In their new study, the astronomers found evidence of the blobs in 40-year-old data. Those observations confirmed that the blobs are incredibly hot when they leave the sun  sometimes twice as hot as the average solar wind around them  and might bubble out of the corona every 90 minutes or less.

"Even when it's a quiet space weather day, in terms of explosive solar storms, there's this base level of weather always happening on the sun," Viall said. "And those little dynamics are driving dynamics on Earth, too."

The blobs that swallow the world

Since the solar blobs were first studied in the early 2000s, scientists have known that they are big  initially measuring between 50 and 500 times the size of Earth, and growing ever larger as they propagate into space, Viall said  and they are dense, potentially packed with twice as many charged particles as ordinary solar wind.

This corrected-color image shows yellow 'blobs' (marked with white arrows) ejecting from the sun over the course of 5 and a half hours. NASA researcher Nicholeen Viall says these structures look similar to 'lava lamp blobs,' but enormous. (Image credit: Viall and Vourlidas)

Magnetic field readings show that when these gargantuan blobs of plasma ooze over Earth, they can actually compress the planet's magnetic field and interfere with communication signals for minutes or hours at a time. Still, those readings leave a lot of open questions, Viall said, because the blobs almost certainly evolve and cool as they wobble through space for the 4 days it takes solar wind to reach Earth. So, Viall and her colleagues decided to study the blobs much closer to their source.

In the new study, the researchers took a fresh look at historical data from Helios 1 and Helios 2, a pair of solar probes launched by NASA and the German Aerospace Center in 1974 and 1976, respectively. The twin probes orbited the sun for nearly a decade, making a closest approach of 27 million miles, or 43 million km (closer than the orbit of Mercury) while studying the temperature and magnetism of the solar wind that gushed past.

If either of the probes had been engulfed by a train of gargantuan lava-lamp blobs, the encounter should be reflected in these readings, Viall said. The researchers looked for one data pattern in particular  sudden bursts of hot, dense plasma punctuated by periods of cooler, flimsier wind  and found five instances that fit the bill.

The data from these events showed that the blobs bubbled out of the sun every 90 minutes or so, supporting visible light observations of the blobs made decades later. The results also provided the first real, space-based evidence that the blobs are indeed much hotter and denser than normal solar wind, Viall said.

Burning questions

As to why the blobs form in the first place, the jury is still out. But, based on magnetic field readings taken near Earth, it's likely that the blobs form in the same sort of explosions that create solar storms  massive blasts of plasma that launch forth when the sun's magnetic field linestangle, break and recombine.

"We think a similar process is creating the blobs on a much smaller scale  ambient little bursts as opposed to giant explosions," Viall said.

Results from NASA's Parker Solar Probe, which launched in August 2018 and is now about 15 million miles from the sun (24 million km), could soon confirm these suspicions. In addition to the 40-odd years of technological advancement that Parker has over the Helios probes, the Parker mission also ranges far closer to the sun  coming within just 4 million miles (6.4 million km) of our local star at its closest approach. From this sizzling vantage point, the probe should be able to observe the blobs "right after they're born," Viall said.

Originally published on Live Science.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, the latest Democrat to formally enter the presidential race, wants to not only modernize the nations manufacturing base, but he also has an aggressive plan to restore the family farm as the base of the nations agricultural production.

Ryan, a nine-term U.S. House member from Ohios 13th Congressional District, discussed in detail his plan to move the nation toward "regional and sustainable farming," and ultimately toward eating healthier food.

Ryan is a native Ohioan who received a law degree from the former Franklin Pierce Law Center, which is now the University of New Hampshire School of Law. He is basing much of his candidacy on what he views as his ability to restore the nations manufacturing dominance.

But he has also worked on the agricultural issue, authoring a 2015 book titled, The Real Food Revolution: Healthy Eating, Green Groceries, and the Return of the American Family Farm.

The book focuses on making the nations food supply healthier by creating a new kind of food system -- the family farm, 21st century-style.

We have to have agricultural policies that move to regional and sustainable farming because its better for the environment. It produces real food, not crops that go into really highly processed foods," he told New Hampshire voters during an appearance on Thursday.

I think we need to reward farmers for growing real food, growing real produce. Pay them for the transition out of where they are, and were going to save the money in health care costs in the long run.

Ryan has said that billions of dollars spent by the federal government on crops that are ultimately turned into substances found in processed foods should instead be spent on family farmers to encourage them to grow fresh fruits and vegetables.

He said that encouraging farmers to grow more fresh crops would also help the environment because they dont use all the pesticides.

We have algae blooms in the middle of the Great Lakes, he said. Theres a dead zone at the mouth of the Mississippi River because of all the chemicals running down and going into the Gulf of Mexico. Were destroying our environment.

We need to pay farmers to sequester carbon, Ryan said. Farmers can be a big part of reversing climate change because they can help with some regenerative agricultural techniques, such as no-till farming, cover crops.

No-tillage farming is a technique that reduces erosion and cover crops are planted to also manage soil erosion, fertility and quality.

All these methods can actually, in the long run, help us put more carbon into the soil, and we should pay farmers to do that, as well, Ryan said.

He said children will be healthier, have better cognitive functions. Our kids will be more focused and concentrating, which is what we need them to do.

Ryan, 45, began his career in politics as an aide to late U.S. Rep. Jim Traficant before serving in the Ohio Senate and then being elected to the U.S. House.

He is a member of the House Appropriations Committee, co-chair of the Congressional Addiction Treatment and Recovery Caucus, a member of the Bipartisan Task Force to Combat the Heroin Epidemic and co-chair of the Congressional Manufacturing Caucus.

I can win. I can beat Donald Trump," Ryan said. He noted that he was reelected in 2016 while Trump won in three counties in his congressional district.

He said that as his party's presidential nominee, he would move key states such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin, back into the Democratic column.

I really understand the old economy because I come from the old Rust Belt, Ryan said. Ive seen it unwind over the past 30 years. He said he also understands the future economy.

He said the next president must have "a big vision" for the country.

We just lost 1,700 jobs at a General Motors facility, while Trump is race-baiting, starting culture wars, Ryan said. We dont need a superstar. We dont need a reality TV star. We need a grinder.
A teenager is fighting for life after he was knifed in a north London street.

Police officers and paramedics raced to Bounds Green Road at the junction with Nightingale Road at 9.30pm on Friday night, after receiving reports of a man stabbed.

Once there, paramedics battled to help the 19-year-old, who was suffering from a single stab wound.

The teenager has been taken to hospital, where his condition has been described as life threatening.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: He received treatment at the scene before being taken to a central London hospital where his condition remains life-threatening.

Police at the scene of a stabbing in West Hampstead on Wednesday / NIGEL HOWARD 

No arrests have been made. Enquiries continue and a crime scene remains in place.

The violent attack comes one day after a 15-year-old schoolboy was shot in the leg in a drive-by shooting, in Newham.

Shots were fired from a car on Harcourt Road, just after 5.30pm on Thursday.
A man was being held on suspicion of attempted murder after a car was driven at police officers outside the Ukrainian Embassy in west London.

Police fired gunshots during the incident in Holland Park on Saturday. Officers had been called because the ambassador's car was being "deliberately rammed".

Scotland Yard said a vehicle was driven at officers when they arrived at the scene. Witnesses have said at least 10 shots were fired.

A man in his 40s was arrested on suspicion of the attempted murder of police officers, as well as criminal damage.

Police apprehend a suspect near the Ukrainian Embassy in Holland Park / Emma Slatter/PA

The Met said it also used a Taser, while confirming the incident was not terror-related.

The embassy said in a statement on Saturday afternoon: "Around 10am on Saturday, April 13, the official vehicle of the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom was deliberately rammed as it sat parked in front of the Embassy of Ukraines building.

"The police were called immediately, and the suspects vehicle was blocked up.

"Nevertheless, despite the police actions, the attacker hit the Ambassadors car again. In response, the police were forced to open fire on the perpetrators vehicle. The culprit was apprehended and taken to a police station."

Ukrainian Embassy attack 1 /4 Ukrainian Embassy attack Police opened fire on a silver Mercedes SplashNews.com The car was pictured at the scene with its tyres blown out SplashNews.com Forensic investigators at the scene of the shooting SplashNews.com The ambassador's car was rammed twice SplashNews.com

It added: "No one of the Embassy staff were injured. The police are investigating the suspects identity and motive for the attack."

The Met confirmed in its statement that police firearms, as well as a Taser, were used before the man was arrested.

He was taken to hospital as a precaution, but was not injured.

Ch Supt Andy Walker, from the Met's specialist firearms command, said: "As is standard procedure, an investigation is now ongoing into the discharge of a police firearm during this incident.

People gather near the scene of the shooting on Saturday afternoon / Roni Greenfield

"While this takes place, I would like to pay tribute to the officers involved this morning who responded swiftly to this incident and put themselves in harm's way - as they do every day - to keep the people of London safe."

Eight police cars remained at the scene of the cordon in Holland Park, yards from the Tube station, on Saturday afternoon.

Emma Slatter, who is Visa's general counsel, watched the scene unfold with her partner David Hinsley, a banker who is also in his 50s.

She said: "We could see two police cars at this end of the road and one about half way down looking the other way.

A police cordon near the scene of the incident in Holland Park / Roni Greenfield

"It seems like he was moving erratically or wanting to move away from being boxed in, maybe not realising there were police behind him as well.

"That was when he collided backwards. I think I heard about half a dozen shots."

She continued: "The police seemed in charge. There were probably about eight to 10 guys in full body armour, some with sub-machine guns.

"He [the suspect] was stumbling but he wasn't resisting. We thought he might've been shot but there wasn't any evidence of any blood.

"They frogmarched him into the back of the police van."

Mary Romer Greenfield told the Standard: "The lower end of our road was cordoned off by several police cars and three ambulances surrounding the Ukraine Embassy.

"Our neighbour witnessed several shots on the windscreen of this car."

Hiroaki Katayama also said on Twitter that at least 10 shots were fired in the incident.

The embassies of Greece, Cameroon and Uzbekistan are also in Holland Park.
O ne of Britains youngest Imams today tells how he believes his tight-knit Islamic community has prevented radicalisation and gang culture by giving back to society through youth outreach programmes.

Noor Hadi, 23, is part of the Ahmaddiya Muslim Community, and says the extensive work carried out by the Baitul Futuh Mosque in Morden is key to eradicating extremism.

Established in 1889, the movement teaches peace, love and harmony and the crucial need for justice.

Working both within the Islamic community and with local young people, the mosque runs regular events, including litter picking, blood drives and fundraising for the Poppy Appeal.

The Baitul Futuh Mosque holds 12,000 worshippers / Megan White

Mr Hadi is about to become a fully-fledged Imam after spending six-and-a-half years at the Jamia Ahmadiyya UK, a purpose-built Islamic college.

He says he was once asked by a teacher if his aspiration to become an Imam was absurd or extreme which only encouraged him to educate others about his religion.

Mr Hadi told the Standard: Whats really unique about this community is that we have 40,000 members in Britain but we take a lot of pride in the fact that theres never been one person to fall prey to radicalism or extremism or ever commit one act of terrorism.

We know a solution to why its like this  firstly, we have a sense of leadership, unlike any other Muslim community, we have a spiritual leader who leads by example.

Secondly, I feel its really important that we have auxiliary organisations set up for youngsters from the age of four or five, all the way up to teenagers, for male and female. We want to remind them that Islam teaches peace and these are the true teachings of Islam.

File photo: The Baitul Futuh Mosque in Morden is one of the biggest in Western Europe / EPA

Were also taught that to be a loyal citizen of the country in which you reside is a massive part of your faith, and if a child is taught this from a very young age, not only is he hearing this constantly, but we also get them involved in the community.

What that does, is by the time a teenager gets to the age where they might be a bit confused, he would never turn around and try to hurt the society that he has given back to so much, because he feels like he is a crucial part of it.

Nowadays in London you see a lot of knife crime and gang culture, and I think that being part of this community prevents a lot of that.

People just want to be part of something, and the youth especially crave to be part of bigger societies.

I know a lot of people who suffer from loneliness because after school, they have nothing to be a part of, and sometimes they can fall prey to getting involved in gang culture, which leads them on to god knows what else."

Noor Hadi with His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the leader of the Ahmadiyya community / Noor Hadi

Mr Hadi says he was inspired to become an Imam after being questioned by classmates at the Roman Catholic school he attended.

He said classmates at the south-west London school would ask the most absurd and weird questions - theyd say seen things on the news and ask things like 'is your mum allowed to work?' or 'can she leave the house?'

Mr Hadi added: They were questions which didnt make any sense to me but at the same time I didnt have the answers, I wasnt equipped with them.

In my mind I knew whatever they were saying was completely wrong but I didnt know where they were hearing these things, I couldnt understand why we were getting so much negativity shown towards us.

I think that kindled a fire inside of me that Im really passionate about this mosque and this community.

File photo: 6,000 worshippers can fit inside the mosque's main prayer hall / PA

This conflict was ongoing throughout school. I told my biology teacher that I wanted to be an Imam and she looked at me strangely and asked if it was absurd or extreme  what if I had said I wanted to be a priest, would I have had the same response?

Thats when I decided to become an Imam to tackle it.

Mr Hadi is also keen to change the narrative around Islam, and believes the media has a huge role to play in what people think of Islam.

He thinks Islamophobia stems from people being in the dark and says often people simply have questions to ask about Islam but nowhere to go for answers.

The young Imam also says hate speech has become accepted.

Noor Hadi spent six-and-a-half years at the Jamia Ahmadiyya UK, a purpose-built Islamic college / Megan White

He said: This mosque being targeted by Steven Bishop is just another product of people not knowing about Islam.

Theres been a real shift in society. When I was a kid, people preached about these things behind a mask online under an anonymous profile.

Now what we find is that they've taken that mask off, they are being given a platform and they're doing a lot of hate speech - now its become accepted as if its completely fine.

Theres no one to counteract him, even though we reach out to a lot of people, and its sad, because that leads to things like the New Zealand attack.

One of my primary roles as an Imam is to build a bridge to dialogue, trying to answer questions which people might be afraid to ask.

I think the media has a role to play. If they do give a platform to people, sometimes its not someone who most Muslims would consider Muslim  people like Anjem Choudary.

He has extreme ideologies himself, so what is that doing? There are no moderate Muslims getting a platform.
J eremy Corbyn has said it was "scandalous" that Theresa May didn't seek earlier Brexit talks with Labour.

It came as he insisted the Prime Minister must compromise on her red lines if a cross-party deal is to happen.

And the Labour leader said Mrs May should not use the delay of Brexit until October 31 as a chance to put her Withdrawal Agreement to the Commons again. It has already been rejected three times.

Referring to the talks between the government and Labour, Mr Corbyn said on Saturday: "It's scandalous that it came so late in the Brexit process - not at the eleventh hour, not even at five to midnight - but at five past midnight after she missed her own deadline of March 29.

Mr Corbyn: 'It is a challenge to negotiate with a government that's collapsing' / Andy Rain/EPA

"Nevertheless, we're engaging in the talks in a serious and constructive way. But we must see those red lines moving and we must see real compromise.

"And I have to say, it is a challenge to negotiate with a government that's collapsing. When you can't be sure if commitments made by the Prime Minister will survive the week and when Cabinet collective responsibility has given way to collective irresponsibility, with ministers contradicting each other on the airwaves.

"Nearly everyone now agrees that the Prime Minister could and should have tried to build a consensus much earlier."

TODO: define component type apester

Mr Corbyn was scathing about how the Prime Minister had handled Brexit.

Speaking at the Welsh Labour conference, Mr Corbyn said: "Just three weeks ago she said she wasn't prepared to delay Brexit beyond June 30.

"But now we're holding European elections, not knowing whether MEPs will take their seats or for how long. It's extraordinary.

Jeremy Corbyn faces Theresa May in the Commons this week / EPA

"We cannot remain stuck in this loop for another six months. I urge the Prime Minister not to see this extension as another chance to flog her dead deal."

Mr Corbyn added: "We've put forward a sensible alternative plan that would ensure a close economic relationship with the EU after Brexit.

"If it's not possible, we believe all options should remain on the table including the option of a public vote."
T he Tories have plunged seven points behind Labour in a new opinion poll.

The survey, by Opinium, shows Labour climbing one point to 36 per cent, with the Conservatives dropping six points in the past two weeks to 29 per cent.

Britain Elects, a poll analysis service, said it was the Tory Partys lowest rating in four years  but not as bad as its 23 per cent score in 2013.

It comes after a week in which Conservative Brexit divisions resulted in open Commons mutiny against Prime Minister Theresa May, with hardliner Bill Cash calling for her to resign.

The Conservatives are seven points behind Labour in a new poll as Theresa May continues to struggle / EPA

And Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn twisted the knife on Saturday, saying it was scandalous that Mrs May didnt seek Brexit talks with him earlier than last week.

Jeremy Corbyn / Andy Rain/EPA

Bosses from the government and Labour are now in ongoing discussions to find a compromise on Mrs Mays Brexit deal, but Mr Corbyn, speaking at the Welsh Labour conference on Saturday, offered a scathing verdict of the negotiations so far.

TODO: define component type apester

He said: It is a challenge to negotiate with a government that's collapsing. When you can't be sure if commitments made by the Prime Minister will survive the week and when Cabinet collective responsibility has given way to collective irresponsibility, with ministers contradicting each other on the airwaves.

Meanwhile, Opiniums poll will make grim reading for the Liberal Democrats.

Ukip, which has lurched to the far-right under Gerard Battens leadership and his courtship of English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson, is now above Vince Cables party.
D etails of how Julian Assange lived in squalid conditions inside the Ecuadorian embassy have been revealed today, as it is claimed he "had to be reminded of personal hygiene" on multiple occasions.

Ecuadors UK Ambassador Jaime Marchan has made startling claims about the WikiLeaks founder, 47, including that he used to stage dirty protests while he was holed up in the central London embassy.

Its claimed Assanges relationship with officials deteriorated towards the end of his seven-year-long stint inside, and he even smeared faeces on the walls inside of the embassy in acts of rebellion.

Mr Marchan told the Daily Mail: When Assange wanted to be unpleasant, he put excrement on the walls and underwear with excrement in the lavatory.

We had to remind him to flush the toilet and clean the dishes. He had to be reminded of normal standards of behaviours all the time. He would always leave the cooker on.

Julian Assange - In pictures 1 /30 Julian Assange - In pictures 2019 Julian Assange on his arrival at Westminster Magistrates court on April 11 Jack Taylor/Getty Images 2019 Julian Assange made a defiant gesture with his fist as he arrived at court AFP/Getty Images 2017 Julian Assange puts his fist in the air as he steps out to speak to the media from the balcony of the Embassy Of Ecuador Getty Images 2012 Protesters gather outside the Ecuadorian Embassy, where Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks is staying Getty Images 2012 Masked supporters of Julian Assange outside the Embassy of Ecuador in Knightsbridge Dominic Lipinski/PA 2010 Photographers hold cameras to the windows of a Serco prison van believed to be carrying WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange Reuters 2016 ulian Assange's cat, is adorned with a tie and collar inside the window of the Ecuadorian Embassy PA 2016 Pamela Anderson delivers lunch to Julian Assange at Embassy of Ecuador Getty Images 2010 Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is pictured through the heavily tinted windows of a police vehicle as he arrives at Westminster magistrates court in London AFP/Getty Images 2010 Jemima Kahn leaves the City of Westminster Magistrates Court after offering to stand as surety for Julian Assange Getty Images 2010 Julian Assange of the WikiLeaks website speaks to reporters in front of a Don McCullin Vietnam war photograph at The Front Line Club in London Getty Images 2010 Wikileaks founder Julian Assange gestures inside a prison van with red windows as he arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice Getty Images 2011 WikiLeaks website founder Julian Assange arrives at The High Court Getty Images 2011 Julian Assange, founder of the WikiLeaks website, shakes the hand of a supporter as he leaves Trafalgar Square after addressing the crowd during the 'Antiwar Mass Assembly' organised by the Stop the War Coalition Getty Images 2011 Journalist John Pilger and Julian Assange, founder of the WikiLeaks website, chat before addressing the crowd during the 'Antiwar Mass Assembly' organised by the Stop the War Coalition at Trafalgar Square Getty Images 2012 Placards are left by supporters of Julian Assange, the founder of the WikiLeaks whistle-blowing website, outside the Ecuadorian Embassy Getty Images 2015 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with Reverend Jesse Jackson outside the Embassy of Ecuador in London PA 2016 People attend a video conference of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the International Center for Advanced Communication Studies for Latin America (CIESPAL) auditorium in Quito AFP/Getty Images 2016 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange holds up his new kitten at the Ecuadorian Embassy in central London WikiLeaks 2017 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange during a press conference from inside the Ecuadorian embassy AP 2018 Supporters of Julian Assange outside Westminster Magistrates Court, London where a court decision is due on whether a UK arrest warrant against the WikiLeaks founder is still valid PA 2018 British hacker Lauri Love and his girlfriend Sylvia Mann are surrounded by media after visiting Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in the Ecuadorian embassy in London on 6th February 2018 AFP/Getty Images 2018 A cat named 'James' wearing a collar and tie yawns by the window of the Ecuadorian Embassy where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been for over five years on 6th February 2018 AFP/Getty Images

The 72-year-old lifelong diplomat added he was relieved Assange had left.

Assange was arrested and dramatically dragged from the embassy by police on Thursday after Ecuador suddenly revoked his asylum.

Assange on his way to Westminster Magistrates' Court / EPA

Extraordinary footage showed Assange ranting and struggling as he was carried out to a waiting van, before he was taken to Westminster Magistrates' Court.

Assange was carried out on Thursday / www.ruptly.tv

Pictures of Assanges living conditions were also revealed. They show stacked piles of dirty cups and dishes, as well as the space where he is accused of mounting dirty protests.

Mr Marchan claimed Assange was told to clean up soiled underwear in January, but reportedly said: I wont clean it, I wont!

The task was left to the embassys cleaner, Mr Marchan added.

The fate of Julian Assange's cat is unclear after he was dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy / PA

He said a formal complaint had also been submitted by himself to Assanges lawyers to say he had broken hygiene protocol in the embassy.

Assange was was found guilty of breaching bail and faces up to a year-long sentence from the UK.

Scenes outside of the embassy / PA

The Australian national is facing extradition to the US on charges of conspiring to break into a classified government computer and this could attract a maximum jail sentence of five years, the US Department of Justice said.

He is expected to face dozens more charges once he arrives in the country, including espionage, which can carry a 20-year sentence.

More than 70 Parliamentarians have signed a letter urging the Government to ensure he faces Swedish authorities if they request his extradition.

Labour and Co-op MP Stella Creasy shared a copy of the note on social media which has been sent to Home Secretary Sajid Javid.

WikiLeaks founder Assange, 47, is facing rape and sexual assault allegations in Sweden.

Former Home Secretary Lord Blunkett said people giving Assange "unqualified support" were being "extremely unwise".

Writing in The Times, the former Labour MP said: "It is indeed important that any extradition hearing should be fair and take into account the mitigation of genuine revelations of wrongdoing made in 2010.

"However, supporting a fair hearing is not the same as a political demand that he should be treated as some kind of hero; he remained in the Ecuadorean embassy to avoid previous extradition hearings concerning claims of rape and abuse in Sweden.

"A kneejerk response that presumes that hacking is acceptable if the perpetrators can claim that their motives were journalistic is particularly dangerous when it emanates from those aspiring to become prime minister or home secretary, such as Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott."

His predecessor as home secretary Jack Straw also wrote in the paper, saying: "There is no higher duty on any government than to protect a nation's security, including its critical IT.
U S President Donald Trump has heaped praise on Kim Jong Un and revealed he wants North Korea to be "one of the most successful nations in the world".

Mr Trumps positive remarks come after Mr Kim said he is open to a third summit with the President.

He had also set a deadline of the end of 2019 for Washington to offer mutually acceptable terms for an agreement to salvage the high-stakes nuclear diplomacy, the country's state-run media said Saturday.

Reacting to Mr Kims comments, Mr Trump said their relationship was excellent.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un shakes hands with US President Donald Trump / AFP/Getty Images

The 72-year-old tweeted: I agree with Kim Jong Un of North Korea that our personal relationship remains very good, perhaps the term excellent would be even more accurate, and that a third summit would be good in that we fully understand where we each stand.

North Korea has tremendous potential for extraordinary growth, economic success and riches under the leadership of Chairman Kim.

I look forward to the day, which could be soon, when Nuclear Weapons and Sanctions can be removed, and then watching North Korea become one of the most successful nations of the world!

Mr Kim said he hoped to meet the US leader again during a speech on Friday, which came hours after Mr Trump had met with South Korean president Moon Jae-in.

The North Korean leader said: We of course place importance on resolving problems through dialogue and negotiations. But US-style dialogue of unilaterally pushing its demands doesn't fit us, and we have no interest in it.

The pair met earlier last year, in June / AP

But he said his personal relationship with Mr Trump remains good and that they could exchange letters at "any time".
F isher-Price has recalled nearly 5 million of its Rock 'n Play baby sleepers after more than 30 babies died in them over a 10-year period.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said anyone who bought a Fisher-Price Rock `n Play sleeper should stop using it immediately and contact Fisher-Price for a refund or voucher.

The sleepers, are soft padded cradles that vibrate. Fisher-Price and the CPSC said the deaths occurred after infants rolled over from their backs to their stomachs or sides while unrestrained, but did not specify how they died.

The warning also applies to the UK as the seats are sold in Britain and are available in variety of different designs.

In an article this week, Consumer Reports found that some of the infants died from suffocation.

Product recall: The Fisher Price Rock 'n' Play baby sleeper / AP

A safety warning was issued last week, but The American Academy of Pediatrics urged Fisher-Price and the CPSC to recall the sleepers, calling them "deadly."

In a statement, Fisher-Price said that it stood by the safety of its products and said it issued the voluntary recall "due to reported incidents in which the product was used contrary to the safety warnings and instructions."
A globetrotting teacher is rallying her former colleagues across the world to help raise money to rebuild the dilapidated school where she taught in Ghana.

Jaimee Perrett, originally from New Zealand and now living in London, hopes to raise enough money to replace the current ramshackle institution in a village in Tetrem.

With help from friends in Britain, New Zealand, Portugal, Germany, Bulgaria and China that she has made on her travels, Ms Perrett, who is currently a primary school teacher, said 15,000 would be enough to commence a build.

So far, she has raised more than 8,000.

More than 300 students attend the Good Foundation School where teachers arduously try to give the best possible education despite the circumstances.

Ms Perrett, 28, told the Standard: To be able to provide a good structure would change their lives.

They would be able to take in more students.

Theyd be able to do a lot more.

On days where there is heavy rain, children have to leave the school due to the water leaking in or mud floors becoming sodden and slippery.

Staff have to focus on repairs for the building which was only designed to be temporary but has been used since 2005. This wastes precious time they could be working with children.

Photos of the school show run down structures, with crooked walls and precarious roofs surrounding dirt floors.

The pupils, aged three to 16, sit on a mismatch of ailing wooden furniture as they study.

She first taught at the school for four months in 2014 then visited again in 2017 and 2019.

So far, children at the school have made paintings and bracelets to sell in a bid to improve their teaching conditions.

She said people at the school have been very emotional in discussions of the project.

The school was described as more than a school and an integral part to the community as a central base.

So far there has been more than 8,000 raised through a fundraising page, which can be found here, and backing that is becoming Ms Perretts main focus.
T hree naked women led police in the US on an hour-long car chase.

The women were at a rest area in Florida when they decided to take off all their clothes and "air dry" themselves while applying sun cream in public.

They were approached by members of the Florida Highway Patrol at the rest stop on Interstate 75 near Dade City who asked them to start dressing.

The women told police they had been staying at a relative's home, but had gone to the rest stop after an altercation and had nowhere else to go.

The Tampa Bay Times reported that the women claimed they were "air drying" after washing. The women then fled in a car.

They led officers on a 21-mile chase before driving a car at one deputy and threatening another with a bat.
Columbia Hillen

Located in an old wine cave with high vaulted ceiling, its sturdy stone walls illuminated evocatively by spotlights, Anette and Bernd Teich have carved out an exceptional culinary reputation at Restaurant BK near the central square in the quaint southern French town of Montagnac.

Columbia Hillen

Opened five years ago, after they had previously owned a restaurant in Toulouse, the friendly couple from Russia and Germany respectively (Saint Petersburg and Dresden) take pride in a short menu of contemporary dishes with surprising combinations using local produce from both land and sea.

Columbia Hillen

Gregarious Bernd performs front-of-house duties with panache highlighted by an earthy sense of humor and seems always ready to engage in convivial conversation regardless of topic. Anette is the queen of the kitchen, thoughtfully emerging periodically to check guest opinion on her efforts. Not that she has much to worry about. Such is her gastronomic skills Anette has been chosen as one of 500 top women chefs in France to be included in a new publication entitled Michelin Too. The guide, to be released later this year, was inspired by the Me Too movement and is a response to the fact that less than three percent of head chefs in French restaurants selected for Michelin stars are women.

Columbia Hillen

Comfortable at a wall-side table in a spacious open room that can accommodate up to 40 people and requiring a warming drink following our brisk evening walk, we quickly indulged in a robust Banyuls aperitif wine from the Roussillon region near the Spanish border and a Spanish white port.

Columbia Hillen

For starters I chose Tasmanian wagu beef aged for a year with a brioche, airy and light, perfect to absorb the delicious jus of red onion, red wine and fresh peppercorns, accompanied by a designated Rhone area wine from Nimes. My companions eye fell upon a warm tuna dish with cucumber relish, a mango and sesame coulis and lime caviar, with a smattering of black garlic for added taste. To complement its flavor, B chose an aromatic Gewurztraminer.

Columbia Hillen

It being early January, a biting cold wind outside demanded we eat something hearty to keep body and soul together, thus we skipped the seafood choices of trout, and the classic Gallic gratin of scallop Saint-Jacques, harvested from the Mediterranean Sea less than 20 kilometers away, and opted for the heftier meat dishes - Aberdeen rump steak and brisket with farmhouse vegetables and smoked magret of duck with celeriac puree, with a delicious crispy paper-thin layer of duck skin.

Columbia Hillen

Dessert was a highlight, a moelleux of chocolate with yogurt ice-cream and red fruit reduction, resting beside a German pastry with poppy seeds decorated with red currant and sour cherry praline. Then it was out into the cold night air for a short walk past the old plane-trees of the central esplanade where the weekly market takes place and homeward bound, content after an evening well spent.
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Four Romanian servicemen were injured on Saturday, around 10:00hrs, local time, while conducting a mission in Kandahar, Afghanistan, the National Defence Ministry (MApN) announced.

According to a MApN release sent to AGERPRES, a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) armored column - operated by the servicemen of the the 300th "St. Andrew" Force Protection Battalion, who were on a mission in their area of responsibility in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, was attacked by an improvised explosive device, followed by the insurgents' light infantry weapons attack.

The Romanian infantry men acted according to the procedures and rejected the insurgent attack, having ground and air support from the US forces, the MApN mentions.The four injured soldiers were evacuated by land to the military hospital of the Kandahar Air Base, all of them being conscious and stable.Following the medical assessments, the servicemen were hospitalised, two of them with fractures in the lower limbs area, one with a closed cranial trauma and the fourth with thoracic fracture. Their condition is stable."'Details regarding the identity of the servicemen involved in this incident will be made public, according to the enforceable standard procedures, only after informing their families. The MApN leadership is constantly informed about the situation and closely watches the development of the servicemen's health status," the Defense Ministry informs.Subsequently, National Defence Minister Gabriel Les mentioned on a Facebook post that the information regarding the health status of the injured servicemen is encouraging."Four of our comrades were injured this morning during a mission, in the theater of operations in Afghanistan. They received the medical support they needed, they were evacuated and transported to the hospital, all being conscious. The information about their health status is encouraging, I am constantly informed about the medical development and I stand by them and their families," the Minister stated.
Prime Minister Viorica Dancila carried out a meeting on Friday with China's Prime Minister Li Keqiang, occasion on which she showed the interest in involving some Chinese companies in public-private partnership (PPP) projects and in opening a traditional Chinese medicine center in Romania.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Summit of Heads of Government of the Central and Eastern European Countries- China cooperation format ('16+1'), which was held in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

According to a Government release sent to AGERPRES, on this occasion, topics of interest included on the bilateral agenda were tackled, in the context of celebrating, in 2019, 70 years since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Romania and the People's Republic of China and 15 years since the establishment of the Ample Friendship and Cooperation Partnership."The heads of the two Governments voiced their commitment to continue in a pragmatic, open and efficient manner the cooperation projects and the inter-human contacts in the established area. Prime Minister Viorica Dancila has provided information on the recent amendments brought to the public-private partnership legislation and voiced the interest in involving Chinese companies in PPP projects. At the same time, Prime Minister Viorica Dancila expressed interest in opening a center of traditional Chinese medicine in Romania. Recent developments in the EU-China relations have also been discussed. Prime Minister Viorica Dancila underscored that Romania will continue to actively contribute to the consolidation of the EU-China Strategic Partnership and the implementation of the EU Strategy on Connecting Europe and Asia, adopted in October 2018," the release showed.The quoted source also mentions that PM Li Keqiang commended the manner in which Romania exercises its first mandate at the rotating Presidency of the EU Council, congratulating the results achieved so far."The discussions of the two officials were aimed at exports of Romanian agricultural products to the People's Republic of China, the cooperation in the energy area, the Belt and Road Initiative. The meeting also occasioned an exchange of views on the outlooks of the 16+1 cooperation format, occasion on which the Romanian PM proposed for the Republic of Moldova to become a member of this initiative. Viorica Dancila extended an invitation to her Chinese counterpart to pay an official visit to Romania. Furthermore, the Romanian high official welcomed the invitation to pay a visit to the People's Republic of China," the release mentions.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is and has to remain a quotas-based institution and we are prepared to support even their increase, taking into account that the European Union is open to doubling at least the New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB), Romanian Public Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici said on Friday in Washington.

According to a release of the relevant ministry, Eugen Teodorovici headed on Friday, in Washington, the European Union delegation at the meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) dedicated to governance and resources of the IMF. Moreover, Minister Eugen Teodorovici represented the Romanian Presidency at the EU Council within the meeting in Washington of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors.

Within the IMFC meeting, Minister Teodorovici voiced the EU's standpoint to support the IMF role within the center of the Global Financial Safety Net, based on quotas and adequate resources. In this context, the Romanian Minister reiterated the EU's vision of maintaining the current level of the IMF resources as an important signal for ensuring the IMF's role as a safety net in the current economic situation."The International Monetary Fund is and has to remain a quotas-based institution and we are prepared to support even their increase. The European Union is open to doubling at least the New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB) and, in this regard, we are calling for a quick agreement for the future of NABs, on the basis of appropriate contributions," Minister Teodorovici, the President-in-office of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) said in his speech.Within the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting, topics such as the investments in infrastructure and the Compact with Africa (CwA) were among the topics discussed. Moreover, issues such as global economic oversight, global imbalances, aging and its implications for public policies, financial innovation, addressing financial market fragmentation, debt sustainability and transparency in low-income countries, resilience against natural disasters, universal health insurance in developing countries were also discussed.Regarding the Compact with Africa, the good progresses in many Compact countries have been highlighted in terms of structural reforms and attracting private investment, the press release said."As a key contributor to the Compact through its new External Investment Plan, the EU wants to call on all partners, including participating international organizations, to actively use all existing synergies," Minister Teodorovici concluded.Moreover, within the meeting also supported was the EU's standpoint to endorse the G20 Japanese Presidency in updating the quality infrastructure agreement of the G20 Hangzhou Summit 2016 with a new set of principles that shall include key elements of sustainability."Adequate institutional governance is needed to prioritise and implement investment, as well as to increase sustainable financing and the funding must be carried out in a sustainable way so as not to threaten the macroeconomic stability of the beneficiary countries," the release mentions.
Russophobia, a WMD (Weapon of Mass Deception)

Weve become trapped in a contrived reality promulgated by neo-conservative warriors under cover of neo-liberal democracy-spreading-humanitarian-interventionists to justify an American Empire promoting itself as the indispensable Liberal World Order.

Resume: Russophobia, as psycho-social-political pathology, is diagnosed as a disorder in The West since before the 1000-year-old Roman-Orthodox religious schism and most recently manifested with a vengeance in the course of the 2013-14 with Edward Snowdens revelations of mass surveillance by the US and its covert activities leading to the Ukraine coup with Russophobia used thereafter as a weapon of mass deception to inflame this latent pathology in the public.

After more than a year since we first heard the BBC breaking news about the Russians Poisoning the Skipals, all we have are allegations, but there is still no real evidence to present before a judge and jury for a just trial, only media propaganda which has provoked even more fear and hysteria meant to distract people from the governments bungling and high level of anxiety over Brexit by once again blaming Russia. Never-the-less, it prompted politicians to administer instant sanctions against Russia as punishment. That first day, the evidence, presented in the usual clipped, authoritative British accents, included interviews with a conservative British MP, then the former US Ambassador to Russia, Alexander Vershbow (2001-05), now with the notoriously hawkish US-based think tank, the Atlantic Council. Thus, the three of them: the BBC journalist and the two experts, colluded to transform false allegations into facts fueled, as always, by their perpetual prejudice, RUSSOPHOBIA, in the course of their propaganda war to force Russia to surrender to American-led Western Domination or else: have their economy destroyed & their people suffer. Indeed, it is a threat to the whole world played to the discord of rattling nuclear swords with a chorus of vindictive Russian oligarchs, whom Putin expelled for robbing the Russian people. So, now living in London as expats, they would seem to be the more likely culprits. All the while elsewhere in London, thanks to our special US-UK relationship, Julian Assange has been excommunicated and imprisoned in a tiny cell at the Ecuador embassy for revealing embarrassing American secrets via Wikileaks.

There we have it: the poisoning of our minds by the media and politicians which are owned and controlled by the US-UK-EU 1%, who benefit from Western Hegemony. So, these deluded few are now desperately defending it from the rising powers led by Russia and China with India not far behind demanding a multi-polar, democratic world order.

My search for the roots of this particularly vicious and extremely dangerous hate campaign began in a Dartmouth College Russian Foreign Policy course, which led me to the book, Russophobia: Anti-Russian Lobby and American Foreign Policy by San Francisco State University Professor Andrei P. Tsygankov (2009). And there, the detoxification of my mind began as I studied his deft, well-documented deconstruction of the political propaganda disseminated by various think tanks, congressional testimonials, activities of NGOs and the media (preface p. XIII)

Then in Italy the following winter, I discovered the work of the Swiss journalist, Guy Mettan, in the Italian geopolitical journal, LiMes: an excerpt from his book, Creating Russophobia: From the Great Religious Schism to Anti-Putin Hysteria (2017). There, Mettan informs us that this psycho-social pathology in Western Civilization goes back more than 1000 years: to the division of Christendom between the Orthodox and Roman churches. Indeed, his research into the depths of history confirms the diagnosis by our renowned American psychiatrist, Robert Jay Lifton, in his 2003 book, Superpower Syndrome: Americas Apocalyptic Confrontation with the World. Therein, Lifton states: More than merely dominate, the American superpower now seeks to control history. Such cosmic ambition is accompanied by an equally vast sense of entitlement, of special dispensation to pursue its aims. (p.3) And Mettans analysis of Russophobia also underscores the work of University of Chicago Professor John J. Mearsheimer, our leading international relations realist in his three Henry L. Stimson lectures at Yale University November 2017: The Roots of Liberal Hegemony, The False Promises of Liberal Hegemony and The Case for Restraint: https://macmillan.yale.edu/news/john-j-mearsheimer-liberal-ideals-and-interntional-realities with his book, The Great Delusion: Liberal Dreams, International Realities published in 2018.

But what about Russian Aggression in Ukraine & Crimea?

In the first place, it was the astute Mearsheimer, who, in the Sept-Oct 2014 Foreign Affairs, informed us Why the Ukraine Crisis is the Wests Fault: The Liberal Delusions That Provoked Putin (pp 77-89), but the American foreign policy establishment, together with ambitious politicians and the me-too media, paid no heed and continues to repeat its fabricated facts.

Never-the-less, Mearsheimer is backed up by Richard Sakwa, Professor of Russian and European Politics at the University of Kent. In Sakwas book, Russia Against the Rest: The Post-Cold War Crisis of World Order, 2017, we turn to the section on Reality Wars and American Power on p. 217 to read: It does indeed seem that Russia and Western elites live in totally different worlds, divided by different epistemological understandings of the nature of contemporary reality. The Ukraine crisis crystallized the profound differences between Russian and Atlanticist understandings of the breakdown and its causes. And he continues on p. 218: Elite and policy-maker perceptions and attitudes forged in the Cold War years sustain these legacies and frame the discussions of such crucial issues as NATO enlargement, democracy promotion in the post-Soviet area, and strategic arms talks. Adding that these are no longer so much legacies as self-regenerating narratives and modes of discourse that preclude a more open-ended understanding of the dynamics and concerns of Russia today.

Karl Rove: Were an empire now; we create our own reality.

[In 2004, journalist Ron Suskind wrote in The New York Times magazine that a top White House strategist for President George W. Bushidentified later as Karl Rove, Bushs Deputy White House Chief of Stafftold him, Were an empire now, we create our own reality.]

Thus, weve become trapped in a contrived reality promulgated by neo-conservative warriors under cover of neo-liberal democracy-spreading-humanitarian-interventionists to justify an American Empire promoting itself as the indispensable Liberal World Order. However, under that global order, as Sakwa points out on p. 219: If a foreign power is considered to have violated international order, then it can be overthrown as a rationale for American regime change anywhere around the world: whether to control the supply of copper in Chile or oil in Iran. And, with its eye on Russias vast oil, gas and other natural resources, America claims the right to threaten Russia by ringing it with weapons which we would not abide were the Russians to place missiles in Mexicoas the Soviets did in Cuba to defend it after our Bay of Pigs invasion that brought humanity to the brink of nuclear war. Thus, Russia was defending itself in Ukraine against further NATO expansion while Crimean citizens, by majority vote in a democratic referendum, chose to rejoin Russia as they had been one country ever since Catherine the Greatexcept for an interval in the 50s when Crimea was gifted to Ukraine while they were all members of the Soviet Union.

Ditching Solzhenitsyn, Defender of Russia

And not to forget that in 1974, after being expelled from the Soviet Union, Alexandr Solzhenitsyn and his family fled first to Zurich then to Vermont in 1976 and lived on a farm near Cavendish, where he continued to write and publish his work. Meanwhile, Mettan, as a journalist covering events related to Russia, became quite distressed over the widespread prejudices, cartloads of cliches and systematic anti-Russian biases of most western media. And he went on to say that the more I traveled, discussed and read, the wider I perceived, the more the gap of incomprehension and ignorance between Western Europe and Russia became evident.

That was why, during the 1990s, I was shocked by the way the West treated Solzhenitsyn. For decades, we had published, celebrated, and acclaimed the great writer as bearing the torch of anti-Soviet dissidence. We had praised Solzhenitsyn to the skies as long as he criticized his native country, communist Russia. But as soon as he emigrated, realizing that he preferred to isolate himself in his Vermont retreat to work rather than attending anticommunist conferences, western media and academics began to distance themselves from the great writer.

The idol no longer matched the image they had built and was becoming a hindrance to their academic and journalistic career plans. And once Solzhenitsyn had left the United States to go back to Russia and defend his humiliated, demoralized motherland that was being sold at auction, raising his voice against the Russian Westernizers and pluralist liberals who denied the interests of Russia to better revel in the troughs of capitalism, he became a marked man, an outdated, senile writer, even though he himself had not changed in the least, denouncing with the same vigor the defects of market totalitarianism as those of communist totalitarianism.

He was booed, despised, his name was dragged through the mud for his choices, often by the very people who had praised his first fights. Despite that, against all odds, against the most powerful powers that were trying to dissuade him, Solzhenitsyn defended his one and only cause, that of Russia. He was not forgiven for having turned his pen against that West that had welcomed him and felt it was owed eternal gratitude. A dissident today, a dissident wherever truth compelled, such was his motto. This deserves to be remembered. Mettan, pp. 15-16 in Creating Russophobia.

Russophobia: akin to Racism

From another perspective: Mettans chapter on German Russophobia set me thinking that this Western Supremacy political-cultural pathology known as Russophobia is like the racism which I knew growing up in totally segregated Oklahoma. Until in high school, I became so perplexed and appalled by the curtain of hate and justifications in which we were smothered: the Negro schools on the other side of town? and why were there separate waiting rooms, drinking fountains & restrooms in bus and train stations?that I began poking holes in the curtain to see what was outsideand found a book in the library: South of Freedom by Carl Rowan, an African-American Minneapolis Star Tribune journalist, describing his journey from South to North. So, thanks to what I learned from Rowan, I began to tear the whole damned curtain downat least in my mind.

Whom the Gods would destroy, they first drive mad?

So, heres a Swiss journalist punching a hole in this wall of Russophobic Western Supremacy and through that gaping hole, we are reminded that the Russians are Europes neighbors who sacrificed more than 26 million of their own lives to save Europe, America and Russia from the Nazis. These are not poor niggers from the Eurasian ghetto weve been trying to club into submission as second-class citizens of The Liberal World Order dominated by US; theyre nuclear-armed and no longer willing to sit at a separate, inferior table with no vote and no voice over who makes the rulesnor are China, India and Brazil. And last year, while the wave of Russophobic hysteria over alleged Russian poisoning was rolling out of the UK and engulfing the Western world in the latest siege of mass madnesswith only Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the British Labor party, having the courage to stand up in Parliament on the Ides of March and demand Evidence! only to be pilloried by the mindless politicians and medialed by the once esteemed BBC. And the week following the August 7, 2018 Trump-Putin Helsinki summit, will surely go down in psychiatric circles as another case of mass media-political delusions led by cheer-leader-in-chief, Rachel Maddow of MSNBC.

Meanwhile, not to forget that it was Hearst newspaper propaganda that whipped the American public into a war frenzy to support our first step in empire-building: our 1898 intervention in Cubas war for independence from the Spanish Empire which had dominated all of Latin America for 500 years. As the former NYTimes journalist/bureau chief in Istanbul, Berlin & Central America, Stephen Kinzer reminds us in his latest book The True Flag: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and the Birth of American Empire, Twain, Booker T. Washington and even Andrew Carnegie leading a handful of other anti-imperialistswere not able to prevail against Roosevelt with his Rough Riders and the Hearst newspapers war propaganda.

Regime Change Comes Home

Never-the-less, after a very long run of American regime change abroad leaving a bloody trail of destruction, dictatorships and chaos from Iran in 1953, when we joined with the British to overthrow the democratically-elected President Mohammad Mossadegh to maintain the Brit-US control of its oilon through Guatemala, Vietnam and Chileto name a few of our interventionswe were back for a second round with coalitions of the willing or not? in the Middle East where our regime-change machine managed to plow its way through Afghanistan, Iraq and Libyabefore breaking down in Syria. Until now its been brought home again, renovated and renamed RussiaGate for another attempt at removing a President for trying to mend US relations with Russia. Though even after more than a year of Special Prosecutor Robert Muellers investigations accompanied by such cinematic support as the movie, Felt, another Watergate re-run. Did anyone else notice the resemblance between Felt and Mueller? And despite the medias commemoration of its 44-year-old moment of courage with the movie The Post to promote Trumps ouster, our democratically-elected President, as of this writing, remains in power. However, in this rush to regime change, didnt the our ruling elite read Jane Mayers The Danger of President Pence in the 10/23/17 New Yorker? At least the 70s ruling class was smart enough to remove an unqualified Vice President Spiro (who?) Agnewbefore regime changing Nixon and replacing him with the more or less benign Gerald Ford.

A Florentine Epiphany

But back to last January in Florence, Italy, when I was hiking in the hills beyond the Piazzale Michelangelo, with its spectacular view of that Renaissance city and its centerpiece, the Duomo, I came across the Villa Galileo, which had been his last home after his trial as a heretic, during which to save himself from torture and execution, he was forced to deny his helio-centric vision and henceforth lived under villa arrest, from 1631 until his natural death in 1642. While pondering his fate, I continued walking along the gently rising, ever-narrowing road between ancient stone walls overlooking villas and olive groves until I reached the peak, where I felt as if I were standing on top of the world as I contemplated both the Arno and Ema river valleys far below and where I swear I heard Galileo declare: The world does not turn on an American axis!

The 21st Century Inquisition

So how is it that we now have contemporary Inquisitors persecuting so many truth tellerssuch as Edward Snowden, our electronic age Solzhenitsyn? in Russian exile; Chelsea Manning, imprisoned some 7 years for revealing US brutality in Iraq; Julian Assange confined to his Ecuadorian Embassy exile in London since August 2012; Katharine Gun, a whistleblower attempting to stop the Iraq invasion, who faced 2 years of British imprisonment before her case was dropped; James Risen, former New York Times journalist who was persecuted by our justice system for revealing our governments surveillance of US!

Any Good Sense Left?

So, do we the people have enough good sense & independent thinking left to follow the advice of Henry David Thoreau?

Let us settle ourselves, and work and wedge our feet downward through the mud and slush of opinion, and prejudice, and tradition, and delusion, and appearance, that alluvion which covers the globe, through Paris and London, through New York and Boston and Concord, through church and state, through poetry and philosophy and religion, till we come to a hard bottom and rocks in place, which we can call reality.

Walden 1854

If not, the Doctor prescribes Shock Therapy:

For a week, a month, or however long it takes to cleanse and open the mind, one must adhere to strict abstinence from Mainstream Media propaganda, junk news, pseudo analysis, fake photos, TV & videos including absolutely NO phony for, by & of the people NPR, PBS, BBC or other Government-funded Neo or LibCon Imperial tranquilizer.
What Public Opinion on Assange Tells Us About the US Government Direction

Regardless of what the American system will decide, Assange faces in America a uniquely hostile public. Assange will soon be surrounded by probably the most hostile national public anywhere on this planet.

If Trump turns out to be hostile towards Assange, as most people expect, then a reasonable conclusion would be that Trump is more concerned about retaining in the 2020 Presidential contest the financial backing of Americas billionaires, the mega-donors (who hate Assange and what he stands for) than of retaining his existing voter-support.

The only extensive poll of public opinion regarding Julian Assange or Wikileaks was Reuters/Ipsos on 26 April 2011, WikiLeaks Julian Assange is not a criminal: global poll, and it sampled around a thousand individuals in each of 23 countries  a total of 18,829 respondents. The Reuters news-report was vague, and not linked to any detailed presentation of the poll-findings, but it did say that US respondents had a far more critical view against Wikileaks than in any other country, and that the view by Americans was 69% believing Assange should be charged and 61 percent opposing WikiLeaks mission. Buried elsewhere on the Web was this detailed presentation of Ipsoss findings in that poll:

Oppose Wikileaks:

61% US

38% UK

33% Canada

32% Poland

32% Belgium

31% Saudi Arabia

30% Japan

30% France

27% Indonesia

26% Italy

25% Germany

24% Sweden

24% Australia

22% Hungary

22% Brazil

21% Turkey

21% S. Korea

16% Mexico

16% Argentina

15% Spain

15% Russia

15% India

12% S. Africa

In other words: whereas, of all 23 countries, the US was #1 with 61% opposing Wikileaks, the #2 anti-Wikileaks country, UK, was 38% opposing Wikileaks  a huge drop-off from the #1  and, from there downward, each country differed from its more-anti-Wikileaks neighbor only very slightly. So: the US was a unique anti-Wikileaks stand-out there. And, whereas 42% of Americans considered Wikileaks to be Criminals, only 20% of UK residents did. No other country showed higher than 20%  UK was #2 on that anti-Wikileaks factor, too. Consequently, a reasonable inference would be that Americas national news-media were vastly more hostile toward Wikileaks than the news-media in any other country were. And this poll was in 2011  prior to any partisan issue concerning the 2016 US Presidential contest. This is evidence that Americas news-media are extraordinarily anti-Wikipedia. Americans have been far more indoctrinated against Wikipedia than the people in other countries have been.

On 25 October 2016  now well into the 2016 US Presidential contest  another British polling organization, this being YouGov, headlined Turnaround in public opinion on latest Wikileaks and reported that,

Americans tend to approve of the release of Podestas emails, in stark contrast to their disapproval of the leaking of State Department cables in 2010. The release of John Podestas emails has proven embarrassing for the Hillary Clinton campaign, particularly the revelation of the contents of her secret speeches to banks and her aides strategizing over her own e-mail scandal, among other issues. Thanks to ongoing controversies surrounding Donald Trump, Clinton has largely managed to avoid having to engage with the issue, but reports from intelligence agencies suggest that the leaks may have a broader, geopolitical relevance: Russian intelligence services are suspected of being behind the hacking of Podestas email account.

The American intelligence community has widely agreed that Russia is, in some way, behind the hacking of John Podestas emails. Few Americans are convinced by this, however. Only 33% of Americans believe that Russia was behind the leaks. Most Democrats (59%) believe that the Russians were behind the leak, while only 11% of Republicans agree.

Republicans now were vastly less-hostile toward Wikileaks than Democrats were: Whereas Democrats were unfavorable toward Wikileaks by 49%/20%, Republicans were favorable toward Wikileaks by 61%/17%  even more favorable than Democrats were unfavorable.

This partisan difference might, however, have subsided. The polling is sparse and unclear. The US is overwhelmingly more hostile toward Wikileaks than any other country is, but its polling organizations arent wanting to report this but instead to ignore Wikileaks as much as possible. A slight break occurred in that on 20 November 2018, when the American pollster Rasmussen headlined 46% Want to Prosecute WikiLeaker Julian Assange and reported that only half as many Americans, 24%, didnt. But no Party breakdown was given.

Here are the findings from an online poll at the Democratic Party news-site MSNBC, on the very day that Donald Trumps people used Theresa Mays people to grab Assange from Lenin Morenos Ecuadoran Embassy in UK on 11 April 2019:



Should Julian Assange be prosecuted for his involvement in WikiLeaks?

3,203 votes [as of noon 11 April 2019]

Yes, he is a criminal.

360 votes

No, he is a whistleblower and deserves protection.

2,843 votes

11% against Assange; 89% for Assange

That presumably oversamples Democrats, and so the strong pro-Assange finding in that poll doesnt fit the previous finding that Republicans are less hostile toward Assange than Democrats are.



To judge by the over 12,000 reader-comments at the Republican news-site Fox Newss April 11th WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrested after Ecuador withdraws asylum, there is strong, but not overwhelming, support for Trumps prosecuting Assange. Trump therefore seems unlikely to lose much of his Republican Party base for destroying Assange.

The libertarian site, InfoWars, headlined WILL TRUMP PARDON JULIAN ASSANGE? President to side with his base or the deep state? and the very predominantly pro-Assange sentiment that was displayed in the reader-comments was intense. Trump would definitely lose some of those supporters (libertarians) if he destroys Assange.

The Trump-base site (which is even more pro-Trump than pro-Republican) Breitbart headlined WikiLeaks Publisher Julian Assange Arrested by British Authorities, and the most up-voted or Best of the many thousands of reader-comments there was Hopefully, he will be extradited to the US so he can work with the Barr team to expose Obama and his administration for illegally spying on the Trump campaign in exchange for immunity. By noon-time, it had around 700 up-votes. Consequently, if Trump fails to support Assange, then Trump will likely lose some of his existing voter-base.

The Trump team obviously are now in control of Assanges fate, and they are doing Trumps will regarding Assange. If the MSNBC online poll is any indication, Trump could actually expand his base  even gain some support from Democratic Party voters  by freeing Assange, either by means of his teams legal actions, or else by means of a Presidential pardon.

If Trump turns out to be hostile towards Assange, as most people expect, then a reasonable conclusion would be that Trump is more concerned about retaining in the 2020 Presidential contest the financial backing of Americas billionaires, the mega-donors (who hate Assange and what he stands for) than of retaining his existing voter-support. Given the reality of American elections, that latter approach (destroying Assange) would probably be the likelier way for him to win re-election. Consequently, the latter approach (serving the billionaires by destroying Assange) would be the more consistent both with Trumps personal record and with the record of US Presidential elections during at least the past 60 years (such as in 2016). On the other hand, the Trump Justice Departments indictment of Assange that was made public on April 11th turned out to be for an alleged crime whose maximum penalty would be five years in prison. Even if Assange becomes convicted, Trump could, one way or another, get Assange freed on the basis of Assanges 7 years imprisonment at the Ecuadoran Embassy constituting more than enough time already served for his crime  no need for any pardon. That outcome might even be begrudgingly accepted by the majority of Americas billionaires. (Apparently, Americas legal case against Assange is very weak; and, if thats true, then the billionaire political donors probably wouldnt blame Trump for that. Even Hillary Clinton couldnt have done a better job for them on Assange.)

Regardless of what the American system will decide, Assange faces in America a uniquely hostile public, as was shown clearly in the 2011 Ipsos poll. Assange will therefore soon be surrounded by probably the most hostile national public anywhere on this planet. The way that Assange will be treated here is therefore going to be a fairly clear indication of the future direction of the US Government  both of the American people, and of the system which is ruling us.
TICKERS:

Source: Streetwise Reports (4/13/19)

The details and implications of the deal are discussed in a Canaccord Genuity report.



In an April 9 research note, Canaccord Genuity analyst Eric Zaunscherb reported that eCobalt Solutions Inc. (ECS:TSX; ECSIF:OTCQX; ECO:FSE) agreed to merge with Jervois Mining. "The arrangement is positive from the perspective of the eCobalt shareholder, gaining exposure to multiple cobalt projects in relatively low-risk jurisdictions, strengthened management depth and exposure to nickel."

Zaunscherb described premerger Jervois Mining. It wholly owns the Nico Young nickel-cobalt laterite project in New South Wales, Australia. It has a Joint Ore Reserves Committee compliant Inferred resource of 167.8 million tons averaging 0.06% cobalt and 0.59% nickel. A prefeasibility study for a 3 million ton per annum heap-leach facility at Nico Young is in progress, the results of which are expected by mid-year. Jervois also has a highly prospective land package in Uganda, which it gained through its merger with M2 Cobalt earlier in 2019.

Per the agreement with eCobalt Solutions, Zaunscherb explained, Jervois will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of eCobalt that it does not already own. Each eCobalt share will be exchanged for 1.65 Jervois shares, at CA$0.36 per eCobalt share based on the price of Jervois' shares at the close on March 29, 2019. "Some eCobalt shareholders have expressed dismay at the lack of premium in the offer," he pointed out.

The combined entity will be owned by shareholders of Jervois, 40%; of eCobalt, 47%; and of M2 Cobalt, 11%. It will have a portfolio of cobalt and nickel-cobalt projects, in various development stages and in diverse, relatively low-risk locales, which the board and management team have the experience to advance. "At the end of the day, we are appreciative of the outlook for the new Jervois," Zaunscherb highlighted.

Canaccord Genuity has a Speculative Buy rating and a CA$0.90 target price on eCobalt Solutions, whose current share price is around CA$0.34.

[NLINSERT]

Disclosure:

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Disclosures from Canaccord Genuity, eCobalt Solutions Inc., Flash Update, April 9, 2019

Analyst Certification: Each authoring analyst of Canaccord Genuity whose name appears on the front page of this research hereby certifies that (i) the recommendations and opinions expressed in this research accurately reflect the authoring analysts personal, independent and objective views about any and all of the designated investments or relevant issuers discussed herein that are within such authoring analysts coverage universe and (ii) no part of the authoring analysts compensation was, is, or will be, directly or indirectly, related to the specific recommendations or views expressed by the authoring analyst in the research.

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Canaccord Genuity or one or more of its affiliated companies intend to seek or expect to receive compensation for Investment Banking services from eCobalt Solutions Inc. in the next three months.

The authoring analysts who are responsible for the preparation of this research have received (or will receive) compensation based upon (among other factors) the Investment Banking revenues and general profits of Canaccord Genuity. However, such authoring analysts have not received, and will not receive, compensation that is directly based upon or linked to one or more specific Investment Banking activities, or to recommendations contained in the research.

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FILE - In this Nov. 14, 2017 file photo, director Woody Allen attends a special screening of "Wonder Wheel" in New York. On Friday, April 12, 2019, an Amazon lawyer said the filmmaker breached his four-movie deal with the online giant by making statements about the #MeToo movement that damaged prospects for promoting his films. Attorney Robert Klieger told a Manhattan federal judge that the company protected itself after Allen made comments that at a minimum were insensitive. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
Update 1.55pm

Police can confirm one person has been injured in a two-vehicle collision on State Highway 2, Whakatane.

The crash, involving a car and a motorcycle, occurred shortly before 1pm.

The motorcyclist is being taken to Whakatane Hospital in a serious condition.
It is a solemn day of remembrance. When the sun comes up, heads are bowed, flags fly at half mast, soulful bugles sound The Last Post and volleys are fired.

ANZAC Day is in honour and celebration of all those who fought and died for our country.

A total of 16,697 New Zealanders were killed in WW1. Another 12,000 were lost in the worlds most destructive conflict - WW2 - and 37 died on active service in Vietnam.

This is the story of just one of them  a young bomber pilot named Alexander George Herbert, who answered the call to serve and did not come home.

His is one name on Hamiltons Memorial Park cenotaph. Over the next two weeks, and with ANZAC Day looming, The Weekend Sun pieces together the war exploits of an uncelebrated hero, a son and a brother who fought and died for his country.

Flight Lieutenant Alexander George Herbert  Alex to his Mum  stood amongst 54 Blenheim bomber crews gathered for a briefing at RAF Oulton in Norfolk in the early hours of August 12, 1941.

Like most others, he could not believe what he was hearing.

Their mission was to strike the heavily defended Knapsack and Quadrath power stations just outside Cologne, with the bombers required to fly 250 miles over enemy territory in broad daylight without a fighter escort. It was an undertaking described as suicidal.

A Wing Commander at the briefing said it was the only time in his life he saw fellow aircrew grey in the face and shaking. Later that same day, the premonition would play out. The New Zealand pilot was dead. Officially recorded as killed on air operations, his Blenheim bomber was shot down by German fighter planes over the Netherlands on the run home.

As the news was being processed at his home base of RAF Upwood in Cambridgeshire, a letter arrived from New Zealand. It contained a poem by his mother Eva. To My Son, it read, hastily composed and scribbled in pencil on the back of an order of service for a wedding. Perhaps, at that moment, it was what Eva Herbert was wishing for her boy.

It is just 18 months since you sailed across the sea, and how we wish you home again, Reg, Dad and Me.

But Flight Lieutenant Alexander George Herbert, 139 Squadron, would never get the letter. Hed never read the poem, would never get home and his mothers wishes would go unfulfilled.

Alexander George Herbert lies in Bergen Central Cemetery, Noord-Holland, Netherlands  plot one, row E, grave 24. He is now just a series of letters and numbers.

The raid was described by the Daily Telegraph in London as the RAFs most audacious and dangerous low-level bombing raid.

Audacious? questions Gary McSweeney. In other words it was the most stupid bloody air raid ever carried out.

Garys not related to Alexander Herbert, but all of the airmans personal documents, including his war letters to and from home, ended up in his possession.

Its complicated. Alexs father owned Herberts Bakery in Hamilton. When Alex was killed, his brother Reg inherited everything. Through a relationship Reg was involved in, one mans war encapsulated in letters, photos and a poem was passed down to Gary McSweeneys stepmother.

Oh Alex how we miss you, and wish you home again, but know you have great work to do, in your great big Blenheim plane.

We were cleaning out her house after she died and there were all these papers and letter, explains Gary. Although distanced from the man, he didnt want to see the documents end up in landfill. He thought they should be saved and seen, so he mounted a selection in a 50-by-45 centimeter frame and handed them to the library boys at Classic Flyers.

Documents like these deteriorate if theyre not properly cared for, says George Pocock from the museum library. The framed collage would have to be kept out of the light, and therefore out of sight. And so it was left to The Weekend Sun to tell the story of the picture frame.
Community groups in the Tauranga, Whakatane and Rotorua districts, along with 291 community groups across New Zealand has received a share of $2.422 million in grants to support their work, thanks to The Southern Trust.

Releasing details of the grants for the first three months of 2019, The Southern Trust CEO and Trustee Karen Shea says the grants are vital to enable groups to support their communities by providing services across sports, community, health, education and youth, and arts.

Whether the funding is $300 to assist a Rotary group organise a community event, $2000 to help a school sports team attend a national tournament or a more significant amount to fund wages and salaries for programme coordinators or coaches, these grants are essential to ensure locally-led organisations across New Zealand can deliver support to their community.

Without these funds many community initiatives would not happen.

The Southern Trust operates across the country with a policy of trying to ensure the funds they collect are returned to the community from which they came. The allocations for the Bay of Plenty region funds for January, February and March 2019 are:

Rotorua District: $342,282.00

Tauranga City: $43,700.00

Whakatane District: $165,349.00

Total for New Zealand: $2,422,278.00

The grants for the first quarter of this year, follow the 2018 year in which the trust was able to allocate $12,824,724 to more than 1500 community groups across New Zealand.

The Southern Trust was established in January 1998 and is licensed by the Department of Internal Affairs under the Gambling Act 2003 to return gaming machine proceeds to the community.

Karen says the first quarter included a milestone for the operation of The Southern Trust. From the beginning of March all applications for Southern Trust funding have been made online.

She says this makes filling in and tracking application much easier for community groups. However, she has assured those seeking grants that the trusts friendly Grants Team are still able to help, and can be contacted with a call to 0800 4 CHARITY (0800 424 274).

Applications for grants from The Southern Trust should be made through www.tst.org.nz/funding
Boasting a blend of quirkines and premium luxury, the Frgmt X Bvlgari Bag Collection features large leather tote bags, small crossbody bags, shoulder bags. a grey clutch and a denim carry-all along other accessories.

Most of the pieces feature over-sized branding, while some showcase an all-together new style. Notably, the Serpent shoulder bags come in indigo denim and minimalist black leather avatar, with stylised co-branding and oversized graphics on both the outside and inside.

Other noteworthy items in the dazzling new collection include a unisex crossbody bag in light grey with an interlinked snake-like chain.

Furthermore, the collection also showcases versatile styling and details such as Bulgaris B.zero 1 motif revamped into a chain clasp, a FRGMT lightning bolt logo appearing on one bag with another showcasing a minimalistic design with silver letter-stamp branding.

The exclusive Frgmt X Bvlgari Bag collection will be launched at Hankyu Umeda and Hankyu Mens Tokyo in early June, with select items arriving at Bulgaris online store soon after.
CLAY, N.Y. -- A 23-year-old Clay man was arrested Fridasy after a tenant at Windsor Place Apartments found a bullet hole in their ceiling, according to the Onondaga County Sheriffs Office.

Thomas Crawford III, 23, of 5607 Bear Road Apartment B11, was charged with criminal possession of a firearm and second-degree reckless endangerment, deputies said.

The call was placed to Onondaga County 911 dispatch at 3:07 p.m., deputies said. Shortly after, tenants were evacuated from the apartment until deputies deemed the apartment complex safe.

Crawford was arraigned in Centralized Arraignment Court and released, deputies said.
AUBURN, N.Y. - A Central New York child molester who once made national news when he was granted custody of two girls is back in custody.

Roger E. Kulakowski, 65, of Auburn, has been charged with violating the conditions of his parole, according to a state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision spokesman.

Kulakowski was was arrested on the parole violation Wednesday, records show, and was being held in the Cayuga County Jail.

Kulakowski is accused of failing to comply with the terms of his parole, the spokesman said. While details of the violation were not released, the spokesman said it is not linked to a new crime.

He has been convicted twice of sexually abusing children.

The first case dates back to 1984, when his former wife saw Kulakowski run naked from a bathroom in their Auburn home, according to Syracuse.com | The Post-Standards archives. He had been inside the bathroom with a 5-year-old girl his then wife was babysitting.

Kulakowski maintained his innocence during his trial and claimed his ex-wife had set him up. But he was found guilty in 1985 of first-degree sodomy, according to state prison records, and sentenced to serve up to 12 years in prison. He was released in 1993.

After he left prison, Kulakowski became a father. The registered sex offender was granted temporary custody of his daughter and her half-sister in 1999 after the childrens mother admitted she had neglected the girls, according to Syracuse.com | The Post-Standards archives.

The girls maternal grandparents fought for custody of the children. But in 2002, former Cayuga County Court Judge Peter Corning decided to keep the girls in Kulakowskis care.

I am not going to be bullied or affected by advocates who make these assertions without knowing any of the facts," the judge said at the time, according to The Citizen. I was convinced and I am convinced that Mr. Kulakowski is not a predator and not a danger to these children.

In this photo from December 2002, Roger Kulakowski enters the Cayuga County Courthouse while fighting to keep custody of two children. The photo is from Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard's archives.

The controversial decision garnered national attention and was covered by other media including The New York Times.

Eleven years later, Kulakowski was arrested in Cayuga County and charged with molesting two girls.

Kulakowski pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal sexual act in 2014 and admitted he had sexually abused two children, reported The Citizen. He was sentenced to serve up to five years in prison, state prison records show.

After over three years behind bars, Kulakowski was released on parole in 2017. He was registered as a sexually violent, level-three sex offender rated to pose a high risk of re-offending.

Kulakowski lives in a motel room at 255 Grant Ave. in Auburn, according to the state sex offender registry.
ITHACA, N.Y. -- When officers arrived at the Ithaca building Friday, the suspicious package was outside on the ground.

The cardboard box left near the front door of the Tompkins County Human Services building was about the size of a shoebox.

At first, the Ithaca Police Department couldnt determine what was in the package or who owned the box, said a police spokesman. And so, out of an abundance of caution, officers blocked off the area and evacuated the 320 W. State St. building, police said.

The package wasnt dangerous, investigators eventually determined: It held medical supplies.

Officers responded to the building at 1:39 p.m. Friday and worked to find out what was inside the package. The Endicott Bomb Squad also responded.

After investigating, officers determined the package contained discarded medical supplies, police said.

On Saturday afternoon, a police spokesman said the person who left the package outside the human services building had been found.

It has been determined that the subject had no malicious intent, police said.
FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016 file photo, United Socialist Party of Venezuela lawmaker Hugo Carvajal speaks during an interview at the National Assembly administrative offices, in Caracas, Venezuela. VenezuelaAos longtime spy chief was arrested Friday, April 12, 2019 in Madrid by Spanish police acting on a United States warrant for the alleged trafficking of tons of cocaine. Maj. Gen. Hugo Carvajal, who for more than a decade advised Venezuelan leader Hugo Chvvez and headed the countryAos security apparatus, recently became the most influential military figure to declare his loyalty to opposition leader Juan Guaidv=.(AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)
GROTON, N.Y. -- A Central New York man has been charged with having and sharing child pornography.

Christopher A. Barrows, 61, of Groton, was arrested last week by the New York State Police and charged with four felonies. He was arrested about eight months after Troop Cs Computer Crimes Unit discovered lewd images of children were being uploaded to the internet from Barrows Tompkins County home, troopers said.

After investigating, troopers executed a search warrant for Barrows residence on April 2. He was then arrested.

Barrows has been charged with two counts of promoting a sexual performance by a child and two counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child.

At his arraignment in Groton Town Court, Barrows bail was set at $2,000 cash or a $5,000 bond. He was released from the Tompkins County Jail hours after his arrest.

The state polices Bureau of Criminal Investigations in Ithaca and the Computer Crimes Unit conducted the investigation.
Could your house be the next star of a Hollywood movie?

Producers for a new major motion picture shooting in the Syracuse area are seeking a waterfront home to be the star of the upcoming The Night House." A local house is needed for filming scenes from May through June, and must fit the following criteria:

2 story

Built in the last 15 years

Wooden

1500 sq ft or more

Along a waterfront property

Should feel remote, free at most angles from neighboring houses

Unique architectural qualities

If interested, homeowners should contact thenighthousefilm@gmail.com. Homeowners will be paid a substantial monthly rental and relocation fee so they can stay in a hotel while making money renting out their home.

We will treat your home with the utmost care, but just in case, our lawyers insist we have a full insurance policy, producers promised in a press release.

The Night House is a horror-thriller directed by David Bruckner (V/H/S, The Ritual"). A cast has not been officially announced.

Plot details havent been disclosed, but the logline says The Night House follows a widow who begins to uncover her recently deceased husbands disturbing secrets.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie is being fully financed by Anton Corp., which backed the Paddington movies and will handle U.S. sales. David S. Goyer, who co-wrote The Dark Knight trilogy and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," will produce alongside Keith Levine, whose work includes the Scream TV series.

The Night House begins filming in Central New York next month.

Note: An earlier version of this article identified an actress starring in the movie. Producers said the cast cannot be officially announced yet.
NTO BHPian

Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: TN-02 Posts: 204 Thanked: 1,213 Times

My pre-worshipped Honda Civic Automatic  A dream comes true Chapter 1: A little history



It started way back in 2006, when I had a year between me and legal age to drive when Civic was launched in India. The same year, my family could finally afford to buy a new pearl silver WagonR LXi. The wagon R was an upgrade to our '95 Premier 118NE.



The WagonR served us for 8 years flawlessly and it was in 2014, we needed a bigger car for our family. Now, we could afford to get us a Civic but, Honda pulled the plug on the Civic in India. With not so great experiences with our old and used 118NE, my parents had a mental block against used cars. Though I showed many good samples of Civic, they were rejected without a second look at the dining table by my parents.



This is when we bought our new Vento Highline TDi, the last batch of 1.6 TDis sold in India. (Spoiler alert, I got to know that my Vento is writing her experiences with our family with 55555 Kms on the odo). More on that when Vento completes her post.



We were happy with the Vento and my dad, my younger brother and I used the Vento whenever it was available for us. My dad had the priority rights over the keys of the Vento as he is a old man, dedicated his life to the family and deserves the car more than me or my brother. My brother and I used to plan our week in order to get our fair chance behind the wheels of the Vento.



It was then I moved to Gurugram for work and Vento was shared between my dad and my brother. In the meanwhile, my brother passed out of college and had a job in hand. His work place was 37 Kms from our place of residence and my mom used to be very paranoid whenever he rides his mad machine, the RC390 to work. I was making good progress with my career and I could afford a car. However, I used to stay exactly 290 meters away from my work place and I could easily walk down. My weekend trips in north India were taken care of by my Thunderbird 500 and for trips with friends, we used to rent cars from Zoomcar, Voler and others of that kind depending on available offers.



So, I decided to gift a car to my family where my dad and my brother can use either of them depending upon their need. The hunt began. At this point, I would like to highlight the role Swift has played in our lives.



When we wanted to upgrade from our Wagon R, our logical upgrade was a Swift. However, my brother and I spanning over 6 feet in length , could not exactly fit inside a swift and we decided, we needed to move to a segment higher and finally ended up with the Vento. (I believe, Vento will cover that in much detail in her biography).



Again during our hunt for the second car, we almost decided on a Swift ZXi. We then visited the Fiat showroom and got a Emotion Multijet Punto for almost the same price. The enthusiasts in us made the obvious choice and we brought home our Italian beauty, the exotica red Fiat Punto in September of 2015.



Life was all good when I suddenly started feeling home sick and made 3 to 4 trips from Gurguram to Chennai every month. Working out the financials and to satisfy my emotional needs, I moved back to Chennai in February 2018 with a good Job in a reputed company. This is the point where we were almost in a same situation as we were in 2014. Just that the equation earlier in 2014 was one car for three people and now we had 2 cars for three people. However, now that my dad had retired from his regular job and he was working for just 15 days a month at the max, we were somehow managing the situation with two cars.



Within two months of commuting 40 kms everyday, and Vento being my preferred steed, the heavy clutch started to show it's true colors and I started to realize the need for an automatic car. While looking at great reviews of the Honda Jazz, I got a car which was only 6 months old, with 4000 kms on the ODO for a great deal. With eyes closed and a short test drive, I bought the car. It was an absolute impulse decision which was well repented later on.



The Jazz is a great overall package. However, for a family that has experienced Volkswagen and the Fiat for quite some time now, the Jazz had the following drawbacks. I had posted sometime back in the following link on why it was a bad decision for me to buy a Jazz and why an overall good package didn't work out for me.



As a result, I sold the Jazz after having her for 7 months and having done 7000 Kms. The buying and selling resulted in a loss however, I got it straight on what to look for in my next car.



Chapter 2: The itch to get an automatic car again



It was November when I sold the Jazz and the next three months were a bliss as I alternated between my CBR, Thunderbird and Vento to work. The weather in Chennai last November, December and January was fabulous to say the least. It was windy, temperatures touched 16 degrees on many days in the mornings and riding to work was a bliss. I also followed a strict timing of 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM at work and hence the total 40 Kms everyday was made in under an hour and a half. This gave me lot of time for the family and I could focus on my fitness activities as well. Things were going this way until February. Temperatures started to rise and work started to become a little hectic with Financial year closing around the corner. This means, I will have to drive to work as riding two wheelers was moving out of the comfort zone. Also, longer hours at work meant, I will have to face the wrath of traffic everyday. The heavy clutch started to take a toll again and this propelled the itch to buy an automatic car again.......



With Honda's CVT 1.2 combination considered the best in the segment and this same combination not suiting my needs, I immediately rejected i20 and Baleno automatics as the other two were CVTs as well. With Figo's launch around the corner, I was very eager to check it out and wait for it no matter what. The Ecosport's 1.5 with the auto box combination getting great reviews on our community supported my decision to wait for the Figo and not proceed with my buying again. Finally the Figo was launched and I test drove the car. The car was beautiful and these were my observations. The observations are totally based on what I was looking for in the car.



1. The engine was super responsive. It was silent at lower RPMs and the sound of the engine was a true treat to the ears when revved.

2. The gear box was mated well with the engine and shifts were hardly experienced when driven with a light foot.

3. The audio was good, not the usual great audio I've experienced in bigger Fords. However, i could live with it.

4. I wasn't expecting anything more than 10 Kmpl so, average wasn't a concern.

5. Ford's tall claims of lowest maintenance costs in the segment were reassuring.

6. The car was practical as I was able to seat someone behind me as well with my relaxed driving position.

7. The car didn't scrape on any of the usual speed humps even on full load.

8. Descent and usable boot, though this was never a factor to decide on the car.

9. The wheels were a tad bit small and I thought I need to upgrade this immediately.

10. My mom did not get the plasticky feel she got in the Jazz so, she approved of the car after the test drive.



Overall, I was returning happily after the test drive with an intention to book the car in a day or two. As I reached home, my dad asked me two questions:



1. What about the resale value? The other two cars we own are a total mess at this. Are you not ready to consider this factor?

2. What if the facelift also flops at the market and you see Ford selling Figos at a discount in a couple of months after you buy the car?



This made me put a hold on the Figo purchase and set me thinking.



The Swift Factor again!



I went to test drive the Swift AT and to my surprise, it was available in the ZXi+ trim. I requested for a testdrive and the car was brought home. However, the car was a ZXi AGS while I was promised a ZXi+ AGS for the testdrive. The mechanicals remaining the same, I checked out the car and it was a typical Maruti. Jack of all trades. However, it answered both the questions of my dad very well. Then I sat with the SA on negotiation and the price of the car at 9.30 lacs on road Chennai, did not do any justice to what it offers. We bought the Vento at 11.7 and the Punto at 7.3 and could not figure out what the Swift was superior at to charge this kind of a premium. Also, the AT was very Jerky and the car was all Jazz'y' again with the flimsy build quality. Also, in my opinion, for a car scraping the million rupee price tag, the quality of materials used were very sub par. I am sure the Vento has spoiled me but, I did not want to pay that kind of money for what is on offer. So, I decided, pre-owned cars was the way to go to satisfy all my needs and this time, I will take my own sweet time to decide on a car and I would not make any mistakes.



I just love the swift for bringing clarity in me on what to buy every time after experiencing it......



Chapter 3: The final Leg of the buying process



Before buying a used car, the post in Team BHP "



So, on a less productive day at work, 25th of March'19 to be precise (I am sure my boss is not on Team BHP ), I was browsing through used car listings in Chennai. I was somehow inclined towards the Honda city, though a CVT, a better integration and the combo works better than the 1.2 CVT combo in my opinion and experience and Global Fiesta DCT. I found a couple of good listings of Honda City on OLX and one single "terra Beige" sort of colored Fiesta DCT. I was casually sharing the listings with my brother who also apparently had a sluggish day at work. He didn't comment on any of the listings I shared but, He replied back with a link which had this face on it!



The listing that first grabbed my attention and my heart started pounding





I immediately called the number mentioned and the dealer replied saying already a couple of people are interested in that car and he urged me to take a look at it the same evening. My brother and I had gone to work in a Friend's 328i and had to give it to a known garage for full body respray. The car had so many dents and scratches and we get to see it so many times. At one point in time I told my friend, you fix the scratches or I will do it. The very sight of the car makes me sad. He finally agreed to fix the car and gave it to me. So, we dropped the 328i and immediately took an auto to reach the dealership where the beauty was parked.



And there she was hiding behind a couple of Fortuners and Crystas!



















The dealership is Carz4U in Arubakkam in Chennai. My brother and I introduced ourselves and we were given the keys to the car and no one disturbed us for almost an hour. The car was carlocked by other cars in the garage and there was no way to take her out without dislodging at least a half a dozen other cars. We checked out the car completely and went inside the office of the dealer. The dealer showed me all the papers he had starting from RC, insurance, complete service history and also the record of changing the tyres at 46K kms at the Honda service centre itself. The previous owner was supposedly a very organized man and he has account for every litre of fuel filled and Kms run at each filling. The dealer suggested, me to spend the next day with the car, take it to a Honda dealership, get it completely checked, take it for a long test drive and come to a conclusion. All these were too good to be true for me, the way the dealer is behaving, the records, the documentation and so on. The civic was a 2012 registered car with 50K kms on the odo. I immediately sent out a leave intimation to work for the next day and so did my brother. We went back home however, I was silently praying that the car should be good else all our dreams would be shattered!



The next day morning, I woke up without an alarm, my brother and I went to the dealership at 9:45 AM and the car was ready to be taken out. The dealer also gave us a driver to accompany us and he gave his credit card to the driver to take care of the fuel needs, if any. Surprised as I was, I got in to the seats of the civic and fired up for the first time.....



Seats like thrones





Soft at the right places





The view of the dashboard





The engine started up at 1100 rpm and settled at an eerily silent 800 rpm idle. I adjusted seats, steering and mirrors to my driving position. Pretty easy work and i got into a comfortable driving position. Civic has the organ type A pedal (the first car I might own to have this) and the dead pedal could easily accommodate two large legs! Slotted the gear into "D" and she started to crawl. A dab on the throttle and she responded so well. The steering reminded me of the Punto, not so direct but, it was heavy. Within few minutes of Driving, I was so comfortable with the car and I reached the dealership.



I had booked an appointment and I was appointed with a SA named Prabhakaran whom I knew from the Jazz days. he told, they'd charge Rs. 2000 for the check up and you know what, this is the best 2000 rupees I have ever spent in my life. I remember reading the same words from GTO's post on his 530D where he had spent Rs. 8000.



While the car was being checked, I sat down with the SA and checked the service logs of the car, checked the insurance and claim records as the insurance was with Honda Assure. To my surprise, there were no claim records and the current insurance was running with 60% NCB.



The car's body also revealed this. Except for a few stone marks and minor scratches in the bumper area, the car is clean with stock paint from the factory.



As I was waiting at the service centre, I checked out the new civic. Except for a few new Gizmos, I didn't feel the new Civic to be quite an upgrade for the old civic owners and sure the quality of the overall car has deteriorated. I am resonating the thoughts of fellow BHPian Civic owners and I have read the same on multiple ownership threads and maintenance threads here on teamBHP.



Finally the check up was over and the service advisor told me, the car is clean and you can buy it. He advised me to negotiate the price a little though. Happily I paid the 2000 and took the car back home. The SA gave me three advises which did not require my immediate attention:



1. The engine mounts have to be changed in another 20K Kms, which will cost approximately 8.5K INR.

2. The rear door rubber beadings have to be changed in another 10K kms.

3. The wipers need replacement.



I had two routes to reach Anna Nagar, where my home is. Come back the city route or take the Chennai Bypass. I took the obvious choice and took the bypass to test the "VTEC Kicked in YO!".



My initial driving experience was fantastic. It was both comfortable and fun-filled at the same time. The car touched ridiculous speeds before I could realize. The slush box however, is slow to react and paddles comes in Handy. After a combined test drive spanning over 60 Kms, I brought the car back home for my grand parents, parents and wifey to get Civiced. On the way back, my brother, the driver and I had a small chaat break and we were good to go for another few hours without food. I negotiated a final price and immediately transferred the money to the dealer's account through RTGS.



My parents liked the rear seats of the car and so did my grand parents. My grand parents told the car drives like Kappal (Tamil word for a ship) complimenting the ride quality of the beauty.



The rear seats





The fancy arm rest with audio controls at the rear seats





Door Pads, with soft touch plastics and leather





The funky, right size and easy to use gear lever and had brake lever





So many storage compartments with rubber inserts





I drove back to the dealership with my brother, dad and wife. All the paperwork was ready. In the meanwhile, the team at Carz4U cleaned up the car and installed a ribbon.



Ready to roll





I came out of the dealership and removed the ribbon immediately. I didn't want to say No and cause a scene there at the dealership itself.



The next day, the car was taken to 3M for an interior germkleen and exterior wash and wax.



It takes a lot to stand next to a 3 series and still look good





My Lambi Gaddi at 3M





The 3M effect





The 3M effect on the outside





The future proof dashboard





The twin Exhausts





Baptizing the legend. The right sticker I believe.





My mom noticed how effective the speedo was on top of the dash. She said I need not divert my attention to see the speeds I was doing. I felt so accomplished when my mom, not a car person in any sense, can notice so many minute details of the car.





The car would've been designed with a compass curve, I guess. One clean sweep!





The name says a lot





I have driven 1000 Kms so far and the car is really comfortable.



Likes



1. The car itself. It has been a dream and the fact that I own it, I pinch my self hard to believe.

2. The overall design of the car. Every car will have one or two good angles to look at. But, civic in particular, has no bad angles in my opinion.

3. The silky smooth 1.8 iVTEC

4. The air conditioner is a chiller. Even the rear seat occupants are happy on a hot summer day even without rear AC vents. Also, the cabin cools down in no time even after being parked in the hot sun.

5. The auto box, though a bit sluggish, masks the weak low end of the engine. The paddles help both when you need a quick shift and also during engine braking.

6. The brakes. With discs all around, the car has amazing stopping power and can shed speeds quite well. Also, the pedal has a progressive feel to it and I can manipulate the braking action quite easily.

7. The heavy steering is confidence inspiring at speeds. Though it is not as direct when compared to the Punto, it feels better than the Vento steering.

8. The sheer amount of space within the car. I can sit myself behind myself and still feel comfortable. Not the case in the other two cars I own.

9. The seats themselves are supremely comfortable. I would have just liked a little more under thigh support at the rear.

10. The overall ergonomics of the cabin. Everything falls to hand very easily. Also the wide range of adjustments for the seats, the tilt and telescopic steering wheel adjustments, help find a comfortable driving position pretty quickly.

11. The large ORVMs, help provide a great view of the outside.

12. The A pillar though thick, doesn't hamper visibility at least from my driving position. The frontal blind spots are very minimal.

13. The octagonal tail lights, look classy and modern at the same time.

14. The Michelin P3ST rubbers. I had a dilemma sometime back between P3STs and the MC5s when I had to swap tyres for my Vento. I chose MC5s. but, P3STs feel more pliant overall.

15. Matured ride and handling package. Not an absolute handler, at the same time, not a boat either.

16. The mod friendly nature. i already have sources for every possible mod with the car. I will start doing it with time. I plan to drive it pure for a while now.



Dislikes:



1. Egress for elders due to it's low slung stance. Though no complaints so far, I am sure it would be an issue in the long run.

2. The low GC, I am doubly careful whenever I go over a speed bump. I am not getting the sense of freedom that I used to get in the Vento. I am not even bringing Punto into the picture. It is a crossover with its 185mm GC.

3. Steering mounted controls absence are felt. I have to take my eyes off the road to change tracks and actions of that kind.

4. The car though better built than modern day Hondas, still feels light. The first feel is got when you open and shut the doors.

5. The windscreen, large and wide provides great visibility but, in Chennai, the amount of heat that gets in is significantly high.

6. Though the rear floor board is flat, the centre passenger does not have the most comfortable seat and there aren't any head rests or 3 point seat belts.

7. The range of the tank. I am used to 700 Kms range from both Vento and Punto and the range of 300 - 350 Kms has increased my fuel station visits. I cover between 300 - 350 Kms a week and this means I will have to fill once in every week.



Driving the 1.8 iVTEC AT



Different level of throttle input up - shifts gears at different rpm. Feathering the throttle at in D, up - shifts gears at ~1500 rpm. Pressing it with a light foot shifts the gears at 2000 rpm. A little more at 2500 rpm and flooring the throttle in D, up - shifts at 3500 rpm. Engine braking could be achieved by using the paddles to downshift when slowing down, reducing the load on the brakes. I am yet to explore the full potential of the S mode. Car crawls up to speed of ~8 kmph without any throttle inputs. The engine is super silent up to 2500 rpm. Flooring the throttle gives a butter smooth roar from the engine. On flooring the throttle, the engine picks up revs and gear box is slow to react in comparison. This, I have experienced in my ex boss's cayenne diesel as we. So, no complaints here. I plan my increase my speed, shift a gear down using the paddles and then floor the throttle. It works like a magic and before you know it, you are doing ridiculous speeds. The gear box though sluggish, masks the weak low end of the engine which, otherwise is obvious in the manual transmission. The car masks speeds very well. I ensure to drive her with a light foot in the city and I find the car between 55 - 60 kmph and engine ticking below the 1500 rpm mark most of the times.



The air conditioner

The Air conditioner is a chiller and works very well even without a rear AC vent. When I was a rear seat passenger for a while I could notice some air-conditioned air from behind the rear seat which is very comfortable. I searched for a vent but couldn't find any. There isn't any leak as well. Throw some light on this if any of you know something about this. The air conditioner is almost always set at 25 degrees and auto. When travelling alone, I feel cold and increase the temperature to 26 or 27 degrees after sometime. In comparison, Vento used to be set at 23 - 24 degrees when travelling alone and 22 degrees with full load of passengers. Overall, very impressed with the air conditioner's performance.



Brakes

The brakes feel super confident with discs all around. The pedals also feel progressive. Engine braking can be achieved significantly using the paddle shifters.



Ride and handling

When driving alone, the suspension feels a bit on the firmer side and with a full load of people, the ride quality is super pliant. However, the rear goes too low with three people at the back and I literally crawl at ~1 - 2 kmph to cross the speed breakers. I have not touched the underbelly of the car anywhere so far. Hope it remains the same throughout my ownership, touch wood. I am yet to take the car to the twisties and fast corners on the highways. I'll update my review post experiencing them.



Fuel efficiency



The car returned 7.95 Kmpl in the first tank of fuel. 8.67 kmpl in the second tank. All this was within the city. I'll update the highway efficiency figures once I take her for a long trip. The range is something that I need to get used to. I am used to 700 - 750 Kms range in the city with Vento and Punto, both being diesels. The 300 - 350 Kms range of the Civic means i will have to fill the tank every week. Not complaining, but, the car deserves a bigger fuel tank. With three tank averages so far I can safely say that the display FE figures show ~1.1 kmpl more than the actual FE being returned by the car.



The RC has been transferred to my name in within a week and the dealer has applied for insurance name transfer.



Overall a great experience so far that i'll take to my grave. Thanks for reading. Hope you have enjoyed it. Apologies if I have missed/ messed up anything in the post. I will keep updating the post with my ownership review from time to time.



I am planning to keep the car as long as it is legally allowed to drive IC engined vehicles. Also, I will keep performing some thoughtful mods with the car.



Few parting shots to end the post.



I miss her immediately after I park her somewhere











The gang resting after a week of hard work on a Sunday afternoon

It started way back in 2006, when I had a year between me and legal age to drive when Civic was launched in India. The same year, my family could finally afford to buy a new pearl silver WagonR LXi. The wagon R was an upgrade to our '95 Premier 118NE.The WagonR served us for 8 years flawlessly and it was in 2014, we needed a bigger car for our family. Now, we could afford to get us a Civic but, Honda pulled the plug on the Civic in India. With not so great experiences with our old and used 118NE, my parents had a mental block against used cars. Though I showed many good samples of Civic, they were rejected without a second look at the dining table by my parents.This is when we bought our new Vento Highline TDi, the last batch of 1.6 TDis sold in India. (Spoiler alert, I got to know that my Vento is writing her experiences with our family with 55555 Kms on the odo). More on that when Vento completes her post.We were happy with the Vento and my dad, my younger brother and I used the Vento whenever it was available for us. My dad had the priority rights over the keys of the Vento as he is a old man, dedicated his life to the family and deserves the car more than me or my brother. My brother and I used to plan our week in order to get our fair chance behind the wheels of the Vento.It was then I moved to Gurugram for work and Vento was shared between my dad and my brother. In the meanwhile, my brother passed out of college and had a job in hand. His work place was 37 Kms from our place of residence and my mom used to be very paranoid whenever he rides his mad machine, the RC390 to work. I was making good progress with my career and I could afford a car. However, I used to stay exactly 290 meters away from my work place and I could easily walk down. My weekend trips in north India were taken care of by my Thunderbird 500 and for trips with friends, we used to rent cars from Zoomcar, Voler and others of that kind depending on available offers.So, I decided to gift a car to my family where my dad and my brother can use either of them depending upon their need. The hunt began. At this point, I would like to highlight the role Swift has played in our lives.When we wanted to upgrade from our Wagon R, our logical upgrade was a Swift. However, my brother and I spanning over 6 feet in length, could not exactly fit inside a swift and we decided, we needed to move to a segment higher and finally ended up with the Vento. (I believe, Vento will cover that in much detail in her biography).Again during our hunt for the second car, we almost decided on a Swift ZXi. We then visited the Fiat showroom and got a Emotion Multijet Punto for almost the same price. The enthusiasts in us made the obvious choice and we brought home our Italian beauty, the exotica red Fiat Punto in September of 2015.Life was all good when I suddenly started feeling home sick and made 3 to 4 trips from Gurguram to Chennai every month. Working out the financials and to satisfy my emotional needs, I moved back to Chennai in February 2018 with a good Job in a reputed company. This is the point where we were almost in a same situation as we were in 2014. Just that the equation earlier in 2014 was one car for three people and now we had 2 cars for three people. However, now that my dad had retired from his regular job and he was working for just 15 days a month at the max, we were somehow managing the situation with two cars.Within two months of commuting 40 kms everyday, and Vento being my preferred steed, the heavy clutch started to show it's true colors and I started to realize the need for an automatic car. While looking at great reviews of the Honda Jazz, I got a car which was only 6 months old, with 4000 kms on the ODO for a great deal. With eyes closed and a short test drive, I bought the car. It was an absolute impulse decision which was well repented later on.The Jazz is a great overall package. However, for a family that has experienced Volkswagen and the Fiat for quite some time now, the Jazz had the following drawbacks. I had posted sometime back in the following link on why it was a bad decision for me to buy a Jazz and why an overall good package didn't work out for me. Click to read (Bringing home the new member: Story of our Honda Jazz!) As a result, I sold the Jazz after having her for 7 months and having done 7000 Kms. The buying and selling resulted in a loss however, I got it straight on what to look for in my next car.It was November when I sold the Jazz and the next three months were a bliss as I alternated between my CBR, Thunderbird and Vento to work. The weather in Chennai last November, December and January was fabulous to say the least. It was windy, temperatures touched 16 degrees on many days in the mornings and riding to work was a bliss. I also followed a strict timing of 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM at work and hence the total 40 Kms everyday was made in under an hour and a half. This gave me lot of time for the family and I could focus on my fitness activities as well. Things were going this way until February. Temperatures started to rise and work started to become a little hectic with Financial year closing around the corner. This means, I will have to drive to work as riding two wheelers was moving out of the comfort zone. Also, longer hours at work meant, I will have to face the wrath of traffic everyday. The heavy clutch started to take a toll again and this propelled the itch to buy an automatic car again.......With Honda's CVT 1.2 combination considered the best in the segment and this same combination not suiting my needs, I immediately rejected i20 and Baleno automatics as the other two were CVTs as well. With Figo's launch around the corner, I was very eager to check it out and wait for it no matter what. The Ecosport's 1.5 with the auto box combination getting great reviews on our community supported my decision to wait for the Figo and not proceed with my buying again. Finally the Figo was launched and I test drove the car. The car was beautiful and these were my observations. The observations are totally based on what I was looking for in the car.1. The engine was super responsive. It was silent at lower RPMs and the sound of the engine was a true treat to the ears when revved.2. The gear box was mated well with the engine and shifts were hardly experienced when driven with a light foot.3. The audio was good, not the usual great audio I've experienced in bigger Fords. However, i could live with it.4. I wasn't expecting anything more than 10 Kmpl so, average wasn't a concern.5. Ford's tall claims of lowest maintenance costs in the segment were reassuring.6. The car was practical as I was able to seat someone behind me as well with my relaxed driving position.7. The car didn't scrape on any of the usual speed humps even on full load.8. Descent and usable boot, though this was never a factor to decide on the car.9. The wheels were a tad bit small and I thought I need to upgrade this immediately.10. My mom did not get the plasticky feel she got in the Jazz so, she approved of the car after the test drive.Overall, I was returning happily after the test drive with an intention to book the car in a day or two. As I reached home, my dad asked me two questions:1. What about the resale value? The other two cars we own are a total mess at this. Are you not ready to consider this factor?2. What if the facelift also flops at the market and you see Ford selling Figos at a discount in a couple of months after you buy the car?This made me put a hold on the Figo purchase and set me thinking.I went to test drive the Swift AT and to my surprise, it was available in the ZXi+ trim. I requested for a testdrive and the car was brought home. However, the car was a ZXi AGS while I was promised a ZXi+ AGS for the testdrive. The mechanicals remaining the same, I checked out the car and it was a typical Maruti. Jack of all trades. However, it answered both the questions of my dad very well. Then I sat with the SA on negotiation and the price of the car at 9.30 lacs on road Chennai, did not do any justice to what it offers. We bought the Vento at 11.7 and the Punto at 7.3 and could not figure out what the Swift was superior at to charge this kind of a premium. Also, the AT was very Jerky and the car was all Jazz'y' again with the flimsy build quality. Also, in my opinion, for a car scraping the million rupee price tag, the quality of materials used were very sub par. I am sure the Vento has spoiled me but, I did not want to pay that kind of money for what is on offer. So, I decided, pre-owned cars was the way to go to satisfy all my needs and this time, I will take my own sweet time to decide on a car and I would not make any mistakes.I just love the swift for bringing clarity in me on what to buy every time after experiencing it......Before buying a used car, the post in Team BHP " How to buy a *USED* car in India " documents everything that you have to consider and it is worth it's weight in Gold! I urge everyone to go through this thread once again even if you have read it before if, you are in the market to buy a used car in India. I have gone through this thread over 5 times so far.So, on a less productive day at work, 25th of March'19 to be precise (I am sure my boss is not on Team BHP), I was browsing through used car listings in Chennai. I was somehow inclined towards the Honda city, though a CVT, a better integration and the combo works better than the 1.2 CVT combo in my opinion and experience and Global Fiesta DCT. I found a couple of good listings of Honda City on OLX and one single "terra Beige" sort of colored Fiesta DCT. I was casually sharing the listings with my brother who also apparently had a sluggish day at work. He didn't comment on any of the listings I shared but, He replied back with a link which had this face on it!I immediately called the number mentioned and the dealer replied saying already a couple of people are interested in that car and he urged me to take a look at it the same evening. My brother and I had gone to work in a Friend's 328i and had to give it to a known garage for full body respray. The car had so many dents and scratches and we get to see it so many times. At one point in time I told my friend, you fix the scratches or I will do it. The very sight of the car makes me sad. He finally agreed to fix the car and gave it to me. So, we dropped the 328i and immediately took an auto to reach the dealership where the beauty was parked.And there she was hiding behind a couple of Fortuners and Crystas!The dealership is Carz4U in Arubakkam in Chennai. My brother and I introduced ourselves and we were given the keys to the car and no one disturbed us for almost an hour. The car was carlocked by other cars in the garage and there was no way to take her out without dislodging at least a half a dozen other cars. We checked out the car completely and went inside the office of the dealer. The dealer showed me all the papers he had starting from RC, insurance, complete service history and also the record of changing the tyres at 46K kms at the Honda service centre itself. The previous owner was supposedly a very organized man and he has account for every litre of fuel filled and Kms run at each filling. The dealer suggested, me to spend the next day with the car, take it to a Honda dealership, get it completely checked, take it for a long test drive and come to a conclusion. All these were too good to be true for me, the way the dealer is behaving, the records, the documentation and so on. The civic was a 2012 registered car with 50K kms on the odo. I immediately sent out a leave intimation to work for the next day and so did my brother. We went back home however, I was silently praying that the car should be good else all our dreams would be shattered!The next day morning, I woke up without an alarm, my brother and I went to the dealership at 9:45 AM and the car was ready to be taken out. The dealer also gave us a driver to accompany us and he gave his credit card to the driver to take care of the fuel needs, if any. Surprised as I was, I got in to the seats of the civic and fired up for the first time.....Seats like thronesSoft at the right placesThe view of the dashboardThe engine started up at 1100 rpm and settled at an eerily silent 800 rpm idle. I adjusted seats, steering and mirrors to my driving position. Pretty easy work and i got into a comfortable driving position. Civic has the organ type A pedal (the first car I might own to have this) and the dead pedal could easily accommodate two large legs! Slotted the gear into "D" and she started to crawl. A dab on the throttle and she responded so well. The steering reminded me of the Punto, not so direct but, it was heavy. Within few minutes of Driving, I was so comfortable with the car and I reached the dealership.I had booked an appointment and I was appointed with a SA named Prabhakaran whom I knew from the Jazz days. he told, they'd charge Rs. 2000 for the check up and you know what, this is the best 2000 rupees I have ever spent in my life. I remember reading the same words frompost on hiswhere he had spentWhile the car was being checked, I sat down with the SA and checked the service logs of the car, checked the insurance and claim records as the insurance was with Honda Assure. To my surprise, there were no claim records and the current insurance was running with 60% NCB.The car's body also revealed this. Except for a few stone marks and minor scratches in the bumper area, the car is clean with stock paint from the factory.As I was waiting at the service centre, I checked out the new civic. Except for a few new Gizmos, I didn't feel the new Civic to be quite an upgrade for the old civic owners and sure the quality of the overall car has deteriorated. I am resonating the thoughts of fellow BHPian Civic owners and I have read the same on multiple ownership threads and maintenance threads here on teamBHP.Finally the check up was over and the service advisor told me, the car is clean and you can buy it. He advised me to negotiate the price a little though. Happily I paid the 2000 and took the car back home. The SA gave me three advises which did not require my immediate attention:1. The engine mounts have to be changed in another 20K Kms, which will cost approximately 8.5K INR.2. The rear door rubber beadings have to be changed in another 10K kms.3. The wipers need replacement.I had two routes to reach Anna Nagar, where my home is. Come back the city route or take the Chennai Bypass. I took the obvious choice and took the bypass to test the "VTEC Kicked in YO!".My initial driving experience was fantastic. It was both comfortable and fun-filled at the same time. The car touched ridiculous speeds before I could realize. The slush box however, is slow to react and paddles comes in Handy. After a combined test drive spanning over 60 Kms, I brought the car back home for my grand parents, parents and wifey to get Civiced. On the way back, my brother, the driver and I had a small chaat break and we were good to go for another few hours without food. I negotiated a final price and immediately transferred the money to the dealer's account through RTGS.My parents liked the rear seats of the car and so did my grand parents. My grand parents told the car drives like(Tamil word for a ship) complimenting the ride quality of the beauty.The funky, right size and easy to use gear lever and had brake leverI drove back to the dealership with my brother, dad and wife. All the paperwork was ready. In the meanwhile, the team at Carz4U cleaned up the car and installed a ribbon.I came out of the dealership and removed the ribbon immediately. I didn't want to say No and cause a scene there at the dealership itself.The next day, the car was taken to 3M for an interior germkleen and exterior wash and wax.My mom noticed how effective the speedo was on top of the dash. She said I need not divert my attention to see the speeds I was doing. I felt so accomplished when my mom, not a car person in any sense, can notice so many minute details of the car.I have driven 1000 Kms so far and the car is really comfortable.1. The car itself. It has been a dream and the fact that I own it, I pinch my self hard to believe.2. The overall design of the car. Every car will have one or two good angles to look at. But, civic in particular, has no bad angles in my opinion.3. The silky smooth 1.8 iVTEC4. The air conditioner is a chiller. Even the rear seat occupants are happy on a hot summer day even without rear AC vents. Also, the cabin cools down in no time even after being parked in the hot sun.5. The auto box, though a bit sluggish, masks the weak low end of the engine. The paddles help both when you need a quick shift and also during engine braking.6. The brakes. With discs all around, the car has amazing stopping power and can shed speeds quite well. Also, the pedal has a progressive feel to it and I can manipulate the braking action quite easily.7. The heavy steering is confidence inspiring at speeds. Though it is not as direct when compared to the Punto, it feels better than the Vento steering.8. The sheer amount of space within the car. I can sit myself behind myself and still feel comfortable. Not the case in the other two cars I own.9. The seats themselves are supremely comfortable. I would have just liked a little more under thigh support at the rear.10. The overall ergonomics of the cabin. Everything falls to hand very easily. Also the wide range of adjustments for the seats, the tilt and telescopic steering wheel adjustments, help find a comfortable driving position pretty quickly.11. The large ORVMs, help provide a great view of the outside.12. The A pillar though thick, doesn't hamper visibility at least from my driving position. The frontal blind spots are very minimal.13. The octagonal tail lights, look classy and modern at the same time.14. The Michelin P3ST rubbers. I had a dilemma sometime back between P3STs and the MC5s when I had to swap tyres for my Vento. I chose MC5s. but, P3STs feel more pliant overall.15. Matured ride and handling package. Not an absolute handler, at the same time, not a boat either.16. The mod friendly nature. i already have sources for every possible mod with the car. I will start doing it with time. I plan to drive it pure for a while now.1. Egress for elders due to it's low slung stance. Though no complaints so far, I am sure it would be an issue in the long run.2. The low GC, I am doubly careful whenever I go over a speed bump. I am not getting the sense of freedom that I used to get in the Vento. I am not even bringing Punto into the picture. It is a crossover with its 185mm GC.3. Steering mounted controls absence are felt. I have to take my eyes off the road to change tracks and actions of that kind.4. The car though better built than modern day Hondas, still feels light. The first feel is got when you open and shut the doors.5. The windscreen, large and wide provides great visibility but, in Chennai, the amount of heat that gets in is significantly high.6. Though the rear floor board is flat, the centre passenger does not have the most comfortable seat and there aren't any head rests or 3 point seat belts.7. The range of the tank. I am used to 700 Kms range from both Vento and Punto and the range of 300 - 350 Kms has increased my fuel station visits. I cover between 300 - 350 Kms a week and this means I will have to fill once in every week.Different level of throttle input up - shifts gears at different rpm. Feathering the throttle at in D, up - shifts gears at ~1500 rpm. Pressing it with a light foot shifts the gears at 2000 rpm. A little more at 2500 rpm and flooring the throttle in D, up - shifts at 3500 rpm. Engine braking could be achieved by using the paddles to downshift when slowing down, reducing the load on the brakes. I am yet to explore the full potential of the S mode. Car crawls up to speed of ~8 kmph without any throttle inputs. The engine is super silent up to 2500 rpm. Flooring the throttle gives a butter smooth roar from the engine. On flooring the throttle, the engine picks up revs and gear box is slow to react in comparison. This, I have experienced in my ex boss's cayenne diesel as we. So, no complaints here. I plan my increase my speed, shift a gear down using the paddles and then floor the throttle. It works like a magic and before you know it, you are doing ridiculous speeds. The gear box though sluggish, masks the weak low end of the engine which, otherwise is obvious in the manual transmission. The car masks speeds very well. I ensure to drive her with a light foot in the city and I find the car between 55 - 60 kmph and engine ticking below the 1500 rpm mark most of the times.The Air conditioner is a chiller and works very well even without a rear AC vent. When I was a rear seat passenger for a while I could notice some air-conditioned air from behind the rear seat which is very comfortable. I searched for a vent but couldn't find any. There isn't any leak as well. Throw some light on this if any of you know something about this. The air conditioner is almost always set at 25 degrees and auto. When travelling alone, I feel cold and increase the temperature to 26 or 27 degrees after sometime. In comparison, Vento used to be set at 23 - 24 degrees when travelling alone and 22 degrees with full load of passengers. Overall, very impressed with the air conditioner's performance.The brakes feel super confident with discs all around. The pedals also feel progressive. Engine braking can be achieved significantly using the paddle shifters.When driving alone, the suspension feels a bit on the firmer side and with a full load of people, the ride quality is super pliant. However, the rear goes too low with three people at the back and I literally crawl at ~1 - 2 kmph to cross the speed breakers. I have not touched the underbelly of the car anywhere so far. Hope it remains the same throughout my ownership, touch wood. I am yet to take the car to the twisties and fast corners on the highways. I'll update my review post experiencing them.The car returned 7.95 Kmpl in the first tank of fuel. 8.67 kmpl in the second tank. All this was within the city. I'll update the highway efficiency figures once I take her for a long trip. The range is something that I need to get used to. I am used to 700 - 750 Kms range in the city with Vento and Punto, both being diesels. The 300 - 350 Kms range of the Civic means i will have to fill the tank every week. Not complaining, but, the car deserves a bigger fuel tank. With three tank averages so far I can safely say that the display FE figures show ~1.1 kmpl more than the actual FE being returned by the car.The RC has been transferred to my name in within a week and the dealer has applied for insurance name transfer.Overall a great experience so far that i'll take to my grave. Thanks for reading. Hope you have enjoyed it. Apologies if I have missed/ messed up anything in the post. I will keep updating the post with my ownership review from time to time.I am planning to keep the car as long as it is legally allowed to drive IC engined vehicles. Also, I will keep performing some thoughtful mods with the car.Few parting shots to end the post. Last edited by NTO : 12th April 2019 at 09:17 . Reason: Building the content
WTF?! When Russias Roskomnadzor agency said they had begun administrative proceedings against Facebook and Twitter back in January, a $46.64 fine each wasnt exactly what anyone was expecting. While it could be considered a warning, its still laughable from an agency that banned LinkedIn and controls the nations ISPs and VPNs.

Since late 2015 all companies that store or process data about Russian citizens have been required by law to do so in Russia. The issue is that the data must be made available to the Russian government as well. In 2016, LinkedIn was banned in Russia for failure to comply, without being given a chance to negotiate. In February, Apple began storing their data in Russia after they were threatened to a similar fate.

Last week and yesterday, Twitter and Facebook, respectively, were hit with a 3,000 ruble fine after Roskomnadzor took them to court, reports Russian news site Interfax. It was the minimum fine the court could deliver. Neither company chose to appear in court to defend themselves, probably because the employees wages would be larger than the fine.

Facebook, despite all their issues with user data and privacy protection, have continuously ignored pressure in order to protect their users (or if youre more cynical, to avoid paying for servers in Russia). Twitter actually agreed to comply with the law in mid-2017, but clearly, they havent.

Its unclear why Roskomnadzor is fining the companies for such miniscule amount. Even if it is the mandatory first step in a longer process, they could have chosen to fine them enough to get their attention. Theyve clearly got a long-term plan, but well have to wait and see if the endgame is a total ban of western social media or the surrender of user data to the Russian government.
California's three major fault lines have been uncharacteristically quiet over the past century, leading experts to fear that a massive earthquake might be long overdue.

Scientists from the United States Geological Survey examined various seismic activities involving the Hayward, San Jacinto, and San Andreas fault lines over the past millennium.

They found that no major earthquakes have occurred between these three rifts in the last 100 years, something that has never happened before in California's history.

This relatively brief break from earthquakes might mean that the Golden State is in for some serious ground-shaking in the next few decades.

California's Earthquake Hiatus

California experiences an average of 10,000 earthquakes every year. However, many of these tremblors are spread throughout the state's 500 active fault lines and are considered only minor seismic activities.

Scientists use the Richter Magnitude Scale to measure the amount of seismic energy the Earth releases during quakes. Tremors with magnitudes of 2.5 to 5.5 on the scale can be felt by people aboveground, though they are not strong enough to produce any major damages.

Meanwhile, those with 5.5 and 6.5 magnitudes can cause visible damaging to roads and buildings.

Earthquakes that register magnitudes of 6.5 and higher are the ones that cause major damages to properties. Severe ground-shaking on this scale almost always prove fatal, especially if they occur in highly populated areas.

The USGS researchers found that the Hayward, San Jacinto, and San Andreas fault lines usually experience earthquakes with 6.5 or higher magnitudes between three to four times every 100 years. However, this trend suddenly stopped over the past century.

The last major tremor involving one of these fault lines was the 1918 San Jacinto earthquake that devastated the San Jacinto area in California.

In an interview with LiveScience, USGS geophysicist and study co-author Glenn Biasi discussed the recent inactivity of the three major fault lines.

"We're unusually quiet," Biasi said. "The biggest faults and the faults carrying most of the slip have not ponied up."

Worn-Out Fault Lines

What could have caused the earthquake hiatus? Biasi and his colleague, paleoseismologist Katherine Scharer, believe the major fault lines might be worn out from all the seismic activities they had throughout the 19th century.

From 1800 to 1918, there have been eight major tremors that occurred along the Hayward, San Jacinto, and San Andreas rifts. These included the 1857 Fort Tejon and the 1906 San Francisco quakes, both of which registered magnitudes of about 7.8.

However, the three main fault lines might have already accumulated enough seismic energy possibly for another big quake during the 100-year interlude. These rifts are the ones carrying most of the tectonic activity in California, and they are bound to slip sooner or later, according to Biasi.

If their findings prove to be correct, the researchers said the Earth can expect more massive quakes over the next 100 years. Californians can expect the succeeding century to be more like the period that ended in 1918. As many as six big quakes could occur in the coming decades.

The findings of the USGS study are featured in the journal Seismological Research Letters.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Kratom, a known herbal supplement for pain relief, has caused at least 91 deaths in the United States from July to December 2016.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention examined 27,338 overdose deaths. Less than 1 percent or 152 of those tested positive for kratom in the toxicology reports.

Authorities said they cannot rule out other substances that might have contributed to the cause of deaths.

"In approximately 80 percent of kratom-positive and kratom-involved deaths in this analysis, the decedents had a history of substance misuse, and approximately 90 percent had no evidence that they were currently receiving medically supervised treatment for pain," reported the CDC.

Symptoms Of Kratom Overdose

Kratom users testified for its effectiveness as in relieving fatigue and enhancing mood. Experts raised safety issues especially that it can be bought easily over-the-counter.

Poison control centers in the United States reported that exposure to kratom resulted in life-threatening conditions like seizures and high blood pressure. Other side effects include dry mouth, weight loss, chills, constipation, changes in urine color, liver damage, and muscle pain.

Large amounts of kratom affect the central nervous system and could lead to depression, delusion, difficulty in breathing, coma, and death. The substance immediately takes action five to 10 minutes after its intake, while the effects may last two to five hours.

Animal tests showed that kratom is more potent than morphine. Mothers taking kratom are likely to expose their infants during breastfeeding.

More Cause Of Concern

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported the presence of heavy metals like lead and nickel in kratom products. The analysis showed that the amount of these substances in kratom, use this (it's types like red vein borneo kratom) and other derived products exceeded the safety margins for oral intake.

"We've already been telling people that kratom is dangerous," said Dr. Rais Vohra, medical director of the Fresn/Madera division of the California Poison Control System. "There are acute effects, withdrawal effects, salmonella, and now here's evidence that there are actually heavy metals as well. This is just one more reason to avoid kratom products."

Rick Spiller, director of the Central Ohio Poison Center at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, said a one-time dose of kratom should not be a cause of concern. Yet, he warned individuals taking it as an herbal supplement for serious side effects.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Is the world of smartphones trending toward foldable screens? It would appear so, as South Korea's LG is exploring an intriguing new form factor based on a new patent.

The patent in question was first filed more than three years ago and has finally been granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office. It covers something called a transparent foldable smartphone and looks nothing like smartphones available today.

Based on information revealed by the Dutch website LetsGoDigital, LG's plan is to create a kind of book-like smartphone that folds all the way down the middle. Based on sketches that were made available along with the patent information, the device is set to have a partially transparent display, which can be adjusted as needed.

Pulling this off would require some pretty clever engineering. To start with, it looks like one half of the device described and illustrated in LG's patent will be transparent while the other half has a distinctly opaque section. The Verge suggests that this could be where the battery is held.

LG Display Division Could Make It Happen

While the idea behind this type of device seems outlandish, The Verge also notes that LG could actually have the chops to build it successfully. After all, they have a pretty capable display division that has rolled out neat demos of next-gen screens in the past.

So far, they have managed to come up with actual transparent displays as well as flexible screens that can be rolled up like paper. Add to the fact that other companies are actively working on such devices as well, and one can surmise that it will only be a matter of time until they arrive.

The Future Is Full Of Obstacles

Meanwhile, BGR is quick to point out that such phones are still not really a sure thing at the moment. And upon closer examination, some aspects of the envisioned device seem to add extra complications.

"LG seems to have also tried to go out of its way to make this design as technically complicated as it can," said Andy Meek, editor at BGR. " As envisioned, for example, this phone would have touch input via both the front and back - in other words, no matter how you hold the phone."

Regardless of whether LG manages to turn this dream of a device into a reality, it will probably garner strange looks when it first comes out. Then in a few years, given positive public reception, might just become the new norm. That's still probably a ways off, but worth keeping in mind for now.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A bizarre sperm extractor helps men in China masturbate in hospital settings. It is designed to urge men to donate sperm in treating erectile dysfunction.

Jiangsu Sanwe Medical Science and Technology Company Ltd invented the sperm extractor with the capability to simulate a vaginal environment. It can trigger ejaculation through massage, sucking, and vibration.

Odd Way To Deposit Sperm

The extractor machine might seem like an unusual way to deposit sperm, but the Chinese government said it could be the solution to their semen supply shortage.

"Hospitals mostly use masturbation as their collection method, without providing a venue or equipment," said Ding Guijiang, inventor and chairman of China's Jiangsu Sanwe Medical Science and Technology Center. "This makes collecting sperm on the spot very difficult. In order to meet clinical demands, we invented this automatic sperm extractor, which is also user-friendly."

Guijiang said the machine can replicate the physical movements during a sexual contact by moving back and forth. Urological patients, who cannot produce sperm without assistance, found the extractor useful.

Dr. Li Siming from Shanghai Pudong Hospital said the device makes it efficient to produce greater amounts of quality sperm. However, it is still far from emulating the temperature and feel of the vagina.

The 5,000 (approximately $6,500) sperm extractor has sold about 10,000 units annually. It is used in clinics in the United States, Germany, Russia, and France.

China's Shortage Of Sperm

Falling sperm count has become a nationwide problem as the Chinese government is trying possible solutions to increase their birth rate. Aside from relatively small number of donors, the quality of semen collected has also decreased.

At Fudan Univeristy's sperm bank, only 10 percent of the semen collected from more than 100 donors last year passed the quality standards. Shanghai Human Sperm Bank at Renji Hospital reported that only 25 percent of their sperm collections were acceptable.

A study published in the Asian Journal of Andrology noted that a huge percentage of sperm donors in China were screened out due to problems such as quality and sexually transmitted diseases.

Approximately 93.4 percent of the 516 potential donors surveyed for the study said they are concerned about the risk of exposing their identities More than 90 percent said they donated due to monetary or reward reasons, while all of them believed that donating is an act of altruism.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A UK study reveals another dark side of climate change in the Arctic. At least two extreme weather events lead to a phenomenon the researchers call as Arctic browning.

The Arctic is a frozen, icy tundra, but on certain seasons, such as spring, most of the area burst to life with green vegetation. Climate change, however, is threatening that as it influences at least two extreme weather events observed by the researchers from the University of Sheffield.

From Green To Brown

The actual effects of climate change can be difficult to measure. While it threatens the survival of certain species, Arctic warming can also result in green growth. It may also turn some parts of the landscape brown.

To understand the Arctic browning further, Rachael Treharne, Ph.D., and colleagues traveled to Lofoten Islands in Norway to assess the conditions of a heathland. During their stay in the winter, they observed two extreme weather activities due to high temperatures.

The first was one winter drought. It occurred when the snow that was supposed to insulate and protect the plants from the cold began to melt. When the plants became exposed, they quickly lost water. The high temperature also prevented the vegetation from receiving water from the frozen soil.

The high temperatures also resulted in a false spring. The plants lost their ability to tolerate the cold since they mistakenly believed it's already springtime.

Understanding The Effects

These weather events then led to significant changes in plant growth, which may also give scientists an idea about the future of climate change.

When the region experienced frost drought, the vulnerable plants started to turn brown or die. The exposure to high winter temperatures also significantly increased their stress levels based on the presence of red pigments known as anthocyanin on the leaves.

Decreasing Carbon Intake

All these have a profound effect on the ability of the Arctic to absorb carbon dioxide and the plants' ability to adapt to climate change.

"In more detail, net CO2 uptake-the primary measure of ecosystem carbon balance-was reduced by 48 percent in vegetation dominated by mortality, and 50 percent in that dominated by stress," said Treharne in Newsweek.

These are not the only changes happening in the Arctic. Shrubs are also growing taller, which can impact the reflection of sunlight back to space.

The researchers, though, admit they are still aren't sure about the actual effects of these changes to the world's climate.

"The scale of the browning we've seen in recent years suggests the reality may be more complexcalling into question our understanding of the role the Arctic plays in global climate, and whether we should expect Arctic ecosystems to slow or accelerate future climate change," noted Treharne.

Earlier, scientists revealed more than 35 percent of Arctic sea changes are due to natural causes.

The entire study is now published in Global Change Biology.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Irradiated glaciers from the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear disasters now threaten the environment as they could release their stored radiation particles at any moment.

In a study presented at the European Geosciences Union's General Assembly, researchers discussed how ice and snow in glaciated areas can capture fallout from nuclear accidents and store them for long periods of time.

However, these glaciers are starting to melt at a rapid pace as a result of climate change. They are now at risk of releasing their contaminants into the environment, which could poison humans and wildlife alike.

Nuclear Fallout In Glaciers

Dr. Caroline Clason, an expert on physical geography from the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom, led an international team of researchers in examining the effects of nuclear radiation on glaciers.

They focused their work on particles known as fallout radionuclides, which are the byproducts of nuclear weapons testings and accidents. These contaminants are often stored in ice surface sediments called cryoconite.

Clason and her colleagues traveled to different sites around the world, such as Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Antarctica. The FRNs detected in these environments have orders of magnitude that are higher than those found in non-glaciated areas.

The team's discovery underscores the role of glaciers, particularly the interaction between cryoconite and meltwater, in collecting contaminants in the atmosphere from various human activities.

The researchers also found that FRN buildup is not restricted to areas directly affected by nuclear activity such as in Chernobyl and Fukushima. This highlights the impacts of nuclear fallout and other atmospheric pollutants on the entire planet.

Clason said previous studies on nuclear accidents mainly focused on their impacts on humans and ecosystems in non-glaciated areas. However, evidence suggest that cryoconite on glaciers are more adept at collecting and storing dangerous levels of FRNs.

While high concentrations of FRNs have already been detected in the past, not much is known about how they could potentially impact the environment yet. This is something that Clason and her colleagues have been trying to explore in their research.

"Our collaborative work is beginning to address this because it is clearly important for the pro-glacial environment and downstream communities to understand any unseen threats they might face in the future," Clason said.

Effects Of Radiation Exposure

The high levels of radiation produced after a nuclear disaster can cause long-lasting effects on human health. The longer the body is exposed to the energy, the more cells and tissues are damaged.

One of the most visible health effects of radiation is hair loss (Alopecia), which often occurs when people are exposed to 200 rems or higher.

The brain is also susceptible to damaging from nuclear exposure. Radiation with 5,000 rems or higher can destroy small blood vessels and nerve cells, resulting in seizures and even immediate death in extreme cases.

High amounts of radioactive iodine can seriously damage the thyroid and other cells related to the gland. However, when used properly and in controlled doses, radioiodine can help treat thyroid cancer.

People exposed to 100 rems of radiation may experience a lowering of their lymphocyte cell counts. This leaves them more vulnerable to various infections.

Data from the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombing suggest that symptoms of this form of radiation sickness can last up to 10 years, and can increase the risk of developing lymphoma and leukemia.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A mysterious outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli has erupted in the United States, sickening more than a hundred people across six states.

Now, health officials may finally have the answer: ground beef.

CDC Preliminary Findings Blame Meat

According to a newly released report from CDC, investigation is still ongoing, but preliminary evidence point to ground beef as the source of the outbreak. Patients who became infected reported eating ground beef at home or in restaurants prior to their diagnosis.

Further investigations of the CDC will focus on tracing the common brand, supplier, or distributor of ground beef associated with the sick individuals.

There have been 109 confirmed individual cases of E. coli infection, so far. Among them, 17 have been hospitalized for the infection.

Six states are part of the outbreak, including Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia.

More About The Recent E. Coli Outbreak

The people who suffered from the outbreak were infected by a specific strain known as the Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O103 or STEC. After consuming the bacteria, individuals usually get sick within three to four days.

Symptoms include diarrhea, stomach cramps, and vomiting.

While the infection usually only lasts five to seven days, STEC infected people can also develop a potentially life-threatening condition known as hemolytic uremic syndrome, which is one type of kidney failure. Most patients recover within a few weeks, but a number get permanent damage or die, according to the CDC.

In the recent outbreak, there have been no cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome reported.

What To Do Amid E. Coli Outbreak?

While the CDC has identified ground beef as a culprit, the agency is not recommending people to avoid consumption of ground beef. They're also not discouraging retailers from serving or selling ground beef.

To ensure the safety of the meat, the CDC instructs consumers and restaurants to thoroughly cook the beef before eating or serving it. Proper hygiene and cleanliness of the kitchen are also crucial when handling raw meat.

Internal temperature of cooked ground beef is recommended to be at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Cooked ground beef should also be refrigerated within two hours and used within three to four days. On the other hand, raw ground beef should be refrigerated or frozen within two hours after buying it. Refrigerated meat should also be used within a day or two.

Those who suspect they are infected with E. coli should talk to a healthcare provider as soon as possible. It would also be helpful for people to recall and write down everything they consumed the week before getting sick.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Rural cooperatives, which sell electricity to about 900,000 Louisiana residents and businesses, were weighing their options Friday after regulators officially clipped the compensation for the utilities directors.

We are reviewing the Commission order and discussing the next steps internally, Jeff Arnold, chief executive officer of the Association of Louisiana Electric Cooperatives, said in between meetings with lawyers Friday.

The options include asking the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge to directly overturn the order issued Friday in a constitutional challenge of the Louisiana Public Service Commissions authority to regulate utilities.

For a longer-term solution, the association also is behind House Bill 461 that, as currently written, would remove the states 12 rural electric cooperatives from PSC oversight. The measure is a placeholder and its wording would be changed if ALEC decides to go that route.

ALEC isnt interested in ending PSC oversight for rates and services, Arnold said. But the co-op members do want some clarification of PSC authority, thinking that the five-elected commissioners have overstepped their authority by issuing orders that would force private corporations to change articles of incorporation and bylaws without a vote of its members or its board.

Would they do that to Entergy? Arnold said. Theyre micromanaging us and we dont think they have that absolute authority.

The order is clear and if they dont think so, they can ask for a rehearing, said PSC Secretary Brandon Frey.

Rural cooperatives "looking at options" on how to oppose regulator rules The states utility regulators altered their new rules  aimed at curbing lucrative compensation  to be more acceptable to the directors who 

Because electric companies operate as a monopoly within its service area, the state Constitution gives the PSC authority to regulate public utilities. Still on the lawbooks is a statute that allows cooperatives to vote on whether to accept regulation. But the Louisiana Supreme Court found in 1989 that despite that law, the PSC clear oversight of rural electric cooperatives.

The co-ops argued in PSC filings that the statute and court opinions put management level decisions out of the Commissions reach.

HB461 is sponsored by state Rep. Steve Pylant, R-Winnsboro, who also is a director with Northeast Louisiana Power Cooperative Inc. for 13 years.

We feel like they may be overstepping their bounds, kind of coming into the board room and telling us what to do, Pylant said. The legislation, if it is pursued, would clarify those authorities under the law.

Pylant received $5,553 in compensation in 2017. The amount is fraction of the $137,784 he received from his sheriffs retirement in 2017 and $35,132 in wages from the Louisiana House of Representatives.

Pylant said he is paid per diem for attending co-op meetings, not a salary.

Entergy, the states largest utility company, is owned by shareholders and sells power for a profit to about a million customers. Not nearly as large but serving about 900,000 members, the rural cooperatives were formed during the New Deal to provide electricity in areas with too few customers to make the utility business profitable.

Formed as nonprofits  the customers own the corporation and are called members  they are administered by an elected board of directors who legally cant be paid a salary.

State regulator approve restrictions on compensation for coop directors State regulators adopted rules Wednesday that require the directors of utility cooperatives to tell each of their 900,000 members how much com

Commissioners were startled to learn in September that board members received an average $26,250 in 2017 alone  some individuals made as much as $50,000  in per diem payments for attending meetings. They also received compensation for travel, and some directors received benefits including health, vision and life insurance that were in excess of what employees receive.

Health insurance  paid for by the customers of rural electric cooperatives  accounted for about half the $2.5 million received by the volunteer board members in 2017, according to a financial accounting ordered by the PSC.

Customers each month generally pay for the expense of acquiring and delivering electricity. The money for the board members expenses come out of whats left over after those bills are paid. PSC commissioners argue that much of that operating margin for the nonprofits could be used instead to lower customer rates.

In a rare show unity on an usually fractious PSC, the commissioners ordered the cooperatives to inform their members how much the directors receive in compensation, then hold a vote to allow members a chance to approve or refuse the amounts using balloting methods that the PSC has approved with the results certified by an accountant selected by the regulators. The PSC would have the cooperatives suspend quorum requirements because so few members attend the annual meetings. Each rural electric cooperative board of director would be limited to six, three-year terms. And if members approve insurance for directors, the policies offered would be the same level as the utilitys employees receive.

Arnold said the boards of all 10 cooperatives that are members of ALEC already have adopted policies to keep insurance policies at the same level as employees. Nine of 10 also have passed resolutions on quorums and term limits, he said.

"This isn't about insurance or term limits. This is about regulatory interference in the management decisions of a private corporation," Arnold said.
The local descendants of slaves are applauding a nonbinding vote by Georgetown University undergraduates to provide restitution to the descendants of slaves sold to Louisiana plantations to pay off the school's debts nearly 200 years ago.

The measure, which must be approved by the Washington-D.C. based university to go into effect, would add a $27.20 per-semester fee to every student's tuition to create a charitable fund that would somehow benefit the living descendants of the 272 slaves.

Results of Thursday's referendum, released Friday by the university's Students Association Election Commission, show that 2,541 students, 66 percent of the votes cast, favored the "Reconciliation Contribution" and 1,304 opposed the measure.

"This was the first major reparations decision made, and it was done by millennials," said Maxine Crump, a former Baton Rouge television news anchorwoman and among the descendants of the slaves sold in 1838 by the Jesuits priests to pay off the Catholic institution's debts.

"Their social consciousness is high," Crump added. "They're willing to do it and believe the university should be stepping up and taking care of this."

Crump says more than 8,000 descendants have been identified within the past three years. Some of them have formed the GU272 Descendants Association, a grass-roots organization based in Baton Rouge that been working to connect descendants across the country.

Cheryllyn Branche, president of the GU272 association, in a separate statement said, "We see this as a valuable part of a much greater response to atonement and restitution for this nations history of slavery.

"We would hope that the sense of responsibility and commitment to putting the legacy of slavery behind us that has been shown by the students of Georgetown, will become a vision embraced by students at all of the slave holding institutions," Branche said.

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Many of the descendants live in or have native roots Maringouin, the Iberville Parish town where many of the slaves were shipped to work on a local plantation. Other slaves were shipped to a plantation in Ascension Parish.

Todd Olson, the university's vice president for student affairs, released a statement Friday saying the students' nonbinding vote will "help to express important student perspectives" but does not create university policy.

"We value the engagement of our students and appreciate that they are making their voices heard and contributing to an important national conversation," Olson's statement reads. "We remain committed to working with students  regardless of the outcome of the referendum  to develop education and programming that will enable all students to meaningfully engage with Georgetown's history of slavery and support opportunities for collaboration between students and descendants."

Since news of the sale reached national prominence in 2016, the university has made strides to address the historic sale.

+2 Georgetown University plans more meetings with slave descendants in Louisiana, elsewhere Georgetown University plans a series of in-person meetings in Louisiana and other parts of the country with descendants of the 272 slaves that

In his statement Olson points out the first step the university made was a formal apology to the descendants before renaming two buildings on campus, one for Issac Hawkins, who is one of Crump's ancestors, and offering descendants legacy status in the university's admission process.

Georgetown President John DeGioia came to Louisiana in July 2016 to visit with descendants to share ideas about reconciliation.

"The University has done some good things but shied away from anything dealing with money in any real way," Crump said. "I'm proud of the statement that this makes to the country."
On the week scientists took the first photo of a black hole a member of the LSU team that was part of an international group whose leaders were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for detecting the fundamental dynamic of the universe, was named the 2019 SEC Professor of the Year.

LSU Department of Physics & Astronomy Professor Gabriela Gonzalez was tapped last week as the 2019 Southeastern Conference Professor of the Year.

Gonzalez is a leader in gravitational wave research and served as the global spokesperson for the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory Scientific Collaboration. The LIGO facility is outside the Baton Rouge bedroom community of Livingston and the project, which included more than 1,000 scientists around the world, was the first to record the waves of a black hole in 2015 and thereby prove Albert Einsteins century-old calculations.

Three leaders of LIGO received in 2017 the Nobel Prize in Physics for the detection of gravitational waves.

+2 Hugs, handshakes at LIGO in Livingston with news of Nobel Prize win for detecting gravitational waves It was handshakes and hugs all around at the Livingston Parish observatory Tuesday where gravitational waves were first detected in 2015 as ke

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Gonzalezs research focuses on LIGO instrument development and LIGO data calibration and diagnostics, critical to increasing the astrophysical reach of data analysis methods. She has since been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, among other distinguished societies.

The caliber of Dr. Gonzalezs body of research, combined with her many accomplishments and exceptional leadership, attest to the extremely broad impact she has contributed to her field, said LSU President F. King Alexander.

Faculty members guide our students through meaningful learning experiences at each of our 14 member universities, said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. As the 2019 SEC Professor of the Year, Dr. Gonzalez is as an example of the caliber of educator encountered by students at SEC institutions throughout their college experience.

The SEC Professor of the Year Award is given annually to one SEC faculty member whose record of teaching and research places him or her among the elite in higher education. Winners are selected by the SEC provosts from among the 14 SEC Faculty Achievement Award recipients. In recognition of the honor, the SEC will provide Gonzalez with a $20,000 honorarium, and she will be formally presented with the award during the SEC Awards Dinner in May.

Gonzalez was born and raised in Cordoba, Argentina. She studied physics at the University of Cordoba, where she earned a college physics degree. She came to the U.S. to pursue and attain her Ph.D. from Syracuse University. Her doctorate focused on Brownian motion applied to LIGO detectors. Her work on gravitational waves detection took her to universities across the U.S. including MIT and Penn State. She joined the faculty at LSU in 2001.
The Environmental Protection Agency spread false information about toxic chemicals over the course of five years, the agency's Office of the Inspector General announced this week.

In a public letter, the OIG "decided to issue an immediate management alert informing the agency of our discovery that its (Toxic Release Inventory) data  are inaccurate," the letter states.

The TRI tracks industrial chemical releases and attempts to curb pollution. Government agencies, companies, academics and the public use its data to inform decisions, the OIG says.

+3 'Im very concerned': New, possibly cancer-causing danger in BR-N.O. corridor, report says Yet again, researchers are finding that communities along the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans are at a greater risk for 

The TRI monitors substances known to cause cancer or otherwise harm human life and the environment. The inventory tracks many petrochemical sites in Louisiana, particularly in the corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. In fact, the Pelican State has 370 TRI facilities, and Louisiana ranks fourth out of 56 states and territories for releases per square mile, according to the EPA website.

Between 2012 and 2017, the EPA did not provide accurate information, the letter states. The OIG believes facilities were correctly reporting data, but the EPA failed to account for material that was sent to publicly owned treatment works, OIG spokesman Jeffrey Lagda wrote in an email to The Advocate.

Brian Snyder, an assistant professor in the LSU Department of Environmental Sciences, explained what that means.

Most monitored chemicals generated at industrial facilities are so toxic they must be injected into the ground or taken to a specialty waste site. Some less dangerous chemicals can be released into the local water system to be cleaned at the municipal wastewater treatment plant. Those are the substances that disappeared from the records, said Snyder, who studies energy systems at LSU's College of the Coast and the Environment.

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He couldn't find any missing chemicals from Denka, the LaPlace chemical plant that's been the subject of lawsuits and government-mandated pollution reduction. But Snyder was able to instantly find a compressor factory in Natchitoches that generated 460 pounds of manganese compounds that just vanished from the books.

"The whole thing is kind of odd.  They seem to have made some boneheaded error," he said.

Scholars like Snyder who have used TRI data in their works are waiting to see the fallout of the mistake.

In a terse email to The Advocate, the EPA's press office noted they corrected the problem within three business days of it being brought to their attention and said the "glitches" did not impact their recently-released 2017 National Analysis. The agency has two more weeks to file an official response to the OIG letter, and the inspector's office expects to issue a report in late spring that will look at how the problem was able to persist for five years, said Lagda, the OIG spokesman.

The TRI is the most important tool guaranteeing Americans the right to know about toxic chemical pollution in their own backyards, Environmental Working Group President Ken Cook wrote in a statement.

The nonprofit noted that it's rare for the OIG to issue an emergency alert, but since the TRI monitors toxic chemicals and hazardous substances, it is important to make sure it is accurate.

EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler should take the inspector generals warning seriously and move immediately to restore the integrity of the TRI," Cook wrote.
Few people jump for joy when a jury summons arrives in the mail. Thats why its called jury duty  duty being something we answer because we have to, not really because we want to.

Perhaps the only consolation from such civic service is the knowledge that our fellow citizens are in the same boat with us.

Or at least theyre supposed to. In East Baton Rouge Parish this week, the official in charge of the local jury pool admitted that a large portion of parish residents, including those who are newcomers or under the age of 26, have been left out of jury pool, a lapse that apparently originated in 2011.

'Mammoth' error: Young Baton Rouge residents, newcomers left out of jury pool since 2011 Ann McCrory, the judicial administrator in East Baton Rouge Parish, acknowledged on the witness stand Wednesday that the buck stops with her.

Defense lawyers in a criminal trial for accused cop-killer Grover Cannon noticed the lack of young faces in the jury pool, and their research showed the fluke extended back years. The lawyers questioned during a court hearing whether such a jury pool truly represents a cross-section of the community, which prompted Ann McCrory, the judicial administrator, to fess up.

She said a computer glitch caused young residents and parish newcomers to be improperly excluded from jury duty.

Cannons case was moved from Caddo Parish to Baton Rouge because of pre-trial publicity, but its set to move back to Shreveport once a jury is selected.

Social theorists constantly lament a decline in civic engagement across the country, a malady that underscores the importance of getting more young people involved in the work of government. For more than half a decade, it now appears, the 19th Judicial District Court wasnt giving younger adults the chance to fulfill one of the most basic obligations of citizenship  rendering judgment on their peers at the courthouse.

McCrory suggested that the snafu was caused by an outside firm hired to help manage the jury pool, but one must wonder why the absence of young jurors wasnt caught sooner.

Revelations about the botched jury pool have caused delays in jury selection while defense lawyers argued that the botched selection process was tainted.

In the court of public opinion, though, we assume that the verdicts already in. This fiasco isnt going to assure anyone that the people in charge of filling the jury box really know what theyre doing.
Taking ownership of a bygone controversy, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell formally apologized Friday to the families of 11 Italian immigrants who were lynched in the city more than a century ago. She condemned anti-immigrant violence of all forms.

Cantrell blasted the long-ago attack before an enthusiastic crowd of 50 at the American Italian Cultural Center on South Peters Street in the Central Business District, wearing a white top and red pants and standing by a green section of a flag to honor Italys national colors.

What happened to those 11 Italians was wrong, and the city owes them and their descendants a formal apology, said Cantrell, the first New Orleans mayor to issue a mea culpa for the incident. At this late date, we cannot give justice, but we can be intentional and deliberate about what we do going forward.

Can't see video below? Click here.

The gesture was greeted warmly by the Italian-Americans and Italians in attendance, including some who had traveled thousands of miles to receive closure 128 years after the murders capped a period of anti-Italian sentiment in the city and country.

We hope that this serves as a building block and a platform for people to address past national tragedies and move forward, said New York resident Michael A. Santo, special counsel to the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America, which says it represents 26 million Italian-Americans.

On the night of March 14, 1891, a mob of thousands gathered outside the old Orleans Parish Prison, near the present-day Congo Square, a day after the acquittals of nine Italian immigrants accused of murdering Police Chief David Hennessy.

Hennessy had developed a reputation for arresting Italian-Americans in his career on the force, according to news accounts at that time. When he was fatally shot as he walked home from work on Oct. 15, 1890, members of that community were widely blamed.

The March mob gathered in response to an ad that a vigilance committee had placed in the morning papers for residents to come prepared for action after the verdicts. A proclamation by attorney William S. Parkerson, one leader of the committee, that when the courts fail, the people must act riled the crowd up further.

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In the end, the mob burst into the jail. They gunned down, hanged or clubbed to death at least 11 of the accused who were still inside.

Their victims were fruit peddlers Antonio Bagnetto, Antonio Marchesi and Antonio Scaffidi; stevedores James Caruso and Rocco Geraci; cobbler Pietro Monasterio; tinsmith Loreto Comitis; street vendor Emmanuele Polizzi; fruit importer Joseph P. Macheca; ward politician Frank Romero; and rice plantation laborer Charles Traina.

Bagnetto, Macheca and Marchesi had already been acquitted. Caruso, Comitis, Geraci, Romero and Traina were never tried. The cases of Monasterio, Polizzi and Scaffidi ended in mistrials, according to records provided by Santos group.

The rioters were never prosecuted, although the U.S. government paid $25,000 in reparations to the victims' families the following year.

The deaths occurred during a period in which Italians, regardless of their actual affiliation, were often labeled as being in cahoots with the Sicilian mafia and were called pests, bandits and assassins in the American press, Santo said.

Santo's group approached the mayor's office earlier this year seeking the gesture, and worked with Vincenzo Pasquantonio, head of Cantrell's Office of Human Rights and Equity, to make it happen, he said.

Addressing the crowd Friday, Cantrell called a city government in power long before she was born complicit in the murders and linked the 11 deaths to other injustices faced by members of communities of color and LGBTQ people that she said have never  (been) addressed.

Some people didnt want me to make this apology today, the mayor said. Some (said), Will this mayor open up the floodgates? Where does it stop? Who gets an apology, and who doesnt?'

But Im here today  because I have a responsibility to deal with whats in front of me, and to speak honestly about the challenges we face, those that shape our history and, more importantly, our future.

Cantrell called the moment a defining piece of New Orleans' legacy that will be examined for generations.

I ask you to continue to stand with me against anti-immigrant violence, against division, and to stand up for what I have coined a city of yes,  she said. And for the idea that we have a responsibility ... to be the kind of people that our children are not apologizing for 128 years from now.
Former north shore district attorney Walter Reed, who recently revealed that he has prostate cancer, will be allowed a further one-month delay in reporting to a federal prison to begin serving his four-year sentence on corruption and fraud charges.

U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon agreed Friday to give Reed, 72, until May 17 to report to prison.

Reed, who was scheduled to report on April 1, requested more time in late March, citing an unspecified medical procedure, the results of which would not be known for seven to 10 days. He was granted an extension to April 15, but on Friday, the judge cited a "definitive surgery date" and changed the deadline to May 17.

Reed's surgery is scheduled April 17, according to court filings, and he is asking for 30 days after that to recover.

Reed told nola.com earlier this week that he has been assigned to the prison in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Reed's attorney, Richard Simmons, filed a motion on April 10 that said medical testing had revealed the need for a medical procedure to "remove a cancerous condition."

That motion for a delay was not opposed by the U.S. Attorney's Office, but prosecutors did ask for medical releases to determine the medical necessity of the request.

Reed has been out on bond pending his appeal for more than two years since his sentencing. He was convicted three years ago on 18 counts of corruption and fraud stemming from his personal use of campaign contributions and his taking of money from St. Tammany Parish Hospital that was meant for his office.

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He was the 22nd Judicial District attorney, serving St. Tammany and Washington parishes, for 30 years. But he did not seek a sixth term following revelations that he was under federal investigation.

Fallon, who gave him a sentence below recommended guidelines, also agreed that he could remain free while he exhausted his appeals. But in February, U.S. Attorney Peter Strasser asked the judge to reconsider, pointing to a decision by a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold his conviction. Reed was denied a hearing before the full court.

Simmons has said he will file writs with the U.S. Supreme Court asking it to review Reed's conviction.

During a hearing on the motion to send Reed to prison, Simmons asked the judge for another 90 days, saying that would enable Fallon to see what he planned to argue before the high court. That delay, if granted, would have kept Reed out of jail until the end of May.

But when the judge ordered him to go to jail, Reed declared himself "ready to go."

The prison in Morgantown is a minimum-security facility with 871 inmates, according to the Bureau of Prisons website. The average sentence served by inmates there is 60 months, according to the site.

The prison has seven housing units, and prisoners are assigned to either dormitory-style areas, cubicles or double-occupancy rooms, the site says, with new admissions generally housed in the dormitories.
Lillian Moffat had difficulty finding full-time work. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

Job opportunities for university science graduates have failed to match the push to get more students to study science, technology engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects, warn policy experts.

University of Sydney head of business analytics John Buchanan said while STEM skills were important to society, there was not enough demand for graduate scientists and engineers in the labour market.

"I think having a world with more people who understand science, technology, engineering and maths is fantastic, but ... employers aren't creating that many jobs in those spaces," Professor Buchanan said.

The federal government's latest graduate employment survey shows that biological science graduates face a tough labour market, with only 59 per cent in full-time employment about four months after completing their course.
After spending months drawing, scrunching up and then drawing again six famous Andy Warhol portraits last year, artist Cj Hendry told her 350,000-plus Instagram fans the drawings would be printed on T-shirts, which would be available for purchase.

Fans practically had their credit cards at the ready, but there was a problem: a production issue meant the entire project had to be scrapped.

"I was like, 'Oh my God, Im an idiot'," says New York-based Hendry. "I went white, got a bit panicky, and then I was like, 'OK, let's throw them away creatively'."

Hendry and her team packed up the shirts, painted the boxes red and marked them "trash only". What followed was a mad scavenger hunt around New York, as Hendry dumped the boxes in random spots, giving fans on Instagram clues where to find them. Within moments of sharing a post, 50-plus people would pounce, grabbing what they could.
Western Sydney residents endure worse air quality than those in the east, with Liverpool exceeding annual national air quality standards for exposure to particulate pollution by 25 per cent, government data reveals.

The results come as authorities warned of smoke in the Sydney basin over the weekend from hazard-reduction burning by the Rural Fire Service.

Separately, a new paper led by researchers at the Centre for Air Pollution, Energy and Health Research found even low-level air pollution exposure lifts mortality risks according to a study of about 75,000 Sydneysiders.

Sydney's air pollution is worse in the west than the east - but any level is bad for your health. Credit:Brook Mitchell

Liverpool last year reported average daily levels of particulates of 2.5 microns or smaller (PM2.5) of 10.1 micrograms per cubic metre, compared with the national standard of 8, according to Office of Environment and Heritage data.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten insists his party is "united" ahead of the election despite a looming crisis in the key battleground state of Queensland, where uncertainty over Labor's position on the Adani coal mine could put key seats at risk.

The Queensland mining division of the powerful Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union on Thursday issued an ultimatum to Labor candidates in the state, asking that they sign a pledge outlining their support for coal industry jobs.

Coal miner Russell Robertson is Labor's candidate in the Queensland seat of Capricornia. Credit:Glenn Hunt

Third generation coal miner Russell Robertson was the only Queensland Labor candidate to have signed the pledge at the time of publication.

When interviewed, Mr Robertson - who is running in the ultra-marginal seat of Capricornia, held by Liberal National MP Michelle Landry - steered carefully around the topic of Adani's planned Carmichael mine.
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Partly cloudy skies. Gusty winds during the evening. Low 27F. Winds WNW at 20 to 30 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Gusty winds during the evening. Low 27F. Winds WNW at 20 to 30 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.
A Shorten government would end a protracted war between the Commonwealth and the states by restoring a 50-50 public hospital funding deal, as part of its $2.8 billion pledge to provide more beds and medical staff.

It is understood the promise would deliver an extra $854 million for NSW, $635 million for Victoria, $651 million for Queensland and $359 million for Western Australia.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is on Sunday expected to announce a Labor government would restore a 50-50 public hospital funding deal with the states. Credit:AAP/Richard Wainwright

Labor is seeking to bring health funding to the fore in the first full week of the federal election campaign as part of its commitment to bolster essential services.

The Coalition government angered the states and territories over public hospital funding in 2014 when then treasurer Joe Hockey threw out a Gillard government deal that the Commonwealth would contribute 50 per cent of costs. The move forced the states to make up the funding shortfall in already strained hospital budgets.
Scott Morrison was trackside at Randwick to witness Winx notch up her 33rd consecutive victory on Saturday. Coincidentally enough, it also marked the end of Mr Morrisons 33rd week in the top job.

The Prime Minister rubbed shoulders with Governor-General Peter Cosgrove, swimming legend Dawn Fraser and television personality Kerri-Anne Kennerley at the raceday VIP lunch, and shook hands with punters ahead of Winxs 3pm start.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and wife Jenny watch Winx win the Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

"It was just spirited, the way the crowd just carried her home," Morrison said moments after the win. He said he expected to remember the occasion for the rest of his life.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten cheered on Winx's big win on his smartphone from his campaign bus on the NSW Central Coast.
And, of course, we clocked up another change of prime minister  something we should never accept as business as usual.

We had nine byelections  almost as many as the record holding 20th Parliament of 1951-54 led by Robert Menzies which saw 10 byelections. The difference then was nine MPs died in office as opposed to todays lot who were simply paperwork deficient dual-nationals.

Its been an unusual start to what promises to be an unusual election. But then again the 45th Parliament was far from regular.

But that was then and the election campaign is now. What should we expect?

The first is a change in Scott Morrisons tone to be more, sound more and act more prime ministerial. Theres a simple reason for that  his preferred prime minister lead over Labors Bill Shorten is the one number in the polling thats in positive territory. That means Coalition campaigners will see votes in highlighting Morrisons leadership attributes compared with those of Shorten.

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Political junkies will know that it isnt unusual for prime ministers to win on this measure, even if their political fortunes are fading or, in Morrisons case, if the polls are to be believed, incinerating like a council tip on fire. Thats simply because its easier to make an assessment about someones performance in the job when they are actually doing the job. One exception worth calling out is during Tony Abbotts time in the big chair when he was regularly beaten by opposition leader Shorten. Despite the bumps in the Coalition governments road since then, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison consistently beat Shorten as preferred prime minister.

With that in mind, we have already seen Morrison start to delegate the "political hitman" role to others on his frontbench. It was Attorney-General Christian Porter who led the Coalitions response to claims frontbencher Peter Dutton and Morrison had questions to answer about prolific political donor, Chinese national Huang Xiangmo. And expect to see Senator Simon Birmingham do more of that heavy lifting as campaign spokesman.
The "bill shock" of hidden payments can financially cripple families, particularly when the primary income earner is off work getting cancer treatment.

Cancer patients in Australia pay only a relatively small proportion of the total costs of their care but their out-of-pocket costs can still range from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars.

Hefty out-of-pocket costs are a brutal sucker punch for cancer patients already dealing with the physical and emotional anguish of their diagnosis as they navigate a complex entanglement of public and private providers across several  often unintegrated  healthcare sectors.

It's a policy that plays to the heart and the hip-pocket. An estimated 145,000 people will be diagnosed with cancer in 2019. One in two is diagnosed by their 85th birthday.

Labor leader Bill Shorten has pledged $2.3 billion to slash the cost of cancer treatment by offering millions of free scans and consultations.

On average, Medicare covers 63 per cent of the total costs of cancer care, ranging from 51 per cent for prostate cancer to 89 per cent for lung cancer patients.

You might need to pay in full, or pay the gap for services that attract Medicare or private health insurance rebates.

Being diagnosed with cancer propels patients along a nebulous trajectory of appointments, tests and treatments, all of which can attract out-of-pocket costs, from diagnostic scans, specialist consultations, drugs, radiation therapy and surgery (including anaesthetist fees) to rehabilitation.

They are all the additional payments that patients and families fork out for all the healthcare services inside and outside of hospital that are not covered by Medicare or private health insurance.

The ministerial advisory committees report into out-of-pocket costs found that patients were charged up to $5000 for breast cancer surgery, $3000 for pathology and $5000 for radiation treatment, all out-of-pocket.

Breast and prostate cancer are known to attract exorbitant out-of-pocket costs for some patients.

People with rarer cancers can rack up onerous costs just in the course of being diagnosed. Credit:Nic Walker

More than one in four cancer patients paid more than $10,000 out of their pockets over two years, and one in three paid between $2000 to $4999.

A recent report from the Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF) found that half of Australians with cancer have out-of-pocket costs in excess of $5000.

It varies dramatically, even between people with the same cancer diagnosis.

Half of public radiotherapy is now provided by the private sector, increasing the chances of out-of-pocket costs. Credit:Shutterstock

Their treatments are less likely to be covered by the pharmaceutical benefits scheme (PBS) than medicines for more common cancers, and crowd-funding sites are populated by pleas from desperate families trying to raise the cash needed for unsubsidised or experimental treatments, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

People with rare or less common cancers can be hit with crushing costs as they bounce between specialists, collecting tests and scans in search of a definitive diagnosis and racking up bills at every juncture.

A separate study found the average out-of-pocket expenditure for prostate cancer patients was $9205  with some patients paying in excess of $17,000.

Crowd-funding sites are populated by pleas from desperate families trying to raise cash.

A 2018 Queensland study of more than 452 patients with one of the five most common cancers (melanoma, breast, prostate, lung and colorectal) found the median out-of-pocket costs were highest for breast cancer patients (costs ranged from $1165 to $7459) and prostate cancer patients ($971 to $8431).

One notorious example involves surgeons' fees for robotic prostatectomy to treat prostate cancer. Some surgeons are known to charge patients up to $30,000 to perform the procedure while other patients pay no gap for the same surgery in a public facility.

Some surgeons are known to charge patients up to $30,000 to perform robotic prostatectomy.

Its up to the patient to "shop around" for better prices. But when the spectre of cancer hangs over your head, and the cost of a consultation is in the hundreds of dollar, shopping around can be a big ask.

The Queensland study found that one-quarter of cancer patients paid upfront doctors fees of more than $20,000 over two years.

1. Specialists These life-saving surgeons, oncologists and anaesthetists set their own fees, and often charge what the market can bear.

In some cases, patients might agree to pay a known gap for surgery only to get a shock when they later learn that the price didnt cover their anaesthetists and surgical assistants fees.

2. Treatments

Almost one in five cancer patients reported out-of-pocket medication costs, in the recent CHF study.

Treatment costs are largely dependent on whether it is subsidised by the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS), PBS or private health policies.

Intravenous chemotherapy is free in public hospitals but patients prescribed oral chemotherapy will need to shoulder some of the cost, especially from community pharmacies.

Chemo patients also need to pay for any medication they need to relieve the side-effects of the treatments, such as anti-nausea drugs.

Radiotherapy is generally free in public facilities. The problem is that roughly 50 per cent of public radiotherapy is now provided by the private sector, which increases the chances of patients incurring out-of-pocket fees.

New therapies for cancer are rapidly emerging and can be prohibitively expensive. They can cost patients tens of thousands  even hundreds of thousands  of dollars a month if they are not covered on the PBS.

Those who can afford it travel overseas to access the astronomically expensive treatments.

For instance, the immunotherapy drug Keytruda  costing $11,300 per script or $188,000 a year  is subsidised for people with advanced lung cancer, Hodgkins lymphoma and unresectable stage III or stage IV malignant melanoma. (Unresectable means it is not possible to remove all of the melanoma.)

Cancer patients might get free access to these types of new and promising experimental treatments on clinical trials but their numbers are limited and access is often confined to large metropolitan centres.

Those who can afford it travel overseas at their own expense to access the astronomically expensive treatments.

In some cases, expensive cancer drugs are available through compassionate access schemes offered by drug manufacturers but these schemes aren't transparent.

3. Private health insurance

People with private health insurance have reported double the out-of-pocket costs of cancer than those without insurance, regardless of the time since diagnosis.

This might be due to higher gap payments, or paying for treatments that would have been free or subsidised if accessed under the public system.

The average out-of-pocket costs reported by privately insured women with breast cancer was double that of uninsured women ($7000 compared to $3600), according to the Breast Cancer Network Australias financial impact report.

Patients often dont realise  or arent told  that they are not locked into private treatment and could choose to be treated as a public patient.

Prostate cancer patients with private health insurance reported double the out-of-pocket costs (an average $10,052) of patients without private health insurance ($5103 on average), regardless of time since diagnosis.

Out-of-pocket costs are significantly higher for melanoma patients who choose to use their private health insurance.

The long waits for initial consultations at public clinics mean many patients often have their first consultation in a specialists private rooms, setting them on a private patient pathway, and incurring higher expenses for treatments with higher gap payments.

They often dont realise  or arent told  that they are not locked into private treatment and could choose to be treated as a public patient.

A patient receives radiotherapy for breast cancer. Credit:Shutterstock

4. Tests and scans

More than one-quarter of cancer patients report paying out-of-pocket for diagnostic imaging.

One reason for this is because many public facilities have privatised their radiology and pathology services or patients access these services closer to home, which often incurs costs.

More than 300,000 Australians skip radiology each year because of cost.

More than 300,000 Australians skip radiology each year because of cost, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

When the federal government announced new Medicare items for breast cancer imaging scans, Health Minister Greg Hunt said it would save women up to $1500 for MRI and $1000 for PET scans.

If a diagnostic imaging service isnt covered on the MBS, patients can pay up to $1000 for a single scan.

Patients with rarer cancers report paying in excess of $3000 for imaging scans just to establish a diagnosis.

5. Location

Distance matters.

Cancer patients living outside the major cities have 17 times the odds of reporting geographical or financial barriers to care compared to those living in metropolitan areas.

A study of regional cancer patients found travel expenses accounted for 71 per cent of out-of-pocket costs.

The further away you live from your treating hospital, the higher the out-of-pocket costs.

A study of regional cancer patients found travel expenses accounted for the biggest share of out-of-pocket costs (71 per cent) followed by medical appointments (10 per cent) and co-payments for medications (9 per cent).

Cancer patients in regional areas paid on average $2263 in out-of-pocket costs over an average of six months, another Queensland study found.

6. The miscellaneous money drain

There is a litany of costs that are easily overlooked but that add up:

Parking fees at hospitals and clinics, up to $70 per day

wound dressings

over-the-counter medication

organising childcare while undergoing treatment

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Health Minister Greg Hunt visit the Icon Cancer Centre in Canberra in April. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

What's the Coalition offering?

In the past year, the Coalition government has listed $1.4 billion worth of medicines on the PBS to treat cancers.

It also introduced new Medicare rebates for expensive MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans and PET (positron emission tomography) scans related to breast and prostate cancers, and will invest an additional $31 million to more than double the number of Commonwealth-funded prostate cancer nurses from 28 to 62 by 2022-23.

The first specialists under the microscope will be gynaecologists, obstetricians and doctors working in cancer services.

The Coalition has pledged to build a searchable website that will list individual specialists' fees for specific services to help patients avoid bill shock and crack down on doctors charging egregious out-of-pocket sums.

The website will not include health-fund rebate information nor Medicare gap payment information, and the voluntary scheme will not compel specialists to publish their fees.

The first specialists under the microscope will be gynaecologists, obstetricians and doctors working in cancer services  including urological surgeons and breast cancer specialists.

Earlier this year, the Coalition provided $38.6 million for 23 new clinical trials to improve treatments and discover cures for debilitating and deadly rare cancers.

Labor leader Bill Shorten (centre) with Labor's candidate for Bennelong, Dr Brian Owler, Dr Michael Lannan, cancer patient Susie Sumner and shadow health minister Catherine King at a diagnostic imaging centre in NSW in April. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

What's Labor proposing?

Labor's $2.3 billion cancer package over four years would fund several initiatives designed to address out-of-pocket costs.

$600 million for up to 6 million free medical scans (including X-rays, MRIs, ultrasounds and CT scans)

$433 million for 3 million fully bulk-billed specialist consultations

$300 million capital works fund for cancer hospitals and regional radiation centres

$500 million to shrink treatment waiting lists for cancer patients in state-run hospitals

$37.7 million to support kids with cancer

$10 million to develop an informed financial consent standard to ensure patients are given clear and consistent information about the costs and options of their treatment

Bill Shorten admits that some of the services Labor promises to fund are already free in public hospitals, but he says waiting lists are forcing people into the private system.

Both Labor and the government have guaranteed to list every drug on the PBS that the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) recommends, and has committed to expanding regional radiation services.

The Cancer Council, Consumers Health Forum and Breast Cancer Network Australia have all broadly welcomed Labor's and the Coalition's cancer announcements.

Our explainers give you background on the news in Australia and overseas. If you want something explained, including during the federal election campaign, drop us a line at explainers@theage.com.au or explainers@smh.com.au
In a recent column, you stated that Centrelink personnel tend to give standard answers based on the Social Security Guide (which I struggled to find at the dss.gov.au website). I would like to respectfully disagree with you. I have been dealing with Centrelink for 10 years now and have been continually frustrated by the inconsistency of their decisions. I am 74. In my mid 60s, I applied for and received a partial age pension because I was working, had about $500,000 in super and managed a modest family trust. Then Centrelink made both my wife and I apply for a US pension, as I was born there and she lived there for a year when we first married. Over the next five years, Centrelink made numerous mistakes and miscalculations, forcing us to repay several thousand dollars in overpayments, then refunding some of it months later. This happened several times. Last September, they claimed another overpayment and issued a notice to pay. I managed to secure a deferment until this February while their Complex Assessment Team reviewed our case. I rang again last week, since nothing had been done, and one consultant said that they could not authorise another deferment, while a second in a different department gave me another 90 days. While we were told to immediately update our income and assets on the MyGov website, some parts cannot be updated by the client and there is no guidance as to exactly what documents should be submitted. One consultant tells us that they data match with the Australian Taxation Office, while another says we must upload our tax returns ourselves. You have to wait on hold for at least 90 minutes, even if you call first thing in the morning, and there are no Age Pension consultants at any of the offices, so getting an appointment is out of the question. S.J.

You ask some interesting questions, such as why a US social security pension needs to be reviewed by a Complex Assessment team.

Centrelink clients often get conflicting advice on repayments, requisite documents and even periods of deferment. Credit:Marina Neil

Given the number of Americans who live in the Land of Oz, and Aussies who have worked there, there must be hundreds if not thousands of age pensioners with a US work history.

Id also like to know why, generally speaking and not in this individual case, Centrelink clients get conflicting advice on repayments, requisite documents and even periods of deferment.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt is urging Australians to seek vaccinations against the flu as the government prepares to release 6 million free influenza shots from mid-month.

The release is a roughly 17 per cent jump on last years and comes amid record numbers of confirmed cases.

Figures released by the Immunisation Coalition show there were more than 10,000 cases of flu in March, compared to about 3000 over the same month last year.

April is already the worst month on record, with 3092 cases in the first 11 days.

The virus has killed seven people in NSW this year.
It is unusual to hear a scientist say their research project probably wont work out.

But that explains how crazy quantum radar is.

Its a sci-fi technology that can easily spot radar-cloaked stealth bombers. It turns the $1 trillion Joint Strike Fighter into a flying hunk of junk. China claims to already have a working system.

All that might be true  or none of it.

One of the reason Im pretty sure this got funded is because of these claims, says Professor David Ottaway.
The Australian reported last Wednesday on the case of another Koffel client, Phillip Ashworth, who alleges that between 1980 and 1981, English teacher Adrian Nisbett sexually abused him on multiple occasions. Ashworth also claims that Knox, via the Uniting Church entity that controls its assets, knowingly or recklessly, covered up the abuse. Nisbett and Barrett are just two of the teachers names that emerged during the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. All but Barratt, Greg Dublers alleged abuser, have been charged and convicted, though none have served time in prison. Barratt died in 1984. At the time of his death, Knox put Barratts name on a plaque with the words He touched us all. It was taken down as soon as allegations arose from multiple sources. Greg says that as the youngest boarder at Knox he was an easy target for severe physical and emotional bullying by the older boys. Once he was hung over a balcony by the ankle. But he did have one source of comfort. His art teacher Bruce Barratt began to pay him special attention. He would accompany him from the class room to the dormitory, and buy him treats after school  milkshakes, lollies and potato scallops up at the local Wahroonga shops. As Dubler recalls, the extra attention made him feel special.

I began to trust Barratt and increasingly felt comfortable in his presence. With all the bullying going on I finally felt like I had made a friend at the school. Then Barratt invited him back to his private quarters at Ewan House, where he was the master for year 11 and 12 boarders, to watch television with him. This, Dubler alleges, is when the abuse began. Barratt would cuddle Greg, touch his hands and rub his legs. He said my parents did not love me and that they left me at Knox for him to take care of me  I recall him saying things like, I love you, I will take care of you. The touching escalated, Dubler says, until they removed their clothes. The alleged details are explicit and distressing; suffice to say they involved masturbation, digital rape and Barratt performing oral sex on the boy. I did as I was told, Dubler says. He alleges the abuse was very regular over these three months. He made me fearful to speak out as he made it very clear that I would be the one in serious trouble because it was my fault this had occurred.

Loading Barratt made me feel like I had been doing something wrong and I couldnt tell anyone about it as it was my entire fault. I found this very confusing and did not know what to do. Dubler adds: My father was very anti-homosexual and I feared telling him about what had occurred as I believe he would have beaten me if he knew that I had been involved in homosexual acts. He told no one for more than three decades, during which his life spiralled out of control. In his statement of claim he describes his guilt and shame, plunging school grades, disobedience, vandalism and petty crime, teenage drug and alcohol abuse, and his sexual confusion and experimentation with boys from school. While both his brothers became lawyers, one rising to Senior Counsel, Dubler studied catering at TAFE, failed in business ventures and struggled to hold down jobs, mainly in real estate and property development.

Dubler says he gambled away large amounts of money, and took cocaine and ecstasy, and engaged in sexual deviancy. His first two marriages broke down. He convinced his father to invest heavily in a development and lost that money  along with credibility in his family. I went broke. In 2007, Dubler heard news of another Knox teacher abusing a student, and all his trauma came flooding back. He went to Hornsby police station and reported his own alleged abuse at Knox, only to be told that the police could do nothing. Barratt, after all, was dead. Dublers parents, when he told them, went into denial, but later believed him  and then suffered terrible guilt. I dont blame them, he says. His siblings believed him and he appreciated their support. But Dubler found various psychologists and counsellors of little help. At a low ebb in 2010, he found himself cleaning toilets in a Manly half-way house for drug addicts.

He testified at the royal commission, a milestone in his attempt at recovery. Now he is in his third marriage, a happy one. The statement of claim refers to him having suffered chronic PTSD, major depressive disorder, substance abuse and dependence, and pathological gambling. It is a similar story for Philip Ashworth, who was 14 years old when he alleges Nisbett directed him to perform oral sex, among other abuses. Ashworth says he has suffered persistent depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, drug abuse disorder and post-traumatic symptoms. I will never recover, he says simply, over the phone from Wellington New Zealand. I am a broken man, and last year tried to take my life. It is understood that Knox has been subjected to dozens of claims relating to abuse of students by its teachers. In support of their claims, the former students hone in on what the school, its principal and teachers knew or should have known about the now-established cases of sexually abusive teachers. Rather than contest the allegations Knox is focused on determining what is adequate compensation from the school.
There's the tiled facade of Balmain's Unity Hall Hotel where the first Labor Party branch began, and the Annandale Hotel, where live music has rocked a grungy Parramatta Road corner for decades.

Amid concerns that developers are gutting some of the inner city's iconic watering holes for businesses and apartment blocks, the Inner West Council wants to better protect its heritage pubs.

The Annandale Hotel has operate as a live music venue on Parramatta Road for decades. Credit:Simon Alekna

The council will partner with students from the University of Technology Sydney to investigate the heritage significance of about 20 hotels scattered across Balmain, Rozelle, Annandale and Enmore.

Their research will inform which of those pubs the council puts forward for greater heritage protections to potentially be gazetted by the NSW government.
Parents are the main source of alcohol for high school students, ignoring repeated health warnings about the harmful effects of drinking on children.

Forty-three per cent of children aged 12 to 17 were given their last alcoholic drink by a parent compared to 17 per cent who said an adult friend provided their last drink, according to the Australian Secondary School Students' Alcohol and Other Drug study.

There is no rationale for giving alcohol to children, according to Richard Mattick, a professor at the University of NSWs National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre. Credit:Alamy

Richard Mattick, a professor of drug and alcohol studies at the University of NSWs National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, said there was no rationale for giving alcohol to children.

Despite the charm of the so-called Mediterranean model - that you can teach kids to drink responsibly - there is not one single study throughout the world which shows that parents supplying alcohol does anything but increase drinking, he said.
Loading Barely out of his teens, Mr Daniels seemed to have the world at his feet after a well-travelled childhood saw him living in his native South Africa, then Singapore before the family settled in Sydney. A graduate of the prestigious Knox Grammar, Mr Daniels was in the second year of his sport science degree at the University of Sydney and worked at the Mosman Swim Centre casually for $27 an hour. His identical twin Liam also worked at the centre but quit the day his brother was taken into custody. The Daniels family were teary in court for his bail application, mouthing "Love you! Love you!" at the young man as he appeared via audio-visual link.

Mr Daniels has returned to his studies after being granted bail. "We have met with Mr Daniels to discuss his return to studies in a way that is safe and appropriate both for him and our whole university community," a statement read. The community An exclusive suburb with a taste for gossip, Mosman has been lit up with rumours and innuendo about the swimming school since the allegations came to light. "It's the talk of Mosman," one local said. "Nobody knows who the [alleged] victims are, but everyone is talking about them," the source said.

A letter from NSW Police to swimming school parents implores them to "not attempt to contact other parties involved ... including witnesses" if their child discloses inappropriate behaviour. The request seems to have had little impact, those familiar with the Mosman grapevine say. "That's the first thing I'd be doing," said one parent who has removed their child from Ezyswim. "Our daughter hasn't said anything to us, but we've still spoken to other parents about her lessons they were there for and talked about it with them. We're all talking." Kyle Daniels, 20, who is accused of sexually assaulting children he was teaching to swim. Credit:Instagram

People are particularly angered, Mosman locals say, by the fact that a parent complained about "inappropriate holds" as far back as August last year - before some of the alleged child abuse happened. "Nobody is very forgiving of that," the parent said. Court documents show that Mr Daniels is also charged with four counts of sexual intercourse with a person under 16 on one day. All four charges relate to the same child, aged 7. He is also charged with one count of sexual intercourse with a six-year-old girl on Valentine's Day this year. The charge sheet says that, less than two weeks before that, he intentionally sexually touched her sister. Multiple sources have told The Sun-Herald that the police case rests not only on the girls testimony but will also use CCTV of the alleged incidents.
A Sydney craft store has become caught up in a vitriolic online campaign that has seen members of the knitting community labelled as racist by people who say they were ignored in yarn stores and felt uncomfortable at "white-majority knitting groups".

Claims of bullying, lying and harassment have gone back and forth on social media since the dispute began over the treatment of black, indigenous and people of colour (BIPoC) in the knitting community.

An online campaign about racism in the knitting community has ensnared a Sydney craft store.

Sukrita Mahon, a spinner and weaver from the NSW Central Coast, has played a prominent role in the campaign to highlight and combat racism and prejudice among knitters.

Sydney, we have a problem, Ms Mahon wrote in January. Your knitting spaces are unsafe for bipoc (and probably others). You have shown yourself unwilling to listen, at best.
An elite Sydney girls school plans to bulldoze a heritage-listed building as part of a multi-million dollar development proposal for new facilities that may house a swimming pool and childcare centre.

Jenny Allum, the principal of SCEGGS Darlinghurst, said Wilkinson House was outdated and not suitable for school use.

We respect heritage where we can, but we also need to have buildings which are functional for the purpose of education, she said.

Jane Anderson and Rodney Hanratty have expressed concern about plans to demolish a heritage-listed building on the SCEGGS Darlinghurst campus. Credit:Edwina Pickles

But the plan to demolish the historic building has been criticised by nearby residents and the National Trust, which said it should be seriously re-thought.
No family or friends came to Bruce John Preston's first court date in Brisbane on Saturday.

Police had arrested the 63-year-old man for the triple murder at Spear Creek more than 40 years ago, after he stepped off a plane from Goulburn, NSW on Friday.

A former prison guard has been charged with the murder of three travellers in 1978. Credit:ninevms

He has been remanded in custody for a committal handover on May 20.

The court, which sits next to the Brisbane Watchhouse, held no supporters, only journalists.
A Victorian man has caused chaos in Brisbane after he allegedly climbed the 100-metre-high, heritage-listed Storey Bridge to take a selfie.

The 30-year-old Bonbeach man scaled the steel traffic bridge, which spans the Brisbane River in the centre of the city, about 4am on Saturday, police say.

He was charged with unregulated high-risk activities, public nuisance and obstructing police. He is due to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on April 26.

AAP
Police are the scene of a nightclub shooting in Prahran. Credit:Chris Hopkins Sandra, a 19-year-old who lives nearby, saw the shooting out of her bedroom window while studying. I just saw the car roll up and then 'pow, pow, pow, pow' - four times they shot, she said. Sandra said the outside of the club was still busy, with many patrons around the entrance. The people were all lining up to get in the club, they just start screaming and yelling Oh my god, oh my god. When the car left they ran to the people on the ground.

I just saw the car roll up and then 'pow, pow, pow, pow' - four times they shot. Sandra said she saw two men on the ground, one who had been shot in the leg. It was horrific, it was so horrible. I couldnt sleep, I dont know if Im going to be able to do my exams tomorrow. I guess this stuff happens but I just saw it all through my window. The shooters car drove over Malvern Road and was last seen driving up Bray Street.

Homicide Detective Inspector Andy Stamper said it was too early to say whether it was a targeted or random shooting. No arrests have been made. This is just a horrendous act, he said. He said the full weight of the crime department would be thrown into the investigation. No stone will be left unturned, he said. An officer photographs evidence left at the scene. Credit:Chris Hopkins

Detectives are expected to investigate links to an outlaw motorcycle gang which has made extortion attempts on the nightclub. A security guard from Love Machine said the music inside the R&B nightclub was so loud that patrons and staff inside had no idea anything was occurring outside during the shooting. Chapel Street is home to a number of popular nightclubs and the shooting on Sunday occurred while many people were still out. One woman posted to social media to let her family and friends know she was safe after she witnessed the shooting.

There was a shooting right in front of us at Love Machine while we were standing across the road ... so please if anyone is out at clubs please go home now, she said on Facebook. Police officers at the crime scene on Sunday morning. Credit:Chris Hopkins We are all in shock but we are all okay and back at the apartment safe. Malvern Road was closed on Sunday morning between Chapel Street and Surrey Road as forensic officers collect the clothes and bullet casings left outside the club. Three officers searched the drains outside the entrance to the club, pulling up the grate to photograph the area below.

Edie, who lives in the nearby commission flats, says she didnt hear anything when the shooting occurred. Evidence on the ground. Credit:Chris Hopkins I think they should be stricter on the gun laws, she said. "There is a bit of trouble around here, but its usually fighting and stabbings. Its scary because its right on your doorstep - it could have happened to one of us. March was the deadliest month for shootings in Victoria in a decade, figures from the Coroners Court of Victoria show.

Five people were killed in Melbourne in four unconnected shootings in less than a fortnight. Premier Dan Andrews said on Sunday shootings like this one "rock the city". He said the government had always supported police when they had sought more powers or resources to control gun crime. Im not aware of any further request for additional gun law reform but given recent events, if the police commissioner came to me and said he needed more, then of course we would stand ready to do that, he said. A GoFundMe page set up in the memory of Aaron Khalid Osmani has already raised more than $3300.
A spike in utility bills, new government hardship grant regulations and growing unemployment rates have brought power disconnections in WA to a six-year high, a new report by the Economic Regulation Authority shows.

According to the report, which was released on Friday, 19,743 West Australians had their power switched off for not paying a bill in 2017/18.

That's 3808 more than the previous financial year.

The report identified the state government's increase in daily fixed charges as one of the main reasons behind the surge in electricity prices, which cost consumers an estimated $170 a year extra.
Its always worrying when someone signposts their own satire  if you have to tell people youre being ironic, youre probably not accomplishing it very well.

Hence I am not entirely convinced that Captain GetUp, the satirical super-hero created by conservative activist group Advance Australia, is actually satire. Or at least, that he is satirising what he is supposed to be satirising. Especially since what it is supposed to be satirising is unclear.

Fighting them on the Manly beaches .... Captain Getup. Credit:Twitter

Confused? So is everyone, not least the superhero himself, who is named after his nemesis and wears his underpants on the outside.

Gerard Benedet, the national director of Advance Australia, unleashed Captain GetUp on Tony Abbotts seat of Warringah last week to fight the hordes of orange-shirted (true) GetUp! activists working in the electorate to have the controversial ex-prime minister voted out.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison will target youth unemployment in a $58 million plan to encourage students to enter vocational training with the help of scholarships and links to employers.

Mr Morrison will hold out the promise of "quality careers" for young Australians by announcing 10 training hubs in areas with the highest youth unemployment, including Shepparton in Victoria and Gosford and Grafton in NSW.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on the campaign trail. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

The government announced the concept in the budget but has waited until the election campaign to name the locations, which include safe electorates as well as some of the marginal seats the Coalition must win to stay in power.

While the government is campaigning on job creation and economic growth, the nation's youth unemployment rate is twice the overall unemployment rate at 11.5 per cent.
"Einstein must be totally chuffed," said Priyamvada Natarajan, an astrophysicist at Yale. "His theory has just been stress-tested under conditions of extreme gravity, and looks to have held up." Kip Thorne, an astrophysicist at the California Institute of Technology who shared a Nobel Prize in 2017 for the discovery of gravitational waves from colliding black holes, wrote in an email: "It is wonderful to see the nearly circular shadow of the black hole. There can be no doubt this really is a black hole at the centre of M87, with no signs of deviations from general relativity." Janna Levin, a cosmologist and professor at Barnard College in New York, said: "What a time to be alive." A telescope the size of Earth The image emerged from two years of computer analysis of observations from a network of radio antennas called the Event Horizon Telescope. In all, eight radio observatories on six mountains and four continents observed the galaxy in Virgo on and off for 10 days in April 2017.

The network is named after the edge of a black hole, the point of no return; beyond the event horizon, not even light can escape the black hole's gravitational pull. The Large Millimetre Telescope in Puebla, Mexico, part of the Event Horizon Telescope which was used to "see" the Messier 87 black hole in the constellation of Virgo. Credit:New York Times The mystery of black holes has tantalised astronomers for more than half a century. In the 1950s, astronomers with radio telescopes discovered that pearly, seemingly peaceful galaxies were spewing radio energy from their cores - far more energy than would be produced by the ordinary thermonuclear engines that make stars shine. Perhaps, astrophysicists thought, the energy was being liberated by matter falling onto supermassive, dense objects - later called black holes. Since then, scientists have devised detailed models of how this would work. As hot, dense gas swirls around the black hole, like water headed down a drain, the intense pressures and magnetic fields cause energy to squirt from either side. As a paradoxical result, supermassive black holes can be the most luminous objects in the universe.

Einstein's least favourite idea The unveiling took place almost exactly a century after images of stars askew in the heavens made Einstein famous and confirmed his theory of general relativity as the law of the cosmos. That theory ascribes gravity to the warping of space and time by matter and energy, much as a mattress sags under a sleeper. To Einstein's surprise, the equations indicated that when too much matter or energy was concentrated in one place, space-time could collapse, trapping matter and light in perpetuity. He disliked that idea, but the consensus today is that the universe is speckled with black holes furiously consuming everything around them. The Atacama Large Millimetre Array in the Chilean desert, part of the Event Horizon Telescope. Credit:New York Times Many are the gravitational tombstones of stars that burned up their fuel and collapsed. But others, hidden in the centres of nearly every galaxy, are millions or billions of times more massive than our sun.

Loading Nobody knows how such behemoths of nothingness could have been assembled. Dense wrinkles in the primordial energies of the Big Bang? Monster runaway stars that collapsed and swallowed up their surroundings in the dawning years of the universe? Nor do scientists know what ultimately happens to whatever falls into a black hole, nor what forces reign at the centre, where, theoretically, the density approaches infinity and smoke pours from nature's computer. Zeroing in on cosmic monsters Any lingering doubts about the reality of black holes dissolved three years ago when the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO, detected the collision of a pair of distant black holes, which sent a shiver through the fabric of space-time.

Loading Still, questions about gravity and the universe abound. "We know there must be something more," Avery Broderick, a member of the Event Horizon team, told the audience in Washington. "Black holes are one of the places to look for answers." Proving that the monsters in Virgo and the centre of the Milky Way were really black holes required measuring the sizes of their shadows. That was no easy job. Both are exceedingly small, at this distance, and resolving their tiny details would be a challenge for even the biggest individual telescope. Moreover, the view is blurred by the charged particles such as electrons and protons that fill interstellar space. "It's like looking through frosted glass," said Doeleman. To see into the shadows, astronomers needed to be able to tune their radio telescope to shorter wavelengths. And they needed a bigger telescope.

Loading Enter the Event Horizon Telescope, the dream-child of Doeleman. By combining data from radio telescopes as far apart as the South Pole, France, Chile and Hawaii, using a technique called Very Long Baseline Interferometry, Doeleman and his colleagues created a telescope as big as Earth itself, with the power to resolve details as small as an orange on the lunar surface. In April 2017, the network of eight telescopes, including the South Pole Telescope, synchronised by atomic clocks, stared at the two targets off and on for 10 days. For two years, the Event Horizon team reduced and collated the results. The data were too voluminous to transmit over the internet, so they were placed on hard disks and flown back to MIT's Haystack Observatory in Westford, Massachusetts, and the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany.

Last year the team divided into four groups to assemble images from the data dump. To stay objective and guard against bias, the teams had no contact with each other. They readied themselves for an inconclusive or ambiguous result - a blur, perhaps, that they couldn't quite read. 'It was a surprise how clear this image is' Doeleman grew optimistic last year at a dinner attended by some of the younger members of the team, who showed him the first data for M87. "There were clear signatures of a ringlike structure," he said. After dinner, he went to his office and made some crude calculations. "That was one of those great moments," he said. "It was a surprise how clear this image is." Astronomer Sheperd Doeleman, second from left, watches data being received inside the control room for Mexico's Large Millimetre Telescope. Credit:New York Times
London: WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson has said that Julian Assange is confined to a cell at Belmarsh Prison, a grim facility in southeast London.

Separately, the Ecuadorian government revealed that the arrest of a Swedish programmer linked to Wikileaks is related to an alleged plot to blackmail the country's president over his abandonment of Julian Assange.

HMP Belmarsh in London, where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is held. Credit:PA

WikiLeaks editor Hrafnsson said conditions at the sprawling prison offer some advantages, however over the embassy where Assange lived for nearly seven years without taking a step outside. Assange was arrested on Thursday.

And the WikiLeaks founder should finally be able to receive badly needed medical care for a shoulder problem and tooth pain now that he is out of the Ecuadorian embassy and in prison, Hrafnsson added.
This is our trial of the century, says Michelle Gross, from the local group Communities United Against Police Brutality. "The case has woken up a lot of people in Minneapolis. The idea that police shootings only happen to people who are doing bad things suddenly crumbled away." Loading In her opening remarks last week, Judge Kathryn Quaintance said the Noor trial has attracted more publicity than any criminal case she had seen in almost 20 years on the bench. Noor is the first police officer in Minnesota's history to be charged with murder for shooting someone while on duty. If convicted, he will be the first police officer in the state to go to jail for shooting a civilian. These facts alone make the case historically significant, but there are deeper dynamics at play that explain the enormous interest it has aroused.

Unlike most US police shooting victims, Ruszczyk was a blonde, white woman who lived in a wealthy area. The officer who shot her was not just black but Muslim, a celebrated member of Minneapolis's burgeoning Somali community. When Noor was charged last year, the Somali-American Police Officers Association said: "We believe these charges are baseless and politically motivated, if not racially motivated as well." The case has has inflamed Minneapolis's racial, religious and class divides to such a degree that some of Ruszczyk's neighbours fear there will be a violent backlash if Noor is sent to jail. Let's not be naive," says Mel Reeves, a veteran activist in Minneapolis's African-American community. "Race is the elephant in the room in this trial." 'Any one of us could have made that same call' The suburb where Ruszczyk lived with her American fiance Don Damond resembles South Yarra in Melbourne or Wahroonga in Sydney.

Fulton has leafy streets and stately homes, fashion boutiques and a farmers' market. Residents have a median household income of $US110,000 ($154,000), making it the fourth wealthiest neighbourhood in Minneapolis. Almost everyone who lives there is white. If you were asked to name the least likely places in town to get shot by police, this would be high on the list. "Nothing like this had ever happened in our neighbourhood before," says Mindy Barry, one of Ruszczyk's neighbours. Katherine Hamberg, who has lived in the area for 35 years, says: We had heard what was going on with police brutality in neighbourhoods of colour. "But it was only when it happened here, in our neighbourhood of white privilege, that it became real for us.

Although they lived just a few doors away, Barry and Hamberg did not know Ruszczyk well. Neither did Sarah Kuhnen. She probably wouldnt remember meeting Ruszczyk at all if not for her Australian accent - a rarity in Minneapolis. Sarah Kuhnen, in blue, and other "Justice for Justine" activists outside the Minneapolis courtroom this week. Credit:AP But Ruszczyk's death had a transformative effect on her. This was a woman trying to help another woman, Kuhnen says. Any one of us could have made that same call and gone out in our pyjamas to try to help the police. Thats the type of neighbourhood we lived in. The use of past tense, she says, is deliberate. I dont feel safe anymore if police are around." The night after Ruszczyk's death, several neighbours gathered together and formed a group called Justice for Justine. They have organised vigils and protest marches and sent out press statements. They have Justice for Justine signs on their front laws reading: The world is watching.

The members knew there was a risk they would be seen as a group of wealthy white people who only cared about police violence when it affected one of their own. Loading A year before Ruszczyk was killed, Philando Castile, a 32-year-old black man, was shot dead in Minnesota after being pulled over by police. The officer who shot him was charged with manslaughter, but was later acquitted. The group's members have stressed that they want to achieve more than just sending Noor to jail; they want justice for the Philando Castiles of the world as well as the Justine Ruszczyks.

"Because of where we live, we have a voice and we feel we have a moral responsibility to use it speak up about how broken our police system is," Hamberg says. "Other communities didnt get big crowds of media when they had press conferences. They didnt get visits from the mayor, they didnt get visits in their home from the police chief." The group's members have worked closely with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and other activists in the black community. "They have done that at great political cost," says Todd Schuman, another neighbour. "They got pushback from people in their community who asked: where were these people when this was happening to us?" Civil rights activist Mel Reeves says most members of the black community see it as a "foregone conclusion" that Noor will be convicted. "When a black man shoots a white woman, he goes to jail," he says. Ruszczyk's neighbours are not nearly as convinced. Of the 98 police officers in the US who have been charged since 2005 with murder or manslaughter for an on-duty shooting, prosecutors have secured convictions or guilty pleas of only 35.

Kuhnen believes there is at best a 50-50 chance of Noor going to jail. Michelle Goss, from the local group Communities United Against Police Brutality, is concerned that 12 of the 16 jurors in the case are men. They are likely to be more sympathetic to police than female jurors, she says. 'Because his name is Mohamed its different' Ali Kalif wants to be clear: all Muslims - even police officers - are forbidden from killing. But he believes Noor has been a victim of profound injustice. "Police officers kill people every day in America and they dont go to court," says Kalif, an optician who emigrated to the US from Somalia two decades ago. "If this was a white guy they would have let him go. Because his name is Mohamed its different."

Kalif is sipping on a smoothie at the Karmel Mall in southern Minneapolis. The mall is just a 15-minute drive from Ruszczyk's home in Fulton, but it feels like another world. You can buy camel milk, traditional Somali samosas and colourful headscarves. At several points throughout the day all the shops close for prayers. The Karmel Mall, in southern Minneapolis. Credit:Matthew Knott Minnesota is home to an estimated 60,000 Somali-Americans, one of the biggest concentrations in the country. Last year the city sent the first ever Somali-American to the US Congress. The election of 37-year old Ilhan Omar was seen as a symbol of the community's successful integration into US society. It was the same in 2015 when Noor became the first Somali-American officer to serve in Minneapolis's fifth precinct. In a lengthy post on Facebook, Minneapolis mayor Betsy Hodges said Noor's arrival had been "highly celebrated, particularly by the Somali community in and around Karmel Mall".

But an Uber ride to the mall makes clear that not everyone in Minneapolis has welcomed the influx of Somali immigrants. "There has been a negative reaction to the Somali community here," says Mike Ferrell, a white 40-year-old fishing guide and Uber driver. "The Noor trial has rekindled that fire." Asked why this is so he says: "They are rude, they don't understand American culture." "In the '90s so many Somalis came here so fast that it led to pushback." He says tensions heightened after September 11 and the rise of Islamic extremism. Between 2011 and 2017 some 33 Somali-Americans from Minnesota were charged with terrorism-related complaints - 13 per cent of the total charges laid over that time.
Minneapolis: A police officer who told Mohamed Noor, the officer who killed Australian Justine Ruszczyk Damond, to keep his "mouth shut" after the shooting said that he was simply offering friendly advice to a colleague.

Former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor, centre, has been charged with killing Australian Justine Ruszczyk Damond. Credit:Star Tribune/AP

Ruszczyk was shot dead in July 2017 after calling emergency services to report a possible sexual assault she believed was occurring near her home in Minneapolis.

Noor, 33, has been charged with two counts of murder and one count of manslaughter. If convicted he would be the first police officer in Minnesota's history to go to jail for killing a civilian.
4.7 Million Fisher-Price Rock N Play Sleepers Recalled After Infant Deaths

All models of Fisher-Prices Rock n Play sleepers have been recalled after infant deaths were reported.

Last week, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a warning about the product, but it didnt say it was being recalled.

Now, the CPSC announced the recall of 4.7 million Fisher-Price sleepers across the United States. They were manufactured in China, the agency said.

Consumers should immediately stop using the product and contact Fisher-Price for a refund or voucher, said the agency on April 12.

Since 2009, when the product was introduced, more than 30 infant deaths have been reported while babies were wearing Rock n Play sleepers.

The deaths happened when the infants rolled over while unrestrained or during other circumstances, the agency said, without elaborating.

Earlier this week, after the CPSC posted a warning but no recall notice, the American Academy of Pediatrics urged the agency to issue a recall. It cited a report from Consumer Reports, which said 32 babies had died in the sleepers.

This product is deadly and should be recalled immediately, Dr. Kyle Yasuda, the head president of the AAP, said in a press release.

When parents purchase a product for their baby or child, many assume that if its being sold in a store, it must be safe to use. Tragically, that is not the case. There is convincing evidence that the Rock n Play inclined sleeper puts infants lives at risk, and CPSC must step up and take immediate action to remove it from stores and prevent further tragedies.

On April 8, Consumer Reports said that many children who died were younger than 3 months of age. The CPSCs warning asked parents not to allow children over 3 months use the sleeper.

Based on the deaths and injuries associated with the Fisher-Price Rock n Play, the product clearly puts infants safety at risk and should be recalled immediately, said William Wallace, who is a senior policy analyst for Consumer Reports, in a separate press release on April 8. All other inclined sleepers should be investigated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Urgent @uscpsc warning for parents: Stop using the @FisherPrice Rock N Play by the time your baby is 3 months old or starts showing signs of rolling over. @AmerAcadPeds never recommends the Rock N Play for routine infant sleep. (1/2) https://t.co/VyQsDeejLx pic.twitter.com/ip8JmydB6l  HealthyChildren (@healthychildren) April 5, 2019

To truly protect the public, the CPSC should set strong rules for all infant sleep products, including mandating what medical experts already recommend: a firm, flat surface in a bare crib, bassinet, or play yard, he said.

The AAP, meanwhile, said it doesnt recommend children using inclined sleep products like the Rock n Play, or any other products for sleep that require restraining a baby.

The AAP advises against using car seats, strollers, or other devices for sleep because of the risk that a baby could roll or turn into an unsafe position and be incapable of moving, leading to suffocation or strangulation, it said.

ATTENTION PARENTS: Fisher-Price has issued a warning after reports of death when infants roll over while using their Rock 'N Play. There have been 10 infant deaths already involved. Posted by 10TV  WBNS on Friday, April 5, 2019

Earlier this week, following the article from Consumer Reports, Fisher-Price said its Rock n Play Sleeper meets all applicable safety standards.

We continue to work closely with the Consumer Product Safety Commission regarding the safe use of our products, including the Rock n Play Sleeper, a spokesman said. We will continue to do all we can to ensure that parents and caregivers have the information necessary to create a safe sleep environment for infants.
From top left clockwise, Braiden Ulmer, Gavin Dawson, Maxwell McCann, and Isaac Koch were arrested in relation to a chemical device thrown at a police officer and citizen in Arvada, CO, on April 6, 2019. (Arvada Police)

5 People Arrested in Connection With Chemical Bomb Thrown at Officer, Resident

Five people were arrested in connection with a chemical bomb thrown at a police officer and a resident in Arvada, Colorado on April 6th.

Multiple arrests have been made reference the chemical device used against law enforcement and a citizen, Arvada police tweeted the day after the incident. We want to thank our amazing community for the outpouring of support we received.

Within 24 hours of the attack, Maxwell McCann, 18; Braiden Ulmer, 19; Isaac Koch, 19; Gavin Dawson, 19; and an unnamed juvenile were arrested, reported 9News. They face charges of:

first-degree assault,

criminal attempt of second-degree assault,

two counts of possession, use, or removal of explosives or incendiary devices,

conspiracy to commit possession, use, or removal of explosives or incendiary devices

According to the arrest affidavit, a crumpled Walmart receipt found near the scene led them to the suspects, 9News reported. Two Arvada detectives found the receipt, which led them to a surveillance video showing the suspects buying bottled water, chlorine treatment for swimming pools, brake fluid, and plastic wrap.

The affidavit says the suspects were seen leaving in a silver Volkswagen, and four of them were in the same vehicle when it was pulled over shortly after the crime, KDVR reported. Police had set up a perimeter around the scene, temporarily stopping them to take a picture of their drivers licenses before initially letting them go.

The teens are due in court on Friday.

Walmart receipt helped nab teen suspects in chemical bomb attack on Arvada officer https://t.co/PI28Ub2LqW pic.twitter.com/VtonaQB9Fg  FOX31 Denver KDVR (@KDVR) April 12, 2019

The Initial 911 Call

The officer involved in the attack had been called to an intersection where traffic signs, including a stop sign, had been removed and placed in the street, Arvada Police Chief Link Strate explained in a video. A citizen had stopped and called the police to report the hazard.

There had been a bunch of street signs dislodged and set up as a barricade across the road here on Beech street, said Dominic Battista, who called 9-1-1 to report the signs, according to KDVR. Battista stayed to help pick up the signs when someone started throwing what he described as smoke bombs.

Strate said that when the officer arrived at the scene, a chemical bomb was thrown at him, injuring him and the citizen.

According to the arrest affidavit, the officer heard someone yell a profanity and saw them run through a nearby yard, and out of the corner of his eye he saw a plastic bottle being thrown in his direction, 9News reported.

The bottle started shrieking and releasing a ton of white colored smoke, the affidavit states.

In reference to the incident on April 6 that left a Citizen and Officer injured, within 24 hours after the incident five suspects were taken into custody. Four adults and one juvenile were all placed in local detention facilities. pic.twitter.com/QrgOn5WyUo  Arvada Police (@ArvadaPolice) April 8, 2019

Both the officer and caller reported smelling chlorine. The officer ultimately fell unconscious and had to be transported to a nearby hospital, where he was diagnosed with chlorine gas exposure. The citizen was treated at the scene and released.

Strate said the officer has since been released from the hospital and was recovering at home. He also said he appreciated the support of the community and law enforcement partners in handling the matter.

We know that this attack on one of our officers is not representative of our community, Strate said. We appreciate the support of our community and take their safety, and our officers safety, very seriously. The men and women of the Arvada police department worked diligently around the clock until those responsible were identified, located, and taken into custody, preventing further risks in this community.

The affidavit states that officers investigating the scene also found additional water bottles at the scene.

Police said they were able to identify the chemical with the help of other agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, but are not releasing the components to avoid a repeat incident, according to Denver7.
Beloved Oregon Childrens Author Beverly Cleary Celebrates 103rd Birthday

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An employee of Sugarplum cake shop decorates a wedding cake for US residents in France in Paris, on October 26, 2012 .(Photo by ERIC FEFERBERG/AFP/Getty Images)

Catholic Family Fights for Freedom of Speech Over Gay Weddings on Their Farm

A Catholic family in Michigan headed to court Friday amid a three-year legal battle stemming from their decision not to host gay weddings on their farm.

Steve and Bridget Tennes are military veterans, the parents of six children, and the owners of the Michigan Country Mill Farm, according to The Washington Times. Controversy broke out when the farm responded to a Facebook question. The Tennes family articulated that their Catholic beliefs prevented them from hosting gay weddings on their farm, citing their deeply held religious belief that marriage is a union of one man and one woman and Country Mill has the First Amendment right to express and act upon its beliefs.

All Steve and Bridget Tennes want is to sell their apples, peaches and blueberries at a Michigan farmers market without Posted by The Washington Times on Thursday, April 11, 2019

Country Mill Farm was banned from selling their produce at East Lansing Farmers Market in 2017 for not following the citys civil rights ordinances, according to The Washington Times. Steve Tennes sued East Lansing in 2017 and went to court Friday in Kalamazoo, according to the Lansing State Journal.

The case bears striking similarities to Jack Phillips Masterpiece Cakeshop case in which Phillips refused to bake a cake for a gay wedding. The case was resolved on June 4, when the Supreme Court ruled that a state agency does not apply an anti-discrimination law in a neutral manner.

In the Masterpiece case, the Supreme Court said unequivocally that when the government is hostile toward religion or religious believers, even when theres a hint of hostility and animus, then thats enough to invalidate government action, said John Bursch, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom who represents the Tennes family.

Here you have government officials from the mayor to the city manager to the City Council making repeated public remarks that the Catholic views on marriage are ridiculous, theyre absurd and they should be changed, he said. The record is full of statements like that.

East Lansing Mayor Mark Meadows not only wants the court to rule against the Tennes family, but he also wants the court to grant a permanent order that states the city did the right thing, according to The Washington Times.

It doesnt have anything to do with their religious beliefs, Meadows said in a phone interview with the Lansing State Journal Thursday. Country Mill is a corporation. It is not an individual. The last time I heard, it doesnt have religious activities.

But the Tennes family and the Alliance Defending Freedom believe this is a paradigm of religious discrimination, according to the Lansing State Journal.

The Tennes family did not immediately respond to The Daily Caller News Foundations request for comment.

By Mary Margaret Olohan
Child Attack Suspect Had Previous Mall of America Arrests

MINNEAPOLISA 5-year-old boy plummeted three floors on Friday, April 12, after being pushed or thrown from a balcony at the Mall of America, according to witnesses, and a 24-year-old man with a history of causing disturbances at the mall was in custody.

Bloomington Police Chief Jeffrey Potts said police dont think there is any relationship between the man and the family of the child, who suffered life-threatening injuries. He was being treated at a hospital, but no details on his condition were immediately available.

Witnesses told police that the child may have been pushed or thrown from the malls third level to the first floor, Potts said. He said the suspect immediately took off running but was quickly found and arrested at the mall.

A witness said a woman screamed that her child was thrown from the balcony.

Brian Johnson told WCCO-TV the woman was screaming, Everybody pray, everybody pray. Oh my God, my baby, someone threw him over the edge.

Brian Johnson walked into Mall of America moments after a child was pushed from the third floor, according to police. Johnson said the childs family member was asking for prayers and that police immediately got a handle on the scene. @kare11 pic.twitter.com/1gYf7ptzAz  Danny Spewak (@DannySpewak) April 12, 2019

Police said Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda, of Minneapolis, was being held on suspicion of attempted homicide.

Arandas criminal record includes two convictions in 2015 for obstruction of the legal process/interfering with a peace officer, as well as convictions for fifth-degree assault, trespassing, and damage to property.

Court records show Aranda was arrested on July 4, 2015, after police said he matched the description of a man throwing things off the upper level of the Mall of America to the lower level.

Police say Aranda refused to give his name and resisted arrest. Aranda also was accused of walking into a mall store and sweeping his hand across a display table, breaking glasses.

The 5-year-old plummeted three floors after being pushed or thrown from a balcony, according to witnesses. Police say they have a 24-year-old man in custody. Posted by KTLA 5 Morning News on Friday, April 12, 2019

In October 2015, Aranda was accused of throwing glasses in Twin Cities Grill in the mall. The complaint says Aranda approached a woman who was waiting for the restaurant to open and asked her to buy him something.

The woman refused, and Aranda allegedly threw a glass of water in her face and a glass of tea that struck her leg. Aranda was under a trespass notice at the time banning him from the mall until July 4, 2016.

It wasnt immediately clear if Aranda had an attorney.

Police dont have an idea about a possible motive, Potts said.

At this point, we believe this is an isolated incident, the chief said. Were actively trying to figure out why this occurred.

No details were immediately available about the childs condition.

The 4.2-million-square-foot Mall of America is in Bloomington, about 10 miles south of Minneapolis. The mall, which opened in 1992, has more than 520 stores and is visited by 40 million visitors annually, according to its website.

UPDATE: Police identify 24-year-old man they say threw or pushed a 5-year-old boy from a third-story balcony at Mall of America. | https://t.co/dY0ALZLeNS pic.twitter.com/9mxTiFQBWi  WCCO  CBS Minnesota (@WCCO) April 12, 2019

Attractions include Nickelodeon Universe indoor amusement park and Sea Life Minnesota Aquarium.

It has occasionally been the scene of crimes or disruptive protests, and the malls website touts extensive security training for its officers.

In 2015, the al-Shabab extremist group called for an attack on the Mall of America and other shopping centers in a video. Al-Shabab fighters attacked an upscale Kenyan mall in 2013 in a siege that left 67 people dead. In response, the Mall of America said it was tightening security, and that some of the extra precautions would be noticeable to guests and others would not be.

A Minneapolis man was sentenced to 15 years in prison last year for attacking two brothers at the Macys department store at the mall. The man said he was inspired by the Islamic State when he stabbed the brothers in a dressing room area in November 2017.

A teenage brawl erupted at the mall the day after Christmas in 2011. The melee was caught on YouTube, but police concluded the brawlthe worst case of violence at the mall in more than 15 yearswas not organized through social media as initially feared. Ten people were arrested for disorderly conduct, including four juveniles.

By Jeff Baenen
Chris Cuomo attends the 12th Annual CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute at American Museum of Natural History in New York City on December 9, 2018. (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for CNN )

Chuck Todd Goes After Chris Cuomo After Unfavorable Comparison

NBCs Meet the Press host Chuck Todd fired back at CNNs Chris Cuomo after he made a disparaging comparison between him and Jake Tapper.

Cuomo told the Hollywood Reporter, in an expletive-laced interview, that CNNs Anderson Cooper is a hell of a lot bigger than any male anywhere on network television before adding that he would argue that Chuck Todd aint Jake Tapper.

Jake Tapper has a much bigger footprint in politics than Chuck Todd does, said Cuomo, the brother of Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

In an interview with WABC, Todd said he doesnt know what Cuomo made the remark about him, Fox News reported.

I dont know the guy, Ive met him once, I dont know much about him, Im not kidding. Ive no idea where this guys coming from, he told the station.

He added: I just read it as somebody who wanted to defend the fact that nobody in broadcast television wanted to hire him I guess, or he couldnt get the job that he wanted. I dont know what it was but he was awfully defensive, so he took shots at other people. Im like, dude.

Chris Cuomo never intended to go into journalism, but the CNN anchor now represents the cable news minority as a both-sides host. Posted by The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday, April 11, 2019

Elaborating further, Todd said that if one is going to promote somebody, promote somebody. You dont have to disparage somebody at the same time.

Todd noted that he considers Tapper a close friend of his, saying Tapper is probably angrier with Cuomos comparison. Tapper, like Cuomo, also works for CNN.

When youre being [judged] solely on [ratings], it sucks, hes defensive because hes being judged on ratings. And ok, so hes up against two juggernauts at 9 p.m. Nobody would be doing well in that timeslot, he told The Reporter.

Cuomos show is at the same time as top-rated Fox show Hannity and top-rated MSNBC show, The Rachel Maddow Show.

In the interview, Cuomo said his friends have told him to exit the cable news business.

The number one thing they say to me is, Get out,' he said. Youve done enough.

Theyre going to kill you. Get out. Its a [expletive] death sentence.'

His show is typically in third place with about 900,000 viewers each night, while Sean Hannitys show generally has more than 3 million. With the conclusion of Special Counsel Robert Muellers report that found Russian officials didnt collude with President Trumps campaign, Maddows show has suffered in terms of ratings.

In the first week of April, Maddow averaged about 2,458,000 viewers with 392,000 people in the key 25 to 54 age demographic, reported the Daily Caller, citing Nielsen Media Research. Those are yearly lows for the left-wing TV host.

Before that, she averaged 2,716,000 viewers with 479,000 in the coveted demographic, the report said.

In comparison, Fox hosts Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham had banner weeks in 2019.

Carlson averaged about 3.5 million viewers and 625,000 in the demographic, while Ingraham got nearly 3 million viewers, the Daily Caller reported.

A new poll, meanwhile, found that Democrats are less likely to believe the media.

Morning Consult noted that the average credibility for Democrats in the poll was 69 percent. Every outlet except for NPR suffered a drop from the previous year. Among Democrats, Fox News had the lowest credibility of any of the media outlets.

Conversely, Fox News stands out as the only outlet whos rating was above 70% among Republicans.
Joe Nelson and Amanda Miller enjoyed Shen Yun at Keller Auditorium in Portland, Oregon, on April 12, 2019. (Mary Zhang/The Epoch Times)

PORTLANDTraversing 5,000 years of civilization, Shen Yun seeks to educate modern audiences on Chinas traditional culture through stories, songs, and dances.

Joey Nelson, president of manufacturing company JoeScan Inc., enjoyed the story-telling component of the performance, describing it as enlightening.

It was beautiful. Very well performed. Beautiful outfits. Beautiful scenery. Very competent  performers, he said.

Nelson attended Shen Yun Performing Arts with a friend, Amanda Miller, at Keller Auditorium in Portland, Oregon,

The traditional Chinese dance company was founded in New York in 2006 with a mission to transmit authentic Chinese culture through the arts. Each year, the company brings an all-new program on tour, consisting of dance vignettes, musical soloists, and stories told through dance.

Miller, an administrative assistance at Intel, was captivated by the classical Chinese dance pieces. The dance title Fairies of the Clouds was her favorite. In that piece, dancers move with long flowing blue fans to capture the grace and serenity of heavenly maidens.

Nelson was also in awe at the costumes and elements incorporated into the dances.

The use of colors, and the sleeves, and the veils, and the fans; all the colors, the outfits, the fabrics, it was beautiful, he said.

I was really impressed with how theyre able to express themselves, just by the movements, and the extra things like how long the sleeves were, its very beautiful.

Aside from the visual spectacle, Nelson came to learn things about Chinas culture and history that he didnt know. Those takeaways came from some of the stories told by the dancers on stage.

Two stories resonated with Nelson: The Story of Liang Zhu and The Ties of Affection, the Tao of Destiny.

The former is an adaptation of the Chinese classic known as Butterfly Lovers, which centers around a young woman who wants to go to school to become a scholar, instead of getting married like her parents want her to.

Its interesting to watch and see and learn, Nelson said of these stories.

In the latter story, a young woman falls in love with a sculptor despite her fathers objections. The dancers emotions radiated through the performance, such that Nelson was able to feel the what the characters were going through.

Nelson found his new learnings of traditional Chinese culture to be most valuable.

Thats what  drew me to [the performance], thats what I wanted to come see. I think its very important.

And these learnings needed to be shared, he said.

[I] need to have my son come see, and learn, and understand as well.

With reporting by Mary Zhang.

The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time and has covered audience reactions since the companys inception in 2006.
Then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton gets in her car while leaving her daughter's apartment building in New York City on Sept. 11, 2016. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)

Ex-Clinton Official Leads Dark Money Effort to Get Brett Kavanaugh Fired From Teaching Job: Report

A top aide to Hillary Clintons 2016 presidential campaign is now backing a push by activists to get Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh fired from his job as a teacher at George Mason University.

Kavanaugh is scheduled to teach a course this summer at the school.

A student group, Mason For Survivors, began circulating a petition in March that has attracted almost 5,000 signatures.

The petition urges school officials to terminate AND void ALL contracts and affiliation with Brett Kavanaugh at George Mason University. It cites unsubstantiated allegations against Kavanaugh that arose during the tense confirmation hearings.

Three of the allegations led to criminal referrals for the people who made them and, according to lawmakers, clear evidence of lying emerged. Jeffrey Catalan claimed that he witnessed Kavanaugh commit assault but later recanted his claim; Julie Swetnick, represented from now-disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti, claimed that Kavanaugh raped women in the 1980s before changing her story; and Judy Munro-Leighton accused Kavanaugh of assaulting her in a car but later admitted shed made up the alleged incident.

Christine Ford, the woman who made the first allegation and featured prominently by opposition to President Donald Trump, was unable to provide evidence to support her claim that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her decades prior. All four people she named as being present at the house where the alleged abuse said they couldnt recall the incident, with several swearing theyd never met her.

The fresh campaign against Kavanaugh has been backed by Brian Fallon, a former press secretary for Clintons failed campaign who now heads Demand Justice, a liberal advocacy group that doesnt disclose its funding, a practice known as dark money.

The group began running advertisements on Facebook on April 10 urging people to sign the petition, targeting people with a connection to George Mason, reported the openly left-wing Huffington Post.

Brett Kavanaugh has been credibly accused of sexual assault by multiple women whose allegations have not been thoroughly investigated, Fallon said in a statement. His confirmation to the Supreme Court does not absolve him of guilt, and he should not be given a platform to teach. We stand with survivors and urge the George Mason University administration to fire Kavanaugh.

Fallons group spent over $5 million in 2018 in an attempt to defeat Kavanaughs nomination, reported the Washington Free Beacon.

While students and the dark money group attempt to get Kavanaugh fired, university officials have so far not bowed to the demands.

Justice Kavanaughs appointment was approved by the law school faculty in January. The class was announced to law school students soon thereafter and an information session was held in early February (for additional information, Im pasting the announcement to students below). At this time, the class, which is elective, is oversubscribed, wrote Angel Cabrera, George Masons president, in a statement.

I respect the views of people who disagreed with Justice Kavanaughs Senate confirmation due to questions raised about his sexual conduct in high school. But he was confirmed and is now a sitting Justice, he added. The law school has determined that the involvement of a U.S. Supreme Court Justice contributes to making our law program uniquely valuable for our students. And I accept their judgment.

If he remains in his position, Kavanaugh and professor Jennifer Mascott will teach the summer course Creation of the Constitution in England starting on July 22. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, Trumps other Supreme Court nominee, will also teach a class in Italy about the historical roots and the modern application of the separation of powers in the national security context, according to Cabrera.
Carlos Monje, Jr., Twitter director of Public Policy and Philanthropy for U.S. & Canada and Facebook policy director Neil Potts sworn in before testifying at Senate Judiciary Constitution Subcommittee hearing titled "Stifling Free Speech: Technological Censorship and the Public Discourse." on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 10, 2019. (Jeenah Moon/Reuters)

Facebook, Twitter and Google Accused of Anti-Conservative Bias at US Senate Hearing

WASHINGTONRepublican senators on April 10 said Alphabets Google, Facebook and Twitter discriminate against conservative viewpoints and suppress free speech, suggesting anti-trust action could be a solution.

Senator Ted Cruz, who chairs the Senate Judiciary subcommittee, said many Americans believe big tech firms are biased against conservatives. While no one wants government speech police, he said there are other remedies.

If we have tech companies using the powers of monopoly to censor political speech, I think that raises real antitrust issues, Cruz said at a U.S. Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing.

Political Bias

Facebook, Twitter and Google denied their platforms are politically biased, and Democratic lawmakers said there was no evidence to back Republican bias claims although Democrats have criticized the firms on other grounds.

The Senate hearing was a sign that Republicans do not intend to relent in their year-old campaign against the tech companies. Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump again accused social media firms of favoring Democratic opponents without offering evidence.

We do have a political bias issue here, Republican Senator Mike Lee said.

Senators also raised the prospect that Congress could remove protections under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act that give online platforms broad immunity for what users post.

Democratic Dilemma

Senator Mazie Hirono, the top Democrat on the panel, said Republicans claims are based on nothing more than a mix of anecdotal evidence and a failure to understand the companies algorithms and content moderation practices.

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren said Facebook last month removed ads her campaign placed calling for Facebooks breakup. I want a social media marketplace that isnt dominated by a single censor, she said.

Carlos Monje, Twitters public policy director, said the site does not use political viewpoints, perspectives or party affiliation to make any decisions, whether related to automatically ranking content on our service or how we develop or enforce our rules.

Facebook public policy director Neil Potts said the company does not favor one political viewpoint over another, nor does Facebook suppress conservative speech.

Senator Josh Hawley told the firms they are not being transparent in how they make decisions. This is a huge, huge problem, he said.

Hirono said, We cannot allow the Republican party to harass tech companies into weakening content moderation policies that already fail to remove hateful, dangerous and misleading content.

Google was disinvited over a dispute about whether it offered an executive senior enough to testify. The panel left an empty chair for Google. Cruz said he plans a future hearing to address what he called Googles censorship of free speech.

Google said in a written statement submitted to the committee that it works to ensure our products serve users of all viewpoints and remain politically neutral but it acknowledged that sometimes our content moderation systems do make mistakes.

Cruz posted on twitter, What makes the threat of political censorship so problematic is the lack of transparencythe invisibility. The ability for a handful of giant tech companies to decide if a particular speaker is disfavored.

What makes the threat of political censorship so problematic is the lack of transparencythe invisibility. The ability for a handful of giant tech companies to decide if a particular speaker is disfavored. #StopTheCensorship ICYMI watch my introductory remarks here > pic.twitter.com/XveTL9qqi1  Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) April 10, 2019

By David Shepardson
Ashley Bratcher attends 'Unplanned' Red Carpet Premiere in Hollywood, Calif., on March 18, 2019. (Maury Phillips/Getty Images for Unplanned Movie, LLC)

Fans of Unplanned Blast Google for Classifying Film as Propaganda

An American internet search provider has been harshly criticized for classifying a movie about parenthood as propaganda.

Google recently listed the pro-life drama new release movie Unplanned as drama/propaganda. The move came just weeks after social media giant Twitter locked the films user account, a move that supporters of the film called unfair treatment and suppressing freedom of speech.

According to Unplanneds lead actress, Ashley Bratcher, the film exposes a number of false statements made by not-for-profit organization Planned Parenthood through telling the story of former Planned Parenthood Clinic Director Abby Johnson, who eventually became an anti-abortion activist.

Kelsey Bolar, senior writer and producer at think tank the Heritage Foundation, questioned whether Googles classification actually exists.

Who knew that propaganda was a movie genre? she said in a Twitter post dated April 11. Google once again exposing its gross political bias.

Who knew that propaganda was a movie genre? @Google once again exposing its gross political bias. @UnplannedMovie pic.twitter.com/jOh6TlqQ7C  Kelsey Bolar (Harkness) (@kelseybolar) April 11, 2019

Unplanneds official Twitter account also attacked Google for deterring people from watching the film.

Well hey Google, if you search #UnPlanned  you still peg us as propaganda. Deceptive much? the official movie page said in a Twitter post dated April 12.

Another disgruntled person was surprised to see left-leaning political films like Vice (2018), a biography of Former Vice President Dick Cheney (R), and Michael Moore documentary Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) only being categorized as drama/comedy and drama/crime respectively.

Unplanned is labeled as propaganda, Ryan B. Leslie said in a Twitter post dated April 11. Other films of notoriety and a filmmaker known for political films.

Unplanned is labeled as propaganda. Other films of notoriety and a filmmaker known for political films. @RealDeanCain @guypbenson h/t @kelseybolar pic.twitter.com/7CMZwRysWJ  Ryan B. Leslie (@RyanBLeslie) April 12, 2019

Google searches for Gods Not Dead (2014) by conservative filmmaker Dinesh DSouza was classified a Christian drama and not propaganda either.

Google said it was already aware of the disputed classification and blamed its knowledge graph for analyzing large amounts of content on the film to be propaganda and labelling it without a universal consensus.

When were made aware of disputed facts in our knowledge graph, we work to fix the issues, as weve done in this case, the spokesperson told Fox News.

The company has reversed its classification and removed the term propaganda from its search result and the films genre.

Bolar welcomed Googles backflip although she noted this kind of error does not seem to happen with other controversial films.

Very glad to see that Google removed the propaganda label for @UnplannedMovie, she said in a Twitter post dated April 12. So weird how Al Gore and Michael Moore movies never face this type of confusion.

Very glad to see that @Google removed the propaganda label for @UnplannedMovie. So weird how Al Gore and Michael Moore movies never face this type of confusion! https://t.co/rbXg70PXo0  Kelsey Bolar (Harkness) (@kelseybolar) April 12, 2019

Thank you to all of our supporters! RT if you have seen or going to see #Unplanned #stopabortion https://t.co/lLVyk9EnVo  UnplannedMovie (@UnplannedMovie) April 5, 2019
A man from Honduras carries his daughter Allison, 4, as he walks amid a caravan of thousands of migrants from Central America en route to the United States in the outskirts of Arriaga, Mexico, on Oct. 27, 2018. (Adrees Latif/Reuters)

Federal Appeals Court Allows Trumps Return of Asylum-Seekers Policy to Proceed for Now

A federal appeals court has temporarily halted a lower courts order to stop a Trump administration policy that forces asylum-seekers traveling north into the United States to wait in Mexico while their claims are processed.

A three-judge panel from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked the lower courts ruling from going into effect.

It has instead, set an April 16 deadline for civil liberties groups to submit arguments on why the asylum policy should be placed on hold. Meanwhile, the judges have set an April 17 deadline for the government to argue why the policy should remain.

The policy, known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), was enacted in Jan. 24, as an attempt to curb the flow of meritless asylum claims and stop thousands of illegal immigrants from being released into the countrynever to be seen again.

The MPP was first trialed in at the San Ysidro border crossing between San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, but has expanded to the points of entry in Calexico, California, and El Paso, Texas, with plans to further extend it to other border crossings as well.

On April 8, San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg ordered the policy to be suspended as of April 12 (pdf).

Seeborg, a former President Barack Obama appointee, said in his ruling that the MPP violates U.S. law by failing to evaluate dangers migrants face in Mexicowhich attorneys for the civil liberties groups have argued.

They say the policy puts asylum-seekers lives at risk by forcing them to wait in Mexico, which is plagued with crimes and violence.

Meanwhile, the government has called the ruling erroneous, arguing that it endangers the public during a humanitarian crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. It said that it wants the court to keep the policy in place while the lawsuit is litigated. The lawsuit is expected to take months and possibly years. The White House appealed the order on April 10 (pdf).

After the order was issued, immigration officials had stopped returning asylum-seekers to Mexico, according to the plaintiffs lawyers.

The Mexico government said that more than 1,300 migrants were returned to Mexico after the program took effect.

This federal court case, known as Innovation Law Lab v. Nielsen, was initiated by 11 Central Americans and legal advocacy groups.

In response to the appeals court ruling, President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter on April 12, Finally, great news at the Border!

Finally, great news at the Border! https://t.co/nofzYa2Qs7  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 13, 2019

Migrant Protection Protocols

The MPP, which was overseen by former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, is an unprecedented move aimed at addressing the humanitarian and security crisis at the southern border.

This humanitarian approach will help to end the exploitation of our generous immigration laws, Kirstjen explained back in January when the policy first took effect.

Nielsen said this would allow DHS to more effectively assist legitimate asylum-seekers and individuals fleeing persecution, as migrants with non-meritorious or even fraudulent claims will no longer have an incentive for making the journey.

Unaccompanied minors are exempt from the policy. In October and November 2018, more than 10,000 unaccompanied minors were apprehended by Border Patrol entering the United States illegally.

Moreover, the policy is also aimed to ease the overwhelmed Border Patrol facilities. In March, border patrol apprehended 92,000 illegal aliens along the southwest borderconsisting of 53,000 family units, 30,000 single adults, and 8,900 unaccompanied children.

A further 11,000 presented at ports of entry without documentation and were deemed inadmissible, bringing the March total to 103,000.

I have never witnessed the conditions we are facing on the southwest border. This is not a manufactured crisis, said Rodolfo Karisch, chief Border Patrol agent for the Rio Grande Valley sector, at a Senate hearing on April 9.

On average, we apprehend 1,000 illegal border crossers per dayroughly the capacity of 17 commercial buses.

Epoch Times Reporter Charlotte Cuthbertson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Former CNN Personality Passes Away Aged 34

Family, friends, and fans are remembering the achievements of a former television host whose life was unexpectedly cut short on April 11.

BREAKING Former CNN Inside Africa host Soni Methu dies at 34 after collapse https://t.co/LnEfh8GkF7 pic.twitter.com/VJmLixmW5s  Mirror Breaking News (@MirrorBreaking_) April 12, 2019

Soni Methu, 34, hosted CNN Internationals longest running feature program called Inside Africa from 2014 to 2015 when the show transitioned to a new format that no longer required a human presenter.

The journalist reportedly suddenly collapsed while in Kenya and died on the way to hospital, according to a statement published by CNN.

Kenyan journalist Soni Methu, the one-time host of CNNs Inside Africa, has died at the age of 34 after collapsing from pains in her stomach, her sister said in a statement https://t.co/SL1iJiGZUw pic.twitter.com/U8MArJaUad  CNN (@CNN) April 12, 2019

We are shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of our friend and former colleague Soni Methu, a CNN spokesperson said. Our heartfelt condolences to her family and friends, from all at CNN.

We are shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of our friend and former colleague Soni Methu, CNN said in a statement.https://t.co/d3IS15jZsR  CNN Africa (@CNNAfrica) April 12, 2019

Sonis friends and colleagues found her to be full of energy and very kind to all people she came across throughout her travels, with the ability to light up a room with her personality.

Former CNN Inside Africa host Soni Methu dies at 34 https://t.co/2ikcxVUzj4 pic.twitter.com/xzd6utkhSR  NewsRadio1440 (@NewsRadio_1440) April 12, 2019

Exactly what caused her death was unknown at the time of publication.

We dont know much but a post mortem will be done to tell exactly what happened, the womans sister, Faith Methu, said.

Soni was the first Kenya-born presenter to host Inside Africa and will be remembered for being very proud and passionate about keeping the world informed about her homeland.

Some of her fans said on social media how much more informed they became through her reporting.

Finally a positive story from CNN on Africa, Zakka Ayuba said.

There are parts of Africa where there isnt even any clean drinking water. How indifferent would I be to enjoy myself on an island like this, without even considering the plight of the poor, starving, homeless and sick? Ian Frowner said. My guess is  Id probably be considered about normal by todays standards, so glad to be different. Not better, only different.

Zimbabwe is a poor country. The people who keep these islands going need to make a living too also think of the taxes the wealthy pay when they enjoy these islands, Jay Sunday said.

Soni formerly worked as East Africa correspondent at eNCA in South Africa for two years. Some of her most memorable work includes reporting on the Westgate Mall terrorist attack in the Kenyan capitol of Nairobi and other major events throughout the nation.
Scotty Garnell Morrow is seen in custody. (Georgia Department of Corrections via AP)

Georgia Set to Execute Man Who Killed 2 Women in 1994

ATLANTAA man who killed his ex-girlfriend and another woman nearly 25 years ago is the first death row prisoner set to be executed in Georgia this year.

Scotty Garnell Morrow, 52, is scheduled to die May 2 at the state prison in Jackson, state Attorney General Chris Carr announced Friday.

Morrow was convicted of murder in the fatal shootings of his ex-girlfriend Barbara Ann Young and her friend Tonya Woods at Youngs Gainesville home in December 1994. A third woman was also shot but survived.

Lawyers for Morrow have said the killings were spontaneous and emotionally-charged and that he shouldnt have been sentenced to die.

Morrow and Young began dating in June 1994, but she broke up with him that December because of his abusive behavior, according to a Georgia Supreme Court summary of the case. Morrow called Young on Dec. 29, 1994, and she told him to leave her alone, the summary says. Young was in her kitchen with two friends and two of her children, when Morrow showed up a short time later and the pair argued.

Woods told Morrow to leave, saying Young didnt want anything to do with him anymore. Morrow yelled at her and pulled out a handgun and began shooting, hitting Woods in the abdomen and severing her spine, the summary says.

Morrow also shot Youngs other friend, LaToya Horne, in the arm.

Young ran from the kitchen. Morrow ran after her and kicked open the door to her bedroom, where he beat her head and face and then followed her into the hallway, grabbed her by the hair and fired a fatal shot into her head, the summary says.

Youngs 5-year-old son was hiding in a nearby bedroom and saw Morrow kill his mother, the summary says.

Morrow then returned to the kitchen, where he fired a fatal shot under Woods chin and then shot Horne in the face and arm, the summary says. He cut the telephone line and fled.

Young and Woods died from their injuries, and Horne was severely wounded but managed to leave the house to seek help.

Morrow was arrested within hours. He confessed and the gun used in the killings was found hidden in his yard.

A man who killed his ex-girlfriend and another woman nearly 25 years ago is set to be the first prisoner executed in Georgia this year. https://t.co/nLmkctO9vQ  WGXA (@WGXAnews) April 12, 2019

Attorneys representing Morrow in post-conviction proceedings challenged the constitutionality of his sentence in a petition filed in federal court in 2012.

The death penalty is rarely soughtlet alone obtainedin response to spontaneous and emotionally-charged crimes like that committed by Mr. Morrow, they wrote.

When Morrow went to Youngs home, he pleaded with her to get back together. He pulled out his gun when Woods mocked him, saying Young had used him for money and companionship while her real man was in prison, the petition says.

It was in immediate reaction to Ms. Woodss comments that (Morrow) fired, shooting first at Ms. Woods. The entire crime was complete within moments, Morrows lawyers wrote. In short, Mr. Morrows crime was spontaneous and his mental state at the time of the crime was compromised.

His trial attorneys failed to adequately investigate his childhood, so jurors didnt hear about years of abuse and bullying Morrow experienced as a child that left him tormented and unprepared to function in a healthy relationship, his post-conviction attorneys wrote.

If his trial attorneys had done a proper investigation, they could have proven that Morrow was a genuinely nice guy who, because of the psychological pain of his past, snapped, his lawyers argued.

Morrows execution date was set after the Superior Court of Hall County, where he was convicted, filed an order Friday setting a seven-day window for his execution. That window stretches from noon on May 2 to noon on May 9.

Georgia uses an injection of compounded pentobarbital, a sedative, to execute condemned prisoners.

By Kate Brumback
L: Illustration of a Reddit mascot fashioned as a supporter of President Donald Trump. (Image via Reddit); R: Google logo on display during the Game Developers Conference at Moscone Center in San Francisco, on March 19, 2019. (Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images)

Google Makes It Hard to Find Trumps Biggest Online Fan Club, The_Donald

If a person, by any chance, searched the words Donald Trump and Reddit together on a number of internet search engines, such as Yahoo, Bing, and DuckDuckGo, he or she would find that the top spot in the results is occupied by r/The_Donaldlikely the largest and most active fan club for President Donald Trump on the internet.

Making the same search on Google, however, yielded no such result when repeatedly tried by The Epoch Times staff on April 12. Not on the first page of the results, not on the second, not on the 10th.

The phenomenon was noticed by a Reddit user QuenHen2219 within days after the news broke that special counsel Robert Mueller concluded his report, finding no collusion between Trumps 2016 campaign and Russia.

Now I cant definitively say this, but I noticed something weird, the user said in a March 25 post. When you would go to Google and search for Donald Trump Reddit r/the_Donald would always be the first search result. Now, after the Mueller report dropped, if you Google search the same term r/the_Donald isnt listed.

Other users concurred, reporting that Google returned the same result, or lack thereof, for them too.

The Epoch Times conducted a series of tests on March 25, March 26, and April 12 using multiple web browsers in public and private modes, logged in or notwith the same lack of r/The_Donald in the Google results for a plethora of phrases, like Donald Trump Reddit and Reddit The Donald Trump and even Reddit The Donald.

Google search results for the words donald trump reddit as shown on March 25, 2019. (Screenshot via Google)

Other search engines consistently showed the page at the top of the results.

The Epoch Times wasnt able to confirm whether the Reddit page previously surfaced as one of Googles top results.

A Google official, commenting on the condition of anonymity, denied the company took any action to impact the ranking of the page and said Google didnt remove it from its page index. The page still appears high in the results, the official said via email, when one looks for it more specifically, such as by searching The_Donald or /r/The_Donald or reddit The_Donald.

The official didnt explain however, why its only Google that makes the Reddit page more difficult to find.

Fringe Ranking

One possible explanation came in an April 9 report by The Daily Caller, which cited internal Google documents as saying that the company has something called fringe ranking: not showing fake news, hate speech, conspiracy theories, or science/medical/history denial unless were sure thats what the user wants.

Google didnt respond to questions on whether the fringe ranking applies to r/The_Donald. Left-leaning press has, however, repeatedly accused the pages users of being hateful.

The page was created in June 2015, less than two weeks after Trump announced his candidacy. It has since grown to more than 730,000 subscribers and has commonly ranked as the third most active subreddit in the Reddit list ranking tool.

Its content is, by definition, 100 percent supportive of the president and generally of conservatism. Its other focus is criticizing and ridiculing Trumps opponents, particularly leftist politicians, celebrities, and media. Its humor and commentary is at times insulting, inaccurate, and/or based on speculation.

Bias Accusations

Google and other tech companies including Facebook and Twitter have been consistently accused of bias against right-leaning content. The companies have denied political bias, but a growing stack of evidence shows they may have been applying their hate speech and other policies unevenly, perhaps without being aware of doing so.

Theres no intentional filtering of conservative perspectives, but many of the people in these roles [of content management] arent aware of what non-left-leaning perspectives even arethey just arent exposed to them, former Facebook senior engineer Brian Amerige previously told The Epoch Times via Facebook Messenger.

The company itself acknowledged that there is no universally accepted answer for when something crosses the line of hate speech.

Despite that, one Facebook engineer even mused in a leaked communication that the company has to suppress content near the perimeter of hate speech too.

Journalist and commentator Tim Pool suggested having a hate speech policy reflect a left-leaning bias to begin with.

I would be willing to bet that a conservative running a social network would not have a hate speech policy, he said during his March 5 interview on the Joe Rogan show with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Vijaya Gadde, Twitters global lead for legal, policy, and trust and safety.

Blacklist

Internal Google materials leaked to media have indicated the company manually tweaks search results on topics it deems controversial and maintains a blacklist for pages that violate its misrepresentation and good neighbor policies. Such pages then dont show in the News and other infoboxes on the search result pages, The Daily Caller reported.

The leaked materials appear to contradict the Dec. 11 congressional testimony of Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who said the company doesnt manually intervene on any particular search result.

Google doesnt appear to provide any public explanation of how a page ends up on its blacklist or how online publications like The American Spectator and Conservative tribune reportedly ended up on it when there seems to be no indication either has broken Googles content policies for News Publishers.

We do not manually determine the order of any search result, nor do our algorithms or policies attempt to make any judgment on the political leanings of a website, a Google spokesperson said in an emailed statement in response to The Daily Caller report.
Hospital Pressured Illinois Woman to Have Abortion: Lawsuit

A woman from Peoria, Illinois, filed a lawsuit on April 11 against a hospital in the state after they allegedly paid her $2,000 to have an abortion. The payment came after she was mistakenly given a drug that could cause birth defects.

According to a copy of the suit on The (Peoria) Journal Star, Reneizha Morris claimed she didnt want to have an abortion at the UnityPoint Health-Methodist hospital located more than 100 miles away from Peoria. She said she felt pressured by the hospitals risk management team to go through with the operation.

The 17-page suit, filed in Peoria County Circuit Court, seeks more than $50,000 in damages with UnityPoint as the sole defendant, with several others who are named as respondents in discovery.

Morriss attorney, Thomas Mulroy III, said during a mid-afternoon press conference on April 11 that the hospital made the payment to eliminate evidence of their mistake.

Lawsuit claims UnityPoint-Methodist pressured patient into abortion https://t.co/bpy6sHCiEn  Journal Star (@pjstar) April 11, 2019

A spokesperson for UnityPoint told The Epoch Times via email on April 12 that Patient privacy laws prevent us from discussing any individuals care. At UnityPoint Health, we respect all patient rights in every aspect of the care we provide.

Morris says she was given Methotrexate after she was admitted for a psychiatric evaluation when she was early in her pregnancy. The lawsuit alleges the hospitals legal team got involved when she decided to carry the child to term.

The Methotrexate drug was injected into Morris due to an apparent miscommunication within the hospital, the outlet reported.

They knew they did something wrong and there is no way to reverse it at all, Morris said, according to WGN9.

Methotrexate is a drug that is associated with an increased risk of having multiple birth defects, according to a report on maternal exposure to methotrexate and birth defects. The drug is a successful and widely used medication for cancer chemotherapy and a variety of other conditions.

Mulroy said at the conference he believed the staff at the hospital made the payment after analyzing data based on previous lawsuit payoffs.

The monetary awards are typically greater when the embryo exposed to methotrexate lives and requires continuous medical care, as compared to when the fetus dies in utero or shortly after birth, Mulroy said. We believe at some point in the administration knew that if this baby survived, the cost of the hospital wouldve been astronomical.

Attorneys for Mulroy said she felt she had no other choice except to terminate the pregnancy due to increased pressure given to her in a series of meetings. Her baby was ultimately aborted on Dec. 15, 2017.

The mistake in this case was absolutely inexcusable, said Mulroy during the press conference. There is one important rule that everyone in health care follows. The rule is this, no matter what you do, dont make things worse. First, do no harm. The hospital flunked this test in the most appalling way.

Morris, who is already a mother of two boys, said she was looking forward to having a girl.

When I told that there was a mistake and my baby night not make it, I was devastated, she said. I think about what happened every single day, and I just dont understand how this happened.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
I Have No Idea What Hes Talking About: Comey Responds to Barrs Spying Allegation

James Comey, the fired former director of the FBI, said he has no idea what Attorney General William Barr was talking about when Barr alleged that spying occurred on Trumps campaign in 2016.

He made the comment during the Hewlett Foundations Verify Conference on Thursday, April 11.

I have no idea what hes talking about, so its hard for me to comment, Comey reportedly said in response to a question at the event. Maybe the only thing I can say generally isI think that his career has earned him the presumption that he will be one of the rare Cabinet members who will stand up for things like truth and facts, and institutional values.

So I still think hes entitled to that presumption. Language like this makes it harder, but I still think hes entitled to that presumption. And because I dont know what the heck hes talking about, thats all I can say, he added.

In a video clip on Twitter, Comey claimed that what the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ) did was court-ordered electronic surveillance.

I have never thought of that as spying,' he said.

James @Comey: Ive never thought of electronic surveillance as spying pic.twitter.com/OMspnuD8MN  Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) April 11, 2019

Barr said that spying on Trump Campaign in 2016 did occur during an April 10 hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee.

I think spying did occur, yes. I think spying did occur, he confirmed when Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) asked if he suggested that spying occurred.

He also said that he wants to pull everything together from the various investigations at the Capitol and in the DOJ and see if there are any remaining questions to be addressed.

I havent set up a team yet. But I do have in mind having some colleagues to help me pull all this information together and let me know whether theres some areas that should be looked at, he stated.

Barr clarified that he is not launching an investigation into the FBI but he thought there was probably a failure among a group of leaders there.

Why should Radical Left Democrats in Congress have a right to retry and examine the $35,000,000 (two years in the making) No Collusion Mueller Report, when the crime committed was by Crooked Hillary, the DNC and Dirty Cops? Attorney General Barr will make the decision!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 13, 2019

Trump said he agreed with Barrs testimony about spying on his campaign.

I think what he said was absolutely true. There was absolutely spying into my campaign, Trump told reporters at the White House on April 11. Ill go a step further. In my opinion, there was illegal spying, unprecedented spying. And something that should never be allowed to happen in our country again.

Trump made the initial claim more than two years ago that his campaign was spied on by the Obama administration. At the time, little evidence was available to back up the presidents claim, but investigations by Republicans in Congress have established that the FBI surveilled at least one Trump campaign associate.

Clapper has now admitted that there was Spying in my campaign. Large dollars were paid to the Spy, far beyond normal. Starting to look like one of the biggest political scandals in U.S. history. SPYGATE  a terrible thing!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 24, 2018

Barr is the first DOJ official to acknowledge that the Trump campaign was the target of a spying operation. Considering his position as the nations top prosecutor, the testimony marks a major turning point for both the publics perception of the matter and the legal consequences for those involved, The Epoch Times reported.

During the 2016 elections, officials in the #Obama admin, including cabinet-level officials, extensively spied on the campaign of then-candidate Trump. So far, at least 5 different ways officials spied on the Trump campaign have been uncovered. (Thread )https://t.co/GlWjujdmuw  The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) April 11, 2019

According to the media outlet, evidence suggests that Obama officials used at least five methods to spy on the campaign.

Epoch Times reporter Ivan Pentchoukov contributed to this report.
Central American migrants, part of a caravan hoping to reach the United States border, walk on a road in Frontera Hidalgo, Mexico, on April 12, 2019. (Isabel Mateos/Photo via AP)

Illegal Immigrants Break Border Gate, Force Their Way Into Mexico

MEXICO CITYMexican authorities said a group of about 350 illegal immigrants broke the locks on a gate at the Guatemalan border Friday, April 12, and forced their way into southern Mexico to join a larger group of migrants trying to make their way toward the United States.

The National Immigration Institute did not identify the nationalities of the migrants, but they are usually from Central America.

A similar confrontation occurred on the same border bridge between Mexico and Guatemala last year.

The institute said the illegal immigrants were acting in a hostile and aggressive way, and accused them of also attacking local police in Metapa, a Mexican village that lies between the border and the nearby city of Tapachula.

The group of 350 pushed past police guarding the bridge and joined a larger group of about 2,000 migrants who are walking toward Tapachula in the latest caravan to enter Mexico.

Claudia Jaqueline Sandoval, 43, from El Progreso, Honduras, was walking toward Tapachula with her 6-year-old daughter. Another son and daughter are already in the United States.

I have been HIV positive for 16 years, said Sandoval, but her reason for going north was not just medical treatment. It has been two years since I heard from my son in the United States, and money is scarce, she said.

There are already several groups of migrants in the southern border state of Chiapas who have expressed frustration at Mexicos policy of slowing or stopping the process of handing out humanitarian and exit visas at the border.

A group of several hundred Cuban, African, and Central American migrants have been waiting at the immigration offices in Tapachula for documents that would allow them to travel to the United States border, where most plan to request asylum.

Some members of that group have scuffled with immigration authorities and broken windows at the offices in recent days, accusing officials of making them wait too long for papers.

And another group of an estimated 2,500 Central American and Cuban migrants have been stuck for at least a week further west in the Chiapas town of Mapastepec, also waiting for papers.

More Central American Asylum Seekers Returned to Mexico

The United States has returned the first group of asylum seekers to Mexico, where they will wait out their cases, after the start of a new Trump administration immigration policy.

A man named Carlos from Honduras arrived in Tijuana on Jan. 29 under the new policy, called the Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP). He is the first of many asylum seekers from the Northern Triangle who will be sent back to Mexico until their immigration court date in the United Statesat which point, they will be allowed to enter the country to attend their hearings.

As of Jan. 30, at least a dozen people have been returned to Tijuana through the San Ysidro Port of Entry, including one woman.

Honduran migrant Marlon Ariel Mendez was part of a group of asylum-seekers who were returned to Tijuana on Jan. 30. Mendez, 19, told reporters he was glad to be back in Mexico, after being detained in an immigration detention facility.

Thanks to God, I didnt want to be there [in detention], above all else because of the food, he said.

Mendez said he was not worried about being returned to Mexico.

Its better to be here than locked up.

Then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsens visit to San Diegos San Ysidro Port of Entry kicked off the start of the policy on Jan. 29. That day only one asylum seeker walked back through the port gates, although the United States has said it will send 20 per day.

The MPP will enable DHS to take a huge step forward in bringing order to chaotic migration flows, restoring the rule of law and the integrity of the United States immigration system, and allowing DHS to focus resources on providing relief to individuals fleeing persecution while at the same time holding those accountable who make false asylum claims, said Nielsen.

Nielsen announced the new MPP in December. The policy is an attempt by the Trump administration to curb the large number family unitsmostly from Central Americafrom traveling north to seek asylum in the United States and subsequently disappearing into the country under the catch-and-release loophole.

In fiscal year 2017, border patrol apprehended 94,285 family units from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador at the Southern border. Of those, 99 percent remain in the country today, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

So far, the policy is implemented in San Diegos San Ysidro Port of Entry, the busiest border crossing in the country, and has expanded to other ports of entry at the border. Thousands of migrants from the Northern Triangle countries arrived in nearby Tijuana last year. Its also believed to be the destination of the latest Honduran caravan headed north.

Honduran reporter Josue Cover told The Epoch Times on Jan. 17 that coyotes encourage migrants in the caravan to bring young children along the journey north.

The coyotes tell them that please, if you are going to come, then come with a minor, with a baby, because that way you are given more support, that is, they are given the opportunity to cross to the United States, said Cover.

Cover said local coyotes also tell minors they have a better chance of entering the United States if they go alone.

They [coyotes] say that the immigration authorities help them and that they have compassion for them, whereas if you go without children, or you are an adult maleit is very difficult.
Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong is escorted by police as she leaves Shah Alam High Court in Shah Alam, Malaysia, on March 14, 2019. (Vincent Thian/AP)

Malaysia to Free Vietnamese Woman Accused of Kim Jong Nam Murder on May 3: Lawyer

KUALA LUMPURA Vietnamese woman who had been accused of killing the half-brother of North Koreas leader will be freed from a Malaysian prison on May 3, her lawyer said, a day earlier than previously expected.

Doan Thi Huong, 30, was charged along with an Indonesian woman of poisoning Kim Jong Nam by smearing his face with a banned chemical weapon at Kuala Lumpur airport in February 2017.

Malaysian prosecutors dropped a murder charge against Huong earlier this month, after she plead guilty to an alternate charge of causing harm.

She was sentenced to more than three years in jail, but the term was later reduced as Malaysian law can allow a one-third remission off prison sentences.

Huong, who had been expected to be freed on May 4, will be released a day earlier as the original date fell on a weekend, her lawyer, Salim Bashir, told Reuters.

We were informed by the prison authorities that she would be released on May 3, and it is likely she will be flown back to Hanoi on the same date, he said, when contacted.

Huongs co-accused, Siti Aisyah, was freed in March, after prosecutors also dropped the murder charge against her.

South Korean and U.S. officials have said the North Korean regime had ordered the assassination of Kim Jong Nam, who had been critical of his familys dynastic rule. Pyongyang has denied the allegation.

Defense lawyers have maintained the women were pawns in an assassination orchestrated by North Korean agents. The women said they thought they were part of a reality prank show and did not know they were poisoning Kim.

Four North Korean men were also charged, but they left Malaysia hours after the murder and remain at large.

Malaysia had come under criticism for charging the two women with murder  which carries a mandatory death penalty in the country  when the key perpetrators were still being sought.

By Rozanna Latiff
Man was arrested for using a license plate flipper to avoid paying toll, police said. (Mark Herman, Harris County Constable Precinct 4)

Man Arrested for Using Device to Hide License Plate, Owes $5,400 in Tolls

A Texas man has been arrested after police caught him using a device that flips and hides his license plate to avoid paying tolls, police said.

Preston Cody Talbot, 28, was arrested during a traffic stop on April 11, after an officer from Harris County Constable Precinct 4 stopped Talbots vehicle for failing to pay a toll in the 8000 block of the North Sam Houston Parkway West, according to a statement.

CONSTABLES ARREST DRIVER FOR POSSESSION OF A LICENSE PLATE FLIPPER. On April 11, 2019, deputies with Constable Mark Posted by Mark Herman, Harris County Constable Precinct 4 on Friday, April 12, 2019

During the search, the officer discovered that Talbot was using a license plate flipper, which was installed on the rear of the vehicle. A license plate flipper allows a vehicle to change between two license plates, by rotating the plates 180 degrees with a push of a button, according to a website that sells the device.

This means a driver can use two license plates and hide one of them within seconds.

Earlier this evening Constable deputies assigned to the Harris County Toll Road arrested and charged a suspect with possession of a License Plate Flipper. The suspect owes more than $5,400 dollars in tolls.#oneincustody

Follow us at https://t.co/E8STYHMtoE pic.twitter.com/YiTIK5besT  Mark Herman, Harris County Constable Precinct 4 (@Pct4Constable) April 12, 2019

Deputies said that after further investigation, they found that Talbot was prohibited to operate a vehicle on the toll road due to his failure to pay tolls. He had already owed $5,473.07.

Talbot was booked into Harris County Jail charged with possession of a license plate flipper. His bond was set at $100,000.

According to Texas Transportation Code Section 504.9465 (b), a person commits an offense if the person with criminal negligence purchases or possesses a license plate flipper.

Moreover, it is also a criminal offense to manufacture, sell, offer to sell, or distribute a license plate flipper in the state.

In a similar case in 2017, a Florida man, Joshua Concepcion-West, 27, was arrested for installing a device that shielded his license plate when going through a toll.

SERIOUSLY? An Orange County man was arrested for reportedly installing this license plate shield on his car to avoid paying tolls. Full Story >> http://wfts.tv/2iOSp5L Posted by ABC Action News  WFTS  Tampa Bay on Friday, January 13, 2017

The device Concepcion-West installed was not a license plate flipper but rather a type of curtain that would cover the plate using the push of a button.

Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Kim Montes told ABC News that after he cleared the toll booth, the tag cover came back up and the tag was exposed again.

Because the tag was obscured, we dont know yet how many times this vehicle has run the toll, so we dont know how much money hes stolen from the state, Montes said.

The 27-year-old faced a felony for failing to pay a $1.25 toll, according to the news broadcaster.
A mother was given a parking ticket for stopping her car in a no standing commercial zone to breastfeed her baby on 8th avenue in Manhattan. She said plans to fight the ticket. (Screenshot via Google Maps)

Mom Receives Ticket While Breastfeeding Newborn in Backseat of Parked SUV

A New York mother is asking for leniency after she received a $115 ticket while breastfeeding her child in the backseat of her vehicle.

Guillermina Rodriguez was driving in Manhattan when her 3-week-old daughter started crying because she was hungry. The mother then decided to pull over so she could attend to her baby.

Mom ticketed while breastfeeding in backseat of parked SUV https://t.co/QbFjqwJKll # via @ABC13Houston  T.J. Parker (@TJParkerABC13) April 13, 2019

I was almost crying because shes crying, and all I wanted to do was pull over so I could attend to her, Rodriguez told ABC 13.

The area Rodriguez had parked in was a no-standing commercial zone on 8th Avenue, between 30th Street and 31st Street in midtown Manhattan, reported PIX 11.

About two minutes after stopping, a traffic officer pulled up next to her with a tow truck. He proceeded to tow the SUV without checking whether anyone was in the vehicle.

The mom says she was driving in heavy traffic when her 3-week-old baby girl began to cry, so she pulled over to do what she felt was right. Posted by PIX 11 on Friday, April 12, 2019

She said she then honked her car to alert the officer that the car was not empty and showed him of a video of her breastfeeding her baby that she just took in the car, according to PIX 11.

Despite this, the officer did not say anything, continued to issue a ticket, and walked away.

Rodriguez is now planning to fight the ticket, saying that she was doing what she could for her newborn and does not believe she should have received the ticket.

I understand its the law, but seriously, what am I supposed to do, let the child scream? Rodriguez told NY Daily News.

The mother said she contacted Laura Beth Gilman, an Upper West Side breastfeeding counselor, from the breastfeeding advocacy group La Leche League to help her with her case.

Gilman said the officer should have treated Rogriguezs situation as an emergency.

If she had a flat tire, would he have given her a ticket? If she had a health emergency  would he have given her a ticket? She had an emergency, Gilman told news website. She found the first safe spot she could and she rectified the emergency.

Officers who were aware of the incident told PIX 11 that the agent who issued the ticket before realizing someone was in the SUV.

According to the New York City government traffic rules, No Standing Commercial Vehicles Only zones only allow commercial vehicles to stand or park at parking spaces controlled by muni-meters, purchase parking at muni-meters located on these streets, and display the receipt on the dashboard.

Passenger vehicles are not allowed to stop a vehicle, while occupied or not, in a no standing zone (pdf) unless quickly dropping off or picking up passengers.

According to Lawrence Berezin, who runs a website and blog about New York parking, to win against a ticket in the no standing zone a driver must show that they were actively engaging in discharging or receiving a passenger.

To activate your get out of a parking ticket jail free card, you must STOP, DROP and GO. You cannot wait for your passengers safe return. In other words, you cannot walk your 110-year-old Aunt to the corner, Berezin wrote in his blog post.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) talks to reporters during a news conference a day after a bipartisan group of House and Senate bargainers met to craft a border security compromise aimed at avoiding another government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 31, 2019. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

Pelosi Fumes Over Plan to Release Immigrant Detainees in Sanctuary Cities

After the White House proposed releasing illegal immigrant detainees in sanctuary cities, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) reacted negatively, with her office calling the idea despicable.

The extent of this Administrations cynicism and cruelty cannot be overstated, Pelosi spokeswoman Ashley Etienne said in a statement on Friday, April 12. Using human beingsincluding little childrenas pawns in their warped game to perpetuate fear and demonize immigrants is despicable, and in some cases, criminal.

The American people have resoundingly rejected this Administrations toxic anti-immigrant policies, and Democrats will continue to advance immigration policies that keep us safe and honor our values, she added.

If the Radical Left Democrats all of a sudden dont want the Illegal Migrants in their Sanctuary Cities (no more open arms), why should others be expected to take them into their communities? Go home and come into our Country legally and through a system of Merit!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 13, 2019

California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and Vermont are sanctuary states.

San Francisco, the hometown of Pelosi, is also a sanctuary city.

She told reporters earlier on Friday that she was not aware of Trumps proposal.

Pelosi was in Leesburg, Virginia, where House Democrats were wrapping up a 3-day retreat.

Its just another notion that is unworthy of the presidency of the United States and disrespectful of the challenges that we face, as a country, as a people, to address who we are, a nation of immigrants, Pelosi said.

If the Radical Left Democrats all of a sudden dont want the Illegal Migrants in their Sanctuary Cities (no more open arms), why should others be expected to take them into their communities? Go home and come into our Country legally and through a system of Merit! Trump responded to the backlash of the White House plan on Saturday morning, April 13.

Trump Singles Out California as Possible Host

Trump said on Friday, April 12, that the crisis of illegal aliens pouring in is because of the most ridiculous laws probably we have in this country.

Were getting them and were doing the best we can with very bad laws, we have to change the laws, but were apprehending thousands and thousands of people a day and the law only allows us to hold them as you know for 20 days, he said.

Trump suggested that the problem can be fixed if the Democrats cooperate.

Due to the fact that Democrats are unwilling to change our very dangerous immigration laws, we are indeed, as reported, giving strong considerations to placing Illegal Immigrants in Sanctuary Cities only.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 12, 2019

However, hes considering moving the illegal immigrants to sanctuary cities if Democrats dont want to change the law.

But if they dont agree we might as well do what they always say they want. Well bring the illegals, I call them the illegals, that came across the border illegally, well bring them to sanctuary city areas and let that particular area take care of it, whether its a state or whatever it might be, Trump said.

He singled out California as a possible place to send the illegal aliens: California certainly is always saying oh, we want more people. And they want more people in their sanctuary cities, well well give them more people. We can give them a lot, we can give them an unlimited supply.

And lets see if theyre so happy. They say we have open arms, theyre always saying they have open arms. Lets see if they have open arms, he added.

However, Trump emphasized that the alternative solution for the border crisis is to change the laws.

We can do it very, very quickly, very easily, he said.
President Trump Responds to Ilhan Omars 9/11 Some People Did Something Remarks

President Donald Trump responded to Rep. Ilhan Omars (D-Minn.) description of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, in a Tweet on April 12.

In his post, Trump wrote, WE WILL NEVER FORGET! accompanied by a video compilation of footage from the terrorist attacks. The video ends with the text, September 11, 2001, We Remember.

WE WILL NEVER FORGET! pic.twitter.com/VxrGFRFeJM  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 12, 2019

The presidents post was in response to Omars description of the attacks, who called it some people did something. Her comments were made as part of a speech last month at a Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) fundraiser, during which she said the radical Muslim group was founded after the terror attacks.

CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties, Omar said.

Ilhan Omar mentions 9/11 and does not consider it a terrorist attack on the USA by terrorists, instead she refers to it as Some people did something, then she goes on to justify the establishment of a terrorist organization (CAIR) on US soil. pic.twitter.com/ixP3BJfqxS  Imam Mohamad Tawhidi (@Imamofpeace) April 9, 2019

CAIR describes itself as a nonprofit, grass-roots membership organization  established to promote a positive image of Islam and Muslims in America, but allegedly has ties to several extremist Islamic groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood. In 2007, CAIR was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in funding the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, as revealed in the case against Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. The United Arab Emirates designated CAIR a terrorist organization in 2014.

The Democratic congresswoman came under fire for trivializing the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 American citizens. Many commentators and political figures immediately condemned her comments.

First Member of Congress to ever describe terrorists who killed thousands of Americans on 9/11 as some people who did something, Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) wrote on social media on April 9. Unbelievable.

First Member of Congress to ever describe terrorists who killed thousands of Americans on 9/11 as some people who did something. Unbelievable. https://t.co/IKtoZWWmIT  Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) April 9, 2019

Similarly, the chair of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel, called her comments a brazen display of disrespect.

Ilhan Omar isnt just anti-Semitic  shes anti-American. Nearly 3,000 Americans lost their lives to Islamic terrorists on 9/11, yet Omar diminishes it as: Some people did something. Democrat leaders need to condemn her brazen display of disrespect.pic.twitter.com/k3meEbUOAk  Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) April 9, 2019

Ilhan Omar isnt just anti-Semiticshes anti-American. Nearly 3,000 Americans lost their lives to Islamic terrorists on 9/11, yet Omar diminishes it as: Some people did something. Democrat leaders need to condemn her brazen display of disrespect, McDaniel wrote on Twitter.

Paul Sacca, an associate editor of BroBible, also called out the freshman Democrat for minimizing the terror attacks.

Some people did something sounds like a bake sale, but it does not really sound like a terrorist attack that killed 3,000 people and altered the NYC skyline forever https://t.co/ti45h1vRqx  Paul Sacca (@Paul_Sacca) April 9, 2019

Some people did something sounds like a bake sale, but it does not really sound like a terrorist attack that killed 3,000 people and altered the NYC skyline forever, Sacca wrote.

Moreover, Rep. Max Rose (D-N.Y.) called his colleagues comments insensitive and offensive during an interview with The Daily Briefing.

Lets be very clear about this. This is insensitive and offensive. On 9/11, radical terrorists attacked us. New York City lost thousands of people. My district Staten Island and South Brooklyn lost hundreds of cops, firemen, first responders more than any other district in America. Theres a lot of pain right now, Rose said during the interview.

Watch the latest video at <a href=https://www.foxnews.com>foxnews.com</a>

Her comments also prompted the New York Post to rebuke the congresswoman on the front page of its April 11 paper.

The New York Posts cover for Thursday calls out Ilhan Omar for trivializing the 9/11 terrorist attacks as some people did something pic.twitter.com/xToghXSGw5  Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) April 11, 2019

Democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) came to Omars defense after the backlash, calling the New York Post cover horrifying and hateful.

Im not going to quote the NY Posts horrifying, hateful cover. Heres 1 fact: @IlhanMN is a cosponsor of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. Shes done more for 9/11 families than the GOP who wont even support health care for 1st responders- yet are happy to weaponize her faith, Ocasio-Cortez wrote on April 11.

She also blasted Crenshaw for his criticism of Omar. She wrote, You refuse to cosponsor the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund, yet have the audacity to drum resentment toward Ilhan w/completely out-of-context quotes.

In 2018, right-wing extremists were behind almost ALL US domestic terrorist killings. Why dont you go do something about that? she added.

You refuse to cosponsor the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund, yet have the audacity to drum resentment towards Ilhan w/completely out-of-context quotes. In 2018, right-wing extremists were behind almost ALL US domestic terrorist killings. Why dont you go do something about that? https://t.co/rkb92IxkKX  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 11, 2019

Earlier today, Omar responded to the criticism by posting a quote from former President George W. Bush and asking the question Was Bush downplaying the terrorist attack? What if he was a Muslim.

The people  and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon! President George W. Bush Was Bush downplaying the terrorist attack? What if he was a Muslim  https://t.co/XMazssoD49  Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) April 12, 2019

She also claimed she was receiving death threats over her comments, asking fellow congress members to condemn the threats.

This is dangerous incitement, given the death threats I face. I hope leaders of both parties will join me in condemning it, she wrote on April 10.

This is dangerous incitement, given the death threats I face. I hope leaders of both parties will join me in condemning it. My love and commitment to our country and that of my colleagues should never be in question. We are ALL Americans! pic.twitter.com/foTZMpiZKv  Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) April 10, 2019

Omar has come under fire for a number of remarks and actions she had previously made, including making anti-Semitic tropes.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is seen in the audience ahead of President Donald Trump's State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Wash., on Feb. 5, 2019. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

Resurfaced Clip Shows Rep. Ilhan Omar Blaming Our Involvement in Other Peoples Affairs for Terrorist Acts

A recently resurfaced old interview with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) showed how she previously described acts of terrorism as a reaction to our involvement in other peoples affairs, when talking about the 2013 al-Shababs attack on a Kenyan shopping mall.

Omars remarks were made during a local television appearance on the show Belahdan on Twin Cities PBS, weeks after four terrorists attacked at the Westgate shopping mall in Kenya resulting in almost 70 deaths and wounding about 200 people. The terrorist group al-Shabab, that is based in Somalia, claimed responsibility for the attack. A faction of this group had previously pledged allegiance to the ISIS terrorist group.

During the interview, the host Ahmed Tharwat and then-activist Omar were discussing the reaction of the Somalian community to the Kenyan attacks. At one point, Tharwat commented, When are we gonna decide or realize that terrorism is a reaction? Its an ideology, its a means of things, its not an entity, its not a place, people. Its a reaction to a situation.

In response, Omar said, What youre insinuating is what nobody wants to face. Nobody wants to face how the actions of the other people involved in the world have contributed to the rise of the radicalization and the rise of terrorist acts.

Nobody wants to take accountability of how these are byproducts of the actions of our involvement in other peoples affairs, she said later in the interview.

Tharwat then compared violence committed by terror groups to actions of western governments, saying, Most of the people who commit these kinds of heinous violence in the Muslim world, Arab world, Somali world are done by people unelected that are just fringe of the societies  but the violence done [by] the West is done by the people that are elected.

As part of Omars response to Tharwats comments, she said, A lot of people will not go that far to condemn [elected officials] because you dont want to be unpatriotic, you dont want to be seen to be going against your government. But when you have entities like al-Qaeda and al-Shabab that are committing these  because you havent elected them, and they are the normal citizens, so its easier for you to say this is not okay because its not a legitimized action.

Embroiled in Controversy

Omar, who is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, has come under fire for a number of remarks and actions she had previously made. Moreover, her connections with several radical groups, which were also revealed in the past months, has raised questions about her suitability to serve on the House Committee.

In a recent speech, Omar received criticism for trivializing the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks as some people did something.

The remarks were made last month as part of a speech at a Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) fundraiser, during which she said the radical Muslim group was founded after the terror attacks, surfaced on social media earlier this week. The United Arab Emirates designated CAIR a terrorist organization in 2014.

CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties, Omar said, according to the video.

Ilhan Omar mentions 9/11 and does not consider it a terrorist attack on the USA by terrorists, instead she refers to it as Some people did something, then she goes on to justify the establishment of a terrorist organization (CAIR) on US soil. pic.twitter.com/ixP3BJfqxS  Imam Mohamad Tawhidi (@Imamofpeace) April 9, 2019

Her comments prompted a backlash from several high profile people, including Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) and prompted the New York Post to rebuke the congresswoman on its front page of its April 11 paper.

The New York Posts cover for Thursday calls out Ilhan Omar for trivializing the 9/11 terrorist attacks as some people did something pic.twitter.com/xToghXSGw5  Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) April 11, 2019

She also faced fresh condemnation in January this year for asking a judge in 2016 to show leniency toward a group of Minnesota men who were accused of attempting to join ISIS. Omar was a Minnesota state representative at the time.

The best deterrent to fanaticism is a system of compassion, she wrote in the letter obtained by Fox 9. We must alter our attitude and approach; if we truly want to effect change, we should refocus our efforts on inclusion and rehabilitation.

The nine men allegedly made plans, including buying fake passports, to travel to Syria to fights for the terrorist group.

Moreover, it was revealed in February that the Democratic congresswoman had traveled in November 2017 to Honduras as part of a delegation sponsored by the radical Witness for Peace groupa far-left organization that was formed during the Reagan administration to oppose U.S. policies aimed to stop the spread of communism. The group also supports Cuban and Venezuelan socialism.
Senate IT Office Hit With Housecleaning in Hassan Aide Scandal

WASHINGTONSenate sergeant-at-arms officials have conducted a general housecleaning that resulted in massive personnel changes in the upper chambers information technology and cybersecurity systems staff, The Epoch Times has learned.

Theres been massive personnel changes over there, said a Senate source with knowledge of the situation who requested anonymity. The new people are a lot more strict and putting on a lot more rules and restrictions. They have just been tightening down a lot since then.

Among those who have left is John Clayton Porter. He was branch manager for information assurancecybersecurity from March 2017 until earlier this month, according to LegiStorm. He was paid $88,628 annually at the time of his departure, according to Senate records.

The sergeant-at-arms (SAA) office declined to discuss Porter or personnel changes that have been implemented in his former office. A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also declined to comment.

The staff and rules changes come in the wake of a guilty plea entered in federal court April 5 by Jackson Cosko, a former information technology aide to Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas).

Mannal Haddad, press secretary for the House Administration Committee, which oversees the House computer networks, declined to comment when asked by The Epoch Times about Cosko and whether new cybersecurity measures were implemented as a result of the case.

Cosko admitted guilt in the pleading to two counts of making public restricted private information in October 2018 about McConnell, and other senators, including Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).

Cosko also admitted guilt to one count each of computer fraud, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice. Prior to agreeing to the plea, Cosko faced as many as 11 separate felony counts.

The case was heard in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and was first reported by The Daily Caller News Foundations Luke Rosiak.

Coskos offenses commenced after he was terminated from Hassans staff in May 2018 for reasons the New Hampshire senator has refused to make public.

He then obtained the position on the House side with Jackson-Lee, and during the following months, with the assistance of a second person, gained access to at least six computers in Hassans office.

Beginning no later than July 2018 and continuing until October 2018, the defendant engaged in an extensive computer fraud and data theft scheme that he carried out by repeatedly burglarizing Senator Hassans office, prosecutors said in Coskos April 5 pleading.

The defendant engaged in an extraordinarily extensive data-theft scheme, copying entire network drives, sorting and organizing sensitive data, and exploring ways to use that data to his benefit.

Cosko became angry at the Republican senators in October 2018, according to prosecutors, while watching the Senate Judiciary Committees confirmation hearing for Justice Brett Kavanaughs nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Cosko used Wikipedia to make public the senators home addresses, credit card data, and health information. He was able to gain access to the Hassan office computers by placing an unobtrusive keystroke logging device on them.

The Wikipedia entries by Cosko were investigated by the U.S Capitol Police, which tracked them to the former Hassan aide, according to the governments Oct. 3, 2018, criminal complaint.

When Cosko was observed in Hassans office by another aide after his termination, prosecutors said, he wrote the aide a threatening email, stating: If you tell anyone, I will leak it all. Emails, signal conversations, gmails. Senators childrens health information and socials.

Cosko also had downloaded Senate information that was too sensitive to be discussed in open court, according to the judge hearing the case.

There are multiple parallels between Coskos case and a scandal on the House side involving former information technology aide Imran Awan and members of his family.

Originally from Pakistan, Awan, one of his two wives, two of his brothers, and a close friend were hired as information technology aides by dozens of House Democrats, including many who were members of the House Foreign Affairs, Homeland Security, and Intelligence committees.

Their positions provided the Awans with access to all of the office computer files of their employing representatives. Awan was found to have downloaded substantial amounts of data from the House computer network to an off-site server.

He was also in possession of a laptop owned by former Democratic National Committee chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.). Awan first began working in Congress when he was hired in 2004 by Wasserman Schultz.

Imran and his family were banned from the House computer network in February 2017 after the Houses top law enforcement officer wrote that Imran is an ongoing and serious risk to the House of Representatives, possibly threatening the integrity of our information systems, and that a server containing evidence had gone missing, Rosiak reported.

Contact Mark Tapscott at mark.tapscott@epochtimes.nyc
Linda Slade, actress, artistic director of a theater company, and professional vocal trainer, enjoyed Shen Yun at the National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei on April 11, 2019. (Chen Po-chou/The Epoch Times)

TAIPEI, TaiwanLinda Slade, actress, artistic director of a theater company, and professional vocal trainer, was among the audience to see a Shen Yun performance at the National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei on April 11.

[The performance] gives you hope. It gives you hope for the future, of what is our purpose here, and how does that connect to divinity, Ms. Slade said, commenting how what she took away from the performance.

She added: We need to wake up in the world big time  and it is really important in what [Shen Yun] has to say.

Shen Yun Performing Arts is a classical Chinese dance and music company founded in New York in 2006. The performance on stage is accompanied by a one-of-a-kind orchestra, combing Western symphonic instruments with traditional Chinese instruments.

Stunning, it was really beautiful. I love the panoramic screen that you had, that incorporated the background with the performance. It is the first time that I have seen that, Ms. Slade said, adding It was brilliant. I loved it.

The panoramic screen that Ms. Slade referred to is Shen Yuns unique digital backdrop, which truly reflects Chinas different geographical regions, society, and dynasties. With the technology behind the backdrop patented, Shen Yun states on its website that the backdrop allows people to forget where you are and creates a portal to a different time and place.

The performance was much more than just the innovative backdrop for Ms. Slade. She said that it was also very beautiful seeing the different colors and listening to the classical music played by the orchestra.

Ms. Slade said she was empowered and excited by how love and divinity came through the music, the dance, the colors, and the beauty of the performance.

Before coming to see Shen Yun, Ms. Slade described how she knew somewhat about Falun Dafa and how its practitioners were persecuted in China from a leaflet she once obtained while in the United States. She was touched by the mentions of the practice in some of the dances.

I think the mission of this production, the mission of the performers, and their dedication to the work, is very important. And bringing awareness to what is going on in China with this particular organization, Ms. Slade said.

According to Shen Yuns website, Shen Yun artists practice Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gonga practice that combines teachings for self-improvement and meditation exercises. And the practice is a source of inspiration for the performances.

I think when you have music and dance and you enlighten peoples spirits through the visuals, and through what they hear, without actually putting words to it, I think you touch peoples hearts in a much more profound and deeper wayand we need it. We need it right now big time in the world, Ms. Slade said.

Ms. Slade said she admired what the artistic director of Shen Yun had done, and expressed respect for everyone involved in the performance.

They are standing up in what they believe in, and giving that word to the world. So I really honor that and admire it. It is wonderful.

With reporting by Frank Fang.

The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time and has covered audience reactions since the companys inception in 2006.
The authorities believe Ernst Cherizard, the 38-year-old suspect, fled in a 2011 Nissan Altima after the incident. (Haines City Police Department)

Triple Shooting Leaves 2 Dead, 6-Year-Old in Extremely Critical Condition: Police

Two people were killed, and a 6-year-old girl was left in extremely critical condition after a triple shooting happened in Florida on Friday night, April 12.

The Haines City Police Department identified 38-year-old Ernst Cherizard as the suspect.

Authorities believed that Cherizard fled after the incident in a burgundy 2011 Nissan Altima Florida tag GZN C82.

Two women are deceased and one child is in extremely critical condition. There are no other victims, the police said in a Twitter post.

We are looking for the publics help finding Ernst Cherizard (8/13/1980) who fled in a burgundy 2011 Nissan Altima Florida tag GZN C82 after shooting three people at Citrus Ridge Apartments. pic.twitter.com/MjgdJ5joEm  Haines City Police Department (@HainesCityPD) April 13, 2019

The victims were identified as Cherizards 23-year-old girlfriend Eli Junia Normil, her 48-year old aunt Nicole Guillume, and her 6-year-old daughter Isabella Frenel, Fox 13 reported.

The little girl was shot three times, including once in the head, authorities said.

Haines City Police Department Chief Jim Elensky said Isabella will most likely not survive her injuries on Saturday morning, April 13, Orlando Sentinel reported.

According to Fox 13, Guillume and another woman came to the Citrus Ridge Apartments to check on Normil and found Cherizard there instead.

They left after Cherizard told them Normil wasnt home.

But Guillume returned and confronted Cherizard.

Cherizard then shot Normil and Isabella first, then shot Guillume as she returned to confront him, investigators told Fox 13.

The police didnt elaborate on the motive of the suspect.

No motivation, no motive at this point. (Its still) early on in the investigation, Elensky told Fox 13.

But the media outlet reported that Cherizard said on the Facebook that what he did was pure evil.

Daddy is so sorry with all my heart,  I cant even explain what happened. I cant believe this happened, he reportedly wrote in the Facebook post.

Several agencies are currently investigating the case and working to locate and arrest Cherizard.

URGENT. MANHUNT NOW. Please get the word out. @HainesCityPD Florida police: man killed wife, aunt and shot his 6 yo in the head (now in critical condition)  Last seen near Boynton Beach, Florida. Please help. @LindaLeeKing @AlmeidaAlzira https://t.co/5kaxSkGV9H pic.twitter.com/GRMUb987dR  PaulCBS12 (@PaulCBS12) April 13, 2019

Anyone with information about the suspects whereabouts is encouraged to contact the Haines City Police Department or to remain anonymous, call Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-8477 (TIPS).
Actress Ashley Bratcher plays former Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson who becomes an anti-abortion activist in the 2019 drama movie, "Unplanned." (Courtesy of Unplanned)

Unplanned Director Says Abortion Workers Are Leaving the Industry Due to the Film

The co-director of the Unplanned movie said that abortion workers are leaving the industry after seeing the movie.

Unplanned, currently in theaters, tells the true story of Abby Johnson, who worked as a Planned Parenthood clinic director before her experience there led her to become a pro-life advocate.

Chuck Konzelman, co-director and co-writer of the film, testified before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee this week about the films impact.

After about 10 days after release, we have had approaches through Abby Johnsons organization And Then There Were None, which transitions workers out of the abortion industry, I believe we have something approaching 1 percent of the abortion workers in the United States seeking help to leave the industry, he told Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution.

Konzelman said that 94 workers have reached out to the organization. He said there are about 700 clinics nationwide, and if they all had 12 employees, the figure would represent about 1 percent of abortion workers nationwide.

After getting one look of them getting portrayed on film  have decided to change their lives and their profession and what they do for a living.

That is truly extraordinary and let me commend you, Cruz responded.

Konzelman said that the workers leaving their jobs showed the films impact and met the goal of Johnson.

Abby was very firm that she wanted this film to be a love letter to those still trapped in the abortion industry, he said.

Konzelman also told the committee that the movie was challenged on several marketing fronts, including when the Motion Picture Association of America gave it an R rating. Filmmakers hoped for a PG-13 rating.

The marketing team was also blocked from placing ads by a number of networks, including Lifetime, HGTV, and USA Network. The only two cable networks that let the team advertise were Fox News and the Christian Broadcasting Network. Google Ads also blocked Unplanned ads.

Google was also under fire for labeling the film as propaganda, a label it blamed on an algorithm.

Konzelman also noted that Twitter suspended the Unplanned Twitter account for hours during the opening weekend and when it reinstated the account, it sliced the number of followers from the hundreds of thousands to the hundreds. The account later shot past Planned Parenthood in terms of the number of followers. On the other hand, Facebook let the Unplanned trailer be promoted on its platform and it garnered tens of millions of views.

From his experiences trying to promote the film, Konzelman argued that tech companies wield outsized power and use it to censor.

It is all too easy [for tech companies] to label conservative thought as controversial or divisive. Dismiss it as contrary to their guidelines or roll out the dreaded phrase hate speech, he said.

In the digital age, exclusion from a platform is not just discriminatory, it is the most insidious form of censorship available or imaginable.
Wedding Venue Owner Asks for Respect for Their Faith-Based Man-Woman Only Policy

David Abel, the owner of Star Barn, an iconic wedding venue in central Pennsylvania, asked for respect for their faith and beliefs after their policy barring same-gender wedding in his wedding venue was criticized in a controversial post on Facebook.

Abel, a Roman Catholic, told Penn Live that the policy is not about discrimination but about his faith and beliefs.

No persons will be discriminated against, he told Penn Live. However, we ask people to respect that we have core tenets in our faith and our beliefs and we cannot participate in any event that would be in contradiction to those core tenentsone of them being marriage, which has been biblically based for thousands of years as being between a man and a woman.

The United States government is a government founded on the principles of religious freedom. It was also founded as one nation under God, not over God, he added.

We hope everyone had a fabulous time at our Nostalgic Daze event this past weekend at Stone Gables Estate! Special Posted by The Star Barn on Tuesday, April 2, 2019

The controversy arose when Steven Dinnocenti, a retired educator, made the issue public on social media.

Dinnocenti, who is gay and married, learned of the policy after he attended functions at the venue.

We all thought that it was going to be great when it was announced that the Star Barn was going to be saved by Ironstone Posted by Steven T. Dinnocenti on Tuesday, March 19, 2019

We all thought that it was going to be great when it was announced that The Star Barn was going to be saved by Ironstone Ranch in Elizabethtown for their celebration venues on the property. I attended a friends wedding there two years ago, not knowing what I am about to tell you.  What one does not know is the blatant discrimination they have towards the LGBTQ community and other individuals that they have written in their Core Values statement, he wrote.

Never again will I step on there grounds, he stated.

The Star Barn, as part of Stone Gables Estate, is a historic structure located in Elizabethtown, about 95 miles away from Philadelphia.

According to the official website of The Star Barn Village, the original Star Barn Village was built around 1877 in Middletown. In October 2014, David and Tierney Abel, and their business, DAS Companies, Inc., purchased The Star Barn Village and moved it from Middletown to Elizabethtown.

National Park Service retained the registration of National Register of Historic Places for The Star Barn Village after the location in October 2015.

The Star Barn, known worldwide for its unique architecture, needed a host of improvements to restore the sagging structure, meet modern design codes and preserve it for future generations. Posted by LNP + LancasterOnline on Sunday, July 1, 2018

We believe that everything we have is a gift from God that we are to use to honor Him through our activities, events, and endeavors. No event that directly contradicts the Word of God will be permitted to take place on the premises, read the Mission Statement (pdf) of The Star Barn Village.

We hope everyone had a wonderful time at our Farm-To-Table Dinner at The Star Barn last week! We would like to thank the Posted by The Star Barn on Monday, March 25, 2019

We embrace God-honoring events that seek to build the family. We respect each individual as a member of our global community, as created in the image and likeness of God, and we will not tolerate discrimination against any one person. We provide marriage-related services as ordained by Gods Word, the Holy Bible, that are consistent with the written truth that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, the statement also regards family as one of their core values.
Woman on Having 3 Autistic Brothers: Taught Me Everything I Know to Be True About Life

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Woman Who Assaulted McDonalds Manager for Not Receiving Enough Ketchup Sentenced to 18 Days in Prison

A California woman has been sentenced to 18 days in prison and 15 days of community service for assaulting a McDonalds manager for not receiving enough ketchup with her order.

Mayra Berenice Gallo, 24, pleaded guilty to single counts of battery and intimidation of business or customers in an incident that happened at a food point at a Santa Ana location on Oct. 27, 2018, reported NBC Los Angeles.

Gallo has been asked to enroll in an anger management class and was put on three years of informal probation.

She ordered food through the drive-thru lane of the restaurant at about 11 p.m. She was unhappy with her order and confronted the 22-year-old manager through the back door that was accidentally left open by another employee, according to the police.

She didnt get her ketchup or enough ketchup so she takes it on herself to go through the employee entrance and confronts the manager and the manager says, Hey, you have to go outside, Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna told NBC.

When asked to go outside, Gallo became physically combative and allegedly pushed and choked the manager who reportedly suffered from pain in her elbow, back, and neck and a 4-inch scrape on her back.

The suspect, clad in a pink shirt and gray sweatpants, choked the employee until a manlater determined to be her boyfriend or husbandwalked into the restaurant, intervenes and takes the (suspect) out of there, Bertagna said.

The incident was recorded by security cameras from different angles. The video shows Gallo pushed, punched, and choked one of the employees as another employee tried to stop Gallo.

While the three were struggling together, one of the employees still managed to hand over some change to a customer who was waiting outside the window.

In the end, a man who was believed to be a companion of Gallo walked in and stopped Gallo from attacking the employee. He then walked with Gallo out of the restaurant.

The woman could be easily seen on camera, with her face clearly visible. Police had described her as Hispanic and around 20 to 25 years old with brown hair.

Authorities had also told local media that the man with her would not be in trouble, since he did not commit a crime.

Were actually grateful for the service he provided, he stopped the assault, police spokesman Anthony Bertagna told KTLA.

Gallo was arrested without incident and booked into jail on a $15,000 assault warrant, according to a statement from the police department.

Woman Pleads Guilty to Ketchup Attack on Fast Food Restaurant Manager https://t.co/MQztsWlE2G  ECMED (@ECMED) April 13, 2019

Another McDonalds Assault

Police in Glendale, Wisconsin were also looking for an assault suspect earlier this year, after a woman walked behind a McDonalds counter and attacked a juvenile employee on March 18.

The woman, who had been a drive-thru customer, accused the restaurant of giving her the wrong breakfast order. She was given a refund, but she was still upset.

The woman then shoved a 17-year-old employee to the ground and caused her to hit her head twice. The woman then fled the restaurant with a friend.

The Glendale Police Department released multiple photos of the woman on social media captured from store security cameras. After numerous tips, the woman was located and arrested, and authorities thanked the news media for covering the story.

Thanks to all of your help, we arrested the suspect in this case today! the department posted on Facebook on March 21. We received dozens of tips that helped make this happen. A true team effort!

Epoch Times reporter Zach Li contributed to this report.
Roger Stone's defense fired a volley of legal attacks at special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation Friday, asking a federal judge to dismiss Stone's indictment for lying to Congress and obstructing justice and to order that Stone receive a full unredacted copy of Mueller's recently completed report.

"No other person, Committee, or entity has Stone's constitutionally based standing to demand the complete, unredacted Report," Stone's attorneys argued on behalf of the longtime confidant of President Donald Trump. Only then "can he determine whether the Report contains material which could be critical to his defense," or if he was selectively prosecuted, they wrote in a series of motions.

Stone, 66, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he lied about his efforts to gather information about Democratic Party emails hacked by Russian operatives during the 2016 presidential campaign and released through the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks and others.

He has been released on personal recognizance pending trial Nov. 5 scheduled in Washington, D.C.

Stone's Jan. 25 indictment marked the last criminal charges brought by prosecutors in Mueller's probe of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, and Mueller on March 22 notified U.S. Attorney General William Barr of the investigation's end.

Prosecutors have until May 3 to answer Stone's flurry of legal objections, typical at this stage of a criminal trial, and which included challenges to the funding of Mueller's office and to Mueller's authorization as special counsel - an objection courts have rejected several times when raised previously by other defendants in Mueller's probe.

The blast of motions suggests how Stone's case could grind on this summer, even as prosecutors with U.S. attorney offices in New York, Virginia and Washington continue to tie up loose threads from the special counsel's probe, including other referrals by Mueller's office, and investigations that remain under seal.

Stone's filing came one day after WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, was expelled from the Ecuadoran Embassy in London and arrested on an unsealed, year-old U.S. charges of conspiring to hack into a Pentagon computer network before his organization in 2010 published online a historic trove of classified U.S. documents.

Attorneys for Stone asked a judge Friday to toss out a seven-count indictment in which Mueller prosecutors alleged Stone was in frequent contact with members of Trump's campaign about the WikiLeaks effort to release materials damaging to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton before the 2016 election.

A focus of the Mueller probe of Stone, court filings show, was whether he coordinated with Assange or WikiLeaks as it published thousands of Democratic emails that prosecutors say were hacked by Russian operatives. Barr said last month in a brief summary of Mueller's report that the special counsel reported that its investigation did not establish that Trump campaign members "conspired or coordinated" with the Russian government's interference activities.

Stone was not charged with any crimes related to communicating with WikiLeaks about its activities, and he has repeatedly denied that he conspired with the group.

The 24-page indictment of Stone alleged that a senior Trump campaign official was directed by an unnamed person to contact Stone as soon as WikiLeaks began publishing Democratic emails.

The indictment also asserts that Stone communicated about WikiLeaks with "a high ranking Trump Campaign official," whose emails in the filing match those of former campaign chief executive Stephen Bannon. And, according to prosecutors, Stone received a query about the group's activities from a "supporter involved with the Trump campaign."

Stone in past interviews denied discussing WikiLeaks with Trump campaign officials or having advance knowledge of WikiLeaks' plans, and said he was just passing on public information and tips.

In Friday's filings, Stone's defense, led by attorney Robert Buschel argued that in the absence of a congressional referral, his indictment by the special counsel's office for lying to Congress violated the constitution's separation of powers clause; that his prosecution was not constitutionally funded because Congress did not specifically appropriate funds for special counsel offices; and that Congress has not explicitly provided that the special counsel can investigate a president or his presidential campaign.

"Nothing could encroach more upon the President's duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed than having a Special Prosecutor continually looking over his shoulder, threatening him or the members of his executive branch with potential prosecution for every act they take," Stone's lawyers wrote.

The president's powers are at their "zenith" in dealings with hostile powers, such as Russia, they added, in arguing for Mueller's appointment to be struck down, and all evidence gathered suppressed.

Stone also brought anew claims that Mueller's May 2017 designation by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for then-recused Attorney General Jeff Sessions, violated the appointments clause of the Constitution, because the special counsel should have been nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

A three-judge appeals court panel in Washington in February unanimously rejected a similar challenge brought by Andrew Miller, an associate of Stone who has been trying to block a grand jury subpoena. Miller on Friday filed a petition seeking a rehearing before a full panel of U.S. Court of Appeals by the D.C. Circuit.

Separately Friday, U.S. prosecutors also filed their opposition to a petition by news organizations, including The Washington Post, to unseal search warrants materials in Stone's case, arguing that the materials "concern investigations that remain ongoing," Stone's trial and uncharged third parties.
SPRINGFIELD  Language is filed for a constitutional amendment that would allow the Illinois Legislature to enact a graduated income tax, and the measure cleared the Senate Executive Committee on party lines Wednesday, April 10.

The full text of the amendment reads: The General Assembly shall provide by law for the rate or rates of any tax on or measured by income imposed by the state. In any such tax imposed upon corporations the highest rate shall not exceed the highest rate imposed on individuals by more than a ratio of 8 to 5.

At a news conference in his office Tuesday, April 9, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said its time to let the people vote on whether they would like to see the tax structure overhauled.

We have a constitutional amendment process that ultimately puts this decision to the voters, Pritzker said. Its time to let the people of Illinois  our taxpayers  decide.

The measure, SJRCA 1, could be placed on the ballot as early as the 2020 presidential election, which would require approval from three-fifths of each the Illinois Senate and House. After that, it would require approval from 60 percent of those voting on the specific question or the majority of those casting votes in the election.

This is something weve been working on for the better part of 10 years, Senate sponsor Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) said. Whats different now is Gov. Pritzker, a governor brave enough to say that this is the solution for our state, and to put his considerable political capital behind this effort.

The amendment needs 71 votes in the House and 36 in the Senate to be placed on the ballot, and those chambers have 74 and 40 Democrats in them, respectively.

While Harmon said he expects the Legislature to pass a specific proposal by the end of the legislative session, Republicans continued to question the likelihood of the rates remaining as they are in Pritzkers proposal for any measure of time.

Senate Minority Leader Bill Brady, a Bloomington Republican, opposed the amendment at committee Wednesday. He said he believed it opened up the ability to raise taxes even further and play games with the tax code by removing language which states there may be no more than one such tax imposed by the state.

Todd Maisch of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce said this could allow the state to add surcharges or assessments on separate lines of income for taxpayers.

* * *

TAX PLAN CRITICS: Opponents of Gov. J.B. Pritzkers proposal for a multi-tiered income tax structure came out with a new argument Tuesday, April 9, after the governor and Democratic leaders in the General Assembly unveiled their proposed language for a constitutional amendment.

Under the proposed language, they argued, the state would actually be allowed to levy multiple income taxes, each for a different purpose, which would effectively allow the state to tax the same income multiple times.

Supporters of the proposal say thats not true. Still, the issue likely will be the source of heated debate as the proposal is discussed in the House and Senate.

At issue is language in the Illinois Constitution which authorizes the state to levy a tax on income, at a non-graduated rate.

The very next sentence provides: At any one time there may be no more than one such tax imposed by the State for State purposes on individuals and one such tax so imposed on corporations.

That language does not appear in the proposed constitutional amendment that Pritzker and Democratic leaders unveiled Tuesday, prompting Republicans and business leaders to warn that it could lead to a system of multiple income taxes.

Right now in the Constitution, we are protected, said Rep. Tony McCombie, a Savanna Republican, speaking to reporters outside the governors office. I and the middle class are protected by the flat tax. And we also cannot tax a dollar twice, and this amendment takes that away.

But Sen. Don Harmon, an Oak Park Democrat and lead sponsor of the amendment in the Senate, said that simply isnt true, and he accused critics of the plan of grasping at straws.

I think theyre getting more manic in their opposition, Harmon said in a phone interview.

* * *

TOBACCO 21: Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation making Illinois the first Midwestern state to raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco products Sunday, April 7, in Chicago.

The ceremony marked the end of a four-year effort to change the age from 18 to 21 to buy cigarettes, e-cigarettes, vapes, chewing tobacco and other goods containing nicotine.

The law takes effect July 1, 2019.

Surrounded by lawmakers and advocates, Pritzker said he was proud to endorse such a common sense initiative.

All of you are heroes, the governor said to the assembled supporters, who had worked to bring the legislation to his desk. On behalf of our young people, thank you.

Nearly 95 percent of adult smokers begin using cigarettes before the age of 21, according to the American Lung Association. Tobacco 21 proponents say keeping nicotine products out of the hands of young people can prevent them from ever using them.

The bills House sponsor, Chicago Democratic Rep. Camille Lilly, said the real focus is to make sure 18-year-olds are not the suppliers of cigarettes and other tobacco products for kids aged 14 to 17.

The 101st General Assembly is saving lives today, she said. It really took all of us to get this passed, and the experience was rewarding.

Senate sponsor Julie Morrison, a Democrat from Deerfield; Senate President John Cullerton, a Democrat from Chicago, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel also spoke at the event. All are longtime supporters of raising the initiative.

Emanuel made reaching a tobacco-free generation in Chicago one of his administrations priorities. It used to be aspirational, he said. Now, its actually within reach.

* * *

RIGHT-TO-WORK LAWS: Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday, April 12, signed into law a bill that prohibits local governments from enacting so-called right-to-work laws that are aimed at weakening the power of labor unions.

The bill that Pritzker signed Friday came in response to a local ordinance adopted in the village of Lincolnshire, in northern Illinois, in 2015. It provided that workers could not be compelled to join a labor organization as a condition of employment within the village.

A U.S. District Court judge struck down that law in 2017, ruling that federal law allows only states to regulate collective bargaining. And in March 2018, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that decision. But other federal circuits have ruled that local governments may enact local right-to-work laws, making the issue ripe for a U.S. Supreme Court review.

Asked about that during the bill-signing, Pritzker said he is confident the new Illinois law would be upheld.

* * *

COLLEGE ADMISSIONS: The Illinois House on Friday, April 12, rejected a bill that would have blocked public colleges and universities from asking about a prospective students criminal history as part of the application.

The so-called ban-the-box proposal  a reference to questions that appear on many job and college application forms asking people whether they have or havent been convicted of a serious crime  was sponsored by Rep. Mary Flowers, a Chicago Democrat who argued the question prevents many people with criminal histories from turning their lives around.

Flowers proposal, however, came at a time when colleges and universities throughout the country have come under criticism  and under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education  for not doing enough to respond to violent offenses on their campuses, particularly sexual violence.

This bill, as it stands, would put convicted felons in cohabitational dorms with 17- and 18-year-old youngsters leaving home for the first time, said Rep. Jeff Keicher, a Sycamore Republican. While I understand the need to forgive past misdeeds, I need the sponsor to know that situations will come up that warrant additional flexibility in the admissions process as it pertains to violent felons.

The House took up the bill on the final day for both chambers of the General Assembly to pass substantive bills and send them to the other chamber.

The House rejected the bill by a vote of 40-60. It wasnt immediately clear whether that would kill the legislation for the 2019 session, however, because lawmakers have a number of procedural moves they can use to resurrect bills later.

* * *

SCOTTS LAW: In light of an increase in accidents and deaths to Illinois State Police troopers, the state Senate on Friday, April 12, passed a measure to increase awareness of Scotts Law, which requires drivers to slow down and switch lanes when they see flashing emergency lights.

Senate Bill 947, sponsored by Republican Chapin Rose of Mahomet, passed the Senate unanimously. The bill provides that renewal notices from the secretary of states office will advise drivers of how to properly approach a stopped emergency vehicle.

The bill also requires the drivers license test to include a question concerning safe driving when approaching authorized emergency vehicles.

* * *

POTHOLE DATABASE: Sen. Dan McConchies Senate Bill 958, which passed the Senate on Friday, April 12, would create a statewide database for reporting potholes.

McConchie, of Hawthorn Woods, said Chicago has had such a site for several years and it has been successful in helping the city repair troublesome portions of road.

The bill instructs the Department of Transportation to create a website on which motorists may report potholes, roadway maintenance issues, and other roadway dangers.

The reports would be forwarded to the appropriate department district or unit of local government. The bill passed unanimously.

McConchie also unanimously passed Senate Bill 1090, which requires the attorney general to compile data concerning Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility violations. The information would be posted to the AGs website.

* * *

RACIAL IMPACT NOTE: State Sen. Kimberly Lightford, a Maywood Democrat, passed Senate Bill 1485 on Friday, April 12, to create the Racial Impact Note Act on legislation, similar to existing notes such as those for financial impact.

The bill provides that every bill which has or could have a disparate impact on racial and ethnic minorities, can have a racial impact note filed by request of a member.

The note will be a brief explanatory statement or note that shall include a reliable estimate of the anticipated impact on those racial and ethnic minorities likely to be impacted by the bill.

The bill also prohibits racial discrimination and harassment by state officers and employees, and provides that each state officer and employee shall annually complete a racial bias, discrimination and harassment training program approved by the appropriate jurisdictional authority.

* * *

CRIME VICTIMS RALLY: Two of the states top prosecutors joined a rally at the Capitol on Thursday, April 11, with dozens of crime victims and survivors from across Illinois, calling on lawmakers to support programs to help them recover from their trauma.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Cook County States Attorney Kimberly Foxx told the crowd that state lawmakers need to do more to those support programs, and that the victims and survivors themselves deserve a seat at the table when policy decisions are being made.

These survivors reflect the diversity of our state and voices that often have not been brought to the table on policy discussions, Foxx said. I say this as someone who comes from public housing and knows that the wealth of information and insight we bring to these discussions is often left behind.

The rally, organized by the group Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice, was similar to ones being held in state capitols throughout the country. It included people who have been direct victims of violent crime as well as surviving family members of murder victims, many of whom held photos of the children and other loved ones they had lost.

The state of Illinois operates a number of programs for crime victims, most notably the Crime Victims Compensation Program which, since 1973, has provided cash assistance to victims to help them defray costs such as medical bills stemming from violent crimes.

And in 1993, Illinois voters approved a constitutional amendment known as the Crime Victims Bill of Rights, which includes the right to be notified of court proceedings and the right to be protected from the accused throughout the criminal justice process.

* * *

CANDIDATES TAX RETURNS: Illinois is one step closer to requiring presidential or vice-presidential candidates to release their tax returns in order to appear on the states election ballots  if such a measure is even constitutional.

State Sen. Tony Munozs Senate Bill 145 passed the Senate by a 36-19 vote Thursday, April 11. It would require the release of tax returns for those running for the nations executive branch, but not for U.S. senators or representatives or any statewide elected officials such as the governor.

Why arent any of those people in this? state Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, asked.

Munoz, a Chicago Democrat, said he is open to expanding the elected officials included in the bill upon negotiation in the House.

Righter called the bill an embarrassing waste of the Senates time, citing two U.S. Supreme Court cases which say the Constitution lays out ballot qualifications and states cannot make them more strict.

Munoz said the bill does not add qualifications, but simply requires release of another document.

Theyre doing this in 25 states whether you agree with it or not, Munoz said, adding If you have nothing to hide, you shouldnt worry about anything.

The bill would require the release of five years of tax returns to the secretary of state, whose office would redact sensitive information.

It will now move to the House for further consideration.

* * *

ALCOHOL DELIVERY: A bill which passed the Illinois Senate on Thursday, April 11, would set a statewide standard for alcohol delivery from retailers such as grocery stores.

More and more people are ordering their groceries online, state Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) said. We want to keep up with this modern way of shopping and make sure that any retailers who want to provide this service to their customers are confident that they will be able to deliver anywhere in the state.

Senate Bill 54 would allow for home delivery of alcohol from grocery stores and other licensed retailers if certain conditions, including age verification and training, are met.

The bill passed the Senate without opposition and heads to the House, where Harmon said he is continuing to meet with working groups to finalize the legislation.

* * *

SCHOOL BUS STOPS: Drivers who dont stop for school buses could see a doubling in ticket fines under a proposed state law that passed the House on Thursday, April 11.

House Bill 1873, sponsored by GOP Rep. Darren Bailey of Xenia, doubles the fine for first offenses to $300 from $150, and for second offenses to $1,000 from $500.

It passed the House by a vote of 74-16, with 12 representatives voting present after extended and heated debate.

Bailey called the bill a matter of public safety, to protect school children as they load and unload off buses.

Critics said increasing penalties dont deter people from violating the law, and provide only extra hardship for those who already have the least ability to pay them.

Chicago Democrat Melissa Conyears-Ervin was the first to voice opposition, saying she could not support the bill if the public is not educated about it simultaneously.

Residents that cant pay it may lose their license, may in turn not be able to go to work, and may in turn not be able to put food on the table for their children.

There are people that will have no clue of this legislation, and all the bill will do is put them in a deeper hole, Conyears-Ervin said.

* * *

TEACHER SALARIES: More than 60 percent of Illinois public school districts have a starting annual salary for teachers of less than $40,000.

That could change as both chambers of the General Assembly consider bills that would set $40,000 as the minimum salary for a teacher.

Advocates say House Bill 2078, sponsored by Rep. Katie Stuart (D-Edwardsville) and approved Tuesday, April 9, by the House, would help remedy the states growing teacher shortage.

Theres not just one issue why we dont have teachers, but the pay certainly is a big part of it Stuart said in floor debate Tuesday.

In a March survey by the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents, 85 percent of responding school districts had major or minor problems with teacher shortages.

The problems were pronounced in central and southern Illinois, where about 90 percent of responding districts said they had trouble finding qualified teachers to fill positions.

While opponents of Stuarts bill recognize the shortage, they argue that many school districts would have to lay off employees, cut programs, or increase classroom sizes to accommodate a salary increase.

HB 2078 passed by a vote of 79-31, and is now headed to the Senate for consideration.

The Senate, however, has its own bill raising the minimum teaching salary in the state to $40,000. Senate Bill 10, sponsored by Bunker Hill Democrat Andy Manar, was approved Thursday, April 11. It was approved with an amendment the House version did not have, which directs a state review panel to figure out how Illinois most underfunded school districts can get extra state aid to comply with the minimum salary law.

Manar said the states school funding formula must be slightly adjusted to make up the difference for the cost of the bill, so that underfunded school districts could pay the minimum salaries.

He said initial estimates are that just under $20 million would have to be added to the funding formula to help the neediest school districts comply with the law.

Both teacher salaries bills are headed to the opposite chamber for consideration.

Manar said he talks daily with Stuart, the House bills sponsor, about the legislation.

I think they both have a very good chance of passing, he said. Were going to get a bill to the governors desk, Im confident in that, and it will be one he can sign into law.

* * *

HOSPITAL CLOSURES: Gov. J.B. Pritzker could soon have authority to decide whether Illinois hospitals must stay open.

Legislation passed Wednesday, April 10, in the House on a 69-35 vote that would give the governor that ability. House Bill 123, sponsored by Addison Democrat Kathleen Willis, is in response to the announced closure of Westlake Hospital in the western Chicago suburb of Melrose Park.

Supporters of Willis bill argue its passage is necessary as a signal to the new owner of Westlake that the lies, cheating, and fraud will not be tolerated.

Critics say it gives the governor far too much power for an issue that is already being resolved by the courts and the state board dedicated to resolving health facilities issues.

Two weeks after Pipeline Healths purchase of the hospital became official in January 2019, Westlakes new owners declared the hospital would be shutting down within months. The states health facilities board is set to approve or deny Pipelines application for closure April 30.

Willis said her bill is specific to keeping Westlake open. It does this by allowing the governor to reverse any of the state boards rulings on hospital closures.

* * *

PRIVATE DETENTION FACILITIES: The Illinois House passed a bill Wednesday, April 10, that would prohibit private, for-profit companies from operating civil detention facilities in Illinois, a measure that would effectively block a project currently being proposed in the village of Dwight, about 75 miles southwest of Chicago.

Illinois already prohibits private prisons from operating in the state, and Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a Chicago Democrat who sponsored the bill, said it is meant to accomplish the same goals.

This is an industry that has been plagued by concerns about the health and safety, not only of the people that are held there, but the people that work there, she said. Given that we were so forward-thinking as to create this ban in the first place, I believe that its proper for us to complete that circle.

The Dwight Village Board in March approved an agreement with a Virginia-based firm, Immigration Centers of America, which hopes to build a detention facility that it would operate on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

That thrust the village of about 4,000 people into the center of a larger debate over President Donald Trumps immigration policies, including the policy of separating children from their parents if they cross the U.S. border illegally.

The bill, House Bill 2040, passed the House by a vote of 85-26. It now moves to the Senate.

* * *

DOUBLE-DIPPING: Local elected officials and county board members may soon be barred from simultaneously drawing both a salary and pension benefits from the same post.

The Illinois Senate on Wednesday, April 10, approved legislation to prevent representatives from double-dipping. For example, a county board member who has served long enough to earn a pension would have to wait until leaving office to begin collecting the benefit.

Sponsor Terry Link, a Democrat from Vernon Hills, said local officials in his home district of Lake County are abusing the opportunity. When the measure was in committee, he learned other units of local government were experiencing the same issue.

Right now, you have a number of elected officials on the county board serving as county board members and receiving a pension plus their salary at the same time, he said.

Link added that he is currently qualified to receive his pension from the state as a legislator, but has not chosen to do so.

If I were to say, OK, I do not want to contribute to the pension anymore but I want to collect my pension and still serve in the General Assembly, I think that people would be a little upset because it would basically be doubling my salary, he said.

Republican Sen. Paul Schimpf, from Waterloo, said he understood what Link was trying to accomplish with the bill, but heard concerns from his constituents.

This just strikes me that were changing the rules kind of mid-stream, he said. I think some of my constituents are going to feel like theyre being punished for their service.

The legislation is Senate Bill 1236. It succeeded in the chamber by a vote of 45 to 6, and arrived in the House on Wednesday night.

* * *

DHS BUDGET: A Senate budget committee on Tuesday, April 9, began weighing Gov. J.B. Pritzkers request for a $358 million, or 9 percent increase in general revenue funding for the Department of Human Services, the agency that manages most of the states social welfare programs.

DHS Secretary-designate Grace Hou, who served as assistant secretary for DHS during former Gov. Rod Blagojevichs administration, told the panel the additional money is needed to make up for several years of underfunding in social services.

Staffing shortages, technical challenges, budget cuts, leadership gaps have created bad outcomes for our agency, for those we serve, for our community partners, and for those who are employed by DHS as well, Hou told the committee.

Its clear that these last several years have eroded our system and impacted those who we are charged to serve, she added. I came back to DHS because, like you, I want to be part of the solution and to make sure the essential services we provide are of high quality, accessible and equitable.

DHS is one of the largest agencies in Illinois state government. It operates on a budget of $3.8 billion in general revenue funds and employs nearly 13,000 people, according to state budget documents. Pritzkers proposed budget would increase its general revenue funding to just under $4.2 billion.

Hou said much of the additional funding being requested, about $107 million, is needed for salary increases associated with the recent increase in the states minimum wage.

It also includes money to fund pay raises, retroactive to April 1 of this year, for the roughly 28,000 home service care givers and 14,000 child care providers  raises that lawmakers authorized last year, but which former Gov. Bruce Rauners administration refused to pay.

* * *

PAYMENTS SUSPENDED: Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza announced Monday, April 8, that her office has suspended more than $5.7 million in payments to a company that designed a web portal that manages state employee benefits.

Mendoza made that announcement following the release of an audit in late March that outlined numerous problems with the states MyBenefits Marketplace system, which was designed and built by a Toronto-based company, Morneau Shepell.

The system serves an estimated 450,000 state employees and retirees to use when they sign up for health insurance, flexible spending accounts and other employee benefits. Launched in 2016, it replaced a system in which those benefits were administered by the Department of Central Management Services and staff in all of the various state agencies.

From the outset, though, the MyBenefits system was plagued with problems that directly affected employees and retirees, according to the audit. Those have included payroll errors, difficulty for people accessing their flexible spending accounts, people being charged incorrect amounts, and people having their insurance benefits incorrectly canceled.

At a time when our state could least afford it, MyBenefits was an unnecessary fiasco, Mendoza said in a news release. Former Governor Bruce Rauner replaced a system that had functioned for decades with a broken one.

The audit came about after the Illinois House passed a resolution in 2017 calling for a probe into how the Morneau Shepell contract was awarded and how it had been administered.

The audit puts much of the responsibility on the Rauner administration for rushing through the purchasing process in a way that resulted in only one company, Morneau Sheppel, submitting a proposal. The company was awarded a five-year contract, with an option for another five-year renewal, with a total 10-year cost to the state of $94 million.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit news service operated by the Illinois Press Foundation that provides coverage of state government to newspapers throughout Illinois. The mission of Capitol News Illinois is to provide credible and unbiased coverage of state government to the more than 400 daily and weekly newspapers that are members of the Illinois Press Association.
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Linkedin Alpha Amirrachman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, April 13, 2019 16:49 977 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8732d511a 3 Opinion artifical-intelligence,AI,digital,Gap,technology,Southeast-Asia,digital-innovation Free

Artificial intelligence (AI) has now inevitably become a flourishing technological sphere capable of amending every aspect of our social interaction. It is an area of computer science that stresses the construction of intelligent machines that labor and react almost like humans, particularly after recent breakthroughs dealing with the use of big data, economic access to computing power and advances in machine learning.

It is machine with minds, according to John Haugheland in 1985, or the study of computations that make it possible to perceive, reason, and act, as Patrick Winston wrote in 1992. AI has been implanted in our mobile phones, as they are now able to have intimate conversations with us, answer our questions and detect and even offer our personal preferences.

In education, AI has also been recommended to help attain the fourth Sustainable Development Goal, which is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. Just recently UNESCO conducted a global conference on AI in Paris, where theorists, practitioners and policymakers gathered to discuss and debate the contribution of AI to education.

The conference discussed how AI has started creating new teaching and learning solutions that are being tested in various settings. The two prominent global hubs of AI development are the United States, which has invented various applications, and China, which is still a distant second but catching up fast. China has 730 million internet users and the government has an ambition to turn the country into the largest pole of AI development by 2030 by relying on private pillars. A private digital education company Huijang is developing a digital platform, Liulushuo, which teaches English to 600,000 students with the participation of a single teacher.

In Latin America, a Uruguayan state agency introduced an online adaptive learning solution called a mathematics adaptive platform developed by German company Bettermarks. The content has been adapted to the national curriculum and it is a tool that provides personalized feedback in accordance to student

experiences.

Nevertheless, AI requires advanced infrastructures and an environment of flourishing innovators. How about Southeast Asian countries?

During a recent workshop on school borders in Vientiane, for example, most teachers were amazed when the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organizations Regional Open Learning Center (SEAMOLEC) presenting their Innovation of Educational Resources for Remote Area, but teachers from the older generations seemed reluctant to pursue any further workshops about information and communication technology (ICT) until the committee reminded them of the importance for all teachers to have at least digital awareness.

Singapore has notably made the greatest advances in AI development and there are promising signs in countries like Malaysia and Vietnam. Indonesia has the potential, but much needs to be fixed.

Out of 262 million people, 143 million or 55 percent of the Indonesian population, are internet users, but social and digital divides still exist. According to the 2017 data of the Indonesian Internet Providers Association (APJII), internet penetration is 58 percent in Java, 19 percent in Sumatra, 7.97 percent in Kalimantan, 6.73 percent in Sulawesi, 5.63 percent in Bali-Nusa and only 2.49 percent in Maluku-Papua. In terms of age, 4.24 percent of internet users are above 54 years old, 29.55 percent are 35 to 54 years old, 49.52 percent are 19 to 34 years old and 16.68 percent are 13 to 18 years old. Also, 89.35 percent of the platforms being used by Indonesians are social media platforms for chatting, as compared to 7.39 percent for banking.

Worse, AI planted in mobile phones, for example, tends to be used mainly for consumptive behavior. This means, aside from digital divide, even the awareness to use digital technology, let alone AI, in a more productive way still seems far reaching.

Several efforts have been made. Education and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy introduced computer-based tests for national final exams. SEAMOLEC has also been working closely with the ministrys Center for Technology and Communication to implant AI in the English version of the latters Rumah Belajar online learning platform and to develop Indonesias Open Educational Resources hub as mandated by UNESCO.

Furthermore, SEAMOLEC has initiated online entrepreneurship courses for vocational students and a SeaCreativeCamp competition for Southeast Asian students to encourage them to produce ICT innovations such as on the internet of things, augmented reality, software programming and much more. Until now, 10,208 students and teachers have taken part in the competition, resulting in 344 projects.

With its huge population, Indonesia has a massive opportunity to make full use of AI for educational and productive activities, which would catapult Indonesias intellectual role, ICT standing and economic performance in the region.

This can be done in three ways: improve the advancement of ICT infrastructure across the country, pursue AI development and its research to be used extensively in the education sector and encourage students and teachers to be more ICT-based innovative with an entrepreneurial spirit. This would also help reduce the digital gap and simultaneously ignite productive economic engines.

In this case, Indonesian government intervention involving pertinent stakeholders is needed. Otherwise people would miss the golden opportunity to take part in an intellectually innovative and productive endeavor in this almost unlimited digital world and end up merely as a consumptive, uncreative segment of the Southeast Asian population.

***

The writer is director of the Jakarta-based Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organizations (SEAMEO) Regional Open Learning Center. He recently participated in a conference on Artificial Intelligence organized by UNESCO in Paris and a border schools workshop held by SEAMEO in Vientiane.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
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Linkedin Endy M. Bayuni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, April 13, 2019 13:16 978 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8732ce297 1 Opinion election,#2019GeneralElections,2019-legislative-election,legislative-candidates,democracy,vote,Indonesia Free

Going into the polling cubicle to cast their vote on April 17, most people already know who to choose for president and vice president, since there are only two pairs of them, and these four candidates have been publicly exposed throughout the six-month long campaign period. But do voters know who they want to represent them in the national and regional legislatures?

Most people still have no clue about who will end up representing them in the House of Representatives (DPR) and the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) in Senayan. They are even more clueless about candidates in their provincial legislature or city-level council (DPRD).

The posters, banners and stickers with faces of candidates found on walls and in open spaces of their neighborhoods have hardly helped. To most voters, they are just names and photos of strangers.

The ballot for DPR members is a list of 16 political parties (20 in Aceh), and if each fields up to 10 candidates (depending on the number of seats in the electoral district), thats 160 names from which to choose one to vote for. Its almost the same story with the DPRD elections. The ballot for DPD in Jakarta has 46 names of candidates running as independents.

As in the past, most voters will almost arbitrarily cast their votes for the legislatures. Legend has it that one candidate at the top of the list on a DPD ballot won not because of his or her reputation, but because voters assumed that the name at the top must represent something.

Voting in Indonesia is not a case of going into an Italian ice-cream parlor with 64 flavors to choose from. Voting is more like, to use the Indonesian expression, buying a cat in the gunny sack. They choose their cats blindly, not knowing and not caring whether they get alley cats, fat cats, wild cats or smelly cats.

Looking at the corruption-ridden and infamously ineffective DPR and many DPRDs, voters share the guilt for sending the worst type of cats to Senayan.

That could change with the upcoming election. We can wrest some control from the hands of the big party bosses in Jakarta over who gets to represent us in Senayan and in the other legislatures.

A recent simulation by an acquaintance with little knowledge of politics shows that, if you spend one to two hours online, you can maximize the chances of sending candidates that most closely represent you.

Thanks to the internet, getting information about the candidates is a matter of a few clicks. The General Elections Commission (KPU) has a column that presents basic details on candidates for all legislatures. Other links that help to get to know candidates better include Jariungu, Pintar memilih and Teman Rakyat. Check them out to help you make up your mind.

Here are some tips on how to be a smart voter with the help of your smart phone.

If you dont have party preferences or affiliations, start narrowing it down from the 16 parties. Ideologically, they can be divided into two strains: 11 are nationalist-secular and five are Islamist or specifically targeting Muslims voters. If you loath the existing parties, then there are six new parties to choose from. If you dont believe the new parties can make a difference, then go for one of the 10 incumbents. One of the new parties at least projects itself as the millennial party.

If you already have a party affiliation or loyalty, then just pick the candidate that represents you closest from that party. In the case of choosing a DPR member, your option is narrowed down to no more than 10 names (usually the same number of seats at stake in the district).

If you are into gender balance, pick a woman. Although the law says at least 30 percent of the candidates fielded by parties have to be women, only 17 percent of those that made it in 2014 were women.

If you want to see younger politicians, check their date of birth (dont rely on just their photo appearance). You may want a woman from the millennials, you further narrow down your options.

You may want a candidate of your profession or alma mater. You can learn this too by going through their CVs.

Do not vote for candidates that have not bothered to send their CVs to the KPU. They have something to hide.

Do not vote for candidates that have served time for corruption. Its another display of arrogance by party bosses to renominate candidates with criminal records, thinking that voters wont notice.

Avoid choosing the name at top of the list, unless you know her or him very well. The list is drawn by party bosses according to their preferences, some could be there because they are really good, but some because they are close relatives or because they contributed generously to party coffers.

Be sure to choose a candidate that resides in your district. In many electoral districts outside Jakarta, the candidates running for seats have Jakarta ID cards yet they occupy top spots on the lists. Again, they are there courtesy of the party bosses. Dont give your vote to them.

Democracy in the internet era puts more power in the hands of the people. As voters, we should use that to the maximum and choose the right people to represent us for the next five years.

***

The writer is a senior journalist.
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Linkedin Imanuddin Razak (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, April 13, 2019 10:37 978 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8732c8972 1 Opinion #commentary,#2019GeneralElections,#2019PresidentialElection,2019-elections,2019-presidential-election,vote-rigging,election-fraud,political-manipulations Free

Regardless of who wins the upcoming legislative and presidential elections, it is extremely important that the process is clear, so as to provide legal justification for the results, and so that the public can be sure the polls were credibly organized, without any manipulation of the results. Failure to demonstrate the credibility of the elections will essentially make the process undemocratic, with the results open to being challenged in court.

To the surprise of many, several incidents ahead of the April 17 simultaneous legislative and presidential elections have suggested that attempts to manipulate the results could be more than just hearsay. Unlike cases in the past, which lacked the evidence needed to be brought to court, this time, the accusers claim to have solid evidence and testimony from witnesses.

One case pertains to allegations made by Adj. Comr. Sulman Aziz, a former Pasirwangi District Police chief in Garut, West Java. Sulman said on March 31 that the top brass of the local police had ordered him and fellow district police chiefs in Garut to mobilize people in the regency to vote for the incumbent President Joko Jokowi Widodo and his running mate Maruf Amin.

I was summoned several times by Garut Police chief [Adj. Sr. Comr. Budi Satria Wiguna] to make a list of peoples opinions on each presidential candidate pair. We were instructed to mobilize the people to vote for candidate pair Number 01, Sulman told the media at the Lokataru Legal and Human Rights Foundation in East Jakarta, referring to the Jokowi-Maruf pair. He was accompanied by renowned activist and Lokataru director Haris Azhar.

We, district police chiefs, were threatened that we would be transferred to other posts if candidate pair Number 01 lost in Garut, Sulman said.

A day later, however, Sulman retracted his statement, and said his accusations were motivated by a personal conflict, which had peaked with his reassignment to another post in the West Java police headquarters.

Separately, Haris told The Jakarta Post that he had evidence of the alleged instruction to mobilize support for the candidate pair.

Another case is the recent finding by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) of thousands of envelopes filled with cash confiscated from Golkar Party lawmaker Bowo Sidik Pangarso during an arrest related to an alleged corruption case. Bowo, a member of House of Representatives Commission VII overseeing energy and mineral resources, allegedly accepted Rp 8 billion (US$564,632) from a manager of private transportation company PT Humpuss Transportasi Kimia, which provides sea transportation for PT Pupuk Indonesia Logistik, a subsidiary of holding company PT Pupuk Indonesia, the countrys largest fertilizer company.

The KPK suspected that Bowo intended to use the bribe to finance his campaign, as the money was reportedly going to be used to buy votes a few hours before the polls opened on April 17.

Sulman and Bowos cases have led to widespread speculation that attempts to manipulate the elections could be more widespread, and potentially involve other police officers.

National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian is yet to issue a statement regarding Sulmans case, although many have said it was necessary to counter allegations that the police were mobilizing people to vote for the incumbent.

President Jokowi has on several occasions asked the police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) to maintain impartiality in the elections. Without credible investigation, however, alleged violations of the polices neutrality as in the Garut case will remain unsolved and recur in the future.

TNI chief, Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto has made declarations about the state security apparatuses commitment to neutrality in the April 17 elections. The most recent came on Tuesday during a joint exercise among elite units of the Army, the Air Force and the Navy in preparation for the simultaneous elections.

Speculation has also been rife that vote buying could occur throughout the country, involving candidates for the legislative councils at the city and/or regency, provincial and national levels. Voters have been known to accept bribes, though they may still vote for a different candidate.

Apart from allegations about the polices partiality and suspected vote-buying efforts, experts and the public are also concerned about potential irregularities, particular in the vote tabulation process. This is the vote counting process used across all of the countrys 809,500 polling stations, in which voting data is transferred from the polling stations to the regional offices of the General Elections Commission (KPU) for the vote recapitulation. Such a concern is valid given the reports of irregularities in the 2014 presidential election.

However, public participation in the poll monitoring, as initiated by a KawalPemilu volunteer group, can minimize vote rigging during the recapitulation. KawalPemilu volunteers will gather photos of actual vote tally forms of polling stations across the country.

To win a seat in a legislative council or to secure victory in the race for the countrys highest office is an excellent achievement. But to win a legislative seat or be elected the president in a fair, righteous manner is par excellence!
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Linkedin Gavin Height (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, April 13, 2019 18:37 977 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8732d712d 3 Opinion #2019GeneralElections,#2019PresidentialElection,2019-elections,2019-presidential-election,simultaneous-elections,Indonesian-politics,legislative-candidates,democracy Free

In a matter of days Indonesia will undertake the largest single day exercise of democracy the world has ever seen. The countrys 193 million voters will attend over 800,000 voting locations, run by over 5.5 million election committee staffers, to elect 40,000 legislative representatives from over 250,000 candidates.

With the legislative and presidential elections being held on the same day, all eyes are on the presidential race, between incumbent President Joko Jokowi Widodo-Maruf Amin and Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno. Meanwhile, little attention is being paid to the contest over the 575 seats in the House of Representatives, never mind the regional and city level councils.

In 2013 the Constitutional Court ruled that beginning in 2019 the legislative and presidential elections were to be held simultaneously on the same day to reduce horse trading or transactional alliances made among parties following the legislative elections. One only needs to look at the 2014 elections for an example of the transactional politics the ruling was referring to: after backing the losing Prabowo ticket, Golkar and the United Development Party (PPP) later joined Jokowis coalition and were rewarded with ministerial appointments.

Time will tell if the simultaneous elections fulfill their purpose of reducing transactional politics. However, some legislative candidates arent waiting for the election outcome, with candidates in areas hostile to their partys presidential candidate going against their partys alliance and openly supporting the opposing candidate.

It is vitally important to understand what other potential effects holding the elections simultaneously has on the campaign and Indonesian politics more broadly. Altering the system for one purpose can bring about unintended consequences.

Take Indonesias move from closed list to fully open list voting for legislative elections. This move was made to increase the directedness of democracy, with voters gaining more power over who was elected at the expense of the party hierarchies that nominate candidates.

However, researcher Marcus Mietzner in 2013 has shown this move coincided with a sharp drop in the party identification levels (how strongly a voter identifies with a specific party) among voters. Open list voting has led to more personalized and less party policy-based political campaigning, as candidates from not only opposing parties but also from within the same party compete for votes. Research by Edward Aspinall and Ward Berenschot in 2019 shows this more personalized campaigning leads to money politics, as individual candidates attempt to secure voter support with bribes of cash and goods.

So, what are some of the unintended effects of the simultaneous elections? One of the expected effects is that the two presidential parties will make gains in the legislative elections, riding the coat-tail effect of the popularity and attention the presidential candidates garner. One recent poll put the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP ) of the incumbent at 40 percent and Prabowos Gerindra at 25 percent, both up from the 2014 elections where they won 19 percent and 12 percent respectively.

That hasnt stopped smaller parties attempting to harness the coat-tail effect. The Justice and Prosperous Party (PKS) feature Prabowo and Sandiaga very prominently on their legislative campaign banners, even more so than many Gerindra banners.

Who is scrutinizing the candidates vying for positions as the countrys lawmakers? It would appear not many.

Kokok Dirgantoro, Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) spokesperson and a candidate for the House in the electoral district of Banten III, says the General Elections Commission (KPU) should give more room to the legislative candidates and political parties in the debates, not only the presidential candidates. People dont know what parties think about different issues.

Puteri Komarudin, a Golkar candidate running for the House in West Java VII, said she is often contacted by the media for comment on the presidential election despite not being officially in the presidential campaign team, and that only a few media ask questions about the legislative campaign, the rest are very presidential election centric.

This lack of media attention is mirrored in the voting public. In interviews with legislative candidates regarding their campaigning, all stressed the difficulty in drawing voters attention to the legislative elections. Lena Marayana, PPP chairperson and sitting House member for Jakarta II, said it was a big challenge as she had spoken to citizens who were unaware that they would be voting for anything more than the presidential candidates.

Its not only the lack of attention that is cause for concern. Along with the 575 House seats being contested there are hundreds of thousands of candidates competing for seats in the Regional Representative Council (DPD), along with the regional and city level DPRD councils. Voters will receive five ballots when they vote, bringing a complexity to elections that not many are paying attention to. Buky Wibawa, regional council candidate and senior figure of Gerindras West Java provincial chapter, said these elections may not only be the worlds largest, but also the most complicated election in the world.

Stephani Dania, running for the council in Bandung on the National Democratic (NasDem) ticket, said campaigning was not just a matter of gaining support from voters, but that a large portion of her time was spent educating voters on the voting process for the different levels of government. Dania said that some supportive voters tell her, We wish to support you, but how do we do this?

Observing a small neighborhood event hosted by Dania and her NasDem colleague Muhammad Farhan, a House candidate for the West Java I electorate, the two spent significant time explaining the different ballots and levels of government, all under the observation of the Election Supervisory Agency, Bawaslu.

The sheer scale of the elections is staggering. That they will likely proceed with minimal interference and conjecture surrounding the result, just as the previous elections have, is a testament to Indonesias electoral systems. Likewise, while Indonesians have dwindling faith in their elected representatives (a trend mirrored in democracies across the globe) Indonesians continue to have faith in the countrys electoral system and democracy more broadly.

For a well-functioning democracy with representatives held to account, an informed constituency is vital. With elections for five levels of government being held simultaneously confusing so many voters, education is key. Sitting House member Irine Robba from PDIP believes holding the simultaneous elections is a good thing, But the homework is we have to inform our people more about the duty between the president, parliament and so on.

One of the effects of the simultaneous elections is already clear, they are much cheaper than running separate elections. This money saved would be well spent on a significant education campaign to inform voters on how the different levels of government work and how to fully participate in the biggest election day the world has ever witnessed.

***

The writer is a researcher from La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
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Linkedin Rosalia Sciortino (The Jakarta Post) Bangkok  Sat, April 13, 2019 13:54 978 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8732cc69c 3 Opinion overseas-voters,#2019PresidentialElection,#2019GeneralElections,2019-elections,2019-presidential-election,voting-rights,Bangkok,Indonesia,democracy Free

Overseas voters were the first to cast their ballots, between April 7 and 14, in Indonesias first-ever simultaneous presidential and legislative elections, which are set for April 17.

After Sanaa and Tarimin in Yemen and Quito in Ecuador, on April 10 it was the turn of Thailand. Two polling stations were set up at the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok and one at the Indonesian Consulate in Songkla, southern Thailand.

While entering the embassy as an election observer, I could not help but ponder the significance of such a large-scale election with over 190 million registered voters, with about 2 million of them living abroad. Amid the regional and global climate of democratic rollback and increasing authoritarianism, Indonesia is one of the few Southeast Asian countries that have managed to stick to a truly democratic election process for the last two decades. There may be shortcomings here and there, but the freedom of expression demonstrated during the campaign period has been far greater than that in most neighboring countries, including Thailand. And if the enthusiasm of the election team as well of that of the voters here is any indication, maybe democracy might not to be written off completely after all.

In the leisurely ambience of Bangkok, the acrimony of the ongoing campaign seemed far away as there were no angry faces, no screams, and no agitated gestures. The Overseas Elections Committee (PPLN) team worked like a well-oiled machine, catering to the needs of the public as well as promptly dealing with bureaucratic errors and unforeseen circumstances. They, as well as the candidates witnesses, security forces and embassy personnel, showed true professionalism and courtesy, and the voters responded with patience and grace. In between smiles and selfies, people of diverse backgrounds, faiths and political affiliations blended and chatted while waiting on their turn to vote.

If there was a complaint, it was about the extreme heat, which soared to more than 37 degrees Celcius at around noon.

By then the morning rush was over and about half of the expected 1,000 voters had cast their ballots. At the consulate in southern Thailand, another 62 people had voted. The election team was eager to see the numbers grow as they had worked hard to encourage everyone to vote. For months, they had promoted the election and encouraged registration, at times luring participants to dry meetings about the regulations with Indonesian delicacies. The number of registered voters has doubled compared to 2014, a sign of their hard work as well as the growing Indonesian population in Thailand.

In particular, the country has become a student destination. Based on last years unpublished data from the Indonesian Embassy, the number of Indonesians living in Thailand (excluding descendants) was around 3,200, comprising about 50 percent students, 30 percent employees, and 20 percent others such as retirees and their dependents. And indeed, there were many young faces, with many first-time voters still being in uniform.

When asked what motivated them to vote, a group of science and technology undergraduate students from the universities of Chulalongkorn and Rajamangala answered that they thought their country and its diversity was at a critical juncture and felt that their vote would make a difference. Female PPLN members were also visibly present and women filled all witness spots. The majority of voters were also female -- a clear sign that feminism is alive and well in Indonesia, contrary to recent claims!

Sitting composed in a soaked shirt under a tent at the entrance of the polling stations, Ambassador Ahmad Rusdi monitored the situation to ensure everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion. He explained that his objective was to serve the voters in the best possible way as well as to ensure a peaceful and respectful climate. He pointed to the cleaners and the spotless premises while stressing that cleanliness and the spirit of service have to be felt from the moment people step foot into the embassy.

At the end of the day, satisfaction hung in the air. All the hard work had paid off and all presidential ballots had been used. Seven special voters, who had not registered within the time limit, unfortunately did not get ballots and a few members of the election team also decided to serve the crowd first. As the counselor, Dodo Sudrajat, proudly proclaimed This has never happened in the history of the embassy.

From the initial counting, which is yet to be confirmed, 1,019 voters cast their ballots. Most had registered before December 2018, 219 were additional voters registered before February and 96 were special voters who could only obtain a ballot if they showed proof of citizenship and residency in Thailand.

Of the over 500 people who were expected to vote by mail, more than half had mailed their ballots or had gone to the embassy to bring it in person. Most touching was the 18 imprisoned Indonesians who had cast their vote thanks to the mobile drop-box method provided by election officers. Some of them are in prison for drug- and theft-related offenses.

As one voter, Isti Yunita, put it: They have shown pride by fulfilling their electoral duty.

At the end of the day, the two boxes with the precious ballots were sealed, signed by both witnesses and locked with three padlocks. The two boxes are now safely stored in a sterile room.

The ballots will be counted on April 17 at a time yet to be decided, probably when polling stations in Jakarta close. After supervising the entire process, Ahmad promised to make the vote counting a special occasion, irrespective of the winner, saying it is a celebration of the will of the people.

***

The writer is registered as an international election observer for the 2019 general election. She is an associate professor at the Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University, director of SEA Junction, Bangkok, and emeritus regional director for Southeast Asia with the Rockefeller Foundation and the International Development Research Center.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
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Linkedin Thomas Zilliacus (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, April 13, 2019 23:28 977 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8732dd12c 3 Opinion #2019PresidentialElection,#2019GeneralElections,Jokowi,Joko-Widodo-Maruf-Amin,2019-presidential-election,2019-elections Free

Indonesia goes to the presidential polls this week, its citizens may wish to remember that it is easy for a leader to be a nationalist, difficult for him to be an internationalist, and extremely challenging to be both.

President Joko Jokowi Widodo has achieved that distinction in a way that has transformed Indonesian self-perceptions. Indonesians owe it to themselves to give him another five years in which to consolidate his success for future generations.

In a sense, Jokowi draws on the strengths of former presidents Sukarno and Soeharto, the two founding figures of contemporary Indonesia. As a hero of the Independence struggle against the Dutch, Sukarno was the national leader par excellence. It was impossible to believe in the longevity of Indonesian freedom without thinking of him. Yet, he displayed an expansive view as well of Indonesias place in the world as a member of the anti-imperial club that was formed at the Bandung Conference in 1955, the crucible of the Non-Aligned Movement.

The declaration of Afro-Asian solidarity at Bandung manifested a determined effort by two formerly colonized continents to claim international space that was not foreclosed by the Cold War, born of the ideological tussle for global power between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Some of that thinking motivates Jokowi. He is proud to be Indonesian because he was born one and because the political system, for all its elitist bias, allowed a non-privileged person like him to ascend to the presidency. Much as the Independence struggle had made Sukarno the iconic Indonesian, triumphing over the everyday trials and tribulations of Indonesian independence made Jokowi worthy of the presidency.

It fell on Jokowi consequently to make Indonesia live up to the expectations of its citizens, and worthy of its place in the world. This, he has sought to do by engaging in global affairs in a throwback to his illustrious predecessor. In 2015, on the 60th anniversary of Bandung, he called for a more equitable global order that promoted shared leadership and not the domination of big countries. Given that a replay of the Cold War is possible in the current contest for supremacy between the US and China, Jokowi is a true Sukarnoist when he comments on world affairs.

Sukarno was flamboyant, charismatic, and an over-reacher. He fell when the forces that he had helped unleash or had tolerated  Indonesian communism in particular  turned on his nascent state. Soeharto inaugurated another Indonesia. It was politically taciturn and spartan with human rights and civil liberties. Yet, it was bold and adventurous. It freed up the economy (compared to Sukarnos protectionist and nationalizing impulses), and it behaved as just another Southeast Asian country when in reality it was the regions pre-eminent power.

The irredentism that unfortunately had crept into Sukarnoist foreign policy  apparent in konfrontasi against the formation of Malaysia  was something that Soeharto abjured resolutely. His quarrel was with communism, not with the West. Soeharto embarked on a collaborative enterprise that drew in Western (and Japanese) investments, made Indonesia an export-capable country, and gave Indonesians a new stake in the global and regional future. For all his differences with Sukarno, Soeharto was a nation-builder.

The nation has to be built differently at different times. So it is with President Jokowi. He has stayed true to Indonesias fundamental break with the autocratic Soeharto era. However, he recognizes that, at the end of the day, words such as democracy and freedom do no matter much without peoples access to the basic human empowerment afforded by food, clothing and shelter.

Farmer-friendly agriculture; better education for girls and boys; longer roads within the country; larger ports for a sprawling archipelago; and power plants are parts of the essential infrastructure of progress. They underpin the emergence of an Indonesia that can draw on the best offerings of the Sukarnoist and Soehartoist eras but move ahead without the economic atavism of the first historical era and the political regression of the second one. It would be exhilarating, indeed, if Indonesia could combine the political effervescence of the first period and the economic vivacity of its successor.

If anyone could do it, it would be Jokowi. Unlike predecessors who did not come close to those two definitive figures  perhaps they did not wish to  President Jokowi has succeeded in uniting the energies and resources of Indonesias past in his project for the future. He should have a hand in molding that future.

One determining element in the election results would be the issue of religion. Some Indonesians are caught up in the identity politics surrounding faith to the extent that their voting might be swayed by it ultimately. Here, it ought to be emphasized that President Jokowi is a pious Muslim who has not sought to capitalize on his piety. Hardly anyone could argue honestly and convincingly that Indonesia has become a less moral place in the past five years.

If anything, Jokowis personal integrity lends credence to his character, his character infuses national policies, and those policies make Indonesia a better country for Muslims and non-Muslims alike. What he has done assiduously is to keep religion and politics separate. That does not make Indonesia a secular country such as e.g. France, but a Pancasila nation that is living up to its own ideals.

Surely, patriotic Indonesian Muslims do not begrudge the minorities their share of the national comfort zone of peace and tolerance. What is important to them is that Islam should not be under threat. It is not besieged under Jokowi, and it will not be should he win this month.

Ultimately, of course, the choice is one which Indonesians, and only they, can make. However, they need to ponder how much of their history is at stake in this election. Indonesia would gain if President Jokowi were to be given the opportunity to carry on the legacy of Sukarno and Soeharto to build a new Indonesia that goes beyond their achievements.

***

The writer is founder and chairman of Mobile FutureWorks Inc, a global leader in the digital economy with over 100 companies in internet, mobile, payments and real estate. He was formerly Asia-Pacific director of Nokia Corporation and global head of Nokias brand, image and marketing. He was also a leading youth politician in his native Finland.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
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Linkedin Katya Kazakina (Bloomberg)  Sun, April 14, 2019 01:08 977 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8732dd3f2 2 Art & Culture Cecil-Amelia-Blaffer,fine-art,auction,Christies,Le-Lettre Free

Cecil Amelia Blaffer was as close as they come to royalty in America, an heiress to two Texas oil fortunes and a patron of fine art and classical music.

Then, at 55, she married an Austrian prince and spent the rest of her days as H.S.H. Princess Titi von Fuerstenberg.

Next month, 13 years after her death, about 30 pieces she bought and inherited could fetch more than $40 million at Christies. The auction house plans to offer 11 pieces, including those by Pablo Picasso, Mark Rothko and Andre Derain, as part of its evening sale of Impressionist and modern art on May 13. The rest, including African and Latin American artworks, will be sold throughout the year.

Princess Titis trove joins a roster of prominent collections hitting the block during upcoming semiannual New York auctions. Sothebys has Francis Bacons screaming pope painting from the collection of the late Seattle businessman Richard E. Lang and his wife Jane Lang Davis. Christies will sell Jeff Koonss rabbit sculpture purchased by late media mogul Si Newhouse as well as a rare Robert Rauschenberg painting of John F. Kennedy from the estate of Beatrice Buddy Mayer, an heiress to the Sara Lee fortune who died in September.

Read also: Christie's to auction historic Faberge tiara

What we are seeing more and more is the interesting collections that were put together 40, 50 years ago, said Adrien Meyer, Christies co-chairman of Impressionist and modern art. They precisely represent moments of collecting history and people who were buying at the moment of pivotal art innovations, he said.

Cecil Amelia Blaffer was born to a prominent, philanthropic Houston family. Her father, Robert Lee Blaffer, was a founder of Humble Oil, a predecessor to Exxon Mobil Corp.; her maternal grandfather, William Thomas Campbell, was among the founders of the oil giant now known as Texaco.

Consummate hostess

Her mother, Sarah Campbell Blaffer, supported the arts and built an extensive private collection of Old Master, Impressionist and modern works. The University of Houstons Blaffer Art Museum is named in her honor.

The daughter took after her mother in terms of collecting and patronage. She spoke five languages and was known as a consummate hostess, according to Christies. She was a patron of the Houston Symphony Orchestra and the Wagner opera festival in Bayreuth, Germany.

Her first marriage to Edward Joseph Hudson, a petroleum engineer with companies of his own, ended in divorce in the early 1960s. She settled for $6.5 million, a remarkable sum at the time, according to her obituary in the Houston Chronicle.

In 1975, she married Prince Tassilo von Fuerstenberg of Austria. The Paris nuptials, described as the royal wedding of Texas, drew guests including Princess Grace of Monaco, whose husband Prince Rainier was the bridegrooms cousin.

The top lot of her art trove at Christies is Picassos Le Lettre (La Reponse), a neo-classical portrait of his first wife, the Russian-born ballerina Olga Khokhlova, sporting a perfectly rendered fur collar.

Estimated at $20 million to $30 million, the oil-on-canvas is part of the trio of large portraits of Olga completed by Picasso in early 1923. The work was included in Picassos solo U.S. debut the following winter. Von Fuerstenberg received it from her mother, who bought it in 1946.

She also inherited Derains Les Voiles Rouges, a 1906 work depicting a sailboat with red sails and estimated at $4 million to $6 million.

Princess von Fuerstenberg continued her mothers passion by acquiring more contemporary works. These include a 1949 Rothko, painted during the artists transition to his signature abstract style, estimated at $2 million to $3 million. Nicolas de Staels Ciel, painted in 1953 when the French artist participated in the prestigious Venice Biennale, is estimated at $300,000 to $500,000.
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Linkedin Alberto Fajardo (Reuters) Mexico City  Sun, April 14, 2019 05:03 977 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8732de7e1 2 Art & Culture ai-weiwei,Lego,installation,art,contemporary-art Free

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei unveiled a new installation in Mexico that tells the story of 43 students likely massacred five years ago in a case that exposed government stonewalling and complicity in abuses, a frequent theme for the dissident artist.

The installation features large portraits of the students made from a million multi-colored Legos that hover above a cavernous exhibit space, images that have become seared into the Mexican conscience by grieving family members who often hoist posters with the same images at protests demanding answers for their sons' disappearance.

Entitled "Reestablishing Memories," the work also features a timeline of the 2014 abduction of the trainee-teachers from the all-boys Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers College in southern Mexico and the government's widely disparaged investigation into the case.

"Why do we have to do it? Because every crime creates a vacuum and it poisons society," Ai told reporters at a news conference on Thursday.

Read also: Permanent Giudecca art district to be inaugurated during the Venice Biennale

Known for his criticism of Communist-run China's stifling of free expression, Ai said his latest project was partially inspired by the Chinese government's refusal to explain its errors following a massive 2008 earthquake in Sichuan in which thousands of students died in government-built schools.

"It reminded me of the Mexicans who lost their children," he said, explaining how his own search for answers following the tragedy was stymied.

An initial Mexican government investigation found that the Ayotzinapa students were abducted by corrupt police who handed them over to a local drug gang. The gang then killed them for reasons that remain unclear and burnt their bodies in a trash dump, discarding the ashes into a nearby river, it concluded.

But the account was tainted by allegations of torture and the possible involvement of soldiers.

To date, the remains of just one student have been identified.

Ai, who was detained by the Chinese government in 2011 and currently lives in Berlin, supervised the creation of the oversized Lego portraits by students from Mexico's National Autonomous University (UNAM).

Last year, Ai accused Lego of refusing to directly sell its interlocking plastic toy bricks to him.

The Danish company said its policy was designed to keep it out of politics, but later reversed its stand in the face of a public backlash.

"Reestablishing Memories," which is paired with Ai's earlier "Wang Family Ancestral Hall" installation, opens on Saturday on the UNAM campus in Mexico City, and will be on display through October.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) -  Sat, April 13, 2019 13:03 978 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8732cdafe 1 Art & Culture Audemars-Piguet,Fernando-Mastrangelo,Art-Basel Free

Audemars Piguet, a Swiss haute horlogerie manufacturer, unveiled its latest lounge within Art Basel Hong Kongs collectors lounge this year. According to a press release sent to The Jakarta Post, the lounge was designed by contemporary artist and designer Fernando Mastrangelo, who is known to specialize in sculpture, furniture, architecture and interior design.

Titled the Vallee, the lounge is made of minerals extracted from the Jura Mountains, home of Audemars Piguet. The minerals were cast and repurposed into walls, display cases and furniture. Meanwhile, a forest crafted from sand and silica-molded spruce trees was placed at the center of the lounge.

Examples of the brands latest collection such as Code 11.59 and also unconventionally designed vintage watches were displayed in the forest.

Another highlighted feature of the lounge is the watchmakers desk in the technicians corner, standing in front of the strata wall.

The wall of strata, an interpretation of the Combe Noire quarries at the Vallee de Joux in the Jura Mountains, displays five components, namely gold, brass, aventurine, sapphire glass and iron, said to be part of the brands latest collection.

Mastrangelo said in the press release that it had been rewarding to work with the team that created the Audemars Piguet lounge. He also said the natural beauty of Audemars Piguets Swiss home, as well as its watchmakers technical mastery, left him awestruck.

Material elements are integral to [Audemars Piguets] roots and at the core of my practice. The result is a design that experiments with forms, materials and textures and creates a universe inspired by the Vallee de Joux, Mastrangelo said of the lounge design.

Other parts of the lounge were influenced by the brands latest collections and commitment to nature and creativity.

Olivier Audemars, vice president of Audemars Piguets board of directors, said that the newly unveiled lounge concept marked continuity in the brands relationship with artists that shared similar levels of artisanal quality and craftsmanship.

Our partnership is a natural fit given Fernandos technical mastery, skillful precision and dedication to creatively presenting the natural world around him, Audemars was quoted as saying.

Read also: https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2019/01/04/watchmaking-art-is-eternal-says-jean-claude-biver.html

The lounge was opened at Art Basel Hong Kong in late March, but it will show up again at the upcoming Art Basel in Basel, Switzerland, and Miami Beach, United States.

Fernando Mastrangelos design will travel to @ArtBasel Basel and Art Basel Miami Beach throughout 2019 and will continue its evolution in 2020, wrote the brand in one of its Instagram posts. (sop/mut)

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Ubud, Bali  Sat, April 13, 2019 16:10 977 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8732d4704 1 Lifestyle Bali-Spirit-Festival,bali,festival,art-and-culture,Tourism-Ministry,Tourism-Minister-Arif-Yahya,Ubud,yoga,spiritual Free

The 2019 Bali Spirit Festival was recently held at the Bali Purnati Foundation in Ubud.

The annual event lasted seven days from March 24 to 31, featuring yoga, dance, music and soul-healing methods for those who aimed to achieve a spiritual peace of mind.

The Bali Spirit Festival convened 12 years ago and still survives until now. It is extraordinary, said Esthy Reko Astuty from the Tourism Ministry.

About 300 volunteers from 60 countries participated in the event that adopted the Bali Hindu concept of Tri Hita Karana, which means living in harmony with nature, as well as with the spiritual and social environments.

Read also: Ten annual events tourists can look forward to in Bali

This year marked the 12th year of the Bali Spirit. It was not an easy task to have this event for as long as that, but we could survive through hard work, said Made Gunarta, founder of the festival.

The festival presented 300 activities that included workshops, seminars, healing and dancing master classes. The Coco Love Stages featured 50 musicians from all over the world, while the Dharma Fair and Night Market sold local snacks and products to visitors.

Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said that the festival was a favorite among international tourists, attracting more than 1,500 visitors on its first day. It has been able to attract a huge number of tourists. Thus, we have to support this event, he stated. (sop/wng)
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Linkedin Abhaya Srivastava (Agence France-Presse) New Delhi, India  Sat, April 13, 2019 20:48 977 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8732daae4 2 People Dalai-Lama,New-Delhi,Dalai-Lama-discharged-from-hospital Free

The Dalai Lama told his followers on Friday to "feel at ease" as he was discharged from a New Delhi hospital three days after being admitted with a chest infection.

"I received the necessary medical treatments and now feel kind of normal," the 83-year-old told reporters in a video posted on his official Twitter account as he left the medical facility on Friday morning.

"I have recovered very well. So, everyone, please feel at ease! I wish to thank everyone for your sincere concern and prayers for me," he said in the video shot by Voice of America's Tibetan language service, according to accompanying subtitles of his remarks in the clip.

HHDL speaks to members of the Tibetan press on his release from the hospital in New Delhi, India on April 12, 2019. (Video courtesy VOA Tibetan Service) pic.twitter.com/DqFKCgEY1n  Dalai Lama (@DalaiLama) April 12, 2019

The Tibetan spiritual leader said the cause of his illness had been a "kind of flu... which persisted for a while. After a thorough check-up -- X-rays and other diagnosis -- it was found that there was some lung (infection)."

The Buddhist monk, global celebrity and thorn in China's side was admitted to the Max hospital in the Indian capital on Tuesday.

His personal spokesman Tenzin Taklha told AFP that the Dalai Lama would now spend "several days of rest" in Delhi before returning to Dharamsala, the northern Indian hill station where he has lived in exile for six decades.

In 1959, at the age of 23, he fled the Tibetan capital Lhasa and across the frozen Himalayan border, disguised as a soldier, as Chinese troops poured into the region to crush an uprising.

In India he set up a government-in-exile and launched a campaign to reclaim Tibet that gradually evolved into an appeal for greater autonomy -- the so-called "middle way" approach.

Read also: Dalai Lama: I knew of sex abuse by Buddhist teachers since 1990s

Simple monk

The self-described "simple Buddhist monk" has spent decades criss-crossing the globe mixing with monarchs, politicians and Hollywood actors pressing his case.

His status as a global symbol of peace whose message transcends faith has earned comparisons to visionaries like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King.

But he has also drawn the fury of an increasingly assertive China, branding him a "wolf in a monk's robe" and accusing him of trying to split the nation.

Although still a hugely popular speaker, he has cut back on his global engagements and has not met a world leader since 2016 -- while governments have been wary of extending invitations to him for fear of angering Beijing.

Even India, which gave him asylum in 1959, has turned its back, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government reportedly warning officials against attending events featuring him, citing diplomatic sensitivities.

His admission to hospital this week, which attracted widespread media interest and a flood of wishes of good will on social media, also served as a reminder that the question of his succession is far from clear.

The Dalai Lama has sought to pre-empt any attempt by Beijing -- which has effectively wiped out organised opposition to its rule in Tibet -- to name his reincarnated successor, even announcing in 2011 that he may be the last in the lineage.

The Tibetan spiritual leader enjoys wide support across the partisan divide in Washington, where a senator raised the issue of his succession at a hearing Tuesday.

Senator Cory Gardner, the Republican who heads the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on Asia, said the United States should follow the Dalai Lama's lead on how to choose his successor.

"Let me be very clear -- the United States Congress will never recognise a Dalai Lama that is selected by the Chinese," Gardner said.
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Linkedin Arsi Agnitasari (The Jakarta Post) San Francisco, United States  Sat, April 13, 2019 11:06 978 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8732ca4d3 1 Science & Tech Google-Cloud,cloud-service,data,technology,#technology,Southeast-Asia,startup,tiket-com,traveloka Free

Utilizing cloud technology is the only way to have a fast-growing startup in Indonesia, according to Markku Lepisto, the solution architect of Google Cloud.

This demand for infrastructure is one of the reasons Google Cloud, among other cloud services, is now coming to Indonesia.

Ten to 15 years ago, an online company typically needed a lot of money upfront to build a data center and other infrastructure. This no longer applies for startups in Indonesia, as cloud technology allows companies to kick off their operations without spending much money and time.

If they have a great idea, they can start small, Markku told The Jakarta Post during a group interview on Wednesday at the Google Cloud NEXT 19 conference in San Francisco, California, United States.

Startups are taking Indonesias digital economy by storm. According to the 2018 Google and Temasek report, the country has the fastest growing internet economy in Southeast Asia, valued at US$27 billion in 2018, and is poised to grow to a whopping $100 billion by 2025.

Indonesia has the speed to grow startup companies to the unicorn level, Markku added.

Read also: New products, services aplenty at Google Cloud NEXT '19

This growth prompted the decision to build a Google Cloud Region in Indonesia. Aside from startups, single developers and traditional enterprises are also seeing the need to move to digital.

To make such a move possible, Google has identified three areas to invest in. We have a long term view on this. So we invest in infrastructure, in people and in the ecosystem with our partners and customers, said Tim Synan, the head of Google Cloud in Southeast Asia.

Despite not yet being launched, Google Cloud has already secured customers in Indonesia, including three unicorns and a number of startups. Two of them are online travel booking companies Tiket.com and Traveloka.

Tiket.com has been using Google Cloud for both infrastructure and data since last year. Tiket.coms vice president of data, Maria Tjahjadi, said they shifted to Google Cloud to meet costumers' demands during the Online Ticket Week (OTW) sale period. The last OTW in early April ran smoothly compared to the first sale event in October because the scalability of the cloud gave the company more space to handle increased demand.

Aside from scalability, technology and security were other major reasons Tiket.com chose to use Googles services. Currently, 80 percent of their server is in the cloud. In July, hopefully we can have our infrastructure 100 percent in Google Cloud, said Maria.

The OTW sale period is also a data-driven product. Maria said that Google Cloud's BigQuery, Dataflow and G Suite allowed the company to compile data on recommended routes and hotels for the sale season.

High quality data predictions is another benefit enjoyed by unicorn travel company Traveloka. With Google Cloud, we can present to our customers high quality recommendations, said Daryl Manning, Travelokas vice president of data, during the interview.

The Traveloka team highlighted speed as the reason it chose Google Cloud. The ability to use analytics and answer difficult business questions quickly, as well as the capability to react faster to the competitive business environment in Indonesia are also benefits of using the cloud.

Unlike Tiket.com, Traveloka reportedly uses multicloud. Users of multicloud will be able to later use Google's new product Anthos, which was officially released on April 9 at Google Cloud NEXT 19. It provides a new platform that works the same way for every cloud.

With its hybrid cloud, Anthos is said to be able to help promote the use of cloud among traditional enterprises. This is a transformation of Indonesias traditional enterprises. Because they all have been asking, How can a startup like Traveloka be so agile and fast? With Anthos they can continue to use what they are comfortable with within a data center, but also leverage it to the cloud without fundamentally changing their operations, shared Tim.

Coming to Indonesia in the first half of 2020, the Google Cloud Region will become the next cloud service available in the country. Rick Harshman, the managing director of Google Cloud in Asia and Pacific, said that with the growing number of digital natives in the workforce, he believed the Google Cloud Region would be able to help develop a more active digital ecosystem in Indonesia. (dev/kes)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, April 13, 2019 09:07 978 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8732c5124 1 Business pertamina,Telkomsel,fuel,digital-based-fuel-monitoring Free

State-owned oil and gas holding company Pertamina and Telkomsel, a subsidiary of state-owned telecommunication company PT Telkom Indonesia, have cooperated to develop a digital-based fuel management system.

The cooperation, which is based on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on March 22 between Telkomsel and Pertamina Patra Niaga (PPN), a Pertamina downstream subsidiary, will involve developing intelligent tank monitoring (INTANK).

Telkomsel senior vice president for enterprise account management Dharma Simorangkir said INTANK was a remote tank-monitoring system that made possible anytime monitoring of fuel inventories and consumption.

This is part of Telkomsels support for the governments roadmap on Industry 4.0 in which the technology, particularly the information and telecommunication technology, is a key factor in improving competitiveness, Dharma said in a press statement received on Friday.

With INTANK, PPN will be able to monitor fuel stocks stored at all terminals. The device is equipped with sensors on distribution routes and CCTV at all transfer points.

Dharma said INTANK would optimize the operation of digital solutions already used by PPN, called Smart Mobile Tank (Smart MT), to monitor fuel distribution and consumption.

He said INTANK had been in trial operation at a cement company and two mining companies. (bbn)
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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, April 13, 2019 20:10 977 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8732d9c8a 1 Politics 2019GeneralElections,2019-elections,Jokowi,MarufAmin Free

A rock-concert-like atmosphere pervaded inside the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Stadium in Jakarta as tens of thousands of people sang along to legendary rock band Slank, at the final campaign rally of incumbent President Joko Jokowi Widodo on Saturday.

The event, which featured dozens of renowned musicians performing and wooing the crowds in support of the Jokowi-Maruf Amin ticket, was the incumbents largest rally and wrapped up the seven-month reelection campaign before polling day next week.

Dressed in his trademark white shirt, Jokowi was greeted by loud cheers from his supporters in the stadium when he stepped on to the stage and waved his hands before starting his speech, which emphasized that the countrys principle of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity) must be protected.

[Indonesia] is a huge country and a great nation, comprising people from different races, religions and cultural backgrounds [...] so together we have to continue to safeguard and protect our diversity, Jokowi said.

Supporters of President Joko Jokowi Widodo attend the incumbents final and largest open-air campaign rally at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta on Saturday. (JP/Seto Wardhana)

Our commitment to preserving the noble values of [state ideology] Pancasila is clear, he went on, Pancasila, the Unitary State of Republic of Indonesia, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika and the 1945 Constitution are final and indisputable.

During the event, the incumbent called for his supporters to maintain their optimism that Indonesia would continue to progress forward as he promised to further develop the countrys human resources if he won a second term in office.

Indonesia, which studies have suggested will be the worlds fourth-biggest economy by 2045, must move forward to prepare itself to face future obstacles and challenges, Jokowi said, adding that he aimed to improve the economy in the next five years.

Despite difficulties and challenges, Indonesia was progressing on the right track, Jokowi said.

Supporters of President Joko Jokowi Widodo attend the incumbents final and largest open-air campaign rally at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta on Saturday. (JP/Seto Wardhana)

Nothing can be done instantly, not even welfare, in a country as big as Indonesia. However, as we are on the right track, we have to be optimistic that Indonesia will move forward.

Our country Indonesia will not go extinct! Jokowi declared, in an apparent direct jab against rival Prabowo Subianto, who previously said that the country would go extinct should he lose the election.

Although some Muslim preachers, including Yusuf Mansur, led shalawat (religious chanting) during the rally, the event had a different atmosphere from that of the Prabowo-Sandiaga Uno rally at the same stadium last week, during which mass prayers, religious chanting and ubiquitous Islamic attire seemed to lend a more religious flavor. Maruf also led an Islamic prayer for the pairs victory.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo greets his supporters during the last campaign event at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta on Saturday. (JP/Seto Wardhana.)

As Saturday marked his final campaign event before April 17, Jokowi took time to thank all the political parties and their leaders who had supported his reelection campaign, as well as volunteers and participants in the rally.

The incumbent also invited Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who served as the head of the steering committee of the Jokowi-Maruf campaign team, to the stage and thanked him for his support over the last 4.5 years of their administration.

In the name of love, I really want to shake hands with and hug all of you here in one hug, one Indonesia, Jokowi said. (swd)
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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Marchio Irfan Gorbiano and Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, April 13, 2019

President Joko Jokowi Widodo and challenger Prabowo Subianto will debate the economy in their final showdown before election day at the Sultan Hotel in Jakarta on Saturday night.

The upcoming debate, which wraps up the seven-month campaign season, will be their last chance to convince undecided and swing voters, although analysts have argued that  based on the latest poll numbers  the candidates debate performance may not tip the electoral balance.

Political surveys have shown that Jokowi still leads the presidential race by double-digit margins, while the number of swing or undecided voters has shrunk to single-digit figures.

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Linkedin Sita W. Dewi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, April 13, 2019 22:09 977 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8732db6d1 1 Politics 2019GeneralElections,2019-elections,Presidential-Debate,Jokowi-Maruf,Prabowo-Sandiaga Free

Presidential candidates incumbent Joko Jokowi Widodo and challenger Prabowo Subianto pledged to empower women to achieve economic equality during the final presidential debate in Jakarta on Saturday.

During the second segment of the debate, the moderator raised the issue of gender inequality in the economy, asking the candidates to explain their strategy for increasing womens participation in the economy while reducing sexual discrimination in the workplace.

According to the global gender gap index, womens participation in the economy in Indonesia is only 51 percent, compared to mens participation at 84 percent. What will be your policy to guarantee womens participation in the economy and what will you do to actually reduce sexual discrimination in the workplace? moderator Balques Manisang said.

Prabowo emphasized the importance of the role of women, saying that this has been evident throughout his campaign.

The role of emak-emak [housewives] has been very crucial during this campaign. Thus, policies, laws should reflect their interests because those will determine the Republic of Indonesias social and political life, he said.

His running mate Sandiaga Uno added that two-thirds of family livelihoods were upheld by the role of women who start small businesses from their homes.

These awesome, independent women just want policies that are on their side. The OK OCE program is also dominated by women, he said, referring to the One District One Entrepreneurship program that was introduced by Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan and Sandiaga, then deputy governor, before he resigned to run alongside Prabowo in the presidential race.

The key is empowerment. I have worked with women in Jakarta and what they complain about the most is access to markets. We will also provide them with training because 80 percent of the women that fail when starting a new business, fail because they dont have anyone to guide them. Finally, we will also provide them with access to capital. Because these awesome and independent women pay back the loans they receive 99 percent of the time, Sandiaga said.

Meanwhile, Jokowis running mate Maruf Amin said the pair would also pay attention to women running small businesses.

We have provided umi [mothers] with microloans, micro business and waqf banking at Islamic boarding schools. I know 100 percent that many mothers have felt that the programs help and they are proud. We will build and continue these programs. In villages, we will create Dewi-Dewi [short for desa wisata or tourism villages] and Dedi-Dedi [short for desa digital or digital villages]. he said.

Jokowi added that the pair aimed to expand a microloan program targeted at women.

We will also create the Mekar loan program for women. In these past four years, we have had 4.2 million customers and this year we are trying to get 10 million, he said.

Neither pair addressed the second part of the question on sexual discrimination in the workplace.
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Linkedin Nurul Fitri Ramadhani, Marguerite Afra Sapiie and Dian Septiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, April 13, 2019

Election organizers sent on Friday a joint team to Selangor, Malaysia, to investigate reports of thousands of marked overseas ballots.

The team flew to Kuala Lumpur only hours after Yaza Azzahra Ulyana, the head of the Kuala Lumpur Elections Supervisory Agency (Panwaslu Kuala Lumpur), lodged a formal report about the finding of the alleged marked ballots in favor of incumbent ticket President Joko Jokowi  Widodo and two candidates from the NasDem Party.

The committee made the report after verifying a video of people raiding an empty store and unpacking several bags containing the marked ballots.

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Linkedin Ghina Ghaliya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, April 13, 2019 17:58 977 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8732d6f65 1 Politics 2019GeneralElections,vote-rigging,Malaysia Free

Indonesian election authorities in Malaysia have ensured that the voting process for Malaysia-based voters will be held on Sunday as scheduled despite the ongoing investigation into alleged vote-rigging.

Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) head Abhan said the agency had not yet made a conclusion about the case following the discovery of precast ballots in two separate locations in Malaysia, but ensured that the investigation would not affect the voting schedule in the country.

Some 1 million voters are registered to cast their ballots on Sunday in the neighboring country, but a number of parties demanded that the voting be rescheduled pending the investigation of the vote-rigging allegation.

Read also: Calls for postponement of voting in Malaysia amid vote-rigging allegations

A video, which circulated on Thursday, shows a number of people raiding an empty store in Selangor, Malaysia, and finding marked ballots in favor of certain presidential and legislative candidates.

Abhan said a team of officials from the agency and the General Elections Commission (KPU) had visited locations in which the precast ballots were allegedly found; an empty store in Taman Universiti Sungai Tangkas Bangi and a house in Bandar Baru Bangi. The Malaysian police, however, have sealed both places and the team could not access them yet.

Abhan added that the team and the Foreign Ministry had filed a request to access the places, but had not yet gained approval.

We hope we can access the places soon. It will be very easy for us to verify the validity of the [marked] ballots, he said on Saturday.

Indonesian voters in Malaysia make up the majority of the total overseas voter population at about 2 million. Indonesia-based voters will cast their votes on Wednesday. (swd)
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Linkedin A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, April 13 2019

Siti Aisah and Olvialine Takayeitouw were among the women who had never spoken up, let alone addressed an audience. But the women respectively from West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) and Papua came to believe they not only had the right and ability to speak up but also assist neighbors to access public services, handle domestic violence cases and sit on local forums making important decisions for their communities.

The efforts of Siti Aisah, 47, and other locals even led to a village rule in Dasan Cermen, Sandubaya in Mataram and later a gubernatorial decree on preventing child marriage in NTB, a province with a high number of child marriages.

The women attributed their self-confidence to paralegal training held by local chapters of the Legal Aid Foundation of Indonesian Womens Association for Justice (LBH APIK). The organization launched on Tuesday its APIK Gender Justice Index, aimed at measuring gender parity in diverse categories including political power.

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Linkedin Ghina Ghaliya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, April 13, 2019 23:11 977 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8732dc79e 1 Politics Presidential-Debate,election,Prabowo,SBY,Yudhoyono,Dems Free

A top Democratic Party official has slammed presidential contender Prabowo Subianto over his remark in which he blamed the nations economic ills on President Joko Jokowi Widodos predecessors.

Prabowo made the remark during a televised debate with his rival, Jokowi. Prabowo said Indonesias economy was on the wrong track, but quickly added that: I dont blame you [Jokowi]. This is a big mistake of presidents before you. Thats my opinion.

Democratic Party deputy secretary general Rachland Nashidik questioned the statement on Twitter. Pak Prabowo, who are you debating with? Why is Pak SBY being targeted? he tweeted, referring to Democratic Party leader and former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who served as president from 2004 to 2014.

Meanwhile, Democratic Party politician Ferdinand Hutahaean left the venue of the debate at the Sultan Hotel in Jakarta on Saturday shortly after Prabowo made the remark.

Ferdinand rushed out of the venue on learning that a party member had been refused entry to the venue. Ferdinand met the member and hugged him, but the head of the Democratic Party's advocacy and legal division did not return inside.

"I have a stomach ache," he told reporters on Saturday night.

When asked by reporters whether he was offended by the remark, he gave a vague answer. Maybe [Prabowo] was referring to the president of California.

The Democratic Party is part of an alliance of parties supporting Prabowos presidential bid. Relations between Prabowo and Yudhoyono have been rocky in the past few months. Recently, Yudhoyono criticized Prabowos campaign rally, which he described as too exclusive and reeking of identity politics.

Ferdinand however asserted that the Democratic Party would remain in the coalition supporting the Prabowo-Sandiaga Uno ticket. (swd)
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Officials inspect black water flowing onto Merlin Beach

PHUKET: Banyad Horpetch, an officer from the Patong Municipality Sanitation Division, went to inspect Merlin Beach in Patong on Wednesday (Apr 10) after a complaint was made by a woman who posted a video on Facebook showing black water flowing onto the beach and into the sea.

constructionenvironmentmarinepatongpollution

By Waranya Prompinpiras

Saturday 13 April 2019, 12:00PM

The woman, who asked not to be named, contacted The Phuket News voicing her concerns about the wastewater which she said she had seen many times.

It doesnt flow onto the beach all the time but it does so very often, she said.

I would like Patong Municipality to find out where the black water is come from.

Mr Banyad told The Phuket News, On Wednesday (Apr 10) after receiving a complaint, I went to inspect the area at 2.30pm but did not see black water flowing onto the beach as shown in the video and photos posted online.

On Thursday at 9am, I went to inspect Merlin Beach again and found water similar in colour to Ovaltine flowing from another pipe which is located in the same area. I think the wastewater flows from this pipe, he said.

Ive not been able to find the source of the wastewater yet, so for now, I decided to block the pipe with concrete to stop the water from flowing onto the beach.

After Songkran, I will try again to find where the wastewater is coming from. Mr Banyad told The Phuket News.
Phuket begins Songkran with traditional festivities

PHUKET: The islands top officials began the Songkran festivities today (Apr 13) with the offering of traditional water blessings to the elderly and the offering of alms to monks.

culture

By The Phuket News

Saturday 13 April 2019, 12:41PM

At Saphan Hin at 7am, Phuket Governor Phakaphong Tavipatana presided over a merit-making ceremony to give alms to the elderly. Joining him was Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwannaphapana and Phuket Vice Governors Prakob Wongmaneerung and Thanyawat Chanpinit, along with a host of other leading officials and representatives from the Red Cross and other organisations and members of the public.

The merit-making ceremony saw participants bathe Buddha images with water, provide offerings of rice and dried foods to 139 monks and nuns, and release birds as part of the activities to honour and cherish life.

The leading abbot at the ceremony this morning, Phra Rachasirimuni, noted, The sharing of water in the Songkran festival in Thailand means giving peace to each other. With peace of mind is the presence of Kuti Matosang, having a cool spirit with virtue, having patience, helping each, living together with happiness and sacrifice.

Governor Phakaphong said, The one thing that Thai people are proud of, besides being Thai, is the good culture of Thai people, such as making merit, giving alms to monks, offering water blessings to the elderly and expressing gratitude to those who bring propseruty to your life.

And this must be instilled in our children and youths, to make a good tradition stay with Thailand for a long time, he said.

I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of Phuket, to thank the people of Phuket And on Thai New Years Day, everyone should be happy, healthy and complete throughout the year and forever.
Phuket water reservoirs enough to last 33 days

PHUKET: The last water remaining in the islands three main reservoirs is enough to last 33 days, the Director of Phuket Provincial Irrigation Office (PPIO) has reported.

weathernatural-resources

By Tanyaluk Sakoot

Saturday 13 April 2019, 04:07PM

Bang Wad reservoir pictured earlier this week. The water level is usually high up near the ring mark near the top of the tower. Photo: Supplied

Bang Wad reservoir pictured earlier this week. The water level is usually high up near the ring mark near the top of the tower. Photo: Supplied

Bang Wad reservoir pictured earlier this week. The water level is usually high up near the ring mark near the top of the tower. Photo: Supplied

Bang Wad reservoir pictured earlier this week. The water level is usually high up near the ring mark near the top of the tower. Photo: Supplied

Phukets reservoirs have enough water to last 33 days, says the islands water reserves chief. Photo: Waranya Prompinpiras

The news comes after a report by the PPIO on Wednesday (Apr 10) noted that the reservoirs had enough water for the island to last just 24 days  until about May 4.

Now, under the latest report, the reservoirs are expected to last until mid-May.

Somsawat Chaisinsod, Director of Phuket Provincial Irrigation Office, told The Phuket News yesterday (Apr 12) that the change in the predicted date until the reservoirs run dry was the result of using different methods to calculate how long the water would last.

He did not elaborate on what had changed  or will change in the coming weeks  that would see the water already in the reservoirs last longer.

However, he did say that he was not counting on rain.

Mr Somsawat explained that as of yesterday (Apr 12), the islands three main reservoirs contained 3.09 million cubic metres (m3) of usable water of their 21.72mn-plus m3 total capacity.

Bang Wad reservoir in Kathu  the islands main water reserve  now contains just 1.10mn m3 of its 10.2mn-plus m3 capacity, he said.

The Bang Neow Dum reservoir contains about 0.99mn m3 of water of its 7.2mn m3capacity, and the Khlong Kratha reservoir in Chalong currently contains about 1.00mn m3 of water of its 4.32mn m3 capacity, he said.

The water is enough to last 33 days. he added.

However, on Wednesday (Apr 10), the PPIO reported that Bang Wad contained 1.05mn m3 of usable water, Bang Neow Dum contained about 1.03mn m3 of water, and Khlong Kratha contained about 1.01mn m3.

In that report the PPIO noted that the 3.09mn m3 of water was enough to last just 24 days.

We used better calculations of the volume of water left in the reservoirs and the daily water usage rate to get a more accurate assessment of how much longer the water will last, Mr Somsawat explained to The Phuket News yesterday.

Noting the slight increase in the reported water level at Bang Wad, Mr Somsawat said that the increase was not due to any water being fed into the reservoir, and that no rainfall had contributed ot the rise in the reported figure.

This latest report today (Apr 12) is accurate. The water is enough to see us through for the next 33 days, Mr Somsawat repeated.

However, his explanation comes as The Phuket News receives reports of residents in Kathu who are supplied by PWA not receiving any water supply for two weeks.

Mr Somsawat declined to reveal details of the water-management plan that was supposed to be announced April 1.

However, on Mar 26 Phuket Governor Phakaphong Tavipatana announced that water-management authorities on the island were to do their utmost to secure rights to use water from privately owned water reserves on the island. (See story here.)

I will inform you when I have the water plan update, Mr Somsawat said yesterday.

Meanwhile, Graisorn Mahamad, the Branch Manager of the Phuket office of the Provincial Waterworks Authority (PWA), told The Phuket News yesterday that he was in the process of having extra water to be provided from privately owned water source to feed the Bang Wad reservoir.

We have already connected the pipes needed, and we just finished installing the water pump yesterday (Apr 11), he said.

This will add water from a private source to Bang Wad, he added.
Who's who in South Dakota conservation?

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NORRISTOWN  Police say a Delaware man, after a break-up with an Upper Gwynedd woman, texted sexually explicit photos of the woman to her teenage brother and now the man is in jail.

Joshua Michael McNichol, 20, of Grand View Street, Lewes, Del., recently was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 1-to-23-months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of stalking and unlawful dissemination of intimate images in connection with a July 2018 incident.

Judge Risa Vetri Ferman, who accepted a plea agreement in the matter, said McNichol also must complete five years probation following parole, meaning McNichol will be under court supervision for about seven years.

The judge further ordered McNichol to have no contact with his ex-girlfriend and her teenage brother.

Upper Gwynedd police began an investigation on July 18, 2018, when a Rosemont Avenue woman reported that her 17-year-old stepson received four text messages that contained sexually explicit photos of his sister, according to a criminal complaint. The investigation determined McNichol was the sender of the text messages.

Court papers indicate that during an earlier conversation, the 17-year-old boy had told McNichol to leave his sister and him alone. McNichol responded by sending an obscenity-laced message, followed by the four explicit photographs, according to the criminal complaint filed by Upper Gwynedd Police Officer Robert Pro.

The woman in the photographs subsequently confirmed for police that she was the person depicted in the photographs and she said McNichol did not have permission to disseminate the images.

With the charges, prosecutors alleged McNichol did, with intent to harass, annoy or alarm a current or former sexual or intimate partner, disseminate a visual depiction of the victim in a state of nudity or engaged in sexual contact.
NORRISTOWN  A Schuylkill County man arrested in Lansdale, along with a Hatfield woman, during a traffic stop in a vehicle with a large quantity of cocaine is headed to prison on a drug trafficking charge.

George Joseph Buddy Mullen, 30, of Peacock Street, Pottsville, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 15-months-to-3-years in a state correctional facility after he pleaded guilty to a charge of possession with intent to deliver 34 grams of cocaine in connection with an August 2018 incident in Lansdale.

The sentence was imposed by Judge Steven T. ONeill as part of a plea agreement.

Other charges of possession of cocaine and marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia were dismissed against Mullen as part of the plea agreement.

Mullens alleged co-conspirator, Nicole Marie Lauro, 29, of the 100 block of North Market Street, Hatfield, is still awaiting trial on drug-related charges in connection with the incident, according to court records. Lauro previously pleaded not guilty to the charges.

An investigation began about 10:22 p.m. Aug. 24, 2018, when Lansdale police stopped a Jeep Cherokee vehicle for an alleged traffic violation on West Fourth Street near North Broad Street, according to a criminal complaint.

Lauro was driving the vehicle and Mullen was a front seat passenger, police said.

Upon speaking with Lauro, I could immediately detect a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle, Lansdale Police Officer Richard Kruppenbach alleged in the arrest affidavit.

When police searched the vehicle they found a backpack under the front passenger-side seat. The backpack contained other plastic bags that contained suspected marijuana and a white powdery substance suspected to be cocaine, according to the criminal complaint.

Police alleged they also found 29 smaller, clear bags commonly used for the packaging and selling of narcotics, a grinder containing suspected marijuana and $950 cash folded in a rubber band and tucked between the drivers seat and the center console.

Field tests on the suspected marijuana and cocaine yielded positive results, police alleged.

It is my professional opinion that Lauro and Mullen possessed the narcotics and paraphernalia with the intent to distribute them based on the large quantity of narcotics and the packaging materials they were also in possession of, as well as the large amount of cash in the vehicle, Kruppenbach alleged.
ROME  On the way to Mass the week before Good Friday, I passed the Roman Colosseum. Its hard to have things put in better perspective. Christians were once fed to the lions there, and now its the background to many a tourist selfie.

Mass that morning was at the Basilica of Santo Stefano Rotondo al Monte Celio, which the top review on TripAdvisor that same morning declared as a Slightly off the beaten track  lovely, quiet church full of horror. The horror no doubt refers to the frescoes of Christian martyrdom that line the ancient circular structure. Does it become less horrific when you see the serene smiles if not outright joy on some of the faces of the martyrs? It depends if you believe the martyr is in for a new beginning or not.

Santo Stefano is a station church for the fifth week of Lent, part of a tradition that dates back to the fourth century. Though, I confess, when you dont walk the whole path like the millennial seminarians at the Pontifical North American College do, but take a taxi, its also a tremendous way to visit some of the churches of Rome, and to do so before the tourists are awake. Its a way to drink in the breadth and depth of the martyrs, remembering the importance of faith  what that faith may call for, if one truly believes, and is truly tested. If we are really paying attention, it is a reminder that testing takes many forms.

Im in the Eternal City for friendship, fellowship, prayer and what research and reporting there can be had. While over here, the pope emeritus, Benedict XVI, has had some thoughts published on the origins and solutions for the sex scandals in the Church. It makes a whole lot of sense that he would do so, given his lifetime of service and deep wells of wisdom. Its subject rife with all kinds of controversy and spin. But the most important line of his comments is this: Only obedience and love for our Lord Jesus Christ can point the way. Those seem the most appropriate words to highlight as we are set to mark the holiest season on the Christian calendar yet again.

Benedict wrote: Martyrdom is a basic category of Christian existence. So, it would further follow that the very essence of Christianity is at stake here if martyrdom is not a part of our lives. And martyrs do, of course, exist in the world today. A priest killed while celebrating Mass in France comes to mind. As do Coptic Christians and Iraqi Christians slaughtered by the so-called Islamic State.

A world without God, Benedict writes, can only be a world without meaning.  Only if things have a spiritual reason, are intended and conceived  only if there is a Creator God who is good and wants the good  can the life of man also have meaning.

He states the all-important obvious: Yes, there is sin in the Church, and evil. But even today there is the Holy Church  there are many people who humbly believe, suffer and love, in whom the real God, the loving God, shows Himself to us. He says that if we look around and listen with an attentive heart, we can find witnesses of God everywhere, from the lowest ranks of the society to the highest echelons of the church. Our job is to recognize them, and, more than that, to help them in their struggle to make the world a better, kinder place, to enact Gods will in the world.

As I joined seminarians at the North American Pontifical College and others in the 7 a.m. Masses around Rome for the penultimate week of Lent, I prayed I was among martyrs  people willing to sacrifice with joy for the love of God. They are the antidote to the evil and confusion in the world, which will suffocate us without the gift of clarity that the martyrs demonstrate. They give their lives to God, even when they are not subject to the sword  they seek to be poured out in love to others for love of Him. It doesnt get more counter-selfie-culture than that.

(Kathryn Jean Lopez is senior fellow at the National Review Institute, editor-at-large of National Review Online and founding director of Catholic Voices USA. She can be contacted at klopez@nationalreview.com.)
HOUSTONMothers milk isnt just for babies anymore.

Global chemical giants DowDuPont Inc. and BASF SE are investing millions to ramp up production of an indigestible sugar found naturally in breast milk. Infant formula makers like Nestle SA cant get enough of the synthetic ingredient.

Now the companies are eyeing a potentially bigger customer: adults. DuPont estimates the annual market could reach $1 billion (U.S.).

Human milk oligosaccharide is the third-most common solid in breast milk, after lactose and fat. HMO escapes digestion, allowing it to reach the colon where it feeds beneficial bacteria. HMOs may explain why breastfed babies tend to fare better than formula-fed, said Rachael Buck, who leads HMO research at Similac formula-maker Abbott Laboratories.

Its just been a fascinating treasure trove of benefits that weve uncovered, Buck said.

In babies, HMOs strengthen the developing immune system, helping fight infection and inflammation while aiding brain development, according to early research. New studies show those benefits may extend to people of all ages, fitting neatly into consumers growing fascination with probiotics  the good bacteria that can help keep a human body healthy.

Replicating Nature

Synthetic HMOs come from the formula industrys quest to manufacture a breast-milk substitute thats as close to the real thing as possible. The purported benefits are still viewed with skepticism by some in the scientific community  especially when they come at a premium price.

Never assume that the addition of a component of human milk actually makes the formula like human milk, said Steven A. Abrams, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics committee on nutrition. Its not, said Abrams, a Dell Medical School professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

HMOs could lead to treatments for adult ailments such as irritable bowel syndrome, allergies and even the aging brain, Buck said. An animal study at Abbotts labs showed that HMO stimulated the vagus nerve, a superhighway communicating from gut to brain, she said. This has the potential to help both brain development early in life and, later in life, brain decline.

Commercial production is typically accomplished through a fermentation process using giant vats filled with microbes genetically engineered to produce specific HMO varieties, such as 2FL.

DuPont plans to spend $40 million building out its HMO production capacity this year, its second biggest capital investment after expanding a factory that makes Tyvek. Meanwhile, its partnering with Lonza Group AG to make enough product to meet current demand. DuPont will become a stand-alone company when it splits from DowDuPont on June 1.

After two decades of research, Abbott was first to bring HMOs to the U.S. baby nutrition market in 2016. Its now expanded to 15 countries. Nestle last year rolled out HMO formula in Gerber and other brands across 40 countries. HMOs nourish bacteria that train immune system cells, 80 per cent of which reside in the gut, said Jose Saavedra, Nestle chief medical officer.

The health claims propelled about $600 million in sales of HMO formula last year for each of Abbott and Nestle SA.

Among Abbotts customers was Heidi Haydock, a senior manager at Cardinal Health Inc., who two years ago wasnt able to breast feed her newborn son because she was undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. Concerned about the development of his digestive system, she fed him Similac with HMO.

Next Best

With a mom who cant give breast milk, you kind of feel deficient, Haydock said. Being able to give the next-best alternative made me feel better.

While some research indicates advantages to HMO-enhanced formula, its not clear that theres a long-term health difference, Abrams said. In the U.S., babies fed generic formulas, which are as much as 50 per cent cheaper, have outcomes every bit as good as those fed pricier formulas, Abrams said.

Even in nature, breast milk can vary depending on the different kinds of sugars produced by each mom. DuPont and BASF are focusing on making the most common version of HMO, which consists of the 2FL sugar. Thats where the benefits can be seen most clearly, according to Nestles Saavedra: Babies getting 2FL from their mothers have slightly lower rates of acute infection than babies whose moms are deficient in that HMO.

Widening Market

BASF began scaling up production of 2FL earlier this year, and its studying how the different health effects of HMOs might be developed into a range of products beyond baby formula.

Our aim is to expand on our scientific know-how on specific health functions of HMOs to adults as well, said Stefan Ruedenauer, BASF director of human nutrition research and development. BASF will have a pipeline of science-driven products with substantial health benefits of HMOs in the near future.

Smaller rivals making the ingredient include closely held Jennewein Biotechnologie GmbH and FrieslandCampina of Germany.

Danish biotechnology company Glycom S/A is targeting the adult digestive health market with HMO supplements it began selling in the U.S. and Europe late last year. The company touts its Holigos IBS product as managing symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, including abdominal pain, constipation diarrhea and bloating. It sells 28 doses on Amazon.com for $50.

Probiotics Craze

HMO is just one part of DuPonts larger foray into digestive health, a loosely regulated market growing 20 per cent a year. The company sees an estimated $5 billion annual opportunity developing gut-health products, though some experts question whether the supplements benefit everyone. DuPont is already a leader in probiotics, offering the widest variety of strains and operating the worlds largest probiotics fermentation plant, in Rochester, New York.

DuPonts is marketing its 2FL HMO, branded as CARE4U, to consumer manufacturers who can use it in adult supplements for digestive and immune health, said Ratna Mukherjea, global research and development leader at DuPont.

DuPont is researching how to produce more of the 130 or so HMO varieties found in breast milk as the company identifies those with the most potential health benefits, Mukherjea said. More HMO varieties are already in the commercial pipeline.

This is just the beginning for HMO, she said.
QUEBECA new report from Quebecs language watchdog notes encouraging signs for the health of French in the province but raises an alarm about increased use of the bilingual bonjour/hi greeting in Montreal shops.

In 2017, Quebec legislators were so concerned about creeping bilingualism they unanimously adopted a motion calling on store clerks to stick with a simple bonjour when welcoming customers. The report published Friday offers little comfort on that front.

The Office quebecois de la langue francaise found that between 2010 and 2017, use of bonjour/hi in Montreal doubled, representing 8 per cent of all greetings in 2017. Exclusively English greetings also increased, occurring 17 per cent of the time in 2017, up from 12 per cent in 2010.

French greetings remained the norm, but they were down to 75 per cent from 84 per cent over the same period.

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante made a pitch Friday for merchants to stick to French when greeting customers. What I encourage is for our merchants to use bonjour, period, she told reporters at city hall. Because everyone understands bonjour, everyone likes it, it is something that brings people together.

The report notes that once the greeting is out of the way, French remains by far the predominant language spoken in Quebec stores. French was the language of service 96 per cent of the time, meaning incidents where someone could not be served in French were rare.

And politicians concerns aside, the report notes that Quebecers  especially the younger generation  are increasingly indifferent to the language in which they are served. In 2012, 23 per cent of francophones aged 18 to 34 said it did not bother them to be served in a language other than French. By 2018, that figure had risen to 40 per cent.

Both anglophones and allophones  those whose first language is neither French nor English  are more able to converse in French than was the case 20 years ago. In fact, 94 per cent of Quebecers reported they were able to hold a conversation in French in 2016.

The report says workplaces have become more bilingual. Provincewide, 80 per cent of people used French most often at work in 2016, down slightly from 82 per cent in 2011. The percentage of employees using only French at work fell to 56 per cent in 2016 from 60 per cent five years earlier.

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OTTAWAPrime Minister Justin Trudeau is portraying Ontario Premier Doug Ford and federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer as irresponsibly fuelling anger and division in the country in order to score political gains.

In remarks Trudeau prepared to deliver to the Ontario wing of the federal Liberal party in Mississauga Friday night, Trudeau made only passing reference to the divisions within his own party over the SNC-Lavalin file, which has cost him two cabinet ministers and caucus members, and the departures of his top policy adviser and top civil servant.

Instead, he took direct aim at Ford and Scheer lumping them together repeatedly, likening them to Stephen Harper, in a speech aimed at firing up his troops for the campaign ahead.

Trudeaus speech, a draft copy of which was released in advance, began with a focus on the economy and on climate change as a massive economic threat to middle-class Canadians before moving to condemn the two Conservative leaders as divisive figures.

Conservative politicians like Doug Ford and Andrew Scheer dont seem to believe in investing for the future. They only think as far as the next election, not the next generation, Trudeau said.

The prime minister highlighted an alarming report from federal government scientists that warned human-caused climate change is causing Canada to warm faster than the world average.

Read more:

Opinion | Chantal Hebert: How Doug Fords budget has hurt Trudeau and helped Scheer

Opinion | Chantal Hebert: No easy solution for Justin Trudeaus pipeline woes

Trudeau says ejecting Philpott and Wilson-Raybould was lawful

Trudeau claimed that scientists, business owners, and economists agree  pricing pollution is the best way to reduce emissions and fight climate change while he portrayed Ford and Scheer as acting irresponsibly in the face of the global climate change threat.

Ford fired Ontarios chief scientist  just like Stephen Harper muzzled climate scientists, said Trudeau. He criticized Ford for scrapping the mandatory vehicle emissions test, getting rid of the provinces cap-and-trade program, and for challenging the federal carbon levy-and-rebate program in court.

Trudeau took aim at Fords first budget, saying it was loaded with cuts for farmers, Franco-Ontarians, seniors, post-secondary students, Indigenous peoples, children, and those who rely on community social services.

He said Scheer takes his cues from the Ontario premier, so Canadians can expect much of the same if he ever gets elected, claiming the Conservative leader would cut the Canada Child Benefit which the Liberals introduced, and make other cuts to housing, old-age security and the Canada pension plan.

Trudeau said Scheers pledge to eliminate the federal carbon tax shows he wants to take us back to Stephen Harpers decade of inaction.

The prime minister reserved his most critical comments for what he said was Ford and Scheers decision to take the easy road, to divide people and spread hate rather than find real solutions.

Andrew Scheer conveniently failed to call out alt-right conspiracy theories. Andrew Scheer fought against a non-binding motion to denounce Islamophobia. And Andrew Scheer has proudly spoken at the same rallies as white nationalists, said Trudeau.

Is that leadership? Is that someone who will govern for all Canadians? I dont think so, Trudeau said.

Trudeau said it is our responsibility to condemn this kind of speech but also to try to understand why their message resonates.

He said Liberals in 2015 saw how hope is a powerful political motivator, but must understand that anger is powerful, too.

And that anger is what Conservative parties around the world are tapping intotheyve been somewhat successful in turning anger into political support.

However, in move similar to his 2015 election campaign rhetoric, Trudeau also cautioned Liberal troops against confusing the Conservative party with conservative voters. The party exploits peoples fears. The voters just want to be heard.

Scheer, along with several of his Conservative MPs, including Michelle Rempel, have frequently criticized Trudeau for unfairly labelling his critics.

Scheer spokesman Brock Harrison in a statement Friday night replied to Trudeaus speech saying that, Nothing Justin Trudeau said about Mr. Scheer and the Conservatives tonight is based in fact.

For someone who used to campaign against the politics of fear and division, Mr. Trudeau continues to stoop to new lows by saying things he knows arent true and inflaming very real threats of extremism for cheap political points.

Trudeau told supporters Friday it would be a terrible mistake to assume that people who vote Conservative hate the environment, or are racist, or misogynist. That type of generalization is both harmful and wrong, saying people who vote Conservative are our friends and neighbours.

Their concerns are pretty universal. They worry about the same things we all do. Thats the difference between Conservatives and Liberals. They play the blame game. We get to work, he said.

In his only reference to his own past two months of controversy, Trudeau said its important for Liberals to stay focused and not be distracted by internal disputes.

Lets learn from our mistakes. Liberals fighting Liberals only helps Andrew Scheer. We have to remember what this party stands for, Trudeau said. He signalled his party will frame next falls vote, in much the same terms as he framed the last: The next election is about what kind of country we want to live in, and who we want to be.

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A coroners inquest into the death of a drum technician who was crushed when a stage collapsed before a Radiohead concert in Toronto is recommending that companies that build temporary stages for events undergo licensing.

Jurors examining the circumstances surrounding the death of Scott Johnson also suggest that riggers who work on performance venues in Ontario go through a certification process similar to whats in place for electricians.

The jury issued 26 other recommendations that largely echo those proposed at the inquest by the coroners counsel and other parties earlier this week, all aimed at preventing such deaths in the future.

The recommendations are not binding, but Johnsons father, Ken Johnson, said Wednesday he will be monitoring the situation to ensure they arent simply shelved. He suggested Radiohead would also stay on top of the issue.

I think I would be disappointed, if the inquest didnt lead to change, he said outside the coroners court.

He expressed some relief that after nearly seven years, a long and convoluted legal process over his sons death has come to a close. But he said the inquest and the preceding court case had also helped distract from his grief.

For us, we sort of accept that life is different and we expect that emotional roller-coaster, we dont see a way out for that, he said.

I think it just brings some closure, at least. Theres hardly a month gone by in the last seven years where Im not involved in some dialogue about Scott and whats happened, so I quite look forward to perhaps not having that dialogue.

Scott Johnson was onstage when the structures roof, which bore tens of thousands of kilograms in equipment, came crashing down just hours before Radiohead was set to perform on June 16, 2012.

He died of a crushing injury to the brain and head, according to the inquest jury. Several others were injured.

Among the recommendations issued Wednesday was the creation of a provincially-funded, permanent working group examining the processes involved in the live performance industry, including the construction of temporary stages like the one that collapsed.

The group, to be established by December, would include Ken Johnson and experts from the entertainment and staging industries. It would be tasked with addressing concerns raised during the inquest, such as the need to have a trained supervisor on site at all times during construction of temporary stages.

The jury also recommends changes to the building code and occupational health and safety laws as they relate to temporary stages. Those changes would include requirements that such structures be designed by an engineer and inspected by one before they are used.

There are also a number of recommendations aimed at the engineering profession, including the development of specialized criteria and educational opportunities for those working on temporary stages.

Over several weeks of testimony, the inquest has heard plans for the stage contained several errors, the wrong construction materials were used in building the roof structure and there was no independent oversight of the project.

Charges were laid under occupational health and safety laws against the shows promoter, Live Nation, contractor Optex Staging and Domenic Cugliari, the engineer who signed off on the stage plans. They were later stayed because the matter took too long to get to trial.

Johnsons family and Radiohead have been critical of the judicial process, saying they felt no one was being held accountable for the deadly incident.
A man who fell three floors down an elevator shaft was taken to hospital with leg injuries after emergency crews rescued him Thursday morning, firefighters say.

Officials with Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) have confirmed that there is evidence indicating that the elevator doors were vandalised.

Emergency responders went to a call at 10:30 a.m. at an apartment building at 248 Simcoe St., near Dundas St., said Toronto Fire spokesperson, Capt. Adrian Ratushniak.

The building is operated by TCHC.

When crews arrived, they found a man at the bottom of the elevator shaft with what appeared to be a scooter on top of him.

He sustained a leg injury, Ratushniak said. It was stated as compound leg fracture. 

Firefighters entered the shaft using ropes and after assessing the mans condition, they brought him to the main floor level.

Paramedics say he was taken to a local trauma centre with non life-threatening injuries.

His identity hasnt been released and its not clear how he fell in.

An investigation is underway to determine how he fell into the shaft, said Ratushnia.

We found damage to the lobby door of the elevator, said TCHC spokesperson Bruce Malloch. Its consistent with vandalism.

Malloch could not confirm reports efforts were made by fellow residents to block the doors of the elevator, in order to prevent it from descending and crushing the injured man in the shaft below.

He said there are safeguards built into the elevator, such as a buffer at the floor of the shaft, which prevents it from crushing someone below.

Malloch said he could not confirm the man was a resident of the building due to rules surrounding confidentiality.

All the elevators were in good working order at the time of the incident, he said.

He said such occurences are extremely rare.

Both of the buildings elevators were installed in September 2018, he said.

Paige Best, who lives on the fourth-floor of the building, said she decided to head downstairs to see what was causing such a stir on the ground-floor, when she was stopped by a frantic woman, who was with the man when he fell into the shaft on the third-floor

I came down to see what all the commotion was and she was like, take my stuff,  Best said about her encounter with the distraught woman. She was standing in front of the doors, in a panic. I said, ok. 

She was with him, Best said of the woman. Theyre friends. She was crying and said that it was really bad.

Best went back to her apartment, where she kept the bag, but decided to seek out police to return the items when the woman did not return, and Best had to head out to work around 1 p.m.

Shes baffled by how anyone could have fallen into the elevator shaft. The elevators were replaced just under a year ago, she says.

Chrysanthi Chomatas had to take the stairs down from her second-floor apartment after discovering that the elevators werent working. She was puzzled by crews milling about the lobby and the entrance to her building cordoned off by yellow police tape.

I came downstairs and the police told me that someone was hurt,  she said after exiting on to Simcoe.

Shes surprised that this happened now when the elevators where recently replaced.

Im getting scared now, she said.

A TCHC special constable stood guard on the third-floor of the building, blocking public access to that floor shortly after noon, Thursday.

Some senior residents and one woman in a mobility device, sat around waiting for the elevator to be reactivated, while those who could handle the climb took the trek up the stairs. Power was restored to one of the elevators shortly after 1 p.m.

We will begin work immediately to repair the second elevator and restore full service for our tenants after the investigation scene has been released, Malloch said.
A former OCAD photography instructor and acclaimed artist has been acquitted of sexual assault by a Toronto jury that deliberated over two days.

A student accused Keesic Douglas, 45, of over-the-clothes groping of her breasts, thighs and crotch area in a darkroom at the downtown art university in December 2013.

Douglas admitted giving the woman a brief sensual back rub but denied groping her breasts and crotch. He testified he was under the impression she was very interested in him and wanted some kind of physical contact. He was 40 at the time, while she was 21.

The woman, whose identity is covered under a publication ban, denied she did anything that would lead him to believe she wanted to be touched.

In closing submissions, defence lawyer Luka Rados suggested people communicate intimate desires indirectly through flirting and misunderstandings do occur when someone makes the first intimate moves.

This case demonstrates how easily an unproven allegation can destroy people and run them afoul of the law, Rados wrote in an email Saturday, hours after the jury returned with a not-guilty verdict. Keesic Douglas was a rising star in the art world. Despite his presumed innocence and merited vindication, his good name, achievements, livelihood and relationships were all but shattered.

Douglas, who is from Rama First Nation near Orillia, Ont., had been on a two-year contract at OCAD, where he taught photography. He graduated from the school in 2007 before obtaining a masters of fine arts degree from the University of British Columbia.

The photographer, artist and videographer explores themes of stereotypes, racism and the environment from an Indigenous perspective. He testified his career in the arts ground to halt when news of his arrest in 2016 was made public. He had no criminal record.

Mr. Douglas remains a gifted artist deeply committed to social justice causes. He was not only acquitted but deserves his life back, Rados wrote. Hopefully, people will understand this as he rebuilds his career and reputation.
Toronto police arrested a suspect after a vehicle hit two pedestrians on a downtown sidewalk early Saturday afternoon.

Police were called to the scene, on King St. W. near Spadina Ave., at around 1:30 p.m. following reports that a person had been hit on the sidewalk. When they arrived, they discovered that two people had been hurt.

Both victims were taken to hospital with injuries described as serious but not life-threatening.

A flowerpot and some lawn furniture that had been on display were also knocked over by the vehicle.

Police arrested the male driver of the vehicle at the scene.

There was no immediate word on charges, but police said alcohol may have been a factor.
WASHINGTONGeorgetown University students voted overwhelmingly for a proposal to create a fund to help descendants of the enslaved people sold in the 19th century at a time when the school struggled to pay off debts, results released Friday show.

Two-thirds of undergraduate students who voted in the student government referendum supported the measure, one that is not binding but still sends a message to university administrators and beyond.

The vote comes at a time when reparations have been an issue nationally, promoted by some Democratic presidential candidates, and as a growing number of universities are exploring the role of slavery at their institutions.

Student activists who came up with the idea and campaigned for it gathered early Friday, waiting for vote results to be announced on social media by student government leaders. They were holding their phones, and Karla Leyja, a senior who had pushed for the measure, suddenly saw everyone jumping up and down, cheering and hugging. She felt proud, she said. We did succeed in our mission to get students to talk about this and care about it, Leyja said. It felt incredible.

It was just like a bolt of joy, said Ethan Clark, a first-year student who is a descendant of an enslaved person who was part of that sale and who helped organize the effort supporting the measure.

Thomas Craemer, an associate professor at the University of Connecticut, said he does not know of other examples of members of a U.S. organization taking it upon themselves to pay reparations to the direct descendants of the enslaved.

Read more:

Georgetown students endorse slavery reparations fund in vote

Georgetown students to vote on slavery reparations fund

Student activists said they hope members of Georgetowns board of directors will discuss the measure at their spring meeting.

As students at an elite institution, we recognize the great privileges we have been given, and wish to at least partially repay our debts to those families whose involuntary sacrifices made these privileges possible, the sponsors wrote in the measure. As individuals with moral imagination, we choose to do more than simply recognize the past  we resolve to change our future.

The measure was endorsed by 2,541 students and proposes a fee, starting with $27.20 per student for the fall 2020 semester, that would raise an estimated $400,000. The student fee would increase with inflation and would fund a nonprofit led by a board of students and descendants, who would give money to charitable causes directly benefiting descendants of the 19th-century sale.

One-third of students who voted  1,304  opposed the measure, with some objecting to students paying for the universitys actions, and some disagreeing with the idea of reparations for past wrongs.

Student government leaders welcomed the measure, saying it represented a meaningful step forward in atoning for the universitys legacy of slavery.

If the measure advances with approval from the universitys board, it would put Georgetown on the right side of history, Georgetown University Student Association President Norman Francis Jr. and Vice President Aleida Olvera wrote in a statement early Friday announcing the results.

The university has been exploring lesser-known aspects of its history, including the legacy of slavery at the institution. A 19th century sale of 272 enslaved men, women and children  which helped the school resolve pressing debts but which separated families and subjected people to gruelling conditions on Southern plantations  has come to symbolize both the horrors of slavery and the choices universities face in confronting their legacies. Georgetowns leaders apologized for the past and took steps to right historical wrongs.

Some students contend school officials have not done enough. The measure was an attempt to ensure that some efforts to address transgressions from the past directly benefit descendants of that 1838 sale.

Todd Olson, vice president for student affairs at Georgetown, said in a written statement: Our students are contributing to an important national conversation and we share their commitment to addressing Georgetowns history with slavery.

We understand that the goals of the student referendum are to honour the 272 enslaved individuals sold by the Maryland Jesuits in 1838 and to advance causes and proposals that directly benefit descendants still residing in underprivileged communities.

Craemer, who worked with a group of descendants to calculate their request for restitution, said he believes reparations are warranted because forced labour created wealth for others. The descendants of the people that actually did the hard work are excluded from that inheritance, he said. Its a present-day injustice.

Craemer said he was impressed by the student initiative, and touched by it. I hope it will put moral pressure on the administration to follow suit and also the alumni community, to donate to descendants, he said.

Others objected to the idea. Two students, in an opinion piece that ran in the student newspaper the Hoya, criticized the idea of a mandatory fee which, by nature, represents a moral judgment on the responsibility of Georgetown students for the institutions past. It contradicts that very value of liberty. Students would be compelled to act rather than having the choice to opt in.

The two authors, Rizana Tatlock and Henry Dai, suggested other ways to help, such as a fund drive that could actively engage students, rather than requiring a passive collection of fees. Those who are not convinced by arguments for reparative justice will not be any more accepting after being dragged, kicking and screaming, into submission, they wrote.

Hunter Estes, a senior at Georgetown, said he thought the measure was too vague, with not enough legal and financial understanding of how to manage a fund of $400,000 per year. He said many people did not consider the details. A false dichotomy was created: You were either for the descendants of the GU272 or you were against them, he said, using a shorthand reference to the 272 enslaved people sold in 1838.

He said students had created momentum for the idea of a greater commitment from Georgetown. This could be an energizer, he said.
CAIROSudanese political parties and movements behind nearly four months of anti-government protests met with the countrys military on Saturday, activists and the military said, holding the first talks since the army forced President Omar al-Bashir from power two days ago.

The meeting came after the protest movement scored two big victories this week, first ending al-Bashirs almost 30-year rule on Thursday and then forcing the interim military leader, Gen. Awad ibn Ouf, from his post a day later. Protesters viewed ibn Ouf as too close to the ousted leader.

The movement said it has formed a 10-member delegation to introduce the peoples demands to the military council, reiterating its rejection of military rule.

Ali al-Sanhouri, the secretary general of the Arab Socialist Baath Party in Sudan, told a news conference in Khartoum that they are calling for the creation of a civilian sovereignty council, cabinet and a national legislative association to rule the county during the transition.

The protesters have said they will remain in the streets until a civilian transitional council is formed. They fear the military, which is dominated by al-Bashir loyalists, will rule indefinitely or hand power to one of its own.

Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, who was sworn in Friday to replace ibn Ouf as head of a transitional council formed by the military, said they have invited all spectrums of Sudanese people for dialogue.

In remarks broadcast on state TV, he said the military council will rule the country for up to two years until elections.

Burhan said he was lifting the curfew imposed Thursday, which was to last for a month from 10 p.m. until 4 a.m., and declared the immediate release of all those detained and tried during the current wave of unrest, which began in December.

Al-Bashir imposed a state of emergency in February, banning unauthorized public gatherings and granting sweeping powers to the police in efforts to quash the unrest. Hundreds of people were tried before emergency courts.

Burhan, who previously served as the general inspector of the armed forces, had met with the protesters in the streets after al-Bashirs ouster and listened to their demands.

Activists, however, said Saturday that 16 people, including a soldier, have been killed in the two days since al-Bashirs ouster.

The Sudan Doctors Committee, an affiliate of the Sudanese Professionals Association, which has been spearheading the protests, said 13 people were shot dead on Thursday and three others, including the soldier, were killed Friday.

It said they died at the hands of regime forces and its shadow militias.

Sudanese police said late Friday that the 16 were killed by stray bullets and that at least 20 people were wounded at rallies and sit-ins across the country.

The protests were sparked late last year by price hikes and shortages but quickly escalated into an Arab Spring-inspired uprising against al-Bashir, who seized power in a 1989 Islamist-backed military coup. Earlier this month, tens of thousands of protesters joined a sit-in outside the military headquarters in Khartoum, vowing to remain there until their demands were met.

We will never leave the place. We will shout together. We will shout to our freedom, to our liberty, protester Rami Mustafa said Saturday, speaking in English.

Security forces loyal to al-Bashir had responded to the protests with a violent crackdown, killing dozens. They attacked the sit-in on several occasions, up until al-Bashirs resignation, and clashed with soldiers who intervened to protect the protesters.

The Sudan Doctors Committee says at least 38 people, including at least six soldiers, have been killed since the sit-in began on April 6.

Al-Bashir is currently wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide linked to the war in Sudans Darfur region in the oughts. The military has said it wont hand him over to the court.

The face of the coup, ibn Ouf was himself head of military intelligence during the brutal campaign to suppress the Darfur insurgency. The United States has imposed sanctions on him since 2007, saying he armed and directed pro-government militias known as the Janjaweed, accused of widespread atrocities during the conflict.

On Saturday, state-run media reported that Lt. Gen. Salah Abdallah Gosh, the head of the National Intelligence and Security Services, had resigned the day before. It did not provide further details.

Once a member of the presidents inner circle, Gosh was sacked as an adviser in April 2011 for criticizing the government. He was arrested the following year on suspicion of involvement in a coup attempt but was later pardoned by al-Bashir, who appointed him intelligence chief in February 2018.
NAIROBI, Kenya - Hundreds of Kenyans have marched in the streets of the capital to call for the ban of international wildlife markets that specialize in endangered species.

The march comes ahead of a global meeting on international trade in endangered species next month in Sri Lanka.

Kenyas cabinet secretary for tourism, Najib Balala, says the march is meant to campaign for the proposals that the country hopes to present at the CITES conference.

Wildlife tourism is a major contributor to Kenyas economy.

The CEO of WildlifeDirect, Paula Kahumbu, asserts that the use of endangered species to make medications in some parts of Asia is contributing to their extinction.
RIO DE JANEIRO - Rescuers still hope to find survivors in the rubble of a pair of collapsed buildings in Rio de Janeiro, officials said Saturday, as the death toll from the disaster rose to eight with 16 people listed as missing.

The condemned four-story buildings collapsed Friday in the hillside neighbourhood of Itanhanga, an area that was hard hit by recent heavy rains and flash floods.

Civil defence workers, firefighters, trained dogs and drones were searching around-the-clock for survivors in the rubble.

Luciano Sarmento of Rios fire department said Saturday he hoped survivors would be found because air pockets may have been formed allowing people to breathe.

Buildings next to those that fell were evacuated for fear of new collapses. Residents were allowed into their homes for a few minutes to retrieve personal belongings.

According to Rio Mayor Marcelo Crivella the area was run by militias that control large swaths of Rio, including the area where the buildings stood.

Militias, which are made up of former firefighters, police and soldiers, charge residents for basic services in areas they control.

When they began forming decades ago, many saw them as a force for good because they provided security that the state could not. Today, however, such groups are full-fledged criminal organizations which are often considered the most severe security threat in Rio.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - Police in the Dominican Republic have arrested a Haiti orphanage founder whos accused of molesting boys in his care.

National police spokesman Col. Frank Felix Duran Mejia confirmed Saturday that Michael Geilenfeld was taken into custody. He did not say whether any charges had been filed and declined to specify whether Geilenfeld would be extradited to the U.S. or another country.

Seven men have accused Geilenfeld of sexually abusing them as boys.

Geilenfeld is a U.S. citizen who contends the assertions have ruined his reputation, cost the Hearts with Haiti charity several million dollars in donations and led him to be falsely imprisoned for 237 days.

An abuse survivors group said Friday that Geilenfeld had fled to the Dominican Republic to avoid arrest and prosecution in Haiti.
KABUL - The Taliban ambushed a police convoy in western Afghanistan, killing seven security forces, an official said Saturday.

Abdul Hai Khateby, the spokesman for the governor of the western Ghor province, said the attack Friday afternoon set off an hours-long gunbattle. Faqir Ahmad Noori, the head of operations for the provincial police, was among those killed. Another two police and a civilian were wounded, and at least four insurgents were killed, Khateby said.

The Taliban, who effectively control nearly half the country, have continued to carry out daily attacks on Afghan security forces despite holding several rounds of talks with the United States aimed at ending the 17-year war.

The insurgents attacked a district headquarters in the eastern Nangarhar province late Friday, killing two police, said Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor. The attack began with two suicide car bombs targeting checkpoints. Khogyani said eight police were wounded and several Taliban fighters were killed in hours of fighting.

Nangarhar Gov. Shahmahmood Miakhel said Afghan forces repelled the attack after reinforcements arrived.
LONDON - As a symbol of the woes of Britains Brexit-era democracy, it could hardly be bettered. Lawmakers had to be sent home in mid-debate last week when water from a burst pipe began gushing into the House of Commons chamber.

The image perfectly illustrates Parliaments problem as it tries to solve the puzzle that is Brexit. On the outside, the U.K. institution is resplendent, a world-famous symbol of democracy sitting majestically on the River Thames. On the inside, its decrepit and increasingly unfit for use.

The hidden flaws in Britains political system have been laid bare  and televised worldwide  since voters chose, almost three years ago, to leave the European Union.

Decision-making has ground to a standstill, even as business leaders and residents alike cry out for certainty. Many Britons feel a mix of frustration, fascination and shame at the ongoing political chaos. So do politicians on both sides of the Brexit divide.

I am ashamed to be a member of this Parliament, said pro-EU Liberal Democrat lawmaker Norman Lamb after lawmakers once again failed to find a way forward on Brexit.

Bill Cash, a pro-Brexit Conservative, said this week that Britain had been humiliated by failing to leave the EU on time.

The last few months in Parliament, as lawmakers repeatedly tried and failed to agree on a roadmap for Britains departure, have produced close votes, late nights and high drama. Its a political soap opera that has sent the viewership of Parliaments live-streaming website soaring and made an international celebrity of House of Commons Speaker John Bercow, with his bellowing cries of Orderrrrr and The ayes have it!

But all the sound and fury signifies  not much. Britain is no further out the EU door or clearer about its post-Brexit direction than it was at the start of the year.

A divorce agreement struck between Prime Minister Theresa Mays government and EU late in 2018 lays out the terms of an orderly U.K. departure and promising close future ties. Since January, Parliament has rejected it three times. Pro-Brexit lawmakers wont vote for it because they favour a more definitive break with the bloc. Pro-EU politicians reject it because they think its a poor substitute for EU membership.

Parliament has also voted on other options including leaving without a deal and holding a new referendum on Britains EU membership. And twice lawmakers have rejected them all.

To avoid a chaotic no-deal departure that could devastate an economy already weighed down by Brexit uncertainty, May has twice gone to the EU asking for more time. Despite the blocs increasing exasperation at Britain, it has twice agreed, delaying Brexit Day first from March 29 to April 12 and then again until Oct. 31.

British businesses breathed a sigh of relief, but feared the respite would be temporary unless politicians can resolve a political crisis that been building since the surprise result of the 2016 Brexit referendum. Amid widespread mistrust in politicians, a feeling that had been growing for years, voters opted to leave the EU against the advice of the government, most economists and major business groups.

Britains political system has proven itself ill-equipped to implement the demand.

Mays Conservative minority government does not have a majority of seats in Parliament  a rare occurrence in Britain  and struggles to deliver its policies. The countrys two main parties, Conservatives and the opposition Labour Party, are both internally divided over Brexit and have begun to fray, with more than a dozen lawmakers quitting in recent months to sit as independents.

Pro-EU backbench lawmakers have gone to war with the government, seizing control of the parliamentary timetable to hold debates and votes on Brexit. Pro-Brexit Conservatives have demanded that May resign for failing to take Britain out of the EU.

In this environment, Parliaments stressed, exhausted politicians and their staff are frankly relieved at the 10-day Easter break that began on Friday. The prime minister has implored them to relax, reflect and come back ready to strike a Brexit compromise. In the meantime, Mays government is still holding talks with Labour in hopes of finding common ground.

But there are few signs of any emerging consensus. Brexiteers in the Conservative Party are still plotting to remove May and replace her with a more strongly pro-Brexit leader, such as former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. Pro-EU politicians are still hoping to secure a new referendum on Brexit that could deliver a mandate for Britain to stay in the bloc. Labour craves a national election, despite the risk that voters could decide to punish all politicians amid exasperation over the Brexit debacle.

There is no end in sight to the Brexit drama, which has left observers around the world scratching their heads  and sometimes chuckling  at Britains plight.

Richard Ashworth, a British member of the European parliament, told EU colleagues that Brexit had had produced a sad nation, divided like never before, and a House of Commons in crisis.

Let Brexit stand as a cautionary tale to the people of Europe, he warned.

But some observers feel sympathy as Britain so publicly struggles with deep, divisive questions about its values and place in the world  questions that are not confined to the U.K.

Parliament is representing the divisions in our county, said Anand Menon, director of the U.K. in a Changing Europe think-tank. Its brutal. Its horrible. Its inconclusive. Its democratic politics at its most visceral.

Among international observers I speak to, there is a sense of, There but for the grace of God go I.

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This story corrects the original date for Brexit to March 29.

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Follow APs full coverage of Brexit at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit
BELGRADE, Serbia - Thousands in Serbia protested again Saturday against populist President Aleksandar Vucic as riot police deployed inside the countrys parliament, saying they wanted to prevent the opposition from storming the building.

The protest in central Belgrade in front of the parliament building  the biggest so far in 19 straight weeks  came after months of anti-government demonstrations accusing Vucic of being autocratic and demanding that his government allow more democracy, media freedoms and free elections in the Balkan nation.

Opposition leaders, ranging from the far-left to right-wing, said authorities sought to prevent their supporters from coming to Belgrade for the rally Saturday. Police denied the accusations.

Speakers called for a prolonged struggle against Vucics government and demanded that the European Union stops what they called its support for his rule. Although staunchly pro-Russian, Vucic has claimed he wants to take Serbia into the EU.

Opposition leaders said they want to speak with the government about democratic changes, including free media and free elections, adding that if Vucic refuses, they will gather again in Belgrade next Saturday.

Vucics conservative party members, meanwhile, barricaded themselves inside the Belgrade parliament building and in local city councils throughout Serbia on Saturday, claiming they wanted to prevent the forceful takeover of power by fascists and thugs.

Tensions have mounted all week as pro-government media and officials alleged that the opposition wanted to storm state institutions and take power by force. Those comments came despite the fact that the weekly anti-government protests have been largely peaceful.

Vucic, who denies accusations that hes an autocrat, said Saturdays protest will achieve nothing and added that any troublemakers will be removed from the streets.

The anti-government protests started after masked thugs beat up an opposition politician last November.

Late Serbian hard-line leader Slobodan Milosevic was ousted from power in 2000 after protesters stormed the parliament in Belgrade. Vucic was his close associate then.

Vucic plans to bring his supporters to Belgrade next Friday to counter the rising revolt against his rule.
DAMASCUS, Syria - An Israeli airstrike on a military position in central Syria early Saturday wounded six soldiers and destroyed several buildings, Syrias state news agency SANA reported.

SANA quoted an unnamed military official as saying the airstrike near the town of Masyaf, in Hama province, hit a military academy widely known as the Accounting School. It said Israeli warplanes fired missiles toward Syria from Lebanons airspace and that Syrian air defences shot down some of the missiles.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Israeli airstrikes hit three targets, wounding 17 Syrian soldiers. It said there were also deaths, but it was not immediately clear how many were killed and whether they were Iranians or Iran-sponsored fighters. It said the strikes targeted the Accounting School as well as a missile development centre in a village near Masyaf and a nearby military base run by Iran-backed fighters.

The Israeli military declined to comment. Israel does not usually comment on reports concerning its airstrikes in neighbouring Syria, though it has recently acknowledged striking Iranian targets there. The last such strikes that Israel announced were in late March.

Iran is a close ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad and has sent military advisers, as well as thousands of fighters from across the region, to help his forces in the eight-year conflict.

Israel considers Iran its biggest threat and has said it will not tolerate an Iranian military presence on its borders.

The most serious wave of airstrikes on Syria this year occurred in January, when the Israeli military hit several Iranian targets, saying it was responding to an Iranian missile attack a day earlier. The Iranian launch followed a rare Israeli daylight air raid near the Damascus International Airport.

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Mroue reported from Beirut.
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trumps longtime confidant, Roger Stone, asked a federal judge Friday to compel the Justice Department to turn over a full copy of special counsel Robert Muellers report on the Russia investigation as part of discovery in his criminal case.

Stone has pleaded not guilty to charges he lied to Congress, engaged in witness tampering and obstructed a congressional investigation into possible co-ordination between Russia and Donald Trumps 2016 presidential campaign. In a court filing late Friday night, his lawyers said Stone is entitled to see the confidential report  which was submitted to the attorney general late last month  because it would help prove their allegation that there are constitutional issues with the investigation.

In a separate action, a former aide to Stone who was subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury asked a federal appeals court to determine whether he still needs to testify now that the Russia probe has concluded.

Stones team also filed motions Friday night arguing he was selectively prosecuted, challenging the constitutionality of Muellers appointment and that the special counsel didnt have the ability to prosecute him for lying to Congress. They allege that Congress did not formally make a referral to the Justice Department about Stones testimony and because of that, Muellers investigation was a violation of the separation of powers.

In court documents, the lawyers argue they are entitled to a private disclosure of the nearly 400-page report that Mueller submitted to Attorney General William Barr late last month and said they must be allowed to review the Report in its entirety because it contains the governments evidence and conclusions on matters essential to Stones defence.

To be clear, Stone is not requesting the Report be disclosed to the world - only to his counsel so that it may aid in preparing his defence, the lawyers wrote.

Stone, who is set to go on trial in November, has maintained his innocence and blasted the special counsels investigation as politically motivated. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which stem from conversations he had during the campaign about WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy group that released material stolen from Democratic groups, including Hillary Clintons campaign.

In a four-page letter to Congress that detailed Muellers principal conclusions, Barr said the special counsel did not find a criminal conspiracy between Russia and Trump associates during the campaign, but did not reach a definitive conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice. Instead, Mueller presented evidence on both sides of the obstruction question, but Barr said he did not believe the evidence was sufficient to prove that Trump had obstructed justice.

Barr has said he expects to release a redacted version of Muellers report next week that will be sent to Congress and made public.

In the separate case, Andrew Miller, a former Stone aide, filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia over the subpoena he was issued in Muellers investigation.

Last year, Muellers team sought Millers testimony regarding Stone, WikiLeaks and the Russian government-controlled online persona Guccifer 2.0, which was used to release hacked material during the 2016 election. But Miller challenged his grand jury subpoena, arguing that Muellers appointment was unconstitutional.

Earlier this year a three-judge panel of the court upheld the special counsels appointment and a contempt order intended to force Miller to testify.

In the new petition, Millers attorney, Paul Kamenar, argued that the matter now appears to be moot because Stone has been indicted and like Cinderellas carriage that turned into a pumpkin at midnight, special counsel Muellers authority expired.

Kamenar is now asking the court to have the government formally say whether it will still pursue Millers testimony. If thats the case, Kamenar is asking for a rehearing of the case. He said in a statement that he will take the fight to the Supreme Court if necessary.

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Read the petition: http://apne.ws/rQRdegR
SAN DIEGO - The Latest on a court ruling that would have prevented the Trump administration from returning asylum seekers to Mexico to await court hearings (all times local):

4:45 p.m.

A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked a judges order that would have stopped the Trump administration from returning asylum seekers to Mexico.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay Friday.

A three-judge panel set a Tuesday deadline for civil liberties groups to submit arguments why the order blocking the Trump administration should take effect. It set a Wednesday deadline for the government to argue why the policy should remain in place.

Judge Richard Seeborg ruled Monday in favour of civil liberties groups who want to halt the practice while their lawsuit moves forward challenging the policy. His order had been set to take effect Friday afternoon.

Seeborg said the policy violates U.S. law by failing to evaluate dangers migrants face in Mexico.

The government says Seeborgs order is erroneous and endangers the public during a humanitarian crisis at the border.

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10:54 a.m.

The Trump administration is asking an appeals court to let it continue returning asylum seekers to Mexico to await court hearings while it challenges a San Francisco judges order that would block the policy.

The government requested a stay with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to prevent the lower court order from taking effect Friday afternoon.

Judge Richard Seeborg ruled Monday in favour of civil liberties groups to halt the practice while their lawsuit moves forward challenging the policy. His order will take effect at 5 p.m. Friday unless a stay is issued.

Seeborg said the policy violates U.S. law by failing to adequately evaluate dangers migrants face in Mexico.

The government says Seeborgs order is erroneous and endangers the public during a humanitarian crisis at the border.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - A barred owl caught a lucky break when a snorkeler banded with wildlife officials to rescue the bird from a fishing line tangled in trees above the James River in Missouri.

Bill Hulsebus was visiting the Springfield Conservation Nature Center last week when he came across the injured owl, dangling by its right wing more than 20 feet (6 metres) above the river. Hulsebus told the Springfield News-Leader that firefighters attempted to release the owl from the line, but their equipment couldnt reach the bird.

He said conservation officials had fastened a tree trimmer to a long pole and were considering anchoring someone in a canoe to get closer to the bird when a snorkeler nearby realized he could help.

Out of nowhere, Jonathan Knapp shows up with a wetsuit, Hulsebus said.

Knapp, who often snorkels in the Ozarks waters, waded into the cold river and used the pole to cut the line, freeing the owl on his second try.

The owl miraculously landed right in his hand, Huslebus said of Knapps rescue.

The owl was upside down but kind of flapped its wings on the way down, Knapp said. Both feet landed on one hand. I couldnt believe it!

Volunteers then took the owl to Dickerson Park Zoos Raptor Rehabilitation Center, where the bird was given a feather transplant to repair its damaged wing.

The owl will have a few days to rest and let glue set. After that, it will go into the flight cage and be monitored to see how it is flying, said Joey Powell, a zoo spokesman. It should be released in about a week and a half if all goes as expected.

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Information from: Springfield News-Leader, http://www.news-leader.com
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The Yupik Eskimo village of Kotlik on Alaskas northwest coast relies on a cold, hard blanket of sea ice to protect homes from vicious winter Bering Sea storms.

Frigid north winds blow down from the Arctic Ocean, freeze saltwater and push sea ice south. The ice normally prevents waves from forming and locks onto beaches, walling off villages. But not this year.

In February, southwest winds brought warm air and turned thin sea ice into snow cone ice that melted or blew off. When a storm pounded Norton Sound, water on Feb. 12 surged up the Yukon River and into Kotlik, flooding low-lying homes. Lifelong resident Philomena Keyes, 37, awoke to knee-deep water outside her house.

This is the first I experienced in my life, a flood that happened in the winter, in February, Keyes said in a phone interview.

Winter storm surge flooding is the latest indication that somethings off-kilter around the Bering Strait, the gateway from the Pacific Ocean to the Arctic Ocean. Rapid, profound changes tied to high atmospheric temperatures, a direct result of climate change, may be reordering the regions physical makeup. Ocean researchers are asking themselves if theyre witnessing the transformation of an ecosystem.

The Bering Sea last winter saw record-low sea ice. Climate models predicted less ice, but not this soon, said Seth Danielson, a physical oceanographer at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

The projections were saying we wouldve hit situations similar to what we saw last year, but not for another 40 or 50 years, Danielson said.

Walruses and seals use sea ice to rest and give birth. Villagers use sea ice to hunt them. Sea ice is the primary habitat of polar bears. Algae that clings to the bottom of sea ice blooms in spring, dies and sinks, sending an infusion of food to clams, snails and sea worms on the ocean floor  the prey of grey whales, walruses and bearded seals.

Sea ice also affects commercially valuable fish. Sea ice historically has created a Bering Sea cold pool, an east-west barrier of extremely cold, salty water at the bottom of the wide, shallow continental shelf. The wall of cold water historically has concentrated Pacific cod and walleye pollock in the southeastern Bering Sea.

It tends to extend from the Russian side to the northwest, said Lyle Britt, a fisheries biologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It kind of comes down almost like a little hockey stick shape ... through the centre of the southeast Bering Sea.

However, when Britt and other NOAA researchers last year conducted annual fish and ocean condition surveys, they got a big surprise: For the first time in 37 years, they found no cold pool.

Researchers found high concentrations of Pacific cod and walleye pollock in the northern Bering Sea. But the species that was supposed to be there, Arctic cod, was hardly found.

More than half the fish landed in U.S. waters come from the North Pacific, and most are caught in the Bering Sea. Chad See, executive director of the Freezer Longline Coalition, a trade association of vessels that target Pacific cod using baited lines, said members caught their quota last year but had to travel farther north.

Does that mean that the stock is declining, is suffering because of the warming temperatures? Or is it that theyve moved north and its still a vibrant fishery? See said.

Its too soon to conclude that atmosphere and ocean changes are due simply to climate change, said NOAA physical oceanographer Phyllis Stabeno, who has studied the Bering Sea for more than 30 years. The southern Bering Sea since 2000 has undergone multi-year stanzas of low and extensive ice, she said.

When sea ice in November began forming as usual, she expected a bounce-back this winter. Instead, warm winds in February mostly cleared the northern Bering Sea of sea ice through the Bering Strait into the Chukchi Sea.

Were in winter, she said. This is all supposed to be frozen.

Formation of the cold pool is again in doubt. It could return in the future, but temperatures are trending upward with the rate of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere.

Scientists say figuring out the ocean physics is far less of a challenge than projecting the biological ramifications.

We sort of opened up this whole Pandoras box of not really knowing how the ecosystem as a whole is going to adjust to that, Danielson said.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service early last summer detected trouble. Resident called with reports of emaciated and dead seabirds.

Common murres, which can use up fat reserves and starve after three days without eating, fly hundreds miles to find fish schools or krill but were washing up dead on shore. Forktail storm petrels, fulmars, shearwaters, kittiwakes, auklets and puffins also died.

No one can say why. Seabird experts wonder whether the presence of more pollock and Pacific cod, which have voracious appetites and are far more efficient hunters of forage fish than seabirds, was a factor.

Dean Stockwell, a research associate professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks with a specialty in phytoplankton, said the ocean changes have the potential to affect plant life at the bottom of the food web but its too soon to know.

Of immediate concern is whether warmer water will allow harmful algae containing toxins to stay viable long enough for shellfish to eat them and pass toxins to marine mammals and people. Toxins are being carried to the Arctic, Stockwell said.

The question with global warming types of things is, Can it get a foothold? Can they do damage? he said.

Seabird experts wonder if toxins played a role in recent seabird deaths by affecting their ability to forage.

No one has connected the dots, said Britt, the NOAA fisheries biologist.

At the moment, nobodys sitting with in-hand a comprehensive research study that covers the birds and the mammals and the fish and the zooplankton all in one synthesized report, he said, adding that it will take researchers more time to figure out whats going on.

Meantime, Kotlik resident Keyes is researching climate change effects in her coastal village of 650 as project co-ordinator for a team working under a Bureau of Indian Affairs program.

The absence of sea ice since mid-February meant taking land routes to visit nearby villages, she said. And seal hunters this spring found bearded seals to harvest but not near the village.

Like the cod fishermen, They had to go farther north, Keyes said.
WASHINGTON - A federal investigation into a company run by one of President Donald Trumps nominees to head a prominent federal agency found a severe and pervasive culture of sexual harassment.

The Labor Department report from January 2018 made a harsh assessment of the internal culture at AccuWeather, concluding that multiple sexual harassment claims were ignored by executives and that women who complained feared retaliation. AccuWeathers chief executive at the time, Barry Myers, has been nominated by Trump to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

A redacted copy of that report from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has now been obtained by The Associated Press, providing previously unreported details on the extent of the companys problems.

The investigation claims that multiple sexual harassment claims  including several against a specific high-profile male employee were ignored and that the company was aware of the sexual harassment but took no action.

It also concludes that claims from the companys human resources director that they had no knowledge of the accusations are not credible and that several female employees say they were driven to resign.

Myers served as AccuWeathers chief executive from 2007 to January 2019. His brother Joel Myers is the companys founder and president.

His nomination to head NOAA  which oversees the National Weather Service  has advanced out of committee but has not been scheduled for a full Senate vote.

AccuWeather had already agreed last year to pay $290,000 as part of a settlement of the findings. The company, based in State College, Pennsylvania, provides commercial weather forecasting services and is a federal contractor.

A statement from the company says it continues to deny the allegations and claims. But it says the company agreed to pay the fine not as an admission of guilt but to avoid wasting time and money needlessly on protracted legal negotiations.

The AccuWeather statement said the company continues to improve as an inclusive, empowering and respectful workplace.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Legislation proposing the separation of Chicago from Illinois is intended to spark discussion about the overarching influence of the city in state politics, not actually lead to the creation of the 51st state, according to a central Illinois lawmaker who sponsored the measure.

GOP state Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, the bill s sponsor, said the proposal would urge U.S. Congress to make the nations third-largest city its own state, the State Journal-Register reported.

Its more of a frustration of the policies than the true belief that Chicago and Illinois would be better off as separate states, Davidsmeyer said. I dont believe that Chicago and the state of Illinois should be separated. Our relationship is mutually beneficial.

Chicago needs to recognize how its policies impact rural Illinois, Davidsmeyer added.

The reality is, the city of Chicago is competing with New York City and L.A. and San Francisco, and (downstate is) competing against rural Indiana and rural Missouri, he said. The policies that come down from Chicago are actually pushing our economic opportunity away.

GOP state Rep. Brad Halbrook introduced the proposed measure in February. He co-sponsored a similar proposal last year that failed, and this years attempt has even less of a chance of succeeding in the Democratic-controlled Legislature. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the leaders of the state House and Senate are all Democrats from Chicago.

Halbrook said the city of 2.7 million people differs ideologically from the rural population downstate on matters such as abortion and gun rights.

Our traditional family values seem to be under attack at every angle, Halbrook said. We are trying to drive the discussion to get people at the table to say these are not our values down here.

Forming a new state from a portion of a current state requires endorsement from Congress and the state legislature, according to the U.S. Constitution.

When you have a large population centre that seems to control the agenda for the rest of the state, it just kind of creates some issues, Halbrook said. The Constitution gives us a pathway, so well see what happens.

Tension between urban and rural areas arent exclusive to Illinois. The same has occurred in New York and California , according to a paper published last year by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University.

John Jackson, a visiting professor at the institute and co-author of the paper, said its odd that the bitterness has persisted for so long in Illinois.

We ought to have leaders who get together and coalesce for the good of the state, Jackson said. The idea of this being a total zero-sum kind of game, that mentality you win, Ive got to lose, seems to be the mentality many have. Thats just not the case. The state needs to prosper together.

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Information from: The State Journal-Register, http://www.sj-r.com
WASHINGTON - The World Bank, a major source of development lending, needs to make more progress in shifting its loans away from fast-growing economies such as China and devoting more support to the worlds poorest nations, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Saturday.

The Trump administration was encouraged that the banks private sector lending operation wanted to step up support for nations affected by fragility, conflict and violence, Mnuchin said as the spring meetings of the bank and the International Monetary Fund wrapped up in Washington.

The World Bank, he said, needed to make sure that such support was aimed at boosting private investments that are growth-enhancing and poverty-reducing. The U.S. wants to see additional progress in shifting more World Bank loans to poorer countries, he said.

The lending institution is a major source of development assistance for projects such as building damns for energy transmission. Mnuchin said investments in energy production represented a critical need to aid development in poorer nations.

The U.S. has succeeded in installing David Malpass, a longtime World Bank critics, as the banks new president, although President Donald Trump said in a published interview that he had considered his daughter Ivanka, a White House adviser, for the job.

She would have been great at that because shes very good with numbers. Shes got a great calmness. ... Ive seen her under tremendous stress and pressure, he was quoted as telling The Atlantic.

When Jim Yong Kim resigned suddenly as bank president earlier this year, reports said that Ivanka Trump along with Malpass were being considered for the job, which has always gone to an American.

Coinciding with the institutions meetings was a gathering of world financial leaders and central banks, who said the global economy was likely to pull out of a brief slump later this year.

But a trade standoff between the United States and China threatens to dim the economic outlook.

We must be mindful of an escalation of trade tensions, Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said Friday. Japan holds the chairmanship of the Group of 20 major economies.

The IMF cut its forecast for global growth from 3.6% last year to 3.3% in 2019, the slowest since the recession year 2009, but it predicts growth will return to 3.6% in 2020.

The U.S. and China, the worlds two biggest economies, have imposed tariffs on $350 billion worth of each others goods. They are battling over U.S. allegations that China deploys predatory tactics  including cybertheft and forcing foreign firms to hand over trade secrets -- in a sharp-elbowed effort to challenge American technological dominance.

Financial markets have rallied this year on hopes that the two countries will reach a settlement.

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On Twitter, follow Paul Wiseman at https://twitter.com/PaulWisemanAP and Martin Crutsinger at https://twitter.com/mcrutsinger
PM threatens Scheer with libel suit, April 8

Whats unconscionable is that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has threatened Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer with a libel suit because Scheer has had the audacity to assert that our PM interfered with the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.

This could place our prime minister at risk of a long court battle, which could include testifying under oath.

All of this instead of focusing on our Truth and Reconciliation agreement, which surely has taken a hit during this debacle. Pipelines arent being built; many Canadians dont agree with the Liberal carbon tax; climate change issues seem to have been placed on the back burner and were still dealing with unfair tariffs.

On top of all of this, the election is rapidly approaching. Does the prime minister have any advisers or is this another example of Trudeaus my way or else?

Donald Cangiano, Oakville

Lawyer Julian Porter may serve a libel suit for the Liberals and lawyer Peter Downard, acting for the Conservatives, reminds Porter that all members of the government, past and present, involved in the SNC-Lavalin affair will be called to testify in court. Obviously, this new litigation makes sure that both worlds will be talking to each other until the election in October.

I am pleased and proud of the work and decisions over the past 3 1/2 years of MPs Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott, who should be elected in October to at least sit in the House of Commons.

Willson McTavish, Mississauga

If someone accuses you of being a serial killer, you are not required in court to prove that you are not one. Your accuser has to prove it.

If someone accuses you of fraud, specifically income-tax evasion, you do not have to provide any evidence in court that you have not committed income-tax evasion. It is up to your accuser to provide evidence of the stated claim, and it is not up to you to open all of your income tax returns and financial books over a lifetime to prove that you are clean.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer made a public statement outside of the House of Commons on March 29 that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was a liar, that his government was corrupt, and that he interfered with a criminal proceeding against SNC-Lavalin.

The PMs threatened libel lawsuit against Scheer is not some opening for the leader of the opposition to put Trudeau on the stand, or to demand all sorts of documents in the way of discovery. Libel law does not work that way in Canada.

If you accuse, then the burden is on you to prove. You dont get to go on a fishing expedition and seek out evidence that is not already available to you.

Trudeau is not making a mistake here. I hope he follows through on his lawsuit. Scheer has publicly accused the PM of a crime, but the thing is, there are no criminal charges, let alone convictions, and MP Jody Wilson-Raybould herself testified on Feb. 27 that nobody broke the law in their interactions with her.

How Scheer thinks he can go on defaming Trudeau between now and the fall election without a shred of evidence to back up his claims completely escapes me.

Trevor Amon, Victoria, B.C.

This is a Trumpian move if I ever saw one. Instead of Scheer getting on with contributing to what should be a non-partisan issue  the climate crisis  he is putting every obstacle in the way and doing his best to hamper the PM from doing anything about it himself.

This is equivalent to watching a slow fuse burning that threatens your house and, instead of doing anything about it, there are endless arguments about the hole in the fence, who put it there and who will pay for it.

Get on with what is the greatest challenge we have ever faced. I have no doubt that Trudeau would like to get on with it. All Scheer seems keen on doing is spending money trying to sway public opinion away from the very sensible and necessary carbon tax.

Some will believe his ads, just as there are those who are persuaded by Trumps rhetoric. But a great many more will opt for doing their bit for future generations and giving the carbon tax a chance to have its effect on getting people to reduce their carbon footprint.

Janet Bartram-Thomas, Richmond Hill

Scheer believes the PM would never agree to testify in court under oath on this matter, or agree to produce secret cabinet documents as evidence, and has called his bluff by welcoming a lawsuit.

This will have potential negative consequences. If Trudeau doesnt proceed with the suit, he will look foolish. If he does, regardless of what happens with the suit, it will keep the SNC-Lavalin scandal in the public eye for the foreseeable future  something the PM surely wanted to avoid when he kicked MPs Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott out of the Liberal caucus.

Barry Francis, Toronto

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OTTAWAJustin Trudeaus Liberals say they are still hearing support from Indigenous people and leaders, despite concerns raised publicly about Trudeaus expulsion of two ex-ministers who had been central to work on reconciliation.

While the Liberals have repeatedly said that addressing the relationship with Indigenous Peoples in Canada is a top priority, that commitment has been openly questioned by some Indigenous leaders, especially since the ejections of Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott from the Liberal caucus.

Terry Teegee, the British Columbia regional chief in the Assembly of First Nations, suggested the ejections showed a deeply flawed and dishonest intent behind Trudeaus previously stated respect for Indigenous Peoples. Wilson-Raybould was one of his predecessors.

The balance that was being forged within our societies through the process of reconciliation is now threatened, he said when Trudeau expelled the two. Teegee called the decision wrathful.

Wilson-Raybould, as justice minister until January, had been the highest-ranking Indigenous person ever in the Canadian government. Philpott had been seen as one of Trudeaus most capable ministers; a shuffle that moved her from the high-profile health portfolio to become minister of Indigenous services was a symbol of how important clean water and good housing on reserves, for instance, were to the Liberal government.

Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett, who had worked closely with both, said that while the government is always mindful of triggering cynicism and concern about the relationship she tends, she is continuing to hear very positive feedback.

Read more:

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Few SNC-Lavalin rivals have been granted DPAs, contrary to CEOs claims

Whether Im on the East Coast or the West Coast or in Manitoba, over the last little while, I have to say that people will quietly take me aside and say, We need your government re-elected, Bennett said in an interview.

I would never presume that whomever Im speaking to is speaking on behalf of more than one person, she added. I think that its important now for us to earn the respect and continue to make progress.

In the next election, only First Nations, Inuit and Metis will be able to make ultimate determinations about whether their experience with the government has felt more like a partnership than paternalism, Bennett added.

Last week, Trudeau made the decision to remove Wilson-Raybould and Philpott from the Liberal caucus.

The two former cabinet ministers had been outspoken about political pressure to intervene in the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin, a Quebec engineering giant facing bribery charges over contracts in Libya. Wilson-Raybould believes she was shuffled out of the Department of Justice because she wouldnt give Trudeau what he wanted on the file, overruling a prosecutors decision not to pursue a plea-bargain-like remediation agreement. Both ultimately resigned from the cabinet.

Trudeau has denied any wrongdoing but has publicly acknowledged there was a breakdown of trust between Wilson-Raybould and his office.

Wilson-Raybould was not available for an interview but Philpott said she does see the controversy as a setback in the governments relationship with Indigenous Peoples.

Trudeaus cabinet worked hard on issues including the recognition and affirmation of rights for Indigenous Peoples, Philpott said, and there was tremendous enthusiasm about Wilson-Rayboulds being the first Indigenous justice minister in Canadian history.

Wilson-Raybould was moved out of the position into the veterans-affairs portfolio, prior to her subsequent cabinet resignation.

I think particularly the fact that she was moved out of that role and then subsequently resigned from cabinet, is a setback, without doubt, Philpott said.

As an independent MP, Wilson-Raybould continues to have leverage over her former party  and Trudeau in particular  as members of Indigenous communities watch her words and actions carefully, says University of Saskatchewan professor Joseph Garcea, a political scientist who studies Canadian politics.

Shes got this governments feet to the fire and it is up to her, really, how high she turns up the heat, he said.

In 2015, the Liberal Party was keen to recruit Indigenous candidates and affirm its commitment to solving longstanding problems, including multiyear boil-water advisories on reserves.

Indigenous voters were also far more engaged in the last election. The Assembly of First Nations identified 51 ridings, including several in western Canada, where First Nations voters could affect the outcome and invested a great deal of effort in outreach.

After that election, Elections Canada reported the gap between turnout on reserves and turnout among the general population had been the lowest since it began calculating turnout for Aboriginal populations in 2004 (with the caveat that it does not capture demographic information at the polls and cannot count Aboriginal voters directly, whether they vote on or off reserves).

Compared to the 2011 election, Elections Canada said turnout on reserves increased by 14 percentage points  from 47.4 per cent to 61.5 per cent  while turnout among the general population increased by six percentage points to 66 per cent.

For his part, Metis National Council President Clement Chartier said he will not allow a distraction like the SNC-Lavalin controversy to derail the councils efforts to work with the Liberal government.

Why would we want to destroy something that has been of significant benefit to the Metis Nation? he said, suggesting the response to the council from the Trudeau government has been tremendous.

The Metis National Council will reach out to all the political parties before the election on policy positions, he said, adding Metis citizens can decide for themselves whom to support.

Until theres an election, we will continue to support this prime minister and this government, he said.

Wilson-Rayboulds tenure as the first Indigenous justice minister in Canada will remain a huge breakthrough, Bennett said. She said her team is very sad there was an erosion of trust with her colleagues.

We would prefer that (Philpott and Wilson-Raybould) were still members of the team, still supporting the prime minister, but unfortunately that didnt happen, she said, but she believes the governments Indigenous partners want to move on.

-Follow @kkirkup on Twitter

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Mayor John Tory said Thursday that he is incredibly disappointed that the provincial government has reneged on a promise to double the citys share of the gas tax  a broken promise that will cost Toronto $1.1 billion in funding for transit over the next 10 years.

This was a commitment that was affirmed by the governing party, by the Progressive Conservative Party, during the election campaign, and we had budgeted  for much of that committed increase to go towards the state-of-good-repairs for the TTC, Tory said at a press conference after the PC government under Premier Doug Ford tabled its first budget.

These are the kinds of things that this gas-tax increase, which was to step up over the next few years, was to pay for, and it was committed and we made our plans on the basis of that commitment.

City staff said that $585 million of gas-tax funds had already been allocated to projects in the TTCs 10-year capital budget, projects that included overhauling buses, repairing subway tracks, making subway stations accessible and fixing other things to ensure the system runs smoothly.

Now the city has to find that money somewhere else.

TTC Chair Jaye Robinson said the gas-tax decision was a serious blow to the transit agency, which is already grappling with a major funding shortfall for work required over the next 15 years to keep the system running and meet projected new ridership demands.

Read more:

Ontario finance minister introduces record $163.4-billion budget

Opinion | Edward Keenan: Doug Fords transit plan has good elements. But Ford himself is cause for skepticism

Province could absorb skilled TTC staff if subway upload goes through, Torontos city manager says

We were counting on that money, said Robinson, who is also the councillor for Ward 15, Don Valley West.

We had embedded this into our budget, and we were projecting using these funds. These are basic infrastructure elements of our system  and here we now have another major hit.

On Wednesday, the day before the provincial budget was tabled, Ford announced expansive new transit plans for Toronto, promising at least $11.2 billion in provincial funding for the projects.

On Thursday, Robinson said she was concerned Fords government just wants to take credit for building new transit, while sticking the city with the bill for keeping the system in good running order.

Theyre cutting the part of the operations that were responsible for, Robinson said.

Increasing Torontos share of the gas tax was a concession offered to Tory, after the Liberals, under Kathleen Wynne, rejected a request by the City of Toronto to impose road tolls on the DVP and Gardiner Expressway.

The tolls had been approved by city council.

Tory fumed at the time that he felt like he was being treated like a little boy going up to Queens Park in short pants.

To make up for refusing to allow the tolls, Wynne said that, instead, the province would double gas-tax funding for municipalities to four cents a litre from two cents by 2021, to help cover transit and infrastructure projects.

Tory said that, during the election campaign, the PC party promised to uphold that commitment.

Tory said Thursday that the city needs to make up $24 million this year as a result of the lost gas-tax increase.

About $90 million of the gas tax transfer typically goes towards the TTCs $2-billion operating budget.

The increase would have doubled that amount.

The Province will not move forward with the previous governments proposed changes to the municipal share of gas tax funding, budget documents stated.

Over the next few months, the government will consult with municipalities to review the program parameters and identify opportunities for improvement. This review will be informed by the goals of responsible planning and a more sustainable government to ensure taxpayer dollars are being spent as effectively as possible.

With files from Ben Spurr

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Two U.S. lawmakers have sent a letter to President Donald Trump seeking his support for cross-border economic projects between South and North Korea.



The Democrats -- Reps. Andy Kim of New Jersey and Ro Khanna of California -- sent the letter on Thursday as Trump met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House.



Moon's visit was seen as an effort to revive nuclear disarmament talks between Washington and Pyongyang following the collapse of Trump's second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in February.



"As the U.S.-North Korea contacts continue ... we believe there are steps you can take to support our ally South Korea in their own diplomatic process with North Korea, in particular, their efforts to strengthen cross-border business ties between their two countries," the lawmakers wrote in the letter.



"As a businessman yourself, you are aware of the power that business has in creating bonds between people, interconnecting economies by promoting mutual benefit, and reducing the potential for conflict," the letter read.



Moon's push to expand inter-Korean economic cooperation as a tool to accelerate the North's denuclearization has been largely obstructed by U.S.-led sanctions on the regime.



"We are concerned that, rather than facilitating these business ties, some in your Administration reportedly took steps to block the South Korean government from engaging in any such economic cooperation with North Korea," the letter said.



"We urge you to seriously consider revising this approach -- to the extent sought by South Korea and in accordance with U.S. national security interests -- and to do everything in your power to ensure that our close ally can pursue the cross-border initiatives they deem necessary," it added.



Such action, the lawmakers said, will not only advance South Korea's national security interests by building trust with the North, but also those of the U.S., "with the ultimate goal of resolving the nuclear crisis and creating a peaceful Korean Peninsula."



Andy Kim is Korean-American.



The Moon government has especially been keen to reopen the inter-Korean industrial complex in the North's border town of Kaesong and resume tourism to the North's Mount Kumgang.



Asked Thursday about the possibility of easing sanctions to enable those projects, Trump said he would support them at the right time. He added that he wants the sanctions to stay on for now.




A federal grand jury has subpoenaed emails and mileage reimbursement records of former state senator and gubernatorial candidate Sam McCann, according to a Chicago Sun-Times report.

The subpoena filed in January in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois sought tax records and records of payments made to McCann from 2011 to 2018, the newspaper reported.

Sharon Paul, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorneys Office, could not comment on whether there was an investigation or subpoena.

McCann did not return a call for comment Friday evening.

McCann has not been accused of or charged with any wrongdoing.

The former senator for the 50th District ran for governor independently against former governor Bruce Rauner and now-Gov. J.B. Pritzker in 2018.

The reimbursements subject to the subpoena would have been made with tax dollars, according to the newspaper.

Previously, mileage McCann billed to his campaign fund came under scrutiny in 2016.

Reports that McCann reimbursed himself from campaign funds for more than $38,000 for mileage led to a citizen complaint filed with the state Board of Elections, which recommended some of the allegations in the complaint receive further review.

Based on federal mileage reimbursement guidelines, the amount would have meant McCann drove 66,000 miles in 2015.

The citizen complaint also pointed to more than $46,000 in expenditures that were reimbursed by the campaign without identifying the vendors who were paid. Campaign disclosure specialist John Levin, following a preliminary hearing on the complaint, in his report attributed the lack of disclosure to sloppy bookkeeping.

McCann at the time defended the mileage reimbursements, citing the size of the district, and said lack of staffing impacted how detailed his records were.
South Korea was awarded a $1.02 billion contract to deliver three 1,400-ton submarines to Indonesia, according to multiple press reports.



Seoul's Defense Acquisition Program Administration took part in the signing ceremony in Bandung, Indonesia. The deal was signed between South Korean company Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering and the Indonesian government, Newsis reported Friday.



The 1,400-ton submarine the South Korean firm will be building for Indonesia is expected to be an upgraded version of the 1,200-ton Type 209 submarine in use in the South Korean navy, according to the report.



The Type 209 is a class of diesel-electric attack submarine. The submarine Daewoo is to build will accommodate 40 crewmembers and include eight launchers capable of shooting torpedoes, mines and missiles.



The submarines will be delivered to Indonesia by the first half of 2026 and a product of joint construction at PT PAL Indonesia, a shipyard.



The contract is the first submarine deal South Korea has been awarded since 2011, when Seoul supplied Jakarta with three submarines.



DAPA head Wang Jung-hong said Friday the two countries "once again made mutual reciprocal defense cooperation."



Wang also asked Indonesia for "support for the success" of the KFX/IFX fighter aircraft program, a joint venture.



News 1 reported Indonesia is a key partner for South Korea, under President Moon Jae-in's New Southern Policy.



A source at DAPA told News 1 the government and "related agencies" cooperated closely to obtain the contract. (UPI)




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South Korea's finance minister said Friday that Seoul will make internal preparations to carry out economic projects with North Korea when the conditions are right.



Hong Nam-ki, the minister of economy and finance, was in the U.S. capital to attend a meeting of the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors.



Speaking to reporters on the margins, Hong said he believes Thursday's summit in Washington between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump created momentum to restart nuclear disarmament talks with North Korea.



Moon's push to expand economic cooperation with the North has been largely obstructed by the deadlock in denuclearization negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang.



"I don't think inter-Korean economic cooperation can begin in earnest immediately, but we will make preparations internally and quietly with other relevant ministries," Hong said.



"In order for inter-Korean economic cooperation to begin in earnest, I believe there needs to be an easing or removal of sanctions on the North," he added.



North Korea has been under tough international sanctions for its development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.













In his two summits with Trump since last year, North Korean leader Kim Jong-has sought to get sanctions relief in exchange for a commitment to dismantle the nuclear and missile programs.



At the start of his meeting with Moon on Thursday, Trump made clear that he wants the sanctions to stay on short of a "big deal" on dismantling all of the North's weapons of mass destruction facilities.



But he also expressed an openness to "smaller deals" and allowing the reopening of an inter-Korean industrial complex in the North and the resumption of tourism to the country's Mount Kumgang at the right time.



Hong declined to elaborate when asked what preparations are under way, saying they will be announced under the right conditions, given their impact on other countries.



On Saturday, the minister plans to meet with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to seek Washington's cooperation on potential U.S. tariffs on South Korean auto imports and extending a U.S. waiver for South Korean imports of Iranian oil.



"Our government is reviewing alternatives to Iranian oil imports, but it's not an easy situation," Hong said. "The negotiations are still under way, so let's wait and see."



The U.S. granted temporary waivers to eight economies, including that of South Korea, in November to allow them to continue imports of Iranian oil at sharply reduced volumes following Washington's reimposition of sanctions on Tehran.



The waivers are set to expire on May 3. (Yonhap)
Although you wouldn't guess from the name, Securities Trust of Scotland is an investment fund that scours the globe for dividend-friendly businesses.

It's an international approach to investing that the trust has only employed for the past nine years, having previously been focused on the UK stock market.

But the 220 million fund is making a good fist of it. Although it has underperformed its global equity income peer group over the past three years, it has outperformed them over the past year, registering an overall return of more than 12 per cent.

Securities Trust of Scotland is an investment fund that scours the globe for dividend-friendly businesses

Things are looking up. The trust is run by Mark Whitehead, who works for Edinburgh-based Martin Currie, part of global asset manager Legg Mason. He is coming up to his third anniversary at the helm of the fund.

Whitehead's modus operandi is straightforward. He is not interested in beating specific global indices  he says he is 'benchmark agnostic'. Nor does he worry about what part of the world he invests in or the market sectors the trust is exposed to.

He is focused purely on hunting down 'high quality' companies that are likely to grow their earnings and generate enough cash to pay shareholders a healthy dividend.

The result is a trust comprising just 45 holdings that pays investors a quarterly dividend and has an attractive yield of just over 3.5 per cent.

Among its top ten holdings are companies listed in the UK (Scottish & Southern Energy), the United States (Microsoft), France (healthcare company Sanofi) and Holland  Dutch nutritional specialist Koninklijke DSM.

Whitehead says: 'DSM epitomises what Securities Trust of Scotland is all about.

'It's a strong company that this year is in line to increase its dividends by up to 25 per cent and then keep growing them on the back of strong cash flow.' He also likes the company because it ticks all the boxes in terms of 'responsible investing'.

As an investment house, Martin Currie is keen to hold companies in its funds that are environmentally friendly, socially aware and are underpinned by good corporate governance (do not pay executives astronomical sums of money). It is often referred to as 'environmental, social and governance' investing.

Whitehead adds: 'DSM has a clean cow project that is designed to cut methane emissions from cows by at least 25 per cent.

'To this effect, it has devised a feed additive that it is currently trialling in New Zealand. If it proves a success and passes all the safety checks, it could prove a great revenue generator for DSM and its shareholders.'

With regards to income, the trust has grown its dividend every year since 2011 and Whitehead is determined to keep the record going. So, unlike many rivals, he is happy to top up any income the trust earns on its investments with a small slither of profits it has made on selling holdings.

Last year, for example, of the 6.1 pence per share of dividend that investors received, 0.27 pence came from portfolio profits.

One other attractive feature of the trust is its low charges. The ongoing annual charge is a competitive 0.9 per cent and this will reduce if the assets  minus the 25 million of borrowings  rise substantially above 200 million.

As for the trust's name, Whitehead says the board has discussed a possible change from time to time, but for the moment it's staying. 'We like the Scottish heritage,' he adds.
It's an industry most of us associate with dingy, smoke-filled bars in Amsterdam and the more liberal states in the US and Canada.

But cannabis companies are making their way to London to tap into a 100billion European market and cash in on the Square Mile's so-called 'green rush' among investors.

In the past few weeks alone, four firms have decided to ditch their previous business plans and instead switch their focus to cannabis-based medicines.

Controversial: Entrepreneur Alexandra Chong has already raised 15million from investors

The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Kanabo Research  which is being bought by a shell company listed on London's main market  has chosen to list in Britain instead of Israel, where it was founded, and is expected to float by summer.

That comes after Highlands Natural Resources, which is listed on the main market, raised 1.3million to launch a cannabis operation in Colorado. It said the new venture, called Zoetic Organics, would grow hemp and sell products such as organic hemp oil.

On the lesser-known NEX Exchange, a company called Imperial X has decided to launch a cannabis business after its mining investment firm flopped.

It will join Sativa Investments, which became the first London-listed cannabis investment vehicle when it floated a year ago. Since then, its share price has more than doubled to value the company at 38million.

The fourth firm to switch focus is Block Commodities, run by the cousin of Tory party deputy chairman James Cleverly.

As revealed by this newspaper last month, Chris Cleverly has turned the focus of his agriculture business to cannabis. Block, also listed on the NEX, is buying a firm with licences to grow the crop on 4,000 acres of farmland in Sierra Leone.

Another company that has been active in recent months is FastForward Innovations, which is listed on London's junior market AIM and is chaired by Jim Mellon, a friend of Nigel Farage and a Brexit donor.

Revealed: The Mail on Sunday told last month of Chris Cleverlys move

It has just invested in EMMAC Life Sciences, a London-based medical cannabis company, in its second cannabis investment in 18 months, having previously focused on backing high-tech companies.

Another company eyeing a possible listing on AIM is Jacana, a medicinal cannabis firm founded by internet entrepreneur Alexandra Chong.

The businesswoman  who went to boarding school in England and previously ran a dating app  has a 100-acre farm in Jamaica, where she was born, and plans to sell medicinal cannabis to patients in North America, Europe and the UK.

Chong, whose lavish wedding to Sir Richard Branson's nephew Jack Brockway was attended by Princess Eugenie and Kate Winslet, has raised 15million from angel investors including London venture capital star Eileen Burbidge.

The flurry of activity will only increase as other firms pile into the European market, experts believe. Until now, the US, Canada, and Israel have led the way in cannabis floats because they were the first to relax rules on the drug's use.

But cannabis firms are convinced the City of London's deep-pocketed investors and bankers are ready to plough into the market, which is estimated could be worth a staggering 115.7billion (100million) by 2028 in Europe alone, according to consultancy Prohibition Partners.

Many of the companies choosing London have been spurred on by the changes to the NHS after the rules on marijuana-based treatments were relaxed last year.

Patients can now get a prescription through the NHS for medicines based on cannabidiol, better known as CBD, but only to treat epilepsy or nausea caused by chemotherapy and only if other treatments have not worked.

Patients can now get a prescription through the NHS for medicines based on cannabidiol

But with so many companies rushing to tap London's funds, fears are rising of a 'Wild West' culture that could leave private investors vulnerable to being exploited amid the hype due to the lack of regulation.

Kanabo's founder Avihu Tamir told The Mail on Sunday he turned down 'two decent offers' to float in Israel in favour of a London listing through a reverse takeover by Spinnaker Opportunities.

He expressed concern about the lack of education among Israeli investors backing cannabis firms  something which could easily be replicated in London as a wave of companies arrive.

Tamir said: 'There are many companies that have no assets  the only asset they have is a licence to cultivate cannabis. They haven't constructed greenhouses or production facilities yet and they're getting very high values.

'I don't think investors will know how to tell between companies that have IP, patents and products because they're all under the same title of cannabis companies.'

He added: 'For sure, it's hype. That's not even a question.'

But while there will be some companies that fail, Tamir does not think it's a bubble that will burst.

He said: 'In stock markets, you always have this wave of up and down. And for sure, prices will not go up forever. Having said that, it's an industry that has real value, that generates nice sales already, and it's an industry that's seeing regulation moving forward.'

He says clearer rules are needed to ensure the standard of produce is up to scratch. 'We believe the regulation will be setting production standards and putting it under some kind of regulatory body.'

Most companies with cannabis-based treatments use extracts of CBD, but Kanabo also wants to use extracts of tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, the psychoactive substance which gets people high, to treat people with insomnia and sleep disorder, neuropathic pain, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in treatments.

It has also developed a vaporiser medical device called VapePod that allows people to inhale cannabis oils and formulations.

One City stockbroker said the regulators were being careful about which cannabis companies to allow to list in fear of damaging the reputation of the whole sector.

'If something lists on Aim that's cannabis and it goes straight to a 1billion market cap and then blows up, then the whole of London looks terrible,' the broker warned.
All too easy: The banks are relentlessly pursuing an agenda to take us away from using cash but it doesnt work for everyone

Slowly but surely, like a Number 9 bus, we are moving towards a cashless society where plastic and payment apps rule. Move over bank and building society branches run by tellers with friendly faces. Tatty bye.

Adios, free cash machines and free crisp 10 notes  with big ATM operator Notemachine just announcing it could start charging just under a 1 for withdrawals at many of its 10,500 cash machines.

And hello contactless payment, Apple Pay, Paypal, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Paym, Uncle Tom Cobley and all.

So now, with a mere wave of a card  a piping hot 99p black filter coffee at Pret a Manger. No more fiddling in pockets or handbags for a purse, wallet or loose change  in the process making the queue behind you snake outside the door like a Burmese python.

Fine? In some ways, yes. Progress, convenience and all that. But are we being pushed rather too aggressively  strong-armed, in fact - towards a world where all our transactions will be made via mobile phones or the panoply of cards we carry in our wallets and purses?

A world where the banks, payment providers, Government officials and for that matter Uncle Tom Cobley (yes, him again) will be able to view our every spend like George Orwell's Big Brother?

And where retailers start refusing to take cash. Two theatres I visited recently declined to take my shillings. 'Card only, sir.' Or penalise us for using cash or cheques.

The answer to this key question is a big fat 'yes'. If we are not careful, and fail to rein in this ruthless quest for a cashless society, we will all be worse off.

At the mercy of the banks and their relentless pursuit of profit. High streets lie imperilled or ruined by the desertion of the banks and their branches and cash machines  like Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire.

Three hundred cash machines are scrapped every month. Increasingly, free ATMs turned into fee-charging ones. One thousand bank branches have been culled in the past year without an iota of reproach from Government Ministers still up to their armpits in Brexit manure.

Swathes of society, the elderly and lower income households in particular, have been financially excluded  an outcome that has already happened in Sweden as a result of its banking industry's relentless pursuit of a cashless society, and which is now causing its government to wonder too late whether it has all gone too far.

300 cash machines are scrapped every month as more free ATMs turn into fee-charging ones

And just as worryingly, for those of us who have embraced cashless payment and cashless banking without a care in the world, millions of decent, hard-working people have been left horribly exposed to a toxic mix of mounting bank fraud, IT meltdowns (think TSB) and rather frightening financial isolation when things go wrong.

I've been experiencing a dose of this and I don't like it one bit. I had my wallet stolen somewhere in East London five days ago. It contained my debit card, credit card, driving licence, a mountain of loose change and a variety of gallery and cinema membership cards.

Although both my bank and credit card provider swiftly cancelled the stolen cards, reassuring me that no one had emptied my account or used up my credit facility, and saying they would issue new ones, it now means I am temporarily cashless.

No access to cash, no plastic  and purely dependent upon the big hearts of friends to see me through until my new cards arrive. I feel financially powerless and very vulnerable.

The loss of my cards has also had unexpected consequences. Rail tickets booked online via Trainline can only be accessed using a debit card and punching in a reference number at a train station.

But when I rang Trainline to enquire what I could do to get my weekend tickets to Birmingham, I was told: 'Tough.' The tickets could not be converted to e-tickets, accessible by phone.

And while Trainline was willing to cancel the original booking and reissue new tickets, I would a) be charged for the privilege and b) could only do so if I had a card to pay for the new tickets. Arghhhh!!!

A report revealed 17% of us 'often' find ourselves in situations where cash is the only option

Not before time, a collection of the great and good are coming round to the view that we need to step back from the precipice of the brave new cashless world the banks want to push us towards.

Last month, an authoritative report compiled by Natalie Ceeney, former head of the Financial Ombudsman Service, highlighted the dangers. According to her Access To Cash Review, two million people in this country are dependent upon cash for their daily needs.

In addition, some 17 per cent of us 'often' find ourselves in situations where cash is the only option  for example, if a taxi driver will only take cash or they live in a rural community where poor mobile reception makes payment options other than cash nigh impossible.

Last week, I spoke at length to Ceeney. Her view is simple  access to cash must be viewed in the same way as our access to water and a postal system: a fundamental right.

We cannot, she said, be bullied down a one-way road marked 'card payment only'. Spot on. She added: 'We need proper regulation to ensure everyone is guaranteed access to cash in the future. We need to get the Government together with the regulators and banks.

'We must not allow market forces to solely dictate what happens. Otherwise the most vulnerable in society will be left abandoned and even those of us who do not rely on cash will only discover how essential it is when it is lost.'

Ceeney's work seems to have made a mark. Last week, the Bank of England said it would be rounding up relevant 'stakeholders'  banking representatives, Treasury officials and the Financial Conduct Authority  to look at ways in which access to cash can be maintained 'for those who want to use it'.

Ceeney's report has a number of recommendations the stakeholders should chew on  not just keeping cash machines and bank branches open, but greater 'innovation' in provision of cash. For example, cash by post (the way many of us get holiday money) and more convenience store cashback facilities.

Consumer group Which? told The Mail on Sunday that the Government should  as a matter of urgency  appoint a regulator with responsibility for protecting our right to cash.

Its role would be to ensure communities are not left bankless  or worse cashless because of the removal of the last cash machine in town  and would work closely with local councils that feel their communities are crying out for greater cash access.

But probably the most revealing comments were made by Sonali Parekh, head of policy at the Federation of Small Businesses.

She said cash should be readily accessible to everyone  businesses (especially independent high street retailers) and their customers.

'Cash,' she said, 'remains a vital payment for many  particularly the elderly, those with disabilities and people who must budget carefully in order to get by.' More tellingly, she said that if the banks win and turn the UK into a cashless society, they will have us where they always wanted us  over a barrel.

Living in a society where the only means of payment is controlled by them  enabling them to ratchet up payment charges at will.

Where in the future someone buying a 99p Pret a Manger black filter coffee, paid for via their contactless card, might be hit with an additional 10p 'payment processing' charge. Where all ATMs charge a fee for withdrawals.

Cashless society? No thank you.
The firm behind a fifth of the countrys free cash machines is to start charging customers nearly 1 a time to take their money out.

Notemachine will charge for many of its 10,500 devices following changes to how the ATMs are funded.

The new fee will deal a brutal blow to the elderly, families and small businesses  with the axe likely to fall hardest in rural and suburban areas.

It also paves the way for many machines to be shut down completely if they are still unprofitable after the switch.

The firm behind a fifth of the countrys free cash machines is to start charging customers nearly 1 a time to take their money out (stock image)

The free ATM network is paid for by high street banks such as Lloyds and Natwest, which give a fee to operators including Notemachine when a customer withdraws money using their card. But the banks have now cut these fees.

The change  which has reduced fees from 25p per transaction to 22.5p  came as the five biggest high street banks made a combined 30 billion of profit in 2018.

Notemachine is now planning to charge customers an estimated 95p fee at about half of its machines. The rest, which are operated under contracts for big businesses such as supermarkets, are likely to be spared.

Notemachine chief executive Peter McNamara said: Its just not sustainable and its causing a collapse in the number of ATMs in the country.

A lot of areas  particularly rural areas, and urban areas outside the city centre  face a really severe risk of either not having ATMs or being forced to pay for cash withdrawals.

The people who most need cash are people who probably need to budget very carefully, and there are many millions of them. No date has yet been set for charging Notemachine customers.

When a customer uses their card at an independent ATM, their bank pays the operator a so-called interchange fee.

We have one cashpoint... and three empty banks Hit hard: Peter Tomkins, who owns a health food shop The once thriving community of Milnthorpe now has only one cash machine left. The large village straddling the A6 near the Cumbria-Lancashire border had three banks six years ago, but two are now empty and the third is earmarked for demolition. Peter Tomkins, who owns a health food shop, said: The closures have stopped people coming into the village from outlying areas. We have to rely on local customers to provide us with cash. But they cant get money from the banks so the cash machine is the last source. He added: Some people want to use cash. The banks have been very selfish. Craft shop owner Mary Smith said banks were trying to create a cash-free society, but people want the choice. Advertisement

The fee level is determined by an organisation called Link, which is owned by the banks and ATM operators. Link last year agreed to reduce the interchange fee by 10 per cent  from an average 25p per withdrawal to 22.5p  following lobbying by lenders, chiefly Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland. At the time, campaigners warned it would make many devices unprofitable, triggering a wave of closures which would create cash machine deserts where it was impossible to withdraw money.

At least 3,200 free ATMs have shut since January 2018, according to Link, leaving 51,300 still open.

Mike Cherry, of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: Cash machines are still vital to communities right across the UK.

When they shut, that usually means less cash flow in local economies, reduced footfall on high streets and a drop in sales at surrounding small businesses. All that adds up to slower growth.

It comes after a stark warning from the Bank of Englands chief cashier Sarah John that paper money could disappear altogether.

Miss John said: In order for cash to remain a viable payment method, the public needs access both to withdraw cash and to deposit cash. And if retailers cannot easily deposit the cash they receive from customers, they may choose to stop accepting it.

About 13 billion payments a year are still made with cash  or more than a third of the total.

A Link spokesman said: Free access to cash is vital for consumers and the UK enjoys extensive coverage that Link is committed to protecting. We will investigate to make sure there is no negative impact on access to cash for consumers.

The ATM network is supervised by the Payment Systems Regulator. Last October it ordered Link to make sure the public could still access free ATMs in all parts of Britain, regardless of the fee cut.

A spokesman said: We are aware that some ATMs have changed from free-to-use ATMs to pay-to-use. We are looking into this and if it impacts on the commitment Link has made to us to protect the broad geographic spread of free-to-use ATMs, we will take action.
iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF's stock was trading at $123.88 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, LQD shares have increased by 7.3% and is now trading at $132.96.

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Royal Dutch Shell plc operates as an energy and petrochemical company worldwide. The company operates through Integrated Gas, Upstream, Oil Products, Chemicals segments. It explores for and extracts crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids; markets and transports oil and gas; produces gas-to-liquids fuels and other products; and operates upstream and midstream infrastructure necessary to deliver gas to market. The company also markets and trades natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), crude oil, electricity, carbon-emission rights; and markets and sells LNG as a fuel for heavy-duty vehicles and marine vessels. In addition, it trades in and refines crude oil and other feed stocks, such as gasoline, diesel, heating oil, aviation fuel, marine fuel, biofuel, lubricants, bitumen, and sulphur; produces and sells petrochemicals for industrial use; and manages oil sands activities. Further, the company produces base chemicals comprising ethylene, propylene, and aromatics, as well as intermediate chemicals, such as styrene monomer, propylene oxide, solvents, detergent alcohols, ethylene oxide, and ethylene glycol. Royal Dutch Shell plc was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands.

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By Peter Y. Paik





What is the good of studying the humanities? As a student and then teacher of literature, I have had my share of skeptical and practical souls ask me about the wisdom of entering a field where the prospects for jobs are bleak and which has less and less relevance to a high-tech society shaped by science and mathematics.







Full-time jobs in the humanities have been cut severely in the U.S. and elsewhere, and students who enter college are no longer expected to read the works of great authors such as Sophocles, Shakespeare, Jane Austen and Thomas Mann as they once were. The shifting of priorities toward math and science, to the point where students are forsaking literature and history in droves at top colleges, has also led to a lowering of intellectual standards in the courses offered by humanities departments, as faculty hesitate to assign difficult texts because they might drive away students.







Earlier generations of thinkers and scholars would find our plight curious. It was self-evident to them that the study of literature and philosophy was necessary for the individual to develop his abilities and fulfill his potential. In the Chinese tradition, the scholar-official studied the classics to learn about the past so that he would be prepared for the crises that he would face in his own time. Similarly, for the ancient Greeks, Homer's poetry was their guide for undertaking feats of courage and daring that future generations would commemorate.







The European novel achieved an unmatched depth in the exploration of the individual psyche. The works of Leo Tolstoy and Marcel Proust provide us with startling insights into our desires and hopes, and illusions and self-absorption. Such knowledge about the human character is the key to living well, so that we may choose our mates and professions well and make a place for ourselves in the wider world.







People feel overwhelmed by a rapidly changing world in which no set of values can ensure one's success and happiness. Yet the idea that works of literature contain lessons for us that would enable us to lead more fulfilling lives retains a potent allure. It is not surprising to see the chaebol turning to the humanities to gain the benefits that past generations of poets and scholars have attributed to its study: the ability to think outside the box, the willingness to challenge worn-out pieties and reform obsolete practices, and, most of all, the capacity to innovate and create new ways of thinking. As a recent

in Korea Expose points out, South Korean firms are touting the humanities as a way to overcome the lack of innovation and creativity they regard as the greatest challenge to their future growth.







While many academics would criticize the newfound admiration of the corporate world for the humanities as an attempt to manipulate culture for selfish and materialistic purposes, businesspeople are not wrong in their intuition that the study of literature and philosophy offers benefits for commercial endeavors. The French novelist Stendhal once noted that making philosophical discoveries and succeeding in banking both require that one be "free of illusions" and be capable of "seeing clearly into that which exists."







Knowledge is power, especially the knowledge that teaches us to see things as they are and not as we would wish them to be. To see clearly as Stendhal describes is the basis for making good judgments about oneself and others, without which one cannot succeed in business or in any other endeavor.







But an art and culture worthy of the name are not things that can be produced on demand, nor is the serious reflection about them something that can be accomplished in a hurry. To create works that reveal genuine insight about one's people and one's era requires leisure  time and space in which to think and create. And one of the fundamental conditions for producing the space that enables innovation to flourish is to promote a wide range of intellectual ventures, many of which may not bear fruit.







Innovation comes from the willingness to support a wide variety of intellectual and artistic projects  it is not possible for a society to innovate by choosing in advance which of these ventures to support. But even more than innovation, the greatest benefit that the humanities can bring to contemporary society is to revive the idea of vocation, of spreading the spirit of dedicating oneself wholeheartedly to an endeavor without any thought of material reward.











Peter Yoonsuk Paik (pypaik@gmail.com) is a researcher in literature and philosophy at Yonsei University.


Building a boat, circa 1900-1920s.



By Robert Neff



For hundreds of years during the Joseon era, Noryangjin was an important center for building Korean boats where, at least until the early 1930s, it was possible to see three or four generations of boat builders working and playing among the boats in various stages of completion.



Horace H. Underwood, who wrote a book about Korean boats, observed that shipbuilding in Korea was done by a rule of thumb and "appears to have been  largely an hereditary trade of which the secrets [were] handed down from father to son and absorbed by the toddlers along with the smell of fresh cut pine and the sawdust and chips of the shipyard."



Underwood had mixed feelings toward the Korean ships, describing them as uncomfortable and exposed to the elements but he acknowledged that they were well suited for the conditions they were built for:





Gambling during a break, circa 1900-1920s.



"The boats are usually of extremely heavy build. In this as in their other features they are built to meet special conditions.



"Extremely high rise and fall of tide, wide stretches of mud-flat and the sort, sharply breaking seas and the tide rips of the west and south coasts of Korea demanded a boat that could take a pounding, would carry both freight and sail and could be depended upon to ride the seas it had to meet and which would stay right side up when left by the tide as well as when afloat. These things the Korea boat does very well"



There were many types of ships and boats built in these shipyards. Among the most important were the large junks used to carry government rice from the various ports about the peninsula.



By the early 1930s, it was rather rare to see a 60-foot or 70-foot Korean transport junk but in the 1880s there were hundreds sailing up and down the Han River and around the peninsula. Judging from Korean Customs Service reports of that period, the ships were much larger  some 200 tons and able to carry a 1,000 bags of rice.





Working on a boat near Noryangjin, circa 1900-1920s.



In 1884, a German in the employ of the Korean government examined a very large government junk  it was about 130 feet long, could carry 1,300 bags of rice and had a crew of 15 to 20 men.



According to him, the government junks were relatively inexpensive to build  262,000 to 400,000 in Korean cash (roughly 233-355 silver dollars).



"This cheapness is explicable on the supposition that the government hands over the wood free of cost, as is stated, to the Provisional authorities who have to find the carpenters and other labor necessary for the constructions of the junks; so that the moderate sums mentioned probably only represent a small portion of the amount actually expended; because the lumber used up to build one of those junks, if sold in the Shanghai market, for instance, would probably fetch more than the nominal cost of the junk."



Despite the costs, there were many private ship owners who made a fairly good living from their vessels. But not all costs were financial  sailing along the Korean Peninsula was a dangerous occupation and many paid with their lives.





Cutting timber, circa 1900-1920s.
Albany

When David and Tiana Logan handed over $2,150 to rent an apartment on Hamilton Street, they assumed they were moving to a home that would be safe for their three young children.

But days after they occupied the apartment in mid-March, the couple grew concerned. The apartment seemed to be affecting the family's health.

"We started getting sick," Tiana Logan told me. "We started sniffling. We were coughing. We were having trouble breathing."

The Logans cleaned the three-bedroom apartment repeatedly, but it made no difference. The coughing and sniffling continued. Meanwhile, the Logans also began to notice concerning details  water stains on the walls and black spots in hidden corners.

Tiana, 35, and David, 49, a maintenance worker for the Albany City School District, became convinced their new home had a mold problem. Results from a home-test kit confirmed their suspicions.

The city agrees there is a problem. After inspecting the building on Friday, it issued a Notice of Violation for excessive moisture.

The Logan family has vacated the apartment, staying for now at an inexpensive hotel. But David and Tiana want something from the landlord: They want their $2,150 back.

That's certainly reasonable, given the circumstances. The landlord, Judd Feinman, is refusing the request.

"We are allowing her to vacate the lease," Feinman told me. "We're being very fair."

Feinman, who lives in Loudonville, is the head of Finewill Cos. and a past president of the New York Capital Region Apartment Association. One of the city's larger property owners, Feinman has also made frequent, large donations to Mayor Kathy Sheehan's campaigns.

Many of Feinman's buildings are in the run-down "student ghetto" section of Pine Hills. That's where you'll find the Logans' apartment at 520 Hamilton Street.

The nine-unit building isn't occupied by students. Instead, it's inhabited by immigrant families, the working poor and men referred by a homeless services agency. In that way, it represents the changing face of the neighborhood.

After hearing from the Logans, I visited the building several times. I won't mince words. The place is a dump.

More Information Contact columnist Chris Churchill at 518-454-5442 or cchurchill@timesunion.com. See More Collapse

I wouldn't want to live there. You wouldn't want to live there. The people who live there don't want to live there.

But they have little choice.

From the street, the building is a typical, older Albany tenement. The Logans live in the back, in a 1950s-era addition that resembles a motel, with doors that are exposed to the outside and face a small parking lot.

When I visited, the family's first-floor apartment felt unusually humid, with a musty smell. Neighbors explained how it likely got that way.

The heat failed over the winter, said James Tifft and Danny Silvia, who live in separate second-floor apartments and said they relied on ovens to warm their apartments. The cold also resulted in burst pipes, they said, that sent water toward the Logans' apartment, unoccupied at the time.

Tifft, Silvia and other neighbors could fill a book with their complaints about the building and its maintenance.

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But one complaint, especially, jumped out at me: Brian Ford, who also lives in a second-floor unit, told me he was hit with a $95 "emergency-services fee" on three occasions when he complained that his apartment was cold.

I asked Feinman about that. He said the fees were levied because Ford was repeatedly making "frivolous" service calls when there was no problem with his heat. Feinman also denied his tenants' claims about burst pipes and subsequent flooding of the Logans' unit.

"There was no issue related to their apartment," Feinman said.

Would he live in the unit?

"If everything was right when I moved in, absolutely," he said.

When I spoke with Feinman, he had yet to see the violation issued by the city and said he couldn't discuss the city's findings. He has 35 days to fix the moisture problem, but the violation does not immediately affect the building's certificate of occupancy, according to Brian Shea, a spokesman for the mayor.

The Logans just want out of the building. Until I called Fineman, Tiana Logan said, his employees had refused to release the family from their two-year lease. They were threatening to take the Logans to court, she said.

"I just want our money back," Logan said. "That's all I want."

Proving that even dumps in Albany don't come cheap, the Logans made an upfront payment that included $506 in pro-rated rent for March, $950 for April's rent and a $700 "move-in fee" that strikes me as both dubious and unscrupulous.

The Logans, like so many families, aren't awash in cash. Without the money they devoted to the Hamilton Street apartment, they're unable to rent another.

In other words, they're stuck.

cchurchill@timesunion.com  518-454-5442  @chris_churchill
Saratoga County sheriff's department

MALTA  A Schenectady man faces burglary charges stemming from a break-in from the summer of 2017, according to the Saratoga County Sheriff's office.

Justin Santos was arrested Friday and charged with burglary, grand larceny and criminal mischief, all felonies. He was arraigned in Malta Town Court and sent to the Saratoga County Jail.
ALBANY  A slow and meandering legislative committee process is the quiet way to kill proposals in the Capitol.

In the past week, though, Assembly Democrats opted to provide a swift death to perennial legislation advanced by their colleagues across the aisle. They blocked a package of good government reforms and a measure that would provide free college tuition for the children of New York military personnel who die performing their official duties.

Following the 15-11 vote on Tuesday in the Assembly Higher Education Committee to hold legislation designed to aid Gold Star families, Assembly Republicans launched a public relations blitz aimed at putting the Democratic majority on the hot seat.

"These families deserve our support; they lost a loved one in the line of duty protecting our way of life and our freedoms," Assemblyman Chris Tague, a Schoharie Republican, said in a statement.

American Legion Department of New York Commander Gary Schacher said in a statement that the proposal would have eased the burden for families whose loved ones made the "ultimate sacrifice."

"Each and every member of the American Legion risked their lives to defend the freedoms of this country, essentially signing a blank check to the American people," Schacher said. "That the state would choose not to reciprocate by giving a quality education to the children of fallen military members is unconscionable."

During the debate on the proposal, committee Chair Deborah Glick, a Manhattan Democrat, said the legislation should have been addressed in the budget because it had fiscal implications.

"We don't want to make false promises to people," Glick said.

She also noted the state budget included $2.7 million for Military Enhanced Recognition Incentive and Tribute scholarship, which provides financial aid to children and spouses of military members who die or become disabled while in training or combat. Glick said the program is serving 145 recipients this year.

Assemblyman Harvey Epstein, a Manhattan Democrat, who voted to block the legislation, even though he is a co-sponsor, cited the timing of the vote.

"The hold is the right move until we're in the context of negotiating money," Epstein said.

This principle didn't stop Assembly Democrats from acting in January on the DREAM Act, which allows undocumented immigrants to apply for college tuition assistance. A $27 million appropriation for the program was added a few months later in the budget, but in past years the measure was taken up after the budget was completed.

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Four Assembly Democrats, three from upstate and one from Long Island, broke ranks in the committee to keep the legislation alive. Capital Region Democrats John McDonald and Patricia Fahy supported the hold.

The final tally was relatively close for the unevenly divided chamber, and before the vote Glick was whipping votes to make sure there wouldn't be any surprises. The legislation has been blocked multiple times since 2010.

While Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo didn't push for this program in the budget, he told reporters Wednesday he would sign the legislation if it reached his desk before legislators leave Albany in June.

Assembly Democrats also stopped GOP legislation in the government operations committee on Tuesday that would impose term limits on legislative leaders, reform the member item allocation process and overhaul the state's ethics watchdog.

The package has been blocked repeatedly in the past, and  with it doomed for failure again  lawmakers on both sides of the aisle struck a jovial tone during the committee debate.

As an explanation for quashing the legislation, committee Chair Michele Titus noted that the chamber adopted transparency measures in 2016. This prompted Republican Assemblyman Andy Goodell to point out that the Assembly hasn't delivered on its commitment to record committee meetings.

David.Lombardo@timesunion.com - 518.454.5427 - @poozer87
GUILDERLAND -- A Schenectady County man was drunk Saturday morning when he crashed into a telephone pole, causing the attached power lines to go across the road, Guilderland police said.

Robert J. Jones, 47, of Duanesburg was driving along the 1300 block of Kings Road about 8:30 p.m. when he struck the pole and the car went off the road, police said. The road continues to be shut down for almost eight hours between East Old State Road and Curry Road Extension.
ALBANY  Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo put the kibosh late Friday night on a legislative addition to the budget that could potentially give lawmakers $44 million in capital spending to dole out.

In a veto message, Cuomo said that leaving that additional funding in the enacted budget will hurt the state's ability "to maintain a properly balanced budget." The rest of the 123 line item vetoes that the governor made to the state's $175 billion spending plan was for technical reasons.

While traditional legislative member items were phased out with fanfare early in the Cuomo administration, the budget regularly includes pots of money that lawmakers are able to distribute to pet projects in their districts with the approval of the budget division.

It's possible that the Legislature could revisit this funding allocation to the state's capital assistance program before the session ends in June, as the governor says there is unfinished business with the state's capital spending plans.

"The capital projects and the capital budget is not fully included in this budget," Cuomo said in a radio interview on April 1, a few hours after the Legislature finished passing budget bills.

"We have more to negotiate on the capital side and we'll do that in the coming weeks," he added.

It's not clear how this process will play out or where the revenue for additional capital spending will come from.

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If additional capital spending is approved, fiscal watchdogs hope that its parameters will be clearly defined and subject to accountability measures.

Citizens Budget Commission director of state studies David Friedfel warned that legislators have too much control over how this money is spent and said it has led to "legal troubles" in the past.

Friedfel said the final budget also removed Cuomo's proposal to give the state's inspector general more oversight of how this type of money is spent.

David.Lombardo@timesunion.com - 518.454.5427 - @poozer87
Washington

A U.S. lobbyist was sentenced Friday to three years of probation and a $5,000 fine for failing to register as a foreign agent for a Russia-friendly political party in Ukraine and for helping a Ukrainian billionaire illegally purchase tickets to President Donald Trump's inauguration.

The case against the lobbyist, Samuel Patten, highlighted how the Ukrainian political party sought to gain influence in the United States by hiring U.S. consultants who could lobby on their behalf and make connections to the new Trump administration.

Patten, a longtime Republican operative whose family was once part of Washington's social elite, pleaded guilty to violating the federal Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires lobbyists for foreign interests to disclose their work to the Justice Department. Federal prosecutors stepped up enforcement of the often-ignored law in lock step with the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election by the special counsel, Robert Mueller.

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"The crimes that I committed are a source of great shame and regret for me," Patten, 47, wrote in a letter to Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court in Washington. In court Friday, he said, "I behaved as if the law did not apply to me and that was wrong."

Jackson said she was most disturbed by Patten's misstatements to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence about his work in Ukraine and his purchase of the inaugural tickets.
Washington

President Donald Trump said Friday he is strongly considering releasing "Illegal Immigrants" into Democratic strongholds to punish congressional foes for inaction on the border just hours after White House and Homeland Security officials insisted the idea had been rejected as fast as it had been proposed.

"Due to the fact that Democrats are unwilling to change our very dangerous immigration laws, we are indeed, as reported, giving strong considerations to placing Illegal Immigrants in Sanctuary Cities only," Trump tweeted. He added that, "The Radical Left always seems to have an Open Borders, Open Arms policy  so this should make them very happy!"

The reversal, which appeared to catch officials at the Department of Homeland Security off guard, came as critics were blasting Trump for the supposedly-rejected idea, accusing him of turning migrants into pawns to go after his political opponents. It comes as Trump has grown increasingly exasperated by a surge of Central American migrant families crossing the southern border and is looking for new ways to pressure congressional Democrats to change laws that he insists are making the problem worse.

Indeed, last week Trump urged his soon-to-be acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan to seal the southern border and told McAleenan he would pardon him if he were to find himself in trouble for blocking legal asylum-seekers, according to two people familiar with the conversation who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe a private exchange.

It was not clear whether the president was joking, and a Homeland Security spokesman said in a statement: "At no time has the president indicated, asked, directed or pressured the acting secretary to do anything illegal. " The reported conversation came during the president's trip last week to Calexico, California, a day after he announced he was delaying his threat to close the border because Mexico appeared to be stepping up its enforcement efforts.

Before Trump's tweets on Friday, both the Department of Homeland Security and a White House official had insisted in nearly identical statements that the sanctuary-cities plan had been floated but then flatly rejected.

But not, apparently, by the president, who emphatically revived the idea.

Asked about it by reporters, he said he was "strongly looking at" releasing migrant families into those communities.

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"They're always saying they have open arms. Let's see if they have open arms," he said.

There were no indications, however, that officials were taking any steps to move forward with the idea or considered the president's words anything more than bluster.

"Sanctuary cities" are places where local authorities do not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, denying information or resources that would help ICE round up for deportation people living in the country illegally.

They include New York City and San Francisco, home city of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who on Friday called the idea "unworthy of the presidency of the United States and disrespectful of the challenges that we face as a country, as a people, to address who we are  a nation of immigrants."
Washington

President Donald Trump weighed in Friday on the most recent controversy involving Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, retweeting video edited to suggest that the Minnesota congresswoman was dismissive of the significance of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The video pulls a snippet of Omar's speech last month to the Council on American-Islamic Relations in which she described the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center as "some people did something," as well as news footage of the hijacked planes hitting the twin towers. Trump tweeted, "WE WILL NEVER FORGET!"

Omar's remark has drawn criticism largely from political opponents and conservatives who say the congresswoman, one of the first Muslim women to serve in Congress, offered a flippant description of the assailants and the attacks on American soil that killed nearly 3,000 people and pointed the U.S. toward war.

Neither Trump's tweet nor the video includes her full quote or the context of her comments.

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Omar told CAIR in Los Angeles that many Muslims saw their civil liberties eroded after the attacks, and she advocated for activism.

"For far too long we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen and, frankly, I'm tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it," she said in the March 23 speech, according to video posted online. "CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties."
Guo Zhijun



By Guo Zhijun



Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi summarized the changes in Sino-Japanese relations that developed from 2018 when answering questions on the matter at a session of the National People's Congress this year.



"The relationship between China and Japan got back on the right track in 2018 and improving China-Japan relations meets the common interests of the two peoples," he said.



Earlier this year, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gave a policy speech to parliament and said "I will elevate it (Japan-China relations) to the next level." He also delivered a congratulatory greeting in Chinese for the first time, celebrating the Lunar New Year.



The year 2019 has been marked as the Year of China-Japan Youth Exchange, and Japanese Self-Defense Forces are to visit China in April for the first time in seven years. Reflecting on the recent behaviors and attitudes of the Japanese government, we can observe the development of Abe's Chinese policy from "full preparation and containment" to "selective cooperation".



It is welcoming that Sino-Japanese relations began to develop at a critical moment, but we must acknowledge that the improvement is at an initial stage and the conflicts between the two are far from resolution.



First, structural problems between China and Japan persist. Even though Sino-Japanese relations are slowly ameliorating, as the Chinese saying "three feet of ice does not form in a single day" teaches us, the issues between the two cannot be resolved easily due to these structural problems let alone the diverging views on crucial issues that are highly likely to continue.



China and Japan have emphasized the consensus between the two by remarking, "China and Japan are mutual partners and are not threats to one another," and promised various cooperative initiatives and commitments on political trust-building as well as dispute mediation. However, these promises are mere principles and present different stances on how each party understands these principles and how they are willing to act based on them. Such differences, in turn, demonstrate that the major issues that can greatly affect Sino-Japanese relations  such as the history, territory and Taiwan-Japanese relationship  are still being managed rather than resolved.



Second, the Cold War-era stance of Japan toward China remains. Last year, Abe announced the suspension of official development assistance (ODA) to China on his visit to Beijing. He revealed that the reason was that "China has already developed to be the world's second-strongest country, and Japan has accomplished the historic mission as a provider of development aid."



Abe's statement signified that Japan identifies China as its equal that no longer requires aid. Despite this, certain Japanese people still demonstrate Cold-War era views toward China. For instance, the National Defense Program Guidelines and Mid-Term Defense Plan, authorized by the Japanese government at the end of last year, include critiques targeting China that some Japanese media focused on to publicize the view of China as a threat, making it difficult for the Japanese public to regain a favorable stance toward the Chinese neighbor. This is not helpful in developing Sino-Japanese relations and regional peace and stability.



Third, there is an uncertainty in Japan's China strategy. As we all know, since the end of the Second World War, the alliance between the U.S. and Japan has been the important basis for maintaining regional stability in the Asia-Pacific for the U.S. The interdependence between the U.S. and Japan grew extensively so that Japan would act on America's behalf and depend on the ally intensely. However, on the inauguration of President Donald Trump, the emphasis on "protectionism" and "America first" stirred anxiety among the Japanese. This only grew after the first Trump-Kim Summit, when the White House announced the temporary suspension of joint military drills between Korea and the U.S., increasing doubts about the American security guarantee that Japan has depended on.



As a reaction to such changes, the Abe administration's national directive has shifted from pro-American to balancer between the U.S. and China. With the Trump administration, there have been slight changes in U.S.-Japan relations but, considering the historic element of the U.S.-Japanese alliance, there is an uncertainty in Japan's Chinese strategy and efforts to improve Sino-Japanese relations have failed to be discussed at the national strategy level.



Regardless of all the deep-seated conflicts between China and Japan that I have put forward, we should feel confident in the fact that Sino-Japanese relations are improving. Foreign Minister Wang Yi suggested the expression "Zhi-Xing Heyi ()" regarding future relations at a press conference at the National People's Congress. It means the object complies with the subject, with the knowledge () being common sense and action () being practice. The ancient Chinese philosophers argued that acknowledgement must accompany practice, uniting the knowledge and action, therefore accomplishing the good (), or completion. Therefore, in Sino-Japanese relations, we must adopt an honest attitude toward history and recognize the reality objectively, work actively for a better future and take more solid, as well as determined, steps in the right direction.



In 2019, a new emperor ascends the Japanese throne and the G20 Summit is to be held in Osaka. As Sino-Japanese relations are heading toward normalization and many positive signals are being detected, China and Japan should reposition themselves and consolidate mutual trust, expand the public consensus and positive perceptions, and open up a broader area of cooperation by their actions. If successful, we will witness a stable and bright future for all.





Guo Zhijun is director of the China Review News Agency international news department. She focuses on East Asia security issues, especially peninsula issues and Sino-U.S. relations. Views and opinions expressed in the article are her own. Song Min-ju, a researcher at the Global Security Cooperation Center, translated the article.


[April 12, 2019] 2019 International E-commerce Expo opens in Yiwu

YIWU, China, April 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The China International E-commerce Expo 2019 & Digital Trade Expo (International E-commerce Expo) opened in Yiwu International Expo Center on April 11. Huanqiu.com, the official media organization in charge of coverage of the event, invited members from 14 media organizations from nine countries as part of an initiative entitled "Overseas Media Enters Yiwu", among them, United Press International, PR Newswie, and Egypt's Al Gomhuria (The Republic), to witness the opening ceremony together with the attendees. Huanqiu.com also released graphics, text and short video reports in real-time, enabling readers to get a close up and personal look at the Expo.



In its fifth edition since 2014, the 50,000-square meter International E-commerce Expo this year attracted 1,132 exhibitors from 24 provinces, regions and cities across China, as well as from ten countries and regions, including Australia, Brazil, Colombia, France, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Nigeria and Singapore. On the basis of the 2018's Digital Trade Experience Zone, the Expo this year adopted the innovative "1+1" or "one exhibition area and one forum" model, by launching the Digital Trade Exhibition Area, as well as several other forums led by subject matter experts, with the aim of building a global e-commerce dialogue and exchange platform, sharing experiences in digital trade, empowering e-commerce firms and building an intelligent ecosystem for digital trade driven by big data.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/2019-international-e-commerce-expo-opens-in-yiwu-300831679.html SOURCE Huanqiu.com

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[April 12, 2019] Dan Cooper Named as New CEO of Novatech

NASHVILLE, Tenn., April 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Trivest Partners ("Trivest") has tapped the talent and experience of notable 30-year industry veteran, Dan Cooper, to lead the day-to-day business of the rapidly-growing Managed IT and Print Services provider, Novatech, Inc., continuing an expansion and succession plan underway for nearly two years. Founder Darren Metz will continue his ownership interest and will take a new role as Executive Chairman. "Dan, with his vast experience of leading innovative technology companies on a national level, is perfectly suited to take Novatech to the next stage in its growth. We congratulate Darren on his success and reaching this important milestone in his career," said Jorge Gross, Partner at Trivest Partners. Cooper joined Xerox's Global Imaging Systems (GIS) subsidiary, Electronic Systems (ESI), in 1999 and was appointed to the position of President in 2000. Under his leadership, ESI, an early pioneer in providing managed IT services, grew to into a dynamic company and one of the largest within the GIS portfolio. In 2005, Cooper was promoted to the HQ of GIS, where he was responsible for overseeing the operation of companies across the U.S. He retired from GIS as President in August 2018. Prior to joining ESI, he spent 10 years with Danka Industries, where he served as a regional general manager. "I want to honor the culture of bold entepreneurism that has led Novatech since its founding. Darren Metz did an incredible job in growing this enterprise and achieving great success with customers in the marketplace. I am looking forward to continuing to build on this foundation and leading this organization into the future," Cooper stated.



Empowered by the capital support of private equity firm Trivest Partners, Novatech will continue its aggressive expansion plan across the United States to become a national leader of Managed IT and Print Services. As the integration between software, solutions, equipment and networks into the managed office ecosystem continues, Cooper brings a vision and background to Novatech which will propel further expansion of its footprint. "Companies that stop listening to their customers and their employees are the ones who falter. By listening to these key voices, we can provide incredible experiences for our customers, going above and beyond in customer satisfaction. I'm ready to get to work on the next exciting chapter here at Novatech and take the company's IT and managed office services throughout the US."

About Novatech, Inc.: Novatech is an award-winning, Managed IT and Print Services provider offering on-site and remote support of network infrastructure and peripherals. Founded in 1998, Novatech has been recognized 12 times by Inc Magazine for being one of the fastest-growing companies in the United States. For more information, visit Novatech.net. Follow @novatechnet on social media for all the latest news. Media Contact:

Jason Levkulich

Phone: 615-577-7677

Email: [email protected] Related Images novatechs-new-ceo-dan-cooper.jpg

Novatech's New CEO Dan Cooper

Novatech, Inc. CEO Dan Cooper Related Links Novatech Web Site View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dan-cooper-named-as-new-ceo-of-novatech-300831602.html SOURCE Novatech, Inc.

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[April 12, 2019] UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INVESTIGATION INITIATED by Former Louisiana Attorney General: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Investigates the Officers and Directors of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated - UNH

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. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190412005493/en/

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[April 12, 2019] AMERICAN RENAL SHAREHOLDER ALERT: CLAIMSFILER REMINDS INVESTORS WITH LOSSES IN EXCESS OF $100,000 of Lead Plaintiff Deadline in Class Action Lawsuit Against American Renal Associates Holdings, Inc. - ARA

NEW ORLEANS, April 12, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until May 27, 2019 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against American Renal Associates Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ARA), if they purchased the Companys securities between August 10, 2016 and March 27, 2019, inclusive (the Class Period). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Get Help American Renal investors should visit us at https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-american-renal-associates-holdings-inc-securities-litigation-1 or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options.



About the Lawsuit American Renal and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On March 27, 2019, the Company disclosed a range of negative information including the resignation of its CFO and that its financial results for the fiscal years ended 2014 through 2017 would be restated and could no longer be relied upon due to the Companys ongoing investigation into its revenue recognition methodology and related accounting matters. On this news, the price of American Renals shares plummeted. The case is Vandevar v. American Renal Associates Holdings Inc., 2:19-cv-09074. 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 .

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[April 12, 2019] CONDUENT SHAREHOLDER ALERT: ClaimsFiler Reminds Investors with Losses in Excess of $100,000 of Lead Plaintiff Deadline in Class Action Lawsuit Against Conduent, Inc. - CNDT

ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds 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. Get Help Conduent investors should visit us at https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-conduent-inc-securities-litigation or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options. About theLawsuit



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 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/20190412005495/en/

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Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Dropbox and many other online services offer two-factor authentication (2FA) as an option to protect your account.

With 2FA enabled, it's much harder for a crook to break into your account, even if he or she knows or can guess your password, because the crook will be missing that crucial second factor that only you possess. We at Tom's Guide urge our readers to enable 2FA whenever they can.

But there are several different forms of two-factor authentication, and, unfortunately, you're probably using the worst one. Here's how to beef up your 2FA game.

Two-factor authentication consists of providing a second form of authentication after you enter your username and password when logging in to an online account.

The second form of authentication, or factor, can't just be another password or PIN. It's got to be tied to something that you alone have, such as a smartphone or a hardware security key, or a unique physical attribute, such as your fingerprint or your face.

Least safe 2FA

 Texted or voice-called codes: The most common second factor for 2FA is a temporary four- or six-character digital or alphabetic code texted via SMS to your mobile phone. The code is automatically generated by the service you're logging in to and is good for only a short time, usually less than 5 minutes. A variation is to have an automated phone call read out the code out to you, which also works with land lines.

This may be the kind of 2FA you have, but it's also the least secure form. Text messages and voice calls aren't encrypted, and they're tied to your phone number rather than to a specific device. They can be intercepted by anyone who has stolen your phone number, who has changed your account to forward calls or texts to a second number, or who works at the phone carrier. You also need to have working cellular service for the texts to work at all.

SMS-based and voice-based 2FA are better than no 2FA at all, and many online services give you no other choice. There are better second factors available, however, some of them just as easy to set up as the texted-code system.

Safer 2FA

 Push codes: These are temporary codes sent over encrypted internet connections, rather than phone lines, to an app on your smartphone or to the phone's operating system. Apple does this with iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch devices running iOS 9 or later. (Android devices and older iPhones using Apple 2FA have to stick to SMS-based codes.)

 Code-generating hardware tokens: If you worked in a big company 10 or 15 years ago, you may have been given a little doohickey for your keychain that displayed a new six-digit number every 30 seconds. You typed in that number whenever you logged in to your workplace network from home or while traveling. These aren't used much anymore, because it's easier to generate codes on smartphones.

(Image credit: 2FA, the old way: An RSA-type code-generating keyfob. Credit: Dave Clark Digital Photo/Shutterstock )

 Code-generating authenticator apps: Temporary verification codes don't need to be sent to you; they can be generated right on your phone. Dozens of authenticator apps do this, and many of them are free. The best-known are Authy, Duo Mobile, Google Authenticator, LastPass Authenticator and Microsoft Authenticator.

Many online services  including Amazon, Dropbox, Facebook, Google, PayPal, Slack and Twitter  support authenticator-generated codes as an alternative to SMS-based codes. All the apps can be used for multiple accounts, and you don't need to have a cellular connection, or even Wi-Fi access, on your phone for the codes to work.

(Image credit: Google's Authenticator app on an iPhone's app screen. Credit: BigTunaOnline/Shutterstock )

Setting up an authenticator app is easy. Log in to an online service on a desktop or laptop web browser, go to your security settings, and indicate that you want to set up an authenticator app for 2FA. The site will show you a QR code, which you capture in the authenticator app on your phone using your phone's camera. That should do it.

However, no form of 2FA using temporary codes is immune to phishing attacks. Crafty criminals can fool you with a phony website that looks like the one where you're supposed to type. The criminal then collects the code you enter and types it into the real site. Such attacks have been successful against Google accounts.

Even safer still

 Push approvals: What if you could just tap "Yes" or a checkmark on your phone rather than typing in a code? Microsoft offers this with its Microsoft Authenticator app; Yahoo has it built in to its Yahoo Mail app; and Google builds it right in to Android for G Suite enterprise users.

The catch is that you have to be logging in to your Microsoft, Yahoo or G Suite accounts, respectively. However, many third-party authenticator apps, including Authy and Duo Mobile, can handle push notifications for multiple services.

Also, malicious Android apps could mimic or hijack push notifications and get the user to mistakenly approve unauthorized account logins. This is less of a problem with iOS devices.

Safest 2FA of all

 USB security keys: These are small, key-shaped devices, also called hardware security keys, that you plug into a computer's USB port when you're logging in to a website from a new computer. Some security keys also sport near-field-communications (NFC) to interact with smartphones.

The best-known USB security keys are made by Yubico and are called YubiKeys, but there are several other manufacturers and a few different standards. The basic standards are universal second factor (U2F) and WebAuthn, and they're the most widely supported ones.

(Image credit: A standard U2F-compliant USB security key. Credit: IMG Stock Studio/Shutterstock )

To set up a USB security key, you register it with an online service from a computer that the service already "trusts." You can use a single key with more than one account, and a single account can register more than one key.

Unfortunately, support for hardware security keys isn't widespread yet. Google supports U2F-based keys, as do Dropbox, Facebook and Twitter, but not many other online services offer this.

The most widespread support is found with password managers: Dashlane and Keeper support U2F keys, while LastPass and 1Password support Yubico's own standard.

The other downside is that USB security keys cost money. Prices range from $8 for the HyperFIDO U2F key without NFC to $60 for Yubico's tiny USB-C YubiKey Nano. The best deal may be a $17 U2F key with NFC from Feitian, identical to what Google sometimes sells as part of its Titan security key bundle.

If you get a USB security key, you should get a second one as a backup in case you lose the first. Despite the cost and the limited support (for now), USB security keys are the best and safest second factor for 2FA.

 Your Android phone: As of April 2019, Google lets you register a phone running Android 7 Nougat or later as a security key. The registration process (detailed instructions are here) is the same as that for setting up a USB security key, but you select a compatible Android phone instead of a key.

There are some catches: This will work only for your Google account; you have to log into the account using the Chrome desktop browser on a computer running Windows 10, macOS or Chrome OS (no Linux, apparently); and both the computer and your Android phone need to have Bluetooth turned on. (They don't need to be paired.)

(Image credit: Screenshot credit: Tom's Guide)

After you input your username and password into the desktop browser, you will be asked to interact with your Android phone. If you have a Google Pixel 3 phone, you can simply click the volume-down button.

For other Android phones, you will need to respond to a push notification on the phone's screen. (This is safer than the regular push notification you get with G Suite, as the phone has to be within Bluetooth range of the computer you're logging into.)

For the future

 Biometrics: Let's not forget the unique identifiers you were born with: your fingerprints, your iris patterns and your face. At the moment, these are mostly used to log in to devices locally, such as by using your face or fingerprint to unlock your smartphone or laptop screen (as long as your laptop supports Microsoft's Windows Hello).

But with the new FIDO2 standard, biometrics can be used to log in to online services as well. The best current example of this is Microsoft, which lets you log in to any of its online services using a Windows Hello-compatible computer. A few USB security keys sport fingerprint readers for use with Windows Hello.

(Image credit: Fingerprint-based remote 2FA. Credit: NicoElNino/Shutterstock)

No password is needed for regular usage, although you will need to use your Microsoft password to set this system up on a new devices. Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox also support FIDO2, but few non-Microsoft online services yet do.

We're not quite at the point where you can set up 2FA itself without a password. But you can expect to see that in the future as FIDO2 and standardized biometric formats catch on.
More Deets About The Kangaroo Lavender Oil Suspect

Gerard Dabu: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know Gerard Dabu is a University of Missouri-Kansas City student charged with assault at an event featuring conservative commentator Michael Knowles Thursday. Dabu, 23, was charged with assault destruction of property, and disturbing schools of other lawful assemblies, KSHB reported. Police say Dabu sprayed an "unknown chemical substance from a water gun" at two university police officers, causing "burns to their body."

Authorities Ask For Help

KCPD looking for missing, endangered man KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) - The police in Kansas City are looking for a missing and endangered 96-year-old man. John F. Riordan was last seen leaving the 5300 block of NW 73rd St. on Friday at 9 a.m. He is driving a black Nissan Altima with Kentucky plates.

Family Killing Across Bridge

Jurors convict Kansas City man of stabbing his adult son to death LIBERTY, MO (KCTV) -- A Northland man has been convicted of murdering his son by stabbing him to death. Kevin D. Leslie, 56, was convicted after a four-day jury trial. He is facing 30 years in prison for second-degree murder, and at 15 years in prison for armed criminal action.

Local Fast Casual Hero

Man describes moment he found shooting victim in Applebee's parking lot, applied first aid KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas City police say someone shot a man Thursday night on Sterling Avenue near Interstate 70, moments later, a bystander found him bleeding and afraid for his life in an Applebee's parking lot. Marc Coleman told FOX4 that fear overcame him Thursday night while he was enjoying dinner at the restaurant.

KCK Cold Case

1 charged, 2 arrested in connection with 2008 murder KANSAS CITY, KS (KCTV) -- We now know the name of one of the men charged in the 2008 murder of Jeff Rogers. Daniel Kidwell, 35, has been charged with second-degree murder and contempt of court. He will be in court next week. He is currently being held in the Wyandotte County Jail on a $750,000 bond.

More Deets On KCK Crime

Man charged with murder in deadly 2008 home invasion in KCK KANSAS CITY, Mo. - One person was charged with murder this week in connection with a deadly home invasion that occurred more than a decade ago. Daniel Kidwell, 35, was charged with one count of second-degree murder in the 2008 killing of Jeff Rogers in Kansas City, Kansas, according to the Wyandotte County Prosecutor's Office.

Midwest College Gun Debate

Moms Demand Action Criticizes Legislation to Allow Concealed Firearms on College Campuses The Missouri chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, is criticizing the Missouri House for advancing legislation that would allow concealed firearms on college campuses. The Missouri House advances HB575 Monday, which will allow colleges to arm faculty and force public colleges to allow people to carry concealed handguns on campus.

A glimpse at metro and recent crime news and police action links that deserve a look for a better view of real life across townDeveloping . . .
Kansas City Car Dropped In The Drink

Authorities search Longview Lake Friday evening after car goes into water Authorities are searching Longview Lake after a car was seen going into the water Friday evening.Rescuers were called just after 7 p.m. to the marina.Witnesses at the scene told KMBC that they saw a woman drive into the lake near the dock.

KCK Allegation & Consequences

Man charged with murder in deadly 2008 home invasion in KCK KANSAS CITY, Mo. - One person was charged with murder this week in connection with a deadly home invasion that occurred more than a decade ago. Daniel Kidwell, 35, was charged with one count of second-degree murder in the 2008 killing of Jeff Rogers in Kansas City, Kansas, according to the Wyandotte County Prosecutor's Office.

More Deets On Youngster Crash

14-year-old injured after being struck by vehicle in south Overland Park OVERLAND PARK, KS (KCTV) -- A 14-year-old girl sustained life-threatening injuries Friday afternoon after she was stuck by a vehicle. It happened about 3:15 p.m. According to the authorities, the car first left the road at 127th and Switzer. The child was struck at 123rd and Switzer.

Casino Crash Aftermath

Police identify 77-year-old woman killed in hit-and-run crash near Isle of Capri Casino KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- KC police have identified the 77-year-old woman who died in hit-and-run crash Tuesday afternoon. Police said Emma Hayes of Kansas City died in the crash near the entrance to Isle of Capri Casino at Front Street and Interstate 29. The crash was reported around 1 p.m.

Your House Is Killing You

Your home's indoor air quality could be harming your health KANSAS CITY, MO - Anthony Plumbing, Heating and Cooling is a paid advertiser of Kansas City Live and is responsible for this content. Nothing is more important than your family's health. Did you know that your indoor air quality may be impacting that, especially if you suffer from allergies?

Winter Scars Kansas City

Some KC fountains face repairs after being scathed by winter weather KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -- Kansas City is the City of Fountains. We love fountains so much, it's even on our city flag. Even though spring is in the air and some of the fountains are on, not all of them survived winter unscathed.

Weekend Winter Wonderland Report

Partly sunny skies for Saturday with highs in 50s Temperatures will drop near the freezing point overnight, leading to a frost advisory for the area. After starting in the 30s Saturday, temperatures will climb...

Some of the more important items from the evening news cycle worth a look for our late night readers. Checkit:And this is thefor tonight . . .
Apropos City College Talk This Week That Didn't Teach Kangaroos Much

Experts discuss civil discourse on campus UMKC sponsored an event Tuesday night featuring a panel of experts discussing the role the university plays in fostering civil discourse. The discussion was one of two events following the official investiture of Chancellor Mauli Agrawal.

Kansas City Lady Of The Lake Found

Body recovered after vehicle drives into Longview Lake A search and rescue team recovered the body of a woman who reportedly drove into the lake shortly after 7:00 Friday night. Witnesses reported that a woman was driving through the Longview Lake Marina at a high rate of speed.

Fair Weather Fanboys Forsake The Kansas City Home Team

Sam Mellinger: If a Royals game happens and nobody's there, what does it mean for the future? KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Whit Merrifield's hit streak died on Thursday, but he did preserve another streak: one more day of earnestly telling reporters the Royals' season won't continue to be this bad. And he's right! On the day Merrifield finally did not collect a hit, the Royals were on pace to lose 135 games.

More Info On Kansas City Crusade

KC Catholic diocese hires ex-FBI agents to look into sexual abuse by priests The Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph has hired a group of former FBI agents to investigate sexual abuse in the church.The church hired a St.

Mizzou Law Dean Testimony

Law School Dean's Breast Cancer Diagnosis Has Changed Her Worldview It sounds strange to say, but there is a gift in a cancer diagnosis. Since my diagnoses, people have just been incredibly warm, and thoughtful, kind and generous. I have been overwhelmed by how thoughtful people have been. I'm used to always being the caretaker for other people.

Kansas Tech Absolution?!?!

Backers Of A Kansas DNA Task Force Say It Could Exonerate Wrongly Convicted Prisoners Eddie Lowery was a soldier stationed in Fort Riley, Kansas, in 1982, when he was sentenced to 11-years to-life in prison after being convicted of aggravated rape, assault and burglary. He had not committed the crime. "You're just wondering why this happens to you. Why?" Lowery says.

Katie Shares Nicer Local Forecast

Clouds to increase Saturday; high near 55 Hide Transcript Show Transcript BY 9:00, HERE AT 52. WE WILL SET THE HIGH AT 3:00 AND 5:00. ABOUT 10 DEGREES COLDER THAN WHAT WE SHOULD BE THIS TIME OF YEAR. THERE IS GOING TO BE A SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK. IT HAS ALREADY STARTED IN TEXAS AND IT WILL BE ENHANCING AND PARTS OF LOUISIANA.

Quick roundup of all the news links we're checking right now focused on KCMO but from around the metro as well. Checkit:And this is thefor right now . . .
Kansas City Mentor Movement

Lesson In Success

Kansas City elementary teacher named Read to Achieve winner KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -- A Kansas City elementary teacher is the recent winner of KCTV5's Read to Achieve program. Kathleen Beard is a teacher at Millennium at Santa Fe Elementary School located at 8908 Old Santa Fe Rd. Beard received a $1,000 check from Missouri's chapter of the National Education Association.

Kansas City Fashion Training

Kansas City Machines Rising To Start Search For Sarah Connor

KC Goodwill's Power of Work Awards look into the future of robotics KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Goodwill of Western Missouri & Eastern Kansas celebrated their Power of Work Awards on Thursday. The event celebrated 125 years of the organization and empowering job seekers with different abilities. They highlighted the success of their clients who overcame barriers and work to build Kansas City's workforce.

Kansas City News Patron Profile

Inside KCUR: Get To Know KCUR Supporters Joel Barrett And David Seymour Married for more than a decade, Joel Barrett and David Seymour moved to Kansas City from South Bend, Indiana, in 2016. In that short time, they've become loyal KCUR supporters. How did you first become interested in public radio? J: My sister is 12 years older than me, and when she was in college she would listen to NPR.

Raytown Lady Is The GOAT

Raytown woman's passion for goats helping change lives around the world Sharon Baker is a Sunday school teacher in Raytown. Her class was challenged to raise money to help the poor in other countries. So they did -- they bought a goat, which has led to many more goats."I'm Sharon Baker, the crazy goat lady.

Heroic Kansas City Doggies

'Dogs on Call' volunteer time to comfort hospice patients KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Four-legged volunteers are giving patients at Saint Luke's Hospice House a special kind of care this National Volunteer Week. Through a program called "Dogs On Call," in operation since 2015, dogs provide a unique kind of therapy.

Outrage Over New Advert Game???

Gillette image of plus-size model in bikini sparks outrage Gillette is under fire for tweeting a photo of a plus-size blogger to promote its razors. Critics accuse the company of glamorizing an unhealthy condition for profit. The razor maker says it is committed to representing women of all shapes and sizes.

Watered Down?!?!

FDA proposes new fluoride standard for bottled water, but some say it's still too high The FDA is proposing a lower concentration level standard for fluoride in bottled water, yet some scientists and environmental groups believe the proposed limit is still too high and poses a danger to human health.

Newsworthy Internets Promo Hotness

138 Water Watch: An Adequately-Hydrated Claudia Fijal Strips Down By The Beach - Egotastic - Sexy Celebrity Gossip and Entertainment News Model Claudia Fijal was the pinnacle of hydration as she cozied up to her bottle of 138 Water in Malibu. It's fitting that the shoot took place in Malibu, because - from her blonde hair to her amazing curves to her tiny pink bikini - she's Malibu Barbie incarnate.

For this quick Saturday afternoon collection of news items on the brighter side, we offer a perspective on local topics along with a glimpse of advertising hotness, bottled water and the bikini discourse. The Chainsmokers - Kills You Slowly is the song of the day and this is thefor right now . . .
And here's one more example of why hype is dangerous for Kansas City as the first to worst saga endangers the franchise and our beloved home team long after fair weather fanboys have moved on . . . Read more:
Food Critics: The Best Cocktails And Happy Hours In Kansas City In 2019 In February, The Monarch Bar in Kansas City was nominated as a 2019 James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Bar Program. That same month, the cocktail bar and lounge received an award from Cheers Magazine's Beverage Excellence Awards for Most Innovative Beverage Program.

Overpriced cocktails are a Kansas City tradition but this public radio guide celebrates the newfound hipster practice of payingto some guy with a over-styled beard or very tired hottie bartender with a lot of tattoos to make a fruity-ass drink. Checkit:
It might be nice news but this worthwhile glimpse at community outreach provides a bit of hope as the political discourse increasingly encourage youngsters to "RESIST" police as part of the political status quo. Checkit:
He made the statement while receiving Bodo Ramelow, Thuringen State Governor, on April 11th.

Mr. Nhan explained the importance of vocational training cooperation with the German State, as he said it would help boost the citys socio-economic development.

According to Mr. Bodo Ramelow, Thuringen State has 10 specialised universities with 240 Vietnamese students. The State is willing to train Vietnamese youngsters in different majors and hopes to receive a greater number of Vietnamese students, he said, adding that it was looking towards giving vocational training in Vietnam for establishing production companies in Vietnamese localities.

Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh city Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan receives Bodo Ramelow, Governor of Germanys Thuringen State. (Photo: SGGP)

He confirmed that the Thuringen States delegation visiting Vietnam, which included 70 businesses, universities and institutes, showed its seriousness on cooperating with Vietnam. He also asserted that there was huge cooperation potential between Thuringen State and Vietnamese localities, including Ho Chi Minh city. The two sides can promote cooperation in high technology, water management and trade, he went on to say.

On the same day, receiving Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Cora van Nieuwenhuizen, Mr. Nhan and the Dutch Minister stressed the challenges from climate change. According to Mr. Nhan, sea level rise and land depression leave the Vietnamese city facing flooding. Appreciating the Netherlands experience in flooding prevention, Mr. Nhan expressed his hope of cooperating with the Netherlands in this area, as well as in provision of safe water for residents and waste treatment.

Confirming that the Netherlands is willing to share experience with Ho Chi Minh city in addressing flooding and managing underground water, Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen added that the building of smart city, waste and waste water treatment would also create cooperation opportunities for the Netherlands and Ho Chi Minh city.

In 2018, two-way trade between Ho Chi Minh city and the Netherlands reached USD1.5 billion. There are currently 135 Dutch projects capitalized USD1.8 billion in the city, ranking the Netherlands 8th among 105 countries and territories investing in the city./.
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

New Delhi, April 13

France waived taxes worth 143.7 million euros to a French-registered telecom subsidiary of Anil Ambanis Reliance Communications in 2015, months after Prime Minister Narendra Modis announcement of buying 36 Rafale jets, leading French newspaper Le Monde reported on Saturday, giving a fresh twist to the deal in the middle of the Lok Sabha polls.

While the French embassy here said a global settlement was reached with the firm under legislative and regulatory framework, the defence ministry said any connections drawn between the tax issue and the Rafale deal was totally inaccurate and tendentious.

In October 2015, six months after Modi announced in Paris about the Rafale deal, the French tax authorities accepted 7.3 million euros from Reliance Flag Atlantic France as a settlement as against original demand of 151 million euros, the French newspaper reported.

As per current exchange rate, the amount waived was Rs 1,123 crore. Reliance Flag owns a terrestrial cable network and other telecom infrastructure in France.

Following the report, the Congress stepped up its attack on the government on the Rafale deal and alleged that the Reliance received the tax waiver due to Modis blessings and that he acted as a middleman for Ambani.

In its reaction, Reliance Communications rejected any wrongdoing and said the tax dispute was settled under legal framework which is available for all companies operating in France.

Modi had announced the procurement of a batch of 36 Rafale jets after talks with the then French President Francois Hollande on April 10, 2015 in Paris. The final deal was sealed on September 23, 2016.

The Congress has been alleging massive irregularities in the deal and has been targeting the government over selection of Ambani-owned Reliance Defence as an offset partner for Dassault Aviation. The government has rejected the allegations.

The French embassy, in a statement, said a global settlement was reached between the French tax authorities and Reliance company, in a tax dispute pertaining to the period 2008-2012.

This settlement was conducted in full adherence with the legislative and regulatory framework governing this common practice of the tax administration. It was not subject to any political interference whatsoever, it said.

The defence ministry said neither the period of the tax concession nor the subject matter of the concession relate even remotely to the Rafale procurement.

Any connections drawn between the tax issue and the Rafale matter is totally inaccurate, tendentious and is a mischievous attempt to dis-inform, it said.

The French newspaper said the company was investigated by French tax authorities and found liable to pay 60 million euros in taxes for the period 2007 to 2010.

However, Reliance offered to pay 7.6 million euros only as a settlement but it was French tax authorities refused to accept the amount. The authorities conducted another probe for the period 2010 to 2012 and asked the company to pay an additional 91 million euros in taxes, the report said.

It said by April 2015, the total amount owed by Reliance to the French authorities in taxes was at least 151 million euros.

In October, six months after Modi announced in Paris about the Rafale deal, the French authorities accepted 7.3 million euros from Reliance as a settlement as against the original demand of 151 million euros.

A spokesperson of Reliance Communications said the tax demands were completely unsustainable and illegal and that the company denied any favouritism or gain from the settlement.

During the period under consideration by the French Tax Authorities - 2008-2012 i.e. nearly 10 years ago, Flag France had an operating loss of Rs 20 crore (Euro 2.7 million). French tax authorities had raised a tax demand of over Rs 1100 crore for the same period, the official said.

As per the French tax settlement process as per law, a mutual settlement agreement was signed to pay Rs 56 crore as a final settlement, he said.

Cong hits out at PM Modi

Following the story, Congress upped the ante against Modi on the deal.

This is called zero sum choices, startling tax concession and Modi kripa (blessings), Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told reporters.

He claimed layers of crony capitalism involving Modi and Ambani are now being unveiled.

PM Modi is acting as middleman for Anil Ambani. How many other companies in France have got a tax benefit? Is this not a quid pro quo for the purchase of aircraft? It is clear only one watchman is the thief, Surjewala alleged.  PTI
editorial@tribune.com

New Delhi, April 12

The Supreme Court today restrained steel manufacturing giant ArcelorMittal from acquiring Essar Steel India and ordered status quo on the March 8 order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) approving Arcelors bid for Essar.

The Arcelors acquisition of Essar would have allowed Arcelor owner Lakshmi Mittal to begin its operations in the Indian steel market.

The tribunal had given its approval to the resolution plan offered by ArcelorMittal for the acquisition of Essar Steel.

The Committee of Creditors (CoC), however, moved the apex court opposing higher payment to Standard Chartered Bank (SCB).

After the Fridays order, ArcelorMittal cannot make payments to the lenders to buy Essar Steel.

A Bench headed by Justice Rohinton F Nariman directed the NCLAT to expeditiously decide on appeals in the case.

As per the tribunal order, SCB was allotted only 1.7% of its total admitted claims, while the financial creditors were recovering their claims close to 92%.

The NCLAT had directed that the distribution should be done on a pro-rata basis, and SCB should be awarded its share accordingly.

The apex court order is bound to delay Mittals plan to buy the steel mill, which can produce 10 million metric tonne annually.

Post the acquisition, Arcelor will become the fourth-biggest player in the country. It plans to invest trillions of rupees in its infrastructure.

The NCLAT had approved Arcelors and Nippon Steel Corp offer to pay $6 billion to lenders and then invest about another $1.1 billion in the company.  IANS

Directs NCLAT to decide on pleas
editorial@tribune.com

Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 12

After Israel, Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) will assist the Haryana government in setting up a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for basmati in Karnal, offering farmers a competitive edge.

The Centre would endeavour to build capacity among farming community while leveraging technology and innovation to improve productivity and quality. It will focus on introducing efficiencies across the supply chain.

This will be the third CoE to be established in the state after the centre for vegetables in Karnal and centre for fruits in Sirsa under Indo-Israel project. Proper implementation and adaptation of Israeli technologies have already benefitted thousands of farmers in the state, resulting in rise in their incomes.

The CoE will be set up by the Agriculture Department. Earlier, the two centres were established by the Horticulture Department.

The basmati farmers in the state are confronting with issues such as contamination, pesticides and presence of heavy metals. The centre will assist the farmers with latest technology which will not only ensure better productivity but also ensure quality. Recently, we had a meeting with IRRI officials and they have agreed in-principle to set up the centre at Karnal, said Dr Suresh Gehlawat, additional director, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Haryana.

The proposed centre is likely to be spread over 20 acres and will have fields for conducting research, labs, administrative buildings and other infrastructure. The Haryana government will provide land and other infrastructure whereas the IRRI would deploy technology to facilitate farmers.

According to Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) data, in Haryana total area under basmati cultivation was 6.34 lakh hectares and production was 21.38 lakh tonnes in 2018.

However, this year the area under cultivation is likely to increase by 10-20% due to robust demand in domestic and international markets.

Haryana has the largest area under basmati in the country and together with Punjab it accounts for more than 75-80% of basmati exports from the country.

According to agriculture officials, the objective behind development of the centre is to improve the quality of basmati with minimum use of chemicals.
editorial@tribune.com

New Delhi, April 12

Cash-strapped Jet Airways will fly six to seven aircraft on both days this weekend on domestic routes, Aviation Secretary PS Kharola said today.

He also said the airline has been told to ensure that passenger issues are taken into consideration while it deals with the situation. It has also been told to alert passengers about flight cancellations 48 hours in advance, Kharola said.

Jet had a meeting with bankers. It has put forth demand of funds. It is currently flying 11 aircraft and will fly six to seven aircraft domestically on both days this weekend. We have asked it to take into consideration issues of passengers, the Aviation Secretary said.

Currently, Jet Airways is operating less than 50 domestic flights per day. The official said the airline has suspended its international operations till Monday.

As the crisis in the private airline deepened, the Prime Ministers Office called an urgent meeting to discuss the situation, an official source said.

According to sources, the meeting has been called after Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu asked the secretary of the department to review issues concerning Jet Airways.  PTI

Operational fleet down to 7 aircraft
editorial@tribune.com

Kaveesha Kohli

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 12

Even though it was 20 years ago that Major Harminder Pal Singh had laid down his life protecting the nation during the Kargil conflict, he continues to live on in his familys memories. Major Singh was shot by the enemy in Baramulla district of north Kashmir on April 13, 1999.

He was posthumously awarded the Shaurya Chakra for his service to the nation.

A student of Khalsa Senior Secondary School, Kharar, and Government College, Mohali, it was always his dream to join the armed forces.

His father Harpal Singh had retired as a Captain from the Army. The family lives in Sector 70, Mohali.

He had joined the NCC. I think he was also inspired by the fact that I was in the armed forces, recalls Capt Harpal Singh (retd), proudly.

Major Singh had first cleared the exam to become a pilot in the Indian Air Force, but did not meet the medical requirements. Dedicated to the cause of serving the nation, he later got commissioned in the 18 Grenadiers.

On the fateful day, Major Singh was engaged in an eyeball-to-eyeball encounter with three militants in a remote region of north Kashmir. He was shot through the temple by the third militant, but only after he had shot the other two.

The Major led the commando platoon of his battalion, in what was subsequently described as a dare-devil operation in Sadurkotbala village in Manasbal.

The family received the news of his martyrdom around 7.30 pm on April 13, 1999. Major Singhs son Navteshwar Singh, who is now a student of Punjab Engineering College, was only three months old then.

At that time, thousands of Sikhs had gathered at Anandpur Sahib on Baisakhi. The then CM of Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal, got the news of my sons demise at Anandpur Sahib where he expressed his condolences, recalls Capt Harpal Singh. He said the government had been supportive of the family since his sons martyrdom.

Major Singhs wife was awarded a job in the office of the District Food and Supplies Controller, Punjab.
Lt Gen Sanjiv Langer (retd)

Lt Gen Sanjiv Langer (retd)

Former Deputy Chief, Defence Staff

ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is poised for a historic fifth term. His election battle has undoubtedly benefited from the two gifts of US President Donald Trump  recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and the presidential decree of March 25, affirming Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Electorally, Trumps gifts appealed to the extreme right parties, which have thrown their lot in with Netanyahus Likud party, nullifying the serious challenge by General Benny Gantz, a former Military Chief. The Golan decree, however, has far wider implications for disputed territories, the rules-based international order, and the Indian strategic environment.

The strategic Golan region (approximately 1,800 sq km) is a wedge of territory bordered by Israel, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. An extended plateau superimposed with heights from 2,814 metre (Mt Hermon) to hills of 1,300 metre in the south. Bordered on the west by the Jordan river and the Sea of Galilee and in the south by the Yarmouk river, its ragged and challenging crestlines and heights give clear dominance to Israel over the Syrian expanse to the north and east, as well over South Western Lebanon. The control of the Golan ensures Israeli electronic and visual overwatch and facilitates unhindered launch of forces. More significantly, the region serves as a bulwark for Israeli territory to the west.

Golans strategic significance dates back to the early biblical times, and its importance is recorded from the times of Alexander of Macedon. In 1947-48, it was used by Syria for attacks into the nascent Israeli territories, and was fiercely contested in the Middle East wars of 1967 and 1973. During the terminal stages of the 1967 war, the UN Security Council called for a ceasefire on June 7. While accepted by Jordan, Syria continued to attack till June 9, when the Israelis launched an offensive. Thereafter, Syria accepted the ceasefire on June 10. The UN Security Council Resolution 242, while calling for cessation of hostilities and Israeli withdrawals, also affirmed Israelis right to live in peace within secure and recognised boundaries, free from threats and acts of force.

Israels right to exist and live in peace has never been recognised by Syria or Lebanon, and Israel never withdrew. The subsequent wars in the region with Syria and Lebanon, continued cross-border conflict, and the on-off negotiations have left the occupation unchanged. Significantly, all negotiations between Israel and Syria have been suspended since 2011 due to the war/civil war in the Syrian region. The decree of March 25 recognises Israeli sovereignty on territories seized in the 1967 war and is linked to a territorial reality. The subsequent outcry by some nations  as well as Syria, of course  and the UN is understandable.

Fundamental to the issue of international law and the rules-based international order being challenged is the UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 497 of December 17, 1981, which was as a consequence of the Israeli Golan Heights Law. The law unilaterally extended Israeli administrative control and laws to the Golan region. The UN stated that the imposition of laws, jurisdiction and administration by Israel was null and void, without international legality. The resolution relied upon Article 2 Para 6 of the UN Charter, which focuses on the sovereign equality of all nations and regards the acquisition of territory by force as unacceptable. This UN Resolution has to be viewed in the context of the UN Charter. Article 1 of the Charter states that the UNs purpose is maintenance of international peace and security. Can Article 2 of the Charter be applied in exception to Article 1? Article 4 says that the members (signatories) are all peace-loving States that accept obligations contained in the UN Charter. Consequently, can Syria, which has continued to attack Israel as well as allowed its territory to be used by several entities (violation of Articles 1 and 4), seek compliance of UNSCR 497? Can the UN remain committed to a 1981 vintage resolution that in no way reflects the reality of 2019 in the Syrian territory? While the US and Israeli affirmations may be debatable, the Syrian claims are legally infirm since no statute or charter can be applied selectively. Further, how does Syria claim international legal rights when it has violated international humanitarian law, causing untold suffering to its own population, based on exercise of its version of sovereignty?

An appreciation of the consequences in the Indian context revolves around our strategic neighbourhood. How do you apply and seek compliance of international law and UN resolutions with our western neighbour, who has a conspicuous history of nurturing and giving unfettered access to proxies and non-state actors from its territory? Is this not a violation of the concept of sovereignty (non-interference in the internal affairs of a neighbouring state)? Ever since the treaty of Westphalia, sovereignty carries the weight of governance and the rule of law in defined territories. Lack of control or connivance cannot be condoned under international law. How does India apply an international rights-based approach in its dealings with China? A nation which propounds its own version of history, legal interpretations, perceived injustices, and pre-eminent destiny. This is clearly evidenced by Chinas posturing in the South and East China Seas and more significantly along our northern borders. As a mature nation, we must never lose sight of the legal and moral high ground in international affairs. Equally, when we live in a troubled neighbourhood, we must be intimately aware of the acute limitations of the international order and institutions in the 21st century. Israel is driven by its existential reality and the Trump administration has put its stamp on a strategic necessity. Implications of the US decree on Nagorno Karabakh and Cyprus are talked about in the media. We must, however, remember that each international politico-military situation is uniquely singular and no instructive generalisations are possible in the 21st century.

The Golan decree is a definitive step in keeping with strategic politico-military thought, which assigns exceptional guidelines to strategic terrain. It is most important to define this strategic terrain, and not dilute the classification. Thereafter, if this terrain is critical, it cannot be negotiated away. In the case of the Golan region, a territory captured by the blood of war, its loss, militarily or diplomatically, would strategically compromise Israel. Well-known examples in our context are Siachen and Kargil heights. The world over today, and in the foreseeable future, military capture or recapture of strategic terrain, when actively contested, carries formidable costs. This realism echoes all along our contested and unresolved borders.

As the Israeli PM looks forward to his next term, he probably will make good on his pre-election promise to extent sovereignty to portions of the West Bank. Whether this will be blessed by the US is presently not evident. This will directly impact the Palestinian State. In the Golan, the enduring challenge for Israel remains the predicament and future of the 20,000-odd Syrian Druze population.
Devinder Sharma

Devinder Sharma

Food & agriculture specialist

WHEN The Tribune reported on March 1 that nearly 47% of the country was in the grip of a severe drought, with at least 16 % falling in the category of extreme or exceptional, and knowing that drought could further worsen farm distress, lead to increased migration from rural to urban areas, I thought the misery being encountered by roughly 500 million people or 40% of the population would shift the focus, even in an election year, to provide immediate relief measures.

My belief that the dominant narrative would change, with each party trying to outdo what the other promised, and perhaps move its cadre to the rural hinterland, providing a helping hand to the drought-affected, too, remained wishful thinking. To make it still worse, Skymet Weather Services, a private agency, has forecast a deficient monsoon ahead, and the Indian Meteorological Department has shown that the country has received 36% less rainfall between March 1 and March 28 compared with the long-term average. Another report by IndiaSpend points to Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Bihar, Jharkhand, parts of Northeast, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan being the worst hit. In 31 reservoirs in the southern states, water availability stands at 25% of total capacity, which has gone down by 36 percentage points over five months from 61% of the capacity in November 2018. There is more trouble ahead.

In another report, IndiaSpend speaks of the plight of the drought-hit Rayalaseema region of Andhra, comprising four districts of Anantapur, Kurnool, Chitoor and YSR Kadapa. The region has faced 15 droughts between 2000 and 2018. Quoting the district administration, the report says the region has faced nine consecutive years of drought. This year again, the drought continues. An estimated 7 lakh people moved out in 2018, looking for menial labour. Village after village is empty, with only the elders and children left behind by couples who have migrated. This year, there is hardly a field which doesnt look barren and abandoned.

Even in the drought-affected areas in Maharashtra, where the continuing agrarian crisis is expected to cast its shadow on the ensuing elections, news reports point to how the ruling party is trying to instead build up a campaign based on muscular nationalism, quietly bypassing the central issue of farm distress in the region. Opposition parties are, however, focusing on the neglect of the farm sector over the years. So much so, seeing that the real issues are being swept under the carpet, a farm widow, Vaishali Yede, has decided to take the battle to the ballot. She is contesting from Yavatmal-Washim constituency in eastern Maharashtra, a farm suicide-prone region. Her simple message is: Mahyavar laksh asudya ji (keep me in your prayers and thoughts), ostensibly telling voters to remember the distressed farmers.

In Telangana, too, there are 170 farmers contesting against K Kavitha, daughter of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, a candidate from the Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency. Reports also say that 111 Tamil Nadu farmers, who had earlier campaigned in New Delhi, will be contesting against PM Modi from Varanasi. While the intent in both cases seems to be rather symbolic, it does, however, signify the anger sweeping the countryside.

At a time when farm incomes have plummeted to its lowest in the past 15 years and rural wage growth has seen a steep fall  from 11.8% in 2013-15 to 0.45% in 2016-18, the National Sample Survey Office estimates say 3.2 crore casual rural workers lost their jobs between 2011-12 and 2017-18. Of these, 3 crore were farm labourers.

Despite the news and a few analyses, the dominant narrative has again shifted back. Agricultural crisis that took so long to emerge at the centre stage of the political debate has once again been relegated to the background. The effort to bring emotions (nationalism) in the elections will lead to all other issues going under the carpet. The farmers will continue to die, says farmer leader Vijay Jawandhia from Maharashtra.

One reason why people in cities do not feel concerned, and that is why the prominent discourse remains impervious to the suffering in rural areas, is because of unequal development woven through the process of economic growth. To illustrate, why only water shortage, the problems that a crippling drought would normally bring are rarely felt in the cities. Simply because all efforts have been to build the cities and make them drought-proof over the years. Rivers flowing in rural areas can go dry, the soil become parched and crops wither, but the development design ensures regular tap water supply in cities, or for at least a few hours during the day. While cities have a 24-hour power supply, ask a farmer how many hours does he get electricity?

A few hours away from Mumbai, life comes to a standstill. Go to Bangalore, it is rare that you can even get a distant feeling of a severe drought that prevails just a few kilometres outside of it. It is this kind of insinuation that keeps the urban population disconnected with its rural hinterland.

Why only blame the urban-centric media, which hardly has any roots in mofussil towns, even the academia and bureaucracy remain oblivious. When the urban elite and the middle class is least interested, it is futile to expect politicians to fill the gap. Unless each one of us, irrespective of political ideology, thinks of the farmer when talking of elections or when voting, farming will never swing political decision-making.

As the Prime Minister said in an interview, thinking of the farmer is nationalism too.
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Varinder Singh

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, April 13

In its effort to pacify agitated Sikh diaspora, the Government of Canada has finally removed an unfounded reference to Sikh (read Khalistani) extremism in respect of the countrys security from its widely-criticised 2018 Public Report on the Terrorism Threat to Canada.

The contentious reference had not only peeved Sikhs of Canada, but it had perturbed the Sikh diaspora across the world and the Canadian Sikh community had been challenging the government to either remover the reference from its 2018 report or to make the basis behind such inference or reference public.

The Canadian Sikh community, office-bearers of Canadian gurdwaras and the Sikh advocacy groups, including, the World Sikh Organisation (WSO), had been expressing their outrage and hurt feelings by holding a chain of meetings and by giving representations to the Canadian government in this regard since the release of the controversial report.

The Leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) and newly-elected MP Jagmeet Singh along with the NDP Public Safety Critic Matthew Dube had even shot off a letter to Canadian PM Justin Trudeau in respect of the 2018 Public Report on the Terrorism Threat to Canada that had almost labelled the Sikh and Muslim and the Sikh communities (or their certain sections) as extremists.

Jagmeet Singh had expressed his concern to the inappropriate labelling of the two communities without any sufficient evidence or basis by way or using terms such as Shia, Sunni and Sikh which, according to him, was relating these all communities to terrorism.

Bowing before the powerful Sikh diaspora and in an attempt to put balm on the bruised feelings of the agitated members of the Sikh and other communities was an update has finally been published by Public Safety Canada (PSC)a Canadian government organisation--- on April 12.

The update says that as per the Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodales statement on the 2018 Public Report on terrorist threat to Canada, a review of the language used to describe has been undertaken and was going on. The governments communication of threats must be clear, concise and cannot be perceived as maligning any groups.

As we continue this review, it is apparent that in outlining a threat, it must be clearly linked to an ideology rather than a community. The government will carefully select terminology that focuses on the intent or ideology. For example, as a first step, the government will use the term: Extremists who use violent means establish an independent state within India rather than terminology that unintentionally impunges an entire religion. The report has been updated to reflect this terminology, and it will be used in future public documents. Going forward, the Government of Canada is committed to applying a bias-free approach to the terminology used to describe any threats inspired by ideology or groups.

With this update, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale has finally acknowledged that the languages used to describe some threats unintentionally maligned certain communities... and it is not in the line with the values of the Government of Canada.

It was a different matter that the report has reportedly not been revised fully as yet, the minister has assured that an addendum to the report now suggested that in the future the term Extremists who support violent means to establish an independent state within India will be used as necessary and appropriate.

A section of the MPs who have been taking up the case in respect to the objectionable terms and the members of the community will be discussing the Notice of Update from the minister and the steps to be taken by them in respect in future will be decided later on.

The World Sikh Organisation (WSO) chief Mukhbir Singh has said the removal of the term Sikh (Khalistani) extremism from the 2018 Public Safety Terror Report was an important step towards addressing the grievances and concerns of the Sikh diaspora. He said the report had unfairly targeted and maligned certain specific religious communities.
rchopra@tribunemail.com

New York, April 13

A 41-year-old Indian-origin man in the US has been sentenced to life in prison for enticing a minor to engage in sexual conduct and 30 years imprisonment for production of child pornography.

Deepak Deshpande of California, who pleaded guilty in October last year, was sentenced by US District Judge Carlos Mendoza on Thursday.

According to court documents and evidence presented during the sentencing hearing, Deshpande contacted the minor in Orlando through an online chat application in July 2017.

At that time, Deshpande posed as a modelling agent and persuaded the minor to send him nude images of her.

In the months that followed, Deshpande contacted the same minor, posing as two other individuals, and threatened to disseminate her nude images if she did not continue producing additional child pornography for him.

In September 2017, Deshpande travelled to Orlando in Florida from California to meet the minor in person for the first time.

He brought her to a local hotel and filmed himself sexually assaulting the victim multiple times. Between September 2017 and April 2018, he repeated the same conduct during four additional visits to Orlando.

In early May 2018, following an anonymous tip, the FBI began investigating Deshpande. An undercover FBI agent then began posing as the minor in communications with Deshpande.

As a result of the undercover investigation, Deshpande returned to Orlando and was arrested upon his arrival at the Orlando International Airport.

Following his arrest, Deshpande plotted to kidnap and murder the minor victim in advance of his trial. He recruited a fellow inmate, whom he believed would soon be released, to serve as a middleman.

Deshpande gave the inmate names and contact information for individuals who might be willing to carry out the abduction and murder and furnished personal details concerning the victim and her family, including her residence and schedule.

However, the FBI conducted an undercover investigation thwarting his efforts.

This case is particularly noteworthy in the level of planning conducted and depravity displayed by the perpetrator.

I would like to recognise the courage of the victim who helped make sure this predator cannot hurt others and also encourage our community to remain vigilant online and report any suspicious activity to law enforcement, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Tampa Division Eric Sporre said. PTI
laxmi@tribune.com

TODAY is April 13. One hundred years ago on this day, our British rulers decided to teach us a long-lasting lesson in servitude by shooting down about one thousand unarmed protesters, pilgrims and picnickers (only 379, according to the murderers own count) at Amritsars Jallianwala Bagh. Instead, that day we learned a lesson in defiance, sacrifice, idealism and nationhood. Mahatma Gandhi turned this memory into a metaphor for martyrdom, building the first memorial for the fallen heroes of the Indian nation. And there we parted ways with our racist rulers, as The Tribune wrote presciently in 1919. The massacre soon became a hallowed memory, a marker and a milestone in our journey towards nationhood. But Gandhis memory had no malice. Unlike most other nation-builders elsewhere in the world, even when he was mourning the loss of lives or commemorating the sacrifice of the martyrs, Gandhi did it without rancour or hatred, without letting his followers lust for the blood of the perpetrators, with utmost compassion even towards his colonial oppressor, like a true disciple of Jesus Christ, or rather a reincarnation. Gandhis Sanatana Dharma was truth and love. There was no other in his politics. He never ridiculed the stooges of the British and always left space for all shades of opinion to coexist on his broad nationalist platform. It was sheer Gandhian magic that removed the self-destructive sting of hatred and revenge from the memory of martyrdom, creating a national consciousness over Jallianwala Bagh as a symbol of self-consuming idealism in all its purity.

This national consciousness, it has to be underscored now, was shaped in no small measure by relentless investigation by The Tribune. In fact, this is also a moment to celebrate the founding fathers of Indian journalism like The Tribunes legendary Editor Kalinath Ray. For them journalism was nationalist activism. These were the intellectual giants and literary stylists who helped their readers imagine a new nation. Nothing, not even British jails or sentences of rigorous imprisonment, stopped them from pursuing their nationalist dreams while upholding the ideals of the freedom of the press. They made penury and Indian press synonymous and fashionable, rejecting the perks and pomp of the Anglo-Indian press and the British patronage. It remains a tough act to follow. But such were the times and the people.

These deeds of the pacifists do not detract, in any way, from the valiant efforts of the revolutionaries  particularly Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru, the greatest youth icons of the national movement who were inspired by the fallen men, women and children of Jallianwala Bagh; or from the sacrifice of Udham Singh, who eventually avenged the murder of those thousand people 21 years later in London in 1940. Jallianwala Bagh is also a grand testimony to the contribution of the undivided province of Punjab, its idealistic youth, its undying love for the motherland and its death-defying example for the rest of the nation. The province that provided the greatest number of recruits for the armies of the Empire also provided the greatest revolutionaries who helped bring the Empire down.

But the lasting logic and legacy of Jallianwala Bagh is the victory of non-violent sacrifice against naked, racist violence. The violence of the mighty can easily put down the violence of the weak, but it is impossible to defeat truthful, non-violent defiance. As a momentous event, memory and metaphor, Jallianwala Bagh lives forever in the nations conscience, like the Old Man in Hemingway's novel, who would be destroyed but never defeated. The nation that was built with the bloodstained soil of Jallianwala Bagh now stands tall, big and strong  but are we one? What happened to our inheritance of truth and reconciliation? Mahatma Gandhi ki jai and Hindu-Mussalman ki jai were the two slogans that rattled the British the most. The negation of these slogans is the biggest betrayal of our martyrs. Let our common hyphenated identity and our diversity make us grow bigger and stronger as a nation, as a Gandhian Republic.
editorial@tribune.com

epender Deswal

Tribune News Service

Hisar, April 12

After keeping all in suspense, Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi launched his poll campaign from his native Adampur village of the district on Friday. Members of his family  mother Jasma Devi, wife Renuka Bishnoi and son Bhavya (26)  were by his side during a public meeting.

The family offered floral tributes to the memorial of Bishnois father, former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, before hitting the campaign trail.

Kuldeep had stayed away from the campaign for about a month even as state Congress leaders took out a bus yatra across the state recently. Sources said he was keen to launch his son in politics and urged the Congress to nominate him (Bhavya) from Hisar.

On Bishnoi's absence, Bhavya made a startling revelation in a TV interview on Thursday, claiming that his father was struggling with throat cancer and he was in the US for treatment. He was unable to reach out to the people because to his disease. So, he sent me and my mother among the people. We faced questions about my fathers absence. I have to come out with the truth now, he reportedly said in the interview.

Bishnoi, while interacting with party workers at his house here on Monday, made it clear that he wanted ticket for his son from Hisar.

He had also asked the Congress leadership to field Bhavya, though the party wanted Bishnoi to contest. The party leadership has not yet accepted his proposal, the sources added.
editorial@tribune.com

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Rewari, April 12

Union Minister and BJP nominee for the Gurugram Lok Sabha seat Rao Inderjit Singh on Friday kicked off his campaign by addressing a meeting of party workers at Rewari and the Bawal Assembly segments at his native Rampura village here.

Inderjits ticket along with seven other BJP nominees was announced by the party around a week ago, but he was busy holding personnel meetings with various social outfits and other groups in Gurugram and Nuh district. It was Inderjits first public appearance ever since the announcement of his candidature.

Inderjit, while addressing party workers in Rampura village, said the interest of the Ahirwal region was safe in the hands of the BJP government, which not only took firm steps to ensure adequate potable water to this parched area, but also initiated several projects for the overall development of the region.

The AIIMS project in Manethi village here will ensure ultramodern health care facilities. The electrification of the Rewari-Delhi railway track has made travelling easy for thousands of commuters from Rewari, he said.
monicakchauhan@gmail.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 12

The nascent Jananayak Janata Party (JJP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today announced a poll pact for the Lok Sabha elections in Haryana with the former deciding to contest seven constituencies, allotting three to AAP. The details on specific seats would be decided during the next two or three days by a coordination committee. The state goes to the polls on May 12.

Announcing the pact at a joint press conference, JJP founder and MP Dushyant Chautala and AAP leader Gopal Rai, in-charge of Haryana affairs, said the youth in the state was looking up to both parties which together would provide a new direction to politics in Haryana.

The leaders attacked the BJP and the Congress for the policies pursued, claiming that in a state where 56 per cent of people were below 45 years of age, there was a yearning for development, especially in health and education. The alliance will bring out a vision document and work together in Assembly elections too.

Gopal Rai criticised the Congress for its unwillingness to accommodate AAP. He said the party had proposed a poll understanding in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and Goa to together defeat the BJP. He questioned the Congress intention of defeating the BJP with such an approach.

Among those present at the press conference were AAP Haryana convener Navin Jaihind, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Gupta, JJP Haryana president Nishan Singh and its chief general secretary KC Bangar.
editorial@tribune.com

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, April 12

The Election Commission of India might have created the None of The Above (NOTA), a ballot option that a voter can choose to use instead of giving vote to any of the contesting candidates, but it has not gone down well with the leaders of various political parties.

Terming it an utter disregard of the right to vote, politicians are of the opinion that awareness should be created against the use of this option. As many as 29,155 voters had opted for NOTA in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in while 34,232 people had pressed NOTA in the 2017 Vidhan Sabha poll in Himachal.

While a section of the voters feel they can exercise their right to reject the contesting candidates in case they do not measure up to their expectations, political parties are worried at its increasing numbers.

DR Shandil, Congress nominee for the Shimla Lok Sabha seat, said it was a blatant disregard of the right to vote. Instead of utilising this option, voters should gather information about the contesting candidates and their merits and make an informed choice.

He said the voters should not waste their right to vote by opting not to vote for anyone. An awareness must be created about the need to vote and opt for the best possible candidate in true spirit of democracy.

Shandil said it was laudable that the ECI was making tremendous efforts to enhance voter percentage and it was registering an increase in the successive elections with more youth and women coming out to participate in this democratic process.

Terming use of NOTA as a mockery of the right to vote, BJPs state president Satpal Satti said this provision was not good for democracy and awareness must be created to dissuade voters from exercising this option.

He added that rather than criticizing the candidates the voters who believe in NOTA should join politics and lead the people if they believe the politicians do not have the qualities they are looking for in a leader.

He said it was easy to criticize the politicians but difficult to rise up to the expectations of all voters. He added that the BJP has not only fulfilled its poll promises but the country has taken rapid strides in development under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

34,232 NOTA options in 2017 polls

Terming it as utter disregard of the right to vote politicians are of the opinion that awareness should be created not to use this option. As many as 29,155 voters had opted for NOTA in 2014 Lok Sabha polls in while 34,232 people had pressed NOTA in the 2017 Vidhan Sabha polls in Himachal.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, April 12

Minister for Food and Civil Supplies and BJP candidate from Kangra Kishan Kapoor today hit out at the Congress for seeking to dilute the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) that protects armed forces in terror-affected areas.

He said the Congress in its manifesto had promised to remove the law. Addressing a press conference here, Kapoor asked the state Congress to clarify its stand on the AFSPA.

More than one lakh youths from Himachal are serving in the Army and paramilitary forces in various parts of the country and a number of soldiers from the state sacrificed their life fighting terrorism. What the Congress wants to achieve by removing the AFSPA? asked Kapoor.

He said the AFSPA was first enacted in 1957. It was used to fight terror in North-Eastern states at that time. Later, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi used the Act to fight terror in various parts of the country. It was implemented in Jammu and Kashmir in 1990 after the situation worsened there and thousands of Kashmiri Pandits were forced out of the valley.

He said the AFSPA was meant to protect the armed forces against civil or criminal cases in courts and incidents related to terrorism. By repealing the Act, the Congress would threaten the youth of Himachal who are serving in the Army and serving in terror-infested states, said the BJP leader.

Kapoor alleged that the Congress was the only party that had proposed to dilute the anti-sedition law in its manifesto. This makes it clear that the Congress wants to strengthen anti-national forces, alleged Kapoor.
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, April 13

The Election Commission has given a notice to BJP candidate from Srinagar Khalid Jehangir for violating model code of conduct.

Jehangir on Friday posted a picture on Twitter revealing that national general secretary Ram Madhav had interacted with the first-time voters in Srinagar.

Shri @rammadhavbjp ji interacts with first time voters in Srinagar. He told the first time voters that those who cast their votes in Kashmir so far were only being remembered during votes and are being forgotten after the elections are over, Jehangir tweeted.

However, the EC took note of the meeting and issued a showcause notice to Jehangir terming it a violation of model code of conduct.

Whereas you have reportedly held an interactive session with the first time voters at Grand Palace, Srinagar, on April 12 (photo enclosed) without seeking permission from the District Election Officer, Srinagar, which clearly envisages that the expenses incurred thereof were also concealed, the showcause notice is issued by the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, who is also the nodal officer, MCC.

He termed the BJP candidates action a violation of code of conduct.

As your action is in violation of the model code of conduct and the guidelines issued by the Election Commission on two accountsone, you have not sought prior permission, and second, your conduct leads to the concealment of expenditures thereofyou are directed to explain your conduct within 24 hours failing which it would be brought to the notice of the Election Commission for appropriate action, the notice read.

When contacted, Jehangir said he would respond to the EC notice.

My campaign is in black and white and nothing is hidden, Jehangir said. He said Ram Madhav had come here and he met young first-time voters and told them that elections are like a festival so everyone should contribute in the democratic process and make others vote.
shriaya.dutt@tribuneindia.com

Mumbai, April 13

In a democracy, it's important to allow freedom of expression, says PM Narendra Modi producer Sandip Ssingh, urging the Supreme Court to view the film as an "inspiring story" rather than "political propaganda".

The Supreme Court will on Monday hear a petition filed by the producers of 'PM Narendra Modi' against the ban imposed by the Election Commission (EC).

Ssingh said in a statement: "Every citizen of India has the right to appeal for justice and that's what I am doing as the producer. For me and the entire team, this film is special and we want the world to see it."

The film was due to release on April 11. Ssingh said they were "shocked to receive a notice from EC banning the release of the film just hours before the premiere on April 10".

"I am here to appeal to the highest court of the country to allow our film to be released. In a vibrant democracy like ours, it's even more important today to allow each and every one of us to enjoy the right to freedom of expression. Please allow us to exercise that right. Our film is not political propaganda. It's just an inspiring story. I request the honourable court to see it as one.

"Having said that whatever be the decision of the honourable court, we will adhere to it. We will abide by the rules and regulations. We are not going to go against the law and release the film," Ssingh added.

The film directed by Omung Kumar and starring Vivek Anand Oberoi, narrates the story of Modi from his humble beginnings to becoming the Prime Minister of India.

The poll panel ruled that any material that disturbs a level-playing field should not be displayed.

The EC said any poster or publicity material concerning any such certified content, which either depicts a candidate for furtherance of electoral prospect directly or indirectly, shall not be put on display in the electronic media in the areas where the model code of conduct is in force, amid the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.  IANS
vinaymishra188@gmail.com

Mona

Bloodbath at Jallianwala Bagh, exactly a hundred years ago, is still a scar that is yet to heal. The massacre, which fetched British Prime Minister Therasa Mays regret close to its centenary, has been a painful backdrop for many films based on the freedom struggle.

Revenge as leitmotif

Gulzars play Jallianwala Bagh (1977) had Parikshat Sahni play Udham Singh while Rajkumar Santoshis The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002) also had the tragedy as the backdrop. For young Bhagat Singh, it became a turning point in life. This film, which won two national awards, had Ajay Devgn take home the Best Actor award. The same year also had Guddu Dhanoa-directed 23rd March 1931: Shaheed (2002), which had Bobby Deol play the fearless Bhagat Singh

Looking back

Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Ashfaqullah Khan and Ramprasad Bismil will be heroes forever. The film Rang De Basanti (2006) has the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy in the backdrop; young students enact heroes of the freedom movement with Amir Khan, Siddharth Narayan, Sharman Joshi, Kunal Kapoor and Atul Kulkarni in the role of revolutionaries.

Memories remain

As many as 1,650 rounds shot on an unarmed crowd killed 1,500 and left hundreds injured; each of those who died had families waiting at home. The movie Phillauri (2017) puts forth such a fictional account. The day didnt end with lives lost, but their families carried the burden across years. The film, which had Diljit Dosanjh and Anushka Sharma in the lead roles, was shot at the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial.

Freedom narrative

British filmmaker Richard Attenborough brought Gandhis life alive on silver screen in 1982, with Ben Kingsley taking on the titular role and Edward Fox playing the role of General Dyer.

The subject is still open to screen adaptations. In fact, in its centenary year, Abhinesh Appukuttan-directed Malayalam movie starring Shalu Rahim, Anwar Shereef and Tom Emmatty, named Jallianwala Bagh, is due to release in June 2019.

Sonu pays a tribute

Jallianwala Bagh is the most tragic incident in the history of Indian freedom struggle, says actor Sonu Sood, who played Bhagat Singh in Shaahed-E-Azam. His ties with Amritsar date back to his childhood, We visited Amritsar often as kids and Jallianwala Bagh was always on the itinerary. To see those bullet marks on the wall and to imagine the scenario when people jumped into the well to save themselves from bullets always filled one with anguish. While researching for his role in Shaahed-E-Azam, he read lots of books, but the real essence of it came from his mother, a professor in history. The Jallianwala Bagh tragedy that must be told and retold to every new generation, in mediums they connect with. We should be indebted to our freedom fighters, who willingly sacrificed their lives so that we could breathe free.

mona@tribunemail.com
monicakchauhan@gmail.com

Kolar (Karna), April 13

Lashing out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of corruption, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday alleged that "100 per cent chowkidar (guard) is a chor (thief)."

At a rally here, Gandhi also asked as to why all the "thieves" have the surnames of Modi.

"I have a question. Why all the thieves have Modi in their names whether be it Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi and Narendra Modi? We don't know how many more such Modis will come out," Gandhi said.

Raking up the Rafale fighter jet deal issue, he said, "100 per cent chowkidar is a chor" and alleged that the prime minister stole Rs 30,000 crore and gifted it to his "thief friend" Anil Ambani.

"You stole Rs 30,000 crore and gifted to your thief friend. You 100 per cent steal money. 'Chowkidar' is a thief.

Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksy, Lalit Modi, Mallya, Anil Ambani and Narendra Modi - There is a group, a team of thieves," Gandhi said as he attacked Modi, who has described himself as a "chowkidar" who would not tolerate graft.

He also said Modi no longer spoke about farmers, jobs and corruption. "Unlike him, we don't tell lies." Gandhi spoke about the NYAY scheme, the minimum income scheme of depositing Rs 72,000 annually into the account of five crore families announced by the Congress in its manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls.

Gandhi said one of the first acts of the Congress, if voted to power, would be to provide for 33 per cent reservation for women in the Parliament and assemblies and also in government jobs. PTI
sanjiv@tribunemail.com

Union Rural Development and Parliamentary Affairs Minister and BJP leader Narendra Singh Tomar claims that while the NDA led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will face the Lok Sabha poll with an appeal for the countrys development, the Opposition parties are exercised about their relevance. Considered a strategist in the BJP, he has been nominated to contest from Morena in Madhya Pradesh. In an interview with The Tribune reporter Ravi S Singh, he says todays voters are politically informed. He expressed optimism that they would give a decisive mandate in favour of a second stint for Modi. Excerpts:

BJP president Amit Shah will contest from Gandhinagar seat which was once represented by former party chief Lal Krishna Advani. Does this convey a message?

Amit Shahs candidature is the BJPs signal of its serious intent, displaying its confidence that we would win the elections in a big way. The move will invigorate party cadres across the country.

Is there any strategy behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi contesting only from Varanasi, unlike in 2014 when he contested simultaneously from Vadodara (Gujarat)?

This reflects Narendra Modis dedication to the people of Uttar Pradesh, including Varanasi.

What will be BJPs main election slogan?

(Long pauseraises both hands in the air) Hum bhi chowkidar.

Besides the UPA alliance, there are also state-specific alliances of Opposition parties. What challenge will they pose to the BJP?

The leader of these alliances is reeling under criminal investigations on various counts, including those related to corruption. Some leaders are brokers and commission agents. They have been getting politically decimated since 2014. Fearing the worst for themselves, they somehow want to prevent Narendra Modi from becoming Prime Minister again.

Is there a strategy in the BJP fielding all the Union Ministers for the poll contest?

The BJP has padded up to play on the front foot on the electoral pitch.

The Opposition parties see the nomination of Rajya Sabha members to contest the election as nervousness in the BJP camp with regard to the outcome of parliamentary poll. Your take?

The BJP has its own electoral mechanism. Decisions on candidates also take into account the prevailing situation in the states and areas concerned. The partys emphasis is not only to win the election, but also to soar beyond the majority mark on its own.

The Congress has given Priyanka Gandhi Vadra charge of eastern UP. How big a challenge will she be to the BJP?

It is the Congress internal strategy. She is not new to politics. She worked for Sonia Gandhi and brother Rahul Gandhi earlier. The impact was questionable. The people of the country are interested in development, not in a dynastys appeal.
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

New Delhi, April 12

More than 67% of 4.33 lakh inmates lodged in 1,400 jails in the country are undertrials, while 1,942 children also live in prisons along with their mothers, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) prison statistics-2016 released this week.

Out of 4,33,003 prisoners lodged in the jails as on December 31, 2016, the number of convicts, undertrial inmates and detenues were reported as 1,35,683, 2,93,058 and 3,089. UP accounts for highest number of undertrials and convicts in jails.

The undertrial prisoners account for 67.7% of the total prisoners, 31.3% are convicts and 0.7% are detenues. Among the total prisoners, 1,649 are woman who are lodged in jails along with 1,942 children, the NCRB report said. The number of undertrial prisoners has increased from 2,82,879 in 2014 to 2,93,058 in 2016, having increased by 3.6% during this period.

Among the 2,93,058 undertrial prisoners, the highest number were lodged in district jails (51.2%, 1,50,172 inmates) followed by central jails (34.9%, 1,02,384 inmates) and sub-jails (11.3%, 33,260 inmates) as on December 31, 2016.

UP has reported the most number of undertrial prisoners (68,432) in its jails accounting for 23.4% of the total, followed by Bihar (27,753 undertrials, 9.5%) and Maharashtra (22,693 undertrials, 7.7%) at the end of 2016, the NCRB said. Among the women, 400 prisoners (with 459 children) were convicts while 1,192 (with 1,409 children) were undertrials. Among the total prisoners, 6,370 are foreigners, accounting for 1.5% of all.  PTI

Count of convicts up

Count of convicted inmates has risen from 1,31,517 in 2014 to 1,35,683 in 2016, a rise of 3.2%
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Varanasi, April 13

A wanted criminal, who was on the run after allegedly killing a BHU student, has been arrested following an exchange of fire with police.

A sub-inspector was also injured in the exchange of fire with the gangster, the police said.

Acting on a tip-off, the police had cordoned off the Lanka area here on Friday night.

The notorious criminal, Rupesh Verma alias Sunny alias Professor, a native of Buxar in Bihar, was nabbed when he tried to flee by opening fire at the police team, Senior Superintendent of Police Anand Kulkarni said.

Verma, who carried a reward of Rs 25,000, received bullet injuries in the leg and fell off the motorcycle which he had looted a few days ago from a man on the national highway, the SSP added.

One of his companions, Raja Dubey alias Ravan, who was riding pillion, gave a slip to the police.

Both Verma and Dubey were wanted in the murder case of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) student Gaurav Singh.

Verma was admitted to a government hospital in Ramnagar, while sub-inspector Ishwar Dayal, who received bullet injuries in his hands, was admitted to BHUs Trauma Centre, where his health condition was stated to be stable, the police said.

A hunt was on to nab Dubey, they added. PTI
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 12

Russia has conferred its highest civilian award on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his efforts in advancing the Indo-Russian strategic partnership, a Kremlin press release said today.

The decree, signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, said it had awarded PM Modi with the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle, which in the past had been conferred on the Presidents of China, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, all close allies of Moscow.

The award was a Tsar-era decoration that was scrapped after the 1917 Russian revolution, but was brought back by the church in the dying days of the Soviet Union and officially resurrected by then Russian President Boris Yeltsin a year before he demitted office in 1999.

PM Modi was awarded the Zayed award by the United Arab Emirates earlier this month for his initiative in opening a new page in the India-UAE relationship.

Boosting ties
rchopra@tribunemail.com

New Delhi, April 13

India and ASEAN have resolved to strengthen ties by deepening cooperation in the maritime sector and boosting connectivity.

The two sides made the affirmations at the 21st ASEAN-India Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) held here on April 11-12, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

The meeting was co-chaired by Vijay Thakur Singh, SOM Leader and Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs, and Busaya Mathelin, SOM Leader and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand.

The ASEAN-India SOM reviewed the strategic partnership and its future direction.

It assessed the progress of cooperation under all three pillars--political-security, economic and socio-cultural, the MEA said.

The SOM leaders also exchanged views on regional and international issues of interest to ASEAN and India.

They agreed to deepen maritime cooperation as decided at the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit 2018. In this context, they proposed to undertake a variety of measures, including enhanced cooperation in the sub-sector of Blue Economy, the MEA said.

It was decided at the meeting to give an impetus to ASEAN-India connectivity in all its forms.

The two sides also discussed the ways and means to further deepen cooperation on financial matters as well as overall strengthening of the ASEAN Secretariat.

The two sides also vowed to step up cooperation in renewable energy and hold an ASEAN-India Conference on Renewable Energy in 2019. The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) would be the co-partners for this project.

The ASEAN-India partnership is being implemented through the Plan of Action (2016-20) to implement the ASEAN-India Partnership for peace, progress and shared prosperity. PTI
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Theni (TN), April 13

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday sought to corner the Congress on its showpiece poll promise of Nyay, and sought to know who would do justice to the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots, violence against Dalits, and the Bhopal gas tragedy under its regime.

The Prime Minister addressing a poll rally, a day after the campaign by Congress president Rahul Gandhi here, alleged the Congress and dishonesty were best friends but sometimes by mistake, they end up speaking the truth.

Now they are saying Ab Hoga Nyay (justice will be done now) even if they did not intend, they have admitted that all they have done is Anyay or injustice for 60 long years, (during the Congress rule), he said.

I want to ask the Congress party who will do Nyay to the victims of 1984 Sikh riots?

...who will do Nyay to all the victims of anti Dalit (violence), who will do Nyay to the government of great M G Ramachandran ji, which was dismissed by the Congress just because one family did not like those leaders.

...who will do Nyay to the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy, among the worst environmental disaster in India.

The Prime Minister pointed out that such infamous incidents occurred during the Congress rule.

If Rahul Gandhi invoked Tamil pride and Dravidian legacy to target BJPs Hindutva line, Modi today countered it by pointing to Tamil Nadus spiritualism, late AIADMK leaders M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa and the welfare of Srilankan Tamils.

Modi said: I pay homage to the great MGR and Jayalalithaa ji. India is proud of these two iconic leaders who lived and worked for the poor. Their social welfare schemes ensured lakhs of people are free from poverty.

The BJP stood with people on the Lord Ayyappa issue, he said and hailed the states spiritual ethos by citing the famous hill shrine of Lord Shiva (Sundaramahalinga Swamy Temple) on Sathuragiri hills in the region.

Remember that for making a prosperous Tamil Nadu, this game of the DMK and Congress must end. We must continue working for the prosperity of our Sri Lankan Tamil brothers and we must end the dynasty rule of corrupt families, he told the crowd.

Without naming anyone, the Prime Minister said the nation was witness to father becomes Finance Minister and son loots the country, (during the UPA and seen as a reference to a senior leader from Tamil Nadu).

Whenever they are in government they always loot. The Madhya Pradesh government has become their ATM. They are diverting money meant for poor and children for use in their election; this has become known as the Tughlaq Road scam. I am sure you all know which big Congress leader stays on Tughlaq Road in New Delhi.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami lashed out at the DMK, asking it to clarify whom it would support in neighbouring Kerala, whether the Congress or the CPI(M).

In Tamil Nadu, DMK is leading the Secular Progressive Alliance, whose constituents include the Congress and the Left parties.

Modi launched a broadside against the Opposition saying the DMK, Congress and their mahamilavati friends cannot accept strides India has made and therefore were unhappy with him.

The DMK and Congress though sworn enemies have joined hands, despite the national party having humiliated its southern ally in the past.

Today India is rapidly making a mark in the world. The Congress, DMK and their mahamilavati friends cannot accept this. That is why they are unhappy with me, he said at an election rally here.

The Prime Minister has been describing the Opposition mahagatbandhan (mega alliance) as mahamilavati, meaning adulterated.

Taking pot shots at DMK President MK Stalins proposal naming the Congress chief as Prime Ministerial candidate, Modi said there were no takers for this among the Opposition because they are in line to be PM and dream of the post.

Some days ago, DMK supremo (Stalin) projected the Naamdar (Gandhi) as PM (candidate) but no one was ready to accept it, not even their mahamilavati friends, because they are in line to be PM and dream of the post, he said, without naming anyone.

Despite past bitterness, the Congress and DMK have joined hands, he said and recalled that the national party had humiliated the southern ally earlier, apparently referring to the dismissal of the DMK government in the past.

Even during the 2G spectrum allocation scam, centred around then Telecom Minster A Raja of the DMK, the Dravidian partys leaders were criticising the national party, which was leading the ruling UPA, he pointed out.

In an attempt to mislead the people, all the corrupt have ganged up in an attempt to defeat Modi, he added.

He said the DMK has to resort to gimmicks just to draw people to its rallies.

The Congress, the DMK and their other mahamilawati friends can never work for Indias development, he said.

This land of Theni is known for brave people who served the nation. It is now up to you to decide how you will you deal with those who questioned the surgical and air strikes done by our brake armed forces, he said.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) had carried out air strikes on terror camps in Pakistan in February last.

When it comes to national security, there can be no compromise. I assure my fellow Indians that we leave no stone unturned in protecting India and destroying forces of terror.

Referring to the capture of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman by the Pakistani army, he said, When a brave Indian fighter pilot was captured in Pakistan, it was ensured that he is back home in record time and even then Congress was playing politics over national security and insulting our forces. PTI
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Today, we remember a dark day in the UKs history. As Prime Minister Theresa May said earlier this week, the tragedy that occurred at Jallianwala Bagh a hundred years ago is a shameful scar on the UKs past. We deeply regret what happened.

It was an event whose brutality was recognised at the time, and has been repeatedly to this day. On this anniversary, I take heart from the consistency and strength of my governments regret across time and across the political spectrum.

My great-grandfather HH Asquith, who was Prime Minister between 1908 and 1916, called it one of the worst outrages in the whole of our history. Her Majesty the Queen has spoken of it as a distressing example of our past history with India, deeply regretting the suffering caused. Former Prime Minister David Cameron described it as a deeply shameful act.

The events, our role and its implications are still debated by my countrys leadership to this day, most recently by the House of Lords in February and by Parliament on Tuesday this week. What happened has not been, and will not be, forgotten.

On this anniversary, I am conscious of how many there are, not just in India, whose minds are turned towards Amritsar and to the events of April 13, 1919. I approach today with deep sympathy for the victims and their families, and with remorse for the legacy of trauma. I reflect on the shame that my great-grandfather must have felt at the time, and the collective horror of the British people across the last century, on learning how their name has been tarnished.

I will mark the day in my own way, as others will in theirs, with a gesture of commemoration  determined to continue remembering. Yet, as Her Majesty also remarked, we must find a way to learn from our past and look forward: history cannot be rewritten, however much we might sometimes wish otherwise. It has its moments of sadness, as well as gladness. We must learn from the sadness and build on the gladness.

As she said in a different, but similar, context  we must be able to bow to the past, but not be bound by it.

I believe we are doing so. The relationship between our two countries today is a vigorous partnership, focused on building a more prosperous and secure future for both of us  and for others in the world.

Over the years, the UK has invested in development to tackle poverty and other drivers of conflict. We have sought through our diplomatic network and influence in multilateral organisations to diminish tensions around the world. The intent is to foster environments in which atrocities like Jallianwala Bagh are less likely to take place.

Today is a time to pause, to remember and to regret. But tomorrow I will look forward once again, determined to continue our shared ambition to build a better future.

Will never forget

What happened has not been, and will not be, forgotten... Today is a time to pause, remember and regret. But tomorrow I will look forward once again, determined to continue our shared ambition to build a better future. Dominic Asquith
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 13

A sealing drive in Delhis Mayapuri industrial area turned violent on Saturday as police and paramilitary personnel used force against traders and locals.

Criticising the use of force, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, Beating up our own traders by police is a shameful act. The way BJP is treating the traders it seems they don't want their support.

Local MLA Jagdeep Singh from Hari Nagar constituency criticised the sealing drive and slammed the police for being violent with the local traders.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police Monika Bharadwaj, during the sealing drive local traders and people got angry and violent. To control the crowd police and paramilitary force deployed had to use force. More than 10 persons were injured. The local SDM, ACP, tehsildar, SHO and some police personnel were among the injured, the DCP added.

Delhi police have registered an FIR and are investigating the matter. Police and paramilitary force have brought the situation under control, the DCP added.

According to a local trader Jagpreet Singh, the government should have given prior notice to the traders so that they could have made some arrangements. The way police behaved with the traders is a absolutely inhuman, he added.
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 12

A letter written by retired military veterans to President Ram Nath Kovind to protest politicisation of the forces and purportedly endorsed by eight former Chiefs of the armed forces led to a controversy today.

Within hours of the letter getting reported in the media, two former Chiefs  General SF Rodrigues and Air Chief Marshal NC Suri  denied having endorsed the letter. By afternoon, another retired Chief, Admiral L Ramdas, wrote an email to both with screen-shots of an emailed conversation in which Gen Rodrigues and Air Chief Marshal Suri had separately endorsed the protest letter on April 8 and April 9, respectively.

Maj Priyadarshi Chowdhary (retd), who had put out the letter in public domain, responded on Twitter: We have proof of endorsement.

The other 154 signatories have not backed down from endorsing the letter, which appeals to the President to ensure that the secular and apolitical character of the armed forces is preserved. The President is the Supreme Commander.

Among others who have signed it include former Army Chiefs Gen Shankar Roy Chowdhury and Gen Deepak Kapoor and four former Navy Chiefs  Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas, Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat, Admiral Arun Prakash and Admiral Sureesh Mehta.

They referred to the unusual and unacceptable practice of leaders taking credit for military operations like cross-border strikes, and even claiming the forces to be Modiji ki Sena. This is in addition to pictures of campaigns in which party workers are seen wearing military uniforms; and posters and images with pictures of soldiers and especially of Wg Cdr Varthaman, displayed.
monicakchauhan@gmail.com

Tribune Web Desk

Chandigarh, April 13

British High Commissioner to India, Sir Dominic Asquith, on Saturday called the Jallianwala Bagh massacre "shameful" and deeply regrettable, but offered no apology.

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amrinder Singh had on Friday demanded an unequivocal official apology from Britain for the massacre, whose centenary is being observed today.

In the visitors book, Sir Dominic Asquith wrote: The events of Jallianwala Bagh 100 years ago today reflect a shameful act in British-Indian history. We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused. In am pleased today that the UK and India have and remain committed to developing further a thriving 21 century partnership.

Asquith also paid floral tributes at the memorial.

On the issue of an apology by his government, Asquith evaded a direct response to the media: "I know this is a really important question. I would just ask you to respect what I came here to do which was to commemorate those who died here a 100 years ago -- to express the sorrow of the British government and the British people."

"What happened 100 years ago was a tragedy. Prime Minister Theresa May in the House of Parliament this week referred to it as a 'shameful scar' in our history.

"Her predecessor, Prime Minister David Cameroon, when he visited India, referred to it as a deeply shameful scar. My own great grandfather, who was Prime Minister for almost a decade, in 1960 referred to this as one of the worst outrages in our whole history," he said, adding that both governments (Britain and India) are committed to the flourishing relationship (between both countries)," he said.

"Today we remember with deep sorrow those who were killed on April 13, 1919 and regret the suffering caused," Asquith also tweeted.

'Today we remember with deep sorrow those who were killed on 13 April 1919 and regret the suffering caused': British High Commissioner to India #DominicAsquith



Read @thetribunechd https://t.co/S2TdsCKsfX pic.twitter.com/rXMB5kAG0d  UK in India (@UKinIndia) April 13, 2019

The day marks the centenary of the massacre, in which British forces led by Brigadier General Reginald Dyer opened fire on hundreds of unarmed, innocent Indians, including women and children, who were protesting peacefully against the oppressive Rowlatt Act of the British government.

The massacre, on April 13, 1919, is one of the darkest chapters of India's freedom struggle against the British occupation. The official death toll by the British government was put at 379 killed though there were claims that over 1,000 people were killed.  With agencies
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 13

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday mooted a memorial to honour all those Indians who had lost their lives in any part of the world in the battle for Indias independence.

Speaking at the Centenary Commemoration of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre by The Tribune Trust to pay tributes to the martyrs of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and honour their descendants, the Chief Minister emotionally recalled his visit to the cellular jails in Andaman islands post the Tsunmai that left the region devastated. He had been ashamed at the fact that he did not know even a single name etched on the walls there, said the Chief Minister, adding that these martyrs had died unknown in the kaala pani, leaving behind no memories.

It was time to remember all such martyrs, said Capt Amarinder, urging The Tribune Trust to help out in tracing all such martyrs, so that India could remember and pay homage to those who gave their lives for the nation. The memorial could be developed in some central city of Punjab, he said.

The Chief Minister exhorted the young generations of the country to dig deep into the countrys history to discover and remember the monumental sacrifice of all those who helped India gain freedom from the British tyranny.

Citing references from various books on the subject, the Chief Minister said dabbling in history enables one to discover the true story, which in this case was a mix of the human, military and historical aspects of the gruesome event of April 13, 1919.

The Chief Minister said the Jallianwala Bagh barbarity was the culmination of the anger of Punjabis against the draconian Rowlett Act and General Dyers personal motivation, which he admitted later to the Hunter Commission probing the massacre, to teach a lesson to the people of India. To carry out his agenda, he drew fully trained and committed men from different regiments, who knew exactly what to do, said Amarinder, questioning the low official figure of the deaths, given the size of the Bagh, the capability of the bullets used etc. Nobody even knew how many of the wounded had died, he pointed out.

On the occasion, Captain Amarinder Singh presented a memento to Sunil Kapoor, grandson of Wasoo Mal Kapoor, a victim of the barbaric tragedy.

Earlier, the Chief Minister joined his Haryana counterpart ML Khattar and others in a one-minute silence, as a befitting tribute to the immortals of Jallianwala Bagh.

Former J&K Governor and The Tribune Trust chairman NN Vohra, along with other Trustees was among those present on the occasion. Luminaries from political, defence, judiciary, bureaucracy and other arenas also joined the somber event, at which State Minister for Education Suresh Bhardwaj represented Himachal Pradesh.

In his vote of thanks, NN Vohra said the brutal massacre affected the course of Indian history thus changing the contours of India-British relations and paved the way for independence. The inspirational revolutionary atmosphere created by the brutality of the British Empire forced many youngsters like Bhagat Singh and Udham Singh to tread the path of struggle and ensure liberation from foreign rule.

A book 'Martyrdom to Freedom: 100 Years of Jallianwala Bagh' was released at the event. The book, edited by The Tribune Editor Rajesh Ramachandran, draws on essays and archival material of the historic event available with the publication.
vinaymishra188@gmail.com

Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, April 12

Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr Satyapal  a hundred years after Jallianwala, these are the two names with which each conversation about the massacre starts in Amritsar. But in the past 100 years, the governments have rarely mentioned their names.

The meeting that was dispersed by General Dyers bullets had been called to protest Dr Kitchlew and Dr Satyapals arrest. The two towering leaders had emerged as great symbols of Hindu-Muslim unity during the April 6 hartal and, on April 9, people had raised slogans of Kitchlew ji ki jai and Satyapal ji ki jai during Ramnavami jaloos. It was the collective charm of both the leaders that the Hindus and Muslims were publicly drinking water from the same glass.

Dr Kitchlews father Azizudin, a prominent Kashmiri businessman dealing in embroidered shawls, had moved to Amritsar in the 19th century. He sent his son to England and Germany from where he obtained his PhD degree and also developed close ties with Jawaharl- al Nehru. Kitchlew was widely admired in Amritsar and his picture would be seen hanging in almost every shop as a tribute to the sacrifices he made during the freedom struggle. Tall, fair-complexioned and mostly attired in white khadi, he was known for his unfailing courtesy and winsome smile, historian Prof VN Datta, hailing from Amritsar, recalled in the preface of a book.

A few days before his death, Dr Kitchlew told Prof Datta that the trouble on April 10 in Amritsar could have been averted had he and Satyapal not been arrested. The government was absolutely despotic and never understood what the people felt and wanted, he said.

After Partition, Dr Kitchlew refused to move to Pakistan and decided to stay back in Amritsar. He, however, was forced to leave the city he loved the most and shift to Delhi after rioters burnt down his four-storey house and the family-owned Kitchlew Hosiery Factory in the heart of Amritsar.

During his last meeting with Dr Kitchlew in Delhi, Prof Datta saw a bare cot, old furniture and broken pieces of crockery eloquently speaking of the financial difficulties he was facing. Yet, there was no bitterness for anyone. I manage to live because Jawahar sends me some briefs, he would say.

The last tragic memories of Dr Kitchlews family were related to his youngest son Toufique, who spent his last days in penury. Before he passed away, he had expressed a desire to shift to Amritsar and the Punjab Government even annou-nced rent-free accommodation, but the address was never shared with him.

Dr Satyapal, on the other hand, became the Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker post-Partition. He had famously said: I was never a rebel, but to revolt for righteousness is our religion and duty. He completed his MBBS with a gold medal from Punjab University and became active in the freedom struggle.

Dr Shailja Goyal, a lecturer at DAV College, Jagraon, who has done her PhD on Dr Satyapal, says he was a man of rare integrity and character. She says he was vocal even about the wrongs within the Congress. He was instrumental in organising the AICC session in Amritsar. He died in 1954 and his two daughters moved abroad.

Darbari Lal, former Deputy Speaker of Punjab Assembly, says Dr Kitchlew was a powerful orator and his words would sway the masses. Dr Kitchlew and Dr Satyapal are household names in Amritsar and will surely remain so.
singhking99@yahoo.com

BN Goswamy

Your brush inundates the hearts of Indians with colour

And keeps bringing ever-new riches to Bengals Lakshmi.

God has blessed you with auspicious talent;

In imperishable ink you write the name of our country

On the canvas of the world.

Your brush, O Nanda,

Enchants the heart of this Poet 

 Translation of some lines from Rabindranath Tagores letter to Nandalal Bose. April, 1914

Whether he was able to write the name of our country/on the canvas of the world  Tagores words  is something that some, especially those immersed in modern and contemporary art, might have something to say about, but without any doubt, Nandalal Bose  Nando Babu, Master Moshai, to his peers and countless students  had become something of a legend in his lifetime. An icon, if one so likes. The long journey of this artist (he died in 1966) and the things he did in his life and career can tell us how this came to be.

Briefly: Nandalal was born in 1882 at Kharagpur in Bihar; in 1898 he went to Calcutta; in 1905, he joined as a student the Government School of Art where the Vice Principal was someone whom he adored as his Guru as long as he lived: Abanindranath Tagore; three years later, while still a student, he won a Gold Medal for his work, Sati, at the Indian Society of Oriental Art. He travelled to Ajanta and was there for three months, in 1909; in 1911, he contributed some illustrations to one of Ananda Coomaraswamys early books; in 1914, he was invited by Rabindranath Tagore, who also wrote the above-cited poem, to visit Shantiniketan in 1914; two years later, at Shantiniketan, he learnt Japanese ink painting from a visiting Japanese artist; in 1921, Nandalal was invited by the Gwalior state to make copies of the 1500 years old frescoes in the Bagh caves; in 1922, he became the Principal of the Kala Bhawan at Shantiniketan. So much else began to follow: in 1924 he accompanied Rabindranath Tagore to Burma, China and Japan; six years later, in 1930, he created the iconic image of Gandhi setting forth on his famous Dandi March, the Salt Satyagraha; keeping close to Gandhi, he visited him in 1937 at Tithal, and at his asking created the now celebrated Haripura Posters to be displayed all over the pandals of the Indian National Congress which was holding its annual meeting there. In 1939, Nandalal began executing frescoes in the Kirti Mandir in Baroda, something that was to take six years for him to complete. In 1945, Gandhi visited Shantiniketan for the last time, and Nandalal painted him at Prayer. By this time, his fame, already legendary, had spread everywhere and in 1948, Jawaharlal Nehru requested him to design the National Awards, from Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan to Bharat Ratna; two years later, as the Constitution of India was being worked upon, Nandalal was asked to design the cover of the Constitution and provide illustrations to several pages of it, which he did. By this time, age had begun to catch up with Nandalal and he slowed down a bit, but honour upon honour kept piling: the Padma Vibhushan, the title of Deshikottama from the Vishwa-Bharati, honorary doctorate from the Calcutta University; Fellowship of the Lalit Kala Akademi. In 1966, at the age of 84, Nandalal died, covered with adulation and honours.

I am sure this is beginning to sound like a conventional bio-data, as if in need of approval by someone. The point of it all simply is to recall how much Nandalals life and work was intertwined with what was going on in the world around him: the stirrings of a renewed pride in the past of India, an awareness of its national identity, the freedom movement which was then gathering momentum, the Gandhian aesthetics of simplicity, a desperate desire to reach out to the commonest of people. The artist Dinkar Kowshik, distinguished student of Nandalal, whose own talent was nurtured at Shantiniketan and who eventually served there, put it well as he went over the many aspects of his gurus beliefs and ideals. Khadi to him (Nandalal), he wrote, was not a mere coarse cloth made out of hand-spun yarn. For him it  was an aesthetic equivalent of our will to work and our homage to the hands.Again: He had noticed the jarring notes of discord imported in our cities due to the confusion (caused by the coming in of the ideals of the west). Tin cans, bill boards, film posters, neon signs and the badly designed glare of advertisements had invaded the visual sanity of our civilised life. He clearly saw that only serious art, which harnessed the vitality of folk art and rural simplicity, could stand against the general rot.

Nandalals output as an artist bordered on the prodigious. There is no clear count of it, but one can form some idea of it from the fact that the National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi alone houses 6,800 works of his; currently a collection of his works  early sketches, designs for murals at Shantiniketan and Baroda, the Haripura posters, the Ajanta sketchbook, sumi-e paintings made under Japanese influence, collages, postcards, photographs, apart from his correspondence including that with the Tagores  numbering close to 6,000 is about to be auctioned, having remained devotedly preserved by a grandson of his over the years. There would, one imagines, be a great deal of interest in the sale, for the old tag of traditionalist or revivalist attaching to Nandalals work has now been discarded. The breadth of his vision, the innovations, the experimentations, the refusal to abide by a canon, the free and loose-brushwork, are there for everyone to see. He  one of the brightest stars of the Bengal School as he was described so often  is now being seen, together with Rabindranath Tagore, as having played a seminal role in steering Indian art away from the historicist trajectory pursued by the Bengal School and propelling it towards a modernism based on a (different) sense of location, as the art historian R. Siva Kumar wrote recently.

Things change and, with them, perceptions.
singhking99@yahoo.com

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre was the result of a well-planned conspiracy aimed at bringing together a crowd which could be killed by Dyer, says eminent historian VN Datta in conversation with Nonica Datta

Nonica Datta: You were born in Amritsar. What did you understand about the Jallianwala Bagh massacre as a child?

VN Datta: It was horrible Our house was a 10-minute walk from Jallianwala Bagh at Katra Sher Singh in the walled city of Amritsar. My elder sister told me that she heard the bullets and that my mother began to beat her chest thinking that my father was dead. When I was about six years old, I used to walk in the Bagh and observe the bullet marks on the walls. Because of my family memory, I, too, became an indirect witness to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Later, I wrote extensively on the subject. My book, Jallianwala Bagh, appeared in 1969.

ND:Why do you think Brigadier General Reginald Dyer did what he did?

VND: You have to think of the circumstances which led to Dyers action. After the victory in World War I, British confidence was at its peak. In addition, Punjab was ruled by the iron hand of Lieutenant Governor, Sir Michael ODwyer. He terrorised the troops and peasants. And then came the infamous Rowlatt Bills. There was political unrest in the province.

Dyer did not look upon Jallianwala Bagh massacre as an isolated event, but as an integral part of the Amritsar disturbances. Three days before, on the 10th, the city had been the scene of widespread violence following the arrest of local leaders from PunjabDr Saifuddin Kitchlew, Dr Satya Pal, Bugga and Ratto; five Europeans had been murdered; and a lady missionary, Miss Sherwood, had been assaulted. I would say that the assault on Miss Sherwood provided the context for Jallianwala Bagh incident to happen.

As a result, Dyer became furious and determined. He rushed from Jalandhar on 11 April. On 12 April, he moved around the city of Amritsar. On 13 April, from the Hathi Gate, he reached the narrow Jallianwala Bagh. He could not take the machine guns inside. With 50 troops on the platform25 Gurkhas, 25 Baluchishe shot about 1,650 bullets, and I calculated around 700 people died. He later told the Disorders Inquiry Committee that he realised his force was small and to hesitate might induce attack.

I believe Dyers decision in Jallianwala Bagh was partly influenced by his seeing Amritsar as a possible storm-centre of rebellion and partly by the circumstances of 10 April.

The Punjab Government feared that on the Baisakhi Day a large number of villagers would come to the city and their presence would make the situation sinister. On 12 and 13 April, Dyer issued two orders banning public meetings and processions in Amritsar city. When the massacre took place, martial law had not been introduced and the Brigadier General was not empowered to take charge of the city. But Dyer assumed full control of the situation and ignored the civilian officers. My argument is had he acted in concert with civilian officers, it is possible that the catastrophic episode might have been averted.

As soon as Dyer arrived in the Bagh, he stood on the raised platform and opened fire without warning. Not only this but, he fired continuously even when he could see that people were running for their lives. The Hunter Committee accused him of infringing the principle of minimum force, but failed to explain satisfactorily why he did so, maintaining that Dyer merely exceeded the bounds of his duty.

All these insights were possible because of my discovery of the volumes VI and VII of the Disorders Inquiry Committee (also known as the Hunter Committee) to which Dyer gave an account of his actions. I noticed that the previous volumes, IV, did not contain the material that these two volumes possessed. These latter volumes included consolidated reports secretly maintained by the British government. I was the first to bring these volumes to the notice of scholars and able to discover hitherto unknown facts.

ND: It is evident that your pioneering work provides an altogether different historical perspective on 1919. Tell us how you would interpret the Jallianwala Bagh massacre?

VND: I feel that the massacre was the result of a well-planned conspiracy aimed at bringing together a crowd which could be killed by Dyer. There was no martial law (in Amritsar and Lahore) till 15 April. There were no police present at Jallianwala Bagh. The Deputy Commissioner was absent from the scene. Dyer took no steps to prevent the meeting.

ND: Why do you call the massacre a conspiracy?

VND: In order to understand the massacre, it is necessary to follow the movements of Hans Raj, the chief organiser of the Jallianwala Bagh meeting. At the time of the meeting, when some people began to move away, he urged the crowd to be seated and declared the Government will never fire. After a while, he waved his handkerchief and Dyer and his Indian troops appeared. When the shooting began, Hans Raj had already left. He was an agent provocateur. He was later spirited away to Mesopotamia and his house in Amritsar was burnt.

ND: Who was in the crowd? Who were the prominent leaders present in the Bagh?

VND: Before the massacre, Jallianwala Bagh was a dumping ground of no political significance. In his testimony to the Disorders Inquiry Committee, Dyer said that the crowd was not innocent but hostile. He claimed it was a planned affair, with an organised mob assembled with the intent of defying authority.

But the crowd was an amorphous lot. Many had come to the city as part of a cattle fair on the Baisakhi festival and had wandered into the Bagh. There was no leader of importance present there. I talked to people who had survived the massacre. I interviewed Rattan Devi, Uttar Kaur and Uttam Devi, who rushed to the Bagh immediately after the firing. Their testimonies formed an essential part of my book, Jallianwala Bagh. I also had long conversations with Dr Kitchlew. Despite his failing health, he gave me valuable information. Hans Raj Mittal, a leading lawyer of Amritsar, told me that the Jallianwala Bagh episode was a conspiracy hatched by Hans Raj.

ND: What is the legacy of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre?

VND: After the massacreas SK Datta, principal of Forman Christian College, Lahore, saidthere was a parting of ways between the British and Indians. The massacre paved the way for the ultimate downfall of the British Empire and a new leadership by Gandhi appeared on the national scene.

In my works, I have tried to move away from a nationalist hagiography of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. However, there is no doubt that it proved a great asset to the nationalist cause. 1919 changed the political complexion of Punjab, which could never recover from that military violence.

 This interview is one of a series of interviews with VN Datta conducted by Nonica Datta between July 2018 and April 2019 in New Delhi.
singhking99@yahoo.com

H. Kishie Singh

The equinox phenomenon has heralded an early summer and pollution will soon raise its ugly head to choke us. Delhi, of course, will be the worst affected; Chandigarh also had high levels of pollution last year. I say of course for Delhi because the city makes no sensible or practical move to combat air pollution. Chandigarh is also not far behind when it comes to lack of a concrete policy to maintain clean air even though it could be much easier for Chandigarh as it has wide open spaces and a small population. However, the administration is waiting patiently for the horse to escape and then amble over to close the gates!

Mention pollution and that damnable invention, the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), comes to mind. And did you know the ICE produces heat? Well, ICE is one of the major contributors towards global warming. If we cannot control and tame this beast, we can look forward to global warming and the decay and possible demise of Earth. There are indications that this is a very real possibility. At the recent COP 24 meeting in Katowice, Poland, world leaders and scientists met to discuss, debate and deduce that the planet was in mortal danger.

Lets start with Chandigarh. Statistics show that the highest English-speaking and educated state is Kerala before 8 am. I would say after 8 pm, it is Punjab! By that time everyone has cleansed the mouth with their favourite mouthwash and are ready to plan and strategise!

They are at their favourite watering hole. They could come in a Beemer, an Audi, a Merc or an Endeavour; possibly one person in each car. Four people, four cars polluting Chandigarh unnecessarily. Much the same happens each morning. Up to a dozen car owners from sectors 3-4-5-8-9 work in Sector 17, maybe along Madhya Marg or the Industrial Area. Its usually one person, one car, the best way to pollute the atmosphere and clog our roads!

There is nothing new about this problem. Every developing nation goes through this. Its just that we havent learnt a lesson. But Montreal learnt its lesson about 50 years ago. It is an island city in the middle of Saint Lawrence river. Several bridges connect it to the North and South shore. They are toll bridges.

If there were 4+1 driver per car, the toll would be $5. For one car with one driver, it would be an exorbitant $25, or something like that, if I remember correctly! I never paid any toll. I lived on the island and walked to work. It is time that the intelligensia of Chandigarh, the captains of industry, retired bureaucrats, judges and faujis made a practical decision and implement it.

Yes, the answer is car pools. You can continue to flaunt your cars  a Beemer one week, a Merc next, an Audi later. One car can drop three to four people to work, come back to take wifey shopping, mommy to her kitty party and kiddo to the gym. One car will have moved seven to 10 persons! A small, but intelligent, practical move can make a major contribution to Mother Earths health!

And please do have stickers on your rear windscreen flaunting: I am a car pooler!

Happy Motoring!
singhking99@yahoo.com

Saurabh Chadha

ALBUM OF THE MONTH

A careful listen, it rewards in abundance

Solange  When I Get Home (Columbia Records)

Solange Knowles has worked hard trying to find her place in the existence of her sister Beyonces growing shadow. Following on three years from her last project, the highly acclaimed A Seat At The Table (2016), her eagerly-awaited fourth studio album When I Get Home feels in many ways like an extension and maintains the sensual R&B styling of the previous album. While A Seat At The Table featured big singles such as Cranes In The Sky, the new album abstains from that route and instead tries to charm the listener into considering the songs as continuous series. This is probably why Solange was certain not to release this album with singles. Things I Imagined, the opener, is a tour of Solanges vocal range, for the fact that she showcases the variation in her voice in such rapid sequence that one cannot realise that shes singing the same line 16 times in a row. Named after a Southwest Houston locale, Pharrell-produced Almeda is the essence of a masterful collaboration, respecting the illustrious sounds of each high-profile musician in an incredibly charming manner. Solange sings, Black skin, / black braids / Black waves, black days / Black baes, black things / These are black-owned things / Black faith still cant be washed away. With 19 tracks and 39 minutes, When I Get Home calms, plots and motivates with its firm rotation of synthetic instrumentals and convincing intervals. Binz is one of the catchiest songs here, while Sound of Rain reflects a misty groove as she recalls the moving gloom of Cranes In the Sky. She concludes, Sound of rain helps me let go of the pain. In Stay Flo, Solange persuades her peers to dance the pain away and transports them to an uptempo groove that is impossible not to revisit.

Essential tracks: Things I Imagined, Dreams, Almeda, My Skin My Logo

Rating * * * *

Her musical world of spooky dreams

Billie Eilish  When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (Interscope)

Billie Eilish Baird OConnell has been a worldwide icon and fascinating teen to watch ever since her debut EP, Dont Smile At Me, introduced a genius that the music world hasnt seen in a long time. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? is a courageous debut album from the LA teen, arresting the vulnerabilities, hopes and worries of an entire generation. Loaded with heavy bass and skillfully structured songs, Eilish is more than living up to expectations. She begins the album with an impulsive introduction, !!!!!!, in which she says, I am taking out my Invisalign and this is the album, before letting out a light laugh alongside producer brother Finneas. Its difficult to label Billie Eilishs style, but the youthful happiness found in her vocals on All the Good Girls best represents her as an artiste. The album dips listeners in her distinct mix of sounds and passionate harmonies, modulated with extreme resonance. In Xanny, the tempo of the beat slows down to a sluggish crawl to mimic the experience of being high, while 8 is a ukulele (four-string guitar) song that manipulates Billies voice to make her sound half her age. On the heartbreaking piano ballad Listen Before I Go, she illustrates how depression affects lives. Call my friends and tell them that I love them. And Ill miss them. Sorry, she worryingly sings before the wail of sirens come in. The beautifully written and inspired by a line uttered by the Moriarty character in Sherlock, You Should See Me In A Crown is a hip-hop track with piercing synths along with dark undertones and remarkable storytelling. The finishing track in the album, Goodbye, cleverly includes a verse culminating lyrics from every previous track on the album in reverse order. It sometimes becomes difficult to believe that Billie is so young. She expresses with elegance and poise beyond her age and crafts her skill with buoyancy seldom seen even in more recognised artists.

Essential tracks: Xanny, 8, Ilomilo, Listen Before I Go

Rating * * *

An intriguing and smoothly constructed record

Nilufer Yanya  Miss Universe (ATO)

At 18, Turkish-Irish-Bajan Nilufer Yanya uploaded a few demos to SoundCloud and immediately caught the peoples attention for her musics unique blend of soul and jazz with electronic flourishes. She soon signed with independent New York label ATO, following three EPs on the respected London indie label, Blue Flowers. She soon earned a place on the BBC Sound of 2018 list. Her full-length outing, Miss Universe, builds on that promise, touching on everything from deep jazz to chillout soul to new wave reggae to alt-rock to trip-hop. The ex-Rilo Kiley front woman and child actress has brought in some illustrious musicians to support her, including Beatles Ringo Starr, producer Don Was, Beck and Ryan Adams, but the complete credit for a remarkable storytelling experience goes to her. The vibrant, throbbing opener, In Your Head, plays with elements of alt-rock and grunge and for this project she has designed a fictional company, WWay Health (We Worry About Your Health) to narrate an unnerving tale of a self-care program. We are here for you. We care for you. We worry about you, so you dont have to, her robotic character insists. Jazz-infused Paradise marks a return to a recognisable territory, a jarringly superficial take that finds Yanya on the verge of splitting up with her partner. Where do the good things go, she sighs. Penned by Yanya in her mid-teens, Monsters Under The Bed finds a place here and shines as the most acoustically oriented track. Explosive Safety Net and Tears combine electro-pop with indie elements with effortless ease. Lyrically, she opts for larger-than-life images. In Angels, her insight is crystal clear: Got to earn, got to decide who to please. The closer, Heavyweight Champion of the World, uses simple instrumentation but the impact is certainly dominant, giving some worthy prominence to Nilufer Yanyas great vocals.

Essential tracks: In Your Head, Angels, Paradise, Safety Net

Rating * * *

Top 10 Singles

1 Old Town Road..........................................................................Lil Nas X (CU)

2. 7 Rings..........................................................................Ariana Grande (NM)

3. Wow..................................................................................Post Malone (FD)

4. Without Me...............................................................................Halsey (NM)

5. Sunflower (Spider-Man)...................................Post Malone & Swae Lee (FD)

6. Please Me............................................................Cardi B & Bruno Mars (CU)

7. Bad Guy...............................................................................Billie Eilish (CU)

8. Dancing With A Stranger......................................Sam Smith & Normani (NE)

9. Happier..............................................................Marshmello & Bastille (NM)

10. High Hopes............................................................Panic! At The Disco (FD)

Legend: CU): Climbing Up (FD): Falling Down (NM): Non-mover (NE): New Entry
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Ravinder Sood

In his book From Surprise to Victory on Kargil war, General VP Malik, who remained the Chief of the Army Staff (India) from 1997 to September 2000, has devoted a full chapter to the brave soldier of Palampur  Major Sudhir Walia, who was also his ADC (Aide-de-camp) and a devout soldier who sacrificed his life while fighting militants in J&K.

General Malik wrote despite being injured in a militancy operation, Sudhir Walia opted to join his unit, which was fighting in Kargil in 2000. He wrote how Walia played a key role in planning, coordinating and overseeing the military operations during Kargil War that enabled India to evict the Pakistani intruders.

Major Walia was decorated with the Sena medal for gallantry on two separate occasions for combating militancy in Jammu and Kashmir. Malik says when he was excelling in his career, the Kargil War commenced and Major Sudhir Walia requested him to give him posting in Kargil with his unit to fight intruders. Malik acceded to his request and sent his most fearless and valiant soldier to the battle area of Kargil. In fact, Major Sudhir was at that time recovering from injuries, and his team recaptured the Zulu Ridge. After the Kargil War ended, his team was assigned the duty of fighting terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

After the end of Kargil War on July 26, 1999, the Army was on high alert to deal with any eventuality. Major Sudhir Walia and his team of daredevil commandos disguised as militants were carrying out the task of searching the hiding militants, who could pose a serious threat to the security forces.

On August 29, 1999, Walia with a squad of five commandos was on a Search and Destroy mission in the dense jungle of Hafruda Forest in Kupwara district of J&K. The squad suddenly chanced upon a well-camouflaged hideout having 20-odd terrorists.

Major Sudhir quickly organised his team and attacked the hideout. Leading from the front and showing rare courage, Major Sudhir killed half-a-dozen militants single-handedly. However, during the process, he sustained gunshot wounds in the stomach. Though he was unable to move, he continued to give orders to his team until they eliminated all suspected militants. He allowed himself to be evacuated only 35 minutes after the operation ended. He was airlifted to the Army base hospital, but he succumbed to the injuries en route.

General Malik discussed in his book how Major Sudhir Walia was given the nations highest peace-time gallantry award, Ashok Chakra for his outstanding gallantry, unyielding spirit and supreme sacrifice. Major Sudhir Kumar Walia belonged to Palampur, which is also called the land of brave soldiers. Bravehearts like Captain Vikram Batra, Major Somnath, who were given the highest gallantry award of the country  PVC posthumously, and Captain Saurabh Kalia, too, belonged to this place.

Major Sudhir Walia is a second generation Army man born in a military family of an Army veteran Subedar Major Rulia Ram Walia. Major Sudhir always wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father. General Malik has highlighted in his book that he pursued his dream right from his childhood days and his school up to Sainik School, Sujanpur Tihra (HP), which succeeded him in his efforts. Consequently, he cleared the NDA in his first attempt and joined the prestigious academy.

Walia graduated from Indian Military Academy (IMA) in 1988 and was commissioned into 4 JAT of the famed Jat Regiment. Soon after commissioning from IMA, he joined the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka. They were sent on a peace mission under the Indo-Sri Lanka accord by the Government of India . After he returned from Sri Lanka, he was moved to the 9 Parachute Commando regiment, which is a special force of the Indian Army that specialises in mountain operations. Major Walia and his unit, 9 Para (Special Forces), known mainly for their daredevil covert operations, undertook numerous operations in J&K. In Kashmir, the Special Forces operators of the Indian Army often roamed in militant disguise, hunting for terrorists by locating their hideouts. Major Sudhir was posted twice in Siachen area and also served as the ADC to the former Army Chief, General Ved Parkash Malik. In 1997, Major Sudhir Walia was sent to the United States for a specialised course and also got the rare honour of speaking at the Pentagon during this mission. Known as Rambo in the Indian Army, he was called Colonel by his peers in the course, who had come from 80 other countries.

Excerpts from General VP Malik's book on Kargil War 'From Surprise to Victory'

In the performance of his duties, I found Sudhir always very alert, responsible and mature. He was well-read and took interest in all types of books. Off parade, he was full of life. He had a good sense of humour and enjoyed company. During his last Lohri with us in the Army House, he sang many Hindi, Punjabi and Himachali songs. In fact, he could sing in several languages. A bachelor, he was reticent about his family. Gradually, we learnt about his father, who had retired from the Army as a Subedar and his mother, whom he was very fond of. He had a physically handicapped younger brother, and a sister studying in college. Being the eldest, he felt responsible for the family and, being 30 years of age, was in no hurry to get married. He told us that he might do so after his tenure with me. Gradually, like other ADCs, he became a member of our family. Being the oldest and senior most, he felt responsible and would guide other ADCs in the office and at home. He spoke less to me but would chat more easily with my wife. He travelled with us very often, within India and abroad..... .....When the Kargil war started, Sudhir had finished his tenure with me and asked to be sent back to his unit fighting the war. Not wanting to break laid down norms or his spirit, I let him go. The Army House gave him an affectionate send-off.

A few days later, I saw him in Srinagar. His Para Cdo Team had reverted to anti-militancy operations in the Valley. He had come specially to see me.... I asked him about his attack on Zulu Ridge without any acclimatisation. He smiled and said: "Sir, you know I am a Pahari. I do not need acclimatisation," with a smile. I told him not to break such rules again. Three days after my return to Delhi, while eating breakfast, on a sudden impulse, I rang up Lt Gen Krishan Pal, GOC 15 Corps. I told him to be careful in employing Sudhir and his team. Sudhir was a brave and overenthusiastic lad who would volunteer for every challenging mission. We should not allow him to take risks day after day. My wife could not believe what I had done. I had never said such a thing earlier for anyone. Exactly a month after Kargil, my wife and I were returning a visit to one of the martyrs' bereaved family. In the car, I received a phone call informing me that, while leading an assault on a terrorist hideout in Haphruda Forest, Sudhir had been fatally wounded and died before he could be evacuated to the hospital. He and his buddy Naik Kheem Singh had surprised the terrorists deep in the jungle. They had killed nine terrorists. It was a daring action, led all the way from the front. Sudhir was recommended for, and received, the Ashok Chakra, the highest gallantry award in peacetime. On August 29, 1999, the nation lost a gallant and a specially gifted soldier. My loss was personal.
editorial@tribune.com

London, April 12

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange woke up in a British jail on Friday at the start of a likely lengthy extradition battle after a dramatic end to his seven-year stay in Ecuadors London embassy.

Within hours of police hauling him out of the embassy, the 47-year-old Australia appeared in court for breaching his British bail conditions back in 2012 and to face a subsequent US extradition request.

After Assange was arrested in the British capital, American officials unsealed an indictment against him for computer hacking as part of his WikiLeaks whistleblowing activities.

The Sun reported he was being held in Wandsworth prison in south London, where he spent nine days in 2010 following an investigation over alleged sexual assault in Sweden that has since been dropped.

Deemed "the most overcrowded prison in England at its last inspection in 2018, the 19th-century facility holds around 1,600 inmates.

Inspectors found most prisoners share a cell designed for one person while more than a third were receiving psychosocial help for substance misuse problems. Assange could receive up to a year in prison when sentenced at an as yet undetermined later date. His separate extradition case is set to be next heard by video-link at Westminster Magistrates Court on May 2.

Assange's London lawyer Jennifer Robinson confirmed he would be contesting his long-feared extradition to the US.  AFP
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Khartoum, April 13

Sudans Defence Minister stepped down abruptly on Friday as head of the countrys transitional ruling military council after only a day in the post, as protesters demanded quicker political change following President Omar al-Bashirs ouster by the armed forces.

Hours after the military council sought to calm public anger by promising a new civilian government, Defence Minister Awad Ibn Auf said in a televised speech he was quitting as head of the council.

Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Abdelrahman will be the new head of the council, Ibn Auf said. He also said Chief of Staff Kamal Abdelmarouf al-Mahi was relieved of his position as deputy head of the transitional military council.

In order to ensure the cohesion of the security system, and the armed forces in particular, from cracks and strife, and relying on God, let us begin this path of change, Ibn Auf said.

News of the change sparked joyful celebrations by many thousands in the streets of Khartoum as people chanted, The second has fallen! in reference to Bashir, witnesses said.

What happened is a step in the right direction and is a bow to the will of the masses, and we have become closer to victory, Rashid Saeed, a spokesman for the main protest group, the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), told Reuters.

We are committed to our demands that we submitted to the army, he said. We call on the masses to stay on the streets until all the demands are met.

The military council said earlier that it expected a pre-election transition to last two years at most or much less if chaos can be avoided. The head of the military councils political committee, Omar Zain al-Abideen, said the council would hold a dialogue with political entities.

The announcement of a future civilian government appeared aimed at reassuring demonstrators who had pressed for months for Bashirs departure and quickly resumed protests against army rule after his ouster on Thursday, calling for quicker and more substantial change.

In a clear challenge to Ibn Aufs military council, several thousand protesters remained in front of the defence ministry compound, and in other parts of the capital, as a nighttime curfew Ibn Auf had announced went into effect.

The SPA said the military council was not capable of creating change. In a statement, the group restated its demand for power to be handed immediately to a transitional civilian government.

Bashir, 75, himself seized power in a 1989 military coup. He had faced 16 weeks of demonstrations sparked by rising food costs, high unemployment and increasing repression during his three decades of autocratic rule.

Worshippers packed the streets around the Defence Ministry for Friday prayers, heeding a call by the SPA to challenge the military council. The numbers swelled in the afternoon, and a Reuters witness estimated hundreds of thousands of protesters thronged areas around the ministry, which was guarded by soldiers.

At least 16 people were killed and 20 injured by stray bullets at protests and sit-ins on Thursday and Friday, a Sudanese police spokesman said in a statement on Saturday.

Government buildings and private property were also attacked, spokesman Hashem Ali added.

He asked citizens to help ensure safety and public order.

We do not reject a military council in principle, but we reject these people because they are from Bashirs regime, said Abdelhamid Ahmed, a 24-year-old doctor.

Ibn Auf was Bashirs vice president and defence minister and is among a handful of Sudanese commanders whom Washington imposed sanctions on over their alleged role during atrocities committed in the Darfur conflict that began in 2003.

Announcing Bashirs ouster on Thursday and the creation of the military council, Ibn Auf also announced a state of emergency, a nationwide ceasefire and the suspension of the constitution, as well as the nighttime curfew from 10 pm to 4 am. Those steps were criticised as heavy-handed by rights groups.

Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman was the third most senior general in the Sudanese armed forces and is not known in public life. He was the head of Sudans ground forces, a role in which he oversaw Sudanese troops that fought in the Saudi-led Yemen war.

Inclusive political process

Sudans deputy UN ambassador, Yasir Abdalla Abdelsalam Ahmed, told the UN Security Council on Friday that any democratic process in the country required time, and he urged the international community to support a peaceful transition.

No party will be excluded from the political process, including armed groups, he told the council during a meeting on Abyei, a contested border region claimed by Sudan and South Sudan. The 15-member council convened later on Friday behind closed doors to be briefed on the latest developments in Sudan.

Moreover, the suspension of the constitution could be lifted at any point and the transitional period could be shortened depending on developments on the ground and agreements reached between stakeholders, the Sudanese envoy said.

World powers, including the United States and Britain, said they supported a peaceful and democratic transition sooner than two years. China said it would continue to seek cooperation with Sudan regardless of the political situation.

Zain al-Abideen said the military council would not interfere with a civilian government. However, he said the defence and interior ministries would be under its control.

Burhan, the new head of the transitional military council, was the inspector general of the Sudanese armed forces and its third most senior general. He is little known in public life.

He was the head of Sudans ground forces, a role in which he oversaw Sudanese troops who fought in the Saudi-led Yemen war.

He has close ties to senior Gulf military officials as he was responsible for coordinating Sudans military involvement in the war.

Not greedy for power

Zain al-Abideen said the military council itself had no solutions to Sudans crisis and these would come from the protesters.

We are not greedy for power, he said. We will not dictate anything to the people. We want to create an atmosphere to manage a peaceful dialogue.

He said the council was to meet on Friday with political entities to prepare a climate for dialogue, but that was later postponed.

The council said it did not invite Bashirs National Congress Party to join the dialogue because it is responsible for what happened. It warned protesters that the army would not tolerate unrest.

Ibn Auf said on Thursday that Bashir was being detained in a safe place. Sudanese sources told Reuters he was at the presidential residence under heavy guard.

The council said on Friday it would not extradite Bashir, who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Bashir is facing an arrest warrant over accusations of genocide in Sudans Darfur region during an insurgency that began in 2003 and led to the death of an estimated 3,00,000 people. He denies the allegations. Reuters
editorial@tribune.com

SINGAPORE: An Indian-origin man has been jailed for three weeks in Singapore and also fined for setting off fireworks near housing blocks during Diwali celebrations last year. Jeevan Arjoon (29), bought an assortment of fireworks from Little India Diwali bazaar and unlawfully set off the crackers at 3.30 am on the festival night on November 6, the Straits Times reported on Thursday. Witnesses said the fireworks were loud enough to be heard from the surrounding Housing Board blocks of Yishun. IANS

China to add eco-friendly toilet on Mount Everest

Bejeing: Climbers with pressing needs on Mount Everest will soon find an eco-friendly toilet at a Chinese campsite 7,028 metres (23,058 feet) above sea level in an ongoing campaign to deal with the peak's waste problem. Decades of commercial mountaineering have turned Mount Everest into the world's highest rubbish dump as an increasing number of big-spending mountaineers pay little attention to the ugly footprint they leave behind. AFP

Hitler would have loved social media: Disney CEO

Los Angeles: Disney CEO Bob Iger has called upon US politicians to reject hate in the run up to the 2020 election  and claimed that Adolf Hitler would have loved social media as a tool to spread extremist propaganda. At a dinner organized by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organization, he said: Our politics, in particular, are now dominated by contempt... Hitler would have loved social media. Reuters

Royal bonding

Tokyo: Japans Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko meet well-wishers as they visit Kodomonokuni, or Childrens Land, marking the 60th anniversary of their royal marriage in Yokohama near Tokyo on Friday. REUTERS
editorial@tribune.com

Khartoum, April 12

Sudans ruling military council on Friday promised the country would have a new civilian government, a day after the armed forces overthrew President Omar al-Bashir, but the proposal was immediately rejected by the main protest group.

The council, which is now running Sudan under Defence Minister Mohammed Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf, said it expects a pre-election transition period it announced on Thursday to last two years at most or much less if chaos can be avoided. The council also announced that it would not extradite Bashir to face allegations of genocide at the international war crimes court. Instead he may go on trial in Sudan.

Fridays announcement of a civilian government by the head of the military councils political committee, General Omar Zain al-Abideen, appeared aimed at reassuring angry demonstrators who took to the streets to warn against imposing army rule after Bashirs overthrow.

But the main protest group rejected the proposal, saying the military council was not capable of creating change.

In a statement, the Sudanese Professionals Association restated its demand for power to be handed immediately to a transitional civilian government. Abideen pledged that the military council would not interfere with a civilian government. However he said the defence and interior ministries would be under the councils control.  Reuters
uttara@tribuneindia.com

Khartoum, April 13

Sudan's second new military leader in as many days vowed Saturday to 'uproot' deposed president Omar al-Bashir's regime and release protesters, in a bid to placate demonstrators demanding civilian rule.

"I announce the restructuring of state institutions according to the law and pledge to fight corruption and uproot the regime and its symbols," General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said, a day after he was sworn in to head Sudan's new ruling military council.

He also ordered the release of all prisoners jailed by special emergency courts and the immediate lifting of a night-time curfew imposed by the council earlier this week.

Career soldier Burhan took the helm of Sudan's transitional military council on Friday when his predecessor General Awad Ibn Oufa close aide of ousted veteran president Bashirquit after little more than 24 hours in power.

Burhan also pledged Saturday that individuals involved in the killing of protesters would face justice.

His initial announcements indicated he wanted to show the tens of thousands of protesters on the streets that he is not part of the regime's old guard and was genuinely committed to reform.

The new leader also on Saturday accepted the resignation of the head of the feared National Intelligence and Security Service, Salah Abdallah Mohammed Salihwidely known as Salih Ghoshthe military council announced.

Salih Ghosh had overseen a sweeping crackdown led by NISS agents against protesters taking part in four months of mass demonstrations that led to the toppling of Bashir in a palace coup by the army on Thursday.

Dozens of protesters were killed and thousands of activists, opposition leaders and journalists arrested.

The police said Friday that 16 people had been killed in live fire in Khartoum alone over the previous two days as NISS agents led a desperate last stand for Bashir before the army intervened.

A photograph published by state news agency SUNA had shown Burhan talking with protesters outside army headquarters on Friday, before his elevation to the top job.

Khartoum erupted with joy when Ibn Ouf tendered his resignation on Friday night barely 24 hours after taking the oath of office.

Car horns sounded as jubilant crowds streamed out of their homes chanting: "It fell again, it fell again".

But the organisers of the mass protests called on demonstrators to keep up their week-old vigil outside army headquarters.

Ibn Ouf had served as Bashir's defence minister right up to the president's downfall, after three decades of iron-fisted rule.

A former military intelligence chief, Ibn Ouf remains under US sanctions for his role in the regime's brutal response to an ethnic minority rebellion which erupted in the western region of Darfur in 2003.

Bashir himself came to power in a 1989 Islamist military coup, which toppled an elected government led by Sadiq al-Mahdi.

Burhan is a career soldier who comes with less baggage from Bashir's deeply unpopular rule than Ibn Ouf.

The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), whose grass-roots membership of doctors, teachers and engineers have spearheaded the nationwide protests, hailed Ibn Ouf's departure as "a victory of the people's will".

But it demanded that Burhan swiftly "transfer the powers of the military council to a transitional civilian government".

"If this does not happen we will continue with our sit-in in front of the army headquarters and other towns," the SPA said in a statement.

Bashir remained in custody and his National Congress Party on Saturday called on the military council to release arrested personnel.

"We consider (the) taking of power by the military council as violating the constitution's legitimacy," the NCP said in a statement.

"The NCP rejects the detention of its leaders, among them its acting president" Ahmed Harun, it added, calling for their immediate release.

Outside the Middle East, the formation of a military government to replace Bashir has met with widespread criticism.

The African Union said Bashir's overthrow by the military was "not the appropriate response to the challenges facing Sudan and the aspirations of its people".

The European Union urged the army to carry out a "swift" handover to civilian rule.

Former colonial ruler Britain said that the two-year transition announced by the military "is not the answer"."We need to see a swift move to an inclusive, representative, civilian leadership," said Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Members of the military council have sought to reassure foreign diplomats about its intentions.

"This is not a military coup, but taking the side of the people," the council's political chief Lieutenant General Omar Zain al-Abdin told Arab and African diplomats at a meeting broadcast on state television on Friday.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has long standing arrest warrants against Bashir for suspected genocide and war crimes during the regime's brutal campaign of repression in Darfur.

But the military council has said it would never extradite him or any other Sudanese citizen.  AFP
editorial@tribune.com

Karachi, April 12

At least 21 persons were killed and 50 others injured in a suicide bombing at a crowded market in Pakistans restive Balochistan province on Friday, in an attack believed to be targeting the Shiite Hazara ethnic minority community. Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the attack and ordered an inquiry. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The explosion around 7.35 am took place in the busy wholesale market area of Hazarganj in Quetta where Hazaras and other traders come daily to buy fruits and vegetables to later sell at their shops in other parts of the city.

Deputy Inspector General Abdul Razzaq Cheema said the blast, which occurred when the vegetable and fruit sacks were being loaded onto trucks by the traders, targeted the Hazara ethnic community. However, Home Minister Ziaullah Langove, in a press conference, said the blast was not targeting a specific community.

An Edhi welfare trust rescue official at the scene of the blast said he had counted around 21 bodies being taken to hospitals. At least eight of those killed in the bomb blast are from the Hazara community, Cheema said. The security forces fear the death toll may rise, GEO News reported.

Cheema said security has been provided to shopkeepers and traders at the market. He said around 70 traders had come to the market in different vehicles and were escorted by the FC and Police.  PTI

Ethnic minorities on militants target
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London, April 13

British police say four men from Sri Lanka have been arrested on suspicion of belonging to a banned extremist organisation.

Police said on Friday night they are suspected of violating the Terrorism Act.

The four men are being questioned at a police station in Bedfordshire northeast of London.

Police say the men arrived on an international flight at Luton Airport on Wednesday night.

The men have not been identified and have not been charged. Police say the investigation is continuing.  AP
Government has launched its first deep water bid round since 2014 to advance exploration for energy resources.

But it comes at a time when the latest audit of the countrys natural gas reserves shows a small decline in recoverable resources.
Cars / Yachts

This years Singapore Yacht Show features an impressive range of Asia premieres and a strong range of catamarans from around the world

Apr 13, 2019 | By Yacht Style

Fountaine Pajot launched the Asia premiere of the MY 40 powercat and the enormous Alegria 67 sailing catamaran at the ninth Singapore Yacht Show, while the French builder also showed a Lucia 40 in a big edition for multihulls. The world premiere of the MY 40 was held in late January at Boot Dusseldorf in Germany.

A Lagoon Seventy7 destined for China was another star of the show  hosted by ONE15 Marina in Sentosa Cove from April 11-14  and exhibited along with the Lagoon 50 and 40 models that also premiered at Cannes in 2017, as well as a 450F.

South Africas Leopard also had a biggest multihull display, mixing the 51 PC and 43 PC powercats with its 50 and 40 sailing models, while the popular Aquila 36 built in China and the solar-electric Silent 55 from Austria were also among powercats.

The show was also full of Asia premieres including the Azimut Grande 25 Metri, winner of Best Motor Yacht in Asia (25-30m) at this years Christofle Yacht Style Awards in Phuket and one of two Grande models that premiered at the Cannes Yachting Festival last September.

The new 26.6m (87ft 3in) motoryacht was among five Azimuts on display, along with an 80, 66, 60 and 55 from the Italian yards Flybridge collection. Azimut is represented in Singapore by Hong Kong-headquartered Marine Italia.

Fellow Italian builder Ferretti Yachts also had a strong line-up. The 920, the yards second-largest model, made its Singapore debut and was the largest model in the brands five-strong display coordinated with local dealer Hong Seh Marine.

The 850 and 780, the brands third and fourth biggest models, were also in the water along with the 550 and 450, the yards two smallest builds. The stunning Riva 76 Perseo is another product of the Ferretti Group and was also on display.

The Sanlorenzo SD126, the flagship of the Italian yards semi-displacement range, was also among the Asia premieres at the show and one of the biggest yachts on display at almost 38m in length.

The Sanlorenzo SL86 also made its show debut in Asia and sat beside the SD126 in a display organised by regional dealer Simpson Marine, which worked with multiple brands at the show including Italys Monte Carlo Yachts, displaying an MCY 86.

Princess is traditionally among the biggest exhibitors at the show with dealer Boat Lagoon Yachting and this time the Plymouth builder held three Asia premieres: the Y85 and F45 that debuted at Boot Dusseldorf in January, plus the 50-knot R35 that debuted at Cannes.

The Princess display also included a 30M from the yards superyacht range, a Y75, an S65 and the F70, F62 and F55 from the flybridge class.

The Palm Beach GT50 cruiser showed in Asia for the first time after its world premiere in the US last September.

The fact so many world-leading yacht brands have once again chosen the Singapore Yacht Show as the platform from which to launch their latest models into the Asian market is extremely gratifying, said Andy Treadwell, CEO of Verventia, organiser of the Singapore Yacht Show.

As well as Princess, the British presence was strengthened by Sunseeker, who exhibited a 76 Yacht and a Manhattan 66 as the Poole builder made a return to the show in partnership with new dealers. Furthermore, Fairline is displaying its Squadron 53, an Alberto Mancini design launched in 2017.

The Prestige 630 was among the biggest boats displayed by French builders including others from within the Beneteau Group. The line-up of Beneteau motorboats featured three models from the Gran Turismo series  the GT50, GT46 and GT40  along with an Antares 8 and Flyer 7.7 Sundeck, among the shows smallest models.

Sailing monohulls included the Dufour Grand Large 460 and Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 440, also from French yards.

On land, Italys Benetti again had its own booth, while fellow superyacht builders Lurssen, Amels, Benetti and SilverYachts exhibited in the main pavilion.

It wasnt all about big boats. Along with the Antares 8 and Flyer 7.7 Sundeck, boats under 11m include the Jeanneau Merry Fisher 895, two Boston Whalers and a Silvercraft 36 HT and 31 HT from UAE shipyard Gulf Craft.

Among other attractions, the Floating Leisure Hub returned with a 10m-long floating swimming pool and live demonstrations of new water toys including jetskis, submersibles, inflatables, day boats, fishing equipment and drones.

Superyachts included the 59m expedition vessel Seawolf  bound for Antarctica later this year  the 40.35m Lurssen Be Mine (formerly Leonora) and the 40m Thailand-based La Numero Uno, the first Perini Navi sailing yacht ever built.
Nearly two years into the Covid-19 pandemic, the origin of the virus tormenting the world remains shrouded in mystery.

Most scientists believe it emerged in the wild and jumped from bats to humans, either directly or through another animal. Others theorise it escaped from a Chinese lab.
The Supermarket Association of Trinidad and Tobago (SATT) said that its members will not be 
Do we really expect anyone to take us seriously when we seek reparations for the atrocities 
By Zinyange Auntony in Chipinge, Zimbabwe, and Catherine Wachiaya in Nairobi, Kenya | 25 March 2019 | Espanol | Francais | 

Congolese refugee Deborah Kibangu stands in front of her collapsed home in Tongogara refugee camp, Zimbabwe.  UNHCR/Zinyange Auntony

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is working to dispatch emergency relief items  including tents, tarpaulins, solar lanterns, cooking utensils and other items  to help refugees who lost their homes in parts of Zimbabwe devastated by Cyclone Idai.

The cyclone affected tens of thousands of people when it struck the eastern coast of Southern Africa during the night of 1415 March, causing torrential rain and flooding in parts of Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi.

The refugee agency is working with the governments of the affected countries and other humanitarian partners to assist those in need. These include refugees in Tongogara, Zimbabwe, and the communities hosting them.

One survivor is Deborah Kibangu, 44, who fled to Tongogara to escape conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

My children dont even have a single pair of shoes. Everything was washed away by the rains.

She had built a two-room house for herself and her two children. On Saturday, she stood next to its destroyed walls and surveyed the damage.

My children dont even have a single pair of shoes, she said. Everything was washed away by the rains.

Before the cyclone, my life was hard. Now its just gotten worse, she added.

Zimbabwe's displaced struggle in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai (Vania Turner: videographer / Sifiso Khanyile: camera / Alex St-Denis, editor)

Deborah is one of some 13,000 refugees at Tongogara camp. They and 20,000 residents who live nearby need urgent assistance.

More than 100 people are reported to have died due to the cyclone in Zimbabwe and the government has declared a state of disaster. In Chipinge district, where Tongogara camp is located, over 2,000 refugee houses, mostly built with mud bricks, were completely or partially damaged and over 600 latrines have collapsed.

UNHCR staff on the ground have conducted a rapid assessment to determine the extent of the damage and concluded that there is a danger of waterborne diseases as borehole water is feared to be contaminated by flood waters.

We have compiled emergency shelter and core relief items from our global stock which will be flown into the affected areas immediately, explained Valentin Tapsoba, UNHCRs Regional Director for Southern Africa.

The relief cargo will include items like family tents, plastic tarpaulins, sleeping mats, cooking sets and utensils, jerrycans, buckets, mosquito nets, solar lamps and soap.

Two women walk past a house destroyed during Cyclone Idai's landfall at Tongogara refugee camp in Chipinge district, south-eastern Zimbabwe.  UNHCR/Zinyange Auntony

Two boys stand amid a large pool of water dumped by Cyclone Idai, at Tongogara refugee camp, Zimbabwe.  UNHCR/Zinyange Auntony

Rwandan refugee Magdalena Niragire sits by the rubble of her home partly demolished by torrential rains that pounded Tongogara refugee camp, Zimbabwe.  UNHCR/Zinyange Auntony

A UNHCR worker talks with the family of Magdalena Niragire at Tongogara refugee camp, Zimbabwe.  UNHCR/Zinyange Auntony

We are planning to distribute these critical items to some 30,000 people in dire need," added Tapsoba.

The assistance will come as a huge relief, not least for elderly refugee Magdalena Niragire, who sits among the rubble of her demolished house. The 97-year-old Rwandan lost nearly everything when the cyclone struck.

We are planning to distribute these critical items to some 30,000 people in dire need."

My life is not good. Im always sick and now Ive lost all my property in the rain, she said.

She is lucky to have her family with her and they are trying to rebuild her house.

By responding to this situation and by using our expertise, we continue to demonstrate solidarity with the people of this region, says Tapsoba. For decades, they have hosted refugees and shared their limited resources with them.

UNHCR will continue to support the effort to respond to the urgent needs of the affected, including refugees and their host communities.
Despite Venezuela having officially closed its land borders with neighbouring Colombia and Brazil as of 23 February, thousands of people are still leaving the country daily.

Many are risking their lives in the process, either wading across torrential rivers or risking exploitation and abuse by armed groups controlling treacherous irregular paths.

On Tuesday, security forces on both sides of the border struggled to control the situation as some 46,000 desperate people forced their way across the Simon Bolivar International Bridge between the Venezuelan town of San Antonio de Tachira and the Colombian city of Cucuta.

People were moving in both directions. At one point crowd-barriers were overturned. In the melee, crying babies, distressed small children, exhausted pregnant women, elderly people and people with disabilities were at risk of being crushed or trampled by the crowd. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.

The crowds we have seen this week are a result of the Tachira River swelling, which in turn is making crossings by foot even more dangerous than usual. Since 23 February, when the Venezuelan authorities imposed restrictions on crossing the border, pedestrian traffic at the bridge had dwindled. People instead resorted to using muddy footpaths known as trochas and wading across the Tachira River to get to Cucuta where they work, study, receive medical attention or go to obtain food or medicines unavailable at home. In addition, thousands of Venezuelan refugees and migrants enter Colombia every day to stay or to continue their journeys to other Latin American countries.

With heavy rain having swollen the river and flooded many of the footpaths, the only viable option for most Venezuelans was the bridge.

The situation illustrates the dangers of irregular cross-border movements by people who are desperate. Although by Wednesday the current of the Tachira River had temporarily subsided, the onset of the rainy season means crossings will continue to be highly dangerous.

UNHCR recognizes the efforts of Colombia and other Latin American countries in hosting millions of Venezuelans, and the commitment of the Colombian authorities to promote access to their territory, legal residence and other basic rights for them. In 2018, UNHCR supported the Government of Colombias administrative registration of over 440,000 Venezuelans.

UNHCR works closely with the Colombian authorities, intervening on behalf of individuals with specific protections needs, including women, children and adolescents, the elderly, persons with disabilities, indigenous people and LGBTI groups, and providing specialized services and humanitarian assistance to them. At all the main border crossings UNHCR provides information and legal counselling on how to access refugee status and alternative forms of stay. We also coordinate with other organizations to distribute drinking water, hygiene kits, blankets and light meals to refugees and migrants, and refers the sick to health centres and hospitals. UNHCR also gives technical assistance to relevant authorities to develop an effective coordination and prepare local response plans.

For more information on this topic, please contact:

In Panama City, William Spindler, [email protected] , +41 79 217 30 11

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Huntsman said that maintaining sanctions against Russia is one of the few matters on which both major U.S. political parties agree.

The U.S. ambassador to Russia said Washington was committed to defending Ukraine's territorial integrity, saying the issue of Moscow's annexation of Crimea and the conflict in eastern Ukraine was "a core part of our estrangement with Russia."

In an interview with RFE/RL's Russian Service published on April 13, Jon Huntsman also called on Russia to "engage in a helpful process that will allow the people of Ukraine to see their nation restored," RFE/RL wrote.

Read alsoU.S. Treasury Secretary: "We will continue to use sanctions against Russia"

"We do care deeply about the territorial integrity of Ukraine, which has been badly violated," Huntsman said. "[Moscow's 2014] annexation of Crimea and the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine  it has not been resolved. Nothing has been done in terms of positive steps toward recreating the contours of a whole and free Ukraine."

"It is time to get to the negotiating table and find some solutions, which has not been the case for the last many years," he added.

Huntsman's comments come just over five years after Russia seized the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and then annexed it, a move that has been rejected by the overwhelming majority of United Nations members.

In April 2014, the month after the Crimea annexation, armed men began seizing key buildings in parts of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, and a full-blown war broke out shortly thereafter.

Diplomats and journalists have documented Russia's backing for the fighters, who have battled Ukrainian government-backed forces. More than 13,000 people have died.

The United States, the European Union, and others imposed economic sanctions against Russia following the annexation and the outbreak of fighting, sanctions that remain in place despite indications from U.S. President Donald Trump that he might consider easing them.

Huntsman said that maintaining sanctions against Russia is one of the few matters on which both major U.S. political parties agree.

"This issue, in the United States Senate, has united almost 100 percent of Republicans and Democrats," he said.

The International Criminal Court ruled in November 2016 that the war in eastern Ukraine was "an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation."

In addition to Crimea and the Donbas conflict, Huntsman cited the conclusions of the U.S. intelligence community that Russia sought to meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

And he cited the case of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, whose 2009 death in a Russian prison led to the passage of a U.S. law that has infuriated the Kremlin.

"People uniformly in Congress feel very strongly about these issues and how we should respond," he said.
Tochytskyi says that, on the contrary, the EU has significantly expanded the sanctions list for five years.

Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the European Union Mykola Tochytskyi has denied information about the lifting of sanctions by the European Union against persons close to fugitive ex-President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych and involved in the violation of Ukraine's sovereignty.

"Another attempt to find hot news where there is none. The EU has not taken any decisions to lift the sanctions, and it is not preparing to make them. Die Welt wrote about the sanctions lifted in previous years," he tweeted on April 13, commenting on the relevant publication in the German newspaper Die Welt.

Read alsoU.S. Ambassador to Russia reaffirms support for Ukraine's integrity  media

Tochytskyi said that, on the contrary, the EU significantly expanded the sanctions list.

"Due to Russia's aggression and thanks to the work of the leadership of the state [Ukraine] with the EU leaders, economic sanctions, as well as 'Crimean' and personal sanctions imposed for pseudo-elections in the occupied territories, the construction of the Kerch Strait Bridge, the illegal transportation of Siemens turbines, the seizure of Ukrainian sailors and the crimes committed by the Russian Federation have been significantly expanded during these years," he added.

Die Welt earlier reported, referring to internal documents of the European External Action Service, that the European Union had removed nine persons close to fugitive ex-President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych from its anti-Russian sanctions list, mainly because of insufficient evidence.

As UNIAN reported earlier, in March 2014, the European Union imposed sanctions against 150 people and 37 organizations for actions damaging or threatening territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. The measures include asset freeze and travel bans.

The EU has repeatedly extend the sanctions for another six months. The sanctions list was amended to exclude certain individuals in connection with their death or to expand the list with new persons whose actions threatened Ukraine's territorial integrity.

On March 15, 2019, the list was expanded to include eight Russians, against whom sanctions were imposed following the attack on Ukrainian ships in the Kerch Strait. At the same time, the EU Council removed from the list former head of Yanukovych's presidential administration Andriy Kliuyev since the sanctions against him were lifted in February.

In total, there are currently 170 people and 44 organizations on the European Union's sanction list that damaged Ukraine's territorial integrity and fueled the conflict in the country.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Congress takes the High Road

The Congress manifesto for the upcoming elections has come like the rhapsody of raindrops on a parched landa reformist mani-festo that promises growth and welfare expansions alike and the pledge of a minimum guaranteed income for the poor that has stolen the BJPs thunder. Equally, the portions relating to foreign policy are notable for several bold constructive ideas.

As curtain comes down on the Modi Government, the remains of the day in the foreign policy arena convey an overpowering feeling of barrenness. Succinctly put, Indian diplomacy over the past five years prioritised the extrapolation of PM Modis own political persona on the countrys foreign policy. What ensued was a systematic marginalisation of the foreign policy establishment and its wanton break-up by the PMO into transactional relationships and event management.

Nothing brings home more vividly the surrealism than Modis address to the nation on the ASAT test recently when a defence capability that existed for many years already was reclaimed as achievement in the immediate run-up to the election. These past five years have been one of those extraordinary periods in modern history when the tectonic plates of the established world order began shifting, necessitating adjustments. But during this transformative period, India lurked in the shade. The leadership was preoccupied in excursions with its eye on its core constituency.

Thus, the reaffirmation of the guiding principles of foreign policy in the Congress manifesto comes as a road map to get things back on trackfirm belief in the continued relevance of the policy of friendship, peaceful coexistence, non-alignment, independence of thought and action, and increased bilateral engagement in its relations with other countries of the world. Without doubt, the catchwords are non-alignment and independence of thought and action, which enable India to optimally safeguard its national interests in an international environment of growing poly-centrism. This is where the proposed advisory body, the National Council on Foreign Policy, is needed to resume an inclusive national discourse. Again, the manifesto differentiates Indias relentless fight against terrorism from the practical need to engage Pakistan on pressing bilateral concerns. It highlights Indias special relations with the SAARC countries.

In systematic terms, two striking ideas appear in the Congress manifesto that have a bearing on foreign policyone, giving the National Security Council as well as the post of National Security Adviser a statutory basis, and two, resuscitating the moribund National Security Advisory Board and providing a statutory basis to it as well, so that it becomes a permanent, professional advisory body advising the NSC and the government. These initiatives can be expected to make the three entities accountable to Parliament. Such underpinnings not only enhance the quality of decision-making, but also ensure that intellectual resources and expertise are optimally utilised. Above all, the govern-ments decisions become fully accountable. For instance, the country has a right to know what really happened in Pulwama and in the Balakot attack that followed under a nuclear overhang. But all weve got instead is the PM and associates in the government whipping up jingoism from public platforms, with anonymous government sources planting self-serving versions through media leaks.

However, arguably, the most profound contribution that the manifesto makes is in regard of the approach to the grave situation in J&K. On Modis watch, the cauterised Kashmir wound has become gangrenous and has come to haunt diplomacy, which in turn makes foreign policy more Pakistan-centric. Therefore, it is of critical importance that the Congress manifesto summarily rejects the path of state repression adopted by the Modi Government, which proved futile and has only driven more youth to join the insurgency. Meanwhile, there is also a growing international concern over the prevailing situation in J&K, as apparent in the first-ever rights report by the UN last year calling for international probe.

As the J&K situation deteriorates, the sword of Damocles is hanging over Indias head with the prospect of the Kashmir file reopening after several decades in the UN. Therefore, the manifesto comes like a rescue mission. While waging the fight against terrorism, the door will open for dialogue and reconciliation in a spirit of absolute fairness in dealing with the demands of the people as part of a project of inclusiveness. Importantly, the manifesto proposes the appointment of interlocutors to facilitate talks, changes in the pattern of deployment of forces with focus on border security and stoppage of infiltration completely, and review of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and the Disturbed Areas Act in their present form. Equally, the manifesto pledges that state Assembly elections in J&K will be held immediately. For the Indian diplomacy vis-a-vis cross-border terrorism and tensions with Pakistan or while countering the Pakistani campaign on the Kashmir problem, our most convincing narrative is always that there is a genuine democratic process at work in J&K.

Fundamentally, the manifesto seeks to reverse the militarisation of foreign policy in the past few years. The Congress is under no compulsion to prove its credentials to take tough decisions. But it can afford to be self-assured that soft power is Indias DNA as well as its strategic asset. On the contrary, the BJP, which thrives on the politics of polarisation, cannot compre-hend that this is not only feasible, but only natural for the elected government in Delhi to hold talks without pre-conditions with the alienated people in the Valley.

(Courtesy: www.tribuneindia.com)

Ambassador M.K. Bhadrakumar served as a career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service for over 29 years, with postings including Indias ambassador to Uzbekistan (1995-1998) and to Turkey (1998-2001).
According to the military official, this year inspires optimism regarding the fulfillment of the state defense order.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak says the Armed Forces of Ukraine have recently received 120 new types of equipment that were not previously in service.

Read alsoUkraine successfully tests Neptun missile defense system

"We've introduced 120 new types of equipment that were not in service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine before. We've put over 330 units of weapons and equipment into service, including those in the aviation complex, as well as unmanned aerial systems and combat aircraft, which we purchased. The main thing for us is to see the final goal," he said during an April 13 working trip to the site of permanent deployment of the 58th separate motorized infantry brigade in Konotop, Sumy region.

According to the military official, this year inspires optimism regarding the fulfillment of the state defense order.

"We plan to complete the tests of the ground-launched cruise missile Neptun ["Neptune"]. We've also launched the mass production of [a new generation] Vilkha ["Alder"] multiple launch rocket system and started to test the Vilkha-M missile system. We are working to complete the tests of the Bohdana self-propelled howitzer, to design new reconnaissance systems and intelligence apparatus, as well as electronic warfare systems (EW) and over-the-horizon radars. We plan to deliver them to the Armed Forces of Ukraine to significantly increase their capabilities," Poltorak stressed.

The minister noted two conditions for the said plans to be implemented, that is the irreversibility of Ukraine's path towards the EU and NATO and the ability to effectively use the funds allocated for the defense.
Two invaders were killed and another three were wounded on Friday, intelligence reports say.

Russia's hybrid military forces in the past 24 hours mounted 14 attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas, with one Ukrainian soldier reported as killed in action, and another two as wounded in action.

Read alsoGaining ground: Ukraine Army advances in Donbas "gray zone"

"Russian proxy forces 14 times attacked Ukrainian positions, including seven times using arms proscribed by the Minsk Agreements. The enemy launched a total of sixty four 120mm and 82mm mortar rounds," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation said in an update published on Facebook as of 07:00 Kyiv time on April 13, 2019.

Russian occupation forces opened fire from grenade launchers of various systems, heavy machine guns and small arms to attack Ukrainian defenders of the town of Avdiyivka, as well the villages of Hnutove, Opytne, Novoselivka Druha, Chermalyk, Verkhniotoretske, Lebedynske, Pyshchevyk, Novozvanivka, Troyitske, and Zaitseve.

No enemy shelling was left without an adequate response on the part of Joint Forces, the press center said.

According to intelligence reports, two invaders were killed and another three were wounded.

The Ukrainian Joint Forces also destroyed the BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle of the Russian proxy forces.

From day-start on Saturday, no attacks were recorded on the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

As UNIAN reported earlier, the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) at Minsk peace talks on Donbas is preparing to announce a ceasefire on the occasion of Easter holidays.
No Ukrainian army casualties have been reported from the start of the day.

Russia-led forces on April 13 mounted six attacks on the Ukrainian army's positions in Donbas, including once with the use of weapons proscribed by the Minsk agreements.

Read alsoOne Ukrainian soldier killed, two wounded in Donbas amid 14 enemy attacks in past day

"Russian-occupation forces also fired at positions of JF units using grenade launchers of various systems, large-caliber machine guns, and small arms," the press center of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) said in an evening update on Saturday.

In the zone of responsibility of the Skhid [East] Operational-Tactical Grouping, militants fired at the strongpoints of the Ukrainian troops from 82mm mortars near the village of Novotroyitske; from antitank missile system, automatic grenade launchers, and small arms (twice)  outside Avdiyivka; from grenade launches of various systems  near the village of Pavlopil; and from hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers near the village of Pisky.

There have been no casualties among Ukrainian troops from the start of the day.

"To hostile provocations, JF units gave an adequate response. The enemy's losses are being clarified," the press service said.

The situation in the area of the Joint Forces Operation remains under control of Ukrainian troops, the report said.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Dalits and Decentralised Rural Governance in India: (...)

by Mahi Pal

Introduction

Dr B.R. Ambedkar was one the greatest sons of India who was not only a parliamentarian, scholar of repute and constitutionalist expert but also a crusader for the Dalits in India.1 He struggled throughout his life for establishing such a social order which is based on liberty, equality and universal brotherhood. This requires not only liberty and deliverance of the oppressed, depressed and suppressed, but also establishment of such institutions which are not only democratic but also close to the masses as well as have adequate representation of women and vulnerable sections at various levels of government. For achieving this, decentralised rural governance2 is also very important to create a proper socio-economic development environment for holistic development of each and every individual and the society.

In the above perspective, it is interesting to study how the Panchayats had become a part of the Constitution after the debate in the Constituent Assembly and what were the views of Dr B.R. Ambedkar on the inclusion of Panchayats in the Constitution and how these institutions had become a part of the Constitution. Dr Ambedkar, who was initially opposing inclusion of Village Panchayats in the Constitution, had subsequently accepted the Panchayats inclusion in it. Before the Constituent Assembly debate, he was for the exclusion of Panchayats when the Bombay Panchayat Bill was debated in 1932. What has been the trajectory of the Panchayats since independence and particularly after putting those in Part Nine of the Constitution by the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution in 1993?

At this juncture when a quarter century has elapsed after enactment of the 73rd Amendment, it is important to know whether what Dr Ambedkar had said about the issue seven decades ago has been proved wrong or not. This would be an interesting study of the ideas of local self-government and its implementation at the grassroots. The necessity of exploration of this truth is due to the fact that in the present context affecting the daily lives of the people rural local governments or Panchayats are more relevant than State and Central governments.

The present paper examines the above questions briefly so that the interest of scholars and researchers in this area increases and the reality among the people, particularly intellec-tuals, is also brought to the fore on the question of designating Dr B.R. Ambedkar against the Panchayats.

1. Constituent Assembly Debate and Panchayats

On November 4, 1948 Dr B.R. Ambedkar, while moving a motion in the Constituent Assembly for consideration of the Draft Constitution of India, made certain observations about the village. He quoted Metcalfe who had described the villages thus: Dynasty after dynasty tumbles down. Revolution succeeds revolution. Hindoo, Pathan, Mogul, Maharatha, Sikh, English are all masters in turn but the village communities remain the same. In times of trouble they arm and fortify themselves. A hostile army passes through the country. The village communities collect their cattle within their walls, and let the enemy pass unprovoked. (Jathar, 1964, p. 35) After the above quote he commented: Such is the part the village communities have played in the history of their country. Knowing this, what pride can one feel in them? That they have survived through all vicissitudes may be a fact. But mere survival has no value. The question is on what plane they have survived. Surely on a low, on a selfish level. I hold that these village republics have been the ruination of India. I am, therefore, surprised that those who condemn provincia-lism and communalism should come forward as champions of the village. What is the village but a sink of localism, a den of ignorance, narrow-mindedness and communalism? I am glad that the Draft Constitution has discarded the village and adopted the individual as its unit. (Ibid., 1964, p. 35)

The utterance of the above words by Dr B.R. Ambedkar in the Assembly had triggered a debate on the issue of village panchayats. The views of some of the members on the comments of Dr Ambedkar are given below in order to understand as to how the Panchayats were placed in the Constitution.

Shri Damodar Swarup Seth pleaded for local self-government. Prof S.L. Saksena endorsed the views of Mahatma Gandhi for village Panchayats or village republic. Shri H.V. Kamath also went for the Panchayats and asked that if not the Panchayati Raj, what remedy would Dr Ambedkar suggest for the upliftment of villages. Shri K. Santhanam, while agreeing to some extent with the views of Dr Ambedkar, did not agree with his condemnation of the village panchayats and his statement that they were responsible for all the national disasters. Shri R.K. Sidhwa observed: This is a Constitution prepared for democracy in this country and Dr Ambedkar has negatived the very idea of democracy by ignoring the local authorities and villages... Local authorities are the pivots of the social and economic life of the country and if there is no place for local authorities in this Constitution, let me tell you that the Constitution is not worth considering. (Ibid., 1964, p. 39)

Dr Monomohan Das, although not opposing the village Panchayats, cautioned thatUnless and until our village people are educated, unless and until they become politically conscious, unless they become conscious of their civic rights and responsibilities and unless they become conscious of their rights and privileges, this Village Panchayat system will do more harm than good. (Ibid., 1964, p. 40)

Prof. N.G. Ranga had pleaded for Panchayats in these words: Do we want centralisation of administration or decentralisation? Mahatma Gandhi has pleaded over a period of thirty years for decentralisation. We, as Congressmen, are committed to decentralisation. Indeed all the world is today in favour of decentrali-sation. (Ibid., 1964, p. 41)

The views expressed by various members show that almost all members were for inclusion of Panchayats in the Constitution and therefore disagreed with the views of Dr Ambedkar.

On November 22, 1948, K. Santhanam moved the following motion:

That after Article 31, the following new Article be added. 31A. The State shall take steps to organise village Panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government.

This amendment was immediately assented by Dr Ambedkar in these words: I have nothing more to add. In this way, the motion was adopted unanimously and Article 31A became Article 40 as a part of the Directive Principles of State Policy of the Constitution. (Ibid., 1964, p. 43)

It is may be noted that Dr B.R. Ambeadkar, who was criticising the Panchayats, agreed to the motion moved by Santhanam for inclusion of the village Panchayats in the Constitution.

2. Dr B.R. Ambedkars Views on Panchayats in 1932

It is interesting to study why he had not spoken for the weaker sections space in Panchayats in the Constituent Assembly debate in 1948, while 16 years before the Constituent Assembly debate on October 6, 1932, when the Bombay Village Panchayat Bill was discussed in the Bombay Assembly, he had favoured for a policy of devolution with special provisions for the depressed classes.

To quote Dr Ambedkar, I should like to say at once that I have no objection in principle to the policy of devolution. If it is found that the local boards of this Presidency are overburdened by the functions which are placed upon by the Local Board Act and if by reason of that they are unable to discharge their functions efficiently, then I say by all means institute village Panchayats so as to disburden the local boards. (Moon, 1982, p. 106)

As far as the space for the depressed classes is concerned, Dr Ambedkar commented: The Bill provides that the village Panchayats shall be elected on the basis of adult suffrage both for males and females....but I should like to make it clear... that speaking for the depressed classes, I have not the slightest hesitation in saying that adult suffrage is not sufficient for us. The Honble Minister has forgotten that the depressed classes are in a minority in every village, a miserable minority, and assuming that he adopts adult suffrage, he will readily admit I am sure that adult suffrage cannot convert a minority into a majority. Consequentially, I am bound to insist that if these Panchayats come, there shall be special representation for the minorities. At any rate, there shall be special representation for the depressed classes... I can never accept the principle of self-government for India unless I am satisfied that every self-governing institution has provision in it which gives the depressed classes special representation in order to protect their rights... (op. cit., p. 107)

3. Critique

Initially, Dr Ambedkar opposed inclusion of the Panchayats in the Constitution. But when a number of Members of the Constituent Assembly argued for Panchayats and when Shri Santhanam moved the motion for inclusion of Panchayats in the Directive Principles of State Policy, Dr Ambedkar accepted the inclusion of Panchayats in the Constitution. The reason why Dr Ambedkar accepted Village Panchayats in the Directives Principles of State Policy might be that he had read between the lines that since the Panchayats would be set up on the wishes of the State governments, these institutions would not flourish or get strengthened. And the provisions of Article 40 would largely be confined to the Constitution. The experiences of the functioning of Panchayats after 1932 might have given enough inputs to Dr Ambedkar that if the Panchayats had been made a part of the Directive Principles of State Policy, those would not be strengthened by the political leaders and bureaucrats as they were not interested in making Panchayats strong and pulsating institutions.

It is evident from the functioning of the Panchayats after independence that they could not play any significant role in the development and planning of the life of villagers after 1947. The leaders, who argued and showed enthu-siasm for the development of village Panchayats during the debate in the Constituent Assembly, had not shown any active participation in the development of Panchayats for about a decade. (Jather, 1964, p. 45)

However, from the point of view of the author of this article, Dr Ambedkar should have argued for placing Panchayats in Part IX of the Constitution and suggested to the Constituent Assembly to provide adequate space for vulnerable groups like SCs, STs and women in these institutions. Had it been given to marginalised groups as was given as per the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act after 43 years of coming into force of the Constitution, their conditions would have been far better today. Dr Ambedkar might have seen the plight of marginalised groups in the Panchayats in terms of using their powers and authority by the dominant section of the villages. So, he was averse to the Panchayats. But for this, he might have argued for capacity development support to the elected representatives in general and marginalised groups in particular.

4. Seventythird Amendment Act and Marginalised Groups

As per the provisions of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act 1992, Panchayats have been included in its Ninth Schedule. These have both mandatory and enabling provisions. Mandatory provisions are those provisions which are invariably included in the State Panchayat Acts. Enabling provisions are the provisions which are left to State Legislatures to take a call on those. The reservation for marginalised groups like SCs, STs have been made at all levels of Panchayats. Provisions have also been made for women who would be at least one-third of the total number of seats at the membership and President levels. The seats are to be rotated among different constituencies of a Panchayat.

As per Article 243G of the Constitution, Panchayats would prepare plans for economic development and social justice including 29 subjects listed in the 11th Schedule of the Constitution. These 29 subjects, among others, include agriculture, poverty alleviation pro-grammes, health, education, small scale industries, women and child development, social welfare including welfare of weaker sections, public distribution system and maintenance of community assets.

It is clear from the above that the 73rd Amendment Act has given a framework for empowerment of Panchayats and making them de facto rural local governments.

5. Working of Panchayats from the Perspective of Vulnerable Sections

In this part of the article, experiences of the functioning of Panchayats from the time of independence upto the period of passing of the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution in 1993 and the progress in this regard achieved from 1993 till date are presented.

5.1 Working of Panchayats from Independence upto 1993

There has been space for the vulnerable sections in the Panchayats. There have been provisions for constituting standing committees in the State Panchayat Acts for specifically zeroing in on issues relating to them. But not much has been done concretely for decentrali-sation from the States and Centre to the Panchayats. In the context of the Panchayats and Dalits, the then National Commission for SCs and STs organised a conference. In this conference, what the then Prime Minister had said about Dalits is worth quoting here.

The Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, had at the national conference on Panchayati Raj and SCs during February 24-27, 1989, organised by the National Commission for SCs and STs at New Delhi, summarised the extent of decentralisation that had taken place in the countryside. In his address on February 24, 1989 he said: The issue is that in the event of bestowing of powers how can we ensure to give special strength to the weaker sections of our society in the envisaged structure? I am talking of special strength and not of providing protection. (NCSCST, 1989, p. 40) In his concluding remarks he said: The Harijans and the Adivasis must be having the feeling that a number of obstructionist forces are creating impediments in their development. There are power brokers who are coming in the way of their progress. We want to break these power brokers and bestow powers in the hands of the people. (NCSCST, 1989, p. 40) In his valedictory address on February 27, 1989, he was more specific: We have seen that during the last 40 years whatever we have attempted to do from Delhi or State capitals, the power brokers have affected the goals adversely...Until and unless we are in a position to strengthen your hands, we shall not be able to fight the battle. I am not thinking to pass on this struggle in your hands by means of decentralisation of powers but we would like to fight this struggle along with you unitedly. (NCSCST, 1989, p. 45)

It may be deduced from the above obser-vations of the then Prime Minister that even after four decades of putting Panchayats in the Constitution, still in place of people and their organisations, power brokers have been holding the balance in rural local governance. It may also be stated that what Dr Ambedkar spoke about Indian villages and Panchayats was also true till the passage of the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution.

5.2 Working of Panchayats from 1993 onward

Seven decades have elapsed since Dr B.R. Ambedkar had said in the Constituent Assembly that What is the village but a sink of localism, a den of ignorance, narrow-mindedness and communalism? And 25 years have also elapsed since the Panchayats were elevated from being mere units of self-government to being institutions of self-government and included in Part IX of the Indian Constitution. Importantly, adequate space has also been provided for SCs, STs and women. Besides, the provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 has also been implemented to hand over the economic and social system of the tribals in their hands. It may further be noted that over a period of time the Panchayati Raj System (PRS) has moved from the periphery to the centre-stage of academic research and policy studies.

Experiences revealed that initially partici-pation of SC and ST representatives in decision-making on both governance and developmental issues remained low. But subsequently over three elections, representatives of SCs and STs have been able to air their concerns in the atmos-phere created by the reservation of seats for them. Awareness about their role in rural local governance and their entitlements has promoted collective action to achieve their rights in accessing services like mid-day meal and entitlements like land and resources. Their approach of addressing issues and their solutions has also changed from contestation and resistance to dialogue and problem-solving. (State of Panchayats, 2008-09, p. 105) Such developments have been taking place where civil society has been active in promoting awareness among the Dalits and deprived. But in most of the places the dominant section of the village society has been holding the balance.

Further, an example of constituting Social Justice Committees (SJCs) in Gujarat for the marginalised sections is an example in this regard. A study of SJCs revealed that on the whole, the prevalence and performance of SJCs has not been very encouraging. Generally, panchayats do not yet function with an entitlement approach. They are still very much dependent on the State Government and are largely managed by the bureaucracy at all three levels. (Bhat, 2013, p. 218 in Mathew, 2013)

In addition to the above, on the basis of two very recent micro studies of Uttar Pradesh adequate grassroots evidence shows as to how far decentra-lisation has enabled Dalits to participate in decentralised governance, planning and develop-ment. Siddhartha Mukerji, in his study of three Gram Panchayats of the Gorakhpur district of UP, discloses that all Gram Panchayats (GPs) are headed by Dalits. Out of these, one GP has been headed by an SC woman. The study in its core explores the interplay of money, power and violence as the determining factors in the Panchayat elections. A Panchayat election has emerged as a business deal among three stakeholders, namely, the dominant caste leaders, the proxy candidates, and the voters. Elections involve heavy investment with higher dividend. In reserved constituencies, the dominant castes made direct investment for their proxy candidates. In the above referred GPs, ... an average of Rs 5 lakh-Rs 6 lakh was spent in election campaigning. The proxy candidates were also lured by the financial incentives of pradhans... The voters were paid in cash and kind ... incentive. They were given Rs 2000-Rs 3000 in addition to alcohol and non-vegetarian food for men, and sari and payal for women. The dividend has been managed through grants received under various State and Central Government sponsored schemes.

But it may be also viewed as compulsion on the part of the pradhans and panchayats because as the study pointed out, A pradhan can survive in politics only if he pays commission at different levels of this chain. This includes the gram vikas secretary, the junior engineer, staff at the block level and zilla panchayat. In some cases, greasing the palm of officials has become a compulsion which has been vividly explained by the former pradhan of Devipur, GP as cited in the study. He said: Around 75 per cent of funds allotted goes into paying commission to the Panchayat Secretary, junior engineer, staff at block and Zilla panchayat levels and the rest 25 per cent is used for development work. If the commission is not paid then we would have to run around the Block office and Zilla Panchayat and the files would never be cleared. If there is an honest person nobody would allow him to work. He will be rejected by both the family and society. Honest people also take but very little.

It is evident from the above case study that caste and money factor play an important role in rural local governments. In fact, elected representatives, particularly ward members of Panchayats, have not shown any political will to weed out the existing system of corruption.

The second case study is also from the Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh where the Voters Union (Matadhikar Sangh) has been struggling to usher in de facto Panchayati Raj where the Gram Sabha (village assembly) and its executive body (GP) hold the balance in rural local governance. It is estimated by the Voters Union that about Rs 23,000 is being allotted for each and every member of the GS to be spent with the concurrence of the GS. However, the corrupt officials prepare spurious record of the meetings and siphon off money meant for the members of the GS. Officials charged upto 40 per cent commission for works like housing, pensions, health insurance, construction of roads, drainages, construction of streets, solar lights, etc. It was claimed by P.N. Kalki, who is the main convener of the VU, that on account of showing meetings of the GS on paper out of 24 lakh houseless households four lakh (about 17 per cent) were ineligible households. There was a fraud of Rs 260 crores in the Sitapur district brought out by the VU last year. Not only this, the instructions issued for proper conduct of the meetings of the GS by the Principal Secretary, Government of Uttar Pradesh have not been honoured by officials working as cutting edges. Who are those who need government assistance? They are the poor Dalits, tribals and lower level OBCs. One should not understand that such cases are confined to UP alone.

In view of the above, much groundwork has to be done to disprove what Dr B.R. Ambedkar had said seven decades ago in the Constituent Assembly debate.

The solution lies in bringing more democracy at the cutting edge level. With a rough estimate, there are about one lakh associations and organisnations which are manned by Dalits. These associations should come forward to give support in the form of resource centres3 to presidents and members of Panchayats who belong to vulnerable groups at the local level. Secondly, capacity development of Panchayats in the form of devolution of triple Fs, creation of requisite infrastructure such as Gram Panchayat buildings, internet etc. should be provided on a priority basis. The idea behind these suggestions is that there would be demand among the Dalits for decentralisation. Because at present due to lack of any solid support they are afraid of assisting.4

Conclusion

To conclude, Panchayats have been constitutio-nalised and adequate representation has also been provided to weaker sections of the rural society. But still participation of these sections has been at the periphery. Two case studies given in the article show where the shoe pinches in the context of decentralisation and Dalit empowerment. If Dr B.R. Ambedkar has to be disproved, Panchayats have to be made an integral part of Indian federalism and as the powers of States and the Centre are distributed by the Constitution, in the same way powers between States and Panchayats have to be distributed. Panchayats should not be left to the mercy of the State Legislatures. Powers to those have to be carved out in the Constitution.

References

Jathar, R.V. (1964): Evolution of Panchayati Raj in India, Institute of Economic Research, Dharwar-4.

Moon, Vasant (1982): Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, Writings and Speeches, Vol. 2, Education Department, Government of Maharasthra.

National Conference on Panchayati Raj and Scheduled CastesA Brief Report, National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, New Delhi, February 24-27, 1989, Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

Mahi Pal (2004): HaryanaCaste and Patriarchy in Panchayats, Economic and Political Weekly, 3583-84.

State of Panchayats, 2008-09, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India.

Bhat, Rajesh G. (2013): Gujarat p. 218 in State of Panchayati Raj in States and UTs of India, Institute of Social Sciences, (ed.) G. Mathew.

Mahi Pal (2017): The Panchayati Raj factor in Gujarat Assembly election results, The Indian Express, December, 28.

Mahi Pal (2018): Dalits feel helpless!, Sopan, October, 2018.

Mukerji, Siddhartha (2018): The 2015 Gram Pradhan Elections in Uttar PradeshMoney, Power, and Violence, Economic and Political Weekly, June.

Footnotes

1. Dalits denotes depressed, suppressed and oppressed sections of rural India. Broadly, SCs, STs, most backward classes and women come under the Dalit fold.

2. Governance means collective action with the involve-ment of people, civil society, government and markets. Here decentralised rural local governance denotes governance through the Panchayati Raj Institutions.

3. These centres provide access to information about various aspects of Panchayati Raj and guidelines of various rural development programmes. These would act as beacons for the Dalits empowerment and entitlements.

4. In a number of places in rural areas, the author asked the Dalit youth to motivate members of GPs to partake in the meetings of GP and GS. Their reply is log darte hai (people are afraid).

Dr Mahi Pal is a former officer of the Indian Economic Services and an expert in local governance.
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Ambassador of Kazakhstan Barlybay Sadykov has invited Karachi business community to set up business units including joint ventures in his country, which offers a lot of opportunities including duties exemptions for up to five years and one-window facility for foreign investors

KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Apr, 2019 ) :Ambassador of Kazakhstan Barlybay Sadykov has invited Karachi business community to set up business units including joint ventures in his country, which offers a lot of opportunities including duties exemptions for up to five years and one-window facility for foreign investors.

"Kazakhstan's economy was rapidly growing and we had attracted foreign investments of $300 billion. We were also ranked 28th position by World Bank for Ease of Doing Business," Kazakhstani Ambassador said while speaking at a meeting with office bearers of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) here at the chamber, said a KCCI press release on Friday.

He said although the population of Kazakhstan stood at 80 million, which was less than the population of Karachi yet easy access was being provided to the huge population in Eurasia including that of China and Russia, he added.

General Secretary Businessmen Group in Karachi Chamber, A.Q Khalil, President of KCCI Junaid Esmail Makda, Senior Vice President Khurram Shahzad, Vice President Asif Sheikh Javaid and KCCI Managing Committee Members attended the meeting.

The Ambassador said Kazakhstan was one of the largest economies of Central Asia with abundant oil, gas, metals, uranium titanium and other mineral resources while European Union, the United States, Russia and China were the main trading partners of Kazakhstan.

He informed that Kazakhstan also had an excellent human resource base and its population was highly educated with 100 percent literacy rate, There were some of the best universities of the world as they adopted the Soviet education System, which was very advanced.

He emphasized that Pakistani businessmen must take advantage of the unique business opportunities offered by Kazakhstan, as it would not only help them earn huge profits but would enhance the volume of bilateral trade between the two countries.

He said, "We want to diversify Kazakhstan's economy and are open for any kind of business and joint ventures.

We want to transform our country to an industrial and agricultural state." The Ambassador pointed out that although Pakistan and Kazakhstan have strong cultural,political and religious relationship since long yet the economic and trade relations were not so well. Hardly, he continued, the volume of bilateral trade was only Dollars 28 million.

The low trade volume between the two countries was mainly due to lack of information about the potential sectors and available opportunities, which required collective efforts from both sides to create a win-win situation for both the countries, he added.

KCCI President Junaid Esmail Makda, in his welcome remarks, said as Pakistan had been facing energy crises and Kazakhstan could help in dealing with this issue. Both countries could come up with some kind of an agreement pertaining to electricity and gas supply from Kazakhstan, which is blessed with abundant natural resources including gas, uranium, precious metals and minerals.

He also sought the Ambassador's assistance in identifying numerous areas of cooperation and potential sectors so that the business community of Karachi could look into the possibility of introducing their products and services in Kazakhstani market which would surely help in enhancing the existing trade volume between the two countries.

He said that the business community of Kazakhstan could also look into the possibility of setting up their business units in Karachi, which has two fully operational ports and was easily accessible because of its strategic location.

Underscoring the need for establishing air and land connectivity between the two countries, the President of KCCI further advised Kazakhstan to become part of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, which would provide the shortest route through the newly developed Gwadar Port.
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Honorary Consul of Pakistan in Germany Matthias Theis said on Saturday that Pakistan could win global market by ensuring participation in trade fairs and exhibitions in Germany

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Apr, 2019 ) :Honorary Consul of Pakistan in Germany Matthias Theis said on Saturday that Pakistan could win global market by ensuring participation in trade fairs and exhibitions in Germany

Talking to business community here at Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), he added that strong liaison between Chambers of Commerce and Industry and business institutions of the two countries would definitely enhance the mutual trade volume.

Matthias Theis said, "Pakistani businessmen must attend trade and business events in Europe," citing that biggest trade fairs in Germany were playing a crucial role in boosting the German exports. Participation of Pakistani businessmen in these trade fairs and exhibition would help them find new business partners besides introducing their products to the world.

He said, Pakistani business community would have to adopt a strong strategy as customers in European Union were not only quality conscious but also very selective in making deals with other countries.

On this occasion, LCCI Acting President Khawaja Shahzad Nasir said that Pakistan and Germany were steady trading partners. "Germany comes at 11th place among the top importing countries and at 5th among top exporting countries for Pakistan. It is good to see that level of two-way trade is increasing year by year. It was Dollar 2.4 billion in 2017 and went up to dollar 2.62 billion in 2018," he maintained.

Pakistani entrepreneurs should ensure maximum participation in the international trade fairs and exhibitions to enhance their exposure about fast changing trend in international trade.

He said, Pakistan and Germany had very cordial diplomatic relations and were steady trading partners heading towards finding new avenues of trade and investment. "Germany is one of the few trillion economies in the world and we are glad to have trade and investment relations with Germany," he added.

Khawaja Shahzad said, Germany happened to be one of the major trading partners of Pakistan in European Union, and Pakistani business community was grateful to Germany for supporting Pakistan with regard to GSP Plus status.

LCCI Vice President Faheem-ur-Rehman Saigal said, "We look up towards Germany to further help us in fulfilling the rising needs for energy in Pakistan as Germany has earned good name in the field of alternative energy solutions in the world." He invited the German investors to avail trade and investment opportunities in Pakistan through joint ventures with their Pakistani counterparts. Pakistan offered a great potential for foreign investment by way of having a strategic location with abundant raw materials and cheapest labour force, he mentioned.

He said that German investors could benefit a lot from oil & gas, food & food processing, cold chain system, dairy processing and engineering etc. He also praised the efforts made by certain German organizations in the field of technical and vocational training in Pakistan.

Jameel A. Naaz, LCCI Executive Committee Members Mian Zahid Javed, Dr. Shahid Raza, Shahzad Aslam and Aqib Asif were also present.
Clear sight in the data fog with PAGA

The fate of individual cells in the body is relevant in many ways. Researchers want to study developmental processes and understand how diseases progress. "Experiments generate large data sets, which is to say big data," explains Professor Fabian Theis, Director of the Institute of Computational Biology (ICB) at Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen and professor of Mathematical Modelling of Biological Systems at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). Researchers gather information not only about cells per se** but also about their interactions with other cells and other tissue types. "Previously, however, it was not possible to model complex processes at the cellular level in a clear and comprehensible manner."

PAGA interprets big data

So far, researchers have taken two approaches to data analysis. Either they searched for cells with similar properties and grouped them (clustering), or they described the timing of cells along their developmental pathways (trajectory inference). "If you look at the data through these very different lenses, divergent and unclear interpretations inevitably arise," adds Alex Wolf, who until recently headed a machine learning team at the ICB. "PAGA does everything that clustering and trajectory inference can do in a single analysis, with a single method and with a single consistent modeling approach." Depending on the desired resolution, the tool groups cells by type (such as skin cells) and biological state (such as cells in undergoing mitosis) and reveals transitions between cell types and states.

Use in research

In recent months, several articles have been published that show the possibilities PAGA opens up. Mireya Plass of the Max Delbruck Center of Molecular Medicine within the Helmholtz Association together with Wolf and colleagues reconstructed the first cellular lineage tree of an adult animal*** - an achievement the journal Science hailed as one of the foremost scientific breakthroughs of 2018****. Recently, a team headed by Blanca Pijuan-Sala of Cambridge University used PAGA to reconstruct the developmental processes of a mouse embryo*****. Other papers show that PAGA delivers important results in a clinical context. Using PAGA to determine the lineages of intestinal cells, researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard gained an understanding of the different cellular contributions to chronic inflammatory bowel disease******. Theis also sees great future potential in the tool: "Basically, any biological phenomenon that can be attributed to a cellular process can be analyzed with PAGA as soon as the data are available."

###

Further information

Original publication:

Wolf FA et al (2019): PAGA: graph abstraction reconciles clustering with trajectory inference through a topology preserving map of single cells, doi: 10.1186/s13059-019-1663-x, Link: https:/ / genomebiology. biomedcentral. com/ articles/ 10. 1186/ s13059-019-1663-x; doi.org/10.1186/s13059-019-1663-x

* PAGA is short for partition-based graph abstraction (PAGA), a method that reconciles various approaches such as cell grouping by properties and development over time.

** This includes the transcriptome (the sum total of all active genes), the proteome (the sum total of all proteins formed), morphology (the appearance of a cell) and the epigenome (the sum total of all changes to DNA and histones, special protein in the cell nucleus).

*** Plass M et al (2018): Cell type atlas and lineage tree of a whole complex animal by single-cell transcriptomics, doi: 10.1126/science.aaq1723

**** Link: https:/ / vis. sciencemag. org/ breakthrough2018/

***** Pijuan-Sala B et al (2019): A single-cell molecular map of mouse gastrulation and early organogenesis, doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-0933-9

****** Smillie CS et al, Rewiring of the cellular and inter-cellular landscape of the human colon during ulcerative colitis, doi: 10.1101/455451

Related News:

01.04.19

New machine learning model describes dynamics of cell development https:/ / www. helmholtz-muenchen. de/ en/ aktuelles/ latest-news/ press-information-news/ article/ 46086/ index. html

As German Research Center for Environmental Health, Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen pursues the goal of developing personalized medical approaches for the prevention and therapy of major common diseases such as diabetes mellitus, allergies and lung diseases. To achieve this, it investigates the interaction of genetics, environmental factors and lifestyle. The Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen has about 2,300 staff members and is headquartered in Neuherberg in the north of Munich. Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen is a member of the Helmholtz Association, a community of 19 scientific-technical and medical-biological research centers with a total of about 37,000 staff members. https:/ / www. helmholtz-muenchen. de/

The Institute of Computational Biology (ICB) develops and applies methods for the model-based description of biological systems, using a data-driven approach by integrating information on multiple scales ranging from single-cell time series to large-scale omics. Given the fast technological advances in molecular biology, the aim is to provide and collaboratively apply innovative tools with experimental groups in order to jointly advance the understanding and treatment of common human diseases. https:/ / www. helmholtz-muenchen. de/ icb

The Technical University of Munich (TUM) is one of Europe's leading research universities, with around 550 professors, 41,000 students, and 10,000 academic and non-academic staff. Its focus areas are the engineering sciences, natural sciences, life sciences and medicine, combined with economic and social sciences. TUM acts as an entrepreneurial university that promotes talents and creates value for society. In that it profits from having strong partners in science and industry. It is represented worldwide with the TUM Asia campus in Singapore as well as offices in Beijing, Brussels, Cairo, Mumbai, San Francisco, and Sao Paulo. Nobel Prize winners and inventors such as Rudolf Diesel, Carl von Linde, and Rudolf Mobauer have done research at TUM. In 2006 and 2012 it won recognition as a German "Excellence University." In international rankings, TUM regularly places among the best universities in Germany.https:/ / www. tum. de/

Contact

Communication Department

Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen -

Deutsches Forschungszentrum fur Gesundheit und Umwelt (GmbH)

Ingolstadter Landstrae 1

85764 Neuherberg

Germany

Phone: +49 89 3187-2238

E-Mail: presse@helmholtz-muenchen.de

Scientific Contact

Dr. Dr. Alexander Wolf

Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen

Institute of Computational Biology (ICB)

Ingolstadter Landstr. 1

85764 Neuherberg

Tel. +49 89 3187-3369

E-mail: alex.wofl@helmholtz-muenchen.de

This story has been published on: 2019-04-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Emil Ghitulescu, the charge daffaires of the Romanian Embassy in Vietnam. (Photo: Romanian Embassy in Vietnam)

So said Emil Ghitulescu, the charge daffaires of the Romanian Embassy in Vietnam on The gioi & Vietnam (The World and Vietnam) newspaper ahead of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phucs visit to Romania from April 14-16

Reporter: Could you please share the priorities of the Romania  Vietnam relationship?

Mr. Emil Ghitulescu: The visit by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to Romania is the first of a Vietnamese Government leader to Romania since the Romanian Revolution in 1989.

Vietnam is an important and traditional partner of Romania in Southeast Asia. The Vietnam  Romania relationship is looking towards the following targets: an increase in bilateral trade cooperation; the promotion of the signing of the Vietnam  EU free trade agreement (EVFTA); an increase in procedures of exports of Romanias animal goods into the Vietnamese market; and the development of relationships between cities and localities.

Reporter: What are some outstanding cooperative projects between the countries, in your opinion?

Mr. Emil Ghitulescu: Vietnam  Romania trade turnover reaches over USD200 million per year, with over USD300 million in 2016. Romanias exports to Vietnam are mainly products made from plants, cereal, fertilizer, pharmaceutical products, textile and garment, machines, electronic equipment and devices, food, and animal meat products. Meanwhile, Romania imports mainly machines, electronic equipment and devices, metal, textile and garment, footwear, coffee, tea and species from Vietnam.

We hope to cooperate with Vietnam in specific energy products based on the memorandum of understanding between SNTGN Transgaz and PetroVietnam signed in 2016 during Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos visit to Hanoi.

Romanias Tulcea County and Vietnams Ben Tre province are developing initiatives in accordance with Danube-Mekong cooperation, in a project to create a pilot biodiversity conservation area for sustainable ecotourism. The two sides are also establishing an information center for tourism development in the Mekong River Delta. Additionally, there are diverse projects between Romania and Vietnam in culture, education, science and technology.

Both Romania and Vietnam are candidates for non-permanent seats in the United Nations Security Council term 2020-2021. The two countries also support each other at international organizations and forums.

Reporter: How are your feelings on working in Vietnam?

Mr. Emil Ghitulescu: Wonderful! Vietnam is like home to me. Romania has trained nearly 4,000 Vietnamese university graduates and post-graduates who have made remarkable contributions to Vietnams development and are links between the two countries.

Personally, I love Hanoi and Ha Long cities. I have come here with my wife for several weeks after the working term in Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Philippines, Sudan and Venezuela. We start learning the Vietnamese language as we love Vietnamese, who are generous and friendly.

We wish Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc a successful visit to Romania.

Reporter: Thank you very much!
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > How Ambedkar makes us Richer

IMPRESSIONS

The Hindus wanted Vedas, and they sent for Vyasa, who was not a caste Hindu. The Hindus wanted an epic, and they sent for Valmiki, an untouchable. The Hindus wanted a Constitution, and they have sent for me. That was B.R. Ambedkar at his biting best. He went on to underline an existential misfortune of India: The greatest tragedy of the Hindi belt is that the people of that region discarded Valmiki and installed Tulsidas.

That was his way of saying that the impact of Ramcharitmanas was negative compared to that of Ramayana. Valmiki told a human tale without propagating any selective morality. Tulsidas turned that tale into a religious text with sanitised spiritual tenets for devotees to follow. Shrewdly, Ambedkar showed why the Hindi belt was culturally different, and less tolerant, than the rest of India.

Ambedkar has become a message, as only Mahatma Gandhi has. After their passing, a difference between the two messages slowly developed. Gandhism has been largely contained within its symbolic value, while Ambedkarism has developed into a cult inspiring a growing movement for social and political advancement. The number of Ambedkar statues across India bears witness to it.

And why not, when his observations on various issues continue to strike us as unusually perceptive? Yet another collection of these comments is presented in the Navayana publication rather bafflingly titled, Ambedkar: The Attendant Details. It is a collection of reminiscences that bristle with sagacity, humour and sheer wisdom. We get a peep into many aspects of his lifehis poverty, his addiction to books, his illiterate wifes rustic ways, his Dalit admirers. Even though I had become a barrister, he recalls, the thought of practising law in Bombay made me nervous. No solicitor would accept me as his junior. Finally I took up a job in a commerce college for 150 rupees per month. I faced opposition from various quarters. I gave 50 rupees to my wife for domestic expenses.

His wife, Ramabai, was a product of timeless traditions. She would walk two miles with a basket of dung cakes on her head, ignoring taunts by local women that the wife of Mr Barrister was carrying dung on her head. Mr Barrister for his part described Ramabais unique method of financial management. She would take 30 pieces of paper, put one-and-a-half rupees in each and keep it tied up in a piece of cloth. She kept five rupees aside for contingencies. Come what may, she would never spend more than the contents of one paper packet in one day.

Ambedkar got married when he was 17. But he was Ambedkar and he went on with his education. He used to tell his followers to avoid early marriage so that they could focus on education. Books were his lifelong passion. A follower counted 8000 books in his house in 1938. When Ambedkar died 18 years later, there were 35,000 books. He would have books on the bed, on side tables near it, on the floor, on his chest as he dozed off.

There was a rush of religious suitors when Ambedkar declared his intention to leave Hinduism. The Nizam of Hyderabad offered Rs 5 crores if he and his followers embraced Islam. The authorities of the Golden Temple explained to him about the equality that prevailed in Sikhism. Christians tried a trick.

The British bishop of Bombay took the highfalutin position that there was no point in conversion without conviction. At the same time other bishops, all Britons, wooed him with promises of Jesus Christs blessings. Ambedkar had no difficulty in turning away from the bishops because he knew that the caste system was a reality in Christianity, too. One of the most learned men of his time, Ambedkar knew that Buddhism was the right refuge for him.

Included in the book are excerpts from a diary kept by Devi Dayal, who looked after Ambedkars books and sundry household tasks. The title of the diary proclaims its uniqueness: Daily Routine of Dr Ambedkar. It tells you all about what Babasaheb ate for breakfast (toast, eggs and tea), how he carried newspapers to the dining table, marking items with a red pencil to be cut and preserved, how he could recall from memory which cutting was in which file kept in which cupboard. The Dalit feminist writer, Urmila Pawar, sums things up in her foreword by saying, The more we see him in the round, the richer we become, a point that can be made about no leader alive today.
Estonia on Friday said it had blocked a Russian training ship from entering its waters because those on board include cadets from Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014

Tallinn, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Apr, 2019 ) : Estonia on Friday said it had blocked a Russian training ship from entering its waters because those on board include cadets from Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014.

The EU member's foreign ministry denied the STS Sedov sailing vessel permission on Wednesday after learning that it was carrying students from a maritime university based in Crimea.

"Estonia does not recognise the illegal annexation of Crimea and, in our estimation, issuing a permission to the training ship would have contradicted the Crimea annexation non-recognition policy," ministry spokeswoman Sandra Kamilova told AFP.

The EU considers Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea to be illegal and demands that it be reversed.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova took to Twitter to describe the move as an "unfriendly and provocative step".

According to Russian media, the ship was headed Friday towards Poland's port of Gdynia.

The diplomatic spat comes just days before a planned Moscow visit by Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid to open the renovated Estonian embassy there and to meet counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Relations between Moscow and Tallinn have been fraught since Estonia broke free from the crumbling Soviet Union in 1991, joining both the EU and NATO in 2004.

More recently Estonia and fellow Baltic states Latvia and Lithuania have been spooked by their Soviet-era master's annexation of Crimea and its more aggressive stance in what Moscow considers to be its own backyard.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Honouring Ambedkar

From N.C.s Writings

April 14, 2019 marks the 128th birth anniversary of Dr Babasaheb Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar. On this occasion we are reproducing the following piece by N.C. to offer our sincere homage to the abiding memory of that towering personality.

The award of the Bharat Ratna posthumously on B.R. Ambedkar raises mixed feelings. No doubt Ambedkar was one of the stalwarts of modern India; the high water-mark of his career was that he contributed most to the drafting of the Indian Constitution and piloting it through the Constituent Assembly. There is, therefore, a touch of irony in Ambedkar being awarded the Bharat Ratna 40 years after he eminently deserved it when the Constitution came into force in 1950.

Not only that. All these years, there has hardly been any recognition for him or his memory from those enthroned in power. That was largely because Ambedkar never belonged to the exclusive circle of the Congress leadership. Rather, in the thirties, he had to face angry diatribes and vilification at the hands of the Congress leaders, many of whom did not hesitate to malign him as a stooge of the British Raj.

But he was no toady of the Raj. Ambedkars antipathy towards the Congress leadership arose mainly because of his concern for the millions of untouchables in the country. He discovered that while the poor and the downtrodden responded to Gandhijis call for satyagraha against the Raj, the Congress bosses treated them shabbily in the social hierarchy. This gap between the profession and practice of the national leaders embittered Ambedkar who throughout his life remained a steadfast friend, philosopher and guide of the millions of untouchable outcasts in our society.

The clash with the Congress leadership came in the early thirties as the talks for constitutional reforms started with the British Government. At that time, Ambedkar challenged the Congress claim to speak on behalf of the untouchables. This was resented by the Congress leaders who, even the best of them, turned hostile to Ambedkar. But Ambedkar stuck to his guns.

Gandhiji understood the significance of the Ambedkar phenomenon, because he saw in it the alienation and isolation of the untouchable community from the mainstream of the freedom struggle represented by the Congress. He paid special attention to the untouchables, whom he called the Harijans to boost their self-respect. He himself underlook the Temple entry movement thereby seeking to break the ban by Hindu orthodoxy upon the untouchables entering the temples to pray.

Although Gandhijis movement did create a stir among the untouchables, it could not shake Ambedkars hold upon the depressed class community. He demanded a separate electorate for the untouchables, marked out in a special schedule of the British Governments reforms plan for India. Gandhiji opposed tooth and nail the idea of a separate electorate for the Scheduled Castes, and went on a fast unto death over the issue. Finally, after protracted negotiations, the Congress leaders brought Ambedkar around to a compro-mise formulaa joint electorate but reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes.

After this, the Congress attempt was to boost some leader from among the Scheduled Castes who could challenge Ambedkars hold over the depressed class community. A young Harijan graduate from Bihar picked up by Rajendra Prasad was groomed by Gandhiji himself. Thus began the political career of Jagjivan Ram.

But Jagjivan Ram, though influential in the Scheduled Caste community, could hardly dislodge Ambedkar from his standing as the supreme leader of the depressed caste community.

After independence, particularly after the passing of the Constitution which had specifically banned untouchability, Ambedkar had hoped that the era of social inequity would now end. When he found that the upper-caste domination not only continued as before in Hindu society but was reinforced by the higher castes getting affluent and powerful, leaving the untouchables in a state of destitution, Ambedkar in a state of thorough disenchantment left the Hindu fold and embraced Buddhism, as it enjoins social equality. He died embittered as he found that despite all his labours, untouchability persisted in the land of his birth.

It is in this background that one views the award of the Bharat Ratna to the memory of Ambedkar as a cynical gesture on the part of the government. One felt that this award has come more with an eye on the votes of his followers rather than as a genuine acknowledgement of the services of this great son of India to the cause of the uplift of the downtrodden.

(Mainstream, April 21, 1990)
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Narendra Modi, the chowkidar of the Elite

by Mahi Pal Singh

When he contested the parliamentary elections in 2014 for the first time, Narendra Modi claimed to be a chaiwala, referring to his humble beginning as a child, so that ordinary people would identify with him and vote for him. He and his party did get 31 per cent votes which were sufficient for them to come to power under the multi-cornered and the present system of election in which the candidate getting the highest number of votes amongst the contestants is declared a winner, however low percentage of votes he/she may get. His claim of being a chaiwala at that time was a blatant lie because just before that he had been the Chief Minister of Gujarat for 12 years and his status, standard of living and position in society had changed drastically from his childhood when he might have been a chaiwala. Most of the people in this country, and elsewhere, have come from very humble backgrounds and most of them remain in the same position throughout their lives while some rise from that position and acquire good positions but rarely flaunt their humble beginning as Mr Modi has been doingonly for votes and retaining the position he has reached. However, he won the elections in 2014 and became the Prime Minister of the country but primarily people had voted then against the corrupt Congress regime and the BJP won by default being the only visible and viable alternative at that time. Nobody knows how many sympathy votes he got through the chaiwala gimmick.

Before the 2019 elections Modi has invented another name for himselfchowkidarin fact he has launched the main bhi chowkidar, I am also a chowkidar, campaign (called a hollow rhetoric by the sitting BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha who has now joined the Congress)again with the purpose of identifying with the lowest strata of society and winning the sympathies of ordinary people and getting their votes. This again is a blatant lie, even bigger than his earlier lie of being a chaiwala because this so claiming chowkidar has not only been a CM for 12 years but also the Prime Minister of the country for five years. He does not even know how an ordinary chowkidar makes both his ends meet with the meagre pittance he earns keeping awake all night and crying repeatedly jagte raho. He wears rejected and worn-out clothes people charitably offer to him and not the 10 lakh rupee worth coat which Mr Modi used to flaunt after becoming the Prime Minister; the poor man has to travel on foot or at most on a bicycle whereas his big brother has spent half his tenure as the Prime Minister travelling the whole world in VIP aeroplanes, more than any other earlier Prime Minister, and the other half, of course, addressing election rallies. His calling himself a chowkidar is an insult to all the chowkidars or ordinary people of this country because if at all he is a chowkidar, he is not the chowkidar or protector of the life, property and interests of the ordinary people but the chowkidar of the Adanis and Ambanis whose interests he has been protecting and promoting sincerely and arduously throughout his five- year term. If being a chowkidar means being in a position in which he is himself today, a really envious position for anyone to be in, almost everyone in this country will envy him and wish to attain his position. I have said almost everyone because there are still many honourable people who would not like even to become a Prime Minister only to act as the chowkidar of the interests of the top billionaires of the country, grossly neglecting the interests of the toiling masses.

He had come to power on the promise of fighting and controlling the menace of corruption and black money and bringing back the illegal money stashed in foreign banks. Every citizen of the country, except the votaries of the Hindutva ideology knows well that right from the clerical level, police, corporation offices etc. to the highest level corruption has only increased. His move of demonetisation of high currency notes, in the name of unearthing black money and controlling terrorism by drying up the coffers of those financing terrorism, completely failed to achieve those goals, if they really were the goals. Most people are of the opinion that the introduction of Rs 2000 currency note only proved a facilitator for black marketers. Even the Prime Ministers Office is under the shadow of corruption in the purchase of Rafale fighter jets from France, the Prime Minister and other important Ministers in his Ministry have been speaking and acting in a manner which leaves much for suspicion exactly in the same manner as the then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, and his Ministers were acting when there were charges of corruption against them in the purchase of Bofors guns. At that time the Congress party was not accepting the demand of the Opposition for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) investigation and now the BJP has scuttled every effort by the Congress and other Opposition parties for a JPC probe into the Rafale purchase deal. Only the players have changed this time.

The menace of black money has acquired gigantic proportions during the Modi regime as never before. Go for purchase of any property, say, for example, in Delhi and you will know that today you have to shell out more black money than white for it. And of course, the poll promise of bringing back black money from foreign banks has proved a complete fiasco in the same manner as the assurance of bringing in the culprits of terrorist attacks to India from across the borders and punishing them.

In fact, this governments intention to fight terrorists, whether internal or external, invites serious doubts because on March 22, 2019 those accused of Samjhauta train bomb blasts, in which 68 persons had been killed, a greater tragedy than even the Pulwama tragedy in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed in a terrorist attack, have been acquitted by a court merely because the prosecution which was under pressure of top political leaders as all of them belonged to the Hindutva outfits, did not present its case and evidence before the court seriously. Those set free included Swami Assemanand as well. Justice was expected to evade the victims of the Samjhauta train blast tragedy under the RSS/BJP rule because the top leadership of the BJP was sympathetic to them, and also the accused in the Malegaon and Ajmer bomb blasts, from the very beginning and used to visit the accused in jail. And now Rajnath Singh, the Union Home Minister, has come out with a statement that the government would not file an appeal against the acquittal of Aseemanand. That proves beyond any doubt on whose side the present BJP Government ison the side of the terrorists, of course if they happen to belong to the Hindutva outfits, or the ordinary citizens of the country.

The bogusness of Mr Modis poll promise of ending corruption also stands exposed, parti-cularly corruption in high echelons of power, from the very fact that he has ensured that the Lokpal is not appointed at the Centre during his tenure as the Prime Minister. It is the institution of the Lokpal that could have enquired into complaints against top political functionaries like the Central Ministers and exposed corruption in the functioning of the government. Anyone who hinders the process of appointment of the Lokpal or Lokayakuta cannot rightfully claim to be against corruption. We cannot forget that cases of corruption against the BJP Ministers, the Reddy brothers, and the Chief Minister, B.S. Yeddyurappa, had come to light in Karnataka through enquiries by the Lokayukta, Justice Santosh Hegde, there.

The Lokpal has now been appointed at the fag end of the tenure of the present Lok Sabha and the government. There is no other authority who could have enquired into cases of corruption against the Prime Minister and his Ministers. So Mr Modis Ministers have been saved from any enquiry of corruption against them. In the absence of any enquiry against them, they can all, including the Prime Minister himself, claim to be non-corrupt. Mr Modi is an adept hand at ensuring that no enquiries can be held against him and his Ministers. As the Chief Minister of Gujarat also he had ensured that the Lokayukta did not get appointed during his 12-year tenure as the Chief Minister. That should by itself speak volumes against his claim of being non-corrupt.

The saying goes that Caesars wife should also be above suspicion but the non-appointment of the Lokpal by the Modi Government has failed to keep him and his ministerial colleagues above suspicion. By hindering an enquiry against a police officer on charges of corruption by the Delhi Government led by Arvind Kejriwal, and taking away the control of the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi Police from the Delhi Government, which could enquire into cases of corruption against government officials, particularly police officials, the Modi Government clearly appeared to be on the side of the corrupt by not letting the Delhi Government act against the corrupt. Corruption in Delhi Government offices is intact today because of the uncalled for interference of the Modi Government for political reasons and the people of Delhi hold the Modi Government responsible for it. Public memory is said to be short, but not so if their everyday lives are affected seriously and adversely.

Only a few years ago the BJP used to call itself a party with a difference. But in making promises and breaking or forgetting them after winning the elections it is no different from other parties. As per a report released on March 15, 2019 at Varanasi, it has come to light that Namami GangeNational Mission for Clean Ganga project, worth Rs 2000 crores, by the Union Government to clean, conserve and rejuvenate Ganga has failed and the quality of Ganga water has worsened in the last three years. According to data collected by an NGO, Sankat Mochan Foundation (SMF), there is a significant rise of coliform bacteria and biological oxygen demand, which are important parameters to check the quality of water. It should not be difficult to imagine where all the money earmarked for the purpose has gone.

What is surprising is that the pre-election discourse has slid down from discussion on the 2014 poll promises of controlling corruption and black money, bringing in achhe din, sabka saath, sabka vikas, profitable price of the produce to the farmers, one crore employment every year to the unemployed, lifting the living condition of poor people and ensuring national as well as internal security of the people and for this slide the ruling party leaders, including the Prime Minister, Mr Modi, are mainly responsible. The reason is clear. The BJP and its poster-boy. Mr Modi, have completely failed to fulfil any of those promises so they cannot remind the people of any of those promises at this crucial moment. We are not even referring to the promise of putting Rs 15 lakhs in every persons account out of the black money which was supposed to be brought in from foreign countries because Amit Shah, the BJP President, had himself declared after winning the election that it was an election jumla, a mere election slogan.

The Prime Minister and his party know well that they are going to lose the 2019 parlia-mentary elections. The simple mathematics of the combination of the percentage of votes and the pre-poll coalition of Akhilesh Yadavs Samajvadi Party (SP), Ms Mayawatis Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Ajit Singhs Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) in Uttar Pradesh shows that the BJP is going to lose at least 50 seats from its 2014 tally of 73 seats in UP alone when Modis popularity was at the top because at that time he seemed to epitomise the fight against corruption which had become a trademark of the Congress. In Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka and Punjab the BJP had the highest number of seats which in any case are going to come down considerably. The combined effect is expected to be a loss of at least 100 seats which is an indicator of the shape of things to come. Out of the frustration, desperation and fear of losing his Prime Ministership, Mr Modi is trying to portray himself as a victim in an attempt to ensure the sympathy vote. He no more refers to himself as a he-man with a 56-inch chest. That is why he is appealing to emotions by raising emotional issues like nationalism and calling himself a chowkidar. He cannot appeal to reason and mind or refer to real problems of the people because then no thinking person with a reasonable mind will be impressed with his chowkidar gimmick.

Had he really acted as the chowkidar of the Indian Constitution, the constitutional values like freedom, liberties, equality of all irrespective of religion, sex and caste, secularism, dignity of the person and protection and promotion of the interests of the poor and marginalised sections of society including employment and education, for which he was appointed and has been paid for by the people and not a dishonest one getting his salary and other perks from one master and protecting the interests of others with the intent of earning something more even if it is for funding the election campaign of his party, he would have won the forthcoming election with even a greater mandate than what he won in 2014. But only if he had been honest to the people, an honest chowkidar, as chowkidars mostly are and also are supposed to be.But as an RSS man its Hindutva ideology and his partys political interests, and of course his own narrow personal interest of retaining the Prime Ministership of the country are supreme and more important than the interests of the country and its people. Perhaps he thinks that he can do so by being the chowkidar of the elite few and not the chowkidar of the ordinary, poor and suffering masses.

The author is the editor, The Radical Humanist, and a former National Secretary, Peoples Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL).


El Dorado Cantina, an authentic Mexican restaurant and bar close to the Las Vegas Strip, is celebrating the arrival of Spring with a variety of cocktails and confectionary creations bursting with seasonal fresh fruit (Pictured: El Dorado Nieve de Naranja).

$10 Cocktails

Mojitos  choice of original, strawberry or mango

Specialty margaritas  choice of watermelon or jalapeno cucumber

Sangria  choice of red or white, with assorted fresh fruit

Desserts

Banana Split  Banana, fresh fruit, strawberry, vanilla and chocolate ice cream topped with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, sweet pecans and bananas foster sauce ($15)

Mangonada  Fresh cut mango with housemade mango sorbet, topped with Mexican Chamoy sauce and chili lime ($8)

Fresas con Crema  Fresh strawberries mixed with sweet cream, topped with whipped cream, cinnamon and sugar ($8)

Chef Pacos Signature Nieve de Naranja  Housemade orange ice cream served in an organic orange with whipped cream and berries ($10)

El Dorado Cantina is best known for being one of the only Mexican restaurants in Las Vegas to offer cuisine made with organic, non-GMO ingredients and for its extensive menu featuring dishes inspired by regions across Mexico. Chef Paco Cortes and his team believe in using sustainably-raised products, which means that all the beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, fish and produce used in the dishes originate from carefully-selected farms in the U.S. and are free from antibiotics, pesticides, and steroids.

Happy Hour runs from 3  5 p.m. and again from 1  3 a.m. daily, featuring $5 house wine; $7 house margaritas; half-off well drinks and domestic beer; a $7 food menu, and $3.50 street tacos. Every Monday, locals receive a 25% discount and every Tuesday, El Dorado Cantina offers 1942 Don Julio tequila shots for $6 (valued at $35).
CIH's medical team revisiting the patient

On March 30, a patient, named Jun, was admitted to the CIH emergency unit with the symptoms of dizziness, excessive sweating, fatigue, and low blood pressure.

After conducting the examination and laboratory tests, the results showed that he had a complete heart block, right bundle-branch block, hyper-acute T waves in the inferior leads, and reciprocal ST-segment depression in the anterolateral leads.

In other words, much of his heart had stopped responding properly to nerve impulses telling it to beat, and other parts of the heart were beating poorly  all the symptoms of a critical heart attack.

An immediate procedure was performed by doctor Tung, head of Cardiology and Vascular Intervention. Coronary angiography revealed a dominant right coronary artery (RCA) with 80 per cent ostial stenosis. A drug-eluting stent was successfully deployed to the ostial RCA lesion with an outstanding angiographic result.

The expert team realised that the patients history of end-stage chronic renal disease (ESRD) is the actual factor behind the poor outcome of percutaneous coronary interventional (PCI) procedure and the growing threat of Jun developing acute renal failure complications after the first post-operation.

Angiography of coronary artery, before and after the successful deployment of drug-eluting stent

The heart team put Jun on dialysis programme. Over several days, the positive outcome was visible as hemodynamics stabilised, biomarkers of acute coronary syndrome gradually reduced, and heart rate gradually improved, with satisfactory renal recovery. The headache and fatigue fully ceased. Permanent pacemaker implantation was avoided. He was discharged from hospital seven days later.

This was his first trip to Vietnam with a group of friends. As soon as he arrived at the airport, he had episodes of light chest pain, shortness of breath and dizziness, so he was transferred to the nearest hospital," shared Jun's wife. He got diagnosed with vestibular disorders and indicated for further in-hospital investigations. However, as he and his friends thought it wouldnt be that serious and my husband looked healthy, they decided to just take whatever was prescribed but not to waste time at the hospital.

After that, his symptoms quickly worsened, until he was taken to the City Hospital International Emergency Department to discover everything was a second away from death. We thank all staff of City International Hospital, especially the professors for reviewing and solving his urgent issue and the rapid rescue.

Jun and his wife at CIH

My Van, director of CIHs City Plus Programme, said, Having a multi-disciplinary team of top physicians looking at patients conditions to find the best possible solutions is critically life-saving for patients. In particular, the team needs to communicate with patients and families, listing out all possible solutions in detail to help patients and their relatives feel comfortable and safe with their treatment decisions.

Flying risks for travellers with a heart disease

Heart attack is actually not a medical term  myocardial infarction is the proper name. Most heart attacks are caused by a blood clot that blocks one of the coronary arteries that bring blood and oxygen to the heart.

If the blood flow is blocked, the heart is starved of oxygen and heart cells die. This differs from sudden cardiac arrest, which occurs when the heart develops an arrhythmia that causes it to stop beating.

CIH has been very successful in winning many recent emergency cases to save the lives of thousands of medical tourists, especially treating heart attacks, traumas and road accidents.

Air travel, while a part of modern life, could raise the risk of experiencing heartbeat irregularities among older individuals with a history of heart disease. Altitude-induced hypoxemia leads to an increase in heart rate, a decline in stroke volume, an increase in the atrial component of the left ventricular filling, and a progressive rise in pulmonary vascular resistance, all of which are of potential concern in patients with chronic heart failure.

Cabin pressure varies and the cabin environment is not a normal one. Its temperature is controlled, but humidity is low  commonly 10-20 per cent  which can give rise to the drying of the air passages.

It is also cramped, restricting movement. If passengers have a heart condition, they should always check with their doctors to ensure they are fit for air travel.

CIH has been very successful in winning many recent emergency cases to save the lives of thousands of medical tourists, especially treating heart attacks, traumas and road accidents. We hope through these stories, our hospital can build credibility in the expatriate community and medical tourists on par with other regional providers. We want to become a Vietnam-based pioneer in attracting medical tourists and help promote Vietnam as a medical hub of Southeast Asia and the Asia Pacific, said John Lucas, CEO of CIH.
Airbus and Boeing are both looking to target the lucrative maintenance market in the coming years. (AFP/ERIC PIERMONT)

"If we were to be hit again by unjustified and unjustifiable US sanctions, Europe would be ready to respond in a united and strong way," the minister said after his meeting with his US counterpart Steven Mnuchin.

"All this would be bad for growth and bad for American and European prosperity," he said at a press conference on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

"We must avoid this," he said. "On the basis of the WTO's conclusions, it seems to me that the voice of wisdom is to reach an amicable agreement between the United States and Europe on a final settlement of the Airbus-Boeing case," he said, adding that the case has been going on for far too long.

Le Maire already pleaded on Tuesday for an amicable solution with the United States and was scheduled to meet with US Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer.

US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened the European Union with new tariffs if it did not end subsidies to Airbus, at the risk of reviving a fragile trade truce.

This was another step in a 14-year conflict between Boeing and Airbus where the US and EU accuse each other at the World Trade Organization (WTO) of providing illegal state aid to their respective aeronautical champions.

The EU had immediately warned that "in the parallel dispute over Boeing", it also intended to "take prompt action" in retaliation.

According to several European sources on Friday, it will make public on Wednesday a list of American products likely to be taxed up to 20 billion euros.

But it will be left to a WTO-appointed arbitrator to determine the amount of retaliation duties, which will be less than the 20 billion.

In 2012, "the EU had requested the WTO to authorize $12 billion in countermeasures," a commission source told AFP.

"The EU will now await the decision of the WTO appointed arbitrator regarding the final amount," the source added.
SolarBK SolarBK is the only company in Vietnam that can complete the integrated vertical chain, an experts' advice on solar energy solutions

SolarBK is one of the few Vietnamese companies attending Solar Show Vietnam 2019  the biggest international clean energy conference in Vietnam  that took place earlier this month at GEM Centre in Ho Chi Minh Citys District 1.

The event attracted more than 3,000 energy industry experts from countries around the world and over 100 businesses (only 10 per cent of whom are local), with the newest products and solutions in the energy industry.

The event agenda featured diverse discussions with more than 40 presentations about the latest successes and innovations in the field of clean energy.

This year SolarBK  a leading R&D company offering products and solutions for renewable energy in Vietnam  attended Solar Show in a dual role: as an attendee exhibiting at booth 3E10 on the third floor and as a speaker presenting the theme Rooftop solar after June 2019: Insights from insiders.

The company has attended many international high-profile clean energy events, such as Intersolar (2014-2018), major energy trade show SPI (2017-2018), and championed esteemed awards at international events, such as the Global Clean Energy award in 2012 and 2016 and The Smarter E Award for outstanding projects in 2018, among others.

These achievements have contributed to boosting SolarBK's competitiveness in the international market.

At booth 3E10, SolarBKs showcase was built around the theme SolarBK ECOSystem  Solar for your business to showcase the image of the first enterprise that possesses the integrated vertical chain.

SolarBK also introduced the integrated vertical chain to participants through virtual reality (VR) experience, a comprehensive investment calculation tool for solar power projects under the ESCO concept.

Mai Van Trung, general manager at SolarBK's Business Development, speaking at the event

In the presentation Rooftop solar after June 2019: Insights from insiders, Mai Van Trung, general manager of SolarBKs Business Development department, provided a market forecast after June 30, 2019 and suggested solutions from SolarBKs perspective as a pioneer in Vietnams solar power industry.

Trung was also a judge of The Energy Innovation Arena Startup which was part of the event.

According to the Ministry of Trade and Industrys new draft on solar power development, the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) for solar power will be determined under a new system after June 30, 2019. Accordingly, based on four geographical radiation areas and four production types (grid-tied, ground solar energy, accumulative system project, and rooftop solar energy), the FiT will vary by a significant margin.

The price of rooftop solar power will be the highest and the new price scheme is expected to help attract projects to low radiation areas and reduce the concentration of projects in high radiation areas such as Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan.

Once applied, the price of rooftop solar power will be higher than in other countries in Southeast Asia, especially Thailand and Malaysia which share similar weather conditions and labour costs.

By virtue of the integrated vertical chain, SolarBK can optimise the cost of each element with ensured quality, offering customers the best rooftop solar power solutions in terms of investment efficiency.

Besides, as the power price has already jumped by 8.36 per cent at the end of this March, Vietnams solar power development proves very appealing to domestic and international businesses.

Foreseeing Vietnams solar power growth and after many years of studying international experiences, SolarBK has chosen an in-depth development strategy through developing the integrated vertical chain ranging from production, technology, engineering design, and finance to construction, operation, and maintenance.

This will help the company optimise the cost of each element with ensured quality, offering customers the best rooftop solar power solutions in terms of investment efficiency.

SolarBK is the only company in Vietnam that can complete the integrated vertical chain in the solar power field, becoming a counterpoint to foreign partners having potential for solar project development in Vietnam.

Besides the direct investment format, SolarBK also applies joint investment forms via the ESCO concept, which will be implemented by SolarESCO, a member of SolarBKs integrated vertical chain.

SolarESCO is a financial solution for businesses wishing to use solar power with flexible payment methods. As long as certain criteria are met, the enterprise will be invested wholly or partly depending on the agreement terms with its customers (including installation, operation, infrastructure, and risk management activities).

This concept applies to enterprises and public utility units with relatively large power consumption demands each year. Thanks to this concept, businesses can save on the initial investment cost and they can own the solar power system after the contract ends.

Vietnam has enormous potential for solar power development. Without good preparations and active support from financial institutions and enterprises, the country, however, may lose its competitive advantages to foreign companies who often have better experiences and financial sources in this field.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Overt and Covert Racism and Communalism

by Irfan Engineer

On March 15, 2019, 50 Muslims offering their Friday prayers died and 48 were injured when they were shot in the Masjid al Noor mosque in Christchurch and at the Linwood Avenue mosque in New Zealand. Brenton Tarrant, a 28- year-old son of an Australian working class family and the gunman behind at least one of the mosque shootings in New Zealand, posted his 74-page manifesto making his reasons for the shooting clear. The Prime Minister of New Zealand called it a terrorist attack and condemned it strongly and unequivocally as one of the darkest days in New Zealand.

There was a world of difference between how the media reported the Christchurch mass shooting incident wherein the shooter belonged to the White race and Christian faith and how such incidents are reported when the person involved professes to be a Muslim. London- based Daily Mirrors front page headline the next day was: Angelic boy who grew into an evil far-Right mass killer. The Daily drew attention of the reader to the innocence of the shooter in his childhood and sought their sympathies. The story further tried to evoke empathies of the reader by tracing the troublesome situation in which he was. It mentioned that the blonde little boy had a father who had cancer. The same Dailys headline outrightly condemned the ISIS shooter involved in an Orlando nightclub shooting in 2016 and causing 50 deaths. The headline then was: ISIS MANIAC KILLS 50 IN GAY CLUB. Compare ISIS maniac with Angelic boy. The former rightly evokes disdain, condemns and censures the killer whereas the latter evokes empathy, tells the reader something went wrong with person of our race, culture and faith otherwise an angel.

The Australian daily, Courier Mails front-page headline was WORKING CLASS MADMAN and wrote in its opening sentence: Terrorist Brenton Tarrant became twisted by a severe addiction to wild video games as he morphed from a curly haired school boy into a mass murderer. The story finds fault with the wild video games that Tarrant loved to see, once again not finding fault with his ideology or racist attitudes and hatred towards immigrants and Muslims. The daily found nothing wrong with Tarrants 74-page manifesto and launching a war with people of different faiths and cultures and offered no comments thereon. The Western media unequivocally and promptly condemns incidents of terrorism wherein Muslims are involved, as it should be. Sections of the dominant Western media name the religion of the terrorist willy-nilly drawing the entire community in the blame-game. They link Islam with terrorism in such incidents. The Daily Telegraphs headline, while reporting the Orlando nightclub shooting incident, was: SAME SEX JIHAD. Jihad is popularly linked with Islam.

A section of the popular media equivocates when the terrorist incident is carried out by a person belonging to a White racist Christian fundamentalist and ultranationalist group describing the group members as madmen and the incident a lone wolf attack. Something went wrong with the individual, they seem to say. As if there was no trace of racism in their culture and body politic and all Christians in the Northern world were most modern, had right attitudes. The fault lies with the others those who profess a different religion and are from a different race, ethnicity or culture. In case of terrorist attacks by politically motivated Muslim groups, the cause is located in their religion rather than in the political context. The cause of the attack is attributed to their objective of destroying, what they term as our way of life. However, the motive of the racist Brenton Tarrant or anti-immigrant Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, who gunned down 69 participants of a Workers Youth League (AUF) summer camp on the island of Utoya on July 22, 2011, are not critiqued or condemned.

White supremacists, anti-immigrant ultra-nationalists or Christian fundamentalists are not perceived to be destroying our way of life, although that is a bigger threat rather than the political Islamists who carry out terrorist attacks without leaving their footprints except the ghastly toll and enable the state to acquire more authoritarian powers on the pretext of security. Tarrant and Breivik are seen as us rather than them, whose strategy to achieve their objectives may have gone a bit wrong. Deep down there is some sympathy with Tarrant and Breivik as they were trying to get their countries rid of them, the people who threaten our culture and our way of life. Tarrant and Breivik havent parachuted from nowhere. They are products of the society that has deep dislike for immigrants and people belonging to other religion, race, ethnicity, language or culture.

The covert and subtle racism which exists in a large number of people makes them believe that their race, religion, language or culture is superior and is entitled to various privileges which need to be maintained by institutional structures and force if necessary. That discrimi-nation against others is natural. Covert racism allows institutional structures and systems that produce inequalities in wealth, income, criminal justice system, housing, health care, political power and education among other factors. Covert racism thrives on prejudices against others and dehumanises them. It is this covert racism that gives rise to double standards in dealing with racism or supremacism of all sorts. Covert racism calls the ISIS terrorist as a violent maniac and Tarrant and Breivik as angelic boys with whom something went wrong. It is unwilling to question the racism within individuals when they want to know, or the media that wants to report, personal stories of angelic boys rather than the plight of survivors of their reckless attack.

Covert racism allows racist ideologies and organisations to thrive and individuals to be filled with hatred and anger and take to violent means and terrorist acts. The ideology of clash of civilisations by Samuel P. Huntington and Ku Klux Klan and many such violent organi-sations are supported by covert racism. The racist ideologies and organisations in turn nurture, deepen and spread racism. Merely condemning a terrorist act is not enough. Civil society and state must identify the covert racism and address it. The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, is precisely addressing the covert racism within New Zealanders when she enters mosques and condoles the survivors of the terrorist attack and embraces members of the Muslim community calling them their own and us while calling Tarrant and terrorists of his ilk as them.

In the Indian situation, if we replace the word racism with communalism in the above analysis, we get the same result targeting Muslim and Christian communities. We have overt communalism in the form of communal riots, demolition of the Babri Masjid, mob lynching of Muslims transporting/owning cows alleging them to be cow slaughterers, renaming places and lanes that have Muslim-sounding names, when hate speeches are a norm rather than the exception and highest political officials and officials of the ruling party freely propagate hate speeches that are a punishable offence and no action is taken against them. Due to limited space here, we are not listing the hate speeches here; these have been dealt with in other issues of Secular Perspective.

We know there is widespread prevalence of covert communalism when people nurture prejudices against the Christian community that they indulge in mass religious conversions and their prayer meetings and churches are attacked, when Muslim community is stig-matised to be fast multiplying with the intention to become a majority community within a short span of time, that they are terrorists and all terrorists are Muslims even if all Muslims are not terrorists, that their rightful place is in Pakistan, a country to which they are loyal, etc.

Covert communalism has led to a decline in the socio-economic condition and educational status of the community as pointed out by the Sachar Committee Report, Ranganath Mishra Commission and Amitabh Kundu Committee Report. While terrorists from the Muslim community are dealt with severest punishment in law, as they should be, the terrorists of Samjhauta Express, Mecca Masjid bomb blasts, perpetrators of communal violence, mob lynchers of Pehlu Khan belonging to the Hindu community are allowed to go scot free. Institutionalised communalism leads to innocent Dr Kafeel Khan being suspended and victimised for the deaths of more than 60 children in the BRD Hospital in Gorakhpur only because his religion happens to be Islam. Muslims and Christians are highly underrepresented in Parliament and state legislatures, in government employment and in the private sector. In several cities housing societies refuse membership of the society to Muslims and Christians. We could go on listing the exclusion of the Muslim and Christian community members but these are just a few examples. It is the covert and subtle communalism that does not condemn communal riots, mob lynchings and attack on Christian prayer meetings and Churches; that acquiesces terrorist attacks where most victims are Muslims as in Malegaon, Mecca Masjid, Ajmer and Samjhauta Express while it loudly and unequivocally condemns other terrorist attacks where most victims are from the Hindu community to be an anti-national crime demanding the severest of punishments.

We however do not have anybody like Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand. Mahatma Gandhi once made some of us question our covert communalism when he undertook a fast unto death when there were communal riots. Societies would not be liberated from the cycle of violence unless covert racism as well as communalism and supremacism of all hues and colours is addressed. We need to identify our own covert communalism and address it. There are enough resources in all our religions to do so. In India we believe in vasudhaiv kutumbakkamentire world is my family; and ekam sat, vipra bahuda vadantithere is one truth, wise people have described it differently. Buddhism teaches us to be rational and com-passionate towards all, rather than build communities based on ideologies of superiority and supremacism. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, in his Tarjuman-ul-Quran, opines that it is compulsory for Muslims to accept all religions to be true. Sant Kabir, Maulana Rumi and Bulle Shah tell us that love is the essence of all religions. We have Christianity that teaches us equality and love thy neighbour.

(Courtesy: Secular Perspective)

The author is the Director, Centre for the Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai.
At the business networking event in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA)

The event, held by the Ho Chi Minh City Union of Friendship Organisations (HUFO) in collaboration with the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Association, and the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Association of Nishinomiya city in the Japanese prefecture of Hyogo, drew the participation of representatives from some 60 Vietnamese businesses and 20 firms from Hyogo and Osaka prefectures.

Speaking at the event, President of the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Association of HCM City Nguyen Cong Tanh thanked the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Association of Nishinomiya city for its coordination to organise the programme, helping to connect enterprises from both countries and develop friendship and cooperation between HCM City and Hyogo prefecture in the fields of trade, economy and investment.

Meanwhile, Sakai Hironori, President of the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Association of Nishinomiya city, said that Japanese companies want to cooperate with Vietnamese firms not only in economy and trade but also in social and charitable activities.

Following the opening ceremony, Vietnamese and Japanese businesses joined in an exchange programme and sought partners in the fields of investment and trade, distribution of food and cosmetics, human resource supply, chemicals and fertiliser, among others.

The Japan-Vietnam Friendship Association of Nishinomiya city was established in September 2016, aiming to become a bridge to promote mutual understanding and collaboration between Nishinomiya and other localities of Hyogo prefecture and Vietnamese cities and provinces in the spheres of economy, politics, education, culture, tourism and people-to-people exchange.
The International Organization for Migration has repatriated 160 African migrants who have been living under dire conditions in Libya amid the chaos reigning in the country.

The U.N. migration agency says it returned the stranded migrants to their home countries despite what it calls the extraordinarily difficult conditions on the ground. The situation in and around Tripoli has become increasingly violent and unstable since a renegade general began an offensive April 4 to capture the Libyan capital.

Even with thie turbulent backdrop, IOM organized a charter flight this week to Mali carrying 160 migrants. Most will remain in Mali, but 61 migrants from Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso will continue onward to their homes of origin.

IOM spokesman, Joel Millman, said his agency has had to work around the difficulties posed by increased airport security this week. Security has been tightened since the airport was hit by an airstrike. Millman said IOMs chartered plane has had to adjust to the new limited hours of operation.

Amid the ongoing clashes, IOM staff in Libya coordinated very closely with Libyan authorities to ensure the safe arrival of all migrants coming from different detention centers and different urban areas in Tripoli to Mitiga airport. The airport was briefly affected by the armed conflict this week, but later resumed activity - as I said, only between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. every day, Millman said.



So far this year, the IOM has repatriated 3,175 migrants from detention centers and urban centers. Millman told VOA he does not know how the conflict will affect future returns.

Of course, any insecurity that arises from violence or weather or anything else will upset that well-oiled machine. But I guess, to reiterate what I said at the beginning, the fact that we did it now in this climate indicates we intend to do it whenever we can, he said.

Millman said the IOM helps the migrants reintegrate in their communities upon their return. Upon arrival, he said they receive immediate assistance and medical screenings. He noted that IOM tailors its reintegration support to the specific needs of returnees. He added that the aim is to help them earn a living and become economically self-sufficient within their communities of origin.
Sudan's second new military leader in as many days accepted the resignation of the feared intelligence chief on Saturday as he faced calls at home and abroad for a swift handover to civilian rule.

Career soldier General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan took the helm of Sudan's transitional military council on Friday when his short-lived predecessor General Awad Ibn Auf - a close aide of ousted president Omar al-Bashir - quit in the face of persistent protests.

Burhan now has the tough task of persuading the tens of thousands of protesters who remain on the streets that he is not just another general from the Bashir regime but is genuinely committed to civilian-led reform.

The new leader accepted the resignation on Saturday of the head of the National Intelligence and Security Service, Salih Ghosh, the military council announced.

Ghosh had overseen a sweeping crackdown led by NISS agents against protesters taking part in four months of mass demonstrations that led to the toppling of Bashir in a palace coup by the army on Thursday.

Dozens of protesters were killed and thousands of activists, opposition leaders and journalists arrested.

The police said Friday that 16 people had been killed in live fire in Khartoum alone over the previous two days as NISS agents led a desperate last stand for Bashir before the army intervened.

Burhan was expected to meet protest organizers later on Saturday to hear their demands, opposition sources said.

A photograph published by state news agency SUNA showed him talking with protesters outside army headquarters on Friday, before his elevation to the top job.

Khartoum erupted with joy when Ibn Auf tendered his resignation barely 24 hours after taking the oath of office.

Car horns sounded as jubilant crowds streamed out of their homes chanting: "It fell again, it fell again".

But the organizers of the four months of mass protests that have now toppled two leaders in quick succession, called on demonstrators to keep up their week-old vigil outside army headquarters until Burhan reveals his true colors.

Ibn Auf had served as Bashir's defense minister right up to the president's downfall, after three decades of iron-fisted rule and was widely despised on the streets.

A former military intelligence chief, he remains under US sanctions for his role in the regime's brutal response to an ethnic minority rebellion which erupted in the western region of Darfur in 2003.

Burhan is a career soldier who comes with less baggage from Bashir's deeply unpopular rule.

But protest leaders say that a change of military ruler will make no difference; what they want is an immediate handover to a civilian government.

The Sudanese Professionals Association, whose grass-roots membership of doctors, teachers and engineers have spearheaded the nationwide protests, hailed Ibn Auf's departure as "a victory of the people's will".

But it demanded that Burhan swiftly "transfer the powers of the military council to a transitional civilian government."

"If this does not happen we will continue with our sit-in in front of the army headquarters and other towns," the SPA said in a statement.

Outside the Middle East, the formation of a military government to replace Bashir has met with widespread criticism.

The African Union said Bashir's overthrow by the military was "not the appropriate response to the challenges facing Sudan and the aspirations of its people".

The European Union urged the army to carry out a "swift" handover to civilian rule.

Former colonial ruler Britain said that a two-year transition overseen by the military "is not the answer."

"We need to see a swift move to an inclusive, representative, civilian leadership," said Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Members of the military council sought to reassure foreign diplomats about its intentions.

"This is not a military coup, but taking the side of the people," the council's political chief Lieutenant General Omar Zain al-Abdin told Arab and African diplomats at a meeting broadcast on state television.

But tens of thousands camped outside army headquarters for a seventh straight night in defiance of an nighttime curfew to keep up the pressure on the military rulers.

Bashir, who took power in a 1989 coup, remained in custody, but the military council has said it would never extradite him or any other Sudanese citizen.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued two arrest warrants against Bashir for suspected genocide and war crimes over the regime's brutal campaign of repression in Darfur.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says he will give the U.S. until the end of the year to make a "courageous decision" on stalled nuclear talks, warning of "very bleak and very dangerous" consequences if Washington does not change its approach.

Speaking to a session of North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament, Kim also said he is open to meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump "one more time," but only if the U.S. changes its attitude, according to North Korean state media.

President Trump responded Saturday morning via Twitter.

"I agree with Kim Jong Un of North Korea that our personal relationship remains very good, perhaps the term excellent would be even more accurate, and that a third Summit would be good in that we fully understand where we each stand. North Korea has tremendous potential for extraordinary growth, economic success and riches under the leadership of Chairman Kim. I look forward to the day, which could be soon, when Nuclear Weapons and Sanctions can be removed, and then watching North Korea become one of the most successful nations of the World!"

Trump this week said he is considering another meeting with Kim, but insisted the U.S. will not relax sanctions until North Korea gives up its nuclear arsenal.



The talks have been stalled since a February Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi ended in no deal. North Korean officials have since threatened to pull out of the talks and restart nuclear and missile tests.

Kim said his relationship with Trump remains "excellent." But he said the failure of the Hanoi summit raised doubts about talks with the U.S. and whether the Washington is really interested in improving relations.

The U.S. "was not ready to sit face to face and solve problems," Kim said, adding that he does not "desire to see another Hanoi summit."

Positive message?

It seems like a positive message from the standpoint of possibly resuming the talks, said Dong-Yub Kim, a North Korea specialist at Seouls Institute for Far Eastern Studies. But it is difficult to get a good opportunity like in Hanoi.

Kims statement doesnt necessarily move the talks forward, but it does suggest he remains invested in the diplomatic process, says Mintaro Oba, a former State Department diplomat who focuses on Korea.

He recognizes the benefits of continuing diplomatic action, especially for potential sanctions relief, but wants to put the burden of the action on the United States, Oba says.

South Koreas government cautiously welcomed Kims statement.

Our government will do what we can in order to maintain the current momentum for dialogue and help negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea resume at an early date, said an official at Seouls presidential Blue House.

A small deal?

Speaking alongside South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Trump on Thursday expressed openness to "smaller deals" with the North. But Trump said he is still looking for a wide-ranging agreement under which North Korea commits to completely dismantling its nuclear weapons.

At their first summit last year in Singapore, Trump and Kim signed a vague statement to work toward the "denuclearization of the Korean peninsula." However, U.S. officials have since conceded the two sides do not agree on what that phrase means.

North Korean officials have traditionally insisted that denuclearization means the U.S. reducing or eliminating its security commitment to South Korea, including removing nuclear-capable assets from the region.

The U.S. insists North Korea must unilaterally give up its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, which violate United Nations resolutions.

North Korea has spent decades building up its nuclear program, which it views as a deterrent against the U.S.
The Australian government says Queensland-born Julian Assange will get no special treatment after his arrest in London. However, lawyers for the WikiLeaks co-founder are urging Canberra to intervene to stop his extradition to the United States.

Assange had been living in Ecuadors London embassy for seven years before he was arrested Thursday. He could also face a renewed investigation into an allegation of rape in Sweden.

The United States wants to extradite Assange from Britain because of his alleged role in one of the largest leaks of government secrets in 2010.

One charge, maybe more

Australian-born Assange faces a charge of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion in the U.S. He could be jailed for up to five years, but it is possible that further charges could be added later by prosecutors.

Swedish justice officials also say they are re-examining a suspected rape at the request of the alleged victims lawyer.

Assange sought refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden over the allegations of sexual assault. But Ecuador abruptly withdrew its asylum Thursday and allowed U.K. police to arrest the WikiLeaks co-founder.

No special treatment

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Assange, who was born in the Queensland city of Townsville, will get no special treatment.

We support Australians in those cases by providing that consular assistance, so Mr. Assange will get the same support that any other Australian would in these circumstances. He is not going to be given any special treatment. He will be getting the same treatment as everybody else, he will get the same support as everyone else.

Campaigners in Australia consider Assanges arrest and possible extradition to Sweden or the U.S. a threat to investigative journalism.

Greg Barns, Assanges Australian lawyer, is urging Canberra to do more to protect him.

The United States is seeking to extradite a person who has simply expressed themselves, if one can put it that way, in accordance with a core liberal value, which, of course, is freedom of speech, and Australian journalists and Australians generally, I think, should be very, very concerned about the chilling impact of this precedent, and the Australian government therefore and Australian politicians ought to be concerned about it.

Any request by the United States to extradite Assange must be processed through the U.K. court system.

The Australian is scheduled to face a hearing over his possible extradition to the U.S. in early May.
Pakistani media are reporting that Chinese human traffickers are operating illegal matchmaking centers in Pakistan, where they allegedly trap women from economically burdened families in fake marriages before transporting them and forcing them into prostitution or even selling their organs in China.



The revelation prompted the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad to respond Saturday, saying the businesses are strictly prohibited under Chinese law and vowing to crackdown in cooperation with Pakistani authorities on the illegal practice of profiting through cross-border matchmaking.



The number of Chinese visiting neighboring Pakistan has dramatically increased since the launch of the bilateral multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) five years ago. The flagship pilot project of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has brought an unprecedented $19 billion in much-need Chinese investment to Pakistan.



News reports about phony marriages between Chinese men and Pakistani women regularly appear in local media, prompting lawmakers to debate the issue and demand that officials look into the unlawful practice.

TV report

The Chinese Embassy's reaction apparently came a day after a top private Pakistani television station aired images Friday of several Chinese men with six local women in different rooms, including two teenage girls, at an illegal matchmaking center in the eastern city of Lahore.

The ARY News channel crew showed up unannounced at the facility along with local police and interviewed the foreigners, their local facilitators and the alleged Pakistani wives of the Chinese men. When asked, the station said, members of the alleged gang of Chinese human traffickers failed to produce local marriage certificates or documents showing the men had converted to Islam before marrying Pakistani Muslim women, which is mandatory under local laws.



The Pakistani victims explained that in return for their marrying Chinese men, their families would get about $300 per month and a Chinese visa for male family members. The local facilitators told the TV channel they would lure families into an agreement by saying their would-be Chinese son-in-law was seeking Pakistani citizenship so he could invest in the country as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project.



"We remind both Chinese and Pakistani citizens to remain vigilant and not to be cheated.  We hope that the public does not believe in misleading information and works together to safeguard China-Pakistan friendship," the Chinese Embassy said in its statement.



It noted that both countries are firmly opposed to human trafficking and sales of human organs and rejected as "misleading and groundless" reports about sales of human organs in China.

Cooperation on crackdown



"China is cooperating with Pakistani law enforcement agencies to crack down on illegal matchmaking centers," the embassy said, adding that both Chinese and Pakistani youths were victims of the illegal agents.

While briefing Pakistani lawmakers at one of the recent meetings, senior government officials reportedly said Islamabad was in close contact with Beijing about fake marriages and action was being taken to counter the practice. A spokesman for the Interior Ministry, Tariq Sardar, was quoted as telling the meeting that "some private marriage bureaus were involved in these marriages" and "most of the complaints were being received from Lahore as well as the Pakistani city of Abbottabad."



Pakistan and China are extremely sensitive to any critical reporting on their relationship. Officials on both sides also discourage skepticism and criticism of the CPEC as well as BRI investments as Western propaganda. Beijing and China defend the CPEC as a highly productive initiative, saying it has created tens of thousands of local jobs and resolved a decade-long crippling power crisis in Pakistan.



The United States contends China's BRI projects are of dubious economic value and contain national security elements favoring Beijing. Last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington was trying to warn countries about the risks.
Two farmers were killed in clashes in Peru that erupted Friday as authorities launched an operation to uproot coca plants  used to make cocaine  in a region near the border with Bolivia, a local mayor and the police said.

A third person was in critical condition and had been taken to a local hospital, said Roger Larico, the mayor of the district of San Gaban in the region of Puno.

The eradication team, 158 civilian workers and 72 police officers, had arrived to San Gaban before dawn to destroy illegal coca farms in the coming days, but were attacked by people wielding machetes and sticks as they sat up their camp, the Peruvian National Police said in a statement.

But Larico said witnesses told him that the police had fired live bullets recklessly.

"They were shooting right and left. That's why we have this bloodshed," Larico told Reuters by phone.

The deaths are under investigation, said Victor Rucoba, the head of the government's eradication agency.

"It's very likely that to protect their lives and the lives of unarmed civilians, police had to increase the use of force," he added in comments broadcast on local TV channel Canal N.

Risky eradication

The unrest underscores the risks of forcibly eradicating illegal coca, a crop that tends to fetch a much higher price in Peru than alternatives such as coffee and cacao. It comes a day before U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visits the Andean country in a four-country tour of South America.

Peru has been one of the leading producer countries of cocaine for decades, despite efforts by consecutive governments to capture drug traffickers and shift farmers toward alternative crops from coca.

But in recent years, illegal coca farms in Peru have expanded.

The U.S. government said in November that Peru's potential cocaine production had risen 20 percent to a 25-year high of 491 tons.

Police reinforcements were being sent to San Gaban to ensure the eradication team could work in the days ahead, said Rucoba, adding that coca cultivation had expanded "exponentially" in the area.

In a 2017 report, Peru's anti-narcotics agency Devida said coca growers from the country's most notorious drug-trafficking region, the VRAEM, had been migrating to Puno to start new farms. The coca produced in San Gaban is part of a supply chain that moves cocaine into Brazil through Bolivia, it added.

Peru plans to eradicate about 25,000 hectares (61,776 acres) of illegal coca crops per year through 2021, according to the country's anti-narcotics plan.

Coca is also grown legally in Peru, where it is widely used as an infusion as well as in traditional indigenous rituals.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > US Indian Ocean base to Remain

by Harish Chandela

The major American naval and air base in the Indian Ocean at Diego Garcia in the Chagos Archipelago is unlikely to shut down, in spite of the International Court of Justice cancelling its lease and the decision that the island be returned to Mauritius, of which it was a part of.

The base had been used by the United States during its operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Gulf war.

Refugees of the archipelago had gone to the International Court against Britains decision to extend its lease to the United States. They are unlikely to press their case further, in the hope of obtaining employment in the American base.

They had been rounded up in the archipelago and from its biggest island of Diego Garcia and forcibly taken to Mauritius to live there as refugees, and their leader, Oliver Bancoult, had first moved courts in Britain against the British decision to lease the island to the US for a military base.

During the International Court hearings India had been consulted because most Mauritians were people of Indian origin, taken there during the British colonial rule in India to work on coconut and sugar plantations.

Both the US and Britain told the Court that they needed the island for regional security. India and 17 other countries have stated that the archipelago was a part of Mauritius and should return to it.

I have my own story concerning the base. In the 1970s I had been posted to Singapore as the correspondent of an Indian newspaper. Stories were current in the region that the US was supplying arms to Pakistan from is bases in South-East Asia, particularly in Vietnam and Thailand, during the Bangladesh war. Pakistan was a member of the South-East Treaty Organisation (SEATO), headed by the US, and was receiving arms help from its ally, the US, against the Bangladeshis.

While trying to find out the kind of arms the US was providing to Pakistan from that region, I came to learn that some of the military equipment to set up the Diego Garcia base had been transported on ships belonging to the Shipping Corporation of India.

India had all along maintained that the Diego Garcia base endangered its security and that of the region and was opposed to its establishment.

By the time I wrote about the involvement of Indian ships in transporting military equipment to Diego Garcia, the base had been fully set up and the story had become old, of little interest to Indians and others.

The author is a veteran journalist with wide knowledge of developments in West Asia and the Arab world.
The tens of thousands of protesters who have taken to the streets for an eighth straight week aren't the only crisis roiling Algeria. Helping to drive the unrest in Africas largest nationand posing a serious challenge to any future government is the economy.

Two months of mass demonstrations continued Friday, as Algerians pushed for a broader overhaul of the countrys system, despite elections set for July 4 by newly appointed interim leader, Abdelkader Bensalah. The protests have been largely peaceful, although there were some clashes reported this time along with scores of arrests, and police used water cannons and teargas in the capital Algiers.

Bensalah, clear off, FLN clear off, protesters chanted, referring to Algerias ruling party.

But many are also calling for a fundamental reboot of the countrys ailing, energy dependent economy that has failed to diversify and deliver jobs to its majority-young population. The unrest, in turn, is adding to Algerias economic headaches, analysts say.

The economy is not in good shape, said Paris-based Algerian analyst Alexandre Kateb. The protests are the last straw, but the economic problems go deeper than that.

Critics have long accused a power elite surrounding former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika of mismanagement and corruption, arguing a large chunk of the wealth is pocketed by a privileged minority. But for years, Algerias oil- and gas-rich economy served as a salve for a restless nation, helping to bankroll housing and other social subsidies.

It may be one explanation, some sayalong with the countrys devastating 1990s civil warwhy the broader Arab Spring uprising of 2011 failed to take off in Algeria.

Falling oil prices

But plummeting oil prices several years later helped to thin wallets and sharpen grassroots anger. Today, more than one-quarter of people under 25 are unemployed, and many Algerians work in the countrys vast informal sector. Successive governments have failed to privatize and capitalize on promising sectors for development such as tourism and agro-industry.

Earlier this week, the International Monetary Fund downgraded the countrys 2019 forecasted growth to 2.3 percent, from a previous 2.7 percent last October.

The main motivation is still political, analyst Kateb said of the protests. But if the economic situation was better, probably the momentum would be less important. We would not have seen the magnitude of the protests that we see now.

In the immediate future, Algerias economic woes may take a back seat. Besides the popular uprising at home, the current rulers must also keep an eye on regional hotspots, including neighboring Libya.

From an interim government perspective, its just about maintaining stability and avoiding any real crisis beyond where we are at the moment, said Adel Hamaizia, a North Africa expert for London-based think-tank Chatham House.

But whoever comes in really has to finally lead an ambitious economic program," he added, "which helps Algeria realize its potential, develop an independent private sector, diversify, and attract investment on the correct terms.

Those challenges are daunting. The ruling National Liberation Front or FLN party, in power since independence, has had little incentive to change a status quo that benefited them, many analysts say. Algerias business climate has been a turn-off for foreign investors. A case in point: a rule stipulating 51 percent of company shares must be owned by in-country nationals or businesses.

Although energy production continued to chug on during Algerias so called black decade of violence in the 1990s, further growth stalled. When he came to power in 1999, Bouteflika was credited for ushering in peace. At the beginning, analyst Kateb said, the former president also tried to reform the economy.

I think he really wanted to give more freedom to entrepreneurs, he really tried to privatize the system, Kateb said, adding subsequent financial scandals and the global financial crisis ended hope for change.

Inertia and bureaucracy

Kateb, who later served as an economic advisor to ex-prime minister Abelmalek Sellal, said subsequent reform efforts also stalled.

If you dont change the whole functioning of the system, he said, whatever you do at the margins will be completely absorbed by this inertia and black hole of government bureaucracy.

If July elections go through as planned, Algerians will be strongly pushing for economic deliverables.

I'm sure the many of the slogans are going to be centered around anti-corruption, inclusive growth, economic justice, diversification, and job creation, said Hamaizia of Chatham House.

For the moment, there appear few clear candidates to champion such causes. Both the countrys ruling FLN and traditional opposition parties are largely discredited in the eyes of many Algerians.

Earlier this week, however, the interior ministry announced licenses for 10 new political parties, Reuters news agency reported, citing Algerias Ennahar TV channel.

Analyst Kateb believes the country needs a technocratic government to steer through needed changes, at least over the next few years.

He believes there is no lack of talent to staff it, both in Algeria and abroad, where thousands of young professionals have flocked in recent decades for lack of opportunities at home.

Now they're not really considered, Kateb said, and this has to change.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this week described a powerful Iranian military commander as a terrorist, while discussing options the U.S. government could have to further punish Iran for its destabilizing activities in the Middle East.

Qassem Soleimani has the blood of Americans on his hands  as does the force that he leads, Pompeo said during an interview with Fox News. America is determined each time we find an organization, institution or an individual that has taken the lives of Americans, it is our responsibility.

His comments came one day after President Donald Trump designated Irans elite Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a foreign terrorist organization.

Pompeo said that the IRGC has killed more than 600 American soldiers. A Pentagon spokesman said a total of 603 U.S. personnel deaths in Iraq were the result of "Iran-backed militants."

Quds Force commander

The IRGC uses its elite Quds Force led by Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani and proxy Shiite militias to extend its influence across the Middle East and beyond.

As the commander of Quds Force, Soleimani has been a major figure behind Irans strategic military planning in the region. He has been responsible for forming and organizing Shiite militias like Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and various militias in Iraq and Syria.

Soleimani, born in 1957 in the province of Kerman in south-central Iran, rose to prominence during the Syrian civil war, which has been ongoing since 2011, for leading Iranian forces fighting alongside Syrian regime troops.

But Soleimanis military career began during the Iran-Iraq war in 1980s, where he gained extensive battlefield experience.

The rise of Islamic State (IS) terror group in 2014 offered a new opportunity to the Iranian commander to prove his military effectiveness against IS militants in Iraq and Syria.

While Soleimani has largely kept a low profile, he has been photographed on frontlines, directing major battles against IS militants and Syrian rebels.

Living martyr

Military successes abroad have gained Soleimani a growing popularity at home, some analysts say.

He has certainly benefited from increased media popularity, said Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a Washington-based think tank.

Ben Taleblu added that Soleimani has benefited from personal relationships he has forged with powerful figures in the clerical establishment in Iran.

In the Iranian political system, personal relationships and informal networks matter more than traditional stem charts, he said.

How he will wield this in coming years, particularly with flashpoints such as the death of the Supreme Leader remain to be seen, he added.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called him living martyr of the revolution during a ceremony last month, where Soleimani received the Order Zulfiqar, the highest military medal in the Islamic Republic, making him the first Iranian commander to receive the Order after the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Appearance with Assad

Some experts say that Soleimani has already been reaping the fruit of his labor by expanding his political profile domestically and regionally.

Soleimani does carry a lot of weight in the Iranian government, said Joshua Landis, director of Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma.

When Bashar [al-Assad of Syria] traveled to Iran earlier this year, Soleimani met with him rather than the foreign minister. It was a photo op, meant to boost moral inside Iran at a time of economic stress and sanctions. But it underlined the accomplishment of Soleimani in helping to win the war in Syria, he added.

Backed by Iranian and Russian forces, Syrian government troops have removed rebel groups from most areas they controlled at the peak of the civil war, including major provinces like Aleppo, Homs and Daraa.

But analyst Landis said that now that Syria needs to rebuild in order to stabilize Assads government, Soleimani will play a lesser role. Indeed, Syria will try to limit the influence of the Iranian military.

And with the U.S. designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization, experts believe that from now on Soleimani could face further challenges in his quest for more power in the Middle East and beyond.
Amid continuing turmoil and ongoing protests in Sudan, following the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir after 30 years in power, the country's new military ruler has resigned. This comes as the transitional military council plans to restore civilian rule, ideally within two years. But the United States is calling on Sudan's military leaders to hand over power to civilians sooner. VOA's diplomatic correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the State Department.
Eager to jump-start the stalled Keystone XL oil pipeline and other energy projects, President Donald Trump has acted to assert executive power over pipelines and such infrastructure.



He issued a new permit for Keystone XL and insisted this exercise of presidential authority was not subject to judicial review. Then he signed an executive order clarifying that the president alone has the power to grant permits for cross-border projects such as pipelines. A separate order makes it harder for states to block pipelines and other energy projects on the basis of environmental concerns.



Taken together, the actions amount to a broad assertion of power that reverses more than 50 years of precedent that delegated decision-making on energy projects to individual agencies.



Trump has shown a willingness to override his own agencies to accomplish his aims. His actions, if upheld by the courts, could consolidate power over energy projects at the White House, increasing the influence of the president's political advisers and potentially cutting out experts and career officials throughout the government.



``Too often badly needed energy infrastructure is being held back by special interest groups, entrenched bureaucracies and radical activists,'' Trump said Wednesday before signing the executive orders at an event in Texas.

'New decision-making structure'



Pipeline opponents say Trump acted illegally. They have asked a federal court to block the new Keystone permit, arguing that it is an effort to get around an earlier court ruling.



But one legal expert said Trump's approach might succeed.



``He has now created a whole new decision-making structure'' for cross-border pipelines, said Richard Pierce, a law professor at George Washington University.



If the courts follow a 1992 Supreme Court ruling, they may find that action taken by the State Department in approving or rejecting the pipeline ``is nonreviewable, because it doesn't qualify as final agency action,'' Pierce said. Further, Trump's decision would not be subject to review because of a separate law that declares the president is not an agency and therefore is not bound by rules that apply to agency actions.



``That's a very clever approach that might well work,'' Pierce said.



Trump's actions are ``typical of this presidency,'' said Holly Doremus, an environmental law professor at the University of California-Berkeley. She said Trump frequently seeks to stretch the limits of his power, and she cited Trump's declaration of an emergency that he says allows him to shift more money to construction of a promised wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.



In the case of Keystone, Trump appears to be arguing that the new presidential permit, issued March 29, gets around restrictions under the National Environmental Policy Act or other laws, because the statutes apply to executive-branch agencies but not to the president, Doremus said.



``If the president is the only discretionary decision maker, NEPA simply does not apply,'' she said.

Who decides?



While Trump's theory is plausible, it is unclear who is the ultimate decision-maker on Keystone XL, Doremus said. The pipeline would ship crude oil from the tar sands of western Canada to U.S. refineries along the Gulf of Mexico.

Both a 2015 rejection of the project by the Obama administration and a 2017 approval by Trump were issued by the State Department under terms of a 2004 executive order that delegated presidential authority for cross-border projects to that agency.



Trump's executive order revokes the 2004 order, issued by President George W. Bush. Bush's action extended an executive order first issued by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968.



``It's surprising that the president would come in and single-handedly try to circumvent 50 years of precedent for these types of projects by just issuing a permit himself,'' said Doug Hayes, a Sierra Club attorney who has sued to block the Keystone project in court.



In November, U.S. District Judge Brian Morris in Montana ruled that the Trump administration did not fully consider potential oil spills and other impacts when it approved the pipeline in 2017. Morris ordered a new environmental review of the pipeline.



The White House said the new permit issued by Trump ``dispels any uncertainty'' about the long-delayed project, which was first proposed a decade ago by Calgary-based TransCanada.

Trump's move on Keystone XL reinforces the idea that ``the presidential permit is indeed an exercise of presidential authority that is not subject to judicial review,'' according to the White House.

Reviews by different agencies



Under the new order, federal officials still would conduct environmental reviews of the project, but they would be carried out by agencies other than the State Department, the White House said.



TransCanada spokesman Matthew John said the administration's action ``clearly demonstrates to the courts that the permit is [the] product of presidential decision-making and should not be subject to additional environmental review.''



Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, said it was ``strange'' that Trump issued the executive order after granting the new permit.



``The White House is making the argument supposedly that he has untrammeled authority and doesn't have to obey the laws of Congress'' in approving a cross-border pipeline, Tobias said. ``I'm dubious and I think a number of other people are, too.''



Kathryn Watts, a law professor at the University of Washington, said it's unclear what happens next. Trump's permit wades into ``uncharted, unsettled'' legal territory, she said.
Margaret Besheer contributed to this report.

The U.N. refugee agency said 1,500 people are trapped in detention centers because of the Libyan conflict.

"The risks to their lives are growing by the hour. They must be urgently brought to safety. Simply put, this is a matter of life or death," U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in a statement Friday.



The agency said the migrants are "believed to be trapped in detention centers where hostilities are raging."

Since the conflict escalated last week, "more than 9,500 people have been forced to flee their homes," the U.N. refugee agency statement said.

Fighting continued Friday in the streets of Libya's capital, Tripoli.



The Reuters news agency reported that more than 1,000 people had gathered in central Tripoli to demand that Khalifa Haftar stop the advance of his Libyan National Army on the city.

Witnesses also reported an airstrike in Zuwara, west of Tripoli toward the Tunisian border.

Haftar launched his campaign a week ago, trying to take the capital from the internationally recognized administration of Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj.

The United Nations is calling for a humanitarian truce to let emergency aid in and to give civilians a chance to get out. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says there can be no military solution and that the parties must return to the political process.

The United States and European Union have called on Haftar's army to halt its offensive against the capital.

The fighting for control of Tripoli has left dozens of people dead, while al-Serraj's government says it has taken 200 prisoners.

Libya has been in political and economic chaos since longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi was toppled and killed in 2011.
U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, a candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, kicked off his campaign Saturday in Newark, calling for community building, criminal justice reform, gun control, Medicare for all and a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.



Booker told supporters that Saturday's rally was the launch of a two-week tour of the United States as he tries to make himself more visible in a pack of more than a dozen competitors. The mostly Democratic campaigners are all vying to replace incumbent President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.



"The president wants a race to the gutter and to fight us in the gutter," Booker said to the crowd at Newark's Military Park, a revitalized green space. But "to win, we have to fight from higher ground in order to bring this country to higher ground."



From New Jersey, Booker plans to make stops in states that hold caucuses and primaries early in the presidential race, including Iowa, Georgia and Nevada.

Newark is where Booker made his political reputation, serving as a member of the municipal council and then the mayor from 2006 to 2013.
For many across the country, the 2020 presidential campaign is still a distant thought, even while 18 Democrats have signaled their candidacy.

But in New Hampshire, home of the first-in-the-nation primary, residents say theyre excited to participate in what they call their state sport: politics.

Its not early to be campaigning, Danny Arnold, a Dover, New Hampshire, resident, said while waiting for New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand to speak at a local coffee shop.

I want to hear all the candidates before I make any decisions on who Im going to vote for, he added.

Never too early

And given the large field vying for the nomination to unseat President Donald Trump, neither New Hampshire residents nor the candidates think its ever too early to begin campaigning in the key state. In fact, former Rep. John Delaney of Maryland, the first Democrat to declare his candidacy, began visiting New Hampshire in 2017.

During the past weekend, three 2020 hopefuls  Gillibrand, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, held town halls, meet and greets, and house parties across the state. Because New Hampshire holds the first primary in U.S. presidential elections, voters here play a unique role in helping to shape the course of presidential elections.

And that role is not a responsibility voters take lightly.

I really think people take that responsibility very seriously to try and make sure theyre as well-informed as possible and make the right decision, said Seth Facey, a high school student in Amherst who will be voting in a presidential election for the first time next fall.

Dozens of New Hampshire residents devoted their entire Saturdays to attending multiple events  as many as three in one day  to try to hear and form opinions on every candidate who comes to speak.

The high level of political activity in April 2019, roughly 10 months before the New Hampshire primary, is only unusual because of the large number of candidates running to be the Democratic nominee, according to Neil Levesque, a political scientist at St. Anselm College.

What it is, is that we have so many candidates so early, Levesque told VOA. So, there is a tremendous amount of activity. New Hampshire voters are enjoying it. Theyre going out. And like you said, on any given weekend, you can see that their schedules (are) for three or four or five candidates in New Hampshire.

Who's leading now?

While analysts say it is far too soon to declare a front-runner, former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont are leading the pack in the early going, with each capturing roughly a quarter of the vote, according to RealClear Politics averages of recent polls. Senators Kamala Harris of California and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and former Congressman Beto ORourke of Texas are also attracting interest, according to polling.

WATCH: 2020 Presidential Hopefuls Woo New Hampshire Voters

Of the 18 Democrats who have officially declared their candidacy or formed a presidential exploratory committee, six are U.S. senators, three are House members, one is a governor and one is a former governor. And in this wide field, candidates are working hard to distinguish themselves from one another.

My story is very different. I come from a rural part of New York state. My first house district was a two-to-one Republican district. I won that district twice, Gillibrand told VOA.

Gillibrand, who spoke with voters in Dover and Concord, New Hampshire, during the weekend, boasts that she has voted against more of Donald Trumps Cabinet nominees than any other senator, claiming that her bravery is what is required to defeat Trump in the general elections next November.

We need a president who will stand up for whats right, and do whats right, and restore that moral fabric thats been lost under this administration, she said.

Candidates stress uniqueness

Booker, her fellow senator from the neighboring state of New Jersey, said his experience as a mayor of a large city, Newark, New Jersey, makes him a unique candidate.

I dont know of anybody who has run a large city and succeeded in creating its biggest economic resurgence in 60 years, he said, speaking after a house party for his campaign hosted by New Hampshire state Sen. Shannon Chandley.

But then, Ive also been a United States senator and got a lot of significant pieces of legislation done, as well as a lot of legislation reforming our nuclear regulatory laws, all the way to dealing with issues of racial disparities in our country, Booker added.

Of course, Booker is not the only candidate drawing on his mayoral experience.

Buttigieg, mayor of a city of just more than 100,000 people, is 37 years old. But he argues that his executive experience as mayor rivals that of his fellow candidates.

Buttigieg or Hawaii representative Tulsi Gabbard, who is also 37, would be the youngest president in U.S. history if elected.

I think that we certainly represent something that is not like the others, Buttigieg told reporters after an event at the Currier Museum in Manchester, New Hampshire, from which nearly 200 people were turned away as the room reached capacity.

You can see the energy from people of all generations around the idea of a campaign thats focused on the future, he added.

Right behind Biden in early New Hampshire polls is Sanders, who won the New Hampshire primary in 2016, though he ultimately lost the Democratic nomination to Hillary Clinton.

Sanders is likely to do well in New Hampshire, drawing on his popularity from the previous election and his far-left stances often qualified as Democratic Socialism.

But among so many choices, Democrat voters are primarily concerned with one question: Which candidate has what it takes to beat Trump.

Trump is a force to be reckoned with, Levesque said, noting that in 2016, Trump competed with 14 top name Republicans and defeated them all.

And so, Democrats really have to be looking at who can beat Donald Trump in a general election.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he has no knowledge of the website WikiLeaks, after the whistleblowing sites founder, Julian Assange, was arrested in Britain.

The 47-year-old Australian national had been living in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since 2012, but was ejected Thursday and taken into custody by British police.

Ecuador said Assange had broken asylum conventions by continuing to interfere in other countries affairs through the publishing of confidential information.

WATCH: Trump Denies Knowledge of WikiLeaks

Trump was questioned by reporters on the arrest Thursday.

I know nothing about WikiLeaks. Its not my thing, Trump said. I know there is something to do with Julian Assange, and Ive been seeing whats happened to Assange. And that would be a determination, I would imagine, mostly by the attorney general, whos doing an excellent job. So, hell be making a determination.

On the campaign trail in 2016, Trump repeatedly referred to WikiLeaks after it published hacked emails from the Democrat National Committee. He once declared, WikiLeaks! I love WikiLeaks, at a rally in Pennsylvania.

In 2010, WikiLeaks published a cache of more than 700,000 documents, videos, diplomatic cables and battlefield accounts from Iraq and Afghanistan, obtained by former U.S. Army soldier Chelsea Manning, then known as Bradley Manning. They detailed civilian casualties, along with details of suspected terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Manning was prosecuted under the Espionage Act and jailed in 2010. She was released in 2017, but was jailed again in March 2019 for refusing to testify before a grand jury about WikiLeaks.

Asylum in embassy

Assange sought asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy after facing rape charges in Sweden, which have since been dropped. He predicted then that he would face extradition to the United States.

As WikiLeaks stands under threat, so does the freedom of expression and the health of all our societies, Assange told a crowd of supporters from the balcony of the embassy.

The United States accuses Assange of conspiring with Manning to access classified information on Department of Defense computers and has requested his extradition from Britain.

Freedom of the Press

Freedom of the press is protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, so the precise charges against Assange will be key, said legal analyst Caroline Mala Corbin of the University of Miami School of Law.

If you break the law while you gather information, that is not protected by the free speech clause. If, however, you publish information  even if someone else has illegally obtained it  the free speech clause does come into play, she told VOA.

Assange supporter and prominent human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said Assange must be afforded the rights of other journalists.

It smacks of double standards, and it has the whiff of a vendetta against WikiLeaks and against Julian Assange, he said.

British judges will now decide whether to fulfill the U.S. extradition request.

Geoffrey Robertson, an attorney who has represented Assange in the past, said Assange could face up to 40 years in prison if he is extradited to the United States.

I have faith in the British justice system, and I think he will argue that this is a breach of his right of freedom of speech, Robertson said.

Assange will first face sentencing for failing to surrender to authorities on sexual assault charges in 2012.

Meanwhile, one of the Swedish women who accused Assange of rape has requested the case be reopened, further complicating the legal case against him.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Polling Process Starts, SC Ruling on Rafale

EDITORIAL

The first phase of polling in the seven-phase 17th Lok Sabha elections today across 20 States and Union Territories has witnessed sporadic violence with police firing in Nawada (Bihar) while certain areas of Andhra experienced skirmishes between members of contending parties, notably the ruling TDP and Opposition YSR Congress. The polling percentage too was somewhat low in comparison with the ones in previous elections.

However, what is significant is that eventually the Election Commission has taken certain positive steps to ensure free elections through a level playing field. Thus by staying the release of a new Hindi film, PM Narendra Modi, a biopic on the head of the Union Government, the Commission has sought to allay fears, raised by several Opposition parties as well as a large band of eminent retired bureaucrats, that it is displaying bias in the conduct of elections by tilting towards the party in power.

The use of armed forces in the ruling partys election campaign has been forbidden by the Commission. Much as this is welcome the fact is that such an order is being frequently and blatantly violated by the Modi dispensation. This too must be closely monitored by the EC and practical remedial measures adopted forthwith.

The Supreme Courts latest order on the Rafale issue is of special importance. The Hindu, which had published relevant documents related to the Rafale deal, today editorially pointed out that

It would have been a travesty had the government succeeded blocking judicial scrutiny of these documents, as they disclosed significant details about the decision-making process. The governments desperate attempts to prevent the court from relying on these papers included a claim of privilege under the Evidence Act, a threat of invoking the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and accusation that the published documents were stolen ones. Later, it toned down the allegation by saying the original document had not be stolen, and what were published were unauthorized photocopies. None of these claims impressed the court which relied on the principle that how a piece of evidence is obtained is immaterial, as long as it is relevant to adjudicating an issue.

This is definitely a setback for the executive howsoever much those in the Treasury Benches attempt to obfuscate the essence of the order. Basically the Supreme Courts Chief Justice, while defending The Hindus publication of the documents, averred that

the right of such publication would seem to be in consonance with the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech.

Furthermore, he referred to the US Supreme Courts decision on the Pentagon Papers and noted that

neither the OSA nor any other law vests any power in the executive to stop publication of documents marked secret or the placing of such documents before a court of law which may be called upon to adjudicate a legal issue.

This was, as CPI leader D. Raja declared, a setback and a slap in the face for the government as the Supreme Court has rejected the governments argument. Hence it was clear, he underlined, that there was no clean chit to the government as both Narendra Modi and Arun Jaitley were claiming. The observations of two Opposition leaders, CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, are also noteworthy. According to Yechury, They (Modi and his government) tried to evade accountability, denied a JPC, hid the price from the CAG, sought to first mislead and then stall any hearing in the Supreme Court and yet it was important that the culprits are booked. As for Surjewala, he maintained that the skeletons in the Rafale scam are tumbling out one by one, adding: And now there is no Official Secrets Act to hide behind.

The SCs ruling in the matter is doubtless praiseworthy. It resuscitates ones faith in the Apex Courts capability to safeguard our democratic credentials threatened by those presently in power.

April 11 S.C.
They braved the line of fire, threw themselves into harms way to save a comrade, and battled hour after hour, day after day, to protect the liberties we all hold dear.

The Vietnam War was a long, harrowing experience for America, marked by intense media coverage and political turbulence in all corners of the nation.

General Maxwell Taylor, a leading architect of Americas involvement in the war, called it a dirty business. The term Vietnam Syndrome was coined in later years by President Ronald Reagan as the American public and politicians began showing reluctance to support any form of international intervention post-Vietnam War.

Besides the trillions of dollars that were consumed by the war and the toll it took on American culture, many men of the United States Armed Forces paid the heavier price, fighting on hostile soil thousands of miles away.

The death toll of American soldiers was 58,200, and the average age of those who were killed was a mere 23 years old. Over 150,000 were injured, and at least 21,000 suffered different forms of permanent disability.

https://youtu.be/seaN__DjZpE

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was first recognized among soldiers following the Vietnam War. After more than 50 years, several veterans still battle with the traumas of the war.

And what about the 1,200 soldiers whose bodies have not yet been recovered?

The United States of America does not fail to remember the sacrifices of those who served their country in turbulent times, and the sacrifices of the Vietnam War Veterans have not been dismissed either.

President Barack Obama made a solid move on March 29, 2012, by declaring that day to be National Vietnam War Veterans Day, although this was supposed to be observed as a one-time occasion.

At the time, it was the intention of the President to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War.

March 29th in particular had been chosen because it marked the disbandment of the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), and the departure of the last American combat troops from the Republic of Vietnam in 1973.

According to Obamas proclamation, the Vietnam War is a story of people from different backgrounds, colors, and creed, drawn from all corners of the United States to embark on a daunting mission in service to their beloved country.

They braved the line of fire, threw themselves into harms way to save a comrade, and battled hour after hour, day after day, to protect the liberties we all hold dear.

From Ia Drang to Hue, they won every major battle of the war and upheld the highest traditions of our Armed Forces, the proclamation read.

Eleven years of combat left their imprint on a generation. Thousands returned home bearing shrapnel and scars; still more were burdened by the invisible wounds of post-traumatic stress, of Agent Orange, of memories that would never fade.

On the 29th of May the same year, the 13-year-long commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War officially began. It will be concluded in 2025.

President Trump sealed the 29th of March as the official day for the remembrance of Vietnam War veterans through the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017.

The act includes the National Vietnam War Veterans Day as one of the suggested days on which the US flag should be flown at half-mast.

This recognition and celebration are extended to all service personnel, regardless of gender, who served actively in the US Armed Forces between November 1, 1955, to May 15, 1975. In total, 9 million Americans served during this time; out of these, about 6.4 million are still alive.

This special day of remembrance will continue to be observed over the years. The most recent one took place just a little over two weeks ago.

On March 29, 2019, National Vietnam War Veterans Day observances took place all over the country. One of the places that witnessed the event was the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC.

The memorial consists of a highly polished black granite wall that is 246 feet and 9 inches long. On the walls shiny surface, the names of over 58,320 US service personnel were etched.

At The Wall, as it is more popularly known, Vietnam Veteran lapel pins were awarded to a number of veterans by the Acting Principal Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, Anne Kimberley Kim Joiner, on behalf of the Department of Defense.

She also took part in a wreath-laying event at the same location.

Read another story from us: Agent Orange: Its Effects Still Haunt Veterans & Their Children Today (fascinating images)

The Department of Defense, alongside the Veterans Affairs Department, offered to be commemorative partners in over 1,600 similar occasions in other states across the country.

While the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War continues to be celebrated through to 2025, the Vietnam War Veterans Day will continue to be observed every year on the 29th of March, even after the end of the 13-year-long commemoration of the Vietnam War.
The trio offered investors the chance to profit from consumer debt portfolios  in this case car, student loan and credit card debts that people have defaulted on, with assets that could be eligible for seizure. Prosecutors alleged the defendants were diverting the payments they received for those investments into their own pockets and to pay off earlier investors. They say investors were cheated out of more than $360 million.
As a result of the influx at the border and the record number of aliens in detention, we have already had to decrease our interior operational footprint to manage these cases, resulting in less officers out on the streets making arrests of criminal aliens, public safety threats, fugitives, and other immigration violators, Albence wrote in an email reviewed by The Washington Post. Not sure how paying to transport aliens to another location to release them  when they can be released on the spot  is a justified expenditure.
She accepted my request to follow her, but she never chose to accept my request for her to follow ME. This is equivalent to sending someone a friend request on FB and they then ignore it. The second time I sent her a follow request, she just left it hanging out there, so the button beside her name just says "Requested," meaning that she hasn't responded to the request yet.
To walk into the house she and her husband, Bob Wilson, have owned for more than 30 years in Dale City is to step into a scrapbook of Kyle Wilson. He is everywhere. His pictures hang on the walls, sit on tables and stick to the refrigerator. In the basement, his ax and his helmet dangle beside a hand-drawn sketch of him. In a bedroom, items he collected as a child share the space with an urn filled with his ashes.
Authorities began investigating Reid last year after the family of a deceased Upper Marlboro woman hired him and later learned the remains they received were not their loved ones but those of someone else, prosecutors said.
Beyond the sense of astonishment conveyed by these results, they raised the curtain on new areas of study and showed the way to important new ideas in physics, the Nobel committee noted. The theories devised by Dr. Thouless and Kosterlitz brought about an entirely new understanding of phase transitions and of new phases of matter fabricated into thin films, the committee said.
However, they said, it did not appear that anyone was injured. It was not clear how much traffic was on the streets at the time. But on the streets involved, at that time on a workday, traffic is generally heavy enough to make it difficult to drive at high speed.
The county sheriffs office said an altercation between two students began about 10 a..m. in a classroom. It said one student was being restrained by other students and a teacher. A second student was being held back by other students, the sheriffs office said.
CRRC has contracts to build rail cars for agencies in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. The company said it imports the shells for its cars from China but assembles them in plants in Chicago and Springfield, Mass., using mostly American-made components. It is building another assembly plant in Los Angeles. At the Chicago plant, at least 60 percent of the components added to the shells are provided by U.S. suppliers, a spokesman said.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit temporarily blocked the lower-court ruling from taking effect. The three-judge panel set a Tuesday deadline for civil liberties groups to submit arguments on why the asylum policy should be on hold and a Wednesday deadline for the government to argue why it should remain in place.
Raylene Hollrah was 33 in 2008 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. After she learned that, she tested positive for the BRCA genetic mutation that has been linked to both breast and ovarian cancer. She underwent chemotherapy and opted for a double mastectomy. Then she had full breast reconstruction, including using textured implants. Five years later, she began experiencing swelling and the implants were removed. Testing confirmed that she had BIA-ALCL. She continues to be monitored with scans for any changes. Like the others, she has chosen not to replace the implants and regrets having used them in the first place.
But L had a number of partners in her early 20s followed by many years of monogamy. Does the vaccine make sense for her and the roughly 30 million other women under 46 who missed the opportunity to get the HPV shots as kids? After all, studies show that most women get exposed to at least one strain of HPV within a couple of years after first having sex and that the likelihood of exposure increases with each sexual partner. While most women clear their infections within 12 to 24 months, a small percentage go on to develop cervical precancers or cancers  which is why cervical cancer screening is important.
We can forgive, but we cannot forget. That quote is mine. Those that forget their past are sentenced not to have a future, Bolsonaro said, adding that actions are needed for the Holocaust not to be repeated.
At issue is artwork from a South County High School student that was displayed as part of an exhibition from Feb. 15 to March 14 at Northern Virginia Community Colleges Annandale campus. The work  depicting Jewish people with anti-Semitic stereotypes  prompted complaints from some members of the Jewish community who found it offensive and hurtful. Actually, that was the point the provocative image was trying to make about stereotypes, something that would have been more apparent had the work been displayed with proper context. It was part of a portfolio that focused on the irony of racial stereotypes of eight different types of people, and it had won an award from a panel of judges that included professional artists.
Mr. Warner and Ms. Fischers bill is about more than data protection, but Mr. Warner has said he hopes it can be incorporated into a larger privacy package from Congress all the same. That makes sense. The focus on companies coercive practices is another much-needed acknowledgment that the notice-and-consent model defining the data economy today is inadequate. A privacy law including some sort of duty of care should restrict not only what companies can do with user data but also how they can leverage users limitations against them to extract more information than consumers would otherwise provide. Banning dark patterns would also bear on how consumers can exercise any rights Congress grants them to access, correct and delete their data.
Pointing out that taxpayers spend an average of 11 hours preparing their tax returns and pay $200 each year for tax-preparation services, Warren would prohibit the IRS from entering into agreements that restrict its ability to provide free tax help to the rest of us, and instead would instruct the IRS to create a free, online tax preparation and filing service. The act would also allow taxpayers with simple financial situations to elect to receive a pre-prepared tax return with tax liability or refund amounts already calculated, as happens in many other countries.
Mr. Pompeo defended Mr. Sissi by saying he had taken on terrorist groups in the Sinai Peninsula and defended religious freedom. But as two experts on Egypt, Stephen McInerney and Amy Hawthorne, pointed out in a recent article, Mr. Sissis support for the countrys large Christian minority has been mostly rhetorical: Restrictions on Christian churchbuilding and employment remain in place. Michele Dunne of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace explained in another op-ed that, while failing to end the jihadist threat, the Sissi regime has persecuted womens rights advocates and other liberal activists and warped the economy with huge construction projects controlled by the military.
In Seattle, we have started to provide tuition-free college for our public high school graduates, regardless of a young persons immigration status. Were expanding internship and apprenticeship opportunities to connect all our young people with the jobs and opportunities of the future. Were working to help tens of thousands of legal permanent residents become U.S. citizens as part of the New Citizen Campaign and our other citizenship programs. Our Ready to Work program connects people with case managers and English language education to help our immigrant and refugee neighbors gain the skills necessary to enter our booming jobs market.
I wore my Planned Parenthood pink! exclaimed Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) at a recent Washington cattle call for Democratic candidates. She, who is supposed to represent the sensibility of flyover country in her disproportionately coastal party, told the conclave that a major priority for her, one that she would emphasize in her presidencys first 100 days, is statehood for the District of Columbia, a peculiar promise to facilitate retaking Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Julian Castro  former mayor of San Antonio and former secretary of housing and urban development  said that when he is the 46th president, he will favor making Congress subject to the Freedom of Information Act. This is, perhaps, a good goal but not uppermost in the electorates mind.
Leaders of OANA member news agencies took photo when attending

16th OANA General Assemby on November 18th, 2016 in Baku (Source: VNA)

VNAs hosting of the event affirms the role of the national news agency at the regions prestigious and effectively operating multilateral press forum.



The 44th OANA Executive Board Meeting will focus on three main contents, including strategies of news agencies in response to changes in information use behaviours which focus on video clips and the YouToube platform; fake news and fact-checking; and regaining trust for mainstream news.



OANA was established in Bangkok, Thailand, on December 22nd, 1961, as an initiative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).



At present, OANA brings together 44 news agencies from 35 countries. OANA members are responsible for two-thirds of information circulated throughout the world. Every day, OANA member news agencies publish around 200 news stories, photos and video clips on the OANA website at http://www.oananews.org/.



The organisation holds its general assembly every three years to select an Executive Board with 13 member news agencies. The Vietnam News Agency is a member of the 2016-2019 Executive Board.



OANA organises its Executive Board meeting annually under the host of an Executive Board member on a rotary basis. The meeting provides a venue for leaders of news agencies to share experience, update new journalism development trends in the world and discuss measures to consolidate professional cooperation./.
But Trump and Republicans face a major problem: The 2010 law known as Obamacare has become more popular and enmeshed in the countrys health-care system over time. Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia have expanded Medicaid  including more than a dozen run by Republicans  and 25 million more Americans are insured, with millions more enjoying coverage that is more comprehensive because of the law.
Democrats in Congress and on the presidential campaign trail have been more reactive than proactive on immigration. They have few answers for what to do about the humanitarian problem at the border, where a lack of resources  human and otherwise  has compounded the effect of the surge of asylum seekers. Other than Castro, Democrats have been better at saying what they would not do than what they would  or saying nothing at all.
Yet the heart of the old regime is far from gone. Sudan now seems tossed into power battles between different factions of the military, which turned against Bashir on Thursday in a stunning end for a leader who had managed to ruthlessly quash dissent for decades in one of Africas largest nations.
People want to tell stories. People want to sell newspapers. Ive got it. Congressmen will grandstand. Ive got that, too. The State Departments going to get it right, he said during an interview with two reporters on his plane en route to Paraguay. Were going to put pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran, on the regime, until we get for the Iranian people what it is they deserve: the chance to live a normal life in a state that isnt the worlds largest state sponsor of terror.
But as President Trump keeps saying, the personal ties between me and him are not hostile like the relations between the two countries and we still maintain good relations, as to be able to exchange letters asking about health anytime if we want, he said.
With much fanfare it was lowered into the waters at Benetti's Livorno facility for the first time. Weighing in at a whopping 3700 tonnes, the superyachts exterior lines were designed by British company RWD, while the interiors were developed by Benettis in-house team. Boasting a beam of 14.5 metres and a height of 30.4 metres, Packer's new ship will be hard to miss, especially if he ever manages to bring it to Sydney and moor it off the back of his new Crown Casino at Barangaroo, which friends say had been the casino mogul's long-term ambition. However, given events this week with revelations his casino business could soon be sold to the highest bidder, such a transaction would potentially put an end to that dream. Over five decks Packer's new tinnie, which replaces his late father Kerry's 88-metre Arctic P now in the hands of big sister Gretel and remains in the Packer armada, features a cinema, gym, sauna, large heated swimming pool and an observation deck.

There is more than 1000 square metres of outdoor deck space alone, with the bridge deck featuring sun pads and a 1.5 metre fire-pit to toast marshmallows on chilly nights at sea. The owners deck is fitted with it's own private dining and seating areas, separate from those on the main deck. The foredeck offers storage for two tenders of 14 metres. Another 10-meter tender can be located in the yachts garage on the lower deck, with up to eight jet skis. Yes, eight. Designed for long distance cruising with no need to refuel, the 345,000-litre capacity tank means it has a range of 6500 nautical miles at a breezy 14 knots, though the ship's top speed is 18.5 knots.

Last September Packer 'off-loaded his 55-meter Amels, EJI. Practically brand new and only intended as a interim yacht while the big Benetti was being built, Packer has long had a passion for large boats, and has previously owned the 50-metre Mangusta, Z as well as the 46-meter Leopard, Z Sydney. At one point he also had the 52-metre Amels, Seahorse. Winx draws a crowd It's official. Winx is bigger than the Melbourne Cup judging by the line up of VIPs heading to Royal Randwick to bid farewell to the record-breaking thoroughbred. The Queen Elizabeth Stakes will be Winx's last race. Credit:AAP Prime Minister Scott Morrison is no doubt keen to press the flesh now he has finally triggered the start gun on the federal election. PS hears Morrison intends to be at Randwick today but it remains to be seen if Labor leader Bill Shorten will be trackside.

Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten taking the campaign to Randwick. Racing NSW chief executive Peter V'Landys is rolling out the welcome mat for a posse of influential types, with everyone from New Corp boss Michael Miller to the editors of The Daily Telegraph and The Australian, along with The Sydney Morning Herald, set to arrive for a day in his director's suite. Alan Jones and his racing buddy and fellow horseman, millionaire breeder and Racing NSW chairman John Messara will be working the Queen Elizabeth Ballroom, though another racing regular and Jones' not so matey 2GB stablemate Ray Hadley is not expected to attend. Bigger than the Melbourne Cup, racing royalty Kate Waterhouse will be among the starters at Randwick to see Winx. Credit:AAP Officially, Gai Waterhouse will be working at Randwick today, however the rest of the Waterhouse clan will be embedded throughout the various corporate suites, with Kate Waterhouse leading the charge at the swish Longines luncheon, where the likes of Jesinta and Buddy Franklin, Kerri-Anne Kennerley, Rachel Griffiths, Sandra Sully and Samantha Armytage will be installed, along with David Panton, who interestingly is flying solo on Saturday, with his regular racing companion and partner, ex-foreign minister Julie Bishop not expected.

Which is a pity as Longines has flown in hundreds of white roses from Columbia to decorate their suite, which promises to be the most extravagant location at Randwick to watch Winx race for the last time. Giddy up! Sounding the burlesque bell PS is still hearing about that party Lachlan and Sarah Murdoch threw for their 20th wedding anniversary a fortnight ago. Shaun O'Hare with Lucy "LuLu" Ellem and his daugthers Ashleigh and Tara, arriving at sister Sarah Murdoch's 20th wedding anniversary party. Credit:Janie Barrett

It has come to light that not only was the room full of billionaires, politicians and power brokers, but also one of Sydney's most talked about entertainers, Lulu Belle, who calls herself a "performance artist and model". Promoting herself as being accomplished in the "art of seduction/burlesque/trapeze" - though she doesn't specify if it's all three at once - PS can confirm her shows are not for the prudish or faint hearted. Turns out Lulu Belle is actually Lucy Ellem who is currently dating Sarah Murdoch's brother, Shaun O'Hare, and has been the subject of much chatter, especially among the mums at the school where O'Hare's teenage daughter attends. Lulu Belle in "work mode". Credit:Instagram Indeed PS received an email from "Mothers Against Filth", who have been doing some seriously exhaustive research into Lulu Belle's professional background and coming up with all sorts of racy material too raunchy to share here.

And with the steamy relationship in full swing, there is the very real prospect that O'Hare and Lulu might make things more permanent, which means the Murdoch's children could soon have a very interesting new aunt Lulu at the next family get-together. Breakfast serial continues for top billing Ray Hadley continued to broadcast out of the Brisbane studios rather than be at 2GB's Sydney headquarters this week. Happier times: Alan Jones, Ray Hadley and John Singleton celebrating 2GB's success in 2016. Credit:Ben Rushton Following PS's exclusive revelations that he is now the subject of new investigations after two staffers filed bullying complaints, Hadley was able to avoid any awkward corridor collisions with his latest accusers. The two new complaints follow "historical" claims made by former Hadley colleagues Chris Bowen and Andrew Moore.

PS has also learned that an independent, third-party investigator has been assigned to look into the new complaints against Hadley and has been making enquiries this week. The new investigations into Hadley coincide with on-going contract negotiations between the station's biggest star, Alan Jones, and 2GB's parent company, Macquarie Media, which is majority-owned by Nine, the owner of this masthead. There was speculation that Hadley would inherit Jones' breakfast timeslot. He has the full backing of management and Macquarie's second largest shareholder, John Singleton, which has caused a deep rift with Jones, billed as a "cold war" inside 2GB. While there has been much speculation that negotiations with Jones had stalled, PS hears from insiders that to the contrary, talks have progressed well with a strong likelihood that Jones will remain in his $4 million-a-year gig.
As for whether Morrison will keep his job, "None of us can know that except the Lord," he said. It wasn't long before the campaign plummeted to more earthly matters. Morrison's talk of Labor tax hikes was "just a bucket of lies", Shorten told a TV interviewer. Morrison in turn said Shorten's Labor was "about lies and higher taxes and we will call them out when Labor are telling lies".

At least the contours of the next five weeks have been defined early. While the policy details will be slugged out in a bruising and even dirty ground game, the ideological differences are refreshingly clear. Over the next five weeks you will hear about Labor's fairness versus the Coalition's trustworthiness with the economy. The Coalition's warnings against putting at risk gains of the past six years and Labor's claim that those six years have been squandered due to internal government chaos will battle to drown each other out. Talk of Labor's unashamedly higher taxes in return for better services will ring in your ears discordantly with the Coalition's insistence that the nation can't afford better services without an expanding economy - which only they can deliver. Scott Morrison on the campaign trail at the Mulgoa Road Corridor in Penrith. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

Eleven years on from the global financial crisis, with economic populism on the rise around the world, Australians are being given a choice about the extent of redistribution of the nation's wealth. The last time Labor seized power from the Coalition, in 2007, Kevin Rudd minimised his differences from John Howard and relied on his own appeal and voter weariness with Howard. The May 18 election will go to the other extreme. Shorten, personally unpopular, has laid out policies that clearly distinguish Labor from the government on income tax, negative gearing, franking credits affecting wealthy retirees and climate change. Observers are not expecting a campaign of which Jesus would be proud. Liberals are musing that Malcolm Turnbull very nearly lost the last election after largely eschewing negativity and are adamant this mistake won't be repeated. The polls and the bookies have Labor well in front. The biggest drag, Liberals privately acknowledge, is the legacy of the leadership chaos of the past few years. Just as Labor was punished over Rudd and Julia Gillard's duelling in 2013, so is it expected that the Coalition will suffer by changing prime ministers twice without input from voters.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten swung through Sydney's affluent eastern suburbs on Friday morning. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Morrison's day-one gambit was to release Treasury costings showing Labor would hike taxes by $387 billion over the next decade, though it turned out that $230 billion of this is made up of Labor's rejection of Morrison's own planned cuts, not an increase on what people are actually paying now. Geoff Gallop, a former Labor premier in Western Australia and now director of the graduate school of government at the University of Sydney, echoed many commentators in saying that for the first time in a long time there is a good, old-fashioned argument about redistribution. The Coalition says the higher taxes will hold the nation back, while Labor says they are necessary to pay for schools and hospitals.

"It's a serious argument  that some of us have got to give something to get a greater benefit for the community," Gallop said. "It'll be a test of the capacity of the Labor opposition to tell a traditional story about the need to redistribute." Gallop says this has been brewing since the financial crisis of 2008. In some countries it has manifested as a populist backlash against elites, but Gallop says it's proof that the traditional left-right distinctions in politics are still valid. Speaking with his "Labor hat on", he stresses this doesn't mean Labor doesn't have a strong economic growth story to tell - indeed he believes they are underselling this part of their policy package. He says Shorten has a strong, centrist team and notes that when Turnbull tried to talk about the future of the economy and the need for innovation, he was actually shot down by his own side. Loading

Promoting fairness meanwhile will prevent too much social fracturing over burdens and benefits. "People will feel they're part of society," he said. "The theory and the aspiration of the Labor voters and a former Labor member like me is that social discontent will settle, we'll become internationally relevant and respected on climate change, new jobs will be created as we shift the economy, which is related to climate change but technology generally, and we'll be a better society for it. That's the argument and the aspiration, all things being equal. "Whether some event comes along and knocks it all off, who knows?" The critical thing to remember about politics is that while parties carefully construct and promote policies on the domestic front, they frequently get knocked off course by events once they're in government, he says. Former Liberal minister Ian Macfarlane says however that Labor's position is really just a variation of what it always stands for. "I don't think Labor's position is that different to the ones it's taken to previous elections. They've always been about taxing the higher brackets so I don't think it's a philosophical change. This time around it's a little bit more stark because of what they see as the cutoff  It's going to be a decision for individuals as to whether they'll be better off and whether Labor or the Coalition has the thresholds right."

Prime Scott Morrison visits Gulf Western with Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne on Friday. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer Macfarlane says however enthusiastic Labor's talk of climate change is at the campaign's start, the more bread-and-butter economic issues will triumph. Climate change tends to "show up in exit polling as a fourth, fifth, sixth order issue", he says. One retired Liberal said that fairness could be measured differently: there was equality of opportunity and equality of outcome. Labor had "very much tied their colours to the mast" in support of the latter, this person said. He said Labor's claims to be hitting the "top end of town" were actually "overreach" because much of the slug would be to self-funded retirees and property owners rather than high-income earners. Loading

However, Labor's income tax plans do appear to hit high earners. According to the government's budget papers, the top fifth of income taxpayers will continue to pay about 60 per cent of all income tax over the next six years. By offering tax cuts at lower brackets but not at the higher end, a Shorten government could be shifting more of the burden to those high earners, though without the Treasury to crunch the numbers, it doesn't have figures on what that hit might be. It was notable that Shorten started his campaign with the relatively high-risk option of mingling at the fruit market. At such public events, anything can happen. Morrison's first 24 hours, by contrast, exemplified a stage-managed operation that can't afford mistakes. Journalists whose outlets are paying big money to cover the campaign - were irritated when they discovered they had not been invited to the Windsor RSL, where Morrison mixed with punters and helped call a game of bingo on Thursday. Loading

Morrison's minders distributed footage and photographs of the event afterwards. Macfarlane was one of many observers who say the Coalition will need a degree of negativity in its campaign - though he said he expected it from both sides. "One of the mistakes Malcolm Turnbull made was that he didn't run enough negativity," he said. "Go and talk to John Howard about negative campaigns. They work pretty well. You want to say something good about yourself and something bad about the other side. You watch the TV ads - it'll be one positive for every two negative." Redistribution of a different kind means the government is starting from the toughest position imaginable. The changing of seat boundaries has helped put the government on a notional 73 seats - three below what is actually needed for a majority before the election has even been held. Labor has a notional 72 seats while six are held by minor parties and independents. Peter Dutton has gone hard early, accusing his Labor opponent Ali France in his marginal Brisbane seat of Dickson of using her disability - she lost a leg after being hit by a runaway car - as an excuse not to move into the electorate. She currently lives a couple of kilometres outside the seat.
Australias gun lobby will scale back its campaigning at the federal election, conceding that the Christchurch massacre has made it harder for the industry to push for firearm reforms.

And after ploughing hundreds of thousands of dollars into recent federal and state elections, the Shooting Industry Foundation of Australia (SIFA) has confirmed a rethink of its political strategy - including an end to the use of donations.

Gun-friendly members of the 45th Parliament, back: Senator James Patterson, Ian Goodenough MP, Senator David Leyonhjelm, Ben Morton MP, Senator Bridget McKenzie and Brian Mitchell MP; front: Andrew Hastie MP and Luke Howarth MP. Credit:Sporting Shooters Association

SIFA was a busy donor at the 2016 federal election, helping to fund individual candidates such as senior Victorian Liberals Michael Sukkar and Dan Tehan, Nationals deputy leader Bridget McKenzie and her Murray colleague Damian Drum, and a number of unsuccessful Senate hopefuls from the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party.

It also helped bankroll campaigns urging people to vote against major parties at the last Victorian and Queensland state elections, including through the so-called Not Happy Dan ads, which attacked Premier Daniel Andrews over crime and power prices.
At least 16 people were killed and 20 injured by stray bullets at protests and sit-ins on Thursday and Friday, a Sudanese police spokesman said in a statement on Saturday. Sudanese celebrate after officials said the military had forced longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir to step down after 30 years in power in Khartoum, Sudan. Credit:AP Government buildings and private property were also attacked, spokesman Hashem Ali added. He asked citizens to help ensure safety and public order. Earlier Friday, another top general, Omar Zein Abedeen said that the 75-year-old al-Bashir would not be extradited to the International Criminal Court, based in The Hague, Netherlands, saying doing so would be "an ugly mark on Sudan."

"Even rebels carrying weapons, we don't extradite them," he told reporters at a news conference in Khartoum. Zein Abedeen said Sudanese courts would hold al-Bashir "accountable," but did not specify what charges he could be prosecuted on. In ousting the president, the military denounced him and his government for corruption, maladministration and "lack of justice." Former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in 2011. Credit:AP The move underscores the limits on the reach of the International Criminal Court. On Friday, ICC judges rejected a request by the court's prosecutor to open an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan and alleged crimes by US forces there, in part because the US, Afghan government and Taliban are not expected to cooperate. In the Darfur conflict, rebels among the territory's ethnic Central African community launched an insurgency in 2003, complaining of discrimination and oppression by the Arab-dominated Khartoum government.

The government responded with a scorched earth assault of aerial bombings and unleashed the Janjaweed. Up to 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million driven from their homes. Along with al-Bashir, the ICC has indicted two other senior figures in his regime - Abdel-Rahim Muhammad Hussein, who was interior and defense minister during much of the conflict, and Ahmed Haroun, a senior security chief at the time who last month was named by al-Bashir to run the ruling National Congress Party. Both were among those reported by the Sudanese media to have been arrested on Thursday in a sweep by the military against al-Bashir's inner circle. Zein Abedeen confirmed the media reports Friday without specifying the two men. An ICC spokesman declined to comment on al-Bashir's case. On Thursday, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch urged the Sudanese military to hand over the ousted leader. "Victims of the gravest crimes in Darfur should not have to wait any longer for justice," said Jehanne Henry, associate director at Human Rights Watch. Meanwhile, Zein Abedeen sought to reassure protesters who, while celebrating al- Bashir's removal, oppose the military's seizure of power in his wake.

After ousting the president, the military announced it would rule the country for two years through a transitional council. It also suspended the constitution, dissolved the government, declared a three-month state of emergency and imposed a night-time curfew. Protest organisers have vowed not to end their street action until a civilian transitional council is formed, saying rule by military commanders who for years were al-Bashir loyalists is just an extension of his regime. The curfew and state of emergency have raised fears the military could eventually disperse the sit-in by force. But at least initially, it appears to be trying to persuade protest organisers to end the campaign. Speaking at a news conference aired live on state TV and flanked by other uniformed officers, Zein Abedeen - who is tasked with leading dialogue with Sudan's political factions - insisted the army has no ambition to hold the reins of power for long. "If within a month, Sudan became able to run itself without chaos, we are ready to leave even after a month. The maximum is two years," he said. He said the military would only appoint the defense and interior ministers in any transitional government and would not interfere.

"This was not a coup," but a "tool of change," he said. "We came ... to guide the country forward." He said the military commanders were "the sons of Sewar al-Dahab," referring to army chief Abdel-Rahim Sewar al-Dahab, who handed power to a civilian government after a coup in the 1980s. "We will not betray you," he said. But protest organisers rejected the military's assurances, calling them "deception and farce." The Sudanese Professionals Association, which has spearheaded the four months of demonstrations against al-Bashir, said the "coup leaders ... are not eligible to bring change," and repeated demands for the "immediate handover of power to a civilian transitional government."

At the sit-in, the mood was festive. Some protesters brought in mattresses, fans and even air conditioners, while others swept the streets to keep them clean, signalling they intend to stay long-term. As thousands of Muslim worshippers lined up in the street to hold prayers, Christians among the protesters held blankets over them to shade them from the sun in a show of solidarity. There were also signs of cracks among al-Bashir's former loyalists. On Friday, the commander of Sudan's feared Rapid Support Force, a paramilitary force, expressed support for the protesters, saying the forces will not "accept any solutions rejected by the Sudanese people" and called for dialogue so Sudan would "avoid slipping into chaos."
In explaining his decision to oust the WikiLeaks leader, Moreno accused Assange of installing electronic distortion equipment in the embassy, blocking security cameras, confronting and mistreating guards and gaining access to security files without permission. Australian Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was arrested and dragged out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Credit:ninevms On Thursday, the government said it had also arrested a computer programmer in Ecuador in connection with the Assange case, contending that WikiLeaks had interfered in Ecuador's domestic political affairs. WikiLeaks insisted that it was not involved in the hack of Moreno's phones, and that the Ecuadorian government was using the episode as a false pretext to toss out Assange. Assange's odyssey with Ecuador began in 2012, when he skipped a bail hearing to avoid being extradited to Sweden, where he was wanted for questioning in connection to accusations of "rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion."

Ecuador's president at the time, Rafael Correa, had been criticized in his own country for a crackdown against the press. But in Assange, the Ecuadorian president found a symbol of his challenge to the United States, which he called an imperialist power. Assange was free to stay in the embassy as long as he pleased, Correa said. Julian Assange is arrested by British police on Thursday. Credit:Nine But by 2016, a change in power was afoot in both the United States and in Ecuador. Hillary Clinton, who had run the State Department during the enormous leak of information by WikiLeaks in 2010, was running for president. Assange also had reason to worry about the coming election in Ecuador, where his stay in the embassy was becoming a campaign issue as well. On October 7, 2016, a tape was leaked showing Clinton's opponent, Donald Trump, boasting of sexually harassing women while filming a segment for the show "Access Hollywood," sending Trump's campaign into a major crisis. Less than an hour later, WikiLeaks began publishing the first of thousands of hacked emails from Podesta's account, creating a different controversy in the Clinton camp.

WikiLeaks continued to release the emails throughout October on a daily basis. U.S. intelligence agents later concluded that the documents had been hacked by Russian operatives and laundered through WikiLeaks. Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno. Credit:AP When Ecuador restricted Assange's internet access in response, Correa's administration said that it had acted on its own accord, not because of pressure from the United States. A spokesman for Kerry also denied that the Obama administration played any role. But during the encounter October 14  the night before Assange's internet access was restricted  Patsy Thomasson, a veteran of the Clinton White House, and a senior aide to Kerry attended a dinner at the Ecuadorian Embassy hosted by Francisco Borja, the ambassador of Ecuador. Attendees interviewed said it struck them as odd that such high-powered players would decide to attend a party hosted by a small country's ambassador. They noted that neither Thomasson nor the Kerry aide were dressed for the ball, and that both stayed behind with the ambassador after other guests left for the event.

Thomasson, reached by phone, said that she had been invited at the very last minute by someone whose wife couldn't come, and that she did not recall having any conversations with the ambassador, "much less about Julian Assange." Former President of Ecuador Rafael Correa. Credit:AP WikiLeaks struck back soon after. On October 16, the day after Assange's internet was restricted, WikiLeaks tweeted a code, known in its parlance as an "insurance file," and signalled that an upcoming leak involving Ecuador was imminent. According to former WikiLeaks insiders, Assange had damaging information about Ecuador and wasn't bluffing. Assange certainly seemed to have acquired compromising material. In 2015, Cynthia Viteri, a prominent Ecuadorian politician, and Fernando Villavicencio, an Ecuadorian political journalist, had gotten secret documents showing that Ecuador was running a surveillance program, using an Italian company to spy on journalists and political enemies, in addition to spying on Assange at the embassy.
MUA Ltd (MUA) has announced today that it is willing to make an investment of up to USD 30 million (over one billion Mauritian Rupees) in the Kenyan insurance sector. This would be the companys single biggest investment in the country, and comes five years after its initial investment of USD 22 million in this market. MUA has been present in East Africa since 2014, when the group purchased Phoenix TransAfrica Holdings, with controlling shares in its subsidiaries in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda.

The Kenyan market represents an attractive investment opportunity:

 The World Bank projects GDP growth of 5.8% in 2019 and 6% in 2020.

 Stable macroeconomic environment and robust growth in the services sector.

 Young English-speaking population, with a high rate of computer literacy.

Key facts on MUA Insurance (Kenya) Limited:

 MUA Kenya has inherited its rich history from one of the oldest insurance companies in East Africa, Phoenix Assurance Company Ltd.

 MUA through its acquisition of Phoenix TransAfrica Holdings in 2014, holds a 66% shareholding in MUA Insurance (Kenya) Limited.

 A strong focus on digital innovation, with the launch of online travel insurance and accidental death cover via USSD mobile application.

The announcement was made in the context of a visit by Kenyan business leaders accompanying President Uhuru Kenyatta, at MUAs Head Office in Port Louis on Thursday. Bertrand Casteres, Group CEO of MUA, We take the opportunity of President Kenyattas visit to Mauritius to announce our willingness to invest up to USD 30 million. This will mark another key milestone in our groups commitment in this fast-growing region and is a sign of MUAs confidence in the Kenyan economy and the greater East African region.

MUA has been present in Kenya since 2014 and we aim to achieve critical mass and become a key player in this market, like we are in Mauritius. MUA is the largest insurance company listed in the Stock Exchange of Mauritius in terms of market capitalisation. Today East Africa represents about 23% of our turnover. Our aim is to significantly increase that figure over the next 3 years. This investment will strengthen our position in Kenya and ultimately gain market share. We are amongst the top ten general insurance players in Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda and our focus now turns to growing our market share in the key Kenyan market.

Bertrand Casteres insists that MUA can find the right balance between its traditional approach to insurance and positioning itself as a disruptive player in Kenya, offering innovative digital insurance products and services with a strong focus on their retail clients. The dual potentials of a young population and rapidly moving technology reinforce the regions ability to leapfrog more traditional insurance markets. We are able to offer solutions for more specialised insurance risks, including cyber risks, coupled with a professional service and holistic approach to risk assessment. Our extensive local experience means that we can accompany individual clients, SMEs and larger corporations on their insurance journey.

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STAMFORDA food fight turned into a near riot at Westhill High School on Friday afternoon as a school resource officer trying to establish order was hit with a thrown object and suffered a head injury.

Capt. Susan Bretthauer said the food fight got out of control a little after 1 p.m. and spread quickly to the schools courtyard where the officer received a gash to her head. Police did not report any student injuries, although one male was arrested for not obeying the orders of a responding police officer.
On a recent morning, Lina Schlotter sat at her granite kitchen counter in Simsbury, reading a childs version of Shakespeares Taming of the Shrew aloud to her 10-year-old son, Tucker.

Soon hell be reading the bards original text, while also reading the works of Plutarch, Pilgrims Progress and a biography of Marco Polo  all a part of Schlotters home-schooling plan for her son.

Were doing French right now, we do poetry everyday. Were doing two math programs, natural history, Schlotter said later as she flipped through the thick loose-leaf notebook where she has lessons plans for each day through the end of the year.

Schlotter is so well-organized she already has many of the books that Tucker will need in high school.

The academics are complemented by field trips to museums in Connecticut and Massachusetts, as well as nature walks and sports.

I feel like Im giving my child a steak education, and the public school tries to give them McDonalds, she said.

So Schlotter, like the hundreds of home-schooling parents who made their views known to legislators this year, was relieved last month when the legislatures Education Committee stripped Gov. Ned Lamonts education bill of a provision that would have required home-schoolers to register annually with their school district.

I would prefer to have no regulation, because I dont need it, Schlotter said, though she did allow there might be families who could use some help.

However, while the provision is gone, the idea of requiring home-schoolers to register is not dead.

In fact, at the meeting where Lamonts home-schooling provision was excised, Rep. Liz Linehan, a Democrat from Cheshire who sits on the Education Committee, said the decision to remove the home-schooling bill made it more difficult for her to decide whether to support the governors bill.

In the end, she did support it but said shortly before voting, I believe there should be some regulation of home schooling  I think thats an important piece.

Linehan, who is also co-chairwoman of the Childrens Committee, later said of the proposal to register home-schoolers: I hope it does come back. We are one of only 11 states without any regulatory framework for home schooling.

Anyone can strongly support and acknowledge parents fundamental rights to direct and protect the educational upbringing of their children, Linehan said, but you can still support a regulatory framework thats narrowly tailored to ensure that children are educated and protected from abuse and neglect.

Those are alarming words for home-schooling parents who believe a plan to register their children wont guard against abuse and neglect  one of the motivating concerns behind the legislation  and who worry that registering students is just the first step in a plan to further regulate home schooling.

We believe in the fundamental right of parents to train up their children, said Pam Lucashu, who home-schooled her children and is now legislative liaison for The Education Association of Christian Homeschoolers of Connecticut (TEACH CT), because that right resides with the parents. There isnt any need to involve the state.

Any time you put anything into law, youre putting your nose under the tent, opening the door to increased regulation, said Lucashu, noting that Connecticut laws currently are silent on home schooling.

That contrasts with neighboring states  Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York  that all have high regulation. Connecticut is one of 11 states without even a requirement that parents notify the state of plans to home-school, according to the Home School Legal Defense Association. States in Connecticuts category include Idaho, Texas and Oklahoma.

Other states have requirements such as an annual notification of plans to home school; records of a childs progress and a portfolio of work; a description of curriculum; attendance records; and annual assessments.

No rules, no monitoring

So how is it that Connecticut  a state frequently criticized for having too many regulations and unfunded mandates  has essentially no legal requirements for educating students at home?

Connecticuts statute that enables parents to take children out of school says each parent or other person having control of a child 5 years of age and over and under 18 years of age shall cause such child to attend public school regularly  unless  the parent or person having control of such child is able to show that the child is elsewhere receiving equivalent instruction in the studies taught in the public school.

Thomas Mooney, an expert on education law and a partner with the Hartford law firm Shipman & Goodwin, said he interprets the statute as meaning parents are obligated to show that their children are elsewhere receiving instruction equivalent to the studies taught in the public schools, so thats not voluntary. Its a statutory obligation that the State Department of Education has historically not enforced.

My view is that the state has abdicated its responsibility, he said.

Lawyers for the state Department of Education disagree with that interpretation. A statement from the agencys spokesman said Connecticut is one of only 11 states that does not explicitly require home-schooling parents to provide notice to the district regarding their intent to home school.

While the state does not require notification, it did provide guidance in 1994, recommending  but not requiring  that parents file a notice of intent form with their district providing basic information about their home instruction program. The state also provides a sample form with subjects listed  to be checked off yes or no  including reading, writing, spelling, English grammar, geography, arithmetic, U.S. history and citizenship.

The guidance also suggests that districts hold an annual portfolio review with parents and school officials to determine if instruction in the required courses has been given.

The state Department of Education said in its statement that districts who do receive notification do not report to the department the number of students being home schooled or those who have had a notice of intent filed on their behalf.

As a result, the statement said the department has no real grasp on the size of that population, and therefore we were supportive of the governors efforts to identify and enumerate Connecticuts home-school community.

Timothy Connellan, superintendent in Southington, said he has notices of intent from the parents of about 42 students, most of whom use the form suggested by the state and dutifully check off every subject box.

But he questions the practice, as well as the proposal to make registration a requirement.

We literally have no control over it, Connellan said. Why have them register with local districts, when there is no control whatsoever?

By that, Connellan said, he means the district has neither the power, nor the staff, to oversee what is or isnt being taught to students at home.

I think there should be some sort of monitoring, Connellan said, to ensure students are receiving the education they need. But he says it should be done at a state level because districts are already overwhelmed with responsibilities.

Matthew Tirados death

The proposal that home-schoolers register in person with school districts was tucked into Gov. Ned Lamonts long and complicated education bill, which also included his controversial plan for school regionalization. The proposal also included a requirement that districts post model curricula for elementary school grades that could be used, if desired, by home-schooling parents.

Sue Weisselberg, acting deputy secretary for the Office of Policy and Management, said the bill came out of conversations with state Education Commissioner Dianna Wentzell and education advocacy group leaders, including Fran Rabinowitz, executive director of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents, and others.

We were talking about different education issues, and the issue of home schooling came up and that Connecticut had one of the lowest level requirements of any state around, said Weisselberg, adding local school officials sometimes have no idea how many children in their communities are being educated at home.

There was a sense that superintendents stated that they felt they are held accountable for the number of students who might at any time join the district for schooling, but they had no idea how many there were, she said.

But there was also another major reason that leaders, like Linehan, supported the provision, though Weisselberg said it did not prompt the writing of the legislative provision.

That was a report on home schooling issued last year by Child Advocate Sarah Eagan after the death of Matthew Tirado, a 17-year-old Hartford teen with autism who died on Feb. 14, 2017, from starvation, dehydration and child abuse.

In an investigation, the child advocates office found Matthew, though enrolled in the Hartford Public Schools, had not been allowed by his mother to attend school for about a year before his death. The Office of the Child Advocate also reported that despite numerous reports by the school district to DCF alleging abuse and neglect in the Tirado home over the years, Matthews mother successfully withdrew his younger sister from school in November 2017 simply by filing a notice with the district that she would home school the child.

After Matthews death, DCF found no evidence that his sister was, in fact, being home schooled.

Prompted by that case, Eagan became concerned about whether some parents might use the notion of home schooling as a subterfuge for what the parent is actually doing, just hiding the child from public view.

The Office of the Child Advocate decided to review information from six districts, including Hartford, to learn whether there were other children who were removed from school to be home schooled and who lived in families that had a history of involvement with DCF due to reported concerns of abuse or neglect.

The study showed the six districts received notices of intent to home school 380 students between 2013 and 2016 and that more than a third of the children who were withdrawn from school to be home schooled came from families who had previous involvement with DCF because of reported concerns of abuse and neglect.

Our recommendation  was to bring folks to the table to look at how the state could create a safety net for students who are not being removed from school to be educated, Eagan said in a recent interview, but are being removed from school to be hidden.

The investigation showed that many  though not all  parents file for the annual notification, Eagan said, but nobody was doing the annual portfolio review. Once the child was removed from the school district, there was no follow up.

Eagan said the proposal for registration in the governors bill would have been a starting point at least.

Linehan said Eagans report raised concerns about kids falling through the cracks.

I dont think we are in any way saying that home-schoolers abuse and neglect their children, she said. What Im saying is that oftentimes children who are abused and neglected are removed from school under the guise of home schooling.

Another supporter of the provision, Fran Rabinowitz, who served as a superintendent for years in Hamden and Bridgeport, said she does believe home-schoolers should be required, absolutely mandated, to register.

Rabinowitz said most home-schoolers in her experience did a magnificent job, but she has had concerns about what I didnt know about some of the students who were either withdrawn and home schooled or not even attending the school ever.

If she had her druthers, Rabinowitz said, shed like to see home-schoolers follow up with districts and provide progress reports.

I felt like my hands were tied in trying to take a look at what was going on, she said.

A seat at the table

It is the linking of the home-schooling provision to Eagans report, and a fear DCF might become involved with their families, that was particularly irksome for parents.

Look at whats going on in the schools. Theyre not safe there, but yet they are going to be watching us to keep us safe? asked Donna Person, vice president of the Christian home-schooling group TEACH CT. Thats not to say abuse and neglect does not happen in home schooling. Obviously, it can happen in any educational setting, but it doesnt happen at a higher rate. To single out a group of people and start limiting their freedom, theres no basis to do that.

Lucashu, legislative liaison for TEACH CT, agreed.

People who have removed their children to home school and who have abused their children are not the people who are going to comply with any other regulations  The evidence suggests that children are best served when child services focus on identifying high-risk cases and training their staff and focusing their resources there, Lucashu said.

Home-schooling parents also said they were disturbed the proposal was tucked into another bill and no one asked for their opinion.

Schlotter said if changes occur, she at least would like to have a seat at the table.

Rep. Bobby Sanchez, D-New Britain, and co-chairman of the Education Committee, said it seems to him the home-schooling proposal was prompted by the Tirado case.

If it was never an issue before, it shouldnt be an issue now because of one incident, Sanchez said. My feeling is that if it was never a problem before, leave it alone.

Sanchez, who has two nieces who were home schooled and are now in college, said a major problem with the most recent proposal is that it was developed without any parental input.

The governor decided to put this in his (bill), and they went crazy, Sanchez said of the home-schoolers. I can understand, it was a big surprise.

Moving forward, I would like to have a dialogue with home-school parents, he concluded. Maybe the state should know at least how many parents are out there home schooling.
Nature Trail Could life as we know it exist on planet Venus?
Despite a rising tide of anti-Semitism around the world, a research study of Canadas Jewish population found Winnipeggers feel safer and more secure than is the case in other cities.

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Despite a rising tide of anti-Semitism around the world, a research study of Canadas Jewish population found Winnipeggers feel safer and more secure than is the case in other cities.

Bridges built with other faith groups and the wider community may have something to do with that, says Belle Jarniewski, director of the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada.

SASHA SEFTER / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Les Harley waits in line at Shaarey Zedek Synagogue on Wednesday for the interfaith Passover seder. Shaarey Zedek has been trying to boost attendance, including running shorter services.

"This has led to friendships and understanding across faith communities," she said, adding it bodes well for the future.

"Winnipeg is a very special place in terms of the relationships we have built with each other."

The Environics Institute, the University of Toronto and York University, in partnership with organizations such as the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, conducted the study in 2018.

The results released last month revealed one-third of Jewish community members in Toronto and Montreal reported having experienced discrimination, compared with 23 per cent in Winnipeg.

The citys Jewish population, however, continues to shrink; there are about 12,000 members of the community now, compared with 18,000 in 1950.

"I expect it to drop to 9,000 to 10,000 in a decade," University of Toronto researcher Robert Brym said, adding about 10 per cent of survey respondents from Winnipeg indicated they plan to leave in the next five years.

"Thats pretty alarming."

However, Brym said he believes the provinces stable economy and lower cost of living could help reverse the trend by attracting more Jewish immigrants.

And while the numbers are a concern, Jewish Federation of Winnipeg CEO Elaine Goldstine has noticed there is a bit of traffic in the opposite direction.

"I see people moving back," she said of younger families returning from places such as Vancouver and Toronto to be closer to family and because of the lower cost of living.

Goldstine said Winnipegs Jewish community is no different than other faith groups in the city.

"Our goal is to leave a vibrant community for our grandchildren and great-grandchildren," she said, adding the study results indicate Jewish identity, practices and upbringing are important here.

Of particular interest, she said, are results showing what Winnipeg Jews want most is more Jewish education and schools, and programs that "promote an active Jewish life."

"We punch above our weight in Winnipeg," she said. "People here want to be involved."

The study found that to be the case nationally: two-thirds of Canadian Jews said being Jewish is very important in their lives; one-third said religion is an important part of being Jewish, although a majority say they believe in God or a universal spirit.

Only one in five lists attending synagogue services or observing Jewish law as important.

Rabbi Matthew Leibl of Shaarey Zedek Synagogue wonders if a generational divide might be having an effect.

"Synagogues attract an older demographic," he said, noting young families and individuals dont have time in their lives for services that run two or three hours long.

In response, Shaarey Zedek is trying new things to attract younger people, such as shorter services, a more user-friendly prayer book and family-friendly services.

For a long time, Leibl said, "synagogues were stuck in a pattern of not making big changes. Youre always worried about messing with something thats been around a long time. But I think the changes in society, and the changes in the mentality of people we are preaching to, thats what dictates what we do."

He notes this isnt just a Jewish problem: other faith groups are also dealing with declining attendance at worship services.

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"I cant convince someone not to move away," he said. "But I can focus on those who are here."

Benchmarked against comparable research in the U.S., the data show Canadian Jews are distinct from their American counterparts by being more connected to Jewish life through education, membership in organizations, friendships and connections to Israel.

"Knowing how Canadian Jews define their Jewishness and what they need and want from Jewish organizations can help shape community policy and programming," Brym said, adding the survey shows "the Canadian Jewish community is substantially more cohesive than its American counterpart."

The survey is beneficial for planning by Winnipegs Jewish community, said Zachary Minuk, director of marketing and communications for the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba.

"It helps us understand what our community is going to look like in the next 10 to 15 years," he said. "It will help us plan for the future, making sure we have the right services going forward."

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SEATTLE  On an upper floor of Amazons Day 1 tower, foosball tables and beanbag games dot the shared spaces filled with mostly young employees and, occasionally, their dogs. Looking through tinted windows to downtown streets below, the workers can see five new Amazon buildings under construction in the three city blocks immediately around them.

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SEATTLE  On an upper floor of Amazons Day 1 tower, foosball tables and beanbag games dot the shared spaces filled with mostly young employees and, occasionally, their dogs. Looking through tinted windows to downtown streets below, the workers can see five new Amazon buildings under construction in the three city blocks immediately around them.

The new buildings  four towers and a low-rise  will house some of the 9,000 new employees the company plans to hire in the near future. They will add another layer to the explosive growth that has made Amazon Seattles largest private employer and taxpayer in less than a decade.

Three kilometres to the east, in the historically African-American Central District, the effect of Amazons rapid expansion is visible. A chain-link fence surrounds Earls Cuts and Styles, signalling that the neighborhood landmark is slated for demolition.

In its place will rise an upscale apartment building, similar to two across the street that cater to tech workers and other professionals who have been supplanting middle- and working-class black residents. Seattles tech boom accelerated the change, and African-Americans now make up about 15 per cent of the Central Districts population, down from 21 per cent when Amazon arrived in 2010.

Amazons rise in Seattle has earned it a mixed reputation as both a progressive-minded, economic godsend for the city and a self-centred behemoth contributing too little to address the disruption it helped create, analysts say.

The online retail giant has created 45,000 jobs here, a welcome investment in this city of 725,000 people. Seattle was losing jobs to the suburbs before the Amazon buildup began and had just suffered the collapse of Washington Mutual in 2008.

The city also has at times feared that Boeing, a predecessor as its top employer, would cut operations or depart altogether. Old-timers still shudder to recall the "Boeing bust" in the 1970s, when a billboard was erected that said, "Will the last person leaving Seattle turn off the lights."

But Amazon also draws much of the blame for pushing up housing costs and homelessness, aggravating traffic and even diluting Seattles identity as a quirky, laid-back city. Its contradictory record offers a guide to what northern Virginia and the Washington region can expect as the company builds a headquarters facility in Arlington, Va., bringing with it at least 25,000 jobs over the next 10 to 12 years.

"A lot of people believe that all growth is inherently good and dont question what model of growth is good for cities that are already high-cost... There are (other) people who have a lot of concerns," Seattle city council member Lisa Herbold said.

In the Central District, barber Earl Lancaster says he is "blessed" because he will be able to remain in the community where he has worked for decades. A bank building nearby has offered him space on its ground floor to keep his shop open.

"Its a bittersweet feeling," said Lancaster, 51. "A lot of businesses that were here, they cant afford to stay around anymore."

Customer Jason Turner criticized Amazon founder Jeff Bezos for not using his wealth to do more to preserve the neighbourhood. (Bezos owns the Washington Post.)

"I would say to Mr. Bezos: Look at the community youre in. Look at what youre doing to us. Just contribute to the longevity and culture that sustained this city for years," Turner said. "We just want to be able to stay in the community we established."

Criticism of the company came to a head last year when it played a prominent role in a business coalition that successfully blocked a city council effort to impose what came to be called the "Amazon tax," a levy on large employers that would have been used to fund efforts to fight homelessness.

Asked to respond to critics in the Central District, a senior Amazon executive said no one set out to gentrify the neighbourhood.

David Ryder / for the Washington Post A new Amazon building rises near Lake Union in Seattle. The company is often blamed for driving up housing prices and homelessness in the city.

"I dont think it was ever anyones intention... to displace anyone," said John Schoettler, vice-president of global real estate for Amazon. "It comes down to basic economics, and supply and demand... We dont have enough supply for the demand of housing."

Schoettler said it was primarily the citys responsibility to use tax revenue from Amazon and other companies to deal with the citys shortage of affordable housing.

"Every time that we build a building and put a shovel in the ground, there are funds that go for affordable housing that are controlled by the city. Its up to them to be building those units... Were not in the business to build housing."

  

Amazons efforts to be a forward-thinking corporate citizen have attracted support. It prides itself on being innovative; the Day 1 building is named for a company slogan, "Its Always Day 1."

The company has won applause for its urban "placemaking," or locating its dozens of buildings in downtown neighbourhoods rather than isolated suburban campuses. Its buildings in the South Lake Union and Denny Triangle districts have dining facilities capable of holding only a third of the employees at each facility, to encourage workers to venture out and patronize neighbourhood establishments.

"They brought fun, attractive restaurants into that area," said Louise Chernin, president and chief executive of the Greater Seattle Business Association, the areas LGBTTQ* chamber of commerce, which includes many small businesses near Amazons buildings.

"You want to be angry at the big company because theyve come in and disrupted things, but theyve also created 45,000 jobs," Chernin said. "The (Amazon) people who moved here shop. They eat out a lot."

Amazon has actively promoted the use of public transit, such as by paying the full cost of its employees fare cards for light rail, buses and ferries  a perk that it is considering extending to new employees in Arlington. The company boasts that only a quarter of its Seattle employees commute to work by driving solo. Nearly one in three use transit, and more than one in five walk.

The company has promoted social causes such as gay rights, in line with Seattles political and cultural leanings. Its interest in environmentalism is evident in its construction of three biospheres  multi-storey, glass-enclosed conservatories where employees can take their laptops and work or relax, surrounded by 40,000 plants.

Accused of being stingy in its philanthropy, Amazon has made contributions to causes such as fighting family homelessness and supporting public schools.

After the city declared a state of emergency over homelessness in 2015, Amazon donated a former motel that it owned to Marys Place, which provides shelters for homeless families. In one of Amazons new buildings being erected downtown, Marys Place will have the bottom eight floors, providing room for 250 to 300 beds.

Last fall, Amazon surprised the Alliance for Education, a foundation that raises money for the citys public schools, with a US$2-million donation to create a "Right Now Needs Fund." The fund gives principals up to US$25,000 to provide students immediate assistance for items ranging from a coat or eyeglasses to food and medical care.

The companys philanthropic initiatives reflected a desire to be more publicly engaged as it matured, after an early period when it focused mainly on its internal growth, according to business leaders and non-profit executives.

Schoettler, the Amazon executive, acknowledged the company had become more open about its efforts.

"Weve always been doing things (for the community), but perhaps we were doing them more quietly," Schoettler said. "As our footprint in Seattle started to grow and there were other challenges and needs of the community, there were opportunities that arose that perhaps took on more of a bigger presence, like Marys Place."

David Ryder / for the Washington Post The former Central District location of Earls Cuts and Styles in Seattle.

Bezos, whose net worth reportedly exceeds US$140 billion, increased his individual philanthropic giving in September by announcing that he and his then-wife, MacKenzie, would contribute US$2 billion to a fund to assist homeless families and preschools for low-income communities. (The couple divorced this month.) The funds first round of donations, for homeless families, totalled US$97.5 million for organizations in 16 states and Washington, D.C., according to its website. One award of US$2.5 million went to a group in Seattle, the Refugee Womens Alliance.

  

Such individual initiatives by Amazon in Seattle, though welcome, seem modest compared with the companys huge impact on the citys economy and social structure, analysts say.

The arrival of tens of thousands of well-paid workers  earning what residents call "tech money," or average total compensation of more than US$150,000 a year for Amazon employees  has sent rents and housing prices soaring. The effect has been compounded as other tech giants  including Google, Expedia and Facebook  have expanded operations here to tap the tech talent attracted by Amazon.

Tim Thomas, a sociologist and demographer at the University of Washington who has studied Amazons impact, said a tipping point occurred in 2012, two years after Amazon moved into the South Lake Union area.

"There were a lot of areas that saw a massive injection of wealthy people," Thomas said. "Rents went up. We also saw a spike in evictions. Affordable housing started to decline."

Between 2013 and 2017, average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the Seattle metro area rose 67 per cent, from US$913 a month to US$1,528, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

The effect has been felt even far from the companys downtown towers. In two years, Chris Adam, a 28-year-old welder, has seen rent for his 500-square-foot studio apartment in south Seattle jump to US$750 a month from US$500. He said he has been threatened with eviction five times for late rent but has always managed to scrape together enough to avoid being thrown out. He does not blame tech companies for their success but wishes they would contribute more to helping folks like him.

"I cant say I hold a grudge against Amazon or Google specifically," said Adam, who earned less than US$40,000 last year. But he added, "If you make a lot of money in this society, you should chip in."

The most visible social impact has been the increase in homelessness. Hundreds of tents for homeless people can be seen along the regions freeways and in city parks.

A 50-year-old home health-care worker said she has been living in her car, currently a 1993 Honda Civic, for nearly three years. She said she lost her one-bedroom apartment of 11 years when the landlord renovated the building and her rent more than doubled, to US$1,600 a month.

The apartment building, in the Ballard neighbourhood, is on a bus route convenient for Amazon workers.

"A lot of the Amazon people are on that route," said the woman, who asked that her name not be used, to protect her privacy. "The whole area has been completely built up and changed."

Like Adam, she does not bear a grudge against Amazon, but she said the company could pay more attention.

"I cant really say I harbour so much animosity toward those people," she said. "They chose different career paths than I did, more lucrative ones. I feel like they dont know what else is going on in the area and theyre turning kind of a blind eye to things."

Critics fault Amazon with not doing enough. They contrast its behaviour with that of Microsoft, based in the Seattle suburb of Redmond. In January, Microsoft pledged US$500 million to address homelessness and build affordable housing units in Seattle and the greater Puget Sound area.

David Ryder / for the Washington Post The Spheres are seen at the Amazon headquarters in Seattle.

"Amazon is a big part of the growth thats happened in the region, and thats the biggest part of whats driving homelessness up," said Rachael Myers, executive director of the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance. "Amazon hasnt really been at the table in trying to figure out how to mitigate the impacts that theyre contributing to."

But Myers said the debate over the tax to help fight homelessness also revealed Seattles respect and appreciation for Amazon. Polls show most of the public opposed the tax, leading the city council to reverse itself and repeal the measure a month after it was approved.

"Even though people complain about Amazon being so big and sort of taking over everything, people feel a lot of pride in this hometown company thats done so well," Myers said.

  

Amazons influence extends beyond housing. Despite the companys commitment to transit, its growth has swamped Seattles transportation network. Roads around some of the companys buildings are clogged by what residents call "Amazon traffic." Voters in 2016 approved higher taxes to fund a historic US$54-billion investment in light rail and other transit, an initiative that Amazon supported. But city leaders acknowledge it will take years to catch up with demand.

As in other prosperous, tech-oriented cities, the boom has exacerbated the gap between affluent and low-income residents.

Over the past five years, Seattle has ranked third in the United States in the widening of the income gap between the richest 20 per cent of households and the poorest 20 per cent, according to an analysis of census data by Bloomberg. San Francisco and San Jose ranked first and second.

The tech industrys political clout, combined with the citys apparent inability to reduce homelessness, has spurred resentment.

"Theres a clear understanding that the political establishment has utterly failed to address the housing crisis," said city council member Kshama Sawant, one of Amazons most outspoken critics. "You have a situation of very serious inequality where a handful of corporations and billionaires have almost complete control over political outcomes in the city."

For Amazons supporters, the changes are an inevitable byproduct of desirable economic growth.

"These are the challenges you want in a city," said Jon Scholes, president and chief executive of the Downtown Seattle Association, the principal downtown business organization. (Amazons Schoettler is a board member.)

"We have beautiful problems here that other cities are dying to have," Scholes said.

Asked what Arlington should expect with Amazons arrival, Scholes said the company, though generally private, will be more engaged in civic life than it was at first in Seattle.

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"Theyve got an apparatus in place," he said. "Theyve had successes when theyve stepped out."

Scholes also warned that Arlington should be prepared for Amazon to grow faster than projected, as it did in Seattle. He noted the company has many business units on technologys cutting edge.

"Id say be ready for it," Scholes said. "Theyre a company of companies, and any one of them can take off."

Schoettler played down that possibility, saying that "25,000 jobs over a 10-year period of time, thats a tremendous amount of recruiting and bringing folks on and training them."

But he didnt rule it out. "I dont have a crystal ball," he said.

 Washington Post
DALLAS - Southwest Airlines customers relaxing on Thursday evening got an email that may mean their summer vacation could be more stressful and expensive than they planned.

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This article was published 12/4/2019 (978 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

FILE - In this March 23, 2019 file photo a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 Max aircraft lands at the Southern California Logistics Airport in the high desert town of Victorville, Calif. Southwest is removing flights with the troubled Boeing 737 Max aircraft from its schedule through Aug. 5, a period that includes the peak of the airline's busy summer travel season. The company did not specify how many flights would be cancelled because of the new schedule. (AP Photo/Matt Hartman, File)

DALLAS - Southwest Airlines customers relaxing on Thursday evening got an email that may mean their summer vacation could be more stressful and expensive than they planned.

Southwest, the biggest operator of Boeing jets, is removing the grounded 737 Max from its schedule until at least Aug. 5, well past the peak of the summer high season.

Company President Tom Nealon wrote in his email that the airline is taking the Max out of its schedule two months longer than previously planned to reduce the need for last-minute changes during the summer travel season. The decision, he wrote, would make the schedule more reliable.

Other airlines are likely to follow Southwest's example, putting pressure on Boeing to finish fixing software on an anti-stall system implicated in two deadly crashes.

Last month, Boeing and federal officials said privately that the company would finish its work before the end of March. Instead, it was delayed by an unexpected problem that Boeing hasn't fully described, and the company is now aiming to complete its work by late April.

Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said the company's pilots have flown 96 test flights totalling 160 hours with the new software and will operate more in the coming weeks to prove that the fix works.

The changes must be submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration for approval. Foreign regulators including those in Europe and China will then do their own reviews  significant because foreign airlines account for about 85% of Max orders, according to analysts for financial services firm Cowen.

It remains uncertain how willing passengers will be to board the Max after crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed all 346 people on board.

"The general flying public seems to be asking more questions about the airplane than they have with prior fleet groundings," said Goldman Sachs analyst Noah Poponak, referring to the 2013 grounding of Boeing 787s because of overheating lithium-ion battery packs. The 787 survived and became a hit with airlines and passengers.

FAA officials including acting chief Daniel Elwell met in Washington with representatives from Southwest, American and United and their pilot unions. An FAA spokesman said they went over the early findings from the two crash investigations, upcoming changes in the Max software, and pilot training for those changes. Elwell promised that the agency would be transparent about decisions to clear the plane to fly.

American Airlines 737 pilot Dennis Tajer, who was in the meeting, said unions pushed for a stronger pilot-training program including troubleshooting items only indirectly related to the anti-stall software. He said FAA seemed receptive.

"This will not be a minimum-training event to just get by," he said.

The longer the Max planes sit on the ground, the more money airlines lose. Southwest already figures that just the first three weeks the Max had been grounded, along with other setbacks, cut the airline's first-quarter revenue by $150 million.

Southwest has been cancelling about 90 flights a day because its 34 Max jets have been grounded since mid-March. Spokesman Chris Mainz said the new schedule eliminates about 160 daily flights to assure customers that it will operate the flights they booked.

That is 4% of Southwest's 4,000 daily flights during summer. Still, unless the airline finds replacement planes quickly  and that can be a complicated process  Southwest will scrap about 10,000 flights that could have carried nearly 1.8 million people between now and early August.

American Airlines doesn't expect its 24 Max jets to be flying before June 5, and it too is cancelling about 90 flights a day.

United Airlines, with 14 Max planes, says it is shuffling its fleet and mostly covering flights that were scheduled with the Max in mind.

Without those planes, travellers will have fewer flights to choose from, and fewer planes to carry passengers whose flights are cancelled for other reasons such as bad weather. There could also be fewer fare sales.

"Travelers who have not already booked their summer reservations may end up paying a slightly higher airfare," said Henry Harteveldt, a travel-industry analyst with Atmosphere Research Group, "but it's not going to be the summer from hell."

Harteveldt said he expects airlines that don't have Max jets  a list that includes Delta, JetBlue, Alaska and Spirit  will court travellers with price-cutting.

The cost of the Max crisis to Boeing also rises the longer the plane is grounded and jets coming off the assembly line pile up around Seattle.

With aircraft orders booming, Boeing shares have soared for more than two years, although they dropped about 14% from March 1 through Friday's close. Most of Wall Street has expressed confidence that Boeing can fix the Max quickly and regain momentum.

Poponak, the Goldman Sachs analyst, said however there is a risk that Boeing orders could suffer for the next few years. He said some airlines seemed to view the Airbus competitor, the A320neo series, as superior, and some aircraft-leasing companies faced a challenge to place the Max with airline customers.

Since its launch in 2017, the Max had emerged as Boeing's bestselling jet. Fewer than 400 have been delivered, but about 4,600 are on order.

However, the company took no new orders for the Max in March  not even before the March 10 crash in Ethiopia  and only 10 in the first three months of the year, down from 112 in the same period last year. It could be that airlines interested in the plane had already placed orders.

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Boeing stopped deliveries and announced last week that it was cutting production of 737s from 52 to 42 a month.

Airlines in China and Norway have said they want compensation for their grounded planes. While other airlines have kept silent, analysts expect Boeing will make concessions that could total hundreds of millions of dollars.

The Chicago-based company also faces a growing number of lawsuits by families of the crash victims.

Boeing hasn't provided numbers on the financial impact from the Max crisis.

___

David Koenig can be reached at http://twitter.com/airlinewriter
There would never be a right time for Ruth (Henry) Mechler to receive the news that her beloved Gene, a Canadian soldier in the Second World War, had been critically injured.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/4/2019 (977 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There would never be a right time for Ruth (Henry) Mechler to receive the news that her beloved Gene, a Canadian soldier in the Second World War, had been critically injured.

When the news came by telegram on Nov. 3, 1941, it was just days before 20-year-old Ruth was to take her final exam in nursing school at the Misericordia Hospital. When she found out that her fiance was in grave condition with a fractured skull and it wasnt known if he would survive, it was just too much.

Ruth Mechler on her 94th birthday

"Cpl. Eugene Fred Mechler officially reported seriously ill as result of fractured skull suffered in motorcycle accident stop Further information follows when received," read the Canadian Pacific telegram, which Ruth saved. Gene was a member of the XII Manitoba Dragoons in London when a bomb exploded near him. The force of the bomb blast caused the motorcycle to crash and Gene spent two weeks in a coma.

"My dads mom (Gladys Shankland) tried to keep it from my mom until after she took the nursing exam, but someone in the neighbourhood heard something and told my mom. She phoned his (Genes) mom and said, Whats going on? and found out, just two days before the final exam," said Ruths son, Alan Mechler.

Ruth, worried and distraught, failed the exam. The rules of the day decreed that there were no second chances at the nursing exam in Manitoba. If she still wanted to be a nurse, shed have to try again in another province. After Gene returned safely home and was recovering, Ruth determinedly went after her dreams.

She found ways to become a nurse, to marry Gene and to have a family.

Ruth, who died at age 97 on Jan. 22, was a career nurse, a mother of one son and grandmother to Greg Mechler and Devon Berglund.

While Gene was recovering at home  he had suffered some memory loss due to his injuries and received a disability pension throughout his lifetime  Ruth moved temporarily to Woodstock, Ont., to attend nursing college. She graduated with the highest grades in her class.

"It was three years in Woodstock; 1944 when she went to Woodstock. She was very determined," Alan said.

A telegram announcing Gene Mechler's war injury was sent to his mother on Nov. 3, 1941.

After she graduated from the nursing program on March 22, 1947, Ruth was offered a job as the lead operating room nurse at the prestigious Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, but she was not going to be separated from Gene ever again.

They met in high school at Daniel McIntyre Collegiate. Two years apart in age, they grew up two streets apart in the West End  he on Strathcona and she on Ashburn.

Ruths story is also Genes story.

"Everybody commented on what a cute couple they were. They were totally devoted to each other," Alan said. "Just two peas in a pod."

Their wedding was on Aug. 16, 1947, and they were married for 60 years. Gene died just weeks after their 60th anniversary, on Sept. 2, 2007.

Ruth Mechler on graduation day from nursing school in March 1947

"She told me when they did start up (their life together) after the war, they got that little house on Goulding Street in the West End, and how tough things were," said Alans wife, Debbie.

"She told me how thrilled they were the day they got the stove. They had nothing in the house, compared to brides today. They were so thrilled to get anything, even a rug. It meant so much, because it was just a totally different world."

Ruth encountered yet another challenge when it turned out she and Gene were unable to have a child. Determined once again, Ruth became a mother in 1955 when she and Gene adopted Alan when he was just a few days old.

Alan said he "always knew" he was adopted and was always proud of it and grateful. He said he remembers lying in his bed as a youngster, looking up to heaven and thanking God for bringing him to this family.

He said Ruth would tell the story of how he would stick up for himself, if kids teased him about being adopted.

Alan and his mother, Ruth, in 1959

"She said I yelled back at them, Well, my parents CHOSE me. Your parents got STUCK with you!"

Ruth adored her child, and she was elated to eventually become a grandmother.

"I asked Als mom once why they never adopted another child," said Debbie. "She said they never felt like they needed to, after they adopted Al. He was a newborn baby. They were just so thrilled to get a child. It made their lives complete."

The couple lived in the Goulding Street house for 16 years and then moved, when Alan was eight years old, to Westwood.

Ruth was always an adventurer at heart, Alan said.

Ruth and Gene Mechler, with their granddaughter Devon

During the war, she learned Morse code and worked as a radio operator in Lac La Ronge, Sask., a small northern town close to the Saskatchewan-Northwest Territories border. Alan said she would tell him stories about how her nerves of steel served her well when bush pilots would try crazy stunts to terrify her during flights in and out in of the community on small supply planes.

Ruth went on to work as a nurse for more than 20 years at the Misericordia and both Grace hospitals (the current facility on Booth Drive opened in 1967, replacing the hospital at Arlington Street and Preston Avenue). She worked for a time as an emergency room nurse but was primarily an operating room nurse, thriving on the intense atmosphere.

"Nursing was really important to her. I thought it might have been because of what happened to my dad. It was a way of caring for people and looking after them, and that mattered," Alan said.

Debbie said Ruth would often reminisce about her nursing days.

"In her later years, when shed land in the hospital herself, we always heard about how things would have been done in her day as a nurse," Debbie said.

"She was always the 1940s-style nurse with the starched cap and all that. It was everything for the patient," Alan said.

Alans admiration and love for his mom was captured in his own words in his blog.

"Thank you, Mom. Thank you for these memories and so many more that I will carry with me forever. Thank you for all of your love and kindness. Thank you for all the sacrifices that you and Dad made so that my life would be better. Thank you for all the trips to emergency that I didnt have to take because Band-Aids and Youll live were all that were really required. The day that you and Dad adopted me was my very, very best day," Alan wrote.

"Give Dad a hug for me and tell him that I miss him. Im going to miss you, too. I love you, Mom."

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca
A Senate committee has been told Indigenous communities should have the ability to block energy projects that would cause too much damage to their land.

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This article was published 12/4/2019 (978 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Senate committee has been told Indigenous communities should have the ability to block energy projects that would cause too much damage to their land.

Speaking to a panel of senators, who are conducting hearings into Bill C-69, in Winnipeg Friday, Swan Lake First Nation elder David Scott asked, "Where is our ability to say no? ... We must consider the impacts of industry on the lives of Indian people."

He appeared alongside Leslie Dysart, a member of South Indian Lake First Nation, and University of Manitoba environmental science Prof. Stephane McLachlan. All three asked for more Indigenous input during the regulatory process of hydro projects.

Dysart called for greater federal oversight of such projects.

"I live every second of my life under the oppression, devastation and harmful practices of Manitoba Hydro that they are proposing to continue into the future permanently. Canada is absent from these processes," Dysart said.

"Manitoba Hydro is flooding our lake, decimated our lands, forced our relocation, allowed the burning and destruction of our traditional homes and continues to impact us destroying a fish population and our economy, all under the approval and so-called regulation of Manitoba."

Bill C-69 would repeal the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and retire the National Energy Board. The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada and the Canadian Energy Regulator would become the authorities responsible for assessing the environmental, health, social and economic effects of proposed energy projects. Senators on the energy, environment and natural resources committee are conducting cross-country hearings into the bill.

Hydro lawyers Grainne Grande and Jennifer Moroz asked the committee to consider making the regulations flexible, depending on the scale and complexity of energy projects. They also want firm deadlines for permits to be approved.

Hydro is currently waiting for federal approval of the proposed Manitoba-Minnesota transmission line. A decision is expected by May 16.

"It is critical that all parties have certainty of process and timelines and that the process is proportional to the complexity of a project," Grande said.

"Simple modifications like those that come with no additional land acquisition or changes to voltage to existing projects would not be put through the same complexity of process as constructing a new line," she suggested.

At one point, Hydro officials were surrounded by about a dozen activists who carried signs with slogans decrying the oil industry and calling for climate justice. They briefly interrupted testimony before being escorted out of the conference room at the Fort Garry Hotel.

A spokesperson said it was the first time protesters made it inside one of the committee's hearings. Hundreds of pro-oil supporters gathered outside its hearings in Alberta. The committee has already been to Vancouver, Calgary, Fort McMurray, Alta., and Saskatoon. More hearings are lined up for Eastern Canada.

There was debate about whether the committee should come to Winnipeg. Alberta Sen. Paula Simons, who had suggested last month the committee needn't travel to Winnipeg, said Friday she is glad it did. She noted the testimony on Friday morning was quite different from what was said in other cities.

"So it was very eye-opening. Sen. (Mary Jane) McCallum, who is my colleague on this committee, has spoken about this before," she said, referring to the effect of Manitoba Hydro projects on Indigenous communities.

"But to hear it right from the people most directly affected, it was a very powerful presentation. And it stood in real contrast to some of what weve heard from Indigenous community leaders in Alberta and Saskatchewan, who are actually speaking out to say that they need the resource industry because it provides wealth and sustainability to their communities."

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Simons said she shared Manitoba Hydro's concerns about transmission lines being an essential part of national infrastructure.

"But its absolutely true that we cant just think that hydro is the magical answer to our energy needs without giving consideration to the communities that are most directly affected by those developments," she said.

Representatives from Amnesty International were scheduled to speak to senators later Friday afternoon. Women's rights campaigner Jackie Hansen said Thursday they would be discussing why Bill C-69 should include recommendations for gender-based analysis of energy projects, so as to consider their effects on women and girls.

 With files from The Canadian Press

jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @_jessbu
The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba and the Winnipeg Police Service are again butting heads over a probe into a serious officer-involved incident  and this time it's headed to court.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/4/2019 (978 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba and the Winnipeg Police Service are again butting heads over a probe into a serious officer-involved incident  and this time it's headed to court.

For the past nine months, the IIU has demanded the police service turn over the incident reports and notes of two cadets who were involved in the July 2018 in-custody death of a suspect. That death is under investigation by the watchdog.

FACEBOOK Matthew Richards Fosseneuve died in police custody.

Each time the request has been made, its been refused, including on multiple occasions by police Chief Danny Smyth.

On Wednesday, the IIU took the extraordinary step of filing an application in the Court of Queens Bench which seeks to force the police service to hand over the materials. The watchdog says the incident reports and notes are needed to complete its investigation.

The court application is the clearest example of the longstanding tension and disputes between the two agencies. The trouble first came to light in a Free Press investigation in November 2018. It appears those tensions are escalating.

The officer-involved incident began at 10:30 p.m. on July 28, 2018, when the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service responded to a medical call in the area of Alexander Avenue and Fountain Street.

The emergency crew called for police assistance because the subject of the call, 34-year-old Matthew Richards Fosseneuve, was aggressive and threatening. He fled the scene and was later located by police at Logan Avenue and Princess Street.

Five police officers and two cadets responded to the scene. Fosseneuve reportedly threatened them with a brick. As a result, police deployed a Taser, also known as an electric conductive weapon.

While they were handcuffing him, officers realized Fosseneuve was unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital less than an hour later.

Since then, the watchdog has made three written requests to the police service to release the cadets incident reports and notes to its investigators who are probing the in-custody death.

In a letter to Smyth, IIU civilian director Zane Tessler outlined multiple reasons why the notes and reports are germane to the investigation, including the fact the cadets were the first police personnel to encounter Fosseneuve before he died.

Smyth waited 24 days before responding to Tesslers letter. He said the force "wishes to co-operate with the IIUs investigation, however we do not believe it is appropriate to turn over the requested material."

Not the first dispute The legal case the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba has started against the Winnipeg Police Service is not the first time cadets have found themselves at the centre of a dispute between the two agencies. The conduct of cadets, and the question of whether they fall under the jurisdiction of the provincial Police Services Act, led to rifts between the IIU and the WPS in February and March 2017. click to read more The legal case the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba has started against the Winnipeg Police Service is not the first time cadets have found themselves at the centre of a dispute between the two agencies. The conduct of cadets, and the question of whether they fall under the jurisdiction of the provincial Police Services Act, led to rifts between the IIU and the WPS in February and March 2017. In the first case, the WPS blocked the IIUs attempt to interview a cadet for an investigation. In a letter to IIU civilian director Zane Tessler at the time, WPS chief Danny Smyth said that since cadets are not police officers, the IIU has no right to involve them in its investigations. The following month, the conduct of a cadet was flagged by Tessler. In this case, it appeared a cadet had been given a police officers incident report for review before his interview with IIU investigators to discuss an officer-involved shooting. In a letter to Smyth at the time, Tessler noted the cadet's testimony "closely mirrored" the subject officer's account in the report. However, Tessler said he attributed no ill will to the cadet and was only flagging the matter so it could be discussed directly with them. Close

Instead, Smyth suggested the IIU reach out to the cadets directly to see if they would voluntarily submit to interviews with investigators. Documents submitted with the application show IIU investigators reached out to the cadets on multiple occasions.

One cadet said he had to check with his lawyer before agreeing to an interview, then did not respond to further emails from investigators. The other cadet ignored the IIU request entirely.

On Sept. 20, 2018, the IIUs lawyer, Eli Goldenberg, sent a letter to Smyth  citing the Police Services Act (the legislation governing both agencies) and the Supreme Court of Canada case Wood V. Shaeffer  to explain why the documents had to be turned over.

"You state in your letter that you do not believe there is authority to provide the requested material, yet nowhere in your letter do you state or identify the existence of a legal justification or privilege for the exclusion of the cadets notes from the WPS investigative file," Goldenberg wrote.

"There is nothing in law that would justify excluding or excising the notes and reports prepared by these two cadets and all of this material must be transmitted to IIU as part of the request for the full WPS investigative file."

Smyth did not respond until Oct. 23, 2018. He once again refused to hand over the material  citing a gap in the Police Services Act  and finished by writing, "We believe that concludes the matter."

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The matter is set to go before a judge May 3, 2019. Should the police service wish to contest the application, its lawyer must attend that court date. Any documentary evidence it wants to submit must be filed no later than 2 p.m. on May 2.

The IIU is also seeking to have its legal costs recuperated.

IIU spokeswoman Barbara Czech declined to comment when reached by the Free Press. Instead, she directed the Free Press to the IIUs legal counsel. A request to interview Goldenberg was declined. In a written statement, a provincial spokeswoman said the "Crown's comments are limited to what is on the court record. We have nothing further to add at this time."

WPS spokesman Const. Rob Carver told the Free Press the force had yet to be served the court documents and was unable to comment.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @rk_thorpe
The arrest of Julian Assange presages a debate on free speech that weve been avoiding for the seven years he was living in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London: can Assange be lawfully prosecuted for somehow facilitating illegal theft of classified information? Or is the organization he founded, WikiLeaks, protected by the First Amendment when it publishes documents supplied by others, such as the New York Times when it published the Pentagon Papers?

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/4/2019 (977 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

The arrest of Julian Assange presages a debate on free speech that weve been avoiding for the seven years he was living in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London: can Assange be lawfully prosecuted for somehow facilitating illegal theft of classified information? Or is the organization he founded, WikiLeaks, protected by the First Amendment when it publishes documents supplied by others, such as the New York Times when it published the Pentagon Papers?

Current U.S. law is not especially clear on this question. The actual 1971 Pentagon Papers case, New York Times v. United States, wasnt about punishing the Times after the fact. It was about the distinct (albeit related) question of whether the government could block the publication of classified material before it hit the newsstands  what First Amendment lawyers call "prior restraint."

Victoria Jones / Press Association files Julian Assange gestures through a vehicle window as he arrives at court in London.

The U.S. Supreme Courts answer was no, the government cant block a newspaper from publishing classified material that it has received without committing any legal wrong on its own.

The right to publish, however, leaves open the possibility of prosecuting anyone who actively violates national security law by disclosing classified information  in other words, punishing the leaker. Its on this logic that Chelsea Manning, a former U.S. army analyst, was convicted and imprisoned in 2013 for leaking classified military files and diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks. (Her sentence was commuted by former president Barack Obama before he left office in 2017.) And no one doubts that Edward Snowden  the former National Security Agency contractor who gave secret documents to WikiLeaks before escaping to Russia  could be convicted in U.S. court if he were captured, arrested and tried.

The difficult question lies in between: what about a person or institution that in some way co-ordinates with the initial leaker? Under ordinary criminal law principles, an accomplice or someone who aids and abets a felony can be charged with a crime. Arguably  and of course depending on the facts  someone who co-ordinates with a leaker to receive and publish unlawfully leaked information could be subject to criminal penalties.

Thats the crime the government says Assange committed. In a news release, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday that Assange helped Manning crack a password while she was taking information from government servers. If the government can prove that, it looks like a genuine crime of participating in the hacking.

Mere encouragement is a closer call. The Justice Department says that "during an exchange, Manning told Assange that after this upload, thats all I really have got left. To which Assange replied, curious eyes never run dry in my experience."

The government may say a jury should decide if this is aiding and abetting in the form of encouragement. Thats worrisome. Some forms of encouragement would count as aiding and abetting, but the government should be especially cautious about charging that when free speech rights are in question.

Because of all the grey area around Assanges involvement in the Manning case, we might wonder why the government isnt charging Assange in connection with the investigation into Russian efforts to meddle in the 2016 presidential campaign.

After all, we know that Assange was in touch with Roger Stone and Jerome Corsi, associates of Donald Trump and his campaign, revealing that he had documents that Russian intelligence had hacked from the Democratic National Committee. Our source is documents filed by special counsel Robert Muellers investigation.

Mueller indicted 12 Russian intelligence agents who engaged in the hacking in the first place. He charged them with a criminal conspiracy to steal the materials and "stage" the release of the documents "to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential election."

It is plausible that Assange could still be charged with being a participant in this conspiracy. After all, he was the one in charge of the release of stolen DNC documents.

To be sure, Mueller appears not to have obtained sufficient evidence to charge Stone or Corsi for being part of the conspiracy. Assange, however, is a different matter. WikiLeaks was in direct touch with the Russian intelligence hackers, according to the agents indictment.

The crucial explanation may be that we dont know what evidence Muellers investigation obtained on what co-ordination existed between Assange and the Russians.

If theres evidence that Assange actively participated alongside the Russians, advising them on their leaks or otherwise encouraging them, it would put Assange over the edge from being merely the publisher of the leaks to having been an accomplice in the crime of hacking. In that case, only the most absolutist First Amendment diehards would object to seeing him prosecuted.

Imagine, however, that there isnt evidence of Assange doing more with the Russian hackers than receiving their information. Under these circumstances, the key to Assanges alleged criminal conduct would be the charge that he released the Russians information to try to affect the outcome of an election.

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But that could also be said of a newspaper that agrees to publish leaked information in the middle of a contested election season. Indeed, the First Amendment protects precisely the right of speakers to try to affect electoral outcomes. Thats one of the main goals of the freedom of speech. Political speech has always been considered the core of the freedom.

The main upshot of Assanges efforts with Russia may be political, not legal.

When Assange went into the Ecuadorian Embassy, it was still possible for liberals to view him sympathetically, the way some liberals saw Snowden and Manning as whistleblowers for the problems they revealed within the national security state.

Muellers investigation assures that Assange wont be getting much sympathy from liberals.

Nevertheless, liberals and conservatives alike should keep a careful eye on the First Amendment implications of the Assange prosecution  and hope the evidence is clear enough to convict him without chilling the freedom of the press.

Noah Feldman is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and a professor of law at Harvard University.
Over the past 20 years, the courts have validated long-standing claims by First Nations that Canadian governments have systematically ignored and violated the terms of treaties negotiated between 1871 and 1921.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/4/2019 (977 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

Over the past 20 years, the courts have validated long-standing claims by First Nations that Canadian governments have systematically ignored and violated the terms of treaties negotiated between 1871 and 1921.

One approach to mitigating treaty violations is the additions-to-reserve process. In short, First Nations purchase land from a private owner and apply to transfer it to their reserves. Government helps in the process. Under the Treaty Land Entitlement process, Manitoba has also set aside $190 million to assist First Nations to acquire private land for the purpose of adding to their reserves.

Between 1969 and 2017, the federal government approved 1,689 additions to reserves and of these, 119 were urban reserves. Most of them were in small communities or on the periphery of larger cities, and rarely inside a major metropolis.

This is set to change with Kapyong Barracks  a site in Winnipeg that will become one of the most recent urban reserves in Canada. Comprising a 64-hectare parcel deep within an affluent area of the city, this urban reserve will be a unique and practical test of reconciliation.

The finalization of this reserve and transfer to seven Treaty One First Nations will likely conclude in the next year; thats when the truly hard work will start. Two requirements underpin this new venture.

Maximizing revenue

First, and most importantly, most First Nations appear to be focused on maximizing the revenue from these new lands.

This is an economic logic that will likely result in Kapyong being developed in much the same way as the surrounding community, with upscale residential and retail/commercial properties.

Despite the common misconceptions Ive heard from some of my Winnipeg neighbours, Kapyong will not be a trailer park, nor will it feature much low-income housing, despite the efforts of anti-poverty advocates.

The two existing urban reserves in Winnipeg, owned by Long Plain First Nation and Peguis First Nation, feature a gas station, a post-secondary college, office and retail space leased to Indigenous and non-Indigenous businesses and, quite possibly in the future, a cannabis store. The goal of making money guides development that is consistent with surrounding land use.

Second, all urban reserves enter into a Municipal Development and Services Agreement with the city that requires the First Nations to pay an annual fee in lieu of taxes. This covers the cost of police and fire protection, transit, water, sewer and other services purchased from the city. As part of the agreement, the First Nations agree to undertake development compatible with the surrounding area.

This all sounds good, but it is also easy to imagine missteps.

Consider the fees for services. At 64 hectares, the Kapyong lands could have an assessed value of at least $300 million if developed to be an upscale residential and retail hub. At the current mill rate, that could return about $4 million in property taxes and a similar amount in school taxes.

Will Treaty One First Nations accept paying this kind of money immediately on undeveloped land? As development proceeds, the fees for urban services should approximate the property and school taxes the city would have received had Kapyong been sold to individuals.

First Nations do pay taxes

A common misconception exists that First Nations businesses and people do not pay tax, leading many businesses in the area to fear that commercial ventures on an urban reserve have an unfair advantage.

This is false.

In general, First Nations people  those designated as so called status Indians  are liable for income and other taxes, just as any Canadian. The key exception is that profits and incomes received by status Indians from First Nations-owned businesses on a reserve are not subject to tax.

Many nuances exist to Indigenous tax law, but the notion that commercial activity on an urban reserve has an unfair advantage is overstated.

Assuming the goal of the Treaty One First Nations is to generate maximum revenue for their bands and to pay the city for services, then simple economics dictates that both Indigenous and non-Indigenous businesses that operate on the reserve must pay the same leases and fees as businesses off reserve.

While some First Nations leaders may be reluctant to tax their own band members and their businesses as a matter of principle, others argue that its the only way to finance self-government and support the provision of essential city services.

The seven Treaty One First Nations that will assume control over the Kapyong lands face the challenge of creating a unified voice to advance their mutual interest. This will entail creating an independent umbrella economic development agency, focused on generating revenue and answerable to the communities.

This new agency must be accountable to band membership. But as with all governments, undue political pressure, including potential interference by First Nations leadership in the management of economic activity of the urban reserve, could jeopardize revenues and attenuate the benefits that flow back to the communities.

There are sure to be difficult discussions ahead.

The question of casinos causes ruptures and debates. Its possible First Nations leadership may want to develop a casino on the Kapyong lands, a common activity on urban reserves in Saskatchewan.

Will local residents oppose this land use, citing congestion and a desire not to have legalized gambling close to their residences?

This is but one example of the challenging negotiations that lie ahead.

Negotiation, not litigation, is key

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It would be easy for debates on land use to degenerate into a rights contest in which First Nations pit their rights against the NIMBY (not in my backyard) reaction of existing land owners.

But the existing land owners and non-Indigenous residents of Winnipeg need to accept urban reserves as a tangible and legitimate expression of reconciliation. First Nations leaders should also view the urban reserve as an important foothold in the urban economy of the future and continue to work with other Winnipeg landowners who have valid interests in how that development proceeds.

Everyone must resist the temptation to run to the courts when negotiations become difficult. Economic benefits will slow to a trickle as soon as litigation replaces negotiation.

Finally, governments  First Nations, federal, provincial and municipal  must engage in transparent negotiations so all citizens, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, remain fully informed on progress toward fulfilling this exciting new form of urban land ownership.

Gregory C. Mason is an associate professor of economics at the University of Manitoba.

This article was first published at The Conversation Canada: theconversation.com/ca.
The track record of provincial governments that call snap elections is not good.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/4/2019 (978 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The track record of provincial governments that call snap elections is not good.

In 1990, Ontario premier David Peterson had an approval rating of 54 per cent and called an early election, hoping to extend his mandate with another majority government. Accused of being arrogant and avoiding a forthcoming economic recession, Bob Rae and the NDP stunned everyone on election night and took power.

More recently in Alberta, premier Jim Prentice called a snap election in 2015 after 44 years of seemingly invincible Progressive Conservative rule. Less than a month later, NDP Leader Rachel Notley was premier and Prentice was forced to resign.

Premier Brian Pallister hasn't ruled out a summer election. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press files)

Looking at the road ahead, there are obvious political reasons why Premier Brian Pallister is eager to go to Manitoba voters for another mandate. He thinks he can win another majority as polls show his Progressive Conservatives have nearly 60 per cent support in rural Manitoba, are polling well in Winnipeg, and have a decent economic record after slashing government spending and fulfilling their major electoral promise: the cut of one percentage point in the provincial sales tax.

Pallister is riding high and not afraid to show it, dropping hints of a snap election to anyone who will listen.

But nearly everyone is telling him not to do it.

Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman says an early election would be a "disservice to voters." The mayor has publicly criticized the premier over infrastructure money, even going on morning radio to tell citizens to question their MLAs commitment to the city with "every pothole you hit."

Progressive Conservative MLAs in Winnipeg  especially those facing criticism over emergency room closures and cancelled infrastructure projects  are privately telling Pallister not to go to the polls. Farmers and citizens soon to be hit by flooding costs this spring are also telling him not to do it.

Finally, after weeks of what he called his "speculection," Pallister said in a CBC interview aired Friday that he isnt planning on calling a provincial election before July 1.

If Pallisters true motivation is to encourage Manitobans not to mix partying and politics  he initially said he wouldnt want the campaign of the fixed election date of Oct. 6, 2020, to interfere with Manitobas 150th anniversary celebrations in 2020  then holding an early election in the summer is hypocritical.

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Brian Pallister and his party are doing well in the polls and have a decent economic record. (John Woods / The Canadian Press files)

The musing about an early election may be a sign of a premier going in one direction and a party, province and everyone else going in another. Its more likely, however, that this election threat is not a matter of seizing opportunity but avoiding danger.

With austerity cuts yet to be felt and an economic slowdown possible for Manitoba  not to mention the loss of $325 million to provincial coffers because of the PST cut  it may be that whatever losses Pallister might suffer in 2019 are mild compared to the potential political disaster he may experience in a 2020 election.

What appears to be arrogance and dysfunction could be just the old-fashioned strategy of getting ahead of bad news.

The problem, of course, is that Pallisters "speculection" has a domino effect.

The NDP and Liberals are rushing nomination meetings and focusing their energy on fundraising and organizing instead of just holding the government to account. Meanwhile, important issues like Manitobas conflict with the federal government over the carbon tax or fish stocks in Lake Winnipeg, are given less attention or overlooked.

This political game-playing has real costs and may not pay off for Pallister in the end.
The event is co-organised by the VWM, the State Archives and Records Department, and the Vietnam Youth Museum as part of activities to celebrate the 44th anniversary of the Souths liberation and national reunification (April 30, 1975  2019).

Works on display include 100 pictures by photographer Mau Hoang Thiet, featuring Vietnams northern region during the national resistance war against the US.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Dang Thanh Tung, Director of the State Archives and Records Department, said that the exhibition provides a closer look at the life in Vietnams northern region, where people worked wholeheartedly to serve as the rear to support the frontline during the anti-US war.

The exhibition not only recreates a vivid picture of the country during the 1954-1975 historic period but also portrays Vietnam as a country with peace-loving and resilient people who were willing to lay down their lives for the motherland.

Veteran photographer Mau Hoang Thiet is one of the founding members of the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists in 1965. Having more than 50 years of experience in photography, he won the State Awards in 2017, one of most prestigious awards in the country granted to outstanding scientists and artists in recognition of their contributions to the countrys development.

After the exhibition concludes on April 15, photographer Mau Hoang Thiet will present all of the photos to the State Archives and Records Department.

Selected photos on display at the exhibition:
There is not enough analysis data for Amerisur Resources.

4.5 Community Rank

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MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Amerisur Resources and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe AMER will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe AMER will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days.

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Royal Bank of Canada operates as a diversified financial service company worldwide. The company's Personal & Commercial Banking segment offers checking and savings accounts, home equity financing, personal lending, private banking, indirect lending, mutual funds and self-directed brokerage accounts, guaranteed investment certificates, credit cards, and payment products and solutions; and lending, leasing, deposit, investment, foreign exchange, cash management, auto dealer financing, trade products, and services to small and medium-sized commercial businesses. This segment offers financial products and services through branches, automated teller machines, and mobile sales network. Its Wealth Management segment provides a suite of advice-based solutions and strategies to high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals, and institutional clients. The company's Insurance segment offers life, health, home, auto, travel, wealth, annuities, and reinsurance advice and solutions; and creditor and business insurance services to individual, business, and group clients through its field sales force, advice centers, and online, as well as through independent insurance advisors and affinity relationships. Its Investor & Treasury Services segment provides asset, cash management, transaction banking, and treasury services to institutional clients; correspondent banking and trade finance services for financial institutions; and short-term funding and liquidity management services. The company's Capital Markets segment offers corporate and investment banking, as well as equity and debt origination, distribution, sale, and trading services for corporations, institutional investors, asset managers, governments, and central banks. Royal Bank of Canada has a strategic partnership with Royal College Of Physicians & Surgeons Of Canada to support the needs of Canada's medical specialists. The company was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

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There is not enough analysis data for Bacanora Lithium.

4.9 Community Rank

Outperform Votes Bacanora Lithium has received 288 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.)

Underperform Votes Bacanora Lithium has received 100 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.)

Community Sentiment Bacanora Lithium has received 74.23% outperform votes from our community.

MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Bacanora Lithium and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe BCN will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe BCN will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days.

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Bank of Queensland Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services in Australia. The company operates in Retail Banking, BOQ Business, and Other segments. It offers personal banking services comprises savings and term deposits, and transactional accounts; debit and credit cards; home, personal, and car loans; and travel, home and content, landlord, and car insurance, as well as investment services comprising online share trading services, and self-managed superannuation funds. The company's business banking services include transaction accounts, and savings and investment accounts; loans and finance products, such as business loans, equipment and vehicle finance, and dealer finance; merchant and payment products; and financial market and international services. It also offers Internet and mobile banking services. It operates 63 corporate branches and 93 owner managed branches; and 566 BOQ branded ATMs and 1,009 other ATMs, as well as 2 service and 7 transaction centers. Bank of Queensland Limited was founded in 1874 and is based in Newstead, Australia.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Boston Scientific: 34 Biomedical Merger Corp., 9357-1867 Quebec Inc., Acurate Industria e Comercio Ltda., Advanced Bionics, Advanced Stent Technologies, American Medical Systems, American Medical Systems Europe B.V., Apama Medical, Apama Medical Inc., Asthmatx, Atritech, Augmenix, Augmenix Inc., Augmenix K.K., BSC International Medical Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BSC Medical Device Technology (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BTG, BTG Australasia Pty Ltd, BTG Europe B.V., BTG IM Holdings Ltd., BTG International (Holdings) Limited, BTG International Asia Limited, BTG International Canada Inc., BTG International Germany GmbH, BTG International Healthcare Inc., BTG International Healthcare LLC, BTG International Healthcare Limited, BTG International Inc., BTG International Limited, BTG Limited, BTG Management Services Limited, BTG Medikal Limited Sirketi, Bard Electrophysiology, Barosense, Biocompatibles Inc., Biocompatibles International Limited, Biocompatibles UK Limited, Boston Scientific (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Boston Scientific (South Africa) Proprietary Limited, Boston Scientific (Thailand) Ltd., Boston Scientific (UK) Limited, Boston Scientific AG, Boston Scientific Argentina S.A., Boston Scientific Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Boston Scientific Benelux NV, Boston Scientific Canada Limited, Boston Scientific Ceska republika s.r.o., Boston Scientific Chile SpA, Boston Scientific Colombia Limitada, Boston Scientific Comercial de Costa Rica BSCR S.R.L., Boston Scientific Far East B.V., Boston Scientific Gesellschaft m.b.H., Boston Scientific Group plc, Boston Scientific Hellas S.A., Boston Scientific Hong Kong Limited, Boston Scientific Iberica S.A., Boston Scientific India Private Limited, Boston Scientific International B.V., Boston Scientific International Finance Limited, Boston Scientific International S.A., Boston Scientific Israel Ltd., Boston Scientific Japan K.K., Boston Scientific Korea Co. Ltd., Boston Scientific Lebanon SAL, Boston Scientific Limited, Boston Scientific Ltd., Boston Scientific Medical Device, Boston Scientific Medical Device Limited, Boston Scientific Medizintechnik GmbH, Boston Scientific Middle East FZ-LLC, Boston Scientific Middle East SAL, Boston Scientific Nederland B.V., Boston Scientific Neuromodulation Corporation, Boston Scientific New Zealand Limited, Boston Scientific Nordic AB, Boston Scientific Peru S.A.C., Boston Scientific Philippines Inc., Boston Scientific Polska Sp. z o.o., Boston Scientific Portugal - Dispositivos Medicos Lda, Boston Scientific Pty Ltd, Boston Scientific Romania S.R.L., Boston Scientific S.A.S., Boston Scientific S.p.A., Boston Scientific Scimed, Boston Scientific Scimed Inc., Boston Scientific Services Private Limited, Boston Scientific TIP Gerecleri Limited Sirketi, Boston Scientific Technology & Engineering Services Private Limited, Boston Scientific Uruguay S.A., Boston Scientific Vietnam Company Limited, Boston Scientific de Costa Rica S.R.L., Boston Scientific de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Boston Scientific del Caribe Inc., Boston Scientific do Brasil Ltda., Bravo Bidco Limited, BridgePoint Medical, Cameron Health, Cardiac Pacemakers Inc., Cardiac Pathways Corp, Catheter Innovations, Claret Medical, Claret Medical Inc., Cosman Medical, Cosman Medical LLC, CryoCor, Cryterion Medical, Cryterion Medical Inc., Cryterion Medical Ireland Limited, EKOS LLC, EMcision, EMcision International Inc., EP Technologies, EP Technologies Inc., Electron Acquisition Corporation, EndoChoice, EndoChoice Holdings Inc., EndoChoice Inc., EndoChoice Innovation Center Ltd., EndoChoice Israel Ltd., Endotex, Enteric Medical Technologies, Galil Medical Inc., Galil Medical Ltd., Galil Medical UK Limited, Guidant, Guidant Delaware Holding Corporation, Guidant Europe NV, Guidant Puerto Rico B.V., Hong Kong Medtech Trading Limited, Intelect Medical, Millipede, Millipede Inc., NXT Merger Corp., Notebook Merger Sub Ltd., Novate Medical Limited, NxThera, NxThera Inc., PT Boston Scientific Indonesia, PneumRx GmbH, PneumRx LLC, PneumRx Liimited, Protherics Medicines Development B.V., Protherics Medicines Development Limited, Protherics UK Limited, Provensis Limited, RMI Acquisition Corp., Remon Medical Technologies, Rhythmia Medical, Robert S. Smith M.D. Inc., Roxwood Medical Inc., SNS Merger Corp, Sadra Medical, Sadra Medical Inc., Securus Medical Group, Securus Medical Group Inc., Special K Merger Corp., StarMedTec, Stream Enterprises LLC, Symetis, Symetis SA, Target Therapeutics, Target Therapeutics Inc., The LumenR Tissue Retractor System, Veniti, Veniti Inc., VertiFlex, Vertiflex Inc., Vessix Vascular, Xlumena, Zuma Investment Pty Ltd, iogyn, nVision Medical, and nVision Medical Corporation.
1 Wall Street equities research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Premier Oil in the last twelve months. 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.

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CIBT Education Group Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as an education and student housing investment company in Canada and China. The company engages in education, media communications, and real estate development businesses. It offers accredited programs, which include general English, college pathway, business English, medical English, English language test preparation, vacation English, online English, TESOL teacher training, automotive technical training, business management, customer service, English teacher preparation, and accounting, as well as junior and high school preparation programs for overseas study, and other career/vocational training; and interpreting and translation for Koreans and online English teacher training. The company also provides private career and technical training diplomas and certificates in health care, tourism, hospitality, business, administrative, technical trades, and international studies; and English as a Second Language, and accounting programs in China. In addition, it recruits international students and on-ground concierge services for various kindergarten, primary and secondary schools, universities, and colleges in North America; and offers web design and advertising services to the real estate industry. Further, the company invests in, develops, and manages education related real estate projects, such as student hotels, serviced apartments, and education super centers in Canada, as well as develops and manages real estate projects for technology workers and working professionals. The company was formerly known as Capital Alliance Group Inc. and changed its name to CIBT Education Group Inc. in November 2007. CIBT Education Group Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

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Conagra Brands, Inc. engages in the manufacture and sale of processed and packaged foods. It operates through the following segments: Grocery and Snacks; Refrigerated and Frozen; International; and Foodservice. The Grocery and Snacks segment includes branded, shelf stable food products sold in various retail channels in the United States. The Refrigerated and Frozen segment comprises branded, temperature controlled food products sold in various retail channels in the United States. The International segment consists branded food products, in various temperature states, sold in various retail and foodservice channels outside of the United States. The Foodservice segment focuses in the branded and customized food products, including meals, entrees, sauces, and a variety of custom-manufactured culinary products packaged for sale to restaurants and other foodservice establishments in the United States. The company was founded by Alva Kinney and Frank Little in 1919 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Occidental Petroleum: 1PointFive Inc., 1PointFive P1 LLC, APC Aviation Inc., APC International Holdings LLC, APC Midstream Holdings LLC, APC Venezuela Srl, ARCO Long Beach, Altura Energy, Amarok Gathering LLC, Anadarko 20-25 Company, Anadarko 20-36 Company, Anadarko 20-47 Company, Anadarko 20-48 Company, Anadarko 20-49 Company, Anadarko Algeria Block 403 c/e Company, Anadarko Algeria Block 406B Company, Anadarko Algeria Company LLC, Anadarko Algeria Oil & Gas Company, Anadarko Brazil Investment I LLC, Anadarko Brazil Investment II LLC, Anadarko Canada E&P Limited, Anadarko China Holdings 2 Company, Anadarko Colombia Company, Anadarko Consolidated Holdings LLC, Anadarko Cote d'Ivoire Block 103 Company, Anadarko Cote d'Ivoire Company, Anadarko DBMOS Operator LLC, Anadarko Development Company, Anadarko Development Holding Limited, Anadarko E&P Onshore LLC, Anadarko Egypt Holdings Company, Anadarko Energy Holding Limited, Anadarko Energy Services Company, Anadarko Exploracao e Producao de Petroleo e Gas Natural Ltda., Anadarko Finance Company, Anadarko Gabon Company, Anadarko Ghana Mahogany-1 Company, Anadarko Global Energy S.a.r.l, Anadarko Global Funding 1 Company, Anadarko Global Funding II Ltd., Anadarko Guyana Company, Anadarko Holding Company, Anadarko International Development S.a.r.l, Anadarko International Energy Company, Anadarko International O&G Company, Anadarko International Trading Corporation, Anadarko Jordan Company, Anadarko Kenya Company, Anadarko LMM S.a.r.l, Anadarko Land Corp., Anadarko Mexico B.V., Anadarko Mexico S.a.r.l, Anadarko Midkiff/Chaney Dell BR Corp., Anadarko Midkiff/Chaney Dell LLC, Anadarko Natural Gas Company LLC, Anadarko New Zealand Company, Anadarko OGC Company, Anadarko Offshore Holding Company LLC, Anadarko Offshore Well Containment Company LLC, Anadarko Oil & Gas 5 LLC, Anadarko Peru B.V., Anadarko Petroleum, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Anadarko Realty LLC, Anadarko Rockies LLC, Anadarko Royalty Holdings Company, Anadarko UK Corporate Limited, Anadarko US Offshore LLC, Anadarko USH1 Corporation, Anadarko Venezuela Company, Anadarko Venezuela LLC, Anadarko Venezuela Srl, Anadarko WCTP Company, Anadarko West Texas BR Corp., Anadarko West Texas LLC, Anadarko Worldwide Holdings C.V., Atlantic Rim Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Aventine LLC, Baseball Merger Sub 2 Inc., Bear Branch Exploration LLC, Big Island Trona Company, Bitter Creek Coal Company, Bravo Pipeline Company, Cain Chemical, Cain Chemical Inc., Carbon Finance Labs LLC, Concord Petroleum Corporation, Conn Creek Shale Company, D.S. Ventures LLC, DMM Financial LLC, Deerwood Exploration LLC, Downtown Plaza II, Elk Hills Field, FLAG Development LLC, FP Westport Commodities Limited, FP Westport GmbH, FP Westport LLC, FP Westport Limited, FP Westport Services LLC, FP Westport Trading LLC, Fosters Mill Exploration LLC, Glenn Springs Holdings Inc., Globrep Representaciones S.A., Grand Bassa Tankers Inc., Grupo OxyChem de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Headwater II LLC, Houndstooth Resources LLC, INDSPEC Chemical B.V., INDSPEC Chemical Corporation, INDSPEC Chemical Corporation, INDSPEC Chemical Export Sales LLC, INDSPEC Holding Corporation, Ingleside Cogeneration GP LLC, Ingleside Cogeneration Limited Partnership, Interore Trading Ltd., Joslyn Partnership, KERR-McGEE TT E&P LTD., KM BM-C-Seven Ltd., KM International Insurance Ltd., Kerr-McGee Corporation, Kerr-McGee Natural Gas Company Inc., Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Onshore LP, Kerr-McGee Shared Services Company LLC, Kerr-McGee Stored Power Corporation, Kerr-McGee U.K. Energy Corporation, Kerr-McGee Worldwide Corporation, Kerr-McGee do Brasil Ltda., Kerr-McGee of Canada Northwest Ltd., Laguna Petroleum Corp., Laguna Petroleum LLC, Liwa Oil & Gas Ltd., MC2 Technologies LLC, Mariana Properties Inc., Marico Exploration Inc., Miller Springs Remediation Management Inc., Moncrief Minerals Partnership L.P., NGL Ventures LLC, Natural Gas Odorizing Inc., New OPL LLC, OEVC Energy LLC, OEVC Midstream Projects LLC, OIH LLC, OLCV CE Holdings ULC, OLCV CE US Holdings Inc., OLCV Net Power LLC, OLCV Services LLC, OOG Partner LLC, OOOI Chem Holdings LLC, OOOI Chem Sub LLC, OOOI Chemical International LLC, OOOI Chile Holder LLC, OOOI Ecuador Management LLC, OOOI Oil and Gas Sub LLC, OOOI South America Management LLC, OPM GP Inc., OPM Holdco LLC, OTCF LLC, OTH LLC, OXY CV Pipeline LLC, OXY Campus LLC, OXY Inc., OXY LPG LLC, OXY Libya E&P Area 103 BR4 B.V., OXY Libya E&P Area 35 Ltd., OXY Libya E&P Concession 103 Ltd., OXY Libya E&P EPSA 102 B.V., OXY Libya E&P EPSA 1981 Ltd., OXY Libya E&P EPSA 1985 Ltd., OXY Libya E&P NC 143 144 145 150 B.V., OXY Libya Exploration SPC, OXY Libya LLC, OXY Little Knife LLC, OXY Mexico Holdings I LLC, OXY Mexico Holdings II LLC, OXY Middle East Holdings Ltd., OXY Oil Partners Inc., OXY PBLP Manager LLC, OXY Support Services LLC, OXY Tulsa Inc., OXY USA Inc., OXY USA WTP LP, OXY VPP Investments LLC, OXY West LLC, OXY of Saudi Arabia Ltd., OXYCHEM (CANADA) INC., OXYMAR, Oakwood Exploration LLC, Occidental (Bermuda) Ltd., Occidental (East Shabwa) LLC, Occidental Advance Sale Finance Inc., Occidental Al Hosn LLC, Occidental Angola Holdings Ltd., Occidental CIS Services Inc., Occidental Canada Holdings Ltd., Occidental Chemical Asia Limited, Occidental Chemical Belgium B.V.B.A., Occidental Chemical Chile Limitada, Occidental Chemical Corporation, Occidental Chemical Export Sales LLC, Occidental Chemical Far East Limited, Occidental Chemical Holding Corporation, Occidental Chemical International LLC, Occidental Chemical Investment (Canada) 1 Inc., Occidental Chemical Receivables LLC, Occidental Chemical de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Occidental Chile Investments LLC, Occidental Chile Minority Holder LLC, Occidental Colombia (Series G) Ltd., Occidental Colombia (Series J) Ltd., Occidental Colombia (Series K) Ltd., Occidental Colombia (Series L) Ltd., Occidental Colombia (Series M) Ltd., Occidental Colombia (Series N) Ltd., Occidental Colombia (Series O) Ltd., Occidental Crude Sales Inc. (Canada), Occidental Crude Sales Inc. (International), Occidental Dolphin Holdings Ltd., Occidental Energy Marketing Inc., Occidental Energy Ventures LLC, Occidental Exploradora del Peru Ltd., Occidental Exploration and Production Company, Occidental Hafar LLC, Occidental International (Libya) Inc., Occidental International Corporation, Occidental International Exploration and Production Company, Occidental International Holdings Ltd., Occidental International Oil and Gas Ltd., Occidental International Services Inc., Occidental Joslyn GP 2 Co., Occidental LNG (Malaysia) Ltd., Occidental Latin America Holdings LLC, Occidental Libya Oil & Gas B.V., Occidental MENA Manager Ltd., Occidental Middle East Development Company, Occidental Midland Basin LLC, Occidental Mukhaizna LLC, Occidental Oil Asia Pte. Ltd., Occidental Oil Shale Inc., Occidental Oil and Gas (Oman) Ltd., Occidental Oil and Gas Corporation, Occidental Oil and Gas International Inc., Occidental Oil and Gas International LLC, Occidental Oil and Gas Pakistan LLC, Occidental Oil and Gas of Peru LLC, Occidental Oman (Block 27) Holdings Ltd., Occidental Oman Block 51 Holding Ltd., Occidental Oman Block 51 LLC, Occidental Oman Block 65 Holding Ltd., Occidental Oman Block 65 LLC, Occidental Oman Block 72 Holding Ltd., Occidental Oman Block 72 LLC, Occidental Oman Gas Company LLC, Occidental Oman Gas Holdings Ltd., Occidental Oman North Holdings Ltd., Occidental Oriente Exploration and Production Ltd., Occidental Overseas Holdings B.V., Occidental PVC LLC, Occidental Peninsula II Inc., Occidental Peninsula LLC, Occidental Permian Ltd., Occidental Permian Manager LLC, Occidental Permian Services Inc., Occidental Peruana Inc., Occidental Petrolera del Peru (Block 101) Inc., Occidental Petrolera del Peru (Block 103) Inc., Occidental Petroleum (Pakistan) Inc., Occidental Petroleum Corporation, Occidental Petroleum Corporation Political Action Committee, Occidental Petroleum de Venezuela S.A., Occidental Petroleum of Nigeria, Occidental Petroleum of Oman Ltd., Occidental Petroleum of Qatar Ltd., Occidental Power Marketing L.P., Occidental Power Services Inc., Occidental Qatar Energy Company LLC, Occidental Red Sea Development LLC, Occidental Research Corporation, Occidental Resource Recovery Systems Inc., Occidental Resources Company, Occidental Shah Gas Holdings Ltd., Occidental South America Finance LLC, Occidental Specialty Marketing Inc., Occidental Tower Corporation, Occidental Transportation Holding Corporation, Occidental West Texas Overthrust Inc., Occidental Yemen Ltd., Occidental Yemen Sabatain Inc., Occidental del Ecuador Inc., Occidental of Abu Dhabi (Bab) Ltd., Occidental of Abu Dhabi (Shah) Ltd., Occidental of Abu Dhabi Holdings Ltd., Occidental of Abu Dhabi LLC, Occidental of Abu Dhabi Ltd., Occidental of Bahrain Ltd., Occidental of Bangladesh Inc., Occidental of Colombia (Chipiron) Inc., Occidental of Colombia (Cosecha) Inc., Occidental of Colombia (Medina) Inc., Occidental of Colombia (Putumayo) Ltd., Occidental of Colombia (Teca) Ltd., Occidental of Colombia PUT-36 LLC, Occidental of Dubai Inc., Occidental of Iraq Holdings Ltd., Occidental of Iraq LLC, Occidental of Oman Inc., Occidental of Russia Ltd., Occidental of South Africa (Offshore) Inc., Occidental of Yemen (Block 75) LLC, Oceanic Marine Transport Ltd., Opcal Insurance Inc., Oryx Crude Trading & Transportation Inc., Oxy BridgeTex Limited Partnership, Oxy C & I Bulk Sales LLC, Oxy Canada Sales Inc., Oxy Carbon Solutions LLC, Oxy Carbon Storage LLC, Oxy Climate Ventures Inc., Oxy Cogeneration Holding Company LLC, Oxy Colombia Holdings LLC, Oxy Colombia TopCo Ltd., Oxy Delaware Basin LLC, Oxy Delaware Basin Plant LLC, Oxy Dolphin E&P LLC, Oxy Dolphin Pipeline LLC, Oxy Energy Canada Inc., Oxy Energy Services LLC, Oxy Expatriate Services Inc., Oxy FFT Holdings Inc., Oxy Holding Company (Pipeline) Inc., Oxy International Ventures Ltd., Oxy LPG Terminal LLC, Oxy Levelland Pipeline Company LLC, Oxy Levelland Terminal Company LLC, Oxy Low Carbon Ventures LLC, Oxy Midstream Strategic Development LLC, Oxy Oleoducto SOP LLC, Oxy Overseas Services Ltd., Oxy Permian Gathering LLC, Oxy Permian Plaza LLC, Oxy Petroleum de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Oxy Renewable Energy LLC, Oxy Salt Creek Pipeline LLC, Oxy TL LLC, Oxy Taft Hub LLC, Oxy Technology Ventures Inc., Oxy Transport I Company LLC, Oxy Vinyls Canada Co., Oxy Vinyls Export Sales LLC, Oxy Vinyls LP, Oxy Westwood Corporation, Oxy Y-1 Company, OxyChem Ingleside Ethylene Holdings Inc., OxyChem do Brasil Ltda., OxyChile Investments LLC, Oxychem Shipping Ltd., Permian Basin JV Tax Matters Member LLC, Permian Basin Limited Partnership, Permian VPP Holder LP, Permian VPP Manager LLC, Phibro, Placid Oil LLC, Ramlat Oxy Ltd., Rio de Viento Inc., Rodeo Midland Basin LLC, San Patricio Pipeline LLC, Scanports Shipping LLC, SequestCo LLC, Stetson Exploration LLC, Sun Offshore Gathering Company, Swiflite Aircraft Corporation, Transok Properties LLC, Troy Potter Inc., Turavent Oil GmbH [in liquidation], Tuscaloosa Holdings Inc., UP Petroleo III Ltd., Upland Industries Corporation, Venezuela US SRL, Vintage Gas Inc., Vintage Petroleum, Vintage Petroleum Argentina Ltd., Vintage Petroleum Boliviana Ltd., Vintage Petroleum International Finance B.V., Vintage Petroleum International Holdings LLC, Vintage Petroleum International LLC, Vintage Petroleum International Ventures Inc., Vintage Petroleum Italy Inc., Vintage Petroleum South America Holdings Inc., Vintage Petroleum South America LLC, Vintage Petroleum Turkey Inc., WGR Asset Holding Company LLC, WGR Canada Inc., Wardner Ranch Inc., Western Gas Resources Inc., Western Gas Resources-Westana Inc., Western Midstream Holdings LLC, Woodlands International Insurance Ltd., and YT Ranch LLC.
Experian plc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a technology company. The company operates through two segments, Business-to-Business and Consumer Services. It provides data services to identify and understand their customers, as well as to manage the risks related with lending. The company also offers analytical and decision tools that enhance businesses to manage their customers, minimize the risk of fraud, comply with legal requirements, and automate decisions and processes. In addition, it provides financial education, free access to Experian credit reports and scores, online educational tools, and applications to manage their financial position, access credit offers, and protect themselves from identity fraud. The company serves customers in financial service, direct-to-consumer, health, retail, automotive, software and professional services, telecommunications and utility, insurance, media and technology, government and public, and other sectors. It operates in North America, Latin America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. Experian plc was formerly known as Experian Group Limited and changed its name to Experian plc in July 2008. Experian plc was founded in 1897 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

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Gerresheimer AG, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells specialty glass, plastic products, and drug delivery-devices and solutions primarily worldwide. It operates through three divisions: Plastics & Devices, Primary Packaging Glass, and Advanced Technologies. The Plastics & Devices division offers drug delivery systems, including inhalers, pen systems, and injection systems; sterile and non-sterile syringe systems for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries; and disposables for various analysis systems that are used in laboratories and medical practices, quick tests for patients in medical practices or hospitals, skin-prick aids and lancets for diabetics, disposables, and components for dialysis machines, and catheters and surgical devices. It also provides containers for the delivery of tablets and powders, liquid dosages, ophthalmic and rhinological applications, parenteral packaging applications, oral prescription medications, and cosmetics. The Primary Packaging Glass division offers glass primary packaging for pharma and cosmetics industries, such as ampoules, cartridges, vials, syrup and dropper bottles, tablet jars, and wide-neck jars, as well as injection, infusion, and transfusion bottles; flacons and pots for fragrances, deodorants, and care and decorative cosmetics; and bottles and jars for spirits and food. The Advanced Technologies division develops drug delivery products and platforms, such as micro pumps, which are used to self-administer medication for heart failure or Parkinson's for pharmaceutical and biotech customers. The company was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in DAsseldorf, Germany.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Thermo Fisher Scientific: 236 Perinton Parkway LLC, 27 Forge Parkway LLC, ABR--Affinity BioReagents, ACI Holdings Inc., ARG Services LLC, ASPEX Corporation, Abgene Inc., Abgene Limited, Acoustic Cytometry Systems Inc., AcroMetrix LLC, Acros Organics B.V.B.A., Advanced Biotechnologies Limited, Advanced Scientifics (ASI), Advanced Scientifics Inc., Advanced Scientifics International Inc., Affymetrix Biotech Participacoes Ltda., Affymetrix Biotech Shanghai Ltd, Affymetrix Inc, Affymetrix Japan K.K., Affymetrix Pte Ltd, Affymetrix UK Ltd, Afora S.A.U., Ahura Scientific, Alchematrix Inc., Alchematrix LLC, Alfa Aesar, Alfa Aesar (China) Chemical Co. Ltd., Alfa Aesar (Hong Kong) Limited, Allergon AB, Alphine Mountain Limited, Ambion Inc., Apogent Denmark ApS, Apogent Finance Company, Apogent Holding Company, Apogent Technologies Inc., Apogent Transition Corp., Apogent U.K. Limited, App-Tek International Pty Ltd, Applied Biosystems B.V., Applied Biosystems Finance B.V., Applied Biosystems International Inc., Applied Biosystems LLC, Applied Biosystems Taiwan LLC, Applied Biosystems Trading (Shanghai) Company Ltd., Applied Biosystems de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Applied Scientific Corporation, Avances Cientificos de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Avocado Research Chemicals Limited, B.R.A.H.M.S. Biotech GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. UK Ltd, BAC BV, BAC IP BV, Barnstead Thermolyne LLC, Beijing Phadia Diagnostics Co Ltd, Bender MedSystems GmbH, BioTrove Corporation, BioTrove International Inc., Bioanalysis Labsystems S.A., Biochemical Sciences LLC, Biolab, BmT GmbH Laborprodukte, Bonsai Tecnologies - Sistemas para Biotecnologia e Industria Unipessoal Lda, Brammer Bio, Bumi-Sans Sendirian Berhad, CAC Limited, CB Diagnostics AB, CB Diagnostics Holding AB, CEPH International Corporation, CHK Holdings Inc., CRS Robotics, CTPS LLC, Capitol Scientific Products Inc., Capitol Vial Inc., Cellomics Inc., CellzDirect Inc., Cenduit GmbH, Cenduit LLC, Cezanne S.A.S., Chase Scientific Glass Inc., Chromacol Limited, Clintrak, Clintrak Clinical Labeling Services LLC, Clintrak Pharmaceutical Services LLC, Cohesive Technologies (UK) Limited, Cohesive Technologies Inc., Columbia Diagnostics Inc., Compendia Bioscience Inc., Comtest Limited, Consolidated Technologies Inc., Consultores Fisher Scientific Chile Ltd, Core Informatics, Core Informatics LLC, Core Informatics UK Ltd., D-finitive Technologies Inc., DCG Systems B.V., DCG Systems C.V., DCG Systems G.K., DCG Systems GmbH, DCG Systems Korea Ltd., DCG Systems LLC, DPI Newco LLC, DSM Pharmaceutical Products Inc., Dharmacon, Diagnostix Ltd., Dionex (China) Analytical Ltd, Dionex (Switzerland) AG, Dionex (UK) Limited, Dionex Austria GmbH, Dionex Benelux B.V., Dionex Brasil Instrumentos Cientificos Ltda, Dionex Canada Ltd., Dionex China Limited, Dionex Corporation, Dionex Denmark A/S, Dionex Holding GmbH, Dionex I LLC, Dionex Pty Ltd., Dionex S.A., Dionex S.p.A., Dionex Singapore Pte Ltd., Dionex Softron GmbH, Dionex Sweden AB, Distribution Solutions International Inc., Doe & Ingalls Investors Inc., Doe & Ingalls Limited, Doe & Ingalls Management LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties II LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties LLC, Doe & Ingalls of California Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Florida Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Maryland Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Massachusetts Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of North Carolina Operating LLC, Doublecape Holding Limited, Doublecape Limited, Drakeside Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Duke Scientific Corporation, Dynal Biotech Beijing Limited, EGS Gauging Ltd., EGS Gauging Technical Services Company, EP Scientific Products LLC, Ecochem N.V., EnviroEquip Pty Ltd, Epsom Glass Industries Limited, Equibio Limited, Erie Electroverre S.A., Erie Finance Limited, Erie LP Holding LLC, Erie Scientific Company of Puerto Rico, Erie Scientific Hungary Kft, Erie Scientific LLC, Erie U.K. Limited, Erie UK 1 Limited, Erie UK 2 Limited, Erie UK Holding Company, Erie UK Senior Holding Limited, European Laboratory Holdings Limited, Eutech Instruments Europe B.V., Eutech Instruments Pte Ltd., Eutech Instruments Sdn Bhd, Ever Ready Thermometer Co. Inc., FEI Asia Pacific Co. Ltd., FEI Australia Pty Ltd, FEI CPD B.V., FEI Company, FEI Company Japan Ltd., FEI Company of USA (S.E.A.) Pte Ltd., FEI Czech Republic s.r.o., FEI Deutschland GmbH, FEI EFA Inc., FEI EFA International Pte. Ltd., FEI Electron Optics B.V., FEI Electron Optics International B.V., FEI Europe B.V., FEI France SAS, FEI Global Holdings C.V., FEI Hong Kong Company Limited, FEI Houston Inc., FEI Italia Srl, FEI Korea Ltd., FEI Melbourne Pty Ltd., FEI Microscopy Solutions Ltd, FEI Munich GmbH, FEI Norway Holding AS, FEI SAS, FEI Saudi Arabia LLC, FEI Servicos de Nanotecnologia Ltda., FEI Technologies Inc., FEI Technology de Mexico S.A. de C.V., FEI Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., FEI Trondheim AS, FEI UK Ltd., FHP LLC, FRC Holding Inc. V, FS (Barbados) Capital Holdings Ltd., FS Casa Rocas Holdings LLC, FS Mexicana Holdings LLC, FSI Receivables Company LLC, FSII Sweden Holdings AB, FSII Sweden Holdings I AB, FSIR Holdings (UK) Limited, FSIR Holdings (US) Inc., FSUK Holdings Limited, FSWH Company LLC, FSWH II C.V., FSWH International Holdings LLC, Fermentas China Co. Ltd, Fermentas Inc., Fermentas International, Fermentas Sweden AB, Fermentas UK Limited, Fiberlite Centrifuge LLC, Finesse Scientific Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Finesse Solutions AG, Finesse Solutions Inc., Finnzymes Oy, Fisher Alder S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Asia Manufacturing Ventures Inc., Fisher Bermuda Holdings Limited, Fisher BioImage ApS, Fisher BioPharma Services (India) Private Limited, Fisher BioSciences Japan G.K., Fisher BioServices Inc., Fisher Bioblock Holding II SNC, Fisher CLP Holding Limited Partnership, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 1, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 2, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 3, Fisher Canada Limited Partnership, Fisher Chimica BVBA, Fisher Clinical Logistics LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services (Bristol) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Colombia) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Korea) Co. Ltd, Fisher Clinical Services (Mexico) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Peru) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services Colombia S.A.S., Fisher Clinical Services GmbH, Fisher Clinical Services Inc., Fisher Clinical Services Japan K.K., Fisher Clinical Services Latin America S.R.L., Fisher Clinical Services Limited Liability Company, Fisher Clinical Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Clinical Services Peru S.R.L, Fisher Clinical Services Pte Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services U.K. Limited, Fisher Emergo B.V., Fisher Germany Holdings GmbH, Fisher Hamilton China Inc., Fisher Hamilton Mexico LLC, Fisher Holdings ApS, Fisher Internet Minority Holdings L.L.C., Fisher Laboratory Products Manufacturing (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Fisher Luxembourg Danish Holdings SARL, Fisher Manufacturing (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Maybridge Holdings Limited, Fisher Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Scientific (Austria) GmbH, Fisher Scientific (Hong Kong) Limited, Fisher Scientific (M) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Scientific (SEA) Pte. Ltd., Fisher Scientific A/S, Fisher Scientific AG, Fisher Scientific Australia Pty Limited, Fisher Scientific Biotech Line ApS, Fisher Scientific Brazil Inc., Fisher Scientific Central America Inc., Fisher Scientific Chile Inc., Fisher Scientific Colombia Inc., Fisher Scientific Company, Fisher Scientific Company L.L.C., Fisher Scientific Costa Rica Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Fisher Scientific Europe Holdings B.V., Fisher Scientific GTF AB, Fisher Scientific Germany Beteiligungs GmbH, Fisher Scientific GmbH, Fisher Scientific Holding Company LLC, Fisher Scientific Holding HK Limited, Fisher Scientific Holding U.K. Limited, Fisher Scientific Holdings (M) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Scientific Holdings (S) Pte Ltd, Fisher Scientific International LLC, Fisher Scientific Investments (Cayman) Ltd., Fisher Scientific Ireland Investments Unlimited, Fisher Scientific Ireland Limited, Fisher Scientific Japan Ltd., Fisher Scientific Jersey Island Limited, Fisher Scientific Korea Ltd, Fisher Scientific Latin America Inc., Fisher Scientific Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Fisher Scientific Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Scientific Mexico Inc., Fisher Scientific Middle East and Africa Inc., Fisher Scientific Norway AS, Fisher Scientific Operating Company, Fisher Scientific Oxoid Holdings Ltd., Fisher Scientific Oy, Fisher Scientific Pte. Ltd., Fisher Scientific S.A.S., Fisher Scientific S.L., Fisher Scientific SPRL, Fisher Scientific The Hague I B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague II B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague III B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague IV B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague V B.V., Fisher Scientific U.K. Limited, Fisher Scientific UK Holding Company 2, Fisher Scientific UK Holding Company Limited, Fisher Scientific Unipessoal Lda., Fisher Scientific Venezuela Inc., Fisher Scientific Worldwide (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Fisher Scientific Worldwide Holdings I C.V., Fisher Scientific Worldwide Inc., Fisher Scientific de Mexico S.A., Fisher Scientific of the Netherlands B.V., Fisher Scientific spol. S.r.o, Fisher Servicios Clinicos (Chile) LLC, Fisher Servicios Clinicos Chile Ltda, Fisher WWD Holding L.L.C., Fisher Worldwide Distribution SPV, Fisher Worldwide Gene Distribution SPV, Flux Instruments, Fuji Partnership, G & M Procter Limited, G V Instruments Limited, GV Instruments Canada Ltd., GV Instruments Inc, Gatan Inc, General Scientific Company Sdn Bhd (M), Genomed molekularbiologische und diagnostische Produkte GmbH, Gerhard Menzel B.V. & Co. KG, Gold Cattle Standard Testing Labs Inc., Golden West Indemnity Company Limited, Goring Kerr Detection Limited, Greenville Service Company Inc., HENO GmbH i.L., Hangar 215 Inc., Helmet Securities Limited, Henogen, HighChem, HyClone International Trade (Tianjin) Co. Ltd, Hybaid Limited, I.Q. (BIO) Limited, IDnostics AG, ILS Laboratories Scandinavia AB, Inel Inc., Inel SAS, InnaPhase Inc., InnaPhase Limited, IntegenX, Intrinsic BioProbes Inc., Intrinsic Bioprobes Inc., Invitrogen (Shanghai) Investment Co. Ltd., Invitrogen Argentina SA, Invitrogen BioServices India Private Limited, Invitrogen Europe Limited, Invitrogen Finance Corp., Invitrogen Holdings LLC, Invitrogen Holdings Ltd., Invitrogen Hong Kong Limited, Invitrogen IP Holdings Inc., Invitrogen Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Ion Torrent Systems Inc., Ionalytics Corporation, JSC Thermo Fisher Scientific, Jouan LLC, Jouan Limited, Jouan SA, Kendro Containment & Services Limited, Kendro Laboratory Products Ltd, Kettlebrook Insurance Co. ltd., Keystone Scientific, KonTEM GmbH, Kyle Jordan Investments LLC, LIFE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, LTC Tech South Africa PTY Ltd., La-Pha-Pack GmbH, Lab Vision (UK) Limited, Lab Vision Corporation, Lab-Chrom-Pack LLC, Lab-Line Instruments Inc., Labomex MBP S. de R. L. De C.V., Laboratoire Service International - L.S.I, Laboratory Management Systems Inc., Laboratory Specialties Proprietary Ltd., LambTrack Limited, Laser Analytical Systems Inc., Liberty Lane Investment LLC, Liberty Lane Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Life Sciences International (Poland) SP z O.O, Life Sciences International Holdings BV, Life Sciences International LLC, Life Sciences International Limited, Life Technologies AS, Life Technologies Australia PTY Ltd., Life Technologies BPD AB, Life Technologies BPD UK Limited, Life Technologies Brasil Comercio e Industria de Produtos para Biotecnologia Ltda, Life Technologies Chile SpA, Life Technologies Clinical Services Lab Inc., Life Technologies Co. Ltd., Life Technologies Czech Republic s.r.o., Life Technologies DaAn Diagnostic (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd., Life Technologies Europe B.V., Life Technologies Finance Ltd., Life Technologies Finland Oy, Life Technologies GmbH, Life Technologies Holdings PTE Ltd., Life Technologies Inc., Life Technologies International B.V., Life Technologies Japan Ltd., Life Technologies Korea LLC, Life Technologies Limited, Life Technologies Magyarorszag Kft, Life Technologies New Zealand Ltd., Life Technologies Norway Investments US LLC, Life Technologies Polska Sp z.o.o., Life Technologies SA, Life Technologies SAS, Life Technologies s.r.o, Linkage Biosciences Inc., Linkage Biosciences S.a.r.l., Loftus Furnace Company, Lomb Scientific, Lomb Scientific (Aust) Pty Limited, MTI-GlobalStem, Marketbase International Limited, Matrix MicroScience Inc., Matrix MicroScience Ltd., Matrix Technologies Corporation Limited, Matrix Technologies LLC, Maybridge Chemical Company Limited, Maybridge Chemical Holdings Limited, Maybridge Limited, Medical Analysis Systems Inc., Medical Analysis Systems International Inc., Medical Diagnostics Systems Inc., Metavac LLC, Microgenics Corporation, Microgenics Diagnostics Pty Limited, Microgenics GmbH, Microm International GmbH, Microm Laborgerate S.L.U, Molecular BioProducts Inc., Molecular Probes Inc., Molecular Transfer Inc., NAPCO Inc., NERL Diagnostics LLC, NOVODIRECT GmbH Labor- und Industrie- Megerate, Nalge (Europe) Limited, Nalge Nunc International (Monterrey) LLC, Nalge Nunc International Corporation, Nanjing WeiKangLe Trading Industrial Co Ltd, NanoDrop Technologies LLC, National Scientific Company, Navaho Acquisition Corp., Neomarkers Inc., New FS Holdings Inc., NewcoGen PE LLC, Nihon Dynal K.K., Niton Asia Limited, NovaWave Technologies Inc., Nunc A/S, ONIX Systems Inc., OXOID CZ s.r.o., Odyssey Holdings Corporation, Odyssey Luxembourg Holdings S.a r.l., Odyssey Luxembourg IP Holdings 1 S.a r.l., Odyssey Luxembourg IP Holdings 2 S.a r.l., Odyssey Venture Corporation, Omega Data Systems, One Lambda Inc, Onix Holdings Limited, Orme Scientific Limited, Owl Separation Systems LLC, Oxoid (ELY) Limited, Oxoid 2000 Limited, Oxoid AS, Oxoid Australia Pty. Limited, Oxoid Company, Oxoid Deutschland GmbH, Oxoid Holding SAS, Oxoid Holdings Limited, Oxoid Inc., Oxoid International Limited, Oxoid Investments GmbH, Oxoid Limited, Oxoid N.V., Oxoid New Zealand Limited, Oxoid Pension Trustees Limited, Oxoid Senior Holdings Limited, Oxoid UKH LLC, PAX - DSI Acquisition LLC, PE AG, Pacific Rim Far East Industries LLC, Pacific Rim Investment LLC, Panomics L.L.C., Panomics S.R.L., Patheon, Patheon API Inc., Patheon API Manufacturing Inc., Patheon API Services Inc., Patheon Austria GmbH & Co KG, Patheon B.V., Patheon Banner U.S. Holdings Inc., Patheon Biologics (NJ) LLC, Patheon Biologics Australia Pty Ltd, Patheon Biologics B.V., Patheon Biologics LLC, Patheon Calculus Merger LLC, Patheon Cooperatief U.A., Patheon Development Services Inc., Patheon Finance LLC, Patheon France SAS, Patheon Holdings B.V., Patheon Holdings I B.V., Patheon Holdings II B.V., Patheon Holdings SAS, Patheon I B.V., Patheon I Holding GmbH, Patheon Inc., Patheon International AG, Patheon Italia S.p.A., Patheon KK, Patheon Life Science Products International GmbH, Patheon Manufacturing Services LLC, Patheon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Patheon Pharmaceuticals Services Inc., Patheon Puerto Rico Acquisitions Corporation, Patheon Puerto Rico Inc., Patheon Regensburg GmbH, Patheon Softgels B.V., Patheon Softgels Inc., Patheon U.S. Holdings Inc., Patheon U.S. Holdings LLC, Patheon UK Limited, Patheon UK Pension Trustees Limited, Pelican Acquisition Corporation, Perbio Science (Canada) Company, Perbio Science AB, Perbio Science BVBA, Perbio Science France SAS, Perbio Science Inc., Perbio Science International Netherlands B.V., Perbio Science Invest AB, Perbio Science Nederland B.V., Perbio Science Projekt AB, Perbio Science Sweden Holdings AB, Perbio Science Switzerland SA, Perbio Science UK Limited, Phadia AB, Phadia Diagnosticos Ltda, Phadia GmbH, Phadia Holding AB, Phadia International Holdings C.V., Phadia Korea Co. Ltd, Phadia Luxembourg Holdings S.a.r.l., Phadia Malta Holdings Limited, Phadia Oy, Phadia Real Property AB, Phadia Sweden AB, Phadia Taiwan Inc., Phadia US Inc., Phadia s.r.o., Pharmacaps Mexicana SA de CV, Phenom-World B.V., Phenom-World Holding B.V, Phenom-World Innovations B.V., Phinotex, Pierce Biotechnology Inc., Pierce Milwaukee Holding Corp., Pierce Milwaukee Inc., Polychromix, Power Sweden Holdings I AB, Power Sweden Holdings II AB, Power Sweden Holdings III Aktiebolag, Princeton Gamma-Tech Instruments LLC, Princeton Security Technologies, Prionics AG, Prionics Asia Ltd., Prionics Deutschland GmbH, Prionics France SAS, Prionics Italia S.r.l., Prionics Lelystad B.V., Prionics USA Inc., Priority Air Express LLC, Priority Air Express Pte. Ltd., Priority Air Express UK Limited, Priority Air Holdings Corp, Priority Solutions International, Promedica Pty Limited, Proxeon, Proxeon Biosystems ApS, Qiagen, REP GBP I-B Blocker Inc., Raymond A Lamb Limited, Remel Europe Limited, Remel Inc., Richard-Allan Scientific Company, Robbins Scientific LLC, Robocon Labor- und Industrieroboter Gesellschaft m.b.H, Rupprecht and Patashnick, Rupprecht and Patashnick (R&P), Russell pH Limited, S.C.I. du 10 rue Dugay Trouin, SCI Inno 92, STC Bio Manufacturing Inc., Samco Scientific (Monterrey) LLC, Samco Scientific LLC, Saroph Sweden AB, Schantz Road LLC, Seradyn Inc., Shanghai Life Technologies Biotechnology Co. Limited, Shanghai Thermo Fisher (C-I) Trading Co. Ltd, Shanghai Thermo Fisher (S) Trading Co. Ltd, Southern Trials (Pty) Ltd., Specialty (SMI) Inc., Spectra-Physics AB, Spectra-Physics Holdings Limited, Spectra-Physics Holdings USA LLC, Spectronex, Staten Island Cogeneration Corporation, Sterilin Limited, Stokes Bio Ltd., Sweden DIA (Sweden) AB, SwissAnalytic Group GmbH, Systems Manufacturing Corporation, TFLP LLC, TFS Breda B.V., TFS LLC, TFS Singapore HK Limited, TFSL Financing GP LLC, TFSL Senior GP Holdings 2 LLC, TK Partnership, TKA Wasseraufbereitungssysteme, TMOI Inc., TPI Real Estate Holdings LLC, TSP Holdings I LLC, TWX LLC, Technology Design Solutions Pty Ltd, Thermedics Detection de Argentina S.R.L, Thermo Allen Coding Limited, Thermo Asset Management Services Inc., Thermo BioAnalysis LLC, Thermo BioAnalysis Limited, Thermo BioSciences Holdings LLC, Thermo CIDTEC, Thermo CRS Holdings Ltd., Thermo CRS Ltd., Thermo Cambridge Limited, Thermo Cayman Holdings Ltd., Thermo Corporation, Thermo DMA Inc., Thermo Detection de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Dutch Holdings Limited Partnership, Thermo EGS Gauging LLC, Thermo Eberline Holdings I LLC, Thermo Eberline Holdings II LLC, Thermo Eberline LLC, Thermo Electron (Calgary) Limited, Thermo Electron (Chile) S.p.A., Thermo Electron (Karlsruhe) GmbH, Thermo Electron (Management Services) Limited, Thermo Electron (Proprietary) Limited, Thermo Electron A/S, Thermo Electron Australia Pty Limited, Thermo Electron Export Inc., Thermo Electron Holdings SAS, Thermo Electron Industries, Thermo Electron LED GmbH, Thermo Electron LED S.A.S., Thermo Electron Limited, Thermo Electron Manufacturing Limited, Thermo Electron Metallurgical Services Inc., Thermo Electron North America LLC, Thermo Electron Pension Trust GmbH, Thermo Electron Puerto Rico Inc., Thermo Electron SAS, Thermo Electron Scientific Instruments LLC, Thermo Electron Sweden AB, Thermo Electron Sweden Forvaltning AB, Thermo Electron Weighing & Inspection Limited, Thermo Elemental Limited, Thermo Environmental Instruments LLC, Thermo Fast U.K. Limited, Thermo Finland Holdings LLC, Thermo Finland Holdings MT1 B.V., Thermo Finland Holdings MT2 B.V., Thermo Finnigan LLC, Thermo Finnigan Limited, Thermo Fisher (CN) Luxembourg Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher (CN) Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher (CN) Malta Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher (CN-I) Luxembourg LLC, Thermo Fisher (CN-II) Luxembourg LLC, Thermo Fisher (Cayman) Holdings I Ltd., Thermo Fisher (Cayman) Holdings II Ltd., Thermo Fisher (Finland Holdings 2) LLC, Thermo Fisher (Finland Holdings) Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher (Gibraltar) II Limited, Thermo Fisher (Gibraltar) Limited, Thermo Fisher (Heysham) Limited, Thermo Fisher (Kandel) GmbH, Thermo Fisher CHK Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher China Business Trust, Thermo Fisher China Business Trust II, Thermo Fisher Costa Rica Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Thermo Fisher Cyprus Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Detection Mexico LLC, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics (Ireland) Limited, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AB, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AG, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AS, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Aps, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Austria GmbH, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics B.V., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics GmbH, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics K.K., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Limited, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics NV, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics S.L.U., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics S.p.A. , Thermo Fisher Diagnostics SAS, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Thermo Fisher Eurobonds Ltd., Thermo Fisher Financial Services Inc., Thermo Fisher GP LLC, Thermo Fisher German Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Germany B.V., Thermo Fisher India Divestco Private Limited, Thermo Fisher India Holding B.V., Thermo Fisher Insurance Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Insurance Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Investments (Cayman) Ltd., Thermo Fisher Israel Ltd., Thermo Fisher Production et Services SAS, Thermo Fisher Project Cyprus LLC, Thermo Fisher Re Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Asheville) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Australia) C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Barbados) Holdings Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Breda) Holding BV, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Bremen) GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific (CN) Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher Scientific (China) Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (China) Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (China-HK) Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (DE) Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Ecublens) SARL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance I) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance I) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance II) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance III) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance III) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Fuji) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Holding II) B.V. & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Hong Kong) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (IVGN) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (IVGN) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Johannesburg) (Proprietary) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Mexico City) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Milwaukee) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Mississauga) Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Monterrey) S. De R.L. De C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (NK) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) Austria Holding GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) UK LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) UK Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN-I) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN-II) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN1) UK Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Panama) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Panama) Dutch LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Praha) s.r.o., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Real Estate 1) GmbH & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Real Estate 1) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Schweiz) AG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Shanghai) Instruments Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Suzhou) Instruments Co. Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific AL-1 LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific AU II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Africa Proprietary Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Aquasensors LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Australia Pty Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific B.V.B.A., Thermo Fisher Scientific BHK (I) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific BHK (II) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics UAB, Thermo Fisher Scientific Beteiligungsverwaltungs GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Biosciences Corp., Thermo Fisher Scientific Brahms LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Brasil Instrumentos de Processo Ltda., Thermo Fisher Scientific Brasil Servicos de Logistica Ltda, Thermo Fisher Scientific C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cayman Investments LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Chemicals Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific China (C-I) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific China (S) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings I B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings III B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings IV B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Chromatography Holdings Aps, Thermo Fisher Scientific Chromatography Holdings S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus I Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus II Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus III C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus III Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus IV C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus V C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Denmark Senior Holdings ApS, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie 1 Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie Financing S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Europe GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC Finance C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSIR Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSIR Financing S.a.r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSUKHCO Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Falcon Senior Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Finance Company BV, Thermo Fisher Scientific GENEART GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Germany BV & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific HR Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings (Cayman) I, Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings (Cayman) II , Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings Europe Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific IT Services GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific India Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific India Pvt Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Malta) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Sweden) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Sweden) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments Malta (Sweden Financing) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Invitrogen Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings I B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings III B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific K.K., Thermo Fisher Scientific Korea Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific LSI Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life CV GP Holdings II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life CV GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Enterprises C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Enterprises GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing (Cayman), Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings III C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International Holdings I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments I S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments III S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments IV S.a.r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta Holding I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta Holding II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments US Financing I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments US Financing II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life NL Holdings GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Netherlands Holding C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior GP Holdings II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Switzerland Holdings GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Tech Korea Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Enterprise Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment UK I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment UK II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investments Holding LP, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Israel Investment I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Israel Investment II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Luxembourg Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Enterprise Holdings S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg German Holdings S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Life Technologies UK Holding S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Sweden Holdings I S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Sweden Holdings II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Venture Holdings I S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Venture Holdings II S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Malta Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Messtechnik GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Mexico City S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Middle East Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Milano Srl, Thermo Fisher Scientific NHK Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific New Zealand Holdings, Thermo Fisher Scientific New Zealand Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Norway Holdings AS, Thermo Fisher Scientific Norway US Investments LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Odyssey Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Odyssey Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Operating Company LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Oy, Thermo Fisher Scientific PN2 C.V, Thermo Fisher Scientific PN2 LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Panama I Cayman Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Peru S.R.L., Thermo Fisher Scientific Pte. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Re Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific SL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Senior Financing LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Senior Holdings Australia LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific South Africa Proprietary Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific SpA, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Holdings Luxembourg I S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Holdings Luxembourg II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Investments Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Switzerland Holdings C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific TR Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Taiwan Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Vermogensverwaltungs GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific West Palm Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Wissenschaftliche Gerate GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Worldwide Investments (Cayman), Thermo Fisher Scientific eCommerce Solutions LLC , Thermo Fisher Senior Canada Holdings LLC, Thermo Foundation Inc., Thermo Gamma-Metrics Holdings Pty Ltd., Thermo Gamma-Metrics LLC, Thermo Gamma-Metrics Pty Ltd, Thermo Holding European Operations LLC, Thermo Hypersil Ltd, Thermo Hypersil-Keystone LLC, Thermo Informatics Asia Pacific Pty Ltd., Thermo Instrument Controls de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Thermo Kevex X-Ray LLC, Thermo Keytek LLC, Thermo LabSystems Inc., Thermo LabSystems S.A., Thermo Life Science International Trading (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Thermo Life Sciences AB, Thermo Luxembourg Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Thermo MF Physics LLC, Thermo Measurement Ltd, Thermo Measuretech Canada Inc., Thermo Neslab LLC, Thermo Nicolet Limited, Thermo Onix Limited, Thermo Optek (Australia) Pty Ltd., Thermo Optek Limited, Thermo Optek S.A., Thermo Orion Inc., Thermo Portable Holdings LLC, Thermo Power Corporation, Thermo Process Instruments GP LLC, Thermo Process Instruments L.P., Thermo Projects Limited, Thermo Quest S.A., Thermo Radiometrie Limited, Thermo Ramsey Italia S.r.l., Thermo Ramsey LLC, Thermo Ramsey S.A., Thermo Re Ltd., Thermo Scientific Microbiology Pte Ltd., Thermo Scientific Microbiology Sdn Bhd, Thermo Scientific Portable Analytical Instruments Inc., Thermo Scientific Services Inc., Thermo Securities Corporation, Thermo Sentron Canada Inc., Thermo Sentron Limited, Thermo Shandon Inc., Thermo Shandon Limited, Thermo Suomi Holding B.V., Thermo TLH (UK) Limited, Thermo TLH L.P., Thermo Trace Pty Ltd., Thermo-Fisher Biochemical Product (Beijing) Co. Ltd., ThermoLase LLC, ThermoSpectra Limited, Trek Diagnostic Systems LLC, Trek Diagnostic Systems Ltd., Trek Holding Company II Ltd., Trek Holding Company Ltd., Trex Medical Corporation, USB Corporation, Union Lab Supplies Limited, United Diagnostics Inc., VG Systems Limited, Westover Scientific Inc., ZAO PE Biosystems, eBioscience GmbH, eBioscience Ltd, eBioscience SAS, and picoSpin LLC.
iShares China Large-Cap ETF's stock was trading at $38.80 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus (COVID-19) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, FXI shares have decreased by 5.7% and is now trading at $36.59.

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iShares MSCI EAFE ETF's stock was trading at $56.05 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 (Coronavirus) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, EFA stock has increased by 38.5% and is now trading at $77.62.

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iShares MSCI South Korea ETF's stock was trading at $52.04 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 (Coronavirus) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, EWY shares have increased by 51.2% and is now trading at $78.70.

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Reckitt Benckiser Group plc manufactures, markets, and sells health, hygiene, and home products. The company offers acne treatment creams, facial washes, and cleansing pads; disinfection, hygiene, and first aid products; condoms, sex toys, and lubricants; heartburn and indigestion solutions; and cough and chest congestion, multi-symptom, and sinus remedies for adults and children under the Clearasil, Dettol, Durex, Gaviscon, and Mucinex brands. It also provides analgesics; footcare and footwear products; sore throat medications; and women's beauty products under the Nurofen, Scholl, Strepsils, and Veet brand. In addition, the company offers fragrances and devices; water softeners; home cleaning products; dish washes; toilet bowl cleaners; disinfectants; sprays, baits, and plug-ins for pest control; stain removals; and fabric washing products under the Air Wick, Calgon, Cillit Bang, Finish, Harpic, Lysol, Mortein, Vanish, and Woolite brands, as well as infant and child nutrition products under the Enfamil and Nutramigen brands. It operates in the United States, Canada, Europe, Russia/CIS, Turkey, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, and internationally. The company was founded in 1823 and is headquartered in Slough, the United Kingdom.

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UTICA, N.Y. - Oneida County continues to see numerous drug overdoses throughout the area. Law enforcement, adding a new concern out of Sullivan County.

The Sullivan County Sheriff's office arrested someone for possession of marijuana. After they tested the marijuana, they found that it was laced with the narcotic, Fentanyl. Law enforcement believes that the laced drug could make its way to Oneida County.

"We relayed a lot of our heroin-related overdoses to the potential of being laced with Fentanyl. Now that we see marijuana being laced with Fentanyl basically we are setting off all of our alarms," said Sheriff Rob Maciol.

Fentanyl is not only dangerous to those that use it, but it also has the potential to be very dangerous to law enforcement.

"Fentanyl seeps through the skin simply by touch. So the dangers are not only to those that are using it but to law enforcement and EMS who are investigating an overdose. So that is some of the dangers that we see. Now we are seeing it laced in marijuana. The simple fact is that these drug dealers are trying to get you hooked on their drugs, and any time they can get someone a better high they are going to do it," said Trooper Jack Keller.

Fentanyl can be fatal if used in too high of a dose.

The latest drug discovery has the Oneida County Sheriff re-iterating his stance on the proposal to legalize recreational marijuana.

"This goes right back to the fact that legalizing marijuana is a bad, bad, bad idea. Because folks are going to purchase it through the black market. The black market explodes in states where marijuana has been legalized and we know for a fact and we can now confirm that marijuana is being laced with fentanyl in some places and it has entered the state of New York," said Maciol.

ACR Health on Genesee Street gives out Fentanyl test kits. If you are interested in getting one, all you have to do is walk in the door.
UTICA, N.Y. -- Right now there is a measles outbreak in downstate New York and that leaves a couple people wondering locally about the precautions that we are taking in our area.

"Just general education making sure people are aware of what measles is, making sure they are vaccinated or not. Just basic education to get people aware," said Matthew Blando, a physician for Mohawk Valley Health Services.

Measles is a contagious virus that usually starts out as a fever with a runny nose, sore throat and red eyes, but 3-5 days later a rash appears. Health officials told us what would happen if there was a case of measles in our area.

"The doctor's office or hospital would be calling the Health Department right away and the Health Department would advise on the testing recommendations for the person who is sick and then control measures to help prevent the spread of the disease in our community. All the control measures that we would recommend would just vary based on the case's age, whether they are vaccinated or not, and what kind of setting they were tested in," said Public Health Nurse Rebecca LaPorte.

Doctors say you'll want to get the vaccine in order to protect yourself.

Dr. Blando says, "The reason we want people to be vaccinated and we watch out for the measles is because it can have some pretty serious consequences if you get the actual infection. About 1 in 20 people who get the measles will end up getting a pneumonia from it This can be both a viral pneumonia from the measles itself or the measles can weaken the immune system enough that bacterial pneumonia can grow on top of that and these pneumonia's is the leading cause of death especially in children for the measles."
LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - A family in Lafayette is getting some closure after two years of grieving the death of John Byler.

In January of 2017, Byler was shot in an apartment on Center Street.

According to court documents, Wesley Hampton, Aarron Vance and allegedly Adam Worthington were trying to burglarize the apartment that day. They were masked and demanded drugs and money.

Vance, 37, was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Friday but not for the murder of John Byler. He pleaded guilty to burglary resulting in serious bodily injury.

It was a deal Judge Sean Persin reluctantly accepted saying, "This is not fair." However, he explained that he would accept it so the victim's family doesn't have to endure the pain and stress of a trial.

In court, a social worker talked about Vance's rough childhood. Vance told the social worker he was physically and sexually abused. He said he started dealing, manufacturing and using drugs as a small child. The social worker said quote, "he never stood a chance."

Ultimately, the judge said his lengthy criminal history gave Vance plenty of opportunities to turn his life around. He was shot twice and that still didn't inspire him to change. Judge Persin said, "He knows what being shot is like, he's been there, and this occurs? It's shocking."

Though it's said to have been Vance's gun, Vance claims Hampton was the one who pulled the trigger.

Byler's mother didn't care. She looked Vance in the eye and told him he was just as guilty for the murder of her son.

She also noted how she took offense to the fact Vance was smiling, laughing and waving at his friends and family before the sentencing hearing started. Vance later apologized in his statement to the court, claiming he didn't mean to offend, he just hadn't seen his family in a really long time.

Byler's sister talked about how much pain this has caused her family.

Vance has been shot twice before this incident. Byler's sister said, "Sadly he survived."

She said that shooting should have been a wake up call for him to change his life, but it wasn't.

Byler's dream to travel the world and that opportunity was taken from him.

In Vance's statement to the court, he said he never intended for John Byler's death and claimed he was in a drugged blur. "I hope you can forgive me," said Vance. "I am very religious and I care about my soul and I want to make it into heaven."

After the sentencing, News 18 asked Byler's family for a comment. They sent us the following in an email:

"We are very pleased that Judge Persin pronounced the maximum sentences allowed under the plea agreements for Wesley Hampton and Aarron Vance, two of the men responsible for the robbery and murder of our brother and son John Byler. Both of these individuals have an almost lifelong history of committing crimes, including violence against others. Both have a long history of continuing to commit crimes while incarcerated for other crimes and while on probation or parole, demonstrating their flagrant disrespect for the law. Both were found to be habitual offenders. Judge Persin evaluated the crimes to which Hampton and Vance pled guilty, along with mitigating and aggravating factors presented by the defense and prosecution and correctly decided that they need to be incarcerated for as long as possible within the confines of the plea agreements. With this sentence, Judge Persin has made Lafayette and surrounding areas a bit more safe. We would like to thank the Lafayette Police Department, who worked tirelessly on the investigation. The police place themselves in danger on a daily basis while trying to maintain law and order, including their contribution to maintaining the safety of the community citizens. While many staff from the police office contributed to resolution of these cases, we would like to say a special thanks to Detective Sherry, Detective Dempster and Detective Taul. We would also like to thank the Prosecutor's office who worked tirelessly on their investigation and preparation of the cases for trial initially and ultimately for the sentencing hearings including, but not limited to Natasha Corbett, Pat Harrington, and Cassidy Laux. And finally, thanks to the Victim Specialists Jessica Dykhuizen and Echo Harrington for their support through this process.

If the community has the opportunity, please take the time to let the police and prosecutor staff know your appreciation of the work they do on a regular basis.

A third person has been arrested for his involvement in the crimes against John. If anyone has more information about the commission of the crimes that occurred on January 16, 2017, please contact the Lafayette Police Department.

Finally, John was known for his acts of kindness toward others. In remembrance of John, please engage in an act of kindness toward someone else and continue to pay it forward."
FRANKFORT, Ind(WLFI)Kids at Blue Ridge Elementary in Frankfort have been coming home with head lice and parents aren't happy about it.

Parents like Jennifer Davis said the school is refusing to address the issue and she's tired of seeing her child come home with lice.

My daughters first kindergarten year she was infested with lice five times, said Davis. This year so far, she was infested six.

An issue she said has been addressed multiple times to Blue Ridge Elementary school.

The phone calls and stopping at the school was not making a difference, said Davis.

She said the school refuses to notify the parents. Instead, they identify the lice and just send the child home.

Ive helped a couple times this year, said Davis. And every single time, Ive seen bugs on a child and Ive been asked not to say anything.

Davis took matters into her own hands by creating a petition.

The petition was to try and get attention to the school-board of the Frankfort Schools, said Davis.

The Indiana State Department of Health does not endorse a head lice policy for any school. Which leaves the discretion of head checking for head lice up to the superintendent.

They dont do it anymore, said Davis. They dont want to embarrass anybody, they dont want to offend and, well its offensive to me to bring bugs home.

Gearald Gartzke is one of the parents who has signed the petition. He experienced the same reaction from the school after bringing the problem to their attention.

I talked to the school about it, said Gartzke. The school didnt send no notes home, didnt let us know, we just pretty much found it.

Gartzke said he found 25 bugs in his daughters hair.

Before we could go into the doctors appointment, I noticed that she had lice, said Gartzke.

The petition has already gained nearly 200 signatures. Davis hopes parents will continue signing the petition in hopes for answers.

The head checks in the school, not weekly, but initially that might be something that they need to do, said Davis.
The historic Johnston Building, built in 1891, located at 122 North Main St. in Woonsocket, is currently being converted into affordable apartments, and leasing of some of the units will begin soon.
Australias political spy agency boss told a Senate estimates hearing this week there was no reason to refocus intelligence gathering on right-wing extremism, despite an Australian white supremacist being charged with the killing of Muslims at two mosques in Christchurch on March 15.

Governments and state agencies continue to insist that Brenton Tarrant was a lone wolf whose homicidal plans could not have been detected, even though he had personal connections with a fascistic network in Australia, as well as across Europe and the US.

Despite the apparent failure to detect and prevent Tarrants atrocity, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) director-general Duncan Lewis told the Senate Legal and Constitutional Committee on Monday:

The events of Christchurch  dont really change the calculus here. Theres no early evidence to me that there will be some dramatic reset around this.

Throughout his self-contradictory testimony, Lewis provided no explanation for the lack of knowledge of Tarrants on-line activities, yet claimed that ASIO and its partner agencies had been very interested in right-wing extremism for many years.

This is something which we have been involved in for 30, 40 years, Lewis testified. We have people in our organisation that are committed as their day job to the issue of right-wing extremism.

Lewiss testimony raises further questions about how the on-line messages of Tarrant and his associates supposedly went unnoticed by the intelligence and police agencies. As well as the European alt-right and white racist groups to which he paid tribute in his manifesto, Tarrant had known links to similar organisations in Australia.

During a 10-month period in 201617 Tarrant made more than 30 comments on the then publicly-available Facebook pages of two Australian far-right groups, the United Patriots Front (UPF) and the True Blue Crew, both notorious for inciting hostility toward Muslims and other immigrants.

Lewis flatly refused to comment on whether membership of far-right organisations was increasing, even though he described them as better organised than earlier such groups. Id rather not comment, he said. The Senate committee members accepted his stance without question.

Nor would Lewis comment on co-operation between right-wing groups in Australia and overseas. I wouldnt be in a position to comment on that, Im sorry, Lewis stated. At the same time, he insisted that ASIO was in contact with many, many friendly and allied agencies about the rise of right-wing groups in Europe.

Lewis indicated an acceptance of fascistic groups as politically legitimate. There is a right-wing extremist elementnothing wrong with that, except when it ventures into violence, he said. Thats when ASIOs interests are engaged.

The director-general said the same rule applied to left-wing organisations, essentially bracketing them with the fascists.

In effect, Lewis relativised the fascistic killing of 50 people. The right-wing threat had to be seen in a perspective that we need to be very conscious of, he declared.

The ASIO chief said there had been seven terrorist attacks and 15 thwarted attacks in Australia over the past five years. Of those 22 incidents, one was allegedly perpetrated by a right-wing extremist, and that case is still before the courts.

Based on ASIOs highly dubious depiction of all violent attacks by deranged individuals or far-fetched supposed plots as cases of Islamic terrorism, Lewiss assertion was that far-right terrorists are a far lesser threat.

Lewiss focus on Islamic terrorism is suggestive of the rhetoric of the white supremacists themselves, who incite fears of a Muslim invasion to peddle their nationalist and fascistic propaganda. Such poison permeates the political and media establishment. Muslims and other immigrant groups, including those from Africa, are constantly accused of violent tendencies, and blamed for the deteriorating social conditions experienced by millions of working people.

Later during his testimony, Lewis said ASIO was doing everything that we can to assist our New Zealand colleagues in the wake of the Christchurch attack. Again, he refused to provide any details.

Lewiss responses highlight the many unanswered questions about how Tarrant was able to proceed with his attack. In particular, did these state agencies deliberately turn a blind eye to the plans of Tarrant and other fascists?

There are known to be close relations between the far-right groups and state agencies across Europe. In his manifesto, Tarrant boasted that hundreds of thousands of European soldiers and police belong to nationalist groups.

There was a similar official response when Australian Federal Police (AFP) commissioner Andrew Colvin appeared before the same Senate committee on April 4. He refused to specify how many AFP officers were monitoring white supremacists and right-wing groups, but said the number had not changed since the New Zealand massacre.

Colvin said 200 officers were dedicated permanently to counter-terrorism, supported by a great number of intelligence officers, surveillance officers, technical support officers. The range of people would surge as we need them and similar units existed at state and territory levels. This gives some idea of the extensive spying and undercover operations conducted by the police.

Like Lewis, Colvin relativised far-right violence. He said police operations had to remain focussed equally on extremism in all its forms We draw no distinction between what may be behind the origin of that extremism.

Colvin defended the AFPs refusal to give feedback to people who had complained previously to the AFP about threats of right-wing violence to themselves personally. Colvins only explanation was that it was not always a law enforcement issue.

While covering up the role of the police and intelligence agencies, the Liberal-National Coalition government is exploiting the Christchurch attack to further expand their powers and resources.

With the Labor Partys bipartisan support, last weeks federal budget handed billions more dollars to these agencies. ASIO will receive $557.8 million over four years, of which $60.6 million is for new measures. The AFP will get an extra $512.8 million over the same period, mostly to enhance its digital surveillance capabilities. The electronic spy agency, the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), will receive $4 billion through to 2023 for a Cyber Security Response Fund.

The ASIO and AFP testimony is another warning. Alarmed by the growing social unrest, the ruling elite in Australia and its agencies, as in other countries, are facilitating the rise of extreme right-wing movements that will be directed above all against class conscious workers and socialists.

Authorised by James Cogan for the Socialist Equality Party, Suite 906, 185 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000

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[27 March 2019]
Addressing the event, Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung, head of the Vietnamese delegation, said women play an active role in UN peacekeeping, especially in addressing gender-related issues, protecting and promoting women and girls rights, creating momentum for women and girls in the areas they are working in to participate in peacekeeping and positively impacting the settlement of sexual abuse and violence in UN peacekeeping operations.

He said to improve womens participation, the UN should promote the implementation of the UNSCs Resolution 2242. He asked UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to look into barriers to womens engagement in peacekeeping and propose solutions on the basis of the Gender Parity Strategy.

He called on developed countries to boost their support for the Elsie Initiative for Women in Peace Operations to increase womens presence in security and defence forces.

The diplomat also emphasised that UN peacekeeping operations need to ensure basic principles of non-intervention, neutrality and relevant parties consensus.

Since 2014, Vietnam has sent army officers to UN peacekeeping missions in South Sudan and the Central African Republic. The first Vietnamese female officer arrived in South Sudan in 2017.

Vietnam currently has 10 female army officers at its level-two field hospital in South Sudan and will continue promoting womens participation in UN peacekeeping forces, Trung said.

In his speech, Secretary-General Guterres reaffirmed the UNs efforts to enhance womens representation in peacekeeping by rolling out the Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy 2018-2028.

He said the UN is stepping up the implementation of Resolution 2242 on women, peace and security, adopted in 2015. He also applauded the promotion of the Elsie Initiative that aims to raise womens participation.

Guterres called for assistance from member states in sending more female officers and focusing more on women in battalions and police units at peacekeeping missions.

At the debate, UN member states stated their support to the UNSCs resolutions on womens role in all stages of the peace process as well as peacekeeping operations.

Many said it is necessary to ensure gender balance in peacekeeping forces by increasing the number of women officers and creating fair opportunities for women to be appointed to all positions, especially leadership, in UN peacekeeping operations and the security-defence system of countries. They noted that ensuring gender balance in UN peacekeeping forces will have positive impacts on the settlement of sexual exploitation, abuse and violence.

On the sidelines of the debate, Deputy Foreign Minister Trung met with several ambassadors and heads of other UN member states missions to call for their support for Vietnams candidacy for a non-permanent seat in the UNSC for 2020-2021. Vietnam is currently the only candidate representing Asia-Pacific.
The Socialist Equality Party (Australia) held rallies in Sydney and Melbourne yesterday, opposing the illegal termination of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assanges political asylum and calling for a mass movement of workers and young people to secure his freedom.

The protests were held less than 24 hours after Assange was hauled out of Ecuadors London embassy and arrested by British police. Assange is being held on bogus bail charges and faces extradition proceedings by the US government, which is seeking to prosecute him for his role in WikiLeaks exposure of US war crimes, illegal diplomatic intrigues and mass surveillance.

Part of the SEP Melbourne rally in defence of Assange

Christine Assange, the WikiLeaks founders mother, endorsed the SEP protests, issuing a statement urging all people to attend the rallies tomorrow to demand that the Australian government act urgently to protect Julian and bring him home.

The Australian protests reflected a groundswell of opposition to the attack on Assange, with demonstrations held in London, the United States and in Germany.

Each Australian rally was attended by more than 150 people. Participants included office workers, teachers, construction and power workers, students, young people and retirees. Some protesters had travelled up to five hours to take a stand.

Prominent defenders of Assange took part. His father John Shipton attended the Melbourne rally. Somerset Bean, a well-known British graphic designer and WikiLeaks supporter, was also present. In Sydney, Mary Kostakidis, a well-known former TV news presenter, participated, alongside defenders of democratic rights who have supported Assange for over a decade. Protesters who had earlier assembled outside the UK consulate in Sydney marched to Martin Place to join the SEP rally.

Livestream videos of the protests have been viewed by more than 5,000 people around the world.

Livestream of the April 12 SEP rally in Sydney

Reflecting the nervousness of the Australian authorities over widespread support for Assange, there was a substantial police presence at the Sydney rally, including officers from the riot and public order squad.

Chairing the Sydney protest, SEP Assistant National Secretary Cheryl Crisp declared: The SEP unequivocally condemns the arrest of Julian Assange and the illegal termination of his political asylum.

While the Ecuadorian and British governments bear clear responsibility for this situation, it is the Australian political establishment that has created the conditions for this to have taken place. Governments, Liberal-National and Labor alike, have abandoned the Australian citizen, refused to exercise their legal and diplomatic powers to secure his safe passage back to this country.

Cheryl Crisp

Crisp said that the Labor government of Julia Gillard had played a central role in the persecution of Assange, having falsely accused WikiLeaks of illegal acts in 2011.

She said the venomous hostility of the political establishment to Assange was demonstrated by a tweet reshared by deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek on Friday, which denounced Assanges supporters as cultists and slanderously accused the WikiLeaks founder of having worked as an agent of a proto fascist state, Russia, to undermine democracy.

Oscar Grenfell, International Youth and Students for Social Equality national convenor, said that Assanges arrest was an historic political crime. Grenfell is the SEPs candidate for the seat of Parramatta in the Australian federal elections.

The working class and young people in this country and around the world will not accept this, Grenfell said. We cannot, because the attack on Assange is an attack on all of our democratic rights. What is being established is nothing less than a precedent for the suppression of free speech and freedom of the press.

Nick Beams, a decades-long leader of the SEP, declared: Friends, defenders of democratic rights, April 11, 2019, will go down in history as a day of infamy. On that day, in London, the democratic right of asylum, fought for in hundreds of years of struggle, was defiled, torn-up, trampled on and ground into the dirt.

Beams placed the attacks on Assange in the context of the deepening crisis of world capitalism and the resurgence of the class struggle internationally. He explained that Assanges persecution was being carried out by governments terrified of mounting social opposition from the working class.

To strong applause, Beams stated: Julian Assange has performed his duty as a journalist to workers, to youth, to the mass of ordinary people around the world. Now, we are obliged to repay that debt which we owe him. To rally, to organise, to agitate, to develop a movement in his defence.

Nick Beams

And not just because of whats hes done, but because of what it means for us. Because that defence of democratic rights is integral to the defence of the rights of the working class as a whole, the world over. His cause is our cause. His defence is our defence.

Mike Head, a WSWS correspondent and the SEP candidate for Oxley in Brisbane, warned that The arrest of Julian Assange is not just about the past crimes he has exposed. Its also a warning of the future crimes being prepared.

Head denounced the response of the Liberal-National government and the Labor Party to Assanges arrest. They had made clear, he said, that both parties were participating in the international conspiracy against Assange and were doing nothing to defend his democratic rights.

In Melbourne, Sue Phillips, an SEP member and the convenor of the Committee to Defend Public Education, declared: Assange is a hero who has courageously revealed to the international working class the filthy operations of the US government, their horrific war crimes and mass spying operations against the masses of ordinary people.

Assange and WikiLeaks revelations have educated and changed the consciousness of masses of ordinary people. They have lifted the veil of secrecy, inspiring the overthrow of corrupt and criminal governments in Egypt, Tunisia and elsewhere.

Peter Byrne, the SEPs candidate for the seat of Calwell in Melbourne, noted that the Australian government had recently intervened to secure the release of Hakeem Al-Araibi, an Australian resident who had been threatened with extradition from Thailand to his native Bahrain. He condemned the Australian government for refusing to provide the same assistance to Assange.

Patrick OConnor, a WSWS correspondent and teacher, declared: We are here to take a stand against the crime that was carried out in central London yesterday, with Julian Assange dragged out in a Gestapo-like raid. What is underway marks the apogee of nearly a decade of concerted conspiracy on the part of Canberra, Washington, and London.

Caitlin Johnstone

Caitlin Johnstone, a prominent online journalist, told the rally: Today is the day when the nice guy mask has been ripped from the face of the inverted totalitarian state under whose boot we live. She said Assange was being bullied by the power whose wrongdoings he exposed. And those powerful people want to make an example of him and send a message to all of us.

Australian politicians and the Australian media have been put on notice as of todaywe will not lie down quietly Johnstone said.

Evrim Yazgin, a leading member of the IYSSE, declared: The IYSSE will do everything it can to take forward this crucial fight to build the mass movement that will secure Julian Assanges freedom!

Tessa Pietsch

Tessa Pietsch, an SEP candidate for the Senate and the president of the IYSSE at the University of Melbourne, where Assange once studied, stated: Julian Assange had led the fight to expose the war crimes, spying on citizens and illegal activities of capitalist governments.

Young people need to know, we want to know, what our governments are doing behind closed doors. We will not accept the persecution of Assange or the censorship of the internet!

The Melbourne rally was reported on by the Age, one of the citys most prominent daily publications. It highlighted the attendance of Shipton and featured comments from OConnor and Byrne. The Age article was the only mention, in the mainstream media, of the SEP rallies, with the corporate press maintaining its blackout of SEP events in defence of the WikiLeaks founder over the past 18 months.

Concluding the Sydney rally, Crisp stressed that the SEP would make the persecution of Assange a central issue in the upcoming elections. She said that the protests were only the beginning of a protracted fight that would be waged by the SEP for the WikiLeaks founders freedom.

Authorised by James Cogan for the Socialist Equality Party, Suite 906, 185 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000
In their opening media appearances yesterday, on the first full day of the Australian election campaign, Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Labor Party leader Bill Shorten used almost identical language to wash their hands of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

They made their positions clear within hours of Assange, an Australian citizen, being bodily dragged out of Ecuadors London embassy to face US extradition charges. There was sickening bipartisan agreement, in effect, to help hand Assange over to the Trump administration.

It was as if Morrison, who heads the Liberal-National Coalition, and Shorten, the official opposition leader, were speaking to a script prepared in advance. Both expressed their confidence in the British and US legal systems, while claiming that Assange would continue to receive consular assistance from the Australian embassy.

Asked by the Australian Broadcasting Corporations television breakfast news presenter, Michael Rowland, for his response to the main news of the dayAssanges arrestMorrison declared:

Hell get that consular assistance as youd expect him to, but he will have to make his way through whatever comes his way in terms of the justice system there.

Asked directly whether Australia would fight a move to extradite Assange to the US, Morrison flatly rejected the proposition. He said the WikiLeaks founder was at the mercy of the British justice system.

When Australians travel overseas and then find themselves in difficulties with the law, they face the judicial systems of those countries. It doesnt matter what particular crime it is that theyre alleged to have committed, thats the way the system works.

Shorten, interviewed straight after Morrison, took the same line, refusing to oppose extradition to the US, while feigning ignorance of the issues. I think he should receive consular assistance, beyond that I dont know all the facts of the matter, Shorten said. He should deserve the ability to be represented in court, which he will be.

This shared faith in the due process and independence of the British and US courts is a fraud. The very speed with which Assange was declared guilty of breaching bail and confronted by a suddenly unsealed secret US indictment is a warning that the preparations for a show trial are already well underway.

As Morrison and Shorten are well aware, the brutal treatment of Chelsea Manning, the courageous former army intelligence private who leaked hundreds of thousands of incriminating US cables to WikiLeaks, is another display of the way the system works. After being persecuted in a US military jail for seven years under Obama, she has been re-imprisoned indefinitely, and held in solitary confinement to try to coerce her into testifying falsely against Assange.

As for the claim of consular assistance, the reality is that successive Australian governments, both Labor and Coalition, have actively supported the operation by US administrations, first under Barack Obama and then Donald Trump, to silence WikiLeaks and railroad Assange to prison.

This began with the Greens-backed Labor government of Julia Gillard. In November 2010, as WikiLeaks published damning exposures of US war crimes, regime-change plots and other criminality, Gillard rushed to ingratiate herself with Washington by declaring Assanges actions were illegal. She instructed the police and intelligence agencies to investigate whether Assange could be charged with crimes under Australian lawwhich he could not.

One of WikiLeakss supposed crimes was to publish documents that proved that protected sources of the US embassy inside the Labor Party and trade unions were centrally involved in Gillards installation as prime minister in mid-2010, ousting Kevin Rudd. Rudd had no difference at all with the US alliance, but he had suggested that the US should make some room for the rise of China.

Since then, the Labor Party, which committed Australia to the US pivot to Asia against China and expanded US military access across the country under Gillard, has never shifted from its hostility toward WikiLeaks.

One government after another, from Labors Gillard and Rudd to the Coalitions Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and now Morrison, has backed Assanges persecution in order to make clear their unconditional commitment to the US military alliance, which underpins the predatory interests of Australian capitalism in this part of the world.

Moreover, every government insisted it had no evidence of US attempts to extradite the Australian citizen. That pretence now lies in tatters. In fact, as far back as 2012, declassified cables, obtained under Freedom of Information laws, revealed that Australian embassy officials in Washington had informed the Gillard government in detail about US plans to prosecute Assange.

The venomous hostility of Labor, and the entire political establishment, towards Assange was displayed yesterday when the partys deputy leader, Tanya Plibersek reshared a Tweet declaring that the WikiLeaks founder worked as the agent of a proto fascist state, Russia, to undermine democracy and that his supporters were cultists.

This slander is based on the discredited allegations of the US intelligence agencies and the Democratic Party that WikiLeaks was involved in a Russian plot to deprive Hillary Clinton of the US presidency. In reality, WikiLeaks published leaked documents demonstrating that the Democratic National Committee illegally rigged the partys primaries against Bernie Sanders, in favour of Clinton. It also published Clintons secret speeches to Wall Street banks, in which she pledged to do their bidding and to expand predatory US wars abroad.

The record of Australias corporate media is equally damning. On December 22, 2010, the editors or news directors of virtually every Australian television station or print media publication signed a joint open letter to Prime Minister Gillard which stated: To aggressively attempt to shut WikiLeaks down, to threaten to prosecute those who publish official leaks, and to pressure companies to cease doing commercial business with WikiLeaks, is a serious threat to democracy.

Now that it is undeniable that Assange faces US prosecution, not a single editorial has appeared defending him, freedom of speech or the rights of journalists.

At rallies and public meetings over the past 18 months, the Socialist Equality Party has raised the demand that the Australian government intervene diplomatically and legally to secure Assanges release and ensure his right to return to Australia with a guarantee of protection from extradition to the US.

There must be no illusions, however. The entire Australian political and media establishment is directly responsible and culpable for Assange now being incarcerated.

That is why everything depends on turning to the working class and young people, as part of the struggle to overturn the profit system and its drive to austerity and war. The defence of basic democratic rights is bound up entirely with the fight for socialism.

Authorised by James Cogan for the Socialist Equality Party, Suite 906, 185 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000

The author also recommends:

Australia: WikiLeaks cables reveal secret ties between Rudd coup plotters and US embassy

[9 December 2010]
Spains Public Prosecution Office and Solicitor General are pursuing charges for rebellion against 36 voters in the 2017 Catalan independence referendum. Their supposed crime is to have complained about police violence.

The Public Prosecutor (Attorney General) and Solicitor General are both political appointments by the Socialist Party (PSOE) government, installed last June with the help of the pseudo-left Podemos party. They are appealing for the overturn of a judicial decision rejecting a petition from the Unified Police Union (SUP) calling for the prosecution of those opposing with force or with their own body the authority of the police.

Since 2017, the SUP, known for its far-right connections and calls for police-state measures to suppress social opposition, has been demanding action against those who took part in sit-ins at polling stations.

On October 1, 2017 the Catalan regional government, with the support of separatist organisations and parties, organized a referendum on whether the rich north-eastern region should separate from Spain. The Popular Party (PP) government, with the full support of the PSOE, reacted with force. Catalan autonomy was suspended, the Constitutional Court outlawed the referendum and hundreds of separatist mayors were threatened with prosecution. The Madrid-based media launched a frenzied chauvinist and Spanish nationalist campaign to defend the repression that followed.

The police attempted to prevent the referendum from taking place, arresting Catalan government officials, closing websites, seizing millions of posters and leaflets, and searching print shops and newspapers. Countless videos showed police smashing their way into polling stations and using truncheons and tear gas on peaceful voters and activists attempting to protect the ballot boxes. The level of police violence, which left over 1,000 voters injured, was such that Popular Party (PP) minister Inigo Mendez de Vigo was forced to apologise on TV.

In the Orwellian atmosphere being stoked up by the ruling class in the run up to the April 28 general election, it is the victims of police brutality that are being accused of being aggressors while the police receive the uniform sympathy of the media and politicians.

In dictatorial language those accused are warned, When a citizen observes that the police want to enter a place in the exercise of their functions, they know that their legal obligation is to clear the way without raising other issues. To prevent the step is unlawful.

The responsibility for their injuries is entirely attributable to the Catalan government authorities for organising the referendum and not to the police officers, because knowing that voting was prohibited, they cheated by making them [the voters] believe that it was their right to prevent police action.

The appeal for the rebellion charges to proceed against the 36 voters for merely complaining of police violence is unprecedented in its implications for democratic rights. It takes place as 12 leading Catalan politicians and activists are being tried under rebellion and sedition charges for staging the referendum, which carry a sentence of 25 years in prison.

Two weeks ago, police officers appeared in court claiming that they confronted violent demonstrations during the referendum campaignclaims that were parroted by the Solicitor General, Public Prosecution Office and the far-right Vox party. Civil Guard officers claimed in court to have faced a climate of overwhelming violence, which after cross-examination came down to little more than demonstrators having faces of hate, calling them fascists and occasionally being spat at or thrown carnations!

One police officer described how he faced an impassable [human] wall of people sitting on the ground, lining arms. They were recording us and one said, Everyone quiet, dont say anything.

Its stayed with me how they looked at me, he continued, feigning dismay.

The head of the Spanish National Police in Catalonia, Manuel Quintela, complained of having confronted a pre-revolutionary atmosphere during the sit-ins at the polling stations. There were music parties, pyjama parties, and night-time hot chocolate parties, he explained.

To limit cross-examination by the defence about these absurd accounts, Judge Manuel Marchena, who has well-known ties to the PP, banned the broadcasting of publicly available video footage that clearly contradicts the police claims of their facing violence.

The unrelenting judicial actions arise in a context where the issue of Catalan independence has been made central to the upcoming general election, burying any questions of poverty, mass unemployment, inequality or the threat of war under a torrent of Spanishand Catalannationalism and chauvinism. Mass abstention is expected, with over half the youth below 25 not expected to vote.

A year and a half after the outbreak of the Catalan crisis, as the WSWS warned, the anti-Catalan campaign has proved to be an attempt by the ruling class to shift politics to the right to counter mounting social anger after a decade of austerity. The campaign is, in the final analysis, aimed at building a police-state regime whose central target is the rising militancy and strikes in the working class.

Objectively this faces powerful working-class opposition, but finds no political expression through the existing parties.

The PSOE is trying to outdo the three right-wing parties, the PP, Citizens and Vox, which are calling for secessionist parties to be banned (Vox also calls for the outlawing of Marxist parties) and for Catalan regional autonomy to be suspended. Earlier this month, acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who backed the PPs repression in October 2017, repeated that he would have no hesitation in re-imposing direct rule from Madrid using article 155 of the Constitution. Article 155, he declared, was a perfectly legitimate instrument.

Sanchez attacked the PSOEs Catalan branch leader, Miquel Iceta, who said that a political solution through a referendum could be a possibilitya statement that sparked a public outcry by politicians and the media. He stressed that his government maintains control over the Catalan governments finances, justified with claims of political uncertainty. He supported the recent anti-democratic resolutions of the Spanish Electoral Board ordering the Catalan government to remove symbols of solidarity with the jailed and exiled separatist leaders from public buildings. It has also banned Catalan TV and radio networks from using expressions such as political prisoners and exiles.

If the PSOE is able to lead in the polls (30 percent, compared to PP on 22 percent, Citizens on 15 percent, Podemos on 12 percent and Vox on 10 percent) and continue with its right-wing agenda, it is above all due to the absence of a genuine alternative to the right-wing. Podemos, which is continuing to promote a PSOE-Podemos government, plays a central role in preventing the emergence of a genuine socialist opposition.

On Sunday, Podemos General Secretary Pablo Iglesias said during an electoral meeting that the solution to the Catalan crisis was dialogue between Barcelona and Madrid and that the only way to guarantee that there is a left government [with the PSOE] is if Unidas Podemos [the Podemos-United Left alliance] is part of the government.

The claim that supporting Podemos (and making Iglesias a minister) will ensure that the PSOE does not shift further to the right is a fraud. In eight months in power, the Podemos-backed PSOE government has been virtually indistinguishable from the former PP government. It has not only pursued a repressive law-and-order solution in Catalonia, but also continued the pro-austerity, anti-immigrant and militarist and imperialist policies of its predecessor. As Podemos-backed En Comu Podem [In Common We Can] leader Jaume Asens admitted, the PSOE treats with contempt Iglesias pleas, stating, If they had the chance, they would choose Citizens in a coalition.
For the second time in as many weeks, the US Supreme Court has ruled that the execution of a death row inmate can proceed despite claims that the method of execution, lethal injection, will cause unnecessary pain and suffering.

The 5-4 ruling issued by the courts right wing majority was made with extraordinary haste. The state of Alabama filed an application with the court on Thursday evening to proceed with the execution of Christopher L. Price, who, along with an accomplice, was convicted of the murder of Bill Lynn, a minister, in the course of a robbery in 1991. Alabamas 9 P.M. filing asked the court to vacate a stay of execution issued by a lower court and upheld by a federal court of appeals.

Justice Stephen Breyer asked for a postponement of the ruling until the court could meet to discuss the case in private conference Friday morning. But the right-wing majority, in its rush to keep the execution assembly moving, rejected Breyers request and proceeded to reverse the lower courts and lift the stay.

Facing a midnight deadline to carry out the state murder, the Alabama authorities were compelled to call off the execution pending the Supreme Court ruling. Now the state must apply to a court for a new execution warrant, delaying the lethal injection killing of Price for 30 days.

Alabama Attorney General Steven T. Marshall railed against Price for filing his appeal, in which he asked that he be executed by nitrogen hypoxia instead of lethal injection, citing a series of botched executions employing the latter method, which had caused the victims protracted periods of excruciating pain.

Price, the attorney general said, dodged his death sentence for the better part of three decades by employing much the same strategy he employed tonightdesperately clinging to legal maneuverings to avoid facing the consequences of his heinous crime.

In his dissent, signed by the other members of the nominally liberal bloc on the court, Breyer wrote, Should anyone doubt that death sentences in the United States can be carried out in an arbitrary way, let that person review the following circumstances as they have been presented to our Court this evening.

The use of nitrogen hypoxia had been approved by the Alabama legislature in 2018 and Price was well within his rights to ask for it.

In deciding to vacate the lower courts decision, the five-member majority concluded that Price had failed to select nitrogen hypoxia within the 30 days provided him under Alabama state law. In fact, Alabama death row inmates were finally notified that they could select the procedure within 72 hours of the June 2018 deadline. Price and others were only given three days to decide how they were to die.

Prices appeals cited studies commissioned by the state of Oklahoma determining that the use of nitrogen hypoxia was unlikely to cause any substantial physical discomfort. The court majority made note of the fact, however, that Price and his attorneys initially presented draft studies stamped with the words Do Not Cite. A final, and in all respects identical, report was available, which Prices legal team promised to present to the district court. The Supreme Court, majority, however, disregarded the existence of the final report in its ruling.

The Supreme Court, which has tacked even further to the right since the confirmation last year of Trumps nominee Brett Kavanaugh, has virtually rendered the Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment a dead letter.

On April 2, the court approved the execution of Russel Bucklew, who was afflicted with a rare disorder known as cavernous hemangioma, which resulted in tumors filled with blood vessels throughout his body. The court approved the execution despite the fact that the injections would cause the tumors to rupture, resulting in Bucklew choking and suffocating on his own blood.

The majority opinion in that case, written by Trumps first nominee, Neil Gorsuch, set a precedent for future dismissal of challenges to the death penalty on Eighth Amendment grounds. In language that could easily come from a right-wing dictatorship, Gorsuch wrote: Courts should police carefully against attempts to use such challenges as tools to interpose unjustified delay. Last-minute stays should be the extreme exception, not the norm.

The two April rulings follow the courts decision in February to allow the execution of a Muslim inmate, also in Alabama, without the presence of his imam. In that case as well, the majority argued at the time that the request should have been made sooner. A similar request made by a Buddhist inmate in March, however, was granted by the court after it satisfied itself that the appeal was timely.

The medieval practice of capital punishment has always been one of the more barbaric aspects of US imperialism. There are currently 2,620 death row inmates in the country, while 163 have been found innocent since 1973, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Studies led by University of Michigan law professor Samuel Gross estimate that at least 4 percent of death row inmates are likely innocent. Said Gross, There are a large number of innocent people who are sentenced to death, and despite our best efforts, some of them have undoubtedly been executed.

The Supreme Courts decision disregards the extreme pain and suffering that have accompanied recent lethal injection procedures. In April 2014, the state of Oklahoma carried out the execution of 38-year-old Clayton Lockett using an untested three-drug protocol. The drugs caused Lockett to react violently, kicking and contorting his face in pain throughout the procedure. In a media conference afterwards, Oklahoma Department of Corrections Director Robert Patton stated that Locketts veins had exploded in the course of the execution, which eventually led to Lockett dying of a massive heart attack.

In July 2017, Ronald Phillips was executed in the state of Ohio for the 1993 rape and murder of his girlfriends three-year-old daughter. The execution used the three-drug-protocol of midazolam, rocuronium bromide and potassium chloride. This was despite the fact that 15 pharmacology professors had filed a brief with the Supreme Court arguing that midazolam was incapable of inducing unconsciousness or preventing severe pain. They called the use of midazolam in executions profoundly troubling, saying it was unsuitable as an execution drug.

Ohio Governor John Kasich, now feted by the political establishment and corporate media as a moderate Republican alternative to Trump, condemned Phillips at the time. Given the extremely brutal nature of the offense committed against an innocent three-year-old girl, he said, I agree with the Ohio Parole Boards recommendation that clemency is not warranted in this case.

The ineffectiveness of midazolam had already been demonstrated in the April 2017 execution of Kenneth Williams of Arkansas. In that instance, Williams body lurched and convulsed at least 15 times after the sedative was injected.
A newly released surveillance video shows Chicago Police officers stationed inside Marshall High School viciously dragging a 16-year-old high school student down a flight of stairs, without provocation, before beating, punching, shocking and stepping on the girl in front of her father. The revelation of the incident which took place at the end of January has sparked national outrage and has exposed yet another attempted cover-up inside the Chicago Police Department.

On January 29, 2019, Marshall High Student Dnigma Howard was suspended for allegedly using a cell phone in class. The school called her father, Laurentio Howard, to come and pick her up from the school that morning. According to Dnigma, however, the officers never indicated to her that she was suspended or that she was to leave the premises of the school.

Dnigma is participating in the Behavior Intervention Plan and Individualized Education Program, which is meant to help students resolve learning issues with the help of a guidance counselor. On the day she was suspended and attacked, her plan was not followed and a counselor was not made available before the police violently intervened against her.

Video footage initially released, which did not contain the beginning of the altercation, showed the attack only after the incident had already been needlessly escalated by police. One officer can be seen punching the young student with a closed fist to the face while she is being stepped on by another officer. The officer stepping on Dnigma, Johnnie Pierre, then brandishes a stun gun, which he uses multiple times on the outnumbered, unarmed and terrified child. Photos taken after the incident show a cut across her face; she was treated at a local hospital after the assault.

My first instinct was to protect her, but they told me to step back, so I could only watch. I told them they didnt need to do that, her father told the Chicago Sun-Times. Echoing the last pleas of Eric Garner, murdered by New York Police in 2014, Laurentio continued, when they had my daughter on the ground like that and throwing her around and the officer had his foot in my daughters stomach, on her, shes screaming, I cant breath, I cant breath.

Based on a fabricated police report, Cook County prosecutors vindictively charged Dnigma Howard with two felony counts of aggravated battery against officers Pierre and Sherry Tripp. The officers fantasy of a report stated that the teen had initiated contact with officers first, and that the student had bitten, kicked and spit on the officers before they all fell down the stairs and officers were forced to beat her in order to gain compliance.

This canard was put to rest by the release of a second tape that shows what precipitated the onslaught of state violence. Howard can be seen at the top of the stairs talking to a fellow student while CPD officer Pierre can be seen standing near her at the top of the stairs.

As Dnigma turns around after finishing her conversation with her friend, the officer suddenly, and without provocation, grabs her across the chest and violently swings her towards the nearby descending staircase causing her to fall with the officer following behind. Another officer joins the fracas and soon students swarm the top of the stairs, obstructing the view, as the two officers began dragging the surprised Dnigma down the stairs by her ankle.

Once done dragging the child, they set to pummeling her in front of her father and her fellow students. It was embarrassing, Dnigma related to the Chicago Sun-Times, [other students] were watching.

The two officers have since been removed from the school while an investigation is underway. Laurentio Howard has filed a federal lawsuit against the school district, the Chicago Police Department and officers Johnnie Pierre and Sherry Tripp, accusing the defendants of violating his daughters civil rights.

A lawsuit filed by attorney Andrew M. Stroth states, the Board of Education and CPD continue to fail our children. An unarmed 16-year-old girl was beaten, kicked, punched and tasered by officers. The brief continues, At no time during their contact with [Dnigma] did [police] seek assistance or involvement from any Marshall administration, staff members, or other security officer in escorting her from the building.

In an transparent attempt to appeal to the power structure that protects the police, Stroth called on Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot to implement recommendations and reforms that have been worked out between the school district and the Chicago Police Department regarding responsibilities and procedures of school resource officers. These toothless reforms would keep the police in schools, and are part of a consent decree ordered by a federal judge following multiple incidents of violent cops beating students.

The reforms are also made with the intent to cap how much districts will pay out in lawsuits resulting from unrestrained police violence. Lightfoot has made a career out of protecting the Chicago Police Department and is keen to end costly payouts to working class victims of police violence.

Upon release of the second tape prosecutors have since dropped charges against Dnigma, in the interest of justice. Until the charges were dropped, however, Dnigma was treated like a convicted criminal, placed on electronic monitoring and banned from school grounds.

A recent report by the ACLU found that millions of students across the United States attend a school which has police officers on staff but no counselors, psychologists or social workers. While they are starved of much needed funding for education, American schools have been turned into fortresses, complete with metal detectors, surveillance cameras and armed police officers. Without the necessary number of teachers and staff, even minor incidents are treated as a police matter, resulting in the brutalization and criminalization of students.

This act of violence inflicted upon yet another working class student is another expression of the social crisis wracking American society. Marshall High School is located on Chicagos West Side, in a predominantly African American and highly impoverished section of the city.

According to 2015 government statistics, the median household income of the community was just $21,482. According to government census data, over 70,000 people resided in East Garfield Park in 1950, now fewer than an estimated 21,000 remain. The exodus has resulted in a destruction of property values leading to a blighted area, bereft of social services or employment.
With Trump pledging to send more US troops to the Mexican border, reports have emerged that top national security officials discussed using active duty soldiers to build and run new migrant detention camps. NBC News reported Friday that the illegal and unconstitutional proposal was discussed at a White House meeting of top national security officials Tuesday night.

These discussions are part of a sharp intensification of the pogromist assault on immigrants that Trump has made the centerpiece of his domestic policy.

NBC cited two unnamed Pentagon officials and one from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) who were familiar with the conversations. Potential projects include using troops to conduct land assessments before the construction of new tent cities in El Paso and Donna, Texas and a new central processing center for migrants in El Paso. The latter is to be similar to one currently operating in McAllen, Texas, where children were held in cages last summer while the administrations family separation policy was in effect.

One of the officials said recent meetings have discussed whether using active duty troops to run a detention camp would violate the Posse Comitatus Act, which bars the military from engaging in law enforcement activities within the borders of the United States. Citing one of its sources, NBC added that the idea of military-built and run migrant prisons has trickled down into planning meetings this week at DHS.

The Defense Department issued a statement saying it could be involved in construction of new detention facilities.

Trump is escalating his fascistic persecution of immigrants and pressing for openly illegal policies to create a system of internment centers recalling the camps that imprisoned hundreds of thousands of Japanese-Americans during World War II. He is increasingly asserting authoritarian powers and rejecting any congressional control.

On Wednesday, during a visit to San Antonio, Texas, Trump said, Im going to have to call up more military. Our military, dont forget, cant act like a military would act. Because if they got a little rough, everybody would go crazy They have all these horrible laws that the Democrats wont change.

What Trump means by getting a little rough is indicated by what he told Fox News Sean Hannity last monththat ordering troops to turn machine guns on the men, women and children seeking asylum would be a very effective way of doing it.

Also on Friday, the New York Times reported that during his visit last Friday to the California border town of Calexico, Trump told the then-head of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Kevin McAleenan, to bar asylum seekers from entering the country and promised to pardon him if he encountered any legal problems.

That visit was followed by a purge of the DHS, including top officials of its immigration units. Trump fired DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, reportedly because she resisted resuming the policy of family separations and illegally blocking refugees from entering the US to file asylum claims. He dumped the acting deputy head of DHS in order to elevate McAleenan to the post, and he fired the director of the Secret Service.

These anti-democratic moves coincide with an escalation of Gestapo-like raids on worksites with immigrant workers, including an April 3 raid on CVE Technology in Allen, Texas in which Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested 280 employees.

These terror tactics are supposedly in response to a crisis at the border caused by an unprecedented flood of undocumented migrants. There has been a surge in border apprehensions, with more than 361,000 arrests in the first half of fiscal 2019, the highest level since 2007, according to CBP. However, this is due to the deliberate policy of slowing the acceptance of asylum claims at ports of entry to a crawl, forcing desperate families fleeing murderous violence and poverty in Central America to illegally cross in more remote areas.

Moreover, this number of arrests is still more than 230,000 less than in 2006 and nearly 500,000 less than in 2000. Apprehensions regularly exceeded 1 million a year during the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.

The intensified crackdown is the culmination of a steady escalation of the war against immigrant workers carried out by the Trump administration over the past five months.

Last fall, in the run-up to the mid-term elections, Trump ordered thousands of active duty troops to the border to stop what he called an invasion from the south.

In February, he declared a national emergency in order to use Pentagon funds to extend his border wall after Congress rejected his funding request. This was a direct violation of the US Constitution, which reserves to Congress the power to appropriate funds.

Since the release last month of the Mueller report, puncturing the Democrats claims of Trump-Russia collusion in the 2016 elections, Trump has escalated his campaign against migrants.

The Democrats and the media aligned with them such as the New York Times and the Washington Post have played down Trumps threat to set up military-run prison camps for migrants. Instead, they have focused on his talk of busing arrested immigrants to Democratic-run sanctuary cities, which impose limits on local collaboration with federal deportation cops, as a form of political retribution.

Trump has been able to carry through his anti-immigrant program, despite popular opposition, because the Democrats have done nothing to seriously oppose it. On the contrary, they are increasingly accommodating their rhetoric and policies to the far-right anti-immigrant witch-hunt.

Last Sunday, at a campaign event in Iowa, Bernie Sanders went out of his way to reject a policy of open borders, echoing the efforts of Trump, Stephen Miller, Stephen Bannon and company to pit native-born workers against their class brothers and sisters from Mexico and Central America. You open the borders, theres a lot of poverty in this world, he said, and youre gonna have people from all over the world. I dont think this is something you can do at this point.

Sanders statement prompted praise from Richard Spencer, the neo-Nazi who helped organize the fascist riot in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017, who tweeted, Bernie returns to form.

Jeh Johnson, who presided over the highest level of deportations in US history while serving as DHS secretary under Barack Obama, told Fox News on Thursday, By any measure, 4,000 arrests in a day, 100,000 in a monthis a crisis. Its a crisis because it overwhelms our Border Patrol and our immigration officials ability to deal with it

He went on to label Central America the most violent region of the world and call for bipartisan unity to address the crisis by changing immigration law.

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi argued on Thursday that the Democrats should not formulate an alternative immigration policy to Trumps for the 2020 elections, and proceeded to outline the Democrats own right-wing program. We have our principles that weve established, she said, secure our border, respect the dignity of people coming here, have a path to citizenship that is a strict one.

Finally, the New York Times gave the signal for a wholesale shift to the right by the Democratic Party by publishing a front-page article Wednesday under the headline: Migrants Pour Into a System thats on Fire: US Border Could Be at a Breaking Point. The article blamed the supposed emergency at the border on legal loopholes in the immigration system.

Trumps increasingly hysterical attacks on immigrants and efforts to establish a personalist regime, along with his repeated denunciations of socialism, reflect an acute crisis of the American political system. The ruling class is petrified by the growth of working class opposition in the US and internationally. Both parties react by seeking to shore up the state against the threat from below and channel social opposition in the reactionary direction of nationalism and militarism.

It is all the more urgent that all workers and youth take up the defense of the right of immigrants to live and work in the country of their choice without fear of deportation or repression. This is essential to the unification of the working class in the fight for socialism.
A protest will take place today outside Belmarsh Prison in London, where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is being held following his forcible seizure and arrest Thursday.

The protest will be held from 4pm. It is organised by the Julian Assange Defence Committee and is supported by the Socialist Equality Party (UK) and the WSWS.

Emmy and daughter Laura

Announcing the protest on the Wise Up Action blog, Emmy Butlin, who has helped maintain a vigil outside the Ecuadorian Embassy where Assange was forced to stay for seven years in arbitrary detention, wrote, Our own journey of support continues in the best tradition of solidarity, with a vigil outside Belmarsh Prison where Julian Assange is held. Join us on Saturday 13th of April at 4pm outside Belmarsh prison, Western Way, Thamesmead, London SE28 0EB. For more information e-mail JADC@protonmail.ch.

The SEP and WSWS urge anyone able to attend to do so.

Assange was railroaded to Westminster Magistrates Court after being dragged from the Ecuadorian embassy on Thursday and was found guilty of bail charges dating back seven years. Julian Assange Defence Committee members were among those protesting outside the court who WSWS spoke to on Thursday.

Ross

Ross said, This is the day supporters of a free press have been dreading for years. A publisher of truthful information in the public interest has been imprisoned at the request of a foreign power.

The footage of Julian being carried out of the embassy speaks volumes about his character. He has resisted pressure to leave the embassy since [Ecuadorean President Lenin] Moreno came to power. Even though he was denied his human rights, his ability to communicate freely and medical treatment for all this time, he refused to abandon his right to asylum and had to be carried out.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn should have taken a stand for him and it is disappointing that he hasnt, Ross concluded.

Kayesem

Kayesem said, The campaign to free Julian Assange has highlighted that we dont get proper news, we dont get honesty, we dont get the true facts.

What we get is barefaced lies from our press, who act as mouthpieces and propaganda spreaders for our government and security services. The ruling against Julian has shut down our rights to asylum and our human rights. We no longer have a free press. The fight starts now to prevent his extradition to the United States!

Sandra, from Ecuador, was angry at the role of Ecuadorian President Moreno, who had gone on TV to justify handing Assange over to the British police.

Many of us thought that when Moreno came to power in 2017, he would continue the policy of the previous government where he worked closely with Rafael Correa [as his vice-president] for several years and protect Julian Assange. But we were badly wrong. Moreno has broken our asylum laws and sold us out to the American and British government. I think it is down to working class people to work together for human rights and equality.

Nina Cross, a writer for 21stcenturywire.com said, We are very concerned about the fate of Julian Assange. Chelsea Manning is already locked up. The mainstream media just dont seem to get what is happening is not just about Julian. This is about shutting down freedom of the press.

Sandra

Cross explained how at the same time as the government was plotting the removal of Assange from the Ecuadorian Embassy, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt was making a ridiculous hypocritical announcement to a G7 summit meeting that Britain would be leading a new Media Freedom campaign around the world.

Four days after Hunts fake Media Freedom campaign was announced, the threat to expel Julian Assange was leaked. Two days after that a White Paper was announced bringing in effectively what will be censorship for British mediaa reference to the governments Online Harms white paper giving powers to an internet regulator to ban non-compliant websites from being accessed in the UK.

This is a massive threat to freedom of speech, of freedom online. It is beyond hypocrisy for Jeremy Hunt and the British government to claim they are running this campaign in defence of media freedom, which is entirely fake.

Nina

You cant believe anything the government or press put out, but events will expose their lies and propaganda. The WikiLeaks press conference yesterday [which exposed an illegal surveillance operation against Assange inside the Ecuadorian embassy] was shameful. The co-editor of WikiLeaks [Kristinn Hrafnsson] even had to ask journalists why they werent asking questions of the authorities.

Nina was scathing about the mainstream media who formerly worked with Assange saying, The Guardian has published blatant lies about Julian Assange. They have tried to implicate him in Russiagate, saying he had met up with Donald Trumps former campaign chairperson Paul Manafort. That was a complete lie. There was no evidence, but the Guardian has not responded to our questions or retracted what it said. They are complicit in what has happened to Julian.

Cross also criticised international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney who has accepted Hunts offer to head his Media Freedom campaign as his special envoy and sat next to him at the press conference. She used to be Julians legal counsel. Shes not here today. Her absence has been noted by some of us, she explained.

Mike said, For weeks in the US we have been inundated with stories of how the Trump administration is trying to let the Saudi Arabian dictatorship off the hook for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey last year. They are preventing low level members of the regime from entering the US but protecting Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his circle. Until last week, the media said virtually nothing about Julian Assange, the person who lifted the lid on such filthy diplomatic intrigues.

Christine holding international solidarity banner

I have followed the WSWS coverage of Julian Assange and it has been brilliant. It has not only written about what has happened but taken the initiative and organised rallies as well. Its important to have a strong political answer. Its good that Julians supporters are here but we need more than shouting slogans such as The people united will never be defeated. Not only have people been disunited by the lies and propaganda thrown at Julian, but every scoundrel calls for unity as long it is behind them. We must be very selective about what sort of ideas people should be united behind.

I think the WSWS has done a wonderful job of unmasking those calling themselves liberals or socialists but who have done nothing to help Julian, or even worse, repeating all the lies and slander against him. We know the Swedish government wanted to drop the allegations against Julian years ago [in 2013] but it was the British government that said no.

There is a big divide opening up between those people who abandoned Julian Assange and those of us who believe in democracy, a free press and a better world. The Assange case is a really defining moment.
Mary Kostakidis, a prominent Australian journalist, attended the Socialist Equality Partys rally in Sydney yesterday, called to oppose the illegal arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and demand his immediate freedom.

Mary Kostakidis

Kostakidis has been a leading figure in the media industry for many years. Kostakidis was the main presenter for the national television program SBS World News for over two decades, until 2007. She is known and respected by millions of people across the country.

The journalist has a lengthy record of opposition to inequality, war and oppression. She has been outspoken in her defence of Julian Assange, issuing public statements and participating in Unity4J online vigils in his defence. She spoke to the WSWS after the Sydney rally.

Im here today because our government has allowed an Australian to languish in a foreign embassy for so many years. Theyve stood by as Ecuador broke international law last night, and basically gave him up to be handed over to the United States.

This was never about a Swedish sex case, it was never about jumping bail. It was always about extradition to the US. It was always about revenge. It was always about our right to know.

This is why journalists, all over the world, who have published material that WikiLeaks made available, should stand up for Julians rights. Because it goes to the heart of journalism, and publishing and editing.

So all those media organisations need to stand up and be counted. It goes to the heart of journalism because this is a core journalistic value. This is why the fourth estate is a critical part of democracy.

Our government has acted appallingly. We expect them to protect us when we are overseas. Theres no difference between Liberal and Labor.

They support all the things the United States stands for. Assange is accused of placing national security under threat, with the documents he has released. What places national security at risk, and the citizens of a country at risk, is the wrongdoing of their government: war-mongering, land-grabbing, resource-grabbing.

Kostakidis contrasted the perfidious role of the Australian political establishment with British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyns statement yesterday that he would oppose Assanges extradition to the US. She noted the importance of the decision by former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa to grant asylum to Assange in 2012 and expressed gratitude for his ongoing statements in support of the WikiLeaks founder.

Julian is in great danger now. We cannot stand back and let this happen. They talk about bracket creep. This is human rights creep. Its going to get worse and worse for us, the citizens of this country.

They will tighten media laws and make things far more difficult. This is not just about WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. This is about frightening other people and making sure that journalists dont speak to whistleblowers, because by speaking to a source, you could be extradited.

Asked about the role of the corporate press in relation to Assange, Kostakidis stated: Its appalling. Its a combination of being envious and resenting him. There is this notion that hes an ego-maniac and a cult figure.

The day we start locking people up on the pretext that theyve got a big ego, and the day we start saying that persistent support for someone whos exposing corruption and wrongdoing is cultish is the day weve all gone nuts.

There has been a whole wave of people studying media studies, who are really more interested in working in marketing, but who are also working in journalism. We, as journalists, are not there to market government press releases. We are there to question them, and to be there with the courageous people who reveal deceit.

In conclusion, Kostakidis declared: Weve got to stop the UK from extraditing Assange to the United States.
Following Thursdays arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in London, the governments of the US, Britain and Ecuador are engaged in a conspiracy to facilitate the whistleblowers extraordinary rendition to the US. Julian Assanges life and liberty are in imminent danger. It is necessary to mobilize all supporters of free speech to prevent him from falling into the hands of the American government.

Over 40 years ago, a Rand Corporation analyst Daniel Ellsberg provided the Washington Post with evidence regarding the US governments illegal activity in the Vietnam War. Yesterday, Ellsberg issued the following statement:

Its a very serious assault on the First Amendment. A clear attempt to rescind the freedom of the pressThis is the first indictment of a journalist and editor or publisher, Julian Assange. And if its successful it will not be the last. This is clearly a part of President Trumps war on the press, what he calls the enemy of the state. And if he succeeds in putting Julian Assange in prison, where I think hell be for life, if he goes there at all, probably the first charge against him is only a few years. But thats probably just the first of many.

The official pretext being used to extradite Assange is a transparent lie. In a previously-sealed indictment made public Thursday, the US Department of Justice charged Assange only with violating a federal law against conspiring to break passwords to government computers.

The fact that the crime carries only a five-year sentence and does not fall under the Espionage Act provides all involved parties with a cover for handing Assange over to the Americans. In particular, the US-UK extradition treaty excludes transfer for political offenses, including espionage. Citing the Justice Department document, the British government will claim in the courts that Assanges extradition will not be prevented by this exclusion.

The Ecuadorean government, moreover, claims it could revoke Assanges asylum because the indictment shows he will not face the threat of the death penalty.

In fact, once Assange is in the hands of the United States, he will quickly confront a series of additional charges, including espionage. The efforts to downplay the threat to freedom of the press and understate the charge against Assange are aimed at sowing complacency in the population and distracting from the core free speech issues at stake.

The language of the indictment itself makes clear that the government is targeting Assange for political reasons, despite the official charge at its conclusion. It asserts: The primary purpose of the conspiracy was to facilitate [Chelsea] Mannings acquisition and transmission of classified information related to the national defense of the United States so that WikiLeaks could publicly disseminate the information on its website.

The indictment notes that the information WikiLeaks released to the public included approximately 90,000 Afghanistan war-related significant activity reports, 400,000 Iraq war-related significant activities reports, 800 Guantanamo Bay detainee assessment briefs, and 250,000 US Department of State cables. Many of these records were classified pursuant to 'Order No. 13526,'" signed by Barack Obama in 2009. The indictment claims these releases reasonably could be expected to cause serious damage to the national security.

This language mirrors the text of the Espionage Act, which bars releasing information relating to the national defense. The Espionage Act criminalizes anyone who communicates, delivers, transmits or causes to be communicated, delivered or transmitted such information.

Based on the language of the indictment, both Assange and Manning could face criminal prosecution under this law. By announcing that Assange is being prosecuted based explicitly on Mannings activity, the government is demonstrating her future is at risk as well. In fact, the first two words of the indictment are Chelsea Manning.

This language also confirms last years inadvertent release by prosecutors of documents arguing Assange should be extradited because there are chargespluralagainst him. Prosecutors convened a secret grand jury to investigate Assange at least as far back as 2011, and the US government sought warrants to spy on WikiLeaks employees based on allegations of espionage in 2012.

Only the complicit or the naive could accept that a secret grand jury spent over eight years to charge Assange with just one count of password manipulation.

The response of leading political figures in the US, as well as their previous statements, makes clear that the ruling elite is eager to seize Assange and lock him up for lifeif not impose worse punishments.

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer tweeted, I hope he will soon be held to account for his meddling in our elections on behalf of Putin and the Russian government. Democratic Senator Mark Warner called Assange a direct participant in Russian efforts to weaken the West and undermine American security." He continued, "I hope British courts will quickly transfer him to US custody so he can finally get the justice he deserves.

Prosecuting Assange on the basis of the unfounded allegations of meddling would involve charges of espionage.

Like a dungeonmaster who has been handed his latest victim, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin declared, He is our property and we can get the facts and the truth from him. On the basis of this statement, Assange is being transferred to the US for the purpose of interrogationwhich would fall under the category of extraordinary rendition, not extradition.

Assange has also faced open death threats in the press and from the government over the past several years. Rightwing radio personality Rush Limbaugh called for Assange to receive a bullet to the brain. Former Fox News host Bill OReilly told Assange: Were going to hang you. Former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said, Julian Assange is engaged in terrorism and should be treated as an enemy combatant. Democratic Vice President Joe Biden called Assange a high-tech terrorist. Democratic operative Bob Beckel said, this guys a traitor and the US should illegally shoot the son of a b***h.

Another function of the indictment is to provide the corrupt and lying media with a cover for applauding Assanges arrest. The New York Times and Washington Post have played a particularly criminal role in downplaying the indictment by claiming that the use of a lesser charge means prosecuting Assange poses no threat to free speech.

In an editorial board statement yesterday, the New York Times wrote: The government charged Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, not with publishing classified government information, but with stealing it, skirtingfor nowcritical First Amendment questions.

The single count against Assange, the Times wrote, means the arrest does not pose a direct challenge to the distinction between a journalist exposing abuse of power through leaked materialssomething traditional newspapers like the Times do all the timeand a foreign agent seeking to undermine the security of the United States through theft or subterfuge The administration has begun well by charging Mr. Assange with an indisputable crime.

The Washington Posts editorial is titled, Julian Assange is not a free-press hero. And he is long overdue for personal accountability.

The Post wrote, Mr. Assanges case could conclude as a victory for the rule of law, not the defeat for civil liberties of which his defenders mistakenly warn. The Post labeled concerns over Assanges safety as pro-WikiLeaks propaganda. The fact that the indictment does not charge Assange with violating the Espionage Act proves he had no legitimate fears for his life, either at the hands of CIA assassins or, via extradition, the US death penalty.

The Post explained that Britain should not fear that sending him for trial on that hacking count would endanger freedom of the press because Assange is unethical and not a real journalist, because he dumped material into the public domain without any effort independently to verify its factuality or give named individuals an opportunity to comment.

Who are the New York Times and the Washington Post to lecture about real journalism? These statements expose the Times and the Post as nothing but government propaganda organs.

The Times is synonymous with peddling the Bush administrations false claim of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and the Post is owned by Jeff Bezos, the billionaire CEO of Amazon, which recently reached a $600 million service contract with the Pentagon.

The conspiracy against Assange underscores the collapse of any constituency in the political establishment and corporate media for the defense of democratic rights. If Ellsberg approached the Post today with photocopies of Pentagon-commissioned Rand reports on the war, the Post would call the FBI and have him arrested for threatening national security.

The Times and the Post may convince their affluent readers that Assange aided Russia by publishing evidence showing Hillary Clinton received hundreds of thousands of dollars secretly telling audiences of bankers and CEOs she would represent their interests if elected president. Meanwhile, the Democrats have made common cause with the leaders of the military and intelligence agencies responsible for the crimes Assange has revealed. The rightwing character of the Democrats opposition to Trump is exposed by the fact that they support his administrations attacks on Assange.

The defense of Julian Assange, along with Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden, is now a central political question that confronts the working class. Attitudes toward these whistleblowers break down largely upon class lines. As the ruling class cracks down on free speech and freedom of the press, class conflict is intensifying across the world.

The Socialist Equality Party and the World Socialist Web Site make the broadest appeal to all those who are serious about defending democratic rights to join the fight to defend Assange, Manning and Snowden. Workers and youth internationally must mobilize immediately to defend these class war prisoners. Their lives depend on it.

The fight for Assanges freedom is the spearhead of the political struggle in defense of democratic rights, against imperialist militarism and capitalism. Only to the extent that the power of the working class can be harnessed can a defense of these whistleblowers be mounted.

As Socialist Equality Party (Australia) National Committee member Nick Beams said at Fridays emergency rally in Sydney, The attack on democracy is a symptom of a profound disease. There is no defense of democracy without tackling the problem at its source, that is, the profit system of global capitalism, a system in crisis, that has played out its historic role and now has to tear up, trample, defile even the democratic rights that it once stood for. We have to begin, as part of this struggle, the fight for a socialist perspective. Only then can the world be cleansed of all the horrors that capitalism is conjuring up.
John Pilger, well-known and respected filmmaker and investigative journalist, issued the following statement on the arrest of WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange in the Ecuadorian embassy in London on April 11.

John Pilger

The glimpse of Julian Assange being dragged from the Ecuadorean embassy in London is an emblem of the times. Might against right. Muscle against the law. Indecency against courage. Six policemen manhandled a sick journalist, his eyes wincing against his first natural light in almost seven years.

That this outrage happened in the heart of London, in the land of Magna Carta, ought to shame and anger all who fear for democratic societies. Assange is a political refugee protected by international law, the recipient of asylum under a strict covenant to which Britain is a signatory. The United Nations made this clear in the legal ruling of its Working Party on Arbitrary Detention.

But to hell with that. Let the thugs go in. Directed by the quasi fascists in Trumps Washington, in league with Ecuadors Lenin Moreno, a Latin American Judas and liar seeking to disguise his rancid regime, the British elite abandoned its last imperial myth: that of fairness and justice.

Imagine Tony Blair dragged from his multi-million pound Georgian home in Connaught Square, London, in handcuffs, for onward dispatch to the dock in The Hague. By the standard of Nuremberg, Blairs paramount crime is the deaths of a million Iraqis. Assanges crime is journalism: holding the rapacious to account, exposing their lies and empowering people all over the world with truth.

The shocking arrest of Assange carries a warning for all who, as Oscar Wilde wrote, sow the seeds of discontent [without which] there would be no advance towards civilisation. The warning is explicit towards journalists. What happened to the founder and editor of WikiLeaks can happen to you on a newspaper, you in a TV studio, you on radio, you running a podcast.

Assanges principal media tormentor, the Guardian, a collaborator with the secret state, displayed its nervousness this week with an editorial that scaled new weasel heights. The Guardian has exploited the work of Assange and WikiLeaks in what its previous editor called the greatest scoop of the last 30 years. The paper creamed off WikiLeaks revelations and claimed the accolades and riches that came with them.

With not a penny going to Julian Assange or to WikiLeaks, a hyped Guardian book led to a lucrative Hollywood movie. The books authors, Luke Harding and David Leigh, turned on their source, abused him and disclosed the secret password Assange had given the paper in confidence, which was designed to protect a digital file containing leaked US embassy cables.

With Assange now trapped in the Ecuadorean embassy, Harding joined the police outside and gloated on his blog that Scotland Yard may get the last laugh. The Guardian has since published a series of falsehoods about Assange, not least a discredited claim that a group of Russians and Trumps man, Paul Manafort, had visited Assange in the embassy. The meetings never happened; it was fake.

But the tone has now changed. The Assange case is a morally tangled web, the paper opined. He (Assange) believes in publishing things that should not be published .... But he has always shone a light on things that should never have been hidden.

These things are the truth about the homicidal way America conducts its colonial wars, the lies of the British Foreign Office in its denial of rights to vulnerable people, such as the Chagos Islanders, the expose of Hillary Clinton as a backer and beneficiary of jihadism in the Middle East, the detailed description of American ambassadors of how the governments in Syria and Venezuela might be overthrown, and much more. It is all available on the WikiLeaks site.

The Guardian is understandably nervous. Secret policemen have already visited the newspaper and demanded and got the ritual destruction of a hard drive. On this, the paper has form. In 1983, a Foreign Office clerk, Sarah Tisdall, leaked British Government documents showing when American cruise nuclear weapons would arrive in Europe. The Guardian was showered with praise.

When a court order demanded to know the source, instead of the editor going to prison on a fundamental principle of protecting a source, Tisdall was betrayed, prosecuted and served six months.

If Assange is extradited to America for publishing what the Guardian calls truthful things, what is to stop the current editor, Katherine Viner, following him, or the previous editor, Alan Rusbridger, or the prolific propagandist Luke Harding?

What is to stop the editors of the New York Times and the Washington Post, who also published morsels of the truth that originated with WikiLeaks, and the editor of El Pais in Spain, and Der Spiegel in Germany and the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia. The list is long.

David McCraw, lead lawyer of the New York Times, wrote: I think the prosecution [of Assange] would be a very, very bad precedent for publishers ... from everything I know, hes sort of in a classic publishers position and the law would have a very hard time distinguishing between the New York Times and WikiLeaks.

Even if journalists who published WikiLeaks leaks are not summoned by an American grand jury, the intimidation of Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning will be enough. Real journalism is being criminalised by thugs in plain sight. Dissent has become an indulgence.

In Australia, the current America-besotted government is prosecuting two whistle-blowers who revealed that Canberras spooks bugged the cabinet meetings of the new government of East Timor for the express purpose of cheating the tiny, impoverished nation out of its proper share of the oil and gas resources in the Timor Sea. Their trial will be held in secret. The Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, is infamous for his part in setting up concentration camps for refugees on the Pacific islands of Nauru and Manus, where children self-harm and suicide. In 2014, Morrison proposed mass detention camps for 30,000 people.

Real journalism is the enemy of these disgraces. A decade ago, the Ministry of Defence in London produced a secret document which described the principal threats to public order as threefold: terrorists, Russian spies and investigative journalists. The latter was designated the major threat.

The document was duly leaked to WikiLeaks, which published it. We had no choice, Assange told me. Its very simple. People have a right to know and a right to question and challenge power. Thats true democracy.

What if Assange and Manning and others in their wakeif there are othersare silenced and the right to know and question and challenge is taken away?

In the 1970s, I met Leni Reifenstahl, close friend of Adolf Hitler, whose films helped cast the Nazi spell over Germany.

She told me that the message in her films, the propaganda, was dependent not on orders from above but on what she called the submissive void of the public.

Did this submissive void include the liberal, educated bourgeoisie? I asked her.

Of course, she said, especially the intelligentsia .... When people no longer ask serious questions, they are submissive and malleable. Anything can happen.

And did.

The rest, she might have added, is history.
The following is a response to an invitation sent to the World Socialist Web Site on behalf of the Razon y Revolucion group in Argentina to attend a conference it and the Brazilian group Transicao Socialista have called in Buenos Aires for April 12-14.

We received your inquiry on behalf of the Razon y Revolucion group in Argentina as to whether the Socialist Equality Party and the International Committee of the Fourth International are interested in participating in its International Congress of the Socialist and Revolutionary Left this month in Buenos Aires. Not only are we not interested, we are completely hostile to this conference and will actively warn workers, students and youth against the kind of squalid national opportunist politics spelled out in the statement convening this gathering of political bankrupts and anti-Trotskyists.

Why would anyone who is genuinely seeking to build a revolutionary international socialist leadership want to rub shoulders with those who actively attack the historical legacy of Leon Trotsky and the Fourth International, while extolling the revolutionary role of Stalin, as in the case with Razon y Revolucion?

Or for that matter, who would want to discuss revolutionary program at a conference that is co-sponsored by members of an organization that is an out-and-out collaborator with US imperialism in its regime change operation in Venezuela, as is the case with this events co-sponsor, Transicao Socialista?

The statement upon which this international congress is based is striking in its exclusive focus on the political conjuncture in Latin America, an expression of the petty-bourgeois nationalist outlook that characterizes its sponsors. The growth of the class struggle in the United States, Europe and Asia is ignored, as are the fundamental features of the global crisis of capitalism and the immense threats posed to the working class by the growth of inter-imperialist conflicts and the preparations for world war, and the promotion by sections of the ruling class and the state of fascist forces on a world scale.

As for Latin America, the statement is a one-sided presentation of what is described as an unmatched opportunity to take advantage of the shipwreck of the so-called Pink Tide under the impact of the global capitalist crisis.

The most important passage in the statement reads as follows: We invite all the organizations and socialist activists who seriously and consistently face Chavism, the PT, Kirchnerism, Massism in Bolivia and all expression of reformism and nationalism, to an international congress to found a new left, with no strings attached and no constraints of any holy scriptures, and to coordinate a common action in Buenos Aires, from April 12th to April 14th.

This assurance of no strings attached and rejection of the constraints of any holy scriptures is an explicit repudiation of any Marxist principles that would impede the national opportunist practices of any organizations participating in this gathering, or any future alliances with any and all anti-Trotskyist tendencies on the Latin American left, from Stalinists to Maoists and left Peronists, as well as the pseudo-left variants of Morenoism and Altamirism.

As for seriously and consistently confronting chavismo, Razon y Revolucions partner in convening the Buenos Aires conference, the Brazilian group Transicao Socialista, provides an illustrative example of the hideous depths to which national opportunist politics can sink.

Under the presidency of Hugo Chavez in 2009, Transicao Socialistas predecessor organization, Movimento Negacao da Negacao (MNN), denounced the so-called Bolivarian revolution as a farce, a true Bonapartist and authoritarian state that is taking large steps toward a fascist regime.

Barely four years later, following the death of Chavez and the narrow victory of his successor Nicolas Maduro in Venezuelas 2013 election, the MNN carried out a radical about-face. It dismissed the sharp fall in the chavista vote, the product of growing working class anger over falling living standards, rising social inequality and the corrupt self-enrichment of the so-called boliburguesia of financial speculators, government contractors and senior military commanders and state officials, describing it instead as the result of a dirty and systematic game played by imperialism to destabilize the government and influence the outcome of the election.

It praised Maduros ban on demonstrations in Caracas on the grounds that possible new conflicts would have opened up a spiral of instability with incalculable results. In other words, it placed full confidence in the repressive forces of the bourgeois state headed by Maduro, not in the independent strength of the working class.

Most astounding of all, for a party claiming to be fighting for socialism in Brazil, it justified a policy of tactical unity with the Maduro government on the grounds that Maduro himself comes from the working class and the trade union movement and for the first time in the history of chavismo, a worker is taking control of the armed forces, marking a new stage. This, after the eight years of rule on behalf of the Brazilian capitalist ruling class and countless attacks upon the Brazilian working class by the worker president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva!

Now, Transicao Socialista has carried out yet another 180-degree turn. In response to the ongoing crisis in Venezuela, it states: The central issue is to say, clearly, with the mass movement, Out with Maduro. Overthrow Maduro and open up the contradictions. It is necessary, however, to make a temporary alliance with the bourgeois sector opposed to Maduro, in order first of all to overthrow him. Strike together and march separately. To participate in the same marches and to dispute the working people within the real movement. But this must be done in such a way that overlaps, in the medium term, the hegemony of the bourgeois sector that opposes Maduro.

This use of the slogan advanced by Trotsky, in the struggle for the tactic of the united front of working class parties against fascism in Germany, to justify a temporary alliance with the Venezuelan bourgeois opposition led by Juan Guaido of the fascistic Voluntad Popular party and his CIA backers, is nothing short of obscene. Given time, Transicao Socialista may find itself attempting to strike together and march separately with the US Marines.

This approach of seeking to dispute the leadership of the real movement of the right-wing petty bourgeoisie is not new for the Transicao Socialista, which adopted the same attitude toward the mass demonstrations led by the Brazilian right demanding the impeachment of Workers Party President Dilma Rousseff and military intervention against her government.

There is nothing remotely left or revolutionary about such politics. This is the record of political scoundrels.

The only thing consistent about the politics of the tendency now going under the name of Transicao Socialista is its capitulation to one faction or another of the national bourgeoisie over the course of decades--from the Workers Party, to chavismo, to now the CIA-funded puppets in Venezuela.

We are well aware of the political conceptions underlying your call for unity with no strings attached and based on a repudiation of any constraints imposed by holy scriptures.

While few have expressed this organizing principle so crudely, it has been a common theme in countless previous attemptsall of them failures, as yours will beto forge an amalgamation of politically heterogeneous organizations, without any agreement on essential questions of program and strategy. The only absolute precondition is that no organization should be called to account for its political record, and that each and every one of them must be free to pursue whatever national policy they deem to be in their best immediate interests. This unprincipled approach is diametrically opposed to that of the International Committee of the Fourth International.

Your efforts are by no means unique. The Partido de los Trabajadores por el Socialismo (PTS) in Argentina is calling for a unified party of the left, while the Partido Obrero (PO) of Jorge Altamira has called for the refoundation of the Fourth International in alliance with Russian Stalinists. All of these political maneuvers are based on a similar platform of rejecting any examination or discussion of the role played by revisionist anti-Trotskyist tendencies in the betrayals of the working class. A general political amnesty is guaranteed to one and all.

Any attempt to cobble together an international tendency based upon the suppression of the historical lessons of the struggle waged by the Fourth International can only contribute to the betrayal of the working class.

You speak of seriously and consistently confronting the Workers Party (PT), chavismo and other bourgeois tendencies, but remain silent on what political forces promoted them, and who fought against them?

The same Pabloite and Morenoite tendencies that promoted Castroism as a new road to socialismjoined by the Lambertist renegades from the Fourth Internationalplayed a critical role in the creation of the PT and its promotion as a uniquely Brazilian road to socialism. They helped to build it into a thoroughly corrupt bourgeois party that for a dozen years served as the preferred instrument of rule of the Brazilian bourgeoisie.

The bitter experience with the politics of bourgeois nationalism, and its Pabloite and other pseudo-left props, underscores the necessity of forging a new revolutionary Marxist movement, based upon the independent political mobilization of the working class and the unification of workers in Latin America with workers in the United States and internationally in a common struggle to put an end to capitalism.

This historic task is impossible without learning the lessons of the mistakes and betrayals of the past, so that they will not be repeated. This, above all, means the study and assimilation of the long history of the struggle waged by Trotskyism against revisionism and, on this principled foundation, building sections of the International Committee of the Fourth International in every country.

Your Congress for a New International Left is called on the basis of a perspective that is explicitly hostile to this historically imperative task of building a genuinely revolutionary socialist and internationalist leadership in the working class. We have no intention of lending the prestige of the International Committee of the Fourth International and the World Socialist Web Site to its contemptible proceedings.

Bill Van Auken for the World Socialist Web Site
In early March, George Mason University (GMU), the publicly funded research university based in Fairfax, Virginia, announced that its Antonin Scalia Law School had received a record-breaking donation of $50 million from the estate of the late Judge Allison Rouse and his wife Dorothy Rouse.

Allison Rouse was a conservative judge appointed to the California Court of Appeals under Republican governor Ronald Reagan in 1971. The donation gives permanent endowments to 13 new faculty positions at the law school and will further serve to consolidate its explicitly right-wing character.

Judge Rouse and Justice Scalia were both appointed to the bench by Ronald Reagan, and Mrs. Rouse was an enthusiastic fan of Justice Scalia, gushed law school dean Henry N. Butler of the donation. This is a transformational gift that will further strengthen our law schools position among the best in the nation and will provide a strong foundation for our university, GMU president Angel Cabrera added in a law school press release.

The Rouse estate also left the Heritage Foundation, an influential conservative think tank which famously played a role in policy-making during the Reagan administration, a huge bequest of $43 million.

GMUs law school was renamed after the ultra-reactionary Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia following his death in 2016 as a result of an anonymous donation of $20 million. A Freedom of Information Act request revealed the donation came from individuals tied to the conservative Federalist Society, as well as an additional $10 million coming from the Koch Foundation.

With an influx of money from far-right conservative donors, the law school is situating itself as the center of reactionary legal views in American academia. In late March, a GMU student publication reported that the law school had hired President Donald Trumps appointed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to teach Constitutional law as a visiting professor. Kavanaugh, a vicious reactionary tied to a slew of attacks on democratic rights and pro-corporate rulings over the past two decades, was appointed to the Supreme Court by the Senate in fall after congressional Democrats focus on unproven allegations of sexual misconduct against the judge failed to block his confirmation.

Kavanaugh will join Trumps other right-wing Supreme Court pick, Justice Neil Gorsuch, who teaches a visiting course in national security and the separation of powers. Neomi Rao, Trumps administrator for the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, also teaches at the Antonin Scalia School of Law.

GMU has already been revealed to have a longstanding relationship with right-wing figures and groups. Last year, students acting through the UnKoch My Campus activist group sued the university and filed an FOIA request which led to the release of documents, including email exchanges between campus officials and funders, revealing Kochs activities at George Mason.

Documents revealed the role that the Federalist Society played in suggesting legal programs, influencing faculty selection and student admission, rerouting scholarship funds towards the Center for the Study of the Administrative State and the Liberty and Law Center (a think tank overseen by Rao), and even going so far as to re-adjust the Law Schools judicial clerk program to place students associated with the Federalist Society as clerks to the nations judges.

In January this year, agreements from 2003-2011 relating to GMUs Mercatus Center were finally made public and revealed that a Koch donation created professorships. School president Cabrera was finally forced to admit that the agreements grant donors some participation in faculty selection and evaluation.

Last fall, Cabrera announced an investigation into over 300 donor agreements held by the school. In a typical damage control operation meant to whitewash an ongoing and clear violation of the standards of academic freedom, the panel returned a report which didnt find any egregious practices. Instead, the report cites several dozen issues that require further action and policy improvements, while failing to clearly state its findings.

GMUs creation of a judicial think tank aimed at formulating right-wing policy is part of broader efforts to incorporate academia into the American ruling elites efforts to overturn democratic rights and target the worlds population for repression.

Also last fall, technology giant Amazon announced it was locating its east coast headquarters, dubbed HQ2, in Northern Virginia just miles from the Pentagon and the US intelligence services, with whom it is seeking an increasingly close relationship.

George Mason, itself one of the most highly militarized universities in the country, unveiled plans for multi-million dollar facilities to be built near the HQ2 in order to rapidly increase the number of highly skilled graduates for Amazon and other regional employers in addition to specialized feeder programs for the regions growing cyber security and web technology workforce. The latter sector has been deemed critical by officials at the US Department of Defense for enabling U.S. military dominance and ensuring national security.
Award-winning Sri Lankan author Shakthika Sathkumara was arrested by the police on April 1 and has been imprisoned on remand until April 23, following a magistrates ruling at Polgahawela. The magistrate extended the writers incarceration when he was brought before the courts on April 9.

Shakthika Sathkumara

Sathkumara, a 33-year-old father of two, was seized by police following complaints by Buddhist extremist groups claiming that he defamed Buddhism in a short story posted in his Facebook page. His arrest is a blatant attack on democratic rights and freedom of expression. The Buddhist establishment, which enjoys the full backing of the countrys ruling elite and its parties, constantly attempts to impose its dominance over every aspect of Sri Lankan society.

The Socialist Equality Party (Sri Lanka) and the International Youth and Students for Social Equality condemn Sathkumaras arrest and his ongoing imprisonment, which is part of an escalating attack on democratic rights. We urge workers, youth and progressive-minded intellectuals to demand his immediate release.

Sathkumara, who also writes poetry and other literary work, won the National Youth Services Councils Best Short Story prize in 2010 and 2014 and was also awarded the Vayamba (North-western) Literature prize on two occasions. At the time of his arrest, he worked as a development officer at the Polgahawela divisional administration office.

Two Buddhist organisations in the Polgahawela area near Colombo lodged complaints with the police alleging that Sathkumaras latest short story, Ardha (Half) was derogatory and defamatory to Buddhism. The story contained indirect references to homosexuality within the Buddhist clergy.

On February 25, the Buddhist Information Centre located at Battaramulla, near Colombo, wrote to the Sri Lankan Inspector General of Police, Pujitha Jayasundara, demanding action against Sathkumara.

The information centres executive director, a monk named Agulugalle Siri Jinananda, claimed that the author violated the countrys Penal Code 291ba law established during British colonial ruleand the Section 3 of the UN-sponsored International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) law. Police used both these laws to arrest Sathkumara.

ICCPR Section 3 states: No person shall propagate war or advocate national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence. Under 291b of the Penal Code, deliberately and maliciously outraging the religious feelings of any class is a crime.

Anyone arrested and charging under Section 3 of the ICCPR can only be granted bail by the High Courtthat is, in exceptional circumstances. The Buddhist chauvinists and police has chosen this particular law in order to subject Sathkumara to extreme punishment. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to a 10-year jail term.

The UN convention, which is supposed to protect human rights, was reluctantly adopted in Sri Lankan in 2007, decades after it had been legislated in other countries. The entire ICCPR, however, has not been included in the Sri Lankan Act.

When Sathkumaras case was heard on April 9, several Buddhist monks staged a demonstration near the court.

S.T. Jayanaga, the senior lawyer appearing for Sathkumara, told the Polgahawela magistrate that the police had not even presented the short story Ardha and other relevant information to the court.

He argued that the courts should not intervene in general moral questions or become a rubber stamp for police taking an individual into custody and depriving them of their personal freedom on the basis of unreasonable information. The magistrate remanded Sathkumara until April 23, after the police claimed more time was need for the investigation.

The anti-democratic attack on Sathkumara on the grounds of defaming Buddhism is not an isolated incident.

Last August, the governments Buddhist affairs ministry ordered the banning of Kanata Paharak (Earful of Visuals) a radio drama series by well-known film maker, visual artist and radio script writer Malaka Devapriya on the spurious claim that it insulted Buddhism.

Devapriya told the Daily Mirror last month, that police have filed charges against him for violating sections 291a and 291b of the Penal Code, following complaints from Buddhist extremist groups.

Workers, youth and all those who defend democratic rights must take these developments seriously. The Sri Lankan ruling elite constantly uses Sinhala Buddhist supremacism to divide the working class along ethnic and religious lines and to justify its attacks on basic rights.

The Sri Lankan constitution is a communal document. Anti-Tamil discrimination began in 1948, just after formal independence and saw the abolition of citizenship rights for Tamil-speaking plantation workers. In 1956, Sinhalathe language of majority Sinhalesebecame the only state-endorsed language and together with Buddhism, in 1972, was given the foremost place in the constitution.

Colombos escalating discrimination against the Tamil minority culminated in a three-decade war, which began in 1983 and ended in May 2009 with the military defeat of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Extremist Buddhist groups, such as Bodu Bala Sena (Buddhist Force), Ravana Balaya (Power of [ancient king] Ravana), Sinhale (Lions Blood), which emerged a decade ago, were given the blessing of former President Mahinda Rajapakse and his government.

These organisations, which are notorious for their provocations against Tamils, Muslims and other religious groups, have a free hand under the current President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. In many cases the police and sections of military work hand-in-glove with these groups.

The Sri Lankan ruling class faces an enormous economic and political crisis. Confronted with growing international debt, the economy is on the down turn and the government faces mounting working-class resistance to International Monetary Fund prescribed austerity measures.

Amid these developing social tensions, President Sirisena has mobilised the armed forces and police under the banner of a war on drugs. This move, along with the governments far reaching counter-terrorism bill and other measures, constitute the framework of a police state.

The arrest and incarceration of Shakthika Sathkumara and other attacks on artistic freedom are another expression of Colombos move towards dictatorial forms of rule.
Dead Bodies Are Becoming Exposed on Mount Everest as Glaciers Melt Dead Bodies Exposed on Mount Everest as Glaciers Melt

The bodies of climbers who died on Mount Everest long ago are now being found as the iconic mountains glaciers melt  and local groups have been leading excursions to recover the bodies as they emerge from the icy graves.

According to a report from the BBC, as warming temperatures caused by climate change thaw the ice on Everest, an increasing number of body parts  including hands and legs  are being found by climbing parties, particularly on the glacier known as the Khumbu Icefall, where a majority of the bodies have been found in recent years.

Because of global warming, the ice sheet and glaciers are fast melting and the dead bodies that remained buried all these years are now becoming exposed, Ang Tshering Sherpa, former president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, told BBC. We have brought down dead bodies of some mountaineers who died in recent years, but the old ones that remained buried are now coming out.

An official from a non-government organization added: We have noticed that the ice level at and around the base camp has been going down, and that is why the bodies are becoming exposed.

Its believed that more than 200 people have died on the mountain since its first recorded deaths in 1922, CNN reported. A series of avalanches in 2014 and 2015 caused the most deaths on the peak in recorded history.

Its estimated that more than 4,800 people in total have climbed Everest, the tallest mountain in the world with an elevation of 29,029 feet.

We are really concerned about this because its getting worse, Nepal National Mountain Guides Association official Sobit Kunwar told CNN of the melting ice that is exposing the bodies. We are trying to spread information about it so that there can be a coordinated way to deal with it.

Mount Everest | Getty

I myself have retrieved around 10 dead bodies in recent years from different locations on Everest and clearly more and more of them are emerging now, a government officer told the BBC.

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Expedition operators routinely lead campaigns to retrieve the bodies, which can cost up to $80,000 per trip, BBC reported. Sometimes, to their disappointment, they must leave a body where it was found.

Most of the dead bodies we bring to the towns, but those we cant bring down we respect by saying prayers for them and covering them with rock or snow, Tenzeeng Sherpa, treasurer of the Nepal National Mountain Guides Association, told CNN.

RELATED: Man Whose Mom Died Climbing Worlds Second Highest Peak Is Missing on Pakistans Killer Mountain

Ang Tshering Sherpa recalled one difficult excursion in particular where his party carried a body weighing 330 pounds from a location near Everests peak. While it was difficult, he felt a duty to take the body off the mountain.

But we, the operators, feel it is our duty, he told CNN. So whenever we find them, we bring the bodies down.
On Sunday the controversial Homeland Security secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen, became the latest example of the historically high turnover of top officials in President Donald Trumps administration.

Nielsen, 46, shared something else with some of the other ex senior aides: Her ouster was announced on the presidents Twitter before she could confirm it herself. (Former White House Counsel Don McGahn and Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin learned they were out of a job via a Trump tweet as did, according to one official, ex-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.)

Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen will be leaving her position, and I would like to thank her for her service, the president tweeted Sunday afternoon.

He then announced that the Customs and Border Protection commissioner, Kevin McAleenan, would become her acting replacement pending Senate confirmation of a new secretary.

An hour later, Nielsen tweeted her resignation letter.

It has been my great honor to lead the men and women of the Department as its sixth Secretary. I could not be prouder of and more humbled by their service, dedication, and commitment to keep our country safe from all threats and hazards, she wrote in part, adding:

Despite out progress in reforming homeland security for a new age, I have determined that it is the right time for me to step aside. I hope that the next Secretary will have the support of Congress and the courts in fixing the laws which have impeded our ability to fully secure Americas borders and which have contributed to discord in our nations discourse.

(The administrations hard-line immigration policies, championed by the conservative base, have been met with protests, stiff legal scrutiny and in some cases reversals by the court.)

Nielsen later tweeted that she would remain in the administration until Wednesday o assist with an orderly transition and ensure that key DHS missions are not impacted.

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She was confirmed as the Homeland Security secretary in December 2017 and was a close ally and top aide of a former department secretary, Gen. John F. Kelly, who went on to be the White House chief of staff before exiting in December.

As The New York Times lays out, she is one of a dozen-plus top Trump officials who have been fired, quit or forced out since he took office.

The president has had multiple secretaries of state and health and human services and multiple attorneys general and EPA administrators. He has not confirmed official replacements for his secretaries of defense or the interior and now homeland security, instead opting to name temporary acting replacements.

I like acting. It gives me more flexibility. Do you understand that? I like acting. So we have a few that are acting. We have a great, great Cabinet, Trump told reporters in January.

The story behind Nielsens ouster is unclear less than a day after it was announced. While she said she had resigned, various insiders, speaking anonymously to the press, cast it differently.

Nielsen brought her resignation letter with her when she met President Trump in the White House residence, on Sunday afternoon, the political website Axios reported, citing top sources.

She wasnt intent on quitting but was prepared to.  The meeting went poorly, and Trump didnt even let her announce her resignation,  according to Axios.

The Washington Post, citing two senior administration officials, reported that Nielsen had no intention of quitting when she went to the meeting Sunday with the president and that she was forced to step down.

The Times described Nielsens planned meeting with the president as a kind of clearing-the-air after he had grown increasingly upset at what he viewed as her failure to control the rate of border crossings with Mexico. Arriving Sunday at the White House, Nielsen came prepared with a list of things that needed to change to improve the relationship with the president, according to the Times.

While Nielsen has been one of the public faces of some of the administrations most divisive and challenged policies  including separating migrant families who cross illegally into the U.S.  the Times described her position with Trump as essentially untenable.

The president called Ms. Nielsen at home early in the mornings to demand that she take action to stop migrants from entering the country, including doing things that were clearly illegal, the paper reported. In one cabinet meeting last spring, Trump castigated her repeatedly and she prepared to resign  but by the end of the week, she had reconsidered and remained in her position, becoming an increasingly fierce supporter of his policies.

Not everyone was convinced. Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz, of Hawaii, tweeted Sunday night:

I am not ok with the Secretary of Homeland Security leaking a bunch of stories about how without her it might have been even worse. She picked a side, and history will judge. In the meantime Im sure we can look forward to her acting reasonable on bipartisan cable TV panels.

Officials with the White House and Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment. Nielsen did not return a call.
Pentagon awaiting new request from DHS that could send more troops to border originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

After President Donald Trump told White House reporters on Friday that "we're gonna put more troops on the border," the Pentagon was awaiting a new request over the weekend from the Department of Homeland Security for more support along the Southwest border said the Pentagon's top official.

Previous discussions about what further role the U.S. military may play along the border with Mexico, according to one U.S. official who spoke to ABC News, included the prospect that the military could be used to build and manage tent cities to house migrants at two locations along the southwest border.

There are currently 3,900 active duty forces and 2,100 National Guardsmen serving on the southern border in separate missions supporting Customs and Border Protection.

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan had earlier told reporters at the Pentagon that he expected an increase in U.S. military support to the Pentagon.

"It shouldn't come as a surprise that we would provide more support to the border," Shanahan told reporters.

(MORE: Trump says he is in control of his immigration policy, not Stephen Miller)

"Our support is very elastic and given the deterioration there at the border you would expect that we would provide more support," he said.

PHOTO: Soldiers with the 66th Military Police Company rehearse lane closures with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Camino Real International Bridge in Eagle Pass, Texas, Feb 7, 2019. (U.S. Army)

However, Shanahan also said that the Pentagon had not received a formal Request for Assistance" (RFA) from the Department of Homeland Security.

" But we've been having a number of conversations with DHS," said Shanahan who added that this weekend a Pentagon planning team will follow up on what more support the Pentagon can provide along the border.

"Where are we on barrier construction? Where do we stand on the current support? and then on the areas we anticipate, What type of preliminary planning should we be doing prior to receiving that request for assistance," said Shanahan.

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Like the previous RFAs from DHS, the new one will list the additional capabilities that the agency needs along the border. Those capabilities will likely require more troops, but the exact number of troops will depend on how the Pentagon matches up what it can provide to meet the request from DHS.

(MORE: How the Pentagon will get $2.5 billion for border security)

A U.S. official said the Pentagon's discussions with DHS have included discussion of whether the U.S. military could be used to build and manage tent cities for migrants at two locations along the southern border

(MORE: President Donald Trump confirms plan under consideration to release immigrants in sanctuary cities)

Another official said once the Pentagon receives the request from DHS, it will have to be reviewed to ensure that the requested capabilities fall under the legal restrictions for U.S. military troops operating domestically under the Posse Comitatus Act.

That would include whether the U.S. troops could interact with migrants should there be a request for a tent city to house detained migrants.

A Pentagon spokesman acknowledged that in the past the U.S. military has provided facilities to house migrants, but has not been involved in detention operations.."Weve never engaged in that and I dont know if we have any plans to do anything like that, said Pentagon spokesman Charlie Summers.
Prostitution coming under scrutiny in Amsterdam, red-light capital of the world originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

Amsterdam has long been held as the model for the modern sex industry, with prostitution legalized and rebranded as part of the leisure industry.

Until now, that is.

The tide is changing in the Netherlands, a small European country, nestled northwest of Germany on the North Sea, as over 45,000 mostly young people have signed a petition pushing to discourage prostitution by penalizing those who pay for sex -- despite objection from the country's sex workers.

PHOTO: Tourists crowd the narrow canal-side streets in Amsterdam's red light district, Netherlands, Friday evening, March 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Peter Dejeong)

Led by a social media campaign called "I Am Priceless," the petition passed the 40,000 signatures needed to launch a debate by lawmakers in the Dutch Parliament. The signatures will be handed over to Parliament on Tuesday after they are checked to ensure they belong to eligible voters.

"The mood has changed. Buying sex is just wrong," said Natasja Bos, one of two co-founders of the Christian and feminist-inspired protest group Exxpose, which put forward the petition. "The 'Nordic' model of prostitution laws, where it is not acceptable that women or people in general are a product to be sold, is in the ascendent."

(MORE: Friend of American murdered in Netherlands says roommate spoke of killing people)

Prostitution has been legal in the Netherlands since 1999, allowing the buying and selling of sex between "consenting adults."

"We were trying to tell people what is really happening in prostitution because a lot of Dutch people think it is all really happy people choosing to sell sex," Bos told ABC News.

Bos added that there are workers who want to leave the profession who were abused as children, had PTSD symptons, and were addicted to alcohol and drugs.

PHOTO: Tourists are bathed in a red glow emanating from the windows and peep shows' neon lights are packed shoulder to shoulder as they shuffled through the alleys in Amsterdam's red light district, Netherlands, Friday evening, March 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Peter Dejeong)

The number of Dutch sex workers has dropped in recent years with thousands of women, many from Eastern Europe, arriving to Amsterdams fabled red-light district, De Wallen, to take their place. De Wallen is a go-to place for international sex tourism, where sex workers offer their services for approximately 50 euros, or $57, officials told ABC News.

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Many of the country's sex workers disagree with the petition, though. They're concerned that their employment and their safety will be affected.

(MORE: 3 dead in shooting on Netherlands tram, suspect arrested)

"We are totally in shock," said Caroline, a sex worker in Holland, whom ABC News agreed to identify by a pseudonym. "It is a petition against prostitutes, it will change the way we work. We will have to hide, to work in apartments, where we will be alone and vulnerable.

"The petition supporters are failing to distinguish between traditional prostitutes who work freely and the victims of prostitution rings," she explained, adding that they should be helping those who are trafficking victims but not "criminalizing sex."

A fund is to be created to offer sex workers protection, tackle trafficking and deliver short-term residence permits to foreign prostitutes who want to leave the business, a government official told ABC News. The plan is to have it in Parliament by the end of the year.

PHOTO: Tourists crowd the narrow canal-side streets in Amsterdam's red light district, Netherlands, Friday evening, March 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

On Saturday afternoon, prostitutes took to the streets to condemn what they saw as a damper on their business, drawing support from celebrities, intellectuals and ordinary citizens. Some in the crowd described the petition as hypocritical.

"How do you justify allowing women to be prostitutes while forbidding men from turning to them?" said one protester, named Hans. "It is completely incoherent."

In March, the government announced that night-time tours of the red-light district will be banned starting on Jan. 1, 2020.
Yahoo Life

"I think once you hit 40, you and everyone else  everyone up to Betty White ... are in the same group," the "And Just Like That..." star says.
* Protesters pushing for civilian leaders post-Bashir

* Protesters, armed forces to discuss civilian government

* Security and intelligence chief latest to quit

* Defense minister steps down as head of military council

* Military council took charge after ousting Bashir

* Sudan's new military leader appears ready to talk (Adds Saudi Arabia backs council, sends aid package)

By Khalid Abdelaziz

KHARTOUM, April 13 (Reuters) - The new head of Sudan's military council said on Saturday a civilian government would be formed after consultations with the opposition and promised the transition period would last for a maximum of two years.

Protesters, however, kept up the pressure for rapid change following the overthrow of long-ruling autocrat President Omar al-Bashir on Thursday.

In his first televised address, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Abdelrahman canceled a night curfew and ordered the release of all prisoners jailed under emergency laws put in place by Bashir before his downfall.

During a meeting between the transitional military council and a coalition of opposition groups, including protest organizers, the protesters demanded that civilians be included in the council, opposition activists who were briefed about the meeting said.

They will submit names of suggested members on Sunday.

The military council also promised to "abolish all laws that restrict freedoms," the activists said.

The main group organizer, the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), said in a statement that the council's response was not satisfactory and called for protests to continue.

The SPA said that among its key demands the restructuring of the country's powerful National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), the dissolution of militia forces that operated under Bashir and the arrest of all "corrupt leaders" involved in what it called crimes against citizens.

"There are clear demands and unless they are met, there is no escape but to publicize full rejection (of the council's moves)," the SPA statement said, urging citizens to continue a sit-in outside the Defence Ministry.

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Thousands of people continued their sit-in outside the Defence Ministry in central Khartoum, a Reuters witness said.

Bashir was overthrown on Thursday after months of mass protests brought on by rising food costs, high unemployment and increasing repression during his three decades in power.

But activists and opposition groups pressed ahead with demands that Bashir's close associates leave.

SAUDI ARABIA TO SEND AID PACKAGE

Regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday it supported moves taken by the council and said it was sending an emergency aid package to Khartoum, state news agency SPA reported.

"The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques gave instructions to the concerned authorities in the Kingdom to provide a package of humanitarian aid, including petroleum products, wheat and medicines," SPA said.

On Friday, Defence Minister Awad Ibn Auf, who was also Bashir's deputy, stepped down as head of the transitional military council after only a day in the post.

On Saturday, state news agency and TV announced that the head of NISS, Salah Abdallah Mohamed Saleh, better known as Salah Gosh, had also resigned.

He was once the most powerful person in the country after Bashir and protesters held him responsible for the killing of demonstrators demanding an end to military rule.

A replacement has yet to be named.

Celebrations erupted on the streets of Khartoum overnight after Ibn Auf's resignation. Thousands of protesters waved flags and illuminated mobile phones in the darkness and drivers hooted car horns. People chanted: "The second has fallen!" a reference to Ibn Auf and Bashir, witnesses said.

"Islamists have now lost control and they are in shock. Their ability to project influence in an organized way inside the state appears weak," said Sudanese analyst Khalid al-Tijani.

"The reason for the changes in Sudan is the pressure from protesters and pressures within the army, and the fear among military commanders of a split in the armed forces."

LITTLE KNOWN

Burhan, the new head of the military council, was the third most senior general in the Sudanese armed forces and is little known in public life. As head of Sudans ground forces he oversaw Sudanese troops fighting in the Saudi-led Yemen war and has close ties to senior Gulf military officials.

The head of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known by his nickname Hemeti, was appointed deputy head of the council, state TV reported.

RSF soldiers outside the Defence Ministry fired their guns in the air in celebration of Dagalo's promotion, causing a brief alarm, witnesses said.

"The opposition are demanding a civilian government, but I think it will be a mixed government," analyst Muhammad Osman said before Burhan's remarks on Saturday. "The military would want to retain the defense and interior portfolios.

The Sudanese Professionals Association, which has been leading protests to demand a civilian government, called for more demonstrations earlier on Saturday.

"We assert that our revolution is continuing and will not retreat or deviate from its path until we achieve ... our people's legitimate demands of handing over power to a civilian government," an SPA statement said.

Bashir, 75, seized power in a 1989 military coup.

The protests against him escalated last Saturday when thousands of demonstrators, apparently bolstered by change in Algeria following similar protests, marched towards the Defence Ministry to deliver a memorandum demanding the military side with them.

Demonstrators have been camping outside the compound since then to push for a handover of power.

At least 16 people were killed and 20 wounded by stray bullets at protests and sit-ins on Thursday and Friday, police said. Government buildings and private property were also attacked.

The military council under Ibn Auf had said it would not extradite Bashir to face accusations of genocide at the international war crimes court. Instead he might go on trial in Sudan.

(Additional reporting by Ahmed Tolba and Hesham Hajali in Cairo; Writing by Lena Masri and Sami Aboudi; Editing by Janet Lawrence, Jane Merriman and Jonathan Oatis)
Algiers (AFP) - Clashes erupted in Algiers on Friday as protestors tossed back tear gas grenades and attacked police vehicles after a huge demonstration demanding the departure of figures close to ousted leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika, AFP journalists said.

For the eighth Friday in a row, vast crowds marched through the Algerian capital pressing demands for Bouteflika's entourage to step down.

While the massive demonstration was largely calm, tensions were noticeably higher than at previous rallies.

Violence erupted at the end of the day when on edge of the rally several hundred youths resisted as police moved to break up the crowds outside the post office in central Algiers that has become an emblematic protest site.

It was the first time such severe clashes have taken place in Algiers since the marches began in February demanding an end to Bouteflika's 20-year rule.

Helmeted anti-riot police, dressed in black, managed to push back the protesters with tear gas and water cannon.

Young demonstrators responded by throwing stones and bottles, turning over large dumpsters to use as barricades.

At least one police car was set alight, while another was raided by protesters who climbed on it and smashed the windows.

- 'Troublemakers' blamed -

Several protestors were slightly hurt, injured by stones or in the ensuing scuffles, or suffered the effects of tear gas.

The police said 83 of its personnel were wounded, including four seriously hurt.

It put the violence down to "delinquents" infiltrating the crowds, and said 108 people had been arrested.

Other protestors stepped in to calm the tensions, with some kneeling in the streets, raising their hands in peace.

As the crowd dispersed, protestors blamed "troublemakers" for the violence, also criticising the toughening stance by police, who have reduced the area in which the demonstrations are allowed.

The crowds have rejected the holding of presidential elections on July 4, despite interim leader Abdelkader Bensalah pledging "transparent" polls.

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But the appointment of upper house speaker Bensalah as Algeria's first new president in 20 years has failed to meet the demands of demonstrators.

Although the 77-year-old is barred under the constitution from running in the upcoming election, protesters have pushed for the close Bouteflika ally to step down.

- 'Why vote?' -

Students and magistrates have called for renewed rallies and marches in the capital and other cities across the North African country.

"I'm not going to vote. What for?" asked Walid.

For the first time since the anti-Bouteflika protest movement was launched in mid-February, police vehicles and forces earlier tried to block off access to the post office.

But young protesters were undeterred.

"We will be out in large numbers, very large. They don't know what's coming. They won't be able to do anything against us," said Yassine, 23.

For Mahrez Bouich, a philosophy professor at the University of Bejaia, east of Algiers, "the July 4 election has already been rejected by the people, which also rejects Bensalah's nomination".

The demonstrators argue that elections cannot be free and fair if they are held under the same judicial framework and institutions as those of the Bouteflika regime.

Bensalah has received the implicit support from the army, a key powerbrokers whose chief General Ahmed Gaid Salah withdrew his backing for Bouteflika, prompting the president's resignation on April 2.

But the general has defended keeping in place Algeria's existing institutions and warned against the "unrealistic slogans" of protesters aiming to sweep away the whole ruling system.

Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui, who served as interior minister until Bouteflika appointed him premier on March 11, has promised an independent electoral commission.

But he too has been a target of protesters' ire.

And candidates are not rushing to take part in a system rejected by the vast majority of Algerians.

The country's long-marginalised opposition parties do not appear to be gearing up for polls either, particularly if they cannot guarantee the election will be free and fair.
By Josh Horwitz

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Alibaba Group founder and billionaire Jack Ma has defended the gruelling overtime work culture at many of China's tech companies, calling it a "huge blessing" for young workers.

The e-commerce magnate weighed into a debate about work-life balance and the overtime hours demanded by some companies as the sector slows after years of breakneck growth.

In a speech to Alibaba employees, Ma defended the industry's '996' work schedule, which refers to the 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. workday, six days a week.

"I personally think that being able to work 996 is a huge blessing," he said in remarks posted on the company's WeChat account.

"Many companies and many people don't have the opportunity to work 996," Ma said. "If you don't work 996 when you are young, when can you ever work 996?"

The issue has fuelled an online debate and protests on some coding platforms, where workers have swapped examples of excessive overtime demands at some companies.

Ma, a former English teacher who co-founded Alibaba in 1999 and has become one of China's richest people, said he and early employees regularly worked long hours.

"In this world, everyone wants success, wants a nice life, wants to be respected," Ma said.

"Let me ask everyone, if you don't put out more time and energy than others, how can you achieve the success you want?"

Ma referred to the tech industry today where some people are without jobs, or working at companies in search of revenue or facing closure.

"Compared to them, up to this day, I still feel lucky, I don't regret (working 12 hour days), I would never change this part of me," he said.

This month activists on Microsoft's GitHub, the online code repository site, launched a project titled "996.ICU" where tech workers listed Alibaba among the companies ranked as having some of the worst working conditions.

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On Thursday, an opinion piece published in a state newspaper argued that 996 violated China's Labor Law, which stipulates that average work hours cannot exceed 40 hours a week.

"Creating a corporate culture of 'encouraged overtime' will not only not help a business' core competitiveness, it might inhibit and damage a company's ability to innovate," the unnamed author wrote in the People's Daily.

(Reporting by Josh Horwitz; editing by Darren Schuettler)
This week the House passed the Taxpayer First Act of 2019 with bipartisan support, which included a peculiar item: a provision that outlaws the IRS from making taxes easier for millions of Americans.

In many countries, the tax-collecting arm of the government makes things fairly easy, providing pre-populated tax forms and other simplifying features. The IRS, for example, gets forms from employers and knows what should be in the boxes you fill out. For years, TurboTaxs parent company Intuit and H&R Block have lobbied against legislation that would make taxes easier, which might make it less likely for consumers to use those companies tax software to file their taxes.

Right now, the IRS Free File Program is the only way the government provides tax preparation software, through a partnership with private industry companies like Intuit. The agreement is set to expire in October 2020.

As Intuits 10K itself states: If the Free File Program were to be terminated and the IRS were to enter the software development and return preparation space, the federal government would become a publicly funded direct competitor of the U.S. tax services industry and of Intuit.

The bill, co-sponsored by Reps. John Lewis (D-GA) and Mike Kelly (R-PA), is likely to become law, according to Fundstrat Washington Strategist Tom Block  its bipartisan and led by the venerable Lewis. However, Block told Yahoo Finance, the Senate does not always like passing narrow tax bills and sometimes holds them so its possible it could be held up.

This photo made on Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019, in Zelienople, Pa., shows mulitiple forms printed from the Internal Revenue Service web page that are used for 2018 U.S. federal tax returns. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

The bill does not contain explicit language outlawing the IRS from simplifying tax preparation, but instead uses language to refer to a memorandum that is already in place, said Mark Luscombe, principal analyst for tax and accounting at Wolters Kluwer.

Essentially, the bill would turn this memorandum and agreement into a law, instead of a looser agreement or a temporary agreement.

Congress is seeking to formalize the agreement [for the IRS] to not provide free online tax prep software in this statute, said the Tax Policy Centers Mark Mazur. (The Tax Policy Center does not take a position on the bill.)

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This has happened in the past, but on a temporary basis.

In prior years, Congress has put similar language in the annual Appropriations bills for the IRS, he said. Obviously, this separate statute would be a more permanent prohibition, since the Appropriations language only applies to the year for which the funds are being appropriated.

Mazur noted that its not at all clear as to whether an IRS-created tax software solution would be any better than what exists now  or whether it would be cost effective. But, he added, the proposed law would not give the IRS even a chance to find out.

In any event, its big for tax preparers like Intuit and H&R Block that handle millions of peoples taxes that might be otherwise simplified and doable without professional help. With the passage of this bill, the major risk factor of government competition would be gone.

[The bill] does benefit paid preparers and software firms, said Mazur.

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Ethan Wolff-Mann is a writer at Yahoo Finance focusing on consumer issues, personal finance, retail, airlines, and more. Follow him on Twitter @ewolffmann.
CARACAS (Reuters) - Ecuador said on Friday it is holding a programmer linked to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in custody pending possible charges of interfering in private communications, a day after ending Assange's seven-year asylum in its London embassy. Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo said prosecutors could file charges against Ola Bini, who she said lives in Ecuador and had visited Assange in the London embassy a dozen times. President Lenin Moreno in recent weeks had accused WikiLeaks and Assange of violating his privacy by publishing family photos of him. WikiLeaks denies the accusation, and says Moreno was trying to stifle reporting of corruption allegations against him. "He is detained for the purposes of investigation. This is a detention that took place in recent hours, ordered by judges of course, and requested by state prosecutors," Romo said in televised comments. "This person is very close to WikiLeaks." Romo, who on Thursday had announced the detention of an unidentified individual, did not provide further details. On his website, Bini describes himself as a software developer who works for the Quito-based Center for Digital Autonomy, which focuses on digital privacy and security. The site does not mention WikiLeaks. Bini and the Center for Digital Autonomy did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. Romo said the government had information that Bini had traveled on several occasions with Ricardo Patino, who was Ecuador Foreign Minister when Assange was granted asylum in 2012 during the government of former President Rafael Correa. Patino via Twitter said he does not know Bini. Romo said two Russian citizens were also under investigation but had not been arrested. Moreno's government accused WikiLeaks of being behind an anonymous website that said Moreno's brother had created offshore companies that his family used to fund a luxurious lifestyle in Europe while Moreno was a delegate to a United Nations agency. Moreno, who was Correa's vice president but fell out with him after taking office in 2017, denies wrongdoing. (Reporting by Alexandra Valencia and Jose Llangari; Writing by Brian Ellsworth; Editing by Richard Chang)
U.S. attorneys requesting that a British court extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange may have to wait behind Swedish authorities who, along with UK authorities, could block the U.S. from gaining custody.

Assange, arrested Thursday in London after six years of confinement to the Ecuadorian embassy, was detained on two separate warrants from the U.S. and Sweden after Ecuadors president revoked his asylum protection.

The first warrant stemmed from allegations that Assange disregarded bail conditions in a 2010 case in Sweden involving rape and sexual assault claims. The second warrant, issued at the request of U.S. attorneys, stemmed from a federal indictment unsealed Thursday claiming Assange conspired to hack into a U.S. Defense Department computer.

Assange would not be handed over to the U.S.

The U.S. Justice Department issued a provisional request for Assanges extradition based on an indictment filed under seal in March. In March 2010, the indictment alleged, Assange agreed to help former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning gain unauthorized access to a U.S. Defense Department computer that stored a password to a network housing classified information.

WESTMINSTER MAGISTRATES COURT, WESTMINSTER, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - 2019/04/11: Placard saying, Free Speech, of Julian Assange seen outside Westminster Magistrates Court after Julian Assange was removed from the Ecuadorian Embassy after his asylum was terminated. (Photo by Ben Booth/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Swedish authorities dropped criminal allegations against Assange in 2017 and on Thursday announced a request to resume their nearly decade-old investigation, which could mean a second request for Assanges extradition if prosecutors refile charges.

Gary Botting, a Canadian attorney with expertise in extradition laws, said under that scenario, Sweden would have the upper hand.

Under its treaties and the European Arrest Warrant system, Sweden takes priority, if it chooses to make an extradition request, Botting said.

Botting said Sweden is unlikely to resurrect its case because of a statute of limitations deadline that would require it to refile charges against Assange by 2020. However, the possibility is not out of the question.

There could be an agreement between any two of the three nations as to how they would proceed, but if the UK were to say no to the U.S. and yes to Sweden, Assange would not be handed over to the U.S. by the Swedes when they were through with him, Botting explained. Such a handover, he said, would legally constitute double jeopardy.

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Since it is likely that Sweden will let sleeping dogs lie, the real question is whether the UK will indulge the U.S. by sending Assange directly to America.

Requesting him is political

Under UK law, and laws regarded by other Western countries including the U.S., extradition may not be granted if the motive is deemed political. Assanges organization, WikiLeaks, was deeply tied to the 2016 presidential election in the U.S. because it released emails from the Democratic National Committee and from Hillary Clintons campaign manager.

It has a huge political impact, Botting said, especially since [President] Trump referenced WikiLeaks at least 140 times in his political campaign.

I do expect that Assange will be protected from extradition to the U.S. on the grounds that motive for requesting him is political, Botting said.

He added, referring to former National Security Agency contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden, Except for Snowden, I cant think of an non-politician more politicized than Assange.

Botting said even if U.S. attorneys give assurances to the UK that the conspiracy charge is not politically motivated, a UK extradition judge may not agree.

Under traditional extradition rules, the rule of specialty or doctrine of specialty limits the prosecution of extradited defendants. The rule mandates that defendants may be prosecuted by the requesting country only for offense(s) for which the foreign country agreed to surrender the defendant.

Its a fundamental feature of extradition law, Duncan Levin, a criminal law attorney and former federal prosecutor with the U.S. Justice Department told Yahoo Finance.

In theory, the rule would protect Assange from being charged with additional crimes, once handed over to U.S. authorities, though Botting said Assange and other defendants facing extradition cannot rely on the rules protection.

[T]he rule of specialty has morphed from protection of the individual to an agreement between states, he said. Thus if the United States wishes to pursue other charges than those identified in the extradition request, it merely has to negotiate that with the UK.

Duncan said the rule is not always enforced because its inclusion in treaties is custom, rather than codified law.

Judges from the United States and judges internationally disagree often about what can be prosecuted pursuant to an extradition, Levin said. And while the doctrine of specialty is widely recognized, it may very well be that a US judge will allow a broader prosecution on more offenses. It happens a lot and it may very well happen here with Julian Assange.

If extradited to the U.S. on the charge of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, Duncan said Assanges case is likely to go to trial.

Its the kind of case that is very likely to go to trial because the issues are not necessarily so clear about whether this is protected press freedom or something much more illegal, Duncan said.

In Assanges case, two issues may be whether WikiLeaks  a nonprofit that publishes news leaks  is considered a news organization, and whether Assange is considered a journalist. On some measure the question presented is whether journalists can encourage sources to commit illegal acts, and whether that is a criminal violation to work in concert with a source. Is it normal journalistic encouragement of a sourceor has it crossed over to a conspiracy to hack computers and break laws?

According to the Justice Departments indictment, Assange agreed to assist Manning in cracking a password stored on U.S. Department of Defense computers connected to...a U.S. network used for classified documents and communications, and Manning provided to Assange part of a password stored on U.S. Defense Department computers. The indictment did not explain whether the alleged partial password was tied to access to specific documents, though referenced a March 2010 communication from Assange to Manning in which Assange stated he had been trying to crack the password with no luck so far.

At the time of his arrest Thursday, Assange had already spent more time confined to the Ecuadorian embassy than the maximum allowable sentence permitted under his current U.S. charges.

Alexis Keenan is a former litigation attorney and previously produced live news for CNN. Follow Alexis on Twitter at @alexiskweed.

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Jussie Smollett has been sued by the City of Chicago after it allegedly spent more than $130,000 in overtime costs to investigate his alleged January attack, according to a new lawsuit.

Two weeks after all charges against the Empire star were dropped  stemming from accusations he staged an alleged early morning hate crime attack against himself on a Chicago sidewalk in January  and city lawyers issued a demand letter to him on behalf of Chicago and their police department, requesting that the actor pay $130,106.15 to make up for overtime hours that were spent on the investigation, the City of Chicago has filed a civil action lawsuit against Smollett.

According to the suit, filed Thursday to the Cook County Court and obtained by PEOPLE, the City of Chicago states that it is seeking relief against [Smollett] for false statements he made to the City, and seeking recovery of the costs of necessary services provided by the City due to [Smolletts] violations of the [Municipal Code of Chicago (MCC)].

Jussie Smollett | Stephen Lovekin/Variety/REX/Shutterstock

Smollet, 36, has been sued by the City of Chicago to recover civil penalties, statutory treble damages, and attorneys fees and costs arising from [Smolletts] false statements to the City, the suit states.

PEOPLE is out to Smolletts attorney for comment.

After Smollett filed the allegedly false reports to police at the end of January, the City incurred more than 1,800 overtime hours to investigate his case, the suit states.

RELATED: Whats Next for Jussie Smollett  and Why He Isnt Exonerated for Staging Alleged Hate Crime

For the next two weeks, the CPD expended significant resources investigating [Smolletts] false report of a high-profile hate crime and physical assault. Over two dozen CPD officers and detectives participated in the investigation, ultimately spending weeks investigating [Smolletts] false statements, the suit alleges. During the course of CPDs investigation into [Smolletts] false statements, CPD has incurred 1,836 overtime hours, which resulted in the City paying $130,106.15 in overtime pay as a result of [Smolletts] false statements.

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Smollett told police hed been physically attacked on the street in his downtown Chicago neighborhood around 2 a.m. on Jan. 29 by two black-clad, masked men who used racist and homophobic slurs, doused him with an unknown chemical substance and left him with a rope around his neck.

He earlier had pleaded not guilty to allegations that he lied to police when he said he was attacked by two men in what authorities later claimed was a staged incident to draw attention to himself. Smollett was arrested Feb. 20 after an investigation, and indicted on 16 counts of disorderly conduct for making false reports.

Smollett and his legal team previously said they had planned an aggressive defense, according to his attorneys Todd Pugh and Victor Henderson.

At the end of March, all charges against the Fox star were dropped, the Cook County States Attorneys Office confirmed to PEOPLE.

After reviewing all the facts and circumstances of the case, including Mr. Smolletts volunteer service in the community and agreement to forfeit his bond to the City of Chicago, we believe this outcome is a just disposition and appropriate resolution to this case, reads a statement from the Cook County States Attorneys Office previously obtained by PEOPLE.

The office did not, however, fully retreat from its initial decision to bring charges against Smollett or otherwise address PEOPLEs inquiry on whether prosecutors still believe he staged the attack, saying in a followup statement: We stand by the Chicago Police Departments investigation and our approval of charges.

 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.

Weeks later, the City of Chicago is continuing to stand by the Chicago Police Departments extensive investigation.

The suit states, On January 29, 2019, [Smollett] submitted a false police report claiming that he was the victim of a racist and homophobic beating by unknown attackers. In reality, [Smollett] knew his attackers and orchestrated the purported attack himself. It continues, Later, when police confronted him with evidence about his attackers, he still refused to disclose his involvement in planning the attack. In investigating [Smolletts] false statements and false police report, the City incurred significant costs in order to provide services reasonably related to [Smolletts] conduct.

Later, the suit states that because of [Smolletts] false statements, the City expended significant resources and manpower, including but not limited to, $130,106.51 in CPD overtime pay that the City paid solely due to [Smolletts] false statements.

Jussie Smollett | Jerod Harris/Getty

The suit also details the alleged series of events from the night of the staged attack, including Smolletts interactions with brothers Abimbola Abel and Olabinjo Ola Osundairo. (They later issued a public apology for their role in the allegedly staged incident, expressing tremendous regret for their actions, according to a statement from their attorney.)

[Smollett] told CPD officers that he was the victim of a racist and homophobic physical attack, the suit states. [Smollett] made this report to the CPD officers despite knowing that the purported attack was not for racist or homophobic motives, that his purported attackers were, in fact, his acquaintances, and that he had asked his purported attackers, the Osundairo Brothers, to stage the attack.

RELATED: Jussie Smollett Photographed Leaving Chicago After Charges Dropped in Alleged Hate Crime Case

Now, the City of Chicago is alleging that Smollett is guilty on two counts  violation of the FSO and CRO  and is seeking relief for both.

For his alleged violation of the FSO, the City is requesting that Smollett be found liable for violating the FSO; fine [Smollett] a civil penalty of $1,000 for each false statement he made to the City; enter judgment against [Smollett] and in favor of the City for the civil penalties assessed, and trebled damages in an amount to be proven at trial (which includes, but is not limited to, overtime compensation paid by the City) incurred by the City because of [Smolletts] false statements; that he be ordered to pay the Citys reasonable attorneys fees and costs; and that the court award such further relief as this Court deems just and equitable.

As for his alleged violation of the CRO, the City is requesting that the court find that the City incurred necessary costs investigating and responding to [Smolletts] statements made in violation of the MCC; order [Smollett] to pay the Citys response costs in an amount to be proven at trial; order [Smollett] to pay the City a penalty in an amount equal to the Citys litigation and collection costs and attorneys fees; and award such further relief as this Court deems just and equitable.

After charges against Smollett were dropped in March, his attorneys, Tina Glandian and Patricia Brown Holmes, released a statement to PEOPLE saying, Today, all criminal charges against Jussie Smollett were dropped and his record has been wiped clean of the filing of this tragic complaint against him.

The statement added, Jussie was attacked by two people he was unable to identify on January 29th. He was a victim who was vilified and made to appear as a perpetrator as a result of false and inappropriate remarks made to the public causing an inappropriate rush to judgment.

Jussie and many others were hurt by these unfair and unwarranted actions, it continued. This entire situation is a reminder that there should never be an attempt to prove a case in the court of public opinion. This is wrong. It is a reminder that the victim, in this case Jussie, deserves dignity and respect. Dismissal of charges against the victim in this case was the only just result.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Latest on court appearances of two political consultants in foreign lobbying cases that grew out of the Russia probe (all times local):

1:50 p.m.

Former Obama White House counsel Greg Craig has pleaded not guilty to charges of making false statements and concealing information in a federal foreign lobbying investigation spun off from the Russia probe.

Craig entered the plea Friday in federal court in Washington a day after he was accused of hiding the details of his work for the Ukrainian government from the Justice Department.

The 74-year-old denies the charges and says the prosecution against him is "unprecedented and unjustified."

The case intersected with special counsel Robert Mueller's probe because former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was involved in the financing of a report Craig authored for the Ukrainian government. The document sought to legitimize the prosecution of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

__

10:49 a.m.

A Washington political consultant initially entangled in the Russia investigation was sentenced to three years of probation for illegal lobbying and skirting the ban on foreign donations to President Donald Trump's inaugural committee.

W. Samuel Patten and prosecutors had asked for leniency citing his cooperation in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation and other ongoing probes.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson imposed the sentence Friday as Mueller has concluded his investigation but federal prosecutors in New York continue to investigate foreign donations to the inaugural committee.

Patten has said he wasn't part of a larger scheme to funnel money to the committee.

He pleaded guilty to violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act for lobbying on behalf of a Ukrainian political party. He also lied to the Senate intelligence committee.
* Choe Ryong Hae named constitutional head of state

* Position is largely symbolic, but wields influence

* Shake-up sees Kim Jong Un complete power consolidation - analysts

By Josh Smith and Hyonhee Shin

SEOUL, April 12 (Reuters) - North Korea's new nominal head of state is a long-time loyalist with deep ties to the ruling Kim family and whose fortunes have closely followed the rise of leader Kim Jong Un, analysts said.

Choe Ryong Hae was named President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea, state media reported on Friday, replacing Kim Yong Nam who had held the position since it was created in 1998.

In that position, Choe will be the constitutional head of state, and is likely to be the public face of North Korea at many official functions.

With Kim Jong Un personally taking an unprecedented role in international engagement, Choe's role may evolve. But analysts say Choe now holds a position of rare prominence for anyone outside the Kim family, which has ruled North Korea since it was established in 1948.

Born in 1950, Choe began to forge his relationship with Kim Jong Un after being tasked in 2009 to help him prepare to succeed his father, Kim Jong Il.

Choe's father had ties to Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Un's grandfather and the founding leader of North Korea, and Choe himself had a personal relationship with Kim Jong Il for decades.

Choe was one of the most powerful officials in North Korea as head of the Workers Party of Korea Organization and Guidance Department (OGD), according to database North Korea Leadership Watch.

He survived years of purges after Kim Jong Un took power, and has weathered a series of ups and downs in his standing.

In late 2015, South Korea's National Intelligence Service said Choe had been sent to a countryside farm for political reeducation, but in recent years Choe appeared to be gaining more influence since he was promoted in October 2017 to the party's powerful Central Military Commission.

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South Korea's spy agency said in 2017 it believed he was behind the punishment of General Hwang Pyong So, once one of Kim Jong Un's most-trusted advisers.

Still, analysts said Choe appears to be more of a smooth "yes man" than a hardened enforcer within the government.

"He is a schmoozer," said Michael Madden, a North Korea leadership expert at the Stimson Center, a U.S. think tank. "He's not one of these guys with bloody knuckles, not someone we would associate with being a leg-breaker in the regime. He knows how to do that if he needs to, but he's more of a schmoozer."

In December, Choe was one of three North Korean officials sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for "serious human rights abuses and censorship".

In a statement at the time, the department said as head of the OGD, Choe oversaw censorship and control of North Koreans.

A former South Korean diplomat who met Choe said that even during meetings where he was not the most senior official, Choe seemed "confident, or even arrogant", often doing most of the talking.

"I had the impression that he had the trust of Kim Jong Un, which wouldve come from his fathers relationship with the Kim family," the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue. (Additional reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Michael Perry)
Lima (AFP) - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo landed in Peru on Saturday on the third-leg of a four-nation tour of Latin American allies focusing heavily on Venezuela and countering China's economic reach.

Pompeo held talks with President Martin Vizcarra and Foreign Minister Nestor Popolizio before attending a dinner for business leaders.

He paid tribute to Peru's welcome for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan refugees and Vizcarra's fight against corruption, which has embroiled the previous four Peruvian presidents.

But he became irritated when a reporter asked if that contradicted US President Donald Trump's harsh immigration policy at home.

"Our objective is to allow people to stay in their home countries, this is President Trump's desire, we want to create conditions in these countries where they can stay in their own country," he told the press conference with Popolizio.

Pompeo also spoke by telephone with Brazil's Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo, the State Department announced late Saturday.

"They reaffirmed the close friendship between the United States and Brazil and pledged to continue working together to address the... crises in Venezuela, their effects on Venezuela's neighbors, and the need for outside actors, including Cuba, Russia, and China, to stop propping up Nicolas Maduro," spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.

- Visit to Paraguay -

Earlier Pompeo had become the first US secretary of state to visit Paraguay, formerly ruled as a dictatorship, since 1965, paying tribute to the country's transition to democracy as an inspiration to the region.

The top US diplomat arrived in Asuncion late Friday after talks with Chile's President Sebastian Pinera in Santiago that focused heavily on his country's developing trade relationship with China.

The highlight of Pompeo's trip will be a brief visit Sunday to the Colombian city of Cucuta on the Venezuelan border, where he will meet refugees.

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All four countries on his itinerary are led by right-wing or center-right leaders favorable to Washington's uncompromising approach to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

In Asuncion, Pompeo had praised Paraguay's support for US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido in Venezuela, and its role in the Lima Group of mostly Latin American nations seeking a solution to the Venezuela crisis.

"Paraguay is a leader in defending democracy and calling Maduro as he is, a tyrant who has ruined his country," Pompeo said.

Foreign Minister Luis Castiglioni said Paraguay's position on Venezuela remained strongly aligned with that of the United States.

"We have always said: with dictators, with tyrants, there is no dialogue. You fight them. We must fight them until liberties are restored so that the Venezuelan people can return to live with dignity," he told reporters.

Asked by a US journalist if Paraguay would back a military intervention in Venezuela, he said: "We are convinced that all the diplomatic efforts that are being made to isolate this regime will have results in a short time."

- Transnational crime -

The two officials also discussed Paraguay's commitments on combatting threats of terrorism, drug trafficking and transnational crime in what is known as the tri-border area, the border region Paraguay shares with Argentina and Brazil.

"Paraguay has declared all-out war against transnational crime," said Castiglioni.

"This battle that we are fighting is a battle of no return until we win. We have assured the Secretary of State that Paraguay wants to cooperate very closely with the US government, since we are on the same path."

The US official said before his arrival in Chile on Friday that the current US administration had "spent a lot of time" in Latin America seeking to improve trade in a region which has turned its back in recent years on a slew of leftist governments.

"This is an historic opportunity," he told reporters, referring to "a handful of countries that are truly market driven, democratic in ways that we havent had in South America for decades. And we think it creates real opportunity."

Asked about China's influence at a press conference following a working lunch with his Chilean counterpart Roberto Ampuero, Pompeo said: "I think the Chilean government and the United States government both share the same concerns."

"China's trade activities often are deeply connected to their national security mission, their technological goals, their desire to steal intellectual property, to have forced technology transfer, to engage in activity that is not economic," he said.

He iterated his concerns Saturday in Peru.

"Too often we see China's predatory lending and debt diplomacy reverse positive advances in this area," he said.

"Our shared goal would be to resist Chinese overtures and promote transparency."
North Korea has replaced its long-serving head of state with a close aide to leader Kim Jong Un, promoting a man who was placed on a US sanctions list last year for alleged human rights abuses, state media said Friday.

The move came as part of a top-ranking reshuffle that analysts said further cemented Kim's already unshakeable grip on power.

Kim also acquired a new title, and now becomes "the supreme representative of all the Korean people" -- a newly-created role that observers say makes him more like a modern national leader, on a par with other country's presidents and prime ministers.

Kim Yong Nam, the now-91-year-old who held the position of the North's head of state -- an almost entirely ceremonial role -- for almost 20 years, was replaced by Choe Ryong Hae, the state-run KCNA said.

As the new president of the Supreme People's Assembly, Choe is technically head of state, although real power in North Korea is wielded by Kim and his immediate family.

The reshuffle comes at a time of heightened diplomatic activity that has seen Kim Jong Un hold landmark summits with the leaders of the US, China and South Korea.

Born in 1950, Choe is considered Kim Jong Un's right-hand man -- frequently referred to as the regime's "virtual number two official", having been key to the party's hierarchy since the 1980s.

Some reports have even suggested that one of Choe's sons is married to Kim Jong Un's powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong.

Choe is also one of the three North Korean officials placed under sanctions by the US last year over human rights abuse allegations.

Analysts said, however, the existing strictures on Choe will have little impact on his future diplomatic endeavours, as long as its nuclear dialogue with the US continues.

"Kim Yong Chol, the North's top nuclear negotiator, also has been sanctioned by Washington since 2010," Ahn Chan-il, the president of the World Institute for North Korea Studies in Seoul, told AFP.

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"But he visited Washington without a problem earlier this year. Washington will always make exceptions -- as long as Pyongyang has something to offer."

- New title -

Kim's new job adds to a growing list of titles he has accrued since he took power after the 2011 death of his father.

Analysts say it may also indicate a change in the country's constitution that concentrates more authority in the young leader.

"If Pyongyang indeed revised its constitution, then it just means Kim Jong Un now has more power than ever,"" said analyst Ahn.

"If that's the case, Kim will be the one who will be officially representing Pyongyang both at home and abroad".

Unlike his father, Kim Jong-Il, the young Kim has increasingly greeted foreign heads of state and visiting dignatories, performing the functions of a modern head of state.

Jeong Young-tae, an analyst at the Institute of North Korean Studies in Seoul, says the new title is part of Pyongyang's efforts to "secularise" Kim and his power.

"Kim Jong Un wants to re-brand North Korea as a 'normal' socialist country in the world stage," he told AFP.

"The new title 'representative' is a break from some of his previous titles that are redolent of a religious cult."
MONTREAL (AP)  In a story April 13 about Quebec's religious symbols ban, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the ban on religious symbols extends to nurses and bus drivers. It does not.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Quebec proposes ban on religious clothing for public workers

A proposal to ban many public employees from wearing religious clothing is creating a fiery debate in the Canadian province of Quebec, where people are fighting to freely practice their religion  or to be free of it

By TRACEY LINDEMAN

Associated Press

MONTREAL (AP)  A proposal to ban many public employees from wearing religious clothing is creating a fiery debate in the Canadian province of Quebec, where people are fighting to freely practice their religion  or to be free of it.

The measure introduced late last month would prohibit civil servants in positions of authority such as teachers, police officers, prosecutors and others like prison guards from wearing symbols of religion while at work. Meanwhile, other kinds of public workers, such as bus drivers and nurses would be allowed to wear religious symbols so long as their faces are uncovered.

The law would apply to Sikh turbans, Christian jewelry and Jewish yarmulkes, but the focus of the controversy has been over hijabs worn by many Muslim women in Quebec.

"The proposed legislation will affect Muslims more than other groups as they are the fastest growing religious group," said Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto. Muslims represent about 3% of Quebec's 8.3 million people.

Thousands of demonstrators attended a recent march in Montreal to protest the measure, with some holding signs saying, "No one tells women what they can wear" and "It's what's in my head, not on my head, that matters."

Even Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is from Montreal, has spoken ill of Bill 21: "It's unthinkable to me that in a free society we would legitimize discrimination against citizens based on their religion," he said.

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Christian, Jewish, Muslim and even secular groups across the province have denounced the measure, as have school boards, political parties and some municipal leaders.

However, on Friday Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante said that while she personally opposes the bill, Montreal would not disobey it if it is passed.

That said, next week city councilors will vote on a bipartisan declaration that argues Quebec is already secular and doesn't require additional legislation.

Earlier this month, Quebec Premier Francois Legault told reporters that the bill would reinforce gender equality in the province. The new measure would also help him make good on an electoral promise.

"I think at this point in Quebec in 2019, people who are in an authority position, which includes teachers (shouldn't wear religious symbols), I think it's reasonable. It's fair," he said. "We have to think about what's best for our children."

The history behind the measure is rooted in Quebec's "Quiet Revolution" of the 1960s, a movement that weaned the province away from political and cultural domination by the Catholic Church. But critics also say it's motivated by more recent growing anti-Muslim sentiment.

The debate also pits two ideas of secularism against one another: A stricter European interpretation and a North American version that embraces the idea of religious freedom.

Quebec is torn because it shares a long history and language with France  which along with Denmark, Belgium and Austria has banned face-covering garments  but it's also heavily influenced by North American culture, said Bertrand Lavoie, a researcher at the University of Sherbrooke who in 2018 published a book on the relationship between Islam, religious freedom and public institutions in Quebec.

"What's unique to Quebec is that these two concepts of secularism are facing off in the public sphere, among politicians, academics, lawyers and even judges," Lavoie told The Associated Press.

Many who support Bill 21 say that even if women choose to wear the hijab, the garment is rooted in the idea of women's inferiority. Prohibiting it, they say, would help promote gender equality.

"The hijab is a symbol of oppression. It's an invention by Islamists to control women," said Ameni Ben Ammar, an accountant in Montreal who immigrated from Tunisia, a majority-Muslim country, in 2013.

"They convinced women it would protect them from sexual assault. For me, it's an insult to both men and women," she said, referring to the hijab's resurgence in the 1970s.

The debate has tangled issues of gender, race and religion, with Muslim women caught in the crosshairs, said Saaz Taher, a doctoral candidate at the University of Montreal who is studying ethnicity and citizenship.

"Racialized women's bodies are constantly a topic of public discourse. We feel (authorized) to judge the best way for women to be free and emancipated," said Taher, who added that Muslim women should be allowed to wear the hijab by choice.

Lavoie said anti-minority sentiment in the province has grown since 2001, when a Sikh boy brought a kirpan  a ceremonial dagger  to school. The incident caused a debate over how far the province should go to accommodate religion.

In 2007, a provincial commission studied the issue and suggested that only people yielding coercive power, such as judges, police officers and prison guards, should abstain from wearing religious symbols.

Bill 21 is Quebec's fourth legislative attempt since 2011 to regulate the wearing of religious symbols for people working in the public sphere, and for the first time it invokes a constitutional clause allowing local governments to override some constitutional rights.

Lavoie said that's a clear sign backers know the measure is discriminatory.

"The public's perception is that there's a problem (with Islam), and if there's a problem, we have to fix it," Lavoie said.

The province was stunned in 2017 when a gunman opened fire in a Quebec City mosque, killing six and wounding 19, and racist groups appear to still be growing.

"I've never seen it like this," said Salam Elmenyawi, president of the Montreal Council of Muslims, who immigrated to Quebec from Egypt in 1972 and believes Bill 21 is an outcropping of anti-Muslim sentiment.

"This hate was manufactured. This hate did not come by accident," he said.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein defends Attorney General William Barr's handling of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian election interference.

Barr has come under intense scrutiny and growing criticism from Democrats dissatisfied with his disclosures from the nearly 400-page Russia report, which is yet to be released.

In a rare interview, Rosenstein tells The Wall Street Journal that Barr is "being as forthcoming as he can."

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is defending Attorney General William Barr's handling of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian election interference.

"He's being as forthcoming as he can," Rosenstein said told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday in a rare interview. "And so this notion that he's trying to mislead people, I think is just completely bizarre."

Barr, who was confirmed by the Senate in February, has come under heavy criticism from Democrats dissatisfied with how he has handled the nearly 400-page report on Mueller's 22-month probe of Russia's meddling in the 2016 election and possible collusion with President Donald Trump 's campaign.

They're particularly irked with Barr's four-page summary of the principal conclusions from that report, which was sent to Judiciary Committee leaders less than two days after Mueller handed over the lengthy final document to the attorney general. Barr wrote that the special counsel did not establish Trump-Russia collusion, and he and Rosenstein determined from the report that Mueller's evidence was not sufficient to find that Trump had obstructed justice.

"It would be one thing if you put out a letter and said, 'I'm not going to give you the report,' " Rosenstein told the Journal in his office at the DOJ. "What he said is, 'Look, it's going to take a while to process the report. In the meantime, people really want to know what's in it. I'm going to give you the top-line conclusions.' That's all he was trying to do."

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The Justice Department did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on Rosenstein's interview.

Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, are demanding that Barr immediately give them the full report without redactions . Barr testified Wednesday that the report will be coming next week.

Barr's Justice Department is currently in the process of redacting sections of the Russia report, including information about grand juries that they say cannot legally be made public, citing federal rules. But Democrats say they are entitled to receive the report in its entirety, and have voiced concerns about Barr's conclusions in light of an unsolicited memo he sent to the DOJ last June criticizing the Mueller probe .

Those worries grew immensely in recent days, following reports from The Washington Post and The New York Times that some unnamed members of Mueller's team believe Barr downplayed the evidence for obstruction in his summary.

Barr ignited another firestorm of criticism Wednesday, when he confirmed that the DOJ will be reviewing the origins of the government's Russia investigations, including the methods used for obtaining surveillance warrants of figures related to Trump's campaign.

"I think spying on a political campaign is a big deal," Barr said during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing. He later added: "I think spying did occur."

Critics tore into Barr's use of the word "spying," calling it loaded language and demanding that he back up his claims with specific evidence. Asked by Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, if he wanted to amend his language, Barr tweaked it to "unauthorized surveillance."

"I have no idea what he's talking about," former FBI Director James Comey said of Barr's stance on spying. But Comey added: "I think that his career has earned him the presumption that he will be one of the rare Cabinet members who will stand up for things like truth and facts, and institutional values."

Berman TWEET Manchin

Rosenstein, who reportedly approved an application to ask a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to continue its surveillance of former Trump campaign aide Carter Page, declined to comment on Barr's probe, according to the Journal.

Read the full report on Rosenstein's interview with The Wall Street Journal





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Investigators have arrested the son of a Louisiana sheriffs deputy for allegedly setting fires at three historically Black churches, PEOPLE confirms.

Holden Matthews, 21, was arrested and charged with three counts of simple arson of a religious building. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years. The department of the suspects father has been involved in the investigation, which is still ongoing, officials said.

Were still vetting several motives, Gov. John Bel Edwards said during a press conference Thursday. Edwards alleged the suspects purported interest in black metal music, a sub-genre of heavy metal music that has been associated with church burnings, may have played a role in his motive.

Before the press conference, there were reports that Matthews father, St. Landrys Parish Sheriffs deputy Roy Matthews, had turned his son in to authorities. Officials denied the reports during the press conference.

He was shocked and hurt like any father would be, said Sheriff Bobby Guidroz about his conversation with Deputy Matthews. He was in terrible shape.

PEOPLEs call to the elder Matthews was not returned.

It was unclear whether the suspect has an attorney who could comment on his behalf, and he has not yet entered a plea.

 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.

On March 26, fire officials got a call about a fire at St. Mary Baptist in Port Barre around 3:40 a.m. The fire burned holes through the churchs roof and left only most of its brick exterior standing the next day, the Lafayette Daily Advertiser reported.

Mt. Pleasant Baptist was more than 140 years old, according to Rev. Gerald Toussaint.

My church has a lot of history. I dont understand it. What could make a person do that to a church? he told the Advertiser. By the time I got back here, it was done. It burned hot and fast.

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About a week later, on April 2 and 4, Greater Union Baptist Church and Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas respectively caught fire, according to a statement from the State Fire Marshals Office.

RELATED STORY: FBI Investigating Suspicious Fires at Three Historically Black Churches: Theres No Coincidence

Were very cognizant that theres a problem, and theres no coincidence that there are three fires, State Fire Marshal H. Butch Browning said during a press conference last week. We believe these three fires are suspicious.

Browning said no one was injured because the fires started in the middle of the night while the churches were vacant.

The fires echo similar incidents when the burning of Black churches was used as an intimidation tactic during the civil rights era. Attacks on Black churches, using fire and other forms of violence, have long been used to intimidate the Black community and impede progress.
WASHINGTON  The former top lawyer for the U.S. intelligence community under President Barack Obama is praising the Justice Department indictment of Julian Assange, calling it a very shrewd charge that avoids infringing on freedom of the press issues that stymied his Obama administration colleagues.

I think the Department of Justice was very shrewd in how it approached this, said Robert Litt, who served as chief counsel to the director of national intelligence between 2009 and early 2017. Litt was interviewed for the Yahoo News Skullduggery podcast.

For years it's been known that the government has been investigating Assange and there has been a constant drumbeat of legitimate concern about the prospect of indicting somebody for publishing material that was provided to them.

And the question has always raised, How do you differentiate Julian Assange from the New York Times and the Washington Post?

But, Litt argued, the indictment of the WikiLeaks founder unsealed this week successfully avoids the issue by narrowly focusing on a single conspiracy charge: that Assange offered to help Chelsea Manning, then a U.S. Army private, crack the password of a classified Defense Department computer.

Although the alleged conspiracy apparently never led to any additional secrets stolen  Assange is quoted as telling Manning in an online chat no luck so far  it provided a basis for a criminal charge of conspiring to violate a federal computer law.

I think it has been significant that virtually all of the big media have been leaping on this as saying, well you know, this is fine, we wouldn't do anything like this, Litt said about what Assange is accused of doing.

I think that to the extent the message that's being sent is  We don't have a problem with people publishing things, we have a problem with people using illegal means to obtain information to publish  I don't think that's a bad message, Litt said. Reporters shouldn't be breaking into places where they don't belong to get information.

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Download or subscribe on iTunes: Skullduggery from Yahoo News

There are dissenters from the support for the Assange indictment, however. Describing Assange as a publisher, Daniel Ellsberg, the famed whistleblower who leaked the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times during the Vietnam War, called his indictment a very serious assault on the First Amendment.

And Assanges U.S. lawyer, Barry Pollack, signaled plans to raise a similar argument if his client is extradited from the United Kingdom to face the charge. The factual allegations against Mr. Assange boil down to encouraging a source to provide him information and taking efforts to protect the identity of that source, he said in a statement after the indictment was unsealed. Journalists around the world should be deeply troubled by these unprecedented criminal charges.

Robert Litt testifies during a 2013 House Judiciary Committee hearing. (Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

Litts perspective is noteworthy given that he was in the middle of an intense Obama administration debate about how to treat Assange after WikiLeaks published hundreds of thousands of classified documents supplied by Manning about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and State Department cables that included embarrassing details about corruption and abuses in governments around the world. Many of these documents were then published by the New York Times and other major U.S. news organizations, making it difficult for the Obama Justice Department to figure out how to prosecute Assange for revealing classified material without also going after the mainstream news organizations that were publishing the same documents.

Acknowledging there was a a lot of discussion within the Obama administration about what to do about Assange, Litt was asked if he had favored prosecuting the WikiLeaks leader. Yes and no, he replied. I think yes in the sense of, everybody was extremely upset with him and what he was doing. No, in the sense of people were sensitive to the First Amendment. I mean, the intelligence community actually does care about things like this.  We don't want to violate constitutional rights, and more than that, there's also an important principle: You don't get into a public relations war with somebody who buys printers ink by the barrel.

Litt said he anticipates that Assange will face additional charges beyond the single conspiracy count. The fact that prosecutors have jailed Manning for refusing to testify before a federal grand jury about her dealings with Assange strongly suggests they are considering additional charges, which might come before the WikiLeaks founders extradition hearing in two months. (Extradition treaties generally specify that defendants cannot face additional charges filed after they were extradited without the express permission of the country that is returning the suspect.)

I think they're certainly looking at the possibility of a superseding indictment, Litt said. And I think if they're going to return one, it should be returned before the extradition proceedings get going.

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Read more from Yahoo News:
By Jamie Freed

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Budget Indian airline SpiceJet Ltd said on Friday it planned to lease a "first lot" of 16 Boeing Co 737-800s to help fill a gap in aviation capacity that ratings agency ICRA said has pushed up fares by 30 to 40 percent since September.

SpiceJet had cancelled some flights due to the grounding of its 12 737 MAX planes after Ethiopian Airlines' deadly March 10 crash. However, the bulk of the reduction, which ICRA said removed 15 percent of market capacity, is due to Jet Airways Ltd grounding more than three-quarters of its fleet as a result of funding problems.

"The sudden reduction of aviation capacity has created a challenging environment in the sector," SpiceJet Chairman Ajay Singh said in a statement. "SpiceJet is committed to working closely with the government authorities to augment capacity and minimise passenger inconvenience."

India's civil aviation minister Suresh Prabhu has directed the civil aviation secretary to review issues related to Jet Airways and take steps to minimise the inconvenience to passengers and ensure their safety, the minister said in a Tweet on Friday.

India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation has de-registered 11 737-800s that had been leased by Jet Airways on request from lessors, the agency's website said, and another 14 requests for de-registration remain pending.

SpiceJet did not say whether it planned to lease planes that had previously been flown by Jet. The budget carrier's shares rose 5 percent in early trade on Friday.

(Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
Sudanese protesters danced and chanted on the streets of Khartoum on the night of April 12, despite a curfew, following a day of demonstration calling for a civilian-led government following the military deposition of President Omar al-Bashir.

Leading protest group the Sudanese Professionals Association had called for people to continue the protest through the night.

On the same day, the military council held a press conference where Omar Zein al-Abideen, a member of the council, said, We will fulfill the desires of the people, and we have no other ambitions, local media reported. He also said former president Omar al-Bashir would not be extradited to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face charges of genocide, Al Jazeera reported.

Later, the de facto head of the military council, former vice president Awad Ibn Auf, resigned and Lieutenant General Abdel-Fatah al-Burhan Abdel-Rahman was appointed in his place, according to reports. Credit: @ahmadza249 via Storyful
CAIRO  A Sudanese army official says the military authorities will not extradite deposed President Omar al-Bashir but will try him at home, before the nation.

Col. Gen. Omar Zein Abedeen made the remarks at a press conference on Friday in the capital, Khartoum, defending the militarys removal of al-Bashir from power.

He says the ouster was not a coup but a response to the peoples demands.

He said that handing over al-Bashir would be an ugly mark on Sudan  even rebels carrying weapons, we wont extradite them.

Al-Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court, where he faces charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide for his deadly campaign against insurgents in Darfur.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- As President Donald Trump rails against an influx of migrants at the border , two of his most influential White House power players are at odds over the future of his immigration policy.

Fresh off orchestrating a shake-up at the Department of Homeland Security , an ascendant Stephen Miller is making a renewed push to impose tougher policies at the border. That's setting up a face-off with senior adviser and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner, who has been quietly working on his own immigration reform package for months.

Their divergent approaches to the president's signature campaign issue speak to more than the ideological gulf between the two men: They echo a long-standing philosophical divide within the West Wing over how to best position the president ahead of his re-election campaign.

Miller, the mastermind of the president's Muslim travel ban and other hardline immigration policies, has long been the combative ideologue, urging Trump to take ever-more-drastic action to stanch the border flow. Kushner, whose faith in his own careful dealmaking power rivals Miller's zeal, has spent months meeting with lawmakers and interest groups, trying to put together a package of legal immigration and border security changes that Republicans can rally around heading into the 2020 presidential election.

The resulting parallel tracks  one bent on implementing ever-stricter policies and another meant to forge a more palatable and unifying legislative package  have created uncertainty and confusion both inside the administration and on Capitol Hill about where Trump is headed.

The conflict came into focus during a recent White House meeting when Trump effectively knighted Miller, saying the aide would oversee immigration going forward. But Kushner had already been tasked by the president with coming up with a legal immigration plan, which Trump was briefed on this week.

"We'll talk to you about it soon," Trump said Wednesday of Kushner's plan, labeling it "very exciting, very important for the country."

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Despite the aides' differing approaches, administration officials insist there is no ill will between Kushner and Miller, who have worked together over the years at the White House and on Trump's campaign. The two are among the last remaining members of Trump's tightknit 2016 team to still work at the White House and have been longtime collaborators, co-writing speeches, including the president's convention address.

But for all that, the two hold fundamentally different views on immigration and notions on how Trump ought to govern.

Miller, the unrelenting hard-liner, sees illegal and legal immigration as existential threats to national security and the American worker, and views Trump as a generational voice willing to make dramatic changes. Kushner, a former Democratic-leaning real estate developer, sees a broken immigration system as another intractable Washington problem that could be solved with the right deal.

That leaves them working at cross purposes at times.

After Trump threatened to shut down the southern border two weeks ago, Kushner was among those whom Homeland Security officials worked with to get the president to back off. Indeed, Kushner is seen within the department as someone who accepts the realities of legal limitations and can be trusted to calm Trump down, not spin him up, as they feel Miller tends to do on immigration, according to three administration officials with knowledge of the dynamic. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss internal deliberations.

Senior administration officials have tried to paint Miller and Kushner's efforts as complementary  Miller addressing the day-to-day crisis at the border while Kushner looking at longer-term solutions.

"President Trump alone sets immigration policy that's designed to solve the humanitarian crisis at our border, prevent illegal entry into our country and protect the American people - there's no daylight between the president's team as they work to implement that agenda," spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement.

Trump on Wednesday also challenged the notion that anyone was running his immigration policy other than him.

Asked by reporters whether he had considered tapping Miller to lead Homeland Security, Trump said: "Stephen is an excellent guy. He's wonderful person." But, he added, "Frankly, there's only one person that's running it. You know who that is? It's me."

But former officials said the absence of clear lines of authority and the recent purge of senior leadership at Homeland Security could create confusion, leaving the agency to implement whichever viewpoint wins the day.

"To whom are we listening? Who's setting the priorities?" said David Lapan, the department's former press secretary.

Thad Bingel a former senior Homeland Security official, who helped shepherd outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen through her confirmation process, echoed those concerns, saying that when it's not clear who's in charge at the White House, departments and subagencies "spin their wheels a lot trying to satisfy multiple masters."

Raising the stakes further is that Kushner is no mere White House aide  he's the president's son-in-law and has proven capable of forcing staff turnover at the highest level. He was instrumental in the departure of two chiefs of staff and the president's former chief strategist.

Kushner's latest efforts on immigration date to early January, when Trump asked him to pursue a deal with lawmakers that would win the president more money for his border wall during the government shutdown.

While White House officials caution that the plan has yet to be finalized, aides said it would include "merit based" changes to the legal immigration system as well as proposals on border security that could include modernizing ports of entry and changing the way the country detains and removes people who enter the country illegally.

As part of that effort, Kushner has convened a series of informal listening sessions with almost 50 groups, including anti-immigration advocates, business and conservative groups coming together to talk through ideas. It was the same playbook he used last year on criminal justice reform, which culminated in the only major piece of bipartisan legislation the president has signed.

During those meetings, Kushner was been careful not to tip his hat on his personal views. But participants say they expect the plan to include significant changes, including increases in employment-based green cards. While protections for the hundreds of thousands of so-called Dreamers brought to the country illegally as children were a major point of discussion, a senior administration official said Dreamers are not currently part of the plan.

Jessica Vaughn, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for lower immigration levels, cautioned that unveiling a major plan now would be a distraction from the immediate border crisis.

"The timing couldn't be worse," she said. "It's just the wrong time to be getting into a battle over this when the priority should be on fixing the border crisis and getting our enforcement on track."

___

Associated Press writer Colleen Long contributed to this report.

___

Follow Colvin and Miller Twitter at https://twitter.com/colvinj and https://twitter.com/zekejmiller
WASHINGTON (AP)  President Donald Trump says the U.S. wants to keep economic sanctions in place to pressure North Korea to give up nuclear weapons, but isn't ruling out a third summit with Kim Jong Un or taking steps to ease food or other shortages in the repressive nation.

"We want sanctions to remain in place," Trump said Thursday at the White House during a meeting with South Korea President Moon Jae-in. "I think that sanctions right now are at a level that's a fair level."

Moon, for his part, has called for an easing of sanctions, including those holding back joint economic projects between North and South Korea. Trump said he would favor easing those sanctions at the right time but added: "This isn't the right time."

He said he was open to discussing smaller steps, such as helping to ease North Korea's humanitarian problems, but that, in general, the U.S. wants sanctions to remain.

"There are various smaller deals that maybe could happen," Trump said.

"You could work out step-by-step pieces, but at this moment, we're talking about the big deal. The big deal is we have to get rid of the nuclear weapons."

Negotiations on Pyongyang's nuclear program appear to be stalled, and there is uncertainty over whether Kim is considering backing out of talks or restarting nuclear and missile tests. The Korean Central News Agency on Thursday said that at a party meeting on Wednesday, Kim stressed "self-reliance" in his country to "deal a telling blow to the hostile forces" that "go with bloodshot eyes miscalculating that sanctions can bring" North Korea "to its knees."

Moon said it's important to maintain the "momentum of dialogue" and express a positive outlook to the international community that a "third U.S.-North Korea summit" will be held.

"I'd like to express my high regard for how you have continued to express your trust towards Chairman Kim," Moon said. "And also, you have made sure that North Korea does not deviate from the dialogue track."

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The United States and North Korea have accused each other of causing the Hanoi summit's breakdown. But they haven't formally abandoned diplomacy. Moon, a liberal who facilitated U.S.-North Korea diplomacy last year, told Trump that he would push for an inter-Korean summit with Kim, according to Moon's office. Moon met Kim three times last year.

At the White House, Moon did not publicly address the issue of sanctions. But several North Korea watchers, including Sue Mi Terry, a North Korean expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former Asia analyst at the CIA, said Moon is trying to persuade Trump to agree to ease some sanctions to keep the talks alive.

While Trump didn't rule out a third summit with Kim following his earlier two meetings with him in Singapore and Hanoi, Victor Cha, a North Korea expert from the Bush administration, wasn't as hopeful.

With Trump already campaigning for re-election, Cha said, "It's hard for me to think Trump will risk a third summit."

Trump walked away from making a deal with Kim at their meeting in late February. Trump said Kim was asking for sanctions relief without wanting to fully dismantle all his nuclear weapons programs. There is ongoing debate over whether harsh sanctions can pressure Kim to denuclearize or will keep him away from the negotiating table.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday that the administration was fully engaged in efforts to negotiate a resolution to the nuclear standoff.

"We are going to keep at it," he said. But there have been no public accounts of any progress since the Hanoi summit.

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., assessed the denuclearization talks as "stuck on first base." Merkley said the North Koreans had continued developing their missile program and were finding ways to circumvent economic sanctions strangling its economy. He cited a U.N. panel of experts that warned on March 5 that there has been a "massive increase in illegal ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum products and coal" rendering the latest U.N. sanctions "ineffective."

A senior administration official said Thursday that the U.S. and the international community had "clearly defined the scope" of North Korea's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, have a shared understanding of what final, fully verified denuclearization entails and what meaningful progress toward that goal looks like. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations, said the North Korean position, so far, has fallen short of that understanding.

North Korea's Deputy Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said last month that Kim would soon make clear his post-Hanoi position. She said her country might pull out of the nuclear negotiations with the United States, citing a lack of corresponding steps to some disarmament measures North Korea took last year. She also hinted that Kim was considering whether to continue the talks and his moratorium on nuclear and missile tests.
By Patricia Zengerle and Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said on Thursday he was still trying to determine the best way to respond to the October murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at a Saudi consulate, but described the kingdom as an important U.S. ally against Iran. "We're trying to figure out the best way to" respond, McConnell said at a roundtable meeting with reporters. "Obviously what clearly happened is outrageous and unacceptable. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia's an important ally against the Iranians. So it is a difficult problem to figure out exactly the most appropriate response." Members of Congress, including some Senate Republicans as well as Democrats, have been clamoring for Republican President Donald Trump to take a stronger line against Saudi Arabia. They are concerned not just about the death of Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and Washington Post columnist killed in October at a Saudi consulate in Turkey, but also the heavy toll on civilians of the war in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is battling Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. A CIA assessment has blamed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for ordering Khashoggi's killing. Riyadh denies the prince had any involvement in the murder. Lawmakers have introduced legislation seeking to impose sanctions on Saudi officials, but they have failed to advance in the Senate. McConnell would not say whether he foresaw votes on those measures. "It's a tough situation," he said. McConnell also predicted that the Senate, where Republicans hold a slim majority, would sustain Trump's expected veto of a resolution that would end U.S. involvement with the Saudi-led coalition in the war in Yemen. The war powers resolution passed the House of Representatives last week, in a historic rebuke of Trump's policy of continued support for Saudi Arabia. Having already passed the Senate, the measure was sent to the White House, where Trump is expected to issue the second veto of his presidency. It was the first time both chambers of Congress supported a War Powers resolution, which limits the president's ability to send U.S. troops into action without the consent of Congress. "I think the veto will be sustained," McConnell said. McConnell said he did not agree with this use of the war powers act, because the United States does not have troops on the ground in Yemen. The U.S. military is providing targeting assistance to the Saudi-led coalition. Overriding a veto requires two-thirds majorities in both the Senate and House. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Richard Cowan; Editing by Leslie Adler)
Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks.



WikiLeaks creator Julian Assange was arrested in London on Thursday and faces extradition to the U.S. over a charge of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. But lawyers not connected to the case said the single count brought by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia isnt a lock, and connecting communications and interactions will be crucial to proving conspiracy.



The charge, which was originally filed under seal March 6, 2018, alleges Assange and former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning agreed to hack a password on a government computer. The cracked password, the government alleges, would have allowed Manning to log into government computers under a different username to access documents to share with Assange without the activity being traced to her.



As Assange is held in U.K. custody, prosecutors first hurdle may be securing his extradition from the United Kingdom.



Per the European Convention on Human Rights, extradition may be refused if Assanges offense is punishable with capital punishment, said Foley & Lardner partner and national security lawyer Christopher Swift. However, the maximum penalty for conspiracy to commit computer intrusion under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is five years, according to the Eastern District of Virginia press release announcing the charge.



If Assange finally lands on American soil, prosecutors will most likely use computer forensics and digital communications to connect Assange to conspiring to hack government computers.



What I would expect is the government to have some communications that help them to paint the picture of the conspiracy that is alleged here and be pieced together with the actions that Manning took and show a timeline of actions, coordination and communication, said Mayer Brown partner and former Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Marcus Christian.



According to the indictment, "Assange indicated to Manning that he had been trying to crack the password by stating that he had 'no luck so far.'" Such correspondence and Manning and Assange allegedly communicating through online chat services may indicate the DOJ has evidence of more conversations.



"They talk about specific communications between Assange and Manning and specific password cracking attempts," said Christopher Ott, a Davis Wright Tremaine partner and former senior counterintelligence and cyber counsel with the U.S. Department of Justice's National Security Division. He added, "If it proves as direct as they describe, it could still be a hard case but it could be relatively straightforward."



The actual publishing of stolen government files to Wikileaks will also help prosecutors to prove conspiracy, a lawyer said.



Part of being able to build a conspiracy case is to establish that there is an underlying crime (or at least the planning and preparation for an underlying crime) because criminal charges like aiding and abetting and conspiracy are a form of secondary liability that can ride on the coattails of the underlying criminal offense, said Fenwick & West of counsel and former federal prosecutor Hanley Chew.



On the defense's side, Assanges counsel will argue the facts and poke holes in the sequence of events that the government must show to get a conviction, Swift added.



Assanges lawyers have already said the arrest sets a dangerous precedent for journalists' rights, according to ABC News.



The American Civil Liberties Union and freedom of the press organizations issued statements condemning the charge against Assange. The ACLU said in part, "While there is no First Amendment right to crack a government password, this indictment characterizes as part of a criminal conspiracy the routine and protected activities journalists often engage in as part of their daily jobs, such as encouraging a source to provide more information."



In 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice decided not to pursue charges against Assange over publishing classified information because it would also have to prosecute other news organizations and journalists whove published classified material, according to a 2013 article in The Washington Post.



However, a First Amendment defense may be unsuccessful against the governments claim of a conspiracy to hack into unauthorized government files, said Fenwick & West of counsel Chew.



He could definitely try that claim, but Im not sure how successful it might be because I think as a journalist theres a line between getting a tip from someone and actively helping someone to commit a crime to get information."
ADEN (Reuters) - Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who lives in Saudi Arabia while rival Houthi forces control the capital Sanaa, made a rare visit to his country on Saturday for a meeting of the divided parliament in a loyalist southern province. In Sanaa, however, the Houthis have started to organize elections to fill 24 vacant seats in the same parliament, state news agency SABA said. Both sides are under pressure from international players to implement a United Nations-sponsored ceasefire deal agreed last year in Sweden and to prepare for a wider political dialogue that would end the four-year-old war. Lawmakers from both sides would ultimately meet to agree on a political framework. Hadi's Riyadh-backed government, which is still recognized internationally, has been based in the southern port city of Aden since 2015 and Hadi has not set foot there since a visit last August. Hadi-aligned parliamentarians gathered in Sayun, Hadramout province on Saturday elected Sultan al-Burkani of the General People's Congress (GPC) of late Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh as their new speaker. The Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Houthis in the devastating war has been trying to recruit GPC members and fighters since Saleh was killed in December 2017 after switching sides away from the Houthis. "This extraordinary session is held in a historic moment as we stand in a crossroad between choices of war and peace," Hadi told the 145 parliamentarians meeting in Sayun. "We support the U.N. special envoy to achieve a comprehensive peace," he said. In Sanaa, Houthi Prime Minister Abdelaziz Bin Habtour put forward plans for an election under Houthi auspices for the same parliament. "Voters will elect who will represent them constitutionally and legally," he said, quoted by SABA. Last December in Stockholm, the two sides agreed on a ceasefire and troop withdrawal in Hodeidah port, an exchange of prisoners, and the reopening of humanitarian corridors to help millions of starving Yemenis, with international monitors to oversee events. The pact is intended to clear the way for wider political negotiations, with a transitional government supported by both sides, to end the war. The Saudi-led coalition has accused the Iran-aligned Houthis of breaching the agreement. The Houthis want more guarantees from the United Nations that the other side will not exploit their withdrawal. The ceasefire in Hodeidah has largely held despite an increase in violence in other parts of the country not subject to the agreement. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen's civil war in 2015 to restore Hadi's government, but the war has reached a military stalemate. Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been killed and an economic collapse has left about 16 million facing severe hunger. (Reporting By Mohamed Ghobari, additional reporting and writing by Aziz El Yaakoubi, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
After the morning recess is over, the fourth-grade students of the Israeli Arab city of Umm al-Fahm's Kahawish elementary school file into their 11am class where they are greeted by their Hebrew teacher Ital Levy, the only Jewish teacher at the school.

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Levy, an Afula resident with 12 years of teaching experience, practices an ultra-Orthodox lifestyle. For the last three years, she has been teaching Hebrew at three different schools in Umm al-Fahm, following a career change.

Ital Levy in class (Photo: Elad G)

Two years into her new job, she was offered the position of principal at a new school in Afula, but she refused.

Levy came to be a teacher in the Arab city following a personal crisis.

"One day while surfing the web I came across a wanted ad for Hebrew-speaking teachers at schools in the Arab sector," she says. "I realized it was something I was unfamiliar with and that it was an entirely different angle of education."

(Photo: Elad G)

Shortly afterward, Levy found herself at a job interview in the town of Jat, northeast of Netanya. They were taken aback when they saw that she was a clearly very religious woman and asked her a few times whether she understood that the job was in Umm al-Fahm. But she was undeterred, "I have no doubt that I did the right thing."

News of her hiring caused a stir among the other teachers at the school and she was told that it would be strange for her, but her fellow educators soon expressed their support.

The school principal explained that parents were a little uneasy at first. "Some asked why it had to be a religious teacher But they did not cause her any problems. They were impressed by the concern she showed for the students. Every time a student missed school, Ital would call the parents to clarify the reason of the absence."

Sometimes, after terror attacks, the pupils would ask questions and it was somewhat awkward. But she earned their trust and the children hold her in high esteem now. "She is a very good teacher," says one student. "previously, we didnt know Hebrew well and now we know it very well."

Many of Levy's friends and family also expressed surprise upon hearing where she works. "It raises eyebrows," she says. "My mother was a bit concerned, but she was also sure that I would be alright. There is something about me that makes for closing gaps and building bridges between people. It is a part of me," she says.

Levy does not disregard what she calls "harsh stigmas about the Arab sector, especially this place. Let's put it on the table: Umm al-Fahm and terrorism go hand in hand in the Israeli consciousness and it is entirely mistaken. Many people ask me if I travel with a weapon or with an escort (for security); they ask me what I did in the military and if I am sure that I will be okay. Yes, I am doing fine here. I dont need an army escort and I am free to go anywhere here. I travel in the city with my car, buy clothing and visit friends."

Her students ask her questions, mainly about religion. Levy looks like a religious woman and the students notice. They ask her if she prays daily, which God she believes in, whether she can say "Allahu akbar" (God is great in Arabic), how do Jews pray, what a synagogue looks like, what are the black straps that Orthodox men wrap around their arms during morning prayers, why she covers her hair, why is Jerusalem important to Jews like it is for Muslims and, "why do Haredim hate Arabs more than other Jews do?"

Despite the positive feedback Levy has experienced, sometimes the harsh reality hits home. In July 2017 three terrorists from Umm al-Fahm killed two Israeli Druze policemen at the Temple Mount complex in Jerusalem. The prime minister ordered that the mourning tent set up for the attackers who were killed be disassembled.

(Photo: Elad G)

When the school year began in September, some of the students were upset at seeing her. She discovered that some of them were present when the police came to take down the mourning tent and the children witnessed the confrontation between residents and the police.

"I thought it would be an opportunity to break the stigma and to have a productive conversation about the complex situation, and after a few days I brought up the topic and said that I wanted to talk about how I felt, that they did not accept me and that I understood that it was hard for them because of the difficult experience and that they view me as representative of the people involved," Levy says.

"I invited them to talk about it and to tell how they experienced it. It was a productive dialogue and it was resolved. Later, we went to Mini-Israel together, and they managed to speak to the instructor in Hebrew. I completed the school year with this class and I even came to their graduation ceremony, during the month of Ramadan, in a hall in the middle of Umm al-Fahm. I came because it was important for me to be part of their special day."

Levy is a graduate of Oranim College and intends to continue teaching in Umm al-Fahm next year as well. Despite efforts by the Education Ministry to increase the number of Jewish teachers in the Arab sector, progress has been slow. "We believe that one who speaks the language fluently should be the one teaching it," said Mai Aro, director of the language department at the Abraham Fund.

Aro directs a program aimed at increasing Hebrew language studies among Arab students through Jewish teachers. However, only 22 such teachers teach at 33 Arab sector schools as of yet.

"Arab teachers should be teaching Arabic in Jewish schools and Jewish teachers should teach Hebrew in Arab schools. It is only natural and proper. The teachers teach language as well as culture and that is how its done around the world it is a start," Aro says.

Levy with her students (Photo: Elad G)

In 2015, shortly after becoming education minister, Naftali Bennett announced a new program aimed at strengthening the Hebrew language among Arab pupils. However, recently released data casts doubt on the efficiency and success of the program and more than a third of Arab students tested were found lacking in their Hebrew skills.

591 teachers took part in the project and 32% of them said that the quality of their teaching material was insufficient and that they themselves suffer from not enough hours on the job.

"We must distinguish between the spoken language and grammar," says Levy. "Grammar is indeed taught at a high level but the ability to speak the language remains lacking. If students' complete grade six without experiencing spoken Hebrew, their ability to master the language is severely hindered."

The lack of exposure to spoken Hebrew means that the children are at a disadvantage with regards to learning the language. "They can learn and read books, but it is not the same as mingling with the Jewish population and being exposed to the language," said Qabha Mahajneh, a school administrator.

Arab educators admit that more spoken Hebrew practice is necessary. "If Jewish teachers are interested let them come," says Levy. "I believe that the benefit is mutual because you get to explore a world that is physically so close but mentally remote. I want to remain here, I received other offers, but I turned them down."
The concept of inner faith exists in Judaism as well as Islam, but the concept is understood differently in the two religions. Elhanan Miller, an Orthodox Jew, and Thana Jawabreh, an Arab Muslim, created the "close neighbor" project, a series of videos uploaded to the People of the Book YouTube channel, intended to create an interdenominational and cultural bridge between Jews and Muslims in Israel.

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Here, the two discuss their faith, its interpretations and what it means to them as people.

"I like to say that I am religious," Jawabreh says. "There are people who are just Muslims, without any commitment. They were born Muslim but are essentially secular."

Miller and Jawabreh

"Both religions are focused on faith, and then there are the ritual commandments required to lead a religious life," says Miller. "I wonder if the two can be separated. You (Muslims) also have words like 'religious,' 'committed,' and believer.' Can one be religious without believing in the whole narrative?"

Jawabreh: "I define myself as religious and there are some people who are mere Muslims. We have no equivalent in Islam to someone who is religious but does not believe in the whole religious narrative. A religious person believes in the entire narrative. They may have some reservations but not on the principles.

"Most people I meet among my crowd are more traditional and less religious. Some will not allow their daughters to be out later than seven or eight o'clock at night and are deliberate in their dress, but they won't call themselves religious but rather traditional."

Miller: "In Judaism, there are many devoutly religious people who accept without question every word of Jewish scripture. But those who study at university and engage in research know that there are frequently gaps between what science tells us about our history and the narrative conveyed by the Torah and Jewish texts. It can cause an identity crisis for religious people."

Miller says that he handles the issue by not concentrating on the big, cosmic issues. He prefers to not focus on the essence of God and the question of divine justice:

"In the 20th century, with all the wars and disasters that have taken place for us and the Muslims, it is very difficult to talk about a God who is just, at least in the way we understand such concepts of 'good' and 'justice.' It's much more complex than that. I am more attached to the concept of "observant," because as far as I am concerned, my connection to Judaism is expressed in practice and in this system of laws which I call Judaism.

"There is a widespread phenomenon of people abandoning their religious faith, ex-religious, who remove their head covering," Miller continues. "There is hardly a religious family that does not have at least one child who went through such a phase. It is a phenomenon that is swept under the rug, there is an aspect of shame involved, but it is widespread. Is there something similar among Muslims?"

Jawabreh: "The issue has not been investigated thoroughly. Recently, there have been quite a few women who have chosen to remove their head covering Go to Baka (al-Gharbiyeh) and see how the mother wears devout Muslim garb and her daughter is wearing jeans and a short-sleeved shirt with her hair down. Something about her mother's religiosity was not conveyed to her.

"I think there was a religious renaissance in the 80s, but it didnt last. If those women understood the religion something would have been passed on. But apparently there exists a mental block regarding the religious fundamentals. Universal ethics draw inspiration from our religions  Islam, Christianity and Judaism," she says.

Miller: "I believe that there is a problem with role models in religion. Children and young people lack role models and often, leaving religion stems from a feeling that adults are hypocritical. People avoid talking about their difficulties with religion and faith and it creates alienation among the youth. What we are trying to do with this project is discuss the personal experience in our religion in order to attract the young."

Jawabreh: "I think there is a problem of the inability to accept criticism within our religious community. If I have a problem with one verse in the Quran, leaving religion is still a far cry. But religious institutions have trouble accepting this; they should be examining the interpretation of the text and see if it remains appropriate.

Thana Jawabreh

"I always claimed that there is male domination of religion. For example, it is written in the Quran that a woman inherits half compared to the man, but in Arab society in Palestine and in other places women do not inherit at all. It is demeaning to have to ask for our rights from our parents who bequest their inheritance to the brothers. The clerics will not talk about it because it does not affect them," she adds.

Since her childhood in the northern town of Fureidis, Jawabreh has been careful to perform the five daily prayers required by Muslims. Similar to Orthodox Jewish feminists, she watched how her mother - a female cleric - made progress on the issue of Muslim women in the mosques.

"My mother always believed that women must see the imam (Muslim leader) during prayers otherwise the prayer is less valid. She always said that a mosque should not be two stories high so that if one sees that the imam made a mistake, they can notify him. For example, the bow which is essential to the prayer ceremony (must be performed correctly) and a woman must know this.

"So, my mother opened the first women's mosque in our town and she leads the prayers for the women. She stands in front and the others are in rows behind her," she said.

Adherents of Islam are required to perform five prayers daily. The morning prayer is called Fajr and is performed shortly before sunrise. The second, Zuhr, is performed just after midday; the third prayer, Asr, is performed in the afternoon; the fourth, Maghrib, after sunset and the final prayer, Isha, is performed at night.

Devotees of both Judaism and Islam both face difficulties waking up for morning prayers and if you thought that the Muezzin (who recites the call to prayer over loudspeakers) is the solution, "the Muezzin simply does not do his job, "she says. "I understand that his calls may not be so pleasant for Muslim ears but he does not wake us."

Some Muslims combine two prayers that are performed adjacent to one another, similar to how some Jews perform the Mincha service just before sundown and then pray the evening Ma'ariv evening service, all in one synagogue visit.

"Our prayers are different than yours because it is not merely the recitation of texts but rather it is about a dialogue with God," Jawabreh says. "(In Judaism) part of our prayers consist of supplications," interjects Miller, "but the prayers are not always personal, they are phrased generically."

In Islam its a bit different. "There are texts that allow for improvisation, you can say whatever is on your heart. We also have supplications which involve submission to God and talking to him through your heart," she says.

"How do Muslims decide which Quranic verses to recite?" asks Miller.

Jawabreh: "The Quran consists of 114 chapters and the final chapter has a number of short verses. Many Muslims, myself among them, find it easy to remember those verses and recite them during prayers. The more pious Muslims recite longer verses in their prayers."

"There exists some tension between spontaneous prayer and prayers that are set in established prepared texts," says Miller. "Oftentimes we find ourselves automatically reciting our prayers mindlessly, with rote repetition, and our head is in another place. How do you make yourself focus?

Jawabreh nods in agreement. "It's the same by us and I believe that we are not praying correctly Prayer should be combined with meditation, which I recently began doing and I fell that it strengthens my connection with God. During prayers, I think about life, about the children and work I want to further work on combining prayer and meditation."

Miller makes an effort to pray with a minyan (quorum of 10 men), at least on Fridays and Saturdays, similar to how Muslims gather at the mosque on Friday. Jawabreh explains that in Islam, praying together has a special potency. "They say that Satan cannot enter a group of people, therefore it is advised that men, not necessarily women, pray together in a mosque and not at home.

"Our women dont need to go to the mosque for prayers; it is incumbent on men. We women pray at home but we can pray together at home," she adds. "I recall my mother would lead the prayers and we would stand behind her. On Friday's women go to the mosque to pray on the second floor, but the (male) sheikh leads the prayers."

Elhanan Miller is a journalist, researcher and student of Jewish law at the Harel Academy in Jerusalem.
The arched stone-built hall in Jerusalem venerated by Christians as the site of Jesus' Last Supper has been digitally recreated by archaeologists using laser scanners and advanced photography.

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The Cenacle, a popular site for pilgrims near Jerusalem's walled Old City, has ancient, worn surfaces and poor illumination, hampering a study of its history.

Stained glass window in the Cenacle

So researchers from Israel's Antiquities Authority and European research institutions used laser technology and advanced photographic techniques to create richly detailed three-dimensional models of the hall built in the Crusader era.

General view of the Cenacle

The project helped highlight obscure artwork and decipher some theological aspects of the second-floor room, built above what Jewish tradition says is the burial site of King David.

Pilgrims visit Last Supper site

"We managed, in one of the ... holiest places in Jerusalem, to use this technology and this is a breakthrough," Amit Re'em, Jerusalem district archaeologist at the Israel Antiquities Authority, told Reuters of the project, which began in 2016.

Holy lamb or Agnus Dei on a keystone

Re'em pointed to reliefs of what he described as the symbols of the "Agnus Dei", a lamb that is an emblem of Christ, and the "Lion of Judah" on keystones in the hall's vaulted ceiling.

Last Supper hall

"It tells the story of this room," Re'em said.

Crosses left by pilgrims

"It delivers the message of the Last (Supper) Room, Christ as a Messiah, as victorious, as a victim - and the lion, the lion is a symbol of the Davidic dynasty. They combine together in this room."

3D model of Cenacle

Some archaeologists have questioned whether the room is the actual venue of the Last Supper, the final meal which the New Testament says Jesus shared with disciples before his crucifixion.

Jewish worshippers visit King David's tomb

Ilya Berkovitch, a historian at the INZ research institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences who worked on the project, said the endeavor opens "incredibly new horizons" with enormous potential.
The next Israeli government will apparently be made up of right-wing-parties, and people in the West Bank are expecting an even more hardline coalition when it comes to Palestinians and their rights.

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Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said in a statement on Wednesday that the results of Tuesdays vote confirmed the persistence of what she called Israels racism and extremism.

PLO official Hanan Ashrawi (Photo: Reuters)

Ashrawi said that policies during previous governments headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were based on hate speech and aimed at causing Israeli citizens to trust the Palestinians even less, and thus mold their choice of representatives.

She stressed that the election results thwarted any prospects for peace, and clearly showed that Israelis reject the idea of establishing a Palestinian state, and supporting additional settlement activity in the West Bank, something she termed a continuation of challenging international laws and norms, and the will of the international community.

A West Bank settlement (Photo: Reuters)

She said Netanyahu would continue exercising his extremist and militarist agenda with blind support from the US and its president, Donald Trump, who did not hesitate to support his ally and enable the Israeli prime minister to extend his stewardship.

Moen al-Taher, a Jordanian political analyst, accuses the Israeli right of moving toward apartheid and said next government would not provide a solution for peace with the Palestinian people.

The possibilities of peace and the two-state solution are no longer available, Taher said, going so far as to predict that in 2019, Israel would be incorporating all of its illegal settlements in the West Bank, if not the whole of the West Bank, as part of the country.

President Reuven Rivlin votes in the Israeli elections, April 9, 2019 (Photo: GPO)

Hanna Issa, a Palestinian political analyst, said that the election results had to do with Israeli demographics, where the majority of the population was right-wing, and claimed that the US had influenced the election outcome.

Its not a coincidence that American Republicans living in Israel are hoping to hold a general conference in Jerusalem this year for all Republican expats, he said. At the end of the day, the United States wont leave Israel to decide for itself, nor fframe a solution for the Middle East.

Issa said that with background of the so-called deal-of-the-century, which is how people are referring to a Mideast peace plan by the Trump Administration that is still under wraps, would focus on achieving economic development in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip  without any political progress.

There will be no talk about a future Palestinian state, he said. The Israeli right doesnt believe in the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

Article written by Dima Abumaria
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said: "For most businesses, the "flextension" agreed by the European Council will be preferable to deadlines that are repeatedly moved forward at the last possible moment. Businesses will be relieved, but their frustration with this seemingly endless political process is palpable."

Carolyn Fairbairn, Director-General of Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said: "This new extension means that an imminent economic crisis has been averted, but it needs to mark a fresh start. More of the same will just mean more chaos this autumn."

The CBI Joint Business Council, which is the voice of business across Ireland and Northern Ireland, said that many businesses had already incurred massive costs due to Brexit contingency planning and these would continue to escalate due to ongoing uncertainty.

CEO of British manufacturers' organization Make UK Stephen Phipson noted about the economic damage that no-deal preparations are having on many small and medium-sized firms. "They have had to invest heavily in building up and maintaining stockpiles of parts and materials at great cost. Having to pay for warehousing and storage for many more months will come as a heavy blow," he said.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said: "Uncertainty has already caused serious damage -- car plants are on enforced shutdown, investment has been cut and jobs lost."

Catherine McGuinness, Policy Chair at the City of London Corporation, warned that sustained uncertainty may result in more businesses moving jobs and operations away from the UK. "It is vital that politicians in the UK and EU come together to agree a withdrawal deal that puts people and business first and provides much needed certainty," she said.
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New Delhi: Jet Airways crew members and air hostesses have applied for new jobs in the national carrier -- Air India.

A few days back, Air India had announced the recruitment of crew members in its fleet.

Debt-laden Jet Airways, facing the worst time in 25 years, on Friday announced the suspension of international flights till Monday (April 15) due to the non-payment of outstanding bills to its lessors.

Air India spokesperson said: "AI is looking for 1,200 crew members. In the first phase after the written test, 514 crew members have been short-listed. The recruitment process is under process."

Sources in Air India also said: "Around 150 crew members have applied for jobs from Jet Airways. Most of the crew has been shortlisted, but the selection of those crew is yet to be finalised."

Not only Jet Airways, sources said in Air India, that applicants are also from Vistara as Vistara crew members are looking for international routes, which the airline has not yet started.

Air India has faced crew shortage for its long haul flights like flights to New York and San Francisco. Air India has currently around 4,000 crew members.
New Delhi: Employees of cash-strapped Jet Airways on Saturday protested outside Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) here seeking the release of pending salaries.

The beleaguered airline, which is flying just six-seven aircraft on Saturday, has asked its lenders to grant some "interim funding". Its employees are expecting to be paid their pending salaries once the fresh funding comes through.

Delhi: Employees of Jet Airways, including pilots, flight attendants & ground staff, demonstrate at Delhi Airport against Jet Airways' Management over non-payment of their salaries. pic.twitter.com/njFf3M0v6q  ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2019

Employees of Jet Airways gathered outside Terminal 3 in their uniform for a silent protest on Saturday afternoon. They carried banners that read " Save Jet Airways, Save our future" and "Hear our cry, Let 9W fly".

9W is the code for Jet Airways flights, just like 6E is for IndiGo flights.

On Friday, Jet Airways employees took out a silent march in Mumbai.

Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola had earlier said that the airline would fly just 6-7 aircraft on Saturday and Sunday. At its peak, the airline flew a 119-aircraft fleet.

On Monday, the lenders - led by SBI - would again meet the management of Jet Airways which will present a plan to use the "interim funding", if granted.

Jet Airways on Thursday grounded its services to and from the East and Northeast regions and suspended its international operations till Monday. Consequently, many passengers were left stranded at the airports.
It's a new day, a new beginning. Its all about starting life afresh. So as you begin a new journey, find out what the stars have in store for you today. There are twelve zodiac signs and each has its distinct feature. Be it, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces - each of the signs has something unique to tell.

Check out today's predictions by Sundeep Kochar.

Aries

Today you will feel confident and you will experience a lot of luck today People who are in the field of finance, investment and banking will find lot of success. Your love life needs some attention and spends some quality time with your family. Overall a good day ahead.

Taurus

You will find some financial success today. Try to be grounded and not invest in risky financial investments. You may try to start some new project or investment and do not start blindly or sign any legal documents blindly. Your health may need more attention.

Gemini

You may turn too engrossed with your personal relationships, that you may also lose some potential chances in your professional life. You may encounter with some situations, where you must invest more money in your present business.

Cancer

If you are not enough vigilant, you may give a bigger amount of compensation. You will able to understand the importance of freedom in relationship today. Do not stress yourself, because there are high chances of your falling sick. Do not forget to consult your personal physician after alternate intervals.

Leo

You would be very vocal about your feelings and express them at ease. There will be some intense moments of love in your life and you would enjoy it all. Your new ideas and creativity will make new paths for you in your career.

Virgo

If you are involved in a business, where you need to communicate with your clients frequently, you are on the right paths. New challenges will provoke you to excel yourself and that is the guiding force for you for today. You would spend a lot of time with family and do every bit to make them happy.

Libra

Love will inspire you to become creative especially for those who are in writing or painting job.The optimism in you will rise and you will realize that achieving your dreams isn't that difficult.

Finances will have a moderate flow all through the day. Try to put some halt to secondary expenses.

Scorpio

People from the technology field will have a very good time today.It's always better to save some money for future crisis even if you don't face them. There will be tremendous ups and downs in your relationship. Try to control your inner self in order to avoid mood swings.

Sagittarius

You may find yourself in a complex situation today, but do not lose your patience.If you are single, you can meet with your soul mate today.You will gain your partner's trust easily.

Capricorn

Despite having a busy professional life, you will have enough time to indulge in creativity.

If you are into a relationship, then you may have to indulge in frequent dialogues and discussions with your partner.

If you are planning to tie the knot, the day will be favourable for you.

Aquarius

Multiple avenues will open for you. Don't get baffled by it and choose wisely the way that suits you the best.

There could be a change in job which might take you across borders.

You will be full of love to offer to others all through the day. You will be very protective about your partner.

Pisces

Professional life would boom and will bring new projects at your door step.

You can also look forward to new environment and celebrations.

You may be migrating to new place or there would be remarkable change in the current location.
New Delhi: Around 14 officials, including an ACP, were injured after clashes broke out between security personnel and local scrap dealers during a sealing drive in west Delhi's Mayapuri area Saturday, leading to a political slugfest between the ruling AAP and the BJP.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) shared a video on Twitter purportedly showing security personnel resorting to stone pelting, which Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal dubbed as "extremely shameful".

"It is extremely shameful that the citizens are being treated in this manner by the Centre. The trader community has always supported the BJP with money as well as with votes. But in return, the Centre-led police brutally beat up the traders sending a clear message that they do not want the community's support in the upcoming polls," the chief minister tweeted.

Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit also "condemned" the use of force by police and blamed the Centre and BJP-led civic bodies for sealing. BJP leader and Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri said the violence was due to the "failure" of the Kejriwal government and that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order to seal the polluting units in Mayapuri came only after the AAP dispensation's "inaction" in relocating the scrap industry.

On Saturday morning, a sealing drive was started by the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), Delhi Cantonment, along with the staff of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) in the Mayapuri scrap market in pursuance of the NGT order, a senior police official said.

"Some scrap dealers started protesting against the sealing. They got violent and resorted to stone pelting. Security personnel retaliated with baton-charge but did not pelt stones on the protestors," the police official added.

The sealing drive came after the NGT slammed the Delhi government Thursday for not acting against illegal scrap industries in Mayapuri that cause pollution.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel had directed the chief secretary and the chairman and member secretary, Delhi Pollution Control Committee, to respond why they should not be jailed and prosecuted if illegal activities were not stopped and people kept suffering on account of illegal activities.

The green panel has also ordered the officials to appear before it on May 3 with a compliance report. "Sealing drive was carried out following the directions of the NGT," a senior Revenue Department official of the Delhi government said.

Police said 14 officials -- the SDM, an ACP, three DPCC employees and nine police personnel, including those of the Indo-Tibetan Police Force -- sustained injuries in the incident and had to be taken to a hospital.

On the ground, the situation remained tense. Several scrap dealers said the sealing was started without giving prior intimation to the traders. A number of scrap dealers even gathered outside the Mayapuri police station.

"The NGT has given a blanket order without distinguishing between polluting units and scrap dealers. Of the notices given to 812 units, only 30 units lead to pollution," a scrap dealer said, requesting anonymity.

Another trader said the order was passed by the NGT without doing a proper survey of units leading to pollution. A third trader said the sealing was conducted while traders were performing a puja on the account of 'navratra' which irked a few of them.

One of the largest scrap markets of Asia, Mayauri, located between the Delhi Cantonment and west Delhi's Hari Nagar, has more than 2,000 small and big units. The incident also gave ammo to the political parties ahead of the Lok Sabha polls scheduled in the national capital on May 12. ?

Terming the incident as "horrific", the AAP hit out at the Centre by drawing a comparison with the Jallianwallah Bagh massacre, whose centenary is being observed on Saturday.

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place in Amritsar during the Baisakhi festival on April 13, 1919, when troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer opened fire at a crowd of people holding a pro-independence demonstration, leaving several dead and scores injured.

"Horrifying!!! General Dyer Modi's police brutally pelting stones on the citizens in Mayapuri, Delhi," the AAP tweeted Saturday and shared a video clip purportedly showing the incident.

Union minister Puri said Kejriwal bears the entire responsibility of the violence as his government did not come up with a proper rehabilitation plan for Mayapuri's scrap units. On Kejriwal blaming the Centre for the incident, Puri said, "The chief minister was a liar."
Gandhinagar: The Indian marine forces intercepted a boat carrying 100 kilograms of heroin and arrested nine Iranian nationals in a joint operation conducted off the Gujarat coast, said reports on Saturday.

According to news agency ANI, the joint operation was conducted by the Anti-Terrorist Squad, Coast Guard and the Marine Task Force.

The Iranians smugglers, arrested by the Indian marine forces, set their boat on fire in order to destroy evidence.

The rescuers tried to douse the fire but failed.

The boat, which was being used to smuggle heroin, later sank in the deep water.

The nine Iranians were immediately arrested and taken for interrogation.

It may be recalled that the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) had last month seized 5 kg heroin from a boat off the Porbandar coast.

In a statement, the ATS said that the consignment was to be received by an Indian fishing boat and further to be brought to the Indian coast.

The heroin syndicate originated from Pakistan and obtained opium from Afghanistan which was then converted into heroin.

The Pakistani syndicate was forced to find new routes to smuggle heroin outside that country because of increased vigil by a Combined Task Force-150 (a multi-national coalition naval task force) in the North Arabian Sea and Horn of Africa area, the ATS said.
President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday paid their tributes to the victims of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. April 13, 2019, marks the 100th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, in which British forces led by Brigadier General Reginald Dyer opened fire on hundreds of Indians protesting against the oppressive Rowlatt Act of the British government in Amritsar.

"A 100 years ago today, our beloved freedom fighters were martyred at Jallianwala Bagh. A horrific massacre, a stain on civilisation, that day of sacrifice can never be forgotten by India. At this solemn moment, we pay our tribute to the immortals of Jallianwala #PresidentKovind," President Kovind tweeted.

A 100 years ago today, our beloved freedom fighters were martyred at Jallianwala Bagh. A horrific massacre, a stain on civilisation, that day of sacrifice can never be forgotten by India. At this solemn moment, we pay our tribute to the immortals of Jallianwala #PresidentKovind pic.twitter.com/tNt0v5aFWv  President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) April 13, 2019

"Today, when we observe 100 years of the horrific Jallianwala Bagh massacre, India pays tributes to all those martyred on that fateful day. Their valour and sacrifice will never be forgotten. Their memory inspires us to work even harder to build an India they would be proud of," the Prime Minister wrote on Twitter.

Today, when we observe 100 years of the horrific Jallianwala Bagh massacre, India pays tributes to all those martyred on that fateful day. Their valour and sacrifice will never be forgotten. Their memory inspires us to work even harder to build an India they would be proud of. pic.twitter.com/jBwZoSm41H  Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 13, 2019

Congress president Rahul Gandhi visited the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial to pay homage and he was accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and state minister Navjot Singh Sidhu.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi lays wreath at #JallianwalaBagh memorial on commemoration of 100 years of the massacre. Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh and state minister Navjot Singh Sidhu also present. #JallianwalaBaghCentenary pic.twitter.com/nEae7OUKHv  ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2019

British High Commissioner to India Sir Dominic Asquith also laid the wreath at the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial and penned a message on the visitor's book, which read, "The events of Jallianwala Bagh 100 years ago today reflects a shameful act in the British-Indian history. We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused. I am pleased today that the UK and India have and remain committed to developing further a thriving 21st century partnership."

Amritsar: British High Commissioner to India Sir Dominic Asquith lays wreath at #JalianwalaBagh memorial on commemoration of 100 years of the massacre. #Punjab pic.twitter.com/qDY0oKVJNA  ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2019

Meanwhile, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu will arrive in Amritsar on Saturday afternoon for the main function to commemorate the 100 years of the massacre.

Hundreds of people holding candles and the national flag marched through Amritsar on Friday, on the eve of the centenary. Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore, CM Amarinder Singh, cabinet minister Om Prakash Soni and others, including members of the families of those killed in the massacre, joined the candlelight march.

Earlier this week, British Prime Minister Theresa May told the British parliament that "the tragedy of Jallianwala Bagh in 1919 is a shameful scar on British Indian history."

(With agencies inputs)
Four men allegedly gangraped a woman in a moving car in Lucknow's Shahid Path area and later dumped her in Telibagh road recently.

The woman, daughter of a retired cop, was sent for medical examination and a case has been registered against the accused.

The victim, who identified her alleged rapists as Babloo, Kashiram, JP Gupta and Harish, said that they took turns to rape her over an hour in the moving car.

The victim's father hails from Malihabad and he retired from the police department in 2013. The victim had allegedly given Rs 50,000 to Babloo and Kashiram to provide her with a job. However, after one year, when she failed to get a job, she asked for the money from them. On the pretext of returning her the money, they called her near Vibhuti Khand.

She also added that upon her arrival at the pre-decided location on Thursday evening, she saw Babloo in the car and when she moved towards him, the others pushed her inside the car.
The Income Tax Department did not carry out raids at the residence and temple of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda's family priest. "No such search or checking of any sort has been done by the Income Tax department in Karnataka," I-T Public Relation Officer (PRO) said in a press release, ANI reported.

The statement came after it was reported that I-T officials raided a Shiva temple at Deve Gowda`s native village Haradanahalli in Hassan district and also the priest's residence.

The priest had lodged a complaint against two unidentified persons who allegedly searched the Shiva temple and his house on Friday.

He said that two men, disguised as I-T sleuths apparently questioned him. They conducted searches ar Haradanahalli Shiva temple which is frequented by Deve Gowda.

"It is unfortunate that media persons connected to reputed media houses are spreading such unfounded stories without any attempt at verification," the statement released by the department added.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka Congress Committee unit said that they "strongly condemn the raids."

Last month, after raids were carried out in Karnataka, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy launched a scathing attack on PM Modi and termed it as the "real surgical strike." He also alleged that the prime minister is "misusing the Income Tax Department to threaten the political leaders of Karnataka from JDS and Congress during election time."

(With ANI inputs)
Amritsar: British High Commissioner to India Sir Dominic Asquith, who laid a wreath at the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial in Amritsar on Saturday, said that the massacre is a "shameful act" in British-Indian history.

Amritsar: British High Commissioner to India Sir Dominic Asquith lays wreath at #JalianwalaBagh memorial on commemoration of 100 years of the massacre. #Punjab pic.twitter.com/qDY0oKVJNA  ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2019

Saturday marks 100 years of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, in which hundreds of Indians were killed after the British army opened fire during a protest held there.

"The events of Jallianwala Bagh 100 years ago today reflects a shameful act in the British-Indian history. We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused. I am pleased today that the UK and India have and remain committed to developing further a thriving 21st century partnership," Asquith wrote in the visitors book at the memorial.

His statement comes days after British Prime Minister Theresa May described the massacre as a "shameful scar."

"The tragedy of Jallianwala Bagh of 1919 is a shameful scar on British Indian history. As Her Majesty the Queen (Elizabeth II) said before visiting Jallianwala Bagh in 1997, it is a distressing example of our past history with India," she said in her statement.

"We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused. I am pleased that today the UK-India relationship is one of collaboration, partnership, prosperity and security. Indian diaspora make an enormous contribution to British society and I am sure the whole House wishes to see the UK's relationship with India continue to flourish," she added.

Hundreds of people holding candles and the national flag marched through Amritsar on the eve of the centenary.

President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also paid their tributes to the victims.

A 100 years ago today, our beloved freedom fighters were martyred at Jallianwala Bagh. A horrific massacre, a stain on civilisation, that day of sacrifice can never be forgotten by India. At this solemn moment, we pay our tribute to the immortals of Jallianwala #PresidentKovind pic.twitter.com/tNt0v5aFWv  President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) April 13, 2019

Today, when we observe 100 years of the horrific Jallianwala Bagh massacre, India pays tributes to all those martyred on that fateful day. Their valour and sacrifice will never be forgotten. Their memory inspires us to work even harder to build an India they would be proud of. pic.twitter.com/jBwZoSm41H  Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 13, 2019

Rahul Gandhi, along with Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, reached Amritsar to pay tribute.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi lays wreath at #JallianwalaBagh memorial on commemoration of 100 years of the massacre. Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh and state minister Navjot Singh Sidhu also present. #JallianwalaBaghCentenary pic.twitter.com/nEae7OUKHv  ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2019

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu will attend the main function to commemorate the 100 years of the massacre.
In the last few weeks after India's airstrike in Balakot, Pakistan has resorted to more than five hundred ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to Indian Army's General-Officer-Commanding (GoC) of 16 Corps, Lt General Paramjit Singh, during this period situation arose, as many as hundred times, when Pakistan used weapons, that are generally used during wars, and targetted urban bases. The weapons used include heavy weaponry like mortars and artillery guns.

Speaking to reporters on 'Rajouri Day', he said that India responded to such attacks and Pakistan faced heavy losses.

Assuring the citizens he added that the Army is deployed along the LoC and in the last few weeks, India has promptly and effectively retaliated causing loss of lives to the soldiers of the Pakistan Army.

At least ten people, including four security personnel, have been killed and nearly 45 others, mostly civilians, injured in the twin districts since India's preemptive air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot on February 26 in response to the February 14 Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed.

He added that the enemy is plotting to spread terror in the peaceful areas of the Jammu region. He further assured that the Army, with the help of the people, will not allow them to succeed.

Lt Gen Singh joined the military and civil dignitaries to pay homage to the martyrs who laid down their lives for the liberation of Rajouri in 1948.

'Rajouri Day' is celebrated on April 13 every year to commemorate the bravery and valour of the soldiers who laid down their lives for the liberation of Rajouri district from rebels and Pakistan Army personnel who had infiltrated from across the border.

Lt Gen Singh and Advisor to Governor Kewal Kumar Sharma paid tributes to the heroes of Rajouri and were joined by other esteemed civil and military dignitaries who were present to grace the occasion, an official said.
Barmer: A wedding procession from the district has finally left for Pakistan`s Umarkot after a prolonged delay caused in the wake of Pulwama terror attack.

Mahendra Singh, the groom residing in Khejad Ka Paar village of Barmer, will tie the knot with Chagan Kanwar, a resident of Sinoi village in Pakistan`s Sindh province.

Rajasthan: A wedding procession leaves for Umarkot, Pakistan from Barmer. M Singh, groom (pic3) says, "My marriage was fixed for 8th March but because of tensions b/w two nations post Pulwama attack it was postponed. Now that there is peace again I'm going there, I'm happy"(12.4) pic.twitter.com/qaRxX35DzR  ANI (@ANI) April 12, 2019

Singh was supposed to get married on March 8 but had to cancel the plans amid mounting tensions between the two nations post-the February 14 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir`s Pulwama which claimed lives of 40 CRPF jawans.

Mahendra was to take the Thar Express to Pakistan to marry Chagan. But soaring tensions forced the two and the family to cancel the marriage for the time being. The groom had booked his tickets and was to depart for the nuptials. However, Singh could not go to Pakistan as the train, which runs between Pakistan`s Lahore and India`s Attari was not allowed to leave due to the suspension of service by Pakistan authorities.

Groom Mahendra told ANI, "My marriage was fixed for 8th March but because of tensions between the two nations post Pulwama attack it was postponed. Now that there is peace again I am going there and I am happy."

He will be now getting married on April 16.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday released a postage stamp and a coin commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Hundreds of innocent Indian lives were lost when British forces ordered to fire indiscriminately inside the Jallianwala Bagh in Punjab's Amritsar on April 13, 1919. The coin is worth Rs 100.

Offering tributes to the fallen, Naidu's message in the visitor's book at the memorial read, "I feel extremely humbled as I pay my homage to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives fighting the evil hegemony of the oppressive British rule. I salute the martyrs who sacrificed their lives on this very spot 100 years ago."

Accompanied by Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore, Naidu stood in silence at the memorial as contingents of the Punjab Police and the Border Security Force (BSF) reversed their arms to pay homage to those killed. Naidu also released a coin and a postal stamp to commemorate the event.

Saturday marked the centenary of the bloodbath in Jallianwala Bagh when British forces led by Brigadier General Reginald Dyer opened fire on unarmed, innocent Indians, including women and children, who had gathered there to hold a peaceful protest against the oppressive Rowlatt Act of the British government.

Earlier in the day, Congress President Rahul Gandhi and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh paid their homage to the martyrs at the National Memorial.

Punjab cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu also accompanied them, as the leaders were joined by a large number of people to commemorate the tragic incident that took place on the day of `Baisakhi` 100 years ago.

British High Commissioner Dominic Asquith on Saturday expressed deep regret and sorrow over the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, but remained non-committal on any apology coming from the British government on the brutal killings.

Rejecting the regret expressed recently by British Prime Minister Theresa May as "inadequate", Amarinder Singh on Friday demanded "an unequivocal official apology from Britain".

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre is one of the darkest chapters in the history of India`s freedom struggle. The British government had put the official death toll at 379.
SRINGAR: Two terrorists have reportedly been shot down by security forces in the ongoing encounter in Gahand Harmain village in south Kashmir's Shopian district on Saturday. More terrorists are likely trapped in the area, sources told Zee News.

The encounter between security forces and terrorists began in orchards areas of the hilly areas. Search and cordon operations are currently underway.

Last week, counter-insurgency units of Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and special operations group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police shot down two terrorists in Imam Sahib area of Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district.
Shopian: The security forces on Saturday killed two terrorists in an encounter which broke out in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian in the morning.

According to IGP J&K SP Pani, the encounter began after the terrorists opened fire on the patrol party from a hideout.

The security forces then cordoned off the entire area and a massive search operation was launched.

In the ensuing operation, two terrorists were killed by the security forces who were later identified as Abid Wagay, a resident of Rawalpora Shopian, and Shahjahan Mir, a resident of Amshepora Shopian.

Both were affiliated with banned terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), the ANI quoted police as saying.

J&K Police on Shopian encounter: The two killed terrorists have been identified as Abid Wagay resident of Rawalpora Shopian & Shahjahan Mir resident of Amshepora Shopian. Both were affiliated with proscribed terror outfit JeM. pic.twitter.com/WSXbbtR5av  ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2019

A large cache of arms and the ammunition was also recovered from them.

The J&K Police has also registered a case, the IGP said.

Last week, counter-insurgency units of Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and special operations group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police gunned down two terrorists in Imam Sahib area of Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district.
Bhopal: Bhopal may need to brace for a heavy dose of polarisation if RSS has its way in the selection of a challenger for Digvijaya Singh in the Lok Sabha elections. Hardliners Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Union Minister and former chief minister Uma Bharti are among the candidates being considered. The BJP has been dithering over the issue since Digvijaya Singh entered the fray three weeks ago.

Pragya Singh Thakur, who came to limelight after her arrest for Malegaon blasts in 2008, is another option. But her candidature is suspect because the special NIA court is yet to discharge her in the case. Pragya is keen to jump into the fray for what she calls "Dharma Yuddha" or crusade.

Uma Bharti had led the BJP to spectacular victory over the Congress in 2003. Digvijaya who was forced into a 10-year exile from electoral politics, became a synonym for Congress` failures. Many felt he became a key reason for the BJP`s decade-long tenure.

Bharti who had announced that she won`t contest for 17th Lok Sabha, came back into contention after Digvijaya Singh was named by the Congress. The earlier move to present a Thakur candidate was also dropped after Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar opted to contest from Morena.

With presence of almost 25 per cent Muslims among 18 lakh voters, the large Bhopal seat can be won only by polarisation, feels the BJP. The earlier choice of senior RSS leader, Vishnu Dutt Sharma, was also with the same idea.

The BJP has been projecting Digvijaya Singh as an anti-Hindu leader. He has been going around all pilgrimages and had covered 3000 km walk along the banks of the Narmada. His views on RSS and the Sangh Parivar are quite radical. But he had opposed withdrawal of security from the RSS headquarters in Bhopal.

Bharti is no stranger to Bhopal constituency. In 1999, she had defeated the Congress candidate and former Union Minister Suresh Pachouri with a huge margin of 1.68 lakh votes.

Pragya Thakur denies having been approached for the contest. But she says she would be glad to challenge an anti-Hindu leader like Digvijaya Singh.

Pragya, who holds a Master`s degree in History, had been associated with Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and `Durga Vahini` or women`s wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). She is known for rabble-rousing speeches.

Though the court dropped provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against her, she is being tried under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). She was granted bail by the Bombay High Court last year.

Six people were killed and over 100 injured when an explosive device strapped on a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008.

The Congress hasn`t won Bhopal since 1989. The Bhopal constituency is a BJP citadel as the party has not lost the seat since 1989.

BJP`s sitting MP Alok Sanjar had won the seat in 2014 with a margin of 3.7 lakh votes. But after Congress named Digvijaya Singh, the BJP went into a pause mode.

The Congress had won three out of eight assembly segments of Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency. In the remaining five seats, the BJP witnessed a slide in its margin.

The Bhopal constituency is spread over eight assembly segments, -- Berasia, Bhopal Uttar, Narela, Bhopal south-west, Bhopal central, Govindpura, Huzur and Sehore.

Digvijay continues his temple-hopping possibly to erase his anti-Hindu image.

During campaigning on March 29 in Sehore district, the former chief minister had remarked that the prosecution and defence had come together. As a result, those who were charged with terror were being let off by courts. He was referring to the acquittal of Swami Aseemanand and three others in the 2007 Samjhauta Express bomb blast case by a special NIA court.
KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has appealed to the voters to not waste their votes by voting in favour of the CPM or the Congress party in the 2019 Lok Sabha election if they want development in their area.

The Trinamool Congress chief made this appeal while campaigning in Siliguri in West Bengal.

Addressing an election rally, Mamata said, ''I would request all not to vote for CPM and also please do not waste your vote by giving it to Congress. I was in Congress then quit and formed Trinamool, following which you are witnessing development.''

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee in Siliguri: I would request all not to vote for CPM and also please do not waste your vote by giving it to Congress. I was in Congress then quit and formed Trinamool, following which you are witnessing development pic.twitter.com/8SmVofkuGS  ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2019

The firebrand TMC leader had made a similar appeal to voters while campaigning in the Darjeeling parliamentary constituency recently.

Asking people not to vote for the Congress or the CPM, the West Bengal CM said that her party will form the next government at the Centre.

Mamata, whose party is determined to oust the Narendra Modi-led NDA government from power at the Centre, made these remarks while addressing a rally in the North Dinajpur pocket.

She urged the voters here to vote in favour of Trinamool Congress and propel the party to its first victory in Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat.

We need a lead from Chopra to win the Darjeeling seat. People here should not vote the Congress or the CPM as it will not serve the purpose. it is Trinamool that will form the government at the Centre and for that, we need to win all 42 seats in our state, the Trinamool chief had said.

The Congress and the Trinamool Congress are at the loggerheads after the former accused the Mamata government of resorting to 'cheap' methods and blocking Rahul Gandhi's chopper landing in Siliguri, where he was scheduled to address a public meeting in the area on April 14.

The second phase of polling will be held on April 18.

The seven-phased Lok Sabha election will end on May 19. The result will be announced on May 23.
SRINAGAR: National Conference (NC) chief and three-time former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah has compared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to former German dictator Adolf Hitler.

Addressing an election rally in Khanyar area of downtown Srinagar, the NC patron said that the German dictator, Adolf Hitler, too used to say the same things what PM Modi is saying today.

Like PM Modi is saying 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas', Hitler too said same things back then in Germany, Farooq Abdullah said.

Attacking the PM further, the ageing NC leader said, ''We all know that at least 40 Central Reserve Police Force troopers were killed in the Pulwama attack, but all PM Modi talks about is - Balakot, Balakot and Balakot "

''Did he ask for a probe? Abdullah quizzed.

Further attacking the PM, the NC chief said the ''The PM speaks and looks like Hitler. This Hitler has banned media portals from showcasing the truth to the people back then."

Attempting to corner the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, the NC chief claimed that the incumbent ruling disposition is merely "beating the drums" in the name of the Balakot air strike.

Addressing a gathering of NC supporters, he said, "PM Modi is just fooling people by showing 'fake' war with Pakistan. They are beating the drums in the name of Balakot strike."

The NC leader also rejected the repeated claims made by some top BJP figures that hundreds of Pakistan-based terrorists were killed across the LoC and termed the IAF airstrike "fake".

It may be recalled that the Indian Air Force (IAF) had attacked terror launch pads in Pakistan on February 26 in retaliation to the Pulwama terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir which claimed the lives of at least 40 CRPF personnel.

Hardening his stand on the special status row, Abdullah warned that the resident of Jammu and Kashmir were ready to fight against abrogation of Article 370 and 35A.

"Amit Shah threatened us and said Article 370 and 35A will be abrogated. Amit Shah, if you have guts then visit Kashmir and face the people," Abdullah warned the BJP chief.

The NC leader also mocked the country's mainstream media for not showing the truth to the masses and requested people of Kashmir to vote for a "perfect" government.

Seven-phase Lok Sabha polls have started on April 11 and will continue till May 19. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.
BJP MP Hema Malini lashed out at Union Minister Maneka Gandhi over her recent comment on Muslim voters.

On triple talaq issue many minority community women support us but even if they don't, and who did not. This kind of feeling doesn't come to me. Everybody is different, the veteran actor-turned-politician told ANI.

Hema Malini on Maneka Gandhi's statement on Muslim voters: On triple talaq issue many minority community women support us but even if they dont,you have to help everybody,doesn't matter who voted for us & who did not. This kind of feeling doesn't come to me.Everybody is different pic.twitter.com/YCGfKPZcE0  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) April 13, 2019

Hema Malini has once again been fielded from her current parliamentary constituency Mathura.

Maneka Gandhi sparked controversy on Thursday after she allegedly said that Muslims in Uttar Pradesh's Sultanpur should vote for her if they wanted her to get their work done after she wins from the constituency.

"I am winning. I am winning because of the love and support of people. But if my victory is without Muslims, I won't feel that good. Then when a Muslim comes to me for work, I think let it be, how does it matter? It's all about give and take, isn't it? We are not all children of Mahatma Gandhi, are we?" Maneka is hear saying in the video.

"I have already won the election but you will need me. This is your chance to lay the foundation," she went on to say.

READ: Maneka Gandhi clarifies 'Muslim voters' remarks, says 'certain media channel played 'out of context' speech

Gandhi`s three-minute speech went viral on social media, leading to outrage for its blatant communal content. The Congress has termed Gandhi`s statement "scandalous".

However, Gandhi later maintained that her remarks were quoted out of context.

A show cause notice was issued to her by the district poll authorities on Friday and the matter is with the Election Commission.

"The EC has taken cognisance of the matter. The District Magistrate, Sultanpur, has issued a show cause notice to her and a report has been sent to the EC," said BR Tiwari, Addtional Chief Election Officer.

Gandhi is contesting from Sultanpur, a seat won by her son Varun Gandhi in 2014. Varun Gandhi is contesting from Pilibhit, from where his mother had won in 2014.
New Delhi: A day after the Election Commission directed that all recorded programmes displayed on NaMo TV be pre-certified, the Delhi poll body has directed the BJP not to air any content on the platform without its certification, officials said.

The poll body had on Thursday said since NaMo TV was sponsored by the BJP, all recorded programmes displayed on the platform should be pre-certified by media certification and monitoring committee of Delhi and all political publicity contents displayed without pre-certification be removed immediately.

Following the EC's directive, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Delhi wrote to the saffron party to ensure that all political content not approved be removed.

"As a precautionary measure, two officials have been deployed to watch NaMo TV and monitor its content," officials said.

An official said political parties usually submit audiovisual content for pre-certification, without specifying on which platform it will be aired. The content may be aired during a rally or on the party's website, he said.

After the Congress filed a complaint with the poll panel about the channel disturbing the level playing field, the EC had asked the Delhi CEO to file a report on the issue.

The Delhi CEO approved the logo of NaMo TV, which the BJP said was part of the NaMo App that it owns, but did not "certify" the content as it contained old speeches of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is likely to contest Lok Sabha election from Varanasi seat against PM Narendra Modi, Zee News sources said on Saturday. PM Modi is the sitting MP from the eastern UP seat. He had won from the seat in 2014.

According to sources, Priyanka is ready to take on the fight with PM Modi, after serious considerations, from Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi. She has already agreed to contest the poll.

However, the final call rests with Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

Interestingly, earlier in March when Priyanka was urged by her party supporters to contest from Rae Bareilly or Amethi, she apparently responded in a lighter vein 'why not Varanasi!'.

Priyanka was interacting with Congress workers when they requested her to contest from Varanasi. They said that if she contests from Rae Bareilly or Amethi, the BJP will be finished, ANI sources had said.

Immediately, Priyanka quipped jokingly, "why not Varanasi", sources added.

The Congress general secretary had said that she would contest the Lok Sabha election if the party wanted her to do so.

Uttar Pradesh will go to polls in seven phases, from April 11 to May 19. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

In last elections in Varanasi, PM Modi won 5,81,022 votes defeating AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal who won 2,09,238 votes. The PM won by 3,71,784 votes.

In March, Priyanka was on a three-day long `Ganga Yatra` from Prayagraj to Varanasi. Her tour focused on 'Sanchi Baat Priyanka ke Saath` in which she talked to people during her 140 kilometres long travel on a steamer boat to Assi Ghat in Varanasi.

Priyanka had earlier criticised PM Modi for not visiting a single village of his Varanasi constituency. "Wherever I am going, I am getting to see the truth and reality of this government. I went to PM Modi`s Varanasi constituency and asked people whether he comes to the constituency, people said yes he does. Then I asked whether he goes to villages? They said no, he does not go to the villages. So, I asked what does he do during his visits. They said whenever he comes, he holds big meetings, gives speeches and then leaves. Then I asked whether he goes to any village and find out about people`s welfare? They replied no, he does not go to the villages. So, this is one reality," she had said.

Priyanka has called the Lok Sabha election a "new freedom struggle".

Dalit group Bhim Army Chandrashekhar announced that he will contest against PM Modi from Varanasi.
Patna: RJD chief Lalu Prasad`s wife and former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi on Friday made an emotional appeal to her elder son Tej Pratap Yadav to return home.

A day after voting for the first of the seven-phased Lok Sabha polls in Bihar, Rabri Devi, who is pained by Tej Pratap`s decision to stay separately in the state capital, instead of living with the family, said in Hindi: "Bahut hua, laut aao beta" (Enough son, come back home).

Tej Pratap Yadav has not returned home since he visited his father Lalu Prasad in Ranchi last year, after filing a petition in court seeking divorce from his newly-wedded wife, family sources said.

Tej Pratap Yadav got married in May last year to Aishwariya Rai, the daughter of a senior RJD leader.

Rabri Devi told media here that there is no truth in the reports of differences between her two sons Tej Pratap Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav.

"It is all a creation of vested interests," she said.

She said there have been attempts made to divide her family.

"Some people have been trying to instigate and mislead my son. It is possible that our rivals`, BJP and JD-U, people may be behind it," Rabri said in a reference to Tej Pratap Yadav.

She also revealed that she telephoned her son daily to talk to him.

Tej Pratap has, however, repeatedly expressed his displeasure over younger brother Tejashwi`s refusal to field a candidate of his choice from the Sheohar Lok Sabha constituency.

Rabri also expressed her serious concern about the absence of her husband, who has been undergoing treatment at a Ranchi hospital after being convicted in the fodder scam case.

"I miss Laluji...his absence is really painful. Without him everything is useless. Hope, he will come back soon," she said.
Patna: Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday hit out at All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) leader Badruddin Ajmal for his controversial 'tea and pakoda` remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Speaking to ANI, Prasad said, "How can Ajmal talk about taking Prime Minister Modi out of India...Who is he? What is his status to say such a thing against the popularly elected Prime Minister? He is saying that the Prime Minister will sell tea and pakoda...What kind of language is this?"

"BJP strongly condemns the statements made against Prime Minister Narendra Modi by AIUDF president Badruddin Ajmal. Indian culture does not approve of the kind of language used by Ajmal," said Prasad, who is contesting the Lok Sabha election for the first time from Patna Sahib. He is pitted against sitting MP and former BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha.

Hitting out at Congress president, the BJP leader said, "These people are influenced by Rahul Gandhi who also makes false statements and low-level remarks against Prime Minister Modi."

Prasad, currently a Rajya Sabha member, also took on Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati. "Mayawati appealed Muslims to vote for the grand alliance in Uttar Pradesh. Nobody asked any questions on this...I want to ask those who question Narendra Modi --Why are they silent on Mayawati?"

"The nation will give a befitting reply to those who are stooping to such a low level of politics," added the minister.

The seven-phased Lok Sabha elections began on April 11 and will conclude on May 19. The counting of votes will be held on May 23.
KOLKATA: The Congress party has accused the Trinamool Congress and its supremo West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for resorting to cheap and unconstitutional methods against opponents. The Darjeeling district administration on Friday denied permission for landing of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's helicopter in Siliguri, who was scheduled to address a public meeting in the area on April 14.

Such disdain shown by the local administration towards our party president as well as star campaigner Rahul Gandhi clearly shows that the Trinamool and its Supremo is scared and resorting to such cheap and unconstitutional methods against her opponents, said senior Congress leader and party`s Darjeeling Lok Sabha candidate Shankar Malakar.

Due permission was sought via the official app, for a program of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, but permission was denied for his helicopter to land on the April 14, even when the permission for the actual venue of the meet was already given on April 7th," he told ANI.

As of now, no new dates had been obtained for Rahul Gandhi`s rally in Darjeeling, where the polling is set to take place on April 18.

It is not easy to reschedule visit of a SPG protected leader, said Malakar

Siliguri Police Commissioner BL Meena confirmed that the Congress had sought permission for landing a helicopter at police ground which was denied. We had denied permission for that specific ground. There are some rules due to which it was not allowed. But they didn't come up with any alternative venue," Meena said.

The Bengal Government has allowed the party leader to take road routes to Siliguri but they were not allowed a direct landing in the area.

The development comes months after the Trinamool-led state government blocked BJP chief Amit Shah's chopper from landing at Jhargram in January this year, just ahead of his key rally in the region.

While Malakar claimed that papers for Rahul's chopper landing were submitted on time, sources in the party indicated that not all members of state's party unit were aware of Rahul's rally in Siliguri.

I can't say whether or not a rally is going to be held. Please don't ask me this question, said state Congress president Somen Mitra.

The seven-phased Lok Sabha election will end on May 19. The result will be announced on May 23.
Gandhidham: Attacking Congress over its poll promise of repealing the sedition law if elected to power in the Lok Sabha election, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh Friday said here that the BJP government would make the law even more stringent.

He was speaking at a gathering in Gandhidham city of Kutch district in Gujarat.

"Congress is saying that they will repeal the sedition law. I want to ask you all, should we forgive those anti-nationals who are trying to break the unity and social fabric of our country?" he asked.

"If it's within our powers, we will make the sedition law even more stringent. We will make such a strict law that it would send shivers down their spine. (Agar hamara bas chaley toh rashtradroh ko aur kadaa hum banayenge, taaki iss kanoon ki provisions ki yaad aate hee logo ki rooh kaanpe... aisa kanoon banayenge)," Singh said.

The senior BJP leader also attacked former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah over his demand for a separate prime minister for the region.

"I want to tell these leaders that if you continue to raise such demands, then we will be left with no other option than to abrogate Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution. We don't want such India," said Singh.

He also blamed former PM Jawaharlal Nehru for the Kashmir crisis.

"Had Pandit Nehru given full powers to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to handle the issue, we might have got a solution at that time," said Singh.

Speaking on the performance of the Modi government, Singh said, "I do not want to claim that we have uprooted the corruption completely. But, our government has definitely taken some decisive steps towards that direction."

The minister claimed that nobody could doubt the commitment and integrity of Modi.

Singh alleged that although India was capable of making anti-satellite missile way back in 2007, the then PM Manmohan Singh had stopped the scientists from doing so.

"At that time, only Russia, China and the US had that technology. When scientists approached Manmohan Singh for a green signal, he stopped them saying such a step would upset those three countries.

But when scientists approached Modi, he immediately gave a go-ahead," Singh said.

Polling for all the 26 Lok Sabha seats will be held on April 23 in Gujarat.
PATNA: Actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha, who quit BJP to fight from the Patna Sahib Lok Sabha seat on a Congress ticket, scoffed at the saffron party's claim that the seat has been its stronghold for long.

Mocking his former party, Sinha said that he "would have loved" to fight Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the seat.

"Let them (BJP) live in fool's paradise ... Voters of Patna Sahib will teach them a lesson," Sinha, popularly known as 'Bihari Babu', said.

He cited the victories of Congress and RJD nominees in the past from the prestigious Bihar seat, from where he is seeking re-election for the third straight time, to deride BJP's claim.

"There was news in some quarters that PM Modi himself will enter the fray from Patna Sahib on the second seat in addition to Varanasi ... What happened?...I would have loved to take on him on the seat," Sinha, also known as 'Shotgun' said.

Sinha, a Modi baiter, will take on Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, a four-term Rajya Sabha member fielded by BJP, in the Patna Sahib seat.

This will be the first time that Prasad will be contesting in a Lok Sabha election.

Sinha himself has served two terms in the Rajya Sabha previously and had been a member of the Union Council of Ministers headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The flamboyant MP brushed off Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi's recent statement that even if American President Donald Trump were to contest from Patna Sahib, he would lose to BJP.

"All these are said in frustration to keep Modi and Amit Shah in good humour while hiding the situation prevailing on the ground," Sina said.

Without naming Sushil Modi, the actor-politician said "instead of fielding a person (Prasad) who cannot even win the municipal corporation election he himself (Sushil Modi) should have crossed swords with me."

The Bollywood actor, who was inspired by Loknayak Jayprakash Narayan to join politics and was introduced to BJP in the mid-80s by Nanaji Deshmukh, joined Congress last week after fight with the present leadership of the saffron party over being sidelined since the 2015 Bihar assembly polls.

On his arrival here on Friday on his first tour of his Lok Sabha constituency after joining Congress, Sinha was given a rousing welcome at the state party headquarters at Sadaqat Ashram and he expressed confidence that he will retain the seat for a third time with a record margin.

Fighting on a BJP ticket, he had trounced famous Bhojpuri actor Kunal, who was fielded by Congress from the seat, in 2014. In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, he had defeated fellow Bollywood colleague and Congress candidate Sekhar Suman.

Elaborating on his contention that non-BJP leaders had won the Patna Sahib seat as well in the past, he mentioned Ramkripal Yadav, a former RJD leader who had defeated the BJP nominee. Yadav is now in BJP and in the fray from neighbouring Patliputra seat.

He also recounted the win by CP Thakur on a Congress ticket from the seat, that comprise the capital city of Patna and stretches to Patna Sahib, the birth place of Guru Nanak.

Even CPI leader Ramavatar Shastri had won from the Patna seat, before its bifurcation into Patna Sahib and Patliputra in 2009, thrice in the past, Sinha said.

Patna Sahib Lok Sabha seat has six assembly constituencies under it out of which five are held by BJP at present and a lone one by RJD.

Sinha trashed allegations that he has been an absentee in the Patna Sahib consituency and never cared for people who had voted for him.

"Go and see my record ... I have spend 106 per cent from my MPLAD fund ... Its available on the net," he said.
As India awaits the second phase of Lok Sabha Election 2019 next week, several top political leaders are out in the field wooing voters and leading crucial election campaigns. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already addressed a rally in Tamil Nadu's Theni and will hold another rally at Ramanathapuram on Saturday, seeking votes for the AIADMK-led alliance. The BJP is part of the AIADMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile, BJP national president Amit Shah will address poll meetings in Uttar Pradesh's Badaun, Shahjahanpur and Kanpur. Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, Samajwadi supremo Akhilesh and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh will also hold a joint rally Baduan later in the day. Mayawati is scheduled to hold another rally along with RLD leader Jayant Chaudhary in UP's Bulandshahr.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's will participate in a public rally in Maharashtra's Nanded at 5 pm. Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav will also address two rallies in Bihar's Banka district.

Thanks for joining us. Please do come again on Sunday (April 14) for Lok Sabha live updates

Here are the highlights of Lok Sabha Election 2019:

* The BJP in Maharashtra wrote to state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) seeking to know which Lok Sabha candidate would incur the cost of MNS president Raj Thackeray's ongoing political rallies. Senior BJP minister Vinod Tawde, on behalf of the Lok Sabha election committee of the party, said Thackeray has been holding political rallies across the state, despite the MNS not contesting the Lok Sabha elections. "The commission should clarify for whom the rallies are being conducted and which candidate will bear the expenses for his rallies," Tawde said in the letter.

* Congress and JDS are inspired by dynasty and we are inspired by nationalism. They find ways to benefit their family but we work hard to bring the marginalized to the mainstream. Their philosophy is a dynasty and our is Antyodya: PM Narendra Modi addressing a public meeting in Mangaluru, Karnataka.

* When I was coming here from the airport which was a long journey, I saw that not a human chain but a human wall is there on both the sides of the road. I thought if so many people are here,who will be there (at the rally). But the same number of people are here as well: PM Modi

* Mayawati on UP CM remark,"Agar Congress,SP,BSP ko 'Ali' par vishwaas hai toh humein 'Bajrangbali' par vishwaas hai": Hamare Ali aur Bajrangbali dono hain. Bajrangbali isliye bhi chaiye kyunki ye meri dalit jaati se jude hain, inki jaati ki khoj maine nahi ki, khud UP CM ne ki hai pic.twitter.com/LSfI07KJs0

 ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) April 13, 2019

*       , '   '              :    #ModiAgainSaysIndia pic.twitter.com/tdJlS1uI0k

* People of the country want to see Narendra Modi as their prime minister once again: Amit Shah in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

* Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu visited the Election Commission (EC) office in the national capital to complain the malfunctioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) during polling in the state on Thursday.

* PM Modi will hold a rally in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district on Sunday to canvass for Union Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh, who is seeking re-election from Udhampur Lok Sabha seat where polling will be held in the second phase on April 18. Jitendra Singh is in direct contest with Congress' Vikramaditya Singh, the grandson of last ruler of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir Maharaja Hari Singh and the son of Congress leader Karan Singh, in the seat. Read more.

* Who will do Nyay to governments of the great MGR Ji, which were dismissed by Congress just because one family didn't like those leaders? Who will do Nyay to victims of Bhopal Gas Tragedy, among the worst environment disasters in India. That too happened under Congress: PM Modi

* Some days ago DMK Supremo projected the 'naamdar' as the PM candidate when no one was ready to accept it, not even their 'mahamilawati' friends, Why? Because they all are in the line to be PM and dream of the pos: PM Modi in Tamil Nadu

* Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Theni, Tamil Nadu: Some days ago DMK Supremo projected the 'naamdar' as the PM candidate when no one was ready to accept it, not even their 'mahamilawati' friends, Why? Because they all are in the line to be PM and dream of the post. pic.twitter.com/8qptPjtZi6

* PM Modi in Theni: We observe today, the solemn occasion, of the completion of 100 years since the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. I pay my respects to the martyrs of this incident.

* Tamil Nadu CM in Theni: Congress which is a part of DMK led alliance here has announced Rahul Gandhi as PM candidate but its allies have not come out in open supporting his candidature. In our alliance all parties have accepted PM Modi as the PM candidate, this shows our unity.

* The BJP leadership demanded repoll at several booths in West Bengal's Cooch Behar Lok Sabha seat, alleging that the ruling Trinamool Congress indulged in malpractices during polling there Thursday including rigging poll booths.

"There should be repoll in Cooch Behar Lok Sabha seat. Several booths were rigged by the TMC as the security in these booths were provided by the state police. We wanted central forces to provide security cover," BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said.

Senior BJP leader Mukul Roy Friday visited the office of the Chief Electoral Officer in Kolkata staged a sit-in demonstration along with other BJP leaders to press for demands of repoll.

The BJP candidate of Cooch Behar seat Nishit Pramanik has claimed that at least 350 polling stations were rigged by the TMC.

*Concealing the identity of the beneficiary to conceal donors to the BJP? This is like Electoral Bonds: Legalising political corruption. #LootOfIndia https://t.co/NlBi0YbDIl

 Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) April 13, 2019

* Priyanka Gandhi hits out at BJP

                        

                   

        Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) April 13, 2019

*

Jallianwala Bagh remains a deep inspiration for all those who want a better and bright tomorrow for all Indians. The sacrifice of the martyrs of April 13, 1919 will never be forgotten. #JallianwalaBaghMassacre https://t.co/YjgHxj0TQW  Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) April 13, 2019

*Those convicted or facing charges of abuse of public office and misappropriation of funds are claiming to be the custodians of truth.@laluprasadrjd   ,       ,                  

 Prashant Kishor (@PrashantKishor) April 13, 2019

* Congress President Rahul Gandhi lays wreath at Jallianwala Bagh memorial on the commemoration of 100 years of the massacre. Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh and state minister Navjot Singh Sidhu also present.

* Security personnel on Friday exercised their democratic franchise by voting through postal ballot for Tripura East parliamentary constituency. These security personnel, who will be on duty on the poll day, cast their votes in advance.

* Congress President Rahul Gandhi will visit the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial on Saturday morning to pay homage to hundreds of people, who were massacred by British forces on April 13, 1919. Rahul arrived in Amritsar on Friday night. After arriving here, Rahul, accompanied by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, paid a visit to Golden Temple complex where he offered prayers at the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikh religion.

April 13 (Saturday) marks the 100th anniversary of the massacre, in which British forces led by Brigadier General Reginald Dyer opened fire on hundreds of unarmed, innocent Indians, including women and children, who were protesting peacefully against the oppressive Rowlatt Act of the British government.

* A delegation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) knocked the doors of the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) twice in last 24 hours alleging that Biju Janata Dal (BJD) supporters attacked the BJP workers in the state. "CM Patnaik has a fear to lose the election, BJD activists thrashed our leaders. We have filled the complaint but no action has been taken against these goons. We have demanded the EC to intervene in this matter," said Samir Mohanty, state Vice President, BJP. Mohanty further claimed that Patnaik and his party have become habitual in violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). On Thursday, a BJP delegation met the CEO and filed a complaint alleging the violation of Model Code of Conduct by Patnaik.

* BJP President Amit Shah leaves after midnight after attending a party meeting in Varanasi. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Minister J P Nadda, and BJP UP President Mahendra Nath Pandey also attended the meeting.

* "A former Jammu and Kashmir CM said there should be two PMs in India, one for J&K and other for rest of the country. I've given a warning, if a demand for 2 PMs is made in India then we have no other option but to repeal article 370 & 35A. If someone tries to break India, should they be forgiven? They say they will end the sedition law, to whom are they giving a signal? If our government comes to power we will make the sedition law even more stringent," Union Minister Rajnath Singh in Botad, Gujarat.

* Total voter turnout in Uttarakhand for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 at 61.5%. Tehri Garhwal - 58.3%, Garhwal - 54.47%, Almora - 51.82%, Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar - 68.69%, Haridwar - 68.92%.

* Robert Vadra sure of Rahul, Sonia Gandhi's victory from Amethi and Raebareli: "I think people of Amethi and Rae Bareli feel very happy that the family is with them and have been with them forever and the development is always on our minds. We always reach out and meet everyone. We will do all we can to further develop both Amethi and Rae Bareli."

* Rajasthan man whose wedding got cancelled in wake of Pulwama terror attack, finally to get married. Read more

* A day after the Election Commission directed that all recorded programmes displayed on NaMo TV be pre-certified, the Delhi poll body has directed the BJP not to air any content on the platform without its certification, officials said. Read more

* The Congress party has accused the Trinamool Congress and its supremo West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for resorting to cheap and unconstitutional methods against opponents. The Darjeeling district administration on Friday denied permission for landing of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's helicopter in Siliguri, who was scheduled to address a public meeting in the area on April 14. Read more
MATHURA: A 5-year-old boy accidentally fell into a 100-feet deep borewell in a village in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh on Saturday afternoon.

The toddler was trying to pluck fruits from a tree when he accidentaly fell into a nearby borewell.

The incident was reported from Agaryala Village in Chhata Tehsil in Mathura district on Saturday afternoon.

As soon as the news of the incident spread, the Mathura local administration officials rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation.

After reaching the spot, the officials started the rescue operation to save the child.

Mathura: Operation continues to rescue a 5-year-old boy, who is trapped in a borewell at about 100-foot deep at a village in Shergarh. Police & NDRF team present at the spot. pic.twitter.com/5xL5V1NJbN  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) April 13, 2019

A team of doctors was also called in to provide oxygen supply to the distressed child struck in the 100-feet deep borewell.

Meanwhile, a team of NDRF was also dispatched from Ghaziabad to the accident spot.

"After receiving the information around 3.30 PM, we rushed a team to the spot to take stock of the situation. A team of doctors also arrived soon and they are providing oxygen to the child struck in borewell,'' a local official told PTI.

Sharing more information, Ram Dutt, Sub Divisional Magistrate, Chhata, said, ''An NDRF team has left from Ghaziabad and rescue operation is being handled by the local authorities."

"The boy fell into the borewell after he attempted to pluck fruits from a 'sahtoot' (mulberry) tree located nearby the borewell," the SDM said.
US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticised President Donald Trump on Saturday for a Twitter post that used 9/11 imagery while suggesting Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a Muslim, was dismissive of the New York attacks.

"The memory of 9/11 is sacred ground, and any discussion of it must be done with reverence," Pelosi said in a statement posted on Twitter. "The President shouldn`t use the painful images of 9/11 for a political attack."

On Friday, Trump tweeted a video suggesting that Omar, a Democratic US representative from Minnesota, was dismissive of the Sept. 11 attacks. The video spliced news footage of 9/11 with a clip from a speech Omar gave last month in which she described the terror attack as "some people did something."

The Trump tweet included the words "WE WILL NEVER FORGET!"

In Omar`s speech, given to a Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, she said Muslims had "lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen and, frankly, I`m tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it."

Omar said the advocacy group recognized that "some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties."

Lawmakers from Trump`s Republican party have accused Omar of minimizing the 9/11 attacks, while critics of the president say he took Omar`s words out of context in order to stoke anti-Muslim sentiment.
SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the breakdown in talks with the United States has raised the risks of reviving tensions, and he is only interested in meeting President Donald Trump again if the United States comes with the right attitude, state media KCNA said on Saturday.

Kim said he will wait "till the end of this year" for the United States to decide to be more flexible, according to KCNA. "It is essential for the U.S. to quit its current calculation method and approach us with a new one," Kim said in a speech to the Supreme People`s Assembly on Friday, KCNA said.

Trump and Kim have met twice, in Hanoi in February and Singapore in June, building goodwill but failing to agree on a deal to lift sanctions in exchange for North Korea abandoning its nuclear and missile programs.

Trump later issued a statement on Twitter that underscored the strength of his personal relationship with Kim and pointed to what he called North Korea`s "tremendous potential" for economic success, once the issue of Pyongyang`s weapons programs has been resolved. "A third Summit would be good in that we fully understand where we each stand," the U.S. president said in a pair of Saturday morning tweets.

"I look forward to the day, which could be soon, when Nuclear Weapons and Sanctions can be removed, and then watching North Korea become one of the most successful nations of the World!"

In his speech, the North Korean leader said the outcome in Hanoi led him to question the strategy he embraced last year of international engagement and talks with the United States. The Hanoi summit "aroused a strong question if we were right in taking the steps with strategic decision and bold resolution, and evoked vigilance as to the US' true willingness to improve its relations with the DPRK," Kim said, using the initials of North Korea`s full name, the Democratic People`s Republic of Korea.

In Hanoi, the United States came "to the talks only racking its brain to find ways that are absolutely impracticable" and did "not really ready itself to sit with us face-to-face and settle the problem," Kim said. "If it (the United States) keeps thinking that way, it will never be able to move the DPRK even a knuckle, nor gain any interests no matter how many times it may sit for talks with the DPRK," he said.

"We will wait for a bold decision from the U.S. with patience till the end of this year but I think it will definitely be difficult to get such a good opportunity as the previous summit," Kim added. Kim`s comments signal he will not cling to talks with the United States forever, said Kim Dong-yup of Kyungnam University`s Institute for Far Eastern Studies in South Korea.

"That probably indicates that the North is triggering plans to diversify its diplomatic relations with other countries," he said.

THIRD SUMMIT IN DOUBT

Kim said that his personal relationship with Trump is still good, but that he had no interest in a third summit if it were a repeat of Hanoi. On Twitter, Trump described their relationship as "very good" and added that "perhaps the term excellent would be even more accurate."

At a meeting with South Korean President Moon in Washington on Thursday, Trump expressed a willingness for a third summit with Kim but said Washington would leave sanctions in place on Pyongyang.

Kim said the United States "is further escalating the hostility to us with each passing day despite its suggestion for settling the issue through dialogue." The current U.S. policy of sanctions and pressure is "as foolish and dangerous an act as trying to put out fire with oil," he added.

Still, Kim said he would not hesitate to sign an agreement if it takes into account both countries` considerations. The United States had continued to provoke North Korea by testing an anti-ballistic missile system and conducting military drills with South Korea despite Trump`s announcement that large-scale exercises would end, he said.

Last month, a senior North Korean official warned that Kim might rethink a moratorium on missile launches and nuclear tests in place since 2017 unless Washington makes concessions such as easing sanctions. South Korea`s Blue House said in a statement that officials would "do what we can in order to maintain the current momentum for dialogue and help negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea resume at an early date."

Kim complained that Washington is coercing South Korea into abiding by sanctions and not pushing forward with inter-Korea projects. North Korea has a choice "to keep maintaining the atmosphere of improving the North-South ties or to go back to the past when the ties plunged into a catastrophe with the danger of a war increasing," he said.

North Korea`s state media on Saturday issued a commentary criticizing South Korea`s purchase of fighter jets, including two recently delivered F-35A jets from the United States, calling it a "serious provocative act" that could intensify tensions on the Korean peninsula. "Bringing in weapons of war is an obvious threat. South Korea needs to behave itself better, and think about how such an imprudent act could lead to catastrophic outcomes," said the commentary.

Still, North Korea is committed to better North-South relations and peaceful unification, Kim said. "I make it clear once again that it is my unwavering determination to turn the North-South ties into those of durable and lasting reconciliation and cooperation by holding hands with the south Korean authorities and to write a new history of the nation, peaceful and co-prosperous," he said.
QUITO: Ecuador has suspended Julian Assange`s citizenship and accused him and people connected to his WikiLeaks group of collaborating in attempts to destabilise the Andean nation`s government, after years of offering him shelter.

A bearded and frail-looking Assange was arrested by British police on Thursday after Ecuador terminated his asylum at its London embassy, where he had lived since 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden over a sexual assault investigation.

Assange`s Ecuadorean citizenship was suspended on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Jose Valencia told reporters.

To some, Australian-born Assange is a hero for exposing what supporters cast as abuse of power and for championing free speech. To others, he is a dangerous figure who has undermined the security of the United States and has too many ties to Russia.

WikiLeaks angered Washington by publishing hundreds of thousands of secret U.S. diplomatic cables that laid bare often highly critical U.S. appraisals of world leaders, from Russian President Vladimir Putin to members of the Saudi royal family.

Assange`s lawyer in Quito, Carlos Poveda, told reporters asylum was terminated in reprisal for corruption allegations against President Lenin Moreno and that his life will be in danger if he is extradited to the United States.

Assange was offered refuge in 2012 by Ecuador`s then-president Rafael Correa, but his relationship with Ecuador has soured under Moreno, who has said Assange violated the terms of his asylum.

Assange received Ecuadorean citizenship in January 2018.

Moreno was angered after years-old private photographs of him and his family taken when they lived in Europe circulated on social media. His government said it believed the photos were shared by WikiLeaks.

Ecuador was not aware of any active extradition requests for Assange before it terminated his asylum, Valencia told the national assembly.

"At the time the decision to finalise his asylum was made, there was only a case in the United Kingdom for violating the conditions of his bail in 2012," Valencia told lawmakers.

U.S. prosecutors unsealed an indictment against Assange on Thursday, accusing him of conspiring with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to gain access to a government computer as part of one of the largest compromises of classified information in U.S. history. Assange faces up to five years in prison on the American charge, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement.

Assange and WikiLeaks have intervened in Ecuadorean affairs, Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo told reporters in Quito, and at least one Russian hacker involved with the organisation is living in the country.

She would not confirm whether the hacker was involved in the creation of web pages that accuse Moreno of corruption, but said they had participated in the creation of a page later spread by WikiLeaks.

"We hope it will be the Ecuadorean justice system which will confirm the exact relationship," Romo said.

Romo on Thursday night said Ecuador had detained a person "very close" to WikiLeaks who is associated with former Ecuadorean foreign minister Ricardo Patino.

"(The person) was detained this afternoon while attempting to travel to Japan," said Romo, without providing the person`s name or nationality.

Earlier she had said that Patino, who was serving under Correa when Assange was granted asylum, was seeking to destabilise the government.

Patino denied the allegations.

Romo "just invented a story about a supposed relationship of mine with Russian hackers," Patino said on Twitter. "The only thing left is for her to say where we left Red Riding Hood and Sleeping Beauty."
Deputy Inspector General of police Abdul Razzaq Cheema confirmed the death toll, saying that the blast targeted the market area frequented by Shiite Muslims in Hazarganji area of Quetta, the provincial capital of southwest Balochistan province.

Local residents said large numbers of shoppers were present in the market when a loud explosion was heard in the center of the market.

The blast triggered severe panic among the shoppers who run for their safety, according to local reports.

Buildings located nearby were damaged in the powerful blast, police said, adding that several vehicles were also partially destroyed.

Police, rescue teams and additional contingents of security forces rushed to the site following the blast and shifted the bodies and injured to the Bolan Medical Complex and Civil Hospital in the city for medical treatment.

Death toll may further rise and six among the injured are in critical condition. Four paramilitary soldiers personnel were also among the injured, according to the hospital sources.

A state of emergency has been declared in all the hospitals in the city following the blast.

No group immediately claimed the attack. Pakistani Taliban militants have often struck at Shiites communities on religious grounds.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the attack and sought a report from the concerned authorities. He also directed the hospital administrations to provide best medical treatment to the injured people.

Chief Minister of Balochistan Jam Kamal Khan also condemned the attack and expressed solidarity with the victims. He promised swift action against perpetrators of the incident.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Former BJP media coordinator, SS Vinay, who had managed to escape a kidnap bid allegedly orchestrated by BJP state president BS Yeddyurappas personal assistant, approached police seeking protection on Friday.

Vinay, accompanied by his advocate, went to Amruthahalli police station and submitted a petition. He alleged that some suspicious persons were lurking around his house, and that his familys life is under threat. Unknown persons follow me whenever I am outside alone. There has already been an attempt to kidnap me  I feel there is a serious threat to my life, he said.

Police received his petition and took up a non-cognisable case. Also, Vinay said that he had a pen drive, CD and a diary that contained information that could tarnish the image of former chief minister Yeddyurappa. The police investigating my kidnap case have asked me to submit the pen drive and other documents to the court. I will be doing this shortly, he added.

In May 2017, unidentified miscreants tried to kidnap Vinay, who was BJP leader KS Eshwarappas PA then, from Mahalakshmi Layout police station limits. However, Vinay managed to escape and a filed a complaint. The police, who investigated the case, found that Yeddyurappas PA and relative N R Santosh had allegedly hired goons to kidnap Vinay.

Vinay and Santosh were friends before, but once the latter found out that Vinay was in possession of material that could ruin Yeddyurappas image, Santosh allegedly decided to kidnap Vinay.

The other accused arrested in the case had also admitted in their voluntary statement that they were asked to kidnap Vinay. The police also searched Yeddyurappas house.

Looking back

On May 11, 2017, a gang had attempted to kidnap Vinay near ISKCON temple here. When Vinay protested and screamed for help, the accused fled from the spot. Back then, police had arrested nine people, including BJP Yuva Morcha leader Rajendra Urs, in connection with the case. However, after evading arrest, Santosh managed to get anticipatory bail and refused to cooperate with the investigations. Santosh and the others were booked under various Sections of the IPC, including section 143 (unlawful assembly), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 363 (kidnapping), and more.
Dia Rekhi By

Express News Service

CHENNAI : The water crisis in the city is dampening the festive mood ahead of the Tamil New Year celebrations on April 14. While it is a time for new beginnings, people are worried about the days ahead as the water condition is expected to worsen this summer. We generally have grand plans to celebrate the New Year. But this time, we are keeping it very low-key.

The water problem is worsening with every passing day and we are really worried about what the situation is going to become over the next few months. There is no reason to celebrate this time around because not only is everything becoming expensive, we are also having to spend extravagantly for basic necessities, says R Pavithra, a homemaker who stays in Palavakkam. For K Senthuran, a class 7 student, his mother, K Jayashrees homecooked feast was all that he looked forward to. It would be a lavish spread of mouth-watering dishes. However, this year, the number of dishes on the menu has gone down.

I cant afford to make that many dishes because of the water crunch, rues Jayashree who stays in OMR. I have to ration water in the house now because we need enough to cook, clean the utensils and for general use as well. It does not make sense to use litres of water to cook and clean when there is not enough water to clean the house.

I feel bad that I have to do this, but I have no other choice. Families living in densely populated settlements in the city, which are facing water shortage are looking at other ways of celebrating the New Year to ensure there is no water wastage. We will go to the temple in the morning and eat outside too. There is a shortage of water in our building and I dont want to waste water to cook or clean, says S Nandakumari, a homemaker.
Binita Jaiswal By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Anna University has invited companies to manufacture unmanned aerial systems (UAS), which have been developed by Madras Institute of Technology (MIT)s Centre for Aerospace Research (CASR). Director of CASR, K Senthil Kumar said this is for the first time that the CASR is looking for companies having interests towards making and marketing of unmanned aerial systems designed and developed by it.

The CASR will provide technology to the companies and will charge royalty for it. The royalty earned will be spent on strengthening research work in the centre, said Kumar.He further said there is no proper company manufacturing unmanned aerial systems or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the country. Majority of the companies procure components of the unmanned aerial systems from different parts of the world and only do the integration in India. But by using our technology, companies can completely manufacture the UAV, better known as drone, on their own.

The project will not only boost our innovations but will also give a major boost to the UAV manufacturing sector in the country, said Senthil Kumar.He cited that presently, the drones used in India are mainly imported illegally from China and other foreign countries. Using such UAVs is a risk because these drones are mainly controlled by online applications and the data they gather gets stored in a foreign server.Hence, we have invited only Indian companies registered under Indian Companies Act, said the CASR director.

Notably, CASR has been doing dedicated research over the last decade in the field of UAV. Kumar added that their research mainly focuses on making use of drones on societal applications for immediate and future needs of the nation.

He said that the Indian Air Force has announced a UAV Swarm Drone Challenge event called Mehar Baba challenge, leading to co-production with Indian Military Base Repair Depot. CASR is in Phase II presently and looking for joint venture partners to fund the systems/ sub systems which will enable CASR to participate in the forthcoming stages.
Parvez Sultan By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: An alliance between the Congress and the AAP in Delhi looks bleak at the moment, but political compulsions and poll arithmetic suggest they should fight together to defeat the BJP.

The top leadership of the two parties are aware of the fact and may come together to put up a joint front, presenting an uphill task to the BJP which had won all seven seats in the national capital last time.

In the 2017 municipal elections, the AAP got 21 % votes and the Congress share was 26 %. Their combine vote share was higher than BJPs 37%. Despite a strong wave in favour of the BJP, the AAP secured 33.1% votes in 2014 and the Congress got 15.2%. The BJPs 46.6% vote share was about 2 % less than the Congress-AAPs share.

The poll statistics may force both parties to go back to the negotiation table, thereby a coalition cant be ruled out completely. AICC in-charge of Delhi unit PC Chacko asserted on Friday that an alliance is not possible other than Delhi, but added together they could defeat BJP on all seven seats.

We have 21% votes and they have 26 % as per the latest elections. Arithmetically, we together can defeat BJP.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

Chances (of alliance) are always there. Politics is unpredictable. We were ready. We are ready now but except Delhi, other states are not possible, Chacko told The Morning Standard on Friday.

Subhash Chopra, former Delhi Congress president, said conditions for alliance might be reconsidered as it is imperative to crush communal forces.

It is high time that all like-minded parties to come on the same platform and to face BJP unitedly. The BJP, which is spreading hatred and political terror in the country, can easily be trounced by the Congress and AAP coalition.

The Congress, which has finalised names for northeast Delhi, New Delhi, Chandni Chowk, and northwest Delhi, may release the final list of seven candidates on Sunday. According to senior Congress leaders, discussion on nominees had already taken place on Thursday in the Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting. The party is considering former chief minister Sheila Dikshit and Mahabal Mishra for east and west Delhi.

Ramesh Kumar may be fielded from south Delhi but the conviction of his brother Sajjan Kumar in a Sikh riot case is a problem.

Yogananad Shastri is also a front runner from the seat. Champion wrestler Sushil Kumar is another possible name for south Delhi.

However, reports are doing round in the party circles that Dikshit is not interested in contesting election from east Delhi constituency.

Dikshits unwillingness is not a concern, if leadership asks the leaders have to follow. Her candidature fits in the partys seat allocation plan perfectly, said a senior Congress functionary.

PLAN B in offing?

An AAP leader said his party may rework on a seat sharing formula, if the Congress insists on alliance only in Delhi. Had we stitched tie-up in Haryana, our coalition would have wiped out the BJP there. If the Congress is adamant, we may consider another option of leaving two seats for them.
Siddhanta Mishra By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The AAP indicated its willingness to compromise on Friday and become the juniormost ally in Haryana after the Congress turned down the proposal to go for an alliance in the Lok Sabha elections But, the party also put a caveat of allotting only two of the total seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi to the Congress.

A party insider involved in the alliance talks said, if the Congress joins alliance of the JJP and the AAP, then the party is willing to fight on just one seat and support the Grand Old Party in six seats of Haryana.

The remaining three seats will then go to the JJP.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

That if agreed upon, the AAP wants to leave only two seats in Delhi, where it had suggested allowing three constituencies to the Congress.

The AAPs emphasis is to get the Congress to agree for an alliance in Haryana and stretch it to Punjab.

In Haryana, the AAP was eyeing Karnal and Faridabad.

If the Congress sends a proposal to us, then we will consider. In Haryana, we are willing to contest on only one seat and the Congress can fight on six. But still they are not willing to consider. All our surveys show that if there is no alliance in Haryana, then the entire opposition vote will be split, said a senior AAP leader.
Ramananda Sengupta By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been awarded Russias highest civilian award, the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle, for his efforts to promote the strategic partnership between Russia and India.

This is his second international award this month, and the seventh since he assumed office in May 2014.

Earlier this month, Modi was awarded the Zayed Medal  the United Arab Emirates highest civilian award  as a mark of appreciation for his efforts to boost bilateral ties between the two nations.

The Order of St Andrew the Apostle is awarded to prominent statesmen and public figures and representatives of science, culture, arts and various other fields for their exceptional service in promoting the prosperity, greatness and glory of Russia, said the Russian Embassy in New Delhi.

Among the foreign awardees are the President of China Xi Jinping, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, and the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Geydar Aliev. First established in 1698, the award was abolished under the Soviet Union but re-established in 1998.

The ceremony is usually held at the St Andrew Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace, but given the elections in India, it is unclear when Modi will travel to Russia to receive the award.

Honoured to receive this prestigious award, Modi tweeted in response.

I thank President Putin and the people of Russia. Foundations of India-Russia friendship are deep and the future of our partnership is bright. Extensive cooperation between our nations has led to extraordinary outcomes for our citizens President Putin remains a source of great strength for the India-Russia friendship. Under his visionary leadership, bilateral and multilateral cooperation between our nations has scaled new heights.

The External Affairs Ministry said the prime minister has been conferred the highest civilian award of Russia by presidential order.

The award signifies the special and enduring strategic partnership between India and Russia marked by exceptional warmth and friendship extending to our peoples, it added.
Sabyasachi Roy Chaudhuri By

Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Recently I was vacationing at a homestay in a small hamlet called Tumling in Eastern Nepal, located at an altitude of 10,000 feet. When I checked what they were offering for dinner, the answer from the lady running the kitchen was khichdi with potato fritters and pickles. We had a few trekkers and travelers from all over the country, and later in the night, I could notice everyones contented look after a satisfying dinner of the warm comfort food.

Khichdi is a dish for all weathers, all seasons and all occasions. This dish is part of the cuisines of many regions in India, from Gujarat to Bengal, and from Punjab to Telangana. While khichdi is an easy-to-cook dish using rice and lentils, variations using other ingredients like sabudana or millets are also becoming popular among the health conscious. The dal used also varies from place to place and so do the spices.

Within a cuisine the recipe changes based on the occasion, for example in Bengal, where it is called khichudi, the version when prepared for a patient will be completely different from the variant which is cooked for offering to the deity.

In Hyderabad, khichdi is mainly a breakfast dish which is savoured with kheema and a tangy chutney called khatta. Recently there was a move to declare this dish as the national dish of India.

There is no single recipe to prepare khichdi, in fact, the number of variations across the country should be in hundreds. It is said that the dish has served as an inspiration behind the British dish kedgeree, and the recipe travelled from India through the British officers returning from a posting in India. In Hyderabad, various regional versions of the dish are available in different restaurants. For example, the khichdi with kheema and khatta are available in quite a few local restaurants. The Bengali version is available on special occasions at Sarkars Kitchen whereas for the Marathi version you need to visit Marathi Katta on Wednesdays. However, there are now places which specialize in this dish itself and prepare different versions.

Khichadiwala at a drive-in food court in Madhapur is a place which specializes only in this humble dish. This is the Hyderabad outlet of a Nagpur based chain which is also present in Pune and Bangalore. The place serves around 30 different types of khichdi. The usual comfort versions are Mixed Vegetable Khichdi and Moong Dal Khichdi, while specials include a sabudana version served with fried potatoes, as well as a lemon garlic preparation. The outlet serves the dish with a special garlic tadka which can be enjoyed as an add-on. To add some twist to the traditional dish, there are some innovative creations like Italian Khichdi, Tomatina Khichdi and a version with spicy Saoji masala.

Within a couple of months of starting operations, the place already serves more than a hundred plates every day, with a steady demand coming from the home delivery segment too. While the modern versions of the dish is slowly getting accepted, most of the sales are still for the traditional preparations. The Great Khichdi Experiment is a private label under Foodpanda serving many types of khichdis from a cloud kitchen. Langarwali Sal Khichdi, Methi Khichdi, and Dal Palak Khichdi are some of the variants they deliver online.

(Sabyasachi is a food enthusiast and blogs at www.foodaholix.in)
The governor of the Central Bank of Egypt said on Friday that Egypt's economic reform programme has exceeded expectations, and that Cairo is not in need of a new loan programme from the International Monetary Fund.

The IMF's board of governors have expressed keenness to cooperate again with Egypt, Tarek Amer said.

In statements to MENA on the sidelines of the Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the IMF in Washington, the CBE governor said that Egypt is adopting liberal policies given the country's aim to boost economic growth via depending on various funding sources, and not only domestic savings.

The unemployment rate has reached 13 percent, Amer said adding that the budget deficit declined to EGP 6 billion from EGP 20 billion in only two years.

A total of EGP 160 billion has been allocated for investments by the finance ministry, Amer noted.

Amer also said that the country's foreign cash flows from different sources have recorded $130 billion since the Egyptian pound was floated in November 2016.

This is an important indicator that reflects the improvement of the Egyptian economic situation, Amer said.

The amount includes dollar bonds, loans, treasury bills and stock market flows, he added.

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By Express News Service

KOCHI: In a major move, the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) has tied up with Google Maps, the mapping service developed by Google. Through this partnership, Metro routes, fares, stop timing at each station and duration of the trip will be shared to the general public. Those having a mobile phone with Google Maps can easily access the service.

Google Maps is mainly used to know the real-time traffic conditions and route planning for travelling by foot, car, bicycle and air, or public transportation. KMRL, by tying up with Google Maps, will provide the exact position of the trains, the time to reach the station and the route map which will help passengers plan their journey.

Kochi Metro on Google Map will benefit the users immensely as they can view the timing of trains at each station and expected length of their trip. This is a continuation of the open data initiative of KMRL. Because of availability of authentic information on the widely used Google Maps, commuters can have better-informed travel, and so we expect more commuters to our system, said KMRL managing director APM Mohammed Hanish.

He said until now the Google map in Kochi only showed recommendations based on personal commute and trains. The public transit options in Kochi will now include Metro along with personal transport and trains.

Citizens will be the biggest beneficiaries and better-planned journeys will help KMRL to promote public transport and enhance the use of Metro by the public.

Through this initiative, KMRL joins other metro agencies like Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation in the country to push the transit data to Google Maps. KMRL launched the train schedule and fare information in GTFS format and became the first metro agency in India to adopt the open data approach.

GTFS stands for General Transit Feed Specification and is a format through which the transit data can be consumed by a wide variety of software applications. Post opening up the data KMRL has been in discussions with Google to integrate the metro information on Google maps, which is the most used map application for trip planning.

The inauguration was held at the KMRL office at Revenue Tower on Friday. After meeting the procedural requirements, the KMRL GTFS feed has been pushed and is now live on Google Maps. This would enable Google Maps to give better commuting recommendations to the users.
By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: A 34-year-old techie Ravi (name changed) faced an embarrassing situation in his life when he visited Bhavani Island along with his family members, where a couple was seen indulging in public display of affection under a tree.

Feeling uncomfortable after seeing a few similar incidents, he left the place immediately along with his family as the public display of affection (PDA) could impact his 7-year-old son Harshith (name changed). This is nothing but a disturbing incident. How can couples behave so indecently when people are moving around them. I wonder how can the Bhavani Island management allow such people, who may damage the image of the tourist attraction, he rued.

After Bhavani Island, couples and lovers prefer Rajiv Gandhi Park to visit as the security inside the park tends to be less. Shockingly, no CCTV cameras were installed in the parks. With public registering such complaints against couples indulging in public display of affection, officials reportedly placed security to monitor the activities.

Management of parks and police should crack a whip on the couples and lovers when they are found indulging in public display of affection, said another visitor Rama Rao. When TNIE contacted an official concerned of the Berm Park, on the condition of anonymity, he admitted the fact and said they were taking action against people when they came across such incidents.

Obviously, their public display of affection is discomforting for others. In the interests of the public, we are taking action against such couples, though it seems to be moral policing, the official said. Meanwhile, police warned that couples indulging in public display of affection could be booked under relevant sections of public nuisance.

There are reports of anti-social elements capturing the lovers in their mobile phones and misusing the content. Indulging in a public display of affection at isolated places can bring trouble, said City Police Commissioner Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao.
Sajin Shrijith By

Express News Service

Film: Athiran

Director: Vivek

Cast: Fahadh Faasil, Sai Pallavi, Atul Kulkarni, Lena

Athiran opens with the aftermath of three murders witnessed by a woman in the year 1967. Cut to five years later, a doctor (Fahadh Faasil) arrives from Thiruvananthapuram to investigate some unsettling occurrences in a psychiatric facility. One of its residents may or may not have been involved in these murders.

The head of the facility (Atul Kulkarni) and his assistant (Lena) dont take kindly to the doctors unwelcome intrusion. They seem to have something to hide, which the good doctor is determined to find out. He is informed that there are currently five patients being treated in the place. But he learns about a sixth  an autistic girl named Nithya (Sai Pallavi), whose mystery he is eager to solve. Why is Nithya in the state she is now? What happened to Nithyas father (Renji Panicker)? Where is the 7th patient the doctor had interacted with earlier? What are the missing pieces of an old photograph trying to say? Its these questions the second half gives answers to.

Each resident of the asylum is distinct from the other. There is Sudev Nair, who believes that Nithya is his girl. There is an MF Hussain-style painter who paints events that are about to happen. There is a creepy Leona Lishoy walking around in a nuns attire. There is a professor (Vijay Menon) who is looking for the meaning of an elusive German word. There is Surabhi Lakshmi as Vadakkedath Kamala Lakshmi, the funniest of them all. The emotionally distant Nithya, on the other hand, takes some time to warm up to. She utters only two or three words in the entire film. A performance driven entirely by body language and mannerisms, it is easily Sai Pallavis career-best performance. Despite the nature of the subject, this is not a film devoid of whistle-worthy action moments. Both Fahadh and Sai Pallavi get a chance to show off their quick moves, especially in the finale.

Two disparate worlds exist in Athiran and they eventually come together in a way one doesnt see coming. The asylum is a Gothic mansion, situated on a misty high-range area. The western influence is seen in the costumes too. When Fahadh makes his entry wearing a long coat and hat, he looks like a detective straight out of an Agatha Christie mystery novel. The same goes for Atul and Lena. The latters interactions with the young doctor are straight out of film noir: she is a classic femme fatale. When Nithya is introduced, we are taken to a different world  a world featuring thampurans and kovilakams. Its a world filled with treachery, envy, and deceit. Its the world where the aforementioned murders took place. In spite of their differences, both worlds share a palpable coldness.

The production values are on par with some of the best in international cinema. Debutant Vivek uses every cinematic tool at his disposal to conjure up an immersive nightmarish atmosphere. He employs claustrophobic close-ups, dolly zooms, aerial and revolving shots to heighten the tension in some sequences. The film traverses an environment previously introduced to audiences through films such as Thalavattam, Ulladakkam, and Manichithrathaazhu. It also draws inspiration from classic works of literature like H.G Wells The Island of Dr. Moreau, Robert Louis Stevensons The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, and Mary Shelleys Frankenstein. This is a place completely shut off from the rest of the world. The only characters in the film are the ones that reside at the asylum. And since it is set in the 70s  when smartphones didnt exist  its easy to overlook any logical flaw that immediately pops in your head.

Like last years Varathan, Athiran sees Fahadh taking on a more mainstream film that is at once thrilling and emotionally rewarding. For a film about psychologically affected individuals, it never resorts to melodrama to invoke emotions. It has a sense of humour. It knows when and where to crack jokes and a welcome sense of self-awareness that is rarely found in other Indian films belonging to this genre.
Anil S By

Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Promises of welfare and development hold the key in Lakshadweep islands, one of the smallest Lok Sabha constituencies in the country in terms of voters, which is going to the polls in the first phase on Thursday. As Lakshadweep gears up for the poll battle, its a direct fight between the once UPA allies Congress and the NCP.

Once a Congress stronghold, the constituency has been with the late Congress leader PM Sayeed for a long period from 1967 to 1999. In 2004, he lost to a JD(U) candidate. In 2009, Sayeeds son Hamdulla Sayeed won back the seat. However, NCPs Mohammed Faisal wrested the constituency in 2014 with a majority of 1,535 votes. This time again, incumbent MP Mohammed Faisal is taking on Hamdulla Sayeed.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

The welfare projects implemented for islanders are being discussed in detail here. The NCP has been seeking votes, riding on a major insurance scheme - Rs 5 lakh for each - implemented for voters who are not government employees, said Cheriya Koya, one of the voters.

A slew of other matters, including the recent decision sanctioning five new vessels to the islands and sorting out of issues related to online ticketing facility, are also being discussed. In the islands, there was no disaster relief fund. However, an administrative relief fund was introduced recently. Also, there were some issues related to compassionate appointments. Those have also been raised as a campaign topic, said Muthukoya, another islander.

In addition to the Congress and NCP, there are candidates from NDA allies BJP and JD(U), in addition to the CPM and CPI in the fray. BJPs Abdul Khader, Dr Mohammed Sadiq of JD(U), Shereef Khan of CPM and Ali Akbar K of CPI are the other prominent candidates. The constituency has only 54,266 voters from 10 islands - Minicoy, Kavaratti, Agatti, Kiltan, Amini, Kadmath, Chetlat, Bitra, Androth and Kalpeni. The lapses on the part of the Union Government are being discussed in detail. The NCP had promised it would ensure a price of Rs 625 for dried tuna exported to Sri Lanka. But it was not implemented due to some issues. These matters are being raised as the failures of the sitting MP, said a voter.

With just 54,266 voters, anyone who polls around 25,000 votes can win the polls. Thats what the Congress is looking at. The votes polled by the JD(U) candidate could play a crucial role in deciding the winner.
By ANI

NEW DELHI: President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday paid tributes to those who lost their lives in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre that took place on this day 100 years ago.

"A 100 years ago today, our beloved freedom fighters were martyred at Jallianwala Bagh. A horrific massacre, a stain on civilisation, that day of sacrifice can never be forgotten by India. At this solemn moment, we pay our tribute to the immortals of Jallianwala #PresidentKovind," President Kovind tweeted.

"Today, when we observe 100 years of the horrific Jallianwala Bagh massacre, India pays tributes to all those martyred on that fateful day. Their valour and sacrifice will never be forgotten. Their memory inspires us to work even harder to build an India they would be proud of," the Prime Minister wrote on Twitter.

ALSO READ | Jallianwala Bagh massacre centenary: Rahul Gandhi, Amarinder Singh pay floral tributes

The massacre took place on 13 April 1919 when troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer fired machine guns into a crowd of unarmed protesters and pilgrims who had gathered in Jallianwala Bagh in Punjab's Amritsar on the occasion of Baisakhi.

The crowd had assembled peacefully at the venue to condemn the arrest of two national leaders -- Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew -- when they were fired at indiscriminately by General Dyer and his men.

According to British government records, 379 people including men, women, and children were killed while 1,200 were wounded in the firing. Other sources place the number of dead at well over 1,000.

Hundred years on, the United Kingdom is yet to give a full apology for the gruesome attack on unarmed protesters in Amritsar in 1919.

However, British Prime Minister Theresa May had recently said that the United Kingdom "deeply regrets" the 1919 massacre and called it a "shameful scar" on the British-Indian history.

"The tragedy of Jallianwalla Bagh in 1919 is a shameful scar on the British-Indian history. As her Majesty, the Queen said before visiting Jallianwala Bagh 1997, it is a distressing example of our past history with India. We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused," May had said at the British Parliament earlier this week.
By PTI

SRINAGAR: Srinagar's Deputy Mayor Sheikh Mohammad Imran Friday asked Kashmiri youths to add the prefix 'mujahid' to their names to send a strong message that the term is in no way related to terrorism and also to defeat those fighting elections stoking "communal hatred".

"The word 'mujahid' means one who is engaged in jihad (holy war) and a protector who strikes against evil and advocates truthfulness. Every Muslim should be a 'mujahid' and there is no harm in using this prefix. Jihad is a spiritual fight against the enemy. Our religion is being misinterpreted by some sections of media," he said in a statement here. According to him, the term 'mujahid' has been always used in a negative way by the media.

"I will use the prefix 'mujahid' at every place where my name will be used. We are not terrorists. 'Mujahid' is in no way related to any kind of terrorism."

Referring to BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, prefixing their social media handles with the word 'chowkidar', Imran said, "I am not against that. I can appeal to my people to use the prefix 'mujahid'." Imran said he has added 'Mujahid' to his name on Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms and appealed to Kashmiris to follow him.

"It will be a loud and the clear message to people fighting elections stoking communal hatred," he said. He also said every Kashmiri wants peace and resolution to the Kashmir issue but not at the cost of sacrifices of the youth.
Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

LUCKNOW: Bharat Ratna shehnai maestro late Ustad Bismillah Khan's grandson Ustad Nasir Abbas has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing his desire to be a part of PMs nomination team and take part in the process in Varanasi parliamentary constituency on April 26.

"If he (Prime Minister) will allow and offer us to come and be a part of his nomination, we will be more than happy to accept it," wrote Nasir.



Expressing remorse over his family's 2014 decision to keep away from the event even after receiving an invitation, Abbas stated: "It was the biggest mistake on our part that we didn't accept the offer. If someone is giving you respect then you should take it. So far we had no talks with the Prime Minister".

He continued that in 2014 his family had received an invite from the BJP but they had no inkling about it. We had no knowledge of politics then as we are a family of musicians. Even some Congress leaders had dissuaded us from joining Prime Minister Modi's nomination team. So my family had rejected the invite then, wrote Nasir. Later we regretted our decision as we had refused the honour given to us by the PM of this country," he said while speaking to media persons.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

He added that he and his family wanted to continue Bismillah Khans legacy and lead a happy life. It would be our pleasure to become a part of the Prime Minister's nomination team, this time," said Nasir.

"PM Modi has done a lot for our country, especially, for the development of Varanasi. I have full faith that the PM will definitely invite us to his nomination ceremony," he said adding that he had donated a shehnai of Ustad Bismillah Khan, in accordance with the government's wish for a display at the Varanasi Trade Facilitation Centre and Craft Museum.

Speaking about the relationship his grandfather shared with the Congress, Abbas said: "My grandfather was with the Congress because it was the party formed during the independence movement and it ruled the country for a long period."

Meanwhile, BJP chief Amit Shah has been on a two-day tour to PM Modis parliamentary constituency to take stock of the preparations ahead of PMs nomination on April 26. He is believed to have fine-tuned the district BJP machinery and all efforts are being put to make PMs nomination a mega show.

Prime Minister Modi is set to file his nomination for Varanasi constituency on April 26. Varanasi will go to polls on May 19 and the counting of votes is scheduled for May 23.


By Express News Service

NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH: The Aam Aadmi Party on Friday sealed a pre-election pact with the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) to contest together on all 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana.

As per the terms of the agreement, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party will contest on three parliamentary seats while the JPP gets seven.

Arvind is like my elder brother. We want the same kind of reform in the education and health sector for Haryana that is seen in Delhi after the Aam Aadmi Party came to power. We will fight the elections together against the BJP and the Congress, said Dushyant Chautala, president of JJP.

Both the parties will form a joint co-ordination committee and come out with a vision document for Haryana.

If AAP needs my support in other states, the JJP will support in campaigning.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

After the formal alliance with the AAP, Dushyant said that in the coming two to three days, the party will decide on its candidates from the seven seats in Haryana.

Now Chappal, which is our symbol, and jhadu, which is AAPs symbol, will defeat both the BJP and the Congress in Haryana in these elections, he said.

It is learnt that the AAP is likely to contest in Gurugram, Faridabad and either Karnal or Ambala.

Kejriwal tweeted that the people of Haryana wanted this alliance.

Congratulations to the people of Haryana. Together, we will defeat BJP and work for the development of Haryana, the Delhi CM tweeted.

Gopal Rai lashes out at rivals

Delhi in-charge Gopal Rai stated that both the BJP and the Congress were working to weaken democracy.

In the Jind bypoll, we did not field any candidate and decided to support the JJPs candidate. The same plan will be followed in the 10 Lok Sabha seats, he said.
By PTI

CHIKBALLAPUR: Claiming that the BJP has a tactical understanding with Pakistan on the Kashmir issue, senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily demanded to know the basis of Imran Khan's support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the ongoing elections.

The former Union Minister also charged Modi with adopting a "Hitler-kind of attitude", stoking an "atmosphere of hatred in the country and thereby destroying all institutions".

If the Congress comes to power, Moily said it will initiate probes into the functioning of the BJP government during the past five years in which the "nation was misled and kept in the dark" over several important issues like Rafale deal.

"Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has openly supported Narendra Modi as a pre-condition for talks on bilateral resolution of the Kashmir dispute which clearly shows that there is a tactical understanding between the BJP and the Pakistan Prime Minister," the Congress leader told PTI.

Khan's support and also the suggestion that Modi would bring in better ties between the two nations indicate a secret understanding, perhaps compromising the interest of India on Kashmir, he said.

Observing that a war-kind of situation always prevailed during the BJP regime, Moily said, "Everytime the BJP comes to power, there is an escalation of hostility between India and Pakistan, it may be Kargil or attack on Indian Parliament under the Vajpayee government or Balakot and Pulwama under the current regime.

" Ridiculing Modi for his 56-inch chest claim, the former Karnataka chief minister said, "Where is the need to demonstrate even if he has one? Politics of love is totally alien to him which has vitiated the political atmosphere in the country.

" As a result of the 56-inch chest narrative, Pakistan has for the first time openly admitted that it has an atom bomb, he added.

Asserting that the Congress will probe functioning of the Modi government if it comes to power, Moily said, "We will investigate all actions taken during the current BJP's tenure, that include demonetisation, the Balakot attack and sacking of intelligence chief and ferrying of CRPF personnel in a bus despite intelligence input to the contrary".

On Congress's prospects in the current Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka, Moily said the party will win at least 21 seats out of 28 in alliance with the JD(S).

"The Congress and the JD(S) will win at least 21 seats. It could be possible to repeat 1971 when all 27 seats were won by the Congress. This is mainly because the Modi wave is fast waning and he is assuming a Hitler-kind of personality which will be devastating for the country in case he is put in any position of authority," he said.

Both the Congress and the JD(S) are working as a team forgetting differences with a sole aim to defeat the BJP, which has terribly failed to implement its 2014 election promises and created an atmosphere of "fear" among people, he said.

The Congress and the JD(S) are in alliance contesting in 21 seats and 7 seats respectively in the current Lok Sabha elections.

Moily, however, refused make any assessment on the number of seats that the BJP or the Congress would win at the national level saying it will definitely be a Congress-led government in which regional parties may have a say based on pre and post-poll alliances.

Expressing concern over the possibility of EVMs being rigged in this election, the former union minister said the Supreme Court judgement on VVPATs is "too little to check manipulation" as monitoring five machines in a constituency is too less.

He accused the BJP of introducing "politics of hatred" and said, "This must end and pave way for politics of love. This can only be started by Rahul Gandhi".

Modi, he said, has all qualities like "false ego and anger", which is not desirable from a national leader. He further said that the BJP talks of corruption but is least interested in checking it.

"It was during my tenure as Union Law Minister that the Congress brought in a Lokpal bill but it has taken five years for the BJP to implement it and that too under pressure of the impending elections," he said.

"Rahul Gandhi has been consistently fighting on the issue of corruption by bringing the issue of Rafale deal. Now even the apex court sees something amiss and agreed to the probe," he said.
Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

LUCKNOW: Notwithstanding the controversy surrounding the invoking of Armymen in campaign speeches, BJP chief Amit Shah could not resist mentioning the Balakot airstrike at a poll rally in Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday.

Shah said the Air Force, upon Narendra Modi's direction, went to Pakistan to conduct surgical strikes in response to the Pulwama attack. "We can't do ILU-ILU (I love you) with Pakistan as demanded by the SP-BSP alliance and Congress after the Pulwama attack. I just want to make it clear that if a bullet comes from Pakistan, we will reply with a bomb, he said to a cheering crowd.

He added that only PM Modi and the BJP can provide security against terrorist activities because the Congress, BSP and SP are only interested in vote bank politics.

Playing the Dalit card in the reserved constituency, Shah also took a potshot at BSP chief Mayawati, saying, "The Narendra Modi government has done a lot of work to ensure uplift of the Dalit society. When the election comes, Behenji remembers Ambedkar. But on winning elections, she only erects her own statues," he claimed. He also highlighted Modi's visit to the Kumbh Mela and the felicitation of Dalit sanitation workers there.

Later in Badaun, Shah urged people to vote for change (BJP) as the Samajwadi Party MP (Dharmendra Yadav) only indulged in hooliganism.

Raising the triple talaq issue, Shah said the opposition tried to come in the way of it. Shah also promised complete electrification of villages, jobs for everyone and a toilet in every home by 2022. "Let Rahul baba, Mayawati and Akhileshji cry," he said.

Shah charged the Congress party with doing nothing for the poor and promoting corruption during their 55 years of rule. Rahul baba and company ruled the country but did no good to the poor. These people

did nothing except indulge in corruption," he asserted.
The Arab Coordination Group and the World Bank met on Friday to strengthen cooperation on critical development issues and policy reforms in the Arab region, and to take the partnership to a more substantive level.



The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund.

There is an ongoing strategic partnership between the World Bank and the Arab Coordination Group, which comprises bilateral and multilateral Arab development institutions, aimed at improving the quality and inclusiveness of growth, maximising job creation, and achieving economic transformation supported by joint investments, analytical work, and advocacy and convening.



High-level representatives attending the meeting recognised the need to jointly support countries in setting policies to underpin investments in specific sectors with a view to achieving more sustainable and forward-looking development; lay the groundwork for a digital economy by bolstering IT infrastructure and the regulatory environment for digital payment systems and financial services; improve learning outcomes through education reforms and market-relevant skills development; accelerate private sector development by promoting competition and innovation policies, supporting ecosystems for small and medium-sized enterprises, and improving business and investment climates; and strengthen regional cooperation on water security, energy trade, and financial sector development, with a focus on financially inclusive and integrated Arab economies.

Representatives also recognised the need to continue helping countries strengthen their resilience to climate change, including through climate-smart investments, all within the framework of helping countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.



Both the World Bank and the Arab Coordination Group institutions are natural strategic partners, having a long record of supporting development, said Ferid Belhaj, World Bank vice president for Middle East and North Africa.

This strategic partnership is aimed at building synergies and closer collaboration to help achieve stronger and longer-lasting impact in the region, building on a shared vision for a stable, prosperous, dynamic MENA that harnesses the vast potential of the regions greatest assets, its youth and women  a region that is open for business.



The meeting paves the way for joint policy dialogue, investment financing and analytical work, and outreach to stakeholders in the region, and is expected to enable the development of joint policy reform packages, sharpen the focus on results, improve project planning, and prepare joint events to further operationalise the partnership.



We are glad to enter a new stage of our already strong partnership with more ambitious objectives and with the aim of strengthening policy dialogue as a cornerstone for sustainable and lasting growth, said Abdlatif Y. Al-Hamad, dean of the ACG and the director-general and chairman of the board of directors of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development.

With our combined resources and expertise, we are better equipped to make a difference in peoples lives.



Arab countries are poised to lead discussions in several cross-regional and global fora, from Egypts chairing of the African Union, the G20 presidency of Saudi Arabia in 2020, and Moroccos hosting of the 2021 Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the IMF.

The World Bank-ACG strategic partnership is a complement to these important international discussions and will support the regions efforts to put forward an ambitious yet achievable global development agenda.



The next high-level World Bank-ACG meeting will take place during the 2019 World Bank-IMF Annual Meetings in October, during which representatives will take stock of the progress in advancing the partnerships agenda and how it can be accelerated further.

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Manasa R By

Online Desk

A hundred years later, the Jallianwala Bagh massacre continues to haunt the collective consciousness of a country's people. Although well known, the events of April 13, 1919 and what preceded them remain poorly understood, says historian Kim Wagner. In his latest book, Jallianwala Bagh: An Empire of Fear and the Making of the Amritsar Massacre, a scholarly and strictly unsentimental account, Wagner presents a sombre reality of the vulnerable position of the British in India amidst the empire's racist fear triggered by the bloody 1857 Mutiny, leading to the colonial brutality.

Excerpts from an interview:

You describe the Jallianwala Bagh massacre as both a catalyst for India's freedom struggle as well as a 'historically meaningful event in its own right.' Can you elaborate?

Nobody in 1919 realised that the events at Amritsar would have such a major impact on the future of the British Raj - or that people would be talking about it a hundred years later. It is important to distinguish between the significance accorded to historical events decades later, and the events themselves as they unfold.

Kim Wagner

We've heard very little about what happened on April 10, 1919, three days before the massacre...

There were violent riots in Delhi on March 30 and in Lahore and elsewhere subsequently, including in Amritsar on April 10 - so the reality of Gandhi's passive resistance movement was rather more complicated. The key thing to remember, however, is that Indian violence in each and every instance was precipitated by British actions.

You have devillainized General Dyer in order to show how he was just an enabler of the colonial vision. How have people reacted to this nuanced version of Dyer?

There is no question that Dyer was responsible for the massacre, but I think it is important to understand that his mindset was shared by many of his fellow British officers and that there was nothing uniquely 'evil' about him. People like to think of him as a sort of pantomime-villain, the way he is depicted in the Gandhi movie for instance. But we need to understand that his actions were in full keeping with the mindset and logic of colonial violence and that - sadly - there were many like him in India and throughout the Empire.

You've explained in the book how the Rowlatt Act, which played a role in the Amritsar massacre, was totally avoidable. Why?

There were no revolutionary movements active in 1919 and the unrest in Punjab was dealt with under the provisions of the Defence of India Act of 1915 which were still in force. The Rowlatt Act was never used and was indeed withdrawn a few years later - which means that the entire thing could have been avoided.

Theresa May recently expressed 'regret' over the massacre, calling it a "shameful scar" on British Indian history. You speak of then PM Winston Churchill and what went wrong in his 'apology speech'. How do you view these two different statements?

Churchill emphatically did not apologise and his speech in 1920 singled out Dyer as a rotten apple, while the Empire itself remained morally untarnished. Theresa May repeated the same kind of rhetoric and never indicated that Britain and the British Empire had any responsibility or that an apology was due.

You write that some instances are to be remembered, and some wounds are to never be opened. In this context, what sort of apology/reparations do the British owe Indians?

I think the British owe Indians to face up to the past, rather than merely making some kind of mealy-mouthed non-apology. We also have to remember that if an apology was made (and I dont think it will), it would probably serve to gloss over the history of the Raj and those of a pro-Empire inclination would able to say 'we've apologised so now let's move on and forget it'.

In the light of Brexit, how dangerous is empire nostalgia, which is taking over the world now?

Like any kind of nationalist myth-making, it plays a big role in everyday politics. I think that attempts to rehabilitate the British Empire as a powerful force for good in the world go hand in hand with Britain's decline as a global power  empire nostalgia is thus a symptom rather than a cause.

In terms of politics of space, how is the site of the violence viewed today? And how, in your opinion, should it be perceived?

The site of the memorial at Jallianwala Bagh has been transformed into a celebration of the independence struggle rather than a memorial to the people who died in 1919. None of those killed on April 13 were calling for independence and it is only after 1947 that the Jallianwala Bagh massacre could be identified as the beginning of the end of British rule in India. For me, there is very little left of the original historical site and there are few attempts at preserving it properly.

In the centennial year of the massacre, what do you want readers of the book to ruminate upon?

There are many myths surrounding the massacre, and I think the best way of remembering those who died a hundred years ago is by understanding the historical facts and what actually happened. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre was indisputably an atrocity and there is no need to exaggerate the horrors of that day.

Title: Jallianwala Bagh: An Empire of Fear and the Making of the Amritsar Massacre

Author: Kim A. Wagner

Publisher: PENGUIN

Price: Rs 599

READ: Jallianwala Bagh massacre: The day British Raj showed its true colours

READ: Deeply regret what happened at Jallianwala Bagh: British envoy
By Online Desk

Union Minister and senior BJP leader Maneka Gandhi received a show-cause notice from the District Magistrate of UP's Sultanpur on Saturday, from where she is contesting the Lok Sabha elections 2019, for saying on camera that she would not be responsive towards the Muslims' requests if they don't vote for her in the polls.

A report has also been sent to the Election Commission in this regard, sources said.



"The Election Commission has taken cognisance of the matter. District Magistrate, Sultanpur has issued a show-cause notice to her and a report has been sent to the poll body," BR Tiwari, Additional Chief Election Officer said.

While addressing a rally in Turabkhani village in her parliamentary constituency, the Union Minister said that she was winning by peoples support.

If this victory will come to me without the support of Muslims, I will not like it. I will be hurt, she stated.

If Muslims come to me asking for work, then I will think let it be, how does it matter? After all, a giving job is also a deal, she said, adding that voters from the minority community needed to understand that she was not among those who would continue to work for everyone and getting befooled in the election.

I will win with or without your (Muslims) support. In Pilibhit I worked for everyone without any discrimination. You have to decided if you want to support or not. If you need my services, do vote for me else no need of that," the Union Minister further added.

After her comments went viral on social media and sparked outrage, the BJP leader later on Friday, clarified that her words had been twisted.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

"I love Muslims and I had myself called a meeting of the BJP's minority cell. I only meant to say that I am winning the elections and their participation would be like 'daal pe chaunka'."

However, the Congress party on Friday moved the Election Commission against Maneka for her remarks.

A Congress delegation comprising Ahmed Patel, K C Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Randeep Surjewala and Shaktisinh Gohil, made the representations to the EC and demanded immediate action.

"The Congress raised the issue of the remarks made by Maneka Gandhi with EC," Surjewala told reporters.

The party demanded that an FIR be registered against Maneka and cancel her nomination, Surjewala said.

(With Inputs from agencies and ENS)
Pushkar Banakar By

Express News Service

AGRA/MATHURA: It is 7am and the heat is yet to hit Mathura. But with only six days left for polling, political tempers are up and searing.

A glance at the dingy tea stall, amid hordes of stray cattle, right at the entrance of the city tells the tale.

Arey Modiji ka koi pratiyogi nahi (Modi has no competition), says a middle-aged man to a skinny, betel-chewing boy. Not the one to take the opinion mildly, the boy retorts, Modiji thodi na Mathura mein aake kaam karenge (Will Modi come and stay in Mathura)? Yet Modi naam is a chant MPs need as many take their sitting MPs to be useless.

All talk in town gravitates towards the impending polls and caste and community equations, and opinions are divided. However, what unites them is anger towards their MP, actor-turned-politician Hema Malini.

She must stick to movies. She does not understand poverty. But, Modi has done a lot for us, 45-year-old Jat weaver Mukesh Kumar says, as his family of four nods in agreement. Mathura, a traditional Jat stronghold votes on April 18.

Mukeshs wife Kiran Devi, also a weaver, does not agree. Our MP is from the BJP. If she has not worked, how can we say BJP worked? she retorts, adding, None of the schemes Modi promised reached us. What do we do with temples? We have many here already.

A kilometre away, near the birthplace of Lord Krishna, is the Muslim-dominated Manoharpura where a debate rages on whether Modi is good for India, or not.

Hemaji has done well. Look at the roads. There is no water and electricity problem. Modi has taken the country to a new level. The only problem is Yogi Adityanath. He is best in an Ashram, not on the CMs seat, 35-year-old chicken shop owner Shagir Khan tells cousin Mohammad Abrar, 22.

Abrar is not convinced. I am educated but have to run a chicken shop. Is this not the governments fault that there is unemployment? It also does not help that the current government discriminates against Muslims. My community is against BJP, he said.

Armed with a fresh BJP ticket, Hema is up against Mahesh Pathak of the Congress and Kunwar Narendra of the RLD in a triangular contest.

Driving into Agra, one is greeted with banners of SP-BSP-RLD candidate Manoj Kumar Soni and Congress candidate Preeta Harit, but none of the UP minister and BJP candidate SP Singh Baghel. We dont need to. They know him, trust him, said a party worker.

Baghel is confident of his victory. I have been a resident of Agra for 15 years and helped everyone, including Muslims. Around 45% of people have elected me thrice in the past, he says.

SETTLED CHOICES IN AGRA

Unlike Mathura, Agras residents have candid views. Doctors, lawyers, traders and the common man, openly express their love for the Saffron, though many are yet unaware of the candidates in fray.

45-year-old Raman Koli, a Dalit nursing assistant in Fatehbad area said, Whoever be the candidate, Ill vote for the BJP, so will others from my community. Pointing to another candidates hoarding, he asks, Who knows him?

Babli, a sweeper from Valmiki caste and mother of two said with a hint of smile, I am uneducated but the Lotus will bloom. Agra is often referred to as the centre of Dalit politics in UP with close to 1.9 lakh Jatavs and same number of Muslims.

Traders of Agra also seem to be with the BJP and it is not uncommon to hear the word Modi every 10 seconds in the biggest footwear market of Agra, Sadar Bazar.

At Dawar Shoe Store, trade association president Jawahar Dawar claims, Of 250 traders, over 65% are Muslims and happy with the BJPs work.

It is here that the Balakot strikes have struck a chord with the public. Jobs are for us to get. The country comes first and no one takes care of it like Modi, 33-year-old Saleem Khan says. Pointing towards the relatively clean road and a public toilet in the distance, he adds, Who else could have done this?

GST and demonetisation have also struck a chord with the traders.

Both were absolutely necessary. Chor kam ho gaye hai ab (Thieves are less in number now), Dawar said.

The enthusiasm in the party offices is also a tell-tale sign. While local BJP offices brim with enthusiasm, Opposition offices wear a desolate and dingy look.

BABBAR SHER IN SIKRI

Fatehpur Sikri is a picture in contrast. Hoardings of Congress candidate and actor Raj Babbar adorn each bylane. People say, with Babbar in fray, Congress has revived its chances. The constituency is predominantly Muslim and also has pockets of Rajputs in its rural areas.

78-year old bearded welding shop owner Haji Anwar says without prompting, Fatehpur Sikri is going the Congress way. Had it not been for Babbar, the Congress would have stood no chance here, he says as a lanky 40-year-old Gabbar Shahi, a vegetable vendor and Moumin Anwar (45) break into slogans of Congress Zindabad.

Hearing them, a part time textile merchant-cum-marriage contractor Kale says, Just look around. There is widespread unemployment and hunger. Is this Sabka Vikas?

In Nagar village, labourer Hari Singh and his tooth- fixing wife Meena sit and gaze into the distance. They belong to Sisodia caste and are Rajputs.

Singh claims, demonetization hit him so hard that he can barely earn enough to feed his family.

His wifes tooth fixing business is also in tatters.

I used to be a staunch BJP supporter. Not now.

Surgical strikes are fine but we need to feed ourselves, he says.

His wife Meena says, Babbar sahib hi kuch kar sakenge humara (Only Babbar can do something for us).
By PTI

GANDHINAGAR: The Congress, which had in the past fielded popular figures like former CEC T N Seshan and actor Rajesh Khanna from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat, has this time given ticket to its two-time MLA, CJ Chavda, for whom taking on BJP chief Amit Shah seems to be an uphill task.

There is a talk in political circles that although the seat has been a BJP bastion from 1990s, a strong opponent could have given a tough fight to Shah.

Shah has replaced veteran BJP leader L K Advani had won the Gandhinagar seat six times.

In the past, the Congress had fielded T N Seshan, Rajesh Khanna and former state DGP P K Dutta from this high profile seat against BJP stalwarts like L K Advani and A B Vajpayee.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

The constituency has the highest number of 19.21 lakh voters among all the 26 constituencies in Gujarat. It comprises seven assembly segments- Gandhinagar North,Kalol, Sanand, Ghatlodiya, Vejalpur, Naranpura and Sabarmati.

In the 2017 Assembly elections, the five urban seats - Ghatlodiya, Vejalpur, Naranpura, Sabarmati and Sanand - went to the BJP, while the two semi-rural constituencies of Gandhinagar North and Kalol were won by the Congress.

Chavda, an MLA from Gandhinagar North seat, belongs to the Thakor community which has been a strong supporter of the Congress.

Chavda, a veterinary doctor, who went on to become a deputy collector before joining politics, believes that the fight is between the Congress and the BJP and not Amit Shah and him.

ALSO READ: Amit Shah should apologise for NRC remark: Kerala Christian Forum

"Do not call it a fight between Amit Shah and C J Chavda. This is a contest between the Congress and the BJP. If he is the national president of the BJP, then why did he choose the so-called safe seat in Gujarat. He could have contested from a challenging seat," Chavda said.

"Our leaders had come to Gandhinagar recently (on March 12) and held a mega rally in Gandhinagar, which was attended by lakhs of people. The rally has shown that everything is not right for the BJP in Gujarat. We will give a tough fight to the BJP," he added.

Shah has earlier said that fighting election from the Gandhinagar seat, where Vajpayee and Advani, had contested and won, was a matter of pride. He also belongs to the same region, unlike the other two leaders.

In the past, Shah had won the Gujarat Assembly elections four times from Sarkhej constituency (before delimitation), and once from Naranpura seat (after delimitation), both of which are part of Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat.

ALSO READ: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi slams Amit Shah over NRC

In the past, he had acted as in-charge of Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat for Advani, when the national leader was busy campaigning for the BJP in other parts of country in 2009.

When Shah was asked about the chances of his victory during his road-show held last Saturday, he had said, "Look at the crowd in the road-show, which itself will tell you who is going to win the seat."

In the 1999 general election, the Congress had fielded T N Seshan, former Chief Election Commissioner, credited for transforming the Election Commission (EC) in the 1990s, against Advani from Gandhinagar. Seshan managed to give a credible fight to Advani.

Before that, in the 1998 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress had given ticket to former Gujarat DGP P K Dutta.

Advani had won this seat for six times from 1991 to 2014, barring the 1996 polls when Vajpayee had contested from Gandhinagar as well as Lucknow.

ALSO READ: BJP freed UP from NIZAM, says Amit Shah

After getting elected from both the seats, Vajpayee had retained Lucknow, which had necessitated a bypoll here, in which Congress had given ticket to popular film actor Rajesh Khanna against BJP candidate Vijay Patel. However, Khanna had lost the election.

A section of Congress supporters believe that had the party given ticket to a strong candidate, who is popular with urban voters, then the fight would have been interesting.

After the announcement of Shah's name, the Congress had tried a search for a strong candidate here and even thought of fielding Patidar quota agitation leader Hardik Patel. However, as the court did not stay his conviction in a case, it was not possible, party sources said.

"Our local MLA (Chavda) is a strong candidate for us to take on Shah. Though high profile BJP leaders are representing this seat since 1990, basic issues here are clean drinking water, affordable education, health care and jobs, which has been affecting the people of the constituency," Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said.

He also expressed confidence that the Congress will dent the BJP's prospects in Gandhinagar.

For Shah, his trusted aide Harshad Patel is in-charge of his constituency. Party workers, including the youth wing, have been working hard everyday to canvas for Shah.

The BJP chief has conducted two road-shows in his constituency, the first being on the day of filing of nomination form and the second one a week later- on April 6.

He is scheduled to hold more road-shows and address public meeting.

In the Gandhinagar constituency, maximum number of voters are Patidars, followed by Thakors.

The Congress expects that Patidars may support the party after the quota agitation. However, it is unlikely to happen, which was visible in the 2017 state elections, in which the community supported the BJP.

"Caste won't be a factor here as this is the stronghold of the BJP. People know that the party can provide development and security. We have shown our development works to the people," BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya said.

"Congress had lost the polls on this seat even before they put a candidate. Whoever they would have put BJP was sure to win here," he said.
By PTI

MUMBAI: Slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Friday said the PM only levels allegations against Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi but refuses to talk about women's safety and farm issues.

Addressing a poll rally in Nanded, he said removing BJP chief Amit Shah and Modi from the country's politics was of utmost importance and to make that possible, everyone should be sent a message to go out in large numbers and vote for a new future.

Ashok Chavan, the sitting MP from Nanded, is pitted against BJP's Pratap Chikhalikar, an MLA from Loha seat in Latur district.

"Modi has fooled people for the last four and a half years. In every election rally of his, he keeps talking of irrelevant issues, criticises (former PMs) Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi. However, he does not talk about rising unemployment, farmers issues and women's safety," he said.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

Thackeray said the word "pradhansevak" used by Modi has actually been taken from Nehru's statement.

"Modi calls himself pradhan sevak. This word has actually been taken from a statement of Pandit Nehru, where he says people should not remember him as a prime minister but a pratham sevak. Modi has changed the word to pradhan sevak," he said.

Thackeray said the prime minister should be ashamed to seek votes in the name of martyred soldiers.

"Yogi Adityanath says the country's army is Modi's army. Today Modi asks first-time voters to vote for the jawans who conducted the Balakot air strike and the jawans killed in the Pulwama attack. Does he not feel ashamed to ask for votes in the name of jawans?" the MNS leader questioned.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Dismissing the reports of infighting between her brothers Tej Pratap Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav due to distribution of tickets, RJD candidate from Patliputra Misa Bharti has said the opposition is "spreading these rumours", but her party is united to end Modi raj.

"There are no problems between them. Tej Pratap ji always considered Tejashwi as his 'Arjun'. He might have suggested some names and discussions might be going on or party must have taken decision unanimously.

It is a common process and every political party goes through it," Bharti, the eldest daughter of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, told PTI in an email interview.

"It doesn't mean that they are not with the final decision that the party made. Opposition is happy spreading these rumours, but people know that elections are contested on issue. The RJD is united and firm on turning the tide against the Modi government," she said.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

There have been reports that Tej Pratap Yadav, the mercurial elder son of Lalu-Rabri, had been resentful of Tejashwi Yadav being declared as the political heir apparent of the RJD supremo.

Tej Pratap Yadav has dropped many hints in the past few years that he was uneasy with the growing clout with his younger, but more suave and savvy, brother.

Last month, he resigned as the 'sanrakshak' (mentor) of the party's students wing, which was seen yet another expression of his frustration at being politically sidelined.

On April 1, he announced the formation of a parallel outfit Lalu Rabri Morcha, which he insisted was not separate from the RJD.

Tej Pratap Yadav also urged his mother, Rabri Devi, to contest from the Saran Lok Sabha seat in place of the father of his estranged wife and threatened to contest as an Independent if his request was not heeded.

Bharti is pitted against BJP's Ram Kripal Yadav, minister of states for Rural Development and former close aide of Lalu Prasad, whom she used to call "chacha" (uncle).

In 2014, he left the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) to join the BJP after being denied ticket from the Yadav-dominated Patliputra constituency.

Yadav defeated Bharti by over 40,000 votes in 2014.

Bharti accused him of ignoring the constituency and making false promises.

"There have been many promises in the last five years, but people got communalism, riots, mob lynching only. Nothing has changed in Patliputra in the last five years. Unemployment, lack of drinking water, law and order situations are major issues here, but the MP did not pay any attention," the member of Rajya Sabha said.

Bharti is the only member of Lalu Prasad's family in this electoral battle and is also feeling the absence of her father, who is sentenced in several fodder scam cases and serving a jail term in Jharkhand.

He is currently in a hospital in Ranchi.

"Laluji is an ideology. You can confine a person, but not his ideology. It is not only me who is feeling his absence, but everyone whose voices have been suppressed on caste, religion and economic grounds. People will express their anger through voting," she added.

On being asked about the presence of the "Modi wave", she said there is no "Modi lehar", but it is "Modi kehar" (fear) in the country.

"Government has been running like an event management company in the last five years. They are trying to hide their failures and main issues in the name of patriotism. Government has been limited to six words only chai, pakode, chowkidar, gai, bhagode and bhagidaar," said Bharti.

She also termed the BJP's manifesto as an attempt of the branding of Prime Minister Narendra Modi by equating him to India.

"The Congress's manifesto focuses on people and removing poverty, while the BJP's manifesto on branding of egoistical Modi by equating him to India. From the pictures of 11 leaders in 2014 to depiction of just one man in 2019 'Sankalp Patra'.

Uniform Civil Code, Ram temple, Citizenship Bill are all reflective of Hindu majoritarian dominance theory of the BJP, which is not good for a diverse country like India," said the firebrand leader.

When asked if the caste equations will be decisive again in Bihar, she said atrocities on Dalits and backwards cannot be ignored.

"Rohit Vemula, reservation based on economic condition, ban on 27 per cent reservation to OBCs in MP, Saharanpur riots, there have been so many incidents so how can you think that people will not vote on the basis of caste against the Modi government," she said.

She also feels that it will be easier for the 'mahagathbandhan' to connect with the people due to charisma of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress general secretary Uttar Pradesh-East.

"The RJD is stronger in Bihar, but the Congress has immense experience of centre politics. People wanted to see Priyanka ji in active politics and she connects with them easily. It will surely benefit the alliance," Bharti said.
G Subhash Chandra By

Express News Service

CHITRADURGA: The 2019 general election is an ideological battle between the BJP and the Congress, said AICC president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday, adding that love, truth and brotherhood would triumph over hate, false statements and hegemony.

Addressing a massive gathering at the government science college grounds here, Rahul said, unlike Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, the party wouldn't make any false assurances to the public. Instead, Nyay, which is a meticulously planned programme aimed at elevating the poor would be implemented.

Under the programme, each family would get Rs 6000 per month, Rs 72000 per year and Rs 3.60 lakh for five years without burdening the economy. The programme has been designed after sufficient research by renowned economists, he said.

During his speech, Rahul reiterated that the money given to the beneficiaries of the Nyay scheme would be credited directly to the accounts of the women of the family and 25 crore poor families of the country would be benefited by the programme.

Claiming that he is not the 'chowkidar' of the country and wouldn't lie, Rahul said that he would listen from the heart and all the programmes promised by him could be easily implemented without damaging

the economy.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

Taking a dig at Anil Ambani, the Congress president said, "Even though Anil Ambani became a defaulter after obtaining Rs 3 lakh crore loan, he is allowed to move freely across the world like Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and Lalit Modi, but if a poor farmer becomes a defaulter, he would be sent behind bars. This faulty law needs to be changed."

Rahul assured that no farmer would be put behind bars if he became a defaulter. Instead, they would be supported with special programmes like increasing the minimum support prices for agricultural produce, drip irrigation schemes, new technologies in the agricultural sector and other measures to make farmers self-reliant.

Rahul said if the Congress came to power, it would deliver a separate agricultural budget to develop

the farming sector, which is in dire straits.
By ANI

NEW DELHI: The voter turnout in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections conducted across 18 states and two Union Territories on April 11 is 69.43 per cent, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said on Saturday.

In a press note, the ECI said, "The voter turnout percentage from eighteen states and two Union Territories that went to polls on April 11 in the first phase Lok Sabha elections 2019, has recorded a figure of 69.43 per cent."

However, the ECI stated that this percentage is still likely to go up as the data from some polling booths in remote locations are yet to be consolidated.

FOLLOW OUR ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

The release further said: "In the phase 1, 91 Parliamentary Constituencies (PCs) from Andhra Pradesh (25/25 PCs), Arunachal Pradesh (2/2 PCs), Assam (5/14PCs), Bihar (4/40 PCS), Chhattisgarh (1/11 PCs), Jammu & Kashmir (2/6 PCs), Maharashtra (7/48PCs), Manipur (1/2 PCs), Meghalaya (2/2PCs), Mizoram (1/1 PC), Nagaland (1/1 PC), Odisha (4/21 PCs), Sikkim (1/1 PC), Telangana (17/17 PCs), Tripura (1/2 PCs) Uttar Pradesh (8/80PCs), Uttarakhand (5/5 PCs), West Bengal (2/42 PCs) as also Andaman & Nicobar Islands (1/1 PC) and Lakshadweep (1/1 PC) went to Polls."

"Out of 13,16,22,586 total electors from these constituencies, 9,13,79,409 electors cast their votes, comprising 4,64,30,614 males, 4,49,20,571 females and 1395 from third Gender," the release added.

The polling body further said, "The top five voter turnout percentage has been - 84.96 per cent from Lakshadweep; 83.79 per cent from West Bengal, 83.26 per cent from Tripura, 83.12 per cent from Nagaland and 82.82 per cent from Manipur, though some polling parties were yet to contribute their figures to the data."
By PTI

SRINAGAR: National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah Saturday said this parliamentary elections will decide whether Jammu and Kashmir will be "able to remain a part of the Union with dignity".

Addressing election meetings in at Babademb in Khanyar and Kangan in Ganderbal, Abdullah, who is contesting from Srinagar Lok Sabha seat, said people have to vote for preserving the country's secular disposition, integrity and unity.

"This election shall decide if the state of Jammu and Kashmir is able to remain a part of the Union with dignity. The people of state are directly fighting the BJP and their cronies here through ballot for the protection of their identity," he said.

"This election will decide if we are able to live with our neighbouring country in peace. The general elections are also significant since it is a direct fight between falsehood and truth. However, no matter how much they try, falsehood is bound to perish," the NC president said.

Abdullah also said the ongoing general elections will decide if the people of the country, irrespective of their caste and creed, are able to live with dignity.

"So, it is imperative for all of us to make our choice correctly," he said.

Alleging that Jammu and Kashmir was "facing immense onslaught" from all sides, the former Union minister said, "Today, forces inimical to our special status and identity are also trying to distort our history."

He alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has failed on all fronts.

"He is a failed prime minister of a failed government. He has failed on every conceivable matrix. Not to talk of his promises which he made in the run up to the 2014 elections. He has put into abyss what good was achieved by the previous government.

"Why is he (Modi) shying away from answering what he was able to achieve during his stint in power? The other day, Congress leader Kapil Sibal revealed a Rs three lakh crore currency racket involving the BJP. Not just that, people are seeking answers from him (prime minister) on Rafael deal," Abdullah said.

He accused Modi of "flaring up" tension with Pakistan to "hide his misrule", and sought an inquiry into the Pulwama terror attack that claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel.

"I earnestly insist a thorough inquiry into the incident that killed 40 CRPF men on the Jammu-Srinagar highway. Unfortunately, PM Modi is milking the post-Pulwama situation and Balakote (anti-terror airstrikes) to extreme levels to hide his misrule and misgovernance.

"However, he cannot befool the intelligent masses of the country with his sophistry and gimmickry. He stands no chance, Abdullah said.
M Venkaiah Naidu By

If only there were television and social media in the early 20th century, India would have gained Independence at least 25 years earlier than it finally did in 1947. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, which took place on 13 April 1919, would have ensured that, given the magnitude of its brutality. Even Rabindranath Tagore came to know of the monstrosity only a month later on May 22. He renounced his Knighthood in protest of the murder of innocents.

On this day, 100 years ago, the colonialists bared the evil at the core of their so-called enlightened rule. Brigadier General Reginald Dyer ordered his troops to fire at innocent Indians who had gathered in the 200 yards x 200 yards Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar. The people included those who came for Baisakhi celebrations and those protesting against the arrest and deportation of two nationalist leaders Dr Satya Pal and Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew.

The crowd was not asked to disperse. And the main entry of the park was closed. The firing continued for 10 minutes. It stopped only when the British ran out of ammunition. People ran. They tried to escape through narrow outlets, many even jumped into the well in the park. Hundreds lost their livesincluding a six-month-old. Bullet marks are still visible on the walls of the park, reminding us of the brutality of the blood-thirsty colonialists.

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre had a certain context. India supported the British in WWI by providing men and materials in the hope of gaining partial autonomy. But anti-colonial militant activities continued in Bengal and Punjab, the frontline states in the struggle for freedom at that time. Defence of India Act was passed in 1915 to prevent the disruption of war efforts.

The Act severely curbed the political and civil rights of Indians. The sedition committee led by British judge Sidney Rowlatt was set up to probe the links between Indian militants and German and Bolshevik revolutionaries. In an earlier escalation of protests, the people of Amritsar were forced to crawl on their knees and even put in open cages. The Montague-Chelmsford reforms of 1917, were found to be insufficient by the Indians and their leadership. Resentment was mounting across India. It was compounded by the fallout from the protracted war.

On the other hand, realising that India cant be ruled by sheer force, the Raj was seeking to gain legitimacy through so-called progressive laws. Until Jallianwala Bagh happened, the moderate leadership was seeking a larger share for Indians in the administration, leave alone dominion status. But all of this changed with Dyers brutality.

The massacre was a major turning point in our struggle for Independence. It was the most impactful since the First War of Independence in 1857. It shattered the faith some people had in the British. In the eyes of the average Indian, the just, fair and liberal Englishman turned into a tyrant who could not be trusted.

Dyer had ordered his troops to fire in a bid to strike terror in the hearts and minds of disobeying Indians and to deter the militant freedom fighters. All of it boomeranged. The Raj had lost the legitimacy to rule. The senseless massacre not only shocked Indians but also some sections of British society and even the world.

The then Secretary of State of War Winston Churchill, not known to be a friend of India termed the massacre monstrous. During a debate in the House of Commons on 8 July 1920, Churchill gave a moving account of the massacre and said: The crowd was unarmed. It was not attacking anybody or anything ... When fire had been opened upon it to disperse it, it tried to run away. Pinned up in a narrow place considerably smaller than Trafalgar Square, with hardly any exits, and packed together so that one bullet would drive through three or four bodies, the people ran madly this way and the other. The House of Commons then voted 247 to 37 against Dyer. He was subsequently removed from the service thOUGH the House of Lords praised him.

After the massacre, Mahatma Gandhi, who supported the British during WWI, called for non-cooperation with the Raj in 1920. He realised India should accept nothing less than Poorna Swaraj. A Punjabi youth Udham Singh was among those who witnessed the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and was wounded.

He kept alive his anger for 21 years and shot dead Michael ODwyer in London on 13 March 1940. ODwyer was the lieutenant governor of Punjab at the time of the massacre and had supported Dyer. Singh was hanged on 31 July 1940. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who earlier termed Udhams act senseless even as it was courageous, said in 1952 as the prime minister: I salute Shaheed-i-Azam Udham Singh with reverence who had kissed the noose so that we may be free.

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre stands among the most defining events that led to the exit of British like the Revolt of 1857, Partition of Bengal in 1905, civil disobedience movements, the formation of the Indian National Army and the Quit India Movement. It was indeed a turning point. We will forever be indebted to those who gave up their lives this day 100 years ago so that we could breathe free. The best tribute we can pay to them is to build a New India.
Egypts Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait has asserted the importance of Egypts ongoing efforts to support the G20 Compact with Africa (CwA), given its chairmanship of the African Union.

As many as 12 African countries have so far joined the initiative that was launched by the G20 in 2017 to back African reforms, Maait said at a meeting of the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington.

The minister added that the CwA has seen promising results as regards the conformity of African nations reform agendas with the initiatives guiding principles, which depend on attracting more foreign investments to Africa, particularly in key sectors, the finance ministry said in a statement Saturday.

Each African country, including Egypt, will benefit from the advantages of the CwA, he said, noting that Cairo seeks to lead Africa to a prosperous future via cooperation with various African Unions member states.

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Manoj Das By

Manoj Das

Eminent author and recipient of several awards including the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship

Email: prof.manojdas@gmail.com

Asked to define the difference between a misfortune and a calamity, Benjamin Disraeli, a future prime minister of Britain, said, looking at the then PM, If, for instance, Mr Gladstine were to fall into the river, that would be a misfortune. But if anyone were to pull him out, that would be a calamity. Obviously there are still some heavyweights in Britain who think that while to regret the Jallianwala Bagh massacre would be a misfortune, to apologise for it would be a calamity.

How much one wishes that Britain had stood up to the demand inherent in this tragic centenary, that it had transcended a primitive malady from which majority of the individuals and nations sufferwhich is as common a phenomenon as superiority complex and which in its turn is only a reflex bid to escape inferiority complexand in this particular case of Britain vis-a-vis the barbaric massacre, as simple a thing as guilt conscience. Alas, how much one wishes that Britain availed of this opportunity justifying at least by a hundredth part the hyperbolic tribute paid to it by the American comedian Jackie Mason, If an Englishman gets run down by a truck, he apologises to the truck.

Feeling guilty over the misdeeds of our ancestors is a sign of our progress. India had much to feel guilty about its many selfish rulers falling prey to the cunning of the East India Company thereby betraying their own subjects. The colonialists had not sailed into this ancient civilisation in order to explore salvation, but to exploit the fabulous wealth of Ind and to satisfy their so many hungers. Barring those English savants who devoted their genius to Indology, the bulk of the British stuff in India consisted of their exportable riffraff. They suddenly rediscovered themselves as a royal race. This Martial Law notice is a sample of their expectation:

We have come to know that the inhabitants do not usually show respect to the European Civil and Military officersWhenever an Indian is on horseback or driving in any kind of conveyance, he must get down. One who has opened or got an umbrella in his hand should close or lower it down and all these persons must salute with their right hand respectfully. Even women were punished if their gesture failed to achieve perfection! This rule prevailed from the time of Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833)

who was taken to task because while riding a palanquin he failed to notice a petty English officer and jump out to salute him.

However silly the circular quoted may appear to us today, it must have been approved by the higher-ups. The ego of the ordinary officials fed on such pompous notions of their superiority exploded through Dyer when the circumstance offered him, as if on a golden platter, a chance to massacre and maim a few thousand men, women and children at Amritsar, this day a hundred years ago. The unsuspecting mass had collected on a ground enclosed but for only one entrance-cum-exit, to pass a resolution of sympathy with two arrested leaders, Dr Satya Pal and Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew.

Did Dyer, after realising the extent of the ghastly horror committed by him develop any remorse? No. Life was made worse for the citizens of Amritsar. At night General Dyer rode through the sepulchral silence pervading the city, denied light and water and all ordered to remain indoors, none allowed to collect the dead and the dying. In the morning it was announced mercifully, The inhabitants may burn or bury their dead as they please. No demonstration of any kind. By noon the respectable citizens were summoned and treated to this harangue by Commissioner Kitchin: Do you people want peace or war? We are prepared in every way. The all-powerful British Sarkar which has conquered Germany is capable of doing everything.

Dyer wasif I am to use the occult languagetotally possessed by the dark Satanic spirit bereft of human feeling. His conduct on that fateful evening was a rehearsal of what was to be staged by the same spirit through Hitlers massacre of millions.In history, every tragedy had contributed to the global human progress. The last years of British India were ushered in to the sound of General Dyers guns, observed the historian Michael Edwardes.

The post-Jallianwala Bagh decades saw hitherto undreamt of changes over the globecollapse of colonies, monarchy and the feudal system, as well as the triumph of ideals of equality, all pointing at a gradual realisation of human dignity. None could undo history; but Britains apology would have been symbolic of its tribute to this evolutionary trend. Arthur Swinsons study of Dyers last days, entitled Six Minutes to Sunset establishes that the man had no repentance for his hideous action till his death on 24 July 1927, at six minutes to sunset. He had (or pretended to have) the Devils stamina. Should Britain apologise even six minutes before the sunset today, its dignified humility would indicate a new chapter in civilisation.
Takayuki Kitagawa By

BENGALURU: In order for Bengalurus IT cluster to function effectively and efficiently, talented people have to get together easily and discuss freely anytime anywhere on the contentious issues. Despite the fact that food, rent, labour and transport costs are sometimes higher here than in Tokyo, global companies continue to invest in Bengaluru because it is the Silicon Valley of Asia. Bengaluru has a supreme environment where continuous innovation can occur, which Michael Porter [American academic] called industrial cluster. However, the recent heavy traffic congestion restrains free intellectual activities, which can tarnish the name of Silicon Valley.

Thirty years ago when I was an evacuee from Rangoon, Bangkok was experiencing the worst traffic congestion in Asia. It took me two hours to commute from my hotel to the United Nations office by car, while it would have taken only 30 minutes had I chosen to walk instead. Now, Bangkok has a well-developed metro system and highway network.

It seems like those old traffic congestion days are gone. On similar lines, Bengaluru can, of course, build highways and longer metro lines to reduce traffic congestion. The problem here, however, seems to be funds to execute these projects. The Karnataka government, as the capital of innovative thinking, is tackling this problem of mobilising funds on its own, by providing incentives to private sectors, in addition to pledges made by the foreign governments. The mobilisation of funds from the private sector cannot be scheduled while pledges made by foreign governments are scheduled. Hence, unless the Karnataka government can solve this incongruity, the prospect for the successful project implementation may not be as bright as the Bengaluru sunshine.

SOLUTION: On the lines of Bangkok, the government can build highways and longer metro lines to reduce traffic congestion. The Karnataka government needs to solve the incongruity of funding from private sector and foreign governments for successful project implementation.

(The writer is the Consul-General of Japan in Bengaluru)
Pramodkumar Vaidya By

Express News Service

GANGAVATI (KOPPAL): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday targeted the Congress and JDS yet again over corruption and dynastic politics saying the upcoming election will be a fight between mission and commission and nation-first and family-first.

Addressing a mammoth gathering organised in Gangavati city, Modi charged that for the Congress, JDS and other parties, their mission was just taking commissions.

The earlier government in Karnataka was known for 10% commission, but the incumbent coalition government is a 20% commission one, he remarked.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

Further, attacking the Congress over recovery of huge sums of money in Madhya Pradesh, Modi said that it was involved in a fresh scam and termed it as Tughlaq Road Chunavi Jhumla.

The money allocated for the welfare of children and pregnant women by the Madhya Pradesh government has been snatched by the Congress for purchasing votes in the election, he said.

The party which was known for scams at sea, earth and space has now snatched the food from the plates of poor children and women. The party which was involved in the Bofors and AgustaWestland helicopter scams was keen to protect the middlemen Ottavio Quattrocchi and Christian Michel, he said.

ALSO READ | PM Modi trains his guns on Gowda family in Karnataka

In Bengaluru, reacting to Modis jibes, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president Dinesh Gundu Rao said, You are a 100% sarkar, not a 10 or 20% sarkar. He lashed out at Modi saying, I am asking you a question, I know you cannot answer it. Why did you not order a JPC on the Rafale deal.?

Stating that the Mahamilavat was only interested in dynastic politics, the PM said they were least bothered about the common man.

These parties are against Rashtra Rakkshaks and dont feel ashamed to stand along with the Tukde Tukde gang to achieve their selfish motives. These people have a dearth of a fund for holding Hampi Utsav, but not for Tipu Sultan Jayanti, he said.

Appealing to the people to vote in large numbers on the day of voting to strengthen the hands of the Chowkidar, Modi said opposition parties were shaken by the turnout in the first phase of voting on Thursday.
K Shiva Kumar By

Express News Service

CHAMARAJANAGAR: The battle for Chamarajanagar, claimed proudly by the Congress as its bastion, will be one of the more keenly contested battles this poll season. It is a matter of prestige for the Congress, not to lose the seat to the BJP, which in turn is looking to open its account here. While on paper, there is a candidate fielded by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) as well, the battle will be fought mostly by R Dhruvanarayan of the Congress and V Srinivasa Prasad, from the BJP.

Dhruvanarayan has in his favour, the image of a workaholic who is very accessible. A two-term MP already, he is looking to score a hatrick in the constituency. Up against him however is veteran dalit leader and former Union Minister V Srinivasa Prasad, a heavyweight in his own right who in the past counted Druvanarayan as his friend and favourite.

Prasad had contested the Lok Sabha elections in 1998 on a JD(S) ticket and surprised everyone when he won the seat, going on to gain a cabinet post.

He eventually moved to state politics and then into a self-imposed retirement from electoral politics. With the BJP asking for his return, he will contest his eighth Lok Sabha elections this year.

The constituency has more than 3 lakh Lingayats with dalits the second highest population followed by Nayakas, Upparas, Kurubas and minorities.

Prasad, known for smart decisions, is hoping to cut into the Lingayat and Nayakas vote, besides getting the dalit votes in the constituency. For this, he is banking on Narendra Modis increasing popularity after the Balakot air strikes on Pakistan.

However, with the BJP largely ignoring rural areas so far in its campaign, Prasad will have to pull up his socks and work harder. His counterpart seems to have an unassailable lead of four months, focusing on both urban and rural pockets.

Dhruvanarayan has a simple campaign focused on development work done by him as well as the previous Congress government helmed by Siddaramaiah, who strongly backs him. Siddaramaiah, it is believed, wants to get back at Srinivasa Prasad, who played a crucial role in his defeat in last years assembly elections to G T Devegowda of the JD(S) and has directed all Congress members to work towards victory with a huge margin.

The political scenario in the constituency is not what it was a few elections back as the Congress now have 4 MLAs and three sitting ministers from various assembly seats in Chamarajanagar, besides former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah himself. However, the BJP, which won two seats here in 2018, seems to be making inroads as it also gave a tough fight in two more seats.

Both Srinivasa Prasad and R Dhruvanarayan are also trying their best to lure away the votes of the tribal community as well as JD(S) supporters, which could help swing the elections. The duo are touring villages with these populations, taking credit for filling up of tanks in drought-hit Chamarajanagar, gauge conversion of railway lines as well as improving infrastructure.

In the middle of the battle of the heavyweights, the BSP seems to have fielded a featherweight aspirant for the title. Shivakumar, the BSP candidate, is a youth leader who prepares aspirants for competitive examinations. His tactic is to reach out to all communities and seek votes.

The BSP, which opened its account in Karnataka in Kollegal last year, is hoping that the fresh face will be preferred over the tried and tested candidates of the BJP and the Congress.

Another factor all candidates need to keep in mind is the large number of Tamil voters in the seat. Over 1 lakh tamil voters are registered in the constituency and the BJP is trying to appeal to them by pointing out that it was BS Yeddyurappa who had installed a statue of poet Thiruvalluvar.

Shivamurthy, a farmer, said, BJP has lost in narrow margins in Chamarajanagar. But, I am confident that youths from all communities speak of Modi and the surgical strike. This will be a bonus in this election, He also showed notices by the banks asking him to repay the farm loan and feels that this confusion will turn out to be an advantage for BJP.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

INTERVIEW

Srinivasa has lost his charisma: R Dhruvnarayan (Congress)

Is the anti-incumbency factor at work, or is there a Modi wave in Chamarajanagar?

Absolutely not. Where is the anti-incumbency when the people of the constituency are with me? I am accessible round-the-clock. A few BJP leaders are claiming a Modi wave in the constituency, which is not visible.

How has the response from voters been?

People are very courteous towards me, compared to previous polls, as my performance over the past five years is visible.



BJP leaders are claiming that the work done by you is expected from an MP and nothing out of the ordinary...

The charges are baseless. If that is the case, then why didnt they try to bring Kendriya Vidyalaya to the district, improve the national highway network, introduce more trains, set up schools, hostels and colleges. My work has helped Chamarajanagar lose its backward tag.

Why should you be given another chance?

Solely based on my performance and my dedication to serve the people of the constituency.

Are you apprehensive about BJP fielding Srinivasa Prasad and the BSP fielding a candidate?

No. Srinivasa Prasad has lost his charisma and also his hold on the voters as he last contested the polls in 1998. Despite Prasad and BSP, the Congress is still the darling of the Dalits, minorities, farmers and the poor.

Nation comes first for me : V Srinivasa Prasad (BJP)

You had announced retirement from electoral politics. Why the U-turn then?

There was pressure from party leaders and my followers to contest the polls and strengthen the hands of Modi. For me, nation comes first and not my retirement.

Chamarajanagar is considered a Congress stronghold...

The political landscape in the country has changed. The BJP, which had 2 MPs in 1984, reduced the Congress to 44 in 2014 and increased its tally to 282. I also won on a JD(U) ticket to become a minister.

Is there a Modi wave in Chamarajanagar?

Not just in Chamarajanagar, but across the country.

What is your vision for Chamarajanagar?

I am confident that the BJP-led NDA will return to power. If elected, I will ensure that projects that generate jobs are implemented here. Also, steps will be taken to improve infrastructure and to prevail upon the state government to take up lift irrigation projects.

You were defeated in the Nanjangud bypoll. Wont Siddaramaiah and others gang up against you in Chamarajnagar?

They used money power and misused the government machinery to defeat me. Siddaramaiah himself lost by over 36,000 votes in Chamundeshwari... what will he do to me?

How confident are you about Dalit votes?

Dalits are politically mature. They are fed up with the weak leadership of the Congress.
Sovi Vidyadharan By

Express News Service

KOZHIKODE: Indirectly raising the Sabarimala issue which is a major poll plank in the state, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the BJP will explain the centuries-old beliefs and tradition of Kerala to the Supreme Court and ensure matters of faith get Constitutional protection.

Modi was addressing the Vijay Sankalp rally in Kozhikode attended by thousands of workers and supporters from the Malabar region. The Prime Ministers reference to the hill shrine was indirect and carefully worded as the matter was sub judice and also because of the Election Commissions fiat not to use the issue to garner votes. The BJP hopes to use the Sabarimala episode for electoral gains and believes it will be a game changer for the party at least in a few constituencies.

Stating that the BJP stands firmly with Kerala and its beliefs, Modi decried the situation, in which devotees have to bear lathi blows to protect their faith. Armed with a Supreme Court verdict, some forces have tried to wreck traditions. If the UDF and LDF think they can destroy our faith and tradition, theyre mistaken. As long as BJP is around, these forces cant destroy the culture and tradition of Kerala, Modi said.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

Modi also made a veiled attack on Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who has chosen to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Wayanad, in addition to Amethi, UP. The people of Kerala have a big heart and your doors are open for everyone. But some people have come to take advantage of your goodness, Modi said. Beware of the people who come to Kerala not to serve you but to save themselves. Those on bail for tax fraud are coming to Kerala for their own political bail-out, Modi added.

Hitting out at the ruling LDF and Opposition UDF in equal vein, Modi said Communists and Congress only serve their vote bank. The NDA, on the other hand, stands with all and works for the development of all, he underscored.

The UDF and LDF have failed the people of Kerala. They are different only in name, but in deed, they are the same. BJP presents an alternative that is democratic, compassionate and inclusive. We will serve each and every citizen, he said. He also questioned the blatant double standards of the Communists and Congress on women empowerment and triple talaq.

The PM pointed out the political violence in the state and took to task fake liberals who remained silent on the issue. Fake NGOs, urban naxals and tukde-tukde gang are trying to interfere in the faith and tradition of our land, he warned. Modi also referred to the infamous ice-cream parlour sex scandal of the 1990s and the solar scam during the previous UDF rule. Such people dont have any right to speak of women empowerment, said Modi. He also predicted a repeat of Tripura in Kerala.
By Express News Service

ROURKELA: With Maoists calling for poll boycott and resorting to violence in West Singhbhum district of adjacent Jharkhand, security measures have been stepped up in areas along Odisha-Jharkhand border in Sundargarh district.

As per reports, Maoist operatives on Thursday night blasted two under-construction buildings of Kuida forest beat house under Santra range. The incident occurred at Kuida along Goeilkera-Chaibasa road under Goeilkera police limits in West Singhbhum district, about 60 km from Sundargarh border. The Maoists also put up posters and banners on railway sleepers, electric posts and railway structures near Poseita station under Manoharpur police limits. Similar posters and banners were also found at Tunia village.

In one of the posters, the red rebels appealed to boycott the upcoming polls and march towards formation of peoples government. Another banner reads vote means road to slavery and armed revolution road to freedom.

West Singhbhum SP Chandan Kumar and CRPFs 60 Battalion Commandant PC Gupta accompanied by security forces visited the spot and took stock of the situation. Police with sniffer dogs also rushed to the village and removed objectionable campaign materials.Meanwhile, Sundargarh district administration has tightened security measures for the elections to Lok Sabha and seven Assembly seats under it on April 18.

Collector and District Election Officer Rashmita Panda said Rourkela police has made necessary security arrangements along Odisha-Jharkhand border. Special security measures have been taken up for 102 polling booths bordering the neighbouring state, she added.

The Collector said three companies of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) reached Sundargarh police district on Friday for area domination. Two more CAPF companies would arrive in Rourkela police district to cover remaining border areas. Sectoral Officers in Bonai sub-division and other Maoist-infested areas along Jharkhand border would be asked to review security preparedness, she added.

All necessary measures are being taken to ensure free, fair and smooth conduct of election, while additional security thrust is given on Maoist-hit pockets to ensure electors cast their vote in a safe environment, she said.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI/SALEM: At a time when the general public mood in the State is tilted against the national common medical entrance examination - NEET, and almost every major regional party and the Congress have promised to try and abolish the system, senior BJP leader and Union Minister Piyush Goyal raised a few eyebrows on Friday by stating that NEET need not be scrapped.

I dont think NEET should be scrapped, said Goyal, who is BJPs in-charge for Tamil Nadu, in Chennai. When asked about their ally AIADMKs promise in its manifesto to urge the Centre to scrap NEET, Goyal said: We will talk to them and convince the AIADMK leadership. Goyal also said the Centre had already agreed to AIADMKs request for NEET to be conducted in Tamil.

ALSO READ | BJP delivered on 2014 manifesto, Congress made 'false promises' in 2004 and 2009, says Piyush Goyal

Meanwhile, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who was campaigning across four districts in the State on Friday, reiterated in Salem that his party was committed to abolishing the NEET.

We do not want anymore suicides in the State because of NEET, which is why we have mentioned in our manifesto that States will have the freedom to opt for or out of NEET, Gandhi said.

Rahul was referring to the suicide of S Anitha, allegedly over NEET. When Goyal was asked about the Congress stand on NEET, he said: The issue has already been settled. Rahul Gandhi is promising to revive an old system which benefits college managements that take large capitation fees. I am sure people of Tamil Nadu want seats to be given based on merit.

FOLLOW OUR ELECTIONS COVERAGE HERE

BJP manifesto has nothing for farmers & poor, says Stalin

SALEM: Claiming that the election manifesto of BJP has nothing in favour of farmers and poor people in the country, DMKs president M K Stalin said, If DMKs poll promise is a hero, and that of Congress is a superhero, BJPs election manifesto is a zero. The DMK leader, while addressing a public meeting in the district, was all praise for Congress poll manifesto. I was the first person to announce Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate of the Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA). Right from day one of my campaign, I see so much support for Rahul in the State.

When Congress released its manifesto, I wanted to go Delhi to appreciate him as it mirrored policies of the Dravidian movement, he said, assuring that SPA would win all 40 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu. When DMKs manifesto was released, it was subject to criticism. Some promises, which could be fulfilled only by the Centre, were made as we knew that Rahul Gandhi would become the prime minister.

Even Congress manifesto reflected our ideologies by assuring to waive farm and educational loans, scrap NEET, solve issues of fishermen and decentralise power, he said, adding that if Karunanidhi was alive, he too would have praised Rahul for his efforts.

Taking a jibe at BJP government, Stalin referred to their poll promises as dreams which could be realised only after a couple of decades.

Narendra Modi is acting like a dictator at the Centre. He is, definitely, a chowkidar of rich and corrupt people, he said.
By Express News Service

VCK to support DMK in bypolls

Chennai: The VCK has extended its support to the DMK for the four Assembly constituencies where bypolls will be held. Thol Thirumavalavan, VCK president, conveyed in a statement,We extend our support to DMK for the four Assembly constituencies where bypoll has been scheduled on May 19. He urged the VCK cadre to work for the victory of the DMK candidates in the four Assembly seats like in other constituencies. Meanwhile, DMK president MK Stalin said that the party would support the Congress-led alliance in Maharashtra. It may be recalled, a large number of Tamils live in Maharashtra in general and in Mumbai in particular.

PMK cadre told to win all 40 seats

Chennai: PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss has urged party cadre to work towards ensuring 100 per cent victory in the general elections. In a press note, he said, The last four days before polling is very crucial for election victory. The cadre should intensively campaign among the voters by highlighting the welfare measures of AIADMK and promises of our alliance. The reports from the constituencies say the alliance can win all the 40 constituencies. But, overconfidence shouldnt lead to a lethargic attitude. Hence, the cadre should work towards ensuring victory in all the 40 constituencies and 18 assembly seats.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

Bomb attack on DMK mans house

Chennai: Unidentified men hurled petrol bombs at the house of a DMK functionary at Anna Nagar here on Friday. His car was damaged. Paramasivam, the office-bearer, alleged it was the handiwork of members of another party with whom they fought on Thursday night, with regard to distribution of money during election rally. Around 3 am, when Paramasivam was at home, two masked men on a bike hurled petrol bombs at his house and escaped, said a police officer. The bombs landed on the car. Based on a complaint by Paramasivam, TP Chatram police registered a case and are investigating.

Advance bail to AMMK candidate

madurai: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court granted anticipatory bail to Dr K Kathirkamu, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) candidate for Periyakulam by-election, who was apprehending arrest in a sexual harassment case. Justice M Dhandapani passed the order on a petition filed by the candidate, directing him to cooperate with police inquiry after the election. Kathirkamu was booked under sections 417 (Punishment for cheating), 376 (Punishment for sexual assault) and 506 (I) (Punishment for criminal intimidation) of IPC, following a complaint given by a woman that he had sexually assaulted her at the hospital in 2015 and had threatened her.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar By

Online Desk

"Vanakkam Tamil Singham" blared the mic as a gathering of 200-250 people roared in unison. That was Arani welcoming their favourite cinestar Kamal Haasan. Haasan is on the campaign trail for his one-year-old party Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) which is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from all 39 seats in Tamil Nadu and one in Puducherry.

Asked if he was aware of the party's candidate from the constituency, an old man smiled and said, "Yes, it is Kamal Haasan." In fact, ask anyone in the town who is contesting and they will point to a large poster of Haasan. However, the face of the party is not in the fray this year.

Haasan had been late. Upon arrival, an escalator lifted him and the candidate V Shaji on top of the campaign vehicle. Hassan picked up the mic and addressed the crowd while the candidate stood behind him, holding a torch (the party's symbol).

The MNM leader spoke for 15 minutes, mostly critising the Dravidian parties (DMK and AIADMK) and reiterating the promises made in his manifesto. Interestingly, the candidate didn't speak a word at the rally.

Haasan had earlier said that he doesn't want to contest the Lok Sabha elections, saying he preferred to be the chariot-puller rather than the chariot. But can his star face alone save the party from drowning in the choppy waters?

FOLLOW OUR ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

Tamil Nadu is no stranger to cinestars taking the political plunge and later emerging as stalwarts of Dravidian politics. Joining the bandwagon, Haasan and Rajinikanth expressed an interest in entering politics in 2017. But while a still-reluctant Rajinikanth went back to focus on his film career, Haasan went ahead and launched his party.

The state is bracing for a battle of alliances (DMK-Congress versus AIADMK-BJP) this time and Haasan's party is going it alone, limiting its chances. Ever since Haasan accused the major parties of corruption, the AIADMK and DMK have been aggressively opposing him.

It is a battle on many fronts.

The MNM is hampered by the absence of recognisable faces among its candidates who include IAS officers, teachers and activists. The party also lacks the support of grassroots workers as it has failed to make inroads into the interiors of the state. The party machinery is so weak that the MNM even lacks booth workers in many places, say some observers. Then there is the internal politics that led to one of the party's erstwhile members, a city-based entrepreneur CK Kumaravel, quitting the party.

"I don't think there is a chance for him to win even a single seat. The type of polarisation you see between the DMK and the AIADMK ensures there is no space for him. He takes an intellectual stance on issues which is good for media coverage but not in terms of electoral support. While he is extremely popular as an actor, I am not sure he holds the same mass appeal for voters as the other actor-turned-politicians had, said psephologist Sandeep Shastri.

In his manifesto, Haasan made tall promises of lifting people from the state out of poverty, providing 50 lakh jobs, and ensuring female farmers get equal wages among others. But these promises seem far-fetched without any roadmap for their implementation.

Take for example the promise of ensuring equal wage for female farmers. In India, agriculture falls under the unorganised sector where women tilling the fields are not even considered "farmers". Haasan is certain that he will ensure "equal wage", but how?

Although the party faces an uphill struggle at the polls, Haasan continues to exude hope, confident that "even his eyes can garner votes". If only confidence can win elections...
S Bachan Jeet Singh By

Express News Service

HYDERABAD: In less than 24 hours of conducting the polls, the polling percentage for all the 17 Lok Sabha constituencies in Telangana has increased by over two per cent. As against the 60.57 percentage of voting announced on Thursday, it has gone up to 62.69 per cent on Friday. The polling percentage released by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Telangana, on Friday evening showed a marginal increase in the poll percentage for a majority of Lok Sabha seats in Telangana.

The Nizamabad Parliament constituency which attracted nationwide attention with about 185 candidates in fray, the voter percentage jumped from 54.20 to 68.33 which is about 14 per cent high. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Raos daughter, K Kavitha is contesting from Nizamabad constituency.

Nalgonda also saw an increase in polling percentage from 66.11 per cent to 74.11 which is 12 per cent more. Mahabubabad from 59.90 per cent to 68.79 per cent, Khammam from 67.96 to 75.28 per cent while Bhongir from 68.25 to 74.39 per cent.

Secunderabad and Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituencies have also increased by about 7.06 per cent and 5.26 per cent respectively.

The polling percentage for Secunderabad increased from 39.20 to 46.26 per cent where Minister T Srinivas Yadavs son T Sai Kiran was contesting. Similarly, for Hyderabad, the poll percentage increased from 39.49 to 44.75.

Same is the case with other constituencies where the polling per cent saw an increase include Adilabad-ST, Peddapalli (SC), Karimnagar, Zahirabad, Nagarkurnool-SC, Medak and Warangal SC.

Chevella is the only constituency where polling percentage went down from 53.80 to 53.22 per cent. The election officials said that the poll percentage details given on Thursday were estimated figures while the details released on Friday were consolidated figures.
Related Egypt suspends flights to Sudanese airports until further notice

Egyptian airlines resumed flights to Sudanese airports on Saturday after they were suspended Thursday in the wake of a Sudanese decision to close the country's airspace.

EgyptAir flight number 857 left Cairo on Saturday for Khartoum International Airport with 140 passengers on board, sources at Cairo International Airport said.

The Egyptian flagship carrier will operate two more flights to Sudan on Friday, the sources said, adding that the company operates three flights every day to Sudan.

Four months of protests in Sudan led to the overthrow to President Omar Al-Bashir, in power for three decades, on Thursday.

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By PTI

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump considered nominating his daughter to head the World Bank, and she also would have been "great" as US ambassador to the United Nations, he said in an interview published Friday.

"She's a natural diplomat," Trump told The Atlantic.

"She would've been great at the United Nations, as an example."

But if he had nominated his daughter -- who is a senior advisor to the president -- "they'd say nepotism, when it would've had nothing to do with nepotism. But she would've been incredible."

"I even thought of Ivanka for the World Bank," Trump said.

"She would've been great at that because she's very good with numbers."

"She's got a great calmness. I've seen her under tremendous stress and pressure. She reacts very well -- that's usually a genetic thing, but it's one of those things, nevertheless," Trump said.

Trump ultimately nominated Kelly Knight Craft, his envoy to Canada, to be the next US ambassador to the United Nations, while David Malpass, a senior US Treasury official, became the new head of the World Bank.
By PTI

LAHORE: Pakistan's top anti-graft body Saturday summoned main opposition PML-N chief Shehbaz Sharif's wife and two daughters for questioning regarding business transactions, according to a media report.

Shehbaz's wife has been summoned by the National Accountability Bureau on April 17 while his daughters Rabia Sharif and Javeria Sharif have been summoned on April 18 and 19 respectively, Geo TV reported, citing sources in the accountability watchdog.

"The wife and daughters of Shehbaz have been summoned for questioning regarding business transactions," the sources said.

Shehbaz's son Hamza has also been summoned on April 15 in a case pertaining to the construction of a nullah from government money.

Hamza, the Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly, has been summoned on April 16 as well in a case pertaining to assets beyond known sources of income, sources added.

An accountability court Tuesday indicted Shehbaz on charges he misused his authority while he was the chief minister of Punjab.

Shehbaz, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, has already been indicted along with nine others in the Ashiana Housing scam case.

He was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau in the probe on October 5, 2018, and released on bail on February 14.

Shehbaz, 63, served as the chief minister of the politically crucial Punjab province from 2013 to 2018.

He became PML-N president after his elder brother Nawaz Sharif was barred from holding the top party position and public posts.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Windy with rain developing after midnight. Low 47F. Winds SW at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Winds could occasionally gust over 50 mph..

Tonight

Windy with rain developing after midnight. Low 47F. Winds SW at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Winds could occasionally gust over 50 mph.
Scientists develop artificial chemical receptor to assist viral transduction for T cell engineering

Engineered T cell immunotherapy, such as chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) and T cell receptor T cell (TCR-T) therapy, has emerged as a potent therapeutic strategy for treating tumors.

However, the genetic manipulation of primary T cells remains inefficient, especially during the clinical manufacturing process. There's an urgent need to develop a reliable method for the preparation of engineered T cells.

A research team, led by Prof. CAI Lintao at the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and other collaborators developed a "safe, efficient and universal" technique based on bioorthogonal chemistry and glycol-metabolic labeling for viral-mediated engineered T cell manufacturing. Their findings were published in Advanced Functional Materials.

In this strategy, the functional azide motifs were anchored on T cell surfaces via the intrinsic glycometabolism of exogenous azide-glucose, thus serving as an artificial ligand for viral binding. The complementary functional moiety dibenzocyclooctyne (DBCO)/-conjugated PEI1.8K (PEI-DBCO) was coated on the lentiviral surface, which strengthened the virus-T cell interaction through DBCO/azide bioorthogonal chemistry.

"We found that this artificial chemical receptor effectively facilitated viral binding to T cells and elevated the transduction efficiency of the lentivirus from 20% to 80% without any effect on T cell proliferation and activity," said CAI. "This artificial chemical modification was also appropriate for introducing other heterologous genes into T cells, including GPF, CAR and TCR, indicating a great potency for universal T cell engineering."

The technique has been demonstrated to be safe for human primary T cells as well, without interference from cell expansion or antitumor functions. When put into the CAR-T preparation, the PEI-DBCO/azide-glucose system significantly increased the yield of CAR T cells and boosted their antitumor effect both in vitro and in the B lymphoma xenograft mouse model with a low dose of CAR-T cells, thus reducing clinical adverse effects.

"This artificial chemical labeling strategy is an effective, safe and easy upgrade for viral-based gene manipulation of human primary T cells, thereby showing great potential for clinical engineered T lymphocyte manufacturing, including CAR-T and TCR-T cell therapy," said CAI.

Prof. CAI, the corresponding author of the paper, was selected as a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) on March 25 at the American Academy of Sciences in Washington, a nonprofit organization founded in 1991, for his contributions involving optical probes and biomimetic drug delivery systems in the fields of nanomedicine and cancer theranostics.

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This story has been published on: 2019-04-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Egyptian authorities have facilitated the return home of 120 Egyptian students who were stranded at the Egyptian-Sudanese border when Sudan closed its borders on Thursday.

The students were stranded at the Arqin border crossing, according to Egypt's Minister of Immigration and Egyptian Expatriate Affairs Nabila Makram.

A number of parents contacted Makram, who contacted the Egyptian embassy in Sudan to take the necessary measures, she said on Saturday.

Makram thanked the embassy, under the leadership of Ambassador Hossam Issa, for its great efforts and its contacts with the Sudanese ministries of foreign affairs, defence and interior ministries, which issued instructions to open the Arqin crossing.

The minister also praised the authorities at Arqin for their cooperation with the Egyptian authorities.

On Thursday President Omar Al-Bashir, who had ruled Sudan for 30 years, was overthrown by the armed forces after months of protests against him.

The Sudanese military then announced a curfew, and closed maritime and land borders and the countrys airspace.

Flights between Cairo and Khartoum resumed on Saturday.

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Elliot on hospital bed

While he got the world in hysteria and shock for the past weeks for being resurrected and dying again, all that Thabiso Proud Mlanje who is popularly known as Elliot has left are deep wounds among his family back in Zimbabwe that they do not know when and how they will be healed.





Thabiso who was 28 years old at the time of his death shocked his family because soon after they buried him at his late fathers homestead in Dandanda Village in Lupane under Chief Mabhikwa they were summoned by the police who revealed to them that he was wanted for fraud in connection with his resurrection back in South Africa.





We didnt know that he had died and resurrected. Trouble started after the funeral because the police arraigned us and told us that he had been wanted for fraud, said Thabisos father-in-law, Bernard Mayendayenda Sibanda.





A grief-stricken Bernard said his son-in-law had caused him so much trouble. I am still in great distress because of what my son-in law did. I have had to deal with the police concerning his whole resurrection scheme and now since he is dead I have to answer questions I dont know. It causes me pain because I didnt know anything about what happened in South Africa. This man has put me and my family in so much trouble.





Thabisos grandmother Emily Moyo said it hurt her to see her grandson arriving home in a coffin after spending seven years without communicating with her.





I raised my grandson single handedly because both his parents died in Harare when he was young. I only managed to send him to Gegeme Primary School but he could not go further with his studies because of financial constraints. That is how he decided to go to South Africa to make a living. Now what pains me is that its been seven years since he went to South Africa and he had never set foot home or contacted me in those seven years. I only got to see him as a corpse. We buried him right next to his grandfather because when he was sick he kept telling his in-laws that he wants to lie next to his grandfather.





At the time of his death he was constantly vomiting blood, it was such a painful death. I wish someone could properly explain to me what was happening in South Africa because I hear he was once dead for three days and was resurrected by a pastor, said Moyo.





It is reported that all this drama is believed to have started sometime in February when Thabiso fell ill. Even after he was resurrected he did not properly recover. To make things worse soon after the resurrection miracle Thabiso and Pastor AlphLukau had a fraud case CR 506/ 02 /19 opened at Jeppes police station in South Africa. The two were jointly accused of performing a fake miracle.





Thabiso was scared of the police case so whenever his wife Simelweyinkosi Sibanda took him to the hospital he would sneak out.





But his health kept on deteriorating so Simelweyinkosi then decided to bring him back home in Zimbabwe on 8 March. The couple stayed at Bernards homestead in Village 2 Insuza under Chief Mtshane.





On 1 April he was transferred to St Lukes Hospital in Lupane. Unfortunately he died on 3 April and was buried on 5 April. As each day passed Thabisos health kept on worsening so the family took him to the Mbembesi Clinic in Insuza on 23 March.On1 April he was transferred to St Lukes Hospital in Lupane. Unfortunately he died on 3 April and was buried on 5 April.





When asked about the resurrection miracle Simelweyinkosi vehemently denied being at her husbands resurrection though she is identical to a woman who is clad in a light pink dress, with short hair and shivering next to Thabiso when he is eating his food soon after the resurrection in one video clip.





I dont know anything about the resurrection thing because I was not there so I cannot comment on anything, the best person to talk would be his brother, said Simelweyinkosi.





However, Stanley Mlanje, Thabisos brother who permanently resides in South Africa but has been in Insuza for the past few days following the death of Thabiso did not waste time in confirming his brother was the one who is famously known as Elliot when B-Metro showed him a trending picture of Thabiso being resurrected by Pastor Alph Lukau.





Yes, this is my brother, I am looking at him, grinned Stanley.





He added: However, I cannot explain much on details surrounding his resurrection because I was not there. I also saw him trending on social media. About the fraud issue I cannot say much because the fact that he is my brother does not mean I would know everything about his dealings since he was an independent individual. I had so many questions to ask him about that whole resurrection thing but I couldnt because when I talked to him he was not so well so I thought I would ask him when he gets better. Just like everyone else, I still have questions for him but the most painful thing for me is that I will never get answers since he is dead, said Stanley.





Stanley added that since there were only two children in his family so he is the one who has to take care Thabisos children.





Thabiso left behind two children who are equally my children so I have to look after them, that is why I am here at my in-laws so that we can plan on how best to keep the kids, said Stanley.





The late Thabiso Proud Mlanje, aka Elliot Moyo s grandmother Emily Moyo, says she is devastated by the death of her grandson whom she saw arriving home in a coffin after seven years without a word from him.





I raised my grandson single-handedly after his parents both died in Harare when he was still young. I only managed to send him to school up to Grade Seven at Gegeme Primary School. He couldnt go further with his studies because of financial constraints. That is when he decided to go to South Africa to make a living, said Moyo.





She said what pained her most was that for the past seven years, Thabiso has been in South Africa he never communicated with her.





What greatly pains me is that its been seven years since he went to South Africa and he never returned home or contacted me in those seven years.





I only got to see him as a corpse. We buried him right next to his grandfather because when he was sick he kept telling his in-laws that he wants to lie next to his grandfather, she said with tears down her cheeks.





She added: At the time of his death I was told he was constantly vomiting blood; it was such a painful death. I wish someone could properly explain to me what was happening in South Africa because I heard he was once died and was resurrected by a pastor.





Villagers in Dandanda also expressed shock on how Thabisos dead body arrived in the village.





We were so shocked to see a speeding car with a coffin in broad daylight when the sun was so hot. In our village its not allowed to transport a dead body in the afternoon.





So we were just perplexed and wondered what could these people be hiding, said a granny who identified herself as MaNdlovu.





A number of villagers said they were also unaware that Thabiso became an overnight celebrity after the resurrection stunt.





It was shocking when we heard during his funeral wake that Thabiso once died and resurrected in South Africa and that the world knew about it except for us. I guess we never heard of the resurrection due to the fact that network is poor this side so we rarely communicate.




This prompted Mooketsi to rule in favour of Gondo and Chizunza. She said: The state has failed to support its application for further incarceration of the accused persons, except that it is still yet to locate the owner of the car, which is not a very convincing reason.
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Japan's Defense Ministry says the number of times Air Self-Defense Force fighter jets were scrambled in fiscal 2018 was the second-highest on record.

The ministry says that in the year that ended in March ASDF jets were scrambled 999 times against unidentified aircraft approaching Japan's airspace. That's an increase of 11 percent from fiscal 2017.

638 scrambles, or 64 percent of the total, were against Chinese aircraft. The number against Russian aircraft was the second-highest at 343, or 34 percent of the total.

In April last year, an unmanned aircraft believed to be from China flew about 160 kilometers north of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.

Japan controls the islands. The Japanese government maintains the islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory. China and Taiwan claim them.

The Defense Ministry says that because of increased activity by Chinese aircraft it will continue its patrols and monitoring efforts.
The head of Sudan's ruling military council General Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf has announced his resignation in a statement broadcast on state television on late Friday.

He also named the Army Chief of Staff Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman as the new head of a transitional military council.

Protesters in Khartoum were celebrating Ibn Aufo's uster in the streets.

On Thursday, Ahmed Ibn Auf announced the establishment of a military council that would govern the country for two years.

Earlier on Friday, Sudans ruling military council promised the country would have a new civilian government, and that the transition period announced on Thursday to last two years at most or much less if chaos can be avoided.

But Sudans main protest organizing group on Friday rejected the transitional military council promise to set up a civilian government and hand over power to an elected president within two years.

Our demands are clear, just and legitimate, but the coupists (the regimes security committee)... are not capable of creating change, and they do not have the safety and stability to stay in power, the Sudanese Professionals Association said in a statement.

This is not to mention the peaceful demands of handing over power to a transitional civilian government as one of the conditions that needs to be implemented.

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The Tokyo District Court decided Friday to extend former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn's detention by eight days, refusing to grant the full 10 requested by prosecutors in an unusual move.

Ghosn was rearrested April 4 on suspicion of funneling company funds to an Omani distributor run by an associate -- something that investigators had been looking into over the three months since his previous indictment in January. The court likely decided that eight days would be enough for prosecutors to determine whether additional charges were warranted.

An appeal by lawyers for Ghosn was rejected. In a news conference April 4, Junichiro Hironaka, the head of the former Nissan chief's legal team, called the investigation an "outrage."

"We will use every means available to seek his early release from custody," Hironaka said. Friday's ruling means Ghosn will be detained until April 22.

Defense lawyers immediately appealed the court's initial decision April 5 to hold Ghosn for 10 days. They filed a protest with the Supreme Court on Wednesday arguing that the detention went against court precedent.

Ghosn's team has also tried less direct tactics. Lawyers encouraged his wife Carole, who had left for France after her husband's latest arrest, to return to Japan and had her testify before the district court on Thursday. This was likely intended partly to give prosecutors less room to argue that they needed to keep Carlos Ghosn in custody in order to complete their investigation.

Ghosn himself reportedly has not answered prosecutors' questions, in contrast to his more cooperative stance during his previous detention from November to early March.

His legal team, which is filled with criminal defense specialists, has advised him to remain silent. As long as prosecutors' lines of argument and the evidence they have marshaled remain unclear, defense attorneys often seek to keep clients from saying anything that could be used against them. Ghosn's lawyers also used this to argue against extending his detention, on the grounds that keeping him for questioning would be pointless.
The government plans to penalize universities with many foreign students whose whereabouts are unknown, it was revealed Thursday.

The move is included in a draft of the governmentas response to the issue, which came to light following the recent revelation that about 700 foreign students from Tokyo University of Social Welfare have been missing since April 2018.

According to the draft, the education ministry will hold hearings with or inspect universities with many dropouts among foreign students, if necessary. If the universities fail to meet its instructions for improvement, the ministry will label them as alacking the proper management of students.a

The education ministry will also report such universities to the Justice Ministry. Following the reports, the Immigration Services Agency will apply tougher standards in screenings of visa applications from the universitiesa prospective students.

The agency will also consider shortening the length of visas for the universitiesa students to one year. Normally student visas are valid for four years and three months.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 ...





The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 presidential election, fabricated the votes he claimed to have scored.





Atiku, in his petition before the presidential election tribunal, had claimed he defeated President Muhammadu Buhari by 1,615,302 votes.





He said data from INEC server showed that he polled a total of 18,356,732 votes to defeat President Muhammadu Buhari, whom he said had 16,741,430 votes.





INECs polling figures from the 36 states and the FCT gave Buhari 15,191,847 votes, while Atiku came second with 11,262,978 votes.





In its response as the first respondent in the case, INEC disowned Atikus figures which the former vice-president attributed to a website, factsdontlie.com.





The electoral body said the results were invented solely for the petition.





On page eight of its 80-page reply seen by TheCable, INEC said: Further to the foregoing, the website described as www.factsdontlieng.com was neither created nor owned by the 1st Respondent (INEC). It is a site not known to the 1st Respondent.





The 1st Respondent does not share information with such an unclassified entity and any information purportedly derived therefrom which does not accord with the result as declared by the 1st Respondent is not authentic but rather was invented for the purpose of this case.





The umpire also denied transmitting results electronically, thereby rejecting Atikus claims that the figures were derived from INECs serve.





It said: The 1st Respondent (INEC) did not adopt electronic transmission or collation of results in the conduct of the election, voting by electronic means not having been adopted as a provision of the Electoral Act. The 1st Respondent specifically denies the existence of electronic transmission of results as it is unknown to the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) and Regulations and Guidelines for the conduct of the elections, 2019, and put the Petitioners to the strictest of proof thereof.




The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has refuted the report that it ignored the call for intervention over Mrs Kudirat Afolabi, a Nigerian wo...

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has refuted the report that it ignored the call for intervention over Mrs Kudirat Afolabi, a Nigerian woman, executed in Saudi Arabia for drug trafficking.

The ministry, in a statement by its spokesperson, Sarah Sanda, on Friday in Abuja, said the report in one of the media was a complete falsehood.





The attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been drawn to a tendentious, mischievous and libelous article over the matter





It alleged that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the minister were somehow responsible for the death of a Nigerian lady, Ms Afolabi, executed in Saudi Arabia for drug trafficking, by not reacting immediately to letters addressed to the minister by the former Consul General, informing of the imminent execution of the lady in question, she noted.

She said that the attention of the ministry was drawn to what she described as a tendentious, mischievous and libelous article alleging that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the minister were responsible for the death of Afolabi.





This is preposterous and a complete falsehood. Clearly those behind the article who have deliberately distorted the facts have an agenda, she said.





The spokesperson said that the report which quoted extensively from a letter written by the said Consul General did not state that the lady in question, Ms Afolabi was about to be executed.





She said that the letter rather states, peddling of drugs into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia..is punishable with death penalty.





Unfortunately, between 2016-2017 the underlisted Nigerians were arrestedfor smuggling narcotic drugs concealed in their rectums.





They have since been sentenced to death and the sentences had already been carried out on some of them.





She said the report then listed 24 Nigerians on death row or executed, including Ms Afolabi.





According to her, the truth of the matter is that the a letter from former Consul General was received on Feb. 19 raising an alarm over the criminal acts at certain Nigerian airports.





The letter said officials at those airports allegedly smuggled drugs to Saudi Arabia by checking in bags using the details of unsuspecting passengers.





Immediate action was taken by the Minister by reaching out to the relevant Nigerian authorities, she said.





According to her, the issue regarding Nigerians on death row in Saudi Arabia has been a challenge for many years.





Over the last three years, the Minister and our Embassy in Saudi Arabia have relentlessly engaged the Saudi Government orally and in writing on the need to commute the death sentences of Nigerians on death row.




Mr Emmanuel Jime, the defeated Benue Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the APC in the state have filed...

Mr Emmanuel Jime, the defeated Benue Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the APC in the state have filed a joint petition challenging the victory of Gov Samuel Ortom at the general elections held between February and March in the state.









It was gathered that the governorship polls in the state were declared inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and reconducted in March where Ortom was declared winner.









Ortom polled a total of 434,473 to floor his closest rival, Jime of the APC, with 345,155 votes.









The petition was filed on Friday at about 10:15pm by Mr Sunday Ameh, (SAN).









Ameh told reporters that the petitioners (Jime and APC) were challenging the return of Gov Ortom by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).









Our prayers are that Ortom did not win the elections by majority of lawful votes cast at that election, rather it is the prayer of Jime that the tribunal declare him as dinner of that election, having been the candidate that scored majority of lawful votes cast.









The petitioners other grounds were; that Gov Ortom was not duly elected by majority of lawful votes and that his election was invalid by reason of non- compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.









The petitioners alternative reliefs were that; the elections be nullified for substantial non- compliance with the electoral act across the polling units where electoral infringements took place.









They are further asking the court to order fresh elections if the results of the affected polling units identified in the petition affect the entire result.









Also speaking to newsmen at the tribunal, Dr Sam Ode, APC deputy governorship candidate said they had raised genuine issues that would give them justice at the end of the day.









Ode further said that they did not have any personal issues against Gov Ortom and commended the Benue people for their peaceful conduct during the polls.









We are acting within the law and until the declaration of Ortom is upturned, we will cooperate with him and Benue citizens, what we need in Benue is development, peace and the welfare of our citizens is paramount.









So we dont have anything personal against Ortom, the issues we have are purely political and purely issues that border on the welfare and future of Benue people. We are all partners in progress.
Former Minister of Sports, Bala Kaoje, has faulted the endorsement of certain individuals for juicy positions in the ninth National A...





Former Minister of Sports, Bala Kaoje, has faulted the endorsement of certain individuals for juicy positions in the ninth National Assembly by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole.





According to Kaoje, an APC chieftain from Kebbi state, the ruling party under Oshiomhole ought to have zoned the positions to regions and not to individuals.





In an interview with Leadership newspaper, the ex-Minister said: I advised that we should zone National Assembly positions as quickly as possible to regions. If you zoned the office of the Senate president to the northeastern states for example, there is nothing wrong in nominating three people and forwarding their names to the zone for them to select one person.





All we heard was that the chairman of the party nominated the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House.





You cant appoint people to lead the Senate and the House. Its a problem in the APC and that problem will continue to happen because the party is not doing the right thing.





Oshiomhole is only interested in his interest. See what we faced in Rivers, Zamfara, Cross Rivers and the rest of the states. He keep making too many errors that are bad for the party.




Rivers Police Command has deployed over 3,066 personnel to strategic areas for supplementary election in some parts of the state on Satu...

Rivers Police Command has deployed over 3,066 personnel to strategic areas for supplementary election in some parts of the state on Saturday.









The Commands Spokesman, DSP Nmandi Omoni, made this known in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Friday.









The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had on March 21, announced plans to conduct supplementary elections in Abua/Odua, Ahoada West, Gokana and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas of the state.









According to Omoni, the police and sister security agencies are ready to provide adequate security to ensure hitch-free polls.









The Command has deployed a total of 3,066 personnel to be complemented by other sister security agencies to provide security and maintenance of law and order in the affected LGAs.









This was done to realise the full objectives of the supplementary election as well as engender a seamless exercise, he said.









Omoni said that restriction of movement in the affected local government areas would begin at 11:59 a.m. on Friday and end 2 p.m. on Saturday.









Politicians are barred from going to the polling units with security details. This will not be tolerated.









The police and other security agencies will be on patrol to ensure strict compliance to this order and possibly make arrest of election violators, he warned.









The police spokesperson warned that any individual or group seen undermining the electoral process would be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the Electoral Act.
Yemeni government officials say President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has returned home from Saudi Arabia to attend a rare session of parliament and elect a speaker.

The officials say Hadi's presidential plane departed from Riyadh and landed in the eastern Yemeni city of Sayoun on Friday, where the House of Representatives is due to convene on Saturday for the first time since the war started.

The war pits Houthi rebels against Hadi's government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition. Parliament has been divided into three blocs: One with Houthis, a second with Hadi, and a third in opposition to the two.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to the press.

The 301-member parliament was last elected in 2009. It's six-year term has already expired.

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President Muhammadu Buhari has assured parents of the school girls, who were kidnapped from Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno...

President Muhammadu Buhari has assured parents of the school girls, who were kidnapped from Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno state, that his administration is intensifying efforts to secure their release five years after.





April 14, 2019 will mark the fifth year, after over a 100 girls were taken away by suspected Boko Haram insurgents.





In a statement signed by Buharis Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the president revealed that interlocutors have reported encouraging progress so far.





FULL STATEMENT:





President Muhammadu Buhari would like to remind the parents of the school girls of Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State that he has still not forgotten their daughters who were kidnapped from their dormitory five years ago (April 14, 2014).





He promised the parents when he met them, at the beginning of his first term as president, that he would bring their daughters home.





He is aware that this promise he made is the main reason the people of Chibok voted overwhelmingly for him in the February elections, and although his government has so far succeeded in bringing back 107 of the girls, the President will not rest until the remaining are reunited with their families.





President Buhari assures the parents that his administration is still on the matter.





Diverse efforts are being intensified to secure the release of the Chibok Girls, along with all hostages in Boko Haram captivity, including Leah Sharibu who was kidnapped from her school, Science Secondary School, Dapchi, Yobe State, on February 19, 2018.

On Leah Sharibus abduction, the interlocutors have reported encouraging progress so far.





The report reaching us says her return to her family has unfortunately been hindered by the fear of the militants.





They worry that heavy military presence in areas where they previously moved about freely could affect their safety after they return her to the government.





At the same time, the military cannot jeopardise the security of the entire north-eastern region by halting their operations to accommodate Boko Harams fears.





Leah Sharibu will be reunited with her family as soon as any conclusions are reached on a number of options being considered for her safe transportation.





The success of the Nigerian military in subduing Boko Haram is evidenced by the large numbers of militants who have surrendered recently, especially in neighbouring Cameroon and Niger.





A similar mass surrender of militants is expected to happen soon in Nigeria.





While Nigerian military operations are ongoing, the government is also engaging with the militants but the talks have been affected by the factionalisation of Boko Haram  with one group adopting a hard line attitude and intensifying attacks on Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad, and another group engaging with the government for peaceful resolution.





President Buhari also uses this opportunity of the commemoration of the Chibok tragedy to commend the girls, now women, who have triumphed over it all.





He sends special greetings to the 106 girls sponsored by the Nigerian government to continue their studies at the American University of Nigeria, Yola.





He encourages them to stay focused on becoming women who will inspire girls in Nigeria and around the world to triumph over the daily battles they face in a world that is often unfair to the girl-child.





President Buhari also extends his best wishes to Chibok girls in other schools in Nigeria and around the world.





He sends special congratulations to Kauna Yaga Bitrus, who has excelled beyond expectations in her college in Maine, USA, and who is soon to receive a special Against All Odds Award from her school.




Awad Ibn Auf, Sudans defence minister and leader of the coup that seized power from Omar al-Bashir, has stepped down. He announce...





Awad Ibn Auf, Sudans defence minister and leader of the coup that seized power from Omar al-Bashir, has stepped down.





He announced his decision to step down at a nationwide broadcast on Friday.





In the broadcast, he said another military general would be in charge of the country.





I hereby announce my resignation as head of the Transitional Military Council and the appointment of the person, in whose experience and suitability I trust to bring this ship to a safe shore, Ibn Ouf said on television.

I announce the selection of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Abdulrahman to succeed me as president of the military council.





Ibn Ouf also said he had fired Kamal Abdelmarouf, his deputy, before stepping down.





After forcing al-Bashir to quit, Auf had announced that the military would be in charge of the country for two years before conducting elections.





But the protesters, who had earlier demanded the resignation of al-Bashir, mounted pressure on the military to leave.





They refused to leave the streets, saying the coup leaders were too close to Bashir.





At a news conference on Friday, Omer Zainal-Abdin, chairman of the political committee in Sudans transitional military council, had acknowledged the peoples right of demonstration but said the council would deal decisively with anyone who blocks a road or a bridge.




UBA Plc has filed a winding up petition against Sahara Energy Resource Limited (Sahara Energy) at a federal high court in Lagos. T...





UBA Plc has filed a winding up petition against Sahara Energy Resource Limited (Sahara Energy) at a federal high court in Lagos.





The petition was based on a N15 billion loan owed by KEPCO Energy Resources Limited (KEPCO).





Sahara Energy had stood as a guarantor to KEPCO.





A winding up petition is a legal action taken by a creditor or creditors against an insolvent company that owes them money.





It can also be filed against a company or companies who have served as guarantors of the defaulter, and if approved by the court, will lead to a closure of or compulsory liquidation of all the debtors assets to repay the loan.





The petition was filed before Mohammed Liman, a judge of the high court, by Temilolu Adamolekun, UBAs legal counsel.





The bank said KEPCO had through a loan, raised capital to fund the acquisition of Egbin Power Plant, operated by Sahara Power Group, a privately-owned power company under the Sahara conglomerate.





How the N15 billion debt came about





In 2013, the federal government granted KEPCO, a Korean company 70% stake of Egbin power plant at a sale value of $407.3 million, which was equivalent to N64.35 billion at the existing exchange rate.





In order to fund that acquisition, the petitioner said KEPCO had applied for a credit facility from several banks, including UBA, with Sahara Energy standing in as a corporate guarantor to secure the loan.





FBN Capital Limited and First Nigeria Limited were appointed as the facility agent and security trustee respectively.





UBA had therefore granted KEPCO a loan to the tune of $35 million in August 2013.





failed to meet its obligations even after restructuring the loan on two different occasions. The petitioner said KEPCOfailed to meet its obligations even after restructuring the loan on two different occasions.





The interest on the rescheduled debt is said to have increased the facility to $42,282,430.49 or NN15,221,674,976.40 as of December 31, 2018.





a guarantor but had not done so, hence the the need to file a winding up order. The petitioner said Sahara Energy had been notified several times to fulfill its obligation asa guarantor but had not done so, hence the the need to file a winding up order.





The company herein is insolvent and unable to pay its debt. In the circumstances, it is just and equitable that the company should be wound up, the petition read.





Resources Ltd, be wound up by the court under the provisions of Companies and Allied Matters Act. The petitioner also sought an order that the company, Sahara EnergyResources Ltd, be wound up by the court under the provisions of Companies and Allied Matters Act.





Following an ex-parte motion filed by Adamolekun, the banks lawyer, Liman ordered that the winding up petition be advertised in the federal governments official gazzette and a national daily newspaper.





SAHARA ENERGY RESPONDS





But Sahara Group has denied being indebted to UBA, saying it neither has outstanding facilities with the bank nor did it borrow any money from UBA.





The firm added that it did not grant a direct guarantee to UBA on any loan transaction that UBA

could unilaterally enforce or sue on.





Our lawyers have been duly instructed and have taken all necessary steps to ensure that the order is discharged or set aside as soon as practicable, Sahara Group said in a statement.





Sahara Energy Limited (SERL) and the entire Sahara Group will vigorously pursue and defend UBAs petition to its logical conclusion with a view to dismissing the petition.

SERL will provide periodic updates to its esteemed clients, suppliers and bankers as may be necessary, of steps being taken in connection with the suits and the results of effort to set aside the order and strike out the suit.





The hearing of UBAs petition has been adjourned till April 30.




Eastern Libyan forces will pursue their advance on the capital Tripoli, the head of the eastern parliament in the divided country said on Saturday, despite international calls for a halt in an offensive that risks causing many civilian casualties.

His comments came as more clashes rocked the southern outskirts of Tripoli, where eastern forces have been confronted by groups allied to Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj's internationally recognised government.

The European Union last week urged the eastern Libya National Army (LNA) to stop its attacks, having agreed on a statement after France and Italy sparred over how to handle the conflict.

But the eastern parliament head said they would press an offensive launched a week ago under military commander Khalifa Haftar, the latest outbreak of a cycle of conflict since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.

"We need to get rid of militias and terrorist groups," Aguila Saleh, head of the House of Representatives allied to Haftar, said using a reference eastern officials often make to describe forces allied to the Tripoli government, which relies on support from several armed groups.

"We assure the residents of Tripoli that the campaign to liberate Tripoli will be limited and not violate any freedoms but restore security and fight terrorism," Saleh told lawmakers in a session in the main eastern city of Benghazi.

Forces loyal to al-Serraj's government have so far kept the eastern offensive at bay. Fierce fighting has broken out around a disused former airport about 11 km (7 miles) from the centre and an eastern military source said a warplane belonging to the LNA had struck a military camp in an eastern Tripoli suburb.

Saley also said the United Nations mission to Libya and Serraj's government had been controlled by armed groups and had failed to expel them from the capital, and promised Libya would hold long-delayed elections after the Tripoli operation ends.

Haftar's offensive had surprised the United Nations, which had been planning to hold a national conference on April 14 to prepare Libya for elections.

The latest battle had by Friday killed 75 people, mainly fighters but including 17 civilians, and wounded another 323, according to U.N. tallies. Some 13,625 people have been forced out of their homes.

As well as the humanitarian cost, the conflict threatens to disrupt oil supplies, boost migration to Europe, scupper a U.N. peace plan, and allow Islamist militants to exploit the chaos.

Haftar, 75, a former general in Gaddafi's army who later joined the revolt against him, moved his troops out of their eastern stronghold to take the oil-rich desert south earlier this year, before sweeping up to Tripoli at the start of April.

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Algeria's magistrates, who play a key role overseeing the country's elections, said Saturday they would boycott a July 4 presidential election in support of the protest movement.

Protestors have held vast rallies calling for allies of ousted president Abdelaziz Bouteflika to step down after the veteran leader quit early this month.

They have rejected the July poll, arguing that elections cannot be free and fair if they are held under the same judicial framework and institutions as those of the Bouteflika regime.

Interim leader Abdelkader Bensalah has pledged a "transparent" vote but protestors have called for him to leave office too.

More than 100 magistrates staged a protest outside the justice ministry on Saturday in response to a call by the Magistrates' Club -- a nascent group set up as an alternative to the regime's National Magistrates' Syndicate (SNM).

"The Magistrates' Club has decided to boycott the task of supervising the presidential election," said Saad Eddine Merzoug, a judge from El Oued in the country's southeast.

Merzoug said the new club had members at every court in the country, without specifying numbers.

Magistrates play a major role organising votes in Algeria. Notably, they oversee the electoral roll, a frequent source of disputes between the regime and the opposition.

A revision of the register is set to take place later this month, ahead of the July election.

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The party of ousted Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir urged the country's new ruling military council Saturday to release its acting president and other key members, condemning Bashir's overthrow as unconstitutional.

"We consider the military council's power grab a violation of constitutional law," the National Congress Party said in a statement.

"The NCP rejects the detention of its leaders, among them its acting president and a large number of prominent members, and calls for their immediate release."

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Egypts General Authority for Supply Commodities said on Friday it had signed contracts to import 240,000 tons of wheat from Romania and Ukraine.



Egypt will import 180,000 tons of wheat from Romania and 60,000 tons from Ukraine, GASC said in a statement after an international bid on Friday.



The quantities will be delivered from 20 May to 5 June, it added.

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Egypt is engaged in an ambitious campaign to ensure the health of 100 million people by stamping out infection with the hepatitis C virus, writes Rasha Gaddah

Egypt has the unfortunate distinction of ranking first in the world for infection with the hepatitis C virus, with seven million people, or around 10 percent of the population, being infected in 2007. Infection rates in India and China stood at around one percent of their populations at the same time.

In reaction to these alarming figures, the government has launched several programmes to combat and treat hepatitis C, most recently the National Campaign to Eradicate the Hepatitis C Virus and Detect Chronic Diseases launched by President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi under the slogan Good health for 100 million which targets citizens over the age of 18.

The campaign began in October 2018 and aims to eradicate the virus by 2020 and slash death rates from chronic diseases that cause 70 percent of deaths in Egypt.

World Health Organisation (WHO) Representative in Egypt John Paul Eissa has praised the campaign, telling a news conference before its launch that although Egypt topped the list of countries with the most people infected with the hepatitis C virus, it also had the greatest capacity to combat it. The campaign was the first of its kind in the region and the world as a whole, he said.

The WHO defines the hepatitis C virus as a liver infection that can cause both acute and chronic hepatitis, ranging in severity from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a serious life-long condition. The hepatitis C virus is bloodborne, and the most common modes of infection are through unsafe injection practices, inadequate sterilisation of medical equipment, and the transfusion of unscreened blood and blood products. Hepatitis C is not spread through breast milk, food, water, or by casual contact such as hugging, kissing, or sharing food or drink with an infected person.

According to the WHO, 185 million people across the globe are infected with the disease, of whom 350,000 die annually. An estimated one-third of patients with chronic hepatitis C will develop cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Although hepatitis C infection is a common disease, most carriers are unaware of their illness, and treatment is still unavailable for many who are diagnosed. Treatment, when available, has been successful for most patients, and recovery rates for patients in low- and middle-income countries are similar to those in high-income countries.

The WHO states that hepatitis C is found worldwide. The most affected regions are Africa and Central and East Asia. Depending on the country, the disease can be concentrated in certain populations, for example, among people who inject drugs, and/or in the general population. There are multiple strains (or genotypes) of the virus, and their distribution varies by region.

Hepatitis C is unlike other chronic viral infections, among them the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), because recovery is possible, and there are several effective treatments. Recovery rates have improved with the introduction of new medicines, and treatment continues to change.

There are several new treatments in the pipeline, and these can treat more than 90 percent of those infected with hepatitis C and are effective for serotypes that were once difficult to treat. So far, licensed treatments include extended-effect interferon, pegylated interferon (IFN), ribvirin (RBV), protease inhibitors such as boceprevir, telaprevir, simeprevir, and sofosbuvir and nucleotide polymer inhibitors like NS5B. More anti-viral compounds are expected to be licensed in the next few years.

SCREENING 30 MILLION: During the hepatitis C campaign in October 2014, new treatments were employed to eradicate the disease using drugs imported from overseas at the expense of the Ministry of Health, said Imam Waked, professor of hepatology at the National Liver Institute at the University of Menoufiya and a member of the National Committee for the Control of Viral Hepatitis.

In 2015, we treated 250,000 patients, and in 2016 we treated more than 600,000, which was the largest number in the world, Waked told Al-Ahram Weekly. He said five million people had been diagnosed with the virus and needed treatment, but by 2008 this figure had dropped, meaning that there are still 1.5 million to two million people who were not treated and dont know they have the disease because there are no symptoms. Symptoms are detected in later stages of the disease when they become severe, he explained.

It is necessary to screen everyone, so we can reach all those who need treatment. We need to make sure that those infected do not develop liver disease and to prevent transmission of the infection. Thats why the 100 million campaign was launched.

Before the campaign began last year, the price of screening, testing and treatment was negotiated with the drug companies making the treatments. Egypt was divided into three parts, with treatment being divided into phases, nine governorates between October and December 2018, 11 governorates between December 2018 and February 2019, and seven governorates between March and April 2019.

The campaign targets those over the age of 18, which amounts to even more than the officially announced 50 million people and about 59 million divided into three stages, Waked said. There are 17 million in the first phase, 22 million in the second, and 20 million in the final phase.

After training medical teams to carry out the tests, screenings for the virus as well as hypertension and obesity are conducted in each governorate under the campaign. Hypertension patients are given free medication, obese patients are given guidelines and advice, and hepatitis C patients are referred to the Ministry of Health clinics for more testing and free treatment.

So far, more than 30 million people have been screened, according to Waked. Four percent had antibodies for the virus and were sent to clinics for more tests, where 3.25 percent or 800,000 to 900,000 people were found to be infected with the virus. We expect to find between 300,000 to 400,000 more, which would mean that virus infections have dropped from seven percent to less than 0.5 percent of the population, he added.

I discovered I had the virus three months after I left the hospital, said Hajja Magda, a woman in her late 50s, who has benefited from the campaign. She went to one of the major university hospitals in Cairo for hernia surgery three years ago, previously carrying out tests to show she was free of any disease. After she left the hospital, however, she found she had contracted the hepatitis C virus while having the operation.

I went in for a hernia operation, and they asked for many tests, which I did, and they were all negative. After surgery, they kept the cannula at the site of the operation for one month so it could dry up and heal, she said. They sent me home, but one month later my leg began to swell, and the incision was not dry. I went back, but I was told not to worry and sent home. One week later, I went back because my foot was more swollen. Then I went to a private doctor, who said there was an infection and I would need to carry out tests. I found out I had the hepatitis C virus even though I was healthy before surgery and my tests attest to that.

Magda is one of the thousands who were infected in the hospital due to medical negligence. Former minister of health Adel Adawi said four years ago that such infections could take place in the hospital during surgery due to negligence in sterilisation procedures. He said that hospitals, dental clinics, blood transfusions, dialysis clinics and even hairdressers or barbers could spread hepatitis C if they did not follow proper procedures.

Figures at the time revealed that eight to 10 million people were infected with the hepatitis C virus, with 150,000 new infections every year, according to the Ministry of Health.

The ministry launched a national campaign to combat such hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) as a result, especially after the Faqous Public Hospital scandal where there was severe negligence in sterilising dialysis equipment because of a lack of supplies, the breakdown of a viral-infection detection machine, negligence in applying anti-infection measures, and problems in virus testing at a joint laboratory in Zagazig.

As a result, eight doctors and 36 nurses faced criminal charges for negligence in spreading infection among patients being treated for renal failure.

Hisham Al-Khayat, professor of hepatology at the Theodor Bilharz Research Institute in Cairo, told the Weekly that many patients had been infected with hepatitis C and B, a different type of the hepatitis virus, in hospitals. Im not talking about some small hospital in a village or suburb. Im talking about leading public, private and university hospitals in the capital that are well known, he said.

Many diseases could be contracted in hospitals, most notably hepatitis, he said, with 150,000-200,000 people infected with the hepatitis virus C every year, of which five to 10 percent were infected in hospitals, dental clinics or due to medical negligence. Al-Khayat explained that the incubation period for the infection was between two to six weeks and those complications could come from stays in intensive-care units since these could incubate pneumonia and fungal infections.

Hospital patients could be infected with a variety of illnesses from a variety of sources, including medical equipment intended for one use that was used repeatedly among different patients, he said. There are global standards for sterilisation, but unfortunately these are not always observed in Egypt, he said.

Maha Talaat, head of infection control at the US Naval Medical Research Unit 3 (NAMRU-3) in Egypt, said in an address four years ago at a conference for Monitoring and Preventing the Infection of Health Facilities and the Containment of Antibiotic-Resistant Microbes that 100,000 people out of 2.5 million patients treated in the US each year die at healthcare facilities. She said that a study on the scope of infection at healthcare facilities in Egypt had revealed that 29 percent of infections were through the bloodstream, 28 percent through prior weakening with pneumonia, and 25 percent in intensive-care units.

Minister of Health and Population Hala Zayed has told the press that there is a need to ensure that anti-infection standards are properly applied in Egypt. She said that patients in the hospital were more prone to infection due to their often already weakened immune systems.

MINISTRY PLANS: Egypt plans to eradicate infection with the hepatitis C virus by 2020 and to reach global standards of less than one percent infections by providing effective and safe treatment for all patients.

This means eradicating the disease and preventing its transmission to others. Gamal Esmat, a member of the National Committee for the Control of Viral Hepatitis, told the Weekly that those infected were the only source of transmission of the virus and could transmit the disease to four other people during their lifetimes.

Every case we discover not only saves that person but also their community because we are preventing four others from being infected, Esmat explained. This is treatment for prevention, as we also saw in the anti-bilharzia campaign.

In the early 1980s, the rate of bilharzia, a parasitic disease, in Egypt was more than 40 percent of the population, but with new oral-tablet treatments levels dropped to less than 0.5 percent. Esmat said that similar treatment for prevention methods for hepatitis spearheaded the ministrys plan to combat the virus by supporting changes to prevent the transmission of the disease and updating databases at blood banks at ministry and university hospitals.

We all know that the virus is transmitted through blood transfusions and blood products, he said. So, we are striving for safe blood transfusions: every blood bag leaving a university hospital or blood bank is now 100 percent safe and does not carry the hepatitis B or C viruses or the HIV virus, he added.

Esmat said the third focus of the plan was to apply performance protocols at the government, university and private hospitals to prevent infection in general, and not just with the C virus. Another area of focus was raising peoples awareness through the media and advertising because the medias role is to raise awareness that the disease can spread through many means, including even personal grooming tools such as scissors, toothbrushes, and razors, especially since an infected person has no symptoms.

The last focus to prevent the spread of the disease was ending bad habits, Esmat said, such as tattoos, body piercings, and pedicures using unsterilised equipment.

Other than the medical strides that Egypt has taken in eradicating the virus, there is also an economic impact of the campaign. A virus patient costs the state LE50,000 due to absences from work, renal medicine, and possible liver tumours, which make the treatment more expensive, Esmat explained. Add to that the cost of the four others who could be infected, this means LE250,000. The cost of treatment for patients discovered in the campaign is no more than LE1,500, however, which saves about LE48,500 in terms of cost of treatment per person.

The two to three million people targeted in the presidents campaign to eradicate the hepatitis C virus and detect chronic disease will save the country millions of pounds. Egypt will stamp out the virus by 2020 and reach global standards of less than one percent of the population infected, he concluded.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 April 2019 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: The eradication of hepatitis C

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Once I asked myself: why are staff of World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) so much interested in the wellbeing of countries far away from their homes and the head offices of their employers?



Before I could blink, the answer flashed: It is because the world is interconnected.



Should those countries fail, the wellbeing of the entire global economy will be affected. If they succeed, the world economy will be better off and everybody everywhere; from Africa through Asia into Europe and the Americas will be better off.



This is the collective mindset that has seen developed and advanced countries share their expertise and riches with less endowed and underdeveloped countries in a manner that has tremendously improved lives.



Back here in Africa and Ghana in particular, the same mentality needs to prevail.



For nations to develop, become better off and prosperous, citizens need to support each other and state and private institutions need to see each other as a part of a whole working towards a common good  the betterment of that society. The collective good rather than personal or group interest need to prevail.



Dangote example



Take for instance, Aliko Dangote, the Nigerian billionaire who is currently the richest Africa.

He did not just get there. It took hard work, shrewdness, tenacity; and I am sure many failures and lessons, but above all, he had the needed support from his own country and its successive governments, irrespective of which party was in power.



With a Bachelor of Arts/Science from the Al-Azhar University, the chief executive of the Dangote Group had a real-time net worth of $10.4 billion as of April 9, 2019.



Forbes classifies him as the worlds 136th richest man and his conglomerate employs over 30,000 Nigerians and people of other nationalities directly.



He is the 66th Most Powerful person in the world, according to Forbes. The sources of the 61-year-olds wealth are cement, sugar and flour although he is now veering into petrochemicals and the oil industry.



Home support



Dangote has enormous support from his country and its government. As a result, he is not afraid of undertaking big and ambitious projects in Nigeria.



This is seen in his continuous investment, expansion and creation of opportunities and jobs for his fellow Nigerians.



It is obvious that the billionaire harbours no tangible fears because there are none. He is probably convinced that neither All Progressives Party (APC) nor the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nigerias version of Ghanas National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP)  purely in terms of prominence and not necessarily in terms of ideology  will come not after him and his huge investments, either for political expediency or out of malice or based on nonexistent criminality.



With such certainty of the politico-business sphere, Dangote can easily sink billions of dollars in investments in Nigeria without having sleepless nights.



While I do not know Dangotes political affiliation and sympathy, it appears even if he had one, it is obviously of no bother to his empire who is in power at what point in time because his businesses will still flourish and the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will reap the benefits of a purely private businessmans investments at home.



Otherwise, Dangote would have chosen to invest a lot of his wealth in other countries  maybe in the US or UK or China.



Government support



Research shows that all the governments of Nigerias fourth constitution, headed by presidents Olusegun Obasanjo (PDP), Umaru YarAdua (PDP), Goodluck Jonathan (PDP) and Muhammadu Buhari (APC) all, in one way or the other, created an enabling environment for one of their own, Dangote, to operate a successful business. This has made Nigeria self-sufficient in cement production and supply.



Consequently, Nigeria will not need to import so much cement into the country with hard-earned dollars which would have, in turn, weakened the naira. This way, the local currency gets some form of shielding from the international currencies, thanks to the government supporting him.



From former President Olusegun Obasanjo through Goodluck Jonathan to the current Muhammadu Buhari, the Dangote Group has enjoyed a very good political relationship with the state in a way that aids the flourishing of the business not thwarting of its success and examples abound in the media for references.

Politicising businesses



While there is always room for improvement, this cordiality between the private sector player and the state emphasises the point that it really does not matter which party is in power. The Nigerian government  whether PDP-led or APC-led  sees and appreciates the need to support its own businesspeople to survive for the more successful local businesspeople there are, the better the economy becomes.



A better Nigerian economy inures to the credit of whichever party is in power as there will be more jobs created in the private sector to absorb the teeming unemployed graduates and technically-skilled youth who would have been lured into social vices were there no jobs to keep them occupied and focused.



Also, more jobs means more money and that increases spending, leading to increased economic growth. No matter how one views it, supporting our own produces fruits that impact lives and generations beyond us.



Other billionaires



The question that needs to be asked is would Dangotes successes have been possible without the support of the state in various ways?



Could that state support to businesspeople be the reason why Nigeria has produced several billionaires such as Mike Adenuga, 65, Africas second-richest, Folorunsho Alakija, the 19th richest woman in Africa on the Forbes list of African billionaires.



Like her two other billionaires, Alakija enjoys state support, making it possible for her to thrive.



Back here in Ghana, it is curious to ask if the situation is the same. Where are Ghanas billionaires? Do we have the capacity to produce billionaires?



Are we willing to give businesspeople the needed space and support to grow their businesses so they can invest in the country freely without looking over their shoulders over which political party or government may be coming after them for no reason? In fact, is Ghana worth investing in?



For Ghana to thrive, we need to answer these and many other pressing questions around the sociopolitical environment and how it impacts businesses.



For Ghana to thrive, we need to see ourselves as a part of a whole, working to better the lots of our own country and creating prosperity for the future.



Instructively, we need to appreciate that when businesses succeed, the rippling effects on the citizens and the economy do not come wearing political colours and in an era when private sector, not state is driving economic growth, we in Ghana need a rethink on how we treat businesses.



The author is a businessman and philanthropist, who founded several companies, including the recently collapsed Heritage Bank Limited.

Source: Seidu Agongo, Businessman and Philanthropist









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The tomb of a Fifth Dynasty nobleman named Khuwy in Saqqara was discovered earlier this month

Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany on Saturday toured Saqqara necropolis with a group of 52 foreign ambassadors and cultural attaches, to inspect a newly discovered tomb of a dignitary from the reign of king Djedkare.

Well-known Egyptian actress Yosra was also on the tour, which she described as thrilling.

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The tomb of Khuwy was discovered earlier this month.

saqqara

The tomb of the Fifth Dynasty dignitary was discovered earlier this month during an excavation and documentation survey carried out in southern Saqqara.

The tomb consists of a superstructure with an L-shaped offering chamber, which was once decorated with reliefs. Only the bottom part of this decoration is preserved, as the white limestone blocks of the other parts were re-used in the construction of other buildings in antiquity.

Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, explained that the mission has found at the north wall of the tomb, the entrance to a unique substructure, which is for the first time clearly inspired by the design of the substructures of the royal pyramids of the Fifth Dynasty.

That part of the tomb starts with a descending corridor, which leads to a vestibule. An entrance in its southern wall gives access to a decorated antechamber. Its decoration represents the tomb owner sitting in front of the offering table on the south and north walls. Moreover, an offering list was depicted on the east wall and the palace-facade on the west wall.

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The mission also discovered the remains of Khuwy, which show clear traces of mummification.

The discovery of this tomb stresses the importance of Djedkares era, and the end of the Fifth Dynasty in general, said Mohamed Megahed, head of the mission.

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During the tour on Saturday, El-Enany announced that Egypt will celebrate World Heritage Day next Thursday via the announcement of two new discoveries in Luxor and the completion of the restoration of a colossus of Ramses II colossus at the first pylon of Luxor Temple.

El-Enany also said that the countrys museums and archaeological sites would be free to visit for Egyptians, Africans, Arabs, and foreigners residing in Egypt on Thursday.

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Local philanthropist David Kampe, seated, was among the dignitaries who cut the ribbon to the new hospital tower in Penticton which bears his name.
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





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Egypt has one of the worlds oldest postal systems, possibly the oldest if one counts the methods used to transport letters and other items during the ancient Egyptian period. It also has one of the worlds oldest dedicated postal museums presenting this history to wider audiences in the Egyptian Postal Museum housed in the main Post Office building in Ataba Square in Downtown Cairo.

However, this history, already well known among philatelists and stamp-collectors worldwide, may not at present be appropriately exploited. The Egyptian Postal Museum in particular, housed in an important heritage building in an area slated for restoration as part of the Khedival Cairo Conservation Area, could be a much more significant destination than it is at present for visitors to Cairo and particularly for those interested in the 19th and 20th century architecture of the modern historic centre.

There are also major opportunities for developing the collection of this intriguing museum, perhaps unique across the Middle East, which was founded in 1934 to house parts of the personal stamp collection of King Fouad, like the UKs King George V an avid collector of postage stamps, though most of the Egyptian royal collection was auctioned off after the countrys 1952 Revolution. The museum was also intended to present the development of Egypts postal system within the framework of the wider modernisation of government and other structures from the Mohamed Ali period onwards.

Visiting the museum on a weekday afternoon, Al-Ahram Weekly found the historic Post Office full of patient customers, the explosion of Internet messaging over recent years apparently having done little to dent the traffic in physical letters and perhaps particularly parcels. Having bought a ticket from a regular counter downstairs in the historic Post Office building, visitors make their way upstairs where they may well be confronted by a rather different scene.

Despite the comprehensiveness of a collection that in addition to postage stamps also includes displays on postal technologies and associated paraphernalia such as letterboxes, postmens uniforms, mailbags, and even modes of transport including boats, cars and trains, the museum seemed poorly frequented. There seemed to be an overall atmosphere of neglect that contrasted radically with the unfailing courteousness and helpfulness of the staff.

There also seemed to be an absence particularly of earlier series of Egyptian stamps, which is a pity given the long history of the Egyptian Post Office. According to the generally accepted history, the modern postal system in Egypt was established in 1821 during the rule of Mohamed Ali and when the country was still part of the Ottoman Empire. This was a private concession called Posta Europea operated by an Italian businessman, and it was later extended and awarded the concession to operate all inland postal services in 1857.

In 1866, the government of the Khedive Ismail took over the concession and founded the Egyptian Post Office, with the countrys first stamps appearing in 1867 and printed in Genoa in Italy with the name of the country and their value printed in Arabic over an ornamental background.

A further series established the format for many of those that followed, with six values (a five paras yellow stamp to five piastres in brown) featuring images of the Pyramids and the Sphinx and using only Arabic script. An 1872 series then followed of seven values, with the words Poste Khedive Egiziane appearing in Latin script and signaling the influence of Italian.

In 1879, a more elaborate and more extensive series appeared. This still showed the Pyramids and the Sphinx, but it set these monuments in different frames, with Postes egyptiennes appearing in French to replace the earlier Italian words.

Another such series appeared in 1888, again featuring the Pyramids and the Sphinx set in various frames. The first major change took place only in 1914 when an entirely new series appeared bearing more elaborate designs and the words Egypt Postage in English to replace the earlier French inscription.

One of the halls of the Egyptian Postal Museum

Probably this change echoed Egypts changing political status at the beginning of World War I when the country was formally detached from the Ottoman Empire and became a sultanate under British protection. The 1914 series again emphasises the countrys ancient heritage, with Cleopatra, the Colossi of Amenhotep III at Thebes, the colossus of Ramses II, and the monuments of Abu Simbel appearing in addition to the Pyramids and the Sphinx.

Perhaps in a nod to the countrys Islamic identity, the Cairo Citadel now appeared on the 50 milliemes stamp, with the Old Aswan Dam also appearing on the highest value of the time of 200 milliemes.

Developments in Egypts political history were coming thick and fast, and these were reflected on the countrys stamps. In 1922, the 1914 series was reissued with the words Kingdom of Egypt, 15 March 1922 thickly overprinted in black together with a royal crown. In 1923, an entirely new series was produced showing a portrait of King Fouad.

Paras and piastres had disappeared from the stamps by this time to be replaced by milliemes and pounds, with the higher denomination stamps in the 1923 series being of a larger size. On the smaller denominations, the king wears a tarboush and a collar and tie. The one pound stamp shows him wearing the military uniform.

The postmens leather mailbags exhibited at the museum

A VICTORIAN EPISODE: Stamps, like currencies, have long served as vehicles for the expression of national identity and for signaling changes in history or political regimes. Like coins or banknotes, they have often been used for iconography including symbols of a nation or images of its ruler.

Egyptian stamps have been no exception to this rule, with the early series establishing a repertoire that included ancient Egyptian as well as Islamic scenes, along with, more belatedly, a definitive series that included portraits of the countrys ruler. The 1914 series also illustrated the countrys modern achievements with an image of the Old Aswan Dam.

However, the story of Egypts postage service also has many fascinating by-ways, including a now little-known visit to the country in 1858 by the Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope to advise the government of the then Khedive Said Pasha on the countrys overland postal routes. Better known as the mid-Victorian author of comforting tales of English clerical and political life, Trollope was also an employee of the British Post Office, where he was responsible for modernising the postal service in Ireland.

Trollope arrived in Alexandria in February 1858, where he had been sent, according to modern biographer Victoria Glendinning, to find out whether bags or metal boxes were more suitable for sending mail across Egypt, and, more importantly, to negotiate with Nubar Bey the use of Egyptian railroads, instead of camels, for British mail bound for India and Australia. At this time Trollope, still establishing himself as a novelist with the first in his Barsetshire series of novels on English country life, was engaged in writing the book that was to become the basis of his solid, undisputed success, in his biographers words.

It was this novel, Doctor Thorne, that Trollope wrote on the boat to Egypt and presumably also in odd moments during his negotiations with Nubar Bey. It is a typically Victorian saga of a penniless young woman who grows up with her rich aunt and cousins before inheriting everything and marrying the son of a local aristocrat. It contains few if any echoes of Egypt. According to the account Trollope gives in his Autobiography of his negotiations with Nubar Bey, the postal mission was also a success. Nubar Bey was in fact Nubar Nubarian, later Nubar Pasha and three times prime minister of Egypt under the khedives Ismail, Tawfik and Abbas Helmi from the 1870s to the 1890s and one of the major political figures of the time.

I never went to his office, nor do I know that he had an office. Every other day he would come to me at my hotel, and bring with him servants, and pipes, and coffee. I enjoyed his coming greatly but on one point he was firmly opposed to me. I was desirous that the mails should be carried through Egypt in twenty-four hours, and he thought forty-eight hours should be allowed, Trollope wrote.

At last his oriental tranquillity seemed to desert him, and he took upon himself to assure me, with almost more than British energy, that, if I insisted on the quick transit, a terrible responsibility would rest on my head. I made this mistake, he said  that I supposed that a rate of travelling which could be easy and secure in England could be attained with safety in Egypt.

When Trollope arrived in Egypt in 1858, the India mail was still being carried overland to Suez by camels in boxes, safer, Trollope says than having it carried in bags. However, with the building of the railway line to Suez, completed later in the same year, it became possible to send the mail by train in a much shorter time, and perhaps it was the scheduling of this that caused the temporary friction between Trollope and Nubar Bey.

Models of the old postmen uniforms

In any case, 24 hours was finally agreed, and Trollope finished writing Doctor Thorne in Egypt on 31 March, having written the allotted number of pages every day according to the unromantic methods of composition detailed in his Autobiography. Trollope visited the Pyramids at Giza, Saqqara, the howling dervishes at Cairo, as he describes them in a letter, together with the Cairo Citadel, the Sultan Hassan Mosque, and the tombs of the caliphs, possibly the Mameluke tombs in Cairos cemetery area, while he was in Egypt.

According to Glendinning, Trollopes Egyptian visit left marks on his writing in the shape of two short stories, An Unprotected Female at the Pyramids and A Ride across Palestine, and he came into contact for the first time with British tourists in foreign parts. One man, encountered in a hotel in Suez, he describes as suffering from that terrible British exclusiveness, that noli me tangere [dont touch me] with which an Englishman arms himself abroad.

Nubar Pasha later said that Trollopes method as a negotiator had about it less of the diplomatist than of the author who might have meditated scolding his publisher if he did not come round to his terms.

Egyptian post boxes

KINGDOM OF EGYPT: During the Kingdom of Egypt (1922-1953) and under its two kings Fouad and Farouk, Egypts stamps became more colourful and more adventurous, with many commemorative and other designs marking the new regime off from those that had preceded it.

In 1925, a special commemorative series was issued marking the International Geographical Congress in Cairo, including a five millieme stamp showing the ancient Egyptian god Thoth writing the name of King Fouad in hieroglyphs in a royal cartouche. There was a special issue in 1926 to mark the kings birthday, and in the same year a series was issued to mark the opening of Port Fouad opposite Port Said at the mouth of the Suez Canal.

Further commemorative stamps followed. In 1936, a special series was issued marking the 1936 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty and featuring the Egyptian delegation to the negotiations led by then prime minister Mustafa Al-Nahhas Pasha. A more extensive definitive series of 1937 marked the investiture of the new young king Farouk, followed, in 1938, by a five milliemes special stamp marking the royal wedding of King Farouk and Queen Farida. A 1940 stamp carried an image of the 18-month-old princess Ferial, followed in 1944 by a full series showing Farouk in military uniform.

Like in the period after World War I, developments in Egypts political history after World War II came thick and fast, and they were often marked in the countrys stamps. A special issue in 1945 marked the foundation of the Arab League, followed in 1946 by stamps to mark a visit to Egypt by the king of Saudi Arabia and a series to mark 80 years of Egyptian postage stamps and showing the Khedive Ismail and kings Fouad and Farouk.

1947 saw stamps issued to mark the withdrawal of British troops from the Nile Delta. 1948 saw others marking the entrance of Egyptian troops into Palestine in the 1948 War, and in 1951 another royal wedding stamp appeared, this time of King Farouk and queen Nariman.

The final years of the monarchy saw the overprinting, in 1952, of the 1947 definitive series with the words in Arabic King of Egypt and Sudan, 16 October 1951 marking a new agreement with the British. The abrogation of the 1936 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty in October 1951 was marked by special stamps, as was the birth of crown-prince Ahmed Fouad in 1952.

Later in the same year, the first stamps of the new regime appeared, with a series marking the 23 July Revolution. The iconography changed, and a 1953 issue saw the reissue of various series showing King Farouk with the former kings face overprinted and obliterated by three horizontal bars.

Looking through the subsequent pages of the Stanley Gibbons International Catalogue for Egypt, a standard reference for everything to do with stamps, readers may be struck by how similar, aside from the removal of the royal imagery, are the stamps issued by the new republican regime, at least in its early years. There are similar commemorative series, for example in 1954 with stamps marking the evacuation of British troops from the Suez Canal Zone and 1956 with a special issue marking the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company. There are also stamps marking anniversaries and centennials.

Perhaps there is a greater emphasis on welfare and development, and there is certainly a far greater emphasis on Egypts regional role, as befitted a regime dedicated to the cause of Pan-Arabism. 1958 saw the overprinting of a series showing mostly Islamic scenes with the words U.A.R. Egypt after the union of Egypt with Syria to form the United Arab Republic and the change in Egypts name. Stamps were issued in 1962 to mark Algerias independence from France and in 1963 to mark the proclamation of the Republic of Yemen.

President Gamal Abdel-Nasser does not seem to have appeared on Egypts stamps until 1969 in a series also showing ancient Egyptian and Islamic scenes. A memorial series was issued after his death in 1970.

A countrys history and identity can be read off from its stamps, at least as far as its official history is concerned. Moreover, stamps can signal significant political and other watersheds, including changes of regime. They can help to indicate the events that were important to governments at the time, and they can signal the growth and disappearance of political or societal agendas, including, in the Nasser period, the growth of Pan-Arabism and Arab Socialism.

Perhaps this explains why so many public figures have collected stamps, as they may well have enjoyed both the methodical pleasure of collecting and the surely equal pleasure of arranging and putting in order, allowing them to glimpse something of the stream of history as vice-royalty gave way to sultanate and monarchy (in Egypts case) before settling down into a republican regime.

For these and other reasons, Egypts Postal Museum has enormous potential as a way of transmitting and illustrating the countrys history for present and future generations, as seen in the history of its stamps. It is to be hoped that as the Khedival Cairo Conservation Project advances towards Ataba Square, the historic Post Office building with its unique Postal Museum can also be suitably renovated.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 April, 2019 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Stories of Egypts stamps

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IN CZECH, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM

Believe the hype. This is the first truly innovative pistol design in over 30 years, with the potential to advance the evolution of handguns as we know them. Mighty big talk for a one-eyed fat man? Not when you can back it up.

This isnt the first firearm Jan Lucansky, founder of Laugo Arms, has designed. After serving as a volunteer for the Croat HVO militia in the Bosnian conflict, he returned to his native Slovakia with a desire to make a submachine gun. So he did. That gun caught the attention of Czech manufacturer, CZ, who bought the rights to it and placed it into their catalog as the Scorpion  the rest, as they say, is history.

The first 10,000 or so guns left the factory with the legend Designed by Laugo Arms molded into their polymer frames, just above the trigger assembly, until CZ decided that giving another design house props wasnt part of their marketing strategy and removed it from the tooling. Fun fact: Laugo Arms derives its name from the Roman 2nd century settlement of Laugaricio, located near the modern-day city of Trencin, Slovakia.

After spending three years at the drawing board perfecting the design of a pistol that started out with the name Dream, Laugo Arms was ready to start making chips. Its original moniker reflected a philosophy of not hewing slavishly to previous principles, but instead being free to reimagine what a handgun should look like. Although theres no getting away from precedent, the Laugo Alien reuses certain features in a completely new combination.

All Aboard the Nostromo

We might as well start with its insanely low-bore axis, as thats what everyone will notice right off the bat. Its made possible by a combination of a gas-delayed blowback operating system placed above the barrel and a slide which drops both its breech face and center of gravity into the space normally occupied by lockwork. This combination is what drives everything else  the inverted hammer, the stationary top rib, the astounding lack of muzzle flip, the attention-grabbing looks.

Although using propellant gasses to retard the reciprocating parts, rather than drive them, was first implemented by Karl Barnitzke during the closing days of WWII in the VG 1-5 rifle, it wasnt until the appearance of the H&K P7 and its cultlike following that it came to popular attention. In this system, a gas port right next to the case mouth taps off high-pressure gasses into a cylinder lying parallel to the bore axis where they hit a piston, driving it forward. This in turn holds the slide closed, counteracting pressure from the cartridge case pushing on the breech face  note that at no time is the breach locked in the conventional sense.

By adding gas to keep the slide closed, rather than just relying on inertia and resistance from a recoil spring, such as in the case of a straight blowback weapon, the amount of mass needed to balance forces generated by slinging a bullet downrange is drastically reduced. It also adds a measure of self-regulation to the system, as hotter ammo produces higher pressures at the gas port, which in turn increase resistance to the slides operation.

In the case of the H&K P7 (and for that matter the current Walther CCP), the piston is mounted under the barrel, where it occupies the same space that a recoil spring guide rod would in a Browning-pattern handgun. The Laugo Alien moves this to the top side, where it lies next to a small-diameter recoil spring, both of which are seated in a gas block, into which the barrel is inserted. Although the barrel is fixed to the frame  thus increasing its accuracy potential  it can be removed and replaced at the user level. We tried several examples with different gas port diameters; the end user will probably want to play with this tune to the gun to their shooting style. Bigger ports allow for a lighter recoil spring, but theres still no getting away from Newtons third law  youll either experience recoil as a sharper smack in your palm or as increased muzzle flip. You choose.

Lucansky managed to shoehorn a lot of mechanical components into a small space while shaving weight from the guns reciprocating components  the top of the slide is effectively missing. Or to look at it another way, its been turned upside down, as the majority of its mass sits directly over the top of the magazine.

Nuke it from Orbit

In order to get things moving, we need a means of ignition. The Laugo Alien employs what the companys representatives term a Hybrid Striker System. They could instead call it the Easter Bunny, as both terms bear as much relationship as to whats actually lighting off the primers, which is a hammer. Its an upside-down, lightweight, CNCd hammer, but a hammer nonetheless, housed along with its sear in the top rib.

About the only thing striker-like about it is that the tail of the hammer strut pokes out of the guns arse end when cocked, just like in a Springfield XD, Canik, or all the way back to the 1907 Roth Steyr. But its a hammer. This distinction is important, as the Laugo Alien is being marketed as a competition pistol, aimed squarely at the USPSA Production and Carry Optics divisions, and unfortunately, having a hammer means itll have a hard time meeting the division rules. But we digress, and we shall see.

Of course, being equipped with a hammer, dropped by a single-action trigger, places the Alien in the same category as a 1911. And the best news is that its trigger pull is every bit as good as a 1911. To be specific, a Series 70 with Wilson guts, hand-tuned by a smith who knows what the [email protected] hes doing. Yeah, that good. While striker-fired guns have come a long way in terms of the quality of their triggers, the 1911 is still the gold standard, and the Laugo Alien emulates it in every way  crisp break, short, tactile reset, and once the initial takeup is passed, no sponginess in any way.

Like a striker-fired gun, theres a gas pedal safety in the triggers face, but apart from this minor impediment, nothing else stands in the way of things getting loud. 1911 guys are probably shaking their heads right about now, muttering about, single action pistols without thumb safeties, something something, accident waiting to happen, mumble but honestly, weve had at least two decades now of fully cocked strikers riding in peoples holsters and nothing to show for it apart from the occasional Glock leg. If there were an inherent flaw in the system, itd have shown up in ways that didnt involve egregiously violating Rule 3.

The Laugo Aliens trigger hinges on a pin located in a steel chassis, which looks much like an STI or SVI. Like its predecessors, the lower half of the grip is replaceable, machined from aluminum bar stock in this case. According to the manufacturer, therell be polymer (lighter) and steel (heavier) options in the future to allow the user to further customize the handgun to suit their needs. For the moment, there are different sized and profiled grips and backstraps, as well as two sizes of magwell. The grip is dovetailed to the chassis and secured with a single screw at the front of the trigger guard; once its in place, theres no slop or play between the two. Theres another two screws holding the frame nose cap in position, which acts as the front anchor point for the removable top rail and which could just as easily morph into a compensator or muzzle brake.

The Laugo Aliens other unique feature  that one-piece, stationary top rib  contributes greatly to its shootability at the range. When a round is fired, the gun cycles just like any other semi-auto, but the sights stay put while the sides of the slide whip back and forth  its noticeable when using iron sights, but really comes into its own with an MRDS, as anyone whos shot an Open division blaster will tell you. In this case, the dot never leaves the lens, which means you dont lose sight of it during recoil, making follow-up shots that much faster. The rail itself is secured at three locations: frame nose, gas block, and beavertail, by closely fitting hooks, ensuring the sights return to zero after disassembly. We shot a couple of different configurations, one with a Picatinny rail running the entire length and carrying an Aimpoint Micro, so larger tube and holographic sights are a viable option with this system.

Blasting Facehuggers

We spent an enjoyable afternoon in the company of Laugo Arms staff on a range about 45 minutes outside of Prague, putting the gun through its paces on a USPSA-style stage. Rather than warm up and fire a few unhurried groups, we launched straight into it and broke out the timer, going head to head from the holster with one of their pro shooters. No pressure then

Did that novel design and operating system pay dividends? Yes, but like everything else in this life, youll have to work at it in order to maximize your return on investment. The first thing you notice when you pick one up is that Glock shooters will have no trouble adapting to the Laugo Alien. Anyone whos more used to a 1911-style grip angle will find their shots landing higher than normal, until this is taken into account, but hopefully therell be a combination of grip panels and backstraps to make the transition easier.

Once this hurdle was overcome, the next problem we encountered was that the heady combination of lack of muzzle flip and super fast trigger suckered us into outrunning our meager talents. Yes, its easy to shoot this pistol fast, but it does you no good if you start shanking rounds into the C zone because youre mashing the trigger and getting sloppy with the sights. Even if it does feel so good. Just because its better, doesnt mean youll be.

Having been a card-carrying member of the P7 cult for a number of years, wed been anticipating having to halt proceedings after a few magazines, in order to let the pistol cool off. Gas-delayed blowback isnt without its drawbacks, one of which is heat. Were glad to report that at no time did the gun become uncomfortable, and while it probably would get too hot to operate after multiple mag dumps, running hoser drills and field courses didnt seem to create any undue temperature increase.

Whos Going to Buy It?

Bringing any new gun to market is a risky venture. Laugo Arms is a tiny company  no, scratch that; in comparison to the likes of S&W or Ruger, theyre barely more significant than a speck of dust on the corporate boardroom table. So why gamble everything on a pistol that may not make it into the competition divisions theyve built the gun around? Well, theres an Austrian chap who was probably told the same thing when he started hawking an ugly-assed, plastic-framed semi-auto to police and military markets in the 1980s, but which turned out to be a better mousetrap than anything available at the time.

We have to imagine that the manufacturers who currently dominate the relevant competitive divisions are lobbying hard to keep the Laugo Alien out of their playgrounds. If the USPSA and IPSC find a way to exclude the Alien from matches, itll be a great pity, as the role of competition in the civilian world has been as a test bed for innovation. If a particular technology gives an advantage and proves to be reliable, it eventually finds its way into the hands of our warfighters  think low power variable optics, mini red dots, compensators, extended base pads, skateboard tape, stippling, offset irons, and a host of other items that are nowadays common downrange and were first validated on the competition circuit.

Make no mistake, the Laugo Alien is a significant step forward. Its easy to envision a lighter, duty-sized version of this weapon finding a ready home in service holsters across the country. With no significant G-forces to deal with, the designers of red-dot sights can switch their focus to making the windows larger, while maintaining impact resistance. For police departments everywhere, the time needed to train personnel to accurately place rounds on target just got cut significantly. Place dot on target, press match-grade trigger  congratulations, recruit, you passed. Now, lets work on those reloads.

Of course, all of this is just blue-sky spitballing, and you shouldnt take our word for anything preceding this sentence. After all, there are legions of gun writers whove never met a firearm they dont like; how often can you recycle the same, tired material? But this one is different. Go shoot one if you get the chance. Make up your own mind, then decide if the juice is worth the squeeze. The first production run of any new item incurs significant startup costs, which are factored into the price of admission, so dont expect this to be anywhere near the same price range as a plastic fantastic. That said, Gen 1 Glock 19s are fetching crazy money at the moment, so maybe theres something about being first with the best

Visit http://www.laugoarms.com/alien.html

This article originally appeared in RECOIL Issue 41

Photos by Eric Hagood and Courtesy of Laugo Arms
South Africa: Youth urged to get connected

Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams on Saturday encouraged young people to have an interest in technology and social media.

Addressing young people in Mfundisweni in Ntabankulu in the Eastern Cape, Ndabeni-Abrahams said technology and social media can improve their lives for the better and in that regard they didnt need to go to Gauteng for better opportunities.

You can start your own business and market your products all over the country using social media. All you need is a computer or a cellphone and to get connected to internet.

You also need to open a bank account at your nearest Post Office so people (you working with) will deposit money in your account, the Minister said.

Minister Ndabeni-Abrahams encouraged young people to use the internet to their advantage.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is taking over and therefore you need to take advantage of it to improve your lives, the Minister said.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution brings about disruptions to digital technology across industries. This will bring new scope in all economic sectors such as the job market of the future, skills development and education of the workplace.

It will also give countries a unique opportunity to address youth unemployment by adapting the education models to catalyse innovation and upskill youth for digital transformation.

Youth encouraged to be entrepreneurs

Also speaking was Higher Education and Training Minister Naledi Pandor who encouraged young people to be entrepreneurs.

Pandor told the young people, who came out in their numbers to interact with the various exhibitors on site, that they could also consider furthering their studies at the various colleges throughout the country.

You can follow a career path from the various courses offered at the colleges, the Minister said, adding that the country needs more engineers, welders and plumbers.

As government we realised that most students lack money to further their studies, government is now assisting needy students by offering them bursaries, she said.

Pandor told the young people that it was up to them to decide where they want to further their studies.

Freedom Walk and Economic Opportunities Expo

Prior to addressing the youth and the local communities, Minister Ndabeni-Abrahams and Deputy Minister Pinky Kekana led a Freedom Walk and held an Economic Opportunities Expo.

The Freedom Walk and Economic Opportunities Expo commenced with a 3km walk leading into an economic opportunities exhibition centre where the community members interacted with participating organisations and received services on wheels.

The Freedom Walk and Economic Opportunities Expo is an annual programme conducted in collaboration with government departments and the private sector stakeholders to expose the youth, unemployed and entrepreneurs to a wide array of academic, career and business opportunities.

This years event in Ntabankulu is accordingly aligned to the commemoration of 25 years of freedom.

One of the participants in the Freedom Walk, Siphosethu Mkhwanazi told SAnews that he has not been working but after seeing all the opportunities available to him he now wants to start his own business in his community.

Government is giving us opportunities to start our own businesses and become entrepreneurs so we can employ other young people who are unemployed, he said.

Mkhwanazi said participating in the Freedom Walk has made him realised that there are many opportunities out there.

We cannot all be employed, some of us must be entrepreneurs to employ others, he said.

Echoing the same sentiments was Nkosinathi Mandlenkosi who said he was considering starting his own business.

I am still thinking about the business I want to start, I have realised that there are many opportunities out there, he said.

The Ntabankulu Freedom Walk and Economic Opportunities Expo has been preceded by a host of build-up programmes such as digital marketing, coding, 3D-printing, graphic design, domain-name-reselling, entrepreneurial skills development, media and elections training.

Government services for SASSA card beneficiaries and DTT set-top box registrations for qualifying households were also available.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2019-04-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Syrian air defense responds to an Israeli aggression in Musayaf [13/April/2019] SANAA, April 13 (Saba) The Syrian army announced that its air defense had responded to an Israeli air strike targeting a military site in the town of Musayaf in the countryside of Hama.



Syrian news agency SANA quoted a Syrian military source as saying that at about 2.30 pm today, Israeli warplanes carried out an air strike on one of the military positions towards the city of Musayaf.



the source added that immediately the Syrian air defense intervened to face those hostile missiles and downed some of them before reaching their goals.



The source said that the Israeli attack resulted in the destruction of some buildings and wounding three fighters.





AA

Saba
Students rally denounces Saudi aggression crimes

[13/April/2019]

MAHWAIT, April 13 (Saba)  Dozens of students in Mahwait province on Saturday staged a protest rally to condemn the war crimes committed by the Saudi-led aggression coalition air strikes against the Yemeni people.

At the rally, the students stressed on the importance of uniting the internal fronts to confront the coalition and its crimes in Yemen.

The participants held the United Nations the full responsibility for the ongoing war and siege imposed by the coalition on the Yemeni people.

The rally affirmed on continuing educational process despite the air strikes waged by the aggression fighter jets on schools.

Ali Ahsan

saba
As the nation commemorates the 100th anniversary of the massacre of hundreds of innocent Indians by British forces at the Jallianwala Bagh, British High Commissioner Sir Dominic Asquith on Saturday expressed deep regret and sorrow but remained non-committal on any apology coming from the British government on the brutal killings.

"We deeply regret what happened," the British High Commissioner said in his remarks in the Visitor's Book at the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial here.



Asquith paid floral tributes at the memorial.



On the issue of an apology by his government, Asquith evaded a direct response to the media: "I know this is a really important question. I would just ask you to respect what I came here to do which was to commemorate those who died here a 100 years ago -- to express the sorrow of the British government and the British people."



"What happened 100 years ago was a tragedy. Prime Minister Theresa May in the House of Parliament this week referred to it as a 'shameful scar' in our history.



"Her predecessor, Prime Minister David Cameroon, when he visited India, referred to it as a deeply shameful scar. My own great grand father, who was Prime Minister for almost a decade, in 1960 referred to this as one of the worst outrages in our whole history," he said, adding that both governments (Britain and India) are committed to the flourishing relationship (between both countries)," he said.



"Today we remember with deep sorrow those who were killed on April 13, 1919 and regret the suffering caused," Asquith also tweeted.



The day marks the centenary of the massacre, in which British forces led by Brigadier General Reginald Dyer opened fire on hundreds of unarmed, innocent Indians, including women and children, who were protesting peacefully against the oppressive Rowlatt Act of the British government.





The massacre, on April 13, 1919, is one of the darkest chapters of India's freedom struggle against the British occupation. The official death toll by the British government was put at 379 killed though there were claims that over 1,000 people were killed.



"The event of Jallianwala Bagh 100 years ago reflects a shameful act in British-Indian history. We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused.



"I am pleased today that the UK and India have remained committed to developing together a thriving 21st-century partnership," Asquith wrote in the Visitor's Book at the memorial.


Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/12/2019 -- Baby wipes is a disposable wet wipe/cloth used to clean sensitive skin of infants. Baby wipes are saturated with solutions with gentle cleansing ingredients. They are usually packaged inside plastic cases or a tub to retain the moisture and are present in different packs and styles. Baby wipes are sold in the diaper section in the supermarkets. Dry baby wipes and wet baby wipes are the two available types of the baby wipes. Dry baby wipes are more portable and easy to handle as compared to wet baby wipes. The wet baby wipes are used single time in order to prevent cross-contamination risk. Their application is also widely used by travelers and women worldwide. Moreover, they are used for frugal personal and household uses.



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Market Segmentation:



Baby Wipes market can be segmented on the basis of product type, sales channel, packaging and region.



On the basis of product type, baby wipes market can be segmented into dry and wet baby wipes. Dry baby wipes have excellent absorbency and suitable for hand and face cleaning, patient cleansing and face cleansing while travelling. Whereas wet baby wipes are best used before diapering a baby, patient care and post workout wipe, as it provides excellent cleansing action, in addition moisturize the skin and soothes & prevents dryness after continuous use of wet baby wipes.



On the basis of sales channel, baby wipes market can be segmented into retail sales, departmental stores, medical stores and brand outlets.



On the basis of packaging, baby wipes market can be segmented into plastic cases and a tub in order to retain the moisture.



On the basis of region, Baby Wipes market can be segmented into seven key regions: North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan, Middle East and Africa and Japan.



Drivers, Restraints, and Trends:



Demand for childcare products, changing lifestyle patterns & emerging travelers, rising population of working women, modernization in healthcare practices, wide use in salon & spas and increasing disposable income fuel the demand for baby wipes. A major contribution of baby wipe goes into the growing birth rates, especially during the early life stage of an infant.



However, the raw material used to make the baby wipes consumes a lot of time to degrade due to presence of plastics and polymers. Hence, posing an environmental threat. Also the preservatives used causes risk of allergy and rashes among the new born.



Although, marketing innovations, upcoming trends by imposing hygienic biodegradable material by vendors and more fragrances are the rising trends which can boost up the market globally.



Regional Outlook:



Overall, growth rates for Baby wipes is slowing after a long expansion period but still the untapped markets are projected to be a potential market in coming years. Purchasing power over a time have increased exponentially in developing countries such as India, China and Brazil. Also increasing globalization, awareness of hygienic practices and higher disposable incomes are contributing towards baby wipes growth.



Due to increased expenditure per child in India, the market is projected to have ambitious projections. Also factors like increasing disposable income and rising hygiene awareness among mothers is contributing towards baby wipes growth.



China has become one of the largest consumer market of baby hygiene products. Whereas, Japan is resulting into low sales of baby hygiene products due to rapid growth in aging population, low birth rate and decreasing personal disposable per capita income.



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Key Players:



Major players in the Baby Wipes segment are Jhonson & Jhonson Pvt Ltd, Procter & Gamble Co, The Himalaya Drug Company, Cotton Babies Inc, Babisil Products Ltd, Unicharm Corporation, Kirkland, Moony, Pampers, Medline and Hengan International Group Company Ltd. are some to name a few.



- Baby Wipes Market Segments

- Baby Wipes Market Dynamics

- Historical Actual Market Size, 2015-2016

- Baby Wipes Market Size & Forecast 2017 To 2027

- Baby Wipes Market Supply & Demand Value Chain

- Baby Wipes Market Current Trends/Issues/Challenges

- Players Competition & Companies Involved in Baby Wipes market

- Baby Wipes Market Technology

- Baby Wipes Market Value Chain

- Baby Wipes Market Drivers and Restraints



Regional analysis for Baby Wipes market includes:



- North America

- Latin America

- Western Europe

- Eastern Europe

- Japan

- The Middle East and Africa



MRR.BIZ has been compiled in-depth market research data in the report after exhaustive primary and secondary research. Our team of able, experienced in-house analysts has collated the information through personal interviews and study of industry databases, journals, and reputable paid sources.



The report provides the following information:



- Tailwinds and headwinds molding the market's trajectory

- Market segments based on products, technology, and applications

- Prospects of each segment

- Overall current and possible future size of the market

- Growth pace of the market

- Competitive landscape and key players' strategies



The main aim of the report is to:



- Enable key stakeholder's in the market bet right on it

- Understand the opportunities and pitfalls awaiting them

- Assess the overall growth scope in the near term

- Strategize effectively with respect to production and distribution



MRR.BIZ is a leading provider of strategic market research. Our vast repository consists research reports, data books, company profiles, and regional market data sheets. We regularly update the data and analysis of a wide-ranging products and services around the world. As readers, you will have access to the latest information on almost 300 industries and their sub-segments. Both large Fortune 500 companies and SMEs have found those useful. This is because we customize our offerings keeping in mind the specific requirements of our clients.



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Edison, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/13/2019 -- Global Bioprocess Technology Market Size, Status and Forecast 2018-2025 is latest research study released by HTF MI evaluating the market, highlighting opportunities, risk side analysis, and leveraged with strategic and tactical decision-making support. The study provides information on market trends and development, drivers, capacities, technologies, and on the changing capital structure of the Global Bioprocess Technology Market. Some of the key players profiled in the study are Thermo Fisher Scientific, Sartorius Aktiengesellschaft, Repligen Corporation, General Electric Company, Corning Incorporated, Eppendorf AG, Lonza Group, Abbott Laboratories, Alere, Philips Healthcare, Dickinson and Company & Becton.



In 2017, the global Bioprocess Technology market size was million US$ and it is expected to reach million US$ by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of during 2018-2025.



Bioprocess Technology Market Overview:



If you are involved in the Bioprocess Technology industry or intend to be, then this study will provide you comprehensive outlook. It's vital you keep your market knowledge up to date segmented by Biopharmaceutical Companies, Contract Manufacturing Organization & Academic and Research Institutes, , Bioreactors Bioprocess Technology, Consumables & Accessories, Cell Culture Media, Chromatography & Filtration Devices and major players. If you have a different set of players/manufacturers according to geography or needs regional or country segmented reports we can provide customization according to your requirement.



Enquire for customization in Report @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/1336619-global-bioprocess-technology-market-7



Bioprocess Technology Market: Demand Analysis & Opportunity Outlook 2023



Research study is to define market sizes of various segments & countries in previous years and to forecast the values to the next 5-8 years. The report is designed to comprise each qualitative and quantitative elements of the industry facts including: market share, market size (value and volume 2012-17, and forecast to 2023) with admire to each of the areas and countries concerned inside the examination. Furthermore, the report additionally caters the detailed statistics about the vital elements which includes drivers & restraining factors which will define the future growth of the market.



Furthermore, the years considered for the study are as follows:

Historical year  2013-2017

Base year  2018

Forecast period**  2018 to 2023 [** unless otherwise stated]



Moreover, it will also include the opportunities available in micro markets for stakeholders to invest, detailed analysis of competitive landscape and product services of key players.



The designated segments and sub-section of the market are explained below:



The Study is segmented by following Product Type: , Bioreactors Bioprocess Technology, Consumables & Accessories, Cell Culture Media, Chromatography & Filtration Devices



Major applications/end-users industry are as follows: Biopharmaceutical Companies, Contract Manufacturing Organization & Academic and Research Institutes



Some of the key Manufacturers Involved in the Market are  Thermo Fisher Scientific, Sartorius Aktiengesellschaft, Repligen Corporation, General Electric Company, Corning Incorporated, Eppendorf AG, Lonza Group, Abbott Laboratories, Alere, Philips Healthcare, Dickinson and Company & Becton



You can get free access to samples from the report here: https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/1336619-global-bioprocess-technology-market-7



For each region, market size and end users are analyzed as well as segment markets by types, applications and companies. If opting for the Global version of Bioprocess Technology Market analysis is provided for major regions as follows:

- North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)

- Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)

- Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)

- South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.)

- Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)



Buy this research report @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=1336619



Key Answers Captured in Study are

Which geography would have better demand for product/services?

What are the strategies adopted by big players in the regional market?

Which country would see the steep rise in CAGR & year-on-year (Y-O-Y) growth?

What is the current & expected market size in next five years?

What is the market feasibility for long term investment?

What opportunity the country would offer for existing and new players in the Bioprocess Technology market?

What is risk involved for suppliers in the geography?

What factors would drive the demand for the product/service in near future?

What is the impact analysis of various factors in the Global Bioprocess Technology market growth?

What are the recent trends in the regional market and how successful they are?



Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/1336619-global-bioprocess-technology-market-7



There are 15 Chapters to display the Global Bioprocess Technology market.

Chapter 1, About Executive Summary to describe Definition, Specifications and Classification of Global Bioprocess Technology market, Applications [Biopharmaceutical Companies, Contract Manufacturing Organization & Academic and Research Institutes], Market Segment by Regions United States, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India & Central & South America;

Chapter 2, objective of the study.

Chapter 3, to display Research methodology and techniques.

Chapter 4 and 5, to show the Overall Market Analysis, segmentation analysis, characteristics;

Chapter 6 and 7, to show the Market size, share and forecast; Five forces analysis (bargaining Power of buyers/suppliers), Threats to new entrants and market condition;

Chapter 8 and 9, to show analysis by regional segmentation[United States, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India & Central & South America ], comparison, leading countries and opportunities; Regional Marketing Type Analysis, Supply Chain Analysis

Chapter 10, focus on identifying the key industry influencer's, overview of decision framework accumulated through Industry experts and strategic decision makers;

Chapter 11 and 12, Market Trend Analysis, Drivers, Challenges by consumer behaviour, Marketing Channels and demand & supply.

Chapter 13 and 14, describe about the vendor landscape (classification and Market Positioning)

Chapter 15, deals with Global Bioprocess Technology Market sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.



Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia or Oceania [Australia and New Zealand].



About HTF Market Report

HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the "Accurate Forecast" in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their "Goals & Objectives".
Edison , NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/13/2019 -- AdvanceMarketAnalytics follow a focused and realistic research framework that provides the ability to study the crucial market dynamics in several regions across the world. Moreover, an in-depth assessment is mostly conducted by our analysts on geographical regions to provide clients and businesses the opportunity to dominate in niche markets and expand in emerging markets across the globe. This market research study also showcase the spontaneously changing Manufacturers landscape impacting the growth of the market. Furthermore, our market researchers extensively analyse the products and services offered by multiple players competing to increase their market share and presence.



Advance Market Analytics recently introduced Cedar Oil Market study with in-depth overview, describing about the Product / Industry Scope and elaborates market outlook and status to 2024. Cedar Oil Market explores effective study on varied sections of Industry like opportunities, size, growth, technology, demand and trend of high leading players. It also provides market key statistics on the status of manufacturers, a valuable source of guidance, direction for companies and individuals interested in the industry.



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Major Key Players in This Report Include,

Wuhan Sunhy Biology Co., Ltd. (China), Cedar Oil Industries (United States), Grayden CedarWorks (United States), HuBei JuSheng Technology (China), Jiangxi Global Natural Spices Co. (China), Essential oil in. (United States), SSS biotic.com (United States), Texarome (United States), Henan Allgreen Chemical Co., Ltd, (China) and Finetech Industry Limited,(China)



The report focuses on Global Cedar Oil Market major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials, equipment and downstream consumers analysis is also carried out. What's more, the market development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.



The market study is being classified by Type, by Application and major geographies with country level break-up that includes South America (Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America), Asia Pacific (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Rest of Asia-Pacific), Europe (Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Rest of Europe), MEA (Middle East, Africa), North America (United States, Canada, Mexico).



The research methodology used to estimate and forecast the Cedar Oil Market began with capturing data from the key vendors' revenue and market size of the individual segments through secondary sources, industry associations, and trade journals, such as the World Analytics Association and the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. The bottom-up procedure was employed to arrive at the overall market size of the market from the individual segments. After arriving at the overall market size, the total market was split into several segments and sub segments, which were then verified through primary research by conducting extensive interviews with the key industry personnel, such as Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), Vice Presidents (VPs), directors, and executives. The data triangulation and market breakdown procedures were employed to complete the overall market engineering process and arrive at the exact statistics for all the segments and sub segments.



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Strategic Points Covered in Table of Content of Cedar Oil Market:

Chapter 1: Introduction, market driving force product Objective of Study and Research Scope the Cedar Oil market

Chapter 2: Exclusive Summary  the basic information of the Cedar Oil Market.

Chapter 3: Displaying the Market Dynamics- Drivers, Trends and Challenges of the Cedar Oil

Chapter 4: Presenting the Cedar Oil Market Factor Analysis Porters Five Forces, Supply/Value Chain, PESTEL analysis, Market Entropy, Patent/Trademark Analysis.

Chapter 5: Displaying the by Type, End User and Region 2013-2018

Chapter 6: Evaluating the leading manufacturers of the Cedar Oil market which consists of its Competitive Landscape, Peer Group Analysis, BCG Matrix & Company Profile

Chapter 7: To evaluate the market by segments, by countries and by manufacturers with revenue share and sales by key countries in these various regions.

Chapter 8 & 9: Displaying the Appendix, Methodology and Data Source



Finally, Cedar Oil Market is a valuable source of guidance for individuals and companies.



Data Sources & Methodology



The primary sources involves the industry experts from the Cedar Oil Market including the management organizations, processing organizations, analytics service providers of the industry's value chain. All primary sources were interviewed to gather and authenticate qualitative & quantitative information and determine the future prospects.



In the extensive primary research process undertaken for this study, the primary sources  Postal Surveys, telephone, Online & Face-to-Face Survey were considered to obtain and verify both qualitative and quantitative aspects of this research study. When it comes to secondary sources Company's Annual reports, press Releases, Websites, Investor Presentation, Conference Call transcripts, Webinar, Journals, Regulators, National Customs and Industry Associations were given primary weight-age.



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Edison, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/13/2019 -- HTF MI added a new research study in its database with title 'Conductive Grease Market  Global Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities, Trends & Forecast up to 2022' that includes detailed analysis, Competitive landscape, forecast and strategies. The study covers geographic analysis that includes regions like North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa and important players/vendors such as Dow Corning, Honeywell Corporation, Momentive Performance Materials etc. The report will help user gain market insights, future trends and growth prospects for forecast period of 2018-2022.



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Summary

Conductive Grease Market  Global Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities, Trends, and Forecasts up to 2022

Conductive grease is a material that is applied between the surfaces to reduce the friction without loss or restrictions of energy transfer. It helps the flow of electrical or thermal energy, and provides cost benefits to the overall mechanism. The material is majorly used by electrical & electronic industry, where it helps to manage complete heat and electrical management solutions. Thermal conductive grease and electrical conductive grease are the two key types of conductive grease, where thermal conductivity has the advantage of being utilized more which is increasing its market value. Conductive grease is a part of the energy saving materials, owing to its ability to facilitate heat transfer with minimum or no loss.



Currently, with the advantages of having a bigger market for electrical & electronics, such as China, Philippines etc., Asia Pacific is the global leader in the conductive grease market. Big manufacturing units are having most of the consumption and increasing Asia Pacific's lead in the global market. North America is another prominent market for conductive grease having the advantage of being the leader in various electronic solutions and healthcare devices. Europe followed North America to be termed as the third largest market for conductive grease, as it is the leader in the transportation industry. Rapidly changing consumer demands and high consumer spending in North America and Europe are expected to boost the market of conductive grease. Two developed regions of North America and Europe collectively account for around half of the global market, however, the share is expected to decline due to the high growth in developing countries. Middle East & African countries show a high growth rate during the forecast period due to the increasing industrialization. Globally, the demand for conductive grease is growing consistently, especially in Asia Pacific and North America.



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Thermal conductive grease is highly dominating the market at both the global and regional level, owing to the high adoption rate and easy installation. Other than thermal, the other form of conductive grease is electrical conductive grease which is also increasing its market during the forecast period with a high adoption coming from the technological and product level innovations.



The study of the global conductive grease market provides market size information and market trends along with the factors and parameters impacting the market in both short- and long-term. The study ensures a 360 view, bringing out the complete key insights of the industry. These insights help the business decision-makers to make better business plans and informed decisions for future business. In addition, the study helps venture capitalists in understanding the companies better and take informed decisions.



According to HTF Research, the global conductive grease market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.5% during the forecast period to reach $809.0 million by 2022. The thermal conductive grease is expected to maintain global dominance, which is driven by China and India. Asia Pacific is expected to contribute the highest toward the global conductive grease market. Some of the key players in conductive grease is Dow Corning, Honeywell Corporation, Momentive Performance Materials, Wacker Chemie AG, and Parker Hannifin.



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Report Scope:

- Type

o Thermal Conductive Grease

o Electrical Conductive Grease

- End-user

o Electrical & Electronics

o Telecommunications

o Transportation

o Others

- Regions

o Asia Pacific

o North America

o Europe

o Rest of the World



- Industry outlook: Market trends, drivers, restraints, and opportunities



Table of Contents

1 Report Outline 11

1.1 Introduction 11

1.2 Report Scope 11

1.3 Market Definition 11

2 Executive Summary 15

2.1 Large domestic demand and homegrown supply capabilities helping China to strengthen its market share 15

2.2 Growing Lightening and advance electronic solution demand boosting the consumption of conductive grease in Asia Pacific 15

3 Market Positioning 17

4 Market Outlook 19

5 Market Characteristics 26

6 Type: Market Size & Analysis 30

7 End-users: Market Size & Analysis 65

....Continued



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Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/13/2019 -- In internal combustion engines, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is a emissions reduction technique used in petrol/gasoline and diesel engines to reduce nitrogen oxide. EGR works by recirculating a part of an engine's exhaust gas back to the engine cylinders. In the case of gasoline engines, this inert exhaust displaces an amount of combustible gas from the cylinder. In diesel engines, the exhaust gas replaces parts of the excess oxygen in the pre-combustion mixture. The fuel mixture combusts, causing clatter of valves and damages the engine. Allowing small amounts of gas into the chamber reduces the temperature. Regulating the exhaust is done by the EGR Valve. EGR technology offers automobile producers a reliable, compact and cost-effective method to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions, and is fast catching up the standard solution for gasoline hybrid propulsion systems. It increases the output of the fuel. The EGR Valve Minimizes throttling losses reduce chemical disassociation, reduces heat reduction.



According to the report, one of the key drivers of the market is the regulation of NOx emission from diesel and gasoline engines. To comply with rigorous NOx emission regulations, a combination of NOx reduction catalysts and EGR systems is used. Vehicles in European countries undergo stringent checks for compliance with emission standards. Japan and the US have adopted similar regulations. Governments issue such emission regulations to reduce the effects of harmful gases on human health and the environment. The primary aim of these legislations is to reduce the release of NOx and PM from the vehicle's fuel.



The growth of the Global EGR valves market may be impacted by the increased adoption of SCR over EGR systems technology, which has led to a decrease in the usage of EGR systems. SCR is a technology adopted by many automobile manufacturers, which uses AdBlue to convert excessive NOx gases into water and nitrogen.



The global Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) Valve market was 720 million US$ in 2018 and is expected to 1170 million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of 6.2% between 2019 and 2025.



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This report studies the Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) Valve market size (value and volume) by players, regions, product types and end industries, history data 2014-2018 and forecast data 2019-2025; This report also studies the global market competition landscape, market drivers and trends, opportunities and challenges, risks and entry barriers, sales channels, distributors and Porter's Five Forces Analysis.



Geographically, this report is segmented into several key regions, with sales, revenue, market share and growth Rate of Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) Valve in these regions, from 2014 to 2025, covering



North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)



Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia and Turkey etc.)



Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam)



South America (Brazil etc.)



Middle East and Africa (Egypt and GCC Countries)



The various contributors involved in the value chain of the product include manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, intermediaries, and customers. The key manufacturers in this market include



BorgWarner



Denso



Rheinmetall Automotive



Continental



Mahle



Delphi



Korens



Keihin



Longsheng Technology



Eberspacher



Faurecia



Yibin Tianruida



MEET Automotive



Klubert + Schmidt



Zhejiang Jiulong



Gits Manufacturing



Yinlun Machinery



By the product type, the market is primarily split into



Gasoline EGR Valve



Diesel EGR Valve



By the end users/application, this report covers the following segments



Passenger Vehicles



Commercial Vehicles



Non-road Usage



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Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/13/2019 -- Cashmere clothing is made from cashmere and cashmere yarn, including various sweaters, coats, trousers and other garments.



In the report, fashion luxury cashmere clothing mainly refers to the clothing product with customers targeted the middle and top income population in the city.



China is the world's largest supplier of raw materials, accounting for about 70% of cashmere in the world, while Italy is China's largest export destination, in April 2017; Italy imported 98 tons of cashmere from China, Account 78% of the month's exports.



China is the largest consumption market, due to the rapid growth of the national economy. Many famous brands have set up offices in China, like Loro Piana and Brunello Cucinelli.



Although China is the largest cashmere garment manufacturer in the world, its own brand market share is very low. Most of them exist as OEM. This has led to the local enterprises in China at the bottom of the interests of the value chain for a long time.



The global Fashion Luxury Cashmere Clothing market was 2580 million US$ in 2018 and is expected to 3260 million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of 3.0% between 2019 and 2025.



This report studies the Fashion Luxury Cashmere Clothing market size (value and volume) by players, regions, product types and end industries, history data 2014-2018 and forecast data 2019-2025; This report also studies the global market competition landscape, market drivers and trends, opportunities and challenges, risks and entry barriers, sales channels, distributors and Porter's Five Forces Analysis.



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Geographically, this report is segmented into several key regions, with sales, revenue, market share and growth Rate of Fashion Luxury Cashmere Clothing in these regions, from 2014 to 2025, covering



North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)



Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia and Turkey etc.)



Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam)



South America (Brazil etc.)



Middle East and Africa (Egypt and GCC Countries)



The various contributors involved in the value chain of the product include manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, intermediaries, and customers. The key manufacturers in this market include



Loro Piana



Brunello Cucinelli



Ermenegildo Zegna



Malo



Alyki



Pringle of Scotland



SofiaCashmere



Autumn Cashmere



TSE



Ballantyne



Birdie Cashmere



Maiyet



Gobi



GOYO



Cashmere Holding



Erdos Group



Hengyuanxiang



Kingdeer



Snow Lotus



Zhenbei Cashmere



By the product type, the market is primarily split into



Coats



Trousers



Dresses



Other



By the end users/application, this report covers the following segments



Children



Women



Men



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Dallas, TX -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/12/2019 -- The report evaluates the global fireproof ceramics market size, share, and growth rate and also provides an accurate projection for similar facets by thoroughly studying historic as well as current status of the market. The report presents market analysis based on revenue and sales volume. It also allows for gaining comprehensive acumen in upcoming business opportunities, obstacles, threats, and hindering factors in the market.



The global fireproof ceramics market share for iron & steel, petrochemicals, aluminum, and power generation industries has been included in the report. The global fireproof ceramics market demand for the key regions and countries have been included in the study.



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By 2025, the global fireproof ceramics market size is estimated to reach USD 8.37 billion. Growing usage of ceramic fibers in power plants for insulation, turbines, thermal reactors, boilers, and metal industries is expected to drive the global fireproof ceramics market demand over the projected period. The ability to withstand great pressure, corrosion and heat resistant, low density, and stiffer makes fireproof ceramics an ideal solution for industrial applications.



The growing automotive production and increasing application in building & construction are expected to increase aluminum market consumption over the projected period. In 2017, more than 60 million tons of aluminum were produced all over the world. Increasing sales of the electric vehicle by virtue of lightweight properties are expected to open new opportunities for aluminum manufacturers, which in turns will increase demand for fireproof ceramics over the coming years. High-temperature insulation coupled with a different selection of refractories has increased fireproof ceramic consumption in aluminum processing and production industry.



Over the past few years, fireproof ceramics have gained popularity in the petrochemical industry. Increasing adoption in sulfur recovery units, fired heaters, turbines, and boilers are expected to increase fireproof ceramics market concentration. Moreover, increasing demand for oil & gas downstream products is expected to create a potential opportunity for fireproof ceramic manufacturers to expand production capacity in order to cater to the growing demand.



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Asia Pacific accounted for more than 30% of the global fireproof ceramics market share in 2017. China and India accounted for more than 40% of the global ceramic tile consumption in the same year. Increasing ceramic tile manufacturing in India, China, and Indonesia coupled with growing demand for construction, automotive, marine, and aviation is expected to drive fireproof ceramics market over the projected period.



Middle East & Africa is expected to offer a lucrative opportunity for the fireproof ceramic market. Growing petrochemical industry coupled with increased production of crude steel is expected to add market growth over the coming years. Iran is the biggest steel producer in the Middle East and generated more than 20 million tons of steel in 2017. Moreover, increasing crude steel production in Ghana and South Africa is expected to increase fireproof ceramic market expansion over the coming years.



Morgan Advanced Materials plc, Unifrax, ZIRCAR Ceramics, Skamol Group, IBIDEN, Isolite Insulating Products Co., Ltd., LUYANG ENERGY-SAVING MATERIALS CO., LTD, Rath Incorporated, and NGP Industries Limited are prominent manufacturers operating in the global fireproof ceramics market. Manufacturers operating in this industry are adopting M&A strategies to strengthen their global position and capture the untapped market. For instance, in 2018, Mohawk Industries, an American flooring manufacturer, announced that they are planning to acquire Eliane, a Brazilian ceramic tile manufacturer.



Key segments of the global fireproof ceramics market



Type Overview, 2015-2025 (USD Million)



- Bulk



- Blanket



- Board



- Paper



- Module



- Others



Application Overview, 2015-2025 (USD Million)



- Iron & Steel



- Petrochemicals



- Ceramics & Glass



- Aluminum



- Power Generation



- Others



Regional Overview, 2015-2025 (USD Million)



- North America



o U.S.



- Europe



o Germany



o France



- Asia-Pacific



o China



o India



- Latin America



o Brazil



- Middle East & Africa



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About Adroit Market Research

Adroit Market Research is an India-based business analytics and consulting company incorporated in 2018. Our target audience is a wide range of corporations, manufacturing companies, product/technology development institutions and industry associations that require understanding of a market's size, key trends, participants and future outlook of an industry. We intend to become our clients' knowledge partner and provide them with valuable market insights to help create opportunities that increase their revenues. We follow a code Explore, Learn and Transform. At our core, we are curious people who love to identify and understand industry patterns, create an insightful study around our findings and churn out money-making roadmaps.
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/12/2019 -- Food packaging market is arguably the biggest application segment of the packaging sector and accounts for over one-third of the total global packaging market. From an international perspective, the market for food packaging is at an intriguing stage where the market has reached at a stagnant point the developed nations while evolving nations are fast catching up to the newer technologies and supply chain management.



Good food packaging offers protection and can improve the shelf-life of products which consequently attracts more number of customers. The market for food packaging is expected to grow in the coming years as numerous production facilities are being set up to catch up with the latest trends coming up in the market.



Also, world is experiencing rapid changes in lifestyle and food preferences that are coupled with growing population and economic growth of the respective region. All these factors have been influential in shaping up the global food packaging market. In addition to this, people are preferring processed food as result of shifting population dynamics from rural to urban areas.



With rising awareness about environmental pollution and global warming, more people are not preferring to use eco-friendly food packaging techniques. This has created a significant impact on the growth of the global food packaging market. Moreover, rising disposable incomes of the people around the world, growing demand for ready-to-eat food, and rising awareness about the packaged food among the customers complement the development of the global food packaging market.



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Food packaging market is by far the largest application segment of the packaging industry, accounting for more than one-third of the global packaging market. From a global perspective, the food packaging market is at a very interesting situation, where the market has almost reached a plateau in terms of technology in the more developed nations in North America and Europe, while the emerging countries of Asia Pacific region are playing catch up to the packaging technologies and food supply chain management. Different types of food products require varied packaging types according to their individual usage and perishability.



The sea change in food habits and preference for processed food has propelled the food packaging market in the past. The market for packaged food has already reached a holistic level in North America and Western Europe, while rapid lifestyle changes and economic growth, coupled with rising population in Asia Pacific countries such as China and India, has spiked the growth rate of food packaging in the region.



The growth rate in South America and the Middle East is also on the higher side compared to the developed economies. The main reason for increasing preference for processed food is the shifting population dynamics towards urban centers from rural areas. This has resulted in the advent of dual income urban families, who prefer processed food due to time constraints. Packaged food has evolved from super markets to neighborhood stores in countries such as China, India, Brazil and Thailand among others. The market dynamics in North America and Europe however, is governed by branding activities undertaken by food processing companies.



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Tremendous opportunity exist in the food packaging market in emerging economies as the food packaging technology is in its growth phase in this region. Antimicrobial packaging technique is of particular interest as it helps to improve the shelf life of perishable food products. The market is however, slightly restrained by the declining growth in North America and Europe.



The food packaging market can be segmented into application segments such as convenience foods, confectionary items, dairy items, fruits and vegetables, meat and sauces and dressings. The popularity of the different food applications is different across the globe. For instance packaged meat is making foray into Asia Pacific region while it is mainstream in North America and Europe.



Materials used to package food can also be segmented into plastic, paper & board, metal and glass. They may also be classified as rigid, semi-regid and flexible by type of packaging material. The preferences for different packaging materials also vary with regions due to the food habits specific to the regions. Flexible packaging accounts for the largest share of food packaging.



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North America is the largest food packaging market followed by Europe and Asia Pacific. However the growth rate exhibited by these regions has subsided considerably as the market is close to its peak. The growth parity is however, restored by the high growth regions of Asia Pacific and South America. China and India have exhibited exceptional growth potential and is expected to overtake the market leading position from North America in the near future.



Some of the major players in the food packaging market are American Packaging Corporation, Anchor Packaging, Crown Holdings, Inc. and Bemis Company, Inc., among many others.
Edison, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/13/2019 -- The Research Article Entitled Global Foodservice Packaging market provides very useful reviews & strategic assessment including the generic market trends, upcoming & innovative technologies, industry drivers, challenges, regulatory policies that propel this Universal market place, and major players profile and strategies. The research study provides forecasts for Foodservice Packaging investments till 2024.



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The global Foodservice Packaging market is valued at million US$ in 2018 is expected to reach million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of during 2019-2025. This report focuses on Foodservice Packaging volume and value at global level, regional level and company level. From a global perspective, this report represents overall Foodservice Packaging 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



The Main objective of the study is to give a complete idea of the Market for the duration of 2019-2024. The Global Foodservice Packaging report focuses on market overview, growth factors, emerging business segmentation, regional analysis and competitive players. Global Foodservice Packaging Market - Vendor Landscape: The analysts authoring the publication explain the nature and future changes in the competitive scenario of the worldwide Foodservice Packaging market. Various companies are profiled in the publication guide, including Dart Container Corporation, Georgia-Pacific LLC, Anchor Packaging Inc., Pactiv LLC, D&W Fine Pack, Gold Plast SPA, Berry Global Group Inc., DOpla S.p.A., Smurfit Kappa Group, WestRock Company, Huhtamaki Oyj, New WinCup Holdings, Inc., Linpac Packaging Ltd, Graphic Packaging Holding Company, Coveris Holdings S.A., Novolex Holdings, Inc., Be Green Packaging, Genpak, LLC, GRACZ, INC. & Southern Champion Tray.



Market Segment by Application: "Food Service Outlets, Institutional Food Services & Online Food Ordering"

Market Segment by Type: ", Aluminum, Paperboard, Molded Fibers & Plastic"



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In terms of geography, North America, Europe, China & Japan could be the lucrative regions of the market. By the concluding forecast year, North America##Europe##China##Japan is envisioned to garner a US$ XX, whereas the could rise at a XX% CAGR.

Market Segment by Regions 2012 2017 2022 Share (%) CAGR (2017-2022)



Current Scenario, Business Strategies & Key Market Development of Market have given lot more emphasis targeting new product/services development, Joint Ventures, partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, etc. The potential of this enterprise section has been rigorously investigated in conjunction with main market challenges.



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Major geographical regions like North America, Europe, China, Japan, Middle East & Africa, India, South America & Others and leading players such as Dart Container Corporation, Georgia-Pacific LLC, Anchor Packaging Inc., Pactiv LLC, D&W Fine Pack, Gold Plast SPA, Berry Global Group Inc., DOpla S.p.A., Smurfit Kappa Group, WestRock Company, Huhtamaki Oyj, New WinCup Holdings, Inc., Linpac Packaging Ltd, Graphic Packaging Holding Company, Coveris Holdings S.A., Novolex Holdings, Inc., Be Green Packaging, Genpak, LLC, GRACZ, INC. & Southern Champion Tray involved in this report.



Data Sources & Methodology

The primary sources involves the industry experts from the Global Foodservice Packaging Market including the management organizations, processing organizations, analytics service providers of the industry's value chain. All primary sources were interviewed to gather and authenticate qualitative & quantitative information and determine the future prospects.



In the extensive primary research process undertaken for this study, the primary sources  Postal Surveys, telephone, Online & Face-to-Face Survey were considered to obtain and verify both qualitative and quantitative aspects of this research study. When it comes to secondary sources Company's Annual reports, press Releases, Websites, Investor Presentation, Conference Call transcripts, Webinar, Journals, Regulators, National Customs and Industry Associations were given primary weight-age.



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There are 15 chapters to deeply display the Global Foodservice Packaging market.

Chapter 1, to describe Foodservice Packaging Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;

Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Foodservice Packaging, with sales, revenue, and price of Foodservice Packaging, in 2017;

Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2017;

Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Foodservice Packaging, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;

Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries / regions North America, Europe, China & Japan;

Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application [Food Service Outlets, Institutional Food Services & Online Food Ordering], from 2012 to 2017;

Chapter 12, Foodservice Packaging market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;

Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Foodservice Packaging sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.



Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.
Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/13/2019 -- The latest report up for sale by QY Research demonstrates that the global Industrial Hybrid Stepper Motors market is likely to garner a great pace in the coming years. Analysts have scrutinized the market drivers, confinements, risks, and openings present in the overall market. The report shows course the market is expected to take in the coming years along with its estimations. The careful examination is aimed at understanding of the course of the market.



Japan and China is the largest supplier of hybrid stepper motors, with a production market share nearly 62.88% in 2018. Asia Pacific also is the largest consumption place, with a consumption market share nearly 54.64% in 2018. Following Asia Pacific, North America is the second largest consumption place with the consumption market share of 24.01%.



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The global Industrial Hybrid Stepper Motors market was 930 million US$ in 2018 and is expected to 1290 million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of 4.8% between 2019 and 2025.



This report studies the Industrial Hybrid Stepper Motors market size (value and volume) by players, regions, product types and end industries, history data 2014-2018 and forecast data 2019-2025; This report also studies the global market competition landscape, market drivers and trends, opportunities and challenges, risks and entry barriers, sales channels, distributors and Porter's Five Forces Analysis.



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Geographically, this report is segmented into several key regions, with sales, revenue, market share and growth Rate of Industrial Hybrid Stepper Motors in these regions, from 2014 to 2025, covering



North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)



Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia and Turkey etc.)



Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam)



South America (Brazil etc.)



Middle East and Africa (Egypt and GCC Countries)



The various contributors involved in the value chain of the product include manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, intermediaries, and customers. The key manufacturers in this market include



Shinano Kenshi



MinebeaMitsumi



Nidec Servo



Moons'



Sanyo Denki



Oriental Motor



Tamagawa Seiki



Fulling Motor



Nippon Pulse Motor



Nanotec



AMETEK



Sonceboz



Phytron



MICROSTEP GmbH



STOGRA



By the product type, the market is primarily split into



2-phase Hybrid Stepper Motors



3-phase Hybrid Stepper Motors



Other



By the end users/application, this report covers the following segments



Telecommunication Equipment



Office Equipment



Medical Equipment



Industrial Automation



Security Equipment



Other



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QYResearch always pursuits high product quality with the belief that quality is the soul of business. Through years of effort and supports from huge number of customer supports, QYResearch consulting group has accumulated creative design methods on many high-quality markets investigation and research team with rich experience. Today, QYResearch has become the brand of quality assurance in consulting industry.
Sarasota, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/13/2019 -- "Tea Market By Product Type (Green Tea, Black Tea, Oolong Tea, Herbal Tea, and Others), By Application (Household and Commercial), By Packaging (Plastic Container, Loose Tea Packets, Tea Bags, and Aluminum Tins), and By Distribution Channel (Supermarket/Hypermarket, Convenience Store, Specialty Store, Online Retail and Others): Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis and Forecast, 2017 2024". According to the report, the global tea market was valued at around USD 49,456.52 million in 2017 and is expected to reach approximately USD 73,132.82 million by 2024, growing at a CAGR of around 4.5% between 2018 and 2024.



Tea is a type of shrub, cultivated widely in the countries such as India, China, Sri Lanka, and Kenya. An aromatic beverage is prepared by soaking tea leaves in water. Leaf buds and internodes of the tea plant are also used in making tea beverage. Two main types of the tea plant are very popular such as the large-leaved Assam-plant and small-leaved China plant. Caffeine is the main constituent of tea, giving stimulating character to the beverage. Another important chemical present in tea is polyphenol or tannin. Polyphenol oxidase is an enzyme, which when acts with polyphenol gives reddish color and generates flavoring compounds in the beverage. The volatile oils present in tea leaf gives an aroma to the beverage.



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The global tea market is projected to exhibit significant growth within the forecast period. The market is mainly driven by the growing tea beverage industry. Increasing consumption of tea owing to its health benefits, growing number of restaurants serving tea, availability of flavored tea beverages, and growing tea consuming population are the key factors projected to fuel the global tea market growth during the forecast period.



Based on the type, the market is divided into oolong tea, black tea, herbal tea, green tea, and others. In terms of revenue, the black tea segment accounted for the largest market share in 2017. This is mainly due to the highest production and continuous developments. Green tea segment is anticipated to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period, owing to its increasing adoption. Based on application, the market is segmented into household and commercial. Commercial segment is anticipated to grow rapidly over the forecast period owing to increasing industrialization, rising number of hotels and restaurants, and increasing penetration of specialty tea cafes. Based on packaging, the market is segmented into a plastic container, loose tea packets, tea bags, and aluminum tins. Tea bag segment is the fastest growing segment with a considerable market share in 2017. Based on the distribution channel, the market is segmented into a specialty store, supermarket/hypermarket, online retail, and convenience store. Supermarket/hypermarket segment is the most popular distribution channel for tea products.



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In terms of revenue, Asia Pacific accounted for a significant market share in 2017. The market is growing mainly due to rising population and high consumption of tea in developing countries such as China and India. Moreover, high disposable income and changing consumer preference are anticipated to boost the demand for premium and specialty tea products in the forecast period. North America and Europe will display lucrative opportunities lying ahead of rising demand for healthy drinks such as green tea & black tea. As of now, people are more concerned about their health which will ultimately gain more value share of healthy tea products during the forecast period. Latin America and the Middle East & Africa are likely to attain considerable market share during the forecast period.



Some of the key players have been focusing on merger and collaboration with tea vendors, research & development, nutritional advancement, maintaining the quality of the product, and packaging and pricing strategy in order to hold their ascendancy in the market. Some of the key players are Ting Hsin International Group, The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo Inc., Suntory Holdings Ltd., Sapporo Beverage Co., Ltd., Nestle S.A., Starbucks Corporation, Arizona Beverage Company, Asahi Group Holdings, Unilever NV., Danone SA, Uni-President Enterprises, Hangzhou Wahaha International Group Co. Ltd., Monster Beverage Corporation, and others.



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This report segments the global tea market as follows:



Global Tea Market: Type Segment Analysis



Green Tea

Black Tea

Oolong Tea

Herbal Tea

Others



Global Tea Market: Application Segment Analysis



Household

Commercial



Global Tea Market: Packaging Segment Analysis



Plastic Container

Loose Tea Packets

Tea Bags

Aluminum Tins



Global Tea Market: Distribution Channel Segment Analysis



Supermarket/Hypermarket

Convenience Store

Specialty Store

Online Retail

Others



Global Tea Market: Regional Segment Analysis



North America

The U.S.

Europe

UK

France

Germany

Asia Pacific

China

Japan

India

Latin America

Brazil

The Middle East and Africa
Rockville, MD -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/13/2019 -- Hydrogen Vehicle Market: Snapshot



The global hydrogen vehicle market is foreseen to increase growth while riding on important changes caused due to shifts in competitive powers, acceleration of technological innovation, and improving customer expectations. It could bank on increased funding and commitments for the development and commercialization of refueling infrastructure. The new trend of performing extensive research and development for fuel efficiency is expected to set the tone for valuable growth of the market. Large emphasis on innovation of products in the automotive sector could emerge as a strong factor augmenting the demand in the market.



Unrivaled leadership in hydrogen infrastructure and fuel cell vehicle (FCV) incentives attained by the U.S. is foretold to push the North America hydrogen vehicle market in the coming years. California is desperately looking to become the first state in the world to see commercial zero-emission FCVs running on its roadways. On the other hand, Asia Pacific is prognosticated to take advantage of the significant production and demand for automobiles to gain growth in the market. South Korea and Japan could continue to provide support for fuel cell technology. High demand for passenger cars is envisaged to create rewarding market opportunities in the near future.



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In its newly compiled research report, Fact.MR provides valuable perspectives on the global hydrogen vehicle market and crucial information pertaining to its growth prospects. Valuable insights compiled in the research report highlight the impact of technological developments on the demand for hydrogen vehicles and various opportunities and challenges for manufacturers. Based on the recent market developments and trends identified in the global market, the research report offers accurate forecast and analysis on the hydrogen vehicle market.



The research report serves as a comprehensive business document for the major market participants identified in the global hydrogen vehicle market. Some of the leading participants operating in the global market include Ballard Power System, GM Hydrogenics, FuelCell Energy, Daimler AG. Other prominent market participants identified in the global market include Toyota, Hyundai, BMW, Audi, and Honda. The report provides insightful data pertaining to various marketing strategies adopted by the leading market players over the coming years.



Gradual shift from gasoline and fuel towards hydrogen is redefining the energy system globally. As governments in various countries are pushing for environment-friendly fuel solutions, the leading automotive manufacturers such as Toyota and Daimler SA are concentrating on adopting hydrogen fuel cells in the vehicles. Hydrogen fuel cells are increasingly gaining popularity among the leading automotive companies such as BMW and Audi as they offers higher efficiency and low heat transmission.



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Hydrogen Vehicle Market: Demand to Remain Concentrated in the Transportation and Aviation Industry



Transportation system across the globe entirely depends on fossil fuels, which leads to increasing emission of carbon dioxide in the environment. Increased emission of carbon dioxide can adversely impact human health, and lead to an increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases. In order to implement environment-friendly solutions, governments across countries are pushing the automotive manufacturers to adopt relatively cleaner fuels, such as hydrogen fuel cells. Incorporation of hydrogen fuel cells in the automotive industry can lower emission levels, reduce greenhouse effect, and offer enhanced driving experience.



With the growing emphasis on decarbonization by the ruling authorities in various countries, leading manufacturers are also diversifying their focus towards developing hydrogen fuel cells for aircraft and ships. To offer improved services, major manufacturers such as Airbus and Hyundai in the aviation and shipping industry are utilizing battery cells and hydrogen for effective outcome and improved efficiency of the aircraft and ships. Governments in both developing and developed countries are significantly pushing leading manufacturers to use hydrogen vehicles as it lowers the dependence on other oil imports, while augmenting the domestic energy production.



Hydrogen Vehicle Market: Innovative Product Launches to Boost Market Growth



To consolidate their position, leading automotive manufacturers are focusing on developing innovative combustion engine central to the requirements of various vehicles. For instance, UK-based companies Innovate UK and ULEMCo entered into a partnership recently and developed world's first hydrogen combustion truck. These companies jointly developed a new hydrogen-fuelled zero-emission truck that does not emit carbon monoxide and minimizes the cost of change for potential customers.



In addition, major automotive companies such as Toyota Motor Corporation are focusing on diversifying their scope of developing hydrogen fuel cells towards hydrogen refueling station in the U.S. Recently, Toyota Motor Corporation collaborated with Shell, an energy company to develop world's first hydrogen truck refueling station. The companies have received an award of nearly US$ 8 Mn for this project and stated that with the invention of the hydrogen truck refueling station, they intend to encourage decarbonization with the increased use the zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks.



Hydrogen Vehicle Market: Collaborations and Partnerships to Create Growth Opportunities



On account of increase in the number of hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles, demand for hydrogen refueling stations has witnessed a surge. Capitalizing on the growing requirement, leading companies are focusing on investing their efforts in developing hydrogen refueling station across countries. For instance, Shell has recently announced that the opening of a hydrogen refueling station in the U.K. in collaboration with ITM power. The hydrogen refueling station will offer the drivers a range of choices to align with the traditional transport fuel system.



Also, three companies based in the U.S. - PDC Machines, McPhy Energy N.A., and IVYS Energy Solutions have recently entered into partnership and developed small-scale hydrogen appliances that were mainly designed for the small-scale hydrogen dispensing markets. These appliances will witness significant demand for refueling the fuel cell vehicle fleets, local or distributed refueling of FCEVs. These appliances use electricity and water to produce the high purity fuel cell-grade hydrogen through the process of electrolysis. Major market players are concentrating on adopting marketing strategies such as collaborations and partnerships to sustain their lead in the competitive market.



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Pune, Maharashtra -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/12/2019 -- Increasing demand for alternative energy sources has prompted the use of landfills containing biodegradable materials in production of combustible gases. A mixture of these gases, which is collectively identified as landfill gas, is used as a key source of supplying hydrocarbons in production of heat and other forms of energy. Governments from several parts of the world are adopting measures towards natural anaerobic decomposition of the collected organic waste in landfills. As a result of activities instrumented by microorganisms, a mixture of different gases being drawn from these landfills is finding an ideal replacement to fossil fuel components of natural gas. High in methane, the utilization of landfill gas continues to gain traction in domestic applications such as supplying power to homes in the form of natural gas. Easy procurement of landfill gas and low capital expenditure in production continues to relieve the stress on solar energy as the most exploited renewable energy resource.



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According to Fact.MR, the global landfill gas market is expected to expand at a moderate CAGR with respect to value during the period of forecast, 2017-2026. Increasing demand for methane will continue to drive the production of landfill gas in the foreseeable future. The report estimates that by the end of 2026, landfill gas market would reach an estimate of over US$ 1 Bn. Effectiveness of landfill gas in supplanting natural gas across wide range of applications will further boost the expansion of global landfill gas market through 2026.



3 Key Insights from the Report



With respect to region, the global landfill gas market growth is influenced by the adoption of landfill gas across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ). The North America landfill gas market is expected to reflect high market attractiveness and is the largest with a high market valuation. Moreover, Europe is poised to retain its second place and is the second largest region in the landfill gas market. APEJ landfill gas market is projected to rise at the highest value CAGR throughout the forecast period



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China is the most lucrative regional market in APEJ that has extensively contributed to the growth of the landfill gas market in APEJ region. This growth can be attributed towards favorable government initiatives for environmental protection of harmful emissions as well as increasing direct use projects in China. In addition, India and Australia are also significant contributors to the growth of the landfill gas market in APEJ

Upgraded segment by application category is poised to grow at a noteworthy pace in the coming years. The upgraded segment is expected to register a steady CAGR of 5.0% in terms of value throughout the period of forecast, 2017-2026. However, direct use segment is the most attractive and is anticipated to cement its dominance in the global landfill gas market during the forecast period



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The report has identified the leading producers of landfill gas in the global market. These include, Waste Management, Inc., Covanta Holding Corporation, Veolia Environment S.A, Pennon Group Plc., SUEZ SA, Kohler Co., Inc., Aria Energy Corp, Granite Acquisition, Inc., Vectren Corporation, and Shanghai Chengtou Holding Co., Ltd. Majority of the landfill gas produced in the world will be procured from municipal solid waste. However, players in the global landfill gas market will continue to remain in distress for flouting environmental laws that curb the production of greenhouse gases such as methane, which are a key component of landfill gasses.
Rockville, MD -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/13/2019 -- Digital Patient Engagement Market  Introduction



Digital patient engagement has been transforming the healthcare industry by breaking through the chaotic offline and intensely competitive marketplace with utmost convenience. Personalized care and effective communication being the USP of such systems have attracted the attention of patients, who have suffered from poor access to healthcare. As a result, the system is poised to enhance the patient experience as well as improve the interactional approach between the administration and clinical landscape, which will hold optimistic growth prospects for the digital patient engagement market in the forthcoming years.



Easy handling of the patient database with the employment of digital patient engagement has simplified the clinical operations. At the patient's end, convenience and quick access to healthcare facilities have been made possible. With automation being introduced to the healthcare industry, medical practitioners can diligently focus on quality care and effective cure. As a result, hospitals and clinics have witnessed a proliferated adoption of digital mediums, which is predicted to deliver promising growth opportunities to the digital patient engagement market.



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Digital Patient Engagement Market  Novel Developments



Some of the significant players operating in the digital patient engagement market include IBM Corporation, Google Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Accenture, Relatient, DatStat, Lumeon Inc., Conversa Health, Clarify Health, Vivify Health, and mPulse.



In 2018, SCI Solutions acquired DatStat, a digital patient engagement market player, to converge SCI's efficient patient scheduling, revenue cycle, and referral management software with DatStat's secure messaging, care plans, and pre-visit preparation and enhance the experience of patients.

Recently, mPulse Software Inc. launched a mobile app with a combination of artificial intelligence, data science, and omnichannel communication competency to drive customer engagement by catering to their needs as well as providing insights to the clinic admin.

In July 2018, Clarify Health entered into a productive partnership with the Texas Hospital Association (THA) to aid the hospitals to function efficiently and provide care enhanced care. With the CMS developed by Clarify Health, the healthcare professionals will receive artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to access valuable insights.

In October 2018, Formativ Health collaborated with Conversa for offering better healthcare to patients through automated conversations using AI. With Conversa, Formativ Health can now provide round-the-clock care. In the case of escalations, the excellent competency of Conversa intervenes and ensures that the patient is offered the care he needs.

Digital Patient Engagement Market  Dynamics



Secure Yet Open, Blockchain Technology to Influence the Healthcare Industry in the Upcoming Years



Increasing health awareness among customers coupled with the enhanced quality of life has increased their desirability for the adoption of digital healthcare solutions, which is also fueled by the pervasive use of mobile phones and tablets. In addition, technological advancements that lead to better quality of networks are fueling the adoption rate of mobile apps and portals that can make the healthcare facilities more accessible.



Blockchain technology, being the very immediate future of the healthcare industry with a secured ecosystem is expected to revive the functionalities with data privacy at the forefront.



The industry's convergence with blockchain technology would mean a decentralized landscape, which will only build the trust of patients in modernistic modules. As a result of which the digital patient engagement market is envisaged to remain sustained in the forthcoming years.



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Digital Patient Engagement Market  Restraints



Reluctance among customers for the adoption of digital healthcare modules, owing to the rising concerns pertaining to data privacy and data vulnerability, on account of increasing cybercrimes could impede the growth of the digital patient engagement market.

Huge capitalization on the installation of the digital infrastructure and perpetual cost for advancements of the features are the factors impacting the digital patient engagement market.

There still exists some developing economies and third world countries where the penetration of technology is slower, which translates into sluggish growth of the digital patient engagement market.

Global Digital Patient Engagement Market: Segmentation



Segmentation Overview



The digital patient engagement market can be segmented on the basis of component, mode of communication, and region.



By Component, the digital patient engagement market is segmented as:



Hardware

Software

Services

By Mode of Communication, the digital patient engagement market is segmented as:



Patient Portals

Mobile Apps

Video Chat

Social Media

Text Messaging

Others

Global Digital Patient Engagement Market: Competition Landscape



Examples of some of the key players in the global digital patient engagement market include Google Inc., Microsoft Corporation, IBM Corporation, Accenture, DatStat, Relatient, Lumeon Inc., Clarify Health, Conversa Health, mPulse, Vivify Health, etc.



In April 2018, SCI Solutions (SCI), a patient access and care coordination software company, acquired DataStat, a provider of patient engagement and digital health tools. Through this acquisition, SCI solutions has extended its electronic health record application by integrating it with DataStat's patient engagement platform, which will enable effective communication between patient and healthcare providers.



Global Digital Patient Engagement Market: Regional Outlook



North America is expected to dominate the digital patient engagement market followed by Europe and the Asia Pacific. The market in North America is expected to witness high growth due to the presence of prominent players in the U.S. The demand for digital patient engagement in Europe is increasing and is expected to contribute to the market growth. A primary growth factor is the introduction of advanced digital patient engagement tools by the players operating in the market. Latin America and MEA are projected to contribute significant share in the global market over the forecast period.



The report covers exhaustive analysis on:



Global Digital Patient Engagement Market Segments

Global Digital Patient Engagement Market Dynamics

Historical Actual Market Size, 2013  2017

Global Digital Patient Engagement Market Size & Forecast 2017 to 2028

Supply & Demand Value Chain for Digital Patient Engagement Market

Global Digital Patient Engagement Market Current Trends/Issues/Challenges

Competition & Companies involved in Digital Patient Engagement Market

Digital Patient Engagement Technology

Value Chain of Digital Patient Engagement

Global Digital Patient Engagement Market Drivers and Restraints

Regional analysis of Global Digital Patient Engagement Market 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

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 of 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 product offerings

Potential and niche segments/regions exhibiting promising growth

A neutral perspective towards market performance

Must-have information for market players to sustain and enhance their market footprint



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About Fact.MR

Fact.MR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports.



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New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/12/2019 -- Study papers on Neuroprotection market and Daiichi Sankyo Company, Eli Lilly and Company, Allergan, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Teva Pharmaceutical, Novartis, AstraZeneca, Astrocyte Pharmaceuticals, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Biogen.



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The recent report, Neuroprotection 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 Neuroprotection market for the forecast period, 2019 to 2025. To enable firms to understand the Neuroprotection industry in various ways the report thoroughly assesses the share, size and growth rate of the business worldwide.



The study explores what the future Neuroprotection market will look like. Most importantly, the research familiarizes product owners with whom the immediate competitors are and what buyers expect and what are the effective business strategies adopted by prominent leaders. To help both established companies and new entrants not only see the disruption but also see opportunities. In-depth exploration of how the industry behaves, including assessment of government bodies, financial organization and other regulatory bodies. Beginning with a macroeconomic outlook, the study drills deep into the sub-categories of the industry and evaluation of the trends influencing the business.



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Global Neuroprotection Market Analysis by Application:



1 Global Neuroprotection Consumption and Market Share by Application (2012-2019)

2 Global Neuroprotection Consumption Growth Rate by Application (2012-2019)

3 Market Drivers and Opportunities

3.1 Potential Applications

3.2 Emerging Markets/Countries



The extensive documentation of the Neuroprotection industry gives access to all the factors expected to influence the growth prospect of the business worldwide. Nobel effort to capture the factors that impede the growth of the market is clearly visible in the report. These factors result in an effective and reliable branding and promotion and marketing plan. In addition, comprehensive coverage of recent advancements, product nearing development stage, project pipeline, and major industrial players offer all the confidence a business owner needs to design a business strategy that will drive company's success.



Understanding what the audience is looking for in a report the researchers behind this attunes deliverables according to their needs such as product price, demand and supply status, end-use, profit and others. By operating in close alignment with the major vendors, the researchers have customized the literature  based on universal perspective as well as comprehensive knowledge of the local business owners. The document further aims at addressing the different challenges and opportunities of carrying out business operations in North America and beyond.



The Research Provides Answers to the Following Key Questions:



- What is the size of occupied by the prominent leaders for the forecast period, 2019 to 2025? What will be the share and the growth rate of the Neuroprotection Market during the forecast period?

- Which companies are dominating the competitive landscape across different region and what strategies have they applied to gain a competitive edge?

- What are the major factors responsible for the growth of the Neuroprotection market across the different regions?

- What are the challenges faced by the companies operating in the Neuroprotection Market?

- What are the future prospects for the Neuroprotection Market industry in the coming years?

- Which trends are likely to contribute to the development rate of the Neuroprotection industry during the forecast period, 2019 to 2025?

- What are the future prospects of the Neuroprotection industry for the forecast period, 2019 to 2025?



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Edison , NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/13/2019 -- Public Relation software is software which is deigned to automate the public relation activities such as real time media monitoring, media analysis and campaign management. It is used as a communication channel to manage public perception of an individual or an organization.



Advance Market Analytics recently introduced Public Relations Software Market study with in-depth overview, describing about the Product / Industry Scope and elaborates market outlook and status to 2024. Public Relations Software Market explores effective study on varied sections of Industry like opportunities, size, growth, technology, demand and trend of high leading players. It also provides market key statistics on the status of manufacturers, a valuable source of guidance, direction for companies and individuals interested in the industry.



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Major Key Players in This Report Include,

Prezly (Belgium), Coveragebook.com (United Kingdom), Newswire.com (United Kingdom), Prowly (Poland), Brand 24 (Poland), Cision Ltd. (United States), BuzzStream (United States), Business Wire (United States), AirPR (United States), Iris PR Management, Inc. (United States), ISentia Pty Limited (Australia) and iPR Software, Inc. (United States)



The report focuses on Global Public Relations Software Market major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials, equipment and downstream consumers analysis is also carried out. What's more, the market development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.



The market study is being classified by Type, by Application and major geographies with country level break-up that includes South America (Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America), Asia Pacific (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Rest of Asia-Pacific), Europe (Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Rest of Europe), MEA (Middle East, Africa), North America (United States, Canada, Mexico).



The research methodology used to estimate and forecast the Public Relations Software Market began with capturing data from the key vendors' revenue and market size of the individual segments through secondary sources, industry associations, and trade journals, such as the World Analytics Association and the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. The bottom-up procedure was employed to arrive at the overall market size of the market from the individual segments. After arriving at the overall market size, the total market was split into several segments and sub segments, which were then verified through primary research by conducting extensive interviews with the key industry personnel, such as Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), Vice Presidents (VPs), directors, and executives. The data triangulation and market breakdown procedures were employed to complete the overall market engineering process and arrive at the exact statistics for all the segments and sub segments.



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Strategic Points Covered in Table of Content of Public Relations Software Market:

Chapter 1: Introduction, market driving force product Objective of Study and Research Scope the Public Relations Software market

Chapter 2: Exclusive Summary  the basic information of the Public Relations Software Market.

Chapter 3: Displaying the Market Dynamics- Drivers, Trends and Challenges of the Public Relations Software

Chapter 4: Presenting the Public Relations Software Market Factor Analysis Porters Five Forces, Supply/Value Chain, PESTEL analysis, Market Entropy, Patent/Trademark Analysis.

Chapter 5: Displaying the by Type, End User and Region 2013-2018

Chapter 6: Evaluating the leading manufacturers of the Public Relations Software market which consists of its Competitive Landscape, Peer Group Analysis, BCG Matrix & Company Profile

Chapter 7: To evaluate the market by segments, by countries and by manufacturers with revenue share and sales by key countries in these various regions.

Chapter 8 & 9: Displaying the Appendix, Methodology and Data Source



Finally, Public Relations Software Market is a valuable source of guidance for individuals and companies.



Data Sources & Methodology



The primary sources involves the industry experts from the Public Relations Software Market including the management organizations, processing organizations, analytics service providers of the industry's value chain. All primary sources were interviewed to gather and authenticate qualitative & quantitative information and determine the future prospects.



In the extensive primary research process undertaken for this study, the primary sources  Postal Surveys, telephone, Online & Face-to-Face Survey were considered to obtain and verify both qualitative and quantitative aspects of this research study. When it comes to secondary sources Company's Annual reports, press Releases, Websites, Investor Presentation, Conference Call transcripts, Webinar, Journals, Regulators, National Customs and Industry Associations were given primary weight-age.



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Pune, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/12/2019 -- Our latest research report entitled Clinical Trials Management System Market (by type (hardware, software, services), delivery mode (cloud-based, web-based, on-premise), end user (pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, clinical research organizations, healthcare providers)) provides complete and deep insights into the market dynamics and growth of clinical trials management systems. Latest information on market risks, industry chain structure clinical trials management systems cost structure and opportunities are offered in this report. The past, present and forecast market information will lead to investment feasibility by studying the essential clinical trials management systems growth factors.



The forecast clinical trials management systems market information is based on the present market situation, growth opportunities, development factors, and opinion of the industry experts. An in-depth analysis of the company profiles, Clinical Trials Management Systems on a global and regional level and applications is conducted. The analysis of downstream buyers, sales channel, raw materials, and industry verticals is offered in this report. the global clinical trials management system market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 13.2% over the forecast period of 2019-2025.



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Clinical Trials Management Systems Market: Industry Insights



Clinical trials management systems are the customizable software used by pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries that manage clinical trials for clinical research. Clinical trials management system manages and maintains planning, preparation, generation, performing and reporting functions. Clinical trials management system requires some solutions to provide these core capabilities clinical program/project management, site and subject management, trial and site planning, investigator management, study management, clinical data archiving/warehousing and management and clinical learning and training when utilized in pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies.



Clinical Trials Management Systems Market: Drivers and Restraints



Government taking initiative in supporting for conducting clinical trials for the society across the globe drives the clinical trials management system market. Increasing numbers of clinical trials and rising investment for research and development in the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries for clinical research. Lack of skilled labor or expertize and high cost for clinical trial management system may hinder the growth for the global clinical trials management system market. Surging adoption of mobile computing and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) may turn as an opportunity for the clinical trials management system market.



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Clinical Trials Management Systems Market: Segmentation



Global clinical trials management systems market is segmented on the basis of types, delivery mode, and end-user. Types are further segmented into hardware, software, and services in which Software holds highest market share in the global Clinical Trials Management Systems market because of easy availability of advanced software for the accuracy and productivity for the researchers. Delivery mode is bifurcated into Cloud-based, Web-based, and On-premise. Web-based holds the highest market share and cloud-based is expected to grow with the highest CAGR because of increasing adoption of cloud-based services in the healthcare industry due to real-time monitoring and management. By the end-user, the market is segmented into Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, Clinical research organizations and Healthcare Providers. Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies hold significant market share as increasing demand for clinical studies and growing investment for research and development in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.



Clinical Trials Management Systems Market: Regional Insights



Global Clinical Trials Management Systems market is segmented regionally into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World (RoW). North America holds the highest market in the Global Clinical Trials Management Systems Market as the technological advancement and government supporting for the clinical trials in North America. In North America, the U.S. dominates the market followed by Canada and Mexico. Asia-Pacific is expected to grow with the highest CAGR during 2018-2025, Increasing investment in research and development in pharmaceutical companies and government taking initiative for conducting clinical trials among the society which is a major factor for growing the Asia-Pacific region in the coming years.



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Clinical Trials Management Systems Market: Competitive Analysis



The Global clinical trials management systems market comprise with the major players, Medidata Solutions, Inc., PAREXEL International Corporation, BioClinica Inc., Merge Healthcare Incorporated, MedNet Solutions, Oracle Corporation, Bio-Optronics, and Integrated Clinical Solutions. Product innovation and acquisitions & mergers are the key parameters to remain competitive and to gain greater market share.



Reasons to Buy this Report:



- Comprehensive analysis of global as well as regional markets of the Clinical Trials Management Systems.



- Complete coverage of all the product type and applications segments to analyze the trends, developments, and forecast of market size up to 2025.



- Comprehensive analysis of the companies operating in this market. The company profile includes analysis of product portfolio, revenue, SWOT analysis and the latest developments of the company.



- Infinium Global Research- Growth Matrix presents an analysis of the product segments and geographies that market players should focus to invest, consolidate, expand and/or diversify.
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/13/2019 -- A security fiber is a component that is added during the production process of paper. Security fibers are non-reproducible. Security fibers can be made by using polyethylene terephthalate, polyamide, or viscose material. Security fibers can be totally or partially coated with special, metalized pigments that are sensitive to light. They appear as thin elements distributed across the paper. Security fibers possess advantages such as wide range and easy applicability. They are available in several lengths and diameters. Security fibers are primarily used in banking and government documentations.



Security Fiber Market: Trends & Demands



Rising demand for security papers, especially in applications that are authenticated by watermarks, holograms, and security inks, such as bank notes, passports, and cheques, is anticipated to drive the demand for security fibers during the forecast period. Factors such as growing tourism and rising demand for printing, reprinting, and circulation of banknotes are also likely to augment the demand for security fibers. Increase in the incidence of fraud and counterfeiting is likely to fuel the security fiber market between 2018 and 2026. Government initiatives for prevention of counterfeiting is a major factor driving the demand for security fibers. The Metropolitan Police in London, operates three anti-counterfeiting schemes: Project Genesius, FALCON, and Amberhill. Security issues associated with migration and immigration are considered key factors driving the demand for security fibers. Rise in the incidence of document fraud, which paves the way for additional criminal offenses including identity theft, human trafficking, financial fraud, and terrorism, is likely to fuel the demand for security fibers from 2018 to 2026.



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Security Fiber Market: Key Segments



Based on application, the market for security fibers can be segmented into bank notes, passports, cheques, and other security documents. In terms of type, the security fiber market can be classified into visible security fiber, invisible security fiber, and composite fiber. The visible security fiber segment can be sub-classified into red, green, and blue or visible fiber.



Security Fiber Market: Regional Outlook



Geographically, the global security fiber market can be categorized into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific holds a significant share of the global market. Rise in population, technological advancements, and government initiatives about counterfeiting are major factors that are likely to boost the market in Asia Pacific during the forecast period. China and India are likely to offer lucrative opportunities to the global security fiber market in Asia Pacific between 2018 and 2026. The 'Make in India' campaign in India, which is an initiative taken by the Government of India, ensures that the security paper and the ink used for printing currency notes are manufactured domestically. India is the world's second-largest producer and consumer of bank notes, after China. The market in developed regions, such as Europe and North America, is anticipated to witness attractive growth opportunities, owing to technological advancements. Stringent regulations enforced by the government and other agencies in countries, such as Germany, the U.K., and the U.S., play a pivotal role in driving the market in these countries. The security fiber market in Latin America and Middle East & Africa is estimated to expand at a significant pace during the forecast period, owing to the recent economic growth in these regions.



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Security Fiber Market: Key Players



Key players operating in the global security fiber market include NanoMatriX International Limited, Arjowiggins Security, and Fabriano Security.
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/12/2019 -- Changing styles and fashion preferences of consumers are deeply observed by global manufacturers of apparels and footwear. Shoemaking companies and retailers, both, are observing consumers' behavioral economics to decide the packages in which this footwear should be put for sale. Shoe packages are of vital importance while transporting shoes down the distribution network. Their ability to protect and store cannot be compromised as faulty packaging can damage volumes of shoes, leading to product recalls of large consignments.



Shoe packaging varies from brand to brand, product to product. Casual shoes are available in packages that attract young consumer demographics, while shoe packaging for formal shoes involves elegant box designs and compartments. Likewise, product quality and materials in shoe packaging businesses also differ.



Some shoe manufacturers demand for easy-to-dispose satchels, while others will look for sturdy boxes with ergonomic designs. Manufacturers in the global shoe packaging market are, thus, compelled to cater to such diversity, without downgrading the quality of their offerings.



Shoe Packaging Market: Market Dynamics



The global market for shoe packaging is expected to witness dynamic growth on the account of  consumer preferences, emergence of sustainable packaging materials, and need for cost-effective designs.



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In developed countries, many consumers are attracted towards shoes that come in urbane handbags. Such preferences are profitable for growth of shoe packaging market in these regions. Manufacturers of shoe packaging products are also witnessing favorable support from emergence of sustainable materials. Government policies that are promoting the use of eco-friendly packaging is also observed as a driving force for growth of shoe packaging businesses.



In addition to this, leading players as well as new entrants in the global shoe packaging market are adopting innovative designs that appeal the masses but also save costs on raw material outlay. Availability of such designs, and their compatibility in storing & transporting a wide range of shoe types is expected to boost in overall expansion of global shoe packaging market.



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Global Shoe Packaging Market: Segmentation



Shoe-types, type of shoe packaging and regions are three key segments upon which the growth of global shoe packaging market is analyzed during the forecast period.



Growth of global market for shoe packaging is likely to remain concentrated in the APEJ region. Countries such as China and South Korea are observed as global manufacturing hubs, while vast consumer base in India is also strengthening the presence of APEJ region on the global shoe packaging market. Rapid industrialization in developing regions is also boosting the demand for shoe packaging, while developed markets are witnessing active participation from prominent global players.



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North America's shoe packaging market is expected to emerge as a lucrative region, primarily due to proactive consumer lifestyles that are fuelling the sales of shoes across the US and Canada. Demand for shoe packaging in Western Europe and Latin America is expected to remain stable, while the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region will have a pale imprint on the growth of global shoe packaging market during the forecast period.



Shoe Packaging Market: Key Players



Companies such as Packman Packaging Private Limited, Sneakerbox Co., Samrat Box Mfg. Co. Pvt. Ltd., Royal Packers, Precious Packaging, Elevated Packaging, Cross Country Box Company, and Zhuhai ZhuoYa packing product co., Ltd. are observed as leading participants in the global market for shoe packaging.
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/13/2019 -- Sulphonated asphalt is a modified sodium sulphonated compound. It is 75% soluble in water. It is utilized as a shale stabilizer for oil- and water-based drilling fluids. It is employed as a drilling mud additive for improved functions such as prevention, lubrication, plugging, collapse, drag, restraining, and reduction. Tough and thin mud cake formed by sulphonated asphalt enhance the sidewall. It acts as a clay shale, strengthens the well walls by promoting fast sealing of cracks. Sulphonated asphalt reduces water loss during high pressure and high heating and provides superior lubricity to the solution. It is also used to prevent sticking and extends the use period for the drill. Shaletone, Stabil Hole, Barasal, Ciround Asphalt, Sur-Actantf Treated ground Asphalt, Shale Fix are key substitutes of sulphonated asphalt.



Rapid growth in drilling activities due to the surge in investments in the value chain of the oil & gas industry boosts the demand for drilling fluids and lubricants. This in turn, is anticipated to drive the sulphonated asphalt market during the forecast period.Strict environmental regulations regarding disposal and utilization of drilling fluid can hinder the demand for sulphonated asphalt. Furthermore, geopolitical issues in oil producing geographies are projected to hamper the market growth during the forecast period.



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Global Sulphonated Asphalt Market: Segmentation



The global sulphonated asphalt market can be segmented based on product type, application, and region. In terms of product type, the market can be bifurcated into regular sulphonated asphalt and potassium sulphonated asphalt. Potassium sulphonated asphalt is resistant to temperature. It stabilizes shale formation by preventing chemical and physical disintegration of shale. Potassium sulphonated asphalt drilling fluid is an efficient alternative that can be utilized in high temperature and high pressure operations. Hence, the potassium sulphonated asphalt segment is anticipated dominate the global market during the forecast period.



Based on application, the global market can be categorized into drilling fluid emulsifiers and drilling fluid lubricants. Rising demand of drilling fluid is projected to drive the drilling fluid emulsifiers segment, as these are extensively employed owing to their superior emulsification properties.



Global Sulphonated asphalt Market: Regional Outlook



In terms of region, the global sulphonated asphalt market can be classified into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. Demand for sulphonated asphalt is estimated to rise significantly in emerging economies such as China and India owing to the rise in government support through subsidies for oil & gas companies for exceling the production.



Exploration of shale gas in Canada and the U.S is rising in North America. Hence, the region is anticipated to dominate the global market. The market in Latin America is projected to expand at a significant pace during the forecast period due to the rise in drilling activities in countries such as Brazil and Venezuela.



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Global Sulphonated asphalt Market: Competitive Landscape



The global sulphonated asphalt market is fragmented with the presence of local and global players and local players. Key player operating in the global market are investing in research & development activities to gain competitive advantage through product innovation. Key players operation in the global market include Chevron Phillips Chemical, Schlumberger, Halliburton, Henan Xinxiang No.7 Chemical, Global Drilling Fluids and Chemicals Limited, Tianjin Summit Chemical, Minquan Dongxing Mud Material, ZORANOC, Shandong Yanggu Jiangbei Chemical, Taiqian County Hengda Chemical, Weifang Navi Trading, Hebei Linheng Biology Technology, and Xinxiang Kolanky.
Edison, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/13/2019 -- HTF MI added a new research study in its database with title 'Upcoming Security Software Market  Global Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities, Trends, and Forecasts up to 2023' that includes detailed analysis, Competitive landscape, forecast and strategies. The study covers geographic analysis that includes regions like APAC, Europe, North America, Latin America, RoW and important players/vendors such as IBM, Microsoft, and Salesforce.com The report will help user gain market insights, future trends and growth prospects for forecast period of 2023



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Overview:

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.

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 HTF MI 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 vendor's 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.



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Competitive Analysis

The 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 Analysis

Americas 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.



Benefits

The 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.



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Table of Contents



1 Industry Outlook 10

1.1 Industry Overview 10

1.2 Industry Trends 10

1.3 PEST Analysis 11



2 Report Outline 11

2.1 Report Scope 11

2.2 Report Summary 12

2.3 Research Methodology 13

2.4 Report Assumptions 13



3 Market Snapshot 14

3.1 Total Addressable Market 14

3.2 Segmented Addressable Market 14

3.3 Related Markets 15



4 Market Outlook 16

4.1 Overview 16

4.1.1 Market Definition  HTF MI Research 17

4.2 Market Trends and Impact 17

4.3 Market Segmentation 18

4.4 Porter 5 (Five) Forces 18



5 Market Characteristics 19

5.1 Evolution 19

5.2 Value Chain 20

5.3 Benefits and Challenges of Worldwide Upcoming Software Security Market 20

5.4 Factors Influencing Worldwide Upcoming Software Security 20

5.5 Reasons for investment in Upcoming Software security 21

....Continued



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Harrisburg, NC -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/13/2019 -- Global Voice over LTE Market Size, Status and Forecast 2019-2025



Voice over Long Term Evolution (VoLTE) is a digital packet voice service which is delivered over internet protocol (IP) via LTE network access. The technology also empowers the network operators for providing rich video and voice calling services. It allows the operators to optimize their spectrum efficiency and utilize their IMS infrastructure thereby adding value to their existing plans. It allows the telecom operators to offer new standards based on various services such as Rich Communication Services (RCS). It includes voicemail, video, instant messaging, real time language translation and video calling. The RCS reduces the timing interval to connect VoLTE calls and improve the device's battery life over other applications.



The Global Voice over LTE market size was million US$ and it is expected to reach million US$ by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of during 2019-2025.



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Top Leading Companies are: Alcatel-Lucent,At and T,Ericsson,Huawei Technologies,Kt,Lg Uplus,Metropcs,Nokia Solutions And Networks,Sk Telecom,Verizon Wireless



Increasing demand for richer and more reliable voice services is expected to drive the VoLTE market. Increased spectrum efficiency is expected to support the industry demand from 2017 to 2025. The declining revenue of SMS and traditional voice calling owing to cheaper internet packs and new upcoming technologies have driven the demand for the VoLTE services in recent years. Increased deployment of LTE networks and high speed package access (HSPA) has attracted varied telecom operators to enter into this industry.



The necessity of receiver and transmitter (communication devices) supporting VoLTE technology, high pricing structure and limited 4G coverage is expected to restrain the industry growth over the forecast timeline. As voice calling, internet surfing and video streaming will be considered under same data plan, the customers will eventually consume more data ending up paying high for the data charges.



Contents of the 15 Chapters for This Voice over LTE Market Study:-



Chapter 1, to describe Voice over LTE Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;



Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Voice over LTE , with sales, revenue, and price of Voice over LTE , in 2017 and 2019;



Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2017 and 2019;



Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Voice over LTE, for each region, from 2013 to 2019;



Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;



Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2013 to 2019;



Chapter 12, Voice over LTE market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2019 to 2025;



Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Voice over LTE sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.



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Voice over LTE Market, by Type:



Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD)

Time Division Duplexing (TDD)



Voice over LTE Market, by End User:



Network Operators

Main Suppliers



Indian telecom operator Reliance has launched free introductory Jio 4G net services for 6 months in India as a strategy to acquire the maximum market share. This introductory offer has benefited Reliance Jio to acquire the maximum market share in its launching phases of Indian telecom industry. Moreover, the company is also offering its LYF smart mobiles for about US$ 46 by integrating the business vertically thereby forcing other operators to slash their existing data prices. As an effect, Bharti Airtel, Idea and Vodafone are planning to roll out VoLTE services in the country by the end of September 2017.



Key industry participants are AT&T Inc, Verizon Wireless, Mitel Networks Corporation, Ericsson, LG Uplus, and Alcatel-Lucent. Mergers and acquisitions are the key competitive strategies adopted by the industry players. For instance, in February 2016, Mitel Corporation has deployed voice and video over LTE in Indonesia through Smartfren telecom operator. Indonesia is the fifth country where Mitel has introduced its VoLTE services after North America and Europe by collaborating with telecom operators T-Mobile in US and 3UK in Europe.



The report will make detailed analysis mainly on the development environment, Market size, development trends, operation situation and future development trends of Voice over LTE Market on the basis of current situation of the industry in 2019 so as to make full comprehension and judgment on the competitive situation of Voice over LTE Market Carrier and assist manufacturers and investment organization to better grasp the development course of Voice over LTE Market.



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Important attributes of the report:



The 360-degree Voice over LTE overview based on a global and regional level.

Market share, value, volume, and production capacity is analyzed on global, regional and country level.

A complete and useful guide for new market aspirants.

Forecast information will drive strategic, innovative and profitable business plans.

SWOT analysis of players will pave the way for growth opportunities, risk analysis, investment feasibility and recommendations.

Lastly, the research methodology and data sources are offered in this report.

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Mumbai: Annoyed over non-payment of their salaries, the employees association of Jet Airways on Friday asked the Mumbai Police to register a case against its founder and former Chairman Naresh Goyal, CEO Vinay Dube and SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar.

The All India Jet Airways Officers & Staff Association in its letter said: "We call upon you to register offence under cheating, criminal breach of trust, misappropriation and other offences against the Chairman, the CEO, the representative of the State Bank of India (Bankers) as per specific provisions of Section 405 and 409 and other related Sections including 420 of IPC."
At a rally in Kolar, Gandhi also asked as to why all the 'thieves' have the surnames of Modi.

: Lashing out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of corruption, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday alleged that '100 per cent chowkidar (guard) is a chor (thief)'.

"I have a question. Why all the thieves have Modi in their names whether be it Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi and Narendra Modi? We don't know how many more such Modis will come out," Gandhi said.

Raking up the Rafale fighter jet deal issue, he said, '100 per cent chowkidar is a chor' and alleged that the prime minister stole Rs 30,000 crore and gifted it to his 'thief friend' Anil Ambani.

"You stole Rs 30,000 crore and gifted to your thief friend. You 100 per cent steal money. 'Chowkidar' is a thief. Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksy, Lalit Modi, Mallya, Anil Ambani and Narendra Modi -- There is a group, a team of thieves," Gandhi said as he attacked Modi, who has described himself as a 'chowkidar' who would not tolerate graft.

He also said Modi no longer spoke about farmers, jobs and corruption. "Unlike him, we don't tell lies."

Gandhi spoke about the NYAY scheme, the minimum income scheme of depositing Rs 72,000 annually into the account of five crore families announced by the Congress in its manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls.

Gandhi said one of the first acts of the Congress, if voted to power, would be to provide for 33 per cent reservation for women in the Parliament and assemblies and also in government jobs.
Page Content

St Maarten was recently removed from the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) list on which it was previously listed as a Category 2 (CAT 2) Country. St Maarten's removal is based on their being no current St Maarten airline servicing any United States destination, neither has there been a codeshare agreement with any US carrier and a St Maarten airline for 4 years.



It is standard under such conditions for the International program and policy division of the Federal Aviation Administration FAA of the United States Department of Transportation to remove countries from the list, whether they are CAT 1 or CAT 2. This policy was adopted by the FAA to improve the quality and accuracy of the program and the IASA list.



According to the head of Civil Aviation, Shipping and Maritime Louis Halley "Curacao was downgraded to CAT 2 after failing its audit. At the time, Insel Air was also not flying to the United States. Since some of the responsibilities for St. Maarten's aviation service were being executed in Curacao after 10-10-10, while St. Maarten was establishing its own Civil Aviation Authority, we were automatically downgraded to CAT 2."

Halley said St. Maarten's removal from the IASA list does not mean that its score was changed the United States. What this means for St Maarten based airlines is that the prohibition of flights into the United States will remain until we are reassessed and receive a satisfactory score of CAT 1.

Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport & Telecommunication (TEATT) the honorable Stuart Johnson said on Thursday that being listed on the IASA is essential for any tourist destination, but especially for St. Maarten and the neighbouring islands it is necessary for is to remain competitive in the level of airlifts we offer.

He said, "The ability for our local carriers to engage in reciprocal code sharing exercises between American carriers is a critical component of our ability to expand the hub function of the Princess Juliana International Airport. Once the department performs its internal checks and balances I am confident that they would be able to pass the FAA examination and St. Maarten can be restored to a CAT 1 destination."

It is crucial for the Civil Aviation stakeholders in St Maarten to know that the Department of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of TEATT remains committed and are diligently working with its partners in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to address the deficiencies.



The Department of Civil Aviation will take all the corrective actions and/or measures before the end of 2019 after which it will request an audit from the FAA so that St. Maarten can to be restored as a CAT 1 Country. Once this is done, St. Maarten airlines will have the opportunity to fly into the U.S. or to engage in Code-Sharing agreements with U.S. Airlines to facilitate visitors travelling thru St. Maarten to the U.S.
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Talks on tech taxes 'productive': Mnuchin



Washington, April 13 (AFP) Apr 13, 2019



The United States and economic partners held "productive" talks this week on the taxation of major tech giants, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Saturday.

Countries like France, Spain and Austria have announced plans to tax tech companies' revenues outright because the Internet-based companies do not declare profits on a by-country basis.

The United States is pushing for an overarching agreement through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a forum for advanced economies.

Mnuchin told reporters Saturday there had been "lots of productive discussions" on the subject in Washington where finance ministers were gathered for spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

He said it is "a priority from our standpoint to find an OECD solution."

"We will be working together to do that and a commitment from the UK and France ... will go with an international solution," Mnuchin said.

EU Economic Commissioner Pierre Moscovici told AFP on Saturday that the "atmosphere is more peaceful" in discussions on the issue.

"There is a shared desire that was clearly expressed that now we have to move forward within the OECD," he said.

OECD members are due to meet in Paris in May, followed by a Group of 20 summit in Japan the following month.
Israel raid wounds three in central Syria: state media



Damascus, April 13 (AFP) Apr 13, 2019



An Israeli air strike in central Syria wounded three combatants early Saturday, the official SANA news agency reported.

A Britain-based war monitor said the strike killed several Iranian fighters and wounded 17 Syrian troops and their allies.

An Israeli military spokesman declined to comment on the foreign media report.

"Around 2:30 am (2330 GMT Friday)... the Israeli air force carried out a strike targeting one of our military positions in the town of Misyaf," in Hama province north of Damascus, SANA quoted a military source as saying.

"Our air defence batteries intercepted some of the Israeli missiles," the source said, adding that the strike "wounded three combatants and destroyed buildings".

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strike targeted a Syrian military college in the town and two buildings used by Iranian forces in nearby villages -- a development centre for medium-range missiles in Zawi and a training camp in Sheikh Ghadban.

Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in Syria against what it says are Iranian and Hezbollah targets.

With the support of the US administration of President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed repeatedly to take whatever military action he deems necessary to prevent archfoe Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah establishing a continuing military presence.

Late last month, Trump broke with decades of international consensus to recognise Israel's unilateral annexation of the strategic Golan Heights, seized from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967.

The move was a diplomatic prize for Israel, but met with a chorus of opposition from US foes and allies alike.

Iran and Hezbollah have both intervened in Syria's civil war, which erupted in 2011 to support forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

They were joined in 2015 by Russia, which supplied its S300 air defence system to Assad's forces after a Russian aircraft was downed by mistake by Syrian defence systems during an Israeli raid on September 17, killing all 15 people on board.

After several months of frosty relations, Russia and Israeli resumed coordination of their military operations in Syria and Israel's bombing campaign picked up again.
Syria Kurds return 25 Yazidis freed from IS to Iraq



Qazlajokh, Syria, April 13 (AFP) Apr 13, 2019



Syrian Kurds on Saturday repatriated 25 women and children from Iraq's Yazidi minority after freeing them during the final push against the Islamic State group, a local official said.

The US-backed fighters say they rescued some 300 Yazidi women and children during the fight to take the jihadists' last scrap of territory in eastern Syria.

"Today, we will hand over 25 people -- 10 women and 15 children -- to the Yazidi council in Sinjar," said Ziyad Rustam, an official with the Kurdish-run group Yazidi House, which reunites rescued Yazidi children with surviving relatives.

"They will be sent to their families," he told AFP.

At the Yazidi House headquarters, women wearing colourful robes collected children scampering around the compound before boarding busses bound for Sinjar, the Yazidi heartland.

"The fate of my three sisters remains unknown... I don't know anything about them," said 17-year-old Jamila Haidar.

"I hope we will be reunited soon."

Iraq's Yazidis are a symbol of the suffering caused by the Islamic State group during its rein over vast swathes of Syria and Iraq.

The jihadists stormed through Iraq's northwest in 2014 slaughtering thousands of men and boys and abducting women and girls to be abused as sex slaves.

But they have since lost all of the once-sprawling cross-border "caliphate" to multiple offensive.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces last month announced the defeat of the IS proto-state after tens of thousands of people streamed out of the jihadists' last patch of territory, around the village of Baghouz near the Iraqi border.

Rustam said SDF had in total liberated 850 Yazidi women and children during its battles against IS since 2015.

But 3,040 Yazidis are still missing, he said, adding that the search for them was ongoing.

Rustam said the jihadists had "sold many of them to people inside Syria, in places like Idlib", most of which is held by a former Al-Qaeda affiliate.

Some of the Yazidis extracted from IS's last sliver of territory are being held at the Kurdish-run Al-Hol camp, which also houses jihadist family members.
New York, April 13, 2019 (SPS) - Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres deplored the restrictions imposed by Morocco to freedom of movement of his Personal Envoy, Horst Kohler and the MINURSO (the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara).



The MINURSO cannot meet local interlocutors west of the wall of sand and this situation continues to limit its ability to independently assess the situation in Western Sahara for analytical or security purposes, wrote the Secretary General in his final report on the situation of Western Sahara, submitted to the Security Council.



The deadlock imposed by Morocco prevented the MINURSO from fulfilling this part of its mandate, which consists in providing assistance, Kohler.



These restrictions have only aggravated during the considered period although my personal envoy asked my special representative to help him to keep contacts with some local interlocutors, said the UN Secretary General.



Morocco categorically rejected this request on the grounds that these contracts would be incompatible with the MINURSO mandate, said Guterres in his report.



In the past, Morocco has adopted a confrontational approach with Christopher Ross, the predecessor of Kohler, limited his freedom of movement and declared him as persona non-grata in the Sahrawi occupied territories. (SPS)



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Paris (France), April 13, 2019 (SPS) - French senator Christine Prunaud said Wednesday that France encourages Morocco which is preventing any political settlement in Western Sahara (as part of the UN peace process).



"Proclaiming that it will use its veto power against any resolution that is not approved by Morocco, by giving a green light to a European Union-Morocco trade agreement including Western Sahara, in violation of the international and European legality, France encourages Morocco in its attitude towards the UN peace process, without compromise," the French senator said in a written question to the minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian, to be published Thursday in the Senate's Official Gazette.



"Morocco's intransigence hinders the political settlement and lead to the worsening of the conflict, which has resulted in grave consequences."



The French senator cited, among other impacts, the difficult situation of Saharawi refugees, "permanent tensions between Algeria and Morocco, lack of integration among Maghreb countries, armament race."



France, which "is influential in the region and does not conceal its friendship with Morocco," she added, "does not contribute to resolving tensions."



Senator Prunaud asks the minister to clarify the role France intends to play to "uphold the inalienable rights of the Saharawi people." (SPS)



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Durban, April 13, 2019 (SPS) -South Africas Deputy Minister for International Relations and Cooperation, Luwellyn Landers reiterated his countrys commitment to a just, acceptable and sustainable solution to the Western Sahara issue based on the self-determination of the Sahrawi people.



Speaking at a conference in Duran on the priorities of South Africas mandate within the United Nations Security Council, Landers reiterated his countrys commitment to a just, acceptable and sustainable solution to Western Sahara. This solution should meet the aspirations and will of the Sahrawi people so that they can exercise their right to self-determination.



South Africa will advocate the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) by the Security Council and the broadening of its prerogatives to the monitoring of human rights in the territories occupied by Morocco, affirmed South Africans FM.



Africa was elected by the UN General Assembly, along with Germany, Belgium, Indonesia and the Dominican Republic, to serve on the Security Council as a non-permanent member from January 2019 for a two-year term, with a view to promoting multilateralism.



Known for its constant stances on the decolonization of African countries, Pretoria had always called for the Sahrawi peoples inalienable right to self-determination.



In late March, Pretoria hosted the conference of solidarity with the Sahrawi people initiated by the Southern African Development Community (SADC). (SPS)



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Kampala (Uganda), April 13, 2019 (SPS) - Minister of Security of the Republic of Uganda, Honorable General Elly Tumwine, on Sunday bid farewell to outgoing Ambassador of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) to the Republic of Uganda, Habib Mahfoud Boukhreis.



According to a statement issued by the SADR Embassy in Kampala, during the farewell audience, the Ugandan Minister reiterated Ugandas firm position in support of the Sahrawi Republic.



He congratulated the Ambassador upon the successful completion of his duty and wished him good luck.



For his part, the Sahrawi Ambassador briefed the Ugandan Minister on the latest developments related to the Sahrawi issue.

The meeting was attended by first secretary at the Sahrawi Embassy, Alla Omar. (SPS)



062/SPS
RTHK: Trump has second thoughts about Mueller report

US President Trump questioned on Saturday whether Congressional Democrats should have access to a redacted version of the Mueller report that cleared him of conspiring to collude with Russia during the 2016 election.

Attorney General Bill Barr has indicated he will hand over a restricted copy of the 400-page report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller that edits out "sensitive" details sometime next week.

"Why should Radical Left Democrats in Congress have a right to retry and examine the US$35,000,000 (two years in the making) No Collusion Mueller Report when the crime committed was by Crooked Hillary, the DNC and Dirty Cops?" Trump tweeted. "Attorney General Barr will make the decision!"

Trump had previously said the decision to release the report would be "totally up to" his attorney general, while his press secretary Sarah Sanders in March said "I don't think the president has any problem" with its publication.

The president's latest comments come days after he called the probe an attempted "coup," while Barr promised to investigate FBI "spying" on Trump.

Trump has described former FBI officials who initially decided to investigate him as "dirty cops."

Three years on from his election victory, he is still railing against his former Democratic White House opponent Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server for government business and threatens to reopen an investigation into the matter. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2019-04-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Lanka to double air space rates, landing and other charges View(s):

The Government is planning to increase the rates for use of Sri Lankas air space by international airlines and other flights, ground handling and waiting charges.

A cabinet paper to this effect is to be submitted by the Transport and Civil Aviation Ministry next month.

Aviation Minister Arjuna Ranatunga told the Sunday Times the revision was expected to double the existing charges which were one of the lowest in the region. He said the last revision was made some 34 years ago.

The minister said Sri Lankas charges had not been revised in the past few decades mainly due to the war.

He said a study had revealed that Sri Lanka could be more competitive and, therefore, was now in a position to revise the charges and earn more revenue.

At present, Sri Lanka charges from US$ 100 to US$ 250 for aircraft flying over Sri Lanka, depending on the size of the planes. At present, Sri Lanka earns US$ 13 million a year. With the increase, the revenue will rise to US$ 26 million.

The charges are for sharing meteorological data, the use of the radar system, security and the fight path.

Also to be doubled are the charges for landing. At present, an A330 aircraft is charged around US$ 840 for three-hours and, thereafter, 10 percent is added for every three hours.
His love for this country through his angle By Sashini Rodrigo WFP top official, Nguyen Duc Hoang bids adieu after his 4 year term here with an exhibition View(s): View(s):

Nguyen Duc Hoang is not a professional photographer  but being the Deputy Country Director for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has never stopped him from pursuing his hobby, but rather fuelled it. Every time he travelled on work around the country, he would take his camera with him.

His passion was demonstrated in his first Sri Lankan exhibition Celebrating Ceylon on Monday April 8, at the Ministry of Disaster Management, Colombo 7. It showcased a selection of photographs that illustrated the beauty and strength of Sri Lanka through peace, prosperity and tragedy.

As he is leaving the country in a week, Hoang tells us that Celebrating Ceylon was his last opportunity to showcase his love for the land and its people, through photographs he has taken during his four-years here. The photographs include landscapes, portraits, religious ceremonies and day-to-day life and events.

I hope I have given a small snapshot of Sri Lanka from a different angle, and I hope people can see my passion and love for the country,  he says.

By virtue of his office Hoang has worked with the government on different fronts, from food security and nutrition to emergency response preparation and support. His work necessitated travel, and as such the exhibition showcased pictures taken from all parts of Sri Lanka, such as Nuwara Eliya, Jaffna, and Kilinochchi to name a few. It also featured many of WFPs outreach projects, such as a mangrove conservation project in Mannar and flood relief efforts in Kegalle.

Hoang is particularly proud of Steam, which was a photograph taken by him in Mullaitivu that won an award at the UN Day Asia-Pacific Contest in 2018.

His photography journey started in black and white he loves the way it makes tiny details stand out. His portrait photographs, most of which are in black and white, were a diverse collection of faces and personalities that represent Sri Lanka.

When I see an interesting scene, I stop, jump out of the car and take the photo, he says. In fact, a number of his photographs were taken at Viharamahadevi Park, since this was close to his home.

The exhibition was organised in collaboration with the Welfare Society of the Ministry of Disaster Management, and the proceeds from the sale of his photographs will go to the Cancer Hospital. This is the most beautiful country Ive been in, he tells us, and he hopes to give back to the country this way.
The Tokyo District Court said Friday that it had extended former Nissans board chairman Carlos Ghosn's detention until April 22 to allow prosecutors time to bring formal charges against him or let him free.

Ghosn was initially detained in November last year on suspicion of conspiring to understate his Nissan income by about 50 percent between 2010 and 2015.

He was released on bail in early March and then re-arrested last week in connection with new allegations that some $35 million was diverted from Nissan to an Oman dealership.
By about the fifth day of the big U.S. air/trade showsAirVenture and Sun n Funa certain hollow-eyed exhaustion sets in. Vendors at the show can be heard to wonder if the thing will ever end and for us pixel-addled wretches covering the spectacle, we feel as run down as the batteries in our cameras and recorders. Id have tried for a dried-up ink metaphor, but we dont use pens anymore.

At Aero, its the reverse. Its a four-day showWednesday to Saturday. This creates an odd kind of catch-up for both vendors and multi-day attendees. If you havent seen it all by Saturday mid-morning, youd better get busy because at 3:45 p.m., the 15-minute warning sounds.

I didnt see or do it all either and I went wall to wall for all four days. When I was shooting a video round-up on electric airplanes, I kept running into stuff I hadnt seen. It will have to wait until next year because Im pretty sure none of this stuff is gonna show at AirVenture or Sun n Fun. If the mark of success for a show is to leave them wanting more, Aero is a smash hit.

The TBM March

Although they announced it at Sun n Fun, Daher waited until Aero to show off the new TBM 940. Dahers U.K. sales rep, David Fabry, kindly gave me a tour. Well, sure, Im impressed with the airplane, the autothrottles, the new interior and the ice detection system. Who wouldnt be?

But Im more impressed with the clip Daher maintains in incremental introduction of new products, which Ive always thought is the secret to business success in any field, but especially aviation. Too bad its not so easy as that. A clean-sheet Part 23 airplane costs multiple millions to develop and certify and no matter how slick and sophisticated it is, even us nimrods in the press can pull up the GAMA figures and predict how many units an airplane of a particular ilk might sell.

If you do the back-of-napkin math on a $25 million cert projectand thats probably cheapyoull have to sell the hell out of it to return the investment, much less eke out profits. Thats why you see so few entirely new airframe introductions. And its also why Pipers idea to essentially market on price with the new Pilot 100 trainer may seem uninspired. But if it meets demand and makes a few bucks, Id take that over soaring eye candy that fails disastrously in the market and rattles the entire industry.

Mooney dodged that bullet when it shelved the M10 trainer project. It was a great idea, a good-looking airplane and was truly a fresh design. But it was never going to carve a market that didnt already exist and would have simply competed with Piper and Cessna in the already cutthroat trainer business. Mooneys smart decision wasnt proposing the airplane in the first place, but killing it after the fact. Thats the airplane biz for ya.

By the way, people sometimes ask me what airplane Id buy if money were no object. I believe they do this out of conversational curiosity for given my chosen profession, I clearly have questionable judgment at the least and a warped value system at worst. But good judgment and good taste arent the same thing. If you must know, Id buy a TBM. Its a thrill how that big-ass prop drags that thing through the air.

Are Electrics Finally Real?

Real compared to what? To a busy flight school relying on Skyhawks or Cherokees to train students eight to 10 hours a day? No. We havent turned that corner yet and even though Pipistrel will announce the second generation of its Alpha Electro and Bye Aerospace announced a 60-airplane order from a Norwegian flight training group, Im not willing to step off the train in Valhalla, if I may coin a cheap Norse metaphor while simultaneously mixing transportation modes.

I have coming a video roundup of some of the electric airplanes on display at Aero and another video on the Bye Aerospace eFlyer. So whats the problem? Its not the certification basis. The revised CS23 and ASTM consensus standards are in place to certify these airplanes. The electric motors are there, the batteries are getting theremaybe.

What I want to see is actual flight and economic data from the schools proposing to use these airplanes in real training. For me personally, gauzy green intentions are laudable, but I want to see them working in the real world. Pipistrel got out there early with commercial sales of electric airplanes, but even it admits the 50 it has sold are mostly technology demonstrators.

Battery energy density is still iffy, in my view. I polled some of the experts on this at Aero by asking what theyre using for typical what-if scenarios. These ranged from 150 Wh/kg to a little under 200. George Bye told me the batteries in the eFlyer are about 250 Wh/kg effective, not cell level.

You can see why Im noncommittal.

Is Unleaded Fuel Real?

Real compared to what? As in about to emerge fully market ready, heralding the bright, shiny environmental Valhalla (sorry) of the future. No.

I had a real Rolaids moment at the Aero fuels briefing when Lycomings Mike Kraft and Tim Shea of Shell conceded that regulatory forces are no longer driving the replacement of TEL in avgas. Thats because the current administrations environmental policies are unlikely to encourage EPA to issue a finding of endangerment. No endangerment, no regulatory pressure.

Just to jolly things along here without pissing off either tribe too much, lets assume the current administration remains in play until 2025. Lets further pretend that a new president makes lead a hot campaign issue. It could easily be 2026 or even 2027 before this imaginary president gets anything done.

Meanwhile, the companies investing in this new fuel will  well, hell, I dont know what theyll do. Thats a long time to defer return on an investment. Kraft said the industry will have to sell pilots and owners on the benefits of unleaded fuel, but Im not sure enough of them will resonate with that to justify refiners making the leap. And if they dont do that somewhat in unison, the specter of a balkanized piston aviation fuel market becomes more than just a talking point.

Im sure there are other industries who have suffered through such a comic opera. I just cant think of any.
A creative skills course is hoping to engage people affected by homelessness at a London university.

The Accumulate course, taking place at Ravensbourne University in North Greenwich, is using creative writing, podcasting, photography, fashion, poetry and sculpture to increase confidence and offer a creative outlet for its participants.

Shianne Louise Wright, 2019

Altan Dilan, 2019

Funded by the youth homelessness charity Accumulate , which also offers scholarships for young people to study creative subjects at college and/or university, the course takes place over two months and up to 15 sessions. When I visit, participants are using spoken word poetry to reflect on their own lives, and to think about wider concepts of youth and what it can mean to different people.

Big questions are being addressed: how does the youth of the past connect with the youth of the future? Why are young people increasingly pulling away from set structures, for example religion? How are young people's perceptions of being young different, depending on where they're from in the world? Are we expecting more from life than we might have in the past? Ravensbourne tutor Joanna is teaching the programme today, and is aiming to address the above questions through poetry and creative writing.

Crystal Alleyne, The Next Generation, 2019

Frank Twahirwa, 2019

Joanna asks participants to think about music that they listened to when they were younger, to picture themselves at the time or in the place that they when they were listening to the song, and to reflect on that moment. Suggestions include Michael Jackson (in the immediate aftermath of Leaving Neverland - ouch) and Metallica.

Participant Imani, who has her own poetry blog, is struggling to get her feelings onto the page.

"How can you put it into words?" she asks. "Music just makes me feel ."

I tell her to write that down, and ask what its effect on her feels like.

"Just... good inside."

I suggest that the music makes her feel content, which she agrees with.

Imani Caprice, Friday Feeling, 2019

Imani Caprice, Lost In Thought, 2019

Oooh from my deep 4 Cs

The width of my lips, nose, forehead,

The deep night tone covering my skin,

I feel so free,

Although I know I aint

Its a sin to be a free black woman,

Even if its portrayed that

We be proud of our melania.

This part of the session is centred on Zimbabwean spoken word poet Belinda Zhawi's reflection on Dalston community music venue Passing Clouds, which closed in 2016 and which Zhawi says "Called to me like the dream of a place that I'd never been, but missed." Participants split off into groups to discuss the visual nature of the poem, and how that relates to the photography that they've also been studying.







The poem stirs something in one of the participants, a middle-aged Nigerian woman named Helen, who recalls her teenage years, sneaking out, entering dancing competitions, singing in nightclubs, dancing, drinking and talking to men: "That is my own time."

Joanna asks the group to reflect on how these memories fit into them as part of a group; as a collective part of youth culture - and as part of a larger whole.

Helen Agha, Shadow, 2019

Denis Lasarer, Lonely Traffic Light Looking for a Friend in a Rushing World, 2019

Students are a mixture of those seeking asylum and those living in London hostels, and most do not have English as a first language - instead, native languages represented include French, Somali, Arabic, Turkish, English, Nigerian, Congolese, Creole, Farsi, and Baoule (the language of the Ivory Coast). The mixture of voices offer perspective that ranges from Nigerian nightclubs, to Turkey, to the Caribbean. Often in living situations that can be isolating, and often far from traditional concepts of home or family, the Accumulate course offers participants the opportunity to communicate openly. Often, those from the same hostels will stick together.

Accumulate's partnership with Ravensbourne allows university tutors to teach on the course, and also allows access to the university's facilities, in the heart of London's newest digital community, in the shadow of the 02 Arena. The area is described as "the capital's fast-growing media and technology hub." Ravensbourne, a fledgling university by most standards, was administered by the University of the Arts London until being granted full university status last year. Now, it grants degrees in areas as diverse as architecture, advertising and branding, and digital television technology.

Ravensbourne students are involved in running the course too - Tiana Lea, who is a team manager and is here today, is a second year photography student and is hoping to take on freelance photography and youth work once she's finished university. Here, she helps out with getting course materials together, assists with students, and looks after admin. The course is part of an elective unit that she's taking, and it's the second year that she's been involved. She's always done voluntary work, she says, so this fits in well.

Imani Caprice, Blue, 2019

Prosper Kouaytep, Beyond a Simple Attitude, Life is a State of Mind, 2019

Rhea Peters, Clarity of Vision, 2019

The course is free, has no application process, and can be attended by anyone. Its self-selecting nature, Accumulates founder Marice Cumber tells me, means that when students arrive they are already prepared to engage.

Clearly its a big commitment, especially alongside the many other things that the participants have going on in their lives - when working on photography, they were required to attend every day. Sometimes, though, the course can act as a welcome distraction from other things that are going on. Koffi, who has been in the UK for three and a half years, has in the past few days had a positive decision from the Home Office - he can stay in the country. The government has 14 days to appeal the decision, and he's hoping that they won't - but in the meantime, "I have the opportunity to improve (my skills) and enjoy the project."

Koffi Serge Pacome Nguessan, Blue Youth, 2019

Helen Agha, Sky Deep Concentration, 2019

Matthew Fabiyi, Escape Pods to Planet Z, 2019

After the course is completed, participants can apply to a Higher Education access course in order to be admitted to Ravensbourne as students. Its something that has led students on to become undergraduate students at Ravensbourne in the past, and is something that is encouraged.

The course is designed to utilise creativity as both a social good and a means of therapy and the actual creative output is not the aim, Marice says - although it is being showcased, with an exhibition thats taking place in Shoreditch this week. Its the fifth year that Accumulate students have staged an exhibition, and this one, taking place in April, is a culmination of the charitys longest creative course and is the biggest event of the year.

The exhibition marks the end of the course for these participants, but Accumulates work in this area is not done. The charitys next project is also an exciting one - a radio station, run by those affected by homelessness. The six-month project will run from June to December, and is taking place because, Marice says, "Homeless programmes are always made by non-homeless. Why are people who are affected by it not the ones in control?" Accumulate is facilitating the project, she says, but the radio station will belong to the participants, and her aim is to enlist 40 of them, who will take on tasks ranging from social media, blogging and presenting to working on budgets and coordinating behind the scenes. Its the first project of its kind in the UK.

Back to now, and the participants are finishing their creative writing session. Imani appears with a sculpture shes made previously; a mannequin painted with words that she wants to finish in time for the exhibition. I have no doubt that she will.

For 30 years Autograph has engaged with diverse groups and communities to explore issues of identity, representation, social justice and human rights through photography and film.

At the gallery and in the community, Autograph creates welcoming spaces for people to share experiences, make artwork and become inspired by contemporary photography.

Youth Culture: An Exhibition by Accumulate is taking place at Autograph, Rivington Place, London EC2A 3BA, 10th - 13th April. Find out about the exhibition here.

Lead image: Frank Twahirwa, The Girls, 2019
Fear not, we have compiled a list of everything you need to know to enjoy a stress-free trip even in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Image credit: JESHOOTS-com on Pixabay

Last month, the UK government confirmed that EU airlines will be able to continue to operate flights between the UK and the EU, even in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

"Europe is the most popular holiday destination for UK travellers with 58 million trips made each year. Today's announcement provides further assurance that, whatever the outcome of Brexit, travellers can continue to book holidays and business trips with confidence," says Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive of the Travel Association ABTA.

Mr. Tanzer also confirms that if a deal is made, there will be an announced transition period until the end of 2020, meaning that travel to Europe will remain the same.

The European Council and Parliament have confirmed that post-Brexit UK travellers planning a short stay, 90 days out of any 180 days, will be granted visa-free travel. While this needs to be formally adopted, it means that it is unlikely you will be required a visa for any upcoming short break in Europe.

But what should you watch out for once you have snapped up a holiday bargain?

Check your passport is valid for travel

All passports issued before Brexit will remain valid even in a no-deal scenario.

However, in the case of a no-deal Brexit, the UK government advises travellers to ensure they have at least 6 months left on their passport and it must be less than 10 years old, even if it has six months or more remaining.

Keep in mind that it can take up to three weeks to renew a passport so check now to avoid disappointment.

Consider purchasing a pay-as-you-go sim card when abroad

Currently, travellers enjoy free roaming in European countries. This costs students no more two pounds for every 100MB, ensuring that you can upload to Instagram or check where you are going on Google Maps. The cost of making calls, sending text messages or using the internet on your phone in countries belonging to the European Union is the same in the UK.

Image credit: Austin Distel on Unsplas

Since this is an EU rule, this is likely to change post-Brexit and will be up to the discretion of your phone service provider.

Before you travel, check with your mobile phone provider about the costs of using your phone in the EU. Alternatively, consider purchasing a pay-as-you-go SIM card sold by major supermarket retailers across Europe who offer cheap top-up cards.

Research exchange rates

There is no surefire way to work out when is the best time to exchange currencies. The value of the pound has changed majorly since the 2016 referendum and continues to fluctuate.

Check exchange rates in advance and consider exchanging some of your travel money when you notice an exchange rate you agree with rather than accepting the rate you are dealt with when you arrive abroad.

Check with your travel insurance provider whether they cover Brexit-related delays or cancellations

Whether you are travelling in the EU or beyond, it always is important to take out travel insurance which covers your current circumstances, including any medical conditions.

If you have an annual policy, check the terms and conditions. A study conducted by MoneySavingExpert.com finds that some travel insurance providers do not cover Brexit-related disruptions at all while others warn that if you take out a policy after a no-deal-Brexit, cover cannot be guaranteed in the case of disruptions resulting from Brexit.

While Brexit should not prevent your future travel plans, planning ahead is crucial to organising a stress-free trip.

Lead image: JESHOOTS-com on Pixabay
Straight from trying her luck in the Miss Eswatini 2018/2019 pageant, the beautiful Titi has embraced what she loves the most - the runway! The beauty walked home with the Miss Photogenic title but most importantly, she walked away with her confidence and beauty with her.



After the pageant, I didnt think my world would crash or anything. I was just grateful for the experience and the publicity which catapulted me to what I intend to do, said the beauty.

She is currently under the Top Models Eswatini agency, the very same modelling agency which groomed now internationally acclaimed model Nolwazi Snowee Simelane. Titi is flying to Philippines soon to pursue her modelling career! STYLE had a chit chat with her and this is what we learnt about her passion!



Who is Titi?

Nosipho Manyatsi, but most people know me as Titi. I was raised by my grandma in the Hhohho region. I have seven siblings. I did my primary school at Aidwashink Primary and then moved to Manzini where I did my high school at St Theresas and completed in 2015. I then enrolled at Limkokwing University of Creative and Technology. I am currently doing my last year and will be graduating in October.



Besides being a ramp queen, what has always been your other dream?

I have always had the idea of wanting to be on my own and independenthence I would like to own a beauty parlour in the near future. And I am already working towards that, Hehe, at the moment Im a practising nail technician.



When did you fall with the ramp? How did it happen?

During high school the idea was gradually planted in my head. I would get compliments from strangers and my friends would tell me I should join pageants. Then I completed high school I decided to give it a try and I fell in love with it and decided to do it part time due to my school work.



How did you act towards your love for modelling and what triggered the action?

I was lucky enough when I met Mr Eswatini he pretty much took me through the industry. Dedicating my free time to modelling made me realise it made me happy and kept me away from the streets.



Your journey in the Miss Eswatini pageant, please explain it?

Theres not much to say with my Miss Eswatini experience except for that Im grateful for the experience. I learned and picked up things that have helped shape my life and the way I think. Not winning did not bring me down but instead it made me frown on doing another pageant. I just wanted to do more and achieve greater things.



What were your thoughts after not making it?

The experience made me think in a different perspective, in terms of how pageants really work because it was my first experience



Modelling, how did you eventually decide to take it to a professional level?

I have recently decided to pursue it fully at a professional level because I believe I have what it takes to be one of the best models in the country



How has it been so far and what have been your achievements?

Its been great, it has helped me grow mentally and professionally. I have done quite a number of promotions my favourite so far is the one I did with standard bank because Im reminded of it every time I go watch a movie at the cinema I see myself, in one of the adverts. Hehehe



Philippines, please tell us all about it and how it happened?

Mr and Miss Runway pageant will be held in the Philippines on August 9 to 19 this year. We were selected after submitting our portfolios and won the first stage. Just like all pageants, we will be judged according to different categories. There are prices to be won as well. Im confident that I will do my best and fly the Eswatini flag sky-high. With that being said, I will need all the support I can get from emaSwati, and any form of support from individuals, companies and organisations would be greatly appreciated.



Your fashion sense, what inspires it?

As I have said, I love fashion and beauty. The way I dress is not influenced by anyone. My mood determines my outfits for that particular day. And I have a sense of putting together a perfect outfit just my head. But my fashion icon is Rihanna of course



How do you keep lean and beautiful?

Im obsessed with clear skin and I must say lately mine has been acting up. But other than that, I drink lots of water and mind my own business. And I do exercises at home.



List three things you cannot leave without...

God. I wouldnt be where I am today if it wasnt for his favour

My support system

My phone. I mean it has almost everything in. From my professional photos to CV




La rencontre de la 32e journee de Ligue 1 entre Dijon et Amiens a ete marquee ce vendredi soir par des insultes racistes a lencontre de Prince Gouano.

Dans un communique, la Ligue de football professionnel annonce louverture dune enquete et indique que la personne auteure de ces propos avait ete identifiee et arretee.

 La LFP condamne les insultes racistes qui ont entraine linterruption temporaire de la rencontre Dijon FCO  Amiens SC. La LFP apporte son soutien au joueur Prince Gouano. Des mercredi, la Commission de Discipline se saisira du dossier. Des ce soir, le club de Dijon a identifie lauteur des insultes racistes qui a ensuite ete interpelle. Dans le cadre de sa convention avec la LICRA, la LFP va etudier les suites judiciaires a donner a ce dossier.
The UAE's Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) has announced that it has selected Hazzaa Al Mansoori as the prime astronaut and Sultan Al Neyadi as the backup astronaut for the International Space Station (ISS) mission.

Al Mansoori and Al Neyadi are currently undergoing training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia in preparation for this mission.

Al Mansoori will fly for an eight-day space mission to ISS aboard a Soyuz-MS 15 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on September 25, 2019 and return to earth aboard a Soyuz-MS 12.

Sending the first Arab and Emirati astronaut to ISS is a historic milestone for the UAE.

Announcing the ISS mission, MBRSC Director General Yousuf Hamad Al Shaibani stressed that it was a major step towards achieving the objectives of the UAE Astronaut Programme to train and prepare a team of Emiratis to be sent to space for various scientific missions.

The programme was announced by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, in 2017.

Al Shaibani highlighted that Al Mansoori and Al Neyadi are positive role models for Emirati youth.

Al Mansoori is a Functional Check Flight (FCF) Pilot F-16B60. He graduated from the Khalifa Bin Zayed Air College, which qualified him to become an F-16B60 instructor pilot and a demo pilot, Solo Demonstration pilot in F-16B60.

He was one of the first Arab and Emirati pilots to take part in the Dubai Air Shows celebrations of the 50th anniversary of UAE Armed Forces. He also presented a show on the UAE National Day 2017 and the 50th anniversary of UAE Air Force 2018.

Al Neyadi holds a PhD in Information Technology (Data Leakage Prevention). He worked as Network Security Engineer for the UAE Armed Forces before joining the UAE Astronaut Programme.

"The duo will inspire the countrys youth to follow their footsteps by utilising the resources provided by the UAE leadership, motivate younger generations to explore and innovate, and help prepare generations of Emiratis to contribute to enhancing the UAEs status in space science and research, as part of the UAEs plans and programmes in the space sector and its ambitious aspirations to transform itself into a knowledge-based economy," he added.

During his stay at ISS, Al Mansoori will undertake a scientific mission to study the impact of microgravity in comparison with that of gravity on earth.

This mission includes 15 experiments that will be selected based on MBRSCs Science in Space competition, which targets schools in the UAE. Moreover, the reaction of vital indicators of the human body will be studied before and after the trip to compare with earth results.

This is the first time this kind of research will be done on an astronaut from the Arab region, said the top official.

The results of this study will later be compared with research conducted on astronauts from other regions. Furthermore, Al Mansoori will be assigned to complete existing scientific missions at ISS laboratories, he added.

Al Mansoori and Al Neyadi were selected from 4,022 applicants to the UAE Astronaut Programme after a series of advanced medical and psychological tests as well as personal interviews conducted according to the highest international standards.

The UAE Astronaut Programme is funded by the ICT fund of the TRA. Launched in 2007, the fund, which is the first of its kind in the Arab world, aims to support research and development within the ICT sector in the UAE and help it grow into a nationally significant industry that occupies a leading place in the world.-TradeArabia News Service
WASHINGTON, DC  The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed a five-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) today to accelerate progress towards sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific.

The MOU was signed by ADB President Mr. Takehiko Nakao and UNDP Administrator Mr. Achim Steiner in Washington, DC. The agreement builds on an ongoing partnership between ADB and UNDP and sets the stage for greater collaboration at the country and regional levels, and stronger cooperation in accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Asia and the Pacific.

ADB and UNDP have had a long-standing and productive partnership to support development progress in Asia and the Pacific, said Mr. Nakao. UNDPs support to countries on policy dialogue and technical capacity building can complement ADBs project implementation. Through the MOU, we will work together to realize a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific.

Under the MOU, priority areas for collaboration will be based on the needs and priorities of countries in the region and focus on supporting progress towards the SDGs. Forms of collaboration will include joint knowledge creation, exchange and dialogue, direct technical assistance, and project implementation in such areas as SDG implementation, innovative financing for the SDGs, disaster risk reduction, access to clean and affordable energy for all, and the promotion of regional cooperation and integration.

We are pleased to renew UNDPs partnership with the Asian Development Bank. It signals our commitment to expand our collaboration on the ground in numerous countries in Asia and the Pacific, Central Asia, and the South Caucasus, said Mr. Steiner. This partnership will reinforce our joint engagement with countries to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals in these regions.

The MOU will supersede a 2007 agreement between ADB and UNDP, which was extended in 2014 and expires in 2019. Under that agreement, ADB and UNDP have been collaborating extensively at the country level throughout the region.

In Bangladesh, for example, ADB and UNDP have been collaborating to provide skills training to indigenous people under the ADB Second Chittagong Hill Tracts Rural Development Project. In addition, ADB and UNDP have been working to coordinate external support for projects in Coxs Bazaar and strengthen effective donor coordination in response to the Rohingya situation.

In addition, ADB and UNDP have been providing joint technical assistance to the government in Kazakhstan to establish institutions to coordinate SDG implementation, including a strategy for achieving the SDGs.

ADB and UNDP are also partnering in the implementation of off-grid mini-hydro and mini-grid projects under the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation Power System Expansion Project. This initiative is aimed at expanding access to electricity in remote parts of Nepal.

Finally, UNDP and ADB have been collaborating to review SDG implementation in ADB developing member countries. The insights from this collaboration can inform ADBs country partnership strategies, and support Asia and the Pacific in making progress on the SDGs.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. In 2018, it made commitments of new loans and grants amounting to $21.6 billion. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members49 from the region.

UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in nearly 170 countries and territories, it offers global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations. www.undp.org @UNDP
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Opening



The High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and the Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS), Fekitamoeloa Utoikamanu



The Chair of the Global Coordination Bureau of LDCs and Malawis Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Goodall Gondwe



Honourable Ministers of Finance and Economic Planning present



Colleagues,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,



I would like to thank our hosts of this event, the World Bank and UN-OHRLLS for organizing this breakfast meeting on a timely topic for a group of countries that continue to face intersecting vulnerabilities along their development pathways. It these risks are not carefully managed, it could result in significant reversals on development gains.

The devastating effects of Cyclone Idai that struck Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi last month clearly illustrates that countries will have to face multiple and sometimes unexpected challenges as they progress.

Cyclone Idai not only demonstrates the devasting effects of a climactic shock, it also amplifies other vulnerabilities that we need to pay close attention to in order to build resilience within countries to maintain their sustainable development.



An Overview of Debt in LDCs

This leads me to the topic of our discussion today as we face the reality of a rise in global debt stocks again to the levels1 last seen during the debt crises of the 1980s.

Even more concerning, is the debt build-up in LDCs after the debt write-offs of the 1990s and early 2000s. This is due in part to increased public investments but also a shift from traditional sources to commercial sources of financing including non-traditional creditors and market-based financing. This has presented new and significant challenges in debt management at the country-level.



According to the most recent IMF-World Bank debt sustainability analyses, 40 per cent of LDCs and low-income countries were assessed to be in debt distress or with a high risk of debt distress.2 By 2017, at least eight countries were in debt distress including Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Chad, South Sudan, DRC and Mozambique.3

A further 164 countries of LDCs and Low-Income Countries were also assessed to be facing a high risk of debt distress. The trends are particularly unsettling for Sub Saharan Africa which has more countries with a high risk of debt distress compared to Asia and the Pacific - with at least four countries at a high risk of debt distress.

On a positive note, most LDCs have used government borrowing to finance public investments which have significantly improved human development outcomes. For example, between 1990 and 2017, the human development index of LDCs as a group, increased by more than 1.5% per year on average  this is more than twice the global annual average of 0.7%.

While debt financing remains an important source for achieving positive development outcomes in LDCs, the recent trends are a cause for concern. The impact of high levels of debt on development efforts cannot be overstated.

Debt service obligations compete directly with other critical public expenditure for available resources. We have also seen how a lot of these economies are also less resilient in the face of economic or environmental shocks.

Our collective efforts and continued support to LDCs in strengthening their resilience to economic and debt vulnerabilities among other areas therefore remains of critical importance.



A Call to Action

Against the above backdrop, there is need for a comprehensive policy and programmatic support to the LDCs to ensure enhanced debt management and sound macroeconomic policies but also importantly, bringing development financing to scale.

UNDP, as part of the broader UN Development System, continues to advocate for leveraging existing or potential funding flows; whether internal or external, public or private flows, considering the huge resource needs and gaps in LDCs. UNDP is supporting countries to expand their fiscal space through domestic resource mobilization efforts, amongst other instruments.

For instance, UNDPs Tax Inspectors Without Borders Initiative supports countries to build their tax audit capacity. The initiative has so far supported up to 50 programmes globally, with 24 of these in Africa alone, mobilizing over US $400 million in domestic revenues.

UNDP is also supporting countries to undertake Development Finance Assessments (DFA) which takes a longer-term perspective on the dynamics of debt alongside other resources by providing a comprehensive mapping of all public and private finance flows. The assessments also consider the longer-term trajectories required to achieve national development objectives. Given the expanded field of non-traditional creditors to LDCs, DFAs will support governments to think beyond shorter-term needs to the longer-term implications of changes in borrowing. Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Nepal, the Solomon Islands, Sudan and Mozambique are some of the countries that have benefitted from this support with many others in the pipeline.

UNDP continues to place a lot of value on its advocacy work for increased Official Development Assistance as catalytic funding for countries that need it the most including LDCs.

In recent years, we have advocated for greater use of state-contingent debt instruments, especially by public sector lenders and international financial institutions, which see debt service obligations fall when a major environmental or economic shock occurs. First applied in the Caribbean after the 2017 hurricanes, we hope to scale up-such support to other countries susceptible to climactic shocks.

On the prudent and efficient use of borrowed funds, as more countries enter the green bond space, UNDP is looking at how it can support countries with their impact measurement frameworks. For instance, UNDP supported the Government of Indonesias issuance of Green sukuk5 by supporting the development of an impact measurement framework.



Closing

I would like to reaffirm UNDPs continued strong commitment to work with governments, international financial institutions, other UN Agencies, the private sector and other stakeholders in order to bring development financing to scale in order to ease the debt burden in LDCs.

UNDP intends to fully utilize its newly created Finance Sector Hub which is a platform to mobilize and leverage significant resources for SDG financing at all levels through new and innovative partnerships with the private sector, climate finance and other players alike.

As an international community, we need to leverage our global presence, partnerships, knowledge and expertise to ensure that the countries we serve do not fall back into debt crises. We will do our part, along with the confidence that LDCs will also be more vigilant on debt management.
As prepared for delivery.



An inclusive and dynamic global economy is essential to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Global economic growth is expected to remain steady in 2019 and 2020; however, there are increasing signs that it may have peaked.

Rising downside risks and vulnerabilities also threaten the sustainability of economic growth and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Risks of debt distress have increased, markets are volatile, the trade system is in crisis, wage shares are declining, and carbon emissions have begun to rise again. It is critical to address not only short-term risks but also longer-term sustainable development challenges, including tackling inequalities and climate change.

We still have a global financial and economic system that is not responding to the needs for the scale and type of finance that is required for sustainable development. Decisive policy action is needed to mobilize sufficient finance, including climate finance, and to align incentives with the imperative of advancing sustainable development, including by enabling a shift towards longer-term investment horizons.

In order to give visibility to these challenges and the collective action required to address them, the United Nations will seize the opportunity of a series of high-level events in September, including the SDG Summit, the High-Level Dialogue on Finance and the Climate Action Summit. Coinciding with the General Debate of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, these high-level meetings will provide an opportunity to take stock of progress made since the historic agreements of 2015, raise the ambition of our collective response and highlight examples of scalable solutions to some of the worlds biggest challenges. The United Nations appreciates its continuing collaboration with the World Bank Group in these areas.

Opportunities for Financing Sustainable Development

Despite growing risks, there is some good news: investment has gained strength in some countries and regions, particularly in East and South Asia, which also have large populations of poor people; income inequality within some developing countries is declining, though levels still remain high; and prices on carbon markets are slowly recovering due to policy changes. There is also growing interest in sustainable and impact investing.



Yet, mobilizing sufficient financing remains a major challenge in implementing the 2030 Agenda. Investments that are critical to SDG achievement remain underfunded. While interest in sustainable financing is growing, the shift towards long-term investment horizons and sustainability is not happening at the required scale nor speed.



The 2019 Financing for Sustainable Development Report, produced by the UN Secretariat in collaboration with the World Bank Group, IMF, WTO, UNCTAD, UNDP and over 50 other agencies of the United Nations system and partner international organizations (the Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development), recognizes the scale and urgency of this challenge. The report stresses that financial flows are shaped and incentivized by domestic and international policies and environments. Despite increasing risks, we see opportunity for revisiting national and global approaches to sustainable finance.



Five key messages emerge from our joint analysis:



First, the multilateral system is under strain in a rapidly changing global environment. This is forcing the global community to revisit existing multilateral arrangements. As we address the challenges, we open the door to making multilateral institutions fit for purpose for sustainable development. For example:

 the crisis of the multilateral trading system is also an opportunity to revamp and make it fit for purpose for sustainable development;

 challenges in sovereign debt restructuring, in part due to new instruments and non-traditional creditors, have sensitized the international community to gaps in the existing architecture;

 increasing vulnerabilities have underscored the importance of strengthening the global financial safety net;

 the digitalisation of the economy has fuelled the debate about the design of the international tax system that could help address inequities; and,

 growing market concentration, including in the digital economy, has underscored the need to better monitor this trend and manage its socio-economic implications.



Second, and in response, rather than retreating from multilateralism, the international community must strengthen collective action to address global challenges.



Third, global approaches need to be complemented by national actions. Member States can operationalize integrated national financing frameworks to support national development strategies. These frameworks should respond to the realities of a changing global landscape (for example digitalization and falling wage share).



Fourth, achieving sustainable development and combatting climate change requires a long-term perspective. Yet, both public and private incentives are short-term oriented.



Fifth, we must harness the potential of financial innovations to strengthen development finance. However, such innovations do not eliminate financial and sustainability risks. Policymakers and regulators need to strike a balance between managing emerging risks and enabling experimentation and innovation.



The UN looks forward to working with the World Bank Group and other partners on driving forward the recommendations of this report, which is an important example of our collaboration on financing for sustainable development.



Importance of Tackling Inequalities

Despite the enormous potential of globalization and technological progress, far too many people have not shared the gains and are being left behind. The income of the richest one percent in the world saw twice as much growth as the income of the bottom 50 percent between 1980 and 2016. Income inequality has increased in about half of the countries around the world over the last three decades. Wealth is also becoming more concentrated. Meanwhile global growth in real wages is only 1.8 percent, the lowest since 2008.

Inequalities are prevalent in access to quality education, health, and technologies as well as vulnerability to shocks, among other areas. We also see persistent gender disparities across the world. Inequality limits peoples choices and opportunities and engenders political and social tensions and global inefficiencies. This year UNDPs flagship Human Development Report will focus on the critical issue of inequality in human development.

The imperative of reducing inequalities is enshrined in the 2030 Agenda and its central pledge of leaving no one behind. Achieving the SDGs for all requires a systems approach to sustainable development, and coalitions of actors that co-create and jointly apply integrated solutions. Tackling inequality calls for strong partnership  governments, the private sector, and civil society working together. National policies will need to address the falling wage share and growing vulnerabilities. These policies include designing the right labour market reforms as well as investments in human capital and social protection systems. Addressing inequality also requires strengthening governance systems and capacities to tackle volatility and shocks through risk management systems.

While many policies can be implemented at the national level (e.g., fiscal policies or regulatory frameworks), others require international efforts, such as in tax cooperation and monitoring trends in market concentration.

Harnessing New and Emerging Technologies

Harnessing the opportunities of new and emerging technologies is also critical to support the achievement of the SDGs, while at the same time it is likewise important that policy responses and business decisions are guided by a commitment to tackle inequalities and fast-track progress for those furthest behind.

Digital finance, for example, is enabling new business models and offers opportunities to foster more sustainable finance and investment. Advances in access to mobile internet, cryptography and distributed computing have given rise to financial innovations that have fostered financial inclusion. Beyond financial inclusion, fintech has also helped governments reduce operational costs and more effectively deliver transfers to citizens.

However, while fintech can help address some market failures, it has also led to new risks and challenges for financial markets and regulators. Effective regulation is needed to address these risks without stifling financial innovation. To find the right balance, an improved dialogue between policymakers, regulators and new service providers is critical.

It is in this context that policy and regulation is a key focus area for the work of the UN Secretary-Generals Task Force on Digital Financing. The Task Force, which brings together policymakers, regulators, entrepreneurs and other experts, is exploring how to harness the power of new financial technologies, especially the digitization of finance, for the achievement of the SDGs.

Recent developments in automation have also raised concerns that rapid advances in artificial intelligence and other technologies could make the labour of millions in developed and developing countries redundant.

While estimates are highly uncertain, there are several actions Governments can take to be better prepared. This includes encouraging innovation that uses technologies to create new products, services, and jobs; being sensitive to the differential impact on women and men; ensuring social protection and extend social security mechanisms to compensate for loss of working hours and jobs; and investing in peoples capabilities in order to enable them to benefit from new technologies, with attention to the diverse needs of different groups. More emphasis needs also to be placed on education and training of the younger generations, as they enter a labor market that increasingly rewards technological skills.

The Urgency of Climate Action

The urgency of climate action cannot be overemphasized. We have a rapidly shrinking window of time to accelerate action or we risk our planet into catastrophic consequences. We need to cut emissions in half by 2030 and reach zero-emissions by 2050, while significantly increasing adaptation and strengthening resilience to the already changing climate.

The Paris Agreement put the world on a pathway for ambitious collective action. Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are an unprecedented opportunity to transform our development pathways at an unprecedented scale and pace across all societies. It requires scaling up usage of a wide range of innovative technologies, massive shift in behavioral change and, importantly in investment patterns across all sectors. Between now and 2050, achieving NDCs and financing the global transition to a low-carbon and climate resilient economy will require an investment of at least US$ 60 trillion. It is clear that public finance is not sufficient and must be used strategically to mobilise increased volumes of private finance.



National fiscal systems are an important tool for achieving NDCs and transitioning the world to a sustainable, low carbon economy. Carbon pricing and other environmental taxation can help steer economic activities away from high emissions, while at the same time generating fiscal revenues.



We must maximize use of domestic public finance by incorporating climate risks and opportunities into budget processes, establishing tracking systems for climate related expenditures, and reviewing climate impacts on fiscal policies and advocating for stronger incentives to shift investments from brown to green.



The leadership of Finance Ministers is critical to guide fiscal policy decisions and investments into the right trajectory. This includes fostering an enabling environment to unlock much-needed private capital at scale and a people-centred approach to support just transition and equitable share from the proceeds of green growth climate action. It is encouraging to see increasing leadership on this, particularly for developing countries.



The role of Development Finance Institutions in support of this effort is also essential, especially in contributing to provide stable and predictable climate finance flows to developing countries. It is key to ensure that support to access, blend and catalyse finance  while also ensuring that the modalities selected to deliver this finance are in line with existing development effectiveness principles and do not divert funds away from the countries and societies most in need.



In this context, the increased ambition of the World Bank Groups new climate targets for 2021-2025 is commendable. This includes a goal of investing and mobilizing $200 billion and significantly boosts funding for adaptation and resilience to $50 billion.



Going forward, we need to continue to place high priority on policy packages that support the implementation of ambitious NDCs, such as carbon pricing, reform of energy subsidies, mandatory disclosure of climate-related financial risks, accelerated investment in sustainable infrastructure, and supply chain transparency. These policy packages must consider poverty reduction, as well as gender equality and social inclusion, as key criteria.



At the United Nations, we are committed to work closely with the World Bank Group to strengthen our support to Ministries of Finance to create enabling environment for investment, mainstream climate action across relevant national financial planning and integrate market-based instruments to sustainably scale up private sector investment.



We firmly support the new Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action and the Helsinki Principles launched this week. This important initiative demonstrates a stronger commitment and leadership of Finance Ministers to address climate challenges, in particular in mobilizing a whole-of-government approach to raise ambitions and accelerate the implementations of the national climate targets defined in the NDCs.



To support efforts to implement the Paris Agreement and to increase ambition and climate action, the United Nations Secretary-General will bring world leaders from government, finance, business, and civil society to the Climate Action Summit on 23 September 2019. The Summit will be a critical opportunity to accelerate climate action and raise ambitions to meet the ultimate goal of the Paris Agreement to keep the global temperature below 1.5 degrees Celsius.



United Nations Collaboration with the World Bank Group

The United Nations congratulates Mr. David R. Malpass on his appointment as President of the World Bank Group and looks forward to strengthening the partnership with the World Bank Group under his leadership.

Since the adoption of landmark agreements on sustainable development, climate change, and financing for development in 2015, the World Bank Group and the United Nations have taken decisive steps towards enhanced cooperation. This was manifested in the signing in May 2018 of our Strategic Partnership Framework which consolidates our joint commitment to cooperate in supporting countries implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

An important area of collaboration is to continue strengthen our joint-work in supporting countries to simultaneously achieve the SDGs and climate goals. In so doing, we will leverage and expand our existing partnerships, including through the newly established Coalition of Finance Ministers, the NDC Partnership and the Insurance Development Forum, as well as the programmatic support to sub-Saharan African countries on strengthening national and regional adaptive capabilities. And, through the Platform for Collaboration on Tax, a joint initiative of the World Bank and the UN, as well as the IMF and OECD, the organizations have formalized collaboration on technical assistance for tax administrations, support for tax reform and implementation of medium-term revenue strategies.

Preventing and responding to crisis is another area of strong collaboration between the UN and the World Bank Group. As the WBG continues to strengthen its engagement in fragile and conflict-affected situations, this partnership is being further reinforced and institutionalized. Among the key priority areas are our joint efforts on prevention including through the operationalization of the recommendations of the UN-World Bank Pathways for Peace report, promoting cross-sectoral and cross-pillar approaches to address horizontal inequalities to support countries at risk of conflict or relapse into conflict. Joint analysis and assessments in crisis contexts is another key area of collaboration, including through Recovery and Peacebuilding Assessments (RPBAs) and Post-Disaster Needs Assessments (PDNAs), as is the broader joint efforts on operationalizing the Humanitarian-Development-Peace nexus.

The United Nations appreciates the collaboration with the World Bank Group in these and other important areas and looks forward to enhancing the partnership even further.
Last month I shared some organic wines of La Valentina in the Abruzzo wine region of Italy. Today were taking it one step further and going biodynamic with Alois Lageder from the Alto Adige wine region with our Wine Pairing Weekend crew.

The Land

Coming together as one region, Trentino-Alto Adige, with Alto Adige to the northern part of the region bordering Austria and Trentino to the south. The region , once part of Austria, became a part of Italy in 1918 after World War I. As you can imagine there are many cultural influences here because of the mix of cultures with both Italian and German spoke n there.

Trentino-Alto Adige is also part of the Tre Venezie with the Veneto and the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of northeastern Italy as they were all once part of the Venetian Empire as well.

Due to Alto Adiges proximity to the Dolomite mountain range the climate has very cold winters, but otherwise it basks in 300 days of sunshine highlighting a warm Mediterranean climate outside of the winter months with cool nights providing optimal grape growing conditions.

The Grapes

Alto Adige along with its counterpart Trentino share some similaries with their northern neighbors, Austria and Germany, in the fact that they produce along of single varietals leaning towards more German style grapes like riesling , muller thurgau , sylvaner and gewurztraminer .



This region like most of Trentino-Alto Adige have always been dominated by co-operatives and as youll see below Alois Lageder works with many other growers as well as their own estate grapes.

Im featuring both of Alois Lageders pinot grigio and pinot bianco . So you may ask what is the difference between both pinot bianco and pinot grigio. They both originate from the same pinot family in different mutations, as if that was hard to tell. They are both white grapes and pinot bianco is typically more lighter in style and occasionally can be aged in some oak. Its usually more rounder than pinot grigio and a little less acidity.

Schiava , on the other hand, is a light styled red wine, known as vernatsch in German. It is a grape that prefers the shade therefore Alois Lageder grows them under pergola trellis vines . Lower in tannin and acid it lends flavors of strawberries, raspberries and ripe cherries. I really enjoy this grape, especially in the warmer months when I am all white wined out and am looking for something red, light in body but with plenty of flavor.

The Winery

Alois Lageder is well respected wine producer in the region of Alto Adige. The winery was e stablished back in 1823 and is today operated by both the 5 th and 6 th generations. The wineries slogan upon visiting their website is cultivating nature as a habitat of life. Their belief is that practicing organics and biodynamics enriches their landscape by enriching the soil and creating a diverse environment for all beings. Perfect to our theme this month on biodynamics and how passionate some of these wine producers are about not only producing high quality wines, but also preserving the land for today and generations to come. Clemens and Alois Lageder

Local farmers bring their cows during the fall and winter into the vineyards increasing the vitality of their grapes. As with all organic and biodynamic practi c es no chemicals or synthetic substances are allowed.



Collaborates with 80 grape growers throughout the Alto Adige covering about 250 acres that are about 50% biodynamic and organic as well as their own estate vineyards of about 135 acres that are completely organic and biodynamic. They are looking to get everyone converted over to the Demeter certification by 2023 so they work very closely with their farmers. All grapes are hand picked and vinified back at the Alois Lageder winery. Over 25 different grape varietals are grown under the Alois Lageder brand.

Its terrain is very steep with vineyards situated at about 700 to 4200 feet growing over 25 different grapes.

The Wines

2017 Alois Lageder Pinot Bianco IGT

A light straw-colored wine. Aromatics of peaches, pineapple, citrus and apple. Light in body, but good acid with a nice crispness coming through clean with mostly citrus. This wine was still drinking well for me after a few days shockingly (yes it did last that long since Im the only one that drinks in my house). Just a perfect wine coming into spring. Light enough to sip on, but plenty to liven up the day. ABV 13% SRP $15

2017 Alois Lageder PORER Pinot Grigio

Whats unique about this particular wine is the way in which it was produced. Part of the grapes were pressed upon arrival to the winery. Another part of the grapes were left in contact with the skins for 15 hours. Lastly, another part was left to sit with the stems and skins for a year. So as you can imagine this isnt your average pinot grigio. It was lively wine with nice aromatics of stone fruit. Rather fuller than your average pinot grigio, but fresh with some nice salinity. ABV 12.5% SRP $26

2017 Alois Lageder Schiava

Apparently Alto Adige was mostly a red wine region until the 1970s per their website and schiava was king. Definitely opposite of how this wine region is positioned today primarily as a white wine region. Its very pale in color, ruby almost a dusty rose. With notes of cherry this schiava is light in body, soft and elegant with a hint of strawberry. ABV 12$ SRP $16



Pairing: I paired this wine with a creamy pasta with salmon and spinach. I typically always prefer white wine with fish, but always enjoy a lighter style red with salmon and this schiava was a great match.

I dont envy those that tend to the grapes and the vines as well as those that partake at harvest as Alois Lageders vineyards are very steep situated between 700 to 4200 feet. That along with the close attention to practices of organics and biodynamics shows you the passion that these growers have invested in these wines and is solely the reason why I love sharing these stories with you!

Join the rest of our Wine Pairing Weekend group of fine wine and food bloggers below and on our live Twitter chat at #winepw this Saturday April 13th at 11am EST.

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Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station has teamed up with Huawei Technologies to launch a 5G network, bringing ultrafast Internet speed to the city. Passengers will experience a data speed that is 100 times faster than 4G. This development makes Shanghai a dual-gigaband city.

Hongqiao Railway Station is leading the 5G commercial deployment in Shanghai The 5G digital indoor system will deliver a new travel experience. The railway station will show how 5G applications can improve the user experience and offer real benefits to the public. It will help speed up digital transformation for all sectors across the digital economy, Zhang Jianming, vice-chairman of Shanghais Commission of Economy and Information Technology, said in a statement (RCR Wireless).

What is 5G?

5G is short for 5th Generation of Cellular Mobile Communications. It has a reduced latency, which refers to the communication delay between mobile phone and wireless network, as well as a high data rate, cost reduction, and massive device connectivity. In order to utilize this supersonic connectivity, devices must have a 5G chip installed. Any device with the chip can be controlled remotely and be used for things like self-automated cars, surveillance, and so on.

With countries green lighting 5G, the Internet of Things is rapidly becoming the talk of the town. Such devices will enable users to interact with them. For instance, a person can monitor food in the refrigerator or control the electricity used by light bulbs even if theyre thousands of miles away.

But behind these privileges, theres a darker side to the Internet of Things. With a smart connection between your stuff and the Internet, the company providing your connectivity can steal information about you. Privacy is no longer guaranteed once you start using such interconnected devices.

Is there more to the Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station?

So why is Huawei so keen on leading the 5G revolution? Is it really just to provide faster and efficient Internet connectivity, or is there a sinister agenda behind it? As previously stated, utilizing 5G means a device needs to have a 5G chip installed. In turn, aside from the users ability to remotely control devices, the company providing the connectivity has access to your information as well.

According to Chinas intelligence law, all organizations and citizens shall support, assist and cooperate with national intelligence efforts according to the law. On top of that, railroads and 5G are heavily connected in Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which is an ambitious program aiming to use land and maritime networks to connect Asia with Europe and Africa, digitally and physically. Over US$1 trillion dollars has been allocated for the development of ports, roads, railways, airports, telecommunications networks, and power plants.

More than 60 countries have signed on to the initiative. This is president Xis vision for China to become a great socialist country. The Chinese nation  has stood up, grown rich, and become strong  and it now embraces the brilliant prospects of rejuvenation It will be an era that sees China moving closer to center stage and making greater contributions to mankind, he said in a statement (The Guardian).

Digitally, Huawei is, in fact, the captain on the voyage to building a digital silk road around Asia and extending it to the West. Could it be that the Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station is the start of this (rather scary) world domination?

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Worker said she risked discipline if she left job amid storm
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Apr. 11, 2019 | PADUCAH

By West Kentucky Star Staff Apr. 11, 2019 | 05:34 PM | PADUCAH

Construction of the new double crossover diamond interchange at I-24 exit 4 will require that exit ramp to be closed for two weeks this summer.



Additionally, US Highway 60 itself will have to be closed for about a month.



Officials say the closures won't take place until after Memorial Day weekend.



When the closures are in place, signage will be installed to direct drivers to use exits 3 and 7 as alternate routes to the mall area.



The US 60 closure will be between James Sanders Boulevard and Coleman Road. However, access to businesses in that section will still be maintained.



Until then, construction activity is limited to nights, but some daytime and weekend work may be required. One lane will remain open at all times.



Officials say US-60 is required to reopen by August 11.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Apr. 13, 2019 | 01:55 AM | MCCRACKEN COUNTY

Bradley D Waldridge, 50-year-old of Calvert City





Possession of a controlled substance 1st degree methamphetamine

Possession of drug paraphernalia

Served with a McCracken County bench warrant





Joshua A Greer, 36-year-old of Karnak, IL





Fugitive from another state





Joseph L Aycock, 25-years-old of Eddyville





Possession of a controlled substance 1st degree methamphetamine

Possession of drug paraphernalia

Trafficking in marijuana less than 8oz

Possession of a controlled substance 3rd degree





Rodney D Carter, 36-year-old of Kevil



Trafficking in a controlled substance 1st degree, over 2 grams, methamphetamine

Tampering with physical evidence

Possession of drug paraphernalia

Fleeing or evading police 1st degree

Speeding 26 MPH or more over the speed limit

Disregarding stop sign

Reckless driving

Improper passing

Failure of owner to maintain required insurance

No registration plate

No registration receipt

Operating on a suspended or revoked operators license

No motorcycle license





Throughout the week Deputies seized approximately 29 grams of methamphetamine, over 7 ounces of marijuana, and prescription pills. There were six additional citations issued for possession of marijuana, five additional citations issued for possession of drug paraphernalia, one additional citation for operating on a suspended operators license, and 14 other traffic citations. Deputys efforts this week also resulted in two separate search warrants being served resulting in additional drug charges.



The McCracken County Sheriff's Office STORM TEAM's third week saw five arrests.For the week of April 7th through April 12th, the following arrests were made:Served with three McCracken County arrest warrants
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By West Kentucky Star Staff Apr. 12, 2019 | 05:28 PM | HOPKINSVILLE

According to WKDZ, Allison Simpson of Hopkinsville was indicted on two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment and second-degree criminal abuse of a child under 12-years of age.





An arrest warrant filed by Hopkinsville Police says Simpson allegedly subjected an 8-month old and a 10-month old to cruel care and confinement on January 10th of this year in the daycare at First United Methodist Church.





The incident reportedly placed both babies in substantial danger of serious physical injury. Police said the incidents were captured on video.

Simpson was arrested on January 30th after police investigated the incident.



A Christian County Grand Jury Friday indicted a former daycare worker charged in January with the alleged abuse of two infants.
A visitor (C) learns the art of rubbing during the Yinshan Rock Carving Art exhibition in Athens, Greece on April 11, 2019. The Yinshan Rock Carving Art exhibition from China was launched at the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation here on Thursday to introduce the primitive art of petroglyph to Greek audience. [Xinhua/Marios Lolos]

The Yinshan Rock Carving Art exhibition from China was launched at the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation here on Thursday to introduce the primitive art of petroglyph to a Greek audience.

The global exhibition, supported by the China National Arts Fund and organized by Shenyang Normal University, traveled to Greece from Italy to present a gem of China's prehistoric civilization.

Traced back to 30,000 years ago, Yinshan Rock Art demonstrates how the ancestors of various ethnic groups began to record their lives, express themselves and communicate feelings through rock carving.

In the Yin Mountains, which stretch from Inner Mongolia to northern Hebei province, the rock's surface has been incised, carved or abraded with over 10,000 ancient cliff rock paintings.

The exhibition includes more than 20 sets of rock carving fossil replicas and more than 20 rock carving fossil rubbings.

According to the Chinese delegation, the carving art pieces are dominated by scenes of hunting and feature a wide range of animals. Many of these species have disappeared from the region, but these paintings act as a testament to their presence.

"We hope to cooperate more in the long term with Greek culture experts and use this opportunity for more cultural exchange," said Zhang Peng from Shenyang Normal University in his opening speech.

Wang Chao, cultural attache of the Chinese Embassy in Greece, said that these paintings serve as a reminder of humankind's beginnings. "It's a treasure of ancient Chinese civilization that would bring the two nations closer," he said.

During the exhibition, visitors will have the opportunity to participate in workshops on rock carving and Chinese rubber stamps.

"We see works of art from the first artists who created engravings, which are among the best in the world," Mary Schina, painter and printmaker and distinguished professor emeritus at the Athens School of Fine Arts. "Humans first carved in the cliffs and then painted."

The exhibition runs through April 17.

A visitor visits Yinshan Rock Carving Art exhibition in Athens, Greece on April 11, 2019. The Yinshan Rock Carving Art exhibition from China was launched at the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation here on Thursday to introduce the primitive art of petroglyph to Greek audience. [Xinhua/Marios Lolos]

People visit the Yinshan Rock Carving Art exhibition in Athens, Greece on April 11, 2019. The Yinshan Rock Carving Art exhibition from China was launched at the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation here on Thursday to introduce the primitive art of petroglyph to Greek audience. [Xinhua/Marios Lolos]

Visitors learn the art of rubbing during the Yinshan Rock Carving Art exhibition in Athens, Greece on April 11, 2019. The Yinshan Rock Carving Art exhibition from China was launched at the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation here on Thursday to introduce the primitive art of petroglyph to Greek audience. [Xinhua/Marios Lolos]

(Source: Xinhua)
China's Ministry of Education announced a list of government-acknowledged national student competitions Friday, a move to ease children's homework after school.

The list included 29 competitions for primary and middle school students, according to a ministry statement.

The policy of establishing such a list aimed to limit the number of competitions and protect children from doing excessive homework to prepare for unnecessary contests, the ministry statement said.

"In the past few years, an increasing number of non-governmental and profitable institutions launched various competitions for primary and middle school students, and some of them linked the outcome of competitions with admission to elite schools," the statement said. "This seriously disrupted normal school education."

The ministry entrusted an independent institution to review all national student competitions. Of all the competitions, only 29 met the review standards.

Except for those listed or initiated by the ministry, all national student competitions, including those held online, will be banned, the ministry said.

Local education departments were told to expose illegal student competitions and punish the organizers.

(Source: Xinhua)
A teacher (1st L) from the University of the Philippines Confucius Institute teaches Mandarin words to staff members from the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) of the Philippines in the Presidential Palace in Manila, the Philippines, April 12, 2019. [Xinhua/Yuan Mengchen]

For the first time on Friday, some 15 staff members from the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) of the Philippines read aloud with zest the three white bond papers that Ms. Meng Guangjie flashed in front of a "special class" at the Presidential Palace in Manila.

After practices, the "students" erupted into laughter when they were told about the meaning of the Mandarin words on flash cards that they repeatedly read aloud -- the Philippine presidential communications operations office, which they are working for.

Glenn Albert Ocampo, the head executive assistant of Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar, told Xinhua how eager he is to learn basic Mandarin. He said he had been with PCOO for three years and was quite delighted to learn about the meaning of PCOO in Mandarin.

"Language is the first part in establishing relations with people in other countries and understanding their culture. It's very important for us to learn at least the basic Mandarin for us to fully understand our counterparts in China," Ocampo said.

Around 30 PCOO staff have signed up to attend the formal Mandarin language course at the Malacanang presidential palace, Ocampo said.

Meng, a teacher from the University of the Philippines Confucius Institute, will teach the staff more conversational Mandarin words and phrases, including the four main tones, and more about modern Chinese culture and society in the coming weeks.

After the 90-hour Mandarin course, "you would be able to introduce yourself, your family and your job," Meng told the Philippine staff.

Lourdes Nepomuceno, the director of the University of the Philippines Confucius Institute, said the institute has been conducting Mandarin classes in government offices like the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Bureau of Immigration (BI).

She said the institute decided to expand its coverage to the PCOO to provide more opportunities to different sectors.

"We want to cover PCOO because we realize that it is an important avenue to learn more about China and understand China through language and culture," Nepomuceno told the Chinese media.

The curriculum is 80 hours of Chinese language and 10 hours of Chinese culture. "That has been our model for the past three years when we conduct classes at the Foreign Service Institute of the DFA and the BI.

"We already graduated the first batch and we now have the second batch. Same is true with BI. We graduated the first batch and we started the second batch already," Nepomuceno said.

The institute "customize the program" to cater to the needs of the government sector or staff, she added.

In conducting classes for the immigration staff, she said the institute teaches the Chinese words or phrases needed in engaging with Chinese tourists.

"What they do is they give us a list of frequently asked questions when tourists enter the airport, and they will try to memorize and study words and the greetings, and they concentrate on the tones of the words," Nepomuceno said.

"The first batch did a good job, the first batch that graduated, and they are now on the second level," she added.

As a window of showing the Chinese language and a platform for cultural exchanges, the Confucius Institutes are becoming more and more popular in the Philippines.

Except for the University of the Philippines, now there are three other Confucius Institutes in the Ateneo de Manila University, Angeles University and Bulacan State University, respectively. Thousands of local people are learning Mandarin through the courses of Confucius Institutes.

Nepomuceno, who has been working for Confucius Institute for 11 years, said more and more Filipinos have shown interest to study Mandarin.

She said the institute has signed an agreement with the league of cities of the Philippines to cater to the 145 city colleges and universities around the Philippines. Moreover, the institute also holds language courses for University of the Philippines alumni and students for free to help more Filipinos to learn Mandarin. "We create a special class for them," she said.

It is the mission of the institute "to serve and help Filipinos learn Mandarin and to provide more opportunities for them," Nepomuceno explained.

"If they have a second language, specifically Chinese, they will go to other places, they will earn more, and they will create more opportunities for them, not only in the Philippines but around the world," Nepomuceno said.

Meng said she is looking forward to the PCOO classes to start. Meng has been teaching Mandarin in the Philippines for nearly two years. Before her stint in the Philippines, Meng taught Mandarin for 15 years in China.

In the two years that she has been teaching the language course in the Philippines, Meng said she noticed that Filipinos are fast learners and have "a strong desire" to learn more about China.

"They learn very quickly, and their pronunciation is good. They want to know a lot of things about China, economics, politics and so on," Meng said, adding she is proud that her students have "graduated" and made use of what they learned from the course.

"They want more communications with China, and we can introduce the Chinese culture," Meng said, adding that the course is a bridge that connects the Philippines and China.

A teacher from the University of the Philippines Confucius Institute teaches Mandarin words to staff members from the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) of the Philippines in the Presidential Palace in Manila, the Philippines, April 12, 2019. [Xinhua/Yuan Mengchen]

A teacher (1st L) from the University of the Philippines Confucius Institute teaches Mandarin words to staff members from the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) of the Philippines in the Presidential Palace in Manila, the Philippines, April 12, 2019. [Xinhua/Zheng Xin]

A teacher from the University of the Philippines Confucius Institute teaches Mandarin words to staff members from the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) of the Philippines in the Presidential Palace in Manila, the Philippines, April 12, 2019. [Xinhua/Yuan Mengchen]

(Source: Xinhua)
Celebrations for popular tea room as its marks successful first year in business

This article is old - Published: Saturday, Apr 13th, 2019

A derelict chapel brought back to life with the help of the Welsh Government has celebrated its first year as a popular tearoom.

Sally Roberts and Carl Pottenger took on the ambitious project to convert the former Bryn Seion Chapel on Station Road, Trevor, into the Pontcysyllte Chapel Tearoom.

The business launched in February 2018 after a 30,000 Welsh Government grant and was officially opened by Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Sport last June.

Sally recently gave Clwyd South AM Ken Skates a tour of the premises.

He said: The place looks stunning  Sally and Carl have done an amazing job.

They employed a number of highly skilled local craftsmen at the outset and have even matched the woodwork to the original pulpit, which has been preserved as a key centrepiece.

Mr Skates added: The area has seen hugely increased visitor numbers since the aqueduct was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tourism is a key driver of the local economy here in Clwyd South and businesses like this are vital in terms of offering quality and choice.

The tearoom offers a wide range of homemade produce from local suppliers, which helps give such a unique local business a unique local flavour. Im proud that the Welsh Government was able to help the business get up and running and I hope to see it continue to go from strength to strength.

Phase two of the project is now under way, with the transformation of the remainder of the building into five bedrooms which will see the tearooms expand to offer bed and breakfast.



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Volunteers needed to help run Wrexham-based support group

This article is old - Published: Saturday, Apr 13th, 2019

A leading sight loss charity is calling for volunteers to help run a Wrexham-based support group for people with macular disease.

The Macular Society is appealing for anyone living locally who would be willing to give up some of their time to help organise and run the groups meetings, with help from the charitys services and volunteering team. The group is also looking for people to assist with general tasks such as booking guest speakers.

The Wrexham Macular Support Group meets on the third Thursday of each month (excluding August, December and January), from 1-3pm, at Avow: Association of Volunteer Organisations in Wrexham, 21 Egerton Street, Wrexham LL11 1ND.

It is one of more than 400 in the UK offering vital information, encouragement and friendship to people who are affected by macular disease. The groups next meeting will be on Thursday 18 April.

Macular disease is the biggest cause of blindness in the UK. Nearly 1.5 million people are currently affected and many more are at risk. The disease can have a devastating effect on peoples lives, leaving them unable to drive, read or see faces. Many people affected describe losing their sight as being similar to bereavement.

There is still no cure and most types of the disease are not treatable. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common form of macular disease, affecting more than 600,000 people, usually over the age of 50.

Marian Williams, Macular Society regional manager, said: The Wrexham Macular Support Group provides a real lifeline for people living locally with sight loss. The peer support offered by the groups is absolutely vital  its incredibly reassuring for people to know that there are others who truly understand their situation.

With around 300 people in the UK being diagnosed with macular disease every day, the existence of our support groups has never been more important. If you have some free time and would be willing to help out, either by helping to organise the meetings or assisting in some other way, we would love to hear from you.

We will also be available to support our volunteers as they learn their new roles and provide any guidance they need going forward.

For more information about the Wrexham Macular Support Group, please contact Marian Williams on 07495 054 053, or email marian.williams@macularsociety.org

For more information on macular disease call the Macular Society on 0300 3030 111 or email help@macularsociety.org



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Wrexham Council will say no to nuclear waste Geological Disposal Facility

This article is old - Published: Saturday, Apr 13th, 2019

Wrexham will be ruling itself out as a possible option to become a nuclear waste dump, with the First Minister making it clear if no local authority comes forward then there will be no disposal sites in Wales.

Those who are following our new more in-depth coverage from Cardiff Bay will have seen the issue of nuclear waste being dumped raised in the Senedd chamber itself, where we pointed out Wrexham could explicitly opt out.

As we reported the First Minister said, This radioactive waste has been created by us. It is in the lifetime of people in this Chamber where this waste has been created. And we do have a responsibility to deal with the consequences of what we have done, rather than simply saying that we will play no part in bearing that responsibility, that somebody else must do it instead, or that we hand it on to future generations that come after us to clear up the mess that we have left. Because that mess is there; it has already been created

At the time the First Minster added, We will not and have not identified such sites, and we dont intend to do so. It is for any local community that is willing to come forward to do so, and if no community comes forward, there will be no disposal here in Wales.

We had spotted a consultation last year from Welsh Government over a Geological Disposal Facility which when clicked through had a slightly more worrying title:

Interesting point by @RitchieThomas13 a Geological Disposal Facility sounds quaint, and communities like Wrexham may want to host one, perhaps like a fete or the Olympics. *clicks link* Errr no ta. pic.twitter.com/bNroDSK7u6  Wrexham.com (@wrexham) April 16, 2018

Today Council Leader Mark Pritchard told us there will be a report coming before the Executive Board, and then Full Council to state firmly Wrexham will not allow nuclear waste to be dumped inside it.

Cllr Pritchard said, We did not want to announce it before the report came through, however there will be reports coming forward to the Executive Board and then on to Full Council. I will be presenting the report myself.

The reports will say Wrexham will not allow nuclear waste to be dumped here.

I am so pleased that everyone in the coalition supported the recommendation, and to be clear that is full support with every councillor, no one needed convincing, all were fully onboard.

It will come before Executive Board and then on to Full Council to ratify the decision.

The details will be clear in the report, however it clearly states Wrexham is not for nuclear waste. It was never going to be any other way.

Leader of Wrexham Labour Group Dana Davies told this evening: The Labour Group do not support a proposal for a nuclear waste geological disposal facility in Wrexham County.

Our proud history of coal mining would compromise the ability to seal in any radioactivity with the huge underground network of old interlinked mining tunnels and moreover any exploration in the future would mean a facility of this nature is most likely to be disrupted.

Our role is to make decisions that are in the best interest of our communities.

It appears the unusual announcement of a policy before the formal reports are made public has been triggered by a petition launched this week by Wrexhams Plaid Cymru group, which Cllr Marc Jones noted was started as We have not had an answer to the direct question we asked, which is disappointing to say the least. In addition, we are not aware what the councils Executive Board intends to do in light of the 1 million bribe on offer to communities who express an interest in taking the nuclear waste.

Top pic: Years of watching The Simpsons has educated us to knowing how Wrexham would look if nuclear waste was infact dumped in Wrexham.



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Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-11 20:57:11|Editor: mingmei

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SAN FRANCISCO CITY, the Philippines, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Olener Sacal and Given Lanugan said they were "mere construction laborers" when they were first enrolled to build a Chinese-funded drug rehabilitation center in San Francisco city in southern Philippines, in February 2018.

However, after a year on the construction project, they have learnt new skills and techniques from their Chinese mentors, and both Sacal and Lanugan said they were already promoted to carpenter and masonry respectively.

"I learned a lot from my Chinese supervisor who taught me how to do plastering, piling and lay-outing the proper way," Lanugan, 26, told Xinhua.

He said his Chinese supervisor cannot speak English but he demonstrated to him the craft of masonry repeatedly. "He would literally show me how to do it by doing it himself," he added.

Sacal, 32, said his Chinese mentor taught him carpentry skills including how to cut, measure and install beams and the proper way of erecting posts, which he never learned before.

"My supervisor was very patient in imparting his knowledge to us. He cannot speak the English language so he uses sign language. But to make sure that we understand his instructions, he often demonstrated how to do things properly," Sacal told Xinhua.

Lanugan and Sacal were among more than 400 Filipino workers that built the Chinese-funded drug treatment and rehabilitation center in San Francisco city of Agusan del Sur province, a landlocked province of the Philippines located in Mindanao.

The 6,750-square-meter facility that sits on a three-hectare lot is the second rehabilitation project funded by China to help the Philippines in its fight against illicit drugs.

A similar Chinese-funded facility in Sarangani province, also in Mindanao, was handed over to the Philippine government in December last year.

Amid warm relations between Beijing and Manila, 50 large Chinese companies are currently doing business in the Philippines, providing jobs to some 14,000 Filipinos, while 1,300 highly-skilled Chinese employees are here to help train local workers, according to the Chinese Enterprises Philippine Association.

One of these companies is the China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), which built the newly-inaugurated drug rehabilitation center in Agusan del Sur. The facility which has a 150-bed capacity also has an administration office, a clinic, a multi-purpose covered court, dormitories, and a house for visitors.

Liu Wei, general manager of CSCEC Philippine branch, said his company hired more than 400 local workers and administrative staff to ensure that residents in the province benefit from the project. He said only 35 Chinese employees were involved in the project, including the supervisors of Lanugan and Sacal.

Liu said around 540 million pesos (around 10.4 million U.S. dollars) worth of Philippine materials and equipment were purchased and used in the project, including construction materials, machinery, furniture and medical equipment.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to end the drug menace in the country when he assumed the presidency on June 30, 2016. In October 2016, Duterte visited China and both sides reached an agreement to build drug rehabilitation centers in the Philippines.

Now the two newly-inaugurated drug rehabilitation centers not only can accommodate local drug dependent personnel but also help hundreds of local workers gain better skills after the construction process.

Edward Plaza, governor of Agusan del Sur province, said the construction of the drug rehabilitation center in Mindanao has provided jobs to Filipinos albeit temporarily. And because of the experience and the new skills the workers learned from the Chinese company and colleagues, these workers can easily find new jobs in the construction industry, he said.

"They are going to be better skilled because they are trained by our Chinese engineers. I believe they will be in demand from our local contractors," Plaza told Xinhua.

Armed with new skills, both Lanugan and Sacal said they have now more chances of getting a job in the construction industry. "We have more opportunities now," Sacal said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-12 21:54:37|Editor: zh

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Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the national afforestation committee, attends a plenary conference of the national afforestation committee in Beijing, capital of China, April 12, 2019. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

BEIJING, April 12 (Xinhua) -- China should make down-to-earth efforts to promote the forming of a new development pattern on national afforestation and greening cause that are scientific and reasonable, Vice Premier Han Zheng said at a meeting Friday.

Han, who is also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the national afforestation committee, called for accelerating the pace of the new pattern formation.

Both the quantity and the quality of ecological resources should be boosted, Han told a plenary conference of the national afforestation committee.

China should stick to the most rigorous protection system to comprehensively strengthen the protection of forests, grasslands, wetlands and deserts, take strict precautions against forest fires, and severely clamp down on illegal hunting and killing of rare and endangered wildlife, Han said.

The country should develop green industries in a scientific manner to help targeted poverty alleviation. Social forces should persistently be motivated to continue the tree-planting campaign.

The management system on national afforestation and greening should be optimized and investment channels should be broadened.

Local government and departments should improve their target-oriented responsibility systems, strengthen their teams of grass-roots cadres and appropriately allocate public financial investment, Han said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 01:47:02|Editor: Liu

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WASHINGTON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday said the outlook for Asia-Pacific economic growth remains "relatively stable," but downside risks have increased, highlighting trade deceleration, higher oil prices and global financial market volatility.

"If the trade deceleration turns out to be more pronounced and longer-lasting, that will clearly affect growth in the Asia-Pacific region," Changyong Rhee, director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific department, said in a press conference at the Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank.

Trade policy uncertainty could pose a renewed threat to growth, he said.

The IMF projects Asia to grow by 5.4 percent in 2019 and 2020, largely unchanged from its previous estimation in October, Rhee said, noting that the region continues to account for more than 60 percent of global growth.

The IMF on Tuesday revised up the 2019 growth projection for China to 6.3 percent, up 0.1 percentage point from its previous estimation in January, according to the newly released April 2019 World Economic Outlook.

Rhee told Xinhua that the upward revision reflected the combined impact of recent developments in the China-U.S. trade talks, China's stronger-than-expected expansionary fiscal policy, and a slowing global economy.

"China's larger-than-expected fiscal policy response will help offset the impact of weaker external demand," he said.

In Japan, the economy is projected to expand by 1 percent in 2019, and the IMF expects a gradual slowdown in growth to 0.5 percent next year.

In India, growth is expected to pick up to 7.3 percent this fiscal year, amid a more expansionary policy stance, Rhee said.

In wake of the downside risks, the IMF suggested Asian economies adopt agile, vigilant and prudent policies to navigate through the "swirling winds," he said.

"Macroeconomic policies should aim at stabilizing growth while ensuring sustainability and increasing resilience," Rhee said. "In parallel, financial policies should aim to address vulnerabilities from high leverage and build up buffers."

"Asia also needs to focus on policies to sustain its growth momentum over the longer run in the face of declining productivity growth and rapid aging," Rhee said.

That include labor and product market reforms, strengthening social spending to address rising inequality, and efforts to open up the region's economies further to trade, which could mitigate the risks from rising global protectionism and help boost Asia's resilience.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 02:27:12|Editor: Xiaoxia

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Photo taken on April 12, 2019 shows a general view of the commemoration ceremony of the International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda, at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Twenty-five years after the Rwanda genocide, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday warned of rising xenophobia at a UN commemoration ceremony, while praising the recovery the country has achieved since the tragedy. In 2003, the UN General Assembly designated April 7 as the International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-five years after the Rwanda genocide, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday warned of rising xenophobia at a UN commemoration ceremony, while praising the recovery the country has achieved since the tragedy.

"On this Day, we honor those who were murdered and reflect on the suffering and resilience of those who survived," Guterres said. "Today we stand in solidarity with the people of Rwanda."

April 7 marks the start of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda which lasted for about 100 days to mid-July 1994 and killed more than one million people, overwhelmingly Tutsi.

In 2003, the UN General Assembly designated April 7 as the International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda.

In 2018, the assembly amended the title of the annual observance to the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, recalling also that Hutu and others who opposed it were killed.

At the ceremony, Guterres warned: "As we renew our resolve to prevent such atrocities from ever happening again, we are seeing dangerous trends of rising xenophobia, racism and intolerance in many parts of the world."

Particularly, he pointed to current widespread proliferation of hate speech and incitement to violence, "things that were very clearly present in Rwanda immediately before the genocide.

He called on political, religious and civil society leaders to reject hate speech and discrimination, and to work vigorously to address and mitigate the root causes that undermine social cohesion and create conditions for hatred and intolerance.

In the meantime, the UN chief praised the recovery Rwanda has made since the 1994 genocide, saying the path is "a rightful source of pride and comfort for the people and Government of Rwanda."

He noted Rwanda is now the fourth largest contributor to UN peacekeeping operations and leads in woman leadership with 60 percent of its parliamentary seats held by female lawmakers.

As a pioneer in banning single-use plastic bags, the country is now one of the cleanest nations on Earth, he said.

"In all, Rwanda's experience holds so many lessons for humanity," he said. "From the darkest depths, the country has risen in a quarter century as a pioneer for the sustainable future we all strive for."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 02:52:30|Editor: yan

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WICKLIFFE, the United States, April 12 (Xinhua) -- An industrial park devoted to Asian carp processing was launched Friday in middle Mississippi River, raising hopes that the population growth of the invasive carp will become more manageable as more fish will be dragged out of water and made into tasty food.

The International Fisheries Industrial Park, sitting on 64 acres of wooded land in the quiet Wickliffe City, Ballard County in the southeastern U.S. state of Kentucky, received seven newcomers ranging from fish balls maker to organic fertilizer producer. The Two Rivers Fisheries, whose success is part of the reasons that convinced these new Chinese investors, has been in the industrial park area since 2012.

Asian carp were first imported to U.S. farms to control algae and for waste treatment purposes in the 1970s. They made it into the Mississippi River and its surrounding waters, and have over the years multiplied rapidly, crowding out a multitude of local fish species and posing a threat to the 7-billion-U.S.-dollar fish industry of the Great Lakes region if their northward proliferation is not curbed. Because of their complicated bone structure, the fish are not popular among U.S. consumers.

Todd Cooper, judge-executive of Ballard County, told Xinhua at the launching ceremony the industrial park will not only help the community fight Asian carp but create jobs and bring population back to the neighborhood.

"Our mission is to reduce, reuse and redefine Asian carp," said Angie Yu, president of the Two Rivers Fisheries, who first thanked the industrious local fishermen in her speech at the ceremony. "In the past seven years we've taken 10 million pounds of Asian carp out of the Mississippi River."

The company processed 500,000 pounds of Asian carp in its first year of operation. Thanks to Yu's good management, a growing number of dedicated local fishermen have emerged, who can make a decent living out of catching and selling Asian carp to her. The Two Rivers Fisheries now exports carp to 11 countries, making it the No.1 Asian carp exporter in Kentucky.

"We processed 2.5 million pounds in 2018. In the first three months of this year, we've already processed 1.5 million pounds. My goal for this year is 5 million pounds," the 62-year-old businesswoman told Xinhua. The company aims to bring the annual production to 20 million pounds by 2024.

Though the Chinese American's business keeps growing, her wild caught carp are not selling well in China despite their obvious advantage over farm-raised carp. When her fish entered the China market, they were in the frozen form, unable to impress the Chinese customers who always prefer live fish.

With the arrival of plants that focus on deep processing, however, the situation looks set to change. A plant specializes in smoked fish while another plans to produce fish sauce, increasing the chance of Mississippi River carp breaking into the huge Chinese market.

"Asian carp in Mississippi are ideal for fish balls," said Jiang Chengguang, a businessman from China's Guangxi. His plant in the industrial park will produce fish balls, also a niche market in Asia.

With the consumption of the invasive carp expected to steadily rise, it not only eases an environmental crisis, but also benefits the local economy.

Of the 252 counties and parishes (including Ballard) in the eight-state Delta Region, 234 are "economically distressed," according to the Delta Regional Authority.

"I thank you for what these new jobs will mean to so many individuals who look forward to new opportunities to work in their home county," said Senator Rand Paul in a congratulatory letter to the industrial park read on his behalf by his field representative.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 03:07:39|Editor: Yamei

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Wu Haitao (C, Front), China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, votes in favor of a draft resolution to extend the mandate of the UN Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH), during a UN Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, on April 12, 2019. The UN Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH) should not be too much involved in the domestic human rights issues of the country, Wu Haitao said here on Friday. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The UN Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH) should not be too much involved in the domestic human rights issues of the country, said a Chinese envoy on Friday.

China believes that the Security Council bears the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security and that MINUJUSTH should focus its work on assisting Haiti in dealing with peace and security issues, said Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations.

Security Council members should have had more consultations on the draft resolution to further bridge differences and strive for consensus, Wu told the council after a vote on a U.S.-drafted resolution on MINUJUSTH.

The Security Council voted 13-0 with two abstentions to extend the mandate of MINUJUSTH for the last time, paving the way for a transition to a non-peacekeeping UN presence in Haiti. Russia and the Dominican Republic abstained.

Wu said China hopes that Security Council members will be united in the following consultations on post-MINUJUSTH arrangements in order to promote peace, stability and development in Haiti.

The extension of MINUJUSTH's mandate till Oct. 15, 2019 will be conducive to the efforts of the mission to help the Haitian government take over responsibility for national security, and to achieve an orderly exit of the UN mission, said Wu.

China voted in favor of the draft resolution as it is in the interests of Haiti and regional countries, he said.

Explaining his country's decision to abstain, Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said that human rights issues in Haiti do not constitute threats to international peace and security.

Friday's resolution "underscores the urgency for the government of Haiti to take all appropriate steps to ensure respect for and protection of human rights by the HNP (Haitian National Police) and the judiciary as an essential element of Haiti's stability, and calls on MINUJUSTH to provide monitoring and support in line with its mandate in this regard," he said.

MINUJUSTH is a smaller police mission than its predecessor, the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti, which had military personnel. MINUJUSTH replaced the stabilization mission in October 2017.

Friday's resolution marks the end of more than 15 years of UN peacekeeping in Haiti.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 03:12:43|Editor: yan

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NICOSIA, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Cypriot parliament on Friday ratified an agreement with Egypt to construct a natural gas pipe from eastern Mediterranean to Egyptian shores.

Parliament speaker announced that 34 deputies in the 56-member chamber voted in favor of the agreement, with 16 deputies voting against and two abstaining after a debate conducted under rules of urgency.

The pipe will convey natural gas from Cyprus' Aphrodite gas field in Cypriot exclusive economic zone to a liquefaction plant at Idku in Egypt.

The pipe will be constructed by the commercial companies involved in the sale of the gas, the operators of the Egyptian liquefaction plant and U.S.-based Noble Energy which made the discovery of the gas years ago, in association with British Gas, and Israeli Delek Drilling company.

Officials said that it will take up to four years to complete the project and pump gas to Egypt.

Cypriot left wing AKEL party, which voted against the bill, supports the construction of a liquefaction plant in Cyprus.

The Energy Ministry said the construction of a liquefaction plant in Cyprus will depend on the discovery of further natural gas quantities by ExxonMobil, which tapped a gas field early this year, with an estimated capacity of about six trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 03:37:52|Editor: yan

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BAGHDAD, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi security forces received Friday a batch of 200 Islamic State (IS) militants captured by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in neighboring Syria, a security source said.

"Iraqi security forces have received 200 IS militants, who are Iraqi nationals, from the Kurdish-led SDF," an officer from al-Jazira Operations Command, responsible for security in Iraq's western province of Anbar, told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The officer said "the detainees were transferred to the prisons of the Interior Ministry for interrogation and prosecution by the Iraqi judiciary."

With the latest batch of the IS detainees, Iraq has so far received four batches of IS militants captured and extradited by the SDF, bringing the number of detainees handed over to Iraq to 680, the officer added.

The handover process between Iraqi forces and the SDF has been carried out through cooperation between the Iraqi army and the Iraqi intelligence service, according to media reports.

In February, the SDF began extraditing the captured IS militants to Iraqi forces after the liberation of the last IS stronghold of al-Baghouz, which was the last IS-held area in the eastern Euphrates River region in Syria's eastern Deir al-Zour province.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 04:13:23|Editor: Xiaoxia

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Secret Service agents are seen outside the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on April 12, 2019. A man set his jacket on fire outside the White House on Friday afternoon, according to the U.S. Secret Service. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

WASHINGTON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- A man set his jacket on fire outside the White House on Friday afternoon, according to the U.S. Secret Service.

The person, who was operating an electronic wheelchair-type scooter, lit his outer jacket on fire while sitting along the Pennsylvania Avenue outside the north fence line of the White House, the Secret Service wrote in a tweet.

The agency said in another tweet that officers "immediately responded, extinguished the fire and rendered first aid."

The male subject has been transported to a local hospital with "what appears to be non-life threatening injuries," it added.

The incident took place in the 1600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue NW, a main gathering spot for tourists, shortly before 3 p.m. EST, according to The Washington Post.

Part of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House has been closed to traffic, according to the Secret Service.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 04:38:45|Editor: Xiaoxia

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Clashes erupt between protesters and anti-riot forces during the march to reject the appointment of Abdelkader Bensalah as interim president in Algiers, Algeria, on April 12, 2019. Algerians on Friday staged wide scale marches to reject the appointment of Abdelkader Bensalah as interim president. The marches were conducted across Algeria, while the largest one was in the capital city of Algiers where millions took to the street to demand the departure of the current interim president and members of the care-taking cabinet. (Xinhua)

ALGIERS, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Algerians on Friday staged wide scale marches to reject the appointment of Abdelkader Bensalah as interim president.

The marches were conducted across Algeria, while the largest one was in the capital city of Algiers where millions took to the street to demand the departure of the current interim president and members of the care-taking cabinet.

The anti-riot police used hot water tanks and tear-gas grenades to disperse the marching protesters and some of them were suffocated. Several doctors were deployed within the marches and provided first-aid to the suffering protesters.

Later in the day, some clashes erupted between youngsters and anti-riot forces.

Police Department said in a statement that as many as 27 police officers were injured, while 4 of them were seriously wounded, adding that several police vehicles were vandalized and 108 delinquent were arrested.

On Tuesday, Bensalah, 76, was named by the parliament as interim president to replace the resigned President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 04:38:48|Editor: Xiaoxia

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Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso speaks during a news conference following meetings of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Washington D.C., the United States, on April 12, 2019. Taro Aso on Friday urged Group of Twenty (G20) members to pay attention to possible escalation of trade tension as the global economy continues to slow down, with numerous challenges going forward. (Xinhua/Ting Shen)

WASHINGTON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso on Friday urged Group of Twenty (G20) members to pay attention to possible escalation of trade tension as the global economy continues to slow down, with numerous challenges going forward.

"The balance of risks remains skewed to the downside," Aso said in a news conference following meetings of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors, which were held on the sidelines of the 2019 Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank.

"We must also be mindful of possibility of any escalation of trade tension, policy uncertainty, and geopolitical risks and sudden sharp tightening of financing conditions, against the backdrop of elevated financial vulnerability," said Aso, who is also the Japanese deputy prime minister.

Aso said G20 finance ministers and central bank governors met for the first time on Thursday and Friday under Japan's G20 presidency, and called on members to jointly address issues such as global imbalances and aging.

The IMF on Tuesday lowered its global growth forecast for 2019 to 3.3 percent in the newly-released World Economic Outlook report, down 0.2 percentage point from its estimation in January.

The report also cautioned about downside risks, which include trade tension, no-deal Brexit, and significant financial vulnerabilities associated with large private and public sector debt in several countries.

IMF managing director Christine Lagarde on Thursday urged policy makers to "do no harm" and avoid wrong trade policies, as the global economy experiences broad-based slowdown with a prospect of a "precarious" rebound.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 04:43:53|Editor: Yamei

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Wu Haitao (C, Front), China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, addresses a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Colombia, at the UN headquarters in New York, on April 12, 2019. Wu Haitao on Friday asked parties concerned in Colombia to give priority to the peace process between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, April 12 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Friday asked parties concerned in Colombia to give priority to the peace process between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

"China hopes that parties concerned in Colombia will give priority to the peace process, further broad consensus, continue to promote the full implementation of the peace agreement, strength the inclusive political dialogue, accelerate socio-economic reconstruction so as to ultimately realize peace and development," said Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations.

At present, the overall situation in Colombia is stable, as the peace process has achieved early harvest, and crop substitution and rural development, among others, have made progress. At the same time, the full implementation of the peace agreement still faces challenges, thus requiring continued efforts by the Colombian parties and the international community, Wu told the Security Council.

As Colombia experienced a long civil war, the implementation of the peace agreement in a comprehensive manner concerns numerous issues, such as politics, security, development, and social integration. It is, therefore, a systematic project, he said.

China takes note of the recently emerged divergent views over the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, an extrajudicial court system to try ex-FARC rebels, said Wu.

China hopes that the parties concerned will strengthen dialogue and consultation to facilitate the appropriate resolution of this issue, he said.

China hopes that the UN Verification Mission in Colombia will continue to perform its duties as mandated, help the Colombian parties enhance communication, build up trust and push for synergies to carry forward the peace process, he said.

China stands ready to work with other members of the Security Council to contribute to the furtherance of the Colombian peace process and the early realization of comprehensive peace, stability and development in the country, he added.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 05:14:10|Editor: yan

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RIO DE JANEIRO, April 12 (Xinhua) -- At least two people were killed, three injured and 17 others missing, after the collapse of two residential buildings Friday morning in the Muzema slum community, a poor area in west Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's civil defense authorities reported.

The two collapsed buildings, with four and six floors, respectively, both opened six months ago.

Civil defense personnel evacuated residents of the nearby buildings for fear that more buildings are facing the risk of falling.

It was not raining when the collapse occurred, but the Muzema area was deeply affected by the recent storms which hit Rio earlier this week, killing 10 people and causing severe damages.

The neighborhood's main streets were still flooded and residents were isolated by Friday morning, though the storm occurred on Monday.

According to the city government, the buildings were irregular constructions without the permission of the mayor's office and the city authorities had tried to interdict them, but a court order prevented the demolition.

The Muzema community is controlled by violent mob-like militia groups, which control everything in the area, from property rights to security and cooking gas distribution. The two buildings are likely to have been built by order of those groups.

"Our teams are here trying to rescue people from the debris. A lesson stands from all this: when the city alerts about those risks, let us listen, so that this sort of thing does not happen again," said mayor Marcelo Crivella.

It is estimated that in the same community there are about 60 residential buildings built irregularly, without the official permits for construction and sales.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-13 06:59:56|Editor: Yamei

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Photo taken on April 12, 2019 shows the United Nations Security Council voting on a draft resolution to extend the mandate of the UN Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH), at the UN headquarters in New York. The Security Council on Friday decided to extend the mandate of the UN Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH) for the last time, paving the way for a transition to a non-peacekeeping UN presence in Haiti. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The Security Council on Friday decided to extend the mandate of the UN Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH) for the last time, paving the way for a transition to a non-peacekeeping UN presence in Haiti.

Resolution 2466, which won support of 13 out of the 15 members of the council, extends the Haiti mission's mandate till Oct. 15, 2019. Russia and the Dominican Republic abstained.

The resolution requests the UN secretary-general to initiate the necessary planning for an integrated post-MINUJUSTH presence of the United Nations in Haiti, including a Special Political Mission (SPM).

Friday's resolution marks the end of more than 15 years of UN peacekeeping in Haiti. It asks the secretary-general to prepare for and begin the gradual, phased withdrawal of MINUJUSTH personnel in advance of Oct. 15, 2019, as appropriate, to ensure a seamless transition.

It also requests the secretary-general to report to the Security Council within 30 days of the adoption of this resolution regarding the operational details of the proposed SPM, including its specific objectives and information regarding its proposed deployment, staffing, and structure for the Security Council's consideration and subsequent authorization.

The resolution further requests the secretary-general to initiate transition planning and management, and encourages close collaboration between MINUJUSTH and the UN Country Team in Haiti to ensure a seamless transition from a UN peacekeeping presence.

It requests the secretary-general to report to the Security Council every 90 days on the implementation of the resolution, including any instances of mandate implementation failures and measures taken to address those.

The resolution authorizes MINUJUSTH to use "all necessary means" to carry out its mandate to support and develop the Haitian National Police (HNP) and authorizes the mission to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence, within its capabilities and areas of deployment.

It requests the secretary-general to ensure MINUJUSTH maintains capacity, including appropriate air assets and medical enablers, to deploy security forces rapidly throughout the country and in support of the HNP.

China and Russia expressed reservations about the resolution over the mentioning of human rights issues in Haiti.

Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, said after the vote that MINUJUSTH should focus its work on assisting Haiti in dealing with peace and security issues and should not be too much involved in the domestic human rights issues of the country.

Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said that his country had to abstain as human rights issues in Haiti do not constitute threats to international peace and security.

Friday's resolution "underscores the urgency for the government of Haiti to take all appropriate steps to ensure respect for and protection of human rights by the HNP and the judiciary as an essential element of Haiti's stability, and calls on MINUJUSTH to provide monitoring and support in line with its mandate in this regard," he said.

MINUJUSTH is already a smaller police mission than its predecessor, the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti, which had military personnel. MINUJUSTH replaced the stabilization mission in October 2017.